Victor Emmanuel III

Birth of the King who ruled Italy through two world wars

Italy’s longest reigning King, Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele III di Savoia), was born on this day in Naples in 1869.

The only child of King Umberto I and Queen Margherita of Savoy, he was given the title of Prince of Naples.

The National Library, named after Victor Emmanuel III
is housed inside the Palazzo Reale

He became King of Italy in 1900 after his father was assassinated in Monza.

During the reign of Victor Emmanuel III, Italy was involved in two world wars and experienced the rise and fall of Fascism.

At the height of his popularity he was nicknamed by the Italians Re soldato (soldier King) and Re vittorioso (victorious King) because of Italy’s success in battle during the First World War. He was also sometimes called sciaboletta (little sabre) as he was only five feet (1.53m) tall.

Italy had remained neutral at the start of the First World War but signed treaties to go into the war on the side of France, Britain and Russia in 1915. Victor Emmanuel III enjoyed popular support as a result of visiting areas in the north affected by the fighting while his wife, Queen Elena, helped the nurses care for the wounded.

But the instability after the First World War led to Mussolini’s rise to power. Victor Emmanuel III was later to claim that it was fear of a civil war that stopped him moving against Mussolini right at the start. But his apparent weakness had dire consequences for the country and he lost support.

He finally dismissed Mussolini and had him arrested in 1943. To try to save the monarchy, Victor Emmanuel III transferred powers to his son, Umberto, and formally abdicated in 1946, hoping the new King, Umberto II, would be able to strengthen support for the monarchy.

Victor Emmanuel III went into exile in Alexandria in Egypt, where he died in 1947.

Travel tip:

The National Library in Naples is named after Italy’s longest reigning monarch. Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III in Piazza Plebiscito is one of the most important libraries in Italy with more than two million books, manuscripts and parchments and is well worth visiting. It is open daily from 8.30 to 7.30 pm,  but closed on Sundays.

Travel tip:

When in Naples, try an authentic Pizza Margherita, named after the mother of Victor Emmanuel III, Queen Margherita. It is claimed that the pizza, with its tomato, basil and mozzarella topping, was created to represent the Italian flag and was named after Queen Margherita in 1889 by Neapolitan pizza maker, Raffaele Esposito.

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Lord Byron in Venice

Romantic English poet finds renewed inspiration

Aristocratic English poet Lord Byron and his friend, John Cam Hobhouse, arrived in Venice for the first time on this day in 1816.

They put up at the Hotel Grande Bretagne on the Grand Canal and embarked on a few days of tourism.

Byron spent first night at an hotel on Grand Canal

But it was not long before Byron decided to move into an apartment just off the Frezzeria, a street near St Mark's Square, and settled down to enjoy life in the city that was to be his home for the next three years.

Byron has become one of Venice’s legends, perhaps the most famous, or infamous, of all its residents.

Tourists who came afterwards expected to see Venice through his eyes. Even the art critic, John Ruskin, has admitted that on his first visit he had come in search of Byron’s Venice.

Byron once wrote that Venice had always been ‘the greenest island of my imagination’ and he never seems to have been disappointed by it.

He also wrote in a letter to one of his friends that Venice was ‘one of those places that before he saw them he thought he already knew’. He said he appreciated the silence of the Venetian canals and the ‘gloomy gaiety’ of quietly passing gondolas.

He found the city inspiring for his poetry and was particularly impressed with the Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace) and the Pozzi Prison, settings that were to feature in two of his dramas, Marino Faliero and The Two Foscari.

Byron wrote: “I stood in Venice on the Bridge of Sighs, A palace and a prison on each hand…”

The Bridge of Sighs links the palace to the prison

It is believed he went to see the Bridge of Sighs on 11 November, the first morning after his arrival in the city and actually stood on the Ponte della Paglia, the bridge that stands between the Bridge of Sighs and the lagoon.

According to Ruskin, the view he saw that day became “the centre of the Byronic ideal of Venice’.

Travel tip:

From the San Zaccharia vaporetto stop head towards the Ponte della Paglia (literally Bridge of Straw) over the Rio di Palazzo canal that separates the Doge’s Palace from the prison. If the bridge is crowded, wait for a spot by the balustrades to become free to make sure you see the same view of the Bridge of Sighs that Byron had found so inspiring.

Travel tip:

To see Byron’s first lodgings in Venice, where he conducted his affair with the landlord’s wife, Marianna Segati, look for Calle della Piscina, off the Frezzeria, which is close to St Mark’s Square. Number 1673 marks the entrance to the rooms Byron rented nearly 200 years ago.

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Enrico De Nicola - politician

Italy’s ‘reluctant’ first president

Enrico de Nicola

The man who was to become the first president of the Republic of Italy was born on this day in Naples in 1877.

Enrico De Nicola studied law at Naples University and went on to become one of the most esteemed criminal lawyers in Italy. He also worked as a journalist writing about legal issues.
He later joined the Italian liberal party and was elected to the Camera dei Deputati (Chamber of Deputies) in 1909.

He held minor government posts until the advent of Fascism when he retired from public life to concentrate on his legal career.

De Nicola took an interest in politics again after Mussolini’s fall from power in 1943.

At first King Victor Emmanuel III tried to extricate the monarchy from its association with the Fascists and his son Umberto became Lieutenant General of the Realm and took over most of the functions of the Sovereign. Victor Emmanuel later abdicated and his son became King Umberto II.

But after a constitutional referendum was held in Italy, the country became a republic in 1946.

Umberto went into exile and Enrico De Nicola was elected head of state on 28 June 1946 with 80 per cent of the votes.

He is remembered by his colleagues as a modest man who was unsure at the time whether to accept the nomination.

De Nicola was formally named President of the Italian Republic on 1 January 1948 after having guided Italy through the first difficult months of becoming a republic.

Rome's Palazzo del Quirinale, official residence of the
Italian President: Picture by Markus Mark

But when the first constitutional elections were held the following May he refused to stand for office again.

As a former Head of State he was made a Senator for life in 1956.

He died in October, 1959 at Torre del Greco near Naples.

Travel tip:

When in Rome, you can see the Palazzo di Montecitorio, where the Chamber of Deputies has met since 1871, not far from the Pantheon. You can also see the Palazzo del Quirinale, which became the President’s official residence in 1947, near the Trevi Fountain.

Travel Tip:

Torre del Greco, where De Nicola spent his last years, is south of Naples near Pompeii. Its name derives from an ancient watch tower and from the vineyards in the area which produce wine from a grape variety called Greco. The main trade for centuries was coral fishing and Torre del Greco is now famous for producing fine pieces of carved coral and other jewellery.

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Francis I of the Two Sicilies

Death of the king who failed to impress Lady Blessington 

An 1829 portrait of Francis I of the Two
Sicilies by Vicente López Portaña

Francis I died in Naples on this day in 1830 after having been King of the Two Sicilies for five years.

The Two Sicilies was the largest of all the Italian states before unification, originally formed as a union between the Kingdom of Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples.

It lasted until 1860 when it was annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia, which became Italy in 1861.

The Two Sicilies originated when the Kingdom of Sicily was divided in 1283. The King at the time lost the island of Sicily but kept control of his part of southern Italy, which was also referred to as Sicily. The Two Sicilies had capitals in Palermo and Naples.

After Francis succeeded his father Ferdinand I in 1825 he took little part in government and lived with his mistresses in constant fear of assassination.

He is remembered for getting the Austrian occupation force removed from Naples, where it had been billeted at the expense of the treasury, and for founding the Royal Order of Francis I to reward civil merit.

We are fortunate to have been left with an impression of him by Lady Blessington, an English aristocrat, who lived in Naples between 1823 and 1826 and kept a fascinating diary of her time there.

Living in Vomero, Francis would have enjoyed
spectacular views over Naples towards Vesuvius

In July 1823 she encountered Francis while he was still Prince of Salerno and heir presumptive to the throne.

She writes: “…(his) obesity indicates anything but health; and the stooping posture which he continually maintains, his head drooping over his chest, confirms the impression of helpless embonpoint which his countenance conveys. From this mode of holding his head, his glance has something disagreeable and sinister in it.”

In November 1824 she writes: “The air of Vomero is so salutary, that the Prince of Salerno, heir-apparent to the Neapolitan throne, who is in delicate health, has been induced to try its efficacy in preference to any of the royal palaces in the vicinity of Naples.”

After King Ferdinand died, Lady Blessington wrote about being taken to see him as he lay in state, remembering him as a ‘good-natured man’.

King Francis and the rest of the royal family moved to the palace of Capodimonte near where Lady Blessington was staying.

She writes: “…the route is filled by the carriages of the ministers of state, officers of the palace and courtiers, hurrying to worship the new king and totally oblivious of the departed one.

Castel Sant' Elmo sits high above Naples

“Innumerable are the virtues, hitherto unsuspected, but now attributed to the King (Francis I) and the errors discovered in the late. It would seem that in new sovereigns, like brides, their good qualities are lauded, and their defects overlooked; for during a long residence at Naples, I never heard so many anecdotes in favour of Francesco, as in the last two days.”

Lady Blessington’s doubts about Francis’s health proved to be well founded. He died on 8 November 1830 aged only 53.  

Travel tip:

The Royal Palace of Capodimonte was the summer residence of the Kings of the Two Sicilies. The palace and park in Via Miano now house a museum and art gallery open to the public daily from 8.30 to 19.30 but closed on Wednesdays.


Travel tip:

You can take the funicular railway up the hill to Vomero for fine views over the city and the bay of Naples. It is well worth visiting the 14th century Castel Sant’Elmo for the views you will have from its vantage point.

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Niccolò Machiavelli

Enforced retirement gives public servant time to write about his ruthless ideas

Statesman and diplomat Niccolò Machiavelli, whose name has become synonymous with the words ‘cunning’ and ‘duplicity’, was dismissed from office in Florence on this day in 1512 by a written decree issued by the Medici rulers.

The Ponte Vecchio over the River Arno in Florence

Machiavelli was forced to withdraw from public life and retired to his home in the Chianti region of Tuscany, where he wrote his most famous work, The Prince, which was to give the world the political idea of ‘the ends justify the means’.

Had the Medici not distrusted him, Machiavelli might have continued to serve in Florence as a diplomat and military leader. 

He may never have passed on to mankind the ideas he had learnt from his work during the turbulent period in Italian history when popes and other European countries were battling against Italy’s city states for power.

In The Prince he was able to write with first-hand knowledge about the methods he had seen used by Cesare Borgia and his father Pope Alexander V1 to take over large parts of central Italy.

The ideas he put forward were to make the word ‘machiavellian’ a regularly used pejorative adjective and the phrase ‘Old Nick’ to become an English term for the devil.

The book put forward the idea that the aims of princes, such as glory and survival, could justify the use of immoral means.  

Machiavelli also advocated that it is safer to be feared than to be loved, if you can’t achieve both, and he recommended that if an injury has to be done to a man ‘it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared’.

His ideas were to exert a lasting, profound influence on western political thought and are still referred to today. But in modern times, people have begun to interpret them as pragmatic observations rather than as encouraging ruthlessness, cruelty and violence in people.

Machiavelli never got back into public office after the decree of 7 November 1512 and he died at his home in 1527 at the age of 58.

Travel Tip:

Machiavelli wrote ‘The Prince’ at his country home in Sant’Andrea in Percussina, south of Florence, in the heart of Chianti country near San Casciano Val di Pesa. The house where he is believed to have lived is now a Bed and Breakfast called La Fonte del Macchiavelli.

Travel Tip:

There is a monument to Machiavelli in the beautiful Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence, where many famous Florentines are buried. A marble structure by Innocenzo Spinazzi was erected in his memory in 1787. The Latin inscription on the front of the monument translates as: ‘No eulogy is equal to such a name’. 

More reading:

'The ends justify the means' - the life of Niccolò Machiavelli

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Vino Novello

Raise a glass to autumn in Italy

Italy’s new wine for 2015, Vino Novello, goes on sale in the shops and will be served in bars and restaurants from today.

The light, fruity, red wine, produced throughout Italy from different grape varieties, is enjoyable to drink and a bargain buy to take home with you.

Vino Novello on sale in Padova

Vino Novello is often similar in taste, body and colour to the French wine, Beaujolais Nouveau, which is exported to a number of other countries after its release in the third week of November.

Like Beaujolais Nouveau, Vino Novello has a low alcohol content and is meant to be drunk while it is still young. The wine should be consumed quickly after the bottle is opened and unopened bottles should be kept for only a few months.

In some parts of Italy there is a tradition that the last days to drink it are i giorni della merla (the days of the blackbird), which are traditionally the coldest days at the end of January.

A major area for production is the Veneto, with the merlot grape being the one most used by wine makers to make Vino Novello. Many wine producing areas hold feste to celebrate and will serve local specialities to eat with the new wine.

Vino Novello is produced using carbonic maceration, which involves accelerating the fermentation process.

Whereas 100 per cent carbonic maceration is used to produce Beaujolais Nouveau, only 30 per cent is required for Vino Novello.

However, one Italian Vino Novello that is produced using 100 per cent carbonic maceration is Bardolino Novello, which is made in the area around the resort of Bardolino on Lake Garda in the Veneto.

According to the Bardolino wine consortium (Consorzio Tutelavino Bardolino Doc), 100 per cent carbonic maceration is used in order to produce an excellent wine.

A wine bar on Bardolino's main street

Vino Novello has a vibrant colour, a fresh bouquet and goes well with chestnuts and dishes made from chestnut flour, such as castagnaccio, a popular cake served in the autumn.

Travel tip:

In 1987, Bardolino Novello was the first Vino Novello to receive DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) status. To celebrate this achievement a wine festival is held every year in the first week of November in Piazza del Porto in Bardolino.

Travel tip:

Bardolino is just a short boat ride away from Desenzano del Garda. After disembarking, walk down the main street, which is lined with shops, restaurants and bars where you can sample Bardolino by the glass. Make a point of visiting the church of San Severo, which dates back to the 11th century and the small church of San Zeno, which dates back to the eighth century and still contains traces of its original frescoes. If you want to learn more about Bardolino wine and the history of wine making, visit the museum run by the Zeni family of winemakers at Via Costabella 9. For opening hours visit www.zeni.it

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Pietro Longhi - painter

Painter who allowed us to see inside 18th century Venice

The painter Pietro Longhi, who was renowned for his accurate scenes of every day life in Venice in the 18th century, was born on this day in 1702.

The Correr Museum can be found in
Piazza San Marco

Longhi was originally called Pietro Falca and was the son of a silversmith in Venice, but he changed his name after he began painting.

He started with historical and religious scenes but his work evolved after a stay in Bologna where he encountered Giuseppe Maria Crespi, who was considered one of the greatest Italian painters at the time.

Longhi’s son Alessandro later wrote that his father had a ‘brilliant and bizarre spirit’, which led him to accurately paint people in conversation and show us the love and jealousy going on in the background.

His paintings vividly depict Venetian life and show wonderful details of the clothes and possessions of the upper and middle classes.

For example, Longhi’s painting of The Hairdresser and the Lady, which is in the Correr Museum in Venice, shows a wealthy Venetian lady having her hair dressed by a man, while a maid stands to one side holding a child.

Longhi faithfully shows us how the clothing of each subject reflects the rank of the person wearing it and allows us to see the various objects scattered on the lady’s dressing table.

In The Duck Hunt, which is in the museum of Palazzo Querini Stampalia in Venice, Longhi depicts an archer in a smart coat and powdered wig being rowed out on the lagoon by people in their work clothes.

Longhi's The Charlatan is one of many
scenes depicting Venice's ridotti

He also painted many scenes of masked couples gambling or flirting in ridotti, the gaming salons that were popular in Venice at the time, allowing us to see the behaviour that went on.  The Charlatan, which is kept in the Ca' Rezzonico museum in Venice, is one such scene.

Longhi died in Venice in 1785. He has been compared to his English contemporary William Hogarth but his paintings are ironic rather than satirical and he shows us a more cheerful, prosperous society than the one painted by Hogarth.

While the great Canaletto has allowed us to see what Venice looked like on the outside in the 18th century, Longhi gives us the chance to see what went on indoors.

The Museo Correr occupies the upper floors
at the southern end of the Piazza San Marco

Travel Tip:

The Correr Museum (Museo Correr) is in St Mark’s Square, Venice and is a great place to learn about the art and history of Venice. The museum, which occupies the upper floors of the Procuratorie Nuove at the southern end of the square, originated with the collection bequeathed to the city in 1830 by Teodoro Correr, from a noble Venetian family, who had dedicated most of his life to collecting works of art and documents or individual objects that reflected the history of Venice. Correr also left funds to be used in conserving and extending the collections and in making them available to the public. Other pieces have since been given to the museum by other wealthy Venetians. It is open daily from 10 am to 7 pm.

The church of Santa Maria
Formosa is close to the palazzo

Travel Tip:

The Museum of the Querini Stampalia Foundation in Venice contains several paintings by Pietro Longhi, as well as works by Bellini and Tiepolo, in the beautiful setting of a Venetian palazzo close to Campo Santa Maria Formosa in Castello.  Founded founded in 1869 at the behest of  Count Giovanni Querini, the last descendent of the Querini family, it was designed by architect Carlo Scarpa, who  designed the interior and exterior of the palace. The Foundation is open to the public for academic research.

Also on this day:

1666: The birth of composer Attilio Ariosti

1702: The birth of painter Pietro Longhi

1754: The birth of explorer Alessandro Malaspina

1777: The birth of dancer and choreographer Filippo Taglioni

1778: The birth of archaeologist Giovanni Battista Belzoni

1898: The birth of double world war veteran Francesco Chiarello

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