On this day: death of mathematician Clelia Grillo Borromeo Arese
An aristocratic woman recognised as one of the brilliant mathematicians and scientists of her era, Clelia Grillo Borromeo Arese, died on 23rd August 1777 in Milan.
Continue Reading
Category: History of Italy
On this day: Devastating earthquake and tsunami strike Naples
On 30 July 1626, one of the most violent seismic events in European history struck the region surrounding Naples. Estimated to have measured approximately 7.0 on the Richter scale, the massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated the bustling maritime hub and wiped out dozens of nearby settlements, claiming an estimated 70,000 lives.
Continue Reading
On this day: San Marino liberated from Fascism
San Marino residents celebrate the anniversary of their liberation from Fascism on 28th July, marking the moment a clandestine socialist resistance finally forced the ruling Fascist party from power.
Continue Reading
A guide to the imperial dynasties of the Roman Empire
From Augustus to the last emperors of the West, the story of Rome is, in large part, the story of the families who fought, adopted and murdered their way onto the throne. This is a guide to the dynasties that shaped the Roman Empire.
Continue Reading
On this day: The mysterious death of Caravaggio
Fleeing a death sentence, chasing a papal pardon, and having seen the boat carrying his precious paintings sail away, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio died alone and feverish on a Tuscan beach on 18th July 1610.
Continue Reading
On this day: birth of Maria Salviati
Maria Salviati was a Florentine noblewoman whose descendants included kings of France and England. She was also, the mother of Cosimo I de’ Medici.
Continue Reading
On this day: Birth of St Clare of Assisi
St Clare was born on 16 July 1194 in Assisi, into a noble family whose sheltered future she abandoned at eighteen for a life of poverty. She founded one of the great religious orders of medieval Europe.
Continue Reading
On this day: Fire destroys Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
One of Rome’s four great papal basilicas – Saint Paul Outside the Walls – and the last of the city’s ancient churches to have survived largely untouched since antiquity, was gutted by fire on 14/15th July 1823. It was a disaster that shook the Christian world as deeply as the Notre-Dame fire would nearly two […]
Continue Reading
On this day: birth of Giulio d’Este of Ferrara
Giulio d’Este, who spent more than half of his life in prison for taking part in a failed conspiracy against his half-brother, the Duke of Ferrara, was born 13 July 1478 in Ferrara.
Continue Reading
On this day: death of artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo
The artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo died on 11 July 1593 in Milan. He is celebrated for his imaginative portrait heads built entirely from objects such as fruit, vegetables, flowers and fish,
Continue Reading