of the ministry of the imperial court, of which the Imperial Archaeological Commission, founded in 1859, is a department. The Imperial Academy of the Fine Arts is joined in this charge with the commission, whose duties resemble in the main those of the commissions of other countries. By a circular of 1901 a complete inventory of the monuments of the country was ordered to be made by the local authorities.
Spain.—A monument commission was established in 1844; it works under regulations issued in 1865. It is composed of the Royal Academies of Fine Arts and of History, corresponding members of which form commissions for the provinces of the kingdom. A complete inventory of all monuments is being made. The minister in charge is that of public instruction and of the fine arts.
Portugal.—A decree of John V. (1721) protected the monuments of ancient times; in 1840 this protection was extended to medieval monuments. An inventory was begun in 1841. A council of national monuments was established in 1901 by a royal decree, with a code of regulations. The French system of classement is adopted, and the regulations under the French act of 1887 are generally followed. The minister responsible is that of public works, commerce and industry.
Turkey.—The regulations, as embodied in an irade of 1884, are very stringent, and the principle adopted is that of Greece, that all objects of antiquity belong to the state. The private owner of such has no power of disposition, and must not injure nor destroy them. All excavations are under the control of the government, and permission must be first obtained. The exportation of finds is forbidden, and all movables discovered belong to the Imperial Museum. If these finds are the result of excavations, one-twentieth of the value goes to the discoverer; if of accidental discovery, the owner of the soil and the state divide.
United States.—With regard to the remains of prehistoric man, earthworks, barrows, &c., some of those states, such as Ohio, which are specially rich in such monuments, have particular laws protecting individual remains, e.g. the earthworks in Warren county. The state exercises control over other remains of interest, e.g. the Eagle earthworks in Licking county. There is also an archaeological and historical society, partly maintained by the state, with the object of the better preservation of the evidences of the prehistoric occupation. In North Dakota a state historical commission was created in 1895 “to collect and preserve the records and relics pertaining to the early history, settlement and development of North Dakota.” The sites of the battle-fields, and statues, &c., erected in commemoration of the War of Independence or the Civil War, are preserved by various methods—by state or municipal regulations, by the action of incorporated bodies or trustees, &c. Most of the states rely on statutory prohibitions of malicious damage to protect their monuments and old buildings, &c. (C. We.)
MONVEL (1745–1812), French actor and dramatic writer,
whose real name was Jacques Marie Boutet, was born in Lunéville
on the 25th of March 1745. He was a small, thin man
without good looks or voice, and yet he became one of the greatest
comedians of his time. After some years of apprenticeship in
the provinces, he made his début in 1770 at the Comédie Française
in Mérope and Zenaide; he was received sociétaire in 1772. For
some reason unknown Monvel secretly left Paris for Sweden
about 1781, and became reader to the king, a post which he
held for several years. At the Revolution he returned to Paris,
embraced its principles with ardour, and in 1791 joined the
theatre in the rue Richelieu (the rival of the Comédie Française)
which, under Talma, with Dugazon, his sister Mme Vestris,
Grandmesnil (1737–1816) and Mme Desgarcins, was soon to
become the Théâtre de la République. After the Revolution
Monvel returned to the reconstituted Comédie Française with
all his old companions, but retired in 1807. Monvel was made
a member of the Institute in 1795. He wrote six plays (four
of them performed at the Comédie Française), two comedies,
and fifteen comic operas, seven with music by N. Dezède (1740–1792),
eight by Nicolas d’Alayrac (1753–1809. He also
published an historical novel, Frédégonde et Brunehaut (1776).
He was professor of elocution at the Conservatoire. Monvel’s
two daughters, Mlles Mars aînée and cadette, were well-known actresses.
MONZA (locally Monscia), a city of Lombardy, Italy, in the
province of Milan, 8 m. by rail N.N.E. of that city, with which
it is also connected by both steam and electric trams. It lies
on the Lambro, a tributary of the Po, 532 ft. above sea-level.
Pop. (1906), 32,000 (town); 53,330 (commune). Of the medieval
fortifications little remains save the Porta d’Agrate. Near it
is the nunnery in which the nun of Monza (see Manzoni’s Promessi
sposi) was enclosed. The cathedral of St John Baptist
is the principal object of interest; Theodelinda’s basilica of
590 was enlarged at the close of the 13th century by throwing
the atrium into the main building, and the present fine black-and-white
marble façade was erected about the middle of the
14th by Matteo da Campione, and restored in 1899–1901. On
the left-hand side of the front rises an incongruous brick-built
tower, 278 ft. high, erected by Pellegrini in 1592–1606. Within
the church are the iron crown of Lombardy, supposed to have
been beaten out of one of the nails used at the Crucifixion,
and the treasury containing the relics of Theodelinda, comprising
her crown, fan and comb of gold, and the golden hen and seven
chickens, representing Lombardy and her seven provinces, and
crosses, reliquaries, &c., of the Lombard and Gothic periods.
The interior has been modernized; there is a fine relief by Matteo
da Campione in the organ-loft, representing the coronation of
a king, and some 15th-century frescoes with scenes from the
life of Theodelinda. Next to the cathedral in artistic importance
come the church of Santa Maria in Istrada, and the broletto
or old palace of the commune, usually styled the Arengario;
the former (founded in 1357) has a rich terra-cotta façade of
1393, and the latter is raised on a system of pointed arches,
and has a tall square tower terminating in machicolations
surrounding a sharp central cone. The royal palace of Monza
(built in 1777 for the archduke Ferdinand) lies not far from the
town on the banks of the Lambro. Cotton goods and felt hats
are the staple products of the flourishing Monza industry;
then dyeing, organ-building, and a publishing trade.
Monza (anc. Modicia) was not a place of consequence till it attracted the eye of Theodoric; and its first important associations are with Theodelinda. During the period of the republics Monza was sometimes independent, sometimes subject to Milan. The Visconti, who ultimately became masters of the city, built a castle in 1325 on the site now occupied by the Palazzo Durini. In the course of its history Monza stood thirty-two sieges, and was repeatedly plundered—notably by the forces of Charles V. The countship (1499–1796) was purchased in 1546 by the wealthy banker Durini, and remained in his family till the Revolution. At Monza King Humbert was assassinated on the 29th of July 1900.
MONZONITE, the group-name of a type of rocks which have
acquired it from their most celebrated occurrence, that of
Monzoni in Tirol. The rocks are of granitic appearance, usually
rather dark grey in colour and fine to moderately coarse grained.
The special characteristic which distinguishes them from
granites and ordinary syenites is the presence of plagioclase
and orthoclase felspars in nearly equal amounts. Labradorite,
andesine and oligoclase are present, usually in well-shaped
crystals, often zoned; orthoclase forms large irregular plates
in which the other minerals are embedded. There is rarely any
considerable amount of quartz, though in a few of these rocks
this mineral occurs (the quartz-monzonites). Other features
are the abundance of augite, pale green or brownish green, and
of large bronze-coloured plates of biotite which are of quite
irregular shapes and full of enclosures. Hypersthene or bronzite
is less common, but dark brown and green hornblende are
sometimes abundant. Olivine also may be present; when the
rock contains this in notable quantity it may be called an
olivine monzonite. Numerous large prisms of apatite often
characterize micro-sections of monzonites, and zircon, iron
ores and pyrites are frequent accessory minerals.
