István Türr was a Hungarian soldier, revolutionary, canal architect and engineer, remembered in Italy for his role in that country's unification and his association with Garibaldi. In the later years of his life became known as a peace activist.
Portrait by József Borsos, 1870s
General István Türr in Palermo, during the 1860 Expedition of the Thousand (photo by Gustave Le Gray).
The 42-year-old István Türr at the time of his return to Hungary (drawing by Károly Rusz, 22 September 1867)
Türr plaque at the Bajá Museum
Expedition of the Thousand
The Expedition of the Thousand was an event of the unification of Italy that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto al Mare near Genoa and landed in Marsala, Sicily, in order to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, ruled by the Spanish House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. The name of the expedition derives from the initial number of participants, which was around 1,000 people.
The beginning of the expedition at Quarto al Mare, Genoa
Monumental obelisk on the rock (Scoglio dei Mille) at Quarto al Mare (5.6 km south-east of the Old Port of Genoa), from which the Expedition of the Thousand departed on the night of 5 May 1860. On top of the monument is placed the Stella d'Italia ("Star of Italy")
Francesco Crispi, one of the architects of Italian unification
Giuseppe Mazzini, highly influential leader of the Italian revolutionary and activist for the unification of Italy movement
