Palmiro Togliatti – politician

Communist leader gunned down near Italian parliament

The Communist leader Palmiro
Togliatti, pictured in 1950

The leader of the Italian Communist Party, Palmiro Togliatti, was shot three times on this day in 1948 near Palazzo Montecitorio in Rome.

Togliatti was seriously wounded and for several days it was not certain that he would survive, causing a political crisis in Italy.

Three months before the shooting, Togliatti had led the Communists in the first democratic election in Italy after the Second World War, which would elect the first Republican parliament.  He lost to the Christian Democrats after a confrontational campaign in which the United States played a big part, viewing Togliatti as a Cold War enemy.

On July 14, Togliatti was shot three times near the Parliament building. It was described as an assassination attempt, the perpetrator of which was named as Antonio Pallante, an anti-Communist student with mental health problems. While the Communist leader’s life hung in the balance a general strike was called.

He eventually recovered and was able to continue as head of the party until his death in 1964.

Togliatti was born in Genoa in 1893. He was named Palmiro because he was born on a Palm Sunday.

Togliatti, pictured with the surgeon, Pietro Valdoni, who saved
his life, recovers in hospital after the assassination attempt.

His father, Antonio, was an accountant and the family had to move frequently because of his job.  When his father died of cancer in 2011, the family struggled financially, but with the help of a scholarship, Togliatti was able to graduate in law from the University of Turin in 1917.

He served as a volunteer officer during the First World War but was wounded in action and sent home.

Togliatti became part of the group that gathered around Antonio Gramsci’s L’Ordine Nuovo newspaper in Turin. He was an admirer of the Russian Revolution and helped Gramsci refocus the newspaper to be a revolutionary voice. The newspaper supported the general strike of 1921 and began to be published daily.

A member of the Communist faction within the Italian Socialist Party, Togliatti was one of the founders of the Italian Communist Party in 1921.

The young Togliatti, pictured in about 1920

In 1922, Fascist leader Benito Mussolini took advantage of the general strike and demanded that the Government should either give political power to the Fascist Party or face a coup. The Fascists demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Luigi Facta.

King Victor Emmanuel III had to choose between the Fascists and the anti-monarchist Socialists. He picked the Fascists and appointed Mussolini as Prime Minister.

Mussolini pushed a new electoral law through parliament and, coupled with his intimidation tactics, it resulted in a landslide victory for the Fascists in the 1924 election.

In 1924, international Communists began a process of Bolshevisation, which forced each party to conform to the discipline and orders of Moscow.  Mussolini banned the Italian Communist Party in 1926 and some officials, including Gramsci, were arrested and imprisoned, but Togliatti escaped arrest because he was in Moscow at the time.

In exile abroad in the 1920s and 1930s, Togliatti organised clandestine meetings. He stayed in the Soviet Union during the Second World War, broadcasting radio messages to Italy calling for resistance against the Nazis.

In 1944 Togliatti returned to Italy and joined in a government of national unity. He served as Deputy Prime Minister and then Justice Minister.

Togliatti with his partner, Nilde Iotti, at a Communist Party
conference in Russia, which they visited many times

The writer Carlo Lucarelli gives a vivid, fictional account of the day of the shooting in his novel Via delle oche, the final book in his De Luca trilogy.

Togliatti survived the shooting to see his party become the second largest party in Italy and the largest non-ruling Communist party in Europe. The party held many municipalities and was powerful in some areas at local and regional level.

Togliatti died as a result of a cerebral haemorrhage in 1964 while on holiday with his partner in the Black Sea resort of Yalta, which was then in the Soviet Union. His favourite pupil, Enrico Berlinguer, was elected as his successor.

The Russian city of Stavropol-on-Volga, where Togliatti had helped establish a car manufacturing plant in collaboration with Fiat, was renamed Tolyatti in his honour in 1964.

The Palazzo Madama is one of the features of what is
known as 'royal' Turin

Travel tip:

Turin, where Togliatti went to University and helped launch a Communist-sympathising newspaper, is the capital city of the region of Piedmont. It is an important business centre with architecture demonstrating its rich history, which is linked with the Savoy Kings of Italy. Piazza Castello, with the royal palace, royal library and Palazzo Madama, which used to house the Italian senate, is at the heart of ‘royal’ Turin.

The Palazzo Montecitorio was designed by Gian Lorenzo
Bernini for the nephew of Pope Gregory XV

Travel tip

Palazzo Montecitorio in Rome, which is near the spot where Togliatti was shot and seriously wounded, is the seat of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Italian Parliament. The building was originally designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for the nephew of Pope Gregory XV. The palace was chosen as the seat of the Chamber of Deputies in 1871 but the building proved inadequate for their needs. After extensive renovations had been carried out, the chamber returned to the palace in 1918.

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Giulio d’Este of Ferrara

Plots and prison ruin life of handsome son of Duke

Giulio d'Este, as he was said to have looked on his
release from prison at the age of 81

Giulio d’Este, who spent more than half of his life in prison for taking part in a failed conspiracy against his half-brother, the Duke of Ferrara, was born on this day in 1478 in Ferrara.

He was the illegitimate son of Ercole I d’Este, an earlier Duke of Ferrara, born as a result of an affair the Duke had with Isabella Arduin, a lady in waiting to his wife.

Giulio was often in conflict with his half-brothers, Alfonso and Ippolito, which led to him eventually playing his part in a plot to assassinate them.

He had grown up in the court of Ferrara and later lived in a palace on the Via degli Angeli in Ferrara.

The first major conflict between Giulio and Ippolito arose over a musician, Don Rainaldo of Sassuolo. Rainaldo was in the service of Giulio, but Ippolito, who had by then become a Cardinal, wanted him for his chapel and so in 1504 he abducted Rainaldo and held him in the Fortress of Gesso.

When Giulio discovered where he was being held, he went with a group of armed men and recovered the musician. In a sign of defiance, Giulio replaced him with the warden of the fortress.

Ferdinand Kingsley - son of the great British actor Ben
Kingsley - played Giulio in the 2011 TV series Borgia

Ippolito complained about his actions to his brother, Alfonso, who had by then succeeded their father as Duke of Ferrara, and Giulio was exiled to Brescello – more than 100km (62 miles) away – as a result.

Lucrezia Borgia, Alfonso’s wife, and Isabella d’Este, his sister, eventually managed to persuade Alfonso to pardon Giulio.

The following year, Giulio and Ippolito discovered that they were both admirers of the same lady at the court, Angela Borgia, the cousin of Lucrezia, the Duchess.

But Angela favoured Giulio and told Ippolito, who despite being a Cardinal was a ladies’ man, that ‘Giulio’s eyes were worth more than Ippolito’s whole person.

Ippolito ordered his servants to kill Giulio and tear out his eyes and when they discovered Giulio on his own, returning to Ferrara from a trip, they surrounded him, beat him brutally and stabbed his eyes.

Although he was not killed he was badly scarred, lost the eyesight in one eye and was left with blurred vision in the other.

Giulio's palace in the Via degli Angeli is now
the headquarters of the Prefecture of Ferrara

Alfonso then organised a formal truce between Giulio and Ippolito, but Giulio bore a grudge against his half-brother for the loss of his eyesight and his good looks. He was also angry with Alfonso for not punishing Ippolito.

Another of his half-brothers, Ferrante, aspired to replace Alfonso as Duke and Giulio and other men hostile to Alfonso helped him organise a plot to eliminate Alfonso and Ippolito.

The conspirators waited at night in the street with poisoned daggers but failed to encounter Alfonso. Ippolito’s spies gathered evidence about the plot for him but, before he could relay it to Alfonso, Lucrezia and Isabella urged Giulio to flee to Mantua to be protected by Francesco Gonzaga.

The conspirators were tried in Giulio’s absence and along with his half-brother, Ferrante, and three other men, Giulio was found guilty and condemned to death.

Alfonso threatened to take his army to recover Giulio and eventually Francesco had to hand him over. The other conspirators were executed, but the sentences for Giulio and Ferrante were reduced to life imprisonment.

Ferrante died in prison at the age of 63 after 34 years of incarceration, but Giulio was freed by Alfonso II d’Este - his great nephew - at the age of 81 after he had spent 53 years in prison.

Giulio caused a stir when he was first seen out in the streets of Ferrara again because despite his years in prison he was said to have retained his charm and erect posture and he was still dressed in the fashion of 50 years before.

The Este Castle dominates the centre of Ferrara

Travel tip:

Ferrara is a city in Emilia-Romagna, about 50 km (31 miles) to the north-east of Bologna. It was ruled by the Este family between 1240 and 1598. Building work on the magnificent Este Castle in the centre of the city began in 1385 and it was added to and improved by successive rulers of Ferrara until the end of the Este line.

Travel tip:

Giulio d’Este’s palace in Via degli Angeli is now the headquarters of the Prefecture of Ferrara. It was designed by Renaissance architect Biagio Rossetti and was given to Giulio by his natural father, Ercole I, Duke of Ferrara. After Giulio’s imprisonment, it was taken over by his arch enemy and half brother, Ippolito. The palace became the property of the Province of Ferrara in 1932.

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Stefano della Bella – printmaker

Artist sketched important events preserving them for posterity

Carlo Dolci's 1631 portrait of Stefano della
Bella, which currently resides in the Pitti Palace

Stefano della Bella, who produced hundreds of sketches of court festivities held by the Medici, as well as visual records of important public occasions, died on this day in 1664 in Florence.

Della Bella was a draughtsman and printmaker known for his etchings of military and court scenes. He left more than 1000 prints and several thousand drawings, but only one known painting.

He was born into a family of artists in Florence in 1610 and was apprenticed to a goldsmith. However he went on to become an engraver and studied etching.

Thanks to the patronage of the Medici family, Della Bella was able to study for six years in Rome living in the Medici Palace in the Villa Borghese area.

Della Bella produced views of Rome, drawings of antiquities and sketches of crowded public occasions in a series of sketchbooks, many of which were later turned into prints.

He also made trips to Florence to record Medici court festivities and during this period his style developed from Mannerist to Baroque.

A scene in Rome typical of those drawn by Della
Bella shows the Arch of Constantine

Della Bella captured major events of his time, just like a photographer does today, and his prints have enabled people to see in detail the lavish festivities held by the Medici family and what daily life was like in Rome - and also in Paris - in the first half of the 17th century.

While in Rome, Della Bella created a series of six prints, which formed a long panel measuring 2.5 metres, showing the Polish ambassador’s ceremonial entry into Rome. He also created many intricate prints showing views of Rome as they were at the time.

In 1639 Della Bella went to Paris, where he adapted his style to suit French taste. In 1641, Cardinal Richelieu sent him to Arras to make drawings for prints recording the siege and taking of Arras by the Royal Army. Then, in 1664, Cardinal Mazarin commissioned him to create four sets of educational playing cards for the young Louis XIV.

Della Bella also created views of Paris, including a very large print of the Pont Neuf, looking south from the entrance from the Place Dauphine, with accurate depictions of the buildings on the banks of the Seine and including more than 400 distinct figures, such as beggars, gypsies, children and animals. During this period Della Bella also travelled to Holland, where he was profoundly influenced by Rembrandt.

Della Bella's detailed print showing the Pont Neuf in Paris

On his return to Florence, Della Bella was granted a pension by the Grand Duke and was given the task of instructing his son, Cosimo III de' Medici, in drawing.

Della Bella continued to send plates to Paris publishers and is also known to have illustrated some of the discoveries of Galileo.

But he did little work after suffering a stroke in 1661 and he died three years later.

The Villa Medici, where Della Bella lived during his
time working for the Medici family in Rome

Travel tip:

The Villa Medici in Rome, where Della Bella lived during his time in the capital, is on the Pincian Hill next to the Church of Trinità dei Monti. The villa was founded by Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, in 1576. It became the principal Medici property in Rome, intended to assert the family’s importance and their permanent presence in Rome.

Travel tip:

Della Bella would have regularly visited Palazzo Pitti to give the future Cosimo III de' Medici drawing lessons. The child was born in the palace in 1642, on the south side of the River Arno in Florence, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. Palazzo Pitti was originally the home of Luca Pitti, a Florentine banker. It was bought by the Medici family in 1549, after which it became the chief residence of the ruling family of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

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Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo

The shocking fate of a Spanish noblewoman

Leonora, as depicted by the 16th century
portrait painter Alessandro Allori

The beautiful wife of Don Pietro de' Medici, Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo, was strangled to death with a dog lead on this day in 1576 in a villa near Barberino di Mugello in Tuscany.

The murder was carried out by her husband, Pietro, but he was never brought to justice. His brother, Francesco, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, gave out as the official line that his sister-in-law had died as a result of an accident.

Eleonora, who was more often referred to as Leonora, was born in Florence in 1553, the daughter of Garcia Alvarez di Toledo and Vittoria d’Ascanio Colonna. Her father and mother were living in Florence at the time because Garcia was in charge of the castles of Valdichiano.

When her mother died a few months later, the baby, Leonora, was left in the care of her aunt, Eleonora, the Duchess of Florence, and her husband, the Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici, who raised her, preparing her for a life at the Medici court.

After the Duchess, Eleonora, died, her daughter, Isabella, took over the supervision of the young Leonora.

A marriage was arranged between Leonora and Cosimo’s son and Isabella’s brother, Pietro, with the approval of King Philip II of Spain.

Alessandro Allori's portrait of what is thought
to be Pietro de' Medici

The couple were married at Palazzo Vecchio in 1571 and it was reported that Pietro had to be forced to consummate the union. Leonora later gave birth to a son, Cosimo, but the marriage was not a great success. This was also the case with her mentor and sister-in-law, Isabella, who had been married off for political reasons to Paolo Giordano Orsini.

Isabella chose not to live at her husband’s castle, or in Rome, where Orsini conducted his political and amorous affairs, but remained in Florence at her own villa, cultivating an artistic salon and discreetly taking lovers.

Leonora was part of Isabella’s circle and followed her example in sponsoring the arts and charities and also in taking lovers.

Under Cosimo I de' Medici such behaviour was tolerated as long as discretion was maintained. But when he died and was succeeded by his son, Francesco, things changed. Although he had a mistress himself, Francesco was less tolerant than his father. Crucially, he was less willing to turn a blind eye to the behaviour of Isabella and Leonora and to ignore the complaints of their husbands.

However, neither woman realised the danger posed to them by the new regime.

On 11 July 1576 Pietro sent a note to his brother, the Grand Duke Francesco, saying that Leonora had died as the result of an accident.

Isabella suffered the same fate as Leonora

Francesco passed on the news that she had been found dead in bed, having apparently suffocated.

But, in fact, Leonora’s death at the age of 23 was not an accident. She had been strangled by her own husband.

Six days later, Isabella was also strangled by her husband at a remote villa in Cerreto Guidi in Tuscany.

Word soon got out in Florence that both women had been murdered in cold blood by their husbands.

The Spanish were outraged at the treatment of Leonora and eventually Francesco admitted the truth to Philip II of Spain, on whose favour his title depended.

Pietro was never brought to justice for Leonora’s murder, despite the protests of her brother, Pedro Alvarez de Toledo y Colonna. Pietro was eventually exiled by Francesco and died in 1604, heavily in debt because of his gambling.

The Villa Medicea di Caffagiolo, outside
the Tuscan town of Barberino di Mugello

Travel tip:

The Villa Medicea di Caffagiolo, where Leonora was strangled, is near the Tuscan town of Barberino di Mugello, 25 kilometres north of Florence. The villa was reconstructed following the designs of the Renaissance architect Michelozzo in the 1450s and became a meeting place for many Renaissance intellectuals. Pietro had summoned his wife to the villa and strangled her with a dog leash after letters from Leonora’s lover had fallen into the hands of the Grand Duke, Francesco.

Travel tip:

Cerreto Guidi, where Isabella was strangled in a remote villa, is about 30 kilometres west of Florence. The Grand Duke, Francesco, announced that his sister’s death was an accident. The 16th century Medici villa is in the centre of the village. It is claimed that the ghost of Isabella still roams the villa seeking peace. The legend attracts many visitors who want to see the bedroom where the murder took place.

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