Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/451

 ROSA ROSAPJO 431 theatre in Cairo. The next season M. and Mme. Rosa formed an English opera company, with which after a tour in England they pro- posed returning to America. Mme. Rosa was large in person, with a handsome countenance, and a physique of remarkable endurance. ROSA, Francisco Martinez de la. See MARTINEZ DE LA ROSA. ROSA, Monte, a mountain group at the eastern extremity of the Pennine Alps, on the frontier line between the Swiss canton of Valais and the kingdom of Italy, in lat. 45 55' N., Ion. 7 62' E. It is, after Mont Blanc, the loftiest mountain of the Alps, the highest peak being 15,150 ft. above the sea. The main ridge stretches S. from the peak known as Nordende to the Parrot-Spitze, where it connects with the Lyskamm range. Between these points two principal branches radiate, one westward, with the highest summit or Hochste Spitze at its junction with the main ridge, and the other eastward from the Signal-Kuppe, somewhat to the south of the middlemost point. Four an- gles are thus formed ; those on the west con- tain the Monte Rosa and Lys glaciers, and give rise to the great Gorner ice stream, and those on the east enclose the Macugnaga and Sesia glaciers. Monte Rosa thus forms a part of the watershed between the basins of the Rhone and the Po. The mountain walls are most precipitous in the N. E. angle above the Ma- cugnaga glacier. Along the crest, especially in the neighborhood of the Hochste Spitze, the edge is sometimes so sharp as to allow the climber to bestride it. All the summits of Monte Rosa are composed of gneiss and white mica slate, and all have of late years been ascended. ROSA, Saint, commonly called St. Rose of Lima, the only canonized saint of American birth, born in Lima in 1586, died there, Aug. 24, 1617. Her parents were wealthy Span- iards, and gave her in baptism the name of Isabel ; but, it is said, her extreme beauty in childhood made them call her Rosa. Their fortune having been swept away, Rosa was taken into the household of the treasurer Gon- salvo, where she supported her parents by her labor, while following her bent for asceticism. She refused every matrimonial offer, assumed the habit of the third order of St. Dominic, and lived a recluse in the garden of her pro- tectors. She was canonized by Pope Clement X. in 1671, and her feast was fixed on Aug. 30. ROSA, Salvator, an Italian painter, born at Aranella, near Naples, June 20, 1615, died in Rome, March 15, 1673. In early life he ex- plored the wildest regions of Calabria, asso- ciating with banditti, in the interest of his art. After his father's death he supported the fam- ily by making drawings on primed paper, which brought his talent into notice; and he after- ward studied under Spagnoletto and Aniello Falcone. He then visited Rome, where he became celebrated not only as a painter, but also as a poet, musician, and actor. In 1647 he took part in the insurrection at Naples un- 712 VOL. xiv. 28 der Masaniello, after whose overthrow he fled to Rome. Incurring there the displeasure of the authorities by satirical pictures, he escaped to Florence, where he was employed in the Pitti palace ; but after some time he returned to Rome. Among his most celebrated works are the " Catiline Conspiracy," " Saul and the Witch of Endor," " Attilus Regulus," and altarpieces. He is best known as a landscape painter, having been one of the first in Italy to practise that branch with success. He de- lighted in gloomy effects, powerful contrasts of light and shade, and romantic forms. He also excelled in portraits and as an engraver. See "The Life and Times of Salvator Rosa," by Lady Morgan (2 vols., London, 1824), and Salvatore Rom, by Cantu (Milan, 1844). ROSAMOND, a Lombard queen. See ALBOIX. ROSAMOND, commonly called "Fair Rosa- mond," a favorite of King Henry II. of Eng- land, the daughter of Walter, Lord Clifford, died in 1177. She was first brought to the king's notice through the collusion of her brothers, who desired to advance their own fortunes by means of their sister's beauty. She lived at Woodstock, where Henry fre- quently visited her, and bore to him William Longsword, earl of Salisbury, and Geoffrey, who was nominated bishop of Lincoln. She was buried in the church of Goodstone, op- posite the high altar, but in 1191 Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, caused her bones to be removed with disgrace. The story of her concealment in a labyrinth and being poisoned by Queen Eleanor lacks historic basis. ROSARIO, a city of the Argentine Republic, in the province of Santa Fe, on the right bank of the Parana, 170 m. N. W. of Buenos Ayres ; pop. about 40,000, including many foreigners. In 1854, when it contained only 4,000 inhabi- tants dwelling in wooden sheds and mud huts, it was created a port of entry, and it is now the second commercial city of the republic. The climate is temperate and healthful, the thermometer averaging 78 F., and rarely ri- sing to 100. The city is well laid out; the streets are paved, lighted with gas, and trav- ersed by cars. There are several handsome churches, theatres, banks, hotels, a custom house, exchange, &c., and docks and wharves are in course of construction. The river here is a mile wide, and vessels of any size may lie alongside of the steep bluff, 50 to 60 ft. high, on which the city stands. Rosario is the nat- ural receiving and distributing centre of a vast region. It is the starting point of the railway system of the interior, designed to consist of two main stems extending to the Pacific coast, with branches to every part of the republic; one line is completed (1875) for nearly 400 m., and another to the Rio Cuarto. In 1874 the official value of merchandise im- ported direct was $7,046,400 ; of the exports, $2,101,100, of which $1,073,540 consisted of wool, hides, hair, goat skins, &c., sent to the United States. The movement of shipping to.