Pope Benedict XV

Humanitarian pope who tried to stop the war 

Pope Benedict XV's papacy lasted from
1914 until his death in 1922

Pope Benedict XV, who was pontiff for the whole of the First World War, was born on this day in 1854 in Genoa.

He tried to stop the war, which he described as ‘the suicide of a civilised Europe’, but when his attempts failed, he devoted himself to trying to alleviate the suffering.

Christened Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, the future Pope Benedict XV was encouraged to study law by his family and attended the University of Genoa. Afterwards his father reluctantly agreed to let him study for the priesthood and he was allowed to move to Rome.

Pope Pius X made him Archbishop of Bologna in 1907 and a Cardinal in 1914.

He became Pope Benedict (Benedetto) XV in September 1914 after World War One was already under way.

The new Pope immediately tried to mediate to achieve a peaceful settlement but his attempts were rejected by all the parties involved.

He then concentrated on humanitarian works, such as the exchange of wounded prisoners of war and the distribution of food among starving people.

Although Benedict had been chosen at the age of 59 because the church was looking for a long-lasting Pope, he died in Rome in 1922 after becoming ill with pneumonia and was buried under St Peter’s Basilica.

Benedict XV is possibly the least-remembered  pope of the 20th century as he was to be overshadowed by his successors, Pope Pius XII and Pope John Paul II.

Travel tip:

The birthplace of Pope Benedict XV was Genoa, ‘la Superba’, the capital of the region of Liguria and the sixth largest city in Italy. It has a rich maritime history, but still has a busy port and there is plenty to see and do. Genoa has been called a ‘city of contrasts’, with splendid palaces standing next to humble alleyways.

The Piazza Maggiore in Bologna, where Benedict XV was
previously archbishop for seven years

Travel tip:

Pope Benedict XV was Archbishop of Bologna from 1907 to 1914.   Bologna, with its iconic two towers (due torri), is the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region and is home to the oldest university in the world. The famous meat sauce known as ragù bolognese, which is served with tagliatelle, or more often outside Italy with spaghetti, was invented there.

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Queen Margherita of Savoy

Princess and fashion icon who became Queen of Italy

Margherita of Savoy became Queen consort
of Italy by marriage to Umberto I

Margherita Maria Teresa Giovanna of Savoy was born on this day in 1851 in Turin.

The little girl, who was to later become the Queen consort of Italy, was the daughter of Prince Ferdinand Duke of Genoa and Princess Elisabeth of Saxony. She was educated to a high standard and renowned as a charming person with a lively curiosity to learn. A tall, stately blonde, she was not considered a beauty but nonetheless had many admirers.

Having first been suggested to marry Prince Charles of Romania, she instead married her first cousin Umberto, Prince of Piedmont, in April 1868 when she was just 16. The following year she gave birth to Victor Emmanuel, Prince of Naples, who later became King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. He was to be their only child.

Margherita was crowned Queen of Italy in Naples when Umberto succeeded his father to the throne in January 1878 and she was warmly welcomed by the Neapolitan people.

The city of Naples took Margherita to their hearts, even
naming one of their famous pizzas after her

It was not a particularly good marriage for Margherita. Umberto maintained an affair with a long-term lover, Eugenia Attendolo Bolognini, and the breakdown in their relationship may explain the fact that Victor Emmanuel would be their only child. However, they never made their personal separation known to the public, maintaining a harmonious partnership in their working life. 

Always stylishly dressed, in outfits designed and made in Italy and often covered in pretty brooches and pearls, Margherita quickly became a fashion icon and was said to be much more popular than her husband, who was assassinated in 1900.

When her son succeeded his father and became King of Italy, Margherita devoted herself to charitable works and to encouraging cultural organisations.

Queen Margherita died in 1926 at her home in Bordighera in Liguria.

The mountain hut on the top of Punta Gnifetti remains
the highest building in Europe at 4,554m

Travel tip:

A mountain hut is named after Queen Margherita on a peak of the Monte Rosa massif, which is in the Piedmont region on the Swiss-Italian border. The Queen made the climb to Punta Gnifetti for the hut’s inauguration in 1893. At 4,554 metres (14,941 ft) above sea level, it is the highest building in Europe. The closest settlement is Alagna Valsesia, a small village high in the Valsesia alpine valley in the province of Vercelli in Piedmont.

The pizza margherita combines tomato,
mozzarella and green basil leaves

Travel tip:

Pizzeria Brandi in Naples still proudly claims to be the ‘queen’s pizzeria’. Despite the debate about who first invented Pizza Margherita, with its tomato, mozzarella and basil topping, which replicates the colours of the Italian flag, it is worth visiting Pizzeria Brandi in Salita Sant’Anna di Palazzo in Naples to taste their version.


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Giuseppe Volpi - businessman and politician

Founder of the Venice film festival

Count Giuseppe Volpi of Misurata is
the founder of the Venice Film Festival

Businessman and politician Count Giuseppe Volpi of Misurata was born on this day in 1877 in Venice.

Volpi was responsible for bringing electricity to Venice and the north east of Italy in 1903 and had an influence on the development of Porto Marghera, the industrial complex across the lagoon from Venice.

But, in 1932, as president of the Venice Biennale, Volpi arranged the first Venice Film Festival. It took place between 6 and 21 August on the terrace of the Hotel Excelsior at the Venice Lido.

The first film to be shown at the festival was Rouben Mamoulian’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

The festival was considered a success and was held again in 1934 from 1 to 20 August, when it involved a competition for the first time.

In 1935 the Film Festival became a yearly event in Venice and the Coppa Volpi (Volpi Cup), an award for actors, was introduced for the first time.

Count Volpi received a personal letter from Walt Disney in 1939 thanking him, as president of the Biennale, for the prize awarded to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the film festival. This letter is now in the historical archives of the Biennale.

Volpi's tomb at the Frari church in Venice

From 1921 to 1925 Volpi was governor of the Italian colony of Tripolitania, a former province of Libya, and as a result was created Count of Misurata in 1925. From 1925 to 1928 he served as Italy’s Finance Minister.  He was a signatory in 1923 of the Treaty of Lausanne, which established the borders of the modern Turkey.

Volpi died in Rome in 1947.  His son, Giovanni, became an important figure in motor racing as manager of the Scuderia Serenissima team. His grand daughter, the Countess Maria Cicogna, is a film producer, described by the New York Times as "the first major female Italian film producer" and "one of the most powerful women in European cinema".

Volpi was credited with restoring the Villa Barbaro in Maser in the Veneto, which was designed and built by Andrea Palladio and contains frescoes by Paolo Veronese and sculptures by Alessandro Vittoria.

He was buried at the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, usually just called the Frari, in the San Polo district of Venice.

The water bus - vaporetto - stop at Venice Lido

Travel Tip:

The Venice Lido is an eight-mile long sand bank that forms a natural barrier between Venice and the open sea and has become a seaside resort for the city. It is the only island in the lagoon with roads and can be reached from the mainland by car ferry. The Lido is served by regular vaporetti from Venice and has plenty of hotels. It became a fashionable holiday destination at the beginning of the 20th century for royalty, writers and film stars. The atmosphere at the time was brilliantly captured by Thomas Mann’s book Death in Venice, published in 1912, which was made into a film in 1971 directed by Luchino Visconti.

The Palazzo del Cinema on Venice Lido,
which stages the festival each year

Travel Tip:

The 73rd Venice International Film Festival, organised by La Biennale di Venezia, will be held on the Venice Lido from 31 August to 10 September 2016 . The aim of the festival will be to raise awareness of, and promote, international cinema as art, entertainment and also an industry. For more information about the 2016 festival, visit www.labiennale.org.

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St Peter’s Basilica Rome

Artists helped design magnificent church

The stunning Renaissance Basilica of St Peter in Rome was completed and consecrated on this day in 1626.

The Basilica of St Peter in Rome
Photo by Jean-Paul Grandmont/CC-BY SA

Believed to be the largest church in the world, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano was built to replace the original fourth century Basilica that had been constructed on what was believed to be the burial site of St Peter.

Bramante, Michelangelo and Bernini were among the many artistic geniuses who contributed to the design of the church, which is considered to be a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture.

Located within Vatican City, the Basilica is approached along Via della Conciliazione and through the vast space of St Peter’s Square.

The magnificent central dome of the Basilica dominates the skyline of Rome and the balcony above the entrance, where the Pope makes appearances, is instantly recognisable because of the many times it has been shown on television.

It is believed that St Peter, one of the disciples of Jesus, was executed in Rome on 13 October, 64 AD during the reign of the Emperor Nero. He was buried close to the place of his martyrdom.

The old St Peter’s Basilica was constructed over the burial site 300 years later.

Archaeological research under the present day Basilica was carried out during the last century and Pope Pius XII announced the discovery of St Peter’s tomb in 1950.

Travel tip:

St Peter’s Square, Piazza San Pietro, was designed by Bernini to provide a large space where the faithful, from all over the world, could gather together. It is filled to capacity by pilgrims and visitors on Easter Sunday, Christmas Day and other important religious occasions when the Pope appears to address the crowd. These events are televised and watched by viewers all over the world.

Michelangelo's sculpture La Pietà
Photo by Stanislav Traykov/CC BY 2.5

Travel tip:

Inside the Basilica, look out for Michelangelo’s beautiful Pietà, a marble sculpture of the Virgin Mary with the dead body of Jesus lying across her knees.  It is now kept behind bulletproof glass following its restoration after an attack badly damaged it. 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.

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Umberto I assassination bid

First attempt to kill the king is foiled

Umberto I was unpopular over how
he dealt with civil unrest

An unsuccessful attempt was made on the life of King Umberto I of Italy on this day in 1878 in Naples.

Umberto was making a tour of the kingdom accompanied by his wife, Queen Margherita, and the Prime Minister, Benedetto Cairoli.

While saluting the crowds in Naples from his carriage, Umberto was attacked by a young man, Giovanni Passannante, who was employed as a cook at the time, but was later described as an anarchist. Passanante jumped on the carriage and attempted to stab the King. Umberto warded off the blow with his sabre but the Prime Minister, who came to his aid, was wounded in the thigh.

This was the first of three attempts on the life of Umberto I, who despite being nicknamed il Buono (the good), lost popularity with his subjects as his reign progressed.

A street in the centre of Naples

He had won the respect of people because of the way he conducted himself during his military career and as a result of his marriage to Margherita of Savoy and the subsequent birth of their son, who was to become King Victor Emmanuel III.

But Umberto became increasingly unpopular because of his imperialist policies and his harsh ways of dealing with civil unrest.

Queen Margherita was loved in Naples, where she visited schools and hospitals and organised collections of toys and clothes for the children of poor families. She was seen to hold the hands of cholera victims without wearing gloves and to join the ordinary women in their processions to the Duomo.

As a result, Pizza Margherita, with its tomato, basil and mozzarella topping representing the colours of the Italian flag, was created in Naples and named after her.

However, her popularity didn’t help Umberto, who in 1897 was attacked again, this time by an unemployed ironworker who tried, but failed, to stab him in Rome.

But in July 1900 the anarchists were finally successful. Umberto was shot and killed in Monza by Gaetano Bresci, who later claimed he wanted to avenge those killed in a recent massacre in Milan, when military force had been used against ordinary people protesting about rising bread prices.

The Duomo in Naples

Travel tip:

Visit the Duomo in Naples, in Via Duomo, off Via Tribunali in the heart of the city. The cathedral was built over the ruins of two earlier Christian churches for Charles I of Anjou at the end of the 13th century. It is open 8.30 to 1.30 and 2.30 to 8 pm Monday to Saturday and 8.30 to 1.30 and 4.30 to 7.30 pm on Sundays.

Travel Tip:

Monza, the third largest city in Lombardia, is a few miles north of Milan . You can see the spot where King Umberto I was assassinated in Via Matteo da Campione. It is now marked by an Expiatory Chapel, built on the orders of Umberto’s son and successor, King Victor Emanuel III. The monument was designed by architect Giuseppe Sacconi.

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San Giuseppe Moscati - doctor

Remembering the kindness of a brilliant young doctor

Doctor and scientist Giuseppe Moscati was beatified by Pope Paul VI on this day in 1975.

Giuseppe was renowned for his kindness and generosity to his patients and even before his death people talked of ‘miracle’ cures being achieved by him. 

He was canonised by Pope John Paul II in 1987 and his feast day is 16 November.

The saint was born into a big family in Benevento in 1880. His father, a lawyer and magistrate, was active in the church and Giuseppe inherited his piety.

The family later moved to Naples and Giuseppe enrolled in the medical school of the University of Naples in 1897.

On graduating he went to work in a hospital but continued with his brilliant scientific research and attended Mass frequently.

When Vesuvius erupted in 1906 he helped evacuate all the elderly and paralysed patients before the roof collapsed on the hospital under the weight of the ash.

He worked tirelessly to research ways to eradicate cholera in Naples and personally cared for many of the soldiers wounded in the First World War.

He was compassionate to the poor and often gave them money as well as free medical treatment and a prescription.

Giuseppe died suddenly in 1927 at the age of 46 having been on duty at the hospital only that morning.

After his death, a young man dying from leukaemia was suddenly and inexplicably cured, after his mother dreamed of a doctor in a white coat. She was able to identify the doctor as Blessed Giuseppe after her priest showed her a photograph of him. The young man who was cured was able to attend the canonisation ceremony of Giuseppe Moscati by the Pope.

The Santuario del Carmine
overlooks Piazza Tasso

Travel Tip:

In ancient times, Benevento was one of the most important cities in southern Italy and there are many Roman remains there, including a triumphal arch erected in honour of Trajan and an ampitheatre. In the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta there is a marble statue of Saint Giuseppe Moscati in the chapel of the Holy Sacrament.

Travel Tip:

Overlooking Sorrento’s main square, Piazza Tasso, the yellow-painted, 16th century Sanctuary of the Madonna del Carmine has a shrine to Giuseppe Moscati in a little side chapel where people can pray to the sainted doctor for comfort and relief.

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Annunzio Mantovani - conductor

Orchestra leader brought light relief during World War Two

Mantovani moved to England as
a child and made his career there

Conductor and composer Annunzio Paolo Mantovani - best known simply as Mantovani - was born on this day in Venice in 1905.

The music produced by his orchestras, which became known as ‘the Mantovani sound', brought pleasure to millions and his recordings were best sellers in Britain and the US before the Beatles came on the scene.

Mantovani’s father, Benedetto Paolo Mantovani, who was known as ‘Bismarck’, was a violinist and leader of the orchestra of Teatro alla Scala opera house in Milan, at the time Arturo Toscanini was conductor.

The Mantovani family moved to England in 1912 after Bismarck was appointed conductor of the orchestra at Covent Garden.

Young Annunzio Mantovani studied the violin and piano in London before joining a touring orchestra. He quickly became a violin soloist and then a conductor.

Mantovani's popularity was based on light
orchestral 'easy listening' music

He went on to form his own orchestra, which toured the country, made radio broadcasts and recorded albums for Columbia and Decca.

His music was popular with the troops, who danced to it with their sweethearts when they came home on leave during the Second World War. It became known as ‘light orchestral’ or ‘easy listening’ music.

After the war, Mantovani concentrated on recording and developed his trademark ‘cascading strings’, or ‘tumbling strings’ effect with arranger Ronald Binge. The sound was used for the first time on the 1951 single, Charmaine, which sold more than one million copies.

Mantovani's father was orchestra leader at Teatro alla Scala under Arturo Toscanini.

More than 40 of his albums had also registered in the US pop charts before his recording career came to an end in 1972.

Annunzio Mantovani died in 1980 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, aged 74.

Mantovani's father played in the orchestra at La Scala
under conductor Arturo Toscanini

Travel tip:

Visitors can have a look inside Teatro alla Scala in Milan, where Mantovani’s father played in the orchestra, by touring the theatre’s museum. Costumes and memorabilia from the history of the theatre are kept on display there. The museum entrance is in Largo Ghiringhelli, just off Piazza Scala. It is open every day except the Italian Bank Holidays and certain days in December. Opening hours are from 9.00 to 12.30 and 1.30 to 5.30 pm.

The Palazzo della Ragione in the centre of Mantua

Travel tip:

The surname Mantovani originates from the Italian name given to people from Mantova in northern Italy. Mantova (in English, Mantua) is an atmospheric old city, to the southeast of Milan, in Lombardia. It is well known for its renaissance Palazzo Ducale, the seat of the Gonzaga family, which has a famous room, Camera degli Sposi, decorated with frescoes by Andrea Mantegna. 

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