Why was the Battle of Milazzo important to Giuseppe Garibaldi’s conquest of Sicily?

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Portrait of Giuseppe Garibaldi wearing a beret and cloak, with a full beard and mustache, looking toward the camera. — Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Garibaldi, c. 1860–82.

The Battle of Milazzo, which took place on July 20, 1860, was a pivotal military engagement for Giuseppe Garibaldi during his Expedition of the Thousand.

Its primary importance lay in the fact that the victory allowed Garibaldi to secure control over the entire island of Sicily, with the sole exception of the city of Messina. By defeating the Bourbon forces of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies at this location, Garibaldi effectively neutralized the remaining significant resistance on the island, clearing the path for his subsequent campaign to cross the Strait of Messina and invade the Italian mainland.12