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Versace, Gianni

(Encyclopedia)Versace, Gianni (Giovanni Maria Versace), 1946–97, Italian fashion designer, b. Reggio Calabria. A dressmaker's son, Versace worked for several Italian designers before opening (1978) his own Milan ...

Heilongjiang

(Encyclopedia)Heilongjiang or Heilungkiang both: hāˈlo͝ongˈjyängˈ [key] [Chin.,=black dragon rive...

Medici, Lorenzo de', 1449–92, Italian merchant prince

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Lorenzo de' dā mĕˈdĭchē, Ital. māˈdēchē [key], 1449–92, Italian merchant prince, called Lorenzo il Magnifico [the magnificent]. He succeeded (1469) his father, Piero de' Medici, as...

Siena

(Encyclopedia)Siena syĕˈnä [key], city (1991 pop. 56,956), capital of Siena prov., Tuscany, central Italy. Rich in art treasures and historic architecture, it is one of the most popular tourist centers in Italy....

globe

(Encyclopedia)globe, spherical map of the earth (terrestrial globe) or the sky (celestial globe). The terrestrial globe provides the only graphic representation of the areas of the earth without significant distort...

Golden Legend, The

(Encyclopedia)Golden Legend, The, collection of saints' lives written in the 13th cent. by Jacobus da Varagine. Originally entitled Legenda sanctorum [readings in the lives of the saints], it soon came to be called...

Cumberland Gap

(Encyclopedia)Cumberland Gap, natural passage through the Cumberland Mts., near the point where Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee meet. The gap was formed by the erosive action of a stream that once flowed there. I...

Bokassa, Jean-Bédel

(Encyclopedia)Bokassa, Jean-Bédel zhäN-bĕdĕlˈ bōkäsˈsä [key], 1921–96, president of Central African Republic (1966–79). He served (1939–61) in the French army, then organized his country's army, beco...

Eyck, van

(Encyclopedia)Eyck, van văn īk [key], family of Flemish painters, the brothers Hubert van Eyck, c.1370–1426, and Jan van Eyck, c.1390–1441. Of the van Eycks' works that have survived, the largest is an alta...

Sforza

(Encyclopedia)Sforza sfôrˈtsä [key], Italian family that ruled the duchy of Milan from 1450 to 1535. Rising from peasant origins, the Sforzas became condottieri and used this military position to become rulers i...