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. 2007: Death, in Modena, of the tenor Luciano Pavarotti (b. 1935). |
September 8th
1296: Work began on the Duomo in Florence. September 8th was chosen, as it is the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. 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. 1943: Italy surrendered to the Allied Forces. |
September 11th
1599: Execution, in Rome, of Beatrice Cenci (b. 1577), who was convicted of murdering her father, Count Francesco Cenci. She was beheaded after a lurid murder trial, which gave rise to an enduring legend about her. Beatrice Cenci was buried in the church of San Pietro in Montorio. Her tragic death inspired the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley to write The Cenci: A Tragedy in Five Acts (1819). |
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). |
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). |
September 29th
106 BCE: Birth of the general & politician Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (d. 48 BCE), known in English as Pompey the Great. 29 CE: Death of Livia Drusilla (b. 59 BCE), who, as the wife of Augustus, was empress from 27 BCE to 14 CE. |