Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Otto II, Holy Roman emperor

(Encyclopedia)Otto II, 955–83, Holy Roman emperor (973–83) and German king (961–83), son and successor of Otto I. He was crowned joint emperor in 967. Shortly after his father died Otto faced a rebellion by h...

Italic languages

(Encyclopedia)Italic languages, subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages that may be divided into two groups. The first group consists of the ancient Italic languages and dialects that were once spoken in...

Riva

(Encyclopedia)Riva or Riva di Trento rēˈvä dē trānˈtō [key], town (1987 est. pop. 13,200), Trentino–Alto Adige, N Italy, beautifully situated at the north end of Lake Garda. It is a summer resort and excur...

Sentinum

(Encyclopedia)Sentinum sĕntīˈnəm [key], ancient town of Umbria, E central Italy, near the modern town of Sassoferrato. In 295 b.c. the Romans (led by Publius Decius Mus) defeated the Gauls and the Samnites ther...

Saint Bernard, two Alpine passes

(Encyclopedia)Saint Bernard, two Alpine passes, both used since antiquity. The Great Saint Bernard (alt. 8,110 ft/2,472 m), on the Italian-Swiss border, links Valais canton, Switzerland, with Valle d'Aosta, Italy. ...

Istria

(Encyclopedia)Istria ĭsˈtrēə [key], Croatian Istra, mountainous peninsula c.1,500 sq mi (3,900 sq km), in Slovenia and Croatia, projecting into the N Adriatic between the gulfs of Trieste and Fiume. A section o...

Herrick, Robert, English poet

(Encyclopedia)Herrick, Robert, 1591–1674, English poet, generally considered the greatest of the Cavalier poets. Although he was born in London, he spent most of his childhood in Hampton. In 1607 he became appren...

Burton, Sir Richard Francis

(Encyclopedia)Burton, Sir Richard Francis, 1821–90, English explorer, writer, and linguist. He joined (1842) the service of the East India Company and, while stationed in India, acquired a thorough knowledge of t...

Pleiad

(Encyclopedia)Pleiad plēˈăd [key] [from Pleiades], group of seven tragic poets of Alexandria who flourished c.280 b.c. under Ptolemy II Philadelphus. Of the works of the men usually given in lists of the Pleiad ...

Gorizia

(Encyclopedia)Gorizia gōrēˈtsēä [key], Ger. Görz (gûrts), city, capital of Gorizia prov., Friuli–V...