21 May

NEW - Cardinal Giulio Alberoni – statesman and gourmet

Priest loved power, wealth...and his local pasta

Cardinal Giulio Alberoni, who gained money and high position through representing the interests of France and Spain, and was also known for his love of good food, was born on this day in 1664 in Fiorenzuola D’Arda near Piacenza in the Duchy of Parma in Emilia-Romagna. Alberoni had a career punctuated by highs and lows, but he accumulated vast personal wealth and his memory lives on because of two dishes that are still served in Piacenza. The son of a gardener, Alberoni rose to become a statesman responsible for the revival of Spain’s fortunes during the War of the Spanish Succession, and he was made the papal legate of Ravenna and Bologna.  After being educated by the Jesuits, Alberoni took holy orders and was appointed a canon at Parma in 1698.  In 1702, the government of Parma sent him on a diplomatic mission to Louis-Joseph, Duc de Vendôme, commander of French forces in Italy during the War of the Spanish Succession. He was then taken by Vendôme to France as his secretary in 1706, and to Spain a few years later, although he continued to act as an agent of Parma.  Read more…

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Angelo Bruno - Mafia boss

Sicilian head of Philadelphia mob known as 'the Gentle Don'

Angelo Bruno, a mobster who ran the Philadelphia Mafia for two decades, was born Angelo Annaloro in Villalba, in the province of Caltanissetta, in Sicily, on this day in 1910.  Bruno was known as “the Gentle Don” because he preferred to solve problems and consolidate his power through non-violent means, such as bribery, and commissioned murders only as a last resort.  The son of a grocer, he emigrated to the United States in his teens and settled in Philadelphia. He became a close associate of New York crime family boss Carlo Gambino. Bruno dropped the name Annaloro and replaced it with his paternal grandmother's maiden name, Bruno.  Bruno’s dislike of violence was not driven by any compassion for his fellow man.  During his early days in Philadelphia, he worked for a series of bosses and did not shirk the tasks he had to perform in order to rise through the ranks, which included carrying out killings himself.  But in 1959, when he succeeded Joseph Ida as boss of the Philadelphia crime family, he decided it was in his interests and those of his criminal organisation to operate in a way that avoided attracting unwanted attention.  Read more…

Michelangelo’s Pietà damaged

Work of art deliberately vandalised

Michelangelo’s beautiful Pietà, a marble sculpture of the Virgin Mary with the dead body of Jesus lying across her knees, was damaged by a man wielding a hammer on this day in 1972 in Rome.  A mentally disturbed man walked into St Peter’s Basilica and attacked the sculpture in an act of deliberate vandalism.  He struck it 15 times, removing Mary’s arm at the elbow, knocking off a chunk of her nose and chipping one of her eyelids.  Some of the pieces of marble that flew off were taken by some of the people who were in the church at the time and Mary’s nose had to be reconstructed from a block cut out of her back.  The man who carried out the attack was said to be suffering from a delusion that he was Jesus Christ risen from the dead. He was not charged with any crime but spent two years in a psychiatric hospital.  After the restoration work was completed the sculpture was returned to its place in St Peter’s, just to the right of the entrance, and it is now protected by a bulletproof acrylic glass panel.  Michelangelo carved this sculpture from a single piece of Carrara marble in 1499 when he was only 24 and it is the only work he ever signed.  Read more…

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Propaganda Due suspects named

Italy horrified as list reveals alleged members of ‘secret state’ 

Ordinary Italians were stunned and the country’s elite rocked to the core on this day in 1981 when a list was made public of alleged members of Propaganda Due, a secret Masonic lodge which sought to run the country as a ‘state within the state’.  A staggering 962 names were on the list, including 44 members of parliament, three of whom were cabinet ministers, 49 bankers, numerous industrialists, a number of newspaper editors and other high-profile journalists, the heads of all three of Italy’s secret services and more than 200 military and police officers, including 12 generals of the Carabinieri, five of the Guardia di Finanza, 22 of the army and four from the air force.  The existence of the illegal, underground lodge, known as P2, had been rumoured for several years but there had been little concrete evidence until magistrates investigating the collapse of the Banco Ambrosiano in Milan raided the home in Tuscany of Licio Gelli, the former Fascist financier who turned out to be the Grandmaster.  The list of alleged members, which was made public by Prime Minister Arnaldo Forlani on the advice of the prosecuting team, was found among paperwork seized in the raid.  Read more…

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Pandolfo Petrucci – ruler of Siena

Ruthless tyrant who encouraged art

Pandolfo Petrucci, who during his time ruling Siena was one of the most powerful men in Italy, died on this day in 1512 in San Quirico d’Orcia in Tuscany.  Although he had been a tyrannical ruler, Petrucci had also done a great deal to increase the artistic splendour of his native city.  Petrucci was born into an aristocratic family in Siena in 1452. He had to go into exile in 1483 for being a member of the Noveschi political faction, which had fallen out of favour with the rulers of Siena.  After he returned to Siena in 1487, he began to take advantage of the struggles between the different political factions.  He married Aurelia Borghese, who was the daughter of Niccolò Borghese, an important figure in Siena at the time. After entering public office himself, Petrucci acquired so much authority and wealth that he became the ruling despot of Siena with the title of signore - lord.  His rapid rise to power alienated his father-in-law, who conspired with other influential citizens in Siena to assassinate him. However, Petrucci uncovered the plot and in 1500 had Borghese murdered. This act terrified his other enemies, which left Petrucci in complete control.  Read more…

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Book of the Day: The Cooking of Emilia-Romagna: Culinary Treasures from Northern Italy (Illustrated Edition), by Giovanna Bellia La Marca 

The Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy is home to several of the world’s most renowned gastronomic cities - the capital, Bologna, has given its name to the famed Bolognese sauce; from Parma comes exquisite prosciutto, the best-known pork product of Italy; Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese has been made in Parma and Reggio-Emilia for over 700 years; and Modena has been producing unrivalled balsamic vinegar for centuries. This culinary heartland is also well-known for its delicate homemade pastas. The Cooking of Emilia-Romagna takes readers on a personally-guided tour through the culinary landscape of this beautiful Italian region. From homemade tagliatelle with a rich, hearty Bolognese ragú, to unique desserts like Torta Ferrarese, a confection made with fresh egg noodles layered with almonds, sugar, and butter that hails from the town of Ferrara, home chefs will fall in love with the classic Italian fare presented in these 140 recipes. A section on cooking techniques teaches the correct way to peel chestnuts, clean leeks, soak dried beans, and much more. Also included are guides to the wines of the region and Italian ingredients, a resource section with specialty retailers, and a bibliography. Along the way, La Marca reminisces about her favorite meals, people, and places in Emilia-Romagna, sharing a true taste of the region with readers.

Giovanna Bellia La Marca was born in Italy and moved to the United States at the age of 10, but kept her love for Sicilian and Italian cooking alive through many trips to Italy. She hosts a popular YouTube cooking show Kitchen on the Cliff and is the author of Sicilian Feasts and Language and Travel Guide to Sicily.

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Cardinal Giulio Alberoni – statesman and gourmet

Priest loved power, wealth...and his local pasta

As a diplomat, Cardinal Alberoni became
the equivalent of prime minister of Spain

Cardinal Giulio Alberoni, who gained money and high position through representing the interests of France and Spain, and was also known for his love of good food, was born on this day in 1664 in Fiorenzuola D’Arda near Piacenza in the Duchy of Parma in Emilia-Romagna.

Alberoni had a career punctuated by highs and lows, but he accumulated vast personal wealth and his memory lives on because of two dishes that are still served in Piacenza.

The son of a gardener, Alberoni rose to become a statesman responsible for the revival of Spain’s fortunes during the War of the Spanish Succession, and he was made the papal legate of Ravenna and Bologna.

After being educated by the Jesuits, Alberoni took holy orders and was appointed a canon at Parma in 1698.

In 1702, the government of Parma sent him on a diplomatic mission to Louis-Joseph, Duc de Vendôme, commander of French forces in Italy during the War of the Spanish Succession. He was then taken by Vendôme to France as his secretary in 1706, and to Spain a few years later, although he continued to act as an agent of Parma.

After Vendôme’s death, Alberoni remained in Madrid as the official representative of Parma. His influence at the Spanish court increased and he negotiated the marriage of Philip V of Spain to Isabella Farnese, the daughter of the Duke of Parma.

Alberoni became the equivalent of a prime minister for Philip V, and he carried out administrative and fiscal reforms at the Spanish court. He brought in foreign craftsmen to boost industry, while reducing the powers of the councils made up of aristocrats who were against his reforms.

Pier Leone Ghezzi's painting of Pope Clement XI
conferring the cardinal's hat to Giulio Alberoni

His foreign policy was designed to drive the Austrians from Italy and to safeguard Spanish trade with the American colonies. But Spanish military expeditions to Sicily and Sardinia led to Spain having to go to war, and the defeat of Spanish forces during a French and British invasion of Spain, resulted in Alberoni being banished from the country in 1719.

Alberoni fled from Spain to Italy, but charges were laid against him by Spain in a bid to persuade the Pope to depose him as a Cardinal. However, he managed to avoid being arrested and took refuge in Austrian territory in Lombardy.

After Pope Clement XI died in 1721, Alberoni went to take part in the conclave that elected Pope Innocent XIII. He was briefly imprisoned in a monastery by the new pontiff to satisfy Spain, who had accused Alberoni of sodomy, but he was later cleared of the charges by his fellow cardinals.

When Pope Benedict XIII was elected in 1724, Alberoni was made a cardinal deacon and given the church of Sant’ Adriano al Foro. He was later made the cardinal priest of San Crisogono.

After he was named legate of Ravenna, Alberoni had Porta Alberoni built in the city as a gateway to the dockyards, but this has since been moved.

He later retired to live in Piacenza and the Pope named him administrator of the hospital of San Lazzaro, an institution originally founded for lepers. 

Coppa del Cardinale, named after Alberoni,
is a popular cured pork in Emilia-Romagna

As leprosy had almost disappeared in Italy by then, Alberoni obtained the Pope’s permission to suppress the hospital and use it as a seminary for the priestly education of poor boys, which he named Collegio Alberoni.

After his death in 1752, he left money to the seminary and the rest of his fortune to his nephew. The huge collection of art he had accumulated is now on show to the public in a gallery inside Collegio Alberoni.

His private correspondence was to reveal his love of food, as among his letters there are requests for local delicacies to be sent to him, such as truffles, salame, robiola cheeses, and a type of local pasta known as anolini.

At least two Piacenza dishes are named after him, the cured pork dish, Coppa del Cardinale, and the pasta dish Timballo Alberoni, which contains macaroni, shrimp sauce, mushrooms, butter and cheese.

Alberoni was buried inside the Church of Collegio Alberoni, to which he had bequeathed the sum of 600,000 ducati, a fortune at the time.

The 14th century Collegiata di San Fiorenzo
in Fiorenzuola D'Arda's Piazza Molinari

Travel tip:

Fiorenzuola D’Arda, where Alberoni was born into a humble family,  is a city in the province of Piacenza, which dates back to prehistoric times. One of its main sights is the 14th century church of Collegiata di San Fiorenzo in Piazza Molinari. The former Church of San Giovanni, which over the centuries has been used as a courthouse, barracks, and prison, now houses the town hall and municipal library. There is also a theatre named after the opera composer Giuseppe Verdi. Typical local dishes include anolini pasta in broth with cheese, and cold cuts served with ‘gnocco fritto’ (fried dumplings). Fiorenzuola sits in Val d’Arda, which is home to some of the most beautiful castles in the whole of Emilia-Romagna, set against a backdrop of gently rolling hills.

Antonello da Messina's masterpiece
Ecco Homo in the Galleria Alberoni

Travel tip:

Piacenza is a city about 75km (45 miles) to the north east of Parma in Emilia-Romagna.  The main square in Piacenza is named Piazza Cavalli because of its two bronze equestrian monuments featuring Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma, and his son Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma, who succeeded him. The statues are masterpieces by the sculptor Francesco Mochi. Collegio Alberoni still stands in Via Emilia Parmense in Piacenza. It is now a library, an historical and natural museum, and a seismological and weather observatory. Among the many works of art in Galleria Alberoni, which is inside the Collegio, is the masterpiece Ecce Homo by Antonello da Messina, and there are also many church furnishing objects and tapestries, which belonged to Cardinal Alberoni.

Also on this day:

1512: The death of tyrant ruler Pandolfo Petrucci

1910: The birth of Mafia boss Angelo Bruno

1972: Michelangelo’s Pietà damaged

1981: Propaganda Due suspects named

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20 May

Gabriele Muccino - film director

Enjoyed box office success in US after partnering with Will Smith

The film director Gabriele Muccino, whose best-known work so far has been the Oscar-nominated 2006 Will Smith movie The Pursuit of Happyness, was born on this day in 1967 in Rome.  He is the older brother of the actor, Silvio Muccino.  Muccino, who also directed Smith in Seven Pounds (2008), spent several years in Hollywood following his success in Italy with L’ultimo bacio (The Last Kiss), which won him a David Di Donatello award as Best Director and for Best Screenplay.  His most recent work has been in Italy, with his latest film, Gli anni più belli (The Most Beautiful Years) released in February 2020.  The son of Luigi Muccino, an executive at the state television company Rai, and painter and costume designer Antonella Cappuccio, Gabriele enrolled at Rome’s Sapienza University to study literature, but was already fascinated with the cinema. Indeed, he abandoned his studies soon after he began them, choosing instead to attend Rome’s renowned Centro sperimentale di cinematografia, where he worked unpaid as a director’s assistant, working with the highly-regarded Pupi Avati and Marco Risi.  Read more…

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Ondina Valla - ground-breaking athlete

Italy’s first female Olympic champion

Trebisonda ‘Ondina’ Valla, the first Italian woman to win an Olympic gold medal, was born on this day in 1916 in Bologna.  Known as Ondina reputedly after a journalist misspelled her unusual name, Valla won the 80m at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, where she also set a world record time in the semi-final.  The victory established Valla as an icon for Italy’s Fascist regime and as a heroine for Italian girls with sporting ambitions, her success breaking new ground for women in the face of considerable opposition to female participation in sport.  The Catholic Church’s attitude was that sport was not compatible with the standards of morality, modesty and domesticity they expected of women, while the view of Italy’s medical profession was that women should take only basic physical exercise if they wanted to maintain the level of health required for motherhood.  Benito Mussolini initially saw women as occupying a traditional role in the society he envisaged for the fascist ideal, supporting their husbands and caring for their children within the family unit.  But he seized upon Valla’s success as a political opportunity, keen to portray her as an example of Italian Fascism’s dynamism and the potential for Italians to make their mark internationally.  Read more…

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Hieronymus Fabricius - anatomist and surgeon

Research pioneer known as “Father of Embryology”

The pioneering anatomist and physiologist known in academic history as Hieronymus Fabricius, whose Italian name was Girolamo Fabrizio, was born on this day in 1537 in Acquapendente, in Lazio.  Fabrizio, who designed the first permanent theatre for public anatomical dissections, advanced the knowledge of the make-up of the human body in many areas, including the digestive system, the eyes and ears, and the veins.  But his most significant discoveries were in embryology.  He investigated the foetal development of many animals and humans and produced the first detailed description of the placenta. For this he became known as the "Father of Embryology".  Fabrizio spent most of his life at the University of Padua, where he was a student under the guidance of Gabriele Falloppio, who discovered the tube connecting the ovaries with the uterus that became known as the Fallopian tube.  He succeeded Falloppio as chair of surgery and anatomy, holding the post from 1562 to 1613 and building a reputation that attracted students from all of Europe.  Among his pupils were the English anatomist William Harvey, as well as Giulio Casseri and Adriaan van den Spiegel, both of whom went on to become significant anatomists.  Read more…

Pietro Bembo – poet and scholar

Lucrezia Borgia’s lover helped with the development of modern Italian

Pietro Bembo, a writer who was influential in the development of the Italian language, was born on this day in 1470 in Venice.  He is probably most remembered for having an affair with Lucrezia Borgia while she was married to the Duke of Ferrara and he was living at the Este Court with them. His love letters to her were described by the English poet, Lord Byron, centuries later, as ‘the prettiest love letters in the world.’  As a boy, Bembo visited Florence with his father where he acquired a love for the Tuscan form of Italian which he was later to use as his literary medium. He later learnt Greek and went to study at the University of Padua.  He spent two years at the Este Court in Ferrara where he wrote poetry that was reminiscent of Boccaccio and Petrarch.  It was when he returned to the court at Ferrara a few years later that he had an affair with Lucrezia Borgia, the daughter of Pope Alexander VI, who was at that time the wife of Alfonso I d’Este. The love letters between the pair to which Byron referred are now in the collection of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan.  Byron greatly admired them when he saw them there in 1816.  Read more…

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Giovanni Paolo Cavagna – artist

Prolific painter left a rich legacy of religious canvases

Late Renaissance painter Giovanni Paolo Cavagna, who became famous for his religious scenes, died on this day in 1627 in his native city of Bergamo.  Cavagna was mainly active in Bergamo and Brescia, another historic city in the Lombardy region, for most of his career, although he is believed to have spent some time training in Venice in the studio of Titian. The artist was born in Borgo di San Leonardo in Bergamo’s Città Bassa in about 1550. The painter Cristoforo Baschenis Il Vecchio is believed to have taken him as an apprentice from the age of 12. Cavagna is also thought to have spent time as a pupil of the famous Bergamo portrait painter Giovanni Battista Moroni.  Cavagna’s work can still be seen in many churches in Bergamo and villages in the surrounding area. In the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo’s Città Alta there are paintings by him of the Assumption of the Virgin, the Nativity, and Esther and Ahasuerus.  In the Church of Santa Spirito in Bergamo’s Città Bassa, there are his paintings of Santa Lucia and the Crucifixion with Saints. He painted a Coronation of the Virgin for the Church of San Giovanni Battista in the province of Casnigo. Read more…

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Albano Carrisi - singer

Performer best known as Al Bano has sold 165 million records

The singer Albano Carrisi, better known as Al Bano, was born on this day in 1943 in Cellino San Marco, a town in Puglia about 30km (19 miles) from Lecce.  He enjoyed considerable success as a solo artist in the late 1960s but became more famous still in Italy and across mainland Europe for his collaboration with the American singer Romina Power – daughter of the actor Tyrone Power.  They met during the shooting of a film - one of several, mainly romantic comedies and a vehicle for his songs, in which he starred during the 1970s.  They not only formed a professional partnership but were married for almost 30 years.  They twice performed as Italy’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, finishing seventh on both occasions, and appeared several times at Italy’s prestigious Sanremo Music Festival, winning the top prize in 1984.  They divorced in 1999 but reunited on a professional basis in 2013 and when they performed at the Arena di Verona in 2015 before a sell-out crowd of 11,000 the show was broadcast by the Italian TV network Rai and shown in seven other countries, with a combined audience estimated at 51 million.  Read more…

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Book of the Day: The Transatlantic Gaze: Italian Cinema, American Film, by Mary Ann McDonald Carolan

In The Transatlantic Gaze, Mary Ann McDonald Carolan documents the sustained and profound artistic impact of Italian directors, actors, and screenwriters on American film. Working across a variety of genres, including neorealism, comedy, the Western, and the art film, Carolan explores how and why American directors from Woody Allen to Quentin Tarantino have adapted certain Italian trademark techniques and motifs. Allen’s To Rome with Love (2012), for example, is an homage to the genius of Italian filmmakers, and to Federico Fellini in particular, whose Lo sceicco bianco/The White Sheik (1952) also resonates with Allen’s The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) as well as with Neil LaBute’s Nurse Betty (2000). Tarantino’s Kill Bill saga (2003, 2004) plays off elements of Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Western C’era una volta il West/Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), a transatlantic conversation about the Western that continues in Tarantino’s Oscar-winning Django Unchained (2012). Lee Daniels’s Precious (2009) and Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna (2008), meanwhile, demonstrate that the neorealism of Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica, which arose from the political and economic exigencies of postwar Italy, is an effective vehicle for critiquing social issues such as poverty and racism in a contemporary American context. The book concludes with an examination of American remakes of popular Italian films, a comparison that offers insight into the similarities and differences between the two cultures and the transformations in genre, both subtle and obvious, that underlie this form of cross-cultural exchange.

Mary Ann McDonald Carolan is Professor of Italian and Director of the Italian Studies programme at Fairfield University in Connecticut. 

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19 May

Andrea Pirlo - footballer and winemaker

Midfielder who won multiple honours now focused on vineyard

The footballer Andrea Pirlo, who some commentators bracket with Roberto Baggio as one of the two best Italian footballers of the last 30 years, was born on this day in 1979.  The midfielder won the Italian Serie A championship six times with two clubs, and is double winner of the Champions League.  In international football he has a World Cup winner’s medal as a member of the 2006 Italian national team that lifted the trophy in Germany.  In 2019, he was recognized by the Italian Football Hall of Fame.  Pirlo has also enjoyed success as a coach but lately has also been focusing on his sustainable wine company, Pratum Coller, which aims for eco-friendly wine production with minimal environmental impact.  As a strong advocate for protecting nature, Pirlo has helped spark environmental discussions around popular Italian passions, such as wine and football. Artificial football pitches have also attracted ire for their contribution to PFAS, chemicals that harm the ecosystem.  In the United States, the AFFF lawsuit has been raising awareness about how PFAS in firefighting foam has contributed to cancer.  Read more…

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Vittorio Orlando - politician

Prime minister humiliated at First World War peace talks

Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, the Italian prime minister best known for being humiliated by his supposed allies at the Paris peace talks following the First World War, was born on this day in 1860 in Palermo.  Elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the first time in 1897, Orlando had held a number of positions in government and became prime minister in 1917 following Italy’s disastrous defeat to the Austro-Hungarian army at Caporetto, which saw 40,000 Italian soldiers killed or wounded and 265,000 captured. The government of Orlando’s predecessor, Paolo Boselli, collapsed as a result.  Orlando, who had been a supporter of Italy’s entry into the war on the side of the Allies, rebuilt shattered Italian morale and the military victory at Vittorio Veneto, which ended the war on the Italian front and contributed to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire, saw him hailed as Italy’s ‘premier of victory’.  However, his reputation was left in tatters when he and Sidney Sonnino, his half-Welsh foreign secretary, when to Paris to participate in peace talks but left humiliated after the territorial gains they were promised in return for entering the war on the side of Britain, France and the United States were not delivered.  Read more…

Baccio d’Agnolo - architect and woodcarver

Florentine who influenced the look of his home city

The woodcarver, sculptor and architect Baccio d'Agnolo, whose work significantly influenced the architectural landscape of his home city in the Renaissance period, was born in Florence on this day in 1462.  His birth name was Bartolomeo Baglioni but he came to be referred to as d’Agnolo in a reference to the name of his father, Angelo, while Baccio was a popular short form for Bartolomeo. His father was also a woodcarver, which explains the direction of his early career.  Between 1491 and 1502, Baccio executed much of the decorative carving in the church of Santa Maria Novella and the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence before turning to architecture.  He worked alongside Simone del Pollaiolo in restoring the Palazzo Vecchio, and in 1506 was commissioned to complete the drum of the cupola of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, although the project was ultimately abandoned after criticism from Michelangelo.  Among the notable buildings attributed to Baccio d’Agnolo are the Palazzo Borgherini-Rosselli del Turco and the Palazzo Bartolini Salimbeni, while his design for the campanile of the church of Santo Spirito has also been praised.  Read more…

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Pompeo Coppini - sculptor

Italian emigrant famous for Texas monument

The sculptor Pompeo Coppini, best known for the Alamo Cenotaph in San Antonio, Texas, was born on this day in 1870 in Moglia, a village in Lombardy a few kilometres south of the city of Mantua.  Coppini emigrated to the United States at the age of 26 and after initially working in New York moved to Texas, where the majority of his work can be found.  The Alamo Cenotaph, also known as The Spirit of Sacrifice, consists of a 60ft high sloping shaft of grey Georgia marble resting on a base of pink Texas granite. Carved into the sides of the monument, erected near the scene of the siege of the Alamo Mission during the Texas Revolution in 1836, are images of the Alamo defenders including William B Travis, Jim Bowie, David Crockett and James Bonham, while the names of those who died at the Alamo were etched along the base.  It was commissioned to commemorate the centenary of the siege and took two years to complete. It is now the centrepiece of a square known as the Alamo Plaza.  The son of a musician, Pompeo moved with his family from Moglia to Florence in 1880 at the age of 10. Read more…

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Michele Placido – actor and director

Role of anti-Mafia police inspector turned actor into a TV star

Actor and director Michele Placido was born on this day in 1946 in Ascoli Satriano in Apulia.  Placido is best known for his portrayal of the character, Corrado Cattani, in the Italian television series, La piovra.  Cattani, a police inspector investigating the Mafia, was the lead character in the first four series of La piovra (meaning The Octopus, a name that referred to the Mafia). It was popular on television in the 1980s and the first three series were shown in the UK on Channel Four.  Placido’s family were originally from Rionero in Vulture in Basilicata and he is a descendant of the folk hero, Carmine Crocco, sometimes also known as Donatello. Crocco had fought in the service of Garibaldi but, after Italian unification, he became disappointed with the new Government and formed his own army to fight on behalf of the deposed King of the Two Sicilies, Francis II.  Placido moved to Rome to study acting and then began working in films. His first success came with his portrayal of soldier Paolo Passeri in Marcia Trionfale in 1976, directed by Marco Bellocchio, a role for which Placido won an award.  Read more…

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Book of the Day: Andrea Pirlo: I Think Therefore I Play, by Andrea Pirlo with Alessandro Alciato

Andrea Pirlo was one of the finest footballers of his generation - a World Cup and Champions League winning playmaker who has redefined his position at the base of midfield, and one of the most deadly free-kick takers the game has known. This is his story, in his words. It is written with a level of humour and insight which confound his image as a dead-eyed assassin on the field of play. All the big names are in there: Lippi, Ancelotti, Conte, Maldini, Shevchenko, Seedorf, Buffon, Kaka, Nesta, Balotelli, Costacurta, Gattuso, Berlusconi and Ronaldo ("the real one"). But they're not always in their work clothes. We hear Berlusconi playing the piano and telling "various types of jokes" at Milan's training ground. We see Pirlo and Daniele De Rossi drawing Alessandro Nesta's ire as they take him on a mystery tour of the German countryside in a hire car days before a World Cup semi-final. And we smell the aftermath of Filippo Inzaghi's graphically-described pre-match routine. I Think Therefore I Play is a salute to a special talent who idolised the brilliant Italian fantasista Roberto Baggio and forged a career in his image.

Andrea Pirlo won 119 caps for the Italian national team and was a Serie A champion many times over. Alessandro Alciato is an Italian television journalist who has ghosted biographies for a number of football players and coaches, including Carlo Ancelotti, Fabio Cannavaro and Andrij Shevchenko.

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