October 2nd 1870: A plebiscite was held to decide whether Romans wanted their city to become part of the Kingdom of Italy. 40,785 male citizens voted in favour, while just 46 voted against.
October 6th 1689: Election of Pope Alexander VIII (r. 1689-91).
October 7th 1391: Canonisation of St Bridget of Sweden (c. 1303-1373) by Pope Boniface IX (r. 1389-1404). 1991: Death of the writer Natalia Ginzburg (b. 1916).
October 8th 1354: Assassination of Cola di Rienzo (b. 1313), self-styled 'tribune of the Roman people'. 1551: Birth of the composer Giulio Caccini (d. 1618).
October 9th 1695: Death of the architect Giovanni Antonio de’ Rossi (b. 1616). 1958: Death of Pope Pius XII (r. 1939-58). October 11th 1303: Death of Pope Boniface VIII (r. 1294-1303), who held, in 1300, the first Jubilee or Holy Year. 1962: Opening of the Second Vatican Council in St Peter's Basilica. October 13th 54 CE: Death of Emperor Claudius (r. 41-54). 1534: Election of Pope Paul III (r. 1534-49).
October 14th 2018: Canonisation of Pope Paul VI (r. 1963-78) by Pope Francis (r. 2013-) in St Peter's Square.
October 15th 1389: Death of Urban VI (r. 1378-89), the last non-cardinal to be elected pope. 1591: Death of Pope Gregory XIV (r. 1590-91). 1608: Birth of the scientist Evangelista Torricelli (d. 1647), inventor of the barometer. 1764: The English writer and historian Edward Gibbon (1737-94) claimed it was on this day ‘as he sat musing in the ruins of the Capitol’ that he was inspired to pen the book that would grant him literary immortality, namely The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
October 16th 1943: 1,023 Jews were rounded up by the Gestapo and sent, the next day, to Auschwitz. Only 16 returned. 1978: Election of John Paul II (r. 1978-2005), the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.
October 18th 1503: Death of Pope Pius III, who reigned for just 26 days.
October 21st 1765: Death of the architect and painter Giovanni Paolo Panini (b. 1691), who became famous for his views of Rome.
October 22nd 1849: Birth of the sculptor Giulio Tadolini (d. 1918). Both his father Scipione Tadolini and his grandfather Adamo Tadolini were sculptors. October 24th 51: Birth of Domitian, the son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors as emperor. October 26th 1871: Birth of the poet Carlo Alberto Camillo Mariano Salustri (d. 1850), who wrote under the name of Trilussa (an anagram of his surname). Trilussa is best known for his poems in Romanesco, the dialect of Rome.
October 28th 312: Emperor Constantine the Great (r. 306-337) defeated his rival and co-emperor Maxentius (r. 306-312) at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, a victory that would change the course of history. Maxentius died in battle. 1922: Mussolini's 'March on Rome'. 1958: Election of Pope John XXIII (r. 1958-63).
October 29th 1591: Election of Pope Innocent IX, who only reigned for 62 days. 1922: King Victor Emmanuel III (r. 1900-46) invited Benito Mussolini to become Prime Minister.
October 31st 1503: Election of Pope Julius II (r. 1503-13). 1993: Death of the film director Federico Fellini (b. 1920), who lived for years on Via Margutta.