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The Antiquarian's Family
''The Antiquarian's Family, or The Mother-in-law and the Daughter'' (''La famiglia dell'antiquario, ossia La suocera e la nuora'') is a comedy by Venetian author Carlo Goldoni, first published in 1749. Plot Introduction In the introduction, Goldoni introduces the plot and characters : Count Anselmo from Palermo, an antiquarian who spends his money on low value items that are presented to him as ancient and precious; his wife, now elderly but who poses as a young woman, who fights with her daughter; and her son, Count Giacinto, who asks in vain for help to pacify the two. Act 1 Count Anselmo is in his study admiring his precious "Pescennius Niger, Pescennius," an ancient coin "so well survived that it seems to have been coined today". His servant Brighella arrives to bother him with certain debts he needs to pay and reprove him for throwing away his small fortune for household junk. His master accuses him of ignorance, and tells him that with the dowry from his son's marriage, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carlo Goldoni
Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni (, also , ; 25 February 1707 – 6 February 1793) was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays of Goldoni for their ingenious mix of wit and honesty. His plays offered his contemporaries images of themselves, often dramatizing the lives, values, and conflicts of the emerging middle classes. Though he wrote in French and Italian, his plays make rich use of the Venetian language, regional vernacular, and colloquialisms. Goldoni also wrote under the pen name and title ''Polisseno Fegeio, Pastor Arcade'', which he claimed in his memoirs the " Arcadians of Rome" bestowed on him. Biography Memoirs There is an abundance of autobiographical information on Goldoni, most of which comes from the introductions to his plays and from his ''Memoirs''. However, these memoirs are known to contain many errors of fact, especially about his earli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DIY, and hobbyist. History Historically, the amateur was considered to be the ideal balance between pure intent, open mind, and the interest or passion for a subject. That ideology spanned many different fields of interest. It may have its roots in the ancient Greek philosophy of Amateur sports, amateur athletes competing in the Olympic Games, Olympics. The ancient Greek citizens spent most of their time in other pursuits, but competed according to their natural talents and abilities. The "gentleman amateur" was a phenomenon among the gentry of United Kingdom, Great Britain from the 17th century until the 20th century. With the start of the Age of Enlightenment, Age of Reason, with people thinking more about how the world works around th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antiquarianism
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts. The essence of antiquarianism is a focus on the empirical evidence of the past, and is perhaps best encapsulated in the motto adopted by the 18th-century antiquary Sir Richard Colt Hoare, "We speak from facts, not theory." The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' first cites "archaeologist" from 1824; this soon took over as the usual term for one major branch of antiquarian activity. "Archaeology", from 1607 onwards, initially meant what is now seen as "ancient history" generally, with the narrower modern sense first seen in 1837. Today the term "antiquarian" is often used in a pejorative sense, to refer to an excessively narrow focus on factual historical trivia, to the exclusion of a sense of histo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pantalone
Pantalone (), spelled Pantaloon in English, is one of the most important principal characters found in commedia dell'arte. With his exceptional greed and status at the top of the social order, Pantalone is "money" in the ''commedia'' world. His full name, including family name, is ''Pantalon de' Bisognosi'', Italian for 'Pantalone of the Needy'. Robert Henke ''Performance and literature in the commedia dell'arte'', Improvisation and characters, Individual roles, pp. 19–24 Character Pantalone originated as part of a master/servant duo and was the original ''Il Magnifico'' stock character. Carlo Goldoni, in his memoirs, named Pantalone as one of the four primary commedia dell'arte characters. Among other things, Pantalone is a character of Venetians; one theory is that his name derives from Saint Pantaleon (''San Pantalone''), a popular saint in Venice. Another theory is that his name derives from Venetian merchants who were called Piantaleoni. While the theories of the St. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colombina
Columbine ( Italian: Colombina; French: Colombine; ) is a stock character in the commedia dell'arte. She is Harlequin's mistress, a comic servant playing the tricky slave type, and wife of Pierrot. Rudlin and Crick use the Italian spelling Colombina in ''Commedia dell'Arte: A Handbook for Troupes''. History The role of the female servant was originally that of an entr'acte dancer. Women were not allowed to be part of the story that was being played out on stage, but they were allowed to have a dance in-between the action. Eventually these women became the buxom and gossipy servants of characters that were already allowed on stage, and then, later, the counterparts to the Zanni characters. Columbine was very down to earth and could always see the situation for what it actually was. She was also sometimes portrayed as a prostitute. She was very infrequently without something to say to or about someone. She is dressed in a very short ragged and patched dress, appropriate to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brighella
Brighella (Bergamasque dialect: ''Brighèla'') is a comic, masked character from the Italian theatre style commedia dell'arte. His early costume consisted of loosely fitting, white smock and pants with green trim and was often equipped with a ' (also ' or ', depending on region) or slapstick, or else with a wooden sword. Later, he took to wearing a sort of livery with a matching cape. He wore a greenish half-mask (traditionally olive-green) displaying a look of preternatural lust and greed. It is distinguished by a hook nose and thick lips, along with a thick twirled mustache to give him an offensive characteristic. He evolved out of the general Zanni, as evidenced by his costume, and came into his own around the start of the 16th century. He is loosely categorized as one of the Zanni or servant characters, although he often was portrayed as a member of the middle class, such as a tavern owner: his character could be adapted to whatever the needs to the scenario might be, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arlecchino
Harlequin (, , ; , ) is the best-known of the comic servant characters ( Zanni) from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the Italian actor-manager Zan Ganassa in the late 16th century, was definitively popularized by the Italian actor Tristano Martinelli in Paris in 1584–1585, and became a stock character after Martinelli's death in 1630. The Harlequin is characterised by his checkered costume. His role is that of a light-hearted, nimble, and astute servant, often acting to thwart the plans of his master, and pursuing his own love interest, Columbine, with wit and resourcefulness, often competing with the sterner and melancholic Pierrot. He later develops into a prototype of the romantic hero. Harlequin inherits his physical agility and his trickster qualities, as well as his name, from a mischievous "devil" character in medieval Passion Plays. The Harlequin character first ap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Venetian Language
Venetian, also known as wider Venetian or Venetan ( or ), is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken natively in the northeast of Italy,Ethnologue mostly in Veneto, where most of the five million inhabitants can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto: in Trentino, Friuli, the Julian March, Istria, and some towns of Slovenia, Dalmatia (Croatia) and Bay of Kotor (Montenegro) by a surviving autochthonous Venetian population, and in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the United States and the United Kingdom by Venetians in the diaspora. Although referred to as an "Italian dialect" (; ) even by some of its speakers, the label is primarily geographic. Venetian is a separate language from Italian, with many local varieties. Its precise place within the Romance language family remains somewhat controversial. Both Ethnologue and Glottolog group it into the ''Gallo-Italic'' branch (and thus, closer to French language, French and E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comedy (drama)
Comedy is a genre of dramatic performance having a light or humorous tone that depicts amusing incidents and in which the characters ultimately triumph over adversity. For ancient Greeks and Romans, a comedy was a stage-play with a happy ending. In the Middle Ages, the term expanded to include narrative poems with happy endings and a lighter tone. In this sense Dante used the term in the title of his poem, the ''Divine Comedy'' ( Italian: ''Divina Commedia''). The phenomena connected with laughter and that which provokes it have been carefully investigated by psychologists. The predominating characteristics are incongruity or contrast in the object, and shock or emotional seizure on the part of the subject. It has also been held that the feeling of superiority is an essential factor: thus Thomas Hobbes speaks of laughter as a "sudden glory." Modern investigators have paid much attention to the origin both of laughter and of smiling, as well as the development of the "play ins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palermo
Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old. Palermo is in the northwest of the island of Sicily, by the Gulf of Palermo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The city was founded in Isla Palermo 734 BC by the Phoenicians as ("flower"). Palermo then became a possession of Ancient Carthage, Carthage. Two ancient Greeks, Greek ancient Greek colonization, colonies were established, known collectively as ; the Carthaginians used this name on their coins after the 5th centuryBC. As , the town became part of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire, Empire for over a thousand years. From 831 to 1072 the city was under History of Islam in south ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic sites, or historic archives and manuscripts. The essence of antiquarianism is a focus on the empirical evidence of the past, and is perhaps best encapsulated in the motto adopted by the 18th-century antiquary Sir Richard Colt Hoare, "We speak from facts, not theory." The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' first cites "archaeologist" from 1824; this soon took over as the usual term for one major branch of antiquarian activity. "Archaeology", from 1607 onwards, initially meant what is now seen as "ancient history" generally, with the narrower modern sense first seen in 1837. Today the term "antiquarian" is often used in a pejorative sense, to refer to an excessively narrow focus on factual historical trivia, to the exclusion of a sense of histori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pescennius Niger
Gaius Pescennius Niger (c. 135 – 194) was a Roman usurper from 193 to 194 during the Year of the Five Emperors. He claimed the imperial throne in response to the murder of Pertinax and the elevation of Didius Julianus, but was defeated by a rival claimant, Septimius Severus, and killed while attempting to flee from Antioch. Early life According to '' Historia Augusta'', Niger's parents were Annius Fuscus and Lampridia. It also states that his grandfather was a supervisor of Aquinum. He may have had a brother named Publius Pescennius Niger who is recorded in an inscription to have been a member of the Arval Brethren in AD 183, during the reign of Commodus.''PIR'', vol. III, p. 24. Early career Although Niger was born into an old Italian equestrian family, around the year 135, he was the first member of his family to achieve the rank of Roman senator.Potter, p. 101 Not much is known of his early career; it is possible that he held an administrative position in Egypt, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
