10 Facts About Rose Montmasson

Rose Montmasson, known as Rosalia Montmasson, was an Italian patriot.

Rose Montmasson was born in Haute-Savoie, then part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, in 1823.

Rose Montmasson worked in the fields with her family until the age of 15, when the death of her mother prompted her to find work abroad.

The couple's early relationship was strained by Crispi still being attached to a former lover and having been married once before, but nevertheless Rose Montmasson joined Crispi when he was exiled from Turin and moved to Malta.

In 1860, Rose Montmasson travelled to Sicily in preparation for the arrival of Rosolino Pilo and Giuseppe Garibaldi, who planned to start an uprising against the Bourbon-ruled Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Rose Montmasson moved throughout the countryside, gathering support for the imminent uprising.

Rose Montmasson then returned to Genoa in time for the Expedition of the Thousand, thus becoming the only woman to openly join the expedition's forces.

However, by the 1870s Rose Montmasson's marriage had become increasingly strained, and in 1874 she moved out of the family household and ended her relationship with Crispi a year later.

Rose Montmasson lived a quiet life after her separation from Crispi, "surrounded by cats and dedicated to embroidery" according to one source.

Rose Montmasson suffered a stroke in August 1904 and died in Rome.