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Maloja

(Encyclopedia)Maloja mälōˈyä [key], pass, 5,960 ft (1,817 m) high, Grisons canton, SE Switzerland, leading from the Engadine valley to Italy. The lowest of passes to Italy, it crosses the Rhaetian Alps. ...

Ionian Sea

(Encyclopedia)Ionian Sea, part of the Mediterranean Sea, S Europe, between Greece and S Italy. It is connected with the Adriatic Sea by the Strait of Otranto. The Gulf of Taranto and the Gulf of Corinth are its chi...

Louis II, emperor of the West

(Encyclopedia)Louis II, d. 875, emperor of the West (855–75), king of Italy (844–75), son of Emperor of the West Lothair I. In 844, Lothair I designated him king of Italy and in 850 he was crowned emperor of th...

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...

Monte Cassino

(Encyclopedia)Monte Cassino mônˈtā käs-sēˈnō [key], monastery, in Latium, central Italy, E of the Rapido River. Situated on a hill (1,674 ft/510 m) overlooking Cassino, it was founded c.529 by St. Benedict o...