Curiosity

Giuseppe Maria Giulietti Hall

The Giuseppe Maria Giulietti room, located on the ground floor of Palazzo Certosa Cantù, houses the memorabilia and works of art that belonged to the well-known explorer from Castelfranco, donated by his descendant Dr. Giuliano Giulietti in 2022.

Giuseppe Maria Giulietti was born in Casteggio in 1847 to Giulio, a leather merchant, and Teresa Venco. Even as a child he showed a lively and strong-willed character with a taste for adventure. His sister Elena traces an interesting psychological profile of him in a biography.

In 1866, he enlisted as a volunteer in the ranks of Giuseppe Garibaldi’s Cacciatori delle Alpi: he went to Varese where he joined the 4th regiment of volunteers and took part in the Battle of Vezza where he distinguished himself for bravery, earning himself a promotion for merit as a reward. In 1870, he moved to Genoa where he found work in a trading house and in this city he began to assiduously frequent the Museo Civico di Scienze Naturali where he met Giacomo Doria, founder of the museum and councillor of the Italian Geographic Society, and the missionary explorer Giuseppe Sapeto. In 1871, he moved to Milan and married Berenice Cerri, who gave him a son the following year, but his wife’s untimely death forced him to return with the little one to Casteggio, to his parents. He then resumed contact with Marquis Giacomo Doria, who was a true teacher and friend to him, and decided to move to Genoa for good. At that time, the idea of Italian exploration of Africa was gaining ground and the exploits of the first explorers who had ventured into African lands were praised from many quarters.

Giuseppe Maria Giulietti could not have imagined that, during one of his explorations in Dancalia, he would lose his life, slaughtered in 1881, along with the members of his expedition.