On This Day in Italy
June
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June 1st
1846: Death of Pope Gregory XVI (r. 1831-46). |
Pope Gregory XVI by Rinaldo Rinaldi, San Paolo fuori le Mura
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June 2nd
1882: Death of Giuseppe Garibaldi (b. 1807). 1946: Birth of the Republic of Italy. |
Giuseppe Garibaldi
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June 3rd
1977: Death, in Rome, of the film director Roberto Rossellini (b. 1906). Rossellini was one of the most prominent directors of Italian neo-realist cinema.
1977: Death, in Rome, of the film director Roberto Rossellini (b. 1906). Rossellini was one of the most prominent directors of Italian neo-realist cinema.
June 4th
1944: Liberation of Rome by the allied forces.
1944: Liberation of Rome by the allied forces.
June 5th
1646: Birth, in Venice, of Elena Cornaro Piscopia (d. 1684), the first woman in the world to be awarded an academic degree.
1898: Birth of the shoe-designer Salvatore Ferragamo (d. 1960).
1646: Birth, in Venice, of Elena Cornaro Piscopia (d. 1684), the first woman in the world to be awarded an academic degree.
1898: Birth of the shoe-designer Salvatore Ferragamo (d. 1960).
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June 6th
1625: Birth, in Carrara, of the sculptor Domenico Guidi. 1861: Death, in Turin, of Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, the first prime minister of the Kingdom of Italy. Cavour, as he is generally known, was fifty years old when he died; he had been PM for less than three months! |
Statue of Cavour, Rome
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June 7th
1422: Birth of Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino (d. 1482), one of the most famous mercenaries of his age.
1422: Birth of Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino (d. 1482), one of the most famous mercenaries of his age.
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June 8th
1290: Death, in Florence, of Beatrice di Folco Portinari, Dante’s muse. 1625: Birth of the astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini (d. 1712). 1671: Birth of the Venetian composer Tomaso Albinoni (d. 1751). 1768: Death, in Trieste, of the German art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann (b. 1717). Wincklemann was murdered by Francesco Arcangeli (1737-68), an unemployed cook who was staying in the same hotel. |
Johann Joachim Winckelmann by Anton von Maron
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June 9th
68: Death of the Emperor Nero (r. 54-68). Nero was thirty-years old when he committed suicide. With his death, the Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an end. 1311: The Maestà, a monumental and ground-breaking altarpiece, the work of Duccio di Buoninsegna, was unveiled in the cathedral of Siena. |
Bust of Nero, Capitoline Museums, Rome
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June 10th
1654: Death, in Rome, of the sculptor Alessandro Algardi (b. 1595). 1940: Italy entered the Second World War. |
Pope Innocent X by Algardi, Capitoline Museums, Rome
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June 11th
1591: Death, in Rome, of the architect Martino Longhi the Elder (b. 1534), who designed, inter alia, the bell tower of Palazzo Senatorio. |
Bell tower, Palazzo Senatorio, Rome
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June 12th
The monarchy of the House of Savoy formally came to an end; Umberto II, Italy's fourth and final king, left the country and went into exile, having reigned for only 24 days!
The monarchy of the House of Savoy formally came to an end; Umberto II, Italy's fourth and final king, left the country and went into exile, having reigned for only 24 days!
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June 13th
1231: Death of St Antony of Padua (b. 1195). St Antony was born in Lisbon, but he died in Padua, where he is buried in the basilica that bears his name. |
Stained glass window, Sant' Antonio dei Portoghesi, Rome
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June 14th
1837: Death, in Naples, of the poet and philosopher Giacomo Leopardi (b. 1798).
1837: Death, in Naples, of the poet and philosopher Giacomo Leopardi (b. 1798).
June 15th
1479: Birth, in Florence, of Lisa Gherardini (d. 1542), the model for Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of the Mona Lisa.
2019: Death, in Rome, of the film director Franco Zeffirelli (b. 1923).
1479: Birth, in Florence, of Lisa Gherardini (d. 1542), the model for Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of the Mona Lisa.
2019: Death, in Rome, of the film director Franco Zeffirelli (b. 1923).
June 16th
1313: Birth, in Certaldo, of the writer Giovanni Bocaccio (d. 1375), who penned the Decameron.
1313: Birth, in Certaldo, of the writer Giovanni Bocaccio (d. 1375), who penned the Decameron.
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June 18th:
1511: Birth, in Settignano, of the sculptor and architect Bartolommeo Ammannati (d. 1592). 1964: Death, in Bologna, of the painter Giorgio Morandi (b. 1890). |
Portrait of Bartolommeo Ammannati by Santi di Tito
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June 19th:
1373: Birth of Francesco Foscari, the longest-serving Doge (r. 1423-57) in Venetian history. 1747: Death of the Venetian composer Alessandro Marcello (b. 1673). |
Doge Francesco Foscari by Lazzaro Bastiani
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June 21st
1527: Death of the Florentine diplomat, historian and political theorist, Niccolò Machiavelli (b. 1469), author of Il Principe (The Prince). 1547: Death of the Venetian painter Sebastiano Luciani, better known as Sebastiano del Piombo (b. 1485). |
Tomb of Niccolo Macchiavelli, Santa Croce, Florence
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June 22nd
1633: The Holy Office of the Catholic Church found Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) guilty of heresy and sentenced him to imprisonment. The following day, this was commuted to house arrest, which he remained under for the rest of his life. 1805: Birth, in Genoa, of Giuseppe Mazzini (d. 1872), politician and leading activist for the unification of Italy. |
Monument to Giuseppe Mazzini, Genoa
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June 23rd
79: Death of the Emperor Vespasian (r. 69-79), who commissioned the building of the world's most famous amphitheatre, namely the Colosseum. |
The Colosseum, Rome
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June 24th
1519: Death, in Ferrara, of Lucrezia Borgia (b. 1480), Duchess of Ferrara. Lucrezia was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI (r. 1492-1503) and Vannozza dei Cattanei.
1519: Death, in Ferrara, of Lucrezia Borgia (b. 1480), Duchess of Ferrara. Lucrezia was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI (r. 1492-1503) and Vannozza dei Cattanei.
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June 27th
1574: Death of the painter and writer Giorgio Vasari (b. 1511), whose book Le vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori (The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects), which was first published in 1550, led to him being hailed as the world's first art historian. |
Monument to Giorgio Vasari, Arezzo
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June 28th
1503: Birth of Giovanni della Casa (d. 1556), who wrote Il Galateo, a very influential guide to the rules of courtly etiquette, which was published two years after his death. 1607: Death, in Naples, of the architect and engineer Domenico Fontana (b. 1543), who, in 1586, was in charge of moving and re-erecting the ancient Egyptian obelisk in St Peter's Square. 1867: Birth of the Sicilian writer Luigi Pirandello (d. 1936), who, in 1934, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Pirandello's most famous work is, perhaps, the play Six Characters in Search of an Author. |
Obelisk, St Peter's Square, Rome
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June 29th
1798: Birth, in Recanati, of the poet and philosopher Giacomo Leopardi (d. 1837). 1861: Death of the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning (b. 1806), who is buried in the 'English' Cemetery, in Florence. |
Grave of Elizabeth Barrett Browning
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