Enrico Berlinguer - Communist politician

Popular leader turned left-wing party into political force

Enrico Berlinguer

Enrico Berlinguer, who for more than a decade was Western Europe's most powerful and influential Communist politician, was born on this day in 1922 in the Sardinian city of Sassari.

As secretary-general of the Italian Communist Party from March 1972 until his death in 1984, he led the largest Communist movement outside the Eastern Bloc, coming close to winning a general election in 1976.

He achieved popularity by striving to establish the Italian Communists as a political force that was not controlled from Moscow, pledging a commitment to democracy, a parliamentary system, a mixed economy, and Italian membership of the Common Market and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

At its peak, Berlinguer's Westernized brand of Communism appealed to nearly a third of Italian voters.  His policies were adopted by other left-wing parties in Europe under what became known as Eurocommunism. 

As support for the previously dominant Christian Democrats waned in the 1970s, he proposed a ''historic compromise'' with other parties, rejecting the traditional left-wing vision of violent revolution, and declared that the Italian Communists would be happy to enter into a coalition with Christian Democrats and others.

In fact, in the elections of 1976, at a time when Italy faced economic collapse, Berlinguer's Communists came close to winning power in their own right, polling 34 per cent of the vote.  The Christian Democrats prevailed with 38 per cent but needed the support of some groups on the extreme right to do so.

The result sent shock waves across the Atlantic.  Political leaders in America, in particular Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, regarded Italy as a bulwark against the Eastern Bloc and were alarmed that the Italian Communists had been so close to power.

This cover of Time magazine reflected disquiet
 in the United States at Berlinguer's success

Despite his failure to become Prime Minister, Berlinguer remained one of Italy's foremost politicians. The Christian Democrats had to rely on Communist support to pass legislation and Berlinguer was thereby in a position to influence policy.

His party membership grew to 1.7 million and its success in local elections meant the Communists effectively governed nearly half of the Italian population anyway, controlling Rome and many of the major northern cities, including Turin, Milan, Bologna, Florence and Venice.

Berlinguer was born into a middle-class Sardinian family of noble descent yet the politics of his father Mario, a lawyer, leaned heavily towards the left. A socialist deputy and later senator, he was acquainted with a number of Communist leaders, including Antonio Gramsci and Palmiro Togliatti. The latter became Enrico Berlinguer's political mentor.

Having become a Communist Party member in 1943, Berlinguer was put in charge of the Young Communists in his home town of Sassari. He was arrested and jailed in 1944 after taking part in demonstrations against the Fascist regime.

Released after three months, he resumed his role as an organizer of communist youth, first in Milan and then Rome. He became a member of the party’s Central Committee in 1945 and the party executive in 1948.

He was elected to the Italian parliament in 1968, becoming the party's deputy secretary-general a year later and replacing Luigi Longo, an old-style Communist who had become the party leader after Togliatti's death in 1964, as secretary-general in March 1972.

Married with three children and fiercely protective of his private life, Berlinguer died in June 1984 aged only 62, having suffered a stroke while delivering a speech in Padua and never regaining consciousness.

Sassari's Piazza d'Italia is an example of the city's
elegant neoclassical architecture

Travel tip:

The second largest city in Sardinia, with a population of more than 125,000, Sassari is rich in art, culture and history.  It is well known for beautiful palazzi, the Fountain of the Rosello, and its elegant neoclassical architecture, such as Piazza d'Italia and the Teatro Civico.

Travel tip:

Padua - Padova in Italian - is a city in the Veneto region of northern Italy, best known for the frescoes by Giotto that adorn the Scrovegni Chapel and for the vast 13th-century Basilica of St. Anthony.

(Photo of Piazza d'Italia in Sassari by Gianni Careddu CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Gian Gastone de' Medici – Grand Duke of Tuscany

The last Medici to rule Florence

A portrait of Gian Gastone de' Medici,
the last in a line of Florentine rulers

Gian Gastone de' Medici, the seventh and last Grand Duke of Tuscany, was born on this day in 1671 in the Pitti Palace in Florence.

He was the second son of Grand Duke Cosimo III and Marguerite Louise d’Orleans.

Because his elder brother predeceased him he succeeded his father to the title in 1723.

He had an unhappy arranged marriage and the couple had no children so when he died in 1737 it was the end of 300 years of Medici rule over Florence.

He spent the last few years of his reign confined to bed, looked after by his entourage.

One of his final acts was to order the erection of a statue to Galileo in the Basilica of Santa Croce.

He was buried in the Basilica of San Lorenzo and Francis Stephen of Lorraine succeeded to the title of Grand Duke of Tuscany.

Travel tip:

The Palazzo Pitti, known in English as the Pitti Palace, is on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. It became the main residence of the rulers of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and is now the largest museum complex in Florence.

The Museo Galileo in Piazza dei Giudici houses one of the
world's biggest collections of scientific instruments

Travel tip:

There is a museum dedicated to Galileo in Florence, the Museo Galileo in Piazza dei Giudici close to the Uffizi Gallery. It houses one of the biggest collections of scientific instruments in the world in Palazzo Castellani, an 11th century building. The museum is open Mondays to Sundays from 9.30 to 18.00, closing at 13.00 on Tuesdays.

(Photo of the museum courtesy of Museo Galileo CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Girolamo Savonarola executed

Death of the friar who was to inspire best-selling novel by Tom Wolfe

A stark portrait of Savonarola, painted by
Fra Bartolomeo shortly before his death

The hellfire preacher Girolamo Savonarola was hanged and burned on this day in 1498 in Piazza della Signoria in Florence.

By sheer force of personality, Savonarola had convinced rich people to burn their worldly goods in spectacular bonfires in Florence during 1497, but within a year it was Savonarola’s burning corpse that the crowds turned out to see.

Savonarola had become famous for his outspoken sermons against vice and corruption in the Catholic Church in Italy and he encouraged wealthy people to burn their valuable goods, paintings and books in what have become known as ‘bonfires of the vanities.’

This phrase inspired Tom Wolfe to write The Bonfire of the Vanities, a novel about ambition and politics in 1980s New York.

Savonarola was born in 1452 in Ferrara. He became a Dominican friar and entered the convent of Saint Mark in Florence in 1482. He began preaching against corruption and vice and prophesied that a leader would arrive from the north to punish Italy and reform the church.

A depiction of the execution of Savonarola in Piazza della
Signoria in Florence, by an unknown artist

When Emperor Charles VIII invaded from the north many people thought Savonarola’s prediction was being fulfilled. At the height of Savonarola’s success the Medici were driven out of Florence and he became leader of a republican movement in the city.

Savonarola’s sermons against vice in the church attracted the attention of Pope Alexander VI, who excommunicated him after he defied his orders.

Eventually popular opinion also turned against Savonarola and he was arrested. Under torture he confessed he had invented his visions and prophecies and he was condemned to death.

Travel tip:

Ferrara in Emilia-Romagna, where Savonarola was born, was the city of the Este dukes. With its winding cobbled streets, medieval houses and stunning castle, it is well worth visiting.

Travel tip:

You can still see the spot in Piazza della Signoria in Florence where Girolamo Savonarola was executed. The Piazza has been at the heart of Florentine politics since the 14th century and is like an outdoor sculpture gallery, with magnificent statues commemorating major events in the city’s history.

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José João Altafini - footballer who made history

Forward tamed Eusebio to give Italy first European Cup

José João Altafini

Supporters of AC Milan took to the streets to celebrate on this day in 1963 after José João Altafini's goals secured an historic victory in the European Cup.

Milan beat Benfica at Wembley Stadium in London to become the first Italian team to win the trophy.

Until then the European Cup had been dominated by Real Madrid, who were champions for five years in a row after the competition was launched in 1955-56, with the great Eusebio's Benfica winning in 1961 and 1962.

At half-time at Wembley in 1963, Milan looked set to provide another near-miss story for Italy, trailing to a Eusebio goal as Benfica closed on a third successive title.

The Rossoneri had lost to Real Madrid five years earlier, 12 months after the Spanish giants brushed aside Fiorentina in the final.

But 24-year-old Altafini, who became one of Serie A’s most prolific all-time goalscorers, refused to be cowed.

He netted in the 58th and 66th minutes, sparking joyous scenes in Milan and starting a period of European dominance for the city, with AC’s rivals Internazionale winning the next two tournaments.

The Milan team that night in London boasted two future Italy managers in Cesare Maldini and Giovanni Trapattoni, as well as the great Gianni Rivera, but Altafini was the star.

His goals had propelled Milan past England’s Ipswich Town and Scotland’s Dundee in earlier rounds and his competition tally of 14 was a record that stood for 51 years until, perhaps fittingly, it was smashed by old foes Real Madrid and their superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

His five goals against l’Union Luxembourg earlier in the tournament represent a European Cup match record equalled by a mere handful of stars, among them Barcelona's Lionel Messi.

Jose Joao Altafini in his present role as
TV football pundit

Altafini, now 77, is a Brazilian-Italian whose family hailed from Trentino Alto-Adige. European Cup glory earned Milan an Intercontinental Cup clash with Pele’s legendary Santos team, in which Altafini scored again. He was later nominated for two Ballon D'Or awards.

Nowadays, he is Italy’s answer to Sky TV’s Chris Kamara. Just as the British pundit is known for his catchphrase ‘Unbelievable, Jeff’ when describing a dramatic piece of action on the Soccer Saturday show, Altafini typically reacts with “incredible, amici” or “incredible, friends”.

It was Altafini who coined the “Golazzo” goal reaction which was used on Football Italia on Channel 4 in the UK during the 1990s.

Altafini, brought up in a large Italian community in Sao Paulo, is notable for having played for two different nations at the World Cup.

He gained Italian citizenship as a teenager but launched his career at Sao Paulo side Palmeiras. He made his debut for Brazil aged 18 and scored alongside a young Pele as Brazil beat Argentina in winning the Copa Roca in 1957.

Altafini then starred for the South Americans in the following year’s World Cup, but was left out of the team in the final. Four years on, he was barred from playing for Brazil as they refused to pick players based outside the country.

Instead, Altafini played for his adopted home, and that of his antecedents, Italy. He scored five goals in six games for the Azzurri, but was not picked again after the 1962 World Cup in Chile.

During a glittering club career that spanned 24 years and also took in Napoli and Juventus after he left the San Siro, Altafini scored 334 league goals in 653 appearances.

Altafini was revered in Naples, where he scored 97 goals in little more than 200 matches in all competitions, but it is in Milan where Italy’s adopted son had his best days.

He won two Scudetti for the Rossoneri in addition to the European Cup triumph at Wembley.  A.C Milan have gone on to be Italy’s most successful side in Europe, winning the elite competition six more times.

Their tally of seven is yet another record bettered only by Altafini’s old enemy Real Madrid, who have won 10.

Travel tip:

San Siro is easily reached by the new purple M5 metro line. The nearest stations are San Siro Ippodromo and San Siro Stadio, both a short walk from the stadium. From the city centre, take Linea M1 and change at Lotto or Linea M2 and change at Garibaldi.  It takes a little under 20 minutes to get from Piazza Duomo to the stadium.  Travelling to the stadium by tram is still a popular option.  Route number 16 passes close to Piazza Duomo and terminates at the stadium. The journey takes about half an hour.

Lago di Caldonazzo

Travel tip:

Jose Joao Altafini's mother was born in the town of Caldonazzo in Trentino-Alto Adige, about 20 kilometres from Trento and close to Lago di Caldonazzo, which is the largest lake in the region. A popular centre for watersports such as windsurfing, sailing, diving, swimming and rowing, and also popular with fishermen, the lake is the source of the Brenta river.

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