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''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' was the seventh ship of the of
armored cruiser The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a pre-dreadnought battles ...
s built for the Royal Italian Navy (''
Regia Marina The , ) (RM) or Royal Italian Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy () from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the changed its name to '' Marina Militare'' ("Military Navy"). Origin ...
'') in the 1890s. She was built to replace the
lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships that are all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very comple ...
of her class, which was sold to
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
and renamed . The ship often served as a
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
and made several deployments to the Eastern
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
and the
Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
during her career. At the beginning of the
Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...
of 1911–12 she bombarded
Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...
. ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' bombarded
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
in early 1912 and sank an Ottoman
ironclad An ironclad was a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by iron armour, steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or ince ...
there. Several months later she bombarded the defenses of the
Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...
. The ship spent several months deployed to Albania after the end of the
First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...
in 1913 to protect Italian interests there. ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' was sunk by an
Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...
submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
in the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
shortly after Italy declared war on the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...
in 1915 with the loss of 53 crewmen. Her wreck was discovered in 2008 and has been examined by
underwater archaeologists An underwater environment is a environment of, and immersed in, liquid water in a natural or artificial feature (called a body of water), such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, reservoir, river, canal, or aquifer. Some characteristics of the underw ...
in subsequent years.


Design and description

''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' had an
overall length The overall length (OAL) of an ammunition cartridge is a measurement from the base of the brass shell casing to the tip of the bullet, seated into the brass casing. Cartridge overall length, or "COL", is important to safe functioning of reloads i ...
of , a
beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...
of and a deep
draft (ship) The draft or draught of a ship is a determined depth of the vessel below the waterline, measured vertically to its hull's lowest—its propellers, or keel, or other reference point. Draft varies according to the loaded condition of the ship. ...
of . She displaced at normal load. The ship was powered by two vertical
triple-expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure (HP) Cylinder (engine), cylinder, then ha ...
s, each driving one shaft, using steam from 24 coal-fired Niclausse boilers. The engines were rated and designed to give a speed of approximately . During her
sea trial A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on op ...
s on 7 September 1900, ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' failed to reach her designed speed, reaching from .Steam Trials–Italy, p. 136 She had a cruising range of at . Her complement ordinarily consisted of 555 officers and enlisted men and 578 when acting as a
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
.Freivogel, p. 43 Her main armament consisted of one gun in a
turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...
forward of the
superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships. Aboard ships and large boats On water craft, the superstruct ...
and two guns in a twin turret aft. Ten of the guns that comprised her secondary armament were arranged in
casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armoured structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" ...
s amidships; the remaining four 152-millimeter guns were mounted on the upper deck. ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' also had ten and six guns to defend herself against torpedo boats. She was fitted with four single
torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...
s.Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 351 The ship's
waterline The waterline is the line where the hull of a ship meets the surface of the water. A waterline can also refer to any line on a ship's hull that is parallel to the water's surface when the ship is afloat in a level trimmed position. Hence, wate ...
armour belt had a maximum thickness of amidships and tapered to towards the ends of the ship. The
conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armoured, from which an officer in charge can conn (nautical), conn (conduct or control) the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for t ...
, casemates, and gun turrets were also protected by 150-millimeter armor. Her protective deck armour was thick and the 152-millimeter guns on the upper deck were protected by gun shields thick.


Construction and service

''Giuseppe Garibaldi'', named after General
Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...
, one of the founders of modern Italy, was
laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...
at the Gio. Ansaldo & C. shipyard in
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
-
Sestri Ponente Sestri Ponente is an industrial suburb of Genoa in northwest Italy. It is part of the Medio Ponente ''municipio'' of Genoa. Geography It is situated on the Ligurian Sea four miles to the west of the city, between Pegli and Cornigliano. Its po ...
on 21 September 1898 and launched on 29 June 1899. While conducting preliminary steam trials on 12 July 1900, tubes in two of her boilers burst, killing one crewman and wounding two others. Repairs took until 10 August and she was completed on 1 January 1901.Fraccaroli, p. 31 From 23 July to 2 October 1902, the ship cruised the Mediterranean, making port calls at Tripoli and in the
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...
. The following year, ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' made port visits to
Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
,
Salonica Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...
, and
Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...
, Greece. During the 1905 fleet maneuvers, she was assigned to the "hostile" force blockading
La Maddalena La Maddalena (Gallurese: ''Madalena'' or ''La Madalena'', ) is a town and ''comune'' located on the islands of the Maddalena archipelago in the province of Sassari, northern Sardinia, Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most be ...
,
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
. The ship was part of the international expeditionary force that occupied
Lemnos Lemnos ( ) or Limnos ( ) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos (regional unit), Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean modern regions of Greece ...
and
Mytilene Mytilene (; ) is the capital city, capital of the Greece, Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was fo ...
in November–December 1905 in a failed effort to force the Ottoman Empire to pay its debts to European countries in a timely manner.Marchese Together with her
sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...
s and , the ship was in
Marseilles Marseille (; ; see below) is a city in southern France, the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean S ...
, France on 15–16 September 1906 to participate in a fleet review for
Armand Fallières Clément Armand Fallières (; 6 November 1841 – 22 June 1931) was a French statesman who was President of France from 1906 to 1913. Clément Armand Fallières was a symbol of republicanism in the French Third Republic. He was born into ...
,
President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...
, on the latter date. ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' was deployed to the Levant in May–July 1907 and again in June 1908. When the Italo-Turkish War began on 29 September 1911, she was
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
of the 4th Division of the 2nd Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet, commanded by
Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
Paolo Thaon di Revel Paolo Camillo Thaon, Marquess of Revel (10 June 1859 – 24 March 1948), latterly titled with the honorary title of 1st Duke of the Sea, was an Italian admiral of the ''Regia Marina'' during World War I and later a politician. Early life a ...
, and was one of the ships that bombarded Tripoli on 3–4 October. ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' was the first ship to enter the harbor after the conclusion of the bombardment when a small landing party entered Fort Hamidiye and disabled the breech mechanisms of the fort's guns. The desultory bombardment killed 12 Ottoman soldiers and severely wounded 23 more in addition to 7 dead civilians. On 13 October, the three sisters sailed to
Augusta, Sicily Augusta (, archaically ''Agosta''; ; Ancient Greek, Greek and , Medieval: ''Augusta'') is a town and in the province of Syracuse, Italy, Syracuse, located on the eastern coast of Sicily (southern Italy). The city is one of the main harbours in ...
to recoal. The ship and''Varese'' were in
Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...
in January 1912 while the bulk of the fleet was refitting in Italy. ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' and ''Francesco Ferruccio'' bombarded Beirut on 24 February 1912, setting the elderly on fire. ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' later entered the harbor and torpedoed the ironclad, sinking it and killing two officers and 40 enlisted men. Her entry forced the
torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
to scuttle itself. ''Varese'' is sometimes credited with participating also in the bombardment. The bombardment killed over 140 civilians and wounded more than 200. On 18 April, ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' and ''Varese'' bombarded the fortifications at the Dardanelles, heavily damaging them. After returning to Italy later that month, the ship began a refit that lasted through mid-June that included replacing her worn-out guns. After the end of the First Balkan War in May 1913, ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' was deployed to the Albanian port of
Scutari Scutari may refer to: * Shkodër, in Albania; also known as ''Scutari'' in Italian and traditional English usage * Sanjak of Scutari, Ottoman province centred on the city * Pashalik of Scutari, a semi-independent Albanian state during Ottoman rule ...
to ensure that it was returned by
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
to the Ottoman Empire and to protect Italian interests in the city. She returned home in August before deploying to
Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...
in February–March 1914. When Italy declared war on the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...
in May 1915, she was the flagship of the 5th Cruiser Division, commanded by Rear Admiral Eugenio Trifari, and based at
Brindisi Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...
. On 5 June the division bombarded rail lines near
Ragusa Ragusa may refer to: Places Croatia * Ragusa, Dalmatia, the historical name of the city of Dubrovnik * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Ragusa Vecchia, historical Italian name of Cavtat, a t ...
, modern Dubrovnik, and departed Brindisi on the evening of 17 July to do the same near
Ragusa Vecchia Cavtat (, ) is a village in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. It is on the Adriatic Sea coast south of Dubrovnik and is the centre and the main settlement of Konavle municipality. History Antiquity The original city was founded by the ...
the following morning. Shortly after beginning the bombardment at 04:00, ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' was struck by one torpedo, on the starboard side near the aft boiler rooms, fired by the Austro-Hungarian submarine . She sank within minutes on an even keel, although only 53 crewmen were killed. The remaining 525 were rescued by three
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
s left behind to rescue survivors as the division immediately retreated to avoid further attacks. The wreck of the ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' is upside-down and located at coordinates south-east of Dubrovnik,
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, at the depth of . The wreck was initially located by a Czech expedition in 2008 although the death of one diver on 9 September forestalled any investigation of the wreck. The group also lacked any permits to dive on ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'' as it is a protected war grave which caused them to be expelled from the country. A follow-up Croatian expedition explored and filmed the wreck in August 2009 using CCR (
Closed Circuit Rebreather A rebreather is a breathing apparatus that absorbs the carbon dioxide of a user's exhaled breath to permit the rebreathing (recycling) of the substantial unused oxygen content, and unused inert content when present, of each breath. Oxygen is ad ...
) technology. Official expeditions were made in November 2009 and May 2010 to the wreck by an international team of underwater archaeologists.Freivogel, pp. 48–49


Notes


Footnotes


Bibliography

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External links

* Kalajdzic, Ahmet (28 August 2009), http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/Mozaik/tabid/80/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/67832/Default.aspx *
Giuseppe Garibaldi (1899)
Marina Militare website {{DEFAULTSORT:Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Garibaldi-class cruisers of the Regia Marina Ships built in Genoa 1899 ships Italo-Turkish War naval ships of Italy World War I cruisers of Italy Ships sunk by Austro-Hungarian submarines World War I shipwrecks in the Adriatic Sea Maritime incidents in 1915 Ships built by Gio. Ansaldo & C. 2008 archaeological discoveries