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smilax

(Encyclopedia)smilax, common name for a florists' plant of two separate genera (Asparagus and Smilax), both of the family Liliaceae (lily family, although some botanists recognize smilax as a separate family, the S...

spikenard

(Encyclopedia)spikenard spīkˈnärd [key], name for several plants. The biblical spikenard, or nard, was a costly aromatic ointment, preserved in alabaster boxes, whose chief ingredient is believed to have been de...

nightingale

(Encyclopedia)nightingale, common name for a migratory Old World bird of the family Turdidae (thrush family), celebrated for its vocal powers. The common nightingale of England and Western Europe, Luscinia megarhyn...

Locatelli, Pietro

(Encyclopedia)Locatelli, Pietro pyĕˈtrō lōkätĕlˈlē [key], 1695–1764, Italian violinist and composer. Much of his life was spent in Amsterdam, where he died. An outstanding virtuoso, he wrote studies and c...

Mochi, Francesco

(Encyclopedia)Mochi, Francesco fränchĕsˈkō môˈkē [key], 1580–1654, Italian sculptor. Mochi's attraction to the baroque aesthetic led him to create dramatic sculptures notable for swirling drapery (e.g., Ar...

Monte Cristo

(Encyclopedia)Monte Cristo mŏnˌtē krĭsˈtō, Ital. mônˈtā krēˈstō [key], unpopulated, rocky island, 6 sq mi (15.5 sq km), belonging to Italy, in the Tyrrhenian Sea between Corsica and the Italian coast. I...

Sassoferrato

(Encyclopedia)Sassoferrato säsˌsōfār-räˈtō [key], 1605–85, Italian painter; pupil of Domenichino. His original name was Giovanni Battista Salvi. He is best known for his sentimental Madonnas, reminiscent o...

Torricelli, Evangelista

(Encyclopedia)Torricelli, Evangelista āvänjālēˈstä tōr-rēchĕlˈlē [key], 1608–47, Italian physicist and mathematician. He was Galileo's secretary (1641–42) and his successor as professor of philosophy...

Scipione

(Encyclopedia)Scipione (Gino Bonichi) shēpyôˈnā; jēˈnō bōnēˈkē [key], 1904–33, Italian painter. Together with Mario Mafai, Scipione was a cofounder of the Roman school, an expressionist movement, in 19...

Albertinelli, Mariotto

(Encyclopedia)Albertinelli, Mariotto märyôtˈtō älbārtēnĕlˈlē [key], 1474–1515, Italian painter. A product of the Florentine school of the High Renaissance, Albertinelli was influenced by Leonardo and Ra...