Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

141 results found

Giorgio, Francesco di

(Encyclopedia)Giorgio, Francesco di (Francesco di Giorgio Martini) fränchāsˈkō dē jôrˈjō [key], 1439–1502, also called Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Italian engineer, architect, painter, and sculptor, b. ...

Pohnpei

(Encyclopedia)Pohnpei pōnˈpā [key], state and island (1991 est. pop. 52,000), 129 sq mi (334 sq km), W Pacific, in the E Caroline Islands. It is one of four states comprising the Federated States of Micronesia. ...

pyroclastic flow

(Encyclopedia)pyroclastic flow, turbulent, fluidized mixture of rock, volcanic ash, and hot gas that moves like an avalanche away from a volcanic eruption. A pyroclastic flow may contain a mix of rock fragments ran...

stalactite ornament

(Encyclopedia)stalactite ornament, type of ornament characteristic of Islamic architecture. Generally executed in wood or in plaster over a wood or brick base, it consists of little vertical polygonal or curved nic...

Esztergom

(Encyclopedia)Esztergom ĕˈstĕrgôm [key], Ger. Gran, city (1991 est. pop. 29,751), N Hungary, on the Danube River and the border of Slovakia. It is a county administrative center, a river port, and a railroad te...

Fontana, Domenico

(Encyclopedia)Fontana, Domenico fōntäˈnä [key], 1543–1607, Italian architect. He went to Rome, where he built (c.1580) the Sistine Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore for Cardinal Peretti. When his ...

Pachycephalosaurus

(Encyclopedia)Pachycephalosaurus păkˌĭsĕfˌəlōsôrˈəs [key] [Gr., = thick-headed lizard], bipedal herbivorous dinosaur of the late Cretaceous period, approximately 68–65 million years ago. Its disting...

Olympia, city, United States

(Encyclopedia)Olympia, city (1990 pop. 33,840), state capital, and seat of Thurston co., W Wash., at the southern tip of Puget Sound, on Budd Inlet; inc. 1859. A port of entry, it ships lumber products and agricult...

Lanfranco, Giovanni

(Encyclopedia)Lanfranco, Giovanni jōvänˈnē länfrängˈkō [key], 1582–1647, Italian painter. Lanfranco is considered one of the foremost artists of the High Baroque. He was trained by the Carracci and worked...

centering

(Encyclopedia)centering, the framework of wood or of wood and steel built to support a masonry arch or vault during its construction. The centering itself must be rigidly supported, either by posts from the ground ...