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madrigal

(Encyclopedia)madrigal, name for two different forms of Italian music, one related to the poetic madrigal in the 14th cent., the other the most common form of secular vocal music in the 16th cent. The poetic madrig...

futurism

(Encyclopedia)futurism, Italian school of painting, sculpture, and literature that flourished from 1909, when Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's first manifesto of futurism appeared, until the end of World War I. Carlo Ca...

Ponzi, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Ponzi, Charles or Carlo, 1882–1949), Italian-American swindler. He came to the United States from his native Italy in 1903, then went in 1907 to Canada, where he was convicted of check forgery. In 1...

casino

(Encyclopedia)casino or cassino both: kəsēˈnō [key]. 1 Card game played with a full deck by two to four players. Its origins are obscure though it probably traces back to the Italian game of Scopa. It is a very...

Prokofiev, Sergei Sergeyevich

(Encyclopedia)Prokofiev, Sergei Sergeyevich syĭrgāˈ syĭrgāˈəvĭch prōkôfˈēĕf [key], 1891–1953, Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Prokofiev achieved wide popularity with his lively music, in wh...

de Mille, Agnes

(Encyclopedia)de Mille, Agnes (Agnes George de Mille) də mĭl [key], 1905–93, American choreographer and dancer, b. New York City; granddaughter of Henry George, daughter of playwright director W. C. de Mille, a...

Saint Peter's Church

(Encyclopedia)Saint Peter's Church, Vatican City, principal and one of the largest churches of the Christian world. The present structure was built mainly between 1506 and 1626 on the original site of the Vatican c...

Genoa

(Encyclopedia)Genoa jĕnˈōwə [key], Ital. Genova, city, capital of Genoa prov. and of Liguria, NW Italy,...

Bonaparte

(Encyclopedia)Bonaparte bwōnäpärˈtā [key], family name of Napoleon I, emperor of the French. Of the second generation of the family the most important was Louis Bonaparte's son, Louis Napoleon, who became e...

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