Petelia: A city of ancient Bruttium.
Peter, St. (Santo Pietro): (d. AD 64 or 67). The first pope, he was designated as the head of the Church by Jesus in AD 32, shortly before the latter’s crucifixion. He moved to Rome in cAD 40, where he presided as bishop for about 25 years before suffering martyrdom. His tomb is said to be located beneath the great altar of the Basilica named for him in the Vatican. All subsequent bishops of Rome (i.e. Popes) derive their supreme authority over the Roman Catholic Church by their successorship from St. Peter.
Peter: Bishop of Capua (r925-?).
Peter I: King of Sicily (Trinacria) (r1282-1285).
Peter (Pietro) II: (b. 1304, in Catania, Sicily; d. Aug. 15, 1342, Calascibetta, Sicily). King of Sicily (Trinacria) (r1337-1342). He was the son of King Frederick I of Sicily (d. June 25 1337). He married (23 Apr 1322) Elisabeth Princess of Carinthia.
Petraea (Petraia): In ancient Greek mythology, she was one of the Oceanid sea nymphs, a daughter of Oceanus. The name is also connected with the monstrous Scylla who plagued mariners in the Strait of Messina. The latter was said to live in or upon a great rock (Grk. = petra; Latin = petro-), thus giving her the name.
Phalaris “the Cruel”: Ruler of Akragas (r573-554 BC).
Philistides: (b. Syracuse; fl. late 4th century BC). Juggler. A member of Alexander the Great’s court, he was one of the performers at the mass-marriage ceremony at Susa in 324 BC.
Philistis: (fl. 3rd century BC). Queen of Syracuse. Wife of Hieron II. The daughter of an influential Syracusan citizen named Liptines, she married Hieron shortly after he seized power in Syracuse (275 BC). She became the mother of a son, Gelon (d. 216 BC) and 2 daughters, Damarata and Heraclia. She and her daughters were killed by a mob in 214 BC.
Philoctetes: A famous, though mythical, Greek archer from the Trojan War. After the fall of Troy, he immigrated to Campania where he battled against the Lucanians. He was eventually able to found the city of Crimissa, near Croton and Thurii. There he founded a sanctuary to Apollo, to whom he dedicated his famous bow, once welded by Heracles (Hercules).
Phintias: Ruler of Akragas (r286-280 BC).
Phoenician: The ethnic name for a people and their objects coming from the area of the modern Lebanon. Used as a period designation, it normally means c. 800-500 BC.
Phoenicusa: One of the seven principal islands of the Aeoliae Insulae (Aeolian Islands), off the N coast of Sicily.
Piano nobile: the main (usually the first) floor of a palazzo.
Piastra:
Neapolitan: The principal currency used in the mainland portion of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. It was equal in value to the Sicilian piastra but was subdivided differently. The Neapolitan piastra was divided into 120 grana, each of 2 tornese, or 12 cavalli.
Sicilian: The principal currency for the insular portion of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. While equal in value to the Neapolitan piastra, it was divided in a different matter. The Sicilian piastra was divided into 12 tari, each of 20 grana, or 120 cavalli.
Two Sicilies: After the Bourbon restoration in 1815, both the Neapolitan and Sicilian versions of the piastra were replaced by the Two Sicilies Piastra as the principal currency for the entire Regno. It remained in use until the kingdom’s fall in 1860. It was subdivided into 120 grana, each of 2 tornese. In 1860, the piastra was replaced by the Sardinian/Italian lira at the rate of 1 piastra = 5.1 lire.
Piazza Armerina (EN): A commune in the province of Enna. Population: 20,768 (2006e).
Piazzi, Giuseppe: (b. Ponte, July 7, 1746; d. Naples, July 22, 1826). Astronomer. Well-educated at Milan, Turin, and Rome, he had already earned an excellent reputation as a mathematician when, in 1780, he was appointed as professor of higher mathematics at the Academy of Palermo. Once established there, he founded a royal observatory. It was there, on Jan. 1, 1801, that he discovered the first asteroid, which he named Ceres Ferdinandea, in honor of his patron, King Ferdinand of Naples. In 1817, he transferred to Naples where he developed the observatory founded there upon Capo di Monte by Murat.