Sofia Doni
April anniversaries
Dates and historical figures of this month in Florence
We continue this column "with a bang", presenting two very important birthdays occurred on the same day (but 289 years apart!). In fact, on April 13, 1519 was born in Florence Catherine de' Medici, the future Queen of France, while on April 13, 1808 was born in Borgo San Frediano Antonio Meucci, which is attributed to the invention of the first telephone.
Antonio Meucci, the inventor of the first telephone
Moreover, during this month we must not forget a very important figure of the Florentine Renaissance: Raffaello Sanzio. This is one of the greatest artists of all time, born and died on the same day: April 6 (April 6, 1483 and April 6, 1520 respectively).
The anniversary of the birth and death of Raffaello Sanzio falls on April 6
Another important character of the Italian Renaissance to be celebrated in this month is Leon Battista Alberti, who died on April 25, 1472 and is buried in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence.
Another important figure of the Italian Renaissance: Leon Battista Alberti
Moving from figurative arts to literature, let's remember the famous trip to Italy made by Goethe at the end of the eighteenth century. He stayed in Florence for a short time starting from April 29, 1788.
Goethe, during his trip to Italy, arrived in Florence on April 29, 1788.
This month is also fundamental for the scientific field. In fact, April 12th is the anniversary of the trial of Galilei, who was accused of heresy... ironically, 328 years later (exactly April 12th 1961) Jurij Alekseevic was the first man to go into space!
The anniversary of Galilei's trial falls on April 12
Returning to our Florence, let's remember the "Congiura dei Pazzi" (Pazzi's Conspiracy) which took place on April 26, 1478.
Finally, let's take a temporal leap of a few centuries, to mention April 6, 1879: the inauguration of the first horse-drawn "tramvai" (as it was renamed by the Florentines) that connected Florence to Peretola.
April 6, 1879: the inauguration of the first "tramvai".