Veronica Gambara was born on the 29 or 30th of November 1485 (she died on the 13th of June 1550). This illustrious woman was not only an Italian poet, stateswoman, and political leader, but also the ruler of the County of Corregio from 1518 until 1550. Veronica was born in...
Tiziano Vecelli, or simply Titian: ‘The Sun Amidst Small Stars’
Titian, one of the most prominent Renaissance artists, was born as Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio in Cadore, in the Republic of Venice sometime around 1488 to 1490. Regarded as the most important Renaissance member of the 16th-century Venetian school of art, he was called ‘The Sun Amidst Small Stars’, echoing...
The establishment of the famous Italian House of Gonzaga in Mantua
On the 16th of 1328, the famous Italian House of Gonzaga seized power in the Duchy of Mantua, and ruled until 1708. Starting from the 12th century, the family was growing their wealth, becoming a dominant one in Mantua. Allied with the Bonacolsi, they together defeated their common enemy –...
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...
Charles VIII of France: accidental death after a momentary glory in Italy
Charles VIII of France, known as the Affable, was born at Château d'Amboise on the 30th of June 1470. He was the only surviving son of King Louis XI of France, called the Prudent and the Spider, and his second queen, Charlotte de Savoy. His four brothers were all either...
Golden Florentine Renaissance: Sandro Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli, born as Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, lived at the time when all things intellectual, humanistic, and progressive flourished in the Florentine Republic. The city was truly the cradle of the new era dawning. The artist belonged to the Florentine School under the patronage of Lorenzo de’...