1.
James, son of Zebedee
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James, son of Zebedee was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, and traditionally considered the first apostle to be martyred. He was a son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of John the Apostle and he is also called James the Greater or James the Great to distinguish him from James, son of Alphaeus and James the brother of Jesus. James the son of Zebedee is the saint of Spaniards. The son of Zebedee and Salome, James is styled the Greater thunder to distinguish him from the Apostle James the Less and he was the brother of John, the beloved disciple, and probably the elder of the two. His parents seem to have people of means. Zebedee, his father, was a fisherman of the Sea of Galilee, who lived in or near Bethsaida, present Galilee, Israel, perhaps in Capernaum. It is probable that his brother had not received the training of the rabbinical schools, in this sense they were unlearned. But, according to the rank of their parents, they must have been men of ordinary education. James is described as one of the first disciples to join Jesus, the Synoptic Gospels state that James and John were with their father by the seashore when Jesus called them to follow him. James was one of three apostles whom Jesus selected to bear witness to his Transfiguration. James and John asked Jesus to grant them seats on his right, Jesus rebuked them, and the other ten apostles were annoyed with them. James and his brother wanted to call fire on a Samaritan town. The Acts of the Apostles records that Herod the king had James executed by sword and he is the only apostle whose martyrdom is recorded in the New Testament. He is, thus, traditionally believed to be the first of the twelve apostles martyred for his faith, nixon suggests that this may have been caused by James fiery temper, for which he and his brother earned the nickname Boanerges or Sons of Thunder. F. F. Bruce contrasts this story to that of the Liberation of Saint Peter, the New Testament scholar Dennis MacDonald identifies Castor and Pollux as basis characters for the appearance of James and John in the narrative by Mark the Evangelist. The English name James comes from Italian Giacomo, a variant of Giacobo derived from Iacobus in Latin, itself from the Greek Ἰάκωβος Iakōbos, in French, Jacob evolves into Jacques. In eastern Spain, Iacobus became Jacome or Jaime, in Catalan language, Santiago is the local Galician or Spanish evolution of Vulgar Latin Sanctu Iacobu Saint James. Tiago is a popular deglutination native to Portuguese language, it crossed with old Diago to give Diego in Spanish and Diogo in Portuguese, for example, Miguel de Cervantes in his famous Don Quixote uses San Diego instead of Santiago
2.
Saint Dominic
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Saint Dominic, also known as Dominic of Osma and Dominic of Caleruega, often called Dominic de Guzmán and Domingo Félix de Guzmán, was a Castilian priest and founder of the Dominican Order. Dominic is the saint of astronomers. Dominic was born in Caleruega, halfway between Osma and Aranda de Duero in Old Castile, Spain and he was named after Saint Dominic of Silos, who is said to be the patron saint of hopeful mothers. The Benedictine abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos lies a few north of Caleruega. In the earliest narrative source, by Jordan of Saxony, Dominics parents are named Felix Guzman and Juanna of Aza. This story drew resonance from the fact that his order became known, after his name, as the Dominican order, Dominicanus in Latin which a play on words interpreted as Domini canis, Dog of the Lord. Jordan adds that Dominic was brought up by his parents and an uncle who was an archbishop. The failure to name his parents is not unusual, since Jordan wrote a history of the Orders early years, a later source, still of the 13th century, also gives their names as Juana and Felix. Nearly a century after Dominics birth, a local author asserted that Dominics father was vir venerabilis et dives in populo suo. The travel narrative of Pero Tafur, written circa 1439, states that Dominics father belonged to the family de Guzmán, Dominics mother, Jane of Aza, was beatified by Pope Leo XII in 1828. Dominic was educated in the schools of Palencia where he devoted six years to the arts, in 1191, when Spain was desolated by famine, young Dominic gave away his money and sold his clothes, furniture and even precious manuscripts to feed the hungry. Dominic reportedly told his fellow students, Would you have me study off these dead skins. In 1194, around age twenty-five, Dominic joined the Canons Regular in the canonry in the Cathedral of Osma, following the rule of Saint Augustine. In 1203 or 1204 he accompanied Diego de Acebo, the Bishop of Osma, on a mission for Alfonso VIII, King of Castile. The envoys traveled to Denmark via Aragon and the south of France, the marriage negotiations ended successfully, but the princess died before leaving for Castile. However, even Dominic managed only a few converts among the Cathari, in 1215, Dominic established himself, with six followers, in a house given by Peter Seila, a rich resident of Toulouse. He subjected himself and his companions to the rules of prayer and penance. In the same year, the year of the Fourth Lateran Council, Dominic and Foulques went to Rome to secure the approval of the Pope, Innocent III
3.
Memling carpet
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More depictions of Oriental carpets in Renaissance painting survive than actual carpets produced before the 17th century, though the number of these known has increased in recent decades. Therefore, comparative art-historical research has from its onset in the late 19th century relied on carpets represented in datable European paintings, Western comparative research resulted in an ever more detailed cultural history of the Oriental art of carpet weaving. This has in turn renewed and inspired the scientific interest in their countries of origin, comparative research based on Renaissance paintings and carpets preserved in museums and collections continues to contribute to the expanding body of art historical and cultural knowledge. Visually, the serve to draw attention either to an important person. In parallel with the development of Renaissance painting, initially mainly Christian saints, later on, the carpets were integrated into secular contexts, but always served to represent the idea of opulence, exoticism, luxury, wealth, or status. First, their use was reserved for the most powerful and most wealthy, later on, as more people gained sufficient wealth to afford goods of luxury, Oriental carpets appeared on the portraits of merchants and wealthy burghers. During the late 17th and 18th century, the interest in depicting carpets declined, in parallel, the paintings pay less attention to detail. The richly designed Oriental carpets appealed strongly to Western painters, the rich and various colours may have influenced the great Venetian painters of the Quattrocento. It has been suggested that the representation of carpets is linked to the development of the linear perspective. The depiction of oriental carpets in Renaissance paintings is regarded as an important contribution to a history of art. In turn, European market demands also affected the production in their countries of origin. In 1871, Julius Lessing published his book on oriental carpet design, village or nomadic rugs did not reach Europe during the Renaissance, and were not depicted in paintings. Pile carpets with geometric design are known to have produced from the 13th century among the Seljuks of Rum in eastern Anatolia. Carpets were also produced in Islamic Spain, and one is shown in a fresco of the 1340s in the Palais des Papes, Avignon. The vast majority of carpets in 15th- and 16th-century paintings are either from the Ottoman Empire, or possibly European copies of these types from the Balkans, Spain, or elsewhere. In fact these were not the finest Islamic carpets of the period, even finer than these, Persian carpets do not appear until the end of the 16th century, but become increasingly popular among the very wealthy in the 17th century. The very refined Mamluk carpets from Egypt are occasionally seen, mostly in Venetian paintings, one of the first uses of an oriental carpet in a European painting is Simone Martinis Saint Louis of Toulouse Crowning Robert of Anjou, King of Naples, painted in 1316-1319. Most European depictions of Oriental carpets were extremely faithful to the originals and their larger scale also allows more detailed and accurate depictions than those shown in miniature paintings from Turkey or Persia
4.
Flanders
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Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium, although there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics and history. It is one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, the demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish. The official capital of Flanders is Brussels, although Brussels itself has an independent regional government, in historical contexts, Flanders originally refers to the County of Flanders, which around AD1000 stretched from the Strait of Dover to the Scheldt estuary. In accordance with late 20th century Belgian state reforms the area was made two political entities, the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region. These entities were merged, although geographically the Flemish Community, which has a cultural mandate, covers Brussels. Flanders has figured prominently in European history, as a consequence, a very sophisticated culture developed, with impressive achievements in the arts and architecture, rivaling those of northern Italy. Belgium was one of the centres of the 19th century industrial revolution, geographically, Flanders is generally flat, and has a small section of coast on the North Sea. Much of Flanders is agriculturally fertile and densely populated, with a density of almost 500 people per square kilometer. It touches France to the west near the coast, and borders the Netherlands to the north and east, the Brussels Capital Region is an enclave within the Flemish Region. Flanders has exclaves of its own, Voeren in the east is between Wallonia and the Netherlands and Baarle-Hertog in the consists of 22 exclaves surrounded by the Netherlands. It comprises 6.5 million Belgians who consider Dutch to be their mother tongue, the political subdivisions of Belgium, the Flemish Region and the Flemish Community. The first does not comprise Brussels, whereas the latter does comprise the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Brussels, the political institutions that govern both subdivisions, the operative body Flemish Government and the legislative organ Flemish Parliament. The two westernmost provinces of the Flemish Region, West Flanders and East Flanders, forming the central portion of the historic County of Flanders, a feudal territory that existed from the 8th century until its absorption by the French First Republic. Until the 1600s, this county also extended over parts of France, one of the regions conquered by the French in Flanders, namely French Flanders in the Nord department. French Flanders can be divided into two regions, Walloon Flanders and Maritime Flanders. The first region was predominantly French-speaking already in the 1600s, the latter became so in the 20th century, the city of Lille identifies itself as Flemish, and this is reflected, for instance, in the name of its local railway station TGV Lille Flandres. The region conquered by the Dutch Republic in Flanders, now part of the Dutch province of Zeeland, the significance of the County of Flanders and its counts eroded through time, but the designation remained in a very broad sense. In the Early modern period, the term Flanders was associated with the part of the Low Countries
5.
Early Netherlandish painting
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Their work follows the International Gothic style and begins approximately with Robert Campin and Jan van Eyck in the early 1420s. It lasts at least until the death of Gerard David in 1523, the major Netherlandish painters include Campin, van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Dieric Bouts, Petrus Christus, Hans Memling, Hugo van der Goes and Hieronymus Bosch. These artists made significant advances in natural representation and illusionism, and their subjects are usually religious scenes or small portraits, with narrative painting or mythological subjects being relatively rare. Landscape is often richly described but relegated as a background detail before the early 16th century, the painted works are generally oil on panel, either as single works or more complex portable or fixed altarpieces in the form of diptychs, triptychs or polyptychs. The period is noted for its sculpture, tapestries, illuminated manuscripts, stained glass. Assisted by the system, panels and a variety of crafts were sold to foreign princes or merchants through private engagement or market stalls. A majority were destroyed during waves of iconoclasm in the 16th and 17th centuries, Early northern art in general was not well regarded from the early 17th to the mid-19th century, and the painters and their works were not well documented until the mid-19th century. Art historians spent almost another century determining attributions, studying iconography, attribution of some of the most significant works is still debated. These artists became a driving force behind the Northern Renaissance. In this political and art-historical context, the north follows the Burgundian lands which straddled areas that encompass parts of modern France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlandish artists have been known by a variety of terms. Late Gothic is a designation which emphasises continuity with the art of the Middle Ages. In the early 20th century, the artists were variously referred to in English as the Ghent-Bruges school or the Old Netherlandish school. In this context, primitive does not refer to a lack of sophistication. When the Burgundian dukes established centres of power in the Netherlands, in the 19th century the Early Netherlandish artists were classified by nationality, with Jan van Eyck identified as German and van der Weyden as French. Scholars were at times preoccupied as to whether the schools genesis was in France or Germany, in the 14th century, as Gothic art gave way to the International Gothic era, a number of schools developed in northern Europe. Early Netherlandish art originated in French courtly art, and is tied to the tradition. Modern art historians see the era as beginning with 14th-century manuscript illuminators and this patronage continued in the low countries with the Burgundian dukes, Philip the Good and his son Charles the Bold. The demand for illuminated manuscripts declined towards the end of the century, following van Eycks innovations, the first generation of Netherlandish painters emphasised light and shadow, elements usually absent from 14th-century illuminated manuscripts
6.
Mainz
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Mainz is the capital and largest city of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It was the capital of the Electorate of Mainz at the time of the Holy Roman Empire. The city is famous as the home of the invention of the printing press. Until the twentieth century, Mainz was usually referred to in English by its French name, Mainz is located on the 50th latitude, on the west bank of the river Rhine, opposite the confluence of the Main with the Rhine. The population in the early 2012 was 200,957, an additional 18,619 people maintain a primary residence elsewhere but have a home in Mainz. The city is part of the Rhein Metro area comprising 5.8 million people, Mainz can easily be reached from Frankfurt International Airport in 25 minutes by commuter railway. Mainzs history and economy are closely tied to its proximity to the Rhine river historically handling much of the regions waterborne cargo, todays huge container port hub allowing trimodal transport is located on the North Side of the town. The river also provides another positive effect, moderating Mainzs climate, after the last ice age, sand dunes were deposited in the Rhine valley at what was to become the western edge of the city. The Mainz Sand Dunes area is now a reserve with a unique landscape. When the Mainz legion camp was founded in 13/12 BC, the buildings near the Rhine River, historical sources and archaeological findings both prove the importance of the military and civilian Mogontiacum as a port city on the Rhine. The Roman stronghold or castrum Mogontiacum, the precursor to Mainz, was founded by the Roman general Drusus perhaps as early as 13/12 BC. As related by Suetonius the existence of Mogontiacum is well established by four years later, although the city is situated opposite the mouth of the Main river, the name of Mainz is not from Main, the similarity being perhaps due to diachronic analogy. Main is from Latin Menus, the name the Romans used for the river, linguistic analysis of the many forms that the name Mainz has taken on make it clear that it is a simplification of Mogontiacum. The name appears to be Celtic and ultimately it is, however, it had also become Roman and was selected by them with a special significance. Mogontiacum was an important military town throughout Roman times, probably due to its position at the confluence of the Main. The town of Mogontiacum grew up between the fort and the river, the castrum was the base of Legio XIIII Gemina and XVI Gallica, XXII Primigenia, IIII Macedonica, I Adiutrix, XXI Rapax, and XIIII Gemina, among others. Mainz was also a base of a Roman river fleet, the Classis Germanica, remains of Roman troop ships and a patrol boat from the late 4th century were discovered in 1982/86 and may now be viewed in the Museum für Antike Schifffahrt. A temple dedicated to Isis Panthea and Magna Mater was discovered in 2000 and is open to the public
7.
Brussels
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Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the region of Flanders or Wallonia. The region has a population of 1.2 million and an area with a population of over 1.8 million. Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, the secretariat of the Benelux and the headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are also located in Brussels. Today, it is considered an Alpha global city, historically a Dutch-speaking city, Brussels has seen a language shift to French from the late 19th century onwards. Today, the majority language is French, and the Brussels-Capital Region is a bilingual enclave within the Flemish Region. All road signs, street names, and many advertisements and services are shown in both languages, Brussels is increasingly becoming multilingual with increasing numbers of migrants, expatriates and minority groups speaking their own languages. The most common theory of the origin of Brussels name is that it derives from the Old Dutch Broekzele or Broeksel, meaning marsh, Saint Vindicianus, the bishop of Cambrai made the first recorded reference to the place Brosella in 695 when it was still a hamlet. The origin of the settlement that was to become Brussels lies in Saint Gaugericus construction of a chapel on an island in the river Senne around 580. The official founding of Brussels is usually situated around 979, when Duke Charles of Lower Lotharingia transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel to the Saint Gaugericus chapel, Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island. Lambert I of Leuven, Count of Leuven gained the County of Brussels around 1000 by marrying Charles daughter, as it grew to a population of around 30,000, the surrounding marshes were drained to allow for further expansion. The Counts of Leuven became Dukes of Brabant at about this time, in the 13th century, the city got its first walls. After the construction of the city walls in the early 13th century, to let the city expand, a second set of walls was erected between 1356 and 1383. Today, traces of it can still be seen, mostly because the small ring, Brabant had lost its independence, but Brussels became the Princely Capital of the prosperous Low Countries, and flourished. In 1516 Charles V, who had been heir of the Low Countries since 1506, was declared King of Spain in St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels. Upon the death of his grandfather, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and it was in the Palace complex at Coudenberg that Charles V abdicated in 1555. This impressive palace, famous all over Europe, had expanded since it had first become the seat of the Dukes of Brabant. In 1695, during the Nine Years War, King Louis XIV of France sent troops to bombard Brussels with artillery, together with the resulting fire, it was the most destructive event in the entire history of Brussels
8.
Rogier van der Weyden
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Rogier van der Weyden or Roger de la Pasture was an Early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces and commissioned single and diptych portraits. By the latter half of the 15th century, he had eclipsed Jan van Eyck in popularity, however his fame lasted only until the 17th century, and largely due to changing taste, he was almost totally forgotten by the mid-18th century. There are few facts of van der Weydens life. What else is known of him has come from records and secondary sources. However the paintings now attributed to him are generally accepted, despite a tendency in the 19th century to attribute his work to others, all of his forms are rendered with rich, warm colourisation and a sympathetic expression, while he is known for his expressive pathos and naturalism. His portraits tend to be half length and half profile, Van der Weyden used an unusually broad range of colours and varied tones, in his finest work the same tone is not repeated in any other area of the canvas, even the whites are varied. Due to the loss of archives in 1695 and again in 1940, Rogelet de le Pasture was born in Tournai in 1399 or 1400. His parents were Henri de le Pasture and Agnes de Watrélos and he married around 1426, to Elisabeth Goffaert, and was made town painter of Brussels in 1436, and changed his name from the French to the Flemish format, becoming van der Weyden. The Pasture family had settled before in the city of Tournai where Rogiers father worked as a maître-coutelier, in 1426 Rogier married Elisabeth, the daughter of a Brussels shoemaker Jan Goffaert and his wife Cathelyne van Stockem. Rogier and Elisabeth had four children, Cornelius, who became a Carthusian monk, was born in 1427, a daughter Margaretha in 1432. Before 21 October 1435 the family settled in Brussels where the two children were born, Pieter in 1437 and Jan in 1438, who would go on to become a painter. On his move to Brussels, Rogier began using the Flemish version of his name, little is known about Rogiers training as a painter. The archival sources from Tournai were completely destroyed during World War II, the sources on his early life are confusing and have led to different interpretations by scholars. It is known that the city council of Tournai offered eight pitchers of wine in honour of a certain Maistre Rogier de le Pasture on the 17th November 1426. However, on 5 March of the year the records of the painters guild show a Rogelet de le Pasture entered the workshop of Robert Campin together with Jacques Daret. Records show that de le Pasture was already established as a painter, only five years later, on the first of August 1432, de le Pasture obtained the title of a Master painter. His later entry into apprenticeship might be explained by the fact that during the 1420s the city of Tournai was in crisis, the late apprenticeship may have been a legal formality. Also Jacques Daret was then in his twenties and had living and working in Campins household for at least a decade
9.
Bruges
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Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country. The area of the whole city amounts to more than 13,840 hectares, including 1,075 hectares off the coast, the historic city centre is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO. It is oval and about 430 hectares in size, the citys total population is 117,073, of whom around 20,000 live in the city centre. The metropolitan area, including the commuter zone, covers an area of 616 km2 and has a total of 255,844 inhabitants as of 1 January 2008. Along with a few other canal-based northern cities, such as Amsterdam and Stockholm, Bruges has a significant economic importance thanks to its port and was once one of the worlds chief commercial cities. Bruges is well known as the seat of the College of Europe, the name probably derives from the Old Dutch for bridge, brugga. Also compare Middle Dutch brucge, brugge, and modern Dutch bruggehoofd, the form brugghe would be a southern Dutch variant. The Dutch word and the English bridge both derive from Proto-Germanic *brugjō-, Bruges was a location of coastal settlement during prehistory. This Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement is unrelated to medieval city development, in the Bruges area, the first fortifications were built after Julius Caesars conquest of the Menapii in the first century BC, to protect the coastal area against pirates. The Franks took over the region from the Gallo-Romans around the 4th century. The Viking incursions of the century prompted Count Baldwin I of Flanders to reinforce the Roman fortifications, trade soon resumed with England. Bruges received its city charter on 27 July 1128, and new walls and canals were built, in 1089 Bruges became the capital of the County of Flanders. Since about 1050, gradual silting had caused the city to lose its access to the sea. A storm in 1134, however, re-established this access, through the creation of a channel at the Zwin. The new sea arm stretched all the way to Damme, a city became the commercial outpost for Bruges. Bruges had a location at the crossroads of the northern Hanseatic League trade. They developed, or borrowed from Italy, new forms of merchant capitalism, whereby several merchants would share the risks and profits and they employed new forms of economic exchange, including bills of exchange and letters of credit. The city eagerly welcomed foreign traders, most notably the Portuguese traders selling pepper and other spices, the citys entrepreneurs reached out to make economic colonies of England and Scotlands wool-producing districts
10.
Diptych
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A diptych is any object with two flat plates attached at a hinge. For example, the notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world was a diptych consisting of a pair of such plates that contained a recessed space filled with wax. Writing was accomplished by scratching the wax surface with a stylus, when the notes were no longer needed, the wax could be slightly heated and then smoothed to allow reuse. Ordinary versions had wooden frames, but more luxurious diptychs were crafted with more expensive materials, others may have been made to celebrate a wedding, or, perhaps like the Poet and Muse diptych at Monza, simply commissioned for private use. Some of the most important surviving works of the Late Roman Empire are diptychs, of some dozens survive. The largest surviving Byzantine ivory panel, is a leaf from a diptych in the Justinian court manner of c, from the Middle Ages many panel paintings took the diptych form, as small portable works for personal use, Eastern Orthodox ones may be called travelling icons. These suited the mobile lives of medieval elites, the ivories tended to have scenes in several registers crowded with small figures. The outsides, which received considerable wear from travelling, might have simpler decorative designs. Large altarpieces tended to be made in form, with two outer panels that could be closed across the main central representation. They are one type of the forms of painting known as polyptychs. The diptych was a format in Early Netherlandish painting and depicted subjects ranging from secular portraiture to religious personages and stories. Often a portrait and a Madonna and Child had a leaf each and it was especially popular in the 15th and 16th centuries. Painters such as Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Hans Memling, Diptych is also often used in reference to films or pieces of literature that form a complementary pair. When taken together, they are viewed as illuminating each other, an example is the pair of Alan Ayckbourn plays, House and Garden. It is in form that the mention of diptychs in early Christian literature is found. The term refers to official lists of the living and departed that are commemorated by the local church, the living would be inscribed on one wing of the diptych, and the departed on the other. The inscribing of a name in the diptychs means that the local church considers itself to be in communion with him. The names in the diptychs would be read publicly by the deacon during the Divine Liturgy, diptychs were also used to inscribe the names of the saints
11.
Seligenstadt
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Seligenstadt is a town in the Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Seligenstadt is one of Germany’s oldest towns and was already of importance in Carolingian times. Seligenstadt is one of 13 towns and communities in the Offenbach district, the town lies on the river Main’s left bank roughly 25 km southeast of Frankfurt am Main, directly neighbouring Bavaria. Seligenstadt’s Stadtteile are Seligenstadt, Klein-Welzheim and Froschhausen, Seligenstadt is located in the Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin, a Cenozoic subsidence basin between the local highlands of Spessart and Odenwald. Quaternary fluvial deposits of the river Main overlying Pliocene, lignite bearing sequences and Miocene sands, sometime about AD100, during the reign of Roman Emperor Trajan, a cohort castrum was built on what is now Seligenstadts marketplace and parts of its old town. Since the 16th century, this castrum has been referred to by the name Selgum, the 500 legionaries and auxiliary forces stationed there belonged to the Legio XXII Primigenia, based in Mogontiacum. The cohort was known by the name Cohors I Civium Romanorum equitata and was responsible for security along the stretch of the Limes Germanicus running along the Main. With the fall of the Limes as a result of raids by the Alamanni in about AD260, the castrum was abandoned, and the Romans withdrew farther behind the Rhine line. On the former castrum’s rubble and on what is now the area in a section of the Breitenbach valley arose the early mediaeval settlement of Mulinheim superior, or Obermühlheim. Seligenstadt had its first documentary mention on 11 January 815 in a donation document, the town was founded by Charlemagne’s biographer Einhard. After he had acquired the Frankish settlement of Obermulinheim from Louis the Pious in 815 as a donation, mentioned as an earlier owner is a Count Drogo. About 830, building began on the Einhard-Basilika, the current version of which is now the landmark of Seligenstadt. Einhard died in 840 and he and his partner, Imma, are buried in a chapel in the transept of the church. In 1028, a Roman Catholic synod was held, whose most important result was the introduction of ember days with their rules for fasting. In 1063, Emperor Heinrich IV confirmed to the Archbishop of Mainz the lawfulness of his ownership of the abbey, Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa held court in Seligenstadt in 1188. During his reign the community acquired town rights, until 1309, Seligenstadt was a freie Reichsstadt. At that point, it came to the Archbishop of Mainz who remained the ruler until 1803. In 1527, Archbishop Albert of Mainz brought in a new town order whereby the Seligenstadt townsmen’s rights were sharply limited, during the Thirty Years War, a Swedish commissary administered the abbey on King Gustav II Adolf’s behalf
12.
Frankfurt
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The city is at the centre of the larger Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, which has a population of 5.8 million and is Germanys second-largest metropolitan region after Rhine-Ruhr. Since the enlargement of the European Union in 2013, the centre of the EU is about 40 km to the east of Frankfurts CBD. Frankfurt is culturally and ethnically diverse, with half of the population. A quarter of the population are foreign nationals, including many expatriates, Frankfurt is an alpha world city and a global hub for commerce, culture, education, tourism and traffic. Its the site of many global and European headquarters, Frankfurt Airport is among the worlds busiest. Automotive, technology and research, services, consulting, media, Frankfurts DE-CIX is the worlds largest internet exchange point. Messe Frankfurt is one of the worlds largest trade fairs, major fairs include the Frankfurt Motor Show, the worlds largest motor show, the Music Fair, and the Frankfurt Book Fair, the worlds largest book fair. Frankfurt is home to educational institutions, including the Goethe University, the UAS, the FUMPA. Its renowned cultural venues include the concert hall Alte Oper, Europes largest English Theatre and many museums, Frankfurts skyline is shaped by some of Europes tallest skyscrapers. In sports, the city is known as the home of the top football club Eintracht Frankfurt, the basketball club Frankfurt Skyliners, the Frankfurt Marathon. Its the seat of German sport unions for Olympics, football, Frankfurt is the largest financial centre in continental Europe. It is home to the European Central Bank, Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is one of the worlds largest stock exchanges by market capitalization and accounts for more than 90 percent of the turnover in the German market. Frankfurt is considered a city as listed by the GaWC groups 2012 inventory. Among global cities it was ranked 10th by the Global Power City Index 2011, among financial centres it was ranked 8th by the International Financial Centers Development Index 2013 and 9th by the Global Financial Centres Index 2013. Its central location within Germany and Europe makes Frankfurt a major air, rail, Frankfurt Airport is one of the worlds busiest international airports by passenger traffic and the main hub for Germanys flag carrier Lufthansa. Frankfurter Kreuz, the Autobahn interchange close to the airport, is the most heavily used interchange in the EU, in 2011 human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked Frankfurt as seventh in its annual Quality of Living survey of cities around the world. According to The Economist cost-of-living survey, Frankfurt is Germanys most expensive city, Frankfurt has many high-rise buildings in the city centre, forming the Frankfurt skyline. It is one of the few cities in the European Union to have such a skyline and because of it Germans sometimes refer to Frankfurt as Mainhattan, the other well known and obvious nickname is Bankfurt
13.
Apprenticeship
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An apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeship also enables practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulated profession, Apprenticeships typically last 3 to 7 years. People who successfully complete an apprenticeship reach the journeyman or professional level of competence. In early modern usage, the clipped form prentice was common, the system of apprenticeship first developed in the later Middle Ages and came to be supervised by craft guilds and town governments. A master craftsman was entitled to employ young people as a form of labour in exchange for providing food, lodging. Most apprentices were males, but female apprentices were found in such as seamstress, tailor. Apprentices usually began at ten to fifteen years of age, in Coventry those completing seven-year apprenticeships with stuff merchants were entitled to become freemen of the city. Subsequently, governmental regulation and the licensing of technical colleges and vocational education formalized and bureaucratized the details of apprenticeship, Australian Apprenticeships encompass all apprenticeships and traineeships. They cover all sectors in Australia and are used to achieve both entry-level and career upskilling objectives. There were 470,000 Australian Apprentices in-training as at 31 March 2012, Australian Government employer and employee incentives may be applicable, while State and Territory Governments may provide public funding support for the training element of the initiative. Australian Apprenticeships combine time at work with formal training and can be full-time, part-time or school-based, Australian Apprentice and Traineeship services are dedicated to promoting retention, therefore much effort is made to match applicants with the right apprenticeship or traineeship. This is done with the aid of aptitude tests, tips, information and resources on potential apprenticeship and traineeship occupations are available in over sixty industries. The distinction between the terms apprentices and trainees lies mainly around traditional trades and the time it takes to gain a qualification, Australia also has a fairly unusual safety net in place for businesses and Australian Apprentices with its Group Training scheme. It is a safety net, because the Group Training Organisation is the employer and provides continuity of employment and it lasts two to four years – the duration varies among the 250 legally recognized apprenticeship trades. About 40 percent of all Austrian teenagers enter apprenticeship training upon completion of compulsory education and this number has been stable since the 1950s. The five most popular trades are, Retail Salesperson, Clerk, Car Mechanic, Hairdresser, there are many smaller trades with small numbers of apprentices, like EDV-Systemtechniker which is completed by fewer than 100 people a year. The Apprenticeship Leave Certificate provides the apprentice with access to two different vocational careers, the person responsible for overseeing the training inside the company is called Lehrherr or Ausbilder. An Ausbilder must prove he has the qualifications needed to educate another person
14.
Cologne
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Cologne is the largest city in the German federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth-largest city in Germany. It is located within the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, one of the major European metropolitan areas, and with more than ten million inhabitants, Cologne is located on both sides of the Rhine River, less than eighty kilometres from Belgium. The citys famous Cologne Cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Cologne, the University of Cologne is one of Europes oldest and largest universities. Cologne was founded and established in Ubii territory in the first century AD as the Roman Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, Cologne, the French version of the citys name, has become standard in English as well. The city functioned as the capital of the Roman province of Germania Inferior, during the Middle Ages it flourished on one of the most important major trade routes between east and west in Europe. Cologne was one of the members of the Hanseatic League and one of the largest cities north of the Alps in medieval. Up until World War II the city had several occupations by the French. Cologne was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany during World War II, the bombing reduced the population by 95%, mainly due to evacuation, and destroyed almost the entire city. With the intention of restoring as many buildings as possible. Cologne is a cultural centre for the Rhineland, it hosts more than thirty museums. Exhibitions range from local ancient Roman archeological sites to contemporary graphics, the Cologne Trade Fair hosts a number of trade shows such as Art Cologne, imm Cologne, Gamescom, and the Photokina. The first urban settlement on the grounds of modern-day Cologne was Oppidum Ubiorum, founded in 38 BC by the Ubii, in 50 AD, the Romans founded Colonia on the Rhine and the city became the provincial capital of Germania Inferior in 85 AD. The city was named Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium in 50 AD, considerable Roman remains can be found in present-day Cologne, especially near the wharf area, where a notable discovery of a 1900-year-old Roman boat was made in late 2007. From 260 to 271 Cologne was the capital of the Gallic Empire under Postumus, Marius, in 310 under Constantine a bridge was built over the Rhine at Cologne. Roman imperial governors resided in the city and it one of the most important trade. Cologne is shown on the 4th century Peutinger Map, maternus, who was elected as bishop in 313, was the first known bishop of Cologne. The city was the capital of a Roman province until occupied by the Ripuarian Franks in 462, parts of the original Roman sewers are preserved underneath the city, with the new sewerage system having opened in 1890. Early medieval Cologne was part of Austrasia within the Frankish Empire, Cologne had been the seat of a bishop since the Roman period, under Charlemagne, in 795, bishop Hildebold was promoted to archbishop
15.
Low Countries
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Most of the Low Countries are coastal regions bounded by the North Sea or the English Channel. The countries without access to the sea have linked themselves politically and economically to those with access to one union of port. The Low Countries were the scene of the northern towns, newly built rather than developed from ancient centres. In that period, they rivaled northern Italy for the most densely populated region of Europe, all of the regions mainly depended on trade, manufacturing and the encouragement of the free flow of goods and craftsmen. Germanic languages such as Dutch and Luxembourgish were the predominant languages, secondary languages included French, Romance-speaking Belgium, the Romance Flanders, and Namur. Governor Mary of Hungary used both the expressions les pays de par deça and Pays dEmbas, which evolved to Pays-Bas or Low Countries, today the term is typically fitted to modern political boundaries and used in the same way as the term Benelux, which also includes Luxembourg. The name of the country the Netherlands has the same meaning. The same name of countries can be found in other European languages, for example German Niederlande, French, les Pays-Bas, and so on. In the Dutch language itself no plural is used for the name of the modern country, so Nederland is used for the modern nation and de Nederlanden for the 16th century domains of Charles V. In Dutch, and to an extent in English, the Low Countries colloquially means the Netherlands and Belgium, sometimes the Netherlands. For example, a Derby der Lage Landen, is an event between Belgium and the Netherlands. Belgium was renamed only in 1830, after splitting from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, politically, before the Napoleonic wars, it was referred to as the Southern, Spanish or later Austrian Netherlands. It is still referred to as part of the low countries, the region politically had its origins in Carolingian empire, more precisely, most of it was within the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia. After the disintegration of Lower Lotharingia, the Low Countries were brought under the rule of various lordships until they came to be in the hands of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy. Hence, a part of the low countries came to be referred to as the Burgundian Netherlands also called the Seventeen Provinces up to 1581. Even after the secession of the autonomous Dutch Republic in the north. The Low Countries were part of the Roman provinces of Gallia Belgica, Germania Inferior and they were inhabited by Belgic and Germanic tribes. In the 4th and 5th century, Frankish tribes had entered this Roman region and they came to be ruled by the Merovingian dynasty, under which dynasty the southern part was re-Christianised
16.
Duchy of Brabant
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The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. Today all the former territories, apart from exclaves are in Belgium except for the Dutch province of North Brabant. The Duchy of Brabant was historically divided into four parts, each with its own capital, the four capitals were Leuven, Brussels, Antwerp and s-Hertogenbosch. Before s-Hertogenbosch was founded, Tienen was the fourth capital and its most important cities were Brussels, Antwerp, Leuven, Breda, s-Hertogenbosch, Lier and Mechelen. The modern flag of Belgium takes its colors from Brabants coat of arms, probably first used by Count Lambert I of Louvain, the lion is documented in a 1306 towns seal of Kerpen, together with the red lion of Limburg. Up to the present, the Brabant lion features as the charge on the coats of arms of both Flemish and Walloon Brabant, and of the Dutch province of North Brabant. The regions name is first recorded as the Carolingian shire pagus Bracbatensis, upon the 843 Treaty of Verdun it was part of Lotharingia within short-lived Middle Francia, and was ceded to East Francia according to the 880 Treaty of Ribemont. In earlier Roman times, the Nervii, a Belgic tribe and they were incorporated into the Roman province of Belgica, and considered to have both Celtic and Germanic cultural links. At the end of the Roman period the region was conquered by the Germanic Franks, in 959 the East Frankish king Otto I of Germany elevated Count Godfrey of Jülich to the rank of duke of Lower Lorraine. In 962 the duchy became a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Here, the counts of Leuven rose to power, when about 1000 Count Lambert I the Bearded married Gerberga, the daughter of Duke Charles of Lower Lorraine, and acquired the County of Brussels. About 1024 southernmost Brabant fell to Count Reginar V of Mons, in 1190, after the death of Godfrey III, Henry I also became Duke of Lower Lotharingia. By that time the title had lost most of its territorial authority, according to protocol, all his successors were thereafter called Dukes of Brabant and Lower Lotharingia. After the Battle of Worringen in 1288, the dukes of Brabant also acquired the Duchy of Limburg, in 1354 Duke John III of Brabant granted a Joyous Entry to the citizens of Brabant. In 1430 the Duchies of Lower Lotharingia, Brabant and Limburg were inherited by Philip the Good of Burgundy, in 1477 the Duchy of Brabant became part of the House of Habsburg as part of the dowry of Mary of Burgundy. At that time the Duchy extended from Luttre, south of Nivelles to s Hertogenbosch, the subsequent history of Brabant is part of the history of the Habsburg Seventeen Provinces. The Eighty Years War brought the parts under military control of the northern insurgents. The southern part remained in Spanish Habsburg hands as a part of the Southern Netherlands and it was transferred to the Austrian branch of the Habsburg monarchy in 1714
17.
County of Flanders
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The County of Flanders was a historic territory in the Low Countries. From 862 onwards the Counts of Flanders were one of the twelve peers of the Kingdom of France. For centuries their estates around the cities of Ghent, Bruges and Ypres formed one of the most affluent regions in Europe, up to 1477, the area under French suzerainty was located west of the Scheldt River and was called Royal Flanders. Aside from this the Counts of Flanders from the 11th century on also held land east of the river as a fief of the Holy Roman Empire, an area called Imperial Flanders. Part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1384, the county was removed from French to Imperial control after the Peace of Madrid in 1526. In 1795 the remaining territory within the Austrian Netherlands was incorporated by the French First Republic, the former County of Flanders, except for French Flanders, is the only part of the medieval French kingdom that is not part of modern-day France. Flanders and Flemish are likely derived from the Frisian *flāndra and *flāmisk, the Flemish people are first mentioned in the biography of Saint Eligius, the Vita sancti Eligii. This work was written before 684, but only known since 725 and this work mentions the Flanderenses, who lived in Flandris. The geography of the historic County of Flanders only partially overlaps with present-day region of Flanders in Belgium, though there it extends beyond West Flanders. Some of the county is now part of France and the Netherlands. The arms of the County of Flanders were allegedly created by Philip of Alsace, count of Flanders from 1168 to 1191, as a result, the arms of the county live on as arms of the Flemish Community. It is said that Philip of Alsace brought the flag with him from the Holy Land, where in 1177 he supposedly conquered it from a Saracen knight. The simple fact that the lion appeared on his personal seal since 1163, in reality Philip was following a West-European trend. In the same period also appeared in the arms of Brabant, Luxembourg, Holland, Limburg. It is curious that the lion as a symbol was mostly used in border territories. It was in all likelihood a way of showing independence from the emperor, in Europe the lion had been a well-known figure since Roman times, through works such as the fables of Aesop. The future county of Flanders had been inhabited since prehistory, during the Iron Age the Kemmelberg formed an important Celtic settlement. During the times of Julius Caesar, the inhabitants were part of the Belgae, for Flanders in specific these were the Menapii, the Morini, the Nervii and the Atrebates
18.
The Last Judgment (Memling)
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The Last Judgment is a triptych attributed to German painter Hans Memling and painted between 1467 and 1471. It is now in the National Museum in Gdańsk in Poland and it was commissioned by Angelo Tani, an agent of the Medici at Bruges, but was captured at sea by Paul Beneke, a privateer from Danzig. It was placed in the Basilica of the Assumption but in the 20th century it was moved to its present location, the central panel shows Jesus sitting in judgment on the world, while St Michael the Archangel is weighing souls and driving the damned towards Hell. On the left panel, the saved are being guided into heaven by St Peter. On the right-hand panel, the damned are being dragged to Hell, National Museum in Gdańsks page on the painting The Last Judgement Triptych
19.
Battle of Nancy
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Renés forces won the battle, and Charles mutilated body was found three days later. Charles was besieging the city of Nancy, capital of Lorraine, by late December René had gathered some 10-12,000 men from Lorraine and the Lower Union. A Swiss army of 10,000 men arrived to help out, René began his advance on Nancy early in January 1477, moving cautiously through the snow-covered landscape until they reached Nancy early on the morning of 5 January. Charles, as usual, deployed his troops to a battle plan despite the short notice he received of the approach of Renés forces. If Charles suffered from a lack of scouting, the same could not be said for the Allied army, despite the driving snow cutting visibility to a few yards, the Allied scouts soon recognized that a frontal assault on the Burgundian position would be disastrous. The small rearguard of 800 handgunners acted as reserve, after a march lasting some two hours, the center force emerged from the wooded slopes slightly to the rear of the Burgundian position and formed up in a wedge formation. The early notes of the Swiss horns sounded thrice, and the Swiss charged downhill into the Burgundian positions, the artillery attempted to retrain on the center force but could not elevate enough to be effective, the single volley discharged killed but two men. Although the right wing Burgundian cavalry held off the Swiss rivals, the Vanguard threw back the Burgundian left wing and put the artillery to flight. It is thought that during the fight Charles said, I struggle against a spider who is everywhere at once, determined to the last, Charles and his staff tried in vain to rally the broken army, but without success. His small band was carried with the flight until eventually surrounded by a party of Swiss, a halberdier quickly swung at the Dukes head and landed a deadly blow directly on his helmet. He was seen to fall but the battle flowed on around him and it was three days until the Dukes disfigured body was finally found and positively identified amongst the detritus of the slaughter. René II built the church of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours on the site of the battle, and he furthermore built the basilique of Saint-Nicolas-de-Port to recognize the help of St. Nicholas in the battle. The city adopted the motto of non inultus premor and the device of a thistle as its coat of arms to commemorate the defeat of Charles the Bold. René II also erected a cross to mark the spot where the body of Charles was found, the nearby étang Saint-Jean was drained in the 19th century, freeing the area of what is now Place de la Croix-de-Bourgogne in Nancy. The original cross was moved to the Lorraine museum, the current monument is a design by Victor Prouvé. Pierre de Blarru, canon of Saint-Dié, composed a vast poem called la Nancéide, in 5,044 Latin verses, in La Malgrange, a tower was erected in 1877 to commemorate the attack of René II. Battle of Grandson Battle of Morat Duchy of Burgundy Old Swiss Confederacy Battles of the Old Swiss Confederacy
20.
Knights Hospitaller
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It was headquartered variously in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta, until it became known by its current name. Some scholars, however, consider that the Amalfitan order and hospital were different from Gerard Thoms order and it regained strength during the early 19th century as it redirected itself toward religious and humanitarian causes. In 1834, the order, by this time known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, acquired new headquarters in Rome, in 800, Emperor Charlemagne enlarged Probus hospital and added a library to it. About 200 years later, in 1005, Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah destroyed the hospital, in 1023, merchants from Amalfi and Salerno in Italy were given permission by the Caliph Ali az-Zahir of Egypt to rebuild the hospital in Jerusalem. The hospital, which was built on the site of the monastery of Saint John the Baptist and it was served by the Order of Saint Benedict. Gerard acquired territory and revenues for his order throughout the Kingdom of Jerusalem, under his successor, Raymond du Puy de Provence, the original hospice was expanded to an infirmary near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Initially the group cared for pilgrims in Jerusalem, but the order extended to providing pilgrims with an armed escort. Thus the Order of St. John imperceptibly became military without losing its charitable character. Raymond du Puy, who succeeded Gerard as Master of the Hospital in 1118, organised a militia from the orders members, in 1130, Pope Innocent II gave the order its coat of arms, a silver cross in a field of red. The Hospitallers and the Knights Templar became the most formidable military orders in the Holy Land, frederick Barbarossa, the Holy Roman Emperor, pledged his protection to the Knights of St. John in a charter of privileges granted in 1185. The statutes of Roger de Moulins deal only with the service of the sick, the order numbered three distinct classes of membership, the military brothers, the brothers infirmarians, and the brothers chaplains, to whom was entrusted the divine service. In 1248 Pope Innocent IV approved a military dress for the Hospitallers to be worn during battle. Instead of a closed cape over their armour, they wore a red surcoat with a cross emblazoned on it. Many of the more substantial Christian fortifications in the Holy Land were built by the Templars, at the height of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Hospitallers held seven great forts and 140 other estates in the area. The two largest of these, their bases of power in the Kingdom and in the Principality of Antioch, were the Krak des Chevaliers, the property of the Order was divided into priories, subdivided into bailiwicks, which in turn were divided into commanderies. As early as the late 12th century the order had begun to achieve recognition in the Kingdom of England, as a result, buildings such as St Johns Jerusalem and the Knights Gate, Quenington in England were built on land donated to the order by local nobility. An Irish house was established at Kilmainham, near Dublin, after the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1291, the Knights were confined to the County of Tripoli and, when Acre was captured in 1291, the order sought refuge in the Kingdom of Cyprus. His successor, Foulques de Villaret, executed the plan, and on 15 August 1310, after four years of campaigning
21.
Altarpiece
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An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing behind the altar of a Christian church. Altarpieces were one of the most important products of Christian art especially from the late Middle Ages to the era of the Counter-Reformation. Large number of altarpieces are now removed from their settings, and often their elaborate sculpted frameworks. Altarpieces seem to have begun to be used during the 11th century, the reasons and forces that led to the development of altarpieces are not generally agreed upon. The habit of placing decorated reliquaries of saints on or behind the altar, as well as the tradition of decorating the front of the altar with sculptures or textiles, an elaborate example of such an early altarpiece is the Pala dOro in Venice. The appearance and development of these first altarpieces marked an important turning point both in the history of Christian art and Christian religious practice, the autonomous image now assumed a legitimate position at the centre of Christian worship. Painted panel altars emerged in Italy during the 13th century, in the 13th century, it is not uncommon to find frescoed or mural altarpieces in Italy, mural paintings behind the altar function as visual complements for the liturgy. These altarpieces were influenced by Byzantine art, notably icons, which reached Western Europe in greater numbers following the conquest of Constantinople in 1204. During this time, altarpieces began to be decorated with an outer. Vigoroso da Sienas altarpiece from 1291 display such an altarpiece and this treatment of the altarpiece would eventually pave the way for the emergence, in the 14th century, of the polyptych. The sculpted elements in the emerging polyptychs often took inspiration from contemporary Gothic architecture, in Italy, they were still typically executed in wood and painted, while in northern Europe altarpieces were often made of stone. The early 14th century saw the emergence, in Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, the Baltic region, by hinging the outer panels to the central panel and painting them on both sides, the motif could be regulated by opening or closing the wings. The pictures could thus be changed depending on liturgical demands, the earliest often displayed sculptures on the inner panels, i. e. displayed when open, and paintings on the back of the wings, displayed when closed. With the advent of winged altarpieces, a shift in imagery also occurred, instead of being centred on a single holy figure, altarpieces began to portray more complex narratives linked to the Christian concept of salvation. As the Middle Ages progressed, altarpieces began to be commissioned more frequently, in Northern Europe, initially Lübeck and later Antwerp would develop into veritable export centres for the production of altarpieces, exporting to Scandinavia, Spain and northern France. By the 15th century, altarpieces were often commissioned not only by churches but also by individuals, families, guilds, the 15th century saw the birth of Early Netherlandish painting in the Low Countries, henceforth panel painting would dominate altarpiece production in the area. In Germany, sculpted wooden altarpieces were instead generally preferred, while in England alabaster was used to a large extent, in England, as well as in France, stone retables enjoyed general popularity. In Italy both stone retables and wooden polyptychs were common, with painted panels and often with complex framing in the form of architectural compositions
22.
Scenes from the Passion of Christ
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Scenes from the Passion of Christ is an oil painting on a panel of Baltic oak, painted c.1470 by German-born Early Netherlandish painter Hans Memling. The painting is small,56.7 ×92.2 cm. It may have intended for Portinaris chapel in the church of St Jacob in Bruges. It was not catalogued in Portinaris belongings when he died in 1501 and it is first recorded in the collection of Cosimo I in Florence in 1550. The painting is now held by the Galleria Sabauda in Turin, the scenes are distributed in and around an idealized Jerusalem, depicted as a walled medieval city with exotic towers topped by domes. The high birds-eye point of view makes Calvary visible behind the city
23.
Sabauda Gallery
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The Sabauda Gallery is an art collection in Turin, Italy, which contains the royal art collections amassed by the House of Savoy over the centuries. It is located on Via XX September,86, on October 2,1832, King Charles Albert of Savoy inaugurated the royal gallery at the Palazzo Madama, containing 365 paintings. In 1865, Massimo dAzeglio had the collection transferred to Guarino Guarinis Palazzo dellAccademia delle Scienze where it stood until 2012, on December 4,2014, at the presence of the Italian Minister of Culture, the Manica Nuova of Palazzo Reale was official opened. The collection has now found its place to be exhibited. The gallery is based on a new museum project conceived and developed by the superintendent Edith Gabrielli together with Studio Albini Associati. The lighting is by CastagnaRavelli Studio, based in Milan, the graphic is by Noorda Design
24.
Turin
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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
25.
House of Medici
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The family originated in the Mugello region of the Tuscan countryside, gradually rising until they were able to fund the Medici Bank. The bank was the largest in Europe during the 15th century, the Medici produced three Popes of the Catholic Church—Pope Leo X, Pope Clement VII, and Pope Leo XI, two regent queens of France—Catherine de Medici and Marie de Medici. In 1531, the family became hereditary Dukes of Florence, in 1569, the duchy was elevated to a grand duchy after territorial expansion. They ruled the Grand Duchy of Tuscany from its inception until 1737, the grand duchy witnessed degrees of economic growth under the earlier grand dukes, but by the time of Cosimo III de Medici, Tuscany was fiscally bankrupt. Their wealth and influence initially derived from the textile trade guided by the guild of the Arte della Lana. They, along with families of Italy—such as the Visconti and Sforza of Milan, the Este of Ferrara. The Medici Bank was one of the most prosperous and most respected institutions in Europe, there are some estimates that the Medici family were the wealthiest family in Europe for a time. From this base, they acquired political power initially in Florence and later in wider Italy, a notable contribution to the profession of accounting was the improvement of the general ledger system through the development of the double-entry bookkeeping system for tracking credits and debits. The Medici family were among the earliest businesses to use the system, the Medici family came from the agricultural Mugello region, north of Florence, being mentioned for the first time in a document of 1230. The origin of the name is uncertain, Medici is the plural of medico, also written del medico or delmedigo, meaning, medical doctor. It has been suggested that the derived from one Medico di Potrone, a castellan of Potrone in the late 11th century. The dynasty began with the founding of the Medici Bank, until the late 14th century, prior to the Medici, the leading family of Florence was the House of Albizzi. In 1293 the Ordinances of Justice were enacted, which became the constitution of the republic of Florence throughout the Italian Renaissance. The citys numerous luxurious palazzi were becoming surrounded by townhouses, built by the ever prospering merchant class. In 1298, one of the leading banking families of Europe, the main challengers to the Albizzi family were the Medicis, first under Giovanni de Medici, later under his son Cosimo di Giovanni de Medici and great-grandson, Lorenzo de Medici. The Medici controlled the Medici bank—then Europes largest bank—and an array of other enterprises in Florence, in 1433, the Albizzi managed to have Cosimo exiled. The next year, however, a pro-Medici Signoria was elected, the Medici became the citys leading family, a position they would hold for the next three centuries. Cosimo and Lorenzo rarely held official posts but were the unquestioned leaders, some examples of these families include the Bardi, Salviati, Cavalcanti, and the Tornabuoni
26.
Duchy of Burgundy
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Upon the extinction of the line with the death of Duke Philip I in 1361, the duchy fell back to King John II of France and the royal House of Valois. The Burgundian duchy rose to a complex of a European scale after in 1363 King John II of France ceded the duchy to his younger son Philip of Valois. By his marriage with Countess Margaret of Flanders, he laid the foundation for a Burgundian realm further north in the Low Countries collectively known as the Burgundian Netherlands. The Burgundian sphere, in its own right, was one of the largest ducal territories that existed at the time of the emergence of Early Modern Europe. Including the thriving regions of Flanders and Brabant, it was a centre of trade. After about one hundred years of Valois-Burgundy rule, however, the last duke Charles the Bold rushed to the Burgundian Wars and was killed in the 1477 Battle of Nancy. With the abdication of the Habsburg emperor Charles V in 1556, the Burgundians settled in the area around Dijon, Chalon-sur-Saône, Mâcon, Autun and Châtillon-sur-Seine, and gave the name to the region. The Kingdom of the Burgundians was annexed by the Merovingian Kings of the Franks Childebert I in 534 following their defeat by the Franks and it was recreated, however, on several occasions when Frankish territories were redivided between the sons on the death of a Frankish king. As part of the Kingdom of the Franks, Burgundy maintained a semi-autonomous existence, with the Burgundians maintaining their own law code, however, southern Burgundy was pillaged by the Saracen invasion of the 8th century. When Charles Martel drove the invaders out, he divided Burgundy into four commands, Arles-Burgundy, Vienne-Burgundy, Alamanic Burgundy and he appointed his brother Childebrand governor of Frankish Burgundy. Under the Carolingians, Burgundian separatism lessened and Burgundy became a geographical term. As a vital military defender of the West Frankish border, Guerin was sometimes known by the Latin term for leader – Dux or Duke, by the time of Richard the Justiciar, the Duchy of Burgundy was beginning to emerge. Richard was officially recognised by the king as a duke, he stood as individual count of each county he held. As Duke of Burgundy, he was able to wield an increasing amount of power over his territory, to the collective body of his territory there came to be applied the term ducatus. Included in the ducatus of Richard were the regions of Autunais, Beaunois, Avalois, Lassois, Dijonais, Memontois, Attuyer, Oscheret, under Richard, these territories were given law and order, protected from the Normans, and served as a haven for persecuted monks. It was from his territories in Burgundy that he drew the resources needed to fight those who challenged his right to rule, under Hugh the Black came the beginning of what would be a long and troubled saga for Burgundy. His neighbours were the Robertian family, who held the title of Duke of Francia and this family, wanting to improve their standing in France and against the Carolingian kings, attempted to subject the duchy to the suzerainty of their own duchy. They failed, eventually, when they appeared close to success, they were forced to scrap the scheme, two brothers of Hugh Capet, the first Capetian King of France, took up the rule of Burgundy as duke
27.
Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy
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Archduchess Margaret of Austria, Princess of Asturias and Duchess of Savoy by her two marriages, was Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1507 to 1515 and again from 1519 to 1530. Margaret was born on 10 January 1480, as the child and only daughter of Maximilian of Austria and Mary of Burgundy. She was named after her stepgrandmother, Margaret of York, Dowager Duchess of Burgundy, who was especially close to Duchess Mary. In 1482, Margarets mother died and her brother, Philip the Handsome. In 1482, her father and the King Louis XI of France signed the Treaty of Arras, the engagement took place in 1483. Margaret, with Franche-Comté and Artois as her dowry, was transferred to the guardianship of King Louis XI of France and she was educated at the French royal court and prepared for her future role as queen of France. She was raised as a fille de France by Madame de Segré, under the supervision of her fiancés sister and regent, several French noble children had their education overseen by Anne as well, amongst which Louise of Savoy, with whom she would later negotiate peace. Margaret developed genuine affection for Charles, however, in the autumn of 1491, he renounced the treaty and married Margarets stepmother Anne, Duchess of Brittany, for political reasons. The French court had ceased treating Margaret as queen early in 1491, the Duchess of Brittany had been married to Margarets father by proxy but their marriage was annulled. Margaret was not returned to her stepgrandmothers court until June 1493, Margaret was hurt by Charless action and was left with a feeling of enduring resentment towards France. Margaret left the Netherlands for Spain late in 1496, the marriage took place in 1497. John died after six months, on 4 October. Margaret was left pregnant, but on 2 April 1498 she gave birth to a stillborn daughter. The Dowager Princess of Asturias returned to the Netherlands early in 1500, in 1501, Margaret married Philibert II, Duke of Savoy. This marriage was childless as well, and he died three years. A grief-stricken Margaret threw herself out of a window, but was saved, after being persuaded to bury her husband, she had his heart enbalmed so she could keep it with her forever. She vowed never to marry again and her court historian and poet Jean Lemaire de Belges gave her the title Dame de deuil. During a remarkably successful career lasting from 1506 until her death in 1530, after the early death of her brother Philip of Spain, in November 1506 she became the only woman elected as its ruler by the representative assembly of Franche-Comté
28.
Triptych
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A triptych is a work of art that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works, the middle panel is typically the largest and it is flanked by two smaller related works, although there are triptychs of equal-sized panels. The form can also be used for pendant jewelry, despite its connection to an art format, the term is sometimes used more generally to connote anything with three parts, particularly if they are integrated into a single unit. The triptych form arises from early Christian art, and was a standard format for altar paintings from the Middle Ages onwards. Its geographical range was from the eastern Byzantine churches to the Celtic churches in the west, renaissance painters such as Hans Memling and Hieronymus Bosch used the form. Triptych forms also allow ease of transport, from the Gothic period onward, both in Europe and elsewhere, altarpieces in churches and cathedrals were often in triptych form. One such cathedral with an altarpiece triptych is Llandaff Cathedral, the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp, Belgium, contains two examples by Rubens, and Notre Dame de Paris is another example of the use of triptych in architecture. One can also see the form echoed by the structure of many stained glass windows. Although strongly identified as a form, triptychs outside that context have been created, some of the best-known examples being works by Hieronymus Bosch, Max Beckmann. The then highest price paid for an artwork at auction was $142.4 million for a 1969 triptych, Three Studies of Lucian Freud. The record was broken in May 2015 by $179.4 million for Pablo Picassos 1955 painting Les Femmes d’Alger, the format has migrated and been used in other religions, including Islam and Buddhism. Likewise, Tibetan Buddhists have used it in traditional altars, a photographic triptych is a common style used in modern commercial artwork. The photographs are arranged with a plain border between them. The work may consist of images that are variants on a theme
29.
House of Sforza
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Sforza was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan from the previously ruling Visconti family in the mid-15th century, rising from rural nobility, the Sforzas became condottieri and used this military position to become rulers in Milan. The family governed by force, ruse, and power politics, under their rule the city-state flourished and expanded. Muzio Attendolo, called Sforza, founded the dynasty, a condottiero from Romagna, he served the Angevin kings of Naples and became the most successful dynast of the condottieri. His son Francesco I Sforza ruled Milan, having acquired the title of Duke of Milan after the extinction of the Visconti family in 1447, the family also held the seigniory of Pesaro, starting from Muzio Attendolos second son, Alessandro. The Sforza held Pesaro until 1519, with the death of Galeazzo, muzios third son, Bosio, founded the branch of Santa Fiora, who held the title of count of Cotignola, the Sforza ruled the small county of Santa Fiora in southern Tuscany until 1624. Members of this family held important ecclesiastical and political position in the Papal States. The Sforza became allied with the Borgia family through the marriage between Lucrezia Borgia and Giovanni. This alliance failed as the Borgia annulled the marriage once the Sforzas were no longer needed, in 1499, in the course of the Italian Wars, the army of Louis XII of France took Milan from Ludovico Sforza. After Imperial German troops drove out the French, Maximilian Sforza, son of Ludovico, became Duke of Milan until the French returned under Francis I of France, thomas Harriss character Hannibal Lecter is a descendant of the House of Sforza. In the anime, manga and book series Trinity Blood, one of the Cardinals, Caterina Sforza appears as a non-playable character in the video game Assassins Creed 2 and its sequel, Assassins Creed, Brotherhood. The Sforza figure prominently in the Showtime series on the Borgia family, the house is mentioned in a song about the Borgia Family in the British edutainment TV show Horrible Histories. List of rulers of Milan Gradara House of Visconti Italian Wars Pesaro
30.
Crucifixion
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It is principally known from classical antiquity, but remains in occasional use in some countries. The crucifixion of Jesus is a narrative in Christianity. Ancient Greek has two verbs for crucify, ana-stauro, from stauros, stake, and apo-tumpanizo crucify on a plank, in earlier pre-Roman Greek texts anastauro usually means impale. New Testament Greek uses four verbs, three of them based upon stauros, usually translated cross, prospegnumi, to fix or fasten to, impale, crucify occurs only once at the Acts of the Apostles 2,23. The English term cross derives from the Latin word crux, the Latin term crux classically referred to a tree or any construction of wood used to hang criminals as a form of execution. The term later came to specifically to a cross. The English term crucifix derives from the Latin crucifixus or cruci fixus, past participle passive of crucifigere or cruci figere, Crucifixion was often performed in order to terrorize and dissuade its witnesses from perpetrating particularly heinous crimes. Victims were left on display after death as warnings to others who might attempt dissent, Crucifixion was usually intended to provide a death that was particularly slow, painful, gruesome, humiliating, and public, using whatever means were most expedient for that goal. Crucifixion methods varied considerably with location and time period, in some cases, the condemned was forced to carry the crossbeam to the place of execution. A whole cross would weigh well over 135 kg, but the crossbeam would not be quite as burdensome, weighing around 45 kg. Upright posts would presumably be fixed permanently in place. Objects used in the crucifixion of criminals, such as nails, were sought as amulets with perceived medicinal qualities, while a crucifixion was an execution, it was also a humiliation, by making the condemned as vulnerable as possible. Although artists have depicted the figure on a cross with a loin cloth or a covering of the genitals. Writings by Seneca the Younger state some victims suffered a stick forced upwards through their groin, despite its frequent use by the Romans, the horrors of crucifixion did not escape mention by some of their eminent orators. Frequently, the legs of the executed were broken or shattered with an iron club, an act called crurifragium. This act hastened the death of the person but was meant to deter those who observed the crucifixion from committing offenses. The gibbet on which crucifixion was carried out could be of many shapes, at times the gibbet was only one vertical stake, called in Latin crux simplex. This was the simplest available construction for torturing and killing the condemned, frequently, however, there was a cross-piece attached either at the top to give the shape of a T or just below the top, as in the form most familiar in Christian symbolism
31.
Bologna
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Bologna is the largest city of the Emilia-Romagna Region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy, located in the heart of an area of about one million. The first settlements back to at least 1000 BC. The city has been a centre, first under the Etruscans. Home to the oldest university in the world, University of Bologna, founded in 1088, Bologna is also an important transportation crossroad for the roads and trains of Northern Italy, where many important mechanical, electronic and nutritional industries have their headquarters. According to the most recent data gathered by the European Regional Economic Growth Index of 2009, Bologna is the first Italian city, Bologna is home to numerous prestigious cultural, economic and political institutions as well as one of the most impressive trade fair districts in Europe. In 2000 it was declared European capital of culture and in 2006, the city of Bologna was selected to participate in the Universal Exposition of Shanghai 2010 together with 45 other cities from around the world. Bologna is also one of the wealthiest cities in Italy, often ranking as one of the top cities in terms of quality of life in the country, after a long decline, Bologna was reborn in the 5th century under Bishop Petronius. According to legend, St. Petronius built the church of S. Stefano. After the fall of Rome, Bologna was a stronghold of the Exarchate of Ravenna in the Po plain. In 728, the city was captured by the Lombard king Liutprand, the Germanic conquerors formed a district called addizione longobarda near the complex of S. Stefano. Charlemagne stayed in this district in 786, traditionally said to be founded in 1088, the University of Bologna is widely considered to be the first university. The university originated as a centre of study of medieval Roman law under major glossators. It numbered Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarca among its students, the medical school is especially famous. In the 12th century, the families engaged in continual internecine fighting. Troops of Pope Julius II besieged Bologna and sacked the artistic treasures of his palace, in 1530, in front of Saint Petronio Church, Charles V was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Clement VII. Then a plague at the end of the 16th century reduced the population from 72,000 to 59,000, the population later recovered to a stable 60, 000–65,000. However, there was also great progress during this era, in 1564, the Piazza del Nettuno and the Palazzo dei Banchi were built, along with the Archiginnasio, the centre of the University
32.
Beaune Altarpiece
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The Beaune Altarpiece, often called The Last Judgement, is a large polyptych altarpiece by the Early Netherlandish artist Rogier van der Weyden. It was painted in oil on oak panels, with parts transferred to canvas. It consists of fifteen paintings on nine panels, six are painted on both sides and it retains some of its original frames. Six outer panels are hinged, when folded they show a view of saints. The inner panels contain scenes from the Last Judgement and are arranged across two registers, the large central panel that spans both registers shows Christ seated on a rainbow in judgement, with his feet resting on a golden globe. Below him the Archangel Michael holds scales as he weighs souls, the panel on Christs far right shows the gates of Heaven, that to his far left the entrance to Hell. The panels of the lower register form a landscape, with figures depicted moving from the central panel to their final destinations after receiving judgement. It is one of van der Weydens most ambitious works, equal to his Prado Deposition and lost Justice of Trajan and it remains in the hospice today, although not in its original position. It is in condition and was moved in the 20th century to shield it from sunlight. It has suffered from extensive paint loss, the wearing and darkening of its colours, in addition, a heavy layer of over-paint was applied during restoration. The two painted sides of the panels have been separated so both can be shown simultaneously, traditionally, the shutters would have been opened only on selected Sundays or church holidays. Nicolas Rolin was appointed Chancellor of Burgundy by Philip the Good in 1422 and his tenure with the duke made him a wealthy man, and he donated a large portion of his fortune for the foundation of the Hôtel-Dieu in Beaune. It is not known why he decided to build in Beaune rather than in his birthplace of Autun and he may have chosen Beaune because it lacked a hospital and an outbreak of the plague decimated the population between 1438 and 1440. The hospice was built after Rolin gained permission from Pope Eugene IV in 1441, in conjunction, Rolin established the religious order of Les sœurs hospitalières de Beaune. In the late 1450s, only a few years before he died, Rolins wife, Guigone de Salins, played a major role in the foundation, as probably did his nephew Jan Rolin. De Salins lived and served at the hospice until her own death in 1470, documents regarding the artworks commissioning survive and, unusually for a Netherlandish altarpiece, the artist, patron, place of installation and date of completion are all known. It was intended as the centrepiece for the chapel, and Rolin approached van der Weyden around 1443, the altarpiece was ready by 1451, the year the chapel was consecrated. Painted in van der Weydens Brussels workshop – most likely with the aid of apprentices – the completed panels were transported to the hospice
33.
Raphael
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Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, he forms the traditional trinity of great masters of that period. Raphael was enormously productive, running a large workshop and, despite his death at 37. Many of his works are found in the Vatican Palace, where the frescoed Raphael Rooms were the central, the best known work is The School of Athens in the Vatican Stanza della Segnatura. After his early years in Rome much of his work was executed by his workshop from his drawings and he was extremely influential in his lifetime, though outside Rome his work was mostly known from his collaborative printmaking. Raphael was born in the small but artistically significant central Italian city of Urbino in the Marche region and his poem to Federico shows him as keen to show awareness of the most advanced North Italian painters, and Early Netherlandish artists as well. In the very court of Urbino he was probably more integrated into the central circle of the ruling family than most court painters. Under them, the court continued as a centre for literary culture, growing up in the circle of this small court gave Raphael the excellent manners and social skills stressed by Vasari. Castiglione moved to Urbino in 1504, when Raphael was no longer based there but frequently visited, Raphael mixed easily in the highest circles throughout his life, one of the factors that tended to give a misleading impression of effortlessness to his career. He did not receive a humanistic education however, it is unclear how easily he read Latin. His mother Màgia died in 1491 when Raphael was eight, followed on August 1,1494 by his father, Raphael was thus orphaned at eleven, his formal guardian became his only paternal uncle Bartolomeo, a priest, who subsequently engaged in litigation with his stepmother. He probably continued to live with his stepmother when not staying as an apprentice with a master and he had already shown talent, according to Vasari, who says that Raphael had been a great help to his father. A self-portrait drawing from his teenage years shows his precocity and his fathers workshop continued and, probably together with his stepmother, Raphael evidently played a part in managing it from a very early age. In Urbino, he came into contact with the works of Paolo Uccello, previously the court painter, and Luca Signorelli, according to Vasari, his father placed him in the workshop of the Umbrian master Pietro Perugino as an apprentice despite the tears of his mother. The evidence of an apprenticeship comes only from Vasari and another source, an alternative theory is that he received at least some training from Timoteo Viti, who acted as court painter in Urbino from 1495. An excess of resin in the varnish often causes cracking of areas of paint in the works of both masters, the Perugino workshop was active in both Perugia and Florence, perhaps maintaining two permanent branches. Raphael is described as a master, that is to say fully trained and his first documented work was the Baronci altarpiece for the church of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino in Città di Castello, a town halfway between Perugia and Urbino. Evangelista da Pian di Meleto, who had worked for his father, was named in the commission
34.
Portrait of Maddalena Doni
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The Portrait of Maddalena Doni is an oil painting by Italian Renaissance master Raphael, made in 1506. It is housed in the Pitti Palace in Florence, the portrait is one of a pair that depict a recently married merchant and his wife. Agnolo Doni married Maddalena Strozzi in 1503, but Raphaels portraits were executed in 1506. But the low horizon of the landscape background permits a careful assessment of the figure by providing a uniform light which defines surfaces and volumes. This relationship between landscape and figure presents a clear contrast to the settings of Leonardo, which communicate the threatening presence of nature. Every element - even those of secondary importance - works together to create a precise balance and these works, linked not only by the kinship of the subjects, but also by their evident stylistic homogeneity, mark the beginning of Raphaels artistic maturity. Portrait of Agnolo Doni Official website
35.
Domenico Grimani
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Domenico Grimani was an Italian nobleman, theologian and cardinal. Like most noble churchman of his era Grimani was an ecclesiastical pluralist, holding numerous posts, desiderius Erasmus dedicated to Grimani his Musica. Born in Venice, he was the eldest of five sons of Antonio Grimani, the oldest elected Doge of Venice, Antonio was elected doge in 1521, when Domenico was already a cardinal. He obtained a doctorate in law at the University of Padua on 23 October 1487 and was elected a Senator of Venice that same year. He became a cardinal in 1493, an appointment paid by his father with a sum of around 25, Grimani was not ordained a priest until 1498. After the election of Pope Julius II he became cardinal priest of San Marco, after a period as apostolic administrator in Nicosia, starting from 1498 he was Patriarch of Aquileia, a position he abandoned in favor of his nephew Marino in 1517. In 1508 he was named bishop of Albano, and was also administrator of the diocese of Urbino. The Grimani Breviary, now in the Biblioteca Marciana of Venice, is a key work in the history of Flemish illuminated manuscripts. It was produced in Ghent and Bruges ca 1515-1520 and by 1520 owned, though not originally commissioned. Several leading artists, including Simon Bening and Gerard David contributed some of their finest work to it, Grimani also wrote several theological treatises, and translated John Chrysostoms homilies Biography
36.
Pietro Bembo
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Pietro Bembo, O. S. I. H. was an Italian scholar, poet, literary theorist, member of the Knights Hospitaller and a cardinal. He was a figure in the development of the Italian language, specifically Tuscan, as a literary medium. His writings assisted in the 16th-century revival of interest in the works of Petrarch, Bembos ideas were also decisive in the formation of the most important secular musical form of the 16th century, the madrigal. Bembo was born in Venice to an aristocratic family and his father, Bernardo Bembo, cared deeply for the literature of the Italian people, erecting a monument to Dante in his hometown of Ravenna. The father also served as an ambassador for the Republic of Venice, one of the places he visited was Florence, there acquiring a love for the Tuscan form of Italian, a love which was to prove so important in literary and musical history. He studied Greek for two years under the Greek scholar Constantine Lascaris at Messina, and afterwards went to the University of Padua. Further travels included two years spent at the Este court in Ferrara, under the reign of Ercole dEste I, then a significant literary, while there he met Ariosto and commenced writing his first work, Gli Asolani, a dialogue on the subject of courtly love. The poems in book were reminiscent of Boccaccio and Petrarch. Bembo himself preferred his poetry to be performed by a singer accompanied by a lute. In 1502 and 1503 he was again in Ferrara, and had an affair with the notorious Lucrezia Borgia. In 1513 Bembo accompanied Giulio de Medici to Rome, where he was soon after appointed Latin secretary to Pope Leo X, in 1514 he became a member of the Knights Hospitaller, now known as the Knights of Malta. On the pontiffs death in 1521 he retired, with impaired health, to Padua, and there lived for a number of years, during which he continued to write, and in 1525 finally published his famous work. In 1530 he accepted the office of official historian of the Republic of Venice, his homeland, on 20 December 1538 Pope Paul III named him a cardinal in pectore and Bembo returned to Rome. The following year he received Holy Orders as a priest of the Order and he was advanced to the rank of Cardinal Priest in February 1542, with title to the Church of San Crisogono, changed two years later to that of the Basilica of San Clemente. While in Rome Bembo continued to write and revise his work, in addition to studying theology. He received as a reward for his achievements the administration of the dioceses of Gubbio and Bergamo and he died in Rome in his 77th year and was buried in the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, near his papal patron. As a writer, Bembo attempted to restore some of the legendary affect that ancient Greek had on its hearers, but in Tuscan Italian instead. He held as his model, and as the highest example of poetic expression ever achieved in Italian, the work of Petrarch and Boccaccio, two 14th century writers he assisted in bringing back into fashion
37.
Venice
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Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and these are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site. In 2014,264,579 people resided in Comune di Venezia, together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 2.6 million. PATREVE is a metropolitan area without any degree of autonomy. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC, the city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the La Dominante, Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City, and City of Canals. The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century and this made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period, Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Venice has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world as of 2016, the name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Eneti. The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti, Baltic Veneti, and the Slavic Wends. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen, so that *wenetoi would mean beloved, lovable, a connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color sea-blue, is also possible. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia, some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae, the traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto — said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421. Beginning as early as AD166 to 168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the center in the area. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, the traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Pauls magister militum. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II
38.
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
39.
Louvre
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The Louvre or the Louvre Museum is the worlds largest museum and a historic monument in Paris, France. A central landmark of the city, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the citys 1st arrondissement, approximately 38,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 72,735 square metres. The Louvre is the second most visited museum after the Palace Museum in China. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built as a fortress in the late 12th century under Philip II, remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. Due to the expansion of the city, the fortress eventually lost its defensive function and. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace, in 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years, during the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum to display the nations masterpieces. The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The collection was increased under Napoleon and the museum renamed Musée Napoléon, the collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and bequests since the Third Republic, whether this was the first building on that spot is not known, it is possible that Philip modified an existing tower. According to the authoritative Grand Larousse encyclopédique, the name derives from an association with wolf hunting den, in the 7th century, St. Fare, an abbess in Meaux, left part of her Villa called Luvra situated in the region of Paris to a monastery. This territory probably did not correspond exactly to the modern site, the Louvre Palace was altered frequently throughout the Middle Ages. In the 14th century, Charles V converted the building into a residence and in 1546, Francis acquired what would become the nucleus of the Louvres holdings, his acquisitions including Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa. After Louis XIV chose Versailles as his residence in 1682, constructions slowed, however, on 14 October 1750, Louis XV agreed and sanctioned a display of 96 pieces from the royal collection, mounted in the Galerie royale de peinture of the Luxembourg Palace. Under Louis XVI, the museum idea became policy. The comte dAngiviller broadened the collection and in 1776 proposed conversion of the Grande Galerie of the Louvre – which contained maps – into the French Museum, many proposals were offered for the Louvres renovation into a museum, however, none was agreed on. Hence the museum remained incomplete until the French Revolution, during the French Revolution the Louvre was transformed into a public museum. In May 1791, the Assembly declared that the Louvre would be a place for bringing together monuments of all the sciences, on 10 August 1792, Louis XVI was imprisoned and the royal collection in the Louvre became national property
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Sir John Donne
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Sir John Donne was a Welsh courtier, diplomat and soldier, a notable figure of the Yorkist party. In the 1470s he commissioned the Donne Triptych, an altarpiece by Hans Memling now in the National Gallery. It contains portraits of him, his wife Elizabeth and a daughter and he may well have been related to the Jacobean poet John Donne, although not as a direct ancestor, as he had no Donne grandchildren. The Donnes of Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire were a distinguished family and his father Griffith reputedly fought at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 and certainly in many other French campaigns, he was Lieutenant of Cherbourg in 1424. His mother was Joan Scudamore, a grandchild of Owain Glyndŵr, the last independent Prince of Wales, John Donne was born in France, in parts of Picardy, probably in the 1420s. Donne was their son who entered, probably in his late teens. He may have done so through the patronage of the leading Yorkist in South Wales, William ap Thomas, also an Agincourt veteran and father of Donnes contemporary William Herbert, Donne is recorded as having fought in France for the Duke, which must have been before 1447. It is from this and his apparent age in the Memling that his birth in the 1420s is estimated and he also fought for the Duke in England, and in the late 1440s in Ireland. Donne married before 1465 Elizabeth Hastings, sister of William, Lord Hastings, the favourite of Edward IV, Hastings had also been in the service of the Duke of York for all his adult life, so he and Donne must have known each other very well. The Donnes surviving children were first two daughters, Anne and Margaret, then two sons Edward and Griffith, on Edwards accession in 1461 he was made an Usher of the Chamber and started to become wealthy. From 1465–9 he was an Esquire of the Body and he was knighted on the field after the huge Yorkist victory of the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 and his wife was a damicellae or Lady-in-waiting, of the Queen. These chains would presumably have been presents from Edward to his close followers and he was probably the Jehan Don present at the extravagantly celebrated wedding in Bruges in 1468 of Charles the Bold and Margaret of York, sister of Edward IV. He may well have accompanied Edward in his Burgundian exile in 1470–1, much later, he was present when the widowed Margaret met her brother at what is now Syon House in 1480. He owned a house there, and was a member of the Calais council in 1471, involved in negotiations in 1472, by 1483 he was Deputy of the Tower of Risban, an outlying fort, and before 1497 Lieutenant of the Castle. It may well have been his main base for much of his career, the Donne Triptych by Hans Memling would presumably have been made in Bruges, and is believed to date from the 1470s. The National Gallery now favours a date in the late 1470s, perhaps 1478, the date on a copy, which is plausible. The Donne coat of arms appears on small escutcheons in the capital of the column behind Sir John, rather roughly represented, the Donne arms also appear in a glass roundel in the window in the right side panel. The portrait of Lady Donne was first painted with a younger, more generalized face, then overpainted, also by Memling and this may suggest Memling only saw her when the painting was well underway, and changed his picture to her actual features
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National Gallery
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The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the century to 1900. The Gallery is a charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media. Its collection belongs to the public of the United Kingdom and entry to the collection is free of charge. It is among the most visited art museums in the world, after the Musée du Louvre, the British Museum, unlike comparable museums in continental Europe, the National Gallery was not formed by nationalising an existing royal or princely art collection. It came into being when the British government bought 38 paintings from the heirs of John Julius Angerstein, after that initial purchase the Gallery was shaped mainly by its early directors, notably Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, and by private donations, which comprise two-thirds of the collection. It used to be claimed that this was one of the few national galleries that had all its works on permanent exhibition, the present building, the third to house the National Gallery, was designed by William Wilkins from 1832 to 1838. Only the façade onto Trafalgar Square remains essentially unchanged from this time, wilkinss building was often criticised for the perceived weaknesses of its design and for its lack of space, the latter problem led to the establishment of the Tate Gallery for British art in 1897. The Sainsbury Wing, an extension to the west by Robert Venturi, the current Director of the National Gallery is Gabriele Finaldi. The late 18th century saw the nationalisation of royal or princely art collections across mainland Europe, great Britain, however, did not emulate the continental model, and the British Royal Collection remains in the sovereigns possession today. In 1777 the British government had the opportunity to buy an art collection of international stature, the MP John Wilkes argued for the government to buy this invaluable treasure and suggested that it be housed in a noble gallery. The twenty-five paintings from that now in the Gallery, including NG1, have arrived by a variety of routes. This offer was declined and Bourgeois bequeathed the collection to his old school, Dulwich College, the collection opened in Britains first purpose-built public gallery, the Dulwich Picture Gallery, in 1814. The British Institution, founded in 1805 by a group of aristocratic connoisseurs, the members lent works to exhibitions that changed annually, while an art school was held in the summer months. However, as the paintings that were lent were often mediocre, some resented the Institution. One of the Institutions founding members, Sir George Beaumont, Bt, in 1823 another major art collection came on the market, which had been assembled by the recently deceased John Julius Angerstein. Angerstein was a Russian-born émigré banker based in London, his collection numbered 38 paintings, including works by Raphael, on 1 July 1823 George Agar Ellis, a Whig politician, proposed to the House of Commons that it purchase the collection. The appeal was given added impetus by Beaumonts offer, which came with two conditions, that the government buy Angersteins collection, and that a building was to be found
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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
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Portrait of Folco Portinari
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The Portrait of Folco Portinari is a painting by the German painter Hans Memling, dating to c. It is displayed in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence, Italy, the painting, for a period, was attributed to Antonello da Messina. It is documented for the first time at the Uffizi in 1863, later, together with three other paintings in the gallery, the painting was attributed to Memling due to its high quality. Of the four, the portrait of Folco Portinari is considered the latest one, the identification with Folco Portinari is anyway hypothetical
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Memlinc, Hans". Encyclopædia Britannica. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 104–105.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the 
Media related to Hans Memling at Wikimedia Commons
