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List of people from Italy

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Italians
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List of Italians
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Below is a list of notable individuals from Italy, distinguished by their connection to the nation through residence, legal status, historical influence, or cultural impact. They are categorized based on their specific areas of achievement and prominence.

Acting[edit]

• Jeff Cameron (1932–1985)
• Stefano Accorsi (born 1971)
• Henry Armetta (1888–1945), character actor
• Roberto Benigni (born 1952), Oscar-winning actor, comedian, screenwriter, and director
• Rossano Brazzi (1916–1994)
• Lando Buzzanca (1935–2022), theatrical, film, and television actor
• Mario Carotenuto (1916–1995), actor of film and theatre
• Nino Castelnuovo (1936–2021). Most famous for playing opposite Catherine Deneuve in the 1964 film Les Parapluies de Cherbourg and in Italy, for his lead performance in the popular 1967 RAI TV mini-series I Promessi Sposi.
• Tino Caspanello (born 1983), actor, playwright, director, and set designer
• Adolfo Celi (1922–1986), actor and director, played Emilio Largo in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball
• Gino Cervi (1901–1974), actor and manager
• Walter Chiari (1924–1991), stage and screen actor
• Eduardo De Filippo (1900–1984), playwright and actor
• Manuel De Peppe (born 1970), actor, singer, arranger, music producer, composer, pianist, and drummer
• Vittorio Gassman (1922–2000), film and theatre actor and director
• Elio Germano (born 1980), actor who won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010.
• Giancarlo Giannini (born 1942), actor and dubber
• Terence Hill (born 1939), actor, who became famous for playing in Italian western movies (also known as Spaghetti Westerns).
• Roberto Lamarca (1959–2017), actor migrated in Venezuela. He is most recognised for his portrayal of Arístides Valerio, on the RCTV telenovela Por estas calles.
• Nino Manfredi (1921–2004), one of the most prominent actors in the commedia all'italiana genre.
• Marcello Mastroianni (1924–1996), actor who became the preeminent leading man in Italian cinema during the 1960s.
• Amedeo Nazzari (1907–1979), actor.
• Alberto Sordi (1920–2003), actor. Depicted the vices, virtues, and foibles of post-World War II Italy in a long career of mostly comic films.
• Giorgio Strehler (1921–1997), actor and theatre director, founder of the Piccolo Teatro di Milano
• Ugo Tognazzi (1922–1990), film and theatre actor
• Totò, born Antonio de Curtis (1898–1967), actor
• Massimo Troisi (1953–1994), actor and director
• Rudolph Valentino (1895–1926), actor
• Raf Vallone (1916–2002), actor, footballer, and journalist
• Carlo Verdone (born 1950), actor, screenwriter and film director
• Gian Maria Volonté (1933–1994), actor. Known outside of Italy for his roles in A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965)
• Luca Zingaretti (born 1961), actor and film director, known for playing Salvo Montalbano in the Inspector Montalbano series
• Marta Abba (1900–1988) actress
• Pier Angeli (1932–1971), Golden Globe-winning television and film actress who starred in American, British and European films
• Laura Antonelli (1941–2015), actress
• Asia Argento (born 1975), actress, singer, model, and director
• Monica Bellucci (born 1964), actress and fashion model
• Francesca Bertini, silent film actress
• Nicoletta Braschi (born 1960), actress and producer, best known for her work with her husband, actor and director Roberto Benigni
• Clara Calamai (1909–1998), actress, known for playing Carlo's mother, the female lead in Luchino Visconti's Ossessione (1943).
• Claudia Cardinale (born 1938), actress
• Chiara Caselli (born 1967), actress
• Valentina Cortese (1923–2019), actress
• Eleonora Duse (1858–1924), actress, especially noted for her roles in Henrik Ibsen's plays.^[1]
• Valeria Golino (born 1966), film and television actress. Known to English language audiences for the 1988 film Rain Man, and the Hot Shots! films.
• Virna Lisi (1936–2014), actress, winner of Cannes and César awards.
• Gina Lollobrigida (1927–2023), actress. One of the first European sex symbols in the post-World War II era.
• Sophia Loren, actress. Her performance in the film Two Women (1960) won her the Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the first actor to win an Oscar for a non-English-language performance.
• Anna Magnani (1908–1973), actress. She was nominated twice for an Academy Award for best actress, winning the Oscar in 1955 for her role in The Rose Tattoo.
• Silvana Mangano (1930–1989), actress
• Elsa Martinelli (1935–2017), actress and fashion model
• Giulietta Masina (1921–1994), actress
• Mariangela Melato (1941–2013), actress
• Sandra Milo, actress
• Ornella Muti (born 1955), actress
• Wanda Osiris (1905–1994), actress, revue soubrette, and singer
• Rosanna Schiaffino (1939–2009), actress
• Alida Valli (1921–2006), actress
• Monica Vitti (1931–2022), actress

Architects[edit]

Ancient Rome[edit]

• Cocceius Auctus, Roman architect during the age of Augustus
• Lucius Vitruvius Cordo, Roman architect; known for his work Arco dei Gavi
• Hyginus Gromaticus, Roman surveyor under the reign of Trajan
• Rabirius, Roman architect active during the reign of Domitian
• Vitruvius, Roman writer, architect and engineer; author of De architectura, regarded as the oldest surviving text on the history of architecture

Middle Ages[edit]

• Guglielmo Agnelli (c. 1238–1313), sculptor and architect. He built the campanile of the Badia a Settimo.
• Pietro Baseggio (14th century), architect and sculptor. In 1361, he was named superintendent of construction for the Doge's palace.
• Bartolomeo Bon (died after 1464), sculptor and architect. Among his works are Gothic Ca' d'Oro (1424–1430) and the marble door of the church of Frari.
• Bertolino Bragerio (active c. 1288), builder of the cathedral of Cremona.
• Jacopo Celega (d. 1386), architect. Around 1330 he took over construction of the church of Frari.
• Diotisalvi (12th century), architect
• Maginardo (fl. 1006–1032), architect active in the Diocese of Arezzo
• Lorenzo Maitani (c. 1275–1330), architect and sculptor; primarily responsible for the construction and decoration of the façade of Orvieto Cathedral.^[2]

Renaissance[edit]

• Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472), artist, architect and theoretician. He wrote De Re Aedificatoria in 1452; was the first architectural treatise of the Renaissance.
• Galeazzo Alessi (1512–1572), architect. His main works are the church Santa Maria Assunta di Carignano, the Marino Palace (started in 1557) and the Parodi Palace (1567).
• Donato Bramante (1444–1514), architect. Under the patronage of Pope Julius II, he drew up the new St. Peter's Basilica.
• Filippo Brunelleschi (1377–1446), architect. His major work is the dome of the Florence Cathedral (1420–1436).
• Bernardo Buontalenti (c. 1531–1608), architect, engineer, designer, painter and inventor. He was one of the great Renaissance polymaths.^[3]
• Giacomo della Porta (c. 1533–1602), architect whose work represents the development in style from late Mannerism to early Baroque.
• Giovanni Maria Falconetto (1468–1535), architect and painter. Examples of his work include the Porta San Giovanni and the Porta Savonarola, two gates to the city of Padua.
• Filarete (c. 1400– c. 1469), architect, sculptor and writer. He wrote an important treatise, Libro architettonico (1464), defending the principles of ancient architecture.
• Domenico Fontana (1543–1607), architect who worked on St. Peter's Basilica and other famous buildings of Rome and Naples.
• Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439–1502), architect and theoretician. His Trattato di architettura, ingegneria e arte militare (1482) is one of the most important documents of Renaissance architectural theory.
• Giacomo Andrea da Ferrara (died 1500).
• Giuliano da Maiano (c. 1432–1490), architect; made an important contribution to spreading the Renaissance style to Southern Italy.
• Giuliano da Sangallo (c. 1443–1516), sculptor, architect and military engineer; designed the ChurchofSanta Maria delle CarceriatPrato and palaces in Florence.
• Luciano Laurana (c. 1420–1479), principal designer of the Palazzo Ducale at Urbino and one of the main figures in 15th century Italian architecture.^[4]
• Pirro Ligorio (c. 1510–1583), architect, painter, antiquarian and garden designer, known for his designs for the Casina of Pio IV in the Vatican and his gardens for the Villa d'EsteatTivoli.
• Michelozzo (1396–1472), architect and sculptor; designed the Palazzo Medici RiccardiinFlorence, which set the standard for Renaissance palace architecture in Tuscany for the next century.^[5]
• Andrea Palladio (1508–1580), architect and theoretician. His treatise I quattro libri dell’architettura (1570) made him the most influential person in the history of Western architecture.
• Baldassare Peruzzi (1481–1536), architect and painter
• Antonio da Sangallo the Elder (c. 1453–1534), architect. He executed, under the influence of Bramante, the Church of the Madonna di San Biagio (1518–consecrated 1529).
• Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (1484–1546), architect. He designed the Palazzo Farnese in Rome (1534–46); a fortress like Florentine-style palace.
• Michele Sanmicheli (1484–1559), architect, especially noted for his original treatment of military fortifications.
• Jacopo Sansovino (1486–1570), sculptor and architect. His Library of St. Mark's is one of the major architectural works of the 16th century.
• Vincenzo Scamozzi (1552–1616), architect and theoretician, author of one of the most comprehensive Renaissance treatises, the six-volume L’Idea dell’Architettura Universale (1615).^[6]
• Sebastiano Serlio (1475–1554), architect and theoretician. He is remembered primarily for his treatise Tutte l'opere d'architettura et prospetiva (eight books, 1537–1575).
• Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola (1507–1573), architect. Among his works are the Villa Farnese for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese and Villa Giulia for Pope Julius III.

Baroque[edit]

• Francesco Borromini (1599–1667), architect. His buildings include the churches of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (1638–1641) and Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza (1642–1660).
• Cosimo Fanzago (1591–1678), architect and sculptor; exponent of Baroque architecture in Naples
• Carlo Fontana (1634/1638–1714)
• Rosario Gagliardi (1698–1762), Sicilian Baroque architect
• Guarino Guarini (1624–1683), architect. He was one of the first to analyse with perceptivity the structure of medieval architecture, in his treatise Architettura Civile (published posthumously in 1737).
• Filippo Juvarra (1678–1736), architect, draughtsman and designer
• Baldassarre Longhena (1598–1682), architect known for the Church of Santa Maria della Salute
• Carlo Maderno (1556–1629), architect; directed the construction of St. Peter's Basilica for a time
• Pietro da Cortona (1596–1669), architect, painter and decorator known for the Church of Santi Luca e Martina
• Carlo Rainaldi (1611–1691), architect of the Church of Santa Maria in Campitelli (1663–1667)
• Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1700–1771), Baroque architect active in Russia
• Vincenzo Sinatra (1720–1765), architect. Following the 1693 Noto earthquake, Sinatra was responsible for many of the new buildings in the new city of Noto.
• Nicola Salvi (1697–1751), architect known for the Trevi Fountain.
• Giovanni Battista Vaccarini (1702–1768), architect, worked in the Sicilian Baroque style
• Luigi Vanvitelli (1700–1773), architect
• Andrea Giganti (1731–1787), architect

Neoclassicism[edit]

• Alessandro Antonelli (1798–1888), architect, known for Mole Antonelliana in Turin and the Novara Cathedral and the Basilica of St. Gaudenzio in Novara
• Nicola Bettoli (1780–1854), architect, known as the designer of the Neoclassicist Teatro Regio, and Duches Marie Louise (1821).
• Luigi Cagnola (1762–1833), architect, whose work influenced later generations of Italian architects.
• Luigi Canina (1795–1856), archaeologist and architect. He was important as a protagonist of archaeologically correct Neoclassicism in Rome.
• Antonio Corazzi (1792–1877), architect. He designed a number of imposing public buildings in Warsaw.
• Alessandro Galilei (1691–1737), architect. He designed the façades of Basilica of St. John Lateran (1733–1735) and San Giovanni dei Fiorentini (1734).
• Giacomo Leoni (1686–1746), architect
• Giuseppe Venanzio Marvuglia (1729–1814), architect. One of his works is Casina Cinese (1799–1802).
• Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–1778), engraver and architect, known for his grandiose architectural constructions.
• Giacomo Quarenghi (1744–1817), architect and painter, known as the builder of numerous works in Russia during and immediately after the reign of Catherine II the Great.^[7]
• Carlo Rossi (1775–1849), architect, who worked the major portion of his life in Russia.
• Francesco Sabatini (1722–1797), architect, who worked in Spain.
• Francesco Tamburini (1846–1891), architect who designed many important architectural landmarks in Argentina.
• Faustino Trebbi (1761–1836), architect and ornamental painter.
• Giuseppe Valadier (1762–1839), architect, urban planner, designer and writer. He was one of the most important exponents of international Neoclassicism in central Italy.

The 1900s[edit]

• Franco Albini (1905–1977), architect, urban planner and designer. His work was various and eclectic, and reflected the independence of Italian designs from the tyrannies of Modernist orthodoxy.
• Gae Aulenti (1927–2012), architect and designer known for her contributions to the design of museums such as the Musée d'Orsay, Centre Pompidou, and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, as well as the restoration of Palazzo GrassiinVenice.
• Carlo Aymonino (1926–2010), architect. He received the Honorary Fellow award from the American Institute of Architects.
• Ernesto Basile (1857–1932), architect, teacher and designer. An exponent of modernism and Art Nouveau.
• Mario Bellini (born 1935), architect and designer. He won Compasso d'Oro the eight times, and the Gold Medal of Civic Merit of the city of Milan.
• Cini Boeri (1924–2020), architect and designer who won many awards and prizes.
• Stefano Boeri (born 1956), architect and editor, founder of the research group "Multiplicity", former editor-in-chief of the magazines "Abitare" and "Domus".
• Achille Castiglioni (1918–2002), architect and designer. He won the Compasso d'Oro nine times. (See also: Livio and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni).
• Giancarlo De Carlo (1919–2005), architect, member of CIAM and Team 10. Known for his works at the University of Urbino (1973–1979 and later)
• Ignazio Gardella (1905–1999), architect, designer, race car driver and aircraft.
• Graziano Gasparini (1924–2019), architect specialised in restoring Spanish Colonial architecture, while pursuing a parallel career as an architectural historian.
• Roberto Gottardi (1927–2017), architect who worked in Venezuela and Cuba.
• Vittorio Gregotti (1927–2020), architect, designer and writer.
• Franca Helg (1920–1989), architect, designer, and academic.
• Adalberto Libera (1903–1963), architect. One of the most representative architects of the Italian Modern movement.
• Pier Luigi Nervi (1891–1979), structural engineer and architect known for his innovative use of reinforced concrete, especially with numerous notable thin shell structures worldwide.
• Alberto Meda (born 1945), Compasso d'Oro winning engineer and designer.
• Alessandro Mendini (1931–2019), designer and architect. His work is represented in museums and private collections all over the world.
• Giovanni Michelucci (1891–1990), architect, urban planner and engraver. A key figure in the progress and advancement of contemporary Italian architecture during the 20th century.
• Carlo Mollino (1905–1973), architect, designer, race car and aircraft driver.
• Luigi Moretti (1907–1973), architect. One of the most important Italian architects of the 20th century.
• Giovanni Muzio (1893–1982), architect. He was the most influential member of the group of Italian architects associated with the Novecento Italiano.
• Marcello Piacentini (1881–1960), architect and urban theorist most closely associated with Italy's fascist government.
• Renzo Piano (born 1937), architect, known for his design for the Centre Georges Pompidou (1971–1977) in Paris awarded by Pritzker Prize.
• Giò Ponti (1891–1979), architect and designer associated with the development of modern architecture and modern industrial design in Italy.
• Paolo Portoghesi (1931–2023), architect and architectural historian; became known as the creator of the original and significant Casa Baldi (1959) on the Via Flaminia.
• Jorge Rigamonti (1948–2008), architect migrated in Venezuela who produced national and international award-winning designs, an active architecture professor for over 30 years.
• Ernesto Nathan Rogers (1909–1969), architect and theoretician, partner BBPR architecture studio; cousin of architect Richard Rogers.
• Richard Rogers (1933–2021), architect noted for his modernist and functionalist designs in high-tech architecture.
• Aldo Rossi (1931–1997), architect and theoretician. His book The Architecture of the City (1966) is a classic of modern architectural theory.
• Giuseppe Samonà (1898–1983), architect and urban planner. One of the most important Italian architects of the 20th century.
• Antonio Sant'Elia (1888–1916), architect. Associated with the movement known as Futurism; known for his visionary drawings of the city of the future.
• Carlo Scarpa (1906–1978), architect. Among his works may be cited the Palazzo Foscari (1935–1956) and Castelvecchio Museum (1956–1964).
• Ettore Sottsass (1917–2007), architect and designer; internationally known as one of the initiators of the renewal of design and architecture.^[8]
• Roberto Stampa (1858– after 1911), Italian architect.
• Manfredo Tafuri (1935–1994), architect, art historian and theorist. Known for his critical essays for Oppositions magazine (1970).
• Giuseppe Terragni (1904–1943), architect associated with Rationalism and Gruppo 7. His Casa del Fascio (1932–6) is regarded as his finest work.
• Paolo Venini (1895–1959), one of the leading figures in the production of Murano glass and an important contributor to 20th century Italian design.
• Lella and Massimo Vignelli (1934–2016 and 1934–2014 respectively), architects and designers known for packaging, houseware, furniture, public signage, and showroom design.
• Marco Zanuso (1916–2001), leading modernist architect and designer.
• Bruno Zevi (1918–2000), architect, historian, professor, curator, author, and editor. Zevi was a vocal critic of "classicizing" modern architecture and postmodernism.

Chefs and gastronomists[edit]

• Pellegrino Artusi (1820–1911), writer and gastronomist, credited with establishing a truly national Italian cuisine. His La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiare bene (1891) was the first gastronomic treatise comprising all regions of united Italy.
• Ettore Boiardi
• Caesar Cardini, creator of the Caesar salad.
• Martino da Como (c. 1430– late 15th century), "Prince of cooks", considered the western world's first celebrity chef. His book Libro de Arte Coquinaria (1465) was a benchmark for Italian cuisine and laid the ground for European gastronomic tradition.
• Giada De Laurentiis – host of the Food Network program Everyday Italian
• Carlo Petrini (born 1949), politician, writer and gastronomist. Taking part in a campaign against the McDonald's chain and a busy daily routine, he founded the worldwide influential Slow Food movement in 1986.
• Sirio Maccioni (1932–2020), restaurateur and author known for opening Le Cirque of New York.
• Luisa Marelli Valazza (born 1950), three-star Michelin chef.

Craftsmen[edit]

• Cesare Antonio Accius (fl.1609), engraver.
• Nicola Amati (1596–1684), Master Luthier and a craftsman of string instruments.
• Pagolo Arsago (died 1563), goldsmith.
• Sebastiano Bianchi (fl.1580), engraver.
• Carlo Mario Camusso (died 1956), silversmith migrated in Peru.
• Alessandro della Via (fl.1730), engraver.
• Battista Farina (1893–1966), automobile designer and the founder of the Carrozzeria Pininfarina coachbuilding company, a name associated with many well-known postwar cars.
• Baldassare Gabbugiani (fl.1755), engraver.
• Giorgetto Giugiaro (born 1938), automotive designer. In 1999 Giugiaro was named Car Designer of the Century and inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2002.
• Matteo Goffriller (1659–1742), master luthier, particularly noted for the quality of his cellos. He was the founder of the "Venetian School" of luthiers.
• Giuseppe Guarneri (1698–1744), master luthier from the Guarneri family of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737).
• Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916–1993), automobile designer, inventor, engineer, winemaker, industrialist, maker of high-end sports cars, and businessman; created Automobili Lamborghini in 1963.
• Flavio Manzoni (born 1965), architect and automobile designer, Senior Vice President of Design at Ferrari from 2010.
• Sergio Scaglietti (1920–2011), automobile designer.
• Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737), master Luthier and a craftsman of string instruments.
• Massimo Tamburini (1943–2014), motorcycle designer for Cagiva, Ducati, and MV Agusta.
• Bartolommeo Tutiani (fl. 1515), engraver.
• Antonio Zabelli (1742–1796), engraver.

Engineers and inventors[edit]

• Giovanni Battista Antonelli (1527–1588), military engineer
• Battista Antonelli, military engineer, designed the major fortress of the Spanish Empire in the New World
• Eugenio Barsanti (1821–1864), engineer and Catholic priest, inventor of the Barsanti-Matteucci engine along with Felice Matteucci
• Enrico Bernardi (1841–1919), inventor of an early petrol engine design
• Alfonso Bialetti (1888–1970), founder of Bialetti who popularized the moka pot stovetop coffee maker
• Giuseppe Mario Bellanca (1886–1960)
• Enea Bossi Sr. (1888–1963), aerospace engineer and aircraft designer
• Giovanni Branca (1571–1645), engineer and architect
• Tito Livio Burattini (1617–1681), engineer, inventor, architect, Egyptologist, scientist, instrument-maker, traveller, and nobleman.
• Matteo Campani-Alimenis (1620–1678),inventor of the Magic lantern (1678).
• Secondo Campini (1904–1980), aircraft designer whose Caproni Campini N.1 made the first jet-powered aircraft flight announced to the public
• Alessandro Capra (c. 1608 – c. 1684), engineer, inventor, and mathematician
• Giovanni Battista Caproni (1886–1957), aeronautical engineer, civil engineer, electrical engineer, and aircraft designer who founded an aircraft-manufacturing company bearing his name (1908).
• Giorgio Carta, bioengineer, professor of chemical engineering
• Mario Castoldi (1888–1968), aeronautical engineer; designer of the Macchi MC.200, Macchi MC.202 and Macchi MC.205 fighter aircraft
• Bernard Castro (1904–1991), industrial engineer, inventor of the modern convertible couch
• Leonardo Chiariglione (born 1943), electrical engineer, inventor and co-founder of the Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG). He led a team that set the universal standards for digital audio and video, such as the mpeg and the mp3.^[9][10]
• Aldo Costa (born 1961), engineer and engineering director; his 14 constructors' championships and 12 drivers' titles with Ferrari and Mercedes make him the most successful engineer and designer in F1 history.
• Mario Masciulli (1909–1991), military engineer of the Italian Regia Marina, director of the Office of Submarine Secret Weapons during World War II. He was awarded the Silver Medal of Military Valor.
• Luigi Negrelli (1799–1858), civil and hydraulic engineer; designed several bridges and railways in the Austrian Empire and well beyond, known for planning and designing the Suez Canal.^[11]
• Maria Artini (1894–1951), first female university graduate in electrical engineering in Italy (1918).
• Corradino D'Ascanio (1891–1981), aeronautical engineer, inventor of motor scooter (Vespa in 1946).
• Luigi Emanueli (1883–1959), engineer, inventor of oil-filled cable (1924).
• Lorenzo Allievi (1856–1941), hydraulic engineer, best known for his studies on the water hammer problem.
• Federico Faggin (born 1941), physicist, engineer, credited with developing the Self Aligned MOS Silicon Gate Technology, co-invented and designed the world's first microprocessor, the Intel 4004 (1970–1971).^[12]
• Enrico Forlanini (1848–1930), engineer and aeronautical pioneer, inventor of the helicopter (1877) and hydrofoil (1900).
• Francesco Lana de Terzi (1631–1687), Jesuit, mathematician, and naturalist. Called the father of aeronautics for his pioneering efforts.
• Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), artist, engineer, and scientist. Perhaps no one in history achieved so much in so many different fields.^[13][14]
• Vincenzo Lancia (1881–1937), racing driver, engineer and founder of Lancia car maker firm.
• Giovanni Luppis (1813–1875), engineer and officer, co-inventor with Robert Whitehead, of the torpedo (1860).
• Alfieri Maserati (1887–1932), automotive engineer, known for establishing and leading the Maserati racing car manufacturer with the other Maserati Brothers.^[15]
• Giorgina Madìa (1904–1942), physicist and electrical engineer, specializing in electrical communications, and a member of the Italian resistance during World War II.
• Felice Matteucci (1808–1887), hydraulic engineer, co-inventor with Eugenio Barsanti, of the internal combustion engine (1854).
• Antonio Meucci (1808–1889), chemical and mechanical engineer, inventor of the telephone (1871).
• Riccardo Morandi (1902–1989), engineer. He designed the Ponte Vespucci in Florence, the General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge in Venezuela, the Ponte Morandi in Genoa, and the Salone dell'Automobile in Turin.
• Pier Luigi Nervi (1891–1979) engineer, specialized in civil engineering. He collaborated with international architects, including Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn.
• Camillo Olivetti (1868–1943), electrical engineer, founder of Olivetti.
• Pier Giorgio Perotto (1930–2002), electrical engineer and inventor. Working for Olivetti he designed and built one of the world"s first electronic programmable calculators, the Programma 101, launched at the 1964 New York World's Fair.^[16][17][18]
• Giovanni Battista Piatti (1812–1867), civil engineer, inventor of the pneumatic rock-drilling machine.
• Giovanni Battista Pirelli (1848–1932), entrepreneur, engineer and politician, founder of rubber company Pirelli based in Milan.
• Ignazio Porro (1801–1875), engineer and optician, invented Porro prism binocular (1875).
• Adele Racheli (1897–1992), engineer, co-founder of Milan patent protection office (1925).
• Agostino Ramelli (1531–1600), engineer, invented the hydraulic motor (1588).
• Nicola Romeo (1876–1938), engineer and entrepreneur mostly known for founding the car manufacturer Alfa Romeo.
• Raffaele Rossetti (1881–1951), engineer and military naval officer, creator of the first human torpedo.
• Germain Sommeiller (1815–1871), civil engineer. He directed the construction of the Fréjus Rail Tunnel between France and Italy; introduced the first industrial pneumatic drill for tunnel digging.
• Emma Strada (1884–1970), first woman to obtain a civil engineering degree from the Polytechnic of Turin.
• Juanelo Turriano (c. 1500–1585), clockmaker, engineer and mathematician. He built the Artificio de Juanelo.
• Andrea Viterbi (born 1935), Italian Jewish electrical engineer and businessman; co-founder of Qualcomm and inventor of the Viterbi algorithm

Explorers[edit]

• Alberto Maria de Agostini (1883–1960), explorer of Patagonia
• António de Noli (1415– c. 1497), explorer for Portugal
• Giovanni Battista Belzoni (1778–1823), explorer, engineer, and amateur archaeologist, often regarded as one of the first Egyptologists
• John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) (c. 1450– 1499), explorer for England
• Sebastian Cabot (Sebastiano Caboto) (c. 1476–1557), cartographer and explorer for England and Spain, he explored the Río de la Plata, the Paraná River and was the person European to arrive in the lower section of the Paraguay River.
• Gaetano Casati (1838–1902), explorer of Africa
• Christopher Columbus (Cristoforo Colombo) (1451–1506), explorer for Spain. Born in Genua. In Italian language "Cristoforo Colombo". Sailed in 1492 and was the first European to arrive in the "New World" of the Americas.
• Niccolò de' Conti (c. 1395–1469), merchant and explorer of India.
• Henri de Tonti (1649/1650–1704), explorer for France. Founded the first European settlement in the lower Mississippi River Valley in 1686.^[19]
• Giovanni da Pian del Carpine (c. 1180 – 1252), Franciscan friar, first noteworthy European traveller in the Mongol Empire.^[20]
• Giovanni da Verrazzano (1485–1528), explorer for France. First European to sight New York and Narragansett bays.
• Alessandro Malaspina (1754–1810), nobleman, Spanish naval officer and explorer.
• Umberto Nobile (1885–1978), engineer and Arctic explorer. The first man to fly over the North Pole.
• Antonio Pigafetta (c. 1491–1534), navigator and writer who accompanied Magellan in the first expedition of circumnavigation of the world.
• Filippo Salvatore Gilii (1721–1789), Jesuit priest who explored the basin of Orinoco River. Gilii is a highly celebrated figure in early South American linguistics due to his advanced insights into the nature of languages.
• Marco Polo (c. 1254–1324), explorer and merchant, famous for his travels in central Asia and China.
• Matteo Ricci (1552–1610), Italian Jesuit priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China Mission.
• Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza (1852–1905), explorer for France. Famous for having added an area three times the size of France to the French empire in Africa.
• Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512), explorer. Was the first European to arrive at the Amazon River in South America. The name for the Americas is derived from his given name.
• Romolo Gessi (1831–1881), explorer and soldier. He led numerous expeditions for the British in Africa, especially Sudan and the Nile River, freeing 30,000 slaves from bondage.

Fictional characters[edit]

Filmmakers[edit]

• Filoteo Alberini (1865–1937), film director, one of the pioneers of cinema; devised the wide screen movies (1914).
• Gianni Amelio (born 1945), film director. He achieved international fame with The Stolen Children (winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival).
• Michelangelo Antonioni (1912–2007), film director. His most successful motion pictures internationally were L'avventura (1960) and Blow-up (1966).
• Dario Argento (born 1940), film director, producer and screenwriter. Films include The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), Deep Red (1975) and Suspiria (1977).
• Pupi Avati (born 1938), film director, producer and screenwriter. Some of his most successful films were Impiegati (1985), Christmas Present (1986) and The Last Minute (1987).
• Marco Bellocchio (born 1939), film director, screenwriter and actor. Known for his debut film Fists in the Pocket (1965).
• Roberto Benigni (born 1952), film director and actor. One of the most popular comics of Italian cinema; in 1997 he wrote, directed and starred in the international hit Life is Beautiful
• Bernardo Bertolucci (1940–2018), film director and screenwriter. Last Tango in Paris (1972) brought him international fame
• Alessandro Blasetti (1900–1987), film director and screenwriter was one of the leading figures in Italian cinema during the Fascist era. He is sometimes known as the "father of Italian cinema" because of his role in reviving the struggling industry in the late 1920s. Blasetti influenced Italian neorealism with the film Quattro passi fra le nuvole.
• Frank Capra (1897–1991), film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s and 1940s.
• Luigi Comencini (1916–2007), film director. Leading figure in Italian cinema; known for his film Bread, Love and Dreams (1953)
• Giuseppe De Santis (1917–1997), film director; known for his direction of Bitter Rice (1949), considered the first successful Neorealist film
• Vittorio De Seta (1923–2011), film director. He made nine such short documentaries over the decade and in 1960 made his feature film directorial debut with the acclaimed Banditi a Orgosolo
• Vittorio De Sica (1901–1974), film director and actor. His Shoeshine (1946), The Bicycle Thief (1948), and Umberto D. (1952) are classics of postwar Italian neorealism^[21]
• Ruggero Deodato (1939–2022), film director, actor and screenwriter. Creator of one of the most infamous splatter films of all time, 1979's neo-realist Amazonian nightmare Cannibal Holocaust
• Federico Fellini (1920–1993), film director. Won Oscars for La Strada (1954), Le Notti di Cabiria (1957), 8 1/2 (1963) and Amarcord (1973); one of the 20th century's most influential movie directors
• Marco Ferreri (1928–1997), film director. known film is La Grande Bouffe (1973).
• Lucio Fulci (1927–1996), film director, screenwriter and actor, known for his directorial work on gore films, including Zombi 2 (1979) and The Beyond (1981).
• Matteo Garrone (born 1968), film director; known for his film Gomorrah (2008)
• Pietro Germi (1914–1974), film director and actor. The film Divorce Italian Style (1961) was a huge worldwide box-office hit which earned him an Oscar for best screenplay
• Alberto Lattuada (1914–2005), film director. Was a major figure in Italian cinema of the period after World War II. Known for co-directing with Fellini on his first film, Variety Lights (1950)
• Sergio Leone (1929–1989), film director. He is mostly associated with the "Spaghetti Western" genre, especially the dollar trilogy; one of the most influential directors of his generation
• Mario Monicelli (1915–2010), film director. One of the masters of the Commedia all'Italiana
• Nanni Moretti (born 1953), film director. He is known for his films Caro diario (1993) and The Son's Room (2001)
• Ermanno Olmi (1931–2018), film director; known for his internationally successful The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978)
• Ferzan Özpetek (born 1959), film director and screenwriter. Film include The Ignorant Fairies (2001) and Facing Windows (2003)
• Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922–1975), film director and writer. His films include Mamma Roma (1962), The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964), Oedipus Rex (1967) and Teorema (1968)
• Giovanni Pastrone (1883–1959), film director and producer. He conceived a colossal film designed to revolutionize movie-making, a goal he realized with Cabiria (1914)^[22]
• Elio Petri (1929–1982), film director and screenwriter. Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970), is generally considered his masterpiece
• Gillo Pontecorvo (1919–2006), film director; known for authoring The Battle of Algiers (1966)
• Francesco Rosi (1922–2015), film director; known for his masterpiece Salvatore Giuliano (1962)
• Roberto Rossellini (1906–1977), film director. His films Rome, Open City (1945) and Paisà (1946) focussed international attention on the Italian Neorealist movement in films^[23]
• Gabriele Salvatores (born 1950), film director and screenwriter; known for his film Mediterraneo (1991)
• Martin Scorsese (born 1942), film director known for directing films such as Goodfellas (1990) and various other gangster films.
• Michele Soavi (born 1957), film director; known for his film Cemetery Man (1994)
• Silvio Soldini (born 1958), film director, known films we find Bread and Tulips (1999) and Agata e la tempesta (2004)
• Paolo Sorrentino (born 1970), film director and screenwriter. He is known for his film The Consequences of Love (2004)
• Paolo and Vittorio Taviani (born 1931, 1929–2018), have directed together several successful movies. Among those are: Padre Padrone (1977), The Night of the Shooting Stars (1982) and Kaos (1984)
• Giuseppe Tornatore (born 1956), film director, known for his masterpiece Cinema Paradiso (1988)
• Luchino Visconti (1906–1976), film and theatre director; called the father of neorealism for his early films Ossessione (1943) and La terra trema (1948)
• Lina Wertmüller (1928–2021), film director. She achieved international fame with The Seduction of Mimi (1972), a satire on sexual hypocrisy, and Love and Anarchy (1973)
• Franco Zeffirelli (1923–2019), film director. Among his major films are three Shakespeare adaptations: The Taming of the Shrew (1967), Romeo and Juliet (1968) and Hamlet (1990)
• Valerio Zurlini (1926–1982), film director, stage director and screenwriter. He is well known for his internationally successful Estate Violenta (1959)

Illustrators[edit]

• Leonetto Cappiello (1875–1942), poster art designer. He has been called the father of modern advertising^[24]
• Adolfo de Carolis (1874–1928), painter, illustrator and wood-engraver
• Onofrio Catacchio (born 1964), cartoonist
• Max Crivello (born 1958), illustrator and cartoonist
• Gabriele Dell'Otto (born 1973), illustrator and author whose works have been published around the world
• Franco Donatelli (1924–1995), comic artist and illustrator
• Virginio Livraghi, comic strip illustrator
• Enrico Mazzanti (1850–1910), engineer and cartoonist, who illustrated the first edition of Pinocchio
• Bartolomeo Pinelli (1781–1835), illustrator and engraver. He illustrated in his figures the costumes of the Italian peoples, the great epic poems and numerous other subjects
• Valentina Romeo (born 1977), cartoonist, illustrator, billiards player
• Maria Zacchè (born 1933), illustrator
• Laura Zuccheri (born 1971), comic artist, illustrator, and painter

Military and political figures[edit]

Etruscan civilization[edit]

• Mezentius, legendary Etruscan king who reigned at Caere and fought against Aeneas
• Lars Porsena (6th century BC), legendary Etruscan king, alleged to have besieged Rome in a vain attempt to reinstate Lucius Tarquinius Superbus on the throne
• Lars Tolumnius (died 428 BC), the most famous king of the wealthy Etruscan city-state of Veii

Ancient Rome[edit]

• Agrippa Menenius Lanatus (died 493 BC), consul of the Roman Republic in 503 BC, with Publius Postumius Tubertus. Victorious over the Sabines and was awarded a triumph which he celebrated on 4 April 503 BC.

• Scipio Aemilianus (185 BC–129 BC), Roman general famed both for his exploits during the Third Punic War (149–146 BC) and for his subjugation of Spain (134–133 BC)^[25]
• Caligula (31 August 12–24 January 41 AD) was Roman emperor from 37 to 41 AD. Was widely considered to be one of Rome's most cruel and sadistic emperors ever to rule
• Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (c. 89 or 88 BC–late 13 or early 12 BC), Roman statesman, one of the triumvirs who ruled Rome after 43 BC
• Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus (ca. 229 BC–160 BC), Roman general whose victory over the Macedonians at Pydna ended the Third Macedonian War.
• Publius Cornelius Scipio (c. 255 BC-211 BC), Roman general and statesman of the Roman Republic and the father of Scipio Africanus.
• Nero (15 December 37–9 June 68 AD) The last emperor of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and is believed to be responsible for the burning of Rome
• Mark Antony (83 BC–30 BC), Roman politician and general
• Romulus and Remus (c. mid to late 8th century BC), Romulus was the first king of the Roman Kingdom
• Marcus Atilius Regulus (fl. 3rd century BC), Roman general and statesman
• Augustus (63 BC–AD 14), first and among the most important of the Roman Emperors. One of the great administrative geniuses of history^[26]
• Publius Quinctilius Varus (46 BC – AD 9), Roman general and politician. Varus is generally remembered for having lost three Roman legions when ambushed by Germanic tribes led by Arminius in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, whereupon he took his own life.
• Marcus Aurelius (121–180), Roman emperor, has symbolized for many generations in the West the Golden Age of the Roman Empire^[27]
• Lucius Junius Brutus (545 BC–509 BC), Roman consul, traditional founder of the Roman Republic
• Marcus Junius Brutus (85 BC–42 BC), Roman politician, leader of the conspirators who assassinated Julius Caesar (44 BC)
• Julius Caesar (100 BC–44 BC), Roman statesman and general, famous for the conquest of Gaul. A figure of genius and audacity equaled by few in history^[28]
• Marcus Furius Camillus (c. 446 BC–365 BC), Roman soldier and statesman
• Catiline (108 BC–62 BC), Roman politician
• Tiberius (16 November 42 BC–16 March 37 AD), second Roman emperor, succeeding Augustus
• Cato the Elder (234 BC–149 BC), Roman statesman, orator and the first Latin prose writer of importance^[29]
• Cato the Younger (95 BC–46 BC), Roman politician and statesman in the late Roman Republic
• Cicero (106 BC–43 BC), Roman statesman, scholar, writer and orator.
• Cincinnatus (519 BC–438 BC), Roman politician
• Appius Claudius Caecus (fl. 3rd century BC), outstanding statesman, legal expert, and author of early Rome^[30]
• Marcus Claudius Marcellus (c. 268 BC–208 BC), Roman general who captured Syracuse during the Second Punic War (218–201)^[31]
• Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (236/235 BC–183 BC), general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War.One of the great military minds of all times^[32]
• Publius Clodius Pulcher (c. 93 BC–52 BC), disruptive politician, head of a band of political thugs, and bitter enemy of Cicero in late republican Rome
• Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus (?–c. 280 BC), consul in 298 BC. He defeated the EtruscansatVolaterrae and afterwards fought against the Samnites
• Lucius Cornelius Sulla (c. 138 BC–78 BC), Roman general and statesman
• Manius Curius Dentatus (?–270 BC), Roman general. As consul led the Romans to victory over the Samnites and defeated Pyrrhus of Epirus near Beneventum (275 BC)
• Gaius Duilius (fl. 3rd century BC), Roman commander who won a major naval victory over the Carthaginians during the First Punic War (264–241 BC)
• Germanicus (15 BC–AD 19), Roman general who avenged the defeat sustained by Varus (AD 9), defeating Arminius at Idistaviso on the Weser (AD 16)
• Gaius Gracchus (154 BC–121 BC), Roman politician
• Marcus Licinius Crassus (c. 115 BC–53 BC), Roman general and politician
• Lucullus (c. 117 BC–57/56 BC), Roman general who fought Mithradates VI Eupator of Pontus from 74 to 66 BC^[33]
• Gaius Maecenas (70 BC–8 BC), Roman diplomat, counsellor to the Roman emperor Augustus
• Gaius Marius (157 BC–86 BC), Roman general and politician
• Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus (c. 280 BC–203 BC), Roman politician and general, famous for having invented the guerrilla warfare (method of combat in 217 BC)
• Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus (c. 229 BC–160 BC), Roman general whose victory over the Macedonians at Pydna ended the Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC)^[34]
• Pontius Pilate (16 BC–AD 36), Roman politician, famous primarily as a crucial character in the New Testament account of Jesus
• Antoninus Pius (86–161), Roman emperor, mild-mannered and capable, he was the fourth of the five good emperors"^[35]
• Pompey (106 BC–48 BC), Roman military and political leader of the late Roman Republic
• Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (535 BC-509 BC), King of Rome famed for his resistance against the people trying to found the Roman Republic
• Trajan (53–117), Emperor who presided over the greatest expansion in Roman history. He was born in Italica, a colony of Italian settlers in Hispania, and his family was from Umbria
• Titus Quinctius Flamininus (c. 229 BC–174 BC), Roman general and statesman who established the Roman hegemony over Greece^[36]
• Quintus Sertorius (c. 126 BC–73 BC), one of the most able Roman generals, who displayed a particular genius for leading armies of irregulars^[37]
• Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (63 BC–12 BC), Roman statesman and general; he was long honored by the Roman military as the inventor of the Harpax
• Gaius Ofonius Tigellinus (c. 10–69), prefect of the Roman Imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, from 62 until 68, during the reign of Emperor Nero.
• Flavius Aetius (391–454), military commander and the most influential man in the Roman Empire for two decades (433–454). He was called as The Last Roman

Roman Catholic Church[edit]

• Pope Adrian I (c. 700–795), pope from 772 to 795; his pontificate was unequalled in length by that of any successor of Saint Peter until a thousand years later
• Pope Agapetus I (?–536), of noble birth, he was an archdeacon at the time of his election (13 May 535)^[38]
• Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105–1181), pope from 1159 to 1181. He is remembered for the long-standing dispute with the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I
• Ambrose (337 or 340–397), bishop of Milan; one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century; he was also the teacher of Saint Augustine
• Augustine of Canterbury (?–604), Benedictine monk and the first Archbishop of Canterbury. He is considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church
• Benedict of Nursia (c. 480 – c. 547), father of Western monasticism; the rule that he established became the norm for monastic living throughout Europe^[39]
• Pope Benedict V (?–966), pope, or antipope, from 22 May 964, to 23 June 964, when he was deposed
• Pope Boniface VIII (c. 1235 – 1303), issued in 1302, the famous bull Unam sanctam (pushing papal supremacy to its historical extreme)
• Pope Celestine I (?–432), pope from 422 to 432
• Pope Celestine V (1215–1296), pope from 5 July to 13 December 1294, the first pontiff to abdicate. He founded the Celestine order^[40]
• Peter Damian (c. 1007 – 1072), cardinal and Doctor of the Church. He was an original leader and a forceful figure in the Gregorian Reform movement
• Pope Gregory I (c. 540–604), founder" of the medieval papacy, which exercised both secular and spiritual power;^[41] he is considered one of the great Latin Fathers of the Church
• Pope Gregory II (669–731), greatly encouraged the Christianizing of Germany by SS; the Donation of Sutri (728) is considered the constitutive act of the Papal States
• Pope Gregory VII (c. 1015/1028–1085), one of the great reforming popes; known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy
• John Gualbert (985 or 995–1073), Roman Catholic saint. The founder of the Vallumbrosan Order
• Pope Honorius I (?–638), pope from 625 to 638 whose posthumous condemnation as a heretic subsequently caused extensive controversy on the question of papal infallibility^[42]
• Pope Honorius III (?–1227), often considered one of the great administrators in papal history^[43]
• Pope Innocent III (1160–1216), during his reign, the papacy was at the height of its powers
• Pope John II (?–535), pope from 533 to 535. He was the first pontiff to change his original name, which he considered pagan, assuming the name of the martyred Saint John I (523–526)^[44]
• Pope John VIII (?–?), often considered one of the ablest pontiffs of the 9th century
• Pope John XIX (?–1032), pope from 1024 to 1032
• Pope Julius II (1443–1513), pope from 1503 to 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the Fearsome Pope, he chose his papal name not in honour of Pope Julius I but in emulation of Julius Caesar.
• Pope Leo I (c. 400–461), pope from 440 to 461, master exponent of papal supremacy^[45]
• Pope Leo III (750–816), known for crowning Charlemagne as the first Holy Roman Emperor
• Pope Liberius (?–366), pope from 352 to 366
• Matilda of Tuscany (1046–1115), noblewoman. She was a strong supporter of the papacy during the Investiture Controversy
• Pope Nicholas I (c. 800–867), pope from 858 to 867, master theorist of papal power, considered to have been the most forceful of the early medieval pontiffs^[46]
• Paulinus of Nola (353–431), bishopofNola and one of the most important Christian Latin poets of his time. He is also the inventor of church bells
• Romuald (c. 950–1025–1027), Christian ascetic who founded the Camaldolese Benedictines (Hermits)
• Pope Sergius I (?–701), pope from 687 to 701, one of the most important 7th-century pontiffs^[47]
• Pope Stephen II (715–757), pope from 752 to 757. He severed ties with the Byzantine Empire and thus became the first temporal sovereign of the newly founded Papal States^[48]
• Pope Sylvester I (?–335), one of the most illustrious popes of his age; after his death, became a major figure of legend
• Pope Symmachus (?–514), pope from 498 to 514
• Rainerius Saccho, 13th century Inquisitor

Renaissance[edit]

• Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence (1510–1537), the first duke of Florence (1532–37)^[49]
• Catherine de' Medici (1519–1589), Queen of France
• Cosimo de' Medici (1389–1464), founder of the Medici political dynasty
• Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1519–1574), second duke of Florence (1537–74) and first grand duke of Tuscany (1569–74)^[50]
• Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1549–1609), grand duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609
• Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1541–1587), second grand duke of Tuscany, ruling from 1574 to 1587
• Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici (1360–1429), restored the family fortune and made the Medici family the wealthiest in Europe
• Lorenzo de' Medici (1449–1492), leader of Florence during the Golden Age of the Renaissance; patron of arts and letters, the most brilliant of the Medici
• Marie de' Medici (1575–1642), Queen and Regent of France who was a harsh opponent of Protestantism in France
• Salvestro de' Medici (1331–1388), Gonfaloniere and Provost of the city of Florence
• Pope Clement VII (Giulio de' Medici) (1478–1534), pope from 1523 to 1534; it was Pope Clement who excommunicated Henry VIII of England
• Pope Leo X (Giovanni de' Medici) (1475–1521), cardinal-deacon from the age of 13
• Pope Leo XI (Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici) (1535–1605), pope from 1–27 April 1605^[51]

• Cesare Borgia (1475/1476–1507), Spanish-Italian condottiero, nobleman, politician, and cardinal. Powerful lord, and a leading figure in the politics of his era
• Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli (1281–1328). condottiero and duke of Lucca
• Bartolomeo Colleoni (1400–1475), condottiere, at various times in Venetian and Milanese service and from 1454 general in chief of the Republic of Venice for life
• Andrea Doria (1466–1560), condottiere, and admiral who was the foremost naval leader of his time^[52]
• Galeazzo da Sanseverino(1460–1525), condottiere and Grand Écuyer de France
• Erasmo of Narni (1370–1443, known as Gattamelata), served Florence, Venice and the pope before becoming dictator of Padua
• Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (1194–1250), King of Sicily and promoter of Sicilian culture and political power; expanded domain into much of Italy^[53]
• Federico da Montefeltro (1422–1482), lord of Urbino from 1444 (as Duke from 1474) until his death. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful condottieri of his time
• Giovanni dalle Bande Nere (1498–1526), the most noted soldier of all the Medici
• Giovanni Giustiniani Longo (1418–1453), kinsman to the powerful house of Doria in Genoa and protostrator of the Byzantine Empire, who led the defense of Constantinople against the Ottoman army of Sultan Mehmed II in 1453.
• Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta (1417–1468), condottiero and nobleman. He was widely considered by his contemporaries as one of the most daring military leaders in Italy
• Niccolò Piccinino (1386–1444), soldier of fortune who played an important role in the 15th-century wars of the Visconti of Milan against Venice, Florence, and the pope
• Giovanni Dionigi Galeni (1519–1587), farmer, then Ottoman privateer and admiral, who later became beylerbey of the Regency of Algiers, and finally Grand Admiral of the Ottoman fleet
• Francesco I Sforza (1401–1466), condottiere who played a crucial role in 15th-century Italian politics
• Muzio Sforza (1369–1424), soldier of fortune who played an important role in the wars of his period and whose son Francesco became duke of Milan
• Gian Giacomo Trivulzio (1440/1441–1518), aristocrat and condottiero who served as a military captain under Galeazzo, later became the grand Marshal of France
• Sebastiano Venier (c. 1496–1578), Doge of Venice from 1577 to 1578. He is best remembered in his role as the Venetian admiral at the Battle of Lepanto

Early Modern period to Unification[edit]

• Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy (1562–1630), skilled soldier and shrewd politician. He was nicknamed Testa d'feu ("Head of Fire") for his rashness and military attitudes
• Michelangelo Alessandro Colli-Marchi (1738–1808), general in the service of the Austrian army
• Torquato Conti (1591–1636), military commander who served as a General-Field Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War
• Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736), general in the service of the Austrian Holy Roman emperor
• Francesco Morosini (1619–1694), dogeofVenice (1688–94), of a family distinguished in Venice for five centuries
• Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma (1545–1592), revitalized Spanish rule in the southern provinces of the Netherlands (modern Belgium and Luxembourg)
• Achille Fontanelli (1755–1838), Minister of War and general of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy
• Pasquale Paoli (1725–1807), statesman and general, hailed as the father of Corsica. He wrote and promulgated the modern world's first democratic constitution in 1755^[54][55]
• Pietro Micca (1677–1706), the miner who at the sacrifice of his own life saved the citadel of Turin (1706) from French troops
• Francesco Morosini (1619–1694), dogeofVenice (1688–94), of a family distinguished in Venice for five centuries
• Raimondo Montecuccoli (1609–1680), field marshal and military reformer. In the service of the Habsburgs, he took part in the Thirty Years' War
• Napoleon (1769–1821), Corsican military and political leader, founder and leader of the First French Empire, the Italian Republic and Kingdom
• Ottavio Piccolomini (1599–1656), general and diplomat in the service of the House of Habsburg during the Thirty Years' War
• Franziska Scanagatta (1776–1864), military officer who served the Austrian Empire.
• Ambrogio Spinola, 1st Marquis of the Balbases (1569–1630), general and master of siege warfare in the service of Spain
• Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia (1666–1732), King of Sicily (1713–1720) and of Sardinia (1720–1730), established the foundation for the future Italian national state

1861 to the rise of Fascism[edit]

• Pietro Badoglio (1871–1956), general and statesman during the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini
• Italo Balbo (1896–1940), airman and fascist leader who played a decisive role in developing Benito Mussolini's air force^[56]
• Oreste Baratieri (1841–1901), general and governor of Italian Eritrea
• Cesare Battisti (1875–1916), politician
• Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour (1810–1861), politician, leading figure in the movement toward Italian unification
• Juan Bautista Cambiaso (1820–1886), sailor and soldier, best known for helping establish the naval forces of the nascent Dominican Republic
• Francesco Crispi (1819–1901), statesman who, after being exiled from Naples and Sardinia-Piedmont for revolutionary activities, eventually became premier of a united Italy^[57]
• Salvo D'Acquisto (1920–1943), member of the Italian Carabinieri, awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor in memory of his heroism
• Tommaso De Cristoforis, Lieutenant Colonel notable for his command during the Battle of Dogali and was awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor
• Francesco de Pinedo (1890–1933), aviator officer who is best known for his long-range flying boat flights in the 1920s that demonstrated the feasibility of global air travel.
• Armando Diaz (1861–1928), general and a Marshal of Italy during the I World War
• Giulio Douhet (1869–1930), military, the first to envision the true potential of airpower and strategic bombardment
• Alessandro Ferrero La Marmora (1799–1855), general who is best remembered for founding the military unit known as the Bersaglieri
• Orestes Ferrara (1876–1972), attorney and journalist, who fought for Cuba's independence who founded one of the best newspapers of La Habana
• Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882), patriot and soldier of the Risorgimento; contributed to the achievement of Italian unification under the royal House of Savoy
• Maurizio Giglio (1920–1944), soldier, policeman and secret agent, recipient of the Gold Medal of Military Valor
• Giovanni Giolitti (1842–1928), statesman and five times prime minister under whose leadership Italy prospered
• Antonio Gramsci (1891–1937), intellectual and politician, a founder of the Italian Communist Party whose ideas greatly influenced Italian communism^[58]
• Vittorio Emanuele Orlando(1860–1952), Prime Minister of Italy from October 1917 to June 1919. Representing Italy in the 1919 Paris Peace Conference with his foreign minister Sidney Sonnino. Known as "Premier of Victory" for defeating the Central Powers along with the Entente in World War I
• Giacomo Matteotti (1885–1924), socialist politician. He strongly denounced the National Fascist Party. Two weeks after his speech, he was kidnapped and murdered by fascists
• Giuseppe Mazzini (1805–1872), propagandist and revolutionary; a champion of the movement for Italian unity known as the Risorgimento
• Benito Mussolini (1883–1945), prime minister (1922–43) and the first of 20th-century Europe's fascist dictators^[59]
• Coriolano Ponza di San Martino (1842–1926), general and politician. Senator of the Kingdom and Minister of War in the Pelloux II, Saracco and Zanardelli governments.
• Carlo Rosselli (1899–1937), political leader, journalist, and historian. He was committed to the anti-fascist struggle in Italy and in the Spanish Civil War
• Piero Torrigiani (1846–1920), mayor of Florence
• Enrico Toti (1882–1916), deportist, patriot and hero of World War I
• Umberto II di Savoia (1904–1983), was the last King of Italy
• Victor Emmanuel II of Italy (1820–1878), King of Sardinia–Piedmont who became the first king of a united Italy^[60]
• Victor Emmanuel III of Italy (1869–1947), King of Italy whose reign brought the end of the Italian monarchy^[61]

Italian Republic[edit]

• Giulio Andreotti (1919–2013), Christian Democratic politician who was several times prime minister of Italy in the period from 1972 to 1992^[62]
• Enrico Berlinguer (1922–1984), secretary-general of the Italian Communist Party from March 1972 until his death
• Silvio Berlusconi (1936–2023), media tycoon who served three times as prime minister of Italy (1994; 2001–06; 2008–11)^[63]
• Umberto Bossi (born 1941), politician who was leader (born 1991) of the Lega Nord party^[64]
• Bettino Craxi (1934–2000), politician who became his nation's first Socialist prime minister (1983–87)^[65]
• Alcide De Gasperi (1881–1954), statesman and politician, considered to be one of the Founding fathers of the European Union
• Enrico De Nicola (1877–1959), politician, the first provisional Head of State of the newborn republic of Italy from 1946 to 1948
• Antonio Di Pietro (born 1950), jurist and politician who uncovered a wide-ranging government corruption scandal
• Luigi Einaudi (1874–1961), economist and statesman, the first president (1948–55) of the Republic of Italy^[66]
• Mario Draghi (born 1947), politician, economist, banker, prime minister of Italy since 2021. He served as President of the European Central Bank (ECB) between 2011 and 2019
• Amintore Fanfani (1908–1999), leader served five times as premier of Italy
• Nilde Iotti (1920–1999), politician
• Aldo Moro (1916–1978), leader of the Christian Democratic Party, who served five times as premier of Italy. In 1978 he was kidnapped and subsequently murdered by left-wing terrorists^[67]
• Romano Prodi (born 1939), politician who was twice prime minister of Italy (1996–98; 2006–08) and who served as president of the European Commission (1999–2004)^[68]
• Antonio Segni (1891–1972), statesman, twice premier (1955–57, 1959–60), and fourth president (1962–64) of Italy
• Luigi Sturzo (1871–1959), priest, public official, and political organizer who founded a party that was a forerunner of the Italian Christian Democrat movement^[69]
• Palmiro Togliatti (1893–1964), politician who led the Italian Communist Party for nearly 40 years and made it the largest in Europe^[70]
• Altiero Spinelli (1907–1986), statesman, author of the so-called "Spinelli Plan", co-author of the Ventotene Manifesto, founder of the Crocodile Club, co-founder of the Union of European Federalists, hailed as one of the Fathers of European Union^[71]

Musicians[edit]

Composers[edit]

Middle Ages[edit]

• Johannes Ciconia (c. 1370–1412), composer and theorist. His open melodic style, clarity of texture, and "modern" sense of harmonic direction make him an attractive and accessible composer
• Gherardello da Firenze (c. 1320/1325–1362–1363), composer. He was known for his liturgical compositions but only two mass movements have survived
• Guido of Arezzo (c. 990–1050), music theorist whose principles served as a foundation for modern Western musical notation^[72]
• Jacopo da Bologna (fl. 1340–1360), court composer during the Trecento and one of the earliest composers of polyphonic secular songs
• Francesco Landini (c. 1325/1335–1397), composer, organist and poet. Celebrated in his own day as a master of the Italian ars nova style, among his works are madrigals, cacce, and ballate
• Marchetto da Padova (fl. 1305–1319), music theorist and composer. He lived at Cesena and Verona at some time and was in the service of Rainier, Prince of Monaco

Renaissance[edit]

• Giovanni Animuccia (c. 1500 – 1571), composer who contributed to the development of the oratorio
• Adriano Banchieri (1568–1634), one of the principal composers of madrigal comedies and choral pieces^[73]
• Giulio Caccini (1551–1618), composer and singer; Le nuove musiche (1602), a collection of songs with basso continuo, was of landmark importance in establishing the new monodic style
• Francesco Canova da Milano (1497–1543), lutenist and composer. Known as Il divino ("the divine"), he was the finest composer of lute music before John Dowland
• Emilio de' Cavalieri (1550–1602), composer. One of the earliest to compose dramatic music^[74]
• Andrea Gabrieli (1532/33–1585), composer and organist, known for his madrigals and his large-scale choral and instrumental music for public ceremonies^[75]
• Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1554/1557–1612), composer and organist. He was one of the most influential musicians of his time
• Carlo Gesualdo (1566–1613), composer and lutist. He is famous for his intensely expressive madrigals, which use a chromatic language not heard of until the 19th century
• Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525/1526–1594), composer associated with the Roman School (Renaissance music)
• Luzzasco Luzzaschi (c. 1545 – 1607), composer, organist, and teacher of the late Renaissance
• Luca Marenzio (1553–1599), composer whose madrigals are considered to be among the finest examples of Italian madrigals of the late 16th century^[76]
• Claudio Merulo (1533–1604), composer. He was organist of Brescia Cathedral (1556–7) and of St Mark's Basilica, Venice (1557–84), where he was also an organ consultant, publisher and teacher
• Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643), composer, violinist and singer considered a crucial figure in the history of music
• Jacopo Peri (1561–1633), composer and singer; often called the inventor of opera
• Gioseffo Zarlino (1517–1590), composer and writer on music, the most celebrated music theorist of the mid-16th century^[77]

Baroque[edit]

• Tomaso Albinoni (1671–1751), composer remembered chiefly for his instrumental music
• Gregorio Allegri (1582–1652), composer of church music. The famous Miserere, performed yearly on Wednesday and Friday of Passion Week, in the papal chapel, is his composition
• Francesca Caccini (1587–1641), composer and singer, daughter of Giulio Caccini. She was the first woman to compose opera and probably the most prolific woman composer of her time
• Antonio Caldara (1670/71–1736), composer. He composed many operas and oratorios, other sacred and secular vocal music, and chamber works. His canons were especially popular
• Giacomo Carissimi (1605–1674), composer and one of the most celebrated masters of the early Baroque, or, more accurately, the Roman School of music
• Francesco Cavalli (1602–1676), the most important Italian composer of opera in the mid-17th century^[78]
• Antonio Cesti (1623–1669), composer who, with Francesco Cavalli, was one of the leading Italian composers of the 17th century^[79]
• Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713), violinist, composer, conductor and teacher. Founder of the Italian school of violin
• Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583–1643), musician and one of the most important composers of keyboard instrumental music in the late Renaissance and early Baroque music periods
• Francesco Geminiani (1687–1762), composer, violinist, teacher, writer on musical performance, and a leading figure in early 18th-century music^[80]
• Leonardo Leo (1694–1744), composer who was noted for his comic operas and who was instrumental in forming the Neapolitan style of opera composition
• Pietro Locatelli (1695–1764), composer and violinist. His influential L′arte del violino (1733) contains 12 solo violin concertos and 24 caprices for solo violin
• Jean Baptiste Lully (1632–1687), Italian-French composer. He was court composer to Louis XIV, founding the national French opera and producing court ballets for Molière's plays
• Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–1736), composer whose intermezzo La serva padrona (1733) was one of the most celebrated stage works of the 18th century^[81]
• Nicola Porpora (1686–1768), composer. Leading Italian teacher of singing of the 18th century^[82]
• Alessandro Scarlatti (1660–1725), composer of operas and religious works. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera
• Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757), composer noted particularly for his 555 keyboard sonatas, which substantially expanded the technical and musical possibilities of the harpsichord^[83]
• Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677), virtuoso singer and composer of vocal music, one of only a few women in the 17th century to publish their own compositions
• Giuseppe Tartini (1692–1770), violinist, composer, and theorist who helped establish the modern style of violin bowing and formulated principles of musical ornamentation and harmony^[84]
• Giuseppe Torelli (1658–1709), composer and violinist, noted for his essential role in the development of the solo concerto, concerto grosso, and sonata da camera forms
• Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741), composer, Italian baroque, known for violin music and the concerto grosso
• Domenico Zipoli (1688–1726), organist and composer. He migrated to Córdoba, Viceroyalty of Peru. He became a Jesuit in order to work in the Reductions of Paraguay where he taught music among the Guaraní people.

Classical period[edit]

• Luigi Boccherini (1743–1805), composer and cellist. His vast chamber music output includes some 125 string quintets, some 90 string quartets, and many string trios
• Ferdinando Carulli (1770–1841), guitarist, composer and teacher. Known for his concertos, sonatas, studies, variations and transcriptions (over 300 opus numbers)
• Domenico Cimarosa (1749–1801), composer; a leading representative of the opera buffa. Among his numerous works, Il matrimonio segreto (1792) is universally renowned
• Baldassare Galuppi (1706–1784), composer whose comic operas won him the title father of the opera buffa."^[85]
• Mauro Giuliani (1781–1829), the most important guitarist and composer of guitar music of his time
• Niccolò Jommelli (1714–1774), composer of religious music and operas, an innovator in his use of the orchestra
• Giovanni Battista Martini (1706–1784), composer, music theorist, and music historian who was internationally renowned as a teacher^[86]
• Giovanni Paisiello (1740–1816), one of the most successful and influential opera composers of his time. He composed more than 80 operas, including a very popular Barber of Seville (1782)^[87]
• Niccolò Piccinni (1728–1800), composer of more than 100 operas. His most famous opera was La buona figliuola (1760), which established him as one of the leading composers of his day
• Antonio Salieri (1750–1825), composer whose operas were acclaimed throughout Europe in the late 18th century
• Giovanni Battista Sammartini (1700/1701–1775), composer who was an important formative influence on the pre-Classical symphony
• Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755–1824), violinist and composer, principal founder of the 19th-century school of violin playing

Romantic[edit]

• Vincenzo Bellini (1801–1835), opera composer. His most celebrated works are the operas La sonnambula and Norma (both 1831)
• Arrigo Boito (1842–1918), composer and poet. He is remembered for his opera Mefistofele (1868)
• Alfredo Catalani (1854–1893), composer of the popular opera La Wally (1892). His operas were among the most important in the period preceding the verismo school
• Luigi Cherubini (1760–1842), composer, who lived in Paris after 1788. Of his nearly 40 operas, the most popular were Lodoïska (1791), Médée (1797), and Les deux journées (1800)
• Muzio Clementi (1752–1832), composer, pianist, organist and teacher who is acknowledged as the first to write specifically for the piano
• Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848), opera composer. Among his major works are Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), La fille du régiment (1840), and La favorite (1840)
• Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857–1919), opera composer whose fame rests on the opera Pagliacci (1892)
• Pietro Mascagni (1863–1945), operatic composer, one of the principal exponents of verismo. Mascagni came up with his masterpiece Cavalleria rusticana in 1890 to tremendous success
• Saverio Mercadante (1795–1870), composer, teacher and orchestrator. He is considered to have been an important reformer of Italian opera
• Giuseppe Martucci (1856–1909), composer, conductor, pianist and teacher. Sometimes called "the Italian Brahms"
• Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840), composer and principal violin virtuoso of the 19th century
• Amilcare Ponchielli (1834–1886), composer, known for his opera La Gioconda (1876)
• Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868), composer nicknamed "The Italian Mozart". Operas include: The Barber of Seville (1816), La Cenerentola (1817), and Semiramide (1823)
• Gaspare Spontini (1774–1851), composer and conductor. His most acclaimed work was La Vestale (1807)
• Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901), leading Italian composer of opera in the 19th century, noted for operas such as Rigoletto (1851), La traviata (1853), Aida (1871) and Otello (1887) among others

The 1900s[edit]

• Alfredo Antonini (1901–1983), conductor and composer who was active on the CBS radio and television networks from the 1930s through the early 1970s
• Pippo Barzizza (1902–1994), composer, arranger, conductor and music director
• Luciano Berio (1925–2003), musician, whose success as theorist, conductor, composer, and teacher placed him among the leading representatives of the musical avant-garde^[88]
• Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924), pianist and composer who attained fame as a pianist of brilliance and intellectual power
• Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895–1968), composer in the Neoromantic style. Literature and Judaism were influential in his compositions
• Vito Carnevali (1888 – c. 1960) composer of choral music for the Roman Catholic Church^[89]
• Francesco Cilea (1866–1950), composer whose operas are distinguished by their melodic charm.^[90] known for Adriana Lecouvreur (1902)
• Luigi Dallapiccola (1904–1975), composer known for his lyrical twelve-tone compositions
• Lorenzo Ferrero (born 1951), composer. Among his major works are the operas Salvatore Giuliano (1986), La Conquista (2005), and Risorgimento! (2011)
• Umberto Giordano (1867–1948), opera composer in the verismo, or "realist", style, known for his opera Andrea Chénier (1896)
• Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857–1919), composer and opera librettist. Although he produced numerous operas and other songs it is his opera Pagliacci (1892) that remained his lasting contribution
• Bruno Maderna (1920–1973), composer and conductor. In 1955 he founded the Studio di fonologia musicale di Radio Milano with Luciano Berio^[91][92] disseminating contemporary music in Italy.
• Pietro Mascagni (1863–1945), opera composer, famous for Cavalleria rusticana, one of the classic verismo operas
• Gian Carlo Menotti (1911–2007), composer, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas
• Ennio Morricone (1928–2020), composer and conductor. He is considered one of the most prolific and influential film composers of his era
• Luigi Nono (1924–1990), leading Italian composer of electronic, aleatory, and serial music
• Riz Ortolani (1926–2014), composer and conductor. He scored over 200 films and television programs In 2013, he received a Lifetime Achievement from the World Soundtrack Academy.
• Goffredo Petrassi (1904–2003), composer of modern classical music, conductor, and teacher
• Lorenzo Perosi (1873–1956), composer of sacred music and the only member of the Giovane Scuola who did not write opera.
• Piero Piccioni (1921–2004), composer, pianist, organist, conductor, lawyer, he was also the prolific author of more than 300 film soundtracks
• Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924), composer of operas. His finest operas, La bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), Madama Butterfly (1904), and Turandot (produced posthumously in 1926)
• Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936), composer, known for colourful tone poems The Fountains of Rome (1916) and The Pines of Rome (1924)
• Nino Rota (1911–1979), composer of film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti
• Renato Serio (born 1946), composer, conductor and arranger.

Conductors[edit]

• Claudio Abbado (1933–2014), conductor. Principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra (1979–88); director of the Vienna State Opera (1986–91), and the Berlin Philharmonic (1989–2001)
• Salvatore Accardo (born 1941), violinist and conductor, who is known for his interpretations of the works of Niccolò Paganini.
• Alfredo Antonini (1901–1983), leading symphony conductor and composer who was active on the international concert stage as well as on the CBS radio and television
• Enrico Bevignani (1841–1903), conductor, harpsichordist, composer, chief conductor at the Royal Opera House, La Fenice, Mariinsky Theatre and the Bolshoi where notably conducted the world premiere of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin in 1879.
• Ferruccio Busoni (1866–1924), pianist, conductor and composer who attained fame as a pianist of brilliance and intellectual power
• Guido Cantelli (1920–1956), conductor. Arturo Toscanini elected him his "spiritual heir" since the beginnings of his career
• Primo Casale (1904–1981), conductor, composer, and violinist. Promotor of the opera in Venezuela since 1948
• Riccardo Chailly (born 1953), conductor known for his devotion to contemporary music, and for his attempts to modernize approaches to the traditional symphonic repertory
• Riccardo Drigo (1846–1930), conductor, composer of ballet music and Italian opera, and a pianist.
• Victor de Sabata (1892–1967), conductor and composer. He is widely recognized as one of the most distinguished operatic conductors of the 20th century
• Piero Gamba (1936–2022), also known as Pierino Gamba, orchestral conductor and pianist. Gamba came to attention as a child prodigy.
• Daniele Gatti (born 1961), conductor. He is considered the foremost conductor of his generation"^[93]
• Franco Ferrara (1911–1985), conductor and teacher ofvarious prominent conductors, including Roberto Abbado, Riccardo Chailly, Andrew Davis and Riccardo Muti
• Gianandrea Gavazzeni (1909–1996), conductor of opera
• Carlo Maria Giulini (1914–2005), conductor esteemed for his skills in directing both grand opera and symphony orchestras
• Vittorio Gui (1885–1975), conductor, composer, musicologist and critic
• Fabio Luisi (born 1959), conductor of the Vienna Symphony and the Staatskapelle Dresden
• Gianandrea Noseda (born 1964), conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington D.C.
• Mantovani (1905–1980), known mononymously as Mantovani, conductor, composer and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature.
• Riccardo Muti (born 1941), conductor of both opera and the symphonic repertory. He became one of the most respected and charismatic conductors of his generation^[94]
• Giorgio Polacco (1875–1960), conductor of the Metropolitan Opera from 1915 to 1917 and the Chicago Civic Opera from 1921 to 1930
• Claudio Scimone (1934–2018), conductor. He founded I Solisti Veneti in 1959, specializing in 18th-century and 20th-century Italian music
• Tullio Serafin (1878–1968), conductor. An outstanding conductor of Italian opera, he did much to foster the revival of interest in Bellini and Donizetti
• Giuseppe Sinopoli (1946–2001), performed with an intensity and daring that made him one of Europe's most controversial orchestra leaders
• Arturo Toscanini (1867–1957), conductor, considered one of the great virtuoso conductors of the first half of the 20th century^[95]
• Carlo Zecchi (1903–1984), conductor, pianist and music teacher

Singers[edit]

• Adamo (born 1943) – singer
• Alberto Urso (born 1997) – outstanding high sing tenor, singer
• Alexia (born 1967) – singer/songwriter
• Alessandra Amoroso (born 1986) – singer/songwriter
• Annalisa (born 1985) – singer/songwriter
• Renzo Arbore (born 1937) – singer, musician TV presenter
• Arisa (born 1982) – singer/songwriter
• Bianca Atzei (born 1987) – singer/songwriter
• Serena Autieri (born 1976) – singer/songwriter
• Malika Ayane (born 1984) – singer/songwriter
• Baby K (born 1983) – singer/songwriter
• Umberto Balsamo (born 1943) – singer
• Annalisa (born 1985) – singer/songwriter
• Carla Boni (1925–2009) – singer
• Carla Bruni (born 1967) – singer/songwriter
• Bassi Maestro (born 1973) – rapper
• Claudio Baglioni (born 1951) – singer/songwriter
• Franco Battiato (1945–2021) – singer/songwriter, composer
• Lucio Battisti (1943–1998) – singer/songwriter
• Andrea Bocelli (born 1958) – gospel singer/tenor
• Fred Bongusto (1935–2019) – singer/songwriter
• Alessandra Belloni (born 1954) – singer, drummer, dancer, teacher
• Primo Brown (1976–2016) – rapper
• Edoardo Bennato (born 1946) – singer/songwriter
• Eugenio Bennato (born 1948) – singer/songwriter
• Loredana Bertè (born 1950) – performer
• Orietta Berti (born 1943) – singer
• Carla Bissi (Alice) (1954) – singer/songwriter
• Andrea Bocelli (born 1958), opera tenor noted for his unique blend of opera and pop music^[96]
• Angelo Branduardi (born 1950) – singer/songwriter
• Michele Bravi (born 1994) – singer/songwriter
• Sergio Bruni (1921–2003), singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He was often called The Voice of Naples
• Fred Buscaglione (1921–1960) – singer/songwriter
• Clementino (born 1982) – rapper
• Coez (born 1983) – singer/rapper
• Andrea Caccese (born 1988) − singer/songwriter
• Renato Carosone (1920–2001) – singer/songwriter
• Caterina Caselli (born 1946) – singer
• Raffaella Carrà (1943–2021) – singer/songwriter
• Albano Carrisi (born 1943) – singer/songwriter
• Marco Carta (born 1985) – singer/songwriter
• Adriano Celentano (born 1938) – singer/songwriter
• Gigliola Cinquetti (born 1947) – singer/songwriter
• Chiara (born 1986) – singer/songwriter
• Riccardo Cocciante (born 1946) – singer/songwriter
• Lodovica Comello (born 1990) – singer/songwriter
• Paolo Conte (born 1937) – singer/songwriter
• Tony Croatto (1940–2005) – singer/songwriter
• Toto Cutugno (1943–2023) – singer/songwriter
• Lorella Cuccarini (born 1965) – singer/songwriter
• Betty Curtis (1936–2006) – singer
• Lucio Dalla (1943–2012) – singer/songwriter
• Pino Daniele (1955–2015) – singer/songwriter
• Gigi D'Alessio (born 1967) – singer/songwriter
• Dargen D'Amico (born 1980) – rapper/singer
• Pino D'Angiò (born 1952) – singer
• Cristina D'Avena (born 1964) – singer
• Fabrizio De André (1940–1999) – singer/songwriter
• Francesco De Gregori (born 1951) – singer/songwriter
• Roberto Demo (born 1965) – singer/songwriter
• Manuel De Peppe (born 1970) – singer/songwriter
• Teresa De Sio (born 1955) – singer/songwriter
• Nicola Di Bari (born 1940) – singer/songwriter
• Franco De Vita (born 1954) – singer/songwriter
• Peppino di Capri (born 1939) – singer/songwriter
• Pino Donaggio (born 1941) – singer
• Aldo Donati (1947–2014) – singer/songwriter
• Johnny Dorelli (born 1937) – singer
• Egreen (born 1984) – rapper
• Elisa (born 1977) – singer/songwriter
• El Presidente (born 1972) – rapper
• Bruno Filippini (born 1945) – singer
• Rosario Fiorello (born 1960) – singer/songwriter
• Enzo Jannacci (1935–2013) – singer/songwriter
• Gorni Kramer (1913–1995)– singer/songwriter
• Emis Killa (born 1989) – rapper
• En?gma (born 1988) – rapper
• Ensi (born 1985) – rapper
• Fabri Fibra (born 1976) – rapper
• Fedez (born 1989) – rapper
• Fred De Palma (born 1989) – rapper
• Sergio Endrigo (1933–2005) – singer/songwriter
• Gabriella Ferri (1942–2004) – singer/songwriter
• Giusy Ferreri (born 1979) – singer/songwriter
• Tiziano Ferro (born 1980) – singer/songwriter
• Eugenio Finardi (born 1952) – singer/songwriter
• Fiordaliso(born 1956) – singer
• Riccardo Fogli (born 1947) – singer/songwriter
• Jimmy Fontana (1934–2013) – singer/songwriter
• Ivano Fossati (born 1951) – singer/songwriter
• Rosanna Fratello (born in 1951) – singer and actress
• Gemitaiz (born 1988) – rapper
• Gué Pequeno (born 1980) – rapper
• Giorgio Gaber (1939–2003) – singer/songwriter
• Francesco Gabbani (born 1982) – singer/songwriter
• Rino Gaetano (1950–1981) – singer/songwriter
• Giorgia (born 1971) – singer/songwriter
• Enrico Gentile (born 1921)– singer. In 1940 he founded a vocal quartet named Quartetto Cetra
• Wilma Goich(born 1945) – singer
• Irene Grandi (born 1969) – singer/songwriter
• Rocco Granata (born 1938) – singer/songwriter
• Francesco Guccini (born 1940) – singer/songwriter
• J-Ax (born 1972) – rapper
• Jovanotti (born 1966) – singer/songwriter and rapper
• Achille Lauro (born 1990) – rapper/singer
• Rudy La Scala (born 1954) – singer/songwriter and record producer
• Bruno Lauzi (1937–2006) – singer/songwriter
• Fausto Leali (born 1944) – singer/songwriter
• Luciano Ligabue (born 1960) – singer/songwriter
• MadMan (born 1988) – rapper
• Mahmood (born 1992) – singer/songwriter
• Marracash (born 1979) – rapper
• Cristiano Malgioglio (born 1945) – singer/songwriter
• Pablo Manavello (1950–2016) – singer/songwriter
• Fiorella Mannoia (born 1954) – performer
• Marino Marini (1924–1997)- singer and musician
• Emma Marrone (born 1984) – singer/songwriter
• Mia Martini (1947–1995) – singer/performer
• Laura Macri (born 1990) – opera singer
• Marco Masini (born 1964) – singer-songwriter, pianist
• Paolo Meneguzzi (born 1976) – singer/songwriter
• Marco Mengoni (born 1988) – singer/songwriter
• Francesca Michielin (born 1995) – singer/songwriter
• Milva (1939–2021) – performer
• Mina (born 1940) – performer
• Moreno (born 1989) – rapper/singer
• Domenico Modugno (1928–1994) – singer/songwriter
• Yves Montand (1921–1991) – singer/songwriter
• Gianni Morandi (born 1944) – performer
• Fabrizio Moro (born 1975) – singer/songwriter
• Franco Mussida (Premiata Forneria Marconi) (born 1947) – singer/songwriter
• Gianna Nannini (born 1954) – singer/songwriter
• Neffa (born 1967) – rapper/singer/songwriter
• Nek (born 1972) – singer/songwriter
• Nesli (born 1980) – rapper
• Noemi (born 1982) – singer/songwriter
• Nitro (born 1993) – rapper
• Gino Paoli (born 1934) – singer/songwriter
• Laura Pausini (born 1974) – singer/songwriter
• Rita Pavone (born 1946) – singer
• Emilio Pericoli (1928–2013) – singer
• Nilla Pizzi (1919–2011) – singer
• Povia (born 1972) – singer/songwriter
• Patty Pravo (born 1948) – singer
• Pupo(born1955), singer, lyricist, television presenter, writer and voice actor
• Alberto Rabagliati (1906–1974) – singer
• Rancore (born 1989) – rapper
• Rocco Hunt (born 1994) – rapper/singer
• Katyna Ranieri (1925–2018) – singer
• Massimo Ranieri (born 1951) – singer
• Eros Ramazzotti (born 1963) – singer/songwriter
• Mino Reitano (1944–2009) – singer/songwriter
• Tony Renis (born 1938) – singer
• Donatella Rettore (born 1953) – singer/songwriter
• Stefano Righi (born 1969) – singer/songwriter
• Vasco Rossi (born 1952) – singer/songwriter
• Fabio Rovazzi (born 1994) – rapper/singer
• Enrico Ruggeri (born 1957) – singer/songwriter
• Antonella Ruggiero (born 1952) – performer
• Giuni Russo (1951–2004) – singer/songwriter
• Salmo (born 1984) – rapper
• Shade (born 1987) – rapper
• Valerio Scanu (born 1990) – singer/songwriter
• Bobby Solo (born 1945) – singer/songwriter
• Demetrio Stratos (Area) (1945–1973) – singer/songwriter
• Aldo Tagliapietra (Le Orme) (1945) – singer/songwriter
• Luigi Tenco (1938–1967) – singer/songwriter
• Little Tony (1941–2013) – singer/songwriter
• Vacca (born 1979) – rapper
• Ornella Vanoni (born 1934) – performer
• Roberto Vecchioni (born 1943) – singer/songwriter
• Antonello Venditti (born 1949) – singer/songwriter
• Gioconda Vessichelli (21st-century) – opera singer and actress^[97]
• Edoardo Vianello (born 1938) – singer/songwriter
• Claudio Villa (1926–1987) – singer
• Yordano (born 1951) – singer/songwriter
• Iva Zanicchi(born 1940) – singer
• Renato Zero (born 1950) – singer/songwriter
• Zucchero (born 1955) – singer/songwriter
• Renzo Vitale – Italian artist

Castrati singers[edit]

• Antonio Bernacchi (1685–1756), contralto castrato, sang in operas throughout Italy and also abroad, notably at Munich and for Handel in London
• Caffarelli (1710–1783), contralto castrato. A pupil of Nicola Porpora; he sang for Handel in London, England, in 1738, creating the title roles in Faramondo and Serse
• Giovanni Carestini (c. 1704 – c. 1760), contralto castrato, one of the foremost of his time. Début Rome 1721
• Girolamo Crescentini (1762–1846), mezzo-soprano castrato. His repertory being chiefly operas by Zingarelli, Cimarosa and Gazzaniga
• Farinelli (1705–1782), both soprano and contralto
• Giacinto Fontana, called "Farfallino" (1692–1739), soprano castrato. He was active primarily in Rome, specialized in performing female roles (women were not permitted to appear onstage in the Papal States)
• Nicolò Grimaldi (1673–1732), mezzo-soprano castrato known for his association with the composer George Frideric Handel, in two of whose early operas he sang
• Giovanni Francesco Grossi (1653–1697), soprano castrato. He sang Siface in Cavalli's Scipione affricano (1671) and was thereafter always known by that name
• Gaetano Guadagni (1728–1792), contralto castrato, known for singing the role of Orpheus at the premiere of Gluck's opera Orfeo ed Euridice in 1762
• Giuseppe Millico, called "Il Moscovita" (1737–1802), soprano castrato, known for his association with the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck, he performed in all the latter's reform operas.
• Alessandro Moreschi (1858–1922), soprano castrato, known as the angel of Rome "because of vocal purity^[98]
• Gaspare Pacchierotti (1740–1821), soprano castrato, one of the most famous singers of his time
• Senesino (1686–1758), contralto castrato, renowned for his power and his skill in both coloratura and expressive singing
• Giovanni Velluti (1780–1861), soprano. The last of the leading castrate singers

Sopranos[edit]

• Gemma Bellincioni (1864–1950), opera singer, soprano
• Maria Caniglia (1905–1979), soprano; one of the leading Italian dramatic sopranos of the 1930s and 1940s
• Mariella Devia (born 1948), after beginning her forty-five-year-long career as a lyric coloratura soprano, in recent years she has enjoyed success with some of the most dramatic roles in the bel canto repertoire.
• Mirella Freni (1935–2020), soprano; one of the dominant figures on the opera scene; she has since performed at many venues, including Milan, Vienna and Salzburg
• Adalgisa Gabbi (1857–1933), operatic soprano
• Cecilia Gasdia (born 1960), operatic soprano.
• Amelita Galli-Curci (1882–1963), coloratura soprano
• Giulia Grisi (1811–1869), operatic soprano whose brilliant dramatic voice established her as an operatic prima donna for more than 30 years^[99]
• Fausta Labia (1870–1935), operatic soprano
• Claudia Muzio (1889–1936), operatic soprano, whose international career was among the most successful of the early 20th century. She brought drama and pathos to all her roles
• Giuditta Pasta (1797–1865), soprano. She was famed for her roles in the operas of Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti; acclaimed for her vocal range and expressiveness
• Adelina Patti (1843–1919), soprano; one of the great coloratura singers of the 19th century
• Amelia Pinto (1876–1946), remembered for Wagner and Puccini performances
• Renata Scotto (born 1934), soprano and opera director; considered one of the preeminent singers of her generation, specializing in the bel canto repertoire
• Renata Tebaldi (1922–2004), lyric soprano; one of the most acclaimed members of the Metropolitan Opera company from 1955 to 1973, and retired from singing in 1976
• Luisa Tetrazzini (1871–1940), coloratura soprano; one of the finest of her time

Mezzo-sopranos[edit]

• Cecilia Bartoli (born 1966), operatic mezzo-soprano who achieved global stardom with her outstanding vocal skills
• Faustina Bordoni (1697–1781), mezzo-soprano; known for her beauty and acting as well as her vocal range and breath control
• Fiorenza Cossotto (born 1935), mezzo-soprano; she is considered by many to be one of the great mezzo-sopranos of the 20th century
• Armida Parsi-Pettinella (1868–1949), successful at the Scala, especially as Dalila
• Giulietta Simionato (1910–2010), mezzo-soprano who excelled at bel canto and lighter operas by Rossini and Mozart
• Ebe Stignani (1903/1904–1974), mezzo-soprano; member of the Scala ensemble and was regarded as its leading exponent of dramatic contralto and mezzo roles
• Lucia Valentini Terrani (1946–1998), mezzo-soprano, she was particularly associated with Rossini roles

Contraltos[edit]

• Marietta Alboni (1823–1894), operatic contralto known for her classic Italian bel canto
• Clorinda Corradi (1804–1877), opera singer; one of the most famous contraltos in history
• Giuseppina Grassini (1773–1850), noted Italian contralto and a singing teacher

Tenors[edit]

• Giovanni Ansani (1744–1826), operatic tenor
• Giuseppe Anselmi (1876–Zoagli), operatic tenor
• Daniele Barioni (1930–2022), lyric tenor
• Carlo Bergonzi (1924–2014), lyric tenor; from 1956 to 1983, his beautiful voice was a fixture in the 19th-century Italian and French repertoire at the Metropolitan Opera^[100]
• Alessandro Bonci (1870–1940), leggero tenor
• Franco Bonisolli (1938–2003), lyric tenor
• Dino Borgioli (1891–1960), lyric tenor
• Enrico Caruso (1873–1921), lyric tenor, particularly associated with Verismo operas, and first successful recorded tenor of history
• Franco Corelli (1921–2003), spinto tenor; powerful voice and passionate singing style; had a major international opera career between 1951 and 1976
• Carlo Cossutta (1932–2000), dramatic tenor
• Giacomo David (1750–1830), operatic tenor
• Giovanni David (1790–1864), operatic tenor
• Giovanni Matteo De Candia (1810–1883), operatic tenor mostly known with his stage name as "Mario", married with soprano Giulia Grisi
• Fernando De Lucia (1860–1925), operatic tenor and singing teacher who enjoyed an international career
• Mario Del Monaco (1915–1982), dramatic tenor
• Bernardo De Muro (1881–1955), operatic tenor
• Enzo de Muro Lomanto (1902–1952), lyric tenor
• Giuseppe Di Stefano (1921–2008), lyric tenor who was hailed as one of the finest operatic tenors of his generation^[101]
• Domenico Donzelli (1790–1873), operatic tenor
• Mario Filippeschi (1907–1979), lyric tenor
• Salvatore Fisichella (1943), lyric-leggero tenor
• Beniamino Gigli (1890–1957), lyric-leggero tenor. The most famous tenor of his generation; was a leading in French and Italian operas from 1920 to 1932
• Giacomo Lauri-Volpi (1892–1979), lyric-spinto tenor; he performed throughout Europe and the Americas in a top-class career that spanned 40 years
• Francesco Marconi (1853–1916), lyric-spinto tenor
• Giovanni Martinelli (1885–1969), spinto tenor; his repertoire of about 50 roles included the leading tenor roles in nearly all the principal Italian operas^[102]
• Francesco Merli (1887–1976), dramatic tenor
• Pier Miranda Ferraro (1924–2008), lyric-dramatic tenor
• Nicola Monti (1920–1993), leggero tenor
• Andrea Nozzari (1776–1832), operatic tenor
• Luciano Pavarotti (1935–2007), lyric-leggero tenor
• Aureliano Pertile (1885–1952), lyric-dramatic tenor; one of the most important of the entire 20th century
• Arrigo Pola (1919–1999), lyric tenor
• Giacinto Prandelli (1914–2010), lyric tenor
• Gianni Raimondi (1923–2008), lyric-spinto tenor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory
• Giovanni Battista Rubini (1794–1854), operatic tenor; known for playing heroic roles
• Giovanni Sbriglia (1832–1916), operatic tenor
• Tito Schipa (1888–1965), leggero tenor; considered one of the finest tenore di grazia in operatic history
• Roberto Stagno (1840–1897), lyric tenor
• Ferruccio Tagliavini (1913–1995), lyric-leggero tenor
• Francesco Tamagno (1850–1905), lyric-spinto tenor; became famous for his performances in the title roles of Verdi's Otello and Don Carlos
• Enrico Tamberlik (1820–1889), operatic tenor
• Cesare Valletti (1922–2000), leggero tenor
• Giovanni Zenatello (1876–1949), dramatic tenor

Baritones[edit]

• Pasquale Amato (1878–1942), operatic baritone; from 1908 to 1921 he sang leading baritone roles at the Metropolitan Opera
• Ettore Bastianini (1922–1967), operatic baritone; was particularly associated with the operas of Verdi
• Mattia Battistini (1856–1928), operatic baritone; a great master of bel canto
• Renato Bruson (born 1934), operatic baritone; one of the most important Verdi baritones of the late 20th and early 21st century
• Piero Cappuccilli (1926–2005), operatic baritone; enjoyed a 35-year career during which he was widely regarded as the leading Italian baritone of his generation^[103]
• Antonio Cotogni (1831–1918), operatic baritone
• Giuseppe De Luca (1876–1950), operatic baritone
• Tito Gobbi (1913–1984), operatic baritone; he sang in most of the great opera houses and was acclaimed for his acting ability
• Rolando Panerai (1924–2019), baritone; début Florence (1946) with Lucia di Lammermoor
• Giorgio Ronconi (1810–1890), operatic baritone; one of the most popular artists on the lyric stage until his retirement in 1866
• Titta Ruffo (1877–1953), operatic baritone
• Antonio Scotti (1866–1936), baritone a principal artist of the New York Metropolitan Opera for more than 33 seasons, but also sang with great success at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Milan's La Scala
• Giuseppe Taddei (1916–2010), baritone; he has performed more than 100 operatic roles over six decades

Basses[edit]

• Salvatore Baccaloni (1900–1969), operatic bass; known for his large repertory, he sang nearly 170 roles in five languages
• Sesto Bruscantini (1919–2003), operatic bass-baritone, buffo singer
• Enzo Dara (1938–2017), bass buffo; one of the foremost performers of his generation
• Nazzareno De Angelis (1881–1962), operatic bass, particularly associated with Verdi, Rossini and Wagner roles
• Ferruccio Furlanetto (born 1949), bass; known as a brilliant interpreter in the Italian repertoire and as a Mozart-singer
• Luigi Lablache (1794–1858), operatic bass admired for his musicianship and acting
• Paolo Montarsolo (1925–2006), operatic bass particularly associated with buffo roles
• Tancredi Pasero (1893–1983), bass; particularly associated with the Italian repertory
• Ezio Pinza (1892–1957), operatic performer who was the leading basso at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City (1926–1948)
• Cesare Siepi (1923–2010), bass singer who won over audiences worldwide in signature roles such as Don Giovanni and Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro

Painters[edit]

Ancient Rome[edit]

• Amulius (1st century AD), Roman painter. One of the principal painters of the Domus Aurea
• Furius Dionysius Philocalus (4th century AD), Roman chronograph and painter
• Pacuvius (220–130 BC), Roman writer and painter
• Studius (1st century BC and 1st century AD), Roman painter of the Augustan period

Middle Ages[edit]

• Altichiero (c. 1330 – c. 1390), painter who was the effective founder of the Veronese school and perhaps the most significant northern Italian artist of the 14th century^[104]
• Bonaventura Berlinghieri (fl. 1235–1244), painter of the Gothic period. His most celebrated work is St. Francis of Assisi (1235); one of the earliest icons of the Saint
• Pietro Cavallini (c. 1250 – c. 1330), painter and mosaicist. His surviving works are frescoes in Santa Cecilia in Trastevere and in Santa Maria Donna Regina Vecchia
• Cimabue (before 1251–1302), painter and mosaicist. Among his works may be cited the Sta. Trinità Madonna (c. 1290) and the Madonna Enthroned with St. Francis (c. 1290 – 95)
• Coppo di Marcovaldo (fl. 1260–1276), painter, one of the earliest about whom there is a body of documented knowledge. His one signed work is the Madonna del Bordone (1261)
• Bernardo Daddi (c. 1280 – 1348), painter, the outstanding painter in Florence in the period after the death of Giotto (who was possibly his teacher)^[105]
• Duccio (fl. 1278–1319), painter. Founder of the Sienese school. His most celebrated work is a large altar called the Maestà (1308–1311) in the Siena cathedral
• Taddeo Gaddi (c. 1300 – 1366), painter and architect, known for the fresco series Life of the Virgin (completed in 1338)
• Giottino (fl. 1324–1369), painter of the school of Giotto. He has been credited with frescoes in Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence, and in the Lower Church of St. FrancisinAssisi
• Giotto di Bondone (1266/7–1337), painter, the first of the great Italian masters.^[106] His work includes cycles of frescoes in Assisi, the Arena ChapelinPadua and the Church of Santa Croce
• Guido of Siena (13th century), painter. One of the innovators in Italian art after the dominance of the Byzantine style
• Ambrogio Lorenzetti (c. 1290 – 1348), painter of the Sienese school. Known for the cycle of frescoes (1337–39) in the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena
• Pietro Lorenzetti (c. 1280 – 1348), painter of the Sienese school. His Nativity of the Virgin (c. 1335 – 1342), is notable for his handling of perspective
• Simone Martini (c. 1284 – 1344), painter, important exponent of Gothic art. Among his works may be cited the Maestà fresco (1315) and Annunciation and two Saints (1333)
• Lippo Memmi (c. 1291 – 1356), painter from Siena. One of the artists who worked at the Orvieto Cathedral, for which he finished the Madonna dei Raccomandati (c. 1320)
• Orcagna (c. 1308 – 1368), painter, sculptor and architect. He was one of the leading artists of his day^[107]
• Paolo Veneziano (fl. 1333–1358), painter and possibly illuminator. He was by far the most prolific and influential Venetian painter of the early 14th century^[108]
• Giunta Pisano (fl. 1236–1255),^[109] painter. Three large Crucifixions are ascribed to the same master, whose signature can be traced on them
• Piero da Rimini, early 14th century, painter.
• Jacopo Torriti (fl. 1270–1300), painter and mosaicist. His work is now known only from two highly prominent signed apse mosaics in the basilicas of St. John Lateran and Santa Maria Maggiore

Renaissance and Mannerism[edit]

• Mariotto Albertinelli (1474–1515), painter, known for The Visitation (1503) and The Annunciation (1510)
• Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), painter. His varied output included altarpieces, portraits, and tapestry designs. The Pearl Fishing (1570–1572) is generally considered his masterpiece
• Andrea del Castagno (c. 1421 – 1457), painter in the early Florentine Renaissance. Known for a series of monumental frescoes depicting the Last Supper
• Andrea del Sarto (1486–1530), painter. His most striking among other well-known works is the series of frescoes on the life of St. John the Baptist in the Chiostro dello Scalzo (c. 1515 – 1526)
• Andrea del Verrocchio (c. 1435 – 1488), sculptor and painter. Among his principal paintings are Baptism of Christ (1472–1475) and several versions of the Madonna and Child
• Sofonisba Anguissola (c. 1535 – 1625), painter, mainly of portraits, the first woman artist to win international renown^[110]
• Antonello da Messina (c. 1430 – 1479), Sicilian painter. Major works were altarpieces and portraits
• Antonio da Correggio (1489–1534), painter, known for the frescoes in the domes of San Giovanni Evangelista and the Cathedral of Parma, where he worked from 1520 to 1530
• Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1527–1593), painter, famous for his allegorical or symbolical compositions in which he arranged objects such as fruits and vegetables into the form of the human face
• Alesso Baldovinetti (1425–1499), painter. He contributed importantly to the fledgling art of landscape painting^[111]
• Jacopo de' Barbari (c. 1440–before 1516), painter and printmaker. His few surviving paintings (about twelve) include the first known example of trompe-l'œil since antiquity
• Federico Barocci (c. 1526 – 1612), leading painter of the central Italian school in the last decades of the 16th century and an important precursor of the Baroque style
• Jacopo Bassano (c. 1510 – 1592), painter of the Venetian school, known for his religious paintings, lush landscapes, and scenes of everyday life
• Domenico di Pace Beccafumi (1486–1551), painter, sculptor, draughtsman, printmaker and illuminator. He was one of the protagonists of Tuscan Mannerism^[112]
• Gentile Bellini (c. 1429 – 1507), painter, member of the founding family of the Venetian school of Renaissance painting, known for his portraiture and his scenes of Venice
• Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430 – 1516), painter. Among his works may be cited St. Francis in Ecstasy (c. 1480) and Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan (1501)
• Jacopo Bellini (c. 1400 – c. 1470), painter who introduced the principles of Florentine early Renaissance art into Venice^[113]
• Ambrogio Bergognone (c. 1470 – 1523–1524), painter. His most important works are the frescoes in the Certosa di Pavia
• Boccaccio Boccaccino (c. 1467 – c. 1525), painter. His most impressive work is the fresco cycle of the Life of the Virgin along the nave in the cathedral at Cremona
• Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio (1466/1467–1516), painter. He was a pupil of Leonardo da Vinci, whose style he adhered to faithfully
• Paris Bordone (1500–1571), painter of religious, mythological, and anecdotal subjects, known for his striking sexualized paintings of women
• Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445 – 1510), painter of the Florentine school. The Primavera (c. 1482) and The Birth of Venus (c. 1486) rank now among the most familiar masterpieces of Florentine art
• Francesco Botticini (1446–1498), painter profoundly influenced by Castagno; worked under and was formed by Cosimo Rosselli and Verrocchio
• Bramantino (c. 1456 – c. 1530), painter and architect, a follower of Bramante, from whom he takes his nickname
• Bronzino (1503–1572), painter. He is noted chiefly for his stylized portraits. Of his religious works, Deposition of Christ (1540–1545) is the most famous
• Luca Cambiasi (1527–1585), painter and draughtsman. He was the outstanding Genoese painter of the 16th century
• Vittore Carpaccio (c. 1460 – 1525–1526), painter active in Venice, known for the cycle depicting the life of Saint Ursula and the Saint George series
• Cennino Cennini (c. 1370 – c. 1440), painter, known for writing Il libro dell'arte (1437), source on the methods, techniques, and attitudes of medieval artists^[114]
• Cigoli (1559–1613), painter, draughtsman, architect and scenographer. He was one of the most influential artists in 17th-century Florence^[115]
• Cima da Conegliano (c. 1459 – c. 1517), painter of the Venetian school whose style was marked by its use of landscape and by airy, luminous colour
• Niccolò Antonio Colantonio (fl. 1440–1470), painter, based in Naples, where he painted religious paintings in a style marked by Flemish influence
• Francesco del Cossa (c. 1430 – c. 1477), painter of the Ferrarese school, best known works are the frescoes in the Palazzo SchifanoiaatFerrara (probably commissioned in 1469)
• Lorenzo Costa (1460–1535), painter of the Ferrarese and Bolognese schools, known for his painting the Madonna and Child with the Bentivoglio family (1483)
• Carlo Crivelli (c. 1435 – c. 1495), painter. All his works were of religious subjects, done in an elaborate, old-fashioned style reminiscent of the linearism of Andrea Mantegna
• Daniele da Volterra (c. 1509 – 1566), painter and sculptor, noted for his finely drawn, highly idealized figures done in the style of Michelangelo
• Ercole de' Roberti (c. 1451 – 1496), painter. His dynamic figurative compositions are marked by an exceptional intensity of feeling
• Francesco de' Rossi (1510–1563), painter and designer, one of the leading Mannerist fresco painters of the Florentine-Roman school^[116]
• Niccolò dell'Abbate (1509 or 1512–1571), painter and decorator. He is credited with introducing landscape painting in France
• Dosso Dossi (c. 1490 – 1542), painter and leader of the Ferrarese school in the 16th century^[117]
• Gaudenzio Ferrari (c. 1471 – 1546), painter and sculptor, one of the leading representatives of the Lombard school
• Rosso Fiorentino (1494–1540), painter. His masterpiece is generally considered to be the DepositionorDescent from the Cross altarpiece in the Pinacoteca Comunale di Volterra
• Lavinia Fontana (1552–1614), painter. She was one of the first women painters in European history to have enjoyed professional success^[118]
• Prospero Fontana (1512–1597), painter, father of Lavinia Fontana. One of the leading painters in Bologna
• Vincenzo Foppa (c. 1430 – c. 1515), painter, leading figure in 15th-century Lombard art^[119]
• Fra Angelico (c. 1395 – 1455), painter. His best-known works are frescoes at the monastery of San Marco, Florence, and in the chapel of Pope Nicholas V in the Vatican
• Fra Bartolomeo (1472–1517), painter, a leading figure of the High Renaissance. Noted for his austere religious works
• Franciabigio (1482–1525), painter, known for his portraits and religious paintings
• Agnolo Gaddi (c. 1350 – 1396), painter. He was an influential and prolific artist who was the last major Florentine painter stylistically descended from Giotto^[120]
• Fede Galizia (1578–1630), painter, one of the earliest still life painters in Italy, who was also known for miniature portraits, landscapes, and religious subjects
• Gentile da Fabriano (c. 1370 – 1427), painter, one of the outstanding exponents of the elegant international Gothic style^[121]
• Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449–1494), painter. His most famous achievement is his fresco cycle of the life of Mary and St. John the Baptist for the choir of Santa Maria Novella (1485–1490)
• Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (1483–1561), painter. He was the son of Domenico Ghirlandaio, and was trained in his father's workshop
• Giorgione (c. 1477/8–1510), painter of the Venetian school. His The Tempest (c. 1508), a milestone in Renaissance landscape painting
• Giovanni da Udine (1487–1564), painter and architect. A pupil of Raphael and one of his assistants in painting the frescoes of the Vatican
• Giovanni di Paolo (c. 1403 – 1482), painter. One of the most attractive and idiosyncratic painters of the Sienese School
• Stefano di Giovanni (c. 1400 – 1450), painter of the Sienese school, is noted for the gentle piety of his art
• Benozzo Gozzoli (c. 1421 – 1497), painter. He is famous for his numerous frescos, such as The Journey of the Magi to Bethlehem (1459–1461) in the Medici Palace, Florence
• Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), painter, sculptor, architect, musician, engineer and scientist. The supreme example of Renaissance genius. Author of Mona Lisa (c. 1503 – 1506)
• Filippino Lippi (c. 1457 – 1504), painter. His most popular painting is the Apparition of the Virgin to St. Bernard altarpiece (1480)
• Filippo Lippi (c. 1406 – 1469), painter. His finest fresco cycle is in Prato cathedral and depicts the lives of St. Stephen and St. John the Baptist
• Gian Paolo Lomazzo (1538–1592), painter. His first work, Trattato dell'arte della pittura, scoltura et architettura (1584) is in part a guide to contemporary concepts of decorum
• Lorenzo di Credi (1459–1537), painter and sculptor. Examples of his art are the Madonna with Child and Two Saints and Adoration
• Lorenzo Monaco (c. 1370 – c. 1425), painter, one of the leading artists in Florence at the beginning of the 15th century^[122]
• Lorenzo Lotto (c. 1480 – 1556), painter known for his perceptive portraits and mystical paintings of religious subjects
• Bernardino Luini (c. 1480/1482–1532), painter, known for his mythological and religious frescoes
• Andrea Mantegna (c. 1431 – 1506), painter. His most important works were nine tempera pictures of Triumph of Caesar (c. 1486) and his decoration of the ceiling of the Camera degli Sposi
• Masaccio (1401–1428), painter. His most famous works are the frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel and in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine, in Florence
• Masolino da Panicale (c. 1383 – c. 1447), painter of the Florentine school. He collaborated with Masaccio, in a cycle of frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine, in Florence
• Melozzo da Forlì (c. 1438 – 1494), painter of the Umbrian school. One of the great fresco artists of the 15th century
• Michelangelo (1475–1564), sculptor, painter, architect and poet who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art.^[123] Author of The Creation of Adam (c. 1511)
• Moretto da Brescia (c. 1498 – 1554), painter. Together with Romanino and Girolamo Savoldo, he was one of the most distinguished painters of Brescia of the 16th century^[124]
• Giovanni Battista Moroni (c. 1520/1524–1578), painter. He was known for his sober and dignified portraits
• Palma Giovane (1548/1550–1628), painter. The leading Venetian painter and draftsman of the late 16th and early 17th centuries
• Palma Vecchio (c. 1480 – 1528), painter of the High Renaissance, noted for the craftsmanship of his religious and mythological works
• Parmigianino (1503–1540), painter, one of the first artists to develop the elegant and sophisticated version of Mannerist style
• Perino del Vaga (1501–1547), painter. A pupil and assistant of Raphael Sanzio in Rome, he carried out decorations in the Logge of the Vatican from Raphael's designs
• Francesco Pesellino (1422–1457), painter of the Florentine school who excelled in the execution of small-scale paintings
• Piero della Francesca (c. 1415 – 1492), painter and mathematician. His most famous cycle, The History of the True Cross (1452–1466), depicts scenes from the Golden Legend
• Piero di Cosimo (1462–1521), painter noted for his eccentric character and his fanciful mythological paintings^[125]
• Pietro Perugino (1446–1524), painter. One of his most famous masterpieces is The Delivery of the Keys (1481–1482), in the Sistine Chapel
• Pinturicchio (1454–1513), painter, known for his highly decorative frescoes. His most elaborate project was the decoration of the Cathedral of Siena
• Pisanello (c. 1395 – 1455), medalist and painter. He is regarded as the foremost exponent of the International Gothic style in Italian painting^[126]
• Polidoro da Caravaggio (c. 1499 – 1543), painter. One of the most original and innovative artists of the mid-16th century^[127]
• Antonio del Pollaiuolo (1429/1433–1498), painter, sculptor, goldsmith, and engraver, was a master of anatomical rendering and excelled in action subjects, notably mythologies
• Pontormo (1494–1557), painter. He is thought to have painted Vertumnus and Pomona (1520–1521), which shows qualities characteristic of mannerism
• Il Pordenone (c. 1484 – 1539), painter chiefly known for his frescoes of religious subjects
• Francesco Primaticcio (1504–1570), painter, architect, sculptor, and leader of the first school of Fontainebleau^[128]
• Francesco Raibolini (c. 1450 – 1517), painter, goldsmith and medallist. His major surviving paintings are altarpieces, mostly images of the Virgin and saints
• Raphael (1483–1520), painter and architect, expressed the ideals of the High Renaissance, known for his Madonnas
• Giulio Romano (c. 1499 – 1546), painter and architect. Well-known oils include The Stoning of St. Stephen (Church of Santo Stefano, Genoa) and Adoration of the Magi (Louvre)
• Cosimo Rosselli (1439–1507), painter. Of his many works in Florence the most famous is The Miracle-working Chalice in Sant' Ambrogio, a work that includes many contemporary portraits^[129]
• Andrea Schiavone (c. 1510/15–1563), painter and etcher. His most characteristic works were fairly small religious or mythological pictures for private patrons
• Sebastiano del Piombo (c. 1485 – 1547), painter of the Venetian School, known for his portraits, including his portrayal of Pope Clement VII (1526)
• Luca Signorelli (c. 1445 – 1523), painter, known for his nudes and for his novel compositional devices. His masterpiece is the fresco cycle in Orvieto Cathedral
• Il Sodoma (1477–1549), painter, a master of the human figure and leading pupil of Leonardo da Vinci
• Francesco Squarcione (c. 1395 – after 1468), painter who founded the Paduan school and is known for being the teacher of Andrea Mantegna and other noteworthy painters^[130]
• Taddeo di Bartolo (c. 1362 – 1422), painter. He was the leading painter in Siena in the first two decades of the 15th century and also worked in and for other cities^[131]
• Antonio Tempesta (1555–1630), painter and engraver from Florence who specialised in pastoral scenes
• Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527–1596), painter, sculptor, and architect who spread the style of Italian Mannerist painting in Spain during the late 16th century^[132]
• Tintoretto (1518–1594), painter of the Venetian school. One of the most important artists of the late Renaissance. His works include St. George and the Dragon (1555)
• Titian (c. 1488/1490–1576), painter of the Venetian school, noted for his religious and mythological works, such as Bacchus and Ariadne (1520–1523), and his portraits
• Cosimo Tura (c. 1430 – 1495), painter who was the founder and the first significant figure of the 15th-century school of Ferrara^[133]
• Paolo Uccello (1397–1475), painter. His three panels depicting The Battle of San Romano (1438), combine the decorative late Gothic style with the new heroic style of the early Renaissance
• Bartolomeo Veneto (fl. 1502–1546), painter who worked in Northern Italy in an area bounded by Venice and Milan
• Domenico Veneziano (c. 1410 – 1461), painter. In Florence he created his most celebrated work, the St. Lucy Altarpiece (c. 1445 – 1447)
• Paolo Veronese (1528–1588), painter of the Venetian school, famous for paintings such as The Wedding at Cana (1563) and The Feast in the House of Levi (1573)
• Alvise Vivarini (1442/1453–1503–1505), painter in the late Gothic style whose father, Antonio, was the founder of the influential Vivarini family of Venetian artists
• Bartolomeo Vivarini (c. 1432 – c. 1499), painter and member of the influential Vivarini family of Venetian artists
• Jacopo Zabolino (active 1461–1494) painter of frescoes of a mainly religious theme
• Federico Zuccari (c. 1540/1541–1609), painter and architect. He was the author of L'idea de' Pittori, Scultori, ed Architetti (1607)
• Taddeo Zuccari (1529–1566), painter. One of the most popular members of the Roman mannerist school

Baroque and Rococo[edit]

• Francesco Albani (1578–1660), painter, known for paintings of mythological and poetic subjects
• Giacomo Alberelli (1600–1650), painter, pupil of Jacopo Palma the Younger
• Cristofano Allori (1577–1621), painter. He became one of the foremost Florentine artists of the early Baroque period, also winning renown as a courtier, poet, musician and lover^[134]
• Jacopo Amigoni (1682–1752), painter and etcher. His oeuvre includes decorative frescoes for churches and palaces, history and mythological paintings and a few etchings
• Leonardo dell'Arca (active c. 1600), engraver. His work is held permanently at the Victoria and Albert Museum.^[135]
• Marcello Bacciarelli (1731–1818), painter working at the royal court in Warsaw, who captured seminal moments in Polish history on canvas
• Sisto Badalocchio (1585 – c. 1647), painter and engraver. His most important work are the frescoes in the cupola and pendentives of St. John the Baptist (Reggio Emilia)^[136]
• Pompeo Batoni (1708–1787), painter
• Bernardo Bellotto (1720–1780), painter of vedute ("view paintings")
• Guido Cagnacci (1601–1663), painter. Particularly noteworthy are his altarpieces of the Virgin and Child with Three Carmelite Saints (c. 1631) and Christ with Saints Joseph and Eligius (1635)
• Canaletto (1697–1768), painter and etcher, noted particularly for his highly detailed paintings of cities, esp Venice, which are marked by strong contrasts of light and shade
• Battistello Caracciolo (1578–1635), painter. Caravaggesque painter and the founder of Neapolitan Caravaggism^[137]
• Caravaggio (1571–1610), painter of the baroque whose influential works, such as The Entombment of Christ (1602–1603), are marked by intense realism and revolutionary use of light
• Annibale Carracci (1560–1609), painter. Well known among his numerous works are The Beaneater (1580–1590), The Choice of Hercules (1596) and Domine quo vadis? (c. 1603)
• Ludovico Carracci (1555–1619), painter, draughtsman and etcher born in Bologna
• Rosalba Carriera (1675–1757), portrait painter and miniaturist, Rococo style, known for her work in pastels^[138]
• Giuseppe Crespi (1665–1747), painter of the Bolognese school, known for the imposing paintings of the Seven Sacraments (1712)
• Carlo Dolci (1616–1686), Florentine painter, known for his paintings of the heads and half-figures of Jesus and the Mater Dolorosa
• Domenichino (1581–1641), painter of the baroque eclectic school who is noted for his religious and mythological works, including several frescoes of Saint Cecilia
• Domenico Fetti (c. 1589 – 1623), painter whose best-known works are small representations of biblical parables
• Filippo Gagliardi (1606–1659), painter active mainly in Rome. helped in the renovation of San Martino ai Monti (1647–54). He was a member of the Accademia di San Luca from at least 1638 and became principe in 1656–58. He was also a member of the Congregazione dei Virtuosi del Pantheon.
• Giovanni Battista Gaulli (1639–1709), painter. He was a celebrated artist of the Roman High Baroque. Worship of the Holy Name of Jesus (1674–1679) is his most noted work
• Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1653), painter. Among her works may be cited Susanna and the Elders (1610) and Judith Slaying Holofernes (1614–1620)
• Orazio Gentileschi (1563–1639), painter. The Annunciation (1623), painted in Genoa and now in the Galleria SabaudaofTurin, is considered by several authorities his masterpiece
• Luca Giordano (1634–1705), painter, the most important Italian decorative artist of the second half of the 17th century
• Francesco Guardi (1712–1793), painter, a follower of Canaletto. His many charming landscapes are in the galleries of London, Paris, Venice and Boston
• Guercino (1591–1666), painter. Extremely skillful, prolific, and quick to finish his work, he was known for his frescoes, altarpieces, oils, and drawings
• Giovanni Lanfranco (1582–1647), painter, one of the foremost artists of the High Baroque. His masterpiece is the Assumption of the Virgin in the dome of Sant'Andrea della Valle (1625–1627)
• Pietro Longhi (1702–1785), painter, known for his small pictures depicting the life of upper-middle-class Venetians of his day
• Alessandro Magnasco (1667–1749), painter, known for his scenes of disembodied, flame-like figures in stormy landscapes or cavernous interiors
• Bartolomeo Manfredi (1582–1622), painter, active mainly in Rome, where he was one of the most important of Caravaggio's followers
• Carlo Maratta (1625–1713), painter and engraver of the Roman school; one of the last great masters of Baroque classicism
• Pietro Novelli (1603–1647), painter. Probably the most distinguished Sicilian painter of the 17th century^[139]
• Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691–1765), the foremost painter of Roman topography in the 18th century^[140]
• Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (1682–1754), painter, illustrator and designer. His most popular work is the celebrated Fortune Teller (1740)
• Andrea Pozzo (1642–1709), painter, a leading exponent of the baroque style. His masterpiece is the nave ceiling of the Church of Sant'Ignazio in Rome
• Mattia Preti (1613–1699), painter, called Il Calabrese for his birthplace. His most substantial undertaking was the decoration of St. John's, Valletta
• Guido Reni (1575–1642), painter noted for the classical idealism of his renderings of mythological and religious subjects
• Sebastiano Ricci (1659–1734), painter. He is remembered for his decorative paintings, which mark the transition between the late Baroque and the development of the Rococo style
• Salvator Rosa (1615–1673), painter, etcher and poet, known for his spirited battle pieces painted in the style of Falcone, for his marines, and especially for his landscapes
• Francesco Solimena (1657–1747), painter. The leading artist of the Neapolitan Baroque during the first half of the 18th century^[141]
• Massimo Stanzione (c. 1586 – c. 1656), painter. His style has a distinctive refinement and grace that has earned him the nickname "the Neapolitan Guido Reni."^[142]
• Bernardo Strozzi (c. 1581 – 1644), painter
• Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770), painter. His frescoes in the Palazzo Labia and the doge's palace won him international fame
• Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1727–1804), painter and printmaker. His most noted early works are the chinoiserie decorations of the Villa Valmarana in Vicenza (1757)

The 1800s[edit]

• Giuseppe Abbati (1836–1868), painter of the macchiaioli group
• Andrea Appiani (1754–1817), fresco painter active in Milan and a court painter of Napoleon
• Giovanni Boldini (1842–1931), painter, one of the most renowned society portraitists of his day. He worked mainly in Paris, where he settled in 1872
• Fyodor Bruni (1799–1875), painter who worked in the Academic style
• Constantino Brumidi (1805–1880), Italian-American painter, whose best-known works are his frescoes in the Capitol building, Washington, D.C.
• Vincenzo Camuccini (1771–1844), painter. His many drawings reveal a fluid technique and lively artistic imagination
• Antonio Ciseri (1821–1891), painter of religious subjects
• Giuseppe De Nittis (1846–1884), painter, mainly of landscapes and scenes of city life
• Giacomo Di Chirico (1844–1883), Neapolitan painter
• Ciro Denza (1844–1915), Neapolitan painter of landscapes and seascapes.
• Giovanni Fattori (1825–1908), painter; leading figure of the macchiaioli school
• Teresa Fioroni-Voigt (1799–1880), was a miniaturist
• Francesco Hayez (1791–1882), painter, the leading artist of Romanticism in mid-19th-century Milan. His masterpiece is The Kiss (1859)
• Cesare Maccari (1840–1919), painter and sculptor, most famous for his fresco at Palazzo Madama portraying Cicero revealing Catilina's plot (1888)
• Carlo De Notaris (1812–1888) painter, Neoclassic style.
• Romualdo Prati (1874–1930), painter, mostly known for portraits. He also worked in Brazil.
• Enrico Sartori (1831–1889), painter, mainly of genre subjects^[143]
• Anatolio Scifoni (1841–1884), painter of genre paintings^[144]
• Giovanni Segantini (1858–1899), painter known for his Alpine landscapes and allegorical pictures, which blended Symbolist content with the technique of Neo-Impressionism

The 1900s[edit]

• Pietro Annigoni (1910–1988), painter (and occasional sculptor), the only artist of his time to become internationally famous as a society and state portraitist^[145]
• Giacomo Balla (1871–1958), painter, sculptor, stage designer, decorative artist and actor. He was one of the originators of Futurism
• Alziro Bergonzo (1906–1997), architect and painter
• Vincenzo Bianchini (1903–2000), painter, sculptor, writer, poet, doctor and philosopher
• Umberto Boccioni (1882–1916), painter, sculptor and theorist. His painting The City Rises (1910) is a dynamic composition of swirling human figures in a fragmented crowd scene
• Erma Bossi (1875–1952), German Expressionist painter
• Alberto Burri (1915–1995), painter and sculptor. He was one of the first artists to exploit the evocative force of waste materials, looking forward to Trash art in America and Arte Povera in Italy
• Aldo Carpi (1886–1973), rector of the Brera Academy and author of a collection of memoirs concerning his imprisonment in the infamous Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp.
• Carlo Carrà (1881–1966), painter, known for his still lifes in the style of Metaphysical painting
• Bruno Caruso (1927–2018), painter, illustrator and political activist. He was a celebrated Italian Social Realist and member of the Italian neorealism movement.
• Nicoletta Ceccoli (born 1973), children's book illustrator
• Francesco Clemente (born 1952), painter and draftsman whose dramatic figural imagery was a major component in the revitalization of Italian art beginning in the 1980s
• Enzo Cucchi (born 1949), painter, draughtsman and sculptor. He was a key member of the Italian Transavantgarde movement
• Giorgio de Chirico (1888–1978), painter, founder of the scuola metafisica art movement
• Annalaura di Luggo
• Lazzaro Donati (1926–1977), painter. Born in Florence and attended the Academy of Fine Arts. He began to paint in 1953, and in 1955 held his first exhibition at the Indiano Gallery in Florence.
• Lucio Fontana (1899–1968), painter, sculptor and theorist, founder of Spatialism, noted for gashed monochrome paintings
• Renato Guttuso (1911–1987), painter. He was a forceful personality and Italy's leading exponent of Social realism in the 20th century
• Piero Manzoni (1933–1963), artist. He is regarded as one of the forerunners of Arte Povera and Conceptual art
• Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920), painter and sculptor whose portraits and nudes, characterized by asymmetrical compositions, are among the most important portraits of the 20th century^[146]
• Giorgio Morandi (1890–1964), painter and etcher. He is widely acknowledged as a major Italian painter of the 20th century
• Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo (1868–1907), painter. His most famous work is The Fourth Estate (1901); a symbol of the 20th
• Giovanni Pelliccioli (born 1947), surrealist painter. In 1993 he created a new form in the world of the artistic painting – the "triangle"
• Luigi Russolo (1885–1947), painter. One of the five signers of the basic 1910 "Manifesto of Futurist Painting" before switching his attention to music
• Emilio Scanavino (1922–1986), painter and sculptor. One of the most important protagonists of the Spatialist movement in Italy^[147]
• Gino Severini (1883–1966), painter who synthesized the styles of Futurism and Cubism
• Mario Sironi (1885–1961), painter, sculptor, illustrator and designer. He was the leading artist of the Novecento Italiano group in the 1920s, developing a muscular, monumental figurative style
• Antonio Diego Voci (1920–1985), painter. Born in Gasperina, Calabria, Italy. Artist of a Thousand Faces. Surrealism Cubism Fauvism Realism Italian
• Sergio Zanni (born 1942), painter and sculptor
• Giulia Andreani (born 1985), painter. She works on archives and develops a history painting.

Photographers[edit]

• Severo Antonelli (1907–1995)
• Felice Beato (1834–1909)
• Anton Giulio Bragaglia (1890–1960)
• Giuseppe Incorpora (1834–1914)
• Franco Rubartelli (born 1937)
• Pietro Marubi (1834–1903)
• Tina Modotti (1896–1942)
• Francesco Romoli (born 1977)
• Ferdinando Scianna (born 1943)
• Oliviero Toscani (born 1942)

Printers[edit]

• Panfilo Castaldi (c. 1398 – c. 1490), physician and "master of the art of printing", to whom local tradition attributes the invention of moveable type
• Fortunato Bartolomeo de Felice, 2nd Conte di Panzutti (1723–1789), printer, publisher and scientist. Settled in Yverdon where he published a version of the Encyclopédie (1770–1780). Also known for his escapades across Europe with a married Countessa.
• Francesco Franceschi (c. 1530 – c. 1599), printer. Known for the high quality of his engravings, which were done using metal plates rather than wooden
• Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari (c. 1508 – 1578), bookseller, printer and editor at Venice. He was one of the first major publishers of literature in the vernacular Italian language
• Johannes Philippus de Lignamine (c. 1420–?), printer and publisher, known for his publication of Herbarium Apuleii Platonici (1481)
• Aldus Manutius (1449–1515), printer, noted for his fine editions of the classics. Inventor of the italic type (1501) and also the first to use the semicolon
• Aldus Manutius the Younger (1547–1597), printer, last member of the Italian family of Manutius to be active in the famous Aldine Press
• Giovanni Battista Pasquali (1702–1784), printer, a leading printer in 18th-century Venice
• Pietro Perna (1519–1582), printer, the leading printer of late Renaissance Basel
• Ottaviano Petrucci (1466–1539), printer. Inventor of movable metal type for printing mensural and polyphonic music
• Lawrence Torrentinus (1499–1563), typographer and printer for Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Printmakers[edit]

• Domenico Campagnola (c. 1500 – 1564), painter and printmaker and one of the first professional draftsmen
• Giulio Campagnola (c. 1482 – c. 1515), painter and engraver who anticipated by over two centuries the development of stipple engraving^[148]
• Agostino Carracci (1557–1602), painter and printmaker. He was the brother of the more famous Annibale and cousin of Lodovico Carracci
• Giovanni Francesco Cassioni (17th century), engraver in wood
• Stefano della Bella (1610–1664), printmaker noted for his engravings of military events, in the manner of Jacques Callot
• Marcantonio Raimondi (c. 1480 – c. 1534), engraver, known for being the first important printmaker. He is therefore a key figure in the rise of the reproductive print
• Mario Labacco (active 1551–67), engraver
• Bartolomeo Nerici (c. 1708 – c. 1798), engraver in copper
• Francesco Rosselli (1445–before 1513), miniature painter, and an important engraver of maps and old master prints
• Ugo da Carpi (c. 1480–between 1520 and 1532), painter and printmaker, the first Italian practitioner of the art of the chiaroscuro woodcut^[149]

Saints[edit]

• Agatha of Sicily (fl. 3rd century AD), legendary Christian saint, martyred under Roman Emperor Decius. She is invoked against outbreaks of fire and is the patron saint of bell makers
• Agnes of Rome (c. 291–c. 304), legendary Christian martyr, the patron saint of girls
• Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621), theologian, cardinal, Doctor of the Church, and a principal influence in the Counter-Reformation
• Bernardine of Siena (1380–1444), preacher. He was a Franciscan of the Observant congregation and one of the most effective and most widely known preachers of his day^[150]
• Charles Borromeo (1538–1584), cardinal and archbishop. He was one of the leaders of the Counter-Reformation
• John Bosco (1815–1888), Catholic priest, pioneer in educating the poor and founder of the Salesian Order
• Mother Frances Cabrini (1850–1917), religious migrated in USA. She founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that was a major support to the Italian immigrants to the United States.
• Catherine of Siena (1347–1380), Dominican tertiary, mystic, and patron saint of Italy who played a major role in returning the papacy from Avignon to Rome (1377)
• Saint Cecilia (2nd century AD), patron saint of musicians and Church music. Venerated in both East and West, she is one of the eight women commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass
• Paula Frassinetti (1809–1892), founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Dorothy. Her feast day is 11 June
• Francis of Paola (1416–1507), mendicant friar. The founder of the Minims, a religious order in the Catholic Church
• Hippolytus of Rome (170–235), Christian martyr who was also the first antipope (217/218–235)
• Januarius (?–c. 305), Bishop and martyr, sometimes called Gennaro, long popular because of the liquefaction of his blood on his feast day
• Lawrence of Brindisi (1559–1619), Capuchin friar. He was one of the leading polemicists of the Counter-Reformation in Germany
• Saint Longinus (1st century AD), Roman soldier who pierced Jesus's side with a spear as he hung on the cross
• Saint Lucy (283–304), Christian martyr. She is the patroness saint of the city of Syracuse (Sicily)
• Giuseppe Moscati (1880–1927), doctor, scientific researcher, and university professor noted both for his pioneering work in biochemistry and for his piety
• Philip Neri (1515–1595), priest. The founder of the Congregation of the Oratory, a congregation of secular priests and clerics
• Nicholas of Tolentino (1246–1305), known as the Patron of Holy Souls, was an Italian saint and mystic.
• Pio of Pietrelcina (1887–1968), Capuchin priest. He is renowned among Roman Catholics as one of the Church's modern stigmatists
• Rita of Cascia (1381–1457), Augustinian nun
• Saint Rosalia (1130–1166), hermitess, greatly venerated at Palermo and in the whole of Sicily of which she in patroness
• Rose of Viterbo (1233–1251), she spent her brief life as a recluse, who was outspoken in her support of the papacy.
• Roger of Cannae (1060–1129), Bishop
• Saint Valentine (3rd century AD), according to tradition, he is the patron saint of courtship, travelers, and young people
• Saint Vitus (c. 290 – c. 303), Christian saint. He is counted as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers of the Catholic Church
• Artémides Zatti (1880–1951), Salesian and noted pharmacist that emigrated to Argentina in 1897 where became well known for his ardent faith and commitment to the sick in Patagonia.