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Pichincha

(Encyclopedia)Pichincha pēchēnˈchä [key], active volcano, 15,918 ft (4,852 m) high, N Ecuador, near Quito. Its most serious recent eruption was in 1998–2001. On its lower slopes, in the decisive battle of Pic...

flamenco

(Encyclopedia)flamenco, Spanish music and dance typical of the Romani (Gypsy), or gitano. Flamenco dancing is characterized by colorful costumes, intense and erotic movements, stamping of the feet (zapateado), and ...

Junín, village, Peru

(Encyclopedia)Junín, city (1993 pop. 16,183), W central Peru, in the Andes. In the vicinity on Aug. 6, 1824, Simón Bolívar, aided by Antonio José de Sucre, defeated the Spanish general José Canterac in the fir...

Sansovino, Andrea

(Encyclopedia)Sansovino, Andrea ändrĕˈä sänsōvēˈnō [key], c.1460–1529, Florentine sculptor and architect of the High Renaissance, b. Monte Sansavino. His real name was Andrea Contucci. He trained under A...

Brazilian literature

(Encyclopedia)Brazilian literature, the writings of both the European explorers of Brazil and its later inhabitants. In 1902 Euclides da Cunha wrote his masterly description of an uprising in the Brazilian northe...

Gramme, Zénobe-Théophile

(Encyclopedia)Gramme, Zénobe-Théophile zānôbˈ tāôfēlˈ gräm [key], 1826–1901, Belgian electrical engineer. While working as a model maker for a Parisian manufacturer of electrical devices, Gramme became ...

Murano

(Encyclopedia)Murano mo͞oräˈnō [key], suburb of Venice, NE Italy, on five small islands in the Lagoon of Venice. From the late 13th cent. it was the center of the Venetian glass industry, which reached a peak i...

Ulloa, Francisco de

(Encyclopedia)Ulloa, Francisco de ᵺā o͞olyōˈä [key], d. c.1540, Spanish explorer in Mexico. Against the orders of Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza, Hernán Cortés sent Ulloa to explore the Gulf of California. In...

Filarete

(Encyclopedia)Filarete fēˈlärĕˈtā [key], c.1400–c.1465, Italian architect and sculptor, whose real name was Antonio Averlino, b. Florence. In the 1430s he went to Rome, where he studied the monuments of ant...

Mendocino, Cape

(Encyclopedia)Mendocino, Cape mĕndəsēˈnō [key], westernmost point of California, c.200 mi (320 km) N of San Francisco in Humboldt co. It was discovered and named in 1543 in honor of Antonio de Mendoza by Barto...