Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was born on 29 July 1883. An Italian politician, he founded the National Fascist Party. Mussolini became Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 1943. He was executed in 1945 by Italian partisans.
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The first Sicilian to become President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, was born on 23rd July 1941 in Palermo. He became a politician following the assassination of his brother in 1980.
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On 14th July 1902, a pile of rubble lay where the St Mark’s campanile (bell tower) had once stood in Venice. Almost 1,000 years old, the building’s collapse was viewed as a tragedy by Venetians.
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On 13th July 1442, Vannozza dei Cattanei – mother of Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia – was born in Matua. Vannozza was a figure of influence, providing advice to Pope Alexander VI as well as four children.
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The last ruler of the Kingdom of Cyprus, Caterina Cornaro, died on 10th July, 1510 in Venice. She lived out her life in a castle in Asolo, Veneto, retaining the title Queen of Cyprus.
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English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley died on 8th July, 1822 while travelling from Livorno in Tuscany to Lerici in Liguria. He was sailing his boat, Don Juan, in in the Gulf of La Spezia.
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In 1678, it is believed on 25th June, Elena Cornaro Piscopia became the first woman to receive a university academic degree. Padua was the awarding university.
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The avant-garde sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro was born in Morciano di Romagna, a small town just inland from the Adriatic coast, on this day in 1926. He is best known for his Sphere within Sphere series.
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Today (6th June), Google’s Doodle celebrates the 171st birthday of Italian inventor Angelo Moriondo. He is credited with patenting the earliest known espresso machine.
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In 1762, Pope Clement XIII officially opened the iconic Trevi Fountain in Rome. The fountain now helps raise money for the poor.
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