Giuseppina Vadalà (; 1824 in

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

– 7 October 1914 in

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...

) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

Biography

Revolutionary activity

Giuseppina Vadalà fought together with her sister Paolina during the Siege of Messina, the revolt for

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...

that took place in

on September 5, 1848. Messinese by birth, she was the daughter of the patriot Pietro Vadalà and wife of Orazio Nicosia, another fighter who joined the revolt against the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. A branch descended from ...

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. Giuseppina had three children: Totò, Orazio, and Bianca. When her elder son Totò grew up, he decided to move to Naples, where he threw himself, heart and soul, into the cause of Italian unification. When her daughter Bianca was grown to womanhood, she married Giovanni Bovio, a noted philosopher and republican politician. The Italian government awarded Vadalà the

Silver Medal of Military Valor The Silver Medal of Military Valor () is an Italian medal for gallantry. Italian medals for valor were first instituted by Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia on 21 May 1793, with a gold medal, and, below it, a silver medal. These were intended for j ...

for her part in pro-unification battles during the years 1848–1849 and 1860.

Castroreale and Cristo Lungo

According to the historical account that describes the tradition of the Messinese religious feast of ''Cristo Lungo'' in

Castroreale Castroreale (Sicilian language, Sicilian: ''Castruriali'') is a village in the Metropolitan City of Messina, Sicily, southern Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). It has around 2,702 inhabitan ...

, Giuseppina Vadalà moved to that municipality in 1854, because her husband Orazio Nicosia got a job there. Soon after they had arrived in Castroreale, Vadalà became ill with

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

due to a severe

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...

in Messina where she had contracted it. All her strength was ebbing away to the point of death. It was then that her husband went onto the balcony of their house and knelt in prayer before the statue there, which bore the image of the crucified Jesus. Right after this occurrence Vadalà rallied and regained her health, and for the people of Castroreale, it was a miracle. Orazio Nicosia donated twenty gold ''

oncia In southern Italy, the ''oncia'' (plural ''oncie'' or ''once'') or ''onza'' (pl. ''onze'') was a unit of account during the Middle Ages and later a gold coin minted between 1732 and 1860. It was also minted in the southern Italian territories of t ...

''s for outfitting the statue. From that August 25 onward, the feast of the Crucified Jesus was consecrated in the town.

South America and death

Later on, Giuseppina Vadalà emigrated to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, to the country of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. She died on 7 October 1914, in

. The historical accounts lament the lack of interest in honouring her shown by the municipality of Messina at her death. It was limited to a mention of her in the city bulletin for the month of November. On the other hand, in South America Vadalà had a procession with great funerary honours celebrated by the Italian community residing in Chile and with the presence of politicians and diplomats of the two countries. The eulogy was given by one Professor Noè, recalling her virtue and acts of valour. She was laid to rest in the Chilean mausoleum of the Italian Society.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vadala, Giuseppina Italian people of the Italian unification Italian revolutionaries People from Messina People from Santiago, Chile Italian emigrants to Chile Women in 19th-century warfare 19th-century Italian women Recipients of the Silver Medal of Military Valor 1914 deaths 1824 births

Biography

Revolutionary activity

Castroreale and Cristo Lungo

South America and death

See also

Notes