On This Day in Italy
August
August 1st
1464: Death of the Florentine banker and politician Cosimo de' Medici (b. 1389).
1464: Death of the Florentine banker and politician Cosimo de' Medici (b. 1389).
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August 2nd
216 BCE: Battle of Cannae, in which Hannibal, the Carthaginian general, inflicted one of the worst ever defeats on the Roman army. 1921: Death, in Naples, of the tenor Enrico Caruso (b. 1873). 1980: A terrorist bomb exploded at Bologna's railway station killing 85 people and injuring 200. The attack was the deadliest in the period known as 'gli anni del piombo' ('the years of lead'), which lasted from the late 1960s to the late 1980s. |
Head of Hannibal
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August 3rd
1546: Death of the Florentine architect Antonio Sangallo the Younger (b. 1484). 1667: Death, in Rome, of the Baroque architect Francesco Borromini (b. 1599), who is buried in the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini. Borromini was honoured in 1652 by Pope Innocent X (r. 1644-55) and made a knight of Christ. |
Portrait of Borromini, San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Rome
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August 4th
1525: Death of the Florentine sculptor Andrea della Robbia (b. 1435). |
Alessandri Crucifixion by Andrea della Robbia
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August 6th
1221: Death, in Bologna, of St Dominic, founder of the Dominicans. Dominic de Guzmán was born in Spain on August 8th, 1170.
1619: Baptism of the Venetian composer and singer Barbara Strozzi (d. 1677).
1623: Election of Pope Urban VIII (r. 1623-44).
1221: Death, in Bologna, of St Dominic, founder of the Dominicans. Dominic de Guzmán was born in Spain on August 8th, 1170.
1619: Baptism of the Venetian composer and singer Barbara Strozzi (d. 1677).
1623: Election of Pope Urban VIII (r. 1623-44).
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August 7th
1616: Death, in Venice, of the architect and writer on architecture Vincenzo Scamozzi (b. 1548). 1960: Death, in Florence, of the shoe-designer Salvatore Ferragamo (b. 1898). |
Portrait of Vincenzo Scamozzi by Paolo Veronese
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August 9th
1173: Work began on what would become the world-famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.
1776: Birth, in Turin, of the scientist Amedeo Avogadro (d. 1856).
1173: Work began on what would become the world-famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.
1776: Birth, in Turin, of the scientist Amedeo Avogadro (d. 1856).
August 11th
1253: Death of St Clare of Assisi, one of the first followers of St Francis and the founder of the Order of Poor Clares.
1614: Death, in Rome, of the painter Lavinia Fontana (b. 1552).
1253: Death of St Clare of Assisi, one of the first followers of St Francis and the founder of the Order of Poor Clares.
1614: Death, in Rome, of the painter Lavinia Fontana (b. 1552).
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August 12th
1612: Death of the Venetian composer and organist Giovanni Gabrieli (b. 1557), who is buried in the church of Santo Stefano. 1633: Death, in Florence, of the composer Jacopo Peri (b. 1561), who is often credited with the invention of opera. 1752: Death, in Naples, of the Venetian sculptor Antonio Corradini (b. 1688). |
Modesty by Corradini, Cappella Sansevero, Naples
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August 13th
1608: Death, in Florence, of the Flemish sculptor Jean de Boulogne (b. 1529), who is better known as Giambologna. |
Abduction of a Sabine Woman by Giambologna
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August 14th
1464: Death, in Ancona, of Pope Pius II (r. 1458-64).
1988: Death, in Modena, of Enzo Ferrari (b. 1898).
1464: Death, in Ancona, of Pope Pius II (r. 1458-64).
1988: Death, in Modena, of Enzo Ferrari (b. 1898).
August 15th
1483: Pope Sixtus IV (r. 1471-84) consecrated the Cappella Sistina, dedicating the chapel to the Madonna of the Assumption.
1483: Pope Sixtus IV (r. 1471-84) consecrated the Cappella Sistina, dedicating the chapel to the Madonna of the Assumption.
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August 16th
1972: Discovery of two ancient Greek bronze statues (5th century BCE) in the seabed off Porto Forticchio di Riace Marina. The Riace Bronzes, as they are known, are on display in the Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria. |
A detail of one of the two Riace Bronzes
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August 17th
1686: Birth of the Neapolitan composer and teacher of singing Nicola Porpora (b. 1768). His most famous students were the castrati Farinelli and Caffarelli. 1740: Election of Pope Benedict XIV (r. 1740-58). 1750: Birth, in Legnago, of the composer Antonio Salieri (d. 1825). 1916: Death, in Verona, of the Futurist painter and sculptor Umberto Boccioni (b. 1882). |
Nicola Porpora
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August 18th
1559: Death of Pope Paul IV (r. 1555-59), who created the Jewish Ghetto in Rome. Paul IV is buried in the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. 1642: Death, in Bologna, of the Baroque painter Guido Reni (b. 1575). |
Funerary monument to Pope Paul IV
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August 19th
14 CE: Death, in Nola, of Augustus (b. 63 BCE), Rome's first and longest-reigning emperor. 1580: Death, in Maser, of the architect Andrea Palladio (b. 1508). |
Head of Augustus, Vatican Museums
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August 20th
1561: Birth, in Rome, of the composer Jacopo Peri (d. 1633), who is often credited with the invention of Opera. Peri is buried in the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. |
Tomb of Jacopo Peri, Santa Maria Novella
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August 21st
1609: Galileo demonstrates his first telescope to the Doge of Venice, Leonardo Donati (1606-12), at the top of the bell tower of St Mark’s Basilica. The telescope had a magnification of eight or nine. |
Plaque to Galileo, St Mark's Bell Tower, Venice
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August 24th
410: Sack of Rome by the Visigoths led by their king, Alaric. 1540: Death, in Casalmaggiore, of the painter Francesco Mazzola, better known as il Parmigianino (b. 1503). 1552: Birth, in Bologna, of the painter Lavinia Fontana (d. 1614). |
Self Portrait of Parmigianino
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August 25th
1691: Birth, in Florence, of the architect and mathematician Alessandro Galilei (d. 1737).
1960: Opening of the Summer Olympics in Rome.
1691: Birth, in Florence, of the architect and mathematician Alessandro Galilei (d. 1737).
1960: Opening of the Summer Olympics in Rome.
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August 27th
1576: Death, in Venice, of the painter Tiziano Vecellio, known in English as Titian, who is buried in the church of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. |
Tomb of Titian in Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice
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August 30th1585: Death of the Venetian composer Andrea Gabrieli (b. 1510).
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August 31st
12 CE: Birth, in Antium (Anzio), of Caligula (r. 37-41), the third emperor of Rome. 161: Birth of Commodus, son of the emperor Marcus Aurelius (r. 161-80) and Faustina. Commodus (r. 180-93) was the first Roman emperor to be born to the purple, in other words he was born during the actual reign of his father. 1870: Birth, in Chiaravalle, of Maria Montessori (d. 1952), the physician and educator. |
Commodus as Hercules, Capitoline Museums, Rome
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