Tag: Italian

Italian Explorer Christopher Columbus Leveraging Astronomy to Manipulate the Indigenous Taíno of Jamaica

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During Italian explorer Christopher Columbus’ 4th voyage and while still stationed upon the island of Jamaica in the Caribbean, Columbus’ crew and flotilla did not have the supplies necessary to travel back to Europe. Columbus appealed to the indigenous Taíno people of the island and requested they share their resources. The Taíno informed Columbus that they had only sourced enough supplies to see themselves through the season and that they did not have access to a surplus. Columbus responded by telling this group that if they did not comply, he would summon divine forces and cause the moon to disappear within 1 weeks time; the key to this being that Columbus understood that a total lunar eclipse was scheduled to occur within the coming week. The Taíno were skeptical of this claim initially, but when a total lunar eclipse occurred as predicted, it caused this group to believe that Columbus held a seat beside the hand of God. Unsurprisingly, Columbus was almost immediately provided all of the material he desired to fund his return voyage to Europe. During the middle of the total lunar eclipse, Columbus stated that his god, the Christian God, would now reverse the destruction of the moon and return the moon to its former position as the Taíno had complied with his crews demands

The Belief of How Insects Spawned Within Europe During the 18th Century

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It was primarily believed within Europe during the 18th century that insects were correlated with the devil, as anything not understood or relatively misunderstood during the period was explained as evil or demonic phenomena in nature powered by supernatural forces. Scientific knowledge was limited during the 18th century, therefore superstitious beliefs were commonplace throughout the whole of Europe. Europeans believed that insects spawned from the mud annually, because they could not explain why insects develop en masse and are only present for the warmer months of the year, with this hypothesis referred to as “spontaneous generation”. This theory was only laid to rest after the theory of spontaneous generation was challenged by several scientists including Italian physician Francesco Redi, who conducted experiments during the 17th century which demonstrated that maggots decaying upon meat arise from eggs laid by flies, not from the meat itself. During the 18th century, Italian priest and biologist Lazzaro Spallanzani conducted further experiments which refuted spontaneous generation, particularly for microorganisms

The First Person to Weigh the Atmosphere

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Italian Jesuit Evangelista Torricelli was able to definitively prove that the atmosphere has a specific weight by designing an experiment in which a tube is filled with mercury and then placed into a dish of mercury. Torricelli disovered that when performing this experiment, half of the mercury runs down into the dish and the other half stays within the tubing. Until this point, it was believed impossible to create a negative or empty space as the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle once stated, “nature abhors a vacuum” believing that nature would forever fight against the creation of true and pure nothingness. This is the same reason that an object (e.g. plastic straw or an oil drum barrel etc.) crumbles when all of the air within is extracted. Torricelli was able to overcome this phenomena by using the exteme weight of mercury within a ridged glass tube. The level of mercury left within the tube was a measurement of the weight of the atmosphere, a balancing act between the weight of the mercury and the weight of air pressing down upon this mercury, balancing each other out like scales. Torricelli famously stated, “noi viviamo sommersi nel fondo d’un pelago d’aria” which means “we live submerged at the bottom of an ocean of air” in Italian, and his findings made scientists realize that air was a substance for the first time. Torricelli became the first person to invent the barometer because of his understanding of atmospheric pressure. Despite Aristotle being believed to be correct for millennia, Torricelli definitively proved that air does have weight

The Original Intention of the 13th Century Italian Carnival Festival

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The Italian festival of Carnival which takes place during the winter in Venice, Italy, is a 13th century tradition designed to allow anonymity and indulgence before Lent commences. Ash Wednesday marks the end of Carnival and the beginning of Lent, a 40 day period of fasting and reflection. Catholic priests mark patrons forerheads with ash, a symbol of purification by fire. The 40 days of Lent represent the 40 days Jesus Christ spent in the wilderness, preparing for the culmination of his ministry upon Earth whilst being tempted by the devil. Historically, Lent was the final stretch of winter, with the last of any meat being finished during Carnival. Because of the challenges associated with winter, European Christians turned to their faith to help guide them through to the other end

The Eurasian Yamnaya People and Their Cultural and Physical Dominance of the European and Asian Continents

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The Yamnaya people were bands of nomads who roamed territory north of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea during the Bronze Age. By 3000 B.C., the Yamnaya became the greatest horse culture of the ancient world, as they were the first culture to adopt both riding upon horseback as well as the pulling of horse wagons. This breakthrough in technology allowed the Yamnaya to transport food and supplies more easily and readily so that the best pasture lands could be acquired. This allowed the Yamnaya to quickly become the most dominant culture within the Central Step region. Horses allowed for larger herds of cattle and sheep, which permitted wealth to be quickly generated and redistributed into local economies. The Yamnaya alongside other cultures which they combined with traversed across the Central Step, moving as far east as Mongolia and as far west as central Europe. The Yamnaya nomads dominated virtually every culture encountered which is understood due to the fact that many regions began speaking the Proto-Indo-European language in the Yamnaya dialect. The rationale for this is that language is connected to power and/or wealth which is a large incentive for a person or group of people to adopt because it provides unique advantages in all aspects of life including everything from economic trade to finding a romantic life partner. The Yamnaya left no written record of a written language but linguists are able to piece together fragments of the Yamnaya dialect due to the fact that many languages in Europe and Asia, including ancient languages like Greek and Latin, modern romantic languages like Italian, French, and Spanish, Germanic languages like various Scandinavian languages and English, and Russian and Sanskrit, all derive from the common Proto-Indo-European language spoken by the Yamnaya (e.g. the English term ”brother” is “frater” in Latin, “bratar” in Sanskrit, and “pratar” (pronounced “pray-tarr” with a rolled “R”) in Greek). The term “wheel” and “wagon” are Yamnaya terms, and only appeared after the Yamnaya people became dominant within the Central Step region where these two technologies were developed. This is important because Proto-Indo-European languages like that of the Yamnaya must have been spoken after the invention of the wheel around 3500 B.C., as the terms invented would have no use prior to the advent of the practical application (e.g. only using the term “hard drive” in English after the advent of computers, as there is no intended use prior). Many linguists believe that all languages stem from a single source language and that this single source may be the Yamnaya dialect. This dialect and Yamnaya culture as a whole spread across Europe and Asia with millions of modern day people in both continents with generic markets tracing their lineage back to the Yamnaya people. Archeologists and anthropologists believe the Yamnaya were so successful because of learned, acquired immunity towards the Bubonic Plague. Evidence of yersinia pestis bacteria exists within the burial sites of Yamnaya people, which means that the Bubonic Plague was already affecting humans as far back as 3000 years before any written record. This evidence further demonstrates that the Bubonic Plague began within Eurasia, possibly in Yamnaya communities and that those who survived, were most likely able to dominate other European and Asian cultures which did not have acquired immunity as they brought the plague with them when invading foreign territory. It is believed by experts that this immunity and transference of the Bubonic Plague allowed the Yamnaya to expand across the known world, conquering and acquiring the people and regions they came across

The Illusion of Fibonacci’s True Name

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Fibonacci’s name was created in 1838 by the Franco-Italian historian Guillaume Libri, and is short for “filius Bonacci” which means “son of Bonacci” in Italian. Fibonacci is also referred to as “Leonardo Bonacci”, “Leonardo of Pisa” where he was born, and “Leonardo Bigollo Pisano” which means “Leonardo, traveler from Pisa” in Italian, a name which Fibonacci actually used himself

Giorgio Vasari; The Person Accredited with Creating the Term “Renaissance”

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The person who is accredited with creating the term “renaissance” is Giorgio Vasari. Vasari published a book entitled “Le Vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori” which means “The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects” in Italian. The book is often shortened in its title and called “The Lives of Artists”. This book has over the centuries become the most influential art book of all time. Within the preface of the book, Vasari uses the term “rinascita” which means “rebirth” in Italian, to describe what was going on around him. Vasari stated that under the ancient Greeks and ancient Roman’s, art and civilization reached it’s highest levels of perfection, and that when the barbarians which are modern day Germans, arrived in Italy, the arts as a whole fell to ruins. The Renaissance is considered to have occurred between 1400 A.D. – 1600, with the beginning and end dates being slightly vague on each end

Traditional Operatic Theater Practices for Patrons

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Despite common belief, not everyone who attended operas during the 18th century spoke Italian which is and was the language of most operas. Because of this, operatic actions became highly exaggerated over the evolution of the artform to act as a kind of subtitle to fill in the blanks. Patrons were also provided small booklets with the entire opera in print, much the same as a modern day screenplay script so that they could follow along in the event that they became lost

The Person Who Created the Term “The Renaissance”

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The person who is accredited with creating The Renaissance is Giorgio Vasari as he published a book entitled “Le Vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori” which means “The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects” in Italian. The book is often shortened in its title and called “The Lives of Artists”. This book ended up becoming the most influential art book of all time. Within the preface of the book, Vasari uses the term “rinascita” which means “rebirth” in Italian, to describe what was going on around him. Vasari stated that under the Ancient Greeks and Ancient Roman’s, art and civilization reached it’s highest levels of perfection, and that when the Barbarians, or as they’re called during the modern day, the “Germans”, came into the picture, the arts fell to ruins. The Renaissance is measured to have occurred between 1400 – 1600 A.D., with the dates being slightly vague on each end

Leonardo da Vinci’s Sfumato Technique

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Leonardo da Vinci worked for the Parisian court as the head artist, and much of his work can be seen hanging in the Louvre. The technique da Vinci invented to create the illusion of distance is called “sfumato” derived from the Italian term “fumo” which means “smoke”. The technique involves blurring and softening a background or foreground to make it more vague and therefore provide an illusion of depth, with an excellent example of this technique being used within the background of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa painting. Da Vinci is quoted as saying that sfumato is “without lines or borders”