Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/175

* VILLAGRAN. 135 VILLARD. superseded by the new Governor, Mendoza, but replaced him in turn in 15(i. Althoujjh a sec- ond Araucanian uprising took ])l;u:o before Vil- lagra's death in ir)3, he succcmmUmI in carrying the Spanish flag beyond the Andes. VILLALOBOS, vc'l'yiV-ln'ijos, Fkancisco Lo- pez i)E (c. 147:) 0.154:')). A Spanish physician and author, horn in Toledo, of a Jewish family, lie studied medicine, became a convert to Christian- ity, and bi-eanie physician to Charles V. His works include a translation of Plantus's Aiiiphi- truu. the didactic books Prohlemas (1515) and Triil(uh) dc los Ires grandes vicios, the poems Canciun and El suinario de medicina (1538). VILLA LUDOVISI, ve'la loo'd6-ve'ze. See Luuovi.si, Villa. VILLA MEDICI, ma'dr-cht-. A villa near the southern gate of the Pincio, Rome. It was built in 1540 by Annibale Lippi, and Cardinal Alessandro de' jNIedici became its owner about 1000; it then came into the possession of the grand dukes of Tuscany; and in 1801 became the lieadquarters of the French Academy of Art. The walls of the garden facade are adorned with anti(iue reliefs, and a wing contains a notable col- lection of casts. From the grounds may be had an impressive view of Saint Peter's.- Galileo was imprisoned here between 1030 and 1033 by order of the Inquisition. VILLA NAZIONALE, na'tsg-6-nil'la (It., national villa). An extensive park, formerly the Villa Reale, bordering the Cliiajn in Naples and forming the most fashionable promenade of the city. It was laid out in 1780 in the Italian style, and has since been considerably enlarged. Besides statues, caffe, and two small temples, dedicated to Vergil and Thalberg, it contains the celebrated Naples Aquarium and Marine Biologi- cal Station. VIL'LANEL'LA (It., rustic). A rustic Italian part-song, without accompaniment. It was originallj' a countrj' dance, accompanied by singing, but the singing gradually became so im- portant that it displaced the dance and became a separate art form. As a part-song, the vil- lanella shared the characteristics of the can- zonetta and the ballata. At its best, however, it was of loose construction, although the vil- lanelle of the Neapolitan school of the seventeenth century are among the most charming of its light- er compositions. In particular, the composers Kapsperger, Nenna, and Stefano Felis wrote ad- mirable villanelle. The villanella and the vil- lotte. a rustic composition in counterpoint, were the precursors of the madrigal (q.v.), to which they bear the same relation as the folk-song does to the art-song (Kunstlied). VILLANI, vil-lli'ne, Giovanni (c.1275-1348). An Italian historian, born in Florence. He held many oIKces in Florence and wrote a history of that city, in the vernacular, consisting of 12 books, extending to 1348, His work included the history of other countries, and is sometimes called Ch ronicon I'nipcrsnle. For the history of Villani's own time in Italy it is of great value. A continuation to 1363 in 11 books was written by his brother, Matteo. The eleventh book was continued by Matteo's son, Filippo, to 1364, Gio- vanni's work is noteworthy for its excellent style. Consult: Balzani, Early Chronicles of Europe: Iluhj (London, 1883); Potthast, Bibliotheca His- iorica Mcdii .Eri, vol. ii. (Berlin, 1896). VIL'LANOVA'NUS, Aunoluus (c.1235- c.1312), A Spanish-Italian alchemist, whose real name was Arnoldo Bachuone, He was born at Villanova, Catalonia, and was educated at Barce- lona. Afterwards he lived successively in Spain, France, and Italy, and was subjected to ceaseless persecution by the clergy because of his astrologi- cal pretensions. In his numerous writings, as the Tructutus Vhemicus, for example, he calls atten- tion for the first time to the potency of the 'phi- losopher's stone' and the portion known as 'Auriim Potabile.' His chief work is the Uosariua I'liilosoithnriiin. VILLANXJEVA, verya-nwa'va, JoAQUiN Lo- renzo (1757-1837). A Spanish author and pa- triot, born at Jativa, near Valencia. He went into the Church and rose to be Court preacher and royal confessor. He was elected to the Cortes in 1810, and was imprisoned for six years after the restoration of 1814, In 1820 he re- entered the Cortes, was sent in 1822 by the Constitutional Party on a mission to the Pope, and upon the second return of Ferdinand VII, in 1823 lied to Ireland, where he died. His works include: El ano cristiano de Espaiia (19 vols., 1791-1803); Las anijilicas fuentes, 6 el iomista en his Cortes (1811-13); his autobiography (Lon- don, 1S25); and Ibernia Phrrnirwa, seu Phosrii- cum ill Ibernia Iiieolatus (Dublin, 1831; trans. as Phiriiician Ireland, 1S32), VILLA NUEVA DE LA SERENA, da la sS-ra'na. A town of the Province of Badajoz, Spain, 150 miles southwest of Jladrid, near the southern bank of the Guadiana River (Map: Spain, C 3), The town is clean and well liuilt, with well-paved streets. The surrounding coun- try is a fertile jjlain with extensive productions of cereals, fruit, wine, hemp, and live stock. Population, in 1900, 13,500, VILLARD', Henrt (1835-1900). An Ameri- can journalist and financier, born in Speyer, Rhenish Bavaria. His name was originally Hilgard, but he changed it to Villard when he came to the United States in 1853, During the Civil War he won considerable distinction as a war correspondent with the Federal armies, and during the brief Austro-Prussian War of 1866 was correspondent for the New York Tribune. After the financial panic of 1873 he was made the representative of ,scveral committees of German bondholders in connection with the Pacific Coast railroads. He at once went, to the Pacific North- west, where he eventually bought the interests of various European investors and organized the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company, He formed a syndicate which obtained control of the Northern Pacific Railroad, of which he became president in 1881, Under his direction the main line to the Pacific was completed, but at such an immense expense that the company became finan- ciall}' embantissed, and Villard was comjielled to sacrifice his large private fortune and to retire from the presidency, A few years later, by means of German capital, he again obtained control of the Northern Pacific system, and from 1889 to 1893 was chairman of its board of directors. In 1881 he bought a controlling interest in the New York Evening Posit. He was also interested in promoting Thomas A, Edison's inventions, and in