Paolo Renier - Doge of Venice

Penultimate head of Most Serene Republic

The 1779 portrait of Renier, by Lodovico
Gallina, hangs in Venice's Museo Correr

Paolo Renier, the politician and diplomat who served as the penultimate Doge of the Venetian Republic, was born on this day in 1710 in the San Stae parish of the lagoon city.

After a long political career, Renier was already 69 years old when he was appointed as Doge in 1779, an advanced age to be taking up such a position. He was not a popular choice.

He was a skilled orator but seen by many as manipulative and opportunistic. By the time of his appointment, La Serenissima (the most serene) - as 'Repubblica di Venezia’was officially prefixed in medieval and Renaissance times - was in sharp decline, its strength as a military and trade power largely a thing of the past.

The Venetian nobility was riven with factionalism and there was widespread discontent among the ruling elite and the broader public. Renier is said to have received numerous threats, warning him against accepting the role.

He did not help his reputation by appearing to change his position on a number of issues once elected. Having previously aligned with reformist factions in the Venetian government, advocating for administrative and economic modernisation, once elected he shifted toward a more conservative stance, opposing many of the reforms he had once supported.

In doing so, Renier alienated both reformers and traditionalists, who saw him as untrustworthy or self-serving.  Venice was desperate for an inspirational leader who could recreate the belief in future prosperity the city once enjoyed. Yet historians suggest that Renier's speeches, while polished, sometimes emphasised the Republic’s decline in a tone that bordered on defeatism, which did little to inspire confidence.

This was exemplified in a public speech he made in April 1780, in which he lamented Venice’s lack of military strength, alliances, and economic vitality, concluding that the Republic survived only by “chance and the prudence of its government.” 

Paolo Renier was born into a patrician Venetian family prominent in the 16th and early 17th centuries. His father, Andrea, held numerous positions in the Venetian government, most prominently as a member of the Consiglio dei Sei, a panel of six officials who advised the Doge. Five of Paolo’s brothers also played a part in Venetian political life.

Renier was admired for his oratory
but seen as an opportunist

Renier’s own political career spanned more than 50 years, his rhetorical finesse and political tact eventually earning him two of the most critical and prestigious foreign posts in the Venetian diplomatic network. He served as ambassador to the Habsburg court in Vienna (1764–1768) and later as bailo (ambassador) to Constantinople (1769–1773).

But, skilled in political manoeuvring, he acquired enemies along the way, as well as a feeling among many that he was a man who could not be trusted. When he was elected Doge on January 14, 1779 in the first ballot, with 40 votes out of 41, it was popularly rumoured that he had bought the election using the money earned in Constantinople.

In any event, as the 119th Doge of Venice, he inherited a state in decline at a time of public disillusionment with the Republic’s leadership im general. The once-mighty maritime republic had lost its dominance in Mediterranean trade and was increasingly marginalised in European politics. He faced a tide of decline that, despite his diplomatic experience and rhetorical prowess, he was ultimately unable to reverse.   

Away from the political arena, Renier was twice married, first in 1733 to Giustina Donà, who died in 1751, and later Margherita Delmaz, who outlived him by nearly three decades, dying in 1817.

Despite the political turbulence of his reign, Renier remained a man of culture and intellect. It was said that he knew the Iliad and the Odyssey by heart and he was known to have translated works of Plato into Venetian, reflecting his humanist education and engagement with classical thought.

His tenure ended with his death in February 1789, from rheumatic fever, just months before the French Revolution would begin to reshape Europe. He was succeeded by Ludovico Manin, who would become the last Doge of Venice before Napoleon’s forces brought an end to the Republic in 1797.

The stunning Chiesa di San Stae opens on
to the Grand Canal in the heart of Venice

Travel tip:

San Stae, where Paolo Renier was born, is part of the Santa Croce sestiere, a quieter, slightly less congested quarter of Venice compared with tourist-heavy San Marco. Nonetheless, it has some important attractions, not least the parish church, the Chiesa di San Stae. A stunning Baroque church on the Grand Canal, redesigned in the early 18th century by Domenico Rossi, its façade - facing the Grand Canal midway between Rialto and Santa Lucia railway terminus - combines regimented Palladian lines with some elaborate sculptural decoration. Inside, there are works by Tiepolo, Piazzetta, and Ricci.  No more than two minutes’ walk from the church, walking away from the Grand Canal, the Palazzo Mocenigo houses a museum exploring Venetian fashion, perfume, and textiles. From there, it is just another three or four minutes to reach Campo San Giacomo da l’Orio, a peaceful square that has the authentic feel of residential Venice. The church from which the square takes its name is one of the oldest in the city, with a history going back to the 10th century.

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The pink Verona marble of the striking Doge's Palace
is a prominent feature of the Venice waterfront

Travel tip:

Standing beside the Basilica di San Marco - St Mark’s - facing the Venetian lagoon to the south and the Biblioteca Marciana to the west, across the Piazzetta, the Doge’s Palace is one of the most striking sights in Venice. Built in Venetian Gothic style, with its open arcades, delicate stonework and pink Verona marble, the imposing palace dates back to around 810 and was the political and ceremonial heart of the Venetian Republic for over 1,000 years. The first structure was thought to have been a fortified building with towers, reflecting the Doge’s military and executive authority. It was rebuilt in the 14th century, under Doge Pietro Gradenigo, as an opulent palace to reflect Venice’s growing wealth and power. During its time as the seat of Venice’s government, the palace housed the Senate, the Council of Ten, and State Inquisitors, as well as the Hall of Justice and Archives. The city’s prison, including the infamous Piombi and Pozzi cells, was connected to the palace by the Bridge of Sighs, added in 1600, which came to symbolise the final view of Venice for condemned prisoners.

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More reading:

The 15th century Doge immortalised by Byron and Verdi

The Doge who freed land for two of Venice’s most beautiful churches

The Doge who clamped down on Spanish spies

Also on this day:

Since 1681: Festival of Madonna della Salute

1688: The birth of architect and engraver Antonio Visentini

1854: The birth of Pope Benedict XV

1907: The birth of politician and partisan Giorgio Amendola

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Gaetano Cozzi – historian and writer

Professor pursued academic research despite his disability

Gaetano Cozzi overcame disability to
become an expert on Venetian history

Historian, professor, and writer Gaetano Cozzi, who became an expert on the history of Venice and taught at both Venice and Padua Universities, was born on this day in 1922 in Zero Branco in the province of Treviso in the Veneto.

Although confined to a wheelchair for most of his adult life, Cozzi became famous internationally because of his research into the life of writer and statesman, Paolo Sarpi, and his own writing about the relationship between law and society in Italy.

Cozzi grew up in Legnano, a municipality of Milan, and went to military school. At the age of 20, he became a second lieutenant in the Alpine troops. While attending a training school in Parma he was kicked by a horse and suffered a leg wound. A vaccine injected into him to treat the wound caused a serious infection and although his condition stabilised after a few months he was left paralysed in his lower limbs.

He had to have frequent periods in hospital, but his medical treatment, rather than demoralising him, stimulated him intellectually. He began to take an interest in politics and came into contact with the Liberal Party in Italy. He contributed to the Resistance in 1943, while lying in his hospital bed, by writing for Italian newspapers that carried propaganda pieces. He later left the Liberal Party for the Radical party and then joined L'Unità Popolare, a short-lived Democratic and Liberal political party.

Despite being paralysed, Cozzi prepared to take his university exams and he graduated in History of Italian Law at the University of Milan in 1949. His thesis was about the writer Paolo Sarpi, and the relationship between the state and the church in Italy.

Cozzi moved to Venice to continue his research, even though life was difficult for him there because of his disability. He also found it difficult to find accommodation because of the large population in the city at the time. 

Paolo Sarpi, the Venetian writer on whose
work Cozzi became a leading authority

After the founding of the Institute for the History of Venetian Society and State, he was appointed its secretary in 1955.

His first book, about Nicolò Contarini, who was the Doge of Venice in 1630, had to be dictated by Cozzi to his mother in 1958 because his illness had once again forced him to lie in bed.

Cozzi was appointed to teach history at the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature in Venice and while attending a meeting at the Giorgio Cini Foundation in 1960, he met Luisa Zille, an expert in philology, who he married in 1962 in Venice. He later collaborated with his wife to edit the Complete Works of Paolo Sarpi.

In 1966, Cozzi was appointed by the ancient University of Padua to teach medieval and modern history at their faculty of Political Sciences.

After returning to teach at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice in the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy in 1970, he fought for a degree course in history to be created there. 

Cozzi was a prolific writer about criminal justice and prisons in the Venetian Republic and he also wrote The History of Venice, published in two volumes in 1986 and 1992.

In 1987, he became a board member of the newly established, Treviso-based Benetton Foundation for Studies and Research.

All Cozzi’s writing and research had to be interspersed with long periods in hospital because of complications with his health. He suffered a further blow when his wife, Luisa, who was suffering from depression, took her own life in 1995.

Cozzi’s teaching career came to an end in 1998 with a ceremony at Ca’ Foscari, where he was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus.

The historian died in 2001 in Venice at the age of 78. He was buried in the cemetery at Zero Branco next to his wife, Luisa. His gravestone bears the inscription: ‘Still together, always together.’

Casa Luisa e Gaetano Cozzi, just outside Zero
Branco, has a library housing the Cozzi archive

Travel tip:

Zero Branco is a comune - municipality - in the province of Treviso in the Veneto, located about 20km (12 miles) northwest of Venice and about 10km (6 miles) southwest of Treviso.  Casa Luisa e Gaetano Cozzi in Via Milan is now a cultural centre in the countryside outside Zero Branco, having been bequeathed to Fondazione Benetton in Gaetano Cozzi’s will. It is an eight-hectare complex consisting of a former farmhouse, rustic outbuildings, and agricultural land, which is used by the Benetton Foundation for agricultural research.  A library houses Cozzi’s documents and archives that are made available to scholars. Luisa’s Bechstein piano is preserved there and musical activities take place at Casa Cozzi in her memory.

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Porticoes and weeping willow trees line the
picturesque Canale Buranelli in pretty Treviso

Travel tip:

The pretty town of Treviso is 30km (19 miles) north of Venice. Visitors can stroll along by canals, but unlike Venice they are fringed by willow trees and adorned with the occasional water wheel and you won’t encounter large tour groups coming in the opposite direction. There are plenty of restaurants serving authentic cucina trevigiana and cucina veneta, but at more modest prices than you will find in Venice, and plenty of places to sample locally-produced Prosecco. Treviso is close to the so-called strada del prosecco, the road between Valdobbiadene and Conegliano, which is lined with wineries producing Prosecco DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata), the stamp of quality given to the best Italian wines. It takes only about ten minutes to walk from the railway station through the 16th century Venetian walls and along Via Roma, Corso del Popolo, and Via XX Settembre to Piazza dei Signori, at the centre of Treviso. From this central square, a short walk through Piazza San Vito leads to a picturesque part of Treviso, Canale Buranelli. You can walk alongside the canal under the porticoes of the houses and see the flower-decorated balconies on the ornate buildings on the other side. Nearby is Treviso's fish market - the  Pescheria, which is held daily on a very small island in the middle of the River Sile. Treviso’s Duomo, built in the 12th century but remodelled in the 15th, 16th, and 18th centuries, houses Titian’s Annunciation, painted in 1570, and frescoes painted by his arch rival, Pordenone.

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More reading:

Paolo Sarpi, the patriotic Venetian who the Pope wanted dead

Luciano Benetton, the entrepreneur who co-founded clothing brand

Why Treviso commemorates star tenor Mario del Monaco

Also on this day:

1616: Europe's first free public school opens in Frascati, near Rome

1881: The birth of car manufacturer Ettore Bugatti

1904: The birth of Umberto II, the last king of Italy

1919: The birth of cycling great Fausto Coppi

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Luca Pacioli - mathematician and geometrist

Friar who became known as ‘Father of Accounting’

Jacopo de' Barbari's portrait of Luca Pacioli with
an unknown geometry student attending

Luca Pacioli, the Franciscan friar and mathematician who would become known as the ‘Father of Accounting’, died on this day in 1517 in Sansepolcro, a town in eastern Tuscany in the province of Arezzo.

Taking advantage of the development of the printing press, Pacioli is thought to have published at least 10 mathematical textbooks, of which the best known is his Summa de arithmetica, geometria, Proportioni et proportionalita - usually known as simply Summa.

Published in Venice in 1494, it was a comprehensive treatise of every aspect of mathematical knowledge that had been explored to that time and the first book to include a description of the double-entry book-keeping system, widely used by Venetian merchants. The principals he outlined in Summa still influence business practices today.

Pacioli, who taught mathematics in several Italian cities and was appointed the first chair in mathematics at the University of Perugia, was a figure of influence in the arts world as well as commerce.

Having possibly been a student of Piero della Francesca, a pioneer of the use of geometry and perspective in painting and, like Pacioli, a native of Sansepolcro, he later became a close friend of Leonardo da Vinci.

Da Vinci’s drawings illustrated another of his notable works, Divina proportione, an exploration of mathematical and artistic proportion, focussing especially on the so-called golden ratio of proportionality and its application in architecture.

The title page of a 1523 edition of
Pacioli's Summa, his greatest work

Pacioli was around 70 years old when he died, having been born between 1446 and 1448. He received an education based around maths and commerce in Sansepolcro, before moving to Venice in around 1464, continuing his studies there and being appointed tutor to the three sons of a wealthy merchant, Antonio Rompiasi.

From Venice, he moved to Rome, where he became friends with the architect, artist and mathematician Leon Battista Alberti, before returning to Sansepolcro to enter the Franciscan Order in 1470. In the following years, he taught mathematics in Perugia, Florence, Venice, Milan, Pisa, Bologna and Rome. 

After the publication of Summa in 1494, he accepted an invitation from Duke Ludovico Sforza to work in Milan. There he met and taught Leonardo da Vinci, for a time living with the polymath as a house guest. Da Vinci acquired his knowledge of geometry and its applications in art and architecture from his association with Pacioli.

Pacioli might have remained in Milan longer had the city not been overrun by Louis XII of France at the start of the Second Italian War. Ludovico Sforza fled the city, as did Pacioli and da Vinci, first to Mantua, and then Venice.  

Although Pacioli left a significant intellectual legacy in the fields of accounting and mathematics, he was effectively accused of plagiarism by 16th-century artist and historian Giorgio Vasari.

Vasari was critical of the inclusion in Divina proportione - without credit - of the translated text of della Francesca’s book, originally written in Latin, De quinque corporibus regularibus, about the geometry of polyhedra - solid objects with polygonal faces, such as pyramids. Other scholars, though, argue that the edition of Divina proportione that Vasari read may have been appended to include della Francesca’s work after Pacioli’s death.

Pacioli’s final university teaching post is thought to have been in Rome during 1514 and 1515, before returning to Sansepolcro as his health began to decline.

Piero della Francesca's painting, The Resurrection,
which may have spared Sansepolcro a WW2 attack

Travel tip:

Sansepolcro, a town nestled in the Valtiberina valley at the foot of the Apennines, has a rich artistic and cultural heritage. As well as being the home town of Luca Pacioli,  it is known as the birthplace of Renaissance master Piero della Francesca, whose brilliant painting, The Resurrection, is housed in the Museo Civico di Sansepolcro. The presence of the painting probably saved the town from destruction in World War Two after Tony Clarke, an art-loving British Royal Horse Artillery officer who, halted a planned  Allied artillery attack. Another treasure, a 12th-century polychrome wooden crucifix known as the Volto Santo, can be seen in the town’s beautiful Romanesque duomo, the Cattedrale di San Giovanni Evangelista. Look out also for The Lamentation over the Dead Christ, by the Mannerist painter Rosso Fiorentino, in the church of San Lorenzo. Other museums include the Aboca Museum, dedicated to the history of medicinal herbs, featuring antique books, laboratory tools, and botanical collections, as well as the Bernardini-Fatti Museum of Antique Windows, the world’s first museum dedicated to stained glass windows. Sansepolcro’s medieval streets, fortified walls, and historic palazzos make it a delightful place to explore. 

One of Arezzo's notable sights is its sharply
sloping medieval main square, Piazza Grande

Travel tip:

Arezzo is one of the wealthiest cities in Tuscany. It is situated about 80km (50 miles) southeast of Florence, at the confluence of four valleys - Tiberina, Casentino, Valdarno and Valdichiana. Its medieval centre suffered massive damage during the Second World War yet the Basilica di San Francesco, with its beautiful frescoes by Piero della Francesca, the central Piazza Grande, with its sloping pavement in red brick, and the Medici Fortress, the duomo and a Roman amphitheatre survived, among other historic sights.  Arezzo’s original cathedral was built on the nearby Pionta Hill, over the burial place of Donatus of Arezzo, who was martyred in 363. In 1203 Pope Innocent III had the cathedral moved within the city's walls, to the current site in another elevated position a short walk from Piazza Grande.  The interior contains several notable artworks, including a relief by Donatello, entitled Baptism of Christ, and a cenotaph to Guido Tarlati, lord of Arezzo until 1327, said to be designed by Giotto, near to which is Piero della Francesca's Mary Magdalene.  The wooden choir of the Grand Chapel was designed by Giorgio Vasari, who was born in Arezzo. The city is home to an annual medieval festival called the Giostra del Saracino (Saracen Joust), in which "knights" on horseback representing different areas of the town charge at a wooden target attached to a carving of a Saracen king and score points according to accuracy. Arezzo had a starring role in Roberto Benigni's film Life Is Beautiful, which won three Academy Awards, as the place in which the main characters live before they are shipped off to a Nazi concentration camp.

Also on this day:

1918: The death in action of WW1 fighter pilot Francesco Baracca

1932: The birth of actress twin sisters Pier Angeli and Marisa Pavan

1951: The birth of Giro d’Italia-winning cyclist Francesco Moser

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Gaetano Casanova - actor

Best known as father of history’s most celebrated Lothario

A painting by Tiepolo, Minuet at the Villa,
taken by some to represent Zanetta and Gaetano 

Gaetano Casanova, an actor and dancer who fathered two noted painters but, more famously, the notorious 18th century libertine Giacomo Casanova, was born on this day in 1697 in Parma.

From a family originally from the Aragon region of Spain, Gaetano followed the lead of his brother, Giambattista, in leaving the family home in 1713, at the age of 16. He became infatuated with a much older woman, Giovanna Benozzi, who was a commedia dell’arte actress with a touring troupe.

However, Benozzi, who went under the stage name of La Fragoletta - the Little Strawberry - was not so enthusiastic and instead married one of the troupe’s stars, Francesco Balletti, who hailed from a family of famous actors and was their specialist in the role of Arlecchino - Harlequin.

Crestfallen, the young Geatano left the troupe and went to Venice, where he found work at the Teatro San Samuele.

In the event, it was not long before he found a new romantic interest, this time in the daughter of a shoemaker who kept a workshop near where Gaetano was staying. Her name was Zanetta Farussi.

Zanetta’s parents did not approve of their relationship, yet after less than a year they were married in secret. Her father, Girolamo, died not long afterwards, supposedly from a broken heart. Gaetano persuaded her mother, Marcia, to accept the marriage only by promising that she would not follow him into the acting profession.

Francesco Casanova's painting, The Cavalry
Battle, is currently on display at The Louvre

It proved a hollow promise.  Gaetano had a good relationship with the owner of the Teatro San Samuele, Michele Grimani, who was charmed by Zanetta’s good looks and gave her a role.

Indeed, Michele paid such attention to Zanetta that when she and Gaetano’s first child, Giacomo, was born in 1725, he suspected that Michele might be the real father.

Nonetheless, he and Zanetta stuck together and teamed up with a popular acting company to go on tour in London, where their second child, Francesco, was born in 1727.  Giacomo stayed behind in Venice, in the care of the Grimani family.

They went on to have six children before Gaetano died, sadly, at the age of only 36 after developing an infection that stemmed from an ear abscess. 

Of the six children, Francesco and Giovanni both went on to become well known in their own right as painters.

Francesco, who trained initially in the workshop of the Venetian painter Giovanni Antonio Guardi, made his name painting battle scenes, a skill he learned from working with Francesco Simioni. At the height of his popularity, he sold paintings to King Louis XV of France and was commissioned by Catherine the Great of Russia.

Giacomo Casanova, whose
parentage was unclear

Giovanni, a painter of the neoclassicist school, also travelled, widely in Italy and also to Paris, where he was commissioned to paint a portrait of Clement XIII for the Sorbonne university, and to Dresden, where he lived for a while with his mother and his sister, Maria Maddalena, and taught at the Academy of Fine Arts.

Yet their places in history have largely been eclipsed by their brother, Giacomo, whose colourful life after graduating from the University of Padua with a degree in law saw him work at various times as a clergyman, military officer, violinist, businessman and spy.

He frequently embarked on passionate and risky affairs with women, who were often already married. He would regularly run out of money and on several occasions was imprisoned for debt.

Prosciutto di Parma, the ham that had become one
of the edible symbols of the Emilia-Romagna city

Travel tip:

Parma, where Gaetano Casanova was born, is an historic city in the Emilia-Romagna region, famous for food and music among other things. The home of Prosciutto di Parma ham and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, it has a music conservatory named after Arrigo Boito, who wrote the libretti for many of the operas composed by Giuseppe Verdi, who was born near Parma at Busseto. Parma also has a prestigious opera house, the Teatro Regio. The city was given in 1545 as a duchy to the illegitimate son of Pope Paul III, whose descendants ruled Parma till 1731. An elegant city with an air of prosperity common to much of Emilia-Romagna, Parma’s outstanding architecture includes an 11th century Romanesque cathedral and the octagonal 12th century baptistery that adjoins it, the church of San Giovanni Evangelista, which has a beautiful late Mannerist facade and bell tower, and the Palazzo della Pilotta, which houses the Academy of Fine Arts, the Palatine Library, the National Gallery and an archaeological museum.

How the Teatro San Samuele may have looked
when Gaetano Casanova was an actor and dancer

Travel tip:

The Teatro San Samuele, where Gaetano Casanova found work on his arrival in Venice and where his wife, Zanetta Farussi, began her theatrical career, was an opera house and theatre at the Rio del Duca, between San Samuele and Campo Santo Stefano. It was first opened in 1656 in Venice and the playwright, Carlo Goldoni, was the theatre’s director between 1737 and 1741. The theatre was destroyed by fire in 1747 but then rebuilt and it remained a theatre until the building was demolished in 1894. San Samuele is in the San Marco sestiere and has a waterbus stop on the right bank of the Grand Canal before you reach the Rialto.  The San Samuele is one of three Venice theatres from its 18th century golden age - along with the San Moisé and San Cassiano or the San Samuele - that no longer exist. The San Benedetto closed in the early 20th century and was remodelled as a cinema.  Renamed Teatro Rossini in 1868 in honour of the composer Gioachino Rossini, it reopened as the Cinema Rossini in 1937. Nowadays, the building, in Salizzada de la Chiesa o del Teatro, which is between Teatro la Fenice and the Grand Canal in the San Marco district, holds a multi-screen cinema.

Also on this day:

1696: The birth of soprano Francesca Cuzzoni

1725: The birth of adventurer Giacomo Casanova

1894: The death of painter and printmaker Achille Vianelli

1959: The birth of Olympic marathon champion Gelindo Bordin

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Battle of Rivoli

Napoleon defeats the Austrians and boosts his reputation

Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux's painting of
Napoleon (mounted, centre) at the Battle of Rivoli

Napoleon won an important victory on Italian soil on this day in 1797 when, despite his troops being outnumbered, they defeated an attacking Austrian army. He triumphed in the Battle of Rivoli near the village of Rivoli Veronese, in what was then part of the Republic of Venice.

Austrian soldiers were attempting to move south to relieve a garrison of their men who were under siege from the French in Mantua. But their defeat at the Battle of Rivoli led to them having to surrender Mantua to their enemy a few weeks later. 

Napoleon’s victory in the Battle of Rivoli effectively consolidated the position of the French in northern Italy and enhanced his reputation as a capable military commander.

Under the command of General Jozsef Alvinczi, the Austrian troops had planned to overwhelm the French soldiers serving under General Barthelemy Joubert when they encountered them in the mountains to the east of Lake Garda.

They deployed 28,000 men in five columns against the French to gain access to the open country north of Mantua, planning to march to the city and complete their mission.

Eduoard Detaille's painting of Napoleon as he
looks over captured Austrian troops 

However, General Joubert managed to hold them off until he was joined by reinforcements, and, subsequently, by Napoleon himself. The French formed a defensive line on ground just north of Rivoli.

Alvinczi united three columns of Austrian troops near the comune of Caprino Veronese while other Austrian troops were advancing to the north of Monte Baldo and progressing along the roads to either side of the River Adige.

The French were forced out of the village of Osteria and on to the Rivoli plateau and the situation began to look dangerous for them, with the Austrian troops preventing Napoleon’s men from retreating.

However, Napoleon turned his attention to the Austrian troops on either side of the river. The French soldiers poured canister shot at point blank range on the advancing Austrians and as a result the troops on horseback broke ranks and stampeded through their own infantry, causing chaos. 

Other French soldiers assaulted the Austrians from the front and a group of 26 French mounted soldiers charged straight into them, resulting in an Austrian battalion and five flags being captured. 

By midday, French cavalry commanded by Joachim Murat had reached the area and were also able to charge against the Austrians, driving them back to the position they had occupied earlier in the day. The Austrian troops were then ordered by their commanders to move back still further out of artillery range.

Joachim Murat led his men
in a decisive charge

The French lost 3,200 men and had 1,000 captured during the battle, while the Austrians lost 4,000 and had 8,000 captured.

When the Austrians finally surrendered the city of Mantua, their soldiers were allowed to go home by the French, after they swore an oath not to serve against them for a year.

Napoleon, accompanied by 8,000 of his men, went to Rome to try to reach a settlement with the Papal States. With the Austrians finally driven out of Italy, Pope Pius VI agreed to an armistice dictated by Napoleon.

But the Austrians still refused to negotiate peace with the French. 

Therefore, Napoleon embarked on another military campaign that was to take him all the way to the city of Vienna.

A street in Paris was later named Rue de Rivoli to commemorate the French victory on 14 January 1797 at the Battle of Rivoli.

A view over the village of Rivoli Veronese and
the surrounding countryside

Travel tip:

Rivoli Veronese is a comune in the province of Verona in the Veneto, situated on hills overlooking the right bank of the River Adige. Throughout history the area around Rivoli has always been seen as difficult territory by armies and another important battle was fought there in 1848 during the first Italian War of Independence between Austrian and Piedmontese troops. With lakes on one side and mountains on the other, the scenery is spectacular and Rivoli is visited by travellers staying in Lake Garda. Napoleon had a commemorative monument built on the site of the battlefield, an 80-foot high column that was torn down by the Austrians in 1814. Today, a few ruins are the only legacy of the column but there is a commemorative plaque that says in French: ‘The soldiers of the French army in Italy 1918, and dedicated to their glorious forebears of 1797.’ On Rivoli's main street, a small museum has a few items from the battle in a collection that aims to demonstrate the influence of Napoleon on the history of Italy. 

The facade of the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua,
the former seat of the Gonzaga family

Travel tip:

The historic city of Mantua, which was the ultimate destination for the Austrian troops, lies in Lombardy, to the south east of Milan. In the Renaissance heart of the city is Piazza Mantegna, where the 15th century Basilica di Sant’Andrea houses the tomb of the artist, Andrea Mantegna. The church was originally built to accommodate the large number of pilgrims who came to Mantua to see a precious relic, an ampoule containing what were believed to be drops of Christ’s blood mixed with earth, which it was claimed had been collected at the site of his crucifixion by a Roman soldier. Mantua is also famous for its Renaissance Palazzo Ducale, the seat of the Gonzaga family between 1328 and 1707. The Camera degli Sposi in the palace is decorated with frescoes by Andrea Mantegna, depicting the life of Eleonora’s ancestor, Ludovico Gonzaga, and his family in the 15th century. The beautiful backgrounds of imaginary cities and ruins reflect Mantegna’s love of classical architecture. 

Also on this day:

1451: The birth of composer Franchino Gaffurio

1507: The birth of painter Luca Longhi

1552: The birth of lawyer Alberico Gentili

1883: The birth of fashion designer Nina Ricci

1919: The birth of politician Giulio Andreotti

1925: The birth of Ellesse founder Leonardo Servadio

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Emilio Vedova - painter

Self-taught Venetian became influential figure in 20th century Italian art

Emilio Vedova was one of the 20th
century's most influential artists

The painter Emilio Vedova, regarded as one of the most influential Italian artists in the second half of the 20th century, was born in Venice on this day in 1919.

Vedova was known for his expressive abstract paintings, which often had a raw and violent character seemingly inspired by the tumultuous political climate of his time and the apprehension that clouded people’s lives.

A politically engaged figure, in 1942 he joined the Milanese anti-Fascist artists’ association known as Corrente, which included other painters such as Renato Guttuso and Renato Birolli, and fought in the Italian Resistance movement from 1943-45.

After World War Two, he was a co-signatory in 1946 with Corrente member Ennio Morlotti of the Oltre Guernica - Beyond Guernica - manifesto, which encouraged artists to use abstract notions rather than figures to reflect the reality of society.  A year later, he founded Fronte Nuovo delle Arti.  He described his paintings of this period as Geometrie nere (Black geometries).

Vedova is also associated with the Italian school of Arte Informale, a movement that emerged in various parts of Europe in the mid-1940s, which paralleled the Abstract Expressionism movement in the United States.  Both favoured an art based on spontaneous, expressive gestures and a rejection of traditional forms. In Italy, Vedova, Alberto Burri and Lucio Fontana were the most prominent painters in this movement.

Born in Venice into a working-class family, Vedova's father was a house painter. His own first employment - at the age of 11 - was in a factory, after which he was taken on as a photographer’s assistant before finding a position in a restoration workshop. 

Vedova's Image of Time/Barrier (1958) can be seen
at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice

At the same time, he developed a passionate interest in drawing and painting. He studied the works of Titian, Tintoretto and Guardi in his native city but also Rembrandt, Goya and Daumier.  Some of his own early work was inspired by Venetian Baroque architecture, in particular the churches, in which he admired the dynamism of their lines and the way they made use of light.

He went to Florence to attend a free school of nude painting, mixing with other artists and artisans in the San Frediano district. It was there he made his first contacts within anti-Fascist circles. 

Returning to Venice, he struggled to make ends meet but with the help of the Opera Bevilacqua La Masa, which supported poor artists, managed to obtain an attic-studio in Palazzo Carminati. His first paintings on public view - mainly nudes and still lifes - were exhibited at the Galleria Ongania in Venice in 1940.

Appalled at the direction in which Italy was travelling under Mussolini, his attraction to the Corrente group in Milan was that he saw it as a counterpoint to the Novecento and Italian Futurism schools, both of which were regarded as nationalistic and pro-Fascist.

As a young painter, Vedova was fortunate to be
provided with a studio by a charitable organisation

Given his own passionate opposition to Fascism, it was no surprise that he was drawn to the Resistance movement. He took part in activities in Rome and in the hills around Belluno in the Veneto, where he was wounded.

When peace returned, he began to create pastels in which he expressed his state of mind as it was shaped by the experience of war.  In 1948 he participated for the first time in the Venice Biennale. By 1952, his work was seen as important enough to have a room at the exhibition entirely dedicated to him. 

In 1951, Vedova exhibited his first solo show in the United States at the Catherine Viviano Gallery in New York, where he began to be noticed by high-profile collectors such as Peggy Guggenheim. He received a Guggenheim International award in 1956 and the Grand Prize for Painting at the 1960 Venice Biennale.

As appreciation for his work spread, he spent time abroad, including spells in Brazil, Japan, the United States, Mexico and Berlin.  Back in Italy, the student revolts of the late 1960s and the instability of the so-called Years of Lead in the 1970s and ‘80s, informed his work in the same way as his wartime experience earlier.

Vedova was a restlessly inventive artist throughout his career. He collaborated with the avant-garde composer Luigi Nono, designing sets and costumes for the opera Intolleranza in 1960, and a light setting for Nono's opera Prometeo at La Fenice in 1984. 

He designed large-scale glass engravings, as well as numerous plurimi - freestanding, multi-panelled painted sculptures made of wood and metal.  In 1993 the Accademia dei Lincei awarded him the Feltrinelli Prize for painting, and in 1997 he received the Golden Lion for his work at the Venice Biennale.

His work began to find a permanent place in gallery and museum exhibitions at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice among others.

He kept a permanent home in Venice for much of his life and between 1975 and 1986 taught the city’s Accademia di Belle Arti.  He died in Venice in 2006 at the age of 87. He is buried in the monumental cemetery of San Michele, on an island in the lagoon.

An example of the studio spaces on offer to
selected young artists at Palazzo Carminati

Travel tip:

The Palazzo Carminati, where Emilio Vedova had his first studio, is in the Santa Croce sestiere of Venice. Recently restored, in addition to offering a wonderful view of the city, the top floor of the historic building also houses seven studios for selected young artists under the auspices of the Bevilacqua La Masa foundation, and two guest houses reserved for residency programmes.  It can be accessed from the San Stae vaporetto stop by walking approximately 230m along Salizada San Stae and turning right into Ramo Carminati. 

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is kept
at the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni in Venice

Travel tip:

Peggy Guggenheim died in 1979 but her legacy to Venice remains in the collection of modern art she accumulated, much of which is on display at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, a museum located in the 18th century Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro district, where the American heiress lived for three decades. Open to the public from 10am to 6pm, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection is home to the works of many prominent painters.  Two works by Emilio Vedova acquired by her in the 1950s remain in the collection: Image of Time/Barrier (1958) and Hostage City (1954). More recently, Vedova's monotype Opposite Space IV (2006) was donated to the Collection by the Emilio and Annabianca Vedova Foundation.

Also on this day:

1173: Work begins on the campanile later famous as the Leaning Tower of Pisa

1939: The birth of politician Romano Prodi

1973: The birth of footballer and coach Filippo Inzaghi

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Giacomo Boni - archaeologist and architect

Venetian best known for his discoveries at the Forum in Rome

Giacomo Boni was born in Venice but
lived in Rome for much of his adult life

The archaeologist Giacomo Boni, who was director of excavations at the Forum in Rome for 27 years until his death in 1925, was born on this day in 1859 in Venice.

His work within the ancient Roman site led to significant discoveries, including the Iron Age necropolis, the Lapis Niger, the Regia and other monuments.

Boni had a particular interest in stratigraphy, the branch of geology concerning subterranean layers of rock and other materials, and was among the first to apply the principles of stratigraphic excavation in the field of archaeological research.

The methods he employed in his work at the Forum still serve as a reference point today.

Boni was also an architect. In that area of his work, his masterpiece is considered to be the restoration of the Villa Blanc, a prestigious house that represents a unique example of eclectic art, a harmonious blend of elements and styles of different ages and cultures.

He served as a soldier during World War I, after which he embraced fascism, which he saw as an opportunity for the revival of ancient Roman religion and paganism, in which he had a keen interest. He joined the National Fascist Party, having become enthusiastic about Mussolini’s vision of a Fascist Italy as a kind of continuation of the Roman Empire. Mussolini in turn appointed him a senator in 1923. 

Boni grew up in a strongly patriotic household, his father, a naval captain, having refused to swear allegiance to the Austrian Emperor at considerable cost to his status.

Boni photographed near the
Arch of Trajan in 1907

His interest in architecture grew from his work, as a 19-year-old labourer, on the restoration of the Doge’s Palace in Venice. He enrolled at the city’s Accademia di Belle Arti to study architecture before moving to Rome, where he quickly obtained a series of important appointments.

In 1888 he was appointed secretary of the Royal Chalcography and, in 1890, inspector of monuments of the General Directorate of Antiquities and Fine Arts.  He assisted in the Pantheon excavation in 1892 with Luca Beltrami and the architect, Giuseppe Sacconi, who would later be known as the designer of the Victor Emmanuel monument. 

In 1895 he became director of the Regional Office of Monuments of Rome and, three years later, was appointed to direct the excavations of the Foro Romano, the Roman Forum.

Documents show that Boni’s research in the Forum was responsible for the discovery of the Lapis niger, the Regia, the Lacus Curtius, the Caesarian tunnels in the subsoil of the square, the archaic necropolis near the temple of Antoninus and Faustina and the church of Santa Maria Antiqua.

He demolished the church of Santa Maria Liberatrice in order to expose the ruins of Santa Maria Antiqua. His other discoveries included portions of the Column of Trajan.

Boni also worked on the slope of the Palatine Hill where he discovered the Mundus (tholos-cistern), a complex of tunnels leading to the Casa dei Grifi, the Aula Isiac and the Baths of Tiberius.

During his work on the renovation of Villa Blanc, a noble property set in parkland on the edge of the Trieste quarter to the northeast of Rome’s city centre, he also carried out some excavations that revealed the existence of a Roman mausoleum.

Boni’s embrace of Mussolini’s regime was short-lived, in the event.  Two years after being made a senator, he became ill and died at the age of 66. His body was buried within the Orti Farnesiani sul Palatino, the botanical gardens on the Palatine Hill, overlooking the Forum. 

The ruins of ancient Rome's Foro Romano are 
visited by 4.5 million people every year

Travel tip:

Rome's historic Forum, situated between Piazza Venezia and the Colosseum, was at the heart both of the ancient city of Rome and the Roman Empire itself, the nucleus of political affairs and commercial business, a place where elections took place and great speeches were made.  The site fell into disrepair with the fall of the Empire and over time buildings were dismantled for the stone and marble, with much debris left behind.  Eventually it was abandoned and became overgrown and was used mainly for grazing cattle.  Attempts at uncovering and restoring buildings began in the early 19th century and the process of excavating areas long buried continues today.  The impressive and extensive ruins are now one of Rome's major tourist attractions, drawing some 4.5 million visitors each year.

The Fontana delle Rane in Piazza Mincio in the
Quartiere Coppedè in Rome's Trieste neighbourhood

Travel tip:

The Trieste quarter is the 17th quarter of Rome, located in the north-central area of the city. It borders the Aniene river to the north and northeast and is a neighbour of other notable quarters, such as Monte Sacro, Nomentano, Salario, and Parioli. It is an area with a rich history, one of its attractions being the ancient catacomb of Priscilla, a former quarry used for Christian burials from the late second century until the fourth century.  The Trieste quarter houses the Quartiere Coppedè, an architectural complex known for its eclectic style, and Villa Albani, which holds a collection of classical art. The eastern part of Trieste is referred to as the African Quarter, its streets named after the colonies of the Kingdom of Italy. The quarter was once famous for the Piper Club, a 1960s bar and music venue that hosted the debut of the Italian pop star Patty Pravo and performances by Pink Floyd, Nirvana and the Beatles among others. Combining historical charm with a vibrant community feel, Trieste can offer a pleasant escape from the more tourist-dominated areas of Rome.

Also on this day:

1472: The death of Renaissance polymath Leon Battista Alberti

1815: The birth of inventor Giovanni Caselli

1973: The death of former World War I flying ace Ferruccio Ranza

Festa della Liberazione

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Giuseppe Tartini – composer and violinist

Baroque musician also contributed to science

As well as composing for violin, Tartini
established a new technique for playing

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 Elisabetta Premazore, a protégée of the Archbishop of Padua, but this led to him being arrested on charges of  abduction. He disguised himself as a monk and fled the city, taking refuge in a monastery in Assisi.

Later, Tartini was allowed to return to his wife by the archbishop after news that his violin playing had attracted favourable attention had reached him.

Tartini became principal violinist and maestro di cappella at the Basilica of Sant’Antonio in 1721 and he was invited to Prague in 1723 to direct the orchestra of the Chancellor of Bohemia.

After his return to Padua in 1728 he founded a school of violin playing and composition there.

Tartini composed more than 100 violin concertos and many sonatas, including the Trillo del Diavolo (Devil’s Trill). He also composed music for trios and quartets and religious works.

His playing was said to be remarkable because of its combination of technical and poetic qualities, and his bowing technique became a model for later violinists. He was invited to go on a concert tour of Italy in 1740.

Tartini contributed to the science of acoustics with his discovery of the Tartini tone, which was a third note, heard when two notes are played steadily and with intensity.

He wrote a treatise on music, Trattato di musica, in 1754 as well as a dissertation on the principles of music harmony and a treatise on ornamentation in music.

Tartini died in Padua in 1770 at the age of 77.

Giotto's frescoes lining the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua
considered among the world's great artworks

Travel tip:

The elegant city of Padua, where Tartini was principal violinist and maestro di cappella at the Basilica di Sant'Antonio, is an important centre for pilgrims. The Scrovegni Chapel contains frescoes by Giotto, considered to be among the greatest works of art in the world. Dedicated to Santa Maria della Carita (Saint Mary of the Charity), the chapel was decorated with frescoes by Giotto between 1303 and 1305. He was commissioned to paint the frescoes by Enrico degli Scrovegni, who was hoping to atone for the sins of usury committed by himself and his dead father. The frescoes narrate events in the lives of the Virgin Mary and Christ and the stunning scenes cover the interior walls of the chapel. On the wall opposite the altar is Giotto’s magnificent Universal Judgment, which tells the story of human salvation and includes the figure of Enrico degli Scrovegni offering up a model of the chapel to the Virgin Mary in a desperate bid to save his father from hell. For more information visit www.cappelladegliscrovegni.it

The Basilica di Sant'Antonio in Padua is
visited by some five million pilgrims each year

Travel tip:

The enormous Basilica di Sant’Antonio di Padova, sometimes known as the Basilica del Santo, where Tartini was principal violinist and maestro di cappella, is one of the most important places of Christian worship in the world. An estimated five million pilgrims visit the basilica every year to file past and touch the tomb of their beloved Sant’Antonio, a Franciscan monk who became famous for his miracles. The magnificent church, in Piazza del Santo, is an architectural masterpiece created between the 13th and 14th centuries, but it was later enriched with works of art by masters such as Titian, Tiepolo and the sculptor Donatello. 

Also on this day:

1492: The death of Medici ruler Lorenzo the Magnificent

1848: The death of composer Gaetano Donizetti

1868: The birth of equestrian pioneer Federico Caprilli

1929: The birth of historian Renzo De Felice

(The portrait of Giuseppe Tartini, by an anonymous artist, is housed in the Museo del Castello Sforzesco in Milan)

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