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Gonzaga

(Encyclopedia)Gonzaga gōntsäˈgä [key], Italian princely house that ruled Mantua (1328–1708), Montferrat (1536–1708), and Guastalla (1539–1746). The family name is derived from the castle of Gonzaga, a vil...

Potenza

(Encyclopedia)Potenza pōtānˈtsä [key], city (1990 pop. 65,714), capital of Basilicata and of Potenza prov., S Italy, in the Apennines. It is an agricultural, commercial, and light industrial center. Founded in ...

Bibiena, Galli da

(Encyclopedia)Bibiena or Bibbiena, Galli da gälˈlē dä bēbyāˈnä [key], family of Italian artists of the 17th and 18th cent. Giovanni Maria Galli da Bibiena, 1625–65, studied with Francesco Albani and paint...

Lascaris, Constantine

(Encyclopedia)Lascaris, Constantine kŏnˈstəntēn lăsˈkərĭs [key], d. 1501?, Greek grammarian. After the fall of Constantinople, Lascaris went to Italy and in Milan obtained the patronage of Francesco Sforza....

Andreini, Isabella Canali

(Encyclopedia)Andreini, Isabella Canali ēˌzäbĕlˈlä ändrāēˈnē [key], 1562–1604, Italian actress. Beautiful, elegant, and well-educated, she was one of the most famous performers of her time. She joined ...

Humbert I

(Encyclopedia)Humbert I, 1844–1900, king of Italy (1878–1900), son and successor of Victor Emmanuel II. A soldier by training, Humbert showed interest primarily in military affairs and foreign policy, and early...

Cappello, Bianca

(Encyclopedia)Cappello, Bianca byängˈkä cäpĕlˈlō [key], 1548–87, grand duchess of Tuscany (1579–87). Of a noble Venetian family, she eloped (1563) with a Florentine, Pietro Bonaventuri, who was later kil...

Berlinghieri, Bonaventura

(Encyclopedia)Berlinghieri, Bonaventura bôˌnävĕnto͞oˈrä bĕrˌlĭng-gyāˈrē [key], fl. 1235–44, Italian painter. Originally from Lucca, he was the most gifted of a family of Lombardian painters. His Scen...

Medici, Ferdinand I de'

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Ferdinand I de', 1549–1609, grand duke of Tuscany (1587–1609); brother and successor of Francesco de' Medici. He was made a cardinal in his youth, and he built the famous Villa Medici at R...

Filarete

(Encyclopedia)Filarete fēˈlärĕˈtā [key], c.1400–c.1465, Italian architect and sculptor, whose real name was Antonio Averlino, b. Florence. In the 1430s he went to Rome, where he studied the monuments of ant...