on this day in history archivos - Page 2 of 27

Canaletto. Por Antonio Visentini - Nndb.com, Dominio público, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1958365

On this day: death of artist Canaletto

April 19, 2026April 19, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Born Giovanni Antonio Canal, Canaletto became the greatest view-painter of the 18th century. His luminous vedute of Venice, Rome and London still the definitive image of a city at the height of its gilded, fading glory.

On this day: birth of Lucrezia Borgia

April 18, 2026April 18, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Vilified as a femme fatale, celebrated as a patron of the arts, and ultimately remembered in Ferrara as la buona duchessa, the good duchess, Lucrezia Borgia remains one of the most complex and contested women of the Italian Renaissance.

Riccioli as portrayed in the 1742 Atlas Coelestis (plate 3) of Johann Gabriel Doppelmayer. By J G Doppelmayr(Life time: 1677-1750) - Original publication: Published in 1742 in NurembergImmediate source: Atlas Coelestis,1742, Homann: Nuremberg, plate 3, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45302951

On this day: birth of astronomer priest Giovanni Battista Riccioli

April 17, 2026April 17, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

On 17 April 1598, one of the most influential figures of 17th-century science, Giovanni Battista Riccioli, was born in Ferrara. A dedicated Jesuit priest and a meticulous astronomer, Riccioli’s legacy remains visible to anyone who looks at the night sky through a telescope. His nomenclature for lunar features is still the international standard used today.

Gianni Rodari in the 1950s. By famiglia Rodari - https://www.internazionale.it/notizie/vanessa-roghi/2020/04/14/gianni-rodari-meraviglioso-intellettuale, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=96210678

On This Day: children’s author Gianni Rodari dies

April 14, 2026April 14, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

The creator of beloved vegetable rebel Cipollino, Gianni Rodari, winner of children’s literature’s highest honour, passed away on 14 April 1980.

Broletto Palace, the location where the treaty of Lodi was signed. By Arbalete - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11398013

On this day: Treaty of Lodi signed

April 9, 2026April 9, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

9 April 1454 — On this day, five rival Italian powers signed the Treaty of Lodi, on the banks of the river Adda, that gave the peninsula four decades of relative peace.

Lorenzo the Magnificent from the Workshop of Bronzino

On this day: The death of Lorenzo the Magnificent

April 8, 2026April 9, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

8 April 1492 — Lorenzo the Magnificent, the man who made Florence the centre of the Renaissance world, took his last breath at the villa of Careggi, aged just 43.

Gino Severini, in 1913 at the opening night of his exhibition at the Marlborough Gallery, London. By Gino Severini - https://painters-in-color.tumblr.com/post/165802108002/italian-artists-gino-severini-at-the-opening-of, PD-US, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71736614

On this day: Futurist pioneer Gino Severini born

April 7, 2026April 7, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

The painter and mosaicist Gino Severini was born on 7 April 1883 in the hilltop Tuscan town of Cortona. A leading figure in early 20th-century Italian art, Severini became one of the most internationally connected members of the Futurist movement, bridging artistic developments in Italy and Paris before moving through Cubism and later Neoclassicism.

possibly Maria de' Medici cropped. By Bronzino - Unknown source, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1226976

On this day: birth of Maria de’ Medici

April 3, 2026April 3, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Born with every gift Florence could bestow, Cosimo I’s brilliant eldest daughter, Maria de’ Medici, was dead at seventeen. Her story casts a long shadow over one of history’s most powerful families.

Gaetano Casanova, father of the famous lothario

On this day: birth of actor Gaetano Casanova

April 2, 2026April 2, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Gaetano Casanova, the Italian actor and ballet dancer best remembered as the father of Europe’s most celebrated seducer, was born on 2 April 1697 in Parma.

Fragment of portrait of Joachim Murat, Prince d’Empire, Grand Duke of Clèves and of Berg, King of Naples under the name of Napoleon in 1808 (1767-1815), Marshal of France in 1804 By François Gérard - [1] See full portrait:[2], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=264241

On this day: Gioacchino Murat issues Rimini Proclamation

March 30, 2026March 30, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

On 30 March 1815, a declaration was made in the Adriatic city of Rimini that would echo through Italian history for generations. “Italians! The hour has come to engage in your highest destiny… From the Alps to the straits of Sicily, there is but one cry — Italian independence.” The words were stirring, visionary, and […]