Porcelain styles, and there are several modern industrial manufacturers. These exported Chinese porcelains were held in such great esteem in Europe that in English "china" became a commonly–used synonym for the Italian term "porcelain". The first mention of porcelain in Europe is in "Il Milione" by Marco Polo in XII sec. Apart from copying Chinese porcelain in "faience" (tin glazed earthenware), the soft-paste Medici porcelain in 16th-century Florence was the first real European attempt to reproduce it, with little success. Early in the 16th century, Portuguese traders returned home with samples of kaolin, which they discovered in China to be essential
Sans Famille Sans Famille Sans Famille (Translation: "Without Family" English title: "Nobody's Boy") is an 1878 French novel by Hector Malot. The most recent English translation is "Alone in the World" by Adrian de Bruyn, 2007. The novel was reportedly inspired by the Italian street musicians of the 19th century, in particular the harpists from Viggiano, Basilicata. Jerome Barberin lives with his wife in a little French town, Chavanon (on the edge of the Central Massif, near the origins of the river Loire). He usually works in Paris as a mason. One day he finds a baby boy in Paris. The boy