The Sgarallino brothers

The brothers Andrea (Livorno 1819 – 1887) and Jacopo Sgarallino (Livorno 1823 – 1879) are examples of the common people who supported Garibaldi and the Italian cause.

Andrea fought at Montanara in 1848 and was involved in the ill-fated defence of Livorno in the following year. In 1860 he joined Garibaldi at Milazzo. Wounded at Caserta, he was decorated with a silver medal. In 1866 he was involved in the Third War of Independence and commanded the gunboat Torrione on Lake Garda.

Garibaldi stayed incognito at the Sgarallino house in Livorno in order to prepare for the ill-fated Mentana expedition.

Jacopo was with the Piermontese Army in Crimea (1854-55) and in Lombardy (1859). A fervent Garibaldi supporter, he was involved in the Expedition of the Thousand, the ill-fated Battle of Aspromonte (1862) and Garibaldi’s tragic action in Poland where Francesco Nullo was killed (1863). He fought in Trentino (1866) and at Mentana (1867).