9 September

Cesare Pavese - writer and translator

Author introduced great American writers to Fascist Italy

Cesare Pavese, the writer and literary critic who, through his work as a translator, introduced Italy to the Irish novelist James Joyce and a host of great American authors of the 20th century, was born on this day in 1908 in Santo Stefano Belbo, a town in Piedmont about 60km from Turin.  Pavese would become an acclaimed novelist after the Second World War but was frustrated for many years by the strict censorship policies of Italy’s Fascist government.  It is thought he devoted himself to translating progressive English-language writers into Italian as the best way by which he could promote the principles of freedom in which he believed.  Pavese’s translations would have given most Italians their first opportunity to read writers such as Herman Melville, William Faulkner, Charles Dickens, Gertrude Stein, John Steinbeck and Daniel Defoe, as well as Joyce.  Read more…

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Oscar Luigi Scalfaro – President of Italy

Devout lawyer served the Republic all his life

The ninth President of the Italian Republic, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, was born on this day in 1918 in Novara.  After studying law and entering the magistrature he became a public prosecutor and is the last Italian attorney to have obtained a death sentence.  In 1945 he prosecuted the former Novara prefect Enrico Vezzalini and five servicemen, who were accused of collaborating with the Germans. All six were condemned to death and the sentence was carried out a few months later.  Subsequently Scalfaro obtained another death sentence, but the accused was pardoned before the execution could take place.  Scalfaro was brought up to be a devout Catholic and studied law at Milan’s Università Cattolica.  Before the war ended he lost his wife, Maria Inzitari, who died a few weeks after giving birth to their daughter. He never remarried.  Read more… 

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Roberto Donadoni - footballer and coach

Understated midfielder who helped AC Milan win six Serie A titles

The footballer and coach Roberto Donadoni, who was a key figure in an AC Milan side that dominated Italian football for the best part of a decade, was born on this day in 1963 in Cisano Bergamasco in Lombardy.  A winger or midfielder famed for his ability to create goalscoring opportunities for his team-mates, Donadoni was once described by the brilliant French attacker Michel Platini as ‘the best Italian footballer of the 1990s’. His collection of 21 winner’s medals includes six for winning the Serie A title with AC Milan and three for the European Cup or Champions League.  He was also part of the Italian national team that reached the final of the World Cup in 1994, losing to Brazil on penalties.  Donadoni was never a prolific goalscorer: in more than 500 league and international matches, he found the net only 34 times. Yet he had exceptional technical ability and great passing skills. Read more… 

Allied troops land at Salerno

Operation that marked start of invasion of Italy

The first wave of an invasion force that would eventually take control of much of the Italian peninsula on behalf of the Allies landed on the beaches around Salerno in Campania on this day in 1943.  More than 450 ships carrying 190,000 troops assembled off the coast on the evening of September 8, shortly after news had broken that terms for the surrender of the Italian half of the Axis forces had been agreed.  The US 36th Infantry Division were in the vanguard of the invasion force, approaching the shore at Paestum at 3.30am on September 9, and there were other landings further up the coast near Battipaglia and Pontecagnano involving British troops.  After news of the Italian surrender, the invasion force, which consisted initially of 55,000 troops, were unsure how much resistance they would encounter.  Read more…

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Francesco Carrozzini - director and photographer

Famous for portraits of wealthy and famous

The American-based director and photographer Francesco Carrozzini was born on this day in 1982 in Monza, Italy.  The son of the late former editor-in-chief of the Italian edition of Vogue magazine, Franca Sozzani, Carrozzini has directed many music videos and documentary films and a small number of feature-length movies, including one about the life of his mother.  In photography, he has become best known for his portraits of the rich and famous, including actors such as Robert De Niro and Cate Blanchett, models including Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista, musicians such as Lana Del Ray and Kanye West, and artists including Jeff Koons and Andres Serrano.  Carrozzini has also photographed political leaders, including the former British prime minister Tony Blair, ex-Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg and former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.  Read more…

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Book of the Day: The Moon and the Bonfires, by Cesare Pavese. Translated by Tim Parks

Twenty years after making his fortune in America, Eel is drawn back to the closest thing he has to a home: the Piedmontese countryside where he grew up poor and illegitimate. Wandering the valleys and vineyards with his childhood friend Nuto, Eel remembers the farm where he worked, his employer's beautiful daughters, the rituals of rural life. Yet as he discovers more about what happened there during the war, he realises that these timeless landscapes hide terrible, savage secrets. By turns fond and evocative, seductive and troubling, The Moon and the Bonfires is a lyrical masterpiece of memory and betrayal. Widely considered Pavese’s finest novel and his final prose work before his death in 1950, The Moon and the Bonfires encapsulates the lyrical yet stark realism that defines his writing.

Cesare Pavese worked as a translator and as an editor for the publishing house Einaudi Editore, while also publishing his own poetry and a string of successful novels. Born in Manchester in 1954, the writer and translator Tim Parks grew up in London and studied at Cambridge and Harvard. In 1981 he moved to Italy where he has lived ever since.

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8 September

NEW - Stefano Casiraghi - businessman and socialite

Died in powerboat tragedy after marrying princess

The businessman and socialite Stefano Casiraghi, who became a worldwide celebrity after what was described as a ‘fairytale marriage’ to Princess Caroline of Monaco, was born on this day in 1960 in Como in Lombardy.  After meeting on the yacht of a mutual friend during the summer of 1983, they were married in a civil ceremony at the Royal Palace in Monte Carlo just after Christmas in the same year.  At 26, Princess Caroline - daughter of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and the American actress Grace Kelly - was three years older than Stefano and had already been married, yet friends believed no couple could have been better matched. Sadly, however, it was a fairytale that ended in tragedy as Casiraghi, who indulged his passion for speed by racing powerboats and became world offshore speedboat champion in 1989, was killed when his boat overturned as he tried to defend his title. Read more…

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Magda Olivero - soprano

Singer who performed into her 80s and lived to 104

The opera singer Magda Olivero, who became known as the last verismo soprano, died on this day in 2014. She was almost halfway through her 105th year, having been born in 1910.  Olivero became associated with the works among others of Francesco Cilea, Pietro Mascagni, Umberto Giordano and Franco Alfano, all of whom she actually worked with in person, her longevity providing a 21st century link with the world of 19th century Italian opera. She missed the chance to know and work with Giacomo Puccini only narrowly, the composer passing away at the age of 66 when Olivero was 14.  Born in Saluzzo in Piedmont, Olivero made her operatic debut eight years after Puccini’s death in a radio production in Turin in 1932. She gave her last stage performance 49 years later in 1981, although even that was not the end of her career.  Read more…

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Ludovico Ariosto – poet

Writer led the way with spirituality and humanity

The man who coined the term humanism - umanesimo - Ludovico Ariosto, was born on this day in 1474 in Reggio Emilia.  He became famous after his epic poem, Orlando furioso, was published in 1516.  It is now regarded by critics as the finest expression of the literary tendencies and spiritual attitudes of the Italian Renaissance.  Ariosto chose to focus on the strengths and potential of humanity, rather than upon its role as subordinate to God, which led to the Renaissance humanism movement.  His family moved to live in Ferrara when he was just ten years old and the poet has said he always felt ferrarese.  His father insisted he studied law but afterwards Ariosto followed his natural instincts to write poetry.  When his father died in 1500, Ariosto had to provide for his four brothers and five sisters and took the post of commander of the Citadel of Canossa. Read more…

Michelangelo’s David

Masterpiece emerged from an abandoned block of marble

A huge statue of the Biblical hero David, sculpted by Michelangelo, was unveiled in Piazza della Signoria in Florence on this day in 1504.  The 5.17m (17ft) high statue was placed outside the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of civic government in Florence. The sculpture symbolised the defence of civil liberties in the republic of Florence, which at the time was an independent city state threatened on all sides by rival states. It was thought that the eyes of David were looking towards Rome and seemed to have a warning glare.  David is regarded as one of Michelangelo’s masterpieces. He was sculpted from a block of Carrara marble originally designated to be one of a series of prophets for Florence Cathedral. The marble was worked on by two artists before being abandoned and left exposed to the elements in the yard of the Cathedral workshop.  Read more…

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Matteo Strukul – writer

Author is published worldwide in 20 languages

Writer and journalist Matteo Strukul, best known for his best-selling historical novels about the powerful Medici family, was born on this day in 1973 in Padua (Padova) in the Veneto region.  Strukul’s first novel was a dark thriller set in the Veneto, which was published in 2011 in Italian as La ballata di Mila. The novel was translated into English and issued in 2014 as The Ballad of Mila.  He then wrote four historical novels set in Florence between the 15th and 17th centuries following the rise of the house of Medici, which all became best sellers in Italy and have sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide. The first novel, I Medici, una dinastia al potere, was awarded the Premio Bancarella in 2017. This prestigious award has been won in the past by Ernest Hemingway, Boris Pasternak, Umberto Eco, and Ken Follett.  Read more…

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Book of the Day: The Grimaldis of Monaco: Centuries of Scandal, Years of Grace, by Anne Edwards

The Grimaldis of Monaco tells in full the remarkable history of the world’s oldest reigning dynasty. For nearly 800 years, from the elegant Genoese Rainier I to the current Prince Albert II, the Grimaldis―“an ambitious, hot-blooded, unscrupulous race, swift to revenge and furious in battle”―have ruled Monaco. Against all odds, they have proved themselves masterful survivors, still in possession of their lands and titles despite the upheavals of the French Revolution and the First and Second World Wars, when royal heads rolled and most small countries met their demise. With insufficient weaponry and military forces far too small to go into combat against their more powerful neighbors, France and Italy, the Grimaldis endured by their cunning and their shrewd choice of brides―rich women and high connections in the most influential courts of Europe, and often, strong sexual appetites. The seafaring adventurer Prince Albert I was unfortunate enough to have two wives, one British, one American, who ran off with their lovers. His second wife, the American Alice Heine, a fabulously rich heiress from New Orleans, used her own wealth to bring grandeur, culture, and sophistication to the palatial center of Monte Carlo; and with the introduction of gambling, an internationally celebrated resort was born, initially for the privileged few and later for raffish café society. , The last section of the book is devoted to the most recent generations of the Grimaldis, with a necessarily tragic final section, detailing the deaths of both Princess Grace - the former American actress Grace Kelly - and her daughter Princess Caroline’s husband in sudden and shocking accidents.

Anne Edwards is the author of Vivien Leigh: A Biography and Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor as well as several other biographies, novels, and children’s books.

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Stefano Casiraghi - businessman and socialite

Died in powerboat tragedy after marrying princess

Stefano Casiraghi and Princess Caroline of Monaco
pictured on their wedding day in 1983

The businessman and socialite Stefano Casiraghi, who became a worldwide celebrity after what was described as a ‘fairytale marriage’ to Princess Caroline of Monaco, was born on this day in 1960 in Como in Lombardy.

After meeting on the yacht of a mutual friend during the summer of 1983, they were married in a civil ceremony at the Royal Palace in Monte Carlo just after Christmas in the same year.

At 26, Princess Caroline - daughter of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and the American actress Grace Kelly - was three years older than Stefano and had already been married, yet friends believed no couple could have been better matched.

Sadly, however, it was a fairytale that ended in tragedy as Casiraghi, who indulged his passion for speed by racing powerboats and became world offshore speedboat champion in 1989, was killed when his boat overturned as he tried to defend his title near Cap Ferrat the following year.

Casiraghi had been born into wealth. His father, Giancarlo Casiraghi, built a successful business empire in northern Italy involving real estate, retail exports, and industrial ventures. One of four siblings, Stefano grew up on the family's estate, Villa Cigogne, in Fino Mornasco, a small town just outside the lakeside city of Como.

He enrolled at Milan’s Bocconi University, which offers business-oriented courses, but left without obtaining a degree and began to work in his father’s business. 

At the same time, he began racing speedboats on Lake Como, becoming serious enough about the sport to compete in more than 80 offshore races during his life. He became highly skilled as a throttle man, the crew member who controls the engine power, speed, and boat balance while the driver steers. 

Casiraghi and Princess Caroline are said to have
shared a mutual attraction right from the start

His high profile in what was a glamorous, exclusive sport opened the door to a rich social life, in which he rubbed shoulders with celebrities and was never short of female company.

He and Princess Caroline met as guests on a superyacht belonging to their mutual friend, Francesco Caltagirone, a wealthy entrepreneur, cruising between Corsica and Sardinia in the summer of 1983. They were introduced by Robertino Rossellini, the son of film director Roberto Rossellini and the actress, Ingrid Bergman.

Caroline had already been married to and divorced from the French venture capitalist Philippe Junot, who was 17 years’ her senior, and had been dating Robertino Rossellini.  Casiraghi was already engaged to Pinuccia Macheda, the daughter of a prominent Milanese family.

Yet, reportedly, Caroline and Casiraghi experienced an instant mutual attraction. So strong, in fact, that when they arrived in Porto Rotondo, an exclusive seaside resort village in northeastern Sardinia, where Casiraghi was due to meet Macheda and his parents, they decided effectively to elope.

With Caroline simply abandoning Rossellini and Casiraghi leaving Macheda with his parents, they fled first to Isola di Cavallo, a small, private island off the southern tip of Corsica, before secretly flying to New York.

For a while, the couple lived an idyllic life with
their three children, Andrea, Charlotte and Pierre

After a period in which their whereabouts were unknown to all but their closest friends, Stefano brought Caroline back to introduce her to his parents. They married on December 29, 1983,  in a civil ceremony conducted in the Hall of Mirrors at the Royal Palace in Monaco.

They would have had a Catholic ceremony, but though Caroline had been divorced from Junot, and an annulment had not yet been obtained. In any event, Caroline was more than three months pregnant. 

Stefano Casiraghi has the natural charm to win over Monte Carlo and, coming just 15 months after the death of Caroline’s mother, Princess Grace, after a road accident, lifted the spirits of Prince Rainer and the whole principality.

The couple had three children: Andrea, Charlotte and Pierre. Regularly featuring in magazine shoots, they seemed to have an idyllic life.

Stefano developed his own business interests, while continuing to race his boats. It provided a thrill he seemed reluctant to give up but it became more than a pastime. He was proud to have set a speed record of 277 kph (172 mph) on Lake Como in 1984.

In 1989, he won the World Championships of offshore powerboat racing off Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Casiraghi flanked by Patrice Innocenti (left) and team
boss Romeo Ferraris after becoming world champions

The accident that killed him came in October the following year, as he and his co-pilot, Patrice Innocenti, sought to defend their title off the coast of Monaco near Cap Ferrat. As it happens, early in the race, they stopped to rescue the pilot of another competing boat, which had caught fire.

Looking to make up for lost time, Casiraghi’s 42-foot catamaran, Pinot di Pinot, had reached a speed of around 150kph (93mph) when it struck a wave and flipped over. Innocenti survived but Casiraghi did not. 

Caroline was in Paris when the accident happened and was informed by her father in a telephone call. After an accident off Guernsey only a few weeks earlier, Stefano had reportedly told her he intended to retire after defending his title, win or lose.

The funeral took place in Monaco's Cathedral of St. Nicholas, which had staged Princess Grace's funeral eight years earlier. Casiraghi is buried in the Chapelle de la Paix in Monaco.

The Parco delle Groane has a network of cycle
paths and walking trails for visitors

Travel tip:

Fino Mornasco, where Stefano Casiraghi grew up in his wealthy family’s estate, is a municipality of around 8,000 inhabitants, occupying a historically strategic position on the routes that connected Como - 10km (6 miles) to the north - with Milan and the Po Valley. Much of its territory falls within the Parco delle Groane, a 7,700‑hectare protected area of heathland, pine forests, and oak woods. The area, where archaeological finds have indicated a Roman-era settlement, became the property of various noble families during the Middle Ages. Later, it came under the control of the Visconti and Sforza dynasties of Milan, was subjected to Spanish and then Austrian rule before becoming formally part of the Kingdom of Italy after unification. In 1928, the villages of Fino and Mornasco were merged. The town also became part of the Como silk district, one of Italy’s most important textile regions, and retains this industrial heritage today, which is celebrated at the Museo della Seta (Silk Museum). Other points of interest include the Torre de’ Molini, a medieval tower offering panoramic views, and the Villa Raimondi, a 19th‑century neoclassical villa with an 18th‑century chapel where Giuseppe Garibaldi once celebrated a wedding. It sits in a landscaped park. The Parco delle Groane has more than 100 km of trails, including bike‑friendly and gravel routes.

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Lake Como is famous for its dramatic mountain
backdrops and deep, blue water

Travel tip:

The city of Como, which can be found at the foot of Lake Como, about 50km (30 miles) north of Milan by road. It has become a popular tourist destination because it is close to the lake and has many attractive churches, gardens, museums, theatres, parks and palaces to visit. The Villa Olmo, built in neoclassical style there in 1797 by an aristocratic family, hosted Napoleon, Ugo Foscolo, Prince Metternich, Archduke Franz Ferdinand I and Giuseppe Garibaldi, to name but a few of the eminent people who have stayed there. Another landmark is The Tempio Voltiano, which stands in a public garden near the side of the lake and houses a museum dedicated to the life and work of Alessandro Volta, the Como scientist who invented the first electric battery. The museum has a collection of scientific instruments used by the inventor, including his early voltaic piles, and some of his personal belongings and awards he received.  Lake Como is a scenic, two-forked glacial lake, famous for its dramatic Alpine backdrop and deep blue waters. Covering an area of 146 square kilometres (56 sq mi), it is the third-largest lake in Italy, after Garda and Maggiore. At over 400m (1,300 ft) deep, it is one of the deepest lakes in Europe. It's longest fork is 46km (29 miles) and the lake is 4.5km (2.8 miles) wide at its broadest point.

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More reading:

Beatrice Borromeo, the journalist who married into the Monegasque royal family

Roberto Rossellini, the film director who pioneered neorealism

Cristoforo Benigno Crespi, a textile entrepreneur whose company built a village to house employees

Also on this day:

1474: The birth of poet Ludovico Ariosto

1504: The unveiling of Michelangelo’s David

1973: The birth of historical novelist Matteo Strukel

2014: The death of soprano Magda Olivero

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7 September

Kidnapping of Pope Boniface VIII

When the Pope was slapped down by a disgruntled landowner

An army, representing King Philip IV of France and the anti-papal Colonna family, entered Anagni in Lazio and captured Pope Boniface VIII inside his own palace on this day in 1303.  The Pope was kept in custody for three days and was physically ill-treated by his captors until the local people rose up against the invaders and rescued him.  Boniface VIII returned to Rome, but he was physically and mentally broken after his ordeal and died a month later.  The Pope had been born Benedetto Caetani in Anagni in 1230. He became Pope Boniface VIII in 1294 after his predecessor abdicated. He organised the first Catholic Jubilee Year to take place in Rome in 1300 and founded Sapienza University in the city in 1303, the year of his death.  But Boniface VIII is mainly remembered for his conflicts with Philip IV of France.  Read more…

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Genoa Cricket and Football Club

Italy's historic first football club

Italy's oldest surviving football club was founded on this day in 1893 in Genoa.  Originally named Genoa Cricket and Athletic Club, it was established by British Consular officials and for a number of years football was a minor activity.  Initially, Italians could not be members.  Football became more its focus after an English maritime doctor, James Spensley, arrived in Genoa in 1897 and organised a match against Football Club Torinese, which had been formed in Turin in 1894. Spensley insisted the club's rules be altered to allow Italians to play.  The match took place in January 1898 and although the attendance was only around 200 spectators, it was deemed a success by those who took part, particularly the Turin side, who won.  After a return match, plans were drawn up to form an Italian Football Federation and to organise a first Italian Championship. Read more… 

Guido Bentivoglio - cardinal, historian and diplomat

17th century ambassador who set standards for modern statecraft

The cardinal, archbishop and papal nuncio Guido Bentivoglio, an important figure in the development of modern international diplomacy, died on this day in 1644 in Rome.  Born in 1579 in Ferrara, Bentivoglio’s life was notable for having helped reset the Vatican’s approach to international relations, both through his astute and pragmatic methodology and his influential writings. His most notable written work, Della Guerra di Fiandra, is regarded as setting a new standard for historical writing. Published between 1632 and 1639, it documented in great detail what Bentivolgio  had learned from his eight years as papal nuncio in Flanders after decades of civil war between Habsburg rebels and the region’s Spanish rulers.  Bentivoglio’s blend of political acumen and ecclesiastical authority enabled him to navigate the religious and political tensions of a region divided between Catholic and Protestant powers. Read more… 

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Giuseppe Gioachino Belli – poet

Sonnet writer satirised life in 19th century Rome

The poet Giuseppe Gioachino Belli was born on this day in 1791 in Rome and was christened Giuseppe Francesco Antonio Maria Gioachino Raimondi Belli.  He was to become famous for his satirical sonnets written in Romanesco, the dialect of Rome.  After taking a job in Civitavecchia, a coastal town about 70km (44 miles) northwest of Rome, Belli’s father moved the family to live there, but after he died - of either cholera or typhus - his wife returned to Rome with her children and took cheap lodgings in Via del Corso.  Living in poor circumstances, Belli began writing sonnets in Italian at the suggestion of his friend, the poet Francesco Spada.  In 1816, Belli married a woman of means, Maria Conti, and went to live with her in Palazzo Poli, the palace that forms the backdrop to the Trevi Fountain. This gave him the freedom to develop his literary talents. Read more…

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Book of the Day: Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy, by John Julius Norwich

In a chronicle that captures nearly 2,000 years of inspiration and intrigue, John Julius Norwich recounts in riveting detail the histories of the most significant popes and what they meant politically, culturally, and socially to Rome and to the world. Norwich presents such popes as Innocent I, who in the fifth century successfully negotiated with Alaric the Goth, an invader civil authorities could not defeat; Leo I, who two decades later tamed (and perhaps paid off) Attila the Hun; the infamous "pornocracy" - the five libertines who were descendants or lovers of Marozia, debauched daughter of one of Rome's most powerful families; Pope Paul III, "the greatest pontiff of the 16th century," who reinterpreted the Church's teaching and discipline; and John XXIII, who in five short years starting in 1958 instituted reforms that led to Vatican II. Norwich dedicates a vivid section of this book to the dramatic 1303 showdown involving Boniface VIII. He captures the political build-up, the tension of the raid on the Anagni palace, the "slap", and the psychological collapse that led to the Pope's death just weeks later. Epic and compelling, Absolute Monarchs is an enthralling history.

John Julius Norwich was the author of more than 20 books. He began his career in the British foreign service, but resigned his diplomatic post to become a writer. He was a chairman of the Venice in Peril Fund and the honorary chairman of the World Monuments Fund. He died in 2018.

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