March 1st 1643: Death of the composer Girolamo Frescobaldi (b. 1583), who is buried in the church of Santi Apostoli.
March 2nd 1939: Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli became the last Roman to be elected pope, taking the name Pius XII (r. 1939-58).
March 3rd 1431: Election of Pope Eugenius IV (r. 1431-47). 1605: Death of Pope Clement VIII (r. 1592-1605).
March 6th 1447: Election of Pope Nicholas V (r. 1447-55). 1725: Birth of Henry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal Duke of York, the last legitimate descendant of the deposed King James II of Great Britain.
March 7th 161: Death of Emperor Antoninus Pius (r. 138-161).
March 9th 1513: Election of Pope Leo X (r. 1513-21), the first member of the Medici family to become pontiff.
March 11th 222: Assassination of Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (r. 218-222), better known as Elagabalus, aged 18. March 12th 604: Death of Pope Gregory the Great (r. 590-604). 1622: Pope Gregory XV (r. 1621-23) created four saints: St Ignatius Loyola, St Teresa d'Avila, St Francis Xavier & St Philip Neri. March 13th 2013: Election of Pope Francis, the first Jesuit, and the first South American, to become pontiff.
March 15th 44 BCE: Assassination of Julius Caesar, which took place in the Curia Pompeia, part of the Theatre of Pompey. 1673: Death of the neapolitan painter Salvatore Rosa (b. 1615). March 16th 1978: Aldo Moro, a former prime minister, was kidnapped by the Brigate Rosse (Red Brigades).
March 17th 1976: Death of the film director Luchino Visconti (b. 1906), whose credits include The Leopard and Death in Venice. March 18th 37 CE: Senate recognised Caligula (r. 37-41) as emperor following the death of Tiberius (r. 14-37). 1602: Birth of the architect Martino Longhi the Younger (d. 1660).
March 19th 1721: Death of Pope Clement XI (r. 1700-21).
March 22nd 1885: The foundation stone of the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II was laid in the presence of his son and successor Umberto I (r. 1878-1900).
March 23rd 1555: Death of Pope Julius III (r. 1550-55).
March 24th 1378: Death of Gregory XI (r. 1370 -78), the French pope who returned the papacy from Avignon to Rome. 1455: Death of Pope Nicholas V (r. 1447-55). 1944: 335 Italians were executed by the Nazis in revenge for the deaths of 33 German soldiers, who were killed the previous day by a group of partisans.
March 25th 1845: Birth of the sculptor Ettore Ferrari (d. 1929). 1957: The Treaty of Rome was signed, creating the European Economic Community.
March 27th 1378: Death of Gregory XI (r. 1370-78), the last French pope.
March 28th 1701: Death of the sculptor Domenico Guidi (b. 1625). March 31st 1829: Election of Pope Pius VIII (r. 1829-30).