On This Day in Italy
February
February 1st
1673: Birth of the Venetian composer Alessandro Marcello (d. 1747).
1690: Birth of the Florentine violinist and composer Francesco Maria Veracini (d. 1768).
1673: Birth of the Venetian composer Alessandro Marcello (d. 1747).
1690: Birth of the Florentine violinist and composer Francesco Maria Veracini (d. 1768).
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February 2nd
1594: Death, in Rome, of the composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. 1831: Election of Pope Gregory XVI (r. 1831-46). |
Statue of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
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February 3rd
1609: Death of Ferdinando I de' Medici (b. 1549), the third Grand Duke of Tuscany. 1865: Florence became the new capital of the Kingdom of Italy. |
Ferdinando I de' Medici by S. Pulzone, Uffizi Gallery
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February 4th
1498: Death, in Rome, of the Florentine painter and sculptor Antonio del Pollaiuolo, who is buried in San Pietro in Vincoli. His younger brother, and fellow painter, Piero del Pollaiuolo (1443-96) is also buried in the church. 1787: Death, in Rome, of the painter Pompeo Batoni (b. 1708). |
Funerary monument to Antonio and Piero Pollaiuolo
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February 5th
1578: Death, in Bergamo, of the painter Giovanni Battista Moroni (b. 1520), one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century.
1578: Death, in Bergamo, of the painter Giovanni Battista Moroni (b. 1520), one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century.
February 6th
1515: Death, in Venice, of the printer and humanist Aldo Manuzio (b. 1449).
1577: Birth, in Rome, of the noblewoman Beatrice Cenci, who was executed on September 11th 1599 for the murder of her father Count Francesco Cenci. Beatrice, who has been the subject of numerous literary and musical works, was interred in the Roman church of San Pietro in Montorio.
1515: Death, in Venice, of the printer and humanist Aldo Manuzio (b. 1449).
1577: Birth, in Rome, of the noblewoman Beatrice Cenci, who was executed on September 11th 1599 for the murder of her father Count Francesco Cenci. Beatrice, who has been the subject of numerous literary and musical works, was interred in the Roman church of San Pietro in Montorio.
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February 7th
1550: Death of the Florentine sculptor Baccio Bandinelli (b. 1493). 1878: Death of Pius IX, the longest-reigning pope in history. Pius IX (r. 1846-78) is buried in the church of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura. |
Tomb of Pope Pius IX
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February 8th
1709: Death, in Bologna, of the violinist and composer Giuseppe Torelli (b. 1658).
1709: Death, in Bologna, of the violinist and composer Giuseppe Torelli (b. 1658).
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February 9th
1621: Election of Gregory XV (r. 1621-23), who was the last pope to be elected by acclamation. This consisted of all the electors present at a conclave unanimously proclaiming one of the candidates Supreme Pontiff without the formality of casting votes. |
Pope Gregory XV (1621) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
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February 10th
1482: Death of the Florentine sculptor Luca della Robbia (b. 1400), who is noted for his colourful, tin-glazed terracotta statuary, a technique that he invented. |
The Annunciation by Luca della Robbia
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February 11th
1929: The Lateran Treaty was signed in Rome, an agreement between the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See that recognised Vatican City State as a sovereign entity.
1929: The Lateran Treaty was signed in Rome, an agreement between the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy See that recognised Vatican City State as a sovereign entity.
February 12th
1923: Birth, in Florence, of the film director Franco Zeffirelli (d. 2019).
1923: Birth, in Florence, of the film director Franco Zeffirelli (d. 2019).
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February 13th
1571: Death, in Florence of the goldsmith, sculptor and writer Benvenuto Cellini (b. 1500). Cellini is interred in the church of Santissima Annunziata. 1682: Birth of the Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (d. 1754). 1883: Death, in Venice, of the German composer Richard Wagner (b. 1813). |
Plaque to Richard Wagner, Ca' Vendramin Calergi
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February 14th
1549: Death, in Siena, of the painter Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, better known as il Sodoma. 1602: Birth, in Crema, of the composer Francesco Cavalli (d. 1676). |
Self-portrait of il Sodoma
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February 15th
1564: Birth, in Pisa, of the scientist Galileo Galilei (d. 1643). 1775: Election of Pope Pius VI (r. 1775-79). |
Galileo by Justus Sustermans, Uffizi Gallery
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February 16th
1868: Death, in Rome, of the sculptor Adamo Tadolini (b. 1788). 1907: Death, in Bologna, of the poet Giosuè Carducci (b. 1835), the first Italian to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. |
King David by Adamo Tadolini
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February 17th
1652: Death, in Rome, of the composer Gregorio Allegri (b. 1582), who is buried in the Chiesa Nuova. 1653: Birth, in Fusignano, of the composer Arcangelo Corelli (d. 1713). |
Arcangelo Corelli (1697) by Hugh Howard
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February 18th
1455: Death, in Rome, of the Florentine painter Fra Angelico, who is buried in the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. 1564: Death, in Rome, of the sculptor, painter, architect and poet Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (b. 1475), better known simply as Michelangelo. 1682: Death of the Venetian architect Baldassare Longhena (b. 1598). 1898: Birth, in Modena, of Enzo Ferrari (d. 1988). |
Michelangelo (c. 1545) by Daniele da Volterra
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February 19th
1743: Birth, in Lucca, of the composer Luigi Boccherini (d. 1805). 2016: Death of the writer Umberto Eco (b. 1932), best known for his novel The Name of the Rose. |
Statue of Luigi Boccherini, Lucca
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February 20th
1431: Death of Pope Martin V (r. 1417-31), who is buried in San Giovanni in Laterano. 1816: Premiere, in Rome, of Rossini's opera Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville). 1993: Death of the car designer Ferruccio Lamborghini (b. 1916 ). |
Pope Martin V by Jacopino da Tradate, Duomo of Milan
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February 21st
1513: Death of Julius II (r. 1503-13), the pope who commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. |
Pope Julius II by Raphael
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February 23rd
1447: Death of Pope Eugenius IV (r. 1431-47). 1821: Death of the English poet John Keats (b. 1796), who is buried in the 'Protestant' Cemetery, in Rome. |
Plaque to John Keats, Rome
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February 24th
1607: Premiere, in Mantua, of the opera L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi. While not the first, L'Orfeo is the oldest opera that is still regularly performed.
1607: Premiere, in Mantua, of the opera L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi. While not the first, L'Orfeo is the oldest opera that is still regularly performed.
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February 25th
1682: Death, in Genoa, of the composer Alessandro Stradella (b. 1643). 1707: Birth of the Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni (d. 1793). 1873: Birth, in Naples, of the tenor Enrico Caruso (d. 1921). |
Statue of Carlo Goldoni
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February 26th
1815: Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from the island of Elba.
1815: Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from the island of Elba.
February 28th
2013: Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI (r. 2005-13).
2013: Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI (r. 2005-13).
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February 29th
1592: Death, in Mantua, of the composer Alessandro Striggio (1540). 1792: Birth, in Pesaro, of the composer Gioachino Rossini (d. 1868). |
Rossini (1865) by Carjat
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