# Giuseppe Garibaldi in Casamicciola **At a glance:** Giuseppe Garibaldi stayed in Casamicciola Terme for about a month in the summer of 1864, from 19 June, to treat the foot wound he had received at Aspromonte with the thermal waters. He lodged first at Villa Manzi in Piazza Bagni and then at Saverio Zavota's hotel at the Sentinella, where a plaque records his stay. ## Useful information - **Type:** Famous people - **Area:** [Piazza Bagni and the Spa Quarter](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/areas/piazza-bagni-spa-quarter/) - **Period:** 1864 - **Coordinates:** 40.743600, 13.908200 - **When:** From 19 June 1864, for about a month - **Reason:** Thermal treatment for the Aspromonte wound (1862) - **Where he stayed:** Villa Manzi in Piazza Bagni, then Saverio Zavota's Belle Vue hotel (now Villa Parodi) at the Sentinella - **Waters used:** Occhio spring, then Gurgitello - **Memorial:** Plaque on the façade of Villa Zavota ## Why Garibaldi chose Casamicciola In 1862, at Aspromonte, Giuseppe Garibaldi had been wounded in the right foot. Two years later the injury had still not fully healed, and his doctors advised a course of thermal treatment. The choice fell on Casamicciola, which by the mid-19th century was already one of the best-known spa resorts in southern Italy thanks to the springs of [Piazza Bagni](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/key-places/piazza-bagni/). The General set out from Caprera and reached the island on **19 June 1864** aboard the Duke of Sutherland's yacht _Undine_. Landing at Ischia Porto, he went straight on to Casamicciola, accompanied among others by his sons Menotti and Ricciotti. ## The stay in Piazza Bagni and the move to the Sentinella His first residence was the Manzi family's villa, in the Piazza dei Bagni district, next to the spa establishment of the same name: the site now occupied by the [Antiche Terme Manzi](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/manzi-historic-thermal-spa/). The stay was very brief. According to local accounts, a heated quarrel between the General's family and the inspector Luigi Manzi, who had been charged with looking after the guest, persuaded Garibaldi to change lodgings the very next day. He therefore moved to Saverio Zavota's “Belle Vue” hotel, in a panoramic position in the Gran [Sentinella](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/la-sentinella/) area, in the upper part of town. The building, known today as Villa Parodi (or Parodi Delfino), still bears a plaque on its façade recording that the hero stayed there in June 1864, after Aspromonte: the inscription is listed in Italy's General Catalogue of Cultural Heritage. ## The cure: from the Occhio to the Gurgitello On the evening of his arrival, Dr Antonio Mennella, the spa physician, was consulted and recommended the waters of the [Gurgitello](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/gurgitello-thermal-basin/) in the form of baths and showers, as well as the San Lorenzo sweat rooms at Lacco Ameno. The General's personal doctors, Drs Albanese and Basile, accepted the advice only in part: treatment began with the gentler waters of the [Occhio spring](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/occhio-spring/), moving on to the Gurgitello at a later stage. Accounts record a first bath lasting twenty minutes, with a rain shower over the wound, followed by rest and two glasses of water from the Castiglione spring. The stay lasted about a month, until mid-July. Local sources give slightly different dates for his departure; all agree on a stay of about four weeks. ## What remains today Garibaldi's visit added to Casamicciola's fame as a place of healing frequented by figures from all over Europe. Following in his footsteps means moving between two parts of town: the Piazza Bagni thermal basin, home to the springs that treated him, and the Sentinella hill, where he stayed longest. Find out more on the page [Garibaldi and the thermal cure](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/garibaldi-and-the-thermal-cure/). ## What to see nearby - [Piazza Bagni](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/key-places/piazza-bagni/), the historic heart of Casamicciola's spa tradition. - The [Gurgitello spring](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/gurgitello-spring/) and the [Antiche Terme Manzi](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/manzi-historic-thermal-spa/), later also linked to the name of [Angelo Rizzoli](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/angelo-rizzoli/). - The [Sentinella](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/la-sentinella/), with its viewpoints over the gulf. ## Frequently asked questions ### When did Garibaldi come to Casamicciola? Garibaldi arrived in Casamicciola on 19 June 1864, from Caprera, and stayed for about a month. He came on his doctors' advice to treat the foot wound he had received at Aspromonte in 1862. ### Where did Garibaldi stay in Casamicciola? On the first day he was a guest at Villa Manzi in Piazza Bagni, next to the spa establishment of the same name. He then moved to Saverio Zavota's Belle Vue hotel at the Sentinella, now known as Villa Parodi. ### Which waters did Garibaldi use for his cure? Treatment began with the waters of the Occhio spring, considered gentler, and continued with those of the Gurgitello. The spa physician Antonio Mennella had also recommended the San Lorenzo sweat rooms at Lacco Ameno. ### Is there a memorial to Garibaldi's stay? Yes: on the façade of Villa Zavota, at the Sentinella, a plaque records that the General stayed there in June 1864 after Aspromonte. The inscription is listed in Italy's General Catalogue of Cultural Heritage. ## Also worth seeing - [Antiche Terme Manzi](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/manzi-historic-thermal-spa/) - [La Sentinella](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/la-sentinella/) - [Gurgitello Thermal Basin](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/gurgitello-thermal-basin/) - [Gurgitello Spring](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/gurgitello-spring/) - [Occhio Spring](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/thermal-spas/occhio-spring/) - [Garibaldi and the Thermal Cure](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/garibaldi-and-the-thermal-cure/) - [Piazza Bagni](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/key-places/piazza-bagni/) - [Angelo Rizzoli and the Manzi Baths](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/history/angelo-rizzoli/) - [Piazza Bagni and the Spa Quarter](https://visitcasamicciola.com/en/areas/piazza-bagni-spa-quarter/) ## Sources and further reading - [Garibaldi a Casamicciola Terme – IschiaSky, Capitoli storici](https://ischiasky.it/ischia/articoli/ricette-ischitane/ischia/news/ischia/ischia/eventi/ischia/eventi/escursioni/ischia/ischia/gallerie-fotografiche/ischia/ischia/ischia/articoli/ischia/articoli/capitoli-storici/garibaldi-a-casamicciola-terme.html) - [Casamicciola Terme e i suoi ospiti illustri – Guida all'Isola d'Ischia](https://www.ischia.campania.it/index.php/casamicciola-terme-e-i-suoi-ospiti-illustri/) - [Giuseppe Garibaldi – Discover Campania, personaggi storici](https://discovercampania.it/en/historical-characters/250-giuseppe-garibaldi) - [Lapide a Giuseppe Garibaldi, Villa Zavota – Catalogo generale dei Beni Culturali (ICCD)](https://sigecweb.beniculturali.it/sigec/item/print/ICCD14707032)