Impedimenta is a publishing house founded in 2007. It has been awarded with the National Prize to Best Publishing Labour in 2008. Nowadays publishes between 24 and 34 titles per year (fiction, graphic novels, comics and children’s illustrated books).
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@ Stories groups six stories that show some uses of the “at” sign to delve into the heterogeneity of a symbol (@) that has become an indispensable element in our society. Some of the inhabitants of this cosmos without borders are: a writer and biographer who discovers the value of the weight of an arroba and the astonishing truth of an unsuspected past; a group of friends and colleagues who hide behind the anonymous @s of a chat in which anyone can be what they are not, or pretend to be; a university professor who needs the magic of @s to take off on a transformative journey; a young man who hides behind the @ of an email that does not know the time factor; an anonymous citizen weighing the common generic of a species or descriptive @ for a coming civilization; and a faculty committee that evaluates the incomprehension of a @ against the oppressive engine of strongly felt roots. The characters and voices in these stories reflect on the power of an @ beyond its internautic function to cross the barriers of the apparently absurd and crack the solidity of everything that seems chimerical.
From the Hebrew name meaning “Who Is Like God?”, Michael is one of the angels–together with Raphael (“God Heals”) and Gabriel (“God Is My Strength”)–whose names are mentioned in the Holy Scripture. Since the first centuries of Christianity, there has been a wide diffusion of his worship in Europe and in the East through a multitude of sanctuaries and chapels, mostly nestled in high places, related to caves and water. An astonishing feature of this spread is a mysterious straight line crossing the European continent from North-West to South-East from Ireland to Asia Minor, and it is perfectly aligned with the sunset on the day of Summer Solstice. Along this line are seven sanctuaries dedicated to Michael, three of which have been significantly important over the centuries: Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, the Sacra di San Michele in val di Susa and the Sanctuary of Monte Sant’Angelo on Mount Gargano, in Puglia. Three extraordinary high places that are all the same distance one from the other and which have always been a constant pilgrimage destination. Another aspect is the connection Saint Michael had with the Longobards, who migrated across Europe between the second and the sixth century until they reached Italy where they settled. This made Michael the first truly “European” Saint, attracting believers from all over the continent. With the contribution of some of the most important historians and medievalists from different European countries, this book depicts the presence of Saint Michael in Europe, starting with the diffusion of his devotion, especially during the Middle Ages, and extending to an analysis of the iconography of the Saint through the many architectural and artistic testimonies to be found throughout Europe. Thanks to its influential contributions and to the variety of both historical and iconographic topics, combined with the spectacular nature of the numerous images of places and artistic testimonies, this book is a unique journey through Europe between art and faith.
What can the Trojan War tell us about women’s empowerment and immigration? What can the myth of Ulysses tell us about human agency when it is pitted against seemingly unsourmountable circumstances? And what about Orpheus? What can his figure teach us about humanity and its relationship with death? We tend to look at the Classics as dusty, as things from the past, something to study in a college course, but the truth is that they are far more modern than we think, and they can shed a marvellous light on what it means to be humans in the 21st century. Written with a charming levity that cleverly masks years of research, How to Think Like Ulysses is a heartfelt plea to rediscovers the literary wonders of the ancient world and to heed their lesson: life in our contemporary world may be very much different from Athens in the 5th century B.C., but perhaps we didn’t change as much.
Flowers are the precious gift which beautify the nature through its different colours and enhance human health. Ornamental plants provide environmental security for immediate living surroundings, thus intensive research in floriculture particularly on the crops were initiated earlier. This book will vividly highlights genetical and breeding application in flower crops covering wide range of aspects. Breeding techniques are largely focused around expediting the production of superior and stable lines in the case of self pollinating crops. Wide hybridization, tissue culture and mutagenesis are employed by breeders to generate new alleles. Broaden available genetic resources; molecular markers are used to assist breeders through marker assisted selection and to identify quantitative trait loci for traits of interest. The book makes the knowhow of breeding in its easiest way to the readers. It has been designed to cover all the aspects of breeding, the basic objectives, different breeding methods, methodology for improvement of specific crops, stress resistance, quality improvement, mutagenesis, molecular breeding and genetic engineering.
