Bestselling author of Italian Ways Tim Parks follows the hair-raising journey of Italian
revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi 250-miles on foot from Rome to Ravenna to explore Italy's
past and present. In the summer of 1849 Giuseppe Garibaldi Italy's legendary revolutionary
hero was finally forced to abandon his defence of Rome. He and his men had held the besieged
city for three long months but now it was clear that only surrender would prevent slaughter
and destruction at the hands of a much superior French army. Against all odds Garibaldi was
determined to turn defeat into moral victory. On the evening of 2 July riding alongside his
pregnant wife Anita he led 4 000 hastily assembled volunteers out of the city to continue the
struggle for national independence in the countryside. Hounded by both French and Austrian
armies the garibaldini marched hundreds of miles through Umbria and Tuscany then across the
Appenines Italy's mountainous spine until after thirty-two exhausting days of skirmishes and
adventures 250 survivors boarded fishing boats on the Adriatic coast in an ill-fated attempt
to reach the independent Republic of Venice. It would be ten years and much world-wandering
before Garibaldi would astonish the world when his revolutionary campaign in Sicily became the
catalyst to the unification of Italy. This is the lesser-known story brought vividly to life
by bestselling author Tim Parks who in the blazing summer of 2019 together with his partner
Eleonora followed Garibaldi and Anita's arduous journey. The Hero's Way is a fascinating
portrait of Italy past and present and a celebration of determination creativity desperate
courage and profound belief.
