tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65949818147814017632024-03-18T23:05:03.687+00:00Italy On This DayFascinating stories from each day of the year about the people and events that have shaped the culture and history of ItalyThe Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.comBlogger3564125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-65529789307014216502024-03-18T11:04:00.001+00:002024-03-18T16:30:06.623+00:0018 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjot_xodEoKKeiIapaVZQsvHsJfXrJbkMrqKOSnJSHGTHXXDp0EwB3mltopIhKJlLIxFazRKkzOnkUr0vQ1Cs1BLAbyHKEfqiZw5zJATV65b3FWF130zUKsRl0bvSnSFyaOJmKB2GX3vcoitOI7FCsrLmXDC08QzHwtWVdvMHoD3M4GeF6fUJuI4FMzLM7T/s967/Gian_Francesco_Malipiero_(before_1973)_-_Archivio_storico_Ricordi_FOTO001318.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="967" data-original-width="760" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjot_xodEoKKeiIapaVZQsvHsJfXrJbkMrqKOSnJSHGTHXXDp0EwB3mltopIhKJlLIxFazRKkzOnkUr0vQ1Cs1BLAbyHKEfqiZw5zJATV65b3FWF130zUKsRl0bvSnSFyaOJmKB2GX3vcoitOI7FCsrLmXDC08QzHwtWVdvMHoD3M4GeF6fUJuI4FMzLM7T/w157-h200/Gian_Francesco_Malipiero_(before_1973)_-_Archivio_storico_Ricordi_FOTO001318.jpg" width="157" /></a></div><span style="background-color: red; color: white;">NEW</span> - <a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2024/03/gian-francesco-malipiero-composer-and.html" target="_blank">Gian Francesco Malipiero – composer and musicologist</a></h3><p><b>Musician revived interest in Monteverdi and composed music in the same spirit</b></p><p>A composer and editor whose work helped to rekindle interest in pre-19th century Italian music, <b>Gian Francesco Malipiero,</b> was born on this day in 1882 in Venice. Malipiero’s own output, which included operas and orchestral works, has been assessed by experts as fusing modern techniques with the stylistic qualities of early Italian music. The composer was born into an aristocratic Venetian family and was the grandson of the opera composer Francesco Malipiero. He studied music at the Vienna conservatory and then returned to Venice to carry on his studies. He used to copy out the music of Claudio Monteverdi and Girolamo Frescobaldi at the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice, which inspired his love of music from that period. He moved to Bologna to continue his studies and after graduating, returned to Venice and became an assistant to the blind composer Antonio Smareglia, which he later said taught him a great deal. In 1913 he travelled to Paris where he was influenced by the music he heard there, from composers such as Ravel and Debussy. He attended the premiere of an opera by Stravinsky, <i>La Sacre du Printemps, </i>and described this experience as like awakening from a ‘long and dangerous lethargy.’ <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2024/03/gian-francesco-malipiero-composer-and.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwr_oA9E3Qf64oNA5wzT7bLYEWjwKu33Gr8cW7rjdiRR1RFTNoTaS3NEGD7KHz8RC5Jg01fjD0LnNn1r_1VDee95y-uYUHK7THQIL6k1Yih2209O9qzt0endgiOXd7825FYL7_ej1A6bCMZDja2TuhYYudI3tf1MLcxuby1ercg3iaYbxZv-p1pizGHoyr/s200/5giornatemilano%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="200" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwr_oA9E3Qf64oNA5wzT7bLYEWjwKu33Gr8cW7rjdiRR1RFTNoTaS3NEGD7KHz8RC5Jg01fjD0LnNn1r_1VDee95y-uYUHK7THQIL6k1Yih2209O9qzt0endgiOXd7825FYL7_ej1A6bCMZDja2TuhYYudI3tf1MLcxuby1ercg3iaYbxZv-p1pizGHoyr/s1600/5giornatemilano%20(2).jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/the-five-days-of-milan-Risorgimento.html" target="_blank">The Five Days of Milan</a></h3><p><b>Citizens rebel to drive out ruling Austrians</b></p><p><b>The Five Days of Milan, </b>one of the most significant episodes of the Risorgimento, began on this day in 1848 as the citizens of Milan rebelled against Austrian rule. More than 400 Milanese citizens were killed and a further 600 wounded but after five days of street battles the Austrian commander, Marshal Josef Radetzky, withdrew his 13,000 troops from the city. The 'Cinque Giornate' uprising sparked the First Italian War of Independence between the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Austrian Empire. Much of northern Italy was under Austrian rule in the early part of the 19th century and they maintained a harsh regime. Elsewhere, governments were introducing social reform, especially in Rome but also in Sicily, Salerno and Naples after riots against the Bourbon King Ferdinand II. Ferdinand, ruler of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and Charles Albert (Carlo Alberto) of Savoy, in the Kingdom of Sardinia, adopted a new constitution, limiting the power of the monarchy, and Pope Pius IX in the Papal States followed suit a little later. The response of the Austrians was to seek a still tighter grip on their territories in Lombardy-Venetia. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/the-five-days-of-milan-Risorgimento.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEoHWcnkTwfiIHCebyecomLjWwuQjhp7VePYxHo9lJsx3XvvCfGXQ4elINNEQEfiv33TRahmkM45Dhb1cgAa7Mg-Ab5JGlXJUa4APpPurfREXxOJsSaO7OkqaOJdsCcgChqb_9V5kokDsk5Enz-mvuLPEMT4V_7cUajTXHULt_x4NivWSttxP15NOUDesC/s200/Mt_Vesuvius_Erupting%20(1).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="152" data-original-width="200" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEoHWcnkTwfiIHCebyecomLjWwuQjhp7VePYxHo9lJsx3XvvCfGXQ4elINNEQEfiv33TRahmkM45Dhb1cgAa7Mg-Ab5JGlXJUa4APpPurfREXxOJsSaO7OkqaOJdsCcgChqb_9V5kokDsk5Enz-mvuLPEMT4V_7cUajTXHULt_x4NivWSttxP15NOUDesC/s1600/Mt_Vesuvius_Erupting%20(1).jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/mount-vesuvius-1944-eruption-pompei-scavi-naples.html" target="_blank">Mount Vesuvius – the 1944 eruption</a></h3><p><b>The last time the volcano was seen to blow its top</b></p><p><b>Mount Vesuvius,</b> the huge volcano looming over the bay of Naples, last erupted on this day in 1944. Vesuvius is the only volcano on mainland Europe to have erupted during the last 100 years and is regarded as a constant worry because of its history of explosive eruptions and the large number of people living close by. It is most famous for its eruption in AD 79, which buried the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and is believed to have killed thousands of people. An eyewitness account of the eruption, in which tons of stones, ash and fumes were ejected from the cone, has been left behind for posterity by Pliny the Younger in his letters to the historian, Tacitus. There were at least three larger eruptions of Vesuvius before AD 79 and there have been many since. In 1631 a major eruption buried villages under lava flows and killed about 300 people and the volcano then continued to erupt every few years. The eruption, which started on 18 March 1944 and went on for several days, destroyed three villages nearby and about 80 planes belonging to the US Army Air Forces, which were based at an airfield close to Pompeii. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/mount-vesuvius-1944-eruption-pompei-scavi-naples.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjlTJtWiKc1pqwso1GRRnvcBAFIpqbXMYsFZTpV3U37numcTurxCapYO9im3dHxbJYqfTPbuZ9a1J43rqt9uj7FPJjs0Qwb6d4Y-krwJ09bqiuBuNO34LuaHCBB-9rIijcu29cHM0WaGpTn55rH02Yutye4rYMxhAvkiVkGNKzViSaKVxfeO-wYNxxDxTF/s180/Bobby_Solo_65_b.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="180" data-original-width="140" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjlTJtWiKc1pqwso1GRRnvcBAFIpqbXMYsFZTpV3U37numcTurxCapYO9im3dHxbJYqfTPbuZ9a1J43rqt9uj7FPJjs0Qwb6d4Y-krwJ09bqiuBuNO34LuaHCBB-9rIijcu29cHM0WaGpTn55rH02Yutye4rYMxhAvkiVkGNKzViSaKVxfeO-wYNxxDxTF/w156-h200/Bobby_Solo_65_b.jpg" width="156" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/bobby-solo-Italian-pop-singer-sanremo-elvis.html" target="_blank">Bobby Solo - pop singer</a></h3><p><b>Sixties star found fame after Sanremo disqualification</b></p><p><b>Bobby Solo,</b> who was twice winner of Italy's prestigious Sanremo Festival yet had his biggest hit with a song that was disqualified, was born Roberto Satti on this day in 1945 in Rome. The singer and songwriter won the contest in 1965 and again in 1969 but it was the controversy over his 1964 entry that thrust him into the spotlight and sent him to the top of the Italian singles charts with the first record to sell more than one million copies in Italy. To emphasise that the competition was to select the best song, rather than the best artist, each entry was sung by two artists, one a native Italian, the other an international guest star. In 1964, Solo was paired with the American singer Frankie Laine to showcase <i>Una lacrima sul viso (A Tear on Your Face). </i> Laine performed the song in English but Solo was stricken with a throat problem. Rather than withdraw, he sang the song with the help of a backing track, only to be told afterwards that this was against the rules. The song was disqualified but attracted such attention that it became a huge hit, topping the Italian singles chart for eight weeks. Sales in Italy and other countries eventually topped two million. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/bobby-solo-Italian-pop-singer-sanremo-elvis.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsg93cNZZ06L2yzPUsi4Y3W4YPh0Q0MJvHL-XNpdtJ1y95LdTe3U_0zK_25_7_v_AUAt6SnaHvyci8TzphrmRxUz4xtwLvas1CiZ2kLSCQFXjz53ZzJY1KJqI50rL4tULhVryp6WcAuXVWWZWzW3NKSXwzZrBNX0650l8i7mXCQc0ygmUL_Dxebm6koXO/s200/alessandroni%20(3).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="150" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsg93cNZZ06L2yzPUsi4Y3W4YPh0Q0MJvHL-XNpdtJ1y95LdTe3U_0zK_25_7_v_AUAt6SnaHvyci8TzphrmRxUz4xtwLvas1CiZ2kLSCQFXjz53ZzJY1KJqI50rL4tULhVryp6WcAuXVWWZWzW3NKSXwzZrBNX0650l8i7mXCQc0ygmUL_Dxebm6koXO/s1600/alessandroni%20(3).jpg" width="150" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2021/03/alessandro-alessandroni-musician-and.html" target="_blank">Alessandro Alessandroni – composer</a></h3><p><b>Versatile musician became famous for his haunting whistle</b></p><p><b>Alessandro Alessandroni,</b> the composer of more than 40 film scores who could play many different musical instruments, was born on this day in 1925 in Soriano nel Cimino near Viterbo. As a child he was a friend of Ennio Morricone and the two of them went on to collaborate on many soundtracks for Spaghetti Western films. Alessandroni also founded the 16-member vocal group I Cantori Moderni (The Modern Choristers) in 1961. His first wife, the singer Giulia De Mutiis, was a member of the group, who performed wordless vocals on many Italian film soundtracks, as was Edda Dell’Orso, whose exceptional voice also featured in Morricone’s scores. Most notably they sang <i>Mah Na Mah Na</i> for the film <i>Sweden Heaven and Hell</i>, a song which was later popularised by The Muppet Show. Alessandroni learnt to play the guitar, mandolin, mandoloncello, sitar, accordion and piano. His family barbershop in Soriano nel Cimino became a favourite gathering place for local musical talent. He says of this time: ‘We had a guitar, mandolin and a mandola. We didn’t do much business but we made a lot of music.’ <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2021/03/alessandro-alessandroni-musician-and.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/43jyp2b" target="_blank">Gian Francesco Malipiero (1882-1973): The Life, Times and Music of a Wayward Genius, by John C G Waterhouse</a></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdRCeC9-MfABQnptEYcTQ1YvmIEE7GNtGp5sJiTwSBuNYyTlv3qey5C_Uj7S_ya4ShEzJCQ0lGjU-06i1lgfVa24kvdfFODrRVdW96ns29o91EpkCB7Ag3Ea27SlnmTrBZmRWbapIp4AiNQ8EbTW_uVrS5AA-8jMG6WgXjo9_apAIiTi59dLC7dSs70FqV/s680/51WooCLC66L.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdRCeC9-MfABQnptEYcTQ1YvmIEE7GNtGp5sJiTwSBuNYyTlv3qey5C_Uj7S_ya4ShEzJCQ0lGjU-06i1lgfVa24kvdfFODrRVdW96ns29o91EpkCB7Ag3Ea27SlnmTrBZmRWbapIp4AiNQ8EbTW_uVrS5AA-8jMG6WgXjo9_apAIiTi59dLC7dSs70FqV/w176-h200/51WooCLC66L.jpg" width="176" /></a></div>In recent years Gian Francesco Malipiero has been recognised increasingly widely as one of the most original and strangely fascinating Italian composers of the early 20th century. He was the teacher of Maderna and Nono, and was revered by (among many others) Dallapiccola, who even called him the most important (musical) personality that Italy has had since the death of Verdi . He was also a key figure in the revival of the long- neglected music of Italy's great past, and himself edited what remains the only virtually complete edition of the surviving compositions of Monteverdi. <b>Gian Francesco Malipiero: The Life, Times and Music of a Wayward Genius </b>not only provides the first monographic survey of Malipiero's life, times and music to appear in English, but covers the subject more comprehensively than any previous publication in any language. Dr Waterhouse draws on hitherto unpublished documents, and with the help of numerous musical examples, analyses the composer's works, style and idiosyncratic personality.<p></p><p><b>Dr John Waterhouse</b> was an English musicologist and former lecturer at Queen’s University, Belfast and Birmingham University. A prolific writer, he is said to have had almost unparalleled knowledge of 20th century Italian music. Bilingual, he wrote his 1990 book <i>La Musica di Gian Francesco Malipiero</i> in Italian.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/43jyp2b" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
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<p><br /></p><p>Home</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-11230702054984894002024-03-18T06:00:00.007+00:002024-03-18T09:40:54.684+00:00Gian Francesco Malipiero – composer and musicologist<h3 style="text-align: left;">Musician revived interest in Monteverdi and composed music in the same spirit</h3><p><b></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXK9nZltzwu3uhwNwyiAmbv2QLJ73sIUBBafMjmSEfyuJBEMhy5-SYxNT2_e73LXyqH15UJyROO7IJzKVeK7b9f9nSkUJi06Cuo6l6Ky7waDShxk3fRYB9X56uf2_dKsn4NfQKabD5B5p_7HTC6HCWyhpnIgnZcM-yaIk1eeE8zc1a2LNumQEjZcpye9cF/s235/GFMalipiero55.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Malipiero was born into an aristocratic Venetian family" border="0" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXK9nZltzwu3uhwNwyiAmbv2QLJ73sIUBBafMjmSEfyuJBEMhy5-SYxNT2_e73LXyqH15UJyROO7IJzKVeK7b9f9nSkUJi06Cuo6l6Ky7waDShxk3fRYB9X56uf2_dKsn4NfQKabD5B5p_7HTC6HCWyhpnIgnZcM-yaIk1eeE8zc1a2LNumQEjZcpye9cF/s16000/GFMalipiero55.jpg" title="Malipiero was born into an aristocratic Venetian family" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Malipiero was born into an <br />aristocratic Venetian family</td></tr></tbody></table><b>A composer and editor whose work helped to rekindle interest in pre 19th century Italian music, Gian Francesco Malipiero, was born on this day in 1882 in Venice.</b><p></p><p>Malipiero’s own output, which included operas and orchestral works, has been assessed by experts as fusing modern techniques with the stylistic qualities of early Italian music.</p><p>The composer was born into an aristocratic Venetian family and was the grandson of the opera composer <b>Francesco Malipiero</b>. He studied music at the Vienna conservatory and then returned to Venice to carry on his studies.</p><p>He used to copy out the music of <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/05/claudio-monteverdi-composer-baptised-cremona.html" target="_blank">Claudio Monteverdi</a></b> and <a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/09/girolamo-frescobaldi-composer.html" target="_blank"><b>Girolamo Frescobaldi</b></a> at the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice, which inspired his love of music from that period.</p><p>He moved to Bologna to continue his studies and after graduating, returned to Venice and became an assistant to the blind composer Antonio Smareglia, which he later said taught him a great deal.</p><p>In 1913 he travelled to Paris where he was influenced by the music he heard there, from composers such as Ravel and Debussy. He attended the premiere of an opera by Stravinsky, <i>La Sacre du Printemps,</i> and described this experience as like awakening from a ‘long and dangerous lethargy.’ This was also when he first met the composer <b>Alfredo Casello</b> and the poet and playwright <a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/gabriele-dannunzio-writer-pescara-mussolini.html" target="_blank"><b>Gabriele D’Annunzio.</b></a></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPnYLtZlZIONmP6xq0nsNU-M5dpTbrrwy1e9DAlCbTwjK_gfR3ak4z3VCU7caLvG27tA64aQnAhjMJl0vxyni5TT4wE9dQ0ts_W0yUXVFZ2UR74zxwb0IQfwMc5DMaNQKGR2-h6BSNOwowxxxvws40_Oxexw3atUj4ThnwpcMs3br3JvjaX-XCcOyBrqk/s265/download.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Malipiero found support from the influential Gabriele D'Annunzio" border="0" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPnYLtZlZIONmP6xq0nsNU-M5dpTbrrwy1e9DAlCbTwjK_gfR3ak4z3VCU7caLvG27tA64aQnAhjMJl0vxyni5TT4wE9dQ0ts_W0yUXVFZ2UR74zxwb0IQfwMc5DMaNQKGR2-h6BSNOwowxxxvws40_Oxexw3atUj4ThnwpcMs3br3JvjaX-XCcOyBrqk/s16000/download.jpg" title="Malipiero found support from the influential Gabriele D'Annunzio" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Malipiero found support from the<br />influential Gabriele D'Annunzio</td></tr></tbody></table>For a while Malipiero was on good terms with <b>Benito Mussolini</b>, but he fell out of favour when the dictator did not like him writing the music for a Pirandello libretto. Although he dedicated his next opera to Mussolini, this did not help him regain the support of the Fascists.<p></p><p>Malipiero was appointed professor of composition at the Parma Conservatory in 1921 and subsequently became director at the Istituto Musicale Pollini in Padua.</p><p>In 1923 he joined with Casello and D’Annunzio in creating the Corporazione delle Nuove Musiche.</p><p>In the same year, he went to live permanently in the small hill town of<b> Asolo</b> in the Veneto, where he worked on editing a complete edition of Monteverdi’s work, making an invaluable contribution to the recovery and promotion of the composer’s music. He also collaborated with the <b>Istituto Antonio Vivaldi</b> in the publication of the complete instrumental works of the Venetian composer.</p><p>Malipiero was a prolific composer of operas, orchestral music, chamber music and music for the piano and the voice and said he found Asolo the ideal location for composing his own music. His work has been judged to reflect the spirit of 17th and 18th century Venetian music.</p><p>Malipiero died in Asolo in 1973 at the age of 91.</p><p></p><p><b></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7qi0d26uYI4_KqgAtfGUkoou207j1KM-jsAHxBghaHpXGRYrZjwT1TG3GzUdgB9hsd6snfDaDMJb0Ne8eZrkb6ix-hRZZil4Q7wf_KeBI6EUzMWC6jIBPIx9qMdG2S9WYu7FFOHTCCq-Wx7oykTGMNsQaucca7SAKDLdURlB6NlvUyX7CkolWZxvINlQ/s320/Libreria_Marciana_Venezia_sera%20(2).jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Malipiero used to study the music of Claudio Monteverdi at the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice" border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="320" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7qi0d26uYI4_KqgAtfGUkoou207j1KM-jsAHxBghaHpXGRYrZjwT1TG3GzUdgB9hsd6snfDaDMJb0Ne8eZrkb6ix-hRZZil4Q7wf_KeBI6EUzMWC6jIBPIx9qMdG2S9WYu7FFOHTCCq-Wx7oykTGMNsQaucca7SAKDLdURlB6NlvUyX7CkolWZxvINlQ/w320-h214/Libreria_Marciana_Venezia_sera%20(2).jpg" title="Malipiero used to study the music of Claudio Monteverdi at the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Malipiero used to study the music of Claudio<br />Monteverdi at the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Travel tip:</b><p></p><p>The <b>Biblioteca Marciana</b> in Venice, where Malipiero used to study the music of Monteverdi, is also known as the Sansovino Library after the architect Jacopo Sansovino, who designed it. It is opposite the Basilica in St Marks Square and is named to commemorate the patron saint of Venice. It is one of the earliest surviving public libraries and repositories of manuscripts in Italy and holds one of the world’s most important collections of classical texts. The library was founded in 1468 when a Cardinal and scholar donated his entire collection of Greek and Latin manuscripts to the Republic of Venice. The library is open to the public from Monday to Saturday but is closed on Sundays and Italian Bank Holidays.</p><p><b><a href="https://www.booking.com/searchresults.en.html?city=-132007&aid=7922554&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2&room1=A%2CA" target="_blank">Book you stay in Venice with Booking.com</a></b></p><p><b></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVsYQ-MbH_rQ8mIZtv8OpzNOH5HOHgp9QCymB-rGN_rXIromMgT8ReUdri1-__OFYN2xbjMmwdI-4iO169CFW82FO8ojYuWEljXZthUuDc2RRPoWQQDndLDMDoYm_ni9YBNJK0uW6l93L90q90Ry_p_1v8PsefEpe7NPQxvyld6WssCAgjRVjFfmed73v/s320/asolo%20main%20square.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi is the main square in the beautiful Veneto town of Asolo" border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="320" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVsYQ-MbH_rQ8mIZtv8OpzNOH5HOHgp9QCymB-rGN_rXIromMgT8ReUdri1-__OFYN2xbjMmwdI-4iO169CFW82FO8ojYuWEljXZthUuDc2RRPoWQQDndLDMDoYm_ni9YBNJK0uW6l93L90q90Ry_p_1v8PsefEpe7NPQxvyld6WssCAgjRVjFfmed73v/w320-h240/asolo%20main%20square.jpg" title="The Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi is the main square in the beautiful Veneto town of Asolo" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi is the main square<br />in the beautiful Veneto town of Asolo</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Travel tip:</b><p></p><p>The beautiful hill town of <b>Asolo</b> in the Veneto, where Malipiero settled in later life, is known as ‘the pearl of the province of Treviso’ and ‘the city of a hundred horizons’ because of its beautiful views over the countryside and the mountains. The poet Robert Browning spent time in Asolo after he became a widower. He published <i>Asolando, </i>a volume of poetry written in the town, in 1889. The main road leading into the town is now named Via Browning in his honour. Asolo is also where the Queen of Cyprus, Caterina Cornaro, spent her last years. One of the main sights is the Castle of Caterina Cornaro, which now houses the Eleonora Duse Theatre.</p><p><b><a href="https://www.booking.com/searchresults.en.html?city=-110808&aid=7922554&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2&room1=A%2CA" target="_blank">Let Booking.com suggest places to stay in Asolo</a></b></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>More reading:</b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/05/claudio-monteverdi-composer-baptised-cremona.html" target="_blank">How Monteverdi put the opera genre on the musical map</a></b></p><p><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/09/girolamo-frescobaldi-composer.html" target="_blank"><b>Why Girolamo Frescobaldi is seen as one of the 'fathers' of Italian music</b></a></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/gabriele-dannunzio-writer-pescara-mussolini.html" target="_blank">The complicated genius of Gabriele D'Annunzio</a></b></p><p><b>Also on this day:</b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/the-five-days-of-milan-Risorgimento.html" target="_blank">1848: The Five Days of Milan</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2021/03/alessandro-alessandroni-musician-and.html" target="_blank">1925: The birth of musician Alessandro Alessandroni</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/mount-vesuvius-1944-eruption-pompei-scavi-naples.html" target="_blank">1944: The last eruption of Mount Vesuvius</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/bobby-solo-Italian-pop-singer-sanremo-elvis.html" target="_blank">1945: The birth of pop singer Bobby Solo</a></b></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-82050354443877376692024-03-17T06:30:00.014+00:002024-03-17T06:30:00.247+00:0017 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0EijAAo5-yhMFvs0gW1aXSDz32RErp7iY0ikc0DMitlYsmF3I6y5-28nijtbkp4__ZG_VoGXaDJuoP_pkiWif8MW8YwBQ92l3pqGKHccfLJsJL3b5ESawHzD_oyK0_bmTsfK4aTBIEaMKCdM3Qd0RrMbO6RNpGBPX_sZIf5i5a_zy57Btx6vYga7uHoOs/s200/NML_WARG_WAG_3278-001.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="148" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0EijAAo5-yhMFvs0gW1aXSDz32RErp7iY0ikc0DMitlYsmF3I6y5-28nijtbkp4__ZG_VoGXaDJuoP_pkiWif8MW8YwBQ92l3pqGKHccfLJsJL3b5ESawHzD_oyK0_bmTsfK4aTBIEaMKCdM3Qd0RrMbO6RNpGBPX_sZIf5i5a_zy57Btx6vYga7uHoOs/s1600/NML_WARG_WAG_3278-001.jpg" width="148" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2022/03/angelo-beolco-playwright.html" target="_blank">Angelo Beolco - playwright</a></h3><p><b>Actor and dramatist with a genius for comedy</b></p><p>One of the most powerful Italian dramatists of the 16th century, <b>Angelo Beolco,</b> who was nicknamed Ruzzante (or sometimes Ruzante) after his favourite character, died on this day in 1542 in Padua in the Veneto region. Beolco was famous for his rustic comedies, which were written mostly in the Paduan dialect of the Venetian language. Many of his plays featured a peasant called Ruzzante and they painted a vivid picture of life in the Paduan countryside during the 16th century. Beolco was born in Padua in 1496 and was the illegitimate son of a doctor. His mother was possibly a maid in the household where he was brought up by his father. He received a good education and after his father’s death became manager of the family estate. In 1529, he also became manager of a farm owned by a nobleman, Alvise Cornaro, who had retired to live in the Paduan countryside. Cornaro later became Beolco’s friend and protector. Beolco met and associated with Paduan intellectuals of the time, such as the poet Pietro Bembo and the scholar and dramatist Sperone Speroni, which led to him developing an interest in the theatre. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2022/03/angelo-beolco-playwright.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vjcGvbDT4TI9ig8AwkExxQz1_GC705C0hI9PhtVN-Ny9_H_xUKIGwPY2UlCRRY8YGCUzrrs9kaHKwq_g48FZvDNoJcwyHLQ9N6KIHioMQwi2pqoVCzDpaFhT5p-DZDG4-GBdyS0q1QsAsqtgQxvjT-87vv3M7RGgWBhs5BEhj8cXL1IsxcRgBDTkFHxc/s200/Trap.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="165" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3vjcGvbDT4TI9ig8AwkExxQz1_GC705C0hI9PhtVN-Ny9_H_xUKIGwPY2UlCRRY8YGCUzrrs9kaHKwq_g48FZvDNoJcwyHLQ9N6KIHioMQwi2pqoVCzDpaFhT5p-DZDG4-GBdyS0q1QsAsqtgQxvjT-87vv3M7RGgWBhs5BEhj8cXL1IsxcRgBDTkFHxc/s1600/Trap.jpg" width="165" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/giovanni-trapattoni-football-coach-Juventus-Inter.html" target="_blank">Giovanni Trapattoni - football coach</a></h3><p><b>His seven Serie A titles is unequalled achievement</b></p><p><b>Giovanni Trapattoni,</b> the former Juventus and Internazionale coach who is one of only four coaches to have won the principal league titles of four different European countries, was born on this day in 1939 in Cusano Milanino, a suburb on the northern perimeter of Milan. The most successful club coach in the history of Serie A, he won seven titles, six with Juventus and one with Inter. His nearest challengers in terms of most Italian domestic championships are Fabio Capello and Marcello Lippi, each of whom has five <i>scudetti</i> to his name. In addition, Trapattoni has also won the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, the Portuguese Primeira Liga with Benfica and the Austrian Bundesliga with Red Bull Salzburg, with whom he secured his 10th league title overall in 2007. Jose Mourinho is among the other three managers to have won titles in four countries. He has been successful in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain. Alongside former Bayern Munich coach Udo Lattek, Trapattoni is the only coach to have won all three major European club competitions and the only one to do it with the same club. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/giovanni-trapattoni-football-coach-Juventus-Inter.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-zuJkl0sE2hLndd6RfzKVOdsWXpt6kA6U6XfAfvPxKBrmHzPbeUrAw7231LNuWvPVIC-T9Ht5WyoAkDHNoUsHTqweXuXHABxdrjQDA_A8mjkuyKUrtvoQkg3hrlSgJVbARePpVVt0JaUPl3UprXfMti6PQG0PBUKMTjjZyrwonGBCAod4cCaIRqr73zcy/s200/L'avventura_1960%20(2)%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="154" data-original-width="200" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-zuJkl0sE2hLndd6RfzKVOdsWXpt6kA6U6XfAfvPxKBrmHzPbeUrAw7231LNuWvPVIC-T9Ht5WyoAkDHNoUsHTqweXuXHABxdrjQDA_A8mjkuyKUrtvoQkg3hrlSgJVbARePpVVt0JaUPl3UprXfMti6PQG0PBUKMTjjZyrwonGBCAod4cCaIRqr73zcy/s1600/L'avventura_1960%20(2)%20(1).jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/gabriele-ferzetti-Italian-actor-antonioni-bond.html" target="_blank">Gabriele Ferzetti - actor</a></h3><p><b>Starred in classic Italian films as well as Bond movie</b></p><p>The actor <b>Gabriele Ferzetti, </b>best known to international audiences for his role in the 1969 Bond movie <i>On Her Majesty’s Secret Service</i> but in Italy for the Michelangelo Antonioni classic<i> L’avventura</i> (1960), was born on this day in 1925 in Rome. Ferzetti, who cut a naturally elegant and debonair appearance, was the go-to actor for handsome, romantic leads in the early part of his career and although he was ultimately eclipsed to some extent by Marcello Mastroianni, he seemed equally content with prominent supporting roles. Rarely idle, he made more than 160 films and appeared in countless TV dramas and was still working at 85 years old. His intense performance as Antonioni’s wealthy yet unfulfilled playboy opposite Lea Massari and Monica Vitti in <i>L’avventura</i> was the role that identified him most as an actor of considerable talent. Ferzetti had played a similar character in another Antonioni classic <i>Le amiche</i> (1955). Outside Italian cinema, he was memorable as the unscrupulous Morton, the railroad magnate who hobbled around on crutches in Sergio Leone’s <i>Once Upon a Time in the West</i> (1968). <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/gabriele-ferzetti-Italian-actor-antonioni-bond.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1vxA8M5qWbE_RjmXa5FPYiZC8dNw32_4SALA7lF58ZP3sgwLK2Fieh-8sclgtElBdubUH_cR0c9eXb2N47aOPFY6lWS1ikdKBdvmVMcun6oK85F7s4hitZgioSgkFcf6pwA2zhmJEruXEReZnL2pIrZLRZfvPBjJ2H64Sfoaf0g3tPmzc4jaSH1RAJDzz/s188/Innocenzo-Manzetti.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="188" data-original-width="138" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1vxA8M5qWbE_RjmXa5FPYiZC8dNw32_4SALA7lF58ZP3sgwLK2Fieh-8sclgtElBdubUH_cR0c9eXb2N47aOPFY6lWS1ikdKBdvmVMcun6oK85F7s4hitZgioSgkFcf6pwA2zhmJEruXEReZnL2pIrZLRZfvPBjJ2H64Sfoaf0g3tPmzc4jaSH1RAJDzz/s1600/Innocenzo-Manzetti.jpg" width="138" /></a></div><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6594981814781401763/8205035444387737669" target="_blank">Innocenzo Manzetti - inventor</a></h3><p><b>Made prototype telephone 33 years ahead of Bell</b></p><p>The inventor <b>Innocenzo Manzetti, </b>credited by some scientific historians as having been the creator of a forerunner of the telephone many years ahead of his compatriot Antonio Meucci and the Scottish-American Alexander Graham Bell, was born on this day in 1826 in Aosta, in northwest Italy. Manzetti's extraordinary catalogue of inventions included a steam-powered car, a hydraulic water pump, a pendulum watch that would keep going for a whole year and a robot that could play the flute. But he was a man whose creative talents were not allied to business sense. Like Meucci, a Florentine emigrant to New York who demonstrated a telephone-like device in 1860 - 16 years before Bell was granted the patent - Manzetti did not patent his device and therefore missed out on the fortune that came the way of Bell. Research has found that Manzetti may have had the idea for a "vocal telegraph" as early as 1843, as a result of his success with his flute-playing automaton, which he constructed as a life-size model of a man sitting on a chair, inside which were concealed a system of levers, rods and compressed air tubes that enabled his lips and fingers to move on the flute. <b><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6594981814781401763/8205035444387737669" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2lwz_fchRw0uaD8CJVUTfe3u6OeiydMev0r8O4Y3vxS00MSx6k3F-34hQKEucO-VxJBcT64SCp4ZrNkZkTfKlHG5k4LavrsBnEE8sIddHzCx_nEEm9rSuP6eCHSDm4kJUpCJSuGeKm1KIIAzHH52fEFPqVIeLQWs9SMA0sYcnDZBM6rSSNQ7hi3b3hxb/s200/Inauguration.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="200" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2lwz_fchRw0uaD8CJVUTfe3u6OeiydMev0r8O4Y3vxS00MSx6k3F-34hQKEucO-VxJBcT64SCp4ZrNkZkTfKlHG5k4LavrsBnEE8sIddHzCx_nEEm9rSuP6eCHSDm4kJUpCJSuGeKm1KIIAzHH52fEFPqVIeLQWs9SMA0sYcnDZBM6rSSNQ7hi3b3hxb/s1600/Inauguration.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/kingdom-of-italy-proclaimed-victor-emmanuel-II-turin.html" target="_blank">Kingdom of Italy proclaimed</a></h3><p><b>First king of Italy calls himself Victor Emmanuel II</b></p><p>The newly-unified <b>Kingdom of Italy was officially proclaimed </b>on this day in 1861 in Turin. The first Italian parliament to meet in the city confirmed Victor Emmanuel as the first King of the new country. It was the monarch's own choice to call himself Victor Emmanuel II, rather than Victor Emmanuel I. This immediately provoked criticism from some factions, who took it as implying that Italy had always been ruled by the House of Savoy. Victor Emmanuel I, with whom Victor Emmanuel II had ancestral links, had been King of Sardinia - ruled by the Dukes of Savoy - from 1802 until his death in 1824. Victor Emmanuel II had become King of Sardinia in 1849 after his father, Charles Albert, abdicated. His father had succeeded a distant cousin, Charles Felix, to become King of Sardinia in 1831. The Kingdom of Sardinia is considered to be the legal predecessor to the Kingdom of Italy. As King of Sardinia, Victor Emmanuel II had appointed Count Camillo Benso of Cavour as Prime Minister of Sardinia-Piedmont, who had then masterminded a clever campaign to put him on the throne of a united Italy. Victor Emmanuel II had become the symbol of the Risorgimento, the Italian unification movement in the 19th century. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/kingdom-of-italy-proclaimed-victor-emmanuel-II-turin.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/3PoO1eQ" target="_blank">Commerce, Peace, and the Arts in Renaissance Venice: Ruzante and the Empire at Centre Stage, by Linda L Carroll</a></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMkGEbhqMRpqVvCpUTtFRl5DmDt8J7NmGjH9YGX_AGpfdKsrhSjVRLH5dZszADRzlLC8nVpySHCFM4yKtOCo5626mruNAXLuDCN2n5B0FqXsH__py7tyLdIUUWh_ohQBVCfgr_WXK3-KL0_lrFj5oMNXNRSu6RUwRdLl5zaZQ930j1krUUy3uiUD5foFr/s500/51FVUsyFKvL.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="330" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMkGEbhqMRpqVvCpUTtFRl5DmDt8J7NmGjH9YGX_AGpfdKsrhSjVRLH5dZszADRzlLC8nVpySHCFM4yKtOCo5626mruNAXLuDCN2n5B0FqXsH__py7tyLdIUUWh_ohQBVCfgr_WXK3-KL0_lrFj5oMNXNRSu6RUwRdLl5zaZQ930j1krUUy3uiUD5foFr/w132-h200/51FVUsyFKvL.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>With the Paduan playwright Angelo Beolco, aka Ruzante, as a focal point, this book sheds new light on his oeuvre and times - and on Venetian patrician interest in him - by embedding the Venetian aspects of his life within the monumental changes taking place in 15th and 16th-century Venice, politically, economically, socially, and artistically. In a study of patronage in the broadest sense of the term, Linda Carroll draws on vast quantities of new archival information; and by reading the previously unpublished primary sources against each other, she uncovers remarkable and heretofore unsuspected coincidences and connections. She documents the well-known links between the increasingly fruitless trade to the north and the need for new investments in land (re)gained by Venice on the mainland, links between problems of governance and political networks. <b>Commerce, Peace, and the Arts in Renaissance Venice </b>unveils the significance and potential purposes of those who invited Ruzante to perform in what are interpreted as "rudely" metaphorical truth-telling plays for Venetians at the highest social and political levels. <p></p><p><b>Linda L Carroll</b> is Professor of Italian at Tulane University, USA. She is the author of numerous books and articles explicating the exceptionally but opaquely candid plays of Angelo Beolco (Il Ruzante), whose Prima oratione she has edited and translated. She is co-editor of <i>Sexualities, Textualities, Art and Music in Early Modern Italy.</i></p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3PoO1eQ" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><p><a href="https://c116.travelpayouts.com/click?shmarker=312238&trs=36697&promo_id=3944&source_type=banner&type=click" target="_blank"><img alt="EN - 728x90" height="90" src="https://c116.travelpayouts.com/content?promo_id=3944&trs=36697&shmarker=312238&type=init" width="728" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-79258578590739003602024-03-16T06:30:00.013+00:002024-03-16T06:30:00.149+00:0016 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWypQivAaWCxucLVFtzI25UkPYigyhx_RZQ9Z96c38pYkuLK3ZkGRTM0G4rOxTfM-ZfNgLa8ju2swemelrxI2Tno1NXacks9qCDmYP5gtpEadvwfuWIkamEV-VIyb10PDG2vnNnCy1n20x7h7X0XyDvroyDXUlJ7FOfglyLAOvsOdH26YarJzr___Iqh0/s200/Aldo_Moro_Anefo%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="147" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWypQivAaWCxucLVFtzI25UkPYigyhx_RZQ9Z96c38pYkuLK3ZkGRTM0G4rOxTfM-ZfNgLa8ju2swemelrxI2Tno1NXacks9qCDmYP5gtpEadvwfuWIkamEV-VIyb10PDG2vnNnCy1n20x7h7X0XyDvroyDXUlJ7FOfglyLAOvsOdH26YarJzr___Iqh0/w147-h200/Aldo_Moro_Anefo%20(2).jpg" width="147" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/aldo-moro-italys-tragic-former-prime.html" target="_blank">Aldo Moro - Italy's tragic former prime minister</a></h3><p><b>Politician kidnapped and murdered by Red Brigades</b></p><p>Italy and the wider world were deeply shocked on this day in 1978 when the <b>former Italian prime minister, Aldo Moro, was kidnapped </b>on the streets of Rome in a violent ambush that claimed the lives of his five bodyguards. The attack took place on Via Mario Fani, a few minutes from Signor Moro's home in the Monte Mario area, at shortly after 9am during the morning rush hour. Moro, a 61-year-old Christian Democrat politician who had formed a total of five Italian governments, between 1963 and 1968 and again from 1974-76, was being driven to the Palazzo Montecitorio in central Rome for a session of the Chamber of Deputies. As the traffic forced Moro's car to pause outside a café, one of four small Fiat saloon cars used by the kidnappers reversed into a space in front of Moro's larger Fiat, in which the front seats were occupied by two carabinieri officers with Moro sitting behind them. Another of the kidnappers' Fiats pulled in behind the Alfa Romeo immediately following Moro's, which contained three more bodyguards. At that moment, four gunmen emerged from bushes close to the roadside and began firing automatic weapons. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/aldo-moro-italys-tragic-former-prime.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">___________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX00tK97PQWWRY1I-c8OVMsjfAEAQhHmHXUbcBGYKzZ1HOJCe7ZA9sWxZNPmj5h2BhI75JjqycIE-kOx0CHV9tW3eyamZunlaprhmn0dPcvUAfGnbZQ6gljU2xx_TAr9nm7MK4otnh035d1T64cG1z6nCbvWxB7dYOE78bz3adf30dWQ_eClRCGNETl-Wz/s200/Lunghi.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="140" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX00tK97PQWWRY1I-c8OVMsjfAEAQhHmHXUbcBGYKzZ1HOJCe7ZA9sWxZNPmj5h2BhI75JjqycIE-kOx0CHV9tW3eyamZunlaprhmn0dPcvUAfGnbZQ6gljU2xx_TAr9nm7MK4otnh035d1T64cG1z6nCbvWxB7dYOE78bz3adf30dWQ_eClRCGNETl-Wz/s1600/Lunghi.jpg" width="140" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/emilio-lunghi-athlete-Olympics-Italys-first-medallist.html" target="_blank">Emilio Lunghi - athlete</a></h3><p><b>Italy's first Olympic medallist </b></p><p><b>Emilio Lunghi, </b>a middle-distance runner who was the first to win an Olympic medal in the colours of Italy, was born on this day in 1886 in Genoa. Competing in the 800 metres at the 1908 Olympic Games in London, Lunghi took the silver medal behind the American Mel Sheppard. In a fast-paced final, Lunghi's time was 1 minute 54.2 seconds, which was 1.8 seconds faster than the previous Olympic record but still 1.4 seconds behind Sheppard. It was the same Olympics at which Lunghi's compatriot Dorando Pietri was controversially disqualified after coming home first in the marathon, when race officials took pity on him after he collapsed from exhaustion after entering the stadium and helped him across the line. A versatile athlete who raced successfully at distances from 400m up to 3,000m, Lunghi was national champion nine times in six events and is considered the first great star of Italian track and field. An all-round sportsman, Lunghi was a talented gymnast, swimmer and boxer, but after winning a 3,000m-race in his home city he was encouraged to develop his potential as a runner by joining Sport Pedestre Genova, at the time the most important athletics club in Liguria. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/emilio-lunghi-athlete-Olympics-Italys-first-medallist.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2023/03/tiberius-roman-emperor.html" target="_blank"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2023/03/tiberius-roman-emperor.html" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifV1WiT5qUycVBvQULFIRf1A22tpOL4aYH_-q0o7l2hVGynryxqUYQSgbXExTdX5hmNVa-cw6ZHOuGPCQnd35a4YoJOBO30Lo8uIptWf9Ypj1RcH-qS80Lcg5CGjJMJ1nZl2Swvnw8ZEkmPI_UU4OCO1zhYJZp6frMLWPPtH-wEMvB9VAMai6UVfXBG5SL/s200/(Toulouse)_Tib%C3%A8re_-_Mus%C3%A9e_Saint-Raymond_Ra_342_b%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="146" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifV1WiT5qUycVBvQULFIRf1A22tpOL4aYH_-q0o7l2hVGynryxqUYQSgbXExTdX5hmNVa-cw6ZHOuGPCQnd35a4YoJOBO30Lo8uIptWf9Ypj1RcH-qS80Lcg5CGjJMJ1nZl2Swvnw8ZEkmPI_UU4OCO1zhYJZp6frMLWPPtH-wEMvB9VAMai6UVfXBG5SL/s1600/(Toulouse)_Tib%C3%A8re_-_Mus%C3%A9e_Saint-Raymond_Ra_342_b%20(2).jpg" width="146" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2023/03/tiberius-roman-emperor.html" target="_blank">Tiberius – Roman Emperor</a></h3><p><b>The decline of a leader who ruled from a beautiful place of exile</b></p><p>After starting his reign in glory, the <b>Emperor Tiberius</b> slowly deteriorated and is reputed to have become steadily crueller and more debauched until he died on this day in 37 AD in Misenum, now Miseno, in Campania. Tiberius had become the second Roman Emperor, succeeding his stepfather, Augustus, in 14 AD. As a young man, he had been a successful general, but at the age of 36 he chose to retire and go and live in Rhodes because he was determined to avoid getting involved in politics. However, after the deaths of both grandsons of Augustus, his ailing stepfather had no choice but to make Tiberius his heir. Tiberius inherited the throne at the age of 54 and was at first a hardworking ruler, trying to pass sensible and far-seeing laws. He stopped pointless, costly conflicts and the waste of the empire’s money and was said to have left the imperial coffers much fuller than when he inherited them. But he was constantly at odds with the Senate, who claimed he gave vague orders to them and that they had to debate the orders among themselves so that they could decide what to do and therefore some of his legislation was never passed. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2023/03/tiberius-roman-emperor.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/bernardo-bertolucci-film-director.html" target="_blank"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/bernardo-bertolucci-film-director.html" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLf-_9V8_aD68rItbfzxdrJmRKBtJKFyBcAeJKs3L0N4AngqraXmmIbyM66z8aiL6TRzF_0Tk2JC18DEB7h33AlMVC3b3nk37oLGGfWC4uZfAYzz8T2cpbKIuJs3eOuMpFiKKFEQy49lXXf9o0vliLAZFOt5B2aJ_yoApfc7HYpupyyVgelmW9xCRbEZou/s200/bertolucci%203.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLf-_9V8_aD68rItbfzxdrJmRKBtJKFyBcAeJKs3L0N4AngqraXmmIbyM66z8aiL6TRzF_0Tk2JC18DEB7h33AlMVC3b3nk37oLGGfWC4uZfAYzz8T2cpbKIuJs3eOuMpFiKKFEQy49lXXf9o0vliLAZFOt5B2aJ_yoApfc7HYpupyyVgelmW9xCRbEZou/w144-h200/bertolucci%203.jpg" width="144" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/bernardo-bertolucci-film-director.html" target="_blank">Bernardo Bertolucci - film director</a></h3><p><b>Caused outrage with </b><i><b>Last Tango in Paris</b></i></p><p>The controversial filmmaker <b>Bernardo Bertolucci </b>was born on this day in 1940 in Parma. Bertolucci won an Oscar for best director as <i>The Last Emperor</i> picked up an impressive nine Academy Awards in 1988 but tends to be remembered more for the furore that surrounded his 1972 movie <i>Last Tango in Paris. </i>Starring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider, <i>Last Tango in Paris</i> caused outrage for its portrayal of sexual violence and emotional turmoil and was banned in Italy. Although the storm died down over time, it blew up again in 2007 when Schneider, who was only 19 when the film was shot, claimed she felt violated after one particularly graphic scene because she had not been told everything that would happen. Schneider died from cancer in 2011. The controversy has overshadowed what has otherwise been an outstanding career, his movies placing him in the company of Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Luchino Visconti and Franco Zeffirelli among the greatest Italian directors of all time. As a young man, Bertolucci wanted to become a poet, inspired by his father, Attilio, who was a poet as well as an art historian. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/bernardo-bertolucci-film-director.html">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJb7uqf6vHyJcZhEyP0Aq_OYVUb1tAkYTgIo_el25QqrVC0xXxXvOx3ecfGnLL6RfL24JYfmPUmofBHQidMfDLhSYIQk_eMmYqa8L7x3GNowfJAdZj07u2OxxTG699SuncXYx_plMHMceywTE_m5I2XGIj-VfIqRGE7X9aHwRCOZzKgvutLmsPAtiIcCq3/s200/Tamberlik,_en_El_Museo_Universal.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="166" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJb7uqf6vHyJcZhEyP0Aq_OYVUb1tAkYTgIo_el25QqrVC0xXxXvOx3ecfGnLL6RfL24JYfmPUmofBHQidMfDLhSYIQk_eMmYqa8L7x3GNowfJAdZj07u2OxxTG699SuncXYx_plMHMceywTE_m5I2XGIj-VfIqRGE7X9aHwRCOZzKgvutLmsPAtiIcCq3/s1600/Tamberlik,_en_El_Museo_Universal.jpg" width="166" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2020/03/enrico-tamberlik-tenor-Italian-opera.html" target="_blank">Enrico Tamberlik – tenor</a></h3><p><b>Imposing king of the high C sharp</b></p><p>Opera singer <b>Enrico Tamberlik,</b> who is remembered for the quality of his remarkable high notes, was born on this day in 1820 in Rome. At the height of his career, Tamberlik, whose name is also sometimes spelt Tamberlick, sang regularly at the Royal Opera House in London and in St Petersburg, Paris and America. The singer is believed to have been of Romanian descent but was born in Italy and did all his vocal training in Naples, Bologna and Milan. At the age of 17 Tamberlik made his debut in a concert and then made his first appearance on the operatic stage as Gennaro in <i>Lucrezia Borgia</i> by Gaetano Donizetti at the Teatro Apollo in Rome. In 1841 he appeared under the name Enrico Danieli at the Teatro Fondo in Naples as Tybalt in <i>I Capuleti e I Montecchi </i>by Vincenzo Bellini. A year later he made his debut at Teatro San Carlo in Naples under the name Enrico Tamberlik, which he used from then onwards. Tamberlik made his London debut as Masaniello in Louis Auber’s <i>La Muette de Portici</i> at Covent Garden in 1850. In St Petersburg in 1862 in the premiere performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s <i>La forza del destino, </i>he appeared as Don Alvaro, a role that had been written specially for him. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2020/03/enrico-tamberlik-tenor-Italian-opera.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/43kmJfu" target="_blank">The Moro Affair, by Leonardo Sciascia</a></b><a href="https://amzn.to/43kmJfu" target="_blank"> </a></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHf7h9iabma6fcJKe0J6OKdyY5zLUy4OSpAucx0T52IzimdILjuLUo_Sh8DCxMk_Vlch8NCVyjSsif8_6Q7O1qygxK0Cm99mAEKiv_4oTcvaw8upc_taP05zY12PdAvoMlp5woGg5E3HZjNDMEi6mO5i_bYeLbFdrl6rP4etnMzlyfTLV2WKM5DqD3XpvP/s400/9781847089298.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="258" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHf7h9iabma6fcJKe0J6OKdyY5zLUy4OSpAucx0T52IzimdILjuLUo_Sh8DCxMk_Vlch8NCVyjSsif8_6Q7O1qygxK0Cm99mAEKiv_4oTcvaw8upc_taP05zY12PdAvoMlp5woGg5E3HZjNDMEi6mO5i_bYeLbFdrl6rP4etnMzlyfTLV2WKM5DqD3XpvP/w129-h200/9781847089298.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>On 16 March 1978, Aldo Moro, former Italian Prime Minister, was ambushed in Rome. Within three minutes the gang killed all five members of his escort and bundled Moro into one of three getaway cars. An hour later the Red Brigades announced that Moro was in their hands; on 18 March they said he would be tried in a 'people's court of justice'. Seven weeks later Moro's body was discovered in the boot of a Renault parked in the crowded centre of Rome. In <b>The Moro Affair, </b>Leonardo Sciascia, whose work often shed light on the dark side of Italian life and society, untangles the real-life events of these crucial weeks and provides a unique insight into the dangerous world of Italian politics in the 1970s.<p></p><p><b>Leonardo Sciascia,</b> who was born in Sicily in 1912 and died there in 1989, was a master of lucid and accessible prose who worked with deceptively simple forms - books about crime, historical novels, political thrillers - in order to engage with the moral and historical problems of modern Italy, especially his native Sicily.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/43kmJfu" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><div id="118496-1"><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/gen.js?type=1"></script><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/requestform.js?siteId=118496&formatId=1"></script></div><p><br /></p><p>Home</p><div><br /></div>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-47440899467274329742024-03-15T06:30:00.022+00:002024-03-15T06:31:49.645+00:0015 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/salvator-rosa-artist-feud-Bernini-Rome.html" target="_blank"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/salvator-rosa-artist-feud-Bernini-Rome.html" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeY19KDF1aDSwEgJUUkaorfuHP2hlUkw40T4BIU-ayxdaGL01C3fNkLzGRZ3WgPaqcvmkqosCYOF5MH9Uo_IxaWfYWMagTeVE1KxENye0aMGg7hdE8EUmfXhXjeGX9tmx4_BDx-jEKJ4PxMXIwxlVTQQ-hjidoTRVdb0hkHRpwZsPbvBIPVpLVbl8sdYmv/s262/1024px-Thomas_Moran_-_Salvator_Rosa_Sketching_the_Banditti.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="155" data-original-width="262" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeY19KDF1aDSwEgJUUkaorfuHP2hlUkw40T4BIU-ayxdaGL01C3fNkLzGRZ3WgPaqcvmkqosCYOF5MH9Uo_IxaWfYWMagTeVE1KxENye0aMGg7hdE8EUmfXhXjeGX9tmx4_BDx-jEKJ4PxMXIwxlVTQQ-hjidoTRVdb0hkHRpwZsPbvBIPVpLVbl8sdYmv/s1600/1024px-Thomas_Moran_-_Salvator_Rosa_Sketching_the_Banditti.jpg" width="262" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/salvator-rosa-artist-feud-Bernini-Rome.html" target="_blank">Salvator Rosa – artist</a></h3><p><b>Exciting Baroque painter inspired others</b></p><p><b>Salvator Rosa,</b> a fiery and flamboyant character who was a poet and actor as well as an artist, died on this day in 1673 in Rome. One of the least conventional artists of 17th century Italy, he was adopted as a hero by painters of the Romantic movement in the 18th and 19th centuries. He mainly painted landscapes, but also depicted scenes of witchcraft, revealing his interest in the less conventional ideas of his age. These scenes were also sometimes the background for his etchings and the satires he wrote. Rosa was born in Arenella on the outskirts of Naples. His father, a land surveyor, wanted him to become a lawyer or priest and entered him in the convent of the Somaschi Fathers. Rosa was interested in art and secretly learnt about painting with his uncle and his brother-in-law, Francesco Fracanzano, who was a pupil of Jose de Ribera. Rosa later became an apprentice to Aniello Falcone, working with him on his battle scenes. His own paintings featured landscapes overgrown with vegetation and beach scenes with caves, peopled with shepherds, seamen, soldiers and bandits. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/salvator-rosa-artist-feud-Bernini-Rome.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/cesare-beccaria-jurist-and-criminologist.html" target="_blank"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/cesare-beccaria-jurist-and-criminologist.html" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhalyBp2M5LIgq5JBBmCNp8ObUV3nquf56zTVu4nLKarZqLvgMh4zDdJmq71sUqjMwqffQbBgiN6JYjOT43A7b_99RuV_6Bax2vvizCP5WiQp59DEMUzk63p1qazyzKHZ8tjKcDDe8ynTqDC3FJWUQbVduHvuFz4u6gjS3pamDsXYV7efakZfIKHQaFtCSx/s200/Cesare_Beccaria.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="150" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhalyBp2M5LIgq5JBBmCNp8ObUV3nquf56zTVu4nLKarZqLvgMh4zDdJmq71sUqjMwqffQbBgiN6JYjOT43A7b_99RuV_6Bax2vvizCP5WiQp59DEMUzk63p1qazyzKHZ8tjKcDDe8ynTqDC3FJWUQbVduHvuFz4u6gjS3pamDsXYV7efakZfIKHQaFtCSx/s1600/Cesare_Beccaria.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/cesare-beccaria-jurist-and-criminologist.html" target="_blank">Cesare Beccaria - jurist and criminologist</a></h3><p><b>Enlightened philosopher seen as father of criminal justice</b></p><p>The jurist and philosopher <b>Cesare Beccaria,</b> who is regarded as one of the greatest thinkers of the so-called Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century, and whose writings had a profound influence on justice systems all over the world, was born on this day in 1738 in Milan. As the author of a treatise <i>On Crimes and Punishments </i>(1764), which was a ground-breaking work in the field of criminal law and the approach to punishing offenders, Beccaria is considered by many academics to be the father of criminal justice. The treatise, which Beccaria compiled when he was only 26 years old, condemned the death penalty on the grounds that the state does not possess the right to take lives and declared torture to be a barbaric practice with no place in a civilised, measured society. It outlined five principles for an effective system of criminal justice: that punishment should have had a preventive deterrent function as opposed to being retributive; that punishment should be proportionate to the crime committed; that the probability of punishment should be seen as a more effective deterrent than its severity. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/cesare-beccaria-jurist-and-criminologist.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2021/03/gianluca-festa-footballer.html" target="_blank"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2021/03/gianluca-festa-footballer.html" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2tVH5iVTQDSH4fhuE9VtIopLs0DFqDhYxa_aRglJbLUITX3LbLAgAZUNY54b4maHE7nJZdmv5cRGBAPcBTetfn3vHzqRLhnQs6lHUIRVmNFA6olQmK7U4COrHPQ6EK057rcAmUDTJ34z0ChRur_ZDcT4VqbzSEcnp8AgJw5leAs7MXG3mclubXUWZEoi/s200/festa%201%20(2).png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="164" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2tVH5iVTQDSH4fhuE9VtIopLs0DFqDhYxa_aRglJbLUITX3LbLAgAZUNY54b4maHE7nJZdmv5cRGBAPcBTetfn3vHzqRLhnQs6lHUIRVmNFA6olQmK7U4COrHPQ6EK057rcAmUDTJ34z0ChRur_ZDcT4VqbzSEcnp8AgJw5leAs7MXG3mclubXUWZEoi/s1600/festa%201%20(2).png" width="164" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2021/03/gianluca-festa-footballer.html" target="_blank">Gianluca Festa - footballer</a></h3><p><b>Sardinian became a favourite in England</b></p><p>The footballer and coach<b> Gianluca Festa,</b> who played 177 matches in Italy’s Serie A but is best remembered as the first Italian defender to sign for a club in England’s Premier League, was born on this day in 1969 in Cagliari. Festa joined Middlesbrough in January 1997 after manager Bryan Robson agreed to pay Inter-Milan £2.7million for the centre-back, who joined his Italian compatriot Fabrizio Ravanelli at the northeast England club. Ravanelli had arrived in England the previous summer as one of a number of Italian stars to move from Serie A, a sign that the Premier League was beginning to challenge Serie A for the right to be called Europe’s top league. Chelsea had signed Gianluca Vialli from Juventus and Roberto Di Matteo from Lazio, to be joined by Parma’s Gianfranco Zola later in the autumn, and Sheffield Wednesday had bought Festa’s former Inter teammate Benito Carbone. Four of those five were forwards - Di Matteo operated in midfield - and Middlesbrough, who had been promoted in 1995 but were finding their second season difficult, broke new ground by tapping into Italy’s reputation for producing top-quality defenders. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2021/03/gianluca-festa-footballer.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/julius-caesar-rome-murder-rubicon-torre-argentina.html" target="_blank"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/julius-caesar-rome-murder-rubicon-torre-argentina.html" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyqmY8CGxhidjpAeREgEshSdxaWbEPbIePtB2tV0V0XhxMbqIfGCf1P4uKH4HqWoBk42zwcTjLMv4sb97EEHPxgVGwMvTTzcXbF-0B1MORuGRs3hvuHv-Y68SwkQwKHGUtvFhtZ354ulML6ZB-gAnw5EovSEgBLvZ7K4QXjdbNXJuqm0HN6RZqhgJ-0gU5/s158/Metropolitan_Ferrari_Caesar_2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="158" data-original-width="127" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyqmY8CGxhidjpAeREgEshSdxaWbEPbIePtB2tV0V0XhxMbqIfGCf1P4uKH4HqWoBk42zwcTjLMv4sb97EEHPxgVGwMvTTzcXbF-0B1MORuGRs3hvuHv-Y68SwkQwKHGUtvFhtZ354ulML6ZB-gAnw5EovSEgBLvZ7K4QXjdbNXJuqm0HN6RZqhgJ-0gU5/w161-h200/Metropolitan_Ferrari_Caesar_2.jpg" width="161" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/julius-caesar-rome-murder-rubicon-torre-argentina.html" target="_blank">The murder of Julius Caesar</a></h3><p><b>He came, saw, conquered... and was assassinated</b></p><p>Statesman and soldier <b>Gaius Julius Caesar </b>was murdered on this day in 44 BC in Rome. His death made the Ides of March, the day on the Roman calendar devised by Caesar that corresponds to 15 March, a turning point in Roman history, one of the events that marked the transition from the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. Caesar had made his mark as a soldier in Asia Minor and Spain and established himself as a politician, making useful allies. But his invasion of Gaul took several years and was the most costly and destructive campaign ever undertaken by a Roman commander. Afterwards, Caesar crossed the Rubicon - a river that formed a northern border of Italy - with a legion of troops, entered Rome illegally, and established himself as a dictator dressed in royal robes. On the Ides of March, Caesar was stabbed to death by a group of rebellious senators led by Marcus Junius Brutus. His adopted heir, Octavian, later known as Augustus, rose to power afterwards and the Roman Empire began. Far from sealing his reputation as a vainglorious tyrant, his assassins, Brutus, Cassius and the others, succeeded only in clinching Caesar’s historical immortality. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/julius-caesar-rome-murder-rubicon-torre-argentina.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/giuseppe-mezzofanti-hyperpolyglot-38-languages.html" target="_blank"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/giuseppe-mezzofanti-hyperpolyglot-38-languages.html" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6IYzjEzDOkFXWyUuE7UVqKMV6oyiExkJ7hHSsKb_ufK07MJ6OqG5dEvs0qJF70rzPkC5zL9VIf5g8SojvZGfvBbtB8WlXYsd0fpwlbRae2wvp6mH-_7ogHDfUXV9XcSdaysqSvVY04u8Dl2P-smiRzrODfS4AtTbMLaIrkO6xugFJSRczRc2yoaYjroN/s199/Giuseppe_Mezzofanti%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="199" data-original-width="172" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6IYzjEzDOkFXWyUuE7UVqKMV6oyiExkJ7hHSsKb_ufK07MJ6OqG5dEvs0qJF70rzPkC5zL9VIf5g8SojvZGfvBbtB8WlXYsd0fpwlbRae2wvp6mH-_7ogHDfUXV9XcSdaysqSvVY04u8Dl2P-smiRzrODfS4AtTbMLaIrkO6xugFJSRczRc2yoaYjroN/s1600/Giuseppe_Mezzofanti%20(2).jpg" width="172" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/giuseppe-mezzofanti-hyperpolyglot-38-languages.html" target="_blank">Giuseppe Mezzofanti - hyperpolyglot</a></h3><p><b>Roman Catholic Cardinal could speak 38 languages</b></p><p>The death occurred in Rome on this day in 1849 of <b>Cardinal Giuseppe Caspar Mezzofanti,</b> a prodigiously talented academic renowned for his command of multiple foreign languages. Defined as a hyperpolyglot - someone who is fluent in six languages or more - Mezzofanti is said to have full command of at least 38. The majority were European, Mediterranean or Middle Eastern languages - mainstream and regional - but he was also said to be fluent in Chinese languages, Russian, plus Hindi and Gujarati. His fame was such that he became something of an international celebrity, although he never actually left Italy, living the early part of his life in his home city of Bologna, before moving to Rome. Visiting dignitaries from all over the world would ask to be introduced to him, ready to be awestruck as he slipped effortlessly into their native tongue. There is an abundance of stories illustrating his extraordinary gift. As a boy, working in the workshop in Bologna of his father, Francis, a carpenter, he is said to have overheard from a neighbouring building a priest giving lessons in Latin and Greek and later recalled every word, despite never having seen a Latin or Greek book. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/giuseppe-mezzofanti-hyperpolyglot-38-languages.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/3Pm7kpo" target="_blank">Salvator Rosa: Paint and Performance, by Helen Langdon</a></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HObfAakMog14P0V93v0mLmUQlOsj660uTBxTFborV62dimHfdG7mETH5UrYquf3l8N_uklpKO588rk77UJYYj6saph2TlDfUG4qO4Bw95ewRyaXfcS9vhyphenhyphenTCSOSgqFDP3rxM4NrWBWWKspIlV5R1V32PgXrd9FBQGOhGjgXUhs8AuDnnkARhj9Lnw4hN/s1500/81BxGpLMleL._SL1500_.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="958" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HObfAakMog14P0V93v0mLmUQlOsj660uTBxTFborV62dimHfdG7mETH5UrYquf3l8N_uklpKO588rk77UJYYj6saph2TlDfUG4qO4Bw95ewRyaXfcS9vhyphenhyphenTCSOSgqFDP3rxM4NrWBWWKspIlV5R1V32PgXrd9FBQGOhGjgXUhs8AuDnnkARhj9Lnw4hN/w127-h200/81BxGpLMleL._SL1500_.jpg" width="127" /></a></div>Painter, poet and actor Salvator Rosa was one of the most engaging and charismatic personalities of seventeenth-century Italy. Although a gifted landscape painter, he longed to be seen as the pre-eminent philosopher-painter of his age. This new account traces Rosa's strategies of self-promotion, and his creation of a new kind of audience for his art. The book describes the startling novelty of his subject-matter - witchcraft and divination, as well as prophecies, natural magic and dark violence - and his early exploration of a nascent aesthetic of the sublime. Salvator Rosa shows how the artist, in a series of remarkable works, responded to new movements in thought and feeling, creating images that spoke to the deepest concerns of his age. Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, London, described <b>Salvator Rosa: Paint and Performance</b> as a ‘superb biography . . . [which] presents the artist in all his brilliance and wit, his vaulting ambition, his potent originality as a painter and his infuriating complexity as a person.'<p></p><p><b>Helen Langdon</b> is an art historian with a special interest in the Italian Baroque. She is author of <i>Claude Lorrain</i> (1989) and<i> Caravaggio: A Life </i>(1999) and is based in London.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3Pm7kpo" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><p><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?s=275050&v=3787&q=130625&r=226563"><img border="0" src="https://www.awin1.com/cshow.php?s=275050&v=3787&q=130625&r=226563" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-30324453212581135302024-03-14T06:30:00.010+00:002024-03-14T06:30:00.133+00:0014 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxNRZt9h5nNSH_2wjp67jUlo1H-IKacT5xzg5t7rjQg1yDlCOBBVq1Tpqnqt2z-DSCbnh4NgS6_VUlbAH1HoCc4HwacJ9gpF8lpThuu34X9MLIEFMnxzbWm1LcFhcUOzb29e23IL6gHE32Yq8SqEy8Us98FwnRGG03Tq2776IlsJ8b5G23QL8H7uFz4OJ/s200/Giovanni_Schiaparelli_1870s%20(2)%20(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="152" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCxNRZt9h5nNSH_2wjp67jUlo1H-IKacT5xzg5t7rjQg1yDlCOBBVq1Tpqnqt2z-DSCbnh4NgS6_VUlbAH1HoCc4HwacJ9gpF8lpThuu34X9MLIEFMnxzbWm1LcFhcUOzb29e23IL6gHE32Yq8SqEy8Us98FwnRGG03Tq2776IlsJ8b5G23QL8H7uFz4OJ/s1600/Giovanni_Schiaparelli_1870s%20(2)%20(1).jpg" width="152" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/giovanni-schiaparelli-astronomer-life-on-mars.html" target="_blank">Giovanni Schiaparelli - astronomer</a></div></h3><p><b>Discoveries sparked belief there was life on Mars</b></p><p>The astronomer <b>Giovanni Schiaparelli,</b> whose observations in the late 19th century gave rise to decades of popular speculation about possible life on Mars, was born on this day in 1835 in Savigliano, about 60km (37 miles) south of Turin. Schiaparelli worked for more than 40 years at the Brera Observatory in Milan, most of that time as its director. It was in 1877 that he made the observations that were to cause so much excitement, a year notable for a particularly favourable 'opposition' of Mars, when Mars, Earth and the Sun all line up so that Mars and the Sun are on directly opposite sides of Earth, making the surface of Mars easier to see. Oppositions occur every two years or so but because the orbit of Mars is more elliptical than Earth's there are points at which it is much closer to the Sun than at others. An opposition that coincides with one of these points is much rarer, probably taking place only once in a lifetime, if that. Schiaparelli was deeply fascinated with Mars and knew that this opposition gave him the opportunity of his lifetime to make a detailed survey of the red planet and made every effort to ensure his vision and his senses were as sharp as they could be when he put his eye to the telescope. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/giovanni-schiaparelli-astronomer-life-on-mars.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI89tFgpOhWsPOlp_T2YoP4ETJqzjxX_0cu3T4_hlo6B9VamIyzhdYX2xCq3CmW450n3WGA0r4IXIaVv09SMFa2SAk1eQcaPs4CCMo85G2YHmsKG5SIsDP7m8JxVMlGl_w4C3fl5hOZkFpm0rDObjWOrH9NRffcwtuRdu1d1M-HjxQJRbNsohiWr8Sk-3p/s183/Giangiacomo_Feltrinelli.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="143" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI89tFgpOhWsPOlp_T2YoP4ETJqzjxX_0cu3T4_hlo6B9VamIyzhdYX2xCq3CmW450n3WGA0r4IXIaVv09SMFa2SAk1eQcaPs4CCMo85G2YHmsKG5SIsDP7m8JxVMlGl_w4C3fl5hOZkFpm0rDObjWOrH9NRffcwtuRdu1d1M-HjxQJRbNsohiWr8Sk-3p/s1600/Giangiacomo_Feltrinelli.jpg" width="143" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/giangiacomo-feltrinelli-Italian-publisher-death-bomb-Milan.html" target="_blank">Giangiacomo Feltrinelli – publisher</a></h3><p><b>Accidental death of an aristocratic activist</b></p><p><b>Giangiacomo Feltrinelli,</b> a leading European publisher and one of Italy’s richest men, died on this day in 1972 after being blown up while trying to ignite a terrorist bomb on an electricity pylon at Segrate near Milan. It was a bizarre end to the life and career of a man who had helped revolutionise Italian book publishing. He became famous for his decision to translate and publish Boris Pasternak’s novel <i>Doctor Zhivago</i> after the manuscript was smuggled out of the Soviet Union, where it had been banned on the grounds of being anti-Soviet. This was an event that shook the Soviet empire and led to Pasternak winning the Nobel Prize in Literature. Feltrinelli also started the first chain of book shops in Italy, which still bear his name. He was born in 1926 into a wealthy, monarchist family. At the instigation of his mother, Feltrinelli was created Marquess of Gargnano when he was 12 by Benito Mussolini. During the Second World War, the family left their home, Villa Feltrinelli, north of Salò on Lake Garda to make way for Mussolini to live there. But in the later stages of the war, Feltrinelli enrolled in the Italian Communist Party and fought against the Germans and the remnants of Mussolini’s regime. From 1949 onwards, Feltrinelli collected documents for the Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Library in Milan. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/giangiacomo-feltrinelli-Italian-publisher-death-bomb-Milan.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjDMYPTX0yMrG8COltPZi5HPCdjI0MfFsKYBLlMjjDsoPL0zUPG0-To0sBYbzFiFq9922uw4YvXpjniJbzzBYJaL2m_G7_OlNt63F5kwod-y23ZrRUtcgZ4Efg62X0A4zofZ9gC_kUY7gSV9Z2KhGzpX03mrSS5HGr3IlycdDzIXgoo118UZoTafj0e75/s200/AntonioDugoni-PortraitOfKingVictorEmanuel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="150" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjDMYPTX0yMrG8COltPZi5HPCdjI0MfFsKYBLlMjjDsoPL0zUPG0-To0sBYbzFiFq9922uw4YvXpjniJbzzBYJaL2m_G7_OlNt63F5kwod-y23ZrRUtcgZ4Efg62X0A4zofZ9gC_kUY7gSV9Z2KhGzpX03mrSS5HGr3IlycdDzIXgoo118UZoTafj0e75/s1600/AntonioDugoni-PortraitOfKingVictorEmanuel.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/victor-emmanuel-ii-risorgimento-united-Italy-Rome.html" target="_blank">Victor Emmanuel II</a></h3><p><b>The first king to rule over a united Italy</b></p><p><b>King Victor Emmanuel II</b> was born Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso on this day in 1820 in Turin. He was proclaimed the first king of a united Italy in 1861 by the country’s new parliament and in 1870, after the French withdrew, he entered the city of Rome and set up the new Italian capital there. The Italian people called him Padre della Patria - Father of the Fatherland. Born Prince Victor Emmanuel of Savoy, he was the eldest son of Charles Albert, Prince of Carignano, and Maria Theresa of Austria. His father succeeded a distant cousin as King of Sardinia- Piedmont in 1831. In 1842 Victor Emmanuel married his cousin Adelaide of Austria and was styled as the Duke of Savoy before becoming King of Sardinia-Piedmont after his father abdicated the throne following a humiliating military defeat by the Austrians at the Battle of Novara. In 1852 Victor Emmanuel appointed Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour as Prime Minister of Piedmont-Sardinia, who turned out to be a shrewd politician and masterminded his campaign to rule over a united Italy. <a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/victor-emmanuel-ii-risorgimento-united-Italy-Rome.html" target="_blank"> <b>Read more…</b></a></p><p style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7yiXqBi-bnd_LNnK3lx1QaBOnc3oT85OcJFm0PROCCa7tam75WXMGog-DYe7ZvPn1DscvCFRz1ucuR_hyphenhypheno1JDTWjZzgtJKf37nyUqIm2QXdsCkw0glhfZ8UVwPaPPK_-CH1dkqSh2i_IF1nFTYTUUEx8UOTG0fJzeHtOmoKhTg6OyWxKSWnMWF49lQQh/s195/Giuseppe_Maria_Crespi_-_self-portrait_-_Pinacoteca_di_Brera,_Milan%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="195" data-original-width="135" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU7yiXqBi-bnd_LNnK3lx1QaBOnc3oT85OcJFm0PROCCa7tam75WXMGog-DYe7ZvPn1DscvCFRz1ucuR_hyphenhypheno1JDTWjZzgtJKf37nyUqIm2QXdsCkw0glhfZ8UVwPaPPK_-CH1dkqSh2i_IF1nFTYTUUEx8UOTG0fJzeHtOmoKhTg6OyWxKSWnMWF49lQQh/s1600/Giuseppe_Maria_Crespi_-_self-portrait_-_Pinacoteca_di_Brera,_Milan%20(2).jpg" width="135" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2022/03/giuseppe-maria-crespi-painter.html" target="_blank">Giuseppe Maria Crespi - painter</a></h3><p><b>Artist from Baroque period who excelled in genre painting</b></p><p>The painter <b>Giuseppe Maria Crespi</b>, one of the first Italian exponents of genre painting, which depicts ordinary people in scenes from everyday life, was born on this day in 1665 in Bologna. Crespi also painted portraits and caricatures as well as religious paintings, especially at the beginning and end of his career. Even in his religious work, the scenes would include ordinary people, such as his acclaimed series, the<i> The Seven Sacraments, </i>originally commissioned by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni in Rome, which now hangs in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister - the Old Masters’ Gallery - in Dresden. Growing up in Bologna, he learned the basics of drawing and painting from Angelo Michele Toni, to whom he was apprenticed at the age of 12. His taste in clothes - he favoured the tight garments characteristic of Spanish fashion - earned him the nickname Lo Spagnuolo - the Spaniard. After leaving Toni, he spent much time studying and copying the work around the city of the Carracci brothers - Annibale, Agostino and Ludovico - whose fresco decorations adorned the cloister of San Michele in Bosco and the Palazzo Magnani and Palazzo Fava. Their work proved to be a lasting influence. <b> <a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2022/03/giuseppe-maria-crespi-painter.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/3TyveAl" target="_blank">Atlas of Astronomical Discoveries, by Govert Schilling</a></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeV9R_XYuj0Flcr-qp5ZPUEDnNAsVGqlX_nWGNHqqeYWtMgLMhBaSPW02AUSng9ojlzr7sQfMB7AikC9kn4IKeFlqaoStzKDrGvMGgI31u9Dp5ZOb3pAQBoEsT3bNRgmCVIdrKd8CYE0BOq3oQVJDjUxLGMczbt3gZFTBjfdIyYlyMgETdBxQfjc1qx5fr/s1046/61jgW68RkvL._SL1046_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1046" data-original-width="827" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeV9R_XYuj0Flcr-qp5ZPUEDnNAsVGqlX_nWGNHqqeYWtMgLMhBaSPW02AUSng9ojlzr7sQfMB7AikC9kn4IKeFlqaoStzKDrGvMGgI31u9Dp5ZOb3pAQBoEsT3bNRgmCVIdrKd8CYE0BOq3oQVJDjUxLGMczbt3gZFTBjfdIyYlyMgETdBxQfjc1qx5fr/w158-h200/61jgW68RkvL._SL1046_.jpg" width="158" /></a></div>In his <b>Atlas of Astronomical Discoveries,</b> astronomy journalist Govert Schilling tells the story of 400 years of telescopic astronomy. He looks at the 100 most important discoveries since the invention of the telescope. Doing what Schilling does best, he takes the reader on an adventure through both space and time. Photographs and amazing pictures line the pages of this book, offering the reader an escape from this world and an invitation to a world far beyond what the unaided human eye can detect. The book offers a unique combination of informative text, magnificent illustrations and stylish design, examines the 100 most important discoveries since the invention of the telescope and features spectacular photographs, taken with the largest telescopes on Earth and in space, that portray distant corners of the universe.<p></p><p><b>Govert Schilling</b> is an internationally acclaimed astronomy writer in the Netherlands. He is a contributing editor of Sky & Telescope, and his articles have appeared in <i>Science, New Scientist</i> and <i>BBC Sky at Night Magazine</i>. He has written more than 50 books. In 2007, the International Astronomical Union named asteroid (10986) Govert after him.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3TyveAl" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><!-- START ADVERTISER: Trip.com North America from awin.com -->
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<p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><div><br /></div>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-75388707899279562352024-03-13T09:13:00.002+00:002024-03-13T09:13:16.041+00:0013 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahDePn07E6bskwsgffNR6cKnpeUqNP8QoT9bnfYOQBOvC9vipm-cfL489gEAvtye2QziDq4ig7tN3S1Vc1PSQQOR9I-51MDkXPjRfLayOxa994y_dbBW7tZf04UQ5MlrapnkrgxD3rbdTBzwtcsjAcsmV6WzdNxvNdi-CwHiRxpERsXIth6sHekx4ia3O/s149/PIGNATELLI_ANTONIO%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="149" data-original-width="112" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjahDePn07E6bskwsgffNR6cKnpeUqNP8QoT9bnfYOQBOvC9vipm-cfL489gEAvtye2QziDq4ig7tN3S1Vc1PSQQOR9I-51MDkXPjRfLayOxa994y_dbBW7tZf04UQ5MlrapnkrgxD3rbdTBzwtcsjAcsmV6WzdNxvNdi-CwHiRxpERsXIth6sHekx4ia3O/w150-h200/PIGNATELLI_ANTONIO%202.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><span style="background-color: red; color: white;">NEW</span> - <a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2024/03/pope-innocent-xii.html" target="_blank">Pope Innocent XII</a></h3><p><b>Pontiff who banned nepotism in papal appointments </b></p><p><b>Pope Innocent XII, </b>whose nine years as Pope at the end of the 17th century were notable for his ban on the practice of pontiffs appointing relatives to key positions in the papal court, was born Antonio Pignatelli on this day in 1615. Innocent XII, who was elected Pope in July 1691 and led the Catholic Church until his death in September 1700, issued the papal bull entitled <i>Romanum decet pontificem</i> within a year of taking office, abolishing the position of Cardinal-Nephew in the church hierarchy. The creation of Cardinal-Nephew as an office in the church had been officially recognised since 1566 but the practice of appointing family members had been used by a succession of popes since the Middle Ages to help them consolidate family power and wealth in an era when papal authority extended well beyond the confines of the church. The practice gave rise to the use of the term nepotism to describe the act of granting an advantage, privilege, or position to relatives or friends in any occupation or field. The word originates from <i>cardinalis nepos</i>, the Latin translation of ‘cardinal nephew’ - <i>cardinale nipote</i> in Italian. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2024/03/pope-innocent-xii.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI6eao-rDKLcRgmo2_luXXANyQxxkseBTeqPJvn6NJHjbAkXg3N3BJGG34Bos1Zoirb5psWciTGK8vaYpz0rZK8a9xjs9QBdDyQxtBJbGD42LWQwJuYXfZ163Z4cfFcoX_VAALHWEThiFUrOpsFSNHBRGzNupriipMI95pFK-w2gj1vHZzMVRfcFD6JjgA/s200/Ligabue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="200" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI6eao-rDKLcRgmo2_luXXANyQxxkseBTeqPJvn6NJHjbAkXg3N3BJGG34Bos1Zoirb5psWciTGK8vaYpz0rZK8a9xjs9QBdDyQxtBJbGD42LWQwJuYXfZ163Z4cfFcoX_VAALHWEThiFUrOpsFSNHBRGzNupriipMI95pFK-w2gj1vHZzMVRfcFD6JjgA/s1600/Ligabue.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/ligabue-record-breaking-rock-star.html" target="_blank">Ligabue - record-breaking rock star</a></h3><p><b>Musician and writer once dubbed 'Italy's Springsteen'</b></p><p>Rock musician Luciano Ligabue - known simply as <b>Ligabue</b> - was born on this day in 1960. Once dubbed ‘Italy’s Springsteen’, he has been hugely successful in his own country but has never managed to achieve true international recognition. Yet such is his popularity in Italy that a Ligabue concert held on a stage erected on Reggio Emilia's airfield in 2005 attracted an audience of 180,000, a European record for a paid-for event headlined by a single artist. He has played before audiences of more than 110,000 at the Giuseppe Meazza football stadium in Milan -- the home of Internazionale and AC Milan -- and has twice repeated the so-called Campovolo event in Reggio Emilia. In September 2015, a concert to celebrate Ligabue's 25 years in the music business sold 150,000 tickets, setting another record as the most lucrative single music concert in Italian history, with proceeds of around €7 million. Although he grew up with a love of music, it was some years before Ligabue was able to make a living from his passion. As a young man, he flitted from one job to another. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/ligabue-record-breaking-rock-star.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqVAzvZIrGke3jBk5EDtM9g7b9u8iDD3Y9E0ZQioiWOmrNjmFxGua8Z3-3EaF35fAUh8Whi5_zzQX87T3h7DJAncmz9aReH4MOLIDZE5VIvtVTM63DHxaXrjgFOdOQxL7I0VBixDh_8jQDz-WAKE9H0PVvDLE59HKuhhOOWW06shMqvNUH4FtDc9Dl5W2P/s200/cacace%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="155" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqVAzvZIrGke3jBk5EDtM9g7b9u8iDD3Y9E0ZQioiWOmrNjmFxGua8Z3-3EaF35fAUh8Whi5_zzQX87T3h7DJAncmz9aReH4MOLIDZE5VIvtVTM63DHxaXrjgFOdOQxL7I0VBixDh_8jQDz-WAKE9H0PVvDLE59HKuhhOOWW06shMqvNUH4FtDc9Dl5W2P/s1600/cacace%20(2).jpg" width="155" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/flavia-cacace-dancer-strictly-come-dancing.html" target="_blank">Flavia Cacace - dancer</a></h3><p><b>Star of <i>Strictly Come Dancing</i> famous for Argentine Tango</b></p><p>The dancer <b>Flavia Cacace,</b> who found fame through the British hit television show, <i>Strictly Come Dancing,</i> was born on this day in 1980 in Naples. She and professional partner Vincent Simone, who is from Puglia, performed on the show for seven seasons from 2006 to 2012. The show, which has been mimicked in more than 50 countries across the world, including Italy and the United States, pairs celebrities with professional dancers, combining Latin and ballroom dances in a competition lasting several months. Cacace, who was runner-up in 2007 with British actor Matt d'Angelo, left the show as champion in 2012 after she and the British Olympic gymnast Louis Smith won the final, which was watched by an estimated 13.35 million viewers. The youngest of six children, Cacace moved to England shortly before her fifth birthday when her father, Roberto, a chef, decided to look for work opportunities in London. Her family are from the Vomero district of Naples, a smart neighbourhood that occupies an elevated position on a hill overlooking the city, offering spectacular views. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/flavia-cacace-dancer-strictly-come-dancing.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3_eX9k-kl_QwK7toKGBmDE55rGdKYcCXrHih4ffJpQnCXz0C4mmHZdAzWbNFFAe1eAVsWxAKr5TrrXeSZiURqypFMWl3RgP1dHgZUyDJ2smyYMqZ6UQkFBfVJSz_HnR52oQsXfoK1i-eTvg-3A2rTRztIZgJ7KvyNXuj2mMf558Vk2nOWyccgrQ3q_T9f/s200/Eduardo_Scarpetta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="140" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3_eX9k-kl_QwK7toKGBmDE55rGdKYcCXrHih4ffJpQnCXz0C4mmHZdAzWbNFFAe1eAVsWxAKr5TrrXeSZiURqypFMWl3RgP1dHgZUyDJ2smyYMqZ6UQkFBfVJSz_HnR52oQsXfoK1i-eTvg-3A2rTRztIZgJ7KvyNXuj2mMf558Vk2nOWyccgrQ3q_T9f/s1600/Eduardo_Scarpetta.jpg" width="140" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2023/03/eduardo-scarpetta-actor-and-playwright.html" target="_blank">Eduardo Scarpetta - actor and playwright</a></h3><p><b>Much-loved performer began theatrical dynasty</b></p><p><b>Eduardo Scarpetta,</b> one of the most important writers and actors in Neapolitan theatre in the last 19th and early 20th centuries, was born on this day in 1853 in Naples. Fascinated by the <i>commedia dell’arte</i> and Neapolitan puppet theatre character Pulcinella, Scarpetta was the writer of more than 50 dialect plays in the comedy genre, creating his own character, Felice Sciosciammocca, a wide-eyed, gullible but essentially good-natured Neapolitan who featured prominently in his best-known work, <i>Miseria e Nobiltà (Misery and Nobility). </i>His plays made him wealthy, although his standing was damaged towards the end of his career by a notorious dispute with Gabriele D’Annunzio, the celebrated playwright and poet with aristocratic roots who was a considerable figure in Italian literature. A showman with a reputation for throwing extravagant parties, Scarpetta led a complicated personal life that saw him father at least eight children by at least four women, of which only one was by his wife, Rosa De Filippo. One of his relationships, with Rosa’s niece, Luisa, a theatre seamstress, produced three children - Eduardo, Peppino and Titina De Filippo - central figures in an Italian theatre and film dynasty in the 20th century. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2023/03/eduardo-scarpetta-actor-and-playwright.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUS-3svC4kAC2mC4gVfiJuKGWExqMMZqM7vLpBF-HRXm3itympz322K_IHSzKHG1jLWNOqiUFb700u6t9Pa4Kw45_yM2Xv3NBd5eIn4tmAubnfgpmIb_LH4zMaerueKrpYeoSZ96zHRWKjuLiXgJ8IGlyV5pStNd1tWRbc-Fg5YWPJs87wHpJ9yls8JQDb/s200/conti%20bruno%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="198" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUS-3svC4kAC2mC4gVfiJuKGWExqMMZqM7vLpBF-HRXm3itympz322K_IHSzKHG1jLWNOqiUFb700u6t9Pa4Kw45_yM2Xv3NBd5eIn4tmAubnfgpmIb_LH4zMaerueKrpYeoSZ96zHRWKjuLiXgJ8IGlyV5pStNd1tWRbc-Fg5YWPJs87wHpJ9yls8JQDb/s1600/conti%20bruno%20(2).jpg" width="198" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/bruno-conti-Italy-1982-world-cup-winner.html" target="_blank">Bruno Conti - World Cup winner</a></h3><p><b>Roma star was key figure for azzurri in 1982 victory</b></p><p>The former footballer - now coach - <b>Bruno Conti,</b> who played a starring role as Italy won the World Cup in Spain in 1982, was born on this day in 1955 in Nettuno, a seaside resort south of Rome. A winger with extravagant skills, Conti became an increasingly influential figure as the azzurri campaign in 1982 gathered momentum after a slow start. He scored Italy’s goal against Peru in the first group stage, a fine shot into the top right-hand corner from 20 yards (18m), although as a team Italy were not at their best and failed to win any of their opening three matches, scraping into the second group phase only by virtue of having scored more goals than Cameroon, who finished with the same number of points. But the second phase saw a transformation as Italy defied the odds to beat the holders Argentina and the multi-talented Brazil team of Socrates, Zico and Falcao who had started the tournament as hot favourites. Although the striker Paolo Rossi ultimately took the headlines with his hat-trick against Brazil, Conti played superbly in both matches, his runs and turns posing problems repeatedly for the opposition defence. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/bruno-conti-Italy-1982-world-cup-winner.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ltyeljgpPhaAl7KqIHsxyg_Ryj-8gkk-oK6ET7megP2pvYwaVaedXo4B0Jz6bO0QFjf65_C_HXz0VAfM5INiy2aj3boK59ogNWYLT1dbr2OyxkM2gi5breiAAfzKjk_Pm0lEIrKrzZPwyUnq9ZBgzypQtEY1xPuWZpjm92Pg2UbMbDi0vBeiwQ3RBgJ0/s200/corrado%20gaipa.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="176" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ltyeljgpPhaAl7KqIHsxyg_Ryj-8gkk-oK6ET7megP2pvYwaVaedXo4B0Jz6bO0QFjf65_C_HXz0VAfM5INiy2aj3boK59ogNWYLT1dbr2OyxkM2gi5breiAAfzKjk_Pm0lEIrKrzZPwyUnq9ZBgzypQtEY1xPuWZpjm92Pg2UbMbDi0vBeiwQ3RBgJ0/s1600/corrado%20gaipa.png" width="176" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/corrado-gaipa-actor-The-Godfather-cinema.html" target="_blank">Corrado Gaipa – actor</a></h3><p><b>From <i>The Godfather</i> to voice of Alec Guinness</b></p><p>The respected character actor and voice-dubber <b>Corrado Gaipa</b> was born on this day in 1925 in Palermo. His versatility as a voice actor brought him considerable work at a time when Italian cinema audiences much preferred to watch dubbed versions of mainstream English-language films rather than hear the original soundtrack with subtitles. Gaipa’s voice replaced that of Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original <i>Star Wars</i> trilogy. He was also heard dubbing Spencer Tracy in <i>Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,</i> Burt Lancaster in <i>The Leopard,</i> Telly Savalas in <i>The Dirty Dozen</i> and Lee J Cobb in <i>The Exorcist.</i> He was the voice of a number of characters in animation films also, including Bagheera in Walt Disney’s <i>The Jungle Book </i>and Scat-Cat in <i>The Aristocats.</i> As an actor in his own right, he worked with many leading directors in Italian cinema, including Francesco Rosi and Vittorio Gassman. His most famous role was probably that of Don Tommasino in Francis Ford Coppola’s <i>The Godfather. </i> In Mario Puzo’s story, Don Tommasino was an old friend in Sicily of the movie’s main character, Vito Corleone. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/corrado-gaipa-actor-The-Godfather-cinema.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>______________________________________</b></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/43eo0EO" target="_blank">Dark History of the Popes, b</a></b><b><a href="https://amzn.to/43eo0EO" target="_blank">y Brenda Ralph Lewis</a></b></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjla5iZwI3ssUUc74x3Ejq9nfu1vUtqhyphenhyphena6_A66FyEBnD5uwXKuaO2SzjHeB-IdBFtdGZeKY2WplOj7RCvc_TcZzosuehaFCeadxGgidOfp3fFNYpQXMWaYAopF-IRy_bhyphenhyphen6BwkXw6tDaYDVMjhqcuB5QJVnc0ibd7Ttk2Y0Sq9gBGoM5aupARz6RksBrIT/s1417/81zQGuTmdML._SL1417_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1417" data-original-width="1116" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjla5iZwI3ssUUc74x3Ejq9nfu1vUtqhyphenhyphena6_A66FyEBnD5uwXKuaO2SzjHeB-IdBFtdGZeKY2WplOj7RCvc_TcZzosuehaFCeadxGgidOfp3fFNYpQXMWaYAopF-IRy_bhyphenhyphen6BwkXw6tDaYDVMjhqcuB5QJVnc0ibd7Ttk2Y0Sq9gBGoM5aupARz6RksBrIT/w158-h200/81zQGuTmdML._SL1417_.jpg" width="158" /></a></div>In the 10th century, being head of the Catholic Church didn’t stop Pope John XII from allegedly committing incest with his sisters, calling on pagan gods and goddesses, being an alcoholic and putting his mistress in charge of his brothel. Of course, being Pope didn’t make popes popular either: in 896AD, Pope Formosus died, but that was no obstacle to Lambert of Spoleto, who bore something of a grudge, in exhuming the pontiff and putting him on trial. Formosus was found guilty of being unworthy of his papal office, had all his acts annulled and his body was thrown in the Tiber. From corruption to nepotism, from crusade to witch-burning to Inquisition, from popes sanctioning murder to popes being murdered, <b>Dark History of The Popes </b>explores more than 1000 years of sinister deeds surrounding the papacy. Ranging from the 9th century AD to Pope Pius XII’s position during World War II, the book examines political, religious and social history through the skulduggery of popes and courtiers, the role the Borgias family played in the papacy, the persecution of Jews and the religious controversy over Galileo Galilei’s heretical views, among other topics. Using diaries, letters, reports from foreign ambassadors to the Vatican and official registers of the ecclesiastical courts, a picture of both sinning and sinned against popes is revealed. Packed with more than 200 colour and black-&-white photographs, paintings and artworks, Dark History of The Popes is an eye-opening account of the history of the papacy that pontiffs would rather not mention.<p></p><p><b>Brenda Ralph Lewis</b> is a prolific writer with over 70 books to her name. In 1997-1998, she wrote a complete part-work celebrating the life of Diana, Princess of Wales. Formerly royal correspondent for four British newspapers, she has contributed regular articles for <i>Royalty</i> magazine and appeared in TV documentaries about the monarchy.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/43eo0EO" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><ins class="bookingaff" data-aid="2228363" data-target_aid="2228363" data-prod="banner" data-width="728" data-height="90" data-banner_id="108308" data-lang="en">
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<p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><div><br /></div>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-88785407248816019242024-03-13T06:00:00.018+00:002024-03-13T09:15:50.781+00:00Pope Innocent XII<h3 style="text-align: left;">Pontiff who banned nepotism in papal appointments </h3><p><b></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEktk1BP8f8yTUTT2qpueCks4uw35yFIeuD6Ki5_DuI0g0dN5bObXSGKZoZsw7D0Ce72u4t9wLcyzjwYjcdMfMyZrAO4fugkxhM9TfyagR1XbK6S5HTzX6FP2qSl8KZs-XnucS4KGwcvRACOjP1sYYbGXKS-MKZYCVhILvExX54Jc7wcpI0JosSaHDOCl/s800/Antonio_Zanchi_%E2%80%93_Papa_Innocenzo_XII.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A divided papal conclave elected Pope Innocent XII as a compromise candidate" border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="694" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisEktk1BP8f8yTUTT2qpueCks4uw35yFIeuD6Ki5_DuI0g0dN5bObXSGKZoZsw7D0Ce72u4t9wLcyzjwYjcdMfMyZrAO4fugkxhM9TfyagR1XbK6S5HTzX6FP2qSl8KZs-XnucS4KGwcvRACOjP1sYYbGXKS-MKZYCVhILvExX54Jc7wcpI0JosSaHDOCl/w278-h320/Antonio_Zanchi_%E2%80%93_Papa_Innocenzo_XII.jpg" title="A divided papal conclave elected Pope Innocent XII as a compromise candidate" width="278" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A divided papal conclave elected Pope<br /> Innocent XII as a compromise candidate </td></tr></tbody></table><b>Pope Innocent XII, whose nine years as Pope at the end of the 17th century were notable for his ban on the practice of pontiffs appointing relatives to key positions in the papal court, was born Antonio Pignatelli on this day in 1615.</b><p></p><p>Innocent XII, who was elected Pope in July 1691 and led the Catholic Church until his death in September 1700, issued the papal bull entitled <i>Romanum decet pontificem</i> within a year of taking office, abolishing the position of Cardinal-Nephew in the church hierarchy.</p><p>Cardinal-Nephew as an office in the church had been officially recognised since 1566 but the practice of appointing family members had been used by a succession of popes since the Middle Ages to help them consolidate family power and wealth in an era when papal authority extended well beyond the confines of the church.</p><p>The practice gave rise to the use of the term <i>nepotism</i> to describe the act of granting an advantage, privilege, or position to relatives or friends in any occupation or field. The word originates from <i>cardinalis nepos</i>, the Latin translation of cardinal nephew - <i>cardinale nipote</i> in Italian.</p><p>It was a practice Pignatelli was determined to stamp out, viewing it as an abuse of power, and he set out to build on the groundwork done by <b>Pope Innocent XI </b>between 1676 and 1689 but which his immediate predecessor, Pope Alexander VIII, had not advanced.</p><p>Pignatelli was born in <b>Spinazzola,</b> a town now in Puglia but then in the Kingdom of Naples, about 80km (50 miles) west of Bari. His aristocratic family included several Viceroys and ministers of the crown. He was educated at the <b>Collegio Romano</b> in Rome where he earned a doctorate in both canon and civil law.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw863qadAYB35PTr2Sh5rKZPbMjoXdrhEbbEYMVxjkOuK6PuR1tcYZ5oskosAQjAOOGSRUflesrrmug8aVJBcLjsy0ZXdZ2PyPy4jYpBWtscvTJjJPUqnrJEaL-Xi0KJkSgEXqLoBscu3UjOt2cQU_OBJIKTlz_tsZt0-taMmW5Qs-dcFt9CAzjclIkd93/s1200/Pope_Innocent_XII_Tomb.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Pope Innocent XII's tomb in Saint Peter's Basilica" border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw863qadAYB35PTr2Sh5rKZPbMjoXdrhEbbEYMVxjkOuK6PuR1tcYZ5oskosAQjAOOGSRUflesrrmug8aVJBcLjsy0ZXdZ2PyPy4jYpBWtscvTJjJPUqnrJEaL-Xi0KJkSgEXqLoBscu3UjOt2cQU_OBJIKTlz_tsZt0-taMmW5Qs-dcFt9CAzjclIkd93/w213-h320/Pope_Innocent_XII_Tomb.jpg" title="Pope Innocent XII's tomb in Saint Peter's Basilica" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pope Innocent XII's tomb in <br />Saint Peter's Basilica</td></tr></tbody></table>He became an official of the court of <b>Pope Urban VIII</b> at the age of 20 and thereafter held a number of diplomatic roles including Inquisitor of Malta and Governor of Perugia. <p></p><p>After he was ordained as a priest, he was made Titular Archbishop of Larissa. He subsequently served as the Apostolic Nuncio to Poland and later Austria. Pope Innocent XI appointed him as the Cardinal-Priest of San Pancrazio and then of Faenza. His final post before the papacy was Archbishop of Naples. </p><p>Pope Alexander VIII died in 1691, after which the conclave to select his successor was split between factions loyal to France, Spain and the broader Holy Roman Empire. After a five-month deadlock, Cardinal Pignatelli emerged as a compromise candidate and was crowned on July 15, when he was given possession of the <b>Basilica of Saint John Lateran.</b></p><p>As well as outlawing the Cardinal-Nephew position, which meant that popes could not bestow estates, offices, or revenues on any relative, Innocent XII introduced other reforms.</p><p>These included economies in the way the church was run and improvements in the way the church administered justice. He also appointed <b>Marcello Malpighi</b>, a pioneer in the use of the microscope in medicine, as his personal physician and made him Professor of Medicine at the Sapienza University of Rome.</p><p>After a long period of ill health that caused him to miss a number of important engagements in 1700, Innocent XII died on September 27 of that year, to be succeeded by Pope Clement XI.</p><p>His tomb in Saint Peter's Basilica was sculpted by <b>Filippo della Valle.</b></p><p><b></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QCS5SVwNJMZzYiLH3imDcwhXg0KyoJx9xciaG-Jf5CCdvkP8EGVihrfkAgcXBMinMVy6cneVOGX2REz-DHQO9yhOkoC9JPsJt7xbPD_nWrbTmQZB8pWYSap3qCD7FA_s_dVU0oEdvN3LhopuaS9f2SWPDOq37ML19nVfAX-OdGtqgK8ODIrm4YxQXmCK/s1024/Via_Acerenza.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Via Acerenza is typical of the narrow, cobbled streets that fan out from Spinazzola's main street" border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QCS5SVwNJMZzYiLH3imDcwhXg0KyoJx9xciaG-Jf5CCdvkP8EGVihrfkAgcXBMinMVy6cneVOGX2REz-DHQO9yhOkoC9JPsJt7xbPD_nWrbTmQZB8pWYSap3qCD7FA_s_dVU0oEdvN3LhopuaS9f2SWPDOq37ML19nVfAX-OdGtqgK8ODIrm4YxQXmCK/w320-h213/Via_Acerenza.jpg" title="Via Acerenza is typical of the narrow, cobbled streets that fan out from Spinazzola's main street" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Via Acerenza is typical of the narrow, cobbled<br />streets that fan out from Spinazzola's main street</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Travel tip:</b><p></p><p>Formerly part of Basilicata, the border of which is less than 5km away, <b>Spinazzola </b>has been part of Puglia since 1811. It is a charming small town in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, with narrow cobblestone streets, traditional stone houses and a number of historic buildings, with Roman and Byzantine influences. The countryside around it is particularly picturesque. Pope Innocent XII’s family owned a castle in the town but it fell into disrepair and was demolished at the beginning of the 20th century. Some remains of a medieval city wall still exist, along with the 16th century mother church of San Pietro Apostolo and the first Templar hospital. Historic palaces include the Saracen Palace on Corso Vittorio Emanuele, one of the main streets through the town’s narrow historic centre. The centre of the town’s social life is Piazza Plebiscito, a square at the junction of Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Corso Umberto I.</p><p><b><a href="https://www.booking.com/searchresults.en.html?city=-130100&aid=7922554&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2&room1=A%2CA" target="_blank">Book your stay in Spinazzola with Booking.com</a></b></p><p><b></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjesXhVrJgRBoKpsi1eBw5RR59Dw5RpvsQYNcjyzADe_J6POGEC7Dtdee1oisxLUzaqHOtwrF-VuILh8GYKppteGipPfQ_vC_jAM2EReGEFkdg1rY0yb8_c-d4Q6ZoAeMWxZXWeoma-M0ckWRP1HMOMFcNKTPmhve1Z9plc2tzsqsUDd6XiFoD5IonUPhHV/s800/Pigna_-_Collegio_romano_1080166.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Rome's Collegio Romano, which Antonio Pignatelli attended before becoming Pope, was built in 1582" border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjesXhVrJgRBoKpsi1eBw5RR59Dw5RpvsQYNcjyzADe_J6POGEC7Dtdee1oisxLUzaqHOtwrF-VuILh8GYKppteGipPfQ_vC_jAM2EReGEFkdg1rY0yb8_c-d4Q6ZoAeMWxZXWeoma-M0ckWRP1HMOMFcNKTPmhve1Z9plc2tzsqsUDd6XiFoD5IonUPhHV/w320-h240/Pigna_-_Collegio_romano_1080166.JPG" title="Rome's Collegio Romano, which Antonio Pignatelli attended before becoming Pope, was built in 1582" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rome's Collegio Romano, which Antonio Pignatelli<br />attended before becoming Pope, was built in 1582</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Travel tip:</b><p></p><p>Rome’s <b>Collegio Romano</b> - the city’s Jesuit College - was established in 1551 by Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit Order. A new building was erected for the College, under the patronage of Pope Gregory XIII, in 1582. The building can be found in the central Pigna district of the city in a square now known as Piazza del Collegio Romano. It is currently used partly by the Ministry of Heritage and Culture and partly by the Ennio Quirino Visconti high school. Pigna takes its name from an enormous Roman bronze statue in the shape of a pine cone, which once adorned an ancient Roman fountain. The sculpture was later moved to the Cortile del Belvedere at the Vatican Palace, where it stands alongside a pair of bronze Roman peacocks from Hadrian’s mausoleum. The area’s tourist attractions include the Pantheon, built in 118AD and considered to be Rome’s best preserved ancient building.</p><p><b><a href="https://www.booking.com/searchresults.en.html?city=-126693&aid=7922554&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2&room1=A%2CA" target="_blank">Accommodation in Rome from Booking.com</a></b></p><p><b>More reading:</b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/07/pope-urban-viii.html" target="_blank">Urban VIII, the pope whose extravagance led to disgrace</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2023/10/the-gregorian-calendar.html" target="_blank">Why a 16th century Pope decreed that 10 days would not happen</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/02/death-of-pope-julius-ii-san-pietro-in-vincoli-rome.html" target="_blank">The Pope who commissioned Michelangelo for the Sistine Chapel</a></b></p><p><b>Also on this day: </b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2023/03/eduardo-scarpetta-actor-and-playwright.html" target="_blank">1853: The birth of actor and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/corrado-gaipa-actor-The-Godfather-cinema.html" target="_blank">1925: The birth of actor Corrado Gaipa</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/bruno-conti-Italy-1982-world-cup-winner.html" target="_blank">1955: The birth of footballer Bruno Conti</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/ligabue-record-breaking-rock-star.html" target="_blank">1960: The birth of rock musician Luciano Ligabue</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/flavia-cacace-dancer-strictly-come-dancing.html" target="_blank">1980: The birth of dancer Flavia Cacace</a></b></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Picture credits: tomb by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/26365347@N06/" target="_blank">Samuraijohnny</a>; Via Acerenza by Forsehairagione; Collegio Romano by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Lalupa" target="_blank">Lalupa</a>; via Wikimedia Commons)</span></p><p><br /><br /></p><div id="118496-1"><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/gen.js?type=1"></script><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/requestform.js?siteId=118496&formatId=1"></script></div><p></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><p><br /></p>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-50770386096216001762024-03-12T06:30:00.010+00:002024-03-12T06:30:00.138+00:0012 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5C0LHlPuGpJBATJlwFMvYumZHExhlkGEh-KOW1dGOYugy7HnLYg0RgCxdF-8BRUPep1Yqowp-bA7FNPH6rQSXGc7sQBQ7-IP3g7VH97riBwpyVwo_o-H2xhyphenhyphenNdbvagwfUzuZ7Yk6j3FzUkr83tZgEN-Q9pYi68fMlOH2snSwFYHbpQz8YuoI0E4Z991_E/s200/campari-1668534_1920.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="165" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5C0LHlPuGpJBATJlwFMvYumZHExhlkGEh-KOW1dGOYugy7HnLYg0RgCxdF-8BRUPep1Yqowp-bA7FNPH6rQSXGc7sQBQ7-IP3g7VH97riBwpyVwo_o-H2xhyphenhyphenNdbvagwfUzuZ7Yk6j3FzUkr83tZgEN-Q9pYi68fMlOH2snSwFYHbpQz8YuoI0E4Z991_E/s1600/campari-1668534_1920.jpg" width="165" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2020/03/gaspare-campari-Italian-drinks-maker.html" target="_blank">Gaspare Campari - drinks maker</a></h3><p><b>Bar owner who created classic red aperitif</b></p><p><b>Gaspare Campari, </b>whose desire to mix distinctive and unique drinks for the customers of his bar in Milan resulted in the creation of the iconic Campari aperitif, was born on this day in 1828 in Cassolnovo, a small town approximately 30km (19 miles) southwest of the northern city. He founded the company, subsequently developed by his sons, Davide and Guido, that would grow to such an extent that, as Gruppo Campari, it is now the sixth largest producer of wines, spirits and soft drinks in the world with a turnover of more than €1.8 billion. Gaspare was the 10th child born into a farming family in the province of Pavia, where Cassolnovo is found, but he had no ambition to work on the land. After working in a local bar, at the age of 14 he went to Turin, then the prosperous capital of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. He obtained an apprenticeship to Giacomo Bass, the Swiss proprietor of a pastry and liqueur shop on Piazza Castello. He is also said to have worked at the historic Ristorante Del Cambio, on Piazza Carignano, as a waiter and dishwasher. In 1850, by then in his early 20s and armed with the knowledge he had acquired in about eight years in Turin, he moved to Novara. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2020/03/gaspare-campari-Italian-drinks-maker.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiONb3pnGjzDKG7TLHiWmxUvRBhKHO8x8ZsvOYnUTpwrMCnjrYN5heN8rCGF5NxEhTYrFm9xg8YdUD26DuWcdbUq6XFveYVxXAXpVJPmSQqdJaazF2mXEsVVMI6jLZkGzTa_a9lHfoY0gtMcBQzVPve0tLwivMLa33cE39ex0u0lXD2Hs5oGiYSGsVLiNLL/s200/Gabriele_D'Annunzio_1922.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="181" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiONb3pnGjzDKG7TLHiWmxUvRBhKHO8x8ZsvOYnUTpwrMCnjrYN5heN8rCGF5NxEhTYrFm9xg8YdUD26DuWcdbUq6XFveYVxXAXpVJPmSQqdJaazF2mXEsVVMI6jLZkGzTa_a9lHfoY0gtMcBQzVPve0tLwivMLa33cE39ex0u0lXD2Hs5oGiYSGsVLiNLL/s1600/Gabriele_D'Annunzio_1922.jpg" width="181" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/gabriele-dannunzio-writer-pescara-mussolini.html" target="_blank">Gabriele D’Annunzio – writer and patriot</a></h3><p><b>Military hero influenced Mussolini with his distinctive style</b></p><p>Poet, playwright and political leader <b>Gabriele D’Annunzio </b>was born on this day in 1863 in Pescara in Abruzzo. He is considered to be the leading writer in Italy of the late 19th and early 20th centuries as well as being a military hero and a political activist. Some of his ideas and actions were believed to have influenced Italian Fascism and the style of the dictator, Benito Mussolini. D’Annunzio was the son of a wealthy landowner and went to university in Rome. His first poetry was published when he was just 16 and the novels that made him famous came out when he was in his twenties. At the age of 30 he began a long liaison with the actress Eleonora Duse and started writing plays for her. But his writing failed to pay for his extravagant lifestyle and he had to flee to France in 1910 because of his debts. After Italy entered the First World War, D’Annunzio returned and plunged into the fighting, losing an eye during combat while serving with the air force. He became famous for his bold, individual actions, such as his daring flight over Vienna to drop thousands of propaganda leaflets and his surprise attack on the Austrian fleet with power boats when they were moored at Buccari Bay in what is now Croatia. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/gabriele-dannunzio-writer-pescara-mussolini.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3wH__B7f7NIt06v7hiTnqkk3Vo8dm9v7d-IE_mCUfTCSTrkXLJgBAKnPjmNcohv-Qp4_0JwnHqsm3fgg_zUPNOBtzpnuJ4FKRXH_oV2R5M-tXb3yaRCO9HcTxWgGK5TlSyfg13ogYdFnbPF-kkoHIFuTCtRC72lC55BPKQQ6ZgrP21KSHL74RHnezEtu/s200/Gianni_Agnelli_01%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="159" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT3wH__B7f7NIt06v7hiTnqkk3Vo8dm9v7d-IE_mCUfTCSTrkXLJgBAKnPjmNcohv-Qp4_0JwnHqsm3fgg_zUPNOBtzpnuJ4FKRXH_oV2R5M-tXb3yaRCO9HcTxWgGK5TlSyfg13ogYdFnbPF-kkoHIFuTCtRC72lC55BPKQQ6ZgrP21KSHL74RHnezEtu/s1600/Gianni_Agnelli_01%20(2).jpg" width="159" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/gianni-agnelli-business-giant-Fiat-motors-Turin.html" target="_blank">Gianni Agnelli - business giant</a></h3><p><b>Head of Fiat more powerful than politicians</b></p><p>The businessman <b>Gianni Agnelli, </b>who controlled the Italian car giant Fiat for 40 years until his death in 2003, was born on this day in 1921 in Turin. Under his guidance, Fiat - Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino, founded by his grandfather, Giovanni Agnelli, in 1899 - became so huge that at one time in the 1990s, literally every other car on Italy's roads was produced in one of their factories. As its peak, Fiat made up 4.4 per cent of the Italian economy and employed 3.1 percent of its industrial workforce. Although cars remained Fiat's principal focus, the company diversified with such success, across virtually all modes of transport from tractors to Ferraris and buses to aero engines, and also into newspapers and publishing, insurance companies, food manufacture, engineering and construction, that there was a time when Agnelli controlled more than a quarter of the companies on the Milan stock exchange. His personal fortune was estimated at between $2 billion and $5 billion, which made him the richest man in Italy and one of the richest in Europe. It was hardly any surprise, then, that he became one of the most influential figures in Italy. <a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/gianni-agnelli-business-giant-Fiat-motors-Turin.html" target="_blank"><b>Read more</b>…</a></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5rbfS2Xoxxzz1ZH4QRKiMElOxbhVKQ7VMzc6TWOTzk_WmHFfUen-COsBg9od5l7LPQjHhe6D8n0h4Mnqwf7lHzFrlhFAujkPhb2bmhyoj9T6xIlVrvaVyz4ZpRPlOT4Mbfmtz5JO3qizHYfQ6sT3Woftd8UK-w9J7ulyQ8hMG1Niwu6Dkovd8Yir6Pxqn/s200/Pietro_Andrea_Mattioli.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="152" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5rbfS2Xoxxzz1ZH4QRKiMElOxbhVKQ7VMzc6TWOTzk_WmHFfUen-COsBg9od5l7LPQjHhe6D8n0h4Mnqwf7lHzFrlhFAujkPhb2bmhyoj9T6xIlVrvaVyz4ZpRPlOT4Mbfmtz5JO3qizHYfQ6sT3Woftd8UK-w9J7ulyQ8hMG1Niwu6Dkovd8Yir6Pxqn/s1600/Pietro_Andrea_Mattioli.jpg" width="152" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/pietro-andrea-mattioli-doctor-first-botanist-describe-tomato.html" target="_blank">Pietro Andrea Mattioli – doctor</a></h3><p><b>The first botanist to describe the tomato</b></p><p>Doctor and naturalist <b>Pietro Andrea Gregorio Mattioli</b> was born on this day in 1501 in Siena. As the author of an illustrated work on botany, Mattioli provided the first documented example of an early variety of tomato that was being grown and eaten in Europe. He is also believed to have described the first case of cat allergy, when one of his patients was so sensitive to cats that if he went into a room where there was a cat he would react with agitation, sweating and pallor. Mattioli received his medical degree at the University of Padua in 1523 and practised his profession in Siena, Rome, Trento and Gorizia. He became the personal physician to Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria, in Prague and to Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, in Vienna. While working for the imperial court it is believed he tested the effects of poisonous plants on prisoners, which was a common practice at the time. Mattioli’s interest in botany led him to describe 100 new plants and document the medical botany of his time in his <i>Discorsi (Commentaries) on the Materia Medica of Dioscorides,</i> a Greek physician and botanist. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/pietro-andrea-mattioli-doctor-first-botanist-describe-tomato.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/4c8gNu3" target="_blank">Aperitivo: The Cocktail Culture of Italy, by Marisa Huff</a></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFJoGTSdj7rLio11vcgX4S3yoL7DJCCd3SOPH1-tp4PCcMjCsZn53tx1Gx0giBWi7a6KiMwaBsgk1RbQ-rAjtDJ_qByguuG9z8L3AGbKGE14TO0AePXS7JuPouFg7Exp9tiH4yLZZSUdq2U8BSp2uYezNWADDumW8hnwnPRTN7zbn9ECN-13w4msPKPYf3/s1500/81A-+ib-J+L._SL1500_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1213" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFJoGTSdj7rLio11vcgX4S3yoL7DJCCd3SOPH1-tp4PCcMjCsZn53tx1Gx0giBWi7a6KiMwaBsgk1RbQ-rAjtDJ_qByguuG9z8L3AGbKGE14TO0AePXS7JuPouFg7Exp9tiH4yLZZSUdq2U8BSp2uYezNWADDumW8hnwnPRTN7zbn9ECN-13w4msPKPYf3/w162-h200/81A-+ib-J+L._SL1500_.jpg" width="162" /></a></div>Aperitivo: from the Latin aperire, to open, as in open the door to friends, open conversation around the table, and open the appetite. Aperitivo is about coming together over drinks and snacks before dinner. It's a quintessentially Italian concept, and one that's worth emulating. Originating in the bars and cafes of northern cities such as Venice, Milan, and Turin, the custom has spread all over the country. <b>Aperitivo</b> takes the reader on a spirited ride through this cocktail culture, stopping at all the chicest and most classic bars and restaurants that have elevated this ritual to an art form. Many of the drinks are structured around vermouths and citrus- and botanical infused liqueurs, which offer a new world of complex flavours. They yield enticingly simple cocktails that refresh-without stunning the palate (thanks to a lighter alcohol content). But Aperitivo is just as much about the food because in Italy, you can't drink without eating. Recipes feature peppers stuffed with tuna, the legendary croquettes from Harry's Bar, and polenta squares with baccala, as well as endless variations of crostini and focaccia. Whether planning a party or just having a friend over, Aperitivo brings a whole new spirit of conviviality and lets you host in true Italian style.<p></p><p><b>Marisa Huff</b> has written for <i>La Cucina Italiana, Wine and Spirits,</i> and <i>The Art of Eating.</i> She lives in Padua, where she is the communications director for the Alajmo restaurant group.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/4c8gNu3" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
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<p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-79079683585223299122024-03-11T06:30:00.010+00:002024-03-11T06:30:00.133+00:0011 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-6Tz3b26lWacdrUeViD_pv1CEj9xI5hLeDdKZc-2_xGi1OGwRpcz4lMYanaULyDWVVnAlqcKXB3bOVLEzW8rRgWvwY5K_geFWgv_hwMa6yauDHknCOK5Yk_sL69oWqbCaT58T8zkSTaLwCHpJD9fvIUI6ZcJFhuR_QrXIAqvpmitXSgW4FsX5s_qiwH6/s200/Torquato_Tasso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="139" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA-6Tz3b26lWacdrUeViD_pv1CEj9xI5hLeDdKZc-2_xGi1OGwRpcz4lMYanaULyDWVVnAlqcKXB3bOVLEzW8rRgWvwY5K_geFWgv_hwMa6yauDHknCOK5Yk_sL69oWqbCaT58T8zkSTaLwCHpJD9fvIUI6ZcJFhuR_QrXIAqvpmitXSgW4FsX5s_qiwH6/s1600/Torquato_Tasso.jpg" width="139" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/torquato-tasso-poet-bergamo-sorrento.html" target="_blank">Torquato Tasso – poet</a></h3><p><b>Troubled Renaissance writer came back to Sorrento</b></p><p><b>Torquato Tasso,</b> who has come to be regarded as the greatest Italian poet of the Renaissance, was born on this day in 1544 in Sorrento. Tasso’s most famous work was his epic poem <i>Gerusalemme Liberata (Jerusalem Delivered </i>or<i> The Liberation of Jerusalem)</i>, in which he gives an imaginative account of the battles between Christians and Muslims at the end of the first crusade during the siege of Jerusalem. He was one of the most widely read poets in Europe and his work was later to prove inspirational for other writers who followed him, in particular the English poets Spencer and Byron. The house where Tasso was born on 11 March, 1544 is in Sorrento’s historic centre, a few streets away from the main square, Piazza Tasso, in Via Vittorio Veneto. It now forms part of the Imperial Hotel Tramontano, where the words for the beautiful song, <i>Torna a Surriento,</i> were written by Giambattista De Curtis while he was sitting on its terrace in 1902. Tasso travelled about in Italy constantly during his 51 years but came back to Sorrento towards the end of his life to visit his beloved sister Cornelia, at a time when he was deeply troubled with mental health problems. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/torquato-tasso-poet-bergamo-sorrento.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsukHei5ojjabN1fEDLZCzhXTBHP9MAmAltU7abwY6I2I5ZhBH5ZD-jbQetfZ8kvV4t7QBzNvUwMbakOdXYFAZhrDkVz8RtUDzimtwhMOhDD9czOlyEjCEuzraXFsMiYYXq3gHTdu3MWBd6yZsGjux8oZHURvXplT5lLFn708ss5k4raucq2nUsjCbsaAJ/s200/Sidney_sonnino.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="132" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsukHei5ojjabN1fEDLZCzhXTBHP9MAmAltU7abwY6I2I5ZhBH5ZD-jbQetfZ8kvV4t7QBzNvUwMbakOdXYFAZhrDkVz8RtUDzimtwhMOhDD9czOlyEjCEuzraXFsMiYYXq3gHTdu3MWBd6yZsGjux8oZHURvXplT5lLFn708ss5k4raucq2nUsjCbsaAJ/s1600/Sidney_sonnino.jpg" width="132" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/sidney-sonnino-Italian-politician-First-World-War.html" target="_blank">Sidney Sonnino – politician</a></h3><p><b>Minister who pushed Italy to switch sides in World War One</b></p><p><b>Sidney Sonnino,</b> the politician who was Italy’s influential Minister of Foreign Affairs during the First World War, was born on this day in 1847 in Pisa. Sonnino led two short-lived governments in the early 1900s but it was as Foreign Affairs Minister in 1914 that he made his mark on Italian history, advising prime minister Antonio Salandra to side with the Entente powers – France, Great Britain and Russia – in the First World War, abandoning its Triple Alliance partnership with Germany and Austria-Hungary. His motives were entirely driven by self-interest. A committed irredentist who saw the war as an opportunity to expand Italy's borders by reclaiming former territory, he reasoned that Austria-Hungary was unlikely to give back parts of Italy it had seized previously. Instead, he sanctioned the secret Treaty of London with the Entente powers, which led Italy to declare war on Austria-Hungary in 2015. In the event, although Sonnino backed the winning side, the promises made in the Treaty of London, namely that Italy would win territories in Tyrol, Dalmatia and Istria, were not fulfilled. Despite suffering major casualties, including 600,000 dead, Italy was granted only minor territorial gains. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/sidney-sonnino-Italian-politician-First-World-War.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioS5bvDEs8ReKJr9GK38b5RZxcoX3ZlCZuTiZ-pfNqn9Djoki1QSJx4FTMkqDngisLvajnkPWAR-4_EWaEsZmYp9M_TmrGB7q5hYs0cDSMRcob53LtUQFR_3axFz-h_jIb8MvLYW8muQetxBoNAiNWBO89pnBubAvBUBbOHGYqCID5siFkYoiGzetWLFTz/s234/nighttime%20etna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="132" data-original-width="234" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioS5bvDEs8ReKJr9GK38b5RZxcoX3ZlCZuTiZ-pfNqn9Djoki1QSJx4FTMkqDngisLvajnkPWAR-4_EWaEsZmYp9M_TmrGB7q5hYs0cDSMRcob53LtUQFR_3axFz-h_jIb8MvLYW8muQetxBoNAiNWBO89pnBubAvBUBbOHGYqCID5siFkYoiGzetWLFTz/s1600/nighttime%20etna.jpg" width="234" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2021/03/italy-sicily-etna-eruption-1669.html" target="_blank">Etna’s biggest eruption</a></h3><p><b>Sicily volcano spewed lava for four months</b></p><p>The <b>largest eruption of the Mount Etna volcano</b> in recorded history began on this day in 1669. After several days of seismic activity in the area, a fissure measuring two metres wide and about 9km (5.6 miles) long opened up on the southeastern flank of the Sicilian mountain in the early hours of 11 March. The lava that was spewed out of the enormous gash continued to flow for four months until the eruption was declared to be over on 16 July, a duration of 122 days. Although stories of 20,000 deaths as a result of the eruption have been dismissed as myth, with no recorded evidence of any casualties, an estimated 15 towns and villages were destroyed as well as hundreds of buildings in the city of Catania, and some 27,000 people are thought to have been made homeless. Mount Etna is situated in the northeastern vertex of the triangular island of Sicily. The most active volcano in Europe, it looms over the coastal city of Catania, which has a population within its metropolitan area of more than 1.1 million. It has a long history of eruptions, going back at least to 396BC, when it reportedly thwarted an advance on Syracuse by the Carthanaginians. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2021/03/italy-sicily-etna-eruption-1669.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_fmDjNIsd74QoiTgMBzzETGHId4TU_qNUVDgRK7RjOVZIrIuTCTztJip0fku9ZJr2Y8-Gvj5xEnpjMxYwDxIKduRWXEXq3o8Yf_qpjKnk_YFv2KytMVV3MEk1OJtwYsNn4EzOs0h-yY6gkFOWLifepIrCSoJi37cQFIQ3_7f32IC4AFPI7gdi11waTeML/s200/1979_-_BasagliaFoto800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="165" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_fmDjNIsd74QoiTgMBzzETGHId4TU_qNUVDgRK7RjOVZIrIuTCTztJip0fku9ZJr2Y8-Gvj5xEnpjMxYwDxIKduRWXEXq3o8Yf_qpjKnk_YFv2KytMVV3MEk1OJtwYsNn4EzOs0h-yY6gkFOWLifepIrCSoJi37cQFIQ3_7f32IC4AFPI7gdi11waTeML/s1600/1979_-_BasagliaFoto800.jpg" width="165" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/franco-basaglia-italian-psychiatrist-mental-health-closed-asylums.html" target="_blank">Franco Basaglia - psychiatrist</a></h3><p><b>Work led to closure of mental hospitals by law</b></p><p>The psychiatrist <b>Franco Basaglia,</b> whose work ultimately led to changes in the law that resulted in the closure and dismantling of Italy’s notorious psychiatric hospitals, was born on this day in 1924 in Venice. As the founder of the Democratic Psychiatry movement and the main proponent of Law 180 - Italy's Mental Health Act of 1978 - which abolished mental hospitals, he is considered to be the most influential Italian psychiatrist of the 20th century. His Law 180 - also known as Basaglia’s Law - had worldwide impact as other countries took up the Italian model and reformed their own way of dealing with the mentally ill. Basaglia was born to a well-off family in the San Polo sestiere of Venice. He became an anti-Fascist in his teens and during the Second World War was an active member of the resistance in the city, to the extent that in December 1944, he was arrested and spent six months inside Venice’s grim Santa Maria Maggiore prison, being released only when the city was liberated in April of the following year. He graduated in medicine and surgery from the University of Padua in 1949. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/franco-basaglia-italian-psychiatrist-mental-health-closed-asylums.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVO7LhtIj_icZLwhhLsfyZbX_oenryaVkvOVsuXcZ-yrRkXhi97T1tF1vL7Si_mOzbqaSUf6UIUeLgeG9nvfwsfOHONf4cw6-cMHTZteYMwpOijxC4i2rGgYgOzZGl7LgeFpuixPGphpHFHdr35rYnCVAKwnV1yjQXsA47xfSb6vhRRLcSOyw_LMj9HPmI/s200/330px-Rigoletto_premiere_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="130" data-original-width="200" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVO7LhtIj_icZLwhhLsfyZbX_oenryaVkvOVsuXcZ-yrRkXhi97T1tF1vL7Si_mOzbqaSUf6UIUeLgeG9nvfwsfOHONf4cw6-cMHTZteYMwpOijxC4i2rGgYgOzZGl7LgeFpuixPGphpHFHdr35rYnCVAKwnV1yjQXsA47xfSb6vhRRLcSOyw_LMj9HPmI/w223-h145/330px-Rigoletto_premiere_poster.jpg" width="223" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/rigoletto-debuts-at-la-fenice.html" target="_blank">Rigoletto debuts at La Fenice</a></h3><p><b>Verdi opera staged after battle with censors</b></p><p>Giuseppe Verdi's opera <b><i>Rigoletto</i></b> was performed for the first time on this day in 1851 in Venice. It enjoyed a triumphant first night at the Teatro La Fenice opera house, where the reaction of the audience was particularly gratifying for the composer and his librettist, Francesco Maria Piave, after a long-running battle to satisfy the censors. Northern Italy was controlled by the Austrian Empire at the time and a strict censorship process applied to all public performances. Verdi, who had accepted a commission to write an opera for La Fenice the previous year, knew he was likely to risk falling foul of the Austrians when he chose to base his work on Victor Hugo's play, <i>Le roi s'amuse</i>, which provoked such a scandal when it premiered in Paris in 1832 that it was cancelled after one night and had remained banned across France ever since. Hugo's play depicted a king - namely Francis I of France - as a licentious womaniser who paid only lip service to what was considered moral behaviour as he constantly sought new conquests. The French government had been horrified by the play's disrespectful portrayal of a monarch and the Austrians. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/rigoletto-debuts-at-la-fenice.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/3IwohJG" target="_blank">The Liberation of Jerusalem (Oxford World's Classics), by Torquato Tasso; introduced by Mark Davie, translated by Max Wickert (Translator)</a></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2HAPCUmTkRVv4cJc9-NNac2Qn9NqXmQGcxh-NwlcuJgSFZAgCDp6HwQjIyxIBWS44TdYd5agKOeHC4MQHpn2k2rR1VXS8y32hYW3PdyKs6jeThV1TMmoYhmNSxARMIgvadjg7ugad1mF4ta1XNlk4nEhyphenhyphennpFzmXC5IpJNGCaZZ-nQlWJ8chKYxk50POLM/s1500/81UUb6wzwdL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="971" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2HAPCUmTkRVv4cJc9-NNac2Qn9NqXmQGcxh-NwlcuJgSFZAgCDp6HwQjIyxIBWS44TdYd5agKOeHC4MQHpn2k2rR1VXS8y32hYW3PdyKs6jeThV1TMmoYhmNSxARMIgvadjg7ugad1mF4ta1XNlk4nEhyphenhyphennpFzmXC5IpJNGCaZZ-nQlWJ8chKYxk50POLM/w129-h200/81UUb6wzwdL._SL1500_.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>In <b>The Liberation of Jerusalem </b>(Gerusalemme liberata, 1581), Torquato Tasso set out to write an epic to rival the Iliad and the Aeneid. Unlike his predecessors, he took his subject not from myth but from history: the Christian capture of Jerusalem during the First Crusade. The siege of the city is played out alongside a magical romance of love and sacrifice, in which the Christian knight Rinaldo succumbs to the charms of the pagan sorceress Armida, and the warrior maiden Clorinda inspires a fatal passion in the Christian Tancred. Tasso's masterpiece left its mark on writers from Spenser and Milton to Goethe and Byron, and inspired countless painters and composers. This is the first English translation in modern times that faithfully reflects both the sense and the verse form of the original. Max Wickert's fine rendering is introduced by Mark Davie, who places Tasso's poem in the context of his life and times and points to the qualities that have ensured its lasting impact on Western culture. For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.<p></p><p><b>Max Wickert</b> is a German-American teacher, poet, translator and publisher. He is Professor of English Emeritus at the University at Buffalo. <b>Mark Davie</b> was Senior Lecturer in Italian and Head of Exeter University’s School of Modern Languages until his retirement in 2006. He has published studies on various aspects of Italian literature, mainly in the period from Dante to the Renaissance.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3IwohJG" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><p><a href="https://c116.travelpayouts.com/click?shmarker=312238&trs=36697&promo_id=3944&source_type=banner&type=click" target="_blank"><img alt="EN - 728x90" height="90" src="https://c116.travelpayouts.com/content?promo_id=3944&trs=36697&shmarker=312238&type=init" width="728" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><div><br /></div>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-15702136240149050032024-03-10T06:30:00.010+00:002024-03-10T06:31:51.819+00:0010 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UxCywGDXbdQPuJC7FdbjKoI9_H7pdLuTzaD8DvBeCNDZ_-qIJZmiw4enWm8flfMl7mI9AItKPoYV7-mX2jtz0fhgfz2aYWe9o8rekTv7n-1Q8HBD-6SH6Iyk5sPWpFpwfd-J3qAYKgrlH9YZH-tMzaep7Sv5WEIS3PVp_Wv46O6g802DvJz2kZ5dq_-e/s200/mazzini%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="141" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UxCywGDXbdQPuJC7FdbjKoI9_H7pdLuTzaD8DvBeCNDZ_-qIJZmiw4enWm8flfMl7mI9AItKPoYV7-mX2jtz0fhgfz2aYWe9o8rekTv7n-1Q8HBD-6SH6Iyk5sPWpFpwfd-J3qAYKgrlH9YZH-tMzaep7Sv5WEIS3PVp_Wv46O6g802DvJz2kZ5dq_-e/s1600/mazzini%20(2).jpg" width="141" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/giuseppe-mazzini-hero-of-risorgimento-Italian-unification.html" target="_blank">Giuseppe Mazzini - hero of the Risorgimento</a></h3><p><b>Revolutionary was ideological inspiration for Italian unification</b></p><p><b>Giuseppe Mazzini,</b> the journalist and revolutionary who was one of the driving forces behind the Risorgimento, the political and social movement aimed at unifying Italy in the 19th century, died on this day in 1872 in Pisa. Mazzini is considered to be one of the heroes of the Risorgimento, whose memory is preserved in the names of streets and squares all over Italy. Where Giuseppe Garibaldi was the conquering soldier, Vittorio Emanuele the unifying king and Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour the statesman who would become Italy's first prime minister, Mazzini is perhaps best described as the movement's ideological inspiration. Born in 1807, the son of a university professor in Genoa, Mazzini spent large parts of his life in exile and some of it in prison. His mission was to free Italy of oppressive foreign powers, to which end he organised numerous uprisings that were invariably crushed. At the time of his death he considered himself to have failed, because the unified Italy was not the democratic republic he had envisaged, but a monarchy. Yet an estimated 100,000 people turned out for his funeral in Genoa. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/giuseppe-mazzini-hero-of-risorgimento-Italian-unification.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-rq3se1D34ZVLAzLymAkGpuuzk_R1qN00qZHrzJjJdkC2aOhX2oXTKhO87YoG2m5eZjZ5o4YxnSZcS4EUY8e-As4cjeeu3p5tEHDlFYam5bgStGwW8_ISU9-gG3RV48egx32q_z34Ued6OqVJUKdq_LChVsWW_8v0j9UxJC8umXN33FCtiYxpYmMeXAMH/s200/corrado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="145" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-rq3se1D34ZVLAzLymAkGpuuzk_R1qN00qZHrzJjJdkC2aOhX2oXTKhO87YoG2m5eZjZ5o4YxnSZcS4EUY8e-As4cjeeu3p5tEHDlFYam5bgStGwW8_ISU9-gG3RV48egx32q_z34Ued6OqVJUKdq_LChVsWW_8v0j9UxJC8umXN33FCtiYxpYmMeXAMH/s1600/corrado.jpg" width="145" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/corrado-parnucci-Italian-architectural-sculptor-Detroit-Pisa.html" target="_blank">Corrado Parnucci – architectural sculptor</a></h3><p><b>Prolific artist whose work adorns cities of Michigan</b></p><p>The architectural sculptor <b>Corrado Giuseppe Parnucci,</b> who left his artistic mark on more than 600 buildings in Detroit and other cities in the US state of Michigan, was born on this day in 1900 in Buti, a Tuscan village about 15km (9 miles) east of Pisa. Taken to live in America at the age of four, Parnucci – generally known as Joe – settled in Detroit after accepting some work there in 1924. Among the Detroit landmarks with architectural embellishments by Parnucci are the Buhl Building, The Players, the Guardian Building, the David Stott Building, the Detroit Masonic Temple, the Detroit Historical Museum and the Wilson Theater. Most of those buildings went up during the 1920s as the city’s skyline underwent huge change. Parnucci also sculpted work for buildings in most other major Michigan cities, including Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor and Flint, and accepted numerous commissions from private individuals. One of his masterpieces is the moulded plaster ceiling in the dining room of Meadowbrook Hall, the Tudor revival mansion built for Matilda Dodge, ex-wife of Dodge Motors co-founder John F Dodge. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/corrado-parnucci-Italian-architectural-sculptor-Detroit-Pisa.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmoc5OpmJz3mWaUs_2i0lSVIFauXivmx57r-ylSs_5j7QtdH_cclyouK59HVNPEP1EoukD5q1oagELxMNuYlTxLuHFMr2XYuXA4GIPoIWqS4_8dOUOh14ND8FelVw3YY2AbvR_V20hoRhbyBPDOv6-aB9lhiUbfAQVL_Z4x8vbES5BqFJKVXm4dqAfgnrf/s200/Lorenzo_da_Ponte%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="161" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmoc5OpmJz3mWaUs_2i0lSVIFauXivmx57r-ylSs_5j7QtdH_cclyouK59HVNPEP1EoukD5q1oagELxMNuYlTxLuHFMr2XYuXA4GIPoIWqS4_8dOUOh14ND8FelVw3YY2AbvR_V20hoRhbyBPDOv6-aB9lhiUbfAQVL_Z4x8vbES5BqFJKVXm4dqAfgnrf/s1600/Lorenzo_da_Ponte%20(2).jpg" width="161" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/lorenzo-da-ponte-writer-and-impressario.html" target="_blank">Lorenzo Da Ponte - writer and impresario</a></h3><p><b>Colourful life of Mozart's librettist</b></p><p>The librettist <b>Lorenzo Da Ponte,</b> who could be described on two counts as a figure of considerable significance in the story of opera, was born on this day in 1749 in Ceneda - since renamed Vittorio Veneto - about 42km (26 miles) north of Treviso in the Veneto region. Da Ponte wrote the words for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Mozart's greatest successes, <i>Don Giovanni,</i> <i>The Marriage of Figaro </i>and <i>Così fan tutte.</i> He also opened New York City's first opera house in 1833 at the age of 84 and is credited with introducing the United States both to Mozart and Gioachino Rossini. Da Ponte was born Emanuele Conegliano at a time when Ceneda was a strongly Jewish community. His mother, Rachele, died when he was only five and at the age of 14 he was baptised as a Catholic along with his father, who wanted to marry a Catholic girl but could do so only if he converted. In accordance with tradition, Emanuele took the name of the priest who baptised him, in his case the Bishop of Ceneda, Lorenzo Da Ponte. Through the Bishop's influence, Emanuele and his two brothers were enrolled in the seminary of Ceneda and Lorenzo was ultimately ordained as a priest. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/lorenzo-da-ponte-writer-and-impressario.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhSRBfLzbk0wZ_5GDfBWojs0YC2fCqjAVbuLoN7FEnXkchXrQYkBRzVQnUbyMXXl3dVo8kXx9DtDlGqKhMAFrNXTOZykyGlAsfxdUCGBPVYi5i11iTqBBCuslydBFWm-_oPm95qzjGgVNVBxTDQpVnyLOzdf5RI4a41NZXv7v7JAQwqlG6X3Pe1eM2syI/s200/Marcello_Malpighi_by_Carlo_Cignani%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="154" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhSRBfLzbk0wZ_5GDfBWojs0YC2fCqjAVbuLoN7FEnXkchXrQYkBRzVQnUbyMXXl3dVo8kXx9DtDlGqKhMAFrNXTOZykyGlAsfxdUCGBPVYi5i11iTqBBCuslydBFWm-_oPm95qzjGgVNVBxTDQpVnyLOzdf5RI4a41NZXv7v7JAQwqlG6X3Pe1eM2syI/s1600/Marcello_Malpighi_by_Carlo_Cignani%20(2).jpg" width="154" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2022/03/marcello-malpighi-scientist.html" target="_blank">Marcello Malpighi – scientist</a></h3><p><b>Controversial doctor furthered the use of the microscope</b></p><p><b>Marcello Malpighi,</b> who founded the science of microscopic anatomy, was born on this day in 1628 in Crevalcore, a town near Bologna in Emilia-Romagna. Malpighi became a physician and biologist who developed experimental methods for studying human anatomy. As a result of his work, microscopic anatomy became a prerequisite for advances in the fields of physiology, embryology and practical medicine. In 1646, at the age of 18, Malpighi went to study at Bologna University. Although both of his parents died when he was 21, he was fortunately able to continue with his studies. He was granted doctorates in both medicine and philosophy in 1653 and appointed as a teacher by the university, despite not having been born in Bologna. He immediately set out to continue with his studies of anatomy and medicine. In 1656, Ferdinand II of Tuscany invited Malpighi to be professor of theoretical medicine at the University of Pisa. After moving to Pisa, he developed what was to be a lifelong friendship with the mathematician and naturalist Giovanni Borelli. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2022/03/marcello-malpighi-scientist.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/3PbaBaM" target="_blank">Mazzini, by Denis Mack Smith</a> </h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNzn0Q0_Rhy2P5soXHyiXnuieoCMkmEBD76ub9Xr7HBN-OUjRab1Iq6ZC2Oe57h5TD6jP-L41ApXSlVQAQkttfM_bMZevNwhLYomYphX6yf8LcmbKUezZ7PpuSgGvC0XQ4li9xcJYXg5tYIO_zv27KK-KzAhaOtx_QrcMoeWaI1DGP17vgg0XpfrC1Mw7w/s1500/91FFTaJa1JL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="996" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNzn0Q0_Rhy2P5soXHyiXnuieoCMkmEBD76ub9Xr7HBN-OUjRab1Iq6ZC2Oe57h5TD6jP-L41ApXSlVQAQkttfM_bMZevNwhLYomYphX6yf8LcmbKUezZ7PpuSgGvC0XQ4li9xcJYXg5tYIO_zv27KK-KzAhaOtx_QrcMoeWaI1DGP17vgg0XpfrC1Mw7w/w133-h200/91FFTaJa1JL._SL1500_.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>This is a biography of Giuseppe Mazzini, a proponent of nationalism and political reform who was instrumental in forging an independent and unified Italy. The author reassesses Mazzini's ideas and offers insights into his life and the political and intellectual world in which he lived. The book is based on scholarship and archival research and reconstructs Mazzini's long years in exile, his friendships with the greatest figures of the age (Marx, Carylye and Bakunin, amongst others) and the political and intellectual world of the mid-19th century. <b>Mazzini</b> places the politics of Italian Unification into a comparative and new setting and offers insights into the political culture of the time. Authot Denis Mack Smith reexamines Mazzini's ideological impact and portrays him as a vigorous proponent of patriotism, a pre-eminent figure in the struggle for Italian independence and unity, and a fascinating personality whose ideas brought him into contact with Marx, Carlyle, Mill, and Bakunin.<p></p><p>Historian Denis Mack Smith was a fellow of the British Academy and a Commendatore of the Italian Order of Merit. A Fellow of Wolfson College and Emeritus Fellow of All Souls, Oxford, his many books included biographies of Mussolini, Cavour, and Garibaldi, as well as 'Italy and its Monarchy', published by Yale University Press.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3PbaBaM" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><p><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?s=275050&v=3787&q=130625&r=226563"><img border="0" src="https://www.awin1.com/cshow.php?s=275050&v=3787&q=130625&r=226563" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-21477240472489937382024-03-09T06:30:00.012+00:002024-03-12T10:24:38.296+00:009 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVcIHbEEM3tAbYi7mITj-2_YIguCBzOIKaoTAsCdNrpYyNx-9Z1XJSaACuYnjAPS6ZzR5CmbG_cROoLGdX2R2i2vLH3H109FkfaA-QHtvA9kRzveWjkIlYLZNURFDaf3g8gD8jp4GA-ZU1deDfFSqi-rBvwEz5HsiwzyvekPu5ENkDTpTh44ehBPkno6lT/s200/79409384_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="139" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVcIHbEEM3tAbYi7mITj-2_YIguCBzOIKaoTAsCdNrpYyNx-9Z1XJSaACuYnjAPS6ZzR5CmbG_cROoLGdX2R2i2vLH3H109FkfaA-QHtvA9kRzveWjkIlYLZNURFDaf3g8gD8jp4GA-ZU1deDfFSqi-rBvwEz5HsiwzyvekPu5ENkDTpTh44ehBPkno6lT/s1600/79409384_o.jpg" width="139" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2020/03/Italian-opera-nabucco-premieres-in-milan.html" target="_blank">Nabucco premieres in Milan</a></h3><p><b>Verdi opera that became a symbol of the Risorgimento</b></p><p>The opera <b><i>Nabucco, </i></b>with music by Giuseppe Verdi and a libretto by Temistocle Solera, was first performed on this day in 1842 at Teatro alla Scala in Milan. The opera contains the famous chorus <i>Va, pensiero, </i>a lament for a lost homeland that many Italians now regard as their unofficial national anthem. The opera and Verdi himself have become synonymous with the Risorgimento, the period in the 19th century when people worked to free the Italian states of foreign domination and unite them under the leadership of Victor Emmanuel, the King of Sardinia and Duke of Savoy. It is said that during the last years of the Austrian occupation of Lombardia and the Veneto, for example, that Italian patriots adopted Viva Verdi as a slogan and rallying call, using the composer’s name as an acronym for 'Vittorio Emanuele Re d’Italia' - 'Victor Emmanuel, King of Italy'. On the day of the composer’s funeral in Milan in 1901, a crowd of 300,000 people filled the streets and sang <i>Va, pensiero, </i>conducted by Arturo Toscanini, a moving event that showed how Verdi’s music had helped unite the Italian nation. But Verdi nearly didn’t take up the offer to compose the music for <i>Nabucco.</i> <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2020/03/Italian-opera-nabucco-premieres-in-milan.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiRDIbquhaxkdh1hdmukcHYrNPj8T04NyyEVTMrjqdevsqs4eKDX-2WtczgbZWmzbhFQMeZj4k4d38tAIyP3KR9sH0jTEE6WJux263mKGpRrqGpiVNZLAnhQf0dYvWF35uq83omwnQN9D_ua6ILTt4HnOgPfPcYe5hKFZIa_MCE4e9zNUxaGeygmfbTBWa/s200/Amerigo_Vespucci_-_Project_Gutenberg_etext_19997.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="166" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiRDIbquhaxkdh1hdmukcHYrNPj8T04NyyEVTMrjqdevsqs4eKDX-2WtczgbZWmzbhFQMeZj4k4d38tAIyP3KR9sH0jTEE6WJux263mKGpRrqGpiVNZLAnhQf0dYvWF35uq83omwnQN9D_ua6ILTt4HnOgPfPcYe5hKFZIa_MCE4e9zNUxaGeygmfbTBWa/s1600/Amerigo_Vespucci_-_Project_Gutenberg_etext_19997.jpg" width="166" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/amerigo-vespucci-explorer-discovered-America.html" target="_blank">Amerigo Vespucci – explorer</a></h3><p><b>Medici clerk who discovered a new world</b></p><p>Explorer and cartographer <b>Amerigo Vespucci</b> was born on this day in 1454 in Florence. Vespucci was the first to discover the ‘new world’, which later came to be called the Americas, taking the Latin version of his first name. He was the son of a notary in Florence and a cousin of the husband of the beautiful artist’s model, Simonetta Vespucci. He was educated by his uncle, Fra Giorgio Antonio Vespucci, a Dominican friar, and he was later hired as a clerk by the Medici family. He acquired the favour of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, who sent him to the Medici office in Cadiz in Spain to investigate the managers, who were under suspicion. Later, as the executor of an Italian merchant who had died in Seville, Vespucci fulfilled the deceased’s contract with Castile to provide 12 vessels to sail to the Indies. He then continued supplying provisions for expeditions to the Indies and was invited by the King of Portugal to participate as an observer on several voyages of exploration. Although letters have been forged and fraudulent claims have been made about his discoveries, Vespucci is known to have taken an active part in at least two real voyages of exploration. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/amerigo-vespucci-explorer-discovered-America.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><div id="118496-1"><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/gen.js?type=1"></script><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/requestform.js?siteId=118496&formatId=1"></script></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/bettino-ricasoli-statesman-Italian-prime-minister-winemaker.html" target="_blank"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/bettino-ricasoli-statesman-Italian-prime-minister-winemaker.html" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZN1OVfubSnCE6BxP1LGk7Uh54BKWWt1ITyTKHXGtvscGcgrIcXcvG_YxjkgXqNE_y3qISFFErKEzz6e1lCD5GaP8BMcyBkh8G3kcM2YN0675TWGYCKHlKAtGMm6b-exvg8KVx-PNdKKkGbwJqMEJ0Vo4dzbqr68kzXVh17OGOnfXaIY1ZPHo5bOVvfzqU/s171/Bricasoli.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="171" data-original-width="137" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZN1OVfubSnCE6BxP1LGk7Uh54BKWWt1ITyTKHXGtvscGcgrIcXcvG_YxjkgXqNE_y3qISFFErKEzz6e1lCD5GaP8BMcyBkh8G3kcM2YN0675TWGYCKHlKAtGMm6b-exvg8KVx-PNdKKkGbwJqMEJ0Vo4dzbqr68kzXVh17OGOnfXaIY1ZPHo5bOVvfzqU/s1600/Bricasoli.jpg" width="137" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/bettino-ricasoli-statesman-Italian-prime-minister-winemaker.html" target="_blank">Bettino Ricasoli - statesman and winemaker</a></h3><p><b>Prime minister and inventor of modern Chianti wine</b></p><p>The politician and winemaker <b>Barone Bettino Ricasoli</b> was born on this day in 1809 in Florence. Ricasoli, who is considered one of the driving forces of the Risorgimento alongside Giuseppe Mazzini, Count Camillo Benso of Cavour, Giuseppe Garibaldi and others, succeeded Cavour as prime minister in 1861, the second person to hold the office in the new Kingdom of Italy. After withdrawing from politics, he concentrated on the family vineyards around the Castello di Brolio in the Tuscan hills between Siena and Arezzo, seat of the Ricasoli family since the early 12th century. It was there in 1872, seeking to create a wine with universal appeal, that he developed the formula for Chianti wine that is still used today, made up of 70 per cent Sangiovese grapes, 15 per cent Canaiolo and 15 per cent Malvasia bianca. Today Barone Ricasoli - the oldest wine producer in Italy and the second oldest in the world - is the largest winery in the Chianti Classico area, with 235 hectares of vines and 26 hectares of olive groves in the area around Gaiole and Castelnuovo Berardenga. Bettino was the son of Baron Luigi Ricasolo and Elisabetta Peruzzi, who came from a family of Tuscan bankers. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/bettino-ricasoli-statesman-Italian-prime-minister-winemaker.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/internazionale-football-superpower-founded-march-9-1908-milan.html" target="_blank"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/internazionale-football-superpower-founded-march-9-1908-milan.html" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgncvojJMOIwIDR3BFZ_wnu3zl0pcKgq3BkAaQH1qQmuWwt5f1FL8atCd_JXbdX3ZNqCagnxw4YSEfQh1Vzc7RnT6_uk2hspu0LnW4MSUg056fsm5St5TNHgw9s6Bvq5hb4oS3bSePo9q6UH_la472ezG7OQI6SxIqetf06Dc4C8U5t5bT56BfzBCjSViJK/s200/inter%20logo.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="146" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgncvojJMOIwIDR3BFZ_wnu3zl0pcKgq3BkAaQH1qQmuWwt5f1FL8atCd_JXbdX3ZNqCagnxw4YSEfQh1Vzc7RnT6_uk2hspu0LnW4MSUg056fsm5St5TNHgw9s6Bvq5hb4oS3bSePo9q6UH_la472ezG7OQI6SxIqetf06Dc4C8U5t5bT56BfzBCjSViJK/s1600/inter%20logo.png" width="146" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/internazionale-football-superpower-founded-march-9-1908-milan.html" target="_blank">Internazionale - football superpower</a></h3><p><b>Famous club that broke away from rivals AC Milan</b></p><p><b>Internazionale, </b>one of Italy's most successful football clubs, came into being on this day in 1908. The winner 18 times of <i>lo scudetto</i> - the Italian championship - the club known often as Inter or Inter-Milan was born after a split within the membership of the Milan Cricket and Football Club, forerunner of the club known now as A C Milan. The original club was established by expatriate British football enthusiasts with a membership restricted to Italian and British players. It was after a dispute over whether foreign players should be signed that a breakaway group formed. Plans for a new club were drawn up at a meeting at the Ristorante L'Orologio in Via Giuseppe Mengoni in Milan, a short distance from the opera house, Teatro alla Scala. It was a restaurant popular with theatregoers and artists, among them Giorgio Muggiani, a painter who would become renowned for his work in advertising, where he designed iconic posters for such clients as Pirelli, Cinzano, Martini and Moto Guzzi. Muggiani, who had developed an enthusiasm for football while studying in Switzerland, was the driving force behind the new club. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/internazionale-football-superpower-founded-march-9-1908-milan.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyPNMmMxet40ZQBFBJNFfTt8dDXwzMNVuDndDYPGCrZoTJZEVtCQ6BxhLsGPKLo69IfV3NJqlsNAC7ueI1_FC-AuMHiuz02hhfwZ-FaLeNk_oF2W3Vh8z38IYWeeXOZWXaZSfhEIKY4OOKyT4W_6Jfm9uEjEXvPGT3HpioMK6_sIrLsKlVl-mhfMRhL3T4/s200/10-08ViterbiBIG%20(2).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="141" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyPNMmMxet40ZQBFBJNFfTt8dDXwzMNVuDndDYPGCrZoTJZEVtCQ6BxhLsGPKLo69IfV3NJqlsNAC7ueI1_FC-AuMHiuz02hhfwZ-FaLeNk_oF2W3Vh8z38IYWeeXOZWXaZSfhEIKY4OOKyT4W_6Jfm9uEjEXvPGT3HpioMK6_sIrLsKlVl-mhfMRhL3T4/s1600/10-08ViterbiBIG%20(2).jpg" width="141" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2023/03/andrew-viterbi-electrical-engineer-and.html" target="_blank">Andrew Viterbi – electrical engineer and businessman</a></h3><p><b>The amazing life of 'the father of the mobile telephone'</b></p><p><b>Andrew Viterbi, </b>who invented the Viterbi algorithm and co-founded the American multinational corporation Qualcomm, was born Andrea Giacomo Viterbi on this day in 1935 in Bergamo in the Lombardy region of Italy. The Viterbi algorithm is still used widely in cellular phones and other communication devices for error correcting codes as well as for speech recognition, DNA analysis and other applications. Viterbi also helped to develop the Code Division Multiple Access standard for cell phone networks. He is recognised in Italy as ‘il padre del telefonino’ - the father of the mobile telephone. Viterbi’s father, Achille, was director of Bergamo Hospital’s ophthalmology department, and his mother, Maria Luria, came from a prominent family in Piedmont and had a teaching degree. But after Mussolini introduced his new racial laws in Italy before the start of World War II, the couple, who were both Jewish, were deprived of their position and could no longer make a living to support their family. They had planned to sail to the United States on 1 September, 1939, but after receiving a tip-off alerting them to possible danger, they secretly escaped two weeks early and were able to land safely in New York. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2023/03/andrew-viterbi-electrical-engineer-and.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijG0mqnrbo9kjrRKQzi3loXCVlh0GQaa4ai-1JFXmS0XUMkXK1nImTYMgrot4_2bcg30oA_gPuTRYaCdFo6vpx8y_IPmEgIM-aXBnSf0ftcW6V5gmKndcmh6whOpve_v-E1MD-sXg6Ob0CHwjZuMvrIIK41adjGXZ8DS6JkxZTwpik0dU5uaQTnjs_-nvA/s200/0955_-_Emma_Bonino_al_Congresso_Arcigay_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall'Orto_11-5-2007%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="148" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijG0mqnrbo9kjrRKQzi3loXCVlh0GQaa4ai-1JFXmS0XUMkXK1nImTYMgrot4_2bcg30oA_gPuTRYaCdFo6vpx8y_IPmEgIM-aXBnSf0ftcW6V5gmKndcmh6whOpve_v-E1MD-sXg6Ob0CHwjZuMvrIIK41adjGXZ8DS6JkxZTwpik0dU5uaQTnjs_-nvA/s1600/0955_-_Emma_Bonino_al_Congresso_Arcigay_-_Foto_Giovanni_Dall'Orto_11-5-2007%20(2).jpg" width="148" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/emma-bonino-politician.html" target="_blank">Emma Bonino – politician</a></h3><p><b>Leading Radical learnt Arabic to understand Middle East press</b></p><p>Veteran politician<b> Emma Bonino, </b>who most recently served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Government of Enrico Letta, was born on this day in 1948 in Bra in Piedmont. A leading member of the Italian Radicals, Bonino has throughout her career been an activist for reform policies and a campaigner for women's and human rights. Bonino graduated in modern languages and literature from Bocconi University in Milan in 1972. She founded the Information Centre on Sterilisation and Abortion in 1975 and promoted the referendum that led to the legalisation of abortion in Italy. She was first elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies in 1976 and was re-elected six times afterwards. In 1986 Bonino was among the promoters of a referendum against nuclear energy, which led to the rejection of a civil nuclear energy programme in Italy. She was appointed minister for international trade in the cabinet of Romano Prodi in 2006 but resigned her post in 2008 after being elected a vice president of the Senate. She had previously been elected to a seat in the Senate on the list of the Democratic party for the Piedmont Constituency. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/emma-bonino-politician.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/3IqqCGa" target="_blank">Verdi: The Man Revealed, by John Suchet</a></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIc3cdi3AEEwmDvA0RTCcNUMVhvvVSmsEMPgJcdL1jdBlSC4fT0gntP7jSX1faDL7QHMpmh6xovtRYPWTN4P6JE9cifs6kC-gkb9JxY0XpSv2140lv9u3-alStVLhgc4gm0Y73T30gXUnvfO_7efSdry71iZyjxpSKvOn86oEAToFMgtlMOq142B6C4iye/s1500/A1gHmJO+BkL._SL1500_.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1130" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIc3cdi3AEEwmDvA0RTCcNUMVhvvVSmsEMPgJcdL1jdBlSC4fT0gntP7jSX1faDL7QHMpmh6xovtRYPWTN4P6JE9cifs6kC-gkb9JxY0XpSv2140lv9u3-alStVLhgc4gm0Y73T30gXUnvfO_7efSdry71iZyjxpSKvOn86oEAToFMgtlMOq142B6C4iye/w151-h200/A1gHmJO+BkL._SL1500_.jpg" width="151" /></a></div>Giuseppe Verdi remains the greatest operatic composer that Italy, the home of opera, has ever produced. Yet throughout his lifetime he claimed to detest composing and repeatedly rejected it. He was a landowner, a farmer, a politician and symbol of Italian independence; but his music tells a different story. An obsessive perfectionist, Verdi drove collaborators to despair but his works were rightly lauded from the start as dazzling feats of composition and characterisation. From <i>Rigoletto</i> to <i>Otello, La Traviata </i>to <i>Aida,</i> Verdi's canon encompassed the full range of human emotion. His private life was no less complex: he suffered great loss, and went out of his way to antagonise many erstwhile supporters, including his own family. An outspoken advocate of Italian independence and a sharp critic of the church, he was often at odds with 19th-century society and paid the price. In <b>Verdi: The Man Revealed,</b> John Suchet attempts to get under the skin of perhaps the most private composer who ever lived. Unpicking his protestations, his deliberate embellishments and disingenuous disavowals, Suchet reveals the contradictory and sometimes curmudgeonly character of this great artist, convicted throughout much of his life but ultimately unable to walk away from the art for which he will be forever known.<p></p><p><b>John Suchet</b> is an English author, award-winning television news journalist and radio presenter of classical music. He is an expert on Beethoven, about whom he has written six books, and has also published works on Mozart and the Strauss dynasty.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3IqqCGa" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-37390432863163234762024-03-08T06:30:00.009+00:002024-03-08T06:32:44.599+00:008 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmybTjK9070k5Kfi_x6eNTdPHToaDtJabtRQQSkXpoG7u6J-s8PBtwZQziHIl_10Sdb69mgdaxG3bs006vIEsyjORW0YDOeIWEgUL-VEhShyphenhyphenZPMMGKyth2ilLXFwWgbb7qqImkxKrOyOdpWg2ajn35tzMRIZJStgDKuHkE7XZB6gQeNY8qavqBagEgn-2a/s200/Venditti_2008%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="151" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmybTjK9070k5Kfi_x6eNTdPHToaDtJabtRQQSkXpoG7u6J-s8PBtwZQziHIl_10Sdb69mgdaxG3bs006vIEsyjORW0YDOeIWEgUL-VEhShyphenhyphenZPMMGKyth2ilLXFwWgbb7qqImkxKrOyOdpWg2ajn35tzMRIZJStgDKuHkE7XZB6gQeNY8qavqBagEgn-2a/s1600/Venditti_2008%20(2).jpg" width="151" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/antonello-venditti-enduring-music-star.html" target="_blank">Antonello Venditti - enduring music star</a></h3><p><b>Roman singer-songwriter's career spans 50 years</b></p><p>Singer-songwriter<b> Antonello Venditti, </b>one of Italy's most popular and enduring stars of contemporary music, was born on this day in 1949 in Rome. Famous in the 1970s for the strong political and social content of many of his songs, Venditti can look back on a career spanning half a century, in which he has sold more than 30 million records. Taking into account singles, studio and live albums and compilations, Venditti has released more than 100 recordings. His biggest success came with the 1988 album <i>In questo mondo di ladri</i> (In This World of Thieves) - which sold 1.5 million copies, making it jointly the eighth best-selling album in Italian music history. Venditti's music ranges from folk to soft rock, often with classical overtones. He enjoyed sustained success in the 1980s and 90s, when<i> Cuore</i> (Heart), <i>Benvenuti in Paradiso </i>(Welcome to Paradise) and <i>Prendilo tu questo frutto amaro</i> (Take this Bitter Fruit) all sold well. His versatility as a singer was demonstrated with the 1979 album <i>Buona Domenica, </i>which contained several ballads including one, <i>Modena,</i> which was regarded as among his finest songs. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/antonello-venditti-enduring-music-star.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheP7w0BddPRxvc2ZCv31HnYr7DYkZkFFtsoV4A53jelGQXS8eevd0zoDJkNJidcYSGl0J0yanV-Lv_UgZ-JpmikAljbbJbVTgvRl-tSw6IdPX5LNtlti7mrx5Ec_8-f-YjkJoS4Z9-Z4ZPs98hL7aEQLX8v4ubeZWAaVeFjyXZv45NjphFGSir3oecer0Z/s193/Gesualdo3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="193" data-original-width="151" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheP7w0BddPRxvc2ZCv31HnYr7DYkZkFFtsoV4A53jelGQXS8eevd0zoDJkNJidcYSGl0J0yanV-Lv_UgZ-JpmikAljbbJbVTgvRl-tSw6IdPX5LNtlti7mrx5Ec_8-f-YjkJoS4Z9-Z4ZPs98hL7aEQLX8v4ubeZWAaVeFjyXZv45NjphFGSir3oecer0Z/s1600/Gesualdo3.jpg" width="151" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/carlo-gesualdo-composer-murder-wife-lover-madrigals.html" target="_blank">Carlo Gesualdo – composer</a></h3><p><b>Madrigal writer was also a murderer</b></p><p><b>Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa,</b> who composed highly experimental music for his time, was born on this day in 1566 in the principality of Venosa, then part of the Kingdom of Naples. He was to become known both for his extraordinary music and for the brutal killing of his first wife and her aristocratic lover after he caught them together. Gesualdo was the nephew of Carlo Borromeo, who later became Saint Charles Borromeo. His mother, Geronima Borromeo, was the niece of Pope Pius IV. Although Gesualdo was sent to Rome to begin an ecclesiastical career, he became heir to the principality after his older brother died. He married his cousin, Donna Maria D’Avalos, and they had a son, Emanuele. Gesualdo was devoted to music from an early age and mixed with musicians and composers, learning to play the lute, harpsichord and guitar. Donna Maria began an affair with Fabrizio Carafa, Duke of Andria and Count of Ruova, and one night in 1590 Gesualdo caught them <i>in flagrante</i> at the Palazzo San Severo in Naples. He killed them both on the spot. A delegation of officials from Naples inspected the room where they were killed and found the corpses were mutilated. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/carlo-gesualdo-composer-murder-wife-lover-madrigals.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">__________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrU3BiqdI45Sk6cagDEzvmum2syART1jG-uU0__86dBgiusRULCEERFq_6OX8q5KP-0llgyjtDhE73lbbECBvlmrboZCoPMx3SNzs1s2_EYUk_E_wto7IU9J5pDJbIsEMCBGn9uH7LdtOoYmYY8fPyo036uKkoQbwzmpM8QaMUN2tPCG5it-ihZPEQ73RE/s200/Acacia_dealbata-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="150" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrU3BiqdI45Sk6cagDEzvmum2syART1jG-uU0__86dBgiusRULCEERFq_6OX8q5KP-0llgyjtDhE73lbbECBvlmrboZCoPMx3SNzs1s2_EYUk_E_wto7IU9J5pDJbIsEMCBGn9uH7LdtOoYmYY8fPyo036uKkoQbwzmpM8QaMUN2tPCG5it-ihZPEQ73RE/s1600/Acacia_dealbata-1.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/la-festa-della-donna-womens-day-bergamo.html" target="_blank">La Festa della Donna – Women’s Day</a></h3><p><b>Bright fragrant mimosa signals respect</b></p><p><b>La Festa della Donna </b>- Women’s Day - is celebrated in Italy on this day every year and is an occasion for men to show their appreciation for the women in their lives. In many parts of Italy today, men will be seen carrying bunches of prettily wrapped mimosa to give to women who are special to them. The flowers might be for their wives, girlfriends, mothers, friends or even employees and are meant as a sign of respect for womanhood. The custom of men giving mimosa to their ladies began in the 1940s after the date 8 March was chosen as the Festa della Donna in Italy. The date, which coincides with International Women's Day, has a political significance for campaigners for women's rights in Italy, marking the anniversary of a strike by female textile workers in New York in 1857 and the so-called 'bread and peace' strike by women in Russia in 1917, but has more recently become a celebration similar to Mothering Sunday or St Valentine's Day. Yellow mimosa was chosen as the flower to give because it is in bloom at the beginning of March, it is relatively inexpensive, and the scent of it in the atmosphere is a sign that <i>primavera</i> (spring) is near. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/la-festa-della-donna-womens-day-bergamo.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhORHsu-ssP6KbVAzxLM5_hltWEQaBeWWe4xAkZ9FTw7UXu8C2C9jujSPwiN4RzJLv2Zz-qu5FmDZbuksgqzjjVOzrqn_Ivh14wjr61qbBmY1GbavQ17jc20hyD1vQ5dBaPvpF6msqOqmi44-8fmeq10bWoZozRGBNIAMwkeNQDaYbKYhu2GIl_Ep_4vMss/s200/Baget_Bozzo_87%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="141" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhORHsu-ssP6KbVAzxLM5_hltWEQaBeWWe4xAkZ9FTw7UXu8C2C9jujSPwiN4RzJLv2Zz-qu5FmDZbuksgqzjjVOzrqn_Ivh14wjr61qbBmY1GbavQ17jc20hyD1vQ5dBaPvpF6msqOqmi44-8fmeq10bWoZozRGBNIAMwkeNQDaYbKYhu2GIl_Ep_4vMss/s1600/Baget_Bozzo_87%20(2).jpg" width="141" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2021/03/gianni-baget-bozzo-Italian-priest-politician.html" target="_blank">Gianni Baget Bozzo – priest and politician</a></h3><p><b>Theologian moved from party to party</b></p><p>Prolific writer, ordained Catholic priest and political activist <b>Gianni Baget Bozzo</b> - often referred to as Don Gianni - was born on this day in 1925 in Savona in the northern Italian region of Liguria. He took the name Baget from his mother, who was of Catalan origin but died when he was five, and Bozzo from the two uncles who raised him. Baget Bozzo was known for supporting parties from both ends of the political spectrum at different times. At one time a Christian Democrat activist, Baget Bozzo was elected as a Member of the European Parliament for the Italian Socialist party in 1984, which led to him being suspended from the priesthood. He was a member of Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right Forza Italia party from 1994. He wrote many books about Christianity and as a theologian was a follower of the theories of Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. Baget Bozzo was raised in Genoa where he graduated in law. He studied at the Pontificia Universita Gregoriana in Rome, which was established by Ignatius Loyola in 1551 as a school of grammar, humanity and Christian doctrine. It was more generally referred to as the Roman College. After graduating Baget Bozzo was ordained as a priest in 1949. Over the years he contributed to many newspapers, in particular <i>La Repubblica</i> and he wrote dozens of books. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2021/03/gianni-baget-bozzo-Italian-priest-politician.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/4a4HaPC" target="_blank">Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture, edited by Gino Moliterno</a></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTe6wpj1oW32ewILyVREAiwPy8YBLIXEOcv1BjF_JQvn4baNj2XlF4gIgYEbS8ifVHbAhddcDJ0gGgBz2s65dtuHV246NgqV9EQ62T7Kko5i6Y-rw8pp807h320eC5WV-CRuFS6mb-T_QsOC4b5pUgERKoyqeeBh9mon1gUv88yIbiEESRTa2WGDIvMo4w/s1272/61YZRh8RD-L._SL1272_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1272" data-original-width="900" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTe6wpj1oW32ewILyVREAiwPy8YBLIXEOcv1BjF_JQvn4baNj2XlF4gIgYEbS8ifVHbAhddcDJ0gGgBz2s65dtuHV246NgqV9EQ62T7Kko5i6Y-rw8pp807h320eC5WV-CRuFS6mb-T_QsOC4b5pUgERKoyqeeBh9mon1gUv88yIbiEESRTa2WGDIvMo4w/w141-h200/61YZRh8RD-L._SL1272_.jpg" width="141" /></a></div>This rigorously compiled A-Z volume offers rich, readable coverage of the diverse forms of post-1945 Italian culture. With over 900 entries by international contributors, this volume is genuinely interdisciplinary in character, treating traditional political, economic, and legal concerns, with a particular emphasis on neglected areas of popular culture. Entries range from short definitions, histories or biographies to longer overviews covering themes, movements, institutions and personalities, from advertising to fascism, and Pirelli to Zeffirelli. The <b>Encyclopedia of Contemporary Italian Culture</b> aims to inform and inspire both teachers and students in the following fields: Italian language and literature; Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; European Studies; Media and Cultural Studies; Business and Management; Art and Design. It is extensively cross-referenced, has a thematic contents list and suggestions for further reading.<p></p><p><b>Gino Moliterno</b> has written extensively in the fields of comparative literature, film studies and Italian studies. He is a lecturer in Italian Film Studies at the Australian National University.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/4a4HaPC" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><!-- START ADVERTISER: Trip.com North America from awin.com -->
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<p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-42418378226891586052024-03-07T12:09:00.005+00:002024-03-07T20:20:45.814+00:007 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: red; color: white;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsfiDmCcwr-vKyJKhcGGVodbazGlH9wMbYv4CMqG6kqYiXPd_F3qCJjWXrviBvd1ZZVLBz0mIdtmrkHHFK4dfO_DohNHf79XnYk00YyDYYVWSFMib3dna2yBGtXR7oS1y3Sy5sM58snGQU6ddwLva8A3-GZmlfqNdlqHl_91kaQArwGl3-wymBErH_1XJ3/s354/Spalletti.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsfiDmCcwr-vKyJKhcGGVodbazGlH9wMbYv4CMqG6kqYiXPd_F3qCJjWXrviBvd1ZZVLBz0mIdtmrkHHFK4dfO_DohNHf79XnYk00YyDYYVWSFMib3dna2yBGtXR7oS1y3Sy5sM58snGQU6ddwLva8A3-GZmlfqNdlqHl_91kaQArwGl3-wymBErH_1XJ3/w169-h200/Spalletti.jpg" width="169" /></a></div>NEW</span> - <a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2024/03/luciano-spalletti-football-manager.html" target="_blank">Luciano Spalletti - football manager</a></h3><p><b>National coach has long record of success</b></p><p>The football manager <b>Luciano Spalletti,</b> who led Napoli to their first Serie A title since the Diego Maradona era before being appointed head coach to Italy’s national team, was born on this day in 1959 in the Tuscan town of Certaldo, just under 50km (31 miles) southwest of Florence. A late starter as a professional player, at 64 Spalletti became the oldest winning coach in the history of the Italian championship when Napoli won the 2022-23 scudetto. The achievement turned him into a hero in Naples, where fans celebrated in scenes not witnessed in the southern Italian city since Napoli won two titles in four years with the late Maradona as captain and talisman, the second of which was 33 years earlier in the 1989-90 campaign. Having hinted before the season finished that he was thinking about taking time out of football, Spalletti confirmed ahead of the final fixture that he would be leaving the club to take a year’s sabbatical. In the event, his break from the game lasted only three months. Following Roberto Mancini’s resignation, Spalletti was appointed head coach of the Italian national team, officially taking charge on September 1, 2023. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2024/03/luciano-spalletti-football-manager.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCdIMoclGfKqMl7-feOGrIPFk6jpumWaadfRlLUeq9J8AdsIYZ7_OCuhIv8hbzt-7GpMCU93hBONjwjcwC8e3AItE0mPHIUlFJEN8vr4wcuifdRwNcspNVT44UTLck_nv82Yqu32Tro4CW_TvO_YVugOxjTTJCX-vvylm5xiM-g2t9tZ-vFo1Fp_-NxZkz/s200/11430959683_1cff95b61f_b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="130" data-original-width="200" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCdIMoclGfKqMl7-feOGrIPFk6jpumWaadfRlLUeq9J8AdsIYZ7_OCuhIv8hbzt-7GpMCU93hBONjwjcwC8e3AItE0mPHIUlFJEN8vr4wcuifdRwNcspNVT44UTLck_nv82Yqu32Tro4CW_TvO_YVugOxjTTJCX-vvylm5xiM-g2t9tZ-vFo1Fp_-NxZkz/s1600/11430959683_1cff95b61f_b.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/baldassare-peruzzi-Italian-Renaissance-architect-painter-Rome-Villa-Farnesina.html" target="_blank">Baldassare Peruzzi - architect and painter</a></h3><p><b>Pupil of Bramante who left mark on Rome</b></p><p>The architect and painter <b>Baldassare Peruzzi,</b> who trained under Donato Bramante and was a contemporary of Raphael, was born on this day in 1481 in a small town near Siena. Peruzzi worked in his home city and in Rome, where he spent many years as one of the architects of the St Peter’s Basilica project but where he was also responsible for two outstanding buildings in his own right - the Villa Farnesina and the Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne. The Villa Farnesina, a summer house commissioned by the Sienese banker Agostino Chigi in the Trastevere district, is unusual for its U-shaped floor plan, with a five-bay loggia between the arms. Raphael and Sebastiano del Piombo were among those who helped decorate the villa with frescoes, but Peruzzi is acknowledged as the chief designer, possibly aided by Giuliano da Sangallo. Some of the frescoed paintings on the walls of the interior rooms are also by Peruzzi. One example is the Sala delle Prospettive, in which the walls are painted to create the illusion of standing in an open-air terrace, lined by pillars, looking out over a continuous landscape. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/baldassare-peruzzi-Italian-Renaissance-architect-painter-Rome-Villa-Farnesina.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><div id="118496-1"><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/gen.js?type=1"></script><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/requestform.js?siteId=118496&formatId=1"></script></div><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ngOSlliCk1cfL-GZXGIC9H9mmIbLweaXYIZdEIYvqmZaPWlbTKChOH-eMX8ugurdDlgFTMOPOLrsCO-3J-PtW4tKM-HA6ggmme2_S-DhIn3nkkWh3JcQAtae8ZKeSVFTlKdS2-QzDwTnAoNtUa5wXTcQz1vjHg-EWCagmsBXVzlGnbe_vxLQCAh-VCD_/s200/torino-2891041_1920.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="198" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ngOSlliCk1cfL-GZXGIC9H9mmIbLweaXYIZdEIYvqmZaPWlbTKChOH-eMX8ugurdDlgFTMOPOLrsCO-3J-PtW4tKM-HA6ggmme2_S-DhIn3nkkWh3JcQAtae8ZKeSVFTlKdS2-QzDwTnAoNtUa5wXTcQz1vjHg-EWCagmsBXVzlGnbe_vxLQCAh-VCD_/w198-h200/torino-2891041_1920.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/filippo-juvarra-architect-turin-superga-basilica.html" target="_blank">Filippo Juvarra – architect</a></h3><p><b>Baroque designer influenced the look of ‘royal Turin’</b></p><p>Architect and stage set designer <b>Filippo Juvarra </b>was born on this day in 1678 in Messina in Sicily. Some of his best work can be seen in Turin today as he worked for Victor Amadeus II of Savoy from 1714 onwards. The buildings Juvarra designed for Turin made him famous and he was subsequently invited to work in Portugal, Spain, London and Paris. Juvarra was born into a family of goldsmiths and engravers but moved to Rome in 1704 to study architecture with Carlo and Francesco Fontana. He was commissioned to design stage sets to begin with, but in 1706 he won a contest to design the new sacristy at St Peter’s Basilica. He then designed the small Antamoro Chapel for the church of San Girolamo della Carità with his friend, the French sculptor, Pierre Le Gros. He was later to design the main altar for the Duomo in Bergamo in Lombardy. One of his masterpieces was the Basilica of Superga, built in 1731 on a mountain overlooking the city of Turin, which later became a mausoleum for the Savoy family. It was said to have taken 14 years to flatten the mountain top. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/filippo-juvarra-architect-turin-superga-basilica.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLcdod5_-ttBIZbQptwiSuR5bbINmEQw87deIyxL315qtWFSrDUiwZjjzIrI8dpHfqNXm2pvlXvecstQRIn9HZp6EuK2-rQCGgJXq1K7a4di1Ku-USYfQ1a7mQuYez1qeK__nsY3gG-d8GgBaPk2aG5k0UfpMbLj0Ul-L9_JPnHHqWL4dVWnd-mKjt2c3i/s200/Alessandro_Manzoni.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="154" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLcdod5_-ttBIZbQptwiSuR5bbINmEQw87deIyxL315qtWFSrDUiwZjjzIrI8dpHfqNXm2pvlXvecstQRIn9HZp6EuK2-rQCGgJXq1K7a4di1Ku-USYfQ1a7mQuYez1qeK__nsY3gG-d8GgBaPk2aG5k0UfpMbLj0Ul-L9_JPnHHqWL4dVWnd-mKjt2c3i/s1600/Alessandro_Manzoni.jpg" width="154" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/alessandro-manzoni-novelist-lecco-milan-promessi-sposi.html" target="_blank">Alessandro Manzoni – novelist</a></h3><p><b>Writer who produced the greatest novel in Italian literature</b></p><p>Italy’s most famous novelist, <b>Alessandro Manzoni, </b>was born on this day in 1785 in Milan. Manzoni was the author of <i>I promessi sposi (The Betrothed)</i>, the first novel to be written in modern Italian, a language that could be understood by everyone. The novel caused a sensation when it was first published in 1825. It looked at Italian history through the eyes of the ordinary citizen and sparked pro-unification feelings in many Italians who read it, becoming a symbol of the Risorgimento movement. <i> I promessi sposi </i>is now considered to be the most important novel in Italian literature and is still required reading for many Italian schoolchildren. Manzoni spent a lot of his childhood in Lecco, on Lago di Lecco, where his father’s family originated, and he chose to set his great work there. Lago di Lecco is an arm of Lago di Como and is surrounded by dramatic mountain scenery that is so stunning it is said to have inspired Leonardo da Vinci for settings for his paintings. More than two centuries later, fans of Manzoni’s novel continue to visit Lecco to see the places he described and the buildings featured in the book that remain. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/alessandro-manzoni-novelist-lecco-milan-promessi-sposi.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhwKECBx6Fi_rUsYf7p4gQkFwxahNTM7gYo2YbAsXs9fDF6o5gZItQeddsOCCCjulZ0RcV_tLRPH3NbECHJ2Bz3C4rvkcZ8Sz3ndEqUQeSGL4VAnLDUDSZPF5gr-VArdFm4oIBmPweUN7Q89TKHPctd16sSjpXb2TIRv0bhmT1HFchTW2hYtEXAW6Vkvy1/s145/Polittico_del_1476,_s._tommaso_d'aquino%20(2)%20(1).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="145" data-original-width="109" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhwKECBx6Fi_rUsYf7p4gQkFwxahNTM7gYo2YbAsXs9fDF6o5gZItQeddsOCCCjulZ0RcV_tLRPH3NbECHJ2Bz3C4rvkcZ8Sz3ndEqUQeSGL4VAnLDUDSZPF5gr-VArdFm4oIBmPweUN7Q89TKHPctd16sSjpXb2TIRv0bhmT1HFchTW2hYtEXAW6Vkvy1/w150-h200/Polittico_del_1476,_s._tommaso_d'aquino%20(2)%20(1).jpg" width="150" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/saint-thomas-aquinas-philosopher.html" target="_blank">Saint Thomas Aquinas - philosopher</a></h3><p><b>Theologian who synthesised Aristotle’s ideas with principles of Christianity</b></p><p><b>Saint Thomas Aquinas,</b> known in Italian as Tommaso d’Aquino, died on this day in 1274 at Fossanova near Terracina in Lazio. A Dominican friar who became a respected theologian and philosopher, D’Aquino was canonised in 1323, less than 50 years after his death. He was responsible for two masterpieces of theology, <i>Summa theologiae</i> and <i>Summa contra gentiles.</i> The first sought to explain the Christian faith to students setting out to study theology, the second to explain the Christian faith and defend it in the face of hostile attacks. As a poet, D'Aquino wrote some of the most beautiful hymns in the church’s liturgy, which are still sung today. D’Aquino is recognised by the Roman Catholic Church as its foremost philosopher and theologian and he had a considerable influence on the development of Western thought and ideas. His commentaries on Scripture and on Aristotle are an important part of his legacy and he is still regarded as the model teacher for those studying for the priesthood. D’Aquino was born in Roccasecca in the province of Frosinone in about 1225 in the castle owned by his father, who was Count of Aquino. <b> <a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/saint-thomas-aquinas-philosopher.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>_______________________________________</b></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/3T55fz1" target="_blank">Golazzo: The Football Italia Years, b</a></b><b><a href="https://amzn.to/3T55fz1" target="_blank">y Jonathan Grade</a></b></h3><p>It was the deal of the century. British superstar Paul Gascoigne had joined Lazio and Channel 4 swooped to pick up live rights to Italian football for just £1.5 million. Serie A just happened to be the best league in the world and over the next decade millions would tune in to watch the biggest names on the planet. Saturday mornings were also about to be transformed with the launch of Gazzetta Football Italia. With the sharp wit of James Richardson allied to the dulcet tones of broadcasting legend Kenneth Wolstenholme, the show was an institution at the weekend. Having worked on the show since its inception Jonathan Grade gives a first-hand account of this iconic production. <b>Golazzo: The Football Italia Years </b>takes a nostalgic look back with some stories from behind the scenes in the days when Italian football ruled the world.</p><p><b>Jonathan Grade</b> is a television producer, who spent the best part of a decade working on the much-loved Gazzetta Football Italia and live Football Italia programmes from 1993 until 2002- the last two of which as Series Editor. </p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3T55fz1" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><ins class="bookingaff" data-aid="2228363" data-banner_id="108308" data-height="90" data-lang="en" data-prod="banner" data-target_aid="2228363" data-width="728">
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<p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><div><br /></div>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-56658027085469273012024-03-07T06:00:00.018+00:002024-03-07T06:00:00.252+00:00Luciano Spalletti - football manager<h3 style="text-align: left;">National coach has long record of success</h3><p><b></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLjBRg7HxJJJ5IVGs2VypxdycRYgoJoUuKIcmftmiS-fAaCAheZZrbZgOkwW9w3iVC4u7Y5UN-nr7WtPxITqgwP7nljVFK286RI2nMro8isQVzE_ecBxn_orYexBrp6pG-WYauu8HptnbP_4wStMqEuFojOWlfRuFKXKyS0ytkSPCWwk2JwuDdpZePY-Ze/s668/Luciano_Spalletti_Inter.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Luciano Spalletti reached the pinnacle of his club career by winning Serie A title" border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="539" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLjBRg7HxJJJ5IVGs2VypxdycRYgoJoUuKIcmftmiS-fAaCAheZZrbZgOkwW9w3iVC4u7Y5UN-nr7WtPxITqgwP7nljVFK286RI2nMro8isQVzE_ecBxn_orYexBrp6pG-WYauu8HptnbP_4wStMqEuFojOWlfRuFKXKyS0ytkSPCWwk2JwuDdpZePY-Ze/w258-h320/Luciano_Spalletti_Inter.jpg" title="Luciano Spalletti reached the pinnacle of his club career by winning Serie A title" width="258" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luciano Spalletti reached the pinnacle of<br />his club career by winning Serie A title</td></tr></tbody></table><b>The football manager Luciano Spalletti, who led Napoli to their first Serie A title since the Diego Maradona era before being appointed head coach to Italy’s national team, was born on this day in 1959 in the Tuscan town of Certaldo, just under 50km (31 miles) southwest of Florence.</b><p></p><p>A late starter as a professional player, at 64 Spalletti became the oldest winning coach in the history of the Italian championship when Napoli won the 2022-23 <i>scudetto.</i></p><p>The achievement turned him into a hero in Naples, where fans celebrated in scenes not witnessed in the southern Italian city since Napoli won two titles in four years with the late Maradona as captain and talisman, the second of which was 33 years earlier in the 1989-90 campaign.</p><p>Having hinted before the season finished that he was thinking about taking time out of football, Spalletti confirmed ahead of the final fixture that he would be leaving the club to take a year’s sabbatical.</p><p>In the event, his break from the game lasted only three months. Following <b>Roberto Mancini’s</b> resignation, Spalletti was appointed head coach of the Italian national team, officially taking charge on September 1, 2023.</p><p>His first major assignment will be to defend Mancini’s European championship title when Italy contest Euro 2024 in Germany, having secured qualification by winning three and drawing two of his first six matches in charge, before switching his attention to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup finals following the failure by the<i> azzurri</i> to qualify for the last two tournaments.</p><p>Italy fans will have high hopes that Spalletti can emulate his success in club football, in which he has an outstanding record as a coach following a relatively modest record as a player.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9x5VdiH8aPrgMs-C6SCRgyrgXsI43V3MmLCqFr1UmIznKN-WbkmP2bkOLs7bNg3e2hDn0kObkwrWcNv7XXt-IyD9FbCzviq-m0gG-Pjifw9EQjMXQF9oFvI9IFULvbyzW5PFT9QhmU7oaxUXLzTWg2pWIjNLDX_eQeR023PCwIArX9XYTZyhYysujOfm/s708/Luciano_Spalletti_Entella_Chiavari_1985-1986.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A young Spalletti with his first professional club, Entella" border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9x5VdiH8aPrgMs-C6SCRgyrgXsI43V3MmLCqFr1UmIznKN-WbkmP2bkOLs7bNg3e2hDn0kObkwrWcNv7XXt-IyD9FbCzviq-m0gG-Pjifw9EQjMXQF9oFvI9IFULvbyzW5PFT9QhmU7oaxUXLzTWg2pWIjNLDX_eQeR023PCwIArX9XYTZyhYysujOfm/w226-h320/Luciano_Spalletti_Entella_Chiavari_1985-1986.jpg" title="A young Spalletti with his first professional club, Entella" width="226" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A young Spalletti with his first<br />professional club, Entella</td></tr></tbody></table>Brought up in Empoli, about 30km (19 miles) north of Certaldo, Spalletti played at a semi-professional level until his mid-20s, after which he played for a number of clubs in Serie C, the third tier in the Italian pyramid.<p></p><p>He finished his playing career at <b>Empoli </b>in 1993, remaining at the club as a coach and being appointed head coach there a year later. It was not long before his potential to become a top coach came to the fore as Empoli won back-to-back promotions to return to Serie A for only the second time in their history.</p><p>Four years later, after spells with Sampdoria, Venezia and Ancona, Spalletti served notice again that he was capable of making an impact at the highest level by steering unheralded <b>Udinese</b> to fourth place in the 2004-05 season, when their exciting, attacking football enabled them to qualify for the Champions League for the first time.</p><p>He was immediately snapped up by <b>Roma,</b> being named Serie A coach of the year in his first season in the capital. While there were no trophies to show for his debut campaign, Spalletti was recognised for bringing order to the club after a chaotic previous year in which they had changed head coach three times, and for changing their style from defensive to attacking as they finished runners-up in the Coppa Italia and qualified for the Champions League.</p><p>He retained the Serie A coach’s crown the following year as Roma won the Coppa Italia for the first of two times under Spalletti, reached the last eight of the Champions League and finished runners-up in Serie A, a feat he repeated in the 2007-08 season while also retaining the Coppa Italia and winning the Supercoppa Italia.</p><p>More success followed as Spalletti ventured abroad for the first time, his period as head coach at <b>Zenit St Petersburg </b>bringing two Russian Premier League titles, a Russian Cup and a Russian Super Cup.</p><p>Back in Italy, Spalletti took charge at Inter-Milan, qualifying for the Champions League in each of his two seasons.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPnRZFSDH5rB_ARQiOBKgyy8WGS6_vixSJ6tkN9_FGu2UbxyjWiNlD4bkuzQ4-8MPvJnbYM62GWWQatJ8vS5d-5tfoj4ms1oZ9UQjLHJvi8aBT6M7XeQddz9KOd-Q1qqi9Z2VMJvU9MyBourqCJGE-rF4YNwxOPNFW6VFK9CyPyn0PGBupLTAIY3NLsqSA/s354/Spalletti.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Spalletti won two Russian Premier League championships with Zenit St Petersburg" border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPnRZFSDH5rB_ARQiOBKgyy8WGS6_vixSJ6tkN9_FGu2UbxyjWiNlD4bkuzQ4-8MPvJnbYM62GWWQatJ8vS5d-5tfoj4ms1oZ9UQjLHJvi8aBT6M7XeQddz9KOd-Q1qqi9Z2VMJvU9MyBourqCJGE-rF4YNwxOPNFW6VFK9CyPyn0PGBupLTAIY3NLsqSA/w271-h320/Spalletti.jpg" title="Spalletti won two Russian Premier League championships with Zenit St Petersburg" width="271" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spalletti won two Russian Premier League<br />championships with Zenit St Petersburg</td></tr></tbody></table>His triumph with Napoli followed two seasons without a job, his achievement at the <b>Stadio San Paolo</b> - by then renamed in honour of Maradona - all the more remarkable for having been achieved with a rebuilt team following the departure of several experienced players in the summer of 2022.<p></p><p>The 2022-23 season saw Spalletti's free-scoring side equal the Maradona team’s record of 11 consecutive wins and reach January before suffering their first league defeat, quickly bouncing back with a 5-1 win against arch rivals Juventus in Naples, the heaviest defeat anyone had inflicted on the Turin side since in 30 years. </p><p>Spalletti’s team were 12 points clear of the field by the end of January and clinched the title with five matches to spare. He was honoured with the Serie A coach of the year award for the third time.</p><p>Despite his high profile as a coach, Spalletti has managed to keep his personal life private. Married since 1989 to Tamara, with whom he has three children, he spends his time away from football at <b>La Rimessa, </b>a country estate in the Tuscan hills just a few kilometres away from Certaldo, which he acquired first as a place of solitude but which now provides another source of income.</p><p>As well as growing olives for oil and grapes for Sangiovese wine, Spalletti offers upmarket accommodation on the beautifully landscaped 50-acre estate near the village of <b>Montaione </b>in the shape of five luxury rustic villas and apartments created from converted farm buildings.</p><p><b></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZO7rfocsgh1O97AmXZYBsBgPyrxJt_NY-MJrwykb65zqqtkVQ546fgsv0FJq5Dp8r7N4ffVRqBKMGsNFHMn0PyeLcwtK_MdwykFM8ZneCpCFr_bUrl3-17GdTCvrM3CNMUvCi9oPZ7IfiGf-AFTMCOgs_SMfTtGPMXRJoTasYcUshFp7DvglWRzaSC6KH/s1067/Certaldo_Alto-palazzi_centro_storico10.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Boccaccio's birthplace (with the tower) in Certaldo Alto" border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="800" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZO7rfocsgh1O97AmXZYBsBgPyrxJt_NY-MJrwykb65zqqtkVQ546fgsv0FJq5Dp8r7N4ffVRqBKMGsNFHMn0PyeLcwtK_MdwykFM8ZneCpCFr_bUrl3-17GdTCvrM3CNMUvCi9oPZ7IfiGf-AFTMCOgs_SMfTtGPMXRJoTasYcUshFp7DvglWRzaSC6KH/w209-h279/Certaldo_Alto-palazzi_centro_storico10.jpg" title="Boccaccio's birthplace (with the tower) in Certaldo Alto" width="209" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boccaccio's birthplace (with the<br />tower) in Certaldo Alto</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Travel tip:</b><p></p><p><b>Certaldo,</b> where Luciano Spalletti was born, is a charming town of around 16,000 residents in the Valdesa region of Tuscany, easily reached from Florence by road or rail, it being a stop on the line linking the Tuscan capital with Siena. With a history going back to the Etruscan era, Certaldo began to thrive during the Middle Ages and is well known as the birthplace of Giovanni Boccaccio, the Renaissance writer and poet whose collection of short stories under the title of <i>The Decameron</i> had a profound influence on the development of Italian literature. Boccaccio’s house near the town’s walls in the mediaeval Certaldo Alto - the upper town - is open to the public as a museum and also offers breathtaking views over the surrounding countryside from its tower. The Palazzo Pretorio, or Vicariale, is the restored former residence of the Florentine governors. It has a picturesque facade adorned with ceramic coats of arms and is decorated with frescoes originating between the 13th and 16th centuries. It is also home to a collection of Roman and Etruscan artefacts discovered in the area. </p><p><b><a href="https://www.booking.com/searchresults.en.html?city=-115178&aid=7922554&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2&room1=A%2CA" target="_blank">Stay in Certaldo with Booking.com</a></b></p><p><b></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7pGYJfvX7Izvwmk24HPY4YUnlqcE7R_lneRqUw3Ba6iulY0abKdQ0C1Jtq_O8sDwkbTDM5NfQFUf9nnxGzTzdndZr132glrT5sYods72hMdj37RYAIFwFxlqP_ptMJ4Rgeyhu1DlbUiaTADtMTy3NddVWMiMZKs1vtLSvFSrvgz1wLwYtkMLBcU8VAsoL/s1024/fienile-lato-1024x684.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="One of the converted farmbuildings on Spalletti's country estate outside the village of Montaione" border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="1024" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7pGYJfvX7Izvwmk24HPY4YUnlqcE7R_lneRqUw3Ba6iulY0abKdQ0C1Jtq_O8sDwkbTDM5NfQFUf9nnxGzTzdndZr132glrT5sYods72hMdj37RYAIFwFxlqP_ptMJ4Rgeyhu1DlbUiaTADtMTy3NddVWMiMZKs1vtLSvFSrvgz1wLwYtkMLBcU8VAsoL/w320-h214/fienile-lato-1024x684.jpg" title="One of the converted farmbuildings on Spalletti's country estate outside the village of Montaione" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the converted farmbuildings on Spalletti's<br />country estate outside the village of Montaione</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Travel tip:</b><p></p><p><b>Montaione </b>is a quaint village located about 17km (11 miles) west of Certaldo, a short distance from the Sacro Monte di San Vivaldo, a sanctuary made up of 18 chapels, each representing a site in the Holy Land, which is sometimes known as Tuscany’s Jerusalem. The monastery has works attributed to Giovanni della Robbia, Benedetto Buglioni, Raffaellino del Garbo and Andrea Sansovino. Set on a green hill surrounded by beautiful vineyards, olive trees and woods in a typical Tuscan landscape, Montaione itself boasts much mediaeval charm and has become a popular tourist destination, particularly for well-heeled visitors following a substantial investment by a leisure company in the area, who have opened two upmarket hotels and a 27-hole golf course. Historically, Montaione is also famous for its glass-making, particularly in the production of bottles, flasks and cruets, going back to the 13th century. The town has a civic museum located within the Palazzo Pretorio and there are the remains of several castles in the vicinity.</p><p><b><a href="https://www.booking.com/searchresults.en.html?city=-122134&aid=7922554&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2&room1=A%2CA" target="_blank">Find accommodation in Montaione with Booking.com</a></b></p><p><b>More reading:</b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/10/ottavio-bianchi-football-coach.html" target="_blank">Ottavio Bianchi, the northerner who coached Maradona’s Napoli</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2021/05/aurelio-de-laurentiis-entrepreneur.html" target="_blank">The film producer and entrepreneur behind Napoli’s revival</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2022/07/diego-maradona-joins-napoli.html" target="_blank">The day Maradona signed for Napoli </a></b></p><p><b>Also on this day:</b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/saint-thomas-aquinas-philosopher.html" target="_blank">1274: The death of Saint Thomas Aquinas </a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/baldassare-peruzzi-Italian-Renaissance-architect-painter-Rome-Villa-Farnesina.html" target="_blank">1481: The birth of architect and painter Baldassare Peruzzi</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/filippo-juvarra-architect-turin-superga-basilica.html" target="_blank">1678: The birth of architect Filippo Juvara</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/alessandro-manzoni-novelist-lecco-milan-promessi-sposi.html" target="_blank">1785: The birth of novelist Alessandro Manzoni</a></b></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Picture credits: Spalletti at Zenit St Petersburg by Vladimir Mayorov; Boccaccio's house by Davide Papalini; via Wikimedia Commons)</span></p><div><br /><br /><div id="118496-1"><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/gen.js?type=1"></script><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/requestform.js?siteId=118496&formatId=1"></script></div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></div>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-19150048348479371472024-03-06T06:30:00.011+00:002024-03-06T06:30:00.238+00:006 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixPKuzuxJHRwqq_4vG3wTGh_tKWAZveGynFUI9KxeYExLNM9qkQZt0TnLfNF5KjgsJivIh18pTPF1o4X_H2eF1TLuMLb3abDIU_TYXquGyMBadKuiJej3gHPXVYrkWLwELa8eIcaA32hn1fs_ly5Z-vqilaM2_0meZmrjhz2cE_IByYEbgWSlBOEBERzzo/s200/Traviata%20poster.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="136" data-original-width="200" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixPKuzuxJHRwqq_4vG3wTGh_tKWAZveGynFUI9KxeYExLNM9qkQZt0TnLfNF5KjgsJivIh18pTPF1o4X_H2eF1TLuMLb3abDIU_TYXquGyMBadKuiJej3gHPXVYrkWLwELa8eIcaA32hn1fs_ly5Z-vqilaM2_0meZmrjhz2cE_IByYEbgWSlBOEBERzzo/s1600/Traviata%20poster.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/la-traviata-worlds-favourite-opera-verdi-venice-la-fenice.html" target="_blank">La traviata - the world's favourite opera</a></h3><p><b>Verdi's masterpiece performed for the first time</b></p><p>Giuseppe Verdi's opera, <b><i>La traviata, </i></b>was performed in front of a paying audience for the first time on this day in 1853. The premiere took place at Teatro La Fenice, the opera house in Venice with which Verdi had a long relationship, one that saw him establish his fame as a composer. <i>La traviata</i> would ultimately cement his reputation as a master of opera after the success of <i>Rigoletto</i> and <i>Il trovatore.</i> <i>La traviata </i>has become the world's favourite opera, inasmuch as no work has been performed more often, yet the reception for the opening performance was mixed, to say the least. Reportedly there was applause and cheering at the end of the first act but a much changed atmosphere in the theatre in the second act, during which some members of the audience jeered. Their displeasure was said to be aimed in part at the two male principals, the baritone Felice Varesi and the tenor Lodovico Graziani, neither of whom was at his best. There was also criticism of the soprano Fanny Salvini-Donatelli, the first to be given the role of Violetta, the opera's heroine. Although an acclaimed singer, Salvini-Donatelli was 38 years old and somewhat overweight. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/la-traviata-worlds-favourite-opera-verdi-venice-la-fenice.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgauiarAC_HRimBWhqvBBAqg6FPN0nSq58ShiwgSqVtVIKJlC-d3plYmc3_l4LdNvjVmBId82bSkwpowkB2gLkLKWZZuG-LDKStZ66dN4fA8OGVPGMv8DJw7RnHDUbIh87x6fdtvXHCValZzNpphucF1QFlJBUXFKUXZWbPzj-7-o4WggV527cmhpfQ_T4J/s200/lorenzo%20and%20augusto.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="152" data-original-width="200" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgauiarAC_HRimBWhqvBBAqg6FPN0nSq58ShiwgSqVtVIKJlC-d3plYmc3_l4LdNvjVmBId82bSkwpowkB2gLkLKWZZuG-LDKStZ66dN4fA8OGVPGMv8DJw7RnHDUbIh87x6fdtvXHCValZzNpphucF1QFlJBUXFKUXZWbPzj-7-o4WggV527cmhpfQ_T4J/s1600/lorenzo%20and%20augusto.png" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/augusto-odone-Lorenzos-Oil-medical-pioneer.html" target="_blank">Augusto Odone – medical pioneer</a></h3><p><b>Father who invented ‘Lorenzo’s Oil’ for sick son</b></p><p><b>Augusto Odone,</b> the father who invented a medicine to treat his incurably ill son despite having no medical training, was born on this day in 1933 in Rome. Odone’s son, Lorenzo, was diagnosed with the rare metabolic condition ALD (Adrenoleukodystrophy) at the age of six. Augusto and his American-born wife, Michaela, were told that little could be done and that Lorenzo would suffer from increasing paralysis and probably die within two years. Refusing simply to do nothing, the Odones, who lived in Washington, where Augusto was an economist working for the World Bank, threw themselves into discovering everything that was known about the condition and the biochemistry of the nervous system, contacting every doctor, biologist and researcher they could find who had researched the condition and assembled them for a symposium. Drawing on this pooled knowledge, and with the help of Hugo Moser, a Swiss-born professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, they eventually came up with the idea of combining extracts of olive oil and rapeseed oil in a medicine that would break down the long-chain fatty acids in the human body that were considered a major cause of the nerve damage suffered by people with ALD. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/augusto-odone-Lorenzos-Oil-medical-pioneer.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAo_JVcDqn8X1pyFDji4pWvtmWUVa7xWEbSK1oJP8bYHwWXhpaW5dhUlgjaqWN9xhY0RBTluLOQ888IQFT01QsmIT2FeSVKu-oSAoICns3hxVPNHNJMldUXOVJwcFj09z265E-qwqOgC9zQM-CtbyNvKuzIW32gJj9fye1v1fpeSEOBFtrjNSLpCSEP7FB/s200/Mastro_Titta.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="145" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAo_JVcDqn8X1pyFDji4pWvtmWUVa7xWEbSK1oJP8bYHwWXhpaW5dhUlgjaqWN9xhY0RBTluLOQ888IQFT01QsmIT2FeSVKu-oSAoICns3hxVPNHNJMldUXOVJwcFj09z265E-qwqOgC9zQM-CtbyNvKuzIW32gJj9fye1v1fpeSEOBFtrjNSLpCSEP7FB/s1600/Mastro_Titta.jpg" width="145" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2020/03/giovanni-battista-bugatti-executioner-papal-states-Italy.html" target="_blank">Giovanni Battista Bugatti - executioner</a></h3><p><b>‘Mastro Titta’ ended 516 lives in long career</b></p><p><b>Giovanni Battista Bugatti,</b> who served as the official executioner for the Papal States from 1796 to 1864, was born on this day in 1779 in Senigallia, a port town on the Adriatic coast about 30km (19 miles) northwest of the city of Ancona. Bugatti, who became known by the nickname Mastro Titta - a corruption of the Italian maestro di giustizia - master of justice - in Roman dialect, carried out 516 executions in his 68-year career. He was the longest-serving executioner in the history of the Papal States. The circumstances of him being granted such an important role in Roman life at the age of just 17 are not known. What is documented is that while not carrying out his grim official duties he kept a shop selling painted umbrellas and other souvenirs next to his home in the Borgo district, in Vicolo del Campanile, a short distance from Castel Sant’Angelo, which served as a prison during the time of the Papal States. It seemed an incongruous day job for someone whose very name struck a chill among Rome’s criminal fraternity. Yet he treated his responsibilities with the utmost solemnity, leaving his home early in the morning on the days an execution was to take place, dressed in his scarlet executioner’s coat. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2020/03/giovanni-battista-bugatti-executioner-papal-states-Italy.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5GECxLafxMaZy25Mx7ddzhFocjoHSvgw4g1OZDZpM20hqsUKwpFSSZczyeDQ_XDdo_qA-1x5ftPwWSfrPjbfK7MfG_Dk74GyPCqxkDmIo5_ufbrNG08OOIXneI82XwN3H0I-DWy-YBlPNfKrJcZ8jnKg1uufU_YreHybBLxP_SrsKe0-yFp9mvxceljjx/s200/Historia_titlepage%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="122" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5GECxLafxMaZy25Mx7ddzhFocjoHSvgw4g1OZDZpM20hqsUKwpFSSZczyeDQ_XDdo_qA-1x5ftPwWSfrPjbfK7MfG_Dk74GyPCqxkDmIo5_ufbrNG08OOIXneI82XwN3H0I-DWy-YBlPNfKrJcZ8jnKg1uufU_YreHybBLxP_SrsKe0-yFp9mvxceljjx/w122-h200/Historia_titlepage%20(2).jpg" width="122" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/francesco-guicciardini-writer-and.html" target="_blank">Francesco Guicciardini - writer and diplomat</a></h3><p><b>Friend of Machiavelli among first to record history in context</b></p><p>The historian and statesman <b>Francesco Guicciardini,</b> best known for writing <i>Storia d'Italia,</i> a book that came to be regarded as a classic history of Italy, was born on this day in 1483 in Florence. Along with his contemporary Niccolò Machiavelli, Guicciardini is considered one of the major political writers of the Italian Renaissance. Guicciardini was an adviser and confidant to three popes, the governor of several central Italian states, ambassador, administrator and military captain. He had a long association with the Medici family, rulers of Florence. <i>Storia d'Italia</i> - originally titled <i>'La historia di Italia' </i>- was notable for Guicciardini's skilful analysis of interrelating political movements in different states and his ability to set in context and with objectivity events in which sometimes he was a direct participant. Born into a prominent Florentine family who were influential in politics and long-standing supporters of the Medici, Giucciardini was educated in the classics before being sent to study law at a number of universities, including Padua, Ferrara and Pisa. He was interested in pursuing a career in the priesthood but his father, Piero, considered the church to have become decadent. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/francesco-guicciardini-writer-and.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/4a3Zetr" target="_blank">Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata (Overture Opera Guides), edited by Gary Kahn</a></b></h3><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgryWKP_4whZ3WpmNqJCN7yBpRoSTW6n0syfLN4jum4XWJS6idgBsDc05tBrGW_7bzLh2Ly5V7hLxQSCSr6RAYRUAmTsKhIQvN-xQXvNU1XGdm7MW7Gsdz_ltGcqfxNTQFb71vIX0e0UDHkSoW1YMxyA8GeXeBQlK2sJ9q7S8B1U0ccSXoxB_YjtHTLpfNa/s1500/61Aa0KU8T0L._SL1500_.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="970" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgryWKP_4whZ3WpmNqJCN7yBpRoSTW6n0syfLN4jum4XWJS6idgBsDc05tBrGW_7bzLh2Ly5V7hLxQSCSr6RAYRUAmTsKhIQvN-xQXvNU1XGdm7MW7Gsdz_ltGcqfxNTQFb71vIX0e0UDHkSoW1YMxyA8GeXeBQlK2sJ9q7S8B1U0ccSXoxB_YjtHTLpfNa/w129-h200/61Aa0KU8T0L._SL1500_.jpg" width="129" /></a></i></div><i>La traviata</i> was Giuseppe Verdi’s 18th opera and shows him at the height of his middle-period powers. Adapted from <i>La Dame aux camélias </i>by Alexandre Dumas fils, it portrays the love between the courtesan Violetta Valéry and the young Alfredo Germont in fashionable Parisian society, with its inevitable tragic outcome. It had its premiere at La Fenice in Venice in 1853 and has gone on to become one of the most performed and greatly loved of all operas. There are articles in this <b>Overture Operas Guide </b>about Verdi’s preparations for the first performances, a musical commentary, an overview of the opera’s social background and an examination of how the libretto was adapted from Dumas’s play. Also included are a survey of important performances and performers, 16 pages of illustrations, a musical thematic guide, the full libretto and English translation, a discography, bibliography and DVD and website guides. Contains: An Introduction to La traviata, Nicholas John; La traviata: From Real Life to Opera, Denis Arnold Verdi; La traviata: Two Routes to Realism, Roger Parker; Conspicuous Consumption: Violetta as Symptom and Subversive, Anna Picard; La traviata: A Selected Performance History, Hugo Shirley; La traviata: Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave after the play La Dame aux camélias by Alexandre Dumas fils; La traviata: English translation by Andrew Huth.<p></p><p><b>Gary Kahn </b>is an opera dramaturg and series editor of the Overture Opera Guides.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/4a3Zetr">Buy from Amazon</a></p><div id="118496-1"><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/gen.js?type=1"></script><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/requestform.js?siteId=118496&formatId=1"></script></div><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><div><br /></div>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-67499830637896768802024-03-05T06:30:00.009+00:002024-03-05T06:30:00.202+00:005 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsuKB8ywo8Z8DTETp84qTWoW5X9DcY46HtrzuMyKMHJOXzYSeVfukNAUGmayNMhsy8QpOuGYQvz2e-jTLEUctqZp7lQClApyVROCo3UvlbkFTDPMpwZZSJ25hadQljAWw-bJKJ-bU-8z4fuFrx-rgHu2w4JsVuk2Kjfuo3xPUvOavuLcVVyw_9Q0YajhRo/s200/PierPaoloPasolini.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="180" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsuKB8ywo8Z8DTETp84qTWoW5X9DcY46HtrzuMyKMHJOXzYSeVfukNAUGmayNMhsy8QpOuGYQvz2e-jTLEUctqZp7lQClApyVROCo3UvlbkFTDPMpwZZSJ25hadQljAWw-bJKJ-bU-8z4fuFrx-rgHu2w4JsVuk2Kjfuo3xPUvOavuLcVVyw_9Q0YajhRo/s1600/PierPaoloPasolini.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/pier-paolo-pasolini-writer-and-film.html" target="_blank">Pier Paolo Pasolini - writer and film director</a></h3><p><b>Controversial figure who met violent death</b></p><p>The novelist, writer and film director <b>Pier Paolo Pasolini </b>was born on this day in 1922 in Bologna. Pasolini's best-known work included his portrayal of Jesus Christ in <i>The Gospel According to St. Matthew </i>(1964), his bawdy adaptations of such literary classics as Boccaccio’s <i>Decameron</i> (1971) and Chaucer’s <i>The Canterbury Tales</i> (1972), and and his brutal satire on Fascism entitled <i>Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom </i>(1975). He also wrote novels and poetry, made documentaries, directed for the theatre and was an outspoken columnist for the Milan newspaper <i>Corriere della Sera,</i> expressing political views that would regularly spark heated debate. A former member of the Communist Party and openly homosexual, Pasolini died in violent circumstances in Ostia, near Rome, in November 1975, supposedly murdered by a young man he had picked up at the city’s Termini railway station, although there was some mystery around the incident and speculation over motives continues to this day. The son of an army lieutenant, Pasolini lived in various northern Italian towns in his childhood, determined by his father’s postings. Family life was somewhat turbulent. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/pier-paolo-pasolini-writer-and-film.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxC2_3dlKyUG0QLkfecGQaLhTeonSX-mF8kbhtNwRc53MDxrASu47W4mJ7L3g7nlzm0ksc_Kvyl8MtrScPfyHJXxHc_feLEB8VK5qkFMmbXV1xy6p1YE2_00DelVC1N2ONVhwjR4R5NASw4ECzZ99u7Yq1iceT8wRk2vWna4AAWJiL8zjJhRpbTzFs32CV/s200/Alessandro_Volta%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="139" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxC2_3dlKyUG0QLkfecGQaLhTeonSX-mF8kbhtNwRc53MDxrASu47W4mJ7L3g7nlzm0ksc_Kvyl8MtrScPfyHJXxHc_feLEB8VK5qkFMmbXV1xy6p1YE2_00DelVC1N2ONVhwjR4R5NASw4ECzZ99u7Yq1iceT8wRk2vWna4AAWJiL8zjJhRpbTzFs32CV/s1600/Alessandro_Volta%20(2).jpg" width="139" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/alessandro-volta-scientist.html" target="_blank">Alessandro Volta – scientist</a></h3><p><b>Invention sparked wave of electrical experiments</b></p><p><b>Alessandro Volta,</b> who invented the first electric battery, died on this day in 1827 in Como. His electric battery had provided the first source of continuous current and the volt, a unit of the electromotive force that drives current, was named in his honour in 1881. Volta was born Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta in 1745 in Como. He became professor of physics at the Royal School of Como in 1774. His interest in electricity led him to improve the electrophorus, a device that had been created to generate static electricity. He discovered and isolated methane gas in 1776, after finding it at Lake Maggiore and was then appointed to the chair of physics at the University of Pavia. Volta was a friend of the scientist Luigi Galvani, a professor at Bologna University, whose experiments led him to announce in 1791 that the contact of two different metals with the muscle of a frog resulted in the generation of an electric current. Galvani interpreted that as a new form of electricity found in living tissue, which he called animal electricity. Volta felt that the frog merely conducted a current that flowed between the two metals, which he called metallic electricity. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/alessandro-volta-scientist.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOFuAxQQNbT8QJk-5ryn0WFhLntj9XSOLv1QW6q1Le3FG2pSvlLYe-6QiBw4cvBNWO6fdHHRstreYIXG9Fzo6QMG3wBj97fpVriUlEeSm2qam6Hbp34_C1n8onh27chyphenhyphent6T4S7b3VyqdkwFwEhTVGHFh55-zF9bYiTZf4wyGysEV7KLemnxxFOAMi8uxw/s200/220px-Giambattista_Tiepolo_-_The_Banquet_of_Cleopatra_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="140" data-original-width="200" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOFuAxQQNbT8QJk-5ryn0WFhLntj9XSOLv1QW6q1Le3FG2pSvlLYe-6QiBw4cvBNWO6fdHHRstreYIXG9Fzo6QMG3wBj97fpVriUlEeSm2qam6Hbp34_C1n8onh27chyphenhyphent6T4S7b3VyqdkwFwEhTVGHFh55-zF9bYiTZf4wyGysEV7KLemnxxFOAMi8uxw/s1600/220px-Giambattista_Tiepolo_-_The_Banquet_of_Cleopatra_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/giovanni-battista-tiepolo-artist-venice.html" target="_blank">Giovanni Battista Tiepolo – artist</a></h3><p><b>Painter’s decorative work can be seen all over Venice</b></p><p>Painter and printmaker <b>Giovanni Battista Tiepolo</b> was born on this day in 1696 in Venice. Also sometimes known as Gianbattista or Giambattista Tiepolo, his output was prolific and he enjoyed success not only in Italy, but in Germany and Spain as well. Highly regarded right from the beginning of his career, he has been described by experts as the greatest decorative artist of 18th century Europe. Although much of his work was painted directly on to the walls and ceilings of churches and palaces in his native Venice, many of Tiepolo’s paintings on canvas are now in art galleries all over the world. Tiepolo was the youngest child of a Venetian shipping merchant who died a year after his birth leaving his mother to struggle to bring up her six children alone. In 1710 he became a pupil of Gregorio Lazzarini, a successful established painter, but Tiepolo quickly developed a style of his own. His earliest known works are depictions of the apostles, which form part of the decoration of the interior of the Church of Santa Maria dei Derelitti at Ospedaletto in Venice, painted in 1717. Tiepolo was commissioned to produce portraits for the Doge and he started painting frescoes directly on to the walls of churches in 1717. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/giovanni-battista-tiepolo-artist-venice.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRMeFDgBin5yRIrW3Z_QGlWjY0p-v4h-1zjz65fqDUoDRFL5F8YPdagxSe3m3L6SsRG-ahtKcJmBLUlLQTMnXDzj_iJpqXtPajGLnwcCZnYZh_sXNih57_rnHzC_djfkz6PebtirKrsEYElqdVRFJBiN0LblsPzimGUxxkx4lwPxVoRh4Q8aSRluYqoEOM/s200/BattistiLucio.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="129" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRMeFDgBin5yRIrW3Z_QGlWjY0p-v4h-1zjz65fqDUoDRFL5F8YPdagxSe3m3L6SsRG-ahtKcJmBLUlLQTMnXDzj_iJpqXtPajGLnwcCZnYZh_sXNih57_rnHzC_djfkz6PebtirKrsEYElqdVRFJBiN0LblsPzimGUxxkx4lwPxVoRh4Q8aSRluYqoEOM/s1600/BattistiLucio.jpg" width="129" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2023/03/lucio-battisti-singer-songwriter.html" target="_blank">Lucio Battisti - singer-songwriter</a></h3><p><b>Musician credited with writing ‘the soundtrack of Italian life’</b></p><p><b>Lucio Battisti, </b>who was one of the most influential figures in Italian pop and rock music in a career spanning four decades, was born on this day in 1943 in Poggio Bustone, a hillside village in the province of Rieti in Lazio, about 100km (62 miles) northeast of Rome. A songwriter, singer and composer, his work has been described as defining popular music in Italy in the late 1960s and the 1970s in particular, although his popularity continued right up to his death, at the age of just 55, in 1998. Some music critics and music historians have credited Battisti with writing ‘the soundtrack of our lives’ for several generations of young people, citing songs such as <i>Emozioni </i>(Emotions), <i>Acqua azzurra, acqua chiara</i> (Blue Water, Clear Water), <i>Il mio canto libero</i> (My Free Song) and <i>La canzone del sole</i> (The Song of the Sun) as his most memorable, although there were many more that made their mark. Of Battisti’s 18 studio albums, 13 reached number one in the Italian charts, while he had at least 10 number one singles, of which his 1971 recording <i>Pensieri e parole</i> (Thoughts and Words) remained in top spot for 14 weeks. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2023/03/lucio-battisti-singer-songwriter.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq_4uTlKmpGVRVCDc-UX7FvvzY_0cjddBZlOd3fZ3q27l_Y9O9Gq0O-cZN0ak1-hHllr6F3rb9qkKaQWD9OG5D7BooPmWzoqS77blJUpZGmKs6hKN2h51B8USlbw3c3Kbxi01r9Zg7ffgp56VzHsVQqIGM1Mo5VUdW2b9aXkaqe1sq1Do4DiUUAKCScLwR/s86/220px-Marietta_Piccolomini_006%20(2).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="86" data-original-width="64" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq_4uTlKmpGVRVCDc-UX7FvvzY_0cjddBZlOd3fZ3q27l_Y9O9Gq0O-cZN0ak1-hHllr6F3rb9qkKaQWD9OG5D7BooPmWzoqS77blJUpZGmKs6hKN2h51B8USlbw3c3Kbxi01r9Zg7ffgp56VzHsVQqIGM1Mo5VUdW2b9aXkaqe1sq1Do4DiUUAKCScLwR/w149-h200/220px-Marietta_Piccolomini_006%20(2).jpg" width="149" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/marietta-piccolomini-Siena-Italian-opera-soprano.html" target="_blank">Marietta Piccolomini – soprano</a></h3><p><b>Popular star who found fame as Violetta</b></p><p>The operatic soprano <b>Marietta Piccolomini, </b>who was most famous for her performances as Violetta in Verdi’s <i>La traviata</i>, was born on this day in 1834 in Siena. Her career was relatively brief, spanning just 11 years. Yet she managed to achieve unprecedented popularity, to the extent that crowds of fans would gather outside her hotel and men would volunteer to take the place of horses in pulling her carriage through the streets. Some critics said that the adulation she enjoyed was more to do with her youthful good looks and her acting ability than her voice, who they argued was weak and limited. Nonetheless, she was seldom short of work and she was the first Violetta to be seen by opera goers in both Paris and London. She had a particularly enthusiastic following in England, where she undertook several tours of provincial theatres as well as appearing in the capital. Born Maria Teresa Violante Piccolomini Clementini, she came from a noble Tuscan family. Her musical mother, a talented amateur, would sing duets with her. However, while her family were happy to arrange lessons for her with Pietro Romani, one of Italy’s first professional singing teachers, her father was reluctant to allow her to make opera singing a career. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/marietta-piccolomini-Siena-Italian-opera-soprano.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/3V3Vgwt" target="_blank">Pasolini Requiem: Second Edition, by Barth David Schwartz</a></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-kjtCGW56BVxrrPe0bFCZB36DJfQGH2EaXGIar-kuk4E7REW4V1Z7Oyx_pF3G5qI2HEsGCAcV9CSOih87wja4pilCYHlm4M-Vz9PgVbGZ6YnJhy_wq5aiLdhE5wbtqizS2WhPTGbK-Urz2jCijMs0zdS_vH6rWgwznEc6_TEP385iAubNXLQ5jt0z-Ec/s1280/61GS03J6ZnL._SL1280_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="853" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-kjtCGW56BVxrrPe0bFCZB36DJfQGH2EaXGIar-kuk4E7REW4V1Z7Oyx_pF3G5qI2HEsGCAcV9CSOih87wja4pilCYHlm4M-Vz9PgVbGZ6YnJhy_wq5aiLdhE5wbtqizS2WhPTGbK-Urz2jCijMs0zdS_vH6rWgwznEc6_TEP385iAubNXLQ5jt0z-Ec/w133-h200/61GS03J6ZnL._SL1280_.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>Pier Paolo Pasolini was one of the most important Italian intellectuals of the post-World War II era. An astonishing polymath - poet, novelist, literary critic, political polemicist, screenwriter, and film director - he exerted profound influence on Italian culture up to his untimely death at the age of 53. This revised edition of what the <i>New York Times Book Review</i> has called “the standard Pasolini biography” introduces the artist to a new generation of readers. Based on extensive interviews with those who knew Pasolini, both friends and enemies, admirers and detractors, <b>Pasolini Requiem</b> chronicles his growth from poet in the provinces to Italy’s leading “civil poet”; his flight to Rome in 1950; the scandalous success of his two novels and political writing; and his transition to film, where he started as a contributor to the golden age of Italian cinema and ended with the shocking <i>Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom. </i>Pasolini’s tragic and still unsolved murder has remained a subject of contentious debate for four decades. The enduring fascination with who committed the crime - and why - reflects his vital stature in Italy’s political and social history. Updated throughout and with a new afterword covering the efforts to reopen the investigation—and the legal maelstrom surrounding Pasolini’s demise - this edition of Pasolini Requiem is a riveting account of one of the 20th century’s most controversial, ever-present iconoclasts.<p></p><p><b>Barth David Schwartz,</b> a Rhodes Scholar who earned degrees from Harvard College and Yale Law School, is a writer based in Baltimore, Maryland. His work has appeared in the <i>Wall Street Journal, New Republic, Fortune,</i> and <i>Scientific American,</i> among other publications.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3V3Vgwt" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
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<p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><div><br /></div>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-52397153292840106242024-03-04T10:32:00.011+00:002024-03-04T10:43:11.440+00:004 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: red; color: white;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHL7LjW1BcwJwAFtIvepsAqcr5LmJBX8KNVy1AzRfPVwV0dNF_GxUAEeDmvbQAkXYgmoj2r5OkOFbcdfjhu9amO7_33BSLlxGwZW5GU-DSCoprhJYsy86AksXvtxAN1S90yRIEhW9DpBJJmIdsTfoEuhWDV7Vkt6-NNPhyphenhyphenosUBxwfp4759HvvNmQ9dtXF3/s824/51+h1QnUXbL._AC_SL1500_.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="673" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHL7LjW1BcwJwAFtIvepsAqcr5LmJBX8KNVy1AzRfPVwV0dNF_GxUAEeDmvbQAkXYgmoj2r5OkOFbcdfjhu9amO7_33BSLlxGwZW5GU-DSCoprhJYsy86AksXvtxAN1S90yRIEhW9DpBJJmIdsTfoEuhWDV7Vkt6-NNPhyphenhyphenosUBxwfp4759HvvNmQ9dtXF3/w163-h200/51+h1QnUXbL._AC_SL1500_.jpg" width="163" /></a></div>NEW</span> - <a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2024/03/alfonso-bialetti-engineer.html" target="_blank">Alfonso Bialetti – engineer</a></h3><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">The genius behind one of the most quintessentially Italian style symbols</h3><p><b>Alfonso Bialetti, </b>who became famous for designing the aluminium Moka Express coffee maker, died on this day in 1970 in Omegna in Piedmont. Originally designed in 1933, the Moka Express has been a style icon since the 1950s, and it remains a famous symbol of the Italian way of life to this day. Bialetti was born in 1888 in Montebuglio, a district of the Casale Corte Cerro municipality in Cusio, Piedmont. As a young man, he is said to have alternated between assisting his father, who sold branding irons, and working as an apprentice in small workshops. He emigrated to France while he was still young and became a foundry worker, acquiring metalworking skills by working for a decade in the French metal industry. In 1918 he returned to Montebuglio, opened a foundry in nearby Crusinallo and began making metal products. This became the foundation of Alfonso Bialetti & Company. He came up with the brilliant idea of the Moka Express, which was to revolutionise the process of making coffee in the home, using a process by which hot water in the pot’s lower chamber is forced by the pressure of steam to percolate through a funnel containing coffee grounds. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2024/03/alfonso-bialetti-engineer.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVOsTnA44-h_dzi_pbAYi86fg0oLJsSS8ezEPABLZ3stYOIXIFZaNkIGumF2roSE2vpv3v-QarsuDKriqxgkX3O2Zhb1u0nP3kUVBnG0voI6Q-9r2nyr-z2XwiIRuNWLqFm9iC7NA_Svah4viCAKim4Km_YIpycQ_bV_9NIOYszhlULnuIrEnqzaUauFEA/s200/Giorgio_Bassani_(1974).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="173" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVOsTnA44-h_dzi_pbAYi86fg0oLJsSS8ezEPABLZ3stYOIXIFZaNkIGumF2roSE2vpv3v-QarsuDKriqxgkX3O2Zhb1u0nP3kUVBnG0voI6Q-9r2nyr-z2XwiIRuNWLqFm9iC7NA_Svah4viCAKim4Km_YIpycQ_bV_9NIOYszhlULnuIrEnqzaUauFEA/s1600/Giorgio_Bassani_(1974).jpg" width="173" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2022/03/giorgio-bassani-writer-and-novelist.html" target="_blank">Giorgio Bassani - writer and novelist</a></h3><p><b>Best-known work reflected plight of wealthy Jewish Italians in 1930s</b></p><p><b>Giorgio Bassani,</b> rated by many critics as alongside the likes of Cesare Pavese, Elsa Morante and Alberto Moravia among the great postwar Italian novelists, was born on this day in 1916 in Bologna. Bassani’s best-known work, his 1962 novel <i>Il giardino dei finzi-contini - The Garden of the Finzi-Continis </i>- was turned into an Oscar-winning movie by the director <b>Vittorio De Sica. </b> Like much of his fiction, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis is semi-autobiographical, drawing on his upbringing as a member of an upper middle-class Jewish family in Ferrara, the city in Emilia-Romagna, during the rise of Mussolini’s Fascists and the onset of World War Two. Bassani, who was the editor of a number of literary journals and a respected screenplay writer, had already achieved recognition for his work through his <i>Cinque storie ferraresi</i> - <i>Five Stories of Ferrara </i>- which won the prestigious Strega Prize in 1956. But it was <i>The Garden of the Finzi-Continis </i>that won him international acclaim. The novel was part of a series that expanded on the same theme in presenting a picture of the world during the author's formative years, against a background of state-promoted antisemitism. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2022/03/giorgio-bassani-writer-and-novelist.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">__________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaPyL624FW5LynVAb5XUMV1iuI3g4nORaIjI4Fe2W87O0UDluR8YuLYWOt4kDh3hXamJ2PZqidaCbJspDkaDGpU22eDZlfCmbMzM3x83rPQvNkD8VRjF3aWNIc8YaXU7evnow5O_Aq3Pwn41VdQM8CDQnzPESb1iHEEsJv62qY9Sb0bZgyxmsraXVL0PqG/s200/Lucio_Dalla_1%20(2).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="152" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaPyL624FW5LynVAb5XUMV1iuI3g4nORaIjI4Fe2W87O0UDluR8YuLYWOt4kDh3hXamJ2PZqidaCbJspDkaDGpU22eDZlfCmbMzM3x83rPQvNkD8VRjF3aWNIc8YaXU7evnow5O_Aq3Pwn41VdQM8CDQnzPESb1iHEEsJv62qY9Sb0bZgyxmsraXVL0PqG/s1600/Lucio_Dalla_1%20(2).jpg" width="152" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/lucio-dalla-musician_4.html" target="_blank">Lucio Dalla - musician</a></h3><p><b>Cantautore inspired by the great Caruso</b></p><p>The singer/songwriter <b>Lucio Dalla</b> was born on this day in 1943 in Bologna. Dalla is most famous for composing the song, <i>Caruso</i>, in 1986 after staying in the suite the great tenor Enrico Caruso used to occupy overlooking the sea at the Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria in Sorrento. Dalla started playing the clarinet when he was young and joined the Rheno Dixieland Band in Bologna along with the future film director, Pupi Avati. Avati was later to say that his film <i>Ma quando arrivano le ragazze?</i> was inspired by his friendship with Dalla. In the 1960s the band won first prize in the traditional jazz band category at a festival in Antibes. After hearing Dalla’s voice, his fellow <i>cantautore</i> - the Italian word for singer/songwriter - Gino Paoli suggested he try for a solo career as a soul singer, but his first single was a failure. Dalla had a hit with <i>4 Marzo 1943</i>, originally entitled <i>Gesù bambino</i>, but which was changed to the singer’s birth date so as not to cause offence. In the 1970s Dalla started a collaboration with the Bolognese poet Roberto Roversi, who wrote the lyrics for three of his albums. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/lucio-dalla-musician_4.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57h6CmzWMMTb_sQWax_5rAUnZ0t0JhOV5u0ZpKU5T3zsiDHIFv_YOKBZggo-717w4J2FemH9WO0Tv9Dj1EmZw2zjCvb03rkEq4d88c0gnAA7W7tIFKqFkwLB0ogz7ZBc_SbdTv55Y8dyJ3jYYjLaGjy39k4Aim-nfmsuuH7P2wTAYGsbfK9HCR50zSBHX/s200/Carlo_Alberto_firma_lo_Statuto.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="126" data-original-width="200" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57h6CmzWMMTb_sQWax_5rAUnZ0t0JhOV5u0ZpKU5T3zsiDHIFv_YOKBZggo-717w4J2FemH9WO0Tv9Dj1EmZw2zjCvb03rkEq4d88c0gnAA7W7tIFKqFkwLB0ogz7ZBc_SbdTv55Y8dyJ3jYYjLaGjy39k4Aim-nfmsuuH7P2wTAYGsbfK9HCR50zSBHX/w232-h146/Carlo_Alberto_firma_lo_Statuto.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/birth-of-italian-constitution.html" target="_blank">Birth of the Italian Constitution</a></h3><p><b>Celebrations in Turin for historic Statute</b></p><p>The Albertine Statute - Statuto Albertino - which later became the <b>Constitution of the Kingdom of Italy,</b> was approved by Charles Albert, King of Sardinia, on this day in 1848 in Turin. The Constitution was to last 100 years, until its abolition in 1948 when the Constitution of the new Italian republic came into effect. The Statute was based on the French Charter of 1830. It ensured citizens were equal before the law and gave them limited rights of assembly and the right to a free press. However, it gave voting rights to less than three per cent of the population. The Statute established the three classic branches of government: the executive, which meant the king, the legislative, divided between the royally appointed Senate and an elected Chamber of Deputies, and a judiciary, also appointed by the king. Originally, it was the king who possessed the widest powers, as he controlled foreign policy and had the prerogative of nominating and dismissing ministers of state. In practice, the Statute was gradually modified to weaken the king’s power. The ministers of state became responsible to the parliament and the office of prime minister, not provided for in the Constitution, became prominent. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/birth-of-italian-constitution.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82QpoSjJQG7Hn7aJb3-CNlhhwGaFLyvTf7Vc23Cs4Sj21kUZAljLKf6f9UXGbfy3BCI0Cubfei40NtdzbnPQ1ohy04QZSueP0yXHkbe4TNu_KZh0HquoJvhaprOGpe50MAgRjnV5qAdrVZDOUbs-o7zYdzwpSSwTVYYJg7Q1-kKvd2Qxo2MjcqPRH-9NF/s199/Vivaldi.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="199" data-original-width="163" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82QpoSjJQG7Hn7aJb3-CNlhhwGaFLyvTf7Vc23Cs4Sj21kUZAljLKf6f9UXGbfy3BCI0Cubfei40NtdzbnPQ1ohy04QZSueP0yXHkbe4TNu_KZh0HquoJvhaprOGpe50MAgRjnV5qAdrVZDOUbs-o7zYdzwpSSwTVYYJg7Q1-kKvd2Qxo2MjcqPRH-9NF/s1600/Vivaldi.jpg" width="163" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/antonio-vivaldi-baroque-composer-venice-la-pieta-four-seasons.html" target="_blank">Antonio Vivaldi – Baroque composer</a></h3><p><b>The success and the sadness in the life of musical priest </b></p><p>Violinist, teacher, composer and cleric <b>Antonio Lucio Vivaldi </b>was born on this day in Venice in 1678. Widely recognised as one of the greatest Baroque composers, he had an enormous influence on music throughout Europe during his own lifetime. His best-known work is a series of beautiful violin concertos called <i>The Four Seasons</i>. Vivaldi was a prolific composer who enjoyed a lot of success when his career was at its height. As well as instrumental concertos he composed many sacred choral works and more than 40 operas. Vivaldi’s father taught him to play the violin when he was very young and he became a brilliant performer. At the age of 15 he began studying to be a priest and he was ordained at the age of 25. He soon became nicknamed ‘Il Prete Rosso’, the red priest, because of his red hair. He became master of violin at the Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanage in Venice, and composed most of his works while working there during the next 30 years. The orphaned girls received a musical education and the most talented pupils stayed on to become members of the Ospedale’s orchestra or choir. Vivaldi wrote concertos, cantatas and sacred vocal music for them to perform. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/antonio-vivaldi-baroque-composer-venice-la-pieta-four-seasons.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/49Alzip" target="_blank">Coffee: A Global History, by Jonathan Morris</a></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNQE1l8oCpCSHipVmxR68H5OYTSFiSDI-KE_CWaDgwmTnfw2ocStajBJjpkKQKYWtoyHFLipGDnEGxqHYsTEmjoKM0LyYpa3GZO4LCnLEBwety_ndZlMdS2hMtQe_ws2wSQ6SWDM6N1cB3aRPduDO7CENmBcUZGExDze7KT0GNUMq9uX6bFSou1Y7A0Jv/s1500/61fSLp0KdAL._SL1500_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="914" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYNQE1l8oCpCSHipVmxR68H5OYTSFiSDI-KE_CWaDgwmTnfw2ocStajBJjpkKQKYWtoyHFLipGDnEGxqHYsTEmjoKM0LyYpa3GZO4LCnLEBwety_ndZlMdS2hMtQe_ws2wSQ6SWDM6N1cB3aRPduDO7CENmBcUZGExDze7KT0GNUMq9uX6bFSou1Y7A0Jv/w122-h200/61fSLp0KdAL._SL1500_.jpg" width="122" /></a></div>Coffee is a global beverage: it is grown commercially on four continents, and consumed enthusiastically in all seven. There is even an Italian espresso machine on the International Space Station. Coffee's journey has taken it from the forests of Ethiopia to the fincas of Latin America, from Ottoman coffee houses to 'Third Wave' cafes, and from the simple coffee pot to the capsule machine. In <b>Coffee: A Global History</b>, Jonathan Morris explains how the world acquired a taste for coffee, yet why coffee tastes so different throughout the world. Morris discusses who drank coffee, as well as why and where, how it was prepared and what it tasted like. He identifies the regions and ways in which coffee was grown, who worked the farms and who owned them, and how the beans were processed, traded and transported. He also analyses the businesses behind coffee - the brokers, roasters and machine manufacturers - and dissects the geopolitics linking producers to consumers. Written in an engaging style, and featuring wonderful recipes, stories and facts, this book will fascinate foodies, food historians and the many people who regard the humble coffee bean as a staple of modern life.<p></p><p><b>Jonathan Morris</b> is Research Professor at the University of Hertfordshire. He is a historian of consumption and consumer societies, co-editor of <i>Coffee: The Comprehensive Guide to the Bean,</i> <i>the Beverage and the Industry (2013)</i>, and a judge for the Speciality Coffee Association's Best Product in Show awards.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/49Alzip" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><p><a href="https://c116.travelpayouts.com/click?shmarker=312238&trs=36697&promo_id=3944&source_type=banner&type=click" target="_blank"><img alt="EN - 728x90" height="90" src="https://c116.travelpayouts.com/content?promo_id=3944&trs=36697&shmarker=312238&type=init" width="728" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-22066818310080883332024-03-04T00:32:00.007+00:002024-03-04T09:54:59.246+00:00Alfonso Bialetti – engineer<h3 style="text-align: left;">The genius behind one of the most quintessentially Italian style symbols</h3><p><b></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFw5OyHabYUBYY30k26rz19otR5o6_uxxFkZ07mbddnFwmkDuiN9Ugv6NzuV18ttYSH6wWgNIa1obeHHLSdOuxQi_oYjH7KytS-fnSS_JZy4frW4EiJDVXGwRZLh68dxdq4NjKIHLMRtfgOjAR76u2gYIpfZ1b4V1w5RHHRtlAkALc0Vv1K93a48uNJcXx/s480/Alfonso_Bialetti.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Alfonso Bialetti (right) pictured in his workshop at his Crusinallo foundry in the 1920s" border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="480" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFw5OyHabYUBYY30k26rz19otR5o6_uxxFkZ07mbddnFwmkDuiN9Ugv6NzuV18ttYSH6wWgNIa1obeHHLSdOuxQi_oYjH7KytS-fnSS_JZy4frW4EiJDVXGwRZLh68dxdq4NjKIHLMRtfgOjAR76u2gYIpfZ1b4V1w5RHHRtlAkALc0Vv1K93a48uNJcXx/w320-h208/Alfonso_Bialetti.jpg" title="Alfonso Bialetti (right) pictured in his workshop at his Crusinallo foundry in the 1920s" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alfonso Bialetti (right) pictured in his workshop<br />at his Crusinallo foundry in the 1930s</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Alfonso Bialetti, who became famous for designing the aluminium Moka Express coffee maker, died on this day in 1970 in Omegna in Piedmont.</b><p></p><p>Originally designed in 1933, the Moka Express has been a style icon since the 1950s, and it remains a famous symbol of the Italian way of life to this day.</p><p>Bialetti was born in 1888 in Montebuglio, a district of the Casale Corte Cerro municipality in Cusio, Piedmont. As a young man, he is said to have alternated between assisting his father, who sold branding irons, and working as an apprentice in small workshops.</p><p>He emigrated to France while he was still young and became a foundry worker, acquiring metalworking skills by working for a decade in the French metal industry.</p><p>In 1918 he returned to Montebuglio, opened a foundry in nearby Crusinallo and began making metal products. This became the foundation of <b>Alfonso Bialetti & Company.</b></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJMsDLupwYjItDOSrR-JYdNFC4dGF5rNw9gIojTi0qG6k7Y_U7lFrUUAJIcYsSuzA_VlM4bNTRkYhQbhA1xePNpwWQpjKUNQZMIjwpKRrbhIbQA2952xQYhpTez7Nh2_R8YlLJoLAys2MxAk4EmJuFurcj7Gc92G-VRi41sx2-k8Egr41Bu4NqItEsfhmD/s824/51+h1QnUXbL._AC_SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Moka pots made today have the same design and still carry the L'omino con i baffi logo" border="0" data-original-height="824" data-original-width="673" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJMsDLupwYjItDOSrR-JYdNFC4dGF5rNw9gIojTi0qG6k7Y_U7lFrUUAJIcYsSuzA_VlM4bNTRkYhQbhA1xePNpwWQpjKUNQZMIjwpKRrbhIbQA2952xQYhpTez7Nh2_R8YlLJoLAys2MxAk4EmJuFurcj7Gc92G-VRi41sx2-k8Egr41Bu4NqItEsfhmD/w261-h320/51+h1QnUXbL._AC_SL1500_.jpg" title="Moka pots made today have the same design and still carry the L'omino con i baffi logo" width="261" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moka pots made today have the same design<br />and still carry the <i>L'omino con i baffi</i> logo<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>He came up with the brilliant idea of the Moka Express, which was to revolutionise the process of making coffee in the home. The process by which hot water in the pot’s lower chamber is forced by the pressure of steam to percolate through a funnel containing coffee grounds is said to have been influenced by Bialetti’s observations of a washing machine used by his wife.<p></p><p>The name given to his invention was inspired by the city of <b>Mokha</b> in Yemen, one of the world’s leading centres for coffee production.</p><p>The Moka’s classic design, with its eight-faceted metallic body, is still manufactured by the Bialetti company today and it has become the world’s most famous coffee pot. The use of aluminium was a new idea at the time because it was not a metal that was traditionally used for domestic purposes.</p><p>The design transformed the Bialetti company into a leading Italian coffee machine designer and manufacturer.</p><p>At the start, Bialetti sold the Moka coffee pot only at local markets, but many millions of Moka coffee pots were to be sold throughout the world during the years to follow. The Moka express was small, cheap to produce, and easy to use, and made it possible for many more people to brew good coffee in their own homes.</p><p>When Alfonso Bialetti’s son, <b>Renato,</b> took over the business, he initiated a big marketing campaign to boost the profile of the Moka coffee pot and to ensure the popularity of the Bialetti brand in the face of many copy-cat products coming on to the market. </p><p>Key to that campaign was the introduction of a Moka ‘trademark’ on every Bialetti coffee pot in the form of a cartoon caricature - <b><i>L'omino con i baffi</i></b> - the little man with the moustache - his right arm raised with finger outstretched as if summoning a waiter, based on a humorous doodle of Renato drawn by Paul Campani, an Italian cartoonist.</p><p>Alfonso Bialetti was the grandfather of <b>Alberto Alessi,</b> president of Alessi Spa, the famous Italian design house.</p><p>In 2007, Bialetti’s company was listed on the online stock market of the Italian stock exchange.</p><p><b></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-VoebBwQPmvgbpqfgn4kz3j7oHb7xim47m6HAqiGlNwLv9pVog_CDT2mcMi9VEhLw65E7VVaVR6qzqzugWHhJk-Hh9mlclJJP5uQxOZSWDAdFKnWr4H6tkbzpi_1xXG9X-Ix4UgzFG3hQEDIenF73K9jhOHZKZNVAgn8dcEbgLehZALAeCmNNYjdKQcr/s914/Montebuglio.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Montebuglio sits on a hillside a short distance from the picturesque Lago d'Orta" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="914" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-VoebBwQPmvgbpqfgn4kz3j7oHb7xim47m6HAqiGlNwLv9pVog_CDT2mcMi9VEhLw65E7VVaVR6qzqzugWHhJk-Hh9mlclJJP5uQxOZSWDAdFKnWr4H6tkbzpi_1xXG9X-Ix4UgzFG3hQEDIenF73K9jhOHZKZNVAgn8dcEbgLehZALAeCmNNYjdKQcr/w320-h252/Montebuglio.png" title="Montebuglio sits on a hillside a short distance from the picturesque Lago d'Orta" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Montebuglio sits on a hillside a short distance<br />from the picturesque Lago d'Orta</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Travel tip: </b><p></p><p><b>Montebuglio, </b>where Alfonso Bialetti was born, is a tiny village occupying a hillside location overlooking the valley of the Strona river in Piedmont, a short distance from Lago d’Orta, one of the smaller lakes of the Italian ‘lake district’ but no less picturesque than its better-known neighbour, Lago Maggiore, which lies a few kilometres to the east, the other side of Monte Falò. Montebuglio is a parish of the municipality of Casale Corte Cerro, located 15km (nine miles) from Verbania, 50km (31 miles) from the Swiss town of Locarno and 100km (62 miles) northwest of Milan. The popular Lake Maggiore resorts of Baveno and Stresa are within a short distance of Casale Corte Cerro. The largely wooded countryside around the area is crossed by a dense network of paths, by which walkers are able to reach vantage points on the steep, mountainous slopes from which, in clear weather, it is possible to enjoy a view that includes the Orta, Maggiore, Varese, Monate and Comabbio lakes. </p><p><b><a href="https://www.booking.com/searchresults.en.html?city=-113736&aid=7922554&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2&room1=A%2CA" target="_blank">Stay in Casale Corte Cerro with Booking.com</a></b></p><p><b></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYw8ROgI2CsAm3u6HMFX7KjiecHkKQHJYPH-RPlZBaBx8r1jkvHL_CRLwOGW6xSR6yrZDDE_7sqlkxYvcSS_mFzl8HZJ1YPwn0d6jrvZpPfgGb-Gbco2ru9DGf-Y_31eNmvLwWZ26Jq9E6EQcBLDvjoTp0Hy5Yvq3FZCJO95gRI5RhAm-HAJSkyhopXDhM/s1024/Lungolago_di_Omegna_-_panoramio_(4).jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Omegna is a beautiful and lively town on the north side of Lake Maggiore's neighbour, Lake Orta" border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYw8ROgI2CsAm3u6HMFX7KjiecHkKQHJYPH-RPlZBaBx8r1jkvHL_CRLwOGW6xSR6yrZDDE_7sqlkxYvcSS_mFzl8HZJ1YPwn0d6jrvZpPfgGb-Gbco2ru9DGf-Y_31eNmvLwWZ26Jq9E6EQcBLDvjoTp0Hy5Yvq3FZCJO95gRI5RhAm-HAJSkyhopXDhM/w320-h213/Lungolago_di_Omegna_-_panoramio_(4).jpg" title="Omegna is a beautiful and lively town on the north side of Lake Maggiore's neighbour, Lake Orta" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Omegna is a beautiful and lively town on the north<br />side of Lake Maggiore's neighbour, Lake Orta</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Travel tip: </b><p></p><p><b>Omegna,</b> where Bialetti spent the final years of his life and where the Alessi company still has its headquarters, is a lively town on the north side of Lake Orta, an area of outstanding natural beauty where tree-lined mountains meet the shimmering water of the lake. Omegna’s civilisation dates back to the Bronze Age, with settlements subsequently established there by the Ligures - a tribe from Greece - the Celts and Romans. Omegna, which is popular in the summer months, when it hosts many festivals and concerts, is sometimes referred to as the Riviera di San Giulio, named after an early Christian saint buried on an island in Lake Orta. Among places to visit are a museum of the town’s history, the Romanesque church of Sant’Ambrogio and the Porta della Valle, sometimes called Porta Romana, one of five ancient protective gates still standing. </p><p><b><a href="https://www.booking.com/searchresults.en.html?city=-123333&aid=7922554&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2&room1=A%2CA" target="_blank">Find accommodation in Omegna with Booking.com</a></b></p><p><b>More reading:</b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/05/angelo-moriondo-espresso-coffee-machine-pioneer.html" target="_blank">The Turin bar and hotel owner who invented the espresso machine </a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/04/luigi-lavazza-coffee-maker.html" target="_blank">The former peasant farmer who founded the Lavazza coffee company</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2021/12/the-opening-of-venices-historic-caffe.html" target="_blank">The opening of Venice’s historic Caffè Florian</a></b></p><p><b>Also on <a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2023/03/4-marzo-nella-storia-ditalia.html" target="_blank">March 4</a>:</b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/antonio-vivaldi-baroque-composer-venice-la-pieta-four-seasons.html" target="_blank">1678: The birth of composer Antonio Vivaldi</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/birth-of-italian-constitution.html" target="_blank">1848: The first Italian Constitution is approved by the King of Sardinia</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2022/03/giorgio-bassani-writer-and-novelist.html" target="_blank">1916: The birth of writer and novelist Giorgio Bassani</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/lucio-dalla-musician_4.html" target="_blank">1943: The birth of singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla</a></b></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Picture credits: Montebuglio by <a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utente:Bart292CCC" target="_blank">Bart292CCC</a>; Omegna by <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20161102021411/http://www.panoramio.com/user/8140135?with_photo_id=122806783" target="_blank">Fabio Pocci</a>; via Wikimedia Commons)</span></p><p><br /></p><div id="118496-1"><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/gen.js?type=1"></script><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/requestform.js?siteId=118496&formatId=1"></script></div><p></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><p><br /></p>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-63324325732684335402024-03-03T06:30:00.011+00:002024-03-03T06:41:25.246+00:003 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqczqjR8kxrvNso9XsjyEYoNFHPLF1ZMNJW57l3rqJpfYPxZbPCzC4etXp6OzQUoCpD47gTdLEMWSiisEbxuqcoq42gQOFhfk9ox24hTeWyamuOn0G9Y5hNfIJg7REaMxm-41_X07_HAv8Gd3hpydN4Y0kyICG73Dr0ooCadBPY3MuK8lrD-BF5a2Ix1b/s178/Ponzi1920.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="123" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfqczqjR8kxrvNso9XsjyEYoNFHPLF1ZMNJW57l3rqJpfYPxZbPCzC4etXp6OzQUoCpD47gTdLEMWSiisEbxuqcoq42gQOFhfk9ox24hTeWyamuOn0G9Y5hNfIJg7REaMxm-41_X07_HAv8Gd3hpydN4Y0kyICG73Dr0ooCadBPY3MuK8lrD-BF5a2Ix1b/w138-h200/Ponzi1920.jpg" width="138" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/charles-ponzi-fraudster-Italian-Boston.html" target="_blank">Charles Ponzi - fraudster</a></h3><p><b>Name forever linked with investment scam</b></p><p>The swindler <b>Charles Ponzi, </b>whose notorious fraudulent investment scheme in 1920s America led his name to be immortalised in the lexicon of financial crimes, was born Carlo Ponzi in the town of Lugo di Romagna on this day in 1882. Ponzi, who emigrated to the United States in 1903 but arrived there almost penniless, had been in prison twice - once for theft and a second time for smuggling Italian immigrants illegally into the US from Canada - when he came up with his scheme. Always on the lookout for ways to make a fast buck, Ponzi identified a way to make profits through exploiting the worldwide market in international postal reply coupons. This was not his scheme, simply the starting point. These coupons, which allowed a correspondent in one country to pay for the cost of return postage from another country, were sold at a universal cover price but variations in exchange rates meant that a coupon bought in one country might be worth more in another. Coupons bought in Italy, for example, could be exchanged for stamps in the US that could then be sold for several times more than the dollar-equivalent cost of the coupon in Italy. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/charles-ponzi-fraudster-Italian-Boston.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXJPIFISlzSpPWGGWJJtKQ2u9ztGKslIDgDVwDALfcRHylAFVF_uT3y2dj7-o8k4glQW2RCBc7yDzKkhCa-ltnyNgF-VSGpkf8OkQI-OP8CrHBu5BWRmaPAIDh72fvhjl7AlgKgPEK7nmxKzmJ2sPY1_C7rXqDkmps4ISD8xIm6R9mWEtgMccIqNx_Rwn/s237/Balvano_train_disaster_(1944).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="149" data-original-width="237" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXJPIFISlzSpPWGGWJJtKQ2u9ztGKslIDgDVwDALfcRHylAFVF_uT3y2dj7-o8k4glQW2RCBc7yDzKkhCa-ltnyNgF-VSGpkf8OkQI-OP8CrHBu5BWRmaPAIDh72fvhjl7AlgKgPEK7nmxKzmJ2sPY1_C7rXqDkmps4ISD8xIm6R9mWEtgMccIqNx_Rwn/s1600/Balvano_train_disaster_(1944).jpg" width="237" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2021/03/the-balvano-disaster.html" target="_blank">The Balvano Disaster</a></h3><p><b>Italy’s worst but little known train tragedy</b></p><p>The Italian railway network suffered its worst accident on this day in 1944 when more than 600 passengers died from carbon monoxide poisoning after a train stopped in a tunnel just outside the small town of <b>Balvano, </b>on the border of Basilicata and Campania about 90km (56 miles) east of Salerno. Yet, despite the death toll being perhaps nine times that of the country’s worst peacetime rail disaster, few Italians were aware that it had happened until author and historian Gianluca Barneschi wrote a book about it in 2014. Because the tragedy took place during the final stages of the Second World War, when much of southern Italy was a battleground between German and Allied forces, it resonated as a news story for only a short time, the victims essentially added to Italy’s overall count of civilian casualties during the conflict, which is put at more than 150,000. However, there was no military involvement in the disaster, which was purely an accident, albeit one that was in part caused by the circumstances of the time. Barneschi discovered details in classified documents at Britain’s National Archives office in Kew, London. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2021/03/the-balvano-disaster.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBrvEZ7az0Nn_f7rPwz-ZP4Oaqt1uWWMyMjTrvXvvd7oPLq1AIBeZBM8QSxeAn8MSGpYQ16i_TPwhrMQPrwABIFViZ9e-YBdAOTz_wgWP-18hK1n63JKqTss0ELd6VPspG-EK-k_P9tTc3oK8Kzu16m59NfOeTrXWxGkfC3B5OlnLBHtByhQexOm55Xfcd/s200/Scuola_lombarda,_1490_ca.,_ritratto_del_cardinale_ascanio_maria_sforza_(forse),_1490_ca..JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="159" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBrvEZ7az0Nn_f7rPwz-ZP4Oaqt1uWWMyMjTrvXvvd7oPLq1AIBeZBM8QSxeAn8MSGpYQ16i_TPwhrMQPrwABIFViZ9e-YBdAOTz_wgWP-18hK1n63JKqTss0ELd6VPspG-EK-k_P9tTc3oK8Kzu16m59NfOeTrXWxGkfC3B5OlnLBHtByhQexOm55Xfcd/s1600/Scuola_lombarda,_1490_ca.,_ritratto_del_cardinale_ascanio_maria_sforza_(forse),_1490_ca..JPG" width="159" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2020/03/ascanio-sforza-Italian-cardinal.html" target="_blank">Ascanio Sforza – Cardinal</a></div></h3><p><b>Borgia pope’s ally used his power to benefit Milan</b></p><p><b>Ascanio Maria Sforza Visconti, </b>who became a skilled diplomat and a Cardinal of the Catholic Church, was born on this day in 1455 in Cremona in Lombardy. He played a major part in the election of Rodrigo Borgia as Pope Alexander VI in the papal conclave of 1492 and served as Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church from 1492 until 1505. Ascanio was the son of Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, and Bianca Maria Visconti. Two of his brothers, Galeazzo Maria Sforza and Ludovico Sforza, became Dukes of Milan, as did his nephew, Gian Galeazzo Sforza. At the age of ten, Ascanio was named commendatory abbot of Chiaravalle and he was promised the red hat of a cardinal when he was in his teens. He was appointed Bishop of Pavia in 1479. Pope Sixtus IV created him cardinal deacon of SS Vito e Modesto in March 1484. Pope Sixtus died in August before Ascanio’s formal ceremony of investiture had taken place and some of the cardinals objected to him participating in the conclave to elect the next pope. Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia intervened on his behalf and Ascanio was received with all the rights of a cardinal. The conclave elected Giovanni Battista Cybo as Pope Innocent VIII. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2020/03/ascanio-sforza-Italian-cardinal.html" target="_blank">Read more...</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-e-UNGFfrPA1zxFephhaGNXEQSlUgj5S0XlwHnc7PfD96K6u-l9oFjZVSBW2xwKP84hirKyc7SQDE57V6XSF9HUl9P6DJGUzSDdiQh9RPR1akO-FJj-O-81b0SXObWT1fBdG70pUA-FvIZhAxu0vF-13eE-o_IAEGXFpPCi6rQiJGWCxI-FT8dNnRuf4t/s200/Teatro_olimpico.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="200" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-e-UNGFfrPA1zxFephhaGNXEQSlUgj5S0XlwHnc7PfD96K6u-l9oFjZVSBW2xwKP84hirKyc7SQDE57V6XSF9HUl9P6DJGUzSDdiQh9RPR1akO-FJj-O-81b0SXObWT1fBdG70pUA-FvIZhAxu0vF-13eE-o_IAEGXFpPCi6rQiJGWCxI-FT8dNnRuf4t/s1600/Teatro_olimpico.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/teatro-olimpico-vicenza-andrea-palladio.html" target="_blank">Teatro Olimpico – Vicenza</a></h3><p><b>Renaissance theatre still stages plays and concerts</b></p><p><b>The Teatro Olimpico </b>in Vicenza , originally designed by Andrea Palladio, was inaugurated on this day in 1585. A performance of <i>Oedipus the King</i> by Sophocles was given for its opening and the original scenery, which was meant to represent the streets of Thebes, has miraculously survived to this day. The theatre was the last piece of architecture designed by Andrea Palladio and it was not completed until after his death. The Teatro Olimpico is one of three Renaissance theatres remaining in existence and since 1994 it has been listed by Unesco as a World Heritage Site. In 1579 Palladio was asked to produce a design for a permanent theatre in Vicenza and he decided to base it on the designs of Roman theatres he had studied. After his death, only six months into the project, the architect Vincenzo Scamozzi was called in to complete it. Scamozzi is credited with fulfilling Palladio's wish to use perspective in the design, creating the impression that the streets visible through the archways stretched into the distance. The theatre is still used for plays and musical performance, but audiences are limited to 400 for conservation reasons. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/teatro-olimpico-vicenza-andrea-palladio.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8-ggQ0ytpHcEpq1TGmGeoSUX22e9U9szVUD7uuX-_TVyhg8AzNzr82N8oE88XE3HJIYpDxFhSFeZpsQmGInp9Rsc7nztHL7z0twklYK9lFPzL38YD0RLOZsRyRifBX3-M8so0yzC1ZV1fep8KENs2i977oFRqaPEn9dmTJcZKsN9kg8K5yFdbP2lDXAO/s178/Jacopo_Tintoretto_037.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="126" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8-ggQ0ytpHcEpq1TGmGeoSUX22e9U9szVUD7uuX-_TVyhg8AzNzr82N8oE88XE3HJIYpDxFhSFeZpsQmGInp9Rsc7nztHL7z0twklYK9lFPzL38YD0RLOZsRyRifBX3-M8so0yzC1ZV1fep8KENs2i977oFRqaPEn9dmTJcZKsN9kg8K5yFdbP2lDXAO/w142-h200/Jacopo_Tintoretto_037.jpg" width="142" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/sebastiano-venier-doge-of-venice.html" target="_blank">Sebastiano Venier – Doge of Venice</a></h3><p><b>Victorious naval commander briefly ruled La Serenissima</b></p><p><b>Sebastiano Venier, </b>who successfully commanded the Venetian contingent at the Battle of Lepanto, died on this day in 1578 in Venice. He had been Doge of Venice for less than a year when fire badly damaged the Doge’s Palace. He died soon afterwards, supposedly as a result of the distress it had caused him. Venier was born in Venice around 1496, the son of Moisè Venier and Elena Donà. He was descended from Pietro Venier, who governed Cerigo, one of the main Ionian islands off the coast of Greece, which was also known as Kythira. Venier worked as a lawyer, although he had no formal qualifications, and he went on to become an administrator for the Government of the Republic of Venice. He was married to Cecilia Contarini, who bore him two sons and a daughter. Venier was listed as procurator of St Mark’s in 1570, but by December of the same year, he was capitano generale da mar, the Admiral of the Venetian fleet, in the new war against the Ottoman Turks. As the commander of the Venetian contingent at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, he helped the Christian League decisively defeat the Turks. <b> <a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/sebastiano-venier-doge-of-venice.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFpUGAcY-RTAHQgiamYaAxu0naLRK-JSVJhEMeib5qNMc7j6hTVqXPzOMRmCE181oG5C_-W_YY31kkTZAYVA5v7a53qsQrNIqtwIkvHSdnY965LAQoH6FusWgKICWmekHz76S9rfH6n_rLSCxvLgpl_zNghBAGs5p_WGIasNtljn9i6DZN_pOAw2xwOTT/s200/Nicola_Antonio_Porpora%20(2).jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="158" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUFpUGAcY-RTAHQgiamYaAxu0naLRK-JSVJhEMeib5qNMc7j6hTVqXPzOMRmCE181oG5C_-W_YY31kkTZAYVA5v7a53qsQrNIqtwIkvHSdnY965LAQoH6FusWgKICWmekHz76S9rfH6n_rLSCxvLgpl_zNghBAGs5p_WGIasNtljn9i6DZN_pOAw2xwOTT/s1600/Nicola_Antonio_Porpora%20(2).jpg" width="158" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/nicola-porpora-composer-and-teacher.html" target="_blank">Nicola Porpora – composer and teacher</a></h3><p><b>Tutor of celebrated opera singers died in poverty</b></p><p><b>Nicola Porpora, </b>who composed more than 60 operas and was a brilliant singing teacher in Italy, died on this day in 1768 in Naples. Among his many pupils were poet and librettist Pietro Metastasio, composers Johann Adolph Hasse and Joseph Haydn and the celebrated <i>castrati</i>, Farinelli (Carlo Broschi) and Caffarelli (Gaetano Majorano). Porpora’s most important teaching post was in Venice at the Ospedale degli Incurabili, where there was a music school for girls, in which he taught between 1726 and 1733. He then went to London as chief composer to the Opera of the Nobility, a company that had been formed in opposition to Royal composer George Frideric Handel’s opera company. The composer had been born Nicola Antonio Giacinto Porpora in 1686 in Naples. He graduated from the music conservatory, Poveri di Gesù Cristo, and his first opera, <i>Agrippina,</i> was a success at the Neapolitan court in 1708. His second opera, <i>Berenice,</i> was performed in Rome. To support himself financially while composing, Porpora worked as <i>maestro di cappella </i>for aristocratic patrons and also taught singing. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/nicola-porpora-composer-and-teacher.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><p><b>Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/3wxuAtI" target="_blank">A Century of Swindles: Ponzi Schemes, Con Men, and Fraudsters, by Railey Jane Savage</a></b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeBz_IdqtTgIEypC9zejsE-K18hxq9oG6OA1yvV3dbhI3VaL0FJFdKI2t9F9i4iyLbIhyCc9OCTHGLyeCHXXjFJBwy7-oxyJlzc68kVsuhvcY4-T2Fcqr-ktbniZg3kZI5pnjp3Dz1pvCkkCA1qPBfaAJRNUzvP4EOKBvftdiH-cV9ZBrtTZQgxupFGou_/s1500/81YEu+shpPL._SL1500_.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeBz_IdqtTgIEypC9zejsE-K18hxq9oG6OA1yvV3dbhI3VaL0FJFdKI2t9F9i4iyLbIhyCc9OCTHGLyeCHXXjFJBwy7-oxyJlzc68kVsuhvcY4-T2Fcqr-ktbniZg3kZI5pnjp3Dz1pvCkkCA1qPBfaAJRNUzvP4EOKBvftdiH-cV9ZBrtTZQgxupFGou_/w133-h200/81YEu+shpPL._SL1500_.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>From the Gilded Age through to World War Two, America was rife with ne'er-do-wells on a never-ending search for the next big score. Between 1850 and 1950 lawlessness melded with ingenuity, fueled by optimism and ruthlessness: America was dangerous, buzzing, and where opportunity came to take flight. The perfect conditions for swindlers. The gall and gumption of their hustles strain credulity. Fake diamond fields? War with Canada? Sir Francis Drake's unclaimed fortune? Apparently, all was fair in the quest for something-for-nothing. The scammers in this volume range from the undeniably unscrupulous, to the ill and ill-advised. Fans of clever schemes and schadenfreude alike will be entertained by <b>A Century of Swindles,</b> which charts the rise and fall of some of America's greatest swindlers.<p></p><p><b>Railey Jane Savage</b> lives and works in Ithaca, New York, where her abiding love for history's forgotten moments - swindles, or otherwise - grows against the dramatic background of the Finger Lakes. With an English degree from Smith College, she splits her time between writing and editing.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3wxuAtI" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><p><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?s=275050&v=3787&q=130625&r=226563"><img border="0" src="https://www.awin1.com/cshow.php?s=275050&v=3787&q=130625&r=226563" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-32243123862148141602024-03-02T06:30:00.009+00:002024-03-02T06:30:00.166+00:002 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ11QdVr_Zps6WUzfL1yKGj0Zf7j8ta0mRVigYYZKdZP9NDFJkw5dAlQGpP1qNdHYwu9wAkt2YYJih9J6IAB64N244yNWzhOi_XjSRkseHLMBZ4F8nxlgHjojy1HZQUB6P_R2oXtJrjWpi3N3jA3Ft2pkGSbozKAQz1xp5qlZZQvBHxPiwkm-cxPAyJG33/s200/232px-Pozzo_e_Meazza_1938_cropped%20(2)%20(1).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="163" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ11QdVr_Zps6WUzfL1yKGj0Zf7j8ta0mRVigYYZKdZP9NDFJkw5dAlQGpP1qNdHYwu9wAkt2YYJih9J6IAB64N244yNWzhOi_XjSRkseHLMBZ4F8nxlgHjojy1HZQUB6P_R2oXtJrjWpi3N3jA3Ft2pkGSbozKAQz1xp5qlZZQvBHxPiwkm-cxPAyJG33/s1600/232px-Pozzo_e_Meazza_1938_cropped%20(2)%20(1).jpg" width="163" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/vittorio-pozzo-double-world-cup-winner.html" target="_blank">Vittorio Pozzo - double World Cup winner</a></h3><p><b>Manager led Azzurri to victory in 1934 and 1938</b></p><p><b>Vittorio Pozzo,</b> the most successful manager in the history of Italy's national football team, was born on this day in 1886 in Turin. Under Pozzo's guidance, the Azzurri won the FIFA World Cups of 1934 and 1938 as well as the Olympic football tournament in 1936. He also led them to the Central European International Cup, the forerunner of the European championships, in 1931 and 1935. No other coach in football history has won the World Cup twice. Pozzo managed some outstanding players, such as Internazionale's Giuseppe Meazza and the Juventus defender Pietro Rava, but his reputation was tarnished by the success of his team coinciding with the Fascist regime's tight grip on power. Italy's success on the football field was exploited ruthlessly as a propaganda vehicle. While not a Fascist himself, Pozzo upset many opponents of Mussolini across Europe at the 1938 World Cup in France when his players gave the so-called 'Roman' salute - the extended right-arm salute adopted by the Fascists - during the playing of the Italian anthem. <b> <a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/vittorio-pozzo-double-world-cup-winner.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfbAqoqbr03oHbg83_VX2jl_wp9mAn8ZbNyFJGkxVMyGTfZRmXL6wKvSa5Eh9MzwlSVR_k15_5F0bkYzMu7-FoicFGhzpjTvJnqnnATK8l3eNMbbOV0be9pPAxm0FPnXAtfJbN-bBReG6BA_4vjamZjoYJFA4axX7BpOOk4In1O1Nw1v5TCWAm0ATOyby-/s144/PacelliBavaria1922a.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="144" data-original-width="119" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfbAqoqbr03oHbg83_VX2jl_wp9mAn8ZbNyFJGkxVMyGTfZRmXL6wKvSa5Eh9MzwlSVR_k15_5F0bkYzMu7-FoicFGhzpjTvJnqnnATK8l3eNMbbOV0be9pPAxm0FPnXAtfJbN-bBReG6BA_4vjamZjoYJFA4axX7BpOOk4In1O1Nw1v5TCWAm0ATOyby-/w165-h200/PacelliBavaria1922a.JPG" width="165" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/pope-pius-xii-castel-gandolfo-eugenio-pacelli.html" target="_blank">Pope Pius XII</a></h3><p><b>Pope elected on 63rd birthday to lead the church during the war</b></p><p>Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli was elected Pope and took the name of <b>Pius XII</b> on this day in 1939, his 63rd birthday. A pre-war critic of the Nazis, Pius XII expressed dismay at the invasion of Poland by Germany later that year. But the Vatican remained officially neutral during the Second World War and Pius XII was later criticised by some people for his perceived silence over the fate of the Jews. Pope Pius XII was born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli on March 2, 1876 in Rome. His family had a history of links with the papacy and he was educated at a school that had formerly been the Collegio Romano, a Jesuit College in Rome. He went on to study theology and became ordained as a priest. He was appointed nuncio to Bavaria in 1917 and tried to convey the papal initiative to end the First World War to the German authorities without success. After the war he worked to try to alleviate distress in Germany and to build diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the Soviet Union. He was made a Cardinal priest in 1929 and elected Pope on March 2, 1939. When war broke out again he had to follow the strict Vatican policy of neutrality. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/pope-pius-xii-castel-gandolfo-eugenio-pacelli.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">__________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB0JJXghh_ONJuQqKKX1th3eD-7zSkU1tIvMlFJQmRiiES3toJKZbchdp2IdeEkyOtJJ0qZXTJdgLityDJG5aPhMvZ6oYV8eeke7x2a_oAQur148mUT6u7aa5pjYsniElucm0Yl-xDpKS-aBulx0LuoYFFwVpOlddjom7VrZ8uR06FAJGNgoFP5HZd6nP7/s200/Pietro_Novelli_-_Immacolata_Concezione.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="135" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB0JJXghh_ONJuQqKKX1th3eD-7zSkU1tIvMlFJQmRiiES3toJKZbchdp2IdeEkyOtJJ0qZXTJdgLityDJG5aPhMvZ6oYV8eeke7x2a_oAQur148mUT6u7aa5pjYsniElucm0Yl-xDpKS-aBulx0LuoYFFwVpOlddjom7VrZ8uR06FAJGNgoFP5HZd6nP7/w135-h200/Pietro_Novelli_-_Immacolata_Concezione.jpg" width="135" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/pietro-novelli-Sicily-Palermo-painter-architect.html" target="_blank">Pietro Novelli – painter and architect</a></h3><p><b>Sicilian great who was killed in Palermo riot</b></p><p><b>Pietro Novelli,</b> recognised as the most important artist in 17th century Sicily, was born on this day in 1603 in Monreale, a town about 10km (6 miles) from Palermo. A prolific painter, his works can be seen in many churches and galleries in Sicily, in particular in Palermo. There are good examples of his work outside the city, too, for example at Piana degli Albanesi, about 30km (19 miles) from Palermo, where he painted a fresco cycle in the cathedral of San Demetrio Megalomartire and another fresco, entitled Annunciation, in the church of Santissima Annunziata. At his peak, wealthy and aristocratic members of Sicilian society, as well as monasteries and churches, competed to be in possession of a Novelli work. His father, also called Pietro, was a respected artist who also worked with mosaics and Pietro initially worked in his father’s workshop in Monreale. A great student of art who travelled extensively, among his major influences were Caravaggio, whose work in Sicily he studied, particularly his Adoration of the Shepherds, which was commissioned for the Capuchin Franciscans and was painted in Messina for the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/pietro-novelli-Sicily-Palermo-painter-architect.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/437kv36" target="_blank">Winning at All Costs: A Scandalous History of Italian Soccer, by John Foot</a></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3kawU3YUVzYwS2Ty4P3BJ7Wq2RmZsNH5w7O8x2OZg808fJMJ5wcwwF2mAFHoG7EAGMfTP5cmY2CjdGDnKYtA3ZxMsluCkhVShqMP4tSLQOJJc5nQzdqeSqJ1oXQlJGIFOwQcHkhNs0T0Bel5a6pIJCmh3CTZ3KSzGnDccQ3vbx95YSJWAOy1UlpyeXvom/s1360/61ipTZqT32L._SL1360_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="907" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3kawU3YUVzYwS2Ty4P3BJ7Wq2RmZsNH5w7O8x2OZg808fJMJ5wcwwF2mAFHoG7EAGMfTP5cmY2CjdGDnKYtA3ZxMsluCkhVShqMP4tSLQOJJc5nQzdqeSqJ1oXQlJGIFOwQcHkhNs0T0Bel5a6pIJCmh3CTZ3KSzGnDccQ3vbx95YSJWAOy1UlpyeXvom/w133-h200/61ipTZqT32L._SL1360_.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>The 2006 World Cup final between Italy and France was a down-and-dirty game, marred by French superstar Zidane's head-butting of Italian defender Materazzi. But viewers were also exposed to the poetry, force, and excellence of the Italian game as operatic as Verdi and as cunning as Machiavelli, it seemed to open a window into the Italian soul. John Foot's epic history shows what makes Italian soccer so unique. Mixing serious analysis and comic storytelling, Foot describes its humble origins in northern Italy in the 1890s to its present day incarnation where soccer is the national civic religion. A story that is reminiscent of Gangs of New York and A Clockwork Orange, Foot shows how the Italian game, like its political culture , has been overshadowed by big business, violence, conspiracy, and tragedy, how demagogues like Benito Mussolini and Silvio Berlusconi have used the game to further their own political ambitions. But <b>Winning at All Costs</b> also celebrates the sweet moments , the four World Cup victories, the success of Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, the role soccer played in the resistance to Nazism, and the great managers and players who show that Italian soccer is as irresistible as Italy itself.<p></p><p><b>John Foot</b> graduated from Oxford University with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics in 1986 and gained his doctorate from Cambridge University, submitting a thesis on the socialist movements in Milan between 1914 and 1921. He has lectured at a number of universities and is currently Professor of Modern Italian History at the University of Bristol. He has written a number of books on Italian politics, history and sport.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/437kv36" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><!--START ADVERTISER: Trip.com North America from awin.com-->
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<p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-40609058936500258002024-03-01T06:30:00.016+00:002024-03-01T06:30:00.161+00:001 March<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57leOkiIRBfTVf_A-QPyUozh8v97bq-KhwBkN7qezyRBezkSzdy3_t4_m8aa5xxWsX7ToGj6N1ZKsdDfhI1rhbGvYMemrcRmsj7X_FIArkPrtF4XGcVtP1CtzAoIXXnq7dmWhBr-3JvRO6SteqFMAIS6VAYEjy1MLLfH8kQ2OfKZwmLyMhWZ0oWAGJCYf/s200/Reggia_di_Caserta.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="200" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi57leOkiIRBfTVf_A-QPyUozh8v97bq-KhwBkN7qezyRBezkSzdy3_t4_m8aa5xxWsX7ToGj6N1ZKsdDfhI1rhbGvYMemrcRmsj7X_FIArkPrtF4XGcVtP1CtzAoIXXnq7dmWhBr-3JvRO6SteqFMAIS6VAYEjy1MLLfH8kQ2OfKZwmLyMhWZ0oWAGJCYf/s1600/Reggia_di_Caserta.png" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/luigi-vanvitelli-architect-royal-palace-caserta-naples-bourbon.html" target="_blank">Luigi Vanvitelli – architect</a></h3><p><b>Neapolitan genius drew up a grand design for his royal client</b></p><p>The most famous Italian architect of the 18th century, Luigi Vanvitelli, died on this day in 1773 in Caserta in Campania. The huge Royal Palace he designed for the Bourbon kings of Naples in Caserta is considered one of the greatest triumphs of the Baroque style of architecture in Italy. Vanvitelli was born Lodewijk van Wittel in Naples in 1700, the son of a Dutch painter of landscapes, Caspar van Wittel. His father later also took up the Italian surname Vanvitelli. Luigi Vanvitelli was trained as an architect by Nicola Salvi and worked with him on lengthening the façade of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Palazzo Chigi-Odelscalchi in Rome and on the construction of the Trevi Fountain. Following his notable successes with the facade of the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano (1732) and the facade of Palazzo Poli, behind the Trevi Fountain, Pope Clement XII sent Vanvitelli to the Marche to build some papal projects. At Ancona in 1732, he directed construction of the Lazzaretto, a large pentagonal building built as an isolation unit to protect against contagious diseases arriving on ships. Later it was used as a military hospital or as barracks. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/03/luigi-vanvitelli-architect-royal-palace-caserta-naples-bourbon.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6tsgyv0AOs_d46D5WqbUAhC09Pnp7SnQchrSPLkeLCmNbfFjBpmr4Y3nTiAXcXHW6LpO2IYKMq3QmRbM7oQ7PkjpQz2PZMTEuPqHFuUErCJPMkY31ZWrbF1ADBrW0RXZGD6zTUtzjz-0BiV5LRQ1LaQhJyim7zzJ98_1qaUCer4_J6YhxZlh_SSum-n_D/s200/danova.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="193" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6tsgyv0AOs_d46D5WqbUAhC09Pnp7SnQchrSPLkeLCmNbfFjBpmr4Y3nTiAXcXHW6LpO2IYKMq3QmRbM7oQ7PkjpQz2PZMTEuPqHFuUErCJPMkY31ZWrbF1ADBrW0RXZGD6zTUtzjz-0BiV5LRQ1LaQhJyim7zzJ98_1qaUCer4_J6YhxZlh_SSum-n_D/s1600/danova.jpg" width="193" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/cesare-danova-movie-actor.html" target="_blank">Cesare Danova - movie actor</a></h3><p><b>Acclaim came late for Bergamo-born star</b></p><p>The actor <b>Cesare Danova,</b> who appeared in more than 300 films and TV shows over the course of a 45-year career, was born Cesare Deitinger on this day in 1926 in the Lombardy city of Bergamo. The son of an Austrian father and an Italian mother, he adopted Danova as his professional name after meeting the film producer, Dino De Laurentiis, in Rome. De Laurentiis gave him a screen test and was so impressed he immediately cast Danova in the 1947 movie <i>The Captain's Daughter,</i> playing alongside Amedeo Nazzari and Vittorio Gassman. So began a career that was to see Danova star opposite Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Joseph L Mankiewicz's 1963 hit <i>Cleopatra,</i> opposite Elvis Presley and Ann-Margaret in <i>Viva Las Vegas</i> (1964), alongside Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel in Martin Scorsese's cult movie <i>Mean Streets</i> (1973) and as part of a star-studded cast in National Lampoon's <i>Animal House </i>(1978). In his later years, Danova became a familiar figure on TV screens in America, making appearances in almost all the popular drama series of the 1980s, including <i>Charlie's Angels, Murder, She Wrote, Falcon Crest</i> and <b>Hart to Hart.</b> <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/03/cesare-danova-movie-actor.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNHirLgOj7WtkaF_rkJJT15xRRQviXcrOq8yT_LIFtvVj0OZ_brbqPZDnSovQsRjvybtuLZfioWcnN6c7fgUH3BRDCyXm3dVg7wSdw7ZXuc2hJB_8R_xL0PqKcTANHCTiO1NcwJNYBGfoWJYvH6lVp4R2Owfg_gwa41bW7TuafqRzqLB4k-r5C-acvY2V/s200/800px-Giovanni-Dupre-Abel-Hermitage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="200" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDNHirLgOj7WtkaF_rkJJT15xRRQviXcrOq8yT_LIFtvVj0OZ_brbqPZDnSovQsRjvybtuLZfioWcnN6c7fgUH3BRDCyXm3dVg7wSdw7ZXuc2hJB_8R_xL0PqKcTANHCTiO1NcwJNYBGfoWJYvH6lVp4R2Owfg_gwa41bW7TuafqRzqLB4k-r5C-acvY2V/s1600/800px-Giovanni-Dupre-Abel-Hermitage.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2023/03/giovanni-dupre-sculptor.html" target="_blank">Giovanni Dupré - sculptor</a></h3><p><b>Work helped end the dominance of Neoclassicism</b></p><p><b>Giovanni Dupré, </b>who came to be seen as one of the most important figures in 19th century Italian sculpture, was born on this day in 1817 in Siena. Like his contemporary, Lorenzo Bartolini, Dupré went back to the Renaissance for inspiration and his success helped Italian sculpture move on from the dominance of Antonio Canova, whose brilliant work in the Neoclassicist style had spawned a generation of imitators. Dupré did much of his work in Florence and Siena, his greatest piece generally judged to be the <i>Pietà </i>he carved between 1860 and 1865 for the family tomb of the Marchese Bichi-Ruspoli in the cemetery of the Misericordia in Siena. Although his family were of French descent, they were long established in Tuscany when Giovanni was born. The street in the Contrada Capitana dell'Onda where the family lived, a few steps away from Piazza del Campo, subsequently saw its name changed to Via Giovanni Dupré. As a young man working in the workshops of his father and of another sculptor, Paolo Sani, he became familiar with the work of Renaissance sculptors, carving copies of the great works. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2023/03/giovanni-dupre-sculptor.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEion-ti4ZBRedpUOtVoEdE4QvKG3B1-7e8Hn4egAtK1PK_MbPFn5HV2fPEnoZbZ-7hCpRPGEY7wKcx8DCbeLiiuE-FTSG2Lrcp5pxOQn7i3ePAr_YRM1LvFUUy-E98SphBG7iqmid8MapieSw-DFyNwpwewhqGEeoIjVjOc-_qMuriKatBIdTEa0bZsygOc/s177/Gastone_Nencini_1960.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="177" data-original-width="129" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEion-ti4ZBRedpUOtVoEdE4QvKG3B1-7e8Hn4egAtK1PK_MbPFn5HV2fPEnoZbZ-7hCpRPGEY7wKcx8DCbeLiiuE-FTSG2Lrcp5pxOQn7i3ePAr_YRM1LvFUUy-E98SphBG7iqmid8MapieSw-DFyNwpwewhqGEeoIjVjOc-_qMuriKatBIdTEa0bZsygOc/w146-h200/Gastone_Nencini_1960.jpg" width="146" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/gastone-nencini-cycling-giro-ditalia-champion.html" target="_blank">Gastone Nencini - cycling champion</a></h3><p><b>Lion of Mugello won both Tour de France and Giro d’Italia</b></p><p><b>Gastone Nencini, </b>sometimes described as Italy’s forgotten cycling champion, and certainly one of its least heralded, was born on this day in 1930 in Barberino di Mugello, a town in the Tuscan Apennines, about 38km (24 miles) north of Florence. Nencini won the 1957 Giro d’Italia and the 1960 Tour de France, putting him in the company of only seven Italians to have won the greatest of cycling’s endurance tests. He followed Ottavio Bottecchia, Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi and preceded Felice Gimondi, Marco Pantani and the most recent winner, 2014 champion Vincenzo Nibali. Yet often even cycling fans asked to name the seven Italian champions sometimes forget Nencini, despite his courage and resilience earning him the nickname The Lion of Mugello. This may be in part because he died very young, a month short of his 50th birthday, after developing a rare disease of the lymphatic system. Others, in particular members of his family, believe it was his maverick nature, his refusal to comply with the sport’s etiquette, that damaged his reputation. In his era, some claim, there were unwritten rules in cycling. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/03/gastone-nencini-cycling-giro-ditalia-champion.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVJ-MHZTrgQNVFVldNgODW9pxBxGru1fEbiCVucb5SV3m1z-BmkfVLRUu6ROYH1EOIgm2F6mKurgCWOkCyx8zAkcFA1lcwSQgLUyWEQLe5kNBEjfS4BMMZxfwAw0zM1ZIv4Ty1Oi624ErCeOF1Dt1VypBNQZ_E8EX-mApNQ00k91RYbTIdXfyqtn9cGVz8/s200/paolo%20e%20francesca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="161" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVJ-MHZTrgQNVFVldNgODW9pxBxGru1fEbiCVucb5SV3m1z-BmkfVLRUu6ROYH1EOIgm2F6mKurgCWOkCyx8zAkcFA1lcwSQgLUyWEQLe5kNBEjfS4BMMZxfwAw0zM1ZIv4Ty1Oi624ErCeOF1Dt1VypBNQZ_E8EX-mApNQ00k91RYbTIdXfyqtn9cGVz8/w161-h200/paolo%20e%20francesca.jpg" width="161" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/pietro-canonica-Italian-Realism-sculptor.html" target="_blank">Pietro Canonica - sculptor</a></h3><p><b>Artist in demand from European royalty</b></p><p>The sculptor <b>Pietro Canonica, </b>who was also a proficient painter and an accomplished musician but who found himself most in demand to create busts, statues and portraits for the royal courts of Europe, was born on this day in 1869 in Moncalieri in Piedmont. Canonica’s ability to create realism in his work, bringing marble sculptures almost to life, resulted in an endless stream of commissions, taking him from Buckingham Palace in London to the courts of Paris, Vienna, Brussels and St Petersburg. He was highly skilled in equestrian statuary and after the First World War was commissioned to create many monuments to the fallen, which can be seen in squares around Italy to this day. Canonica’s mastery of Naturalism and Realism were the qualities that set him apart, exemplified nowhere with such stunning effect as in his 1909 work <i>L'abisso </i>- <i>The Abyss</i> - which depicts Paolo and Francesca, the ill-fated lovers from Dante’s <i>Inferno,</i> locked in their eternal punishment, clinging desperately to one another with fear in their eyes, her fingers digging into his back as the vortex in which they are trapped drags them towards their fate. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/03/pietro-canonica-Italian-Realism-sculptor.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/432Z7Mb" target="_blank">The Bourbons of Naples (1734-1825), by Harold Acton </a></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgavtz9GAf0BiY-EQrMt0N0rSwNf743H04Y09Zv5XcmNdiFdFzAipCDFgWJIjWqZDnS4BmOtLjeytiDV7mJaqeOVSiQNKyjcngnn8CnEtc0KgrepOjH38y6zL39XYjHCCM9zQRmEIOG6sw1xnllu__7btGUuZHOb2A8U-AwrFmfKUbmev0SHn8rnQdAfw-4/s1500/81VZHHPknUL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="937" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgavtz9GAf0BiY-EQrMt0N0rSwNf743H04Y09Zv5XcmNdiFdFzAipCDFgWJIjWqZDnS4BmOtLjeytiDV7mJaqeOVSiQNKyjcngnn8CnEtc0KgrepOjH38y6zL39XYjHCCM9zQRmEIOG6sw1xnllu__7btGUuZHOb2A8U-AwrFmfKUbmev0SHn8rnQdAfw-4/w125-h200/81VZHHPknUL._SL1500_.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>Naples is one of Europe's most fascinating cities and the ruling dynasty which left its mark more than any other was that of the Bourbons, who arrived in 1734 and were only displaced by the Unification of Italy in 1870. Before that time Naples was the largest of the Italian kingdoms and, with Pompeii and Vesuvius as its main attractions, it drew hundreds of aristocratic travellers and visitors in the 18th century. The city also attracted the armies of revolutionary France and the royal family escaped to Sicily thanks to Admiral Nelson. <b>The Bourbons of Naples </b>was welcomed as a masterpiece at the time of first publication in 1956, and was chosen by Sir Osbert Sitwell as his book of the year. Sir Harold Acton (1904-1994) - famous aesthete and historian - brings 18th-century Naples vividly to life, with unforgettable characters such as Lady Hamilton and Nelson, royal eccentrics and plenty of court intrigue. The Times described the book as: 'An elaborate comedy of manners played out over 700 pages.' <p></p><p><b>Harold Acton</b> (1904-1994) was a writer, scholar and aesthete who listed as his principal recreation 'hunting the philistines'. From the balcony of his Oxford rooms he famously declaimed passages from <i>The Waste Land</i> through a megaphone.He wrote in many different mediums, publishing nearly thirty books, with his poetry and fiction being markedly less successful than his other works.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/432Z7Mb" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><ins class="bookingaff" data-aid="2228363" data-target_aid="2228363" data-prod="banner" data-width="728" data-height="90" data-banner_id="108308" data-lang="en">
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<p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-73674470889543551102024-02-29T06:00:00.006+00:002024-02-29T06:00:00.435+00:00Alessandro Striggio - composer and diplomat <h3 style="text-align: left;">Medici musician who invented the madrigal comedy</h3><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLT7muZotSxDERpuy7kSySTEc4FvwuVdbrKrREyg6MJPCaAiUljBBtz_2UGYQgmDfsvutnAveAg2xRwyX81bU60UEnvp1cYzhySkDiLfcXTODgYEZ6HuCYCYqAZ1wIcRobruA0vPyW9YXn5stB4kRU-MFsO0XVhhr-EvmJIaHQc3KmuvmGiWHPdKxcwv-/s858/music%20cover.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The score of Striggio's best known work was missing for 281 years" border="0" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="666" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLT7muZotSxDERpuy7kSySTEc4FvwuVdbrKrREyg6MJPCaAiUljBBtz_2UGYQgmDfsvutnAveAg2xRwyX81bU60UEnvp1cYzhySkDiLfcXTODgYEZ6HuCYCYqAZ1wIcRobruA0vPyW9YXn5stB4kRU-MFsO0XVhhr-EvmJIaHQc3KmuvmGiWHPdKxcwv-/w248-h320/music%20cover.jpg" title="The score of Striggio's best known work was missing for 281 years" width="248" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The score of Striggio's best known<br />work was missing for 281 years</td></tr></tbody></table>The Renaissance composer Alessandro Striggio, famous as the inventor of the madrigal comedy, once thought to be the forerunner of opera, died on this day in 1592 in Mantua (Mantova), the town of his birth.</b></div></b></b></div><p></p><p>Although there is no accurate record of his age, it is thought he was born in 1536 or 1537, which would have put him in his mid-50s at the time of his death. </p><p>Striggio spent much of his career in the employment of the Medici family in Florence, for whom he also served as a diplomat, undertaking visits to Munich, Vienna and London among other places on their behalf. </p><p>He produced his best work while working for the Medici, composing madrigals, dramatic music, and intermedi - musical interludes - to be played between acts in theatrical performances.</p><p>Striggio’s best known composition is his <i>Il cicalamento delle donne al bucato e la caccia</i> (The gossip of the women at the laundry), an innovative piece that combined music and words to tell a story, without acting. This was an example of what became known as the madrigal comedy, comprising a series of 15 humorous madrigals that together tell a story in words and music.</p><p>Perhaps his greatest achievements, though, were his choral works, including his motet Ecce beatam lucem, a feat of polyphony that included 40 independent voices, and his still more impressive Mass, <i>Missa sopra Ecco sì beato giorno</i>, which also featured 40 different voice parts and a final movement for 60 voices, which is thought to be the only piece of 60-part counterpoint in the history of Western Music.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokv8d_r0VoElfGmSmklxtXm5dJV6BntUbB3GzDlvmwaD7oVX5z20f3DVh1pnXTNnZ0M1S0V8jNlHuGUroS7vAQN930i6J5axu3iQbm_l6WZ_MBYi1OBvCNLSLgpa7SvSq9hx0W5kRA74tTcCp-yWx_1zdFaJ_iBdtVj_pb1tPCKELn9cO4w_d2SfOs59V/s5001/Agnolo_Bronzino_-_Cosimo_I_de'_Medici_in_armour_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Cosimo I de' Medici sent Striggio on a diplomatic mission to Vienna" border="0" data-original-height="5001" data-original-width="3853" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokv8d_r0VoElfGmSmklxtXm5dJV6BntUbB3GzDlvmwaD7oVX5z20f3DVh1pnXTNnZ0M1S0V8jNlHuGUroS7vAQN930i6J5axu3iQbm_l6WZ_MBYi1OBvCNLSLgpa7SvSq9hx0W5kRA74tTcCp-yWx_1zdFaJ_iBdtVj_pb1tPCKELn9cO4w_d2SfOs59V/w247-h320/Agnolo_Bronzino_-_Cosimo_I_de'_Medici_in_armour_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg" title="Cosimo I de' Medici sent Striggio on a diplomatic mission to Vienna" width="247" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cosimo I de' Medici sent Striggio on<br />a diplomatic mission to Vienna</td></tr></tbody></table>Although Striggio was born into an aristocratic family in Mantua, there is only sparse knowledge of his early life there. He possibly moved to Florence in his late teens or early 20s. He started work for <b>Cosimo I de' Medici, </b>Duke of Florence, on 1 March 1559 as a musician, eventually to replace Francesco Corteccia as the principal musician to the Medici court.<p></p><p>In the 1560s, he visited Venice and produced two books of madrigals influenced by the musical styles he encountered there.</p><p>Music was central to the Medici’s use of Striggio in a diplomatic role. Cosimo I craved the title of Archduke or Grand Duke, which within the hierarchy of the Holy Roman Empire was a rank below Emperor but a notch above Duke and equivalent to a King.</p><p>He ordered Striggio to travel to Vienna in the winter of 1566-67, sending his principal musician on a perilous journey through the Brenner Pass in order to meet Emperor Maximilian II and present Cosimo’s case for the Medici to be granted a royal title.</p><p>Striggio’s grand opus, <i>Missa sopra Ecco sì beato giorno, </i>was to be part of the presentation, underlining Cosimo’s commitment to the Catholic faith. Striggio was also charged with convincing Maximilian II that the Medici could support him both financially and militarily.</p><p>Unfortunately, Striggio reached Vienna only to find he needed to journey a further 140km (87 miles) north to Brno, where Maximilian had removed himself for the winter months. He presented the Emperor with a copy of the Mass, although he had too few musicians or singers with him in Brno for the piece to be performed.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8-yMvU7n1aeuJTxuZz2A9eoCoOKBiZxmc4hLTvq8ZfMPkcjMSR_yKeftboM2-GWrxTb6X91qtdjSNw-UdfyWP1mK2Iy61ou71mcCSJwbUDtnEXu_2orupLVSeiENryAtK42sOK3GZilj6yQIXluCGlURmCV2pxGoQQCtBAWhcfKd-SBJUIx7l8CIpAah/s259/download%20(2).jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The English composer Thomas Tallis is said to have been inspired by Striggio" border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8-yMvU7n1aeuJTxuZz2A9eoCoOKBiZxmc4hLTvq8ZfMPkcjMSR_yKeftboM2-GWrxTb6X91qtdjSNw-UdfyWP1mK2Iy61ou71mcCSJwbUDtnEXu_2orupLVSeiENryAtK42sOK3GZilj6yQIXluCGlURmCV2pxGoQQCtBAWhcfKd-SBJUIx7l8CIpAah/s16000/download%20(2).jpg" title="The English composer Thomas Tallis is said to have been inspired by Striggio" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The English composer Thomas Tallis is<br />said to have been inspired by Striggio</td></tr></tbody></table>Instead, as Striggio continued his travels, it was performed in full before the courts of Munich and Paris, to great acclaim, before Vienna. The Medici were granted the right to be headed by a Grand Duke two years later but it took almost 10 years for it to be given approval by the Emperor, although Cosimo I went by the title from 1569 until his death in 1574.<p></p><p>Striggio went on to visit England, having much respect for the work of musicians in the royal court there. He is said to have met Queen Elizabeth I and the composer Thomas Tallis, who had served in the courts of four monarchs - Henry VIII, Edward VI and Mary I, as well as Elizabeth I - and is considered one of England’s greatest composers, particularly of choral music. His own 40-voice motet, Spem in alium, is thought to have been inspired by his meeting with Striggio.</p><p>Striggio returned to Florence, where he became friends with Vincenzo Galilei, the lutenist and composer whose son was the astronomer and scientist, <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/02/galileo-galilei-astronomer-physicist-pisa-padua.html" target="_blank">Galileo Galilei.</a></b></p><p>During the 1580s, Striggio began an association with the Este court in Ferrara, which at the time was at the forefront of musical composition in Italy. In 1586, he moved back to his home city, Mantua, although he would continue to compose music for the Medici at least until 1589.</p><p>Although the idea of Striggio’s madrigal comedy being the forerunner of opera is no longer widely held, the composer has a connection with the roots of opera in that his son, also called Alessandro, wrote the libretto of Claudio Monteverdi's <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/02/lorfeo-early-opera-monteverdi-claudio-cremona.html" target="_blank">L'Orfeo</a></b>, one of the earliest works to fit the conventional definition of an opera.</p><p>As a footnote, the score of Striggio’s <i>Missa sopra Ecco sì beato giorno</i> was declared lost in 1726 but was rediscovered in 2007 by a musicologist from the University of California, Berkeley in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris, where it had resided for most of the intervening years, unnoticed because it had reportedly been recorded in an inventory of manuscripts as being a four-part Mass by a composer called Strusco.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXGthRPHZ9tNso_mTCXUHeSv1qeeYU1lyPVlfPGffmrqaQ81zvBOYb_08VQYt_N57gqARu4TtWrc4rFMcLPAaejN-3Okax69pQQAmCwK13AZGQSF450OLOjOzYvLByifG-kTQsOvLYih1ROG0oE309XTmLwJVzFc6EDzhEweSM8TM3jfmaLoA1GJtxiJt2/s843/ducal%20palace%20mantua.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Ducal Palace is one of many highlights of the atmospheric city of Striggio's home city" border="0" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="843" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXGthRPHZ9tNso_mTCXUHeSv1qeeYU1lyPVlfPGffmrqaQ81zvBOYb_08VQYt_N57gqARu4TtWrc4rFMcLPAaejN-3Okax69pQQAmCwK13AZGQSF450OLOjOzYvLByifG-kTQsOvLYih1ROG0oE309XTmLwJVzFc6EDzhEweSM8TM3jfmaLoA1GJtxiJt2/w320-h240/ducal%20palace%20mantua.jpg" title="The Ducal Palace is one of many highlights of the atmospheric city of Striggio's home city" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ducal Palace is one of many highlights of<br />the atmospheric city of Striggio's home city</td></tr></tbody></table>Travel tip:</h3><p><b>Mantua</b> is an atmospheric old city in Lombardy, to the southeast of Milan, famous for its Renaissance Palazzo Ducale, the seat of the Gonzaga family between 1328 and 1707. In the Renaissance heart of Mantua is Piazza Mantegna, where the 15th century Basilica of Sant’Andrea houses the tomb of the artist, Andrea Mantegna. The church was originally built to accommodate the large number of pilgrims who came to Mantua to see a precious relic, an ampoule containing what were believed to be drops of Christ’s blood mixed with earth. This was claimed to have been collected at the site of his crucifixion by a Roman soldier. In nearby Piazze delle Erbe is the Chiesa di San Lorenzo, another masterpiece of Renaissance architecture. Its elegant facade and interior are adorned with beautiful artwork and sculptures. In the same square, the Torre dell’Orologio Astronomico - the Astronomical Clock Tower - displays lunar cycles as well as the time. Installed in 1473, the clock has failed twice but was restored in 1989.</p><p><b><a href="https://www.booking.com/searchresults.en.html?city=-120965&aid=7922554&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2&room1=A%2CA" target="_blank">Hotels in Mantua by Booking.com</a></b></p><p><b></b></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tfi5U4pPm9jIFFE3ToK_JbXohqqXNqbngUF_PjsrN82w-5p4KxhPcZ-deL4sD-jNrdghb0jKtwk9WhBEt_s3hVC4P_K4EBGaVE6TJK0NRo60wn2-evF-Pjx8Mr1NTDWN8arqzqoodTlbTbh6Yrbvj_lLRc5OtOWhqhSdeztHaZWeK3BOqf07mUULWL6T/s552/Palazzo_vecchio_Florence.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Palazzo Vecchio was at one time Cosimo I's home" border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="320" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tfi5U4pPm9jIFFE3ToK_JbXohqqXNqbngUF_PjsrN82w-5p4KxhPcZ-deL4sD-jNrdghb0jKtwk9WhBEt_s3hVC4P_K4EBGaVE6TJK0NRo60wn2-evF-Pjx8Mr1NTDWN8arqzqoodTlbTbh6Yrbvj_lLRc5OtOWhqhSdeztHaZWeK3BOqf07mUULWL6T/w157-h270/Palazzo_vecchio_Florence.jpg" title="Palazzo Vecchio was at one time Cosimo I's home" width="157" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Palazzo Vecchio was at<br />one time Cosimo I's home</td></tr></tbody></table><b>Travel tip:</b><p></p><p>Florence’s imposing <b>Palazzo Vecchio,</b> formerly Palazzo della Signoria, a cubical building of four storeys made of solid rusticated stonework, crowned with projecting crenellated battlements and a clock tower rising to 94m (308ft), became home of Duke Cosimo I de' Medici moved his official seat from the Medici palazzo in via Larga in May 1540. When Cosimo later removed to Palazzo Pitti, he officially renamed his former palace the Palazzo Vecchio, the "Old Palace", although the adjacent town square, the Piazza della Signoria, still bears the original name. Cosimo commissioned the painter and architect Giorgio Vasari to build an above-ground walkway, the Vasari corridor, from the Palazzo Vecchio, through the Uffizi, over the Ponte Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti. Cosimo I also moved the seat of government to the Uffizi, which translated literally, simply means ‘offices’. Today, of course, the Uffizi, is known the world over for its collection of art treasures.</p><p><b><a href="https://www.booking.com/searchresults.en.html?city=-117543&aid=7922554&no_rooms=1&group_adults=2&room1=A%2CA" target="_blank">Book your stay in Florence with Booking.com</a></b></p><p><b>More reading:</b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/08/salomone-rossi-violinist-and-composer.html" target="_blank">Gonzaga court violinist Salomone Rossi, the leading Jewish musician of the Renaissance</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/05/cosimo-ii-de-medici-patron-of-galileo.html" target="_blank">Cosimo II de' Medici, patron of Galileo</a></b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/05/claudio-monteverdi-composer-baptised-cremona.html" target="_blank">Claudio Monteverdi, the Baroque composer who wrote the first real opera</a></b></p><p><b>Also on this day</b></p><p><b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/02/gioachino-rossini-opera-composer-pesaro-rome.html" target="_blank">1792: The birth of composer Gioachino Rossini</a></b></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Picture credit: Palazzo Vecchio by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Geobia" target="_blank">Geobia</a> via Wikimedia Commons)</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Paintings: Portrait of Cosimo I de' Medici, Bronzino, Art Gallery of New South Wales)</span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p><div id="118496-1"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/gen.js?type=1"></script><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/requestform.js?siteId=118496&formatId=1"></script></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-89805902631915331692024-02-28T06:30:00.011+00:002024-02-28T06:30:00.158+00:0028 February<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1TfevP7qqMeEToZgybEiVdme3vyCVp1STegK358L6Wk6vVGv67XACoNX0zhApUhc2BBrQrrGhjt0a7nc8MaGQWRe8naeB_nSRMmTIzBHogtlYPHrrZpkUIJM2rRLnloavlB-j_EeAS1g2eky0_XAewwEQ6-SEm4Tzir_dMJGUKjZF-7eoRjYTdLKjMYj8/s143/Pietro_Ottoboni_by_Francesco_Trevisani%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="143" data-original-width="111" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1TfevP7qqMeEToZgybEiVdme3vyCVp1STegK358L6Wk6vVGv67XACoNX0zhApUhc2BBrQrrGhjt0a7nc8MaGQWRe8naeB_nSRMmTIzBHogtlYPHrrZpkUIJM2rRLnloavlB-j_EeAS1g2eky0_XAewwEQ6-SEm4Tzir_dMJGUKjZF-7eoRjYTdLKjMYj8/w155-h200/Pietro_Ottoboni_by_Francesco_Trevisani%20(2).jpg" width="155" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2020/02/pietro-ottoboni-Italian-patron-of-music-and-art.html" target="_blank">Pietro Ottoboni - patron of music and art</a></h3><p><b>Venetian cardinal spent fortune on composers and painters</b></p><p><b>Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni,</b> who is remembered as the biggest sponsor of the arts and music in particular in Rome in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, died on 29 February, 1740 in Rome. Despite a somewhat licentious lifestyle that reportedly saw him father between 60 and 70 children, Ottoboni, whose great uncle was Pope Alexander VIII, was considered a candidate to succeed Pope Clement XII as pontiff following the death of the latter on 6 February. However, he developed a fever during the conclave and had to withdraw. He died three weeks later. Born into a noble Venetian family, Ottoboni was the last person to hold the office of Cardinal-nephew, a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages that allowed a pontiff to appoint members of his own family to key positions. The practice was abolished by Alexander VIII’s successor, Pope Innocent XII, in 1692. Ottoboni was also made vice-chancellor of the Holy Church of Rome, a position he held until his death, which gave him an annual income that would have been the equivalent today of almost £5 million (€5.79m). Although he had several positions of responsibility, including superintendent general of the affairs of the Apostolic See, and governor of the cities of Fermo and Tivoli, he was an unashamed seeker of sensual pleasure. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2020/02/pietro-ottoboni-Italian-patron-of-music-and-art.html" target="_blank">Read more...</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_________________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNUZQmWKJ_XKnnfMKdHTJvOilZshBaS_XUVhmyO6s4eyuhw6PBPfefB1XuPAUlAIZMNXKkK8rEhHwkxnOe1dFibMN-xkr-vQrv3X2JUtfF48bMkVoPstBTx9rSkPT9s3OfH_8DvdLDQmVF4JZfCIRsKNpGLYFSR-gA_Y8JqQufaBXXVKLr8AIFiVsxjv4/s200/download.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNUZQmWKJ_XKnnfMKdHTJvOilZshBaS_XUVhmyO6s4eyuhw6PBPfefB1XuPAUlAIZMNXKkK8rEhHwkxnOe1dFibMN-xkr-vQrv3X2JUtfF48bMkVoPstBTx9rSkPT9s3OfH_8DvdLDQmVF4JZfCIRsKNpGLYFSR-gA_Y8JqQufaBXXVKLr8AIFiVsxjv4/s1600/download.png" width="200" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2021/02/domenico-agusta-entrepreneur.html" target="_blank">Domenico Agusta - entrepreneur</a> </h3><p><b>Sicilian count who founded MV Agusta motorcycle company</b></p><p><b>Count Domenico Agusta,</b> who founded the all-conquering MV Agusta motorcycle company in 1945, was born on this day in 1907 in Palermo. Originally set up as a means of keeping the family’s aeronautical company in business after aircraft production in Italy was banned as part of the post World War II peace treaty with the Allies, MV Agusta became such a giant of motorcycle racing that their bikes claimed 38 MotoGP world titles in the space of 22 years as well as 34 victories in the prestigious Isle of Man Tourist Trophy. MV Agusta made world champions of eight different riders, including two of the greatest Italians in motorcycle racing history, Giacomo Agostini and Carlo Ubbiali. Agostini won 13 of his record 15 world titles riding for MV Agusta. Domenico Agusta was the son of Giovanni Agusta and hailed from a Sicilian family with aristocratic roots. Both father and son exercised their right to use the title of count. Agusta senior designed and built his first aeroplane in 1907, the year of Domenico’s birth. After serving as a volunteer in the Italo-Turkish War of 1911-12, Giovanni moved the family north, where he believed there would be greater opportunities to develop his aviation business. They settled in Cascina Costa, a village near the Lombardy town of Samarate, close to where the aeronautical pioneer Gianni Caproni had established an airfield on the site of what is now Milan Malpensa international airport. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2021/02/domenico-agusta-entrepreneur.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzJwXaQSnfbNDKNWwBNQTQ9OIlhpm1mbQwWz3Y-Auns85ZcAF3f_Z2YhWOcJAotDi6q9tvFOSeA6gmLSzDvckuTNcxqgxhxN-zlT2l6M-f8CBeyujCPtGUymb_huA-4keCT0Vk0fh2D92ah-IPK5rst8oMxeBkREzaOgoLRlUSXLGM_EFEOZ0s_h-31EZ/s200/Logo_Zuegg%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="72" data-original-width="200" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzJwXaQSnfbNDKNWwBNQTQ9OIlhpm1mbQwWz3Y-Auns85ZcAF3f_Z2YhWOcJAotDi6q9tvFOSeA6gmLSzDvckuTNcxqgxhxN-zlT2l6M-f8CBeyujCPtGUymb_huA-4keCT0Vk0fh2D92ah-IPK5rst8oMxeBkREzaOgoLRlUSXLGM_EFEOZ0s_h-31EZ/w253-h91/Logo_Zuegg%20(2).jpg" width="253" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/02/karl-zuegg-jam-and-juice-maker.html" target="_blank">Karl Zuegg - jam and juice maker</a></h3><p><b>Businessman turned family farm into international company</b></p><p><b>Karl Zuegg,</b> the businessman who turned his family's fruit-farming expertise into one of Italy's major producers of jams and juices, was born on this day in 1915 in Lana, a town in what is now the autonomous province of Bolzano in Trentino-Alto Adige. His grandparents, Maria and Ernst August Zuech - they changed their name to Zuegg in 1903 - had been cultivating fruit on their farm since 1860, when Lana was part of South Tyrol in what was then Austria-Hungary. They traded at local markets and began exporting. Zuegg and the company's other major brand names, Skipper and Fruttaviva, are among the most recognisable in the fruit products market in Italy and it is largely through Karl's hard work and enterprise. He was managing director of the company from 1940 to 1986, during which time Zuegg became the first drinks manufacturer in Italy to make use of the ground-breaking Tetrapak packaging invented in Sweden, which allowed drinks to be sold in lightweight cardboard cartons rather than traditional glass bottles. The family business had begun to experiment with jams in 1917 when austerity measures in Italy were biting hard and there was a need to preserve food. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/02/karl-zuegg-jam-and-juice-maker.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWEs-UxziknyRL11RtB8pjM4ocvrxai-gNMN1Wj_1XR85iSoDJBut9rFmR0cydmLoWxRNmrtlj4v9Mhf2c-9v9Qb182r8eUD2-RYeiy6PjT1NjdTThGaxOPIDgAYeNcAlokNrEG4iEY4EnU1i3ah2S5RbYJJYQET3BaESrwen4V8Dzej6jecLTbu7pLMAK/s200/Zoff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="152" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWEs-UxziknyRL11RtB8pjM4ocvrxai-gNMN1Wj_1XR85iSoDJBut9rFmR0cydmLoWxRNmrtlj4v9Mhf2c-9v9Qb182r8eUD2-RYeiy6PjT1NjdTThGaxOPIDgAYeNcAlokNrEG4iEY4EnU1i3ah2S5RbYJJYQET3BaESrwen4V8Dzej6jecLTbu7pLMAK/s1600/Zoff.jpg" width="152" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/02/dino-zoff-footballer.html" target="_blank">Dino Zoff – footballer</a></h3><p><b>Long career of a record-breaking goalkeeper</b></p><p><b>Dino Zoff, </b>the oldest footballer to be part of a World Cup winning team, was born on this day in 1942. Zoff was captain of the Italian national team in the final of the World Cup in Spain in 1982 at the age of 40 years, four months and 13 days. He also won the award for best goalkeeper of the tournament, in which he kept two clean sheets and made a number of important saves. Zoff was born in Mariano del Friuli in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. He had trials with Inter-Milan and Juventus at the age of 14 but was rejected because of his lack of height. Having grown considerably, he made his Seria A debut with Udinese in 1961. He then moved to Mantua, where he spent four seasons, and Napoli, where he spent five seasons. Zoff made his international debut during Euro 68 and was number two goalkeeper in the 1970 World Cup. From 1972 onwards he was Italy’s number one goalkeeper. He signed for Juventus in 1972 and during his 11 years with the club won the Serie A championship six times, the Coppa Italia twice and the UEFA Cup once. When Zoff retired he held the record for being the oldest Serie A player at the age of 41 and for the most Serie A appearances, having played 570 matches. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/02/dino-zoff-footballer.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2KdHCoGIjNwvHtd879dzC9o_DfK5Q4v4MAuIrwY7COeE5xJOJcJfDs8doVsu5DfVRO30c-rFN4FBsR9cI8yqDE2neyYzc0ZXiwCgMIq1ATPVueNlWsiSSs6AEwd8OqVyGVwP16eo6zbAgq2klhG_K0-zV1LTiFuvjfSxE2ce9nEukxmEuE2OZq3xTQUzX/s200/Rossetti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="160" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2KdHCoGIjNwvHtd879dzC9o_DfK5Q4v4MAuIrwY7COeE5xJOJcJfDs8doVsu5DfVRO30c-rFN4FBsR9cI8yqDE2neyYzc0ZXiwCgMIq1ATPVueNlWsiSSs6AEwd8OqVyGVwP16eo6zbAgq2klhG_K0-zV1LTiFuvjfSxE2ce9nEukxmEuE2OZq3xTQUzX/s1600/Rossetti.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2022/02/gabriele-rossetti-poet-and-revolutionary.html" target="_blank">Gabriele Rossetti - poet and revolutionary</a></h3><p><b>Academic fled to England after exile from Naples</b></p><p>The poet and academic <b>Gabriele Rossetti,</b> who was a key figure in a revolutionary secret society in 19th century Italy known as the Carbonari, was born on this day in 1783 in the city of Vasto in Abruzzo. A Dante scholar known for his detailed and sometimes controversial interpretations of <i>The Divine Comedy </i>and other works, Rossetti’s own poetry was of a patriotic nature and regularly contained commentaries on contemporary politics, often in support of the growing number of popular uprisings in the early 19th century. He became a member of the Carbonari, an informal collective of secret revolutionary societies across Italy that was active between 1800 and 1831, promoting the creation of a liberal, unified Italy. He came into contact with them after moving to Naples to study at the city's prestigious university. Similar to masonic lodges in that they had used secret signals so that fellow members could recognise them and even a coded language, the Carbonari were founded in Naples, where their membership included military officers, nobility and priests as well as ordinary citizens. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2022/02/gabriele-rossetti-poet-and-revolutionary.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVFEi8C96mj82pD0d4H4d-CHk40VyM3-3WsrSDCCADuMDDnnWAvOpUiE3ZbO6CCEki9CpGfmU8jzFD_9WUrQR2XYb1xzxP031Jsf0xoU9S1gOJXQptaOrTGulN0vSdthqk1P-2wIwuHPi7GmggcQxtiCCvuLvhkUosAL9J9P9zk7XSswB9n0vY5gqjbKss/s200/Mario_Andretti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="141" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVFEi8C96mj82pD0d4H4d-CHk40VyM3-3WsrSDCCADuMDDnnWAvOpUiE3ZbO6CCEki9CpGfmU8jzFD_9WUrQR2XYb1xzxP031Jsf0xoU9S1gOJXQptaOrTGulN0vSdthqk1P-2wIwuHPi7GmggcQxtiCCvuLvhkUosAL9J9P9zk7XSswB9n0vY5gqjbKss/s1600/Mario_Andretti.jpg" width="141" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/02/mario-andretti-racing-driver-F1-Grand-Prix-Lotus-Indy-500.html" target="_blank">Mario Andretti – racing driver</a></h3><p><b>American champion was born and grew up in Italy</b></p><p><b>Mario Andretti,</b> who won the 1978 Formula One World Championship driving as an American, was born on this day in 1940 in Montona, about 35km (22 miles) south of Trieste in what was then Istria in the Kingdom of Italy. Andretti’s career was notable for his versatility. He is the only driver in motor racing history to have won an Indianapolis 500, a Daytona 500 and an F1 world title, and one of only two to have won races in F1, Indy Car, NASCAR and the World Sportscar Championship. He is the last American to have won an F1 Grand Prix. He clinched the 1978 F1 title at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in September, the 14th of the 16 rounds, having led the standings by 12 points going into the race. He crossed the line first and even though he was demoted to sixth place – the result of a one-minute penalty for going too soon at a restart – it was enough to mean he could not be caught. His celebrations were muted, however, after his close friend, the Swedish driver Ronnie Petersen, died from complications to injuries he suffered in a crash on the first lap. Andretti’s early years in Italy were fraught with difficulties. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/02/mario-andretti-racing-driver-F1-Grand-Prix-Lotus-Indy-500.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/3P1xJIJ" target="_blank">An Elephant in Rome: Bernini, The Pope and The Making of the Eternal City, by Loyd Grossman</a></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_sck2aeUsihFg6r1yCddVZtpBLObDf2nYJWbqgCuSJ1VLKkOjVo7Nyv1cspMFsiBSFR6m3vvw6OIOifQ2bzw-CdZUqK-ugLjJ8DQyoZ6krxyc5vvjds6MlPS8uIsvXTpaWwPVz3GY84MEtzCsxSaiXen71ykO2vvFr79cv0Py8IdEBFUQ8P1a14K3Fqq/s1500/81kmyKTHxuL._SL1500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1010" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA_sck2aeUsihFg6r1yCddVZtpBLObDf2nYJWbqgCuSJ1VLKkOjVo7Nyv1cspMFsiBSFR6m3vvw6OIOifQ2bzw-CdZUqK-ugLjJ8DQyoZ6krxyc5vvjds6MlPS8uIsvXTpaWwPVz3GY84MEtzCsxSaiXen71ykO2vvFr79cv0Py8IdEBFUQ8P1a14K3Fqq/w134-h200/81kmyKTHxuL._SL1500_.jpg" width="134" /></a></div>By 1650, the spiritual and political power of the Catholic Church was shattered. Thanks to the twin blows of the Protestant Reformation and the Thirty Years War, Rome, celebrated both as the Eternal City and Caput Mundi (the head of the world) had lost its pre-eminent place in Europe. Then a new Pope, Alexander VII, fired with religious zeal, political guile and a mania for building, determined to restore the prestige of his church by making Rome the must-visit destination for Europe's intellectual, political and cultural elite. To help him do so, he enlisted the talents of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, already celebrated as the most important living artist: no mean feat in the age of Rubens, Rembrandt and Velazquez. Together, Alexander VII and Bernini made the greatest artistic double act in history, inventing the concept of soft power and the bucket list destination. Bernini and Alexander's creation of Baroque Rome as a city more beautiful and grander than since the days of the Emperor Augustus continues to delight and attract. Loyd Grossman’s <b>An Elephant in Rome</b> is a beautifully produced book about the 17th century development of baroque Rome, with Italian sculptor Bernini very much at the centre of its redevelopment<p></p><p>Loyd Grosman is an American-British author, broadcaster, musician, businessman and cultural campaigner, the presenter at times of television programmes including MasterChef (1990 to 2000) and Through the Keyhole (1987 to 2003). He has qualifications in history, economic history and the history of art from Boston University, the London School of Economics and Magdalen College, Cambridge. He is the author of nine books.</p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3P1xJIJ" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6594981814781401763.post-65272001160258361592024-02-27T10:19:00.001+00:002024-02-27T10:19:08.529+00:0027 February<h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MT-fPq6GxJLAHdzxi4dlXkpoedQ0hkuO_M9hUANpLIzAu5OceJPbyqF8vfcQk4nppXroytT-vNQ6R51gJvLehrHIQMBQ6aUvsMY38j9iSQDCXqniCWtJWNNSXoZO8CR_op8tbj-4gNyctXIZ3alblLK2Oo_PqBiiXJp3ZTueEmAIG_fGHz1BiZ9g-C3L/s249/chiara%203.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="189" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2MT-fPq6GxJLAHdzxi4dlXkpoedQ0hkuO_M9hUANpLIzAu5OceJPbyqF8vfcQk4nppXroytT-vNQ6R51gJvLehrHIQMBQ6aUvsMY38j9iSQDCXqniCWtJWNNSXoZO8CR_op8tbj-4gNyctXIZ3alblLK2Oo_PqBiiXJp3ZTueEmAIG_fGHz1BiZ9g-C3L/w152-h200/chiara%203.jpg" width="152" /></a></div><span style="background-color: red; color: white;">NEW</span> - <a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2024/02/chiara-iezzi-singer-and-actress.html" target="_blank">Chiara Iezzi - singer and actress</a></h3><p><b>One half of Paola e Chiara</b></p><p>The actress and singer <b>Chiara Iezzi,</b> who with sister Paola forms half of the top-selling Paola e Chiara pop duo, was born on this day in 1973 in Milan. The sisters performed together for seven years between 1996 and 2013, selling more than five million records, before breaking up, Chiara deciding to focus increasingly on acting and enjoying some success in the United States. The duo were reunited in 2023, when they took part in the Sanremo Music Festival for the sixth time, having made their debut at the celebrated Italian song contest 26 years earlier. Interested in music, acting and fashion since she was in her teens, Chiara graduated in fashion design, simultaneously taking acting lessons, but it was music that initially provided her with a career. After seeing her perform in jazz and funk groups, in 1994 the record producer and television presenter Claudio Cecchetto hired her together with Paola to join singer Max Pezzali as backing vocalists in a group called 883, who were popular in Milan in the 1990s. Two years later, the sisters began to perform as Paola e Chiara, signing a recording contract with Sony Music Italia. <a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2024/02/chiara-iezzi-singer-and-actress.html" target="_blank"><b>Read more…</b> </a></p><p style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimeq898NCxC0x1IQmO6AMCJDaW5scZy48S6F4AkWQeRaJN6APEbtyrfA_HO6QNkiLVey4tgdNZNMvPmrWZuSRRqu_Vk9h6J9ZDcbxYQNC51Ml_GLwwVuaEXPN5dkcuVq6LybwS0BCNocKFrGCLYa1I3dGDXLaIh8IQ7llZP-i0aJJZt4f0tckyn1QVKUiN/s200/simone.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="176" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimeq898NCxC0x1IQmO6AMCJDaW5scZy48S6F4AkWQeRaJN6APEbtyrfA_HO6QNkiLVey4tgdNZNMvPmrWZuSRRqu_Vk9h6J9ZDcbxYQNC51Ml_GLwwVuaEXPN5dkcuVq6LybwS0BCNocKFrGCLYa1I3dGDXLaIh8IQ7llZP-i0aJJZt4f0tckyn1QVKUiN/s1600/simone.jpg" width="176" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/02/simone-di-pasquale-dancer.html" target="_blank">Simone Di Pasquale – dancer</a></h3><p><b>Ballroom talent has been springboard for business success</b></p><p>Ballroom dancer and television celebrity <b>Simone Di Pasquale</b> was born on this day in 1978. In 2005, he became a household name after he started to appear regularly on Italian television in <i>Ballando con le Stelle </i>- the equivalent of the US show <i>Dancing with the Stars</i> and Britain’s <i>Strictly Come Dancing.</i> The show, presented by Milly Carlucci, was broadcast every Saturday evening on the tv channel Rai Uno. Pasquale has also appeared in numerous other television programmes, on stage in musical theatre and as an actor in a television drama. Born in Rome, Di Pasquale learnt ballroom dancing at a young age and took part in competitions. In 2000 he paired up with the dancer Natalia Titova, who also later became a celebrity because of <i>Ballando con le Stelle</i>. The couple were engaged from 1998 to 2005. They took first place in the competition <i>Rising Stars UK </i>in 2004. In the first season of <i>Ballando con le Stelle, </i>Di Pasquale partnered the Italian actress Hoara Borselli and the couple won the competition. He has taken part in each successive series since. Di Pasquale has appeared as a guest on numerous programmes on Italian television. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2018/02/simone-di-pasquale-dancer.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoooqdWGD2GJ0RhphWe2T3iYN19Oi1w5p7_gPkBn7mSRj3WQ28ciCabves1B8b4Mjqmb6llyeoG2Yc72D3gNdrgmInvZWQYm642h46frmIvK-G8dgpLx5vYtmarE3TNcYPC8rUZsXorm7iahdtbnHIbyQENwFvihann0ok2W01YXH88Ut2NVgqp9xk8o37/s200/moschino.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="135" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoooqdWGD2GJ0RhphWe2T3iYN19Oi1w5p7_gPkBn7mSRj3WQ28ciCabves1B8b4Mjqmb6llyeoG2Yc72D3gNdrgmInvZWQYm642h46frmIvK-G8dgpLx5vYtmarE3TNcYPC8rUZsXorm7iahdtbnHIbyQENwFvihann0ok2W01YXH88Ut2NVgqp9xk8o37/s1600/moschino.jpg" width="135" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/02/franco-moschino-Italian-fashion-designer.html" target="_blank">Franco Moschino - fashion designer</a></h3><p><b>Made clothes with sense of humour</b></p><p>The fashion designer <b>Franco Moschino,</b> founder of the Moschino fashion label, was born on this day in 1950 in Abbiategrasso, a town about 24km (15 miles) southwest of Milan. Moschino became famous for his innovative and irreverent designs, which injected humour into high fashion. For example, he created a miniskirt in quilted denim with plastic fried eggs decorating the hemline, a jacket studded with bottle tops and a suit covered with cutlery. He designed a dress that resembled a shopping bag and a ball gown made from black plastic bin bags. Other designs carried messages mocking his own industry, such as a jacket with the motif ‘Waist of Money’ printed round the waistband, another in cashmere with ‘Expensive Jacket’ emblazoned across the back and a shirt with the words ‘I’m Full of Shirt’. Moschino’s first collections focussed on casual clothes and jeans, but he eventually branched out into lingerie, eveningwear, shoes, menswear and perfumes. As a young man, Moschino was encouraged to believe that his destiny lay in taking over his father’s iron foundry but his only interest in the plant lay in the layers of dust that clung to the walls, in which he would make drawings. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/02/franco-moschino-Italian-fashion-designer.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">_____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQhv5_2D8T6cOzorusks76xuvaj4Yj6OOMBB7eknnBEf1CO83cIAVY7VzaDrVpFgdfarlWSLVyfNTeHgrJNmy0TRDDHcjwjQsTz6qAYKuE2lwGznZ34h1XfJ5MoZD6OUE7cBxsDxs0VK7fVKjk-aX70dL0P3X9ylHA59rkX0blDs0xLJ_uVr_hhSyEtL6/s200/Mirella_Freni_1970.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="141" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQhv5_2D8T6cOzorusks76xuvaj4Yj6OOMBB7eknnBEf1CO83cIAVY7VzaDrVpFgdfarlWSLVyfNTeHgrJNmy0TRDDHcjwjQsTz6qAYKuE2lwGznZ34h1XfJ5MoZD6OUE7cBxsDxs0VK7fVKjk-aX70dL0P3X9ylHA59rkX0blDs0xLJ_uVr_hhSyEtL6/s1600/Mirella_Freni_1970.jpg" width="141" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/02/mirella-freni-opera-singer-madame-butterfly-puccini-modena.html" target="_blank">Mirella Freni – opera singer</a></h3><p><b>Good advice from Gigli helped soprano have long career</b></p><p>Singer <b>Mirella Freni </b>was born Mirella Fregni on this day in 1935 in Modena in Emilia-Romagna. Freni’s grandmother, Valentina Bartolomasi, had been a leading soprano in Italy from 1910 until 1927, specialising in Wagner roles. By coincidence, her mother worked alongside the mother of tenor Luciano Pavarotti in a tobacco factory in Modena. Freni was obviously musically gifted and sang an opera aria in a radio competition when she was just ten years old. One of the judges was the tenor Beniamino Gigli, who advised her to give up singing until she was older to protect her voice. Freni took his advice and resumed singing when she was 17, making her operatic debut at the Teatro Municipale in Modena at the age of 20 in Bizet’s <i>Carmen</i>. Her international debut came at Glyndebourne in Franco Zeffirelli’s staging of Gaetano Donizetti’s <i>L’elisir d’amore. </i> In the 1960 season at Glyndebourne she sang comic roles from Mozart’s <i>Le Nozze di Figaro</i> and <i>Don Giovanni. </i> Freni made her Covent Garden debut in 1961, her La Scala debut in 1963 and her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1965. She started singing the heavier Verdi roles in the 1970s. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2016/02/mirella-freni-opera-singer-madame-butterfly-puccini-modena.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">______________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-rKzUPu_9JXwy6_K818wiBI_cwcAEWWSINRcgudxCLvv3KttuXdAbVYDTWnxT3urbrHnkSxcQ8rbGlsv6LS-efdgM1sEEZxAxHxOewewDd9XVUw4JSO0lj7NWVPoiRMY-yRWnmTqnJRSdXgJJbFss3AQGm0X2Ir1DhgKmcqrL452JYimoKkME8bsFJ58/s200/Leaning_Tower_of_Pisa%20(2).jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="150" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-rKzUPu_9JXwy6_K818wiBI_cwcAEWWSINRcgudxCLvv3KttuXdAbVYDTWnxT3urbrHnkSxcQ8rbGlsv6LS-efdgM1sEEZxAxHxOewewDd9XVUw4JSO0lj7NWVPoiRMY-yRWnmTqnJRSdXgJJbFss3AQGm0X2Ir1DhgKmcqrL452JYimoKkME8bsFJ58/s1600/Leaning_Tower_of_Pisa%20(2).jpg" width="150" /></a></div><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/02/italys-appeal-for-help-with-leaning.html" target="_blank">Italy's appeal for help with Leaning Tower</a></h3><p><b>Fears of collapse prompted summit of engineers</b></p><p>The Italian government finally admitted that <b>it needed help to save the Leaning Tower of Pisa</b> from collapsing on this day in 1964. There had been numerous attempts to arrest the movement of the tower, which had begun to tilt five years after construction began in 1173. One side of the tower started to sink after engineers added a second floor in 1178, when the mistake of setting a foundation just three metres deep in weak, unstable soil became clear. Construction was halted. In fact, in part because of a series of military conflicts, it did not resume for 100 years. Additions were made to the building over the next 100 years, culminating in the completion of the bell chamber in 1372. Nothing more was done until the 19th century, when an ill-considered plan to dig a path around the base in 1838 resulted in a new increase in the tilt. Ironically, the tower might have been deliberately destroyed in the Second World War when advancing American soldiers were ordered to blow up any tall building that might have been used by German snipers, regardless of its historical importance. Thankfully, a German withdrawal before the Americans reached Pisa made it unnecessary. <b><a href="https://www.italyonthisday.com/2017/02/italys-appeal-for-help-with-leaning.html" target="_blank">Read more…</a></b></p><p style="text-align: center;">____________________________________</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Book of the Day: <a href="https://amzn.to/3UXbCak" target="_blank">Italian Cultural Studies: An Introduction, edited by David Forgacs and Robert Lumley</a></h3><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpCdEqa9S9eB3JXrgfgA9VNGvcOuEPOo54zvU6R7_eOCj9XEFW6u5xKf74kRTTZ3-O6o_7ssC7Pn8SQ23t0pzwChwvy3DKRufcHWrGIbXnBByrby2jICPzvdyq-Zf8TBdUW9jgPTi4kA6Zr7gvmDokUKHpKWP6hnrRi3qULz-HkL7JYyEr6U-k6bGfTrd/s500/51yPBRcAOEL.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUpCdEqa9S9eB3JXrgfgA9VNGvcOuEPOo54zvU6R7_eOCj9XEFW6u5xKf74kRTTZ3-O6o_7ssC7Pn8SQ23t0pzwChwvy3DKRufcHWrGIbXnBByrby2jICPzvdyq-Zf8TBdUW9jgPTi4kA6Zr7gvmDokUKHpKWP6hnrRi3qULz-HkL7JYyEr6U-k6bGfTrd/w133-h200/51yPBRcAOEL.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>An illustrated introduction to the study of modern Italian culture containing 19 chapters by specialists in the field of language, politics, religious, ethnic, and gender identities, the mass media, cultural policy, and stars. Adopting a unique and accessible interdisciplinary focus, Italian Cultural Studies: An Introduction presents a variety of new perspectives on modern Italian culture. Each of the four parts explore diverse aspects of culture in Italy. 'Geographies' questions received notions of the Italian nation, the family, the 'South' and corruption; it also looks at anthropological approaches to culture and at Italy's linguistic pluralism. 'Identities' examines gender, religion, politics, and ethnicity as a means with which people define themselves and others. 'Media' explores the press, literature, television, and cinema. 'Culture and Society' brings together historical analyses of cultural policy, stars and style, and popular music. Each part is followed by sample analyses of visual materials and includes guidance on further reading. A chronology of political and cultural events since 1900 is also provided. <b>Italian Cultural Studies: An Introduction </b>is intended for students, teachers, and general readers of modern Italian culture.<p></p><p><b>David Forgacs</b> holds the Guido and Mariuccia Zerilli-Marimò Chair of Contemporary Italian Studies at New York University. He has written extensively about the history of Italian culture, politics and the cinema. <b>Robert Lumley</b> is emeritus professor of arts and humanities at University College London (UCL). </p><p><a href="https://amzn.to/3UXbCak" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></p><div id="118496-1"><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/gen.js?type=1"></script><script src="//ads.themoneytizer.com/s/requestform.js?siteId=118496&formatId=1"></script></div><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.italyonthisday.com">Home</a></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Editor: Italy On This Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509300996202272555noreply@blogger.com0