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Malpighi, Marcello

(Encyclopedia)Malpighi, Marcello märchĕlˈlō mälpēˈgē [key], 1628–94, Italian anatomist. A pioneer in the use of the microscope, he made many valuable observations on the structure of plants and animals. H...

Preti, Mattia

(Encyclopedia)Preti, Mattia mät-tēˈä prĕˈtē [key], 1613–99, Italian baroque painter, called Il Calabrese for his birthplace. Preti went to Rome c.1630 and studied with Lanfranco. His most dramatic works we...

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 ...

Gratian, Italian legal scholar

(Encyclopedia)Gratian, fl. 1140, Italian legal scholar, founder of the science of canon law. Almost nothing is known of his life beyond the fact that he was a monk, almost certainly Camaldolite, and that he taught ...

Longhi, Pietro

(Encyclopedia)Longhi, Pietro pyāˈtrō lôngˈgē [key], 1702–85, Venetian genre painter. Longhi studied with Crespi in Bologna. He is best known for his small pictures depicting the life of upper-middle-class V...

Vergil, Polydore

(Encyclopedia)Vergil or Virgil, Polydore, 1470?-1555?, historian and humanist, b. Urbino, Italy. He studied at Bologna and Padua, served as secretary to the duke of Urbino, was chamberlain to Pope Alexander VI, and...

Raimondi, Marcantonio

(Encyclopedia)Raimondi, Marcantonio märkäntôˈnyō rīmônˈdē [key], b. c.1480, d. before c.1534, Italian engraver. In Venice he was influenced by Dürer to such an extent that he plagiarized the German master...

Peter Lombard

(Encyclopedia)Peter Lombard, Lat. Petrus Lombardus, c.1100–c.1160, Italian theologian, often called Magister Sententiarum. He studied at Bologna, Reims, and Paris, where he is said to have been a student of Abela...

Hampson, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Hampson, Thomas, 1955–, American baritone, b. Elkhart, Ind. An elegant, intelligent, and versatile vocal artist, he has performed in operas, operettas, oratorios, musicals, and recitals. Hampson won...

Moretto, Il

(Encyclopedia)Moretto, Il ēl mōrĕtˈtō [key], c.1498–1554, Italian painter, whose real name was Alessandro Bonvicino. He was a leading representative of the Brescian school. While following the art of the Ven...