Gelasio Caetani (March 7, 1877 – October 23, 1934) was an Italian 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 pla ...

family who rose to fame during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as an

army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an Military, armed force or Uniformed services, uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warra ...

and

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

engineer.

Life and career

Gelasio Caetani was the second youngest of five sons of Onorato Caetani, 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 ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) 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 the Leaning Tow ...

and of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, 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 (; born Benedetto Caetani; – 11 October 1303) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 until his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of baronial origin with connections t ...

. Born in Rome on March 7, 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 First World War, 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. 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 () is an elected politician who, along with the City Council of Rome, Rome City Council () of 48 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Rome. As Rome is a ''Comune, comune speciale'' since 2009, the office is d ...

. In 1922, as a supporter of

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his overthrow in 194 ...

, he became

Italian ambassador to the United States The Ambassador of the Italian Republic to the United States of America () is the official representative of the government of Italy to the government of the United States. Prior to the formation of the Italian Republic in 1946, the Kingdom of I ...

. 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 (, , , , ), is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal ...

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caetani, Don Gelasio 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 Italian diplomats Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni Nobility from Rome Engineers from Rome Military personnel from Rome Mayors of Rome 19th-century Italian engineers

Life and career

See also

References

External links