Walks in Rome (Est. 2001)
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    • Altars
    • Baldacchino
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    • Chapel of the Baptistery
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    • Crossing >
      • Confessio
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      • Countess Matilda of Canossa
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      • Pope Innocent VIII
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      • The Stuarts
    • Mosaics
    • Nave
    • Portico >
      • Door of Death
      • Door of Good and Evil
      • Central Door
      • Door of the Sacraments
      • Holy Door
    • Statue of St Peter
    • Statues of Founder Saints
    • Transept
    • Tribune
  • St Peter's Square
  • Vatican Museums
    • Borgia Apartment
    • Braccio Nuovo
    • Cappella Niccolina
    • Courtyard of the Pinecone
    • Gallery of the Candelabras
    • Gallery of the Maps
    • Gallery of the Tapestries
    • Greek Cross Hall
    • Picture Gallery
    • Pius-Clementine Museum
    • 'Raphael' Tapestries
    • Room of the Immaculate Conception
    • Sala di Costantino
    • Sala dei Chiaroscuri
    • Stanza della Segnatura
    • Stanza di Eliodoro
    • Stanza dell' Incendio
  • Sistine Chapel
    • South Wall
    • North Wall
    • East Wall
    • Ceiling
    • Last Judgement
  • Fountains
    • A Miscellany of Fountains
    • Trevi Fountain
    • Bernini's Fountains
    • Fontana della Barcaccia
    • Fontana della Peschiera
    • Fontana Sallustiana
    • Fountain in Piazza Colonna
    • Fountain in Piazza delle Cinque Scole
    • Fountain in Piazza dell' Aracoeli
    • Fountain in Piazza Nicosia
    • Fountain in Piazza di S.M. in Trastevere
    • Fountain of Moses
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountain of Ponte Sisto
    • Fountain of the Acqua Paola
    • Fountain of the Bees
    • Fountain of the Cannonball
    • Fountain of the Frogs
    • Fountain of the Four Rivers
    • Fountain of the Goddess Roma
    • Fountain of the Lateran Obelisk
    • Fountain of the Little Barrel
    • Fountain of the Mask
    • Fountain of the Moor
    • Fountain of the Naiads
    • Fountain of the Pantheon
    • Fountains of Piazza Farnese
    • Fountains of Piazza del Popolo
    • Fountain of Piazza Viminale
    • Fountain of Ponte Sisto
    • Fountain of the Porter
    • Fountain of the Seahorses
    • Fountain of the Triton
    • Fountain of the Tritons
    • Fountain of the Tureen
    • Fountain of the Turtles
    • Fountains of St Peter's Square
    • Fountains of the Two Seas
    • Fountains of Valle Giulia
    • Four Fountains
    • Rioni Fountains
    • Street Fountains
    • Venice Marries the Sea
  • On This Day in Rome
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  • Churches
    • Top Ten Churches
    • Churches by Location
    • Little-known Churches
    • Cosmatesque Pavements
    • Funerary Monuments
    • Chiesa del Gesù >
      • Cappella di Sant' Ignazio
    • Chiesa di Gesù e Maria
    • Chiesa Nuova
    • Domine Quo Vadis
    • Lateran Baptistery
    • Re Magi
    • S. Agata dei Goti
    • S. Agata in Trastevere
    • S. Agnese fuori le Mura
    • S. Agnese in Agone
    • S. Agostino
    • S. Alessio
    • S. Anastasia al Palatino
    • S. Andrea al Quirinale
    • S. Andrea della Valle
    • S. Andrea delle Fratte
    • S. Angelo in Pescheria
    • S. Anna dei Palafrenieri
    • S. Antonio dei Portoghesi
    • S. Apollinare
    • Ss. Apostoli
    • S. Balbina
    • S. Barbara dei Librai
    • S. Bartolomeo all' Isola
    • S. Benedetto in Piscinula
    • S. Bernardo alle Terme
    • S. Bibiana
    • S. Brigida
    • S. Carlo ai Catinari
    • S. Carlo al Corso
    • S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane
    • S. Caterina a Magnanopoli
    • S. Caterina dei Funari
    • S. Caterina da Siena
    • S. Cecilia in Trastevere
    • Ss. Celso e Giuliano
    • S. M. in Monticelli
    • Ss. Claudio e Andrea
    • S. Clemente >
      • Cappella Castiglione
    • Ss. Cosma e Damiano
    • S. Crisogono
    • S. Costanza
    • S. Croce in Gerusalemme >
      • Chapel of St Helen
    • Ss. Domenico e Sisto
    • S. Dorotea
    • S. Eusebio
    • S. Eustachio
    • S. Francesco a Ripa >
      • Cappella Altieri
      • Cappella Rospigliosi-Pallavicini
    • S. Francesca Romana
    • S. Giacomo degli Spagnoli
    • S. Giorgio in Velabro
    • S. Giovanni a Porta Latina
    • S. Giovanni Decollato
    • S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini
    • S. Giovanni della Pigna
    • Ss. Giovanni e Paolo
    • S. Giovanni in Laterano >
      • Cappella Corsini
      • Cappella Lancellotti
    • S. Girolamo dei Croati
    • S. Girolamo della Carità >
      • Cappella Antamoro
      • Cappella Spada
    • S. Giuliano dei Fiamminghi
    • S. Giuseppe dei Falegnami
    • S. Gregorio Magno
    • S. Ignazio di Loyola
    • S. Ivo alla Sapienza
    • S. Lorenzo fuori le Mura
    • S. Lorenzo in Damaso
    • S. Lorenzo in Lucina
    • S. Lorenzo in Miranda
    • S. Lucia del Gonfalone
    • S. Luigi dei Francesi >
      • Cappella Contarelli
    • Ss. Luca e Martina
    • Ss. Marcellino e Pietro
    • S. Marcello al Corso
    • S. Marco
    • S. Maria ad Martyres
    • S. Maria ai Monti
    • S. Maria Annunziata
    • S. Maria degli Angeli
    • S. Maria dei Miracoli
    • S. Maria della Concezione
    • S. Maria del Popolo >
      • Cappella Cerasi
      • Cappella Chigi
    • S. Maria dei Sette Dolori
    • S. Maria del Priorato
    • S. Maria della Consolazione
    • S. Maria della Pace >
      • Chigi Chapel
      • Cloister of Bramante
    • S. Maria della Scala
    • S. Maria della Vittoria >
      • Cappella Cornaro
    • S. Maria delle Grazie
    • S. Maria dell' Anima
    • S. Maria dell' Orazione e Morte
    • S. Maria dell' Orto
    • S. Maria di Loreto
    • S. Maria in Aracoeli >
      • Cappella Bufalini
    • S. Maria in Aquiro
    • S. Maria in Campitelli
    • S. Maria in Cosmedin
    • S. Maria in Domnica
    • S. Maria in Monserrato
    • S. Maria in Montesanto
    • S. Maria in Traspontina
    • S. Maria in Trastevere >
      • Cappella Altemps
    • S. Maria in Trivio
    • S. Maria in Via
    • S. Maria in Via Lata
    • S. Maria Maddalena
    • S. Maria Maggiore >
      • Baptistery
      • Cappella Paolina
      • Cappella Sistina
    • S. Maria sopra Minerva >
      • Cappella Carafa
      • Chapel of the Annunciation
    • S. Maria Scala Coeli
    • S. Martino ai Monti
    • Ss. Nereo e Achilleo
    • S. Nicola da Tolentino
    • S. Nicola dei Lorenesi
    • S. Nicola in Carcere
    • Ss. Nome di Maria
    • S. Onofrio al Gianicolo
    • S. Pancrazio
    • S. Pantaleo
    • S. Paolo alla Regola
    • S. Paolo alle Tre Fontane
    • S. Paolo fuori le Mura
    • S. Pasquale Baylon
    • S. Pietro in Montorio
    • S. Pietro in Vincoli
    • S. Prassede
    • S. Prisca
    • S. Pudenziana
    • Ss. Quattro Coronati
    • S. Rita da Cascia
    • S. Rocco
    • S. Saba
    • S. Sabina >
      • Chapel of St Catherine
      • Chapel of St Hyacinth
    • S. Salvatore in Lauro
    • S. Salvatore in Onda
    • S. Sebastiano fuori le Mura >
      • Cappella Albani
    • S. Silvestro in Capite
    • S. Sisto Vecchio
    • S. Spirito in Sassia
    • S. Stanislao dei Polacchi
    • S. Stefano Rotondo
    • Ss Stimmate di San Francesco
    • Ss. Sudario dei Piemontesi
    • S. Susanna
    • Ss. Trinità degli Spagnoli
    • Ss. Trinità dei Pellegrini
    • Ss. Trinità di Monti
    • Ss. Vincenzo e Anastasio
    • Ss. Vincenzo e Anastasio
    • S. Vitale
  • Cloisters
  • Palatine
  • Forum
    • Arch of Septimius Severus
    • Arch of Titus
    • Basilica of Maxentius
    • Curia Julia
    • Temple of Antoninus Pius
    • Temple of Castor and Pollux
    • Temple of Saturn
    • Temple of Venus and Rome
    • Temple of Vespasian and Titus
    • Temple of Vesta
  • Ancient Monuments
    • Aqueducts
    • Ara Pacis
    • Arch of Constantine
    • Arch of Drusus
    • Arch of Gallienus
    • Arch of Janus
    • Arch of the Money-Changers
    • Aurelian Walls
    • Baths of Caracalla
    • Baths of Diocletian
    • Castel Sant' Angelo
    • Catacombs of Domitilla
    • Circus Maxentius
    • Circus Maximus
    • Colosseum
    • Column of Marcus Aurelius
    • Column of Trajan
    • Forum of Augustus
    • Forum of Trajan
    • Mausoleum of Augustus
    • Nymphaeum
    • Pantheon
    • Ponte Fabricio
    • Ponte Milvio
    • Ponte Rotto
    • Ponte Sant' Angelo
    • Porta Maggiore
    • Porta San Paolo
    • Porta San Sebastiano
    • Portico of Octavia
    • Pyramid of Cestius
    • Temple of Hadrian
    • Temple of Hercules
    • Temple of Jupiter
    • Temple of Portunus
    • Theatre of Balbus
    • Theatre of Marcellus
    • Theatre of Pompey
    • Tomb of Caecilia Metella
    • Via Appia
  • Obelisks
    • 'Minerveo' Obelisk
    • 'Flaminio' Obelisk
    • 'Matteiano' Obelisk
    • 'Lateran' Obelisk
    • 'Dogali' Obelisk
    • 'Macuteo' Obelisk
    • 'Solare' Obelisk
    • 'Vatican' Obelisk
    • 'Agonalis' Obelisk
    • 'Sallustiano' Obelisk
    • 'Quirinale' Obelisk
    • 'Esquiline' Obelisk
    • 'Pinciano' Obelisk
    • 'Mediceo' Obelisk
    • 'Torlonia' Obelisks
    • 'Mussolini' Obelisk
    • 'Marconi' Obelisk
  • Mosaics
    • Sant' Agnese fuori le Mura
    • Santa Cecilia in Trastevere
    • San Clemente
    • Santa Costanza
    • Santa Francesca Romana
    • San Lorenzo fuori le Mura
    • San Marco
    • Santa Maria in Domnica
    • Santa Maria in Trastevere
    • Santa Maria Maggiore
    • Santa Prassede >
      • San Zenone
    • Santa Pudenziana
    • Santo Stefano Rotondo
    • San Teodoro
    • San Venanzio
    • Santi Cosma e Damiano
    • Santi Nereo e Achilleo
  • Palaces
    • Palazzo Barberini
    • Palazzo dei Conservatori
    • Palazzo del Quirinale
    • Palazzo della Cancelleria
    • Palazzo della Consulta
    • Palazzo delle Esposizioni
    • Palazzo Farnese
    • Palazzo Farnesina
    • Palazzo Laterano
    • Palazzo Madama
    • Palazzo Spada
    • Palazzo Venezia
    • Palazzo Zuccari
    • Villa Giulia
    • Villa Farnesina
    • Villa Medici
  • Galleries & Museums
    • Baths of Diocletian
    • Capitoline Museums
    • Etruscan Museum
    • Galleria Borghese
    • Galleria Colonna
    • Galleria Doria-Pamphilj
    • Palazzo Altemps
    • Palazzo Massimo
  • Piazzas
    • Campo de' Fiori
    • Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta
    • Piazza del Campidoglio
    • Piazza del Popolo
    • Piazza del Quirinale
    • Piazza della Repubblica
    • Piazza Farnese
    • Piazza Navona
    • Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II
  • Miscellaneous
    • A Calendar of Saints
    • A Literary Tour
    • Antico Caffè Greco
    • Babington's Tea Rooms
    • Barberini Bees
    • Borromini & the Baroque
    • Catacombs
    • Column of the Immaculate Conception
    • Domes
    • Equestrian Statues
    • EUR
    • Fasces
    • Flood Plaques
    • Galleria Sciarra
    • House of the Owls
    • Jewish Ghetto
    • Knights of Malta
    • Mithraism
    • Monumental Complex of S. Spirito in Sassia
    • Nolli Map of Rome
    • Ponte Sisto
    • Porta Pia
    • 'Protestant' Cemetery
    • Quartiere Coppedè
    • Scala Santa
    • Spanish Steps
    • Street Shrines
    • 'Talking' Palaces
    • 'Talking' Statues
    • Tiber Island
    • Views of Rome
    • Villa Borghese
    • Vittoriano
  • On This Day in Italy
    • January
    • February
    • March
    • April
    • May
    • June
    • July
    • August
    • September
    • October
    • November
    • December
  • The Bernini Trail
  • Baroque Sculptors
    • Alessandro Algardi
    • Pietro Bracci
    • Ercole Ferrata
    • Domenico Guidi
    • Pierre Le Gros
    • Giuseppe Mazzuoli
    • Antonio Raggi
    • Camillo Rusconi
    • Filippo della Valle
  • Florence
    • A Literary Tour
    • Anna Maria Luisa: Last of the Medici
    • Canons' Palace
    • Casa-Galleria Vichi
    • Column of Justice
    • Column of St Zenobius
    • Cosimo I de' Medici
    • Cosimo II de' Medici
    • Costanza Bonarelli
    • David With Fig Leaf
    • Elizabeth Barrett Browning
    • Equestrian Statue of Cosimo I de' Medici
    • Equestrian Statue of Ferdinando I de' Medici
    • Festina Lente
    • Flood Plaques
    • Fontana del Bacchino
    • Fontana dei Puttini
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountains of the Marine Monsters
    • Gian Gastone de' Medici
    • Girolamo Savonarola
    • Images of the Annunciation
    • Little Devil
    • Monument to Cellini
    • Palazzo Bartolini-Salimbeni
    • Palazzo Bianca Cappello
    • Palazzo Fenzi
    • Palazzo Viviani
    • Perseus and Medusa
    • Piazza Santa Maria Novella
    • Pope Leo XI
    • Porta della Mandorla
    • Rape of the Sabine Woman
    • Santa Maria Novella
    • Statue of Dante
    • Theft of the Century
    • Torre del Arnolfo
    • Twelve Good Men
    • Villa Gamberaia
    • Wheel of the Innocents
    • 'Wine Windows'
  • Lazio
    • Bomarzo: Parco dei Mostri
    • Viterbo: Santa Rosa
  • Tuscany
    • Arezzo: Giorgio Vasari
    • Lucca: Puccini
    • Pistoia: Ospedale del Ceppo
    • Siena: The Balzana
    • Siena: The Palio
  • Venice
    • 421: Foundation of Venice
    • Acqua Alta
    • Bartolomeo Colleoni
    • Barque of Dante
    • Caffè Florian
    • Daniele Manin
    • Flagpoles
    • Giustina Rossi
    • Gondolas
    • Harry's Bar
    • Henry James
    • House of Three Eyes
    • Island of Lace
    • King Victor Emmanuel II
    • Map of Venice
    • Martinmas
    • Master of the House
    • Palazzo Contarini Fasan
    • Ponte Borgoloco
    • Ponte Chiodo
    • Punta del Dogana
    • Scacciadiavoli
    • Shrine of St Lucia
    • Sior Antonio Rioba
    • The 'Book Shitter'
    • The Lion's Mouth
    • Tommaso Rangone
    • Torcello
    • Venus
    • 'Viennese Oranges'
    • Wellheads
    • Winged Lions

Walking Tours of Rome

On This Day in Italy


January


January 1st
153 BCE: For the first time, Roman consuls begin their year in office on January 1st. 

45 BCE: The Julian Calendar came into effect.
​

42 BCE: Roman Senate deified Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE).

1449: Birth of the Florentine banker and statesman Lorenzo de' Medici (d. 1492), also known as Lorenzo il Magnifico. 
​

1793: Death of the Venetian painter Francesco Guardi (b. 1712). 
20th century bronze statue of Julius Caesar, Via dei Fori Imperiali, Rome
Statue of Julius Caesar, Rome

January 2nd
​​553: Pope John II (r. 533-35) became the first pontiff to take a new name on election, regarding his birth name Mercurius to be an inappropriate name for a pope. 

​1557: Death in Florence of the Mannerist painter Jacopo Carucci (b. 1494), better known as il Pontormo. 
​
1953: Death in Milan of the fashion designer Guccio Gucci (b 1881). 
Self-portrait of Pontormo, Deposition fresco, Florence
Self-portrait of Pontormo, Florence

January 3rd
​106 BCE: ​Birth of Marcus Tullius Cicero (d. 43 BCE).  
​

​1521: Pope Leo X (r. 1513-21) issued the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem, which excommunicated Martin Luther. 
​

1705: Death of the Neapolitan painter Luca Giordano (b. 1634). 

1785: Death of the Venetian composer Baldassare Galuppi (b. 1706). Galuppi, who was born on the island of Burano, was also known as il Buranello.  ​
Statue of Cicero, Palazzo della Giustizia (Palace of Justice), Rome
Statue of Cicero, Palace of Justice, Rome

January 4th
1710: Birth in Jesi of the composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (d. 1736).
​

1975: Death in Rome of Carlo Levi (b. 1902), author of the book Cristo si è fermato a Eboli  (Christ Stopped at Eboli).
Portrait of the composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro
Pergolesi by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro

January 5th
1667: Birth of the Venetian composer Antonio Lotti (d. 1740). 

1740: Death of the Venetian composer Antonio Lotti (b. 1667). 


​1932: Birth in Alessandria of the academic and writer Umberto Eco (d. 2016), best known for his novel Il nome della rosa.  

January 6th
1537: Death in Rome of the painter and architect Baldassare Peruzzi (b. 1481), who is buried in the Pantheon. 
​

1695: Birth in Milan of the composer Giuseppe Sammartini (d. 1750). 
Tomb of Baldassare Peruzzi, Pantheon, Rome
Tomb of Baldassare Peruzzi, Pantheon

January 7th
1655: Death of Pope Innocent X (r. 1644-55), who is buried in the church of Sant' Agnese in Agone. 
Funerary monument to Pope Innocent X by G.B. Maini, Sant' Agnese in Agone, Rome
Funerary monument to Pope Innocent X

January 8th
1324: Death in Venice of Marco Polo (b. 1254).  

1337: Death in Florence of the painter and architect Giotto di Bondone. 
​
1642: Death in Florence of Galileo Galilei (b. 1564). 
Plaque to Marco Polo, Venice
Plaque to Marco Polo, Venice

January 9th
1522: Election of Pope Adrian VI (r. 1522-23). Adrian VI, who is buried in the Roman church of Santa Maria dell' Anima, was the last non-Italian pope until the election of John Paul II in 1978. 
​
1878: Death of Vittorio Emanuele II (r. 1861-78), the first king of Italy, who is buried in the Pantheon. 
Equestrian statue of King Vittorio Emanuele II (r. 1861-78), the Vittoriano, Rome
Equestrian statue of Vittorio Emanuele II

January 10th
49 BCE: Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon, the river which marked the boundary between Cisalpine Gaul and the rest of Italy. According to the historian Suetonius (fl. 40-69 CE), Caesar declared: 'Alea iacta est' ('The die is cast'), as he led his armies across the river, which lies just north of Rimini. 
Ancient marble statue of Julius Caesar, Palazzo Senatorio, Rome
Statue of Julius Caesar, Palazzo Senatorio, Rome

January 11th
​1494: Death of the Florentine painter Domenico Ghirlandaio (b. 1449). 

1503: Birth in Parma of the painter Francesco Mazzola (d. 1540), better known as il Parmigianino (the little one from Parma). 
​
1801: Death in Venice of the composer Domenico Cimarosa (b. 1749). 
Self-portrait of Domenico Ghirlandaio
Self-portrait of Domenico Ghirlandaio

January 12th
1673: Birth of the Venetian painter Rosalba Carriera (d. 1757). 

1674: Death in Rome of the composer Giacomo Carissimi (b. 1605). 


1856: Birth in Florence of the painter John Singer Sargent (d. 1925).​
Self-portrait by Rosalba Carriera, Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Self-portrait by Rosalba Carriera

January 13th
86 BCE: Death in Rome of the general and politician Gaius Marius (b. 157 BCE). 
Statue of Gaius Marius, Arpino
Statue of Gaius Marius, Arpino

January 14th
83 BCE: Birth in Rome of Marcus Antonius (d. 30 BCE), the general and politician, who is known in English as Mark Antony. 
​

1539: Death in Ferrara of the Mannerist painter Giovanni Antonio de' Sacchis, better known as Il Pordenone. 

1678: Death in Venice of the composer Francesco Cavalli (b. 1602).  
Marble bust of Mark Antony, Vatican Museums, Rome
Bust of Mark Antony, Vatican Museums

January 15th
1623: Death of Paolo Sarpi, the Venetian prelate, historian and statesman. 

1770: Death in Milan of the composer Giuseppe Battista Sammartini (b. circa 1700).
Statue of Paolo Sarpi, Venice
Statue of Paolo Sarpi, Venice

January 16th
27 BCE: The Senate granted Octavian the title Augustus, which, in effect, established him as Rome's first emperor.    
Augustus of Prima Porta, Vatican Museums, RomePicture
Statue of Augustus, Vatican Museums

January 17th
​1377:  The French Pope Gregory XI (r. 1370-78) made a formal entrance into Rome, thereby returning the seat of the papacy from Avignon to Rome. 

1624: Birth in Modena of the architect Guarino Guarini (d. 1683). 
Dome, Chapel of the Holy Shroud, Turin
Chapel of the Holy Shroud, Turin

January 18th
1987: Death in Rome of the Sicilian painter Renato Guttoso (b. 1911). 

January 20th
1920: Birth in Rimini of the film director Federico Fellini (d. 1993).

​1922: Death of Pope Benedict XV (r. 1914-22). 
Pope Benedict XV
Pope Benedict XV

January 22nd
​1506: The Pontifical Swiss Guard was founded by Pope Julius II (r. 1503-13). 
Two Swiss Guards, Vatican City, Rome
Two Swiss Guards

January 23rd
January 23rd
​
1881: Birth in Milan of the heiress, socialite and muse Luisa Casati (d. 1957), who was renowned for her outlandish dresses. For many years she lived at the Venetian Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Grand Canal.  
Luisa Casati, 1922
Luisa Casati, 1922

January 24th
41 BCE: Assassination of the Emperor Caligula (r. 37-41) by his Praetorian Guards. 

1302: Death in Pisa of the Florentine painter Cenni di Pepo, better known as Cimabue (b. 1240). 


1705: Birth of the celebrated castrato Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi (d. 1782), better known as Farinelli.  
portrait-of-farinelli-1734-by-bartolomeo-nazari-royal-college-of-music-london
Farinelli (1734) by Bartolomeo Nazari

January 25th
1708: Birth in Lucca of the painter Pompeo Batoni (d. 1787).  
Self portrait of Pompeo Batoni
Self portrait of Pompeo Batoni

January 26th
1582: Birth in Parma of the painter Giovanni Lanfranco (d. 1647), who painted the frescoes in the dome of the church of Sant' Andrea della Valle. 
Frescoes by Giovanni Lanfranco, dome of Sant' Andrea della Valle, Rome
Sant' Andrea della Valle, Rome

January 27th
1302: Dante was exiled from Florence. He was sentenced on charges of corruption and never saw the city again.

1731: Death in Florence of the instrument-maker Bartolomeo Cristofori (b. 1655), who is credited with inventing the piano. 

​1901: Death in Milan of the composer Giuseppe Verdi (b. 1813).  
Portrait of the composer Giuseppe Verdi by Boldini
Giuseppe Verdi by Giovanni Boldini

January 29th
1888: Death of the English poet and painter Edward Lear (b. 1812), who is buried in the Ligurian city of San Remo.   
​

1996: The Gran Teatro La Fenice, the elegant 19th century opera house in Venice, was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt and reopened six years later. ​
Edward Lear's Grave, Cemetery Foce, San Remo
Edward Lear's Grave, Cemetery Foce, San Remo

January 30th
58 BCE: Birth of Livia Drusilla Claudia (d. 29 CE), who, as the wife of Augustus, reigned as empress from 27 BCE to 14 CE.

1722: Birth of the Venetian painter Bernardo Bellotto (d. 1780), the nephew of the illustrious Canaletto.  
Bust of Livia Drusilla, Louvre
Bust of Livia Drusilla, Louvre

January 31st
 1783: Death in Naples of the castrato Gaetano Majorano (b. 1710), better known as Caffarelli. 
​

1788: Death in Rome of Charles Edward Stuart (b. 1720), better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, or 'the Young Pretender'. He is interred in St Peter's Basilica.  ​
Charles Edward Stuart (1775) by Hugh Douglas Hamilton
Charles Edward Stuart (1775)

<December   February>

walking Tours of Rome

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  • Fountains
    • A Miscellany of Fountains
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    • Fountain in Piazza Colonna
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    • Fountain in Piazza dell' Aracoeli
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    • Fountain of Moses
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    • Fountains of Piazza Farnese
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  • On This Day in Rome
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  • Churches
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    • Re Magi
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    • S. Clemente >
      • Cappella Castiglione
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      • Chapel of St Helen
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    • S. Francesco a Ripa >
      • Cappella Altieri
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    • S. Francesca Romana
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    • S. Giovanni in Laterano >
      • Cappella Corsini
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      • Cappella Antamoro
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    • S. Giuliano dei Fiamminghi
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    • S. Gregorio Magno
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    • S. Ivo alla Sapienza
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    • S. Lucia del Gonfalone
    • S. Luigi dei Francesi >
      • Cappella Contarelli
    • Ss. Luca e Martina
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    • S. Maria del Popolo >
      • Cappella Cerasi
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    • S. Maria dei Sette Dolori
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    • S. Maria della Pace >
      • Chigi Chapel
      • Cloister of Bramante
    • S. Maria della Scala
    • S. Maria della Vittoria >
      • Cappella Cornaro
    • S. Maria delle Grazie
    • S. Maria dell' Anima
    • S. Maria dell' Orazione e Morte
    • S. Maria dell' Orto
    • S. Maria di Loreto
    • S. Maria in Aracoeli >
      • Cappella Bufalini
    • S. Maria in Aquiro
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    • S. Maria in Cosmedin
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    • S. Maria in Trastevere >
      • Cappella Altemps
    • S. Maria in Trivio
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    • S. Maria Maddalena
    • S. Maria Maggiore >
      • Baptistery
      • Cappella Paolina
      • Cappella Sistina
    • S. Maria sopra Minerva >
      • Cappella Carafa
      • Chapel of the Annunciation
    • S. Maria Scala Coeli
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    • S. Nicola da Tolentino
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    • S. Nicola in Carcere
    • Ss. Nome di Maria
    • S. Onofrio al Gianicolo
    • S. Pancrazio
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    • S. Paolo alle Tre Fontane
    • S. Paolo fuori le Mura
    • S. Pasquale Baylon
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    • S. Saba
    • S. Sabina >
      • Chapel of St Catherine
      • Chapel of St Hyacinth
    • S. Salvatore in Lauro
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    • S. Sebastiano fuori le Mura >
      • Cappella Albani
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    • Ss. Vincenzo e Anastasio
    • S. Vitale
  • Cloisters
  • Palatine
  • Forum
    • Arch of Septimius Severus
    • Arch of Titus
    • Basilica of Maxentius
    • Curia Julia
    • Temple of Antoninus Pius
    • Temple of Castor and Pollux
    • Temple of Saturn
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    • Temple of Vespasian and Titus
    • Temple of Vesta
  • Ancient Monuments
    • Aqueducts
    • Ara Pacis
    • Arch of Constantine
    • Arch of Drusus
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    • Arch of the Money-Changers
    • Aurelian Walls
    • Baths of Caracalla
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    • Castel Sant' Angelo
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    • Circus Maxentius
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    • Colosseum
    • Column of Marcus Aurelius
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    • Forum of Augustus
    • Forum of Trajan
    • Mausoleum of Augustus
    • Nymphaeum
    • Pantheon
    • Ponte Fabricio
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    • Ponte Sant' Angelo
    • Porta Maggiore
    • Porta San Paolo
    • Porta San Sebastiano
    • Portico of Octavia
    • Pyramid of Cestius
    • Temple of Hadrian
    • Temple of Hercules
    • Temple of Jupiter
    • Temple of Portunus
    • Theatre of Balbus
    • Theatre of Marcellus
    • Theatre of Pompey
    • Tomb of Caecilia Metella
    • Via Appia
  • Obelisks
    • 'Minerveo' Obelisk
    • 'Flaminio' Obelisk
    • 'Matteiano' Obelisk
    • 'Lateran' Obelisk
    • 'Dogali' Obelisk
    • 'Macuteo' Obelisk
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    • 'Agonalis' Obelisk
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    • 'Quirinale' Obelisk
    • 'Esquiline' Obelisk
    • 'Pinciano' Obelisk
    • 'Mediceo' Obelisk
    • 'Torlonia' Obelisks
    • 'Mussolini' Obelisk
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  • Mosaics
    • Sant' Agnese fuori le Mura
    • Santa Cecilia in Trastevere
    • San Clemente
    • Santa Costanza
    • Santa Francesca Romana
    • San Lorenzo fuori le Mura
    • San Marco
    • Santa Maria in Domnica
    • Santa Maria in Trastevere
    • Santa Maria Maggiore
    • Santa Prassede >
      • San Zenone
    • Santa Pudenziana
    • Santo Stefano Rotondo
    • San Teodoro
    • San Venanzio
    • Santi Cosma e Damiano
    • Santi Nereo e Achilleo
  • Palaces
    • Palazzo Barberini
    • Palazzo dei Conservatori
    • Palazzo del Quirinale
    • Palazzo della Cancelleria
    • Palazzo della Consulta
    • Palazzo delle Esposizioni
    • Palazzo Farnese
    • Palazzo Farnesina
    • Palazzo Laterano
    • Palazzo Madama
    • Palazzo Spada
    • Palazzo Venezia
    • Palazzo Zuccari
    • Villa Giulia
    • Villa Farnesina
    • Villa Medici
  • Galleries & Museums
    • Baths of Diocletian
    • Capitoline Museums
    • Etruscan Museum
    • Galleria Borghese
    • Galleria Colonna
    • Galleria Doria-Pamphilj
    • Palazzo Altemps
    • Palazzo Massimo
  • Piazzas
    • Campo de' Fiori
    • Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta
    • Piazza del Campidoglio
    • Piazza del Popolo
    • Piazza del Quirinale
    • Piazza della Repubblica
    • Piazza Farnese
    • Piazza Navona
    • Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II
  • Miscellaneous
    • A Calendar of Saints
    • A Literary Tour
    • Antico Caffè Greco
    • Babington's Tea Rooms
    • Barberini Bees
    • Borromini & the Baroque
    • Catacombs
    • Column of the Immaculate Conception
    • Domes
    • Equestrian Statues
    • EUR
    • Fasces
    • Flood Plaques
    • Galleria Sciarra
    • House of the Owls
    • Jewish Ghetto
    • Knights of Malta
    • Mithraism
    • Monumental Complex of S. Spirito in Sassia
    • Nolli Map of Rome
    • Ponte Sisto
    • Porta Pia
    • 'Protestant' Cemetery
    • Quartiere Coppedè
    • Scala Santa
    • Spanish Steps
    • Street Shrines
    • 'Talking' Palaces
    • 'Talking' Statues
    • Tiber Island
    • Views of Rome
    • Villa Borghese
    • Vittoriano
  • On This Day in Italy
    • January
    • February
    • March
    • April
    • May
    • June
    • July
    • August
    • September
    • October
    • November
    • December
  • The Bernini Trail
  • Baroque Sculptors
    • Alessandro Algardi
    • Pietro Bracci
    • Ercole Ferrata
    • Domenico Guidi
    • Pierre Le Gros
    • Giuseppe Mazzuoli
    • Antonio Raggi
    • Camillo Rusconi
    • Filippo della Valle
  • Florence
    • A Literary Tour
    • Anna Maria Luisa: Last of the Medici
    • Canons' Palace
    • Casa-Galleria Vichi
    • Column of Justice
    • Column of St Zenobius
    • Cosimo I de' Medici
    • Cosimo II de' Medici
    • Costanza Bonarelli
    • David With Fig Leaf
    • Elizabeth Barrett Browning
    • Equestrian Statue of Cosimo I de' Medici
    • Equestrian Statue of Ferdinando I de' Medici
    • Festina Lente
    • Flood Plaques
    • Fontana del Bacchino
    • Fontana dei Puttini
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountains of the Marine Monsters
    • Gian Gastone de' Medici
    • Girolamo Savonarola
    • Images of the Annunciation
    • Little Devil
    • Monument to Cellini
    • Palazzo Bartolini-Salimbeni
    • Palazzo Bianca Cappello
    • Palazzo Fenzi
    • Palazzo Viviani
    • Perseus and Medusa
    • Piazza Santa Maria Novella
    • Pope Leo XI
    • Porta della Mandorla
    • Rape of the Sabine Woman
    • Santa Maria Novella
    • Statue of Dante
    • Theft of the Century
    • Torre del Arnolfo
    • Twelve Good Men
    • Villa Gamberaia
    • Wheel of the Innocents
    • 'Wine Windows'
  • Lazio
    • Bomarzo: Parco dei Mostri
    • Viterbo: Santa Rosa
  • Tuscany
    • Arezzo: Giorgio Vasari
    • Lucca: Puccini
    • Pistoia: Ospedale del Ceppo
    • Siena: The Balzana
    • Siena: The Palio
  • Venice
    • 421: Foundation of Venice
    • Acqua Alta
    • Bartolomeo Colleoni
    • Barque of Dante
    • Caffè Florian
    • Daniele Manin
    • Flagpoles
    • Giustina Rossi
    • Gondolas
    • Harry's Bar
    • Henry James
    • House of Three Eyes
    • Island of Lace
    • King Victor Emmanuel II
    • Map of Venice
    • Martinmas
    • Master of the House
    • Palazzo Contarini Fasan
    • Ponte Borgoloco
    • Ponte Chiodo
    • Punta del Dogana
    • Scacciadiavoli
    • Shrine of St Lucia
    • Sior Antonio Rioba
    • The 'Book Shitter'
    • The Lion's Mouth
    • Tommaso Rangone
    • Torcello
    • Venus
    • 'Viennese Oranges'
    • Wellheads
    • Winged Lions