Bernardo Caprotti of Giuseppe and contributions for Giuseppe Garibaldi

“That the first Bernardo regarded Austrian rule in Lombardy as a harsh foreign oppression is very likely, just as it is likely that he followed with sympathy the events that led to the liberation of his land. But the fiery and idealistic love of country that animated some groups of the bourgeoisie was not made for him, a solid and concrete Lombard: thus, in the imminence of the wars of independence, one of his main worries was the hindrance of trade that those more or less glorious enterprises brought with them.” (ROMANO, I Caprotti, p. 267).

Bernardo’s irredentist sympathies can be confirmed by the receipt of the Italian Unitarian Association to which, on 16 November 1859, he paid 100 lire to buy rifles proposed by Giuseppe Garibaldi for the ‘national cause’. The sum, however, while certainly not low, is prudent: only 100 lira. The money, the real money, is destined for business.

Of Bernardo we have no photos, unfortunately, but only the first graphic layout of the company he officially founded in 1840: ‘La Bernardo Caprotti di Giuseppe’.

Sources:
Albiate (MB), Villa San Valerio, Villa San Valerio Archives, Giuseppe Caprotti Factory Archives, Giuseppe Caprotti Archives (1837-1895).

Bibliography:
G. CAPROTTI, “Le Ossa dei Caprotti. Una storia italiana’, Milan, 2024/3.
R. ROMANO, “I Caprotti. L’avventura economica e umana di una dinastia industriale della Brianza”, Milan, 1980.
E. SÀITA, “I Caprotti: aspetti privati, dal Risorgimento alla Seconda Guerra Mondiale“, 08/11/2022.
EAD., “La ‘Guardia Nazionale di Albiate’. Documents from the Caprotti Archive, in “Sagra di San Fermo”, review of the event, 2006, pp. 18-19.