57G G I O 
a furprifing freedom of hand. In 1679 lie was fent for 
to Florence, to paint the cupola of the chapel Corfini. 
The grand-duke alfo employed him in the decoration of 
his palaces,, and treated him with great regard. In 
1690 he received an invitation from the king of Spain, 
Charles II. to paint at the Efcurial. Scarcely any artift 
has been honoured with more tokens of royal favour 
than Giordano received from this fovereign; and the 
great works upon which he was employed kept him 
many years in Spain. He returned by Genoa, Florence, 
and Rome, in which lad capital pope Clement XI. gave 
him a diflinguiflied reception. At Naples he appeared 
again with all the added fame of his pad performances, 
and his fchool was frequented i'rom all parts. He lived 
in a fplendid manner, kept an open table, and difplayed 
his generolity in painting gratuitoudy for the churches. 
He died in 1705, at the age of feventy-three, and left 
great wealth to his family. The works of Luca Gior¬ 
dano are extremely numerous, and are to be met with 
in many churches and palaces in Italy and Spain, as well 
as in the galleries- of collettors. One of the fined is the 
grand altar-piece in the church of the Afcenlion at Na¬ 
ples, reprefenting the battle of the angels. Several of 
his mod valuable defigns are engraved, and feme are 
etched by his own hand. 
GIORGIA'NI, the furname of the celebrated doctor 
Ai.seid Alscherif AbouHass.\n, born in 740 of 
the Hegira, and died at Shiraz in the hegirian year S16, 
anfwering to 1413 of the Chridian era. He was-the dif- 
ciple of -Mobarckfehah, and of Alaeddin IMohamme'd 
Beil Atthar al Bokhari. He was the author of the 
TadrifeU, which contains an ample explanation o> all the 
terms ufed in philofophy and theology; of A Commen¬ 
tary on Fiuclid, as publiflied by the famous Nallireddin ; 
and A Commentary on the Adah al Aigi, an edeemed 
moral treafife, written by Adhadeddin Ben Ahmed. 
The furname of Giorgiani is alfo applied to another 
matliematician, called Abo u lv asa, w-ho-was the author 
of A Commentary upon Fuclid; and to a grammarian 
named Abobecr Ben Abdalcahar, author of the 
Aoxmmd, or a treatile on the particles which enter into 
the condrudlion of tlie Arabic language; and a treatife 
on rhetoric, under fhe title of Afrar Abdagat. 
GIORGIEV', a town of Waliachia, on the north fide 
of ihe Danube. In June, 1771, a battle was fought near 
this town between the Ruffians and Turks, in which the 
latter were defeated, with the lofs of 5000 killed. The 
Ruflians took 180 pieces of cannon; and all the artillery 
and baggage for 30,000 men. It is forty miles fouth- 
wed from Bucchared, and 233 north-wed from Condan- 
tinople. 
GIORGIO'NE, an eminent painter, whofe true name 
was Giorgio Barbareli.i, born in 1478 at Cadel 
Franco, in the Ti'evidin. He was brought up at Venice,,, 
where his carlied paflion was miific, and he became a 
very fkilful performer on the lute. Applying next to 
defign, he entered the fchool of John Bellini, and foon 
furpaded his mafl'er. His improvement was greatly ow¬ 
ing to his dudy of the works of Lionardo de V inci, from 
which he acquired the management of lights and diades. 
By frequent experiments he made himl’elf the greated 
colourid of the time, fo that Titian, who had been his 
fellow-pupil,worked under him to obtain the mellow. 
nefs of his art. Giorgione, it is laid, difeovered his 
purpole, and immediately difmifled him. At Venice he 
introduced the fadiion of painting the fronts of houfes 
in frelco, and decorated many in that dyle with mytho¬ 
logical liibjecfs. His tade in defign approached that of 
tlie Roman fchool, aiming more at roundnefs in his 
figures than corrrdlnefs of outline, rlis pencil \vas light 
and free, his exprelfion drong and elevated, his imagi¬ 
nation rich, and his colouring inimitable. He painted 
foine portraits of admirable fpirit, and landfcapes of e.x- 
traordinary beauty. While purfuing his art with great 
application, h6 was carried off by the plague at Venice 
G I O 
in 1311, at the early age of thirty-three. His works are 
found in various parts of Italy : a Bearing of the Crofs 
at Venice is regarded with a'kind of veneration. His 
eafel pifhires are few, and highly valued. Several.of 
his defigns have been engraved. 
GIOR'NICO, a town of Swiderland, in the canton of 
Uri. In 1478, fifteen thoufand Milanois were defeated 
near this towm by fix hundred Swifs; who, in confe- 
quence of the vidlory, obtained an honourable and ad¬ 
vantageous peace of the duke of Milan : th.irteen miles 
north of Bellinzona. - 
GIOS'TAH, a town of Africa, in the country of Mo¬ 
zambique, at the bottom of a bay not far from Sofala. 
GIOT'TO, the fecond of tliofe celebrated painters 
who diftinguiflied themlelves by the revival of the art 
in Italy, born in 1276, in the dillridt of Vefpignano near 
Florenct-, where his father, Bondone, was a fimple pea- 
fant. The natural talent of Giotto for defign difeovered 
itleli by his drawing figures upon the ground wiiile tend¬ 
ing flieep. The painter Cimabuechancing to fi^e him thus 
employed, took liim home to Florence, and inltrudled 
him in"his art. Giotto fet himfelf with great diligence 
to his favourite purfuit, and by the force of his genius 
greatly outftript his maficr. He freed himfelf from the 
dry Gothic manner then in ufe, and gave exprelfion and 
vivacity to his figures. His reputation fpread throui*-]). 
out Italy, many cities of which he adorned with his 
works, where they are ftill cxilUng. He not only painted 
in trefco, but in colours ; and vvas particularly excellent 
III niolaic, forfome pieces of which lieTcceived extraor¬ 
dinary prices. His mofaic of the Death of the Virgin at 
Florence was higlily admired by Michael Angelo; and 
that ot the Ship of St. Peter, placed over the grand en¬ 
trance ot that church in Rome, has leceived the enco¬ 
miums of feveral writers. Giotto was a man of general 
knowledge, fond of jioetry, and pleafant in converlation. 
Boccacio and Sacchetti often introduce him in their no¬ 
vels, and record his witty repartees. He died, much 
efteemed, in 1336. 
GIOVA'IN, a town of Perfia, in the province of Far- 
fiftan: ten miles north of Scitiras. 
GIOVA'IN, a tow n of Perlia, in the province of Ker¬ 
man ; fifty-feven miles I'outh-eall of Sirgian. 
GIOVA'IN, a town of Perfia, in the province of Se- 
geftan ; fifty-five miles weil-north-weft of Zareng. 
GIOVAR', a town of Perfia,- in the province of Far- 
fiftan ; fifty-five miles fouth-fouth-wefl: of Schiras. 
GIOVFILLI'NO, a town of the ifland of Corfica : 
twenty-five miles call of Corte. 
GIOVENAZ'ZO, a town of Italy, in the kingdom of 
Naples, and province of Bari, fitiiated near the fea ; con¬ 
taining four churches and four convents, and defended 
by a caftle : eleven miles eall-fouth-eall of Trani. 
GIO'VJO (Paul), in Latin, Jevius, a celebrated Ita¬ 
lian hiftorian, born of an ancient family at Como, in 
1483. Fie was brouglit up to letters, and ftudied in 
Padua, Pavia, and Milan. He took his degree in phyfic 
at Pavia, and engaged in the pradtice of the profellion 
at Como and Milan. About the year 1512 he went to 
Rome, wliere for fomc time he continued to act as a 
phyfician. But liis principal ambition was to rank 
among thofe eminent literary characters whom the mu¬ 
nificence of Leo X. had afiembled about his court ; 
and he had long paid particular attention to the forming 
of a Latin ftyle, and acquiring a kno-vvledge of claffical 
antiquities. His peculiar ftudy was that of hifiory, and 
he was fird made known to pope Leo by a Ipecimen of 
hiflorical compofition, which that pontift' declared to 
come next in elegance to the writings of Livy. He was 
rewarded with a penllon, and would probably have ob¬ 
tained higher advancement, had Leo lived longer., 
Adrian took from him the penfion of his predeceli'or, 
but conferred upon him a canonicate in his own coun¬ 
try, upon condition, it is faid, that he fhould make ho¬ 
nourable mention of him. This, in fact, Giovio ha-s 
2 done 
