Garibaldi Compendium

The Compendium is the place where the Hero of the Two Worlds spent more than 25 years. It is composed of several buildings and is surrounded by a charming garden where guests can admire beautiful plants and monumental trees. This picturesque place allows guests to rediscover the figure of Garibaldi, his enterprises, daily life, and personal events.

The Compendium is the place where Garibaldi, appointed General in 1848, lived with his family and established his farm until his death in 1882. It is proof of his thrifty lifestyle and of the pleasure he found in enjoying nature. He personally worked the land and looked after the orchard and the garden, where he planted a big pine following the birth of his daughter Clelia in 1867.

The Compendium was opened to the public in 1976 and since 2014, alongside the Giuseppe Garibaldi National Memorial, has been a part of the Museum System of Caprera, established by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Activities and Tourism.

Characterized by a simple architecture, the complex develops around a central yard with no windows, leading to a staircase connected to the terrazza (terrace) where visitors get a view of the entire archipelago.

The original house, expanded in 1861 and in 1880, was built on a quadrangular plan and had connecting rooms. Apart from the “white house” (“Casa Bianca”), the Compendium also includes Garibaldi’s first home on Caprera made of a restored sheepfold and a wooden house brought from Nice; the “Iron House”, a gift from Garibaldi’s friend Felice Orrigoni, which is a wooden house covered in metal sheets that contains the library; the old warehouse containing the strategy room.

The Collection

The “White House” keeps the Hero’s relics: his corpse rests in a tomb closed with a massive coarse stone; his pictures, books and personal mementos, but also everyday objects such as cooking utensils, farm tools and weapons allow guests to discover new aspects of a figure who is often remembered only for his extraordinary military enterprises.