Leonardo Sciascia: Mafia Vendetta), a study of the Mafia. Other mystery novels followed, among them A ciascuno il suo (1966; A Man’s Blessing), Il contesto (1971; Equal Danger), and Todo modo (1974; One Way or Another). Sciascia also wrote historical analyses, plays, short stories, and essays on…

Giuseppe Verdi: Early years: …Verdi saw his next opera, Un giorno di regno (King for a Day), a comedy, hissed off the stage. This compounded trauma led to a severe depression and either caused or fixed the dour, fatalistic, sometimes harsh aspects of Verdi’s character.

Salvatore Quasimodo: …work from the publication of Giorno dopo giorno (1947; “Day After Day”) until his death. Many of his poems recalled the injustices of the fascist regime, the horrors of the war, and Italian guilt. Later poems in the same vein, simple in language, exhibit a concrete and immediate imagery. Later…

Italy: Media and publishing: >Il Giorno. Local and regional papers are particularly vital in Italy, underlining once again the strength of regional identity in Italian culture. Among the newspapers with the largest circulation are the sports titles La Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport.

Giuseppe Parini: …Horatian odes and particularly for Il giorno, (4 books, 1763–1801; The Day), a satiric poem on the selfishness and superficiality of the Milanese aristocracy.

archaeology: Excavation: The French archaeologist P.-R. Giot was able to halt these depredations and carry out scientific excavations that revealed Barnénès to be one of the most remarkable and interesting prehistoric burial mounds in western Europe.

Giotto, European space probe that came within 596 km (370 miles) of the nucleus of Halley’s Comet on March 13, 1986. Giotto was named after the 14th-century Italian painter Giotto di Bondone, whose 1305–06 fresco The Adoration of the Magi includes a realistic depiction of a comet as the Star of

Giotto was the most important Italian painter of the 14th century, whose works point to the innovations of the Renaissance style that developed a century later. For almost seven centuries, Giotto has been revered as the father of European painting and the first of the great Italian masters. He is

Giotto was the most important Italian painter of the 14th century, whose works point to the innovations of the Renaissance style that developed a century later. For almost seven centuries, Giotto has been revered as the father of European painting and the first of the great Italian masters. He is

Italian literature: Poetry after World War II: … and critic of contemporary literature Stefano Giovanardi, Poeti italiani del secondo Novecento, 1945–1995 (1996; “Italian Poets of the Second Half of the 20th Century, 1945–1995”), introduced a useful taxonomy. Cucchi and Giovanardi recognized that, in talking about the new poetry, they had to take into account the older, established poets…

Italian literature: Fiction at the turn of the 21st century: …to be known as the Giovani Cannibali (“Young Cannibals”), a name borrowed from the title of a collection of stories edited by Daniele Brolli (1996). The volumes of abstract theorization subsequently produced by defenders of the new style often reflected the fact that in Italian the loanword pulp does not…

Giorgio De Lullo: …founder and director of the Compagnia dei Giovani, which performed at theatre festivals including the World Theatre Seasons in London and the Théâtre des Nations in Paris.

Michele Giambono was a leading Venetian Late Gothic painter and mosaicist, the most distinguished member of a large family of artists working in Venice from 1396 to 1546. Giambono’s grandfather was a painter of Treviso called Giam Bono (also Zambono), and he himself is generally called by this

St. John of Capistrano ; canonized 1690; feast day October 23) was one of the greatest Franciscan preachers of the 15th century and the leader of an army that liberated Belgrade from a Turkish invasion. In California, the city of San Juan Capistrano and its eponymous Spanish mission that was made

Fra Angelico was an Italian painter, one of the greatest 15th-century painters, whose works within the framework of the early Renaissance style embody a serene religious attitude and reflect a strong Classical influence. A great number of works executed during his career are altarpieces and

Giovanni da Pian del Carpini was a Franciscan friar, the first noteworthy European traveler in the Mongol empire, to which he was sent on a formal mission by Pope Innocent IV. He wrote the earliest important Western work on Central Asia. Giovanni was a contemporary and disciple of St. Francis of

Fra Giovanni Giocondo was an Italian humanist, architect, and engineer, whose designs and written works signal the transition in architectural modes from early to high Renaissance. A learned Franciscan, Fra Giocondo is said to have received an extensive humanistic education. He made an important

Giovanni de’ Medici was the most noted soldier of all the Medici. Giovanni belonged to the younger, or cadet, branch of the Medici, descended from Lorenzo, brother to Cosimo the Elder. Always in obscurity and, until the 16th century, held in check by the elder line, this branch first entered the

Giovanni di Paolo was a painter whose religious paintings maintained the mystical intensity and conservative style of Gothic decorative painting against the trend, progressively dominant in the art of 15th-century Tuscany, toward scientific naturalism and classical humanism. One of the last

Giovanni di Paolo was a painter whose religious paintings maintained the mystical intensity and conservative style of Gothic decorative painting against the trend, progressively dominant in the art of 15th-century Tuscany, toward scientific naturalism and classical humanism. One of the last

Sylvester III was the pope from January 20 to February 10, 1045. He was bishop of Sabina when elected pope in January 1045 by a faction that had driven Pope Benedict IX out of Rome. The following month, however, Benedict’s supporters in turn expelled Sylvester. Mired in scandal, Benedict felt so

Callixtus (III) was an antipope from 1168 to 1178, who reigned with the support of the Holy Roman emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. Callixtus was elected antipope as Paschal III’s successor, in opposition to Pope Alexander III. He was Frederick’s protégé until the Treaty of Anagni (1176), which ended

Italian literature: Popular literature and romances: 1378; “Dullard”), stories by Ser Giovanni Fiorentino after a pattern set by Boccaccio. In the same vein, Franco Sacchetti’s Trecentonovelle (c. 1390; “Three Hundred Short Stories”) provides colourful and lively descriptions of people and places.

Giovanni’s Room, novel by James Baldwin, published in 1956, about a young expatriate American’s inability to come to terms with his sexuality. Titled One for My Baby in its draft form, it is dedicated to the painter Lucien Happersberger, Baldwin’s lover while living in Europe in the early 1950s.

Agostino Di Giovanni was a late Gothic sculptor, best known for his work, with Agnolo di Ventura, on the tomb of Guido Tarlati. Agostino is first heard of in Siena in 1310 and again lived there in 1340–43. After 1320 he was active with Agnolo at Volterra, where they executed a number of scenes from

Nikki Giovanni was an American poet whose writings range from calls for Black power to poems for children and intimate personal statements. She was a significant member of the Black Arts movement, a period of artistic and literary development among Black American artists in the 1960s and early

Lorenzo Monaco was an artist who was the last great exponent of late Gothic painting in what is now Italy. Lorenzo Monaco’s output and stylistic interests (incorporating the gold-leaf background typical of Byzantine art) represent the final gasp of gold-ground brilliance in Florentine art. Lorenzo

Sassetta was a Gothic-style painter considered to be the greatest Sienese painter of the early 15th century. The date and place of his birth are uncertain. He seems to have been trained in Siena, and the force of the Sienese tradition is evident in the vivid colours and elegant use of line in the

Nikki Giovanni was an American poet whose writings range from calls for Black power to poems for children and intimate personal statements. She was a significant member of the Black Arts movement, a period of artistic and literary development among Black American artists in the 1960s and early

Western painting: International Gothic: …of an earlier court artist, Giovannino de’ Grassi.

Masaccio: Early life and works: …for the Church of San Giovenale in the town of Cascia, near San Giovanni Valdarno. It displays an acute knowledge of Florentine painting, but its eclectic style, strongly influenced by Giotto and Andrea Orcagna, does not allow us to discern whether Masaccio trained in San Giovanni Valdarno or Florence before…

Giuseppe Mazzini: Foundation of Young Italy.: Mazzini edited the propagandist journal Giovine Italia, which was smuggled into Italy with other revolutionary pamphlets. He also became the lover of a fellow exile, the beautiful Modenese widow Giuditta Sidoli.

Young Italy, movement founded by Giuseppe Mazzini in 1831 to work for a united, republican Italian nation. Attracting many Italians to the cause of independence, it played an important role in the Risorgimento (struggle for Italian unification). Mazzini, in exile at Marseille for his revolutionary

Paulus Jovius was an Italian historian, author of vivid historical works in Latin, and the owner of a famous art collection. In about 1513 Jovius settled in Rome; he won the favour of Leo X (who compared him to Livy) and of Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici, later Clement VII, whom he helped during the

graphic design: Early developments: …a comparison of German designer Gipkens’s poster for an exhibition of captured Allied aircraft with American illustrator James Montgomery Flagg’s army recruiting poster (both 1917). Gipkens expressed his subject through signs and symbols reduced to flat colour planes within a unified visual composition. In contrast, Flagg used bold lettering and…

gipon, tunic worn under armour in the 14th century and later adapted for civilian use. At first a tight-fitting garment worn next to the shirt and buttoned down the front, it came down to the knees and was padded and waisted. Later in the century the gipon became shorter, and it was replaced by the

George Gipp was an American gridiron football player at the University of Notre Dame (1917–20) who became a school legend. Gipp entered Notre Dame on a baseball scholarship, but he was recruited for football by the coach Knute Rockne, who saw Gipp drop-kicking and passing a football on a field

George Gipp was an American gridiron football player at the University of Notre Dame (1917–20) who became a school legend. Gipp entered Notre Dame on a baseball scholarship, but he was recruited for football by the coach Knute Rockne, who saw Gipp drop-kicking and passing a football on a field

Zinaida Nikolayevna Gippius was a Russian Symbolist poet who wrote in a metaphysical vein. The wife of the poet and novelist Dmitry Merezhkovsky, who was a leader among the Symbolists of the early 1900s, Gippius made her own place in Russian literature. In addition to her poetry, she wrote plays,

Gippsland, region of southeastern Victoria, Australia, extending northeast from Western Port (near Melbourne) to the New South Wales border and south from the Eastern Highlands to the coast, with an area of 13,600 square miles (35,200 square km). Fertile and well watered (34 inches [860 mm]

lagoon: Dimensions: The Gippsland Lakes in Victoria, Australia, exemplify a complex lagoon system formed behind a 149-km (93-mile) beach. Elongated lagoons up to 64 km (about 40 miles) in length lie behind the beach barrier, and larger lagoons, such as Lake Wellington, lie behind the southwestern end. Postglacial…

Yaacov Agam is a pioneer and leading exponent of optical and kinetic art, best known for his three-dimensional paintings and sculptures. Agam was the son of a Russian rabbi. He grew up in an early Jewish settlement and did not begin his formal schooling until age 13. Having learned to draw at an

Romany languages, group of 60 or more highly divergent dialects that are genetically related to the Indo-Aryan (Indic) languages. The Romany languages are spoken by more than three million individuals worldwide, and the more remotely related Domari group of dialects (whose speakers seem to have

Lamía, city and dímos (municipality), Central Greece (Modern Greek: Stereá Elláda) periféreia (region), central Greece. It is located in the Sperkhiós River valley at the foot of the Óthrys Mountains, near the Gulf of Euboea (Évvoia), and is the seat of a bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church. Lamía

Gir National Park, national park in Gujarat, west-central India. It is located about 33 miles (53 km) south-southwest of the city of Junagadh in a hilly region of dry scrubland in the Kathiawar Peninsula. Gir has an area of about 545 square miles (1,412 square km), of which about 100 square miles

Gir Range, low mountain range in western Gujarat state, west-central India, on the southern Kathiawar Peninsula. The range is extremely rugged with a steep slope seaward to the south and a gradual slope inland to the north. From it to the north runs a low, narrow, dissected range rising to

giraffe, (genus Giraffa), any of four species in the genus Giraffa of long-necked cud-chewing hoofed mammals of Africa, with long legs and a coat pattern of irregular brown patches on a light background. Giraffes are the tallest of all land animals; males (bulls) may exceed 5.5 metres (18 feet) in

giraffe: … is made up of the northern giraffe (G. camelopardalis), the southern giraffe (G. giraffa), the Masai giraffe (G. tippelskirchi), and the reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata).

giraffe: tippelskirchi), and the reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata).

giraffe: giraffa), the Masai giraffe (G. tippelskirchi), and the reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata).

giraffe: camelopardalis), the southern giraffe (G. giraffa), the Masai giraffe (G. tippelskirchi), and the reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata).

giraffe: tippelskirchi), and the reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata).

giraffe: giraffa), the Masai giraffe (G. tippelskirchi), and the reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata).

giraffe, (genus Giraffa), any of four species in the genus Giraffa of long-necked cud-chewing hoofed mammals of Africa, with long legs and a coat pattern of irregular brown patches on a light background. Giraffes are the tallest of all land animals; males (bulls) may exceed 5.5 metres (18 feet) in

keyboard instrument: Other early forms: …air, producing the asymmetrical “giraffe piano.” Placing shelves in the upper part of the case to the right of the strings yielded the tall rectangular “cabinet piano.” Because the lower end of the strings, which ran nearly vertically, was about at the level of the keyboard, all such instruments…

Indricotherium, genus of giant browsing perissodactyls found as fossils in Asian deposits of the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene epochs (30 million to 16.6 million years ago). Indricotherium, which was related to the modern rhinoceros but was hornless, was the largest land mammal that ever

Baḥr al-Zarāf, river, an arm of the Nile River in Al-Sudd region of South Sudan. It is formed in the swamps north of Shambe, diverting water from the Baḥr al-Jabal (Mountain Nile), and flows 150 miles (240 km) north, past Fangak, to join the Baḥr al-Jabal, 35 miles (56 km) west of Malakal. It is

keyboard instrument: Other early forms: …air, producing the asymmetrical “giraffe piano.” Placing shelves in the upper part of the case to the right of the strings yielded the tall rectangular “cabinet piano.” Because the lower end of the strings, which ran nearly vertically, was about at the level of the keyboard, all such instruments…

artiodactyl: Abundance and distribution: …giraffe and the okapi (Giraffidae), two distinctive African species, are closely related to deer. The pronghorn (Antilocapridae), although sometimes called pronghorn antelope, is not a true antelope; it is the only survivor of a stock of ruminants that was very successful in the Neogene Period in North America (about…

Catedral de Sevilla: …a bell tower called the Giralda. The bell tower was finished in 1568 with the addition of an 11-foot- (3.5-m-) high weather vane of a woman, representing the Christian faith, that was cast by Bartolomé Morel. Inside, the cathedral is impressive both for its artworks in the form of paintings,…

Giambattista Giraldi was an Italian poet and dramatist who wrote the first modern tragedy on classical principles to appear on the Italian stage (Orbecche), and who was one of the first writers of tragicomedy. He studied under Celio Calcagnini and succeeded him in the chair of rhetoric at Ferrara

Giraldus Cambrensis was the archdeacon of Brecknock, Brecknockshire (1175–1204), and historian, whose accounts of life in the late 12th century stand as a valuable historical source. His works contain vivid anecdotes about the Christian church, particularly in Wales, about the growing universities

girandole, elaborate wall bracket incorporating one or more candleholders and frequently a mirror to reflect the light. An object of luxury, it was usually embellished with carving and gilding. Although the name is Italian in origin, girandoles reached the greatest heights of fashion (in the second

Bernardo Buontalenti was a Florentine stage designer and theatre architect. Buontalenti entered the service of the Medici as a youth and remained with them the rest of his life. In the Uffizi Palace, Florence, he built a great court stage, where, during the winter of 1585–86, splendid fetes were

Fibonacci: Fibonacci sequence: …formula by the French-born mathematician Albert Girard in 1634: un + 2 = un + 1 + un, in which u represents the term and the subscript its rank in the sequence. The mathematician Robert Simson at the University of Glasgow in 1753 noted that, as the numbers increased in…

Alexander Girard was an American architect and furniture, textile, graphic, and industrial designer whose vibrant, whimsical designs brought an element of joy to Mid-Century Modernism. Girard’s father was a French-Italian antiques dealer; his mother, an American, came from a family that was also in

Alexander Girard was an American architect and furniture, textile, graphic, and industrial designer whose vibrant, whimsical designs brought an element of joy to Mid-Century Modernism. Girard’s father was a French-Italian antiques dealer; his mother, an American, came from a family that was also in

Georges Arnaud was a French novelist and social activist. Arnaud’s father was Georges Girard, a state official and noted historian who was killed along with Arnaud’s aunt on the family estate near Perigueux in central France (1941). Accused of the murders, Arnaud spent 19 months in jail before he

Georges Arnaud was a French novelist and social activist. Arnaud’s father was Georges Girard, a state official and noted historian who was killed along with Arnaud’s aunt on the family estate near Perigueux in central France (1941). Accused of the murders, Arnaud spent 19 months in jail before he

Georges Arnaud was a French novelist and social activist. Arnaud’s father was Georges Girard, a state official and noted historian who was killed along with Arnaud’s aunt on the family estate near Perigueux in central France (1941). Accused of the murders, Arnaud spent 19 months in jail before he

René Girard was a literary critic, scholar, and philosopher whose contributions—numerous and sometimes controversial—spanned the fields of literary theory, philosophy, religious studies, psychology, history, and anthropology. His theory of mimetic desire, which seeks to understand human desire and

René Girard was a literary critic, scholar, and philosopher whose contributions—numerous and sometimes controversial—spanned the fields of literary theory, philosophy, religious studies, psychology, history, and anthropology. His theory of mimetic desire, which seeks to understand human desire and

Canadian literature: The Montreal School, 1895–1935: However, Quebec authors such as Rodolphe Girard (Marie Calumet [1904; Eng. trans. Marie Calumet]) and Albert Laberge (La Scouine [1918; Bitter Bread]), who portrayed country life too realistically, were censured and ostracized. The one poet who anticipated future trends, Jean-Aubert Loranger (Les Atmosphères [1920; "Atmospheres"]), was ignored.

Stephen Girard was an American financier and philanthropist whose purchase of government bonds during the War of 1812 provided economic support for continuation of U.S. military campaigns. Girard shipped out to sea at the age of 14 and by 1774 was captain of a ship involved in U.S. coastal trade

Marc Girardelli is an Austrian-born Luxembourgian skier who won five overall World Cup titles in the 1980s and ’90s. Coached by his father, Helmut, Girardelli made his debut on the World Cup circuit at age 15. Early on, Girardelli appeared not to approach the biennial Fédération Internationale de

New York Yankees: George Steinbrenner, Reggie Jackson, and Derek Jeter: …time in six years, under Joe Girardi, who had become the Yankees’ manager in 2008. In six games the Yankees dethroned the Philadelphia Phillies, en route to winning their 27th World Series title, the most of all teams.

Émile de Girardin was a popular French journalist, called the Napoleon of the press for his success in publishing inexpensive newspapers with massive circulations. The illegitimate son of Count Alexandre de Girardin by the wife of a Parisian lawyer, he took his father’s name upon the publication of

Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The last decade: …de Conti and then the Marquis de Girardin, in whose park at Ermenonville he died.

François Girardon was the most representative sculptor employed on the great sculptural project of decorating Versailles during the period of Louis XIV. Girardon attracted the attention of Chancellor Pierre Séguier, who brought him to Paris to study under François Anguier and afterward sent him to

Girardot, river port, central Colombia, at the confluence of the upper Magdalena (there bridged) and Bogotá rivers, opposite Flandes. The site, once a canoe outpost named Pastor Montero, was donated for the creation of San Miguel parish in 1844. Under a provincial ordinance (1852) this became a

Provençal literature: Decline and fall: …notable of which is the Girart de Roussillon, a poem of 10,000 lines which related the struggles of Charles Martel with his vassal Gerard of Roussillon. Several Provençal romances of adventure have also survived: Jaufré, Blandin de Cornoalha, and Guillem de la Barra. Connected with the romance of adventure was…

Jerusalem artichoke, (Helianthus tuberosus), sunflower species (Asteraceae family) native to North America and noted for its edible tubers. Jerusalem artichoke is popular as a cooked vegetable in Europe and has long been cultivated in France as a stock feed. In the United States it is rarely

Antonio Vivaldi: Life: In 1726 the contralto Anna Girò sang for the first time in a Vivaldi opera. Born in Mantua about 1711, she had gone to Venice to further her career as a singer. Her voice was not strong, but she was attractive and acted well. She became part of Vivaldi’s…

Henri Giraud was an army officer and one of the leaders, in World War II, of the French Committee of National Liberation. After graduating from Saint-Cyr in 1900, Giraud first served in Morocco and was captured by the Germans during World War I. Returning to North Africa in 1922, he participated in

Jean Giraudoux was a French novelist, essayist, and playwright who created an impressionistic form of drama by emphasizing dialogue and style rather than realism. Giraudoux was educated at the École Normale Superiéure and made the diplomatic service his career. He became known as an avant-garde

Jean Giraudoux was a French novelist, essayist, and playwright who created an impressionistic form of drama by emphasizing dialogue and style rather than realism. Giraudoux was educated at the École Normale Superiéure and made the diplomatic service his career. He became known as an avant-garde

Jean Giraudoux was a French novelist, essayist, and playwright who created an impressionistic form of drama by emphasizing dialogue and style rather than realism. Giraudoux was educated at the École Normale Superiéure and made the diplomatic service his career. He became known as an avant-garde

space exploration: Soviet Union: …into an organization known as GIRD (the abbreviation in Russian for “Group for the Study of Reactive Motion”), with branches in Moscow and Leningrad. Emerging as leaders of the Moscow branch were the aeronautical engineer Sergei Korolev, who had become interested in spaceflight at a young age, and the early…

girder, in building construction, a horizontal main supporting beam that carries a vertical concentrated load. See

beam bridge, simple bridge in which a horizontal beam is supported at each end. The beam bridge is the most common and oldest bridge form. The earliest examples were simple wooden beams placed across a stream or other declivity to serve as a crossing. Later, beam bridges were supported by wooden or

Lepidoptera: Pupa, or chrysalis: …position by a threadlike silk girdle about the body.

girdle, a band that encircles or girds the waist either to confine the loose and flowing outer garments so as to allow freedom of movement or to fasten and support the garments of the wearer. Girdle in this sense is now a literary word and may connote a more elaborate item of dress than the term

scone, quick bread of British origin and worldwide fame, made with leavened barley flour or oatmeal that is rolled into a round shape and cut into quarters before baking, traditionally on a griddle. The first scones were baked in cast iron pans hung in the kitchen fires of rural England and Wales.

girdle tie, in Egyptian religion, protective amulet formed like a knot and made of gold, carnelian, or red glazed ware. Most samples of the girdle tie have been found tied around the necks of mummies; the amulets were intended to protect the dead from all that was harmful in the

girdle-tailed lizard, any of various south and east African and Madagascan lizards belonging to the family Cordylidae. They are live-bearers, having as few as one to four young per litter. Their name is derived from the rings of spiny scales that encircle the tail, and sometimes the body, in a

angiosperm: Evolution of the transport process: Experiments now called girdling experiments were performed, in which a ring of bark is removed from a woody plant. Girdling, or ringing, does not immediately interfere with upward movement of water in the xylem, but it does interrupt phloem movement. In some plants surgical removal of phloem is…

brilliant cut: …of which are above the girdle (the widest part of the stone) and 25 of which are below. When the stone is cut so that the facets of the crown (above the girdle) make an angle of 35° to the plane of the girdle and those of the pavilion (below…

coloration: Short-term changes: Greenfish, or opaleye (Girella nigricans), kept in white-walled aquariums became very pale during a four-month period, storing about four times the quantity of integumentary guanine as was recoverable from the skins of individuals living in black-walled aquariums but receiving the same kind and amounts of…

Giresun, city and seaport, northeastern Turkey. It lies along the Black Sea about 110 miles (175 km) west of Trabzon. The older parts of the city lie on a peninsula crowned by a ruined Byzantine fortress, sheltering the small natural harbour. Nearby is Giresun Island, in ancient times called Ares.

Jirjā, town, Sawhāj muḥāfaẓah (governorate), Upper Egypt. It is situated on the west bank of the Nile River, which encroached considerably on the town in the 18th and 19th centuries. In pharaonic times it was probably the town of This (Tny), ancestral home of the 1st dynasty (c. 2925–c. 2775 bce),