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Italian words and phrases

  • FascismThe word fascism originates from the Italian term fascio, meaning bundle of sticks. This concept traces back to ancient Rome where a fasces was a bundle of…
  • BroccoliJoseph Jakob von Plenck described the scientific name Brassica oleracea var. italica in 1794 within his publication Icones Plantarum Medicinalium.
  • Madonna (art)In the year 431, church leaders gathered in Ephesus to settle a theological dispute that would reshape visual culture for centuries.
  • A cappellaA cuneiform tablet from around 2000 BC contains the earliest known instructions for performing music. This artifact predates the Seikilos epitaph, a Greek…
  • SiroccoThe Roman poet Horace wrote about a wind called Atabulus near Trevico in Apulia during his journey to Brundisium in 37 BC.
  • GeneralissimoThe Italian word generalissimo emerged as the absolute superlative of general. It means the highest-ranking of all generals in any context.