Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Melloni, Macedonio

(Encyclopedia)Melloni, Macedonio mächādôˈnyō māl-lōˈnē [key], 1798–1854, Italian physicist. Known especially for his investigations of heat, he pointed out the similarity of heat to light, showing that i...

Ravenna, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Ravenna rĭvănˈə, rəvĕnˈə [key], city (1990 pop. 12,069), seat of Portage co., NE Ohio, in a lake and farm area; settled 1799, inc. 1852. Named after the Italian city, Ravenna has diverse light...

Tommaso da Modena

(Encyclopedia)Tommaso da Modena, c.14th–15th cent., Italian painter. He painted 40 panels for a Dominican chapter house (San Nicolo, Treviso) that depicted monks engaged in reading, writing, and prayer. On a comm...

Cavalieri, Francesco Bonaventura

(Encyclopedia)Cavalieri, Francesco Bonaventura fränchāsˈkō bōnävānto͞oˈrä kävälyāˈrē [key], 1598–1647, Italian mathematician, a Jesuit priest. Professor at Bologna from 1629, he invented the method...

Ponchielli, Amilcare

(Encyclopedia)Ponchielli, Amilcare ämēlkäˈrā pōngkyĕlˈlē [key], 1834–86, Italian composer of several very successful operas. Only La Gioconda (1876), with libretto by Boito after Hugo's Angelo, is still ...

Petrarch

(Encyclopedia)Petrarch fränchĕsˈkō pāträrˈkä [key], 1304–74, Italian poet and humanist, one of the great figures of Italian literature. He spent his youth in Tuscany and Avignon and at Bologna. He returne...

ivy

(Encyclopedia)ivy, name applied loosely to any trailing or climbing plant, particularly cultivated forms, but more popularly a designation for Hedera helix, the so-called English ivy, and some related species of th...

Busto Arsizio

(Encyclopedia)Busto Arsizio bo͞oˈstō ärsēˈtsyō [key], city, Lombardy, N Italy. It is a leadi...

Ferrari, Enzo Anselmo

(Encyclopedia)Ferrari, Enzo Anselmo ĕnˈtsō änsĕlˈmō fār-räˈrē [key], 1898–1988, Italian designer, manufacturer, and driver of racing and sports cars, b. Modena. Following service in the Italian army in...

Gossart, Jan

(Encyclopedia)Gossart or Gossaert, Jan, c.1478–1532, Flemish painter, b. Maubeuge, also known as Jan de Mabuse after his birthplace. He may have studied in Bruges before joining the Antwerp guild in 1503. In 1508...