Della Rovere was born in Celle Ligure, a town near Savona in Liguria. His family was important.
As a young man, he joined the Franciscan Order. He rose in the order to head of the Franciscans in Liguria.
Della Rovere studied philosophy and theology at the University of Pavia; and he lectured at Padua, Bologna, Pavia, Siena, and Florence.
In 1467, Pope Paul II raised della Rovere to the rank of Cardinal.
He was elected pope on August 9, 1471. He took the name Sixtus because the first day of the conclave which elected him pope was the Feast Day of St. Sixtus.
Pope Sixtus was involved in Italian and European political disputes.
Sixtus ordered the building of the Ponte Sisto (Sistine Bridge) across the Tiber River.
The Vatican Library was enlarged during the reign of Sixtus; and the number of manuscripts grew ten times larger—from 360 during the reign of Pope Nicholas V to 3650.
Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II (; December 5, 1443 - February 21, 1513), originally "Giuliano Della Rovere", was an Italian priest of the Roman Catholic Church and the 217th Pope from 1503 until his death in 1513. He was known as "the Warrior Pope."
He was the nephew of Pope Sixtus IV.
Giuliano della Rovere was the son of Rafaello della Rovere.
His uncle would become Pope Sixtus IV.
In 1471, Sixtus made della Rovere a cardinal.
Della Rovere was elected pope in 1503; and he chose to be called Julius II.
Pope Julius was involved in Italian and European political disputes.
In 1506, Pope Julius he established the Swiss Guard.
Donato Bramante
Donato Bramante (c. 1444 - April 11, 1514) was an architect who introduced the High Renaissance style to architecture.
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas (born 24 July, 1802 at Villers-Cotterêts, died 5 December 1870 at Dieppe) was a French writer of Haitian descent. He is famous for writing "The Three Musketeers" (1844), "Queen Margot", "The Count of Monte Cristo" (1844-1845) and about the Man with the iron mask.
Dumas was the son of a general, who fought in the French Revolution. His father died and his mother raised him. They didn't have much money when he was growing up.
Dumas wrote his first plays in 1825 and 1826 after reading Shakespeare, Sir Walter Scott, Friedrich von Scholler and Lord Byron.
Dumas was also a gourmand (lover of food), and wrote Le Grand Dictionnaire de cuisine, an encyclopædia of food and cooking with 1152 pages. He finished it weeks before his death. It is not thought very reliable, because it relies on Dumas' opinions rather than fact.
Dumas was a member of the Club des Hashischins, or Hashish Club. This group of French writers experimented with hashish to get ideas.
Beastie Boys
The Beastie Boys were an American rap group. According to an interview with Charlie Rose, the word "Beastie" is the backronym of "Boys Entering Anarchic States Towards Internal Excellence". They formed in 1981 as a punk rock band. Their most famous albums are probably "Licensed To Ill" (1986) and "" (1989). "Licensed To Ill" is their first album, and it is an album that is given credit for starting the type of music "rap rock", which is rapping done over rock guitar or beats. "Paul's Boutique" is an album famous for its use of samples, or snippets of music, and the fact that the samples were put together in creative, interesting ways.
Adam Yauch (1964-2012) was one of the founding members of the band until his death on May 4, 2012 after a near 3-year battle with cancer of the parotid salivary gland. Former original guitarist, John Berry (1963-2016), died on May 19, 2016 from dementia at 52.
Public Enemy
Public Enemy is an American rap group. They are also known as PE. They formed in 1982, and are still together today. They became famous for their politically charged, militant messages in their songs. They are also famous for using lots of jazz and funk samples in their songs, doneto create a loud, noisy sound and back their angry, powerful rapping. Group members include Chuck D. and Flavor Flav, as well as Terminator X and Professor Griff, who left the group in 1990, but rejoined in the late 1990s.
Macbeth
"Not to be confused with the king of Scotland Macbeth of Scotland"
Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare wrote three types of plays; histories, comedies and tragedies, and Macbeth is the shortest tragedy written by Shakespeare. It was written between 1603 and 1607, during the reign of King James I of England.
Shakespeare based some characters in the play (Macbeth, Macduff, and Duncan) roughly on records of real people in "Holinshed's Chronicles", a history book from 1587. However, the things that happen in the play are very different from what happened in real life.
The first characters we see in the play are the three Witches. They talk to each other in a mysterious way, and agree to meet with Macbeth on the heath. This scene includes the famous line "fair is foul, and foul is fair", a subject which becomes a main part of the play.
In Act 1 Scene 2, there is a war going on. King Duncan is at a camp, listening to reports from the battlefield. An injured officer (some scripts say a captain, others a sergeant) is brought in. He saved Malcolm's life. The officer tells Duncan about the battle. He says that it was going badly, until Macbeth fought his way to the rebel leader Macdonald and disembowelled him. But as soon as that happened, the Norwegians, led by their king Sweno, also attacked. They were joined by a traitor, the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth and Banquo fought bravely until they were defeated. Duncan is pleased by the news. He orders that the Thane of Cawdor be executed and his title given to Macbeth.
In I.iii, the Witches appear again. They talk about using their powers on humans, and it becomes clear that they have a lot of power, but they cannot kill people. Macbeth and Banquo are returning from the battlefield to Forres, and meet the witches. Banquo is amazed by the way the witches look, because they look like women but they have beards. Macbeth is not afraid and asks them what they are. They do not answer him, but greet him as the Thane of Glamis, the Thane of Cawdor and the future King. Macbeth is surprised, because he knows that he is not the Thane of Cawdor, and does not think he will ever become the King. Banquo asks the witches what his future will be like. They answer in riddles, saying that he will be "lesser than Macbeth, and greater", "not so happy, yet much happier", and that he will be the father to a line of kings. Then the witches disappear.
Ross and Angus come to find Macbeth, and tell him that the King has given him the title of Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth is surprised and happy, but he starts thinking of ways to become king. This frightens him, because he thinks that the only way he can become king is to murder Duncan.
In I.iv, Macbeth and Banquo return to Forres and Duncan thanks them for their courage and hard work. He also says that his son Malcolm will be his heir. Macbeth realizes that he will have to get past both Duncan and Malcolm to become king. Duncan says he is going to Macbeth's castle for the night.
In I.v, Lady Macbeth is reading a letter from Macbeth that tells her about the witches and their prophecy. She is very excited, and starts planning to murder Duncan. A messenger tells her that Duncan will be staying at their castle that night. She calls on evil spirits to make her strong and evil so that she can murder Duncan. Macbeth comes in and she tells him of her plans.
I.vi shows Duncan, Banquo, Donalbain, Malcolm, Macduff and some of the thanes entering Macbeth's castle. Duncan and Banquo agree that the castle is sweet and pleasant. Lady Macbeth enters and greets them.