Rome

May 21, 2017
Castor and Pollux, whose astrological counterpart, Gemini, begins each year on 21 May, are important figures in Estruscan and Roman mythology and appear often in Italian art over the centuries.

May 16, 2017
Painter-architect Pietro Berretini, known as Pietro da Cortona , died on 16 May 1669 in Rome.

May 9, 2017
Cesare Maccari was born 9 May 1840 in Siena.

May 8, 2017
Baroque painter Giovanni Battista Gaulli, known as il Baciccio, was born on 8 May 1639 in Genoa.

May 4, 2017
Monumental Mausoleum to Become New Magnet for Rome’s Visitors New outlets are reporting that the Mausoleum of Augustus will soon be restored and reopened as a historical attraction.

April 23, 2017
The Temple of Venus Eryx was dedicated on 23 April 215 BCE.

April 20, 2017
Leon Battista Alberti died on 20 April 1472 in Rome.

April 16, 2017
On 16 April 73, legions of the Roman Empire penetrated the mountaintop fortress of Masada, in the Roman province of Judaea (what is today Israel).

April 16, 2017
Though he had reigned only three months, Roman Emperor Marcus Salvius Otho had showed in this short time more wisdom and grace than anyone had expected when he committed suicide on 16 April 69 following defeat at the Battle of Bedriacum.

April 6, 2017
Raphael died in Rome on 6 April 1520, likely his thirty-seventh birthday (unless, in fact, he was born on 28 March).