It was the site of many conflicts throughout history. In 1503, the Spanish under Gonsalvo Fernandez de Cordoba defeated the French beside this river, and heavy fighting took place here during World War II (Nov. 1943-May 1944).
Gasparina (CZ): A commune in the province of Catanzaro. Population: 2,232 (2006e).
Gasparis, Annibale de: (b. Apr. or Nov. 9, 1819, Bugnara (AQ); d. Mar. 21, 1892, Naples). Astronomer. Between 1849 and 1865, he discovered 9 asteroids. In 1851, he won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society. From 1864 to 1889 he was the director of the Capo di Monte Observatory in Naples. He was honored by having asteroid 4279 De Gasparis, the lunar crater de Gasparis, and the lunar Rimae de Gasparis named after him.
Gaudiosus, St. (the African)(1): (d. 452 at Naples). Ecclesiastic. Having served as bishop of Abitina in the province of Africa, he was exiled in AD 440, by the Vandal king, Geiseric. He resettled at Naples, where he founded a monastery. Feast Day: Feb. 27.
Gaudiosus (2): (fl. 1st half of the 7th century). Ecclesiastic. Bishop of Naples (rAD 637-644).
Gaudiosus (3): (fl. middle of the 7th century). Ecclesiastic. Bishop of Salerno (bef. AD 646). He was apparently related to the Ducal house of Naples. He was succeeded by Luminosus.
Gaudiosus (4): Bishop of Capua (r649-660). He was present at the Lateran synod of AD 649.
Gela, Ancient: An important city of ancient Sicily. Founded in c688 BC by Greek colonists from Rhodes and Crete, Gela’s name appears to derive from that of the nearby river Gela. The river’s name derives from a Greek verb meaning “smiling.”
Gela (CL): A commune in the province of Caltanissetta. Population: 77,245 (2006e).
Gelasius I, St.: Pope. (rMar. 1, 492-Nov 21, 496).
Gelasius II (John of Gaeta): (b. Gaeta) Pope (rJan 24, 1118-Jan. 28, 1119). He served as the papal chancellor of Pope Paschal II and succeeded him on the papal throne
Gelon (or Gelo) I: (d. 478 BC). Tyrant of Gela and, later, of Syracuse. Gelon was also a notable athlete. He competed for Gela in the Olympian Games in 488 BC, and was victor of the tethrippon (a four-horse chariot race).
Gelon (or Gelo) II: (d. 216 BC). Co-King of Syracuse. The son of Hieron II and Phistis, he was the co-ruler of Syracuse with his father. He married Nereis, a daughter of Pyrrhus of Epirus. The couple had two children; a son, Hieronymus, who succeeded Hieron as king of Syracuse, and a daughter, Harmonia, who was killed by a mob in c214 BC.
Gemito, Vincenzo: b. 1852. d. 1929. Sculptor. He flourished in Naples throughout much of the second half of the 19th century and established a bronze foundry there. After suffering a mental breakdown in 1887, he did not resume his career until 1909. Among his works are statues of a Neapolitan Fisherboy and of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
Genetic makeup of Southern Italians: Modern genetic studies show that the modern population of Sicily is closely related to the populations of the southern Italian mainland and of Greece. The North African-Saracen element, once thought to predominate in western Sicily, some little significant genetic contribution.
genos (pl. gene): an ancient Greek clan or group of families.
Genzano di Lucania (PZ): A commune in the province of Potenza.
Geoffrey (Godefroi, Goisfredus) of Hauteville: (b. in Normandy; fl. 2nd half of the 11th century/1st half of the 12th century.). Norman nobleman. A son of Tancred of Hauteville by his first wife Muriella, he arrived in southern Italy in c1053 with his half-brothers Mauger and William. Soon after his arrival, he participated in the Battle of Civitate (June 18, 1053).
Gerace (RC): A commune in the province of Reggio Calabria.
Geraci Siculo (Sic. Giraci or Iraggi)(PA): A commune in the province of Palermo.
Gerard (Gerardus), Blessed: (originally surnamed Tum, Tune, Tenque or Thom). b. c1040, probably Sasso di Scalo, near Amalfi; d. Sept. 3, 1120, Jerusalem. Founder of the Order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem (aka Knights Hospitaller, Knights of Rhodes, Knights of Malta, and Cavaliers of Malta). Although some sources claim that he was born in Martigues in Provence, or at the Chateau d’Avesnes in Hainaut, most reliable authorities make him a native of Amalfi. Having arrived in Palestine as a soldier or merchant at the end of the 11th Century, he joined other Amalfitans who operated a hospice at Jerusalem which cared for Christians pilgrims. Around c1100, he became provost of this group and reorganized it into the religious Order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem.