which refers to the great ditch that encompasses the an-
cient town. The Venetians took control of Crete in 1210
and subsequently made the town of Candia their capital
and one of the major seaports in the eastern Mediter-
ranean, fortifying it with walls, bastions, and gates. The
military architect SANMICHELIwas put in charge of the
work there in 1538. After a great siege (1648–69) the
town fell to the Turks. It was renamed Herakleion in 1898.
Candida, Giovanni (active c. 1475–c. 1504) Italian
medalist, diplomat, and author
Candida was possibly born at Naples, but by 1475 was a
secretary at the Burgundian court. In 1477 he was resident
at Bruges, and between 1482 and 1483 he entered the ser-
vice of Louis XI of France. He wrote a short Latin history
of France for Louis’ successor, Charles VIII, and by 1491
was a royal counselor on the first of several diplomatic
missions to Italy. Candida’s style is Italianate and was
probably learned in his youth from Mantuan and Floren-
tine medalists. His portrait medals include likenesses of
Maximilian of Austria and Mary of Burgundy, the young
Francis I of France, and numerous French and Italian
statesmen. A fine medalist, Candida had a delicate style
and considerable powers of characterization, but his pri-
mary art-historical significance is as a forerunner of the
Italian artists who worked in France during the early 16th
century (see FONTAINEBLEAU).
Candido, Pietro See WITTE, PIETER DE
Cane, Facino (c. 1350–1412) Italian mercenary soldier
A Piedmontese by birth, Cane led mercenary forces there
and in Savoy from his youth up and established a reputa-
tion as a ruthless and efficient condottiere. The Genoese
gave him a major command in 1394, and in 1397 he en-
tered the employ of the VISCONTI FAMILYof Milan. By the
death of Giangaleazzo (1402) he had become such a pow-
erful figure in Milanese affairs that the new duke, the in-
competent Giovanni Maria, relied for his position upon
Cane’s continuing support. Had it not been for his death,
it is probable that Cane would have ousted the Visconti
line from Milan. One of Duke Filippo Maria’s first acts on
succeeding his brother in 1412 was to establish his posi-
tion by marrying Cane’s widow, Beatrice, whom he later
had put to death on a trumped-up charge of adultery
(1418).
Cangrande See DANTE ALIGHIERI; DELLA SCALA FAMILY
cannon A large gun fired from a carriage or fixed plat-
form. The first undisputed references to cannon date from
the early 14th century. Using skills gained in the manu-
facture of bells, the earliest cannon were cast from bronze
and muzzle-loaded. Such weapons, however, proved to be
too expensive, too difficult to make, and too easily worn
away, to be completely successful. Consequently, they
were soon superseded by larger, more durable, wrought-
iron models, forged from strips of iron and secured with
hooped rings. These were replaced by cast-iron cannon
which began to appear in the early 16th century. Although
normally quite small, weighing no more than a few hun-
dred pounds, giants like the 15th-century 12-ton Mons
Meg (Edinburgh Castle) were occasionally constructed.
Technology imported from the West was used to devastat-
ing effect by the Ottoman Turks in the final assault on the
land walls of Constantinople in 1453 and later deployed
by the Turks against the cities and castles of southeastern
Europe, as in the 1529 siege of Vienna. Light artillery
mounted on wagons became a feature of warfare all over
Europe.from the mid-15th century, used both to batter
enemy fortifications and against enemy troops in the field.
See also: ARTILLERY; FORTIFICATIONCano, Juan Sebastian del (died 1526) Spanish navigator
Born at Guetaria, on the Bay of Biscay, Cano commanded
the Vittoria, one of the five ships that participated in MAG-
ELLAN’s celebrated voyage. The expedition set sail in 1519,
and when Magellan was killed (1521), Cano became com-
mander of the fleet. After visiting the Moluccas, Cano re-
turned to Spain, landing at Seville on September 8, 1522.
He was accordingly heralded as the first circumnavigator
of the world, and was rewarded by the king with an en-
graved globe and a pension. In 1526 Cano left on another
expedition to the Moluccas, but died at sea on August 4.Cano, Melchior (1509–1560) Spanish theologian
In 1523 he became a Dominican friar at Salamanca. He
taught at Valladolid from 1533, and in 1543 became the
first professor of theology at Alcalá. He defended Philip II
in his political conflict with the papacy, and when in 1557
he was chosen as provincial of his order papal conforma-
tion of his appointment was long delayed. His doctrine of
marriage, that the priestly blessing was the essential form
of the sacrament, was controversial. His De locis theologi-
cis, his principal work, was published in 1563.Capnion See REUCHLIN, JOHANNCapponi family A wealthy and influential Florentine
family, established in the city from 1210. Although Gino
(1350–1421) supported the ALBIZZI, Neri (1388–1475)
was a prominent supporter of the MEDICI. Piero (1447–96)
was employed as an ambassador by Lorenzo the
Magnificent, but after the latter’s death (1492) joined the
anti-Medicean party, becoming head of the republic set up
in Florence on the expulsion of Piero de’ Medici in 1494.
His defiance of CHARLES VIIIof France in 1494 is famous;
the French king, backed by 12,000 troops, issued an
ultimatum which Capponi tore up in his face, and when
Charles said menacingly, “Then we shall sound our8888 CCaannddiiddaa,, GGiioovvaannnnii