celebrity.estateAn EGRET.LAW propertyWorld map3D timeline
Home / Places / Italy
Country

Italy

Every case set in what is now Italy, best-known first. Cities, states and old kingdoms count under the country that holds them today.

EuropeEvery country

Cases in Italy

Best-known first. Each card opens the full cited case.

Cases
103
Years
3300 BCE to 2026
Region
Europe
Main subjects
Greece and Rome, Literature and art, European families, Business dynasties
Families
House of Medici, House of Borgia, Julio-Claudian dynasty
Updated
30 October 2026
James Gandolfini: James Gandolfini @ Toronto International Film Festival 20112013 · Rome, ItalyJames Gandolfini's will left 80 percent of an estimated $70 million estate to his sisters and infant daughter, and a tax lawyer said about $30 million would go to taxesJames Gandolfini died in Rome at 51. His will, reviewed by the New York Daily News, left about 80 percent of an estimated $70 million estate to his sisters and his 9-month-old daughter, and 20 percent to his wife, Deborah Lin.ABA Journal and 3 moreGina Lollobrigida: Gina Lollobrigida - Publicity still (1956)2023 · Rome, ItalyGina Lollobrigida left half her estate to an assistant who was convicted of exploiting her, and her son says €10 million is goneGina Lollobrigida met Andrea Piazzolla when he was 21 and working as a delivery boy at her villa on the Appia Antica in Rome. He became her assistant and manager and moved into the villa.corriere.it and 6 moreEzra Pound: Ezra Pound by Alvin Langdon Coburn, 1913, collotype photograph, from the National Portrait Gallery, which explicitly releases this image under the CC0 license. It was p1972 · Venice, ItalyEzra Pound spent more than 12 years at St. Elizabeths; his wife held legal control, and after he died the Pound archive was sold to Yale and both claimants were paidEzra Pound was arraigned for treason on 27 November 1945 and moved to St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington on 21 December.openlettersmonthlyarchive.com and 2 moreMiriam Makeba: Miriam makeba 012008 · Castel Volturno, ItalyMiriam Makeba's grandchildren fought her own trustees for her music, and the state paid their lawyers until the Public Protector ruled it unlawfulMiriam Makeba collapsed after a concert in Italy and died at 76. Her rights to more than 30 albums sat in the ZM Makeba Trust, run by trustees Graeme Gilfillan, a copyright lawyer, and Dumisani Motha, her former manager and agent.news24.com and 4 morePeggy Guggenheim: Peggy Guggenheim, Lo Specchio (1958) (cropped)1979 · Camposampiero, near Padua, ItalyPeggy Guggenheim's grandsons sued the Guggenheim Foundation in Paris to undo her gift of the Venice collection and lostPeggy Guggenheim's father, Benjamin, died on the Titanic in 1912. In 1919, at 21, she inherited $2.5 million. From 1949 she showed her collection at the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni in Venice.hyperallergic.com and 6 moreSilvio Berlusconi: Silvio Berlusconi (2010) cropped2023 · Milan, ItalySilvio Berlusconi left €100 million to his 33-year-old partner and €30 million to a friend convicted of mafia tiesSilvio Berlusconi was prime minister of Italy four times and built Fininvest, owner of the Mediaset television group. His will was opened in July 2023.ansa.it and 3 moreAI illustration: Manuscripts and diaries burning in a fireplace in a Trieste house, 18901890 · Trieste, Austria-HungaryRichard Burton's widow burned his manuscript of The Scented Garden and his diaries after he diedSir Richard Burton translated the Arabian Nights. When he died he was revising a translation of the Arabic erotic text The Perfumed Garden, retitled The Scented Garden, with extensive notes.grolierclub.omeka.net and 2 moreMaurizio Gucci: Maurizio Gucci matrimonio1995 · Via Palestro 20, MilanMaurizio Gucci was shot dead in Milan in 1995 on the order of his ex-wife Patrizia ReggianiIn 1982 Paolo Gucci fell out with his father Aldo and sued him and the company over control of the firm. The suit exposed a tax scheme.UPI and 12 moreMary Shelley: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley title QS:P1476,en:"Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley "label QS:Len,"Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley "l1822 · at sea off Viareggio, ItalyShelley's father would fund his widow only if she published no biography, and she kept the remains of his heart in her deskPercy Bysshe Shelley drowned when his sailing boat sank in a storm near Viareggio. His body washed up about ten days later and was cremated on the beach. His father, Sir Timothy Shelley, controlled the family estate.mentalfloss.com and 3 moreGiuseppe Verdi: Giuseppe Verdi by Ferdinand Mulnier BW1901 · MilanGiuseppe Verdi's villa was closed by a Parma court in 2022 over an heirs' fight, then taken by the state for about 7.6 million euros against a 30 million appraisalVerdi bought the Sant'Agata villa in 1848 and lived there from 1851 until his death. It passed to his younger cousin Maria Filomena Verdi, and later to the Carrara Verdi family.quotidiano.net and 4 moreAI illustration: A stone farmhouse in the Val di Chiana, Tuscany, with a writing desk at an open window, 20062006 · Oliveto, Tuscany, ItalyMuriel Spark left her entire estate to her companion Penelope Jardine and took steps to leave her only son nothingMuriel Spark died on 13 April 2006 at 88. Her son, Samuel Robin Spark, was born in July 1938 and raised by her parents from the age of seven. In March 1998 the Observer reported a feud between them over her Jewish origins.manuscripts.nls.uk and 3 moreGiorgio Armani: Giorgio Armani 19972025 · Milan, ItalyGiorgio Armani's will orders his heirs to sell 15 percent of his company to a rival group within 18 monthsGiorgio Armani died on 4 September 2025, aged 91. He had no children. In 2016 he set up the Armani Foundation as the vehicle for his succession. He rewrote his two wills in spring 2025, partly by hand.ksl.com and 2 morePredappio, cimitero di San Cassiano (01): Predappio, cimitero1945 · Milan; Cerro Maggiore; Predappio, ItalyPartisans shot Mussolini, fascists stole his body from an unmarked grave, and the state hid it in a monastery for 11 years before trading it for votesPartisans shot Benito Mussolini and Clara Petacci on 28 April 1945. Their bodies were dumped in Milan's Piazzale Loreto, abused by the crowd and hung by the feet from the girder of an unfinished service station.panorama.it and 2 moreEnrico Caruso: Postcard of Enrico Caruso, ca. 19101921 · Hotel Vesuvio, NaplesEnrico Caruso's body lay in a glass-topped coffin in Naples for years, and his estate was split by a Naples decree that two New Jersey courts reopenedEnrico Caruso died at 48 in Naples.case-law.vlex.com and 2 moreAlberto Sordi: Alberto Sordi (1962)2003 · his villa at the Baths of Caracalla, Rome, ItalyAlberto Sordi's sister left his €50 million to a foundation, relatives accused nine people of exploiting her, and all nine were acquittedAlberto Sordi died in 2003 in the villa by the Baths of Caracalla where he had lived since 1954. His estate passed to his sister Aurelia, who had no direct heirs.Il Post and 2 moreMap of Italy, marked on the globe1984 · RomeLord Brooke sold Warwick Castle to Madame Tussauds for £1.3 million in 1978, ending 374 years of Greville ownershipCharles Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick, was the first British aristocrat offered a Hollywood contract. MGM signed him in 1936 as Michael Brooke and dropped him after six months. His one mainstream film was The Dawn Patrol in 1938.The New York Times and 7 moreCastelvetrano, Chiesa Madre: Castelvetrano, Chiesa Madre2023 · Palermo, Castelvetrano and L'Aquila, ItalyMatteo Messina Denaro owned nothing on paper when he was caught after 30 years on the run, and gave his surname to his daughter weeks before he diedMatteo Messina Denaro, son of a Mafia boss from Castelvetrano in Sicily, headed the town's Cosa Nostra clan. He played a role in the 1993 bomb attacks in Florence, Rome and Milan that killed 10 people. He spent 30 years on the run.open.online and 2 moreLeonardo Del Vecchio: Leonardo Del Vecchio giovane2022 · San Raffaele Hospital, MilanLeonardo Del Vecchio split his holding company into eight equal shares, and his heirs are suing in Milan and LuxembourgLeonardo Del Vecchio grew up in an orphanage and founded Luxottica in Agordo in 1961. He died on 27 June 2022, aged 87. He held his empire through Delfin, a Luxembourg holding.tg24.sky.it and 8 moreRoberto Cavalli: Roberto Cavalli Photographed by Ed Kavishe2024 · Florence, ItalyRoberto Cavalli split his estate equally among his partner and six children, and the heirs accepted it only up to the value of his debtsRoberto Cavalli founded his fashion house in Florence in the 1970s. In 2015 he sold it to the Clessidra fund. Union sources put the deal at about €450 million, with about €230 million to Cavalli, who kept 10 percent.ilfattoquotidiano.it and 2 moreLicio Gelli: Licio Gelli in paramenti2015 · Villa Wanda, Arezzo, Italy; Castiglion Fibocchi, ItalyPolice found the P2 lodge's 962 names in Licio Gelli's factory in 1981, and after he died prosecutors asked a court to confiscate his villa from a dead manLicio Gelli led Propaganda 2, a covert lodge of the Grande Oriente d'Italia.Il Post and 3 moreAlfred Nobel: Alfred Nobel31896 · Sanremo, ItalyAlfred Nobel gave 94 percent of his fortune to prizes, and his relatives and the King of Sweden tried to stop itAlfred Nobel made his fortune from dynamite and other explosives.nobelpeacecenter.org and 3 moreLuciano Pavarotti: Luciano Pavarotti 20042007 · Modena, ItalyPavarotti left three wills, and his daughters challenged the share of his second wife until a 2008 settlementLuciano Pavarotti had three daughters, Lorenza, Cristina and Giuliana, from his 35-year marriage to Adua Veroni. In 2003 he married Nicoletta Mantovani, with whom he had a fourth daughter, Alice. He died of pancreatic cancer at 71.foxnews.com and 3 moreFausto Coppi: Fausto Coppi, Tour de France 1952 01 (cropped)1960 · Tortona, ItalyFausto Coppi's son was born in Argentina so he could carry the Coppi name, because Italian law made him another man's sonFausto Coppi won the Giro d'Italia five times and the Tour de France twice. He married Bruna Ciampolini in 1945, and their daughter Marina was born in 1947.Internet Archive and 4 moreAI illustration: Italian state officials list the Borghese paintings in the Casino Borghese, Rome, 19021920 · VenicePrince Paolo Borghese lost the family fortune in the Rome building crash, and the state bought the Borghese collection for 3.6 million lirePaolo Borghese was born in Rome on 13 September 1844. He headed a family whose art collection, begun by Cardinal Scipione Borghese in the 17th century, was held under a fideicommissum that barred its sale.Treccani and 5 moreAI illustration: The Palazzo Doria Pamphilj on the Via del Corso, Rome2000 · Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, Via del Corso, RomeRome's last Doria Pamphilj princess adopted two English babies, and her daughter went to court to keep her brother's surrogate-born children out of the inheritanceThe Palazzo Doria Pamphilj on Via del Corso holds Velázquez's portrait of Pope Innocent X and two Caravaggios. It is probably the largest palace in Rome still in private hands.advocate.com and 6 moreJames Smithson: James Smithson title QS:P1476,en:"James Smithson "label QS:Len,"James Smithson "1829 · GenoaA duke's illegitimate son left his fortune to the United States, which used it to found the SmithsonianJames Smithson was born in Paris about 1765 as Jacques-Louis Macie, the illegitimate son of Elizabeth Hungerford Keate Macie and Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland.siris-sihistory.si.edu and 2 moreMike Florio: Mike Florio 20141957 · PalermoThe Florio family built Sicily's largest business group and lost all of it to the banks and the state by 1935Paolo Florio left Calabria for Palermo in 1799 and opened a spice shop. His son Vincenzo founded a Marsala winery in the 1830s and a steamship line in 1861. When Vincenzo died in 1868 his estate was worth over 12 million lire.rivistameridiana.it and 5 moreAI illustration: Police cars at night outside an apartment building on Via Puccini, Rome, 19701970 · Via Puccini 9, RomeMarquis Casati Stampa shot his wife, her lover and himself; his daughter inherited at 19 and sold Arcore to Berlusconi for unlisted sharesOn 30 August 1970 Marquis Camillo Casati Stampa di Soncino shot his wife, Anna Fallarino, and her lover, the student Massimo Minorenti, in their Rome flat, then shot himself.cinquantamila.it and 7 moreValentino: Valentino Garavani at the Cannes Film Festival.2026 · Rome, ItalyValentino left his estate to a foundation in Liechtenstein that the public had never heard ofValentino Garavani was born in Voghera in 1932 and founded his house on Rome's Via Condotti in 1959. Giancarlo Giammetti ran the business side. In 1998 the two men sold the house for about $300 million. Valentino retired in 2008.milanofinanza.it and 2 moreCaravaggio: Italian: Ritratto di bitto Portrait of Caravaggiotitle QS:P1476,it:"Ritratto di bitto "label QS:Lit,"Ritratto di bitto "2018 · RomeA Texas-born princess was evicted from the Roman villa with Caravaggio's only mural after six auctions drew no bidsThe Casino dell'Aurora is the last surviving building of Rome's Villa Ludovisi. Its ceiling holds Caravaggio's only known mural, Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto, and Guercino's Aurora.artribune.com and 6 moreAI illustration: A Milan supermarket at closing time, 20162016 · MilanEsselunga founder Bernardo Caprotti took back the shares he had given his children and left control to his second wife and daughterBernardo Caprotti founded Esselunga in Milan in 1957 with Nelson Rockefeller and built it into a chain of about 140 stores.ilfattoquotidiano.it and 5 moreOttavio Missoni (foto di Giuseppe Pino, 1990) (cropped): Lo stilista Ottavio Missoni ritratto nel suo studio di Sumirago, presso la sede della Missoni S.p.A.2013 · Los Roques, Venezuela; Sumirago, ItalyMissoni's chief executive vanished in a plane off Venezuela, his father died before the wreck was found, and the family gave up the companyOttavio and Rosita Missoni founded their knitwear company in 1953. Their eldest son, Vittorio, worked in the company with his siblings.thelocal.it and 3 moreNicola Trussardi: (Bergamo, 17 giugno 1942 – Milano, 13 aprile 1999)1999 · Milan, ItalyNicola Trussardi and his son Francesco died in car crashes four years apart, and the family lost the Trussardi companyDante Trussardi founded a glove workshop in 1911. Nicola Trussardi expanded it into fashion, launched the first clothing collection in 1983 and designed Italy's uniforms for the 1988 Seoul Olympics.Il Post and 3 moreScaffolding, under Blackfriars Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 3472781: Scaffolding, under Blackfriars Bridge1982 · Blackfriars Bridge, London, England; Rome, ItalyGod's banker was found hanging under Blackfriars Bridge with bricks in his pockets, and the Vatican bank paid $250 million to his bank's creditorsRoberto Calvi became general manager of Banco Ambrosiano in 1971 and chairman in 1975.NBC News and 2 moreRaul Gardini1979 · Romagna, Italy (plane crash); Milan (Gardini)Raul Gardini ran his in-laws' Ferruzzi group, was voted out in 1991 and shot himself in 1993 as it collapsed with 31,000 billion lire of debtSerafino Ferruzzi founded a grain-trading firm in Ravenna in 1948. By 1976 he had put the shares in his four children's names: Arturo 31%, Idina, Franca and Alessandra 23% each.Treccani and 6 moreFarouk of Egypt: Farouk-King-1965 · Rome, ItalyKing Farouk left Egypt on his yacht, and one of his gold coins later sold for $18.9 millionKing Farouk abdicated on 26 July 1952 after the Free Officers' coup and sailed from Alexandria on the royal yacht Mahroussa. His infant son was named King Fuad II until Egypt became a republic in June 1953.Wikipedia (English) and 1 moreAI illustration: Český Krumlov Castle, the Schwarzenberg seat taken by Czechoslovakia under a 1947 law1950 · Bordighera, ItalyCzechoslovakia passed a law to take one family's estate, and the Schwarzenberg heirs have lost every claim to it sinceAdolf Schwarzenberg owned the Hluboká estate in South Bohemia. He opposed the Nazis, and in 1940 they seized the family property. In 1945 the Beneš decrees were applied to it on the ground that he was ethnic German.hrlibrary.umn.edu and 6 moreJulius Caesar: Retrato de Julio César (26724093101) (cropped)44 BCE · Curia of Pompey, RomeJulius Caesar's will, opened after his murder, made Octavian his son and gave every Roman 300 sestercesCaesar was stabbed 23 times in the Curia of Pompey. The physician Antistius judged that only one wound, the second, in the breast, was fatal.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 3 morePope Alexander VI: Italian: Ritratto di Alessandro VI (Borgia, 1492-1503) Portrait of Alexander VI (Borgia, 1492-1503)title QS:P1476,it:"Ri1503 · Rome, ItalyPope Alexander VI built a state in central Italy for his son Cesare Borgia, and Cesare lost it after his father's deathCesare Borgia was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI. He was made a cardinal when his father became pope. After his brother Giovanni was murdered in 1497, he resigned the cardinalate in 1498.Project Gutenberg and 4 morePolish: Portret Henryka Benedykta Stuarta Portrait of Henry Benedict Stuarttitle QS:P1476,pl:"Portret Henryka Benedykta : Polish: Portret Henryka Benedykta Stuarta Portrait of Henr1807 · Frascati, Lazio, ItalyThe last Stuart heir lost his fortune to the French, lived on a pension from George III, and left the Stuart jewels to the Prince of WalesHenry Benedict Stuart, Cardinal York, was the grandson of the deposed King James II. When his brother Charles Edward died in 1788, he took the title Henry IX. He lost his French church incomes in the Revolution.col.rct.uk and 3 moreMarcus Aurelius: Portrait of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (type III). Roman artwork of the Antonine period. Discovered at Acqua Traversa, near Rome, 1674.108 · Rome, ItalyAn orator ruined two brothers' father, made them his heirs, and the fortune passed down a chain of adoptions to Marcus Aurelius's motherPliny the Younger tells the story. The orator Domitius Afer helped have the estate of Sextus Curvius Tullus of Gallia Narbonensis confiscated.Project Gutenberg and 3 morePortrait of Niccolò Paganini1840 · Nice, Kingdom of SardiniaThe Church refused Paganini burial, and his embalmed body was moved from cellar to cellar for 36 yearsNiccolò Paganini was the most famous violinist in Europe and was rumoured to have sold his soul to the devil. He died in Nice in 1840 without receiving the last rites.hekint.org and 3 moreJohn Keats: John Keats1821 · Rome, Papal StatesKeats's letters to Fanny Brawne were published in 1878 over objections and sold at Sotheby's in 1885 for £543 17sKeats died in Rome aged 25 and was buried on 26 February 1821 in the Protestant Cemetery.library.harvard.edu and 3 moreEdward III: Edward III of England (Order of the Garter)1343 · FlorenceEdward III did not repay the Bardi and Peruzzi, and both Florentine banks failed in the 1340sThe Bardi and Peruzzi companies of Florence lent to kings across Europe. The Bardi lent at least £72,631 to the English Crown between 1290 and 1326.british-history.ac.uk and 4 moreMarco Polo: Frontispice édition de Nuremberg 1477 (cropped)1324 · VeniceMarco Polo's son-in-law kept his daughter's third of the Polo estate, and she won it back in court 42 years laterMarco Polo went to law over money in life as well. In 1311 he sued Paulo Girardo, an agent who was selling his musk for half the profits.historywalksvenice.com and 7 moreVirgil: Virgil mosaic in the Bardo National Museum (Tunis) (12241228546)19 BCE · Brundisium (Brindisi)Virgil asked for the Aeneid to be burned, and Augustus ordered it publishedVirgil met Augustus in Athens in 19 BC, fell ill with a fever near Megara, sailed back to Italy and died at Brundisium. The ancient Life of Virgil by Donatus gives the date and the money.livingpoets.awh.durham.ac.uk and 1 moreMontecristo-80: isola di Montecristo - Autore: Ambrogio VolpiFiction · 1844 · Château d'If, Marseille, France, and the island of MontIn The Count of Monte Cristo, a cardinal poisoned for his money left his heir only a breviary, and the will hidden in it passed to a prisonerThe Count of Monte Cristo is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, written with Auguste Maquet and serialised in the Journal des Débats from 1844 to 1846.Project Gutenberg and 3 moreBeatrice Cenci: Beatrice Cenci1598 · Petrella Salto and Rome, ItalyBeatrice Cenci and her family killed her father at his castle, Rome beheaded them, and most of the Cenci fortune went to the pope's nephewBeatrice Cenci was born in Rome on 6 February 1577, the daughter of Count Francesco Cenci and Ersilia Santacroce.ebsco.com and 2 moreAureus Didius Iulianus: Didius Julianus, 193, Aureus, Rome, AV 7.25 g. IMP CAES M DID – IVLIAN AVG Laureate head r. Rev. RECTOR – ORBIS Julianus standing l., holding globe and roll193 · Rome, ItalyThe Praetorian Guard sold the Roman Empire to Didius Julianus for 25,000 sesterces a soldier, and he lasted 66 daysThe emperor Pertinax had divided his own property among his children and placed them with their grandfather rather than raise them in the palace. On 28 March 193 the Praetorian Guard murdered him.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 moreAndrea Doria: Portrait of Andrea Doria1547 · Genoa, ItalyAndrea Doria's chosen heir was shot at a Genoa gate in the Fieschi coup, the coup's leader drowned in the harbour, and the admiral's fortune passed to an eight-year-oldAndrea Doria, admiral of the Genoese galleys and master of the republic, adopted his stepson Marc'Antonio del Carretto, who was named heir to the principality of Melfi in 1534.Treccani and 2 moreJ. C. Jacobsen: JC Jacobsen 1886 by August Jerndorff1887 · RomeCarlsberg's founder gave his brewery to a foundation after a feud with his son, who built a rival brewery beside itJ.C. Jacobsen founded the Carlsberg brewery at Valby outside Copenhagen in 1847 and named it after his son Carl. In 1875 he founded the Carlsberg Laboratory.Journal article (DOI) and 3 morePalais-des-Papes-Avignon-June-2012: View of the Palais des Papes in Avignon, France in June 20121343 · Avignon, France; Naples and Aversa, ItalyKing Robert's will left Naples to Joanna, her husband was strangled, and she sold the city of Avignon to the pope while the murder was examinedRobert of Anjou, king of Naples and count of Provence, signed his will on 16 January 1343 and died on 20 January.Treccani and 3 moreMichelangelo: Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) title QS:P1476,en:"Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) "label QS:Len,"Michelangelo B1564 · Rome, Papal StatesMichelangelo's nephew smuggled his body out of Rome to Florence in a bale of goods in March 1564, ahead of the pope's tomb planMichelangelo died in Rome shortly before 5 p.m. on 18 February 1564, weeks before his 89th birthday. Romans regarded him as theirs.dailyartmagazine.com and 3 moreTheodoric the Great: Teodorico re dei Goti (493-526)524 · Pavia (the Calventian estate), ItalyTheodoric had Boethius clubbed to death and seized his estates, and the king's daughter gave them back to his sonsBoethius came from the Anicii, one of Rome's leading families. He was raised by the senator Symmachus and married his daughter, Rusticiana. He was consul in 510.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 3 moreMap of Italy, marked on the globeFiction · 2021 · New York, USA, and Tuscany, Italy (setting)In HBO's Succession, the children's veto over the family company sat in their parents' divorce deal, and their father and mother renegotiated it awaySuccession is an HBO drama created by Jesse Armstrong about Logan Roy and the fight among his children to succeed him at Waystar Royco.nyunews.com and 3 moreDante Alighieri: Bargello - Kapelle Fresko 2a1321 · Ravenna, ItalyFlorence demanded Dante's bones for 200 years; friars took them out of the tomb, and a worker found them in 1865Florence exiled Dante, and he died in Ravenna in 1321. He was buried in a Roman sarcophagus outside the Franciscan cloister.Wikipedia (English)Abravanel Perush ha-torah: Title page of Isaac Abravanel: Perush ha-Torah. Varsha: Bi-Defus Y. Levenzohn, 1862-1863. Perush (Commentary) on the Pentateuch, originally published in 1508 · Lisbon, Portugal; Toledo, Spain; Naples, Italy; Venice, ItalIsaac Abravanel lost an inherited fortune in Portugal, offered Spain 30,000 ducats to stop the expulsion, and lost everything again in NaplesIsaac Abravanel was born in Lisbon in 1437, son of the Portuguese treasurer Judah. He inherited great wealth from his father and became treasurer to King Alfonso V.plato.stanford.edu and 3 moreLorenzo de' Medici: Italian: Ritratto di Lorenzo il Magnifico de' Medici Portrait of Lorenzo the Magnificenttitle QS:P1476,it:"Ritratto di L1492 · Florence, ItalyLorenzo de' Medici took 53,643 florins from his cousins' inheritance, and two years after his death Florence seized the insolvent Medici bankThe Medici bank was most profitable under Cosimo de' Medici, who died on 1 August 1464. Under his successors the branches failed.cambridge.org and 5 moreTiberius Gracchus: Eugene Guillaume - the Gracchi (cropped)133 BCE · Rome, ItalyTiberius Gracchus tried to enforce a 500-iugera cap on public land, senators clubbed him to death, and his brother's head was filled with lead for a rewardAn old Roman law barred anyone from holding more than 500 iugera of public land. Plutarch says the rich evaded it with fictitious tenants.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 moreAI illustration: Annapolis, Maryland, on the Severn River, about 17701771 · NaplesLord Baltimore was acquitted of rape in 1768, left Maryland to his illegitimate son in 1771, and the son lost it to the RevolutionFrederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore, owned the Province of Maryland. In 1758 his wife, Lady Diana Egerton, died after a fall from a carriage he was riding in with her. He was suspected of foul play and never charged.Maryland State Archives and 6 moreMuseo dell'Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore. Pope Boniface VIII: Museo dell'Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore. Pope Boniface VIII1297 · Rome and Palestrina, ItalyA Colonna cardinal kept his brothers' lands, the pope razed Palestrina in the fight, and a Colonna seized the pope at AnagniOn 28 April 1292 four Colonna brothers handed control of Palestrina, Zagarolo, Colonna and other family lands to their brother, Cardinal Giacomo Colonna.Treccani and 2 morePetronius Arbiter: (Téléversé avec Commonist) Nouvelle version plus claire.66 · Cumae, Campania, ItalyPetronius's will listed Nero's sex partners by name, and Pliny says he smashed a 300,000-sesterce basin to keep it from NeroPetronius had governed Bithynia and served as consul. At Nero's court he became the emperor's "arbiter" of taste. Tacitus says the guard prefect Tigellinus was jealous of him.Wikisource (primary text) and 2 morePazzi conspiracy: Nella stessa famiglia anche lo zio di Francesco, Jacopo fu tra i principali responsabili, e i congiurati si servirono della parentela di Guglielmo de' Medici, fra1478 · Florence, ItalyFlorence seized the Pazzi bank's property the day after the cathedral murder and ordered the family's name and arms erased foreverJacopo de' Pazzi inherited his father Andrea's bank and became head of the family in 1464. In the 1457 tax survey he was one of only eight Florentines taxed between 50 and 100 florins.Treccani and 2 moreLRicci: Lorenzo Ricci, S.J.1775 · Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome, ItalyThe Pope suppressed the Jesuits in 1773 and their Superior General died a prisoner in Castel Sant'Angelo, declaring the Society innocentLorenzo Ricci was elected Superior General of the Society of Jesus on 21 May 1758. Portugal, France and Spain expelled the Jesuits in the following decade.newadvent.org and 3 moreDito medio della mano destra to Galileo - 2432 - Museo Galileo - Firenze: Middle finger of Galileo Galileis right hand, exhibited in the Museo Galileo in Florence.1642 · Florence, ItalyThe Church refused Galileo a tomb for 95 years, and when his body was moved in 1737 admirers cut off three fingers and a toothIn 1633 the Inquisition in Rome condemned Galileo Galilei for heresy and made him say he "abjured, cursed and detested" it. He spent his last eight years under house arrest near Florence and died on 8 January 1642.archive.archaeology.org and 2 moreSt Catherine Disputation - Andreas and Cem: St Catherine's Disputation / 2nd Room: Hall of the Saints (Sala dei Santi) The Borgia Apartments (Appartamento Borgia)Detail of probable1502 · Rome, ItalyThe last Byzantine emperor's nephew signed his imperial rights over to the King of France in 1494 for 4,400 ducats a yearAndreas Palaiologos was born in 1453, the year his uncle Constantine XI, the last Byzantine emperor, died when the Ottomans took Constantinople.hfrir.jvolsu.com and 4 moreArqua panorama: Panorama della zona alta dell'abitato di Arquà Petrarca da Monte Castello1374 · Arquà Petrarca, Padua, ItalyVenice gave Petrarch a house for his library, the library went to his enemies' heirs and then to France, and the skull in his tomb is a woman'sIn 1362 Petrarch offered his books to Venice. The Republic gave him a house on the Riva degli Schiavoni on condition that his works stay in Venice after his death. He left Venice and never sent the books.bnf.fr and 4 moreElisabetta Sirani: Self-portrait1665 · Bologna, Papal StatesElisabetta Sirani died at 27 in Bologna in 1665; her father charged the maid with poisoning her and then withdrew the chargeElisabetta Sirani ran her father's Bologna workshop from about 1654, after gout disabled Giovanni Andrea Sirani. Her portraits and teaching supported the household. She died in August 1665, aged 27, after severe stomach pain.theflorentine.net and 3 more51. Morte di Marino Faliero, 17 Aprile 1355: The Execution of Doge en:Marino Faliero1355 · Venice, ItalyVenice beheaded Doge Marino Faliero in 1355, seized his palace, painted a black shroud over his portrait, and later voided his widow's willMarino Faliero came from one of Venice's oldest patrician families. On 11 September 1354, aged about 80, he was elected doge while on a mission to the pope at Avignon.historywalksvenice.com and 3 moreBartolomeo Colleoni: BartholomaeusColleoni1566-691475 · Malpaga (Bergamo) and Venice, ItalyColleoni left Venice 100,000 ducats for a statue of himself in Piazza San Marco; Venice took the money and put the statue in front of the Scuola di San MarcoBartolomeo Colleoni was born around 1400 in Bergamo, which came under Venetian rule. He fought for Venice for more than 20 years and became very rich. He had no legitimate son and had eight daughters, legitimate and illegitimate.Treccani and 2 morePalazzo datini, ext. 01: Palazzo Datini, Prato1410 · Prato, Tuscany, ItalyThe merchant of Prato rewrote his will five weeks before he died and left 100,000 florins to the poor, under the town's controlFrancesco di Marco Datini was born in Prato about 1335. In 1348 the Black Death killed his parents and two brothers. He made his fortune in Avignon, the papal city, then traded and banked from Prato and Florence.Treccani and 4 moreKonradin: Codex Manesse, fol. 7r, Konradin von Hohenstaufen ("König Konradin der Jüngere") bei der Jagd mit Falken.1268 · Naples, Campania, ItalyConradin, the last legitimate Staufer, willed his lands to his Bavarian uncles and was beheaded in Naples at 16Conradin was born on 25 March 1252 at Wolfstein near Landshut, the son of King Conrad IV, who died in 1254. He grew up under the guardianship of his uncle, Duke Ludwig of Bavaria.de.wikisource.org and 2 moreMatilda of Tuscany: Mathilde und Hugo von Cluny als Fürsprecher Heinrichs IV. (cropped)1115 · Canossa, Italy, and RomeMatilda of Tuscany gave her lands to the papacy, a historian says the surviving deed is a forgery, and the emperor took the lands the year after she diedMatilda, countess of Tuscany, held most of northern and central Italy and backed the popes against the emperor. In 1079 she gave all her domains to the pope.Treccani and 3 moreSeptimius Severus: Septimius Severus busto-Musei Capitolini211 · Eboracum (York), England; Palatine, Rome, ItalySeverus left Rome to two sons, their mother stopped them dividing the empire, and Caracalla had his brother killed in her armsThe emperor Septimius Severus died in Britain on 4 February 211. Cassius Dio says his illness carried him off "not without some help, they say," from his elder son Antoninus, known as Caracalla.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 moreAureus Didius Iulianus: Didius Julianus, 193, Aureus, Rome, AV 7.25 g. IMP CAES M DID – IVLIAN AVG Laureate head r. Rev. RECTOR – ORBIS Julianus standing l., holding globe and roll193 · Praetorian camp, Rome, ItalyThe praetorian guard killed the emperor Pertinax and sold the empire to the highest bidder for 25,000 sesterces a soldierIn AD 193 the praetorian guard killed the emperor Pertinax. Herodian says the guards then announced from their camp walls that the empire was for sale.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 moreHadrian: München SMAEK 2019-03-23n136 · Rome, ItalyHadrian forced his 90-year-old brother-in-law and the man's 18-year-old grandson to die, and the old man prayed Hadrian would long for death and not be able to dieThe emperor Hadrian had no son. Lucius Julius Ursus Servianus had married Hadrian's elder sister Domitia Paulina. Their grandson, Pedanius Fuscus, was Hadrian's closest male relative.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 morePliny the Younger: 'Pliny the Younger and His Mother at Miseno'104 · Rome, ItalyPliny says an 80-year-old father disinherited his daughter 11 days after remarrying, and 180 judges in four panels split two against twoPliny the Younger, a Roman senator and advocate, wrote to his friend Romanus about an inheritance case he argued. His client was Attia Viriola, a woman of high birth married to a man of praetorian rank. Her father was over 80.attalus.org and 2 moreGalba: Gold Aureus of Galba (MANTIS)69 · Rome, ItalyA senator was accused of biting the severed head of Galba's heir, and years later he swore on his son's life to get into the heir's widow's willIn AD 69 the emperor Galba adopted Piso Licinianus as his heir. Both were murdered.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 1 moreSeneca the Younger: Duble herma of Socrates and Seneca Antikensammlung Berlin 0765 · Rome, ItalySeneca offered Nero his 300-million-sesterce fortune, was refused, and three years later was ordered to die and denied the tablets to write his willThe Stoic philosopher Seneca tutored the young Nero and then advised him as emperor. The senator Suillius, on trial, asked how Seneca had made 300 million sesterces in four years of royal favour.Wikisource (primary text) and 4 moreClaudius: Claudius crop54 · Palatine, Rome, ItalyClaudius's will was never read in public, and Nero poisoned Claudius's son Britannicus four months after taking the throneThe emperor Claudius had a son, Britannicus, born on the 22nd day of his reign. He later married Agrippina and adopted her son Nero. Suetonius says that late in life Claudius regretted the marriage and the adoption.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 moreHorti Lamiani (2006-2009): Planietria ricostruttiva degli Horti Lamiani41 · Horti Lamiani, Esquiline Hill, Rome, ItalySuetonius says Caligula ignored Tiberius's will, killed his co-heir, and haunted the gardens he inherited until his sisters reburied himKind 2: what Suetonius says. Tiberius's will named Caligula and his other grandson, the boy Tiberius Gemellus, as joint heirs. When Caligula entered Rome, the Senate and the crowd gave him full power and the will was set aside.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 moreLivia: (Toulouse) Livie Musée Saint-Raymond Ra 34029 · Rome, ItalyLivia left Galba 50 million sesterces in figures, and her son Tiberius read it as 500,000 and paid nothingLivia, widow of Augustus and mother of the emperor Tiberius, left legacies to many people.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 3 moreSuetonius: Suetonius etching (cropped)25 · Rome, ItalySuetonius says Tiberius frightened a man worth 400 million sesterces into suicide to inherit, and Caligula sent poisoned sweets to men who named him heirSeneca says Gnaeus Lentulus the Augur was thought to be worth 400 million sesterces, owed his rise to Augustus, and was as barren in intellect as in spirit.Project Gutenberg and 5 moreAugustus: Augustus of Prima Porta14 · Nola, Campania, ItalyAugustus's will, read to the Senate by the Vestal Virgins, barred his daughter and granddaughter from his tombAugustus died at Nola on 19 August AD 14. About 16 months earlier he had written his will in two notebooks. The Vestal Virgins, who held it, brought it to the Senate with three sealed rolls.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 moreArch of Augustus Rimini 1916: Rimini's Arch of Augustus after the 1916 earthquake, in circa 191627 BCE · Ariminum (Rimini), ItalySepticia married an old man to spite her sons and left them nothing, and Augustus gave them her estateValerius Maximus, writing under the emperor Tiberius, collected Roman cases of wills that were overturned. One concerns Septicia, mother of the Trachali brothers of Ariminum.attalus.org and 2 moreThe Banquet of Cleopatra title QS:P1476,en:"The Banquet of Cleopatra "label QS:Len,"The Banquet of Cleopatra "label QS:L: Cleopatra puts the pearl in the wine, family portrait feat30 BCE · Alexandria, Egypt; Rome, ItalyPliny says Cleopatra drank one of the two greatest pearls she inherited from eastern kings, and Rome cut the other in half for a statue of VenusPliny the Elder, writing in the 70s AD, says Cleopatra owned the two largest pearls of all time, left to her by eastern kings.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 moreMap of Italy, marked on the globe30 BCE · Croton (Crotone), Italy (setting of the Satyricon episode)Horace's Tiresias tells Ulysses to court rich old men's wills, and Petronius's Eumolpus wills his body to be eaten by his heirsThese are works of fiction. In Horace's fifth satire of Book II, Ulysses, back in Ithaca poor, asks the prophet Tiresias how to rebuild his fortune.Project Gutenberg and 2 moreHortensia (orator): Woodcut illustration of Hortensia pleading her case before the triumvirs - Penn Provenance Project43 BCE · Rome, ItalyRome's triumvirs ordered the 1,400 richest women to value their property for a war tax, and Hortensia's speech cut the list to 400After Caesar's murder, Antony, Octavian and Lepidus ruled Rome as triumvirs and needed money for war.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 moreBust of Cicero (1st-cent. BC) - Palazzo Nuovo - Musei Capitolini - Rome 2016: Palazzo Nuovo - Capitoline Museums - Rome43 BCE · near Formiae (Formia), ItalyOctavian traded Cicero to Antony for the proscription list, and Antony's wife pierced the dead orator's tongue with her hairpinsCicero was Rome's most famous orator. He backed the young Octavian for the consulship. Octavian then joined Antony and Lepidus, and the three drew up a list of men to be killed and their property taken.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 moreCicero: Bust of Cicero (1st-cent. BC) - Palazzo Nuovo - Musei Capitolini - Rome 201643 BCE · Palatine, Rome, ItalyClodius burned Cicero's house and built a shrine to Liberty on the site, and Cicero's son was consul the year Antony's statues came downIn 58 BC the tribune Publius Clodius drove Cicero into exile. Plutarch says Clodius burned Cicero's villas and his house and built a temple of Liberty on the house site.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 moreDenarius Sextus Pompeius-Scilla: Sextus Pompeius. 42-40 BC. AR Denarius (3.50 gm). MAG PIVS IMP ITER, galley adorned with aquila, sceptre and trident before the Colonna Rhegina, de48 BCE · Misenum (Miseno), ItalyPompey's son held the sea, feasted Antony aboard his flagship, called it the only family house Antony had left him, and refused to cut the cablesAfter Pompey the Great's death his house in Rome was sold. Plutarch says Mark Antony bought it and was angry when asked to pay.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 moreLaudatio Turiae col2 Terme: So-called “Laudatio Turiæ”, col.2 (2.2a to 2.11a). Latin inscription: “[varia et ampla subsi]dia fugae meae praestitisti ornamentis / [me instruxisti] c49 BCE · Rome, ItalyA Roman husband's funeral inscription says relatives tried to void his wife's father's will after her parents were murdered, and she stopped themThe Laudatio Turiae is a long funeral eulogy carved in stone by a Roman husband for his wife, dated about 8 to 2 BC. Neither is named in the surviving text. It is catalogued as CIL VI 1527.droitromain.univ-grenoble-alpes.fr and 2 moreCato Volubilis bronze bust: Bronze bust of Cato the Younger from the Archaeological Museum of Rabat, Morocco. Found in the House of Venus, Volubilis.50 BCE · Rome, ItalyCato gave his pregnant wife Marcia to the orator Hortensius, and took her back as Hortensius's rich widowQuintus Hortensius, the leading orator of Rome, first asked Cato the Younger for his daughter Porcia, who was married to Bibulus. Cato refused. Hortensius then asked for Cato's own wife, Marcia.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 moreM. Tullius Cicero, Capitoline Museum, Rome: Bust of Cicero, Musei Capitolini, Rome, Half of 1st century AD75 BCE · Rome, ItalyPublius Annius Asellus left everything to his only daughter, and the praetor Verres wrote an edict to take it from herThe lex Voconia of 169 BC barred citizens registered in the top census class, with property of 100,000 asses or more, from naming a woman as heir.cts.perseids.org and 3 moreM. Tullius Cicero, Capitoline Museum, Rome: Bust of Cicero, Musei Capitolini, Rome, Half of 1st century AD81 BCE · Rome and Ameria (Amelia, Umbria), ItalySulla's freedman bought a murdered man's estate of 6 million sesterces for 2,000, and the son was charged with killing his fatherCicero's defence speech is the main source. Sextus Roscius of Ameria was killed at Rome near the Palatine baths as he walked home from dinner. A freedman of his kinsman Titus Roscius rode 56 miles overnight to Ameria with the news.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 2 moreTrajan s column detail: Trajan s column detail91 BCE · Rome, ItalyA Roman soldier came home from war to find that his father, told he was dead, had willed the family estate to othersCicero's dialogue On the Orator, set in 91 BC, has the advocate Crassus cite the case of "the soldier, of whose death a false report was brought home from the army".attalus.org and 2 moreRemains of Basilica Julia: The remains of Basilica Julia at the Forum Romanum in Italy.93 BCE · Rome, ItalyA Roman wrote his will for a son who was never born, and Rome's two leading lawyers fought over whether the words or the intention ruledA Roman citizen made his will while his wife was expecting a child. He named the expected son as heir and provided that if the son died before reaching adulthood, Manius Curius would inherit. The man died.cts.perseids.org and 3 moreAristotle: Aristotle Altemps Inv8575322 BCE · Chalcis, Greece; Scepsis, Troad (Turkey); Athens and RomeAristotle's heirs hid his library in a trench to keep it from the kings of Pergamum, and Sulla carried it to RomeDiogenes Laertius preserves Aristotle's will. Antipater was executor. Aristotle's daughter was to marry Nicanor.perseus.tufts.edu and 2 morePythagoras: Pythagoras in the Roman Forumlabel QS:Len,"Pythagoras in the Roman Forum"label QS:Lhu,"Püthagorasz a római Fórumon"490 BCE · Croton and Metapontum, ItalyPythagoras's daughter Damo would not sell his writings for any price, and Plato is said to have paid 100 minae for Pythagorean booksPythagoras lived from about 570 to about 490 BC. Timaeus says his followers put all their possessions into one common stock.Wikisource (primary text) and 2 moreRicostruzione di Ötzi - Particolare del volto: Ricostruzione di come doveva essere l'aspetto di Ötzi3300 BCE · Tisenjoch (Giogo di Tisa), Ötztal Alps, South Tyrol, ItalyTwo hikers found Ötzi in 1991, a survey put him 92 metres inside Italy, and the finders fought South Tyrol in court until 2010 over the rewardOn 19 September 1991 Erika and Helmut Simon, hikers from Nuremberg, saw a body in melting ice at 3,210 metres.archive.archaeology.org and 5 moreAI illustration: An eagle drops a tortoise over the coast at Gela, Sicily, 456 BCLegend · 456 BCE · Gela, SicilyLegend: Aeschylus died at Gela in 456 or 455 BC when an eagle dropped a tortoise on his headAeschylus returned to Sicily for the last time in 458 BC and died at Gela in 456 or 455 BC. The manner of his death is legend, not documented history.perseus.tufts.edu and 2 moreDomenichino: Portrait de Domenichino (1581-1641)Legend · 1641 · NaplesLegend: Domenichino died in Naples in April 1641 and was said to have been poisoned by rival painters; the one early biographer cited blames his relativesDomenichino worked in Naples in his last years. Art historians link him to the Cabal of Naples, local painters said to have tried to drive out outside artists.Artnet News and 3 moreNumitor, after the Death of Amulius, is Restored to the Throne of Alba, pl.6 from the series The Story of Romulus and Re: Numitor, after the Death of Amulius, is Restored to the ThLegend · 753 BCE · Alba Longa (Alban Hills, near Rome), ItalyLivy says Amulius broke his father's will, took the throne of Alba Longa, and made his niece a Vestal virgin so his brother would have no heirsThe Roman historian Livy opens his history with the legend of Rome's founding. He says King Proca of Alba Longa left "the ancient throne of the Silvian house" to his elder son, Numitor. His younger son Amulius did not accept it.perseus.tufts.edu and 3 more