Altopascio
Altopascio is a ''comune'' in the Province of Lucca in the Tuscany region of Italy with a population of 15,572. History Already inhabited in Roman times, Altopascio gained in importance due to its ''Spedale'' (hostel, first mentioned in 1084) for the pilgrims who travelled on the Via Francigena, leading from France to Rome. This formed the basis of the later Order of Saint James of Altopascio. This, founded by Matilda of Canossa between 1070 and 1080, was one of the first of the Military Orders; it existed for four hundred years, in which it had considerable social, political and military influence, and though gaining land in various European countries retained its strong ties to the town where it was founded. It is famous for the battle of Altopascio in 1325 in which the Ghibelline leader Castruccio Castracani defeated the Florentines Guelphs led by Ramon de Cardona. Thanks to his victory, he became duke of Lucca. The ''Spedale'' declined starting from the 16th century, unti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its influence on high culture. It is regarded as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and of the foundations of the Italian language. The prestige established by the Tuscan dialect's use in literature by Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Niccolò Machiavelli and Francesco Guicciardini led to its subsequent elaboration as the language of culture throughout Italy. It has been home to many figures influential in the history of art and science, and contains well-known museums such as the Uffizi and the Palazzo Pitti. Tuscany is also known for its wines, including Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano, Brunello di Montalcino and white Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Having a strong linguisti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Castruccio Castracani
Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli (; 1281 – 3 September 1328) was an Italian ''condottiero'' and duke of Lucca. Biography Castruccio was born in Lucca, a member of the noble family of Antelminelli, of the Ghibelline party. In 1300 he was exiled with his parents and others of their faction by the Guelphs "Black" party, then in the ascendant. At nineteen he became orphaned, and subsequently served as a ''condottiero'' under Philip IV of France in Flanders, then with the Visconti in Lombardy, and in 1313 under the Ghibelline chief, Uguccione della Faggiuola, lord of Pisa, in central Italy. He assisted Uguccione in many enterprises, including the capture of Lucca (1314) and the Battle of Montecatini (1315), in which he was the main protagonist of the victory over the Guelph League led by the Florentines. However, due to his growing popularity, Uguccione had him jailed and condemned to death. An insurrection of the Lucchesi having led to the expulsion of Uguccione and his ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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El Perelló
El Perelló is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Baix Ebre in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the north of the ''comarca'', below the Boix and Cabrafeixet ranges. The N-340 road runs around the town, and connects it with the A-7 ''autopista'' at l'Ampolla. Demography The municipality of l'Ampolla formed part of El Perelló until 1990; their combined population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ... as of 2007 is 2895. Population figures below are for the territory of El Perelló as of the date given. References * Panareda Clopés, Josep Maria; Rios Calvet, Jaume; Rabella Vives, Josep Maria (1989). ''Guia de Catalunya'', Barcelona: Caixa de Catalunya. (Spanish). (Catalan). External links Official website Government data pages Municipalities in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Camaldolese
The Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona ( la, Congregatio Eremitarum Camaldulensium Montis Coronae), commonly called Camaldolese is a monastic order of Pontifical Right for men founded by Saint Romuald. Their name is derived from the Holy Hermitage ( it, Sacro Eremo) of Camaldoli, high in the mountains of central Italy, near the city of Arezzo. Its members add the nominal letters E.C.M.C. after their names to indicate their membership in the congregation. Apart from the Roman Catholic congregations, ecumenical Christian hermitages with a Camaldolese spirituality have arisen as well. History The Camaldolese were established through the efforts of the Italian monk Saint Romuald (). His reform sought to renew and integrate the eremitical tradition of monastic life with that of the cenobium. In his youth, Romuald became acquainted with the three major schools of Western monastic tradition. The monastery where he entered the Order, Sant' Apollinare in Classe, was a traditional B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pescia
Pescia () is an Italian city in the province of Pistoia, Tuscany, central Italy. It is located in a central zone between the cities Lucca and Florence, on the banks of the river of the same name. History Archaeological excavations have suggested that the Lombards built the first settlement here on the river banks. The name of the city comes in fact from the Lombardic word ' (cognate to ' in German), meaning "river". Lucca occupied and destroyed Pescia during the 13th century, but the town was quickly rebuilt. During the entire Middle Ages Florence and Lucca contended for the city, as the latter was located on the border between the two republics. In 1339, after almost ten years of war, Florence occupied it. The economy of the town was founded on mulberry cultivation and silkworm breeding. Heavily struck by the Black Death, Pescia overcame the demographic and economic depression which had ensued only at the end of the 15th century. At the end of the 17th century, the grand-du ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
, house =Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Maria Theresa of Hungary and Bohemia , religion =Roman Catholicism , succession1 =Grand Duke of Tuscany , reign1 =18 August 1765 – 22 July 1790 , predecessor1 = Francis Stephen , successor1 = Ferdinand III , date of burial = , place of burial =Imperial Crypt , signature =Signatur Leopold II. (HRR).PNG Leopold II (Peter Leopold Josef Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard; 5 May 1747 – 1 March 1792) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Bohemia, and Archduke of Austria from 1790 to 1792, and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790. He was a son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor Francis I, and the brother of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples, Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma, and Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. Leopold was a moderate proponent of enlightened absolutism. He granted the Academ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lucca
Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one of the Italian's "Città d'arte" (Arts town), thanks to its intact Renaissance-era city walls and its very well preserved historic center, where, among other buildings and monuments, are located the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, which has its origins in the second half of the 1st century A.D. and the Guinigi Tower, a tower that dates from the 1300s. The city is also the birthplace of numerous world-class composers, including Giacomo Puccini, Alfredo Catalani, and Luigi Boccherini. Toponymy By the Romans, Lucca was known as ''Luca''. From more recent and concrete toponymic studies, the name Lucca has references that lead to "sacred wood" (Latin: ''lucus''), "to cut" (Latin: ''lucare'') and "luminous space" (''leuk'', a term used by the firs ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ghibelline
The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rivalry between these two parties formed a particularly important aspect of the internal politics of medieval Italy. The struggle for power between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire arose with the Investiture Controversy, which began in 1075, and ended with the Concordat of Worms in 1122. History Origins The Guelph vs Ghibelline conflict initially arose from the division caused by the Investiture Controversy, about whether secular rulers or the pope had the authority to appoint bishops and abbots. Upon the death of Emperor Henry V, of the Salian dynasty, the dukes elected an opponent of his dynasty, Lothair III, as the new emperor. This displeased the Hohenstaufen, who were allied with and related to the old dynasty. Out of fear of the H ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Province Of Lucca
The province of Lucca ( it, provincia di Lucca) is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lucca. It has an area of and a total population of about 390,000. There are 33 ''comuni'' (singular: ''comune'') in the province. Geography Situated in northwestern coastal Italy, within Tuscany, Lucca borders the Ligurian Sea to the west, the provinces of Massa e Carrara to the northwest, Pisa to the south, Pistoia to the north-east and Firenze to the east. To the north it abuts the region of Emilia-Romagna (Provinces of Reggio Emilia and Province of Modena). Access to the Ligurian Sea is through municipalities such as Torre del Lago, Viareggio, and Forte dei Marmi. It is divided into four areas; Piana di Lucca, Versilia, Media Valle del Serchio and Garfagnana. Versilia is known for its extensive beaches, and there are coastal dunes and wetlands in the Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli Natural Park. The principal resorts of the province are located at Vi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Battle Of Altopascio
The Battle of Altopascio was a battle fought in 1325 in Tuscany, between the Ghibelline forces of Lucca under Castruccio Castracani and those of Guelph Florence. Background After subduing several Ghibelline towns, Castracani had conquered Pistoia and from there menaced Florence. The latter's troops moved to face him, but Castracani preferred to avoid a pitched battle; he took shelter in the local burgh of Cerruglio, waiting for reinforcements from his allies, the Bonacolsi, the Visconti and Cangrande della Scala. Besieged by the Florentine commander, the Catalan Ramon de Cardona, the small garrison of Altopascio (500 men) resisted for 26 days (August 3–29), but in the end they had to surrender to the greatly superior Guelph forces (15,000 infantry and 2,500 cavalry, mostly composed of French, German and Burgundian mercenaries). The winners put their camp at Altopascio, but started to suffer heavy losses due to the unhealthy environment. On September 21, a party seeking a site ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Military Order (society)
A military order ( la, militaris ordo) is a Christian religious society of knights. The original military orders were the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller, the Order of Saint James, the Order of Calatrava, and the Teutonic Knights. They arose in the Middle Ages in association with the Crusades, both in the Holy Land, the Baltics, and the Iberian peninsula; their members being dedicated to the protection of pilgrims and the defence of the Crusader states. They are the predecessors of chivalric orders. Most members of military orders were laymen who took religious vows, such as of poverty, chastity, and obedience, according to monastic ideals. The orders owned houses called commanderies all across Europe and had a hierarchical structure of leadership with the grand master at the top. The Knights Templar, the largest and most influential of the military orders, was suppressed in the early fourteenth century; only a handful of orders were established and recognized aft ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |