On This Day in Italy
September
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September 1st
1529: Birth of the painter Taddeo Zuccari (d. 1566). |
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September 3rd
1602: Death, in Rome, of the sculptor and architect Giacomo della Porta (b. 1532). |
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September 4th
476: Romulus Augustus (c. 465 - after 511), nicknamed Augustulus, the last Roman Emperor of the west, was overthrown by Odoacer and sent into exile. He had reigned for little under a year. |
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September 6th
1475: Birth, in Bologna, of the architect Sebastiano Serlio (d. 1554). A three-part window, which is made up of a large, arched central light flanked by two narrower and shorter rectangular lights, is often known as a Serlian window. |
A Serlian window, Palazzo Pamphilj, Rome
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September 8th
1504: Michelangelo's statue of David was unveiled in Florence's Piazza della Signoria. The statue remained in the piazza until 1873, when it was moved to the Galleria dell' Accademia. |
David, Galleria dell' Accademia, Florence
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September 9th
1737: Birth, in Bologna, of the scientist Luigi Galvani (d. 1798), who, in 1780, discovered that the muscles of dead frogs' legs twitched when struck by an electrical spark. |
Luigi Galvani
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September 10th
1482: Death of the condottiero Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino (b. 1422), one of the most famous mercenaries of his age. |
Federico da Montefeltro by Piero della Francesca
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September 11th
1599: Execution, in Rome, of Beatrice Cenci (b. 1577), who was convicted of the crime of parricide. |
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September 13th
81 CE: Death of Emperor Titus (r. 79-81). During his reign, Titus completed the Colosseum, which had been begun by his father, the emperor Vespasian (r. 69-79). 1506: Death, in Mantua, of the painter Andrea Mantegna (b. 1431). |
Bust of Mantegna by Gian Marco Cavalli
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September 14th
1322: Death of the Florentine poet Dante Aligheri (b. 1265). The author of the Commedia Divina (Divine Comedy) died in Ravenna, where he is buried. 1523: Death of Pope Adrian VI (r.1522-23), the last non-Italian to be elected pontiff for almost 500 years. He is buried in the church of Santa Maria dell' Anima. 1760: Birth, in Florence, of the composer Luigi Cherubini (d. 1842). |
Tomb of Dante Aligheri, Ravenna
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September 15th
1254: Birth of the Venetian merchant and explorer Marco Polo (d. 1324). |
Plaque to Marco Polo, Venice
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September 16th
1782: Death, in Bologna, of the celebrated castrato Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi (b. 1705), better known as Farinelli. |
Farinelli (1734) by Bartolomeo Nazari
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September 17th
1771: Death of the Scottish writer Tobias Smollett (b. 1721), who is buried in the Tuscan city of Livorno. |
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September 18th
96 CE: Assassination of the Emperor Domitian (r. 81-96) in his palace on the Palatine hill, in Rome. 1587: Birth, in Florence, of the composer and singer Francesca Caccini (d. 1640). Known locally as la Cecchina, she was the daughter of the composer Giulio Caccini (1551-1618). |
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September 20th
1870: Capture of Rome. Italian troops occupied the city, leading to the end of Papal rule and the eventual incorporation of Rome into the Kingdom of Italy. |
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September 21st
19 BCE: Death of the poet Publius Vergilius Maro (b. 70 BCE), known in English as Virgil, author of the epic poem The Aeneid. |
Monument to Virgil, Mantua
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September 23rd
63 BCE: Birth of Gaius Octavian, who as Augustus, would become Rome's first emperor (r. 27 BCE - 14 CE). |
Augustus, Vatican Museums
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September 25th
1599: Birth of the Baroque architect Francesco Borromini (d. 1667). 1534: Death of Pope Clement VII (r. 1523-34). |
Pope Clement VII by Sebastiano del Piombo
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September 29th
106 BCE: Birth of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (d. 48 BCE), known in English as Pompey the Great. Pompey was a successful general and politician, who became the main rival of Julius Caesar. 29 CE: Death of Livia Drusilla (b. 59 BCE), who, as the wife of Augustus, was empress from 27 BCE to 14 CE. |