Vicenza
a town of north Italy; capital of a province of the same name; 49 miles W. of Venice, on the Bacchiglione, where joined by the Retrone at the foot of some wooded hills. It is well built, containing handsome streets and several elegant squares. The public buildings are almost all the work of Palladio, who was born here, or of scholars who rather slavishly imitated him. The most remarkable edifices are the Duomo or cathedral; the Palazzo della Ragione (town hall), an ancient Gothic building, with fine connected buildings, by Palladio; the Museum, one of Palladio's finest buildings; the Palazzo-Prefetizzio, and the theater, both by Palladio; the lyceum, churches, and hospitals. The manufactures are silk, woolen, and linen tissues, leather, earthenware, hats, etc. Vicenza (Vicentia) was founded above a century before the Christian era, and became a Roman municipal town. Pop. about 57,016.
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Viceroy
the governor of a kingdom or country, who rules in the name of the king or queen with regal authority as the king's or queen's substitute.
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Vicomte De
a French diplomatist; born in Nice, France, Feb. 25, 1848. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs (1871) and later in the diplomatic service, but left it in 1881 to devote his time to literature. He published: "Syria, Palestine, Mount Athos" (1876); "Oriental Histories" (1879); "The Son of Peter the Great" (1884); "The Russian Romance" (1886); "Souvenirs and Visions" (1887); "Remarks on the Centennial Exposition" (1889). He was a member of the French Academy. He died in 1910.
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Victor Emmanuel
. See Italy ; Cavour ; Crimean War; Savoy; Garibaldi
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Victoria
a southeastern state of the Australian commonwealth. It was named for Queen Victoria. Area, 87,884 square miles. Population in 1909, 1,260,000. Its leading city is Melbourne. It is a country of mountains, valleys, and plains, of heavy forests and salty barrens. Farming, mining, and grazing are the leading occupations. Wheat is the leading field crop. Tobacco is a staple. The state owns the railroads, telegraphs, telephones, and the express system. Education is free and compulsory. See Australia STATISTICS. Agricultural Products-- Wheat, bushels 12,000,000 Oats, bushels 5,000,000 Barley, bushels 1,000,000 Hay, tons 680,000 Wine, gallons 1,365,000 Wool, pounds 93,000,000 Butter, pounds 64,000,000 Domestic Animals-- Horses 424,000 Cattle 1,842,000 Sheep 14,000,000 Swine 211,000 Lumber, board feet 55,000,000 Manufactures $150,000,000 Coal lifted, tons 133,000
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Victoria (Roman mythology one)
in Roman mythology, one of the deities of the Romans, called by the Greeks Nikê. She was sister of Strength and Valor, and was one of the attendants of Jupiter. Sylla raised her a temple at Rome, and instituted festivals in her honor. She was represented with wings, crowned with laurel, and holding the branch of a palm tree in her hand.
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Victoria Falls
. See Zambezi River
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Vicuna
ve-koon'ya, a South American animal. It is related closely to the llama and the alpaca, but it is smaller and more graceful. It stands about thirty inches high at the shoulder. It runs wild in the mountains of Bolivia and Chili. Its flesh compares favorably with venison. Its fleece is valuable in the making of the finer sorts of cloth, known as alpaca. Unlike the camel, the vicuna pines away when subjected to confinement. It is useless for carrying burdens. See Llama ; Alpaca
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Vidocq, Eugene Francois
ve-dok', Eugene Francois (1775-1857), a noted French adventurer and detective. Vidocq was born at Arras. His father was a baker. Vidocq began life by robbing his father's till of $400 and running away to Ostend. As might be expected he soon ran through his money, and for years lived the life of a vagabond. He enlisted but soon deserted the French army for the Austrian service. He received a sentence of eight years for forgery but escaped and sought refuge in Paris where he became a member of the secret service . Vidocq's knowledge of thieving and his personal acquaintance with thieves was so extensive and accurate that he was placed at the head of the Parisian detective service, a position which he held from 1812 to 1827. After his dismissal he is said to have lived an honest but obscure and poverty-stricken life. He left a volume of memoirs, but it is not believed that his statements are accurate. Vidocq figures extensively in the cheap French novel of the nineteenth century.
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Viedma
Russian name for a witch. (See Slavs .)
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Viele
EGBERT LUDOVIKUS, an American civil engineer; born in Waterford, N. Y., June 17, 1825; was graduated at the United States Military Academy in 1847; took part in the Mexican War in 1847-1848 and in the campaign against the Indians in 1848-1852; served as State Engineer of New Jersey in 1854-1856, and was chief engineer and designer of Central Park in New York, and of Prospect Park in Brooklyn in 1856-1860. During the Civil War he commanded the land forces at the capture of Port Royal; directed the investment of Fort Pulaski, Ga.; planned and led the march on and capture of Norfolk, Va., and was military governor of that city, May to Nov., 1863. Subse- VICUNA quently he was park commissioner of New York City, a Democratic member of Congress, and vice-president of the American Geographical Society. In 1896 he appeared before the commission of the British House of Lords on the subject of municipal administration. His publications include "Handbook of Active Service" and "A Topographical Atlas of the City of New York." He died in 1902.
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Vienna Basin
in geology, a series of beds-the lowest Oligocene, the highest Pliocene-found in a basin-shaped hollow in the older rocks in and around Vienna. The Oligocene contains remains of Mastodon tapiroides, Rhinoc eros sansaniensis, etc., and the Pliocene, dinotherium, mastodon, rhinoceros, machairodus, hyæna, na, cervus, antelope, etc., with birch, alder, oak, beech, chestnut, hornbeam, liquidambar.
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Vienne (Department in the W of France)
a department in the W. of France constituted mainly of the old province of Poitou, between Indre and Deux-Sèvres; area, 2,711 square miles; pop. about 330,000. The Vienne, an affluent of the Loire, is the principal river, and has the Creuse as its chief tributary. The surface is mostly flat, with a gradual slope from the N. The country consists almost wholly of fertile plains, fine pasture lands, and extensive forests. The mineral riches comprise iron, manganese, and quarries of stone, including lithographic stone. Poitiers is the capital.
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