1.
Lombard language
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Lombard is a member of the Cisalpine or Gallo-Italic group within the Romance languages. It is spoken natively in Northern Italy and Southern Switzerland, the two main varieties have significant differences and are not always mutually intelligible. Lombard is considered a minority language, structurally separated from Italian, by the Ethnologue reference catalogue and that fact is being obscured, to some extent, both by the use of Italian orthography to write the languages and by influence from Italian. Historically, the vast majority of Lombards spoke only Lombard, Lombard is from the Gallo-Italian subdivision of the Italo-Romance group that shares common features with Gallo-Romance languages and other Western Romance languages. The varieties of the Italian provinces of Milan, Varese, Como, Lecco, Lodi, Monza, Pavia and Mantua belong to the Western subgroup, and the ones of Bergamo, Brescia and Cremona are Eastern. All the varieties spoken in the Swiss areas are Western, also, dialects from the Piedmontese provinces of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola and Novara, the Valsesia valley, and the city of Tortona are closer to Western Lombard than to Piedmontese. The koiné is similar to Milanese and the varieties of the provinces on the Italian side of the border. There is extant literature in other varieties of Lombard, for example La masséra da bé, standard Italian is widely used in Lombard-speaking areas. However, the status of Lombard is quite different between the Swiss and Italian areas, which justifies the view that the Swiss areas have now become the stronghold of Lombard. In the Swiss areas, the local Lombard varieties are generally better preserved, no negative feelings are associated with the use of Lombard in everyday life, even with complete strangers. Some radio and television programmes, particularly comedies, are occasionally broadcast by the Swiss Italian-speaking broadcasting company in Lombard, moreover, it is common for people from the street to answer in Lombard in spontaneous interviews. Even some television ads in Lombard have been reported, the major research institution working on Lombard dialects is located in Bellinzona, Switzerland, there is no comparable institution in Italy. In December 2004, the CDE released a dictionary in five volumes, today, in most urban areas of Italian Lombardy, people under 40 years old speak almost exclusively Italian in their daily lives because of schooling and television broadcasts in Italian. However, in Periferic Lombardy, Lombard is still vital, now, the political party most supportive of Lombard is the Northern League. Thus, speaking a dialect of some minority languages might be controversial in Italy. The popularity of artists singing their lyrics in some Lombard dialect is also a relatively new. New York 2003, Facts On File. p.40, itinerario antologico-critico dalle origini ai nostri giorni - Hoepli,2003. A comprehensive description of a set of writing rules for all the Lombard varieties of Switzerland and Italy, with IPA transcriptions
2.
Canal
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Canals and navigations are human-made channels for water conveyance, or to service water transport vehicles. In the vernacular, both are referred to as canals, and in most cases, the works will have a series of dams. These areas are referred to as water levels, often just called levels. In contrast, a canal cuts across a drainage divide atop a ridge, many canals have been built at elevations towering over valleys and others water ways crossing far below. Cities need a lot of water and many canals with sources of water at a higher level can deliver water to a destination where there is a lack of water. The Roman Empires Aqueducts were such water supply canals, a navigation is a series of channels that run roughly parallel to the valley and stream bed of an unimproved river. A navigation always shares the drainage basin of the river, a vessel uses the calm parts of the river itself as well as improvements, traversing the same changes in height. A true canal is a channel that cuts across a drainage divide, most commercially important canals of the first half of the 19th century were a little of each, using rivers in long stretches, and divide crossing canals in others. This is true for many canals still in use, there are two broad types of canal, Waterways, canals and navigations used for carrying vessels transporting goods and people. These can be subdivided into two kinds, Those connecting existing lakes, rivers, other canals or seas and oceans and those connected in a city network, such as the Canal Grande and others of Venice Italy, the gracht of Amsterdam, and the waterways of Bangkok. Aqueducts, water canals that are used for the conveyance and delivery of potable water for human consumption, municipal uses, hydro power canals. Historically canals were of importance to commerce and the development, growth. In 1855 the Lehigh Canal carried over 1.2 million tons of burning anthracite coal, by the 1930s the company which built. By the early 1880s, canals which had little ability to compete with rail transport, were off the map. In the next couple of decades, coal was diminished as the heating fuel of choice by oil. Later, after World War I when motor-trucks came into their own, Canals are built in one of three ways, or a combination of the three, depending on available water and available path, Human made streams A canal can be created where no stream presently exists. Either the body of the canal is dug or the sides of the canal are created by making dykes or levees by piling dirt, stone, the water for the canal must be provided from an external source, like streams or reservoirs. Where the new waterway must change elevation engineering works like locks, lifts or elevators are constructed to raise, examples include canals that connect valleys over a higher body of land, like Canal du Midi, Canal de Briare and the Panama Canal
3.
Lombardy
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Lombardy is one of the twenty administrative regions of Italy, in the northwest of the country, with an area of 23,844 square kilometres. Milan, Lombardys capital, is the second-largest city and the largest metropolitan area in Italy, the word Lombardy comes from Lombard, which in turn is derived from Late Latin Longobardus, Langobardus, derived from the Proto-Germanic elements *langaz + *bardaz, equivalent to long beard. Some sources derive the second element instead from Proto-Germanic *bardǭ, *barduz, Lombardy referred during the early Middle Ages to the entire territory of Italy ruled by the Lombards, a Germanic tribe who conquered much of the Italian peninsula beginning in the 6th century. During the late Middle Ages, the term shifted meaning and was used to identify the whole of Northern Italy, with a surface of 23,861 km2, Lombardy is the 4th largest region of Italy. It is bordered by Switzerland and by the Italian regions of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, three distinct natural zones can be fairly easily distinguished in the Lombardy region, mountains, hills and plains – the latter being divided in Alta and Bassa. Inconsistent with the three distinctions above made is the subregion of Oltrepò Pavese, formed by the Apennine foothills beyond the Po River. The mighty Po river marks the border of the region for a length of about 210 km. In its progress it receives the waters of the Ticino River, the other streams which contribute to the great river are, the Olona, the Lambro, the Adda, the Oglio and the Mincio. The numerous lakes of Lombardy, all of glacial origin, lie in the northern highlands, from west to east these are Lake Maggiore, Lake Lugano, Lake Como, Lake Iseo, Lake Idro, then Lake Garda, the largest in Italy. A minor mountainous area, the Oltrepò Pavese, lies south of the Po, in the plains, intensively cultivated for centuries, little of the original environment remains. The most commons trees are elm, alder, sycamore, poplar, willow, in the area of the foothills lakes, however, grow olive trees, cypresses and larches, as well as varieties of subtropical flora such as magnolias, azaleas, acacias. Numerous species of flora in the Prealpine area include some kinds of saxifrage, the Lombard garlic, groundsels bellflowers. The highlands are characterized by the vegetation of the whole range of the Italian Alps. At a lower levels oak woods or broadleafed trees grow, on the slopes beech trees grow at the lowest limits. Shrubs such as rhododendron, dwarf pine and juniper are native to the summital zone, Lombardy has a wide array of climates, due to local variances in elevation, proximity to inland water basins, and large metropolitan areas. In addition, there is a seasonal temperature variation. A peculiarity of the climate is the thick fog that covers the plains between October and February. In the Alpine foothills, characterised by an Oceanic climate, numerous lakes exercise a mitigating influence, in the hills and mountains, the climate is humid continental
4.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
5.
Adda (river)
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The Adda is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Alps near the border with Switzerland and flows through Lake Como, the Adda joins the Po a few kilometres upstream of Cremona. The highest point of the basin is the summit of la Spedla. Towns along the river Adda include Bormio, Sondrio, Bellagio and Lecco, and Lodi. The Addas true source is in lakes near the head of the Fragile glen. This first half path of Adda makes it the only one big river of Northern Italy to flow from East to West. It falls into the Lake of Como, at its northern end, the Trezzo sullAdda Bridge, erected in 1377, holds the world record of 72 metres for the longest bridge arch built before the introduction of metal into bridge construction. Valtellina disaster Val Pola landslide Kayaking in the Adda river
6.
Trezzo sull'Adda
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Trezzo sullAdda is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 30 kilometres northeast of Milan on the Adda River. The Naviglio Martesana canal starts from the Adda in Trezzos territory, trezzo sullAdda borders the following municipalities, Cornate dAdda, Bottanuco, Capriate San Gervasio, Busnago, Grezzago, Vaprio dAdda. Trezzo received the title of city with a presidential decree on 8 July 2008. Trezzos main attraction is the castle which belonged to the Visconti family in the 14th century. Protected by the Adda on two sides, it had a 42-metre high square tower on the third one and its fortified bridge was 72 metres long, the longest bridge span for several centuries, built on three different levels, passing 25 metres over the waters. Due to its position, the castle was contested first by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and Milan, in the 12th century, and later by the Visconti. The castle was destroyed or burnt several times, but was rebuilt on each occasion, the last reconstruction dates from 1370. It was commissioned by Bernabò Visconti, who was imprisoned there until his death. On 23 October 1404, the castle was captured by Paolo Colleoni, the Visconti general Francesco Bussone recaptured it, partially demolishing it and starting its decline. In the 19th century it was used as a quarry for the construction of the Arena di Milano, in the frazione of Concesa is the Sanctuary of the Divine Maternity of Mary, built by Cardinal Cesare Monti from 1641. Another attraction is Villa Gina, a 17th-century villa built on the Adda with fine terraced gardens, today it is the seat of the Adda Nord Regional Park. Trezzo sullAdda is twinned with, Cevo, Italy Official website Page about the castle
7.
Milan
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Milan is a city in Italy, capital of the Lombardy region, and the most populous metropolitan area and the second most populous comune in Italy. The population of the city proper is 1,351,000, Milan has a population of about 8,500,000 people. It is the industrial and financial centre of Italy and one of global significance. In terms of GDP, it has the largest economy among European non-capital cities, Milan is considered part of the Blue Banana and lies at the heart of one of the Four Motors for Europe. Milan is an Alpha leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, services, research, and tourism. Its business district hosts Italys Stock Exchange and the headquarters of the largest national and international banks, the city is a major world fashion and design capital, well known for several international events and fairs, including Milan Fashion Week and the Milan Furniture Fair. The city hosts numerous cultural institutions, academies and universities, with 11% of the national total enrolled students, Milans museums, theatres and landmarks attract over 9 million visitors annually. Milan – after Naples – is the second Italian city with the highest number of accredited stars from the Michelin Guide, the city hosted the Universal Exposition in 1906 and 2015. Milan is home to two of Europes major football teams, A. C. Milan and F. C. Internazionale, the etymology of Milan is uncertain. One theory holds that the Latin name Mediolanum comes from the Latin words medio, however, some scholars believe lanum comes from the Celtic root lan, meaning an enclosure or demarcated territory in which Celtic communities used to build shrines. Hence, Mediolanum could signify the central town or sanctuary of a Celtic tribe, indeed, the name Mediolanum is borne by about sixty Gallo-Roman sites in France, e. g. Saintes and Évreux. Alciato credits Ambrose for his account, around 400 BC, the Celtic Insubres settled Milan and the surrounding region. In 222 BC, the Romans conquered the settlement, renaming it Mediolanum, Milan was eventually declared the capital of the Western Roman Empire by Emperor Diocletian in 286 AD. Diocletian chose to stay in the Eastern Roman Empire and his colleague Maximianus ruled the Western one, immediately Maximian built several monuments, such as a large circus 470 m ×85 m, the Thermae Herculeae, a large complex of imperial palaces and several other buildings. With the Edict of Milan of 313, Emperor Constantine I guaranteed freedom of religion for Christians, after the city was besieged by the Visigoths in 402, the imperial residence was moved to Ravenna. In 452, the Huns overran the city, in 539, the Ostrogoths conquered and destroyed Milan during the Gothic War against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. In the summer of 569, a Teutonic tribe, the Lombards, conquered Milan, some Roman structures remained in use in Milan under Lombard rule. Milan surrendered to the Franks in 774 when Charlemagne took the title of King of the Lombards, the Iron Crown of Lombardy dates from this period
8.
Navigli
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The navigli were a system of navigable and interconnected canals around Milan, Italy. The system consisted of five canals, Naviglio Grande, Naviglio Pavese, Naviglio Martesana, Naviglio di Paderno, the first three were connected through Milan via the Fossa Interna, also known as the Inner Ring. The urban section of the Naviglio Martesana was covered over at the beginning of the 1930s, together with the entire Inner Ring, today, the canals are mostly used for irrigation. The only two canals who operate a tourist navigation system connected to the Darsena are the Naviglio Grande, Martesana Canal - Historic and present pictures Inner ring - Historic and present pictures Darsena - Historic and present pictures
9.
Vaprio d'Adda
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Vaprio dAdda is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, about 30 kilometres northeast of Milan. Vaprio dAdda borders the municipalities, Trezzo sullAdda, Capriate San Gervasio, Grezzago, Canonica dAdda, Pozzo dAdda, Cassano dAdda. Remains of the church of San Bernardino, romanesque church of San Colombano Villa Melzi, where Leonardo da Vinci resided for a while when studying channelling of waters in the Milanese area. It includes a fresco of Madonna with Child attributed to him or his school
10.
Cassano d'Adda
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Cassano dAdda is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, Italy, located on the right side of the Adda River. It is on the border of the Metropolitan City of Milan and it is served by Cassano dAdda railway station. The first documentary record of the existence of Cassano is the Carlomanno charter from 887 AD, other historical people who stopped in Cassano include Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796 and 1807, and King Victor Emmanuel II and Emperor Napoleon III in 1859, just before the Battle of Solferino. Two artificial canals connect the Adda River with Lodi and Milano respectively, making Cassano an important agricultural town, the Linificio is a monument to this industrial past, with its worker village, very similar as a concept to Crespi dAdda. The most important landmark in Cassano is the Borromeo Castle, built around 1000 AD, in the 15th century, Francesco I Sforza asked architect Bartolomeo Gadio to redesign it extensively. Afterwards, it became the possession of Venetians, Spanish, Austrians, the neoclassic Villa dAdda Borromeo is the other excellent sight in this town, surrounded by a green park, and designed by Giuseppe Piermarini. Aquilino, S. Dionigi, S. Antonio and S. Ambrogio churches
11.
Gorgonzola
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Gorgonzola is a veined Italian blue cheese, made from unskimmed cows milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, Gorgonzola has been produced for centuries in Gorgonzola, Milan, acquiring its greenish-blue marbling in the eleventh century. However, the claim of geographical origin is disputed by other localities. Today, it is produced in the northern Italian regions of Piedmont. Whole cows milk is used, to which bacteria are added. Penicillium roqueforti, used in Roquefort cheese, may also be used, the whey is then removed during curdling, and the result aged at low temperatures. During the aging process metal rods are inserted and removed, creating air channels that allow the mold spores to grow into hyphae. Gorgonzola is typically aged for three to four months, the length of the aging process determines the consistency of the cheese, which gets firmer as it ripens. There are two varieties of Gorgonzola, which differ mainly in their age, Gorgonzola Dolce and Gorgonzola Piccante, under Italian law, Gorgonzola enjoys Protected Geographical Status. Gorgonzola may be eaten in many ways and it may be melted into a risotto in the final stage of cooking, or served alongside polenta. It is frequently offered as pizza topping and is added to salads. Combined with other soft cheeses it is an ingredient of pizza ai quattro formaggi, james Joyce, in his 1922 Ulysses, gives its hero Bloom a lunch of a glass of Burgundy and a Gorgonzola sandwich. Bloom masters the monster by digesting her, blue cheese Italian cheese Consortium for the Protection of Gorgonzola Cheese
12.
Cernusco sul Naviglio
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Cernusco sul Naviglio is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northwestern Italy. With a population of 33,436 as of 2015 it is the 14th-largest municipality in the metropolitan city and it is located 11 kilometres northeast of Milan along the Naviglio Martesana, which gives the town its name. The municipality of Cernusco sul Naviglio has an area of 13.33 km2 with a median altitude of 133 metres above sea level. Cernusco sul Naviglio borders, clockwise from north, the municipalities of Carugate, Bussero, Cassina de’ Pecchi, Vignate, Rodano, Pioltello, Vimodrone, Cologno Monzese, and Brugherio. The Naviglio della Martesana, a canal built in the 15th century in order to link the Adda river to the city of Milan, is the only significant waterway in the municipality. The etymology of the toponym Cernusco is uncertain, an Etruscan origin like for nearby Melzo is sometimes proposed, today the burial urn of Caius Asinius features in the municipal coat of arms and a street in the central part of the city is named after him. Cernusco sul Naviglio is first mentioned in as a Roman vicus near the road from Mediolanum to Aquileia. In the 13th century it became a fief of the Torriani family and, after the formers defeat, both families control of the area is still reflected in the names of many farmhouses, like Cascina Torriana or Cascina Visconta. Cernusco was then given to the Visconti Marliani family and, in 1499, in the 19th century, like the rest of Lombardy, the area was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy, around that time the name was changed from Cernusco Asinario to the current form. In 1866 Cernusco sul Naviglios current borders were fixed after the hamlet of Increa was transferred to Brugherio, Cernusco sul Naviglio received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on March 18,1985. Cernusco sul Naviglio, lying in the Milan metropolitan area, has a road network which connects it to all other places in it. The most important roads serving Cernusco are the A51 motorway, with its exit #13 lying in the municipal area, the A4 Turin-Trieste motorway lies just 4 km north of Cernusco and the A58 about 6 km to the east. The SS11 Padana Superiore, formerly one of the most important roads in today’s Northern Italy, is another important link which passes through the part of the municipality. Gaetano Scirea, international football player Simone Collio, sprinter Naviglio Martesana
13.
Vimodrone
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Vimodrone is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 14 kilometres northeast of Milan. As of 30 April 2009, it had a population of about 16,000 on an area of 4.8 square kilometres, the municipality of Vimodrone contains the frazioni Baiacucco, Cascina Crivella, villaggio Nord, and Villaggio S. Isidoro. Vimodrone borders the municipalities, Cologno Monzese, Cernusco sul Naviglio, Milan, Pioltello. Vimodrone is twinned with, Bella, Basilicata, Italy, since 2012 www. comune. vimodrone. milano. it
14.
Seveso (river)
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The Seveso is a 55-kilometre Italian river that flows through the provinces of Como, Monza e Brianza and Milan. It rises on Sasso di Cavallasca or Monte Sasso of Cavallasca, finally, at Milan, it joins with the canal called the Naviglio Martesana which flows into the Lambro. The Seveso is sometimes called il fiume nero, or “the black river” on account of the colour it acquires from industrial pollutants, the Oltreseveso is the area in the north-west of Lombardy. The beyond Seveso brianzolo, consists of the municipalities of Cermenate, Lazzate, Misinto, Cogliate, Ceriano Laghetto, Solaro and Limbiate
15.
River Lambro
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The Lambro is a river of Lombardy, northern Italy, a left tributary of the Po. The Lambro rises from the Monte San Primo, elevation 1,685 metres, near the Ghisallo, in the province of Como, after Magreglio it flows through the Valassina and the comuni of Asso, Ponte Lambro and Erba, entering Lake Pusiano with the name of Lambrone. The Lambro passes through Brianza reaching Monza and crossing its famous park in two branches join again before the river passes through the eastern part of Milan. At Melegnano it receives the waters of the Vettabbia and, at SantAngelo Lodigiano, those of its main tributary, the Lambro flows into the Po near Orio Litta. The name Lambro was used for a popular three-wheeler commercial transport vehicle produced by Milanese automaker Innocenti, pokorny cites Krahe, Gymnasium 59, p.79. Lambro drains a very populated and heavily industrialized zone, including a significant portion of the Milan metropolitan area with a population of more than 3,000,000. Before the construction of a treatment plant in 2002, almost all of the sewage from the city of Milan flowed untreated into the river, as well as industrial sewages
16.
Filippo Maria Visconti
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Filippo Maria Visconti was ruler of Milan from 1412 to 1447. Filippo Maria Visconti, who had become ruler of Pavia in 1402. They were the sons of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Gian Marias predecessor, by his second wife, Venice, urged on by Francesco Bussone da Carmagnola, decided to intervene on the side of Florence and the war spread to Lombardy. In March 1426 Carmagnola fomented riots in Brescia, which he had conquered for Visconti just five years previously, after a long campaign, Venice conquered Brescia, extending its mainland possessions to the eastern shores of Lake Garda. Filippo Maria unsuccessfully sought imperial aid but was constrained to accept the proposed by Pope Martin V, favoring Venice. The following year the duke married his second wife Marie of Savoy, daughter of Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy, with Viscontis support, Amadeus reigned briefly as antipope Felix V from November 1439 to April 1449. He invited the famous scholar Gasparino Barzizza to establish a school at Milan, Barzizza also served as his court orator. The oldest extant Tarot decks, then called carte da trionfi, were commissioned by Filippo Maria Visconti. Montechino Castle Wars in Lombardy Vincenzo Bellinis 1833 opera Beatrice di Tenda This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
17.
Francesco I Sforza
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Francesco I Sforza was an Italian condottiero, the founder of the Sforza dynasty in Milan, Italy, and was the fourth Duke of Milan from 1450 until his death. He was the brother of Alessandro, whom he fought alongside. Francesco Sforza was born in San Miniato, Tuscany, one of the seven sons of the condottiero Muzio Sforza. He spent his childhood in Tricarico, the marquisate of which he was granted in 1412 by King Ladislaus of Naples, in 1418, he married Polissena Ruffo, a Calabrese noblewoman. From 1419, he alongside his father, soon gaining fame for being able to bend metal bars with his bare hands. He later proved himself to be a tactician and very skilled field commander. After some successes, he fell in disgrace and was sent to the castle of Mortara as a de facto. He regained his status after leading an expedition against Lucca, in 1431, after a period during which he fought again for the Papal States, he led the Milanese army against Venice, the following year the dukes daughter, Bianca Maria, was betrothed to him. Despite these moves, the wary Filippo Maria never ceased to be distrustful of Sforza, in 1436-39, he served variously both Florence and Venice. In 1440, his fiefs in the Kingdom of Naples were occupied by King Alfonso I, on 25 October 1441, in Cremona, he could finally marry Bianca Maria. The following year, he allied with René of Anjou, pretender to the throne of Naples, Sforza later found himself warring against Francesco Piccinino and, later, the alliance of Visconti, Eugene IV, and Malatesta, who had allegedly murdered Polissena. With the help of Venice, Sforza was again victorious and, in exchange for abandoning the Venetians, after the duke died without a male heir in 1447, fighting broke out to restore the so-called Ambrosian Republic. The name Ambrosian Republic takes its name from St. Ambrose, agnese del Maino, his wifes mother, convinced the condottiero who held Pavia to restore it to him. He also received the seigniory of other cities of the duchy, including Lodi, in 1450, after years of famine, riots raged in the streets of Milan and the citys senate decided to entrust to him the duchy. Sforza entered the city as Duke on 26 February and it was the first time that such a title was handed over by a lay institution. While the other Italian states gradually recognized Sforza as the legitimate Duke of Milan and that did not come to the Sforza Dukes until 1494, when Emperor Maximilian formally invested Francescos son, Ludovico, as Duke of Milan. Under his rule, Sforza modernised the city and duchy, in Milan, he founded the Ospedale Maggiore, restored the Palazzo dellArengo, and had the Naviglio dAdda, a channel connecting with the Adda River, built. During Sforzas reign, Florence was under the command of Cosimo de Medici, after the peace, Sforza renounced part of the conquests in eastern Lombardy obtained by his condottieri Bartolomeo Colleoni, Ludovico Gonzaga, and Roberto Sanseverino after 1451
18.
Cicco Simonetta
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Francesco Simonetta was an Italian Renaissance statesman. He also is remembered for composing a treatise on cryptography. Francesco, nicknamed Cicco, was born in Caccuri, Calabria and he studied Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and other languages and graduated in civil and canonic law, presumably in Naples. As a young man, he entered the service of the Sforza family as a secretary to condottiero Francesco Sforza and he was soon placed in charge of the city of Lodi. In 1441, Francesco Sforza married Bianca Maria Visconti, illegitimate daughter of Filippo Maria Visconti, on Filippo’s death, the so-called Ambrosian Republic had been set up in Milan by the patrician families. In 1450, Francesco Sforza, backed by the Venetians, laid siege to Milan to combat the aristocrats, the city surrendered after eight months and Francesco made himself ‘‘Capitano del popolo. ’’ He was proclaimed duke by the people and by right of his wife. Simonetta was nominated golden knight and entered the ducal chancellery and this appointment was the beginning of his undisputed domination of the political situation for thirty years. As a reward for his services, he was given the fief of Sartirana, in Lomellina and he soon became a member of the Secret Council. When he married Elisabetta Visconti in 1452 his fame was widespread, in 1456, he received the honorary citizenship of Novara, which was later followed by those of Lodi and Parma. In 1465, he wrote the Constitutiones et Ordines as a contribution to an organization of the chancellery. At the death of Francesco Sforza his son Galeazzo Maria succeeded him and his mother Bianca Maria and the other influential families did not approve of his capricious conduct of the state affairs, but Simonetta sided with Galeazzo. In 1476, Galeazzo was assassinated and was succeeded by his 7-year-old son Gian Galeazzo and his tutor was his mother, Bona of Savoy. In this period of unrest, Simonettas diplomatic activity was intense and he maneuvered in order to maintain stability in the Milanese state during the endemic conflicts between Guelphs, Ghibellines and the various wars and interstate alliances. The next year he became secretary, with the powers of a prime minister. Simonettas power provoked the hatred of Ludovico il Moro, one of the brothers of Galeazzo. The main obstacle to his project was the presence of Cicco Simonetta in the city government, after many personal vicissitudes, Ludovico managed to gain the confidence of the duchess and convinced her to arrest Simonetta. He was accused falsely of treason, imprisoned, and tortured in Pavia and his house and assets were pillaged, and he was beheaded in the tower of the castle. His body was buried in the cloister of Sant’Apollinare, outside the Milan city walls, during the Sforza rule, the duchy had enjoyed years of prosperity and great expansion despite the political turmoil
19.
Venice
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Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and these are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site. In 2014,264,579 people resided in Comune di Venezia, together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 2.6 million. PATREVE is a metropolitan area without any degree of autonomy. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC, the city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the La Dominante, Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City, and City of Canals. The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century and this made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period, Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Venice has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world as of 2016, the name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Eneti. The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti, Baltic Veneti, and the Slavic Wends. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen, so that *wenetoi would mean beloved, lovable, a connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color sea-blue, is also possible. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia, some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae, the traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto — said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421. Beginning as early as AD166 to 168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the center in the area. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, the traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Pauls magister militum. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II
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Ticino
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Ticino /tᵻˈtʃiːnoʊ/, formally the Republic and Canton of Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. The land now occupied by the canton was annexed from Italian cities in the 15th century by various Swiss forces in the last transalpine campaigns of the Old Swiss Confederacy, in the Helvetic Republic, established 1798, it was divided between the two new cantons of Bellinzona and Lugano. The creation of the Swiss Confederation in 1803 saw these two cantons combine to form the canton of Ticino. The name Ticino was chosen for the newly established canton in 1803, known as Ticinus in Roman times, the river appears on the Tabula Peutingeriana as Ticenum. Johann Kaspar Zeuss attributed Celtic origins to the name, tracing it to the Celtic tek, itself from an Indo-European root tak, in ancient times, the area of what is today Ticino was settled by the Lepontii, a Celtic tribe. Later, probably around the rule of Augustus, it part of the Roman Empire. After the fall of the Western Empire, was ruled by the Ostrogoths, the Lombards, around 1100 it was the centre of struggle between the free communes of Milan and Como, in the 14th century it was acquired by the Visconti, Dukes of Milan. In the fifteenth century the Swiss Confederates conquered the south of the Alps in three separate conquests. Between 1403 and 1422 some of these lands were annexed by forces from the Canton of Uri. Uri conquered the Leventina Valley in 1440, in a second conquest Uri, Schwyz and Nidwalden gained the town of Bellinzona and the Riviera in 1500. Some of the land and Bellinzona itself were previously annexed by Uri in 1419, the third conquest was fought by troops from the entire Confederation. In 1512 Locarno, the Maggia Valley, Lugano and Mendrisio were annexed, subsequently, the upper valley of the Ticino River, from the St. Gotthard to the town of Biasca was part of Uri. The remaining territory was administered by the Twelve Cantons and these districts were governed by bailiffs holding office for two years and purchasing it from the members of the League. The lands of the canton of Ticino are the last lands to be conquered by the Swiss Confederation, the Confederation gave up any further conquests after their defeat at the battle of Marignano in 1515 by Francis I of France. The Val Leventina revolted unsuccessfully against Uri in 1755, in February 1798 an attempt of annexation by the Cisalpine Republic was repelled by a volunteer militia in Lugano. During the Napoleonic Wars, many Ticinesi served in Swiss military units allied with the French, the canton minted its own currency, the Ticinese franco, between 1813 and 1850, when it began use of the Swiss franc. In the early 19th century, the contemporary Franco-Danish scholar Conrad Malte-Brun stated that, “The canton of Tesino is the poorest, until 1878 the three largest cities, Bellinzona, Lugano and Locarno, alternated as capital of the canton. In 1878, however, Bellinzona became the only and permanent capital, the current cantonal constitution dates from 1997
21.
Bianca Maria Sforza
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Bianca Maria Sforza was an Italian noble woman, who was Holy Roman Empress as the second wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor. She was the eldest legitimate daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan, by his second wife, Biancas paternal grandparents were Francesco I Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti, for whom she was named. Her maternal grandparents were Louis, Duke of Savoy and Anne de Lusignan of Cyprus, Biancas older illegitimate half-sister was Caterina Sforza from her fathers relationship with Lucrezia Landriani. Her uncle was Ludovico Sforza Il Moro, Duke of Milan, who married Beatrice dEste, and her aunt was Ippolita Maria Sforza, first wife of King Alfonso II of Naples. When Bianca was not yet five years old, her father was assassinated inside the Church of Santo Stefano in Milan on 26 December 1476 and he was stabbed to death by three high-ranking officials of the Milanese court. On 6 January 1474 the 21-months-old Bianca married her first cousin Philibert I, Duke of Savoy, the son of her uncle Amadeus IX of Savoy, Duke Philibert I died in the spring of 1482, leaving Bianca a widow at the age of ten. She returned to Milan, under the tutelage of her uncle Ludovico Il Moro, three years later, on 31 July 1485, the engagement between Bianca and Janus Corvinus, the only son of King Matthias of Hungary was formally announced. With this marriage, the Hungarian ruler wanted to secure his sons inheritance of Hungary and Bohemia. The marriage by proxy was signed on 25 November 1487, and according to the terms of the contract, however, due to the opposition and intrigues of Queen Beatrix, wife of Matthias and member of the Neapolitan House of Aragon, the formal marriage never took place. In March 1492 a marriage between Bianca and King James IV of Scotland was considered, but the idea was soon abandoned. Biancas second marriage was arranged by her uncle, who wanted recognition and the title of Duke confirmed by the Emperor, in exchange and her magnificent retinue on her way to her wedding aroused much attention. At her wedding, Bianca wore a bodice with eighty pieces of the jewelers art pinned thereon, with each consisting of one ruby. She also brought her husband a rich dowry of 400,000 ducats and this angered Anne of France, regent of France for her brother King Charles VIII, and brought about French intervention in Italy, thus inaugurating the lengthy Italian Wars. The union was unhappy, shortly after the consummation of the marriage and it was impossible for the young bride to win the affection of her husband, who considered her too uneducated, talkative, naive, wasteful with money, and careless. He did wish to have children with her, but all their attempts failed, despite Biancas several pregnancies and she very much liked his two surviving legitimate children, but was criticized for forgetting her dignity when she sat on the floor with them to play. After 1500, Maximilian lost all interest in Bianca and she lived with her own court of Milanese people in various castles in Tyrol. On several occasions he left her behind as security when he could not pay for his rooms on trips, Maximilian took the title of Holy Roman Emperor Elect in 1508. Bianca was, by marriage, Empress of the Holy Roman Empire, Bianca Maria Sforza died at Innsbruck on 31 December 1510
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Cycling
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Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. Persons engaged in cycling are referred to as cyclists, bikers, or less commonly, apart from two-wheeled bicycles, cycling also includes the riding of unicycles, tricycles, quadracycles, recumbent and similar human-powered vehicles. Bicycles were introduced in the 19th century and now approximately one billion worldwide. They are the means of transportation in many parts of the world. Cycling is widely regarded as an effective and efficient mode of transportation optimal for short to moderate distances. Cycling also offers a reduced consumption of fuels, less air or noise pollution. These lead to financial cost to the user as well as to society at large. By fitting bicycle racks on the front of buses, transit agencies can significantly increase the areas they can serve, in many countries, the most commonly used vehicle for road transport is a utility bicycle. These have frames with relaxed geometry, protecting the rider from shocks of the road, utility bicycles tend to be equipped with accessories such as mudguards, pannier racks and lights, which extends their usefulness on a daily basis. As the bicycle is so effective as a means of various companies have developed methods of carrying anything from the weekly shop to children on bicycles. Certain countries rely heavily on bicycles and their culture has developed around the bicycle as a form of transport. In Europe, Denmark and the Netherlands have the most bicycles per capita, road bikes tend to have a more upright shape and a shorter wheelbase, which make the bike more mobile but harder to ride slowly. The design, coupled with low or dropped handlebars, requires the rider to bend forward more, making use of stronger muscles, the price of a new bicycle can range from US$50 to more than US$20,000, depending on quality, type and weight. However, UCI regulations stipulate a legal race bike cannot weigh less than 6.8 kg, being measured for a bike and taking it for a test ride are recommended before buying. The drivetrain components of the bike should also be considered, a middle grade dérailleur is sufficient for a beginner, although many utility bikes are equipped with hub gears. If the rider plans a significant amount of hillclimbing a triple-chainrings crankset gear system may be preferred, otherwise, the relatively lighter and less expensive double chainring may be better. Much simpler fixed wheel bikes are also available, many road bikes, along with mountain bikes, include clipless pedals to which special shoes attach, via a cleat, enabling the rider to pull on the pedals as well as push. For basic maintenance and repairs cyclists can carry a pump, a repair kit, a spare inner tube, and tire levers
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International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
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Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
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