kateandjohnsail.boats

­Quintessa is backed up to the quay here in the quaint town of La Maddalena, on an island of the same name north of Sardinia.

The piazza behind the boat features a monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi; in fact, there are tributes to him all over this town.  

There is lovely village far, far away on the coast of Oregon called Garibaldi.

I vaguely associate the name with Italian history, but who was this guy?

Garibaldi was a colorful character. In the nineteenth century he was central to the cause of unifying Italy (the risorgimanto) under the House of Savoy. His early exploits took place in South America, and then he returned to lead the “Redshirts” in a campaign to liberate Italians and to inspire them to become a nation. He is celebrated in La Maddalena because he was born on this island archipelago which is also called La Maddalena (now a UNESCO world heritage site and nature preserve).

John donned a red shirt just to pose with the guy.

Garibaldi, Oregon, was so named because the postmaster of the town in 1870 was an admirer of Garibaldi, who was often in the news at the time, and Ulysses S. Grant had requested that the postmasters name their post offices.

There is also a brightly colored fish called a Garibaldi, presumably a nod to his colorful namesake. And now you know.