FRANCESCO AZZURRI. — Architect, born in Rome in 1827, died there in 1901; president of the Accademia di S. Luca. In his major works of civil architecture, he reworked classical and traditional motifs, occupying a significant position in the architecture of the late 19th century, when the neoclassical tradition was about to come to an end. Among his works are the restoration of S. Maria in Monticelli and the construction of the chapel of S. Lucia (1861) in the arciconfraternita del Gonfalone in Rome, the restoration of Palazzo Venezia and the Cancelleria, and the design of the gate of Palazzo Barberini. He is credited with having built and expanded many hospitals according to criteria different from those used until his time.
A. — Name given by the ancient Egyptians to the soul understood as the capacity to survive by assuming different forms; in the plural (b3.w), it means "power." The sign by which it was graphically represented is interpreted by some as the ciconia nigra (black stork), by others as the scopus umbretta (hamerkop). According to the Egyptians, the soul, at the death of the individual, did not completely leave the body but could re-enter it at will. Especially at night, the soul rested on the corpse: it is represented in the form of a bird with outstretched wings, sometimes with the face of a bearded man. The idea that the ancient Egyptians believed in the transmigration of souls, as the Indians did, is not attested. According to the Egyptians, after death the souls, at their pleasure, could only temporarily assume the appearance of an animal or a plant. Significant is the fact that even the deities possessed one or more b3 and that the term was sometimes used as a synonym for god.