1.
Gallerie dell'Accademia
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The Gallerie dellAccademia is a museum gallery of pre-19th-century art in Venice, northern Italy. It is housed in the Scuola della Carità on the bank of the Grand Canal. The two institutions remained in the building until 2004, when the art school moved to the Ospedale degli Incurabili. The Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia was founded on 24 September 1750, the first director was Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, Gianbattista Tiepolo became the first president after his return from Würzburg. It was one of the first institutions to study art restoration starting in 1777 with Pietro Edwards, in 1807 the academy was re-founded by Napoleonic decree. The collections of the Accademia were first opened to the public on 10 August 1817, the Gallerie dellAccademia became independent from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia in 1879. Like other state museums in Italy, it falls under the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, the Napoleonic administration had disbanded many institutions in Venice including some churches, convents and Scuole. The Scuola della Carità, the Convento dei Canonici Lateranensi and the church of Santa Maria della Carità thus became the home of the Accademia. The Scuola della Carità was the oldest of the six Scuole Grandi, the Convento dei Canonici Lateranensi was started in 1561 by Andrea Palladio, though it was never fully completed. The facade of Santa Maria della Carità was completed in 1441 by Bartolomeo Bon, the Gallerie dell’Accademia contains masterpieces of Venetian painting up to the 18th century, generally arranged chronologically though some thematic displays are evident. Media related to Gallerie dellAccademia at Wikimedia Commons
2.
Florence
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Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the Metropolitan City of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants, Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time. It is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has called the Athens of the Middle Ages. A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, from 1865 to 1871 the city was the capital of the recently established Kingdom of Italy. The Historic Centre of Florence attracts 13 million tourists each year and it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1982. The city is noted for its culture, Renaissance art and architecture, the city also contains numerous museums and art galleries, such as the Uffizi Gallery and the Palazzo Pitti, and still exerts an influence in the fields of art, culture and politics. Due to Florences artistic and architectural heritage, it has been ranked by Forbes as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, in 2008, the city had the 17th highest average income in Italy. Florence originated as a Roman city, and later, after a period as a flourishing trading and banking medieval commune. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, it was politically, economically, and culturally one of the most important cities in Europe, the language spoken in the city during the 14th century was, and still is, accepted as the Italian language. Starting from the late Middle Ages, Florentine money—in the form of the gold florin—financed the development of all over Europe, from Britain to Bruges, to Lyon. Florentine bankers financed the English kings during the Hundred Years War and they similarly financed the papacy, including the construction of their provisional capital of Avignon and, after their return to Rome, the reconstruction and Renaissance embellishment of Rome. Florence was home to the Medici, one of European historys most important noble families, Lorenzo de Medici was considered a political and cultural mastermind of Italy in the late 15th century. Two members of the family were popes in the early 16th century, Leo X, catherine de Medici married king Henry II of France and, after his death in 1559, reigned as regent in France. Marie de Medici married Henry IV of France and gave birth to the future king Louis XIII, the Medici reigned as Grand Dukes of Tuscany, starting with Cosimo I de Medici in 1569 and ending with the death of Gian Gastone de Medici in 1737. The Etruscans initially formed in 200 BC the small settlement of Fiesole and it was built in the style of an army camp with the main streets, the cardo and the decumanus, intersecting at the present Piazza della Repubblica. Situated along the Via Cassia, the route between Rome and the north, and within the fertile valley of the Arno, the settlement quickly became an important commercial centre. Peace returned under Lombard rule in the 6th century, Florence was conquered by Charlemagne in 774 and became part of the Duchy of Tuscany, with Lucca as capital. The population began to again and commerce prospered
3.
Italy
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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
4.
David (Michelangelo)
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David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504 by Michelangelo. It is a 5. 17-metre marble statue of a male nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a subject in the art of Florence. The eyes of David, with a glare, were turned towards Rome. The statue was moved to the Galleria dellAccademia, Florence, in 1873, the history of the statue begins before Michelangelos work on it from 1501 to 1504. In 1410 Donatello made the first of the statues, a figure of Joshua in terracotta, a figure of Hercules, also in terracotta, was commissioned from the Florentine sculptor Agostino di Duccio in 1463 and was made perhaps under Donatellos direction. Eager to continue their project, in 1464, the Operai contracted Agostino to create a sculpture of David, a block of marble was provided from a quarry in Carrara, a town in the Apuan Alps in northern Tuscany. Agostino only got as far as beginning to shape the legs, feet and his association with the project ceased, for reasons unknown, with the death of Donatello in 1466, and ten years later Antonio Rossellino was commissioned to take up where Agostino had left off. Rossellinos contract was terminated soon thereafter, and the block of marble remained neglected for 25 years, all the while exposed to the elements in the yard of the cathedral workshop. This was of concern to the Opera authorities, as such a large piece of marble not only was costly but represented a large amount of labour. In 1500, an inventory of the cathedral workshops described the piece as a figure of marble called David, badly blocked out. A year later, documents showed that the Operai were determined to find an artist who could take this piece of marble. They ordered the block of stone, which they called The Giant, raised on its feet so that an experienced in this kind of work might examine it. Though Leonardo da Vinci and others were consulted, it was Michelangelo, only 26 years old, on 16 August 1501, Michelangelo was given the official contract to undertake this challenging new task. He began carving the statue early in the morning on 13 September and he would work on the massive statue for more than two years. They convened a committee of 30 Florentine citizens that comprised many artists, including Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli, while nine different locations for the statue were discussed, the majority of members seem to have been closely split between two sites. Another opinion, supported by Botticelli, was that the sculpture should be situated on or near the cathedral. In June 1504, David was installed next to the entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio, replacing Donatellos bronze sculpture of Judith and Holofernes and it took four days to move the statue the half mile from Michelangelos workshop into the Piazza della Signoria
5.
Michelangelo
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Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. Considered to be the greatest living artist during his lifetime, he has since described as one of the greatest artists of all time. A number of Michelangelos works of painting, sculpture, and architecture rank among the most famous in existence and he sculpted two of his best-known works, the Pietà and David, before the age of thirty. As an architect, Michelangelo pioneered the Mannerist style at the Laurentian Library, at the age of 74, he succeeded Antonio da Sangallo the Younger as the architect of St. Peters Basilica. Michelangelo transformed the plan so that the end was finished to his design, as was the dome, with some modification. Michelangelo was unique as the first Western artist whose biography was published while he was alive, in his lifetime he was often called Il Divino. One of the qualities most admired by his contemporaries was his terribilità, the attempts by subsequent artists to imitate Michelangelos impassioned and highly personal style resulted in Mannerism, the next major movement in Western art after the High Renaissance. Michelangelo was born on 6 March 1475 in Caprese near Arezzo, at the time of Michelangelos birth, his father was the Judicial administrator of the small town of Caprese and local administrator of Chiusi. Michelangelos mother was Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena, the Buonarrotis claimed to descend from the Countess Mathilde of Canossa, this claim remains unproven, but Michelangelo himself believed it. Several months after Michelangelos birth, the returned to Florence. There Michelangelo gained his love for marble, as Giorgio Vasari quotes him, If there is good in me. Along with the milk of my nurse I received the knack of handling chisel and hammer, as a young boy, Michelangelo was sent to Florence to study grammar under the Humanist Francesco da Urbino. The young artist, however, showed no interest in his schooling, preferring to copy paintings from churches, the city of Florence was at that time the greatest centre of the arts and learning in Italy. Art was sponsored by the Signoria, by the merchant guilds and by patrons such as the Medici. The Renaissance, a renewal of Classical scholarship and the arts, had its first flowering in Florence, the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti had laboured for fifty years to create the bronze doors of the Baptistry, which Michelangelo was to describe as The Gates of Paradise. The exterior niches of the Church of Orsanmichele contained a gallery of works by the most acclaimed sculptors of Florence – Donatello, Ghiberti, Andrea del Verrocchio, and Nanni di Banco. The interiors of the churches were covered with frescos, begun by Giotto. During Michelangelos childhood, a team of painters had been called from Florence to the Vatican, among them was Domenico Ghirlandaio, a master in fresco painting, perspective, figure drawing, and portraiture who had the largest workshop in Florence at that period
6.
Uffizi
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The Uffizi Gallery is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in central Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. The building of Uffizi complex was begun by Giorgio Vasari in 1560 for Cosimo I de Medici so as to accommodate the offices of the Florentine magistrates, hence the name uffizi, the construction was later continued by Alfonso Parigi and Bernardo Buontalenti and completed in 1581. The niches in the piers that alternate with columns filled with sculptures of artists in the 19th century. The Uffizi brought together under one roof the administrative offices, the Tribunal and the Archivio di Stato, the state archive. He commissioned from the architect Buontalenti the design of the Tribuna degli Uffizi that collected a series of masterpieces in one room, over the years, more sections of the palace were recruited to exhibit paintings and sculpture collected or commissioned by the Medici. The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century, because of its huge collection, some of its works have in the past been transferred to other museums in Florence—for example, some famous statues to the Bargello. A project was finished in 2006 to expand the exhibition space some 6,000 metres² to almost 13,000 metres². On 27 May 1993, a car exploded in Via dei Georgofili and damaged parts of the palace. The most severe damage was to the Niobe room and classical sculptures and neoclassical interior, the identity of the bomber or bombers are unknown, although it was almost certainly attributable to the Sicilian Mafia who were engaged in a period of terrorism at that time. Today, the Uffizi is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Florence, in high season, waiting times can be up to five hours. In early August 2007, Florence experienced a heavy rainstorm, the Gallery was partially flooded, with water leaking through the ceiling, and the visitors had to be evacuated. There was a more significant flood in 1966 which damaged most of the art collections in Florence severely. Here is a selection from the collection, The collection also contains some ancient sculptures, such as the Arrotino. Collections of the Uffizi Official website Uffizi – Google Art Project
7.
Stradivarius
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According to their reputation, the quality of their sound has defied attempts to explain or equal it, though this belief is disputed. The name Stradivarius has become a superlative often associated with excellence, the fame of Stradivarius instruments is widespread, appearing in numerous works of fiction. The wood used included spruce for the top, willow for the blocks and linings, and maple for the back, ribs. Stradivari made his instruments using a form, unlike the French copyists, such as Vuillaume. It is clear from the number of forms throughout his career that he experimented with some of the dimensions of his instruments and these results suggest that differences in density differentials in the material may have played a significant role in the sound production of classical violins. The content of copper and aluminium is higher than current instruments, a Stradivarius made in the 1680s, or during Stradivaris Long Pattern period from 1690 to 1700, could be worth hundreds of thousands to several million U. S. dollars at todays prices. The 1697 Molitor Stradivarius, once rumored to have belonged to Napoleon, sold in 2010 at Tarisio Auctions to violinist Anne Akiko Meyers for $3,600,000, at the time a world record. Depending on condition, instruments made during Stradivaris golden period from 1700 to about 1725 can be millions of dollars. In 2011, his Lady Blunt violin from 1721, which is in condition, was sold in London for $15.9 million. It was sold by the Nippon Music Foundation in aid of the Japanese earthquake, the auction failed to reach its minimum bid by 25 June 2014, and the viola was not sold. Vice magazine reported in May 2013 that in recent years, Stradivarius investment funds have started to appear, Stradivarius instruments are at risk of theft. However, stolen instruments are often recovered, even after being missing for many years and they are difficult to sell illicitly as dealers will typically call the police if approached by a seller with a Stradivarius known to have been stolen. In recent years, the General Kyd Stradivarius was stolen in 2004 and it was returned three weeks later by a woman who found it and handed it over to the police. The Sinsheimer/Iselin was stolen in Hanover, Germany in 2008 and recovered in 2009, the Lipinski Stradivarius was stolen in an armed robbery on 27 January 2014 and subsequently recovered. The Ames Stradivarius was stolen in 1981 and recovered in 2015, however a number of stolen instruments remain missing, such as the Davidoff-Morini, stolen in 1995, the Le Maurien, stolen in 2002 and the Karpilowsky, stolen in 1953. Above all, these instruments are famous for the quality of sound they produce, the two violinists were allowed to play all the instruments first. None of the listeners identified more than two of the four instruments, two of the listeners identified the 20th-century violin as the Stradivarius. The majority of the listeners misidentified the winning violin as the Stradivarius. none of them sounded substantially weaker than the others While many world-class soloists play violins by Antonio Stradivari, there are notable exceptions
8.
Bartolomeo Cristofori
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Bartolomeo Cristofori di Francesco was an Italian maker of musical instruments, generally regarded as the inventor of the piano. The available source materials on Cristoforis life include his birth and death records, from the latter, both Maffeis notes and the published journal article are preserved. Cristofori was born in Padua in the Republic of Venice, nothing is known of his early life. A tale is told that he served as an apprentice to the violin maker Nicolò Amati. Pollens also gives strong reasons to doubt the authenticity of the cello, probably the most important event in Cristoforis life is the first one of which we have any record, in 1688, at age 33, he was recruited to work for Prince Ferdinando de Medici. Ferdinando, a lover and patron of music, was the son and heir of Cosimo III, Tuscany was at a time still a small independent state. It is not known what led Ferdinando to recruit Cristofori, the Prince traveled to Venice in 1688 to attend the Carnival, so he may have met Cristofori passing through Padua on his way home. Ferdinando was looking for a new technician to take care of his musical instruments. However, it possible that the Prince wanted to hire Cristofori not just as his technician. It would be surprising if Cristofori at age 33 had not already shown the inventiveness for which he became famous. The evidence—all circumstantial—that Cristofori may have hired as an inventor is as follows. Moreover, Pollens notes, curiously, there are no records of bills submitted for Cristoforis pianofortes and this could mean that Cristofori was expected to turn over the fruits of his experimentation to the court. Lastly, the Prince was evidently fascinated with machines, and would thus be naturally interested in the mechanical action that was at the core of Cristoforis work on the piano. Maffeis interview reports Cristoforis memory of his conversation with the Prince at this time, che fu detto al Principe, che non volevo, in any event, Cristofori agreed to the appointment, for a salary of 12 scudi per month. He moved rather quickly to Florence, was issued a house, complete with utensils and equipment, by the Grand Dukes administration, and set to work. For the Prince, he tuned, maintained, and transported instruments, worked on his various inventions, at this time, the Grand Dukes of Tuscany employed a large staff of about 100 artisans, who worked in the Galleria dei Lavori of the Uffizi. Cristoforis initial work space was probably in this area, which did not please him, during the remaining years of the 17th century, Cristofori invented two keyboard instruments before he began his work on the piano. These instruments are documented in an inventory, dated 1700, of the many instruments kept by Prince Ferdinando, Stewart Pollens conjectures that this inventory was prepared by a court musician named Giovanni Fuga, who may have referred to it as his own in a 1716 letter
9.
Piazza della Signoria
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Piazza della Signoria is an L-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. It was named after the Palazzo della Signoria, also called Palazzo Vecchio and it is the focal point of the origin and of the history of the Florentine Republic and still maintains its reputation as the political hub of the city. It is the place of Florentines as well as the numerous tourists, located near Plazzo Vecchio and Piazza del Duomo. The impressive 14th-century Palazzo Vecchio is still preeminent with its crenellated tower, the square is also shared with the Loggia della Signoria, the Uffizi Gallery, the Palace of the Tribunale della Mercanzia, and the Palazzo Uguccioni. Located in front of the Palazzo Vecchio is the Palace of the Assicurazioni Generali, the Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of the city. This massive, Romanesque, crenellated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany, the building acquired its current name when the Medici dukes residence was moved across the Arno to the Palazzo Pitti. The Loggia dei Lanzi consists of wide open to the street. The arches rest on clustered pilasters with Corinthian capitals, the wide arches appealed so much to the Florentines, that Michelangelo even proposed that they should be continued all around the Piazza della Signoria. The vivacious construction of the Loggia is in stark contrast with the architecture of the Palazzo Vecchio. It is effectively an open-air sculpture gallery of antique and Renaissance art including the Medici lions, the Tribunale della Mercanzia is a building where in the past lawyers judged in the trial between merchants. Here was a porch painted by Taddeo Gaddi, Antonio del Pollaiolo and Sandro Botticelli, built for Giovanni Uguccioni since 1550, its design has been variously attributed to Raphael, Michelangelo, Bartolomeo Ammannati or Raffaello da Montelupo. The Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali was designed in the Neo-Renaissance style in 1871, on the ground floor of this palace is the historical cafè Rivoire. Other palaces are the palazzo dei Buonaguisi and the palazzo dellArte dei Mercatanti, various imposing statues ring this square including, Copy of Michelangelos David. At the entrance of the Palazzo Vecchio, the original by Michelangelo is housed in the Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts, later there was a church San Romolo, a loggia and an enormous 5th-century basilica. This was shown by the treasures found beneath the square when it was repaved in the 1980s. Even remains of a Neolithic site were found, the square started taking shape from 1268 on, when houses of Ghibellines were pulled down by the victorious Guelphs. The square remained a long time untidy, full of holes, in 1385 it was paved for the first time. In 1497 Girolamo Savonarola and his followers carried out on this square the famous Bonfire of the Vanities, burning in a large books, gaming tables, fine dresses
10.
Pope Julius II
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Pope Julius II, nicknamed The Fearsome Pope and The Warrior Pope, born Giuliano della Rovere, was Pope from 1 November 1503 to his death in 1513. In addition to a military policy, he personally led troops into battle on at least two occasions. There is disagreement about Juliuss year of birth, for some sources put it as late as 1453, Giuliano della Rovere was the son of Rafaello della Rovere. Francesco della Rovere was his uncle and he was educated among the Franciscans by his uncle, who took him under his special charge and later sent him to a Franciscan friary in Perugia with the purpose of obtaining knowledge of the sciences. After his uncle was elected Pope Sixtus IV, della Rovere was promoted to be cardinal, taking the title as that formerly held by his uncle. With his uncle he obtained great influence, and in addition to the archbishopric of Avignon he held no fewer than eight bishoprics, including Lausanne from 1472. In June 1474, della Rovere led an army to Todi and Spoleto, around this time, in 1483, an illegitimate daughter was born, Felice della Rovere. Della Rovere, jealous and angry, accused Borgia of being elected over him, in 1494 he joined Charles VIII of France who was undertaking a military expedition into Italy. This was, in Andrew Greeleys view, almost certainly by means of bribery with money, but also, per Ott, Ullman, and Hughes, with promises. Giuliano Della Rovere thenceforth took the name of his fourth century predecessor, Julius I, indeed, on the day of his election, he declared I will not live in the same rooms as the Borgias lived. He desecrated the Holy Church as none before and he usurped the papal power by the devils aid, and I forbid under the pain of excommunication anyone to speak or think of Borgia again. His name and memory must be forgotten and it must be crossed out of every document and memorial. All paintings made of the Borgias or for them must be covered over with black crepe, all the tombs of the Borgias must be opened and their bodies sent back to where they belong—to Spain. The Borgias apartments remained sealed until the 19th Century, the combination was, however, at first little more than nominal, and was not immediately effective in compelling the Venetians to deliver up more than a few unimportant places in the Romagna. With a campaign in 1506, he led an army to Perugia and Bologna. The refusal of Pope Clement VII to grant the annulment led to the English Reformation, the same year, he founded the Swiss Guard to provide a constant corps of soldiers to protect the Pope. On Palm Sunday,1507, Julius II entered Rome, both as a second Julius Caesar, heir to the majesty of Romes imperial glory, and in the likeness of Christ, whose vicar the pope was, and who in that capacity governed the universal Roman Church. Julius, who modelled himself after his namesake Caesar, would lead his army across the Italian peninsula under the imperial war-cry
11.
Matthew the Apostle
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Matthew the Apostle was, according to the Christian Bible, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and, according to Christian tradition, one of the four Evangelists. Matthew may have collected taxes from the Hebrew people for Herod Antipas, Matthew is also listed among the twelve, but without identification of his background, in Mark 3,18, Luke 6,15 and Acts 1,13. Matthew was a 1st-century Galilean, the son of Alpheus, as a tax collector he would have been literate in Aramaic and Greek. His fellow Jews would have despised him for what was seen as collaborating with the Roman occupation force, after his call, Matthew invited Jesus home for a feast. On seeing this, the Scribes and the Pharisees criticized Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners and this prompted Jesus to answer, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. The New Testament records that as a disciple, he followed Jesus, and was one of the witnesses of the Resurrection, afterwards, the disciples withdrew to an upper room in Jerusalem. The disciples remained in and about Jerusalem and proclaimed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, in the Babylonian Talmud Mattai is one of five disciples of Jeshu. Later Church fathers such as Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria claim that Matthew preached the Gospel to the Jewish community in Judea, ancient writers are not agreed as to what these other countries are. The Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church each hold the tradition that Matthew died as a martyr, the Gospel of Matthew is anonymous, the author is not named within the text, and the superscription according to Matthew was added some time in the second century. The consensus is that Papias does not describe the Gospel of Matthew as we know it, in the 3rd-century Jewish–Christian gospels attributed to Matthew were used by Jewish–Christian groups such as the Nazarenes and Ebionites. Fragments of these survive in quotations by Jerome, Epiphanius. Most academic study follows the distinction of Gospel of the Nazarenes, Gospel of the Ebionites, critical commentators generally regard these texts as having been composed in Greek and related to Greek Matthew. A minority of commentators consider them to be fragments of a lost Aramaic or Hebrew language original, the Infancy Gospel of Matthew is a 7th-century compilation of three other texts, the Protevangelium of James, the Flight into Egypt, and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. Origen said the first Gospel was written by Matthew and this Gospel was composed in Hebrew near Jerusalem for Hebrew Christians and translated into Greek, but the Greek copy was lost. The Hebrew original was kept at the Library of Caesarea, the Nazarene Community transcribed a copy for Jerome which he used in his work. Matthews Gospel was called the Gospel according to the Hebrews or sometimes the Gospel of the Apostles, however, this has been challenged by modern biblical scholars such as Bart Ehrman and James R. Edwards. This Gospel has been preserved in the writings of the Church Fathers. Epiphanius does not make his own the claim about a Gospel of the Hebrews written by Matthew, Matthew is recognized as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches
12.
Palestrina
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Palestrina is an ancient city and comune with a population of about 21,000, in Lazio, about 35 kilometres east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Prenestina and it is the birthplace of composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Palestrina is sited on a spur of the Monti Prenestini, a range in the central Apennines. Palestrina borders the municipalities, Artena, Castel San Pietro Romano, Cave, Gallicano nel Lazio, Labico, Rocca di Cave, Rocca Priora, Rome, San Cesareo, Valmontone. Early burials show that the site was occupied in the 8th or 7th century BC. The ancient necropolis lay on a plateau at the foot of the hill below the ancient town, from these come the famous bronze boxes and hand mirrors with inscriptions partly in Etruscan. Also famous is the bronze Ficoroni Cista, engraved pictures of the arrival of the Argonauts in Bithynia. An example of archaic Latin is the inscription on the Ficoroni Cista, the caskets are unique in Italy, but a large number of mirrors of precisely similar style have been discovered in Etruria. Hence, although it would be reasonable to conjecture that objects with Etruscan characteristics came from Etruria, other imported objects in the burials show that Praeneste traded not only with Etruria but also with the Greek east. The origin of Praeneste was attributed by the ancients to Ulysses, the name derives probably from the word Praenesteus, referring to its overlooking location. Praeneste was probably under the hegemony of Alba Longa while that city was the head of the Latin League and it withdrew from the league in 499 BC, according to Livy, and formed an alliance with Rome. After Rome was weakened by the Gauls of Brennus, Praeneste switched allegiances, from 373 to 370, it was in continual war against Rome or her allies, and was defeated by Cincinnatus. Eventually in 354 and in 338 the Romans were victorious and Praeneste was punished by the loss of portions of its territory, as such, it furnished contingents to the Roman army, and Roman exiles were permitted to live at Praeneste, which grew prosperous. The roses of Praeneste were a byword for profusion and beauty, præneste was situated on the Via Labicana. Its citizens were offered Roman citizenship in 90 BC in the Social War, in Sullas second civil war, Gaius Marius the Younger was blockaded in the town by the forces of Sulla. When the city was captured, Marius slew himself, the inhabitants were massacred in cold blood. From an inscription it appears that Sulla delegated the foundation of the new colony to Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus, within a decade the lands of the colonia had been assembled by a few large landowners. From the late Republic to the late Empire, markets, baths, shrines and even a second forum were built in the lower city, the poet Horace ranked cool Praeneste with Tibur and Baiae as favored resorts
Media related to Galleria dell'Accademia at Wikimedia Commons
