Gaetano Bresci

Lore & Background

His family fell into poverty after the Kingdom of Italy began importing cheap grain, and Bresci started working at age 11 as a weaver. He was radicalized by workplace exploitation and joined the Italian anarchist movement.

Reader's Guide

Gaetano Bresci's significance lies in his role as a regicide who directly challenged monarchical authority in Italy. The act was a prominent example of propaganda by deed, a tactic embraced by individualist anarchists. Although the Italian government suspected a conspiracy, no evidence of others' involvement was found. After his death, Bresci became a martyr within the Italian anarchist movement, which defended his act. Italian anarchists later erected a monument to Bresci in Carrara despite government attempts to block it. Bresci's life illustrates the radicalization of immigrant workers and the transnational nature of anarchist activism in the late 19th century.

Did You Know?

• Bresci saved the life of anarchist Errico Malatesta by disarming a man who had shot him.
• Bresci told a stranger before the assassination, 'Look at me carefully, because you will perhaps remember me for the rest of your life.'
• He was found dead of an apparent suicide on Santo Stefano Island within a year of his imprisonment.