Felice Pedroni - prospector

Italian’s discovery sparked Fairbanks Gold Rush

Felice Pedroni, a photograph taken in Alaska
in the early 20th century

The gold prospector known as Felix Pedro was born Felice Pedroni on this day in 1858 in the village of Trignano, near the small Apennine town of Fanano in Emilia-Romagna.

In July 1902, on or around the 22nd, Pedroni discovered gold in the Tanana Hills northeast of the fledgling town of Fairbanks, Alaska in a small, then unnamed stream (later to be called Pedro Creek).

Some claim that Pedroni was the prospector who, on his return to Fairbanks from his prospecting mission, uttered the famous words "There's gold in them there hills", although there are other accounts of where the phrase originated.

What does not seem to be disputed is that Pedroni’s discovery triggered what became known as the Fairbanks Gold Rush as more than 1,000 other gold diggers flooded the area.

Brought up in a family of subsistence farmers in Trignano, Pedroni was the youngest of six brothers. He left Italy in 1881 after the death of his father. He moved first to France, then took the bold decision to board a steamship to America.

After disembarking in New York City, where he was registered as Felix Pedro, he found work as a labourer but, having heard about the gold in Alaska and was determined to get there. As soon as he had saved enough money, Pedroni moved on, first to Ohio, then Washington State, British Columbia and Yukon, each time taking a job and biding his time until he could afford to move on. He became an American citizen in 1888.

Fairbanks quickly developed as a city with the wealth
generated by the gold rush sparked by Pedroni's find

Once in Alaska, Pedroni panned for gold in the Fortymile, the Piledriver Slough and various other waterways, including the 'Lost Creek' in which Pedroni and his partner, Tom Gilmore, claimed to have found a sizable amount of gold in 1898, but were forced to abandon due to lack of food.
Despite marking the spot and searching for it for the next three years, they were unable to find it again.

It was while trying to locate the creek that they were drawn to the camp that would become Fairbanks after seeing plumes of smoke from a steamboat. They dropped down from the hills above the settlement, stocked up with supplies and returned to their search.

This time they did find gold, in the Tanana Hills, northeast of Fairbanks.

Pedroni died in July, 1910 at age 52 at St. Joseph's Hospital in Fairbanks - which by then had grown rapidly to be the largest city in Alaska - reportedly of a heart attack.

This was later disputed by business partner Vincenzo Gambiani, who suspected Pedroni's Irish wife, Mary Ellen Doran, of poisoning him.

The inscription on Felice Pedroni's simple grave in Fanano,
the town near his birthplace in Emilia-Romagna

Pedroni had intended to marry an Italian girl and, in fact, returned to Italy in 1906 a wealthy man, in search of a bride. He thought he had found one in Egle Zanetti, a young teacher from Lizzano in Belvedere with whom he fell in love. She turned down his proposal, however, and returned to Alaska, heartbroken.

By contrast, Mary Doran was said to be a saloon girl of loose morals. Gambiani believed she killed Pedroni so that she might inherit his fortune.

Pedroni’s body was initially shipped to Colma, near San Francisco, to be buried, which is where it remained until October, 1972, when it was found, exhumed, and moved to Italy to be re-interred in Fanano. First, however, some hair samples were tested, the results of which reportedly supported the theory that Pedroni had been murdered.

Today, Pedroni is remembered in Alaska as one of the founding fathers of Fairbanks. In 1947, the Felice Pedroni Monument was erected on the Steese Highway north of Fairbanks, near what is still known as Pedro Creek. The annual Fairbanks Golden Days celebration always begins with a rededication of the monument.

The countryside of the Valle di Ospitale, close to Fanano
in the Frignano regional park in Emilia-Romagna

Travel tip:

Fanano is a town of some 2,500 inhabitants within the Regional Park of the Modenese High Apennines, otherwise known as the Frignano regional park, a rich and colourful natural area of lakes and mountains maintained for the growth and preservation of rare species, animals and plants. The park covers 15 thousand hectares, rising to a height of 2,165 metres (7,100 feet) at the summit of Monte Cimone. Among the several rare species to be found in the park are Alpine Marmots and Apennine Wolves. The area is popular for mountain biking, trekking and orienteering, and snow tracking in the winter. Fanano itself is close to the lakes of Scaffaiolo and Pratignano and the Passo della Croce Arcana, an alpine pass at 1,669m (5,475ft) between outlying areas of Fanano and Cutigliano.

The Ducal Palace in Modena, which dates back to 1635, was
once the most sumptuous palace in Europe

Travel tip:

Fanano is just over 60km (37 miles) from the city of Modena, which is well known for a variety of reasons, as a centre of the car industry - Ferrari, De Tomaso, Lamborghini, Pagani and Maserati all have connections with the city - the home of balsamic vinegar, and the birthplace of the great tenor, Luciano Pavarotti. One of the main sights in Modena is the huge, baroque Ducal Palace, which was begun by Francesco I d’Este, Duke of Modena, on the site of a former castle in 1635. His architect, Luigi Bartolomeo Avanzini, created a home for him that few European princes could match at the time. The palace is now home to the Italian national military academy. In the Galleria Estense, on the upper floor of the Palazzo dei Musei in Modena, there is a  one-metre high bust of Francesco by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

More reading:

The Italian origins of San Francisco's Ghirardelli Chocolate Company

How Gaetano Merola founded the San Francisco Opera

Carlo Camillo di Rudio - the Italian aristocrat who fought in the Battle of Little Bighorn

Also on this day:

1118: The death of Adelaide del Vasto, Countess of Sicily

1839: The birth of politician Antonio Di Rudini, twice Italy's prime minister

1881: The birth of magazine artist Fortunino Matania


Home

Eleonora Duse – actress

Performer 'became' the person she played with her whole being

Eleonora Duse began acting at the age of four.

Regarded as one of the greatest acting talents of all times, Eleonora Duse was born on this day in 1858 in Vigevano in Lombardy.

Often simply known as Duse, she was admired for her total assumption of the roles she played. In 1947, the film, Eleonora Duse, was made about her life.

She began acting at the age of four, joining her father and grandfather in the profession. She worked in a troupe with her family, travelling from city to city. Duse became famous for creating Italian versions of roles made famous by the actor Sarah Bernhadt.

Duse toured South America, Russia and the US, beginning the tours as an unknown actor, but leaving in her wake a general recognition of her genius.

She had an affair with the Italian poet, Arrigo Boito, who was the librettist for the composer, Giuseppe Verdi. They carried out their relationship in a clandestine manner, but the letters they exchanged have survived and they remained on good terms until Boito’s death in 1918.

Duse had a romantic relationship with the
writer and poet Gabriele D'Annunzio

In 1895 Duse met the writer Gabriele D’Annunzio and they became involved romantically as well as professionally.

D’Annunzio wrote four plays for her but when he gave the lead in La Città Morta to Sarah Bernhardt instead of her, Duse ended her relationship with him.

Duse had a relationship with the dancer, Isadora Duncan and spent several weeks with her at Viareggio in Tuscany, shortly after Duncan’s two children drowned in a tragic accident.

Her biographer, Frances Winwar, recalled that Duse wore little make-up but made herself up "morally." She meant that she used her body to express her grief and joy.

Duse, who had a history of ill health, died of pneumonia at the age of 65 in the US while on a tour. Her body was returned to Italy and she was buried in Asolo in the Veneto at the cemetery of St Anna.

The beautiful Piazza Ducale in Vigevano

Travel tip:

Vigevano, where Duse was born, is a town in the province of Pavia in Lombardy. It is well-known for the beautiful Piazza Ducale in the centre of town. The piazza was completed in 1493 and was planned to form the forecourt to the castle built for Ludovico Sforza, who was Duke of Milan between 1452 and 1508.

Porticoes line the Via Browning in Asolo

Travel tip:

Asolo, where Duse was buried, is a town in the Veneto region, known as ‘the pearl of the province of Treviso’. It is famous for being the home of the English poet, Robert Browning. Duse lived there for part of her life and is now buried in the hillside cemetery of St Anna.

Home

Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello – Educator

Nun who promoted the rights of girls to a quality education

Saint Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello

The Feast Day of Saint Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello, who founded the Benedictine Sisters of Providence, is celebrated on this day, the anniversary of her death in 1858.

Benedetta carried out pioneering work by rescuing poor and abandoned girls and promoting their rights to a good education. She was made a saint by Pope John Paul II in 2002.

Benedetta was born in 1791 in Genoa but her family later moved to Pavia. As a young girl she wanted to consecrate her life to God, but obeying her parents’ wishes, she married Giovanni Battista Frassinello when she was 24.

After two years of marriage, during which they had no children, they decided to live a celibate life and stay together as brother and sister. They both later joined religious orders but Benedetta was forced to leave and return to live in Pavia again because of ill health.

When she was well again she dedicated herself to the education of the many young girls who had been abandoned or who were at risk in the area. There was so much work that the local Bishop asked her husband to leave his religious order to help her.

She was helped by young women volunteers to teach the poor girls domestic skills such as cooking and sewing as well as giving them religious instruction, with the aim of turning them into models of Christian life.

Her work was well regarded and she was appointed as Promoter of Public Instruction in Pavia.

She moved to Ronco Scrivia near Genoa where she opened a school for girls. She later founded the Congregation of the Benedictine Sisters of Providence, which concentrated on the education of young girls.

She also opened a house of the order in Voghera near Pavia.

Benedetta died at the age of 66 on 21 March 1858 in Ronco Scrivia. 

Today the Benedictine Nuns of Providence are present in Italy, Spain, Burundi, the Ivory Coast, Peru and Brazil.

The pretty covered bridge that links Pavia
 with the Borgo Ticino

Travel tip:

Pavia, where Benedetta lived from an early age, is a city in Lombardy, south of Milan, known for its ancient university, which was founded in 1361, and its famous Certosa, a magnificent monastery complex north of the city that dates back to 1396. A pretty covered bridge over the River Ticino leads to Borgo Ticino, where the inhabitants claim to be the true people of Pavia and are of Sabaudian origin, traceable back to the House of Savoy.

Pavia hotels by Booking.com

Travel tip:

Voghera, where Benedetta opened a second house for the Benedictine sisters of Providence, is south of Pavia. It has a 14th century castle, and an 11th century Cathedral. The town’s Museum of History has among its exhibits the car of General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, who was killed by the Mafia in 1982 and the weapon that allegedly killed Benito Mussolini. ‘The housewife from Voghera’ (casalinga di Voghera) is a phrase used by Italians to describe the average housewife.

Search for a Voghera hotel with Tridavisor

Home

Giacomo Puccini – opera composer

Musical genius who took the baton from Verdi

Giacomo Puccini, one of the greatest composers of Italian opera, was born on this day in 1858 in Lucca in Tuscany.

Giacomo Puccini, pictured in
New York in 1908

He had his first success with his opera, Manon Lescaut, just after the premiere of Verdi’s last opera, Falstaff. Manon Lescaut was a triumph with both the public and the critics, and he was hailed as a worthy successor to Verdi.

.

Puccini was born into a musical family who encouraged him to study music as a child while he was growing up in Lucca.

He moved to Milan to continue his studies at the Milan Conservatory, where he was able to study under the guidance of the composer, Amilcare Ponchielli.

He wrote an orchestral piece that impressed Ponchielli and his other teachers when it was first performed at a student concert. Ponchielli then suggested that Puccini’s next work might be an opera.

Watch Andrea Bocelli sing Puccini's Nessun Dorma in London in 2012

Puccini’s first attempt at opera was successful enough for it to be purchased by a firm of music publishers and after some revisions it was performed at La Scala in Milan.

But when his next opera, Edgar, was first performed at La Scala it was not so well received.

After some revisions it was performed again in Lucca where it was more popular.

But his next opera, Manon Lescaut, was a triumph when it was first performed in Turin in 1893.

His next three operas, La Boheme, Tosca and Madam Butterfly, were also big successes and are still regularly performed today.

His final opera, Turandot, was still not completed when he died, but Puccini was able to leave the world with the amazing aria, Nessun Dorma.

Puccini died in Brussels in 1924 after unsuccessful treatment for throat cancer. When news of his death reached Rome during a performance of La Boheme, the opera was immediately stopped and the orchestra played Chopin’s Funeral March to the saddened audience.

Puccini’s body was buried inside a mausoleum built after his death in his villa at Torre del Lago in Tuscany.

More opera -- Domenico Cimarosa, father of comic opera, born 17 December, 1749

Travel tip:

You can still visit Puccini’s birthplace in Corte San Lorenzo in Lucca . The house is now a museum containing many of the composer’s furniture, personal items and letters. For more information visit www.fondazionegiacomopuccini.it 

The statue of Giacomo Puccini at Torre del Lago,
where he made his home
Photo: Sailko (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Travel tip:

Puccini restored a house at Torre del Lago to live in after he became successful. He is buried along with members of his family in a mausoleum built at the house. For more information visit www.giacomopuccini.it

Home