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Gianna Maria Canale was born on 12 September 1927 in Reggio di Calabria, Calabria, Italy. She was an actress, known for Clash of Steel (1962), Theodora, Slave Empress (1954) and Dead Woman's Kiss (1949). She was married to Riccardo Freda. She died on 13 February 2009 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Carlo Collodi was born on 24 November 1826 in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany [now Tuscany, Italy]. He was a writer, known for Pinocchio (2022), Pinocchio (1940) and Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022). He died on 26 October 1890 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Giovanni Boccaccio was born in June 1313 in Certaldo, Florence, Tuscany, Italy. He was a writer, known for The Little Hours (2017), Decameron Nights (1953) and Decameron n° 3 - Le più belle donne del Boccaccio (1972). He died on 21 December 1375 in Certaldo, Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Aldo Berti was born on 29 February 1936 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. He was an actor, known for A Stranger in Town (1967), Born to Kill (1967) and Night of Violence (1965). He died on 26 December 2010 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Lina Cavalieri was born on 25 December 1874 in Viterbo, Lazio, Italy. She was an actress, known for Manon Lescaut (1914), The Eternal Temptress (1917) and The Two Brides (1919). She was married to Lucien Muratore, Robert W. Chanler, Giovanni Campari and Aleksandr Beriatinskij. She died on 7 February 1944 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Carlo Monni was born on 23 October 1943 in Campi Bisenzio, Tuscany, Italy. He was an actor, known for Capri (2006), 10 ragazze (2011) and Treasure Island in Outer Space (1987). He died on 19 May 2013 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Born into a time of extreme political upheaveal, Niccolò Machiavelli was a member of the old Florentine nobility. He received a proper humanistic Renaissance education, and as a young man began the climb up the perilous political ladder of Italy. In 1502 he was sent to Romagna as an envoy to Cesare Borgia, the infamous papal prince and despot who would later influence Machiavelli's political philosophy. The return of the Medici dynasty in 1512 resulted in Machiavelli's downfall. He lost his office and was imprisoned and tortured before finally being banished from Florence. It was during his exile that Machiavelli wrote his most famous work, "Il Principe (The Prince)", a handbook of sorts for autocratic rulers. Though his sympathies lay with republicanism, he was first and foremost intensely pragmatic, a quality which did not endear him to later, more idealistic, generations.

Oriana Fallaci was born on 29 June 1929 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. She was a writer, known for Television Theater (1953), El grito (1968) and Oriana Fallaci intervista Ayatollah Khomeini (1979). She died on 15 September 2006 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

This colorful diva of the Metropolitan Opera was one of several who jumped on the operatic bandwagon during the 1930s to achieve film stardom. Following her prima donna peers Jeanette MacDonald, Lily Pons and Grace Moore to the silver screen, Gladys' turnout would be meager and a major disappointment. Born in Deepwater, Missouri, an Ozark mining town, in 1900 (some sources give the years 1898 and even 1904), Gladys was schooled in Kansas City. A delicate and sickly child, her singing talents were robust, however, and she showed great promise at an early age. A local church soloist by age 13, she attended the Bush Conservatory of Music in Chicago where she received a Doctorate of Music in 1923. She joined the Chicago Civic Opera Company the following year where she learned over 22 roles. Training and performing in Europe in the late 20s, she made her Metropolitan debut in 1929 with "La Gioconda". As one of the Met's finest mezzos, her vast repertoire (25 in all) would include "Norma", "Peter Ibbetson", "La Forza del Destino", "Mignon" and, notably, "Carmen", which would become her signature role. While MGM had a lucrative commodity in MacDonald, RKO was busy grooming Pons and Columbia was putting Moore on glossy display. Paramount, in turn, courted and recruited the lovely, brown-eyed Gladys for their operettas. Rather docile and slightly meek in countenance, she nevertheless signed a lucrative deal and her publicity was quite the envy. She made an ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful debut in dual roles with Rose of the Rancho (1936). Not only playing a Spanish senorita, she was handed the role of "Don Carlos", the masked vigilante leader, due to her reputation on the operatic stage for playing "trouser" roles. Opposite John Boles, the film died fairly quickly at the box office. Things did not get better. Give Us This Night (1936) fizzled despite a book by Oscar Hammerstein II and a strong leading man in Polish tenor Jan Kiepura, who managed to outshine her. Champagne Waltz (1937) lacked both fiery songs and an engaging script. The mediocre Romance in the Dark (1938), which paired her again tritely with Boles, top-lined a declining John Barrymore. But it was the dull, non-singing melodrama Ambush (1939) that clinched her final cinematic curtain. Radio, on the other hand, was a superlative medium for Gladys. She was a vibrant guest on a number of programs and had her own show in New York City, singing everything from arias to spirituals to standards. She was named the #1 classical radio singer throughout the war years with sold-out recordings and concert tours to match. It would take something tragic to stop this workhorse diva and that's exactly what happened. Having survived rheumatic fever as a child, she developed life-threatening heart problems in later years and, following major surgery to repair a valve, was forced into retirement by 1957. Her personal life was, thankfully, quite blissful. Her second husband was opera singer Frank Chapman, who gave up his own career to manage hers. In the twilight years, they divided their time between a Connecticut home and a villa in Italy. Chapman died in 1966 and Gladys, who remained childless, died of her heart ailment three years later.

Under the direction of Vittorio De Sica, Carlo Battisti left a remarkable mark in cinema history as the lead character in Umberto D. (1952), an Italian Neo-Realist classic about an elderly man who wanders through Rome with his dog Flike while trying to survive the Italy of post WWII. He was born on 10 October, 1882 in Trento - then an Austro-Hungary territory that later became part of Italy during the war years.

He wasn't an actor by trade, in fact, he was a Linguistic professor. At the age of 70, De Sica discovered Battisti and chose him for the lead role in Umberto D. (1952), who didn't want a professional actor for the role, wanting to give a more realistic approach to the story just like Rossellini did with his films in the late 1940's. Battisti received excellent reviews and praise from audiences who loved his heart-breaking performance and his memorable scenes with his loyal companion, the cute dog Flike.

After the movie, Battisti never appeared on another movie and returned to teaching until his retirement some years later. He died in 1977, aged 94.

Muriel Spark was born on 1 February 1918 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. She was a writer, known for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), The Driver's Seat (1974) and Teletale (1963). She was married to Sidney Oswald Spark. She died on 13 April 2006 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Odoardo Spadaro was born on 16 January 1895 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. He was an actor, known for The Golden Coach (1952), Divorce Italian Style (1961) and Tea with Mussolini (1999). He died on 26 June 1965 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Mario Garriba was born on 13 November 1944 in Soave, Verona, Veneto, Italy. He was an assistant director and actor, known for In punto di morte (1971), Amarcord (1973) and Corse a perdicuore (1980). He died on 31 December 2013 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Howard Pyle was born on 5 April 1853 in Wilmington, Delaware, USA. He was a writer, known for The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), World Fairy Tale Series (1994) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (2018). He died on 9 November 1911 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Augusto Mastripietri was born on 16 June 1846 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. He was an actor, known for Christus (1916), Malombra (1917) and After Six Days (1920). He died on 8 July 1930 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Fiamma Breschi was born on 24 April 1934 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. She was an actress, known for Desiderio 'e sole (1954) and In amore si pecca in due (1954). She died on 21 November 2015 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Chiara Moretti was born on 8 August 1955 in Siena, Tuscany, Italy. She was an actress, known for Berlinguer: I Love You (1977), Seeking Asylum (1979) and Sweet Dreams (1981). She died on 17 May 2023 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Guido Salvini was born on 12 May 1893 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. He was a director and writer, known for Adriana Lecouvreur (1955), Regina della Scala (1937) and Il conte Aquila (1955). He died on 4 May 1965 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Entrepreneurial Italian producer and administrator, who was responsible for creating some of the most quintessentially British films made in the 1940's. Del Guidice came from a legal background, having worked for the Vatican. He left his native country in 1933, in part, because of financial difficulties, but also due to deep-felt disaffection with the Fascist regime. He settled in London, first as a teacher of Italian, then setting up his own law practice. Four years later, he had found the financial backing to establish Two Cities Films in conjunction with the director Mario Zampi. The success of his first venture, Noël Coward's In Which We Serve (1942), secured the patronage of J. Arthur Rank and led to other ambitious projects, including Blithe Spirit (1945), Johnny in the Clouds (1945) and Odd Man Out (1947). Raising the finances for the production of Laurence Olivier's patriotic epic Henry V (1944) -- in all, 470,000 pounds -- forced him to surrender controlling interest in the company to the Rank Organisation.

After the expensive failure of Men of Two Worlds (1946), Rank sought to establish tighter financial and artistic control over Two Cities. Unhappy, Del Guidice resigned in 1947. For a short time, he lived in seclusion at a monastery, but soon emerged to establish a new company, Pilgrim Pictures Limited. Under his administrative auspices, Pilgrim produced just three films -- The Outsider (1948), Private Angelo (1949) and Chance of a Lifetime (1950) -- all opened to mixed critical reviews and none recouped their cost at the box office. After the British Home Office refused his application for another visa in 1958, Del Guidice made several unsuccessful attempts to raise money for other projects in America and Italy. However, he never made another film and died penniless in Florence five years later.

Gino Bechi was born on 16 October 1913 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. He was an actor, known for Music on the Run (1943), Come Back to Sorrento (1945) and The Lovers (1946). He died on 2 February 1993 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Andrea Cambi was born on 10 January 1962 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. He was an actor, known for La cena (1998), Cannibali (1995) and Non sono io (2004). He died on 21 February 2009 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Born in Florence Italy to mother Inez Alfani-Tellini, the Soprano Opera singer for 10 years with Arturo Toscanini. From his first wife his children, Massimo, Marco, Donina, Elizabeth, reside in Italy. From his second wife, Joan Tellini, his one daughter Chiara Tellini resides in California. He and cousin Franco Zeffirelli, both began their career under the tutelage of his mother Inez in the Opera. Italian screenwriter Piero Tellini is best known for having penned two highly regarded Italian neorealist films, Alberto Lattuada's The Bandit (1946) and Luigi Zampa's Vivere en Pace (1946). He also penned the Palme D'Or-winning script for Guardie e Ladri (1951). Tellini is a graduate of the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome. One of the projects most dear to Piero, Was Amercan Youth (Giovani In America), a documentary about everything that made America "America", which was produced by RAI TV and shown in 5 European countries. Unfortunately it never aired in the United States.

Andrea Frazzi was born in 1944 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. Andrea was a director and writer, known for A Children's Story (2004), The Sky Is Falling (2000) and Il fascino dell'insolito (1980). Andrea died on 3 May 2006 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Giuliano Cenci was born on 10 August 1931 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. He was a writer and director, known for The Adventures of Pinocchio (1971), Mu-Lan (1998) and Titanic: The Legend Goes On... (2000). He died on 12 April 2018 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

Anton Francesco Grazzini was born on 22 March 1504 in Florence, Republic of Florence [now Tuscany, Italy]. He was a writer, known for Neskolko lyubovnykh istoriy (1994). He died on 18 February 1584 in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany [now Tuscany, Italy].