1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
3.
Epicenter
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The term was coined by the Irish seismologist Robert Mallet. The word, however, is misused to mean center. In seismology, the epicenter is the point on the Earths surface directly above the point where the fault begins to rupture, however, in larger events, the length of the fault rupture is much longer, and damage can be spread across the rupture zone. During an earthquake seismic waves propagate spherically out from the hypocenter, outside of the seismic shadow zone both types of wave can be detected but, due to their different velocities and paths through the Earth, they arrive at different times. This distance is called the distance, commonly measured in °. Once epicentral distances have been calculated from at least three seismographic measuring stations, it is a matter to find out where the epicenter was located using trilateration. Epicentral distance is used in calculating seismic magnitudes developed by Richter. Epicenter is frequently misused when not employed in the context of seismology and it is often utilized as an alternative to centre. For example, Travel is restricted in the Chinese province thought to be the epicentre of the SARS outbreak, garners Modern American Usage gives several examples of such misuse. However, Garner notes that these misusages may be metaphorical uses of the term to describe focal points of unstable and potentially destructive environments
4.
Verona
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Verona is a city on the Adige river in Veneto, Italy, with approximately 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third largest in northeast Italy, the metropolitan area of Verona covers an area of 1,426 km2 and has a population of 714,274 inhabitants. Three of Shakespeares plays are set in Verona, Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and it is unknown if Shakespeare ever visited Verona or Italy at all, but his plays have lured many visitors to Verona and surrounding cities many times over. The city has been awarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO because of its structure and architecture. According to a theory that considers the geographical position of the city, Verona is short for Versus Romae which means In the direction of Rome because as italian people say All roads lead to Rome. The exclamation Vae Romae if understood in Latin means Alas Rome, in fact, to express distress or denounce a disgrace ancient Romans used the Latin interjection vae. So, you explain the famous poem by William Shakespeare There is no world without Verona walls, But purgatory, torture. Hence-banished is banishd from the world, And worlds exile is death, the writer would express a Roman concept through its character named Romeo, a name that invokes Rome, according to which the city of Verona was a boundary between the Roman world and barbaric one. Verona was a place of passage and to horses, for those who wanted to go and had walked the Via Claudia Augusta. So the expression Vae Romae Alas Rome would indicate spirit of the place, another theory is that it is connected to the river. Vera was a name of the river Adige before the adoption of the current name, as in many similar instances in Europe the name of the town is formed with the addition of suffix -ona which means settlement over. The city was sometimes known as Welsch-Bern in German. The precise details of Veronas early history remain a mystery, one theory is it was a city of the Euganei, who were obliged to give it up to the Cenomani. With the conquest of the Valley of the Po the Veronese territory became Roman, Verona became a Roman colonia in 89 BC, and then a municipium in 49 BC when its citizens were ascribed to the Roman tribe Poblilia or Publicia. The city became important because it was at the intersection of several roads, stilicho defeated Alaric and his Visigoths here in 403. But, after Verona was conquered by the Ostrogoths in 489, theoderic the Great was said to have built a palace there. It remained under the power of the Goths throughout the Gothic War, except for a day in 541. The defections that took place among the Byzantine generals with regard to the booty made it possible for the Goths to regain possession of the city, in 552 Valerian vainly endeavored to enter the city, but it was only when they were fully overthrown that the Goths surrendered it
5.
Pre-Romanesque art and architecture
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The term is generally used in English only for architecture and monumental sculpture, but here all the arts of the period are briefly described. In most of western Europe the Roman architecture tradition survived the collapse of the empire, the Merovingians continued to build large stone buildings like monastery churches and palaces. The building plans often continued the Roman basilica tradition, many Merovingian plans have been reconstructed from archaeology. These successive Frankish dynasties were large contributors to Romanesque architecture, an original westwork survives today at the Abbey of Corvey, built in 885. After a rather chaotic interval following the Carolingian period, the new Ottonian dynasty revived Imperial art from about 950, building on and further developing Carolingian style in Ottonian art. German pre-Romanesque art during the 120-year period from 936 to 1056 is commonly called Ottonian art after the three Saxon emperors named Otto who ruled the Holy Roman Empire from 936 to 1001. After the decline of the Carolingian Empire, the Holy Roman Empire was re-established under the Saxon dynasty, from this emerged a renewed faith in the idea of Empire and a reformed Church, creating a period of heightened cultural and artistic fervour. It was in this atmosphere that masterpieces were created fused the traditions from which Ottonian artists derived their inspiration, models of Late Antique, Carolingian. Ottonian monasteries produced some of the most magnificent medieval illuminated manuscripts and they were a major art form of the time, and monasteries received direct sponsorship from emperors and bishops, having the best in equipment and talent available. In the 7th century the Croats, with other Slavs and Avars, the first Croatian churches were built as royal sanctuaries, and the influence of Roman art was strongest in Dalmatia where urbanization was thickest. Gradually that influence was neglected and certain simplifications and alterations of inherited forms, all of them were built with roughly cut stone bounded with a thick layer of malter on the outside. Large churches are longitudinal with one or three naves like Church of Holy Salvation at the spring of the river Cetina, built in the 9th century, the largest and most complicated central based church from the 9th century is dedicated to Saint Donatus in Zadar. Altar rails and windows of churches were highly decorated with transparent shallow string-like ornament that is called pleter because the strings were threaded and rethreaded through itself. This also happened to engravings in early Croatian script – Glagolitic, soon, the Glagolitic writings were replaced with Latin on altar rails and architraves of old-Croatian churches. From the Crown Church of King Zvonimir comes the altar board with figure of Croatian King on the throne with Carolingian crown, servant by his side, Anglo-Saxon art is mainly known today through illuminated manuscripts and metalwork. Multiple regional styles developed based on the availability of Carolingian manuscripts. The monastery of Saint Bertin became an important centre under its abbot Odbert who created a new style based on Anglo-Saxon, the nearby abbey of Saint Vaast created a number of works. In southwestern France at the monastery of Saint Martial in Limoges a number of manuscripts were produced around year 1000, as were produced in Albi, Figeac, in Paris there developed a style at the abbey of Saint Germain-des-Prés
6.
Romanesque architecture
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Romanesque Architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the late 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style, marked by pointed arches, examples of Romanesque architecture can be found across the continent, making it the first pan-European architectural style since Imperial Roman Architecture. The Romanesque style in England is traditionally referred to as Norman architecture, each building has clearly defined forms, frequently of very regular, symmetrical plan, the overall appearance is one of simplicity when compared with the Gothic buildings that were to follow. The style can be identified right across Europe, despite regional characteristics, Many castles were built during this period, but they are greatly outnumbered by churches. The most significant are the great churches, many of which are still standing, more or less complete. The largest groups of Romanesque survivors are in areas that were less prosperous in subsequent periods, including parts of southern France, northern Spain and rural Italy. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word Romanesque means descended from Roman and was first used in English to designate what are now called Romance languages, Romance language is not degenerated Latin language. Latin language is degenerated Romance language, Romanesque architecture is not debased Roman architecture. Roman architecture is debased Romanesque architecture, the first use in a published work is in William Gunns An Inquiry into the Origin and Influence of Gothic Architecture. The term is now used for the more restricted period from the late 10th to 12th centuries, Many castles exist, the foundations of which date from the Romanesque period. Most have been altered, and many are in ruins. By far the greatest number of surviving Romanesque buildings are churches, the scope of Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture was the first distinctive style to spread across Europe since the Roman Empire. In the more northern countries Roman building styles and techniques had never been adopted except for official buildings, although the round arch continued in use, the engineering skills required to vault large spaces and build large domes were lost. There was a loss of continuity, particularly apparent in the decline of the formal vocabulary of the Classical Orders. In Rome several great Constantinian basilicas continued in use as an inspiration to later builders, the largest building is the church, the plan of which is distinctly Germanic, having an apse at both ends, an arrangement not generally seen elsewhere. Another feature of the church is its regular proportion, the plan of the crossing tower providing a module for the rest of the plan. These features can both be seen at the Proto-Romanesque St. Michaels Church, Hildesheim, 1001–1030, the style, sometimes called First Romanesque or Lombard Romanesque, is characterised by thick walls, lack of sculpture and the presence of rhythmic ornamental arches known as a Lombard band
7.
Cividale del Friuli
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Cividale del Friuli is a town and comune in the Province of Udine, part of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of northern Italy. The town 135 metres above sea-level in the foothills of the eastern Alps,15 kilometres by rail from the city of Udine and it is situated on the river Natisone, which forms a picturesque ravine here. Formerly an important regional power, it is today a quiet, Archaeological findings have revealed that the area was first settled by Veneti and Celts. However, in 50 BC, Cividale was founded as a Roman municipium by Julius Caesar with the name ofForum Iulii, not long afterward, its citizens were inscribed in the Roman tribe Scaptia. The municipium was strategically located to defend Roman Italys northeastern frontier, after the destruction of Aquileia and Iulium Carnicum in 452 AD, Forum Iulii became the chief town of the district of Friuli and gave its name to it. In 568 the city was the first major centre occupied by Alboins Lombard invasion of Italy, the city was chosen as first capital of the newly formed Lombard Kingdom, then granted by Alboin to his nephew Gisulf as the capital of a Lombard Duchy of Friuli. After the Lombards were defeated by the Franks, following the last Lombard resistance under Hrodgaud of Friuli Forum Julii changed its name to Civitas Austriae, Charlemagnes Italian City of the East. Under the Carolingian settlement with the Papacy, the patriarchs of Aquileia resided here from 773 to 1031, when returned to Aquileia. This last change of residence was the origin of the antagonism between Cividale and Udine, which was terminated by their surrender to Venice in 1419 and 1420 respectively. When the Patriarchal State of Friuli was founded in 1077, Cividale was chosen as the capital, according to James Burke, a 1331 siege of Cividale was one of the first deployments of what we would now call cannons, in the early form known as a bombard. In 1420 Cividale was annexed to the Republic of Venice, after the Napoleonic Wars Cividale became part of the Lombard-Venetian Kingdom. It was ceded to Kingdom of Italy in 1866, the historical center of the town is dominated by Piazza del Duomo, which is where the National Archaeological Museum of Cividale del Friuli is located. Close by is the Palazzo dei Provveditori Veneti, constructed in 1565, the town is split in two by the Natisone River, which is spanned by the Devils Bridge. The Cathedral was built in the 15th century over a construction built in the 8th century. It is a Venetian Gothic building, finished in the 16th century by architect Pietro Lombardo, the Christian Museum annexed to the Duomo houses outstanding examples of Lombard sculpture. It contains some interesting relics of the art of the 8th century, the cathedral contains an octagonal marble canopy with sculptures in relief, with a font below it belonging to the 8th century, but altered later. The high altar has a silver altar front of 1185. The museum contains various Roman and Lombard antiquities, and works of art in gold, silver, the fine 15th-century Ponte del Diavolo leads to the church of S. Martino, which contains an altar of the 8th century with reliefs executed by order of the Lombard king Ratchis
8.
Pavia
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Pavia is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy,35 kilometres south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c, the city was the capital of the Kingdom of the Lombards from 572 to 774. Pavia is the capital of the province of Pavia, known for agricultural products including wine, rice, cereals. Although there are a number of industries located in the suburbs, Pavia is the episcopal seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Pavia. The city possesses many artistic and cultural treasures, including several important churches and museums, dating back to pre-Roman times, the town of Pavia, then known as Ticinum, was a municipality and an important military site under the Roman Empire. It was said by Pliny the Elder to have founded by the Laevi and Marici. It was at Pavia in 476 AD that the reign of Romulus Augustulus, ten months after Romulus Augustulus’s reign began, Orestes’s soldiers under the command of one of his officers named Odoacer, rebelled and killed Orestes in the city of Pavia in 476. Without his father Romulus Augustulus was powerless, instead of killing Romulus Augustulus, Odoacer pensioned him off at 6,000 solidi a year before declaring the end of the Western Roman Empire and himself king of the new Kingdom of Italy. Odoacer’s reign as king of Italy did not last long, because in 488 the Ostrogothic peoples led by their king Theoderic invaded Italy and waged war against Odoacer. After fighting for 5 years Theoderic defeated Odoacer and on March 15,493 assassinated Odoacer at a banquet meant to negotiate a peace between the two rulers, with the establishment of the Ostrogoth kingdom based in northern Italy, Theoderic began his vast program of public building. Pavia was among several cities that Theodoric chose to restore and expand and he began the construction of the vast palace complex that would eventually become the residence of Lombard monarchs several decades later. Near the end of Theoderic’s reign the Christian philosopher Boethius was imprisoned in one of Pavia’s churches from 522 to 525 before his execution for treason and it was during Boethius’s captivity in Pavia that he wrote his seminal work the Consolation of Philosophy. Pavia played an important role in the war between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Ostrogoths that began in 535, after the capitulation of the Ostrogothic leadership in 540 more than a thousand men remained garrisoned in Pavia and Verona dedicated to opposing Eastern Roman rule. The resilience of Ostrogoth strongholds like Pavia against invading forces allowed pockets of Ostrogothic rule to limp along until finally being defeated in 561, Pavia and the peninsula of Italy didn’t remain long under the rule of the Eastern Roman Empire for in 568 a new people invaded Italy. This new invading people in 568 were the Lombards, in their invasion of Italy in 568, the Lombards were led by their king Alboin, who would become the first Lombard king of Italy. Alboin captured much of northern Italy in 568 but his progress was halted in 569 by the city of Pavia. Meanwhile Alboin, after driving out the soldiers, took possession of everything as far as Tuscany except Rome and Ravenna and some other fortified places which were situated on the shore of the sea. ”The Siege of Ticinum finally ended with the Lombards capturing the city of Pavia in 572. Pavia’s strategic location and the Ostrogoth palaces located within it would make Pavia by the 620s the main capital of the Lombards’ Kingdom of Pavia, under Lombard rule many monasteries, nunneries, and churches were built at Pavia by the devout Christian Lombard monarchs
9.
Pisa
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Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its tower, the city of over 90,834 residents contains more than 20 other historic churches, several medieval palaces. Much of the architecture was financed from its history as one of the Italian maritime republics. The origin of the name, Pisa, is a mystery, while the origin of the city had remained unknown for centuries, the Pelasgi, the Greeks, the Etruscans, and the Ligurians had variously been proposed as founders of the city. Archaeological remains from the 5th century BC confirmed the existence of a city at the sea, trading with Greeks, the presence of an Etruscan necropolis, discovered during excavations in the Arena Garibaldi in 1991, confirmed its Etruscan origins. Ancient Roman authors referred to Pisa as an old city, strabo referred Pisas origins to the mythical Nestor, king of Pylos, after the fall of Troy. Virgil, in his Aeneid, states that Pisa was already a center by the times described. The Virgilian commentator Servius wrote that the Teuti, or Pelops, the maritime role of Pisa should have been already prominent if the ancient authorities ascribed to it the invention of the naval ram. Pisa took advantage of being the port along the western coast from Genoa to Ostia. Pisa served as a base for Roman naval expeditions against Ligurians, Gauls, in 180 BC, it became a Roman colony under Roman law, as Portus Pisanus. In 89 BC, Portus Pisanus became a municipium, Emperor Augustus fortified the colony into an important port and changed the name in Colonia Iulia obsequens. It is supposed that Pisa was founded on the shore, however, due to the alluvial sediments from the Arno and the Serchio, whose mouth lies about 11 kilometres north of the Arnos, the shore moved west. Strabo states that the city was 4.0 kilometres away from the coast, currently, it is located 9.7 kilometres from the coast. However it was a city, with ships sailing up the Arno. In the 90s AD, a complex was built in the city. During the later years of the Roman Empire, Pisa did not decline as much as the cities of Italy, probably thanks to the complexity of its river system. After Charlemagne had defeated the Lombards under the command of Desiderius in 774, Pisa went through a crisis, politically it became part of the duchy of Lucca
10.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
11.
Milan
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Milan is a city in Italy, capital of the Lombardy region, and the most populous metropolitan area and the second most populous comune in Italy. The population of the city proper is 1,351,000, Milan has a population of about 8,500,000 people. It is the industrial and financial centre of Italy and one of global significance. In terms of GDP, it has the largest economy among European non-capital cities, Milan is considered part of the Blue Banana and lies at the heart of one of the Four Motors for Europe. Milan is an Alpha leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, services, research, and tourism. Its business district hosts Italys Stock Exchange and the headquarters of the largest national and international banks, the city is a major world fashion and design capital, well known for several international events and fairs, including Milan Fashion Week and the Milan Furniture Fair. The city hosts numerous cultural institutions, academies and universities, with 11% of the national total enrolled students, Milans museums, theatres and landmarks attract over 9 million visitors annually. Milan – after Naples – is the second Italian city with the highest number of accredited stars from the Michelin Guide, the city hosted the Universal Exposition in 1906 and 2015. Milan is home to two of Europes major football teams, A. C. Milan and F. C. Internazionale, the etymology of Milan is uncertain. One theory holds that the Latin name Mediolanum comes from the Latin words medio, however, some scholars believe lanum comes from the Celtic root lan, meaning an enclosure or demarcated territory in which Celtic communities used to build shrines. Hence, Mediolanum could signify the central town or sanctuary of a Celtic tribe, indeed, the name Mediolanum is borne by about sixty Gallo-Roman sites in France, e. g. Saintes and Évreux. Alciato credits Ambrose for his account, around 400 BC, the Celtic Insubres settled Milan and the surrounding region. In 222 BC, the Romans conquered the settlement, renaming it Mediolanum, Milan was eventually declared the capital of the Western Roman Empire by Emperor Diocletian in 286 AD. Diocletian chose to stay in the Eastern Roman Empire and his colleague Maximianus ruled the Western one, immediately Maximian built several monuments, such as a large circus 470 m ×85 m, the Thermae Herculeae, a large complex of imperial palaces and several other buildings. With the Edict of Milan of 313, Emperor Constantine I guaranteed freedom of religion for Christians, after the city was besieged by the Visigoths in 402, the imperial residence was moved to Ravenna. In 452, the Huns overran the city, in 539, the Ostrogoths conquered and destroyed Milan during the Gothic War against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. In the summer of 569, a Teutonic tribe, the Lombards, conquered Milan, some Roman structures remained in use in Milan under Lombard rule. Milan surrendered to the Franks in 774 when Charlemagne took the title of King of the Lombards, the Iron Crown of Lombardy dates from this period
12.
Bergamo
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Bergamo is a city in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan and 30 km from the lakes Como and Iseo. The foothills of the Bergamo Alps begin immediately north of the town, Bergamo is the seat of the Province of Bergamo. With a population of around 120,000, Bergamo is the fourth-largest city in Lombardy, the metropolitan area of Bergamo extends beyond the administrative city limits, spanning over a densely urbanized area with slightly less than 500,000 inhabitants. The Bergamo metropolitan area is part of the broader Milan metropolitan area. As of 2015, Bergamo is the second most visited city in Lombardy after Milan, Bergamo occupies the site of the ancient town of Bergomum, founded as a settlement of the Celtic tribe of Cenomani. In 49 BC it became a Roman municipality, containing c.10,000 inhabitants at its peak, an important hub on the military road between Friuli and Raetia, it was destroyed by Attila in the 5th century. From the 6th century Bergamo was the seat of one of the most important Lombard duchies of northern Italy, together with Brescia, Trento, after the conquest of the Lombard Kingdom by Charlemagne, it became the seat of a county under one Auteramus. An important Lombardic hoard dating from the 6th to 7th centuries was found in the vicinity of the city in the 19th century and is now in the British Museum. From the 11th century onwards, Bergamo was an independent commune, the local Guelph and Ghibelline factions were the Colleoni and Suardi, respectively. Feuding between the two initially caused the family of Omodeo Tasso to flee north c, from 1264, Bergamo was intermittently under the rule of Milan. In 1331, it gave itself to John of Bohemia, after a short conquest by the Malatesta in 1407, in 1428 it fell under the control of the Venetian Republic, remaining part of it until 1797. Between 1797 and 1815, Bergamo and its territory were included in the political entities born in North Italy during the French, notably, the Venetians fortified the higher portion of the town. In 1815, it was assigned to the Austrian Empire, giuseppe Garibaldi freed it in 1859 during the Second Italian War of Independence, when Bergamo became part of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 20th century Bergamo became one of Italys most industrialized cities and it is also one of the few Italian cities that did not suffer major destruction during World War II. Bergamo experiences a subtropical climate characteristic of Northern Italy. While most of Italy is characterized by dry summers with little to no precipitation, Bergamo has the reverse trend, the two parts of the town are connected by funicular/cable car, roads, and foot-paths. Parking spaces are limited in the upper city. The upper city, surrounded by Venetian walls built in the 16th century, Città Alta is an extremely expensive place to live in, with properties being sold for five to twelve thousand euro per square meter
13.
Brescia
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Brescia is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometres from the lakes Garda, with a population of 196,480, it is the second largest city in the region and the fourth of northwest Italy. The urban area of Brescia extends beyond the city limits and has a population of 672,822. The city is the capital of the Province of Brescia, one of the largest in Italy. Founded over 3,200 years ago, Brescia has been an important regional centre since pre-Roman times, Brescia is considered the industrial capital of Italy. The metallurgy and the production of tools and firearms are of particular economic significance, along with mechanical. In addition, Brescia is the setting for most of the action in Alessandro Manzonis 1822 play Adelchi, Brescia and its territory will be the European Region of Gastronomy in 2017. Various myths relate to the founding of Brescia, one assigns it to Hercules while another attributes its foundation as Altilia by a fugitive from the siege of Troy. According to another myth, the founder was the king of the Ligures, Cidnus, colle Cidneo was named after that version, and it is the site of the medieval castle. Others scholars attribute the founding of Brescia to the Etruscans, the Gallic Cenomani, allies of the Insubres, invaded in the 7th century BC, and used the town as their capital. The city became Roman in 225 BC, when the Cenomani submitted to the Romans, during the Carthaginian Wars, Brixia was allied with the Romans. During a Celtic alliance against the city remained fateful to the Romans, with their Roman allies the city remain and attacked and destroyed the Insubres by surprise. Subsequently, the city and the tribe entered the Roman world peacefully as faithful allies, in 89 BC, Brixia was recognized as civitas and in 41 BC, its inhabitants received Roman citizenship. Augustus founded a colony there in 27 BC, and he. Roman Brixia had at least three temples, an aqueduct, a theatre, a forum with another temple built under Vespasianus, when Constantine advanced against Maxentius in 312, an engagement took place at Brixia in which the enemy was forced to retreat as far as Verona. In 402, the city was ravaged by the Visigoths of Alaric I, during the 452 invasion of the Huns under Attila, the city was besieged and sacked. Forty years later, it was one of the first conquests by the Gothic general Theoderic the Great in his war against Odoacer, in 568, Brescia was taken from the Byzantines by the Lombards, who made it the capital of one of their semi-independent duchies. The first duke was Alachis, who died in 573, later dukes included the future kings of the Lombards Rothari and Rodoald, and Alachis II, a fervent anti-Catholic who was killed in battle at Cornate dAdda in 688
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Venice
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Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and these are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site. In 2014,264,579 people resided in Comune di Venezia, together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 2.6 million. PATREVE is a metropolitan area without any degree of autonomy. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC, the city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the La Dominante, Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City, and City of Canals. The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century and this made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period, Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Venice has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world as of 2016, the name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Eneti. The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti, Baltic Veneti, and the Slavic Wends. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen, so that *wenetoi would mean beloved, lovable, a connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color sea-blue, is also possible. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia, some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae, the traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto — said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421. Beginning as early as AD166 to 168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the center in the area. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, the traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Pauls magister militum. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II
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Treviso
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Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. The city is home to the headquarters of clothing retailer Benetton, Sisley, Stefanel, Geox, Diadora and Lotto Sport Italia, appliance maker DeLonghi, and bicycle maker Pinarello. Treviso is also known for being the production area of Prosecco wine. For some scholars, the ancient city of Tarvisium derived its name from a settlement of the Celtic tribe of the Taurusci, others have attributed the name instead to the Greek root tarvos, meaning bull. Tarvisium, then a city of the Veneti, became a municipium in 89 BCE after the Romans added Cisalpine Gaul to their dominions, citizens were ascribed to the Roman tribe of Claudia. The city lay in proximity of the Via Postumia, which connected Opitergium to Aquileia, Treviso is rarely mentioned by ancient writers, although Pliny writes of the Silis, that is the Sile River, as flowing ex montibus Tarvisanis. During the Roman Period, Christianity spread to Treviso, tradition records that St. Prosdocimus, a Greek who had been ordained bishop by St. Peter, brought the Catholic faith to Treviso and surrounding areas. By the 4th century, the Christian population grew sufficient to merit a resident bishop, the first documented bishop was John the Pius who began his epsicopacy in 396 AD. According to tradition, Treviso was the birthplace of Totila, the leader of Ostrogoths during the Gothic Wars, the latter was especially important during the reign of the last Lombard king, Desiderius, and continued to churn out coins when northern Italy was annexed to the Frankish Empire. People from the city played a role in the founding of Venice. Charlemagne made it the capital of a march, i. e. the Marca Trevigiana. Treviso joined the Lombard League, and gained independence after the Peace of Constance and this lasted until the rise of seignories in northern Italy. Among the various families who ruled over Treviso, the Da Romano reigned from 1237 to 1260, Treviso and its satellite cities, including Castelfranco Veneto, had become attractive to neighbouring powers, including the da Carrara and Scaligeri. After the fall of the last Caminesi lord, Rizzardo IV, Treviso notary and physician, Oliviero Forzetta, was an avid collector of antiquities and drawings, the collection was published in a catalog in 1369, the earliest such catalog to exist to this day. After a Scaliger domination in 1329–1339, the city itself to the Republic of Venice. From 1318 it was also, for a time, the seat of a university. Venetian rule brought innumerable benefits, however, Treviso necessarily became involved in the wars of Venice, from 1381–1384, the city was captured and ruled by the duke of Austria, and then by the Carraresi until 1388. The many waterways were exploited with several waterwheels which powered mills for milling grain produced locally
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Modena
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Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. One of Ferraris cars, the 360 Modena, was named after the town itself, the University of Modena, founded in 1175 and expanded by Francesco II dEste in 1686, has traditional strengths in economics, medicine and law and is the second oldest athenaeum in Italy. Italian military officers are trained at the Military Academy of Modena, the Biblioteca Estense houses historical volumes and 3,000 manuscripts. The Cathedral of Modena, the Torre della Ghirlandina and Piazza Grande are a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, Modena is also known in culinary circles for its production of balsamic vinegar. Modena lies on the Pianura Padana, and is bounded by the two rivers Secchia and Panaro, both affluents of the Po River and their presence is symbolized by the Two Rivers Fountain in the citys center, by Giuseppe Graziosi. The city is connected to the Panaro by the Naviglio channel, the Apennines begin some 10 kilometres from the city, to the south. The commune is divided into four circoscrizioni and these are, Centro storico Crocetta Buon Pastore San Faustino Modena has a humid subtropical climate, with an average annual precipitation of 809 millimetres. Summers are warm and winters are chilly and wetter, with the possibility of snowfall and this climate is described by the Köppen climate classification as Cfa. From 1945 to 1992, Modena had a consecutive series of Communist mayors. From the 1990s, the city has been governed by center-left coalitions, at the April 2006 elections, the city of Modena gave about 50% of its votes to the Democratic Party. The legislative body of the municipality is the City Council which is composed by 35 members elected every five years, Modenas executive body is the City Committee composed by 9 assessors, the deputy-mayor and the mayor. The current mayor of Modena is Giancarlo Muzzarelli, member of the Democratic Party of Italy, the territory around Modena was inhabited by the Villanovans in the Iron Age, and later by Ligurian tribes, Etruscans, and the Gaulish Boii. Livy described it as a fortified citadel where Roman magistrates took shelter, the outcome of the siege is not known, but the city was most likely abandoned after Hannibals arrival. Mutina was refounded as a Roman colony in 183 BC, to be used as a base by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. In the 1st century BC Mutina was besieged twice, the first siege was by Pompey in 78 BC, when Mutina was defended by Marcus Junius Brutus. The city eventually surrendered out of hunger, and Brutus fled, in the civil war following Caesars assassination, the city was besieged again, this time by Mark Antony, in 44 BC, and defended by Decimus Junius Brutus. Octavian relieved the city with the help of the Senate, cicero called it Mutina splendidissima in his Philippics. It is said that Mutina was never sacked by Attila, for a dense fog hid it, as of December 2008, Italian researchers have discovered the pottery center where the oil lamps that lit the ancient Roman empire were made
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Parma
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Parma listen is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its prosciutto, cheese, architecture, music and surrounding countryside. It is home to the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world, Parma is divided into two parts by the stream of the same name. The district on the far side of the river is Oltretorrente, Parmas Etruscan name was adapted by Romans to describe the round shield called Parma. The Italian poet Attilio Bertolucci wrote, As a capital city it had to have a river, as a little capital it received a stream, which is often dry. Parma was already an area in the Bronze Age. In the current position of the city rose a terramare, the terramare were ancient villages built of wood on piles according to a defined scheme and squared form, constructed on dry land and generally in proximity to the rivers. During this age the first necropolis were constructed, diodorus Siculus reported that the Romans had changed their rectangular shields for round ones, imitating the Etruscans. Whether the Etruscan encampment was so named because it was round, like a shield, the Roman colony was founded in 183 BC, together with Mutina,2,000 families were settled. Parma had an importance as a road hub over the Via Aemilia. It had a forum, in what is today the central Garibaldi Square, in 44 BC, the city was destroyed, and Augustus rebuilt it. During the Roman Empire, it gained the title of Julia for its loyalty to the imperial house, the city was subsequently sacked by Attila, and later given by the Germanic king Odoacer to his followers. During the Gothic War, however, Totila destroyed it and it was then part of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna and, from 569, of the Lombard Kingdom of Italy. Under Frankish rule, Parma became the capital of a county, like most northern Italian cities, it was nominally a part of the Holy Roman Empire created by Charlemagne, but locally ruled by its bishops, the first being Guibodus. In the subsequent struggles between the Papacy and the Empire, Parma was usually a member of the Imperial party, two of its bishops became antipopes, Càdalo, founder of the cathedral, as Honorius II, and Guibert, as Clement III. An almost independent commune was created around 1140, a treaty between Parma and Piacenza of 1149 is the earliest document of a comune headed by consuls, the struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines was a feature of Parma too. In 1213, her podestà was the Guelph Rambertino Buvalelli, then, after a long stance alongside the emperors, the Papist families of the city gained control in 1248. The city was besieged in 1247–48 by Emperor Frederick II, who was crushed in the battle that ensued. Parma fell under the control of Milan in 1341, after a short-lived period of independence under the Terzi family, the Sforza imposed their rule through their associated families of Pallavicino, Rossi, Sanvitale and Da Correggio
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Cremona
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Cremona listen is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city, Cremona is first mentioned in history as a settlement of the Cenomani, a Gallic tribe that arrived in the Po valley around 400 BC. However, the name Cremona most likely back to earlier settlers and puzzled the ancients. In 218 BC the Romans established on that spot their first military outpost north of the Po river, Cremona and nearby Placentia, were founded in the same year, as bases for penetration into what became the Roman Province of Gallia Cisalpina. Cremona quickly grew into one of the largest towns in northern Italy, as it was on the road connecting Genoa to Aquileia. The famous poet Virgil, who went to school in Cremona, had to forfeit his ancestral farm, when the Lombards invaded much of Italy in the second half of the 6th century AD, Cremona remained a Byzantine stronghold as part of the Exarchate of Ravenna. The city expanded towards the north-west, with the creation of a great trenched camp outside the walls, in 603, it was conquered by the Lombard king Agilulf and again destroyed. Its territory was divided between the two duchies of Brescia and Bergamo, however, in 615 queen Theodelinda, a devout Roman Catholic intent on converting her people, had Cremona rebuilt and re-installed a bishop there. Control of the city fell increasingly to its bishop, who became a Holy Roman Empire vassal after Charlemagnes conquest of Italy, in this way, Cremona increased its power and its prosperity steadily and some of its bishops had important roles between the 10th and 11th centuries. Bishop Liutprand of Cremona was a member of the Imperial court under the Saxony dynasty and its economy was boosted by the creation of a river port out of the former Byzantine fortress. However, the two bishops Lambert and Ubaldo created discord with the citys people, Emperor Conrad II settled the quarrel by entering in Cremona in 1037 together with the young Pope Benedict IX. Under Henry IV, Cremona refused to pay the oppressive taxes requested by the Empire, according to a legend, the great gonfaloniere Giovanni Baldesio of Cremona faced the emperor himself in a duel. As Henry was knocked from his horse, the city was saved the annual payment of the 3 kg golden ball, which, for that year, was instead given to Berta, Giovannis girlfriend, as her dowry. The first historical news about a free Cremona is from 1093, as it entered into an alliance led by Mathilde of Canossa, together with Lodi, Milan. The conflict ended with the defeat of Henry IV and his famous humiliation of Canossa to Pope Urban II in 1098, Cremona gained the Insula Fulcheria, the area around the nearby city of Crema, as its territory. After that time, the new commune warred against nearby cities to enlarge its territory, in 1107 Cremona conquered Tortona, but four years later its army was defeated near Bressanoro. As in many northern Italian cities, the people were divided into two opposing parties, the Guelphs, who were stronger in the new city, and the Ghibellines, the parties were so irreconcilable that the former built a second Communal Palace, the still existing Palazzo Cittanova. When Frederick Barbarossa descended into Italy to assert his authority, Cremona sided with him in order to gain his support against Crema, the subsequent victory and its loyal imperial stance earned Cremona the right to create a mint for its own coinage in 1154
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Padua
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Padua is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic, the city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, which has a population of c. Padua stands on the Bacchiglione River,40 kilometres west of Venice and 29 km southeast of Vicenza, the Brenta River, which once ran through the city, still touches the northern districts. Its agricultural setting is the Venetian Plain, to the citys south west lies the Euganaean Hills, praised by Lucan and Martial, Petrarch, Ugo Foscolo, and Shelley. It hosts the University of Padua, founded in 1222, where Galileo Galilei was a lecturer, Padua is the setting for most of the action in Shakespeares The Taming of the Shrew. There is a play by the Victorian writer Oscar Wilde, titled The Duchess Of Padua, the original significance of the Roman name Patavium is uncertain. It may be connected with the ancient name of the River Po, additionally, the root pat-, in the Indo-European language may refer to a wide open plain as opposed to nearby hills. The ending -ium, signifies the presence of villages that have united themselves together, Padua claims to be the oldest city in northern Italy. According to a tradition dated at least to the time of Virgils Aeneid and to Livys Ab Urbe Condita, Padua was founded in around 1183 BC by the Trojan prince Antenor. After the Fall of Troy, Antenor led a group of Trojans and their Paphlagonian allies, the Eneti or Veneti, thus, when a large ancient stone sarcophagus was exhumed in the year 1274, officials of medieval commune declared the remains within to be those of Antenor. Nevertheless, archeological remains confirm a date for the foundation of the center of the town to between the 11th and 10th centuries BC. The Roman historian Livy records an invasion of the Spartan king Cleonimos around 302 BC. The Spartans came up the river but were defeated by the Veneti in a naval battle, still later, the Veneti of Padua successfully defended themselves against the aggression of Etruscans and Gauls. According to Livy and Silius Italicus, the Veneti, including those of Padua, formed an alliance with the Romans by 226 BC, against their common enemy, men from Padua fought and died besides the Romans at Cannae. As the Romans advanced northward, Padua was gradually assimilated into the Roman Republic, in 175 BC, Padua requested the aid of Rome in putting down a local civil war. In 91 BC, Padua, along with cities of the Veneti. Around 49 BC, Padua was made a Roman municipium under the Lex Julia Municipalis and its citizens ascribed to the Roman tribe, at that time the population of the city was perhaps 40,000. The city was reputed for its excellent breed of horses and the wool of its sheep, in fact, the poet Martial remarks on the thickness of the tunics made there
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Monte Cassino
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Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about 130 kilometres southeast of Rome, Italy,2 kilometres to the west of the town of Cassino and 520 m altitude. Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is best known for its historic abbey, St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. The hilltop sanctuary was the site of the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944, the site has been visited many times by Popes and other senior clergy, including Pope Benedict XVI in May 2009. Since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council the monastery is one of the few remaining territorial abbeys within the Catholic Church, on 23 October 2014, Pope Francis applied the norms of the motu proprio Ecclesia Catholica to the Abbey. This act removed from its jurisdiction all 53 parishes and reduced its territory to the Abbey itself - while retaining its status as a Territorial Abbey. The former territory of the Abbey, except the land on which the Abbey Church and monastery sit, was transferred to the local diocese of Sora-Cassino-Aquino-Pontecorvo. The history of Monte Cassino is linked to the town of Cassino which was first settled in the fifth century B. C. by the Volsci people who held much of central. It was the Volsci who first built a citadel on the summit of Monte Cassino, the Volsci in the area were defeated by the Romans in 312 B. C. The Romans renamed the settlement Casinum and build a temple to Apollo at the citadel, modern excavations have found no remains of the temple, but ruins of an amphitheatre, a theatre, and a mausoleum indicate the lasting presence the Romans had there. Generations after the Roman Empire adopted Christianity the town became the seat of a bishopric in the fifth century A. D, lacking strong defences the area was subject to barbarian attack and became abandoned and neglected with only a few struggling inhabitants holding out. According to Gregory the Greats biography of Benedict, Life of Saint Benedict of Nursia, the monastery was constructed on a pagan site. The biography records that the area was still pagan at the time and Benedicts first act was to smash the sculpture of Apollo. He then reused the temple, dedicating it to Saint Martin, archaeologist Neil Christie notes that it was common in such hagiographies for the protagonist to encounter areas of strong paganism. Once established at Monte Cassino, Benedict never left and he wrote the Benedictine Rule that became the founding principle for Western monasticism, received a visit from Totila, king of the Ostrogoths, and died there. The Rule of St. Benedict mandated the moral obligations to care for the sick, so in Monte Cassino St. Benedict founded a hospital that is considered today to have been the first hospital in Europe of the new era. There Benedictine monks took care of the sick and wounded according to the Benedict’s Rule, the monastic routine called for hard work. The care of the sick was such an important duty that those caring for them were enjoined to act as if they served Christ directly, Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at nearby Subiaco, where hospitals were settled too as adjuncts to the monasteries in order to provide charity. Soon many monasteries were founded throughout Europe, and everywhere there were hospitals like in Monte Cassino, Monte Cassino became a model for future developments
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Reims
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Reims, a city in the Grand Est region of France, lies 129 km east-northeast of Paris. The 2013 census recorded 182,592 inhabitants in the city of Reims proper and its river, the Vesle, is a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by the Gauls, it became a city during the period of the Roman Empire. Reims played a prominent ceremonial role in French monarchical history as the site of the crowning of the kings of France. The Cathedral of Reims housed the Holy Ampulla containing the Saint Chrême and it was used for the anointing, the most important part of the coronation of French kings. Reims functions as a subprefecture of the department of Marne, in the region of Grand Est. Although Reims is by far the largest commune in both its region and department, Châlons-en-Champagne is the capital and prefecture of both. Before the Roman conquest of northern Gaul, Reims, founded circa 80 BC as *Durocorteron, at its height in Roman times the city had a population in the range of 30,000 -50,000 or perhaps up to 100,000. Christianity had become established in the city by 260, at which period Saint Sixtus of Reims founded the bishopric of Reims, for centuries the events at the crowning of Clovis I became a symbol used by the monarchy to claim the divine right to rule. Meetings of Pope Stephen II with Pepin the Short, and of Pope Leo III with Charlemagne, took place at Reims, Louis IV gave the city and countship of Reims to the archbishop Artaldus in 940. Louis VII gave the title of duke and peer to William of Champagne, archbishop from 1176 to 1202, by the 10th century Reims had become a centre of intellectual culture. Archbishop Adalberon, seconded by the monk Gerbert, founded schools which taught the liberal arts. Louis XI cruelly suppressed a revolt at Reims, caused in 1461 by the salt tax, during the French Wars of Religion the city sided with the Catholic League, but submitted to Henri IV after the battle of Ivry. In August 1909 Reims hosted the first international meet, the Grande Semaine dAviation de la Champagne. Major aviation personages such as Glenn Curtiss, Louis Blériot and Louis Paulhan participated, hostilities in World War I greatly damaged the city. German bombardment and a subsequent fire in 1914 did severe damage to the cathedral, from the end of World War I to the present day an international effort to restore the cathedral from the ruins has continued. The Palace of Tau, St Jacques Church and the Abbey of St Remi also were protected and restored, the collection of preserved buildings and Roman ruins remains monumentally impressive. During World War II the city suffered additional damage, but in Reims, at 2,41 on the morning of 7 May 1945, General Eisenhower and the Allies received the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht
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Synod
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A synod /ˈsɪnəd/ historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word refers to the governing body of a particular church. It is also used to refer to a church that is governed by a synod. The word synod comes from the Greek σύνοδος meaning assembly or meeting, originally, synods were meetings of bishops, and the word is still used in that sense in Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Sometimes the phrase general synod or general council refers to an ecumenical council, the word synod also refers to the standing council of high-ranking bishops governing some of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches. Similarly, the governance of patriarchal and major archiepiscopal Eastern Catholic Churches is entrusted to a permanent synod. The synod in the Western churches is similar, but it is distinguished by being limited to an assembly of bishops. The term is found among those Eastern Orthodox Churches that use a Slavic language, kievan Rus chronicles record the first known East Slavic church sobor as having taken place in Kiev in 1051. Sobors were convened periodically from then on, one notable assembly held in 1415 formed a separate metropoly for the church in the Grand Duchy of Lithuanian lands, such diocesan sobors may be held annually or only occasionally. However, in use, synod and council are applied to specific categories of such meetings. A synod generally meets every three years and is designated an Ordinary General Assembly. However, Extraordinary synods can be called to deal with specific situations, there are also Special synods for the Church in a specific geographic area such as the one held November 16-December 12,1997, for the Church in America. The pope serves as president of an assembly or appoints the president, determines the agenda, and summons, suspends, thereafter they continued by the hundreds into the sixth century. Those authorized by an emperor and often attended by him came to be called ecumenical, today, Council in Roman Catholic canon law typically refers to an irregular meeting of the entire episcopate of a nation, region, or the world for the purpose of legislation with binding force. The pope alone has the right to convoke, suspend, and dissolve an ecumenical council, he presides over it or chooses someone else to do so. The vacancy of the Holy See automatically suspends an ecumenical council, laws or teachings issued by an ecumenical council require the confirmation of the pope, who alone has the right to promulgate them. The role of the pope in a council is a distinct feature of the Catholic Church. Plenary councils, which are meetings of the episcopate of a nation, are convoked by the national episcopal conference
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Bamberg
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Bamberg is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. A large part of the town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993, during the post-Roman centuries of Germanic migration and settlement, the region afterwards included in the Diocese of Bamberg was inhabited for the most part by Slavs. The town, first mentioned in 902, grew up by the castle Babenberch which gave its name to the Babenberg family, on their extinction it passed to the Saxon house. The area was Christianized chiefly by the monks of the Benedictine Fulda Abbey, in 1007, Holy Roman Emperor Henry II or Heinrich II made Bamberg a family inheritance, the seat of a separate diocese. The emperors purpose in this was to make the Diocese of Würzburg less unwieldy in size and to give Christianity a firmer footing in the districts of Franconia, Henry II ordered the building of a new cathedral, which was consecrated 6 May 1012. The church was enriched with gifts from the pope, and Henry had it dedicated in honor of him, in 1017 Henry also founded Michaelsberg Abbey on the Michaelsberg, near Bamberg, a Benedictine abbey for the training of the clergy. The emperor and his wife Kunigunde gave large temporal possessions to the new diocese, pope Benedict VIII visited Bamberg in 1020 to meet Henry II for discussions concerning the Holy Roman Empire. While he was here he placed the diocese in direct dependence on the Holy See and he also personally consecrated some of Bambergs churches. For a short time Bamberg was the centre of the Holy Roman Empire, Henry and Kunigunde were both buried in the cathedral. From the middle of the 13th century onward the bishops were princes of the Empire and ruled Bamberg, in 1248 and 1260 the see obtained large portions of the estates of the Counts of Meran, partly through purchase and partly through the appropriation of extinguished fiefs. By the changes resulting from the Reformation, the territory of this see was reduced nearly one half in extent, since 1279 the coat of arms of the city of Bamberg is known in form of a seal. The witch trials of the 17th century claimed about one thousand victims in Bamberg, the famous Drudenhaus, built in 1627, is no longer standing today, however, detailed accounts of some cases, such as that of Johannes Junius, remain. In 1647, the University of Bamberg was founded as Academia Bambergensis, bambrzy are German Poles who are descended from settlers from the Bamberg area who settled in villages around Posen in the years 1719–1753. In 1759, the possessions and jurisdictions of the diocese situated in Austria were sold to that state, when the secularization of church lands took place the diocese covered 3,305 km2 and had a population of 207,000. Bamberg thus lost its independence in 1802, becoming part of Bavaria in 1803, Bamberg was first connected to the German rail system in 1844, which has been an important part of its infrastructure ever since. The first republican constitution of Bavaria was passed in Bamberg, becoming known as the Bamberger Verfassung, in February 1926 Bamberg served as the venue for the Bamberg Conference, convened by Adolf Hitler in his attempt to foster unity and to stifle dissent within the then-young Nazi party. Bamberg was chosen for its location in Upper Franconia, reasonably close to the residences of the members of the dissident northern Nazi faction, in 1973, the town celebrated the 1, 000th anniversary of its founding. Bamberg is located in Franconia,63 km north of Nuremberg by railway and 101 km east of Würzburg and it is situated on the Regnitz river,3 km before it flows into the Main river
24.
Brauweiler
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Brauweiler is a part of Pulheim, west of Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. The former Benedictine abbey, Brauweiler Abbey, founded 1024, is used today by the Rhein Department for the Care of Historic Monuments. In Brauweiler in the 1920s a large power transmission station up which supplied up to 380 kV was built, It was also the starting point of the north south powerline. In the area of this station is also the main control room of the RWE. This control is used to coordinate the power transmission in continental Europe. Brauweiler Abbey Website Brauweiler Catholic Parish of St. Nicholas Brauweiler St. Sebastian Archery Group Brauweiler e. V, evangelical Parish of Brauweiler Altar Servers of St. Nicholas Brauweiler/Dansweiler Abbey Gymnasium, Brauweiler Brauweiler Volunteer Fire Brigade
25.
Rottenburg am Neckar
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Rottenburg am Neckar is a medium-sized town in the administrative district of Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It lies about 50 kilometres southwest of the provincial capital Stuttgart, Rottenburg is the second largest city of the district after Tübingen and makes up a secondary centre for the surrounding community. Since 1 May 1972, Rottenburg am Neckar is a district town, Rottenburg agreed to an administrative collectivity with the municipalities of Hirrlingen, Neustetten and Starzach. Rottenburg is the seat of a Roman Catholic bishop, being the centre of the diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart. Moreover, it has a college of music and a university of applied sciences. Rottenburg is divided into a city core and seventeen districts, Rottenburg was founded as a Roman town, Sumelocenna, probably around the year AD98, and was one of the most important Roman towns in the southwest of Germany. It had a line of walls built to defend it from the attacks of the Alamanni, the name Rottenburg is thought to derive from a Germanic root that is also present in the English word rotten, in an older meaning of destroyed. According to this hypothesis, the town would have received its name when, in the early Middle Ages, an alternative etymology of Rottenburg as red borough is also considered possible, however. In the Middle Ages, the town was first governed by the counts of Hohenberg, Rottenburg remained a part of Further Austria until 1805, when it was assigned to Württemberg in the Peace of Pressburg. It was then decided not to choose the more important nearby places of Stuttgart or Tübingen as a diocesan town, as these were firmly Protestant. Rottenburg is known among Anabaptists as the place of death for Michael Sattler, Michael Sattler was burned at the stake on Gallows Hill on 20 May 1527. Dom St. Martin has been the cathedral since 1821. Its tower, dating from 1486, is its most prominent feature, spanning various architectural periods, the Stiftskirche St. Moriz incorporates a Gothic core with elements from an earlier church and a later Baroque hall church. The Gothic feel is what persists, from 14th and 15th centuries frescoes on the pillars to the 15th century painting of the Four Evangelists on the ceiling in the choir. In the north stands a ornamented column depicting various princes, donated in 1470 by Archduchess Mechthild. A copy also stands in the citys Marktplatz, a more modern landmark is the Eckenweiler Water Tower. Built of reinforced concrete in the 1970s, its design is notable. Since 1979 Rottenburgs twin town is Saint Claude in France, official website Various memorials in Rottenburg at the Sites of Memory page
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Konstanz
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Konstanz is a university city with approximately 80,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany, bordering Switzerland. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was for more than 1200 years residence of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Konstanz, Konstanz is situated on Lake Constance. The Rhine river, which starts in the Swiss Alps, passes through Lake Constance and leaves it, considerably larger, car ferries provide access across Lake Constance to Meersburg, and the Katamaran provides a shuttle service for pedestrians to Friedrichshafen. At the old towns southern border lies the Swiss town of Kreuzlingen, Konstanz is subdivided into 15 wards or districts. The island of Mainau belonged to the ward of Litzelstetten, a municipality until its incorporation into Konstanz on December 1,1971. The first traces of civilization in Konstanz date back to the late Stone Age, during the reign of Augustus, the Celts living south of the Danube were conquered by the Romans. Around 40 AD, the first Romans settled on the site and this small town on the left bank of the Rhine was probably first called Drusomagus and belonged to the Roman province of Raetia. The remains of the late Roman fortress Constantia were discovered in 2003, around 585 the first bishop took up residence in Konstanz and this marked the beginning of the citys importance as a spiritual centre. By the late Middle Ages, about one quarter of Konstanzs 6,000 inhabitants were exempt from taxation on account of clerical rights, trade thrived during the Middle Ages. Konstanz owned the bridge in the region, which crossed the Rhine. Its linen production had made a name for the city. In 1192, Konstanz gained the status of Imperial City so it was subject only to the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1414 to 1418, the Council of Constance took place, during which, on 6 July 1415, John Hus and it was here that the Papal Schism was ended and Pope Martin V was elected during the only conclave ever held north of the Alps. Ulrich von Richentals illustrated chronicle of the Council of Constance testifies to all the happenings during the Council as well as showing the everyday life of medieval Konstanz. The Konzilgebäude where the conclave was held can still be standing by the harbour. Close by stands the Imperia, a statue that was erected in 1993 to satirically commemorate the Council, in 1460, the Swiss Confederacy conquered Thurgau, Konstanzs natural hinterland. In the Swabian War of 1499, Konstanz lost its last privileges over Thurgau to the Confederation, the Protestant Reformation took hold in Konstanz in the 1520s, headed by Ambrosius Blarer. Soon the city declared itself officially Protestant, pictures were removed from the churches, and the bishop moved to Meersburg
27.
Meersburg
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Meersburg is a town of Baden-Württemberg in the southwest of Germany at Lake Constance. It is known for its medieval city, the lower town and upper town are reserved for pedestrians only, and connected by two stairways and a steep street. The name of the town means Castle on the Sea, referring to a castle which, the commune obtained the status of free city in 1299, though nominally still under the Bishop of Constance. In 1803 it was annexed to the Land of Baden, after World War II, Meersburg was in the French military occupation area in Germany. The town is home to two castles, the Old Castle and the New Castle, the Old Castle, built by Merovingian King Dagobert I in the seventh century, accepts visitors. German poet Annette von Droste-Hülshoff lived there for eight years, the New Castle was built in the eighteenth century. Originally the residence of the bishop of Constance, it was used for various purposes after the Secularization of 1803, there is an entity of Half-timber houses. Also two medieval town-gates can be seen, which are the remainders of the fortification, Meersburg is the northern terminus of a car ferry to Constance. At the opposite side Meersburg is connected to the region by the B31, to exit to Meersburg and to go to the car ferry, one takes B33 to Meersburg and Constance. Meersburg is also reachable by boats from Lake Constance to Überlingen, to Lindau, Bregenz. One of Germanys most celebrated poets, Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, lived her final years at Meersburg Castle and she also owned the small vine-covered villa known as Fürstenhäusle. The famous eighteenth-century doctor Franz Anton Mesmer died in 1815 in Meersburg and is buried near the old wall of the graveyard about 0.5 kilometres northeast of the upper town-gate Obertor, the Meersburg vineyards at the northern banks of Lake Constance are famous within Germany. The rosée Weissherbst wine is a specialty of the region
28.
Veneto
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Veneto or Venetia is one of the twenty regions of Italy. Its population is five million, ranking fifth in Italy. The regions capital and largest city is Venice, Veneto was part of the Roman Empire until the 5th century AD. Later, after a period, it was part of the Republic of Venice until 1797. Venice ruled for centuries one of the largest and richest maritime republics. The Statute of Veneto describes Venetians as a people, besides Italian, most inhabitants also speak Venetian. The region is home to a notable nationalist movement, the regions largest party is the Venetist/Padanist Liga Veneta, a founding member of Lega Nord. The current President of Veneto is Luca Zaia, elected in 2010 with 60. 2% of the vote and the support of Lega Nord, The People of Freedom, Veneto is the 8th largest region in Italy, with a total area of 18,398.9 km2. At its northernmost corner it borders also on Austria, the north-south extension of Veneto is 210 km from the Austrian border to the mouth of the River Po. By area, 29% of its surface is mountainous, the highest massif in the Dolomites is the Marmolada-massif at 3,342 m. Other dolomitic peaks are the Tre Cime di Lavaredo and the Pale di San Martino, the Venetian Prealps are not as high and range between 700 m and 2,200 m. Fossil deposits are abundant there. The plain itself is subdivided into the plain and the lower plain. The lower plain is both a mainstay of production and the most populated part of the region. Several rivers flow through the region, the Po, Adige, Brenta, Bacchiglione, Livenza, Piave, the eastern shore of the largest lake in Italy, Lake Garda, belongs to Veneto. The coastline covers approximately 200 km, of which 100 km are beaches, the coasts of the Adriatic Sea are characterised by the Venetian Lagoon, a flat terrain with ponds, marshes and islands. The Po Delta to the south features sandbars and dunes along the coastline, the inland portion contains cultivable land recently reclaimed by a system of canals and dykes. Fish ponds have been created there as well, the delta and the lagoon are a stopping-point for migratory birds
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Lombardy
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Lombardy is one of the twenty administrative regions of Italy, in the northwest of the country, with an area of 23,844 square kilometres. Milan, Lombardys capital, is the second-largest city and the largest metropolitan area in Italy, the word Lombardy comes from Lombard, which in turn is derived from Late Latin Longobardus, Langobardus, derived from the Proto-Germanic elements *langaz + *bardaz, equivalent to long beard. Some sources derive the second element instead from Proto-Germanic *bardǭ, *barduz, Lombardy referred during the early Middle Ages to the entire territory of Italy ruled by the Lombards, a Germanic tribe who conquered much of the Italian peninsula beginning in the 6th century. During the late Middle Ages, the term shifted meaning and was used to identify the whole of Northern Italy, with a surface of 23,861 km2, Lombardy is the 4th largest region of Italy. It is bordered by Switzerland and by the Italian regions of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, three distinct natural zones can be fairly easily distinguished in the Lombardy region, mountains, hills and plains – the latter being divided in Alta and Bassa. Inconsistent with the three distinctions above made is the subregion of Oltrepò Pavese, formed by the Apennine foothills beyond the Po River. The mighty Po river marks the border of the region for a length of about 210 km. In its progress it receives the waters of the Ticino River, the other streams which contribute to the great river are, the Olona, the Lambro, the Adda, the Oglio and the Mincio. The numerous lakes of Lombardy, all of glacial origin, lie in the northern highlands, from west to east these are Lake Maggiore, Lake Lugano, Lake Como, Lake Iseo, Lake Idro, then Lake Garda, the largest in Italy. A minor mountainous area, the Oltrepò Pavese, lies south of the Po, in the plains, intensively cultivated for centuries, little of the original environment remains. The most commons trees are elm, alder, sycamore, poplar, willow, in the area of the foothills lakes, however, grow olive trees, cypresses and larches, as well as varieties of subtropical flora such as magnolias, azaleas, acacias. Numerous species of flora in the Prealpine area include some kinds of saxifrage, the Lombard garlic, groundsels bellflowers. The highlands are characterized by the vegetation of the whole range of the Italian Alps. At a lower levels oak woods or broadleafed trees grow, on the slopes beech trees grow at the lowest limits. Shrubs such as rhododendron, dwarf pine and juniper are native to the summital zone, Lombardy has a wide array of climates, due to local variances in elevation, proximity to inland water basins, and large metropolitan areas. In addition, there is a seasonal temperature variation. A peculiarity of the climate is the thick fog that covers the plains between October and February. In the Alpine foothills, characterised by an Oceanic climate, numerous lakes exercise a mitigating influence, in the hills and mountains, the climate is humid continental
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Tuscany
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Tuscany is a region in central Italy with an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, traditions, history, artistic legacy, Tuscany produces wines, including Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano and Brunello di Montalcino. Having a strong linguistic and cultural identity, it is considered a nation within a nation. Tuscany is traditionally a popular destination in Italy, and the main tourist destinations by number of tourist arrivals are Florence, Pisa, Montecatini Terme, Castiglione della Pescaia and Grosseto. The village of Castiglione della Pescaia is also the most visited destination in the region. Additionally, Siena, Lucca, the Chianti region, Versilia and Val dOrcia are also internationally renowned, Tuscany has over 120 protected nature reserves, making Tuscany and its capital Florence popular tourist destinations that attract millions of tourists every year. In 2012, the city of Florence was the worlds 89th most visited city, roughly triangular in shape, Tuscany borders the regions of Liguria to the northwest, Emilia-Romagna to the north and east, Umbria to the east and Lazio to the southeast. The comune of Badia Tedalda, in the Tuscan Province of Arezzo, has an exclave named Ca Raffaello within Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany has a western coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea, containing the Tuscan Archipelago, of which the largest island is Elba. Tuscany has an area of approximately 22,993 square kilometres, surrounded and crossed by major mountain chains, and with few plains, the region has a relief that is dominated by hilly country used for agriculture. Hills make up nearly two-thirds of the total area, covering 15,292 square kilometres, and mountains. Plains occupy 8. 4% of the total area—1,930 square kilometres —mostly around the valley of the River Arno, many of Tuscanys largest cities lie on the banks of the Arno, including the capital Florence, Empoli and Pisa. The pre-Etruscan history of the area in the late Bronze and Iron Ages parallels that of the early Greeks, following this, the Villanovan culture saw Tuscany, and the rest of Etruria, taken over by chiefdoms. City-states developed in the late Villanovan before Orientalization occurred and the Etruscan civilization rose, the Etruscans created the first major civilization in this region, large enough to establish a transport infrastructure, to implement agriculture and mining and to produce vibrant art. The Etruscans lived in Etruria well into prehistory, throughout their existence, they lost territory to Magna Graecia, Carthage and Celts. Despite being seen as distinct in its manners and customs by contemporary Greeks, the cultures of Greece, one reason for its eventual demise was this increasing absorption by surrounding cultures, including the adoption of the Etruscan upper class by the Romans. Soon after absorbing Etruria, Rome established the cities of Lucca, Pisa, Siena, and Florence, endowed the area with new technologies and development, and ensured peace. These developments included extensions of existing roads, introduction of aqueducts and sewers, however, many of these structures have been destroyed by erosion due to weather. The Roman civilization in the West collapsed in the 5th century AD, in the years following 572, the Longobards arrived and designated Lucca the capital of their Duchy of Tuscia
31.
Augsburg
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Augsburg is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It was a Free Imperial City for over 500 years and it is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is a district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is the third-largest city in Bavaria with a population of 286,000 citizens, after Neuss and Trier, Augsburg is Germanys third oldest city, being founded by the Romans as Augusta Vindelicorum, named after the Roman emperor Augustus. Augsburg is the only German city with its own legal holiday and this gives Augsburg more legal holidays than any other region or city in Germany. Augsburg was the home of two families that rose to great prominence internationally, replacing the Medicis as Europes leading bankers, the Fugger. Augsburg lies at the convergence of the Alpine rivers Lech and Wertach, in the south extends the Lechfeld, an Outwash plain of the post ice age between the rivers Lech and Wertach, where rare primeval landscapes were preserved. The Augsburg city forest and the Lech valley heaths today rank among the most species-rich middle European habitats, on Augsburg borders the nature park Augsburg Western Woods - a large forestland. The city itself is also heavily greened, as a result, in 1997 Augsburg was the first German city to win the Europe-wide contest Entente Florale for Europes greenest and most livable city. Augsburg is surrounded by the counties Landkreis Augsburg in the west, the neighboring towns and cities are Friedberg, Königsbrunn, Stadtbergen, Neusäß, Gersthofen, Rehling, Affing, Kissing, Mering, Merching, Bobingen, Gessertshausen und Diedorf. Augsburg has a continental climate. The city was founded in 15 BC by Drusus and Tiberius as Augusta Vindelicorum, the name means Augusta of the Vindelici. This garrison camp soon became the capital of the Roman province of Raetia, thus, Augsburg was the intersection of many important European east-west and north-south connections, which later evolved as major trade routes of the Middle Ages. Around 120 AD Augsburg became the capital of the Roman province Raetia, Augsburg was sacked by the Huns in the 5th century AD, by Charlemagne in the 8th century, and by Welf of Bavaria in the 11th century, but arose each time to greater prosperity. Augsburg was granted the status of a Free Imperial City on March 9,1276 and from then until 1803, it was independent of its former overlord, the Prince-Bishop of Augsburg. Frictions between the city-state and the prince-bishops were to remain frequent however, particularly after Augsburg became Protestant and curtailed the rights, with a strategic location as intersection of trade routes to Italy, the Free Imperial City became a major trading center. Augsburg produced large quantities of goods, cloth and textiles. Augsburg became the base of two banking families that rose to prominence, the Fuggers and the Welsers
32.
Bavaria
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Bavaria is a free state and one of 16 federal states of Germany. Located in the German southeast with an area of 70,548 square kilometres and its territory comprises roughly a fifth of the total land area of Germany, and, with 12.9 million inhabitants, it is Germanys second most populous state. Munich, Bavarias capital and largest city, is the third largest city in Germany, the Duchy of Bavaria dates back to the year 555. In the 17th century CE, the Duke of Bavaria became a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Bavaria existed from 1806 to 1918, when Bavaria became a republic. In 1946, the Free State of Bavaria re-organised itself on democratic lines after the Second World War, Bavaria has a unique culture, largely because of the states Catholic majority and conservative traditions. Bavarians have traditionally been proud of their culture, which includes such as Oktoberfest. The state also has the second largest economy among the German states by GDP figures, modern Bavaria also includes parts of the historical regions of Franconia, Upper Palatinate and Swabia. The Bavarians emerged in a north of the Alps, previously inhabited by Celts. The Bavarians spoke Old High German but, unlike other Germanic groups, rather, they seem to have coalesced out of other groups left behind by Roman withdrawal late in the 5th century. These peoples may have included the Celtic Boii, some remaining Romans, Marcomanni, Allemanni, Quadi, Thuringians, Goths, Scirians, Rugians, the name Bavarian means Men of Baia which may indicate Bohemia, the homeland of the Celtic Boii and later of the Marcomanni. They first appear in written sources circa 520, a 17th century Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz, citing Cyriacus Spangenberg, claimed that the diocese was named after an ancient Bohemian king, Boiia, in the 14th century BCE. From about 554 to 788, the house of Agilolfing ruled the Duchy of Bavaria and their daughter, Theodelinde, became Queen of the Lombards in northern Italy and Garibald was forced to flee to her when he fell out with his Frankish overlords. Garibalds successor, Tassilo I, tried unsuccessfully to hold the frontier against the expansion of Slavs. Tassilos son Garibald II seems to have achieved a balance of power between 610 and 616, after Garibald II little is known of the Bavarians until Duke Theodo I, whose reign may have begun as early as 680. From 696 onwards he invited churchmen from the west to organize churches and his son, Theudebert, led a decisive Bavarian campaign to intervene in a succession dispute in the Lombard Kingdom in 714, and married his sister Guntrud to the Lombard King Liutprand. At Theodos death the duchy was divided among his sons, at Hugberts death the duchy passed to a distant relative named Odilo, from neighbouring Alemannia. He was defeated near Augsburg in 743 but continued to rule until his death in 748, saint Boniface completed the peoples conversion to Christianity in the early 8th century. Bavaria was in ways affected by the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century
33.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
34.
Journal of Geophysical Research
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The Journal of Geophysical Research is a peer-reviewed scientific journal. It is the journal of the American Geophysical Union. It contains original research on the physical, chemical, and biological processes that contribute to the understanding of the Earth, Sun and it has seven sections, A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. All current and back issues are available online for subscribers, the journal was originally named Terrestrial Magnetism by the American Geophysical Unions president Louis Agricola Bauer in 1896. It was entitled Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric Electricity from 1899–1948, in 1980, three specialized sections were established, A, Space Physics, B, Solid Earth, and C, Oceans. Subsequently, further sections have been added, D, Atmospheres in 1984, E, Planets in 1991, F, Earth Surface in 2003, C, Oceans covers physical, biological, and chemical oceanography. D, Atmospheres covers atmospheric properties and processes, including the interaction of the atmosphere with other components of the Earth system, studies of the Earth are included when they concern exogenic effects or the comparison of the Earth to other planets. G, Biogeosciences focuses on the interface between biology and the geosciences and attempts to understand the functions of the Earth system across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Each of the sections has one or more editors who are appointed by, each editor can in turn appoint associate editors. According to the Editor-in-Chief of JGR-Space Physics, With the switch to Wiley and this means that in a couple of years, each section of JGR will have its own Impact Factor. The journal is indexed by GEOBASE, GeoRef, Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science and it published 2995 articles in 2010. According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2010 impact factor of 3.303, ranking it 15th out of 165 journals in the category Geosciences, Journal of Geophysical Research—Atmospheres was also the 6th most cited publication on climate change between 1999 and 2009. Among the most highly cited papers in the Journal of Geophysical Research are, Cande, D. V. Kent, revised calibration of the geomagnetic polarity timescale for the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic. Brune, J. N. Tectonic stress and the spectra of seismic shear Waves from earthquakes, analysis of variation of ocean-floor bathymetry and heat-flow with age. Jordan, T. H. Present-day plate motions, a global model of natural volatile organic compound emissions. CS1 maint, Uses authors parameter Kennel, C. F. Petschek, limit on stably trapped particle fluxes. Elasticity and constitution of the Earth interior, list of scientific journals in earth and atmospheric sciences Official website
35.
American Geophysical Union
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The American Geophysical Union is a 501 nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 62,000 members from 144 countries. AGUs activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of information in the interdisciplinary. The geophysical sciences involve four fundamental areas, atmospheric and ocean sciences, solid-Earth sciences, hydrologic sciences, the organizations headquarters is located on Florida Avenue in Washington, D. C. For more than 50 years, it operated as an affiliate of the National Academy of Sciences. On June 29,1972, AGU was incorporated in the District of Columbia, the AGU was intended to promote pure geophysics, exploration geophysics has its own society, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. In a March 1919 report by a committee chaired by Robert S, the AGU was organized under seven sections, Geodesy, Seismology, Meteorology, Terrestrial magnetism and electricity, Oceanography, Volcanology, and Geophysical chemistry. Hydrology was added in 1930 and Tectonophysics in 1940, in suggesting the latter name, Norman Bowen evoked a familiar theme, to designate this new borderline field between geophysics, physics and geology. for the solution of problems of tectonics. The first meeting of the AGU took place on April 23,1920, up to 1930, the number of members was restricted and members were elected. In 1932 the first annual dues US$2 were imposed, the membership grew to 4600 in 1950,13,000 in 1980, and 26,000 in 1990. As of 2013, it had 62,000 members from 144 countries, AGU publishes the weekly Eos newspaper and nineteen peer-reviewed scientific journals, The journal Radio Science is co-sponsored by the International Union of Radio Science. The journal Earth Interactions is published in partnership with the American Meteorological Society, in addition, International Journal of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy is no longer published and AGU distributes Chinese Journal of Geophysics and Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics. Many of the journals have high impact factors, with Paleoceanography having the highest within paleontology and Reviews of Geophysics the second highest within geochemistry, AGU has also been publishing books for more than 85 years. AGU co-published its first electronic journal, Earth Interactions, in 1997 and it started its own electronic journal, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, in December 1999. It made a transition to electronic publishing in 2001. For all its journals, the version became the publication of record. This was accompanied by a new scheme for articles that entirely did away with sequential page numbers. Instead, each article had a digital object identifier, as an example,10. 1029/2001GL014304 consists of the publisher identifier, the year, the journal code, and an article number. This new system was met with complaints from libraries and scientists, the article numbers provided no clue for libraries to find an article in printed versions, and even scientific databases were not set up to handle DOIs
36.
1169 Sicily earthquake
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The 1169 Sicily earthquake occurred on 4 February 1169 at 07,00 on the eve of the feast of St. Agatha of Sicily. It had a magnitude of between 6.4 and 7.3 and an estimated maximum perceived intensity of X on the Mercalli intensity scale. Catania, Lentini and Modica were severely damaged, overall, the earthquake is estimated to have caused the deaths of at least 15,000 people. Sicilys considerable seismic activity is a product of plate tectonics, the lies on part of the complex convergent boundary where the African Plate is subducting beneath the Eurasian Plate. This subduction zone is responsible for the formation of the stratovolcano Mount Etna, faults in the Calabrian segment were responsible for the 1783 Calabrian earthquakes sequence. In the southern part of the eastern coast of Sicily, investigations have identified a series of active normal dip-slip faults, most of these lie offshore, and some control basins that contain large thicknesses of Quaternary sediments. The two largest faults, known as the western and eastern master faults, border half-grabens, with fill of up to 700 metres and 800 metres respectively. The location of the epicentre is quite uncertain, with different seismologists giving locations offshore and onshore, there is similar uncertainty regarding the 1693 Sicily earthquake. The damaged area is similar to that for the 1693 earthquake, intensities of X have been estimated for Catania, Lentini and Modica, IX at Syracuse and Piazza Armerina and VIII at Santi Pietro e Paolo and Messina. The earthquake was felt in Calabria with a maximum intensity of VI in Reggio Calabria. The magnitude of the earthquake has been estimated from intensity information, the tsunami affected most of the Ionian coast of Sicily and caused inundation from Messina in the north to the mouth of the Simeto River in the south. Tsunami deposits correlated with this earthquake have been found both onshore and offshore, the tsunami is also thought to be responsible for moving several large boulders from the middle of the sublittoral zone onto the coast between Augusta and Syracuse. Some accounts of this earthquake refer to an eruption from Etna at the time of the earthquake, blaming most of the deaths in Catania. As with the 1693 earthquake the 1169 event seems to have followed after a period of eruptive activity. Calculations have shown that an eruption may significantly increase the stress on the normal faults to the south-east of the volcano. The Cathedral collapsed killing the Bishop John of Ajello,44 of the Benedictine monks, great damage was also caused to Lentini, Modica, Aci Castello, Sortino and Syracuse. In a contemporary account Hugo Falcandus described the effects on the Arethusa spring in Syracuse, near Casale Saraceno the flow of another spring, known as Tais, stopped after the earthquake. Two hours later it returned with greater force than before and had the colour of blood
37.
1348 Friuli earthquake
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The 1348 Friuli earthquake, centered in the South Alpine region of Friuli, was felt across Europe on 25 January. The quake hit in the year that the Great Plague ravaged Italy. According to contemporary sources, it caused damage to structures, churches and houses collapsed, villages were destroyed. The epicenter was located east of Tolmezzo, Venzone and Gemona, striking in the early afternoon, the earthquake caused hundreds of casualties and destroyed numerous buildings. In Udine, the castle and the cathedral were severely damaged, in Carinthia, the town of Villach and numerous surrounding villages were largely destroyed by a major landslide followed by a flood of the Gail River. The sixth-century basilica of Santi Apostoli was so ruined that it was left in an abandoned state for a generation. The historian of medicine A. G. Carmichael observes, The earthquake of 25 January 1348 is likely to have fuelled and focused specifically apocalyptical fears more than plague did, List of earthquakes in Italy List of historical earthquakes Borst, Arno. Das Erdbeben von 1348, Ein historischer Beitrag zur Katastrophenforschung, Hammerl, Christa, The earthquake of January 25,1348, Reconstruction of a natural occurrence Based on, Hammerl, Christa. Villach, Austria, Museum der Stadt Villach, gutdeutsch, R. Lenhardt, W. Seismological interpretation of the South Alpine earthquake of January 25th,1348. Seismology in Europe, papers presented at the XXV General Assembly, 25th ESC General Assembly, Reykjavik, Iceland,1996
