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April 2nd
2005: Death of John Paul II (r. 1978-2005), the second longest-reigning pope in history. April 3rd 1688: Death of the Roman sculptor Cosimo Fancelli (b. 1618), who was a pupil of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. April 4th 1566: Death of the painter Daniele Ricciarelli, better known as Daniele da Volterra (b. 1509). Shortly after Michelangelo's death, Volterra was hired to paint cloths over the naked genitals in the fresco of the Last Judgement, which earned him the nickname Il Braghettone (the breeches maker). April 6th 1520: Death of the great Renaissance painter Raphael (b. 1483), who is buried in the Pantheon. April 7th 1655: Election of Pope Alexander VII (r. 1655-67). April 9th 1555: Election of Pope Marcellus II, who only reigned for 22 days. Marcello Cervini degli Spanocchi was the last pope not to change his name on becoming pontiff. April 10th 1585: Death of Pope Gregory XIII (r. 1572-85), who is, perhaps, best remembered for revising the Julian calendar. The new Gregorian calendar came into effect in October 1582. April 11th 1514: Death of the architect Donato Bramante (b. 1444). April 12th 352: Death of Pope Julius I (r. 337-52), who is thought to have set December 25th as the official date of the birth of Jesus, thus creating Christmas. April 14th Birth of the architect Giuseppe Valadier (d. 1839). |
April 18th
1936: Death of the composer Ottorino Respighi (b. 1879). The tone poem Fontane di Roma is, perhaps, his most famous composition. April 19th 1689: Death of Christina, Queen of Sweden (b. 1626). 2005: Election of Pope Benedict XVI (r. 2005-13). April 21st 1922: Death of the singer Alessandro Moreschi (b. 1858), who is thought to have been the last castrato. Moreschi is buried in the Monumental Cemetery of Verano. April 24th 1585: Election of Pope Sixtus V (1585-90). April 25th 1472: Death of the Renaissance polymath Leon Battista Alberti (b. 1404). 1595: Death of the poet Tarquato Tasso (b. 1544), who penned the epic poem Gerusalemme liberata. April 26th 121 CE: Birth of Marcus Aurelius, the last of the 'Five Good Emperors'. April 27th 1937: Death of Antonio Gramsci (b. 1891), left-wing intellectual and author of the Prison Notebooks. Gramsci is buried in the Non-Catholic Cemetery, also known as the 'Protestant' or 'English' Cemetery. 2014: Canonisation of Pope John XXIII (r. 1958-63) and Pope John Paul II (r. 1978-2005) by Pope Francis (r. 2013-). April 29th 1380: Death of St Catherine of Siena (b. 1347), who is interred in the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. |