Famous People from Italy

99 notable historical figures from Italy, including leaders, artists, scientists, and other influential people.

Lionel Messi

1987 – Present

Argentine association football player (born 1987)

Born June 24

Benedict XVI

1927 – 2022

265 th pope of the Catholic Church (2005–2013)

Born April 16

Silvio Berlusconi

1936 – 2023

Italian politician and media tycoon (1936–2023)

Born September 29

Federico Fellini

1920 – 1993

Italian filmmaker (1920–1993)

Born January 20

Umberto Eco

1932 – 2016

Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist (1932–2016)

Born January 5

Robert De Niro

1943 – Present

American actor, director and producer (born 1943)

Born August 17

John XXIII

1881 – 1963

head of the Catholic Church from 1958 to 1963

Born November 25

Frank Sinatra

1915 – 1998

American singer and actor (1915–1998)

Born December 12

Paul VI

1897 – 1978

pope of the Catholic Church from 1963 to 1978 (1897–1978)

Born September 26

Pius XII

1876 – 1958

pope of the Catholic Church from 1939 to 1958

Born March 2

Giorgia Meloni

1977 – Present

Prime Minister of Italy since 2022

Born January 15

Luciano Pavarotti

1935 – 2007

Italian operatic tenor (1935–2007)

Born October 12

Sergio Mattarella

1941 – Present

president of Italy (2015-present)

Born July 23

Giorgio Napolitano

1925 – 2023

President of Italy from 2006 to 2015

Born June 29

Gianluigi Buffon

1978 – Present

former Italian footballer (born 1978)

Born January 28

Benedicta Boccoli

1966 – Present

Italian theater and movie actress

Born November 11

Dario Fo

1926 – 2016

Italian actor, playwright, comedian, singer-songwriter, theater director, painter, and political activist (1926-2016)

Born March 24

Monica Bellucci

1964 – Present

Italian actress and model (born 1964)

Born September 30

Maria Montessori

1870 – 1952

Italian pedagogue and physician (1870-1952)

Born August 31

Noemi

1982 – Present

Italian singer, screenwriter and music video director (1982-)

Born January 25

Rita Levi-Montalcini

1909 – 2012

Italian neurologist (1909–2012)

Born April 22

Romano Prodi

1939 – Present

Italian politician and economist (born 1939)

Born August 9

Andrei Tarkovsky

1932 – 1986

Soviet and Russian film director, screenwriter, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director (1932–1986)

Born April 4

Kaká

1982 – Present

Brazilian association football player, born 1982

Born April 22

Giuseppe Conte

1964 – Present

Prime Minister of Italy from 2018 to 2021

Born August 8

Andrea Bocelli

1958 – Present

Italian tenor and singer-songwriter (born 1958)

Born September 22

Pier Paolo Pasolini

1922 – 1975

Italian writer, filmmaker, poet, and intellectual (1922–1975)

Born March 5

Salvatore Quasimodo

1901 – 1968

Italian writer (1901-1968)

Born August 20

Gina Lollobrigida

1927 – 2023

Italian actress, photojournalist, and politician (1927–2023)

Born July 4

Ennio Morricone

1928 – 2020

Italian composer, orchestrator and conductor (1928–2020)

Born November 10

Mario Draghi

1947 – Present

Italian economist, academic, banker and politician; former prime minister of Italy

Born September 3

Roberto Baggio

1967 – Present

Italian association football player (born 1967)

Born February 18

Primo Levi

1919 – 1987

Italian chemist, partisan, Holocaust survivor, and writer (1919–1987)

Born July 31

Alberto Moravia

1907 – 1990

Italian writer and journalist (1907-1990)

Born November 28

Mario Balotelli

1990 – Present

Italian association football player

Born August 12

Claudia Cardinale

1938 – 2025

French-Italian actress (1938–2025)

Born April 15

Italo Calvino

1923 – 1985

Italian journalist and writer (1923-1985)

Born October 15

Javier Milei

1970 – Present

economist, politician and president of Argentina since 2023

Born October 22

Roberto Benigni

1952 – Present

Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter and film director (born 1952)

Born October 27

Carlo Ancelotti

1959 – Present

Italian football player and manager

Born June 10

Sergio Leone

1929 – 1989

Italian filmmaker (1929–1989)

Born January 3

Anna Rita Del Piano

1966 – Present

Italian actress and theater director

Born July 26

Giulio Andreotti

1919 – 2013

Italian politician and statesman (1919–2013)

Born January 14

Francesco Cossiga

1928 – 2010

8th President of Italy (1928-2010)

Born July 26

Mario Monti

1943 – Present

Italian economist and politician (1943-)

Born March 19

Bernardo Bertolucci

1941 – 2018

Italian film director and screenwriter (1941–2018)

Born March 16

Ángel Di María

1988 – Present

Argentine footballer (born 1988)

Born February 14

Andrea Pirlo

1979 – Present

Italian association football player and manager

Born May 19

Alessandro Del Piero

1974 – Present

Italian association football player

Born November 9

Adriano Celentano

1938 – Present

Italian musician and actor (born 1938)

Born January 6

Frank Capra

1897 – 1991

Italian-born American film director (1897–1991)

Born May 18

Vittorio De Sica

1901 – 1974

Italian film director (1901-1974)

Born July 7

Fabio Cannavaro

1973 – Present

Italian association football player and manager

Born September 13

Paolo Maldini

1968 – Present

Italian association football player (born 1968)

Born June 26

Mauricio Macri

1959 – Present

president of Argentina from 2015 to 2019

Born February 8

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi

1920 – 2016

President of Italy from 1999 to 2006

Born December 9

Michelangelo Antonioni

1912 – 2007

Italian film director and screenwriter (1912–2007)

Born September 29

Carla Bruni

1967 – Present

Italian and French singer, model and spouse of former president of France

Born December 23

Toto Cutugno

1943 – 2023

Italian recording artist; musician, songwriter, record producer (1943–2023)

Born July 7

Riccardo Giacconi

1931 – 2018

Italian-American astrophysicist (1931-2018)

Born October 6

Giorgio Armani

1934 – 2025

Italian fashion designer (1934–2025)

Born July 11

Hernán Crespo

1975 – Present

Argentine footballer

Born July 5

Gianni Infantino

1970 – Present

Swiss-Italian football administrator

Born March 23

Oriana Fallaci

1929 – 2006

Italian journalist (1929–2006)

Born June 29

Cesare Pavese

1908 – 1950

Italian writer, literary critic, and translator (1908–1950)

Born September 9

Enzo Ferrari

1898 – 1988

Italian racing driver and entrepreneur, founder of the Ferrari (1898–1988)

Born February 18

Carlo Rubbia

1934 – Present

Italian particle physicist

Born March 31

Victor Emmanuel III of Italy

1869 – 1947

King of Italy from 1900 to 1946

Born November 11

Anna Magnani

1908 – 1973

Italian actress (1908-1973)

Born March 7

Javier Mascherano

1984 – Present

Argentine association football player and manager

Born June 8

Bud Spencer

1929 – 2016

Italian actor, lawyer, professional swimmer and water polo player

Born October 31

Giorgio Chiellini

1984 – Present

Italian sports executive and former association football player

Born August 14

Alcide De Gasperi

1881 – 1954

Italian politician and founder of the Christian Democratic Party (1881-1954)

Born April 3

Laura Pausini

1974 – Present

Italian singer-songwriter

Born May 16

Gustavo Petro

1960 – Present

34th President of Colombia since 2022

Born April 19

Roberto Rossellini

1906 – 1977

Italian film director (1906–1977)

Born May 8

Leonardo Bonucci

1987 – Present

Italian association football player

Born May 1

Sandro Pertini

1896 – 1990

Italian journalist, resistance leader and politician, President of Italy from 1978 to 1985

Born September 25

Gabriel Batistuta

1969 – Present

Argentine association football player

Born February 1