One of the most celebrated fashion designers ever, Giorgio Armani was born into a humble Italian family in 1934. Growing up in a locality near Milan, young Giorgio became so impressed with the city's worldly art galleries and fashion houses that he gave up his plans of becoming a doctor to pursue a career in the fashion industry. In 1964, without any formal training, Armani created a largely successful line of menswear for the house of another fashion giant, Nino Cerruti. Ten years later, following his partner's advice, Armani opened his own Milan design house, and almost immediately won critical acclaim. His innovative take on the traditional business suit introduced relaxed yet voluptuary tailoring, granting Armani the kind of recognition and financial success which few others had achieved. According to Forbes, Armani's fashion empire is presently one of the most profitable, and already worth well over $135 million. What certainly added to Armani's success was his "power suit," which became an unmistakable symbol of the 1980s business boom. Armani is also considered the first designer to loan his clothing to celebrities, including Michelle Pfeiffer and Jodie Foster, and to promote his collections in movies such as "American Gigolo" (1980) and TV series, most notably, the internationally successful "Miami Vice" (1984-1989).

Italian thinker, painter and sculptor Umberto Boccioni is considered one of the initiators of the Futurist movement in art and sculpture. Born in Reggio di Callabira, the artist was initially influenced by Maestro Giacomo Balla and his technique of pointillism, which is a practice of applying dots and small strokes to produce paintings. In 1908, Boccioni moved to Milan, where he met F.T. Martinetti, who introduced him to the theory of literary Futurism. The idea of overthrowing old traditions in order to explore in art the dynamism and crudeness of modern life, immediately won the artist's attention. In 1910, Boccioni helped to draft the manifesto of Futurism, in which he called for the elimination of traditional perspective and the extensive use of whirling lines in painting and sculpting. The works which best illustrate Boccioni's art rules are his masterpieces "The City Rises" (1910) and "Unique Forms of Continuity in Space" (1913). In 1917, during his service in the army, Boccioni's brilliant career was cut short when the artist died after falling off of a horse.

An Italian Baroque painter and the most successful and revolutionary artist of his time, Caravaggio is often referred to as the best representative of early 17th-Century Naturalism. Born in the small town of Caravaggio, at barely 11 years old Caravggio became an apprentice to the painter Simone Peterzano of Milan. After a four-year study at Milan, the painter moved to Rome, where he mastered the demanding techniques of the Baroque school of painting. Caravaggio's first success came around 1600, with the completion of his masterpieces "The Calling of Saint Matthew" (1599) and "The Conversion of Saint Paul" (1600). Soon, the artist was hailed The Most Famous Painter in Rome, and enjoyed a life full of luxury and critical acclaim. Yet despite all the success, Caravaggio led an extremely turbulent lifestyle, and was commonly regarded as a trouble-maker. In 1606, the painter was accused of murder and involvement in numerous brawls. In 1610, just a decade into his career, Caravaggio disappeared and was declared dead, though his body was never found. Throughout his brief carrier, the artist produced an impressive number of paintings, many of which entered the curriculum of Art History. His most recognisable works include "Boy with a Basket of Fruit" (1593) and "Bacchus" (1597).

A master painter, sculptor, architect, inventor and engineer, Leonardo da Vinci is the embodiment of a Renaissance man, and one of the most renowned representatives of the 15th-Century Italian art scene. Born in 1452 in Vinci, not far from the city of Florence, Leonardo had begun painting already in his early childhood. His talent was quickly recognised by his father, who sent the fourteen-year-old boy to Florence to become an apprentice to the painter Andrea del Verrochio. Famously, when Verrochio asked Leonardo to paint one of the angels on the painting entitled "Baptism of Christ" in 1477, Leonardo so obviously outdid his master that Verrochio swore never to touch brushes again. In 1482, Leonardo moved to Milan, where under the patronage of the Duke of Milan (Ludovico Sforza) he produced some of his best works, most notably "The Last Supper" (1498) and "Madonna and Child with St. Anne" (1499). Although da Vinci spent 17 years in Milan, he managed to finish only six paintings during that period. From 1499 until his death in 1516, Leonardo worked in Italy and France, producing such masterpieces as "Mona Lisa" (1503-1507), "St. John the Baptist" (1514) and "Bacchus" (1515). Throughout his career, da Vinci also masterminded a number of inventions and engineering constructions far ahead of his time -- a tank, helicopter, and calculator being just a few of them. Additionally, the artist was interested in metallurgy, civil engineering and optics. He also made a huge contribution in the field of anatomy with his "Vitruvian Man", a study of human symmetry.

Born at Cassano d'Adda in the province of Milan, Valentino Mazzola is known as one of the legendary Milanese football players who died in the infamous disaster involving a Superga aircraft in 1940s. Mazzola first became interested in pursuing the career of a football player when he noticed a team playing near the factory in which he was working. Although Mazzola applied to the team almost immediately, he was accepted only before the outbreak of World War II. In 1939, Mazzola had to quit the team in order to join the Italian Army. While stationed near Venice, Mazzola begun attending the trainings of a local football team, Venezia AC, but his initial achievements were rather underwhelming. Mazzola's first break happened in 1941, when he led the team to the victory in the Coppa Italia Final. Soon, the young player caught the attention of a rival football team from Torino, who eventually bought Mazzola out of his team. With Torino, Mazzola enjoyed a string of successes, winning the League title in 1943, 1946 and 1948. In 1949, Mazzola's team won the last title they would get until the mid-1970s. During his eight-year career at Venezia and Torino, the celebrated player scored 109 goals. On May 4, 1949, when Mazzola and his team were flying back from a game in Lisbon, the Superga aircraft crashed, killing all but one man onboard.