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Peru ► pesticide I 1479
tion to a third term in 2000; his government crumbled later that year. In 2001 Alejandro Toledo became Peru’s first democratically elected presi¬ dent of Quechuan ethnicity.
Peru, Viceroyalfy of Second of the four viceroyalties established by Spain to govern its domains in the Americas. Founded in 1543, it initially included most of South America, but it lost jurisdiction over much of its territory to other viceroyalties over time. Peru, with its wealth of silver, was considered Spain’s most valuable possession in the Americas. By the late 18th century, Indian rebellions had destabilized the region, and the viceroyalty was unable to defend itself when the revolutionary forces of Jose de San Martin entered Lima in 1821. It became part of Peru and Chile in 1824. See also New Granada; New Spain; Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata.
Perugia \pa-'rii-ja\ City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 148,575), capital of Umbria region, central Italy. Perugia lies north of Rome between the Tiber River and Lake Trasimeno. Founded by the Umbrians, it became one of the 12 major cities of the Etruscans; it later was ruled by Rome (from 310 bc). It became a Lombard duchy in ad 592. It was the centre of the great Umbrian school of painting, which flourished in the 15th century (see Perugino; Pinturicchio). Perugia played an active role in the Italian Risorg- imento and became part of Italy in 1860. It is an agricultural trade centre noted for its chocolate. There are notable remains of buildings and for¬ tifications from Etruscan and medieval times.
Perugino \,per-3-'je-no\ orig. Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci (b.
c. 1450, Citta della Pieve, near Perugia, Romagna—d. February/March 1523, Fontignano, near Perugia) Italian painter. Born near Perugia (the source of his nickname), he was probably a pupil of Piero della Francesca and Andrea del Verrocchio. One of his most famous frescoes. Giving of the Keys to St. Peter (1481-82), in the Sistine Chapel, anticipated High Renaissance ideals in its compositional clarity and sense of spaciousness. He was at the height of his powers c. 1490-1500, when he painted the Crucifixion fresco for the convent of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi in Florence. Perugino’s art declined in his later years, and c. 1505 he left the highly critical Florentine art scene to work in Umbria. In 1508 he made a brief comeback by painting roundels on the ceiling of the Stanza dell’Incendio in the Vatican. The commission for the wall frescoes went to his pupil Raphael, who had already proved himself the greater artist.
Vision of St. Bernard, wood panel by Perugino, c. 1491-94; in the Alte Pi na- kothek, Munich.
COURTESY OF THE ALTE PINAKOTHEK, MUNICH
Perun \p y i-'run\ In ancient Slavic religion, the thunder god. He purified the earth and made it fertile, and he was the overseer of right and order. His powers were believed to be evident in the thunderbolt, the rattle of stones, the bellow of a bull, the bleat of a goat, and the touch of an ax
blade. In the Christian period the worship of Perun was gradually trans¬ ferred to St. Elijah, but folk belief in his powers continued. Sacrifices and communal feasts on July 20 in his honor were celebrated in Russia until modern times.
Perutz \p9-'riits. Max Ferdinand (b. May 19, 1914, Vienna, Austria—d. Feb. 6, 2002, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Eng.) Austrian- British biochemist. With John Cowdery Kendrew he founded the Medical Research Council Unit for Molecular Biology at the University of Cam¬ bridge. His discovery that hemoglobin’s structure changes when it picks up or releases oxygen led to the full understanding of the molecular mechanism of respiratory oxygen transport by hemoglobin. For his X-ray diffraction analysis of hemoglobin’s structure, Perutz and Kendrew shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Perutz also used crystallography to study the flow of glaciers.
Pesaro Vpa-z'si-,r6\ ancient Pisorum City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 90,311), Marche region, north-central Italy. A seaport on the Adriatic Sea, Pesaro was destroyed by the Ostrogoths in ad 536. Rebuilt and fortified by the Byzantine general Belisarius as one of the cities of the Pentapolis, it was sold to the Sforza family in 1445. It became part of the Papal States in 1631. It was the birthplace of composer Gioacchino Rossini in 1792. In World War II Pesaro suffered heavily in the Allied advance of 1944, but many of its old buildings escaped with minor damage. It is a seaside resort surrounded by an agricultural area. Its museum of majolica houses the richest collection in Italy.
Peshawar \p9-'sha-w3r\ City (pop., 1998 est.: 988,055), capital of North-West Frontier province, Pakistan. It is located west of the Bara River near the Khyber Pass. Once the capital of the ancient Buddhist king¬ dom of Gandhara, it was a centre of the caravan trade with Afghanistan and Central Asia. It became the capital of the Indo-Scythian Kushan empire c. 1st century ad. It was captured by the Muslims in 988. By the 16th century Peshawar was ruled by the Afghans. It was under British control (1849-1947) and served as an important military base. The city is still militarily important; its ancient bazaar remains a meeting place for foreign merchants and traders.
Pessoa Vpes-'so-sV Fernando Antonio Nogueira (b. June 13, 1888, Lisbon, Port.—d. Nov. 30, 1935, Lisbon) Portuguese poet. While living in South Africa, where his stepfather was Portugal’s consul, Pes¬ soa became fluent in English. On returning to Lisbon he worked as a translator while contributing to avant-garde reviews, especially Orpheu (1915), the organ of Brazilian-Portuguese Modemismo, of which he became a leading aesthetician. Only after his death did the rich dream world of his poetry, peopled with fictional alter egos called “heteronyms,” become well known. His important volumes include Poesias de Fernando Pessoa (1942), Poesias de Alvaro de Campos (1944), Poemas de Alberto Caeiro (1946), and Odes de Ricardo Reis (1946).
pest Any organism, usually an animal, judged as a threat to humans. Most pests either compete with humans for natural resources or transmit disease to humans, their crops, or their livestock. Invertebrate pests include some protozoans, flatworms, nematodes, mollusks, arachnids, and especially insects. Mammals and birds can also be pests. Human activi¬ ties, such as monocultural farming practices, use of broad-spectrum pes¬ ticides, and introduction of exotic species, often result in the proliferation of pest species. Certain fungi, bacteria, and viruses are also considered pests. Plant pests are usually called weeds.
Pestalozzi X.pes-to-'lot-seV Johann Heinrich (b. Jan. 12, 1746, Zurich, Switz.—d. Feb. 17, 1827, Brugg) Swiss educational reformer. Between 1805 and 1825 he directed the Yverdon Institute (near Neucha- tel), which drew pupils and educators (including Friedrich Froebel) from all over Europe. His teaching method emphasized group rather than indi¬ vidual recitation and focused on such participatory activities as drawing, writing, singing, physical exercise, model making, collecting, mapmak¬ ing, and field trips. Among his ideas, considered radically innovative at the time, were making allowances for individual differences, grouping students by ability rather than age, and encouraging formal teacher train¬ ing.