Historical figures in Venice

The atlas holds 36 people and 63 moments here, from 1220 to 2007. The most recorded lives are Marco Polo, Antonio Vivaldi and Petrarch. Among them Writers, Political Leaders and Philosophers, across the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration.

Notable people

  1. Marco Polo

    from 1254 to 1324

    6 moments here

    Venetian merchant, traveler, and author whose account describes journeys across Asia between 1271 and 1295.…

  2. Antonio Vivaldi

    from 1678 to 1736

    4 moments here

    Italian Baroque composer, violinist, priest, teacher, and opera impresario. Born in Venice, Vivaldi held long associations with the Ospedale della…

  3. Petrarch

    from 1321 to 1372

    4 moments here

    Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) was an Italian scholar, poet, cleric, diplomat, and foundational humanist.…

  4. Friedrich Nietzsche

    from 1880 to 1887

    3 moments here

    German philosopher, classical philologist, cultural critic, poet, and author. Born in Röcken, Nietzsche was educated at Schulpforta and Leipzig,…

  5. Richard Wagner

    from 1858 to 1883

    3 moments here

    German composer, conductor, theatre director, and essayist whose movements included early work in German theatre, exile in Switzerland, stays in…

  6. Albrecht Dürer

    from 1494 to 1506

    3 moments here

    German painter, printmaker, and theorist of the Northern Renaissance. Born and died in Nuremberg, Dürer trained there before traveling through the…

  7. Diego Velázquez

    from 1629 to 1651

    3 moments here

    Spanish Baroque painter and court artist to Philip IV of Spain. Born in Seville, he trained there before establishing his long-term home and career…

  8. Giordano Bruno

    from 1591 to 1592

    3 moments here

    Italian Renaissance philosopher, Dominican friar, writer, and cosmological theorist. Born at Nola, Bruno studied and lived in Italy, Switzerland,…

  9. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

    from 1786 to 1790

    2 moments here

    German poet, dramatist, novelist, scientist, theatre director, and statesman. Born in Frankfurt, Goethe studied in Leipzig and Strasbourg, practiced…

  10. Michelangelo

    from 1494 to 1529

    2 moments here

    Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet.…

  11. Lord Byron

    in 1816

    2 moments here

    George Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron (1788–1824), was a British poet, peer, and political speaker.…

  12. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

    from 1689 to 1690

    2 moments here

    German polymath, philosopher, mathematician, jurist, diplomat, court councillor, historian, and librarian.…

  13. Arthur Schopenhauer

    from 1818 to 1822

    2 moments here

    German philosopher and writer, born in Danzig and dead in Frankfurt am Main. His documented movements included childhood residences in Hamburg and Le…

  14. Giovanni Boccaccio

    from 1363 to 1367

    2 moments here

    Italian writer, poet, and humanist, best known for the Decameron. His documented life moved between Florence, Naples, Romagna, papal Avignon and…

  15. Adolf Hitler

    in 1934

    1 moment here

    Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who led the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP), became German…

  16. Leonardo da Vinci

    in 1500

    1 moment here

    Italian Renaissance painter, draftsman, engineer, architect, anatomist, and natural philosopher.…

  17. Ronald Reagan

    in 1987

    1 moment here

    American broadcaster, actor, labor leader, governor of California, and 40th president of the United States.…

  18. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    in 1771

    1 moment here

    Austrian composer and performer of the Classical era. Born in Salzburg, Mozart toured Europe as a child prodigy, made three formative journeys to…

  19. Dante Alighieri

    in 1321

    1 moment here

    Florentine poet, prose writer, philosopher, and statesman whose Divine Comedy became a foundational work of Italian and European literature.…

  20. Galileo Galilei

    in 1592

    1 moment here

    Italian astronomer, physicist, engineer, mathematician, and natural philosopher. Born in Pisa, Galileo was educated in Tuscany, taught mathematics at…

  21. Charles Dickens

    in 1844

    1 moment here

    English novelist, journalist, editor, social reformer, actor and celebrated public reader. This chronology traces documented residences, workplaces,…

  22. Salvador Dalí

    in 1951

    1 moment here

    Spanish painter, sculptor, writer, designer, filmmaker, and leading exponent of Surrealism. Born in Figueres, Dalí trained in Madrid, joined the…

  23. Hans Christian Andersen

    in 1834

    1 moment here

    Danish writer renowned for literary fairy tales including “The Little Mermaid,” “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “The Snow Queen,” and “The Ugly…

  24. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

    in 1743

    1 moment here

    Genevan philosopher, writer, composer, and a major figure of the European Enlightenment. Rousseau’s documented movements ranged across Geneva, Savoy,…

Moments

  1. 1220 Return to Italy via Venice Francis of Assisi
  2. 1254 Born in Venice Marco Polo
  3. 1269 Meets his returning father in Venice Marco Polo
  4. 1295 Returns to Venice after twenty-four years Marco Polo
  5. 1299 Returns home after release Marco Polo
  6. 1321 Journey through Venice Petrarch
  7. 1321 Undertook an embassy to Venice Dante Alighieri
  8. 1324 Buried at San Lorenzo Marco Polo
  9. 1324 Dies in Venice Marco Polo
  10. 1353 Peace embassy to Venice Petrarch
  11. 1362 Residence at Palazzo Molina Petrarch
  12. 1363 Visit to Petrarch in Venice Giovanni Boccaccio
  13. 1367 Venice visit Giovanni Boccaccio
  14. 1372 Final diplomatic speech in Venice Petrarch
  15. 1494 First Italian journey: Venice Albrecht Dürer
  16. 1494 Brief stay in Venice Michelangelo
  17. 1500 Flees to Venice Leonardo da Vinci
  18. 1506 Letter from Venice Albrecht Dürer
  19. 1506 Second Venetian residence Albrecht Dürer
  20. 1525 Wool Guild mission Niccolò Machiavelli
  21. 1529 Flees toward Venice Michelangelo
  22. 1580 Visit to Venice Michel de Montaigne
  23. 1591 Arrival in Venice Giordano Bruno
  24. 1592 Mocenigo residence in Venice Giordano Bruno
  25. 1592 Imprisonment at San Domenico di Castello Giordano Bruno
  26. 1592 Sought the Padua chair in Venice Galileo Galilei
  27. 1600 First Italian stop in Venice Peter Paul Rubens
  28. 1629 First Italian journey: Venice Diego Velázquez
  29. 1639 Stay in Venice John Milton
  30. 1649 Second Italian journey: Venice Diego Velázquez
  31. 1651 Return journey: Venice Diego Velázquez
  32. 1678 Birth in Venice Antonio Vivaldi
  33. 1689 First Venice stay Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
  34. 1690 Second Venice stay Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
  35. 1703 Violin teacher at the Ospedale della Pietà Antonio Vivaldi
  36. 1720 Return to Venice from Mantua Antonio Vivaldi
  37. 1728 Letter from Venice Montesquieu
  38. 1736 Venice letter to a patron Antonio Vivaldi
  39. 1743 Embassy secretary in Venice Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  40. 1771 Stays in Venice Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  41. 1786 Takes lodgings in Venice Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
  42. 1790 Makes second Italian journey Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
  43. 1805 Visits Venice on Grand Tour Simón Bolívar
  44. 1816 Visit to San Lazzaro degli Armeni Lord Byron
  45. 1816 Winter in Venice Lord Byron
  46. 1818 First Italian journey through Venice Arthur Schopenhauer
  47. 1822 Second Italian journey via Venice Arthur Schopenhauer
  48. 1834 Stays in Venice Hans Christian Andersen
  49. 1837 Second Italian journey: Venice Honoré de Balzac
  50. 1844 Experiences Venice Charles Dickens

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