15 December

NEW - Virginia Centurione Braccelli – Saint

Wealthy woman dedicated her life to relieving poverty

The Feast Day of Virginia Centurione Braccelli, a noble lady from Genoa, who was made a Saint by Pope John Paul II, is celebrated every year on this day throughout Italy and in other parts of the world. Virginia died on December 15, 1651 in her native city after devoting her life to helping the poor and the sick.  Virginia was born in 1587 to Giorgio Centurione, who was the Doge of Genoa between 1621 and 1623, and his wife, Lelia Spinola. At that time, the Doge was the Head of State of the maritime Republic of Genoa. Her mother was very pious and as a young girl Virginia spent a lot of time with her mother in prayer and contemplation. She could also hear her brother’s Latin lessons as she sat sewing and because she took in everything she heard, she learnt the language of the church. She was able to read passages of scripture in Latin and learn them by heart. Read more… 

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Frankie Dettori - champion jockey

Milan-born horseman among all-time greats

Lanfranco "Frankie" Dettori, the three-times British champion jockey, was born on this day in 1970 in Milan.  As well as winning the UK jockeys' title in 1994 and 1995 and again in 2004, Dettori has won more than 500 Group Races around the world, including 23 British Classics.  He won his first Classic in 1994 on Balanchine in the Oaks. He won his first St Leger in 1995 on Classic Cliche, his first 2,000 Guineas in 1996 on Mark of Esteem and his first 1,000 Guineas in 1998 on Cape Verdi, finally completing the set at the 15th attempt when Authorized won the Derby at Epsom in 2007. Dettori won the Derby for a second time in 2015 on Golden Horn, which he rates as the best horse he has ever ridden. Golden Horn won the Derby, the Eclipse Stakes, the Irish Champion Stakes and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 2015, each time with Dettori in the saddle.  Read more…

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John Paul Getty III released

Heir to world’s biggest fortune held by kidnappers for 158 days

A story that dominated the Italian press and newspapers around the world ended on this day in 1973 when police responding to a tip-off found a shivering, malnourished and deeply traumatised American teenager inside a disused motorway service area in a remote part of southern Italy.  John Paul Getty III, grandson of the richest man in the world, the oil tycoon John Paul Getty, had been held in captivity for more than five months by a kidnap gang who had demanded $17 million for his safe return.  The boy’s 80-year-old grandfather, whose personal fortune would equate today to almost $9 billion but who was notoriously mean, at first refused to pay a penny and stuck to that position until late November, when a letter containing a lock of hair and a human ear arrived at the offices of a daily newspaper in Rome.  Read more…

Comunardo Niccolai - footballer

‘King of own goals’ was also a champion

The footballer Comunardo Niccolai, a central defender with a propensity for scoring calamitous own goals, was born on this day in 1946 in Uzzano, a beautiful hill town in Tuscany.  Niccolai scored six own goals in his Serie A career, which contributed to his standing as a cult figure. He was actually an exceptionally talented player - good enough to be picked for the Italian squad that finished runners-up in the World Cup in 1970, and win a Serie A title with Cagliari. But he seemed unable to avoid moments of freakish bad luck and acquired such unwanted notoriety as a result that people outside the game still reference his name when describing someone doing something to their own disadvantage.  For example, in the late 1990s, the right-wing politician Francesco Storace said of a decision taken by prime minister Massimo D’Alema, “Ha fatto un autogol alla Niccolai” - meaning that he had “scored an own goal Niccolai-style”.  Read more…

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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Spaghetti western has steadily gained critical acclaim

The film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, was released on this day in Italy in 1966.  It was the third and final instalment in the Dollars Trilogy, following A Fistful of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More.  Despite mixed reviews to begin with, it was a financial success, grossing more than $25 million at the box office.  The film has gained respect over the years and is now seen as a highly influential example of the Western film genre and has been acclaimed as one of the greatest films of all time.  Directed by Sergio Leone, the film, known in Italian as Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, was made partly at the Cinecittà studio in Rome and partly on location.  It became categorised as a 'spaghetti western' and was distinctive because of Leone’s film–making style, which involved juxtaposing close-ups with lengthy long shots.  Read more…

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Book of the Day: The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Saints: An authoritative guide to the lives and works of over 300 Christian saints, by Tessa Paul

This beautiful book chronicles the fascinating history of sainthood and the lives of over 300 saints. A concise introduction outlines the religious and social history of Christian saints from stigmata and martyrdom to feast days and patron saints. The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Saints outlines the work of each saint, listed in chronological order, from the Apostles and early medieval martyrs, through to 21st-century saints. Well-known saints such as St Francis of Assisi and St Teresa of Avila sit alongside 1st-century martyrs and African saints of the 19th century. Special themed pages explore subjects such as Celtic Saints, the Holy Family, and Saints in Art. Illustrated with over 500 images, this expert guide will inform every reader interested in learning more about Christianity and the lives of the saints.

Tessa Paul has worked for many years as a researcher on European cultural and religious history. She has written extensively on Christian art for popular magazines, and co-edited and co-wrote 'Fiesta!', a series of 32 volumes on the religious festivals of Christianity and other major world religions.

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Virginia Centurione Braccelli – Saint

Wealthy woman dedicated her life to relieving poverty

Virginia defied her father in order to
help the poor and sick in Genoa

The Feast Day of Virginia Centurione Braccelli, a noble lady from Genoa, who was made a Saint by Pope John Paul II, is celebrated every year on this day throughout Italy and in other parts of the world. Virginia died on December 15, 1651 in her native city after devoting her life to helping the poor and the sick.

Virginia was born in 1587 to Giorgio Centurione, who was the Doge of Genoa between 1621 and 1623, and his wife, Lelia Spinola. At that time, the Doge was the Head of State of the maritime Republic of Genoa.

Her mother was very pious and as a young girl Virginia spent a lot of time with her mother in prayer and contemplation. She could also hear her brother’s Latin lessons as she sat sewing and because she took in everything she heard, she learnt the language of the church. She was able to read passages of scripture in Latin and learn them by heart and meditate on them.

But after her mother’s death, although Virginia wanted to take holy orders, her father forced her to marry a rich nobleman, Gaspare Grimaldi Bracelli, when she was still only 15 years old. She bore him two daughters, Lelia and Isabella.

After her husband’s death, when Virginia was still only 20, she refused to have a second marriage arranged by her father and she made a vow to live a celibate life and to work to help poor and sick people in Genoa. She lived in her mother-in-law’s house, where she looked after her daughters and devoted herself to charitable work, sharing her own wealth with the needy.

Following Genoa’s involvement in a war in 1624, unemployment rose and there was an increase in the number of starving people in the city. It led Virginia to found a centre to accommodate some of the people living in poverty because she could not house them all in her home. The centre soon became overrun with people who were suffering as a result of either famine or the plague and she had to rent a convent to accommodate all the people who needed help.

Virginia created a community at the convent dedicated to Our Lady of Refuge, which she later split into two separate congregations, The Sisters of Our Lady of Refuge and the Daughters of Our Lady of Refuge.

By 1635, the centre was caring for more than 300 patients at any one time and it received official recognition as a hospital. Virginia trained the poor people she was caring for to gain employment so that they could eventually work to provide themselves with sustenance and she also earned extra money herself by teaching the catechism, the text that summarises the doctrine of the Catholic faith.

Virginia's body was found to be incorrupt
almost 300 years after her death

Although the community at the convent lost its official status in 1647 due to a decline in donations from the wealthy residents of Genoa, Virginia somehow managed to carry on with her work of helping the poor. She also acted as a peacemaker, intervening in disputes between the noble houses in Genoa, until she died in 1651 at the age of 64.

The work of the Sisters of Our Lady of Refuge in Monte Calvario continues to this day with the sisters working to help sick, poor, and elderly people in hospitals, and also young people as far afield as Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and India.

The process for making Virginia a Saint was started in 1933, with theologians approving her writings and historians assessing the cause and clearing it to allow it to continue. 

In 1977, Pope Paul VI accorded Virginia the title of Servant of God. She was made Venerable in 1984, Beatified in 1985, and Canonised by Pope John Paul II in 2003.

When Virginia’s remains were examined during the long process leading up to her Beatification and Canonisation, they were found to be in a remarkable state of preservation and officially classified as incorrupt.

While not a prerequisite for sainthood, the incorruptibility of an individual’s remains is considered by the Catholic Church as strong evidence of sanctity, a miraculous sign of divine favour, showing that the saint lived a life of purity and closeness to God.

The Marassi district is best known for its football
stadium, the Stadio Luigi Ferraris

Travel tip:

Virginia Centurione Braccelli’s remains are buried within the chapel of the religious congregation she founded, the Sisters of Our Lady of Refuge in Mount Calvary, in the Marassi district of Genoa, a hillside area east of the city centre overlooking the Bisagno valley.  The sanctuary is thought to have roots going back to the 16th century, having been originally built on the site of a chapel dedicated to Saint Raphael.  It was relocated to Marassi in the 19th century after the church in central Genoa where it was originally based was demolished to make way for the Brignole railway station. The Marassi district, known as a lively, authentic neighbourhood away from the regular tourist trails, is most famous as the home of the Stadio Luigi Ferraris - also known as Stadio Marassi - which is shared by the city’s two major football clubs, Genoa and Sampdoria. The former, which still goes under the official title of Genoa Cricket and Football Club, was founded in 1893 by a group of British Consular officials. Among existing football clubs, it is the oldest in Italy.

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Piazza De Ferrari, at the heart of Genoa's elegant
city centre, with its impressive bronze fountain

Travel tip:

The port city of Genoa, the capital of the Liguria region, has a rich history as a powerful trading centre with considerable wealth built on its shipyards and steelworks. It also boasts some fine buildings, many of which have been restored to their original splendour.  The Palazzo Ducale - the Doge's Palace - the 16th century Palazzo Reale, a lavish royal residence with frescoes, tapestries and a rooftop garden, and the Romanesque-Renaissance style San Lorenzo Cathedral, with its striking black-and-white façade, are just three examples.  At the heart of the city centre is the Piazza De Ferrari, which features a monumental bronze fountain and is flanked by the Palazzo Ducale, the Palazzo della Borsa and the Teatro Carlo Felice among other buildings.  The area around the restored harbour area offers a maze of fascinating alleys and squares, enhanced recently by the work of Genoa architect Renzo Piano, and a landmark aquarium, the largest in Italy.

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More reading:

The secret gift maker who has become known as Santa Claus

The noblewoman who gave up luxurious lifestyle to help the poor

A reformed gambler who became devoted to caring for sick

Also on this day:

1946: The birth of footballer Comunardo Niccolai

1966: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly released in Italy

1970: The birth of champion jockey Frankie Dettori

1973: Kidnappers release John Paul Getty III

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14 December

Errico Malatesta - anarchist

Middle-class boy who became notorious revolutionary

Errico Malatesta, one of the most prominent figures in the anarchist movement that flourished in Italy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was born on this day in 1853 in the province of Caserta, in what is now Campania.  A committed revolutionary who was arrested for the first time at the age of 14, he spent more than 10 years of his life in prison and about 35 years in exile.  Apart from his activity in his own country, Malatesta helped organise anarchist revolutionary groups in several European countries, as well as in Egypt, and in North and South America, including Argentina, where he helped bakers form the country's first militant workers' union.  Born into a family of middle-class landowners in Santa Maria Capua Vetere in what was then the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Malatesta was arrested aged 14 for sending an "insolent and threatening letter" to King Victor Emmanuel II.  Read more…

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Luciano Bianciardi - novelist and translator

Writer who brought contemporary American literature to Italian audiences

The journalist, novelist and translator Luciano Bianciardi, who was responsible for putting the work of most of the outstanding American authors of the 20th century into Italian, was born on this day in 1922 in Grosseto in Tuscany.  Bianciardi translated novels by such writers as Saul Bellow, Henry Miller, William Faulkner and Norman Mailer, who were read in the Italian language for the first time thanks to his understanding of the nuances of their style.  He also wrote novels of his own, the most successful of which was La vita agra (1962; published in English as It’s a Hard Life), which was made into a film, directed by Carlo Lizzani and starring Ugo Tognazzi.  Bianciardi, whose father, Atide, was a bank cashier, developed an appreciation for learning from his mother, Adele, who was an elementary school teacher.  Read more…

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Guarino da Verona – Renaissance scholar

Humanist who lost Greek manuscripts went grey overnight

Professor of ancient Greek, Guarino da Verona, who dedicated his life to learning the language and educating others to follow in his footsteps, died on this day in 1460 in Ferrara.  Da Verona studied ancient Greek in Constantinople for more than five years and returned to Italy with two cases full of rare Greek manuscripts that he had collected. It is said that when he lost one of the cases during  a shipwreck, he was so distraught that his hair turned grey in a single night.  Da Verona, who was also sometimes known as Guarino Veronese, was born in 1374 in Verona. He studied in Italy and established his first school in the 1390s before going to Constantinople.  After returning to Italy, he earned his living by teaching Greek in Verona, Venice and Florence.  Da Verona taught the philosophy of humanism to Leonello, Marquis of Este, who then became his patron. Read more…

Fabrizio Giovanardi – racing driver

Touring car specialist has won 10 titles

One of the most successful touring car racers in history, the former Alfa Romeo and Vauxhall driver Fabrizio Giovanardi, was born in Sassuolo, not far from Modena, on this day in 1966.  Giovanardi has won the European Championship twice, the European Cup twice, the British Championship twice, the Italian Championship three times and the Spanish touring car title once.  His best season in the World Championship came in 2005, when he finished third behind the British driver Andy Priaulx.  At the peak of his success, Giovanardi won a title each season for six consecutive years. Like many drivers across the motor racing spectrum, Giovanardi had his first experience of competition in karting, winning Italian and World titles in 125cc karts in 1986, before graduating to Formula Three and Formula 3000.  He was hoping from there to step up to Formula One. Read more…

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Princess Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily

Sad, short life of a Neapolitan princess

The youngest daughter of Ferdinand, King of Naples and Sicily, Princess Maria Antonia, was born on this day in 1784 at the Royal Palace in Caserta.  Princess Maria Antonia was named after her aunt, Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France, who was executed by guillotine in Paris in 1793.  Marie Antoinette was the favourite sister of the Princess’s mother, Maria Carolina of Austria, who became opposed to the military expansion of the new French republic as a result of her sister’s horrific death.  Princess Maria Antonia’s own fate was sealed when she became engaged to Infante Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias, who later became King Ferdinand VII of Spain.  She married him in Barcelona in 1802.  When she failed to provide Ferdinand with an heir, suffering two miscarriages, there were rumours that she was plotting to poison both her mother in law, the Queen of Spain, and the Spanish Prime Minister. Read more…

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Book of the Day: The Italian Risorgimento: State, Society and National Unification, by Lucy Riall

The Risorgimento was a turbulent and decisive period in the history of Italy. Lucy Riall's engaging account is the first book of its kind on the upheavals of the years between 1815 and 1860, when a series of crises destabilised the states of Restoration Italy and led to the creation of a troubled nation state in 1860. Comprehensive, yet original, The Italian Risorgimento: State, Society and National Unification: examines the social history of 19th century Italy and the social context of political action;   offers a critical overview of the historiography of the topic; takes account of the most recent literature, especially literature in Italian not normally accessible to students; adopts a broad thematic approach; places the Italian experience in a European context.

Lucy Riall is an Irish historian. She was a professor of history at Birkbeck, University of London, and is currently a professor in the Department of History and Civilisation at the European University Institute in Florence. She has written or edited several books on Italian history.

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13 December

Carlo Gozzi – playwright

Noble Venetian who fought to preserve commedia dell’arte

Count Carlo Gozzi, the poet and playwright, was born on this day in 1720 in Venice.  He was a staunch defender of the traditional Italian commedia dell’arte form of drama and his plays were admired throughout Europe.  Commedia dell’arte was a theatrical form that used improvised dialogue and a cast of masked, colourful stock characters such as Arlecchino, Colombina and Pulcinella.  Gozzi was against the dramatic innovations made by writers such as Pietro Chiari and Carlo Goldoni. He attacked Goldoni in a satirical poem and then wrote a play, L’amore delle tre melarance - The Love of Three Oranges - in which he portrayed Goldoni as a magician and Chiari as a wicked fairy.  The play was first performed by commedia dell’arte actors, who had been out of work due to the dwindling interest in the genre following the innovations of Goldoni and Chiari. Read more…

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Enrico Rastelli – juggler

Performer whose juggling record has never been surpassed

Enrico Rastelli, who is thought to have been the greatest juggler of all time, died on this day in 1931 in Bergamo in Lombardy.  Rastelli began his career in the circus ring and practised his juggling skills constantly until he was able to achieve levels of skill beyond those of any of his contemporaries. By the 1920s he had become a star, touring Europe and America, amazing audiences with his prowess and amassing large earnings.  Eventually he made the move to performing in vaudeville shows in theatres where he would appear in full football strip and juggle up to five footballs at a time.  Rastelli had been born in Russia in 1896, into a circus family originally from the Bergamo area of Lombardy. Both his parents were performers and trained him in circus disciplines including acrobatics, balancing, and aerial skills. Read more…

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Caravaggio masterpiece is unveiled in Siracusa

Great work of art was created by a desperate painter wanted for murder 

A magnificent altarpiece by Caravaggio depicting The Burial of Saint Lucy, was displayed for the first time on this day in 1608 at the Santuario Santa Lucia al Sepolcro in Siracusa - Syracuse - in Sicily.  The largest known work by Caravaggio, The Burial of Saint Lucy was painted by the artist while he was on the run accused of murder and in fear of arrest and execution. He created this important work of art in a few precious weeks while he was afforded some protection from the church authorities who had commissioned it.  The altarpiece measures 408 by 300 centimetres and is his largest known canvas painted in oils. It depicts the fragile body of Santa Lucia - Saint Lucy - bearing the wounds she had suffered during her execution, about to be interred in the Roman catacombs on which the Sanctuary now stands.  Read more…

Pope Sixtus V

Pontiff who cleaned up and rebuilt Rome and reformed church

Pope Sixtus V, whose five-year reign was one of the most effective of any pontiff in history, was born Felice Peretti on this day in 1521 in Grottammare, a coastal resort in the Marche region that was then part of the Papal States.  Succeeding Pope Gregory XIII in 1585, Sixtus V inherited an administration that was riddled with corruption and a city of Rome that to a large extent had fallen into the hands of thieves and criminal gangs.  He responded with a series of measures that brought about profound change with far-reaching consequences for the city and the wider country, making his mark on a scale that few pontiffs had matched before or since.  As well as tackling crime with brutal ruthlessness, he introduced significant reforms in the administration of the Catholic Church and commissioned lavish building projects. Read more…

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La Festa di Santa Lucia

Much loved saint was immortalised in song

La festa di Santa Lucia - St Lucy’s Day - will be celebrated all over Italy today.  According to tradition, Santa Lucia comes down from the sky with a cart and a donkey and distributes gifts to all the children who have been good, while all the naughty children receive only a piece of coal.  Santa Lucia is the patron saint of the city of Siracusa - Syracuse - in Sicily. Today, a silver statue of the saint containing her relics will be paraded through the streets before being returned to the Cathedral.  In Sicilian folklore there is a legend that a famine ended on Santa Lucia’s feast day when ships loaded with grain entered the harbour.  Santa Lucia is also popular with children in parts of northern Italy. In Bergamo, Brescia, Cremona, Lodi and Mantua in Lombardy, and also parts of the Veneto, Trentino, Friuli and Emilia-Romagna, the children will have been expecting the saint to arrive with presents during the night.  Read more…

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Donatello – Renaissance sculptor

Work by prolific artist still on display for all to see

Early Renaissance sculptor Donatello died on this day in Florence in 1466.  Generally acknowledged as the greatest sculptor of the 15th century, Donatello left a legacy of wonderful statues in marble and bronze, some still out in the open and delighting visitors to Italy free of charge today.  He was born Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi in Florence in about 1386. He studied classical sculpture, which later influenced his style, and then worked in a goldsmith’s workshop and in the studio of artist Lorenzo Ghiberti.  One of his most famous early works is a statue of David, originally intended for the Cathedral, but which stood instead for many years in Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.  Donatello’s work also shows influences of the architect Filippo Brunelleschi, a friend with whom he often travelled to Rome.  Read more…

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Book of the Day: Commedia dell'Arte: An Actor's Handbook, by John Rudlin

There has been an enormous revival of interest in commedia dell'arte. It remains a central part of many drama school courses. In Commedia dell'Arte: An Actor’s Handbook, John Rudlin first examines the origins of this vital theatrical form and charts its recent revival through the work of companies like Tag, Theatre de Complicite and the influential methods of Jacques Lecoq. The second part of the book provides a unique practical guide for would-be practitioners: demonstrating how to approach the roles of Zanni, Arlecchino, Brighella, Pantalone, Dottore, and the Lovers in terms of movement, mask-work and voice, as well as offering a range of lazzi - comic gags - improvisation exercises, sample monologues,and dialogues. No other book so clearly outlines the specific culture of commedia or provides such a practical guide to its techniques. 

John Rudlin was the founder of the department and first Head of Drama at Exeter University, before leaving this position to found the Centre Sélavy, a Centre in France for the study of outdoor performance. He is a recognised authority on the commedia dell’arte genre and masked theatre in general.

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