Balsamo, Giuseppe: See Cagliostro, Count Alessandro di.
Balsorano (AQ): A commune in the province of L‘Aquila. Population: 3,706 (2006e).
Balvano (PZ): A commune in the province of Potenza.
Balzico, Alfonzo: (b. 1825 at Cava de’Tirreni; d. 1901). Sculptor.
Bambocci, Abate Antonio: (b. Piperno, near Rome, c1368; d. Naples, c1435). Artist. He arrived in Naples with his father, the sculptor Domenico Bambocci, and became a pupil of Masuccio who taught him drawing, architecture and sculpture. He received further instruction in these subjects from Andrea Ciccione. He was taught painting by Colantino del Fiore and Zingaro. Bambocci is best known for his sepulchral monuments, including those of Cardinal Filippo Minutolo and Cardinal Carbone. The 1421 monument he created for Lorenzo Aldemareschi included an inscription in which Bambocci described himself as a sculptor, painter and brassfounder. The chapel which housed the monument was also decorated with paintings executed by Bambocci. In 1407, he created the architrave and other decorative elements for the great door to the Cathedral at Naples. He also crafted the doors of the churches of Pappacoda and S. Agostino allla Zecca. Although he also designed and constructed several private palazzi but most of these had already disappered by the middle of the 19th century. Bambocci’s sculpture reveals his belief in restoring the rules followed in classical times. He founded his own school of art which produced several superior artists like Angelo Agnello del Fiore and Guglielmo Monaco.
bamboo: Although not usually associated with Sicily, many varieties, including tropical ones, grow well there. They have had a wide variety of uses for making everything from garden sticks to staffs for goat-herders to pipes.
bandieri bella, a: A variety of Calabrian secular multi-part song.
Banditti (=bandits): Synonymous with briganti (= brigands), these bands of outlaws infested the mountainous regions of Italy and Sicily. They frequently would attack and kidnap travelers for ransom.
Bandusiae Fons: (mod. Sambuco). A fountain in ancient Apulia, located about 6 miles from Venusia. It was mentioned by Horace (Carm. iii.13).
Bantia: (mod. Banzi (PZ). A town in ancient Apulia or Lucania, located in a wooded area near Venusia, to the WNW of Silvium It was near here that Marcellus was killed in an ambush during the Second Punic War.
Bantine Table (Lat. Tabula Bantina): An ancient bronze tablet, bearing a 33-line Oscan inscription, discovered near Banzi (PZ) in 1793.
Banulo, Andrea: See Barolo, Andrea.
Banzi (PZ): A commune in the province of Potenza.
Baragiano (PZ): A commune in the province of Potenza.
Baranello (CB): A commune in the province of Campobasso. Area: 24.8 km². Alt. 610 m. Population: 2,731 (2006e); 2,636 (2001); 2,790 (1991). Population Density: 106.1/ km² (2001).
Barano d’Ischia (NA): A commune in the province of Napoli.
Barba, Gaetano: (b. Naples, fl. end of the 18th Century). Artist.
Barba di Giove: (Jupiter’s Beard). A common wild flower in Sicily which receives its name from the golden color of its trailers in autumn. Originally from Australia, the flower is often found growing along railway embankments in Sicily.
Barbary Corsairs: Long a plague on the coasts of Sicily and Italy, they were responsible for the abduction of thousands of innocent people who were sold into slavery in North Africa and beyond. Rich captives could usually be ransomed, but the vast majority of victims ended their lives as slaves in foreign lands. Some governments appeased the corsairs, paying “protection money” to prevent their ships from being set upon or their shores invaded. Such payment, however, was no guarantee of safety and many watch towers (known as Corsairs’ Towers) were built to guard against possible attacks. Ultimately, the only way to eliminate the threat of the Corsairs was through warfare. The United States Navy, with the cooperation of the Sicilians, attacked the pirate base at Tunis in North Africa during the Barbary War. The final blow to them was dealt in 1816 when the British Lord Exmouth bombarded Algiers. Piracy did not disappear completely from the Mediterranean after the collapse of the Barbary states but the practice never again reach the levels during the age of these corsairs.