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Galeazzo Alessi – architect
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Brilliant designer left legacy of beautiful palaces and churches
Italian architect Galeazzo Alessi, who designed some of the most impressive buildings in Genoa and Assisi, died on this day in 1572. Born in Perugia in 1512, Alessi studied drawing for both civil and military architecture and developed great enthusiasm for ancient architecture, although he was also later influenced by Michelangelo. He became known throughout Europe for his distinctive style and towards the end of his career was commissioned to design churches and palaces in France, Germany, Belgium and Spain. A lot of his work can still be seen in Perugia and Assisi, where, in collaboration with another architect, Alessi designed the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in 1568. In Genoa he designed some of the beautiful palaces with ornate decoration that have now been listed as Unesco world heritage sites and he was involved in planning the lay-out of the streets and the restoration of the city walls. Read more…
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Titus – Roman emperor
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'Good' ruler who helped victims of Vesuvius eruption
The Roman emperor Titus was born Titus Flavius Vespasianus on this day in AD 39. He was emperor from 79 to 81 and is remembered for capturing Jerusalem and for completing the Colosseum in Rome. Two months after his accession, on August 24, 79, Mount Vesuvius in Campania began erupting, eventually killing thousands of people around Pompeii and Herculaneum. Titus appointed officials to coordinate the relief effort, while donating large amounts of money from the imperial treasury to aid the victims. He visited Pompeii twice. Titus was a member of the Flavian dynasty and succeeded his father Vespasian after his death, becoming the first Roman emperor to come to the throne after his biological father. Titus was believed to have been born in Rome on December 30, 39, the eldest son of Titus Flavius Vespasianus, who was commonly known as Vespasian. Read more…
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For a Few Dollars More released in Italy
Second in Spaghetti Western trilogy
The movie For a Few Dollars More, the second in what became known as the Dollars Trilogy of Spaghetti Westerns, was released for public viewing in Italy on this day in 1965. Directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as the Man with No Name, the film followed the unexpected success of the low-budget feature A Fistful of Dollars, released 15 months earlier, which overcame poor initial reviews to become, for a time, the biggest-grossing movie in Italian cinema history. Released for Italian audiences as Per Qualche Dollaro in Più, the follow-up proved even more commercially successful than its predecessor. By 1967, it had displaced A Fistful of Dollars as the highest-grossing Italian production, generating 3.1 billion lire ($5 million) in ticket sales from more than 14 and a half million admissions. Read more…
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Camila Giorgi - tennis player
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Former Italian No 1 who specialised in beating big names
The former tennis player Camila Giorgi, who at her peak climbed to 26 in the world rankings and was Italy's No 1 female player, was born on this day in 1991 in Macerata, a city in the Marche region. At the time, there was no other Italian woman in the top 100 Women's Tennis Association world rankings. The breakthrough year for Giorgi came in 2018, when she reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam event for the only time, at the Wimbledon Championships in London. Giorgi was not seeded but after defeating 21st seed Anastasija Sevastova in the first round, she advanced through her section of the draw with three more victories, culminating in a straight-sets win over former world No 8 Ekaterina Makarova in the fourth round. That earned Giorgi a last-eight meeting with seven-times Wimbledon champion and world record grand slam winner Serena Williams. Read more…
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Alessandra Mussolini – politician
Controversial granddaughter of Fascist dictator
The MEP Alessandra Mussolini, niece of actress Sophia Loren and granddaughter of Italy’s former Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, was born on this day in 1962 in Rome. Formerly an actress and model, Mussolini entered politics in the early 1990s as a member of the neofascist Movimento Sociale Italiano, which had its roots in the Italian Social Republic, the German puppet state led by her grandfather from September 1943 until his death in April 1945. Her views have changed in more recent years and she has become known for embracing modern issues including abortion, artificial insemination, gay rights and civil unions from a progressive standpoint that has more in common with left-wing feminism. She has left behind her association with the far right and serves in the European Parliament as representative for Central Italy under a centre-right Forza Italia ticket. Read more…
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Book of the Day: Lonely Planet Pocket Genoa & Cinque Terre, by Brendan Sainsbury
Brendan Sainsbury is a British writer who has been a resident of British Columbia, Canada, since 2004. He has written 60 Lonely Planet guidebooks, specialising in Cuba, Andalucia, Italy, Colombia and Alaska.
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