11 October

Anita Cerquetti – soprano

Performer with a powerful voice had brief moment in the spotlight

Anita Cerquetti, the singer whose remarkable voice received widespread praise when she stood in for a temperamental Maria Callas in Rome, died on this day in 2014 in Perugia.  Cerquetti had been singing the title role in Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma at Teatro San Carlo in Naples in 1958 when Callas, who had been singing the same part in Rome, walked out after the first act on the opening night.  Despite Callas claiming that her voice was troubling her, the incident, in front of Italian President Giovanni Gronchi, created a major scandal.  Fortunately the performances in Rome and Naples were on alternate days and so for several weeks Cerquetti travelled back and forth between the two opera houses, which were 225km (140 miles) apart. The achievement left her exhausted and three years later she retired from singing and her magnificent voice was heard no more.  Cerquetti was born in Montecosaro near Macerata in the Marche. She studied the violin, but after a music professor heard her singing at a wedding she was persuaded to switch to vocal studies. After just one year she made her debut singing Aida in Spoleto in 1951.  Read more…

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Cesare Andrea Bixio - composer and lyricist

Pioneer of Italian film music left catalogue of classic songs

Cesare Andrea Bixio, the composer behind such classic Italian songs as Vivere, Mamma, La mia canzone al vento and Parlami d'amore Mariù, was born in Naples on this day in 1896.  Bixio enjoyed many years of popularity during which his compositions were performed by some of Italy's finest voices, including Beniamino Gigli, Tito Schipa and Carlo Buti, and later became staples for Giuseppe Di Stefano and Luciano Pavarotti.  He was also a pioneer of film soundtrack music, having been invited to compose a score for the first Italian movie with sound, La canzone dell'amore, in 1930. As well as writing more than 1,000 songs in his career, Bixio penned the soundtracks for more than 60 films.  Bixio's father, Carlo, was an engineer from Genoa; his grandfather was General Nino Bixio, a prominent military figure in the drive for Italian Unification and one of the organisers of Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand.  Carlo, who died when Cesare was only six years old, married a Neapolitan, Anna Vilone, who wanted him to pursue a career in engineering, like his father. However, after developing an interest in music at an early age he had other ideas.  Read more…

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Pierre-Napoleon Bonaparte – adventurer

Colourful life of Italian-born prince

Prince Pierre-Napoleon Bonaparte, a nephew of the Emperor Napoleon, was born on this day in 1815 in Rome.  He was to become notorious for shooting dead a journalist after his family was criticised in a newspaper article.  Bonaparte was the son of Napoleon’s brother, Lucien, and his second wife, Alexandrine de Bleschamp. He grew up with his nine siblings on the family estate at Canino, about 40 kilometres north of Rome.  The young Bonaparte helped to keep bandits at bay, spending a lot of time with the local shepherds who were armed and had dogs to protect them.  He set out on a career of adventure, joining bands of insurgents in the Romagna region as a teenager.  In 1831 he spent time in prison for a minor offence and was banished from the Papal States.  He went to the United States to join his uncle, Joseph Bonaparte, in New Jersey. He spent some time in New York before going to serve in the army of the President of Columbia. At the age of 17 he became the President’s aide and was given the rank of Commander.  Bonaparte returned to the family estate at Canino where he enjoyed hunting with his brothers.  Read more…

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Recording of the Day: Anita Cerquetti - The Verdi Soprano

The Italian soprano Anita Cerquetti was a phenomenon.  Her operatic career began in 1951 in Spoleto, debuting as Aida, and took her to the world's great opera houses before ending in Holland in 1960. After just nine seasons, the then 29-year-old singer retired from the stage. There are only two commercial records of her (on Decca); the record companies at the time filled the major soprano roles with Callas or Tebaldi.  But thanks to numerous live recordings which circulated on the black market from the very beginning, Anita Cerquetti is still held in honour today. Why? Because here is a voice that exudes pure sensuality with the most opulent femininity. Because her voice is one of the most beautiful that opera has ever heard: never aggressive, sharp or shrill, but round, soft, lyrical and emphatic. Her voice was practically made for Giuseppe Verdi's romantic heroines - perfectly suited to the softly swinging, melancholy melodic arches of Ernani and Vespri siciliani-Elvira, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera, Don Carlo's Elisabetta, and Leonora in La Forza del destino, even for the formidable octave leaps of the imperious Nabucco-Abigaille.  The Verdi Soprano box set, which honours Anita Cerquetti as the leading Verdi interpreter of her time, is now being released in October on the 10th anniversary of her death.

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Mattias de’ Medici - Governor of Siena

Distinguished soldier was interested in art and science

A portrait of Mattias de' Medici by
the court painter, Justus Sustermans

Mattias de’ Medici, who was an enthusiastic supporter of the Palio horse race during his time as Governor of Siena, died on this day in 1667.

He is remembered for being a patron of art and of science and for the scientific instruments he acquired while on military campaigns during the Thirty Years War in Germany, which are now housed in the Uffizi galleries in Florence.

Mattias, who was born in 1613, was the third son of Grand Duke Cosimo II de' Medici of Tuscany and of Archduchess Maria Maddalena of Austria.

He was originally intended for the church, but he had little enthusiasm for the ecclesiastical life and so from the age of 16, he pursued a military career instead.

After Cosimo II died in 1621, he was succeeded as Grand Duke by Matteo’s older brother, Ferdinando.  Grand Duke Ferdinando II appointed Mattias as the Governor of Siena, to replace their aunt, Caterina de’ Medici, who had been governor of the city until her death in 1629.

After he arrived in Siena, Mattias took up residence in the Royal Palace in Piazza del Duomo and he quickly became very popular with the people living in the city.

He took part in the Battle of Lutzen in 1632, during the Thirty Years War in Germany. After he returned to Siena, he ruled the city again before becoming involved in the Wars of Castro.

A portrait of Mattias
in military uniform 

Mattias was given supreme authority over the grand duchy’s military affairs by his brother, Ferdinando, and he commanded the League of the Republic of Venice, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy of Parma, and the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, in the struggle against Pope Urban VIII.

As a reward for his military victories, his brother, Ferdinando, presented Mattias with the Villa of Lappeggi in a beautiful area of countryside near Florence.

Mattias was an enthusiastic  supporter of the arts and he became a keen collector. He was the patron of Justus Sustermans, the Flemish court painter of the Medici family, and of Baldassare Franceschini, who was also known as Il Volteranno.

His interests centred on painting, and he paid for the training of Livio Mehus, a Flemish painter, draughtsman and engraver, many of whose works are listed in an inventory of Mattias’s possessions made in 1669. As a soldier, Mattias was particularly interested in battle painting, and the artist Giacomo Cortese, who, like Mattias, had experienced military combat, was employed by him in the 1650s. 

Mattias was said to have been delighted with four paintings of battles in which he had fought himself, which have been identified in a room in the Villa of Lappeggi.  This room also contains a damaged fresco, which has been identified as Victory and Fame by Franceschini. 

Mattias promoted Siena’s famous Palio during its early history and a horse from his stable regularly took part in the event.

During his time in Germany, he acquired many scientific instruments, such as dials, astrolabes, quadrants, and compasses, which were given to the Uffizi gallery. 

Mattias never married and as he got older, he suffered from gout. He was considering re-entering the church, but illness prevented it. He died in Siena in 1667 at the age of 54. He was buried in the Medici family tombs in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.

His embalmed body was exhumed in 1857 during an investigation into the Medici remains in the church. He was found dressed as a Knight of Malta in black velvet, wearing velvet shoes and with a gold medal on his chest.

The Palio di Siena still attracts huge crowds
to witness the event in Piazza del Campo

Travel tip:

The Palio di Siena is a horse race that takes place in the Piazza del Campo in Siena twice each year, on 2 July and 16 August. Ten horses and bareback riders, who are dressed in the colours of their districts, represent 10 of the 17 contrade, or city wards, in a competition that dates back to 1633, when it was inaugurated soon after Mattias de’ Medici became governor of the city.  The 10 participants race each other on a temporary dirt track around the perimeter of the shell-shaped piazza. The race consists of three laps, which the horses cover at such a furious pace that the whole thing is over in about 90 seconds. It is not uncommon for riders to fall off but a riderless horse can still be declared the winner if the colours of their contrada are still attached to the bridle. 

The Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence, which
houses the tombs of the Medici family

Travel tip:

The Basilica of San Lorenzo, where Mattias de’ Medici is buried, is one of the largest churches in Florence. It is at the centre of the main market district of the city, and is the burial place of all the principal members of the Medici family. It is one of several churches that claim to be the oldest in Florence, having been consecrated in 393 AD, at a time when it stood outside the city walls. For hundreds of years it was the city's cathedral, before the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore was completed in the 15th century. In 1419, Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici - father of Cosimo de’ Medici, the founder of the banking dynasty - offered to finance a new church to replace an 11th-century Romanesque building. Filippo Brunelleschi, the leading Renaissance architect of the first half of the 15th century, famous for the colossal dome of Santa Maria del Fiore, was commissioned to design it, although it was not completed until after his death.

Also on this day:

1815: The birth of adventurer Pierre-Napoleon Bonaparte

1896: The birth of composer and lyricist Cesare Andrea Bixio

2014: The death of soprano Anna Cerquetti

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10 October

Andrea Zanzotto - poet

Writer drew inspiration from landscapes of Veneto

Andrea Zanzotto, who was regarded as one of Italy’s greatest 20th century poets, was born on this day in 1921 in Pieve di Soligo, the village near Treviso where he lived almost all of his life.  Zanzotto, who spent 40 years as a secondary school teacher, wrote 15 books of poetry, two prose works, two volumes of critical articles and translations of French philosophers such as Michaux, Leiris and Bataille.  His first book of poetry, Dietro il paesaggio (1951), won a literary award judged by several noteworthy Italian poets. Critics reserved their greatest acclaim for his sixth volume, La beltà (1968), in which he questioned the ability of words to reflect truth.  Zanzotto, whose verse was consistently erudite and creative, was known for his innovative engagement with language and his fascination with the rugged landscapes of the Veneto, from which he drew inspiration and provided him with much symbolism.  His upbringing was difficult at times because his father, Giovanni Zanzotto, a painter who has trained at the Bologna Academy of Fine Arts, was a committed supporter of the Socialist politician Giacomo Matteotti, who was murdered by Fascist thugs in 1924 a few days after accusing Mussolini’s party of electoral fraud.  Read more…

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Daniele Comboni – Saint

Missionary who worked miracles after his death

The Feast Day - festa - of Saint Daniel Comboni - San Daniele - is held on this day every year in Italy.  Saint Daniel, who was a Roman Catholic missionary to Africa, died on this day at the age of 50 in 1881 in Khartoum in Sudan. He was canonised in 2003 by Pope John Paul II in recognition of two miracle cures claimed to have been brought about by his intercession.  Comboni was born in 1831 at Limone sul Garda in the province of Brescia in Lombardy in northern Italy.  His parents were poor and he was the only one of their eight children to live to become an adult.  Comboni was sent away to school in Verona and after completing his studies prepared to become a priest.  He met and was profoundly influenced by missionaries who had come back from Central Africa and three years after his ordination set off with five other priests to continue their work.  After they reached Khartoum some of his fellow missionaries became ill and died because of the climate, sickness and poverty they encountered, but Comboni remained determined to continue with his mission.  On his return to Italy, while praying for guidance at the tomb of Saint Peter in Rome, Comboni came up with the idea of a missionary project to save Africa.  Read more…

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Stefano Magaddino - mafioso

Longest-ruling Mafia boss in US history

Stefano Magaddino, the Sicilian mafioso who went on to enjoy the longest period of power enjoyed by any crime boss in the history of the American Mafia, was born on this day in 1891 in Castellammare del Golfo.  Known as ‘The Undertaker’ or ‘Don Stefano’, Magaddino controlled a crime empire radiating outwards from Buffalo, on the shores of Lake Erie in New York State.  Geographically, it was a vast area, stretching from the eastern fringe of  New York State to its western outposts in Ohio and extending north-east almost as far as Montreal in Canada, its tentacles reaching across the Canadian border from Buffalo even into Toronto.  One of the original members of The Commission, the committee of seven crime bosses set up in 1931 to control Mafia activity across the whole of the United States, Magaddino was head of the Buffalo Family for more than half a century.  He died in 1974 at the age of 82, having survived all the other Commission members, including the founder Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano and Chicago boss Al Capone, with the exception of his cousin from Castellammare, Joseph Bonanno, who along with Luciano, headed one of the Five Families of the New York underworld.  Read more…

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Nunzia De Girolamo – politician and television presenter

Lawyer who moved from debating to dancing

Politician and lawyer Nunzia De Girolamo, who served as Minister of Agriculture in the government of Enrico Letta from 2013 to 2014, was born on this day in 1975 in Benevento in Campania.  Nunzia became a member of the Italian parliament, representing Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party, in 2008, and she was re-elected to parliament in 2013. She went on to become the youngest member of the Letta cabinet and one of just seven female politicians appointed.  While growing up, Nunzia attended the Liceo Classico Pietro Giannone in Benevento and then entered the faculty of jurisprudence to study law at the University of Rome La Sapienza. After graduating, she went into the legal profession. Nunzia worked in the fields of civil law, employment law, and commercial law before going into politics.  She became a member of Forza Italia, but left the party in 2009. Voters chose her as an individual member of the People of Freedom party, when she stood for parliament for the second time.  In 2011, she married Francesco Boccia, the Minister for Regional Affairs and Autonomy. They had a daughter, who they named Gea.  Read more…

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Book of the Day: The Selected Poetry and Prose of Andrea Zanzotto: A Bilingual Edition, by Andrea Zanzotto

Andrea Zanzotto is widely considered Italy’s most influential living poet. The first comprehensive collection in 30 years to translate this master European poet for an English-speaking audience, The Selected Poetry and Prose of Andrea Zanzotto includes poems from 14 of his major books of verse and a selection of 13 essays that helps illuminate themes in his poetry as well as elucidate key theoretical underpinnings of his thought. Assembled with the collaboration of Zanzotto himself and featuring a critical introduction, thorough annotations, and a generous selection of photographs and art, this volume brings an Italian master to vivid life for non-Italian speakers. Translated by: Patrick Baron, Ruth Feldman, Thomas Harrison, Brian Swann, John P Welle and Elizabeth A Wilkins.

Andrea Zanzotto, who was regarded as one of Italy’s greatest 20th century poets, pursued his literary interests alongside his career as a secondary school teacher. 

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9 October

Fra’ Filippo Lippi - Renaissance painter

Mentor of Botticelli who led life of scandal

The controversial 15th century painter Fra’ Filippo Lippi, who famously eloped with a nun who had agreed to pose for him at a Dominican monastery in Prato, died on or close to this day in 1469 in Spoleto, a city in Umbria then part of the Papal States.  He was aged 62 or 63. Because of the scandalous nature of his life, there was speculation after his death that he had been poisoned, possibly by relatives of Lucrezia Buti, the nun who fell for his charms and was the mother of two children by him.  Aside from his colourful private life, Lippi was an important figure in the development of painting.  Himself influenced by Masaccio and Fra’ Angelico, he developed a signature style of his own that was colourful and decorative and characterised by clarity of expression.  His own influence was seen in the works of his pupil Sandro Botticelli and his son, Filippino Lippi.  Born in Florence in 1406, the son of a butcher, Lippi was orphaned when he was two years old. Until he was eight, he lived with an aunt, who then placed him in a Carmelite convent. In 1420 he entered the community of friars at the Monastery of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence.  Read more…

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Stefanina Moro – partisan

Amazing courage of a young girl who protected her compatriots

Brave teenager Stefanina Moro, who served as a partisan during World War II, died on this day in 1944 in Asti as a result of injuries inflicted upon her by Nazis, who caught her and tortured her for information.  Stefanina, who was born in Genoa in 1927, is thought to have been between 16 and 17 years old when she died of her wounds in a hospital in Asti.  After growing up in the Quezzi district in Genoa, Stefanina became a partisan and later served as una staffetta - a courier - responsible for maintaining communications between groups of partisans to help the Italian resistance movement during the war of Italian liberation.  Sadly, in 1944, Stefanina was captured by Nazis and taken to the Casa del Fascio - the local Fascist party headquarters - in Cornigliano, about seven kilometres (4 miles) west of Genoa, to be interrogated. Stefanina was then moved to the Casa dello Studente in Corso Gastaldi, a former university building that was being occupied by the Nazis and had been turned into a prison.  Prisoners were routinely tortured there under the command of an SS officer, Friedrich Engel, who would come to be known as the ‘Executioner of Genoa’ or the ‘Butcher of Genoa.’  Read more…

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Agostina Segatori – artist’s model and restaurateur

Van Gogh paid Italian café owner with works of art in exchange for meals

Agostina Segatori, whose Italian looks inspired many of the top French painters in the 19th century, was born on this day in 1841 in Ancona, a seaport city in the region of Le Marche.  Little is known about Agostina’s early life, but she had moved to Paris before she was 20, because she posed for Edouard Manet’s painting, L’Italienne there in 1860.  Over the next three decades she was to model for Edouard Joseph Dantan, Jean-Baptiste Corot, Jean-Leon Gerome, Eugene Delacroix and Vincent van Gogh. Agostina had a relationship with Dantan that lasted 12 years. Dantan is reputed to have referred to her as Madame Segatori-Morière, which implied she was married to a Monsieur Morière. She had an illegitimate son, Jean-Pierre, with Dantan. Their relationship was stormy and ended in 1884.  Despite having a failed relationship and becoming a single mother, Agostina continued to work as an artist’s model and carefully saved the money she earned.  In 1885 she invested her savings in a café with an Italian theme, the Café du Tambourin. It became a hotspot for artists, writers and critics.  Read more…

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Vajont Dam Disaster

Catastrophic flood may have killed 2,500

Prone to earthquakes because of its unfortunate geology, Italy has suffered many natural disasters over the centuries, yet the horrific catastrophe that took place on this day in 1963 in an Alpine valley about 100km north of Venice, killing perhaps as many as 2,500 people, was to a significant extent man-made.  The Vajont Dam Disaster happened when a section of a mountain straddling the border of the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions in the Friulian Dolomites collapsed in a massive landslide, dumping 260 million cubic metres of forest, earth and rock into a deep, narrow reservoir created to generate hydroelectric power for Italy's industrial northern cities.  The chunk of Monte Toc that came away after days of heavy rain was the size of a small town yet within moments it was moving towards the water at 100km per hour (62mph) and hit the surface of the reservoir in less than a minute.  The effect was almost unimaginable.  Within seconds, 50 million cubic metres of water was displaced, creating a tsunami that rose to 250m high.  The dam held, but the colossal volume of water had nowhere to go.  Read more…

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Gabriele Falloppio – anatomist and physician

Professor made key discoveries about human reproduction   

Gabriele Falloppio, one of the most important physicians and anatomists of the 16th century, died on this day in 1562 in Padua.  Often known by his Latin name Fallopius, he lived only 39 years yet made his mark with a series of discoveries that expanded medical knowledge significantly.  He worked mainly on the anatomy of the head and the reproductive organs in both sexes and is best known for identifying the tubes that connect the ovaries to the uterus, which are known even today as Fallopian tubes.  He also discovered several major nerves of the head and face, and identified many of the components of the hearing and balance systems.  Falloppio described all of the findings of his research in a book published a year before he died, entitled Observationes anatomicae.  Educated initially in the classics, the death of his father plunged his family – noble but not wealthy – into financial difficulties, prompting him to pursue the security of a career in the church, becoming a priest in 1542. He served as a canon at the cathedral in his native Modena.  Falloppio retained an ambition to study medicine, however, and when the family’s finances had improved sufficiently he enrolled at the University of Ferrara.  Read more…

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Salimbene di Adam – historian

Friar's records provided important information on history of Italy

Salimbene di Adam, a Franciscan friar, whose yearly chronicles became a valued source for historians, was born on this day in 1221 in Parma in Emilia-Romagna.  Sometimes also referred to as Salimbene di Parma, he was the son of Guido di Adam, a wealthy Parma citizen. Salimbene entered the Franciscan Order in 1238 and served his novitiate in the Monastery of Fano on the Adriatic coast.  As Fra Salimbene, he led a wandering existence and never held any office in his order. He transferred from one monastery to another, meeting notable people and becoming an eyewitness to historic events.  In the 1240s he travelled to Lucca, Pisa and Cremona, and also visited France.  On his return to Italy in 1248 he went to Ferrarra where he stayed for several years. But he then went on his travels again, staying in Franciscan convents in northern Italy.  Fra' Salimbene began to write his Chronicles (Cronica) in 1282 and continued to work on them until his death.  Organised as yearly records, the Chronicles cover the years 1168 to 1288 starting with the founding of the city of Alessandria to the south of Milan by the Lombard league.  Read more…

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Book of the Day: Art in Renaissance Italy (Fourth Edition), by John T Paoletti and Gary M Radke 

With a freshness and breadth of approach that sets the art in its context, Art in Renaissance Italy explores why works were created and who commissioned the palaces, cathedrals, paintings, and sculptures. It covers Rome and Florence, Venice and the Veneto, Assisi, Siena, Milan, Pavia, Genoa, Padua, Mantua, Verona, Ferrara, Urbino, and Naples. Chapters are grouped into four chronological parts, allowing for a sustained examination of individual cities in different periods. "Contemporary Scene" boxes provide fascinating glimpses of daily life and "Contemporary Voice" boxes quote from painters and writers of the time. Innovative and scholarly, yet accessible and beautifully presented, this book is a definitive work on the Italian Renaissance. This revised edition contains around 200 new pictures and nearly all colour images. The chapter structure has also been improved for yet greater geographic and chronological clarity, and a new page size makes the volume more user-friendly.

John Paoletti taught the history of Italian Renaissance art and of the art of the 20th century at the Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut from 1972 to 2009. He was a William R Kenan Professor of the Humanities from 2005 until his retirement. Gary Radke, who served as Dean's Professor of the Humanities and professor of art history at Syracuse University in New York, is one of the world's leading experts on Italian Medieval and Renaissance art and architecture.

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8 October

Antonio Cabrini - World Cup winner

Star of 1982 part of formidable Juventus team

World Cup winner and former Juventus defender Antonio Cabrini was born on this day in 1957 in Cremona.  Cabrini, who was coach of the Italy women’s football team for five years until 2017, took his first steps in professional football with his local team, Cremonese, and moved from there to Atalanta of Bergamo, but it was with the Turin club Juventus that he made his mark, forming part of a formidable defence that included goalkeeper Dino Zoff plus the centre-back Claudio Gentile and the sweeper Gaetano Scirea.  During Cabrini's 13 seasons in Turin, the Bianconeri won the Serie A title six times, as well as the 1985 European Cup, plus the Coppa Italia twice, the UEFA Cup and the European Super Cup, and the Intercontinental Cup.  Milan's Paolo Maldini tends to be recognised as the greatest defensive player produced by Italy but Cabrini's abilities put him only just behind.  Known by his fans as Bell'Antonio for his good looks and the elegance of his football, Cabrini's game possessed all the qualities required of a left-back.  His positional sense and speed of thought served him well in defensive duties and he was also exceptional going forward.  Read more…

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Vincenzo Peruggia – art thief

Gallery worker who stole the Mona Lisa

Vincenzo Peruggia, a handyman who earned notoriety when he pulled off the most famous art theft in history, was born on this day in 1881 in Dumenza in Lombardy, a village on the Swiss border.  Peruggia stole Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa from the Louvre in Paris and evaded detection for more than two years, even though he was questioned by police over the painting’s disappearance.  It was only when he attempted to sell the iconic painting - thought to be of Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a cloth and silk merchant - to an art dealer in Florence that he was arrested.  Experts accept that, although the Mona Lisa - sometimes known in Italy as La Gioconda - was a notable work, it is open to debate whether it was the best of all the magnificent pieces created by the Tuscan Renaissance genius, whose other masterpieces included The Last Supper and The Virgin of the Rocks and other outstanding portraits, such as The Lady with an Ermine.  Yet it is without question the most famous painting in the world and enjoys that status largely because of Peruggia’s audacious crime.  The theft took place on August 21, 1911, a Monday morning, when Peruggia removed the painting from the wall of the Salon Carré in the Musée du Louvre on the Right Bank of the Seine.  Read more…

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Giulio Caccini - composer

16th century singer who helped create opera genre

The singer and composer Giulio Caccini, who was a key figure in the advance of Baroque style in music and wrote musical dramas that would now be recognised as opera, was born on this day in 1551.  The father of the composer Francesca Caccini and the singer Settimia Caccini, he served for some years at the court of the Medici family in Florence, by whom he was also employed, as a somewhat unusual sideline, as a spy.  Caccini wrote the music for three operas and published two collections of songs and madrigals.  His songs for solo voice accompanied by one musical instrument gained him particular fame and he is remembered now for one particular song, a madrigal entitled Amarilli, mia bella, which is often sung by voice students.  Caccini is thought to have been born in Tivoli, just outside Rome, the son of a carpenter, Michelangelo Caccini, from Montopoli, near Pisa.  His younger brother, Giovanni, became a sculptor and architect in Florence.  He developed his voice as a boy soprano in the prestigious Cappella Giulia at St. Peter’s basilica in Rome, studying under maestro di cappella Giovanni Animuccia.   Read more…

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Book of the Day: Juve!: 100 Years of an Italian Football Dynasty, by Herbie Sykes

The definitive history of the iconic football club: the glory, the scandal, the stars and its enduring influence on Italian life.  Juventus utterly dominates the Italian game. Home to some of the biggest names in sport, it has won title after title, trophy after trophy. However, parallel to the success and myth, there's a murkier reality. For one hundred years the club and its billionaire owners, the Agnelli family, have been synonymous with match-fixing, doping, political chicanery and more. While La Vecchia Signora remains Italy's best-supported team, it's also its most despised.  Juve! charts the story of Italy's great sporting dynasty, chronicling the triumphs and tragedies of the Agnellis, and of the icons - Boniperti, Del Piero, Ronaldo - who have been their sporting emissaries for almost a century. The pride of Italy or its dark heart? Footballing colossus or vanity project? With this unique institution, as with so much about life in Italy, things are seldom black and white…

Herbie Sykes is an English author and journalist. He has written six books, four of them about the Giro d’Italia. His biography of the defected East German cyclist Dieter Wiedemann, entitled The Race Against the Stasi, was Cycling Book of the Year at the Cross British Sports Book Awards. This is his first football book, reflecting an interest in Juventus that blossomed after he attended his first Turin derby in 1991. 

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Carlo Cracco - chef and TV presenter

Former MasterChef Italia judge has won six Michelin stars

Carlo Cracco learned his craft under
renowned chef Gualtiero Marchesi

The chef and television presenter Carlo Cracco, who has restaurants in Milan, the jet-set resort of Portofino and is shortly to open his first venture in London, was born on this day in Creazzo, a town just outside the city of Vicenza.

During his career as a chef, which began in earnest when he began working for the renowned Gualtiero Marchesi in Milan in 1986, Cracco has been awarded a total of six Michelin stars.

He has also enjoyed a successful career in television. Between 2011 and 2017 he was a judge on MasterChef Italia and he fronted Hell’s Kitchen Italia from 2014 to 2018. Among other shows in which he participated was Cracco Confidential, a 2018 documentary about a year in his life.

The son of a railway worker, Cracco obtained a diploma in hospitality from the Pellegrino Artusi hotel institute in Recoaro Terme, while working at the Da Remo restaurant in Vicenza.

From there he joined the kitchen of Gualtiero Marchesi at his eponymous restaurant in Via Bonvesin de la Riva in Milan.

The experience was a real baptism of fire. Marchesi is regarded as the Godfather of modern Italian cuisine and his restaurant in the Porta Venezia district of central Milan was the first in Italy to be awarded three Michelin stars.

To expand his knowledge, Cracco spent some time in France, working with leading chefs Alain Ducasse at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo, and Alain Senderins at the Lucas Carlton in Paris.

Cracco's flagship restaurant can be
found in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Returning to Italy in 1991, Cracco became head chef at L’Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence, winning his first two Michelin stars, before reuniting with his mentor Marchesi at L’Albereta, in the town of Erbusco, near Brescia.

From there, he decided to go it alone. After his first venture, Le Clivie at Piobesi d'Alba, southwest of Asti in Piedmont, had earned him another Michelin star, he returned to Milan, where he agreed a deal with the owners of Peck, the luxury food emporium, to open a restaurant called Peck-Cracco.

It was awarded two Michelin stars, soon becoming known simply as ‘Cracco’. He would remain there for 17 years before relocating to new premises within the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the glass-domed 19th century shopping arcade that links Piazza del Duomo with Piazza della Scala. 

Also in Milan, Cracco opened Carlo e Camilla in Segheria, a bistro that takes its name from a disused sawmill, in the Navigli area. In November 2016 he opened his first restaurant outside Italy, OVO by Carlo Cracco, located in Moscow inside the Hotel Lotte.

His Portofino restaurant, Cracco Portofino, opened in 2021 in what was previously the Ristorante Il Pitosforo, directly opposite the harbour. His first London venture - Terra Cracco - within the Eataly food store in Bishopsgate, London is due to open in October, 2024.

From 2014 to 2018, Cracco fronted the
reality TV show Hell's Kitchen Italia

Cracco’s inventive creations include twists on traditional dishes such as Cotoletta alla Milanese and Insalata Russa. His version of the Milanese veal cutlet is a slice of pounded raw Piedmont veal on a rectangle of breadcrumbs, with slivers of lemon peel on the side. 

His Russian Salad, meanwhile, comes caramelised, a crisp nugget of peas, carrot and beans with a creamy mayonnaise centre within its sugar shell. 

Another of Cracco’s signature creations is his marinated egg yolk in salt and sugar, which can be rolled out into pasta without the addition of flour or water.

Not all of his inventions have met with universal approval. His 'healthy' pizza with a grain base was mocked by traditionalists, particularly in Naples, while the town of Amatrice in Lazio disapproved of his addition of garlic to their trademark amatriciana pasta sauce, which is made simply with guanciale (pig’s cheek), tomatoes, pecorino cheese and black pepper.

However, Cracco successfully sued a newspaper in Verona over comments made by its editor following a dinner to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the city’s annual wine festival, where 400 guests were served with a meal cooked by the chef and his team. 

The Villa Masiero-Pegoraro-Monti is one of a 
several elegant villas in the hills around Creazzo

Travel tip:

Creazzo, where Carlo Cracco was born, has been inhabited since Rome times and perhaps earlier. Situated about 7km (4 miles) west of the city of Vicenza, it has a historical significance because of the Battle of Creazzo in 1513, which was part of the larger conflict between the Republic of Venice and the combined forces of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire, which highlighted the town’s strategic importance. The town came under Venetian rule and the influence of Venetian architecture and culture can still be seen in the town’s buildings and traditions. In an area of fertile land, Creazzo is known for the production of figs, cheese and a variety of broccoli called Broccoli fiolaro di Creazzo. As well as an elegant centre, the hills around Creazzo are also distinguished by a series of elegant villas including the 18th-century Villa Fadinelli-Suppiej, or Villa dei Veneziani; the Villa Legrenzi, also known as Villa del Sole; and the Villa Masiero-Pegoraro-Monti.

The Navigli district is one of the most popular
areas of Milan for restaurants and night life

Travel tip:

The Navigli district, where Cracco opened the Carlo e Camilla in Segheria bistro, is an area to the southwest of central Milan that originally consisted of five canals used for commercial transport in the city that date back to the Middle Ages. Their importance declined in the last century and only two - Naviglio Grande and Naviglio Pavese - still exist.  Once a poor neighbourhood, the Navigli is now very popular for the restaurants and bars that line the two waterways and is often thronged with young Milanese in the evenings. What is reputed to be Milan’s best flea and antiques market is held on the last Sunday of the month, with almost two kilometres (one and a quarter miles) of stalls lining the Naviglio Grande. The area still has some examples of palazzi di ringhiera - tenement buildings with shared balconies - which were once typical of the city. 

Also on this day:

1551: The birth of composer Giulio Caccini

1881: The birth of Mona Lisa thief Vincenzo Perrugia

1957: The birth of footballer Antonio Cabrini

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7 October

Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta - condottiero

Brutal tyrant or sensitive patron of the arts?

One of the most daring military leaders in 15th century Italy, Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, died on this day in 1468 in Rimini.  He had been Lord of Rimini, Fano and Cesena since 1432 and is remembered as a generous patron of the arts during his rule.  Sigismondo commissioned the architect Leon Battista Alberti to build the most famous monument in Rimini, the Church of San Francesco, which is also known as the Tempio Malatestiano, and he welcomed artists and writers to his court.  But partly as a result of a systematic campaign of defamation by his enemy, Pope Pius II, some historians have ascribed a reputation for brutality to him.  Sigismondo was one of three illegitimate sons of Pandolfo Malatesta, who had ruled over Brescia and Bergamo between 1404 and 1421.  At the age of ten, after the death of his father, Sigismondo went to Rimini with his brothers to the court of his uncle, Carlo Malatesta. His birth was later legitimised by Pope Martin V.  After Carlo’s death, Sigismondo’s older brother inherited the Lordship of Rimini, but after two years he abandoned it to go into a monastery and handed over power to Sigismondo.  Read more…

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Michelozzo - architect and sculptor

His designs became a template for Renaissance palaces 

The influential Florentine architect and sculptor Michelozzo di Bartolomeo Michelozzi died on this day in 1472 in his home city. Known sometimes as Michelozzi but more usually Michelozzo, he is most famous for the palace in the centre of Florence he built on behalf of one of his principal employers, Cosimo de’ Medici, the head of the Medici banking dynasty, for which he developed original design features that became a template for architects not only of the Renaissance era but in later years too. He was similarly innovative in his work on the ruined convent of San Marco in Florence, also on behalf of Cosimo, which he completely rebuilt. Such was the influence of these two buildings on many projects during one of the busiest periods of architectural development in Italy’s history that the Palazzo Medici Riccardi, as it became known to reflect its ownership by the Riccardi family after 1659, came to be called ‘the first Renaissance palace’ and San Marco ‘the first Renaissance church’. His other notable works in Florence include the renovation of the Basilica of della Santissima Annunziata and some additions to the Basilica di Santa Croce, while outside the city he built or renovated a number of villas for the Medici family. Read more…

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Rosalba Carriera - portrait painter

Venetian artist specialised in miniatures

One of the most successful women painters in the history of art, Rosalba Carriera is thought to have been born on this day in 1675 in Venice.  A pioneer of the Rococo style, she worked in pastel colours and was best known for her portraits. Her work was so admired that at her peak she had an almost constant stream of commissions from notable visitors to Venice, and from diplomats and nobility in the courts of other countries, principally France and Austria.  Born into a middle-class background, she was able to live a relatively comfortable life, although she would outlive her family, including her two sisters, and had gone blind by the time she died, at the age of 84.  Nowadays, Carriera’s portraits are as highly sought after as they were in the 18th century, with prices in the tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds realised when examples come up for auction.  One of the finest such examples, a portrait of the Irish politician Gustavus Hamilton, who was a colonel in the regiment of William of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne, fetched £421,250 at Christie’s in 2008.  The daughter of a clerk and a lacemaker, Carriera is said to have learned lacemaking from her mother but as the lace industry declined she began decorating snuff boxes with miniature portraits, to be sold to tourists.  Read more…

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Gabriele Corcos - celebrity cook

YouTube recipe blog led to TV fame in US

The TV cook and author Gabriele Corcos, whose show Extra Virgin on the Cooking Channel has given him celebrity status in the United States, was born on this day in 1972 in Fiesole, a town in the Tuscan hills just outside Florence.  He was invited to produce and host the show - the first original cookery programme to go out on the network when it launched in 2010 - after his YouTube channel, in which he prepared traditional Tuscan dishes, attracted a large following of devoted fans.  The Cooking Channel show was so successful it ran for five seasons, with 68 episodes, spawning a best-selling book of Tuscan recipes and a further show, Extra Virgin Americana, in which he starred with his wife, the actress Debi Mazar.  Corcos became a star of the kitchen without ever intending it to be his career.  His parents - his father was a surgeon, his mother a schoolteacher - wanted him to achieve his academic potential, while he was eager to find paid employment. He found a compromise by joining the army with the intention of qualifying as a medic, only to realise that the reward for graduating was to be posted to Kosovo, Somalia or Iraq.  Read more…

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Saint Giustina of Padua

Murdered by Romans in last major purge of Christians

On the Italian catholic calendar, today is the feast day of Santa Giustina of Padua, celebrating the memory of a young woman executed on this day in 304 in the city of Padua.  Little is known about the life of Giustina apart from her faith. Born into a noble family in Padua, she took a vow of chastity and devoted her life to God and teaching the values of Christianity.  She died as a victim of the purge of Christians undertaken by the Roman Emperor Diocletian.  Persecution of Christians by the Romans was nothing new. Christians were regarded with suspicion and seen as subversive at times. When misfortune struck the Roman Empire they were often blamed. Feeding Christians to lions was once seen as entertainment.  Even as Christianity grew and attitudes softened, there were still emperors from time to time who decided to take a hard line.  One was Diocletian, who had come to power in 284.  Following an edict that rescinded all legal rights for Christians and compelled Christians to sacrifice to Roman gods or face imprisonment or execution, Diocletian launched what became known as the Diocletian Persecution.  Read more…

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Book of the Day: Mercenaries and Their Masters: Warfare in Renaissance Italy, by Michael Mallett

Michael Mallett's classic study of Renaissance warfare in Italy is as relevant today as it was when it was first published a generation ago. His lucid account of the age of the condottieri - the mercenary captains of fortune - and of the soldiers who fought under them is set in the wider context of the Italian society of the time and of the warring city-states who employed them. A fascinating picture emerges of the mercenaries themselves, of their commanders and their campaigns, but also of the way in which war was organised and practised in the Renaissance world. The book concentrates on the 15th century, a confused period of turbulence and transition when standing armies were formed in Italy and more modern types of military organisation took hold across Europe. But it also looks back to the middle ages and the 14th century, and forward to the Italian wars of the 16th century when foreign armies disputed the European balance of power on Italian soil. Mercenaries and Their Masters, which embodies much scholarly research into this neglected, often misunderstood subject, is essential reading for any one who is keen to understand the history of warfare in the late mediaeval period and the Renaissance.

The late Michael Mallett was professor of history at the University of Warwick. He is best known for his outstanding books on Renaissance Italy, in particular The Florentine Galleys in the Fifteenth Century and The Borgias.

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6 October

Ottavio Bianchi - football coach

The northerner who steered Napoli to first scudetto

Ottavio Bianchi, the coach who guided Napoli to their first Serie A title in the Italian football championship, was born on this day in 1943 in the northern Italian city of Brescia.  Napoli, who had been runners-up four times in Italy's elite league, broke their duck by winning the scudetto in the 1986-87 season, when Bianchi built his side around the forward line consisting initially of the World Cup-winning Argentina star Diego Maradona, the Italy strikers Bruno Giordano and Andrea Carnevale.  After the arrival of the Brazilian forward Careca to partner Maradona and Giordano, the trio became collectively known as MaGiCa.  Bianchi’s team began the 1986-87 season with a 13-match unbeaten run. It came to an end with an away defeat against Fiorentina but Napoli lost only two more matches all season, winning the title by three points from Juventus to spark wild celebrations in Naples.  It is a reflection of how defensively-minded Italian football coaches were at the time that Napoli won the title despite scoring only 41 goals in 30 matches, with Maradona (10) the only individual player to reach double figures.  Read more…

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Bruno Sammartino - wrestling champion

How a sickly kid from Abruzzo became king of the ring

Bruno Sammartino, who found fame as a professional wrestler in the United States, was born on this day in 1935 in Pizzoferrato, a village in the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region.  He died in 2018 at the age of 82, having spent the last years of his life in Ross Township in Pennsylvania, about six miles north of the city of Pittsburgh.  Sammartino held the title of world heavyweight champion under the banner of the World Wide Wrestling Federation - now known as World Wrestling Entertainment - for more than 11 years in two reigns. The first of those, spanning seven years, eight months and one day, is the longest any individual has held the title continuously since it was first contested in 1963.  At his peak in the ring, Sammartino weighed in at 265lbs (120kg), yet it was something of a miracle that he survived his childhood.  Sammartino grew up in a mountainous region of Abruzzo now known as the Majella (or Maiella) National Park, still populated by bears, wolves and wild cats.  Life was tough, especially during the harsh winter months. He was the youngest of seven brothers and sisters, four of whom did not make it into adulthood.  Read more…

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The October Martyrs of Lanciano

Heroic group of partisans earned Gold Medal for Valour

The town of Lanciano in Abruzzo today and every October 6 remembers the 23 citizens killed by German troops on this day in 1943 after one of the most celebrated revolts of World War Two against the occupying Nazi forces.  The group became known as the Martiri ottobrini di Lanciano - the October Martyrs of Lanciano. Their deeds were recognised by the postwar Italian government with the award - to all the citizens of the town - of the Gold Medal for Military Valour, and there are a number of monuments in the town that commemorate the event and the participants.  As well as 11 partisan resistance fighters, another 12 Lancianese who fought alongside them were killed by the Germans. The leader of the partigiani group, a 28-year-old former soldier named Trentino La Barba, was posthumously awarded the Gold Medal for Valour in his own right. Three others were honoured with Silver Medals.  Lanciano - 22km (14 miles) southeast of the city of Chieti and about 30km (19 miles) from the coastal resort of Pescara - had the misfortune to be one of the key municipalities close to the Gustav Line, one of the major defensive lines established by the Germans to counter the Allied invasion of the Italian peninsula.  Read more…

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Maria Bertilla Boscardin – wartime nurse

Brave nun was prepared to die caring for others

Maria Bertilla Boscardin, a nun who was canonised for her devoted nursing of sick children and air raid victims in the First World War, was born on this day in 1888 in Brendola, a small town in the Veneto.  She was beatified by Pope Pius XII in 1952, just 30 years after she died, and made a saint by Pope John XXIII nine years later.  It was one of the quicker canonisations of modern history. Sometimes many decades or even hundreds of years pass before a person’s life is recognised with sainthood.  Boscardin’s came so swiftly that relatives and some of the patients she cared for were present at her canonisation ceremony. Indeed, her father, Angelo, was asked to provide testimony during the beatification process.  Born into a peasant family, who knew her as Annette, her life in Brendola, which is about 15km (9 miles) southwest of Vicenza, was tough.  She was seen as rather a slow-witted child, mocked by her peers and unkindly nicknamed ‘the goose’ even by the local priest. Her father, a drunkard, was often abusive and violent.  She wanted to become educated but her attendance at school was at times only sporadic because her family required her to work.  Read more…

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Book of the Day: More than Maradona: The Birth, Death and Rebirth of SSC Napoli, by Kirsten Schlewitz

Due out on 31 October, this first English-language history of one of Italy’s most popular teams will appeal to both supporters and newcomers alike, revealing the reasons so many are smitten with SSC Napoli.  Diego Maradona spent less than seven seasons with Napoli, but during that time the Italian club soared to its greatest heights, winning the Serie A title twice and the Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italia, and UEFA Cup once.  Until very recently, for most soccer lovers, the Partenopei story begins and ends with Maradona. Yet Napoli’s history is packed with fascinating figures, from owners to players to the legend-turned-sport-director who brought in the beloved deity.  More than Maradona highlights this cast of characters, spotlights the side’s most intriguing years, and ties both back to the history and culture of Naples, a rare one-club town. Primarily written prior to the 2023 scudetto, the book concludes with an ecstatic finale covering the season in which Napoli dominated Serie A.

Kirsten Schlewitz has written for ESPN and The Guardian, plus the blogs Far From Vesuvius, aimed at Napoli fans, and The Gentleman Ultra. She is studying for a Master’s in Justice and Reconciliation, and splits her time between Belgrade, Serbia and the Pacific Northwest.

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