Renzo De Felice - historian
Mussolini biographer whose views on fascism aroused anger
The controversial historian Renzo De Felice, best known for his 6,000-page four-volume biography of Benito Mussolini, was born on this day in 1929 in Rieti, the northernmost city in Lazio. Although De Felice was Jewish and his other major work described in detail the persecution of Jews in Italy under Mussolini’s rule, he sparked considerable anger by arguing that the postwar world view of fascism should be revised to recognise that the ideology in itself was not inherently evil. De Felice contended that fascism as a political movement in Italy was not the same as Fascism as a regime, arguing that the former was a revolutionary middle-class ideology that had its roots in the progressive thinking of the Age of Enlightenment. He argued that the ideology was effectively hijacked by Mussolini to provide the superstructure for his dictatorship and personal ambition. Read more…
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Lorenzo the Magnificent - Renaissance ruler
Patron of the arts who sponsored Michelangelo and Botticelli
Lorenzo de’ Medici, the ruler of Florence usually known as Lorenzo the Magnificent, died on this day in 1492 in the Medici villa at Careggi, just to the north of the city. He was only 43 and is thought to have developed gangrene as a result of an inherited genetic condition. He had survived an assassination attempt 14 years earlier in what became known as the Pazzi Conspiracy, in which his brother, Giuliano, was killed. The grandson of Cosimo de’ Medici, Lorenzo was a strict ruler but history has judged him as a benevolent despot, whose reign coincided with a period of stability and peace in relations between the Italian states. He helped maintain the Peace of Lodi, a treaty agreed in 1454 between Milan, Naples and Florence which was signed by his grandfather. However, he is most remembered as an enthusiastic patron of Renaissance culture. Read more…
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Federico Caprilli - equestrian pioneer
Study of horses revolutionised jumping techniques
Federico Caprilli, the Italian cavalry officer who revolutionised the way horse riders jump fences, was born on this day in 1868 in Livorno. One of four children born to Enrico Caprilli and his wife, Elvira, Federico was bent on an army career from an early age. He enrolled as a cadet at military college in Florence at 13 years old, subsequently transferring to Rome and then Modena. He had no riding experience at the start, and when he graduated with the rank of lieutenant, though an excellent gymnast and proficient fencer, his horsemanship was marked as ‘poor’. Nonetheless, he was assigned to the Royal Piedmont cavalry regiment, where his job, at a time when the introduction of weapons such as the Gatling Gun was negating any battlefield advantage a soldier had from being mounted, was to train horses for new combat roles, such as springing surprise attacks in difficult terrain. Read more…
Giuseppe Tartini – composer and violinist
Baroque musician also contributed to science
Giuseppe Tartini, who was influential in the development of music by establishing the modern style of violin bowing, was born on this day in 1692 in Pirano in the Republic of Venice. A violinist, baroque composer, and theorist, Tartini also formulated the principles of musical ornamentation and harmony. His birthplace of Pirano was part of Venetian territory in the 17th century but is now named Piran and is part of Slovenia. Tartini spent most of his career in Padua, where he went to study divinity and law and became an expert at fencing. Before he reached the age of 20, he had secretly married a protegee of the archbishop of Padua, but this led to him being arrested. He disguised himself as a monk and fled the city, taking refuge in a monastery in Assisi. Later, he was allowed to return to his wife by the archbishop of Padua after news that his violin playing had attracted favourable attention had reached him. Read more…
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Gaetano Donizetti - operatic genius
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The day the music died
A prolific composer of operas in the first half of the 19th century, Gaetano Donizetti died on this day in 1848 in Bergamo in Lombardy. Donizetti had returned to his native city after a brilliant international career to spend his last days in the Palazzo Scotti in the Città Alta, the upper town. By then seriously ill, he was looked after by friends in the gracious surroundings of the palazzo until his death. His tomb is in the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, where it is marked by a white, marble monument. Donizetti has since become acknowledged as the greatest composer of lyrical opera of all time. He was a major influence on Verdi, Puccini and other composers who came after him. His best and most famous operas are considered to be Lucia di Lammermoor, Don Pasquale and L’elisir d’amore. In Largo Gianandrea Gavazzeni in Bergamo’s lower town there is an elaborate white marble monument to the composer next to Teatro Donizetti. Read more…
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Book of the Day: The Jews in Fascist Italy: A History, by Renzo De Felice. Preface by Michael Arthur Ledeen
Renzo De Felice was perhaps the most honoured and respected Italian historian of the 20th century. This book reflects his final revisions on the subject. Michael Arthur Ledeen was an American scholar and foreign policy analyst. As a visiting professor at the University of Rome, he worked with De Felice for two years.
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