22 June

NEW - Leonardo Loredan - Doge of Venice

Strong ruler steered Venice through wars and established first Ghetto

One of the most important Doges to reign over Venice in its 1,100 years of history, Leonardo Loredan died on this day in 1521 in the city, where he had also been born.  As a wartime ruler of the most Serene Republic, his extraordinary cunning, and ability to construct Machiavellian plots against Venice’s many powerful opponents, saved his beloved city from potential downfall. Loredan was born into a noble Venetian family in 1436 and had a classical education. In accordance with the traditions of his family, he then focused on trade with Africa and the Levant, to add to the family’s fortune.  He began his political ascent as a lawyer in a legal magistracy concerned mainly with financial scandals and bankruptcies. This he followed by occupying positions such as Sage of the College, Sage of the Terrafirma, Cameriengo (or treasurer) di Comun, Podestà of Padua, ducal councillor for Cannaregio, and Procurator of Saint Mark. Read more… 

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Lucrezia Tornabuoni - political adviser

Medici wife one of most powerful women of the Renaissance

Lucrezia Tornabuoni, who became one of the most influential and therefore powerful women in 15th century Italy through family connections and her own political and business acumen, was born on this day in 1427 in Florence.  Connected by birth to the powerful Tornabuoni family on her father’s side and the Guicciardini through her mother, Lucrezia entered a third powerful family when she married Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici.  Yet she was an important figure in her own right, revealing political skill and a talent for diplomacy during her husband’s time as de facto leader of Florence, and when their son, Lorenzo, succeeded him.  She was also a successful property owner, buying houses, shops and farms in and around Pisa and Florence, which she would then lease out. She bought and renovated a hot spring, Bagno a Morba, turning it into a resort and spa for paying guests. Read more…

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Galileo Galilei convicted of heresy

'Father of Science' forced to deny that earth revolves around sun

One of the more bizarre episodes in the history of human intellectual advancement took place in Rome on this day in 1633 when Galileo Galilei, the brilliant astronomer, mathematician, philosopher and engineer – often described as ‘the father of science’ - was convicted of heresy.  His crime was to support the view – indeed, to confirm it with scientific proof – that the sun rather than the earth was the centre of the solar system, as had been theorised by the Polish scientist Nicolaus Copernicus in the previous century.  This flew completely in the face of a major plank of orthodox Roman Catholic beliefs, within which the contention that the sun moved around the earth was regarded as a fact of scripture that could not be disputed.  Galileo was something of a celebrity in his day, who won the patronage of such powerful Italian families as the Medici and the Barberini. Read more…

Walter Bonatti - mountaineer

Climber's outstanding career marred by 50-year row

Walter Bonatti, the Italian who some would argue is the greatest alpine mountain climber that ever lived, was born on this day in 1930 in Bergamo in Lombardy.  He was the first to complete some of the most demanding climbs in the Alps and the Himalayas, including the first solo climb in winter of the North face of the Matterhorn.  But those achievements were marred for half a century by the bitter row that sprang from the part he played in the 1954 Italian expedition to conquer K2, the 8,611-metre peak north-east of the Himalayas that is the second highest in the world - behind Mount Everest (8,848 metres) - but is regarded as the more difficult climb.  Incredibly fit and able to survive at high altitudes without oxygen, he was already such an accomplished climber at just 24 years of age that he was chosen to join the expedition. Read more...

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Book of the Day: Venice and the Doges: Six Hundred Years of Architecture, Monuments, and Sculpture, by Toto Bergamo Rossi

A feast for the eyes and an entertaining, erudite read, Venice and the Doges opens with an illustrated survey of the 120 doges who led the Venetian Republic, before continuing with a detailed survey of the incredible array of sculptures and monuments that memorialize them. Although celebrated for painting and music, Venice has a sculptural tradition that was overshadowed by Florence and Rome. Based on new scholarship, this volume reveals the true magnificence of six centuries of Venetian sculpture. With the oldest works dating to the 13th century, these masterpieces fill the city's churches and include pieces by great masters from the Lombardo family to Antonio Rizzo, Jacopo Sansovino, Alessandro Vittoria and Baldassare Longhena. The sculptural marvels of Venice tell the story of a procession of doges, politicians, scholars, conquerors, merchants and even a saint, Pietro Orseolo, over a thousand-year history. Engaging text highlights the adventurous, eventful, and sometimes glorious lives of these legendary figures, while the newly commissioned photography showcases the grandeur and beauty of a neglected aspect of Venice s cultural history.

Francesco Bergamo Rossi, known as Toto, was born in Venice in 1967. He obtained his degree in architecture from Ca’ Foscari University before going on to specialise in restoration. He is general manager of the Venetian Heritage Foundation.

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Leonardo Loredan - Doge of Venice

Strong ruler steered Venice through wars and established first Ghetto

Giovanni Bellini's Portrait of 
Doge Leonardo Loredan

One of the most important Doges to reign over Venice in its 1,100 years of history, Leonardo Loredan died on this day in 1521 in the city, where he also had been born.

As a wartime ruler of the Most Serene Republic, his extraordinary cunning and ability to construct Machiavellian plots against Venice’s many powerful opponents, saved his beloved city from potential downfall.

Loredan was born into a noble Venetian family in 1436 and had a classical education.  In accordance with the traditions of his family, he then focused on trade with Africa and the Levant, to add to the family’s fortune.

He began his political ascent as a lawyer in a legal magistracy concerned mainly with financial scandals and bankruptcies. This he followed by occupying positions such as Sage of the College, Sage of the Terrafirma, Cameriengo (or treasurer) di Comun, Podestà of Padua, ducal councillor for Cannaregio, and Procurator of Saint Mark.

In 1481, he married Giustina Giustiani, also known as Morosina Giustiani, with whom he had nine children. Her influential family is believed to have played a significant part in his election as the 75th Doge of Venice in 1501.

His reign began with the disastrous Second Ottoman War, which he was able to settle after  two years, but only at the cost of losing territory. Then he had a dispute with Pope Julius II, which escalated into the 1509 War of the League of Cambrai. Venice was fighting against both the Pope and France, and was defeated.

However, in 1513, Loredan formed a military alliance with the French King Louis XII against the Pope, which they won decisively. Venice was able to regain some of its lost territory and the Pope was forced to pay back a large amount of money owed to the Loredan family.

Unfortunately, Loredan fell and injured his leg in 1514, and his health was to deteriorate from then on.

In 1516, Loredan arranged a truce with the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I and was able to regain Verona. The end of war celebrations in Venice that year were to be the high point of Loredan’s reign as Doge. He also bought titles and offices for his children and relatives, making the most of his influence while he had it.

Girolamo Campagna's statue of
Leonardo Loredan is part of his tomb

It was under Loredan’s rule, in 1516, that a decree was enacted to formally isolate the Jews in Venice. The first Ghetto in the world was created, from which all others have derived their names.

Loredan’s last years as Doge were filled with financial and political scandals, some caused by rival families. Meanwhile, his health deteriorated further and he died in pain, suffering from gangrene, in 1521.

He was interred in the Basilica di Santi Giovanni e Paolo, at first in a simple grave which no longer exists. But in 1572, a monumental tomb was erected for him in the basilica, adorned with marble Corinthian columns.

Among the many portraits and paintings of Loredan, the most famous is the Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan, painted by Giovanni Bellini in about 1501, which is now in the National Gallery in London.

One of his descendants, Francesco Loredan, became the 116th Doge of Venice in 1752, and after his death he was interred in Leonardo Loredan’s tomb.

Another of his descendants, Pietro Loredan, was the 84th Doge between 1567 and 1570.

Pietro Loredan also established a winery in the Veneto, which is still known for its celebrated robust and powerful Capo di Stata red wine.

The Campo di Gheto Nuovo, the main square in
the fashionable Ghetto quarter in Venice

Travel tip:

A decree creating Venice’s historic Ghetto was pronounced by Leonardo Loredan in 1516. It meant that the Jewish population of the city, who were already obliged to live under restrictions since the 13th century, were forced to move to an island in the northwestern part of the Cannaregio sestiere and could not live in any other district. There are a number of theories about how it came to be known as the Ghetto, the most plausible of which is that the area was known to Venetians by the dialect word geto - foundry - as it used to be home to a factory making heavy iron cannons for the Venetian fleet. The word may have acquired an ‘h’ in its spelling to reflect its mispronunciation by the early inhabitants, mainly German Jews, who incorrectly gave it a hard ‘g’ rather than the soft one of the dialect. At some time later, it acquired a second ‘t’, although street signs in Venice have only one. The freedom of the rest of the city was not restored to the Jewish population until 1797, when the French Army, commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte, occupied Venice and forced the dissolution of the Republic. The Ghetto’s gates were removed, with Jews given the same status as other citizens.

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The Basilica di Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice,
where Loredan and many other Doges are buried

Travel tip:

Leonardo Loredan was buried in the Basilica di Santi Giovanni e Paolo in the Castello district. The Basilica is known in Venice as San Zanipolo, and is in the Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo. The land was donated to the Dominicans by Doge Jacopo Tiepolo after he dreamt of a flock of white doves flying over it. One of the largest churches in Venice, it has the status of a minor basilica. It has many works by Veronese in the Chapel of the Rosary, as well as paintings by Lorenzo Lotto and sculptures by Pietro Lombardo.  Outside is a statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni, a Bergamo condottiero (mercenary) and a former captain-general of the Republic of Venice, sculpted by Andrea del Verrocchio. A total of 25 of Venice’s Doges are buried there, among them Tiepolo himself.

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More reading:

The Ghetto - Venice’s Jewish quarter

Jacopo Tiepolo, the Doge who granted land for beautiful churches

Ludovico Manin - the last Doge of Venice

Also on this day:

1427: The birth of political adviser and businesswoman Lucrezia Tornabuoni

1633: Galileo Galilei convicted of heresy

1930: The birth of mountaineer Walter Bonatti

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21 June

Pier Luigi Nervi - architect

Striking designs from football stadiums to churches

The brilliant structural engineer and architect Pier Luigi Nervi was born on this day in 1891 in Sondrio, an Alpine town in northern Lombardy at the heart of the Valtellina.  Nervi made his mark with a number of strikingly original designs at home and abroad and was noted both for his innovative use of reinforced concrete and his multi-dimensional designs, which enabled him to create structures that were both strong and elegant.  His major works in Italy include the Palazzo del Lavoro in Turin, the bell tower of the Chiesa del Sacro Cuore in Florence and the Papal Audience Hall at the Vatican City, as well as a number of important sports facilities.  The Stadio Artemio Franchi (formerly the Stadio Communale) in Florence - home of the Fiorentina football club - was one of his first important projects and he designed several stadia for the Rome Olympics in 1960. Read more…

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Pope Paul VI

Pontiff who helped wartime prisoners

Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini was elected as Pope Paul VI on this day in 1963 in Rome.  He succeeded Pope John XXIII and immediately re-convened the Second Vatican Council which had automatically closed after Pope John’s death.  Pope Paul then implemented its various reforms and as a result had to deal with the conflicting expectations of different Catholic groups.  Following his famous predecessor Saint Ambrose of Milan, Pope Paul named Mary as the Mother of the Church.  He described himself as ‘a humble servant for a suffering humanity’ and demanded changes from the rich in North America and Europe in favour of the poor in the third world.  Pope Paul had been born in Concesio near Brescia in 1897 and was ordained a priest in Brescia in 1920. He took a doctorate in Canon Law in Milan. Read more…

Paolo Soleri - architect

Italian greatly influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright

The groundbreaking architect and ecologist Paolo Soleri was born on this day in 1919 in Turin.  Soleri is largely remembered for the Arcosanti project, an experiment in urban design in the Arizona desert that was like no other town on the planet, a unique fusion of architecture and ecology.  Originally conceived as providing a completely self-sufficient urban living space for 5,000 people when it began in 1970, only about five per cent of the proposed development was ever completed.  At its peak, Arcosanti’s population barely exceeded 200 yet the buildings Soleri erected in accordance with his vision are still there, rising from the desert as an assortment of concrete blocks, domes and soaring vaults, resembling a cross between the remains of some ancient civilisation and a set from Star Wars.  It has never been abandoned, however, although Soleri died in 2013. Read more…

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Alessandro Cavriani - naval commander

Heroic officer who sacrificed his own life

Naval commander Alessandro Cavriani, who posthumously received Italy’s highest military honour after sacrificing his own life to prevent his ailing ship falling into enemy hands in World War Two, was born on 21 June, 1911 in the city of Mantua in Lombardy.  Cavriani, who had risen to the rank of corvette captain in the Italian Royal Navy during World War Two, was lieutenant commander of the destroyer Ugolino Vivaldi soon after Italy had signed the 1943 Armistice with the Allies.  The Vivaldi and her sister ship, the Antonio da Noli, on September 9, were ordered to set sail from Genoa to Civitavecchia, the large port north of Rome, where they were to pick up King Vittorio Emanuele III and his government and take them to La Maddalena in Sardinia, to prevent their being captured by the advancing German army.  Read more…

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Book of the Day: Pier Luigi Nervi (The Minimum), by Tullia Iori

Tullia Iori’s Pier Luigi Nervi (The Minimum) is a compact, scholarly monograph that introduces Nervi’s architectural and structural achievements with clarity and precision. It is one of the most accessible academic overviews of his work, especially if you want a concise, image‑rich introduction grounded in the history of structural engineering. The volume surveys Nervi’s major works (built and unbuilt), his writings, and critical reception. It blends biography, project summaries, and visual documentation. The author integrates Nervi’s own technical writings, giving insight into his philosophy of reinforced concrete, prefabrication, and structural elegance.  The book includes strong visual material, making it useful for architectural historians and engineers alike.

Tullia Iori is Professor of Technical Architecture at the University of Rome Tor Vergata.  Her research focuses on the history of construction, structural engineering, and conservation of modern architecture.

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20 June

Gian Galeazzo Sforza - Duke of Milan

Ruler who never truly held power

Gian Galeazzo Sforza, the third member of the Sforza family to have the title Duke of Milan, was born on this day in 1469 in Abbiategrasso, a town in the Po Valley about 22km (14 miles) north of Milan.  He was the sixth Duke of Milan in all, the title having previously been the property of the Visconti family.  However, Gian Galeazzo had only a short life and never truly held any power, having inherited the Duchy at the age of seven when his father, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, was assassinated in the porch of Basilica di Santo Stefano Maggiore in Milan, on December 26, 1476, where he was attending a celebration for the Festa di San Stefano.  Gian Galeazzo could not legally inherit the Duchy until he reached the age of majority, which in Renaissance times was 14. Until then, Milan would be ruled by his mother, Galeazzo Maria’s widow, Bona of Savoy.  Read more…

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Luigi de Magistris - politician

Popular and progressive Mayor of Naples

Luigi de Magistris, who was Mayor of Naples for 10 years following a shock win in the 2011 local elections, was born on this day in 1967.  A former public prosecutor with a reputation for standing up against corruption and organised crime, De Magistris was the Member of the European Parliament for Southern Italy between 2009 and 2011, when he ran for Italy of Values, the centre-left party founded by another former magistrate, Antonio di Pietro.  He stood in the 2011 mayoral elections in Naples with the support of minor parties on the left and the right and won in the second round of voting with 65 per cent of the vote, defeating Gianni Lettieri, the candidate for a centre right coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party.  In office, De Magistris faced difficult times because of the city’s precarious financial situation. Read more…

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Armando Picchi - footballer

Star defender captained ‘La Grande Inter’

The footballer Armando Picchi, who was captain of the Inter-Milan team of the 1960s known as La Grande Inter and one of Italian football’s most accomplished players in the libero position, was born on this day in 1935 in the Tuscan port of Livorno.  Under his captaincy, the Inter side managed by the Argentina-born coach Helenio Herrera won the European Cup twice as well as three Serie A titles and two Intercontinental Cups between 1963 and 1966.  After retiring as a player at 34, Picchi embarked on a coaching career of his own, but after his progress with Varese and hometown club AS Calcio Livorno earned him the chance to take the helm at Juventus his life was cut tragically short in 1971, when he developed an aggressive form of cancer and died just three months after being diagnosed.  Picchi grew up 30km (19 miles) south of Livorno in the coastal resort of Vada.  Read more…

Giannina Arangi-Lombardi – opera singer

Soprano’s superb voice was captured in early recordings

Soprano Giannina Arangi-Lombardi was born on this day in 1891 in Marigliano near Naples in Campania.  She studied singing at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella in Naples and made her debut on the stage in Rome in 1920. Arangi-Lombardi sang mezzo-soprano roles for the next three years at theatres in Rome, Sicily, Parma, Florence and Naples.  She then underwent further study and returned to the stage as what is known as a spinto soprano, a singer who can reach the high notes of the lyric soprano but can also achieve dramatic climaxes with her voice.  Arangi-Lombardi’s second debut, this time as a soprano, was in 1923. The first time she sang the role of Aida in Verdi's opera of the same name the audience was stunned by her voice and her fame quickly spread.  She appeared on stage at Teatro alla Scala in Milan for the first time in 1924. Read more…

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Valerio Evangelisti - novelist

Writer's stories of the Inquisition are bestsellers

The bestselling novelist Valerio Evangelisti, best known for his science fiction, fantasy, historical novels and horror stories, was born in Bologna on this day in 1952.  He is famous in Italy for his series of novels featuring the inquisitor Nicolas Eymerich and for the Magus trilogy, all of which have been translated into many languages.  Eymerich is a real historical character, a member of the order of the Dominicans and of the Spanish Inquisition who was born in 1320 in Girona, Catalonia.  Evangelisti portrays him as a cruel and ruthless man who acts without mercy to protect the Catholic Church against threats of both natural and supernatural origin.  Evangelisti uses the Eymerich novels to investigate the mysterious phenomena in medieval Europe that strategically influenced the great historical events of the time. Read more…

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Book of the Day: Italian Dynasties: The Great Families of Italy from the Renaissance to the Present Day by Edward Burman

Italian Dynasties covers every major Renaissance power family in one volume.  It includes dedicated chapters on the Sforza, Visconti, Medici, Este, Gonzaga, and others. The book focuses on political power, cultural patronage, military influence, and the personalities that shaped Renaissance Italy and places the Sforza within the broader ecosystem of Italian princely families. The Colonna, Malatesta and Farnese also have their own chapters. Italian Dynasties is essentially a tour through the great ruling families of Renaissance Italy, each chapter giving you a compact political history, a sense of personality and power, and the cultural legacy they left behind. It’s not a dry genealogical dictionary - it reads more like a sequence of vivid portraits of courts, cities, and the people who shaped them.

Edward Burman, who grew up in Cambridge and studied at the University of Leeds, spent some years living in Italy, where he studied art, learnt Italian, and wrote articles for an English-language newspaper. He has written a number of books on occult subjects and Italian culture and taught in the universities of L’Aquila and Bologna.

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