Welcome to our daily historical journey! In this article, we will explore the intriguing events and interesting facts that occurred on September 27th throughout history. It’s fascinating to delve into the past and uncover the significant milestones, memorable moments, and noteworthy achievements that shape our world today. From groundbreaking discoveries and technological advancements to political events and cultural milestones, September 27th has proven to be a day of great importance. This day holds a treasure trove of historical significance, and by exploring the events that unfolded on this date, we gain a deeper understanding of our collective past. So, join us as we embark on a captivating journey through time to discover all the facts and events that have taken place on September 27th in history.
Table of Contents
HISTORICAL EVENTS
1954: The U.S. Army opens the first nuclear power station at Shippingport, Pennsylvania.
1964: The Warren Commission releases its report, concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
1996: Taliban forces seize control of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
2008: SpaceX launches the Falcon 1, becoming the first privately-funded liquid-fueled rocket to reach orbit.
2014: Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, also known as the “Umbrella Movement,” begin after China announces plans for strict control over Hong Kong’s elections.
SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGHS
1825: George Stephenson successfully operates the first practical steam locomotive, the “Locomotion No. 1,” on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in England.
1942: The first successful controlled nuclear chain reaction is achieved by a team led by Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago.
1998: The first robotic mission to Mars, NASA’s Mars Pathfinder, deploys the Sojourner rover and begins transmitting valuable scientific data back to Earth.
2007: NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is launched, embarking on a mission to study the protoplanet Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres.
2015: Scientists announce the discovery of liquid water on Mars, raising the possibility of potential microbial life on the planet.
Enrico Fermi, Italian-American physicist, received the 1938 Nobel Prize in physics for identifying new elements and discovering nuclear reactions by his method of nuclear irradiation and bombardment. He was born in Rome, Italy, on September 29, 1901, and died in Chicago, Illinois, on November 28, 1954.
Los Carmelitas descalzos obtuvieron un Breve apostólico de Paulo V para edificar conventos de su Orden en cualquier parte de la Cristiandad; fue este el primero que fundaron en la última parte del Monte Quirinal el año de 1606.
La iglesia se fundó en 1605 como una capilla dedicada a san Pablo para los carmelitas descalzos. La propia orden dotó de fondos a la obra del edificio hasta el descubrimiento en las excavaciones de la escultura conocida como el Hermafrodita Borghese. Scipione Borghese se apropió de ella, pero a cambio, y quizá para compensar su pérdida de influencia debido a la muerte de su tío y patrón, financió el resto de la obra de la fachada y prestó a la orden a su arquitecto, Giovanni Battista Soria. Estas concesiones, sin embargo, sólo se llevaron a efecto en 1624, aunque la obra se acabó dos años más tarde.
Después de la victoria católica en la batalla de la Montaña Blanca en 1620, que hizo retroceder la Reforma en Bohemia, la iglesia fue consagrada de nuevo a la Virgen María. Una imagen maltrecha había sido recuperada del ámbito de aquella batalla por Fray Domingo de Jesús María, de dicha Orden, de las ruinas de la casa de campo de un noble cristiano bohemio, a la cual se le atribuyó la victoria, llamándola Santa María de la Victoria. La imagen fue llevada a Roma por Fray Domingo, depositándose en Santa María la Mayor en presencia de Gregorio XV.
El nombre de Santa María de la Victoria, se dio ulteriormente, en conmemoración por haber reconquistado el emperador Fernando I la ciudad de Praga en 1671. Estandartes turcos capturados en el Sitio de Viena de 1683 cuelgan en la iglesia, como parte de este tema victorioso.
La iglesia es la única estructura diseñada y completada por el arquitecto del Barroco temprano, Carlo Maderno, aunque el interior padeció un fuego en 1833 y requirió una restauración. Su fachada, sin embargo, fue erigida por Soria en vida de Maderno (1624-1626), mostrando la inconfundible influencia de la cercana Santa Susanna de Maderno.
Su interior tiene una sola nave, amplia, bajo una bóveda segmentada baja, con tres capillas laterales interconectadas detrás de arcos separados por colosales pilastras corintias con capiteles dorados que apoyan un rico entablamento. Revestimientos de mármol que contrastan entre sí están enriquecidos con ángeles y putti de estuco blanco y dorado en bulto redondo. El interior fue enriquecido progresivamente después de la muerte de Maderno; su bóveda fue pintada al fresco en 1663 con temas triunfales dentro de compartimentos con marcos ficticios: La Virgen María triunfa sobre la Herejía y Caída de los ángeles rebeldes ejecutados por Giovanni Domenico Cerrini.
Sin duda, parte de la fama de este templo se debe a albergar una de las obras maestras del Barroco, la capilla Cornaro, espectacular y teatral espacio presidido por el grupo escultórico que representa el Éxtasis de Santa Teresa, de Gian Lorenzo Bernini, quizá la obra más conocida de este autor en el campo de la escultura. En la capilla situada frente a esta, dedicada a San José, se encuentra un grupo escultórico que representa el tema del Sueño de San José, obra del escultor Domenico Guidi, que se inspira en la obra de Bernini delante de la cual se halla.1
Different cyclotron size: a) Lawrence ́s first one, b) Venezuela First one (courtesy of Dorly Coehlo), c) Fermi National Laboratory at CERN. And size matters, and Cyclotrons win as best hospital candidates due to Reactors are bigger, harder and difficult to be set in a hospital installation. Can you imagine a nuclear reactor inside a health installation? Radiation Protection Program will consume all the budget available. Size, controlled reactions, electrical control, made cyclotrons easy to install, and baby cyclotrons come selfshielded so hospital don ́t need to spend money in a extremely large bunker. Now on, we are going to talk about our first experience with the set up of a baby cyclotron for medical uses inside the first PET installation in Latin America. “Baby” means its acceleration “D” diameters are suitable to be set inside a standard hospital room dimensions, with all its needs to be safetly shielded for production transmision and synthetized for human uses for imaging in Nuclear Medicine PET routine. When we ask why Cyclotrons are better than reactors for radioisotopes production to be used in Medicine, we also have to have in mind that they has: 1. Less radioactive waste 2. Less harmful debris
En la galería sobre la portada de la basílica de San Marcos en Venecia hay cuatro grandes esculturas de equinos conocidas popularmente como los Caballos de San Marcos. Estas esculturas son más antiguas que la propia basílica, pues proceden del hipódromo de Constantinopla.
Formaban parte de un monumento escultórico que representaba una cuadriga completa, similar a las que adornaban otros edificios antiguos como por ejemplo el Mausoleo de Halicarnaso. No se sabe exactamente dónde estaba situada esta cuadriga originalmente, pero se cree que debió coronar un arco de triunfo u otro edificio público.
Tampoco hay consenso en la fecha de su creación. Algunos expertos opinan que pueden ser obra de un escultor griego del siglo IV a.C. No obstante, otros tienden a datarlos entre los siglos I y III d.C.
En el Parastaseis syntomoi chronikai, un texto bizantino de finales del siglo VIII a principios del IX d.C. que comenta los monumentos existentes en Constantinopla en esa época, se habla de cuatro caballos dorados que presiden el hipódromo y se añade que vinieron de la isla de Quios en tiempos de Teodosio II.
Según algunas hipótesis podrían proceder de los arcos de triunfo de Nerón o Trajano en Roma, o incluso del mausoleo de Adriano. Las obras de restauración llevadas a cabo entre 1977 y 1981 no revelaron ningún elemento que pueda conducir a una datación precisa.
Lo que sí se sabe es que durante siglos estuvieron en el hipódromo de la capital bizantina, donde los encontraron los cruzados en el año 1204 cuando asaltaron Constantinopla durante la Cuarta Cruzada. El principal contingente cruzado eran 10.000 soldados venecianos bajo el mando del dux Enrico Dandolo, y entre el botín enviado a Venecia se encontraban los caballos.
Para poder transportarlos con facilidad en las galeras venecianas tuvieron que cortar las estatuas a la altura del cuello, por lo que, una vez llegados a Venecia se volvieron a unir añadiendo un collar a cada uno, a modo de banda decorativa, para ocultar los cortes.
Las esculturas están hechas con un bronce cuyo contenido en estaño es muy bajo. Normalmente el bronce antiguo suele tener un 85 por ciento de cobre, un 10 por ciento de estaño y una pequeña cantidad de plomo e impurezas. Los caballos tienen casi un 98 por ciento de cobre, y solo un 1 por ciento de estaño y otro 1 por ciento de plomo, una técnica especialmente extendida durante el Imperio Romano.
Las esculturas originales, hoy expuestas en el museo de la catedral de San Marcos | foto Tteske en Wikimedia Commons
Tienen 2,33 metros de altura por 2,53 metros de largo y pesan 900 kilogramos cada una. La superficie de los caballos se doró con mercurio y luego se rayó en estrías paralelas de anchura constante con un cincel, para matizar el efecto dorado al reflejar el sol. En los cascos y cabestros hay grabados números romanos cuya función se desconoce.
Unos 50 años después de ser enviados a Venecia por Dandolo (que murió en 1205 y está enterrado en el interior de la basílica de Santa Sofía de Constantinopla, hoy Estambul) los caballos se instalaron sobre la galería de la basílica de San Marcos.
Pero no terminaría ahí su historia. Cinco siglos más tarde, en 1797 Napoleón derrotó a la República de Venecia y los franceses se llevaron de ella todo lo que pudieron: obras de arte, joyas, armaduras…
El tesoro veneciano fue fundido, así como el de San Marcos, el Bucintoro fue desmantelado para extraer el oro de las decoraciones, y unas 30.000 obras de arte de todas las épocas se vendieron o desaparecieron. Entre las obras que se enviaron a Francia estaban el león de San Marcos y los cuatro caballos dorados.
Napoleón mandó primero colocarlos en los Inválidos, luego en las puertas de las Tullerías y más tarde, en 1806, ordenó la construcción del Arco de Triunfo del Carrusel para conmemorar sus victorias, y que estuviera coronado por una cuadriga de bronce tirada por los cuatro caballos de San Marcos.
El Arco de Triunfo del Carrusel en París está coronado con una réplica de los caballos de San Marcos | foto Thesupermat en Wikimedia Commons
Así, las esculturas permanecieron en París hasta que finalmente tanto el león como los caballos fueron devueltos a Venecia en 1815 por el emperador austríaco tras la derrota de Napoleón en Waterloo, aunque la estatua del león se rompió al ser retirada de la explanada de los Inválidos. Los caballos que hoy coronan el Arco de Triunfo parisino son réplicas de los originales.
Por segunda vez, volvieron a ser colocados en la galería de la basílica de San Marcos, donde estuvieron permanentemente hasta 1981, con solo dos excepciones: durante la Primera Guerra Mundial los caballos junto con otros tesoros del norte de Italia fueron llevados a Roma para protegerlos y, temporalmente, se almacenaron en el Castillo de Sant’Angelo.
Una curiosa coincidencia si tenemos en cuenta que una de las hipótesis sobre su origen afirma que proceden del mausoleo de Adriano, que no es otro que el actual Castillo de Sant’Angelo. Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial se guardaron en el monasterio de Praglia, cerca de Padua.
Debido al deterioro por la contaminación se decidió sustituirlos por réplicas, que son las que hoy pueden verse presidiendo la famosa plaza veneciana. Los auténticos se guardan en el interior de la basílica, donde están expuestos al público en el museo de la catedral. Son los únicos elementos de una cuadriga de bronce de época clásica que han llegado hasta la actualidad.
With more than a million visitors each year, Castel Sant’Angelo (also known as Mole Adriana) is one of the main landmarks in Rome. Surrounded by massive walls, the central structure has a peculiar circular shape, which stand 48 meters above the ground. The site has undergone an incredible number of changes and structural alterations: from monumental burial site to fortress, from horrific prison to splendid private residence, from military headquarters to world famous museum.
This very special castle, just a stroll away from the Vatican, doesn’t have the gloomy and grim looks of the Medieval fortresses, but, as we will see, its mighty walls, halls decorated with frescoes and grids of passages, do hide more than one secret. A visit to this site, is not just a travel back in time, but an exciting travel through time, from 2000 years ago, up to the present day.
A Mausoleum for the Emperor Hadrian
The story begins around 130 A.D. when the emperor Hadrian, who wasn’t only greatly fascinated by art and philosophy, but highly regarded the spiritual world, decided to build a monument that would have served as the burial site for him, his family and his successors. As inspiration, he used the mausoleum of Augustus. The monument had a square plant, and was built with precious marbles and decorated with statues. At the top, it was surmounted by a huge shiny bronze statue of Hadrian riding a quadriga (a four-horse chariot).
The mausoleum was located in the suburbs of the city, on the other side of the Tiber river banks, where the Forum and the other important buildings stood. For this reason, a bridge was built to connect the site to the rest of the city. The construction works took some years, and were only completed by the successor of Hadrian, Antonino Pio, in 139 AD. Hadrian was finally buried here, together with his beloved wife Sabine. Among the emperors that were laid to rest here, there are Antonino Pio, Commodo, Marcus Aurelius and Caracalla, together with most of their wives and sons.
Hadrian's dream became reality, and the emperors, which were adored as deities after their death, would have had a proper burial. But, when reading the verses that Hadrian dedicated to his own soul, and engraved on a plaque in the imperial urns hall, we discover a much more intimate dimension to his feelings and fears about his inevitable passing away.
“Animula vagula blandula, Hospes comesque corporis, Quae nunc abibis? In Loca, Pallidula rigida nudula, nec ut soles dabis Iocos.” "Little soul, you charming little wanderer, my body’s guest and partner, where are you off to now? Somewhere without color, savage and bare; You’ll crack no more of your jokes once you’re there.” (Hadrian)
The Fortress, the Vatican and the Passetto
In 400 AD, the emperor Onorio decided to convert the castle into a fortress, to protect the city from the increasing raids of the Barbarians. The structure was incorporated into the Aurelian walls and fitted with turrets and bastions.
During the siege of the Vandals, the Romans finished all the ammunition, and started to throw to their opponents any heavy object they could find, included many statues dating back to Hadrian’s times. One of those, the Faunus Barberini, was found many years later lying in the river Tiber. It was restored and sold to a German prince of Bavaria by the Barberini family, who were in financial hardship. The statue, considered one of the masterpieces of Hellenistic art, is still in Germany.
After the fall of the Empire, the castle was quarreled among many local prominent families, often linked with the power of the papacy. In 1277, pope Niccolò III built the Passetto del Borgo (in Roman dialect, Er Coridore): an elevated passageway on the bastions, connecting the Apostolic Palace to the castle. It has been used at least twice by the popes, to flee to safety during attacks to the city. Today, it is possible to visit the Passetto during the day, while in the summer you can also book a stunning nighttime visit from 8 pm onward, but only on specific days.
The popes have always used the castle as a shelter in case of battles or armed clashes. In the late Middle Ages, the central building was partially adapted as a papal residency, as it was considered safer than the Vatican apartments. Among the artists who enriched the halls of the castle with frescoes, is the famous Pinturicchio. Almost every pope has made some sort of renovation to the castle, adapting it to its personal needs and taste. During the Renaissance, the pope built the pentagonal outer walls still surrounding the castle today.
When it was a Prison
The castle wasn’t just a fortress, contented by many for the control over the city, but it was a place of detention for a great number of notable prisoners. There were basically two categories of cells: the obscure and dark ones obtained by adapting the ancient rooms of the basement, and some in the upper levels, usually assigned to high-status prisoners. Some of those prisons are open to visitors.
One of the most infamous cells was called San Marocco (or Sammalò). Originally, this cell was one of the air ducts of the ancient central room where the Imperial funeral urns were kept. Basically, it was a deep, dark hole with no windows, where the prisoner was lowered, and it was so narrow and low that he had no chance of standing or lying down.
During the centuries, among the people that were forced to spend some time locked up in the castle, there were more than one high rank clergymen, sometimes betrayed and killed by opponents, or even by other members of their own family.
The Count of Cagliostro, an obscure and self-proclaimed alchemist, but also famous scammer, was captured while hiding in an hotel on the Spanish Steps, and sentenced to life imprisonment. He spent the first three years of detention here.
In 1600, Giordano Bruno, accused of heresy, underwent, in the castle’s halls, the trial that condemned him to be burned at the stake in the square of Campo de’ Fiori (not far from Piazza Navona) where a statue of the philosopher still commemorates the event. Even the famous sculptor Benvenuto Cellini, the creator of art masterpieces, spent about one year in those cells.
But one of the creepiest events was the imprisonment of the young noblewoman Beatrice Cenci, who was accused of killing her abusing father and beheaded in 1599, at the age of 22. The execution stirred deep emotion among the population, who were against the pope’s decision, and her unfair execution made her a popular heroine, and symbol of the excessive power of the Vatican. The ghost of Beatrice is believed to appear every year, on September the 11th, walking back and forward on the bridge in front of the castle, holding her severed head in one hand. If you’d like to know more about the darkest secrets of Rome, you can have a look at our Ghost Walk Tour page.
The French Army Siege and the End of the Papal State
When you walk into the castle, you’ll soon realize that there is a particular focus on old armaments, which are well represented both in the outside spaces and in the museum halls of the complex. During the Napoleonic era, the castle was occupied by the French army. Then, in 1849, the newly proclaimed Republic of Rome was besieged and then, again, occupied by the French. They took possession of the Sant’Angelo Castle, and, after extensively bombing the town center, returned the command of the city to the pope. This only lasted until the Italian army arrived to Rome in 1870, defeating the French and Swiss armies protecting the pope, and annexing Rome to the Italian Republic. The Italian army took control of the castle, and the government installed military headquarters there.
The Legend (and Ups and Downs) of the Angel
At the top of the castle, you’ll see a bronze statue of the Archangel Michael, who is “responsible” for the permanent name change of the monument, that was once a pagan tribute to the Roman emperors. However, the statue you see today was not the first one to sit at the top of Castel Sant’Angelo, but, actually, the sixth in line!
In the year 590 AD, during some of the darkest times of the city, a terrible plague struck the citizens. Pope Gregory organized a solemn procession to beg God to put an end to that nightmare. When crossing the bridge in front of the castle, the pope had a vision of the Archangel Michael in the act of sheathing his sword. This was interpreted as a sign that the plague would have soon come to an end.
To celebrate the event, the pope ordered a wooden statue of the angel be built, and this was the first one that sat at the top of the monument. When the statue was completely ruined by wear, it was replaced with a marble one, which was destroyed during a siege, in 1379. The third angel (again, made of marble, with bronze wings) was hit by a lightning strike. The fourth one, made of bronze covered in gold, was fused to make cannons. The fifth in line is a marble statue with bronze wings. Even this one was replaced, and now it’s located inside the castle’s courtyard.
So, after this troubled story, who is the angel which surmounts the castle today? It’s a bronze statue made in 1753 by a Flemish artist called Peter Anton von Vershaffelt. This angel was restored about 30 years ago, hoping it will have better luck than the previous ones!
The Castle Today
The site is now a museum, and features different itineraries:
The outer walls, fortifications, passages and prisons.
The basement with the visible ruins of the ancient Hadrian’s mausoleum.
The papal apartments and halls.
A vast collection of statues, paintings, artifacts, and a large armory featuring weapons and ancient armors.
The terrace of the angel, where you’ll enjoy one of the most stunning views of the capital. Get your camera ready!
A visit to this site is fun and entertaining for the whole family. Under request, there is also an elevator available. You can visit the castle with a guide or on your own. It is recommended to book your tickets online.
Castel Sant'Angelo: Fast Track & Guided Tour
Castel Sant'Angelo: Fast Track & Guided Tour
Enjoy a guided tour of Castel Sant’Angelo without having to wait in the long queue. This monument was previously the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian, a Papal fortress and also a prison! Explore the halls, admire the splendid murals and learn about one of Rome’s most famous landmarks. From the top, you will see jaw dropping views of the Eternal City. The ticket includes priority entrance and a headset, so that you can always hear the guide.
from € 49,00
Castel Sant’Angelo: Fast Track
Castel Sant’Angelo: Fast Track
Castel Sant'Angelo has been used for many different purposes over the centuries. It was built as a Mausoleum, providing a final resting place for Emperor Hadrian and his family. After that, it has been a prison and defense fortress. Today it is a museum. Atop Castel Sant'Angelo is a statue of the Archangel Michael. Skip the queue by buying your tickets online in advance. The Angel Bridge connects the castle across the Tiber with the other side of Rome.
Midnight in Paris is a 2011 fantasy comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. Set in Paris, the film follows Gil Pender (Owen Wilson), a screenwriter and aspiring novelist, who is forced to confront the shortcomings of his relationship with his materialistic fiancée (Rachel McAdams) and their divergent goals, which become increasingly exaggerated as he travels back in time to the 1920s each night at midnight.[3]
In 2010, disillusioned screenwriter Gil Pender and his fiancée, Inez, vacation in Paris with Inez's wealthy parents. Gil, struggling to finish his debut novel about a man who works in a nostalgia shop, finds himself drawn to the artistic history of Paris, especially the Lost Generation of the 1920s, and has ambitions to move there, which Inez dismisses. By chance, they meet Inez's friend, Paul, and his wife, Carol. Paul speaks with great authority but questionable accuracy on French history, annoying Gil but impressing Inez.
Intoxicated after a night of wine tasting, Gil decides to walk back to their hotel, while Inez goes with Paul and Carol by taxi. At midnight, a 1920s car pulls up beside Gil and delivers him to a party for Jean Cocteau, attended by other people of the 1920s Paris art scene. Zelda Fitzgerald, bored, encourages her husband Scott and Gil to leave with her. They head to a cafe where they run into Ernest Hemingway and Juan Belmonte. After Zelda and Scott leave, Gil and Hemingway discuss writing, and Hemingway offers to show Gil's novel to Gertrude Stein. As Gil leaves to fetch his manuscript, he returns to 2010; the cafe is now a laundromat.
The next night, Gil tries to repeat the experience with Inez, but she leaves before midnight. Returning to the 1920s, Gil accompanies Hemingway to visit Gertrude Stein, who critiques Pablo Picasso's new painting of his lover Adriana. Gil becomes drawn to Adriana, a costume designer who also had affairs with Amedeo Modigliani and Georges Braque. Having heard the first line of Gil's novel, Adriana praises it and admits she has always longed for the past.
Gil continues to time travel the following nights. Inez grows jaded with Paris and Gil's constant disappearing, while her father grows suspicious and hires a private detective to follow him. Adriana leaves Picasso and continues to bond with Gil, who is conflicted by his attraction to her. Gil explains his situation to Salvador Dalí, Man Ray, and Luis Buñuel; as surrealists, they do not question his claim of coming from the future. Gil later suggests the plot of "The Exterminating Angel" to Buñuel.
While Inez and her parents travel to Mont Saint Michel, Gil meets Gabrielle, an antique dealer and fellow admirer of the Lost Generation. He later finds Adriana's diary at a book stall, which reveals that she was in love with Gil and dreamed of being gifted earrings before making love to him. To seduce Adriana, Gil tries to steal a pair of Inez's earrings but is thwarted by her early return to the hotel room.
Gil buys new earrings and returns to the past. After he gives Adriana the earrings, a horse-drawn carriage arrives, transporting them to the Belle Époque, an era Adriana considers Paris's Golden Age, they go to the Moulin Rouge where they meet Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Gauguin, and Edgar Degas, who all agree that Paris's best era was the Renaissance. Adriana is offered a job designing ballet costumes; thrilled, she proposes to Gil that they stay, but he, observing the unhappiness of Adriana and the other artists, realizes that chasing nostalgia is fruitless because the present is always "a little unsatisfying." Adriana decides to stay, and they part ways.
Gil rewrites the first two chapters of his novel. He retrieves his draft from Stein, who praises his rewrite. Still, he says that on reading the new chapters, Hemingway does not believe that the protagonist does not realize that his fiancée, based on Inez, is having an affair with the character based on Paul. Gil returns to 2010 and confronts Inez, who admits to sleeping with Paul but disregards it as a meaningless fling. Gil breaks up with her and decides to move to Paris. The detective following him takes a "wrong turn" and ends up being chased by the palace guards of Louis XVI just before a revolution breaks out. While walking by the Seine at midnight, Gil encounters Gabrielle. As it begins to rain, he offers to walk her home and learns that they share a love for Paris in the rain.