Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Costa, Isaäc da

(Encyclopedia)Costa, Isaäc da ēˈsä-äk dä kôˈstä [key], 1798–1860, Dutch poet and historian, b. Amsterdam, of an aristocratic Sephardic Jewish family. Deeply influenced by Bilderdijk, he entered (1822) th...

Grassi, Giovanni Battista

(Encyclopedia)Grassi, Giovanni Battista jōvänˈnē bät-tēˈstä gräsˈsē [key], 1854–1925, Italian zoologist. He demonstrated (1898) that the Anopheles mosquito carries the plasmodium of malaria in its dige...

Estrela, Serra da

(Encyclopedia)Estrela, Serra da sĕrˈrə ᵺə əshtrāˈlə [key], mountain range, central Portugal. It rises to 6,532 ft (1,991 m) in Malhão da Estrela, Portugal's highest peak. The range is an important pastor...

Giovanni di Paolo

(Encyclopedia)Giovanni di Paolo jōvänˈnē dē päˈōlō [key], c.1403–1483, major Italian painter of the Sienese school. Typical of the Sienese painters of his era, he paid scant attention to the artistic inn...

Piazzetta, Giovanni Batista

(Encyclopedia)Piazzetta, Giovanni Batista jōvänˈnē bätēsˈtä pēätsĕtˈtä [key], 1682–1754, Italian painter. An exponent of the Venetian school, Piazzetta combined soft colors with a dramatic, chiaroscu...

Jacopone da Todi

(Encyclopedia)Jacopone da Todi yäkōpôˈnā dä tôˈdē [key], 1230?–1306, Italian religious poet, whose name was originally Jacopo Benedetti. After the sudden death of his wife, he renounced (c.1268) his care...

Silva, Antonio José da

(Encyclopedia)Silva, Antonio José da əntôˈnyo͝o zho͝ozĕˈ dä sēlˈvə [key], 1705–39, Portuguese playwright, b. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He belonged to a family of “New Christians” (Jews forced to con...

Cadamosto, Luigi da

(Encyclopedia)Cadamosto, Luigi da lo͞oēˈjē dä kädämôˈstō [key], 1432?–1488, Venetian navigator in the service of Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal. He seems to have entered Portuguese service in 14...

Martini, Giovanni Battista

(Encyclopedia)Martini, Giovanni Battista jōvänˈnē bät-tēsˈtä märtēˈnē [key], 1706–84, Italian composer and teacher, also known as Padre Martini. Martini became a priest in 1722. He acquired great pres...

Boldini, Giovanni

(Encyclopedia)Boldini, Giovanni jōvänˈnē bōldēˈnē [key], 1842–1931, Italian portrait painter. Having worked in Florence and London, he reached his peak of creativity and success in Paris, painting romanti...
 

Browse by Subject