"portraiture to traditional religious and classical subjects. Leonardo and Pisanello were among the first Italian artists to add allegorical symbols to their secular portraits. One of best-known portraits in the Western world is Leonardo da Vinci's painting titled ""Mona Lisa"", named for Lisa del Giocondo, a member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany and the wife of wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. The famous ""Mona Lisa smile"" is an excellent example of applying subtle asymmetry to a face. In his notebooks, Leonardo advises on the qualities of light in portrait painting: A very high degree of"
"painting, in 1503, the portrait of a Florentine lady by the name of Lisa del Giocondo. About this we are now certain. Unfortunately, we cannot be absolutely certain that this portrait of Lisa del Giocondo is the painting of the Louvre."" The model, Lisa del Giocondo, was a member of the Gherardini family of Florence and Tuscany, and the wife of wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. The painting is thought to have been commissioned for their new home, and to celebrate the birth of their second son, Andrea. The Italian name for the painting, ""La Gioconda"", means ""jocund"""
"dei Pepi, and then near Santa Croce, where they lived near Ser Piero da Vinci, Leonardo's father. They also owned a small country home in St. Donato in the village of Poggio about south of the city. Noldo, Gherardini's father and Lisa's grandfather, had bequeathed a farm in Chianti to the Santa Maria Nuova hospital. Gherardini secured a lease for another of the hospital's farms and, so that he could oversee the wheat harvest, the family spent summers there at the house named Ca' di Pesa. On March 5, 1495, 15-year-old Lisa married Francesco di Bartolomeo di Zanobi del Giocondo,"
"portrait of Lisa Gherardini, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, and is in oil on a white Lombardy poplar panel. It had been believed to have been painted between 1503 and 1506; however, Leonardo may have continued working on it as late as 1517. Recent academic work suggests that it would not have been started before 1513. It was acquired by King Francis I of France and is now the property of the French Republic, on permanent display at the Louvre Museum in Paris since 1797. The subject's expression, which is frequently described as enigmatic, the monumentality of the composition,"
"largest in Europe. While economically successful, there were great disparities in wealth among Florence's inhabitants. Antonmaria di Noldo Gherardini, Lisa's father, lost two wives, Lisa di Giovanni Filippo de' Carducci, whom he married in 1465, and Caterina di Mariotto Rucellai, whom he married in 1473. Both died in childbirth. Lisa's mother was Lucrezia del Caccia, daughter of Piera Spinelli, and Gherardini's wife by his third marriage in 1476. Gherardini at one time owned or rented six farms in Chianti that produced wheat, wine and olive oil and where livestock was raised. Lisa was born in Florence on June 15, 1479,"
"1913 by Hugh Blaker, an art connoisseur. The painting was presented to the media in 2012 by the Mona Lisa Foundation. It is a painting of the same subject as Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. The painting is claimed by a majority of experts to be mostly an original work of Leonardo dating from the early 16th century. Other experts, including Zöllner and Kemp, deny the attribution. Notes Bibliography Mona Lisa The Mona Lisa (; or La Gioconda , ) is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci that has been described as ""the best"
"Mona Lisa The Mona Lisa (; or La Gioconda , ) is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci that has been described as ""the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world"". The ""Mona Lisa"" is also one of the most valuable paintings in the world. It holds the Guinness World Record for the highest known insurance valuation in history at $100 million in 1962, which is worth nearly $800 million in 2017. The painting is thought to be a"
"Giorgio De Lullo, Silverio Blasi and Alessandro Fersen. Mainardi was also active on television and in films, in which she worked several times with Federico Fellini. Elisa Mainardi Elisa Mainardi (27 July 1930 – 8 May 2016) was an Italian stage, film, and television actress. Born in Rome, Mainardi studied at the acting school of Peter Sharoff, and debuted on stage in 1956, in Ottavio Spadaro's ""Corruzione a palazzo di giustizia"" alongside Salvo Randone, immediately receiving critical acclaim for her performance. Shortly later she became lead actress in ""Il sorriso della Gioconda"" directed by Ernesto Grassi and in ""La penna"""
"Princesse de Bouillon in ""Adriana Lecouvreur"", which she often sang with Magda Olivero in the title role, in Brescia (1956), Lisbon (1956), Palermo (1959) and Caracas (1961). In 1962, her recording of Suzuki in ""Madama Butterfly"" won a Grammy Award. She died in Rome on 25 December, 2016, at the age of 98. Miriam Pirazzini Miriam Pirazzini (21 August 1918 – 26 December 2016) was a well-known Italian mezzo-soprano. She made her formal debut in Rome, in 1944, as Laura Adorno in ""La Gioconda"". For the next twenty years, she was one of Italy's foremost mezzo-sopranos. Pirazzini was born in"
"Hippolytus (died as a baby); Anthony (died in the war of Hungary); Alemanno (Knight of Malta) and Fabio, who was the last to die in Denmark in 1743. None of them left any heir. This was the branch Lisa Gherardini, the Gioconda, belonged to. In 1632, this branch and the current branch built the Chapel of Santa Maria della Neve in Montagliari (subsequently drawn by Leonardo da Vinci). In January 1857, with a Decree of the Duke of Modena, another branch took on ""Gherardini-Parigi"" as its surname in order to continue the line of Gian Marco Gherardini's mother, Alda Parigi"
"Agostino Vespucci Agostino Vespucci was an Italian chancellery official, clerk, and assistant to Niccolò Machiavelli, among others. He is most well known for helping to confirm the subject of Leonardo da Vinci's ""Mona Lisa"" as Lisa del Giocondo, but is also the author of a number of surviving letters and manuscripts. The identity of the young woman in Leonardo's ""Mona Lisa"" had been difficult to ascertain due to a lack of decisive contemporary sources of information about the painting. This changed upon the discovery of a comment written by Vespucci in the margin of a 1477 edition of Cicero's "","
"The following opera, ""I Lituani"" (""The Lithuanians"") of 1874, was also well received, being performed later at Saint Petersburg (as ""Aldona"" on 20 November 1884). His most well-known opera is ""La Gioconda"" (1876), which his librettist Arrigo Boito adapted from the same play by Victor Hugo that had been previously set by Saverio Mercadante as ""Il giuramento"" in 1837 and Carlos Gomes as ""Fosca"" in 1873. It was first produced in 1876 and revised several times. The version that has become popular today was first given in 1880. In 1876 he started working on ""I Mori di Valenza"", although the"
"The American Library Association named ""The Second Mrs. Gioconda"" a Best Book of the Year for Young Adults for 1975. The Second Mrs. Giaconda The Second Mrs. Giaconda, later The Second Mrs. Gioconda, is a historical novel for children by E. L. Konigsburg. Set primarily in Milan, Italy, it features Leonardo da Vinci, his servant Salai, and duchess Beatrice d'Este. Through the experiences of Salai narrated in third person, it explores the background of da Vinci's ""Mona Lisa"". The book was published by Atheneum in 1975, manufactured by Halliday Lithograph Corporation with ten black-and-white museum plates of da Vinci paintings"
"Elisa Mainardi Elisa Mainardi (27 July 1930 – 8 May 2016) was an Italian stage, film, and television actress. Born in Rome, Mainardi studied at the acting school of Peter Sharoff, and debuted on stage in 1956, in Ottavio Spadaro's ""Corruzione a palazzo di giustizia"" alongside Salvo Randone, immediately receiving critical acclaim for her performance. Shortly later she became lead actress in ""Il sorriso della Gioconda"" directed by Ernesto Grassi and in ""La penna"" directed by Lucio Chiavarelli, and the absolute protagonist in Luciano Salce's ""Colombe di Anouilh"". Her stage works include main roles in works directed by Luchino Visconti,"
"been richer than her own. Francesco is thought to have benefited because Gherardini is an ""old name"". They lived in shared accommodation until March 5, 1503, when Francesco was able to buy a house next door to his family's old home in the Via della Stufa. Leonardo is thought to have begun painting Lisa's portrait the same year. Lisa and Francesco had five children: Piero, Camilla, Andrea, Giocondo, and Marietta, four of them between 1496 and 1507. Lisa lost a baby daughter in 1499. Lisa also raised Bartolomeo, the son of Francesco and his first wife Camilla di Mariotto Rucellai,"
"of the most reproduced works of art; countless copies have been made in every medium from carpets to cameos. Among the works created by Leonardo in the 16th century is the small portrait known as the ""Mona Lisa"" or ""la Gioconda"", the laughing one. In the present era, it is arguably the most famous painting in the world. Its fame rests, in particular, on the elusive smile on the woman's face, its mysterious quality perhaps due to the subtly shadowed corners of the mouth and eyes such that the exact nature of the smile cannot be determined. The shadowy quality"
"La Gioconda (opera) La Gioconda is an opera in four acts by Amilcare Ponchielli set to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito (as Tobia Gorrio), based on ""Angelo, Tyrant of Padua"", a play in prose by Victor Hugo, dating from 1835. (This is the same source as Gaetano Rossi had used for his libretto for Mercadante's ""Il giuramento"" in 1837). First performed in 1876, ""La Gioconda"" was a major success for Ponchielli, as well as the most successful new Italian opera between Verdi's ""Aida"" (1871) and ""Otello"" (1887). It is also a famous example of the Italian genre of ""Grande"
"Lisa Della Casa Lisa Della Casa (2 February 191910 December 2012) was a Swiss soprano most admired for her interpretations of major heroines in operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss, and of German lieder. She was also described as “the most beautiful woman on the operatic stage”. Della Casa was born in Burgdorf, Switzerland to an Italian-Swiss father, Francesco Della Casa, and a Bavarian-born mother, Margarete Mueller. She began studying singing at the age of 15 at the Zurich Conservatory, and her teachers included Margarete Haeser. She made her operatic debut in the title role of Puccini's ""Madama"
"nobleman in whose family it had been for nearly 100 years. This discovery led to the conjecture that Leonardo painted two portraits of Lisa del Giocondo: the famous one in The Louvre, and the one discovered by Blaker, who bought the painting and took it to his studio in Isleworth, London, from which it takes its name. According to ""Encyclopedia Americana"" and ""The New York Times"", The Isleworth Mona Lisa has been attributed to Leonardo, and is thought to be the unfinished portrait from which Raphael made his famous sketch (which is in the Louvre museum), and is in no"
"he performed the role of Enzo Grimaldo in ""La Gioconda"" at La Fenice opposite Tina Poli-Randaccio in the title role. In 1926 he made his debut at La Scala in Milan and at the Liceu in Barcelona. Also that year he undertook a concert tour of Spain. He appeared as a guest artist at the Teatro Colón and other South American theatres during the 1920s. He retired from the stage sometime during the early 1930s. In 1951 he became a resident of the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti. Carlo Broccardi Carlo Broccardi (1886–1953) was an Italian operatic tenor who had"
"considered one of her best roles. In the bel canto repertoire, she became a famous Gilda in ""Rigoletto"" and Adina in ""L'elisir d'amore"". She was also noted for her Lieder and oratorio work. She died, aged 71, in Klosterneuburg. During the 1950s and 1960s, Hilde Gueden made dozens of recordings with the best artists of her generation, especially for the Decca/London label. Following is a selection of her recorded works: 1. Mozart: ""Le nozze di Figaro"" (as Susanna) with Lisa della Casa, Cesare Siepi, and Erich Kleiber (conductor); Vienna State Opera Chorus and Vienna Phiharmonic Orchestra; rec.1955 (Decca) 2. Mozart:"
"The Second Mrs. Giaconda The Second Mrs. Giaconda, later The Second Mrs. Gioconda, is a historical novel for children by E. L. Konigsburg. Set primarily in Milan, Italy, it features Leonardo da Vinci, his servant Salai, and duchess Beatrice d'Este. Through the experiences of Salai narrated in third person, it explores the background of da Vinci's ""Mona Lisa"". The book was published by Atheneum in 1975, manufactured by Halliday Lithograph Corporation with ten black-and-white museum plates of da Vinci paintings and drawings, of which several figure in the story. A prologue opens by asking, ""Why did Leonardo da Vinci choose"
"Renata Tebaldi. He appeared as Scarpia in a TV production of ""Tosca"", opposite Magda Olivero, and Enrico in a film version of ""Lucia di Lammermoor"", opposite Anna Moffo, both recently released on DVD. There are also a number of live (sound) recordings including Edipo Re in Leoncavallo's eponymous opera, recorded in 1972. Giulio Fioravanti Giulio Fioravanti (17 October 1923, Ascoli Piceno – 3 May 1999, Milan) was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory. He studied first jurisprudence and work one year as a jurist in his native city before turning to music studies at the Accademia"
"Maria di Gerlando Maria di Gerlando (November 23, 1925 – May 24, 2010) was an American operatic soprano and voice teacher who was a leading performer at the New York City Opera from 1953 to 1969. She was best known for creating the role of Carmela in the 1954 world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti's ""The Saint of Bleecker Street"". Born in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Gerlando made her professional opera debut in 1950 at the Boston Opera House with the touring San Carlo Opera Company as Mimì in Giacomo Puccini's ""La bohème"". In 1953 she made her debut at the"
"Frankfurt where she was heard again and again from 1982-87 in leading roles. She has performed at the State Operas of Hamburg and Munich (1983, 1985), at the Opera of Marseilles (1985), at the Teatro San Carlos Lisbon (including 1986 as Leonore in Beethoven's ""Fidelio""), at the Liceu in Barcelona (1987 in the title roles the opera ""Aida"" by Verdi and ""Beatrice di Tenda 'by Bellini). In Italy at the festivals of Verona in 1980 and 1988 she toured in the title role of the opera ""La Gioconda"" by Ponchielli, 1983 and 1988 as Turandot in 1984 as Aida. The"
"Milva Maria Ilva Biolcati, (; born 17 July 1939), known as Milva , is an Italian singer, stage and film actress, and television personality. She is also known as ""La Rossa"" (Italian for ""The Redhead""), due to the characteristic colour of her hair, and additionally as ""La Pantera di Goro"" (""The Panther of Goro""), which stems from the Italian press having nicknamed the three most popular Italian female singers of the 1960s, combining the names of animals and the singers' birth places. The color also characterizes her leftist political beliefs, claimed in numerous statements. Popular in Italy and abroad, she"
"Elisa Isoardi Elisa Isoardi (born 27 December 1982 in Cuneo) is an Italian television host. Isoardi currently hosts the early morning program ""Unomattina"" on Rai Uno. Isoardi first came into the spotlight in Italy when she was awarded the title of ""Miss Cinema"" in the 2000 Miss Italia pageant. She entered the competition as the regional winner of the Miss Valle d'Aosta title. Isoardi later achieved success on Italian television hosting the early afternoon show ""Effetto Sabato"" from 2007 to 2008 on Rai Uno. She replaced Antonella Clerici on the television show ""La Prova del Cuoco"" (the Italian version of"
"film producer Franco Cristaldi, who paired her with Marcello Mastroianni in Piece of the Sky in 1959. More important was her second film for him, La sfida (The Challenge), directed by Francesco Rosi, where she made a name for her powerful but sensitive performance as a Neapolitan girl, inspired by the real-life character of Pupetta Maresca. The film was well received at the 1958 Venice Film Festival. Schiaffino was launched as the ""Italian Hedy Lamarr"". However, she would have been more appropriately introduced as the new Italian sex goddess after Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren, but in the early 1960s"
"Marcella Lotti della Santa Marcella Lotti della Santa (sometimes incorrectly called Marcellina) (September 1831 – 9 February 1901) was an Italian opera singer who had an active international career during the 1850s and 1860s. One of her nation's leading sopranos, she drew particular acclaim for her portrayal of Verdi heroines. She was married to baritone Luigi della Santa. Born Marcella Lotti in Mantua, Lotti della Santa studied singing with Alberto Mazzucato in Milan before making her professional opera debut in 1850 in Constantinople with a traveling Italian opera troupe as Alice in Meyerbeer's ""Robert le Diable"". She quickly became one"
"in more than 30 opera roles, including Gennaro, Jacopo Foscari, Tamas in ""Gemma di Vergy"", and the title role in ""Dom Sébastien"". Some of his last appearances were at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna in 1856 as Carlo in Verdi's ""I masnadieri"", Matteo Borsa in Verdi's ""Rigoletto"", and Rodolfo in ""Luisa Miller"". Giacomo Roppa Giacomo Roppa was an Italian operatic tenor who was active career in Italy's most important opera houses from the 1830s through the 1850s. He also made appearances at the Liceu in Spain. He is best remembered for creating the role of Jacopo Foscari in the world"
"premiere at the Metropolitan Opera on 20 December 1883. The opera's title translates as ""The Happy Woman"", but is usually given in English as ""The Ballad Singer"". However, as this fails to convey the irony inherent in the original, the Italian is usually used. Each act of ""La Gioconda"" has a title. The story revolves around a woman, Gioconda, who so loves her mother that when Laura, her rival in love for the heart of Enzo, saves her mother's life, Gioconda puts aside her own romantic love to repay her. The villain Barnaba tries to seduce Gioconda, but she prefers"
"de Aquino's agent. Lisa began singing and playing the guitar at age 15, and her debut as a professional Bossa Nova singer was in 1989. Her natural voice, rhythmic guitar playing, and her charming smile led her to a huge success and popularized Bossa Nova in Japan. She has performed with many top musicians such as Antônio Carlos Jobim and João Donato, and has been performing enthusiastically in New York City, Brazil and Asian countries. The 1999 album ""Dream"" sold more than two hundred thousand copies in Japan, and since then she has established a determined position in the Japanese"
"Virginia Guerrini Virginia Guerrini (20 February 1871, Brescia – 26 February 1948, Brescia) was an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano. She made her professional opera debut at the Garibaldi Theatre in Treviso as Elsa in Richard Wagner's ""Lohengrin"" in 1889. The following year she made her debuts at the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi as Laura in ""La Gioconda"", the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan as Adalgisa in Vincenzo Bellini's ""Norma"", the Liceu in Ortrud in ""Lohengrin"", and Loretta in Alberto Franchetti's ""Asrael"" at the Teatro Regio in Turin. In 1892 Guerrini made her debut at La Scala as Adalagisa. At La Scala"