Ayacucho: The National University of San Cristóbal de Huamanga (founded 1677, closed 1886, reopened 1959) is located there. The city’s economy is based on agriculture and light manufactures, including textiles, pottery, leather goods, and filigree ware. Ayacucho can be reached by highway from Lima, Huancayo, and Cuzco,…

Tenerife: …de Tenerife, the capital, and San Cristóbal de la Laguna, the former capital, now Tenerife’s cultural capital and the site of the University of La Laguna (1792). The city of San Cristóbal de la Laguna was added to the UNESCO World Heritage site list in 1999 because of its stature…

San Cristóbal de Las Casas, city, central Chiapas estado (state), southeastern Mexico. It is situated on the central plateau of the Chiapas Highlands, at an elevation of 6,900 feet (2,100 metres). San Cristóbal is a major cultural and political centre for the Maya and other Indigenous peoples of

San Cristóbal Island, one of the easternmost of the Galapagos Islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean. San Cristóbal Island lies approximately 600 miles (965 km) west of mainland Ecuador. It was originally named by English pirates for William Pitt, the Elder, 1st earl of Chatham. With an area of 195

San Cristobal, island in the country of Solomon Islands, southwestern Pacific Ocean, 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Guadalcanal. The island is about 80 miles (130 km) long with a maximum width of 25 miles (40 km) and an area of about 1,230 square miles (3,190 square km). It is fairly rugged, with a

St. Francis of Assisi: Early life and career: …Assisi when Francis heard the crucifix above the altar command him: “Go, Francis, and repair my house which, as you see, is well-nigh in ruins.” Taking this literally, Francis hurried home, gathered some fine cloth from his father’s shop, and rode off to the nearby town of Foligno, where he…

San Diego, port and city, seat (1850) of San Diego county, southern California, U.S. It lies along the Pacific Ocean at San Diego Bay, just north of the international border with Mexico and some 120 miles (195 km) southeast of Los Angeles. The city consists of two portions of unequal size: the much

San Diego: Nearly landlocked San Diego Bay, one of the world’s finest natural deepwater harbours, encompasses 22 square miles (57 square km). It is sheltered by two overlapping peninsulas—Point Loma to the north and west and Silver Strand to the south and west—and is connected to the Pacific in…

Los Angeles Chargers, American professional gridiron football team that plays in the American Football Conference (AFC) of the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers are based in the Greater Los Angeles area and have appeared in one Super Bowl (1995). The Chargers began play in 1960 as one of

Los Angeles Clippers, American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles that plays in the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The franchise was originally based in Buffalo, New York, and was known as the Buffalo Braves upon joining the NBA in 1970 alongside

St. Junípero Serra: …July 16, 1769, he founded Mission San Diego, the first within the present state of California. From 1770 to 1782 he founded eight more Californian missions: Carmel, his headquarters, at Monterey, in 1770; San Antonio and San Gabriel (near Los Angeles), 1771; San Luis Obispo, 1772; San Francisco (Mission Dolores)…

San Diego Padres, American professional baseball team based in San Diego that plays in the National League (NL). The Padres were founded in 1969 and have won two NL pennants (1984 and 1998). The franchise came into existence alongside three other expansion teams in 1969. The Padres lost 110 games

Ralph Van Deman: …nonprofit research organization called the San Diego Research Library, which made them available not only to government agencies but also to private political groups and candidates, a practice that led to abuses. The files were routinely consulted in the granting of security clearances until 1971, when the practice was halted…

Houston Rockets, American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets have won two National Basketball Association (NBA) championships (1994 and 1995) and four Western Conference titles. The team was founded as the San Diego Rockets in 1967 and moved to Houston in 1971 after four

Julie Foudy: 1999 World Cup, Olympics, and the San Diego Spirit: …Games, Foudy played with the San Diego Spirit (2001–03) in the Women’s United Soccer Association. In 2004, after playing some 270 games with the USWNT, Foudy retired.

San Diego: The contemporary city: …Institution of Oceanography (1903), and San Diego State University (1897) is part of the California State University system. Other institutions of higher education include the University of San Diego (1949) and several community colleges. Other cultural amenities include a symphony orchestra and opera, ballet, and theatre companies. The city is…

San Diego: The contemporary city: San Diego Wild Animal Park, near Escondido, showcases groups of exotic animals roaming throughout 1,800 acres (730 hectares) of habitat similar to their native Africa and Asia. Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, on the 19th-century settlement site, displays artifacts and restored buildings, and…

San Diego Zoo, one of the largest collections of exotic and endangered mammals, birds, and reptiles in the world, located in San Diego, California, U.S. The municipal zoo, founded in 1916, is administered by the Zoological Society of San Diego. It occupies a 100-acre (40-hectare) site in the city’s

San Diego: The contemporary city: San Diego Wild Animal Park, near Escondido, showcases groups of exotic animals roaming throughout 1,800 acres (730 hectares) of habitat similar to their native Africa and Asia. Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, on the 19th-century settlement site, displays artifacts and restored buildings, and…

ecoterrorism: …an American animal rights activist, Daniel Andreas San Diego, became the first “domestic terrorist” to be placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list.

San Diego: The contemporary city: …of higher education include the University of San Diego (1949) and several community colleges. Other cultural amenities include a symphony orchestra and opera, ballet, and theatre companies. The city is also home to the Padres professional baseball team.

Diegueño, a group of Yuman-speaking North American Indians who originally inhabited large areas extending on both sides of what is now the U.S.–Mexican border in California and Baja California. They were named after the mission of San Diego. Traditional Diegueño culture reflected similarities with

Hispaniola, second largest island of the West Indies, lying within the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean Sea. It is divided politically into the Republic of Haiti (west) and the Dominican Republic (east). The island’s area is 29,418 square miles (76,192 square km); its greatest length is nearly

boxwood: … of the family Salicaceae and Phyllostylon brasiliensis of the family Ulmaceae, and a number of woods from Australian trees in the genera Eucalyptus and Tristania (family Myrtaceae), Alyxia (family Apocynaceae), and Murraya (family Rutaceae).

Ulises Heureaux: His improvident dealings with the San Domingo Improvement Company of New York—which floated loans, built railways, and took over the collection of customs—left the country bankrupt and led to interference in the country’s affairs by the United States after Heureaux was assassinated by political enemies.

Acoma: The massive mission church of San Esteban del Rey was built there in 1629–41; its 30-foot (9-metre) log beams were carried from the Cebollita Mountains (30 miles [50 km] southwest) and, with the dirt for its graveyard, were hauled up from below. Visitors and inhabitants can now gain access by…

Chile mine rescue of 2010: The mine, owned by the San Esteban Primera Mining Company, was located in the Atacama Desert of Chile, approximately 50 miles (80 km) northwest of the town of Copiapó and approximately 500 miles (800 km) north of Santiago.

Mount Circeo: The modern village of San Felice Circeo, toward the eastern end of the promontory, occupies the site of the ancient Circeii, a fortress of the ancient Volsci people that became a Roman colony in 393 bc and a popular summer residence in the Roman imperial period. During the Middle…

Lake Izabal: San Felipe fort, which was built in 1652 to protect the area from pirates, still stands at the head of the Dulce. The fort was used as a prison and was rebuilt at least three times during the 17th century. By the end of the…

San Felipe, city, central Chile. It lies on the Aconcagua River, at 2,087 feet (636 metres) above sea level. Founded in 1740 as Villa de San Felipe el Real by José Antonio Manso de Velasco y Samaniego, it is the centre of an agricultural (alfalfa, grapes, fruits, vegetables, and cereals) and mining

San Felipe, historic town, Austin county, southeastern Texas, U.S. It lies along the Brazos River, some 45 miles (70 km) west of Houston. Known as the “birthplace of Anglo-American settlement in Texas,” it was founded in 1824 as headquarters for the colony of Stephen Austin, who there first

San Felipe, city, capital of Yaracuy estado (state), northwestern Venezuela. It lies on the flanks of the eastern portion of the Segovia Highlands, at an elevation of 1,800 feet (550 metres) above sea level. Founded in 1729, San Felipe played a role in the Spanish cacao trade until the city was

Parris Island: …site of the Spanish fort San Felipe in 1566. The fort guarded Santa Elena, the capital of Spanish Florida, which was established during the same period. The 5.5-mile- (9-km-) long island was used as a coaling station by Union forces during the American Civil War. In 1889 it was made…

Salta, city, capital of Salta provincia (province), northwestern Argentina. It lies in the irrigated Andes Mountains valley of Lerma, on a headstream of the Salado River. It was founded in 1582 as San Felipe de Lerma by Hernando de Lerma, governor of Tucumán. The Spanish royal forces were defeated

Montevideo, principal city and capital of Uruguay. It lies on the north shore of the Río de la Plata estuary. Montevideo was founded in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, governor of Buenos Aires, to counteract the Portuguese advance into the area from Brazil. During its early years, Montevideo was

Puerto Plata, city and port, northern Dominican Republic. It lies at the foot of Isabel de Torres Peak, along the Atlantic Ocean. Puerto Plata was founded in 1503 by Christopher Columbus. Serving the fertile Cibao Valley, the port handles the produce of one of the country’s leading coffee-growing

Puerto Rico: Early settlement: …San Felipe del Morro (El Morro) castle, which was perfectly located to dominate the narrow entrance to the harbour. Finally they added a stronger and larger fortress (San Cristóbal) to the northeast, on the Atlantic side of the city. In the early 17th century the city was surrounded by…

San Felipe, city, central Chile. It lies on the Aconcagua River, at 2,087 feet (636 metres) above sea level. Founded in 1740 as Villa de San Felipe el Real by José Antonio Manso de Velasco y Samaniego, it is the centre of an agricultural (alfalfa, grapes, fruits, vegetables, and cereals) and mining

Ciudad Guayana: …defeated Spanish Royalists at the Battle of San Félix (1817).

Gabrielino: The second group, Tataviam (Fernandeño), occupied areas in and around the San Fernando Valley and seacoast. A third, apparently related, group was the Nicolino (Nicoleño, or San Nicolinos), who inhabited San Nicolas Island.

San Fernando, town, west-central Luzon, Philippines. Located on a bay of the South China Sea formed by a peninsula that ends in San Fernando Point, it served a tobacco- and rice-growing region as the northern terminus of the Philippine National Railway until the line was extended to Bacnotan in

San Fernando, city, central Chile. It lies on the Rapel River, at 1,112 feet (339 metres) above sea level, in the fertile Central Valley. Founded in 1742, it became the provincial capital in 1840. San Fernando’s rodeos rank among Chile’s best, for the city is in the heart of huaso (“cowboy”)

San Fernando, cabecera (county seat) and partido (county) of northeastern Gran (Greater) Buenos Aires, Argentina. It lies north of the city of Buenos Aires, in Buenos Aires provincia (province), on the Río de la Plata estuary. Colonization of the area began with the second and permanent founding of

San Fernando, city and enclave within the city of Los Angeles, southern California, U.S. It lies in the northeastern San Fernando Valley. Named for the Mission San Fernando Rey de España (established 1797 by Father Fermín de Lasuén), which is now preserved as a historic site, it was promoted in

San Fernando, city, Cádiz provincia (province), in the comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of Andalusia, southwestern Spain. It is situated on a rocky island surrounded by salt marshes that line the southern shore of the Bay of Cadiz, south of Cádiz city. Founded in 1776, it was known as Isla

San Fernando, city and port of Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago, southeastern West Indies. It lies at the western end of the Central Range of hills, on the flat, shallow coast of the Gulf of Paria, about 35 miles (55 km) south of Port of Spain. San Fernando was once part of a settlement of Indigenous

San Fernando de Apure, city, capital of Apure estado (state), west-central Venezuela. It is located on the Apure River. San Fernando de Apure was founded in the late 18th century by Capuchin missionaries as a base for the religious conversion of surrounding Native American groups. A Llanos (plains)

Carolina, town, northeastern Puerto Rico. Part of metropolitan San Juan, it is located about 12 miles (19 km) east of the capital, on the banks of the Loíza River just above its marshy lowlands near the coast. The town was in 1816 constituted a pueblo, named Trujillo Bajo. In 1857 the barrios

Monte Cristi, city, northwestern Dominican Republic, in the coastal lowlands near the mouth of the Yaque del Norte River. Founded in 1506, Monte Cristi was destroyed in 1606 for trading illegally with pirates; it was not reconstructed until 1756. It is now an important commercial and transportation

Resistencia, city, capital of Chaco provincia (province), northeastern Argentina. It is located on a stream that flows into the Paraná River at the river port of Barranqueras, 4 miles (6 km) southeast. Originally founded in the mid-18th century as San Fernando del Río Negro (a Jesuit reducción

Catamarca, city, capital of Catamarca provincia (province), northwestern Argentina. It is located on the Río del Valle de Catamarca, a river between the two south-pointing spurs of the Andean peaks of Ambato and Ancasti. Originally named Londres, it was founded by the explorer Juan Pérez de Zurita

San Fernando Valley, valley in southern California, U.S. It lies northwest of downtown Los Angeles, bounded by the San Gabriel (north and northeast), Santa Susana (north), and Santa Monica (south) mountains and the Simi Hills (west). The valley, originally an agricultural area, occupies 260 square

San Francesco, Franciscan monastery and church in Assisi, Italy, begun after the canonization in 1228 of St. Francis of Assisi and completed in 1253. The crypt was added in 1818, when the tomb of St. Francis was opened. The lower church is where the saint is buried, and it has frescoes by Giunta

Ravenna: The Church of St. Francis (San Francesco) has a small annex containing the tomb of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri. The Church of St. John the Evangelist (San Giovanni Evangelista) was almost totally destroyed in World War II and has since been heavily restored. The oldest…

Naples: The Castel Nuovo: …del Plebiscito, the basilica of San Francesco di Paola, which—erected in royal thanksgiving for the restoration of Bourbon rule (1815)—is modeled on the Pantheon of Rome. The palace, created by Domenico Fontana early in the 17th century, now houses government offices and a notable picture gallery. Above San Francesco di…

San Francisco, American dramatic film, released in 1936, that recounted the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. It is noted for the performances of its cast and for what were, for its time, stunning special effects. The setting is San Francisco’s bawdy Barbary Coast in the days before the earthquake.

San Francisco, city and port, coextensive with San Francisco county, northern California, U.S., located on a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay. It is a cultural and financial centre of the western United States and one of the country’s most cosmopolitan cities. Area 46

San Francisco, city, northeastern Córdoba provincia (province), north-central Argentina, on the border of Santa Fé province at the northern edge of the Pampa. Founded in 1886 and given city status in 1915, it has been a railroad centre since the 19th century and is a commercial and manufacturing

During the 1950s San Francisco supported several folk clubs including the hungry i, where the Kingston Trio recorded a best-selling live album in 1958. But the city was a backwater of the national music industry until 1966, when promoters such as Bill Graham began booking local bands such as the

San Francisco 49ers, American professional football team based in Santa Clara, California, that plays in the National Football League (NFL). The 49ers have won five Super Bowl titles (1982, 1985, 1989, 1990, and 1995) and eight National Football Conference (NFC) championships. (Read Walter Camp’s

Ansel Adams: Maturity: …of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Institute) the first academic department to teach photography as a profession. He also revived the idea of the original (chemical) photographic print as an artifact, something that might be sold as an art object. His Portfolio I of 1948 offered 12 original…

Lew Christensen: …choreographer whose work with the San Francisco Ballet Company helped establish ballet in the western United States.

The Avalon Ballroom, the Fillmore Auditorium, Fillmore West, and Winterland: these four venues ushered in the modern era of rock show presentation and grew out of the hippie counterculture of San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district. The first multiband rock show was held at the Ark in Sausalito in

San Francisco Bay, large, nearly landlocked bay indenting western California, U.S. It is a drowned river valley paralleling the coastline and is connected with the Pacific Ocean by a strait called the Golden Gate, which is spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge. San Francisco Bay is 60 miles (97 km)

California: Population composition: The San Francisco Bay Area became a haven for gay men and lesbians in the years following World War II and was among the first U.S. cities to issue antidiscrimination ordinances on the basis of sexual preference. Los Angeles and other California cities also have significant…

Rube Goldberg: …sportswriter and cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle (1904–05) and later for the San Francisco Bulletin (1905–07). He went east and joined the New York Evening Mail (1907–21), where he created three long-running comic strips. He also created the cartoon character Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts, an inventor of contraptions that…

San Francisco Conference, international meeting (April 25–June 26, 1945) that established the United Nations. The basic principles of a worldwide organization that would embrace the political objectives of the Allies had been proposed at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in 1944 and reaffirmed at the

Copiapó, city, northern Chile. At 35 miles (56 km) inland from the Pacific coast in the fertile Copiapó River valley, this irrigated oasis (usually regarded as the southern limit of the Atacama Desert) in an extremely arid territory has been farmed since the pre-Inca period. The community was

San Francisco de Macorís, city, north-central Dominican Republic, on a tributary of the Camú River. Founded in 1777, it is situated in the fertile La Vega Real region. The city is a commercial and processing centre for the cacao, coffee, fruits, rice, beeswax, and hides produced in the hinterland.

Quito, city and capital of Ecuador. It is situated on the lower slopes of the volcano Pichincha, which last erupted in 1666, in a narrow Andean valley at an elevation of 9,350 feet (2,850 metres), just south of the Equator. The oldest of all South American capitals, Quito is notable for its

San Francisco del Rincón, city, western Guanajuato estado (state), north-central Mexico. It lies in the valley of the upper Turbio River, an extension of the agricultural district known as the Bajío, at an elevation of 5,781 feet (1,762 metres). Although primarily an agricultural centre trading in

San Francisco earthquake of 1906, major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 that occurred on April 18, 1906, at 5:12 am off the northern California coast. The San Andreas Fault slipped along a segment about 270 miles (430 km) long, extending from San Juan Bautista in San Benito county to Humboldt

San Francisco earthquake of 1989, major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area, California, U.S., on October 17, 1989, and caused 63 deaths, nearly 3,800 injuries, and an estimated $6 billion in property damage. It was the strongest earthquake to hit the area since the San Francisco

Ambrose Bierce: Editing, mining, and a mysterious death: …staff of William Randolph Hearst’s San Francisco Examiner, for which he wrote the “Prattler” column.

San Francisco Giants, American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants have won eight World Series titles and 23 National League (NL) pennants. The franchise that would become the Giants was established in 1883 in New York City and was initially known as the Gothams. In 1885

San Francisco Gotera, city, eastern El Salvador, on the Río Grande de San Miguel. Formerly called Gotera, its name was modified in 1887 to honour Francisco Morazán, the former president of the United Provinces of Central America. It is an agricultural and livestock-trading centre. Gold and silver

San Francisco: Transportation: San Francisco International Airport is located about 7 miles (11 km) south of the city-county limits, occupying a filled site on the southwestern shore of the bay.

California: Cultural institutions: …in Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (1935). The Music Center of Los Angeles County is a concert and theatre complex that was constructed during the 1960s by private contributions. Tax-supported state institutions, most prominently the University of California and its extension program, are active in…

Kurt Herbert Adler: …and administrator who transformed the San Francisco Opera into one of the nation’s leading opera companies.

San Francisco Peaks, three summits—Humphreys, Agassiz, and Fremont peaks—on the rim of an eroded extinct volcano 10 miles (16 km) north of Flagstaff on the Colorado Plateau in north-central Arizona, U.S. Humphreys Peak (12,633 feet [3,851 metres]) is the state’s highest point, and from it places

piranha: …the lower Amazon, and the San Francisco piranha (P. piraya), a species native to the San Francisco River in Brazil, are also dangerous to humans. Most species of piranhas, however, never kill large animals, and piranha attacks on people are rare. (See also Sidebar: Vegetarian Piranhas.) Although piranhas are attracted…

California: Education of California: …numerous branches—including Fresno State University; San Francisco State University; California State University, Fullerton; and California State University, Long Beach—also draws from among the top one-third of high school graduates. High school graduates from the lower two-thirds of their classes attend two-year colleges and often are able to transfer at the…

Metallica: …inspired Metallica to enlist the San Francisco Symphony orchestra in the group’s next project, S&M (1999). The album collected material from a pair of concerts that explored the entire Metallica back catalog, reworked for accompaniment by the full orchestra. Metallica spent much of the next year on tour, but band…

LaFayette Curry Baker: In 1856 he joined the San Francisco Vigilance Command (known as the Vigilantes), a group of self-appointed police whose operations were characterized by arbitrariness and lack of due process. In the next four years he was often employed in an undercover capacity and became adept at techniques of deception and…

Latin American architecture: Renaissance and Mannerist architecture in the New World: The Cathedral of San Francisco in Quito (Ecuador) was founded in 1535 by the Flemish Franciscan priest Jodoco Ricke de Marselaer and demonstrates Serlio’s influence through a series of banded columns applied to the facade, while the entrance plaza includes a circular double stair that replicates…

Tlaxcala: …the first Christian church (San Francisco) in the Americas. It was near Tlaxcala that Cortés built the brigantines that he transported in pieces to the Lake of Mexico for his final onslaught on the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City).

University of San Francisco, private coeducational institution of higher learning, located near Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California, U.S., and affiliated with the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic Church. It offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs. The university

California: Education of California: Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Irvine, Santa Cruz, and San Diego. The campuses at Santa Cruz and San Diego were established on variations of the Oxford University system of numerous small independent colleges sharing limited central facilities or services. The original campus at Berkeley was founded in

Bay Bridge, complex crossing that spans San Francisco Bay from the city of San Francisco to Oakland via Yerba Buena Island. One of the preeminent engineering feats of the 20th century, it was built during the 1930s under the direction of C.H. Purcell. It opened to traffic on November 12, 1936. The

Tacuarembó, city, north-central Uruguay. The Haedo Mountains dominate the adjoining area. Orchids and hardwoods, including quebracho, algarrobo, urunday, and guayabo, grow there. Founded in 1831 by Bernabé Rivera, it was first called Villa de San Fructuoso; later, it adopted the Guaraní Indian name

San Gabriel, city, Los Angeles county, southern California, U.S. It lies in the San Gabriel Valley, east of downtown Los Angeles. Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, founded in 1771 by Father Junípero Serra and the fourth in the California chain of 21 missions, was moved 4.5 miles (7 km) to its present

San Gabriel Mountains, segment of the Coast Ranges (see Pacific mountain system), southern California, U.S. The mountains extend eastward for about 60 miles (100 km) from Newhall Pass, north of San Fernando, to Cajon Pass and define the northern extent of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The

Gabrielino, any of two, or possibly three, dialectally and culturally related North American Indian groups who spoke a language of Uto-Aztecan stock and lived in the lowlands, along the seacoast, and on islands in southern California at the time of Spanish colonization. The Gabrielino proper

Sankt Gallen, canton, northeastern Switzerland, bounded north by Lake Constance (Bodensee); east by the Rhine Valley, which separates it from the Austrian Vorarlberg Bundesland (federal state) and from Liechtenstein; south by the cantons of Graubünden, Glarus, and Schwyz; west by the canton of

San Germán, town, western Puerto Rico, in the semiarid foothills of the Cordillera Central. The original San Germán, founded in 1511 on the western coast, was pillaged by French corsairs in 1528, 1538, and 1554, and in 1570 the residents moved to the hills. There they established Nueva Villa de

Cassino, town, Lazio (Latium) regione, central Italy. Cassino lies along the Rapido River at the foot of Monte (mount) Cassino, 87 miles (140 km) southeast of Rome. It originated as Casinum, a town of the ancient Volsci people on a site adjacent to the modern town, on the lower slopes of the

Austria: Later Babenberg period: …imperial politics, bringing about the Treaty of San Germano between the Holy Roman emperor Frederick II and Pope Gregory IX (1230). He met his death in San Germano (now Cassino, Italy), and his body was transported to Lilienfeld for burial.

Taos: …pueblo of San Geronimo (Taos Pueblo), and the Ranchos de Taos; Taos Pueblo’s adobe settlement was designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1992. With its picturesque adobe architecture, Taos was given impetus as a resort colony for writers and painters by Mabel Dodge Luhan, a wealthy patron…

San Gimignano, town, west-central Toscana (Tuscany) regione (region), central Italy. It lies about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Siena. Originally called “City of Silva,” it later took its name from the Bishop of Modena (d. 397), who liberated the town from a barbarian invasion. An independent

Venice: Trade guild buildings: The School of San Giorgio degli Schiavoni (for Slavic merchants) has the finest collection of Vittore Carpaccio’s works outside Venice’s chief gallery, the Academy of Fine Arts, whose own collection came in part from a confraternity of flagellants, the school of San Giovanni Evangelista (founded 1261).