Lorenzo Ghiberti – sculptor
Goldsmith renowned for 'Gates of Paradise'
Sculptor, goldsmith and architect Lorenzo Ghiberti died on this day in 1455 in Florence. Part of his legacy were the magnificent doors he created for the Baptistery of the Florence Duomo that have become known as the Gates of Paradise. Ghiberti had become a man of learning, living up to the image of the early 15th century artist as a student of antiquity, who was investigative, ambitious and highly creative. His Commentaries - I Commentarii - which he started to write in 1447, include judgements on the great contemporary and 14th century masters as well as his scientific theories on optics and anatomy. Ghiberti was born in 1378 in Pelago near Florence and was trained as a goldsmith by Bartolo di Michele, whom his mother had married in 1406. Ghiberti took his name from his mother’s first husband, Cione Ghiberti, although he later claimed that Di Michele was his real father. Read more…
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Alberto Cova - Olympic champion
Los Angeles gold completed 10k hat-trick
Alberto Cova, the athlete who won the 10,000 metres gold medal at the 1984 Olympics, was born on this day in 1958 in Inverigo, a small town not far from Lake Como and a little under 40km (25 miles) north of Milan. Cova's triumph at the 1984 Los Angeles Games completed a golden hat-trick of 10,000m titles, following on from his gold medals over the distance at the 1982 European Championships in Athens and the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki. He was not able to maintain that form, however. He was run out of the gold on the final lap of the 10,000m by fellow Italian Stefano Mai at the European Championships in Stuttgart in 1986 and failed to qualify for the final at the Seoul Olympics in 1988, which proved to be his last international competition. Cova's chief asset was his devastating sprint finish, which could be nullified in a race run at a strong pace throughout but often was not. Read more…
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Giuseppe Sarti – composer
Musician and teacher whose work inspired Mozart
Giuseppe Sarti, who composed more than 50 operas and a large quantity of liturgical music, was baptised on this day in 1729 in Faenza, in what used to be the Papal States, but is now part of the region of Emilia-Romagna. Sometimes referred to as Il Domenichino, Sarti was playing the organ in Faenza by the time he was 13, but he then went to Bologna to study the organ and composition. He returned to Faenza to become organist at the cathedral and the director of the theatre there and began writing operas. He was successful with his first opera, Pompeo in Armenia, which is believed to have been first performed in 1752. It was seen as establishing his musical capabilities while he was still in his early 20s. After his second opera, Il re pastore, was well received in Venice in 1753, Sarti spent the next 20 years in Copenhagen. Read more…
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Eugenio Monti - bobsleigh champion
Olympic winner who was honoured for sportsmanship
The double Olympic bobsleigh champion Eugenio Monti, who became the first athlete to be awarded the Pierre de Coubertin Medal for sportsmanship, died on this day in 2003 in Belluno. Monti was recognised with the award after the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck, during which he twice made gestures of selfless generosity towards opponents, both of which arguably cost him the chance of a gold medal. The preeminent bobsleigh driver in the world going into the 1964 Games and an eight-time world champion in two and four-man events, Monti was desperate to add Olympic golds to his medal collection. He had won silver in both his specialisations when Italy hosted the Winter Olympics in 1956 and was denied the opportunity to improve on that four years later when the 1960 Games at Squaw Valley in California went ahead with no bobsleigh events. Read more…
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Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci - footballer
Golden boy of Italia ‘90 went on to coach future players
The star of Italy’s 1990 World Cup campaign, Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci was born on this day in Palermo in Sicily in 1964. Schillaci was born into a struggling, working class household. He began his football career with Messina in Sicily, playing in Serie B, but his goals earned him a move to Serie A giants Juventus in 1989. He hit 21 goals in his first season for Juventus, earning a call-up to the national team. He made his debut in a friendly in March, just three months before the World Cup finals began. Despite his status as a novice in terms of international football, coach Azeglio Vicini named him for the Italy squad seeking to win the World Cup as hosts. Schillaci was the sensation of the tournament, coming off the bench to score the only goal in Italy's opening match against Austria. He made his first start against Czechoslovakia in the third of their group games and scored again. Read more…
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Book of the Day: The Gates of Paradise: Lorenzo Ghiberti's Renaissance Masterpiece, by Gary M Radke
Gary M Radke is Dean’s Professor of the Humanities at Syracuse University in New York. He is editor of a book on Verrocchio’s David and co-author of Art, Power, and Patronage in Renaissance Florence, among many other publications on Italian Renaissance art.