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Medici, Giovanni de', 1498–1526, Italian condottiere

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Giovanni de', or Giovanni delle Bande Nere jōvänˈnē dĕlˈlā bänˈdā nāˈrā [key] [Ital.,=of the black bands], 1498–1526, Italian condottiere; great-grandson of Lorenzo de' Medici (...

Bartolommeo di Pagholo del Fattorino, Fra

(Encyclopedia)Bartolommeo di Pagholo del Fattorino, Fra frä bärtōlōmĕˈō dē päˈgōlō dĕl fätˌtōrēˈnō [key], 1475–1517, Italian painter, also called Baccio della Porta. Under the influence of Savo...

Donizetti, Gaetano

(Encyclopedia)Donizetti, Gaetano gītäˈnō dōnēdzĕtˈtē [key], 1797–1848, Italian composer. He studied music in Bergamo and Bologna and achieved success with his first opera, Enrico di Borgogna (1818). His ...

Francis, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Francis, Saint, or Saint Francis of Assisi əsēˈzē [key], 1182?–1226, founder of the Franciscans, one of the greatest Christian saints, b. Assisi, Umbria, Italy. Two years before his death (122...

Pescara, Ferdinando Francesco d'Avalos, marchese di

(Encyclopedia)Pescara, Ferdinando Francesco d'Avalos, marchese di fārdēnänˈdō fränchāsˈkō däväˈlōs märkāˈzā ᵺē pāskäˈrä [key], 1490?–1525, Spanish-Neapolitan general in the Italian Wars. H...

Monteverdi, Claudio

(Encyclopedia)Monteverdi, Claudio klouˈdyō mōntāvĕrˈdē [key], 1567–1643, Italian composer; first great figure in the history of opera. His earliest published works, a set of three motifs, appeared when he ...

Bentivoglio

(Encyclopedia)Bentivoglio bānˈtēvōˈlyō [key], Italian noble family, one of several powerful clans in the struggle for control of Bologna during most of the 15th cent. Its greatest member was Giovanni II, who ...

Garda, Lake

(Encyclopedia)Garda, Lake gärˈdä [key], Ital. Lago di Garda or Benaco, largest lake of Italy, 143 sq mi (370 sq km), between Lombardy and Venetia, N Italy. It is c.32 mi (52 km) long, with a maximum width of c.1...

John I, king of France

(Encyclopedia)John I or John the Posthumous, 1316, king of France, posthumous son of King Louis X. He lived only five days and was succeeded by his uncle, Philip V. According to legend, a dying child was substitute...

Eco, Umberto

(Encyclopedia)Eco, Umberto əmbĕrˈtō ĕcō [key], 1932–2016, Italian novelist, essayist, and semiotics scholar. His first novel, the best-selling Il nome della rosa (1980; tr. The Name of the Rose, 1983, film ...