BIOSPHERE. — From the Greek βίος (= life) and σφαίρα (= sphere). It was intended to call b. the spherical corpuscle, further indivisible, belonging to a hypothetical existence, which would have been at the base of all organized beings.
In 1835 E. Suess introduced the concept of b. in geography to indicate a kind of envelope, impregnated with life, which surrounds the entire terrestrial crust.
We intend by b. that part of the atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere in which the wonderful phenomena of life occur, which manifest themselves equally perfectly in those infinitely small beings visible only under the ultramicroscope, some formed by a single protein molecule in the colloidal state, such as viruses, as well as in the giants of nature, like the *eucalyptus* of Australia and the *sequoias* of America, which exceed one hundred meters in height (up to 150 m).
As is well known, animal life is strictly linked to that of green plants; these, with the inorganic materials taken from the environment (water, salts, carbon dioxide), manufacture organic substances which subsequently become organized. In the process of photosynthesis, which is at the base of all plant synthesis, green plants purify the air, removing from it the carbon dioxide that comes from animal and plant respiration and from combustion, and returning oxygen in exchange. In this process solar energy is used. Thus, plants, with the various substances manufactured and stored in their bodies, become the basis of the nutrition of the animal world, which lacks such synthetic capacities.
Some plants, with their roots, penetrate several meters into the ground, shattering rocks and sometimes displacing boulders of considerable size. The roots also alter the chemical composition of the soil by preferentially absorbing certain of its chemical constituents over others, and even by solubilizing some insoluble materials. This occurs either by releasing small quantities of strong acids at the expense of salts dissolved in water, of which the cation is absorbed more rapidly (ion selection capacity), or through the action of carbon dioxide produced by their respiration. In the surface layers of the soil, a whole population of microorganisms thrives, including bacteria that fix atmospheric nitrogen (*Bacillus pasteurianus*, *Azotobacter chroococcum*, and *A. agile*), as well as those that transform organic matter from the waste of animal and plant life into inorganic materials such as carbon dioxide, water, hydrogen sulfide, phosphates, and ammonia. This ammonia is then oxidized by other bacteria (*Pseudomonas europaea*, *P. cavenensis*, *Micrococcus nitrosococcus*) into nitrous acid, which, upon contact with soil bases, is converted into nitrites. These nitrites are further oxidized by other bacteria (*Bacterium nitrobacter*) into nitrates, which can be readily utilized by higher plants. Finally, other bacteria perform the reverse process, reducing nitrates to nitrites, such as ammonium nitrite, and subsequently decomposing it into water and elemental nitrogen.
Both basins, watercourses, seas, and oceans are populated by plants, including higher plants as well as green, brown, or red algae. The latter can extend to depths of approximately 300 meters, where sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis still penetrates.
Animals live on the Earth's crust; they hide in the soil, in rock crevices, among boulders, in natural caves, among plant branches and leaves, and some even construct their own dwellings, transporting food and fragments for their nests or lairs. Some animals also soar through the air, and the altitude of their flight depends on atmospheric conditions and winds. It is well known that the condor and griffon vulture reach up to 6,000 meters, kites to 4,000, eagles to 4,500, pigeons to 2,500, storks to 1,500, and swallows to 800.
Other animals, such as amphibians, live both on land and in water, while others, like cetaceans, live in water but, being equipped with lungs, must periodically surface to breathe atmospheric air. Finally, some animals inhabit only freshwater or saltwater; certain marine fish populate the depths: the *Grimaldichtys profundissimus* has been caught at a depth of 6,035 meters south of Cape Verde.
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171. 172. 173.GIOVANNI DA CAPESTRANO
The Franciscan friar **GIOVANNI DA CAPESTRANO** (Capestrano, 24 June 1386 – Ilok, 23 October 1456) was one of the most illustrious figures of the 15th century, renowned as a preacher, theologian, and reformer. Born in the Abruzzo region to a noble family of French origin, he studied law in Perugia, where he became a magistrate and later governor of the city. In 1415, following a profound spiritual crisis, he abandoned his secular career and entered the Franciscan Order, joining the Observant branch, which advocated a strict return to the original rule of St. Francis.
Ordained a priest in 1418, Giovanni dedicated himself to preaching with extraordinary zeal, traveling throughout Italy and Europe to call the faithful to penance and reform. His sermons, delivered in a fiery and direct style, attracted immense crowds and often led to mass conversions. He was particularly active in the fight against heresy, especially the Hussites in Bohemia and the Fraticelli in Italy. In 1451, Pope Nicholas V sent him as a legate to Germany, Austria, and Hungary to preach the crusade against the Turks, who threatened Europe after the fall of Constantinople (1453).
Giovanni’s missionary activity reached its peak during the siege of Belgrade (1456), where, despite his advanced age, he played a decisive role in rallying the Christian forces under the command of John Hunyadi. His presence and preaching were instrumental in the victory of 22 July 1456, which temporarily halted the Turkish advance. He died shortly afterward in Ilok, exhausted by his labors, and was canonized by Pope Alexander VIII in 1690.
Giovanni da Capestrano was also a prolific writer. His works include theological treatises, sermons, and letters, many of which reflect his commitment to the reform of the Church and the defense of orthodoxy. Among his most notable writings are *De cupiditate*, a treatise against avarice, and *De papali potestate*, which defends the authority of the Roman Pontiff.
BIBL.:
A. Chiappini, *Giovanni da Capestrano e la sua opera di riforma*, Roma 1927; L. von Pastor, *Storia dei Papi*, vol. II, Roma 1932, pp. 123-130; G. Hofmann, *Johannes von Capestrano*, Roma 1951; V. also CRUSADES; FRANCISCANS; OBSERVANCE.
A. Mercati
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GIOVANNI DA CASCIA
**GIOVANNI DA CASCIA** (also known as **JOHANNES DE FLORENTIA**), an Italian composer and theorist of the *Ars Nova* period, active in the first half of the 14th century. Little is known about his life, but he is believed to have been associated with the musical circles of Florence and Bologna. His works, primarily madrigals and cacce, are preserved in several important manuscripts of the time, including the *Squarcialupi Codex* and the *Rossi Codex*.
Giovanni da Cascia is often mentioned alongside other prominent composers of the *Ars Nova*, such as Francesco Landini and Jacopo da Bologna. His compositions are characterized by their melodic inventiveness and rhythmic complexity, reflecting the innovative spirit of the period. Among his most celebrated works are the madrigals *Nascoso el viso* and *De soto ’l verde*, which exemplify the expressive and technical advancements of the *Ars Nova*.
As a theorist, Giovanni da Cascia contributed to the development of musical notation and compositional techniques. His treatise *De diversis maneriebus* (On Various Manners), though fragmentary, provides valuable insights into the theoretical underpinnings of the *Ars Nova*.
BIBL.:
J. Wolf, *Geschichte der Mensural-Notation*, Leipzig 1904; N. Pirrotta, *Li due Orfei*, Torino 1975; F. A. Gallo, *La teoria della notazione in Italia dalla fine del XIII alla fine del XV secolo*, Bologna 1966; V. ARS NOVA; LANDINI, FRANCESCO; MUSIC, SACRED AND PROFANE.
G. Roncaglia
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GIOVANNI DA CASTELLO
**GIOVANNI DA CASTELLO** (also known as **GIOVANNI DI BALDUCCIO**), a Lombard sculptor of the 14th century, active between 1317 and 1349. He was a pupil of Giovanni Pisano and is best known for his work on the *Arca di San Pietro Martire* in the Basilica of Sant’Eustorgio in Milan, a masterpiece of Gothic sculpture. The arca, commissioned by the Dominican Order, is a monumental funerary monument dedicated to St. Peter Martyr, and it showcases Giovanni’s skill in narrative relief and figural composition.
Giovanni da Castello’s style is characterized by its dynamic movement, expressive figures, and intricate detailing, which reflect the influence of both Tuscan and Lombard artistic traditions. In addition to the *Arca di San Pietro Martire*, he is credited with several other works, including the *Tomb of Azzone Visconti* in the Church of San Gottardo in Corte in Milan and the *Madonna and Child* in the Cathedral of Pisa.
His contributions to Gothic sculpture in northern Italy were significant, and his works are often compared to those of his contemporaries, such as Tino di Camaino and Giovanni di Balduccio.
BIBL.:
P. Toesca, *La pittura e la scultura del Trecento in Lombardia*, Milano 1912; G. Kreytenberg, *Giovanni di Balduccio*, Berlin 1974; L. Castelfranchi Vegas, *L’arte gotica in Lombardia*, Milano 1984; V. also SCULPTURE; GOTHIC ART; PISANO, GIOVANNI.
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Some animals can contribute to the formation of the earth’s crust. For example, in the fauna of the torrid zone and, in general, not beyond 28° of latitude, we find coral polyps, which, by means of the calcareous substance secreted from the base of the body of individual polyps and derived from calcium bicarbonate dissolved in seawater, generate the calcareous skeletons of the colonies. As these develop more and more, they end up determining the formation of true barriers, separated from the coast by a channel, or of rings around islets, or, finally, of ring-shaped islands, called atolls, formed by a coral bank that surrounds a central lagoon. In these banks the living part of the colony is the most superficial one and can reach a depth of about 20 meters.
Some animals and plants live on the bottom of the sea or of freshwater basins and form the benthos; others swim far from the bottom, near the surface between two layers of water, one upper and one lower, and constitute the pelagic forms; still others, very small, largely microscopic and lacking their own means of locomotion, live in great abundance at the surface of the water and form the plankton. This is the main source of food for aquatic animals, such as pelagic fish and whales.
Some microscopic plant forms, such as diatoms, or animal forms, such as radiolarians, have determined, through the accumulation of their siliceous skeletons, the formation respectively of fossil flour and of tripoli. These deposits existing today at the earth’s surface reveal the existence in remote epochs of basins now emerged.
The muddy bottom of the ocean, at depths of 1,000 to 5,000 meters, is instead formed preferably by numerous calcareous skeletons of Globigerina, protozoans belonging to the group of foraminifera, which enter into the constitution of the pelagic fauna.
In the waters, precisely in relation to the increasingly abundant flora in the ever more superficial layers, due to the penetration of a greater quantity of solar rays, the fauna becomes richer and more abundant as we approach the surface, while the animals that inhabit the greatest depths must feed mainly on other dead beings that continually fall from the surface.
In the different biological environments we can always observe the perfect harmony between the form and the internal organization of the various beings in relation to the conditions of life and to external factors. Thus, both plants and animals belonging to very different systematic groups can assume a similar appearance in relation to identical environmental conditions, through phenomena known as convergence. It is for this reason that the stems of the Cerei of Mexico and those of the Euphorbia abyssinica of eastern Africa lose their leaves, become fleshy, green, and assume the same columnar appearance because they live in equally arid environments.
The cervical vertebrae of cetaceans, while remaining seven in number as in all mammals, become greatly reduced in size, almost to the point of making the neck disappear, the presence of which would hinder the effort the animal makes to cleave through the water. In cetaceans, the body also becomes tapered at both ends, as in fish, precisely due to phenomena of convergence.
Other organisms, finally, from groups sometimes very distant, and even plants and animals, associate with one another; thus establishing symbioses, with mutual benefit (mutualistic symbiosis), or with benefit to one party and harm to the other (antagonistic symbiosis or parasitism). Of this nature, for example, is the association of viruses or bacteria, or fungi, or protozoa, etc., pathogenic to animals and plants. These parasitic beings are the direct cause of disease and death in many other organisms.