On This Day in Italy
October
October 1st
86 BCE: Birth of the historian Gaius Sallustius Crispus (d. 34 BCE), known in English as Sallust.
October 2nd
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1538: Birth of St Charles Borromeo (d. 1584), a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation.
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St Charles Borromeo by Attilio Selva, Rome
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October 3rd
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1226: Death of St Francis of Assisi. St Francis was born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone in 1181 or 1182. He was canonised on July 16th 1228. His feast day is October 4th.
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Fresco of St Francis (c. 1229), Subiaco
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October 4th
1582: Last day of the Julian calendar. The next day the Gregorian calendar came into effect and ten days were omitted to make the adjustment from the old to the new. October 4th was followed by October 15th.
October 5th
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1712: Birth of the Venetian painter Francesco Guardi (d. 1793).
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Plaque to Francesco Guardi, Venice
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October 8th
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1094: Consecration of St Mark's Basilica, in Venice.
1551: Birth in Rome of the composer Giulio Caccini (d. 1618). |
St Mark's Basilica
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October 9th
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1469: Death of the Florentine painter Fra Filippo Lippi (b. 1406) in the Umbrian city of Spoleto. Lippi is buried in the city's Duomo.
1813: Birth in Le Roncole of the composer Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (d. 1901). |
Duomo, Spoleto
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October 10th
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1488: Death in Venice of the Florentine sculptor and painter Andrea di Michele di Francesco de' Cioni, better known as Andrea del Verrocchio (b. 1435).
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Bartolomeo Colleoni by Andrea del Verrocchio, Venice
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October 12th
1492: Death in Borgo Sansepolcro of the great Renaissance painter Piero della Francesca (b. circa 1412).
1935: Birth in Modena of the tenor Luciano Pavarotti (d. 2007).
1935: Birth in Modena of the tenor Luciano Pavarotti (d. 2007).
October 13th
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1822: Death of the Neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova (b. 1757). Canova is buried in the Tempio Canoviano (Temple of Canova), in Possagno.
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Temple of Canova, Possagno
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October 15th
70 BCE: Birth of the Latin poet Publius Vergilius Maro (d. 19 BCE), author of the Aeneid.
1608: Birth in Rome of the physicist and mathematician Evangelista Torricelli (d. 1647), inventor of the barometer.
1608: Birth in Rome of the physicist and mathematician Evangelista Torricelli (d. 1647), inventor of the barometer.
October 16th
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1417: Consecration of the Duomo in Milan by Pope Martin V (r. 1417-31).
1523: Death in Cortona of the painter Luca Signorelli (b. circa 1445). |
Cathedral of Milan
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October 18th
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1706: Birth of the Venetian composer Baldassare Galuppi (d. 1785). Galuppi was born on the island of Burano, hence his nickname il Buranello.
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Baldassare Galuppi, Burano
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October 19th
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1587: Death of Francesco de' Medici, the second Grand Duke of Tuscany (r. 1574-87).
1688: Birth of the Venetian sculptor Antonio Corradini (d. 1752). 1882: Birth in Reggio Calabria of the Futurist painter and sculptor Umberto Boccioni (d. 1916). |
Bust of Francesco I de' Medici, Florence
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October 20th
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1435: Birth of the Florentine sculptor Andrea della Robbia (d. 1525).
1438: Death in Siena of the sculptor Jacopo della Quercia (b. 1374 circa). 1587: Death of the Venetian noblewoman Bianca Cappello (b. 1548), who was first the mistress and then the wife of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. |
Bianca Cappello by Alessandro Allori
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October 21st
1556: Death in Venice of the poet, playwright and polemicist Pietro Aretino (b. 1492).
1581: Birth in Bologna of the painter Domenico Zampieri (d. 1641), who was better known as il Domenichino, on account of his short size.
1581: Birth in Bologna of the painter Domenico Zampieri (d. 1641), who was better known as il Domenichino, on account of his short size.
October 22nd
2022: Giorgia Meloni (b. 1977) became Prime Minister of Italy, the first woman to hold the post.
October 24th
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79 CE: Eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which destroyed the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
1725: Death in Naples of the composer Alessandro Scarlatti (b. 1660), father of Domenico Scarlatti. |
Alessandro Scarlatti
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October 25th
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1510: Death in Venice of the painter Giorgio da Castelfranco, better known as Giorgione (b. 1477).
1647: Death in Florence of the scientist Evangelista Torricelli (b. 1608), inventor of the barometer. 1913: Death of the English writer and eccentric Frederick William Rolfe, better known as Baron Corvo (b. 1860), who is buried in Venice. |
Tomb of the writer Frederick Rolfe, Venice
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October 26th
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1640: Death in Florence of the sculptor Pietro Tacca (b. 1577).
1685: Birth of the Neapolitan composer Domenico Scarlatti (d. 1757), son of Alessandro Scarlatti. 1890: Death in Florence of the writer Carlo Lorenzini (b. 1826), the creator of Pinocchio. Lorenzini wrote under the pen name Carlo Collodi. |
Portrait of Domenico Scarlatti by Velasco
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October 27th
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1597: Death of Alfonso II d'Este (b. 1533), the last Duke of Ferrara.
1782: Birth in Genoa of the violin virtuoso and composer Niccolò Paganini (d. 1840). |
Niccolo Paganini by Ingres
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October 28th
312: Emperor Constantine the Great (r. 306-337) defeated his rival and co-emperor Maxentius (r. 306-312) at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, a victory that would change the course of history. Maxentius died in battle.
1922: Mussolini's 'March on Rome'.
1922: Mussolini's 'March on Rome'.
October 29th
1922: King Victor Emmanuel III (r. 1900-46) invited Benito Mussolini to become Prime Minister.
October 30th
1459: Death in Florence of the scholar and humanist Poggio Bracciolini (b. 1380), who rediscovered many classical Latin manuscripts, mostly decaying and forgotten in German, Swiss and French monastic libraries.
1583: Death in Ferrara of the Neapolitan painter and architect Pirro Ligorio (b. 1512).
1583: Death in Ferrara of the Neapolitan painter and architect Pirro Ligorio (b. 1512).
October 31st
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1517: Death in Florence of the painter Bartolomeo da Pagholo (b. 1472), better known as Fra Bartolomeo.
1686: Birth in Siena of the castrato Francesco Bernardi (d. 1758), who was better known as il Senesino. 1768: Death in Florence of the violinist and composer Francesco Maria Veracini (b. 1690). 1858: Death in Milan of Karl Thomas Mozart (b. 1784). Unmarried and childless, the Mozart family line died with him. 1993: Death in Rome of the film director Federico Fellini (b. 1920). |
Plaque to Federico Fellini & Giulietta Masina
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