Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Don Juan dŏn wän, jo͞oˈən, Span. dōn hwän [key], legendary profligate. He has a counterpart in the legends of many peoples, but the Spanish version of the great libertine has become the most un...

(Encyclopedia) Certosa di Pavia chārtôˈzä dē pävēˈä [key], former Carthusian abbey of Pavia. One of the most magnificent of all monastic structures, it has been maintained as a national monument since 1866....

(Encyclopedia) humanism, philosophical and literary movement in which man and his capabilities are the central concern. The term was originally restricted to a point of view prevalent among thinkers in the Renaissan...

(Encyclopedia) Bartoli, Cecilia chāchēlˈyä bärtōˈlē [key], 1966–, Italian mezzo-soprano, b. Rome. Bartoli debuted at Verona (1987), first performed in the United States at Lincoln Center (1990), and in 199...

(Encyclopedia) Rossellino, Antonio äntôˈnyō rōs-sĕl-lēˈnō [key], 1427–c.1478, Florentine sculptor, whose name was Antonio di Matteo di Domenico Gambarelli. He was the youngest and most celebrated of four ...

(Encyclopedia) Muldoon, Sir Robert David, 1921–92, New Zealand political leader, prime minister (1975–84). Originally a public accountant, he entered parliament in 1960 as a member of the conservative National p...

(Encyclopedia) New York Pro Musica (New York Pro Musica Antiqua), vocal and instrumental ensemble, founded in New York City in 1952 by Noah Greenberg. One of the earliest groups to attempt historically correct perfo...

(Encyclopedia) Pisano, Andrea ändrĕˈä pēzäˈnō [key], c.1290–c.1348, Italian sculptor, also called Andrea da Pontedera. His most important work, the first bronze doors of the baptistery in Florence, was beg...

(Encyclopedia) Boonesboro bo͞onzˈbərə, –bûrō [key], former settlement, central Ky., on the Kentucky River. It was named for Daniel Boone, who in 1775 built a small fort there under orders from the Transylvan...

(Encyclopedia) Cochin kōˌchĭnˈ [key], former princely state, 1,493 sq mi (3,867 sq km), SW India, on the ...