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Potgieter, Everhardus Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Potgieter, Everhardus Johannes āvərhärˈdəs yōhänˈəs pôtˈgētər [key], 1808–75, Dutch critic, essayist, and poet. He was the first editor (1837–65) of and a major contributor to De Gids...

Agostino di Duccio

(Encyclopedia)Agostino di Duccio ägōstēˈnō dē do͞otˈchō [key], b. 1418, d. after 1481, Florentine sculptor. Agostino worked mainly in other parts of Italy; he carved marble narrative reliefs for the facade...

city planning

(Encyclopedia)city planning, process of planning for the improvement of urban centers in order to provide healthy and safe living conditions, efficient transport and communication, adequate public facilities, and a...

Machiavelli, Niccolò

(Encyclopedia)Machiavelli, Niccolò nēk-kōlôˈ mäkyävĕlˈlē [key], 1469–1527, Italian author and statesman, one of the outstanding figures of the Renaissance, b. Florence. Machiavelli's best-known work, ...

Dante Alighieri

(Encyclopedia)Dante Alighieri dănˈtē, Ital. dänˈtā älēgyĕˈrē [key], 1265–1321, Italian poet, b. Florence. Dante was the author of the Divine Comedy, one of the greatest of literary classics. Dante's ...

Guicciardini, Francesco

(Encyclopedia)Guicciardini, Francesco fränchāsˈkō gwēt-chärdēˈnē [key], 1483–1540, Italian historian and statesman. He represented (1512–14) his native Florence at the court of Spain, held offices in t...

Pisa

(Encyclopedia)Pisa pēˈsä [key], city (1991 pop. 98,928), capital of Pisa prov., Tuscany, N central Italy, on the Arno River. It is now c.6 mi (9.7 km) from the Tyrrhenian Sea, which once reached the city. Pisa i...

Browning, Elizabeth Barrett

(Encyclopedia)Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, 1806–61, English poet, b. Durham. A delicate and precocious child, she spent a great part of her early life in a state of semi-invalidism. She read voraciously—philoso...

Craig, Edward Gordon

(Encyclopedia)Craig, Edward Gordon, 1872–1966, English scene designer, producer, and actor. The son of Ellen Terry, Gordon Craig began acting with Henry Irving's Lyceum company (1885–97). Feeling that the reali...

Cortona

(Encyclopedia)Cortona kōrtōˈnä [key], town, Tuscany, central Italy. It is an agricultural and tourist c...