Carlo Ponti – film producer

The man who married Sophia Loren twice

Carlo Ponti started his career in film
as a lawyer negotiating contracts

Carlo Ponti, the producer of many iconic Italian films, was born on this day in 1912 in Magenta near Milan.

He studied law at Milan University and, after joining his father’s law firm in Milan, became involved in the film business through negotiating contracts.

His production of Mario Soldati’s Piccolo Mondo Antico about the Italian struggle against the Austrian occupation was his first success in 1940. But he was briefly jailed for allegedly undermining relations with Nazi Germany.

He went on to produce many of the popular and financially successful films of the 1960s and 1970s, such as Vittorio de Sica's Marriage Italian Style, David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago and Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blowup.

But Ponti also became famous for his love affair and two marriages to the film star Sophia Loren, who was born Sofia Villani Scicolone in Pozzuoli near Naples.

Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in
Marriage Italian Style, produced by Carlo Ponti

Ponti met her while he was judging a beauty contest in which she was competing, was captivated by her looks, and subsequently turned her into a film star and changed her name.

He was already married but he obtained a Mexican divorce in order to marry Sophia, who was more than 20 years younger than him, as divorce was then forbidden in Italy.

But their first marriage was declared illegal and had to be annulled. The couple moved to France and became French citizens so that Ponti could again divorce his first wife. He married Sophia for the second time in France in 1966.

They had two sons and four grandchildren and remained together until Ponti’s death in Geneva in 2007.

Travel tip:

Magenta, the birthplace of Carlo Ponti, is a small town in Lombardy, about 30 minutes from Milan by train. It was the site of a battle in the Second War of Italian Independence in 1859.  The colour of the uniforms worn by the French troops was later described as 'magenta' after the name of the town.

The volcanic landscape of Solfatara is an attraction
for visitors to Loren's home town of Pozzuoli

Travel tip:

Pozzuoli, the birthplace of Sophia Loren, is a town near Naples that has always been affected by underground volcanic activity. The amount of tremors and seismic activity in the 1980s caused thousands of people to leave. There are many Greek and Roman remains to see there and Pozzuoli's Solfatara, a volcanic crater, became such a popular tourist sight that it was once a stop on the Grand Tour.

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Luigi Pirandello - playwright, poet and novelist

Brilliant writing was born out of ‘chaos’

Sicilian writer Luigi Pirandello died on this day in Rome in 1936.

Luigi Pirandello, pictured in 1898

Famous for his play ‘Six Characters in Search of an Author’, (Sei Personaggi in Cerca d’Autore), Pirandello was also a prolific writer of novels, short stories and poetry, some of which were written in his native Sicilian dialect.

His plays are often seen as the forerunners of the Theatre of the Absurd dramas of Samuel Beckett and Eugène Ionesco.

Pirandello’s contribution to the theatre was recognised in 1934 when he was awarded the Nobel prize for literature.

Pirandello was literally born in Chaos. The name of the village near Agrigento in Sicily where his mother gave birth to him in 1867 is Caos, the Italian word for ‘chaos’, or in Sicilian, u Càvusu.

He was educated at home and had written his first play by the time he was 12. When his family moved to Palermo, he completed his school education and, after a spell working with his father in the sulphur industry, he registered at the University of Palermo.

He later moved to Rome to complete his studies, which gave him the chance to go to the theatre regularly, and he also studied for a while in Bonn.

His writing career took off after ‘Six Characters in Search of an Author’ was first presented in 1921 at Teatro Valle in Rome.

But his personal life became increasingly difficult. His wife became mentally ill, which had disturbing effects on the rest of his family and, although he tried to look after her at home for many years, she eventually had to go into an asylum. His writing often dealt with the themes of madness, illusion and isolation.

Pirandello died alone at his home in Rome. He had left instructions for a simple funeral followed by cremation, but his wishes were ignored and he was given a state funeral.

The house near Agrigento where Pirandello was born

Travel Tip:

Agrigento is on the southern coast of Sicily and is built on the site of an ancient Greek city. Its most famous sight is the Valley of the Temples (Valle dei Templi) a large sacred area where seven monumental Greek temples were constructed during the sixth and fifth centuries BC. 

Travel tip:

Rome’s Teatro Valle, where the premiere of ‘Six Characters in Search of an Author’ was staged, was built in 1726 near the Pantheon. At first the theatre staged a mixture of opera and drama but from the middle of the 19th century it staged only plays. Teatro Valle became the scene of real-life drama in 2011 when it was occupied by theatre workers protesting over plans to privatise the venue. 

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Carlo Azeglio Ciampi - prime minister and president

The politician who took Italy into the euro

The politician and banker, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, was born on this day in 1920 in Livorno.

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Photo: Presidency of the Italian Republic

He was the 49th Prime Minister of Italy between 1993 and 1994 and the tenth president, in office from 1999 to 2006.

Ciampi studied ancient Greek literature in Pisa, before being called up to do military duty, but in 1943 he refused to stay with the Fascists and took refuge in Abruzzo.

He managed to get to Bari, where he joined the Italian resistance movement.

After the war, he gained a doctorate in law from Pisa University and began working at the Banca d’Italia. He went on to become Governor of the bank and then President of the National Bureau de Change.

Ciampi was the first-non parliamentarian prime minister of Italy for more than 100 years, appointed by the President, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, to oversee a technical government.

Later, as the treasury minister under Romano Prodi and Massimo d’Alema, Ciampi, a staunch supporter of the EU, adopted the euro currency for Italy.

When he was elected president, he had a broad majority and was only the second president ever to be elected at the first ballot. He was held in high regard by all the political groups in parliament.

Rome's Palazzo Quirinale, official residence of
the Italian President

He was succeeded by Giorgio Napoletano and is currently a senator for life in the Italian senate.

Travel tip:

Livorno is a port on the western coast of Tuscany, which deals with thousands of cruise ship passengers. The city used to be known as Leghorn in English and there is an English cemetery in Via Giuseppe Verdi, with the graves of many former British residents, including the novelist. Tobias Smollett.

Travel tip:

Abruzzo is a region on the Adriatic coast, bordered by Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and Molise to the south. One third of its territory is made up of national parks and nature reserves that are home to protected species, such as the brown bear.

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Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Prayers are followed by bonfires and feasting

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is celebrated on this day throughout Italy every year.

Christmas tree in Salerno
lit up for the festivities
Photo: Soloxsalerno (CC BY-SA 3.0)

It is a public holiday everywhere, when banks and offices are closed, special masses take place in the churches and people celebrate the start of Christmas.

It is an official festa in the Christian calendar, when the immaculate conception of Jesus is celebrated. The day commemorates Mary, the mother of Jesus, being given the grace of God to live a life ‘free of sin.’

Many people attend Mass and the Pope leads the celebrations from Rome.

The day was officially declared a festa by the Vatican in 1854.

It marks the official start of the Christmas season in Italy, when the lights and trimmings go up.

The shops are open and do a brisk trade, with many people not at work taking the opportunity to do some Christmas shopping.

Bonfires are lit in some parts of Italy and the different areas celebrate with their own traditional food and wine.

Travel tip:

Since 1953, the Pope has visited the Column of the Immaculate Conception in Piazza Mignanelli in Rome on 8 December and laid flowers at the base of this monument to the Virgin Mary.

Christmas market in Piazza Navona
Photo: Mitravabanerjee [CC BY-SA 3.0)

Travel tip:

A big Christmas market is held every year in Piazza Navona in the centre of Rome, running until Epiphany on 6 January. The stalls sell Christmas decorations and gifts, nativity figures, traditional food, roasted chestnuts and hot wine.



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Feast of St Ambrose in Milan

Celebrating the life of a clever and fearless Bishop

The feast day of Milan’s patron saint, St Ambrose (Sant’Ambrogio), is celebrated in the city on this day every year.

The Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio in Milan
Photo by Novellon (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The day is an official public holiday in Milan. Banks, Government offices and schools are closed along with some shops. Public transport may also be restricted.

A service is held in the Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio, the church built by Ambrose himself. The date also marks the opening of the traditional 'Oh Bej! Oh Bej!' street market, with stalls selling local food, wine and crafts.

Aurelius Ambrosius was born in the year 340. He trained as a lawyer and was a great orator before becoming Bishop of Milan in response to popular demand.

After his ordination he wrote about religion, composed hymns and music and was generous to the poor.

He stood up to the supporters of the alternative Arian religion, who wanted to take over some of Milan’s churches, and he also told a Roman Emperor what he had done wrong and how to atone for his sins.

A famous piece of advice that he gave to his congregation was to follow local liturgical custom rather than to argue against it. He said: “When I am at Rome I feast on a Saturday, when I am at Milan I do not.” This is believed to be the origin of the phrase: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

He died at the age of 57 in the year 397 and, after he was made a saint, his feast day was fixed to take place on the anniversary of his ordination each year.

Travel tip:

The Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio is in south west Milan in Piazza Sant’Ambrogio. It was originally built by Ambrose, when he was bishop, on the site of an earlier Christian burial ground. After his remains were placed there, the church was named after him. It was rebuilt in the 11th century and further modified in the 15th century.

Milan's Bibliotheca Ambrosiana

Travel tip:

The Pinacoteca Ambro- 
siano, named after St Ambrose, is an art gallery and cultural complex founded in the 17th century by Cardinal Federico Borromeo. Located in Piazza Pio, in the centre of Milan, the complex also houses the Bibliotheca Ambrosiana, one of the first libraries to be open to the public.

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Baldassare Castiglione – courtier and diplomat

Writer left a definitive account of life at court in Renaissance Italy

Baldassare Castiglione, the author of the Italian classic, The Book of the Courtier, was born on this day in 1478 near Mantua in Lombardy.

Raphael's portrait of Castiglione
now housed in the Louvre in Paris

His book about etiquette at court and the ideal of the Renaissance gentleman, has been widely read over the years and was even a source of material for Shakespeare after it was translated into English.

Castiglione was born into a noble household and was related on his mother’s side to the powerful Gonzaga family of Mantua. After studying in Milan he succeeded his father as head of the family and was soon representing the Gonzaga family diplomatically.

As a result he met Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, and later took up residence in his court, which was regarded as the most refined and elegant in Italy at the time and received many distinguished guests.

The court was presided over by the Duke’s wife, Elisabetta Gonzaga, who impressed Castiglione so much that he wrote platonic sonnets and songs for her.

During this time he also became a friend of the painter, Raphael, who painted a portrait of him.

Castiglione later took part in an expedition against Venice organised by Pope Julius II during the Italian wars and was then sent by Pope Clement VI as a papal ambassador to Madrid. He died after contracting the plague in Toledo in 1529.

His book, Il Libro del Cortegiano, The Book of the Courtier, was published in 1528, the year before he died. It was written in the form of an imaginary dialogue between Elisabetta Gonzaga and her guests. Some readers have seen it as a guide to how to behave in society, while others have interpreted it as a philosophical work. But Castiglione has undoubtedly left us with a definitive and fascinating account of Renaissance court life.

Travel tip:

Mantua, the capital of the art-loving Gonzaga dukes, is an atmospheric city in Lombardy with many interesting things to see. The highlight is the magnificent Ducal Palace, which dominates the northern part of the city. It has about 500 rooms, which include the remarkable Camera degli Sposi, adorned with frescoes by Andrea Mantegna.

The imposing Ducal Palace in Urbino
Photo by Florian Prischi (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Travel Tip:

Urbino, which is inland from the Adriatic resort of Pesaro, is a majestic city on a steep hill.  It was once a centre of learning and culture, known not just in Italy but also in its glory days throughout Europe. The Ducal Palace, a Renaissance building made famous by Castiglione’s 'The Book of the Courtier', is one of the most important monuments in Italy and is listed as a Unesco World Heritage site.

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Pope Julius II

Patron of the arts who commissioned Michelangelo's greatest works

 

Giuliano della Rovere, who was to become Pope Julius II, was born on this day in 1443 at Albisola near Genoa.

The Sistine Chapel: Michelangelo's depiction
of the Creation of Adam

He is rem- embered for granting a dispensation to Henry VIII of England to allow him to marry Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his older brother, Arthur, and for commissioning Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.

Giuliano was born into an ecclesiastical family. His uncle, Franceso della Rovere, later became Pope Sixtus IV and it was the future pope Francesco who arranged for his nephew to be educated at a Franciscan friary in Perugia. Giuliano became a bishop in 1471 and then a cardinal before being himself elected Pope in 1503.

Giuliano was Pope for nine years until he died of fever in 1513. When Henry VIII later asked for his marriage to Catherine of Aragon to be annulled so that he could marry Anne Boleyn, he claimed that Pope Julius II should never have issued the dispensation to allow him to marry his sister in law. But the Pope at the time, Clement VII, refused to annul the marriage so Henry VIII divorced the Catholic Church instead, leading to the English Reformation.

During his time as Pope, Julius II ordered the old St Peter’s Basilica to be demolished and commissioned the building of the new church that was to replace it. Some of Michelangelo’s greatest works, including the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, were also commissioned by Julius.
The remains of Pope Julius II lie with those of his uncle, Pope Sixtus IV, under the floor in St Peter’s Basilica.

Travel tip:
The present day St Peter’s Basilica in Rome was completed in 1626, having been commissioned by Pope Julius II during his papacy. It is believed to be the largest church in the world and Michelangelo, Bramante and Bernini were among the artists who contributed to the design.

St Peter's Basilica in Rome was rebuilt
by Pope Julius II
Photo by Jean-Paul Grandmont/CC-BY SA

Travel tip:
The Sistine Chapel is in the Apostolic Palace, where the Pope lives, in Vatican City. The chapel takes its name from Pope Sixtus IV, the uncle of Pope Julius II, who had it restored during his papacy. Between 1508 and 1512, Michelangelo painted the ceiling at the request of Pope Julius II.  The artist's amazing masterpiece is in bright colours, easily visible from the floor. It covers more than 400 square metres of the ceiling of the chapel.

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Luigi Galvani - physicist and biologist

Death of the scientist who seemed to give dead frog new life 

Luigi Galvani, the first scientist to discover bioelectricity, died on this day in 1798 in Bologna.

Luigi Galvani studied medicine
at Bologna University

Galvani discovered that the muscles in the leg of a dead frog twitched when struck by an electrical spark. This was the beginning of bioelectricity, the study of the electrical patterns and signals of the nervous system.

The word ‘galvanise’, to stimulate by electricity, or rouse by shock and excitement, comes from the surname of the scientist.

Galvani studied medicine at Bologna University and, after graduating in 1759, became an honorary lecturer of surgery and then subsequently of theoretical anatomy.

He became the first scientist to appreciate the relationship between electricity and animation when he was dissecting a frog one day. His assistant touched an exposed nerve in the leg of the frog with a metal scalpel that had picked up an electrical charge. They both saw sparks and the frog’s leg kicked. The phenomenon was dubbed ‘galvanism’.

In 1797 Galvani refused to swear loyalty to the French, who were then occupying northern Italy, and lost his academic position at the university and also his income.

He died, depressed and impoverished, in his brother’s house in Bologna in 1798.

Travel tip:

The world’s first university was established in Bologna in 1088 and attracted popes and kings as well as students of the calibre of Dante, Copernicus and Boccaccio. You can visit the university’s former anatomy theatre in the oldest university building, the Archiginnasio, which is open Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm, admission free.

Bologna's Piazza Maggiore

Travel tip:

There is a statue of Galvani in the square named after him, Piazza Luigi Galvani, which faces the palace of the Archiginnasio, just a short walk from Piazza Maggiore and the Basilica di San Petronio in the centre of Bologna.

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Nino Rota – composer

Musician and teacher composed soundtrack for The Godfather 

Giovanni ‘Nino’ Rota, composer, conductor and pianist, was born on this day in 1911 in Milan.

Part of a musical family, he started composing with an oratorio based on a religious subject at the age of 11, but he was to go on to produce some of the best-known and iconic music for the cinema of the 20th century.

The Godfather, Don Corleone, played
by Marlon Brando

Rota studied at the Milan Conservatory and then in Rome before he was encouraged by the conductor, Arturo Toscanini, to move to America, where he studied at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia.

When he returned to Milan he took a degree in Literature and then began a teaching career. He became a director of the Liceo Musicale in Bari in 1950 and kept this post until his death. Orchestra conductor Riccardo Muti was one of his students.

Rota wrote film scores from the 1940s onwards for all the noted directors of the time, including Zeffirelli, Visconti and de Filippo. He wrote the music for all Federico Fellini’s films from The White Sheik in 1952 to Orchestral Rehearsal in 1978. He composed the score for Francis Ford Coppola’s film The Godfather and won an Oscar for best original score for the Godfather Part II in 1974.

Listen to Nino Rota's Godfather theme 

At Fellini’s funeral, the director’s widow asked for Rota’s Improviso dell’Angelo  to be played in the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri in Rome.

Rota was also a prolific writer of operas, ballets and orchestral and choral music. He died in Rome in 1979.

The Basilica of St Mary of the
Angels and the Martyrs
Photo: Peter Clarke (CC SY-BA 3.0)

Travel tip:

Bari  the capital of Puglia on the Adriatic Sea, is both a port and a university city. It is home to one of the most important opera houses in Italy, the Petruzzelli Theatre. The Liceo Musicale where Rota taught for so many years is now named the Niccolo Picinni Conservatory.

Travel tip:

The Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs (Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri) where Fellini’s funeral was held, is built inside the former baths of Diocletian in Piazza della Repubblica in Rome . It was built on the orders of Pope Pius IV in 1561 to be dedicated to all Christian martyrs, known and unknown. Michelangelo and Vanvitelli both contributed to the design of the church.

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Gianni Versace – designer

Meteoric rise of the talented son of a dressmaker

Gianni Versace, the founder of the international fashion house, Versace, was born on this day in 1946 in Reggio di Calabria in the south of Italy.

The coastal city of Reggio di Calabria,
birthplace of designer Gianni Versace

He went on to start a highly successful clothing label and also designed costumes for the theatre and films. He was a personal friend of the late Princess Diana and numerous celebrities, including Elton John and Madonna.

Christened Giovanni Maria Versace, the designer literally learnt his trade at his mother’s knee as she was herself a dressmaker and employed him as an apprentice in her business from an early age.

He moved north to Milan to work in the fashion industry for other designers and, after presenting his own first signature collection in the city, opened a boutique in Via della Spiga in 1978. His career immediately took off and his exclusive designs were highly sought after.

View over fashion capital Milan
 from roof of Duomo

He became one of the top designers of the 1980s and 90s and employed his brother, Santo, and his sister, Donatella, in his successful and profitable business.

One of his most famous creations was a black dress held together by safety pins, worn by the actress, Elizabeth Hurley, to a film premiere.

In 1997, at just 50 years of age, Versace was shot dead on the steps of his Miami home after returning from a morning walk. The gunman killed himself with the same weapon a few days later and no clear motive for the murder has ever been established by the American police.

Travel tip:

Reggio di Calabria is the biggest city in the region of Calabria, near the ‘toe’ of the Italian peninsula. Its seafront promenade facing Messina in Sicily across the Straits, has been described as ‘the most beautiful kilometre of Italy’.

Travel tip:

The Versace boutique in Milan is at the heart of the fashion district in Via Monte Napoleone, a short walk from the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. The top designers all have outlets in the ‘quadrilateral’ bordered by Via Manzoni, Via Montenapoleone, Via della Spiga (where Versace first started) and Via Sant’Andrea.

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Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci - footballer

Golden boy of Italia ‘90 now coaches future players

The star of Italy’s 1990 World Cup campaign, Toto Schillaci, was born on this day in Palermo in Sicily in 1964.

Toto Schillaci in action

Schillaci was born into a struggling, working class household in Palermo. 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 continued his scoring form, hitting 21 goals in his first season for Juventus, earning a call-up to the national team for the first time. He made his debut in a friendly in March, just three months before the World Cup finals began.

Small in stature, but agile, he owed many of his goals to his quick reactions in the box, which enabled him to snap up half-chances. 

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.

Relive all of Toto Schillaci's six goals in Italia '90

After going on as sub again in Italy's second match, he made his first start against Czechoslovakia in the third of their group games and scored again, playing alongside Robert Baggio up front.

As Italy progressed, Schillaci grabbed further goals against Uruguay in the first knock-out round and Ireland in the quarter-finals, taking his team to a semi-final against Argentina in Naples, where he scored again but Italy's adventure ended in a penalty shoot-out.

A goal against England in the match to decide third place increased Schillaci's total to six for the tournament. He matched Paoli Rossi in 1982 by winning the Golden Boot as leading marksman, as well as the Golden Ball award as best player of the tournament.

Sadly, after Italia ‘90, Schillaci suffered a downturn in fortunes and would score only one more international goal, against Norway in 1991, in what would prove to be the last of his 23 appearances for the Azzurri.

Toto Schillaci in familiar pose

Pundits began labelling him a one-hit wonder. The goals dried up at Juventus and he had a number of injuries. He fared no better when he moved to Internazionale in Milan in 1992. He fell out of favour with coach Osvaldo Bagnoli and the fans booed him. 

He was to enjoy a renaissance in Japan. Signing for Jubilo Iwata in the fledgling J-League, he became the first Italian to play professional football in Japan and scored 56 goals in just 78 appearances.

He retired in 1999, returning to his native Palermo, where he set up his own football academy and also served as a local councillor. 

Travel tip:

Palermo is the capital of Sicily, a vibrant city with a wealth of beautiful architecture bearing testament to its rich history. There are plenty of shops and markets to browse in and a large opera house.


Travel tip:
Juventus Football Club, colloquially known as Juve, play at Juventus Stadium in Turin in Piedmont (Piemonte). They are currently in fifth place in Serie A. Last Sunday (29 November) they beat Palermo 3-0.

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