Katie Boyle – actress and television presenter

Daughter of Italian Marquis became the face of Eurovision

Katie Boyle, pictured presenting the 1974
Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton

Television personality Katie Boyle was born Caterina Irene Maria Imperiali di Francavilla on this day in 1926 in Florence.

The actress, who became known for her appearances on panel games such as What’s My Line?, and also for presenting the Eurovision Song Contest on the BBC, died in 2018 at the age of 91.

She was the daughter of an Italian Marquis, the Marchese Imperiali di Francavilla, and his English wife, Dorothy Kate Ramsden.

At the age of 20, Caterina moved from Italy to the UK to begin a modelling career and she went on to appear in several 1950s films.

In 1947 she had married Richard Bentinck Boyle, the ninth Earl of Shannon, and although the marriage was dissolved in 1955, she kept the surname, Boyle, throughout her career.

Boyle was an on screen continuity announcer for the BBC in the 1950s and then became a television personality who regularly appeared on panel games and quiz programmes.

She was the presenter of the 1960, 1963, 1968 and 1974 Eurovision Song Contests, impressing viewers with her range of European languages.

Boyle has also worked in the theatre and on radio and has been an agony aunt for the TV Times.

She was later married to Greville Baylis, a racehorse owner, who died in 1976, and Sir Peter Saunders, a theatre impresario, who died in 2002.

The Ponte Vecchio in Florence, one of the city's
most famous sights, was built in 1345

Travel tip:

One of the most famous sights in Boyle’s birthplace of Florence is the Ponte Vecchio, built in 1345 and the oldest bridge remaining in the city. The medieval workshops inhabited by butchers and blacksmiths were eventually given to goldsmiths and are still inhabited by jewellers today. The private corridor over the shops was designed by the architect, Vasari, to link the Palazzo Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti, via the Uffizi, allowing the ruling family, the Medici, to move about between their residences without having to walk through the streets.

Travel tip:

Work on the Uffizi in Florence began in 1560 to create a suite of offices (uffici) for the new administration of Cosimo I dè Medici. The architect, Vasari, created a wall of windows on the upper storey and from about 1580, the Medici began to use this well-lit space to display their art treasures, which was the start of one of the oldest and most famous art galleries in the world. The present day Uffizi Gallery, in Piazzale degli Uffizi, is open from 8.15 am to 6.50 pm from Tuesday to Sunday.

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The Last Supper goes back on display

Leonardo’s masterpiece put on show again at last

Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, as it appears on the wall
 of the refectory of the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie

After more than 20 years of careful restoration, the world famous wall painting by Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper, was put back on display for visitors on this day in 1999.

The masterpiece, which shows the different expressions on the faces of the disciples at the moment Jesus says the words, ‘One of you will betray me’, was finally back where it belonged on the wall of the refectory of the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan.

Commissioned by Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, Leonardo began work on The Last Supper (known as Il Cenacolo in Italian) in 1495 and he completed it four years later. He felt traditional fresco painting techniques would not adequately capture the intensity he wanted so he experimented by painting on to dry plaster on the wall of the refectory.

But his new method was not as durable as the traditional one and the painting deteriorated quickly. By as early as 1556, the painting was described by one commentator as ‘ruined’.

Over the ensuing years it suffered from poor restoration techniques, blatant vandalism by French soldiers, having a doorway cut into it to provide a shortcut for the monks, and wartime bomb damage. Sadly, by 1978 only a small part of Leonardo’s original work remained.

A restoration project was mounted to reverse the damage and the refectory was sealed and converted to provide a climate-controlled environment for the painting.

Using the latest techniques, the restoration team slowly removed everything that had been added after Leonardo completed the painting in 1498. Then the areas that couldn’t be repaired were repainted in subdued colours so that they could be distinguished from the original painting.

After more than 20 years of restoration, which was four times longer than it took Leonardo to paint it originally, The Last Supper was again revealed for visitors to marvel at on 28 May, 1999.

The refectory has since remained a protected environment and the number of visitors inside at any one time is carefully restricted.

The Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, where
Leonardo painted The Last Supper between 1495 and 1499

Travel tip:

Santa Maria delle Grazie is a church and Dominican convent in Milan. It is necessary to book in advance to see Leonardo’s masterpiece on the wall of the refectory. Entrance is limited to 25 people at a time for a maximum stay of 15 minutes. For more details visit www.cenacolo.it 

Travel tip:

A portrait of a man in red chalk in the Royal Library, Biblioteca Reale, in Turin is widely accepted to be a self portrait of Leonardo da Vinci, drawn when he was about 60 years of age. The library, on the ground floor of the Royal Palace in Piazzetta Reale, was founded in 1840 to hold the many rare manuscripts collected by members of the House of Savoy over the years.

(Photo of Church exterior by MarkusMark CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Bruno Vespa – television journalist

TV host opened the door to late night political debate

Television presenter Bruno Vespa

Bruno Vespa, the founding host of the television programme Porta a Porta, was born on this day in 1944 in L’Aquila in Abruzzo.

Vespa, who celebrates his 72nd birthday today, has fronted the late night television talk show, which literally means ‘Door to Door’ in English, since Italy's state broadcaster RAI launched the programme in 1996.

Vespa became a radio announcer with RAI when he was 18 and began hosting the news programme Telegiornale RAI a few years later.  He had begun his career in journalism by writing sports features for the L’Aquila edition of the newspaper, Il Tempo, when he was just 16 years old.

On television, he became well known for interviewing influential world figures just before they became famous, an example being his programme featuring Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, the year before he was elected as Pope John Paul II.

In June 1984, Vespa was official commentator for the live televised broadcast of the state funeral for Enrico Berlinguer, the former leader of the Italian Communist party.

Italian Prime Minster Matteo Renzi has appeared on
Vespa's Porta a Porta show on a number of occasions

Vespa has won awards for his journalism and television programmes and has also written many books.

Since he began presenting Porta a Porta, much of Italy’s political debate has taken place on the programme. The late night slot on RAI Uno is sometimes referred to sarcastically as ‘the third house’ after the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

Travel tip:

L’Aquila, where Bruno Vespa was born, is the capital city of the Abruzzo region. The city is set within medieval walls on a hill and has many fascinating, narrow streets lined with Baroque and Renaissance buildings and churches to explore.

The Piazza Duomo in L'Aquila

Travel tip:

RAI, which is short for Radio- televisione Italiana, is Italy’s national public broadcasting company. RAI’s main headquarters are in Viale Giuseppe Mazzini, just north of Vatican City in Rome.

(Photo of Bruno Vespa by Roberto Vicario CC BY-SA 3.0)
(Photo of L'Aquila by Ra Boe CC BY-SA 2.5)

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Napoleon becomes King of Italy

French Emperor places Iron Crown of Lombardy on his own head

Portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte by the Italian
artist Andrea Appiani in 1805

Napoleon Bonaparte was declared King of Italy on this day in 1805 in Milan.

He crowned himself at a ceremony in the Duomo using the Iron Crown of Lombardy.

The title King of Italy signified that Napoleon was the head of the new Kingdom of Italy, which was at that time a vassal state of the French Empire. The area controlled by Napoleon had previously been known as a republic, with Napoleon as its president.

But Napoleon had become the Emperor of France the year before and had decided Italy should become a Kingdom ruled by himself, or a member of his family.

Before the ceremony, the Iron Crown had to be fetched from Monza. The crown consisted of a circlet of gold with a central iron band, which according to legend was beaten out of a nail from Christ’s true cross, found by Saint Helena in the Holy Land. The crown is believed to have been given to the city of Monza in the sixth century.

During his coronation, Napoleon is reported to have picked up the precious relic, announced that God had given it to him, and placed it on his own head.

After the coronation there were celebratory fireworks in Milan and over the next few days there were horse races, public amusements in the streets and parks, and a grand concert and ball.

The new King appointed his stepson, Eugene de Beauharnais, as his viceroy in Italy. De Beauharnais was Josephine’s son from her previous marriage. Napoleon also later gave him the title of Prince of Venice.

The new Kingdom of Italy lasted till 1814 when Napoleon had to abdicate from the thrones of both France and Italy and go into exile on the island of Elba.

The magnificent Duomo in Milan, where Napoleon
proclaimed himself as King of Italy in 1805

Travel tip:


Construction of the Duomo in Milan began in 1386 using marble brought into the city along the Navigli canals. Although it was consecrated as a Cathedral in 1418, building work was not finally completed until the 19th century when Napoleon had the façade finished before his coronation.

Travel tip:

The Iron Crown of Lombardy is kept in a chapel in the Cathedral of Saint John in Monza, a city about nine miles to the north east of Milan. Monza is now also famous for its Grand Prix motor racing circuit, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza, which hosts the Formula One Italian Grand Prix.

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