16 October

NEW - Gasparo Contarini – Cardinal 

Writer and diplomat portrayed Venice as an ideal society

Gasparo Contarini, a Venetian nobleman who served as a diplomat and then became a Cardinal, was born on this day in 1483 in Venice. He was the first person in Europe to explain why the 1519-22 Magellan-Elcano expedition to circumnavigate the globe apparently lost a day because of the Earth’s spin.  Contarini was an advocate for holding discussions with the Protestants during the Reformation, and he also tried to help restore religious unity in Germany. His writing praised the Venetian system of government and aimed to glorify Venice as a republic. The Contarini were one of Venice's longest-established noble families. Gasparo received a scientific and philosophical education at the University of Padua. He served as the Republic’s ambassador to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, while having to defend Venice’s alliance with Francis I of France, who was an enemy of the emperor.  Read more…

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Dino Buzzati - author

Novelist likened to Camus whose short stories remain popular

The multi-talented author Dino Buzzati, whose output included five novels, several plays, a children’s novel, five opera libretti, some poetry, a comic book in which he also drew the illustrations, and several books of short stories, was born on this day in 1906 in Belluno.  Buzzati’s most famous novel, Il deserto dei Tartari (1940), titled The Tartar Steppe in the English translation, saw Buzzati compared to Albert Camus and Franz Kafka as a work of existentialist style, but it is for his short stories that he still wins acclaim.  Several new collections of stories have been published in recent years, showcasing Buzzati’s extraordinary talent. Buzzati, who worked as a journalist for the whole of his adult life and also painted prolifically, was one of four children born to Giulio Cesare Buzzati, a professor of international law. Read more…

Dorando Pietri - marathon runner

Athlete who made his fortune from famous disqualification

The athlete Dorando Pietri, who found fame and fortune after being disqualified in the 1908 Olympic marathon, was born on this day in 1885 in Mandrio, a hamlet near Carpi, in Emilia-Romagna.  In an extraordinary finish to the 1908 race in London, staged on an exceptionally warm July day, Pietri entered the White City Stadium in first place, urged on by a crowd of more than 75,000 who were there to witness the finish, only for his legs to buckle beneath him.  He was helped to his feet by two officials only to fall down four more times before he crossed the finish line.  Each time, officials hauled him to his feet and walked alongside him, urging him on and ready to catch him if he fell.  The final 350 yards (320m) of the event accounted for 10 minutes of the two hours, 54 minutes and 46 seconds recorded as his official time.  Read more… 

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Election of Pope John Paul II

How Karol Wojtyla became first non-Italian pope for 455 years

Pope John Paul II, who was to have a political and social influence unmatched by any pontiff since the Middle Ages, was elected to be the new leader of the Catholic Church on this day in 1978.  The result of the second Papal conclave in what became known as the Year of the Three Popes was announced after eight ballots. The new pontiff succeeded Pope John Paul I, who had died on September 28 after only 33 days in office, who had himself followed Pope Paul VI, who had passed away in August after reigning for 15 years.  The new man chosen was 58-year-old Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, then Archbishop of Kraków, the first non-Italian to hold office for 455 years since the Dutch Pope Adam VI, who served from 1522-23.  Wojtyla's stand against Poland's Communist regime had brought him respect but he was not seen as a Vatican favourite. Read more…

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Book of the Day: A History of Venice, by John Julius Norwich

A History of Venice tells the story of this most remarkable of cities from its founding in the fifth century, through its unrivalled status for over a thousand years as one of the world's busiest and most powerful city states, until its fall at the hands of Napoleon in 1797. Rich in fascinating historical detail, populated by extraordinary characters and packed with a wealth of incident and intrigue, this is a brilliant testament to a great city - and a great and gripping read. Written by a renowned historian, and author of A Short History of Byzantium, John Julius Norwich's classic work can be regarded as the standard history of Venice in the English language.

John Julius Norwich was born in 1929. He was educated at Upper Canada College, Toronto, at Eton, at the University of Strasbourg and, after a spell of National Service in the Navy, at New College, Oxford, where he took a degree in French and Russian. After 12 years in the Foreign Service, for whom he served at the embassies in Belgrade and Beirut, in 1964 he resigned from the service to write. He also wrote and presented some 30 historical documentaries on television.

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