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Marie de' Medici

(Encyclopedia)Marie de' Medici mĕdˈĭchē [key], 1573–1642, queen of France, second wife of King Henry IV and daughter of Francesco de' Medici, grand duke of Tuscany. She was married to Henry in 1600. After his...

Malatesta

(Encyclopedia)Malatesta mälätĕˈstä [key], Italian family, ruling Rimini and nearby cities for almost 300 years from the 13th to 16th cent. Malatesta da Verucchio (d. 1312), a powerful Guelph leader, became (12...

Sixtus IV

(Encyclopedia)Sixtus IV sĭkˈstəs [key], 1414–84, pope (1471–84), an Italian named Francesco della Rovere (b. near Savona); successor of Paul II. He was made general of his order, the Franciscans, in 1464 and...

Italian art

(Encyclopedia)Italian art, works of art produced in the geographic region that now constitutes the nation of Italy. Italian art has engendered great public interest and involvement, resulting in the consistent prod...

Giolitti, Giovanni

(Encyclopedia)Giolitti, Giovanni jōvänˈnē jōlētˈtē [key], 1842–1928, Italian public official, five times premier (1892–93, 1903–5, 1906–9, 1911–14, 1920–21). He entered parliament in 1882 and se...

Parmigianino

(Encyclopedia)Parmigianino –jäˈnō [key], 1503–40, Italian painter and etcher, one of the most sensitive mannerist artists (see mannerism) and one of the period's finest draftsmen. His real name was Girolamo ...

Italian architecture

(Encyclopedia)Italian architecture, the several styles employed in Italy after the Roman period. Nineteenth-century Italian architecture, such as Giuseppe Sacconi's Victor Emmanuel monument, shows a decline in qu...

Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi da

(Encyclopedia)Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi da äˌmārēˈjē [key], 1571–1610, Italian painter. His surname, Caravaggio, came from his birthplace. After an apprenticeship in Milan, he arrived (1592) in Rome w...

Weyden, Roger van der

(Encyclopedia)Weyden, Roger van der vän dər vīˈdən [key], c.1400–1464, major early Flemish master, known also as Roger de la Pasture. He is believed to have studied with Robert Campin. His early works also s...

Piero della Francesca

(Encyclopedia)Piero della Francesca pyĕˈrō dĕlˈlä fränchāsˈkä [key], c.1420–1492, major Italian Renaissance painter, b. Borgo San Sepolcro (modern Sansepolcro). All his masterpieces were created in town...