Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 11.djvu/469

 PALESTINE

421

PALESTRINA

In 1632 the Jesuit Pietro Salerno, gave his patri- mony to the university which was about to be estab- lished in the college of the order. The royal conces- sion was obtained and furthermore a contention arose between the rector of the college and the archbishop, each of whom desired to be chancellor; this controversy hindered the formation of the university itself, that is, of the two other faculties, law and medicine. Courses in medicine were given until 1621 in the Spedale Grande (Academy of Anatomy) through the initiative of Dr. Baldassare Grassia. On the failure of this, another similar course began in 164.5, in the house of Camillini, which course continued, sup- plemented by instruction in mathematics. On the suppression of the Jesuits, their college was entrusted to secular priests. In 1777 the Senate of Palermo began to erect a complete university, which was es- tablished 1779 with three chairs in theology, four in law, six in medicine, seven in philosophy and" the natu- ral sciences. The great professors were Spedalieri in philosophy, Cari in law, Sergio in political economy, Father Bernardino d'Ugria and the Benedictine Eu- tichio Barone in the natural sciences, Maronglia in mathematics. In 1780 new chairs were added, and in the following year the university acquired the right of conferring degrees. In ISOo it was enacted that the rectors should be taken from the Theatine Order which furnished many renowned professors, e. g., the astronomer Piazzi (1786). When the Jesuit Order was re-established, the academy had to change its place; but it was also in that year (180.5) that the said academy took the name of university. Among the professors we may mention: Scina, Gorgone, Amari, Ugdulene, and the late Canizarro (1826-1910).

The university has the usual four faculties of jurisprudence, medicine, letters, and philosophy and sciences, besides a practical school for engineers and a school of pharmacy. It has also a botanical garden, a cabinet of physics, including chemistry, mineralogy, geology, physiology, and anatomy, an astronomical observatory, various clinics and an archaeological museum. The number of students in 1909 was 15.3.5; regular professors, 68; special professors, 111. It supports 84 chairs, and more than 123 teachers.

Sampolo, La R. Accademia degli Stutli di Palermo (Palermo, 1888) : AuBE, Sur I'instruction publigue en Sidle ei particulQre- ment sur I' Universite de Palermo (Paris, 1872).

U. Benigni. Palestine. See Geography, Biblical.

Palestrina, Diocese op (Pk^nestinensis) ; the town of Palestrina, in the province of Rome, central Italy, is the ancient Prteneste, situated on the Via Labicana, the origin of which was attributed by the ancients to Ulysses, or to another fabulous personage. It is first mentioned in history as an ally of Rome against the Latins, in 499 B. c. P>om 373 to 370, how- ever, it was in continual war against Rome or her allies, and was defeated by Cincinnatus; in 354 and in 338 it lost portions of its territory. Thenceforth it was always an ally of Rome, but disdained Roman citizen- ship until 90 B. c. In 82, having recei\'ed Marius, it was taken and sacked by Sulla; later, untler Tiberius, it became a municipium. It was a summer resort of the Romans, who ridiculed the language and the rough manners of its inhabitants. The modern town is built on the ruins of the famous temple of Fortuna Priini- genia. From the eleventh century, it was a fief of the Colonna, and a refuge in their rebclliuiis ai;:iiii>l the popes; consequently, it was several times di sticiycd, as in 1297, by order of Boniface VIII, and in Hiiti, by Giovanni Vitelleschi, at the command of Eugenius IV. It was rebuilt in 1447, sacked in 1527, and occu- pied by the Duke of Alba, in 1.556. In 16.30, it was sold to the Barberini. The town contains remnants of Cyclopean walls and of the aforesaid great temple of Fortune. The cathedral has fine paintings and fres-

coes. In the Church of St. Rosalia (1677) there is an admirable Pieta, carved in the solid rock. Palestrina is the birthplace of the archieologist Andrea Fulvio and of the prince of sacred music, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. The oldest Christian record of this city relates to the martyrdom of St. Agapitus, patron of the cathedral, which took place under Aurelian; this basil- ica was restored and enriched with costly gifts by Leo III. Secundus, Bishop of Palestrina, was at the Coun- cil of Rome (313), and the names of several other of its bishops in ancient times are known. From the si.\th century there was a flourishing monastery on the site of Castel S. Pietro, overlooking the city. After the seventh century, the Bishop of Palestrina was one of the hebdomadary prelates for the services of the Lateran basilica, and was, therefore, a cardinal; he is the fourth, in order, of the cardinal-bishops.

Among the prelates of this see may be mentioned Gregory, who in 757 consecrated the antipope Con- stantine; Andreas, legate of Adrian I to King Desi- derius, in 772; Petrus (996), the first to bear the title of cardinal; Uberto (1073), legate of Gregory VII to Henry IV; Conon (1111), who embeUished the crypt of St. Agapitus; S. Stefano (1122), a Cistercian monk, praised by St. Bernard and John of Salisbury for his piety; Guarino Guarini (1144), a Regular Canon of St. Augustine, famous for his virtues; Manfredo (1166) who persuaded Barbarossa to become reconciled with Alexander III; Paolo Scolari (1181), later Clement III; Blessed Guido de Pare (1196), a Cistercian; Ja- copo Pecoraria (1231); Stefano III (1244), pre\-iously Archbishop of Gran; Girolamo d'AscoU (1278), a Franciscan, later Nicholas IV; Pietro d'Anablay (1306), Grand Chancellor of France; Simon de Lang- ham (1376), an Englishman. During the schism, the popes of Avignon, also, appointed cardinal-bishops of Palestrina. Thereafter, as a result of the custom that gave to cardinal-bishops the option of selecting an- other suburbicarian see, the rule of the prelates of Pal- estrina was of short duration. Among those who fol- lowed were Hugues de Lusignan (1431), a brother of the King of Cyprus; Guglielmo Brissonette (1.507), deposed by Julius II for attending the conciliabule of Pisa; Lorenzo Campeggio (1535); Gianvicenzo Carafa (1539); Giovanni M. del Monte (1543), later Julius III; Louis de Bourbon (1550); Federico Cesi (1.557); Giovanni Morone (1562); Cristoforo Madruzzi (1564); Gian Antonio Serbelloni (1578); Marcantonio Co- lonna (1587); Alessandro Medici (1602), later Leo XI; Guido Bentivoglio (1641) ; Alfonso de laQueva (1644); Antonio Barberini (1661), who founded the seminary; Paluzzo Altieri (1691); Girolamo Spinola (1775); Aurelio Rovarella (1809), who died an exile in France, in 1812; Diego Caracciolo (1814); Giuseppe Spina (1820); Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminclli (1844). The sanctuary of Our Lady of Good Counsel of Genazzano is in this diocese; here, also, are the an- cient see of Gabii, ten bishops of which, between the fifth and the ninth centuries, are known, and that of Subaugusta, four bishops of which are known between 465 and 502. The diocese has 24 parishes, 45,700 in- habitants, 10 religious houses of men, 14 of women, and 3 girls' schools.

C.^PPELLETTI, Le r;iiMcrf'/(n/M. I; Moroni, Duionario, b. v.; Marucchi, 6'indo archeol. deW antica Pnmeste (Rome, 1885)- Cecconi, Storia di Palestrina (Ascoli, 1756).

U. Benigni.

Palestrina, ("iiovAXNi Pierluigi da, the greatest compopiT of litmuical music of all time, b. at Pales- ' I niia (ancient Fra^niste) in 1514 or 1515, according to Bami, Ricmann, and others, according to Haberl, in 1526; d. at Rome, 2 Februaj^-, 1.594. His early history is practically unknown. Giusseppi Ottavia Pittoni (1-6.57-1743), in "Notizie dei maestri di cappella si di Roma che altramontani, 1.500-1700", a manuscript in the Vatican, relates that young Pierluigi sang in the streets of Rome while offering for sale the products of