Gaetano Bresci facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gaetano Bresci
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| Born | 11 November 1869 Prato, Italy
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| Died | 22 May 1901 (aged 31) Santo Stefano Island, Italy
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| Occupation | Weaver |
| Movement | Anarchism in Italy |
| Conviction(s) | Murder of Umberto I |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
Gaetano Bresci (born 11 November 1869 – died 22 May 1901) was an Italian anarchist. He is known for assassinating King Umberto I of Italy. As a young man, Bresci worked as a weaver. His experiences with unfair working conditions led him to support anarchism. This is a political idea that believes in societies without rulers or governments.
Bresci later moved to the United States. There, he joined other Italian anarchists in Paterson, New Jersey. When he heard about a terrible event in Italy called the Bava Beccaris massacre, he decided to go back. He planned to assassinate King Umberto. Even though local police knew he had returned, they did not stop him. Bresci killed the king in July 1900 during a public event in Monza.
The Italian government thought Bresci was part of a bigger plan. But they found no proof that he worked with anyone else. He was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was held on Santo Stefano Island. He died there less than a year later. After his death, many Italian anarchists saw Bresci as a hero. They supported his act against the king. Bresci's actions also inspired other anarchists. One famous example is Leon Czolgosz, who assassinated U.S. President William McKinley.
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Gaetano Bresci's Early Life
Gaetano Bresci was born on 11 November 1869. His family lived in Prato, Italy. They were not rich but owned a small farm. They grew wheat, grapes, and olives. In 1880, Italy started importing cheap grain from the United States. This made it very hard for small farmers like the Bresci family.
Their family became poor. Gaetano started working to help. He began learning to be a textile worker. By age 15, he was a skilled silk weaver. Bresci felt that the Italian government was to blame for his family's struggles. His experiences at work also made him upset. He saw how workers were treated unfairly. This led him to join the Italian anarchist movement.
In 1892, Bresci and other anarchists had a conflict with police. He was arrested and found guilty of insulting the police. He spent 15 days in prison. Police then labeled him a "dangerous anarchist." In 1895, Bresci was arrested again. This was for organizing a textile workers' strike. The government sent him away to Lampedusa island. While there, he read many anarchist books. This made his beliefs even stronger.
Bresci was allowed to return in 1896. He went back to working in a wool factory. He was known for dressing well. He also had many relationships. He might have had a child with one of his co-workers.
In 1897, Bresci moved to the United States. He lived in Hoboken, New Jersey. There, he met Sophie Kneiland. They had two daughters, Madeleine and Gaetanina. Bresci worked as a silk weaver in Paterson during the week. He would go back to Hoboken on weekends. In Paterson, he quickly joined local worker groups. He also became active in the anarchist community. He helped start a newspaper called La Questione Sociale. He wrote many articles for it.
The Assassination of King Umberto I
In 1898, Bresci heard about the Bava Beccaris massacre. This was a terrible event in Milan. People were protesting because bread prices were too high. The Royal Italian Army fired on the crowd, killing many people. King Umberto I had ordered a special state of emergency. He also praised the general who gave the order to shoot. Bresci felt the king was responsible. He decided to get revenge.
Bresci bought a .38 caliber revolver. He also bought a one-way ticket to Europe. He used money from the La Questione Sociale newspaper. He told his wife he was going to settle his parents' estate. Bresci sailed in May 1900. He stopped in Paris briefly. Then he went to Italy. In June 1900, he returned to his hometown of Prato. He stayed with his brother's family.
The local police knew Bresci was back. They also knew he was listed as a "dangerous anarchist." But they did not follow proper rules. They did not tell the main government office. They also did not take his passport. So, Bresci was free to practice shooting his revolver every day.
In July 1900, Bresci went to Milan. Then he traveled to Monza. He learned that the King of Italy would be at a gymnastics event. Bresci found a room near the train station. He waited for his chance. For two days, he explored the area. He asked about the king's plans.
On the morning of 29 July 1900, Bresci got ready. He left his hotel planning to kill the king. He spent the day walking around. He even had lunch with a stranger. He told the stranger, "Look at me carefully, because you will perhaps remember me for the rest of your life." That evening, King Umberto arrived at the stadium. He was there to give out medals. There were very few police officers. They could not control the crowd well.
Bresci stood near the exit of the stadium. He wanted to have a way to escape. But the excited crowd pushed him very close to the king's car. He was stuck. While in the crowd, Bresci shot and killed King Umberto. The angry crowd grabbed Bresci. A police officer stepped in before the crowd could harm him. Bresci accepted his arrest. He said, "I did not kill Umberto. I have killed the King. I killed a principle."
Bresci's Trial and Imprisonment
About a month after the assassination, Bresci had his trial. It lasted only one day, on 30 August 1900. His lawyer, Francesco Saverio Merlino, argued that too much power given to kings had weakened Italy. He also said that punishing anarchists had directly led to the assassination. He suggested that if radical ideas were allowed, and people had more freedom, such acts would stop. Bresci's former boss, a co-worker, and his wife spoke for him. His wife said she was surprised he could have done it. Doctors found no signs of mental illness. So, the prosecution could not claim he was not responsible for his actions.
The Italian government believed Bresci was part of a secret plot. The Interior Minister, Giovanni Giolitti, thought anarchists in Paterson, like Errico Malatesta, had planned it. He even suspected the exiled Queen Maria Sophie of Bavaria was involved. Another popular idea was that another anarchist, Giuseppe Ciancabilla, was supposed to be the assassin first. But Bresci took his place.
After Bresci's trial, eleven people connected to him were arrested. This included his brother and friends. They were held alone in prison. They were suspected of helping with the assassination. But they were released the next year. A court found there was not enough proof against them. Investigations in the United States also found no evidence of a plot by anarchists there.
Bresci was found guilty of murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. This was the harshest punishment in Italy, as the death penalty had been removed. Bresci was first held in Milan. Then he was moved to a prison on Elba island. He was kept in an illegal underground cell. To keep his conditions secret, he was moved again on 23 January 1901. He was sent to a remote island called Santo Stefano. There, he was kept alone in a small, empty cell. His feet were shackled.
Bresci was allowed only a few personal items. These included clothes and hair tools. He mostly ate soup and bread. Meat was only for Sundays and holidays. Sometimes, he got wine and cheese with money from his wife. He was allowed one hour of exercise each day. The rest of the time, he was alone. He could not see other prisoners or visitors. Even his guards were not allowed to speak to him. To pass the time, he used a napkin as a football. He also read from a French dictionary. Bresci seemed to stay positive in prison. Prison officials thought this was because he believed a revolution would soon free him. By May 1901, the government feared anarchists might try to break him out. So, they sent armed guards to the island.
Bresci's Lasting Impact
Changes in Government and Police
Before Bresci killed King Umberto, Italy's government had changed. A new, more democratic government took power. People expected harsh actions against anarchists after the assassination. But this did not happen much. Later governments made changes to the police. They reduced police actions against striking workers. The government also tried to hide information about other anarchist attacks. They wanted to make it seem like Bresci acted alone.
Governments in Europe were worried. The British prime minister said that countries had been too soft on anarchists. He feared they were a threat. Switzerland passed a new law. It punished people who supported anarchist crimes. Other European countries asked the United States to watch anarchists there. They also wanted the U.S. to stop radical newspapers. The U.S. government said it did not have the power to do this. But Bresci's assassination still led to more fear of foreigners and anarchists in the U.S. This resulted in a new law in 1903 that limited immigration.
How Anarchists Saw Bresci
Some anarchists, like Errico Malatesta, did not agree with Bresci's actions. They thought revenge killings would hurt their cause. But many others praised him. Bresci quickly became a hero in Italian left-wing groups. The American anarchist newspaper Free Society said anarchists fully approved of what he did. They called him a "kind hearted and humane man." They said he killed the "tyrant" Umberto as an individual act of revenge. This was for the "great suffering and misery caused by the oppressive measures of the Italian government." Emma Goldman, another famous anarchist, also praised Bresci. She said he "loved his kind" and "dared to strike a blow at organized authority." She believed his act was "good and noble, grand and useful." She thought he wanted to help "free mankind from tyranny."
Italian anarchist postcards showed Bresci's face on the Statue of Liberty. Poems and songs were written about him. Paterson, New Jersey, became known as the "capital of world anarchism." Bresci's wife did not know about his plan. She also did not understand anarchism. But police watched her often. People in her community bothered her. She had to move to Chicago. When a newspaper raised money for King Umberto's tomb, anarchists in Paterson raised the same amount. They gave it to Bresci's wife and daughters.
A Roman Catholic priest was put in prison. He had said he supported Bresci's actions. He called it "an instrument of divine vengeance" against the king. In 1910, Benito Mussolini, who later became a dictator, praised Bresci. He did this in a socialist newspaper.
Other Assassinations and Attempts
Soon after Umberto's death, a French anarchist tried to kill the Persian king in Paris. Newspapers linked this attempt to Bresci's actions. They also linked Bresci's actions to other anarchists. These included a Belgian anarchist who tried to kill the British crown prince. Another was an Italian anarchist who had killed the Empress of Austria.
Bresci's assassination directly inspired Leon Czolgosz. Czolgosz was a Polish American anarchist. His parents said he read newspaper stories about the assassination all the time. He kept a newspaper clipping for months. In May 1901, he asked an anarchist group if American anarchists were planning a similar attack. They said no. But in September, Czolgosz read an article that praised "monster-slayers" like Bresci. This led him to assassinate U.S. President William McKinley. After this, Bresci's family had to leave their home. This was due to public pressure and police watching them.
Bresci and Czolgosz later inspired Luigi Galleani. He was an anarchist who praised their actions in his newspaper. In 1911, Italian anarchists planned to kill the new king, Victor Emanuele III. They also planned to kill Giolitti. But they were arrested before they could do it. Italian anarchists in the U.S. formed groups named after Bresci. One group in Pittsburgh called themselves the "Twenty-Ninth of July" group. This was the date of Umberto's assassination. By 1914, the Bresci Circle in New York had 600 members. They were suspected of planning to bomb a cathedral. They were also linked to other bombings. The group eventually broke up. Bresci's example also inspired other anarchists who were on death row.
Modern Commemorations
In 1976, a street in Bresci's hometown of Prato was named after him. In the 1980s, anarchists in Tuscany wanted to build a monument to Bresci. The government tried to stop it. But in 1986, the local council voted to allow it. This caused protests from people who supported the monarchy. Court cases were started against the council members. But they were all found innocent. This was because the monument's words did not mention the assassination. In 1990, the monument was built overnight in the cemetery. The mayor said the council's decision was still valid.
King Victor Emanuele III had built a chapel to remember his father. This was at the place where Umberto was killed. In 2013, a social center in Catania used Bresci's name. His name was also mentioned in the 2016 film Paterson.
