On This Day in Italy
December
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December 1st
1455: Death of the Florentine sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti (b. 1378). Ghiberti is, perhaps, best known for the two sets of bronze doors that he created for the Baptistery in Florence. 1521: Death of Pope Leo X (r. 1513-21). |
Pope Leo X by Raphael, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
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December 2nd
1946: Birth, in Reggio Calabria, of the fashion designer Gianni Versace (d. 1997).
1946: Birth, in Reggio Calabria, of the fashion designer Gianni Versace (d. 1997).
December 3rd
1596: Birth, in Cremona, of Nicolò Amati (d. 1684), who is acknowledged as the greatest of the Amati family of violin makers.
1596: Birth, in Cremona, of Nicolò Amati (d. 1684), who is acknowledged as the greatest of the Amati family of violin makers.
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December 4th
1154: Nicholas Breakspear becomes Pope Adrian IV (r. 1154-59), the only Englishman ever to become pontiff. 1798: Death, in Bologna, of the scientist Luigi Galvani (b. 1737), who, in 1780, discovered that the muscles of dead frogs' legs twitched when struck by an electrical spark. |
Luigi Galvani
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December 5th
1687: Birth, in Lucca, of the composer Francesco Geminiani (d. 1741). |
Statue of Francesco Geminiani, Lucca
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December 6th
1485: Birth of the courtier and diplomat Baldassare Castiglione (d. 1529), who penned Il Cortegiano (The Courtier), a hugely influential book that deals with the etiquette and manners of the ideal courtier. |
Baldassare Castiglione by Raphael
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December 7th
43 BCE: Death of the lawyer, statesman and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero (b. 106 BCE), who was beheaded on the orders of Mark Antony. Cicero's right hand was also cut off and nailed, along with his head, on the speakers' platform in the Forum Romanum. 1598: Birth, in Naples, of the sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini (d. 1680). |
Bust of Cicero, Capitoline Museums, Rome
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December 8th
65 BCE: Birth, in Venosa, of the poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus (d. 8 BCE), known in English as Horace. 1854: Pope Pius IX (r. 1846-78) proclaimed the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, which declared Mary to be free from the stain of original sin. |
Column of the Immaculate Conception (1890-1900), Rome
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December 9th
1565: Death of Pope Pius IV (r. 1559-65).
1669: Death of Pope Clement IX (r. 1667-69).
1565: Death of Pope Pius IV (r. 1559-65).
1669: Death of Pope Clement IX (r. 1667-69).
December 10th
1475: Death, in Florence, of the Renaissance painter Paolo di Dono (b. 1395), better known as Paolo Uccello.
1618: Death, in Florence, of the composer Giulio Caccini (b. 1551).
1475: Death, in Florence, of the Renaissance painter Paolo di Dono (b. 1395), better known as Paolo Uccello.
1618: Death, in Florence, of the composer Giulio Caccini (b. 1551).
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December 11th
1513: Death, in Siena, of the Perugian painter Bernardino di Betto Betti (b. 1452), better known as il Pinturicchio (the little painter). 1913: Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the Mona Lisa, which was stolen from the Louvre on August 21st 1911, was recovered in a hotel room in Florence. |
Self-portrait of Pinturicchio
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December 12th
1793: Death, in Naples, of the sculptor Giuseppe Sanmartino (b. 1720). 1889: Death of the English poet Robert Browning (b. 1812). Browning died while he was staying at Ca' Rezzonico, in Venice, the home of his son Pen and his wife, the American heiress Fannie Coddington. |
Plaque to Robert Browning, Ca' Rezzonico, Venice
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December 13th
1466: Death, in Florence, of the sculptor Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, better known as Donatello (b. 1386). |
David by Donatello, Museo del Bargello, Florence
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December 14th
867: Election of Adrian II (r. 867-72), the last married pope, who died exactly five years later.
867: Election of Adrian II (r. 867-72), the last married pope, who died exactly five years later.
December 15th
37 CE: Birth of the Emperor Nero (r. 54-68).
37 CE: Birth of the Emperor Nero (r. 54-68).
December 16th
1631: Mount Vesuvius erupted killing between 3,000 and 6,000 people, making it the worst volcanic disaster in the Mediterranean in the past 1800 years.
1631: Mount Vesuvius erupted killing between 3,000 and 6,000 people, making it the worst volcanic disaster in the Mediterranean in the past 1800 years.
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December 17th
1749: Birth, in Aversa, of the composer Domenico Cimarosa (d. 1801). |
Plaque to Cimarosa, Palazzo Duodo, Venice
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December 18th
1737: Death, in Cremona, of the luthier Antonio Stradivari (b. 1644).
1737: Death, in Cremona, of the luthier Antonio Stradivari (b. 1644).
December 19th
1742: Death, in Genoa, of the painter and sculptor Domenico Parodi (b. 1672).
1742: Death, in Genoa, of the painter and sculptor Domenico Parodi (b. 1672).
December 20th
69 CE: Death of the Roman Emperor Vitellius, who only reigned for eight months.
69 CE: Death of the Roman Emperor Vitellius, who only reigned for eight months.
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December 21st
1401: Birth of the painter Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone. Masaccio, as he was better known, died in Rome in 1428. 1737: Death, in Rome, of the Florentine architect and mathematician Alessandro Galilei (b. 1691). 1788: Birth, in Bologna, of the sculptor Adamo Tadolini (d. 1868). |
Self-portrait of Masaccio
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December 22nd
1858: Birth, in Lucca, of the composer Giacomo Puccini (d. 1924). |
Giacomo Puccini by Vito Tongiani, Lucca
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December 23rd
1896: Birth of the Sicilian writer, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, who wrote Il Gattopardo (The Leopard). The last Prince of Lampedusa died in 1957, and the book, his only novel, was published a year later. 1978: Death of the American art collector and socialite Marguerite 'Peggy' Guggenheim (b. 1898), who lived for the last three decades of her life in the Venetian Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Grand Canal. The palazzo is now home to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. |
Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
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December 25th
800: Coronation, in St Peter's Basilica, of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor.
800: Coronation, in St Peter's Basilica, of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor.
December 26th
1559: Election of Pope Pius IV (r. 1559-65).
1911: Birth of the Sicilian painter Renato Guttoso (d. 1987).
1559: Election of Pope Pius IV (r. 1559-65).
1911: Birth of the Sicilian painter Renato Guttoso (d. 1987).
December 28th
1908: An earthquake devastated the cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria, killing an estimated 200,000 people.
1908: An earthquake devastated the cities of Messina and Reggio Calabria, killing an estimated 200,000 people.
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December 29th
1720: Opening of the Caffe Florian, in Piazza San Marco, Venice. It was originally called Alla Venezia Trionfante, but soon came to be known as Florian’s, after the owner Floriano Francesconi. |
Caffe Florian, Venice
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December 30th
39 CE: Birth, in Rome, of the emperor Titus Flavius Vespasianus (r. 79-81). 2012: Death, in Rome, of the scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini (b. 1909), who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1986. |
Bust of Titus, Galleria Borghese, Rome
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December 31st
335: Death of Pope Sylvester I (r. 314-35). In Italy, New Year's Eve is known as the Festa di San Silvestro, in honour of Pope Sylvester I. 2022: Death, in Rome, of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Benedict XVI, who was 95, was Pope from 2005 to 2013. |
Coat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI (r. 2005-13)
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