Gelasio Caetani (

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

March 7, 1877 – Rome October 23, 1934) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

nobleman and diplomat from the princely

Caetani The House of Caetani, or Gaetani, is the name of an Italian noble family, originally from the city of Gaeta, connected by some to the lineage of the lords of the Duchy of Gaeta, as well as to the patrician Gaetani of the Republic of Pisa. It play ...

family who rose to fame during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as an

army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contextu ...

and

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

engineer.

Life and career

Gelasio Caetani was the second youngest of five sons of

Onorato Caetani Onorato Caetani, XIV Duke of Sermoneta and IV Prince of Teano (18 January 1842 – 2 September 1917) was an Italian politician from the noble Caetani family.(In Italian) He was born in Rome, which was then part of the Papal States, to Michel ...

, 14th Duke of Sermoneta, 4th Prince of Teano (1842 – 1917), who briefly occupied the office of Italian Foreign Minister. The

family played an important role in the

history of Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

and of

, and had produced

Pope Gelasius II Pope Gelasius II (c. 1060/1064 – 29 January 1119), born Giovanni Caetani or Giovanni da Gaeta (also called ''Coniulo''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 January 1118 to his death in 1119. A monk of Monte C ...

and

Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of b ...

. Born in Rome in 1877, Caetani graduated from the Columbia University School of Mines in 1903. He dug gold in Idaho and filled several other mining contracts before founding the firm of Caetani, Burch & Hershey in San Francisco. When Italy entered the

, he returned home and joined the Italian army engineers. In April 1916 he led a successful tunnelling attack on an Austro-Hungarian stronghold on top of

Col di Lana The Col di Lana is a mountain of the Fanes Group in the Italian Dolomites. The actual peak is called ''Cima Lana'' and situated in the municipality of Livinallongo del Col di Lana (German: ''Buchenstein'') in the Province of Belluno, Veneto r ...

. Promoted to colonel by the end of the war, Gelasio Caetani won three decorations for bravery. After the First World War, he pursued a political career and served as

mayor of Rome The mayor of Rome ( it, sindaco di Roma) is an elected politician who, along with the City Council of Rome, Rome City Council ( it, Assemblea Capitolina) of 48 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Rome. As Rome is a ''Comune, ...

. In 1922, as a supporter of

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

, he became Italian ambassador to the United States. Beginning in 1921, Caetani created the

Garden of Ninfa The Garden of Ninfa is a garden in the territory of Cisterna di Latina, in the province of Latina, central Italy. The park has an area of , and is an Italian natural monument. The landscape garden within the park comprises and contains medieval ...

in the

English garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

style and restored some of the buildings there. He died of natural causes in 1934.

References

1877 births 1934 deaths Diplomats from Rome Mining engineers Italian military personnel of World War I Ambassadors of Italy to the United States 20th-century diplomats Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Nobility from Rome Engineers from Rome Military personnel from Rome Mayors of Rome {{Italy-diplomat-stub

Life and career

See also

References