Abarbanel: See Abrabanel.
Abate (sometimes Abbate): A prominent Sicilian family. Becoming feudal lords of Carina in 1293, they later obtained the title of Barons of Uria (1453). One branch of the family held the title of Marchese of Lungarini.
Abate, St. Adamo: (b. cAD 990 in Petazio (mod. Petacciato [CB]); d. May 3, between 1060 and 1070). Benedictine abbot. He was a strong supporter of the unification of southern Italy under Roger II. Feast Day: June 3.
Abate (or Abbate), Andrea Belvedere: (b. 1642 or 1652, Naples; d. June 26, 1732]. Painter. Centered in Naples, he specialized in depictions of natural history and still life. He was particularly well-known for his paintings of flowers and his style anticipates the approaching European Rococo.
Abate, Gennaro: (b. Apr. 1, 1874, Bitonto [BA]). Composer. His works consist of operas, symphonies, and chamber music.
Abate, Onofrio: (b. 1824, Palermo. d. 1915, Cairo). Physician and naturalist. A specialist in ophthalmology, he traveled to Egypt in 1845, where he became director of the government hospital at Alexandria. After 1882, he came to be known as Abate Pascià. The author of a number of medical works, he also wrote on the Egyptian economic and sanitation systems, the history of science, and Egyptian archaeology and geography.
Abatellis, Francesco: (fl. 2nd half of the 15th century). Harbor master (Maestro Portulano) of the kingdom of Sicily, Praetor of the city of Palermo. He is best-known for his fine home in Palermo, the Palazzo Abatellia (or Palazzo Patella), designed and built by Matteo Carnelivari between 1488 and 1495. After the death of Abatellis, the building was transformed into a monastery, remaining such until 1867. It is now the home of the Palazzo Abatellis Sicilian Regional Gallery.
Abate Pascià: See Onofrio Abate.
Abba, Giuseppe Cesare: (b. Oct. 6, 1838, Cairo Montenotte [SV]), Liguria. d. Nov. 6, 1910, Brescia [BS]). Diarist, novelist, short story writer. A member of Garibaldi’s Mille (Thousand), he published an excellent account of the 1860 conquest of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. This subject formed the premise for the poem Arrigo: da Quarto al Volturno (publ. 1866) as well as for two diaries: Noterelle di uno dei Mille edite dopo vent’anni (Notes by one of the Mille twenty years later)(1880) and Da Quarto al Volturno: Noterelle d’uno dei Mille (From Quarto to Volturno: Notes by one of the Mille), [1891].
Abbadelli: See Abbatelli.
Abbadessa: A noble family in Sicily. Originating in Florence, they appear to have arrived in Palermo during the reign of Frederick III (r1295-1337). Nicolo Abbadessa served that king as a royal percettore (collector) and then governor of the Camera Reginale. His descendents, Corrado and Andrea Abbadessa, both served in the post of governor of Vizzini under Charles V in the 16th Century.
Abbadia: See Badia.
Abbagnano, Nicola: (b. July 15, 1901, Salerno. d. Sept. 9, 1990, Milan). Existentialist Philosopher and Historian of Italian Philosophy. In 1936, he joined the faculty of the University of Torino (Turin) as a professor of philosophy. In 1939, he became professor of the history of philosophy at the same institution. He was an exponent of Positive Existentialism, in opposition to the Negative Existentialism as expounded by Heidegger, Jaspers, and Sartre. He was the author of several works: La struttura scienza (Torino, 1939); Esistnzialismo positive (Torino, 1948); Storia della filosofia (in 3 vol. 1946-50); Problemi di sociologia (Torino, 1958); Filosofia Antica, Filosofia Patristica, Filosofia Scolastica: Volume 1 (Torino, 1963); Filosofia del Rinascimento, Filosofia Moderna dei secoli XVII e XVIII: Volume II (Torino, 1963).Quote: “Reason itself is fallible, and this fallibility must find a place in our logic”.- Daily Telegraph (London, Sept. 14, 1990).
Abbasids: The 2nd dynasty of the Islamic empire. Reigning from AD 750 to 1258, they came to power by overthrowing their predecessors, the Umayyads. The Abbasids based their right to rule upon their descent from al-Abbas, the uncle of Mohammed. It was under the Abbasid Caliphs that the Islamic assault on Europe took place.