1.
Geographic coordinate system
–
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.
Italy
–
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
3.
Regions of Italy
–
The regions of Italy are the first-level administrative divisions of Italy, constituting its second NUTS administrative level. There are 20 regions, of five are constitutionally given a broader amount of autonomy granted by special statutes. Each region, except for the Aosta Valley, is divided into provinces, regions are autonomous entities with powers defined in the Constitution. As the administrative districts of the state during the Kingdom of Italy. The original draft list comprised the Salento region, friuli and Venezia Giulia were separate regions, and Basilicata was named Lucania. Abruzzo and Molise were identified as regions in the first draft. They were later merged into Abruzzo e Molise in the constitution of 1948. Implementation of regional autonomy was postponed until the first Regional Elections of 1970, the ruling Christian Democracy party did not want the opposition Italian Communist Party to gain power in the regions, where it was historically rooted. Regions acquired a significant level of autonomy following a reform in 2001. In June 2006 the proposals, which had been associated with Lega Nord. The results varied considerably among the regions, ranging from 55. 3% in favour in Veneto to 82% against in Calabria, number of regions controlled by each coalition since 1995, Macroregions are the first-level NUTS of the European Union. These regions, whose statutes are approved by their councils, were created in 1970. Since the constitutional reform of 2001 they have had residual legislative powers, the regions have exclusive legislative power with respect to any matters not expressly reserved to state law. Yet their financial autonomy is quite modest, they just keep 20% of all levied taxes, Article 116 of the Italian Constitution grants to five regions home rule, acknowledging their powers in relation to legislation, administration and finance. These regions became autonomous in order to take into account cultural differences, moreover, the government wanted to prevent their secession from Italy after the Second World War. Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol constitutes a special case, the region is nearly powerless, and the powers granted by the regions statute are mostly exercised by the two autonomous provinces within the region, Trentino and South Tyrol. In this case, the regional institution plays a coordinating role, the latter is directly elected by the citizens of each region, with the exceptions of Aosta Valley and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, where he is chosen by the regional council. Under the 1995 electoral law, the winning coalition receives a majority of seats on the council
4.
Aosta Valley
–
The Aosta Valley is a mountainous semi-autonomous region in northwestern Italy. It is bordered by Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France to the west, Valais, Switzerland to the north, covering an area of 3,263 km2 and with a population of about 128,000 it is the smallest, least populous, and least densely populated region of Italy. It is the only Italian region that is not sub-divided into provinces, provincial administrative functions are provided by the regional government. The region is divided into 74 comuni, the Aosta Valley is an Alpine valley which with its tributary valleys includes the Italian slopes of Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa, Gran Paradiso and the Matterhorn, its highest peak is Mont Blanc. The region is cold in the winter, especially when compared with other places in the Western Alps. Winter temperatures average around −3 °C or −4 °C, and summers between 13 °C and 15 °C, the snow season starts in November and lasts until March. Mist is common during the morning from April until October, the main communities in this area are Gressoney-Saint-Jean, Brusson and Gressoney-La-Trinité. The valleys above 1600 metres usually have a Cold Continental Climate, in this climate the snow season is very long, as long as 8 or 9 months at the highest points. During the summer, mist occurs almost every day and these areas are the wettest in the western Alps. Temperatures are low, between −7 °C and −3 °C in January, and in July between 10 °C and 13 °C. In this area is the town of Rhêmes-Notre-Dame. which may be the coldest town in the Western Alps, areas between 2000 metres and 3500 metres usually have a Tundra Climate, where every month has an average temperature below 10 °C. Temperature averages in Pian Rosà, at 3400 metres high, are −11.6 °C in January and 1.4 °C in July and it is the coldest place in Italy where the climate is verifiable. In the past, above 3500 metres, all months were having a temperature below freezing. In recent years there was a rise in temperatures. See as an example the data for Pian Rosà, the first inhabitants of the Aosta Valley were Celts and Ligures, whose language heritage remains in some local placenames. Thus, the name Valle dAosta literally means Valley of Augustus, saint Anselm of Canterbury was born in Aosta in 1033 or 1034. In the mid-13th century Emperor Frederick II made the County of Aosta a duchy, the region remained part of Savoy lands, with the exceptions of French occupations from 1539 to 1563, later in 1691, then between 1704 and 1706. As part of the Kingdom of Sardinia it joined the new Kingdom of Italy in 1861 and it was also ruled by the First French Empire between 1800 and 1814
5.
Provinces of Italy
–
In Italy, a province is an administrative division of intermediate level between a municipality and a region. There are currently 107 provinces in Italy, a further 4 such cities were added later. The reorganization of the Italian provinces became operative by January 2015, a province of the Italian Republic is composed of many municipalities. Usually several provinces together form a region, the region of Aosta Valley is the sole exception – it is not subdivided into provinces, the three main functions devolved to provinces are, local planning and zoning, provision of local police and fire services, transportation regulation. The number of provinces in Italy has been growing in recent years. Usually, the name is the same as that of its capital city. According to the 2014 reform, each province is headed by a President assisted by a body, the Provincial Council, and an executive body. President and members of Council are elected together by mayors and city councilors of each municipality of the province, the Executive is chaired by the President who appoint others members, called assessori. Since 2015 the President and others members of the Council will not receive a salary, in each province there is also a Prefect, a representative of the central government who heads an agency called prefettura-ufficio territoriale del governo. The Questor is the head of States Police in the province, there is also a provinces police force depending from local government, called provincial police. Sardinia - following the outcome of the referendums of 2012 it was decreed that such institutions should be reformed or abolished by March 2013. In January 2014 the Sardinian Regional Administrative Court declared unconstitutional the abolition of the Sardinian provinces, sicily - provinces were replaced by Free Communal Consortia in 2013. In 1861, at the birth of the Kingdom of Italy, however, at that time the national territory was smaller than the current one, regions of Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino Alto Adige and Lazio were not included in the kingdom. In 1866, following the Third Independence War, territories of Veneto, Friuli, there were therefore nine more provinces, Belluno, Mantua, Padua, Rovigo, Treviso, Venice, Verona, Vicenza and Udine, all previously part of the Austrian Empire. Eventually, in 1870, following the annexion of Rome and its province from the Papal States, after the First World War, new territories were annexed to Italy. The Province of Trento was created in 1920, Provinces of La Spezia, Trieste and Ionio in 1923. In 1924 the new provinces of Fiume, Pola, and Zara were created, in 1927, following a Royal charter, a general province rearrangement took place. 17 new provinces were created and the province of Caserta was suppressed, in the same year the institution of circondari, sub-provincial wards created before the unification, was abolished
6.
Democratic Party (Italy)
–
The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy. The partys acting leader is Matteo Orfini, who replaced Matteo Renzi after his resignation in February 2017, in April–May the party will hold a leadership election and Renzi is again running for secretary. The PD was founded on 14 October 2007 upon the merger of various centre-left parties which had part of The Olive Tree list. The PDs main ideological trends are thus social democracy and the Italian Christian leftist tradition, the party has been also influenced by social liberalism, which was already present in some of the founding components of the DS and DL, and more generally by a Third Way progressivism. Following the 2013 general election and the 2014 European Parliament election, the PD was the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate and the European Parliament. From 2013 the Italian government has been led by three successive Democratic Prime Ministers, Enrico Letta, Matteo Renzi, and Paolo Gentiloni. As of 2017, other than the government, Democrats head fourteen regional governments out of twenty and function as coalition partner in Tuscany. Former bigwigs include Giorgio Napolitano, Sergio Mattarella, Romano Prodi, Giuliano Amato, Massimo DAlema, Pier Luigi Bersani, Francesco Rutelli, the coalition, in alliance with the Communist Refoundation Party, won the 1996 general election and Prodi became Prime Minister. In February 1998 the PDS merged with minor parties to become the Democrats of the Left, while in March 2002 the PPI, RI. In the summer of 2003 Prodi suggested that the forces would participate in the 2004 European Parliament election with a common list. Whereas the Union of Democrats for Europe and the far-left parties refused, four parties accepted, the DS, DL, the Italian Democratic Socialists and the European Republicans Movement. They launched a joint list named United in the Olive Tree, the project was later abandoned in 2005 by the SDI. In the 2006 general election the list obtained 31. 3% of the vote for the Chamber of Deputies, eight parties agreed to merge into the PD, Democrats of the Left Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy. Southern Democratic Party, Sardinia Project, European Republicans Movement, Democratic Republicans, Middle Italy, while the DL agreed to the merger with virtually no resistance, the DS experienced a more heated final congress. On 19 April 2007 approximately 75% of party members voted in support of the merger of the DS into the PD, the left-wing opposition, led by Fabio Mussi, obtained just 15% of the support within the party. A third motion, presented by Gavino Angius and supportive of the PD only within the Party of European Socialists, during and following the congress, both Mussi and Angius announced their intention not to join the PD and founded a new party called Democratic Left. On 22 May 2007 the composition of the committee of the nascent party was announced. On 18 June the committee met to decide the rules for the election of the 2,400 members of the partys constituent assembly
7.
Demonym
–
A demonym is a word that identifies residents or natives of a particular place, which is derived from the name of that particular place. It is a neologism, previously gentilic was recorded in English dictionaries, e. g. the Oxford English Dictionary, thus a Thai may be any resident or citizen of Thailand, of any ethnic group, or more narrowly a member of the Thai people. Conversely, some groups of people may be associated with multiple demonyms, for example, a native of the United Kingdom may be called a British person, a Brit, or a Briton. In some languages, when a parallel demonym does not exist, in English, demonyms are capitalized and are often the same as the adjectival form of the place, e. g. Egyptian, Japanese, or Greek. Significant exceptions exist, for instance the adjectival form of Spain is Spanish, English widely includes country-level demonyms such as Ethiopian or Guatemalan and more local demonyms such as Seoulite, Wisconsinite, Chicagoan, Michigander, Fluminense, and Paulista. Some places lack a commonly used and accepted demonym and this poses a particular challenge to those toponymists who research demonyms. The word gentilic comes from the Latin gentilis and the English suffix -ic, the word demonym was derived from the Greek word meaning populace with the suffix for name. National Geographic attributes the term demonym to Merriam-Webster editor Paul Dickson in a recent work from 1990 and it was subsequently popularized in this sense in 1997 by Dickson in his book Labels for Locals. However, in What Do You Call a Person From, a Dictionary of Resident Names attributed the term to George H. Scheetz, in his Names Names, A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon, which is apparently where the term first appears. Several linguistic elements are used to create demonyms in the English language, the most common is to add a suffix to the end of the location name, slightly modified in some instances. Cairo → Cairene Cyrenaica → Cyrene Damascus → Damascene Greece → Greek Nazareth → Nazarene Slovenia → Slovene Often used for Middle Eastern locations and European locations. Kingston-upon-Hull → Hullensian Leeds → Leodensian Spain → Spaniard Savoy → Savoyard -ese is usually considered proper only as an adjective, thus, a Chinese person is used rather than a Chinese. Monaco → Monégasque Menton → Mentonasque Basque Country → Basque Often used for French locations, mostly they are from Africa and the Pacific, and are not generally known or used outside the country concerned. In much of East Africa, a person of an ethnic group will be denoted by a prefix. For example, a person of the Luba people would be a Muluba, the plural form Baluba, similar patterns with minor variations in the prefixes exist throughout on a tribal level. And Fijians who are indigenous Fijians are known as Kaiviti and these demonyms are usually more informal and colloquial. In the United States such informal demonyms frequently become associated with mascots of the sports teams of the state university system. In other countries the origins are often disputed and these will typically be formed using the standard models above
8.
Daylight saving time
–
Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
9.
Central European Summer Time
–
It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
10.
Gratus of Aosta
–
Saint Gratus of Aosta is the patron saint of Aosta. He is known to have signed the acts of the synod of Milan in AD451 as a priest. Gratus represented the bishop of Aosta, Eustasius, at this council, the bishops of Agaunum and Sion were present at this translation. The year of his death is not known, but the day is, his tomb in the church of Saint-Christophe bears an inscription that reads Hic requiescit in pace S. M. GRATUS EPS D P SUB D. VII ID. His feast day is September 7, the diffusion of Gratus cult occurred in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, when his relics were translated from the Paleochristian St. Laurence church to the collegiate church of SantOrso. Some of his relics lie there still, in a gold, one March 27 of an uncertain year, a liturgical feast was introduced in the diocese of Aosta that honored the translation of Gratus relics. An ancient ritual of pagan origin consisted of a blessing of the earth, the water, as a thaumaturgus, he was invoked against witches and devils. In 1450, he was invoked against a plague of insects in the Tarentaise region of France, in this account, Gratus was said to have been born into a noble Spartan family. He studied at Athens and became a monk, in order to escape the persecutions in the East, he fled to Rome, where he was well received and was sent as an emissary to the court of Charlemagne. A vision experienced at the Pantheon sent him to Aosta and he converted many pagans there and Charlemagne aided him in his mission. By divine command, he was sent to the Holy Land to find the head of Saint John the Baptist. For this reason, Gratus is sometimes depicted with John the Baptists head in iconography and he was accompanied by Saint Jucundus of Aosta. Gratus found the relic concealed in the palace of Herod, smuggling it out of Jerusalem, Gratus returned to Rome, where churchbells played of their own accord in celebration. Gratus presented Johns head to the Pope, in doing so and this was interpreted as a sign, and the Pope allowed him to carry that precious relic back to Aosta. Gratus continued to govern the diocese, while withdrawing to a hermitage with Jucundus. This story was contested as early as the sixteenth century, caesar Baronius, who drafted a new edition to the Roman Martyrology, doubted the veracity of his tale. In the twentieth century, the historian Aimé Pierre Frutaz demonstrated without a doubt that the Magna Legenda Sancti Grati was an invented tale. However, the tale had spurred the diffusion of Gratus cult into Piedmont, Lombardy, Switzerland and Savoy, elizabeth Hallam, Saints, Who They Are and How They Help You,105
11.
French language
–
French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
12.
Arpitan language
–
Franco-Provençal, Arpitan or Romand is a Gallo-Romance language spoken in east-central France, western Switzerland, northwestern Italy, and in enclaves in the Province of Foggia in Apulia, Italy. Franco-Provençal has several dialects and is separate from but closely related to neighboring Romance languages, Oïl languages, Occitan, Gallo-Italian. The name Franco-Provençal was given to the language by G. I, Ascoli in the 19th century because it shared features with French and Provençal without belonging to either. Arpitan, a neologism, is becoming a name for the language. This name was popularized due to the lands where the Arpitan language is spoken or used to be the prevalent idiom, the name for the region comes from the term Arpes, meaning Alps in Arpitan. Today, the largest number of Franco-Provençal speakers reside in the Aosta Valley, the language is also spoken in alpine valleys in the province of Turin, two isolated towns in Foggia, and rural areas of the Romandie region of Switzerland. It is one of the three Gallo-Romance language families of France and is recognized as a regional language of France. Organizations are attempting to preserve it through cultural events, education, scholarly research, aside from regional French dialects, it is the most closely related language to French. The number of speakers of Franco-Provençal has been declining significantly, according to UNESCO, Franco-Provençal is a potentially endangered language in Italy and an endangered language in Switzerland and France. Franco-Provençal emerged as a Gallo-Romance variety of Latin, the linguistic region comprises east-central France, western portions of Switzerland, and the Aosta Valley of Italy with the adjacent alpine valleys of the Piedmont. This area covers territories once occupied by pre-Roman Celts, including the Allobroges, Sequani, Helvetii, Ceutrones, by the 5th century, the region was controlled by the Burgundians. Franco-Provençal is first attested in manuscripts from the 12th century, possibly diverging from the langues doïl as early as the 8th–9th centuries, one writer has detected the influence of Basque by analyzing fossil words from toponymy and the dialect in the Aosta Valley Valdôtain patois. However, Franco-Provençal is consistently typified by a strict, myopic comparison to French, and so is characterized as conservative. Thus, commentators, like Désormaux, consider medieval the terms for many nouns and verbs, including pâta rag, bayâ to give, moussâ to lie down, all of which are conservative only relative to French. As an example, Désormaux, writing on this point in the foreword of his Savoyard dialect dictionary, states, one can note it not only in phonetics and morphology, but also in the vocabulary, where one finds numerous words and directions that clearly disappeared from French. Franco-Provençal failed to garner the prestige of its three more widely spoken neighbors, French, Occitan, and Italian. Communities where speakers lived were generally mountainous and isolated from one another, the internal boundaries of the entire speech area were divided by wars and religious conflicts. France, Switzerland, the Franche-Comté, and the duchy, later kingdom, the edict explicitly replaced Latin with French as the language of law and the courts
13.
Walser German
–
The Walser language, also known as Walliser German, is a group of Highest Alemannic dialects spoken in parts of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, and Austria. The terms Walser and Walliser are geographic, there is no linguistic divide, specific Walser dialects can be traced to eastern or western dialects of Wallis canton. Conservative Walser dialects are similar to the respective groups of Wallis dialects than to neighboring Walser dialects. The German-speaking immigration to the Wallis started in the 8th century from the canton of Bern, there were presumably two different immigration routes that led to two main groups of Walliser dialects. In the twelfth or thirteenth century, the Walliser began to other parts of the Alps. These new settlements are known as Walser migration, in many of these settlements, people still speak Walser. The dialects are difficult to understand for people who speak Swiss German, because the dialect group is quite spread out, there is rarely any contact between the dialects. Therefore, the dialects that compose Walser German are very different from each other as well, because the people who speak Walser German live in the isolated valleys of the high mountains, Walser German has preserved many archaisms, which makes it nearest to Old High German. The dialect of the Lötschental, for instance, preserved three distinct classes of weak verbs until the beginning of the 20th century, Walser German also shows linguistic innovations, such as the plural Tannu - Tannä, also found in the other Highest Alemannic dialects. Walser German dialects are considered endangered, and language shift to the majority language is occurring, the total number of speakers in the world is about 22,780, with about 10,000 in Switzerland alone. Valais, Simplon, Gondo valleys in the Monte Rosa massif, Aosta Valley, Gressoney-La-Trinité, Gressoney-Saint-Jean, Issime, historically in upper Ayas Valley and this section will be about the Walser German dialect of Formazza, or Pomattertitsch. Pomattertitsch is part of the Highest Alemannic German dialect group, which is made up of dialects that share similar features. The Highest Alemannic German group contains German dialects of Valais, Walser German dialects in Italy and Ticino, and eastern Walser German dialects in Grisons, Vorarlberg, the first feature that is shared by this group is the palatalization of Middle High German -s- to -sch-. This is actually typical of Walser German dialects in general. For Pomattertitsch, however, this doesnt apply to every word that contains -s-, su son, sunna sun, the second feature is a change from -nk- to -ch- or -h-, German denken to Pomattertitsch teche think, German trinken to Pomattertitsch triche drink. The final feature is the lack of diphthongs where they are present in German words, German bauen to Pomattertitsch büwe build, again, this section will be about the Walser German dialect Pomattertitsch. Pomattertitsch marks number and gender on nouns, like most dialects of German and it also marks case on nouns, although it has been reduced over time. It also distinguishes between strong and weak nouns, which is becoming blurred over time as well, for adjectives in the attributive position, there is also agreement in strong versus weak nouns, and in case
14.
Piemontese language
–
Piedmontese is a Romance language spoken by over 1 million people in Piedmont, northwest Italy. It is geographically and linguistically included in the Gallo-Italic languages group of Northern Italy and it is part of the wider western group of Romance languages, which also includes French, Occitan, and Catalan. Today it has an official status recognized by the Piedmont regional government. Piedmontese was the first language of emigrants who, in the period from 1850 to 1950, left Piedmont for countries such as France, Brazil, The United States, Argentina, and Uruguay. The first documents in the Piedmontese language were written in the 12th century, the sermones subalpini, literary Piedmontese developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, but it did not gain literary esteem comparable to that of French or Italian, other languages used in Piedmont. Nevertheless, literature in Piedmontese has never ceased to be produced, it includes poetry, theatre pieces, novels, in 2004, Piedmontese was recognised as Piedmonts regional language by the regional parliament, although the Italian government has not yet recognised it as such. In theory it is now supposed to be taught to children in school, the last decade has seen the publication of learning materials for schoolchildren, as well as general-public magazines. Courses for people already outside the system have also been developed. On the other hand, the survey showed Piedmontese is still spoken by over half the population. Authoritative sources confirm this result, putting the figure between 2 million and 3 million speakers out of a population of 4.2 million people, efforts to make it one of the official languages of the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics were unsuccessful. Piedmontese is written with a modified Latin alphabet, the letters, along with their IPA equivalent are shown in the table below. Certain digraphs are used to represent specific sounds as shown below. All other combinations of letters are pronounced as written, grave accent marks break diphthongs, so ua and uà are /wa/, but ùa is pronounced separately, /ˈya/. Verbal pronouns are absent only in the form and in the Piedmontese interrogative form. The bound form of pronouns, which can be connected to dative and locative particles. The existence of three affirmative interjections, si, sè, é, òj, the absence of the voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, for which an alveolar S sound is usually substituted. The existence of an S-C combination pronounced, the existence of a velar nasal, which usually precedes a vowel, as in lun-a moon. The existence of the third Piedmontese vowel Ë, which is very short, the absence of the phonological contrast that exists in Italian between short and long consonants, for example, Italian fata fairy and fatta done
15.
Alps
–
The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc, Mont Blanc spans the French–Italian border, and at 4,810 m is the highest mountain in the Alps. The Alpine region area contains about a hundred peaks higher than 4000 metres, the altitude and size of the range affects the climate in Europe, in the mountains precipitation levels vary greatly and climatic conditions consist of distinct zones. Wildlife such as live in the higher peaks to elevations of 3,400 m. Evidence of human habitation in the Alps goes back to the Palaeolithic era, a mummified man, determined to be 5,000 years old, was discovered on a glacier at the Austrian–Italian border in 1991. By the 6th century BC, the Celtic La Tène culture was well established, Hannibal famously crossed the Alps with a herd of elephants, and the Romans had settlements in the region. In 1800 Napoleon crossed one of the passes with an army of 40,000. The 18th and 19th centuries saw an influx of naturalists, writers, in World War II, Adolf Hitler kept a base of operation in the Bavarian Alps throughout the war. The Alpine region has a cultural identity. The Winter Olympic Games have been hosted in the Swiss, French, at present, the region is home to 14 million people and has 120 million annual visitors. The English word Alps derives from the Latin Alpes, maurus Servius Honoratus, an ancient commentator of Virgil, says in his commentary that all high mountains are called Alpes by Celts. The term may be common to Italo-Celtic, because the Celtic languages have terms for high mountains derived from alp and this may be consistent with the theory that in Greek Alpes is a name of non-Indo-European origin. According to the Old English Dictionary, the Latin Alpes might possibly derive from a pre-Indo-European word *alb hill, Albania, a name not native to the region known as the country of Albania, has been used as a name for a number of mountainous areas across Europe. In Roman times, Albania was a name for the eastern Caucasus, in modern languages the term alp, alm, albe or alpe refers to a grazing pastures in the alpine regions below the glaciers, not the peaks. An alp refers to a mountain pasture where cows are taken to be grazed during the summer months and where hay barns can be found. The Alps are a crescent shaped geographic feature of central Europe that ranges in a 800 km arc from east to west and is 200 km in width, the mean height of the mountain peaks is 2.5 km. The range stretches from the Mediterranean Sea north above the Po basin, extending through France from Grenoble, the range continues onward toward Vienna, Austria, and east to the Adriatic Sea and Slovenia. To the south it dips into northern Italy and to the north extends to the border of Bavaria in Germany
16.
Turin
–
Turin is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region and was the first capital city of Italy. The city is located mainly on the bank of the Po River, in front of Susa Valley and surrounded by the western Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 892,649 while the population of the area is estimated by Eurostat to be 1.7 million inhabitants. The Turin metropolitan area is estimated by the OECD to have a population of 2.2 million, in 1997 a part of the historical center of Torino was inscribed in the World Heritage List under the name Residences of the Royal House of Savoy. Turin is well known for its Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neo-classical, many of Turins public squares, castles, gardens and elegant palazzi such as Palazzo Madama, were built between the 16th and 18th centuries. This was after the capital of the Duchy of Savoy was moved to Turin from Chambery as part of the urban expansion, the city used to be a major European political center. Turin was Italys first capital city in 1861 and home to the House of Savoy, from 1563, it was the capital of the Duchy of Savoy, then of the Kingdom of Sardinia ruled by the Royal House of Savoy and finally the first capital of the unified Italy. Turin is sometimes called the cradle of Italian liberty for having been the birthplace and home of notable politicians and people who contributed to the Risorgimento, such as Cavour. The city currently hosts some of Italys best universities, colleges, academies, lycea and gymnasia, such as the University of Turin, founded in the 15th century, in addition, the city is home to museums such as the Museo Egizio and the Mole Antonelliana. Turins attractions make it one of the worlds top 250 tourist destinations, Turin is ranked third in Italy, after Milan and Rome, for economic strength. With a GDP of $58 billion, Turin is the worlds 78th richest city by purchasing power, as of 2010, the city has been ranked by GaWC as a Gamma World city. Turin is also home to much of the Italian automotive industry, the Taurini were an ancient Celto-Ligurian Alpine people, who occupied the upper valley of the Po River, in the center of modern Piedmont. In 218 BC, they were attacked by Hannibal as he was allied with their long-standing enemies, the Taurini chief town was captured by Hannibals forces after a three-day siege. As a people they are mentioned in history. It is believed that a Roman colony was established in 27 BC under the name of Castra Taurinorum, both Livy and Strabo mention the Taurinis country as including one of the passes of the Alps, which points to a wider use of the name in earlier times. In the 1st century BC, the Romans created a military camp, the typical Roman street grid can still be seen in the modern city, especially in the neighborhood known as the Quadrilatero Romano. Via Garibaldi traces the path of the Roman citys decumanus which began at the Porta Decumani. The Porta Palatina, on the side of the current city centre, is still preserved in a park near the Cathedral
17.
Mont Blanc Tunnel
–
The Mont Blanc Tunnel is a highway tunnel in Europe, under the Mont Blanc mountain in the Alps. It links Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France with Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, Italy, the passageway is one of the major trans-Alpine transport routes, particularly for Italy, which relies on this tunnel for transporting as much as one-third of its freight to northern Europe. It reduces the route from France to Turin by 50 kilometres, northeast of Mont Blancs summit, the tunnel is about 15 km southwest of the tripoint with Switzerland, near Mont Dolent. Begun in 1957 and completed in 1965, the tunnel is 11.611 km in length,8.6 m in width, the passageway is not horizontal, but in a slightly inverted V, which assists ventilation. The entrance elevation on the French side is 1,274 m and 1,381 m in Italy, with a maximum of 1,395 m near the center, the tunnel consists of a single gallery with a two-lane dual direction road. At the time of its construction, it tripled the length of any existing highway tunnel, the tunnel passes almost exactly under the summit of the Aiguille du Midi. At this spot, it lies 2480m beneath the surface, making it the second deepest operational tunnel after the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Plans to widen the tunnel were never implemented because of lack of financing, workforce, five engineers and 350 workmen worked an estimated grand total of 4. 1947, Franco-Italian Agreement signed for the planning of a tunnel under Mont Blanc,1953, Signature of a national charter for the tunnel construction, ratified by the parliaments of France and Italy. 1957, Formation of the STMB, which became ATMB in 1996,1959, In May, the French and Italian Public Works Ministers officially launch the drilling work. On 30 May in Chamonix, a ceremony is held for the start of the work for the Mont Blanc Tunnel in the presence of the Public Minister for Labour. It is announced that a giant 75-tonne tunnel boring machine will make it possible to bore the tunnel in less than 30 months,1962, Meeting of the French and Italian drilling teams on 4 August. The opening was successful, the variation was less than 13 centimetres. 1965, Inauguration of the tunnel by the French president, Charles de Gaulle, Tunnel opens to traffic on 19 July. 1973, Opening of the first section of the Autoroute Blanche,1978, A network of surveillance cameras is installed every 300 m and the total capacity of fresh air supply is increased to 900 m3/s. 1980, An additional air shaft,7 m in diameter, is built to avoid the build-up of foul air at the French end of the tunnel. 1990, Part of a modernization plan, the following work is done. The construction of 18 pressurized emergency shelters, every 600 m, the installation of a pressurized sprinkler system
18.
Dora Baltea
–
Dora Baltea or Doire Baltée, is a river in northern Italy. It is a tributary of the Po River and is about 170 kilometres long. It originates by Mont Blanc as the confluence of the Dora di Ferret, fed by the Pré de Bar Glacier in Val Ferret, and the Dora di Veny, fed by the Miage Glacier in Val Veny. As it crosses the Aosta Valley, the Dora Baltea flows through the city of Aosta and near all the cities of the lower Aosta Valley, Châtillon, Saint-Vincent, Verrès. It is a place for whitewater rafting and kayaking. Early in the summer, in May and June, the rivers are usually high with snow melt from the mountains, during July, August and September the water levels are usually lower and the temperature warmer. The Dora Riparia is another tributary of the Po
19.
Great St Bernard Pass
–
Great St. Bernard Pass is the third highest road pass in Switzerland. It connects Martigny in the canton of Valais in Switzerland with Aosta in the region Aosta Valley in Italy and it is the lowest pass lying on the ridge between the two highest summits of the Alps, Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa. The pass itself is located in Switzerland in the canton of Valais and it is located on the main watershed that separates the basin of the Rhône from that of the Po. Great St. Bernard is the most ancient pass through the Western Alps, with evidence of use as far back as the Bronze Age and surviving traces of a Roman road. Having been bypassed by easier and more routes, particularly the Great St Bernard Tunnel which opened in 1964. Straddling the highest point of the road, the Great St Bernard Hospice was founded in 1049, the hospice later became famous for its use of St. Bernard dogs in rescue operations. The pass runs northeast-southwest through the Valais Alps at an elevation of 2,469 m. The road running through the pass, highway E27 in both Italy and Switzerland, joins Martigny on the upper Rhône in the canton of Valais, Switzerland, from Martigny Route 9 descends to Lausanne and from Aosta Route A5 descends to Torino. The Great St Bernard Tunnel plunges through the mountains at a 1,915 m level, reducing, since the opening in 1964. Here the river enters the La Buthier in the end of the Valpelline. The route here in the valley of the Val dAoste becomes part of the motorway connecting the Mont Blanc Tunnel to the west. A reduction of utility began after the construction of the Simplon Tunnel, the much smaller historic road winding over the pass itself, which lies a few hundred metres from the Swiss border with Italy, is only passable June to September. The pass at narrowest point runs between the peaks of Grande Chenalette at 2,889 m and Mont Mort at 2,867 m, slightly to the west in Pointe de Drône at 2,949 m, the highest peak. Between it and the pass is Petite Chenalette at 2,885 m, the Tour de France has visited the pass five times. It was climbed four times as a 1st category climb, and one time, in 2009, the snow in the pass in winter may be as much as 10 metres deep. The temperature may drop as low as -30 °C, the lake in the pass is frozen for 265 days per year. A summary of data for the year 1981-2010 is given below. The pass is well above the tree line, All the wood required for construction and firewood must be hauled in from some distance
20.
Little St Bernard Pass
–
The Little St Bernard Pass is a mountain pass in the Alps on the France–Italy border. Its saddle is at 2188 metres above sea level and it is located between Savoie, France, and Aosta Valley, Italy, to the south of the Mont Blanc Massif, exactly on the main alpine watershed. There is also a Great St. Bernard Pass and a San Bernardino Pass and this mountain pass is famous for giving the St Bernard breed its name. The road across this pass is open from May to October. For current road status see Etat des principaux cols routiers francais, at the summit, the road cuts through a stone circle measuring 72 m in diameter. A standing stone once stood in the middle, from coin finds this is believed to date from the Iron Age, possibly being a ceremonial site of the Tarentaisian culture. The stone circle was restored in the 19th century. In the Roman era, a dedicated to Jupiter was erected nearby along with a mansio serving travellers along the pass. For fit cyclists climbing the pass represents an interesting and historic challenge, from Bourg-Saint-Maurice to the south-west, over this distance, the climb is 1,348 m, with the steepest sections at 8. 1% at the start of the climb. The first 15.5 km to La Rosière forms the Montée dHauteville climb, from Pré-Saint-Didier, the pass is 23.5 km long. Over this distance the climb is 1,184 m, the Little St Bernard Pass was first crossed by the Tour de France in 1949 and has been featured three times since. In 2007, Montée dHauteville was climbed on stage 8 of the Tour de France, the pass was featured in the 2009 Tour de France Stage 16 on 21 July from Martigny to Bourg-Saint-Maurice,160 km, which also features the Great St Bernard Pass. The climb was Everested on September 2,2016 by Lee Townend and they made 7 consecutive ascents on bicycles over the course of 1 day,1 hour and 33 minutes. List of highest paved roads in Europe List of mountain passes Profile of Little St. Bernard Pass on climbbybike. com Little St. Bernard Pass in Tour de France Photos of Little St. Bernard Pass
21.
Ancient Rome
–
In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate the Mediterranean region and then Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and it is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. By the end of the Republic, Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond, its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia, the Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia and it would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak, Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the part of the empire broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of history from the pre-medieval Dark Ages of Europe. King Numitor was deposed from his throne by his brother, Amulius, while Numitors daughter, Rhea Silvia, because Rhea Silvia was raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine. The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, a she-wolf saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. Romulus became the source of the citys name, in order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem for Rome, which had a large workforce but was bereft of women, Romulus traveled to the neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables they all refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins, after a long time in rough seas, they landed at the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, one woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships, the Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid
22.
Veteran
–
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field. This page refers to military veterans, i. e. a person who has served or is serving in the armed forces and those veterans that have had direct exposure to acts of military conflict may also be referred to as war veterans. Military veterans often receive special treatment in their countries due to the sacrifices they made during wars. Different countries handle this differently, some openly support veterans through government programs, Veterans are also subject to illnesses directly related to their military service such as posttraumatic stress disorder. War veterans are generally treated with respect and honour for their contribution to the world. Veterans of unpopular or lost conflicts may be discriminated against, Veterans of short or small conflicts are often forgotten when the country fought bigger conflicts. Many countries have longstanding traditions, ceremonies, and holidays to honour their veterans, in the UK Remembrance Day is held on November the 11th and is focused mostly on the veterans who died in service to the monarch and country. A red or white poppy is worn on the lapel in the weeks up to the date, in Russia, a tradition was established after World War II where newly married couples would on their wedding day visit a military cemetery. In France, for instance, those wounded in war are given the first claim on any seat on public transit, most countries have a holiday such as Veterans Day to honour their veterans, along with the war dead. Britain, with its historic distrust of standing armies, did little for its veterans before the 19th century and it did set up two small hospitals for them in the 1680s. In London and other cities the streets teemed with disabled or disfigured veterans begging for alms, the First World War focused national attention on veterans, especially those who had been partly or wholly disabled. The Kings National Roll Scheme was an employment program for disabled veterans of the First World War, kowalsky says it was practical, innovative, and ahead of its time and was the most important piece of legislation enacted for disabled veterans in interwar Britain. In the 21st century Britain has one of the highest densities of veterans in a country, with 13 million in 2000. Some veterans from the Belgian commitment of the Congolese to WWII live in communities throughout the Congo, though they received compensation from the government during the rule of the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, after his overthrow they no longer receive pensions. The most common usage is for former armed services personnel, a veteran is one who has served in the armed forces, especially one who has served in combat. The National Guard and Reserve is included and it is especially applied to those who served for an entire career, usually of 20 years or more, but may be applied for someone who has only served one tour of duty. A common misconception is that only those who have served in combat or those who have retired from active duty can be called military veterans, the American Civil War produced veterans organizations, such as the Grand Army of the Republic and United Confederate Veterans. The treatment of veterans changed after the First World War, in the years following, discontented veterans became a source of instability
23.
Alpes Poeninae
–
Alpes Poeninae, also known as Alpes Graiae, was a small Alpine province of the Roman Empire, one of three such provinces in the western Alps between Italy and Gaul. It comprised the Val dAosta region and the Canton Valais and its strongest indigenous tribe were the Salassi. Their territory was annexed by emperor Augustus in 15 BC and its chief city was Augusta Praetoria Salassorum. The province was named for poeninus mons, the Roman name of the Great St Bernard Pass, near the pass was a sanctuary dedicated to Jupiter Poeninus. The Roman historian Livy explains that Poeninus was actually a corruption of Penninus, Livy adds that it was implausible that Hannibal took such a northerly route, as these high mountain passes would have been inaccessible at the time. Tacitus mentions the Alpes Poeninae in connection with the movements of Otho, most historians agree, according to Polybius that Hannibals army passed through the Alps via the region of the Segusii, and the pass known today as Montgenèvre. After the region was conquered in 15 BC, it was incorporated into Raetia, the population included a number of Celtic tribes, including the Nantuates and Seduni on the northern side of the St. Bernard Pass and the Salassi on the southern side. By the time of Emperor Claudius the tribes were generally Romanized, Vallis Poenina included much of the valley north of the St. Bernard Pass. A new capital civitas was established near the ruins of Octodurus, the Vallis Poenina district was merged with the Alpes Graiae or Alpes Atrectianae district to form the Alpes Graiae et Poeninae province. By the 3rd century AD there were several senator ranked families living in the province, under the reforms of Diocletian, the province became part of the Diocese of Gaulliae. In 381, the first Bishop of the region, Theodul, was mentioned, after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, the region was invaded by the Burgundians and incorporated into their kingdom. In 574 it was invaded by the Lombards and came under their authority, the Roman name and borders fell into disuse and by the Dark Ages it was part of Sapaudia
24.
Roman Empire
–
Civil wars and executions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesars adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the annexation of Egypt. Octavians power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power, the imperial period of Rome lasted approximately 1,500 years compared to the 500 years of the Republican era. The first two centuries of the empires existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana, following Octavians victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased. After the assassination of Caligula in 41, the senate briefly considered restoring the republic, under Claudius, the empire invaded Britannia, its first major expansion since Augustus. Vespasian emerged triumphant in 69, establishing the Flavian dynasty, before being succeeded by his son Titus and his short reign was followed by the long reign of his brother Domitian, who was eventually assassinated. The senate then appointed the first of the Five Good Emperors, the empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, the second in this line. A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Commodus, Commodus assassination in 192 triggered the Year of the Five Emperors, of which Septimius Severus emerged victorious. The assassination of Alexander Severus in 235 led to the Crisis of the Third Century in which 26 men were declared emperor by the Roman Senate over a time span. It was not until the reign of Diocletian that the empire was fully stabilized with the introduction of the Tetrarchy, which saw four emperors rule the empire at once. This arrangement was unsuccessful, leading to a civil war that was finally ended by Constantine I. Constantine subsequently shifted the capital to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople in his honour and it remained the capital of the east until its demise. Constantine also adopted Christianity which later became the state religion of the empire. However, Augustulus was never recognized by his Eastern colleague, and separate rule in the Western part of the empire ceased to exist upon the death of Julius Nepos. The Eastern Roman Empire endured for another millennium, eventually falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the largest empires in world history, at its height under Trajan, it covered 5 million square kilometres. It held sway over an estimated 70 million people, at that time 21% of the entire population. Throughout the European medieval period, attempts were made to establish successors to the Roman Empire, including the Empire of Romania, a Crusader state. Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, then, it was an empire long before it had an emperor
25.
Western Roman Empire
–
Theodosius I divided the Empire upon his death between his two sons. As the Roman Republic expanded, it reached a point where the government in Rome could not effectively rule the distant provinces. Communications and transportation were especially problematic given the vast extent of the Empire, for this reason, provincial governors had de facto rule in the name of the Roman Republic. Antony received the provinces in the East, Achaea, Macedonia and Epirus, Bithynia, Pontus and Asia, Syria, Cyprus and these lands had previously been conquered by Alexander the Great, thus, much of the aristocracy was of Greek origin. The whole region, especially the cities, had been largely assimilated into Greek culture. Octavian obtained the Roman provinces of the West, Italia, Gaul, Gallia Belgica and these lands also included Greek and Carthaginian colonies in the coastal areas, though Celtic tribes such as Gauls and Celtiberians were culturally dominant. Lepidus received the province of Africa. Octavian soon took Africa from Lepidus, while adding Sicilia to his holdings, upon the defeat of Mark Antony, a victorious Octavian controlled a united Roman Empire. While the Roman Empire featured many distinct cultures, all were often said to experience gradual Romanization, minor rebellions and uprisings were fairly common events throughout the Empire. Conquered tribes or cities would revolt, and the legions would be detached to crush the rebellion, while this process was simple in peacetime, it could be considerably more complicated in wartime, as for example in the Great Jewish Revolt. In a full-blown military campaign, the legions, under such as Vespasian, were far more numerous. To ensure a commanders loyalty, an emperor might hold some members of the generals family hostage. To this end, Nero effectively held Domitian and Quintus Petillius Cerialis, governor of Ostia, the rule of Nero ended only with the revolt of the Praetorian Guard, who had been bribed in the name of Galba. The Praetorian Guard, a sword of Damocles, were often perceived as being of dubious loyalty. Following their example, the legions at the increased participation in the civil wars. The main enemy in the West was arguably the Germanic tribes behind the rivers Rhine, Augustus had tried to conquer them but ultimately pulled back after the Teutoburg reversal. The Parthian Empire, in the East, on the hand, was too remote. Those distant territories were forsaken to prevent unrest and also to ensure a more healthy, the Parthians were followed by the Sasanian Empire, which continued hostilities with the Roman Empire
26.
Burgundians
–
The Burgundians were a large East Germanic or Vandal tribe, or group of tribes, who lived in the area of modern Poland in the time of the Roman Empire. This later became a component of the Frankish empire, the name of this Kingdom survives in the regional appellation, Burgundy, which is a region in modern France, representing only a part of that kingdom. Another part of the Burgundians stayed in their previous homeland in the Oder-Vistula basin, the ethnonym Burgundians is commonly used in English to refer to the Burgundi who settled in Sapaudia, in the western Alps, during the 5th Century. Between the 6th and 20th centuries, the boundaries and political connections of Burgundy have changed frequently, in modern times the only area still referred to as Burgundy is in France, which derives its name from the Duchy of Burgundy. The parts of the old Kingdom not within the French controlled Duchy tended to come under different names, the Burgundians had a tradition of Scandinavian origin which finds support in place-name evidence and archaeological evidence and many consider their tradition to be correct. The Burgundians are believed to have emigrated to the Baltic island of Bornholm. However, by about 250 CE, the population of Bornholm had largely disappeared from the island, most cemeteries ceased to be used, and those that were still used had few burials. In Þorsteins saga Víkingssonar, the Veseti settled in an island or holm, alfred the Greats translation of Orosius uses the name Burgenda land to refer to a territory next to the land of Sweons. The poet and early mythologist Viktor Rydberg, asserted from a medieval source, Vita Sigismundi. Early Roman sources, such as Tacitus and Pliny the Elder, knew little concerning the Germanic peoples east of the Elbe river, Pliny however mentions them among the Vandalic or Eastern Germanic Germani peoples, including also the Goths. Claudius Ptolemy lists them as living between the Suevus and Vistula rivers, north of the Lugii, and south of the coast dwelling tribes. Around the mid 2nd century AD, there was a significant migration by Germanic tribes of Scandinavian origin towards the south-east and these migrations culminated in the Marcomannic Wars, which resulted in widespread destruction and the first invasion of Italy in the Roman Empire period. Jordanes reports that during the 3rd century, the Burgundians living in the Vistula basin were almost annihilated by Fastida, king of the Gepids, in the late 3rd century, the Burgundians appear on the east bank of the Rhine, confronting Roman Gaul. Zosimus reports them being defeated by the emperor Probus in 278 in Gaul, at this time, they were led by a Vandal king. A few years later, Claudius Mamertinus mentions them along with the Alamanni and he also mentions that the Goths had previously defeated the Burgundians. Ammianus Marcellinus, on the hand, claimed that the Burgundians were descended from Romans. The Roman sources do not speak of any specific migration from Poland by the Burgundians, in 369/370, the Emperor Valentinian I enlisted the aid of the Burgundians in his war against the Alemanni. Approximately four decades later, the Burgundians appear again, following Stilichos withdrawal of troops to fight Alaric I the Visigoth in AD 406-408, the northern tribes crossed the Rhine and entered the Empire in the Völkerwanderung, or Germanic migrations
27.
Ostrogoths
–
The Ostrogoths were the eastern branch of the later Goths. They built an empire stretching from the Black Sea to the Baltic, the Ostrogoths were probably literate in the 3rd century, and their trade with the Romans was highly developed. Their Danubian kingdom reached its zenith under King Ermanaric, who is said to have committed suicide at an old age when the Huns attacked his people and subjugated them in about 370. After their annexation by the Huns, little is heard of the Ostrogoths for about 80 years, after the collapse of the Hun empire after the Battle of Nedao, Ostrogoths migrated westwards towards Illyria and the borders of Italy, while some remained in the Crimea. During the late 5th and 6th centuries, under Theodoric the Great most of the Ostrogoths moved first to Moesia, in 493, Theodoric the Great established a kingdom in Italy. A period of instability then ensued, tempting the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian to declare war on the Ostrogoths in 535 in an effort to restore the western provinces of the Roman Empire. Initially, the Byzantines were successful, but under the leadership of Totila, the war lasted for almost 20 years and caused enormous damage and depopulation of Italy. The remaining Ostrogoths were absorbed into the Lombards who established a kingdom in Italy in 568, a division of the Goths is first attested in 291. The Tervingi are first attested around that date, the Greuthungi, Vesi, the Ostrogoths are first named in a document dated September 392 from Milan. Claudian mentions that they together with the Greuthungi inhabit Phrygia, according to Herwig Wolfram, the primary sources either use the terminology of Tervingi/Greuthungi or Vesi/Ostrogothi and never mix the pairs. All four names were used together, but the pairing was always preserved, as in Gruthungi, Ostrogothi, Tervingi and that the Tervingi were the Vesi/Visigothi and the Greuthungi the Ostrogothi is also supported by Jordanes. This interpretation, however, though common among scholars today, is not universal. Both Herwig Wolfram and Thomas Burns conclude that the terms Tervingi and Greuthungi were geographical identifiers used by each tribe to describe the other and this terminology therefore dropped out of use after the Goths were displaced by the Hunnic invasions. In support of this, Wolfram cites Zosimus as referring to a group of Scythians north of the Danube who were called Greuthungi by the north of the Ister. Wolfram asserts that it was the Tervingi who remained behind after the Hunnic conquest and he further believes that the terms Vesi and Ostrogothi were used by the peoples to boastfully describe themselves. On this understanding, the Greuthungi and Ostrogothi were more or less the same people, the nomenclature of Greuthungi and Tervingi fell out of use shortly after 400. In general, the terminology of a divided Gothic people disappeared gradually after they entered the Roman Empire, the term Visigoth, however, was an invention of the sixth century. Cassiodorus, a Roman in the service of Theodoric the Great, invented the term Visigothi to match Ostrogothi, the western-eastern division was a simplification and a literary device of sixth-century historians where political realities were more complex
28.
Byzantine Empire
–
It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
29.
Lombards
–
The Lombards or Longobards were a Germanic people who ruled large parts of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. In the 1st century AD, they formed part of the Suebi, the Lombard king Audoin defeated the Gepid leader Thurisind in 551 or 552, his successor Alboin eventually destroyed the Gepids at the Battle of Asfeld in 567. The Lombards were joined by numerous Saxons, Heruls, Gepids, Bulgars, Thuringians, and Ostrogoths, by late 569 they had conquered all north of Italy and the principal cities north of the Po River except Pavia, which fell in 572. At the same time, they occupied areas in central Italy and they established a Lombard Kingdom in north and central Italy, later named Regnum Italicum, which reached its zenith under the 8th-century ruler Liutprand. In 774, the Kingdom was conquered by the Frankish King Charlemagne, however, Lombard nobles continued to rule southern parts of the Italian peninsula, well into the 11th century when they were conquered by the Normans and added to their County of Sicily. In this period, the part of Italy still under Longobardic domination was known by the name Langbarðaland in the Norse runestones. Their legacy is apparent in the regional name Lombardy. The fullest account of Lombard origins, history, and practices is the Historia Langobardorum of Paul the Deacon, pauls chief source for Lombard origins, however, is the 7th-century Origo Gentis Langobardorum. The Origo Gentis Langobardorum tells the story of a tribe called the Winnili dwelling in southern Scandinavia. The Winnili were split into three groups and one part left their land to seek foreign fields. The reason for the exodus was probably overpopulation, the departing people were led by the brothers Ybor and Aio and their mother Gambara and arrived in the lands of Scoringa, perhaps the Baltic coast or the Bardengau on the banks of the Elbe. Scoringa was ruled by the Vandals and their chieftains, the brothers Ambri and Assi, the Winnili were young and brave and refused to pay tribute, saying It is better to maintain liberty by arms than to stain it by the payment of tribute. The Vandals prepared for war and consulted Godan, who answered that he would give the victory to those whom he would see first at sunrise. The Winnili were fewer in number and Gambara sought help from Frea, at sunrise, Frea turned her husbands bed so that he was facing east, and woke him. So Godan spotted the Winnili first and asked, Who are these long-beards. and Frea replied, My lord, thou hast given them the name, from that moment onwards, the Winnili were known as the Longbeards. When Paul the Deacon wrote the Historia between 787 and 796 he was a Catholic monk and devoted Christian and he thought the pagan stories of his people silly and laughable. Paul explained that the name Langobard came from the length of their beards, a modern theory suggests that the name Langobard comes from Langbarðr, a name of Odin. Priester states that when the Winnili changed their name to Lombards, they changed their old agricultural fertility cult to a cult of Odin
30.
Francia
–
The kingdom was founded by Clovis I, crowned first King of the Franks in 496. The tradition of dividing patrimonies among brothers meant that the Frankish realm was ruled, nominally, even so, sometimes the term was used as well to encompass Neustria north of the Loire and west of the Seine. Most Frankish Kings were buried in the Basilica of Saint Denis, modern France is still named Francia in Spanish and Italian. The Franks emerged in the 3rd century as a confederation of smaller Germanic tribes, such as the Sicambri, Bructeri, Ampsivarii, Chamavi and Chattuarii, in the area north and east of the Rhine. Some of these peoples, such as the Sicambri and Salians, already had lands in the Roman Empire, in 357 the Salian king entered the Roman Empire and made a permanent foothold there by a treaty granted by Julian the Apostate, who forced back the Chamavi to Hamaland. As Frankish territory expanded, the meaning of Francia expanded with it, after the fall of Arbogastes, his son Arigius succeeded in establishing a hereditary countship at Trier and after the fall of the usurper Constantine III some Franks supported the usurper Jovinus. Jovinus was dead by 413, but the Romans found it difficult to manage the Franks within their borders. The Frankish king Theudemer was executed by the sword, in c, around 428 the Salian king Chlodio, whose kingdom included Toxandria and the civitatus Tungrorum, launched an attack on Roman territory and extended his realm as far as Camaracum and the Somme. The kingdom of Chlodio changed the borders and the meaning of the word Francia permanently, Francia was no longer barbaricum trans Rhenum, but a landed political power on both sides of the river, deeply involved in Roman politics. Chlodios family, the Merovingians, extended Francia even further south, the core territory of the Frankish kingdom later came to be known as Austrasia. Chlodios successors are obscure figures, but what can be certain is that Childeric I, possibly his grandson, Clovis converted to Christianity and put himself on good terms with the powerful Church and with his Gallo-Roman subjects. In a thirty-year reign Clovis defeated the Roman general Syagrius and conquered the Roman exclave of Soissons, defeated the Alemanni, Clovis defeated the Visigoths and conquered their entire kingdom with its capital at Toulouse, and conquered the Bretons and made them vassals of Francia. He conquered most or all of the neighbouring Frankish tribes along the Rhine, by the end of his life, Clovis ruled all of Gaul save the Gothic province of Septimania and the Burgundian kingdom in the southeast. The Merovingians were a hereditary monarchy, the Frankish kings adhered to the practice of partible inheritance, dividing their lands among their sons. Cloviss sons made their capitals near the Frankish heartland in northeastern Gaul, Theuderic I made his capital at Reims, Chlodomer at Orléans, Childebert I at Paris, and Chlothar I at Soissons. During their reigns, the Thuringii, Burgundes, and Saxons and Frisians were incorporated into the Frankish kingdom, the fraternal kings showed only intermittent signs of friendship and were often in rivalry. Theuderic died in 534, but his adult son Theudebert I was capable of defending his inheritance, which formed the largest of the Frankish subkingdoms and the kernel of the later kingdom of Austrasia. Theudebert interfered in the Gothic War on the side of the Gepids and Lombards against the Ostrogoths, receiving the provinces of Rhaetia, Noricum, and part of Venetia
31.
Pepin the Short
–
Pepin the Short was the King of the Franks from 751 until his death. He was the first of the Carolingians to become king, the younger son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel and his wife Rotrude, Pepins upbringing was distinguished by the ecclesiastical education he had received from the monks of St. Denis. Succeeding his father as the Mayor of the Palace in 741, Pepin ruled in Neustria, Burgundy, and Provence, while his brother Carloman established himself in Austrasia, Alemannia and Thuringia. The brothers were active in suppressing revolts led by the Bavarians, Aquitanians, Saxons, in 743, they ended the Frankish interregnum by choosing Childeric III, who was to be the last Merovingian monarch, as figurehead king of the Franks. After Carloman, who was a pious man, retired to religious life in 747. He suppressed a revolt led by his half-brother Grifo, and succeeded in becoming the master of all Francia. Giving up pretense, Pepin then forced Childeric into a monastery and had himself proclaimed king of the Franks with support of Pope Zachary in 751. The decision was not supported by all members of the Carolingian family and Pepin had to put down a revolt led by Carlomans son, Drogo, as King, Pepin embarked on an ambitious program to expand his power. He reformed the legislation of the Franks and continued the reforms of Boniface. Pepin also intervened in favour of the Papacy of Stephen II against the Lombards in Italy and he was able to secure several cities, which he then gave to the Pope as part of the Donation of Pepin. This formed the basis for the Papal States in the Middle Ages. The Byzantines, keen to make good relations with the power of the Frankish empire. Pepin was, however, troubled by the revolts of the Saxons. He campaigned tirelessly in Germany, but the final subjugation of tribes was left to his successors. Pepin died in 768 and was succeeded by his sons Charlemagne, although unquestionably one of the most powerful and successful rulers of his time, Pepins reign is largely overshadowed by that of his more famous son. Pepins father Charles Martel died in 741, Grifo, Charless son by his second wife, Swanahild, demanded a share in the inheritance, but he was imprisoned in a monastery by his two half-brothers. In the Frankish realm the unity of the kingdom was connected with the person of the king. So Carloman, to secure this unity, raised the Merovingian Childeric to the throne, then in 747 Carloman either resolved to or was pressured into entering a monastery
32.
Charlemagne
–
Charlemagne or Charles the Great, numbered Charles I, was the King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774 and Emperor of the Romans from 800. He united much of Europe during the early Middle Ages and he was the first recognised emperor in western Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire three centuries earlier. The expanded Frankish state which Charlemagne founded was called the Carolingian Empire, Charlemagne was the oldest son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon. He became king in 768 following his fathers death, initially as co-ruler with his brother Carloman I, carlomans sudden death in 771 in unexplained circumstances left Charlemagne as the undisputed ruler of the Frankish Kingdom. He continued his fathers policy towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in northern Italy and he campaigned against the Saxons to his east, Christianising them upon penalty of death and leading to events such as the Massacre of Verden. Charlemagne reached the height of his power in 800 when he was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day at Old St. Peters Basilica. Charlemagne has been called the Father of Europe, as he united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Roman Empire and his rule spurred the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of energetic cultural and intellectual activity within the Western Church. All Holy Roman Emperors considered their kingdoms to be descendants of Charlemagnes empire, up to the last Emperor Francis II and these and other machinations led to the eventual split of Rome and Constantinople in the Great Schism of 1054. Charlemagne died in 814, having ruled as emperor for thirteen years and he was laid to rest in his imperial capital of Aachen in what is today Germany. He married at least four times and had three sons, but only his son Louis the Pious survived to succeed him. By the 6th century, the western Germanic Franks had been Christianised, Francia, ruled by the Merovingians, was the most powerful of the kingdoms that succeeded the Western Roman Empire. Following the Battle of Tertry the Merovingians declined into powerlessness, for which they have dubbed the rois fainéants. Almost all government powers were exercised by their chief officer, the mayor of the palace, in 687, Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, ended the strife between various kings and their mayors with his victory at Tertry. He became the governor of the entire Frankish kingdom. Pepin was the grandson of two important figures of the Austrasian Kingdom, Saint Arnulf of Metz and Pepin of Landen, Pepin of Herstal was eventually succeeded by his illegitimate son Charles, later known as Charles Martel. After 737, Charles governed the Franks in lieu of a king, Charles was succeeded in 741 by his sons Carloman and Pepin the Short, the father of Charlemagne. In 743, the brothers placed Childeric III on the throne to curb separatism in the periphery and he was the last Merovingian king. Carloman resigned office in 746, preferring to enter the church as a monk, Pepin brought the question of the kingship before Pope Zachary, asking whether it was logical for a king to have no royal power
33.
Via Francigena
–
As such, the route passes through England, France, Switzerland and Italy. The route was known in Italy as the Via Francigena or the Via Romea Francigena, in mediaeval times it was an important road and pilgrimage route for those wishing to visit the Holy See and the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul. In the Middle Ages, Via Francigena was the pilgrimage route to Rome from the north. It was Via Francigena-Francisca in Italy and Burgundy, the Chemin des Anglois in the Frankish Kingdom and also the Chemin Romieux, the name Via Francigena is first mentioned in the Actum Clusio, a parchment of 876 in the Abbey of San Salvatore al Monte Amiata. Later itineraries to Rome include the Leiðarvísir og borgarskipan of the Icelandic traveller Nikolás Bergsson, two somewhat differing maps of the route appear in manuscripts of Matthew Paris, Historia Anglorum, from the 13th century. Reports of journeys before Sigeric can only be apocryphal and we may be quite certain that the Benedictine William of St-Thierry, used the roads towards Rome on several occasions at the end of the 11th century. The return journey by sea was likely to be easier, thanks to the prevailing south-westerly winds, a statement that a historical figure died in Rome may have been a historical falsity, but a metaphorical truth. The Via Francigena was not a road, like a Roman road, paved with stone blocks. Rather, it comprised several possible routes that changed over the centuries as trade, the Lombards financed the maintenance and security of the section of road through their territories as a trading route to the north from Rome, avoiding enemy-held cities such as Florence. Another important point is that unlike Roman roads, the Via Francigena did not connect cities, circa 990 AD, Archbishop Sigeric journeyed from Canterbury to Rome and then back again but only documented his itinerary on the return journey. Sigerics return journey consisted of 80 stages averaging about 20 km a day, from Saint-Maurice they must traverse the Great St. James pilgrims route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Roughly 1,200 pilgrims were estimated to have walked the VF in 2012, one reason for this is a lack of infrastructure and suitable support facilities. Affordable pilgrims accommodation and other facilities can be hard to come by for those traveling along the route, however increasingly in Italy, some monasteries and religious houses offer dedicated pilgrims accommodation. These are called spedali and — like the refugios found on the Way of St. James in France and Spain — they offer cheap, spedali accept pilgrims who bear a valid credenziale, usually for one night only. Some places offer meals as well, only a few decades ago, interest in the Via Francigena was limited to scholars. This began to change in recent years many who, after travelling the Way of St. James in Spain. In Italy, this gave birth to a network of lovers of the Via Francigena and these people were joined by religious and local government agencies who also tried to recover the original route. Where possible todays route follows the ancient one but sometimes it deviates from the path in favour of paths
34.
Aachen
–
Aachen or Bad Aachen, traditionally known in English and French as Aix-la-Chapelle, is a spa and border city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was the residence of Charlemagne, and, from 936 to 1531. Aachen is the westernmost city in Germany, located near the borders with Belgium, RWTH Aachen University is located in the city. Aachens industries include science, engineering and information technology, in 2009, Aachen was ranked eighth among cities in Germany for innovation. The location has been inhabited by humans since the Neolithic era, about 5,000 years ago, latin Aquae figures in Aachens Roman name Aquae granni, which meant waters of Grannus, referring to the Celtic god of healing who was worshipped at the springs. Aachens name in French and German evolved in parallel, Aachens local dialect is called Öcher Platt and belongs to the Ripuarian language. Bronze Age settlement is evidenced by the remains of barrows found, for example, during the Iron Age, the area was settled by Celtic peoples who were perhaps drawn by the marshy Aachen basins hot sulphur springs where they worshipped Grannus, god of light and healing. Later, the 25-hectare Roman spa resort town of Aquae Granni was, according to legend, founded by Grenus, under Hadrian, a kind of forum, surrounded by colonnades, connected the two spa complexes. There was also a residential area, part of it inhabited by a flourishing Jewish community. The Romans built bathhouses near Burtscheid, a temple precinct called Vernenum was built near the modern Kornelimünster/Walheim. Today, remains have been found of three bathhouses, including two fountains in the Elisenbrunnen and the Burtscheid bathhouse, Roman civil administration in Aachen broke down between the end of the 4th and beginning of the 5th centuries. Rome withdrew its troops from the area, but the town remained populated, by 470, the town came to be ruled by the Ripuarian Franks and subordinated to their capital, Cologne. Einhard mentions that in 765–6 Pepin spent both Christmas and Easter at Aquis villa, which must have been equipped to support the royal household for several months. In the year of his coronation as king of the Franks,768, Charlemagne spent most winters in Aachen between 792 and his death in 814. Aachen became the focus of his court and the centre of his empire. In 936, Otto I was crowned king of East Francia in the church built by Charlemagne. During the reign of Otto II, the nobles revolted and the West Franks, under Lothair, Aachen was attacked again by Odo of Champagne, who attacked the imperial palace while Conrad II was absent. Odo relinquished it quickly and was killed soon afterwards, the palace and town of Aachen had fortifying walls built by order of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa between 1172 and 1176
35.
Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)
–
The Kingdom of Italy was one of the constituent kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire, along with the kingdoms of Germany, Bohemia, and Burgundy. It comprised northern and central Italy, but excluded the Republic of Venice and its original capital was Pavia until the 11th century. In June 774, the collapsed and the Franks became masters of northern Italy. The southern areas remained under Lombard control in the Duchy of Benevento, Charlemagne adopted the title King of the Lombards and in 800 had himself crowned Emperor of the Romans in Rome. Members of the Carolingian dynasty continued to rule Italy until the deposition of Charles the Fat in 887, until 961, the rule of Italy was continually contested by several aristocratic families from both within and without the kingdom. In 961, King Otto I of Germany, already married to Adelaide, widow of a king of Italy. He continued on to Rome, where he had himself crowned emperor on 7 February 962, the union of the crowns of Italy and Germany with that of the so-called Empire of the Romans created the Holy Roman Empire, to which Burgundy was added in 1032. The resulting wars between Guelphs and Ghibellines, the anti-imperialist and imperialist factions, respectively, were characteristic of Italian politics in the 12th–14th centuries. The Lombard League was the most famous example of this situation, though not a declared separatist movement, by the 15th century, the power of the city-states was largely broken. A series of wars in Lombardy from 1423 to 1454 further reduced the number of competing states in Italy, the next forty years were relatively peaceful in Italy, but in 1494 the peninsula was invaded by France. The resulting Great Italian Wars lasted until 1559 as control of most of the Italian states passed to King Philip II of Spain. The Spanish branch of the Habsburg dynasty—the same dynasty of which another branch provided the Emperors—continued to rule most of imperial Italy down to the War of the Spanish Succession, after the Imperial Reform of 1495–1512, the Italian kingdom corresponded to the unencircled territories south of the Alps. The Imperial rule in Italy came to an end with the campaigns of the French Revolutionaries in 1792–97, in 1806, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by the last emperor, Francis II, after its defeat by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz. After the Battle of Taginae, in which the Ostrogoth king Totila was killed, the battle lasted two days and Teia was killed in the fighting. The Kings of the Lombards ruled that Germanic people from their invasion of Italy in 567–68 until the Lombardic identity became lost in the ninth and tenth centuries, after 568, the Lombard kings sometimes styled themselves Kings of Italy. Upon the Lombard defeat at the 774 Siege of Pavia, the kingdom came under the Frankish domination of Charlemagne, the Iron Crown of Lombardy was used for the coronation of the Lombard kings, and the kings of Italy thereafter, for centuries. The primary sources for the Lombard kings before the Frankish conquest are the anonymous 7th-century Origo Gentis Langobardorum, the earliest kings listed in the Origo are almost certainly legendary. They purportedly reigned during the Migration Period, the first ruler attested independently of Lombard tradition is Tato, an initial phase of strong autonomy of the many constituent duchies developed over time with growing regal authority, even if the dukes desires for autonomy were never fully achieved
36.
Arduin of Ivrea
–
Arduin was an Italian nobleman who was Margrave of Ivrea and King of Italy. Arduin was born in 955 in Pombia during a period in which the Kingdom of Italy was struggling to maintain its independence from the ambitions of the Holy Roman Empire, Italy was conquered in 961 by Emperor Otto I, and the Italian King Berengar II was deposed. Arduin, Berengars grand-nephew, was only a boy when this happened, he later became Margrave of Ivrea in 990, Arduin was initially supported by the Archbishop of Milan. The new German king Henry II opposed Arduin, in 1004, Henry invaded Italy, defeated Arduin, and was crowned King of Italy in Pavia, however, he soon withdrew back to Germany, and Arduin was able to reassert his authority for the next decade. Henry II invaded Italy again in 1014 and was proclaimed Emperor in Rome and he died soon after at Fruttuaria Abbey, ending the independence of the Kingdom of Italy. There would not be another native King of Italy until Italian Reunification in 1861, in the year 961 the Emperor Otto I deposed Berengar II, King of Italy, and took the title for himself, unifying the crowns of Italy and Germany. But this did not erase the influence of Berengars Anscarid dynasty in northern Italy, Arduin was born around 955 in Pombia and named after his maternal grandfather, Arduin Glaber. His father, Dado, Count of Pombia, was a nephew of King Berengar II, Arduin married Bertha, who is often said to be the daughter of Otbert II, Margrave of Milan. They had three sons, Arduin, Otto, and Guibert, from them descended the later counts of Ivrea and in turn those of Agliè, Brosso, Castellamonte, Front and Rivarolo. In 990, Arduin succeeded his kinsman Conrad in the March of Ivrea, Conrad was Berengar IIs son and was married to a daughter of Arduin Glaber. It is unclear if Arduin was appointed to Ivrea by the king–emperor Otto III or if he succeeded as Conrads heir, Arduin became Count of the Sacred Palace of Lateran in Rome in 991. During his rule as Margrave of Ivrea, Arduin backed the claims of the orders and of the secondi milites. The hostility turned into open conflict in the year 997, when the Emperor Otto III granted to Pietro, Bishop of Vercelli, Arduin did not recognise the donation. There were riots in the city of Vercelli between the secondi milites and the followers, during which the bishop was killed. Arduin intervened in the city, formally to restore order, during the clashes, the cathedral, in the year 1000 Arduin was in Rome to explain his position to the newly appointed Pope Sylvester II. Arduin did not accept the sentence, at that point a clash with the Emperor seemed inevitable, but Otto III suddenly died near Rome on 23 January 1002 without leaving a direct heir, throwing the empire into a succession crisis. On 15 February, a diet of feudal lords and secondi milites in Pavia acclaimed Arduin King of Italy, according to the chronicler Arnulf of Milan, Arduin was elected by the Lombards in Pavia and was called caesar by all. He then made the rounds of the kingdom with the Archbishop of Milan publicly at his side, in Germany, Henry II was acclaimed king on 7 June 1002, and he did not recognize Arduins coronation
37.
Berengar I of Italy
–
Berengar I was the King of Italy from 887, and Holy Roman Emperor after 915, until his death. He is usually known as Berengar of Friuli, since he ruled the March of Friuli from 874 until at least 890, but he had lost control of the region by 896. Berengar rose to one of the most influential laymen in the empire of Charles the Fat. His long reign of 36 years saw him opposed by no less than seven other claimants to the Italian throne and his reign is usually characterised as troubled because of the many competitors for the crown and because of the arrival of Magyar raiders in Western Europe. He was the last emperor before Otto the Great was crowned in 962 and his family was called the Unruochings after his grandfather, Unruoch II. Berengar was a son of Eberhard of Friuli and Gisela, daughter of Louis the Pious and he was thus of Carolingian extraction on his mothers side. He was born probably at Cividale, sometime during his margraviate, he married Bertilla, daughter of Suppo II, thus securing an alliance with the powerful Supponid family. She would later rule alongside him as a consors, a title specifically denoting her informal power and influence, as opposed to a mere coniunx, when his older brother Unruoch III died in 874, Berengar succeeded him in the March of Friuli. With this he obtained a key position in the Carolingian Empire, as the march bordered the Croats and he was a territorial magnate with lordship over several counties in northeastern Italy. He was an important channel for the men of Friuli to get access to the emperor and for the emperor to exercise authority in Friuli and he even had a large degree of influence on the church of Friuli. In 884–885, Berengar intervened with the emperor on behalf of Haimo, Louis the German sent first Charles the Fat, his youngest son, and then Carloman himself, with armies containing Italian magnates led by Berengar, to possess the Italian kingdom. This was not successful until the death of Charles the Bald in 877, the proximity of Berengars march to Bavaria, which Carloman already ruled under his father, may explain their cooperation. In 883, the newly succeeded Guy III of Spoleto was accused of treason at a synod held at Nonantula late in May. He returned to the Duchy of Spoleto and made an alliance with the Saracens, the emperor, then Charles the Fat, sent Berengar with an army to deprive him of Spoleto. Berengar was successful before an epidemic of disease, which ravaged all Italy, affecting the emperor and his entourage as well as Berengars army, Berengar and Liutward had a feud that year, which involved his attack on Vercelli and plundering of the bishops goods. Berengars actions are explicable if his sister was abducted by the bishop, whatever the case, bishop and margrave were reconciled shortly before Liutward was dismissed from court in 887. By his brief war with Liutward, Berengar had lost the favour of his cousin the emperor, Berengar came to the emperors assembly at Waiblingen in early May 887. He made peace with the emperor and compensated for the actions of the year by dispensing great gifts
38.
Kingdom of Burgundy
–
Kingdom of Burgundy was a name given to various states located in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. The historical Burgundy correlates with the area of France, Italy and Switzerland and includes the major modern cities of Geneva. As a political entity, Burgundy has existed in a number of forms with different boundaries, notably, two of these entities — the first around the 6th century, the second around the 11th century — have been called the Kingdom of Burgundy. At other times there existed Kingdom of Provence, Duchy of Burgundy, Burgundy is named after a Germanic tribe of Burgundians who originated in mainland Scandinavia, then settled on the island of Bornholm, whose name in Old Norse was Burgundarholmr. From there they migrated south through Germanic lands into Roman Gaul and settled in the part of the Alps and Rhône valley. The first documented, though not historically verified King of the Burgundians was Gjúki, in the course of the Crossing of the Rhine in 406 the Burgundians settled as foederati in the Roman province of Germania Secunda along the Middle Rhine. The remaining Burgundians from 443 onwards settled in the Sapaudia region and their efforts to enlarge their kingdom down the Rhône river brought them into conflict with the Visigothic Kingdom in the south. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, king Gundobad allied with the powerful Frank king Clovis I against the threat of Theoderic the Great and he was then able to organize the Burgundian acquisitions based on the Lex Burgundionum, an Early Germanic law code. The decline of the Kingdom began when they came under attack from their former Frank allies, in 523 the sons of Clovis I campaigned in the Burgundian lands, instigated by their mother Clotilde, whose father king Chilperic II of Burgundy had been killed by Gundobad. In 532 the Burgundians were decisively defeated by the Franks at Autun, whereafter king Godomar was killed and Burgundian lands was annexed by the Frankish Empire in 534. While there no longer was an independent Burgundian kingdom, between 561 and 584 and between 639 and 737 several rulers of the Frankish Merovingian dynasty used the title of King of Burgundy. Partitions of Charlemagnes empire by his immediate Carolingian heirs led to a kingdom of Middle Francia. It included lands from North Sea to southern Italy and was ruled by emperor Lothair I, the northwestern part of the former Burgundian lands as Duchy of Burgundy was included in the kingdom of West Francia. This partition created more conflicts, as older Carolingians who ruled West Francia, as Charles of Provence was too young to rule, the actual power was held by regent, count Girart II of Vienne whose wife was the sister-in-law of emperor Lothar I. Girart was a regent, defending the kingdom from Vikings. Charles uncle, Charles the Bald of West Francia, attempted to intervene in Provence in 861 after receiving an appeal for intervention from the Count of Arles and he invaded Provence as far as Mâcon before being restrained by Hincmar of Rheims. Already in 858 count Girart arranged that should Charles of Provence die without heirs, Upper Burgundy remained under the influence of the East Frankish king Charles the Fat. From 887 these northern territories formed the Kingdom of Upper Burgundy, proclaimed by the Welf noble Rudolph I of Burgundy at Saint-Maurice and it was one of the three kingdoms within the medieval Empire, the others being the Kingdom of Germany and the Kingdom of Italy
listen); French: Aoste [ɔst];[2][3] Arpitan: Aoûta; Latin: Augusta Praetoria Salassorum; Walser: Augschtal; Piemontese: Osta) is the principal city of Aosta Valley, a bilingual region in the Italian Alps, 110 km (68 mi) north-northwest of Turin. It is situated near the Italian entrance of the Mont Blanc Tunnel, at the confluence of the Buthier and the Dora Baltea, and at the junction of the Great and Little St. Bernard routes. Aosta is not the capital of the province, because Aosta Valley is the only Italian region not divided into provinces. Provincial administrative functions are instead shared by the region and the communes.
Albertville, Savoie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France[15]
Kaolack, Senegal[15]
San Giorgio Morgeto, Reggio Calabria, Calabria, Italy[15]
Sinaia, Romania[15]
Martigny, Valais, Switzerland[15]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Aosta". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 158.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the 
