1.
Pope Benedict XVI
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Pope Benedict XVI reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013. He was elected pope on 19 April 2005, was inaugurated on 24 April 2005, Benedicts election occurred in a papal conclave following the death of Pope John Paul II. Ordained as a priest in 1951 in his native Bavaria, Ratzinger established himself as a highly regarded university theologian by the late 1950s and was appointed a professor in 1958. In 1981, he was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, from 2002 until his election as Pope, he was also Dean of the College of Cardinals. He was originally a liberal theologian, but adopted conservative views after 1968 and his prolific writings defend traditional Catholic doctrine and values. During his papacy, Benedict XVI advocated a return to fundamental Christian values to counter the increased secularisation of many Western countries and he views relativisms denial of objective truth, and the denial of moral truths in particular, as the central problem of the 21st century. He taught the importance of both the Catholic Church and an understanding of Gods redemptive love, Pope Benedict also revived a number of traditions, including elevating the Tridentine Mass to a more prominent position. He strengthened the relationship between the Catholic Church and art, promoted the use of Latin, and reintroduced traditional papal garments and he has been described as the main intellectual force in the Church since the mid-1980s. On 11 February 2013, Benedict announced his resignation in a speech in Latin before the cardinals, citing a lack of strength of mind and his resignation became effective on 28 February 2013. He is the first pope to resign since Pope Gregory XII in 1415, as pope emeritus, Benedict retains the style of His Holiness, and the title of Pope, and continues to dress in the papal colour of white. He was succeeded by Pope Francis on 13 March 2013, in his retirement, Benedict XVI has made occasional public appearances alongside Pope Francis. Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger was born on 16 April, Holy Saturday,1927, at Schulstraße 11, at 8,30 in the morning in his parents home in Marktl, Bavaria and he was baptised the same day. He was the third and youngest child of Joseph Ratzinger, Sr. a police officer and his mothers family was originally from South Tyrol. Pope Benedict XVIs brother, Georg Ratzinger, a priest and former director of the Regensburger Domspatzen choir, is still alive and his sister, Maria Ratzinger, who never married, managed Cardinal Ratzingers household until her death in 1991. Their grand-uncle was the German politician Georg Ratzinger, at the age of five, Ratzinger was in a group of children who welcomed the visiting Cardinal Archbishop of Munich with flowers. Struck by the distinctive garb, he later announced the very same day that he wanted to be a cardinal. He attended the school in Aschau am Inn, which was renamed in his honour in 2009. Ratzingers family, especially his father, bitterly resented the Nazis, in 1941, one of Ratzingers cousins, a 14-year-old boy with Down syndrome, was taken away by the Nazi regime and murdered during the Action T4 campaign of Nazi eugenics
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Marseille
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Marseille, also known as Marseilles in English, is a city in France. Known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as Massalia, Marseille was the most important trading centre in the region, Marseille is now Frances largest city on the Mediterranean coast and the largest port for commerce, freight and cruise ships. The city was European Capital of Culture, together with Košice, Slovakia and it hosted the European Football Championship in 2016, and will be the European Capital of Sport in 2017. The city is home to campuses of Aix-Marseille University and part of one of the largest metropolitan conurbations in France. Marseille is the second largest city in France after Paris and the centre of the third largest metropolitan area in France after Paris, further east still are the Sainte-Baume, the city of Toulon and the French Riviera. To the north of Marseille, beyond the low Garlaban and Etoile mountain ranges, is the 1,011 m Mont Sainte Victoire. To the west of Marseille is the artists colony of lEstaque, further west are the Côte Bleue, the Gulf of Lion. The airport lies to the north west of the city at Marignane on the Étang de Berre, the citys main thoroughfare stretches eastward from the Old Port to the Réformés quarter. Two large forts flank the entrance to the Old Port—Fort Saint-Nicolas on the south side and Fort Saint-Jean on the north. Further out in the Bay of Marseille is the Frioul archipelago which comprises four islands, one of which, If, is the location of Château dIf, the main commercial centre of the city intersects with the Canebière at rue St Ferréol and the Centre Bourse. To the south east of central Marseille in the 6th arrondissement are the Prefecture and the fountain of Place Castellane. To the south west are the hills of the 7th arrondissement, the railway station—Gare de Marseille Saint-Charles—is north of the Centre Bourse in the 1st arrondissement, it is linked by the Boulevard dAthènes to the Canebière. Marseille has a Mediterranean climate with mild, humid winters and warm to hot, december, January, and February are the coldest months, averaging temperatures of around 12 °C during the day and 4 °C at night. Marseille is officially the sunniest major city in France with over 2,900 hours of sunshine while the average sunshine in France is around 1,950 hours, less frequent is the Sirocco, a hot, sand-bearing wind, coming from the Sahara Desert. Snowfalls are infrequent, over 50% of years do not experience a single snowfall, Massalia, whose name was probably adapted from an existing language related to Ligurian, was the first Greek settlement in France. It was established within modern Marseille around 600 BC by colonists coming from Phocaea on the Aegean coast of Asia Minor. The connection between Massalia and the Phoceans is mentioned in Thucydidess Peloponnesian War, he notes that the Phocaean project was opposed by the Carthaginians, the founding of Massalia has also been recorded as a legend. Protis was invited inland to a banquet held by the chief of the local Ligurian tribe for suitors seeking the hand of his daughter Gyptis in marriage, at the end of the banquet, Gyptis presented the ceremonial cup of wine to Protis, indicating her unequivocal choice
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Bamako
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Bamako is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a population of 1.8 million. In 2006, it was estimated to be the fastest growing city in Africa and it is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamako is the administrative center. The city proper is a cercle in its own right, bamakos river port is located in nearby Koulikoro, along with a major regional trade and conference center. Bamako is the seventh-largest West African urban center after Lagos, Abidjan, Kano, Ibadan, Dakar, locally manufactured goods include textiles, processed meat, and metal goods. Commercial fishing occurs on the Niger River, the name Bamako comes from the Bambara word meaning crocodile tail. The area of the city has evidence of settlements since the Palaeolithic era, the early inhabitants traded gold, ivory, kola nuts, and salt. By the 11th century, the Empire of Ghana became the first kingdom to dominate the area, Bamako had become a major market town, and a centre for Islamic scholars, with the establishment of two universities and numerous mosques in medieval times. The Mali Empire grew during the early Middle Ages and replaced Ghana as the dominant kingdom in west Africa, dominating Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, in the 14th century, the Mali Empire became increasingly wealthy because of the trade of cotton, gold and salt. By the late 19th century, the French dominated much of western Africa, and in 1883, present-day Mali became part of the colony of French Sudan, cotton and rice farming was encouraged through large irrigation projects and a new railroad connected Mali to Dakar on the Atlantic coast. Mali was annexed then into French West Africa, a federation which lasted from 1895 to 1959, Mali gained independence from France in April 1960, and the Republic of Mali was later established. At this time, Bamako had a population of around 160,000, during the 1960s, the country became socialist and Bamako was subject to Soviet investment and influence. However, the economy declined as state enterprises collapsed and unrest was widespread, eventually, Moussa Traoré led a successful coup and ruled Mali for 23 years. However his rule was characterised by severe droughts and poor government management, in the late 1980s the people of Bamako and Mali campaigned for a free-market economy and multiparty democracy. In 1990, the National Congress for Democratic Initiative was set up by the lawyer Mountaga Tall, and these with the Association des élèves et étudiants du Mali and the Association Malienne des Droits de lHomme aimed to oust Moussa Traoré. Under the old constitution, all unions had to belong to one confederation. When the leadership of the UNTM broke from the government in 1990, students, even children, played an increasing role in the protest marches in Bamako, and homes and businesses of those associated with the regime were ransacked by crowds. On 22 March 1991, a large-scale protest march in central Bamako was violently suppressed, four days later, a military coup deposed Traoré
4.
Vatican City
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Vatican City, officially Vatican City State or the State of Vatican City, is a walled enclave within the city of Rome. With an area of approximately 44 hectares, and a population of 842, however, formally it is not sovereign, with sovereignty being held by the Holy See, the only entity of public international law that has diplomatic relations with almost every country in the world. It is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state ruled by the Bishop of Rome – the Pope, the highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergy of various national origins. Vatican City is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the episcopal see of 1.2 billion Latin. According to the terms of the treaty, the Holy See has full ownership, exclusive dominion, within Vatican City are religious and cultural sites such as St. Peters Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums. They feature some of the worlds most famous paintings and sculptures, the unique economy of Vatican City is supported financially by the sale of postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of publications. The name Vatican City was first used in the Lateran Treaty, signed on 11 February 1929, the name is taken from Vatican Hill, the geographic location of the state. Vatican is derived from the name of an Etruscan settlement, Vatica or Vaticum meaning garden, located in the area the Romans called vaticanus ager. The official Italian name of the city is Città del Vaticano or, more formally, Stato della Città del Vaticano, although the Holy See and the Catholic Church use Ecclesiastical Latin in official documents, the Vatican City officially uses Italian. The Latin name is Status Civitatis Vaticanæ, this is used in documents by not just the Holy See. The name Vatican was already in use in the time of the Roman Republic for an area on the west bank of the Tiber across from the city of Rome. Under the Roman Empire, many villas were constructed there, after Agrippina the Elder drained the area and laid out her gardens in the early 1st century AD. In AD40, her son, Emperor Caligula built in her gardens a circus for charioteers that was completed by Nero, the Circus Gaii et Neronis, usually called, simply. Even before the arrival of Christianity, it is supposed that this originally uninhabited part of Rome had long considered sacred. A shrine dedicated to the Phrygian goddess Cybele and her consort Attis remained active long after the Constantinian Basilica of St. Peter was built nearby, the particularly low quality of Vatican water, even after the reclamation of the area, was commented on by the poet Martial. The Vatican Obelisk was originally taken by Caligula from Heliopolis in Egypt to decorate the spina of his circus and is thus its last visible remnant and this area became the site of martyrdom of many Christians after the Great Fire of Rome in AD64. Ancient tradition holds that it was in this circus that Saint Peter was crucified upside-down, opposite the circus was a cemetery separated by the Via Cornelia. Peters in the first half of the 4th century, the Constantinian basilica was built in 326 over what was believed to be the tomb of Saint Peter, buried in that cemetery
5.
Tridentine Mass
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The most widely used Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in 1969, it is celebrated in ecclesiastical Latin. Tridentine is derived from the Latin Tridentinus, related to the city of Tridentum, in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI issued the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, accompanied by a letter to the worlds bishops authorizing use of the Tridentine Mass and Ritual for competent priests. The Pope stated that the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal is to be considered a form of the Roman Rite, of which the 1970 Mass of Paul VI is the ordinary. Since that is the authorized extraordinary form, some refer to the 1962 Tridentine Mass as the extraordinary form of the Mass. In Masses celebrated without the people, Latin Rite Catholic priests are free to use either the 1962 Tridentine missal or the Ordinary Form missal. These Masses may — observing all the norms of law — also be attended by faithful who, of their own free will, permission to use the Tridentine Mass as parish liturgies may be given by the pastor or rector. In most countries, the used for celebrating the Tridentine Mass was Latin. Episcopal conferences were to decide, with the consent of the Holy See, what parts, if any. Most Old Catholics use the Tridentine Mass, either in the vernacular or in Latin, the Catholic Church uses the term extraordinary form of the Roman Rite Mass among other terms. The most widespread term for the rite, other than Tridentine Mass, is Latin Mass, likewise, the ordinary form of the Roman Rite Mass was promulgated in Latin and can be celebrated in that language. Occasionally the term Gregorian Rite is used when talking about the Tridentine Mass, as is, more frequently, Pope Benedict XVI declared it inappropriate to speak of the versions of the Roman Missal of before and after 1970 as if they were two rites. Rather, he said, it is a matter of a use of one. Traditionalist Catholics, whose characteristic is an attachment to the Tridentine Mass. Standardization was required also in order to prevent the introduction into the liturgy of Protestant ideas in the wake of the Protestant Reformation. Pope St. Pius V accordingly imposed uniformity by law in 1570 with the papal bull Quo primum and he allowed only those rites that were at least 200 years old to survive the promulgation of his 1570 Missal. The Carmelite, Carthusian and Dominican religious orders kept their rites, the rite of Braga, in northern Portugal, seems to have been practically abandoned, since 18 November 1971 that archdiocese authorizes its use only on an optional basis. This ended when Abbot Guéranger and others initiated in the 19th century a campaign to return to the Roman Missal, Pius Vs revision of the liturgy had as one of its declared aims the restoration of the Roman Missal to the original form and rite of the holy Fathers. Due to the limited resources available to his scholars, this aim was in fact not realised
6.
Roman Curia
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The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central body through which the Roman Pontiff conducts the affairs of the universal Catholic Church. The Roman Curia instead aids the Pope in the exercise of his primacy over all the Churches, Curia in medieval and later Latin usage means court in the sense of royal court rather than court of law. The Roman Curia is sometimes anglicized as the Court of Rome and it is the papal court and assists the Pope in carrying out his functions. It is normal for every Latin Catholic diocese to have its own curia for its administration, a distinct office, the Vicar General for Vatican City, administers the portion of the Diocese of Rome in Vatican City. Until recently, there still existed hereditary officers of the Roman Curia, a reorganization, ordered by Pope Pius X, was incorporated into the 1917 Code of Canon Law. Further steps toward reorganization were begun by Pope Paul VI in the 1960s, among the goals of this curial reform were the modernization of procedures and the internationalization of the curial staff. These reforms are reflected in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, the offices of the Vatican City State are not part of the Roman Curia, which is composed only of offices of the Holy See. The following organs or charges, according to the website of the Holy See. All members of the Curia except the Cardinal Camerlengo and the Major Penitentiary resign their office immediately after a death or resignation. The principal departments of the Roman Curia are called dicasteries and those remain the five principal categories of departments, with the noteworthy change in that there is now more than a single Secretariate. Both are headed by a prefect, the Secretariat of State is the oldest dicastery in the Roman Curia, the government of the Roman Catholic Church. It is headed by the Secretary of State, since 15 October 2013 Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretariat is divided into two sections, the Section for General Affairs and the Section for Relations with States, known as the First Section and Second Section, respectively. The Secretariat of State was created in the 15th century and is now the department of the curia most involved in coordinating the Holy Sees activities, named the first Prefect of the Secretariat was Monsignor Dario Edoardo Viganò, formerly the Director of the Vatican Television Center. Two departments of the Roman Curia established by Pope Francis in 2016 have been identified as dicasteries rather than as one of the traditional department types, Pope Francis announced on 15 August 2016 the creation of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, effective 1 September 2016. It took over the responsibilities of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and he named Cardinal Peter Turkson its first prefect. Combining the work of four Pontifical Councils established following the Second Vatican Council, the Pope announced that temporarily he would personally direct the departments work on behalf of migrants and refugees. The Roman Congregations are a type of dicastery of the Roman Curia, each Congregation is led by a prefect, who is a cardinal. Among the most active of these major Curial departments, it oversees Catholic doctrine and its most familiar name for most of its history was the Holy Office of the Inquisition
7.
Pope Francis
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Pope Francis is the 266th and current Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, a title he holds ex officio as Bishop of Rome, and sovereign of Vatican City. He chose Francis as his name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio worked briefly as a chemical technologist and he was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969, and from 1973 to 1979 was Argentinas provincial superior of the Society of Jesus. He became the Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II and he led the Argentine Church during the December 2001 riots in Argentina, and the administrations of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner considered him a political rival. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013, throughout his public life, Pope Francis has been noted for his humility, emphasis on Gods mercy, concern for the poor, populist causes and commitment to interfaith dialogue. He maintains that the church should be open and welcoming. He does not support unbridled capitalism, Marxism, or Marxist versions of liberation theology, Francis maintains the traditional views of the church regarding abortion, euthanasia, contraception, homosexuality, ordination of women, and priestly celibacy. He opposes consumerism, irresponsible development, and supports taking action on climate change, in international diplomacy, he helped to restore full diplomatic relations between the U. S. and Cuba. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on 17 December 1936 in Flores and he was the eldest of five children of Mario José Bergoglio and Regina María Sívori. Mario Bergoglio was an Italian immigrant accountant born in Portacomaro in Italys Piedmont region, Regina Sívori was a housewife born in Buenos Aires to a family of northern Italian origin. Mario Josés family left Italy in 1929, to escape the fascist rule of Benito Mussolini, María Elena Bergoglio, the Popes only living sibling, confirmed that their emigration was not for economic reasons. His other siblings were Alberto Horacio, Oscar Adrián and Marta Regina, two great-nephews, Antonio and Joseph, died in a traffic collision. In the sixth grade, Bergoglio attended Wilfrid Barón de los Santos Ángeles and he attended the technical secondary school Escuela Técnica Industrial N°27 Hipólito Yrigoyen, named after a past President of Argentina, and graduated with a chemical technicians diploma. He worked for a few years in that capacity in the section at Hickethier-Bachmann Laboratory where his boss was Esther Ballestrino. Before joining the Jesuits, Bergoglio worked as a bar bouncer and as a janitor sweeping floors, in the only known health crisis of his youth, at the age of 21 he suffered from life-threatening pneumonia and three cysts. He had part of a lung excised shortly afterwards, Bergoglio has been a lifelong supporter of San Lorenzo de Almagro football club. Bergoglio is also a fan of the films of Tita Merello, neorealism, Bergoglio found his vocation to the priesthood while he was on his way to celebrate the Spring Day. He passed by a church to go to confession, and was inspired by the priest
8.
Sudan
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Sudan, also known as North Sudan since South Sudans independence and officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northern Africa. It is the third largest country in Africa, the River Nile divides the country into eastern and western halves. Before the Sudanese Civil War, South Sudan was part of Sudan, Sudan was home to numerous ancient civilizations, such as the Kingdom of Kush, Kerma, Nobatia, Alodia, Makuria, Meroë and others, most of which flourished along the Nile. During the pre-dynastic period Nubia and Nagadan Upper Egypt were identical, by virtue of its proximity to Egypt, the Sudan participated in the wider history of the Near East inasmuch as it was Christianized by the 6th century, and Islamized in the 15th. As a result of Christianization, the Old Nubian language stands as the oldest recorded Nilo-Saharan language, Sudan was the largest country in Africa and the Arab world until 2011, when South Sudan separated into an independent country, following an independence referendum. Sudan is now the third largest country in Africa and also the third largest country in the Arab world and its capital is Khartoum, the political, cultural and commercial centre of the nation. It is a representative democratic federal republic. The politics of Sudan are regulated by an organization called the National Assembly. The Sudanese legal system is based on Islamic law, the countrys place name Sudan is a name given to a geographical region to the south of the Sahara, stretching from Western Africa to eastern Central Africa. The name derives from the Arabic bilād as-sūdān, or the lands of the Blacks, during the fifth millennium BC migrations from the drying Sahara brought neolithic people into the Nile Valley along with agriculture. The population that resulted from this cultural and genetic mixing developed social hierarchy over the centuries become the Kingdom of Kush at 1700 BC. The Kingdom of Kush was an ancient Nubian state centered on the confluences of the Blue Nile and White Nile, and the Atbarah River and it was established after the Bronze Age collapse and the disintegration of the New Kingdom of Egypt, centered at Napata in its early phase. After King Kashta invaded Egypt in the eighth century BC, the Kushite kings ruled as pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt for a century before being defeated and driven out by the Assyrians. At the height of their glory, the Kushites conquered an empire that stretched from what is now known as South Kordofan all the way to the Sinai, pharaoh Piye attempted to expand the empire into the Near East, but was thwarted by the Assyrian king Sargon II. Sennacheribs successor Esarhaddon went further, and invaded Egypt itself, deposing Taharqa, Taharqa fled back to his homeland where he died two years later. Egypt became an Assyrian colony, however, king Tantamani, after succeeding Taharqa, Esarhaddon died while preparing to leave the Assyrian capital of Nineveh in order to eject him. However, his successor Ashurbanipal sent an army into southern Egypt and routed Tantamani. During Classical Antiquity, the Nubian capital was at Meroë, in ancient Greek geography, the Meroitic kingdom was known as Ethiopia
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Grenoble
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Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère, the city advertises itself as the Capital of the Alps, due to its size and its proximity to the mountains. Grenobles history goes back more than 2,000 years, to a time when it was a small Gallic village, industrial development increased the prominence of Grenoble, through several periods of economic expansion over the last three centuries. The city has grown to be one of Europes most important research, technology, the population of the city of Grenoble was 160,215 at the 2013 census, while the population of the Grenoble metropolitan area was 664,832. The residents of the city are called Grenoblois, the many communes that make up the metropolitan area include three suburbs with populations exceeding 20,000, Saint-Martin-dHères, Échirolles, and Fontaine. For the ecclesiastical history, see Bishopric of Grenoble, the first references to Grenoble date back to 43 BC. Cularo was at time a little Gallic village founded by the Allobroges tribe near a bridge across the Isère River. Three centuries later and with insecurity rising in the late Roman empire, the Emperor Gratian visited Cularo and, touched by the peoples welcome, made the village a Roman city. In honour of this, Cularo was renamed Gratianopolis in 381, Christianity spread to the region during the 4th century, and the diocese of Grenoble was founded in 377 AD. From that time on, the bishops exercised significant political power over the city, until the French Revolution, they styled themselves the bishops and princes of Grenoble. Arletian rule was interrupted between 942 and 970 due to Arabic rule based in Fraxinet, Grenoble grew significantly in the 11th century when the Counts of Albon chose the city as the capital of their territories. At the time, their possessions were a patchwork of several territories sprawled across the region, the central position of Grenoble allowed the Counts to strengthen their authority. When they later took the title of Dauphins, Grenoble became the capital of the State of Dauphiné, despite their status, the Counts had to share authority over the city with the Bishop of Grenoble. One of the most famous of those was Saint Hugh, under his rule, the citys bridge was rebuilt, and both a regular hospital and a leper one were built. The inhabitants of Grenoble took advantage of the conflicts between the Counts and the bishops and obtained the recognition of a Charter of Customs that guaranteed their rights and that charter was confirmed by Kings Louis XI in 1447 and Francis I in 1541. In 1336 the last Dauphin Humbert II founded a court of justice, the Conseil delphinal and he also established the University of Grenoble in 1339. Aging and heirless, Humbert sold his state to France in 1349, the first one, the future Charles V, spent nine months in Grenoble. The city remained the capital of the Dauphiné, henceforth a province of France, the only Dauphin who really governed his province was Louis XI, whose reign lasted from 1447 to 1456
10.
Basilica of Sant'Agostino, Rome
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SantAgostino is a Roman Catholic church in the piazza of the same name near Piazza Navona, in the rione SantEustachio, of Rome, Italy. It is one of the first Roman churches built during the Renaissance, the construction the church was funded by Guillaume dEstouteville, Archbishop of Rouen and Cardinal Camerlengo. The façade was built in 1483 by Giacomo di Pietrasanta, using travertine taken from the Colosseum, the design of the church is attributed to the late 15th century architect Baccio Pintelli, with later 18th century restorations of the interior by Luigi Vanvitelli. It is a work of the early Renaissance style. The Titulus S. Augustini has been held by Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard since 2006, furthermore, it is the station church of the first Saturday in Lent. The most famous work of art presently in the church is the Madonna di Loreto in the Cavalletti Chapel, an important Baroque painting by Caravaggio. The latter sculpture, based, according to a legend, on an ancient statue of Agrippina holding Nero in her arms, is reputed by tradition to work miracles in childbirth, the statue is laden with thank-offerings and always surrounded by offerings of flowers and candles. In 1616, the 17th-century Baroque artist Giovanni Lanfranco decorated the Buongiovanni Chapel with three canvases and a fresco of the Assumption. The church also houses Melchiorre Caffàs sculpture St. Thomas of Villanova Distributing Alms, the inscriptions found in S. Agostino, a valuable source illustrating the history of the church, have been collected and published by Vincenzo Forcella. In 1741, Pietro Bracci designed and sculpted the tomb of Cardinal Giuseppe Renato Imperiali. Pope Sixtus V established the church as a title in April 1587. Burials at the Basilica of SantAgostino P Antonino Ronci and D. Torre, S. Agostino in Campo Marzio, Roma
11.
Darfur
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Darfur is a region in western Sudan. It was named Dardaju while ruled by the Daju, who migrated from Meroë circa 350 AD, Darfur was an independent sultanate for several hundred years, incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into five states, Central Darfur, East Darfur, North Darfur, South Darfur. Because of the war in Darfur between Sudanese government forces and the population, the region has been in a state of humanitarian emergency since 2003. Darfur covers an area of 493,180 square kilometers, approximately the size of Spain and it is largely an arid plateau with the Marrah Mountains, a range of volcanic peaks rising up to 3,042 meters of topographic prominence, in the center of the region. The regions main towns are Al Fashir and Nyala, there are four main features of its physical geography. The whole eastern half of Darfur is covered with plains and low hills of sandy soils, known as goz, in many places the goz is waterless and can only be inhabited where there are water reservoirs or deep boreholes. While dry, goz may also support rich pasture and arable land, to the north the goz is overtaken by the desert sands of the Sahara. Many wadis have pans of alluvium with rich soil that are also difficult to cultivate. Western Darfur is dominated by the feature, basement rock. Basement rock is too infertile to be farmed, but provides sporadic forest cover that can be grazed by animals, remote sensing has detected the imprint of a vast underground lake under Darfur. The potential water deposits are estimated at 49,500 km2, the lake, during epochs when the region was more humid, would have contained about 2500 km3 of water. It may have dried up thousands of years ago, some conjectures include the area of Darfur as part of the Proto-Afro-Asiatic Urheimat in distant prehistoric times, though numerous other theories exclude Darfur. Most of the consists of a semi-arid plain and thus appears unsuitable for developing a large. The Tunjur replaced the Daju in the century and the Daju established new headquarters in Abyei, Denga, Darsila. The Tunjur sultans intermarried with the Fur and sultan Musa Sulayman is considered the founder of the Keira dynasty, Darfur became a great power of the Sahel under the Keira dynasty, expanding its borders as far east as the Atbarah River and attracting immigrants from Bornu and Bagirmi. During the mid-18th century conflict between rival factions wracked the country, and external war pitted Darfur against Sennar and Wadai. When Ahmads successor, Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, himself an Arab of Southern Darfur from the Ta’isha tribe, demanded that the pastoralist tribes provide soldiers, several tribes rose up in revolt
12.
Institut Catholique de Paris
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The Institut Catholique de Paris, known in English as the Catholic University of Paris, is a private university located in Paris, France. The institute was founded in 1875, under the name Université Catholique de Paris, the university offers licentiate, master and doctoral degrees in various faculties. The Faculté de Théologie is an institution with the canonical authorization to educate men for the Catholic priesthood. The Faculté de Lettres is a school of the humanities with no explicit religious orientation, during the summer, the Institut opens the Faculté de Lettres to international students month-long terms. Professors at the university are recruited from sacred and secular disciplines, the majority of degrees and diplomas awarded by the Catholic University of Paris are state-authorised diplomas, as the university is certified to issue them by the Ministry of Education. Canonical degrees are awarded in the name of the Holy See and are the result of a course of study in the ecclesiastical faculties, such as theology. The university charges tuition, because the state does not pay the wages of teachers at Catholic institutions of higher learning, the institute receives a state subsidy which covers 34% of its financial needs. The academic training meets the standard of the Holy See. Faculty of Philosophy was founded in 1895, Faculty of Canon Law, it aims to promote and deepen the study of Canon Law and related sciences, and to provide students, clerics or laypersons with in-depth training in these subjects. Faculty of Education offers since 1993 Bachelor, Master and PhD in Educational Sciences, École supérieure des sciences économiques et commerciales is one of the foremost business schools and Grandes écoles in France. Institut supérieur délectronique de Paris is a Grande école located in Paris and it specializes in electronics, telecommunication and computer science. École Supérieure de Chimie Organique et Minérale is a Grande école located in Cergy, Institut Supérieur dInterprétation et de Traduction The main library, known as Bibliothèque de Fels, is home to 600,000 volumes including 60,000 ancient volumes and 800 manuscripts. The library is mostly due to donation by Edmonds de Fel, other libraries include Library Jean-de-Vernon of Theology and Biblical Sciences, Library of the Faculty of Canon Law which publish LAnnée Canonique and the Library of Byzantium Studies. Official website in English Official website in French
