- Silvio Berlusconi
(born September 29, 1936) is an Italian politician, entrepreneur, and media proprietor. He is the leader of the Forza Italia political movement, a centre-right party he founded in 1993 in Rome. Berlusconi has twice held office as prime minister of Italy, most recently from 2001 to 2006. Berlusconi is the founder and main shareholder of Fininvest, among the ten largest Italian privately-owned companies, operating in media and finance including three national TV channels. - Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian polymath: scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, musician, and writer. The illegitimate son of a notary, Messer Piero, and a peasant girl, Caterina, Leonardo had no surname in the modern sense, "da Vinci" simply meaning "of Vinci": his full birth name was "Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci", meaning "Leonardo, … - Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II born (May 18, 1920, Wadowice, Poland – April 2, 2005, Vatican City) reigned as the 264th Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City from October 16, 1978, until his death more than 26 years later, making his the second-longest pontificate in modern times after Pius IX's 31-year reign. He is the only Polish pope, and was the first non-Italian pope since the Dutch Adrian VI in the 1520s. - Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI (Latin: "Benedictus PP. XVI"; Italian: "Benedetto XVI"), born Joseph Alois Ratzinger on April 16, 1927 in Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany, is the 265th and reigning Pope, the head of the Catholic Church, and as such, Sovereign of the Vatican City State. He was elected on April 19, 2005 in a papal conclave, celebrated his Papal Inauguration Mass on April 24, 2005, and took possession of his cathedral, the Basilica of St. - Marco Polo
Marco Polo (September 15 1254 - January 9 1324 at earliest but no later than June 1325) was a Venetian trader and explorer who gained fame for his worldwide travels, recorded in the book "Il Milione" ("The Million" or "The Travels of Marco Polo"). Polo, together with his father Niccolò and his uncle Maffeo, was one of the first Westerners to travel the Silk Road to China (which was then called "Cathay") and visit the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, … - Michael Chiarello
Michael Chiarello (born January 26, 1962 in Red Bluff, California, USA) is an American celebrity chef specializing in Italian-influenced California cuisine. He hosts the cooking show, "Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello", on the Food Network and hosts "NapaStyle" on the Fine Living Network. Chiraello owns a winery, Chiarello Family Vineyards, and NapaStyle, a purveyor of food, cookware, and furniture. - Romano Prodi
Prime Minister of Italy from 1996 to 1998. After winning the 2006 General Elections with his coalition of center-left parties "L'Unione", he again has been Prime Minister since 17 May 2006. President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. Professor of industrial organization and industrial policy - Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani (born 11 July, 1934) is an Italian fashion designer, particularly noted for his menswear. - David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, painter, video artist, and performance artist. Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations, for his direction of "The Elephant Man" (1980), "Blue Velvet" (1986), and "Mulholland Drive" (2001). He has won awards at the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival. - Julius Caesar
Sir Julius Caesar (1557/58 - 18 April 1636) was an English judge and politician. He was born near Tottenham in Middlesex. His father was Giulio Cesare Adelmare, an Italian physician to Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, descended by the female line from the dukes of Cesarini. He was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, and afterwards studied at the University of Paris, where in the year 1581 he was made a doctor of civil law. - Beppe Grillo
Giuseppe Grillo, better known as Beppe Grillo (born July 21, 1948), is an Italian comedian and actor, who also works in theatres and television. - Gianni Versace
Gianni Versace (December 2, 1946 - July 15, 1997) was an accomplished Italian designer of both clothing and theater costumes. He was influenced by Andy Warhol, Ancient Roman and Greek art as well as modern abstract art; he is considered one of the most colorful and talented designers of the late 20th century. Gianni was the founder of famous fashion tag Versace. The first boutique was opened in Milan's Via della Spiga in 1978, and its popularity was immediate. - Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti (October 12, 1935 - September 9, 2007) was an Italian spinto tenor; one of the best known vocal performers in contemporary times, in the world of opera and across multiple musical genres. He was born in Modena (Emilia-Romagna), in northern Italy. - Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi born is an Italian professional motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time, with 7 Grand Prix World Championships to his name. In 2006, he narrowly missed an 8th title by scoring a second place in the Championship, and now continues in the 2007 season as one of the title favourites. - Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone (born November 10, 1928; sometimes also credited as "Dan Savio" or "Leo Nichols") is an Italian composer especially noted for his film scores. He has composed and arranged scores for more than 400 film and television productions, more than any other composer living or deceased. He is best known for the characteristic sparse and memorable soundtracks of Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964), … - Roberto Cavalli
Roberto Cavalli (born November 15, 1940) is a well-known Italian fashion designer of modern luxury clothing. He was born in Rome, Italy. - Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (July 29, 1883 - April 28, 1945) was the prime minister and dictator of Italy from 1922 until 1943, when he was overthrown. He established a fascist regime that valued socialism, nationalism, militarism and anti-communism combined with strict censorship and state propaganda. Mussolini became a close ally of German dictator Adolf Hitler, whom he influenced. Mussolini entered World War II in June 1940 on the side of Nazi Germany. - Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of Italian opera in the 19th century and went well beyond the work of Bellini, Donizetti, and Rossini. His works are frequently performed in opera houses throughout the world and, transcending the boundaries of the genre, … - Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus (Genoa?, 1451 - May 20, 1506, Valladolid, Spain) was a navigator and colonialist who is one of several historical figures credited as the first European to discover the Americas. Though likely not the first to reach the Americas from Europe, it was Columbus' voyages that lead to general European awareness of the hemisphere and the successful establishment of European cultures in the New World. It is generally believed that he was born in Genoa, … - Carla Bruni
Carla Bruni Tedeschi (born Turin, Italy, 23 December, 1968), is an Italian-born French supermodel, songwriter and singer. She is the sister of Valeria Bruni Tedeschi. - Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, better known as Dante Alighieri or simply Dante, (May 14/June 13 1265 - September 13/14, 1321) was an Italian poet from Florence. His central work, the "Commedia" ("The Divine Comedy"), is considered the greatest literary work composed in the Italian language and a masterpiece of world literature. In Italian he is known as "the Supreme Poet" ("il Sommo Poeta"). - Monica Bellucci
Monica Anna Maria Bellucci (born September 30, 1964) is an Italian actress and former fashion model. She is considered an Italian sex symbol - Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini (January 20 1920 - October 31 1993) was one of the most influential and widely revered film-makers of the 20th century. - Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli is an Italian singer, writer, and music producer. He is both an operatic tenor and a classical crossover singer. To date, he has recorded four complete operas — "La Bohème", "Il Trovatore", "Werther" and "Tosca" — in addition to various classical and pop albums. Bocelli has congenital glaucoma and is blind. - Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello (born June 18, 1946 in San Canzian d'Isonzo, Gorizia) is an Italian football manager and former professional player who most recently coached Real Madrid. Regarded as one of the best coaches in professional football, he has the distinction of winning the domestic league title with every team he has managed, with A.C. Milan, Real Madrid, A.S. Roma and Juventus (but later stripped due to match-fixing). - Sophia Loren
Sophia Loren (born September 20, 1934) is a motion picture and stage, Academy Award-winning actress, widely considered to be the most popular Italian performer. - Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including "La bohème", "Tosca", and "Madama Butterfly", are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire. Some of his melodies, such as "O mio babbino caro" from "Gianni Schicchi" and "Nessun dorma" from "Turandot", have become part of modern culture. - Thomas Aquinas
Saint Thomas Aquinas (also Thomas of Aquin, or Aquino; c. 1225 - 7 March 1274) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest in the Order of Preachers, a philosopher and theologian in the scholastic tradition, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Universalis and Doctor Communis. He is the foremost classical proponent of natural theology, and the father of the Thomistic school of philosophy and theology. St. - Dario Argento
Dario Argento was born in Rome in 1940, the son of influential film producer Salvatore Argento , and established Brazilian photographer Elda Luxardo . While these parental influences assured Argento's filmic fascination from an early age, he assimilated influences from a wide range of the fantastic arts. - Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei (15 February 1564 - 8 January 1642) was an Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher closely associated with the scientific revolution. His achievements include the first systematic studies of uniformly accelerated motion, improvements to the telescope, a variety of astronomical observations, and support for Copernicanism. Galileo's experiment-based work was a significant break from the abstract approach of Aristotle. - Salvatore Ferragamo
Salvatore Ferragamo (June 5, 1898 - August 7, 1960) was a 20th century Italian footwear designer, providing Hollywood's "glitterati" and many others with unique hand-made designs and spawning an emporium of luxury consumer goods for men and women, with stores in some of the most important cities of the world. Ferragamo started his career in California during the 1920s, initially creating specific designs for Hollywood productions. - Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone (January 3, 1929 - April 30, 1989) was an Italian film director. Leone is well-known for his Spaghetti Western films, and his recognizable style of juxtaposing extreme close-up shots with extreme long shots. Despite only directing seven films, Leone is recognized as one of the greatest directors of all time. Of his seven films, he is best known for his The Man With No Name trilogy, which consists of A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, and The Good, … - Francis Of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi was a Roman Catholic friar and the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, more commonly known as the Franciscans. - Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi, nicknamed "Il Prete Rosso" ("The Red Priest"), was an Italian priest and baroque music composer, as well as a famous violinist; he was born and raised in the Republic of Venice. "The Four Seasons", a series of four violin concertos, are his best known works and highly popular Baroque music pieces. - Raven Riley
Raven Riley (born September 6, 1986) is an American porn star, appearing online, offline at events, and on DVD. Riley recently won the top spot on Front Magazine's "Top 20 Girls of the Web" and appeared on the March 2007 cover. An Ohioan, Riley debuted online at age 18, and garnered popularity. Since then, she has won several awards for her movies and photos. Raven is of Italian and Native American heritage. Riley regularly updates her personal website with softcore, … - Petrarch
Francesco Petrarca (Petrarcha) (July 20, 1304 - July 19, 1374) was an Italian scholar, poet, and early Renaissance humanist. Petrarch is often popularly called the "father of humanism". Based on Petrarch's works, and to a lesser extent that of Dante and Boccaccio, Pietro Bembo in the 16th century created the model for modern Italian, later endorsed by the Accademia della Crusca. - Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco (born January 5, 1932) is an Italian medievalist, semiotician, philosopher and novelist, best known for his novel "The Name of the Rose" "(Il nome della rosa)" and his many essays. - Michelle Hunziker
Michelle Yvonne Hunziker (born January 24, 1977), is a Swiss actress, model and a famous personality on Italian and German television. - Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born 27 September 1976 in Rome) is an Italian football player. He plays for A.S. Roma in Serie A and for the Italian national team, with whom he won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Francesco Totti's position is that of a striker or an attacking midfielder, though he is best known for playing as the trequartista (or second striker), a compromise between the two positions where the player acts as a link between midfield and attack. - Vasco Rossi
Vasco Rossi (born February 7, 1952 in Zocca, Italy) is one of the best-known musicians and songwriters in Italy. His nickname is "Blasco". During his 25-year career, he has published 21 albums (including live and collection discs) and has written some 130 songs, as well as lyrics for other artists.
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