Almanac for today, Monday, August 7: walk on a steel cable at an altitude of 400 meters

It happened today

On August 7, 1420, work began on the dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. The task that was never set, which worried the builders of the cathedral for many years: how to cover this octagonal drum, the inner diameter of which was almost fifty meters? Filippo Brunelleschi knew how. And he will achieve this in less than 15 years thanks to his famous “trick”, an authentic program of the twelve-point project, the first in the history of architecture. The master also made sure that, as far as possible, the safety of the workers who had to work at dizzying heights was ensured. The most daring was Piero di Sandro (named precisely “Without Fear”), who had the task of wetting the walls of the dome during breaks in work. Even the tightrope walker didn’t get dizzy Philip Petit,

which on August 7, 1974, passed at a height of 400 meters along a steel cable – less than three centimeters thick – stretched between the twin towers in New York. He drove back and forth eight times without a security system. © PLAYBACK PROTECTED (Luigi Gaetani)

born of the day

Mata Hari, 7 August 1876, Dutch dancer and secret agent

Nelson GoodmanAugust 7, 1906, American philosopher

Nando Martellini, 7 August 1921, journalist, radio and television journalist

Abele Bikila, 7 August 1932, Ethiopian marathon runner

Caetano Veloso (born August 7, 1942) is a Brazilian guitarist and songwriter.

Jerry Scotty, August 7, 1956, television and radio host and former politician.

Bruce Dickinson, 7 August 1958, British singer and songwriter

Maurizio Landini, 7 August 1961, trade unionist

Alain Robert, 7 August 1962, French mountaineer

Antonio Manzini, August 7, 1964, actor, screenwriter, director and writer

Charlize Theron (born August 7, 1975) is a South African actress, film producer and model.

Marco Melandri, August 7, 1982, motorcycle racer

dead day

Rabindranath Tagoreborn August 7, 1941, Bengali poet, playwright, writer and philosopher.

Piero Carlo PirelliAugust 7, 1956, entrepreneur

Oliver Hardy, born August 7, 1957, is an American actor and comedian.

Salvatore Ferragamo, born August 7, 1960, stylist and entrepreneur.

Andrea Pininfarina, August 7, 2008, entrepreneur.

Anna Piaggi, August 7, 2012, journalist and writer

Saint of the day

San Caetan Tiene, founder of the Order of Theatin Clerics Regular. He was born in Vicenza in 1480 and lost his father when he was only 12 years old. He studied law at the University of Padua and became a lawyer, but he never practiced because he preferred to devote himself to a religious life. He lived in Rome and Naples, where he died in 1547.