Da Mosto was born into an
aristocratic family in
Venice, and his family has been part of the city's history for several centuries. in the 17th century, when Chiara da Mosto, a female member of the family, married four times, with each husband dying of natural causes – thus enabling her to become one of the wealthiest people in
Venice. Da Mosto is the younger son of
Count Ranieri da Mosto and Contessa Maria Grazia Vanni d'Archirafi, who comes from a very old
Sicilian noble family who are the
Dukes of Archirafi and include many noted Italian diplomats and bankers. A
Roman Catholic, da Mosto took his first
Holy Communion in the crypt of
St Mark's. When
BBC Two decided to make a four-part series about the history of
Venice, they contacted Francesco to be the host. He has now presented three series for
BBC Two: ''Francesco's Venice
, Francesco's Italy – from Top to Toe
and Francesco's Mediterranean Voyage, with accompanying books to the series. He has also published a book entitled Francesco's Kitchen''. In the
Doctor Who Confidential series 5 episode
Death in Venice, Francesco is featured explaining the history of Venice to
Matt Smith.
Shakespeare in Italy was broadcast on BBC Two on May 3 and 10, 2012. In 2015, da Mosto co-presented the documentary
A Sicilian Dream about the
Targa Florio, a Sicilian motor race. ==Bibliography==