The Royal signatures. Browsing through the old signature books of Caprera.

On Sunday 28 July, 2019, from 14.30 to 18.30, the Compendio Garibaldino of Caprera will have a special opening, and will exhibit two registers with the signatures of King Umberto I and Queen Margherita during their visit in Caprera in 1899. Also on the resisters, the signatures of their nephew Umberto, the Crown Prince, with his wife Maria Josè of Belgium, who visited  in 1939.

There is no video footage of when King Umberto I and Queen Margherita arrived in La Maddalena after choosing Caprera as the final destination of their journey through Sardinia. Their precious signatures in the log book are the only proof of their historical passage. The King and Queen reached La Maddalena, and chose Caprera to conclude their visit of the island. The royal couple, escorted by the Mayor of La Maddalena Zicavo, and by the Prime Minister Pelloux, was warmly welcomed by Garibaldi’s family, and after a moving visit to the Hero’s grave, and to the rooms of the White House, they validated their passage writing on the signature book. Forty years later, on 11 June, 1939, another royal couple, the Crown Prince Umberto, nephew of Umberto I and Margherita, and his wife Maria Josè, Princess of Belgium, signed the register as testimony to their short visit to Caprera, where they were welcomed by Clelia Garibaldi, the General’s daughter. These logs are a rich collection of memorabilia that tell an inside view of the history of Caprera.

The event is part of the exhibition Caprera 2 June – 4 July. From 1882 until the present day, a journey in memory of  the Risorgimento, open until 15 September, 2019.