Sixteenth-Century Feminist: Lavinia Fontana | A R T L▼R K

On the 24th of August 1552, Italian painter Lavinia Fontana was born in Bologna. She is considered the first-ever woman artist to work within the same sphere as her male counterparts, independently and outside a royal court or convent. “The most significant and prolific female artist of the 16th century, Lavinia Fontana opened up opportunities for successive generations of…

Source: Sixteenth-Century Feminist: Lavinia Fontana | A R T L▼R K

“Frankly, I enjoyed the war.” Totally crazy story of Victoria Cross hero

Wiart in Cairo, Egypt in 1943

“We’re going to have to ditch, sir, prepare for a landing on water!” was the last thing that the “Unkillable Soldier” Major-General Adrian Carton de Wiart VC heard from the cockpit of the Wellington bomber that was supposed to be…

via Frankly, I enjoyed the war. Totally crazy story of Victoria Cross hero who tore off his own fingers, lost an eye, was shot in the head & still went back for more

The History Girls: Her own worst Enemy: Caroline of Brunswick (1768-1821) by Charlotte Betts

Whilst Caroline isn’t the main character in The Dressmaker’s Secret, the factual events of her life frame the plot for my heroine, Emilia. She becomes a member of Caroline’s household in Italy, before travelling to England to find her lost family and unravel the mystery of priceless stolen paintings.

In 1794 Princess Caroline of Brunswick was twenty-six years old and…

Source: The History Girls: Her own worst Enemy: Caroline of Brunswick (1768-1821) by Charlotte Betts

Learning from the Gracchi – the “First Socialists” | toritto

A lesson from history for today’s politics It is the year 135B. C  .in the Roman Republic. The Carthaginians had been finally defeated. The Roman Republic itself was already some 375 years ol…

Source: Learning from the Gracchi – the “First Socialists” | toritto

N.B. I’m not currently responding to comments or visiting blogs because of ill-health but I much appreciate your support.

Orde Wingate: The Most Controversial British Commander of WWII

Born to British parents in India in 1903, Orde Wingate grew up in Britain, living with other relatives at times when his parents were in India. His family was strict Plymouth Brethren – conservative, evangelical, non-conformist Christians. They worked hard to instill their values in Orde.At school, he was friendless. Not playing games or

Source: Orde Wingate: The Most Controversial British Commander of WWII

Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Guerrilla Commander Who United Italy

Giuseppe Garibaldi is one of the most outlandish figures of 19th-century history. A passionate Italian nationalist, he was constantly at odds with the poli…

Source: Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Guerrilla Commander Who United Italy

Recovering Palimpsests | crafty theatre

I’m thrilled! The future is here! The speculation of yesterday is the modus operandi of today! Early on in my blogging life, I pondered the loss of Menander’s comedies. How could the wor…

Source: Recovering Palimpsests | crafty theatre

Bang bang, that awful sound | Actonbooks

In the early 1850s, in what is now Italy, the soon-to-be-country’s revolutionary nationalists hated in equal measure the Austrians for occupying much of the north and the Pope who was sustained by …

Source: Bang bang, that awful sound | Actonbooks

solving an art historical mystery, in the old Library Trinity College Long Room. – Arran Q Henderson

Sheemaker’s “Cicero”

Look at this bust of the great Roman orator, statesman, and lawyer, Marcus Tullius Cicero. It is by the Flemish sculptor Peter Scheemakers (1691-1781) who in the 18th century was commissioned by Tr…

Source: solving an art historical mystery, in the old Library Trinity College Long Room. – Arran Q Henderson

Venetian Midwives–Who Knew? | seductivevenice

Anatomical theater at University of Padua

At the presentation I recently made about Sarra Copia Sulam at the Jewish Community Library in San Francisco, one audience member showed a remarkable knowledge of Venetian history. He approached me…

Source: Venetian Midwives–Who Knew? | seductivevenice

Greece, The Unsung Hero Of WWII

The argument here is that the role of the Greeks in WW2 is being unjustly overlooked and forgotten about. The Greek mainland was occupied by the axis armies on April 30th 1941 after the “Battle of …

Source: Greece, The Unsung Hero Of WWII

The mysterious selfie queen of Paris high society

When she first visited the photography studio of Mayer & Pierson in 1856, Virginia Oldoini had already become notorious in Paris society. Married at 17 to Italian Count Francesco Verasis di Castiglione, she had been dispatched to Paris to convince Napoleon III to support Italian unification — instead, she promptly became his mistress.

Their dalliance was brief but helped establish her reputation as a…

Source: The mysterious selfie queen of Paris high society

The Mad Monarchist: Sailor of Monarchy: Admiral Luigi Longanesi-Cattani

One of the most prominent Italian submarine commanders of World War II was Captain Luigi Longanesi-Cattani. Born in Bagnacavallo, in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna on May 4, 1908, he attended the naval academy at Livorno, graduated and began his career as an undersea naval officer on the submarineMarcantonio Bragadin. Later, he was posted to Italian East Africa on the submarine Benedetto Brin. He was serving as commander of the Benedetto Brin, one of the Brin-class of submarines, in Taranto when the Kingdom of Italy entered World War II. His was then the only boat of his submarine squadron, the rest being…

Source: The Mad Monarchist: Sailor of Monarchy: Admiral Luigi Longanesi-Cattani

The Mad Monarchist: Making a Prophet of Mussolini

In 1945, in the last days of the war, when his “Italian Social Republic” was in its death throes, Benito Mussolini made the following prediction about the future:

“The present war will produce an alteration in order of rank. Great Britain, for instance, is destined to become a second-class power, in view of disclosure of Russian and American strength…In a short time, Fascism will once more shine on the horizon. First of all, because of the persecution to which the Liberals will subject it, showing that liberty is something to reserve to oneself and refuse to others.”

And, the fact is, the liberals of today are working very hard to prove…

Source: The Mad Monarchist: Making a Prophet of Mussolini

Celebrating Women’s Equality | seductivevenice

One of the journals edited by Caminer Turra

Happy Women’s Equality Day! In the US, August 26, 1920, was the day women were granted the right to vote when the 19th Amendment was ratified.To celebrate this, I’d like to share with you the story of an early pioneer in women’s equality: Elisabetta Caminer Turra. Here’s a video where I outline her life story and contribution to women’s rights. She lived…

Source: Celebrating Women’s Equality | seductivevenice