Brasses, monumental, or sepulchral brasses, memorials to the dead, in use in churches on the Continent and in England in the 13th cent. and for several centuries following. They are usually se...

Mareshah. 1 In the Bible, descendant of Caleb. 2 In the Bible, son of Laadan; or the name may refer to places, not persons. 3 Town, ancient Palestine, c.20 mi (32 km) WSW of Bethlehem. In the ...

Beccafumi, Domenico di Pace, 1486–1551, Italian mannerist painter and sculptor, also called Il Meccherino. He studied painting in Siena and Rome and was a versatile engraver and sculptor. He i...

Priestley, J. B. (John Boynton Priestley), 1894–1984, English author. An extraordinarily prolific writer, Priestley worked in a variety of genres. He first wrote literary criticism as a studen...

Vis, Gr. Issa, Ital. Lissa, island (1991 pop. 4,338), 35 sq mi (91 sq km), Croatia, off the Dalmatian coast in the Adriatic. A popular resort, its chief industries are fishing, citrus farming,...

Taj Mahal, mausoleum, Agra, Uttar Pradesh state, N India, on the Yamuna River. It is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and the finest example of the late style of Ind...

Qinghai or Tsinghai, province (1990 pop. 4,510,000), c.279,000 sq mi (722,797 sq km), W China. Xining is the capital. Qinghai lies in the Tibetan highlands at an average elevation of 9,800 ft ...

Roman roads, ancient system of highways linking Rome with its provinces. Their primary purpose was military, but they also were of great commercial importance and brought the distant provinces...

Saint Peter's Church, Vatican City, principal and one of the largest churches of the Christian world. The present structure was built mainly between 1506 and 1626 on the original site of the V...

Mirage, atmospheric optical illusion in which an observer sees in the distance a nonexistent body of water or an image, sometimes distorted, of some object or of a complete scene. Examples of ...