Carlo Ancelotti - football manager

Four-times winner of the Champions League

Carlo Ancelotti in the Milan colours in which he twice won
European football's top prize as both a player and a manager

Carlo Ancelotti, a former top-level player who has become one of football’s most accomplished managers, was born on this day in 1959 in Reggiolo, a small town in Emilia-Romagna.

With Real Madrid's defeat of Liverpool in the 2022 final, he became the only manager to have won the UEFA Champions League four times - twice with AC Milan and twice with Real Madrid. He is also the only coach to have managed teams in five finals.

Ancelotti, who has managed title-winning teams in four countries, is also one of only seven to have won the European Cup or Champions League as a player and gone on to do so as a manager too.

As a boy, Ancelotti often helped his father, Giuseppe, who made and sold cheese for a living, in the fields on the family farm, which is where he claims he acquired his appreciation of hard work.

But despite the cheeses of Emilia-Romagna having international renown, especially the famous Parmigiana-Reggiano, he saw how his father struggled to make enough money to feed his family and vowed to make more of his own life.

Ancelotti is one of the most accomplished
coaches in world football

His talent for football, allied to that work ethic, enabled him to fulfil that promise.

After playing for his local youth team in Reggiolo, Ancelotti was snapped up as a teenager by Parma, making his debut in Serie C - the third tier in Italian football - in the 1976–77 season, at the age of 18. His two goals in the decisive play-off earned the gialloblu promotion to Serie B the following year.

He joined Roma in 1979, staying in the capital for eight trophy-laden seasons, winning the Coppa Italia four times and his first Serie A title in 1983, under the great Swedish coach Nils Liedholm.

Then came six seasons with Arrigo Sacchi’s magnificent AC Milan team, which won the Scudetto - the Serie A title - in 1988, and the European Cup in both 1989 and 1990. He won his third Scudetto when Fabio Capello replaced Sacchi as manager.

An efficient and assiduous midfield player, he could create goals and score them, which earned him a place in the Italian national team, although injuries restricted him to 26 senior caps and caused him to miss the 1982 and 1986 World Cups as well as the Olympics in Seoul in 1988.  He did win a bronze medal as part of the Azzurri squad at the 1990 World Cup on home soil.

As a mentor to several future top-class players, including Giuseppe Giannini, Demetrio Albertini and Andrea Pirlo, Ancelotti displayed burgeoning man-management skills even while still a player.

Ancelotti with the Champions League trophy after winning
it for the third time with Real Madrid in 2014

Persistent knee injuries forced him to quit at the age of 33. He moved immediately into coaching with the Italian Football Federation at the national training headquarters at Coverciano, near Florence, where he rose to be assistant to his former Milan manager Arrigo Sacchi on the Azzurri coaching staff as Italy reached the final of the 1994 World Cup.

Ancelotti stepped on to the club management ladder in familiar territory with Reggiana in Serie B in 1995. He had to wait seven years for his first major trophy, but claimed the biggest prize first as AC Milan, his fourth club after Reggiana, Parma and Juventus, won the 2002-03 Champions League final, defeating Juventus in the final on penalties.

Now major trophies came thick and fast: a Serie A title with Milan in 2004 and a second Champions League in 2007, when victory over Liverpool in the final in Athens made up for the catastrophe of losing the 2005 final to the same opponents in Istanbul after being 3-0 up at half-time.

The Stadio San Paolo in Naples, where Ancelotti takes
up his next management position in July

Moving to England, he led Chelsea to a Premier League-FA Cup double in 2009-10, won the French Ligue 1 title with Paris St Germain in 2013, followed by a third Champions League with Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2014.

After taking some time off for a back operation, Ancelotti resurfaced at Bayern Munich, where he succeeded Pep Guardiola and led the German giants to their fifth consecutive Bundesliga title. But lack of success in the Champions League led to his dismissal in September 2017.

He later had spells with Napoli back in Italy and Everton in England, before returning to Real Madrid in 2021.

Having been with his first wife, Luisa, for 25 years before they divorced in 2008, Ancelotti is now married to the Canadian businesswoman Barrena McClay, whom he met while they were both working in London. He has two children, Katia and Davide, from his first marriage. Davide was on his father’s coaching staff at Bayern Munich.

(Updated on 09-06-22)

The Rocca di Reggiolo in Ancelotti's home town

Travel tip:

Ancelotti’s home town of Reggiolo is close to the border of Emilia-Romagna and Veneto, about 32km (20 miles) north of Reggio Emilia in the Padana plain. It is the same distance from Mantua in the Veneto and was the frequent target of attacks between the 12th and 14th centuries, when Mantua and Reggio disputed possession. This led to the construction of the impressive walled castle that remains the town’s main feature.

Piazza San Prospero in Reggio Emilia often hosts a market

Travel tip:

Although the city of Reggio Emilia is often described as the home of Italy's world famous hard cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano - known in English as Parmesan - is thought to have originated in the commune of Bibbiano, in the Reggio Emilia province, about 15km (9 miles) to the southeast.  The province is also believed to have given Italy its tricolore national flag, with evidence that a short-lived 18th century republic, the Repubblica Cispadana, had a flag of red, white and green.  The city lacks the cultural wealth of neighbouring Parma and is consequently less visited but it has an attractive historic centre with a number of notable buildings, including the Basilica della Ghiara and the 10th century Basilica di San Prospero, which overlooks the elegant Piazza of the same name.

More reading:

How Arrigo Sacchi started a tactical and technical revolution in Italian football

The genius of Andrea Pirlo

Coaching veteran Fabio Capello has won Serie A five times

Also on this day:

1918: The death of writer and composer Arrigo Boito

1940: Italy enters the Second World War

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The death of Nero

Brutal emperor killed himself with help of aide

The bust of Nero in the Capitoline
Museum in Rome

The Roman emperor Nero, whose rule was associated with extravagance and brutality, died on this day in 68 AD in what would now be described as an assisted suicide.

Effectively deposed as emperor when simultaneous revolts in the Gallic and Spanish legions coincided with the Praetorian Guard rising against him, with Galba named as his successor, Nero fled Rome, seeking refuge from one of his few remaining loyalists.

Phaon, an imperial freedman, gave him the use of a villa four miles outside Rome along Via Salaria, where he hastened, under disguise, along with Phaon and three other freedmen, Epaphroditos, Neophytus, and Sporus.

Nero had hoped to escape to Egypt but realised there was no one left to provide the means and asked the four freedmen to begin digging his grave, in readiness for his death by suicide.

In the meantime, the Senate had declared Nero a public enemy. As well as ordering the executions of numerous rivals, real or perceived, and even having his mother and two wives killed, Nero made many enemies through unpopular policies and confiscation of property.

He was suspected of starting the great fire that destroyed much of Rome in 64 AD in order to create space to build the vast Domus Aurea - a complex of palaces and pavilions in a landscaped park with an artificial lake and a gigantic bronze statue of himself. Nero blamed the fire on the small community of Christians, many of whom were put to death.

This bust of Nero can be found in the
Summer Garden in St Petersburg, Russia

Nero had been unable to keep his hiding place a secret and soon a courier arrived with news of the Senate’s declaration and their intention to have him beaten to death in the Forum. Armed men had been despatched to apprehend him.

Nero was famous for his love of the theatre, which largely involved him performing on the stage quite literally in front of a captive audience, with the doors of the theatre locking the audience in.  But, according to legend, when it came to the ultimate drama of taking his own life he was found wanting and begged one of his freedmen to help. Out of loyalty, Epaphroditos obliged and plunged a knife into the emperor’s chest.

It had the desired effect. When soldiers arrived, Nero was dying and attempts to stop his bleeding so that he could be returned alive to meet his fate failed.

Ironically, after the soldiers had been despatched, the debate in the Senate had continued and Nero might have been spared.

He was the last member of the revered Julio-Claudian dynasty and many of the senators felt a loyalty to the bloodline, if not to Nero himself, who had no heir. There was talk of a compromise that would preserve Nero's life, at least so a future heir to the dynasty could be produced.

Thus the line ended after 95 years. In the interests of maintaining public order, the Senate did posthumously declare Nero a public enemy.

Galba was proclaimed the new emperor, precipitating the chaos of what became known as the year of the Four Emperors.

Nero was buried in the Mausoleum of the Domitii Ahenobarbi, in what is now the Pincian Hill area of Rome, where the Villa Borghese stands.

The small side arches of the Ponte Salario are thought to
be part of the original Roman structure

Travel tip:

The Via Salaria ran from Porta Salaria in Rome’s Aurelian Walls to what was then Castrum Truentinum - Porto d'Ascoli today - on the Adriatic coast, a distance of 242 km (150 miles), passing through Reate (Rieti) and Asculum (Ascoli Piceno). It was originally built for the transportation of salt. Today, Via Salaria (SS4) is a state highway that runs more or less on the same path from Rome to the Adriatic sea. The remains of a number of Roman bridges along the route still exist, including the Ponte Salario, which crosses the Aniene, a tributary of the Tiber, just outside Rome. The bridge has been rebuilt and altered over the years but there are visible side arches which are thought to be from the original structure, built in the first century BC.

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One of the rooms in the rediscovered and
partially restored Domus Aurea

Travel tip:

After Nero’s death, the Domus Aurea - Golden House - was stripped of its treasures, with its marble, jewels and ivory removed. The vast complex was filled with earth and built over. The Baths of Titus, the Flavian Amphitheatre, the Colossus Neronis, the Baths of Trajan and the Temple of Venus and Rome were all built on the site, obliterating all visible trace of the Golden House. It was rediscovered during the Renaissance, when a young man fell down a hole on the site and found himself in the cavernous, subterranean rooms of Nero’s palace. It was discovered that beautiful, intricate frescoes remained, preserved from dampness by the buildings above. Since then, various restoration projects have taken place and are ongoing, with guided tours of parts of the complex now available.

Also on this day:

1311: Duccio's Maestà altarpiece in the Cathedral of Siena is unveiled

1898: The birth of Luigi Fagioli, the oldest driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix

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Guido Banti – physician

Doctor was the first to define leukaemia

Guido Banti was among the first doctors to
understand the disease process in leukaemia

The innovative physician and pathologist Guido Banti was born on this day in 1852 in Montebicchieri in Tuscany.

His work on the spleen led him to discover that a chronic congestive enlargement of the spleen resulted in the premature destruction of red blood cells. Closely related to leukaemia, this was later named 'Banti’s disease' in his honour.

Banti’s father was a physician and sent him to study medicine at the University of Pisa and the Medical School in Florence.

He graduated in 1877 and was appointed an assistant at the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova and also as an assistant in the laboratory of Pathological Anatomy.

The ability to observe patients in bed and then carry out post mortem examinations was to prove fundamental to his work.

Within five years he had become chief of medical services. In 1895, after a five year spell in a temporary post he was appointed Ordinary Professor of Pathological Anatomy in the medical school in Florence. He remained in this post for 25 years.

Banti published the first textbook in Italy on the techniques of bacteriology in 1885.

Banti worked for a while at the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital,
the oldest still-active medical institution in Florence

He studied and also wrote about heart enlargement, the causes of aphasia and hyperplastic gastritis. He spent three years studying cancer cells and published a study of typhoid fever.

In 1895 he wrote about endocarditis and nephritis and atherosclerosis of the kidney.

He studied enlargement of the spleen and wrote a paper describing the condition that would become known as Banti’s disease. He proposed that the enlarged spleen was the cause of red cell destruction which led to anaemia and that only removal of the spleen could stop this process. On his advice, the first splenectomy for haemolytic jaundice was carried out in Florence in 1903.

Banti’s name is still primarily connected with leukaemia and he opposed the views of other scientists about the disease. In 1913 Banti decided that leukaemias are systemic diseases arising from the haematopoietic structures, bone marrow and lymph glands and are the result of the uncontrolled proliferation of staminal blood cells. This accords closely with the modern definition of leukaemia.

Banti died in Florence in 1935 aged 72.

The Church of Santa Lucia in Montebichieri

Travel tip:

Montebichieri, where Guido Banti was born, is a village to the southwest of San Miniato in the province of Pisa in Tuscany. In the centre of the village is the 14th century Church of Santa Lucia and a tower and parts of the original walls still survive from the medieval fortifications. Many of the houses are now empty and abandoned.

The bust of Guido Banti at
the Florence Institute

Travel tip:

There is a bust of Guido Banti in the Institute of Anatomy and Pathology in Florence.  The Institute, established in 1824, is famous for its collection of wax pathological models created in the 19th century, which were invaluable teaching tools in medical schools, where living examples, cadavers, and other visual aids of many pathologies were often scarce. One of the most famous pieces in the museum is the 1851 “leper” model by artist Luigi Calamai.  The museum, which was originally housed at the University of Florence, was moved to the city’s Careggi Hospital in 1859.

Also on this day:

1671: The birth of Venetian composer Tomaso Albinoni

1823: The birth of Pompeii archaeologist Giuseppe Fiorelli

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Pippo Baudo - TV presenter

Record-breaking host of Sanremo festival

TV presenter Pippo Baudo has been a
familiar face for decades

The television presenter Pippo Baudo, who became one of the most recognisable personalities on Italian television in a broadcasting career spanning six decades, was born on this day in 1936 in Militello in Val di Catania, in Sicily.

Baudo has presented numerous shows for the national broadcaster Rai and for private networks but is probably best known as the host of the annual Sanremo Music Festival and the presenter of the immensely popular Sunday afternoon magazine show Domenica In.

He was the face of Sanremo a record 13 times between 1968 and 2008, eclipsing another much-loved TV host, Mike Bongiorno, who presented the prestigious song contest on 11 occasions.

Baudo has anchored or co-hosted Domenica In 11 times.  His appearance on the 2016-17 edition of the show came 37 years after he presented the programme for the first time in 1979.

His other major shows include Settevoci, Canzonissima, Fantastico, Serata d'onore and Novecento.

Pippo - short for Giuseppe - is the son of a lawyer, whose father had ambitions for his son to follow a similar career path.

But Pippo was attracted to the idea of performing. While he was a boy he would play the piano and sing songs during the interval at a theatre owned by a family friend and though he duly studied law at the University of Catania, it was not with complete focus.

Pippo Baudo (right) with his predecessors on Domenica
 In (Corrado Montani) and Sanremo (Mike Bongiorno)

A story he has told many times relates to being asked to host the ‘Miss Sicily’ beauty contest in the beautiful town of Chiaramonte Gulfi, in the hills above Ragusa, almost 90km (56 miles) south of Catania. It was a prestigious gig for a young man such as Baudo and he did not want to pass up the opportunity to impress.

The problem was that it was the night before his graduation, he had no car and there was no way using public transport that he could possibly be in Catania in time for the ceremony. In desperation, he rose at dawn and hitched a life on a farmer’s pick-up truck heading for Catania, spending the journey lying on top of boxes of fruit and vegetables but arriving just in time to graduate.

He never practised in law, however. He made his first appearance on television in 1959 as a pianist and singer with a backing orchestra on variety shows. He began fronting the occasional show in the 1960s before his big break came by chance in 1966.

Baudo had made a pilot episode for Rai of a talent contest called Settevoci - Seven Voices. The television company’s bosses had been underwhelmed and had no plans to broadcast it. But one Sunday afternoon, the reel containing the latest episode of the popular American series Rin Tin Tin did not turn up and Rai had a last-minute gap in their schedule.

Pippo Baudo in 1970, at the peak of his popularity

Somehow, the Settevoci pilot was shown instead and was an instant success, gaining significant viewing figures. Rai hurriedly commissioned more and it became part of the Sunday entertainment schedule for the next four years.

It helped launch the careers of many popular Italian singers and other performers, as have many of Baudo's shows.  It is claimed that, to one degree or another, stars such as Al Bano, Beppe Grillo, Tullio Solenghi, Heather Parisi, Eros Ramazzotti, Lorella Cuccarini, Laura Pausini, Giorgia and Andrea Bocelli can all thank Pippo Baudo for giving them the chance to showcase their talents.

Nicknamed “Super Pippo” for his enduring popularity and ability to bounce back from setbacks, Baudo has been married twice, the second time to the opera singer Katia Ricciarelli, from whom he was divorced in 2007. He has two children, Alessandro and Tiziana, and is a grandfather and great-grandfather.

Via Porta della Terra, a typically elegant street in
Militello in Val di Catania

Travel tip:

Militello in Val di Catania is an attractive town on the northern slopes of the Iblean Mountains, about 50km (31 miles) southwest of Catania. It is sometimes known as the Florence of the Iblei because of its wealth of palaces, churches and monasteries. The town had a golden age in the 17th century during the rule of Prince Francesco Branciforte, whose family built the Barresi Branciforte Castle. Although many buildings were destroyed during an earthquake in 1693, considerable work went into rebuilding. In 2002 the town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The main square in Chiaramonte Gulfi

Travel tip:

Nicknamed 'il Balcone della Sicilia' (Sicily's balcony), the town of Chiaramonte Gulfi is perched on a hill 15km (9 miles) north of Ragusa. Its panoramic aspect on a clear day can offer views to the south across the Valley of the Ippari and the towns of Comiso, Vittoria and Acate as far as the Mediterranean sea, and even of Mount Etna in the north. The town is also famed for its olive oil, accredited with the Denominazione d'Origine Protetta (DOP), which means only oil produced within a specific area can be labelled as Chiaramonte oil.

Also on this day:

1422: The birth of condottiero Federico da Montefeltro

1687: The birth of operatic castrato Gatetano Berenstadt

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