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Ferrari, Gaudenzio

(Encyclopedia)Ferrari, Gaudenzio fār-räˈrē [key], c.1480–1546, Italian painter, one of the leading representatives of the Lombard school. He worked chiefly in the churches of Varallo (N Piedmont), Vercelli, ...

pantheon

(Encyclopedia)pantheon päNtāôNˈ [key] in Paris was designed by J. G. Soufflot and was begun in 1764; the dome was completed (1781) after his death. An earlier church on the site was dedicated to St. Geneviève....

Alphonsus Liguori, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Alphonsus Liguori, Saint ălfŏnˈsəs lĭgwôˈrē [key], 1696–1787, Italian churchman, Doctor of the Church. He was named Alfonso Maria de' Liguori. In 1732 he founded the Congregation of the Most...

Lactantius, Lucius Caelius Firmianus

(Encyclopedia)Lactantius, Lucius Caelius Firmianus lo͞oˈshəs sēˈlēəs fûrmēāˈnəs lăktănˈshəs [key], c.260–a.d. 340, Christian author and apologist, b. Africa. He taught rhetoric at Diocletian's sch...

Nicholas of Cusa

(Encyclopedia)Nicholas of Cusa (Nicolaus Cusanus), 1401?–1464, German humanist, scientist, statesman, and philosopher, from 1448 cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. The son of a fisherman, Nicholas was educate...

Capitoline Hill

(Encyclopedia)Capitoline Hill kăpˈĭtəlīnˌ [key] or Capitol, highest of the seven hills of ancient Rome, historic and religious center of the city. The great temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, on its southern summ...

Modena

(Encyclopedia)Modena môˈdānä [key], city (1991 pop. 176,990), capital of Modena prov., Emilia-Romagna, N central Italy, on the Panaro River. It is an agricultural, commercial, and major industrial center. Manuf...

Silone, Ignazio

(Encyclopedia)Silone, Ignazio ēnyäˈtsyō sēlōˈnā [key], 1900–1978, Italian novelist and journalist, whose original name was Secondo Tranquilli. A Socialist and for a time a Communist, he broke with Stalin ...

Perseus, in Greek mythology

(Encyclopedia)Perseus pûrˈsēəs, –so͝os [key], in Greek mythology, son of Zeus and Danaë. His grandfather, Acrisius, had been warned by an oracle that his grandson would kill him and therefore put Perseus an...

canonization

(Encyclopedia)canonization kănˌənĭzāˈshən [key], in the Roman Catholic Church, process by which a person is classified as a saint. It is now performed at Rome alone, although in the Middle Ages and earlier b...

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