This anthology is centered around a compilation of term papers written by students attending Italian Life and Culture; 1000 BC -1500 AD (Ital333) and Italian Life and Culture 1400 AD – Present (Ital334) at the University of Maryland University College (European Division). Although not professional researchers/writers, my classmates and I have an interest in sharing our research with future students of the course (or similar courses elsewhere) and with the internet community as a whole.
Additionally, the timelines presented give a chronological overview that will be useful to the student of Italian History.
Palimpsest (pal’imp-sest’) n. – (1) A manuscript, typically of papyrus or parchment, that has been written on more than once, with the earlier writing incompletely erased and often legible.
(2) An object, place, or area that reflects its history: “Spaniards in the sixteenth century . . . saw an ocean moving south . . . through a palimpsest of bayous and distributary streams in forested paludal basins” (John McPhee).
–American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed. 2006. Houghton Mifflin Co.
Palimpsest (pal’imp-sest’) noun – A manuscript (usually written on papyrus or parchment) on which more than one text has been written with the earlier writing incompletely erased and still visible
– WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.