B I A 



of diis town is owing to the illuftrious family of Bi-anldci, 

 whole palace adjoins the town, and who have contributed 

 to orna:ntnt their place of refidence. This palace is a large 

 bnildi:;g, in the Italian tafle, and, on account of its magni- 

 ficence, gentiaUy called the Verfailles of Poland. It was 

 formerly only a royal hunting feat, but given by John 

 Cafimir, together with Balliflock, and other eltates, to Czar- 

 nicflci, a* general hiirhly dillinguifhed by his vidtories over 

 the Swedes, when Poland was nearly cru(hed by her enemies. 

 Ci'.arnicl1<i left one daughter, who married Braniflci, the 

 father of tiie late great general, and conveyed the eftate 

 into that family. 



BIALOBOKY, a town of Poland, in the palatinate of 

 Lembcrj, 48 jiiiles S. W. of Lemberg. 



BIANA, a town of Hindoftan, 20 leagues from Agra, 

 which was formerly a large city, and included Agra among 

 its dependencies. The town is ftill conliderable, and con- 

 tains many large (lone ho\ifes. It was formerly the refi- 

 dence of a powerful rajah ; but his principal city and fort 

 were fcated on the top of an adjoining hill, and the prefent 

 town was only a fuburb. The whole ridge of the hill is 

 covered with the remains of large buildings, among 

 which, the mod remarkable is a fort, called " Bijey-Mun- 

 der," containing a lofty pillar of (lone, called " Bheemlat," 

 or the Tealcr or oilman's lat or flafT. This pillar is confpi- 

 cuous at a great diftance. The town and diftrift now be- 

 long to " Ramjaht Sing," the rajah of Bhirtpoor. This 

 place -is famous for its excellent indigo. N. lat. 26^ 20'. 

 E. long. 77°. 



BIANCA, La, a town of Italy, in the kingdom of Na- 

 ples, and province of Calabria Ultra, 12 miles N. E. of 

 Bova. 



BiANCA, Ital. for the note in mufic, which we denomi- 

 nate a minim: and the Fr. line blanche. This, thoucrh 

 row almoll the longeft note in ufe, three or four hundred 

 years ago, was the (hortell. SccTime-TablEj and Musi- 

 CAL Characters. 



BIANCHI, Francisco, called II Fran, in Biography, 

 an hillorical painter, was born at Modena, and was the dif- 

 ciple of the celtbrated Antonio Correggio. His colourintr 

 was delicately fine, his attitudes graceful, and his invention 

 vtry grand. His works polTcfTed an ailonifliing beauty, and 

 are prized as highly as even thofe of Correggio. He died 

 in 1520. Pilkington. 



BiANCHi, Plter, a painter of the Roman fchool, was 

 bom in Rome in 1694, and united with his talents as a 

 painter the accomplifhments of literature. He painted hif- 

 torical fubjefts, portraits, nnal and naval fcenes, animals, 

 plants, and flowers, in frefco, oil, and diftemper. His 

 reputation caufed him to be employed in painting a pi£\ure 

 in the church of St. Peter. He is laid to have been a fevere 

 judge of his own performances, and to have deftroyed many 

 of his works after they were finlfhed, becanfe they did not 

 pleafehim. He died at Rome in 1739. Encyclopedic. 



BiANCHi, JoH» Baptist, born at Turin, Sept. 12th 

 1681, of an ancient and refpeftable family. After being 

 educated with the greateft care, and under the ableil mafters 

 at home, he was fent early to the univerfity, and made fuch 

 progrefs in his ftudies, that at the age of 17, he was admitted 

 doftor in medicine, and was foon after made phyfician to 

 the hofpital, a fituation for which he was peculiarly qualified ; 

 for being fond of anatomical purfuits, he had here opportu- 

 nity, from thq number of fubjefts a large eftablifhment of 

 that kind neceffarily furnilhed, of difiefting and examining 

 the human body at every .age, and labouring under every 

 fpecies of difeafe or deformity. He had thc'happinefs alfo 

 cf finding his talents properly ellimated by hii brethren, 



B I A 



and his labours rewarded, as he was advanced to be public 

 teacher of anatomy at Turin, where his fovercign built for 

 him, in the year 17 15, a fpacious and convenient amphi- 

 theatre. He alfo read leftures in philofophy, in pharmacy, 

 chemiftry, and on the practice of medicine. Theie honours 

 were not however entirely without alloy, as he had the mor- 

 tification to find his doftrincs cenfured by Morgaf;ni, and by 

 Haller, and even the exiftence of fome parts he fuppofed he 

 had difcovered, difputed. The principal of his works are 

 " Hilloria htpatica, feu de hepatis ftrudura, ufibus, et mor- 

 bis," 17 10, 8vo. Morgagni has publilhed fome fevere 

 ftriftures on this work, in his " Adverlaria Anatom.ica." It 

 has pafied, however, through feveral editions, and in 1725, 

 was republidied in 2 vols. 4to. with figures. " Duftus 

 lacrymaltsnovi, eorum iifus, morbi, curationes," 4to. 1715. 

 alfj cenfured by Morgagni. " Storia de monftro, di due 

 corpi," 8vo. 1749, the moft laboured and perfetl, Haller 

 fays, of all his works. He wrote alfo an hiilory of the 

 generation of man, with figures, in which he attempts to 

 delineate the foetus in its different ftages, but the figures, 

 Haller fays, are principally faftitious. Many of his differ- 

 tations are infertcd by Mangeti in his " Theatrum Anato- 

 mieum." Haller. Bib. Anat. et Chirurg, Eloy. Diet. Hift. 

 BiANCHi, John, born at Rimini, Jan. 3, 1693. After re- 

 ceiving a liberal education, he went to Bologna, where, in 

 1719, he was admitted doftor in medicine. Returning the 

 following year to Rimini, he praflifed medicine there with 

 fuccefs tor many years. He revived the academy of I^yuxes, 

 a philofophical fociety, collefting the members togetlier at 

 firll at his own houfe. In gratitude for this, a medal was 

 ftruck, with his figure on the face, and on the reverfc, a 

 lynx, with the motto " Linccis reftitutis." His works are 

 various, of which the principal are " A Treatife on the 

 CataracS," 410. 1720 in Italian ; «' Epiftola anatomica, ad 

 Jofephum Putasum," 4to. 1726. " De monilris, et rebus 

 monllrofis," 4to. 1749, and in I'Ji, an account of an im- 

 pollnnie of the right hemifphere of the brain, occafioning 

 paralyfis on the oppofite fide of the body. Eloy. Ditlt. 

 Hilh 



BIANCHINI, Francis, a mathematician and philofo- 

 pher, was born at Vrrona, Dec. 13, 1662, and devoting him- 

 ielf to the church, became a doClor in theology, and diiUn- 

 guifhed by his unfeigned piety. But his principal celebrity 

 was acquired by his literary and fcicntific performances. 

 In early life he contributed to the eftablifliment of the aca- 

 demy of the " Aletofoli," or the lovers of truth, and in the 

 progrefs of his ftudies rendered it confiderable fervice. His 

 literary reputation attrafted that notice to which the rank 

 of his family alfo in fome meafure entitled him. Cardinal 

 Ottoboni, afterwards pope Alexander VIII., appointed him 

 his librarian ; and he was promoted firft to the dignity of 

 canon in the church of Santa Maria della Rotunda, and alfo 

 to that of St. Laurence, in Damafo. He was alfo fecretary 

 to the congregation for the reform of the calendar, to which 

 office he was nominated by pope Clement XL The fenate 

 created him one of the nobility of Rome, and after his death 

 the citizens of Verona placed his buft in their cathedral. He 

 died of the dropfy March 2, 1729, with a charafter diftin- 

 guifhed for the benevolence and candour of his manners, as 

 well as for his piety and univerfal learning. Fontenclle 

 honoured his memory with an eloge, as one of the foreign 

 members of the academy of fciences at Paris. His firft work 

 was " An Univerfal Hiftory," on a new plan, ferving to 

 give perfpicuity to the chronological diftribution. The 

 firft part of this work was publiftied in 1697, under the title 

 of " La Iftoria Univerfale provata con monumenti ct figu- 

 rata con Simboli de gli Antichi." It extends, from the 



creation 



