Galeazzo II Visconti was a second son of Stefano Visconti and Valentina Doria. His parents had 3 sons: Matteo II, Galeazzo, and Bernabò. After Stefano’s passing in 1327, Galeazzo became Lord of Alessandria, Alba, Asti, Como, Tortona, Novara, Pavia, Vercelli and, together with the siblings Matteo II and Bernabò, co-Lord...
Ferdinando I de’ Medici: a Cardinal who ascended to the ducal throne
Ferdinando I de’ Medici was born on the 30th of July 1549. He was the fifth son of Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his first wife, Eleanor of Toledo. Ferdinando’s older brothers were: Francesco, Giovanni (died of malaria at the age of 18), Pietro (passed away...
Francesco Petrarca: death of ‘the Father of humanism’
Francesco Petrarca, commonly known anglicized as Petrarch, died on the 18 or 19th of 1374. He was a great and celebrated Italian scholar and poet during the early Italian Renaissance and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch’s great legacy includes his philosophy of humanism that profoundly influenced intellectual accomplishments of...
Fra Girolamo Savonarola: execution of an unorthodox friar in Florence
On the 23th of May 1498, Fra Girolamo Savonarola and his two most fervent supporters – Fra Girolamo and Fra Domenico – were escorted out of their prison into the main Florentine square (Piazza della Signoria). They faced a high ecclesiastic tribunal, who condemned them as heretics and schismatics, having...
Leonardo Da Vinci: a genius’s life in Italy and his last years in France
Leonardo Da Vinci was born on the 14 or 15th of April 1452 in the Tuscan town of Vinci, in the Republic of Florence. He was undoubtedly the quintessential Renaissance man, one who spent most of his life in Italy and his last years in France. Leonardo’s areas of interest...