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Carlos De Grunenbergh
Carlos de Grunenbergh, also known as Carlo Grunenberg (died 1696), was a Flemish architect and military engineer active in the late 17th century. He mainly designed fortifications in Sicily and Malta. He was also a member of the Order of Saint John. Career In the mid-17th century, Grunenbergh worked in Spain with his brother Ferdinand. He was eventually appointed as the military engineer of the Viceroy of Sicily, and he designed or modified various fortifications in the last few decades of the century, including the walls of Augusta, Messina and Catania. In 1681, Grunenbergh was invited to Malta by Gregorio Carafa, the Grand Master of the Order of Saint John. He made a number of improvements and modifications to the islands' fortifications. The improvements included the addition of batteries to the fortifications of Valletta and Senglea, and the construction of the Carafa Enceinte around Fort Saint Elmo. Grunenbergh came to Malta again in 1687, and designed and paid for the c ...
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Malta StAngelo Three
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies south of Sicily (Italy), east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The official languages are Maltese language, Maltese and English language, English, and 66% of the current Maltese population is at least conversational in the Italian language, Italian language. Malta has been inhabited since approximately 5900 BC. Its location in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean has historically given it great strategic importance as a naval base, with a succession of powers having contested and ruled the islands, including the Phoenicians and Ancient Carthage, Carthaginians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Knights Hospitaller, Knights of St. John, French, and British, amongst others. With a population of about 516,000 over an ...
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1693 Sicily Earthquake
The 1693 Sicily earthquake struck parts of southern Italy near Sicily, Calabria, and Malta on January 11 at around 21:00 local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9. The main quake had an estimated magnitude of 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, the most powerful in Italian recorded history, and a maximum intensity of XI (''Extreme'') on the Mercalli intensity scale, destroying at least 70 towns and cities, seriously affecting an area of and causing the death of about 60,000 people. The earthquake was followed by tsunamis that devastated the coastal villages on the Ionian Sea and in the Straits of Messina. Almost two-thirds of the entire population of Catania were killed. The epicentre of the disaster was probably close to the coast, possibly offshore, although the exact position remains unknown. The extent and degree of destruction caused by the earthquake resulted in the extensive rebuilding of the towns and cities of southeastern Sicily, partic ...
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Flemish Military Engineers
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; it is spoken by Flemings, the dominant ethnic group of the region. Outside of Flanders, it is also spoken to some extent in French Flanders and the Dutch Zeelandic Flanders. Terminology The term ''Flemish'' itself has become ambiguous. Nowadays, it is used in at least five ways, depending on the context. These include: # An indication of Dutch written and spoken in Flanders including the Dutch standard language as well as the non-standardized dialects, including intermediate forms between vernacular dialects and the standard. Some linguists avoid the term ''Flemish'' in this context and prefer the designation ''Belgian-Dutch'' or ''South-Dutch'' # A synonym for the so-called intermediate language in Flanders region, the # An indicatio ...
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Flemish Baroque Architects
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; it is spoken by Flemings, the dominant ethnic group of the region. Outside of Flanders, it is also spoken to some extent in French Flanders and the Dutch Zeelandic Flanders. Terminology The term ''Flemish'' itself has become ambiguous. Nowadays, it is used in at least five ways, depending on the context. These include: # An indication of Dutch written and spoken in Flanders including the Dutch standard language as well as the non-standardized dialects, including intermediate forms between vernacular dialects and the standard. Some linguists avoid the term ''Flemish'' in this context and prefer the designation ''Belgian-Dutch'' or ''South-Dutch'' # A synonym for the so-called intermediate language in Flanders region, the # An indicatio ...
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1696 Deaths
Events January–March * January 21 – The Recoinage Act, passed by the Parliament of England to pull counterfeit silver coins out of circulation, becomes law.James E. Thorold Rogers, ''The First Nine Years of the Bank of England'' (Clarendon Press, 1887 p. 41 * January 27 – In England, the ship HMS ''Royal Sovereign'' (formerly ''HMS Sovereign of the Seas'', 1638) catches fire and burns at Chatham, after 57 years of service. * January 31 – In the Netherlands, undertakers revolt after funeral reforms in Amsterdam. * January – Colley Cibber's play ''Love's Last Shift'' is first performed in London. * February 8 (January 29 old style) – Peter the Great who had jointly reigned since 1682 with his mentally-ill older half-brother, Tsar Ivan V, becomes the sole Tsar of Russia when Ivan dies at the age of 29. * February 15 – A plot to ambush and assassinate King William III of England in order to restore King James and the House of Stuar ...
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Year Of Birth Missing
A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hours of daylight, and, consequently, vegetation and soil fertility. In temperate and subpolar regions around the planet, four seasons are generally recognized: spring, summer, autumn and winter. In tropical and subtropical regions, several geographical sectors do not present defined seasons; but in the seasonal tropics, the annual wet and dry seasons are recognized and tracked. A calendar year is an approximation of the number of days of the Earth's orbital period, as counted in a given calendar. The Gregorian calendar, or modern calendar, presents its calendar year to be either a common year of 365 days or a leap year of 366 days, as do the Julian calendars. For the Gregorian calendar, the average length of the calendar year (the mea ...
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Birgu
Birgu ( mt, Il-Birgu , it, Vittoriosa), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ("''Victorious City''"), is an old fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the South Eastern Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory of land with Fort Saint Angelo at its head and the city of Cospicua at its base. Birgu is ideally situated for safe anchorage, and over time it has developed a very long history with maritime, mercantile and military activities. Birgu is a very old locality with its origins reaching back to medieval times. Prior to the establishment of Valletta as capital and main city of Malta, military powers that wanted to rule the Maltese islands would need to obtain control of Birgu due to its significant position in the Grand Harbour. In fact, it served as the base of the Order of Saint John and ''de facto'' capital city of Malta from 1530 to 1571. Birgu is well known for its vital role in the Great Siege of Malta of 1565. In the early 20th century, Bi ...
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Valletta
Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was 6,444. According to the data from 2020 by Eurostat, the Functional Urban Area and metropolitan region covered the whole island and has a population of 480,134. Valletta is the southernmost capital of Europe, and at just , it is the European Union's smallest capital city. Valletta's 16th-century buildings were constructed by the Hospitaller Malta, Knights Hospitaller. The city was named after Jean Parisot de Valette, who succeeded in defending the island from an Ottoman invasion during the Great Siege of Malta. The city is Baroque architecture, Baroque in character, with elements of Mannerist architecture#Mannerist architecture, Mannerist, Neoclassical architecture, Neo-Classical and Mo ...
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Real Cittadella
The Real Cittadella was a fort in Messina, Sicily. The Cittadella was built between 1680 and 1686 by the Spanish Empire, and it was considered to be one of the most important fortifications in the Mediterranean. Most of the fort was demolished in the 20th century, but some parts can still be seen. History Background and construction The Real Cittadella was built by the Spanish Empire (who controlled the Kingdom of Sicily) between 1680 and 1686. It was built to defend the port of Messina, but it was also meant to establish a strong garrison in the city to prevent the population from revolting, as had happened a few years earlier in 1674. The fort was designed by Carlos de Grunenbergh, the military engineer of the Viceroy of Sicily. It was built in the centre of the peninsula of San Raineri, and was cut off from the mainland by a moat. The extremity of the peninsula was occupied by the Forte del Santissimo Salvatore. A neighborhood populated by 8000 people, a Benedictine monast ...
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Trapani
Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the main gateway to the nearby Egadi Islands. History Drepana was founded by the Elymians to serve as the port of the nearby city of Eryx (present-day Erice), which overlooks it from Monte Erice. The city sits on a low-lying promontory jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea. It was originally named ''Drépanon'' from the Greek word for "sickle", because of the curving shape of its harbour. Carthage seized control of the city in 260BC, subsequently making it an important naval base, but ceded it to Rome in 241BC following the Battle of the Aegates in the First Punic War. Two ancient legends relate supposed mythical origins for the city. In the first legend, Trapani stemmed from the sickle which fell from the hands o ...
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Ligny Tower
Ligny Tower ( it, Torre di Ligny, scn, Turrignì) is a coastal watchtower in Trapani, Sicily. It was built between 1671 and 1672 at a strategic position on the city's western coast. Today, the tower is in good condition, and it is open to the public as an archaeological museum. History Ligny Tower was built on a narrow strip of land on Trapani's western coast, to defend the city from attacks by the Barbary corsairs. It was named after the Viceroy of Sicily, Claude Lamoral, 3rd Prince of Ligne, who had ordered its construction. The tower was designed by the Flemish architect Carlos de Grunenbergh. It has a square base with scarped walls, with four corner turrets which originally contained lanterns. The tower was proposed in a meeting held at Palermo on 11 January 1670. Construction began in 1671, and it was inaugurated in October 1672. A passage connecting the tower with the mainland was built in 1806, and guns were installed on the tower's roof until 1862. It was subsequentl ...
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Porta Spagnola
Porta Spagnola (Italian for ''Spanish Gate''), also known as the Porta di Terra (''Land Gate'') is a city gate in Augusta, Sicily. It was built between 1681 and 1682 as part of the city's fortifications. History The fortifications of Augusta were constructed in the 1670s and 1680s to designs of the Flemish military engineer Carlos de Grunenbergh. On 13 May 1680, the city council granted a loan of 30,000 scudi for the construction of the Porta Spagnola, which was built between 1681 and 1682. The gate is the only entrance into the historic centre of Augusta, and it was built across an isthmus which was subsequently excavated, turning the city into an island. The design of the gate is attributed to Grunenbergh himself. The gate was located a few hundred metres away from another gate known as the Porta Madre di Dio, which no longer exists. Porta Spagnola was damaged in an earthquake on 13 December 1990, and it was restored in 2005. Architecture The gate is topped by a marble coa ...
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