Giordano BrunoGiordano Bruno (dʒɔrˈdɑːnoʊ_ˈbruːnoʊ; dʒorˈdaːno ˈbruːno; Iordanus Brunus Nolanus; born Filippo Bruno, January or February 1548 – 17 February 1600) was an Italian philosopher, poet, cosmological theorist, and Hermetic occultist. He is known for his cosmological theories, which conceptually extended to include the then novel Copernican model. He proposed that the stars were distant suns surrounded by their own planets (exoplanets), and he raised the possibility that these planets might foster life of their own, a cosmological position known as cosmic pluralism.
MaltaMalta (ˈmɒltə , ˈmɔːltə , ˈmɐːltɐ), officially the Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta rɛˈpʊbːlɪkɐ tɐ ˈmɐːltɐ), is an island country in Southern Europe, located in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya. It lies south of Sicily (Italy), east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The official languages are Maltese and English, and 66% of the current Maltese population is at least conversant in the Italian language. Malta has been inhabited since approximately 5900 BC.
Kingdom of NaplesThe Kingdom of Naples (Regnum Neapolitanum; Regno di Napoli; Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302), when the island of Sicily revolted and was conquered by the Crown of Aragon, becoming a separate kingdom also called the Kingdom of Sicily. This left the Neapolitan mainland under the possession of Charles of Anjou.
SassariSassari (USˈsɑːsəri,_ˈsɑːsɑːri , ˈsassari; Sàssari ˈsasːari; Tàtari ˈtataɾi) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains a considerable collection of art. Since its origins at the turn of the 12th century, Sassari has been ruled by the Giudicato of Torres, the Pisans, as an independent republic in alliance with Genoa, by the Aragonese and the Spanish, all of whom have contributed to Sassari's historical and artistic heritage.
ToulonToulon (UKˈtuːlɒ̃, UStuːˈloʊn,-ˈlɔːn,-ˈlɒn, tulɔ̃; Tolon , Touloun , tuˈlun) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is the prefecture of the Var department. The Commune of Toulon has a population of 176,198 people (2018), making it France's 13th-largest city. It is the centre of an urban unit with 580,281 inhabitants (2018), the ninth largest in France.
TarantoTaranto (təˈræntoʊ , USalso-ˈrɑːn-,_ˈtɑːrəntoʊ , ˈtaːranto; Tarde) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base. Founded by Spartans in the 8th century BC during the period of Greek colonisation, Taranto was among the most important poleis in Magna Graecia, becoming a cultural, economic and military power that gave birth to philosophers, strategists, writers and athletes such as Archytas, Aristoxenus, Livius Andronicus, Heracleides, Iccus, Cleinias, Leonidas, Lysis and Sosibius.
Giovanni BoccaccioGiovanni Boccaccio (UKbəˈkætʃioʊ, USboʊˈkɑːtʃ(i)oʊ,_bə-, dʒoˈvanni bokˈkattʃo; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was sometimes simply known as "the Certaldese" and one of the most important figures in the European literary panorama of the fourteenth century.
Siren (mythology)In Greek mythology, sirens (singular: Seirḗn; plural: Seirênes) are humanlike beings with alluring voices; they appear in a scene in the Odyssey in which Odysseus saves his crew's lives. Roman poets place them on some small islands called Sirenum scopuli. In some later, rationalized traditions, the literal geography of the "flowery" island of Anthemoessa, or Anthemusa, is fixed: sometimes on Cape Pelorum and at others in the islands known as the Sirenuse, near Paestum, or in Capreae.
CaravaggioMichelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (,kærə'vædʒiəʊ, US-'va:dʒ(i)əʊ, mikeˈlandʒelo meˈriːzi da (k)karaˈvaddʒo; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of his life he moved between Naples, Malta, and Sicily until his death. His paintings have been characterized by art critics as combining a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, which had a formative influence on Baroque painting.
Duchy of BeneventoThe Duchy of Benevento (after 774, Principality of Benevento) was the southernmost Lombard duchy in the Italian Peninsula that was centred on Benevento, a city in Southern Italy. Lombard dukes ruled Benevento from 571 to 1077, when it was conquered by the Normans for four years before it was given to the Pope. Being cut off from the rest of the Lombard possessions by the papal Duchy of Rome, Benevento was practically independent from the start. Only during the reigns of Grimoald (r. 662–671) and the kings from Liutprand (r.
