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Paul IV

(Encyclopedia)Paul IV, 1476–1559, pope (1555–59), a Neapolitan named Gian Pietro Carafa; successor of Marcellus II. First superior of the Theatines (see Cajetan, Saint), he was sternly ascetic. A leading reform...

Medici, Lorenzo de', 1492–1519, duke of Urbino

(Encyclopedia)Medici, Lorenzo de', 1492–1519, duke of Urbino (1516–19); son of Piero de' Medici. His uncle, Pope Leo X, made the youthful Lorenzo duke of Urbino. After his early death, however, Urbino reverted ...

Ammanati, Bartolomeo

(Encyclopedia)Ammanati, Bartolomeo bärtōlōmĕˈō äm-mänäˈtē [key], 1511–92, Italian sculptor and architect. He studied under Bandinelli in Florence and assisted Jacopo Sansovino in his work on the Librar...

Scala, La

(Encyclopedia)Scala, La [Teatro alla Scala], one of the world's great opera houses, located in Milan, Italy. It opened in 1778 with a production of Antonio Salieri's Europa Riconosciuta. Built on the site of the Ch...

Rosmini-Serbati, Antonio

(Encyclopedia)Rosmini-Serbati, Antonio äntōˈnyō rōzmēˈnē-sĕrbäˈtē [key], 1797–1855, Italian theologian. Ordained a priest in 1821, he attempted to establish a philosophical system based on Roman Catho...

Giotto

(Encyclopedia)Giotto (Giotto di Bondone) jôtˈtō dē bōndôˈnā [key], c.1266–c.1337, Florentine painter and architect. He is noted not only for his own work, but for the lasting impact he had on the course o...

Orsini

(Encyclopedia)Orsini ōrsēˈnē [key], powerful Roman family that included three popes and numerous other churchmen, soldiers and statesmen. The eponymous ancestor was one Ursus. Giacinto Orsini, who became Pope C...

Brazza, Pierre Paul François Camille Savorgnan de

(Encyclopedia)Brazza, Pierre Paul François Camille Savorgnan de pyĕr pōl fräNswäˈ kämēˈyə sävôrnyäNˈ də bräzäˈ [key], 1852–1905, Franco-Italian empire builder. He was born Pietro Paolo Savorgnan...

Lydgate, John

(Encyclopedia)Lydgate, John lĭdˈgāt [key], c.1370–c.1450, English poet, a monk of Bury St. Edmunds. A professed disciple of Chaucer, he was one of the most influential, voluminous, and versatile writers of the...

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 ...