September 1st 1566: Death of the painter Taddeo Zuccari (b. 1529), who passed away on his birthday.
September 2nd 1633: Death of Cardinal Scipione Borghese (b. 1576), the nephew of Pope Paul V (r. 1605-21). The wealthy cardinal, who was an important patron of Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Caravaggio, amassed a magnificent art collection, which forms the nucleus of the Galleria Borghese.
September 3rd 1914: Election of Pope Benedict XV (r. 1914-22).
September 4th 1667: Death of the Maltese sculptor Melchiorre Cafà (b. 1636). September 6th 1629: Death of the Maltese archaeologist Antonio Bosio (b. 1575), who was described by a later archaeologist (Giovanni Battista de Rossi, 1822-94) as the ‘Cristoforo Colombo della Roma sotterranea’, on account of his discovery of many of the city's catacombs. September 7th 1791: Birth of the poet Giuseppe Gioachino Belli (d. 1863), who was famous for his verse written in Romanesco, the dialect of Rome.
September 8th 1943: The Italian government announced that an armistice had been agreed with the Allies, prompting the Germans to occupy Rome.
September 10th 1586: The raising of the 'Vatican' Obelisk. 1890: Birth of the fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli (d. 1973).
September 11th 1599: Execution 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 is buried in the church of San Pietro in Montorio.
September 14th 1523: Death of Pope Adrian VI (r. 1522-23), the last non-Italian to be elected pontiff for almost 500 years. Adrian VI is buried in the church of Santa Maria dell' Anima.
September 18th 96 CE: Assassination of the Emperor Domitian (r. 81-96).
September 20th 1870: Capture of Rome, which marked the end of papal rule of the Eternal City. 1934: Birth of the actress Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone, known professionally as Sophia Loren.
September 21st 1676: Election of Pope Innocent XI (r. 1676-89). September 22nd 1503: Election of Cardinal Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini as Pope Pius III. Pius III, who was the nephew of Pope Pius II (r. 1458-64), reigned for just 26 days. 1774: Death of Pope Clement XIV (r. 1769-74). September 23rd 63 BCE: Birth of Gaius Octavius (d. 14 CE), who, as Augustus, would become Rome's first and longest-reigning emperor. According to one account, Augustus was born in Rome. According to another, he was born in Velitrae (modern-day Velletri), a small town which lies about 20 miles to the south-east of Rome.
September 25th 1534: Death of Pope Clement VII (r. 1523-34).
September 26th 1990: Death of the writer Alberto Moravia (b. 1907), whose most famous novel is, perhaps, Il Conformista (The Conformist). September 27th 1590: Death of Pope Urban VII who was pontiff for only 13 days, the shortest reign in the history of the papacy. 1700: Death of Pope Innocent XII (r. 1691-1700). September 28th 29 CE: Death of Livia Drusilla (b. 59 BCE), who, as the wife of Augustus, was empress from 27 BCE to 14 CE . 1823: Election of Pope Leo XII (r. 1823-28). 1978: Death of Pope John Paul I, who only reigned for 33 days.
September 29th 1901: Birth of Enrico Fermi (d. 1954), physicist and the creator of the world's first nuclear reactor.