22 March

'La Castiglione' – model and secret agent

Beautiful woman helped the cause of Italian unification

Virginia Oldoini, who became known as La Castiglione, was born on this day in 1837 in Florence.  She became the mistress of the Emperor Napoleon III of France and also made an important contribution to the early development of photography.  She was born Virginia Oldoini to parents who were part of the Tuscan nobility, but originally came from La Spezia in Liguria. At the age of 17 she married the Count of Castiglione, who was 12 years older than her, and they had one son, Giorgio.  Her cousin was Camillo, Count of Cavour, who was the prime minister to Victor Emmanuel II, the King of Sardinia, later to become the first King of a united Italy.  When the Countess travelled with her husband to Paris in 1855, Cavour asked her to plead the cause of Italian unity with Napoleon III.  Considered to be the most beautiful woman of her day, she became Napoleon III’s mistress. Read more…

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Nino Manfredi - actor and director

Totò fan became maestro of commedia all’italiana

The actor and director Saturnino ‘Nino’ Manfredi, who would become known as the last great actor of the commedia all’italiana genre, was born on this day in 1921 in Castro dei Volsci, near Frosinone in Lazio.  Manfredi made more than 100 movies, often playing marginalised working-class figures in the bittersweet comedies that characterised the genre, which frequently tackled important social issues and poked irreverent fun at some of the more absurd aspects of Italian life, in particular the suffocating influence of the church.  He was a favourite of directors such as Dino Risi, Luigi Comencini, Ettore Scola and Franco Brusati, who directed him in the award-winning Pane and cioccolata (Bread and Chocolate), which evoked the tragicomic existence of immigrant workers and was considered one of his finest performances.  Read more…

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Michele Sindona - fraudster and killer

Failed banker ordered murder of investigating lawyer

The shadowy banker Michele Sindona, who had links to underworld figures in Italy and America as well as prominent politicians, died in hospital in the Lombardy town of Voghera, 70km (43 miles) south of Milan, on this day in 1986.  His death, attributed to cyanide poisoning, came four days after he had been sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering the killing of a lawyer investigating the collapse of his $450 million financial empire.  His own lawyer claimed Sindona had been murdered but although it was never established beyond doubt, the circumstances of his death, caused by drinking coffee laced with the poison at breakfast in Voghera's maximum-security prison, pointed towards suicide.  Sindona’s chequered career also saw him sentenced to 25 years' jail in America for fraud following the failure of the Franklin National Bank on Long Island. Read more…

Lea Pericoli - tennis player

Star remembered for on-court fashion as much as tournament success

The tennis player Lea Pericoli, who won 30 tournaments on the international circuit between 1953 and 1972, was born in Milan on this day in 1935.  Pericoli, who continued playing until the age of 40, also won 27 titles at the Italian national championships, a record that still stands today.  She never progressed beyond the last 16 in singles at three three Grand Slam tournaments in which she participated but was a semi-finalist twice in women’s and mixed doubles at the French Open in Paris, playing on the red clay surface which most suited her game.  Yet she achieved fame beyond mere results after joining up with the British player-turned-fashion designer Teddy Tinling, whose extravagantly decorated designs, decorated with lacy frills, sometimes feathers and even mink, she would often be the first to wear on court. Read more…

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Vittorio Emanuele II Monument - Rome landmark

‘Altar of the Fatherland’ built to honour unified Italy’s first king

The foundation stone of Rome’s huge Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II was laid on this day in 1885 in the presence of his son and successor Umberto I and his family.  The monument, which took half a century to complete fully, occupies a site on the northern slope of the Capitoline (Campidoglio) Hill on the south-eastern side of the modern city centre, a few steps from the ruins of the Forum, the heart of ancient Rome.  Built in white Botticino marble, the multi-tiered monument is 135m (443 ft) wide, 130m (427 ft) deep, and 70m (230 ft) high, rising to 81m (266ft) including the two statues of a chariot-mounted winged goddess Victoria on the summit of the two propylaea.  Its appearance has earned it various nicknames, ranging from the ‘wedding cake’ to the ‘typewriter’, although it is officially known as Vittoriano or Altare della Patria.  Read more…

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Book of the Day: Profiles in Power: Cavour, by Harry Hearder

The process of Italian unification cannot be understood without an understanding of the remarkable career and personality of the man who was perhaps its chief protagonist, Count Camillo di Cavour.  Born in Turin in 1810, Cavour abandoned an early military career because of his uncomfortable liberal opinions, to concentrate initially on restoring his family estates. After travels in France and England, he was drawn increasingly into the politics of his native Piedmont - then a backward and insignificant state, still reeling from comprehensive military defeat by Austria, the major occupying power of northern Italy. In 1852 he became its prime minister.  Under Cavour's astute direction, Piedmont began to play an active role in European power politics, rapidly building up alliances and obligations, particularly with France and Britain, which were to stand her in vital stead when the struggle with Austria erupted again in 1859. The defeat of Austria (with French arms) and the acquiescence of the European Great Powers allowed the longstanding dream of a pan-Italian state to become a reality. In the year of his death (1861), less than a decade after he became prime minister in Turin, Cavour had become the first prime minister of the newly-united Kingdom of Italy, with Piedmont as its nucleus.

Harry Hearder was a professor of history at the University of Wales in Cardiff. He published widely on European and Italian history. 

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21 March

AC Milan pay record fee for Ruud Gullit

Signing of Dutch star sparked new era of success

A new golden era in the history of the AC Milan football club effectively began on this day in 1987 when the club agreed a world record transfer fee of £6 million - the equivalent of about £14.5 million (€16.8 million) today - to sign the attacking midfielder Ruud Gullit from the Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven.  The captain of The Netherlands national team that would be crowned European champions the following year, Gullit was regarded as one of the world’s best players at the time and his arrival in Milan caused huge excitement.  Thousands of Milan supporters turned out to greet him on the day he arrived in the city, so many that the car taking him from the airport to the club’s headquarters needed a police escort with sirens blaring in order to forge a path through the crowds.  Those fans correctly sensed that Gullit’s signing would bring a change of fortunes for the rossoneri after a dark period in their history.  Read more…

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Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello – educator

Nun who promoted the rights of girls to a quality education

The Feast Day of Saint Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello, who founded the Benedictine Sisters of Providence, is celebrated on this day, the anniversary of her death in 1858.  Benedetta carried out pioneering work by rescuing poor and abandoned girls and promoting their rights to a good education. She was made a saint by Pope John Paul II in 2002.  Benedetta was born in 1791 in Genoa but her family later moved to Pavia. As a young girl she wanted to consecrate her life to God, but obeying her parents’ wishes, she married Giovanni Battista Frassinello when she was 24.  After two years of marriage, during which they had no children, they decided to live a celibate life and stay together as brother and sister. They both later joined religious orders but Benedetta was forced to leave and return to live in Pavia again because of ill health.  Read more…

Alberto Marvelli - Rimini's Good Samaritan

Heroic deeds helped victims of bombing raids

Alberto Marvelli, who came to be seen as a modern day Good Samaritan after risking his life repeatedly to help the victims of devastating air raids in the Second World War, was born on this day in 1918 in Ferrara.  He died in 1946 at the age of only 28 when he was struck by a truck while riding his bicycle but in his short life identified himself to many as a true hero.  He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2004.  Marvelli's acts of heroism occurred mainly in Rimini, his adopted hometown, which suffered heavy bombing from the Allies due to its proximity to the Gothic or Green Line, a wide belt of German defensive fortifications that ran across the whole peninsula from La Spezia to the Adriatic coast.  As well as giving aid and comfort to the wounded and dying and to those whose homes and possessions had been destroyed, Marvelli also rescued many Rimini citizens from trains destined for concentration camps.  Read more…

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Angela Merici – Saint

Nun dedicated her life to educating girls

Angela Merici, who founded the monastic Ursuline Order, was born on this day in 1474 in Desenzano del Garda, then part of the republic of Venice.  The Ursulines are the oldest order of women in the Roman Catholic Church dedicated to teaching and were the first to work outside a convent in the community.  Merici was orphaned at the age of 15 and sent to Salò to live in the home of an uncle, where she became deeply religious and joined the Third Order of Saint Francis.  She returned to Desenzano after the death of her uncle when she was 20 and found that many of the young girls in her home town received no education and had no hope of a better future.  Merici gathered together a group of girls to teach the catechism to the young children.  Then, in 1506, while praying in the fields, she had a vision that she would found a society of virgins in the town of Brescia.  Read more…

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Book of the Day: Veni, Vidi, Vici: When Italian Football Ruled Europe, by Dominic Hougham

A celebration of the late 1980s and 90s, when Italian football dominated Europe, Veni, Vidi, Vici is a must-read for anyone who experienced Italian football through Channel 4’s groundbreaking 1990s coverage. It was an era when ten different Italian teams played in major European finals, when the greatest players strutted their stuff in Italy’s stadiums, cheered on by colourful fans with flares and tifos. Among topics the book discusses are the effect the Heysel disaster had on European football, including Italian football’s relative weakness before Heysel; the turbulent times of Diego Maradona at Napoli, including his and Italy’s experiences at Italia ’90; the influx of foreign talent into Italian football, including the Dutch trio as part of Arrigo Sacchi’s Milan revolution and three Germans at Inter; the dominance of Italian clubs in Europe, including the likes of Sampdoria, Torino, Roma, Fiorentina, Lazio and Parma alongside Napoli, Milan, Inter and Juventus; the record of English imports into Italy, with a chapter dedicated to Paul Gascoigne’s adventure at Lazio and Channel 4 coverage; Italy’s amazing journey through the USA ’94 World Cup, including Baggio’s ups and downs; plus the end of Italian dominance and the fall of several clubs.  This evocative book will take those who remember the era on a nostalgic journey to a time when Italian football was the ultimate in cool.

Dominic Hougham is the author of Fifty Great World Cup Matches... and Why You Should Watch Them! and a full-time contributor to These Football Times magazine. 

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20 March

NEW - Antonio da Ponte – architect

Builder who designed the most enduring image of Venice

The designer Antonio da Ponte, sometimes called dal Ponte, who is remembered for creating one of Venice’s most celebrated landmarks, the Rialto Bridge, died on this day in 1597 in his home city.  The Rialto Bridge over the Canal Grande (Grand Canal) has appeared in countless paintings and photographs of the city over the centuries since it was completed in 1591 and it is now a popular spot from which to take photographs when visiting the city.  Ponte’s design for the stone bridge, a broad single arch span covered with arcaded shops, won him a competition held in Venice in 1587 and it also ensured him a place in the history books.  Previously, a wooden bridge, Ponte da Moneta, built in 1178, was used as the way of crossing the Grand Canal at its narrowest point, but this bridge collapsed and had to be rebuilt several times over the centuries. Read more… 

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Azeglio Vicini - 1990 World Cup coach

Semi-final heartbreak ended dream of victory on home soil

Azeglio Vicini, the coach who led Italy to the semi-finals when the nation hosted the 1990 World Cup finals, was born in the city of Cesena in Emilia-Romagna, on this day in 1934. Vicini worked for the Italian Football Federation for an unbroken 23 years in various roles, having joined their technical staff in 1968 after less than one season as a coach at club level. He was head coach of the Italy Under-23 and Italy Under-21 teams before succeeding World Cup winner Enzo Bearzot as coach of the senior Italy side in 1986.  Vicini's brief with the senior team was an onerous one.  When Italy won the right to host the 1990 World Cup finals there was an expectation among Italian football's hierarchy that a nation with such a proud history should be capable of winning the tournament on home soil. Responsibility for producing a team good enough rested squarely on Vicini's shoulders but he was well prepared. Read more…

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Giampiero Moretti - entrepreneur racing driver

Gentleman racer behind ubiquitous Momo accessories brand

Giampiero Moretti, a motor racing enthusiast who made his fortune almost literally by reinventing the wheel, was born on this day in 1940 in Milan.  Known as 'the last of the gentleman racers' because of his unfailing courtesy, refined manners and an unquenchable determination to succeed on the track, Moretti made a profound mark on the sport through his ergonomic rethink of the racecar steering wheel.  Steering wheels were traditionally large and made of steel or polished wood but Moretti saw that reducing the diameter of the wheel would cut the effort needed by the driver to steer the car, helping him conserve energy and creating a more comfortable driving position.  He also covered the wheel with leather to improve the driver's grip, and gave it a contoured surface.  He made the first one for a car he planned to race himself and there was soon interest among other drivers. Read more…

Ovid - Roman poet

Writer of Metamorphoses who was mysteriously exiled

Publius Ovidius Naso, better known as the poet, Ovid, was born on this day in 43 BC in Sumo in the Roman empire, a city which is now called Sulmona, and is in the region of Abruzzo.  The poet is mainly remembered for his work, Ars Amatoria, (The Art of Love), which is essentially a manual on seduction written in verse, for the use of the man about town, and for his mythological epic poem, Metamorphoses.  His poetry was to have immense influence on later writers, because of its imaginative interpretation of classical mythology and its technical accomplishment.  Ovid essentially wrote his own life story in the autobiographical poems Tristia (Sorrows). His family was well to do and sent him and his brother to Rome to be educated. He studied rhetoric under the best teachers of his day and was considered to have a future as an orator, but he neglected his studies to spend more time on writing verses.  Read more…

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Fulco di Verdura - jeweller

Exclusive brand favoured by stars and royalty

The man behind the exclusive jewellery brand Verdura was born Fulco Santostefano della Cerda, Duke of Verdura, on this day in 1898 in Palermo. Usually known as Fulco di Verdura, he founded the Verdura company in 1939, when he opened a shop on Fifth Avenue in New York and became one of the premier jewellery designers of the 20th century.  Well connected through his own heritage and through his friendship with the songwriter Cole Porter, Verdura found favour with royalty and with movie stars.  Among his clients were the Duchess of Windsor - the former socialite Wallis Simpson - and stars such as Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Rita Hayworth, Katharine Hepburn, Paulette Goddard, Millicent Rogers and Marlene Dietrich.  Although Verdura died in 1978, the company lives on and continues to specialise in using large, brightly coloured gemstones. Read more…

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Book of the Day: The Architectural History of Venice, by Deborah Howard

Deborah Howard’s The Architectural History of Venice has been described as the indispensable guide to the history of architecture in Venice, encompassing the city's fascinating variety of buildings from ancient times to the present day. Completely updated and filled with splendid new illustrations, this edition invites all visitors to Venice, armchair travelers, and students of Renaissance art and architecture to a fuller appreciation of the buildings of this uniquely beautiful city. The Times Literary Supplement called it: "The best concise introduction to Venetian architecture in English" while the Society of Architectural Historians said it is: "Compact and manageable . . . an excellent introduction to the novice preparing for a first Venetian experience."

Deborah Howard is a British art historian and academic. Her principal research interests are the art and architecture of Venice and the Veneto; the relationship between Italy and the Eastern Mediterranean; and music and architecture in the Renaissance. She is Professor Emerita of Architectural History in the Faculty of Architecture and History of Art, University of Cambridge. 

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Antonio da Ponte – architect

Builder who designed the most enduring image of Venice

Da Ponte's Rialto Bridge, completed in 1591, is
one of the best known images of Venice

The designer Antonio da Ponte, sometimes called dal Ponte, who is remembered for creating one of Venice’s most celebrated landmarks, the Rialto Bridge, died on this day in 1597 in his home city.

The Rialto Bridge over the Canal Grande (Grand Canal) has appeared in countless paintings and photographs of the city over the centuries since it was completed in 1591 and it is now a popular spot from which to take photographs when visiting the city.

Ponte’s design for the stone bridge, a broad single arch span covered with arcaded shops, won him a competition held in Venice in 1587 and it also ensured him a place in the history books.

Previously, a wooden bridge, Ponte da Moneta, built in 1178, was used as the way of crossing the Grand Canal at its narrowest point, but this bridge collapsed and had to be rebuilt several times over the centuries.

The Venetian authorities decided to replace the wooden bridge with a more permanent structure and held a competition for the design for the new bridge in 1587. 

Da Ponte’s idea for a bridge made out of stone was eventually picked as the winner by the judges acting on behalf of the Venetian authorities, who were led by the Doge at the time, Pasquale Cicogna.

When it came to constructing his design, Da Ponte was helped by one of his relatives, Antonio Contin, sometimes referred to as Conte, who went on later to design the famous Bridge of Sighs - il Ponte dei Sospiri - in Venice.  

Da Ponte had previously worked on other building projects in Venice, including warehouses, a hospital, the Doge’s Palace, and the Arsenal. 

Da Ponte, a respected designer, built
the bridge after winning a competition 

Documents from the time show that his opinions as a builder and designer were respected by the Venetian authorities.

Between 1577 and 1592, Da Ponte collaborated with Andrea Palladio on the construction of the Church of the Redeemer on the Giudecca, which was built by Venice to honour a pledge made after the plague of 1576 in the city came to an end.

Even though many other proposals for rebuilding the Rialto had been made by famous architects at the time, Pasquale Cicogna still chose to announce a competition, which he then decided to repeat after all the designers who entered suggested a classical design with many arches.

After the second competition, it is believed Da Ponte’s design was chosen by the Doge over the one submitted by the architect Vincenzo Scamozzi because Da Ponte had proposed building a bridge with a single arch.

The new Rialto Bridge, built of stone and looking exactly as it does now, was completed by 1591. Da Ponte was in his seventies by then but was able to look proudly on his work for a few more years. 

Da Ponte was in his early eighties when he died. He is buried in the Church of San Maurizio, which is in the San Marco sestiere of Venice.

The English playwright William Shakespeare, who is known to have been fascinated by Italy, may have read about the newly-built Rialto Bridge. In his play, The Merchant of Venice, there are several mentions of the Rialto district in Venice, notably the famous line: ‘What news on the Rialto?’, a question that is asked by a character called Solanio near the beginning of the play.

There is no evidence that Shakespeare ever visited Italy himself, but he may have mixed with Italians living in London and it is known that he read books in Italian so he must have had some understanding of the language. 

The play is believed to have been written by him at some time between 1596 and 1598 and the merchant referred to in the title just happened to be called Antonio.

The Ca' Rezzonico, built in Baroque style,
is a notable palace on the Grand Canal

Travel tip:

The Canal Grande (Grand Canal) sweeps through the heart of Venice, following the course of an ancient river bed. Since the founding days of the Venetian empire, it has served as the city’s main thoroughfare. It was once used by great galleys and trading vessels, but nowadays is teeming with vaporetti - the city’s water buses - as well as water taxis, private boats, and gondolas. The palaces bordering the winding waterway bear the names of the old Venetian aristocratic families and represent the finest architecture designed for the republic over its many centuries of history. When the ambassador to Charles VIII of France visited Venice in 1495, he afterwards referred to the Grand Canal as ‘the most beautiful street in the world.’ Its most notable palaces include the gilded Ca' d'Oro, the Baroque Ca' Rezzonico, the Renaissance-style Ca' Vendramin Calergi, the iconic Ca' Foscari University, and the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, which houses the Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

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The former Church of San
Maurizio is now a museum 

Travel tip:

The Church of San Maurizio in Venice, where Antonio da Ponte was buried, was rebuilt in the sixteenth century on the site of a previous church in the Campo di San Maurizio in the sestiere of San Marco. The church was modified again in 1806 by the architect of Teatro La Fenice, Gianantonio Selva. It has now been deconsecrated and is home to the Museo della Musica, a museum dedicated to the Baroque music of Venice, which displays examples of period instruments and documents relating to Vivaldi and other Venetian composers of the same period.  The Artemio Versari collection of instruments recounts the golden epoch of stringed instrument making in 18th century Venice. Visitors can experience the sound as well as the sight of these instruments. As well as Venetian instruments, there are examples by such makers as Amati, Guadagnini and Goffriller, among the greats in Italy’s proud tradition of luthiers. 

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More reading:

Vincenzo Scamozzi, an architect whose legacy can be seen in Venice and Vicenza

Andrea Palladio, the humble stonecutter who became architecture’s biggest name

Jacopo Sansovino, the Florence-born designer whose masterpiece competes for attention with the Doge’s Palace

Also on this day: 

43BC: The birth of Roman poet Ovid

1898: The birth of society jeweller Fulco di Verdura

1934: The birth of football coach Azeglio Vicini

1940: The birth of racing driver and entrepreneur Giampiero Moretti

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