List of famous Italians

Scientists

• Amedeo Avogadro, (1776-1856), Italian physicist
• Giovanni Battista Beccaria, (1716-1781)
• Ruggero Giuseppe Boscovich, (1711-1787), Croat-Italian
• Giordano Bruno, (1548-1600), philosopher
• Gerolamo Cardano, (1501-1576), Renaissance polymath
• Giovanni Domenico Cassini, (1625-1712), astronomer
• Bruno de Finetti, (1906-1985), mathematician, statistician
• Enrico Fermi, (1901-1954), physicist
• Leonardo Fibonacci, (c. 1175-1250) mathematician, eponym of the Fibonacci numbers
• Girolamo Fracastoro, (1478-1553)
• Guido Fubini, mathematician, eponym of Fubini's theorem in measure theory
• Galileo Galilei, (1564-1642), astronomy pioneer
• Luigi Galvani, (1737-1798), physician and physicist, eponym of galvanization
• Guglielmo Marconi, (1874-1937), engineer, inventor of radio
• Maria Montessori, (1870-1952), creator of Montessori Method
• Giuseppe Peano, (1858-1932), mathematician
• Giuseppe Piazzi, (1746-1826), astronomer
• Gian-Carlo Rota, (1932-1999), Italian-born American mathematician and philosopher
• Niccolo Fontana Tartaglia, (1500-1557), mathematician
• Evangelista Torricelli, (1608-1647), early scientist
• Alessandro Volta, (1745-1827), eletricity pioneer, eponym of the volt

Explorers

• Cristoforo Colombo
• Henri de Tonti, (1649-1704), explored the Mississippi River Valley
• Amerigo Vespucci, (1454-1512), discovered other parts of America and gave his name to the new continent

Politicians

• Giulio Andreotti, Italian politician
• Camillo Benso, count of Cavour
• Enrico Berlinguer, (1922 - 1984), politician
• Mario Berlinguer
• Silvio Berlusconi, (born 1936)
• Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, Italian president
• Michele Columbu
• Francesco Cossiga, (b. 1928), Italian, Sardinian president
• Alcide De Gasperi
• Enrico De Nicola, (1877-1959), Italian president
• Amintore Fanfani
• Roberto Formigoni, (born 1947)
• Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) - writer and politician
• Giovanni Leone, Italian president
• Franco Maria Malfatti, (1970-1972), Italian President of the European Commission
• Giuseppe Mazzini, (1805-1872), (1805-1872 - writer and politician
• Aldo Moro, (1916-1978), Italian politician
• Benito Mussolini, (1883-1945), Italian dictator, who said "Religion is a species of mental disease."
• Romano Prodi (born 1939) Actual President of the European Commission.
• Giuseppe Saragat, Italian president
• Antonio Segni
• Palmiro Togliatti

Writers

• Dante Alighieri, (1265-1321), Italian poet
• Ludovico Ariosto, (1474-1533), Italian poet
• Giovanni Boccaccio, (1313-1375), Italian novelist
• Dino Buzzati, (1906-1972), Italian author
• Italo Calvino, (1923-1985), Italian writer and novelist
• Giosue Carducci, (1835-1907), Italian poet
• Baldassarre Castiglione, (1478-1529)
• Gabriele D'Annunzio, (1863-1938), Italian adventurer
• Valerio Da Pos, (1740-1822), Italian poet
• Grazia Deledda, (1871-1936), Italian novelist
• Umberto Eco, (b. 1932), Italian semiotic and writer of The Name of the Rose fame
• Oriana Fallaci, (born 1929)
• Marsilio Ficino, (1433-1499), Italian philosopher
• Giovanni Guareschi, (1908-1968), Italian author and satirist
• Carlo Goldoni, (1707-1793), Italian dramatist
• Giacomo Leopardi, (1798-1837), Italian poet
• Primo Levi, (1919-1987), Italian author
• Emilio Lussu, (1890-1975), Italian novelist
• Goffredo Mameli (1827-1849) - Italian patriot, poet and writer
• Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, (1876-1944)
• Eugenio Montale, Italian poet
• Giovanni Pascoli, Italian poet
• Francesco Petrarca, (1304-1374)
• Luigi Pirandello, (1867-1936), playwright
• Salvatore Quasimodo
• Italo Svevo
• Giuseppe Ungaretti, Italian poet
• Giovanni Verga, (1840-1922)

• Giorgio Vasari, (1511-1571), Italian architect
• Giambattista Vico (1668 - 1744), Italian philosopher

Cartoonists

• Milo Manara
• Hugo Pratt, (1927-1995), : Corto Maltese

Artists

Actors

• Asia Argento, (1975-), Italian actress
• Monica Bellucci, (1964-), Italian actress, model
• Roberto Benigni, (b. 1952), Italian actor
• Rossano Brazzi, (1916-1994), Italian actor
• Vittorio De Sica, (1901-1974), Italian film director
• Vittorio Gassmann, (1922-2000), Italian actor
• Gina Lollobrigida, (born 1927), (Lollo)
• Sophia Loren, (born 1934), Italian actress
• Marcello Mastroianni, (1924-1996), Italian actor
• Moana Pozzi, (born 1961)
• Rocco Siffredi, (b.1964)
• Bud Spencer
• Totò
• Massimo Troisi, (1953-1994)
• Rodolfo Valentino, (1895-1926), Italian actor

Film directors

• Michelangelo Antonioni, (born 1912), Italian film director
• Federico Fellini, (1920-1993), Italian film director
• Giovacchino Forzano, (1884-1970), Italian film director
• Pier Paolo Pasolini, (1922-1975), Italian film director
• Roberto Rossellini, (1906-1977), Italian film director
• Luchino Visconti, (1906-1976), Italian film director

Painters

• Leon Battista Alberti, (1404-1472), architect
• Fra Angelico, (1387-1445), (Giovanni da Fiesole)
• Sisto Badalocchio
• Alessio Baldovinetti, (1427-1499)
• Sandro Botticelli, (1445-1510), Italian painter
• Donato Bramante, (1444-1514), Italian architect
• Michelangelo Buonarroti, (1475-1564), Italian painter
• Vittore Carpaccio, (c.1460-1525), Italian painter
• Agostino Carracci, (1560-1609), Italian painter
• Caravaggio, (1573-1610), Italian painter
• Cimabue, (1240-1302), Italian painter
• Giorgione da Castelfranco, (c. 1477-1510), (Giorgione)
• Antonio da Correggio, (1488-1534), (Correggio)
• Gentile da Fabriano, (c.1370-1427), Italian painter
• Antonello da Messina
• Andrea da Monte San Savino (Andrea Sansovino or Sansovino)
• Masolino da Panicale, (c.1383-1447)
• Antonio da Sangallo
• Giuliano da Sangallo
• Leonardo da Vinci, (1452-1519), Italian painter, sculptor and inventor
• Giorgio De Chirico, (1888-1978), Italian painter
• Andrea del Castagno, (c.1421-1457)
• Piero della Francesca, (c1416-1492), Italian painter
• Luca della Robbia, (1400-1482), Italian sculptor
• Andrea del Sarto, (1487-1531), Italian painter
• Giotto, (1267-1337), Italian painter
• Renato Guttuso, (1912-1987), painter
• Fra Filippo Lippi, (c.1406-1469), Italian painter
• Filippino Lippi, (1457-1504), Italian painter
• Lorenzo Lotto
• Andrea Mantegna, (c.1431-1506), Italian painter
• Simone Martini, (c.1284-1344)
• Masaccio, (1401-1428), Italian painter
• Amedeo Modigliani, (1884-1920), Italian sculptor, painter
• Ugo Nespolo, Italian painter
• Andrea Orcagna, (1320-1368), (Andrea di Cione)
• Perugino, (c.1445-1523), Italian painter
• Baldassarre Peruzzi
• Bernardino Pinturicchio
• Vittore Pisanello
• Raphael, (1483-1520), or Raphael
• Guido Reni, (1575-1642), Italian painter
• Rosso (Rosso Fiorentino)
• Luca Signorelli, (c.1445-1523)
• Tiepolo, (1696-1770), Italian painter
• Tintoretto, (1518-1594), Italian painter
• Titian, (1488-1576), (Tiziano Vecellio)
• Paolo Uccello, (1397-1475), Italian painter
• Domenico Veneziano, (c.1400-1461)
• Andrea del Verrocchio, (c.1435-1488), Italian sculptor, painter
• Ettore Ximenes, (1855-1919), Italian painter

Sculptors

• Antonio Canova, (1757-1822), Italian sculptor
• Donatello, (1386-1466), Italian sculptor
• Costantino Nivola, (1911-1988)
• Tommaso Geraci, (born 1931)
• Pinuccio Sciola, (born 1942)
• Eugenio Tavolara

Architects

• Gianlorezo Bernini
• Francesco Borromini, (1599-1667), Italian architect
• Filippo Brunelleschi, (1377-1446), Italian architect
• Pierluigi Nervi

Musicians

• Enrico Caruso, (1873-1921), tenor
• Adriano Celentano, (born 1938), pop
• Mario Del Monaco, (1915-1982), tenor
• Luciano Pavarotti, (born 1935), Italian tenor
• Tito Schipa
• Renata Tebaldi
• Paolo Fresu

Composers

• Tomaso Albinoni, (1674-1754), Italian composer
• Franco Alfano, Italian opera composer
• Pasquale Anfossi, Italian opera composer
• Giuseppe Apolloni, Italian opera composer
• Emilio Arrieta, Italian opera composer
• Vincenzo Bellini, (1801-1835), Italian composer
• Arrigo Boito, (1842-1918), Italian composer, opera composer
• Alfredo Catalani, Italian opera composer
• Luigi Cherubini, (1760-1842), Italian composer, opera composer
• Francesco Cilea, Italian opera composer
• Domenico Cimarosa, (1749-1801), Italian composer, opera composer
• Luigi Dallapiccola, (1904-1975), Italian composer, opera composer
• Luigi de Rossi
• Gaetano Donizetti, (1797-1848), Italian composer, opera composer
• Alberto Franchetti, Italian opera composer
• Umberto Giordano, (1867-1948), Italian composer, opera composer
• Ruggero Leoncavallo, (1858-1919), Italian opera composer
• Pietro Mascagni, (1863-1945), Italian composer, opera composer
• Saverio Mercadante, (1795-1870), Italian opera composer
• Claudio Monteverdi, (1567-1643), Italian composer, opera composer
• Giovanni Pacini, (1796-1867), Italian composer, opera composer
• Giovanni Paisiello, Italian opera composer
• Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, (1710-1736), Italian composer, opera composer
• Goffredo Petrassi, Italian opera composer
• Niccolo Piccinni, (1728-1800), Italian opera composer
• Ildebrando Pizzetti, Italian opera composer
• Amilcare Ponchielli, (1834-1886), Italian opera composer
• Nicola Porpora, (1686-1768), Italian opera composer
• Giacomo Puccini, (1858-1924), Italian composer
• Ottorino Respighi, (1879-1936), Italian composer, opera composer
• Gioacchino Rossini, (1792-1868), Italian composer, opera composer
• Antonio Salieri, (1750-1825), Austrian composer
• Alessandro Scarlatti, (1660-1725), Italian composer, opera composer
• Gaspare Spontini, Italian opera composer
• Agostino Steffani, Italian opera composer
• Giuseppe Verdi, (1813-1901), Italian composer, opera composer
• Riccardo Zandonai, Italian opera composer

Conductors (Direttori)

• Gianandrea Gavazzeni
• Riccardo Muti, (born 1942)
• Tullio Serafin
• Arturo Toscanini, (1867-1957), Italian conductor

Sports Personalities

• Alberto Ascari, (1918-1955), race car driver
• Franco Baresi, (born 1960), Italian athlete
• Nino Benvenuti, world champion boxer
• Mario D'Agata -- mute-deaf who became a world boxing champion
• Enzo Ferrari, (1898-1988), Italian car designer
• Pietro Mennea
• Reinhold Messner, (born 1944)
• Tazio Nuvolari, (died 1953), race car driver
• Sara Simeoni
• Loris Stecca, world champion boxer
• Dino Zoff, (1942-), Italian soccer player

Other

• Giovanni Falcone, (died 1992), judge
• Giuseppe Garibaldi, (1807-1882), proponent of Italian unification
• Licio Gelli, (born 1919)
• Toto Riina
• Gianni Agnelli (1921-2003), industrialist
• Edgardo Mortara (1851 - 1940), priest, victim of a famous kidnapping, taken from his Jewish family at the age of 6

See also

• List of Italian comedians
• List of people by nationality
• List of Sardinians

Referenced By