Achille Peri Achille Peri Achille Peri (20 December 1812 - 28 March 1880) was an Italian composer and conductor. He is best known for his operas which were strongly influenced by the music of Giuseppe Verdi. Born in Reggio Emilia, Peri began his musical education in his native city before pursuing further studies in Paris with Michele Carafa. He founded a touring opera company in Paris, but returned to Italy after it failed. He began working as a conductor at the Teatro Comunale in Reggio Emilia where his first opera, "Il solitario", premiered on 29 March 1841. His third opera, "Dirce" (1843),
Jacopo della Quercia Jacopo della Quercia Jacopo della Quercia (; 20 October 1438) was an Italian sculptor of the Italian Renaissance, a contemporary of Brunelleschi, Ghiberti and Donatello. He is considered a precursor of Michelangelo. Jacopo della Quercia takes his name from Quercia Grossa (now Quercegrossa), a place near Siena, where he was born in 1374. He received his early training from his father, Piero d'Angelo, a woodcarver and goldsmith. Jacopo della Quercia, a Sienese, must have seen the works of Nicola Pisano and Arnolfo di Cambio on the pulpit in the cathedral of Siena and this must have influenced him. His first