Ancona comes under attack as Italy enters World War I

The day the capital of Le Marche was bombarded from the sea

A painting, by an unknown artist, depicting battleships
of the Austria-Hungary fleet bombarding Ancona

The port city of Ancona on the Adriatic Sea became an immediate target for naval ships deployed by Austria-Hungary on this day in 1915 after Italy entered World War I.

The Austrian fleet were quick to react after Italy declared that it was joining the war on the side of the Allies, having initially remained neutral. 

Destroyers immediately set sail from their base in Pola - modern-day Pula in Croatia - heading towards Ancona to attack both military and civilian targets under the cover of darkness.

The rest of the Austrian fleet set off to join in the bombardment the following day and the enemy ships attacked several other coastal cities in the province of Ancona, destroying a train and a railway station while they were firing on Senigallia. 

Two destroyers and a torpedo boat bombarded Ancona’s harbour for about an hour and 15 minutes, and an Italian destroyer, which was trying to defend the city, was badly damaged. 

There were two enemy aircraft in the sky above Ancona signalling the targets that had been chosen to be hit by the ships. The city’s military hospital, penal colony, orphanage, the Bank of Italy building, and some shipyard workshops in Ancona were all selected and many ended up badly damaged as a result.

The primary objective of Austria-Hungary was to hinder Italian mobilisation by attacking the key naval, industrial, and logistical infrastructure along the Adriatic coast.

Ancona's cathedral sits on top of a hill above the
harbour, making it an obvious target

The Austria-Hungary navy managed to inflict heavy damage on the whole area and 63 people, including some civilians, were killed in Ancona alone. 

The dome and a chapel inside Ancona’s cathedral - the Cattedrale di San Ciriaco - were seriously damaged by eight Austrian cannon shots.

This major onslaught on the Adriatic coast culminated in a bombing raid on Venice by Austrian seaplanes.

It was the largest and most ambitious naval operation carried out by the Austro-Hungarian navy during World War I. But eventually, a large Allied blockade was set up to prevent the enemy fleet from leaving the Adriatic.  

There had been widespread public support after King Victor Emmanuel III had formally declared war, siding with the Allies, at 15.00 on 23 May. Many Italians were hoping it would give them the chance to regain lost territory, such as areas of present-day Trentino alto Adige and the South Tyrol, as well as parts of Istria and the Dalmatian coast. 

However, Italy had been unprepared for immediate offensive operations, particularly along the Adriatic coast where fortifications were inadequate. 

The Allies were able to subsequently blockade the Strait of Otranto between Brindisi in Italy and Corfu in Greece to prevent the Austro-Hungarian navy from escaping into the Mediterranean and threatening any more of their operations.

Although the attackers did not suffer many casualties themselves, after this raid on Ancona, the major Austro-Hungarian battleships rarely left their bases.

The previous year, when General Luigi Cadorna had been preparing for war, his attention had been focused on Italy’s western border with France. For many people, trench warfare remains a lasting image of World War I, which makes them think of the conflict as principally a land war.

But the sea and air operations that were also carried out during World War I foreshadowed the important part the sea and air were to play during World War II, just 25 years later.

Pope Clement XIII's statue looks over
Ancona's pretty Piazza del Plebiscito

Travel tip:

Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy and is the capital of both the province and the region. The city is 280km (170 miles) northeast of Rome and is one of the main ports on the Adriatic Sea for passenger traffic. Ferries link Ancona with ports in Greece, Turkey and Croatia. The name Ancona derives from the shape of the harbour that the Greek founders of the city referred to as ‘ankon’, meaning elbow. Thanks to this unusual configuration, Ancona is the only city in Italy, and one of the few in the world, where it is possible to see the sun both rise and set over the sea. A famous site near the harbour is the towering Trajan’s Arch, built in AD115 overlooking the port in honour of the Roman Emperor, Trajan. Near to it is the smaller Clementine’s Arch, built by architect Luigi Vanvitelli in 1733 on the orders of Pope Clement XII, who wanted to be remembered for the work he had commissioned to modernise the port in order to revive the city’s maritime trade. A large statue of Clement XII also stands in front of the 13th century Church of San Domenico in Piazza del Plebiscito, which is a lively square, just off the seafront, with plenty of bars and restaurants.

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The cathedral's Gothic porch,
flanked by red marble lions

Travel tip:

High above Ancona on Monte Guasco stands the Cattedrale di San Ciriaco in Piazza del Duomo, which was damaged during the bombardment by Austria-Hungary. It is a short bus ride from the centre of Ancona. The cathedral was founded during the fourth century but was later rebuilt and consecrated in 1017. It has a Gothic porch flanked by red marble lions that was added in about 1200. The body of Ancona’s patron saint, San Ciriaco (Saint Cyriacus) is kept in the crypt, but it is no longer on public view.  There, you can also see the remains of the original Greek temple that stood on the site, and some early frescoes. The grounds surrounding Ancona’s Duomo have panoramic views of the harbour below and provide a good opportunity for taking photographs on a clear day. On the road just below the Duomo can be found a site with the remains of a Roman amphitheatre, which was  built towards the end of the first century BC, and nearby is a lift that will carry you down to the Lungomare Luigi Vanvitelli, a road that overlooks the port and leads into the centre of the city.

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More reading:

The World War I flying ace who became physician to Italy’s Chamber of Deputies

The army commander who was one of first to see the potential of air power

The general who masterminded Italy's decisive World War 1 victory

Also on this day:

1498: The execution of hellfire preacher Girolamo Savonarola

1670: The death of Ferdinando II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

1729: The birth of poet and satirist Giuseppe Parini

1933: The birth of football referee Sergio Gonella 

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Saint Joseph of Copertino

Flying friar now protects aviators

Painter Ludovico Mazzanti's 18th century
depiction of Saint Joseph levitating

Saint Joseph, a Franciscan friar who became famous for his miraculous levitation, was born Giuseppe Maria Desa on this day in 1603 in Copertino, a village in Puglia that was then part of the Kingdom of Naples.

Joseph was canonised in 1767, more than 100 years after his death, by Pope Clement XIII and he is now the patron saint for astronauts and aviation.

Joseph’s father, Felice Desa, had died before his birth leaving large debts. After the family home was seized to settle what was owed, his mother, Francesca Panara, was forced to give birth to him in a stable.

Joseph experienced ecstatic visions as a child at school. When he was scorned by other children he had outbursts of anger.

He was apprenticed to a shoemaker but when he applied to join the Franciscan friars he was rejected because of his lack of education.

He was accepted in 1620 as a lay brother by the Capuchin friars only to be dismissed because his constant ecstasies made him unfit to carry out his required duties.

Forced to return home he pleaded with the Franciscan friars near Copertino to be allowed to work in their stables.  After several years he was admitted to the Order and he was ordained a priest in 1628.

The Basilica of San Giuseppe da Copertino
in Piazza Gallo was dedicated to St Joseph

He began to experience more ecstasies and it was claimed he began to levitate while participating in Mass, remaining suspended in the air for some time. He gained a reputation for holiness among ordinary people but was considered disruptive by the Church authorities, who found that even piercing his flesh or burning him with candles would have no effect on him while he was levitating. He was eventually confined to a small cell and forbidden to join in any public gatherings.

Joseph was denounced to the Inquisition because flying and levitation were then considered to be a type of witchcraft.

On the Inquisition’s orders, he was transferred from one friary to another to be kept under observation. He lived under a strict regime, eating solid food only twice a week.

In 1657 he was at last allowed to return to live in a religious community and was sent to a friary in Osimo in Le Marche, then part of the Papal States, where he died six years later at the age of 60.

Joseph was beatified in 1753 and made a Saint in 1767.

People sceptical about the reports of Saint Joseph’s levitating or seeming to become airborne have suggested he was either a very agile man who leapt into the air or was perhaps suffering convulsions as a result of consuming bread made from infected grain, which was common centuries ago.

Nevertheless, many pilgrims now visit Joseph’s tomb to pay their respects at the Basilica of Saint Joseph of Copertino in Piazza Gallo in Osimo.

Copertino Castle, built in 1540, has tapered ramparts in
each of its four corners 

Travel tip: 

Copertino, where Saint Joseph was born, is a town in the province of Lecce in the Puglia region of south east Italy. Red and rosé DOC wines are made in the area around the town. Copertino Castle, built in 1540 on the site of an older fortress, is one of the biggest fortifications in the entire region. It has a distinctive design, built on a quadrangle plan with a tapered rampart at each of the four corners. There is also a sanctuary dedicated to Saint Joseph in the town.

The main square in Osimo, the town in Le Marche where
Saint Joseph died in 1663

Travel tip:

One of the main sights in Osimo, where Saint Joseph died, is the Basilica of San Giuseppe da Copertino, which was founded as a church dedicated to Saint Francis but was later rededicated and refurbished to house Saint Joseph’s relics.  There is also a restored Romanesque-Gothic church has a portal with sculptures of the 13th century. A town of more than 35,000 inhabitants, Osimo is located approximately 15km (9 miles) south of the port city of Ancona and the Adriatic Sea.

Also on this day:

1691: The birth of painter Giovanni Paolo Panini

1952: The birth of Sergio Marchionne, businessman 

1964: The birth of racing driver Rinaldo 'Dindo' Capello


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The first free public school in Europe

Frascati sees groundbreaking development in education

José de Calasanz arrived in Rome from
his native Aragon in 1592

The first free public school in Europe opened its doors to children on this day in 1616 in Frascati, a town in Lazio just a few kilometres from Rome.

The school was founded by a Spanish Catholic priest, José de Calasanz, who was originally from Aragon but who moved to Rome in 1592 at the age of 35.

Calasanz had a passion for education and in particular made it his life’s work to set up schools for children who did not have the benefit of coming from wealthy families.

Previously, schools existed only for the children of noble families or for those studying for the priesthood. Calasanz established Pious Schools and a religious order responsible for running them, who became known as the Piarists.

Calasanz had been a priest for 10 years when he decided to go to Rome in the hope of furthering his ecclesiastical career.  He soon became involved with helping neglected and homeless children via the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.

He would gather up poor children on the streets and take them to schools, only to find that the teachers, who were not well paid, would not accept them unless Calasanz provided them with extra money.

Calasanz, who was a well-educated man, responded by setting up the first Pious School in the centre of Rome in 1600, so that homeless, orphaned and neglected children had somewhere to go and could be provided with a basic education.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart owed his early
education to a Pious School

An annual contribution from Pope Clement VIII helped fund the project, which grew so quickly that it was not long before Calasanz was helping around 1,000 of Rome’s most deprived children.

He rented a house nears the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle in central Rome, where he founded the Order of the Pious Schools or Piarists. He wrote a document setting out the principles of his educational philosophy, with regulations for teachers and for students.

The Frascati school differed from others he had set up in that it was open to all children, not only those he rescued from poverty on the streets.  It was also open to children who were not orphaned or neglected, but who came from poor families and would not otherwise have had the chance to receive a formal education.

It is therefore recognised as the first free public primary school in Europe.

The Piarists spread the concept of free primary education and as well as setting up many more schools across Europe encouraged many states to follow their lead.

Francisco Goya, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Gregor Mendel and Victor Hugo all owed their early education to Piarist Schools.

The church of San Giuseppe Calasanzio in Milan

Calasanz died in 1648 at the age of 90, his legacy tarnished, unfortunately, by clashes with powerful senior figures in the Catholic Church over his support for the heliocentric theories that landed Galileo Galilei in trouble, and also over the behaviour of some clerics involved in the Piarist Schools.  As a result, Calasanz was removed as senior general of the Order.

However, eight years after his death, Pope Alexander VII cleared his name and that of the Pious Schools.  In 1748 he was beatified by Pope Benedict XIV and canonised by Pope Clement XIII in 1767.

In 1948, Pope Pius XII declared Saint Joseph of Calasanz the patron of Christian popular schools.

A number of churches have been dedicated to Saint Joseph, including the modern Chiesa di San Giuseppe Calasanzio in via Don Carlo Gnocchi, in the San Siro district of Milan, which was designed by the architect Carlo Bevilacqua and completed in 1965.

The Villa Aldobrandi in Frascati

Travel tip:

Situated just 21km (13 miles) from the centre of Rome, Frascati offers visitors to the region an alternative to staying in the capital that is more peaceful and relaxed.  One of the towns that make up the Castelli Romani, it is perched on a hill to the southeast of Rome, offering fine views across the city as well as cleaner air. It was popular with the wealthy from Roman times to the Renaissance, and remains a draw for Romans today, although thankfully with bars and restaurants to suit all pockets.  In its heyday there were many grand villas and it was unfortunate that the town’s strategic position made it a target for bombing during the Second World War, with many buildings destroyed. The Villa Aldobrandi, which overlooks one of the main piazzas, is one that remains, with extensive gardens open to the public.

The Basilica of Sant'Andrea della Valle

Travel tip:

The Basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle, situated in the heart of historic Rome where Corso del Rinascimento meets Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, is as famous for having been an important setting in the Puccini opera Tosca as it is for its baroque art and architecture. The first act is set inside the 17th-century baroque church, whose dome is the third largest in the city after the Pantheon and St. Peter's. Like the façade, the dome was designed by Carlo Maderno.  The humanist popes from Siena, Pius II and Pius III, are both buried inside.

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