Mezzofanti was born on September 17th, 1774 in Via dei Malcontenti in the historic center of Bologna. A Bolognese forum member had kindly sent me some pictures of the house and of the street that bears his name. I decided to check for myself and found the plaque in a narrow, run-down street just opposite a Beate Uhse sex shop. The young Mezzofanti was first exposed to foreign languages when his father was repairing a bank next to a Latin-and-Greek school. Young Mezzofanti followed the lesson across the open window and soon learned by heart all words he had heard, to the amazement of the professor. One can only wonder wether if Beate Uhse had been around during Mezzofanti's times what walk of life he would have chosen.

These are the best pictures I could manage of the plaque which is in a poor condition. I guess dead Cardinals are no heroes in the modern Bologna even if they were great polyglots.

There is also, in Bologna and in Milan, Mezzofanti streets. Boaziano, a forum member, kindly sent me the picture to the one in Bologna.