Amerigo Vespucci, Navigator & Cartographer, Florence
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 8:08 am | 0 Comment
Amerigo Vespucci (1454 – 1512) Navigator and Cartographer Florence The explorer and navigator Amerigo Vespucci was born into a cultured and prominent family in Florence. He received a humanist education from his uncle, the learned Dominican Giorgio Antonio Vespucci. He entered the banking business working with the Medici Family, and was sent to Seville, Spain as
Saint Catherine, Siena
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 8:08 am | 0 Comment
Saint Catherine (1347 – 1380) Siena Saint Catherine of Siena was born Caterina di Giacomo di Benincasa in 1347, the second youngest of 25 children born to a Sienese cloth dyer. As a very young girl she began having visions, and by age seven she had consecrated her virginity to Christ. At the age of sixteen, she took the habit of the Dominican Tertiaries and lived
Policarpo Petrocchi, Philologist, Pistoia
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 8:07 am | 0 Comment
Policarpo Petrocchi (1852 – 1902) Philologist Pistoia Born in Castello di Cireglio, near Pistoia, Policarpo Petrocchi was a writer, philologist and Italian specialist in the 19th century. Petrocchi dedicated his life to teaching and to philological studies, his greatest achievement being the celebrated dictionary Il Novo dizionario universale della lingua
Pellegrino Rossi, Politician, Carrara
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 8:06 am | 0 Comment
Pellegrino Rossi (1787 – 1848) Politician Carrara Pellegrino Rossi was a politician in Italy and France leading up to the revolutions of 1848. Born in Carrara, Rossi was educated at the University of Pavia and later at Bologna where he became a professor of law in 1812. He supported Joachim Murat in 1815 in his fight against the Austrians, but had to flee to
Ippolito Rosellini, Egyptologist, Pisa
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 8:05 am | 0 Comment
Ippolito Rosellini (1800 – 1843) Egyptologist Pisa The founding father of Italian Egyptology, Ippolito Rosellini, was born in Pisa. After theological studies, Rosellini studied with the linguist Giuseppe Caspar Mezzofanti at the University of Bologna. In 1824, Rosellini became a professor of oriental language at the University of Pisa. He was a great friend of the
Antonio Pacinotti, Physicist, Pisa
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 8:03 am | 0 Comment
Antonio Pacinotti (1841 – 1912) Physicist Pisa Antonio Pacinotti, born in Pisa, was an important physicist best known for his development of an improved form of a direct current electrical generator, also called a dynamo. He began his studies of physics and mathematics when he was only 15. Later he held the chair of physics at the University of Bologna from 1865
Lorenzo the Magnificent, Statesman, Florence
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 8:03 am | 0 Comment
Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449 – 1492) Statesman Florence Lorenzo de’ Medici is the most famous member of the powerful and influential Florentine Medici family. The Medicis were one of the wealthiest banking families in Florence and the de facto rulers of the Florentine Republic. Great patrons of the arts, the Medici family used their wealth and power to create
Niccolò Machiavelli, Politician & Historian, Florence
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 8:02 am | 0 Comment
Niccolò Machiavelli (1469 – 1527) Politician and Historian Florence Born in Florence in 1469, Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli’s family lived frugally despite the fact that the family previously had been among Florence’s wealthy and prominent families. Little is know of Machiavelli’s early life or education, although he certainly benefited from his
Francesco Guicciardini, Historian & Statesman, Florence
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 8:01 am | 0 Comment
Francesco Guicciardini (1483 – 1540) Historian and Statesman Florence Francesco Guicciardini, one of the most important political writers of the Italian Renaissance, was born in a noble Florentine family closely connected to Lorenzo de’ Medici (the Magnificent). He studied law in Florence, Ferrara and Padua before setting up practice in Florence. In 1508, he
Galileo Galilei, Scientist, Pisa
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 7:59 am | 0 Comment
Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642) Scientist Pisa Italy’s famed astronomer, natural philosopher and mathematician, Galileo Galilei, was born in Pisa and grew up on Via Giuseppe Giusti where his family home still stands. Galileo made fundamental contributions to the sciences of astronomy and motion, and played a major role in the development of the scientific method.
Francesco Carrara, Jurist & Politician, Lucca
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 7:58 am | 0 Comment
Francesco Carrara (1805 – 1888) Jurist and Politician Lucca Born in Lucca, Francesco Carrara was an Italian jurist and politician who became one of the leading criminal law scholars in Europe in the 19th century. He studied law at the University of Pisa, and practiced in both Florence and Lucca, where he became actively engaged in the current debates about
Enrico Betti, Mathematician, Pistoia
By TuscanyVillages at October 29, 2011 | 7:58 am | 0 Comment
Enrico Betti (1823 – 1892) Mathematician Pistoia Born in Pistoia, Enrico Betti studied mathematics and physics at the University of Pisa. He graduated with a degree in mathematics in 1846, and taught in Pistoia and Florence before returning to take a professorship in mathematics at Pisa. Early in his academic career he focused on exploring the theory of
