By Gary Ahern

The Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence is one of the largest Franciscan churches in the world. For much of the year the basilica, which continues to be a place of worship, is thronged with tourists but during my late November visit these had dispersed.

This permitted leisurely browsing of the many tombs and monuments which commemorate famous figures of Italian history, whether buried there or elsewhere. Names such Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Machiavelli, Dante, Rossini, Florence Nightingale, and of course, Medici, jump out.

Moving around, my eye was caught by a simple marble plaque, surmounted by a small bust in relief. The father figure of radio communication, Guglielmo Marconi, is interred over one hundred kilometres miles to the north of Florence, near Bologna. However, in 1995, to mark the centenary of his development of wireless communication, Marconi joined an illustrious list of Renaissance and other figures remembered in Santa Croce.

By the early twentieth century, Marconi had gained fame through his inspired adaptations and inventiveness in the field of wireless messaging. These would lead to advances in marine, aviation, and general long-distance communication, making ‘Marconi’ a household name worldwide.

His development of wireless technology brought an ease and speed previously unimaginable to long distance communication challenging, and often superseding, cable-borne systems.

Marconi’s achievements and his Italian birth were widely acknowledged. What has perhaps been less well known is the role played by his Irish mother, Annie Jameson from Enniscorthy. She encouraged her son’s early experimentations and supported him, financially and otherwise. She was to have a very significant influence on Marconi’s character, and his determination to persevere against adversity.

Continue reading in this week’s Ireland’s Own