12 October

Piero della Francesca - Renaissance painter

Mathematician famous for exploring perspective

Piero della Francesca, recognised as one of the greatest painters of the early Renaissance, died on this day in 1492 in what was then Borgo Santo Sepolcro, near Arezzo.  He was thought to have been around 77 years old – his exact birth date is not known – and it has been popularly theorised that he was blind in the later years of his life, although evidence to support the claim is sketchy.  Della Francesca’s work was characterised by his exploration of perspective and geometric form, which was hardly surprising since in his own time he was as famous among his peers as a mathematician and geometer as well as an artist.  He came to be recognized in the 20th century as having made a major contribution to the Renaissance.  His fresco cycle The History – or Legend – of the True Cross in the Basilica of San Francesco in Arezzo, painted between 1452 and 1466, and his diptych – two-panelled – portraits of Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza - the Duke and Duchess of Urbino, dated at between 1465 and 1472, which can be seen in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, are among his best-known works.  Read more…

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Gillo Pontecorvo - film director

Most famous film was banned in France

The film director Gillo Pontecorvo, whose best known film, La battaglia di Algeri (The Battle of Algiers) won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1966 and was nominated for three Academy Awards, died on this day in 2006 in Rome, aged 86.  A former journalist who had been an Italian Resistance volunteer and a member of the Italian Communist Party, Pontecorvo had been in declining health for some years, although he continued to make documentary films and commercials until shortly before his death.  Although it was made a decade or so after the peak years of the movement, La battaglia di Algeri is in the tradition of Italian neorealism, with newsreel style footage and mainly non-professional actors.  Pontecorvo also won acclaim for his 1960 film Kapò, set in a Second World War concentration camp, and Burn! (1969) - titled Queimada in Italy - which was about the creation of a so-called banana republic on the fictitious Caribbean island of Queimada, starring Marlon Brando and loosely based on the failed slave revolution in Guadeloupe.   Kapò, which was also nominated for an Oscar, won an Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Nastro d'Argento (Silver Ribbon) award for Didi Perego as best supporting actress.  Read more…

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Luciano Pavarotti - tenor

Singer who became known as ‘King of the High Cs’

Luciano Pavarotti, one of the greatest operatic tenors of all time, was born on this day in 1935 in Modena in Emilia-Romagna.  Pavarotti made many stage appearances and recordings of arias from opera throughout his career. He also crossed over into popular music, gaining fame for the superb quality of his voice.  Towards the end of his career, as one of the legendary Three Tenors, he became  known to an even wider audience because of his concerts and television appearances.  Pavarotti began his professional career on stage in Italy in 1961 and gave his final performance, singing the Puccini aria, Nessun Dorma, at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He died the following year as a result of pancreatic cancer, aged 71.  The young Pavarotti had dreamt of becoming a goalkeeper for a football team but he later turned his attention to training as a singer.  His earliest influences were his father’s recordings of the Italian tenors, Beniamino Gigli, Tito Schipa and Enrico Caruso. But Pavarotti has said that his own favourite tenor was the Sicilian, Giuseppe di Stefano. Pavarotti experienced his first singing success as a member of a male voice choir from Modena, in which his father also sang.  Read more…

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Ascanio Sobrero - chemist

Professor who discovered nitroglycerine

The chemist Ascanio Sobrero, who discovered the volatile compound that became known as nitroglycerine, was born on this day in 1812 in Casale Monferrato in Piedmont.  Nitroglycerine has a pharmaceutical use as a vasodilator, improving blood flow in the treatment of angina, but it is more widely known as the key ingredient in explosives such as dynamite and gelignite.  Its commercial potential was exploited not by Sobrero but by Alfred Nobel, the Swedish businessman and philanthropist who gave his name to the annually awarded Nobel Prizes.  Sobrero, aware of how much damage it could cause, had actually warned against nitroglycerine being used outside the laboratory.  Little is known about Sobrero’s early life, apart from his being born in Casale Monferrato, a town about 60km (37 miles) east of Turin.  He studied medicine in Turin and Paris and then chemistry at the University of Giessen in Germany, earning his doctorate in 1832. In 1845 he returned to the University of Turin, becoming a professor there.  Sobrero had acquired some knowledge of explosives from the French chemist Théophile-Jules Pelouze, who had taught at the University of Turin while he was a student.  Read more…

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Book of the Day: Piero della Francesca: Artist and Man, by James R Banker

Largely neglected for the four centuries after his death, the 15th century Italian artist Piero della Francesca is now seen to embody the fullest expression of the Renaissance perspective painter, raising him to an artistic stature comparable with that of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. But who was Piero, and how did he become the person and artist that he was? Until now, in spite of the great interest in his work, these questions have remained largely unanswered. Piero della Francesca: Artist and Man puts that situation right, integrating the story of Piero's artistic and mathematical achievements with the full chronicle of his life for the first time. Fortified by the discovery of over one hundred previously unknown documents, most unearthed by the author himself, James R. Banker at last brings this fascinating Renaissance enigma to life. The book presents us with Piero's friends, family, and collaborators, all set against the social background of the various cities and courts in which he lived - from the Tuscan commune of Sansepolcro in which he grew up, to Renaissance Florence, Ferrara, Ancona, Rimini, Rome, Arezzo, and Urbino, and eventually back to his home town for the final years of his life. As Banker shows, the cultural contexts in which Piero lived are crucial for understanding both the man and his paintings. 

James R Banker is Professor Emeritus of Italian History at North Carolina State University. For many years he lived in Florence and in Sansepolcro, Piero's home town in the Tuscan hills southeast of Florence.

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11 October

Mattias de’ Medici - Governor of Siena

Distinguished soldier was interested in art and science

Mattias de’ Medici, who was an enthusiastic supporter of the Palio horse race during his time as Governor of Siena, died on this day in 1667.  He is remembered for being a patron of art and of science and for the scientific instruments he acquired while on military campaigns during the Thirty Years War in Germany, which are now housed in the Uffizi galleries in Florence.  Mattias, who was born in 1613, was the third son of Grand Duke II Cosimo de Medici of Tuscany and of Archduchess Maria Maddalena of Austria.  He was originally intended for the church, but he had little enthusiasm for the ecclesiastical life and so from the age of 16, he pursued a military career instead.  After Cosimo II died in 1621, he was succeeded as Grand Duke by Matteo’s older brother, Ferdinando.  Grand Duke Ferdinando II appointed Mattias as the Governor of Siena, to replace their aunt, Caterina de’ Medici, who had been governor of the city until her death in 1629.  After he arrived in Siena, Mattias took up residence in the Royal Palace in Piazza del Duomo and he quickly became very popular with the people living in the city.  Read more…

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Anita Cerquetti – soprano

Performer with a powerful voice had brief moment in the spotlight

Anita Cerquetti, the singer whose remarkable voice received widespread praise when she stood in for a temperamental Maria Callas in Rome, died on this day in 2014 in Perugia.  Cerquetti had been singing the title role in Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma at Teatro San Carlo in Naples in 1958 when Callas, who had been singing the same part in Rome, walked out after the first act on the opening night.  Despite Callas claiming that her voice was troubling her, the incident, in front of Italian President Giovanni Gronchi, created a major scandal.  Fortunately the performances in Rome and Naples were on alternate days and so for several weeks Cerquetti travelled back and forth between the two opera houses, which were 225km (140 miles) apart. The achievement left her exhausted and three years later she retired from singing and her magnificent voice was heard no more.  Cerquetti was born in Montecosaro near Macerata in the Marche. She studied the violin, but after a music professor heard her singing at a wedding she was persuaded to switch to vocal studies. After just one year she made her debut singing Aida in Spoleto in 1951.  Read more…

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Cesare Andrea Bixio - composer and lyricist

Pioneer of Italian film music left catalogue of classic songs

Cesare Andrea Bixio, the composer behind such classic Italian songs as Vivere, Mamma, La mia canzone al vento and Parlami d'amore Mariù, was born in Naples on this day in 1896.  Bixio enjoyed many years of popularity during which his compositions were performed by some of Italy's finest voices, including Beniamino Gigli, Tito Schipa and Carlo Buti, and later became staples for Giuseppe Di Stefano and Luciano Pavarotti.  He was also a pioneer of film soundtrack music, having been invited to compose a score for the first Italian movie with sound, La canzone dell'amore, in 1930. As well as writing more than 1,000 songs in his career, Bixio penned the soundtracks for more than 60 films.  Bixio's father, Carlo, was an engineer from Genoa; his grandfather was General Nino Bixio, a prominent military figure in the drive for Italian Unification and one of the organisers of Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand.  Carlo, who died when Cesare was only six years old, married a Neapolitan, Anna Vilone, who wanted him to pursue a career in engineering, like his father. However, after developing an interest in music at an early age he had other ideas.  Read more…

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Pierre-Napoleon Bonaparte – adventurer

Colourful life of Italian-born prince

Prince Pierre-Napoleon Bonaparte, a nephew of the Emperor Napoleon, was born on this day in 1815 in Rome.  He was to become notorious for shooting dead a journalist after his family was criticised in a newspaper article.  Bonaparte was the son of Napoleon’s brother, Lucien, and his second wife, Alexandrine de Bleschamp. He grew up with his nine siblings on the family estate at Canino, about 40 kilometres north of Rome.  The young Bonaparte helped to keep bandits at bay, spending a lot of time with the local shepherds who were armed and had dogs to protect them.  He set out on a career of adventure, joining bands of insurgents in the Romagna region as a teenager.  In 1831 he spent time in prison for a minor offence and was banished from the Papal States.  He went to the United States to join his uncle, Joseph Bonaparte, in New Jersey. He spent some time in New York before going to serve in the army of the President of Columbia. At the age of 17 he became the President’s aide and was given the rank of Commander.  Bonaparte returned to the family estate at Canino where he enjoyed hunting with his brothers.  Read more…

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Recording of the Day: Anita Cerquetti - The Verdi Soprano

The Italian soprano Anita Cerquetti was a phenomenon.  Her operatic career began in 1951 in Spoleto, debuting as Aida, and took her to the world's great opera houses before ending in Holland in 1960. After just nine seasons, the then 29-year-old singer retired from the stage. There are only two commercial records of her (on Decca); the record companies at the time filled the major soprano roles with Callas or Tebaldi.  But thanks to numerous live recordings which circulated on the black market from the very beginning, Anita Cerquetti is still held in honour today. Why? Because here is a voice that exudes pure sensuality with the most opulent femininity. Because her voice is one of the most beautiful that opera has ever heard: never aggressive, sharp or shrill, but round, soft, lyrical and emphatic. Her voice was practically made for Giuseppe Verdi's romantic heroines - perfectly suited to the softly swinging, melancholy melodic arches of Ernani and Vespri siciliani-Elvira, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera, Don Carlo's Elisabetta, and Leonora in La Forza del destino, even for the formidable octave leaps of the imperious Nabucco-Abigaille.  The Verdi Soprano box set, which honours Anita Cerquetti as the leading Verdi interpreter of her time, is now being released in October on the 10th anniversary of her death.

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Mattias de’ Medici - Governor of Siena

Distinguished soldier was interested in art and science

A portrait of Mattias de' Medici by
the court painter, Justus Sustermans

Mattias de’ Medici, who was an enthusiastic supporter of the Palio horse race during his time as Governor of Siena, died on this day in 1667.

He is remembered for being a patron of art and of science and for the scientific instruments he acquired while on military campaigns during the Thirty Years War in Germany, which are now housed in the Uffizi galleries in Florence.

Mattias, who was born in 1613, was the third son of Grand Duke Cosimo II de' Medici of Tuscany and of Archduchess Maria Maddalena of Austria.

He was originally intended for the church, but he had little enthusiasm for the ecclesiastical life and so from the age of 16, he pursued a military career instead.

After Cosimo II died in 1621, he was succeeded as Grand Duke by Matteo’s older brother, Ferdinando.  Grand Duke Ferdinando II appointed Mattias as the Governor of Siena, to replace their aunt, Caterina de’ Medici, who had been governor of the city until her death in 1629.

After he arrived in Siena, Mattias took up residence in the Royal Palace in Piazza del Duomo and he quickly became very popular with the people living in the city.

He took part in the Battle of Lutzen in 1632, during the Thirty Years War in Germany. After he returned to Siena, he ruled the city again before becoming involved in the Wars of Castro.

A portrait of Mattias
in military uniform 

Mattias was given supreme authority over the grand duchy’s military affairs by his brother, Ferdinando, and he commanded the League of the Republic of Venice, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy of Parma, and the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, in the struggle against Pope Urban VIII.

As a reward for his military victories, his brother, Ferdinando, presented Mattias with the Villa of Lappeggi in a beautiful area of countryside near Florence.

Mattias was an enthusiastic  supporter of the arts and he became a keen collector. He was the patron of Justus Sustermans, the Flemish court painter of the Medici family, and of Baldassare Franceschini, who was also known as Il Volteranno.

His interests centred on painting, and he paid for the training of Livio Mehus, a Flemish painter, draughtsman and engraver, many of whose works are listed in an inventory of Mattias’s possessions made in 1669. As a soldier, Mattias was particularly interested in battle painting, and the artist Giacomo Cortese, who, like Mattias, had experienced military combat, was employed by him in the 1650s. 

Mattias was said to have been delighted with four paintings of battles in which he had fought himself, which have been identified in a room in the Villa of Lappeggi.  This room also contains a damaged fresco, which has been identified as Victory and Fame by Franceschini. 

Mattias promoted Siena’s famous Palio during its early history and a horse from his stable regularly took part in the event.

During his time in Germany, he acquired many scientific instruments, such as dials, astrolabes, quadrants, and compasses, which were given to the Uffizi gallery. 

Mattias never married and as he got older, he suffered from gout. He was considering re-entering the church, but illness prevented it. He died in Siena in 1667 at the age of 54. He was buried in the Medici family tombs in the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.

His embalmed body was exhumed in 1857 during an investigation into the Medici remains in the church. He was found dressed as a Knight of Malta in black velvet, wearing velvet shoes and with a gold medal on his chest.

The Palio di Siena still attracts huge crowds
to witness the event in Piazza del Campo

Travel tip:

The Palio di Siena is a horse race that takes place in the Piazza del Campo in Siena twice each year, on 2 July and 16 August. Ten horses and bareback riders, who are dressed in the colours of their districts, represent 10 of the 17 contrade, or city wards, in a competition that dates back to 1633, when it was inaugurated soon after Mattias de’ Medici became governor of the city.  The 10 participants race each other on a temporary dirt track around the perimeter of the shell-shaped piazza. The race consists of three laps, which the horses cover at such a furious pace that the whole thing is over in about 90 seconds. It is not uncommon for riders to fall off but a riderless horse can still be declared the winner if the colours of their contrada are still attached to the bridle. 

The Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence, which
houses the tombs of the Medici family

Travel tip:

The Basilica of San Lorenzo, where Mattias de’ Medici is buried, is one of the largest churches in Florence. It is at the centre of the main market district of the city, and is the burial place of all the principal members of the Medici family. It is one of several churches that claim to be the oldest in Florence, having been consecrated in 393 AD, at a time when it stood outside the city walls. For hundreds of years it was the city's cathedral, before the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore was completed in the 15th century. In 1419, Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici - father of Cosimo de’ Medici, the founder of the banking dynasty - offered to finance a new church to replace an 11th-century Romanesque building. Filippo Brunelleschi, the leading Renaissance architect of the first half of the 15th century, famous for the colossal dome of Santa Maria del Fiore, was commissioned to design it, although it was not completed until after his death.

Also on this day:

1815: The birth of adventurer Pierre-Napoleon Bonaparte

1896: The birth of composer and lyricist Cesare Andrea Bixio

2014: The death of soprano Anna Cerquetti

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10 October

Andrea Zanzotto - poet

Writer drew inspiration from landscapes of Veneto

Andrea Zanzotto, who was regarded as one of Italy’s greatest 20th century poets, was born on this day in 1921 in Pieve di Soligo, the village near Treviso where he lived almost all of his life.  Zanzotto, who spent 40 years as a secondary school teacher, wrote 15 books of poetry, two prose works, two volumes of critical articles and translations of French philosophers such as Michaux, Leiris and Bataille.  His first book of poetry, Dietro il paesaggio (1951), won a literary award judged by several noteworthy Italian poets. Critics reserved their greatest acclaim for his sixth volume, La beltà (1968), in which he questioned the ability of words to reflect truth.  Zanzotto, whose verse was consistently erudite and creative, was known for his innovative engagement with language and his fascination with the rugged landscapes of the Veneto, from which he drew inspiration and provided him with much symbolism.  His upbringing was difficult at times because his father, Giovanni Zanzotto, a painter who has trained at the Bologna Academy of Fine Arts, was a committed supporter of the Socialist politician Giacomo Matteotti, who was murdered by Fascist thugs in 1924 a few days after accusing Mussolini’s party of electoral fraud.  Read more…

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Daniele Comboni – Saint

Missionary who worked miracles after his death

The Feast Day - festa - of Saint Daniel Comboni - San Daniele - is held on this day every year in Italy.  Saint Daniel, who was a Roman Catholic missionary to Africa, died on this day at the age of 50 in 1881 in Khartoum in Sudan. He was canonised in 2003 by Pope John Paul II in recognition of two miracle cures claimed to have been brought about by his intercession.  Comboni was born in 1831 at Limone sul Garda in the province of Brescia in Lombardy in northern Italy.  His parents were poor and he was the only one of their eight children to live to become an adult.  Comboni was sent away to school in Verona and after completing his studies prepared to become a priest.  He met and was profoundly influenced by missionaries who had come back from Central Africa and three years after his ordination set off with five other priests to continue their work.  After they reached Khartoum some of his fellow missionaries became ill and died because of the climate, sickness and poverty they encountered, but Comboni remained determined to continue with his mission.  On his return to Italy, while praying for guidance at the tomb of Saint Peter in Rome, Comboni came up with the idea of a missionary project to save Africa.  Read more…

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Stefano Magaddino - mafioso

Longest-ruling Mafia boss in US history

Stefano Magaddino, the Sicilian mafioso who went on to enjoy the longest period of power enjoyed by any crime boss in the history of the American Mafia, was born on this day in 1891 in Castellammare del Golfo.  Known as ‘The Undertaker’ or ‘Don Stefano’, Magaddino controlled a crime empire radiating outwards from Buffalo, on the shores of Lake Erie in New York State.  Geographically, it was a vast area, stretching from the eastern fringe of  New York State to its western outposts in Ohio and extending north-east almost as far as Montreal in Canada, its tentacles reaching across the Canadian border from Buffalo even into Toronto.  One of the original members of The Commission, the committee of seven crime bosses set up in 1931 to control Mafia activity across the whole of the United States, Magaddino was head of the Buffalo Family for more than half a century.  He died in 1974 at the age of 82, having survived all the other Commission members, including the founder Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano and Chicago boss Al Capone, with the exception of his cousin from Castellammare, Joseph Bonanno, who along with Luciano, headed one of the Five Families of the New York underworld.  Read more…

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Nunzia De Girolamo – politician and television presenter

Lawyer who moved from debating to dancing

Politician and lawyer Nunzia De Girolamo, who served as Minister of Agriculture in the government of Enrico Letta from 2013 to 2014, was born on this day in 1975 in Benevento in Campania.  Nunzia became a member of the Italian parliament, representing Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party, in 2008, and she was re-elected to parliament in 2013. She went on to become the youngest member of the Letta cabinet and one of just seven female politicians appointed.  While growing up, Nunzia attended the Liceo Classico Pietro Giannone in Benevento and then entered the faculty of jurisprudence to study law at the University of Rome La Sapienza. After graduating, she went into the legal profession. Nunzia worked in the fields of civil law, employment law, and commercial law before going into politics.  She became a member of Forza Italia, but left the party in 2009. Voters chose her as an individual member of the People of Freedom party, when she stood for parliament for the second time.  In 2011, she married Francesco Boccia, the Minister for Regional Affairs and Autonomy. They had a daughter, who they named Gea.  Read more…

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Book of the Day: The Selected Poetry and Prose of Andrea Zanzotto: A Bilingual Edition, by Andrea Zanzotto

Andrea Zanzotto is widely considered Italy’s most influential living poet. The first comprehensive collection in 30 years to translate this master European poet for an English-speaking audience, The Selected Poetry and Prose of Andrea Zanzotto includes poems from 14 of his major books of verse and a selection of 13 essays that helps illuminate themes in his poetry as well as elucidate key theoretical underpinnings of his thought. Assembled with the collaboration of Zanzotto himself and featuring a critical introduction, thorough annotations, and a generous selection of photographs and art, this volume brings an Italian master to vivid life for non-Italian speakers. Translated by: Patrick Baron, Ruth Feldman, Thomas Harrison, Brian Swann, John P Welle and Elizabeth A Wilkins.

Andrea Zanzotto, who was regarded as one of Italy’s greatest 20th century poets, pursued his literary interests alongside his career as a secondary school teacher. 

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