orig. Giulio di Pietro di Filippo de' Gianuzzi born 1492/99, Rome, Papal States died Nov. 1, 1546, Mantua, Duchy of Mantua Italian painter and architect. Apprenticed to Raphael in Rome, on his master's death he became Raphael's principal heir and artistic executor, completing several of Raphael's important Vatican frescoes. From 1524 he lived in Mantua, where he came to dominate artistic activity at the Gonzaga court and developed a personal, anti-Classical style. His most important commission, the Palazzo del Te (begun 1526), was one of the first Mannerist buildings to deliberately flout the tenets of Classical architecture. He achieved great fame in his lifetime, and his work presaged the illusionistic ceiling painting of the Baroque period
(Italian; "The Roman Observer") Daily newspaper published in Vatican City, one of the most influential papers in Italy and the de facto voice of the Holy See. Founded in 1861, it was subsidized by the Vatican from its start and was bought outright in 1890 by Pope Leo XIII. It regularly details the pope's activities and prints the text of papal speeches as the Vatican newspaper of record; it also reports and comments on political developments, stressing editorials and commentary over news and noting the religious and moral implications of events, institutions, and trends
born Aug. 9, 1939, Scandiano, Italy Italian prime minister (1996-98) and from 1999 president of the European Commission, one of the governing bodies of the European Union. Prodi graduated from Catholic University in Milan in 1961 and did postdoctoral work at the London School of Economics. After serving as a professor of economics at the University of Bologna, he entered government as minister of industry in 1978. In 1996, after two productive stints as chairman of the Institute for Industrial Reconstruction (1982-89 and 1993-94), he was narrowly elected prime minister as head of the centre-left Olive Tree coalition. During his 28 months in office, Prodi privatized telecommunications and reformed the government's employment and pension policies. Budget disputes with members of his own party led to his resignation in October 1998. His nomination as president of the European Commission was approved by the European Parliament in May 1999, and his term began in September