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mosaic

(Encyclopedia)mosaic mōzāˈĭk [key], art of arranging colored pieces of marble, glass, tile, wood, or other material to produce a surface ornament. The Gothic revival of the 19th cent. produced some modern ...

Italian language

(Encyclopedia) CEE Italian language, member of the Romance group of the Italic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Romance languages). The official language of Italy and San Marino, and one of...

Mont Blanc

(Encyclopedia)Mont Blanc môN bläN [key], Alpine massif, on the French-Italian border, SE of Geneva. One of its several peaks, also called Mont Blanc (15,771 ft/4,807 m), is the highest peak in France and the seco...

Robert Guiscard

(Encyclopedia)Robert Guiscard gēskärˈ [key], c.1015–1085, Norman conqueror of S Italy, a son of Tancred de Hauteville (see Normans). Robert joined (c.1046) his brothers in S Italy and fought with them to expel...

Chiusi

(Encyclopedia)Chiusi kyo͞oˈsē [key], Lat. Clusium, Etruscan Chamars, town, in Tuscany, central Italy, in...

Vignola, Giacomo da

(Encyclopedia)Vignola, Giacomo da jäˈkōmō dä vēnyōˈlä [key], 1507–73, one of the foremost late Renaissance architects in Italy. His real name was Giacomo Barozzi or Barocchio. Appointed (1550) papal arch...

villa

(Encyclopedia)villa. Although used to designate any country residence, especially in Italy and S France, the term villa particularly refers to a type of pleasure residence with extensive grounds favored by the Roma...

Soracte

(Encyclopedia)Soracte sōrăkˈtē [key], isolated mountain, 2,267 ft (691 m) high, in Latium, central Italy, N of Rome. It was celebrated in the poetry of Vergil and Horace. In ancient times it was crowned with a ...

Roman roads

(Encyclopedia)Roman roads, ancient system of highways linking Rome with its provinces. Their primary purpose was military, but they also were of great commercial importance and brought the distant provinces in touc...

Prix de Rome, Grand

(Encyclopedia)Prix de Rome, Grand gräN prē də rôm [key], prize awarded annually by the French government, through competitive examination, to students of the fine arts. It entitles them to four years' study at ...
 

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