The Renaissance at a Glance

Author(s):  
Paul van den Akker

Since its inauguration in 1869, hardly anyone who travels to Florence will miss a visit to the Piazzale Michelangelo to enjoy the panoramic view of the city. But there is more than meets the eye. In this chapter it is argued that around 1800 the panorama of Florence started to grow into an iconic view, in line with the formative role that historians began to assign to the fifteenth-century Republic of Florence in Europe’s early cultural development; an idea that culminated in Burckhardt’s characterization of Florence as the cradle of modern man. Bearing this idea in mind, this chapter investigates how the panorama, at a glace, captures the Tuscan city in its almost unaltered early Renaissance state and how it slowly grew into a popular image that conjures up Florence’s historical achievements in a nutshell.

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-81
Author(s):  
Denys Kutsenko

AbstractThe paper analyzes the transformation of identity politics of Kharkiv local authorities after the Euromaidan, or Revolution of Dignity, the annexation of Crimea, and the War in Donbass. Being the second largest city in Ukraine and becoming the frontline city in 2014, Kharkiv is an interesting case for research on how former pro-Russian local elites treat new policies of the central government in Kyiv, on whether earlier they tried to mobilize their electorate or to provoke political opponents with using soviet symbols, soviet memory, and copying Russian initiatives in the sphere of identity.To answer the research question of this article, an analysis of Kharkiv city and oblast programs and strategies and of communal media were made. Decommunisation, as one of the most important identity projects of Ukrainian central authorities after 2014, was analyzed through publications in Kharkiv’s city-owned media as well as reports from other scholars. Some conclusions are made from the analysis of these documents: Kharkiv development strategy until 2020, Complex program of cultural development in Kharkiv in 2011–2016 (and the same for 2017–2021), The regional program of military and patriotic training and participation of people in measures of defense work in 2015–2017, Program of supporting civil society in 2016–2020 in Kharkiv region and the city mayor’s orders about the celebration of Victory Day (9 May), the Day of the National Flag (23 August), the Day of the City (23 August) and Independence Day (24 August) in 2010–2015.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Gaye ◽  
Tolla Ndiaye ◽  
Mouhamad Sy ◽  
Awa B. Deme ◽  
Alphonse B. Thiaw ◽  
...  

AbstractDengue virus is a major and rapidly growing public health concern in tropic and subtropic regions across the globe. In late 2018, Senegal experienced its largest dengue virus outbreak to date, covering several regions. However, little is known about the genetic diversity of dengue virus (DENV) in Senegal. Here we report complete viral genomes from 17 previously undetected DENV cases from the city of Thiès. In total we identified 19 cases of DENV in a cohort of 198 individuals with fever collected in October and November 2018. We detected 3 co-circulating serotypes; DENV 3 was the most frequent accounting for 11/17 sequences (65%), 4 (23%) were DENV2 and 2 (12%) were DENV1. Sequences were most similar to recent sequences from West Africa, suggesting ongoing local circulation of viral populations; however, detailed inference is limited by the scarcity of available genomic data. We did not find clear associations with reported clinical signs or symptoms, highlighting the importance of testing for diagnosing febrile diseases. Overall, these findings expand the known range of DENV in Senegal, and underscore the need for better genomic characterization of DENV in West Africa.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Rocco ◽  
Luciana Royer ◽  
Fábio Mariz Gonçalves

2007 ◽  
Vol 1047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleni Pavlidou ◽  
N. Civici ◽  
E. Caushi ◽  
L. Anastasiou ◽  
T. Zorba ◽  
...  

AbstractIn this paper are presented the studies of the paint materials and the technique used in 18th century wall paintings, originated from the orthodox church of St Athanasius, in the city of Maschopolis, a flourishing economical and cultural center, in Albania. The church was painted in 1745 by Konstantinos and Athanasios Zografi, and during the last years, restoration activities are being performed at the church. Samples that included plasters and pigments of different colors were collected from important points of the wall paintings. Additionally, as some parts of the wall-paintings were over-painted, the analysis was extended to the compositional characterization of these areas. The identification of the used materials was done by using complementary analytical methods such as Optical Microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM-EDS) and X-ray fluorescence (TXRF).The presence of calcite in almost all the pigments is indicative for the use of the fresco technique at the studied areas, while the detection of gypsum and calcium oxalate, indicates an environmental degradation along with a biodegradation. Common pigments used in this area at 15-16th centuries, such as cinnabar, green earth, manganese oxide, carbon black and calcite were identified.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3272
Author(s):  
Paúl Carrión-Mero ◽  
Maribel Aguilar-Aguilar ◽  
Fernando Morante-Carballo ◽  
María José Domínguez-Cuesta ◽  
Cristhian Sánchez-Padilla ◽  
...  

In the last decade, in the mining district of Zaruma-Portovelo, there has been significant land subsidence related to uncontrolled mining activity. The purpose of this work was to carry out a surface and underground geomechanical characterization of a mining sector north of the city of Zaruma that allows the definition of potentially unstable areas susceptible to the mass movement. The methodology used consists of the following stages: (i) compilation of previous studies; (ii) surface and underground characterization of rocky material to establish its susceptibility to mass movement; (iii) interpretation of results; and (iv) proposal of action measures. Among the most relevant results, it stands out that 26.1% of the 23 stations characterized on the surface present conditions that vary from potentially unstable to unstable. In underground galleries, the studied mean values of the 17 stations indicate that the rock has a medium to good quality, representing a medium susceptibility to gallery destabilization. The results obtained for the surface areas (depths up to 50 m, where altered materials predominate) and the underground areas (depths > 50 m, where the alterations are specific) can be used to identify the areas with a more significant potential for instability. For both cases, it has been possible to define specific monitoring, control, and planning actions for sensitive areas.


Author(s):  
Geovana Geloni Parra ◽  
Bernardo Arantes do Nascimento Teixeira ◽  
Érico Masiero ◽  
Thais Borges Martins Rodrigues

Abstract Many housing estates of social interest have not contributed to implementing leisure areas and reducing their environmental and urban quality. This paper aims to propose a leisure unit using a compensatory urban drainage technique in a housing complex of social interest in the city of São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. The characterization of the area, land use and occupation surveys, area sectorization, and catchment division were carried out. Afterwards, proposals for interventions based on surface runoff were presented using calculations of existing runoff and future scenarios. Results related to environmental and social gains for the area are discussed, as well as the possibility of implementing decentralized compensatory techniques. Moreover, 156 rain gardens and 3 ditches were proposed throughout the subdivisions, which enabled a gain of 989m² of contribution area to infiltrate the whole area, and the use of the retention basin as a leisure area. The total storage volume achieved with the sum of all the techniques implemented was approximately 3,000 cubic meters more than that projected for the existing retention basin.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 213-228
Author(s):  
Addamms Mututa

Narratives of traumatic citizenship not only raise questions about the past, but also they give voice to contemporary stories about this past. In post-apartheid South Africa, these questions, markers of apartheid temporality, are embodied in, among other sites, the representation of battered Black bodies in cinema. This article critiques the characterization of Blacks as narrative spaces to illustrate the temporality of distress and trauma from apartheid to post-apartheid Johannesburg in Gavin Hood’s Tsotsi. It argues that the film posits Black characters as latent archives of intergenerational historical narratives that probe the apartheid past and speculate on the post-apartheid future in the city of Johannesburg. Consequently, the juxtaposition of embodied narrative archives and apartheid temporality, the article posits, is a crucial model in the theorization of battered Black bodies’ contiguous nostalgia.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 290
Author(s):  
Jonida Avdulaj ◽  
Klodian Muço

The sustainable development of the tourism phenomenon and the impact that it produces it is important not only for the enterprises receiving tourism but also for the economic sectors correlated with the structures above as handicrafts, trade and services, turning tourism in a primary factor for the economic development of a region or a country. To talk about tourism in a city very rich in "contrasts" such as Gjirokastra, is an issue that goes beyond simple economic aspect, generating significant consequences in terms of geography and especially in social level. This is because Gjirokastra is a city with a glorious history since the fifteenth century, rich in culture, archaeology, enogastronomia (Food and wine) and several endless natural beauties. Although is the capital of the most important cultural event, the national folk festival which perform the tradition through the art. Shortly, Gjirokastra is a genuine multidimensional brand; the promotion of it would increase the income, the employment, the consumption and most of all it would transform into in an international city. Certainly to promote this brand it is needed a coordination between decision-maker institutions and local businesses but above all is necessary an efficient and comprehensive marketing plan that promote "brand " pointing at the same time in the centre of the universe "tourist".Based on this affirmation, this paper requires just to give some modest idea on the development of the city image through qualitative and quantitative analysis of data obtained from a sample of tourists visiting various cities in the world and recently have visited the Gjirokastra.


Author(s):  
S.Montgomery Ewegen

Abstract At the center of Plato’s Gorgias, the shameless and irascible Callicles offers an attack against philosophy (484c and following). During this attack, he describes philosophy as a pastime fit only for the young which, if practiced beyond the bloom of youth, threatens to render those who practice it politically inept and powerless. Moreover, when taken too far, philosophy provokes the city into stripping the philosopher of all of his rights and property, leaving him with no οὐσία at all (486c). Thus, according to Callicles, far from making one powerful within the city, philosophy ultimately renders one impotent and utterly without substance. In what follows I argue that the Socrates of the Gorgias agrees with this characterization of the philosopher as the one who lacks power and οὐσία. However, whereas Callicles sees such a condition as the most worthless and pitiable sort, Socrates sees it as the unique and singular posture from out of which true philosophical thinking, and true political power, are possible. As I will show, through the course of the Gorgias as a whole, Socrates offers a counter-discourse that presents the philosopher as a powerless person lacking οὐσία who is precisely thereby able to undertake a pursuit of the truth and the good. Phrased otherwise: Socrates takes ignorance understood as lack or powerlessness to be the very condition for the possibility of philosophy and true political power, while showing rhetoric understood as the pretense of wisdom to be an obstruction to these.


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