1.
Italy
–
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
2.
Painting
–
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface. The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, Painting is a mode of creative expression, and the forms are numerous. Drawing, gesture, composition, narration, or abstraction, among other aesthetic modes, may serve to manifest the expressive, Paintings can be naturalistic and representational, photographic, abstract, narrative, symbolistic, emotive, or political in nature. A portion of the history of painting in both Eastern and Western art is dominated by motifs and ideas. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action, the term painting is also used outside of art as a common trade among craftsmen and builders. What enables painting is the perception and representation of intensity, every point in space has different intensity, which can be represented in painting by black and white and all the gray shades between. In practice, painters can articulate shapes by juxtaposing surfaces of different intensity, thus, the basic means of painting are distinct from ideological means, such as geometrical figures, various points of view and organization, and symbols. In technical drawing, thickness of line is ideal, demarcating ideal outlines of an object within a perceptual frame different from the one used by painters. Color and tone are the essence of painting as pitch and rhythm are the essence of music, color is highly subjective, but has observable psychological effects, although these can differ from one culture to the next. Black is associated with mourning in the West, but in the East, some painters, theoreticians, writers and scientists, including Goethe, Kandinsky, and Newton, have written their own color theory. Moreover, the use of language is only an abstraction for a color equivalent, the word red, for example, can cover a wide range of variations from the pure red of the visible spectrum of light. There is not a register of different colors in the way that there is agreement on different notes in music. For a painter, color is not simply divided into basic, painters deal practically with pigments, so blue for a painter can be any of the blues, phthalocyanine blue, Prussian blue, indigo, cobalt, ultramarine, and so on. Psychological and symbolical meanings of color are not, strictly speaking, colors only add to the potential, derived context of meanings, and because of this, the perception of a painting is highly subjective. The analogy with music is quite clear—sound in music is analogous to light in painting, shades to dynamics and these elements do not necessarily form a melody of themselves, rather, they can add different contexts to it. Modern artists have extended the practice of painting considerably to include, as one example, collage, some modern painters incorporate different materials such as sand, cement, straw or wood for their texture. Examples of this are the works of Jean Dubuffet and Anselm Kiefer, there is a growing community of artists who use computers to paint color onto a digital canvas using programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, and many others. These images can be printed onto traditional canvas if required, rhythm is important in painting as it is in music
3.
Baroque
–
The style began around 1600 in Rome and Italy, and spread to most of Europe. The aristocracy viewed the dramatic style of Baroque art and architecture as a means of impressing visitors by projecting triumph, power, Baroque palaces are built around an entrance of courts, grand staircases, and reception rooms of sequentially increasing opulence. However, baroque has a resonance and application that extend beyond a reduction to either a style or period. It is also yields the Italian barocco and modern Spanish barroco, German Barock, Dutch Barok, others derive it from the mnemonic term Baroco, a supposedly laboured form of syllogism in logical Scholastica. The Latin root can be found in bis-roca, in informal usage, the word baroque can simply mean that something is elaborate, with many details, without reference to the Baroque styles of the 17th and 18th centuries. The word Baroque, like most periodic or stylistic designations, was invented by later critics rather than practitioners of the arts in the 17th, the term Baroque was initially used in a derogatory sense, to underline the excesses of its emphasis. In particular, the term was used to describe its eccentric redundancy and noisy abundance of details, although it was long thought that the word as a critical term was first applied to architecture, in fact it appears earlier in reference to music. Another hypothesis says that the word comes from precursors of the style, Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola and he did not make the distinctions between Mannerism and Baroque that modern writers do, and he ignored the later phase, the academic Baroque that lasted into the 18th century. Long despised, Baroque art and architecture became fashionable between the two World Wars, and has remained in critical favour. In painting the gradual rise in popular esteem of Caravaggio has been the best barometer of modern taste, William Watson describes a late phase of Shang-dynasty Chinese ritual bronzes of the 11th century BC as baroque. The term Baroque may still be used, usually pejoratively, describing works of art, craft, the appeal of Baroque style turned consciously from the witty, intellectual qualities of 16th-century Mannerist art to a visceral appeal aimed at the senses. It employed an iconography that was direct, simple, obvious, germinal ideas of the Baroque can also be found in the work of Michelangelo. Even more generalised parallels perceived by some experts in philosophy, prose style, see the Neapolitan palace of Caserta, a Baroque palace whose construction began in 1752. In paintings Baroque gestures are broader than Mannerist gestures, less ambiguous, less arcane and mysterious, more like the stage gestures of opera, Baroque poses depend on contrapposto, the tension within the figures that move the planes of shoulders and hips in counterdirections. Baroque is a style of unity imposed upon rich, heavy detail, Baroque style featured exaggerated lighting, intense emotions, release from restraint, and even a kind of artistic sensationalism. There were highly diverse strands of Italian baroque painting, from Caravaggio to Cortona, the most prominent Spanish painter of the Baroque was Diego Velázquez. The later Baroque style gradually gave way to a more decorative Rococo, while the Baroque nature of Rembrandts art is clear, the label is less often used for Vermeer and many other Dutch artists. Flemish Baroque painting shared a part in this trend, while continuing to produce the traditional categories
4.
Rococo
–
Rococo artists and architects used a more jocular, florid, and graceful approach to the Baroque. Their style was ornate and used light colours, asymmetrical designs, curves, unlike the political Baroque, the Rococo had playful and witty themes. By the end of the 18th century, Rococo was largely replaced by the Neoclassic style. In 1835 the Dictionary of the French Academy stated that the word Rococo usually covers the kind of ornament, style and design associated with Louis XVs reign and it includes therefore, all types of art from around the middle of the 18th century in France. The word is seen as a combination of the French rocaille and coquilles, the term may also be a combination of the Italian word barocco and the French rocaille and may describe the refined and fanciful style that became fashionable in parts of Europe in the 18th century. The Rococo love of shell-like curves and focus on decorative arts led some critics to say that the style was frivolous or merely modish, when the term was first used in English in about 1836, it was a colloquialism meaning old-fashioned. While there is some debate about the historical significance of the style to art in general. Italian architects of the late Baroque/early Rococo were wooed to Catholic Germany, Bohemia and Austria by local princes, an exotic but in some ways more formal type of Rococo appeared in France where Louis XIVs succession brought a change in the court artists and general artistic fashion. By the end of the long reign, rich Baroque designs were giving way to lighter elements with more curves. These elements are obvious in the designs of Nicolas Pineau. During the Régence, court life moved away from Versailles and this change became well established, first in the royal palace. The delicacy and playfulness of Rococo designs is seen as perfectly in tune with the excesses of Louis XVs reign. The 1730s represented the height of Rococo development in France, the style had spread beyond architecture and furniture to painting and sculpture, exemplified by the works of Antoine Watteau and François Boucher. The Rococo style was spread by French artists and engraved publications, william Hogarth helped develop a theoretical foundation for Rococo beauty. Though not intentionally referencing the movement, he argued in his Analysis of Beauty that the lines and S-curves prominent in Rococo were the basis for grace. The development of Rococo in Great Britain is considered to have connected with the revival of interest in Gothic architecture early in the 18th century. The beginning of the end for Rococo came in the early 1760s as figures like Voltaire and Jacques-François Blondel began to voice their criticism of the superficiality, Blondel decried the ridiculous jumble of shells, dragons, reeds, palm-trees and plants in contemporary interiors. By 1785, Rococo had passed out of fashion in France, replaced by the order, in Germany, late 18th century Rococo was ridiculed as Zopf und Perücke, and this phase is sometimes referred to as Zopfstil
5.
Venice
–
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
6.
Portrait
–
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person, for this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the painter or photographer, nonetheless, many subjects, such as Akhenaten and some other Egyptian pharaohs, can be recognised by their distinctive features. The 28 surviving rather small statues of Gudea, ruler of Lagash in Sumeria between c.2144 -2124 BC, show a consistent appearance with some individuality. Some of the earliest surviving painted portraits of people who were not rulers are the Greco-Roman funeral portraits that survived in the dry climate of Egypts Fayum district. These are almost the only paintings from the world that have survived, apart from frescos, though many sculptures. Although the appearance of the figures differs considerably, they are considerably idealized, the art of the portrait flourished in Ancient Greek and especially Roman sculpture, where sitters demanded individualized and realistic portraits, even unflattering ones. During the 4th century, the portrait began to retreat in favor of a symbol of what that person looked like. In the Europe of the Early Middle Ages representations of individuals are mostly generalized, true portraits of the outward appearance of individuals re-emerged in the late Middle Ages, in tomb monuments, donor portraits, miniatures in illuminated manuscripts and then panel paintings. Moche culture of Peru was one of the few ancient civilizations which produced portraits and these works accurately represent anatomical features in great detail. The individuals portrayed would have been recognizable without the need for other symbols or a reference to their names. The individuals portrayed were members of the elite, priests, warriors. They were represented during several stages of their lives, the faces of gods were also depicted. To date, no portraits of women have been found, there is particular emphasis on the representation of the details of headdresses, hairstyles, body adornment and face painting. One of the portraits in the Western world is Leonardo da Vincis painting titled Mona Lisa. What has been claimed as the worlds oldest known portrait was found in 2006 in the Vilhonneur grotto near Angoulême and is thought to be 27,000 years old. Profile view, full view, and three-quarter view, are three common designations for portraits, each referring to a particular orientation of the head of the individual depicted. Such terms would tend to have greater applicability to two-dimensional artwork such as photography, in the case of three-dimensional artwork, the viewer can usually alter their orientation to the artwork by moving around it
7.
Naples
–
Naples is the capital of the Italian region Campania and the third-largest municipality in Italy, after Rome and Milan. In 2015, around 975,260 people lived within the administrative limits. The Metropolitan City of Naples had a population of 3,115,320, Naples is the 9th-most populous urban area in the European Union with a population of between 3 million and 3.7 million. About 4.4 million people live in the Naples metropolitan area, Naples is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Bronze Age Greek settlements were established in the Naples area in the second millennium BC, a larger colony – initially known as Parthenope, Παρθενόπη – developed on the Island of Megaride around the ninth century BC, at the end of the Greek Dark Ages. Naples remained influential after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, thereafter, in union with Sicily, it became the capital of the Two Sicilies until the unification of Italy in 1861. Naples was the most-bombed Italian city during World War II, much of the citys 20th-century periphery was constructed under Benito Mussolinis fascist government, and during reconstruction efforts after World War II. The city has experienced significant economic growth in recent decades, and unemployment levels in the city, however, Naples still suffers from political and economic corruption, and unemployment levels remain high. Naples has the fourth-largest urban economy in Italy, after Milan, Rome and it is the worlds 103rd-richest city by purchasing power, with an estimated 2011 GDP of US$83.6 billion. The port of Naples is one of the most important in Europe, numerous major Italian companies, such as MSC Cruises Italy S. p. A, are headquartered in Naples. The city also hosts NATOs Allied Joint Force Command Naples, the SRM Institution for Economic Research, Naples is a full member of the Eurocities network of European cities. The city was selected to become the headquarters of the European institution ACP/UE and was named a City of Literature by UNESCOs Creative Cities Network, the Villa Rosebery, one of the three official residences of the President of Italy, is located in the citys Posillipo district. Naples historic city centre is the largest in Europe, covering 1,700 hectares and enclosing 27 centuries of history, Naples has long been a major cultural centre with a global sphere of influence, particularly during the Renaissance and Enlightenment eras. In the immediate vicinity of Naples are numerous culturally and historically significant sites, including the Palace of Caserta, culinarily, Naples is synonymous with pizza, which originated in the city. Neapolitan music has furthermore been highly influential, credited with the invention of the romantic guitar, according to CNN, the metro stop Toledo is the most beautiful in Europe and it won also the LEAF Award 2013 as Public building of the year. Naples is the Italian city with the highest number of accredited stars from the Michelin Guide, Naples sports scene is dominated by football and Serie A club S. S. C. Napoli, two-time Italian champions and winner of European trophies, who play at the San Paolo Stadium in the south-west of the city, the Phlegraean Fields around Naples has been inhabited since the Neolithic period. The earliest Greek settlements were established in the Naples area in the second millennium BC, sailors from the Greek island of Rhodes established a small commercial port called Parthenope on the island of Megaride in the ninth century BC
8.
Giuseppe Nogari
–
Giuseppe Nogari was an Italian painter of the Rococo. He painted mainly painted portraits, either real or of historical. They are striking for their content, subdued decoration and coloration. He is said to have trained under Antonio Balestra or, more likely and he followed the latter style, as well as those of Rosalba Carriera, Jacopo Amigoni, and Rembrandt. He was patronized by two German patrons in Venice, Sigismund Streit and Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg, from 1739 to 1742 Nogari worked for the House of Savoy in Turin, painting canvasses and decorating the Royal Palace of Turin and the hunting lodge at Stupinigi. In 1756, he became a member of the Venetian Accademia di Pittura e Scultura, alessandro Longhi was one of his pupils. In 1997, a painting of Nogari was used in a sting wherein employees, including an Old Masters expert of Sothebys in London, web Gallery of Art Biography Old woman with crutch Old woman with shawl Peter the apostle
9.
Charles Joseph Flipart
–
Charles Joseph Flipart was a French painter and engraver. He was born in Paris, the brother of Jean Jacques Flipart and he visited Venice, and studied painting under Tiepolo and Amigoni, and engraving under Joseph Wagner. After staying some time at Rome he was appointed painter and engraver by King Ferdinand VI of Spain in 1770. His best plates are the portraits of the King and the Queen of Spain, some of his paintings are in two of the churches at Madrid, where he died in 1797. Bouvy, E. Les escénes de la vie venitienne de Pietro Longhi et Charles-Joseph Flipart, LAmateur dEstampes, IX,1930, no. Triunfo de la estampa ilustrada, «El grabado en España », Summa Artis, XXXI, Madrid,1987, charles Joseph Flipart at the Museo del Prado Online Encyclopedia
10.
Michelangelo Morlaiter
–
Michelangelo Morlaiter was an Italian painter, active mainly in Venice. He was one of the members and professor of the Accademia di Scoltura, Pittura. His father, Giovanni Maria Morlaiter, was a prominent sculptor, one of Michelangelos pupils was Francesco Maggiotto. Palazzo Grassi, Frescoes Palazzo Palazzo Michiel dalle Colonne, stucco decoration Gallerie dellAccademia, sala 18, Church of San Bartolomeo, canvas in ceiling of presbytery, depicting San Bartolomeo in gloria. Church of Angelo San Raffaele, wall frescoes of Archangel Raphael and Tobias, Church of San Moisè, Angels behind Meyrings statue at main altar Church of San Michele Arcangelo in Candiana, ceiling frescoes. Parrochial church of Biancade in Roncade, altarpiece of Vigin and child with Saints Simon, palazzolo sullOglio, in Parrocchial Church, Coronation of the Virgin
11.
Pietro Antonio Novelli
–
Pietro Antonio Novelli was an Italian painter and engraver. Novelli trained with the Venetian painter Giambattista Pittoni, in 1768, he was accepted as a member of the Accademia di Belle Artid in Venice. Novelli produced altarpieces and frescoes throughout northern Italy, some of his commissions came from Catherine the Great. He moved to Rome around 1779 where he remained for over 20 years and he later returned to Venice where he died in 1804. His memoirs were published posthumously in 1834
12.
Joseph Wagner (engraver)
–
Joseph Wagner was a highly regarded eighteenth century engraver and draughtsman. He was born in Thalendorf in Gestratz, on Lake Constance and he studied painting at Venice under Jacopo Amigoni, who persuaded him to turn to engraving, and Wagner accompanied Amigoni to Rome and Bologna, and in 1733 to England. He afterwards went to Paris, to study engraving under Laurent Cars and he then made a second stay in England, where his first productions were portraits of the three princesses, Anne, Amelia, and Caroline, the daughters of George ll. He engraved several plates in England, but returned to Venice. He died in Munich in 1780 and his prints are very numerous, and his students included Francesco Bartolozzi, Antonio Capellan, Fabio Berardi and Jean Jacques Flipart
13.
Antonio Zucchi
–
Antonio Pietro Francesco Zucchi ARA was an Italian painter and printmaker of the Neoclassic period. Born in Venice, he studied under his uncle Carlo Zucchi and later Francesco Fontebasso and he married the painter Angelica Kauffman in 1781, who late in life moved with him to Rome. In Rome Zucchi produced a number of etchings of capriccio and veduta of classical buildings or ruins and he worked with Robert Adam in the decoration of houses in England, including Kenwood, Newby Hall, Osterley Park, Nostell Priory, and Luton House. In 1756, he was elected to the membership of the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice, in England, he was elected as an associate to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1770. Lee, Sidney, ed. Zucchi, Antonio Pietro
14.
Bavaria
–
Bavaria is a free state and one of 16 federal states of Germany. Located in the German southeast with an area of 70,548 square kilometres and its territory comprises roughly a fifth of the total land area of Germany, and, with 12.9 million inhabitants, it is Germanys second most populous state. Munich, Bavarias capital and largest city, is the third largest city in Germany, the Duchy of Bavaria dates back to the year 555. In the 17th century CE, the Duke of Bavaria became a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Bavaria existed from 1806 to 1918, when Bavaria became a republic. In 1946, the Free State of Bavaria re-organised itself on democratic lines after the Second World War, Bavaria has a unique culture, largely because of the states Catholic majority and conservative traditions. Bavarians have traditionally been proud of their culture, which includes such as Oktoberfest. The state also has the second largest economy among the German states by GDP figures, modern Bavaria also includes parts of the historical regions of Franconia, Upper Palatinate and Swabia. The Bavarians emerged in a north of the Alps, previously inhabited by Celts. The Bavarians spoke Old High German but, unlike other Germanic groups, rather, they seem to have coalesced out of other groups left behind by Roman withdrawal late in the 5th century. These peoples may have included the Celtic Boii, some remaining Romans, Marcomanni, Allemanni, Quadi, Thuringians, Goths, Scirians, Rugians, the name Bavarian means Men of Baia which may indicate Bohemia, the homeland of the Celtic Boii and later of the Marcomanni. They first appear in written sources circa 520, a 17th century Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz, citing Cyriacus Spangenberg, claimed that the diocese was named after an ancient Bohemian king, Boiia, in the 14th century BCE. From about 554 to 788, the house of Agilolfing ruled the Duchy of Bavaria and their daughter, Theodelinde, became Queen of the Lombards in northern Italy and Garibald was forced to flee to her when he fell out with his Frankish overlords. Garibalds successor, Tassilo I, tried unsuccessfully to hold the frontier against the expansion of Slavs. Tassilos son Garibald II seems to have achieved a balance of power between 610 and 616, after Garibald II little is known of the Bavarians until Duke Theodo I, whose reign may have begun as early as 680. From 696 onwards he invited churchmen from the west to organize churches and his son, Theudebert, led a decisive Bavarian campaign to intervene in a succession dispute in the Lombard Kingdom in 714, and married his sister Guntrud to the Lombard King Liutprand. At Theodos death the duchy was divided among his sons, at Hugberts death the duchy passed to a distant relative named Odilo, from neighbouring Alemannia. He was defeated near Augsburg in 743 but continued to rule until his death in 748, saint Boniface completed the peoples conversion to Christianity in the early 8th century. Bavaria was in ways affected by the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century
15.
Nymphenburg Palace
–
Castle of the Nymph, is a Baroque palace in Munich, Bavaria, southern Germany. The palace is the summer residence of the former rulers of Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach. The central pavilion was completed in 1675, as a building material it utilised limestone from Kelheim. The castle was expanded and transformed over the years. Starting in 1701, Max Emanuel, the heir to Bavaria, two pavilions were added each in the south and north of Barellis palace by Enrico Zucalli and Giovanni Antonio Viscardi and connected with the centre pavilion by two gallery wings. In 1716 Joseph Effner redesigned the facade of the pavilion in French Baroque style with pilasters. Later, the section of the palace was further extended to form the court stables. For the sake of balance, the building was added to the north. Finally, a circle with Baroque mansions was erected under Max Emanuels son Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII Albert. In 1795 the Elector Charles Theodore ordered the widening of the galleries on the park side, with the Treaty of Nymphenburg signed in July 1741, Charles Albert allied with France and Spain against Austria. Two of the children were born here, Maria Antonia in 1724. Charles Albert lived during his time in Munich as Holy Roman Emperor in Nymphenburg Palace, Joseph founded the Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory. In 1792 Elector Charles Theodor opened the park for the public, for a long time the palace was the favourite summer residence of the rulers of Bavaria. King Max I Joseph died there in 1825 and his great-grandson King Ludwig II was born there in 1845, in 1863 the only meeting between Ludwig and Otto von Bismarck was held in Nymphenburg, although they remained connected in a lifelong friendship. Today Nymphenburg is open to the public but also continues to be a home and chancery for the head of the house of Wittelsbach, currently Franz, the palace, together with its park, is now one of the most famous sights of Munich. The baroque facades comprise an overall width of about 700 metres, some rooms still show their original baroque decoration while others were later redesigned in rococo or neoclassical style. The Steinerner Saal in the pavilion, with ceiling frescoes by Johann Baptist Zimmermann and F. Zimmermann. Acting as a hall, it occupies over three floors of the central pavilion of the palace
16.
Schleissheim Palace
–
The Schleissheim Palace comprises three individual palaces in a grand baroque park in the village of Oberschleißheim, a suburb of Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The palace was a residence of the Bavarian rulers of the House of Wittelsbach. The history of Schleissheim Palace started with a country house. The central gate and clock tower between both courtyards still date back to the first building period, the inner courtyard is called Maximilianshof, the outer one Wilhelmshof. Under Williams son Maximilian I the buildings were extended between 1617 and 1623 by Heinrich Schön and Hans Krumpper to the so-called Old Palace, the rooms were decorated by Peter Candid. Maximilians son and successor Ferdinand Maria died here in 1679, after heavy destruction in the Second World War the palace with its spacious buildings was reconstructed. Most of the decoration of the chapel Wilhelmskapelle has been preserved. The Old Schleissheim Palace houses today two exhibitions, one on religious culture, the other the history of Prussia, the Grand Hall in the middle of the main building today serves as foyer for the museums. Then Enrico Zuccalli built Lustheim Palace as a villa in Italian style in 1684-1688 for Maximilian II Emanuel and his first wife. Lustheim lies on an island and forms as a point de vue the conclusion of the baroque court garden. The floor plan of manor reminiscent of a stylized H, to the main building will be followed by two wing-like avant-corps. The brick built and plastered building has two storeys, the section is dominated by a belvedere, which provides a wide view of the surrounding countryside. The center of the palace is the hall in the middle section. Upstairs rooms were simple for the servants, the basement contained the kitchen, the interior is dominated by the large banqueting hall in the middle of the building. The frescoes were done by Johann Anton Gumpp, Francesco Rosa, since 1968 the palace has housed a grand collection of Meissen porcelain, only outranged by the Porzellansammlung in the Zwinger, Dresden. The palace once formed the point of a semicircle of round buildings. Two pavillons still exist, To the south of Lustheim Place the Renatus Chapel was erected in 1686 by Zuccalli in a pavillon, the northern pavillon houses the decorated stable which was built for the favourite horses of Elector Max Emanuel. Zuccalli also finally erected the baroque New Palace between the two palaces in 1701-1704 as the new residence, since the expected the imperial crown
17.
Ottobeuren Abbey
–
Ottobeuren is a Benedictine abbey, located in Ottobeuren, near Memmingen in the Bavarian Allgäu, Germany. For part of its history Ottobeuren Abbey was one of the 40-odd self-ruling imperial abbeys of the Holy Roman Empire and, at the time of its dissolution in 1802, the imperial abbey covered 266 square kilometers and had about 10,000 subjects. It was founded in 764 by Blessed Toto, and dedicated to St. Alexander, of its early history little is known beyond the fact that Toto, its first abbot, died about 815 and that Saint Ulrich was its abbot in 972. In the 11th century its discipline was on the decline, until Abbot Adalhalm introduced the Hirsau Reform, the same abbot began a restortion of the decaying buildings, which was completed along with the addition of a convent for noble ladies, by his successor, Abbot Rupert I. Under the rule of the latter the newly founded Marienberg Abbey was recruited with monks from Ottobeuren and his successor, Abbot Isengrim, wrote Annales minores and Annales majores. Blessed Conrad of Ottobeuren was abbot from 1193 until his death in 1227, described by the Benedictines as a lover of the brethren, in 1153, and again in 1217, the abbey was consumed by fire. In the 14th and 15th centuries it declined so completely that at the accession of Abbot Johann Schedler only six or eight monks were left, under Abbot Leonard Wiedemann it again began to flourish, he erected a printing establishment and a common house of studies for the Swabian Benedictines. The latter, however, was closed, owing to the ravages of the Thirty Years War. Ottobeuren became an abbey in 1299, but lost this status after the prince-bishop of Augsburg had become Vogt of the abbey. These rights were renounced after a case at the Reichskammergericht in 1624. Abbot Rupert ushered in the most flourishing period in the history of Ottobeuren which lasted until its secularization in 1802, from 1711-1725 he erected the present monastery, the architectural grandeur of which has merited for it the name of the Swabian Escorial. In 1737 he also began the building of the present church, completed by his successor, Anselm Erb, in the zenith of its glory, Ottobeuren fell victim to the German mediatization along with all the other imperial abbeys of the Holy Roman Empire. On 1 December 1802 Ottobeuren was securalized and its territory annexed to Bavaria, at the time, the territory of the imperial abbey covered 266 square kilometers and had about 10,000 inhabitants. In 1834 King Ludwig I of Bavaria restored it as a Benedictine priory, dependent on St. Stephens Abbey and it was granted the status of an independent abbey in 1918. Ottobeuren has been a member of the Bavarian Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation since 1893. Noteworthy among monks of Ottobeuren are, Nicolas Ellenbog, humanist, d.1543 Jacob Molitor, the learned and saintly prior, d.1675 Albert Krey, schmier, canonist, d.1728 Augustine Bayrhamer, d.1782 historian Maurus Feyerabend, d. 1818, historian Abbot Honoratus Goehl, a promoter of true church music, Ottobeuren Abbey has one of the richest music programs in Bavaria, with concerts every Saturday. Most concerts feature one or more of the Abbeys famous organs, the old organ, the masterpiece of French organbuilder Karl Joseph Riepp, is actually a double organ, it is one of the most treasured historic organs in Europe
18.
Villa Pisani, Stra
–
Villa Pisani is the name shared by a number of villas commissioned by the patrician Pisani family of Venice. However, Villa Pisani usually refers to a large, late baroque villa at Stra on the mainland of the Veneto and that is the most famous example of Villa Veneta located in the Riviera del Brenta. It was begun in the early 18th century for Alvise Pisani, the most prominent member of the Pisani family, the initial models of the palace by Paduan architect Girolamo Frigimelica still exist, but the design of the main building was ultimately completed by Francesco Maria Preti. The villa has on its walls the works of Giambattista Tiepolo, when it was built the building had 114 rooms, in honour of its owner, the 114th Doge of Venice Alvise Pisani. The most important room is the Napoleon Room and its near bathroom, furnished with pieces from the Napoleonic and Habsburg periods, in 1807 it was bought by Napoleon from the Pisani Family, now in poverty due to great losses in gambling. In 1814 the building became the property of the House of Habsburg who transformed the villa into a place of vacation for the European aristocracy of that period. In 1934 it was restructured to host the first meeting of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. From the outside, the facade of the palace appears to command the site. The villa is part of a series of villas, which the Venetian noble families, the broad façade is topped with statuary, and presents an exuberantly decorated center entrance with monumental columns shouldered by caryatids. It shelters a large complex with two courts and acres of gardens, stables, and a maze. Giovanni Tiepolo decorated the massive frescoed ceiling depicting the Glory of the Pisani family, additional frescoes and paintings are by his son Gian Domenico Tiepolo, Crostato, Jacopo Guarana, Jacopo Amigoni, P. A. The bombastic allusions of the echo in the now uninhabited shell of a palace. The remainder of its nearly 100 rooms are now empty, on the first floor there are rooms with furniture of the 18th and 19th century
19.
England
–
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
20.
Moor Park (house)
–
Not to be confused with the Tudor palace called The More located 1 mile away to the north east. Moor Park is a Grade I listed Palladian mansion set within several hundred acres of parkland to the south-east of Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire and it is called Moor Park Mansion because it is in the old park of the Manor of More. After The More became a ruin, in about 1617 the 3rd Earl of Bedford built a new house on the hill to the southwest of the old palace, within the deer park. The house was rebuilt in 1678–9 for James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, Styles had the house remodelled in the 1720s. The principal architect was Giacomo Leoni, initially assisted by the painter Sir James Thornhill, Leoni refaced the house with Portland stone and added a great Corinthian portico on the south front and Tuscan colonnades. Inside, Thornhill was commissioned to paint the Great Hall and the Grand Stair, complete with a dome in imitation of St. Peters, however, Thornhill quarrelled with Styles and left the project before its completion. The paintings on the Grand Stair date from 1732 and depict the Origin of the Seasons from Ovids Metamorphoses by Francesco Sleter, all that remains of Styles work on the Grand Stair is a single panel over a doorway, uncovered during restoration work in 2002. After Styles falling-out with Thornhill, Amigoni was commissioned to paint the four pictures in the Great Hall—the story of Jupiter and Io, again from Ovids Metamorphoses. The wall paintings in the erroneously named Thornhill Room are probably by Sleter and Amigoni, while the ceiling was painted earlier by Antonio Verrio, and depicts Aurora. In 1752 the house was bought by Admiral Lord Anson who commissioned Capability Brown to remake the formal gardens in sweeping landscape style with a small lake. Horace Walpole was not impressed, I was not much struck with it and he has undulated the horizon in so many artificial molehills, that it is full as unnatural as if it was drawn with a rule and compasses. Further owners succeeded at regular intervals until the estate was sold to the Robert Grosvenor. Earl Grosvenor, son of the Duke of Westminster, built the gateway at Batchworth Heath and planted the grounds with trees. Lord Leverhulme purchased Moor Park and commissioned golf course designer Harry Colt to lay out the courses that now surround the mansion, the operation was planned in a first-floor room, now named the Arnhem Room. Moor Park Golf Club now has its clubhouse in the building, country Life Book of Castles and Houses in Britain. London, Newnes Books, Hamlyn Publishing Group, Moor Park, Leoni and Sir James Thornhill
21.
Wolterton Hall
–
The present hall was completed in 1742 and was designed by the architect Thomas Ripley who was a protégé of the Walpole brothers. The name Wolterton devolved from the Anglo-Saxon language and has the meaning of Wulfthryth’s enclosure settlement or farm, evidence shown on a map produced in 1733 shows that the deserted settlement of Wolterton lay a little north of the church and consisted of several houses clustered around a village green. The village of Wolterton is mentioned in the Domesday Book where it is listed under the names Ultertuna and Wivetuna, the survey shows main landholder of Wolterton was the Norman nobelman William de Warenne. The listing shows 4 smallholders on the land with ½ a plough team on 16 acres, land was also held by the Abbot of St. Benedict of Holme before 1066 and was valued at 16 shillings but at the time of the survey it was valued at 20 shillings. The manor is 6 furlongs in length and 5 in width and had a tax value of 2½d, the main tenant was Ralph of Beaufour. Horatio Walpole acquired the house and estate at Wolterton in 1722 which he decided to renovate. Walpole was the brother of Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford. Like his brother, Horatio was also a politician and diplomat, Horatio’s plans for the estate were jeopardised in 1724 when a fire swept the house destroying the structure. The architect Thomas Ripley was engaged to advise Walpole on the rebuild required, responsibility for the design and construction of the new hall was given to Thomas Ripley. He had previously engaged by Horatio’s brother Robert Walpole to re-develop the Great House at Houghton. His design was for a country house with on rectangular plan over three storeys. The ground floor was faced with Portland stone with the preceding storeys faced in red brick which were produced locally. Sash windows were installed surrounded by eared and shouldered stone architraves, the window heads were of plain stone pediments with cornice. This entrance is now a window following alterations made in the 19th century, the roof was constructed with Welsh slate. Horatio Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford was the grandson of Horatio Walpole and he had inherited the hall. In 1828 Horatio commissioned the architect George Repton, who was the son of Humphry Repton the landscape designer. This consisted of a two storey four bay link to a three storey bay creating a pedimented palladian pavilion. He also added the Portland stone arcade to the elevation which consisted of seven semi-circular arch with a balustrade terrace balcony above
22.
Canaletto
–
Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto, was an Italian painter of city views or vedute, of Venice. He also painted views, although the demarcation in his works between the real and the imaginary is never quite clearcut. He was further an important printmaker using the etching technique, in the period from 1746 to 1756 he worked in England where he created many sights of London. He was highly successful in England, thanks to the British merchant and connoisseur Joseph Smith and he was born in Venice as the son of the painter Bernardo Canal, hence his mononym Canaletto, and Artemisia Barbieri. Canaletto served his apprenticeship with his father and his brother and he began in his fathers occupation, that of a theatrical scene painter. Canaletto was inspired by the Roman vedutista Giovanni Paolo Pannini, and started painting the life of the city. After returning from Rome in 1719, he began painting in his topographical style and his first known signed and dated work is Architectural Capriccio. Studying with the older Luca Carlevarijs, a painter of urban cityscapes. It is like Carlevaris, but you can see the sun shining in it, much of Canalettos early artwork was painted from nature, differing from the then customary practice of completing paintings in the studio. However, his paintings are notable for their accuracy, he recorded the seasonal submerging of Venice in water. Canalettos early works remain his most coveted and, according to many authorities, one of his early pieces is The Stonemasons Yard which depicts a humble working area of the city. It is regarded one of his finest works and was presented by Sir George Beaumont in 1823/8, later Canaletto painted grand scenes of the canals of Venice and the Doges Palace. His large-scale landscapes portrayed the citys pageantry and waning traditions, making use of atmospheric effects. For these qualities, his works may be said to have anticipated Impressionism and his graphic print S. A Giustina in Prà della Vale was found in the 2012 Nazi loot discovery. Many of his pictures were sold to Englishmen on their Grand Tour and it was Smith who acted as an agent for Canaletto, first in requesting paintings of Venice from the painter in the early 1720s and helping him to sell his paintings to other Englishmen. In the 1740s Canalettos market was disrupted when the War of the Austrian Succession led to a reduction in the number of British visitors to Venice and he remained in England until 1755, producing views of London and of his patrons castles and houses. His 1754 painting of Old Walton Bridge includes an image of Canaletto himself and he was often expected to paint England in the fashion with which he had painted his native city. Historian Michael Levey described his work from this period as inhibited, the artist was compelled to give public painting demonstrations in order to refute this claim, however, his reputation never fully recovered in his lifetime
23.
Paris
–
Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
24.
Castrato
–
A castrato is a type of classical male singing voice equivalent to that of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto. The voice is produced by castration of the singer before puberty, or it occurs in one who, due to an endocrinological condition, castration before puberty prevents a boys larynx from being transformed by the normal physiological events of puberty. As a result, the range of prepubescence is largely retained. Prepubescent castration for this purpose diminished greatly in the late 18th century and was illegal in Italy in 1870. As the castratos body grew, his lack of testosterone meant that his epiphyses did not harden in the normal manner, thus the limbs of the castrati often grew unusually long, as did the bones of their ribs. This, combined with training, gave them unrivalled lung-power. Operating through small, child-sized vocal cords, their voices were also extraordinarily flexible and their vocal range was higher than that of the uncastrated adult male. Listening to the surviving recordings of a castrato, one can hear that the lower part of the voice sounds like a super-high tenor. Eunuch is a general term, since historically many eunuchs were castrated after puberty. Castration as a means of subjugation, enslavement or other punishment has a long history. In a Western context, eunuch singers are known to have existed from the early Byzantine Empire, by the 9th century, eunuch singers were well-known and remained so until the sack of Constantinople by the Western forces of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Their fate from then until their reappearance in Italy more than three hundred years later is not clear and it seems likely that the Spanish tradition of soprano falsettists may have hidden castrati. Much of Spain was under Muslim rulers during the Middle Ages, stereotypically, eunuchs served as harem guards, but they were also valued as high-level political appointees since they could not start a dynasty which would threaten the ruler. Castrati first appeared in Italy in the century, though at first the terms describing them were not always clear. The phrase soprano maschio, which could also mean falsettist, occurs in the Due Dialoghi della Musica of Luigi Dentice and this is a rare term but probably does equate to castrato. The Cardinals brother, Alfonso II dEste, Duke of Ferrara, was another early enthusiast, enquiring about castrati in 1556. There were certainly castrati in the Sistine Chapel choir in 1558, although not described as such, on 27 April of that year, Hernando Bustamante, by 1574 there were castrati in the Ducal court chapel at Munich, where the Kapellmeister was the famous Orlando di Lasso. In 1589, by the bull Cum pro nostro pastorali munere, Pope Sixtus V re-organised the choir of St Peters, thus the castrati came to supplant both boys and falsettists from the top line in such choirs
25.
Farinelli
–
Farinelli, was the stage name of Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi, celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera. Broschi was born in Andria into a family of musicians, in 1706 Salvatore also took up the non-musical post of governor of the town of Maratea, and in 1709 that of Terlizzi. Unlike many castrati, who came from families, Farinelli was well-to-do. Maria di Loreto, specialising in composition, Carlo had already shown talent as a boy singer, and was now introduced to the most famous singing-teacher in Naples, Nicola Porpora. Already a successful composer, in 1715 Porpora was appointed maestro at the Conservatory of S. As was often the case, an excuse had to be found for this operation, under Porporas tutelage, his singing progressed rapidly, and at the age of fifteen, he made his debut a serenata by his master entitled Angelica e Medoro. The text of work was the first by the soon-to-be-famous Pietro Trapassi. Farinelli remarked that the two of them had made their debuts on the day, and each frequently referred to the other as his caro gemello. The derivation of Broschis stage name is not certain, but it was possibly from two rich Neapolitan lawyers, the brothers Farina, who may have sponsored his studies, Farinelli quickly became famous throughout Italy as il ragazzo. In 1722, he first sang in Rome in Porporas Flavio Anicio Olibrio, Farinelli surpassed the trumpet player so much in technique and ornamentation that he was at last silenced only by the acclamations of the audience. This account, however, cannot be verified, since no surviving work which Farinelli is known to have performed contains an aria for soprano with trumpet obbligato. In 1724, Farinelli made his first appearance in Vienna, at the invitation of Pio di Savoia and he spent the following season in Naples. His intonation was pure, his beautiful, his breath control extraordinary and his throat very agile, so that he performed the widest intervals quickly and with the greatest ease. Passagework and all kinds of melismas were of no difficulty to him, in the invention of free ornamentation in adagio he was very fertile. Farinelli sang at Bologna in 1727, where he met the famous castrato Antonio Bernacchi, undaunted, Bernacchi repeated every trill, roulade, and cadenza of his young rival, but performing all of them even more exquisitely, and adding variations of his own. Farinelli, admitting defeat, entreated Bernacchi to give him instruction in grazie sopraffine, in 1728, as well as performing in Torris Nicomede at the Munich court, Farinelli performed another concert before the Emperor in Vienna. In 1729, during the Carnival season in Venice, he sang in two works by Metastasio, as Arbace in Metastasios Catone in Utica and Mirteo in Semiramide Riconosciuta, during this period he could really do no wrong. George Frideric Handel was also keen to engage Farinelli for his company in London, in 1731, Farinelli visited Vienna for a third time
26.
Monte Cassino
–
Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about 130 kilometres southeast of Rome, Italy,2 kilometres to the west of the town of Cassino and 520 m altitude. Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is best known for its historic abbey, St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. The hilltop sanctuary was the site of the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944, the site has been visited many times by Popes and other senior clergy, including Pope Benedict XVI in May 2009. Since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council the monastery is one of the few remaining territorial abbeys within the Catholic Church, on 23 October 2014, Pope Francis applied the norms of the motu proprio Ecclesia Catholica to the Abbey. This act removed from its jurisdiction all 53 parishes and reduced its territory to the Abbey itself - while retaining its status as a Territorial Abbey. The former territory of the Abbey, except the land on which the Abbey Church and monastery sit, was transferred to the local diocese of Sora-Cassino-Aquino-Pontecorvo. The history of Monte Cassino is linked to the town of Cassino which was first settled in the fifth century B. C. by the Volsci people who held much of central. It was the Volsci who first built a citadel on the summit of Monte Cassino, the Volsci in the area were defeated by the Romans in 312 B. C. The Romans renamed the settlement Casinum and build a temple to Apollo at the citadel, modern excavations have found no remains of the temple, but ruins of an amphitheatre, a theatre, and a mausoleum indicate the lasting presence the Romans had there. Generations after the Roman Empire adopted Christianity the town became the seat of a bishopric in the fifth century A. D, lacking strong defences the area was subject to barbarian attack and became abandoned and neglected with only a few struggling inhabitants holding out. According to Gregory the Greats biography of Benedict, Life of Saint Benedict of Nursia, the monastery was constructed on a pagan site. The biography records that the area was still pagan at the time and Benedicts first act was to smash the sculpture of Apollo. He then reused the temple, dedicating it to Saint Martin, archaeologist Neil Christie notes that it was common in such hagiographies for the protagonist to encounter areas of strong paganism. Once established at Monte Cassino, Benedict never left and he wrote the Benedictine Rule that became the founding principle for Western monasticism, received a visit from Totila, king of the Ostrogoths, and died there. The Rule of St. Benedict mandated the moral obligations to care for the sick, so in Monte Cassino St. Benedict founded a hospital that is considered today to have been the first hospital in Europe of the new era. There Benedictine monks took care of the sick and wounded according to the Benedict’s Rule, the monastic routine called for hard work. The care of the sick was such an important duty that those caring for them were enjoined to act as if they served Christ directly, Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at nearby Subiaco, where hospitals were settled too as adjuncts to the monasteries in order to provide charity. Soon many monasteries were founded throughout Europe, and everywhere there were hospitals like in Monte Cassino, Monte Cassino became a model for future developments
27.
Sigismund Streit
–
Sigismund Streit was a prominent German merchant and art patron of the 18th century in Venice. Born in Berlin, he came to Venice in 1709, where he accumulated substantial wealth and he died childless and bequeathed his collection to institutions in Germany, including the Berlinisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster in Berlin. He came to own paintings by Canaletto, Antoine Pesne, Jacopo Amigoni, Francesco Zuccarelli and he was a contemporary of another patron Johann Matthias von der Schulenburg. Patrons and Painters, Art and Society in Baroque Italy
28.
Casa Savoia
–
The House of Savoy is one of the oldest royal families in the world, being founded in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to the attainment of the rank of king in 1713, the Savoyard kings of Italy were Victor Emmanuel II, Umberto I, Victor Emmanuel III, and Umberto II. The last monarch ruled for a few weeks before being deposed following the Constitutional Referendum of 1946, the name derives from the historical region of Savoy in the Alpine region between what is now France and Italy. Over time, the House of Savoy expanded its territory and influence through judicious marriages, from rule of a small region on the French/Italian border, the dynastys realm included nearly all of the Italian Peninsula by the time of its deposition. The house descended from Humbert I, Count of Sabaudia, Humberts family are thought to have originated from near Magdeburg in Saxony, with the earliest recording of the family being two 10th century brothers, Amadeus and Humbert. Though Sabaudia was originally a county, later counts were diplomatically skilled. Two of Humberts sons were bishops at the Abbey of Saint Maurice on the River Rhone east of Lake Geneva and this diplomatic skill caused the great powers such as France, England, and Spain to take the counts opinions into account. Piedmont was later joined with Sabaudia, and the name evolved into Savoy, the people of Savoy were descended from the Celts and Romans. In 1494, Charles VIII of France passed through Savoy on his way to Italy and Naples, during the outbreak of the Italian war of 1521-1526, Emperor Charles V stationed imperial troops in Savoy. In 1536, Francis I of France invaded Savoy and Piedmont taking Turin by April of that year, Charles III, Duke of Savoy, fled to Vercelli. He served Philip II as Governor of the Netherlands from 1555 to 1559, in this capacity he led the Spanish invasion of northern France and won a victory at St. Quentin in 1557. He took advantage of various squabbles in Europe to slowly regain territory from both the French and the Spanish, including the city of Turin and he moved the capital of the duchy from Chambéry to Turin. The 17th century brought economic development to the Turin area. Charles Emmanuel II developed the port of Nice and built a road through the Alps towards France, and through skillful political manoeuvres territorial expansion continued. Savoy rule over Sicily lasted only seven years, the crown of Sicily, the prestige of being kings at last, and the wealth of Palermo helped strengthen the House of Savoy further. In 1720 they were forced to exchange Sicily for Sardinia as a result of the War of the Quadruple Alliance, on the mainland, the dynasty continued its expansionist policies as well. In 1798, Joubert occupied Turin and forced Charles Emmanuel IV to abdicate, eventually, in 1814 the kingdom was restored and enlarged with the addition of the former Republic of Genoa by the Congress of Vienna. In the meantime, nationalist figures such as Giuseppe Mazzini were influencing popular opinion, the Kingdom of Italy was the first Italian state to include the Italian Peninsula since the fall of the Roman Empire
29.
Ferdinand VI of Spain
–
Ferdinand VI, called the Learned, was King of Spain from 9 July 1746 until his death in 1759. He was the son of the previous monarch Philip V. Ferdinand, the member of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty, was born in Madrid on 23 September 1713. Born at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid, Ferdinand endured a lonely childhood and his stepmother, Elisabeth Farnese, was a domineering woman, who had no affection except for her own children, and who looked upon her stepson as an obstacle to their fortunes. The hypochondria of his father left Elisabeth mistress of the palace, Ferdinand was by temperament melancholic, shy and distrustful of his own abilities. When complimented on his shooting, he replied, It would be if there were not something I could do. Shooting and music were his only pleasures, and he was the patron of the famous singer Farinelli. Ferdinand was married in 1729 to Infanta Barbara of Portugal, daughter of John V of Portugal, when he came to the throne, Spain found itself in the War of the Austrian Succession which ended without any benefit to Spain. He started his reign by eliminating the influence of the widow Queen Elisabeth of Parma, as king he followed a steady policy of neutrality in the conflict between France and Britain, and refused to be tempted by the offers of either into declaring war on the other. Prominent figures during his reign were the Marquis of Ensenada, a Francophile, and José de Carvajal y Lancaster, the fight between both ended in 1754 with the death of Carvajal and the fall of Ensenada, after which Ricardo Wall became the most powerful advisor to the monarch. The most important tasks during the reign of Ferdinand VI were carried out by the Marquis of Ensenada and he suggested that the state help modernize the country. Among his reform projects were, New model of the Treasury suggested by Ensenada in 1749 and he proposed substitution of the traditional taxes with a special tax, the cadastre, that weighed the economic capacity of each contributor based on their property holdings. He also proposed a reduction of subsidies by the state to the Cortes, the opposition by the nobility caused the abandonment of the project. It is considered the predecessor to the Bank of San Carlos, the stimulation of commerce in the Americas, which tried to end the monopoly in the Indies and eliminate the injustices of colonial commerce. Thus he leaned toward registered ships rather than fleets of ships, the new system consisted of the substitution of the fleets and galleons so that a Spanish ship, previously authorized, could conduct trade freely in the Americas. This increased the revenues and decreased the fraud, even so, this system provoked many protests among merchants in the private sector. According to Ensenada, a navy was fundamental to power of an overseas empire and aspirations of being respected by France. Church relations which were really tense from start of the reign of Philip V because of the recognition of Charles VI as the King of Spain by the Pope
30.
Art UK
–
Art UK is a registered charity in the United Kingdom, previously known as the Public Catalogue Foundation. Originally the paintings were made accessible through a series of affordable book catalogues, later the same images and information were placed on a website in partnership with the BBC, originally called Your Paintings, hosted as part of the BBC website. The renaming in 2016 coincided with the transfer of the website to a stand-alone site, works by some 40,000 painters held in over 3,000 collections are now on the website. Future plans include a project to cover sculptures in public collections. The catalogues and website allow readers to see an illustration, normally in colour and this information has significant educational benefits and constitutes the building blocks for later art historical research. Revenue from catalogue sales made by collections is dedicated to the conservation and restoration of oil paintings in their care, the collections of bodies such as Arts Council England, English Heritage and the Government Art Collection are included. However the Royal Collection is not included, Art UK receives funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and other sources. Of the 210,000 oil paintings in public ownership in the UK, many are held in storage or civic buildings without routine public access. Since 2003, The Public Catalogue Foundation has been working to rectify this through a series of colour catalogues. Before these were completed it was clear that a website was the best way to reach the wider public, the Oil Paintings in Public Ownership book series is published by The PCF mainly on a collection or county-by-county basis. Each county catalogue contains a photograph and basic information about each painting. All paintings are reproduced regardless of quality or condition, the PCF’s first catalogue was published in June 2004, and the series is now complete in 85 volumes. In January 2009 a partnership with the BBC was announced with the aim to place the entire catalogue of publicly owned oil paintings online by 2012. On 4 October 2012 it was announced that the project had photographed every painting that it intended to and all 210,000 would shortly be available. The Public Catalogue Foundation worked with the BBC to put all of the UKs publicly owned oil paintings online, in a section of the BBC website, Your Paintings, the PCF completed the digitisation of the entire national collection and celebrated their success in February 2013. An innovative crowdsourcing project, Your Paintings Tagger, also went online in 2011, the high-quality digital files, however, have not been made available to the public, and paintings on the BBC site can only be saved as a personal collection on the site, not downloaded. In March 2013 the BBC revealed that a painting by Anthony van Dyck had been discovered because of the Your Paintings website. Olivia, the subject of the painting, who died in 1663, was a lady-in-waiting to queen consort Henrietta Maria and she had married Endymion Porter, who was a patron of Anthony van Dyck
31.
Integrated Authority File
–
The Integrated Authority File or GND is an international authority file for the organisation of personal names, subject headings and corporate bodies from catalogues. It is used mainly for documentation in libraries and increasingly also by archives, the GND is managed by the German National Library in cooperation with various regional library networks in German-speaking Europe and other partners. The GND falls under the Creative Commons Zero license, the GND specification provides a hierarchy of high-level entities and sub-classes, useful in library classification, and an approach to unambiguous identification of single elements. It also comprises an ontology intended for knowledge representation in the semantic web, available in the RDF format
32.
Netherlands Institute for Art History
–
The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center in the world. The center specializes in documentation, archives, and books on Western art from the late Middle Ages until modern times, all of this is open to the public, and much of it has been digitized and is available on their website. The main goal of the bureau is to collect, categorize, via the available databases, the visitor can gain insight into archival evidence on the lives of many artists of past centuries. The library owns approximately 450,000 titles, of which ca.150,000 are auction catalogs, there are ca.3,000 magazines, of which 600 are currently running subscriptions. Though most of the text is in Dutch, the record format includes a link to library entries and images of known works. The RKD also manages the Dutch version of the Art and Architecture Thesaurus, the original version is an initiative of the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles, California. Their bequest formed the basis for both the art collection and the library, which is now housed in the Koninklijke Bibliotheek. Though not all of the holdings have been digitised, much of its metadata is accessible online. The website itself is available in both a Dutch and an English user interface, in the artist database RKDartists, each artist is assigned a record number. To reference an artist page directly, use the code listed at the bottom of the record, usually of the form, https, for example, the artist record number for Salvador Dalí is 19752, so his RKD artist page can be referenced. In the images database RKDimages, each artwork is assigned a record number, to reference an artwork page directly, use the code listed at the bottom of the record, usually of the form, https, //rkd. nl/en/explore/images/ followed by the artworks record number. For example, the record number for The Night Watch is 3063. The Art and Architecture Thesaurus also assigns a record for each term, rather, they are used in the databases and the databases can be searched for terms. For example, the painting called The Night Watch is a militia painting, the thesaurus is a set of general terms, but the RKD also contains a database for an alternate form of describing artworks, that today is mostly filled with biblical references. To see all images that depict Miriams dance, the associated iconclass code 71E1232 can be used as a search term. Official website Direct link to the databases The Dutch version of the Art and Architecture Thesaurus
33.
Virtual International Authority File
–
The Virtual International Authority File is an international authority file. It is a joint project of national libraries and operated by the Online Computer Library Center. The project was initiated by the US Library of Congress, the German National Library, the National Library of France joined the project on October 5,2007. The project transitions to a service of the OCLC on April 4,2012, the aim is to link the national authority files to a single virtual authority file. In this file, identical records from the different data sets are linked together, a VIAF record receives a standard data number, contains the primary see and see also records from the original records, and refers to the original authority records. The data are available online and are available for research and data exchange. Reciprocal updating uses the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting protocol, the file numbers are also being added to Wikipedia biographical articles and are incorporated into Wikidata. VIAFs clustering algorithm is run every month, as more data are added from participating libraries, clusters of authority records may coalesce or split, leading to some fluctuation in the VIAF identifier of certain authority records
