Mentana


Mentana

(māntä`nä), town (1991 pop. 30,360), in Latium, central Italy. On Nov. 3, 1867, Garibaldi was defeated there by French and papal troops during his unsuccessful campaign to capture nearby Rome.

Mentana

 

a city in Italy, north of Rome.

On Nov. 3, 1867, a battle was fought near Mentana between volunteers under the command of G. Garibaldi and papal troops during Garibaldi’s second campaign against Rome. The purpose of the campaign was to abolish the secular power of the pope and reunite the Roman territory with the rest of Italy. After fierce fighting, Garibaldi’s troops were defeated, because the papal forces were supported by two French battalions armed with the new rapid-fire chassepots.