Monumento ai Cinque Martiri

In Locri's villa comunale, a monument commemorates five young men of the Locride shot by Bourbon troops at Gerace in 1847. Erected in 1872, the memorial gives the victims of the uprising a lasting place in the civic landscape.

Why it matters

The Cinque Martiri became symbols of the early struggles against Bourbon rule in Calabria. Locri's monument honours Domenico Salvadori, Pietro Mazzone, Michele Bello, Gaetano Ruffo and Rocco Verduci, executed at Gerace on 2 October 1847.

What to notice

The memorial stands in the public garden by Piazza dei Martiri, whose name recalls the five men. Its inscriptions and sculptural group express the Risorgimento ideals of liberty and sacrifice. It is distinct from the separate monument to the First World War dead near the Palazzo di Città. The execution site at Gerace is marked by another monument, erected in 1931.

Context and history

The uprising in the Gerace district in 1847 was among the early insurrectionary movements in Calabria against the Bourbon kingdom. Its repression led to the execution of five young patriots. In 1872, after Italian unification, the towns of the Locride contributed to the memorial in the garden of what is now Locri's villa comunale. The town adopted the ancient name Locri in 1934.