Giovanni Defendi was an Italian revolutionary who fought for the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

, was imprisoned, and after release spent many years as a grocer and anarchist leader in exile in London.

Early years

By his own account, Giovanni Defendi was born on 24 June 1849 in

Casalmaggiore Casalmaggiore ( Casalasco-Viadanese: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Cremona, Lombardy, Italy, located on the Po River. It was the birthplace of Italian composers Ignazio Donati and Andrea Zani. Recently, its women's volleyball team Volleyb ...

, Italy. He became a confectioner. He fought with Garibaldi in the war for Italian independence. On 17 or 18 May 1871 Defendi arrived in Paris after the demobilization of the red shirts, and participated in the Paris Commune. For this, on 27 April 1872 he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and was sent to

Belle Île Belle-Île (), Belle-Île-en-Mer (), or Belle Isle (, ; ) is a French island off the coast of Brittany in the ''département in France, département'' of Morbihan, and the largest of Brittany's islands. It is from the Quiberon peninsula. Admini ...

. After being released, he moved to London in 1880. On 21 February 1881 the Italian consul described him as 32 years old, almost in height, who had spent eight years imprisoned in a small cell.

Life in exile

Defendi met wife Emilia Tronzio, in London. A native of

Cosenza Cosenza (; Languages of Calabria#Northern Calabrian (Cosentian), Cosentian: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city located in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000, while the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. ...

, she had lost her parents in a cholera epidemic and had been adopted by the family of the internationalist

Tito Zanardelli Tito Zanardelli (1848–?) was an Italian journalist and anarchist. At first a proponent of revolution, later he became more moderate and advocated legal means to achieve the goals of the workers. He then retired from politics and spent many y ...

. In the 1870s she was the mistress of

Errico Malatesta Errico Malatesta (4 December 1853 – 22 July 1932) was an Italian anarchist propagandist, theorist and revolutionary socialist. He edited several radical newspapers and spent much of his life exiled and imprisoned, having been jailed and expel ...

. In 1880 a letter was published in the ''Citoyen'' of Paris in which Giovanni Defendi and Emilia Tronzi-Zanardelli announced that on 1 May 1880 they had contracted a ''union libre'', as opposed to a judicial or religious marriage. A similar statement was published in ''

La Plebe La Plebe was an American punk rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in early 2001, the band has been a consistent part of various music scenes ever since, marked notably by multiple tours of Mexico, Europe and the Balkans. History ...

'' of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

on 2 May 1880. The Defendis opened a delicatessen at 12 Archer Street in the

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

section of London, home to many immigrants. They had six children. Giovanni used to go through the Italian colony selling his produce from a handcart, assisted by his son Enrico. In 1885 Defendi was one of the leaders of the anarchists in London, along with Biagio Poggi and Vito Solieri. In 1896 Defendi was one of three judges on an anarchist court of honor that found Francesco Cini guilty of stealing some money he had collected to help Spanish militants who had been tortured while imprisoned in

Montjuïc Castle Montjuïc () is a hill in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Montjuïc or Montjuich, meaning "Jewish Mountain" in medieval Latin and Catalan, is a broad, shallow hill in Barcelona with a rich history. It was the birthplace of the city, and its st ...

. His children Enrico and Luigia also became anarchists, and were watched by the police. Defendi opened a grocery shop at 112 W. High Street in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

. Emilia was the victim of an influenza epidemic in

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References

Sources

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