La coturnice e la manna. Metafore del cibo nella predicazione quaresimale di Girolamo Savonarola

The article focuses on several food metaphores employed by Girolamo Savonarola in the sermons on Amos and Zachary, preached in Florence during the Lent of 1496. The meaning of these metaphores changes according to the aim of the preacher who follows constantly his project of reformation of the city of Florence, meant to be the new heavenly Jerusalem. The quail and the manna, the preparation of the lamb for the Easter meal and the signification of fruits and vegetables in the book of the Numbers help Girolamo Savonarola to explain to his followers the real meaning of the resurrection and the presence of Christ in Christians life

Venne copioso di tesoro, di gente d’arme & d’artiglieria" Charles VIII of France and Late Medieval Political Thought

The aim of this article is to investigate the relationship between political facts and wriBen culture in Late Medieval Europe, focusing on the Italian campaign of Charles VIII of France and the intellectual production related to it. Among others, the following texts – originating outside the academic environment – are analyzed: La Ressource de la Chres.enté by André de la Vigne, the Ora.o ad Carolum Magnum Gallorum regem by Marsilio Ficino, the De bello Italico by Bernardo Rucellai, Girolamo Savonarola’s sermons, the Vulnera diligen.s by BenedeBo Luschino, and the anonymous Vaki’at-i sultan Gem

Nitrogen supply and physical disturbance shapes Arctic stream nitrogen uptake through effects on metabolic activity

Climate change in the Arctic is altering the delivery of nutrients from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems. The impact of these changes on downstream lakes and rivers is influenced by the capacity of small streams to retain such inputs. Given the potential for nutrient limitation in oligotrophic Arctic streams, biotic demand should be high, unless harsh environmental conditions maintain low biomass standing stocks that limit nutrient uptake capacity. We assessed the drivers of nutrient uptake in two contrasting headwater environments in Arctic Sweden: one stream draining upland tundra and the other draining an alluvial valley with birch forest. At both sites, we measured nitrate (NO3−) uptake biweekly using short-term slug releases and estimated rates of gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration from continuous dissolved oxygen measurements. Catchment characteristics were associated with distinct stream chemical and biological properties. For example, the tundra stream maintained relatively low NO3− concentrations (average: 46 µg N/L) and rates of GPP (0.2 g O2 m−2 day−1). By comparison, the birch forest stream was more NO3− rich (88 µg N/L) and productive (GPP: 1.7 g O2 m−2 day−1). These differences corresponded to greater areal NO3− uptake rate and increased NO3− use efficiency (as uptake velocity) in the birch forest stream (max 192 µg N m−2 min−1 and 96 mm/hr) compared to its tundra counterpart (max 52 µg N m−2 min−1 and 49 mm/hr) during 2017. Further, different sets of environmental drivers predicted temporal patterns of nutrient uptake at these sites: abiotic factors (e.g. NO3− concentration and discharge) were associated with changes in uptake in the tundra stream, while metabolic activity was more important in the birch forest stream. Between sites, variation in uptake metrics suggests that the ability to retain pulses of nutrients is linked to nutrient supply regimes controlled at larger spatial and temporal scales and habitat properties that promote biomass accrual and thus biotic demand. Overall, constraints on biotic potential imposed by the habitat template determined the capacity of these high latitude streams to respond to future changes in nutrient inputs arising from climate warming or human land use.Originally included in thesis in manuscript form.</p