Masséna, André, 1758–1817, marshal of France, b. Nice. Of humble origin, he entered (1791) the French army and rose rapidly because of his brilliant tactical abilities. He served under Napoleo...

Rivoli Veronese, village (1991 pop. 52,683), Venetia, NE Italy, on the Adige River. It was the scene in Jan., 1797, of a decisive French victory over the Austrians. Masséna, who participated i...

Marmont, Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de, 1774–1852, marshal of France. He fought with Napoleon in Italy and Egypt and took part in his coup of 18 Brumaire (1799). In 1808 he was made duke of...

Galli-Curci, Amelita, 1889–1963, Italian coloratura soprano. She studied piano at the Milan Conservatory and meanwhile trained her own voice. From the time she made her debut in the role of Gi...

Helvetic Republic, 1798–1803, Swiss state established under French auspices. In Sept., 1797, several exiled Swiss leaders in France (notably Frédéric César de La Harpe) formally urged the Fren...

Peninsular War, 1808–14, fought by France against Great Britain, Portugal, Spanish regulars, and Spanish guerrillas in the Iberian Peninsula. The conflict was precipitated when Portugal refuse...

Antonello da Messina, c.1430–79, Sicilian painter, b. Messina. Antonello appears to have had early contact with Flemish art. In his deft handling of the oil medium—his rendering of transparent...

Messina, city (1991 pop. 231,693), capital of Messina prov., NE Sicily, Italy, on the Strait of Messina, opposite the Italian mainland. It is a busy seaport and a commercial and light industri...

Suvorov, Aleksandr Vasilyevich, 1729–1800, Russian field marshal. Suvorov entered the army as a youth and rose rapidly through the ranks. He fought in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–74, helped ...

French Revolutionary Wars, wars occurring in the era of the French Revolution and the beginning of the Napoleonic era, the decade of 1792–1802. The wars began as an effort to defend the Revolu...