July 1st 1618: Birth of the sculptor Cosimo Fancelli (d. 1688).
July 3rd 1756: Death of the architect and surveyor Giovanni Battista Nolli (b. 1701), best known for his ichnographic plan of Rome, the Pianta Grande di Roma.
July 6th 1758: Election of Pope Clement XIII (r. 1758-69).
July 7th 1573: Death of the architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, who designed the Chiesa del Gesù.
July 8th 1593: Birth of the painter Artemisia Gentileschi. 1623: Death of Pope Gregory XV (r. 1621-23). July 10th 1686: Death of the sculptor Ercole Ferrata (b. 1610).
July 12th 1691: Election of Pope Innocent XII (r. 1691-1700). 1730: Election of Pope Clement XII (r. 1730-40). July 13th 1234: Canonisation of St Dominic (1170-1221) by Pope Gregory IX (r. 1227-41).
July 14th 1555: Pope Paul IV (r. 1555-59) issued the bull Cum nimis absurdum, which led to the creation of the Jewish Ghetto.
July 15th 1609: Death of the painter Annibale Carracci (b. 1560). 1655: Death of the Roman architect Girolamo Rainaldi (b. 1570), who designed the Palazzo Pamphilj in Piazza Navona. 1823: The ancient Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura (Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls) was nearly destroyed by fire.
July 16th 1228: Canonisation of St Francis of Assisi (c. 1181-1226) by Pope Gregory IX (r. 1227-41).
July 18th 1726: Birth of the sculptor Innocenzo Spinazzi (d. 1798).
July 19th 64 CE: Start of the Great Fire of Rome (Incendium Magnum Romae), which raged for six days, destroying two-thirds of the city. 1943: The United States Air Force bombed the railway yards in the San Lorenzo district, damaging the ancient basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, and causing more than 1,500 civilian deaths.
July 20th 1903: Death of Pope Leo XIII (r. 1878-1903), one of only three popes to reign for 25 years or more. 1937: Death of Guglielmo Marconi (b. 1874), who is credited with the invention of radio. In 1909 Marconi won the Nobel Prize for Physics.
July 22nd 1676: Death of Pope Clement X (r. 1670-76).
July 23rd 1373: Death of St Bridget of Sweden.
July 25th 1492: Death of Pope Innocent VIII (r. 1484-92). 1943: Dismissal from political office and arrest of Benito Mussolini.
July 26th 1471: Death of Pope Paul II (r. 1464-71).
July 28th 1873: Death of the sculptor Rinaldo Rinaldi (b. 1793)
July 29th 1644: Death of Pope Urban VIII (r. 1623-44), a member of the Barberini family and a significant patron of the arts.
July 30th 2007: Death of the film director Michelangelo Antonioni (b. 1912).
July 31st 1556: Death of St Ignatius of Loyola (b. 1491), the founder of the Society of Jesus, better known as the Jesuits.