history

March 10, 2017
On 10 March 1453, Italian painter Neri di Bicci began a diary, or ricordanza , in which he noted all the daily activities associated with his workshop through 24 April 1475.

March 5, 2017
Poet, translator, painter, novelist, actor, and filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini was born 5 March 1922 in Bologna.

February 17, 2017
Italian painter and draughtsman Giuliano Bugiardini died on 17 February 1554.

February 12, 2017
Mario Mafai, who with his wife Antonietta Raphaël was one of the central figures of a group of artists called the Scuola di Via Cavour, was born 12 February 1902 in Rome, where he lived and worked for much of his life until his death there in 1965.

February 5, 2017
The feast day of St. Agatha (231-251) is celebrated on 5 February.

January 26, 2017
Bartolo di Fredi Cini died on 26 January 1410 in Siena.

January 22, 2017
The joint feast day of Saint Vincent of Saragossa, executed by Roman Emperor Diocletian in 304, and Saint Anastasius of Persia, a Christian convert killed in 628, is celebrated on 22 January.

January 20, 2017
Today, 21 January, is the feast day of St. Agnes, celebrated on the anniversary of her martyrdom in 304.

January 14, 2017
The British Museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759.

January 13, 2017
Today (13 January) is the traditional Feast of the Baptism of Christ, though it is now typically observed on the first Sunday after Epiphany (in 2016 it was celebrated on January 10 ).