Skip to main content

Full text of "Cities of Northern and Central Italy"

See other formats 


Google 



This is a digital copy of a book lhal w;ls preserved for general ions on library shelves before il was carefully scanned by Google as pari of a project 

to make the world's books discoverable online. 

Il has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one thai was never subject 

to copy right or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books 

are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often dillicull lo discover. 

Marks, notations and other marginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the 

publisher lo a library and linally lo you. 

Usage guidelines 

Google is proud lo partner with libraries lo digili/e public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the 
public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order lo keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to 
prevent abuse by commercial panics, including placing Icchnical restrictions on automated querying. 
We also ask that you: 

+ Make n on -commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request thai you use these files for 
personal, non -commercial purposes. 

+ Refrain from automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort lo Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine 
translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the 
use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help. 

+ Maintain attribution The Google "watermark" you see on each lile is essential for informing people about this project and helping them find 
additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it. 

+ Keep it legal Whatever your use. remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just 
because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other 

countries. Whether a book is slill in copyright varies from country lo country, and we can'l offer guidance on whether any specific use of 
any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner 
anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liability can be quite severe. 

About Google Book Search 

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers 
discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through I lie lull lexl of 1 1 us book on I lie web 
al |_-.:. :.-.-:: / / books . qooqle . com/| 



?« 



»ia' 




^I^vp] 



CITIES OF NORTHERN AND 
CENTRAL ITALY 



III 



FLORENCE, SIENA, AND OTHER TOWNS OF 
TUSCANY AND UMBftIA 



CITIES OF 
NORTHERN AND CENTRAL 

ITALY 



By AUGUSTUS J. C HARE 

AUTHOR OP "WALKS IN BOMS," "DAYS NBAR ROM*," BTC 



IN THREE VOLUMES 
III 

FLORBNCX, SIENA, AND OTHER TOWNS OF 
TUSCANY AND UMBRXA 



LONDON 
DALDY, ISBISTER & CO. 

56, LUDGATE HILL 
1876 

\TJu Right if TnuuimiwH it RtHtved.} 



W V — 7 . » "?? =? , 



IZ , 3 Li" . 



JOHN CBILD8 AND SON, PRINTERS. 



TO 
H. R. H. 



PRINCE LEOPOLD 



THESE VOLUMES ARE 



RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 



" '<t ^ /J ?r 



■ 






CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XLVIII. 

PAG* 

FLORENCE. GENERAL ASPECT 1 

CHAPTER XLIX. 

FROM THE S. TRINITA TO S. CROCE 15 

CHAPTER L. 

THE NORTH-EASTERN QUARTER — OR S. MICHELE, THE 
CATHEDRAL AND BAPTISTERY, S. LORENZO, PALAZZO 
RICCARD1, S. MARCO, THE ACCADEMIA, THE ANNUN- 
ZIATA 8l 

CHAPTER LI. 

THIRD EXCURSION— PALAZZO STROZZI, S. MARIA NOVELLA, 

THE CASC1NE, OGNI SANTI, PALAZZO CORS1NI . . I46 

CHAPTER LII. 

FOURTH EXCURSION— OLTR* ARNO 164 

CHAPTER LII I. 

EXCURSIONS ROUND FLORENCE 1 89 

CHAPTER LIV. 

VALLOMBROSA AND THE CASENTINO 22a 



vi CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER LV. 

PAG* 
SIENA 248 

CHAPTER LVI. 

DRIVES ROUND SIENA 292 

CHAPTER LVII. 

S. GIMIGNANO 304 

CHAPTER LVIII. 

MONTE PULCIANO, PIENZA, AND CHIUSI 3 14 

CHAPTER LIX. 

AREZZO 322 

CHAPTER LX. 

CORTONA AND THRASYMENE 332 

CHAPTER LXI. 

PERUGIA 343 

CHAPTER LXII. 

ASSISI 37I 

CHAPTER LXIII. 

CITTA DI CASTELLO AND BORGO S. SEPOLCRO . . . 402 

CHAPTER LXIV. 

SPELLO AND FOLIGNO 413 



see— «b 



vi CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER LV. 

PACK 
SIKNA 248 

CHAPTER LVI. 

DRIVES ROUND SIENA 292 

CHAPTER LVII. 

S. GIMIGNANO 304 

CHAPTER LVIII. 

MONTE PULCIANO, PIENZA, AND CH1USI 314 

CHAPTER LIX. 

AREZZO 322 

CHAPTER LX. 

CORTONA AND THRASYMENE 332 

CHAPTER LXI. 

PERUGIA 343 

CHAPTER LXII. 

ASSISI 371 

CHAPTER LXIII. 

CITTA DI CASTELLO AND BORGO S. SEPOLCRO . . . 402 

CHAPTER LXIV. 

SPELLO AND FOLIGNO 413 



CHAPTER XLVIII. 



FLORENCE. 

GENERAL ASPECT. 

Holds. Hotel Europa, Piazza della Trinita, is a very good hotel in a 
central situation. The H. del Artio, H. de la Grande Bretagna, H. New 
York, H. La Pace, II. de la Ville, and H. rUttoria, on the Lung* Arno, 
have more son and view. The Hotel Milano, Via Cerretani ; and H. 
d t Alleanxa i Via della Scala, are very comfortable, and less expensive, 
receiving guests en pension. The H. Porta Rossa is a good Italian 
second-class hotel. 

Lodgings. Good single rooms may he obtained at 30 frs. a month and 
5 firs, a month for service, in sunny situations. Most of the houses on 
Lung* Arno and in the Borg* Ognisanti, which are not hotels, are let 
in lodgings. Madame Iandelli, Piazza Soderini, has a most excellent and 
comfortable Pension ; that of Miss Earle in the Palazzo Corsi, Via de* 
Strozzi, is also much liked. 

Cafes. Doney, 14, Via Tornabuoni, has a European Restaurant re- 
putation. 

Carriages. Excellent street carriages cost : the course 80 c. The first 
\ hour, I tx. 30 c. ; every k hour after, 70 c. Outside the walls, the first 
\ hour, 2 firs. ; each i hour after, I fr. 

Past Office. In the Piazza of the Uffizi, opposite the entrance of the 
Gallery. 

Telegraph Office. Pal. Ricciardi, 2, Via de' Ginori. 

Photographers. The brothers Alinari, 8, Via Nazionale. Schemboche, 
38, Borgognisanti. 

Sights. Those who sojourn long at Florence will probably make 
themselves acquainted with most of the buildings described in these 
pages. A week at least should be given to Florence, For those who 

VOL. Ill, I 



2 ITALIAN CITIES. 

are unfortunate enough to spend only two days here it may be sug- 
gested that they should — 

1st day, Morning. Visit the Piazza della Signoria; the Uffizi 
(especially the Tribune) ; and walk through the Galleries to the Pitti, re- 
turning by the Ponte Vecchio. 

Afternoon. See the frescoes at the Carmine, and drive by the Colle to 
S. Miniato ; and, if possible, see the lower part of the Boboli Gardens 
afterwards. 

2nd day \ Morning See the Medici statues in S. Lorenzo; the 
Cathedral and Baptistery ; S. Croce ; the Bargello, and return by the 
Casa di Dante. 

Afternoon. See S. Maria Novella, and drive either to Fiesole or 
Careggi. 



" Of all the fairest cities of the earth 
None is so fair as Florence. Tis a gem 
Of purest ray ; and what a light broke forth, 
When it emerged from darkness ! Search within, 
Without ; all is enchantment ! 'Tis the Past 
Contending with the Present ; and in turn 
Each has the mastery." — Rogers •• 

THE radiant loveliness of the country immediately around 
Florence renders it the most delightful of all Italian 
•cities for a spring residence, and no one who has once seen 
the glorious luxuriance of the flowers which cover its fields and 
gardens, and lie in masses for sale on the broad grey base- 
ments of its old palaces, can ever forget them. May is per- 
haps the most perfect month for Florence. In winter the 
ice-laden winds from the Apennines blow bitterly down the 
valley of the Arno. Forsyth mentions that physicians say 
they can scarcely conceive how people can live at Florence 
in the winter, or how they can die there in summer. 

Florence, " La bellissima e famosissima flglia di Roma," as 
Dante calls her, has been far less modernized than Rome since 



HISTOR Y OF FLORENCE. 3 

the change of Government, and though, during the short re- 
sidence here of the Sardinian court, the magnificent old walls 
were destroyed, to the great injury of the place, with the 
towers which Varchi describes as " encircling the city like a 
garland," * several beneficial additions, such as the drive by 
the Colle, were introduced. Conservatism is a natural part 
of the Florentine character, and there is scarcely the site of 
an old building or a house once inhabited by any eminent 
• person which is not marked by an inscription. 

Florence existed in Roman times, but never attained any importance 
till the Middle Ages. In 1 198 it already stood at the head of a league of 
the Tuscan towns against Philip of Swabia. Dante complains of the 
changes which it strove to introduce in politics and civilization :— 

"Quante volte del tempo che rimembre, 
Leggi, monete, officii e costume 
Hai tu mutato, e rinnovato membre?" — 

The principal families at this time were the Buondelmonte and Uberti^ 
the Amidei and Donati. A widow of the noble house of Donati being 
determined to have no other son-in-law than the head of the great family 
of Buondelmonte, persuaded him to marry her daughter, who was of 
matchless beauty, while he was engaged to one of the Amidei. When 
the marriage was known, the Amidei, and their relations the Uberti, fell 
upon young Buondelmonti as he was riding across the Ponte Vecchio, 
and slew him at the foot of the statue of Mars. This murder threw the 
whole city into confusion, half the citizens siding with the Buondelmonti, 
half with the Uberti. But in 1246, when the Emperor Frederick II. 
favoured the Uberti, who as imperialists were now called Ghibellines, 
the Guelphs or Buondelmonti faction were expelled from Florence. 

Upon the death of Frederick II., the Guelphs returned in 1250, and 
there was a reconciliation. A military confederation was then formed. 
The six divisions — SesHere—oi the town each chose two burgesses — 
Afudani — for a year, and, the better to avoid party spirit, two foreigners, 
one of whom was to serve as Podesta, the other as Capitano del Popolo. 
The confederation was divided under twenty standards, with an annual 
change of captains — Gonfalonieri. In battle, the Carroccio, a huge car, 
drawn by oxen with scarlet trappings, and supporting the standard of 

* Some of these were demolished in 1597. 



4 ITALIAN CITIES.* 

Florence, and a bell which was to ring ceaselessly, was to be the great 
centre and rallying -point. 

When Manfred had gained possession of Naples, the Ghibellines 
hoped by his assistance once more to obtain the supreme power in Flo- 
rence, but the Anziani discovered their plot and drove them out of the 
city. They fled to Siena, where, under Farinata degli Uberti, they com- 
pletely defeated the Florentine army of the Guelphs in the Battle of 
Monteaperto, and re-entered Florence in triumph. They would even 
have destroyed the city but for the noble defence of Farinata, who de- 
clared that he had only been induced to conduct the war by the hope of 
returning to his beloved native place. After Manfred, in fighting against 
Charles of Anjou, had lost his life and his kingdom, the Guelphs re- 
gained their lost power, and a new democratic constitution was formed. 
The town was then divided into guilds — Arti, and to each guild was 
given a responsible governor — Consul, with a Capitano and a peculiar 
standard — Bandiera. The guilds, originally only twelve, of which seven 
were of the upper classes (il Popolo grasso) and seven of the lower (il 
Popolo minuto), were afterwards increased to twenty-one, and even the 
nobles, if they wished to take part in the government of the town, were 
enrolled in a guild. When the Guelphs further established their power 
by calling in Charles of Anjou, before whom the Ghibellines took flight, 
the council called Signoria was formed for the government of Florence. 
In 1289, the Florentine Guelphs, having established their own power, 
assisted the popular party at Arezzo in gaining the bloody Battle of Cam" 
paidino, in which Dante, who had been received into the Guild of Doc- 
tors, fought amongst the Guelphic troops. In 1 298 the Palazzo delta 
Signoria was built at Florence— per maggior niagnificenza e piu securita 
de' Signori, and many other new buildings were erected. Macchiavelli 
says — " Never was the town in a more happy or flourishing condition 
than at this time, rich in population, treasure, and aspect ; having 30,000 
armed citizens, and 70,000 from its territory (suo contado) ; while the 
whole of Tuscany was either subject or allied to it." 

Florence had now such power as to fear neither the empire nor its own 
exiles, but its strength continued to be wasted by internal strife. Fresh 
elements of discord were found in the quarrels of the great family of the 
Cerchi, who had become powerful through trade, and the noble race of 
the Donati. The Cerchi adopted the name of Bianehi, the Donati of 
Nert\ names borrowed from the Ghibelline and Guelphic divisions of the 
neighbouring Pistoia. Both were banished in turn, and it was the anger 
excited by the recall of the Ghibelline Guido Cavalcanti which led to 
the banishment of Dante, who was his personal friend, and who was 
condemned by a Guelphic court, under the influence of Corso Donati, 
afterwards himself exiled and put to death. 



HISTORY OF FLORENCE. $ 

After the death of Charles of Calabria (in 1328), whose aggressions 
had made the foreign Signorie unpopular, foreigners were excluded from 
the government, till the successes of the Frenchman, Walter de Brienne, 
Duke of Athens, as general of the Florentine army, led to his so far 
gaining the affections of the people, that, on Sept. 8, 1342, he was in- 
Tested by popular acclamation with the sovereignty for life, but his rule 
of violence and pride was of short duration, and he was exiled in the 
following year. The Guelphs now returned to power, and strengthened 
their influence by the benevolence they showed during the great plague 
of 1348, which is described by Boccaccio (born 13 13). The noble family 
of the Albizzi was now at the head of the Guelphs, and their arrogance 
was such that the Ghibellines and not the Guelphs became now rather 
the representatives of the popular party. Such was the case when 
the Revolution of the Ciompi took place ander Michele Lando, who 
was chosen Gonfaloniere, and, in the words of Macchiavelli — " over- 
came every citizen by his uprightness, cleverness, and kindness, like 
a true deliverer of his country." The Ciompi, however, were soon 
expelled, and the Ghibelline family of the Medici, who had risen to 
wealth under the banker Giovanni de 1 Medici, coming forward as patrons 
of \Xnt popolo minuto, began to rise to power in spite of the utmost efforts 
of the Albizzi, who felt that their star was waning. Giovanni, who died 
in 1428, left an enormous fortune to his two sons, Cosimo, born 1383, 
and Lorenzo, born 1 394. Both these were banished for a time by the 
influence of Rinaldo Albizzi ; on their recall, Cosimo, who was made 
Gonfaloniere, gained universal approbation by the magnificence with 
which his immense fortune enabled him to receive the illustrious guests 
who came to the Council of Florence in 1439, while his intercourse with 
men of genius led to his being regarded as a typical patron of the arts 
and sciences. It was at this time that Brunelleschi and Michelozzi 
graced Florence as architects ; Donatello and Ghiberti as sculptors ; 
Masaccio and Filippo Lippi as painters. The enthusiasm of Cosimo for 
Platonic philosophy led to his founding the famous Platonic Academy of 
Florence, in which Marsilius Ficinus, the son of his physician, was the 
leading spirit. The wonderful learning of Cosimo in Greek, Hebrew, 
Arabic, and other languages, brought about the foundation of the Medi- 
cean Library, while his love of art led to the decorations of S. Marco by 
Fra Angelico. In the alliances of his children he thought rather of the 
noble Florentine families than of foreign princes, in the financial world 
he was the Rothschild of his time, and he was so beloved by the people 
that shortly before his death, the title of " Father of his Country " was 
bestowed upon him by a public decree in 1464. 



ITALIAN CITIES, 



.Li 



ill 
111 



■81 



Lti 

3" 



i* 



!*I!Ji 

a J i3 



b*" 


-° '83 


| 

o 


la Tour. 

j ml dau. 
Cardinal 


| 


■s e" 3 !" 3 




8 "S.^rf* 1 


■rf 


1 1*1= 
3 i || 


| 


1-1 fj 


1 




3 

-J 5* 


J J J 3 ll 



KISTOXY OF fLORENCE. 



*4h 

is 



p i 



m 



1 i , 

* 1 2 I 

! t # - 
' 1 1 rte* 

J'— Is! ^i_ 
rl* s ll 

f 

J, 

I-* 



li 



i> fill 
tolM:; 



I I 






i 

1 
U 






3d" 



4 



|3« 5 

Si 
-an 



S ITALIAN CITIES. 

Larento di Media, afterwards called " the Magnificent," was only in 
his sixteenth year when his grandfather Cosimo died, but his brilliant 
powers at once enabled him to take a. part in public affairs, and to 
assist his feeble father Piero,*who died five years afterwards. When 
the rich Luca Pitti (who was then employed in building the Pitti 
Palace) and others were discovered in a plot to overthrow the Medicean 
power, he turned them into friends, acting, in the words of Valori, on 
the principle that '* he who knows how to forgive, knows how to win 
everything." At the famous tournament of the Piazza S. Croce (1468), 
which has been celebrated by Pulci and Politian, both Lorenzo and his 
brother Giuliano won prizes. Landino wrote a whole book upon the 
education of the Medici, which was chiefly carried on under Marsilio 
Ficino ; they soon received the name of "principi dello stato." 

Lorenzo married, in 1468, one of the noble Roman family of the 
Orsini. In 1 4 69 his father died, and he was immediately requested to 
undertake the government of the State. He continued to seek the 
advice of the wisest counsellors, and then to act independently after 
mature consideration. He remained bound by the closest friendship to 
his brother Giuliano. He liberally expended for the benefit of the 
State the great treasure which he gained from trading speculations all 
over Europe. His encouragement made Florence at this time the 
capital of the Arts to the whole world ; while a visit from Galeazzo 
Sforza, Duke of Milan, introduced a fashion of display and luxury 
hitherto unthought of. In 1478, republican fears, mingled with private 
jealousies, led to the Conspiracy of th* Pazzi, who leagued with the 
Riarii, nephews of Sixtus V. (whose arrogant claims had been resisted by 
Lorenzo), to murder both the Medici in the cathedral, and to raise a 
demonstration of freedom. Giuliano fell under the dagger of Francesco 
de* Pazzi as the Host was elevated, but Lorenzo, though wounded, was 
able to take refuge in the sacristy, and when Jacopo de' Pazzi rushed 
with shouts of " freedom " through the streets, no one responded, and 
the people only rose for the Medici, crying " Vivano le palle " (the arms 
of the Medici). The Pazzi and their co-conspirator, the Archbishop of 
Pisa, were executed. Sixtus V., furious, having vainly demanded the 
exile of the Medici, stirred up the king of Naples against Florence, 
when Lorenzo, to save the republic, delivered up his person, and gained 
over his enemy by his magnanimity ("vicit prcesentia famam."— Valori). 
Thenceforward the importance of Florence seemed to issue from 
Lorenzo as from a centre. Foreign courts sought not only his alliance, 
but his advice ; even the Sultan placed himself in friendly relations with 
him, and sent him a giraffe and other animals. Commerce flourished, 
for since Florence had won the harbour of Leghorn from the Genoese 



HISTORY OF FLORENCE. 9 

in 142 1, it had built its own ships, which traded in the ports of Asia 
Minor, the Black Sea, Africa, Spain, England, France, and Flanders. 
Till 1480, the galleys all belonged to the State, under the command of 
an Admiral, the State letting them to the merchants at an assessment. 

Florence, more than ever the centre of art and learning, had in 147 1 
its own printer, Cennini. Greek was the most popular of studies* 
Scholars, by their readiness of speech, had great weight in all political 
transactions ; literary fame brought riches ; and scientific conversation 
had its part in good society. Even ladies shone as philologists. 
Lorenzo, instructed by Landino, Filelfo, Ficino, Lorenzo Valla, Po- 
liziano, Sannazaro, and brought up on the Platonic philosophy, was 
also a poet : his sonnet " O chiara Stella, che co' raggi suoi," is still 
well known. Amongst the artists he encouraged were Antonio Pol- 
lajuolo and Luca Signorelli, the forerunners of Michael Angelo, and he 
founded in the garden of S. Marco an academy for young artists, to 
which Michael Angelo was admitted on the recommendation of 
Domenico Ghirlandajo. Lorenzo died at Careggi, April 8, 1492. 

A partial reaction from the extreme luxury in which Florence had 
been revelling, had been brought about two years before, by the sermons 
of Savonarola, the Dominican monk of S. Marco. His prophecies that a 
chastisement was at hand, seemed to be fulfilled under the government 
of the weak PUro dS Medici, son of Lorenzo, who purchased the pro- 
tection of Charles VIII. by the surrender, in 1494, of all the fortified 
places of the republic. The disgrace was so keenly felt by Florence 
that Pietro Capponi in the Signoria declared Pietro incapable of con- 
ducting affairs, and the Medici were expelled from Florence, amid cries 
of "Abbassolepalle." 

On Nov. 17, 1494, Charles VIII. made a triumphal entry into 
Florence, but his exactions were restrained by the dignity of the Floren- 
tine deputy Capponi. After his departure, Savonarola was made law- 
giver of Florence. A council of 1000, with a select committee, like 
that of Venice, but with Christ as their King instead of a doge, was the 
government which he advocated. In 1495, the entire organization of 
the State was given up to him as the representative of the " Christocra- 
tic Florentine Republic ; " his throne was the pulpit. For three years 
he ruled in a manner which induced even Machiavelli to acknowledge 
his greatness. During this time such an inspiration of love and sacrifice 
breathed throughout Florence, that unlawful possessions were restored 
wholesale, mortal enemies embraced each other, hymns not ballads 
were sung in the streets, the people received the sacrament daily, and 
over the cathedral pulpit and over the gate of the Palazzo Vecchio was 
written — "Jesus Christ is the King of Florence." The public offices 



IO ITALIAN CITIES. 

now included — Lustratori (purifiers of worship), Limonneri (collectors 
of alms), and Moralistic who cleared the houses of playing cards, musical 
instruments, and worldly books. In 1497, an attempt was made to 
restore the amusements of Carnival, but the adherents of Savonarola 
went from house to house collecting the Vanita or Anatema, that is, all 
sensuous books and pictures, which they burnt on a huge pyramidal 
pyre on the last day of Carnival, amid the blare of the trumpets of the 
Signory, and the songs of the children. 

But the old true Florentine spirit soon wearied of theocratic monkish 
government, and Pope Alexander VI., furious at Savonarola's having 
called his court the Romish Babylon, excommunicated the monk, who 
refused to recognize his prohibition to preach, saying that " when the 
Pope orders what is wrong, he does not order it as Pope." A Francis- 
can friar accused Savonarola of heresy, and challenged him to the ordeal 
by fire ; he consented, but when the day came, the ordeal was postponed 
by trivial discussions, till a storm of rain had extinguished the flames. 
Then the prophet lost his glory, S. Marco was stormed, Savonarola was 
taken prisoner, was forced by the torture to confessions which he vainly 
recanted, and, on Ascension Day, 1498, he was hung, and afterwards 
burnt, with his two principal followers, Fra Domenico and Fra 
Silvestro. 

It was about this time that Amerigo Vespucci of Florence, who gave 
his name to America, explored the coast of Venezuela. 

Pietro de' Medici had died in exile in 1505, but in 15 12 the Medici 
returned to Florence in the person of his son Lorenzo and his youngest 
brother Giuliano. In the same year Giovanni de' Medici ascended the 
papal throne as Leo X. Both the Medici who were "restored" died 
very young, Giuliano in 15 16, and Lorenzo in 15 19, a year after his 
marriage, leaving an only daughter, Catherine de' Medici, afterwards 
the famous queen of France. Besides this infant, of descendants of 
Cosimo, Pater Patriae, there only remained Pope Leo X ., who was son 
of Lorenzo the Magnificent, Cardinal Giulio, afterwards Pope Clement 
VII., son of Lorenzo's brother Giuliano (killed by the Pazzi), and two 
illegitimate youths, Alessandro, supposed to be the son of Cardinal 
Giulio, and Ippolito, son of Giuliano. 

The illegitimate Medici were brought up at Florence by guardians 
appointed by their papal relatives, but after the misfortunes of Clement 
VII., called by Ranke — " the very sport of misfortune, and without doubt 
the most ill-fated Pontiff that ever sat upon the papal throne" — the 
Medici were once more expelled from Florence by a revolution under 
Filippo Strozzi and his wife Clarice, herself the daughter of Pietro de' 
Medici. 



HISTOR Y OF FLORENCE. 1 1 

Bat the family fortunes again tamed. Ippolito was created a Car- 
dinal ; and, in 1529, a league was made between Clement VII. and the 
Emperor, by which it was arranged that Alessandro should marry 
Margaret, the Illegitimate daughter of the latter. Florence, defended 
by Michael Angelo and his fortifications, was taken after an eleven 
months' siege, and its republican freedom was finally lost August 3, 1530, 
at the Battle of Gavinana in the Apennines. On July 29, f53i, the 
imperial envoy announced to the Signoria the imperial decree which 
made Alessandro de' Medici hereditary Duke of Florence, under the 
supreme sovereignty of the Emperor. Alessandro, who surrounded him- 
self with a body-guard of 1000 men, and built a new citadel, was mur- 
dered by his relation Lorenzino in 1539, when Cosimo /., son of Giovanni 
delle Bande Nere, succeeded in his 18th year. Cosimo imitated the great 
Lorenzo in founding the Academy of Florence, and beginning the 
glorious collections of the Uffizi. In 1569 he was made Grand-duke 
by Pope Pius V., and the title was confirmed to his son in 1575 by the 
Emperor Maximilian II. In 1574 he was succeeded by Francesco /., 
who married first Joanna of Austria, sister of that Emperor, anjl 
secondly the beautiful Venetian, Bianca Capello, who had long been his 
mistress. 

In 1587, upon the tragical death of Francesco and Bianca, his 
brother Cardinal Ferdinand de* Medici succeeded as Francesco II. , and 
was distinguished by his war against the Turks and his popularity. 
The next sovereign, Cosimo II, who succeeded in 1609, was also 
distinguished as the protector of art and science. But the prosperity 
of Florence began to wane under the weak Ferdinand //., and continued 
to do so under the vain Cosimo III. t and the foolish Gian-Gastons, 
who was the last of the Medici. 

After the extinction of the Medici, in accordance with the conditions 
of the Peace of Vienna of 1735, Tuscany fell to Duke Francis Stephen 
of Lorraine (afterwards the Emperor Francis I.), the husband of Maria 
Teresa. Under his son and grandson it prospered exceedingly. In 
1799 the French expelled the Grand-duke, and in 1 801 Tuscany was 
placed under the Infante Louis of Parma as the kingdom of Etruria : in 
1808 it was ceded to France : in 18 14 it was given back to the Grand- 
duke Ferdinand, whose son Leopold II., raised to the sovereignty in his 
1 8th year, was the great benefactor of the lands of Tuscany, under the 
ministry of Count Fossombrone. In 1848 the Grand -duke was com- 
pelled to recognize a radical ministry (Guerazzi, Montanelli, Mazzini, 
Prince Corsini-Lajatico). In 1849, he fled to Gaieta, and for one fort- 
night Guerazzi ruled as Dictator. Then the Grand-duke was recalled, 
imprudently strengthened himself with 10,000 Austrian soldiers, and in 



12 ITALIAN CITIES. 

1852 abolished the constitution. In 1859 he was compelled to abdicate. 
In 1860, Tuscany was incorporated with the kingdom of Victor 
Emmanuel ; from 1863 to 1 871 it was the capital of that kingdom. In 
1 87 1, it resigned its rank to Rome, and has since tMen sunk into a 
mere provincial city, bereft of the presence of a court, and paying more 
than six times the amount of taxes it paid under the Grand-dukes. To 
its Medici princes and their Austrian successors, it owes most of its noble 
buildings, and all its incomparable galleries and museums : the reign of 
Victor Emmanuel will be commemorated by the tasteless front of S. 
Croce, and the total destruction of the noble walls which encircled 
the city, and which made Florence, with the exception of Rome, unique 
amongst European capitals. 

In Architecture, Florence is richest in its Palaces, and these exceed 
those of any other city. The earliest architect of distinction was Arnolfo 
di Cambio (Cathedral, Palazzo Vecchio, Bargello), the earliest painter 
of importance was Cimabue (S. Maria Novella, Academy). Then came 
Giotto, as both architect and artist (cathedral tower, pictures in Academy 
and Uffizi), the Orcagna (Loggia de' Lanzi, Or S. Michele, S. Maria 
Novella), and Fra Angelico (S. Marco, Uffizi, Academy). With the 
Renaissanceof the 15th century, arose Brunelleschi in architecture (Cathe- 
dral, &c), Masaccio (Carmine) in painting, and Donatello and Ghiberti 
(Or S. Michele, Bargello collection, Baptistery, &c.) in sculpture. At 
the same time flourished Leo Battista Alberti (Palazzo Rucellai, S. 
Maria Novella), Michelozzi Michelozzi (S. Marco), Giuliano di S. Gallo, 
and others ; while in sculpture the Robbias, Andrea del Verocchio, 
Benedetto de Majano, Rovezzano, and others, have left many incom- 
parable works. With these came a host of noble artists, Filippo and 
Filippino Lippi (Carmine), Botticelli (Uffizi), Cosimo Roselli (S. Maria 
de' Pazzi), Domenico Ghirlandajo (S. Trinita), and Benozzo Gozzoli 
(Palazzo Riccardi), &c, whose glories only paled before their successors, 
Leonardo da Vinci (Uffizi, Pitti), Michael Angelo (S. Lorenzo, Uffizi, 
&c), Andrea del Sarto (Scalzi, Pitti), Fra Bartolommeo (Uffizi, Pitti), 
Mariotto Albert inell (Uffizi), and others. 

After the fall of Florentine freedom in 1530, Art began to decline at 
Florence, only finding a noble representative in the sculptor Giovanni da 
Bologna (Piazza della Signoria, Boboli Gardens). The works of the 
later architects, Buontalenti, Ammanati, &c, and of such artists as 
Vasari and Allori, do not make us regret that they are few in numbers 
in comparison with those of their predecessors.* 

The Galleries and Museums, due for the most part to the 

* This account of the Florentine history is greatly indebted to that in the German 
work of Dr. Gscll-Fela. 



CHARACTERISTICS OF FLORENCE. 13 

Medici, and after them to the Austrian Grand-dukes, are nobly 
kept up, and liberally thrown open. Their treasures are in- 
exhaustible, and almost every taste may be satisfied there. 
In the Galleries of the Uffizi and Pitti alone, a walk of several 
miles may be taken on a wet day, entirely under cover, and 
through an avenue of Art treasures the whole way. When we 
add to these attractions the proverbially charming, genial, 
honest, simple character of the Tuscan people, we feel that 
it would be scarcely possible to find a pleasanter residence 
than Florence in autumn or spring. 

" Une ville complete par elle-meme, ayant ses arts et ses b&timents, 
animee et point trop peupiee, capitate et point trop grande, belle et 
gaie, — voila la premiere idee sur Florence." — Taint. 

" Other, though not many, cities have histories as noble, treasures as 
vast ; but no other city has them living, and ever present in her midst, 
familiar as household words, and touched by every baby's hand and 
peasant's step, as Florence has. 

" Every line, every road, every gable, every tower, has some story of 
the past present in it. Every tocsin that sounds is a chronicle ; every 
bridge that unites the two banks of the river unites also the crowds of 
the living with the heroism of the dead. 

"In the winding dusky irregular streets, with the outlines of their log- 
gie and arcades, and the glow of colour that fills their niches and galle- 
ries, the 'men who have gone before' walk with you ; not as elsewhere, 
mere gliding shades clad in the pallor of a misty memory, but present, 
as in their daily lives, shading their dreamful eyes against the noonday 
sun, or setting their brave brows against the mountain wind, laughing 
and jesting in their manful mirth, and speaking of great gifts to give to the 
world. All this while, though the past is thus close about you, the pre- 
sent is beautiful also, and does not shock you by discord and unseemli- 
ness as it will ever do elsewhere. The throngs that pass you are the 
same in likeness as those that brushed against Dante or Calvalcanti ; the 
populace that you move amidst is the same bold, vivid, fearless, eager 
people, with eyes full of dreams, and lips braced close for war, which 
welcomed Vinci and Cimabue and fought from Montaperto to Solferino. 

"And as you go through the streets you will surely see at every step 
some colour of a fresco on a wall, some quaint curve of a bas-relief on a 
lintel, some vista of Romanesque arches in a palace court, some dusky 
interior of a smith's forge or a wood-seller's shop, some Renaissance seal- 



14 ITALIAN CITIES. 

ring glimmering on a trader's stall, some lovely hues of fruits and herbs 
tossed down together in a Tre Cento window, some gigantic heap of 
blossoms being borne aloft on men's shoulders for a church festivity of 
roses, something at every step that has some beauty or some charm 
in it, some graciousness of the ancient time, or some poetry of the 
present hour. 

"The beauty of the past goes with you at every step in Florence. Buy 
eggs in the market, and you buy them where Donatello bought those 
which fell down in a broken heap before the wonder of the crucifix. 
Pause in a narrow by-street in a crowd, and it shall be that Borgo 
AUegri, which the people so baptized for love of the old painter and the 
new-born art. Stray into a great dark church at evening time, where 
peasants tell their beads in the vast marble silence, and you are where 
the whole city flocked, weeping, at midnight, to look their last upon the 
dead face of their Michael Angelo. Pace up the steps of the palace of 
the Signoria, and you tread the stone that felt the feet of him to whom so 
bitterly was known ' com 1 e duro calk, b scendere e*I salir per Valtrui 
scale* Buy a knot of March anemoni or April arum lilies, and you may 
bear them with you through the same city ward in which the child 
Ghirlandajo once played amidst the gold and silver garlands that his 
father fashioned for the young heads of the Renaissance. Ask for a 
shoemaker, and you shall find the cobbler sitting with his board in the 
same old twisting, shadowy street -way, where the old man Toscanelli 
drew his charts that served a fair-haired sailor of Genoa, called Colum- 
bus. Toil to fetch a tinker through the squalour of San Nicol6, and 
there shall fall on you the shadow of the bell-tower where the old 
Sacristan saved to the world the genius of Night and Day. Glance up 
to see the hour of the evening, and there, sombre and tragical, will loom 
above you the walls of the communal palace on which the traitors were 
painted by the brush of Sarto, and the tower of Giotto, fur and fresh in 
its perfect grace as though angels had builded it in the night just past, 
' ond'ella toglie ancora e terza e nana,* as in the noble and simple days 
before she brake the ' cerchia antica, ' " — PascareL 

" O ! Foster-Nurse of man's abandoned glory 
Since Athens, its great mother, sunk in splendour, 
Thou shadowest forth that mighty shape in story, 
As ocean its wrecked fanes, severe yet tender : 
The light invested angel Poesy 
Was drawn from the dim world to welcome thee." — Shelley. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 
FLORENCE. 

FROM THE S. TRINITA TO S, CROCE. 

THE Piazza SS. Trinita is perhaps the most central 
position in Florence, and near it are many of the prin- 
cipal hotels. Let us therefore take this as a starting-point 
for our various excursions over the city. 

The centre of the square is occupied by a pillar from the 
Baths of Caracalla at Rome, given to the Grand-duke 
Cosimo I. by Pius IV. It supports a statue of Justice by 
Francesco Fcrucci. The neighbouring Church of S. Trinitd 
dates in its foundation from the 9th, but was entirely 
altered in the 16th century. The fa$ade is by Bernardo 
Buontalenti. Over the entrance is a relief of the Holy 
Trinity by Giov. Coccini. Entering the church, on the right 
of the central door is a marble shrine delicately sculptured 
with arabesques by Benedetto da Rovezzano, 1490— 1550. 

Right, 1st Chapel, A bronze crucifix given to Florence by the Con- 
fraternity of the Bianchi. 

4*k Chape/ (which has a very rich iron screen). An Annunciation by 
Lorenxo Monaco, commonly called Don Lorenzo, a Camaldese friar. 

"The quiet grace and the thoughtful character of the two happily- 
placed figures has given a sort of typical value to this picture." — 
Burckhardt. 

The Sacristy, built in 1421, by Palla Strozsi, contains his tomb. He 
was h^™«h*d to Padua with the Medici, with whom he returned in 1434, 
to build the original Palazzo Strozzi 



16 ITALIAN CITIES. 

The 2nd Chapd to the right of High Altar has monuments of Fran- 
cesco Sassetti and Nera Cosi his wife, by Giuliano di San GaUo. This 
Chapel contains some of the most beautiful works of Domenico Ghirlan- 
dajo, executed in 1485, and in almost perfect preservation. They repre- 
sent, in a series, the Life of S. Francis. 

1 (on right, lunette). He renounces the world. % 

2 (central). He receives the confirmation of his order from Pope 
Honorius. 

3 (left). He passes unhurt through a fire, in presence of the Sultan. 

4 (right). He receives the Stigmata at La Vernia. The convent is 
seen in the background. 

5 (left). His death. 

" The fresco of the death of S. Francis is not only the most important 
and interesting of the series, but the one which, perhaps more than any 
other of his works, combines the highest qualities of Ghirlandajo as a 
fresco painter. The body of the dying Saint, wrapped in the coarse 
garment of his order, is stretched upon a bier. His disciples gather 
round him. One looks with an expression of most lively grief into the 
face of his expiring master. Others kneeling, press his hands and feet 
to their lips with deep emotion. A citizen, in the dress of the painter's 
time, opens the garment of the Saint, and places a ringer on the miracul- 
ous wound in his side. Another, amazed at the sight of the 'stigmata,' 
turns to a friar beside him. At the head of the bier stands a bishop, with 
spectacled nose, chanting the office for the dead. On either side of him 
is a priest, one bearing a censer, the other ready to sprinkle the corpse 
with holy water. At the other end of the bier are three acolytes, carry- 
ing a cross and lighted torches. Several citizens of Florence, also in the 
costume of Ghirlandajo's day, appear as spectators. The one in a red 
head-dress immediately behind the bishop, is the painter himself. The 
back-ground consists of an apse with an altar, and an open colonnade of 
classic architecture, through which is seen a distant landscape of hill, 
plain, and river." — A. Layard. 

6 (above the altar). He appears in the clouds to restore to life a 
child of the Sassetti family, killed by falling from a window. In the back- 
ground are the Palazzo Spini and Bridge of S. Trinita. On the left is 
the famous youth, called " II Bello." 

On either side of the altar are the kneeling portraits of the donors, 
Francesco and Nera Sassetti. On the ceiling are four Sibyls. 

Among the relics preserved here is the Crucifix, which is 
believed to have bowed its head to S. Giovanni Gualberto, 



LUNG ARNO. tf 

after his forgiveness of his brother's murderer. It is a 
painting on canvas stretched on a wooden frame, and was 
brought hither in great state from S. Miniato in 1671, under 
a canopy supported by eight senators, and followed by all 
the Florentine nobles and religious orders. 

On the ancient fa9ade of the church was a mosaic repre- 
sentation of a pyx and consecrated wafer, commemorating a 
fight between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, in 1257, within 
the walls of the church, which was quelled by the priest 
bearing the sacrament, before which the armed foes first 
knelt to adore, and then rose in reconciliation. 
. Passing between the House of Alfitri on the right and the 
picturesque Palazzo Spini on the left, we find ourselves on 
the bank of the Arno, on the famous Lung' Arno of Florence. 

" The booses, which rise out of the Arno, bright with soft tints of 
colour, irregular, picturesque, various, with roofs at every possible eleva- 
tion, the one sole point necessary being, that no two should have the 
same level — the outline broken with loggias, balconies, projecting lines, 
quaint cupolas, and spires ; the stream flowing full below, reflecting 
every salient point, every window on the high perpendicular line, every 
cloud on the blue overarching sky ;— this fair conjunction gives, at the 
first glance, that gleam of colour, light, sunshine, and warmth, which is 
conventionally necessary to an Italian town." — Blackwood, dccv. 

If we turn to the left, and ascend the bank of the river by 
Lung' Arno Accajoli and the Via Archibusieri, we shall soon 
reach the end of the stately porticoes of the Uffizi. Here, 
through the arches which open towards the Arno, and be- 
tween which stand statues of the Florentine heroes, Fran- 
cesco Ferrucci, Giovanni delle Bande Nere, and Farinata 
degli Uberti, we look to the tower of the Signoria and the 
statues at its foot, down a long narrow square surrounded by 

open porticoes. It is one immense palace, and is filled with 
vol. iil 2 



v*8 ITALIAN Ciri£S. 

most precious art-treasures. The Palace of the Uffizi 
begun for Cosimo I. by Giorgio Vasari in 1 561, and finished 
by Buontalenti in the reign of Francesco I. The pillars of 
-the colonnades are adorned with statues of the great Floren- 
tine sculptors, painters, poets, historians, and other eminent 
citizens. The best is that (5th on left) of the Archbishop 
S. Antonino. At the extremity of the arcade on the left, is 
the Post Office, occupying the site of the ancient Zccca, or 
Mint 

The first open staircase on the right leads to the National 
Library, occupying what was once the first Florentine 
Theatre. Here was first performed the " Armida " of Tasso, 
who rode from Ferrara to express his gratitude to Buonta- 
lenti, the designer of its scenes. The Ldbraty contains about 
200,000 printed volumes, and 14,000 MSS. That part of it 
which is called the Magliabecehian Library, was begun in the 
17 th century by a poor man named Antonio Magliabecchia, 
whose talents drew the attention of Cosimo I., by whom he 
was made librarian. His whole life was one of the utmost 
parsimony for the sake of collecting books, and he died in 
the Infirmary of S. Maria Novella in 17 14, bequeathing his 
library to the city of Florence. It has since been greatly 
increased, and was united to the Palatine Library in 1864. 

The halls of the Library are remarkable as having wit- 
nessed the meetings of two famous literary societies; the 
Accademia delta Crusea, founded by Cosimo I., in order to 
improve the Italian language by separating the wheat from 
the bran, — whence the name, from crusca, bran ; * and the 
Accademia del Pimento, founded by Ferdinand II. in 1657, 

• The Accademia della Cnisca still meets in the Conrent of S. Marco. 



THE VFF&t. 19 

with the object of testing all discoveries ]by experiments. 
This society only lasted for 20 years. 

The Library includes 300 vols, of letters and papers of 
Galileo and his contemporaries (amongst them a letter of 
Vincenio Viviani proving that Galileo w^s the first to apply 
the pendulum to a clock) ; the Bible of Savonarola, with bis 
written comments on the margin, and his breviary with an 
inscription by his pupil Fra Serafmo ; the letters of Benve- 
nuto Cellini (one describing the death of his child) ; a sketch- 
book of Lorenzo Ghiberti ; a missal said to have belonged 
to the Emperor Otho III. (983 — 1002) \ and other 
treasures. 

The second great entrance of the Uffizi leads to the 
famous Gallery (on the 2nd floor), originally founded by 
Cosimo I., with the relics of the treasures accumulated by 
his Medicean ancestors, and splendidly enriched by his suc- 
cessors. 

In the 1st .Vestibule, are interesting Busts of the Medici, 
to whom we owe the collection. They do indeed present 
curious phases of transition from Lorenzo and Cosimo I. 
to John Gaston ! 

In the 2nd Vestibule are the famous Florentine Boar and 
two Wolf Dogs. The statues are unimportant. 

Hence we enter the Corridors, painted with arabesques, 

&c, in 1581, by Poccetti. Close under the ceiling hang a 

series of portraits, chiefly copies, begun by Cosimo I. 

Among the art treasures here, are a series of Busts of Roman 

Emperors and their families only surpassed by those at the 

Capitol 

" Among these latter busts we count by scores, 
Half Emperors and quarter Emperors, 



20 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Each with his bay-leaf fillet, loose-thonged vest, 

Loric and low-browed Gorgon on the breast, — 

One loves a baby face, with violets there, 

Violets instead of laurel in the hair, 

As those were all the little locks could bear."—^. Brooming. 

Several of the Statues are good, but they are not first-rate ; 
the best are : — 

59. Athlete with a vase. 
62. Ariadne. 

Amongst the best of the Pictures on the walls are : — 

2. Cimabue. S. Cecilia and the Story of her Life. 

" St. Cecilia is here quite unlike all our conventional ideas of the 
youthful and beautiful patroness of music — a grand matronly figure 
seated on a throne, holding in one hand the Gospel, in the other the 
palm. The head-dress is a kind of veil ; the drapery, of a dark -blue, 
which has turned greenish from age, is disposed with great breadth and 
simplicity ; altogether it is as solemn and striking as an old mosaic 
The picture stood over the high-altar of her church, and round it are 
eight small compartments representing scenes from her life ; the in- 
cidents selected being precisely those which were painted in the portico 
of her church at Rome, and which in the time of Cimabue existed 
entire." — Jameson's Sacred Art, ii. 590. 

6. Giotto. The Garden of Gethsemane. — The donor kneels in the 

corner. 

7. Giottino. (Tommaso di Stefano.) The Entombment. 
9. Simone Memmi, 1333. The Annunciation. 

"The awkward drawing down of the corner of the mouth in the 
Madonna gives a fretful expression." — Burckhardt. 

12. Lorenzetti. The Story of a Hermit's Life. 

13. Neri de* Bicci. The Annunciation. 

•17. Fra Angdico. A grand tabernacle picture. In the centre, the 
Madonna and Child with a wreath of angels playing on musical 
instruments. On the doors, S. J. Baptist and S. Mark. Executed 
in 1433 for the Guild of Flax Merchants. 

" In the centre is represented a very grand Madonna, surrounded with 
beautiful angels on the margin. Yet, solemn and dignified as is the 
larger figure, it is deficient in correctness of drawing. The artist was still 



THE UFFIZL « 

a. stranger to the accurate study of the living form — a deficiency less 
observable in his smaller works." — KugUr. 

18. Lorenzo de" Biccu SS, Cosmo and Damian (removed from the 
cathedral). Beneath are the Miracle of the Moor and the Mar- 
tyrdom of the sainted doctors. 
21, 28, 38. Pidro di Cosim; The Story of Andromeda. 
24. Lorenzo di CredL Holy Family. 
26. Giuliano Pesdlo. The Coming of the Magi. 
29. Paolo Uccdlo. A Battle-Scene. 
' 30. Antonio de Pollajuolo. A Portrait. 
36. Luca SignordlL Virgin and Child — a poor specimen of this great 
master. 

*' In this Madonna, the spiritual parent of Michael Angelo announces 
himself already to those who can understand. There is nothing un- 
nsoal in the figure of the Virgin in dark red and dark blue, who, as she 
sits, half turns round to hold with both hands the child standing at her 
feet What is unusual is the little group in the background. For the 
customary shepherds, there stand four naked figures modelled in strong 
light and shade, and showing that this, the unclothed frame and anatomy 
of men, is the thing the painter cares for and will have, wherever he 
can get it."— S. C. 

39. Botticelli. The Birth of Venus (painted for the villa of Castello, for 
Lorenzo de* Medici). 



*€ 



For this picture Sandro studied and produced not only a really beau- 
beautiful nude, but a charming, fairy-like impression, which unconsciously 
takes the place of the mythological one." — Burckhardt. 

41. Gerino da Pistoia, 1 5 29. The Madonna and Child with saints, 
—on right, S. James, S. Cosimo, and S. Mary Magdalen ; on 
left, S. Catherine, S. Louis, and S. Roch. 

The second door on the left of the gallery leads into The 
Tribune, a room originally built by the Grand Duke Ferdin- 
and I., to contain a collection of precious stones, but now 
devoted to the gems of painting and sculpture. Of the 
latter there are five Capi d'Opere, viz. : — 

I. Facing the Entrance. The Venus di Medici, — one of the most 
perfect specimens of the art of sculpture existing — found in 



U ITALIAtf CITIES. 

Hadrian's Villa at frtoli. This statue cannot be ttidetottoff i* a 
single visit 

" We must return, and once more give a loose 
1*o the delighted spirit — worshipping, 
In her small temple of rich workmanship, 
Venus herself, who, when she left the sides, 
Came hither." — Rogers, 

" Her modest attitude is partly what unmakes her as the heathen 
goddess, and softens her into woman. On account of the skill with 
which the statue has been restored, she is just as whole as when she left 
the hands of the sculptor. One cannot think of her as a senseless image, 
but as a being that lives to gladden the world, incapable of decaf or 
death ; as young and fair as she was three thousand years ago, and still 
to be young and fair as long as a beautiful thought shall require physical 
embodiment " — Hawthorne, 



•« 



The goddess loves in stone, and fills 
The air around with beauty ; we inhale - 
The ambrosial aspect, which, beheld, instils 
Part of its immortality ; the veil 
Of heaven is half undrawn ; within the pale 
We stand, and in that form and face behold 
What Mind can make, when Nature's self would fail ; 
And to the fond idolaters of old 
Envy the innate flash which such a soul could mould. 

We gaze and tum away, and know not where, 
Dazzled and drunk with beauty, till the heart 
Reels with its fulness ; there — for ever there — 
Chain' d to the chariot of triumphal Art, 
We stand as captives and would not depart." — Byron, 

2. The Apdlino. 

3. The Dancing Faun (with restorations by Michael Angelo). 

4. The Lottatori or Wrestlers. 

5. VArrotino, the Slave sharpening his knife. 

The Pictures are selected as Capi £Opere of the Masters, 
and are arranged without reference to schools or dates. 
They are, beginning near the door on the left : — 



THE UFFIZL *& 

1104. SpagmUtto: S. Jerome*. 

1 105. Schidone. Holy Family. 

1 106. Lanframo. S. Peter. 

1 107. Daniete di Volterra. Massacre of the Innocents. From the 

cathedral of Volterra. 

1 108. Titian. Venus. From the Urbino collection, painted for 

Guidobaldo II. 

"C'est nne courtisane, mais c'est une dame; en ce temps-la, la pre* 
miere quality n'eflacait point 1' autre." — Taine. 

•1109. Domenuhino. Portrait of Cardinal Agucchia. 
1 1 10. Orazio Alfani. Holy Family. 

in 1. Andrea Afantegna. The Adoration of the Magi, with the Cir- 
cumcision and the Ascension. 
•1112. Andrea dd Sarto. 1517. Madonna with S. John and S. 
Francis. 
1 1 13. Outdo Rent. Madonna. 
•n 14. Guereino. The Samian Sibyl. 

1 1 1 5. Vandyke. Portrait of John of Montfort. 

1 1 16. Titian. (1552.) Portrait of the papal Nuncio BeccadellL 
•11 17. Titian. Venus. From the Urbino collection. 

*iii8. Coreggio. Rest on the Flight into Egypt 
•1119. Fed. Baroceio. Portrait of Francesco Maria della Rovere II. 
•naox Raphad. Portrait of a woman wrongly called Maddalena 
Doni. 
1 1 24* Andrea Afantegna. Portrait of Elixabetta Gonzaga, wife of 

Duke Guido Gonzaga of Mantua. 
1 122. Perugino, 1493. Madonna with S. J. Baptist and S. Sebastian. 

From S. Domenico di Fiesole. 
•1123. Raffadle. Female Portrait called the Fornarina, 

In the Inventory of the works of art in the Tribune in 1589, this por- 
trait is inscribed without a name. The woman was then unknown. 
Passavant believes it to represent Beatrice Ferrarese, of whom Vasari 
mentions a portrait She was distinguished by her mental powers, to 
which her crown is supposed to have reference, and she was well known 
to Cardinal Bembo, the friend of Raffaelle. The ordinary stories about 
RafTaelle's acquaintance with the Fornarina are mere modern inventions. 

" La Fornarina, quelqne belle qu'elle soit, ne franchit pas le seuil des 
sens ? son oeil n*a que de l'eclat, c'est la femme ! " — Madame Swetchine, 

•1124. Francesco Francia. Portrait of Vangelista Scappi 



24 ITALIAN CITIES. 

1 125. F. Francia. Madonna and Child with S. John, falsely attri- 
buted to Raphael. 

1126^ 1 1 30. Fra Bartobmeo. Two Prophets. From the Chapel of the 

Anntmziata. 
♦1127. Rajfaelle. S. John in the Wilderness— painted for Cardinal 
Colonna. 

" Ce tableau, comme science et goflt de dessin, ne repond pas com- 
pletement a une superbe et magistrale etude d'apres nature, que Raphael 
en avait fait d'abord. II a bien plus l'aspect d'une figure academique 
que d'une scene religieuse ou historique. On doit croire qu'un eleve y a 
collabore\ 

" Mais, justement a cause du gout qu'on professait alors pour Ie nu, le 
saint Jean-Baptiste obtint des Iouanges excessives, et il fut souvent copie. 
Donne par le cardinal au medecin Jacopo da Carpi qui l'avait gueri 
d'une grave maladie, il passa ensuite chez Francesco Benintendi a 
Florence, et, depuis 1589, il se trouve a la Tribune." — Passavant. 

" Un beau corps de quatorze ans, florissant et sain, en qui revit le 
plus pur paganisme." — Tainc. 

1 1 28. Vandyke. Charles V. on horseback. 
♦1129. Rajfaelle. *'La Madonna del Cardellino." 

" The divine goodness expressed in the countenance of the Child Jesus, 
whilst he holds his hands over the little bird, and seems to say, ' Not 
one of these is forgotten by my Father,' is beyond all description." — 
Fredcrika Bremer, 

•1130. RaffaeUe. Portrait of Julius II. A replica of the picture in 
the Palazzo Pitti. 

1 132. Coreggiol Head of S. J. Baptist in a charger. 

1 1 33. Attn Caracci. A Nymph and Satyr. 

•1134. Coreggio. Madonna praying over the sleeping Child. A pre* 
sent from the Duke of Mantua to Cos i mo II. 

1 135. Bernardino Luini. Herodias' daughter with the hand of S. J. 

Baptist. 

1 1 36. Paul Veronese. Holy Family with S. Catherine. 

1 137. Guercino. The sleeping Endymion. 

1 1 38. 1 142. Lucas Kranach. Adam and Eve. 

1 1 39. Michael Angdo. Holy Family, painted for Angelo Doni, 

whose portrait, by Raffaelle, is in the Pitti Palace. 
114a Rubens, Pleasure and Duty. , 



THE UFFIZL *5 

1 141. Albert Durer. The Adoration of the Magi. 
*l 143. Lucas van Leyden. Christ bound. 

1 144. Giulio Romano, Madonna. 

1 145. Ludovico Caracci, Eleazar and Rebekah. 

The long narrow room adjoining (on the left) is devoted 
to small pictures of the Tuscan School. They are ill 
arranged Among them are : — 

1 155. Bronnno, Garzia di Medici, the murdered son of Cosim I. — 

a boy in a red dress with a bird. 
1 157. Leonardo da Vinci, A small portrait. 
•1159. Leonardo da Vinci, Head of Medusa. 

" Upon its lips and eyelids seems to lie 

Loveliness like a shadow, from which shine, 
Fiery and lurid, struggling underneath, 
The agonies of anguish and of death. 

Yet it is less the horror than the grace 

Which turns the gazer's spirit into stone 
Whereon the lineaments of that dead face 

Are graven, till the character be grown 
Into itself, and thought no more can trace ; 

'Tis the melodious hues of beauty thrown 
Athwart the darkness and the glare of pain, 
Which humanised and harmonise the strain." — Shelley. 

1 164. Bronnno, Maria de' Medici, daughter of Cosimo I., in a white 

dress. 

1 165. Christoforo Allori. The Child Jesus asleep upon the Cross. 
1 167. F. FUippo Lippi (not Masaccio). A Portrait. 

1 169. Andrea del Sarto. A Portrait. 

1 177. Andrea del Sarto, A Portrait. 

1 1 78. Fra Angdico. The Sposalizio. 

+1182. Aless. Botticelli, Calumny, painted after Lucian's description 
of a picture by Apelles. 
* Unnumbered (above the picture of Calumny), Angiolo Allori. Portrait 
of Bianca Capello, painted while she was taking refuge in a portico 
from a storm, when on pilgrimage with her husband to Vallom- 
brosa. 
1 1 84. Fra Angdico. Death of the Virgin. 
1 189. Bronnno. Portrait of "Leonora Toilet ta," wife of Cosimo I. 



aff ITALIAN CTTI^S. 



1209. A. Bronnnoi Portrait of BlattcaCapello. 

In the next room are : — 

•1254. Andrea del Sam. S. James: 
" This was painted by Andrea del Sarto for the Compagnia or Con- 
fraternity of Sant* Jacbpo, and intended to figure as a standard in their 
processions. The Madonna di San Sisto of Raphael was painted for a- 
similar purpose ; and such are still commonly used in the religious pro- 
cessions of Italy. In this instance the picture has a particular form, 
high and narrow, adapted to its special purpose : St. James wean a 
green tunic, and a rich crimson mantle ; and as one of the purposes of 
the Compagnia was to educate poor orphans, they are represented by 
the two boys at his feet . The picture suffered from the sun and the 
weather, to which it had been a hundred times exposed in yearly pro- 
cessions ; but it has been well restored, and is admirable for its* vivid 
colouring as well as the benign attitude and expression." — Jameson's 
Sacred Art. 

1257. Filippino Lippi. The Adoration of the Magi — "Unusually 
beautiful in its expression of timid approach, of adoring 
devotion. " 

"No careful and grateful student of this painter can overlook his 
special fondness for sea-sides ; the tenderness and pleasure with which 
he touches upon the green opening of their chines or coombs, the clear 
low ranges of their rocks. This picture bears witness to this. Beyond 
the furthest meadows and behind the tallest trees far-off downs and cliffs 
open seaward, and further yet pure narrow spaces intervene of gracious 
and silent sea* "—^Swindurne, Essays and Studies, 

♦1259. Afatiotto Albertineiii. The Salutation— the master-piece of 
the artist, painted in 1503, for the Congregation of San 
Martino. A most simple, grand, and beautiful picture. 
Below is a predella, with the Annunciation, the Nativity, 
and the Presentation in the Temple. 

1 261. Jacopo da Empoli, St Ives reading the petitions of widows 
and orphans — a glorious specimen of the artist, most splendid 
in colour. 

1265. Fra Bartolomeo. The Virgin and Child throned, with saints, 
in Bistre. S. Anna, who was supposed to have saved 
Florence from the tyranny of the Duke of Athens, is the 
principal figure, standing behind the Virgin. S. Reparata 
kneels with a palm-branch. 



"The perfect? a*ch&e*T6nk He* is Hot only crcfywh erg dearly sec 
forth in * lively manner, bat alio filled with the noblest individual life." 

I j66. Angelo Br o min e. Portrait of Cosimo de' Medici. 
1267. Pontwm*. Cosimo, "Pater Patriae"— "admirably recon- 
structed upon a fifteenth-century portrait." 

1267. (bis) Botticdli. Holy Family. Two of the Angels are sup- 

posed to be portraits of Giuliano and Lorenzo de } Medici. 

1268. FUifpB Ltppi. The Virgin throned with saints, painted 1485 

for the Palazzo della Signoria. 

1269. Vasari. Lorenzo de' Medici— an ideal portrait. 

1271. Brommtf. The Descent into Hades. The figure of Judith is 

a portrait of Bianca Capello, the unhappy wife of Francesco I. 

"Vile as this picture is in colour, vacant in invention, void in light and 
shade, a heap of cumbrous' nothingnesses, and sickening offensivenesses, 
it is of all its voids most void in this, that the academy models therein 
huddled together at the bottom show not so much unity or community 
of attention to the academy model with the flag in its hand above, as 
a street-crowd would to a fresh-staged charlatan. Some point to the 
God who has burst the gates of death, as if the rest were incapable of dis- 
tinguishing hint for themselves ; and others turn their backs upon him, 
to show their unagitated faces to the spectator." — Ruskin, Modern 
Painters, il 53.- 

1272, 1273. Bronmno. Portraits of Ferdinand I. and Eleanora of 

Toledo. 
♦1275. Ghirlandajo. The Miracle of S. Zenobio in the Via degli 

Albizai. 
1276. Cigpli. The Death of S. Stephen — one of the best specimens 

of the Master. 
•1277. Ghirlandajo. The Funeral of San Zenobio. 

" It is related that when 4 they were bearing the remains of S. Zenobio 
through the city in order to deposit them under the high-altar of the 
cathedral, the people crowded round the bearers, and pressed upon the 
bier, in-order to kiss the hands or touch the garments of their beloved 
old bishop. In passing through the Piazza del Duomo the body of the 
saint was thrown against the trunk of a withered elm standing near the 
spot where the baptistery now stands, and suddenly the tree, which had 
for years been dead and dried up, burst into fresh leaves." — Jameson's 
Sacred Art, 



2* ITALIAN CITIES. 

" The connexion existing between a coffin which passes,- and a tree 
which renews its foliage, could only be explained by a verbal narration, 
and therefore belonged rather to the domain of legendary poetry than 
to that of art. With regard however to execution and general character, 
this picture leaves us nothing to desire ; and I doubt if the Florentine 
school has ever produced anything so perfect for beauty of colouring." — 
Bio. 

• 1 279. Sodoma. S. Sebastian — almost in chiaroscuro, but a most 
glorious specimen of the artist, and the finest rendering of 
this well-known subject in existence. 

" The saint is bound to a tree, pierced by three arrows, looking up to 
heaven with an expression perfectly divine. This picture was formerly 
used as a standard, and carried in procession when the city was afflicted 
by pestilence : — to my feeling, it is the most beautiful example of the' 
subject I have seen." — Jameson's Sacred Art, ii. 418. 

1280. Granacci. S. Thomas receiving the "Cintola" from the 
• Virgin. 

1285. Crist. Allan. The Adoration of the Magi. 

In the third and furthest room — of the Old Masters : — are 

1286. Sandro Botticelli, The Adoration of the Magi. Cosimo de* 

Medici kneels at the feet of the Madonna. The youths 
standing are Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici. 

1287. Lorenzo di Credi. Holy Family. 

1288. Leonardo da Vinci. The Annunciation. 

•1290. Fra Angclico. The Coronation of the Virgin, amid the heavenly 
choir. 

"Quite unearthly is the Coronation of the Virgin: the Madonna, 
crossing her arms meekly on her bosom and bending in humble awe to 
receive the crown of heaven, is very lovely, — the Saviour is perhaps a 
shade less excellent ; the angels are admirable, and many of the assistant 
saints full of grace and dignity,— but the characteristic of the picture is 
the flood of radiance and glory diffused over it, the brightest colours — 
gold, azure, pink, red, yellow— pure and unmixed, yet harmonizing and 
blending, like a rich burst of wind-music, in a manner incommunicable 
in recital— distinct and yet soft, as if the whole scene were mirrored in 
the sea of glass that burns before the throne. " — Lord Lindsay's Christian 
Art. 



THE UFFIZI. 29 

12 94- Fra Angdico. The Predella of the great picture in the Gallery. 
In the centre is the Adoration of the Magi ; on the left S. 
Peter Preaching, with S. Mark writing his Gospel ; on the 
right the Martyrdom of S.Mark. 

12 97- Dommico Ghirlandajo. Virgin and Child throned, with kneel* 
ing bishops and saints. 

12<$. Sandro Botticelli. Fortitude. 

'joo. Piero ddla Fraruesca. Portraits of Federigo di Montefeltro, 
Duke of Urbino, and his wife Battista Sforza — most in- 
teresting to those who have visited their great works at 
Urbino. 

1301. Antonio Pollajuolo. Three Saints. 

1302. Gosxoli. The Resurrection and Saints. 

1303. Botticelli. Madonna and Child. 

1305. Dommico Veniziano, interesting as being the Master of Piero 

della Francesca, whom he brought to Florence as his pupil, 
in 1439. This, the altar-piece of S. Lucia de' Bardi, is his 
one extant picture. 

" It bespeaks a painter whose conceptions are governed by those of 
Andrea del Castagno, which in technical processes he is working out 
experiments of his own. The Saints, John and Nicholas, and Francis 
and Mary, especially the John, have strong figures and large dull heads, 
and that commonness with athletic vigour which marks the thorough- 
going realist. But the medium is new. It is a first commencement of 
oil-painting, and the search for the transparent effects produces a result 
quite different from any contemporary colouring— a scheme of light and 
thin greys, greens, blues, and pinks, with notes of sharp black and 
white on the marbles of the floor and canopy, gaiety and transparency 
are attained, but not harmony." — S. C. 

1306. Pollajuolo. Prudence throned, with a serpent in one hand and 

a mirror in the other. 

From the right of the Tribune we enter another series of 
small rooms. The 1st contains pictures of the Italian 
school, including : — 

1025. Andrea Mantegna. Madonna and Child — the detail mar- 
vellously beautiful. 
1031. Caravaggio. Medusa. 

The next three rooms are of the Dutch School They 



30 ITALIAN QITIES. 

are chiefly landscapes. The portraits of Luther and 
Melancthon are by Cranach. The last small room in this 
series is devoted to the French School, and has some good 
portraits, especially 

695. Philippe de Champagne, 

On the left, is the Collection of Gems, enclosed in six glass- 
cases in a small circular room. Historical objects are, in 



Case II. A Casket of rock-crystal made for Clement VII. by 
Belli di Vieenta, with 24 subjects from the life of Christ It was given 
as a wedding present by Clement to Catherine de' Medici 

Three Reliefs in gold by Giov. da Bologna. 

III. A Vase of rock-crystal, with a cover wrought in -gold, which 
belonged to Diana of Poitiers. 

IV. A little porphyry Statuette of Venus and Cupid by Pier Maria da 
Pescia. 

V. A jasper Vase with ornaments by Giov. da Bologna, 

Crossing the end of the gallery, which contains the beau- 
tiful (but much restored) little statue of the " Boy taking a 
thorn out his foot," we reach the opposite corridor. The first 
door on the left leads to the two rooms of the Venetian 
School, which contain : — 

1st Room. — 

•571. Giorgione. Portrait of the Venetian warrior Gattamelata — a 

noble picture, full of scorn and indifference. 
574. Polidoro Venfziatto. Virgin and Child with S. Francis. 
57$. Lorenzo Lotto, 1534. Holy Family. 

583. Giovanni Bellini t The Dead Christ with the Apostles— a sketch. 

584. Gio. Bait. Cima. Holy Family. 

♦586. Gio. Bolt. Aforone, 1563. A male portrait with a naming censer, 
and the inscription, " Et quid volo nisi ut ardeat." 
589. Paul Veronese. The Martyrdom of S. Giustina by the Moors. 
596. P. Veronese. Esther and Ahasuerus. 

599. Titian. Portrait of Eleanora d' Urbino, wife of Duke Francesco- 
Maria della Rovere. 
•605. Titian. Portrait of Francesco Maria della Rovere. 



THE UPPIZI. 31 



2nd Room.— 



609. Titian. The Battle dfCadore. 

614. TUmn. Giovanni (de Medici) "delle Bande Nere." His 

name is a memorial of the great affection in which he was held 

by his soldiers, who all put on mourning upon his early death, 

in his 29th year, never to take it off again. 
♦626. Titian. The ''Flora. 1 ' Supposed to be a portrait of the 

daughter of Palma Vecchio. 
627. Seb. dd Piombo. Portrait 
629. M&rane. Portrait. 
631. Marco Basaiti. Allegorical scene. 
•633. Titian. Holy Family. 

638. Tintoretto. Portrait of Jacopo Sansovino. 

639. Moretio da Brescia. Beautiful portrait of a Violin-Player. 
642. Morpn*. Portrait of G. A. Pantera. 

648. Titian. Portrait of Caterina Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus. 

Passing the stairs to the Pitti Palace, the two next rooms 
on the left of the corridor are devoted to the Portraits of 
Painters, chiefly by their own hands. Those in the first 
room are mostly of modern, the second of earlier artists. 
The best pictures are : — 

225. Ant Vandyke. 

228. Rubens. 

232. Holbein. 

280. Andrea del Sarto. 

" His life was corroded by the poisonous solvent of love, and his soul 
burnt into dead ashes." — Swinburne. 

286. Masaccio ?— or Fra Filippo Lippi ? 

2S8. Raffaelle, 1506 — executed in his 23rd year for his maternal uncle 
Simone Ciarla of Urbino, to whom he wrote as his "second 
father," earissimo, in lochodi Patre. From Urbino the picture 
passed first to the Academy of S. Luke at Rome. 

" His heavenly face a mirror of his mind, 
His mind a temple for all lovely things 
To flock to and inhabit." — Rogers' Italy. 

292. Leonardo da Vinci. 

305. Giovanni di San Giovanni. 



3« ITALIAN CITIES. 

360. Madame le Brim. 

384. Titian. Painted by himself in 1 52 1 for his own family, and 
presented to his cousin Tiziano Veceili. In the common divi- 
sion of his property after death, this picture was declared to be 
" common property, as the incomparable and precious gift 
of their relation Titian." The picture was sold in 1728 to 
Marco Ricci (from whom it came to the Uffizi) by one 
Osualdo Zuliano, the treacherous guardian of Alessandro 
Veceili. He took it to Venice under pretence of having it 
valued, and thence despatched it to Florence, saying that he 
had sent it back to Cadore. The Veceili family next found it 
in the Uffizi. 

The next room is called the Hall of Inscriptions, from 
the ancient inscriptions let into the walls. It contains many 
pieces of ancient sculpture ; the best are : — 

262. Bacchus and Ampelus. 

263. Mercury. 

266. Venus Genitrix. 

281. A beautiful Boy in basalt. 

299. Bust of Marc Antony the Triumvir. 

302. Bust of Cicero. 

This room opens into the Hall of the Hermaphrodite, 
which contains : — 

306. The Hermaphrodite— much restored — very like the figure at 

Paris. 

307. A Torso in basalt. 

308. Ganymede, more than half a restoration hy Benvenuto Cellini 

314. Colossal bust of Juno. 

315. Torso of a Faun. 

316. Bust of Antinous. 

318. Bust of Alexander in suffering. 

" II y a dans Alexandre l'etonnement et 1' indignation de n'avoir pu 
vaincre la nature." — Madame de Stail. 

The next room, called the Hall of Baroccio, contains : — 
154. Angclo Brontino. Portrait of Lucrezia de' PuccL 



15^. Gkcrard* dtUd Xotte. The Nativity. 

*' Mary is here no Raphaelesque Virgin of almost supernatural, blood* 
less, beauty— she is a young, loveable, earthly woman, who, still pale 
from the suffering of childbirth, contemplates her heavenly child with 
tearful devout joy ; and the bystanders, both young and old, who press 
forward also to gaze upon it, half curious, half in admiration and joyful 
presentiment — how they smile ! how they rejoice with sincere nawet/ t 
which seems to enter into one's own soul only to behold. The light 
proceeds from the new-born child, but without visible rays. All the 
countenances are illumined by this light, even some small angel heads 
which peep forth out of the darkness up in the roofs, and who, too, 
participate in the human joy." — Frederika Brimer* 

158. Bronzine. The Deposition. 

162. Gur'da Rent. The Cumaean Sibyl. 

17a Ann. Caraccu The Portrait of a Monk. 

172. Ang. Bronzitio. La Madonna del Soccorso. 

1 8a Rubens. Portrait of his second wife, Helena Fonnan. 

1 85. Carlo D old. The Magdalen. 

190. Gherardo della Nolle. The Adoration of the Shepherds. 

•191. Sassoferrato. The Madonna. 

192. Suslermans. Portrait of himsel£ 

195. Canrvaggio. The Tribute-money. 

196. Vandyke. Portrait of Marghcrita of Lothringen. 

197. Rubens. Portrait of his first wife, Eliiabeth Brand. 
203. Guido Rent. Bradamante and Fioraspina, from Ariosto. 
207. Carlo DoUL Portrait of Claudia Felicia of Austria. 
210. Velasquez, Portrait of Philip IV. 

Next comes the Hall of Niobe, so called from the figures 
of Niobe and her children discovered near the Porta S. 
Paolo at Rome, in 1583. They were brought from the 
Villa Medici in 1775. 

" I saw nothing here so grand as the group of Niobe ; if statues which 
are now disjointed and placed equi-distantly round a room, may be so 
called. Niobe herself, clasped by the arm of her terrified child, is cer- 
tainly a group; and whether the head be original or not, the contrast of 
passion, of beauty, and even of dress, is admirable. The dress of the 
other daughters appears too thin, too meretricious, for dying princesses. 
Some of the sons exert too much attitude. Like gladiators, they seem 
taught to die picturesquely, and to this theatrical exertion we may, pcr- 
TOU 1IL 3 



34 ITALIAN CITIES. 

haps, impute the want of ease and undulation which the critics condemn 
in their forms." — Forsyth. 

" Sans doute, dans une semblable situation, la figure d'une veritable 
mere serait entierement bouleversee \ mais l'ideal dcs arts conserve 1st 
beaute dans le desespoir ; et ce qui touche pro fond ement dans les ouv- 
rages du genie, ce n'est pas le malheur meme, c'est la puissance que 
Tame conserve sur ce malheur. . . Niobe leve les yeux au ciel, mais. 
sans espoir, car les dieux monies y sont ses ennemiesv" — Madame dc 
Statl. 

" O Niobe, con che occUi doienti 
Vedev' io te segnata in su la strada 
Tra sette e sette tuoi figliuoli spenti \ " 

Dante, Pmrg. xii. 37- 

M Orba rescdit 
Exanimos inter natos, natasque, virumque r 
Diriguitque malis ; nullos movet aura capillos, 
In vultu color est sine sanguine, lumina mcestis 
Stant iromota genis — nihil est in imagine vivL" 

Ovid, Met. vi 3<Jt, 

Beyond this is the Cabinet of Bronzes* In. the centre of 
the first room is : — 

424- The statue called " I.'IdoHno/' found near Pesaro in 153a The 

beautiful pedestal is usually attributed to (UiibertL 
426. Is the head of a Horse found near Civita-Vecchia. 
428. A Torso found in the sea near Leghorn. 

The second room contains a number of cases filled with 
small statuettes and objects in bronze. 

Next is the entrance of the Galleria Feroni, bequeathed to 
the state by the last representative of the Ferorti family. Its 
best pictures are : — 

Tenters. A kitchen interior. 

Lorenzo di Credi The Virgin and S. John praying over the child 
Jesus. 

Carlo Do/a. The Annunciation, in two pictures — the angel very beau- 
tiful. 

Sc hi done. Holy Family. 



THE UFFIZI. 35 

At the end of the corridor is a fine copy of the Laocoon 
by Baccio Bandinelli. 

*' Baccio Bandinelli, who had been copying the Laocoon, boasted 
that he had surpassed the original. Upon which Michael Angelo 
observed, * He whose own productions are indifferent, knows not how to 
appreciate duly the works of others.' " — jf. S. Harford. 

Among the pictures on the wall we may remark : — 

137. Giovanni di S. Giovanni. One of the curious low-life scenes for 
which this painter is remarkable. 

The Passage, built by the Medici to connect the Pitti 
Palace with the Palazzo della Signoria, in imitation of the 
passage which Homer describes as uniting the palace of 
Hector to that of Priam (and also to be used as means ot 
escape if required), was finished in 1564, on the occasion of 
the marriage of Francesco de Medici with Joanna of Austria, 
It is now an additional Art Gallery, which forms a de- 
lightful walk, especially in wet weather. The first divi- 
sion is devoted to Engravings, forming a complete and most 
interesting history of the Art Then comes (extending over 
the Jewellers' Bridge across the Arno) the glorious Collection 
of Sketches of the Great Masters, from the time of Giotto to 
that of Titian. Perhaps amongst the most interesting are 
those of Raphael for the Borghese " Entombment" and 
for several of the pictures in the Stanze, and that of Mari- 
otto Albertinelli for the " Salutation." Beyond the sketches, 
we pass the Family Portraits of the Medici: then a Gallery 
of Tapestries : lastly, a collection of drawings illustrative ot 
Natural History by Bartolomeo Ligozzu This takes us to 
the staircase of the Palazzo Pitti. 

Between the dark arcades of the Uffizi, we have already 
caught glimpses of the sunlit Piazza della Signoria, which is 



36 ITALIAN CITIES. 

the centre of Florentine life. Till the recent change of 
Government it had for 200 years been called the Piazza del 
Gran Duca, but it has now returned to its original designation. 
On the east is the grand old palace of the Signoria. On the 
south is the Loggia de' Lanzi. On the west (shading the old 
Post-office) was the famous Tetto de* Pisani, built in 1364 by 
the Pisan prisoners, and, though a most characteristic feature, 
inexcusably destroyed by the present Government. Close by 
is the opening to the little street called Vacchcreccia, in which 
lived (1420 — 80) Tomaso Finiguerra, the inventor of niello, 
and where the brothers Pollajuoli had their workshops. On 
the north, with the tower of the Badia rising behind it, is the 
small Palazzo Uguccione, built 1550, from designs ascribed 
to Raffaelle. Standing back, and distinguished by the 
shields upon its front, is the Palazzo della Mercanzia, in- 
scribed, " Omnis Sapientia a Domino Deo est." The great 
Fountain of Neptune is the work of Bartolomeo Ammanati 
(15 71), in whose favour Giovanni da Bologna was set aside 
as too young, though he was allowed to execute the grand 
Equestrian Statue of Cosimo /, which stands hard by. 

The Loggia de* Lanzi is so called from the Swiss lancers 
who were placed here in attendance on Cosimo I. It was 
begun in 1336, eight years after the death of Andrea 
Orcagna, to whom it has been attributed by several 
authors, and documents prove that it is due to Simone di 
Francesco Talenti and Benci di done: the vaulting is by 
Angelo de 9 Pucci. 

The Loggia consists of three open arches with three 
pillars, enclosing a platform raised by six steps above the 
square. It is a combination of Gothic and Grecian archi- 
tecture, and was so much admired in the time of Cosimo 



THE LOGGIA DE? LANZL 37 

I., that Michael Angelo proposed the continuance of the 
colonnade all round the piazza, an idea never carried out 
on account of the expense. The groups of sculpture 
between the arches were placed here in the sixteenth 
century, viz. : — 

1. Judith and Holofernes in bronze, cast by Donatello for Cosimo 
Vecchio, and retained in the palace of the Medici till 1494- When they 
were expelled, it was placed in front of the Palazzo delia Signoria, and 
regarded as typical of liberty ; hence the inscription, " Exemplum 
salutis publics ciwes posuere." In 1500 it was brought to its present 
position at the head of what had been the Prior's entrance to the loggia. 

2. The Perseus — the masterpiece of Benvenuto Cellini, in bronze, cast 
in 1545 for Cosimo I. 

" Quand on se rappelie les details de sa fbnte, l*intnepedite avec 
laquelle 1 'artiste, epuise de fatigue, devore de la fievre, s'elance de son lit 
pour retablir et pre'eipiter la liquefaction du bronze dans lequel il jette 
tous les plats et toutes les ecuelles detain de son menage, sa fervente et 
devote priere, sa guerison subiie, et son joyeux repas avec tous ses gens, 
cette statue devient une sorte d 'action qui peint les moeurs du temps, et 
la caractere de l'homme extraordinaire qui L'a executee." — Valery. 

The pedestal is almost as worthy of study as the statue it supports. 

" Its central portion is occupied by the graceful figure of Andromeda, 
whose long tresses stream in the wind, as, shielding her eyes with her 
hand, she looks upward for her deliverer, who is coming down from the 
clouds to attack the monster, who with open jaws, bat-like wings, claws 
of iron strength, and scaly body, stands ready to receive him. Upon the 
shore are Andromeda's mother, Cassiopea, and her father Cepheus, who 
has a stern sad face ; while between them her disappointed lover 
Phincas, whose head reminds us of an antique Gem, rises from the earth 
like an avenging spirit, followed by a troop of warriors on foot and on 
horseback, the last of whom gallop furiously through the clouds." — 
Parkin's Tuscan Sculptors. 

3. The Rape of the Sabines, by Giovanni da Bologna. 

" John of Bologna, after he had finished a group of a young man hold- 
ing up a young woman in his arms, with an old man at his feet, called 
his friends together to tell him what name he should give it, and it was 
agreed to caH it the Rape of the Sabines." — Sir J. Reynolds. 

" It is said that Gian Bologna, when about to model the figure of the 
stalwart youth represented here, was so_struck with the manly propor- 



58 ITALIAN CITIES. 

tions of the Conte Ginori, member of a noble Florentine family, whom he 
happened to meet one morning in a church, that he stared at him fixedly, 
until the Count asked him who he was and what he wanted. Upon 
explaining the matter, the Count consented to pose for the figure of the 
youth, and in return received a present of a bronze crucifix, as an acknow- 
ledgment of the artist's gratitude." — Parkin's Tuscan Sculptors. 

At the entrance of the Loggia are two lions, one ancient, from the 
Villa Medici at Rome, the other an imitation by Flaminio Vacca. 

Within are several inferior pieces of sculpture : — six Priestesses of 
Romulus from the Villa Medici : Hercules slaying Nessus, by Giovanni 
da Bologna; Ajax supporting the dying Patroclus, a restoration of a 
Greek sculpture found in a vineyard near the Porta Portese at Rome, 
which formerly stood at the end of the Ponte Vecchio ; and Achilles and 
Polyxena, a modern work by Pio Fedi of Florence. 

To those who have not been much abroad, it will be suf- 
ficient amusement to sit for a time in this beautiful Loggia, 
if it is only for the sake of watching the variations of the 
fluctuating crowd in the Piazza beneath. The predominance 
of males is striking. Hundreds of men stand here for hours, 
as if they had nothing else to do, talking ceaselessly in deep 
Tuscan tones. Many, who are wrapped in long cloaks thrown 
over one shoulder, and lined with green, look as if they had 
stepped out of the old pictures in the palace above. 

Sitting here, we should meditate on the various strange phases 
of Florentine history of which this Piazza has been the scene. 
Of these the most remarkable were those connected with the 
story of Savonarola. First came the Autos-da-fe for the 
destruction of worldly allurements, which followed upon his 
preaching : — 

" A pyramidal scaffold was erected opposite the palace of the Sig- 
nory. At its base were to be seen false beards and hair, masquerading 
dresses, cards and dice, mirrors and perfumery, beads and trinkets of 
various sorts ; higher up were arranged books and drawings, busts, and 
portraits of the most celebrated Florentine beauties ; and even pictures 
by great artists, condemned in many instances, on very in&umcicml 
grounds, as indecorous or irreligious. 



PIAZZA BELLA SIGNORIA. 39 

** Even Fra Bartolomeo was so earned away by the enthusiasm of the 
moment, as to bring his life-academy studies to be consumed on this 
pyre, forgetful that, in the absence of such studies, he could never himself 
have risen above low mediocrity. Lorenzo di Credi, another and de- 
voted follower of Savonarola, did the same." — Harf*r<Ts Life of Michael 
Angela* 

" At the Carnival of 1498, there was a second auto-da-fe, of precious 
things which had escaped the inquisitorial zeal of the boy-censors. Bur- 
Jamacci names marble busts of .exquisite workmanship, some ancient, 
some of the well-known beauties ©fine day. There was a Petrarch, in- 
laid with gold, adorned with illuminations valued at fifty crowns ; Boc- 
caccio* of such beauty and rarity a* would drive modern bihliographists 
out of their surviving senses. The Signory looked on from a balcony ; 
guards were stationed to prevent unholy thefts ; as the fire soared there 
was a burst of chants, lands, and the Te Deum, to the sound of trum- 
pets, and the clanging of bells. Then another procession ; and in the 
Piazza di San Marco dances of wilder extravagance ; friars and clergy- 
men and laymen of every age whirling round in fantastic reels, to the 
passionate and profanely-sounding hymns of Jerome Beniviene." — 
Afi/mam. 

This piazza also witnessed the great closing scene in the 
life of Savonarola and his two principal followers. 

44 Three tribunals had been erected on the ringhiera ; that next to the 
door of the Palazzo was assigned to the Bishop of Vasona ; the second, 
on the right of the Bishop, to the Pope's commissioners ; and the third, 
■ear the Marzocco, was occupied by the Gonfaloniere and the Otto. A 
scaffold had been erected, which occupied about a fourth of the Piazza 
between the ringhiera and the opposite Tetto dei Pisani. At the end of 
the scaffold a thick upright beam was fixed, having another beam near 
the top at right angles, which had been several times shortened to take 
away the appearance of a cross which it still retained From this last 
beam hung three halters and three chains ; by the first the three friars 
were to be put to death, and the chains were to be wound round their 
dead bodies, which were to continue suspended while the fire consumed 
them. At the foot of the upright beam was a large heap of combustible 
materials, from which the soldiers of the Signory had some difficulty to 
keep off the mob, which pressed round Tike waves of the sea. 

" When the three friars descended the stairs of the Palazzo, they were 
Met by one of the Dominican friars of Santa Maria Novella, the bearer 



40 ITALIAN CITIES. 

of an order to take off their gowns, ami leave them with their tmder- 
tunics only, their feet bare, am) their hands tied. Savonarola was much 
moved by this unexpected proceeding ; but, taking courage, he held his 
gown in his hand, and before giving it up, he said, * Holy dress, how 
much I longed to wear thee, thou wast granted to me by the grace of 
God, and to this day I have kept thee spotless. I do not now leave thee, 
thou art taken from me.' 

" They were now led up to the first tribunal, and were placed before 
the Bishop of Vasona. He obeyed the orders he had received from the 
Pope, but appeared much distressed . Just before pronouncing their final 
degradation, he had taken hold of Savonarola's arm, but his voice falter- 
ed and his self-possession so forsook him, that, forgetting the usual form, 
in place of separating him solely from the Church militant; he said, '/ 
separate thee from tht Chitrch mi I i tint ami triunrphant ;' when Savon- 
arola, without being in the least discomposed, corrected him saying, 
'Militant, not triumphant ; that of yours is not' These words were 
pronounced with a firmness which vibrated through the minds of all the 
bystanders by whom they could be heard, and were for ever after re* 
membered. 

" Being thus degraded and unfrocked, they were delivered op to the 
secular arm, and by them taken before the apostolic commissioners, 
when they heard the sentence, declaring them to be schismatics and here- 
tics. After this, Romotino, with croel irony, absolved them from all 
their sins, and asked them if they accepted his absolution ; to which they 
assented by an inclination of the head. Lastly, they came before the 
Otto, who, in compliance with custom, put their sentence to the vote, 
which passed without a dissentient voice. 

" The friars, then, with a firm step and perfect tranquillity, advanced to 
the place of execution. Even Kra Sal vest ro, at that last hour, had 
recovered his courage, and, ia the presence of death, appeared to have 
returned to be a true and" worthy disciple of the Frate. Savonarola him- 
self exhibited a superhuman strength of mind, for he never for a moment 
ceased to be in that calm state in which a Christian ought to die. 
While he and his companions were slowly led from the ringhiera to the 
gibbet, tlwir limbs scarcely covered by their tunics with bare feet and 
pionioned arms the most furious of the rabble were allowed to come near 
and insult them in the most vile and offensive language. They con- 
tinued firm and undisturbed under that severe martyrdom. One person, 
however, moved by compassion, came up and spoke some words of com- 
fort, to whom Savonarola with benignity replied—' In the last hour, God 
alone can bring comfort to mortal man.' A priest named Nerotto said 
to him—' In what frame of mind do you endure this martyrdom V To 



DEA TH OF SA VONAROLA. 41 

which he replied — 'The Lord has suffered as much for me/ These 
were his last words. 

" In this universal state of perturbation around them, Fra Domenico 
remained perfectly composed. He was in such a state of exaltation that 
he could hardly be refrained from chaunting the Te Deum aloud ; but, 
on the earnest entreaties of the Battuto Niccolini, who was by his side, 
he desisted, and said to him — 'Accompany me in a low voice,' — ami 
they then chaunted the entire hymn. He afterwards said — * Remember, 
the prophecies of Savonarola must all be fulfilled, and that we die 
innocent.' 

" Fra Salvestro was the first who was desired to ascend the ladder. 
After the halter was fixed around his neck, and just before the fatal 
thrust was given, he exclaimed, — * Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend 
my spirit ! ' Shortly afterwards the hangman wound the chain round 
his body, and went to the other side of the beam to execute Fra 
Domenico ; who ascended the ladder with a quick step, with a counte- 
nance radiant with hope, almost with joy — as if he were going direct 
to heaven. 

" When Savonarola had seen the death of his two companions, he 
was directed to take the vacant place between them. He was so ab- 
sorbed with the thought of the life to come, that he appeared to have 
already left this earth. But when he reached the upper part of the lad- 
der, he could not abstain from looking round on the multitude l>elow, 
every one of whom seemed to be impatient for his death. Oh, how 
different from those days, when they hung upon his lips in a state of 
ccstacy in Santa Maria dei Fiore. He saw at the foot of the beam some 
of the people with lighted torches in their hands, eager to light the fire. 
He then submitted his neck to the hangman. 

"There was at that moment, silence— universal and terrible. A 
shudder of horror seemed to seize the multitude. One voice was heard 
crying out — ' Prophet, now is the time to perform a miracle ! ' 

"The executioner, thinking to please the populace, began to pass 
jokes upon the body before it had ceased to move, and in doing so 
nearly fell from the height. This disgusting scene moved the indigna- 
tion and horror of all around, insomuch that the magistrates sent him a 
severe reprimand. He then showed an extraordinary degree of activity, 
hoping that the fire would reach the unhappy Friar before life was quite 
extinct ; the chain, however, slipped from his hand, and while he was 
trying to recover it, Savonarola had drawn his last breath. It was at 
ten o'clock in the morning of the 23rd of May, 1498. He died in the 
45th year of his age. 

The executioner had scarcely come down from the ladder than the 



«t 



42 ITALIAN CITIES. 

pile was set on fire ; a man who had been standing from an early hoar 
with a lighted torch, and had set the wood on fire, called out, * At 
length I am able to burn him who would have burned me.' A blast of 
wind diverted the flames for some time from the three bodies, upon 
which many fell back in terror, exclaiming, ' A miracle, a miracle ! ' 
But the wind soon ceased, the bodies of the three friars were enveloped 
in fire, and the people again closed round them. The flames had caught 
the cords by which the arms of Savonarola were pinioned, and the heat 
caused the hand to move ; so that in the eyes of the faithful, he seemed 
to raise his right hand in the midst of the mass of the flame to bless the 
people who were burning him." — VillaH. 

The Palazzo Vecchio ddla Signoria was built for the Gon- 
falonier and Priors, in whose hands was the government of 
the Florentine Republic, by Arnolfo di Lapo. The architect 
was restricted as to size and form, by the resolve of the 
then powerful Guelphs, that no foot of ground should be 
used which had ever been occupied by a Ghibelline build- 
ing, and to which one of that faction might put forward any 
possible future claim. The square battlements are typical 
of the Guelphs, the forked battlements on the tower were 
added later when the Ghibellines came into power. 

To build the palace, part of an ancient church was de- 
molished, called San Piero Scheraggio, in which the Carroccio 
of Fiesole, taken in ioio, was preserved, as well as a beau- 
tiful marble pulpit, also brought from Fiesole, which still 
exists in the church of S. Leonardo in Arcetri, outside the 
Porta San Giorgio. The tower of the Vacca family was 
used by Arnolfo as the substructure of his own tower, which 
is 330 feet high. Its bell continued to bear the name of 
" La Vacca," and when it tolled, men said, " La Vacca 
mugghia " — " the cow lows." The Via de' Leoni, on the 
cast of the Palace, commemorates the lions which were 
kept by the city of Florence, partly in honour of William of 
Scotland, who interceded with Charlemagne for the liberties 



PALAZZO VECCHIO. 43 

of the town ; and partly on account of the Marzocco, the 
emblem of the city. These were maintained in an enclosure 
called the Serraglio till 1550, when Cosimo I. removed 
them to S. Marco, but they were only finally discarded 
in 1777. 

In 1349 a stone platform was raised against the northern 
facade of the Palazzo, and was called the Ringhiera. Hence 
the Signory always addressed the people, and here it was 
that the Prior and Judges sate and looked on, May 23, 1493, 
when 

" Savonarola's soul went out in fire."* 

The Ringhiera was not removed till 181 2. Its northern 
angle is still marked by the famous Marzocco of Donatello, 
occupying the place of an older Marzocco erected in 1377. 
A still earlier Marzocco stood on this site, which the Pisan 
captives were forced ignominiously to kiss in 1364. The 
origin of the name Marzocco is unknown. It is a seated 
lion, with one paw resting upon a shield, which bears the 
GigUo of Florence. In ancient times it bore an enamel 
crown set in gold, with the motto, by Francesco Sacchetti : — 

" Corona porto, per la patria degna, 
Accioche liberta ciascun mantegna." 

On the left of the entrance of the Palazzo stood the David 
of Michael Angelo, removed by the present government. 

On the right is the Hercules and Cacus of Baccio Bandi- 
nc/Ii, executed in 1546 on a block of marble selected by 
Michael Angelo at Carrara, but which he was unable to use, 
as he was summoned to Rome at that time for his fresco 
of the Last Judgment Before reaching Florence, the mar- 

* E. Barrett-Browning, 



44 ITALIAN CITIES. 

ble fell into the Arno, and was extricated with difficulty, 
which caused the Florentine joke, that it had attempted to 
drown itself rather than submit to the inferior hands of Ban- 
dinelli. By the same artist are the two terminal statues 
called Baucis and Philemon, which were intended to support 
an iron chain in front of the gate. 

The monogram of Christ over the entrance was placed 
here in 1 5 1 7 by the Gonfalonier, Niccolb Capponi. 



n 



In order to prove his attachment to liberty, he proposed in council 
that Jesus Christ should be elected King of Florence, a pledge that the 
Florentines would accept no ruler but the King of Heaven. The con- 
temporary historian, Varchi, describes how the Gonfalonier, when pre- 
siding at this great council, Feb. 9, 1527, repeated almost verbatim a 
sermon of Savonarola, and then, throwing himself on his knees, ex- 
claimed in a loud voice, echoed by the whole council, " Misericordia ; " 
and how he proposed that Christ the Redeemer should be chosen King 
of Florence. The old chronicler, Cambi, further relates that on the loth 
of June in the following year, 1528, the clergy of the cathedral met in the 
Piazza della Signoria, where an altar had been erected in front of the 
palace; the word Jesus was then disclosed before the assembled 
citizens, who finally accepted him as their King. The shields of France 
and Pope Leo were accordingly removed from their place, and the name 
of the Saviour, on a tablet, was inserted over the entrance to the palace." 
— Horner's Walks in Florence. 

Inserted, probably at the same time and with the same 
meaning, is the inscription on the parapet of the tower : — 

"Jesus 
Christus Rex Gloria venit in pace 
Dous Homo fact us est 
Et Verbum Caro factus est . 
Christus vincit, Christus regnat , 
Christus imperat , 
Christus ab omni malo nos defendat . 
Barbara Virgo Dei, modo memento mei." 

This tower, which is worth ascending for the sake of the 
view, contains the prison of Savonarola. 



PALAZZO VECCHIO. 45 

11 Parmi tant de monuments dont les formes architecturales sont 1 'ex- 
pression toujours vraie, toujours vivante, des mceurs et des passions 
publiques, il n'en est point qui mieux que le Palazzo Vecchio reproduce, 
dans son apre energie, le caractcre de la vieille cite Guelfe. Veritable 
type de l'architecture florentine qui prit et conserva un cachet si per- 
sonnel, si distinct, entre les styles roman et ogival et l'architecture dc la 
Renaissance, cet edifice rlpond complctement a Tidec' qu'on se fait dc 
ce que pouvait etre le palais de la Seigneuric a Florence . Par sa masse 
qnadrangulaire, son grand appareil a bossages, sa porte etroite, ses rares 
ouvertures, enfin, par ses creneaux et ses meurtrieres que surmonte une 
tour carree portant jadis le beffroi communal, nc represente-t-il pas dans 
sa beaute sombre et severe la vie essentiellcmcnt militante de la re- 
publique dont il fut comme le nouveau capitole ? 

"Malgre les changements interieurs que Vasari lui fit subir en 1540, 
rien n'est plus conforme a sa destination et aux donnees de son histoire, 
que ce beau palais florentin. Rien ne rappelle mieux, avec unc lointaine 
reminiscence des traditions etrusques, l'application du style roman com- 
bine avec limitation des grands edifices grecs ou romains, qui, a la fin 
du moyen age, couvraient encore le sol de la Toscane. Ce qui fait 
d'autant mieux ressentir ce caractere historique, et pour ainsi dire tout 
local du palazzo Vecchio, ce sont les ecussons des divers gouvernements 
republican), oligarchique, et monarchique, qui se sont succede a Florence, 
et qu'on retrouve dans les arcatures des machicoulis servant a supporter 
1' entablement . La sedessinent le lys blanc dc la commune, lc lys rouge 
des gibelins, les clefs des guclfes, les outils des cardeurs de lainc, puis les 
six balles des Medic is, et meme le monogramme du Christ que le peuple 
florentin, las d'avoir epuise" toutes les formes de gouvernement, voulut, 
en 1527, elire solennellement pour roi." — Dantier, L Italit. 

The beautiful little solemn court of the Palazzo is sur- 
rounded by a colonnade, of which the pillars were richly 
decorated in honour of the marriage of Francesco de* Medici 
in 1565. In the centre is an exquisite fountain by Verocchio, 
adorned with an animated laughing boy playing with a 
dolphin. It was originally ordered for Careggi by Lorenzo 
de* Medici. 

Ascending the staircase on the left of the corridor (always 
open) we reach on the first floor a small frescoed gallery. 
On the left is the Sala dd Dugento, where the Councils of 



46 ITALIAN CITIES. 

War assembled. Into this room, in 1378, burst Michele 
Lando, the wool-comber, bearing the standard of Justice, at 
the head of the Ciompi — or " wooden-shoes, as they were 
called, in token of contempt," and here his wild followers 
insisted on placing him at the head of the government, and 
proclaiming him Gonfalonier of Florence. 

A passage leads hence to the vast Sala del Cinqueeento y 
built c. 1495, by the desire of Savonarola, to accommodate 
the popular Council after the expulsion of Piero de* Medici. 
The architect of this hall was Simone diTommasodel Pollajuolo, 
surnamed 77 Cronaca. It is 170 feet long by 77 broad. 
Cartoons for frescoes for the walls were prepared by Michael 
Angelo and Leonardo da Vinci, but were destroyed upon 
the return of the Medici in 15 12. The existing frescoes 
are by Vasari and his pupils, and commemorate the exploits 
of Cosimo I. In one of them (the 1st on left) he is seen 
leading the attack upon Siena, attended by his favourite 
dwarf, Tomaso Tafredi, in armour. Beneath the central 
arch is a statue of Leo X., and on either side Giovanni de' 
Medici delle Bande Nere, father of Cosimo I., and Duke 
Alessandro, by Bandinelli. Here Victor Emanuel opened 
his first parliament in Florence. Another suite of chambers 
on this floor, called " the Medici Rooms/' because adorned 
with frescoes by Vasari relating to that family, are approached 
by a different staircase. 

The second flight of stairs leads (left) first to the Sala del 
Orologio, so called from the Orrery which it once contained, 
to show the movements of the planets, the work of Lorenzo 
di Volpaia. It has a splendid ceiling. The left wall is 
covered by a grand but injured fresco painted by R. Ghir- 
landajo in 1482. It represents S. Zenobio throned in state, 



PALAZZO VECCIITO. 47 

with mitre and pastoral staff. In the architectural com- 
partments at the sides are Brutus, Scsevola, and Camillus ; 
Decius Mus, Scipio, and Cicero. 

Hence, by a beautiful door, the work of Benedetto da Ma- 
jano, we enter the Sola del Udimza, surrounded by frescoes 
from Roman History by Francesco de jRossi Salviati. 

"The six Priors of the Arts, composing the Council of the Signory, 
who were 6rst created in 1282, exercised their duties in the Sala dell' 
Udienza. Their term of office was two months, and none could be re- 
elected within two years. They were maintained at the public cost, 
eating at one table, and during their two months of office were rarely 
allowed to quit the walls of the Palazzo. All their acts were conducted 
with religious solemnity ; the wine brought to their table was consecrated 
on the sacred altar of Or San Michele, and in the small chapel of St. 
Bernard, leading out of this chamber, the Priors invoked Divine aid 
before commencing business." — Horner's Walks in Florence. 

A door inscribed — Sol Justitia Christus Dais nosier 
regnat in etcrnum —leads into the Chapel of S. Bernardo. 
It is beautifully painted in fresco by Ridolfo Ghirlandajo. 
The ceiling has a gold ground; In the centre is the 
Trinity, the other compartments are occupied by nobly 
solemn apostles and exquisitely beautiful cherubs : opposite 
the altar is the Annunciation, in which the Piazza della An- 
nunziata is introduced. Here Savonarola received the last 
sacraments before his execution. 

•' The three friars passed the whole night in prayer, and in the morn 
ing they again met, to receive the Sacrament. I^eave had been given 
to Savonarola to administer it with his own hands; and, holding up the 
host, he pronounced over it the following prdyer : * Lord, I know that 
thou art that perfect Trinity, invisible, distinct, in Father, Son, and 
Holy Ghost ; I know that Thou art the eternal Word ; that Thou didst 
descend into the bosom of Mary; that Thou didst ascend upon the cross 
to shed blood for our sins. I pray Thee that by that blood I may have 
remission of my sins, for which I implore Thy forgiveness ; for every 
other offence or injury done to this city, and for every other sin of which 
I may unconsciously have been guilty.' After this full and distinct 



48 ITALIAN CITIES. 

declaration of faith, he himself took the communion, gave it to his dis- 
ciples, and soon after, it was announced to them that they must go down 
to the Piazza."— Villaru 

Han^e is the entrance to four rooms (not usually shown) 
which were given by Cosimo I. to his wife Eleanora of 
Toledo. The ceilings are painted with the lives of good 
women by yean Stradan of Bruges. In the last of these 
rooms a cruel murder was committed in 1441. 

"A Florentine named Baldassare Orlandini, while commissary for the 
army during a war with the Milanese, basely abandoned a pass in the 
Apennines, allowing Niccol6 Piccinino, the hostile general, to penetrate 
the valley of the Arno. His conduct was boldly denounced by Baldac- 
cio d'Anghiari, a faithful soldier of the Republic, who led the Florentine 
infantry. Some years later, in 144 1, when the chronicler Francesco 
Giovanni, who tells the story, was Prior, Orlandini, who had been 
chosen Gonfalonier, with apparent friendliness, sent for D'Anghiari to 
the palace. Suspecting treachery, he hesitated to obey, and sought 
advice from Cosimo Vecchio, who, fearing that the virtue and ability of 
D'Anghiari might be prejudicial to Medicean interest, cunningly replied, 
that obedience was the first duty in a citizen. Baldaccio accordingly 
•repaired to the palace, where Orlandini received him with courtesy, and 
was leading him by the hand to his own chamber, when ruffians, hired 
by the Gonfalonier for the purpose, and placed in concealment, rushed 
on their intended victim, and after despatching him with their daggers, 
threw his body into the cortile below. His head was cut off and his 
mangled remains exposed in the piazza, where he was proclaimed a 
traitor to the Republic. A part of his confiscated property was, how- 
ever, restored to the prayers of his widow Annalena, who, after the 
death of her infant son, retired from the world, and converted her 
dwelling in the Via Romana into a convent which bore her name." — 
Horner, 

Opening from this chamber is a very small Chapel in- 
tended for the use of the Grand Duchess, adorned with ad- 
mirable frescoes by Bronzino. 

Let us leave the Piazza della Signoria by the Via dei 
Magazzini near the Palazzo della Mercanzia. 

(We cross the Via Condotta, where, turned into an inn 



S. MARTIXO, CASA DI DANTE. 49 

is the famous Palazzo dei Cerchi, at one time the residence 
of the Priors, before they moved to the Palazzo Vecchio, 
and for a hundred years the palace of the Bandini. Here, 
in the time of Bernardo Bandini, the Pazzi conspired for the 
assassination of Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici ; and 
hence, from the tower-top, in 1530, Giovanni Bandini, by 
his signals, betrayed Florence to the imperialists who were 
besieging the city.) 

The Via dei Magazzini ends at (left) the humble Church 
of S. Martino, founded 786 by an Archdeacon of Fiesole. 
It is interesting from the Society called the " Buonuomini di 
San Martino," formed by S. Antonio for the private relief of 
persons of the upper class reduced to poverty by misfortune 
— " I Poveri Vergognosi," as they were called. The church 
contains 1 2 lunettes with paintings relating to the works of 
mercy. The old man with white hair, in the central com- 
partment, is said to be a portrait of Piero Capponi. 

Opposite the church, is the tall tower called Bocca di 
Ferro, once the residence of the Podestas, or foreign 
governors of Florence, before they removed to the Bargello 
in 1 26 1. It looks down upon a house in the Via S. Mar- 
tino, called La Casa di Dante, where an inscription tells 
that Dante was born in 1265. His parents belonged to the 
Guild of Wool. In the neighbouring church he was married 
to Gemma, daughter of Manetti Donati, whose house was 
close to that of the Alighieri. 

The birthplace of Dante, 2 1 1 years afterwards, became a 
wine-shop of the artist Mariotto Albertinelli, to which 
Michael Angelo, Benvenuto Cellini, and other famous men 
of the day, were wont to resort. 

The Via Margherita leads from the Piazza S. Martino 
vol. in. 4 



ITALIAN CITIES. 



into the Via del Corao, where, on the opposite side, is the 
Church of S. Margkerita dei Ricci. It was erected to pro- 
tect a fresco of the Annunciation (formerly in the piazzetta 
of S. Maria degli Alberinghi), because the youth Antonio 



<;> 




Rinaldeschi, enraged at his gambling losses, tnrew dirt at the 
picture in his passion, and was punished by a sudden death. 
The fresco is called the Madonna dei Ricci, from the family 
for whom it was painted. Very near the church is the old 
Tower of the Donati Family. 

At the corner, where the Corso falls into the Via del Pro- 
consolo, is the Palazzo Salviati, occupying the site of the 
house of Folco Portinari, father of the Beatrice of Dante. In 
its court is shown " Nicchia di Dante," where the poet is 
supposed to have watched for his love. On May Day, 1274, 
the little Dante, then not nine years old, was brought by his 
father Alighiero Alighieri to a ffite given by Folco Portinari, 
and then, for the first time, he saw and loved the eight-year 
old Beatrice. 



THE HOUSE OF BEATRICE. 51 

"It was the custom in our. city 'for both men and women, when the 
pleasant time of spring camcround, to form social gatherings in their own 
quarters of the city for the purpose of merry-making. In this way Folco 
Portinari, a citizen of mark, had amongst others collected his neighbours 
at his house upon the first of May, for pastime and rejoicing ; among 
these was the afore-named Alighieri, and with him—it being common 
for little children to accompany their parents, especially at merry-makings 
— came one Dante, then scarce nine years old, who, with the other chil- 
dren of his own age that were in the house, engaged in the sports appro- 
priate to their years. Among these others was a little daughter of the 
aforesaid Folco, called Bice, about eight years old, very winning, grace- 
ful, and attractive in her ways, in aspect beautiful, and with an earnest- 
ness and gravity in her speech beyond her years. This child turned her 
gaze from time to time upon Dante with so much tenderness as filled the 
boy brimful with delight, and he took her image so deeply into his 
mind, that no subsequent pleasure could ever afterwards extinguish or 
expel it Not to dwell more upon these passages of childhood, suffice it 
to say, that this love — not only continuing, but increasing day by day, 
having no other or greater desire or consolation than to look upon her — 
became to him, in his more advanced age, the frequent and woeful cause 
of the most burning sighs, and of many bitter tears, as he has shown in 
a portion of his Vita Nuova." — Boccaccio, tr. by Theo. Martin. 

44 Nine times already, since my birth, had the heaven of light returned 
to well-nigh the same point in its orbit, when to my eyes was first re- 
vealed the glorious lady of my soul, even she who was called Beatrice 
by many who wist not wherefore she was so called. She was then of 
such an age, that during her life the starry heavens had advanced towards 
the East the twelfth part of a degree, so that she appeared to me about 
the beginning of her, and I beheld her about the close of my ninth year. • 
Her apparel was of a most noble colour, a subdued and becoming crimr . 
son, and she wore a cincture and ornaments befitting her childish years. 
At that moment (I speak it in all truth), the spirit of life which abides 
in the most secret chamber of the heart, began to tremble with a violence! 
that showed horribly in the minutest pulsations of my frame ; and tremul* 
ously it spoke these words : — * ecce deus fortior me y qui veniens domin- 
akitur mihil Behold a god stronger than I, who comcth to lord it 'over ' 
me ! ' and straightway the animal spirit which abides in the ;uppcr > 
chamber, whither all the spirits of the senses carry their perceptions, . 
began to marvel greatly, and addressing itself especially to the spirits of 
vision, it spoke these words: — * apparuit jam beatitudo vestra. Now- 
hath your bliss appeared,' and straightway the natural spirit, w,fych> 
abides in that part whereto our nourishment is ministered, began to 



52 ITALIAN CITIES. 

wail, and dolorously it spoke these words : — ' lieu miser ! quia fre- 
quenter impeditus ero deinceps! Ah, wretched me, for henceforth shall I 
be oftentimes obstructed ! ' From that time forth I say that Lore held 
sovereign empire over my soul, which had so readily been betrothed 
unto him, and through the influence lent to him by my imagination he 
at once assumed such imperious sway and masterdom over me, that I 
could not choose but do his pleasure in all things. Oftentimes he en- 
joined me to strive, if so I might behold this youngest of the angels ; 
wherefore did I during my boyish years frequently go in quest of her, 
and so praiseworthy was she, and so noble in her bearing, that of her 
might with truth be spoken that saying of the poet Homer, — 

' She of a god seemed born, and not of mortal man.' 

And albeit her image, which was evermore present with me, might be 
Love's mere imperiousness to keep me in his thrall, yet was its influence 
of such noble sort that at no time did it suffer me to be ruled by Love, 
save with the faithful sanction of reason in all those matters wherein it 
is of importance to listen to her counsel." — Dante, Vita Nuova II. , tr. 
by Theo. Martin. 

Maria Salviati, a daughter of this palace, married Giovanni 
delle Bande Nere, and here became the mother of Cosimo I. 

The Via degli Albizzi (crossing the Via del Proconsolo) 
derives its name from an old family who dwelt here. In one 
corner is the Palazzo Nonfinito (" unfinished n ), founded by 
Alessandro Strozzi, 1592, from the design, never completed, 
of Bernardo Buontalmti. The part which exists is exceed- 
ingly stately. 

Opposite, is the Palazzo Quaratesi, which belonged to the 
Pazzi. The design was originally made by Brunelleschi for 
Andrea Pazzi, but was carried out by his son Jacopo. The 
courtyard is exceedingly admirable. The escutcheon in the 
corner is by Donatcllo. A beautiful fanale, or cresset, pro- 
jects over the street. The " Cantonata dei Pazzi " is still 
the scene of a ceremony observed from the time of the 
Crusades. 



PALAZZO ALESSANDRO. 53 

" Popular tradition narrates that in 1099 a Florentine of the name of 
Raniero, led 2500 Tuscans to support Godfrey of Bouillon in his attempt 
to recover the Holy Land. Raniero planted the first Christian standard 
on the walls of Jerusalem ; and in requital Godfrey permitted him to 
carry back to Florence a light kindled at the sacred fire on the Saviour's 
tomb. Raniero started on horseback to return home, but finding that 
the wind, as he rode, would soon extinguish the light, he changed his 
position, and sitting with his face to his horse's tail, conveyed the sacred 
relic safely to Florence. As he passed along, all who met him called 
out that he was /raw, or 'mad, 'and thence arose the family name of the 
Pazzu The light was placed in San Biagio ; and ever since, on Satur- 
day in Passion week, a coal which is kindled there, is borne on the 
Carroccio to the Cantonata dei Pazri before it is taken to the cathedral ; 
and, in both places, an artificial dove, symbolical of the Holy Spirit, by 
some mechanical contrivance is made to light a lamp before the sacred 
image at this corner, and on the high altar of the cathedral" — Horner. 

On the opposite side of the street, at the comer of the Via 
degli Albizzi, is the Palazzo Montalvo, built in the reign of 
Cosimo I. by Ammanati. In the court is a bronze Mercury 
by Giovanni da Bologna. The ancient Palace of the Pazzi 
was demolished to build the National Bank. 

On the other side of the street is the Palazzo dei Gallic 
which has a suite of rooms painted by Giovanni di San Gio- 
vanni. A little further is the Casa Londi, which bears an 
inscription, saying that Galluzzi, the historian of the Medici, 
died there. 

Immediately beyond is the interesting old frescoed Palazzo 
AUssandro, founded by Alessandro Albizzi, who, quarrelling 
with bis brother, dropped the family name. Twenty-three 
priors and nine gonfaloniers sprang from the Alessandri, but 
amid their honours they never despised the trade from which 
they derived their wealth and power, and the iron cramps 
may still be seen upon which the cloth they continued to 
manufacture was spread out to dry in the sun on the roof of 
their palace. Some rooms, with old windows under pointed 



54 ITALIAN CITIES. 

arches, are hung with cloth of gold and velvet from thfe Palios 
won by the Alessaridri at the horse-races in the Corso : some 
of the gold hangings are most magnificent. The Palace con- 
tains a few good pictures by Botticelli, PeselKtio, FU. Lipfri, 
and Jacopo da Empoli, and some small sculptures by Dona- 
tello and Mino da Fusole. 

Lower down th£ street is an arch crossing one side of si 
piazzetta, being all that remains of the Church of S. Pictro 
Maggiore. The Casa Casuccini stands- on the site of one of 
the towers where Corso Donati defended himself 4 against the 
people in the 14th century. The Palazzo Vafori, called 
Palazzo dei Visaed from the busts which adorn it, marks the 
site of the Palace of Rinaldo degli Albizzi, who died in exile 
at Ancona in 1452, for his opposition to the Medici. The 
existing palace was built by Baccio Valori, whose bust is over 
the entrance. 

Before leaving the Via degli Albizzi we must remember 
that this was the scene of the miracle of S. Zenobio. 

" A French lady of noble lineage, who was performing a pilgrimage 
to Rome, stopped at Florence on the way, in order to see the good 
bishop Zenobio, of whom she had heard so much, and. having received 
his blessing, she proceeded on to Rome, leaving in his care her Httfe soft. 
The day before her return to Florence the child died. She was over- 
whelmed with grief, and took the child and laid him down in the Borgo 
degli Albizzi at the feet of S. Zenobio, who, oy the efficacy of his pray- 
ers, restored the child to life, and gave Mm back to the arms' of his 
mother." — Jameson** Sacred Art. 

Returning to the Via del Pfoconsolo and turning to thfc 
left, we reach, on the right* 

La Badia, founded by Willa, wife of the) Marquis of Tus- 
cany, in 993, for the Black Benedictines. She presented the) 
abbot with a knife, to show that he might curtail or dispose 
of the property at his pleasure ; the staff of pastoral an- 



LA BADIA. $S 

thority ; a branch of a tree as ford of the soil ; a glove, the 
sign of investiture ; and finally caused herself to be expelled 
to prove that she resigned all her former rights. The abbey 
was greatfy enriched by her son Ugo, who was Governor of 
Tuscany for Otto III. Losing his way in a forest, he had 
a hideous vision of human souls tormented by devils, and 
selling his property, endowed therewith seven religious 
houses, in expiation of the seven deadly sins. Ugo is annually 
commemorated on S. Thomas's day, when, till lately, some 
noble yotmg Florentine has always declaimed his praises 
during the celebration of Mass. Dante alludes to this 
custom: — 

" Ciasam che della bella insegna porta 
Del gran barone, il cui nome e'l cui pregio 
La festa di Tommaso riconforta." — Par. xvl 127. 

The existing abbey was built by Arnolfo di Lapo in 1250, 
but much altered by Segaloni in 1625. The present grace- 
ful bell-tower was built 1320, the original campanile having 
been pulled down as a punishment to the Abbot, because he 
refused to pay his taxes, and rang the bells to summon the 
Florentine nobles to support him. The door, of 1495, is by 
Benedetto da Rovezzano. 

The Church, in the form of a Greek cross, once con- 
tained many frescoes by Giotto, which ha\e been de- 
stroyed, but it is still interesting from its tombs. On the 
fight of the entrance, under a delicately sculptured arch, is 
the sarcophagus of Gianozzo PandolfinL Close by is an 
altar with beautiful reliefs by Benedetto da Majano (1442 — 97). 
In the north transept is an exquisite tomb by Mino da 
Fiesole to Bernardo Giugni, a famous Guelphic Gonfalonier, 
who died in 1466. 



56 ITALIAN CITIES. 

"The figure of Justice on this tomb is meagre in outline though 
refined in conception and workmanship. The best testimony to the vir- 
tues of the occupant of this tomb, who served Florence as ambassador on 
several important occasions, and was made Cavaliere and Gonfalonierc, 
is contained in these words of his biographer ; * * Beato alia citta di Fi- 
renze, se avesse avuto simili cittadini." — Perkin's Tuscan Sculptors. 

T In the south transept is the tomb of the semi-founder, 
Count Ugo of Tuscany, who died in iooo, erected by the 
monks in 1481. 

" The architectural features of Count Ugo's monument are, like those 
of the finest Tuscan tombs, an arched recess, within which is placed the 
recumbent statue upon a sarcophagus; a charming Madonna and 
Child in relief in the lunette, below which is a figure of Charity some- 
what too long in its proportions ; flying angels with a memorial tablet, 
two genii bearing shields, and an architrave sculptured with festoons and 
shells in low relief, compose its sculptured features." — Perkin. 

Above this tomb is an Assumption by G. Vasari. On the 
left of this transept is the Chapel of the Bianchi, containing 
the Apparition of the Virgin to S. Bernard, the best easel 
picture of Filippino Lippi. It was painted in 1480 by order 
of Francesco del Pugliese for the church at La Camfora 
outside the walls, and was removed hither for safety during 
the siege of Florence in 1529. 

There is a double cloister, with a well, and many frescoes 
in the upper story, telling the history of S. Benedict and 
Subiaco, by Niccolo <T Alunno. Near the entrance is the 
tomb of the ill-fated Francesco Valori, the friend of Savo- 
narola, who perished in the riot when S. Marco was besieged. 

"Finding that scarcely a feeble resistance was made within S. 
Marco, whilst the enemy without were hourly increasing in number and 
force, Francesco Valori was desirous of getting to his own house, in 
order to collect his adherents, and make a more energetic defence from 
without. But his dwelling-place was suddenly surrounded by a great 

* Bisticci. Arch. St. It. iv. 



BARGELLO 57 

number of persons, and a mace-bearer arrived from the Signory requiring 
him to appear immediately before them. He showed every desire to 
obey, feeling sure that he should be able, by his presence and authority, 
to make them ashamed of their conduct ; he, therefore, set out immedi- 
ately with the mace-bearer for the Palazzo. He passed through the 
crowd with a lofty air and serene countenance, like a man confident in 
his innocence, and who had never flinched before any danger. But they 
had scarcely reached the Church of S. Proculo when they were met by 
some members of the Ridolfi and Tornabuoni families, relations of those 
of whose condemnation to death in the preceding August he had been 
the cause, and they at once attacked and killed him. In this way a 
public injury met reparation by private revenge ; and thus a valiant and 
honest citizen, who had always been the most powerful friend of Savo- 
narola, perished miserably. His wife, hearing the noise, ran to the 
window in terror, and in the midst of the confusion and frightful cries of 
her husband and his murderers, a shot from a cross-bow amongst the 
crowd sent her to be united to him in a better world. The maddened 
populace immediately entered, sacked, and set fire to the house ; and 
while they were carrying off the furniture of a bed, a baby that was 
asleep in it, a grandson of Valori, was suffocated. The Signory neither 
then nor afterwards made any inquiry into these murders and out- 
rages. " — ViUaru 



Opposite the Badia rises the massive Bargello built as the 
Palace of the Podesta, the chief criminal magistrate of Flor- 
ence. According to a law enacted when the office was 
created in 1199, the Podesta must always be a foreigner, a 
noble, a Catholic, and a Guelph. But in 1250 a Ghibelline 
named Ranieri da Montemurlo was elected, which caused an 
insurrection of the people, who elected a new governor, and 
fortified the old tower of the Boscoli and the adjoining 
buildings as his residence. The chief power continued in the 
hands of the Podesta till 1462, when they were restrained 
by a tribunal called (from the round stones — ruotc — which 
paved the hall in which they held their meetings) Giudici 
alia Ruota. The office of Podesta was finally abolished by 



$8 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Cosimo I., when the palace-castle was assigned to the Bar- 
gello or Head of the Police. 

The greater part of the palace is due to Arnotfo di Lapo. 
Upon the outside of the older tower facing the Via del 
Palagio, were frescoes of the Duke of Athens and his asso- 
ciates, hanging, but they are no longer visible. The bell 
within called the Montanara, obtained the name of La 
Campana dellc Armi, because it was the signal for citizens 
to lay aside their weapons, and retire home. 

The street below the Bargello witnessed, August i, 
1343, one of the most frightful scenes of Florentine 
history. The Duke of Athens had taken refuge in the for- 
tress, and the members of the noble Florentine families, 
Medici, Rucellai, and others, who had suffered from his 
tyranny, were besieging him. They demanded as the price 
of hts life, that the Conservatore GagTielmo d'Assisi, and his 
son, a boy of 18, who had been the instruments of his cruelty, 
should be given up to them. Forced by hunger, he caused 
them to be pushed out of the half-closed door to the 
populace, who tore them limb from limb, hacking the boy 
to pieces first before his father's eyes, and then parading 
the bloody fragments on their lances through the streets. 

The Bargello is usually entered from the Via Ghibellina. 
The courtyard is intensely picturesque and most rich and 
effective in colour ; its staircase was built by Agnolo Gaddi. 
Near the well in the centre, many noble Florentines have 
been beheaded, including (1530) Niccolb de' Lapi, the 
hero of Massimo d'Azeglio's novel. The arms of the Duke 
of Athens hang near the entrance, followed by those of the 
two hundred and four Podestas, who ruled afterwards in 
Florence. The beautiful upper loggia is attributed ta 



BARG£LLO. 59 

Orcagna : it was once divided into three cells, the furthest 
of which was for the condemned. The Loggia contains 
three bells, one of them from a church near Pisa, by one 
Bartoiomeo,a popular decorative artisan under Frederick II* 
On the right of the Loggia we enter the 1st Hall f beautiful in 
itself, and surrounded by sculpture of the sixteenth and 
seventeenth centuries. 

Entrance Watt. — 

Baccio Bandindli. Adam and Eve. 
Vmcenzio Danti. Statue of Cosimo t. 

Left Wall.— 
Michael Angdo. Bacchus and Satyr. 

Right Watt.— 

Donatdlo. David, with the head of Goliath at his feet. 

Opposite Wall.— 

Michael Angdo. The dying Adonis — its general effect is confused, and 
it b further injured by the badness of the marble. 

Michael Angdo. An unfinished group of Victory — the figure most 
awkwardly turned. 

Giovanni da Bologna. Virtue conquering Vice. 

The different groups representing the Triumphs of Hercules are by 
Vuuenso de Rossi. 

Between the statues are a series of most wonderful reliefs representing 
ntasic and its effects, which were originally intended for the organ -gallery 
of the cathedral. The larger and most remarkable are by Luca ddla 
Robbia, the others by Donatdlo. 

The reliefs of Luca della Robbia are the best 

"They represent a band of youths, dancing, playing upon musical in- 
struments, and singing ; the expression in each chorister's face is so true 
to the nature of his voice, that we cart hear the shrill treble, the rich 
contralto, the luscious tenor, and the sonorous bass of their quartette." — 
Perkins Tuscan Sculptors. 



60 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Hence, passing through an ante-chamber, we reach the 
Audience Chamber of the Podesta (the $rd Hall), occupied by 
Walter de Brienne, Duke of Athens, during his reign, and de- 
corated with his arms (for the restoration of which Florence 
apologizes in an amusing inscription). The chimney-piece, 
fire-irons, &c, are of his time. At the further end was a cell 
where Fra Paolo, who began life as a Franciscan monk, and 
afterwards became a notorious brigand, was chained to the 
wall with an iron collar for thirty years, till he died at the age 
of 8 1. The room is now used to contain the collection of 
Majolica and Urbino ware, brought to Florence on the mar- 
riage of Vittoria della Rovere with the Grand-Duke Fer- 
dinand II. 

Beyond the Audience Chamber is the ancient Chapel (the 
4th Halt) covered with frescoes by Giotto, of 130 1. On the 
entrance wall is Hell, in which little beyond the tails of the 
devils is now discernible. Next, on the window wall, 
is the story of S. Nicholas of Ban. Between the windows 
is S. Venantius; beyond that the Daughter of Herodias 
dancing. The opposite wall is occupied by the story of S. 
Mary of Egypt 

On the east wall is Heaven, in which, to the right of the 
window, Dante is introduced, with his master Brunetto 
Latini. The figure of Dante has been greatly altered by 
restoration, but is still of great importance and interest 

" The enthusiasm of the Florentines, when this portrait was dis- 
covered, resembled that of their ancestors when Borgo Allegri received 
its name from their rejoicings in sympathy with Cimabue. ' L'Abbiamo, 
il nostro poeta 1 ' was the universal cry, and for days afterwards the 
Bargello was thronged with a continuous succession of pilgrim visitors. 
The portrait, though stiff, is amply satisfactory to the admirers of Dante. 
He stands there full of dignity, in the beauty of his manhood, a pome- 
granate in his hand, and wearing the graceful (ailing cap of the day— the 



BARGELLO. 6t 

upper part of his face smooth, lofty, and ideal, revealing the Paradiso, 
as the stern, compressed, under-jawed mouth does the Inferno. There 
can be little doubt, from the prominent position assigned him in the 
composition, as well as from his personal appearance, that this fresco 
was painted in, or immediately after, the year 1300, when he was one of 
the Priors of the Republic, and in the thirty-fifth year of his age — the 
very epoch, the 'mezzo cammin della vita/ at which he dates his vision. 
In February, 1302, he was exiled. 1 ' — Lindsay's Christian Art. 

The following rooms were the Apartments of the Podcsta. 
The next room (5M Hall), which has a fresco of the Madonna 
between two Saints, contains a beautiful collection of carv- 
ings in amber and ivory. 

The 6th Hall has, amongst other works of Art, chiefly 
bronze : — 

Donatella. Bronze statue of David, with his foot on the head of 
Goliath. 

"The youthful, undraped head, his face overshadowed by a shep- 
herd's hat wreathed with ivy, stands with one foot upon the head of his 
giant enemy, grasping a huge sword in his right hand, and resting his 
left against his hip. The care bestowed upon the whole work is visible 
even in the helmet of Goliath, which is adorned with a beautiful stiac- 
ciato relief of children dragging a triumphal car." — Ptrkin's Tuscan 
Sculptors. 

** With the exception of Michael Angelo, no Tuscan sculptor had so 
marked an influence as Donatello upon the art of his time. He may, 
indeed, be called the first and greatest of Christian sculptors, as, despite 
his great love and close study of classical art, all his works are Christian 
in subject and in feeling, unless positive imitations of the Antique. It 
is not easy, therefore, to understand why many writers have called 
Ghiberti a Christian, and Donatello a Pagan in art. Both loved the 
Antique equally well, and each owed to the study of it his greatest ex- 
cellence, but certainly no work of Ghiberti can be pointed out so Christ- 
ian in spirit as the S. George, the S. John, the Magdalen, and many of 
Donatellq's bas-reliefs. As a man, as well as an artist, he approached 
far more closely to the ideal of the Christian character, being confessedly 
humble, charitable, and kind to all around him ; a firm friend, and an 
honest, upright, simple-hearted man, whose fair fame is not marred by a 
single blot." — Perkin's Tuscan Sculptors. 

11 Vecchietto (141 2). Cast of an aged face taken after death. 



62 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Cigoli. Anatomical figures in brqnze and wax. 
The ith Hall contains : — 

Giovanni da Bologna. Statue of Mercury, and two bronze models 
executed in preparation for it, also his model for the Rape of the Sabines. 

" Who does not know the Mercury of Gian Bologna, that airy youth 
with winged feet and cap, who with the caduceus in his hand, and 
borne aloft upon a head of jEolus, seems bound upon some Jove-com- 
missioned errand? Who has not admired its lightness and truth of 
momentary action, which none but an artist skilful in modelling and 
well versed in anatomy could have attained, since, Mercury-like, it has 
winged its way to the museums and houses of every quarter of the globe. " 
— Perkins Tuscan Sculptors. 

DonatHlo. Figure of a. Boy. 
Andrea Verrochio. Statue of David. 

" Though deficient in sentiment, it is full of life and animation. The 
face is very like those of Lionardo in type, the head is covered with 
clustering curls, and a light corselet protects the body. The left hand, 
which is very carefully studied, rests upon the hip, while the right grasps 
a sword, with which the young hero is about to cut off the head of his 
fallen enemy. Meagre in outline, and poor in its forms, it is neverthe- 
less a work of much merit." — Perftn's Tuscan Sculptors. 

Benvenuto Cellini. Model for the statue of Perseus. 

Ghiberti. A bronze Sarcophagus. 

Vincena'o Danti. The Adoration of the Brazen Serpent— a relief. 

Lorenzo di Pietro di Lando, commonly called II Vccchietto. A scholar 
of Giacomo della Quercia ( 1412— 1480). Monument of Mariano Socino, 
brought from S. Domenico at Siena. 

" The head, which is not unlike that of Dante, appears to have been 
cast from life, as well as the hands and feet ; the drapery is hard and 
unpUable." — Perkin's Tuscan Sculptors. 

Antonio Pollajuolo (over the monument of Socino). A bronze relief of 
the Crucifixion. 

BrunelUschi and Ghiberti. The bronze reliefs which they executed of 
the Sacrifice of Isaac, while competing for the gates of the Baptistery. 

"As we look at the model of Ghiberti side by side with that of 
Brunelleschi, in the bronze room of the Umzi, we cannot understand 
how the judges could have hesitated between them, for while Ghiberti'* 
is distinguished by clearness of narration, grace of line, and repose, 



BARGELLO. 63 

BmoeUeicbi's is melo-dramatically conceived, and awkwardly composed. 
In Ghiberti's Abraham we see a father who, while preparing to obey 
tiie divine command, still hopes for a respite, and in his Isaac a sub- 
missive victim ; the .angel who points out the ram caught in a thicket, 
which Abraham could not otherwise, and does not yet see, sets us at 
rest about the conclusion ; while the servants, with the ass which brought 
the faggots for the sacrifice, are so skilfully placed, as to enter into the 
composition, without attracting our attention from the principal group. 

" Brunei Ieschi's Abraham is, on the contrary, a savage zealot, whose 
knife is already half buried in the throat of his writhing victim, and who, 
in his hot haste, does not heed the ram which is placed directly before 
him, nor the angel, who seizes his wrist to avert his blow ; while the 
ass, and the two servants, each carrying on a separate action, fill up the 
foreground so obtrusively, as to call off the eye from what should be the 
main point of interest." — Perkin's Tuscan Sculptors. 

Ascending to the 2nd floor we find — 

The 8tf Hall. Adorned with frescoes by Andrea del Castagno, 1435. 
On the entrance wall is the Madonna with saints. On the right wall 
a figure of Justice deciding in favour of age against youth, and a Ma- 
donna by Ptolem. de Callio Seraphinus. The frescoes of Italian cele- 
brities, removed from the Villa Pandolfini at Legnaia, are all by 
Castagno. 

This is the best place for studying the works of this rare and re- 
markable painter, who, the son of a peasant, showed his chief power in 
the delineation of the lusty limbs and sinews which were characteristic 
of those amongst whom he was brought up. The features of those he 
painted generally reproduce the coarseness of his own passions. His 
greatest crime was the murder of his kindest friend Domenico Veneziano, 
who had taught him the secret of oil painting, of which he sought thus 
to be the sole possessor — and this he only confessed upon his death-bed, 
in his seventy- fourth year. 

The beautiful stained glass, by Guglidmo di Marcilla> a Dominican 
monk (1470 — 1537), was intended for the cathedral of Cortona. 

The \oth Hall has some curious old furniture. Returning 
hence to the room with Castagno's frescoes, we enter the 
1 \th Hall, which contains the gems of the collection, which 
long formed one of the most attractive parts of the Uffizi 
Gallery. This and the adjoining room are filled with the 



64 ITALIAN CITIES. 

most touching and instructive masterpieces of mediaeval 
sculpture. 

" One feels that there is something in common between us and the 
Middle Ages. Their names still exist in their descendants, who often 
inhabit the very palaces they dwelt in, and their very portraits by the 
great masters still hang in their halls ; whereas we know nothing of the 
Greeks and Romans but their public deeds, their private life is blank to 
us." — Mrs. Somerville. 

In the centre of the Room is — 

Donatello. Statue of S. John Baptist 

Entrance Wall.— 

Benedetto da Kavezzano, c. 1507. (The masterpiece of the sculptor) 
The translation of S. Giovanni Gualberto. This and the com- 
panion reliefs were brought from the Monastery of S. Salvi, where 
soldiers were quartered in 1 530, by whom they were terribly muti- 
"' lated. The figures, however, glow with expression and power. 
The face of the dead saint has escaped. 

44 After being left for fifteen years in the sculptor's studio outside the 
Porta Santa Croce, on account of the violent dissensions of the monks 
who had ordered it, it was broken to pieces by the papal and imperial 
soldiers during the siege of 1530. Of the many life-size statues belonging 
to it, which stood in niches divided by pilasters, none escaped ; and of 
its bas-reliefs but five : — 

1. San Pietro Igneo, passing unscathed through the flames, by the 

help of S. Giovanni Gualberto. 

2. The monk Fiorenzo liberated from a demon. 

3. The Death and Funeral of the Saint. 

4. The Removal of his body from Passignano. 

5. The monks of S. Salvi attacked by heretics. 

Though many of these figures are sadly mutilated, enough remains to 
attest their original excellence. The most beautiful relief is, perhaps 
that of the funeral procession, in which the saint lies on a bier, which is 
borne aloft on the shoulders of monks. An angel with open wings 
walks beside the corpse, and a boy possessed with a devil, who has 
been brought to meet it in hope of cure, struggles in the arms of his 
keepers. His distressed countenance and writhing form contrast most 



BARGELLO. 65 

strikingly with the calm repose of the dead saint and the bright beauty 
of the attendant angel. Another excellent composition is that in which 
San Giovanni is represented beside the couch of the monk Fiorenzo, 
who covers his face with his hands, to shut out the sight of the demon, 
from whom he has been delivered by the saint's prayers. The other 
three bas-reliefs are mere fragments ; hardly a head remains upon any 
one of the figures." — Perkin's Tuscan Sculptors. 

Above are other fragments of the shrine : 
Bust of Francesco Sassetti. 

Right Wall.— 

Rovcszano. S. Giovanni Gualberto driving away the Devil from the 

death-bed of the monk Fiorenzo. 
Andrea Verrocchio. The death of Sclvaggia di Marco degli Ales* 

sandri, wife of Francesco Tornabuoni, a Florentine merchant. She 

died in child-birth at Rome, where Vcrrocchio was employed, 

1473 — 1476, to sculpture her monument. 

•' For some unknown reason it was removed from the church of S. 
Maria sopra Minerva (at Rome) and destroyed, with the exception of 
one bas-relief, representing the death of Selvaggia, who died in child-bed. 
Around the couch upon which the dying woman sits, supported by her 
attendants, stand her relatives and friends, one of whom tears her hair 
in an agony of grief, while another, in striking contrast, crouches in 
silent despair upon the ground, her head enveloped in the folds of a 
thick mantle." — Perkiris Tuscan Sculptors. 

Relief of Galeazzo Sforza. 

Relief of Federigo di Montcfeltro, Duke of Urbino. 

Left Wall.— 

Rovezzano. S. Pictro Igneo passing through the fire at Settimo. 
Afino da FiesoU. Virgin and Child. 
Donatello. Young S. John. 

"The hair is wonderfully treated, growing in the most natural way 
from the head, and falling about it in ringlets perfectly graceful in line, 
and almost silken in quality. The ancients were, indeed, unrivalled in 
their treatment of hair in the abstract, but no sculptor, ancient or 
modern, ever surpassed Donatello in giving it all its qualities of growth 
and waywardness." — PcrkuCs Tuscan Sculptors. 

II R ossclli no. Bust of Matteo Palmieri (1468). 
vol. in. 5 



66 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Benedetto da Ma jane. Bust of Pietro Mellini (1474). 

12th Hall.— 

Entrance Wall : 

Michael Angelo. Leda, 

Mino da Fie sole. Virgin and Child. 

Mino da FiesoU. Bust of Piero de' Medici, " II Gottoso," at 37, 

1483. 
Bust of Niccol6 Macchiavelli, 1495. 

Left Wall : 

Verrocchio. Madonna and Child. 
Matteo Givitale. Faith, 1484. 

"This figure embodies the best qualities of the artist — viz. earnest- 
ness and religious feeling. When we see how trustfully Faith gazes 
towards heaven, we feel as when looking at his angels at Lucca, and 
his Zacharias at Genoa, that the artist who sculptured them must have 
been a devout Christian, who himself know how to pray. We would 
insist upon this quality in his works, because it is peculiar to them 
among those of his century. Many other cinque-cento sculptors treated 
Christian subjects almost exclusively, and often with great expression, 
but no one did so with so little conventionality and such depth of feeling 
as Civitale." — Perkin's Tuscan Sculptors. 

Jacopo delta Quercia. A lovely relief of boys with a garland, from 

the tomb of II aria Guinigi in the cathedral at Lucca, 11 50. 
Rossellino. Virgin and Child— "like a Lorenzo di Credi in marble." 
Rossellino. Statue of S. John Baptist 

End Wall : 

Lucca delta Robbia. Crucifixion of S. Peter, and S. Peter delivered 

from prison. 
Michael Angelo. Bust of Brutus I. 

Michael Angelo. Martyrdom of S. Andrew— an unfinished relief. 
Michael Angelo. Mask of a Satyr, executed in his fifteenth year. 
Michael Angelo. Holy Family — a relief. 
Bust of Giovanni de' Medici. 

Window Wall : 

Bust of Battista Sforza, wife of Federigo da Monteieltro, taken after 
death. 

Coronation of Charlemagne, 13th century. 



PIAZZA S. FIRENZE. 67 

In the centre of the Room : 

Benedetto da Majano. Statue of S. John Baptist. 
Sanswino. Statue of Young Bacchus. 
Michael Angelo. Statue of Apollo. 
Unknown statue of a youth standing on a buckler. 

The 13M Hall (right of entrance room) has some good 

French tapestries. 

In the left corner of the court-yard is a room containing 
some good tombs and Gothic fragments. In the court are 
some architectural remains belonging to Giotto's front of the 
Cathedral. On the right of the court, beneath the staircase, 
is the entrance of a Great Hall, now the Armoury \ which was 
used as a torture-chamber. A round stone in the floor 
marks a trap-door, beneath which quantities of human bones 
have been found. The door on the left of the room, by 
which condemned prisoners were brought in, is called La 
Porta dclla Morte. 

Just below the Bargello is the Piazza San Firenze, at the 
upper end of v/hich stood the Church of S. Apollinare, 
where Beccheria, Abbot of Vallombrosa, a leader of the 
Ghibellines, was beheaded in 1258. Dante places him with 
Ugolino amongst the traitors in the Inferno: — 

" Se fossi domandato altri chi v'era, 
Tu hai dallato quel di Beccheria, 
Di cui seg6 Firenze la gorgiera." 

The uninteresting Church of San Firenze is supposed to 
occupy the site of a Temple of Isis. Close by, is the 
Palazzo Gondii built 1501, from designs of Giuliano di San 
Gallo : the magnificent chimney-piece of the entrance hall 
is also due to him. At the head of the staircase is a fine 
statue of a Roman Senator, found in excavating for remains 



63 ITALIAN CITIES. 

of the Temple of Isis. The Borgo dei Greci leads from 
hence to Santa Croce : those especially interested in Floren- 
tine history may diverge to the right and visit the Piazza del 
Grano, with the picturesque loggia for corn, built 1619 by 
Cosimo II., whose bust decorates the front. Hence, a narrow 
street leads to the Piazza de* Castellan i, or di Giudici, where 
stood the castle of Altafronte, afterwards sold to the Cas- 
tellani. An inscription on the opposite river-parapet com- 
memorates a horse of the Venetian ambassador, killed by a 
shell in the siege of 1529. 

Hence, it is only a few steps to the Ponte alle Grazie t 
whose extreme picturesqueness was utterly annihilated in 
1874. The bridge was built by Lapo, father of Arnolfo de' 
Lapi, in 1235, for Rubaconte da Mandella, a Milanese 
Podesta. 

"Come a man destra, per satire al monte 
Dove siede la Chiesa, che soggioga 
La ben guidata sopra Rubaconte. " — Dan. 

The name Alle Grazie comes from an image of the Virgin 
in a little chapel on the right bank. The quaint houses 
which stood till lately on the piers were originally hermitages 
erected by nuns who were shocked at the immorality of 
their convents, and who lived here in retreat — Romite del 
Rubaconte — under the direction of one Madonna Apollonia. 
In one of these little houses was born the Beato Tommaso 
de' Bellacci, and in another the poet Benedetto Menzini, in 
1646. 

The street leading from the bridge to the Piazza S. 
Croce was once almost lined by the palaces and towers 
of the Alberti family. At the Canto delle Colonnini, at the 
corner of the Borgo S. Croce, is a loggia which belonged to 



5. CROCE. 69 

them, and which was once the workshop of Niccolb Grossi, 
surnamed Caparra (pledge) by Lorenzo de* Medici, because 
he refused to undertake any work unless he was partially paid 
in advance. Opposite this stood the church of S. Jacopo 
tra Fossi, occupying part of the site of the Roman 
Amphitheatre, in which San Miniato was twice exposed to 
wild beasts in the reign of Decius. In the neighbouring 
Borgo S. Croce lived Giorgio Vasari. On one side of the 
Palazzo Cocchi, at the corner of the Piazza S. Croce, is a 
huge hinge — a remnant of the Porta delle Pere, spoken of 
by Dante, — 

" Nel picciol cerchio s'entrava per porta 
Che si nominava da quei della Pera," — Par. xvi. 31. 

The Borgo Jei Greet is so called because the Byzantine 
Emperor, and his brother the Greek Patriarch, were lodged 
there during the Council of Florence, 1436. 

The Piazza S. Croce was formerly used for the game of 
Ca/cio, which, out of bravado to the enemy, was publicly 
played here during the siege of the town in 1529. In 
1250 the first popular parliament was held here, and here, 
in 1342, Walter de Brienne, Duke of Athens, first roused 
the populace against the nobles. The statue of Dante, by 
Pazzi, was placed here on the sixth centenary of his birth, 
1864. 

"Tender Dante loved his Florence well, 
While Florence now to love him is content" 

E. Barrett-Browning. 

Around are palaces, Barberini; Seristori, by B actio 
d'Agnolo; and Stufa, once Antella, by Giulio Parigi, with 
remains of frescoes ; and, beneath the third window, a disk, 
marking a line drawn for those playing at Calcio. 

The Church of Santa Croce % was begun in 1297, by Fran- 



70 ITALIAN CITIES, 

ciscan monks, from the designs of Arnolfo di Lapo, but little 
remains of the original building externally; the modern 
facade, a feeble work of Nicola Matas, due to the generosity 
of an Englishman, Mr Francis Sloane, was only finished in 
1863. In the north porch are some mediaeval sarcophagi. 
The interior is striking from its vast size, and the beauti- 
ful stained glass gives some richness of colour, but it is spoilt 
by the brown and white wash with which it is covered and by 
its barn-befitting roof. It is a great feature of the nave that 
it has no side chapels. The chancel is almost entirely of the 
time of Arnolfo di Lapo. Many of the beautiful frescoes 
which it once contained, were destroyed in the sixteenth 
century, but, from its tombs, the church may, in a manner, be 
regarded as the Westminster Abbey of Italy. 

•' In Santa Croce, as at Westminster Abbey, the present destination 
of the building was no part of the original design, but was the result of 
various converging causes. As the church of one of the two great 
preaching orders, it had a nave large beyond all proportion to its choir. 
That order being the Franciscan, bound by vows of poverty, the sim- 
plicity of the worship preserved the whole space clear from any adven- 
titious ornaments. The popularity of the Franciscans, especially in a 
convent hallowed by a visit from S. Francis himself, drew to it not only 
the chief civic festivals, but also the numerous families who gave alms 
to the friars, and whose connection with the church was, for this reason, 
in turn encouraged by them. In those graves, piled with the standards 
and achievements of the noble families of Florence, were successively 
interred— not because of their eminence, but as members or friends of 
those families — some of the most illustrious personages of the fifteenth 
century. Thus it came to pass, as if by accident, that in the vault of 
the Buonarotti was laid Michael Angelo ; in the vault of the Viviani, 
the preceptor of one of their house, Galileo. From these two burials 
the church gradually became the recognized shrine of Italian genius." — 
A. P. Stanley, 

" In Santa Croce's holy precincts lie 
Ashes which make it holier, dust which is 



S. CROCE. 7» 

Even in itself an immortality, 
Though there were nothing save the past, and this, 
The particle of those sublimities 
Which have relapsed to chaos : — here repose 
Angelo's, Alfieri's bones, and his, 
The starry Galileo, with his woes ; 
Here Machiavelli's earth, return'd to whence it rose." 

Byron % Childe Harold. 

Over the interior of the west door is a statue of S. Louis 
of Toulouse by Donatello^ — not a good work of the sculptor, 
who said that it was good enough for a man who had been 
so foolish as to exchange his kingdom for a monastery. The 
rose-window is from a design of Lorenzo Ghibertu Below 
it is a tablet with the monogram of our Saviour and the in- 
scription — " In nomine Jesu omne genu flectatur coelestum, 
terrestrium, et inferorum." This, originally placed by S. 
Bernardino himself (1437) on the facade of the church, is 
of the greatest interest as connected with his story. * 

The church is almost surrounded by monuments to the 
great men of Italy. 

" Cette e^jlise de Santa-Croce contient la plus brillante assembled de 
morts qui soit peut-etre en Europe.'' — Madame de Stail. 

Few however of these tombs have any artistic interest 

" See those huge tombs on your right hand and left, with their 
alternate gable and round tops, and the paltriest of all possible sculpture, 
trying to be grand by bigness, and pathetic by expense." — Ruskin. 

Making the round of the church we see : — 

Right of Entrance. The monument, with a portrait, of Domenico 
Sestini, the numismatician, ob. 1837. 

Left Aisle. The monument of Daniel Manin, the Venetian patriot. 

Beyond the 1st Altar. The tomb of Michael Angelo, ob. 1567, by 
Giorgio Vasari. M. Angelo is said to have himself chosen the posi- 

• See the Chapter oo Siena. 



72 ITALIAN CITIES. 

tion of his monument, that when the doors were open the cupola of the 
cathedral might be visible from his tomb. 

On the opposite column (making a bit of interior dear to artists) is a 
Madonna and Child, by Ant. Rosselltno, as a monument to the Nori 
family. Beneath lies Francesco Nori, President of the Republic, who 
threw himself in the way to receive the blow intended for Lorenzo de' 
Medici, in the conspiracy of the Pazzi, and died in his stead. Leo X. 
granted an indulgence to all who should pray for the soul of Francesco 
Nori. 

Between the 2nd and 3rd A/tars. The monument to Dante (buried at 
Ravenna), by Ricci (1829). Michael Angelo offered to undertake this 
work, and was refused. 

Third Altar. Vasari, Christ before Caiaphas. 

Betiveen the $rd and 4th Chapels. The monument of Al fieri (1749 — 
1803), erected by Canova for his widow, the Countess of Albany.* 
Near this, the remains of Ugo Foscolo, who died in England, 1827, are 
temporarily laid. 

Between the 4th and $th Altars. Tomb of Macchiavelli, by Innoeenzo 
S/nnaxzi\ erected in 1 787. 

"Le grand-due Leopold lui fit ^riger ce tombeau de marbre, sur 
lequel on grava cette epitaphe dont la forme concise ne dissimule pas la 
pompeuse expression : 

Tanto nomini nullum par ingenium. 

Ce nom est grand, sans nul doute ; mais si grand, ou pi u tot si tristement 
cllebre qu'il soit, i'eloge, bien que dise l'epitaphe, ne saurait lui etre 
applique* sans les plus expresses reserves. Mort dans 1'obscurite, 
m&onnu en Italie, ignore en Europe, Nicholas Machiavel avait cache 
jusque-la son genie et sa gloire sous la modeste appellation de secretaire 
des £Hx, qu'il garda, m£me dans ses legations les plus importantes, ou 
il ne fut jamais, a cause de sa pauvrete, honore du titre d'ambassadeur. 
Or, par une Strange fortune, a peine est-il mort, que la renommee se 
saisit de son nom. Elle l'empoite au loin dans son vol, pour le livrer, 
quatre siecles durant, a des jugements aussi contradictoires que les prin- 
cipes de l'ecrivain, et que les doctrines de cette politique immorale, nee 
en Italie au temps des Borgia, inauguree en France par Catherine de 
Medicis, et stigmatisee pour la premiere fois par Bayle, du nom de 
machiavelisme."— Dantier, " L'lta/ie." 

Betiveen the $th and 6th Altars. Tomb, with a medallion, of Luigi 
Lanzi (1732 — 1 8 10), who wrote the History of Painting. 

* Alfieri said that the love of fame first came to him as he was walking in this 
church of Santa Croce. 



S. CROCE. 73 

Close by, above the tomb of Benedetto Cavalcante, a monk of S. 
Croce, is the fresco of S. John Baptist and S. Francis, which is the 
only remnant of the paintings which once covered the side walls of the 
church. It is by Andrea del Castagno. Close beside this is an Annuncia- 
tion by Donatello. Beyond the side door is the monument of Leonardo 
Bruno, surnamed Aretino (ob. 1444), by Rossellino, with a lunette above, 
by Verrocchio. Next, near the entrance of the transept, is a monument 
tu Leopoldo Nobili (1784 — 1833), remarkable for his scientific dis- 
coveries. 

South Transept. Passing the tomb of Prince Corsini, is the Chapel of 
the Holy Saerament, originally adorned with frescoes by Gherardo Star' 
nina (1354 — 1406), but these were probably retouched and altered by 
Agnolo Gaddi. They relate to the lives of our Saviour, of S. Anthony, 
and S. Nicholas of Ban. Here are two large Robbia statues of S. 
Dominic and S. Bernardino. The tomb of the Countess of Albany (ob. 
1824) is by Santarelli. 

South Transept. Baroncelli Chapel. On the right of the entrance is 
a beautiful Gothic monument by Niccolb Pisano. On the left wall are 
some interesting frescoes relating to the life of the Virgin, by Taddeo 
Gaddi ; and, facing these, a fresco of the Virgin giving the Cintola to 
S. Thomas, by Dom. Ghirlandajo. The altar-piece is by Giotto, and in- 
scribed, "Opus Magister Jocti." It consists of five panels, with the 
Coronation of the Virgin in the centre. 

" This picture has long been a standing-piece for the critics of Giotto's 
style. Let the student mark how admirably the idea of a heavenly 
choir is rendered — how intent the choristers on their canticles, the 
players on their melody — how quiet, yet how full of purpose — how 
characteristic and expressive are the faces, how appropriate the grave 
intentness and tender sentiment of some angels, how correct the action 
and movement of others— how grave, yet how ardent the saints, how 
admirably balanced the groups." — Crowe and Cavakaselle. 

The picture is partly concealed at present by a marble figure of the 
dead Christ, by Baccio Bandinelli. 

Beyond this chapel a door opens into a passage. Here is a wooden 
crucifix attributed to Margheritone (1236) and supposed to have been 
presented by him to the Ghibelline chieftain, Farinata degli Uberti, in 
gratitude for his having saved Florence from being razed to the ground 
in 126a 

• " Ma fu* io sol cola, dove sofferto 
Fu per ciascuno di tor via Fiorenza, 
Colui che lo difesi a visto aperto."— Dante, Inf. x. 

Hence we enter the 



74 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Cappella Medici, which contains several beautiful works of Luca delta 
Robbia, and on the right of the entrance a ciborium by Mino da Fiesole 
(*433 — 84). Here the body of Galileo rested, from his death in 1642, 
till 1757, when it was removed to the nave of the church, together with 
his pupil, Vincenzio Viviani (ob. 1703), who had been laid beside him. 
The most noticeable picture here is (No. 25) the Coronation of the 
Virgin, by Lorenzo di Niccolb Fiorentitio. 

On the left of the passage leading to this chapel is The Sacristy, built 
by the Peruzzi, ornamented with frescoes by the pupils of Giotto, and 
fine intarsiatura by Giovanni di Michele. The Sacristy opens into the 
Cappella Rinuccini, entirely covered with frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi. 

" The history of the Virgin is represented on the left wall, that of the 
Magdalen on the right. In the former series the Dedication of the 
Virgin is peculiarly beautiful. She ascends the steps of the temple, look- 
ing up at the High Priest, who stands under the archway in readiness to 
receive her, while from an adjacent cloister the band of maidens, whom 
she is about to join, press forward with curiosity to see their new play- 
mate, the foremost of them holding a guitar. Immediately at the foot 
of the staircase stand two little children, a boy and a girl, the brother 
with his arm round the sister's neck ; other children look on in the 
right corner, their parents kneeling in adoration, and at the opposite 
extremity of the fresco stand Joachim and Anna, gazing after the light 
of their old eyes, whom they have thus parted from, it would seem, for 
ever. No less beautiful are the three frescoes on the opposite wall, 
representing our Saviour in the house of Lazarus, the Resurrection of 
the latter, and the • Noli me tangere.' In the first, Mary is seen seated 
on a little stool at the feet of our Saviour, looking calmly and humbly 
up in his face, while Martha, immediately behind her, expostulates ; the 
composition is admirable, and the expression full of sweetness. The 
Resurrection is a repetition, or rather variation, of Giotto's in the chapel 
of the Bargello, and the ' Noli me tangere ' similarly recalls the master's 
memory ; the two women, to whom the angels are saying, * He is not 
here, but is risen, 1 to the right of this, though in the same compartment, 
are more original, and full of grace and beauty. 

" These frescoes are full of calm but deep feeling ; the composition is 
singularly simple and dramatic ; the heads are full of character, and 
there are many new ideas ; the composition also is excellent. It is his 
simple, unstudied grace on which Taddeo's character must rest, as one 
of the steps in the ladder of early art" — Lindsay 's Christian Art. 

Returning to the east end of the church, the next chapel is 

The Cappella VelltUi, adorned with the legend of Monte Gargano in 



S. CROCE. 75 

fresco by a pupil of Giotto. The altar-piece is an Assumption by 
Crist. Allori. 

The Cappella Soderini has a ceiling by Giovanni di S. Giovanni. 

The Cappella Riccardi contains the tombs of Joseph Buonaparte, his 
wife Julia Clary, and his daughter Charlotte. 

The Cappella Peruzzi contains frescoes by Giotto, from the lives of S. 
J. Baptist and S. John the Evangelist. These are the only frescoes of 
Giotto remaining here, though he painted four chapels in Santa Croce. 

The Cappella Bardi is adorned with frescoes by Giotto from the life ot 
S. Francis. The altar-piece is the famous portrait of S. Francis by 
Cimabue, surrounded by little scenes from his life. 

In the Choir, the walls have frescoes by Agnolo Gaddi; on the left, the 
History of the True Cross, which is told in eight compartments, viz., 

1. Seth, during an illness of Adam, praying at the gate of Paradise, 

receives a branch from the Tree of Knowledge from an angel, 
who instructs him to plant it in his father's heart, who will be 
healed of his sickness when it grows into a tree. 

2. The tree, having been cut down by Solomon to be used in the 

building of the temple, and being found unsuitable and thrown 
aside, is seen by the Queen of Sheba, who, in a vision, beholds 
the Saviour crucified upon it, and, falling down, worships. 

3. The tree, having been cast by Solomon into the Pool of Bethesda, 

and having given it healing powers, is found floating there by the 
Jews, and taken out to be used as the Cross of our Saviour. 

4. The Cross, after the Crucifixion, having been buried for 300 years, 

is discovered by the Empress Helena, who distinguishes the 
True Cross from the others by its powers in healing a sick 
woman. 

5. The Cross is carried in procession by Helena, and becomes an 

object of veneration. 

6. Chosroes, King of Persia, takes Jerusalem, and carries off the 

part of the True Cross left there by Helena. 

7. Chosroes is conquered by the Christian Emperor Heraclius, and 

beheaded in his tower, and the Cross is carried off. 
S. Heraclius attempts to bring the Cross in triumph to Jerusalem, 
but is rebuked by an angel for riding on his charger through the 
gates which our Lord entered on an ass, and walks barefoot into 
the city with the Cross upon his shoulder. In the corner of this 
fresco, the painter, Agnolo Gaddi, is introduced, with a red 
hood. 



76 ITALIAN CITIES, 

The next remarkable chapel is the fifth to the left of the altar — 

The Cappdla S. Silvestro % containing the tomb of Bettino de* Bardi, 
with a fresco portrait of him rising from his tomb at the Resurrection, 
by Giottino (the "Maso" of Ghiberti). 

"Our Saviour appears in the sky, coming in judgment, attended by 
angels blowing the trumpet and holding the instruments of the passion ; 
— the sarcophagus is of stone, but all the rest within and beneath the 
arch in fresco ; the background is a rocky wilderness of mountains ; 
Ubertino rises in armour, a pale but composed countenance, his hands 
joined in prayer, feature and attitude alike expressive and sublime." — 
Lindsay's Christian Art. 

The right wall of the chapel is covered with frescoes by the same 
artist relating to the history of S. Silvester. 

"A work of great merit, more especially as regard the attitudes of 
the figures, which are most beautiful." — VasarL 

Next, at the end of the North Transept, is the 

Cappdla Nicolini, where the Laudesi, who sang the praises of the 
Virgin, were buried. The indifferent statues are by Francavilla. 

The next chapel, 

Cappdla SS. Lorenzo and Stefano, with a beautiful iron screen, has 
another fine monument of the Bardi family. 

In the adjoining chapel, 

Cappdla Salviati, is the tomb of the Countess Zamoiska, ob. 1837, by 
Bartolini. Here is a monument to Canina the archaeologist 

Returning to the nave, we find in order, the tombs of Raphael 
Morghen, by Fantacchiotti, of Antonio Cocchio, and then that of Carlo 
Marsuppini, secretary to Pope Eugenius IV., ob. 1455, by Desiderio da 
Sdtignano. 

"This is one of the three finest tombs in Tuscany — the best example 
of the delicate, sweet, and captivating manner of its sculptor. Desiderio 
has represented Marsuppini dressed as a civilian, with a book upon his 
breast, lying upon a sarcophagus, whose base, at each end of which 
stand genii holding shields, is adorned with sphinxes, festoons, and 
various ornamental devices ; the arched recess in which the monument 
stands is crowned by a flaming vase, with the graceful angels holding 
festoons which fall upon the sides of the arch. The lunette contains a 
group in alto-relief of the Madonna and Child adored by angels. 
Although every part of its surface is covered with elaborate ornament, 
yet, owing to the exquisite delicacy with which its details are sculptured, 
the effect of the whole mass is extremely rich without being overloaded." 
— Perkitfs Tuscan Sculptors, 



S. CROCE. 77 

Beyond the door of the north aisle is the tomb of Fossombroni, 
minister to the Grand-Dukes Pietro, Leopoldo, and Ferdinando III., ob. 
1844. Lastly, the tomb of Angelo Tavanti, and the monument of 
Galileo by Foggini. Two huge monuments near the last columns of 
the nave, by Santorelli and Bartolini, commemorate members of the 
Alberti family. In the centre of the nave is a flat tomb, with an incised 
figure and mosaic border, to John Ketterick (spelt Catrick), Bishop of 
Exeter, who died here in 141 9, on a mission from Henry V. to Pope 
Martin V. Many others of the monumental slabs and incised figures let 
into the pavement are deserving of study, especially one in bold relief 
of "a Galileo of the Galilei, who in his time was head of philosophy 
and medicine, and who also in the highest magistracy loved the republic 
marvellously." The Pulpit, of 1493, * s a beautiful work of Benedetto da 
A/a/ano. 

Outside the church on the south is an arcade orna- 
mented in fresco by pupils of Taddeo Gaddi. It looks 
down upon a very picturesque cloister which ends in the 
Chapel of the Pazzt, one of the best works of Filippo 
Brunelleschi. The dome outside and the friezes within 
are richly ornamented with Delia Robbia work. In the 
cupola are the Twelve Apostles and the Four Evangel- 
ists. The chapel was used as a chapter-house, and in it four 
thousand monks listened to the regulations issued by Pius 
V. for the establishment of the Inquisition in Florence. 

Near the entrance of the chapel, amongst other monu- 
ments, is the fine tomb of Gastone della Torre da Milano, 
Bishop of Aquileia, ob. 13 17. 

" A chaque pas qu'on fait dans la ville natale de Dante, on rencontre 
des objets qui rappellent quelques peintures ou quelques allusions de son 
poeme. Pour en citer un entre mille, dans le cloitre de Santa-Croce 
sont des tombeaux du moyen age, soutenus par des cariatides qui, le 
cou plie et la tete perchee, semblent gemir sous le fardeau qu'elles 
sontiennent. Dante avait en vue de telles cariatides quand il leur com- 
parait l'attitude des superbes, courbes sous le poids des rochers qu'ils 
portent, attitude exprimee dans des vers que je n'essaye pas de traduire, 
mais qui peigncnt admirablement l'espece de fatigue qu'on eprouve a 



78 ITALIAN CITIES. 

regarder ces figures. II semble, en lisant les vers du poete, qu'on voit 
poser devant lui son modele ."—Ampere. 

On the left of the Cloister is the Refectory », which contains 
the Cenacolo of Giotto, Above it is the Crucifixion with the 
Tree of Jesse leading up to it At the sides are scenes in 
the lives of S. Benedict and S. Francis. 

" A long table extends across the picture from side to side : in the 
middle, and fronting the spectator, sits the Redeemer ; to the right, St. 
John, his head reclining on the lap of Christ ; next to him, Peter ; after 
Peter, St ' James Major ; thus placing together the three favourite 
disciples. Next to St. James, St. Matthew, St. Bartholomew, and a 
young beardless apostle, probably St. Philip. 

" On the left hand of our Saviour is St. Andrew ; and next to him St. 
James Minor (the two St. Jameses bearing the traditional resemblance 
to Christ) ; then St. Simon and St. Jude ; and lastly a young apostle, 
probably St. Thomas. Opposite to the Saviour, and on the near side 
of the table, sits Judas, apart from the rest, and in the act of dipping 
his hand into the dish. It is evident that the moment chosen by the 
artist is, ' He that dippeth with me in the dish, the same shall betray 
me.' 

" The arrangement of the table and figures, so peculiarly fitted for a 
refectory, has been generally adopted since the time of Giotto in pictures 
painted for this especial purpose. The subject is placed on the upper 
wall of the chamber ; the table extending from side to side : the tables 
of the monks are placed, as in the dining-rooms of our colleges, length- 
ways ; thus all can behold the divine assembly, and Christ appears to 
preside over and sanctify the meal." — Jameson's Sacreii Art. 

Since the suppression of the Convents many other frag- 
ments of frescoes by Taddeo Gaddi, Cimabuc, &c, have 
been collected here. In the inner and smaller Refectory is 
a fine fresco by Giovanni di S. Giovanni^ of the multiplication 
of loaves by S. Francis. 

In this part of the Convent, the Inquisition held its 
tribunals from 1284 to 1782. 

The Via aV Malcontenti (so called because criminals were 



VIA GHIBELLINA, VIA ALLEGRI. 79 

led along it to execution), on the north of S. Croce, contains 
the Pia Casa di Lavoro, or Workhouse, erected on the site 
of two convents, the Monte Domini and the Monticelli. 

11 It was in the old convent of Monticelli that Piccarda Donati, the 
sister of Corso Donati, and a cousin of Gemma Donati, the wife of 
Dante Alighieri, took the veil, as Sister Costanza. Piccarda became a 
nun to avoid a marriage with Messer Rossellino della Tosa ; but her 
father Simone Donati and her brother Corso carried her forcibly from 
her refuge, and insisted on her union with Della Tosa. No sooner had 
the marriage ceremony ended, than Piccarda threw herself on her knees 
before the crucifix, entreating for protection, when she suddenly became 
so ill that her father was constrained to yield to her request, and to send 
her back to her convent, where she died in eight days. Dante has 
placed Piccarda in Paradise in the moon, or lowest heaven, reserved for 
those who have involuntarily broken their vows." — Horner. 

The next street which runs parallel to the " Malcontenti," 
is the Via Ghibellina, named in 1261, after the Ghibelline 
victory at Monte-aperto. Here was the convent of the 
Murate, whither the famous Caterina Sforza, Duchess of 
Forli, retired after a most adventurous life, in 1498, being 
then only in her 39th year, and where she continued to 
reside till her death in 1509. She was buried in the con- 
vent chapel, but her tomb was wilfully broken up, and her 
remains thrown away (!) on the recent conversion of the 
building into a State Prison. Here, in 1529, Catherine 
de' Medici was placed under the protection of the nuns, 
being then only seven years old. 

In the Via AHegri, which crosses the Ghibellina, was the 
studio of Cimabue (1240 — 1300) who, says Vasari, "gave 
the first light to the art of painting." His most important 
works remain in his native city. 

" Cimabue knew more of the noble art than any other man ; but he 
was so arrogant and proud withal, that if any one discovered a fault in 
his work, or if he perceived one himself, he would instAX&V] dsstasst 



80 ITALIAN CITIES. 

that work, however costly it might be." — ' Anonimo ' commentating on 
Dante. 

The Accademia Filarmonica and the Pagliano Theatre, in 
the Via Ghibellina, occupy the site of the historical prisons, 
called the Stinche. On the stairs of the Accademia is a 
curious fresco called the " Scimia della Natura," attributed 
to Giottino : it is an allegory relating to the expulsion of the 
Duke of Athens. A tabernacle on the exterior of the 
Accademia of a merchant bestowing alms upon the prisoners, 
while the Saviour and angels look on, is by Giovanni di San 
Giovanni. 

In the neighbouring Via del Fosso is the Palazzo Conte 
Bardi, a graceful work of Brunelleschi. 

Behind the Pagliano is the little Church of S. Simone, 
where Raffaellino del Garbo is buried. 

Opposite the Pagliano (No. 64 Via Ghibellina) is the 
House of Michael Angelo Buonarotti (No. 7588), which is 
well-preserved by the still-existing descendant of his brother. 
It is shown on Thursdays. 

In the 1st Saloon is a statue of Michael Angelo by Antonio Nozvlli. 
The 2ttd Saloon is surrounded with oil-paintings, relating to the life of 
Michael Angelo, and contains a picture called the Virgin and Saints 
(never was anything less saint-like), and beneath it, a hopelessly-con- 
fused and ugly relief called the Battle of Hercules and the Centaurs. 
From the yd Saloon is an entrance to the tiny study of Michael Angelo, 
where his table and crutches are preserved, and a picture said to repre- 
sent Vittoria Colonna. The 4M Saloon contains a bust of Michael 
Angelo by Giav. da Bologna, sketches of the Crucifixion, and a 
Holy Family in marble and bronze. In the $tA Saloon are a wax model 
for the David, and some autographs of the sculptor. 

In the neighbouring Via Giraldi were the houses of the 
historic family of the Villani. At the end of the Via 
Ghibellina we again find ourselves at the Bargello. 



CHAPTER L. 
FLORENCE. 

THE NORTH-EASTERN QUARTER — OR S. MICHELE, THE CA- 
THEDRAL AND BAPTISTERY, S. LORENZO, PALAZZO RIC- 
CARDI, S. MARCO, THE ACCADEMIA, THE ANNUNZIATA. 

AT the left corner of the Piazza S. Trinita is a quaint 
Palace, called the Palazzo del Afunicipio, built by the 
father of Arnolfo in the thirteenth century. 

Hence the narrow street called Borgo degli SS. Apostoli 
leads to the Uffizi. It was once remarkable as containing 
the houses of the famous family of the Buondelmonti. 

The Church of the SS. Apostoli (right, in the Piazza del 
Limbo), whose foundation is apocryphally attributed to 
Charlemagne, was much admired and studied by Brunel- 
leschi. It contains, at the end of the left aisle, at the " Altare 
degli Angeli" a lovely specimen of Robbia work, and the 
tomb of Oddo Altoviti of Prato by Benedetto da Rovezzano. 

The adjoining Palazzo del Turco or Borgherini was built 
by Baccio d*Agnolo. In its walls is a lovely relief of the 
Virgin and Child by Rovezzano, and at the corner of the 
building wrought-iron torch-holders. The art-treasures of 
this house were courageously and successfully defended in 
1529, against the agent of the king of France, by a woman, 
Margharita Acciajuoli, who declared that she ^wouVi $^ec&. 
vol. 111 6 



82 1 ITALIAN CITIES. 

the last drop of her blood in defence of that which had 
been her father-in-law's wedding-gift. In the collection still 
preserved here, are 

Giovanni Sanzio (father of Raffaelle). SS. Sebastian and Pietro 

Martire. 
Pinturicchio. Madonna and Child. 

Fra Bartolomeo. Portrait of his friend the good bishop S. Antonino. 
Branzino. Copy of Raffae lie's S. John in the Wilderness. 
Lorenzo di CredL Holy Family. 
Andrea Castagno. S. Jerome. 
Murillo. Sketch for his famous Assumption. 

This street enters that of the Por Santa Maria, just under 
the old Tower of the Amidei, so celebrated in their feuds 
with the Buondelmonti. 

Opposite, is another highly picturesque old tower, once 
the Dwelling of San Zenobio, and still decorated with flowers 
on his festa. 

A little beyond this, on the right, is the Church of S. 
Stefano, called " ad Portam Ferream " from its iron gate, 
upon which may be seen the historic horse-shoe of the 
palfrey of Buondelmonti. Here Boccaccio lectured in 1378 
on the Divina Commedia of Dante. 

The Por Santa Maria leads (left) to the Mercato Nuovo, 
with a loggia built by Bernardo Tasso for Cosimo I. in 1547. 
On one side is a fountain with a bronze boar by Tacca, a 
pupil of John of Bologna. From the corner of the Mercato 
the Via Capaccio leads to the Church ofS. Biagto, now used 
for fire-men. It occupies the site of Santa Maria sopra Porta, 
where the Carroccio, or war-chariot, was kept, and where a 
bell called " La Martinella "-—the " Little Hammer/' tolled 
continuously for a month before the commencement of a 
war. The adjoining palace belonged to the Lamberteschi, 
and was afterwards used for the Guild of Silk. 



OR 5. MICHELE. 83 

North of the Mercato Nuovo runs the Via Porta Rossa, 
which leads into the Piazza delle Signoria. Here, turning to 
the right, we enter the Via Calzajoli, or " Stocking-Makers' 
Street." 

" Calzaioli will always talk if you will listen — here on the stones that 
are still called the Song of the Lily it has heard the soft footfall of Ginev- 
ra's bare and trembling feet ; here, where Guardamorta rose, it saw the 
Lion tremble before a mother's love ; here in its workshop the Bronzino 
dwelt, and here, in its church, his bones were laid to rest ; here Dona- 
tell o and Michelozzo laboured for the love of arts and men hard by 
yonder against the little Bigallo ; here flame and steel ravaged their 
worst after red Arbia ; here the White Bando shivered and fled before 
their old hereditary foes ; here, on Ascension Day, the Signoria went up 
with the gold and purple of ripe fruits, to lay them at the feet of that 
Madonna of Ugolino whose manifold miracles sustained the soul of 
Florence beneath the Devil's Plague ; here, on the Feast of Anna, it saw 
Walter of Athens driven out of the city, and all good men and true 
trooping thither to render her thanksgiving, and all the Arts raising in 
memory the statue of their patron saint and the shields of their blazon- 
ries — all these things, and a million more, has Calzaioli seen since its old 
towers and casements crowded hard on one another. " — PascareL 

On the left is the famous church called the Or San 
Michele, erected in 1380, by Simone Talenti (on the site of 
a loggia for the shelter of corn, built by Arnolfo del Cambio), 
in order to shelter a miraculous image of the Madonna by 
Ugolino da Siena. The original building is commemorated 
in the present name, actually " Horreum Sancti Michaelis;" 
indeed, for two centuries after the lower story had been con- 
verted into a church the upper story of the building con- 
tinued to be used as a granary. 

"Or San Michele was held in such veneration, that strict laws were 
passed prohibiting any noise in its vicinity. No gambling was aljowed 
within a prescribed limit, and the infringement of these rules was 
punished by a fine, and if it was not paid, the defaulter was either im- 
prisoned for a month in the stinche, or he had to undergo what was 
called baptism — namely, immersion several times in the Axtvo lioxcv oxs& 
of the bridges." — Horner. 



84 ITALIAN CITIES. 

The exterior of Or San Michele (which no one would 
take for a church) is adorned with windows of exquisite tracery 
and a noble series of statues erected by the different Guilds. 
Beginning from the south, they are : — 

Baccio di Montelupo. S. John the Evangelist (as an old man — very 
unusual in art), erected by the Silk-Merchants (L'arte di Seta). 

Donatello. S. George, of the Armourers, occupying the place of the 
Madonna of Simone da Fiesole, now inside the church. Given by 
the Physicians and Apothecaries (L'arte dei Medici e Speziali). 

"St. George is in complete armour, without sword or lance, bare- 
headed, and leaning on his shield, which displays the cross. The noble, 
tranquil, serious dignity of this figure admirably expresses the Christian 
warrior : it is so exactly the conception of Spenser, that it immediately 
suggests his lines : — 

1 Upon his shield the blood ie cross was scored, 

For sovereign help which in his need he had. 
Right faithful, true he was, in deed and word ; 
But of his cheere did seem too solemn sad ; 
Yet nothing did he dread, but ever was ydrad.' " 

Jameson's Sacred Art t ii. 403. 

Nanni di Banco, S. James, — by the Furriers (" L'arte dei Vajai "). 
Donatello. S. Mark, — by the Flax-Merchants (L'arte dei Linajaoli). 

"Michael Angelo stopped before the statue of S. Mark by Donatello, 
and, in allusion to its animated expression, exclaimed, 'Mark, why 
don't you speak to me ? ' " — J. S. Harford. 

{West Front) Nanni di Banco. S. Eloy, — by the Blacksmiths (L'arte 
dei Maniscalchi, e degli Orafi). 

Lorenzo Ghiberti. S. Stephen, — by the Guild of Wool (L'arte della 
I^ana). 

Lorenzo Ghiberti (1420). S. Matthew, — by the Stock-Brokers ("L'arte 
del Cambio"). The admirable statuettes relating to the Annunci- 
ation, on either side, are by Niccolo di Piero de* Lamberti di Arezzo. 

{North Front) Nanni di Banco. " I Santi Quattro Incoronati " mar- 
tyred under Diocletian, — by the Sculptors. 

" When the saints were finished, Nanni discovered that they were 
too big for the niche destined for their reception, and in despair con- 
sulted Donatello, who promised to help him out of his trouble, if he 



OR S. MICHELE. 85 

would give a supper to him and his workmen ; to which Nanni joyfully 
consented. Donatello set to work, and after knocking off portions of the 
shoulders and arms of the four saints, brought them into such close con- 
tact, that they could be placed in the niche without difficulty. " — /Vr- 
kin's Tuscan Sculptors. 

Nanni di Banco. S. Philip, — by the Hosiers (L'arte delle Calze). * 

" Donatello was at first asked to make this statue, but the Hosiers con- 
sidered the price he asked exorbitant, and therefore commissioned 
Nanni ; such, however, was their confidence in Donatello's probity that 
they consulted him as to what they should pay his substitute. To their 
surprise, he named a sum exceeding that which he had asked for him- 
self ; and, when they remonstrated, he replied that as Nanni was less 
experienced, he would find more difficulty, and require to give up more 
of his time to the work, which ought therefore, in justice, to receive 
higher remuneration." — Horner. 

Donatello. S. Peter, — by the Guild of Butchers (L'arte dei Beccai). 
Giovanni da Bologna. S. Luke, — by the Advocates ("L'arte dei Guidici 

e dei Notari "). 
Andrea Verocckio. Our Lord and S. Thomas, — by the Tribunal of 

the Mercanzia. 
Lorenzo Ghiberti. S. John Baptist, — by the Guild of Foreign Wool- 
Merchants (L'arte di Calimala). 

The interior of the church is filled with beauty and glow- 
ing with harmonious colour. The windows have rich re- 
mains of stained glass. The faded frescoes are by a 
pupil of Taddeo Gaddi, Jaeopo Landini da Casentino. 

On the right of the high altar is the beautiful Gothic 
shrine (1348 — 59), containing Ugolino's sacred picture of 
the Madonna. 

"In the great plague of 1348, Florence suffered fearfully; citizens 
without number, pest-stricken themselves, after seeing their whole 
families die before them, bequeathed their all to the Company (which 
had been formed in honour of the Madonna of Orsanmichele) for 
distribution to the poor in honour of the Virgin ; the offerings of grati- 
tude, after the plague had ceased, were also considerable, and the total 
sum thus accumulated was found, on final computation, to &mowcw\.tom<ycfe. 



86 ITALIAN CITIE*. 

than three hundred thousand florins. The captains of the Company 
resolved to expend a portion of this treasure in erecting a tabernacle or 
shrine for the picture to which it had been offered, and which should 
exceed all others in magnificence. They entrusted the execution to 
Orcagna, who completed it in 1359, after ten years' labour, having 
sculptured all the bas-reliefs and figures himself, while the mere archi- 
tectural details and accessories were executed with equal care by sub- 
ordinate artists, under his own eye and direction. 

" And there it stands ! — lost, indeed, in that chapel-like church, from 
which one longs to transport it to the choir of some vast cathedral — but 
fresh in virgin beauty after five centuries, the jewel of Italy, complete and 
perfect in every way — for it will reward the minutest examination. It 
stands isolated — the history of the Virgin is represented in nine bas- 
reliefs, — two adorning each face of the basement, and the ninth, much 
larger, covering the back of the tabernacle, immediately behind the 
Madonna ; one of the three Theological Virtues is interposed between 
each couple of bas-reliefs, on the Western, Northern, and Southern 
faces respectively, the corresponding space at the East end, immediately 
below the large bas-relief, being occupied by a small door : — while, 
laterally, in the angles of each several pier that supports the roof, five 
small figures are sculptured, a Cardinal Virtue, in each instance, 
occupying the centre, attended, to the right and left, by a Virtue of 
sister significance and by two apostles, holding scrolls of prophecy or 
gospel — each series of five having reference apparently to the peculiar 
merits exemplified by the Virgin at the successive periods of her history, 
as commemorated in the bas-reliefs, — the series of these bas-reliefs 
beginning with her birth, on the North side of the basement, and run- 
ning round from left to right. I may mention her Marriage and the 
Adoration of the Kings as peculiarly beautiful, and among the single 
figures those of Obedience, Justice, and Virginity. 

"The general adjustment and the commettiturn, or placing of the 
different parts in this extraordinary shrine, is wonderful ; Orcagna used 
no cement, but bound and knit the whole together with clamps of metal, 
and it has stood firm and solid as a rock ever since. — In point of archi- 
tecture, too, the design is exquisite, unrivalled in grace and proportion f 
— it is a miracle of loveliness, and though clustered all over with 
pillars and pinnacles, inlaid with the richest marbles, lapis-lazuli, and 
mosaic-work, it is chaste in its luxuriance as an Arctic iceberg — worthy 
of her who was spotless among women. We cannot wonder, consider- 
ing the labour and the value of the materials employed on this 
tabernacle, that it should have cost eighty-six thousand of the gold 



OR S. MICffELE. 87 

florins treasured up in the Orsanmichele — or hesitate in agreeing with 
Vasari, that they could not have been better spent." — Lord Lindsay t 
Christian Art. 

A poem by Sacchetti celebrates the beauties of this taber- 
nacle : — 

" Che passa di bellezza, s'io ben recolo, 
Tutti gli altri che son dentro del secolo." 

The altar of S. Anna was erected by the Signory after 
the expulsion of the Duke of Athens in 1349. The statue 
of S. Anna holding the Virgin on her lap was executed by 
Francesco di San Gallo in 1526. On the left of the altar is 
Sinione's statue of the Virgin, which once stood in a niche 
outside. 

Over the altar on the right of the church is a rude 
wooden Crucifix carefully preserved, because when it was 
attached to a pillar of the Loggia, the good Bishop Antonino 
used to pray before it in his childhood. 

At the west end of the church, connected with it by an 
arch, is the old battlemented Palace of the Guild of Wool, 
repeatedly adorned with their emblem, the Lamb bearing a 
banner. On the opposite side of the Via Calzaioli is the 
Gothic church of S. Carlo Borromco. 

" Or San Michele would have been a world's wonder had it stood 
alone, and not been companioned with such wondrous rivals that its 
own exceeding beauty scarce ever receives full justice. 

"Surely that square-set strength, as of a fortress, towering against 
the clouds, and catching the last light always on its fretted parapet, and 
everywhere embossed and enriched with foliage, and tracery, and figures 
of saints, and the shadows of vast arches, and the light of niches gold- 
starred and filled with divine forms, is a gift so perfect to the whole 
world, that, passing it, one should need say a prayer for the great 
Taddeo's soul. 



88 ITALIAN CITIES. 

" Surely, nowhere is the rugged, changeless, mountain force of hewn 
stone piled against the sky, and the luxuriant, dream-like, poetic 
delicacy of stone carven and shaped into leafage and loveliness, more 
perfectly blended and made one than where Or San Michele rises out of 
the dim, many-coloured, twisting streets, in its mass of ebon darkness 
and of silvery light. 

"The other day under the walls of it I stood, and looked at its Saint 
George, where he leans upon his shield, so calm, so young, with his 
bared head and his quiet eyes. 

" 'That is our Donatello's,' said a Florentine beside me — a man of 
the people, who drove a horse for hire in the public ways, and who 
paused, cracking his whip, to tell this tale to me. ' Donatello did that, 
and it killed him. Do you not know ? When he had done that Saint 
George, he showed it to his master. And the master said, " It wants 
one thing only." Now this saying our Donatejlo took gravely to heart, 
chiefly of all because his master would never explain where the fault 
lay ; and so much did it hurt him, that he fell ill of it, and came nigh to 
death. Then he called his master to him. " Dear and great one, do 
tell me before I die," he said, " what is the one thing my statue lacks." 
The master smiled, and said, " Only — speech." "Then I die happy," 
said our Donatello. And he — died — indeed, that hour.' 

"Now, I cannot say that the pretty story is true ; it is not in the 
least true ; Donatello died when he was eighty-three, in the street of 
the Melon ; and it was he himself who cried, " Speak then— speak ! " 
to his statue, as it was carried through the city. But whether true or 
false the tale, this fact is surely true, that it is well — nobly and purely well 
— with a people, when the men amongst it who ply for hire on its public 
ways think caressingly of a sculptor dead five hundred years ago, and 
tell such a tale standing idly in the noonday sun, feeling the beauty and 
the pathos of it all. 

" • Our Donatello,' still for the people of Florence — ' Our own little 
Donatello, 1 still, as though he were living and working in their midst 
to-day, here in the shadow of the Stocking- Makers' street, where his 
Saint George keeps watch and ward."— Pascard. 

The northern part of the Via Calzaioli was occupied by 
the palaces of the Adimari family. 

An inscription at the corner of the Corso records the 
site of the Church of Santa Maria Nipaticosa, where S. 



MERC A TO VECCHIO. 89 

Antonino used to preach from an outside pulpit. The site 
of the Loggia degli Adimari Caricciuli is also commemorated 
by an inscription. 

On the left (by the Via de* Speziali) is the Mercato Vecchio 
of which Pucci wrote — 



" Mercato Vecchio al mondo e alimento " 
Ed ad ogni altra piazza il pregio serra ; " 



and — 



««• 



*Le dignita di mercato son queste 
Ch' ha quattro chiese ne suoi quattro canti 
Ed ogni canto ha due vie manifeste." 

La Propria^ di Mercato Vecchio. 

Portions of three of the four churches exist : of Santa 
Maria in Campidoglio only the double flight of steps which 
once led to the entrance : San Piero Euoneonsiglihas, over 
the entrance, a beautiful lunette by Luca della Robbia, and an 
outside pulpit : San Tommaso was the parish church of the 
Medici. In one corner of the piazza is a Column, brought 
from the Baptistery, supporting a statue of Abundance. The 
Loggia was designed by Vasari for Cosimo I. 

This is the oldest part of Florence, is intersected by 
narrow alleys and full of quaint old houses. In the Via Del 
Vecchietti is the palace called Palazzo della Cavajola (of 
the Cabbage-woman) which belonged to the Vecchietti 
Here Bernardo Vecchietto received Giovanni da Bologna, 
who made the quaint charming bronze figure of the Devil, 
low down at the corner of the house, marking the site of a 
pulpit from which S. Pietro Martire exorcised the Evil One.* 

* Formerly there were two of these Devils, one was stolen a few years ago. 



90 



ITALIAN CITIES. 



The simple habits of the Vecchietti are commemorated by 
Dante : — 

" E vidi quel de' Nerli e quel del Vecchio 
Esser contenti alia pelle scoverta ; 
E le sue donne al fuso e al pennecchio." — Par. xv. 115. 




-^'.-^1 



II Diavolo del Mercato Vecchio. 

The quarter south of the Mercato Vecchio was occupied 
by the Amieri, whose chief, Messer Foglia, decorated the 
walls of his houses with sculptured fig-leaves, in allusion to 
his name. These may still be traced on houses near the 
Church of S. Andrea. Close to this. spot stood the beautiful 
tabernacle of Fra Angelico, now in the Uffizi, in a sculptured 
marble frame which is preserved in the Bargello. Near the 
Piazza di S. Miniato tra Due Torre is the old palace of the 
Castiglione, of whom was the giant-warrior Dante da Cas- 
tiglione, celebrated for his share in the famous duel fought in 
1529 in the presence of the Florentine and Imperialist 
armies. 



THE BIGALLO. 91 

The Via Pelliceria, or " Street of Furriers," was once the 
Goldsmiths' quarter, where the father of Baccio Bandinelli 
instructed his son in the goldsmith's art, and also had 
Bevenuto Cellini as a pupil. The Via Calimala (from 
coXoc jiaXXoc, "beautiful fleece,") was the quarter of the 
foreign wool-merchants. Over the residence of the Guild 
of Wool is a lamb bearing a banner, and the rastrello, or 
rake of the Guelphs, with the lilies of Florence. At the 
corner of this street is a tabernacle, containing an image 
of the Virgin, supposed to have arrested a great fire, in- 
scribed : 

" Ruppc, spezz& l'orribil Fuoco, fin qui volando, ! 

Ma l'lmagin pia, pote troncarlo in quest o loco. " 

Returning to the Via Calzaioli, on the right (near the end) 
an inscription marks the house where the poet Salomone 
lived, and died in 181 5. 

On the left, where the street falls into the Piazza del 
Duomo, is the exquisitely beautiful little building called the 
Bigallo, a Gothic loggia attributed to Andrea Orcagna, en- 
closed with iron gates by Francesco Petrucci da Siena. 

The statuettes are by Niccolb Pisano. 

11 The Madonna is interesting as the prototype of all future Madonnas 
of the Pisan schooL In strict accordance with the spirit of early 
Christian art, which demanded the concealment of her figure, she is 
amply draped ; and in token of her peculiar mission of showing Christ 
to the world, she holds Him far from her, as though her natural affec- 
tions were absorbed in reverence for His divine nature." — Perkin's 
Tuscan Sculptors. 

The chambers of the Bigallo contain some interesting 
frescoes relating to the Temporal Works of Mercy. In the 
oratory is a beautiful predella, composed of what Vasaii cal\& 



92 ITALIAN CITIES. 

" superb miniatures n by Ghirlandajo, and an image of the 
Virgin by Alberto Arnoldo, 1359. 

"It is the only known work of the artist. The Madonna is a dig- 
nified matron, rigid in attitude, and impassive in countenance, enveloped 
in a once star-spangled drapery, of which the massive and carefully 
arranged folds fall over the lower half of the body of the Child, who sits 
poised upon her left arm. Although without beauty or expression, this 
group has a certain grandeur, from its impassiveness, like Egyptian 
statues, which seem immutable as fate, mocking at all approach to 
human sympathy." — PerJtin's Tuscan Sculptors. 

The Bigallo is connected with the Hospital of the Mise- 
rtcordia, on the other side of the Via Calzaioli, and the 
foundation of both had its origin in the piety of Pietro 
Borsi, who, in 1240, persuaded his young companions to 
agree that any one of them who used blasphemous language 
should pay a fine for the assistance of sick or wounded 
persons; from that time the "Brothers of Mercy" have 
existed in Florence. 

"The Misericordia continues faithful to its work of six centuries. 
At a sound from the Campanile of the Cathedral, the Giornante, or day- 
worker, hastens to the residence in the Piazza to learn his duties from 
the captains, or Capo di Guardia : a half-hour glass is turned to mark 
the interval between the summons and his arrival. Every Giornante is 
provided with his long black dress, and the hood which covers his face, 
only leaving holes for the eyes, so that he may not be recognized when 
upon his labour of mercy. The captain repeats the words, Fratclli 
prepariamoci a fare quest opera di misericordia, — ' Brothers, let us pre- 
pare to perform this work of mercy ; ' and, kneeling down, he adds, 
Mitte nobis Domine Charitates Humilitates et Fortitudines ; to which the 
rest reply, Ut in hoc Opera te sequamur : after a prayer the captain ex- 
horts the brethren to repeat a Pater Noster and Ave Maria for the 
benefit of the sick and afflicted ; then four of the number take the 
litter on their shoulders, and, preceded by their captain, the rest follow 
bearing the burden in turns, and repeating every time when another set take 
it up, Iddio le ne rende il merito, to which those who are relieved answer, 
Vadano in pace — 'Go in peace.' When sent for by a sick person, the 
Brothers assist in dressing the patient, and carry him down to the litter, 



CATHEDRAL OF FLORENCE. 93 

where he is gently and carefully laid. The Brethren sometimes act as 
sick nurses, to which office they are trained ; but they may never re- 
ceive any remuneration, nor taste anything except a cup of cold water. 
As the Brothers of the Misericordia passed along the streets of Florence, 
all persons formerly raised their hats reverentially ; but this custom has 
not been generally observed during the last few years. " — Horner. 

"The Grand Duke wore the black robe and hood, as a member of 
the Compagnia della Misericordia, which brotherhood includes all ranks 
of men. If an accident takes place, their office is to, raise the sufferer, 
and bear him tenderly. to the Hospital. If a fire breaks out, it is one 
of their functions to repair to the spot, and render their assistance and 
protection. It is, also, among their commonest offices, to attend and 
console the sick ; and they neither receive money, nor eat, nor drink, 
in any house they visit for this purpose. Those who are on duty for the 
time, are called together, at a moment's notice, by the tolling of the 
great bell of the tower ; and it is said that the Grand Duke might be 
seen, at this sound, to rise from his seat at table, and quietly withdraw 
to attend the summons." — Dickens. 

We are now at the centre of Florentine interest, in the 
Square of the Cathedral. 

" S. Reparata was for six hundred years (from 680 to 1298) the chief 
patroness of Florence. According to the old Florentine legend, she was 
a virgin of Cesarea in the province of Cappadocia, and bravely suffered 
a cruel martyrdom in the persecution under Decius, when only twelve 
years old. She was, after many tortures, beheaded by the sword ; and 
as she fell dead, her pure spirit was seen to issue from her mouth in 
form of a dove, which winged its way to heaven. 

"The Duomo at Florence was formerly dedicated to S. Reparata; but 
about 1298 she appears to have been deposed from her dignity as sole 
patroness ; the city was placed under the immediate tutelage of the 
Virgin and St. John the Baptist, and the church of S. Reparata was 
dedicated anew under the title of Santa Maria-del-Fiore." — Jameson's 
Sacral Art. 

" The Duomo was called Sta. Maria del Fiore, in allusion to the lily 
in the city arms, which marks the tradition that Florence was founded 
in a field of flowers. The noble document by which the building of 
this cathedral was decreed, shows that the city was then governed by a 
body of men representing all the force and intelligence of the State. 
4 Since,' it says, ' the highest mark of prudence in a people of noble 
origin, is to proceed in the management of their affairs so ttaX. >J&sax 



94 ITALIAN CITIES. 

magnanimity and wisdom may be evinced in their outward acts, we 
order Arnolfo, head-master of our commune, to make a design for the 
restoration of Sta. Reparata in a style of magnificence which neither the 
industry nor power of man can surpass, that it may harmonize with the 
opinion of many wise persons in this city and state, who think that this 
commune should not engage in any enterprise, unless its intention be 
to make the result correspond with that noblest sort of heart which is 
composed by the united will of many citizens."' — Ptrkin's Tuscan 
Sculptors* 

By the side of the cathedral stands the beautiful Cam- 
panile of Giotto, occupying the site of an oratory of S. 
Zenobio, " in which the Seven Servants of the Blessed Virgin 
were miraculously called to lead a life of contemplation." 

r "The characteristics of Power and Beauty occur more or less in 
different buildings, some in one and some in another. But all together, 
and all in their highest possible relative degrees, they exist, as far as I 
know, only in one building in the world, the Campanile of Giotto. . . . 
In its first appeal to the stranger's eye there is something unpleasing ; a 
mingling, as it seems to him, of over severity with over minuteness. 
But let him give it time, as he should to all other consummate art. 1 
well remember how, when a boy, I used to despise that Campanile, and 
think it meanly smooth and finished. But I have since lived beside it 

• 

many a day, and looked out upon it from my windows by sunlight and 
moonlight, and I shall not soon forget how profound and gloomy 
appeared to me the savageness of the Northern Gothic, when I after- 
wards stood, for the first time, beneath the front of Salisbury. The con- 
trast is indeed strange, if it could be quickly felt, between the rising of 
those grey walls out of their quiet swarded space, like dark and barren 
rocks out of a green lake, with their rude, mouldering, rough-grained 
shafts, and triple lights, without tracery or other ornament than the 
martens' nests in the height of them, and that bright, smooth, sunny 
surface of glowing jasper, those spiral shafts and fairy traceries, so white, 
so faint, so crystalline, that their slight shapes are hardly traced in 
darkness on the pallor of the Eastern sky, that serene height of mountain 
alabaster, coloured like a morning cloud, and chased like a sea -shell 
And if this be, as I believe it, the model and mirror of perfect archi- 
tecture, is there not something to be learned by looking back to the early 
life of him who raised it ? I said that the Power of human mind had its 
growth in the Wilderness ; much more must the love and the conception 



CATHEDRAL OF FLORENCE. 95 

of that beauty, whose every line and hue we have seen to be, at the best, 
a faded image of God's daily work, and an arrested ray of some star 01 
creation, be given chiefly in the places which He has gladdened by 
planting there the fir-tree and the pine. Not within the walls of 
Florence, but among the far-away fields of her lilies, was the child 
trained who was to raise that head-stone of Beauty above her towers of 
watch and war. Remember all that he became ; count the sacred 
thoughts with which he filled the heart of Italy ; ask those who followed 
him what they learned at his feet ; and when you have numbered his 
labours and received their testimony, if it seem to you that God had 
verily poured out upon this His servant no common nor restrained 
portion of His Spirit, and that he was indeed a King among the children 
of men, remember also that the legend upon his crown was that of 
David's: — 'I took thee from the sheepcote, and from following the 
sheep.' " — Rmkin, Seven Lamps of Architecture, 

The bas-reliefs round the basement story of the tower 
were all designed by Giotto, who himself executed those of 
Sculpture and Architecture ; the rest being carried out by 
Luca delta Robbia and Andrea Pisano. Above these are 
statues, several of them by Donatello. 

The Cathedral — Santa Maria del Fiore — was" begun in 
1298 by Arnolfo di Cambio, who was desired to build "the 
loftiest, most sumptuous edifice that human invention could 
devise, or human labour execute." In 1 33 1 the work begun 
by Arnolfo was entrusted to Giotto, who erected the tower 
and continued to work on the original design. A beautiful 
facade on which many of the best sculptors of the time were 
employed, was erected soon after the death of Giotto, but 
was destroyed in 1575-87. 

The exterior of the cathedral is encrusted with precious 
marbles and filled with beautiful sculpture. The northern 
porch is especially rich ; also the southern side door 
nearest the apse, with a garland of fig-leaf by the German 
Pietrv di Giovanni. 



96 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Until the fifteenth century, the cathedral had only a 
wooden cupola designed by Arnolfo. Brunelleschi first sug- 
gested an octagonal cupola to rest upon a drum raised above 
the roof in 141 7, and in 1420 he was accepted as architect 
When, a century afterwards, Michael Angelo was desired to 
surpass his work in S. Peter's at Rome, he replied : 

"Io fard la sorella 
Piii grande gia, ma non piii bella." 

The ball and cross were added by Andrea Verocehio in 
1469. 

The general effect of the Interior is bare, modern, and 
chilling. The pillars and arches are painted a uniform 
brown. The only colour comes from the rich stained glass 
of the narrow windows. The arches are of such great 
width that there are only four columns on either side of the 
nave. 

Proceeding round the church from the west door, we find 
on the right of the entrance, the frescoed memorial to 
Giovanni Aguto, or Sir John Hawkwood, a captain of Free 
Companies, who, from 1364, for 30 years, "led a soldier's 
life in Italy, fighting first for one town and then another — 
here for bishops, there for barons, but mainly for those 
merchants of Florence from whom our Lombard Street is 
named."* He was sumptuously buried by the grateful 
Florentines, after lying in state, wrapped in cloth-of-gold. 
His body is no longer here, for it was begged by Richard 
II. from the magistrates of Florence, who wrote : 

" Although we should consider it glorious for us and our people to 

* See Ruskin. Fort Claviftra. 



CATHEDRAL OF FLORENCE. 97 

possess the dust and ashes of the late valiant knight, nay, most renowned 
captain, Sir John Hawk wood, who fought most gloriously for us as the 
commander of our armies, and whom at the public expense we caused 
to be interred in the Cathedral Church of our city ; yet, notwithstanding, 
according to the form of the demand, that his' remains may be taken 
back to his own country, we freely concede the permission, lest it be 
said that your sublimity asked anything in vain, or fruitlessly, of our 
reverential humility." 

" Hawkwood appears to me the first real general of modern times ; 
the earliest master, however imperfect, in the science of Turenne and 
Wellington. Every contemporary Italian historian speaks with admira- 
tion of his skilful tactics in battle, his stratagems, his well-conducted 
retreats. Praise of this kind is hardly bestowed, certainly not so con- 
tinually, on any former captain." — Hallam. 

The monument is by Paolo Ucccllo, who obtained his sur- 
name from his love of birds. By the same artist are four 
heads of prophets, at the angles of the clock. 

In the South Aisle are the monuments of Brunelleschi with 
a bust by Buggiani; and of Giotto, placed here in 1490, by 
Lorenzo de* Medici, with a bust and ornamental frame by 
Benedetto da Majano, and an epitaph by Politian. On the 
opposite column a portrait of S. Antonino, the good Domini- 
can bishop, by Francesco Morandi. 

Over the first door is the monument of Pier Farnese, 
another Captain of Free Companies, who died of the plague 
in 1363. It was formerly surmounted by an equestrian 
statue. Beyond the next column is a statue of Ezekiel by 
Donatello. Then comes the monument of Marsilio Ficino, 
a Greek, who was first President of the Platonic Academy. 
His bust is by Andrea FeruccL 

Over the second door is the monument by Tino di Camaino 
of the Bishop Antonio d'Orso, who led his cathedral canons 
out in full armour against Henry VII. when he was besieg- 
ing Florence. 

vol. hi. 7 



98 ITALIAN CITIES. 

The stained windows of the southern transept are good 
works of Domenieo Livi da Gambassi, c. 1434. 
' The lunettes over the doors of the two Sacristies are the 
earliest works of Luca della Robbia, and represent the Ascen- 
sion and the Resurrection. It was to the Sagrestia Vecchia 
that Lorenzo de* Medici escaped, after seeing his brother 
Giuliano killed before the altar, in the conspiracy of the 
• Pazzi, April 26, 1478. Politian, who was with him, secured 
the door against the enemy, while Antonio Ridolfi sucked 
his wound, lest it should have been poisoned. 

Behind the high-altar is a Pieta, an unfinished, and, the 
inscription says, the last work of Michael Ange/o, executed 
in 1555, when he was in his eighty-first year. The crucifix 
over the altar is by Benedetto da Majano. Beneath the 
central altar of the apse is the famous Shrine of San Zenobio 
(the "Area di S. Zenobio") by Ghiberti, 1440. 

' "Beautiful, indeed, is the relief upon its front, which represents the 
miraculous restoration of a dead child to life by the Saint, in the pre- 
sence of his widowed mother. In the centre lies the body, over which 
the spirit hovers in the likeness of a little child, between the praying 
Saint and the kneeling mother, around whom cluster a crowd of specta- 
tors. The story is exquisitely told, the kneeling figures are full of feel- 
ing, the bystanders of sympathy, and the vanishing lines of the perspec- 
tive are managed with wonderful skill, so as to lead the eye from the 
principal group, through the nearer and more distant spectators, to the 
gates of the far-off city. Two other miracles of the Saint are represented 
on the ends of the 'Cassa,' and at the back are six angels in relief, 
sustaining a garland, within which is an inscription commemorative of 
this holy and learned man, who abjured Paganism in his early youth, 
bestowed his private fortune upon the poor, and was made one of the 
seven Deacons of the Church by Pope Damasus ; he was subsequently 
Legate at Constantinople, and at the time of his death held the office of 
Bishop of Florence." — Perkirfs Tuscan Sculptors. 

In the chapels of the apse are : — 



CATHEDRAL OF FLORENCE. 99 

Nanni di Banco. S. Luke. 
Donatello. S. John the Evangelist. 
Donatello. S. Matthew. 
NUcolh Aretino. S. Mark. 

The Sagrestia Nuova has bronze doors by Luca delta 
Robbia, and contains a lavatory by Buggiano. 

In the north transept is a gnomon invented in 1468 by 
the Florentine Paolo Toscanelli. Here are fresco portraits, 
of Pietro Corsini, Bishop of Florence, 1405, by Sanii di Tito, 
and of Luigi Marsili, a learned theologian, 1394, by Bicci di 
Lorenzo. 

Over the first door, on entering the north aisle from the 
east, is a tomb attributed to Conrad, son of the Emperor 
Henry IV., but more probably that of Aldobrandini Otto- 
buoni, ob. 1256. Close by is a fresco of Dante expounding 
his Divina Commedia, painted, when the church was used for 
lectures on that subject, by Domenico di Michelino, a pupil of 
Fra Angelico, in 1465. The inscription by Politian was 
added in 1470. 

"Dante, vetu (Tune robe rouge, tenant son livre ouvert, est au pied 
des murs de Florence, dont les portes sont fermees pour lui. Tout pres, 
on decouvre 1' entree des gouffres infernaux ; Dante les montre de la 
main et semble dire a ses ennemis : Vous voyez le lieu dont je dispose. 
Mais il y a plus de douleur que de menace sur son visage qu'il penche 
tristement. La vengeance ne le console pas de l'exil. Plus loin s'&eve 
la montagne du purgatoire avec ses rampes circulates, et au sommet 
l'arbre de vie du paradis terrestre. Le paradis est d&igne" par des 
cercles un peu indistincts qui entourent toute la composition. Dante 
est la avec son ceuvre et sa destined. Cette curieuse representation est 
de 1450. Son auteur fut un religieux qui expliquait alors la Divine 
ComJdie dans la cathedrale. Ainsi, cent trente ans apres la mort de 
Dante, on faisait un cours public sur son poeme dans la cathedrale, et 
on suspendait aux parois de l'eglise l'image du poete a cote de celles des 
prophetes et des saints." — Ampere, 

The wooden urn above the next door is thatof I>o\i^s&to 



ioo ITALIAN CITIES. 

of Toledo, Viceroy of Naples, and father of the Grand Duchess 
Eleanora, who was poisoned by his son-in-law, Cosimo I. 
Beyond this are a modern monument to the architect 
Arnolfo di Cambio ; a statue of the scholar Poggio Braccio- 
ino by Donatello; and the monument of Antonio Squarcia- 
lupo, the musical composer, with a bust by Benedetto da 
Majano. Against the column opposite this monument is a 
picture of S. Zenobio seated, between S. Crescenzio and S. 
Eugenio, who kneel on either side. 

The fresco of the cupola was begun by Giorgio Vasari, 
and finished by Federigo Zucchero. 

We cannot visit the Cathedral without recalling the scenes 
which took place here during the preaching of Savonarola in 
the great "revival" of the 15th century. 

" The people got up in the middle of the night to get places for the 
sermon, and came to the door of the cathedral, waiting outside till it 
should be opened, making no account of any inconvenience, neither of 
the cold, nor the wind, nor of standing in winter with their feet on the 
marble ; and among them were young and old, women and children, of 
every sort, who came with such jubilee and rejoicing that it was bewilder- 
ing to hear them, going to the sermon as to a wedding. Then the silence 
was great in the church, each one going to his place ; and he who could 
read, with a taper in his hand, read the service, and other prayers. 
And though many thousand people were thus collected together, no 
sound was to be heard, not even a 'hush,' until the arrival of the 
children, who sang hymns with so much sweetness that heaven seemed 
to have opened. Thus they waited three or four hours till the Padre 
entered the pulpit, and the attention of so great a mass of people, all 
with eyes and ears intent upon the preacher, was wonderful ; they 
listened so, that when the sermon reached its end it seemed to them 
that it had scarcely begun. " — Burl a mace hi. 

11 The beauty of the past in Florence is like the beauty of the great 
Duomo. 

" About the Duomo there is stir and strife at all times ; crowds come 
and go ; men buy and sell ; lads laugh and fight ; piles of fruit blaze 
gold and crimson ; metal pails clash down on the stones with shrillest 



BAPTISTER Y OF FLORENCE. 101 

clangour ; on the steps boys play at dominoes, and women give their 
children food, and merry-makers join in carnival fooleries ; but there in 
the midst is the Duomo all unharmed and undegraded, a poem and a 
prayer in one, its marbles shining in the upper air, a thing so majestic 
in its strength, and yet so human in its tenderness, that nothing can 
assail, and nothing equal it." — PascareL 

The Baptistery of S. Giovanni (S. John Baptist) was once 
the cathedral. Its date is quite uncertain, and though 
coated with marble by Arnolfo, it is believed to have been 
once a temple of Mars. It is entered on the south by the 
glorious gates of Andrea Pisano, executed in 1330. Of their 
twenty large panels appropriately representing scenes in the 
life of the Baptist, the two most beautiful are those of 
Zacharias naming his son, and of S. John being laid in the 
tomb by his disciples. 

" In the first, Zacharias is represented as a venerable old man, writing 
at a table, near which stands a youth and two women, beautifully 
draped, and grouped into a composition whose antique simplicity of 
means shows how far Andrea had advanced beyond Niccola and Gio- 
vanni (Pisano), who could not tell a story without bringing in a crowd 
of figures. In the burial of S. John we see a sarcophagus, placed 
beneath a Gothic canopy, into which five disciples are lowering the dead 
body of their master, two at the shoulders (one of whom evidently sus- 
tains the whole weight of the corpse), and two at the feet, while a sorrow- 
ing youth holds up a portion of the winding-sheet ; a monk, bearing a 
torch, looks down upon the face of S. John from the other side of the 
Area, and near him stands an old man, his hands clasped in prayer, and 
his eyes raised to Heaven. In these works we find sentiment, simplicity, 
purity of design, and great elegance of drapery, combined with a 
technical perfection hardly ever surpassed, while the single allegorical 
figures show the all-pervading influence of Giotto, from whom Andrea 
learned to use the mythical and spiritual elements of German art, as 
Giovanni Pisano had used the fantastic and dramatic. When they were 
completed and set up in the doorway of the Baptistery, now occupied 
by Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise, all Florence crowded to see them ; and 
the Signory, who never quitted the Palazzo Vecchio in a body except 
00 the most solemn occasions, came in state to applaud &e *x\\sX, wA 



ioi ITALIAN CITIES. 

to confer upon him the dignity of citizenship." — Perkiris Tuscan 
Sculptors. 

Scarcely less beautiful are the northern gates, of 140 1, by 
Lorenzo Ghiberti. 

" Un travail immense, oil des nations de bronze, dans des proportions 
tres-petites, mais tres-distinctes, offrent une multitude de physionomies 
variees, qui toutes expriment une pensee de l'artiste, une conception 
de son esprit." — Madame de Stail. 

The eastern gates were executed by the same artist, 
1447 — 1456. It was of these that Michael Angelo said 
that they " were worthy to be the gates of Paradise." 

" In modelling these reliefs," says Ghiberti, in his second Com- 
mentary, " I strove to imitate Nature to the utmost, and by investi- 
gating her methods of work to see how nearly I could approach her. 
I sought to understand how forms strike upon the eye, and how 
the theoretic part of sculptural and pictorial art should be managed. 
Working with the utmost diligence and care, I introduced into some of 
my compositions as many as a hundred figures, which I modelled upon 
different planes, so that those nearest the eye might appear larger, and 
those more remote smaller in proportion. " 

" L'ouvrage dura quarante ans, dit Vasari, c'est a dire un an de moins 
que n'avait vecu Masaccio, un an de plus que ne devait vivre Raphael. 
Lorenzo, qui l'avait commence plein de jeunesse et de force, l'acheva 
vieux et courbe. Son portrait est celui de ce vieillard chauve qui, 
lorsque la porte est fermee, se trouve dans l'ornement du milieu ; toute 
une vie d'artiste s'&ait ecoulee en sueurs, et 4tait tombee goutte a goutte 
sur ce bronze ! " — Alexander Dumas. 

Each of the gates is surmounted by a group in bronze, viz. : 

(Northern) Giov. Fratic Rustic*. S. John Baptist preaching to a 

Pharisee and Sadducee. 
(Eastern) Andrea da Sansovino. The Baptism of our Lord. 
(Southern) Vimentto Dante. The Decollation of S. John Baptist. 

The detached porphyry columns near the eastern gates 
were a gift from Pisa in gratitude for the protection afforded 
by Florence in 11 14. 



BAPTISTER Y OF FLORENCE. 103 

The Interior of "San Giovanni" is very dark. It is 
surrounded by sixteen columns, of which fifteen are of grey 
granite, and one of white marble, — the last believed to be 
the column on which the statue of Mars stood near Ponte 
Vecchio, and at the foot of which Buondelmonte fell, 
murdered by the Amidei. The cupola is covered with 
mosaics, having a huge figure of our Lord in the centre, 
surrounded by "Angels, Thrones, Dominations, and Powers." 
The mosaic of the tribune is by yacopo Turrita, author of 
the famous mosaic in S. Maria Maggiore at Rome. 

The present font replaces one brought from S. Re- 
parata in n 28. This was a large bason for immersion, 
surrounded by smaller basons, one of which was broken by 
Dante while saving a child from drowning. Speaking of 
the holes in which sinners guilty of simony are punished, he 
says: — 

" Non mi parien meno ampi ne maggiori, 
Che quei che son nel mio bel San Giovanni 
Fatti per luogo de' battezzatori. 

L'un degli quali, ancor non e molt* anni 
Rupp' io per un che dentro vi annegava : 
E questo sia suggel ch'ogni uomo sganni." — Inf. xix. 4. 

All the children born in Florence are still baptized in the 
present font. 

The beautiful tomb of Pope John XXIII. (Baldassare 
Cossa) is by DonaUllo and his pupil Michelozzo MichelozzL 
After Pope John was deposed by the Council of Constance, 
he came to Florence to humble himself to his successful 
rival Martin V., and died here in 141 7 in the Palazzo 
Orlandini. He was honoured with a magnificent funeral, 
for which he had left the funds. Pope Martin, still residing 
at S. Maria Novella, objected to the words " Quoiitam£«$&." 



104 ITALIAN CITIES. 

in the epitaph, and desired the Prior of the Republic to 
alter them, but he declined in the words of Pilate, " quod 
scripsi, scripsi." A tomb, with a Gothic inscription, on the 
left of this, commemorates Ranieri, Bishop of Florence. 

"This monument is curious as the subject of a Florentine tradition. 
A woman who made a fortune by the sale of vegetables, and was known 
in Florentine dialect as the ' Cavajola ' (cabbage wife), bequeathed 
money to have the bells of Ogni Santi and the Cathedral annually rung 
from the 1st of November to the last day of carnival for the repose of 
her soul. Her memory is held in much respect by her townspeople, 
who believe that in some unaccountable manner her bones rest in the 
sarcophagus of Bishop Ranieri, whose tomb has therefore been called 
La Tomba della Cavajola,"— Horner. 

A Roman Sarcophagus near the font is a relic of many of 
the kind which once stood on the outside of the building, 
and were removed c. 1 2 29. A lean Magdalen, in wood, is the 
work of Donatello. 

"The interior of the Baptistery has a charm of solemnity, almost of 
sadness, like some old mother brooding over generations of her children 
who have passed away — old, old, meditative still, lost in a deep and 
silent mournfulness. The great round of the walls, so unimpressive out- 
side, has within a severe and lofty grandeur. The vast walls rise up 
dimly in that twilight coolness which is so grateful in a warm country, — 
the vast roof tapers yet further up, with one cold pale star of light in the 
centre ; a few figures, dwarfed by its greatness, stand like ghosts about 
the pavement below — one or two kneeling in the deep stillness ; while, 
outside all is light and sound in the Piazza, and through the opposite 
doors a white space of sunny pavement appears dazzling and blazing." — 
Blackwood, dccv. 

The Piazza del Duomo contains several points of interest 
in Florentine History. The alley which leads from the 
piazza, behind the Misericordia, to the Via Calzaioli, re- 
cords in its name of Via della Morta a curious story which 
is told by Boccaccio. 



GINEVRA. 105 

" Antonio Rondinelli, having fallen in love with Ginevra degli Amieri, 
could not by any means obtain her from her father, who preferred to 
give her to Francesco Agolanti, because he was of noble family. The 
grief of Rondinelli cannot be described, but it was equalled by that of 
Ginevra, who could never be reconciled to the marriage which was ar- 
ranged for her. Whether therefore from a struggle with hopeless love, 
or from hysteria, or some other cause, it is a fact that, after this ill- 
assorted marriage had lasted for four years, Ginevra fell into an uncon- 
scious state, and after remaining without pulse or sign of life for some 
time, was believed to be dead, and as such was buried in the family 
tomb in the cemetery of the Duomo near the campanile. The death of 
Ginevra however was not real, but an appearance produced by catalepsy. 
The night after her interment, she returned to consciousness, and per- 
ceiving what had happened, contrived to unfasten her hands, and crept 
as well as she could up the little steps of the vault, and, having lifted 
the stone, came forth. Then, by the shortest way, called Via della 
Morta from this circumstance, she went to her husband's house in the 
Corso degli Adimari ; but, not being received by him, who from her 
feeble voice and white dress believed her to be a spectre, she went to 
the house of Bernardo Amieri, her father, who lived in the Mercato 
Vecchio behind S . Andrea, and then to that of an uncle who lived close 
by, where she received the same repulse. 

"Giving in to her unhappy fate, it is said that she then took refuge 
under the loggia of S. Bartolommeo in the Via Calzaioli, where, while 
praying that death would put an end to her misery, she remembered her 
beloved Rondinelli, who had always proved faithful to her. To him 
she found her way, was kindly received and cared for, and in a few days 
restored to her former health. 

" Up to this point the story has nothing incompatible with truth, but 
that which is difficult to believe is the second marriage of Ginevra with 
Antonio Rondinelli, while her first husband was still living, and her 
petition to the Ecclesiastical Tribunals, who decided, that the first mar- 
riage having been dissolved by death, the lady might legitimately accept 
another husband." — Osservatore Florentine* 

The next side street, Via dello Studio, contains the Collegio 
Eugeniano, founded for chorister-boys by Pope Eugenius IV. 
in 1435. At the corner of this street an inscription marks 
the birth-place of Bishop S. Antonino. 

• This story is known in France by the poem of Scribe—'* Guido tX. Ovwit*-" 



106 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Close by, on the south of the piazza, are modern statues 
of its two architects, Arnolfo di Cambio and Brunelleschi, 
by Pampaloni. 

Further down the piazza, on the same side, is the stone 
inscribed " Sasso di Dante (now let into the wall), where 
Dante is said to have sat and gazed at the cathedral. 

" On the stone 

Called Dante's, — a plain flat-stone scarce discerned 
From others in the pavement, — whereupon 

He used to bring his quiet chair out, turned 
To Brunelleschi's church, and pour alone 

The lava of his spirit when it burned : 
It is not cold to-day. O passionate 

Poor Dante who, a banished Florentine, 
Didst sit austere at banquets of the great 

And muse upon this far-off stone of thine, 
And think how oft a passer used to wait 

A moment, in the golden day's decline, 
With ' Good-night, dearest Dante ! ' — well, good-night ! 

/ muse now, Dante, and think verily, 
Though chapelled in the by-way out of sight, 

Ravenna's bones would thrill with ecstacy, 
Couldst know thy favourite stone's elected right 

As tryst-place for thy Tuscans to forsee 
Their earliest chartas from " — 

Elit. Barrett-Browning. 

At the eastern angle of the piazza, is a Palace marked by 
a bust of Cosimo I., which was at one time the residence of 
Lorenzo de' Medici. 

An archway close to this palace leads to the offices of the 
Opera del Diwtno, which are almost a museum of models 
and various small objects connected with the church. In 
the guarda-roba is the beautiful silver fourteenth-century 
Dossale or altar-front belonging to the Baptistery, also two 
pyxes by Antonio Pollajuolo, and other treasures. 



M> 



PIAZZA S. LORENZO. 107 

The marble pillar which stands on the northern side of 
the Baptistery, records the miracle wrought by the dead body 
of S. Zenobio during its translation from S. Lorenzo to S. 
Salvador, when a dead tree on this spot instantly budded 
and bore leaves, upon being touched by the holy relic. 

The Arcivescovado, behind the Baptistery, is of very 
ancient foundation, but has been much altered. Countess 
Matilda lodged there in the eleventh century, and the Em- 
peror Baldwin in 1273. * n tne Piazza delF Olio, behind 
the palace, are some marble arches built into a wall which 
once formed part of the suppressed Church ofS. Salvador. 
An archway in this piazza forms the entrance to the Ghetto, 
the Jews' quarter in Florence, once enclosed by walls with 
four gates. In the Church of S. Maria Maggiore, close to 
the Via Cerretani, Brunetto Latini, the Master of Dante (ob. 
1294), was buried. In the Piazza is the Palazzo delle Cento 
Fines tre, where Cigoli the painter lived. Close behind is 
the Palazzo Orlandini, enclosing the Palazzo Beccuti, in 
which John XXIII. lived after he had been deposed at 
Constance. 

The Borgo di S. Lorenzo which opens opposite the Arci- 
vescovado, leads speedily to the Piazza S. Lorenzo, in one 
corner of which is a statue of Giovanni delle Bande Nere 
(father of Cosimo I.) by Baccio Bandinellu Like most of 
the works of this conceited but indifferent master, it has 
been much ridiculed, and was thus apostrophized by the 
rhymesters of his time : — 

"Messer Giovanni delle Bande Nere, 
Dal lungo cavalcar noiato e stanco, 
Scese di cavallo e si posa a sedere ? " 

Giovanni delle Bande Nere died in his twenty-nva&i^sax. 



108 ITALIAN CITIES. 

the day after having his leg amputated for a wound he 
received before Borgoforte. During the operation he refused 
to be bound, and himself with unflinching hand held the 
torch which lighted the operators. 

The Church of S. Lorenzo was originally due to the muni- 
ficence of the Christian matron Giuliana, who vowed to erect 
a church in honour of S. Lawrence if she should give birth 
to male offspring. The basilica she built was consecrated in 
AD * 373 by S. Ambrose, and called the Basilica Ambrosiana, 
and here Bishop Zenobio was buried for fifty years, before 
his translation to S. Salvador. 

In 1435 Brunelleschi was appointed to overlook the re- 
building of S. Lorenzo, but he only lived to see the Sagres- 
tia Vecchia completed, — the rest was altered and finished 
by Antonio Manctti. 

" San Lorenzo is 260 ft. in length by 82 in width, with transepts 1 71 
ft. from side to side. No church can be freer from bad taste than this 
one ; and there is no false construction, nor anything to offend the most 
fastidious. Where it fails is in the want of sufficient solidity and mass 
in the supporting pillars and the pier-arches, with reference to the load 
they have to bear ; and a consequent attenuation and poverty most fatal 
to architectural effect."— Fergusson. 

In front of the high altar a porphyry slab covers the re- 
mains of Cosirao de* Medici — Cosimo il Vecchio, Pater 
Patriae, who died August, 1464. 

" Sur le pave en porphyre recouvrant le caveau funebre, on grava la 
modeste epitaphe qu'on y voit encore aujourd'hui, et remarquable par 
ces deux mots: Pater Patriae. CVtait le titre que, trente annees au- 
paravant, l'enthousiasme populaire lui avait d^cerne au jour de son 
triomphe, et qu'au jour de ses funerailles un decret public avait de 
nouveau consacre* en ordonnant de l'inscrire sur son tombcau. Un si 
beau titre aurait dA suffire a la gloire de Cosme. Peut-£tre il ne lui 
cut tie jamais contest^ si, pour la dignite* de leur nom et surtout dans 



£ LORENZO. 109 

l'interet de l'£tat, ses descendants avaient toujours suivi les exemples 
donne par leur illustre a'ieul. " — Dantitr. 

In the north aisle is a monument by Thorwaldsen to Pietro 
Benvenuti, an excellent modern Italian painter. 

The chapel at the end of the north transept has a rich 
marble altar by Desiderio da Settignano y called by Giovanni 
Santi — "II bravo Desider, si dolce e bello. ,, It was the 
"Gesu Bambino " above this altar, which was carried 
through the streets by an army of children, who, at the 
instigation of Savonarola, called for every work of art of an 
immoral tendency, that it might be destroyed and burnt The 
chapel on the right of this altar contains the porphyry monu- 
ment of the Grand Duchess Maria Anna Carolina, first wife 
of Leopoldo II., ob. 1832. At the end of the south aisle 
is a fresco of the martyrdom of S. Lawrence by Bronzino. 
The bronze pulpits are by Donatello and his pupil Bertoldo. 

In the south transept is the Sagrestia Vecchia, adorned 
with Corinthian columns, and reliefs of the Evangelists, and 
statuettes by Donatello. In the centre of the pavement, 
half-concealed by a table, is a sarcophagus-tomb, also by 
Donatello, erected by Cosimo Vecchio to his parents 
Giovanni and Piccarda de* Medici. The sacristy also con- 
tains the monument of Giovanni and Piero— il Gottoso (the 
Gouty), sons of Cosimo de* Medici, erected by Giuliano and 
Lorenzo the Magnificent, the sons of Piero. Both these 
also rest here in their father's tomb, which is the work of 
Andrea Verrocchio. On the wall is a profile of Cosimo 
" Pater Patriae," who built the Sacristy. 

The Sagrestia Nuova is on the north side of the church, 
and has an external entrance. It was designed by Michael 
Angelo, who was ordered by Clement VII. (Giulio 4s2 



no ITALIAN CITIES. 

Medici) to construct it, instead of continuing the magnificent 
facade for the church, which had been ordered by his pre- 
decessor Leo X. (Giovanni de' Medici). It was begun in 
1523, and occupied Michael Angelo for twelve years. Here 
are the famous monuments of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, 
grandson of Lorenzo the Magnificent, and father of Catherine 
de' Medici, who died in 15 19, and of his uncle Giuliano, 
third son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who was early weary 
of life, and composed a sonnet in defence of suicide. He 
died, probably of poison, aged 37, March 15 16.* 

The melancholy statue of Lorenzo is called " II Pensoso " 
— " the thinker." The want of architectural power in 
Michael Angelo is nowhere more definitely shown than in 
these monuments. The narrow niches in which the Medici 
are confined would make it impossible for them to stand 
upright, and the disproportionate figures below are slipping 
off the pitiable pedestals which support them. The figures 
beneath the statue of Lorenzo are intended for Dawn and 
Twilight. Dawn, wearily awaking, is perhaps the finest of 
the four statues. Below the statue of Giuliano are Day and 
Night — Day a mere bozzetto. Most people, though they 
may not dare to confess it, will find it difficult to under- 
stand the praises which succeeding generations have heaped 
upon these statues, t 

"Four ineffable types, not of darkness nor of day — not of morning 
nor evening, but of the departure and the resurrection, the twilight and 
the dawn, of the souls of men." — Ruskin. 

• His widow was the charming Philiberte of Savoie, the friend of Marguerite de 
Valois, and the " Aniina Eletta" of Ariusto, who herself died in 1524, aged 26. 

t It was quite uncertain which of the two Medici each statue was intended for. till 
Feb. 34, 1875, when the tombs were opened, and two bodies, evidently those of Lorenzo 
and his son Alessandro il Moro, were found beneath that which bears the statues of 
Twilight aud Dawn. 



TOMBS OF THE MEDICL in 

It is of the figure of Night that Giovanni Battista Strozzi 
wrote : — 

" La Notte che tu vedi in si dolci atti 
Dormir, fu da un Angelo scolpica 
In questo sasso, e perche dorme ha vita : 
Destala, sc nol' credi, e parleratti " — 

to which Michael Angelo replied : — 

" Grato m' e Y son no, e piu 1' esser di sasso, 
Mentre che il danno e la vergogna dura ; 
Non veder, non sentir, m' e gran ventura 
Per&non mi destar, deh ! parla basso."* 

" Michel's Night and Day 
And Dawn and Twilight wait in marble scorn, 

Like dogs upon a dunghill, couched on clay 
From whence the Medicean stamp's outworn, 

The final putting off of all such sway 
By all such hands, and freeing of the unborn 

In Florence and the great world outside Florence. 
Three hundred years his patient statues wait 

In^that small chapel of the dim St. Lawrence : 
Day's eyes are breaking bold and passionate 

Over his shoulder, and will flash abhorrence 
On darkness, and with level looks meet fate, 

When once loose from that marble film of theirs ; 
The Night has wild dreams in her sleep, the Dawn 

Is haggard as the sleepless, Twilight wears 
A sort of horror ; as the veil withdrawn 

'Twixt the Artist's soul and works had left them heirs 
Of speechless thoughts which would not quail nor fawn, 

Of angers and contempts, of hope and love : 

* " Carved by an Angel, in this marble white 
Sweetly reposing, lo, the Goddess Night, 
Calmly she sleeps, and so must living be ; 
Awake her gently ; she will speak to thee." 

" Grateful is sleep, whilst wrong and shame survive, 
More grateful still in senseless stone to live ; 
Gladly both sight and hearing I forego ; 
Oh, then awake me not, Hush — whisper low." 

Translation* by J. C. Wright. 



1 1 2 ITALIAN CITIES. 

For not without a meaning did he place 

The princely Urbino on the seat above 
With everlasting shadow on his nice, 

While the slow dawns and twilights disapprove 
The ashes of his long-extinguished race 

Which never more shall clog the feet of men." 

Eliz. Barrett-Browning. 

" Is not thine hour come to wake, O slumbering Night? 

Hath not the Dawn a message in thine car? 

Though thou be stone and sleep, yet shalt thou hear 
When the word falls from heaven — Let there be light. 
Thou knowcst we would not do thee the despite 

To wake thee while the old sorrow and shame were near; 

Wc spake not loud for thy sake, and for fear 
I-est thou should'st lose the rest that was thy right, 
The blessing given thee that was thine alone, 
The happiness to sleep and to be stone : 

Nay, we kept silence of thee for thy sake 
Albeit we knew thee alive, and left with thee 
The great good gift to feel not nor to see ; 

But will not yet thine Angel bid thee wake." 

Sivinburnti " In San Lorenzo" 

Perhaps of all the statues that of Lorenzo has been the 
most admired : 

* ' From its character of profound reflection, the figure of Lorenzo has 
acquired the distinctive appellation of 'La Pensee de Michel Ange.' 
It is, in fact, the personification of contemplative thought. The head, 
surmounted by a casque of classical form, is gently declined ; the elbow 
of the left arm reposes upon a casket on the knee of the statue ; and the 
fore -finger of the corresponding hand is placed upon the lip in deq> 
meditation ; the crossed legs indicate complete repose ; and the right 
arm, with the hand turned back, leans with perfect ease upon the 
thigh. The flexure of the body is so plastic and easy, and the anatomical 
truth of the whole so perfect, that it seems like life suddenly congealed 
with marble. 'Vivos ducent de marmorevultus.' "-J. S. Harford. 

" Nor then forget that Chamber of the Dead, 
Where the gigantic shapes of Night and Day, 
Turned into stone, rest everlastingly ; 
Yet still are breathing, and shed round at noon 



TOMBS OF THE MEDICI. 113 

A two-fold influence— only to be felt — 

A light, a darkness, mingling each with each ; 

Both and yet neither. There, from age to age, 

Two ghosts are sitting on their sepulchres. 

That is the Duke Lorenzo. Mark him well. 

He meditates, his head upon his hand. 

What from beneath his helm-like bonnet scowls ? 

Is it a face, or but an eyeless skull ? 

'Tis lost in shade ; yet, like the basilisk, 

It fascinates, and is intolerable. 

His mien is noble, most majestical ! 

Then most so, when the distant choir is heard 

At morn or eve — nor fail thou to attend 

On that thrice-hallowed day, when all are there ; 

When all, propitiating with solemn songs, 

Visit the Dead. Then wilt thou feel his Power." — Rogers. 

Opposite the altar is a Madonna and Child, also by 
Michael Angelo, and, like almost all his statues, a mere 
sketch in marble. On one side of it is S. Cosmo by Mont- 
orsoli; on the other, S. Damian by Montelupo. 

The stairs of the Sagrestia Nuova lead also to the 
Medicean Chapel, built as a Mausoleum by the Grand Duke 
Ferdinand I., younger son of Cosimo I. It was begun 
in 1604, and is entirely covered with precious marbles 
and pietra-dura work. The armorial bearings of the principal 
cities of Tuscany are introduced as decorations. The 
granite cenotaphs of the Medici stand around. The only 
ones which have statues are Ferdinand I. (ob. 1608), by 
Pietro Tacca, and Cosimo II. (ob. 1620), by Giovanni da 
Bologna. 

In the Cloister, which was designed by Brunelleschi, close 
to the entrance from the church, is the monument, by San 
Gallo, of Paolo Giovio, the historian, ob. 1552. He is 
represented in his robes as Bishop of Nocera. This cloister 
is, by ancient custom, the refuge of all homeless cats ; any qt& 

. VOL. III. 8 



114 ITALIAN CITIES. 

wishing to dispose of their cat, brings it here and abandons 
it, with the knowledge that it will be provided for. The 
feeding of the cats, which takes place when the clock strikes 
twelve, is a most curious sight. Broken meat and scraps 
of bread, &c, collected at house doors, are brought in a sack, 
and from every roof and arch and parapet wall, mewing, 
hissing, and screaming, the cats rush down to devour it. 
In this cloister of a church so much connected with Michael 
Angelo, we may note the kind of window-grating bulging out 
below, so common in Florence, called Kneeling Windows, 
which were invented by him. 

The cloister is overlooked by the windows of the Lauren- 
tian Library, built by Michael Angelo for Clement VII. to 
receive the Medicean collection. The windows are filled 
with stained glass by Giovanni da Udinc. The Library, 
which originated in the collection of Cosimo Vecchio, con- 
tains more than 7000 MSS., including original letters of 
Petrarch, many precious illuminated Missals, and the 
famous copy of the Pandects of Justinian, discovered in 
1 137 at Amain, and given by Leo X. to the Duke of Urbino, 
but restored in 1786. 

(The Via di Ginori, which continues the Piazza di S. 
Lorenzo, leads into the Via di S. Gallo. Here, on the 
right, at the corner of the Via Silvestrino, is the Palazzo 
Pandolfini, designed by Raffaelle. On the opposite side of 
the street the Convent- Church of S. Apollonia has a door by 
Michael Angelo, and, in the Refectory, a Cenacolo of 
Andrea del Castagno. 

Beyond the Porta di San Gallo, which was built in 1284, 
is a Triumphal Arch, erected in honour of the entry of 



PALAZZO RICC AUDI. 115 

Francis II., husband of Maria Teresa. The open meadow 
beyond was the property of Dante.) 

At one corner of the Piazza S. Lorenzo is the magnificent 
Palazzo Riccardi, which was begun by Cosimo Vecchio in 
1430, from the designs of Michelozzo Michelozzi. The 
upper part is richly and carefully decorated, and gains 
greatly in effect by contrast with the grand basement-story 
of gigantic rough-hewn stones, upon which it rests. Rings 
for torches and banners are attached to the windows, and at 
one corner is a beautiful fanale by Niccolo Caparra. Here 
Charles VIII. of France, Pope Leo X., and the Emperor 
Charles V. were lodged. Here also the Duke Alessandro, 
illegitimate brother of Catherine de' Medici and the last male 
lineal descendant of Cosimo Pater Patriae, was murdered by 
his distant cousin Lorenzino, who had been the minister of 
his pleasures. The room where this crime was committed 
was pulled down afterwards, and has been kept in ruins ever 
since. The palace was sold to the Riccardi by Ferdinand II. 
in 1659, but was repurchased by the Grand Duke in the last 
century, and is now public property. 

"The Riccardi palace, notwithstanding its early date (1430), illus- 
trates all the best characteristics of the style. It possesses a splendid 
fac.ade, 300 ft. in length by 90 in height. The lower story, which is 
considerably higher than the other two, is also bolder, and pierced with 
only a few openings, and these spaced unsymmetrically, as if in proud 
contempt of those structural exigencies which must govern all frailer 
constructions.' ' — Fergusson. 

The court of the palace is surrounded by many of the 
sarcophagi which once stood outside the Baptistery, some of 
them exceedingly interesting and curious. The great Gallery 
is painted with the Apotheosis of the Medici by Luca 
Giordano (1632 — 1705). It was here that Charles VIII. 



1 1 6 ITALIAN CITIES. 

of France received the deputies of the Republic to discuss 
the terms of the treaty he proposed with the city ; and here 
when the king, impatient of delays, threatened to sound his 
trumpets, he received the famous answer of Pietro Capponi — 
" If you sound your trumpets, we will sound our bells " — 
and the answer saved Florence. 

But the gem of the palace is the Chapel (of which the 
keys are kept at the Accademia). It is entirely covered by 
most glorious frescoes of Benozzo Gozzoli (1400 — 1478), 
painted by lamplight, as there was originally no window to 
the chapel. The altar-piece, removed to make the present 
window, must have represented the Virgin and Child, to 
whom the angels on either side the choir are kneeling in 
adoration or standing singing praises. All the rest of the 
walls is occupied by the procession of the Magi, winding 
through a rocky country, except at the angles, where the 
shepherds are represented leaving their flocks. The three 
kings are as usual portrayed of three ages, and the models 
are said to have been the Patriarch of Constantinople, the 
Emperor of the East, and Lorenzo the Magnificent. The 
details of beasts, birds, and flowers are most beautiful. One 
small portion of the fresco, where a secret staircase existed, 
is a later addition. 

" Behind the adoring angel groups, the landscape is governed by the 
most absolute symmetry ; roses and pomegranates, their leaves drawn to 
the last rib and vein, twine themselves in fair and perfect order about 
delicate trellises ; broad stone pines and tall cypresses overshadow 
them, bright birds hover here and there in the serene sky, and groups 
of angels, hand joined with hand, and wing with wing, glide and float 
through the glades of the unentangled forest. But behind the human 
figures, behind the pomp and turbulence of the kingly procession 
descending from the distant hills, the spirit of the landscape is changed. 
Serener mountains rise in the distance, ruder prominences and less 



CONVENT OF S. MARCO. 1 17 

flowery vary the nearer ground, and gloomy shadows remain unbroken 
beneath the forest branches." — Ruskin % Modern Painters, 

The Biblioteca Eiccardi was collected by the Marchese 
Vincenzo Capponi : it is open to the public. 

Close to this palace is the Church of S. Giovannino, built 
for the Jesuits by Bartolommeo Ammanati, who gave his whole 
patrimony towards the work. He is buried here with his 
wife, Laura Battiferi. The body of the murdered Duke 
Alexander was concealed in this church in 1536. In the 
neighbouring Via Martelli is the Palazzo Martelli, containing 
a beautiful statue of S. John Baptist by Donatello, which he 
presented as a token of gratitude to his early patron Roberto 
Martelli. 

The Via Cavour, on the other side of the Palazzo Riccardi, 
leads to the Piazza S. Marco. On the left is the Public 
Library (Biblioteca Marucelliana) founded by Francesco 
Marucelli, who died in 1 703. 

One whole side of the square is occupied by the great 
Monastery and Church of S. Marco, founded by the Silvestrini, 
a branch of the Vallombrosans, in 1290, but almost entirely 
rebuilt under Michelozzo Michelozzi. It is chiefly interesting 
from its association with Savonarola and Fra Angelico. 

The Convent is now a kind of Museum of History and Art, and is 
admirably cared for. Visitors pay I franc at the entrance, and then are 
allowed to wander and admire at their own will. 

The Cloister is first entered. It is surrounded by frescoes 
of a later date, but amid them are six exquisite works of 
Fra Angelico : — 

1. The Crucifixion, with S. Dominic kneeling at the foot of the cross. 

2. S. Peter Martyr, with the knife of his martyrdom buried in his 

shoulder, and his finger on his lips expressing the enforced 
silence of the cloister. 



1 1 8 ITALIAN CITIES. 

3. The Discipline of the cloister, expressed by S. Dominic, with a book 

and a cat-of-nine-tails. 

4. The Resurrection, expressive of the reward of Monastic life. 

5. Two Dominicans welcoming our Saviour in a pilgrim's dress. 

6. A Portrait (much injured) of S. Thomas Aquinas, as the glory of 

the Dominicans. 

The rest of the frescoes here are by different artists ; the 
best by Poccetti (1542 — 161 2). Many interesting points in 
old Florence are introduced in them. They tell the story 
of its holy bishop Antonino ; — he prays before the crucifix 
in Or San Michele ; he walks in a procession to the 
cathedral, which has its old facade ; he defends a bride 
entering the Duomo from the curiosity of the crowd; he gives 
his blessing to Dante da Castiglione and his wife — in the 
background is seen the villa of Castiglione at Cercina, just 
as it still appears. The Funeral of S. Antonino is by Mattco 
Rosselli (1578 — 1650). It is in this cloister that Girolamo 
Savonarola is described as sitting in his early convent life, 
discoursing under a damask rose-tree — "sotto un rosajo di 
rose damaschine." 

Opening from the cloister (right) is the Great Refectory, 
which contains a good fresco by Giov. Ant. Sogliani (1492 
— 1544) of the Angels bringing food to S. Dominic and his 
fasting and penniless brethren at S. Sabina. 

The Chapter-House has a grand Crucifixion by Fra 
Angelico. Many saints, including the Medicean patrons SS. 
Cosmo and Damian and the Fathers of the Church, are intro- 
duced in this picture, and gaze up to the Saviour with wonder, 
sorrow, and ecstacy. Around it is a lovely framework of 
Prophets and Sibyls, and beneath is S. Dominic, from 
whom springs the tree of the Order, branching into many 
saints. 



CONVENT OF S. MARCO. 119 

" In point of religious expression, this is one of the most beautiful 
works of art existing."— KHgier. 

"The great Crucifixion in the Capitolo is in excellent preservation, 
and a very singular composition. The tree of life, with its fruit of 
salvation, the Crucified Messiah, stands in the midst ; to the left, the 
Virgin faints in the arms of S.John, attended by the Maries, S. Mark, 
&c. ; to the right, a whole host of the Christian fathers and doctors — 
Ambrose, Augustine and Jerome, S. Antony leaning on his staff, 
S. Bernard, S. Francis and S. Dominic, S. Thomas Aquinas, S. Peter 
Martyr and others— are grouped in adoration, a most noble company, 
full of variety and individuality in countenance and attitude, yet col- 
lectively one in the concentration of their interest on Christ. The 
heads are full of character, that of S. Jerome kneeling is peculiarly 
grand ; the breadth and dignity of the drapery is surprising. The back- 
ground was originally of rich ultramarine, now picked off. The whole is 
surrounded by a fresco frame- work of Prophets, Sibyls, and Saints, among 
whom the pelican, the ancient symbol of Our Saviour, looks down upon 
the cross. A row of Saints and Beati of the Dominican Order, branching 
from the patriarch in the centre, runs like a frieze below." — Lord Lind- 
says Christian Aft. 

" To understand how profoundly every part of this grand composition 
has been meditated and worked out, we must bear in mind that it was 
painted in a convent dedicated to S. Mark ; in the days of the first 
and greatest of the Medici, Cosmo and Lorenzo ; and that it was the 
work of a Dominican friar, for the glory of the Dominican Order. In 
the centre of the picture is the Redeemer crucified between the two 
thieves. At the foot of the cross is the usual group of the Virgin fainting 
in the arms of S. John the Evangelist, Mary Magdalene, and another 
Mary. To the right of this group, and the left of the spectator, is seen 
S. Mark, as patron of the convent, kneeling and holding his Gospel ; 
behind him stands S. John the Baptist, as protector of the city of 
Florence. Beyond are three martyrs, S. Laurence, S. Cosmo, and S. 
Damian, patrons of the Medici family. The two former, as patrons of 
Cosmo and Lorenzo de' Medici, look up to the Saviour with devotion ; 
S. Damian turns away and hides his face. On the left of the cross we 
have the group of the founders of the various Orders —First, S. 
Dominick, kneeling with hands outspread, gazes up at the Crucified ; 
behind him S. Augustine and S. Albert the Carmelite, mitred and robed 
as bishops ; in front kneels S. Jerome as a Jeronymite hermit, the 
cardinal's hat at his feet ; behind him kneels S. Francis ; behind S. 
Francis stand two venerable figures, S. Benedict and S. Romualdo ; 
and in froiU of them kneels S. Bernard, with his book ; and, *\\\Y xs&x^ 



120 ITALIAN CITIES. 

in front, S. John Gualberto, in the attitude in which he looked up at the 
crucifix when he spared his brother's murderer. Beyond this group of 
monks Angelico has introduced two of the famous friars of his own 
community : S. Peter Martyr kneels in front, and behind him stands S. 
Thomas Aquinas ; the two, thus placed together, represent the sanctity 
and the learning of the Dominican Order, and close this sublime and 
wonderful composition. Thus considered, we may read it like a sacred 
poem, and every separate figure is a study of character. 1 hardly know 
anything in painting finer than the pathetic beauty of the head of the 
penitent thief, and the mingled fervour and intellectual refinement in 
the head of S. Bernard. 

" It will be remembered that, in this group of patriarchs, ' Capi e 
Fondatori de' Religiosi,' S. Bruno, the famous founder of the Carthu- 
sians, is omitted. At the time the fresco was painted, about 1440, S. 
Bruno was not canonized." — Jameson* s Monastic Orders. 

A passage leads to the Smaller Refectory, which contains 
a Cenacolo by Ghirlandajo, a noble picture with beauti- 
fully rendered details of birds and flowers seen through the 
open arcades behind the figures. Here is the entrance to 
the stairs leading to the cells. At their head is a lovely 
Annunciation by Fra Angelico. r 

"The Virgin sits in an open loggia, resembling that of the Florentine 
church of L'Annunziata. Before her is a meadow of rich herbage, 
covered with daisies. Behind her is seen through the door at the end 
of the loggia, a chamber with a single grated window, through which 
a star-like beam of light falls into the silence." — Kuskin, Modern 
Painters, ii. 165. 

Facing this is S. Dominic embracing the Cross. The 
most perfect works of Fra Angelico may be studied here, 
where they were painted with affectionate care on the walls 
of his convent-home and in the cells of his friends and 
companions. 

"Fra Giovanni was in his manner of life simple and most holy ; and 
the following may be taken as an indication of his scrupulous subjection 
to duty. One day Nicholas V. having invited him to dinner, he refused 
to eat meat, because he had not previously obtained the required per- 



CONVENT OF S. MARCO. 1 21 

mission of his Superior, forgetting, in his unquestioning obedience, the 
authority of the Pope to release him from it. He avoided all worldly 
business, and living in purity and holiness, he so loved the poor, as, I 
believe, his soul now loves Heaven ; he worked continually in his Art ; 
nor would he ever paint other things than those which concerned the 
saints. He might have been rich, but he cared not for riches ; nay, he 
was wont to say, that true riches consist entirely in being content with 
little. He might have had command over many, and would not ; saying, 
that to obey others was less troublesome and less liable to error. It was 
in his choice to have honour and dignities in his convent and beyond it ; 
but they were valueless to him, who affirmed that the only dignity he 
sought was to avoid Hell and to reach Paradise ; and what dignity is 
to be compared to that which all Ecclesiastics, and indeed all men, 
ought to seek and which is found only in God and in a virtuous life ? 
He was most kind, and living soberly and chastely, he freed himself 
from the snares of the world, frequently repeating that the Painter had 
need of quiet and of a life undisturbed by cares, and that he who does 
the things of Christ should always be with Christ. That which appears 
to me a very wondrous and almost incredible thing is, that among his 
brethren he was never seen in anger : and it was his wont, when he 
admonished his friends, to do it with a sweet and smiling gentleness. 
To those who asked for his works he invariably answered with in- 
credible benignity, that they had only to obtain the consent of the Prior, 
and then he would not fail to do their pleasure. In fine, this monk, 
whom it is impossible to praise over-much, was in his words and works 
humble and modest, and, in his pictures, of ready skill, and devout ; and 
the saints which he painted have a more saint-like air and semblance 
than those of any other painter whatever. It was his rule not to retouch 
or alter any of his works, but to leave them just as they had shaped 
themselves at first ; for he believed, and he used to say, that such was 
the will of God. It is supposed that Fra Giovanni never took up a 
brush without a previous prayer. He never painted a Crucifix without 
bathing his own cheeks with tears, and therefore it is that the expressions 
and attitudes of his figures clearly demonstrate the sincerity of his great 
soul for the Christian Religion. He died in 1455 in the 68th year of 
his age. " — Vasari. 

The Dormitory of the convent is divided into cells, with 
a passage down the middle. Each cell has its own exquisite 
fresco. Turning to the left, those in the cells on the left are 
all by Fra Angelico, those on the right, by his btoXtai Fra 



122 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Benedetto. In the Corridor, on the right, is a large fresco, 
once a tabernacle, of the Virgin and Child enthroned, with, 
on the right, SS. Mark, Thomas Aquinas, Laurence, and 
Peter; on the left, SS. John the Evangelist, Cosmo and 
Damian, and Dominic. 

Amongst the most beautiful parts of the frescoes in the 
cells are : — 

No. 5. The figure of S. Catherine, who kneels in background at the 

Nativity. 
No. 6. The Transfiguration — the figure of the Saviour is sublime. 
No. 7. The Saviour buffeted — only the insulting hands appear, and 

have a very odd effect. The Virgin appears below, and S. 

Dominic, who is introduced in most of the pictures. 
No. 8. The figure of the dazzled Mary looking into the empty tomb 

at the Resurrection. 
No. 9. The humble rapt figure of the Madonna, in the Coronation of 

the Virgin. 

The cells on the other side of this corridor (No. 15 — 23) 
intended for the •' Giovanati " monks who had just passed 
their noviciate, contain the Cmcifixion repeated in each by 
Fra Benedetto, only the figure of S. Dominic at the foot of 
the Cross is always varied. 

At the end of the corridor is (No. 1 2) the Prior's Cell, 
which contains two frescoes of the Madonna and Child by 
Fra Bartolommeo, painted when the sermons of Savonarola 
had so impressed him with a religious vocation, that he had 
bade an eternal farewell to the world, and assumed the 
monastic habit at Prato, whence he was removed to this 
convent, where he was induced to resume his pencil, though 
only for religious subjects. Here are busts of Savonarola 
and his friend Girolamo Benivieni, imitations of old terra- 
cottas, by Girolamo Bastiniani (ob. 1868). Within, are two 
small cells, which are of deep interest as having been occupied 



CONVENT OF S. MARCO. 123 

by Girolamo Savonarola, when Prior. His hair-shirt, rosary, 
chair, and a fragment from the pile on which he was burnt, 
are preserved here. In a desk, which is an imitation of 
his own, is a copy of his sermons, and — most interesting — 
his treatise against the " Trial by Fire," and upon the desk 
is his wooden Crucifix. The portrait upon the wall is 
attributed to Fra Bartolommeo. In the inner cell is a most 
interesting old picture which belonged to the Buondelmonti 
family, representing the Execution of Savonarola (May 28, 
1498). The Ringhiera is represented, with the long platform 
leading from it by which the scaffold in the piazza was ap- 
proached. The three suffering monks are seen three times, 
so as to give the whole scene — 1. being unfrocked; 2. being 
dragged along the platform ; 3. hanging round a pole over 
the flames. 

Savonarola embraced the monastic life in his 22nd year, 
choosing the Dominican Order on account of his predilection 
for S. Thomas Aquinas. In 1490 he was elected Prior of 
S. Marco, and obtained leave to preach in the cathedral, 
finding his conventual church too small for the crowds who 
came to attend his sermons, for, " even in winter the square 
in front of S. Marco was thronged for hours before its doors 
were opened, by disciples wishing for places,"* and '* trades- 
men forbore to open their shops till the Prior's morning 
preaching was over." t 

" In order to participate in the benefits of the spiritual food which he 
dispensed, the inhabitants of the towns and neighbouring villages deserted 
their abodes, and the rude mountaineers descended from the Apennines 
and directed their steps towards Florence, where crowds of pilgrims 
flocked every morning at break of day, when the gates were opened, 
and became the objects of a charity truly fraternal, the citizens vying 

* Stsmondi, Hist. Ital xii. 73. 
t Burlamacchi, Vit. Sav. 88, 93. 



124 ITALIAN CITIES. 

with each other in the exercise of the duties of Christian hospitality, 
embracing them in the streets as brothers, even before they were ac- 
quainted with their names, while some of the more pious received them 
by forty at a time into their houses. 

" When we consider that this enthusiasm continued forseven consecutive 
years, during which time it was necessary for him to preach separately to 
men, women, and children, from the impossibility of admitting them all 
at one time into the cathedral ; that all this unheard-of success was ob- 
tained amidst the cries of rage of the moderate faction, who denounced 
him daily at the court of Rome, and threatened him publicly with 
punishment, we are at a loss which to admire most in Savonarola, his 
inexhaustible fluency as an evangelical orator, his facility in rising 
superior to popular fury, or his almost superhuman reliance on that 
divine succour which he believed could never fail him. 

" The eloquence of the pulpit had before this degenerated into dis- 
putations purely scholastic, and the preachers most in favour, making a 
monstrous medley of the Gospel and lo^jic, came, their heads stuffed with 
all the subtleties of the schools, to perplex the minds of their hearers 
with barren disputations, while the things of God and of Faith were 
neglected and forgotten. 

44 Blessed, indeed, were then the poor in spirit ; for, when Savonarola 
burst forth with the abundance and happy choice of his biblical quota- 
tions, it was in these simple souls they re-echoed, like repeated peals of 
thunder, and the same burning coal appeared to have refined their hearts 
and purified their lips. . . . The sympathies of the preacher were never 
more deeply affected than when he spoke to children. He called upon 
them to reap the fruits of his labours in their day, and to watch over the 
future destinies of their country ; but in the mean time he prepared for 
this glorious future by adapting to their capacities the great truths of 
the faith, and by suggesting salutary reforms in domestic education. It 
was solely on the generations placed, so to speak, between infancy and 
manhood, that Savonarola rested his hopes of the future ; hopes which 
he cherished during eight consecutive years, with an unparalleled zeal, 
and which sustained him under the severe trials caused by the implacable 
hatred of his enemies. 

" To prepare and secure the triumph of art, poetry, and Christian 
faith, for a new era, which was to open gloriously with the sixteenth 
century, and at Florence, rather than elsewhere, on account of her 
superior holiness, such was the aim which Savonarola proposed to him- 
self in impregnating the heart and imagination of youth with the 
exquisite perfume of a tender child -like piety, the fragrance of which is 
generally prolonged through advancing years. His success so far sur- 



CONVENT OF S. MARCO 125 

passed his expectations, that he could only himself attribute it to the 
miraculous intervention of divine mercy, and he was never more pathetic 
than when he poured forth his gratitude to the Author of this blessing. 
The joy he experienced was so great, that it seemed an anticipation of 
his heavenly reward." — Rio. 

One of the longings of Savonarola was to make his con- 
vent a school and sanctuary of sculpture and painting 
entirely consecrated to the service and glory of religion. 
Hence perhaps, partly, his power over the minds of the 
artists of his time. 

"Sandro Botticelli gave up painting for love of Savonarola, and would 
have starved without the assistance of Lorenzo de' Medici and other 
friends. Two of the Robbias were made priests by his hand, and tes- 
tified their veneration for him by coining a medal bearing his portrait 
on one side, and on the other a city with many towers, above which ap- 
peared a hand holding a dagger pointed downwards, with the motto, 
'Gladius Domini sup. terram cito et velociter.' Lorenzo di Credi 
spent the latter years of his life in the convent of S. Maria Novella ; 
Fra Bartolommeo became a monk in the convent of S. Mark, and was 
so afflicted by Savonarola's death, that he gave up painting for four 
years. Cronaca ceased story-telling, for which he had become famous, 
and would talk only of Fra Girolamo. Giovanni dclla Coniiole per- 
petuated his likeness in one of the finest of modern gems. Michael 
Angelo, one of the Friar's constant auditors in his youth, pored over his 
sermons when an old man, and ever retained a vivid impression of his 
powerful voice and impassioned gestures, proving that he had profited 
by his eloquent appeals when he defended the republic on the slopes of 
San Miniato." — Ptrkirfs Tuscan Sculptors. 

"To a mind like that of Savonarola, deeply imbued with the religious 
sentiment, Florentine art acted like sacred music, and bore witness to 
the omnipotence of genius inspired by faith. The paintings of Angelico 
appeared to have brought down angels from heaven to dwell in the 
cloisters of S . Mark, and he felt as if his soul had been transported to 
the world of the blessed." — PasquaU Villari. 

Returning to the head of the stairs, the cell facing the 
staircase (No. 31) was that occupied by S. Antonino, before 
he was raised to the archbishopric. His vestments, his ^ox- 



126 ITALIAN CITIES. 

trait by Fra Bartolommeo, and a mask of his face, are pre- 
served here. 

"It would be difficult to find in history an example of self-denial 
more constant, of charity more active, of love to our neighbour more 
truly evangelical, than S. Antonino. There is scarcely a charitable in- 
stitution in Florence that he did not either found or revive. To him 
belonged the praise of changing into an institution of charity that society 
of the Bigallo which S. Peter Martyr had founded for the extermination of 
heresy, and which had so often polluted the streets and walls of Florence 
with blood. From that time forward the officers of the Bigallo, instead 
of burning and slaying human beings, sought out and succoured neg- 
lected orphans. S. Antonino was the founder of the society called 
' Buoni Uomini di San Martinof who, to this day, fulfil the Christian 
duty of collecting offerings and of distributing them to the poor of better 
condition who are ashamed to beg. It would be impossible to recount 
all he did for the benefit of the people. He was frequently seen travers- 
ing the city and surrounding country, leading a mule loaded with bread 
for some, and with clothes for others, and bringing relief to the dwell- 
ings of the poor which plague or famine had made desolate. His death, 
which occurred in Florence in 1459, was mourned as a public solemnity, 
and no one ever mentioned his name without reverence." — Pas quale 
Villari. 

In the cell of S. Antonino is a genealogical tree of the 
monks of the convent : the name of Savonarola is nearly 
obliterated by kisses. Here also is a fresco by Fra Angclico 
representing the Descent of Christ into Hades. 

"Early Italian artists of earnest purpose, indicated by perfect simi- 
larity of action and gesture on the one hand, and by the infinite and 
truthful variation of expression on the other, the most sublime strength, 
because the most absorbing unity, of multitudinous passion that ever 
human heart conceived. Hence, in the cloister of S. Mark's, the in- 
tense, fixed, statue-like silence of ineffable adoration upon the spirits in 
prison at the feet of Christ, side by side, the hands lifted, and the knees 
bowed, and the lips trembling together." — Ruskin % Modern Painters^ 
ii. 52. 

In cell No. 33 is an exquisite little Fra Angelico of the 
Madonna and Child surrounded by Angels, brought from 



CONVENT OF S. MARCO. 127 

S. Maria Novella, and, in the cell within this another small 
picture of the Coronation of the Virgin. 

" The sweetness and purity of the Virgin are beyond the sphere of 
criticism, — they sink into the heart and dwell there in the dim but holy 
light of memory, in association with looks and thoughts too sacred for 
sunshine and 'too deep for tears.'" — Lord Lindsay. 

Cell No. 34 has a similar picture of the Adoration of the 
Magi. 

The last cell on the right (No. 38), adjoining the church, 
has an inner chamber approached by steps. An inscription 
records that it belonged to Cosimo de' Medici, who built it 
that he might more intimately converse with S. Antonino 
and the two brothers Fra Angel ico and S. Benedetto. A 
portrait of Cosimo by Pontormo hangs in the cell. Here 
Pope Eugenius IV. lodged in 1432, when he came for the 
consecration of the church. The frescoes are the Adoration 
of the Magi and a Pieta. 

The Library, is a fine room supported by ranges of pillars. 
It contains a curious collection of choral-books brought 
hither from various suppressed convents. Fourteen of 
those originally belonging to S. Marco were illuminated by 
Fra Benedetto. It was this room which witnessed the last 
striking scene in Savonarola's convent-life. 

" In the middle of this hall, under the simple vaults of Michelozzi, 
Savonarola placed the sacrament, collecting his brethren around him, and 
addressed them in his last and memorable words : My sons — in the pre- 
sence of God, standing before the sacred Host, and with my enemies 
already in the convent, I now confirm my doctrine. What I have said 
came to me from God, and He is my witness in heaven that what I say 
is true. I little thought that the whole city would so soon have turned 
against me ; but God's will be done. My last admonition to you is 
this— Let your arms be faith, patience, and prayer. I leave you with 
anguish and pain, to pass into the hands of my enemies. I know not 



128 ITALIAN CITIES. 

whether they will take my life ; but of this I am certain, that dead, I 
shall be able to do far more for you in heaven, than living I have ever 
had power to do on earth. Be comforted, embrace the cross, and by 
that you will find the haven of salvation. 

11 The enemy had now got full possession of the convent, and Giovac- 
chino della Vecchia, who commanded the Palazzo guard, threatened to 
destroy everything with his artillery if the commands of the Signory 
were not immediately obeyed. These were, that on the faith that their 
persons would be safe, Fra Girolamo, Fra Domenico, and Fra Salvestro 
should be delivered up. But Malatesta Sacramoro, the same who had 
offered to pass through the fire, began to play the part of Judas ; he had 
a conference with the Compagnacci, and advised them to bring a written 
order. While they were sent to obtain it from the Signory, Savonarola 
confessed to Fra Domenico, received the communion from him, and 
prepared to give himself up with Fra Domenico. Fra Salvestro had 
concealed himself, and in the disturbance it was not easy to find him. 

41 A singular incident occurred about this time. Girolamo Gini, a fol- 
lower of the Friar, who had long desired to assume the Dominican dress, 
was that evening at vespers ; and scarcely had the tumult begun than 
he armed himself to defend the convent. When Savonarola ordered 
him to lay aside his arms the good citizen obeyed ; but he ran through 
the cloisters, facing the enemy, wishing, as he said, to meet death for 
the love of Jesus Christ ; and, having been wounded, he entered the 
Greek library, his head streaming with blood ; threw himself on his 
knees before Savonarola, and humbly asked that the convent dress might 
be given to him — a request which was immediately granted." — Villari. 

Descending the stairs, and turning to the right, we enter 
the Second Cloister. Here, on the left, is the Dormitory of 
the Novices — " I nostri Angioli " — as Savonarola was wont to 
call them. It is now used for the meetings of the 
Accademia della Crusca. Five of its eight lunettes are by 
Fra Bartolommeo. 

The Convent Garden is especially connected with an inci- 
dent in the life of Savonarola. 

" After attending the mass at S. Marco, as Lorenzo de* Medici now 
and then did, he would walk in the convent garden ; and it was known 
among the fraternity that he would have been well pleased had the prior 
sometimes joined him in his walk, and thus have given him opportune- 



5. MARCO. 129 

ties of evincing his regard. Burlamacci mentions an occasion on which 
a monk in the interest of Lorenzo went to apprise the prior that the 
Magnifico was walking in the garden. ' Has he asked for me ? ' was 
his reply. ' No, father,' said the monk. ' Let him then pursue his de- 
votions undisturbed,' rejoined he, and remained tranquil in his cell. 
'This man is a true monk,' said Lorenzo, 'and the only one I have 
known who acts up to his profession.' "—Harford's Life of Michael 
Angdo. 

The Church of 5. Marco is little important. On the 
facade is a statue of S. Dominic with his dog. Over the 
entrance inside is the wooden Crucifix of Giotto, which is 
believed to have established his supremacy over Cimabue, 
and caused Dante to write : — 

" O vana-gloria delle umane posse 
Com' poco verde in su la cima dura 
Se non e giunta dall' etati grosse ! 
Credette Cimabue nella pintura 
Tener lo campo, ed ora ha Giotto il grido 
Si che la fama de colui oscura." — Purg. xi. 91. 

In the Chapel of S. Antonino in the left transept, the good 
bishop is buried. The frescoes of his funeral &c. are by 
Passignano, the bronze reliefs of his history by Partigiani. 

On the left of the nave are the graves of three learned 
men, Girolamo Benivieni, ob. 1542 ; Poliziano, ob. 1494 ; 
and Pico della Mirandola, ob. 1494. The inscription to 
Pico is on the wall : — 

D. M. S. 
Johannes jacet hie Mirandula caetera norunt 

Et Tagus et Ganges forsan et Antipodes 

ob. an Sal. mcccclxxxxiiii. vix an xxxn 

Hieronimus Benivienus ne disiunctus post 

mortem locus ossa separet quorum animas 

in vita conjunxit amor hoc humo 

supposita poni curavit. 

VOL. ill. 9 



130 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Another tablet, placed below that of Pico, is that of 
Politian : — 

Politianus 
in hoc tumulo jacet 

Angelus unum 

qui caput et linguas 

res nova tres habuit 

obiit an mcccclxxxxiv 

Sept. xxiv. iEtatis 

XL. 

" Politian died Sept. 24, 1494, ' with as much infamy and abuse as a 
man could well be loaded with.' He was accused of numberless vices 
and of enormous profligacy ; but the true cause of all this hatred was 
rather to be traced to Piero de* Medici having become so universally 
detested, and to Politian's death having occurred near the time when 
Piero and his adherents were expelled. Nor were these angry feelings 
at all mitigated by the knowledge that the last words that fell from the 
lips of the illustrious poet and accomplished scholar were words of con- 
trition. He had requested that his body might be buried in a Dominican 
dress, in the Church of S. Mark ; where, in (act, his ashes repose by 
the side of those of Pico della Mirandola, who died the very day that 
Charles VIII. entered Florence. Pico had also for some time expressed 
a desire to assume the dress of the friars of S. Mark, but having 
hesitated too long, his wish could not be fulfilled, as death carried him 
off at the early age of thirty-two. While on his death-bed, he asked 
Savonarola not to allow him to go down to the tomb without first having 
been clothed in that habit. 

"The end of these two illustrious Italians recalled to mind the last 
hour and confession of the Magnificent ; for to many it appeared that 
the Medicean society, on leaving the world, had indeed to acknowledge 
their crimes, and ask absolution from the people they had so grievously 
oppressed, and from the friar who might be considered the living and 
speaking representative of that people. Singular it was, that they ail 
looked to that Convent of S. Mark, from whence had issued the first cry 
of liberty, the first resistance, and the first accusations against the tyranny 
of the Medici."— Villari. 

The mosaic of the Madonna on the right was brought 
from the Oratory of the Porta Santa in 1609, and presented 



ACCADEMIA DELLE BELLE ARTI. 131 

by Michael Angelo. A stone beneath the pulpit marks the 
vault of the Lapi family, of whom was Niccolb, rendered 
famous by the romance of Azeglio. 

At (he corner of the Via Ricasoli and the Piazza S. Marco 
is the ancient Ospedale de S. Matteo, now the Accademia 
delle Belle Arti. 

In the little entrance hall are four admirable reliefs by 
Luca delta Robbia. In the courtyard beyond is the bozzetto 
of a Statue of S. Matthew by Michael Angelo. 

"The statue of S. Matthew looks like the antediluvian fossil of a 
human being of an epoch when humanity was mightier and more 
majestic than now, long ago imprisoned in stone and half uncovered 
again." — Hawthorn? s Note-books. 

Hither also, to a building especially erected for it, the 
famous Statue of David by Michael Angelo has been re- 
moved by the present government from its original and far 
better situation at the gate of the Palazzo Vecchio, a position 
which was of the greatest interest as having been chosen by 
Michael Angelo himself at a council composed of all the 
great contemporary painters and sculptors. 

" Having selected David as his subject, Michael Angelo made a 
sketch, in which the shepherd hero stood with his foot upon the head 
of Goliath, but the shape of the marble not admitting of such action, 
he designed the wax model now in the Casa Buonarotti, according to 
which he sculptured the statue as we now see it. The marble was set 
upon end, and enclosed, so that the sculptor need not be interfered with 
in his work, which was far advanced in the month of February 1503* 
and ready to be given up to the Signory who had purchased it from the 
merchants of the Woollen Guild, within a year after that date. Though 
trammelled in a way especially irksome to an artist so free in expression 
of thought, Michael Angelo showed in this statue no other sign of the 
conditions under which he worked, save in the meagreness of its forms, 
which we soon forget in our admiration for the grandeur and bold 
modelling of the figure, its ease of attitude, and the collected, vcaXs&&& 



132 ITALIAN CITIES. 

expression of the face. Giant himself, David is a match for any Goliath ; 
too much so, perhaps, as a representation of the youth, who strong only 
in the grace of God, went out with a sling in his hand, to do battle 
against the champion of the Philistines. 

" As soon as the statue was set upon its pedestal the Gonfaloniere Pier 
Soderini came to see it, and after expressing his great admiration for the 
work, suggested that the nose seemed to him too large ; hearing this, 
Michael Angelo gravely mounted on a ladder, and after pretending to 
work for a few moments, during which he constantly let fall some of the 
marble dust he had taken up in his pocket, turned with a questioning and 
doubtless a slightly sarcastic expression in his face, to the critic, who 
responded, ' Bravo ! bravo ! you have given it life.' " — Perkins. 

Through a gallery of plaster casts, we reach the Picture 
Gallery. It contains a great deal of rubbish, but the 
earlier pictures are very interesting, and those who stay 
long in Florence will find them an excellent introduction 
to the study of the Uffizi and the Pitti. Amongst the best 
pictures are : — 

1. The Life of Mary Magdalen, very curious. 

2. Cimabue. The Madonna, almost a replica of the Ruccellai 

picture. 

3. Santa U milt a, standing, with small pictures round of her history, 

much restored. 
4 — 13. Giotto. The Story of S. Francis — a series of panels from the 
presses of S. Croce. 

14. A Triptych : in the centre the Virgin appearing to S. Bernard. 

15. Giotto. The Madonna throned, with angels — painted for the 

Umiliati of Ogni Santi. 

16. Giovanni da Milano. A Pieta. 

17. Ambrogio Lorenzetti. The Presentation in the Temple. 

18 — 29. Taddeo Gaddi. ? A series of small pictures of the Life of Our 
Saviour, from S. Croce. 

30. Lorenzo Monaco. The Annunciation. The floating figure of the 

angel is very beautiful. The Virgin appears to be taking 
flight. 

31. Taddeo Gaddi. ? The Entombment. 

32. Gentile da Fabriano, 1423. The Adoration of the Magi. In the 

Predella, the Nativity and the Flight into Egypt. 



ACCADEMIA DELLE BELLE ARTL 133 

33. Agnolo Gaddi (son of Taddeo). An altar-piece in many com- 

partments, the Virgin and Child in the centre. 

34. Era Angelico. The Deposition. 

35. Spinello Aretino. An altar-piece. The figure of the Virgin is by 

Lorenzo di Niccolo Gerini, 1401. 

36. Masaccio. Madonna and Child. 

37» 3^» 39* Andrea Castagno. ? S.Jerome, the Baptist, and the Mag- 
dalen. 

40. Era Filippo Lippi. Madonna and Child with saints. 
•41. Filippo Lippi. The Coronation of the Virgin (by God the 
Father) — a most beautiful picture. On the right is the painter 
with his hands clasped and wearing a red scarf. An old monk 
in white, on the left of the picture, is exceedingly striking. 

42. FiL Lippi. Predella of the Barbadori altar-piece in the Louvre. 

43. Andrea Verocchio. The Baptism of Christ — a noble picture — 

though the faces are those of two peasants. 

44. Filippino Lippi. S. Jerome — very poor. 

46. Sandro Botticelli. The Virgin throned, with SS. Cosmo and 

Damian kneeling. 
40. Pesellifw. The Nativity. The Martyrdom of SS. Cosmo and 

Damian, and S. Antony of Padua discovering the heart of a 

dead miser in his money-box. 
•47. Botticelli. The Coronation of the Virgin — lovely angels dance 

around hand in hand. 
49. The Predella of the above. In the centre, the Annunciation. On 

the left, S. Augustine in Patmos and S. Jerome in his study. 

On the right, S. Jerome in the desert, and S. Eloy in his 

workshop. 
•50. Domenico Ghirlandajo. The Adoration of the Shepherds and 

the approach of the Magi. The landscape and distant town are 

very highly finished. 

51. Lorenzo di Credi. The Adoration of the Shepherds. 

52. Sandro Botticelli. Virgin and Child throned, with saints. 
•53. Pietro Perugino. The Agony in the Garden. 

54. Luca Signorelli. The Trinity, with the Virgin, S. Michael, S. 

Gabriel, S. Anastasius, and S. Augustine. 

55. Perugino, 1400. The Assumption. Below are Cardinal S. 

Bernardo degli Uberti, S. Giovanni Gualberto, S. Benedict, and 
S. Michael. The figure of Giovanni Gualberto is exquisitely 
beautiful. 

56. Perugino. The Crucifixion. The Virgin, and S. Jerome with 

his lion, stand by the cross. 



134 ITALIAN CITIES. 

57. A Deposition, the upper part by Filippino Llppi, who died 

while it was unfinished, in 1514. His work was completed by 
Perugino. 

58. Perugino. A Pieta. 

59. Andrea del Sarto, 1528. Four saints, for an altar-piece for 

Vallombrosa. 

61. A. del Sarto. A fresco of Christ seated on the tomb. 

62. A. del Sarto, Cherubs from the altar-piece No. 59. 

63. A. del Sarto, The Predel la of this picture. S. Michael weighing 

souls. S. Pietro Igneo passing through the fire, and S. J. 
Baptist being beheaded. 

64. Fra Bartolommeo. Two sketches of the Madonna and Child. 

65. Fra Bartolommeo. The Virgin throned, with saints. The Child 

standing on the step of her throne receives the heart of 
S. Catherine. 

66. Fra Bartolommeo, The Vision of S. Bernard — the figure of the 

saint is most beautiful. 

67. Raffaellino del Garbo. The Resurrection. 

68. Fra Bartolommeo and Fra Paolino. A Pieta with saints. 

69. ^Fra Bartolommeo, 1 5 16. San Vincenzio — very striking. 

71. Mariotto Albertinelli . The Trinity — much restored. 

72. Albertinelli. Madonna throned, with saints. 

73. Albertinelli. The Annunciation, painted for the Confraternita of 

S. Zenobio in 1 5 10. 
75. Francesco Granacci. The Virgin in glory. Below, S. Catherine, 

S. Bernard, S. Giovanni Gualberto, and S. George. 
78, 82. Fra Bartolommeo. A series of heads of saints. 
88. Angelo Bronzino. Portrait of Cosimo de' Medici. 
94. Bronsitto, 1 561. Portrait of S. Buonaventura. 

The other pictures are not worth examination. Beyond 
this gallery is the entrance of the Library, through which we 
must pass to reach the 2nd Hall, which contains few pictures 
of importance. We may notice — 

I. Ugolino da Siena. The Coronation of the Virgin. 
6. Luca Signorelli. A Crucifixion with a kneeling Magdalen, used 
as a church banner. 

16. Giacomo Pacckiarotti. The Visit of Elizabeth to Mary. 

17. Dom. Ghirlandajo. A Madonna and Child, with S. Clement 

and S. Dominic, S. Thomas Aquinas and S. Denis the 



ACCADEMIA DELLE BELLE ARTL 135 

Areopagite. In the predella is a story from the lives of each 

of these saints. 
19. Fra Angelico. Madonna with Saints. No. 20 and No. 21 are 

repetitions of this subject. 
22. Lorenzo de* Bicci, Madonna with Saints. 
24. Sandro Botticelli. An Allegory of Spring, painted for the villa 

Cosimo de' Medici at Castello. 
36. Antonio da Ceraiuolo. A Crucifixion. 

$rd Room. — 

I. Luca Signorelli. A Predella. The Last Supper, the Agony in 
the Garden, and the Flagellation. 

1 1. Fra Angelico. Scenes from the life of Christ — from the Annun- 

ziata. 

12. Filippo Lippi. The Virgin praying over the Infant Jesus. 

13. Lorenzo de Credi. Holy Family. 

18. Perugino. Portraits of Don Blasio, General of the Vallombrosi- 

ans, and Don Balthasar, Abbot of Vallombrosa. 

19. Fra Angelico. A Predella. Six scenes from the story of SS. 

Cosmo and Damian. 

20. Fra Angelico. Madonna and Child. 

27. Carlo Dolce. Portrait of Fra Angelico (Ideal). 

28. Fra Bartolommeo. Portrait of Savonarola as S. Peter Martyr. 
•41. Fra Angelico. The Last Judgment — a glorious picture. 

" The upper part is arranged in the usual traditional manner and 
highly finished, the Inferno, in the right hand comer below, much more 
hastily, as if the artist longed to escape from the ungenial task ; but the 
very spirit of paradise illumines the opposite angle, where the elect are 
assembled in their beatitude — some basking (as it were) in the benig- 
nant glance of Christ, others ascending heralded by angels, who weave 
a dance of mystic harmony around them, towards the gates of the 
Celestial City, whence a flood of light streams down upon them, in 
which the two foremost, floating buoyantly upwards from earth, are 
already half transfigured. One almost fancies one hears the ' bells ring- 
ing and the trumpets sounding melodiously within the golden gates,' 'as 
if heaven itself were coming down to meet them,' in the Jubilee of 
welcome." * — Lord Lindsay's Christian Art. 

f 

In the following Room are some sketches for pictures 

* Sec the conclusion of the 1st Part of the Pilgrim's Frogretx. 



1 36 ITALIAN CITIES. 

by Fra Bartolomtneo, Correggio, &a, and one attributed to 
Raffaelle. 

It is necessary to take a Custode from the Accademia to 
open the Scalzo, as well as to see the pictures in the Chapel 
of the Riccardi Palace. 

The Scalzo (No. 69, Via Cavour) belonged to the gardens 
of Ottaviano de* Medici, where the Scalzi, or bare-footed 
friars, had a court, for the decorations of which they em- 
ployed Andrea del Sarto and his friend Franciabigio who 
lived with him. The subject chosen was the life of John 
the Baptist. The execution of the frescoes occupied from 
151 7 to 1526. They are, beginning from the right : — 

1. Faith. 

2. The Announcement to Zacharias. 

3. The Meeting of Mary and Elizabeth. 

4. The Birth of John. 

5. The Benediction of Zacharias. 

6. The Meeting of John and Jesus. 

7. The Baptism of Christ. 

8. Love — with most lovely children. 

9. Justice. 

10. The Preaching of the Baptist. 

11. The Baptizing of John's Disciples. 

12. John before Herod. 

13. The Dance of Herodias' Daughter. 

14. The Beheading of the Baptist 

15. The Bringing of the Head to Herod. 

16. Hope. 

All these are by Andrea del Sarto, except 5 and 6, which 
are by Franciabigio, and 7, which (as well as the frieze) is 
the united work of the two friends. They are all executed 
in chiaroscuro. 

" In these mural designs there is such exultation and exuberance of 
young power, of fresh passion and imagination, that only by the innate 



PIAZZA DELIA S. ANNUNZIATA. 137 

grace can one recognize the hand of the master whom we know but by 
the works of his later life, when the gift of grace had survived the gift 
of invention. Here, what life and fulness of growing and strengthening 
genius, what joyous sense of its growth and the fair field before it, what 
dramatic delight in character and action ! where S. John preaches in 
the wilderness and the few first listeners are gathered together at his 
feet, old people and poor, soul-stricken, silent — women with worn still 
faces, and a spirit in their tired aged eyes that feeds heartily and hungrily 
on his words — all the haggard funereal group filled from the fountain of 
his faith with gradual fire and white-heat of soul ; or where Salome 
dances before Herod, an incarnate figure of music, grave and graceful, 
light and glad, the song of a bird made Mesh, with perfect poise of her 
sweet light body from the maiden face to the melodious feet ; no 
tyrannous or treacherous goddess of deadly beauty, but a simple virgin, 
with the cold charm of girlhood and the simple charm of childhood ; as 
indifferent and innocent when she stands before Herodias and when she 
receives the severed head of John with her slender and steady hands ; a 
pure bright animal, knowing nothing of man, and of life nothing but 
instinct and motion. In her mother's mature and conscious beauty 
there is visible the voluptuous will of a harlot and a queen ; but, for 
herself she has neither malice nor pity ; her beauty is a maiden force 
of nature, capable of bloodshed without blood-guiltiness ; the king 
hangs upon the music of her movement, the rhythm of leaping life in 
her fair fleet limbs, as one who listens to a tune, subdued by the rapture 
of the sound, absorbed by purity of passion. I know not where the 
subject has been touched with such fine and keen imagination as 
here." — Swinburne t Essays and Studies. 

" 'There is a little man in Florence,' said Michael Angelo to Raphael 
of Andrea del Sarto, * who, if he were employed on such great works 
as you are, would bring the sweat to your brow.' " — Bocchi. 

From the Accademia, a few steps bring us to the Piazza 
delta S. Annunziata y surrounded by arcades and decorated 
with busts of the Medicean Grand Dukes. It is adorned 
by an equestrian statue of Ferdinand I. by Giovanni da 
Bologna (made from cannon taken from the Turks by 
Knights of S. Stephen) and two bronze fountains by Pietro 
Tacca. The central door on the left leads to the Foundling 



138 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Hospital — Spedale degli Innocenti — founded in 142 1. It 
contains several good pictures, especially : — 

Piero di Cosimo. Elizabeth of Hungary offering roses to the Infant 

Jesus. 
Filippo Lippi. The Infant Jesus brought to the Madonna by an 

angel. 

In the Cfiapel of the Hospital is 

Dom. Ghirlatuiajo. The Adoration of the Magi. 

Over the door of the chapel is an Annunciation by Luca 
della Robbia. 

The Church of the SS. Annunziata was built by the Order 
of Servites — " Servi di Maria," which was founded at Florence 
by seven noble Florentines, who used to meet daily to sing 
Ave Maria in the chapel of S. Zenobio, where the tower of 
Giotto now stands. It was built in 1250, but has been 
modernized. It is approached by a portico containing a 
lunette in mosaic of the Annunciation, by Dav. Ghirlandajo. 
This leads into a courtyard surrounded by precious frescoes 
now enclosed with glass. Beginning from the right, they 
are : — 

1. II Rosso Ficrentino, 1515. The Assumption. 

2. Jacopo PontorniOy 15 16. The Salutation. 

3. Francesco di Cristo/atto (Francabigio), 15 13. The Marriage of 

the Virgin. 

4. Andrea del Sario. The Birth of the Virgin. 

5. Id The Adoration of the Magi. 

6. Alessio Baldovinetti (1422 — 99). The Nativity. 

7. Andrea del Sario. Children are healed of diseases by touching 

the garments of the Servite S. Filippo Benizzi, who died in 
1285. 

8. Id. A dead child is resuscitated on touching the bier of S. 

Filippo. 

9. Id. A woman possessed of a demon is cured by S. Filippo. 

10. Id. Some men who insult S. Filippo are destroyed by lightning. 



as: annuxziata. . 159 

11. Id. S. Filippo, on his way to Viterbo, divides his cloak with a 

beggar. 

12. Cosimo Rosselli (1439 — 1506). S. Filippo assumes the habit of 

the Order. 

The Interior of the Annunziata used to be hung (like 
the still unaltered church of S. Maria delle Grazie near 
Mantua) with waxen images of eminent living as well as dead 
persons, suspended from the ceiling. On one side were 
the citizens (amongst them Lorenzo de' Medici), on the 
other popes and foreign potentates. Beginning on the 
right- 
In the 1st Chapel is : — 

Jacopo da Empoli. The Virgin with saints. 

In the 5//* Chapel— 

The Tomb of Orlando de' Medici by Simone di Be/to, brother of 
Donatello. 

In the 6th Chapel— 

The Grave of Stradone the painter, 1536— 1605. 

In the Right Transept— 
The Tomb of Baccio Bandinelli, being a Tieta from his own hand. 

In the Tribune — 

The Tomb of the Senator Donato deH'Antella, who became a Ser- 
vite late in life, ob. 1666, by Gio. Bati. Foggini; and that of 
AngioloMarzi Medici, Bishop of Arezzo, ob. 1546, by F. di San 
Gallo. In the Cappella del Soccorso, behind the high altar, is 
the tomb of Giovanni da Bologna. The altar-piece, of the Resur- 
rection, is by Passignano. The choir stalls are by Baccio d' Agnolo^ 
as also is the ciborio. 

In the next Chapel is — 

Ang. Bronzino. The Resurrection. 

2nd Chapel (descending the church) — 
Perugino. The Assumption. 



140 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Last CJiapel (of the Annunciation, built by Pietro de 
Medici) — 

Pieiro Cavallini. The Annunciation, supposed to have been 
finished by angelic hands. 

The crucifix here is Giuliano di S. Gallo, the figure of the 
Infant Jesus by Baccio Battdinelli. 

The large Cloister, built by Simone Pollajuolo, is sur- 
rounded with frescoes by Poccetti. Over the door leading 
into the church is the charming fresco of 

Andrea del Sarto % called La Madonna del Sacco. 

Opening into the cloister is the Cappella dei Pittori, where 
the Company of Painters, or Guild of S. Luke, used to hold 
their meetings. Over the altar are some small pictures by 
Fra Angelico. Jacopo Pontormo, Franciabigio, Benvenuto 
Cellini, and Lorenzo Bartolini, are buried here. 

(Behind the Annunziata runs the Via S. Sebastiano, which 
contains a beautiful piece of Luca della Robbia over a door 
leading to a cloister which belonged to S. Piero Maggiore. 
Here, at the corner of the Via della Mandorla, is the house of 
Andrea del Sarto, afterwards inhabited by Fed. Zucchero. 

About the centre of the street is the Palazzo Capponi, built 
by Fontana. It contains a few good pictures. The nearly- 
opposite Palazzo Velluti Zuti was inhabited by Prince 
Charles Edward.) 

From the left corner of the Piazza della Annunziata, the 
Via dei Fibbiai leads into the Via degli Alfani. The swad- 
dled babies over doors on the left of this street mark pro- 
perty of the Ospedale degli Innocenti. 

On the right (turning left) are the remains of the Monas- 
tery of S. Maria degli Angeli. In the cloisters are frescoes 



S. MADDALENA DE 1 PAZZI. 141 

by Andrea Castagno and Dom. Ghirlandajo. The Monas- 
tery was founded c. 1293 by Fra Guittone d'Arezzo, a poet 
whom Dante introduces as mentioned by another poet, Buon- 
giunta of Lucca : — 

" Ma di, s'io veggio qui colui, che fuore 

Trasse le nuove rime, cominciando, 

1 Donne ch* avete intelletto d'amore* ? ' 
Ed io a lui : ' Io mi son un, che, quando 

Amore spira, noto ; ed a quel modo 

Che detta entro, vo significando.' 
' O Frate, issa veggio,' diss* egli, ' il nodo 

Che'l notaio, e Guittone, e me ritenne 

Di qua dal dolce stil nuovo, ch' i' odo. 
Io veggio ben, come le vostre penne 

Diretro al dittator sen vanno strette 

Che delle nostre certo non awenne ; 
£ qual piu a gradire oltre si mette, 

Non vede piu dall' uno all' altro stilo.' 
£ quasi contentato si tacette. " — Purg. xxiv. 49. 

Opposite this monastery is the Palazzo Guigni built from 
designs of Ammanati. 

Crossing the Via della Pergola, which contains the well- 
known Teatro della Pergola, and where an inscription marks 
the house in which Benvenuto cast his Perseus, we reach the 
Via dei Pinti. Turning down it to the left, we pass, on the 

right, the Convent o/S. Maddalena de* Pazzi, so called from a 
Florentine nun canonized in 1670. She is buried in the 

left transept of the church. 

In the 2nd Chapel on the left is — 

Cosimo Rosselli. The Coronation of the Virgin. 

In the Afh Chapel on the left— 

Raffaellino del Garbo. S. Ignatius, S. Roch, and S. Sebastian : the 
latter carved in wood. 



142 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Turning round the outer wall of the Convent, a door in 
the Via della Colonna gives admission to the Chapter 
House, which contains a very beautiful fresco by Perugino, 
of the Crucifixion. S. John and S. Benedict stand on the 
right, the Virgin and S. Bernard on the left. 

"The landscape of Perugino, for grace and purity, is unrivalled ; and 
the more interesting because in him certainly whatever limits are 
set to the rendering of nature proceed not from incapacity. In 
the landscape of S. Maria Maddalena there is more variety than is usual 
with him. 

" A gentle river winds round the bases of rocky hills, a river like our 
own Wye or Tees in their loveliest reaches ; level meadows stretch 
away on its opposite side ; mounds set with slender-stemmed foliage 
occupy the nearer ground, a small village with its simple spire peeps 
from the forest at the end of the valley. — Ruskin's Modern Painters, 
ii. 207. 

(The Borgo de* Pinti continues to the Porta Pinti, just 
outside which is the Protestant Cemetery. It was formerly 
a lovely spot, backed by the old walls of the city, but these 
have now been removed, and the place is encircled by dusty 
high-roads. Here, amid many minor English poets, Eliza- 
beth Barrett-Browning, Arthur Clough, &c, rest the remains 
of one of the greatest masters of the English language, 
Walter Savage Landor, who died at No. 2671, Via Nunzia- 
tina, on Sept. 17, 1864. 

" Come back in sleep, for in the life 
Where thou art not 
We find none like thee. Time and strife 
And the world's lot 

Move thee no more ; but love at least 

And reverent heart 
May move thee, royal and released 

Soul, as thou art 



S. AMBROGIO. 143 

And thou, his Florence, to thy trust 

Receive and keep, 
Keep safe his dedicated dust, 

His sacred sleep. 

So shall thy lovers, come from far, 

Mix with thy name, 
As morning-star with evening-star, 

His faultless fame." — Swinburne. 

Following the Via della Colonna for a short distance, we 
reach the new Piazza d'Azegfio, planted with trees and 
flowers. Hence the Via S. Ambrogio leads to the Church 
of S. Ambrogio. In the Cappella della Misericordia, to the 
left of the high altar, is the master-piece of Cosimo Rosselli, 
1476, a fresco in honour of a transubstantiation-miracle 
which occurred in Florence. The altar in this chapel is a 
beautiful work of Mino da Fiesole of c. 1462, and encloses 
an ampulla containing the blood of which the story is told 
in its relief. 

"On the festa of San Firenze, a.d. 1230, an old priest named Uguc- 
cione, who belonged to the Convent of Sant' Ambrogio, after saying 
mass and consecrating the body of Christ, neglected to clean the sacred 
vessel, and found on the next day that the miracle of transubstantiation 
had taken place, and that the chalice contained living blood compressed 
and incarnate. This being manifest to all the nuns of the said monastery, 
as well as to many neighbours, the Bishop of Florence, and the clergy, 
was noised abroad, and attracted crowds of devout citizens to see it ; 
after which the blood was removed from the chalice to an ' ampulla ' of 
crystal, which has ever since been shown to the multitude with great 
veneration." — Villariy lib. vi. ch. 8. 

Against a house near this church is a beautiful terra-cotta 
shrine of S. Zenobio, and, beneath it, an inscription in 
honour of " the Immortal Pius VII." having given his bene- 
diction on that spot. In the neighbouring Via de* Pilastri a 
terrible tragedy occurred in 1639. 



144 ITALIAN CITIES. 

"In the reign of Ferdinand II., there lived here an elderly Floren- 
tine gentleman, Giustino Canacci, who had been twice married, and his 
second wife, Caterina, was celebrated for her beauty and virtue. Jacopo 
Salviati, Duke of San Giuliano, was among her admirers, which excited 
the jealousy of his duchess, Veronica Cibo, a princess of Massa. She 
determined to get rid of one she thought a rival, and Caterina, having 
unfortunately incurred the hatred of her step-son, Bartolommeo Canacci, 
he consented to guide three assassins, hired by the duchess, to this 
house, where Caterina was one evening entertaining some of her friends. 
Here they murdered her, with her maid, who remained beside her mis- 
tress when the rest of the party had taken flight. Caterina's head was 
then cut off and taken to the duchess, who concealed it in a bason of 
clean linen, which it was customary to place in her husband's apart- 
ment on the first day of the year. The duke uncovered the bason, and 
nearly fainted away on seeing its contents. Though the crime was of 
so heinous a nature, Bartolommeo Canacci alone suffered punishment; he 
was seized and beheaded, whilst the rest of the culprits escaped ; the 
duchess left Florence, in greater dread of the fury of the populace than 
the justice of the tribunals. A well in the Via de Pentolini still exists 
into which the body of Bartolommeo Canacci is said to have been 
thrown. " — Horner. 



Following (from S. Ambrogio) the Via Pietra Piana, we 
reach (right) the Via S. Egidio, where the chronicler Dino 
Compagni lived, and where Lorenzo Ghiberti cast the bronze 
gates of the baptistery. 

Just opposite the house of Ghiberti, is the Hospital of S. 
Maria Nuova, founded by Folco Portinari, father of Dante's 
Beatrice. The work was suggested to him by his servant 
Monna Tessa, who began it by receiving sick persons and 
nursing them in a room in her master's house. The Hos- 
pital greatly increased and altered in after years. 

Over the door of the church is the Coronation of the 
Virgin by Delia. On the right of the entrance is a fresco 
by Lorenzo de' Bicci, representing Michele de Panzano, 
Governor of the Hospital, kneeling at the feet of Martin V. 
to receive the confirmation of its privileges. Pope Eugenius 



S. MARIA NUOVA. 



MS 



IV., then a cardinal, is seen in the blue robes of the 
Canons of S. Giorgio in Alge. On the left is another 
fresco of Panzano receiving a brief from the Pope, in front 
of the church of S. Maria Nuova. The ornament over 
the present door is seen in the fresco. The rest of the 
frescoes in this portico are by Pomerana'o, except the 
Annunciation at the end, which is by Taddeo Zuahero. 

In the interior, on the right, is the monument of the 
founder. His family are represented in a picture by Hugo 
Van der Goes. A Magdalen is by Andrea Castagno ; S. 
Egidio discovered in his cave is by Giunto Gemignano. 

In the Cloister are, a relief believed to represent the good 
Monna Tessa, and a tabernacle by Giovanni di S. Giovanni. 
In the Garden are injured remains of a fresco of the 
Last Judgment, begun by Fra Bartolommeo, and finished by 
Mariotto Albertinelli. 

Hence, turning left down the Via de* Servi, we find our- 
selves at the Duomo. 



VOL. III. 



10 



CHAPTER LI. 

THIRD EXCURSION. 

ASCENDING the Via Tomabuoni, — which is the 
gayest and handsomest street in Florence, where the 
best clubs and cafltes are, and where the most beautiful 
flowers are sold at the street-corners, — we pass, on the right, 
the magnificent 

Palazzo Strozzi, begun in 1489, for the merchant Filippo 
Strozzi, from designs of Benedetto da Majano, which were 
continued by II Cronaca. The palace is faced with rough- 
hewn stone, which, instead of detracting from, gives, by con- 
trast, an appearance of extra finish to the details. At the 
corners are beautiful specimens by Caparra y of the iron 
Fanale, which were only allowed to the most distinguished 
citizens. 

" The flowers they sell on the stone bench round its old wall, under- 
neath the huge irons in which flags have flaunted and torches burned for 
hundreds of years on triumphal occasions — the sheaves of lily of the 
valley, white lilac, white narcissus, already abundant and scenting all 
the air in the first cold days of April — seem scarcely more evanescent 
than the crowd of men and women who have bloomed and passed and 
gone into darkness while the old wall has stood fast, without getting so 
much as a wrinkle or line chiseled by age upon its rugged stones. " — 
Blackwood^ D.ccv. 

" Perhaps the most satisfactory of the Florentine palaces, as a whole 
and complete design, is the Strozzi, designed by Cronaca (1454 — 1509). 
It is a rectangle, 190 feet by 138; like all the rest, in three stories* 



PALAZZO STROZZI. 147 

*her upwards of 100 feet in height The cornice that 
crowns the whole is not so well designed as that of the Riccardi, but 
extremely well-proportioned lo the bold simple building which it crowns, 
and the windows of the two upper stories are elegant in design, and 
appropriate to their situation. It may be that this palace is too massive 
and too gloomy for imitation ; but, taking into account the age when 
it was built, and the necessity of security combined with purposes of state 
to which it was to be applied, it will be difficult; to find a more faultless 
design in any city of modern Europe, or one which combines so har- 
moniously local and social characteristics with the elegance of classical 
details, a conjunction which has been practically the aim of almost every 
building of modem times, but very seldom so successfully attained as in 
this example. " — Flrguisim. 




" T*s palais des families principales de Florence sont batis comme des 
especes de forteresses, d'ou Ton pouvait se d^feiidre ; on voit encore a 
IVxterieur les anncaux de fer auxqueh les etendards de chaque parti de- 
vaienl etre attaches ; eniin, tout y etail arrange bien plus pout n 



148 ITALIAN CITIES. 

les forces individuelles, que pour les r^unir toutes dans TinteVet commun. 
On dirait que la ville est batie pour la guerre civile." — Madame de 
Staifl y Corinne. 

The interior of the palace (only shown on Wednesdays, 
from ii to i ) is a handsome specimen of a noble Florentine 
residence. It contains : — 

ist Room. — 

Mino de Fiesole. Bust of Niccol6 Strozzi. 

Donatello. Statuette of S. J. Baptist — absurdly old for one who must 

have died at 32. 
Filippino Lippi. The Annunciation. 

2nd Room. — 

Desiderio da Settignano. Bust of Marietta Palla Strozzi, wife of 
Celio Calcagnini di Ferrara. 

" It stands upon a broad band of marble, upon which two recumbent 
figures and little genii are sculptured in low relief with * ottimo gusto. * 
The face, though not beautiful, is full of character ; the ' coiffure ' is 
rich and novel in effect, and the pattern of the brocaded dress is deli- 
cately worked out in the marble. It would be difficult to point out a 
bust which more thoroughly combines those peculiar features of the 
best * quattro-cento ' work, high technical excellence, refinement of 
taste, delicacy of treatment, and purity of design." — Perkiris Tuscan 
Sculptors. 

* Titian. " La Puttina," a daughter of Roberto Strozzi, a girl feed- 
ing her dog," painted in 1542, much restored, but very charming. 
It was of this picture that Pietro Aretino wrote to Titian that it 
required " knowledge almost divine to comprehend all its beauties," 
and that it left him " in a state of astonishment which deprived him 
of the power of speech. " 

• Leonardo da Vinci. A most beautiful portrait of a female Strozzi, 

in a black dress and pearl necklace, holding a book — the back- 
ground green. 

Pollajuolo. Portrait of the murdered Giuliano de* Medici, taken after 
death. 

Sustermanns. Giov. Batt Strozzi, with his wife (a Martelli) and 
children. 

Andrea del Sarto. Small Holy Family. 



PIAZZA DI S. MARIA NOVELLA. 149 

Perugino. The Garden of Gethsemane — very beautiful, but the angel 
unnecessarily supported by a little island in the sky. 

$rd Room. — 
Benedetto da Majano. Bust of Filippo Strozzi the Elder. 
Copy of a Titian at Vienna. Portrait of Filippo Strozzi the Younger. 
Alessandro Alloru Portraits of Piero, Roberto (father of the Puttina), 

and Leone Strozzi, sons of Filippo. 
Lorenzo di Credi (Over entrance door). Holy Family. 
Perugino (Over further door). Holy Family. 

4IA Room. — 

Salvator Rosa. Two Landscapes. 

♦ Ang. Bronzino. Portrait of Cardinal Rembo when young. 

* Raffaelle. Portrait of the poet Ludovico Martelli. 
P. Veronese. Portrait of Pope Paul III. 
Caravaggio. Gamblers. 

Behind the palace, in the Piazza delle Cipolle, is the more 
ancient Palace of the Strozzi family. 

The Church of S. Gaetano, on the left of the Via Torna- 
biioni, faces the Palazzo Antinori, built by Giuliano di S. 
Gallo. 

Hence the Via Rondinelli leads to the junction of the 
Via Cerretani and the Via dei Banchi. Turning down the 
latter (left) we reach the Piazza di S. Maria Nwella. 

This square was first laid out at the request of S. Pietro 
Martire, who wished for a large space where he could preach 
in the open air. In 1563, Cosimo I. introduced chariot-races 
here, in which the existing obelisks served as the goals : they 
rest on tortoises, and are surmounted with lilies by Giovanni 
da Bologna. The Croce al Trebbio, in a small piazza, on the 
right, is a column commemorating a fight which took place 
with the Paterini, heretics against whom S. Pietro was 
preaching. It originally bore a statue of S. Peter Martyr, 
but now sustains a crucifix, picturesquely roofed over. 



'50 



ITALIAN CITIES. 



The arcade facing the church belongs to the Hospital of S. 
Paolo. It is adorned with medallions by Luca and Andrea 
del/a Robbia : the two at the ends are portraits of the artists 
themselves. A relief over a door, at the end of the arcade 




Croce Hi Trebbio. 

(inside), commemorates a meeting between S. Francis and 
S. Dominic, which is said to have taken place on this spot. 

(The neighbouring Church (in the Via del Palazzuolo just 
behind) of the Vanthetone, is so called from the character of 
the confraternity who possessed it — Vanno chetone — they 
go in silence. It contains a black image of the Madonna, 
given by the Medici, two busts of boys by Donatella, on 
either side the sacristy, and the skeleton of Ippolito Galan. 
tini, a member of the Order.) 

The Church of S. Maria Novella was begun 1229, on the 
site of an earlier building called S. Maria Era le Vigne. It 
was completed in 70 years, and, from its beauty, was called 
by Michael Angelo, La Sposa, or the bride. The facade of 
the 'church, of white and red marble and serpentine, is from 
designs of Leon Battista Atberti, and was not finished till 



S. MARIA NOVELLA. 151 

1470. Over the doors are frescoes by Ulisse Cvocchi. On the 
right there is a small cloister, surrounded by arches contain" 
ing tombs. 

Within, the church is a Latin cross. It is the best of the . 
Florentine churches, yet quite spoilt by the brown-and-white 
wash, with which it is bedaubed. Over the entrance is a 
Crucifix by Puccio Capanncu On the right is a fresco of the 
Trinity, with the Virgin and S. John, and kneeling donors, 
by Masaccio. On the left is the Annunciation. 

Proceeding round the church from the right, we have — 

1st Altar. Girolamo Macehietti, the Martyrdom of S. Lorenzo. The 
four succeeding altars have pictures by Gicv. Batt. Naldini y a pupil of 
Bronzino. On either side of the altar dedicated to S. Thomas a Becket 
are two fifteenth-century monuments of the Minerbetti family, who 
claimed kindred with the saint Over the last altar in this aisle is a pic- 
ture by Jacopo Ligozzi (1543—1627), representing the resuscitation of a 
dead child, by S. Raymond of Penaforte. Close by is the tomb by 
Romolo di Taddeo da Fusole % of Giov. Batt Ricasoli, Bishop of Cortona, 
the trusted counsellor of Cosimo I. He was sent to France in 1557, 
charged to poison the Grand Duke's enemy, Piero Strozzi, but was forced 
to fly with the deed unfulfilled, and was henceforth known as the 
"Vescovo dell' Arapollina," the Bishop of the Poison-cup. He died 
in 1572. 

Entering the Right Transept is a terra-cotta bust of the Archbishop 
Antonino. Above is a fine Gothic monument to Tedice Aliotti, Bishop of 
Fiesole, 1356. A large fresco beyond this tomb ornaments the tomb of 
Joseph, Patriarch of Constantinople, who died 1440, during the Council 
of Florence, under Eugenius IV. Above it is a canopied monument to 
Fra Aldobrandini Cavalcanti of Florence, who died in 1229 ; his figure 
lies not on the tomb, but in front of it At the end of the transept is 
the Cappella Ruccellai, approached by steps, at the top of which is the 
tomb of Paolo Ruccellai, father of the Giovanni Ruccellai at whose 
expense the facade of the church was built Here is the famous Madonna 
of Cimabue. 

" You will gaze on it with interest, if not with admiration, for, 
independently of pictorial merit, it is linked with history. Charles 
of Anjou, King of Naples, passing through Florence while he was 
engaged in painting it, was taken to see it at the artist's bottega, 



152 ITALIAN CITIES. 

or studio — as it would now be termed, outside the Porta S. Piero; 
rumour had been busy, but no one had as yet obtained a glimpse 
of it, — all Florence crowded in after him— nothing like it had till then 
been seen in Tuscany, and, when finished, it was carried in solemn pro- 
cession to the church, followed by the whole population, and with such 
triumph and rejoicings that the quarter where the painter dwelt obtained 
the name, which it has ever since retained, of Borgo Allegri. Nor can 
I think that this enthusiasm was solely excited by a comparative supe- 
riority to contemporary art ; it has a character of its own, and once seen, 
stands out from the crowd of Madonnas, individual and distinct The 
type is still the Byzantine, intellectualized perhaps, yet neither beautiful 
nor graceful, but there is a dignity and a majesty in her mien, and an 
expression of inward pondering and sad anticipation rising from her 
heart to her eyes as they meet yours, which one cannot forget. The 
Child too, blessing with his right hand, is full of the Deity, and the first 
object in the picture, a propriety seldom lost sight of by the older 
Christian painters. And the attendant angels, though as like as twins, 
have much grace and sweetness." — Lindsay's Christian Art. 

" Ascend the right stair from the farther nave 

To muse in a small chapel scarcely lit 
By Cimabue's Virgin. Bright and brave, 

That picture was accounted, mark, of old ; 
A king stood bare before its sovran grace, 

A reverent people shouted to behold 
The picture, not the king, and even the place 

Containing such a miracle grew bold, 
Named the glad Borgo from that beauteous face 

Which thrilled the artist, after work, to think 
His own ideal Mary-smile should stand 

So very near him, —he, within the brink 
Of all that glory, let in by his hand 

With too divine a rashness ! Yet none shrink 
Who come to gaze here now ; albeit 'twas planned 

Sublimely in the thought's simplicity : 
The Lady, throned in empyreal state, 

Minds only the young Babe upon her knee, 
While sidelong angels bear the royal weight, 

Prostrated meekly, smiling tenderly 
Oblivion of their wings ; the Child thereat 

Stretching its hand like God. If any should, 
Because of some stiff draperies and loose joints, 

Gaze scorn down from the heights of Raphaelhood 



S. MARIA NOVELLA, 153 

On Cimabue's picture, — Heaven anoints 

The head of no such critic, and his blood 
The poet's curse strikes full on and appoints 

To ague and cold spasms for evermore. 
A noble picture ! worthy of the shout 

Wherewith along the streets the people bore 
Its cherub-faces which the sun threw out 

Until they stooped and entered the church door." 

Eliz. Barrett- Browning. 

At the corner of the chapel, on the right, is the monument— with angels 
drawing back the curtain from her sleeping figure —of the Beata Villana, 
daughter of Andrea di Messer Lapo, who married one of the Benintendi, 
and fled from the world because, when looking at herself in the glass 
from vanity, she saw a demon dressed in her fine clothes. She died in 
the odour of sanctity, 1360, aged 28. The other pictures in this chapel 
are, (right) S. Lucia, by Benedetto Ghirlandajo t and (left) the Martyrdom 
of S. Catherine, by Giuliano Bug iardini (147 1 — 1554). 

The 1st Chapel on a line with the high altar has (right) a rude bas- 
relief of S. Gregory blessing its founder. 

The next Chapel^ of the Strozzi, contains the tomb of Filippo Strozzi, 
builder of the Strozzi Palace, by Benedetto da Majano. The frescoes, 
much injured by retouching, relate to the lives of S. Philip and S.John 
the Evangelist, and are by Filippino Lippi. On the right wall S. Philip 
exorcises a poisonous dragon, which had been worshipped as Mars by 
the people of Hierapolis in Phrygia : in the lunette above he is crucified 
by the priests of the dragon. On the left S. John raises to life Drusiana, 
a woman of Ephesus, who had been full of good works. On the ceiling 
are the Patriarchs. S. Philip and S. John are represented, with the 
Virgin and Child, in the beautiful stained glass of the window. 

The High Altar covers the remains of the Beato Giovanni di Salerno, 
the Dominican founder of the church. The Choir was originally the 
chapel of the Ricci, and was decorated at their expense with frescoes, by 
Andrea Orcagna, but these were afterwards painted over with the stories 
of the Virgin and S. John Baptist, by Domenico Ghirlandajo, who was 
employed by Giovanni Tornabuoni. On either side of the window are 
portraits of Tornabuoni and his wife. The window itself is filled with 
stained glass by Alessandro Fiorentino, 149 1. The stalls of the choir 
were designed by Vasari. 

The next Chapel is the Cappella Condi, which contains a crucifix by 
Filippo Brunelleschi. 

" Donato had completed a crucifix in wood, which was placed in the 
church of Santa Croce, and he desired to have the opinion of Filippo 



154 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Brunellcschi respecting his work ; but he repented of having asked it, 
since Filippo replied that he had placed a clown upon the cross. And 
from this time there arose the saying of, ' Take wood, then, and make one 
thyself. ' Thereupon Filippo, who never suffered himself to be irritated 
by anything said to him, however well calculated to provoke him to 
anger, kept silence for several months, meanwhile preparing a crucifix, 
also in wood, and of similar size with that of Donato's, but of such excel- 
lence, so well designed, and so carefully executed, that when Donato, 
having been sent forward to his house by Filippo, who intended him a 
surprise, beheld the work (the undertaking of which by Filippo was 
entirely unknown to him) he was utterly confounded ; and, having in his 
hand an apron, full of eggs and other things on which his friend and him- 
self were to dine together, he suffered the whole to fall to the ground, 
while he regarded the work before him in the very extremity of amaze- 
ment. The artistic and ingenious manner in which Filippo had disposed 
and united the legs, trunk, and arms of the figure, was alike obvious and 
surprising to Donato, who not only confessed himself conquered, but 
declared the work a miracle." — Vasari. 

Next comes the Cappella <tf Gaddi, with the raising of Jairus' daughter, 
by Bronzino, and two reliefs, by Giovanni del? Opera, over tombs of the 
Gaddi. The chapel at the end of the left transept is a second Cappella 
Strozziy and contains the relics of the Beato Alessio degli Strozzi. The 
walls have frescoes of the Last Judgment and Hell, by Andrea and 
Bernardo Orcagna. 

" Ceci est bien autre chose que Penfer du Cam po- Santo de Pise ; ici 
se retrouve toute la topographie de l'enfer dantesque, autant du moins 
que la surface dont le peintre pouvait disposer le lui a perm is. Ainsi il 
n'y a pas eu place dans le champ de la fresque pour les hypocrites, mais 
le nom est e'crit a l'extremite' du tableau, et montre l'intention oil efit ete 
le peintre de les y faire entrer si 1'espace ne lui avait manque. Du 
reste, rien n'est de'guise ou dissimule de ce qu'il y a de plus cm et par- 
fois de plus grossier dans le peintre de certains supplices ; la rixe de 
mattre Adam, le faux monnayeur hydropique et haletant de soif, est 
representee au naturel ; ou dira.it un duel de boxeurs. Les flatteurs sont 
plonges dans l'espece de fange par laquelle Dante a voulu exprimer tout 
son degout pour les ames infectees de ce vice qui empeste les cours. 

" Ce qui est plus et range, la, dans une chapelle, le pinceau du peintre 
n*a pas craint de reproduire cette bizarre alliance du dogme Chre- 
tien et des fables paiennes que s'etait permise le poete, docile au genie 
de son temps, et qui etonne encore plus quand on la voit que quand on 
la lit Ainsi les centaures poursuivent, sur les murs de Santa-Maria 
Novella, comme dans la Divine Com/die, les violents et les percent de 



S. MARIA NOVELLA. 155 

fldches ; les harpies, souvenirs profanes de YEnJide, ou elles sont plus 
a leur place que dans l'^pop^e catholique, sont perchees sur les tristes 
nmeaux d'ou elles jettent des plaintes lugubres ; enfin les furies se dres- 
sent au-dessus de l'abtme sur la tour embrasee. 

" En face de l'enfer, Orgagna a repre^ente la gloire du paradis. Les 
cercles celestes de Dante ne se pretaient pas a la peinture comme les bolgt 
infernales. Orcagna n'a done pu suivre ici avec la meme fidelite la fan- 
taisie du poete. Cependant, ce qui domine ces sortes de tableaux au 
moyen age, savoir, la glorification de la Vierge, est aussi ce qui couronne 
le grand tableau de Dante." — Ampere. 

The restored altar-piece, by Andrea Orcagna, represents S. Dominic 
presented to the Virgin. Beneath the steps leading to this chapel is an 
Entombment, by Giottino, and, above, the portrait of a Bishop of Fie- 
sole, 1348, who is buried here. 

The Sacristy, by Fra Jaeopo Talenti, has a beautiful lavatory by Luca 
delta Robbia. One of the twelve banners is preserved here, which S. 
Peter Martyr presented to his twelve captains when he sent them forth, 
on Ascension Day, 1244, to extirpate the Paterini. At the corner of the 
transept is a vase, from Impruneta, resting on a marble figure by Michael 
Angelo. 

Entering the Left Aisle, beneath the first altar are the bones of the 
Beata Villana. Above, is a picture of the Dominican Missionary, S. 
Hyacinth, by Bronzino. At the end of this aisle is a monument to 
Antonio Strozzi by Andrea di Fiesole. The pulpit was made by Maestro 
LazarOy from designs of Brunelleschu 

The Chiostro Verde is supported by handsome pillars, but 
much spoilt by paint It is surrounded by frescoes. On 
the right of the entrance from the church are some Domin- 
ican saints, by Spinello Arettno. The left wall, as far as the 
Sacrifice of Noah, is by Paolo Uccello, the remaining twenty- 
four pictures by Dello Delli, 1401. They are painted in 
green, whence the name of the cloister. 

On the right, two windows with beautiful tracery, are 
those of the Cappella degli SpagnuoH y used for the attendants 
of Eleanora of Toledo, wife of Cosimo I. It was built for 
Buonamico Guidalotti in the fourteenth century, by the 
Dominican monk Fra yacopo de 3 Talenti da Nipozzano. It 



156 ITALIAN CITIES, 

is covered with frescoes, attributed to Taddeo Gaddi and 
Simone Memmi, On the eastern wall are 'the Crucifixion, 
the Bearing of the Cross, and the Descent into Hades. 
On the left is the Apotheosis of S. Thomas Aquinas ; on 
the right the Church Militant, defended by the Dominicans. 

" The subjects (said to have been selected by Fra Jacopo Passavanti), 
are chosen with a depth of thought, a propriety and taste, to which those 
of the Camera della Segnatura, painted by Raphael in the Vatican, 
afford the only parallel example. Each composition is perfect in itself, 
yet each derives significance from juxta-position with its neighbour, and 
one idea pervades the whole, the Unity of the Body of Christ, the 
Church, and the glory of the Order of S. Dominic as the defenders and 
preservers of that Unity. This chapel, therefore, is to the Dominicans 
what the church of Assisi is to the Franciscans, the graphic mirror of 
their spirit, the apotheosis of their fame." — Lindsay s Christian Art, 

" Les admi rabies fresques de cette chapelle, dont les auteurs sont 
Taddeo Gaddi et Simeon Memmi, montrent a l'oeil ce melange dliis- 
toire et d'allegorie, ce caractere a la fois encyclopedique et symbolique 
qui appartient a l'oeuvre de Dante, ainsi qu'a beaucoup d'autres poeraes 
du moyen age, corpus dans le meme esprit, mais non avec le meme 
genie. Simeon Memmi a fait une peinture de la societe civile et eccle- 
siastique : toutes les conditions sociales sont rassemblees dans ce tableau, 
qui est comme une immense revue de rhumanite. Le pape et l'em- 
pereur figurent au centre, selon le systeme de Dante ; les portraits des 
personnages c&ebres du temps s'y trouvent ; on y voit des personnages 
purement allegoriques, ou dont l'image est prise pour une allegorie sans 
cesser d'etre un portrait Laure represente la volonte* dans la peinture 
de Memmi, comme Beatrice la contemplation dans l'oeuvre de Dante. 

" On peut remarquer que Dante a coutume de choisir dans l'histoire 
un personnage comme type d'une qualite, d'un vice, d'une science, et em- 
ploie tour a tour ce precede* et 1 'allegorie pour realiser une abstraction. 
De meme, dans la fresque de Taddeo Gaddi, quatorze sciences ou arts 
sont exprimes par des figures de femmes, au-dessous desquelles sont 
places des personnages typiques qui sont des symboles historiques de 
chaque science. La premiere est le droit civil avec Justinien ; le droit 
canonique ne vient qu'apres. Cet ordre est bien dans les idees politiques 
de Dante. La grande part qu'il voulait faire dans ce monde au pouvoir 
imperial l'a port^ a choisir aussi Justinien pour representer la Justice 
dans Mercure, planete ou il a place' la recompense de cette vertu, en 
d<£pit de ce que la morale et l'drthodoxie pouvaient reprocher a l'epoux. 
de Theodora. 



S. MARIA NOVELLA. 157 

•' Dans ces peintures, on retrouve done sans cesse des conceptions 
semblables a celles de Dante, ou inspirees par elles ; ou remonte a lui 
comme a une source ; ou on descend vers lui comme a une mer qui a 
recu dans son sein tous les courants d'idees qui ont alimente Tart au 
moyen age." — Ampfre. 

"Taddeo Gaddi a repr&ente' la philosophic, quatorze femmes, qui 
sont les sept sciences profanes et les sept sciences sacrees, toutes rangees 
sur une seule ligne, chacune assise dans une chaire gothique richement 
ornementee, chacune ayant a ses pieds le grand homme qui lui a servi 
d'interprete ; au-dessus d'elles, dans une chaire plus delicate encore et 
plus ornee, saint Thomas, le roi de toute science, foulant aux pieds les 
trois grands heretiques, Arius, Sabellius, Averrhoes, pendant qu'a ses 
cotes les prophetes de l'ancienne loi et les apotres de la nouvelle siegent 
gravement avec leurs insignes et que, dans l'espace arrondi sur leurs 
tetes, des anges et des vertus symetriquement pos^s apportent des livres ; 
des fleurs et des flammes. Sujet, ordonnance, architecture, personnages, 
la fresque entiere ressemble au portail sculpte* d'une cathedrale. — Toute 
pareille et encore plus symbolique est la fresque de Simone Memmi, qui, 
en regard, repnfsente l'feglise. II s'agit de figurer la toute Tinstitution 
chretienne, et l'allegorie y est poussee jusqu'au calembour. Sur le flanc 
de Santa Maria di Fiore, qui est l'Eglise, le pape, entoure de cardinaux 
et de dignitaires, voit a ses pieds la communaute' des fideles, petit trou- 
peau de brebis couchees que defend la fidele milice dominicaine. Les 
uns, chiens du Seigneur {Domini canes)^ etranglent les loups heV&iques. 
D'autres, predicateurs, exhortent et convertissent. La procession tourne, 
et l'oeil remontant aper^oit les vaines joies du monde, les danses fri voles, 
puis le repentir et la penitence ; plus loin, la porte celeste, garde*e par 
saint Pierre, ou passent les ames rachet^es, devenus petites et innocentes 
comme des enfants ; puis le choeur presse des bienheureux qui si con- 
tinue dans le ciel par les anges, la Vierge, TAgneau, entoure de quatre 
animaux symboliques, et le Pere, au sommet du cintre, rail i ant et atti- 
rant a lui la foule triomphante ou militante, echelonne depuis la terre 
jusqu'au ciel. — Les deux peintures sont en face Tune de l'autre et font une 
sorte d'abrege de la theologie dominicaine ; mais elles ne sont pas autre 
chose ; la theologie n'est pas la peinture, pas plus qu'un embleme n'est 
un corps." — Taine. 

In this chapel the popular Council of Eight held their 
meetings after the Rising of the Ciompi. Beyond the chapel 
is a fresco of the Madonna and Saints by Simone Memmi. 

The Great Cloister is surrounded by frescoes relating to 



158 ITALIAN CITIES. 

the history of the Dominicans, and introducing many of the 
old buildings of Florence in their backgrounds. Between 
the large and small cloisters, in the tomb of the Marchesa 
Strozzi Ridolfi, are two frescoes by Giotto — the Meeting of 
Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate, and the Birth of the 
Virgin. 

" If you can be pleased with this, you can see Florence. But if not, — 
by all means amuse yourself there, if you find it amusing, as long as you 
like ; you can never see it. 1 ' — Jtuskin. 

Pope Martin V., after his acknowledgment by the Coun- 
cil of Constance, resided at S. Maria Novella from Feb. 
141 9, to Sept. 1420, as the guest of the commonwealth, in 
magnificent lodgings which were prepared for him adjoining 
the cloisters. The church was the scene of the Council of 
Florence, 1439, at which Pope Eugenius IV. presided in a 
mitre which was made for him by Lorenzo Ghiberti, en- 
crusted with precious stones, and worth 30,000 florins. 

(From the back of S. Maria Novella, the Via Nazionale 
leads (right) to the great ugly square, called Piazza ddV 
lndipendenza. It crosses the Via Faenza, where (turning 
left — on the right) is the secularized Convent of 5. Ono/rio, 
which contains the beautiful Cenacolo of Raffaelle. This 
fresco was formerly sometimes attributed to Neri de' Bicci, 
but all doubt as to its authorship has been set at rest by the 
discovery of Raffaelle's name on the border of S. Thomas' 
dress— "RAF. VRBJ. XMDXV." 

" Christ is in the centre ; his right hand is raised, and he is about to 
speak ; the left hand is laid, with extreme tenderness in the attitude and 
expression, on the shoulder of John, who reclines upon him. To the 
right of Christ is St. Peter, the head of the usual character ; next to him % 
St Andrew, with flowing grey hair and long divided beard ; St. James 



SPEZERIA DI S. MARIA NOVELLA. 159 

minor, the head declined and resembling Christ ; he holds a cup. St. 
Philip is seen in profile with a white beard. St. James major, at the 
extreme end of the table, looks out of the picture : Raphael has appar- 
ently represented himself in thisapostle. On the left of Christ, after St. 
John, is St Bartholomew ; he holds a knife, and has the black beard 
and dark complexion usually given to him. Then Matthew, something 
like Peter, but milder and more refined. Thomas, young and handsome, 
pours wine into a cup ; last, on the right, are Simon and Jude : Raphael 
has followed the tradition which supposes them young and kinsmen of 
our Saviour. Judas sits on a stool on the near side of the table, oppo- 
site to Christ, and while he dips his hand into the dish, he looks round 
to the spectators ; he has the Jewish features, red hair and beard, and a 
bad expression. All have glories ; but the glory round the head of Judas 
is much smaller than the others." — Jamesoris Sacred Art. 

In the same building with this fresco is the Egyptian 
Museum, which contains many curiosities of value. United 
with this is the Etruscan Museum, a very fine collection of 
vases, cippi, &c.) 

Turning to the right from the Piazza, down the Via delta 
Scala, a door on the right, with a frame-work of fruit and 
flowers, marks the entrance to the Spezeria of S. Maria 
Novella, where excellent liqueurs and scented and medicinal 
waters were made by the monks, and where they are still sold. 
The pretty, cool, frescoed halls, filled with sweet scents, are 
well worth visiting, and there is a chapel with lovely frescoes 
by Spinello Aretino, of the Washing of the Feet, the Last 
Supper, Our Saviour bearing his Cross, the Scourging, the 
Mocking, the Crucifixion, and the Deposition from the Cross. 

The Via della Scala takes its name from the Foundling 
Hospital of S. Maria delta Scala, founded by one Cione di 
Lapo de' Pollini. The children are brought up entirely by 
goats ; when the children cry, the goats come and give 
them suck. On the outside of the chapel is an inscription, 
saying that 20,000 persons were buried there during 



160 ITALIAN CITIES. 

the plague of 1479. Further down the street, on the right, 
is the suppressed Convent of S. yacopo in Ripoli, with a 
beautiful specimen of Luca della Robbia in the lunette over 
the church door. 

Turning to the left, down the Via Oricellari, the high iron 
gates on the right are those of the Rucellai Gardens, where 
the Platonic Academy met, which was founded by Cosimo 
de 1 Medici — Pater Patriae. The names of the Academicians 
are inscribed on a column in the garden : the statue of 
Polyphemus is by Antonio Novelli. Here Niccolb Mac- 
chiavelli recited his discourses on Livy, and Giovanni 
Rucellai read Rostnunda, one of the earliest Italian tragedies, 
to Leo X. Bianca Capello lived in the Palace (which was 
designed by Leon Battisti Alberti) before her marriage with 
Francesco I. 

At the end of the parallel street, called Porta Prato, is the 
Church of S. Lucia, which contains a Nativity by Dom. 
Ghirlandajo, behind the high altar. 

Beyond this are the Cascine, the charming characteristic 
park of Florence, delightful meadows alternating with groves 
of trees, chiefly ilex and pine, and intersected and encircled 
by delightful carriage-drives and walks. The sunny drive 
along the Arno is the most popular in winter, and lovely 
are the views, both towards Bellosguardo and looking back 
upon the town. In summer, people are glad to take refuge 
in the shadier avenues on the side towards the mountains. 
Carriages assemble, flowers are handed about, and all the 
gossip of the day is discussed in the piazza facing the Arno, 
near what was the favourite dairy-farm of the Grand- 
dukes. 



BORG* OGNI SANTL 161 

€ 'Lcs cochers prennent cPeux meraes, et sans qu'on le lcur dise, le 
chemin du Piazzone ; 14 ils arretent sans qu'on ait meme besoin de leur 
faire signe. 

"C'est que le Piazzone de Florence offre ce quen'offre peut-6tre aucune 
autre ville : une espece de cercle en plein air, ou chacun re^oit et rend 
ses visites ; il va sans dire que les visiteurs sont les hommes. . Les 
femmes restent dans les voitures, les hommes vont de Tune a 1' autre, 
causent a la portiere, ceux-ci a pied, ceux-la a cheval, quelques-uns plus 
familiers montes sur le marchepied. 

"C'est la que la vie se regie, que les coups d'oeil s'echangent, que les 
rendez-vous se donnent. 

" Au milieu de toutes ces voitures passent les fleuristes vous jetant des 
bouquets de roses et de violettes, dont elles iront le lendemain matin, au 
cafe, demander le prix aux hommes en leur presentant un ceillet." — 
Dumas, 

Returning, along the Borg* Ogni Santi — which runs 
parallel with, and very near to, the Arno — we pass the Church 
of Ogni Santi, also called San Salvador, with a beautiful 
group by Luca deila Robbia over its door. On either side 
of the nave (near the middle) are frescoes, that on the left — 
by Dom, Ghirtandajo, 1480 — represents S. Jerome; that on 
the right — by Sandro Botticelli — is S. Augustine. The cupola 
is painted by Giw. di S. Giovanni. In the left transept is a 
Crucifix, by Giotto ; in the sacristy a Crucifixion, by Niccolb 
di Pietro Gerini, a pupil of Taddeo Gaddi. 

From the left transept we enter the Cloisters, which have 
interesting frescoes relating to the life of S. Francis, by Giov. 
di S. Giovanni and Jacopo Ligozzi. In the Refectory is a 
grand fresco of the Last Supper, by Dom. Ghirlandajo. 

In the Piazza Manin was the residence of Caroline Murat. 
Close to this is the entrance of the Pontc alia Carraja, built, 
as it now stands, in 1559, by Amtnanati, for Cosimo I. 

Hence the Lung* Arno Corsini brings us to the Ponte SS. 
Trinity founded in 1353, by Lamberto Frescobaldi, but 

VOL. III. 11 



162 ITALIAN CITIES. 

several times rebuilt, the last time by Ammanati. Its pro- 
portions are exceedingly beautiful. Four statues of the 
Seasons decorate its parapets. 

" I can but muse in hope upon this shore 

Of golden Arno as it shoots away 
Through Florence' heart beneath her bridges four : 

Bent bridges, seeming to strain off like bows, 
And tremble while the arrowy undertide 

Shoots on and cleaves the marble as it goes, 
And strikes up palace-walls on either side, 

And froths the cornice out in glittering rows, 
With doors and windows quaintly multiplied, 

And terrace-sweeps, and gazers upon all, 
By whom if flowers and kerchief were thrown out 

From any lattice there, the same would fall 
Into the river underneath, no doubt, 

It runs so close and fast 'twixt wall and wall. 
How beautiful ! the mountains from without 

In silence listen for the word said next." 

Casa Guidi Windows, Eliz. Barrett- Browning. 

In the Via Parione (No. 7), behind the Lung* Arno Corsini, 
is the entrance of the Palazzo Corsini, which contains a 
collection of pictures (open Tuesday, Thursday, and 
Saturday, from 10 to 3). 

The wide staircase, adorned with a statue of Pope 
Clement XII. (Lorenzo Corsini, 1730 — 40), is exceedingly 
handsome, and leads to a great hall, which opens into a 
handsome suite of rooms filled with pictures. Amongst 
them are : — 

1st Room. — 

16. Sustermanns. Portrait of Ferdinand de' Medici, son of 

Cosimo III. 

17. Pontormo. Male Portrait 

18. Sustermanns. Vittoria della Rovere, wife of Ferdinando de 

Medici 
2a Sustermanns, Christina of Lorraine, wife of Ferdinand II. 



PALAZZO CORSINI. 163 

21. Sustermanns. Ferdinand II. 

2nd Roam. — 

22. Teniers. Old man warming himself. 

yd Room. — 

8. Cigoli. Head of the dead Christ— very beautiful. 
19, 21. Scibold, Chrishano. Portraits of the painter and his wife, 

extraordinarily powerful and human. 
IO, Paris Bordone. Man in Venetian costume. 

17. Susttrmanns. Portrait of Cardinal Neri Corsini. 

23. Giulio Romano. Copy of the Violin Player of Raffaelle. 
37. Crist. Alloru S. Andrea Corsini. 

47. Rid. Ghirlandajo. Male Portrait 

4th Room. — 

3. Domenichino. Portrait of Cardinal Filomarino. 

•9. Raffaelle. Sketch of Julius II., with the holes pricked for trans- 
ferring it to canvas. 

18. Luca Signorellu Virgin and Child, with S. Jerome and S. 

Bernard. 

21. Fra Bartolommeo, 151 1. Holy Family. 

23. Filippino Lippi. Virgin and Child with angels. 
•28. Botticelli. Virgin and Child with angels. 

37. Filippino Lippi. Virgin and Child. 
*40. Carlo Dolce. Poetry, said to be his masterpiece. 

44. Raffaellino del Garbo. Virgin and Child and S. John. 

5M {yellow) Room, amongst many family portraits : — 

Neri Corsini Captain of the Guard under Cosimo III., and after- 
wards Cardinal — who built the Corsini Palace at Rome. 

6th Room. — 

2. Ang. BronzirtOy 154a Portrait of Baccio Valori 

4. Holbein. Male Portrait 

6. Ant. de Pollajuolo. Male Portrait 
♦8. Sebastian del Piombo. The Bearing of the Cross. 



CHAPTER LII. 
FLORENCE. 

FOURTH EXCURSION. OLTR* ARNO. 

ASCENDING the Lung' Arno Acciajuoli, we come to 
the Ponte Veechio, the oldest and most picturesque 
bridge in Florence, built by Taddeo Gaddf, and covered 
with the shops of the goldsmiths, who were established here 
by Cosimo I. An open loggia on the middle of the bridge 
gives beautiful views up and down the river. 

" Among the four bridges that span the river, the Ponte- Vecchio — 
that bridge which is covered with the shops of Jewellers and Goldsmiths 
— is a most enchanting feature in the scene. The space of one house, in 
the centre, being left open, the view beyond is shown as in a frame ; 
and that precious glimpse of sky, and water, and rich buildings, shining 
so quietly among the huddled roofs and gables on the bridge, is exquisite. 
Above it, the Gallery of the Grand-Duke crosses the river. It was built 
to connect the two great Palaces by a secret passage ; and it takes its 
jealous course among the streets and houses, with true despotism : going 
where it lists, and spurning every obstacle away, before it." — Dickens. 

It was while Cosimo I. was making this passage, that he 
first saw the beautiful Camilla Martelli, daughter of one of 
the jewellers on the bridge, whom he made his mistress, and 
afterwards his wife. Her splendours were of short duration. 
His successor Francesco shut her up in the convent of the 
Murate, where she made herself so disagreeable that the 



VIA DE BARDL 16$ 

nuns offered Novenas to be relieved of her. The next 
Grand-Duke removed her to S. Monaca, but she was only 
allowed to come out once for the marriage of her daughter 
Virginia with the Duke of Modena, and died imbecile from 
disappointment. 

At the end of the bridge was a Hospice of the Knights of 
Malta, where Ariosto stayed for six months in 15 13, and 
where he made the acquaintance of the beautiful Alexandrina 
Benucci, who was then passing the first months of her widow- 
hood in retirement there. Near this stood the statue of 
Mars, at the foot of which young Buondelmonti was killed.* 

" O Buondelmonte, quanto mal fuggisti 
Le nozze sue per gli altrui conforti ! 
Molti sarebber lieti, che son tristi, 
Se Dio t'avesse conceduto ad Ema 
La prima volta ch'a citta venisti." — DarUe % Par. xvL 

We have now entered the shady part of the town, known 
as OUr* Arno. On the left is the old tower of the Palazzo 
Manelii, where Boccaccio frequently visited his friend Fran- 
cesco de* Amanetti. Here (left) is the entrance of the Via 
dS Bardi, one of the oldest streets in Florence, but a great 
part of it has been lately destroyed to make the quay oi 
Lung* Arno Torregiani. Among the buildings sacrificed 
was the interesting Chapel of S. Maria sopra l'Arno, which 
bore an inscription placed there by the handsome young 
Ippolito Buondelmonti, who, having made a secret marriage 
with Dianora de* Bardi, daughter of the hereditary enemy 
of his house, was surprised in climbing to her chamber by a 
ladder of ropes, and condemned to death as a robber, which 
he submitted to rather than betray his wife to the vengeance 

• See Chap. I. 



166 ITALIAN CITIES. 

of her family. On the way to execution he implored to be 
led for the last time past the palace of the Bardi, where the 
lady rushed down and publicly claimed him as her husband. 
His heroism and her devotion so touched all parties at the 
time, that peace was restored to Florence for a season. It 
was from a sarcophagus attached to the wall of this chapel 
that a priest, who had concealed himself there, rose as a 
ghost, to terrify a bravo employed by the Duke of Athens. 

The Bardi, to whom this street formerly belonged, were 
partners in the great bank of the Peruzzi, and failed with 
them for 900,000 florins, lent to Edward III. of England, for 
his invasion of France, and which were never repaid. They 
recovered, however, from these losses, and when the Duke 
of Athens ordered the hand of one of his servants to be 
amputated, Ricci de* Bardi joined the conspiracy which ended 
in the fall of the tyrant, and the Bardi were rewarded with a 
third share in the government. They lost this, by misuse of 
their power, but when Bishop Acciajuoli was sent to an- 
nounce their exclusion from the government, the Bardi and 
other nobles barricaded Oltr' Arno, and were only subdued 
after a stout resistance. 

"The Via de' Bardi extends from the Ponte Vecchio to the Piazza 
de' Mozzi at the head of the Ponte alle Grazie ; its right-hand line of 
houses and walls being backed by the rather steep ascent which in the 
fifteenth century was known as the Hill of Bogoli, the famous stone - 
quarry whence the city got its pavement— of dangerously unstable con- 
sistence when penetrated by rains ; its left-hand buildings flanking the 
river and making on their northern side a length of quaint, irregularly- 
pierced facade, of which the waters give a softened, loving reflection, as 
the suA begins to decline towards the western heights. But quaint as 
these buildings are, some of them seem to the historical memory a too 
modern substitute for the famous houses of the Bardi family, destroyed 
by popular rage in the middle of the fourteenth century. 

44 They were a proud and energetic stock, these Bardi : conspicuous 



VIA DE* BARDI. 167. 

among those who clutched the sword in the earliest world-famous 
quarrels of Florentines with Florentines, when the narrow streets were 
darkened with the high towers of the nobles, and when the old tutelar 
god Mars, as he saw the gutters reddened with neighbours' blood, might 
well have smiled at the centuries of lip-service paid to his rival, the 
Baptist But the Bardi hands were of the sort that not only clutch the 
sword-hilt with vigour, but love the more delicate pleasure of fingering 
metal : they were matched, too, with true Florentine eyes, capable of 
discerning that power was to be won by other means than by rending and 
riving, and by the middle of the fourteenth century we find them risen 
from their original condition of popolani to be possessors, by purchase, 
of lands and strongholds, and the feudal dignity of Counts of Vernio, 
disturbing to the jealousy of their republican fellow -citizens. These 
lordly purchases are explained by our seeing the Bardi disastrously 
signalized only a few years later, as standing in the very front of European 
commerce— the Christian Rothschilds of that time — undertaking to 
furnish specie for the wars of our Edward III., and having revenues 'in 
kind ' made over to them ; especially in wool, most precious of freights 
for Florentine galleys. Their august debtor left them with an august 
deficit, and alarmed Sicilian creditors made a too sudden demand for 
the payment of deposits, causing a ruinous shock to the credit of the 
Bardi and of the associated houses, which was felt as a commercial 
calamity all along the coasts of the Mediterranean. But, like more 
modern bankrupts, they did not, for all that, hide their heads in humilia- 
tion ; on the contrary, they seem to have held them higher than ever, 
and to have been amongst the most arrogant of those grandi, who drew 
upon themselves the exasperation of the armed people in 1343. The 
Bardi, who had made themselves fast in their street between the two 
bridges, kept these narrow inlets, like panthers at bay, against the on- 
coming gonfalons of the people, and were only made to give way by an 
assault from the hill behind them. Their houses by the river, to the 
number of twenty-two {palagi e case grandi) y were sacked and burnt, 
and many among the chief of those who bore the Bardi name were 
driven from the city. But an old Florentine family was many-rooted, 
and we find the Bardi maintaining importance and rising again and again 
to the surface of Florentine affairs in a more or less creditable manner, 
implying an untold family history that would have included even more 
vicissitudes and contrasts of dignity and disgrace, of wealth and poverty, 
than are usually seen on the background of wide kinship. But the 
Bardi never resumed their proprietorship in the old street on the banks 
of the river, which in 1492 had long been associated with other names 
of mark, an I especially with the Neri, who possessed a considerable 
range of houses on the side towards the \i\)\"-*Romola. 



i68 ITALIAN CITIES. 

The Palazzo Capponi, on the left of the street, was the 
residence of Niccolb d* Uzzano (1350— 1433), three times 
Gonfalonier, who long resisted the power of the Medici. 
His daughter and heiress, Ginevra, married a Capponi. J list 
beyond is the Palazzo Canigiani, built in 1283, and once the 
Hospital of S. Lucia. Here Eletta de* Canigiani, the mother 
of Petrarch, was born. The adjoining Church of S. Lucia 
de* Magnoli has a Virgin with angels, a fine work of Luca 
della Robbia, over the door. 

Beyond this, at the entrance of the Ponte alle Grazie, is 
the Palazzo Torrigiant, built by Baccio d'Agnolo, and con- 
taining a good collection of pictures. 

1st Room. — 

I. Botticelli. The Lady hunted in the Pineta of Ravenna, from 
Boccaccio's story of Nastagio. 

7. Ben. Gozxoli. Triumph of David. 
22. Paolo Uccello. The Expedition of the Argonauts. 
24. Id. The Fable of Acca. 

2nd Room. — 
12. Caravaggio. The Deposition. 

$rd Room. — 

5. Rud. Ghirlanaajo. The Madonna. 

7. Masaccio. His own Portrait. 

8. F. Albri. Portrait of Card. Ferdinando de* Medici. 

9. Leonardo da Vinci. Portrait of Girolamo Benivieni. 

10. Santi di Tito. Female Portrait. 

11. Luca Signorelli. Portrait of himself. 

35. Garofalo. Christ and the Woman of Samaria. 

4M Room. — 

7. Rajfaelle or Gittlio Romano t Madonna and Child. 

8, 9. FUippino Lippi. The Story of Esther, — two sides of a cassone. 

12. Paul Veronese. Portrait of Alessandro Alberti. 
12. Portrait of Francesco Guicciardini. 

16. Bronnno. Portrait of Eleanor of Toledo. 

21, 22. FUippino Lippi. The Story of Esther and Hainan. 



S. NICCOLb, PORTA S. GIORGIO, 169 

$th Room, — 

2. Bronzino. Portrait of Alessandro 6V Medici. 
4. Guido Rent. Lucrezia. 
10. Titian. Male Portrait. 

Close to the end of the Piazza de 1 Renai, which faces the 
Torregiani Palace, is the Church of S. Niccolb sopra TArno, 
before which the citizens assembled in 1529, to swear to de- 
fend Florence. It was in the belfry of this church that Michael 
Angeio concealed himself after the city was betrayed to the 
Imperialists, till Clement VII. had promised to pardon him 
the fortifications he had constructed. Over the altar of 
the church are some saints, by Gentile da Fabriano, being only 
the side-panels of a large picture which once existed here. 
In the sacristy is an injured fresco of S. Thomas receiving 
the Cintola, by Ridolfo Ghirlandajo. 

The Porta S. Niccolb is the only one of the Florentine 
gates which remains exactly in its ancient state, and it 
retains its three tiers of arches. 

(From near the entrance of the Via de' Bardi, a passage 
under an archway leads up the hill-side to the Porta S. 
Giorgio, passing, on the right, the house inhabited by Galileo. 
The gate dates from 1324, and has a fresco, by Bernardo 
Daddi, of the Virgin and Child throned, with S. George and 
S. Sigismund. The neighbouring Fortezza di S. Giorgio, or 
Belvidere, was built by Buontalenti for Ferdinand I. The 
Medici kept their treasures in a secret chamber beneath it) 

On the left of the street — Via Guicciardini — which faces 
the Ponte Vecchio, is the Piazza S. Felicita, where a pillar 
commemorates one of the murderous victories of S. Peter 
Martyr over the heretics called Paterini. The tribune of the 
Church belongs to the Guicciardini, and the historian Fran- 



170 ITALIAN CITIES. 

cesco Guicciardini is buried in front of the high altar. The 
first chapel on the right contains a Deposition, by Jacopo 
Pontormo: in the 5th chapel is a Madonna with Saints, by 
Taddeo Gaddi. In the sacristy is a picture of the Martyr- 
dom of S. Felicitas and her sons attributed to Neri di 
Bicci. In the chapter-house are frescoes, by Cosimo Ulivelli 
and Agnolo Gheri^ and over the altar a Crucifixion, by Niccolb 
Gerini. The portico of the church contains some monu- 
ments from an old cemetery which existed here in earlier 
times, including the incised figure of Barduccio Barducci, ob. 
1 41 4, who was twice Gonfalonier, and an altar-tomb with a 
figure of Cardinal Luigi de' Rossi, 15 19, by Baccio di Mon~ 
telupo. 

Now, on the left, we,pass the Palazzo Guicciardini^ nearly 
opposite to which a tablet marks the house where Macchia- 
velli died. 

At the entrance (right) of the Via Maggio, a tablet on the 
wall of Casa Guidi is inscribed to the memory of an English 
poetess, who lived there for many years with her distin- 
guished husband, and died there in 1861 — "Elizabeth Bar- 
rett-Browning, che in cuore di donna conciliava scienza di 
dotto e spirito di poeta, e fece del suo verso aureo anello fra 
Italia e Inghilterra." 

(On the right of the Via Maggio — turning towards the 
river — is a house — at the corner of the Via Marsigli — painted 
in fresco by Poccetti^ where Bernardo Buontalenti lived, and 
whither Tasso rode from Ferrara to thank him for having 
contributed to the success of his Aminta by the scenery he 
had painted for it, and returned immediately. 

"A few days after the recitation of the comedy, Bernardo was 
returning, as was his wont, to dine at his house in the Via Maggio ; on 
approaching the door he saw a man of good condition, venerable in 



PALAZZO PITTA 171 

person and appearance, in a country dress, dismount from his horse as if 
to speak to him. Buontalenti waited civilly till the stranger came up and 
said : ' Are you that Bernardo Buontalenti, so celebrated for the won- 
derful inventions which are daily produced by your genius, and who in 
particular have composed the astonishing scenery for the comedy, by 
Tasso, which has lately been recited ? ' 'lam Bernardo Buontalenti, ' 
he answered, ' but indeed am not such as your kindness and courtesy is 
pleased to believe me. ' Then the unknown, with a smile, flung his arms 
round his neck, kissed him on the forehead, and said : ' You are Ber- 
nardo Buontalenti, and I am Torquato Tasso. Addio, Addio, my friend, 
Addio ; ' and, without leaving the astonished architect (who was quite 
thrown off his balance by this unexpected meeting) a moment to recover 
himself sufficiently either for words or deeds, he mounted his horse, and 
galloped off, and was never seen again. " — Baldinucci. 

Further down the street is the Palazzo of the Ridolfi, of 
whom twenty-one were Gonfaloniers. No. 26 (left) is the 
house which Bianca Capello built for herself, and caused to 
be adorned externally with paintings. It was between this 
and the bridge that her first husband, Bonaventuri, was mur- 
dered. On the same side of the street is the Palazzo Michel- 
ozzi y with an upper story, overhanging on brackets, towards 
a side-street. 

The Casa Guidi is almost opposite to the magnifi- 
cent Pitti Palace, which stands upon a basement of huge 
blocks of stone, and is exceedingly imposing from the dig- 
nity of its vast lines and gigantic proportions. 

" Je doute qu'il y ait un palais plus monumental en Europe ; je n'en 
ai vu qui laisse une impression si grandiose et si simple. " — Taitte. 

The palace was begun in 1441, from a design of Brunelles- 
chi, by Luca Pitti, and was sold by his descendants, in 
1549, to the first Eleanora of Toledo, wife of Cosimo I. Long 
the residence of the Grand-Dukes, it is now occupied by 
King Victor Emanuel. The apartments contain a few 



172 ITALIAN CITIES. 

precious objects, by Benvenuto Cellini, Donatello, and Gio- 
vanni da Bologna. 

" The facade of the Pitti is 460 feet in extent, three stories high in the 
centre, each story 40 feet in height, and the immense windows of each 24 
feet apart from centre to centre. With such dimensions as these, even a 
brick building would be grand ; but when we add to this, the boldest 
rustication all over the facade, and cornices of simple but bold outline, 
there is no palace in Europe to compare to it for grandeur, though many 
may surpass it in elegance. The design is said to have been by Brunei- 
leschi, but it is doubtful how far this is the case, or, at all events, how 
much may be due to Michelozzi, who certainly assisted in its erection, or 
to Ammanati, who continued the building, left incomplete at Brunei- 
leschi's death, in 1444." — Fergusson. 

From a door in the left wing is the approach to the 
collection of pictures, formed by the Medici, which was 
brought to this palace about 1641. It may also be reach- 
ed from the Uffizi by the covered gallery. The rooms in 
which the pictures are contained are most gorgeously 
decorated. 

" Pierre de Cortone, Fedi, Marini, les derniers peintres de la decad- 
ence couvrent les plafonds d'allegories en l'honneur de la famille 
regnante— Ici Minerve enleve Cosme I. a Ve'nus et le conduit a 
Hercule, modele des grandes travaux et des exploits he'roiques ; en effet, 
il a mis a mort ou proscrit les plus grands citoyens de Florence, et c'est 
lui qui disait d'une cite' indocile: 'J'aime mieux la depeuplcr que la 
perdre." — Ailieurs la Gloire et la Vertu le conduisent vers Apollon, 
patron des lettres et des arts ; en effet, il a pensionne les faiseurs de 
sonnets et raeuble' de beaux appartements. — Plus loin, Jupiter et tout 
TOlympe se mettent en mouvement pour le recevoir; en effet, il a 
empoisonne' sa fille, fait tuer l'amant de sa fille, tu^ son fils, qui avait 
tue son frere ; la seconde fille a iti poignardee par son man, la mere 
en meurt ; a la gyration suivante, ces operations recommencent ; on 
s'assasstne et on s'empoisonne her&itairement dans cette famille." — 
Taitu. 

Beginning in the room furthest from the Uffizi, the gems 
of the collection are : — 



PALAZZO PITTL 173 

I. Sala de Venus. 

I. Albert Durer. Eve. 
1 7. Titian. Holy Family with S. Catherine. 
*l8. Titian. La Bella Donna. 

"A ripe beauty in a blue gold -embroidered dress, with violet -and - 
white padded sleeves, and a gold chain." — JCugler. 
20. Albert Durer. Adam. 

II. Salad* Apollo. 

40. Murillo. Virgin and Child. 
•43. Franeiabigio. Male portrait 
49. Tiberio Titi. Leopoldo de* Medici (afterwards Cardinal), as a 

baby. 
51. Cigoli. The Deposition. 
55. Baroccio. Federigo d* Urbino, as a baby. 
•59. Raffaelle. Maddalena Doni. 
•61. Raffaelle. Angelo Doni. 
"The portraits of Angelo Doni, a Florentine amateur, and his 
wife, in the Pitti palace at Florence, are natural in conception, but 
rather cold and hard in execution. These two pictures, long lost and 
sought for, have but lately come to light v — Kiigler. 
•63. Raffaelle. Leo X. 
64. Fra Bartolommeo. The Deposition. 
66. Andrea del Sarto. His own portrait 

III. Sala di Marte. 

•79. Raffaelle. La Madonna della Seggiola. 

"A circular picture, painted about 15 16. The Madonna, seen in a 
side view, sits on a low chair holding the Child on her knee ; He leans 
on her bosom in a listless, child-like attitude : at her side St. John folds 
his little hands in prayer. The Madonna wears a many-coloured hand- 
kerchief on her shoulders, and another on her head, in the manner of 
the Italian women. She appears as a beautiful and blooming woman, 
looking out of the picture in the tranquil enjoyment of maternal love ; 
the Child, full and strong in form, has a serious, ingenuous, and grand 
expression. The colouring is uncommonly warm and beautiful."— 

Kiigler. 

" Rien n'egale la suavite* de la tete de la Vierge, la majesty de l'enfant 
Jesus, l'onction, l'ardente devotion dans celle de saint Jean. Tout est 
prophet ique dans ces deux enfants : Tun de>oule dans sa pens^e toutes 
les destinees du monde, l'autre y voue deja toute la sienne." — Madam* 
Swetchine. 



174 ITALIAN CITIES. 

81. Andrea del Sarto. Holy Family. 

" At Florence only can one trace and tell how great a painter and 
how various Andrea was. There only, but surely there, can the spirit 
and presence of the things of time on his immortal spirit be under- 
stood." — Swinburne. 

•82. Vandyke. Cardinal Guido Bentivoglio. 

Cardinal Bentivoglio, born at Ferrara 15 19, was secretary to Clement 
VII., and sent as Papal Nuncio to Flanders, by Paul V. He wrote 
" the History of the War in the Netherlands," and died 1644. 

83. Titian. Luigi Cornaro, a Venetian nobleman. 

85. Rubens. Himself, his brother, and two philosophers. 

|7* J Andrea del Sarto. The Story of Joseph. 

90. Cigoli. Ecce Homo. 

92. Titian. Male portrait. 
•94. Raffaelle. Holy Family, — "dell* Impannata," painted for Bindo 
Altoviti, a Florentine youth, celebrated for his beauty. The 
authenticity of this picture has often been doubted, but a sketch 
from the hand of Raphael, in the royal collection of England, 
proves that the invention, if not the execution, is that of the 
master. 

" The Madonna dell* Impannata (the cloth window), is partly com- 
posed and executed by Raphael. The incident is most charming ; two 
women have brought the Child, and hand it to the mother ; and while 
the boy turns, still laughing, after them, he ta'ces fast hold of the 
mother's dress, who seems to say, * Look, he likes best to come to 
me.' "—Burckhardt. 

•96. Cristoforo Allori. Judith. 

"The most finished picture of Allori represents Judith with the head 
of Holofernes ; she is a beautiful and splendidly-attired woman, with a 
grand, enthusiastic expression. The countenance is wonderfully fine 
and Medusa-like, and conveys all that the loftiest poetry can express in 
the character of Judith. In the head of Holofernes it is said that the 
artist has represented his own portrait, and that of his proud mistress in 
the Judith."— KUgler. 

" The Judith is pale with the passion and the crime of her cruel 
night's work — most terrible of heroines, with such exhaustion and ex- 
citement in her (ace, as no one but Allori, of all her painters, has 
ventured to put there." — Blackwood, dccv. 



PALAZZO PITTL i75 

IV. Sala di Giave, 

109. Paris Bordone. Female portrait 

in. Salvator Rosa, The Catiline conspiracy. 

"The best of the impassioned and characteristic pictures of Salvator 
is the Conspiracy of Catiline, with figures taken immediately from the 
excitable Neapolitan life, dressed in old Roman costume. " — Kiigler. 

• 1 13. Michael Angelo. (?) The Fates. 

" In the Pitti Palace, a picture of the Three Fates is ascribed to 
Michael Angelo— serene, keen, characteristic figures. It was executed, 
however,' by Rosso Fiorentino." — Kiigler. 

The same person is represented in three different attitudes, and is 
said to be an old woman who offered her son to fight for the city, when 
Michael Angelo was conducting the defence of Florence in 1529. 

123. Andrea del Sarto. Madonna in glory, with four saints below. 
125. Fra Bartolommeo. S. Mark. 

" In the head there is something falsely superhuman, but the drapery, 
which was really the principal object, is a marvellous work." — 
Burckhardt. 

131. Tintord. Portrait of Vincenzo Zeno. 
•140. Leonardo da Vinci. Portrait of Ginevra Benci. 

" The portrait of Ginevra Benci, in the Pitti Palace, is an unpretend- 
ing but intelligently conceived picture, of the greatest decision and purity 
of modelling and drawing." — Kiigler. 

V. Sala di Saturno. 

149. Pontormo. Portrait of Ippolito de* Medici. 

This Cardinal was natural son of Giuliano de' Medici, whose monu- 
ment is in S. Lorenzo. He is supposed to have been poisoned in 1535. 

150. Vandyke. Charles I. of England, and Henrietta Maria. 
•151. RaffaelU. Julius II. 

"The high-minded old man is here represented seated in an arm- 
chair in deep meditation. The small, piercing eyes are deeply set under 
the open, projecting forehead ; they are quiet, but full of extinguished 
power. The nose is proud and Roman, the lips firmly compressed ; 
all the features are still in lively, elastic tension ; the execution of the 
whole picture is masterly. There are several repetitions ; one is in the 
gallery of the Uffizi, representing the Pope in a red dress. A good 
copy is also in the Berlin Museum ; another at Mr Miles's, of Leigh 
Court."— Kiigler. 



»76 ITALIAN CITIES. 

157. Lorenzo Lotto. The Three Ages of Man. 
•158. Raffadle. Cardinal Bernardo Dovizi da Bibbiena. 

A Native of Bibbiena, in the Casentino, Bernardo Dovizi was tutor to 
the sons of Lorenzo de* Medici. When one of his pupils became Pope 
Leo X., he was made a Cardinal He is supposed to have died of 
poison. 

"A superb portrait, which nobly unites the characteristics of the 
statesman and man of the world." — Pas savant. 

159. Fra Bartolommeo. Christ risen, with the Evangelists, painted c. 
1515. 
•164. Perugino. The Deposition. 

Painted in 1495, and greatly admired for its landscape, as well as for 
the figures it contains. 

"The Marys, having stopped weeping, look on the dead with wondei 
and love." — Vdsari. 

•165. Raffaelle. La Madonna del Baldacchino. 

"The Madonna and Child are on a throne ; on one side stand St. 
Peter and St. Bruno ; on the other, St. Anthony and St. Augustine ; 
at the foot of the throne two boy-angels hold a strip of parchment with 
musical notes inscribe \ on it ; over the throne is a canopy {baldacchino), 
the curtains of which are held by two flying angels. The picture is not 
deficient in the solemn majesty suited to a church subject ; the drapery 
of the saints, particularly that of St. Bruno, is very grand ; in other 
respects, however, the taste of the naturalisti prevails, and the heads are 
in general devoid of nobleness and real dignity. In the colour of the 
flesh this picture forcibly reminds us of Fra Bartolommeo. Raphael left 
it unfinished in Florence ; and in this form, with an appearance of 
finish which is attributable to restorations, it has descended to us. " — 
Idigler. 

"This picture remains a puzzle. Raphael left it unfinished on his 
journey to Rome ; later, when his growing fame called fresh attention to 
the picture, the painting was continued we know not by whom. At 
last Ferdinand, son of Cosimo III., had it touched by a certain Cassana, 
with an appearance of finishing chiefly by means of brown glazings. The 
remarkably beautiful attitude of the Child with the Madonna (for 
instance, that of the hands), the figures on the left, arranged in the grand 
style of the Frate (S. Peter and S. Bernard), belong surely to Raphael ; 
perhaps also the upper part of the body of the saint on the right, with 
the pilgrim's staff ; on the other hand, the bishop on the right might be 
composed by quite another hand. The two beautifully- improvised 
Putti on the steps of the throne belong as much to the style of the Frat* 



PALAZZO PITTL 177 

as of Raphael ; of the two angels above, the more beautiful one is 
obviously borrowed from the fresco of S. Maria della Pace at Rome, 
from which it appears that the first finisher did not touch the picture till 
after 15 14." — Burckhardt. 

•171. Raffaelle. Portrait of Tommaso Inghirami. 

Tommaso Phaedra Inghirami was of a noble family of Volterra. 
Having lost his father at two years old, he was taken at once under the- 
protection of the Medici, who provided for his education. His name 
of Phaedra was the result of an extraordinary proof of wit and presence 
of mind. While acting in the tragedy of Hippolitus at the house of the 
Cardinal of S. Giorgio, in which he filled the part of Phaedra, something. 
which went wrong in the machinery interrupted the performance. 
Inghirami immediately stepped. forward and filled up the interval by an 
impromptu of Latin verses, which produced immense applause and 
shouts of Viva Phaedra, and the name afterwards stuck to him and was 
added to his own. He was sent as ambassador by Alexander VI. to Maxi- 
milian, who gave him the title of Count Palatine. In 15 10 he was made 
Bishop of Ragusa by Julius II., and officiated as secretary at the con- 
clave in which Giovanni de' Medici was elected pope. It is in the red 
dress which he then wore that he is represented by Raphael. 

1 72. Andrea del Sarto. Dispute about the Trinity. 

"The so-called Disputa della SS. Trinita is peculiarly fitted to 
exhibit Andrea's affinity with the Venetian school. This is a * Santa 
Conversazione' of six saints. St. Augustin is speaking with the highest 
inspiration of manner ; St. Dominic is being convinced with his reason,. 
St. Francis with his heart ; St. Laurence is looking earnestly out of the 
picture ; while St Sebastian and the Magdalen are kneeling in front, 
listening devoutly. We here find the most admirable contrast of action 
and expression, combined with the highest beauty of execution, especially 
of colouring. " — KiigUr. 

•174. Raffaelle. The Vision of EzekieL 

" This picture is supposed to have been executed by Raphael as early 
as 1 5 10, but, to judge from its affinity with the earlier pictures of the 
Loggie, it can only have been produced in 15 13 ; it contains the First 
Person of the Trinity, in a glory of brightly-illuminated cherubs' heads, 
his outstretched arms supported by two genii, and resting on the mys- 
tical forms of the ox, eagle, and lion ; the angel is introduced adoring 
beside them. Dignity, majesty, and sublimity are here blended with in- 
expressible beauty : the contrast between the figure of the Almighty and 
the two youthful genii is admirably pourtrayed, and the whole composition 

VQL. III. 12 



i7» ITALIAN CITIES. 

so dearly developed, that it it undoubtedly one of the master»works of 
the artist Michael Angelo, who had alto given a type of the Almighty* 
represent! Him borne upon the storm ; Raphael represents Him as if 
irradiated by the splendour of the sun :— <here both masters are 
supremely great, similar, yet different and neither greater than the 
other."— Kiigier. 

" Cast la vraiment une vision 1 Des torrents de famiere jettent le 
eontemplateur dans re'blouissement, il se sent saisi par le bras de feu qui 
soulevait le prophete ; et ce n'est pas settlement le couleur qui e^onne : 
le destin de ce petit tableau est d'one energie, d'unt hardiesse, d'une 
richesse incomparable. C'est bien Jlhovah, c'est bien le vrai Dieu de 
l'ancien Testament qui s'est revele a Raphael, plus poete encore ici que 
peintre : c'est toute la sublimite de 1'ode, una strophe repetee des divins 
concerts.' 1 — ^Madame Swdchin*. 

178. Guido Rent, Cleopatra. 

179. Sebastian dd Piombo. The Martyrdom of S. Agata. 

"This picture combines the composition of Michael Angelo, with a 
trace of Venetian colouring, but, besides the unpleasantness of the sub- 
ject, it is unattractive to the spectator by the obvious sacrifice of all 
freshness of life for a style of art, which, after all, Sebastian never 
entirely acquired. *-!-KiigUr. 

VI. Sola dd Iliadt. 

185. Gwrgione. Concert of Music. 

t 

"It is difficult sometimes to decide whether Giorgione meant to 
represent a real portrait, or an ideal head, or a genre subject, so well 
did he understand to give his figures that which especially appealed to 
the comprehension and sympathies of his spectators. We see this in his 
' Concert,' in the Pitti palace, representing two priests playing the piano 
and the violoncello, with a youth." — KHgier. 

19a Sustermanns. Portrait of a son of Frederick IL of Denmark. 

191. Andrea dd Sarto. The Assumption— ordered by Bartolommeo 
Panciatichi, a Florentine merchant, for the city of Lyons, but left unfin- 
ished by the painter. 

195. Joctp* Fhancia. Male Portrait 
200. Titian. Philip IL (full length). 
907. Lmnardoda Vinci. A Jeweller. 
208. JVw Bartobmmm. The Madonna throned, with 
216. Amd Krvau*. Portrait of Dankk Barbara 
218. Sahx&rR**. A Warrior. 
♦219. fr uc i m* AdofaJxmef the HeJy Child. 



palazzo p/rrr. 179 

225. And*** del Sort*. The Ass amptioa. 
228. Titian. The Saviour. 

VII. Sola di Jupiter. 

243. Velasquez Philip IV. 

265. Andrea del Sarto. S. John Baptist (half length). 
♦266. RaffaelU. Madonna del Gran Duca.* 

" Here the Madonna holds the Infant tranquilly in her arms, and 
looks down in deep thought. Although slightly and very simply painted, 
especially in the nude, this picture excels all Raphael's previous 
Madonnas in that wonderful charm which only the realization of a pro- 
found thought could produce. We feel that no earlier painter had ever 
understood to combine such free and transcendant beauty with an 
expression of such deep foreboding. This picture is the last and highest 
condition of which Perugino's type was capable." — Kugler. 

" The Madonna Gran Duca marks the growing transition from the 
first to the second manner of Raphael. The Virgin has all the pensive 
sweetness and reflective sentiment of the Umbrian school, while the 
Child is loveliness itself. We think of Perugino still, but we think of 
him as suddenly endued with a purer, firmer outline, and more refined 
sentiment" — J, S. Harford. 

VIII. Sola a 9 Ulysse. 

297. Paris Bordone. Portrait of Pope Paul III. 

IX. Sola di Prometeo, 

•353. Botticelli. La Bella Simonetta. 
372. Andrea del Castagno. Male Portrait 
377. Fra Bartolommeo. Ecce Homo— a fresco. 

X. La Galleria <te Poccctti % has an interesting collection of 

miniatures. 
Between the palace and the picture-gallery is the entrance 
to the beautiful Boboli fiardtns (open to the public on Sun- 
days and Thursdays), so called from the family whose man- 

* We may notice here especially tke heavy eyelid which is a characteristic of the 
Madonnas of Raphael — the "santo, onesto, e grare ciglio" which Giovanni Saniio 
attributes to Battista Sforza, and which is exaggerated ia the works of Francia and 
Perugino. The arch over the eyes of the Madonnas of Raphael is generally almost 
invisible ; Castiglione, in bis " Cortegiano," mentions that Italian ladies were in the 
habit of ses n o h n g the haws of their sye b ows —4 1 



i8o ITALIAN CITIES. 

sion was once situated here. Near the entrance is a Grotto, 
containing four unfinished statues intended for the monu- 
ment of Julius II. by Michael Angelo, and presented by his 
nephew, Leonardo Buonarotti, to Cosimo I. In front of the 
palace is an amphitheatre of seats, raised one above the 
other, whence walks, between clipped avenues of bay and 
ilex, lead to the higher ground where are the Fountain of 
Neptune, with a statue by Stoldo Lorenzi (1565) ; the statue 
of Dovizia — Abundance — believed to be a portrait of Joanna 
of Austria, first wife of Francis I. ; and the little meadow, 
called L' Uccellaja, from its bird-snares. 

" On Sunday, I went to the highest part of the Garden of Boboli, 
which commands a view of most of the city, and of the vale of Arno to 
the westward ; where, as we had been visited by several rainy days, and 
now at last had a very fine one, the whole prospect was in its highest 
beauty. The mass of buildings, especially on the other side of the river, 
is sufficient to fill the eye, without perplexing the mind by vastness like 
that of London ; and its name and history, its outline and large pictur- 
esque buildings, give it grandeur of a higher order than that of mere 
multitudinous extent The hills that border the valley of the Arno are 
also very pleasing and striking to look upon ; and the view of the rich 
plain, glimmering away into blue distance, covered with an endless web 
of villages and country-houses, is one of the most delightful images ot 
human well-being I have ever seen. " — John Sterling's Letters. 

" Qui Michel Angiol nacque? e qui il sublime 
Dolce testor degli amorosi detti ? 
Qui il gran poeta, che in si forti rime 
Scolpl d'inferno i pianti maladetti ? 

Qui il celeste inventor, ch* ebbe dall' ime 
Valli nostre i pianeti a noi soggetti ? 
E qui il sovrano pensator, ch* esprime 
SI ben del Prence i dolorosi effeti ? 

Qui nacquer, quando non venia proscrittc 

II dir, leggere, udir, scriver, pensare ; 

Cose, ch' or tutte appongonsi a delitto." — Alfieri, sonn. xL 



BOBOU GARDENS. 181 

One of the most beautiful pictures in Florence may be 
obtained from the right-hand corner of the amphitheatre, 
whence the dome of the cathedral and the graceful tower of 
the Palazzo Vecchio are seen between a stately group of cy- 
presses and the massy brown walls of the palace. 




View from ih* Boboli Garden. 

Returning to the entrance of the Ponte Vecchio, we reach 
the Barge di S. jfacopo, at the corner of which is a statue of 
Bacchus, standing beneath an old palace of the Cerchi. 
Close to this is the Palazzo Barvadori, built by FUippo Bru- 
ndkscki. On the right is the Chunk of S. Jaeopo sopr> 
Arno, rebuilt in 1580. Here the nobles assembled in 1393, 
and determined to resort to arms, rather than submit to the 



ife ITALIAN CITIES. 

decree which excluded them from a share in the government. 

Opposite this is the finfe old Tower of the Barbadori, 
adorned with works of Luca delta Robbia. In the piazza 
beyond, facing the river, is the palace of the Frescobaldi, 
and opposite it, a Palazzo Capponi, which was the residence 
of the famous Piero Capponi. The houses, facing the river 
beyond this, belonged to the great family of the Soderini, 
and in one of them Niccol6 Soderini received St. Catherine 
of Siena. 

Behind this quay runs the street called Fbndaccio di Santo 
Spirito. In a house on the left the great Florentine captain, 
Francesco Ferrucci, was born in 1489. Opposite (at the 
corner of the Via di Serragli) is the Palazzo Rinuccini, built 
in the 16th century, by Luigi Cardi Cigoli. 

On the left of the street called the Fondaccio, is the great 
Church of Santo Spirito, originally built by Augustinians in 
1292, but rebuilt in 1433. I* was st ^ unfinished in 1470, 
when the building took fire during some illuminated pheno- 
mena intended to represent the descent of the Holy Ghost, 
during the visit of Galeaxzo-Maria Sforza, and was entirely 
burnt. It was once more rebuilt from designs which had 
been left by Brunelleschi. The cupola, was by Salvi d* 
Andrea; the sacristy by Giuliano di S. Gallo; and the 
bell-tower by Baccio d* Agnolo. 

" Santo Spirito being entirely according to Brunelleschi's design, he 
was enabled to mould it to his own fancies. This church is 296 feet long 
by 94 feet 3 inches wide, and, taking it all in all, is internally as suc- 
cessful an adaptation of the basilican type as its age presents."—- 
Fergusson. 

The interior is exceedingly handsome. Under the dome 
is a baldacchino, much like that at S. Alessio at Rome, and 
around it a choir, of 1599, isolated, as in the Spanish 



S. SPIRITO. 183 

churches. The vast number of chapels contain many good 
pictures : 

Right aisle. — 

1st Chapel. School of Piero di Cosmo. Assumption. 
2nd Chapel. Nanni di BaccioBigio. Copy of the Pieta of Michael 
Angelo. 

Right Transept— 

2nd Chapel, on right. Pollajuolo f S. Monaca enthroned. 

yrd Chapel, at end. Filippino Lippi. Madonna and Child with saints, 
and Tanai de Nerli, the persecutor of Savonarola, and his wife, the donors, 
kneeling. 

4th Chapel, at end. Copy of the Munich Perugino. The Vision of the 
Virgin to S. Bernard. 

1st Chapel, left [returning). Monument of Gino Capponi, his son Neri, 
and his great grandson Piero. 

"Among many disasters no one appeared so great, no one caused 
such universal grief, as the death of the brave and generdus citizen, Piero 
Capponi. He had undertaken the siege of the castle of Soiana, to retake 
it from the enemy ; and, as was usual with him, he was acting on this 
occasion both as common soldier and commander ; and, while planting 
a gun near the wall, he was mortally wounded by a ball. The soldiers 
fled, as if terror-struck, and raised the siege of Soiana. At Florence a 
splendid funeral, at the public expense, was immediately ordered, and 
there never was seen so universal a lamentation for the death of a private 
citizen. His body was brought up the Arno in a funeral barge, and 
was deposited in his own house in Florence, near the bridge of the 
Santa Trinita, from whence it was taken to the Church of the Santo 
Spirito, accompanied by the magistrates and a vast multitude of citizens. 
The church was lighted up by innumerable tapers, and, in four ranges of 
banners, the arms of the magistracy alternated with those of the family. 
A funeral oration was delivered over the coffin, proclaiming with the 
highest praise the distinguished life of the deceased, and the deep sor- 
row felt for the loss of the valiant soldier and eminent citizen. His 
remains were then deposited in the same tomb which his grandfather 
Neri had caused to be constructed for his illustrious great-grandfather, 
Gino Capponi "— Villari. 

Choir. — 

2nd Chapel, on right. Agnolo Gaddi. An altar-piece, dose to which is 
the monument of Piero Vettori, a classical satirist, 1499—1565. 



184 ITALIAN CITIES. 

2nd Chapel, at end. Alessandro AUori. Martyrdoms. 
1st Chapd, on left (returning). Botticelli, Annunciation. 

East Transept — 

1st Chapel^ at end. Pierodi Cosimo(?) (1482). Madonna enthroned, 
with S. Thomas and S. Peter. 

2nd Chapel, at end. Marble work by Sansovino. 

ltd Chapel, at end. Raffaellino del Garbo. The Trinity, with S. 
Catherine and S. Mary Magdalen in adoration. 

1st Chapel, on left (returning). Pierodi Cositno t Madonna enthroned, 
with S. Bartholomew and S. Nicholas. 

Left aisle (returning). — 

Chapel beyond the door. Rid. Ghirlandajo. Virgin and Child, with 
S. Anna, S. Mary Magdalen, and S. Catherine. 

In this church Luther preached on his way to Rome as 
an Augustinian monk. 

There is a beautiful covered passage leading to the sacristy. 
The large cloisters are surrounded with unimportant frescoes. 

The space in front of the church is laid out in gardens. 
At the end, on the left, is the old Palazzo Guadagni. The 
Via S. Agostino opens on the right Near its entrance (left) 
is the house of the Marchese della Stufa, which contains the 
wonderful bust of the Gonfalonier Niccolb Soderini, by Mino 
da Ficsole, and the only authentic portrait of Michael Angelo, 
that by Giuliano Bugiardini, which is described by Vasari. 

The Via S. Agostino leads into the Via de' Serragli. 
Here the Church of S. Elizabetta occupies the site of a 
house in which S. Filippo Neri was bora, in 15 15. On the 
left, near the end of the street, are the Torregiani Gardens, 
which contain a high tower, in allusion to the crest of the 
family. The neighbouring Church of La Calza (so called 
from the material of the cowl worn by its monks) contains a 
Perugino of the Crucifixion, with the Beato Columbini of 



THE CARMINE. 185 

Siena, S. J. Baptist, S. Jerome, S. Francis, and the Magdalen, 
at the foot of the cross. In the refectory is a Cenacolo, by 
Franciabigio. The Porta Romana, which closes the street, 
gave the name of Baccio della Porta to Fra Bartolommeo, 
who lived near it in his youth. In the neighbouring Via 
Porta Romana, a tablet marks the house of Giovanni di S. 
Giovanni. 

The Church and Convent of the Carmine, beyond the Via 
de* Serragli, were built c. 1475, m *h e place of an older 
church, whose bells were rung to summon (1378) the rising 
of the Ciompi. In the right transept is the famous Cappella 
Brancaeciy which is covered with noble frescoes, including 
the finest paintings of Masaccio, and some of Filippino Lippi. 

" The importance of these frescoes arises from the fact that they hold 
the same place in the history of art during the fifteenth century, as the 
works of Giotto, in the Arena chapel at Padua, hold during the four- 
teenth. Each series forms an epoch in painting from which may be 
dated one of those great and sudden onward steps, which have in 
various ages and countries marked the development of art. The 
history of Italian painting is divided into three distinct and well-denned 
periods, by the Arena and Brancacci Chapels, and the frescoes of 
Michael Angelo and Raphael in the Vatican." — A. H. Layard. 

The order of the frescoes is : — 

Right and Left. Adam and Eve — their Fall, Filippino Lippi ; their 
Expulsion from Paradise, Masaccio. 

Right. The healing of Petronilla by S. Peter, and the Cripple cured 
at the gate of the Temple, Masaccio. 

Left. S. Peter finding the tribute money in the fish's mouth, Masaccio. 

Left. S. Peter and S. Paul restore a dead youth to life, having been 
challenged to do so by Simon Magus, mostly by Masaccio, a small portion 
in the centre by Filippino Lippi. 

Left. S. Peter is imprisoned, S. Paul talks to him through the bars : 
Filippino Lippi. 

Right. S. Peter is delivered from prison by an angel, Filippino Lippi. 

Right. S. Peter condemned by Nero, and his Crucifixion, Filippino 
Lippi. 



i86 ITALIAN CITIES. 

The four frescoes on the wall above the altar are from the history of 
Peter and John, and are all by Masaccio. 

"In these works, for the first time, we find a well-grounded and 
graceful delineation of the nude, which, though still somewhat constrained 
in the figures of Adam and Eve, exhibits itself in successful mastery in 
the Youth preparing for Baptism ; so well, in short, in both, that the first 
were copied by Raffaelle in the Loggie of the Vatican, while the last, 
according to an old tradition, formed an epoch in the history of Floren- 
tine Art The art of raising the figures from the flat surface, the model- 
ling of the forms, hitherto only faintly indicated, here begin to give the 
effect of actual life. In this respect, again, these pictures exhibit at 
once a beginning and successful progress, for in the Tribute Money 
many parts are hard and stiff; the strongest light is not placed in the 
middle, but at the edge of the figures ; while in the Resuscitation of the 
Boy, the figures appear in perfect reality before the spectator. More- 
over, we find a style of drapery freed from the habitual type-like manner 
of the earlier periods, and dependent only on the form underneath, at 
the same time expressing dignity of movement by broad masses and 
grand lines. Lastly, we reach a peculiar style of composition, which in 
the Resuscitation of the Boy, supposed to be Masaccio's last picture, 
exhibits a powerful feeling for truth and individuality of character. The 
event itself includes few persons ; a great number of spectators are dis- 
posed around, who, not taking a very lively interest in what is passing, 
merely present a picture of sterling, serious manhood ; in each figure 
we read a worthy fulfilment of the occupations and duties of life." — 
KiigUr. 

" Ces peintures partent du reel, je veux dire de l'individu vivant, tel 
que les yeux le voient. Le jeune homme baptise que Masaccio montre 
nu, sortant de l'eau et grelottant, les bras croises, est un baigneur con- 
temporain, qui s'est trempe dans l'Arno par une jouraee un peu froide 
De meme son Adam et son Eve chasses du paradis sont des Florentine 
qu'il a deshabilles, l'homme avec des cuisses minces et des grosses epaules 
de forgeron, la femme avec un col court et une lourde taille, tous deux 
avec des jambes assez laides, artisans ou bourgeois qui n'ont point 
pratique' comme les Grecs la vie nue, et dont la gymnastique n'a point 
proportionne* et refbrme les corps. Pareillement encore, le petit ressu- 
scite de Lippi, agenouille devant l'apotre, a la maigreur osseuse et les 
membres greles d'un enfant moderne. Enfin presque toutes les tetes 
sont des portraits : deux hommes encapuchonnes, a gauche de saint 
Pierre, sont des moines qui sortent de leurs convents. On sait les noms 
des contemporains qui ont prete leurs visages : Bartolo di Angiolino 
Angioli, Granacci, Soderini, Pulci, Pollajuolo, Botticelli, Lippi lui-meme ; 



THE CARMINE. 187 

en sorte que cette peinture lemble avoir pris tout 1011 Gtre dans la vie 
environnante, comme la platre plaque* sot un visage emporte le modele 
de la forme a laquelle on la soumis." — Taine, 

Masaccio is buried amid his paintings in this chapel. 
Vasari gives his epitaph : — 

" Se alcun cercasse il marmo, o il nome mio ; 
La chiesa e il marmo, una cappella e il nome. 
Morii, che Natura ebbe invidia, come 
L'arte del mio pennello uopo e desio."* 

" In this chapel wrought 
One of the few. Nature's interpreters, 
The few, whom Genius gives as lights to shine, 
Masaccio ; and he slumbers underneath. 
Wouldst thou behold his monument ? Look round ! 
And know that where we stand, stood oft and long, 
Oft till the day was gone, Raphael himself; 
Nor he alone, so great the ardour there, 
Such, while it reigned, the generous rivalry ; 
He and how many as at once called forth, 
Anxious to learn of those who came before, 
To steal a spark from their authentic fire, 
Theirs who first broke the universal gloom, 
Sons of the morning. "—Rogers' Italy. 

In the Sacristy of the Carmine are frescoes of the life of 
S. Cecilia, by Agnolo Gaddi. 

In the choir is the fine tomb to the Gonfalonier, Piero 
Soderini (buried in Rome), by Benedetto da Rovezzano. 

It was because this Soderini was simple and had a good 
heart, that Machiavelli wrote the famous epigram : — 

" La notte che mori Pier Soderini 
L' Alma n' and6 dell' inferno alia bocca ; 

* " If any seek the marble, or my name, 

This church shall be the marble — and the name, 
Yon oratory holds it. Nature envied 
My pencil's power, as Art required and lored it— 
Thence was it that I died." 



188 ITALIAN CITIES. 

E Pluto le gridd : Anima sciocca, 

Che inferno ? va nel limbo de' bambini ? " * 

In the north transept (1675), is the tomb of S. Andrea 
Corsini, and great reliefs, by Foggini, relating to his life. 
Andrea Corsini was a Carmelite monk. Bishop of Fiesole, 
canonized by Urban VIII. in 1629. 

In the Cloisters are remains of a fresco of the consecration 
of the church by Masaccio. Little is visible but the figure 
of a man in a yellow dress, supposed to represent Giovanni 
de* Medici : above are traces of a fresco of hermits sitting 
before their cells. Another fresco, on the same wall, re- 
presenting a knight and a nun presented to the Virgin by 
their patron saints, is attributed to Giovanni da Milano. 

The street beyond the Piazza del Carmine leads to the 
Porta S. Frediano, which dates from 1324. Here Charles 
VIII. entered Florence Nov. 17, 1494. Between this gate 
and the Porta Romana is the old Jewish Cemetery. The 
Church of S. Frediano is modern. The original convent of 
S. Maria Maddalena de* Pazzi stood here ; the cell of the 
saint is now a chapel 

• "The night that Peter Soderini died, 

His soul flew down unto the mouth of hell : 

* What ? Hell for you ? You silly spirit ! * cried 

The fiend : ' your place is wh^re the babies dwell T ' " 

Symatufs Renaissance in Italy. 



CHAPTER LIIL 
EXCURSIONS ROUND FLORENCE. 

From the Porta S. Gallo (Fiesole, Pratolino, Caffaggiolo). 

THE old city of Fiesole, about 3 miles distant, is one 
of the most conspicuous features in all views from 
Florence, cresting a hollow in the hill tops to the north-east 
of the city. 

Carriage for afternoon, 8 frs. Omnibus, three times a day, 50 c. 
Omnibus to the Porta S. Gallo (whence it is a walk of about 24 miles), 

IOC. 

The road to Fiesole is the second of those which turn to 
the right outside the Porta S. Gallo. The nearest way is 
that which follows the right bank of the Mugello as far as 
the Villa Palmieri (Earl of Crawford and Balcarres), and 
then ascends between walls to S. Domenico di Fiesole, half- 
way up the hillside. The convent of this name (right) was 
united to S. Marco, and was the oldest Dominican founda- 
tion at Florence. It was here that Fra Angelica lived as a 
monk, and from hence that he took his name. The only 
memorial of him is a much injured picture from his hand in 
the choir of the church, which also contains a Baptism of 
Christ by Lorenzo di Credi. 

Below the road, on the left, marked by its old cam- 
panile, is La Badia di Fiesole, built by Cosimo Vecchio in 



190 ITAUAN CITIES. 

1462. Its terrace has a lovely view. The church contains 
a relief by Desiderio da Settignano, and the refectory a fresco 
by Giovanni d& S. Giovanni of the Angels ministering to 
Christ in the Wilderness. The abbey was long the residence 
of the Cavaliere Francesco Inghirami, the patriarch of 
Etruscan antiquities. 

A little to the right of S. Domenico is the Villa Landore y 
(once Gherardesca) where our great poet Walter Savage 
Landor passed many years of his unhappy married life. It 
is in the parish of Majano, of which a history has lately 
been written by Mr. Temple Leader, who has a villa there, 
and which is the native place of many distinguished men, 
amongst the best known of whom are Benedetto and 
Qiulio da Majano. 

" On either side of Majano were laid the two scenes of the Decameron 
of Boccaccio ; the little streams that embrace it, the Aflfrico and the 
Mensola, were the metamorphosed lovers in his Nimphale Fieaolano ; 
within view was the Villa Gherardi, before the village the hills of 
Fiesole, and at its feet the Valley of the Ladies. Every spot around 
was an illustrious memory. To the left, the house of Machiavelli ; 
still further in that direction, nestling amid the bine hills, the white 
village of Settignano where Michael Angelo was born ; on the banks of 
the neighbouring Mugnone, the house of Dante ; and in the back- 
ground, Galileo's villa of Arcetri and the palaces and cathedral of 
Florence. In the centre of this noble landscape, forming part of the 
village of S. Domenico di Fiesole, is Lander's villa. The Valley of the 
Ladies was in his grounds ; the Aftrico and Mensola ran through them ; 
above was the ivy-clad convent of the Doccia overhung with cypress ; 
and from his entrance gate might be seen Valdarno and Vallombrosa." — 
For stir's life of Landor. 

Landor wrote himself of his Florentine homes : — 

" From France to Italy my steps I bent, 
And pitcht at Arno's side my household tent 
Six years the Medicean palace held 
My wandering Lares ; then they went afield. 
What the fcewA rocks t€ Ftesoit impend 



VILLA MOZZI. 191 

O'er Doceia's dell, and fig end ofive blind. 
Then the twin streams in Afirico unite, 
One dimly teen, the other out of sight, 
Bat ever playing in hit smoothen'd bed 
Of pohsht stone, and willing to be led 
Where clustering vines protect him from the son, 
Never too grave to smile, too tired to run. 
Here, by the lake, Boccaccio's fair brigade 
Beguiled the hours, and tale for tale repaid. 
How happy 1 O, how happy had I been 
With friends and children in this quiet scene I 
Its quiet was not destined to be mine 
Twas hard to keep, 'twas harder to resign." 

A steep footway ascends, by the Chapel of S. Ansano, to 
the gates of the Villa Mozti* a beautiful old palace with 
balustraded terraces and gardens of ancient cypresses, 
built by Cosimo Vecchio, and the favourite residence of 
Lorenzo the Magnificent. 

" In a villa overhanging the towers of Florence, on the steep slope of 
that lofty hill crowned by the mother city, the ancient Fiesole, in 
gardens which Tully might have envied, with Ficino, Landino, and 
Politian at his side, Lorenzo delighted his hours of leisure with the 
beautiful visions of platonk philosophy, for which the summer stillness 
of an Italian sky appears the most congenial accompaniment. 

Never could the sympathies of the soul with outward nature be more 
finely touched ; never could more striking suggestions be presented to 
the philosopher and the statesman. Florence lay beneath them ; not 
with all the magnificence that the later Medici have given her, but, 
thanks to the piety of former times, presenting almost as varied an out- 
line to the sky. One man, the wonder of Cosmo's age, Brunelleschi, 
had crowned the beautiful city with the vast dome of its cathedral ; a 
structure unthought of in Italy before,, and rarely since surpassed. It 
seemed, amidst clustering towers of inferior churches, an emblem of the 
Catholic hierarchy under its supreme head ; like Rome itself, imposing, 
unbroken, unchangeable, radiating in equal expansion to every part of 
the earth, and directing its convergent curves to heaven. Round this 

• It is ahaost iocredfble that an gnetithmaB wft* has acquired the dfatactioo of 
possessing the Villa Moasi should have changed its name to Villa Spence ! Yet 
such it the ease. 



192 ITALIAN CITIES. 

were numbered, at unequal heights, the Baptistery, with its gates, as 
Michael Angelo styled them, worthy of Paradise ; the tall and richly 
decorated belfry of Giotto ; the church of the Carmine, with the frescoes 
of Masaccio ; those of Santa Maria Novella (in the language of the 
same great man) beautiful as a bride ; of Santa Croce, second only in 
magnificence to the cathedral ; of S. Mark, and of S. Spirit o, another 
great monument of the genius of Brunelleschi ; the numerous convents 
that rose within the walls of Florence, or were scattered immediately 
about them. From these the eye might turn to the trophies of a re- 
publican government that was rapidly giving way before the citizen- 
prince who now surveyed them ; the Palazzo Vecchio, in which the 
signory of Florence held their councils, raised by the Gueif aristocracy, the 
exclusive, but not tyrannous faction that long swayed the city ; or the 
new and unfinished palace which Brunelleschi had designed for one of 
the Pitti family, before they fell, as others had already done, in the 
fruitless struggle against the house of Medici, itself destined to become 
the abode of the victorious race, and to perpetuate, by retaining its 
name, the revolution that had raised them to power. n — Hallam, 
" Literature of Europe" 

The place is well described by the verses of Politian : — 

" Hie resonat blando tibi pinus amata susurro ; 
Hie vaga coniferis insibilat aura cupressis, 
Hie scatebris salit, et bullantibus incita venis 
Pura coloratos interstrepit unda lapillos . . 
Talia Faesuleo lentus meditabar in antro, 
Rure suburbano Medicum, qua mons sacer urbem 
Mseoniam, longique volumina despicit Ami, 
Qua bonus hospitium felix, placidamque quietem 
Indulgens Laurens, Laurens non ultima Phcebi 
Gloria, jactatis Laurens fida anchora musis." 

Rusticus. 

From the little platform outside the villa gates the view 
is exquisitely beautiful— of Florence and the rich plain 
of the Arno, with the villa-dotted hills and the surrounding 
chain of amethystine mountains. Perhaps spring, when 
the purple cloud shadows are falling over the delicate green 
of the young corn-fields, and when the tulips and anemones 



FIESOLE. 193 

make every bank blaze with colour, is the most beautiful 
season. 

A few steps now brings us into the piazza of Fiesole^ the 
ancient Fasula, and it is strange, within sight of the city 
and its great cathedral, to find this ancient village-bishopric, 
with a cathedral and Palazzo Pretorio. Yet, in the words of 
Fazio degli Uberti — 

" Chi Fiesol hedifico conobbe el loco 
Come gia per gli cieli ben composto." 

It was hither that Catiline fled from Rome after his con- 
spiracy, and the fancy of its historian, Malespini, has made 
a romance for Fiesole founded on the story of " Catellino," 
who wages war against Fiorino, King of Rome. The latter 
is killed in battle, and the new city Fiorenza Magna, is 
founded in his memory. Afterwards the new city finds a 
friend in Attila, who destroys Florence, and rebuilds Fiesole. 
Dante alludes to Fiesole as if it were the cradle of 
Florence : — 

" Di quell* ingrato popolo maligno, 
Che discese da Fiesole ab antiquo, 
£ tien ancor del monte, e del macigno." 

Inf. xv. 65. 

" The life of Fxsulae has been so long and so strange that we can for- 
give its citizens for having dreamed that their city was the oldest upon 
earth. Other cities have lived on through all ages and all revolutions 
by virtue of their greatness ; Fsesulae seems to have weathered aU 
storms by virtue of its littleness. In its legendary history it has been so 
often destroyed and so often restored, that we begin to doubt all the 
stories of destruction and restoration, and to think that Faesulse has most 
likely lived on as continuously as Rome, Gades, and Massalia, though, 
from an opposite reason to Rome, Gades, and Massalia. Etruscan 
antiquaries tell us that it was at no time one of the great cities of the 
vol. in. 13 



194 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Confederation, but an Etruscan city it was ; the waHs are there to speak 
for themselves. We hear of its destruction by Sylla, but as it presently 
appears as one of his Roman colonies, the destruction was probably a 
destruction of the inhabitants rather than of the city itself. We hear of 
its destruction by the Florentines in the eleventh century ; yet it has 
lived on to our own time, always keeping the ecclesiastical and muni- 
cipal rank of a city. We meet with its name at all times, in Polybius, 
in Sallust, in Procopius, but we never, except in its mythical early days, 
find it playing a leading part in history. The cause is obvious. The 
. trong height commanding the plain needed at all times to be occupied 
as a military post, but there was nothing in the spot which could at any 
time lead to its becoming the dwelling-place of any great multitude of 
men. Faesulae then has always been a city ; it has never been a great 
ci ty. " — Freeman. 

The Cathedral, with its slender crenellated tower, occu- 
pies one side of the piazza. It was begun 1028, but little 
remains of so early a date. The church is dedicated to S. 
Romulo, its first bishop and apostle, who is said to have 
been a convert of S. Peter, and to have received a special 
mission from him to preach at Faesulae. Under Nero he was 
imprisoned and martyred with a dagger. 

"A small basilica with narrow aisles with cross-arms, which are some- 
thing between a Roman ehaleidice and a Northern transept, it has the 
same kind of crypt and raised choir as San Miniato, but it lacks the 
arches spanning the nave. The capitals of the crypt are specially 
worthy of study for their utter departure from any of the common 
Italian types. Some of them are by no means lacking in ornament, 
such as it is ; but it is ornament which departs altogether from classical 
models, and which yet does not bring in the animal forms of Milan and 
Pa via. They approach nearer to our own primitive Romanesque/' — 
Freeman, 

In the chapel on the right of the High Altar is the tomb 
of Bishop Salutati, the learned friend of Pope Eugenius IV., 
executed in 1462, by Mino di Giovanni, or di Ficsole. 

tl The bust of Bishop Salutati is certainly one of the most living and 
strongly characterised 'counterfeit presentments' of nature ever pro- 



FIESOLE. 195 

duced in marble. Anyone who has looked at those piercing eyes, 
strongly-marked features, and that mouth, with its combined bitterness 
and sweetness of expression, knows that the bishop was a man of 
nervous temperament, a dry logical reasoner, who, though sometimes 
sharp in his words, was always kindly in his deeds. From the top of 
his jewelled mitre to the rich robe upon his shoulders this bust is 
finished like a gem. It stands below a sarcophagus, resting upon ornate 
consoles, upon an architrave supported by pilasters and adorned with 
arabesques. In design this tomb is perfectly novel, and, as far as we 
know, has never been repeated, despite its beauty and fitness. Directly 
opposite is the lovely altar-piece which Mino sculptured by Salutatt's 
order and at his expense. It is divided into three compartments, con- 
taining a central group of the kneeling Madonna with the infant Christ 
and St. John, on either side of which are statuettes of San Lorenzo and 
San Remigius, under an entablature upon which is placed a poor bust of 
our Lord. The Infant Saviour, sitting upon the steps at the Madonna's 
feet, holds a globe upon his knee, and smilingly stretches out his left 
hand to the little St. John, who kneels before him in artless simplicity. 
Upon these children, whose grace and unconsciousness remind us of 
those of Raphael, the kneeling Virgin looks down with a gentle smile, 
her hands crossed upon her breast." — Perkins' Tuscan Sculptors. 

S. Maria Primeraria, a little church in the piazza, 
contains a tabernacle by one of the Robbias. 

The most important remains of the Etruscan fortifications 
are on the northern brow of the hill, where they rise to a 
height of from twenty to thirty feet. Behind the cathedral, 
in a garden, are some remains of the Roman (not Etruscan) 
Theatre, There is not much to see, but it is a charming 
spot half buried in flowers. Some of the outer wall and of 
the seats are visible. Some vaults beneath, of opus incertum 
are called by the Fiesolani, " Le Buche delle Fate? or Dens 
of the Fairies. 

In the Borgo Unto is a curious fountain in a subterranean 
passage approached by a Gothic archway. It is called 
Fonte Sotterra, and its pure waters supply the whole neigh- 
bourhood. A stony path, opposite the west end of the 

13 2 



196 ITALIAN CITIES, 

cathedral, leads to what was the Arx of the ancient city. 
Here are a Franciscan Convent^ and the Church of S. 
AlessandrO) with 18 cipollino columns. The view is quite 
glorious. 

" A veder pien di tante ville i colli, 
Par che '1 terren vale germogli, come, 
Vermene germogliar suola, e rampolli. 
Se dentro un mur, sotto an medesmo nome 
Fosser raccolti i tuoi palazzi sparsi, 
Non ti sarian da pareggiar da Roma." 

Ariosto. Rime. cap. xvi. 

" Few travellers can forget the peculiar landscape of this district 
of the Apennine, as they ascend the hill which rises from Florence. They 
pass continually beneath the walls of villas bright in perfect luxury, and 
beside cypress-hedges, enclosing fair terraced gardens, where the masses 
of oleander and magnolia, motionless as leaves in a picture, inlay 
alternately upon the blue sky their branching lightness of pale rose- 
colour and deep green breadth of shade, studded with balls of bud- 
ding silver, and showing at intervals through their framework of 
rich leaf and rubied flower the far-away bends of the Arno beneath its 
slopes of olive, and the purple peaks of the Carrara mountains, tossing 
themselves against the western distance, where the streaks of motionless 
cloud burn above the Pisan sea. The traveller passes the Fiesolan 
ridge, and all is changed. The country is on a sudden lonely. Here 
and there indeed are seen the scattered houses of a farm grouped grace- 
fully upon the hill-sides, — here and there a fragment of tower upon a 
distant rock ; but neither gardens, nor flowers, nor glittering palace- 
walls, only a grey extent of mountain-ground, tufted irregularly with 
ilex and olive : a scene not sublime, for its forms are subdued and low ; 
not desolate, for its valleys are full of sown fields and tended pastures ; 
not rich nor lovely, but sunburnt and sorrowful ; becoming wilder every 
instant as the road winds into its recesses, ascending still, until the 
higher woods, now partly oak and partly pine, drooping back from the 
central nest of the Appennine, leave a pastoral wilderness of scattered 
rock and arid grass, withered away here by frost, and there by lambent 
tongues of earth-fed fire. Giotto passed the first ten years of his life, a 
shepherd-boy, among these hills; was found by Cimabue, near his 
native village, drawing one of his sheep upon a smooth stone ; was 
yielded up by his father, 'a simple person, a labourer of the earth/ 



PRATOLINO, CAFFAGG10L0. 197 

to the guardianship of the painter, who, by his own work, had already 
made the streets of Florence ring with joy ; attended him to Florence, 
and became his disciple." — Ruskin. 

About 9 miles from the Porta S. Gallo, on the road to 
Bologna, is all that remains (not much) of the Palace of 
Pratolino, built by Francesco de* Medici for Bianca Capello, 
of whom it was the favourite residence. She was devoted 
to magic and the composition of philters and potents, and 
for generations after her death a room was shown here, 
where, it was said, that she used to " distil a cosmetic from 
the bodies of newly-born infants." As the home of Bianca, 
Pratolino is extolled by Tasso. 

" Dianzi all 'ombra di fama occulta a bruna, 
Quasi giacesti, Pratolino, ascoso ; 
Or la tua donna tanto onor t' aggiunge, 
Che piega alia seconda alta fortuna 
Gli antichi gioghi l'Apennin nevoso ; 
Ed Atlante, ed Oliinpo, ancor si lunge, 
Ne con fin la tua gloria asconde e serra ; 
Ma del tuo picciol nome empi la terra." 

Rime. 360. /. II. 

The park is a great resort for picnics from Florence, and 
contains the colossal statue of the Apennines, attributed to 
Giovanni de Bologna — more curious than beautifuL 

A little farther upon this road is the ancient machicolated 
Palace of Caffaggiolo, built, as his residence, by the merchant- 
prince Cosimo de' Medici, and enlarged by Cosimo I. It was 
the scene, July 11, 1576, of one of the most startling of the 
many crimes which mark the story of the Medici. The beauti- 
ful Eleanora of Toledo, a niece of the first wife of Cosimo 
de* Medici, had been married by the Grand Duke Francesco 
to his brother Pietro, the most profligate youn^iaaxLva.^^ 



198 ITALIAN CITIES. 

city. Utterly neglected by her husband, and being only in 
her twenty-second year, Eleanora, in a letter to the youth 
Bernardo Antinori, expressed her grief for his banishment to 
Elba for having killed a man in a scuffle. The letter was 
intercepted and sent to the Grand Duke, and the punishment 
was prompt and terrible. Antinori was recalled from Elba 
and beheaded ; and Eleanora, paralysed with terror, was 
summoned to her husband's villa of Caffaggiolo. Here 
he knelt, besought forgiveness from heaven for the crime he 
was about to commit, swore never to wed another, and 
then murdered her. The medical bulletin sent to all 
foreign courts, ascribed the death to heart complaint, but 
the truth was avowed by Francesco in a private letter to 
Philip II. of Spain. 

The old royal villa has been sold for next to nothing by 
the present government, and the new proprietor has cut 
down all the fine trees which formerly gave it such a charm. 
There was a famous manufactory of pottery at Caffaggiolo. 
Good specimens are now very rare, and fetch enormous 
prices. 

From the Porta S. Gallo a road leads through the suburb 
of S. Marco Vecchio to Scttignano (about 2\ miles). Here 
is the Villa Buonarotti, now the property of Signora Teresa 
Buonarotti. At what time this came into the family is un" 
certain, but it is tolerably certain that Michael Angelo was 
sent out here as a baby, after Italian custom, to be nursed 
in a family of scarpellini or stone-cutters. 



S. SALVI. 199 

From the Porta S. Croce (S. Salvi). 

About 1 mile from the gate, on the road to Rovezzano, is 
the Convent o/S. Salvi, containing, in its ancient Refectory, 
the famous Cenacolo of Andrea del Sarto. 

"The Cenacolo of Andrea del Sarto takes, I believe, the third rank 
after those of Leonardo and Raphael. He has chosen the self-same 
moment, " One of you shall betray me." The figures are, as usual, 
ranged on one side of a long table. Christ, in the centre, holds 
a piece of bread in his hand ; on his left is S. John, and on his right 
S. James Major, both seen in profile. The face of S. John expresses 
interrogation ; that of S. James interrogation and a start of amazement. 
Next to S. James are Peter, Thomas, Andrew ; then Philip, who has a 
small cross upon his breast. After S. John come James Minor, Simon 
Jude, Judas Iscariot, and Bartholomew. Judas, with his hands folded 
together, leans forward, and looks down, with a round mean face, in 
which there is no power of any kind, not even of malignity. In passing 
from the Cenacolo in the S. Onofrio to that in the Salvi, we feel strongly 
all the difference between the mental and moral superiority of Raphael 
at the age of twenty, and the artistic greatness of Andrea in the maturity 
of his age and talent. This fresco deserves its high celebrity. It is im- 
possible to look on it without admiration, considered as a work of art. 
The variety of the attitudes, the disposition of the limbs beneath the 
table, the ample, tasteful draperies, deserve the highest praise ; but the 
heads are deficient in character and elevation, and the whole composi- 
tion wants that solemnity of feeling proper to the subject" — Jameson's 
Sacred Art. 

It is by the Porta S. Croce that the traveller must leave 
Florence, for the monasteries of the Casentino, if he begins 
his excursion by driving to Pelago (see ch. liii.). 



From the Porta S. Miniato (S. Miniato in Monte). 

This gate is situated close under the hill of Oltr'arno, and 
an avenue of cypresses leads in a few minutes up the steep 
ascent to the church. On the right of the way a shrine 



200 ITALIAN CITIES. 

with a picture commemorates a touching incident in the life 
of S. Giovanni Gualberto, founder of the Vallambrosans. 

" Giovanni Gualberto was born at Florence, of rich and noble lineage. 
When he was still a young man, his only brother, Hugo, whom he loved 
exceedingly, was murdered by a gentleman with whom he had a quarrel. 
Gualberto, whose grief and fury were stimulated by the rage of his 
father, and the tears of his mother, set forth in pursuit of the assassin, 
vowing a prompt and terrible vengeance. 

" It happened, that when returning from Florence to the country-house 
of his father on the evening of Good Friday, he took his way over the 
steep, narrow, winding road which leads from the city gate to the church 
of San Miniato-del-Monte. About half-way up the hill, where the road 
turns to the right, he suddenly came upon his enemy, alone and un- 
armed. At the sight of the assassin of his brother, thus, as it were, 
given into his hand, Gualberto drew his sword. The miserable wretch, 
teeing no means of escape, fell upon his knees, and entreated mercy ; 
extending his arms in the form of a cross, he adjured him by the remem- 
brance of Christ, who had suffered on that day, to spare his life. Gual- 
berto, struck with a sudden compunction, remembering that Christ when 
on the cross had prayed for his murderers, stayed his uplifted sword, 
trembling from head to foot ; and after a moment of terrible conflict with 
his own heart, and a prayer for Divine support, he held out his hand, 
raised the suppliant from the ground, and embraced him in token of for- 
giveness. Thus they parted ; and Gualberto, proceeding on his way in 
a sad and sorrowful mood, every pulse throbbing with the sudden revul- 
sion of feeling, and thinking on the crime which he had been on the 
point of committing, arrived at the church of San Miniato, and, 
entering, knelt down before the crucifix over the altar. His rage had 
given way to tears, his heart melted within him ; and as he wept before 
the image of the Saviour, and supplicated mercy because he had shown 
mercy, he fancied that, in gracious reply to his prayer, the figure bowed 
its head. This miracle, for such he deemed it, completed the revolution 
which had taken place in his whole character and state of being. From 
that moment, the world and all its vanities became hateful to him ; he 
felt like one who had been saved upon the edge of a precipice ; he 
entered the Benedictine order, and took up his residence in the monas- 
tery of San Miniato. Here he dwelt for some time a humble penitent ; 
all earthly ambition quenched at once with the spirit of revenge. On the 
death of the abbot of San Miniato, he was elected to succeed him, but 
no persuasions could induce him to accept of the office. He left the 
convent, and retired to the solitude of Vallombrosa." 

Jameson's Sacred Art. 



MINI A TO AL MONTE. 201 

The cypress avenue ends in the Church of S. Salvadore al 
Monte, built by Cronaca in 1504. Its position is beautiful, 
and so delighted Michael Angelo that he used to call it •' La 
Bella Villanella." A wide piazza with terraces, which has 
been opened beneath this church, is decorated in honour of 
Michael Angelo with copies from several of his statues. Its 
view is one of the noblest in Italy. 

"The view from San Miniato is best seen towards sunset. From an 
eminence, studded by noble cypresses, the Arno meets the eye, re- 
flecting in its tranquil bosom a succession of terraces and bridges, edged 
by imposing streets and palaces, above which are seen the stately cathe- 
dral, the church of Santa Croce, and the picturesque tower of the 
Palazzo Vecchio, while innumerable other towers, of lesser fame and 
altitude, crown the distant parts of the city, and the banks of the river, 
which at length — its sinuous stream bathed in liquid gold — is lost sight 
of amidst the rich carpet of a vast and luxuriant plain, bounded by lofty 
Apennines. Directly opposite to the eye rises the classical height of 
Fiesole, its sides covered with intermingled rocks and woods, from 
amidst which sparkle innumerable villages and villas." — J. S. Harford. 

To the right are some of the fortifications which Michael 
Angelo raised in 1529, and which in a certain sense may be 
regarded as his greatest work, for they enabled Florence to 
stand " a spectacle to heaven and earth, the one spot of all 
Italian ground which defied the united powers of Pope and 
Caesar." 

Within these fortifications (the gate is opened by a custode 
— two soldi) is the beautiful Church of S. Miniato >, founded 
in honour of the Florentine martyr who suffered on that 
spot under Decius in the third century. 

" Who that remembers Florence, does not remember well the San 
Miniato in Monte, towering on its lofty eminence above the city, and 
visible along the Lung* Arno from the Ponte alle Grazie to the Ponte 
alia Carraja ?— and the enchanting views of the valley of the Arno as 
seen from the marble steps of the ancient church.? — *xnl ^t <&&. S»r 



202 ITALIAN CITIES. 

mantled fortress defended by Michael Angelo against the Medici ? — and 
the long avenue of cypresses and the declivities robed in vineyards and 
olive-grounds between the gate of San Miniato and the lofty heights 
above? 

"According to the Florentine legend, S. Minias or Miniato was an 
Armenian prince serving in the Roman army under Decius. Being de- 
nounced as a Christian, he was brought before the emperor, who was 
then encamped upon a hill outside the gates of Florence, and who 
ordered him to be thrown to the beasts in the Amphitheatre. A panther 
was let loose upon him, but when he called upon our Lord he was deli- 
vered ; he then suffered the usual torments, being cast into a boiling cal- 
dron, and afterwards suspended to a gallows, stoned, and shot with 
javelins ; but in his agony an angel descended to comfort him, and 
clothed him in a garment of light ; finally he was beheaded. His mar- 
tyrdom is placed in the year 254." — Jamesons Sacred Art. 

"The visitor to San Miniato, unless indeed he happens to be looking 
directly on the campanile, finds his thoughts at once carried back to San 
Zeno, at Verona. In both the long arcades of the basilica are broken 
by the great arches spanning the nave, and in both the effect of those 
spanning arches is to make the column, the natural feature of Italian 
architecture, alternate with the clustered pier or group of half- columns, 
which carries the thoughts to buildings north of the Alps. In both the 
lofty choir is borne up upon the open pillared crypt below, an arrange- 
ment whose effect differs almost as much from the dark crypt of an 
English minster as it does from the confession of a Roman basilica. 
Thus far San Zeno and San Miniato agree in their main features of con- 
struction and arrangement. Where they differ is in the treatment of the 
material of which each church is built. In San Zeno the alternation 
of bands of stone and brick, so as to produce a variety of colour — an 
alternation which was perhaps suggested by some of the later forms of 
Roman masonry — is introduced in some slight degree, but not enough to 
perplex the eye, still less to interfere with any of the architectural fea- 
tures of the building. At San Miniato, that alternation of black and 
white, which, when carried to extreme, makes a building look like a 
piece of Tunbridge ware, is applied both to a large part of the inside 
a nd also to the west front, which, as so often happens, is plainly the last 
finish of the original building, a finish which might be almost called an 
addition. In the inside this ornament seems to have been an after- 
thought ; but in the west front, where it was evidently planned from the 
beginning, it has clearly affected the architectural design, and that not 
for the better. Within, the capitals are, as everywhere, a study. In 
the nave the columns have classical capitals ; the clustered piers and the 
columns in the crypt have various kinds, classical, guasi-dassicsA, and 



S. MINI A TO AL MONTE, 203 

rude forms which might be cut into something more enriched." — 
Freeman, 

The Interior of the church, as well as its surrounding plat- 
forms, is now used as a kind of Campo Santo for Florence. 
The side walls are covered with ancient frescoes of saints. 
The roof is of wood. In the apse is a Greek mosaic, repre- 
senting our Saviour, with the Virgin and S. John on one 
side, and on the other S. Miniato, wearing a regal crown and 
mantle and holding the Greek cross. In front of the lofty 
raised choir is the picturesque chapel built in 1448 by 
Michelozzo for Piero de' Medici. The pictures it contains 
are attributed to Spindlo Are/ino f and here the miraculous 
crucifix of S. Giovanni Gualberto was formerly preserved. 
Above the steps of the choir are an exquisitely wrought 
marble screen and pulpit The door on the right leads to 
the sacristy, built 1387, by Nerozzo degli Alberti> and deco- 
rated with frescoes of the story of S. Benedict, by Spindlo 
Ardino. At the end of the nave on the left is a chapel built 
by Antonio Rosellino for Cardinal Jacopo of Portugal, with 
his tomb, of 1427. 

"At the head and foot of the sarcophagus, upon which lies the 
marble figure of the young cardinal, are mourning genii, and upon either 
end of the highly ornamental entablature two kneeling angels, holding 
in their hands the crown of virginity and the palm of victory. Heavy 
looped curtains (the only faulty feature in this exquisite monument) fall 
from the top of the arch above it on either side of a roundel, in which 
is a most lovely Madonna and Child in alto relief. 

*' Cardinal James, of the royal house of Portugal, who lies here, 
having lived from his earliest years with peculiar sanctity, as befitted 
one who was intended to become a priest, was sent to Perugia at the age 
of nineteen to study canon law. Though only twenty-six at the time of 
his death, he had received a cardinal's hat from Pope Calixtus III., and 
been appointed ambassador from the Florentine Republic to the court 
of Spain. ' He was of a most amiable nature, a pattern of humility, 
and an abundant fountain of good, through God, to the ^oat^ &s&xsxx 



204 ITALIAN CITIES. 

in providing for his servants, modest in ordering his household, an 
enemy of pomp and superfluity, keeping that middle way in everything 
which is the way of the blessed. He lived in the flesh, as if he was 
free from it, rather the life of an angel than a man, and his death was 
holy as his life had been."*— Perkins 1 Tuscan Sculptors. 

Near the church is the old Palace of the Mozzi family, 
built in 1294. All around are graves. The view is quite 
glorious, especially at sunset. 



n 



Let us suppose that the Spirit of a Florentine citizen (whose eyes 
were closed in the time of Columbus) has been permitted to revisit the 
glimpses of the golden morning, and is standing once more on the 
famous hill of San Miniato. ... It is not only the mountains and the 
westward-bending river that he recognises ; not only the dark sides of 
Mount Morello opposite to him, and the long valley of the Arno that 
seems to stretch its grey low-tufted luxuriance to the far-off ridges of 
Carrara ; and the steep height of Fiesole, with its crown of monastic 
walls and cypresses ; and all the green and grey slopes sprinkled with 
villas which he can name as he looks at them. He sees other familiar 
objects much closer to his daily walks. For though he misses the 
seventy or more towers that once surrounded the walls, and encircled 
the city as with a regal diadem, his eyes will not dwell on that blank ; 
they are drawn irresistibly to the unique tower springing, like a tall 
flower-stem towards the sun, from the square turreted mass of the Old 
Palace in the very heart of the city — the tower that looks none the worse 
for the four centuries that have passed since he used to walk under it. 
The great dome, too, greatest in the world, which, in his early boyhood, 
had been only a daring thought in the mind of a small, quick-eyed man 
—there it raises its large curves still, eclipsing the hills. And the well- 
known bell towers — Giotto's, with its distant hint of rich colour, and 
the graceful spired Badia, and the rest — he looked at them all from the 
shoulder of his nurse. 

•"Surely,' he thinks, 'Florence can still ring her bells with the 
solemn hammer-sound that used to beat on the hearts of her citizens 
and strike out the fire there. And here, on the right, stands the long 
dark mass of Santa Croce, where we buried our famous dead, laying the 
laurel on their cold brows, and fanning them with the breath of praise 
and of banners. But Santa Croce had no spire then : we Florentines 
were too full of great building projects to carry them all out in stone and 

• Vespasiano Bisticct, " Vite di Uomini Illustri del Secolo," xv. 



POGGIO IMPERIALE. 2Q$ 

marble ; we had onr frescoes and our shrines to pay for, not to speak of 
rapacious condottieri, bribed royalty, and purchased territories, and 
our facades and spires must needs wait. But what architect can the 
Frati Minori have employed to build that spire for them? If it 
had been built in my day, Filippo Brunelleschi or Michelozzo would 
have devised something of another fashion than that— something worthy 
to crown the church of Arnolfo.' .... It is easier and pleasanter to 
recognise the old than to account for the new. And there flows Arno, 
with its bridges just where they used to be— the Ponte Vecchio, least 
like other bridges in the world, laden with the same quaint shops, where 
our Spirit remembers lingering a little, on his way perhaps to look at 
the progress of that great palace which Messer Luca Pitti had set 
a-building with huge stones got from the hill of Bogoli close behind." — 
Romola. 

S. Miniato may be approached from the Porta Romana by 
the enchanting drive of Le Colle, which winds with ever-vary- 
ing views. 



From the Porta Romana — Poggio Imperiale ; the Certosa 
of the Val d'Emo and the Sanctuary of the Madonna del 
Impruneta ; Bellosguardo. 

A carriage to the Impruneta costs about io frs. 

Close to the gate is the entrance of the fine cypress 
avenue of the Poggio Imperiale, leading to a palace built for 
the Grand Duchess Maddalena of Austria, wife of the Grand 
Duke Cosimo II. It is now given up to the Conservatorio 
delta SS. Annunziata, for the benefit of young women of the 
better classes. 



«< 



Ce palais fut autrefois la villa Baroncelli. On rapporte qu'un 
membre de cette ancienne famille, Thomas Baroncelli, fort devoue a 
Come i' r , etant alle de sa villa a la rencontre de son mattre lorsqu 'il 
revenait de Rome, fut si ravi de le revoir avec le titre de grand-due que 
lui avait accord e le pape Pie V., qu'il en mourut de joie ; enthousiasme 
de l'esprit de servitude, qui doit sembler anjourd'hui bien etrange ! " — 
Valery, 



206 ITALIAN CITIES, 

Behind the palace rises the hill of Arcetri, celebrated for 
its sweet wine called La Verdea : — 

" Altri beva il Falemo, altri la Tolfa, 
Altri il sangue che lacrima il Vesuvio ; 
Un gentil bevitor mai non s'ingolfa 
In quel fumoso e fervido diluvio. 
Oggi vogl'io che regni entro a miei vetri 
La Verdea soavissima d* Arcetri." — Redi. 

Here, amid the vineyards, but not far from the road, is 
the Torre del Ga//o 9 which is believed to have been the 
observatory of Galileo, where he studied the moon. 

" The moon whose orb 
Through optic glass the Tuscan artist views 
At evening from the top of Fiesole, 
Or in Valdarno, to descry new lands, 
Rivers or mountains, in her spotty globe." — Milton. 

u He took me up to the Star Tower of Galileo amongst the winding 
paths of the hills, with the grey walls overtopped by white fruit blos- 
soms, and ever and again, at some break in their ramparts of stone, the 
gleam of the yellow Arno water, or the glisten of the marbles of the 
city shining on us far beneath, through the silvery veil of the olive 
leaves. 

" It was just in that loveliest moment when winter melts into spring. 
Everywhere under the vines the young corn was springing in that tender 
vivid greenness that is never seen twice in a year. The sods between 
the furrows were scarlet with the bright flame of wild tulips, with here 
and there a fleck of gold where a knot of daffodils nodded. The roots 
of the olives were blue with nestling pimpernels and hyacinths, and along 
the old grey walls the long, soft, -thick leaf of the arums grew, shading 
their yet unborn lilies. 

" The air was full of a dreamy fragrance : the bullocks went on their 
slow ways with flowers in their leathern frontlets ; the contadini had 
flowers stuck behind their ears or in their waistbands ; women sat by 
the wayside, singing as they plaited their yellow curling lengths of straw ; 
children frisked and tumbled like young rabbits under the budding 
maples ; the plum trees strewed the green landscape with flashes of 
white like newly-fallen snow on Alpine grass slopes ; again and again 
amongst the tender pallor of the olive woods there rose the beautiful 



GALILEO'S TOWER. 207 

flush of a rosy almond tree ; at every step the passer-by trod ankle-deep 
in violets. 

"About the foot of the Tower of Galileo ivy and vervain, and the 
Madonna's herb, and the white sexagons of the stars of Bethlehem grew 
amongst the grasses ; pigeons paced to and fro with pretty pride of 
plumage ; a dog slept on the flags ; the cool, moist, deep-veined 
creepers climbed about the stones ; there were peach trees in all the 
beauty of their blossoms, and everywhere about them were close-set 
olive-trees, with the ground between them scarlet with the tulips and 
the wild rose-bushes. 

" From a window a girl leaned out and hung a cage amongst the ivy 
leaves, that her bird might sing his vespers to the sun. 

" Who will may see the scene to-day. 

"The world has spoiled most of its places of pilgrimage, but the old 
Star Tower is not harmed as yet, where it stands amongst its quiet 
garden ways and grass-grown slopes, up high amongst the hills, with 
sounds of dripping water on its court, and wild wood-flowers thrusting 
their bright heads through its stones. It is as peaceful, as simple, as 
homely, as closely-girt with blossoming boughs and with tulip-crimsoned 
grasses now as then, when, from its roof, in the still midnight of far-off 
time, its master read the secrets of the stars." — Pascarel. 

"Nearer we hail 
Thy sunny slope, Arcetri, sung ot old 
For its green vine ; dearer to me, to most, 
As dwelt on by that great astronomer. 
Seven years a prisoner at the city-gate, 
Let in but in his grave-clothes. Sacred be 
His villa (justly it was called the Gem) ! * 
Sacred the lawn, where many a cypress threw 
Its length of shadow, while he watched the stars ! 
Sacred the vineyard, where, while yet his sight 
Glimmered, at blush of morn he dressed his vines, 
Chanting aloud in gaiety of heart 
Some verse of Ariosto ! — There, unseen, + 
Gazing with reverent awe — Milton, his guest, 
Just then come forth, all life and enterprise ; 
He in his old age and extremity, 

* II GiojeUo. 

t Milton went to Italy in 1638, and visited Galileo, who, by his own account, had 
already become blind. In December, 1637, he was forced to reside at Arcetri by 
an order of the Inquisition. 



208 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Blind, at noonday exploring with his staff; 

His eyes upturned as to the golden sun, 

His eye-balls idly rolling. Little then 

Did Galileo think whom he received : 

That in his hand he held the hand of one 

Who could requite him — who would spread his name 

O'er lands and seas — great as himself, nay, greater ; 

Milton as little that in him he saw, 

As in a glass, what he himself should be. 

Destined so soon to fall on evil days 

And evil tongues — so soon, alas, to live 

In darkness, and with dangers compassed round, 

And solitude. " — Rogers* Italy. 

" It is difficult to conceive what Galileo must have felt, when, having 
constructed his telescope, he turned it to the heavens, and saw the 
mountains and valleys in the moon. — Then the moon was another 
earth ; the earth another planet ; and all were subject to the same laws. 
What an evidence of the simplicity and the magnificence of nature ! 

" But at length he turned it again, still directing it upward, and again 
he was lost : for he was now among the fixed stars ; and, if not magni- 
fied as he expected them to be, they were multiplied beyond measure. 

" What a moment of exultation for such a mind as his ! But as yet 
it was only the dawn of day that was coming ; nor was he destined to 
live till that day was in its spendour. The great law of gravitation was 
not yet to be made known : and how little did he think, as he held the 
instrument in his hand, that we should travel by it as far as we have 
done ; that its revelations would ere long be so glorious." — Sir John 
HerscheL 



About 2 \ miles from the Porta Romana, by the direct 
road beyond the village of Galuzzo, is the Certosa of the 
Val cTEmo. The position is beautiful, with lovely views, 
and the convent crowning a cypress-covered hill is very 
picturesque. The Certosa was founded in 1341 by Niccolb 
Acciajuolo, Grand Seneschal to Queen Joanna of Naples, 
and its fortifications were especially granted by the Republic. 
There are still (1875) nineteen monks here. 



CERTOSA OF THE VAL D'EMO. 209 

The principal Church is excessively rich ; decorated with 
frescoes, marbles, and pietrt-durt. The pictures relating 
to the life of S. Bruno are by Poccetti. To the right, 
through the chapel of S. John Baptist, which has a good 
picture by Benvenuti, we enter a beautiful Gothic church of 
1300, of which the architecture is attributed to Orcagna. It 
contains some good Florentine stained glass ; a picture of 
S. Francis receiving the Stigmata by Cigoli ; a Crucifixion 
by Giotto ; and a picture by Fra Angelico. 

In the Crypt, before the high-altar, are the noble tombs of 
the founder and his family. 



tt 



Whether Andrea Orcagna built the Certosa near Florence, is un- 
certain ; but the monuments of its founder Niccol6 Acciajuoli and his 
family, which exists in its subterranean church, belong to his time, and 
were perhaps executed by some of his scholars. The tomb of Niccol6 
(Grand Seneschal of the Kingdom of Naples under Queen Joanna I., 
ob. 1366), consists of his recumbent statue, clad in armour, placed high 
against the wall, beneath a rich Gothic canopy. His son, Lorenzo, 
upon whose funeral obsequies he spent more than 50,000 gold florins, 
lies below under a marble slab, upon which is sculptured the effigy of 
this 'youth of a most lovely countenance, cavalier and great baron, 
tried in arms, and eminent for his graceful manners, and his gracious 
and noble aspect.' Next him lie his grandfather and his sister Lapa." 
— Per kin's '* Tuscan Sculptors" 

" The general design of Niccol6's tomb is very peculiar, Gothic 
certainly, but almost transitional to the Cinque-Cento. Niccolo, the 
Grand Seneschal, founder of the convent, was a noble character. The 
family, originally from Brescia, and named after the trade they rose by, 
attained sovereignty in the person of Ranier, nephew of the Seneschal, 
styled Duke of Athens and Lord of Thebes and Argos and Sparta. He 
was succeeded by his bastard son Antony, and the latter by two nephews, 
whom he invited from Florence, Ranion and Antony Acciajuoli ; the 
son of the latter, Francesco, finally yielded Athens to Mahomet II., in 
1456, and was soon afterwards strangled by his orders at Thebes." — 
Lindsays " Christian Art:' 

In a side chapel of the crypt is the tomb of Angelo 
Acciajuolo, Bishop of Ostia, 1550, by Donatallo \ mtk %. 
vol. in. 14 



aid ITALIAN CITIES. 

border of fruit and flowers by Giuliani) di San Gatto. A 
small cloister has some lovely stained glass by Giovanni rla 
Udine. The chapter-house contains a Crucifixion by Ma- 
rietta Albcrtittetti ; a Madonna and Child with Saints by Ptru- 
gino; and, in the middle of the pavement, the noble tomb of 
Lionardo Bonafede, Bishop of Cortona, and Superior of 
this convent (ob. 1545). by Frantesco de San Galio, son of 
Giuliano. 

"It is very carefully modelled; the flesh parts are well treated, and 
the drapery is disposed in natural folds. It has almost the effect of a 
corpse iaid out for burial before the altar, and produces a striking effect." 

-Ptrkmt. 

Two and a half miles further, by a long but easy ascent, 
beautifully situated amid the olive-clad hills, is the famous 
shrine of La Madonna deir Impruncta, one of the most 




La Madonna del]' 



important places of pilgrimage in Tuscany. The church 
was built in 1593 by Francesco Buondelmonti, and adorned 
in the seventeenth century by the Confratemita of the 
Stigmata of S. Francesco with its handsome Doric atrium. 



VIMPRUNETA, BELLOSGUARDO. 211 

Here is preserved the famous image attributed to S. Luke 
the Evangelist, but which the learned Dr. Lami says was the 
work of one Luca in the eleventh century, who, on account 
of his piety, was called saint, whence the tradition. It is 
said to have been found by a workman, buried in the soil ot 
Impruneta, and to have uttered a cry as the spade struck it 
On all great occasions of danger, pestilence, or famine, this 
Madonna has been carried in state by a bare-footed proces- 
sion to Florence, but even then has always been veiled — 
" The Hidden Mother." Over the high-altar is a crucifix by 
Giovanni da Bologtia ; and in the Sacristy a curious Madonna 
and Saints of the School of Giotto. In the nave are 
pictures by Jacopo da Empoli y Passignano, and Cigoli. The 
church is backed by the Poggio S. Maria and occupies one 
side of an immense piazza, decorated with loggias of 1663 
— 1670. Here on St. Luke's day, Oct 15, is held the Fair 
of the Impruneta, for horses, mules, &c., frequented by all 
the country round, and a most picturesque sight. The 
piazza is the subject of a picture by Callot 

We must turn to the right from the Porta Romana to 
ascend the hill of Bellosguardo, for the sake of the view. 

" From Tuscan Bellosguardo, 

Where Galileo stood at nights to take 

The vision of the stars, we have found it hard, 
Gazing upon the earth and heavens, to make 

A choice of beauty. " — E. Barrett Browning. 

At the foot of the hill is the Church of SS. Francesco and 
Paolo containing the noble tomb of Benozzo Federighi, 
Bishop of Fiesole, ob. 1455, by Luca delta Robbia. 

" The admirably truthful figure of the dead bishop clad in his epis- 
copal robes, is laid upon a sarcophagus within a square recess** HtVvaR*. 

14 2 



212 II A LI AN CITIES, 

architrave and side-posts are decorated with enamelled tiles, painted 
with flowers and fruits coloured after nature. At the back of the recess, 
filling up the space above the sarcophagus, are three half figures, of 
Christ, the Madonna, and S. John ; all the faces are expressive, and 
that of the Saviour is especially fine, and full of mournful dignity. 
Around the top of the sarcophagus runs a rich cornice, below which are 
sculptured two flying angels, bearing between them a garland, contain- 
ing an inscription setting forth the name and titles of the deceased. '* — 
Pa kit? s " Tuscan Sculptors" 

Most lovely is the view from the summit of the hill. 

" I found a house, at Florence, on the hill 
Of Bellosguardo. 'Tis a tower that keeps 
A post of double observation o'er 
The valley of the Arno (holding as a hand 
The outspread city) straight toward Fiesole 
And Mount Morello and the setting sun, — 
The Vallombrosan mountains to the right, 
Which sunrise fills as full as crystal cups 
Wine-filled, and red to the brim because it's red. 
No sun could die, nor yet be born, unseen 
By dwellers at my villa : morn and eve 
Were magnified before us in the pure 
Illimitable space and pause of sky, 
Intense as angels' garments blanched with God, 
Less blue than radiant. From the outer wall 
Of the garden, dropped the mystic floating grey 
Of olive-trees (with interruptions green 
From maize and vine) until 'twas caught and torn 
On that abrupt black line of cypresses 
Which signed the way to Florence. Beautiful 
The city lay along the ample vale, 
Cathedral, tower and palace, piazza and street ; 
The river trailing like a silver cord 
Through all, and curling loosely, both before 
And after, over the whole stretch of land 
Sown whitely up and down its opposite slopes, 
With farms and villas." 

E. Barrett Browning. Aurora Leigh. 

The scenery of the villa behind Bellosguardo is that of 
Monte Bent, so beautifully described by Hawthorne. 



MONTE-BENI. 213 



n 



The Umbrian valley opens before us, set in its grand framework of 
nearer and more distant hills. It seems as if all Italy lay under our eyes 
in this one picture. For there is the broad, sunny smile of God, which 
we fancy to be spread over this favoured land more abundantly than on 
other regions, and, beneath it, glows a most rich and varied fertility. 
The trim vineyards are there, and the fig-trees, and the mulberries, and 
the smoky-hued tracts of the olive orchards ; there, too, are fields of 
every kind of grain, among which waves the Indian corn. White villas, 
grey convents, church spires, villages, towns, each with its battle- 
mented walls and towered gateway, are scattered upon this spacious 
map ; a river gleams across it ; and lakes open their blue eyes in its face, 
reflecting neaven, lest mortals should forget that better land, when they 
behold the earth so beautiful. 

" What makes the valley look still wider, is the two or three varieties 
of weather often visible on its surface, all at the same instant of time. 
Here lies the quiet sunshine ; there fall the great patches of ominous 
shadow from the clouds ; and behind them, like a giant of league-long 
strides, comes hurrying the thunderstorm, which has already swept mid- 
way across the plain. In the rear of the approaching tempest brightens 
forth again the sunny splendour, which its progress has darkened with 
so terrible a form. 

"All around this majestic landscape, the bald-peaked or forest- 
crowned mountains descend boldly upon the plain. On many of their 
spurs and midway declivities, and even on their summits, stand cities, 
some of them famous of old ; for these have been the seats and nurseries 
of early Art, where the flower of Beauty has sprung out of a rocky soil, 
and in a high, keen atmosphere, when the richest and most sheltered 
gardens failed to nourish it" — Transformation. 

.On a spur of the hill to the north of the wooded height 
of Bellosguardo is the Convent of Monte Olivcto, containing 
in its Refectory an Annunciation of Dominico Ghirlandajo. 
Hence one may descend to the iron bridge which leads to 
the cascine. 

From the Porta S. Frediatw (Za Badia di Sett into ^ Sigtia^ 

Malmantile, Artemind). 

This side of Florence is less well known than the others, 
but by no means less interesting. The road runs through 



214 ITALIAN CITIES. 

an exquisitely rich and fertile valley. On the right is a 
beautiful chain of mountains, of which the principal is 
Monk Month, which serves as a weather-gauge to the whole 
country side, according to the old proverb : 

" Quando mcmte Morelln ha il cappello, 
Villan, premie il mantello." 

Seven miles from Florence, half a mile to the right of 
the road, near the village of S. Columbano, is the old 
Convent of La Badia di Sdtimo (so called from its distance 
from the city), now a villa. It has most noble machicolated 
walls, and a fine old gateway, the front of which is deco- 
rated with a figure of Christ throned between the saints, one 
of the largest works of terra-cotta in Tuscany — built, not let 

. rrtr% j. 




into the walL In the church is a Robbia frieze and a rich 
altar of pietra-dura. In Lent, 1067, 8000 persons collected 
here to witness the trial by fire, in which the Vallombrosan 
monk, Pietro Aldobrandini (afterwards canonized as S. Pietro 
Igneo), walked bare-footed, unhurt, through a furnace, to 
prove an accusation of simony brought by S. Giovanni 
Gualberto against Pietro di Pavia, Bishop of Florence. 



SIGNA, MALMANTILE. 215 

On the left of the road are the great villa of Caste! Pucci, 
now a lunatic asylum, and the charming old Villa of Cas- 
tagnolo, which once belonged to the Arte de Lana, but in 
1300 was bought by a Delia Stufa, who belonged to the 
Arte della Tela ; it is the property of the Marchese Lotto 
della Stufa. Of this family were the Beato Girolamo of the 
Minori Osservanti di S. Francesco, and the Beato Lottaringo, 
one of the seven founders of the S. Annunziata. 

Half a mile further is the interesting old town of Signa, 
preserving intact its machicolated mediaeval walls and its 
three gateways. It contains many picturesque architectural 
fragments, especially a vaulted and frescoed loggia, very 
rich in colour, above which is the modern theatre. Signa 
is well worth a visit by those who stay long in Florence, and 
may be reached by railway. Its population is entirely em- 
ployed in the plaiting of straw hats. — Cappelli di Paglia — 

" The hills lie quiet and know no change ; the winds wander amongst 
the white arbutus- bells and shake the odours from the clustering herbs ; 
the stone-pines scent the storm ; the plain outspreads its golden glory 
to the morning light ; the sweet chimes ring ; the days glide on ; the 
splendours of the sunset burn across the sky, and make the mountains as 
the jewelled thrones of the gods. Signa, hoary and old, stands there 
unchanged — Signa is wise. She lets this world go by, and sleeps." — 
Signa. 

Two-and-a-half miles from Signa, by a steep ascent (a 
carriage from the station to go and return costs 8 francs), is 
the curious fortified village of MalmantiU. The road thither, 
beneath the old convent of S. Lucia, through a mountain 
gorge, is lovely, and the place itself, on the wild hill-top, is 
very curious, being so strongly fortified, yet so small. It 
long resisted a siege by the Florentines, which is the subject 
of the curious poems " L'Assedio v and " La Scacciata di 



2i6 ITALIAN CITIES. 

MalmantJIe," written by Lippo Lippi early in the seven- 
teenth century. The walls now enclose only a. single street 
of cottages. 




Three miles beyond Signa is the delightful Medici villa 
of Artemino, with lovely views towards Florence. In this 
neighbourhood, also, three miles from Signa, is the villa of 
Le Sdvi, which belonged to Filippo Strozzi, who married 
the famous Clarice, daughter of Pietro de' Medici. 



From the Porta alPrato (Poggio a Cajano, Petraja, Careggi). 
About one mile from this gate is the handsome Villa Demi- 
doff, and a mile further is the village oiPeretola, where pink 
lilies of the valley may be found in spring. Hence a dull 
road to the left leads (about 10 miles from Florence) to the 
Villa of Poggio a Cajano, which was built by Giuliano di 
San Gallo for Lorenzo the Magnificent, and was one of the 
first evidences of the taste by which he acquired that title. 
Hither Lorenzo came frequently for the sake of his favo- 
rite amusement of hawking, accompanied by Pulci, who 



P0GG10 A CAJANO. 217 

cared little for the diversion. "La Caccia con Falcone" 
describes him as missing, and having hidden himself in a 
wood to make poetry. 

The vault of the great saloon was considered by Vasari 
to be the largest of modern times. It was painted by order 
of Leo X. with frescoes by the great masters of the period, 
intended as allegorical of the glories of the Medici, viz. : — 

Francabigio. The Return of Cicero from Exile — typical of the return 
of Cosimo to Florence. 

Andrea dd Sarto. The Presents sent from Egypt to Caesar— typical 
of the presents of the Sultan to Lorenzo. 

Pontormo. The Banquet given to Scipio by Syphax — typical of the 
banquet given to Lorenzo by the King of Naples. 

Pontormo. Titus Flaminius rejecting the ambassadors of Antiochus — 
typical of Lorenzo annihilating the plans of Venice in the diet of Cre- 
mona. 

The rooms (with little of the original furniture remaining) 
are to be seen in which the Grand-duke Francesco I. died, 
October 19, 1587, and on the following day his wife, the 
beautilul Bianca Capello. The story of Bianca is one long 
romance. Daughter of a proud Venetian noble, Bartolommeo 
Capello, she eloped with Pietro Bonaventuri, a young Floren- 
tine, by whom she was already with child, and she was mar- 
ried to him at his mother's house in the Piazza S. Marco at 
Florence. Here she attracted the favour of Francesco de' 
Medici, eldest son of Duke Cosimo, and he made her his 
mistress. Bonaventuri was shortly after murdered by bra- 
voes in the employment of the Ricci, with a daughter of 
whose house he had intrigued After the accession of 
Francesco to the throne, and the death of his duchess, 
Giovanna of Austria, Bianca was married to the Grand-duke 
in the Palazzo Vecchio, June 5, 1578, and enjoyed her 
dearly-bought honours for eight years, until she perished 



218 ITALIAN CITIES. 

with her husband, under strong suspicions of poison, during 
a visit of the Grand-duke's brother and successor Ferdi- 
nando, who had always been the bitterest enemy of Bianca, 
Then Francesco was buried with all pomp in the family 
mausoleum at S. Lorenzo, but Bianca, wrapped in a sheet, 
was thrown into the common grave for the poor, under the 
nave of the same church. 

"There, at Cajano, 
Where when the hawks were mewed and evening came, 
Pulci would set the table in a roar 
With his wild lay — there, where the sun descends, 
And hill and dale are lost, veiled with his beams, 
The fair Venetian died, she and her lord — 
Died of a posset drugged by him who sate 
And saw them suffer, flinging back the charge ; 
The murderer on the murdered. " 

Rogers' Italy. 

The low-lying Park, with its ugly rows of poplars, and 
damp shrubberies and summer-houses on the river Ombrone, 
is greatly admired by the Florentines, but will not be thought 
worth a visit by foreigners, though there is an old proverb 
which says — 

" Val piu una lastra di Poggio a Cajano 
Che tutte le bellezze d'Artemino." 

The breed of buffaloes, afterwards so common in Italy, 
was first introduced at Poggio a Cajano by Lorenzo de' 
Medici. 



About 4 miles from the Porta al Prato (most easily 

reached by rail, the station of Castello being close by, — an 

order should be obtained from a banker) is the charming 

Villa of Pdraja. It was bought by Ferdinando I., and 

adorned by Buontalcnti. One tower only remains of the 



CASTELLO, CAREGGL 219 

castle of the Brunelleschi, its ancient owners, who defended 
it in 1364 against the Pisans under the Condottiere Sir J. 
Hawkwood, who was then fighting against Florence. The 
gardens, on the southern slope of the Apennines, are quite 
lovely. A beautiful fountain by Tribolo is surmounted by a 
Venus of Giovanni da Bologna : it is pronounced by Vasari 
to be " the most beautiful of all fountains." The loggie are 
adorned with frescoes by // Volterrano. Here Scipione 
Ammirato, under the eyes of Cosimo and his son Ferdi- 
nando, wrote that History of Florence which procured him 
the name of the New Livy. 

In the valley below Petraja is the villa of Castello y which 
was the residence of the Medici before their elevation to the 
sovereignty. It was afterwards enlarged by Tribolo for 
Cosimo I. Its beautiful fountain has a group of Hercules 
and Antaeus by Ammanato. 



About 2 J miles, either from the Porta al Prato or the 
Porta S. Gallo, is Carcggi (Mrs. Sloane) the most bewitching 
of all the Medicean villas, built in the most lovely situation 
for Cosimo Pater Patriae by MichclozzL Its gardens are 
exquisitely beautiful, and its ancient rooms are full of 
interesting souvenirs of Lorenzo de* Medici. Here, every 7th 
of November, the banquet was held which celebrated the 
birthday of Plato, and here Lorenzo lived happy in the 
cherished society of his especial friends, Pico della Mirandola 
and Politian. Here he watched over the education of 
Marsilio-Ficino (who died here in the villa,) the son of his 
physician, who was brought up in his house, and loved by 
him as a son, and hence he wrote to him when absent — 



22o ITALIAN' CITIES. 

*• Come to see me, dear Marsilio, as quickly as you can, 
and do not forget to bring with you the book of the divine 
Plato upon the sovereign good. There is no effort which I 
do not make to discover the path of true happiness. Come, 
I beg you, and do not forget to bring with you also the lyre of 
Orpheus." Here also it was, that Lorenzo had his famous 
botanical garden. Here Pope Leo X. passed his childhood. 
Here (where on August i, 1464, Cosimo Pater Patriae had 
died) what he called ' the last evening of his winter/ came to 
Lorenzo the Magnificent When forewarned by the symptoms 
of his illness that his end was approaching, he felt more 
strongly than ever his doubts and disquietude as to a future 
state. At the same time he was filled with anxieties as to 
the future political career of his son Pietro. On April 8, 
1492, feeling that the supreme moment was at hand, he 
sought courage from his friend Politian, from whom he 
could not bear to be separated, and then, having taken 
the hand of Politian, and, having demanded Pico della 
Mirandola, he discussed philosophy with him until the 
coming of Savonarola. 

"Lorenzo on that day was more conscious than he had yet been that 
his death was near at hand. He had called his son Pietro to him, had 
given him his parting advice, and had bade him a last farewell. When 
his friends, who were not allowed to be present at that interview, 
returned to the chamber, and had made his son retire, as his presence 
agitated Lorenzo too much, he expressed a wish to see Pico della 
Mirandola again, who immediately hastened to him. It appeared 
as if the sweet expression of that benevolent and gentle young man had 
soothed him a little, for he said to him, ' I should have died unhappy 
if I had not first been cheered by a sight of thy face.' Pico had no 
sooner retired than Savonarola entered, and approached respectfully the 
bed of the dying Lorenzo, who said that there were three sins he wished 
to confess to him, and for which he asked absolution : the sacking of 
Volterra ; the money taken from the Monte delle Fanciulle % which had* 
caused so many deaths ; and the bloodshed after the conspiracy of the 



DEATH OF LORENZO THE MAGNIFICENT. 221 



Pazzi. While saying this, he again became agitated, and Savonarola 
tried to calm him, by frequently repeating, ' God is good, God is 
merciful ! ' Lorenzo had scarcely left off speaking, when Savonarola 
added, ' Three things are required of you ; ' • And what are they, 
father?' replied Lorenzo. Savonarola's countenance became grave, 
and, raising the fingers of his right hand, he thus began : ' First, it is 
necessary that you should have a full and lively faith in the mercy of 
God.' 'That I have most fully.' 'Secondly, it is necessary to 
restore that which you unjustly took away, or enjoin your sons to restore 
it for you.' This requirement appeared to cause him surprise and 
grief ; however, with an effort, he gave his consent by a nod of his head. 
Savonarola then rose up, and while the dying prince shrank with terror 
upon his bed, the confessor seemed to rise above himself when saying, 
'Lastly, you must restore liberty to the people of Florence.' His 
countenance was solemn, his voice almost terrible ; his eyes, as if to 
read the answer, remained fixed intently on those of Lorenzo, who, 
collecting all the strength that nature had left him, turned his back on 
him scornfully, without uttering a word. And thus Savonarola left him 
without giving him absolution ; and the Magnificent, lacerated by 
remorse, soon after breathed his last. " — Pasquale Villari. (Translation 
by Leonard Horner. ) 



CHAPTER LIV. 
VALLOMBROSA AND THE CASENTINO. 

Travellers who visit Vallombrosa alone will do well to take a carriage 
(10 frs.), direct from Florence to Pelago, where they may obtain horses 
(4 frs.) for the ascent to the monaster)'. Vallombrosa may easily be 
visited in a long summer day from Florence. 

Those who visit La Vernia and Camaldoli may take the first train to 
the station of Pontassieve, and there, at the Locanda d'ltalia, (not from 
the Vetlurini at the station, whose horses are wretched) may engage a 
Ugnetio at 12 frs., or a carriage for four people at 20 frs. a day for the 
excursion. Those who wish to find their carriage ready at the station, 
must write beforehand to // Vetturino ditto II Rosso, Locanda d* Italia t 
Pontassieve. 

"With the carriage it will be best either to proceed first to Pelago, 
visit Vallombrosa and return to Pelago to sleep, going next day to La 
Vernia ; or, if Vallombrosa he omitted, drive at once to Bibbiena 
(visiting Poppi on the way) and thence, if Camaldoli is to be visited, 
send the carriage to await you at Prato Vecchio. 

At Bibbiena a horse (20 frs. ), and a guide (5 frs. ), should be engaged for 
the whole excursion to the further monasteries, and La Vernia should be 
visited on the first day. The accommodation there is miserable, and it 
may be found better to return to the decent inn of Fr. Amorosi at 
Bibbiena to sleep. In any case, on the following morning the traveller 
must not set out later than 6 a.m., as it is five hours ride to Camaldoli, 
and three hours ride or walk (for it is very precipitous) thence to Prato* 
vecchio, whence he may return to Pontassieve. If the last train at 
Pontassieve l>e gone, it is not much more than an hour's further drive (10 
frs.) to Florence. 

La Vernia is the most remarkable of the monasteries ; then, from its 
situation, Vallombrosa. The great fatigue of visiting Camaldoli will 
only be worth while to those who are interested in the story of S. 



VALLOMBROSA. 223 

Romualdo. The accommodation at Camaldoli is however much better 
than at the other monasteries. 



THE picturesque village of Peiago is about 5 miles 
from Pontassieve. Hence a steep path ascends 
through pine woods, which recall Norway or Switzerland, to 
the beautiful meadows, fresh with running streams, and most 
brilliant with spring flowers, at the end of which stands 
the convent of Vallombrosa, It would seem as if the re- 
collection of this walk had suggested the lines of Milton — 

So on he fares, and to the border comes 
Of Eden, where delicious Paradise 
Now nearer, crowns with her enclosure green 
As with a rural mound, the champion head 
Of a steep wilderness, whose hairy sides 
With thicket overgrown grotesque and wild, 
Access deny'd : and overhead upgrew 
Insuperable height of loftiest shade, 
Cedar and pine, and fir and branching palm ; 
A sylvan scene, and as the ranks ascend 
Shade above shade, a woody theatre 
Of stateliest view.*' 

Paradise Lost, iv, 131. 



" Here sublime 
The mountains live in holy families, 

And the slow pine woods ever climb and climb 
Half up their breasts, just stagger as they seize 

Some grey crag, drop back with it many a time, 
And straggle blindly down the precipice. 

O waterfalls 

And forests ! sound and silence ! mountains bare 

That leap up peak by peak and catch the palls 
Of purple and silver mist to rend and share 

With one another, at electric calls 
Of life in the sunbeams, — till we cannot dare 



ITALIAN CITIES. 



Fix your shapes, count your number ! we must think 
V'our beauty and your glory helped to fill 

The cup of Milton's soul so to the brink, 
He never more was thirsty when God's will 

Had shattered to his sense the last chain-link 
By which he had drawn from Nature's visible 

The fresh well-water. Satisfied by this, 
He sang of Adam's paradise and smiled, 

Remembering Vallombrosa. Therefore is 
The place divine to English man and child, 

And pilgrims leave their soul here in a kiss." 

Etii. Barrett Brtrwnit. 




_ Originally Vallombrosa bore the name of Acqua Bella. 
The convent owes its origin to the penitence of S. Giovanni 
Gualberto (see S. Miniato) who first lived here in a little 
hut. Other hermits collected around him, and as the num- 
bers increased, be found it necessary to form the community 



VALLOMBROSA. 225 

into an Order and gave them the rule of S. Benedict, adding 
some additional obligations, especially that of silence* 
Yet the rule was less severe than that of the Camaldolese. 
Only twenty years had passed from the time of his death, 
when Giovanni Gualberto was canonized, and within the 
first century of its existence his order possessed fifty abbeys. 
The abbots of Vallombrosa sate in the Florentine Senate, 
with the title of Counts of Monte Verde and Gualdo, and 
they could arrest, try, and imprison their vassals without 
reference to any other court The habit of the Vallom- 
brosans was light grey, but the late monks wore a black 
cloak and a large hat when abroad. The greatest severity 
was used towards them at the late robbery of the religious 
orders, and scurrilous libels upon the past historyof Vallom- 
brosa were purposely circulated. Yet the records of the 
Archivio show that in old times as many as 229,761 loaves 
of bread were distributed here to the poor in three years 
(1750—53), not inclusive of the hospitalities of the Fores- 
teria, and in the same short space of time as many as 
40,300 beech trees were planted on the neighbouring moun- 
tains by the monks. 

The buildings of Vallombrosa are inferior in interest to 
those of other sanctuaries, and it owes its celebrity chiefly 
to its beautiful name, and to the allusion of Milton. The 
church is handsome. The vast convent was chiefly built, 
as it now stands, by the Abbot Averardo Nicolini in 1637. 
While the monks remained, strangers were always hospitably 
received here. 

Vallombrosa ; 
Cosi fu nominata una badia 
Ricca e bell a, ne men religiosa 
£ cortese a chiunque vi venia — 

Orlando Furioso, xxii. 36. 
vol. in. 15 



226 ITALIAN CITIES, 

Since the suppression under the Sardinian Government, the 
place has lost many of its characteristic features, and the 
monastic buildings are used as a Pension in the summer. 

All around the convent are lovely woods, the woods which 
came back to Milton's memory, when he wrote : — 

Thick as autumnal leaves that strew the brooks 
In Vallombrosa, where the Etrurian shades, 
High over-arch'd, imbower. 

Paradise Lost, i., 303. 

and which in the present century have been celebrated in a 
poem by Alphonse de Lamartine. 

It is worth while to ascend to the Hermitage and Chapel 
of // Paradisinoy some way further up the mountain, for the 
sake of the view. The scagliola decorations in the chapel 
were executed by Henry Hugford, an Englishman, who 
sought a retreat here. 



A very long ascent from Pontassieve, of ten dreary miles, 
leads to the entrance of the Casentino. Near the summit is 
the miserable village of Consuma, which derives its strange 
name from the death of one Adam, who was burnt alive here 
for having forged false florins of the Republic at the instiga- 
tion of the counts of Romena. A short distance beyond 
and we look down upon the rich valley of the Upper 
Arno, called // Casentino. Hence we first catch sight, in 
the distance to the left, of the arid brown steep of Alvernia, 
" the Holy Mountain " of S. Francis. The road passes 
through the village of Borgo alia Collina, with a castle which 
was bestowed by the Florentine Republic upon Cristofano 
Landino, as a reward for his commentary on Dante ; he is 



CAMPALDINO, POPPJ. 227 

preserved like a mummy in the parish church. Descending 
into the valley, we cross the plain of Campaldino, where the 
Ghibelline troops of Arezzo were completely routed by the 
Florentine Guelphs, and where their famous warrior bishop, 
Guglielmo Ubertini, was killed, June 11, 1289. Dante was 
present 

" C'est dans la plaine de Campaldino, aujourd'hui riante et couverte 
de vignes, qu'eut lieu un rude combat entre les guelfes de Florence et 
les fuorisciti gibelins, second es par les Aretins. Dante combattit au pre- 
mier rang de la cavalerie florentine, car il fallait que cet homrae, dont 
la vie fut si complete, avant d'etre theologien, diplomate, poete, eut ete 
soldat. II avait alors vingt-quatre ans. Lui-meme racontait cette bataille 
dans une lettre dont il ne reste que quelques lignes. ' A la bataille de 
Campaldino, le parti gibelin fut presque entierement mort et defait. Je 
m'y trouvais novice dans les armes ; j'y eus grande crainte, et, sur le 
fin, grande allegresse, a cause des di verses chances de la bataille.' II ne 
faut pas voir dans cette phrase l'aveu d'un manque de courage, qui ne 
pouvait se trouver dans une &me trempee comme celle d'Alighieri. La 
seule/*wr qu'il eut, c'est que la bataille ne fut perdue. En effet, les 
Florentins parurent d'abord battus ; la cavalerie aretine fit plier leur in- 
fanterie ; mais ce premier avantage de l'ennemi le perdit en divisant ses 
forces. 

"A cette courte campagne nous devons peut-etre un des morceauxles 
plus admirables et les plus celebres de la Divine Comidie. Ce fut alors 
que Dante fit amitie avec Bernardino della Polenta, frere de cette Fran- 
chise de Ravenne que le lieu de sa mort a fait appeler a tort Francoise 
de Rimini. On peut croire que 1'amitie du poete pour le frere l'a rendu 
encore plus sensible aux infortunes de la sceur." — Amptre. 

Crowning a hill about a mile to the right of the road is 
the town of Poppi, the old capital of the Casentino. Its 
castle, something like the Palazzo Vecchio at Florence on 
a small scale, was built by Arnolfo del Camfiio, in 1274, for 
Count Simon, grandson of Count Guido Guerra. It stands 
grandly at the end of the town, girdled by low towers. In 
its courtyard is a most picturesque staircase, quite different 
(as will be seen by the annexed woodcut) to that <*C \kfc. 

IS a 



a»8 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Bargello at Florence, which is wrongly said to have been 
copied from it. In the chapel are frescoes attributed to 
Spindlo Aretino. A chamber is shown as that of " la buona 
Gualdrada," mentioned by Dante (/«/, xvl 37), the beau- 
tiful daughter of Bellincione Berti, who declared to Otho IV., 
when he demanded her name, that she was the daughter of 
a man who would compel her to embrace him ; when she 
blushingly arose and said, " No man living shall ever em- 
brace me, unless he is my husband." 




(he Cullc of Foppi. 



About 4 miles beyond Poppi is the pleasant little town of 
Bibbkna (Inn : Locanda di Fr. Amorost), which contains a fine 
work of one of the Robbias, in the Church of S. Lorenzo. 
Here Bernardo Dovizi, 1470 — 1520, was bom, the secretary 
and friend of Giovanni dc' Medici, who, when raised to the 
pontificate as Leo X., made him Cardinal Bibbiena. Raf- 



ASCENT TO LA VERNIA. 229 

faelle painted the fine portrait of this Cardinal now in the 
Pitti palace, and might, had he been willing, have married 
his niece. 

Forsyth recalls how Bibbiena has been 

" Long renowned for its chestnuts, which the peasants dry in a kiln, 
grind into a sweet flour, and then turn into bread, cakes, and polenta. 
Old Burchiello sports on the chestnuts of Bibbiena in these curious 
verses, which are more intelligible than the barber's usual strains : 

Ogni castagna in camiscia e'n pelliccia 
Scoppia a salta pe'l caldo, a fa trictacche, 
Nasce in mezzo del mondo in cioppa riccia ; 

Secca, lessa, e arsiccia 
Si da per frutte a desinar e a cena ; 
Questi sono i confetti da Bibbiena." 

Here we must leave our carriage, and engage horses for 
the ascent to La Vernia^ or Alvernia. The convent occu- 
pies the summit of a mountain, which was bestowed upon 
S. Francis, in 1224, by the knight Orlando da Chiusi, 
who was moved thereto by his preaching in the castle of 
Montefeltro. " I have a mountain," he said, " in Tuscany, 
a devout and solitary place, called Mount Alvernia, far from 
the haunts of men, well fitted for him who would do pen- 
ance for his sins, or desires to lead a solitary life ; this, if it 
please thee, I will freely give to thee and thy companions, 
for the welfare of my soul." S. Francis gladly accepted, but 
the monks who first took possession of the rocky plateau, 
and built cells there with the branches of trees, had to have 
a guard of fifty armed men to protect them from the wild 
beasts. 

Our path crosses the torrent Corselone, and then begins 
at once to ascend. The whole of the way is alive with the 
recollections of S. Francis, as given in the Fiorctti. It was 



2$o ITALIAN CITIES. 

in the woods which we pass through that he vanquished 
demons in conflict, during his first ascent, while his com- 
panions, overwhelmed with fatigue, had fallen asleep in the 
shade. Then, — 

"Beating his breast, he sought after Jesus, the beloved of his soul, 
and having found Him at last, in the secret of his heart, now he spoke 
reverently to Him as his Lord, now he made answer to Him as his 
judge, now he besought Him as his father, now he conversed with Him 
as his friend. On that night and in that wood, his companions, 
awaking and listening to him, heard him with many tears and cries 
implore the divine mercy on behalf of sinners." 

Leaving the wood we enter upon the steeper and hotter 
part of the ascent, where — 

"The next morning, his companions, knowing that he was too weak 
to walk, went to a poor labourer of the country, and prayed him, for 
the love of God, to lend his ass to Brother Francis their father, for he 
was not able to travel on foot Then that good man made ready the 
ass, and with great reverence caused S. Francis to mount thereon. And 
when they had gone forward a little, the peasant said to S. Francis, 
* Tell me, art thou Brother Francis of Assisi ? ' And S. Francis an- 
swered, ' Yes.' ' Take heed, then,' said the peasant, ' that thou be in 
truth as good as all men account thee ; for many have great faith in 
thee, and therefore I admonish thee to be no other than what the people 
take thee for.' And when S. Francis heard these words, he was not 
angry at being thus admonished by a peasant, but instantly dismounting 
from the ass, he knelt down upon the ground before that poor man ; 
and, kissing his feet, humbly thanked him for that his charitable ad- 
monition." 

We skirt the stream, which the legend says issued forth 
from the hard rock by virtue of the prayers of S. Francis, and 
lastly, as we reach the green meadows below the convent, 
we see, upon the right, a group of old trees, shading some 
rocks and untouched by the axe, for — 

" As they drew near to Alvernia, it pleased S. Francis to rest a while 
under an oak, which may still be seen there, and from thence he began 



ASCENT TO LA VERNIA. 



231 



to consider the position of the place and the country. And while he 
was thus considering, behold there came a great multitude of birds of 
divers regions, which, by singing and clapping their wings, testified 
great joy and gladness, and surrounded S. Francis in such wise that 
some perched on his shoulders, some on his arms, some on his bosom, 
and others at his feet, which when his companions and the peasant saw, 
they marvelled greatly ; but S. Francis being joyful of heart, said to 
him, ' I believe, dearest brethren, that our Lord Jesus Christ is pleased 
that we should dwell on this solitary mount, inasmuch as our brothers 
and sisters, the birds, show such joy at our coming. 



»* 



1 



v /1 1 : 



•..ii'- 



■y *% 



5*; 



r*i» i 







Approach to La Veraia, 

From hence we see the conventual buildings most pic- 
turesquely grouped on the perpendicular rocks, which rise 
abruptly from the grass, and backed by woods of pine and 
beech. Here it was that Brother Leo often imagined 
that— 

'* He beheld S. Francis wrapt in God and suspended above the earth, 
sometimes at the height of three feet above the ground, sometimes four, 
sometimes raised as high as the beech trees, and sometimes so exalted 
in the air, and surrounded by so dazzling a glory, that he could scarce 
endure to look upon him." 



* Madame George Sand has declared herself to have the same extraordinary 
attractive power over all animals which characterises S. Francis. 



23* ITALIAN CITIES. 

A rock-hewn path takes us to the arched gateway of the 
sanctuary, which has been greatly enlarged at many different 
periods since its foundation by S. Francis in 1313, but which 
to Roman Catholics will ever be one of the most sacred 
spots in the world, from its connection with the saint, who 
always passed two months here in retreat, and who is here 
believed to have received the stigmata, by which he was 
more especially likened to the great Master whose example 
he was always following. 

" Nel ctudo sflsso, intra Tevere ed Amo, 
Da Cristo prese I' ultimo sigillo, 
Cbe lc sue membra du' ami portamo." 

Dante, Tar. xi. 106. 




" It wn here that S. Francis learned the tongues of the beasts and 
birds, ar.d preached them sermons. Stretched for hours motionless on 
the bare rocks, coloured like them, and rough like them in his brown 
peasant's serge, he prayed and meditated, saw the vision of Christ 
crucified, and planned his order to regenerate a vicious nge. So still 
he lav, so long, so like a atone, so gentle were his eyes, so kind and 



LA VE$NIA. 233 

low his voice, that the mice nibbled bread crumbs from his wallet, 
lizards ran over him, and larks sang to him in the air. Here, too, in 
those long solitary vigils, the Spirit of God came upon him, and the 
spirit of Nature was even as God's Spirit, and he sang : — ' Laudato sia 
Dio mio S ignore, con tutte le creature, specialmente messer lo frate 
sole ; per suor luna, e per le stelle ; per frate vento, e per 1' aire e 
nuvolo, e sereno, e ogni tempo.' Half the value of this hymn would be 
lost were we to forget how it was written, in what solitudes and moun- 
tains far from men, or to ticket it with some cold word like Pantheism. 
Pantheism it is not, but an acknowledgment of that brotherhood, 
beneath the love of God, by which the sun and moon and stars, and 
wind and air and cloud, and clearness and all weather, and all creatures, 
are bound together, with the soul of man. 

"Here is a sentence of Imiiatio, which throws some light upon the 
hymn of S. Francis, by explaining the value of natural beauty for 
monks who spent their lives in studying death. ' If thy heart were 
right, then would every creature be to thee a mirror of life, and a book 
of holy doctrine. There is no creature so small and vile that does not 
shew forth the goodness of God.' With this sentence bound about their 
foreheads, walked Fra Angelico and S. Francis. To men like them 
the mountains, valleys, and the skies, and all that they contained, were 
full of deep significance. Though they reasoned ' de condition* humancc 
miseritr, 1 and l de contempt** mundi,* yet the whole world was a pageant 
of God's glory, a poem to his goodness. Their chastened senses, pure 
hearts, and simple wills, were as wings by which they soared above the 
things of earth, and sent the music of their souls aloft with every other 
creature in the symphony of praise. To them, as to Blake, the sun was 
no mere blazing disc or ball, but ' an innumerable company of the 
heavenly host, singing, ' Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty.' 
To them the winds were brothers, and the streams sisters — brethren in 
common dependence upon God their father, brethren in common con- 
secration to his service, brethren by blood, brethren by vows of holiness. 
Perfect faith rendered this world no puzzle ; they overlooked the things 
of sense because the spiritual things were ever present, and as clear as 
day. Yet they did not forget that spiritual things are symbolized by 
things of sense ; and so the smallest herb of grass was vital to their 
tranquil contemplations. We, who have lost sight of the invisible world, 
who set our affections more on things of earth, fancy that because these 
monks despised the world, and did not write about its landscapes, 
therefore they were dead to its beauty. This is mere vanity : the 
mountains, stars, seas, fields, and living things were only swallowed up 
in one thought of God, and made subordinate to the awfulness of 



234 ITALIAN CITIES. 

human destinies. We to whom hills are hills, and seas are seas, and 
stars are ponderable quantities, speak, write, and reason of them as of 
objects interesting in themselves. The monks were less concerned 
about such things because they only found in them the vestibules and 
symbols of a hidden mystery." — Cornkill Mag., Vol. XIV. 

La Vernia is one of the few great religious shrines which 
have not been confiscated by the avarice of the Sardinian 
government. Fortunately it originally belonged to the Arte 
di Lana, who conceded it to the Grand Dukes, they in their 
turn made it over to the Municipality of Florence, who have 
defended their property. Annually the representatives of the 
municipality come in mediaeval fashion, plant their standard 
on the convent platform, and inspect the buildings and 
woods. A hundred and seven brown Franciscan monks 
still reside in the vast buildings. They all change their 
names when they " enter into religion " and take that of 
some saint to whom they especially devote themselves. 
On payment of the sum of ioo frs. any peasant may become 
a Franciscan monk, with the prospect of eventually entering 
the priesthood. At La Vernia about 125 frs. is required 
at the end of the novitiate for titolo di vestiario, or the ex- 
pense of the habit. Strangers are most hospitably received 
by the monks, and share with them the fare which they 
have, though it is of a most wretched description. They 
have no property whatever except the garden where their 
salad is raised, and the neighbouring bosco. In the summer, 
where the air is always fresh on these mountain heights, 
and the woods resound with nightingales, their residence is 
pleasant enough, but it is terribly severe during the nine 
months of winter, and the cold is intolerable in their tire- 
less cells. Eight hours of the twenty-four are passed in the 
church, one hour and half being soon after midnight 



LA VERNIA. 23S 

Thrice in the week the monks kneel in the midnight around 
the marble slab where the stigmata were inflicted, and as 
the five lamps in memory of the five wounds of S. Francis 
are extinguished, they scourge themselves in the total dark- 
ness, and the clashing of the iron chains of their self-inflicted 
punishment mingles with the melancholy howl of the 
winds around the stone corridor. Twice in the twenty- 
four hours they join in a chaunting procession down 
the long covered gallery on the mountain edge in honour 
of the stigmata. During the remaining hours, those 
monks who have to preach study for their sermons (the 
famous preacher Ferrara is a Franciscan), the doctors of the 
poor employ themselves in the spezieria> others perform the 
manual labour of the vast establishment. They take little 
notice of the events of the outer world, and as far as is 
apparent, seem contented with their monotonous lot We 
asked some of them if they never felt tired of it — " Ah no, 
life is so short, but eternity so long." Seeing the exquisite 
beauty of the bosco in spring*— with its carpet of violets, 
primroses, daffodils, cyclamen, squills, saxifrage, and a thou- 
sand other flowers ; we asked a monk if their loveliness was 
not a pleasure to him — " Ma perche', non mi sono mai 
confuso con la botanica," was the answer. 

Subsisting entirely on the alms of the surrounding farmers 
and contadini, the monks, after a fashion, pay back what 
they have received on the great festas when the pilgrimages 
to La Vernia take place. Then all the pilgrims, often to the 
number of 300, are received, and, if they require it, are fed : 
not in guest rooms, of which there are only twenty-four, these 
being generally required for the " personaggi," but encamp- 
ments are made for them in the bosco, or on the broad 



236 ITALIAN CITIES. 

flagged terraces, upon which the brown figures of the monks 
— as they pace up and down and are relieved against the 
pale blue distance of the mountains — look as if the statues 
of S. Francis and S. Antonio had stepped from their niches 
and come back into life. 

" Je me sentais avec Dante en ce lieu tout plein de la memoire des 
miracles de saint Francois, sur cet a pre rocher de l'Apennin, d'oii s'est 
repandu sur le monde l'ordre fameux qui a regenere le catholicisme du 
moyen age, et dont le poete du catholicisme et du moyen age a si mag- 
nifiquement exalte le fondateur. La foi du XIII e siecle etait encore la. 
Le frere Jean Baptiste me conduisit aux divers lieux temoins des mer- 
veilles operees par saint Francois. En me racontant ces merveilles, 
il semblait les voir. ' C'est ici, disait-il, que le miracle s'accomplit ; 
le saint etait la oil je suis.' Et, en prononcant ces paroles, la phy- 
sionomie, la voix, les gestes du frere Jean Baptiste exprimaient une 
invincible certitude. II m'a montre des rochers fendus et brises par 
quelque accident geologique, et m'a dit : ' Voyez comme le sein de la terre 
a ete dechire dans la nuit oil le Christ est descend u aux enfers pour y 
chercher les ames des justes morts avant sa venue ! Comment expli- 
quer autrement ce desordre? Ceci, ce n'est pas moi qui vous le 
raconte, vous le voyez de vos yeux, vous le voyez ! ' 

" J'ecoutais avec d'autant plus d'interet, que Dante fait allusion a la 
meme croyance. Pour passer dans le cercle des violents, il lui faut 
franchir un eboulement de rochers auquel Virgile son guide attribue une 
semblable origine. II le rapporte de meme au tremblement qui agita 
l'abtme le jour oil le Christ descendit. Virgile dit exactement a Dante 
ce que me disait le frere Jean Baptiste."* — Ampire. 

The principal Church contains several fine works of Luca 
ddla Robbia y that of the Ascension being quite magnificent. 
The church opens upon the terraced platform where Orlando 
finally made over the mountain to the saint, and where, on 
their first arrival — 

" S. Francis caused his companions to sit down, and taught them the 
manner of life they were to keep, that they might live religiously in this 
solitude; and, among other things, most earnestly did he enjoin on 

* Inf., xn. 34. 



LA VERNIA. 



m 



them the strict observance of holy poverty, saying, ' Let not Orlando's 
charitable offer cause you in any way to offend against our lady and 
mistress, holy Poverty. ' God has called us into this holy religion for (be 
salvation of the world, and has made this compact between tbe world 
and us, — that we should give it good example, and that it should provide 
for our necessities. Let us, then, persevere in holy poverty ; for it is 
the way of perfection, and the pledge of eternal riches." 







Close by is the site of the great beech-tree, which over- 
shadowed the first cell — tuguriob — of S. Francis, otto e 
divoto attaoraztone — in which he lived while the convent 
was building, and where he sought the guidance of God by 
making the sign of the cross over his Bible, arid then open- 
ing it at a venture. Each time the book opened at the 
story of the passion of our Saviour, and hence he deduced 
that the remaining years of his life (for he was already in 
failing health) were to be as one long martyrdom, and that, 
in the words of his biographer Celano, " through much 
anguish and many struggles, he should enter the kingdom 
of God." The stone altar is shown whither Christ descended 
to hold visible converse with his servant. Beneath this is a 
chaotic valley of rocks, rising in huge and fantastic pinna- 



238 ITALIAN CITIES. 

cles against one another, and, according to the legend, 
riven and reft into these strange forms at the time of the 
crucifixion. Over these rocks, fifty-three metres high, it is said 
that the Devil hurled S. Francis, and the hole is shown 
upon which he lodged, when " the stone became as liquid 
wax to receive him." In the inmost recesses of the deepest 
cleft is the secret caverned space, where, perpetually chaunt- 
ing the penitential Psalms, S. Francis passed the * Lent of 
S. Michael.* One monk alone, Brother Leo, was permitted 
to approach him, once in the day with a little bread and 
water and once at night, and, when he reached the narrow 
causeway at the entrance, was bidden to say, Dominc, labia 
mea aperies ; when, if an answer came, he might enter the 
cell and repeat matins with his master ; but if there was 
silence, he must forthwith depart In a second cave, covered 
with iron to prevent its being carried away piecemeal by the 
faithful, is a great flat stone — l i/ letto di San Francesco.' 
Outside is the point of rock where 

" Through all that Lent, a falcon, whose nest was hard by his cell, 
awakened S. Francis every night a little before the hour of matins by 
her cry and the flapping of her wings, and would not leave him till he 
had risen to say matins ; and if at any time S. Francis was more sick 
than ordinary, or weak, or weary, that falcon, like a discreet and cha- 
ritable Christian, would call him somewhat later than was her wont. 
And S. Francis took great delight in this clock of his, because the great 
carefulness of the falcon drove away all slothfulness, and summoned him 
to prayers ; and, moreover, during the day-time she would often abide 
familiarly with him." 

In another chapel is shown the grave of all the monks of 
La Vernia who have died in " the odour of sanctity," that 
is, who have been distinguished by blue lights — corpse- 
candles — hovering over their dead bodies. In another is 



LA VERN1A. 239 

the cell of S. Bonaventura, in another that of S. Anthony 
of Padua, who came here into retreat, but was driven away 
by ill-health. The Chapel of the Stigmata contains one of 
the largest and grandest works of Luca della Robbia — a cru- 
cifixion, with the Virgin and S. John, S. Jerome and S. Francis 
standing at the foot of the cross, surrounded by the most 
beautiful weeping and adoring angels. This chapel occu- 
pies that point in the desert where the story tells that 

" S. Francis, being inflamed by the devout contemplation of the 
Passion of Jesus Christ, beheld a seraph descending from heaven with 
six fiery and resplendent wings, bearing the image of One crucified." 

and while S. Francis marvelled much at such a stupendous 
vision, it was revealed to him that by Divine Providence 
this vision had been shown to him that he might understand 
that, not by the martyrdom of his body, but by the con- 
suming fire of the soul, he was to be transformed into the 
express image of Christ " Then did all the Mont' Alvernia 
appear wrapped in intense fire, which illuminated all the 
mountains and valleys around, as it were the sun shining in 
his strength upon the earth, whence the shepherds who were 
watching their flocks in that country were filled with fear, 
as they themselves afterwards told the brethren, affirming 
that this light had been visible on Mont' Alvernia for 
upwards of an hour, and because of the brightness of that 
light, which shone through the windows of the inn where 
they were resting, muleteers who were travelling in the 
Romagna arose in haste, supposing that the sun had risen, 
and saddled and loaded their beasts ; but as they journeyed 
on, they saw that light disappear, and the visible sun arise. ,, 

"In this seraphic apparition, Christ spoke certain high and secret 
things to S. Francis, saying 'Knowest thou what I have done to ths&? 



240 ITALIAN CITIES. 

I have given thee the stigmata which are the ensigns of my Passion, 
that thou mayest be my standard bearer. ' And when the marvellous 
vision disappeared, upon the hands and feet of S. Francis, the print of 
the nails began immediately to appear, as he had seen them in the body 
of Christ crucified. In like manner, on the right side appeared the 
image of an unhealed wound, as if made by a lance, still red and bleed- 
ing, from which drops of blood often flowed and stained the tunic of 
S. Francis. Although these sacred wounds impressed upon him by 
Christ, afterwards gave great joy to his heart, yet they caused unspeak- 
able pain to his body ; so that, being constrained by necessity, he made 
choice of Brother Leo, for his great purity and simplicity, and suffered 
him to touch and dress his wounds on all days except during the time 
from Thursday evening to Saturday morning, for then he would not by 
any human remedy mitigate the pain of Christ's passion, which he bore 
in his body, because at that time our Saviour Jesus Christ was taken and 
crucified and died for us." * 

Another chapel contains an Assumption by one of the 
Robbias. The Madonna is pourtrayed as giving the mea- 
sure of this very chapel to S. Bonaventura, by whom it was 
built. The measure thus consecrated has never been 
altered, though an ante-chapel has been added, containing a 
Robbia Nativity and a Pieta. 

* Celano, the earliest biographer of S. Francis, wrote three years after his death, 
and must have been in possession of everything then known and believed on the 
subject of the Stigmata. The " Three Companions " did not compose their narrative 
until twenty years after his death ; but they were his constant companions during 
his life, and two out of the three are reported to have been with him on Mount 
Alverno. Bonaventura is the latest of all. His work was written in 1263, thirty- 
seven years after the death of the saint ; but he had lived all his life among those 
who had known and loved Francis, and had the fullest information at hU command. 

" Contemporary witnesses of perfect trustworthiness and high character believed 
in the fact of the Stigmata, and vouch for it. It is not an afterthought, a pious in- 
vention for the use of a canonizing pope, but the evident belief of the time, arising 
out of something in the life of Francis which attracted the wonder and curiosity and 
eager guesses of his companions. With a few exceptions, the wonder was received 
with perfect faith by his generation. It was affirmed and proclaimed authoritatively 
by two Popes, who were his personal friends, and must have had means of knowing 
whether the tale were false or true. One of them, indeed, Pope Alexander IV., 
Bonaventura tells us, publicly asserted that he had himself seen the mysterious 
wounds. The evidence altogether is of a kind which it is almost equally difficult to 
accept or to reject. There is sufficient weight of testimony, when fully considered, to 
stagger the stoutest unbeliever ; and there is too much vagueness and generality to 
make the most believing mind quite comfortable in its faith." — Mrs. Olifkant. 



LA VERNIA. 241 

Most beautiful are the forest walks behind the convent, 
fragrant with the memories of holy Franciscan monks. 
" In these woods," says Sir J. Stephens, " S. Francis wan- 
dered in the society of Poverty, his wedded wife ; relying 
for support on Him alone by whom the ravens are fed, and 
awakening the echoes of the mountains by his devout 
songs and fervent ejaculations." Here, in the beech 
avenues, Brother James of Massa beheld in a vision all the 
Friars-Minor in the form of a tree, from whose branches 
the evil monks were shaken by storms into perdition, while 
the good monks were carried by the angels into life eternal. 
Here the venerable Brother John of Fermo wandered, 
weeping and sighing in the restless search after divine love, 
till, when his patience was sufficiently tried, Christ the 
Blessed appeared to him in the forest-path, and with many 
precious words restored to him the gift of divine grace. 
And " for a long time after, whenever Brother John followed 
the path in the forest where the blessed feet of Christ had 
passed, he saw the same wonderful light, and breathed the 
same sweet odour " which had come to him with the vision 
of his Saviour. From the highest part of the rock, called 
La Penna> is the most glorious view. In the depths of the 
gorges beneath, on one side rises the Arno, and on the 
other, in the mountain of La Falterana^ is the source of the 
Tiber. 



It is a wild and most exhausting ride of five hours to 

CamaldolL Descending between the beautiful moss-grown 

trees and steep rocks of Alvernia, the path (impossible 

without a guide) winds through woods to Soa\ a flourishing 

vol. iil 16 



242 



ITALIAN CITIES. 



village with manufactories of cloth. After this it is a stony 
road, ascending into arid and hideous earth-mountains. 
Crossing the highest ridge, it descends rapidly into a deep 
valley backed by pine-woods, and fresh with streams and 
flowers, an oasis in a most dreary wilderness. Here, in the 
depth of the gorge, close to the torrent Giogana, is the 
immense mass of the Convent of Camaldoli, originally called 
Fonie Buona, which was founded by S. Romualdo, about a.d. 



I coo. 



N -._ 



r" 




r 



-> .' 



'■<■ > 



.■'» ■ 



/> ./ 



V^r'- 



^A,^ 




The ancient buildings were strongly fortified, and successfully 
withstood a siege by the Duke of Urbino and the Venetians 
in 1498, when forty of the assailants were killed, and the 
duke himself wounded. It was again successfully defended 
against the forces of Piero de Medici, when he was attempt- 
ing to regain his lost power in Florence, by the abbot 
Basilio Nardi, who is introduced by Vasari in one of his 
battle pieces in the Palazzo Vecchio. On this occasion, 
according to monkish legend, S. Romualdo visibly fought in 
defence of his foundation. The present edifice has little 



CAMALDOLI. 243 

interest, having been rebuilt under Vasari, in 1523. The 
toresteria is clean and not uncomfortable in warm weather, 
and from the Sala ddV Accademia "where Christophorus 
Landinus, Lorenzo de' Medici, and Marsilius Fucinus held 
examinations," there is a beautiful view down the forest-clad 
gorge. The fine library has been dispersed, and the only 
literary treasure remaining is a commentary on the earlier 
part of the psalms, written by S. Romualdo in the eleventh 
century. The famous painter on glass, Guglielmo da Marcilla 
(1475 — 1537) bequeathed his property with his body to the 
monks of CamaldolL The dependent buildings of the con- 
vent include a well-managed farm, a forge, carpenter's 
shop, a mill, and the scga or saw-mill which is worked by 
the torrent. The charities of the monks of Camaldoli have 
long been proverbial ; 1000 families of the Casentino de- 
pended on the convent for work or help . In addition to 
other alms, 600 loaves of bread were weekly prepared in the 
bakehouse for the destitute poor ; but now (1875), on h 
twenty-five brethren are allowed to remain here, and these 
are plundered of their lands. 

The monks of Camaldoli now live according to the rules 
approved in 167 1 by Clement X. Their principal observ- 
ances consist in psalm singing, meditation, and the labour of 
their hands. They never meet at a common table except 
on the great feasts of the church, and when the general 
chapter is sitting. They never eat meat, and that which 
they call fasting is abstinence from eggs, and anything 
cooked with butter, and on days which are not fast days, 
their portion is confined to three eggs, or six ounces of fresh 
or four of salt fish. Their dress is a white robe and 

scapulary, with a woollen girdle. The famous Cardinal 

16 2 



244 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Placido Zurla, and Mauro Cappellari — afterwards Pope Gre- 
gory XVI. were Camaldolese monks. The painters Lorenzo 
Monaco and Giovanni degli Angeli also belonged to this 
order. 

About an hour's walk through the forest higher up the 
valley, on a grassy plateau, is a second convent, or rather 
little street of twenty-four hermitages called // Sacro Erefno> 
which is interesting from its connection with the story of S. 
Romualdo, a member of the noble family of the Onesti of 
Ravenna, who was led to embrace the monastic life from the 
horror he experienced when present at a duel in which his 
father slew a near relation of his house. He first entered 
the monastery of S. Apollinare in Classe, where his austeri- 
ties soon made him odious to the more lukewarm monks, 
and caused him to retire into the deserts of Catalonia, 
where he was joined by many disciples. In 1009 he re- 
ceived, from the Counts of Maldoli, a gift of the lands upon 
which this, his greatest monastery, was founded, and which 
has ever borne the name of Campo-Maldoli, Camaldoli. 
By the observances which he here added to the rule of S. 
Benedict, he gave birth to the new order of Camaldoli, 
which united cenobite and an eremite life. At the Sacro 
Eremo he saw in a vision his monks mounting in white 
robes by a ladder to heaven, and so changed the habit from 
black to white.* 

" The whole hermitage is inclosed with a wall ; none are allowed to 
go out of it : but the hermits may walk in the woods and alleys within 
the inclosure at discretion. 

"Everything is sent them from the monastery in the valley; the 
rood is every day brought to each cell : and all are supplied with wood 

* This vision is the subject of the famous altar-piece of Andrea Sacchi, painted for 
the church of the Camaldolesi at Rome, and now in the Vatican gallery. 



THE SACRO EREMO. 245 

and necessaries, that they may have no dissipation or hindrance in their 
contemplation. Many hours of the day are allotted to particular exer- 
cises, and no rain or snow prevents anyone from meeting in the church 
to assist at the divine office. They are obliged to strict silence in 
all public common places ; and everywhere during their Lents, also on 
Sundays, Holy days, Fridays, and other days of abstinence, and always 
from complin till sunrise the next day. 

" For a severer solitude, S. Romualdo added a third kind of life, that 
of a recluse. After a holy life in the hermitage, the superior grants 
leave to any that ask it, and seem called by God, to live for ever shut up 
in their cells, never speaking to anyone but to the superior when he 
visits them, and to the brother who brings them necessaries. Their 
prayers and austerities are doubled and their fasts more severe and more 
frequent S. Romualdo condemned himself to this kind of life for 
several years ; and fervent imitations have never since failed in this 
solitude." — Aldan Butler. 

The Sacro Eremo or Sant* Ermo* is mentioned by Dante, 
apropos of the death of Buonconte di Montefeltro, slain on 
the banks of Archiano, a torrent which flows into the 
Arno, and has its source near Camaldoli : — 

Che sovra l'Ermo nasce in Apennino. 

Purg. v. 96. 

One of the highest points of the ridge of the Prato a 
Soglio is that called Poggio a Scali, which, as Ariosto 

says : — 

11 Scuopre il mar Schiavo e il Tosco 
Dal giogo onde a Camaldoli si viene." 

The view is certainly one of the finest in this part of 
Italy. Schellfels declares that the houses of Forli, Cesena, 
and Ravenna are visible from hence. 

" Dante a certainement gravi le sommet de la Falterona ; c*est sur ce 
sommet, d'oii Ton embrasse toute la vallee de l'Arno, qu'il faut lire la 
singuliere imprecation que le poete a prononcle contre cette vallee tout 

* The name of the famous Castle of S. Elmo at Naples is a corruption of Sant 
Ermo, and not that of a local saint, as is often supposed. 



246 ITALIAN CITIES. 

entiere. II suit le cours du fleuve, et, en avancant, il marque tous les 
lieux qu'il recontre d'une invective ardente. Plus il marche, plus sa 
haine redouble de violence et d'aprete. C'est un morceau de topographie 
satirique dont je ne connais aucun autre exemple." * — Amptre. 

Hence we may 

"Pursue 
The Arno from his birth-place in the clouds, 
So near the yellow Tiber's — springing up 
From his four fountains on the Apennine, 
That mountain-ridge a sea-mark to the ships 
Sailing on either sea. Downward he runs, 
Scattering fresh verdure through the desolate wild, 
Down by the City of the Hermits, and the woods 
That only echo to the choral hymn ; 
Then through these gardens to the Tuscan sea, 
Reflecting castles, convents, villages, 
And those great rivals in an elder day, 
Florence and Pisa." 

Rogers' "Italy." 

It is a most savage ride (or rather walk, for the path in 
places is most precipitous) of four hours, from Camaldoli to 
Pratovecchio, whence there is again a road practicable for 
carriages. That to Pontassieve ascends by the fine old 
castle of Romena, mentioned by Dante (Inf. xxx). Close 
by rises the Fonte Branda, which naturally, and not that of 
Siena, is the fountain alluded to by Maestro Adamo when, 
amid the torments of hell, he says that he would rather see 
his tempters brought to the same suffering than be refreshed 
by the clear waters of his home. 

" Per Fonte Branda non darei la vista." 

Here we look down upon the whole valley of the Casen- 
tino, and : — 



7 HE BANKS Of ARNO. 

" Li ruscelletti, che de' verdi colli 
Del Casentin discendon giuso in Arno, 
Facendo i lor canali e freddi e molli. " 



247 



Inf. xxx. 



The drive from Pontassieve to Florence has much beauty, 
and skirts the windings of the Arno, lying in the low bed 
which Dante calls, 

" La maladetta e sventurata fossa. " 

It must have been from this road that Michael Angelo, as 
he rode away to Rome, for the building of S. Peter's, 
turned round, and beholding the dome of the cathedral in 
the grey of the morning, exclaimed, " Come te non voglio, 
meglio di te non posso." 



CHAPTER LV. 
SIENA. 

(It is from 3$ to 4j hours by rail from Florence to Siena, I., 9 frs. 
40 c. ; II., 7 frs. 30 c; III., 5 frs. 40 c.) 

THE Railway passes: — 15 kil., Signa. A picturesque 
old walled town, in the midst of a radiantly fertile 
and beautiful country (see ch. liL). 

"Here where the ancient walls of its citadel rise hoary and broken 
against the blueness of the sky ; there, where the arches of the bridges 
span the river, and the sand and the shallows and the straw that is 
drying in summer shine together yellow in the sun ; here where under 
the sombre pointed archways the little children play, their faces like the 
cherubs and the cupids of the Renaissance ; there, where the cobblers 
and coopers and the plaiting maidens and the makers of the yellow 
rush brooms, all work away under lintels and corbels and carved beam 
timbers, four hundred years old if one ; here, where through the gate- 
ways with their portcullises woven over by the spiders, only pass the 
patient mules with sacks of flour, or the hay-carts dropping grasses, or the 
waggons of new wine ; there, where the villas that were all fortresses in 
the fierce fighting times of old, gleam white in the light upon their 
crests of hill with their cypresses like sentinels around them, and 
breadths of corn and vineyards traversed by green grassy paths, that lead 
upward to where the stone pine and the myrtle make sweet the air to- 
gether. In all these Signa is beautiful ; most of all, of course, in the 
long, light, radiant summer, when the nightingales are singing every- 
where, noon as well as night ; the summer which seems to last almost all 
the year, for you can only tell how it comes and goes by the coining and 
going of the flowers." — Signa, 

27 kiL, Montdupo, with a fortress of 1203, which the 



EAfPOLI. 249 

Florentines erected for the repression of Capraja, a hostile 
town, which formerly occupied this site. — " Per distrugger 
questa Capra, non vi vuole altro che un lupo." 

One mile from hence is the beautiful Medici villa of Am- 
brogiana (now a Penitentiary), decorated with frescoes by 
Zuccharelli. 

33 kiL, EmpolU) a picturesque town. The Collegiate 
Church was altered in the 16th century from having three 
aisles, to a single aisle with chapels. It contains a statue of 
S. Sebastian, by Rossellino, and an interesting picture in 
several compartments by Francesco Giovanni. Near the 
church is an ancient Baptistery, containing a beautiful font 
of 1447, and frescoes of the martyrdom of S. Andrew, attri- 
buted to Ghirlandajo. S. Stefano contains some frescoes by 
11 Vblterrano, and S. Croce a picture of the Elevation of 
the Cross by CigolL 

The old palace still exists in which the Ghibellines met, 
in 1 260, after their great victory over the Florentine Guelphs 
at Monte Aperto, and voted that Florence should be razed 
to the ground, and Empoli made into the capital ; a plan 
which would actually have been carried out but for the in- 
terposition of Farinata degli Uberti, who declared that he 
would die a thousand deaths rather than witness the 
destruction of his native city. Dante introduces him as 
narrating this 



" Poi ch' ebbe, sospirando, il capo scosso, 

A ci6 non fa io sol (disse), ne certo 

Senza cagion sarei con gli altri mosso : 
Ma fu' io sol cola, dove sofferto 

Fu per ciascun di torre via Fiorenza, 

Colui che la difesi a viso aperto." 

Int. x. 



250 ITALIAN CITIES. 

From Empoli an excursion may be made to the celebrated 
Medici villa of Cerreto Guidi y 7 miles distant, standing on a 
great height, a " posizione a cavaliere." Here the beautiful 
Isabella de' Medici, youngest daughter of Cosimo I., was 
murdered by her husband, only seven days after her sister- 
in-law, Eleonora of Toledo, had suffered the same fate at 
Caffaggiolo. Sister of the Grand duke Francesco I., she 
was married to Paolo Giordano Orsini, duke of Bracciano, 
who lived at Rome, indulging in every kind of dissipation, 
leaving his beautiful young wife under the guardianship of 
his cousin, Troilo Orsini. It was discovered that Troilo had 
been unfaithful to his trust He fled, and Francesco sum- 
moned his brother-in-law from Rome. Paolo Giordano 
brought his wife a present of greyhounds, and invited her to 
accompany him to Cerreto Guidi to try them. When there, 
he did not, as Hallam and others narrate, " press her ten- 
derly to his bosom, ,, &c, but when she was asleep a rope 
was let down through the ceiling from the room above, and 
she was strangled.* The villa has been greatly modernised 
internally, but the hole ("la buca"), through which the 
rope was let down, has been carefully preserved. 

" Sobs of grief, 

Sounds inarticulate — suddenly stopt, 

And followed by a struggle and a gasp, 

A gasp in death, are heard yet in Cerreto, 

Along the marble halls and staircases, 

Nightly at twelve ; and, at the self-same hour, 

Shrieks, such as penetrate the inmost soul, 

Such as awake the innocent babe to cry, 

Long wailing, echo through the emptiness 

Of that old den far up among the hills. 

Rogers' Italy. 

• Her husband afterwards married the famous and beautiful Vittoria Accoram- 
buoni, after having assisted in the murder of her first husband — Francesco Ptrretti, ' 
nephew of Pope Sixtus V. 



CERRETO-GUIDI, CERTALDO. 251 

A native of Cerreto-Guidi was the wit Saccenti, whose 
clever sayings are still so popular in Tuscany, and who is 
best known by his self-written epitaph, in allusion to his 
having been poisoned by acid wine at a dinner : — 

" Qui giace Ser Saccenti da Cerreto 
Che un gentiluomo fiorentin da Prato 
Lo (6 morire in un barril d 'ace to 
Dite un requie ad un morto marinato." 

(The Railway to Pisa is continued hence by : — 

S. Pierino (Stat.), on the left of which is the picturesque 
town of S. Miniato dei Tedeschi % where the residence of the 
Imperial vicar was fixed by Frederic II., in 1226. 

Pontedera (Stat), whence there is a diligence to Volterra. 

Cascina (Stat), where the Florentines gained a victory over 
the Pisans, July 28, 1364). 

Leaving Empoli for Siena, the line passes : — 

25 kil., CertcUdo (Stat). The little town contains the 

House of Boccaccio, who died here, Dec. 21, 1375. His 

lamp, and a portrait of him are preserved in his chamber. 

His tomb was wilfully destroyed in 1783, and his remains 

dispersed. 

Boccaccio to his parent earth bequeath'd 
His dust — and lies it not her Great among, 
With many a sweet and solemn requiem breathed 
O'er him who formed the Tuscan's siren tongue ? 
That music in itself, whose sounds are song, 
The poetry of speech ? No ;— even his tomb, 
Uptorn, must bear the hyaena bigot's wrong, 
No more amidst the meaner dead find room, 
Nor claim a passing sigh, because it told for whom. 

Childc Harold. 



252 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Certaldo is a good point whence to diverge to San Gimi- 
gnano (see ch. lvii.), but it is perhaps more easily reached 
from 

38 kil., Poggibonsi (Stat.), 1 mile from which is the Church 
of S. Lucchese, containing an interesting work of one of the 
Robbias, and some frescoes by Gtrino da Pistoia. 

The line now passes near (right) the old castle of Monte- 
riggioni. 

— " Come in su la cerchia tonda 
Montereggion di torn si corona." 

Dante, Inf. xxxi. 41. 

On emerging from the tunnel of S. Dalmasio we come in 
sight of Siena, grandly cresting the brown earthquake-riven 
hills. 

" Siena, Bride of Solitude, whose eyes 
Are lifted o'er the russet hills to scan 

Immeasurable tracts of limpid skies, 

Arching those silent sullen plains where man 
Fades like a weed mid mouldering marshes wan ; 

Where cane and pine and cypress, poison-proof, 

For death and fever spread their stately roof." — J* A, S, 

" After leaving the valley of the Arno at Empoli, the railway enters 
a country which rises into earthy hills of no great height, and spreads 
out at intervals into broad tracts of cultivated lowland. Geologically 
speaking, this portion of Tuscany consists of loams and sandy deposits, 
forming the basin between two mountain ranges — the Apennines and 
the chalk hills of the western coast of Central Italy. Seen from the 
eminence of some old Tuscan turret, this champagne country has a* 
stern and arid aspect. The earth is grey and dusty, the forms of hill 
and valley are mean and insignificant; even the vegetation seems 
to sympathise with the uninteresting soil from which it springs. A 
few spare olives cast their shadows on the lower slopes ; here and 
there a copse of oakwood or acacia marks the course of some small 
rivulet; rye-fields, grey beneath the wind, clothe the hill-sides with 



APPROACH TO SIENA. 253 

scanty verdure. Every knoll is crowned with a village — brown roofs and 
white house-fronts clustered together on the edge of cliffs, and rising 
into the campanile or antique tower, which tells so many stories of by- 
gone wars and decayed civilisations. Beneath these villages- stand 
groups of stone-pines clearly visible upon the naked country, cypresses 
like spires beside the square walls of convent or of villa, patches of dark 
foliage, showing where the ilex and the laurel and the myrtle hide thick 
tangles of rose-trees and jessamines in ancient gardens. Nothing can 
exceed the barren aspect of this country in mid-winter: it resembles an 
exaggerated Sussex, without verdure to relieve the rolling lines of down, 
and hill, and valley ; beautiful alone by reason of its frequent villages 
and lucid air. But when spring comes, a light and beauty break upon 
this gloomy soil ; the whole is covered with a delicate green veil of 
rising crops and fresh foliage, and the immense distances which may be 
seen from every height are blue with cloud-shadows rosy in the light 
of sunset. 

"Of all the towns of Lower Tuscany, none is more celebrated than 
Siena. It stands in the very centre of the district which I have 
attempted to describe, crowning one of its most considerable heights, 
and commanding one of its most extensive plains. As a city it is a 
typical representative of those numerous Italian towns, whose origin is 
buried in remote antiquity, which have formed the seat of three civiliza- 
tions, and which still maintain a vigorous vitality upon their ancient 
soil. Its site is Etruscan, its name is Roman, but the town itself 
owes its interest and beauty to the artists and the statesmen and the 
warriors of the Middle Ages. A single glance at Siena from one of the 
slopes on the northern side will show how truly mediaeval is its character. 
A city wall follows the outline of the hill, from which the towers of the 
cathedral and the palace, with other cupolas and red-brick campanili, 
spring; while cypresses and olive-gardens stretch downwards to 
the plain. There is not a single Palladian facade or Renaissance 
portico to interrupt the unity of the effect. Over all, in the distance, 
rises Radicofani, melting imperceptibly into sky and plain." — J. A. 
Symonds. 

The station of Siena is outside the Porta S. Lorenzo. 
The great unfinished church which crowns the hill upon the 
left is S. Francesco. 

Inns. Aquila Nera t nearest the cathedral, best A rmi <T lnghUterra, 
nearest the station, a very poor Italian inn, but civil people, — pension 



»54 ITALIAN CITIES. 

front 4lrs. to Sirs, a -day. Henry Hal km (lied in this house, and his 
picture hangs in the room. 

Carriage With one horse, l&fr. ; with two horses, afrs. ; at night, 
50c more. 

Post office. Via Ricasoli, close to the Palazzo Tolomei. 

Photographs of Siena and Monte Oliveto (excellent). Paolo Lombard!, 
8, Via di Citta. 

" Cor magis tibi Sena pandit,"* are the cordial words with 
which the traveller is greeted on entering the gates of Siena. 




and it will be strange if he repents of doing so. As a summer 
residence, no Italian town affords greater advantages, as 
there are no excessive heat or mosquitoes, cheap and airy 
apartments, good language, excellent masters, and pleasant 
society ; and yet, as Hawthorne observes, a prolonged resi- 
dence here would be " terrible without an independent life 
in one's own mind." 



CHARACTERISTICS OF SIENA. 255 

The geography of Siena will be found exceedingly difficult 
from the star-fish-like way in which its narrow promontories 
jut out, covered with houses and churches, and intersected 
by deep valleys. Over all the gates and all the public 
buildings, visitors will remark the monogram I. H. S.* en- 
closed in a halo of rays : its object being perpetually to 
recall the recollection of the famous story of the illustrious 
native, S. Bernardino, who was born at Massa, near Siena, 
in 1380. 



" When preaching S. Bernardino was accustomed to hold in his hand 
a tablet, on which was carved, within a circle of golden rays, the name 
of Jesus. A certain man, who had gained his living by the manufacture 
of cards and dice, went to him, and represented to him that, in conse- 
quence of the reformation of manners, gambling was gone out of 
fashion, and he was reduced to beggary. The saint desired him to 
exercise his ingenuity in carving tablets of the same kind as that which 
he held in his hand, and to sell them to the people. A peculiar sanc- 
tity was soon attached to these memorials ; the desire to possess them 
became general ; and the man who by the manufacture of gaming-tools 
could scarcely keep himself above want, by the fabrication of these 
tablets realised a fortune. Hence in the figures of S. Bernardino, he is 
usually holding one of these tablets, the I.H.S. encircled with rays, in 
his hand." — Jamesoris Monastic Orders* 



In the heart of Siena, where its different hill-promontories 
unite, is the Piazza del Campo (lately with the folly which 
disgraces every town in Italy called " Vittorio Emanuele.") 
Nobly picturesque, it preserves unspoilt its mediaeval 
character, and one might almost expect still to see the time- 
honoured races of the Palio which used to be celebrated 
here every 15th of August. Its very name is a memorial of 
the passage of Dante : — 

* Jesus Hominum Salvator. 



256 ITALIAN CITIES. 

" Quando vivea phi glorioso, disse, 
Liberamente nel Campo di Siena, 
Ogni vergogna deposta, si aftisse." — Purg. 9 xi. 

In the centre of the upper side is the beautiful fountain, 
fronte Gaja, the masterpiece of Jacopo ddla Qutrcia (1402 — 
1419), which was so much admired at the time as to give 
him the surname of della fonte. 

" It was not until the middle of the fourteenth century that conduits 
for supplying a fountain within the city were constructed, and the de- 
lighted people saw water issue in the piazza. Overjoyed at this, they 
called their new fountain Fonte Gaja, and set over it a very beautiful 
antique statue of Venus, supposed to be the work of Lysippus. After four- 
teen years, during which the city had been more than usually convulsed 
with factious tumults, a member of the council of twelve arose, and de- 
clared that those calamities were sent upon them because they had ex- 
posed heathen idols to veneration, and that they ought to remove the 
statue of a false divinity. ' Detto fu fatto ; ' the statue was taken down, 
and Fonte Gaja deprived of its sole ornament, until Giacomo della 
Quercia undertook to decorate it in a more Christian fashion. His 
design consisted of a three-sided marble parapet ; the central and 
longest was divided into nine niches, containing statues of the Ma- 
donna and Child, and the seven theological virtues, while the other 
two were decorated with bas-reliefs representing the Creation of Adam, 
and the Expulsion from Paradise. Below, from the surface of the basin, 
rose marine animals bearing children on their backs, and wolves, and 
dolphins, from whose mouths issued jets of water. Though now sadly 
mutilated and worn by time, its novelty of design and beauty of general 
effect make Fonte Gaja one of the model fountains of the world. Its 
statues have the grace of line characteristic of Quercia's best works, and 
their draperies fall in those peculiarly heavy snake-like folds which he 
so much affected." — PerkitCs Tuscan Sculptors. 

The whole south side of the piazza is occupied by the 
magnificent Palazzo Pubblico, a grand work of Agostino and 
Agnolo dc Sima, 1295 — 1327. Its tower will recall that of 
the Palazzo Vecchio at Florence on a much grander scale. 
It is called " II Mangia," Begun in 1325, it was finished in 



PALAZZO PUBBLICO. 257 

1345. The Wolves (the arms of Siena) on the pillars are 
by Turing 1429. Over the principal entrance is a statue by 
Andrea di Lando, 1381, of S. Ansanus, who was patron of 
Siena till the end of the thirteenth century, when his glory 
paled before that of S. Bernardino and S. Catherine. He is 
however frequently represented in the city, generally as a 
palm-bearing youth, richly dressed, with the city in the 
background. 

The beautiful chapel which projects from the facade be- 
neath the tower commemorates the deliverance of Siena from 
the plague in 1348. The six statues in the tabernacles 
(1377 — 1387) represent SS. Peter, Thomas, James the Great 
and Less, Bartholomew, and Matthew. The perishing altar- 
fresco is by Sodoma, 1537. 

In the interior of the Palazzo the rooms used for the 
Uffizio del Comune contain many subjects of interest In 
the atrium is a fresco by Bartolo di Fredi (b. 1330), and on 
the wall of the entrance chamber a fresco by Rutilio Manetti^ 
representing the Expedition of the Sienese to Palestine in 
1098. 

The 1st Hall (del Tribunale di Bicherna) contains the 
Coronation of the Virgin, by Sano di Pietro, 1445, the best 
work of the master. When a screen was removed in the last 
century, beneath it were found the beautiful dedicatory 
lines : — 

" Quest' alma gloriosa Vergin pura, 

Figliuola del suo figlio, sposa e madre, 

Perche l'Eterno Padre 
La trov6 umil piii ch' altra persona, 
Del Universo qui le da corona ! 

Vergine Madre del Eterno Dio 

Dalle cui sante mani coronata 

vol. in. 17 



258 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Siati raccomandata. 
La divota e fedel citta di Siena, 
Come 'n te spera : Ave di gratia plena." 

Id. SS. Bernardino and Catherine. A number of frescoes here are by 
Manctti. 

2nd Hall 

Sodoma, 1537. Madonna with SS/Ansano and Galgano. 

3rd Hall (del Sindaco). 

* Sodoma, 1536. The Resurrection— a glorious fresco. 

Ascending a staircase we reach the Sala dei Nave or ddla 
Pace> which contains some wonderful allegorical frescoes by 
Ambrogio Lormzetti, 1337 — 1339, of the Joys of Peace and 
Justice and the Evil of Tyranny. The figure of Justice is 
one of the noblest works of the Sienese School. To trace 
the somewhat delicate thread of the allegory (opposite the 
window) :— 

" A couple of lines pass from the waists of the angels in the disks. One 
is red, the other white. These lines fall and unite themselves in the left 
hand of ' Concord,' seated on a throne immediately beneath 'Justice,' a 
gentle figure crowned with a diadem, with a flame burning in its centre, 
and holding in its hand a carpenter's plane inscribed with the word 

• Concordia.' She passes the double line to a miniature personage stand- 
ing near her, who hands it on to his neighbours, forming a long proces- 
sion of twenty-four persons, advancing in couples to the foot of a throne 
on the right, where a vast figure sits with a sceptre in one hand and a 
seal in the other, symbolising the government or ' reggimento' of Siena. 
The idea seems to be, that Wisdom, Justice, and Concord are the results 
of Sienese administration regulated by the ' twenty-four ' of the nobles 
and people, evidently painted from life by Ambrogio, and distinguished 
in the arms of each by the red and white colours, both in the thread 
which unites them, the cap which covers the head of the enthroned 

* Siena,' and the loop with which it is bound to his chin. This colossal 
figure represents a man in the ripeness of age, with silvery hair and 
beard, a baronial cap on his head. Round the cap, as may be clearly 
seen in similar figures on the book covers of the Biccherna at Siena 



PALAZZO PUBBLICO. 259 

were the initials C.S., C.V., now altered by restoring. A mantle, white 
to the waist and black from that downwards, clothes the figure in the 
colours of the ' Balzana ' or shield of the commune of Siena, and is em- 
broidered and fringed with gold. A she- wolf giving suck to two babes 
and licking one of them with her tongue, forms a footstool to the figure. 
Faith, Charity, and Hope hover about the head of the ' Comune/ The 
majesty of Siena is guarded by soldiers in armour on the right and left 
of the throne, standing on foot and on horseback, whilst in front of them, 
on the right foreground, is a group of captives. On a narrow border 
are the words, ' Ambrosius Laurentii de Senis me pinxit utrinque.' " — 
Crowe and Cavalcaselle. 

The second wall is filled with examples of the peace and 
prosperity which follow a good government The third 
wall (opposite the door) is devoted to a warning of the evils 
of a bad government Much of this picture has perished. 

" On the part to the right sits a figure of ' Tyranny ' in front of a 
crenelated wall flanked with a high-towered gate. This is a squinting 
monster with two white horns and tusks issuing from his mouth, his hair 
in tresses like those of a woman, in armour concealed by a long red 
cloak. In his right hand is a knife, in his left a cup for poison, a he- 
goat lies at his feet. Avarice, pride, and vain-glory flutter over his 
head, the first a hag with a coffin and hook, the second with a knife 
and a yoke and red horns on her head, the last a girl with a reed, admir- 
ing her attire of gems in a mirror. Right and left of Tyranny sit Fraud, 
Treason, and Cruelty, Fury, Division, and War, Fraud with bat's wings 
and claws grasping a staff, Treason with a benignant face, but holding a 
lamb with a scaly tail and the legs of a crow, the same emblem which is 
placed in the hands of the Duke of Athens in the fresco of the Stinche 
at Florence ; Cruelty, aged, gnawing at a serpent whose folds are twin- 
ing round her and strangling a child. Fury is represented as a boar 
with human head and arms, the forelegs of a horse, the hind legs of a 
dog, and grasping a knife and a stone. Division is a female half dressed 
in white and black, inscribed • Si ' and ' No, 1 and sawing a log in half. 
War is a soldier waving a sword, and holding up a shield with the word 
4 guerra ' upon it Justice lies prostrate at the feet of Tyranny and has 
lost her 'balance.' In the ornamented frieze are remains of dead- 
coloured figures of Nero, Geta, Caracalla, and other tyrants."— Crowe 
and Cavalcaselle. 

" These allegories axe not merely fanciful. In the Middle Age& vfefc. 

17 2 



260 ITALIAN CITIES. 

same city might more than once during one lifetime present in the vivid 
colours of reality the contrasted pictures. Siena, of all Italian cities, 
was most subject to revolutions. Comines describes it as a city which 
• se gouver/ie plus follement que ville d'ltalie.' Varchi calls it, • un 
guazzabuglio ed una confusione de repubbliche piuttosto che bene 
ordinata e instituta repubblica.' " — J. A. Symonds. 

The Sala del Gran Consiglio, or del Mappamondo y con- 
tains the immense fresco of Simone Memtni y 13 15, repre- 
senting the Madonna enthroned with angels and saints 
(Catherine, the Baptist, Agnes, Michael, Peter, John, 
the Magdalen, Gabriel, Paul) ; on the left are SS. Crescen- 
tius and Victor ; on the right SS. Savinus and Ansanus on 
their knees, the four Evangelists are in the corners, eight 
Prophets at the sides. Under the throne are these verses 
which the Madonna is supposed to address to the saints : — 

" Ma se i potenti a debil Men molesti. 
Gravando loro o con vergogne o danni 
Le vostre orazion non son per questi 
Ne per qualunque la mia terra ingarmi." 

Other pictures in this room are: (opposite) Simone 
Mem mi, 1328, Guidoriccio da Folignano di Reggio at the 
siege of Montemassi — a most curious fresco : and beneath 
this most noble figures of SS. Vittore and Ansano by 
Sodoma. Opposite the window is a quaint fresco by 
Ambrogio di Lorenzo, representing the battle of Tunita, in 
1363, in which the German knights in the pay of Siena, 
under Ceccolo degli Orsini, vanquished the Company of the 
Cappello, then in the pay of Florence, and took their leader 
the condottiere Count Niccolb of Montefeltro prisoner. 
The adjoining fresco, representing the defeat of the 
Florentines, in 1479, at ^oggio Imperiale, by troops of 



PALAZZO PUBBLICO. 261 

Siena, Naples and the Pope, was not filled in till a hundred 
years afterwards. 

" These frescoes remind one of the Theban sculptures of the wars of 
Rameses ; in each a bird's-eye view is given of the country, like an 
immense map, with the march of the armies, their skirmishes and battles 
depicted— every leader with his armorial bearings, and every hill, 
every streamlet, every village with its name, — displaying little genius 
truly, but still very amusing, and full of instruction as to the costumes 
and military life of the age." — Lord Lindsay. 

Beneath these frescoes are the Beato A. Tolomei, by Sano 
diPietro ; S. Catherine of Siena, by // Vecchietta, 1400 ; and 
the Beato Ambrogio Sansedone, Scuola di Riccio, 1600. 

In the Ante-Chapel, opening from hence, is an immense 
figure of S. Christopher, by Taddeo di Barto/o, 14 14. The 
Chapel has an exquisitely wrought iron railing of 1414 : its 
frescoes are noble works of Taddeo Eartolo, executed 
1406 — 1407. 

"The four large compartments opposite the windows represent the 
concluding incidents in the history of the Virgin ; in the first, she takes 
leave of the Apostles, gathered round her death-bed, more especially of 
the beloved S. John, who kneels at her feet ; in the second, she expires, 
our Saviour receiving her soul in his arms — two angels stand at the head, 
two at the foot of the bed, and the Apostles are gathered weeping around; 
in the third, they carry her body to the grave, S. John, with the palm- 
branch, leading the procession as chief-mourner ; in the last, she rises 
from the tomb at the summons of her son, who takes her by the hand, 
cherubs buoying her upwards, while the Apostles, unconscious of the 
Divine presence, gaze wonderingly into the open sepulchre. Jerusalem 
is seen in the distance, bristling with towers like the towns of Italy in 
the Middle Ages." — Lord Lindsay. 

The stalls are by Domemco de Niccold, 1429. The 
beautiful lamp is of 1300. The Holy Family over the altar 
is by Sodoma. 

The Sola dei Priori is covered with frescoes by Spinello 



262 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Ardino (1318 — 1410) executed in his nineteenth year, and 
chiefly illustrative of the life of Pope Alexander III., who 
was a native of Siena. 

" These frescoes are full of spirit and fire ; the incidents are judiciously 
selected ; the composition is excellent — few figures, but well chosen, the 
characters of pope, emperor, cardinal, and soldier admirably discrimin- 
ated. Painted at a period when the echoes of the recent conflict were 
yet beginning among the Alps, when Pope and Caesar were still the 
representatives respectively of the Classic and Teutonic, the Imaginative 
and Reasoning, the Ecclesiastical and the civil elements of Europe, there 
is a truth and reality, a vivid nowness (as it were) in the successive 
delineations, in which later works of a similar nature are deficient. '' 
Lindsay's Christian Art. 

The casket in this room, intended to contain an arm of S. 
J. Baptist, was given by Pius II. ; it is adorned with 
figures attributed to Fra Angclico. In the Ante-Chamber 
are portraits of all the Sienese popes and cardinals, a 
Madonna, by Cristoforo Sanese, and some small pictures 
by Fra Angelico. 

The Sala del Consistorio has an allegorical ceiling, 
by Domenico Beccafumiy painted 1529 — 1535. 

"In a circle between the two oc tangles is a figure of Justice, with 
the sword and scales in her hand. This figure is foreshortened with 
such boldness as to be truly admirable, whether we consider the draw- 
ing or the colouring. The latter commences darkly in the lower part, 
but from the knees upwards it becomes gradually lighter, and continuing 
to brighten as it reaches the back, shoulders, and arms, becomes a 
celestial glow round the head, so that the figure seems to become lost, 
and gradually to fade into the air. It is impossible, not only to find, 
but to imagine, a more beautiful figure than this, or one which is painted 
with more accurate judgment and profound art." — Vasari. 

Among the many pictures in this room is a noble S. 
Sebastian, by Fr. Vanni. The beautiful cherubs and wreaths 
of fruit on the door are by Giacomo delta Querela. 



PALAZZO PICCOLOMINI* P. SARACINI. 263 

A great part of the lower floor of the Palace is occupied 
by // Teatro dei Rinnuovati, formerly the Sola del Gran 
Consiglio ddla Republica, (1327,) but turned into a theatre 
in 1560, and rebuilt in 1753. 

Several Gothic palaces are amongst the buildings which 
surround the piazza. On the opposite side, but facing 
towards the street, is the beautiful Loggia dei Nobili, built 
from designs of Sana di Matteo, 141 7. It is of the same 
nature as the Loggia dei Lanzi, but though smaller, many 
will think it more beautiful Of its statues, SS. Peter and 
Paul are by Vecchietta y 1458 — 1460 : SS. Vittorio, Ansano, 
and Savino, by Antonio Federighi, 1464. The marble seat 
was designed by Baidassare Peruzzi. 

West (right, standing in the entrance) of the Palazzo 
Pubblico, is the magnificent Palazzo Piccolomini y or dd 
Governo, built from a design of Rossellino, 1469, by Mariino 
di Giorgio di Varenna. Here the state archives are pre- 
served. 

At the back of this palace is the beautiful Loggia del Papa, 
built " gentibus suis " by the famous Piccolomini Pope 
Pius II. 

Following the Via di Citta from the Loggia dei Nobili, 
we pass (left) the Palazzo Saracini, a most noble Gothic 
building of the 14th century, following the curve of the 
street with its long lines of triplet windows under a confining 
arch. It contains many art treasures. The smaller palace 
opposite this is the Palazzo Piccolomini delle Papessc, a 
Renaissance building erected by Bern. Rossellino for 
Catherine, sister of Pius II. 

At the end of the street is a She-Wolf of 1487. Hence 
the Via del Capitano leads (right) to the cathedral. On the 



254 ITALIAN CITIES. 

left is the beautiful Gothic Palazzo Groftandli or JDet Capi- 
tana, half brick, and half stone, with a battlemented 
parapet Its courtyard has a most picturesque staircase. 




In the Palaiio GrnlUntlli 

At the end of the street we come suddenly upon the 
glorious and glowing western facade of the cathedral. 

" The facade is of black and white marble, with an intermixture of 
red and other colours ; but time has toned them down, so that white, 
black, and red do not contrast so strongly with one another as they may 
have done 5 00 years ago. The architecture has a variety which does 
not produce the effect of eccentricity, an exuberant imagination 
flowering out in stone. On high, in the great peak of the front, and 
throwing a coloured radiance into the nave within, there is a round 
window of immense circumference, the painted figures in which we can 
see dimly from the outside. Around the summit of the edifice stand 
venerable statues, relieved against the sky— the highest of all being the 
Saviour. But what I wish to express, and never can, is the multi- 
tudinous richness of the ornamentation ; the arches within arches. 
sculptured inch by Inch, of the rich doorways ; the statues of saints, 
some making a hermitage of a niche, others standing forth ; the scores 
of busts, that look like faces of ancient people, gazing down out of 



CATHEDRAL OF SIENA. 265 

the cathedral ; the projecting shapes of stone lions — the thousand forms 
of Gothic fancy, which seemed to soften the marble and express what- 
ever it liked, and allow it to harden again to last for ever. And this 
description gives no idea of the truth, nor, least of all, can it shadow 
forth that solemn whole, mightily combined out of all these minute 
particulars, and sanctifying the entire ground over which this cathedral - 
front flings its shadow, or on which it reflects the sun. A majesty and 
minuteness, neither interfering with the other, each assisting the other, 
this is the true charm of Gothic architecture. . . . How much pride* 
love, and reverence in the lapse of ages must have clung to the sharp 
points of all this sculpture. The cathedral is a religion in itself— 
something worth dying for to those who have an hereditary interest in 
it. " — Hawthorne. 

The Cathedral of Siena, though one of the most glorious 
buildings in the world, is only the transept of the edifice 
which existed in the mind of its architect, Maestro Lando, 
but which was cut short by the plague, by want of money, 
and want of workmen. The half-finished nave remains as 
a ruin. The west front, deservedly admired as it always is 
and will be, is perhaps by comparison the least admirable 
portion of the building. It is so rich that the main lines 
are almost lost in the over redundant ornament, and the 
effect is further injured by the golden figure of the Madonna 
on a blue ground in the gable. The tall campanile, striped 
in black and white marble, is exceedingly beautiful. 

The Interior is beautiful in colour and effect, as well as 
in detail. The white marble which alternates with the black 
has turned brown with age and has a very solemn effect. 

"This church is the most purely Gothic of all Italian cathedrals de- 
signed by national architects. Together with that of Orvieto, it stands 
alone to show what the unassisted genius of the Italians could produce 
when influenced by mediaeval ideas. It is built wholly of marble, and 
overlaid, inside and out, with florid ornaments of exquisite beauty. 
There are no flying buttresses, no pinnacles, no deep and fretted door- 
ways, such as form the charm of French and English architecture ; but 



265 ITALIAN CITIES. 

instead of this the lines of parti -coloured marbles, the scrolls and wreaths 
of foliage, the mosaics and the frescoes which meet the eye in every 
direction, satisfy our sense of variety, producing most agreeable com- 
binations of blending hues and harmoniously connected forms. The 
chief fault which offends against our northern taste is the predominance 
of horizontal lines, both in the construction of the facade, and also in 
the internal decoration. This single fact sufficiently proves that the 
Italians had never seized the true idea of Gothic or aspiring architecture. 
But, allowing for this original defect, we feel that the cathedral of 
Siena combines solemnity and splendour to a degree almost unrivalled. 
Its dome is another point in which the instinct of Italian architects 
has led them to adhere to the genius of their ancestral art, rather than 
to follow the principles of Gothic design. The dome is Etruscan and 
Roman, native to the soil, and only by a kind of violence adapted to 
the character of pointed architecture. Yet the builders of Siena have 
shown what a glorious element of beauty might have been added to 
our northern cathedrals had the idea of infinity which our ancestors 
expressed by long continuous lines, by complexities of interwoven 
aisles, and by multitudinous aspiring pinnacles, been carried out into 
vast spaces of aerial cupolas, completing and embracing and covering the 
whole like heaven. But roundness, like horizontal lines, seems to have 
been alien to the spirit of Teutonic art. It remains for modern architects — 
a noble task if they had scope for the experiment — to crown Chartres 
cathedral with a dome of Brunelleschi. The Duomo as it now stands 
forms only part of a vast original design. On entering we are amazed 
to hear that this church, which looks so large from the beauty of its 
proportions, the intricacy of its ornaments, and the interlacing of its 
columns is but the transept of the old building lengthened a little, 
and surmounted by a cupola and campanile. Yet such is the fact. Soon 
after its commencement a plague swept over Italy, nearly depopulated 
Siena, and reduced the town to penury for want of men. The cathe- 
dral, which, had it been accomplished, would have surpassed all Gothic 
churches south of the Alps, remained a ruin. A fragment of the 
nave still stands, enabling us to judge of its extent The eastern 
wall joins what was to have been the transept, measuring the mighty 
space which would have been enclosed by marble vaults and columns 
delicately wrought. The sculpture on the eastern door shows with what 
magnificence the Sienese designed to ornament this portion of their 
temple ; while the southern facade rears itself aloft above the town, like 
those high arches which testify to the past splendour of Glastonbury 
Abbey ; but the sun streams through the broken windows, and the walls 
are encumbered with hovels and stables, and the refuse of the surround- 



CATHEDRAL OF SIENA. 267 

ing streets. One most remarkable feature of the internal decoration is 
a line of heads of the Popes carried all round the church above the 
lower arches. Larger than life, white solemn faces, they lean, each 
from his separate niche, crowned with the triple tiara, and labelled 
with the name he bore. Their accumulated majesty brings the whole 
past history of the Church into the presence of its living members. 
A bishop walking up the nave of Siena must feel as a Roman felt 
among the waxen images of ancestors renowned in council or in war. 
Of course the portraits are imaginary for the most part ; but the 
artists have contrived to vary their features and expression with great 
skill." — y. A. Symonds. 

Amongst the heads of the popes Alexander VI. may be 
distinguished. The legendary " Pope Joan " was once re- 
presented here with the inscription, "Johannes VIII., 
Femina de Anglia^' but was altered in 1 600. 

" Among the popedom's hundred heads of stone 
Which blink down on you from the roofs retreat 

In Siena's tiger-striped cathedral, Joan 
And Borgia 'mid their fellows you may greet, 

A harlot and a devil." 

E. Barrett Browning. 

The long lines of the pillars are only broken by the 
Pulpit of JNiccolo Pisand, finished in 1268. 

" As the pulpit was to stand beneath the dome of an immense 
cathedral, Niccolo made it of larger dimensions than that of Pisa, and 
octagonal instead of hexagonal. He also almost exactly repeated the bas* 
reliefs of the Nativity and the Crucifixion of his Pisan pulpit in two of 
its panels, but treated those of the Adoration and the Last Judgment 
quite differently, and added two entirely new compositions represent- 
ing the Massacre of the Innocents and the Flight into Egypt As 
in the Pisan, the columns of the Sienese pulpit rest upon the backs 
of lions and have statuettes placed singly and in groups above their 
capitals ; while its flat spaces are filled in with openwork, leaves, 
grotesques, and gilded glass mosaics, and it is entered by an elaborately 
ornamented staircase in the style of the Renaissance, which, though ex* 
quisite in workmanship, is not in harmony with the main structure."— 
Perkins. 



268 ITALIAN CITIES, 



The next great feature is the Pavement 



a 



Peculiar to Siena is the pavement of the cathedral. It is inlaid 
with a kind of tarsia work in marble. Some of these compositions 
are as old as the cathedral ; others are the work of Beccafumi and 
his scholars. They represent, in the liberal spirit of mediaeval Chris- 
tianity, the history of the Church before the Incarnation. Hermes 
Trismegistus and the Sibyls meet us at the doorway : in the body of 
the church we find the mighty deeds of the old Jewish heroes — of Moses 
and Samson and Joshua and Judith. Independently of the artistic 
beauty of the designs, of the skill with which men and horses are drawn 
in the most difficult attitudes, of the dignity of some single figures, and 
of the vigour and simplicity of the larger compositions, a special interest 
attaches to this pavement in connection with the twelfth canto of the 
Purgatorio. Did Dante ever tread these stones and meditate upon their 
sculptured histories ? That is what we cannot say, but we read how he 
journeyed through the plain of Purgatory with eyes bent upon its storied 
floor, how * morti i morti, e i vivi parean vivi,' how he saw, 'Nimrod at 
the foot of his great work, confounded, gazing at the people who were 
proud with him.' The strong and simple outlines of the pavement 
correspond to the few words of the poet. Bending over these pictures 
and trying to learn their lesson, with the thought of Dante in our mind, 
the tones of an organ, singularly sweet and mellow, fall upon our ears, 
and we remember how he heard * Te Deum ' sung within the gateway of 
repentance." — J. A. Symonds. 

Over the principal entrance is a round window repre- 
senting the Last Supper by Pastor ino Pastorint\ 1549, 
from designs of Pierino del Vaga. The two beautiful Holy 
Water Basins are by Antonio Fcdcrighi. 

Making the round of the church, we see : — 

Right Aisle. Tomb of Tommaso Piccolomini, Bishop of Pienza, 

1843. 
Right Transept. Cappella iiel Voto or Chigi, built by Alexander VII. 

(Fabio Chigi, 1655 — 1667), contains S. Jerome and a Magdalen by 
Bernini. 

" Here the sweeping beard and cadaverous flanks of St. Jerome are 
set in contrast with the soft beauty of a Magdalene, which Bernini had 
transformed from an Andromeda, and thus left us the affliction of inno- 
cence for that of guilt" — Forsyth. 



CATHEDRAL OF SIENA. 269 

Left of this chapel is the bust of Bernardo Perfetti, the Improvisatore, 
who was crowned on the capital, 1725. 

Chapels right and left of the ascent to the Choir, Duccio. A large pic- 
ture, painted 1308 — 131 1. It was carried in festive procession to the 
church from the artist's studio. Being painted on both sides it was 
afterwards divided. 

" The back contains from twenty to thirty representations from the 
Passion of Christ. The skill with which the artist has divided the 
principal events of the Passion into so many representations deserves 
particular attention ; notwithstanding their dismemberment, each is 
richly filled with figures. 

"One of the larger compartments represents Christ's entry into Jeru- 
salem. The scene is laid near the gate ; on the left, Jesus rides on the 
ass ; beside it is the foal. Behind are the apostles, whose countenances, 
young and old, are full of energy ; John is particularly distinguished by 
his beauty ; their looks, directed to the people, appear to say, • Behold, 
we bring you your King !' Jesus himself, with a dignified and serious 
expression, not unmixed with sadness, his right hand elevated, appears 
to utter his words of woe over the city. Above him men are plucking 
branches from the trees. From the battlements of Jerusalem, and the 
garden-walls beneath the city, a multitude of men, women, and children 
look on with serious faces, but evident sympathy. A crowd of people 
precede the Saviour ; some look round, and, with an expression of the 
deepest reverence, spread their garments on the way; others bear 
branches before him ; others, carried forward against their will, endea- 
vour to look back at their king, as well as the pressure will permit. In 
short, such a crowd is depicted in so small a space, each figure acts its 
part so well, not merely in body but in sympathy of soul, that it would 
be difficult to find anything similar in the productions of painting. At 
the gates stand the Scribes and Pharisees, some of whom are offended at 
the triumph of their adversary, and appear consumed with envy ; others 
wonder, with uplifted hands, at his unheard-of temerity ; on the coun- 
tenances of others may be read a malicious confidence, as if they already 
believed him in their power. 

"The portion which formed the front of this altar-piece contains 
larger figures : a Madonna and Child, surrounded by Saints. The heads 
are of the most graceful forms, and are distinguished, particularly those 
of the men, by a very faithful imitation of nature. " — Kugler. 

Beneath these pictures are some curious reliefs brought from the 
church of the Pieve di Ponte alia Spina. 

Choir. The Bronze Tabernacle is by VecchUtta de Sern's, 1472. The 



270 ITALIAN CITIES. 

High Altar is by Pellegritto di Pietro, 1532, from a design of Baldassare 
Peruzzi. The carving of the Stalls is by Bart. Negroni, 1567 — 1570, the 
intarsia work by Fra Giovanni da Verona. 

The Sacristy contains a predella of Saints belonging to the altar- 
piece of DucciOy a Birth of the Virgin by Pietro Lorenzetti f 1 342, and a 
picture representing the Life of the Fathers in the Desert by Simotu 
Memmi. 

" Nowhere has the spirit of Contemplative Ascetic life, so seducing to 
the Imagination, so deadly to the Reason, so charming in theory, such 
a hell in practice, found so sympathetic and eloquent an expression as in 
this little picture and the fresco at Pisa. The predominant feeling is 
alike in each— abstraction from the world of matter, and mystical ab- 
sorption into the Deity. " — Lindsay's Christian Art. 

In the chapel beyond the door of the Sacristy, at the foot of the 
Duccio picture, is, in the pavement, the fine tomb of Bishop Pecci, by 
Donatello, 1426. 

Left Transept. The Cappella di S. Giovanni Battisia (containing an 
arm of the saint presented by Pius II.), was built by Giovanni di 
Stefano, 1482. It contains a beautiful bronze statue of the Baptist, by 
Donatello. The font is by Giacomo delta Quercia. Near the entrance 
of this chapel, far too high up on the wall, is the beautiful Gothic tomb 
of Cardinal Petroni, ambassador to Genoa, by Seroccio Landini. 

Attached to the columns of the Cupola (on the side towards the nave) 
are two of the poles of the Florentine Carroccio, taken in 1260, at the 
battle of Monteaperto. 

The Altar of the Piccolomini is adorned with five statues by Michael 
Angelo. 

Let us now enter the Librcria, erected by Pius III. as 
Cardinal Piccolomini, to contain the magnificent choir-books 
of the cathedral. Over the door is a fresco by Pintu- 
ricchio, representing the coronation of Pius III. On the 
walls are ten glorious frescoes ordered by Pius III. to repre- 
sent the principal events in the life of his maternal uncle, 
Pius II., the famous ^Eneas Sylvius Piccolomini In these 
compositions Pinturicchio was assisted by the youthful 



THE LIBRERIA. 271 

Raffaelle. They are, beginning on the right of the win- 
dows : — 

1. The Journey of jEneas Sylvius and Cardinal Capranica to the 
Council of Basle. 

2. /Eneas as Ambassador to the Council of Basle, for the king of 
Scotland. 

3. /Eneas crowned with the poet's wreath by the Emperor Frederick 
III. 

4. Frederick sends jEneas to Pope Eugenius IV. 

5. The Marriage of the Emperor with Eleanora of Portugal, before 
the Porta Camollia of Siena. 

6. /Eneas made a Cardinal by Calixtus III. 

7. His elevation to the Papacy. 

8. He holds a meeting in Mantua for the crusade against the 
Turks. 

9. He canonizes S. Catherine of Siena. — The likenesses of Raffaelle 
and Pinturicchio are introduced in this picture — the figure of Raffaelle 
is most beautiful. 

10. His arrival in Ancona for the encouragement of the Crusades. 

" It is not easy to determine with precision what portion of these great 
frescoes was painted by Pinturicchio, his fellow-disciple, Raffaelle, having 
worked here quite as much as he did. The latter, according to Vasari, 
made sketches and cartoons for the whole work, and the Sienese have 
been only too glad to adopt a tradition so flattering to their national 
vanity. 

" It must be confessed that few artists have had the privilege of em- 
ploying their pencil on so rich and poetical a subject ; the object was to 
represent on a grand scale the principal features of a life connected with 
all the great events of the period, and crowned by an heroic attempt, 
alone sufficient to inspire the Christian artist. The hero of this pictorial 
history was Pope Pius II., the enlightened protector of the arts and 
letters, the second founder of Corsignano, which from him took the name 
of Pienza, and where his taste and 'magnificence are still attested by 
many striking architectural monuments. He had travelled through the 
greater part of Europe as ambassador of the papal see ; had received the 
poet's crown from the hand of the Emperor Frederic III. , who appointed 
him his secretary, and afterwards employed him on a peculiarly agree- 



272 ITALIAN CITIES. 

able mission, that of negotiating with Pope Caluctus IV. (whose suc- 
cessor he soon afterwards became) a general league of Christendom 
against the Turks : amid these negotiations he was raised first to the 
cardinalate, and immediately afterwards to the pontificate, and saluted 
by the inhabitants of the countries exposed to the sword of the Ottomans 
as their deliverer ; the enthusiasm of the crusades seemed re-awakened 
in Italy, a council was convoked by the Pope at Mantua, and the celes- 
tial hierarchy was increased by the addition of S. Catherine of Siena, who 
was then canonized, as if to give a new patron to the crusaders. In the 
midst of these preparations, the venerable pontiff, the victim of a zeal 
which had met with little encouragement, suddenly expired at Ancona, 
at the very moment when a hermit had seen his soul transported to 
heaven by angels. Such were the remarkable events which Pinturicchic, 
assisted by Raffaelle, was employed to represent in ten compartments, 
which we may perhaps venture to compare to the ten cantos of a magni- 
ficent poem. 

" At the moment when this work approached its completion (1503) 
Cardinal Francesco Piccolomini, who had confided the execution of it to 
Pinturicchio, was called to occupy the throne of S. Peter, so worthily 
filled by his uncle, and in commemoration of this event the artist exe- 
cuted the painting above the door of the library, representing the eleva- 
tion of Pius III. to the pontificate." — Rio. 

The twenty -nine glorious Choir-books, perhaps, except the 
Grimani missal at Venice, the finest illuminated works 
in existence, have miniatures by Ansano di Pietro (Anti- 
fonario XL), Liberate de Verona (Graduale IX.), Giroiamo da 
Cremona (Graduale II. and VIII.), Francesco di Lorenzo Roselli 
fiorentino (Graduale V.), Gios. Boccardi (Antifonario p.), and 
many others. 

Over the door is the Expulsion from Paradise by Giacomo 
della Quercia. 

In the Casa delV Opera, joining the right aisle of the 
cathedral, is an interesting collection of fine sculptures for 
reliefs on the cathedral, Fonte Gaja, &c ; also a group of 
the Three Graces, of which some say that it was dug up near 
this, others that it was brought from Rome by Cardinal 



S. GIOVANNI BATTISTA. 273 

PiccolominL Raphael's sketches of two of the Graces are 
preserved amongst the drawings in the Academy at Venice. 
On the narrow wall is an Assumption by Sodoma. On the 
upper floor is an altar-piece of saints by Pietro LorenzettL 

Opposite the cathedral, in the piazza, is the Hospital of 
S. Maria ddla Scaia, which contains in its church :-— 

High altar, VeeckUtta, 1466. Resurrection. 
Tribune, Conca. Pool of Bethesda. 
Right aisle, Beccafumi, The Visitation. 

The Pellegrinajo contains (over the fully-occupied beds of 
the sick in the well-cared for hospital) eight frescoes, relating 
to the Temporal Works of Mercy, very curious as to 
costume and architecture of the 15th century, by Domenico 
Bartoli (1440 — 1443), Giov. di Raffaello Navesi % Pietro d f 
Achille Croce, and Pietro delta Quercia. 

From the Piazza del Duomo we must descend under a 
Gothic door in the ruined nave, by a great staircase, to 
the Church of S. Giovanni Battista, the ancient Baptistery, 
beneath the choir. 

Here, in the midst of the purple shadows, shines forth the 
beautiful Font, begun by Giacotno delta Quercia in 1428, 
and adorned with bronze reliefs by the different great 
masters of his school. The best are those by Ghiberti, 
1417-1427, of the Baptism of Christ, and the Baptist 
brought before Herod, and that by Donatello and Michelozzo, 
142 7, of the Feast of Herod. As to the works of Ghiberti — 

" It would be difficult to find in any modern work a more lovely 
group than that of the two women by the shore, whose graceful forms and 
elegantly disposed draperies were clearly inspired by the antique. The 
second relief, in which we see St John pointing to heaven, as he is 
dragged by the soldiers before Herod, who sits aloft upon a curule 
chair, absorbed in consultation with a sybilline-looking woman, is 
dramatic and effective." 

vol. 111. 18 



274 ITALIAN CITIES. 

In the relief of Donatello : — 

" Herod shrinks back with horror from the sight of John the Baptist's 
head, which a kneeling soldier presents to him in a charger, while two 
children, a guest who covers his face with his hands, and two other 
persons, bespeak their pain at the spectacle, carry out his feelings, and 
give admirable unity to the composition. Behind the table at which 
the tyrant sits rises the prison wall, through whose open arcades the 
gaoler is seen consigning the prisoner's head to an attendant. 11 — Per kin* s 
Tuscan Sculptors, 

The roof is painted by Michele Lambertini and Vecchidta. 
Over the high altar is a Baptism of Christ by Andrea and 
Raffadle Pucindli y 1524. The frescoes of the Crucifixion 
and the Maries at the Sepulchre are by Gaspare d* Agpstino % 
1 45 1-1 45 4. The choir end of Siena will recall the west front 
of many French cathedrals, and is exceedingly beautiful. 
Many will prefer its Gothic simplicity to the more ornate 
front on the other side. 

To the right, in the Via dei Pellegrini, is the Palazzo Mag- 
ntfico, built by Domenico da Pienza for the tyrant Pandolfo 
Petrucci. It has wonderfully beautiful bronze braccialu 
Turning to the left from the Baptistery by the Via Franciosa, 
and descending the Vicolo Valle Piatta (right), we shall 
come into the deep valley full of tanneries below the great 
brick church of S. Domenico. We should follow this 
humble means of descent, because (left) on the hillside, a 
picture commemorates the vision which S. Catherine of 
Siena saw rising above the Church of S. Domenico, as it 
still exists, while playing as a child with her little brother 
on this spot 

"One evening Catherine, being then about seven years old, was re. 
turning with her elder brother, Stefano, from the house of her married 
sister, Bonaventura, and they sat down to rest upon the hill which is 
above the Fonte Brands ; and as Catherine looked up to the campanile 



DESCENT UPON FONTE BRANDA. 



275 



or S. Domenico, it appeared to her that the heavens were open, and 
that she beheld Christ sitting on a throne, and behind him stood S. 
Peter, S. Paul, and S. John the Evangelist. While she gazed upon 
this vision, lost in testacy, her brother stretched forth his hand and 
shook her, to recall her to herself. She turned to him — but when she 
looked np again the heavens had closed, and the wondrous vision 
was shut from her sight ; — she threw herself on the ground and wept 
bitterly. Bat the glory which had been revealed to her dwelt upon 
her memory. She wandered alone away from her playmates ; she 
became silent and very thoughtful. She remembered the story — she 
had seen the pictures— of her holy patroness and namesake, Catherine 
of Alexandria ; and she prayed to the Virgin Mary that she would be 
pleased to bestow her divine son upon her also, and that He should be 
her chosen bridegroom. The most blessed Virgin heard and granted 
her prayer, and from that time forth did Catherine secretly dedicate 
herself to a life of perpetual charity, being then only eight years old." 
Jameson's Monastic Orders. 




The fountain — Fonte Uranda — in the valley, enclosed in 
a gotbic building, has often been confused in guide-books 



276 ITALIAN CITIES. 

with the Fonte Branda in the Casentino (see ch. liii.), which 
Maestro Adamo, who had lived beside it, is made to 
apostrophise from the Inferno in a single line of Dante. 
It was in the sandstone rocks behind the fountain that the 
little S. Catherine made a hermitage for herself in a cave, 
in childish imitation of the hermits of the Thebaid. On the 
left of the steep street — Via Benincasa — (her family name,) 
which ascends towards the town, is, distinguished by 
a sculptured gable, the House of S. Catherine of Siena, 
where she was born in 1347, and which was her principal 
residence during the thirty-two years of her life. 

"We descend the hill on which the Duomo stands, and reach a 
valley lying between the ancient city of Siena and a western eminence 
crowned by the Church of S. Domenico. In this depression there has 
existed from old time a kind of suburb or separate district of the poorer 
people, known by the name of the Contrada d'Oca. To the Sienesc it 
has especial interest, for here is the birthplace of S. Catherine, the very 
house in which she lived, her father's workshop, and the chapel which 
has been erected in commemoration of her saintly life. Over the door- 
way is written in letters of gold, " S posse Christi Katharinae domus." 
Inside they show the room she occupied, and the stone on which she 
placed her head to sleep ; they keep her veil and staff and lantern and 
ennamelled vinaigrette, the bag in which her alms were placed, the sack- 
cloth that she wore beneath her dress, the crucifix from which she took 
the wounds of Christ It is impossible to conceive, even after the lapse 
of several centuries, that any of these relics are fictitious. Every 
particular of her life was remembered and recorded with scrupulous 
attention by devoted followers. Her fame was universal throughout 
Italy before her death ; and the house from which she went forth to 
preach and heal the sick and comfort plague-stricken wretches whom 
kith and kin had left alone to die, was known and well-beloved by all 
her citizens. From the moment of her death, it became, and has 
continued to be, the object of superstitious veneration to thousands. 
From the little loggia which runs along one portion of its exterior may 
be seen the campanile and the dome of the cathedral ; on the other side 
rises the huge brick church of San Domenico, in which she spent the 
long ecstatic hours that won for her the title of Christ's Spouse. In a 



HOUSE OF S. CATHERINE OF SIENA. 



277 



chapel attached to the church she watched and prayed, luting and 
wrestling with the Heads of a disordered fancy. There Christ appeared 
to her, and gave her his own heart, there he administered to her the 
Sacrament with his own hands, there she assumed the robe of poverty 
and gave her Lord the silver cross and took from him the crown of 
thorns. To us these legends may appear the flimsiest web of fiction ; 
but to Catherine herself, her biographers, and her contemporaries, they 
were not so. The enthusiastic saint and reverent people believed firmly in 
these things ; and after the lapse of five centuries her votaries still kiss 
the floor and steps on which she trod, still say, ' This was the wall on 
which she leant when Christ appeared ; this was the comer where she 
clothed him, naked and shivering like a beggar-boy ; here he sustained 
her with angels' food." " — y. A. Symottdi. 




The workshop of Benincasa is now a church containing 
an interesting statue of his famous daughter by Neroaio. 
In a lunette is her reception of the stigmata by Sedoma, 
The other frescoes are :— 



278 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Right Salimbtni. S. Catherine saves two Dominican monks who 
are attacked by brigands. 
Pacckiarotto, The visit of S. Catherine to S. Agnese of 
Montepulciano. 
Left. Pacchia. S. Catherine visits the hospitals. 

Salimbtni. She reproves a youth about to commit suicide. 

Hence, by a staircase, one ascends to the loggias of the 
house itself. The room, part of which was her kitchen, 
contains pictures of her Reception of the Stigmata by 
Sodoma and her Canonization by Fr. Vanni. The site of 
her garden is now a church. Her bedroom is shewn, with 
her stone pillow, and the original pavement, protected by 
boards. 

Prom hence we should turn (a little higher up the hill) to 
the right, to the great Church of S. Domenico^ which is also 
much bound up with the story of S. Catherine, for here she 
took the vows of the third order of S. Dominic, and though 
she continued to reside in her father's house, and never lived 
in the convent as a professed nun, its church was the scene 
of many of her visions and ecstacies. The church was 
built 1225 — 1465, the tower in 1340. 

Rights (entered from the west wall) the Cappella delle Volte. 

Over the door is a crucifix, attributed to Giotto, probably by Sano 
di Pietro. 
Ettd wall. Girolamo de Benvenuto, 1 508. Madonna and Saints. 

In the lunette, The Nativity. 
Right and left of entrance. Sodoma. The Charities of S. Catherine. 
Over the altar is one of the most interesting historical portraits 
in existence — S. Catherine by Andrea Vanni. 

" Among the devout admirers of S. Catherine during her lifetime 
was the painter Andrea Vanni. He. belonged to a family of artists, 
the first of whom, his grandfather, flourished in the beginning of the 
fourteenth century ; the last, Rafiaello Vanni, died towards the end of 
the seventeenth. This family was noble ; and it appears that Andrea, 
besides being the best painter of his time, was Capitano del Popolo, and 



S. DOMENICO. 279 

sent as ambassador from the republic of Siena to the pope, and after- 
wards to Naples, where during his embassy he painted several pictures ; 
hence he has been styled by Lanzi the Rubens of his age. S. Cathe- 
rine appears to have regarded him with maternal tenderness. Among 
her letters are three addressed to him during his political life, containing 
excellent advice with respect to the affairs intrusted to him, as well as 
his own moral and religious conduct. These letters bear a superscription 
on the outside, 'A Maestro Andrea di Vanni, Dipintore;' and begin, 
* Carissimo Figliuolo in Christo.' In one of them she points out the 
means of obtaining an influence over the minds of those around him, 
and then adds, ' Ma non veggo il modo che noi potessimo ben reg- 
gere altrui se prima non regghiamo noi medesimi 1 (I do not see 
how we are to govern others unless we first learn to govern our- 
selves). Vanni's portrait of S. Catherine was painted originally on 
the wall of the Church of San Domenico, in that part of the nave 
which was the scene of Catherine's devotions and mystic visions, and 
which has since been divided off and enclosed as a place of peculiar 
sanctity. The fresco, now over a small altar, has long been covered 
with glass and carefully preserved, and is in all respects most striking 
and life-like. It is a spare, worn, but elegant face, with small regular 
features. Her black mantle is drawn around her ; she holds her spotless 
lily in one hand, the other is presented to a kneeling nun, who seems 
about to put it reverentially to her lips ; this figure has been called a 
votary, but I think it may represent the pardon and repentance of her 
enemy Palmerina." — Jamison's Monastic Orders, yd Altar, Salimbeni, 
1597, S. Peter, Martyr. 

Cappella di S. Caterina, adorned with exquisite frescoes by Sodoma. 
Beginning from the left they are : a criminal refusing to be converted, 
and despairing of the mercy of God, while led to execution, is con- 
verted at the last by S. Catherine. The expression of the decapitated 
head is very fine. 

" Catherine went and waited for him by the scaffold, meditating on 
the Madonna and Catherine the saint of Alexandria. She laid her own 
neck on the block, and tried to picture to herself the pains and 
ecstacies of martyrdom. In her deep thought, time and place became 
annihilated ; she forgot the eager crowd, and only prayed for Tuldo's 
soul and for herself. At length he came, walking ' like a gentle lamb/ 
and Catherine received him with the salutation of 'sweet brother.' 
She placed his neck upon the block, and laid her hands upon him, and 
told him of the Lamb of God. The last words he uttered were the 
names of Jesus and of Catherine. Then the axe fell, and Catherine 



aSo ITALIAN CITIES. 

beheld his soul borne by angels into the regions of eternu.1 lore. When 
she recovered from her trance, she held his head within her hands ; her 
dress was saturated with his blood, which she could scarcely bear to 
wash away, so deeply did she triumph in the death of him whom ibe 
had saved. The words of S. Catherine herself deserve to be read. 
The simplicity, freedom from self-consciousness, and fervent faith in 
the reality of all she did and said and saw, which tbey exhibit, con- 
vince of her entire sincerity." — f. A. Symonds. 




l. The swoon of St. Catherine in the arms of her sisterhood. Christ 
appears above in glory. An indescribably beautiful picture. 

" Here S. Catherine and her companions wear the white tonic and 
scapulary, without the black mantle— an omission favourable to the 
general effect ol the colour, which is at once most delicate, rich, and 
harmonious ; and the beauty of the faces, the expression of tender 
anxiety and reverence in Ibe nuns, the divine langour on the pallid 
features of S. Catherine, render this fresco one of the Marvels of Art" 
— Jatmaeiti Monaslk Order], 394. 

3. S. Catherine receives the Sacrament from an angel. 



ISTFTUTO DI BELLE ARTL 281 

The fresco on the right wall is by Fr. Vanni, 1593, and represents 
S. Catherine exorcising an evil spirit. Over the altar is a Nativity by 
Matteo da Giovanni. The frescoes on the arch are by Sodoma, those on 
the pillars by Vanni. 

The Sacristy contains an Assumptions by Sod&ma — Siena is seen in 
the background of the tomb. 

Right of Choir — 1st Chapel, Sodoma. Madonna del Rosario. 

Choir. High Altar. A ciborium attributed to Michael Angelo, 
probably by Benedetto da Majano. 

Left of Choir. 2nd Chapel. 

Over altar. Guido da Siena, 1 22 1. Madonna. 

Right. Matteo da Siena, 1479. Madonna and Saints— over this a 
Pieta. 

Left. Giovanni da Paolo. Madonna and Saints. Over this the 
Adoration of the Magi by Matteo di Giovanni. 

6th Chapel. Matteo di Giovanni and Betwenuto da Siena. Madonna, 
with SS. Antonio and John Baptist — three pictures joined. 

We may return from S. Domenico by the Via della Miseri- 
cordia, on the right of which is the Istituto di Belle Arti 
(open daily, except on festas, from 9 to 3). 

The collection, begun in 18 16, was newly-arranged in 1842. 
It is most interesting, and very rich in specimens of the 
Sienese school, that is, in altar-pieces of 14th and 15th 
centuries. The 500 pictures may be divided into three 
classes: 1. The 13th and 14th centuries. 2. The 15th 
and 1 6th. 3. Specimens of other Schools. 



c« 



Reviewing the general qualities common to the whole school of 
Siena, I think I may describe it as emphatically feminine, in contrast 
to the more daring, hardy, masculine race of the Giotteschi — Feminine, 
that is to say, in all the grace, dignity, and holiness of the epithet. 
The majesty of Mino ; the rich imagination, graceful composition, and 
gentle yet vigorous touch of Duccio ; the fancy, feeling, and thought 
of Simon de Memmo ; the delicacy and purity, the love of Nature, 
animate and inanimate, and the patriotic aspirations of Pietro 
and Ambrogio ; the holy fervour of Taddeo ; the sympathy with 
common life of his nephew Domenico ; the tenderness of Giovanni di 
Paolo ; the sweetness of Sano ;_the more commonplace and homely, yet 



282 ITALIAN CITIES. 

genuine, merits of the two Matteos, and, above all, the enthusiastic devo- 
tion and piety peculiar to the whole succession — justify the praise. No 
school of art perhaps reflects national character so vividly as that of 
Siena, and certainly none of the many nations of Italy, if judged by its 
school, would descend so favourably to posterity. Reverence for reli- 
gion, piety at once ardent and habitual, would thus characterise her 
through the whole period of her greatness. In nothing is this more re- 
markable than in the language of her decrees in reference to public 
works of art, as contrasted with those of Florence — the latter magnilo- 
quent and haughty from an exalted sense of political greatness, the 
former sensitively alive doubtless to the honour of the republic, bat 
referring all things in the first instance, humbly and reverently, to the 
glory of God." — Lindsays Christian Art, 

" Presque tous les tableaux sont tir& des couvents. Avec lews ongles 
et leurs ciseaux les nonnes ont dans ces peintures arrache' les yeux des 
demons, dechire le visage des pers^cuteurs. Peu de progres, le tableau 
est encore un objet de religion plutdt que d'art: on le comprend de reste 
par ces mutilations nalves." — Taine. 

The Antechamberhas relief in the style of the Robbias, and 
ancient cippl To follow the order of dates in the paintings 
we must visit (on right of passage) 

i st Hall— 

I — 25. Sienese School — before Duccio. 

1 — 5. The Stories of Christ and the Baptist — from the convent of S. 
Petronilla. 
6. Guido da Siena. A colossal Madonna. 

23. Duccio di Buoninsegna. Half figures. Madonna, with SS. Paul 
and Augustine on right, SS. Peter and Dominic on left. 

24. Duccio. Triptych. Madonna with SS. Peter and PauL The 
Coronation of the Virgin above and Saints below. 

25. Segno. Maddona with SS. Paul, John the Evangelist and Ber- 
nard. 

26. 27. Segna. SS. Ansano and Galgano. 
33. Ugolino. Crucifix. 

39. Lippo Mctnmi. Madonna and Saints. 

54—62. Pietro Lorenutti. Saints. 57ispredella — an angel appearing 
to a sleeping monk, and Honorius founding the Franciscan order. 
66. Niccolc di Segna, 1545. Crucifix. 



ISTITUTO DI BELLE ARTL 283 

81 — 88. Bartolo di Fredi — parts of a tabernacle. 

90. HppoMemmi. Madonna, with the Baptist and SS. Bartholomew, 

Bernard, Stephen, and Angels. 
99. Stefano di Giovanni. The Last Supper. 
101. Id. The Four patron saints of Siena. 

2nd Hall (passage) 

109. Giacomo del Pellicciajo, 1362. Coronation of S. Catherine. 

113. Andrea Vanni (the friend of S. Catherine). The Birth of the 
Virgin, between SS. James, Catherine, Bartholemew and Elizabeth of 
Hungary. 

118. Martino Bartolommei. Madonna, with SS. Stephen, John the 
Evangelist, Dorothea, and Jerome, with scenes from the Passion in the 
predella. 

119. Id. Madonna and Saints. 

122. Id. 1408. Madonna and Saints. 

$rd Hall (beyond passage) 

m 293. Sano di Pietro. Madonna and Child, with angels. 

294. Id. Altar piece. Madonna and Saints. 

295. Id. S. Bernardino. 

297. Luca di Thomi (signed) 1377. Madonna and Saints. 
301. Riccio. Madonna throned, with Saints. 

4H1 Hall (on left of passage on returning) 

125. Taddeo Bartolo. 1409. Annunciation, with SS. Cosmo and 
Damian. 

140. Pietro di S. Giovanni. S. Bernardino. 

143 — 144- Sane di Pietro, 148 and 149 are the masterpiece of the 
artist — an Assumption with a predella. 

153. Ntroccio. 1476. The Salutation, between SS. Michael and 
Bernardino. 
. 163. Id. The Assumption. 

165. Girolamo da Renvenuto (son of the above). Half figures of 
Christ borne by Angels. 

173. Benvenuto di Giovanni. Madonna between SS. Jerome and 
Francis. 

173. Pacchiarotto. Madonna and two Saints. 

180. Id. The Nativity. 

181. A ndrea di Niccolb* Crucifixion. 

183, 184. Guidoccio. 1495. Madonna and S. Sebastian. 



284 . ITALIAN CITIES. 

$th Room (on left of passage) 

Beautiful wood carvings by Antonio di Neri^ 15 1 1. 
A number of pictures by Sano di Pietro. 1445 — 1450. 
*2<>5. Sodoma. The Flagellation — a fresco removed from the cloister 
of S. Francesco. 

" Sodoma, beyond a question, both prayed and wept, while painting 
his fresco of Christ bound to a pillar. 

" It is inexpressibly touching. So weary is the Saviour, and utterly 
worn out with agony, that his lips have fallen apart from mere exhaus- 
tion ; his eyes seem to be set ; he tries to lean his head against the 
pillar, but is kept from sinking down upon the ground only by the 
cords that bind him. One of the most striking effects produced, is the 
sense of loneliness. You behold Christ deserted both in heaven and 
earth ; that despair is in him which wrung forth the saddest utterance 
man ever made, ' Why hast Thou forsaken me ! ' Even in this ex- 
tremity, however, he is still divine. The great and reverent painter has 
not suffered the Son of God to be merely an object of pity, though de- 
picting him in a state so profoundly pitiful. He is rescued from it, we 
know not how — by nothing less than miracle— by a celestial majesty 
and beauty, and some quality of which these are the outward garniture. 
He is as much, and as visibly, our Redeemer, there bound, there 
fainting, and bleeding from the scourge, with the cross in view, as if he 
sat on his throne of glory in the Heavens ! Sodoma, in this match- 
less picture, has done more towards reconciling the incongruity of 
Divine Omnipotence and outraged suffering Humanity, combined in 
one person, than the theologians ever did. 

"This hallowed work of genius shows what pictorial art, devoutly 
exercised, might effect in behalf of religious truth ; involving, as it does, 
deeper mysteries of revelation, and bringing them closer to man's 
heart, and making him tenderer to be impressed by them, than the most 
eloquent words of preacher or prophet." — Hawthorn*. "The Marble 
Faun." 

219, 220. Luca Signorelli, 1498. The Escape from the Burning of 
Troy and the Ransom of Prisoners — from the palace of Pandolfo 
Petrucci. 

6th Room (left of passage) 

242. Spitullo Aretino. Death of the Virgin. 

A number of pictures of Sano di Pietro and Matteodi Giovanni. 



BIBUOTECA COMMUNALE. 285 

1th Room (opposite entrance) 

*34i. Sodoma. Christ on the Mount of Olives. 

342. Id. Christ in Hades. 

344. Pacchiarotto, 1 5 12. Madonna between SS. Onofrio and Bar- 
tholomew. The lunette, of Christ between SS. Francis and Jerome, is 
by Fungai. 

545. Fungai (signed). Madonna and Saints. 

356. Sodoma, Judith. 

''The Judith is very noble and admirable, and full of a profound 
sorrow for the deed which she has felt it her mission to do." — Haw- 
thorn*. 

362. Pinturicchio. The Nativity. 

373. Pacchia. The Visitation. 

376. Balducci. Praying Angel. 

379. Fungai. The Assumption. 

388. Balducci. Pieta. 

395. Pacchiarotto. The Ascension. 

8th Room (beyond the last). With some pictures of other 
Schools. 

30. Pacchiarotto. Holy Family. 
54. Cristoph. Ambcrger. Portrait of Charles V. 
63. Beccafumi. The Stigmata of S. Catherine. 
85. Sodoma (early). The Nativity. 

91. Fra Bartolommeo and Mariotto Albertinelli. S. Catherine of 
Alexandria. 

99. Id. S. Mary Magdalen. 

<)th Room (through the last) 

no — 116. Beccafumi. The History of Moses — being the original 
cartoons for his portion of the Cathedral pavement 

Joining the Institute is the Biblioteca Communal^ con- 
taining about 50,000 printed works and 5000 MS. 

In returning towards the piazza we may pass (on the left) 
the Church of S. Cristoforo, which contains 

Left. 1st. Chapel. Girolamo Pacchia. Madonna between SS. Luke 
and Raimond. 



286 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Opposite this is the Gothic Palazzo Tolomei, built in 1205, 
the oldest domestic building in the town. It was inhabited 
by King Robert of Naples in 13 10. The she-wolf on the 
pillar opposite is by Cavedone, 



South-east of the piazza following (left) in the Via Ricasoli 
are the perfectly featureless buildings of the University, 
founded in 1 203. In the corridor on the ground floor is a 
monument to the Professor Niccolo Arringhieri, 1374, 
brought hither from the Church of S. Domenico. Passing the 
Loggia del Papa, and proceeding some distance, in a little 
piazza on the left of the street is the Church of S, Spirito, 
built in 1345, with a cupola added in 1504 by Pandolfo 
Petruccl It contains : — 

Right. Cappdla degli Spagnuoli t covered with frescoes by Sodoma. 
In the lunette is the Madonna giving a bishop his robe. Above is S. 
James on horseback ; below, are various saints — the figures of SS. 
Sebastian and Antonio at the sides are very fine. In the little chapel 
on the right is a Nativity, with two very quaint beasts, by Andrea 
delta Robbia. 

Right, Sano di Pietro, The Crucifixion. 

Passage opening from last chapel. Fra Paolino da Pistoia. The 
Crucifixion. 

Left, 3rd altar. Girolatno del Pacchia. The Assumption. 

Returning to the Via Ricasoli, passing under an archway, 
and turning to the right, we reach, by the Via dei Servi, the 
Church of the Servi di Maria, or La Concezione, chiefly due 
to Bramante. The cloister is of 1595. The church con 
tains : — 

Right. The fresco called La Madonna delle Anime, 142a 
Chapel opening on right, Cassdani, Nativity. At the sides Sodoma, 
SS. Catherine and Roch. 



THE SERVI, S. AGOSTINO. 287 

1st Altar. Coppo di Marcovaldo, 1 26 1. The colossal Virgin called 
La Madonna del Bordone. 

$th Altar. Matteo di Giovanni, 147 1. Massacre of the Innocents. 
A very curious picture, with a horrible Herod throned in the background. 

Above (very high), the Nativity by Taddeo Bartolo, 1404. In the 
lunette, the Adoration of the Magi, by Berna. 

Right and Left Transepts. Chapels of the Patrizi and Piccolomini, 
each with the shrine of their beatified member. 

Right Transept (over the outer door of the Sacristy). Lippo Mem mi. 
•' La Madonna del Popolo." 

Sacristy. Pacehiarotto. The Beato Giamacchino Piccolomini with 
lilies, and the Beato Francesco Patrizi with roses. 

Apse. Fungai, 1500. Coronation of the Virgin. At the sides, Fr, 
Vanni. Annunciation. 

Behind High Altar. Sano di Pietro, 1436. "La Madonna del 
Manto." 

Left, 2nd Chapel. Giacomo di Mino del Pdlicciaco, 1363. " La Ma- 
donna del Belvidere." A very beautiful picture. On the right is S. 
Mary Magdalen, with the infant S.John; on the left S. Joseph, with the 
Infant Saviour. 



Turning south-west (*>.,left when in the palace door) from 
the Piazza del Campo, by the Via di CitXk as for the Wolf, 
and then turning left by the Via S. Pietro, we find, close to 
the Church of S. Pietro and Paolo, the magnificent Palazzo 
Buonsignori, one of the finest palaces in Italy. It is of 
dark brick, with terra-cotta details, and was restored in 
1848. 

Passing under an arch, on the left is the Church of S. 
AgostitiO) rebuilt by Vanvitelli in 1755. It contains : — 

Right. 2nd Altar (of the Chigi). Perugino. The Crucifixion — with 
floating angels catching the blood, and a number of saints standing or 
kneeling. 

Right. The Cappella Piccolomini (del Sacramento). Dupri. Statue 
of Pius II. Right. Matteo di Giovanni, 1482. Massacre of the Inno- 
cents— a most dreadful Herod. (Over the altar.) Sodoma, 1536. The 
Coming of the Magi. 



288 ITALIAN CITIES. 

yd Altar. Salimbeni, 1612. The Bearing of the Cross. 

Right Transept Cappdla BUM. Pavement of 14-88. 

Choir. Lippo Memmi. S. Augustine, and scenes from his life. 

Left. 2nd Chapel from Choir. SpagnuoUtto. Temptation of S. 
Anthony — the Devil has pulled off the spectacles of the Saint, so that he 
cannot read. 

Close to this church is the ColUgio Tolomci, founded 1668, 
for the education of sons of noble Sienese parents. 

Hence the Via della Cerchia and the Via Baldassare 
Peruzzi lead to the brick Church of the Carmine (only open 
early in the morning). It has a tower and cloister from 
designs of Baldassare Peruzzi. Several of its pictures are well 
worth notice : — 

Right. 1st Altar. Riccio. Nativity. 

4th Altar. Pacchiarotto. The Ascension. A glorious work. 

Chapel on Right. Sodoma. The Nativity. 

Left. $th Altar. Beccafumi. S. Michael. 

3rd Altar. Castellani. Martyrdom of S. Bartholomew. 

On the hillside opposite the Carmine is the Church of S. 
Quirico, containing two fine works of Salimbmi: — 

Left of High Altar. The Flagellation. 

Right of High Altar. The Descent from the Cross. 

" Here the horror inherent in the subject is softened by the amiable 
artist, who has finely diversified the affliction of the three Marys, and 
made the mother's something both human and heavenly. Casolani's 
Flight into Egypt, in the same church, is full of tranquil graces, and 
beautifully mellow ; but should the child be old enough to travel on 
foot?"— Forsyth. 



North-west of the piazza, from the Via Cavour, the Via 
dei Rossi leads to the Church of S. Francesco, now closed. 
It has two handsome cloisters, in one of which architects 
will notice the admirable monument of a cardinal, with a 
canopy supported by tall slender pillars. 



S. BERNARDINO, FONTE NUOVA. 289 

Close by, on the right, is the Church of S. Bernardino. 
(Custode is to be found at 2, Piazza Provenzano, right of the 
Via dei Rossini coming from the town.) Through the 
church we reach the Oratory^ a beautiful building of the 
Renaissance, with carved ceiling by Bonaventura di Fra 
Giuliano, 15 10. On the walls are : — 

Right. 1. Sodoma. The Assumption. • 

2. Beccafumi. The Death of the Virgin. 

3. Sodoma. The Visitation. 

End Wall. 4. Girolamo Pacchia. The Annunciation. 

5. Beccafumi, 1 537. Altar-piece, with Madonna and Saints. 

6. Pacchia. S. Bernardino. 

7. Beccafumi, 15 18. The Marriage of the Virgin, 

8. Sodoma. The Presentation in the Temple. 

9. Pacchiarotto, 15 18. Birth of the Virgin. 

Narrow Wall. 10. Sodoma, 1 532. Coronation of the Virgin ; also the 
figures at the corners of SS. Louis, Francis, and Anthony. 

In the Antechamber is a Relief of c. 1340, with the inscription, 
" Johannes magistri Agostini de Senis me fecit." An artist known by 
his beautiful works at Orvieto. 

On the right, in returning to the Via Cavour, we may 
notice the Badia (behind the Albergo delle Armi d'lnghil- 
terra), battlemented building with rich Gothic windows. 

Below, in the valley, near the Porta Ovile, is the beautiful 
old Gothic tank, called Fonte Nuova. Its arched canopy is 
of brick, with terra-cotta mouldings, and it is one of the most 
picturesque buildings in Siena, and, when crowded with 
figures of peasants washing, is a subject which will delight an 
artist 

If we return to the Via Cavour, and proceed to the Via 
Pellicceria, going north, we pass (right) the Palazzo Spa- 
noeehi, built 1475 f° r tne treasurer of Pius II. 

On the left is the Public Walk, called La Lizza, a terrace 
between the town and the citadel, with a fine view of the 
vol. hi. 19 



290 ITALIAN CITIES. 

mountains, beyond S. Domenico and the Cathedral. Alfieri 
speaks of its pleasant breezes. 

" E in su la Lizza il fresco ventolino."— cxii. 

Here the Sienese may be seen walking up and down, as 
the Romans do on the Pincio. Dante compares the 
ancient vanity of the Sienese to that of the French. 

11 Ed io dissi al poeta : Or fu giammai 
Gente si vana come la Sanese ? 
Certo non la Francesca si d' assaL" 

Inf.y xxix. 121. 

The old Sienese families are devoted to their native city, 
which they seldom leave. Many of the old noble residents 
have never even been to Florence! They drive to the 
Lizza in the afternoon — often, still, with four horses — take a 
turn in this narrow space, see their friends, and return, and 
the day's work is done, to be repeated every day through a 
lifetime. 

Further down the Via di Camollia, we pass (left, under a 
brick arch) the Church of Fonte Giusta, the earlier part of 
which was built in 1484 by Francesco Fcdeli and Giacomo di 
Giovanni of Como. It is closed, being a Confraternity not 
a Farrocchia 9 but can be entered through the adjoining house. 
It contains : — 

Right. 1. Riccio. The Visitation — a fresco. 

2. Salimbmi. S. Bartholomew and the Beato A. Sanscdoni. 

♦3. Fungai. Coronation of the Virgin. A very beautiful picture, the 
figures most impressive and the landscape lovely. 

High Altar. A marble Tabernacle by Lorenzo di Mariano, 1 5 16. 

" The high-altar is one of the best examples of Renaissance work in 
Italy. In the lunette is a bas-relief of Christ in the Sepulchre supported 
by angels ; above the key-stone of the arch, the statuette of a child ; a 
row of cherub-heads around the door of the central tabernacle ; and a 



FONTE GIUSTA, PORTA CAMOLLIA. 129 

mass of exquisitely carved birds, scrolls, griffins, Arabesques, &c, &c, in 
the frieze, columns, capitals, and side spaces. According to a very 
doubtful tradition, it was sent on the back of mules from Siena to Rome, 
to gratify Pope Julius, who had heard wonderful accounts of its beauty." 
— Perkins* Tuscan Sculptors, 

J^ft (by last pillar). A bronze Holy Water basin by Giovanni delle 
Bombard* t 1 430. 

*Left. 2nd Altar. Baldassare PeruzzL The Sibyl foretelling to 
Augustus the Coming of Christ. 

" Peruzzi is one of the many whose merits must not be measured by 
their fortune. He was nurtured amid difficulties, and through life was 
the perpetual sport of adversity. Reckoned inferior to his rivals, 
because he was as modest and timid as they were arrogant ; despoiled of 
his whole property in the sack of Rome ; constrained to exist on a mere 
pittance at Siena, at Bologna, or at Rome, he died when he began to be 
known, not without suspicion of being poisoned, and with the affliction 
of leaving a wife and six children almost beggars. It was his death 
which showed to the world the greatness of his genius. He has im- 
parted to this picture such a divine enthusiasm, that Raftaelle himself 
never surpassed him in his treatment of this subject ; nor Guido, nor 
Guercino, of whom so many Sybils are exhibited." — Lanzi. 

Over the door are the sword, shield, and a whale-bone consecrated by 
Columbus to the Madonna of'Fonte Giusta on his safe return from 
America. 

Hence, passing (right) the House of Baldassare Peruzzi, 
we reach the Porta Camollia, outside which is the Piazza 
d'Armi, generally enveloped in a cloud of dust, which 
appears to have afforded satisfaction to Alfieri : — 

" A Camollia mi godo il polverone." — cxii. 



19 2 



CHAPTER LVI. 
DRIVES ROUND SIENA. 

THERE are very few towns in Italy whence so many 
delightful drives and excursions may be taken as from 
Siena. To mention some of them according to the gates 
from which one sets out. 

The Porta Pispini. This gate, adorned with a perishing 
fresco by Sodoma, is said to derive its odd name from the 
cry of " II Santo Viene," raised by the people as the body 
of S. Ansano was brought into the town. At a short 
distance from the walls is the Church of S. Ansano, built on 
the spot where he was beheaded. 

" Ansanus Tranquillinus was the son of a noble Roman. His nurse, 
Maxima, a Christian woman, casued him to be secretly baptized : he 
grew up to the age of nineteen in the faith of Christ, and then dis- 
closed his religion, converting and baptizing many : hence he is con- 
sidered as the Apostle of Siena. In the terrible persecution under 
Diocletian, after many sufferings and many miracles, operated through 
faith and charity, Ansanus was beheaded on the banks of the river 
Arbia." — Jameson's Sacred Art, 

The church contains a good picture of the Madonna, 
with saints, by Pietro Lorenzetti. 

Close to the gate (left) is a tower on the wall, a charming 
little work of Bald as scire Peruzzi. 



LA OSSERVANZA. 293 

* 

Porta Ovile. About 1 mile from this gate, picturesquely 
grouped on the hill top on the other side of the valley 
(reached turning left under the railway), are the Convent 
and Church of La Osservanza> built in 1424 upon the site 
of a hermitage of S. Bernardino. It has been repurchased 
by some pious inhabitants of Siena from the Government, 
and is retained as a convent The church contains : — 

Right. 2nd Altar. Imitation of Guercto di Gam das so. Nativity. 

yd Altar. Riccio. 1636. Crucifixion. 

Choir. Benvenuto. S. Chiara. 

Pietro di Giovanni* S. Bernardino. 

In niches above High Altar. School of the Robbias. Annun- 
ciation. 

In High Altar. A beautiful Reliquary by Turini and 
Francesco di Francesco, 1455 — 1461, adorned with the arms 
of the Republic, containing the dress, intestines, and a tooth 
of S. Bernardino ; also a Reliquary, containing the dress, hat, 
and cross of S. Giacomo della Marca. 
Left (returning) 1st Altar. Taddeo Bartolo, 141 3. The Baptist, SS. 

Francis, Peter, and John the Evangelist. 

2nd Altar. Id. Madonna, with SS. Bernardino and Jerome. 

* $rd Altar. Luca della Robbia. The Coronation of the 
Virgin, with the Annunciation, Nativity, and Assumption 
beneath. One of the most perfectly beautiful works of the 
school. 

"The Virgin sits alone, surrounded by cherubins and angels with 
instruments of music in their hands, and below are represented SS. 
John, Francis, Bernardino, and Catherine of Siena, with a kneeling 
donatrix, while on the gradino are three lovely bas-reliefs, representing 
the Annunciation, the Birth of our Lord, and the Assumption of the 
Virgin. The figures are white upon a blue ground, and gilding is 
sparingly and most tastefully used in the drapery of the angels, and in 
the pattern of the Virgin's robe. The Madonna is loveliness itself, the 
heads are generally pleasing, and, in some instances, beautiful ; and 
the bas-relief of the Nativity is as simple in composition, and as full of 
sentiment as a Fra Angelico." — Perkins* Tuscan Sculptors. 

4th Altar. Sano di Pietro. Madonna. 

The Sacristy, built by Pandolfo Petruca) has an inscription 



294 ITALIAN CITIES. 

in his honour. In the crypt beneath is his tomb in 
travertine. He died in 15 12, having governed Siena for 
some years with such ability, that he is cited by Machiavelli 
as one of the best specimens of an Italian tyrant He 
assisted at the restoration of the Medici to Florence, in 
order that Siena might not have the example of a free 
government so near her gates. 



Porta Camollia. About half a mile beyond this gate is 
the curious building called // Palazzo dei DiavolL It is 
decorated with shields, and has a very singular round tower 
quite worth sketching. The chapel has a wrought iron 
screen, and a relief by Antonio Federighi. 

Seven miles distant is the handsome Palazzo S. Columba, 
built by Baldassare Peruzzi. 

Twenty miles distant, near Chiusdino, is the fine ruined 
Gothic Abbey of 5. Galgano, Also 20 miles from Siena 
to the N.W. is the small town of Casole containing a 
collegiate church with important tombs of Bishop Tommaso 
di Andrea, and Ranicio Porrina, by Tino di Camiano. 

Three miles from this gate, or from the Porta S. Marco, 
in a carriage, or \\ from the Porta Fonte-branda 
on foot, is the Castle of Belcaro y built, as it now stands, c. 
1525, by the rich banker Crescenzio Turamini of Siena, on 
a site where a convent had been founded by S. Catherine. 
It is approached by charming country lanes, and on drawing 
near has the appearance of a mound of green with a tower 
just peering out of the centre. The hill is entirely covered 
with ancient ilexes, which are shorn at the top, so as to have 
the look of a level carpet, but, on ascending through them 



CASTLE OF BELCARO. 



agj 



by a winding road, and entering the gate, what looked like 
a small tower turns out to be the palace of Peruzzi. There 
is a charming walk round the top of the walls, in which 
some cannon balls have been imbedded since the siege by 
Cosimo I. in 1534. Theview of Siena is magnificent On 
the ceiling of the hall is the Judgment of Paris by Bald. 
Perussi, cited by Lanzi as one of the cases in which this 
master very nearly approached Raffaelle. 

One of the rooms contains some old furniture, and two 
small pictures by Matteo da Siena and Fra Angelica. In 
the little garden is the Chapel, with medallions by Luca 




della Robbia, and a Madonna and Child by Baldassare 
Peruzzi. The adjoining loggia is decorated with birds, 
flowers, and allegorical subjects by the same artist, and 
is most beautiful.' The Castle now belongs to the Camajori 
family of Siena. 



296 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Porta Romano (which has a fresco by Sano di Ptetro). 
Twenty-two miles distant is the convent of Monte Oliveto : 

(Good walkers, to whom economy and not time is an object, may 
reach Monte Oliveto by taking the 5 a.m. train to the station of S. 
Giovanni d' Asso on the Grosseto line of railway ; but the trains are most 
inconvenient, and the distance from the station long and very fatiguing. 
By far the pleasantest way is to take a little carriage — (2ofrs.)— from 
Siena. It is about three hours' drive, through an interesting country. 
About three hours should be allowed at the convent) 

No real lover of Italian art ought to miss a visit to Monte 
Oliveto, which is one of its greatest shrines. It is also only 
by taking a long drive like this that one can form an idea 
of the strangely peculiar country around Siena. Scarcely do 
we pass beyond the rose-hung walls which encircle the forti- 
fications, than we are in an upland desert, piteously bleak 
in winter, but most lovely when spring has come to clothe it 
The volcanic nature of the soil in these parts gives a softer 
tint than usual to the colouring. The miles upon miles of 
open grey-green country, treeless, hedgeless, houseless, 
swoop towards one another with the strangest sinuosities 
and rifts and knobs of volcanic earth, till at last they sink in 
faint mists only to rise again in pink and blue distances, 
so far off, so pale and aerial, that they can scarcely be 
distinguished from the atmosphere itself. Only here and 
there a lonely convent with a few black cypress-spires 
clustered round it, or a solitary cross which the peasants 
choose as their mid-day resting-place, cuts the pellucid sky. 
Here, in these great uplands, where all is so immense, 
the very sky itself seems more full of space than elsewhere : 
it is not the deep blue of the south, but so soft and aerial, 
that it looks as if it were indeed the very heaven itself, only 
very far away. 



BATTLE OF MONTE APERTO. 297 

As we cross the little river Arbia, we may recall the great 
Battle of Monte Aperto which was fought upon its banks 
(Sept 4, 1260,) and which nearly brought about the de- 
struction of Florence. Upon the death of the emperor 
Frederick II., the Guelphs, or popular party, gained the 
ascendancy in Florence, and the Ghibellines, or aristo- 
cratic faction, flying from the city, took refuge at Siena. 
Hence their chief captain, Farinata degli Uberti, sent to ask 
assistance from Manfred, King of Sicily, who, unwilling to 
part with any large body of men, only sent him a hundred 
men-at-arms. It was all that Farinata needed. He so con- 
trived that, in a skirmish outside the Porta Camollia, the 
royal troop should be surrounded and the royal standard 
taken, when it was carried to Florence, dragged in the mud 
and torn to pieces by the people : then Farinata called 
upon Manfred to avenge his own dishonour, and 2000 men 
were sent to him. 

Meanwhile, Farinata, in order to beguile his enemies into 
his hands, feigned that he wished to enter into friendly 
negociations with the Anziani, the governing body at 
Florence. The Sienese, he said, were discontented with 
their government, and the Florentine emigrants were also 
dissatisfied and were willing to repurchase the favour of 
their fellow citizens by delivering up the Porta S. Vito at 
Siena to the Florentines, but for this it was necessary 
that Florence should send a powerful army along the 
banks of the Arbia, as if it were marching to the assistance 
of the fortress of Monte Alcino, which was being besieged 
by Siena. 

The Florentines fell into the trap. A vast army of three 
thousand horse and thirty thousand foot was sent into the 



298 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Sienese territory as far as Monte Aperto, five miles from 
Siena, on the opposite bank of the Arbia. Here the 
Anziani waited with anxiety for the Porta S. Vito to be 
given up. Suddenly it was opened, and the cavalry of 
Manfred, followed by the Florentine emigrants, and the 
greater part of the army of Siena, dashed forth upon the 
Guelphs. 

The Florentines trusted at first in their numbers and 
fought desperately, but when the remainder of the Sienese 
army, having made the circuit of Monte Aperto, fell upon 
them from behind, the cavalry were stricken with panic and 
fled. The infantry continued to fight desperately around 
the sacred Carroccio^ a gilt car, drawn by eight oxen with red 
trappings, supporting the standard of Florence, and the bell 
of La Martinella, which sounded without ceasing, as the 
war-cry of the republic, one after another taking it in hand 
as the ringers were mown down. Here was the centre of 
the great massacre — 

— '* La strazia e'l grande scempio 
Che fece 1' Arbia coloraia in rosso." 

Dante % Inf. x. 

10,000 men of the Guelph army fell upon the field of 
battle, of whom 2500 were Florentines, the rest from 
their allied cities; and the carroccio was taken. It was 
after this great defeat that the total destruction of Florence 
was nearly decided upon, and that the city was only saved 
by the Coriolanus-like speech of Farinata degli Uberti, the 
son pleading in behalf of his mother, the victor for the 
vanquished. (See ch. liv.) 

After descending to Montenone with its old castle and pine, 
we reach, sixteen miles from Siena, the machicolated walls 



FOUNDATION OF MONTE OLIVETO. 299 

and fine old gate of Buonconvento, where during his march 
against Robert of Sicily, the head of the Guelph party, 
the Emperor Henry VII. died, August 24, 13 13, of a fever 
which he had taken during the siege of Brescia. But his 
death has been frequently attributed to poison, which it was 
pretended that a Dominican monk had mingled with the 
Sacred Host in administering the Sacrament. 

Hence a steep ascent leads to Monte Oliveto through a 
barren desert The convent was founded early in the four- 
teenth century by Bernardo Tolomei, who was born of a 
noble Sienese family in 1272, and was a distinguished pro- 
fessor of law in the university of Siena. While proudly ex- 
pounding a metaphysical question from his professorial 
chair, he was stricken with blindness. His sight was after- 
wards restored, but, in the spirit of the age, he accepted the 
warning of the insufficiency of human distinction, on which 
he delivered a final lecture, so moving and eloquent, that 
when he retired as a hermit to the Val d' Acona, a farm of 
the Tolomei family, to which he gave the name of the Mount 
of Olives, a multitude of his pupils accompanied him. To 
these he assigned a white habit, enjoining them to follow the 
rule of S. Benedict, and the order was confirmed by Pope 
John XXII, as the "Olivetani," or " Congregation of the 
Blessed Virgin of Monte Oliveto." These monks obtained 
great favour by their devotion to the people of Siena during 
the plague, in which the founder himself perished in his 76th 
year, in 1348. He was beatified by Innocent VII. There have 
been eighty monasteries of the Olivetan order in Italy and 
Sicily, but it has never penetrated beyond the Alps. 

ALneas Sylvius, afterwards Pius II., describes the approach 
to the convent much as it is now, and pictures how " his 



3<x> ITALIAN CITIES. 

horse's hoofs sink deep into the earth and he can with great 
difficulty pull them out again. The rains have channelled 
deep ditches on either side, leaving only narrow paths, which 
you can keep with great difficulty; and, if you leave them 
ever so little, down you roll." 

The volcanic clefts in the soil necessitate long detours, 
but the convent, with its mass of red buildings, is visible 
from a great distance, cresting the high hill of chalk and 




tufa, " shaped like a chestnut leaf." At about half a mile 
from the gates a narrow ridge is crossed, forming a sort of 
natural bridge between two precipices. Here the scene 
changes. Out of the desert we enter an oasis. The im- 
mense depths below the monastic buildings are covered 
with rich banks of wood : the road is fringed with cypresses 
and with the ancient olive-trees which gave the place its 
name. Here again the description of .i£neas Sylvius would 
suit the present time. 

" Here are figs and almonds, and many kinds of peais and applet 
and groves of cypresses in which yon may lake lite air pleasantly in 



MOXTE 0L1VET0. l°\ 

summer. Vineyards too, and walks in the shade of vine-leaves ; and 
vegetable gardens, and pools for washing, and a perennial spring, and 
tanks, and wells ; and groves of oak and juniper growing upon the very 
rock itself. And a number of walks, wide enough for two abreast, 
wind about or cut across the hill, with borders of vines, or rose-trees, or 
rosemary on either side. Pleasaunces delightful for the monks, more de- 
lightful still for those, who, having seen, are free to go elsewhere." 

There is a grand machicolated gateway with huge terra- 
cotta statues of the Virgin and Child on the exterior, and of 
S. Benedict within. The church and monastery, entirely 
built of brick with terra-cotta ornaments, are by Agostino and 
Agnolo da Siena, and were considered so beautiful that 
popular legend has ascribed them to angels. The great 
cloister is covered with precious frescoes representing the 
whole history of S. Benedict All those on the entrance 
wall and one other picture are by Luca Signorelli, 1497 ; the 
rest by Sodoma, 1505. All deserve study. The frescoes of 
Sodoma are entirely devoted to expressing the whole spirit 
and feeling of monastic life. Perhaps the most powerful 
figures are (left wall) in the first frescoes of Sodoma : — 

1. Monks at dinner. 

2. Monks asleep. 

3. A group of singing priests. 

At the end of this, wall a replica of the Christ bound, at Siena. 

In the first fresco of the next wall some most beautiful figures riding, 
and a child with a dog. 

In the next picture, Soddma himself introduced standing, in an em- 
broidered cloak. 

In the frescoes of Luca Signorelli, other figures, not 
monastic, are introduced ; and the costumes, especially the 
young men in parti-coloured hose, are very curious. 

" In these frescoes from the life of S. Benedict is scope enough for 
freedom, for variety, for the energetic representation of life and incident. 
Signorelli revels in it He plans the perspective of his landscape so as 



302 ITALIAN CITIES. 

to give room, in the rear of the main subject which fills the foregrounc 
of each compartment, for other animated subjects which serve as pre 
face or sequel to it. Often these distant episodes are brilliant little com< 
positions in themselves, always they enter in the liveliest way into the 
spirit of the story, its simple thaumaturgy and childish materialism. 
Brown imps and blue fly away with the wicked monk's souL The old 
enemy sits visibly on the stone they cannot move, or swaggers fiercely 
with his crowbar in the act to overthrow the wall that is to kill the 
young disciple. Draperies whirl and bodies slant with speed as monk 
and cook and scullion run to and fro with pitchers to extinguish the 
phantom fire. Where the truant monks eat out of bounds, a lad keep- 
ing watch at the door against an alarm, the women who are waiting 
or move up and down a staircase in the rear, are figures of admirable 
spirit and reality; and a little corner is kept in the distance to show how 
submissively the truants plump down on their unlucky knees when they 
get home and know they are found out. The pilgrim and his tempter 
hobnob across a wooden table in a grassy place with a most animated 
air. Totila's men in outlandish armour go to and fro before their tents 
in the distance, or ride fiercely, driving before them a troop of bound 
and cringing captives. So much for the quality of the background and 
accessory scenes, where they are not too much defaced for study — and 
the earlier pictures of the series are both slighter and more injured than 
the later. In the foreground, the Saint and his companions perpetually 
group into noble masses of heavy white drapery, for they are repre- 
sented, not in the black gown proper to the original order of the 
Benedictines, but in the white gown which had been assumed by this 
reformed branch of the order. Bald or white-headed, shaven or bearded, 
young or old, their heads are individual studies, not of sanctity or 
austerity or adoration, but of bronzed and weather-beaten strength ; and 
as such are studies wrought out and modelled with extraordinary power. 
Where the Saint preaches to the pagan inhabitants of Monte Casino, 
we see at last what the painter cares more about even than groups of 
bronzed and goodly monks in their white robes. His figures are people 
of splendid apparel and fair countenances and majestic bearing, in whom 
he has taken extreme delight. But if you want to realize to the full 
how the spirit of the time worked in Signorelli, how he represents the 
Renaissance in its love of physical energy and life, stop at the last two 
subjects, which are much better preserved as well as more characteristic 
than the rest. Totila in one, Kizzo his chief captain in the other, leads 
the van of a long array of mounted and dismounted knights and pages 
and men-at-arms. Here is occasion for the lust of the flesh and the lust 
of the eye and the pride of life. Each retinue is nothing bat a com. 
pany of portraits— portraits of such beautiful and fiery and reckles* 



MONTE OLIVETO. 



303 



human beings as in the cities round about were wont to make the air at 
sundown ring with revelry, and before dawn with the clash of deadly 
brawl or treason deadlier still. Tall, lithe, athletic, high-bred, compact 
of flesh like steel, Signorelli has drawn them as the frames of men were 
never drawn before. The close-fitting fashions of the time, hose and 
jackets all variegated with flaming and fantastic patterns in white and 
blue and scarlet, are no disguise of the supple limbs and tense sinews,' 
no veil of the bodies so terrible and perfect Such apparel only adds to 
the wearer some blazonry the more of audacity and defiance. Defiant 
or merely disdainful with that physical disdain of strength and untamed 
blood, the young men stand among their elders with one hand on 
sword-hilt or hip, the beautiful head with its careless look and rippling 
gold hair set haughtily on the springy neck, the whole fierce and 
radiant animal alert for pleasure or for blood. Now, then, you under- 
stand what features and figures Signorelli took to most naturally — 
knowing what these lawless young lords were like in their lives, and 
seeing here how he felt their beauty and represented it, you cease to 
wonder if the angels in his altar-pieces have seemed to you over-bold 
and over-strong, and if you have thought gestures of humbleness and 
piety out of keeping with those warrior profiles, those unabashed brows 
and backward-rolling yellow locks." — S. C, 



CHAPTER LVII. 
SAN GIMIGNANO. 

(A small carriage {Itgnetto) from Poggibonsi to S. Gimignano costs 
3 frs. The Albergo delle Due Piazze is clean and not unendurable to 
those who do not mind roughing it : very low charges.) 

S GIMIGNANO is a perfect sanctuary of mediaeval 
• art, and one which no traveller should fail to visit 
It may be seen in the day from Siena, or it may be taken 
on the way to Volterra, but artists will wish to give some 
time to the place itself. 

It is a pleasant drive of about seven miles from Poggibonsi. 
Long before reaching S. Gimignano its strange group of 
thirteen tall mediaeval towers comes in sight, like a set of nine- 
pins on the hill-top. Once, it is said, there were 76, all 
resulting from the ambition of every noble family to have a 
taller tower than its neighbour. Surrounding the miniature 
piazza alone, are seven of these towers. An old proverb 
says : — 

** San Gimignano delle belle torri e delle belle campane, 
Gli uomini brutti, e le donne be fane." 

In the principal piazza, stands, with a pitiful west front, 
the fine Church of La Collegiata — a Latin cross, the whole of 
its walls being covered with frescoes of the 14th century. 



CHAPEL OF S. FWA. 



305 



Wtsltrn Wall. Beitouo Coitali. The Martyrdom of S. Sebastian. 

Over the two first arches of nave. Taddto Bartolo (son of Bartolo da 
Kredi). Right, Paradise. Lift, Hell. 

Right aisle. Bartta di Siena, finished after his death by his pupil 
Gunmnni a"Aseiane. The whole of the Life of Christ in three rows of 
pictures, beginning with the Annunciation in the lunette close in the 
entrance, and ending in the great Crucifixion, which occupies the entire 
height of the wall. 




On the Right is the beautiful Chapel of S. Fina } _\$>% t 
excessively rich in colour, with swinging lamps, a marble 
screen of 1662, and a lovely altar by Giulio da Majano. 



306 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Fina de* Ciardi was of noble birth, but dreadfully poor. 
From childhood she sustained her parents by her work. 
At length she fell ill, and was confined to her bed by a 
hopeless spine complaint In this state of suffering she 
edified all beholders by her patience, always continued in 
a serene and happy frame of mind, and as long as it was 
possible ministered to those poorer than herself by the 
work of her hands. She lost both her parents, but was 
faithfully tended by her old nurse Beldia. She believed 
herself warned in a vision by S. Gregory of her approaching 
death, and expired March 12, 1253. It is said that at her 
death all the church bells rang suddenly and flowers 
bloomed spontaneously around her bed ; and that, as she 
was borne to the grave, she was seen to raise her emaciated 
hand and bless her aged nurse, who was thereupon relieved 
from a grievous malady. Otherwise Fina is a singular 
instance of a poor girl canonized by the Roman catholic 
church for her faith and patience, without extravagancies of 
any kind. Her simple story is simply and vividly told in 
the frescoes in her chapel, by Domcnico Ghirlandajo. On 
the right, she is lying in her cottage, with its rude furniture : 
Beldia in her peasant's dress is watching by her side : on 
her sick-bed she has the vision of S. Gregory. On the left, 
is the scene of the Death of Fina, at which the bishop and 
clergy were present Figures of Apostles and Prophets by 
Scbastiano Maitiardi surround the chapel, and on the vault- 
ing are the Evangelists. A lovely wreath of seraphs en- 
circles the whole chamber. It is " the glorification of femi- 
nine patience, fortitude, and charity. " * 

Choir. Right Benozzo Gozzoli, 1466. Madonna and Child beween 
the Baptist with S. Martha, and S. Augustine with the Magdalen. 

* Mrs. Jameson. 



PALAZZO PUBBLICO. 307 

PollajuolOy 1483. The Coronation of the Virgin, ordered by Do- 
menico StrambL Below are SS. Gimignano, Girolamo, and Niccold di 
Tolentino, and SS. Fina, Niccold, and Agostino. 

Matteo Rosselli. Madonna with SS. Gimignano, Fina, and others. 

Lejt (opposite S. Fina). Chapd of the Santissima Concezione, A 
door dose by this opens into a passage containing the font, and 
beneath a fresco of the Annunciation of 1482, the old shrine of S. Fina, 
in which she reposed before Giulio da Majano was employed in her 
honour. It is inscribed : — 

" Virginis ossa latent tumulo, quern suspicis, hospes. 
Hsec decus, exemplum, prcesidiumque suis. 
Nomen Fina fuit, patria haec, miracula quseris, 
Perlege quse paries, vivaque signa docent." 

Left aisle. The wall is entirely covered with frescoes of the history 
of the Old Testament by Battolo di Fredi, 1356. They have been ill- 
restored. 

The ancient Palazzo Pubblico on the left of the Collegiate, 
has a court with a picturesque staircase and well On the 
ground floor are some allegorical, frescoes by Sodoma. On 
the upper floor is the old hall where, May 8, 1299, Dante 
spoke in behalf of the Guelphic cause and triumphed. 

The great fresco by Lippo Memmi, erected, as the in- 
scription tells, in 13 1 7, when Mino de' Tolomei da Siena was 
podesta, represents him kneeling before the Madonna in 
the presence of a number of saints. The hall is now used 
as a Gallery for the pictures brought from suppressed 
convents. They include : — 

2. Lorenzo de Niccolb. S. Bartholomew and his story. 

3. Taddeo Bartolo. Madonna and Child with saints. 
6. Id, S. Gimignano and his miracles. 

10. Lorenzo di Niccolo Fiorentino. S. Lorenzo and S. Fina. 

n. Id. Imaginary miracles of S. Fina. 

13. Filippo Lippo. The Annunciation. 

1 5. Guido da Siena. Madonna. 

16. Fra Paolo da Pistoia. Madonna and Child with saints. 

20 2 



308 ITALIAN CITIES. 

1 8. Pinturicehio, 1402. Madonna throned in an oval glory ot 
seraphs, with SS. Cristoforo and Niccold di Ban— a very noble picture, 
from the closed Convent of Monte Oliveto, half a mile from the town. 



Near the gate, at the further end of the town, in a little 
piazza, is the Church of S. Agostino, built 1280 — a single 
nave ending in three chapels — with a clumsy wooden 
roof, but filled with most precious works of art On the 
right of the western entrance is the beautiful shrine by 
Benedetto da Majano (1442 — 1497) in honour of S. Bartolo. 
This favourite Tuscan saint was the son of Giovanni and 
Gentina Buonpedoni and was born in 1299. His parents 
intended him for a secular life, but, while very young, he 
ran away and hid himself in the convent of S. Sisto at Pisa. 
Becoming a priest, he faithfully served for many years in 
the parishes of Peccioli and Picchena. In his 50th year 
he fell a victim to the most horrible leprosy, which he 
endured with an exemplary patience for 20 years, and died 
in 1375. His story is strangely like that of S. Fina. 

" In his youth San Bartolo's gentleness and amiability obtained for 
him the name of * Angelo di pace ;' and in his old age he was called 
the Tuscan Job, from the patience with which he bore the loathsome 
leprosy with which he was afflicted for twenty years. He was buried 
in S. Agostino, according to his express wish, and after many miracles, 
said to have been worked at his tomb, was canonized by Pope Alex- 
ander VI. In 1488 the commune of S. Gimignano set aside funds for 
the purpose of building a chapel in his honour, and six years later, 
commissioned Benedetto da Majano to erect in it a monument to 
his memory. On the front of the sarcophagus, which is placed over a 
white marble altar, is a bronze slab, with the inscription * Ossa Divi 
Bartoli Gimignianensis, malorum geniorum fugatoris ; ' on either side 
of which are sculptured two flying angels, bearing a palm and a crown. 
Below it, in the ' dossale ' of the altar, are three niches containing 
seated statuettes of Faith, Hope and Charity ; and a predella, which is 
adorned with three simply designed and admirably composed stories 



S. AGOSTINO. 309 

from the life of the saint. In one, while standing upon the steps of an 
altar with his head reverently bent over a book which he holds in his 
hands, he casts out a demon from a possessed woman ; in another his 
feet are washed by a man ; and in the last he lies upon his death-bed. 
Above the sarcophagus is a roundel, adorned with cherubs' heads, 
leaves, and flowers, containing an alto-relievo of the Madonna and 
Child."— Perkins" Tuscan Sculptors. 

Making the round of the church we see : — 

Right, Close to the Shrine of S. Bartolo. Sebastiano Mainardi, 1 500. 
S. Lucia between S. Gimignano (holding the town with its towers) and 
S. Nicholas of Ban. The pavement in front of the shrine is very 
good. 

1st Altar. Pietro Francesco Presbyter Fiorentino, 1494* Virgin and 
Child throned between SS. Stephen, Peter, and Bartholomew, and SS. 
Andrew, Vincent and Laurence. SS. Martin and Augustine kneel in 
front, and the tiny figure of the donor, Lorenzo Bartolo. In the pre- 
della is the Resurrection, with the local saints, Bartolo, Fina, and 
Catherine of Siena. 

Beyond the door. Giotto t Christ buffeted. The whole story is in- 
dicated, the buffeting hands, the spitting, the ladder, the spear, the 
sponge, the nails, the seamless coat, the cock, even the pots of oint- 
ment for the sepulchre — but all as in the air. Near this are half figures 
of Bishops in quatrefoils, from a tomb. 

2nd Altar (of S. Niccolo of Tolentino.) Vincenao Tamagni. The 
Virgin and Child adored by saints and floating angels. This votive 
altar is inscribed 'Precepta patris mei servavi, morbo epidemie 
nos preserva, MDXXIX." On the pavement is the slab tomb of 
Giralda, a monk, 1 38 1. 

Chapel of S. Guglulmo (right of Choir). Bartolo di Fredu Birth 
and Death of the Virgin* 

T7u Choir, is entirely covered with frescoes by Benozzo 
Gozzoli, executed for Domenico Strambi. The figures are 
wonderfully full of power and character, especially the 
children. The pictures tell the story of S. Augustine, who 
is distinguished in them all by the same folded head-dress. 
They begin on the left, the lower row first : — 

1. Augustine is sent to schooL 

2. In school at Carthage. 



310 ITALIAN CITIES. 

3. His mother Monica prays for him. 

4. He crosses the sea to Italy. 

5. He is presented to a distinguished personage. 

6. He holds a school in Rome. 

7. He rides to Milan. 

8 (2nd Row). An attendant removes his spurs ; he is presented to 
S. Ambrose. 

9. He listens to the preaching of S. Ambrose, who wears a blue 
dress ; S. Monica prays in the background. 

10. He reads the Epistles of S. Paul. 

11. He is baptised by S. Ambrose. 

12. He becomes a monk. 

13. The Death of S. Monica— exquisitely beautiful. 

14. (lunette). He is made Bishop of Hippo. 

15. He preaches as bishop. 

16. His death. 

In the vault are the Evangelists, and, on the arch, the Apostles in 
Medallions. 

Chapel, Left of Choir. Vincenzo Tamagni. Birth of the Virgin. 

Left, The tomb of Fra Domenico Strambi (who gave frescoes) in- 
scribed 'Domenicus Doctor Parisinus, 1488.' Above, by Sebastiano 
Mainardi, S. Gimignano teaching his three eminent citizens — Matteo 
Lupi, the poet ; Domenico Mainardi, the canonist (1375 — 1422, called 
" II Gimignano ") ; and Nelli Nelli, the lawyer. 

Left (returning) ut Altar. Lippo Mem mi. Madonna della Grazie. 

The marble Pulpit of 1524 is of admirable design. Above it is a 
Crucifixion by Vincenzo Tamagnu 

2nd Altar. Benozzo Gozzoli. S. Sebastian. He is represented (a 
gigantic figure) interceding for the inhabitants of S. Gimignano, who 
are taking shelter at his feet. Some of the faces, evidently portraits, are 
most powerful, the children quite lovely. Around the head of the saint 
float the most exquisite angels, bearing his prayers to Christ and the 
Virgin, as they kneel in the clouds before the Almighty, who appears, 
borne on the wings of seraphs. 

yd Altar. Vincenzo Tamagni. SS. Mary Magdalen and Monica 
kneel, the Virgin and S. John stand by the cross, around which angels 
are floating. The figure which once hung here is removed. 

The streets of S. Gimignano are full of gothic windows 
and fragments of carving, and there are decaying shrines 



SANCTUARY OP S. VJVALDO. 



3" 



full of colour and beauty. Perhaps the best view of the 
town is obtained by descending to the right, half way 
between the two principal gates, and going down into the 
valley, where some gothic conduits with arches picturesquely 
follow the lines of the hill. 




A good road leads in about five hours through a very 
hilly country (a legnetto costs 20 frs.) from S. Gimignano 
to Vol terra. About five miles off this road is the extra- 
ordinary Sanctuary of S. Vivaldo, which no one who 
stays at S. Gimignano should fail to visit, both because of 



312 ITALIAN CITIES. 

its natural beauty, and because it contains the important 
works of Guercio del Gambasso (the Squint-eyed), the 
master of Luca della Robbia and the founder of that peculiar 
school. 

The road to the Sanctuary turns off from the high-road 
at the hamlet of // Castagno which recalls, by its name, 
the story of S. Vivaldo, a friend of S. Bartolo, who became a 
hermit, and lived in a hollow chestnut, in which he was 
found dead in 1300. The Monastery of S. Vivaldo, once of 
great importance, has been suppressed under circumstances 
of excessive cruelty, though its monks were greatly beloved 
and respected. The Sanctuary however is still the resort of 
an enormous pilgrimage on the festa of the Ascension. 
Besides the principal church, there are twenty chapels scattered 
about in woods of ilex and pine, and approached by tiny 
paths and staircases. They all contain groups illustrative 
of the Life and Passion of Christ, some of great beauty in 
art, many of ruder workmanship. It is known that Guercio 
del Gambasso was long employed here, but it is not known 
which groups may with certainty be attributed to him. 

The atrium of the Monastic Church encloses huge figures 
of SS. Leo, Antonio, and Roch. The Church contains a 
beautiful Nativity, in which the figures are fully coloured ; 
a saint kneeling near the head of the Child holds a cross. 
The chapels in the wood are not arranged according to the 
order of gospel events, but have been built in groups and 
altered at different periods. We see — 

1. The Incredulity of S. Thomas. The Apostles are full of expression — 
surprise, adoration, enquiry, response. The Cena and the Lavanda — 
less good, but the perspective wonderful, and Judas full of expression. 

2. The Pentecost. The Madonna (raised) kneels in the midst of the 
Apostles. 



CHAPELS OF S. VIVALDO. 313 

3. The Tribunal of Pilate, assisted by figures in fresco introduced 
behind. The Buffeting and Mocking, and, in a dark cell, The Im- 
prisonment. 

4. S. James. A fine solitary figure standing in a mountain landscape, 
the trees and rocks raised in the terra-cotta. 

5. The Sepulchre, The Magdalen and S. Helena wait in the ante- 
chamber. Hence, crawling through a hole, you find a grave with a 
figure wrapped in a shroud. This is drawn off and discloses the figure 
of the Saviour. 

6. Christ and the Magdalen — life-size. 

7. The Crucifixion, Christ and the thieves are in terra-cotta, the 
rest is painted on the wall. In a lower compartment of this chapel are 
the Maries. 

8. The Story of Veronica. 

9. The Way to Calvary — in all these the figure of the Saviour is very 
inferior. 

10. The Swoon of the Virgin — smaller, but perhaps the finest of the 
whole series. 

1 1. The Flagellation and Crowning with Thorns. 

13 & 14. The Condemnation. The crowd are on one side in a 
separate chapel. The company of figures who demand Barabbas stand- 
ing in the narrow chapel, with doors wide open to the wood, have a 
very strange effect. 

15. The Procession to Calvary. An immense subject strikingly repre- 
sented — the thieves, Christ, Simon helping him, the centurion on horse- 
back, &c. 

16. The Supper in the Pharisee's house — Mary anoints the feet of the 
Saviour. 

17. The Flight into Egypt 

18. The Annunciation. 

19. The Condemnation by Caiaphas — his figure is very fine. 

20. The Ascension — in a chapel beautifully placed at the end of the 
wood. 



CHAPTER LVIII. 
MONTEPULCIANO, PIENZA, AND CHIUSI. 

(A very interesting excursion may be made in one long day from Siena 
to the two first of these towns, returning at night, but if Chiusi is added 
it will be necessary to sleep there. The station of Montepuldano is 
seven miles from the town. At certain times a public carriage meets 
the train, one and a half franc per posta, but this is not in the least to 
be depended upon. In this case a baroccino may be obtained at the 
village of La Badia, one mile distant, and it is significant of the economy 
of living in these parts, that the price asked for the whole day's excur- 
sion of thirty miles, is six francs. 

The Albergo del Marzocco at Montepuldano is a very tolerable and 
clean country inn, with very reasonable charges. Travellers must sleep 
there if they intend to visit S. Quirico as well as Pienza, There is no 
inn at Pienza.) 

It is about two and a half hours by rail from Siena to Montepuldano 
(7 frs. 50 c. ; 5 frs. 10 c ; 3 frs. 55 c). 

THERE are lovely views of Siena from the railway, up 
the different gorges. We pass through a strange 
country of riven and rifted earth to : — 

33 kil. Asciano Stat, In the churches of the town are 
several good pictures. 

52 kiL Lucignano Stat. Here, outside the gate, is the 
Church of La Madonna delta Quercia y built by Antonio San 
Gallo. 

58 kil. Sinalun$a Stat. In the principal church are 
pictures by Sodoma and Pacchia* 



MONTEPULCIANO. 315 

70 kil. Salarco Stat, or Montepulciano. A winding road 
ascends to the town, with beautiful views towards the lake of 
Thrasymene. In front of the gate stands the Church and 
the deserted Convent of S. Agnesc di Montepulciano, a 
Dominican nun, who on account of her mental powers as 
well as her spiritual virtues was elected abbess at the age 
of fifteen, and died here in 13 17. The pilgrimage of 
S. Catherina of Siena to her shrine, on which occasion two 
of her nieces took the veil, is the subject of a fine picture 
by PacehiarottL 

Montepulciano is an entirely mediaeval city, though it 
is supposed to occupy an Etruscan site. It is one of the 
cleanest and handsomest of the completely hill-set towns. 
Its broad streets are well paved and contain many old 
palaces. In one of them, on the left of the ascent, a 
number of ancient fragments are inserted. At the top of 
all is the piazza, with the unfinished Cathedral, the hand- 
some machicolated Palazzo Pubblico, another old palace, 
and a well. 

The Cathedral contains (over the west door) a great 
Madonna by Bartolo de Siena, 1401. On the right is the 
tomb of Bishop " Francisco de Piendaberis ; " on the left, 
that of Bartolomeo Aragazzi, 1427, the secretary of 
Martin V., who commissioned Donatello and Michelozzi to 
make his monument. This, a grand figure in a cowl, is 
only part of the original monument, which was pulled down 
and never properly restored when the church was rebuilt. 
Two bas-reliefs of Donatello against the pillars of the nave 
were taken from it, and part of the base is now the High- 
Altar. 

" Bruni tells as that while journeying in the district of Arezzo he fell 



316 ITALIAN CITIES. 

in with the Aragazzi monument on its way to Montepulciano, the 
heavy load had stuck last in the mud, from which all the efforts of the 
panting oxen could not liberate it In despair one of the drivers (stop- 
ping to wipe the sweat from his brow) gave utterance to his feelings by 
exclaiming that he hoped the gods would damn all poets past and 
future. Interested as a man of letters to know the cause of his anger, 
Bruni asked him why he hated poets ; to which the countryman re- 
plied, that a foolish and puffed-up man, lately deceased at Rome, had 
ordered that this marble monument should be erected to his memory in 
his native town, adding that people called him a poet, but that he had 
never heard him spoken of as such during his lifetime." — Perkins* 
luscan Sculptors. 

From the Fortress (Castellum Politianum) behind the 
cathedral, the view is quite glorious, over the lakes of 
Montepulciano and Chiusi and the long expanse of 
Thrasymene to the delicate mountains around Perugia. 

Passing through the town-gate near this, we see, half-way 
down the hill, the graceful Church of La Madonna di S. 
Biagio, erected in 1548 by Antonio di San Ga//o> and his best 
work. It is a Greek cross with singularly short transepts, and, 
standing on a little green platform rising out of the valley, 
built of rich yellow-grey stone, its appearance has a remark- 
able charm. The Madonna in whose honour this shrine is 
erected, is reported to have brought a whole herd of cattle 
to their knees by the attractive manner in which she winked 
her eyes. 

Montepulciano was the birth-place of Cardinal Bellarmine 
and of the poet Angelo Cini (1454) the friend of Lorenzo 
dei Medici, who hence received his name of Politian. The 
lower slopes of the hill are covered with vineyards pro- 
ducing the famous wine of Montepulciano — 

" d'ogni vino e il re."— Redi. 



PIENZA. 317 

It is a drive of about two hours, chiefly through oak woods, 
to Pienza. The little town crests a hill, backed by the 
beautiful rosy snow-capped heights of Santa Fiora, the 
richest mountain in Italy from the chestnut-forests with 
which it is clothed, and the bread— pan di icgno — which 
they produce. 

The famous Pope ^Eneas Sylvius, Pius II., was born in 
1405 in z.podere which still exists on the lower slope of the 
hill, and when he acceded to power maintained the greatest 
affection for his native place, and crowned the summit 
(formerly called Corsinianoum) above his home with a city 
to be called after his name, and to be filled with the most 
beautiful works of the Renaissance architecture which was 
then at its zenith. As the Pope left it, so the little town 
remains, neither larger nor smaller. A third of it is occupied 
by the vast and magnificent Palazzo Piceolomini, built round 
a quadrangular cloistered court The bedroom of the Pope 
has a richly-carved chimney-piece, and retains his curious 
old bed with its gilt pillars, and his fresco portrait over the 
door. From the beautiful open loggia on one side of the 
palace there is a magnificent view over hill and valley, the 
most conspicuous features being Santa Fiora and the quaint 
volcanic mountain-knoll of Radicofani, where the robber- 
knight Ghino di Tacco seized the abbot of Cluny, and 
where the Comte de Fersen saw his famous ghost 

Close to the Palazzo Piccolomini is an old well-fountain. 
One side of the piazza is occupied by the Palazzo Muni- 
cipal with a high tower, on the other is the Cathedral, con- 
secrated in 1462 by Cardinal d'Estouteville. The interior, 
of black and white marble, is very simple and stately. 
Behind the high-altar is the throne of iEneas Sylvius, and 



3i8 ITALIAN CITIES. 

oak stalls and a grand lectern and choir-books of his time. 
The sacristy contains portraits of the two Piccolomini- popes, 
and a gold cross, a coral cross, and other relics given by 




Pius II. There are three good pictures in the church by 
Sana di Pietro, — the best, a Madonna with lovely floating 
angels ; on one side SS. Pius I. and Lucia, on the other 
S. Calixtus and another female saint The subterranean 
church, supported by heavy piers, and entered from the 
outside, is used as the Baptistery. 

On the right, a few miles from Pienza, a hill is crested by 
the town of San Quirico, which is worth visiting on account 
of its beautiful Romanesque church, which is known to have 
existed as early as 1029, but must have been altered and 
received additional ornaments at many and various times. 
Its three portals are exceedingly rich and beautiful. Two 
are at the sides; one bears the date 1299, the other is 



CHIUSL 319 

supported by figures of saints resting on lions. The third 
and most richly ornamented porch is at the west end of 
the church, and has its outside pillars banded together on 
either side and resting on lions. 



Half hour more of rail brings us from Montepulciano to Chiusi (3 frs. 
15 c ; 2 frs. 75 c : 1 fr. 85 c). 

After leaving the station of Salarco, the train passes 
between two little lakes, the Logo di Montepulciano on the 
right, and on the left the Logo di Chiusi) which the podesta 
of the town used annually to espouse with a ring, as the 
Doge of Venice did the Adriatic A few miles to the right 
is the town of Chianciano, from which it is seven miles to 
Sarteano f which contains several good collections of Etrus- 
can antiquities discovered in the neighbourhood. Another 
local collection is preserved in the neighbouring town of 
Cetona, six miles from Chiusi. 

90 kil. Chiusi, Inn, Leone d*Oro. Carriage from 
station, 1 fr. each place. 

Chiusi represents the ancient Camars or Clusium, one of 
the twelve towns of the Etruscan confederation, and the royal 
city of Porsena, the ally of the Tarquins against Rome. In 
b.c 391 it drew down the destruction of Rome by the 
Gauls, by inducing the Romans to interfere for their pro- 
tection. It is not known when it fell under the Roman 
yoke, and it has never since risen to distinction, though it 
has never ceased to be inhabited, and has from very early 
times been the site of a bishopric Dante speaks of it as 
greatly decayed in his time. 

There are few Etruscan remains in the town itself, except 
some fragments of walls near the cathedral, and several 



320 ITALIAN CITIES. 

private collections of objects found in the tombs, the best 
of them being the Museo Casuccini. The greater part of 
the pottery is black and of the earliest and coarsest period 
of Etruscan art 

The Tombs of Chiusi must be visited on foot or on 
horseback. They are not in one place as at Cervetri and 
Corneto, but often miles apart and difficult of access. 
Each has its own custode, who must be sent beforehand 
with the keys from Chiusi, so that the visit is both tiresome 
and expensive. The most important point is that called 
the Poggio Gq/clla, about three miles N.N.E. of the town. 
It is a tumulus, containing a number of tombs arranged in 
groups on three terraces one above the other and inter- 
sected by labyrinthine passages of unknown intention. It 
has generally been supposed that this is the ruin of the 
only Etruscan tomb described by a classical author — that 
of Lars Porsenna described by Varro as so colossal and 
magnificent, that Niebuhr says "such a building was 
absolutely impossible and belongs to the Arabian Nights." 
All traces of this edifice had certainly disappeared in the 
time of Pliny.* 

The most accessible tomb near Chiusi is the Deposito 
del Colic Casuccini, discovered 1833, about one mile S.E. of 
the town. It is entered by a level passage cut in the slope, 
and has folding doors formed by slabs of travertine still 
working on their original hinges. Of its three chambers, 
two are decorated with paintings of funereal banquets, races, 
and games. All the figures are in profile and are males. 
Three miles from this tomb, on the opposite side of Chiusi, 
is the Deposito dei Dei which contains similar paintings in a 

* xxxvi 19, 3, 4. 



ORVIETO. 321 

worse state of preservation, and, near this, the Deposito delle 

Monache which retains its two sarcophagi (one bearing a 

figure) and eight cinerary urns of alabaster and travertine, 

some of them decorated with paintings. 

. The Val di Chiana once one of the most pestilential, is 

now, owing to the self-sacrificing energy of Count Fossom- 

broni of Arezzo, one of the most fertile districts of Italy.* 
(Seven miles from Chiusi, on a breezy height, is the town 

of Citta del Pieve, where Pietro Perugino was born in 1446. 

In the Oratorium dei Disciplinati, is one of his grandest 

pictures, an Adoration of the Magi, containing about thirty 

life-size figures. In the Cathedral is a Madonna with SS. 

Peter, Paul, Gervasius and Protasius, of 15 14; and in S. 

Agostino, S. Antonio Abate, with SS. Paul and Macarius, 

of 1514.) 

The railway (4 frs. 30 c. : 2 frs. 90 c. : 2 frs. 5 c.) con- 
tinues by Ficulle to 130 kiL Orvieto. (Inns, Belle Arti y 
Aquila JVera, both good). Omnibus from the station to 
the town. 

For Orvieto see "Days near Rome" vol. ii. Visit the 
matchless cathedral, with its sculptured front by Niccolb 
and Giovanni da Pisa, &c, and the grand frescoes of Fra 
Angelico and Luca Signorelli, observing especially those of 
the Preaching of Antichrist and the Resurrection at the 
Last Day. Also see the curious well called Pozzo di San 
Patrizio and the tomb by Arnolfo to Cardinal de Braye in 
S. Domenico, and ascend the opposite hill in the direction 
of Bolsena for the sake of the noble view of the town on its 
rock-girdled platform. 

* The new railway from Chiusi to Cortona will enable the traveller to visit Siena 
Montepulciano, Chiusi, Thrasyraene, Cortona, and Areaso, in the circuit of a plea 
sant week's " outing " from Florence. 

VOL. III. 21 



CHAPTER LIX. 
AREZZO. 

(Inns, Vittoria, good. InghilUrra, opposite : — both in the Via 
Cavour. 
Carriages to or from the station, I fr.) 

/ / nP*HE railway from Florence to Arezzo (9 frs. 60 c.: 
v X 6 frs. 55 c. : 4 frs. 55 c.) leads through the valleys of 
the Chiana and the Upper Arno ; the latter celebrated for 
its fossil remains. It passes — 

S. Giovanni (stat) the birthplace of Masaccio (Tommaso 
di Giovanni) 1402, and of Giovanni (Mannozzi) di S. Gio- 
vanni, 1590. In the Church of S. Lorenzo is a Madonna 
attributed to Masaccio.) 

Arezzo is a charming place with a bright Tuscan aspect, 
and it will strike travellers coming from the south by the 
cheerfulness of its broad pavements and the green shutters 
of its houses. As Arretium, one of the twelve cities of the 
Etruscan confederation, it was celebrated for its vases of 
red pottery. It was the head-quarters of the Consul 
Flaminius before the battle of Thrasymene. In the Middle 
Ages it chiefly held with the Ghibelline party. Among its 
famous citizens have been Maecenas; Petrarch; Pietro 
(Bacci) Aretino 1492; Margaritone 1236; Spinello the 
artist, 1328, Vasari, and many other distinguished persons. 



S. MARIA BELLA PIEVE. 323 

There are no Etruscan remains in Arezzo except in the 
Museum, and it is even doubtful whether the existing town 
occupies the exact site of the old city. 

The sights of Arezzo may be well seen in a few hours, 
but it may also be made head-quarters for excursions to 
Borgo S. Sepolcro and Cortona. 

The Via Cavour, in which the hotels are situated, leads 
immediately into the Corso. Here, on the right, is the 
great Church of S. Maria della Pieve, founded by Bishop 
Aribertus between 980 and 1000, but chiefly built in 12 16 
by the native architect Marchionne. 

" Towards the end of the twelfth, or beginning of the thirteenth 
century, the taste for extravagant or capricious ornament in architec- 
tural sculpture showed itself in the facade of the Pieve or parochial 
church of Arezzo, which was built by Marchionne, a native artist It 
has three rows of columns, one above the other, bound together in 
groups of two, three, and four, varying in size, shape and length, twisted 
like vines, or fashioned into human forms, based upon extravagantly 
conceived animals, and covered with capitals fantastically ornamented." 
— Perkins* Tuscan Sculptors, 

The Interior has three aisles separated by tall pillars 
with richly sculptured Corinthian capitals. It is very simple 
and severe, and was restored 1874 — 75. At the High Altar 
is a S. George by Vasari. 

Opposite the church, beyond the entrance of the Via 
degli Albergotti, is the Palazzo Pubblico, of 1332, covered 
with arms of Podestas, a perfect museum of local heraldry. 

A little beyond this, on the left, at the entrance of the 
Via del Orte, is the Birthplace of Petrarch (July 20, 1304) 
whose father had been keeper of the archives to the Signoria 
of Florence, and was sent into exile with Dante. 

Here is the entrance of the truly charming public walk, 

21 — 2 



324 ITALIAN CITIES. 

planted with elms, and reaching to the walls, over which 
there is a beautiful view of the surrounding country. In 
No. 1 2 of the Via Ricasoli, which runs below the gardens, 
the poet Antonio Guadagnoli was born. On the edge of 
the stone platform opposite is a statue of Ferdinand I. by 
Giovanni da Bologna , 1595. 

Adjoining the public walks is the gothic Cathedral, built 
of yellow stone, with an octangular campanile. It was 
begun in 1277. The west front is unfinished, and its 
statues are rude and broken. On the south is a very fine 
door with a high gothic canopy, but the crumbling nature 
of the stone has done much to annihilate its sculpture. 

The Interior is most beautiful. The roof is richly 
coloured, and the long lines of intensely tall pillars end in 
an apse with long lancet windows filled by brilliant stained 
glass, which, as well as that in the side windows, is due to 
the Dominican monk, William of Marseilles, 1530. The 
simplicity of the lines is seldom broken and only by objects 
of the rarest beauty. 

Right. Tomb of Gregory X., 1 2 76, by Margaritottt % and further on, 
a sarcophagus containing the remains of Arretine saints collected by 
Bishop Albergotti. Above, is a fresco of the Crucifixion with saints. 

High Altar. The magnificent Shrine of S. Donato made, 1264, for 
Bishop Ubertini, by Giovanni Pisano. 

" During the persecution of the Christians under Julian the Apostate, 
S. Donato fled from Rome to Arezzo, of which he became bishop and 
after his death patron saint. As he stood one day, according to the 
legend, before the altar, with a sacramental cup in his hand, some 
rude Pagans attacked him and shattered it to fragments, which he 
miraculously reunited, without losing a drop of its contents. Trans- 
ported with fury at this sight, the aggressors seized the unoffending 
prelate, and hurried him away to death. The Gothic shrine which 
Giovanni Pisano designed and sculptured in honour of this martyr is 
oblong in shape, and richly adorned with statuettes, leaves, arabesques, 
intaglios, enamels, and bas-reliefs. Above the altar* which occupies 



CATHEDRAL OF AREZZO. 3*5 

the front of the shrine, and beneath a canopy supported by angels, sits 
the Madonna smiling tenderly upon the Infant Saviour, whose head 
rests upon her shoulder. On either side of this really pleasing group 
are statuettes of SS. Donato and Gregory, and in the gable above, 
three reliefs representing the Marriage of the Virgin, the Annunciation, 
and the Assumption. The most striking amongst the numerous bas- 
reliefs with which the three other sides of the shrine are covered, is that 
in which the saint's body lies stretched upon a funeral couch, surrounded 
by his devoted and deeply grieving followers, one of whom leans over to 
lift the lifeless hand so often raised in blessing or in prayer, while the 
rest are kneeling in supplication. Around the top of the shrine runs 
a row of Gothic arches (filled in with half figures of apostles and 
prophets) which are invaluable as giving an air of lightness to the 
massive structure. This superb work of art, including enamels, some 
silver bas-reliefs, and jewels hung around the Madonna's neck, cost no 
less than 30,000 florins." — Perkins* Tuscan Sculptors. 

" Left of High Altar. The splendid tomb, by Agostino di Giovanni 
and Agnolo di Ventura, of Guido Tarlati, the military prince-bishop of 
Arezzo, who when deposed and excommunicated, placed the iron 
crown of Lombard y on the head of the Emperor Louis of Bavaria in 
Milan cathedral, May 30, 1327, but having afterwards lost the Em- 
peror's favour, declared him excommunicated and became himself 
reconciled to the Church. The monument is dated 1330 and signed. 

" The history of a prelate who, leaving mass and mitre, often donned 
the helmet, and led his troops in person to the battle-field, offered a 
rich series of subjects for sculptural treatment Adopting the Pisan 
type, the sculptors placed the sarcophagus, with its recumbent effigy ex- 
posed to view by curtain-drawing angels, under a lofty gothic canopy, and 
with novel effect disposed below it sixteen bas-reliefs, in which they 
represented the sieges and battles of Bishop Tarlati, with much spirit 
and action. Though rudely sculptured, many of these are extremely 
well composed, and show feeling and power of expression. For in- 
stance, in that inscribed Caprena, there is an excellent group of knights 
on horseback entering a walled city, and in that which represents 
Tarlati's death, the figures of the attendants, one of whom throws out 
his arms in grief, while another tears his hair in despair, are drama- 
tically conceived. The Giottesque treatment visible throughout is proof 
ot the influence of Giotto upon these artists, though it does not warrant 
Vasari's statement that he designed them." — Perkins* Tuscan Sculptors, 

Returning to S. Maria della Pieve, behind the church, is 
the exceedingly picturesque Piazza Grande % in the centre of 



3i6 ITALIAN CITIES. 

which stands a statue of Ferdinand III. by Stefarut Rica. 
The brown apse of the church with its pillared arcades 
overhangs a fountain. Beside this is the charming Palace 




of the Confraternity delta Misericordia, dating from the 
fourteenth century. The lunette over the door contains 
a Pieta in fresco by "Jacopo di Catentine, and, above, a relief 
of the Madonna and Saints by Niccolo Aretino. On the first 
floor is The Museum, containing an interesting local collec- 
tion of fossil bones, ancient inscriptions, 350 precious 
sixteenth-century majolica vases, and many specimens of 
the beautiful red ware of Roman Arretium praised by 
Pliny.* 

" It is of very fine clay, of a bright coral hue, adorned with reliefs, 
rather of flowers than of figures, and bearing the malter*s name at the 



S. FRANCESCO. 3*7 

bottom of the vase. In form, material, decoration, and style of art, it 
is so totally unlike the produce of any Etruscan necropolis, that it 
scarcely needs the Latin inscriptions to mark its origin. Indeed, though 
it were too much to assert that the Etruscans never formed such a ware, 
it is clear that all hitherto found is of Roman manufacture." — Dennis. 

Returning down the Via Cavour, we find, left, the Church 
of S. Francesco, containing a number of important frescoes. 

Entrance wall. Last Supper. 14th century. 

Right wall. Spinello Aretino. The Annunciation. 

Choir y entirely painted by Piero delta Francesco, with the story of the 
True Cross. 

" When Adam lay in his death-sickness, he sent Seth to Paradise to 
beg for some of the oil of the tree of mercy. The archangel Michael 
replied, that the oil of the tree of mercy could not be given to men for 
the space of six thousand years ; but, instead, he gave to Seth a wand, 
which he was to plant upon the grave of Adam after his death ; or, as 
some say, a seed, which he was to lay under his tongue. And presently 
Adam died, and Seth fulfilled the commands of the angel. 

" From the seed planted upon the grave of Adam, or, as some say, the 
seed set under his tongue, there grew a goodly tree. And by -and -by 
King Solomon, seeing its goodliness, bade them cut it down and fashion 
it for a summer-house they were building him. But the builders could 
not fit nor fashion it ; first, it was too large for its place, then too 
small ; so they threw it aside, and cast it for a bridge across a stream in 
Solomon's garden. The Queen of Sheba, coming to visit Solomon 
was aware in the spirit of the miraculous virtue of this tree, and would 
not tread upon it, but fell down and worshipped it And after she 
was gone, she sent messengers to Solomon, bidding him beware of that 
tree, for on it should be hanged one with whose death the kingdom of 
the Jews should pass away. So Solomon caused the tree to be buried 
deep in the ground. And later, the Jews unaware dug a well in the 
same place ; this was the pool of Bethesda, and not only from the 
descent of the angel, but from the tree which was at the bottom of the 
well, the water drew healing virtues. About the time when Christ's 
ministry drew to an end, the tree of its own accord floated to the sur- 
face of the water, and the Jews finding it ready to their hand used it for 
a cross whereon to crucify Christ. After the Crucifixion it was buried, 
together with the crosses of the thieves, upon Mount Calvary ; and in 
the time of Hadrian a temple of Venus was built upon the site. Until 
the time of Constantine, nearly three hundred years after the Cr^cv&starc^ 



323 ITALIAN CITIES. 

nothing more was seen of the Cross. In the history of Constantine, the 
visionary cross of his dream was closely but confusedly associated with 
the actual cross found by his mother. Some say that the dream, in 
which an angel holding a cross appeared to him, saying, * In this sign 
thou shalt conquer,' was dreamed in the night before a great battle 
against the barbarians on the Danube ; some before the battle in which 
Constantine overthrew his rival Maxentius (a.D. 313) at Saxa Rubra 
near Rome. However this was, Constantine being converted pre- 
sently sent his mother Helena to find the True Cross at Jerusalem. 
When her coming was made known, the Jews wondered wherefore she 
came ; till one Judas said he knew it was to find the Cross, for his 
grandfather Zaccheus had prophesied this coming to his father Simon 
Christ, whom they crucified, had been the true God, said Judas, and 
for Christ's sake they had stoned Stephen, who had been the brother 
of his father Simon (hence arises the great difficulty of dates). And the 
Jews warned Judas lest he should confess aught of these things. So 
when Helena came they denied with one accord that they knew 
aught of that cross. Thereupon Helena threatened that they should all 
be buried alive. Then they gave Judas up into her hands ; and when 
he persisted in denying, she caused him to be buried up to his neck in 
the ground. On the sixth day he confessed, and being drawn out of 
the ground, led them to the hill of Calvary. Here they dug, and three 
crosses were presently found. The miracle of raising one dead pre- 
sently declared which was the True Cross. So Helena caused the 
temple of Venus to be destroyed, and a church to be built wherein one 
portion of the True Cross should be preserved : the other part she car- 
ried away to Constantinople, and Judas being converted presently 
became Bishop of Jerusalem under the title of Saint Quiricus. Here 
ends the story of the discovery (Inventio) of the True Cross. The 
story of its recovery and carriage in procession (Exaltatio) belongs to 
a point three hundred years later in the history of the Empire. In the 
years 620 — 626, the Emperor Heraclius was hard pressed by the Avars 
before Constantinople, and by Chrosroes of the great Sassanian house 
of Persia, who was master of all Syria and Asia Minor, and had carried 
off to his own capital the portion of the Holy Cross enshrined since the 
time of Constantine in Jerusalem. Heraclius arose, and the campaigns 
which for a time retrieved the Empire, and ended in the overthrow and 
death of Chrosroes, shine out amongst the most memorable flashes of 
antiquity's expiring heroism. But what legend cares most about is to 
follow Heraclius as he rescues the True Cross after its fourteen years of 
durance beyond the Tigris, and carries it back in triumph to Jerusalem. 
As Heraclius, we are told, came riding in military pomp to the gate of 



PINACOTECA OF AREZZO. 329 

Jerusalem, with the cross upborne by his soldiers, suddenly the walls 
closed before him ; a voice was heard saying, * Not thus, but with 
humility did thy Master bear his cross,' whereupon Heraclius descended 
to trail the cross upon his own shoulders, bare-headed and unshod ; the 
walls unclosed again, and the procession passed safely in." — S. C. 

Left of High Aliar. The fine terra-cotta tomb of a member of the 

Roselli family. 

In front of the church is the statue of the patriotic Gount 
Vittorio Fossombrone — " Idraulico, Politico, Economista " 
— by Romanelli of Florence. 

A little further down the Via Cavour is La Badia, built 
r 55°> with a curious false cupola by PozzL At the high- 
altar are pictures by Vasari. The first door on the left of 
the west end of the church leads to the cloister of the con- 
vent, in the left corridor of which is the entrance to the 
Pinacoteca, where we may notice — 

1 st Room. 

1. Alargaritone. Madonna. 

2. Pieiro Lorenzettu Madonna between SS. John Baptist, Matthew, 

John, and Donato— from the Church of the 
Pieve. 

3. Pecori (TAretxo. Madonna della Misericordia. 

4. Lorentino a? Andrea cCArezzo. Madonna with SS. Gaudenzio and 

Columato. 

5. Parri Spinello. Madonna del Mantello. 

6. Lorentino a* Andrea. S. Columato. 

7. Id. S. Gaudenzio. 

13. Bicci di Lorenzo. Madonna del Mantello. 

4th Room. 

1. Vasari. Portrait of Cardinal Accolti. 

2. Id. S. Koch. 

3. Rosso Fiorentino. The Bearing of the Cross. 
5. Vasaru Madonna Camajani. 

8. Id. Madonna in Glory. 

9. Id. S. John Baptist 
10. Bart, dell* Gatta. S. Roch. 



330 ITALIAN CITIES. 

II. Luca Signorelli. The Virgin throned in glory amid cherubs, 
with God the Father above in benediction. Below are S. Donato 
with S. Jerome, and S. Stephen with Niccoio Gamurrini, introduced by 
S. Niccoio, his patron saint In front is David, and in the background 
two prophets in adoration. This important picture was painted in 1520 
for the Compagnia di S. Girolamo, half the price being paid by Master 
Niccoio Gamurrini. 

'* This picture was carried from Cortona to Arezzo on the shoulders 
of men belonging to the company it was painted for ; and Luca, old 
as he was, insisted on coming over to put it up, as well as partly to see 
his friends and relatives again. And, inasmuch as he staid at the house 
of the Vasari, where I was then a little child of eight, I can remember 
how that good old man, all graciousness and politeness as he was, 
having heard from the master who had to teach me my letters that I 
minded nothing in school except scribbling likenesses. I remember, I 
say, how he turned to Antonio, my father, and said, ' Antonio, since 
little George won't learn his letters, still drawing, although it might be 
no use, would at all events be a credit and satisfaction to him, as to any 
other gentleman.' And with that he turned to me, as I stood there 
opposite to him, and said, 'Mind your lessons, little kinsman.' He 
said a great many more things of me which I won't repeat, for my con- 
science tells me that I am a long way from having fulfilled the opinion 
that good old man had of me. And because they told him, what was 
the truth, that at that time I was subject to bleedings of the nose so 
violent that I sometimes fainted from them, he put a key on my neck 
with his hand in a manner infinitely affectionate ; and that recollection 
of Luca will always remain fixed in my mind. When the picture was 
set in its place, he went off to Cortona again, and was accompanied on 
his way by a number of citizens, as was no less than his due, for he had 
always lived more like a lord and an honoured gentleman than a 
painter. " — Vasari. 

5 th Room. 

3. Luca Signorellu Madonna with SS. Margaret, M. Magdalen 

Francis, and Chiana. 

4. Santi di Tito, Nativity of the Virgin. 

5. Sasso/errato. Madonna. 

Below the end of the Via Cavour, in the Via Sacra, which 
runs behind the Badia, is the handsome Church of the S. An- 



CASTEL SECCO. 



33* 



nunziata. The smaller door has a curious frieze in which 
the Evangelists are introduced, and close by are some 
remains of a fresco by Spinello. Within is : — 

Under the Organ. Niccolo Soggi. 1520. The Nativity. 

The Borgo S. Vito contains several houses of remarkable 
men. No. 27 is that of Vasari, which he built himself, 
1540 — 1547 : No. 10 is that of Pietro Aretino : No. 29 that 
of the warrior-bishop Guglielmo Ubertini. 

Near the Porta S. Spirito are some insignificant remains 
of an ancient Amphitheatre. Two or thref miles south-east 
of the town, on the height called Caste/ Seeeo, are the 
remains of fortifications which Dennis thinks may be those 
of the Etruscan Arretium. 

The vineyards of Arezzo have long been celebrated. 
Pliny * speaks of their three kinds of grapes — " talpana, et 
etesiaca, et conseminia." 

• xiv. 4, 7. 



CHAPTER LX. 
GORTON A AND THRASYMENE. 

IT is about i hour by rail (3 frs. : 2 frs. 5 c. : 1 fr. 40 c) 
from Arezzo to Cortona, which may be visited in the 
day from thence, or, by starting at 9 A.M., may be taken on 
the way to Perugia. The line traverses the marshes of the 
Chiana, now drained by the energy of Count Fossombroni, 
and no longer subject to the fevers which are spoken of by 
Dante. 

41 Qual dolor fora, se degli spedali 
Di Val di Chiana, tra Luglio e'l Settembre." 

The railway passes : — 

Castiglione Fiorentino (stat), an interesting old walled 
town. The Church of S. Giuliano contains an altar-piece 
of i486 by Bart, della Gatta. In the Collegiata is a fine 
picture by Segna (b. 1305). 

After passing (left) the castle of Monteechio, we reach . 

Cortona station, which is in the village of Camuccia, about 
1 J m. from the town, at the bottom of the steep hill by 
which it is crowned. 

(Omnibus to town 50 c. A tolerable Catfe* at the station. Inn, 
Albergo Nazionali t very primitive, and one of the few places where it is 
desirable to arrange prices beforehand, but no one will sleep here by 
choice.) 



HISTORY OF CORTONA. 333 

Cortona was one of the most powerful inland cities of 
Etruria, and was one of the twelve towns of the Etruscan 
confederation. Tradition, followed by Virgil, makes it the 
burial place of Corythus, the father of Dardanus, founder 
of Troy. 

" Hinc ilium Corythi Tyrrhena* ab sede profectum 

Aurea nunc solio stellantis regia coeli 
Adcipit, et numcrum divorum altaribus addit." 

ALn. vii. 209. 

But little is subsequently heard of it in history, and its 
impregnable position probably preserved it from the hosts 
of invaders, who from time to time devastated Italy. The 
modern city, still the see of a bishop, has been the home 
of many eminent men : of the martyrs Marcellinus, Verianus, 
Secundianus, &c. ; of the poets Cecco d* Arigelliere Alti- 
cozzi the friend of Dante, Medaglio the friend of Leo X., 
and Francesco Moneti the satirist ; of the painters Pietro 
da Cortona and of Luca Signorelli — 

" II Cortonese 
Luca, d'ingegno spirto pellegrino. " 

This great master was born at Cortona in 1441, being 
the son of Egidio di Ventura Signorelli and his wife Elisa- 
betta Vasari. He was the pupil of Piero della Franceses 
He may be regarded as " the forerunner of Michel Angelo, 
and in some respects his model, and no one can look upon 
his works without seeing how the Sistine chapel grew from 
their study." Many of his noblest pictures will be noticed 
in the different churches of this town. 

" Luca Signorelli was a man of most upright life, sincere in every- 
thing, affectionate to his friends, mild and amiable in all his dealings, 
especially courteous to those who desired his wqtU&, axud. nwj ^SSs&umX. 



334 ITALIAN CITIES. 

as well as kind in the instruction of his pupils. He lived splendidly, 
loved to dress in handsome clothing, and was evci most highly esteemed 
for his many high qualities, both at home and abroad." — Vasari. 

The carriage road winds up the hill by easy zig-zags, but 
foot-passengers may take a shorter way, which is fringed 
with large wild yellow and orange roses in the late spring. 

The town of Cortona hangs upon the mountain-side 
with steep clambering streets. It retains its ancient site, 
and is about two miles in circumference, the modem being 
based upon the ancient walls, the finest portions of which 
are at the spot called Terra Mozza, outside the fortress. 




Close to the gate by which the carriage road enters the 
town is the old Church of S. Dommico, of the iath century. 
The lunette over the door is a fresco of 1438, of the 
Madonna between SS. Dominic and Peter. 

Right "/ High Altar. Fra Aagtlko da Fusole. Madonna and Child 
between the Baptist with S. John and the Magdalen with S. Mark. 
Beneath is the Annunciation, above the Crucifixion. 

Left of High Attar. Lorenxo di Niaolb Gerini. A Tabernacle, with 
the Coronation of the Virgin and, beneath, the Adoration of the Magi, 
with four scenes from the life of S. Dominic An inscription tells how 
Cosimo and Lorenzo de' Medici gave this picture in 1440 to the monks 
of S. Domenico, for the benefit of their souls and those of their 
ancestors. 



S. MARGHERITA DI CORTONA. 335 

Hence a steep paved way leads to the upper town, pass- 
ing (right) some way up, a little square garden, containing 
the chapel of the Compagnia di S. Niecotb. Luca Signarelli 
was a member of the brotherhood to whom the chapel be- 
longs, and has left in it one of his last works, viz. : — 

"High Altar, A picture painted on both sides. On one side is the 
Deposition, in which a number of saints are introduced, those most in 
the foreground being SS. Francis and Onofrio. On the other side are 
the Madonna and Child between SS. Peter and Paul. 

Left of the Entrance is a fresco, also by Luca Signtrelli, representing 
the Madonna and Child between (left) SS. Paul, Christopher, Sebastian, 
and James, and (right) SS. Nicholas, Onofrio, Barbara, and another. 

On the highest point of the mountain, with a glorious 
view, which includes a portion of the Lake of Thrasymene, 
is the Church of S. Marghcrita. Its tower was built, 1297, 
by Niccolo Pisano and his son. The church is almost en- 
tirely modern. It contains the silver 13th century shrine of 
S. Margaret, with a crown presented by Pietro da Cortona, 
as a token of gratitude when he was ennobled by his native 
city. 

S. Margaret was born at Alviano near Chiusi. Turned out of doors 
by a cruel step-mother, she took to evil courses. One of her lovers was 
a gentleman of Montepulciano, who was assassinated on leaving her 
house. His little dog returning to her, pulled whining at her dress till 
she followed to where he lay dead, covered with wounds. Overwhelmed 
by remorse, she entered a Franciscan convent at Cortona in 1272. Here, 
as she knelt before the Crucifix, she seemed to see her Redeemer bow 
his head in token of forgiveness, and her after life of charity and peni- 
tence caused her to be regarded as a second Magdalen. She died at 
Cortona, Feb. 22, 1297. Her attribute in art is the little dog of her 
story. 

Over the door of the Sacristy is the beautiful tomb of 
the saint by Giovanni Pisano, which contained her remains 
before she was canonised. 



336 ITALIAN CITIES. 

"The general arrangement of this monument resembles that of Pope 
Benedict at Perugia. Upon the sarcophagus lies the effigy of the saint 
with her hands clasped beneath her robe ; at her feet crouches the faith- 
ful dog who guided her to the bleeding body of her murdered lover, the 
sight of which (though tempted by demons to resume her former evil 
courses) so changed her, that she determined to spend the remainder of 
her days in penitence and prayer. On the front of the sarcophagus are 
bas-reliefs, representing the Magdalen washing our Saviour's feet, and the 
Raising of Lazarus ; while below, between the consoles, S. Margaret is 
represented taking the penitential habit, and giving up her soul to 
angels, who bear it to heaven. ,, — Pcrktni Tuscan Sculptors. 

Near S. Margherita is the Fortezza y close to which are 
some of the best remains of the Etruscan walls of the town, 
formed of enormous blocks laid together without mortar. 
They may be traced at intervals through their whole 
circuit 

If we turn to the right as we descend we shall reach the 
Piazza Nazionale, behind which is the Piazza Signorelli, 
containing the Palazzo Prdorio^ the further part of which is 
occupied by the Ettuscan Museum (a boy will fetch the 
custode with the key), which, amid the usual collection of 
bronze and earthenware, contains two very important 
objects, a picture in fresco of a Muse of amazing beauty, 
and a lamp. 

"This lamp is of such surpassing beauty and elaboration of work- 
manship as to throw into the shade every toreutic work yet discovered in 
the soil of Etruria. It is circular, about twenty-three inches in diameter, 
hollow like a bowl, but from the centre rises a sort of conical chimney 
or tube, to which must have been attached a chain for its suspension. 
Round the rim are sixteen lamps, of classic form, fed by oil from the 
great bowl, and adorned with elegant foliage in relief. Alternating 
with them are heads of the horned and bearded Bacchus. At the bottom 
of each lamp is a figure in relief— alternately a draped Siren with wings 
outspread, and a naked Satyr playing the double-pipes, or the Syrinx. 
The bottom is hollowed in the centre, and contains a huge and terrible 
Gorgon's face. In a band encircling it, are lions, leopards, wolves, and 



CATHEDRAL OF CORTONA. 337 

griffins, in pairs, devouring a ball, a horse, a boar, and a stag ; and in 
an outer band is the favourite wave ornament, with dolphins sporting 
above it Between two of the lamps was a small tablet with an Etruscan 
inscription, marking this as a dedicatory offering. The weight of the 
whole is said to be one hundred and seventy Tuscan pounds. 1 ' — Dennis, 

Behind the piazza, near the western wall of the town, 
stands the Cathedral of S. Mar/a, founded in the 10th, but 
chiefly dating from the 18th century. 

The Choir contains three noble pictures by Luca Signorelli : the In- 
credulity of S. Thomas, the Deposition, and The Last Supper. In the 
latter, ten of the apostles stand in two rows, and the Saviour walks be- 
tween with the bread, followed by the two remaining disciples as 
deacons. This mode of representation was introduced long before in 
the famous picture by Justus of Ghent at Urbino. 

Chapel left of High Altar. A beautiful sarcophagus, the traditional 
tomb of the Consul Flaminius. "It was found early in the Middle Ages, 
and built, as such fragments often were built, with care into the inner 
face of the cathedral wall. Full of legends of Thrasymene, the people 
have dubbed it the sarcophagus of the Consul Flaminius. It happened 
one day, in the first fever of the antiquarian passion at Florence, that 
Donatello told his friend Brunelleschi how on his way back from Rome 
he had seen this monument at Cortona, and what a marvel of beauty it 
was. The next thing that was seen of Brunelleschi was his producing, 
in company a few days later, a fine pen drawing of the monument in 
question. He had been fired, it appeared, by Donatello's description, 
and had gone off ' as he was, without saying a word, in his town-going 
cloak and cap and shoes,' and had made his way to Cortona on foot, 
sixty hilly miles, and done his drawing and come back again." — S. C. 

Sacristy. Luca Signorelli, Madonna and Child, with saints— a lunette. 

Opposite the Cathedral (its sacristan has the keys) is the 
humble Church of II Gesu, with a rich carved ceiling. It 
contains : — 

Fra Angelico. The Annunciation, a beautiful and well-preserved 
picture, which has two gradini belonging to it, one occupied by scenes 
from the life of the Virgin, the other telling the story of S. Dominic. 

Luca Signorelli (right), Madonna in Glory, with saints. 

(Left). The Nativity. 

. vol. 11 L 22 



338 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Descending from the piazza by the footway from the 
town, we pass (right) the Church of S. Agostino, which 
possesses — 

Pietro da Cortona> 1 640, Madonna between Pope Stephen, the 
Baptist, S. James, and S. Francis. 

Near the station is the curious tumulus called II Me/one, 
containing an Etruscan tomb in several chambers, opened 
in 1842. 



Soon after leaving Camuccia, the railway begins to skirt 
the Lake of Thrasymenc. Even when seen in this way it 
produces an impression different from that of all other 
lakes : it has a soft, still beauty especially its own. Upon 
the vast expanse of shallow pale-green waters, surrounded 
by low-lying hills, storms have scarcely any effect, and the 
birds which float over it, and the fishing-boats which skim 
across its surface, are reflected as in a mirror. At Passig- 
nano and Torricella, picturesque villages, chiefly occupied 
by fishermen, jut out into the water, but otherwise the 
reedy shore is perfectly desolate on this side, though, 
beyond the lake, convents and villages crown the hills which 
rise between us and the pale violet mountains beyond 
Montepulciano. In regarding this peaceful scene, and 
reading of the battle of a. a 217, in which 15,000 Romans 
perished, one may well exclaim :— 

" Is this the spot where Rome's eternal foe 
Into his snares the mighty legions drew, 
Whence from the carnage, spiritless and few, 
A remnant scarcely reached her gates of woe ? 
Is this the stream, thus gliding soft and slow, 



THRASYMENE. 

Thai, from the gushing wounds of thousands, grew 
So fierce a flood, that waves of crimson hue 
Rushed on the bosom of the lake below ? 
The mountains that gave back the battle-cry 
Are silent now ; — perchance yon hillocks green 
Mark where the bones of those old warriors lie ! 
Heaver) never gladdened a more peaceful scene ; 
Never left softer breeze a fairer sky 
To sport upon thy waters, Thrasymene. " 

Charla Strong, 




is stand about the quiet lake, 
That not a breath its azure calm may break ; 
No leaf of these sere olive trees is stirred, 
In the near silence far-otT sounds are heard 
The tiny bat is flitting overhead. 
The hawthorn doth its richest odours shed 
Into the dewy air ; and over all 
Veil after veil the evening shadows fall, 
And one by one withdraw each glimmering height, 
The far, and then the nearer, from our sight — 
No sign surviving in this tranquil scene, 
That strife and savage tumult here have been." 

Artkbiskop Trend. 

The strip of land between the hills and the lake which 
the railway passes through was the actual scene of the 
slaughter. No one will grudge reading the vivid description 
of Arnold on the spot 

"The consul (C Flaminius) had encamped in the evening on the 
side of the lake, on the Tuscan side of Passignano : he had made a 
31 3 



34Q ITALIAN CITIES. 

forced march, and had arrived at his position so late that he could not 
examine the ground before him. Early the next morning he set 
forward again ; the morning mist hung thickly over the lake and the 
low grounds, leaving the heights, as is often the case, quite clear. 
Flaminius, anxious to overtake his enemy, rejoiced in the friendly veil 
which thus concealed his advance, and hoped to fall upon Hannibal's 
army while it was still in marching order, and its columns encumbered 
with the plunder of the valley of the Arno. He passed through the 
defile of Passignano, and found no enemy : this confirmed him in his 
belief that Hannibal did not mean to fight. Already the Numidian 
cavalry were on the edge of the basin of the Tiber: unless he could 
overtake them speedily, they would have reached the plain ; and 
Africans, Spaniards, and Gauls, would be rioting in the devastation of 
the garden of Italy. So the consul rejoiced as the heads of his columns 
emerged from the defile, and, turning to the left, began to ascend the 
hills, where he hoped at least to find the rear-guard of the enemy. 

At this moment the stillness of the mist was broken by barbarian 
war-cries on every side ; and both flanks of the Roman column were 
assailed at once. Their right was overwhelmed by a storm of javelins 
and arrows, shot as if from the midst of darkness, and striking into the 
soldier's unguarded side, where he had no shield to cover him ; while 
ponderous stones, against which no shield or helmet could avail, came 
crashing down upon theirj heads. On the left were heard the tram* 
pling of horse, and the well-known war-cries of the Gauls ; and presently 
Hannibal's dreaded cavalry emerged from the mist, and were in an 
nstant in the midst of their ranks ; and the huge forms of the Gauls and 
their vast broad swords broke in upon them at the same moment. The 
head of the Roman column, which was already ascending to the higher 
ground, found its advance also barred ; for here was the enemy whom 
they had so longed to overtake ; here were some of the Spanish and 
African foot of Hannibal's army drawn up to await their assault. The 
Romans instantly attacked these troops, and cut their way through ; 
these must be the covering parties, they thought, of Hannibal's main 
battle ; and, eager to bring the contest to a decisive issue, they pushed 
forward up the heights, not doubting that on the summit they should 
find the whole force of the enemy. And now they were on the top of 
the ridge, and to their astonishment no enemy was there ; but the mist 
drew up, and, as they looked behind, they saw too plainly where 
Hannibal was ; the whole valley was one scene of carnage, while on, 
the sides of the hills above were the masses of the Spanish and African 
foot witnessing the destruction of the Roman army, which had scarcely 
cost them a single stroke. 



THRASYMEN&. 34> 

" The advanced troops of Ihe Roman column had (bus escaped tlie 
slaughter ; but being too few to retrieve the day, they continued their 
advance, which was now become a (light, and took refuge in one of the 
neighbouring villages. Meantime, while the centre of the army was 
cut to pieces in the valley, the rear was still winding through the defile 
beyond, between the cliffs and the lake. But they, too, were attacked 
front the heights above by the Gauls, and forced in confusion into the 
water. Some of the soldiers in desperation (truck out into the deep 
water swimming, and weighed down by their armour presently sank ; 
others ran in as far as was within [heir depth, and then Blood helplessly, 
till the enemy's cavalry dashed in after them. Then they lifted up their 
hands and cried for quarter : but on this day of sacrifice, the gods of 
Carthage were not (o be defrauded of a single victim. 

" Thus, with the exception of the advanced troops of the Roman 
column, who were about 6000 men, the rest of the army was utterly 
destroyed. The consul himself had seen the wreck consummated. On 
finding himself surrounded, he had vainly endeavoured to form his men 
amidst the confusion, and to offer some regular resistance : when this 
was hopeless, he continued to do his duty as a brave soldier, till one of 
the Gaulish horsemen, who is said to have known him by sight from 
his former consulship, rode up and ran him through the body with his 
lance, crying out, ' So perish the man who slaughtered our brethren, 
and robbed us of the lands of our fathers.' " — Hillary of Rome, vol. iii, 
" Far other scene is Thrasymene now ; 

Her lake a sheet of silver, and her plain 

Rent by no ravage save the gentle plough ; 

Her aged trees rise thick as once the slain 

Lay where their roots are ; but a brook hath la'en — 

A little rill of scanty stream and bed— 

A name of blood from that day's sanguine rain ; 

And Sanguinetto tells ye where the dead 
Made the earth wet, and turo'd the unwilling waters red." 

Byron— Child* Harold. 

The lake of Thrasymene is of rounded form, being about 
twenty-six miles in circumference and seven miles broad. 
There is a project for draining it(!), happily in abeyance, 
in consequence of the enormous cost and small profit of 
draining the Lago Fucino, and the unhealthiness it has 
engendered. Artists will find charming subjects in. tKt 



342 ITALIAN CITIES. 

neighbourhood of Passignano, but they will do well to go 
thither for the day from Perugia ; for the inn will scarcely 
be found endurable. 

There are three islands on the lake. Isola Polvese most 
to the south, which is inhabited ; Isola Minor r, which is 
quite desolate; and Isola Maggiore at the northern side, 
where there is an Olivetan Convent, and which is con- 
nected with the story of S. Francis. 

" S. Francis was inspired to go and pass the time of Lent in an 
island on the lake, and begged a friend, out of love to God, to conduct 
him in his boat to an island uninhabited by man, and to take him there 
in the night of Ash-Wednesday, so that none might know where he 
was. The friend, out of the great devotion he bore to S. Francis, 
granted his request, and conducted him to the desert island. S. Francis 
took nought with him but two small loaves. When they had reached 
the island, his friend left him and returned home ; the saint entreated 
him to reveal to no one where he was, and not to come and fetch him 
before Holy Thursday ; to which he consented. S. Francis being quite 
alone, entered a thick part of the wood all overgrown with brambles 
and other creeping plants, and forming as it were a kind of hut, and 
there began to pray and to enter into the contemplation of divine things. 
He passed the whole of Lent without eating or drinking aught but half 
of one of the small loaves he brought with him, as we learnt from his 
friend, who went to fetch him on Holy Thursday, and found one of the 
loaves untouched and the other only half consumed. It is presumed 
that S. Francis ate this half out of respect to our blessed Lord, who 
fasted forty days and forty nights without taking any material food ; for 
by eating this bit of bread he put aside the temptation to vain-glory, 
and yet fasted forty days and forty nights in imitation of the Saviour. 
In later times God worked many miracles on the spot where S. Francis 
had fasted so wonderfully ; on which account bye-and-bye a little town 
rose up there, with a convent called the Convent of the Isle." — FioretH 
i/i S. Francesco, 

It is here also that Bonaventura tells the story of the 
friendship of S. Francis with the wild rabbit, which 
" returned to the father's bosom, as if it had some hidden 
sense of the pitifulness of his heart" 



CHAPTER LXI. 
PERUGIA. 

It L> I J hour by rail from Cortona to Perugia (5 firs. 25 ; 3 frs. 80 ; 

2 frs. 50). 

Ordinary travellers may see Perugia in a day, but by those who wish 
to examine or profit by it much more time will be spent there. Om- 
nibus to town 1 franc The Grand Hotel of Brofani, in a delightful 
airy situation outside the town, near S. Domenico, is a first rate hotel, 
with every comfort. Pension in the season, 12 francs ; in the summer, 
10 francs. This hotel is rather far from the sights for those who only 
stay one day. Hotel La Posta or Gran Bretagna, in the Corso, is near 
the cathedral, Palazzo Pubblico, &c. 

The palaces and churches of Perugia are very numerous and interest- 
ing, but with the single exception of those in S. Pietro de* Casinensi, 
it should be remembered that all the important pictures mentioned in 
guide-books as existing in the churches, will now be found in the Pina- 
coteca. The most important sights are, the Sala del Cambio, the 
Cathedral, S. Severo, the Arco d'Augusto, S. Angelo, and the Pinaco- 
teca, on one side of the town ; and S. Domenico and S. Pietro 
de' Casinensi on the other. 

The Pinacoteca is open daily, except on Mondays and Thursdays, 
from 9 to 12. 



PERUGIA, the ancient Perusia, was one of the twelve 
cities of the Etruscan Confederation. It was sur- 
rendered to Fabius in b.c. 309. Little more is known of its 
early history till Augustus besieged Lucius Antonius, brother 
of the triumvir, within its walls. The town was reduced by 
starvation, but one of the inhabitants setting fire to his 



344 ITALIAN CITIES. 

house, the flames spread and the whole city was burnt It 
was rebuilt as a Roman colony by Augustus. In 141 6, the 
famous chieftain Fortebraccio was received as Lord of 
Perugia, and under his wise rule it attained great prosperity. 
After his death it was chiefly ruled by the great family of 
the Baglioni, whose whole history is one of crime and 
bloodshed. 

" The Church was reckoned the supreme administrator of the Peru- 
vian commonwealth. But in reality no man could set foot on the Urn- 
1 rian plain without permission from the Baglioni. They elected the 
officers of state. The lives and goods of the citizens were at their dis- 
cretion. When a Papal legate showed his face, they made the town too 
hot to hold him. One of Innocent VIII. 's nephews had been murdered 
by them. Another cardinal shut himself up in a box, and sneaked on 
mule-back like a bale of merchandise through the gates to escape their 
fury. It was in vain that from time to time the people rose against 
them, massacring Pandolfo Baglioni on the public square in 1393, and 
joining with Ridolfo and Braccio of the dominant house to assassinate 
another Pandolfo, with his son Niccolo, in 1469. The more they were 
cut down, the more they flourished. The wealth they derived from 
their lordships in the duchy of Spoleto and the Umbrian hill-cities, and 
the treasures they accumulated in the service of the Italian republics, 
made them omnipotent in their native town. There they built tall 
houses on the site which Paul III. afterwards chose for his casttUo, 
and which is now an open space above the Porta S. Carlo. From the 
balconies and turrets of these palaces, swarming with their bravi, they 
surveyed the splendid land that felt their force — a land which even in 
midsummer from sunrise to sunset keeps the light of day upon its up- 
turned face. And from this eyrie they issued forth to prey upon the 
plain, or to take their lust of love or blood within the city streets." — 
J. A. Symonds. 

Perugia was finally seized as an appanage of the church 
in 1538. In 1553, Julius III. accorded many privileges to 
the town, which continued to form part of the Papal States 
till the Sardinian invasion of 1859 — 60. 

Perugia had then become already remarkable for a rebel- 



ASCENT TO PERUGIA. 345 

lion, in quelling which the papal troops, as they occupied the 
town, being under the belief that they were attacked by the 
citizens from the windows, avenged themselves by a massacre, 
which, though greatly exaggerated at the time, was still so 
cruel and barbarous, that the rule of Victor Emanuel, when 
Perugia was really annexed to his dominions, was naturally 
more welcomed here than elsewhere. 

It is a long ascent from the station to the grey city walls, 
which stand crowned with towers and churches at the top 
of a green hill which is covered with the utmost luxuriance 
of vegetation, " as green as England and as bright as Italy 
alone. 19 Each turn of the way is beautiful, and most so on 
a market day, when it is almost blocked up with the herds 
of goats and oxen and flocks of sheep, driven to the market 
and attended by their gaily dressed herdsmen who sing wild 
stornelli in deep Umbrian voices as they go. 

The bastion of the city which projects towards the valley 
is that which was once occupied by the fortress-like palaces 
of the Baglioni, and here, after Paul HI. took the city, he 
caused the fortress called Citadella Paolina to be built in 
1 540 by Sangallo — "ad coercendam Perusinorum audaciam." 
At this time much of the old Etruscan wall of Perusia was 
destroyed, but Sangallo preserved the shell of the gate 
called Porta Manzia by enclosing it in his own fortifica- 
tions. In the last few years, the castle of Paul III. has in 
its turn almost entirely perished under the Sardinian govern- 
ment, and the' frightful public offices which are such an eye- 
sore in all distant views of the town have been erected on 
its site. Nevertheless all strangers will visit the open space 
which was once the platform of the fortress (now called 
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele) to enjoy the view, «a ns&s^rs^ 



3*G 



ITALIAN CITIES. 



ably beautiful towards sunset, of the rich valley of the Tiber, 
with the churches of S. Domenico and S. Pietro crowning 
the nearer heights. This then we may take as a centre for 
two sightseeing excursions in Perugia. 




Facing us as we look back towards the Corso, on its 
right, is the handsome Palazzo Monaldi, which contains a 
large picture by Guide, of Neptune in his chariot, receiving 
tribute from the Earth. 

Entering the Corso, on the right, is the Casa Baldeschi, 
which contains a valuable sketch executed by Raffatlie for 
one of the frescoes carried out by Pinturicchio in the 
library at Siena. It represents Pius II. (^Eneas Silvius), 
as a bishop, betrothing Frederick III. to Eleanora of 
Portugal. 

The Via Nuova, on the right beyond this, leads (left) 
to the long narrow Piazza del Sopramuro, which derives its 
name from the subterranean masonry by which it is sup- 
ported, filling up the space between two hills. The dark 



SALA DEL CAMBIO. 347 

brown houses with their heavy windows, their shields of 
arms, and projecting roofs, and the fountain in the midst 
surrounded by fruit and vegetable sellers, are most pic- 
turesque. On the left, on entering from the Via Nuova, is 
the Biblioteea Pubblica, which contains a very valuable local 
collection, but little that is of importance to strangers. 

Returning to the Corso, on the left, marked high on the 
wall by the griffin of Perugia, is the Sala del Camdto, the 
disused Exchange, containing some of the noblest works of 
Pcrugino, executed in 1500 for 350 gold ducats paid by the 
Guild of Wool. 

In the first chamber are represented first (on the left 
wall) Pagan Virtues with the classical heroes who illustrated 
them, viz, : — 

( Lucius Licinius. 
Fortitude < I^onidas. 

( Horatius Codes. 

iPublius Scipio. 
Pericles. 
Cincinnatus. 

f Fabius Maxirr.us. 
Wisdom < Socrates. 
( Numa. 

( Furius Camillus. 
Justice < Pittacus. 

( Trojan. 

Hence we pass to (on the right wall) the Triumph of 
Religion. Above is God the Father, and below, the 
prophets, Isaiah, Moses, Daniel (said to be a portrait of 
Raphael), David, Jeremiah (shown as a portrait of Pinturic- 
chio), Solomon ; and the sibyls, Erythaea, Persica, Cumana, 
Libyca, Tiburtina, Delphica, Opposite the entrance are the 
Nativity, and the Transfiguration. On ti\fc c&\v\x&^»s. <s^ 



348 ITALIAN CITIES. 

the left is a portrait of Perugino himself, with the inscrip- 
tion : — 

" Perdita si fuerit, pingendi hie retulit artem ; 
Si nusquam inventa est hactenus, ipse dedit." 

Over the door is Cato the Censor. On the roof are the 
seven planets and the signs of the zodiac, with Apollo in 
the centre. The Renaissance wood decorations are by 
Antonio Mercatello di Massa. 

" The manner in which Perugino has placed his figures, in rows one 
beside the other, is characteristic of him : a Florentine, by ingenuous 
allusions of every kind, would have mingled them in groups, while a 
Venetian would, at all events, have represented the Santa Conversazione* 
— Kugler. 

" It is in the Sala del Cambio that we obtain a really new conception 
of the faculty of Perugino. Upon the decoration of this little hall he 
concentrated all his powers of invention. The frescoes of the Trans- 
figuration and the Nativity, which face the great door, are the triumphs 
of his devotional manner. On other panels of the chamber he has 
pourtrayed the philosophers of Greece and Rome, the kings and generals 
of antiquity, the prophets and the sibyls who announced Christ's advent. 
The roof is covered with arabesques of delicate design and dainty 
execution, labyrinths of fanciful improvisation, in which flowers and 
foliage and human forms are woven into a harmonious framework for 
the medallions of the seven planets. The woodwork with which the 
hall is lined below the frescoes, shows to what a point of perfection the 
art of intarsiatura had been carried in his school. All these decorative 
masterpieces are the product of an ingenuous style. Uninfluenced by 
the Roman frescoes imitated by Raffaelle in his Loggie of the Vatican, 
they breathe the spirit of the earlier Renaissance, which created for 
itself free forms of grace and loveliness without a pattern, divining by 
its innate sense of beauty what the classic artists had achieved. Take 
for an example the medallion of the planet Jupiter. The king of gods 
and men, hoary-headed and mild-eyed, is seated in his chariot drawn 
by eagles ; before him kneels Ganymede, a fair-haired, exquisite, slim 
page, with floating mantle and ribbands fluttering round his tight hose 
and jerkin. Such were the cup-bearers of Galeazzo Sforza and Gian- 
paolo Baglioni. Then compare this fresco with the Jupiter in mosaic 
upon the cupola of the Chigi chapel in S. Maria del Popolo at Rome. 
A new age of experience had passed over Raffaelle between his execu*. 



PALAZZO PUBBL1C0. 349 

tion of Perugino's design in the one and his conception of the other. 
He had seen the marbles of the Vatican, and had heard of Plato in the 
interval : the simple graces of the earlier Renaissance were no longer 
enough for him ; but he must realise the thought of classic myths in 
his new manner. In the same way we may compare this Transfigura- 
tion with Raftaelle's last picture, these sibyls with those of S. Maria 
della Pace, the sages with the school of Athens, these warriors with the 
Battle of Maxentius. What is characteristic of the full-grown Raffaelle, 
is his universal comprehension, his royal faculty for representing past 
and present, near and distant, things the most diverse, by forms ideal 
and yet distinctive. Each phase of the world's history and of human 
activity receives from him appropriate and elevated expression. What 
is characteristic of the frescoes in the Sala del Cambio, and indeed of 
the whole manner of Pcrugino, is that all subjects, sacred or secular, 
allegorical or real, are conceived in the same spirit of restrained and 
well-bred piety. There is no attempt at historical propriety or dramatic 
realism. Grave, ascetic, melancholy faces of saints are put on bodies 
of kings, generals, sages, sibyls, and deities alike. The same ribbands 
and studied draperies clothe and connect all. The same conventional 
attitudes of meditative gracefulness are repeated in each group. Yet 
the whole effect, if somewhat feeble and insipid, is harmonious and 
thoughtful. We see that each part has proceeded from the same mind, 
in the same mood, and that the master's mind was no common one, the 
mood itself was noble. Good taste is every where apparent : the work 
throughout is a masterpiece of refined fancy. To Perugino the repre- 
sentative imagination was of less importance than a certain delicate and 
adequately ideal mode of feeling and conceiving. The consequent 
charm of his style is that everything is thought out and rendered visible 
in one decorous key." — J, A, Symonds. 

The second chamber, a chapel, is painted by Giannicola 
Mating with the history of S. John the Baptist The altar- 
piece, of the Baptism of our Saviour, is by Perugino. 

Close by, (on the left), is the immense and stately Palazzo 
Pubblico, of mutilated but rich Italian Gothic The splendid 
round-headed door has seven varieties of Gothic ornaments 
and huge griffins and lions: in the lunette are the three 
protectors of Perugia, S. Lorenzo, S. Ludovico, and S. Erco- 
lano. Above are two long ranges of bea&\&& Q><afc»R. 



350 ITALIAN CITIES. 

windows. Between those in the lower range are some richly 
wrought-iron cressets. In the interior there is not much to 
see except a fresco in the Sala del Consiglio Communale, 
of Julius III. restoring to the city the magistrates who had 
been taken away by Paul III. ; and, in the chapel of the 
Priors, a fresco of Benedetto Bonng/i, 1 460. 

Between the palace and the cathedral is the beautiful 
Fountain designed by Fra Bevignato and Boninsegna, and 
adorned with sculpture by Niccolb and Giovanni Pisano, 

" In the year 1274, Niccol6 Pisano went to Perugia to design a foun- 
tain for the piazza. He did not, however, reside there during the time 
necessary for its construction ; but after planning out its details returned 
to Pisa, whence he sent the statuettes which he had undertaken to make 
for the upper basin to his son Giovanni, who remained at Perugia to 
superintend the work, and sculpture the bas-reliefs about the lower basin. 
In the upper of these basins, stands a column supporting a bronze tazza, 
from which rises another column with nymphs round its base, and 
griffins and lions upon its summit. The twenty-four statuettes attri- 
buted to Niccolb, which are set against pilasters, are simply designed, 
broadly draped figures, the best of which represent Melchizedek, SS 
Peter, Paul, and John, and the Catholic Church. The fifty bas-reliefs 
sculptured by Giovanni Pisano represent the months, the signs of the 
zodiac, the trivium and quadrivium, prophets, apostles, emperors and 
kings, some of /Esop's fables, and various heraldic devices. Proud of 
their beautiful fountain, the magistrates enacted severe laws for its pre- 
servation, in which it is mentioned as the most valuable possession of 
the city, and as unique not only in Italy, but in the world ; encomiums 
which, even in its present state of decay, seem little exaggerated."— 
Perkiris Tuscan Scultoidrs. 

The fountain seldom or never plays, but the water bursts 
forth beneath. The grey fountain with the dark end of the 
cathedral, here inlaid with red and white marble, is a beau- 
tiful subject for an artist So also is the side of the Palazzo 
Pubblico towards the fountain. It has a loggia supported by 
three arches of red and white marble, and is adorned with 



CATHEDRAL OF PERUGIA. 351 

bronze beasts, the Griffin for Perugia, the Lion as the 
emblem of the Guelfs. Opposite, at the corner of the Via 
del Commercio, is another old gothic palace. 

This piazza was the scene of one of those religious 
revivals which were even more frequent in Italy in the 
Middle Ages, than in England in the 19th century. 

" ' On September 23, 1425/ says Graziani, the chronicler of Perugia, 
' there were, as far as we could reckon, upwards of 3,000 persons in the 
cathedral. The sermon of San Bernardino da Massa was from the 
sacred scripture, reproving men of every vice and sin, and teaching 
Christian living. Then he began to rebuke the women for their paints 
and cosmetics, and such-like wanton customs : and in like manner the 
men for their cards and dice-boards and masks and amulets and charms : 
insomuch that within a fortnight the women sent all their false hair and 
gewgaws to the Convent of S. Francis, and the men their dice, cards, 
and such gear, to the amount of many loads. And on October 29 Fra 
Bernardino collected all these devilish things on the piazza, where he 
erected a kind of wooden castle between the fountain and the Bishop's 
Palace ; and in this he put the said articles, and set fire to them ; and 
the fire was so great that none durst go near ; and in the fire were 
burned things of the greatest value, and so great was the haste of men 
and women to escape the fire that many would have perished but for 
the quick aid of the burghers/ Together with this onslaught upon 
vanities, Fra Bernardino connected the preaching of peace and amity. 
It is noticeable that while his sermon lasted and the great bell of S. 
Lorenzo went on tolling, no man could be taken or imprisoned in the 
city of Perugia." — % A. Sy mends. 

" Often and often have those steps of the Duomo run with blood of 
Baglioni, Oddi, Arisposti, and La Stafia. Once the whole church had 
to be washed with wine and blessed anew before the rites of Christianity 
could be resumed in its desecrated aisles. It was here that within the 
space of two days, in 1500, the catafalque was raised for the murdered 
Astorre and for his traitorous cousin Grifonetto Baglioni. Here, too, 
if more ancient tradition does not err, were stretched the corpses of 
twenty-seven members of the same great house at the end of one of their 
grim combats." — J. A. S, 

The Cathedral of S. Lorenzo is gothic, of the end of the 
15th century. Externally it is rugged axvi >xT&K^^>\ssax 



35 1 ITALIAN CITIES. 

not without grandeur. The interior is modernized, poor 
and gaudy. 

Rights \st Chapel. Surrounded by a beautiful screen of wrought iron. 
A Deposition by Baroccio (1569), considered to be his master-piece, and 
.some beautiful wood- carving by Ercoledi Tommaso zxAJacopo Florentine. 
The painted window, representing the preaching of S. Bernardino of 
Siena, was executed by Constantino da Rosaro and Fra Brunacci of 
Monte Casino from a drawing by Arrigo Flamingo (1565). Close by 
is a fine tomb of a bishop, 145 1. 

The 2nd Chapel (the Baptistery) has a canopy in low relief, by Pietro 
Paolo da Como (1477). 

The yd Chapel (of the Sacrament), designed by Galcazzo Alessi f has 
frescoes by Leopardi. 

On the left wall of the Right Transept is a monument with a papal 
tiara over the grave of three popes, — the great Innocent III., who died 
here on his way to Pisa, to reconcile that city with Genoa, July 1 1, 
1216;* Urban IV., 1264 ; and Martin IV., 1282. 

The Winter Choir contains an altar-piece by Luca Signordli^ 1 484. 
A Madonna enthroned with saints, "which," says Kugler, "combines 
a very harsh naturalism with a noble sentiment." 

The 1st Chapel on left, also with a beautiful screen, is called H Santo 
Atiello, from an ancient ring of onyx, believed to have been the wed- 
ding ring of the Virgin.t It is preserved in a beautiful tabernacle by 
Roscetto (15 1 7). Here was the famous Sposalizio of Perugino, now at 
Caen, in Normandy. 

The stalls of the choir are by Giulio da Majarw and Domenico Tosso 
Fiorentino (1491). 

In the neighbouring Canonica four papal councils were 
held, viz., under Honorius III., 1226; Clement IV., 1265; 
Coelestine V., 1294; Clement V., 1305. 

* Richard of S. Germano, after reporting the death of Innocent III. in the simple 
words—' Languore correptus, feliciter expiravit " — quotes from a contemporary poet, 
the lines — 

" Nox accede, quia cessit sol ; lugeat orbis 
In medio lucis lumen obisse suum." 

t " L'anello, con quale S. Giuseppe sposd Maria Vergine, e* una pietra d*un color 
trasparcnte azzurro, e d'un contorno assai grosso : ecco com' io Fho veduto ; ma 
dicono che quell' anello cambia miracolosamente colore e forma, a misura degli occni 
Uiversi che se gli avvicinano." 

C. Goldoni, Memerfc, cap, 11. 



PIAZZA DEL PAPA. 



353 



At the north-west of the cathedral, in the Piazza del Papa, 
is the famous bronze Statue of Pope Julius III., erected by 
the citizens in gratitude for his restoration of privileges 
which his predecessor had taken away, and executed by 
o Danti'm. 1555. 




of Juliu III., Perugia. 



" Through all this petty tumult which keeps beguiling one's eyes and 
upper strata of thought, it is delightful to catch glimpses of the grand 
old architecture that stands round the square. The life of the flitting 
moment, existing in the antique shell of an age gone by, has a fascina- 
tion which we do not find in either the past or present, taken by them- 
selves. It may seem irreverent to make the grey cathedral, and the 
tall, time-worn palaces echo back the exuberant vociferation of the 
market ; but they do so, and cause the sound to assume a kind of poetic 
rhythm, and themselves look only the more majestic for their conde- 



11 



354 ITALIAN CITIES. 

" On one side, there is an immense edifice devoted to public purposes, 
with an antique gallery, and a range of arched and stone-mullioned 
windows, running along its front ; and by way of entrance it has a 
central Gothic arch, elaborately wreathed around with sculptured semi 
circles, within which the spectator is aware of a stately and impressive 
gloom. Though merely the municipal council house and exchange of a 
decayed country town, this structure is worthy to have held in one por- 
tion of it the parliament hall of a nation, and in the other, the state 
apartments of its ruler. On another side of the square rises the 
mediaeval front of the cathedral, where the imagination of a Gothic 
architect had long ago flowered out indestructibly, achieving, in the 
first place, a grand design, and then covering it with such abundant 
detail of ornament, that the magnitude of the work seems less a miracle 
than its minuteness. You would suppose that he must have softened 
the stone into wax, until his most delicate fancies were modelled in the 
pliant material, and then had hardened it into stone again. The whole 
is a vast, black-letter page of the richest and quaintest poetry. In fit 
keeping with all this old magnificence, is a great marble fountain, where 
again the Gothic imagination shows its overflow and gratuity of device 
in the manifold sculptures which it lavishes as freely as the water does 
its shifting shapes. 

" Besides the two venerable structures which we have described, there 
are lofty palaces, perhaps of as old a date, rising story above story, 
and adorned with balconies, whence, hundreds of years ago, the princely 
occupants were accustomed to gaze down at the sports, business, and 
popular assemblages of the piazza. And, beyond all question, they 
thus witnessed the erection of a bronze statue, which, three centuries 
since, was placed on the pedestal that it still occupies. 

' 'It is the figure of a pope, arrayed in his pontifical robes, and 
crowned with his tiara. He sits in a bronze chair, elevated high above 
the pavement, and seems to take kindly yet authoritative cognizance of 
the busy scene which passes before his eyes. His right hand is raised 
and spread abroad, as if in the act of shedding forth a benediction, 
which every man — so broad, so wise, and so serenely affectionate is the 
bronze pope's regard — may hope to feel quietly descending upon the 
need, or the distress, that he has closest at his heart The statue has 
life and observation in it, as well as patriarchal majesty. An imagina- 
tive spectator cannot but be impressed with the idea, that this benignly 
awful representative of divine and human authority may rise from his 
brazen chair, should any great public exigency demand his interposition, 
and encourage or restrain the people by his gesture, or even by pro- 
phetic utterances worthy of so grand a presence. 



S. SEVERO. 355 

" And, in the long, calm intervals, amid the quiet lapse of ages, the 
pontiff has watched the daily turmoil around his seat, listening with 
majestic patience to the market cries, and all the petty uproar that 
awakes the echoes of the stately old piazza. He has been the enduring 
friend of these men, and of their forefathers and children, — the familiar 
face of generations." — Hawthorne^ "The Marble Faun." 

Opposite the west-end of the cathedral is the Palazzo 
Conestabili Staffa % once celebrated for a lovely little Madonna 
of Raffaelle now removed to S. Petersburg. 

Passing hence (right) through the litde Piazza dei Gi*li, 
the first turn on the left of the next street ascends to the 
Convent of S. Scvero, which contains the earliest fresco of 
Raffaelle. The saints were painted after Raffaelle's death, 
by Pcrugino y in 1 5 2 1 . 

" Christ is in the centre, with the dove of the Holy Spirit above 
and two youthful angels beside him. Over the group is God the Father, 
with two angels ; this part of the picture is much injured. On eacli 
side of the middle group, and somewhat lower, are three saints, seated. 
It is a very grand composition, and reminds us, on the one hand, of 
Fra Bartolommeo's now ruined fresco in S. Maria Nuova at Florence, 
as well as of older paintings, and on the other it may be considered as 
the original of Raffaelle's own celebrated ' Disputa ' in the Vatican. 
The figuies of the saints are very dignified : the Christ is beautiful, and 
with a mild expression ; and the angels — at least the one on the left of 
the Saviour, folding his hands on his breast,— most interesting and 
graceful. The drapery, although severe, is well executed in grand lines 
and masses. The painting has unfortunately suffered materially, and 
the upper group is almost entirely destroyed. Under it is a niche, on 
each side of which are three saints, painted by Perugino in 1521, and 
painfully showing the weakness of the surviving master." — Kugler. 

There is a most lovely view from the upper windows of 
the Convent, over the city and the rainbow-tinted plain 
girdled by soft blue mountains tipped with snow. The street 
which passes below S. Severo leads to the Church of S. 
Antonio di Via Suptrba, marked externally by && \h&C&&&& 

23 2 



356 ITALIAN CITIES. 

carcass of his famous pig upon a pedestal, and decorated 
internally by Matteo di Gualdo and Pictro Antonio di Foligno. 

" The paintings of S. Antonio on the side walls of the church, have 
a beautiful mildness of expression. — Kugier, 

A little beyond the adjoining gate (right) is the Convent 
of S. Lucia, with the pilgrimage Church of S. Maria 
Assunta. It is a picturesque spot, with a street of booths 
tor the sale of rosaries, &c, and there is an exquisite view 
from the terrace which leads to it 

Returning to the Piazza del Papa, and following (left) the 
Via Vecchia, we reach by a steep descent (left) the famous 
ancient gateway called Arco a'Augvrto, from the inscription 
" Augusta Perusia " over it, which was added by Augustus. 
On either side of the arch is a tower, of which the lower 
part is ancient, but an open loggia has been added above 
that on the left. 

" The gate is formed of regular masonry of travertin, uncemented, 
in courses eighteen inches high ; some of the blocks being three or 
four feet in length. The masonry of the arch hardly corresponds with 
that below it, and is probably of subsequent date and Roman, as the 
inscription seems to testify, though the letters are not necessarily coeval 
with the structure. The arch is skew, or oblique ; and the gate is 
double, like those of Volterra and Cosa. Above the arch is a frieze of six 
Ionic colonettes, fluted, alternating with shields ; and from this springs 
another arch, now blocked up, surmounted by a second frieze of Ionic 
pilasters, not fluted. All the work above the lower arch is evidently of 
Inter date than the original construction of the gateway. The entire 
height of the structure, as it now stands, cannot be less than sixty or 

seventy feet Within the city a noble wall of rusticated 

masonry rises to the height of fifty or sixty feet, now unconnected with 
the gs.te, whatever it may have been of old." — Dennis, 

Clore to the gate on the left is the magnificent Palazzo 
Atitinori. The Via Lon^ara which leads in a direct line 



S. AGOSTINO, S. ANGELO. 357 

from hence, passes (on the right) the Chunk of S. Agostino, 
once celebrated for its Peruginos. Nineteen pictures have 
been removed from hence by the Sardinian government. 
Among those which remain may be noticed an Adoration of 
the Magi by Domenico Alfani (right transept), and a 
Descent of the Holy Ghost, by Taddeo Bartoli (left tran- 
sept). The stalls of the choir are by Baccio dAgnolo from 
designs of Perugino. 

The actual grave of Perugino is unknown. He is sup- 
posed to have been buried under an oak at Fontignano, but 
his sons afterwards contracted with the monks of S. Agostino 
for his removal to their church, a design which was never 
carried out, as funerals in the town were forbidden at that 
time, owing to the plague, which was then raging. 

Close to the end of the Via Lungara, on a rising ground 
on the right, is the Church of S. Angelo, very curious archi- 
tecturally, and having evidently once been a temple. 

Externally, the lower part is circular, the upper octagonal; 
within, it is circular and supported by 16 ancient columns. 
Originally there were three circles of pillars, of granite and 
dark grey marble, but only one now remains perfect, and 
two of the pillars which formed this circle have been moved, 
and their places supplied by others from the outer circle 
(those with sculptured bases). All the columns in S. Pietro 
dei Casinensi were brought from hence, two columns in II 
Gesu and two in the Piazza Sopramuro. One pillar, in the 
wall, marks the second circle. Local authorities call the 
building " II Tempio della Gloria" : it bears a great resem- 
blance to S. Stefano Rotondo at Rome. The roof is coved 
with ribs. The ancient high-altar had a pyramidal baldac- 
chino, like that now preserved in the Pinacoteca^ *s> \aa?j \>fc 



35» ITALIAN CITIES. 

seen by a picture in the sacristy. Near the present high- 
altar, is an altar in honour of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius 
Antoninus. Another ancient sacrificial altar remains in the 
church. 

Outside the Porta S. Angelo is the desecrated Convent of 
S. Fraticesco del Monte. The injured frescoes of Perugino 
formerly in its church are removed to the Pinacoteca. 

Near this, crossing the street (and under an arch) is the 
Convent of S. Agnese, which contains, in the Cappella ddla 
Consolazione, the last fresco of Perugino, of a Madonna and 
Saints (1522). In another chapel is a fresco of God the 
Father in glory, also by Pert4gino, but as the Convent is a 
C/ausura, these frescoes cannot be seen without an especial 
order from the Cardinal 

Returning to the end of the Via Lungara, the Via de 
Pasteni, on the right, leads to the University, founded in 
1307, in an Olivetan convent It is the third largest 
University in Italy. 

Here also is the Pinacoteca, arranged in the desecrated 
church and its sacristies. Hither the best pictures in the 
town have been removed, and greatly lose in interest by 
separation from the places for which they were intended and 
painted. It is, however, a most important collection, and 
contains scarcely a single picture which is not worthy of 
study, and many passing visitors will be glad to be saved a 
tedious round of churches to seek them. There are thirty- 
four works of Perugino here. The most remarkable pictures 
are: — 

No. 2. Pidro Perugino. A Transfiguration (a reduction from the 
picture in the Sala del Cambio), from S. Maria Nuova. 
4. Boccati da Canurino (1447). A Madonna with saints, and angels 



PINACOTECA OF FERUGIA. 359 

who are singing in an actual choir with stalls ; some brothers of 
the Misericordia are presented in front. From the convent of S. 
Domenico. 

5. Domenico A //ant (1 524), his most beautiful picture, Madonna with 
SS. Nicholas, Peter, Paul, and Lucia. 

6. Perugino (15 12), S. Giacomo della Marca. 

Beneath this (unnumbered) Pinturicchio. S. Augustine and praying 
brethren. 

8. * Eusebio di S. Giorgio (1505). The Adoration of the Magi, a most 
grand picture, often attributed to Raffaelle, also to Gliirlandajo, and to 
Fiorenzo di Lorenzo. From S. Agostino. 

9. Perugino, an Angel. From S. Agostino. 

12. Baccio d'Agnofo, from a drawing of Perugino. 

13. Fiorenzo di Lorenzo (1472). Madonna with saints and angels, in 
five compartments. 

14. Benedetto Bonfigli. Madonna with angels, and SS. Thomas 
Aquinas, Jerome, Francis and Bernardino (the faces of the two latter 
are destroyed). 

16. Berto di S. Giovanni. S . John the Evangelist writing in Patmos, 
God the Father in the lunette above. This is very Raffaelesque, and 
the drawing for it is shown in Stockholm as a Raffaelle. The landscape 
is painted in great detail. From S. Giuliana. 

18. Bonfigli, The Adoration of the Magi. 

21. Boccali da Camerino. Madonna and angels. 

23.* Perugino, Nativity. This is one of the most beautiful and 
scriptural specimens of the Master. Nothing can exceed the simple 
assurance and trust of the Virgin, the holy surprise of Joseph, and the 
earnest adoration of the Shepherds. From S. Agostino. 

25. Lo Spagna. Madonna with SS. Jerome, Antony of Padua, 
Francis and the Baptist. 

26.* Giannicola Mannu Christ in glory between the Virgin and 
the Baptist. Beneath, 14 saints. The Baptist especially beautiful. 
From the Baglioni Chapel in S. Domenico. 

27. Perugino. The Coronation of the Virgin, with 12 Apostles. This 
picture turns round. On the other side is a crucifix, with the Madonna, 
S. Francis, S. John, and S. Mary Magdalene painted behind it. From 
S. Francesco del Monte. 

29. Fiorenzo di Lorenzo (1487). S. Peter, S. Paul, and a lunette of 
the Madonna. From S. Francesco de' Conventuali. 

3a (Standing alone in the Choir) Pinturicchio, 1498. An immense 
altar-piece. Madonna with the Child holding a pomegranate, and the 
Infant S. John with a long cross. Left, S. Augustine. Right, S. 



360 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Jerome. Above, an Annunciation, and over that, a Pieta. In the 
Predella, the four Evangelists, S. Augustine and S. Jerome. From S. 
Maria de' Fossi. 

" This work is one of Pinturicchio's finest paintings, and displays, 
perhaps more than any other of the Umbrian school, the deep and pure 
feeling of Niccolo Alunno, united with a better knowledge of form and 
a more beautiful manner ; in the heads especially, the character and 
expression are conceived and rendered with the deepest feeling."— 
Kugler. 

(Behind this, unnumbered) Lalanzo delta Marca. A great altar- 
piece. A scene during the plague at Perugia ; the patron-saints, 
Ercolano and Lorenzo are interceding with the Virgin for the people. 
From S. Maria del Popolo. 

31. Perugino* Madonna in glory, with S. Francis and S. Bernardino 
presenting a religious confraternity. From S. Bernardino. 

33. Perugino. The Saviour between S. Francis, S. Jerome, S. 
Sebastian, and S. Antony of Padua. From S. Francesco de' Con- 
ventuali. 

34. Perugino, God the Father. From S. Agostino. 

35.* Perugino (1488). Madonna and Child with a kneeling crowd 
of penitents. From S. Pietro Martire. 

37.* Eusebio di S, Giorgio. Madonna and Child with two saints. 

39. Domenico Ghirlandajo ? The Adoration of the Magi. From S. 
Maria Nuova. 

41.* Perugino. The Baptism of Christ. A perfectly lovely picture. 
The figures stand supported by the water. The adoration of the 
Baptist is quite indescribable, — " He must increase, but I must de» 
crease ;" above are six winged seraphims. From S. Agostino. 

42. Perugino. Daniel. A medallion. 

43. Dommico Alfani (1536). The Nativity. 

47. Piero del/a Francesco, (1469). Madonna and Child. In the 
niches at the sides, SS. Francis, Chiara, J. Baptist and Antony. Above, 
the Annunciation, between SS. Agata and Chiara. 

49. Lo Spagna. God the Father with angels, a lunette. 

50. Fioreftzo di Lorenzo. The Nativity. From S. Maria di Monte- 
Luco. The local botany is curiously portrayed. 

51. Bonfigli. The Annunciation, with the figure of S. Luke, 
quaintly introduced, noting down the fact. 

52. 54, 55, 57. Berto di Giovanni (1525). The Birth, Presentation, 
Marriage and Death of the Virgin. A predella to the Coronation of 
the Virgin, now in the Vatican, which belonged to the nuns of Monte* 
Luco. 



PINACOTECA OB PERUGIA. 3^t 

56. Perugino. S. Jerome and S. Mary Magdalene. From S. 
Agostino. 

53* 5& Giannkola Mannu Saints. 

59. Dom. Alfanu Madonna with SS. Joseph, Jerome, Joachim, 
and Anna. 

61. Bonfiglu S. Catherine and S. Peter. From S. Domenico. 

63. Duccio de Siena. Madonna. 

64. Fiorento di Lorenzo. S Sebastian. 

65. Bernardino da Perugia. Madonna with S. Andrew and S. 
Giuliana. 

67. Taddeo Gaddi. A Tabernacle. Madonna and saints. A pre- 
della with four scenes from the life of Christ. 

68. Lello da Velletri. Madonna between SS. J. Baptist, Augustine, 
Agata, and Li be rat ore. From S. Agostino. 

70. * Boccato da Camerino. Madonna with angels. 

73. Ben. Bonfigii. S. Paul and S. Peter Martyr. 

75. Niccolo Alunno (1456). Annunciation, with S. Philip and S. 
Giuliana praying for a kneeling brotherhood. Above is God the 
Father. From S. Maria Nuova. 

"The form of the heads of Gabriel and the Madonna is wonderful ; 
the devotion of the angels thoroughly naive." — Burckhardt. 

In the middle of the church is an altar-baldacchino, with 
a pyramidal top, of the ninth century, from the church of 
S. Prospero. In the right transept is the tomb of S. 
Egidius, a rich sarcophagus of the fourth century, from S. 
Francesco. 

Passing a passage full of the works of Sinibaldo Jbi and 
Meo and Guido da Siena, we reach another room filled with 
mutilated frescoes ; here also is — 

Margheritone : A great crucifix. 

In the room within this are : — 

164. Perugino. Martyrdom of S. Sebastian. 

206. Benozzo Gozso/i. Madonna and saints. 

209, 210, 213, 214, 227, 228, 233, 234. A series of exquisitely 
finished pictures from the life of S. Bernardino of Siena, by an unknown 
painter of 1473. 



362 ITALIAN CITIES. 

236. Raffaclle? A Madonna and Child (reading). From S. Maria 
della Misericordia. 

The collection of illuminated choir books is part of the spoils of S. 
Doinenico. 

The Etruscan Museum, on the first floor, has a good col- 
lection of vases and small articles found in the neighbour- 
hood, but the discoveries here have not been so productive 
as those of Cortona and other places. As the Etruscans of 
Perugia generally burned their dead, very few sarcophagi 
have been found. 

There is a striking view of the town from hence. The 
pile of buildings on the opposite hill is the Convent of & 
Francesco dei Conventuali, sometimes called S. Francesco del 
Prato. A winding road, lined with trees, leads thither. The 
church is a Gothic building of 1230, modernised in 1748. 
In the 1 st chapel on the left of the church is a copy of 
Raffaelle's Entombment, by the Car. d'Arpino, substituted for 
the original when Paul V. carried it oft In the sacristy are 
preserved the bones of the famous Condottiere, Braccio 
Fortebraccio, killed June 5, 1424, at the siege of Aquila. 

In the little green square close to the convent is the 
Oratory of S. Bernardino ("La Giustizia "), a beautiful 
specimen of Renaissance decoration. Its marble front is 
inscribed " Opus Augustini Fiorentini Lapidica, 1461," and 
is the work of Agostino delta Robbia. In the niches are 
statues of S. Ercolano, S. Costanzo, the Virgin, and the 
angel Gabriel. 

" This facade, with its terra cottas and parti-coloured marbles, forms 
one of the most charming examples of polychromatic architecture in 
Italy. An infinite variety of reliefs, arabesques, and ornaments cover 
its architraves, flat-spaces, and the side posts of its doors ; above rises 
an arch, the principal wK^\\tGtan\ taxwe* <& ^a U^^^^kutlaiiette 



MADONNA VI MONTE LUCO % S. ERCOLANO. 363 

of which San Bernardino appears in a glory of flaming tongues, 
attended by angels playing upon musical instruments. Among the 
figures in relief upon the pilasters of this arch, is a group of two angels, 
one of whom is playing upon a lute, and a lovely figure of Chastity with 
a lily branch in her hand, whose draperies, arranged in subtle and 
delicate folds, fall with consummate grace. The reliefs over the door, 
representing scenes from the life of San Bernardino, are notably 
realistic in style, and eminently naive in sentiment In treatment, they 
are quite unlike Luca della Robbia, whose surfaces are always rounded, 
whereas these are flat, like Donatello, resembling also his style in 
careful rendering of nature, irrespective of beauty ; while in plastic 
power, and facility of invention, they surpass any of the terra-cotta 
works of Luca della Robbia or his scholars." — Perkins* Tuscan 
Sculpture. 

Hence, passing the Madonna di Monte Zuco, a beautiful 
little church designed by Galeazzo Alessi, and under the tall 
towers called Torre degli Sciri % or degli Scafzi, we re-enter 
the town by the Via dei Priori. On the right (by the Via 
della Cupa), nearly opposite the Chiesa Nuova is, at 18 
Via Deliziosa, on the steep of a hill, the two-storied House 
of Pietro Perugino (Pietro Vannucci), whither, in 1495, tne 
twelve-year-old Raffaelle went to his lessons. And so we 
return to the Corso. 

From the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, by the Porta 
Marzia, a winding road, fringed with trees, descends to the 
lower town, which leads to the Porta Romana. At the 
bottom of the descent, on the left, is the picturesque octan- 
gular Gothic Church of S. Ercolano> built in 1325 by Fra 
Berignate. It is covered inside with frescoes. S. Ercolano 
was Bishop of Perugia c. 546, and encouraged and assisted 
the people under the siege of the city by Totila, by whom, 
when it was taken, he was beheaded on the ramparts. 
His effigy appears on the ancient coinage 



364 ITALIAN CITIES. 

On the opposite side of the way (No. 13) is the Palazzo 
delta Pmnaj which contains, amongst other pictures, a 
beautiful Perugino, of the Madonna between S. Jerome 
and S. Francis, 1507. 

On the left of the Corso di Porta Romana is the great 
grey Church of S. Dornenico, a fine gothic building designed 
by Giovanni Pisano in 1304, but altered by Carlo Maderno 
in 1632. Its stained east window, one of the most beauti- 
ful in Italy, was executed in 141 1 by Bartolommco di Pietro 
da Perugia. 

In the left transept is the glorious monument of Pope 
Benedict XL, General of the Dominicans, who was mur- 
dered 1304, by poisoned figs, by order of Philippe le Bel. 
The tomb is one of the best works of Giovanni da Pisa. A 
Gothic canopy, supported by spiral columns, encrusted with 
mosaic, covers the whole. Beneath, two exquisitely lovely 
female figures draw aside curtains to display the figure of the 
murdered Pope, which lies on a richly-decorated sarcophagus. 
A second, and inner canopy, supports figures of the Virgin 
and saints. It is a tomb which has been often imitated, 
but never surpassed. 

" Rien de plus charmant que ce premier #an de la vive invention et 
de la pensee moderne a demi engagees dans la tradition gothique. Le 
pape est couche* sur un lit, dans une alcove de marbre dont deux petits 
anges tirent les rideaux. Au-dessus, dans une arcade ogivale, la Vierge 
et deux saints sont debout pour recueillir son ame. On ne peut rendre 
avec des paroles l'expression etonnee, enfantine et douloureuse de la 
Vierge ; le sculpteur avait vu quelque jeune fille en larmes au chevet de 
sa mere mourante, et, tout entier a son impression, librement, sans 
reminiscence de l'antique, sans contrainte d'ecole, il exprimait son 
sentiment." — Tainc, " Voyage en Italie." 

At the end of the long street^ outside the heavy but hand- 



S. PIETRO DE CASINEKSL 365 

some Porta" Romana, we reach the Benedictine convent of 
*S. Pietro d€ Casinensi. It has a slender tower with a fringe 
of machicolation half-way up, and a low spire, conspicuous 
in all distant views of Perugia. Here the church, being 
complete as a picture gallery, has not been robbed of its 
contents. It bears some resemblance to S. Maria Maggiore 
at Rome, and is an ancient basilica, built before 1007 by 
Vincioli, the first abbot of the convent. The nave is sup- 
ported by eighteen granite and marble columns, with Ionic 
capitals, taken from S. Angelo. Above are pictures by 
Antonio Vassilacci y commonly called LAliense, a pupil of 
Tintoretto, who exactly copied his manner, and here carried 
his style into his native place. 

On the right of the entrance are pictures of S. Peter in 
prison, and S. Peter healing the lame man by Alfani. Over 
the third altar in the right aisle is a picture of S. Benedict 
giving his Rule, by Massolino da Panieale. In the chapel 
which opens from this aisle, is a Madonna with S. John and 
S. Elizabeth, by Andrea del Sarto. Over the doors of the 
sacristies, on the right of the choir, are copies of saints of 
Perugino by Sassoferrato and a Holy Family by Bonifazio. 
A picture of the Resurrection is by Alfani. 

In the sacristy are five exquisite little half-length figures by 
Perugino — S. Scholastica, S. Ercolano, S. Pietro Abbate, S. 
Costanzo, and S. Mauro, which belonged to the sides of an 
Ascension painted for the high-altar of this church, now in 
the gallery at Lyons ; the Predella is at Rouen ; the lunette 
in S. Germain PAuxerrois; and three more saints — Benedetto, 
Placido, and Flavia — are in the Vatican gallery. The best 
of those here are Scholastica and Costanzo, and the colour- 
ing of the latter is quite magnificent He wa& h\sks^ <& 



366 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Perugia in the 3rd and 4th century, and was martyred under 
Marcus Aurelius : he is much overrated in this part of Italy 
and the district between Perugia and Foligno is still called 
Strada di Costanzo. Costanzo and Ercolano are both re- 
presented in the famous picture of Perugino called " Ma- 
donna con Quattro Sand," now in the Vatican. The picture 
of S. Francesca Romana is by M. A. Caravaggio. On the 
right wall is a Holy Family of Parmigianino, and in the 
corner the earliest known work of Raffadle, S. John em- 
bracing the Infant Saviour. At the opposite corner is a 
head of Christ by Dosso Dossi. 

The choir has beautiful stallwork with reliefs by Stefano 
da Bergamo, 1535, executed from designs of Raflaelle. The 
choir books have admirable illuminations by the monks of 
the convent 

Entering the left aisle we have, at the end, the Dead 
Christ on the knees of his Mother between S. Leonard and 
S. Jerome, by Ben. Bonfigli, 1468. In the adjoining Cappella 
Vibi is a marble altar by Mino da Fiesole, 1473. Then, on 
the pillar, is a Judith, a very grand piece of colour by Sassa- 
ferrafo, and in the third chapel three frescoes by Vasari^ 
the Marriage of Cana, the Prophet Elisha curing the sick, 
and S. Benedict re-assuring the monks of Monte Cassino 
when they were without food. S. Benedict giving his 
Rule, with the convent of Monte Cassino in the back- 
ground, is by Fiamingo. On the next pillar is an Adoration 
of the Magi by Adone Doni (Eusebio di S. Giorgio) ; an 
Annunciation by Sassoferrato ; and a Pieta by Perugino. 

The Chapel of S* Mariino in the adjoining convent has 
frescoes by Lo Spagna and Pinturicchio. Close by, inside 
the neighbouring gate of S. Costanza, is a charming little 



LA VEDU7A. 367 

Passeggiata (" La Veduta "), with a glorious view over hill 
and valley. 

" Perugia is the empress of hill -set Italian cities. Southward from 
its high-built battlements and church towers, the eye can sweep a circuit 
of the Apennines unrivalled in its width. From cloud-like Radicofani, 
above Siena in the west, to snow-capped Monte Catria, taneath whose 
summit Dante spent those saddest months of solitude in 1313. the 
mountains curve continuously in lines of austere dignity and tempered 
sweetness. Assisi, Spoleto, Todi, Trevi, crown lesser heights within 
the range of vision. Here and there the glimpse of distant rivers lights 
a silver spark upon the plain. Those hills conceal Lake Thrasymene ; 
and here lies Orvieto, and Ancona there : while at our feet the Umbrian 
champaign, breaking away in the valley of the Tiber, spreads in all the 
largeness of majestically converging mountain slopes. This is a land- 
scape which can never lose its charm. Whether it be purple golden 
summer, or winter with sad tints of russet woods and faintly rosy snows, 
or spring attired in tenderest green of new-fledged trees and budding 
flowers, the air is always pure and light and finely tempered here. City 
gates, sombre as their own antiquity, frame vistas of the laughing fields. 
Terraces, flanked on either side by jutting masonry, cut clear vignettes 
of olive-hoary slopes, with cypress-shadowed farms in hollows of the 
hills. Each coign or point of vantage carries a bastion or tower of 
Etruscan, Roman, mediaeval architecture, tracing the limits of the town 
upon its mountain plateau. Everywhere art and nature lie side by side 
in amity beneath a sky so pure and delicate, that from its limpid depth 
the spirit seems to drink new life. What air-tints of lilac, orange, and 
pale amethyst are shed upon those vast ethereal hills and undulating 
plains ! What wandering cloud-shadows sail across their sea of olives 
and of vines, with here and there a fleece of vapour or a column of blue 
smoke from charcoal burners on the mountain flank ! To southward, 
faraway beyond those hills, is felt the presence of eternal Rome, not 
seen, but clearly indicated by the hurrying of a hundred streams that 
swell the Tiber."— J. A, Symonds. 

A great building which occupies a projecting buttress of 
hill upon the right, now the Military Hospital, was the 
Convent of S. Giuliana. Its church, a fine gothic edifice 
with a grand rose window, was built in 1253 by Cardinal 
Giovanni di Toledo. 



36S ITALIAN CITIES. 

At the base of the hill on which Perugia stands, about 
2 miles from the city, on the road to Rome, is the famous 
Tomb of the Volumnii y which none must fail to visit Those 
who drive to Assisi may take it on the way.* 

"You descend a long flight of steps to the entrance, now dosed by a 
door of wood : the ancient one, a huge slab of travertin, which was 
placed against it — a mere ' stone on the mouth of the sepulchre " — now 
rests against the rock outside. You enter, — here is none of the r\\\\\ of 
the grave, but a warm, damp, atmosphere. On one of the doorposts, 
which are slabs of travertin, an inscription in Etruscan characters 
catches your eye, and so sharply are the letters cut, and so bright is the 
red paint within them, that you can scarcely credit the epitaph to have 
anything like an antiquity of two thousand years. 

** Daylight cannot penetrate to the further end of the tomb; but 
when a torch is lighted you perceive yourself to be in a spacious chamber 
with a very lofty pitched roof, carved into the form of beam and rafters. 
On this chamber open nine others, ot much smaller size, and all empty, 
save one at the further end, opposite the entrance, where a party of 
revellers, each on a snow-white couch, with chapleted brow, torque- 
decorated neck, and goblet in hand, lie — a petrifaction of conviviality — 
in solemn mockery of the pleasures to which for ages on ages they have 
bidden adieu. 

44 There are seven urns in this chamber, five with recumbent figures 
of men, one with a female in a sitting posture, and one of a peculiar 
character. All, except the last, are of travertin, coated over with a 
fine stucco ; they are wrought, indeed, with a skill, a finish, and a truth 
to nature by no means common in Etruscan urns. The inscriptions 
show them all to belong to one family, that of ' Velimnas/ or Volum- 
nius, as it was corrupted by the Romans. Four of the urns are very 
similar, seeming to differ in little beyond the ages of the men, each of 
whom is reclining, in half-draped luxury, on his banqueting couch ; 
but here it is not the sarcophagus or urn itself which represents the 
couch, as is generally the case ; but the lid alone, which is raised into 
that form, hung with drapery, and supported by elegantly-carved legs, 
while the receptacle for the ashes forms a high pedestal to the couch. 
On the front of each of these ash-chests are four patera, each with a 
Gorgon's head in the centre. 

"The fifth male, who occupies the post of honour at the upper end 
of the feast, lies on a couch more richly decorated than those of 

* The keys arc kept in a houte dose to the tomb. 



TOMB OF THE VOLUMNIL 369 

kinsmen, and on a much loftier pedestal. His urn is the grand monu- 
ment of the sepulchre. In the centre is represented an arched doorway, 
and on either hand sits, at the angle of the urn, the statue of a winged 
Fury, half draped, with bare bosom and a pair of snakes knotted over 
her brows. One bears a flaming torch on her shoulder, and the other 
probably bore a similar emblem, but one hand, with whatever it con- 
tained, has been broken off. They sit cross-legged, with calm but stern 
expression, and eyes turned upwards, as if looking for orders from on 
high, respecting the sepulchres they are guarding. The archway is 
merely marked with colour on the face of the monument, and within it 
are painted four females— one with her hand on the door-post, and eyes 
anxiously turned towards the Furies outside, wishing, it would seem, to 
issue forth, but not daring to pass the threshold through dread of their 
stern gaolers. The whole scene has a mysterious Dantesque character, 
eminently calculated to stir the imagination. 

* 'The sixth urn belongs to a female, who is distinguished from the 
lords of her family by her position, for she sits aloft on her pedestal 
like a goddess or queen on her throne ; indeed, she has been supposed 
to represent either Nemesis or Proserpine, an opinion which the frontlet 
on the brow, and the owl-legs to the stool beneath her feet are thought 
to favour. This is, however, more probably an effigy of the lady whose 
dust is contained in the urn, and whose name is inscribed on the lid. 

44 Lastly, you are startled on beholding among these genuine Etruscan 
monuments, an urn in marble, in the form of a Roman temple, with a 
Latin inscription on the frieze. But while you are wondering at this, 
your eye falls on the roof of the urn, and beholds, scratched in minute 
letters on the tiles an Etruscan inscription, which you perceive at once 
to correspond with the Latin — P. Volvmnivs, A. F. Violens Cafatia 
Natvs. That is, Publius Volumnius, son of Aulus, by a mother named 
Cafatia. 

" The roof of the chamber is coffered in concentric recessed squares, 
and in the centre is an enormous Gorgon's head, hewn from the dark 
rock, with eyes upturned in horror, gleaming from the gloom, teeth 
bristling whitely in the open mouth, wings on the temples, and snakes 
knotted over the brow. Depending by a rod from the lintel of the 
doorway, hangs a small winged genius of earthenware, and to its feet 
was originally attached a lamp of the same material, with a Medusa's 
head on the bottom. ... On each side of the entrance to the 
inner chamber, a crested snake or dragon projects from the rocky wall, 
darting forth its tongue, as if to threaten the intruder into this sanc- 
tuary. These reptiles are of earthenware, but their tongues are of 
metaL 

vol. in. 24 



« 

f 



'I 



i 

* 

* 

i 
• l 

* 

• i 



! / 



370 



ITALIAN CITIES. 



" Never shall I forget with what strange awe I enti 
cavern—gazed on the inexplicable characters in the door 
the urns dimly through the gloom — beheld the family 
sepulchral revels — the solemn dreariness of the surroundu 
figures on the walls and ceilings strangely stirred my fancj 
with their glaring eyes, gnashing teeth, and ghastly grins 
with which the walls seemed alive, hissing and darting tl 
me ; and, above all, the solitary wing (on one side of 
chilled me with an undennable awe, with a sense of son 
rious and terrible." — Dennis, 

Many other tombs have been opened in the n 
hillside, but are of minor interest A small mu 
antiquities taken from them, is shown close by u 
zone Baglioni. 



; 1 



Two miles from Perugia, on the Florence ros 
perfect vaulted tomb, with an Etruscan inscrip 
called // Tempio di S. Manno, because it contains 
of travertine, apparently altars, in which groov 
have been cut for carrying off the blood. 




CHAPTER LXII. 
ASSISI. 

It is 40 minutes by rail (2 frs. 55 ; 1 fr. 80 ; 1 fr. 25) from Perugia 
to Assisi, and as the distance is only 12 miles, it is far better to drive 
thither (12 frs.) 

There is an omnibus from the station to the town, which is 2 miles 
distant, I fr. It is better to take a little carriage (i£ fr.) and to go to 
S. Maria degli Angeli before ascending the hill. Those deeply in- 
terested in the life of S. Francis should visit Rio Torto also. 

The Albergo Subasio kept by Sgr. Andrea Rossi, is an excellent small 
hotel, in an airy situation with a delightful view, close to S. Francesco ; 
pension 6 frs. a-day. The Albergo Leone is in the middle of the 
town. 

At least two whole days should be given to Assisi. 

1st day. Morning. S. Francesco. Lower and Upper Church, 
and Monastery. 

Afternoon. Chiesa Nuova. S. Chiara and S. Damiano. 

2nd day. Morning. Good walkers should start early by the Cathe- 
dral to S. Francesco delle Carcere — a very hot walk in the middle of 
the day after March. 

Afternoon. Revisit the Lower Church of S. Francesco, and, unless 
they are taken in going to the railway, visit Rio Torto and S. Maria 
degli Angeli. 

NO Englishman should try to visit Assisi, who goes 
there steeled against all sense of beauty or good- 
ness in the followers of a creed which is not his own ; for it 
is impossible to have any just impression of Assisi which is 
not interwoven with the memory of Francesco Bernardone, 
son of Pietro Bernardone, and Madonna Pica h\&mfe^\\^ 

24 2 



fc 



372 ITALIAN CITIES. 

was bom here in 1182. And however "protestant" the 
visitor may be, he will be prejudiced indeed if he declines 
to draw many a simple lesson from what he sees, when he 
remembers the great influence which the beautiful life of S. 
Francis has had upon the whole Christian world, and how, 
in the words of one of his biographers* — 

" S. Francis and his companions, having been called by God to cany 
the cross of Christ in their hearts, to practise it in their lives, and to 
preach it by their words, were truly crucified men both in their actions 
and in their works. They sought shame and contempt, ont of love to 
Christ, rather than the honours of the world and the respect and praise 
of men. Indeed they rejoiced to be despised, and were grieved when 
honoured. Thus they went about the world as pilgrims and strangers, 
carrying with them nothing but Christ crucified ; and because they 
were of the true Vine, which is Christ, they produced great and good 
fruits to many souls which they gained to God." - 

After leaving Perugia, the interest of the journey thickens 
at every step. It is with a thrill of unspeakable interest 
and expectation that the well-read traveller first approaches 
Assisi, and he is not disappointed. Above the plains laden 
with their gorgeous wealth of corn, vines, olives, and melons, 
a steep promontory projects on our left from the surround- 
ing mountains, its sides made more abrupt by long ranges 
of terraced arches supporting the church and the huge con- 
vent of S. Francis. Beyond the convent, the town, looking 
much larger than it is, scrambles and clings along the hill- 
side, and ends in the tower of S. Chiara, which rises above 
the grave of the most devoted and romantic disciple of the 
great founder. Close by the very station itself rise the vast 
pile of buildings of the Angeli, enclosing the holy cell of 
the Porziuncula. ' 

* Fioretti di San Francesco— the Fioretti are attributed to Giovanni da 
Lorenzo, made Biahop of Bvugnano Va \<&V 



S. MARIA DEGLI ANGELI. 



373 



"The traveller who in our own day visits Assisi, finds himself sur- 
rounded by a population of about three thousand souls ; and amidst 
the thirty churches and monasteries which attract his eye, he distin- 
guishes, as pre-eminent above them all, the Sagro Convento, where 
repose the ashes of St. Francis. It is a building of the sixteenth cen- 
tury, extending over the summit of a gentle eminence at the base of the 
Apennines. A double row of gigantic arches, resembling two vast 
aqueducts, the lower of which forms the basis of the higher, sustains a 
sumptuous terrace, which stands out against the evening sky, like the 
battlements of some impregnable fortress. The luxuriant gardens, and 
the rich meadows below, watered by a stream which gushes out from 
the adjacent mountains, encircle the now splendid church of St. Mary 
of Angels ; where may still be traced the Porziuncula in which Francis 
worshipped, and the crypt in which his emaciated body was committed 
to the dust. And there also, on each returning year, may be seen the 
hardy mountaineers of Umbria, and the graceful peasants of Tuscany, 
and the solemn processions of the Franciscan orders, and the long array 
of civil and ecclesiastical dignitaries, waiting till the chimes of the 
ancient clocks of the holy convent shall announce the advent of the 
day in which their sins are to be loosed on earth, and their pardon 
sealed in heaven." — Sir J. Stephens, 




S. Maria dcgli Angcli. 



The vast church of Santa Maria degli Angdi is one of 
the great works of Vignola (1569). Half destroyed by 
earthquake in 1832, it was restored by Poletti, but the 
cupola remained intact Enclosed in the midst of the, taxs. 



374 ITALIAN CITIES. 

interior, the little Chapel of the Porziuncula stands gem- 
like, its front blazing with colour. Over the entrance is a 
beautiful fresco by Ovcrbeck (partly taken from Tiberio 
d'Assisi) of the Saviour and the Virgin throned in glory, 
surrounded by floating angels — being the vision of S. Francis, 
when he heard a voice saying, " They shall take neither 
gold nor silver, nor money in their purses, nor shoes, nor 
staff: this is that which I seek." 

This fresco is as it were an introduction to the study of 
Assisi, as revealing the motive-power which pervades the 
whole story both of the place and of the wonderful charac- 
ter to whom it owes all its importance. For it was in the 
little house of the Porziuncula that the first seven disciples 
of S. Francis collected around him, having hardly room to 
lie down. Here, he first gave them a name, not Francis- 
cans, as they were afterwards called, but Fratres Minorcs, the 
humblest of God's servants. Here he had his first vision 
of the future greatness of his order, and, waking from sleep, 
said to his companions, " Be comforted, carissimi, and be 
not sad because we are few, for God has shown me that ye 
shall increase to a great multitude, and shall go on increas- 
ing to the end of the world." Here, standing at the door, 
he sent forth his first disciples, saying, " Go, proclaim peace 
to men, preach repentance for the remission of sins. Be 
patient in tribulation, watchful in prayer, strong in labour, 
moderate in speech, grave in conversation, thankful for 
benefits." And to each separately, as he bade him farewell 
— " Cast all thy care upon the Lord, and he will sustain 
thee." And here also, after his male order was established, 
he received with torches the first female Franciscan, who 
had escaped in the night from her father's house, the 



THE PORZIUNCULA. 373. 

beautiful Chiara — " Clara nomine, vita clarior, ctarissima 
moribus " * 




degli Angcli. 



With strikingly good taste the greater part 01 the ancient 
chapel has been left almost untouched. The curious carved 
doors remain. The interior is black with age, though now 
covered with silver votive offerings and lighted by hanging 
lamps. Behind, on the outer gable, is a fresco by Perugino, 
(much restored), of the Crucifixion: only the figures of the 
spectators remain. S. Francis is embracing the cross of the 
Saviour, of which the upper part has been destroyed in 



376 ITALIAN CITIES. 

alterations of the church. A beautiful child standing neai 
the fainting Virgin is unaltered. 

No Christian should gaze upon the Porziuncula without 
remembering to whom it owes its existence. 

"There were no church-building commissioners in those days. Ii 
their stead, a half-starved youth in the rags of a bedesman moved akog 
the streets of his native city, appealing to every passer by, in quiet 
tones and earnest words, and with looks still more persuasive, to aid 
him in reconstructing the chapel of La Porziuncula ; a shrine of Ocr 
Lady of Angels, of which the remains may yet be seen, at once hallow- 
ing and adorning the quiet meadow by which Assisi is surrounded. 
' He wept to think upon her stones, it grieved him to see her in the 
dust* Vows were uttered, processions formed, jewels, plate, and goW 
were laid at the feet of the gentle enthusiast ; and Mary with ber 
attendant angels rejoiced (so at least it was devoutly believed) over the 
number and the zeal of the worshippers which once more thronged 
the courts erected in honour of her name." — Sir J. Stephens. 

Formerly, on August i, when S. Maria was the scene of 
the plenary indulgence — // Perdotio— especially given here, 
the whole church was filled with pilgrims who approached 
the chapel on their knees from the doorway entrance with 
perfectly Indian enthusiasm, often licking the dust the whole 
way, and leaving a continuous bloody trail by their lacerated 
tongues from the door to the altar. 

Close to the Chapel of the Porziuncula, in the choir, is 
that raised by S. Buonaventura over the cell in which S. 
Francis lived, and where, as the inscription narrates — " Our 
seraphic father S. Francis died in 1226." His heart and 
intestines are preserved here. Over the altar is a picture of 
the saint, which draws up and discloses a terra-cotta figure 
made from the mask which his companions caused to be 
taken from his dead face, full of character and expression. 
Around are frescoes of tVvt Vns\n^ com^cMsws, *£ ^ Francis, 



CAPPELLA DELLE ROSE. 377 

wonderful works of Lo Spagna. Passing through the Sacristy, 
which contains, with much fine wood carving, a beautiful small 
Perugino of the Saviour, and visiting a chapel, which has a 
portrait of S. Francis painted on a wooden plank which 
formed part of his bed, we are taken to a courtyard behind 
the convent, which encloses a little garden of roses. Once 
they were thorns, but when S. Francis rolled his naked body 
upon them to mortify the flesh, they blossomed, and the 
roots have remained, say the monks, and put forth fresh 
leaves and blossoms ever since. Close by, the monogram 
IHS. over a low door, announces the Cappdla ddle Rose, 
which was built by S. Buonaventura over the cave in which 
S. Francis lived in darkness — " costante in aspra vita, povera 
e lieta " — till he was summoned to his divine mission by the 
angels. Beneath the altar you look into the terrible cell of 
his penance ; in it are preserved two pieces of wood which 
formed part of his pulpit. The restored frescoes in the 
choir are by Lo Spagna (1516), of the Almighty, and saints. 
Those surrounding the walls are a series of the deepest 
interest and of marvellous beauty, by Tiber to d'Assisi, a 
pupil of Perugino. 

1. S. Francis throws his naked body upon the thorns, which are con- 
verted to roses. 

2. S. Francis is led by two angels to the Porziuncula. 

3. The vision of S. Francis at the Porziuncula. 

4. Francis offers his roses to Pope Innocent and obtains the papal 
indulgence. 

5. The solemn publication of the Indulgence (the old facade of the 
Porziuncula with the picture of Lo Spagna, which preceded that of 
Overbeck, is seen in the background). 

Returning to the church we may admire a glorious copper 
lamp which hangs before the high altar, and an ^*ax -\NtRft. 



378 ITALIAN CITIES. 

by Luca ddla Robbia in the right transept — its principal sub- 
jects the Coronation of the Virgin, and S. Francis receiving 
the Stigmata. 

The green space in front of the convent has never been 
built upon, for it was here that S. Chiara, who had taken 
the veil in this church many years before, was permitted to 
dine with S. Francis. 

" S. Francis prepared the meal on the bare ground, as was his custom. 
The hour of dinner having arrived, S. Francis and S. Clare, with one 
of the brothers of S. Francis and the sister who accompanied the saint, 
sat down together, and all the other companions of S. Francis were 
humbly seated round them. When the first dish was served, S. Francis 
began to speak of God so sweetly, so sublimely, and in so wonderful a 
manner, that the grace of God visited them abundantly, and they all 
became lost in the contemplation of Christ Whilst they were thus 
entranced, with their eyes and hearts raised to heaven, the people of 
Assisi and of Bettona, and of all the country round about, saw S. Maria 
degli Angeli as it were on fire, as well as the convent and the woods 
adjoining. But on arriving at the convent, they only found S. Francis, 
S. Clare, and all their companions, sitting round their humble meal, 
but absorbed in contemplation ; and they then knew of a certainty, 
that what they had seen was a celestial, not a material fire, which God 
had miraculously sent to bear witness to the divine flame of love, which 
consumed the souls of these holy monks and nuns, and they returned 
home with great consolation in their hearts. After a lapse of time, S. 
Francis, S. Clare, and their companions came back to themselves ; 
and, being fully restored by the spiritual food, cared not to eat that 
which had been prepared for them." — Fioretti di S. Francesco, 

It was here also that in later years the first general Chap- 
ter of the Order (called " Storearum " from the reed huts in 
which those from a distance were lodged) was held by 
S. Francis, — Cardinal Ugolino, and it is said, S. Dominic, 
also, being present 

We may now ascend by the excellent new road which 
leads to the (jity, and w&ck follows the course of the stony 



ASCENT TO ASSISI. 379 

path up which S. Francis so often walked in eager converse 
with his favourite disciple Leone — his "little sheep" — 
(pecorello di Dio) as he was wont affectionately to call him. 
The town is entered beneath the vast convent of S. Fran- 
cesco, standing out above the hillside on a series of lofty 
arches. As we approach we are reminded of the description 
in Dante : 

" Intra Tupino, e l'acqua die discende 

Dal colle eletto dal beato Ubaldo, 

Fertile costa d' alto monte pende 
Onde Perugia sente freddo e caldo 

Da porta Sole, e dirietro la piange 

Per greve giogo Nocera con Gualdo. 
Di questa costa, la dov'ella frange 

Piii sua rattezza, nacque al mondo un sole 

Come fa questo tal volto di Gauge. 
Per6 chi d'esso loco fa parole, 

Non dica Ascesi, chi direbbe corto, 

Ma Oriente, se proprio dir vuole." 

Par. xi. 43. 

The streets of Assisi are well-paved and clean, but deso- 
late. There are abundant fountains, and here and there a 
handsome palace with half-closed windows. Still, as we 
ascend to the piazza, we are walking in the footprints of S. 
Francis. It is the street in which as a young man, meeting 
with " a certain soldier of honour and courage, poorly and 
vilely clad," he took off his own fine clothes and gave them 
to him ; and in which, after his first vocation, he punished 
a lingering longing for pastry (!) by begging from door to 
door for the vilest scraps of refuse, which he took home for 
his maintenance. 

In the Piazza Grande, beneath the tall tower of S. Maria 
delia Minerva, is the portico of a Temple of Muuroa^>&^ 



380 ITALIAN CITIES. 

six Corinthian columns of travertine. Goethe describes how 
he ascended the hill of Assisi on purpose to visit this pagan 
monument, which so delighted him that he would not mar 
the impression by any Christian associations, and left the 
convent unseen 1 

Just above the piazza is the Cathedral of S. Ruftno y with 
a tower and handsome unaltered facade of 1140. It has 
three portals sculptured in low relief, and, above them, three 
rose windows, and many detached figures of monsters on 
brackets. It contains a Madonna of Niecolo d*Alunno, but 
its chief interest will always arise from the recollection that 
it was here that " S. Francis preached in such a wonderful 
way on holy penance, on the world, on voluntary poverty, 
on the hope of life eternal, on the nakedness of Christ, on 
the shame of the passion of our Blessed Saviour, that all 
those who heard him, both men and women, began to weep 
bitterly, being moved to devotion and compunction."* 

On the right, at the opening of the street which leads 
from the piazza to S. Chiara, is the Chiesa Nuova, built 
over the paternal house of S. Francis. As this church and 
convent belong to the Spaniards they have escaped suppres- 
sion. The high altar is believed to occupy the site of the 
chamber of S. Francis, in which he had his visions of angels. 
To the left is a chapel — an unaltered chamber of the house, 
it is said — showing the original walls, with a door where the 
angel appeared to the mother of S. Francis before his birth, 
in 1 182, to announce that her infant, like the Saviour, must 
be born in a stable. Hard by, is the caverned cell in which 
S. Francis as a child, " il dolce figlio," was shut up by his 
father to prevent what he then considered as fantastic acts 

* Fiorctii di S. Francesco, ch. xxx. 



S. CHIARA. 381 

of devotion. In a narrow alley, a little behind the church, 
is the stable, which is the reported birthplace of S. Francis, 
now enclosed in a chapel. 

It was in front of the house whose site this church occu- 
pies, that Francis, irritated by the anger of his father Pietro 
at his having taken money to which he was not entitled 
for the restoration of S. Damiano, stripped himself of all the 
gay garments he had given him, and flung them at his feet. 
Henceforward, as he vehemently declared, he would have 
no father but God, while he was standing clothed only in 
the hair shirt which he wore beneath his other raiment, to 
the astonishment of the crowd who had collected, till the 
bishop — with the spirit of mediaeval times — took him in 
his arms, and covered him with his episcopal mantle. 

The Church of S. Chiara, close to the gate, striped in 
red and white, and with a lofty tower, is of great interest. 
The roadway passes beneath its enormous flying buttresses. 
The ceiling over the altar is decorated by thirteenth century 
painters with figures of female saints (Agnes, Monica, 
Catherine, Chiara, Cecilia, and Lucia). In the right tran- 
sept are injured frescoes by Giottino. 

A flight of steps in front of the altar leads to a crypt, 
where you stand in darkness, and a nun, behind a grating 
in a lighted inner chapel, draws up a screen, and reveals 
the body of S. Chiara, the beloved friend and disciple of 
S. Francis, clad in the habit which she wore when living. 
It is still visited by pilgrims upon their knees with prayers 
and tears. The Rdiquary contains the long flaxen tresses 
of the saint, cut off when she took the veil, her boxwood 
comb, and a skein of thread wound by her, — also the (black) 
hair of S. Francis and his breviary. 



382 ITALIAN CITIES. 

S. Antonio, near the Perugia gate, is also a fine church, 
with a good Lombardic facade and rose windows. 




But the great sight of Assisi is the convent of S. Fran- 
cesco, certainly one of the most remarkable buildings in 
Italy, beloved by artists now, and where, in past ages, as 
Rio says, "all artists of renown have prostrated themselves 
in succession, and have left on the walls of the sanctuary 
the pious tribute oi their pencil." 

" On (he Umbrian mountains by Assisi, sleeps, in the peace of 
heaven, S. Francis, who left such sweet odour of sanctity in the middle 
ages. Round his tomb assembled, from every part of Christendom, 
pilgrims to pay their vows. With their offertories there was erected 
over his grave a magnificent temple, which became a rallying point to 
all painters of Christian feeling, who thus displayed their thankfulness 
to God for the gift of genius, who here in the solitude laid in fresh 
stores of inspiration, and who having left upon these walls a proof of 
their powers, returned home joyous and rich. Cimabue, one of the 
first leaders in the holy war against Byzantine mannerism, here painted 
the most beautiful of his Madonnas ; his pupil, the shepherd of 
Mondone, here drew those simple stories which established his fame ; 
hither flocked the artists of Siena, Perugia, Areiio, and the best of the 
Florentines, — the beatified Fiesole, of angelic life and works, Bcnozzo 
Goizoli, Orcagna, l'erugino, and lastly, Raffaelle, the greatest of 
painters. 

" Thus was formed in the shadow of the sanctuary a truly C 



S. FRANCESCO. 



383 



school, which sought its types of beauty in the heavens ; or which, 
when the scene of its subjects lay below, chose the saints of cnrth as 
its models. It loved to represent, now the Virgin Mother, kneeling 
before her Son, or seated, caressing and holding him up to the venera- 
tion of saints or patriarchs ; now the life of Christ, his teachings, his 
sufferings, his triumph ; or again to pourtray the touching legends of 
those simple times, the martyrs crucified by early tyrants, the devotion 
of a hermit in a lonely cave, a soul of the blessed borne on the wings 
of seraphs, a religious procession, the miracle of a preacher, the 
solemnity of a sacrament ; but ever, images of comfort and of hope, 
cherubs singing and making melody, maidens smiling at the unfolding 
heavens, scenes which have their beginning on earth and their end in 
the world beyond the clouds, where the Madonna and the Saviour 
are seen, in radiant and joyful serenity, watching from above the 
gathering of faithful suppliants in the world below." — Bona. 




Since the accession of the present Government the con- 
vent has been cruelly suppressed, only eight of the brethren 
being allowed to remain as chaplains, and these forbidden 
to wear the habit of the order. The grand religious 
services which were celebrated here some years ago, no 
longer exist. 



384 ITALIAN CITIES. 

The building of the magnificent double Church of S. 
Francesco was begun in 1228, only two years after the death 
of S. Francis. The Lower Church was completed four years 
after, the Upper not till 1253. The body of S. Francis was 
removed hither in 1230. The architect was Jacopus, a 
German. 

The Lower Church is approached through a cloistered 
quadrangle, from which a flight of steps ascends to the grassy 
platform in front of the upper church. The entrance is by 
a beautiful gothic porch supported by pillars. In the centre 
of the arch is a small but precious mosaic of S. Francis. 
The church is constantly used for services, and is open all 
day except from 12 to 3. We enter by a long wide vesti- 
bule, which is two centuries later in date than the rest of the 
building, but perfectly harmonises with it in form and 
colour. Nothing can be more solemn or more beautiful 
than the general effect, which, after all, and not the details, 
will make the most lasting impression. Besides the grand 
play of light and shadow and the glorious effect of colour 
from the frescoes, great effect is given by the inlaid work of 
red and white marble round the lower surface of most of the 
walls. Making the round of the church, on the left of the 
entrance is a fresco by Sermei, then the little chapel of S. 
Sebastiano with frescoes by Martelh\ a pupil of Domeni- 
chino. Then a Madonna and Child with S. Antonio Abbate, 
S. Antonio of Padua, and a bishop, a beautiful work of 
Ottaviano da Gubbio. Opposite, are three interesting tombs. 
The first, belonging to the Cerchi family of Florence, sup- 
ports a porphyry vase, presented to the church, filled with 
ultramarine for its decorations, by a sister-in-law of Queen 
Hecuba of Cyprus, thirty y^ars after the death of the latter. 



UNDER CHURCH OF S. FRANCESCO. 385 

The second tomb, long supposed to be that of Joseph, King 
of Jerusalem, who became a Franciscan in 1237, is now 
discovered to be that of Catherine, daughter of Queen 
Hecuba. Here the papal bulls in favour of the convent 
are engraved. The third tomb is proved by archives which 
have been found to be that of Hecuba herself, who died 
here in 1240, erected by the Florentine sculptor Fuccio for 
her daughter. It much resembles the beautiful tomb of 
Benedict XL at Perugia. Beyond these is the chapel of S. 
Antonio Abbate with tombs of the Dukes Blaschi of Spoleto. 
The chapel at the end of the vestibule, II Crocifisso, was 
built by Cardinal Alboraoz, who was once buried there, but 
has been removed. The frescoes of S. Catherine of Alex- 
andria and S. Agata of Catania are by Pace da Faenza. 

Entering the Nave, we find the walls covered with fres- 
coes. Those on the left, from the Life of Our Saviour, are 
supposed, though by an unknown artist, to be the oldest in 
Assisi. Those opposite, of the Life of S. Francis, are by 
Mino da Torrita. Beginning to examine the chapels from 
the left, we see 

The Chapd of S. Martin of Tours, erected by Cardinal 
Gentile, covered with paintings of the life of S. Martin by 
Simone Memmi y viz. : — 

1. S. Martin divides his cloak with the beggar at the gate of 
Amiens. 

2. Our Saviour appears, wearing the cloak. 

3. S. Martin is invested with sword and spurs by the Emperor 
Julian. 

4. His interview with Julian when he renounces his service. 

5. He kneels before S. Hilary to receive ordination. 

6. The Emperor's chair takes fire under him, because he does not 
rise to receive S. Martin. 

VOL. III. 2$ 



386 ITALIAN CITIES. 

7. Angels place golden bracelets on the arms of S. Martin as he 

elevates the host. 

8. He heals a sick child. 

9. He dies and is carried up to heaven by angels. 

10. He is buried. 

Cardinal Gentile, founder of the chapel, is represented kneeling to 
S. Martin in the lunette above the entrance. 

There is a beautiful altar-front of needlework. 

The next chapels are of no especial interest. Outside, in 
the nave, is a pulpit inlaid with mosaic, whence the relics 
are shown on the 5th Sunday after Easter. On the wall 
behind is a Coronation of the Virgin by JFra Martino, 
nephew of Simone MemmL Above are frescoes of the 
Life of S. Stanislaus. On the right is the papal throne : on 
the left a fresco marks the tomb of the Beata Giacobba 
delle Sette Sole, the friend of S. Francis, whom he sent for 
on his death-bed. 

The High Altar stands under the cross above the tomb of 
S. Francis, and is formed by a slab brought from Constanti- 
nople, resting on twenty-two gothic columns. The groined 
roof above, bending over the shrine of S. Francis, is divided 
into four triangles, which contain the masterpieces of 
GiottOy taken from the story of the Vision of S. Francis in 
the plain below S. Quirico, in which he saw three maidens 
— interpreted as Chastity, Obedience, and Poverty, — who 
uttered the words " Welcome, Lady Poverty," The frescoes 
represent : — 

Northern. Sancta Castitas. Chastity is a maiden pray- 
ing in a tower, to whom one angel presents a palm branch 
and the other a book. Two warriors are prepared to 
defend the fortress. Between them, a knight receives the 

* Falsely attributed to Giottino. 



FRESCOES OF GIOTTO. 387 

baptism emblematical of his vow of purity. In the angle 
on the left, S. Francis welcomes three disciples : in that on 
the right, Penance, winged, puts to flight the World, the 
Flesh, and the Devil. 

Southern. Sancta Obedientia. Obedience, robed in 
black, and supported by Prudence and Humility, puts the 
yoke over the head of a kneeling monk. On the roof of 
the loggia beneath which these figures are placed, is S. 
Francis, attended by kneeling angels. 

Western. Sancta Paupertas. S. Francis, in a rocky 
wilderness, is wedded by our Saviour to Poverty. She 
stands among thorns, attended by Hope and Charity as 
bridesmaids. In the foreground are two boys mocking her, 
on either side groups of angels as witnesses. In the left 
angle S. Francis gives his robe to the poor soldier ; in that 
on the right are three men in rich robes, probably benefac- 
tors of the convent The idea of the principal subject was 
probably suggested by the beautiful lines of Dante : — 

" Che per tal donna giovanetto in guerra 

Del padre corse, a cui, com'alla morte, 

La porta del piacer nessun disserra : 
£ dinanzi alia sua spirital corte, 

Et coram patre le se fece unito, 

Poscia di dl in dl l'am6 piu forte. 
Questa, privata del primo marito, 

Mille e cent'anni e piu dispetta e scura 

Fino a costni si stette senza invito : 



Ma perch'io non proceda troppo chiuso ; 
Francesco e Poverta per questi amanti 
Prendi oramai nel mio parlor diffuso."* 



Paradise xi. 



* " A dame, to whom none openeth pleasure's irate. 
More than to death, was, 'gainst his father's will. 
His stripling choice ; and he did make tax Viv\» 

2$ 2 



388 



ITALIAN CITIES. 



Eastern. Gloriosus Franciscus. S. Francis is seated 
in glory, surrounded by angels, and above his head is a 
banner, bearing a cross and surrounded by seven stars. A 
tradition ascribes the design of these paintings coUecnrdf 
to Dante, who was an intimate friend of Giotto. 

" Ici les personnages, les grandes femmes nobles rangees en proces- 
sions hieratiques, ressemblent aux Math i Id e, aux Lucie de Dante; a 
sont les sublimes et flottantes apparitions du reve. Lems bew 
cheveux blonds sont chastement et uniformement releves autour de k» 
front ; presses les uns contre les autres, ils contemplent ; de grands 
tuniques a longs plis, blanches ou bleues, ou d'un rose-pile, tombest 
autour de leur corps ; ils se serrent autour du saint, autour du Carat 
silencieusement, comme un troupeau d'oiseaux fideles, et leurs teles m 
peu tristes ont la langeur grave du bonheur celeste." — Taint. 

The tribune is occupied by a Last Judgment of Sermd. 
On the wall to the left, above the stairs to the monastery, is 
a glorious fresco of the scene at La Vernia when S. Frauds 
received the stigmata, by Giotto. On the other side of the 
tribune and on the northern wall are other frescoes by Gicte 
relating to the resuscitation by S. Francis of a child, who 
was killed by falling from a house. The angels above are 
also by Giotto. 

The North Transept is chiefly decorated by frescoes of 
Puccio Capanna, a pupil of Giotto. The glories of the 
saints are raised. The pictures represent the last scenes in 
the life of Christ, and S. Francis receiving the stigmata. On 



Before the spiritual court, by nuptial bonds, 

day to 
Then loved her more devoudy. She, bexeav'd. 



And in his father's sight : from day to day, 



Of her first husband, slighted and obscure, 
Thousand and hundred years and more, remain'd 
Without a single suitor, till he came. 



But not to deal 
Thus closely with thee longer, take at large, 
Tbt Yovta'* \AX\«k— fcowxi wA^t%aca. w 

Cary*Tr» 



UNDER CHURCH OF S. FRANCESCO. &9 

the left wall is a large Crucifixion by Pidro Cavallini. It 
is the only work in existence of this master, who was the 
ablest of the pupils of Giotto. But it is a noble composi- 
tion. The sky is filled with angels wringing their hands. 
The figure riding a white horse is said to be Walter de 
Brienne, Duke of Athens, for whom the fresco was painted. 
By the same artist, who has represented himself below (in 
a kind of predella) with his hands upraised, is a beautiful 
Madonna and Child, with S. Francis and S. John, below the 
Crucifixion. 

" The personal character of Pietro Cavallini was pure and noble ; no 
sordid views influenced him as an artist, and as a man he was deeply 
religious, charitable to the poor, loving and beloved by every one, and 
his old age exhibited such a pattern of holiness and virtue, that he was 
reverenced as a saint on earth, and more than one of his paintings was 
invested after death, in popular estimation, with miraculous powers. He 
died, it is said at Rome, in the 85th year of his age, and was buried in 
the basilica of S. Paolo. " — Lindsays Christian Art, 

The transept is closed by the Chapel of S. Diego with a 
beautiful stained window, which, like most of those in this 
church, is by Bonitw cT Assist. On the left hangs a master- 
piece of Lo Spagna, the Madonna and Child, between SS. 
Catherine, Francis, Roch, Clara, and Louis. Close to this 
picture is the entrance of the double sacristy. In the outer 
division are a double series of frescoes, the upper by Sermci % 
the lower by GcorgettL 

Over the door of the inner room is a portrait of S. 
Francis* painted soon after his death, and four of his 

* Thomas of Celano, who wrote only three yean after the death of S. Francis, 
has left a more precious verbal portrait of him—" Oh how lovely, how splendid, 
how glorious he appeared in innocence of life, in simplicity of speech, in purity of 
heart, in the delight of divine things, in brotherly charity, in frequent obedience, in 
amiable courtesy, in angelical aspect. .... He was of middle stature, rather 
under than over, with an oval face and full but low forehead ; his eves were dark and 
clear, bis hair thick, his eyebrows straight ; he had a straight axA ta&sttj*' 1 



390 ITALIAN CITIES. 

miracles, by Giunta da Pisa. Amongst the relics preserved 
here are the veil of the Virgin (!) and the copy of the rules 
of the Order which was approved by Honorius III., and 
which the saint always carried about with him. 

In the South Transept the walls are chiefly occupied with 
scenes from the life of Christ and of S. Francis by Taddeo 
Gaddi and Giovanni da Milano. Beginning on the upper 
side of the west wall : — 

" The frescoes by Giovanni on the vault represent the early history of 
our Saviour ; the composition is admirable, the story told at a glance, 
the accessory objects or persons are well-chosen and few, the faces and 
attitudes full of expression and even beauty, the drapery is dignified and 
noble, the colouring soft as well as rich, and a certain natural grace 
prevails throughout, which is very winning. I may cite the Adoration 
of the Kings, the Purification, and the Dispute with the Doctors, as 
examples of his composition, and the Massacre of the Innocents for an 
expression and feeling in the groups of agonised mothers, not inferior 
to Giotto himself." — Lindsays Christian Art. 

Six figures of saints on the south wall are by Simone 
Memmu Near them is a beautiful Madonna and Child by 
Fra Martino. On the left wall, above a grating which 
covers the tomb of the companions of S. Francis, are an 
immense Virgin and Child with angels, and a figure of S. 
Francis, by Cimabue. The Chapel of the Sacrament, which 
closes this transept, is painted with scenes from the life of 
S. Nicholas and figures of the 12 apostles, by Giotttno. 
Over the altar two angels draw back a curtain from the tomb 
of Cardinal Orsini. 

Returning, by the chapels on the left of the nave, that of 
La Maddalena has frescoes of the life of the saint by Buffal- 

voice toft, yet keen and fiery; lips modest, yet subtle; a black beard not thickly 
grown ; a thin neck, square shoulders, short arms, thin hands with lone fingers, 
small feet, delicate skin, and little flesh ; roughly clothed ; sleeping liuk; his hand 
ever open in charity. 



UPPER CHURCH OF S. FRANCESCO. 39* 

macco, a scholar of Giotto (1320) ; that of S. Antony of 
Padua, once decorated by Giottino,now has frescoes of which 
the upper range are bySermd and the lower by Mariandlu 
Passing a Martyrdom of S. Lorenzo, attributed to Giottino, we 
reach the last chapel, of S. Louis of France. The frescoes 
of the Preaching and Death of S. Stephen are by Dono Doni 
(1560). On the roof are frescoes of prophets and sibyls by 
lngegno (T Assist, a scholar of Perugino (1560), imitated by 
Raffaelle in S. Maria della Pace at Rome. 

A flight of steps descends to the modern Crypt, a Greek 
cross, erected around the spot where the bones of S. Francis 
were discovered in 1818. A shrine with sixteen columns of 
jasper and marble seems scarcely a suitable resting-place 
for him whom Bossuet calls " Le plus d&esp&d amateur de 
la pauvret^ qui est peut-£tre dans l^glise n — but it encloses 
a piece of the solid rock, in which the tomb was found, and 
above, by the light of a lamp, we see the stone sarcophagus 
itself with a raised iron grille. The lid of the sarcophagus 
is in the arm of the cross. In the passage leading to the 
convent are colossal statues of Pius VIL and Pius IX. 

The Upper Church is an exquisite masterpiece of pure 
gothic architecture. It is generally closed, but is opened by 
the sacristan below. It is a Latin cross, 225 feet long, 36 
wide, and 60 high. Of the five compartments of the roof, 
two have only stars on a blue ground, the others frescoes by 
Cimabue. The walls of the nave are covered with frescoes. 
The lower range are by Giotto (1298). They begin from 
the right transept and represent the story of S. Francis : — 

1. S. Francis meets a Simpleton, who spreads his cloak for him to 



392 ITALIAN CITIES. 

walk on, in prophetic vision of his future. The temple in the piazza 
is seen in the background. 

2. S. Francis gives his robe to the poor officer. The scene is the 
valley below Assisi. 

3. The Dream of S. Francis, who sees armour provided for his fol- 
lowers, typical of the spiritual warfare they are to fight. 

4. The figure on the Crucifix of S. Damiano bids S. Francis to repair 
His house. 

5. S. Francis renounces his father Bernardino. 

6. Pope Innocent III. in a vision sees S. Francis supporting the 
basilica of the Lateran. 

7. Pope Honorius III. confirms the Order of S. Francis. 

8. His sleeping brethren see the spirit of S. Francis in a chariot of 
fire. 

9. A monk has a vision of the thrones prepared in heaven lor S 
Francis and his disciples. 

10. S. Francis sends Brother Sylvester to exorcise the wicked town 
of Arezzo. 

11. S. Francis begs to test his faith before the Sultan. 

12. S. Francis in ecstacy. 

13. S. Francis preaches before a presepio. 

14. S. Francis, ascending to La Vernia, calls water from a rock. 

15. S. Francis preaches to the Birds at La Vernia. 

16. The Count of Celano dies while he is hospitably entertaining 
S. Francis. 

1 7. S. Francis preaches before the Pope and Cardinals. 

18. S. Francis appears in vision, while S. Antony of Padua is 
preaching at Aries. 

19. S. Francis receives the stigmata at La Vernia. 

20. The Death of S. Francis. 

21. A Brother of the Order lying sick sees the death of S. Francis 
in vision, and crying out, "Tarry, father ! I come with thee," falls back 
and expires. 

22. One Jerome doubts the stigmata of S. Francis, and examines 
the marks of the nails. 

23. S. Chiara looks her last upon the dead body of the saint, as it is 
being carried to Assisi— a very beautiful picture. 

24. The Canonization of S. Francis. 

25. The truth of the stigmata is brought home to Pope Gregory X. 
by a vision. 

26. A Catalonian, mortally wounded by robbers, is healed by the 
spirit of S. Francis. 



CONVENT OF S. FRANCESCO. 393 

27. A woman of Monte Marino who had died unabsolved, is per- 
mitted, by the intercession of S. Francis, to return to life till she has 
confessed. 

28. S. Francis vindicates the innocence of a bishop imprisoned on 
accusation of heresy. 

The upper range of frescoes (most of them much injured) 
are by Cimabue, 1286. They narrate the story of the Old 
and New Testament from the Creation to the Crucifixion. 

" In these works there is an evident struggle in the mind of the 
artist to give to traditional form the expression of a living intention, but 
all that belongs to a closer imitation of Nature in her individual pecu- 
liarities, all that belongs to the conception of characteristic or graceful 
action, is still wanting. The form of the countenance is alike through- 
out, the expression as conveyed by mien always constrained. Yet, not- 
withstanding all the&e defects, these works must be regarded as having 
been mainly instrumental in opening a new path to the free exercise of 
art."— Kugler. 

The walls of the transepts are covered with frescoes (also 
much injured) by Giunta da Pisa (C 1252). In the centre 
of the tribune is the papal throne of red marble erected by 
Gregory IX., and attributed to Fuccio. On the left of the 
nave is an exquisite little gothic pulpit. Round the altar is 
a screen, with columns brought from the lower church. The 
frescoes are being injudiciously, ignorantly, and gaudily 
restored. 

The monastic buildings are grand in scale and proportions. 
The principal cloister is surrounded by double arcades, and 
decorated with injured frescoes of celebrated Francescans 
by Dono Doni (1505). The Refectory is of vast size. 
Passing the Lavatory of red marble, we see the Winter 
Choir, with a Last Supper by Dono Doni. In an immense 
room above are the hundred and two beautiful carved stalls 
with intarsiatura work by Dommico di •£ Severiuo Vyv^V 



394 ITALIAN CITIES. 

removed by the Sardinians from the upper church. The 
outer loggias, running through the great arches, which are 
so conspicuous a feature below, form a most beautiful walk 
with wide and lovely views. Near the angle of the convent 
is a curious figure of Pope Sixtus IV. seated in a niche. 

Amongst the historical monks of this monastery was 
Guido da Montefeltro, the famous Ghibelline chieftain, who 
had taken the habit of S. Francis, and who, when summoned 
hence by Boniface VIII. to assist him in reducing Pales- 
trina, advised him to " promise much but perform little." 
Returning to his convent, he died here in 1298. 



After all, the convents in Assisi itself, wondrously beau- 
tiful and interesting as they are, are only commemorative : 
the sites connected with the actual lives of Francis and 
Chiara must be sought without the walls, and form the 
object of three short separate excursions. 

1. A picturesque but rugged road of two miles, impossible 
for carriages, leads (under the arch which joins the 
cathedral and passing a Roman tomb) along the side of the 
mountain to the Hermitage of S. Francesco delle Career*. 
It stands in a cleft filled with luxuriant wood in the midst 
of the scorched and arid limestone rocks of Monte Subasio. 
A low gateway, with a fresco of the Virgin and Child 
between S. Francis and S. Chiara, is the entrance to a wood, 
which is filled with wild flowers, and where nightingales sing 
abundantly. A knot of brown conventual buildings occupies 
the most picturesque position in the gorge, and encloses the 
cell whither S. Francis retreated as a young man to combat 
with his passions in perpetual solitude and penance. His 



S. FRANCESCO DELLE CARCERE. 39; 

stone bed is shown, and his wooden pillow, a fountain which 
burst forth in answer to his prayers, and the hollow by which 




the tormenting Devil escaped. In the dormitory is a large 
cross given by S. Bernardino. In the cell of S. Francis, 
now a chapel, is a miraculous crucifix which is said to have 
conversed with the nun Dioraira "di gran bonta e perfe 
zione," and to have told her that it so loved two Fran- 
ciscans (Fra Cristoforo of Perugia and another) that the 
whole world might be saved by their prayers. Not only 
this, but when Fra Silvestro dello Spedalicchio, overwhelmed 
by fatigue, fell asleep before it, it woke him with a cuff— 
" un soavissimo schiaffo " — bidding him go and sleep in a 
more suitable place, i.e., his dormitory ! Five other peni- 



396 ITALIAN CITIES. 

tential cells remain in the wood, through the midst of which 
runs a stream which, when it threatened to destroy his 
hermitage, was stopped by the prayers of S. Francis. It is 
said that it now rages violently when any public calamity is 
at hand. In this wood, says one of his biographers, while 
S. Francis was singing the praises of God in French — to 
him the language of song — he was attacked by robbers, 
who, disappointed by his absolute poverty, for he possessed 
nothing but a hair shirt with a peasant's tunic over it, threw 
him into a ditch filled with snow. 

2. A road which turns to the right outside the Foligno 
gate, beyond S. Chiara, leads half a mile down the hill 
(practicable for carriages but very steep) to the beautifully 
situated Convent of S. Damiano, which is one of the most 
interesting and perfectly preserved historical shrines in 
Italy. An inscription over the door announces "Questo 
h il primo convento di S. Chiara." It was given to her 
by S. Francis, to whom it had been made over by the 
Benedictines. Here she founded the order which was first 
called the " Poor Ladies of S. Damiano,'* but afterwards 
the " Poor Clares," and here she lived for forty-two years and 
died on the 12th of August, 1253. Her mother Ortolana, 
and her younger sister Agnese became members of her sister- 
hood. She appears seldom to have seen S. Francis after 
her profession. Not being a priest, he could not hear 
confession from her or direct her spiritual life; on the 
contrary, he was rather in the habit of sending to consult 
her and seeking her advice and prayers, when he was in 
any trouble. Before his last journey to Rieti, when he was 
already smitten with his death-sickness, he visited her, 



S. DAMIANO. 397 

" comforting her with holy words and bidding her a humble 
farewell" 

The convent is wonderfully little changed by more than 
600 years, and many parts of it remain exactly as they 
were left by Chiara, unspoilt by the later gilding and deco- 
rations which generally contaminate the houses of the saints. 
Over the entrance is a rude fresco, marking a window from 
which she is said, with the Sacrament in her hand, to have 
repulsed the Saracens who were scaling the convent The 
low vaulted church, black with age, has on the right a 
fresco attributed to Giotto, representing a story in the life 
of Francis, which occurred here. While praying in the 
church before a crucifix (now at S. Chiara) it spoke to him, 
saying, " Francis, my servant, thou shalt restore my church," 
and he, taking it literally, stole a purse of money from his 
father and brought it hither to the priest, but being pursued 
by his father, who discovered the theft, threw the purse in 
at an open window. The scene is graphically told, — the 
amazed priest, the angry father with a stick, &c. 

Opposite is a reliquary containing the breviary of Chiara, 
her bell, the alabaster pyx with which she repulsed the 
Saracens, and the pectoral cross of S. Buonaventura. The 
shrine close by was that of the Beato Antonio di Stroncone, 
whose office is still recited here. It is now empty, and it is 
a curious evidence of the value set upon the relics of saints, 
that the inhabitants of Stroncone, near Spoleto, took advan- 
tage of the confusion consequent upon the French occupa- 
tion, to break into the convent and carry off the body to 
their native town, where it is still. 

In a chapel on the right of the church is a crucifix — most 
wonderful in character and power — by Fra /nnooenzo da 



398 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Palermo. A legend — "una pia umana tradizione," says that 
the head was left unfinished by the artist and carved by the 
angels in the night 

Near the altar are modern pictures, of the death of 
S. Chiara, and her benediction of bread, " pannotti," in the 
presence of Innocent IV. The present choir was built by 
S. Bernardino of Siena. From it, we enter the choir of 
S. Chiara, which is touchingly interesting and quite un- 
altered ; the doors, the old worn desks, and the simple 
wooden seats which turn back, are the same. A tablet 
bears the names of the forty-eight nuns who worshipped here 
in the time of S. Chiara, beginning with her sister Agnese. 
They are for the most part buried between this and the 
church, but Chiara herself was carried fifteen years after 
her death, to the convent which bears her name, whither the 
living nuns were also removed, as it was not considered 
safe for them to remain without the walls, and S. Damiano 
was given up to monks, who have ever since retained it. 
The Office of the Translation of S. Chiara is still sung here 
on the 3rd of October. In a corner of the old choir is a 
niche, which tradition claims to have been made by the 
shoulder of S. Francis, when the walls opened miraculously 
to conceal him from his angry father. 

Passing through the cloister, which has frescoes of the 
Annunciation, and of S. Francis receiving the Stigmata, by 
Eusebio Perugino, we reach the absolutely unaltered Refectory 
of S. Chiara, with its low vaulted roof, and brown walls, and 
worn oak tables. Here, according to the legend, she 
nourished fifty persons with half a loaf of bread ; and here 
Francis, when dining with the nuns, heard the voice of the 
Saviour pronouncing his certainty of eternal life. Here 



RIO TORTO. 399 

also it is said that a cross appeared upon the conventual 
loaves of bread, when Chiara — " that sweetest flower of S. 
Francis" — as his biographers call her, had prayed for a 
blessing upon them, being ordered to do so by the pope 
himself, who was present 

Above is the Dormitory where fifty nuns slept together 
without division into cells, and that where Chiara tended 
sick and infirm persons, leading to the room in which she 
died. Formerly a small chapel opened out of this room, 
from which she took the pyx to confront the Saracens at the 
window, which bears the inscription — " Da questa porta fu- 
rono da S. Chiara ributtati i Mori col Santissimo Sacramento." 

In a chapel of the outer cloister is a most lovely fresco 
of Tiberio d* Assist) representing the Madonna and Child 
throned, with floating angels holding a crown, between 
S. Antonio, S. Girolamo, S. Francis, and S. Agnese. 

S. Damiano has been suppressed and its monks most 
harshly treated by the Sardinian government There is 
even an impression that this shrine of Italian history will 
soon be put up to public auction ! * 

3. Turning to the left near S. Maria degli Angeli, less 
than two miles brings us to Rio Torto, where was the first 
convent of S. Francis, being in fact at first only a thatched 
hovel where he stayed with his companions on their first 
return from Innocent III. at Rome, the Porziuncula being 
too small. The great church raised over his cell was thrown 
down only a few years ago by earthquake, and the present 
edifice is quite modern. However, it encloses the cell, with 

* To Protestants it seems incredible that no English Catholic should be found who 
is willing to purchase and preserve— without ottering it— this sacred shrine of his 
religion ! 



400 ITALIAN CITIES. 

the bed of the saint Close by, two of his companions, 
Fra Egidio and Fra Corrado della Marca, were buried. The 
convent was given to S. Francis by the Benedictine monks 
on Monte Subasio, of whose convent nothing now exists, 
but a quit rent was always paid for this by the Franciscans, 
in the shape of basket of the fish called losehi, sent over 
the hills to the far-away convent of Subiaco. The little 
Chapel of the Maddalena which is passed between Rio 
Torto and the Angeli, is of the time of S. Francis. 

And now we must return to the station and leave behind 
the mediaeval world in which we have been living. Yet the 
very dusty way itself which leads us there is that along 
which S. Francis went singing with Brother Egidio, and 
admonished people by the way, saying simply — " O love 
and serve God, and repent perfecdy of your sins,* while 
Egidio added, with childlike simplicity — "Do what my 
spiritual father says to you, for he always says what is best" 
It was on this road, that, as he was being carried home in 
a litter in his last illness, he bade the bearers to stop, 
and said to his brethren, " Vedete, figli miei, never give up 
this place. Wheresoever you go, return always to this as 
your home, for this is the holy house of God." * And as, 
for the last time, we pass the Convent of the Angeli, we 
must remember that there, having touchingly added his 
welcome to " Sister Death,"t to his " Song of all Creatures," 
the great founder lay upon his deathbed, surrounded by the 

* It is the recollection of these almost last words of S. Francis which has made die 
spoliation of Assisi so peculiarly bitter to his Order, to the Pope, and to the whole 
Catholic Church. 

t " laudato sia mio Signore per suor nostra morte corporate : 
Da la quale nullo homo vivente puo scapare. 
Guai a quelli che more in peccato mortale ( 
Beati quelli che se trorano nella tua sanctissima Toluntate 
Che la morte secunda non li potra far male." 



DEATH OF S. FRANCIS. 



401 



brethren, with his faithful friend Giacobba dei Settisoli. As 
the supreme moment approached, he ordered the beginning 
of the 13th chapter of S. John to be read to him ; then, in 
broken accents, he himself repeated the i42d Psalm, — and 
finally, as his glazing eyes told that " Sister Death " was 
really come, passed away, saying to his weeping beloved 
ones — " Farewell, my children, for now I go to God, to whom 
I commend you all," and, in the words of one of his 
biographers, " was absorbed into the abyss of the light of 
God." 

" O Francis, never may thy sainted name 
Be thought or written save with soul aflame, 
Nor spoken openly nor breathed apart 
Without a stir and swelling of the heart ; — 
O mate of Poverty ! O Pearl unpriced ! 
O co-espoused, co-transforate with Christ." 

W ; H. Myers. 



VOL. III. 



26 



CHAPTER LXIIL 

CITTA DI CASTELLO AND BORGO SAN" 

SEPOLCRO. 

A decent little omnibus leaves the office in the Corso at Perugia every 
morning at 5.} a.m. for Citta di Castello, performing the journey of 33 
miles in 6J hours. But it sets out on its* return journey at 3 a.m., so 
that if Citta di Castello is taken as an excursion from Perugia, it will 
be found much more convenient to engage a carriage for the two days, 
price 20 frs. 

The Locanda della Canton iera (Valino) at Citta di Castello is a very 
good specimen of a small Italian inn, exceedingly clean and moderate 
in charges. 

There is no diligence between Citta di Castello and Borgo San 
Sepolcro : a carriage with I horse costs 7 frs. 

A carriage may l>e taken from Borgo to Arezzo, or vice versd, for 
17 frs., or Borgo may be easily visited in the day from Arezzo. 

The Albergo Fiorentino, sometimes called Locanda di Venezia, at 
Borgo San Sepolcro, is very clean and comfortable for a country inn, 
and an artist might spend some time there pleasantly and most econo- 
mically. This tour will not be worth while except to those who are 
really interested in Umbrian art, for the country is for the most part 
uninteresting and the towns arc unpicturesque. 

VERY beautiful is the rapid descent from Perugia, 
through the richly cultivated fields, bright in spring 
with gladiolus and bearded hyacinths, and with glorious 
views of the old city rising from its rocky platform. At 
Ponte Felcino (4 m.) the road crosses the Tiber by a very 
lofty bridge something like the Ponte alia Maddalena near 
Lucca. At 21 m, is Frafta, a small town with an octagonal 



MONTE CORONA. 403 

church and an old castle. Hence the road constantly 
ascends. 

(Two miles from Fratta, on a hill top, is the fine old 
Camaldolese monastery of Monte Corona. Its church was 
founded by S. Romualdo himself, c 1008, and retains a 
crypt of the nth century. There were sixteen hermitages 
attached to the convent, after the fashion of the Eremo at 
Camaldoli. Under the recent spoliation, the monks at 
Monte Corona were treated with exceptional cruelty, because 
they appealed, out of regard for their long exercised chari- 
ties, to be allowed to end their days in its walls : they have 
been not only expelled, but reduced to absolute beggary ; 
only one lay brother being allowed to remain for the sale of 
medicines in the f armada, 

A road leads from Fratta to Gubbio by the fine old castle 
of Civitclla Raniari and the deserted convent of Campo 
Rcggiano.) 

Citta di Castello occupies the site of Tifernum Tiberinum, 
of which Pliny the younger was chosen as patron while still 
a boy. In the 15th century it was ruled by the great house 
of the Vitelli, of whom Vitellozzo Vitelli was one of the 
earliest patrons of Raffaelle. Many of his great early works 
were painted here and were intended for the churches of 
this little town. The S/>osaiizio, now at Milan, belonged to 
the Church of S. Francesco ; the Coronation of S. Nicholas 
of Tolmtino hung in S. Agostino till it was sold to Pius VI. ; 
the Crucifixion, which Lord Dudley has now, was sold from 
the Gavari Chapel in S. Domenico in 1809 ; the Coronation 
of the Virgin in the Vatican, and the Adoration of the 
Magi, now at Berlin, were also painted &X Oxxa. ^^\^» 

26 2 



4 o* ITALIAN CITIES. 

In the centre of the dull town is the Cathedra/ o/S. Florida, 
consecrated in 1012, but twice rebuilt. Its only ancient 
feature is its round campanile which will recall those of 
Ravenna, The north door is an admirable specimen of 15th 
century work. Between the twisted pillars are two reliefs, 
with small figures or groups from scriptural or saintly sub- 
jects, introduced between the beautifully sculptured tendrils 
and fruit of a vine ; below are figures of Mercy and Justice. 
Entering by the west door, we may notice : — 

Right, \st Chapel. Bernardino GagiardL The Martyrdom of S. 
Cresccntian. 

4/// Chapel (of the Sacrament). Rosso Fiorentino. The Trans- 
figuration. 

$th Chapel, racetti. The Guardian Angel, with the Madonna in 
«Jory above ; on the left, S. Michael ; on the right, S. Raphael and 
Tobias. The scenes from the story of Tobias at the sides of the chapel, 
are by Virgilio Ditcci. 

6th Chapel. Sauazsino. Frescoes. 

The Camera della Canon ica contains a beautiful altar front, given by 
Pope Cwlestine II., who was a native of the town. It is a marvellous 
specimen of goldsmith's work, decorated with scenes from the life of 
the Saviour. 

The Cupola is painted by Marco Renefial. 

The Stalls arc of rich intarsiatura work, and are from designs of 
Raffacllino da Colle. 

A little behind the cathedral is the Via del Ospedale, con- 
taining the Hospital, whose chapel has a fine picture of the 
Pentecost by Santi di Tito. Close to this is the ugly gothic 
Church of S. Do/tie/iico, which contains : — 

Right. 1st Altar. Santi di Tito. Marriage of S. Catherine. 

2nd Altar. Grcgorio Pagani. Madonna and Child with saints. An 
interesting picture, said to have been presented in consequence of a vow 
of the citizen Antonio Corvini, who was serving under the Duke of 
Burgundy, and promised it to atone for having injured an image of the 
Virgin over the gate of some town. 



CITTA DI CASTELLA. 405 

$th Altar. Copy of the Crucifixion of Raffaelle, which formerly hung 
here, now the property of Lord Dudley. 

The High Altar covers the remains of the Beata Margherita, a Do- 
minican nun. Behind are : right, S. Sebastian, 1524, and the Annun- 
ciation, by Francesco di Castillo, 1524 ; left, a Madonna of the 14th 
century. 

Left of High Altar (the Brozzi Altar). Luca Signorelli^ 1498. 
Martyrdom of S. Sebastian. 

Close by is the little Church of S. Caterina, which 
contains : — 

Right. Andrea Cartone. S. Francesco di Paola. 

Lift. Squazzitw. Crucifixion. 

The frescoes of the Story of S. Catherine are by Cav. Borghese. 

Turning down the neighbouring Corso, the Via S. Egidio 
leads, close to the gate, to the Palazzo di Paolo Vildli. A 
magnificent pile of 1540.* It is now the property of the 
Marchese Rondinelli of Florence. 

The staircase is handsome, with a frescoed ceiling which, 
with the ceilings of all the chambers, was the work of the 
prolific artist, Cristofero Gherardi, commonly known as II 
Doceno. It leads to a great hall decorated by Prospero 
Fontana, in the style of the Zuccheri, with frescoes relating 
to the glories of the house of Vitelli, viz. : 

The Death of Giovanni Vitelli at the Siege of Osimo. 
The Reconciliation of Sixtus V. with Niccolo Vitelli. 
The Defence of the City by Camillo and Paolo Vitelli. 
Alessandro Vitelli presents to Cosimo de* Medici the Strozzi and 
Cavalcanti prisoners. 
Charles VIII. gives an Order to Camillo Vitelli 
Paolo Vitelli drives out the Venetian troops from the Casentino. 
Giovanni Vitelli brings about the election of Cosimo I. 
Charles V. creates Alessandro Vitelli Prince of Amatrice. 

• There are three other Vitelli palaces la tat Unro«>raX w*.'«w&. wiwk. 



4 o6 ITAUAN CITIES. 

The succeeding halls are all decorated with frescoes. 
Behind the palace are gardens, now little better than a 
ploughed field, save for a boschetto of ilexes. At the end 
is the picturesque Palazzino % with an open loggia, having a 
ceiling by Cristqfcro Ghcrardi, splendidly decorated with 
mythological subjects enclosed in a network of flowers, 
birds and fishes. The whole is wonderfully preserved. On 
the walls are fresco portraits of members of the Vitelli 
family. 

Returning to the Corso, and following the opposite Via 
Cavour, we reach (right), the Church of S. Francesco^ which 
contains : — 

Right 1st Altar. N. Circinani. The Stoning of S. Stephen. 

2nd Altar. Pictures of SS. John and Andrew, enclosing a reliquary 
of the 15th century, for relics of S. Andrew. 

yd Altar. N. Circinani. The Annunciation. 

4M Altar. Raffaellino da Colle. The Assumption. 

Left. 1st Chapel— Of the Vitelli, where they are buried. G. Vasari. 
The Coronation of the Virgin, with saints below. The stalls, of intarsia 
work, represent the life of S. Francis. 

2nd Chapel. Agostino and Andrea delta Robbia. S. Francis receiv- 
ing the stigmata. 

Several other churches may be briefly noticed. 
S. Cecilia contains : — 

Luca Signorelli. The Coronation of S. Cecilia. 
Piero delta Francesco. Coronation pf the Virgin, 

SS. Trinita contains : — 

Sacristy. Two standards representing the Crucifixion and the Crea- 
tion of Eve, attributed to Raffaelle. 

S. Giovanni Decollate contains : — 

Sacristy. A standard representing the story of S. John, by Luca 

Signorcllu 



BQRGO S. SEPOLCRO. 407 

t 

The Palazzo Mancini has a collection which is shown. 
The best works are : — 

2. Lteca cUlla Robbia. The Ascension — a fragment. 
7, 8, 9, 10. Luca Signorelli. Saints. 

19. Vasari. Cosimo de' Medici 

20. Luca Signorelli, 1515. Virgin and Child with angels and 
saints. 

In the Palazzo Municipals is a Virgin and Child with ten 
saints, by Piero delta Francesca, 



It is a drive of 1 2 miles from Citta di Castello to Borgo 
San Sepolcro, through a fertile plain. The road passes 
through the village of San Giustino, and skirts a beautiful 
garden belonging to the villa of the Marchese Buffalini of 
Florence. The frescoes of Cristofero Gherardi here, so much 
praised by Vasari, have been ruined by an earthquake. 
After passing, at a little distance on the right, the village of 
Cospaglia, once a republic like San Marino, we reach a low 
pillar marking what was once the boundary between Tuscany 
and the Papal States, one of the two neighbouring cottages 
under the same roof belonging to either kingdom. Here 
we come in sight of the towers of Borgo San Sepolcro. 

The town has an ancient look, and its houses retain 
several of the tall towers which were the pride of mediaeval 
nobles, and which once gave the city the appearance which 
is still retained by San Gimignano, as may be seen by an 
old picture in one of the churches. Many of the most 
stately of the towers perished in the earthquake of 1789. 
Borgo belonged to the Holy See till 1440, when it was made 
over to the Florentines by Eugenius IV. Though an un- 
important town in itself, it has acquired a tastare, \a^.o£tt&&& 



408 ITALIAN CITIES. 

by many great cities, as the birthplace and home of many 
of the greatest masters of Italian art — Santi di Tito (1538 — 
1603) the best painter of his own period; RarTaellino da 
Colle (c. 1540), born at Colle a few miles from Borgo, an 
eminent follower of Raffaelle and Giulio Romano ; Cristofero 
Gherardi, (1500 — 1556) surnamed Doceno, a pupil of 
Raffaellino ; but, above all, Piero delia Francesca (1398 — 
1484) of whom Luca Pacioli, writing in 1494, speaks as — 
" the monarch of painting in our times." 

" From Umbria he had drawn the secret of homely combinations and 
direct surprises ; from Florence draughtsmanship, the power of dramatic 
distribution and combination, science and the passion of science, the 
resolve that art should leave no province of nature unattempted. From 
his own instincts he took the twofold choice that gives his work its 
charm and singularity— a love of colour in its fairest gradations and 
most fanciful harmonies, and, with that, a delight in the confident ges- 
tures of the strong, the innocent haughtiness of physical health, the 
courageous mien of those who stand on both feet, and hold their heads 
high, looking put with eyes of a frank indifferent sweetness upon a 
world of which they feel the masters." — S. C» 

In the centre of the town is a piazza containing the tall 
Torre delV Orologio. Opening from this is the Via del 
Duomo, on the right of which is the Cathedral^ founded 
1 01 2, but retaining little of antiquity. It contains : — 

Right Aisle (over side-door). The beautiful tomb of Bishop Galeotto 
Graziani. 

Next Altar. Santi di Tito. The Incredulity of S. Thomas. 

Choir. Left. Perugino. The Ascension — a replica of the great pic- 
ture once in S, Pietro at Perugia, now at Rouen. Right. Raffaellino 
da Colic. The Resurrection. 

Sacristy. Luca della Robbia. Figures of SS. Benedetto and Ro- 
mualdo. Gerino da Pistoja. Fragments of frescoes of saints. 

14M century. SS. Peter and Paul, with the story of S. John Baptist 
in the predella. 

Left Aisle* School of Luca della Robbia, Ciborium. 



BOJIGO S. SEPOLCRO. 409 

2>rd Altar. Antonio Cavaluccu Madonna del Rosario. 
2nd Altar. Durante Alberti. Nativity. 
1st Altar. Giovanni Alberti. Crucifixion. 

Opposite the cathedral is a small building containing the 
Municipio, and the Monte Pio. Here is : — 

* Piero della Francesco. A most grand fresco of the Resurrection. It 
is early morning in a wintry landscape, a valley in a wild Umbrian 
country, with great trees breaking the sky. In the centre is the tomb, 
from which the Saviour is rising grandly and triumphantly, with one 
foot on the ledge, a banner with the red cross in his right hand, and his 
eyes looking forward with rapt intensity, the whole figure thrown out 
by the blackness of the hills behind, upon which the light has not yet 
risen. Below lie, or rather sit, the four guards, greatly foreshortened, 
in the most intense sleep. The fresco is admirably seen, and the room 
is generally open : it is alone worth a visit to Borgo San Sepolcro. 

Close by, behind the fountain, is the Church of S. Fran- 
cesco % which contains : — 

Left. 1st Altar. Dotnenico Passignano. Christ with the Doctors. 
A very striking picture, almost wholly in shadow, the light just catching 
some bald heads in the foreground : the figure and expression of the 
boy-Saviour most beautiful. 

Right, yd Altar. Giovanni dc' Vecchi. S. Francis receiving the 
Stigmata. 

Just beyond, on the right, is the Chapel of the Miseri- 
cordia, which contains : — 

Left. Raffadlino da Colle. The Resurrection. What a contrast in 
its disturbance and confusion to the solemnity of the Piero della 
Francesca ! 

Hi%h Altar. A curious crucifix, said to have been miraculously dis- 
covered by oxen refusing to walk over the place where it was buried. 

Beneath this chapel is the copy of the Holy Sepulchre, 
which gave the town (called Nocera before), its present name. 
It was built in 1300 in wood, in 1480 in stone. Tk\a^K. 



4 io ITALIAN CITIES. 

gates by Albcrti have wonderful reliefs of the Temptation of 
Adam, and the Expulsion from Paradise. 

In the neighbouring Via della Misericordia (left) is the 
Hospital, containing, in its chapel :— 

* Piero delta Francesca. The Virgin shielding the inhabitants of Borgo 
with her robe, a memorial of the plague of 1348. All around the frame 
are tiny figures of saints, and four larger figures beneath. Above is the 
Crucifixion. In the gradino are : — The Agony in the Garden, the 
Flagellation, The Women at the Sepulchre, and The Appearance to the 
Magdalen. 

On the left, at the angle of the town-wall, is the Fortezza^ 
with long machicolations. Turning left, inside the neigh- 
bouring gate, we reach the Church of S. Antonio, which has 
a curious Gothic portal, with a relief of souls presented to 
the Saviour by their patron saints ; below, in quatrefoils, is 
the Annunciation. Within is : — 

* High Altar. Luca Signorelli. An altar piece, originally a standard, 
painted on both sides and quite magnificent in colour. On one side are 
SS. Eligio and Antonio Abbate ; on the other the Crucifixion — the 
Virgin has fainted, and is lying at the foot of the cross. 

Turning right from hence, at the end of the Via del Rio, 
is the Church of the Minori Osscrvanti, which contains : — 

Choir. Raffaellino da Colle. Coronation of the Virgin. 

Hence we may proceed in a direct line to the Church of 
the Servi % which contains : — 

Right, yd Altar. Giovanni de* Vecehi. The Presentation in the 
Temple. 

4/h Altar. N. Circinani. Virgin and Child, with SS. Luke and 
Francis. 

Choir. i$th century. The Assumption. 

Le/L 4M Altar. Dom. Passignano t The Annunciation. 



PASSER/NO, ANGHIARL 411 

A little further is the Church of S. Chtara, containing : — 

• High Altar, Piero della Francesco. The Assumption. The Virgin, 
with an expression of the most intense humility and devotion, floats 
upwards in a cloud of angels and seraphs : beneath are SS. Francis, 
Jerome, Costanzo, and Chiara. 

On the Organ Gallery are a number of curious ancient pictures. 

At the end of the Via Maestra, on the left, is the Church 
of S. Agostino, containing : — 

Left. 1st Altar. Gerino da Pistofa, 1502. The Virgin, on the 
prayer of its mother, delivering a child from the Devil — very curious. 

3rd Altar. Over a picture of the Nativity, a beautiful half-length 
of Christ in benediction. 

About 3 miles from the city, on the lower slopes of the 
hills at the farm of Passcrino, is the site of the Villa of 
Pliny, of which he gives a detailed description in one of his 
letters.* Some fragments of ancient masonry remain. His 
account of the clipped walls and cut box trees in the 
Roman villa gardens shows how little taste has changed in 
Italy since. 

There are two roads from Borgo to Arezzo. That 
generally chosen by the Vetturini leads through Atighian\ 
which contains a Last Supper of Piero della Francesca, and 
where on June 29, 1440, the Florentines under Giovanni 
Paolo Orsini gained a great victory over the Milanese under 
Piccinino. As we wind up the adjoining hill, through 
gardens of pears and olives, the great brown-buttressed 
mass of campanile-crowned Anghiari rises most picturesquely, 
like one of the towns on the edge of the Roman Campagna, 
against the delicate green of the plain and the pink haze of 

• V. Ep. 6. 



412 



ITALIAN CITIES. 



the distant mountains. Ten miles from hence is the poor 
hamlet of Caprese, where Michael Angelo was born in 

1474. 
The road from Anghiara to Arezzo is good, but very 

hilly. It passes through woods in a valley above a river, 
something like the Holne Chase in Devonshire, then 
crosses a weary spur of the Apennines, after which the 
cathedral of Arezzo comes in sight, crowning the hill above 
the town. 



CHAPTER LXIV. 
SPELLO AND FOLIGNO. 

(Spello may be made an excursion from Assisi or Perugia, or may be 
taken on the way to Foligno. There are 4 trains daily in 20 min. ) 

ELEVEN kilometres from Assisi, on the left of the 
railway, cresting a low spur of the Apennines, is 
Spdlo. It occupies the site of Hispellum. 

" His urbes Arna, et laetis Mevania pratis, 
Hispellum." 

Si/. Ital., viii. 458. 

We find this town in inscriptions bearing the titles of 
" Colonia Julia Hispelli " and " Colonia Urbana Flavia," 
from which it appears that it must have received two 
colonies, one under Augustus, the other under Vespasian. 
There are remains of a Roman Amphitheatre in the plain 
below the town, and one of the Roman gates — Porta Veneris — 
still exists, surmounted by three figures, with the remains of 
a triumphal Arch of Macrinus, in the Via del Arco. The 
inhabitants point out the house, and in it the tomb, of Proper- 
tius, who possibly lived here, though he himself records that 
he was born at Mevania. 

But these remains are comparatively insignificant The 
chief interest of Spello arises from its connection with the 
history of art In 1501, while Perugino was employed **. 



4f4 ITALIAN CITIES. 

Perugia in the Sala del Cambio, his contemporary Pintu- 
ricchio was employed here on noble frescoes which still 
remain, together with several from the hand of Perugino 
himself. 

The collegiate Church of S. Maria Maggiore contains : — 

Left, Cappdla del Sacramento, The Annunciation, one of the 
noblest works of the master. It is signed, on the roof of the temple, 
" Bemardinus Pinturicchius, 1501." The portrait of the artist is intro- 
duced, hanging against the wall. 

The Nativity, with the shepherds reverently approaching, in a noble 
landscape. 

The Dispute with the Doctors, signed "Pintoricchio." A very noble 
picture. Troilo Baglioni, the prior of the church for whom the fresco 
was painted, is introduced. In all these, the backgrounds are most care- 
fully finished, and gold ornaments are laid on. 

On the ceiling are the four Sibyls. 

The Tabernacle of the High Altar is a beautiful work of the early 
Renaissance. On the pillar on the left is — Perugino, Madonna with 
the Magdalen and S.John, signed "PetrusdeChastroplebispinxit,i52i. " 
" The expression in S. John," as Burckhardt says, is " pure and beauti- 
fully inspired. " On the pillar on the right — Perugino. Madonna between 
S. Catherine and a bishop. 

Over the altar of the Sacristy is — Pinturicchio, a Madonna. 

On the right of the entrance is an ancient Cippus, with a relief of an 
equestrian figure and an inscription, used as a holy- water basin. 

The Franciscan Church of S. Andrea, consecrated in 
1228 by Gregory IX., contains, in the right transept, a 
noble picture by Pinturicchio^ 1508. The Madonna is 
throned between SS. Francis and Laurence, and SS. Andrew 
and Louis. On the steps of the throne is a charming 
S. John writing " Ecce Agnus " — and a curious letter from 
Gentile Baglioni, Bishop of Orvieto, to the artist, is intro- 
duced. On the wall of a house opposite the convent 
(No. 30) is a Madonna by Pinturicchio, 

Steep and tortuous streets lead up to the hill top, whence 



foligno. 415 



there is a beautiful view. Spello was the seat of a bishopric 
till the 6th century, when it was removed to Foligno. 



Sixteen kilometres from Assisi is Foligno, the junction 
station for the lines to Ancona and Rome. 

Inns. Croce Bianca, good : Barbacci : Posta. 

Carriages from the station to the inns, 40 c, luggage included. 

Foligno occupies the site of the ancient Fuiginium. 

" Iguvium, patuloque jacens sine mcenibus arvo 

Fulginia." 

Sil. Ital. t viii. 461. 

The town is walled now, and lies low in a rich envine- 
yarded plain, which is dreadfully hot in summer. There is 
not much to be seen except pictures, though the piazza 
with the west front of the cathedral and a high-striding red 
arch over a street close by are not unpicturesque. 

At the entrance of the Public Garden is a modern statue 
of the artist Niccolb (TAlunno, who was a native of Foligno. 

" Unendowed with any originality of invention, Niccolo possessed the 
art of giving his figures a generally attractive expression. In his female 
and his angelic heads especially, we mark a great refinement and purity, 
and in his male figures a greater earnestness and expression, accom- 
panied by greater fulness and sturdiness than the succeeding Umbrian 
painters approved." — Kugler. 

The Church of S. Niccolo contains : 

Right. 2nd Chapel. Niccolb d'Alunno (his master-piece). A Taber- 
nacle in 14 compartments, the largest being the Nativity and the Resur- 
rection. The predella of this picture was kept at the Louvre, when 
the rest was returned. 

Chapel of S. Antonio. Niccolo d\Alunno. The Coronation of the 
Virgin with SS. George, Bernardino, and Antonio below. In the 
predella an Ecce Homo with the Virgin and S. John. 



416 ITALIAN CITIES. 

S. Maria infra Portus contains : 
Nicolo (TAlunno. SS. Jerome and Roch. 

S. Annunziata contains : 

Pirtro Pentgino % an injured fresco representing the Baptism of onr 
Lord. 

The Cathedral of S. Feliciano, which has a very rich 1 5th 
century portal, with monsters, has been modernized in- 
ternally. 

The Palazzo del Governo or Trinci, has a chapel painted 
in fresco with the History of the Virgin by the rare master 
Ottoviano Nelli of Gubbio. It was to the Convent of S* 
Anna that the famous picture of Raphael painted for Sigis- 
mondo Conti was removed by his nun-niece Anna, and 
hence it took the name of "La Madonna di Foligno." 
Scattered over the town are several of the interesting wall 
pictures known as Maes fas, by Pietro da Foligno and other 
followers of the Alunno school. 

An excursion of six miles may be made to the village of 
Brcagna on the Clitumnus, the ancient Mevania, which 
retains some remains of a Roman Amphitheatre, a temple of 
Mars or Vertumnus, and other buildings. It was here that 
Vitellius attempted to make a last stand for the empire 
against Vespasian, and here Propertius was born, as he 
himself informs us. 

" Umbria te notis antiqua penatibus edit, 
Mentior ? an patrice tangitur ora tuar ? 
Qua nebulosa cavo rorat Mevania campo, 

Et lacus sestivis intepet Umber aquis, 
Scandentisque arris consurgit vertice mums, 
Murus ab ingenio notior ille tuo." 

iv. El, i. 121. 



MONTEFALCO. 417 

In the Church of the Beato Giacomo is the tomb of the 
Beato Giacomo Bianconi, who died 1301. 

About 3 miles further, on a high hill, is Montefalco, which 
contains in its churches a number of curious pictures of 
the Umbrian School. The town is highly picturesque and 
has in the fullest degree the Italian character of a " Borgata 
Alpestre." In the Church of S. Francesco is a choir covered 
with frescoes of the Story of S. Francis, by Benozzo Gozzoli 
(1452), the pupil and contemporary of Fra Angelico; also, 
a Madonna and two saints, by Tiberio d f Assist. 

The Church of S. Fortunato (I m. from the town) 
was once . covered with frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli. 
Only a fragment of the Virgin and Child, with an angel 
(1498), remains. In the cloisters is the Cappelld delie Rose % 
covered with frescoes from the life of S. Francis by Tiberio 
d y Assist. 



" And now farewell to Italy — perhaps 
For ever ! Yet, methinks, I could not go, 
I could not leave it, were it mine to say, 
• Farewell for ever ! ' " 



Rogers. 



THE END. 



ERRATA, VOL. I. 

Page 373, line 20, for Tai read Pieve 

Page 374* below the woodcut, for Tai Cadore read Pieve Cadore 

Page 370, line 5 from bottom, read S. Martino di Castrozza 



VOL. 111. 2^ 



INDEX. 



A. 

Abano, i. 359 
Agordo, i. 37a 
Alassio, i. 20 
Albaro, i. 57 
Albenga, i. 21 
Albizzola, i. 26 
Alessandria, ii. 185 
Altopasico, ii. 507 
Alzano Maggiore, i. 237 
Ambrogiana, villa of, iii. 249 
Ancona, ii. 390—400 

Arch of Trajan, 393 

Cathedral, 395 

Churches — 
S. Agostino, 398 
S. Ciriaco. 395 
S. Francesco dell' Ospedale, 

399 
S. Maria della Misericordia, 

398 
S. Maria Piazza, 398 

Loggia dei Mercanti, 398 

Palazzo del Comune, 400 

Anghiari, iii. 411 

Angrogna, i. 105 

Antelao, the, i. 373 

Aosta, i. 109 

Areola, i. 68 

Arezzo, iii. 322 — 331 

Amphitheatre, 331 

Cathedral, 324 

Churches — 

S. Ann un data, 331 

Badia, La, 329 

S. Francesco, 327 

S. Maria della Pieve, 323 

Confraternita della Misericordia, 

326 

Palazxo Pubblico, 3*$ 



Arezzo — continued. 

Piazza Grande, 325 
Arona, i. 206 
Arqua, L 362 
Asciano, in. 314 
Assisi, iii. 370 — 401 
Cathedral, 380 
Churches — 
S. Antonio, 382 
S. Chiara, 381 
Chiesa Nuova, 380 
S. Damiano, 396 
S. Francesco, 384 
S. Francesco delle Carcere, 

394 
S. Maria degli Angeli, 373 

Rio Torto, 399 

S. Rufino, 380 

Porziuncula, La, 375 

Temple of Minerva, 379 

Avellana, ii. 439 

Avenza, i. 70 

Avigliana, i. 89 

B. 

Badia di Settimo, iii. 214 
Bagnacavallo, ii. 296 
Bagni di Lucca, ii. 505 
Barga, ii. 506 
Bassano. i. 367 
Battaglia, i. 361 
Baveno, i. 210 
Belcaro, castle of, iii. 294 
Belgirare, i. 207 
Bellaggio, i. 10^ 
Bellosguardo, iii. 211 
Belluno, i. 370 
Bergamo, i. 216 

Accademia, 225 

Ca^oella Colieoni, 



INDEX. 



Bergamo— continued. 
Cathedral, 224 
Churches — 
S. Agostino, 224 
S. Andrea, 227 
S. Bartolommeo, 227 
S. Bernardino, 227 
S. Chiara, 2x7 
S. Grata, 224 
S. Maria Maggiore, 219 
S. Spin to, 226 
S. Tommaso in Limine, 227 
Bergeggi, i. 23 
Bevagna, hi. 416 
Bibbiena, iii. 228 
Biella, i. 1x4 
Blevio, i. 193 
Bobbi, i. 105 
Bobbio, ii. 194 
Bologna, ii. 246 — 294 

Accademia delle Belle Arti, 268 
Antico Archiginnasio, 257 
Campo Santo, 294 
Casa Gal van i. 287 

Lambertini, 265 
Rossini, 276 
Cathedral, 258 
Certosa, the, 294 
Churches — 
8. Annunziata, 285 
S. Bartolommeo di P. Rave- 

gnata, 261 
S. Bartolommeo di Reno, 288 
S. Benedetto, 289 
S. Caterina Vigri, 285 
S. Cecilia, 284 
S. Cristina, 277 
S. Domenico, 281 
S. Francesco, 287 
S. Giacomo Maggiore, 262 
S. Giorgio, 289 
S. Giovanni in Monte, 277 
S. Gregorio, 289 
S. Lucia, 280 

La Madonna di S. Luca, 293 
di Galicra, 259 
di Mezzaratta, 

200 
di Misericordia, 

280 
in Monte, 289 
S. Maria dei Servi, 276 
S. Marti no, 266 
S. Michele in Bosco, 293 
S. Niccol6. 288 
S. Paolo. 286 



Bologna — continued. 
S. Petronio, 
S. Pietro, 258 
S. Procolo, 284 
S. Salvatore, 287 
S. Stefano, 278 
S. Trinita, 277 
S. Vitale ed Agricola, 275 
Collegio di Spagna, 286 
Crocetta di Trebbio, 294 
Giardini Pubblici, 289 
Liceo Rossini, 265 
Loggia dei Mercanti, 261 
Montagnola, 289 
Orto Bo t an i co. 275 
Palazzo Albergati, 287 
Bentivoglio, 275 
Bevilacqua, 286 
Bianchi, 277 
Bolognini, 280 
Fantuzri, 276 
Fava, 259 
Grabinski, 284 
Hercolani, 277 
Malvezzi Campeggi, 265 
Marescalchi, 288 
Montanari, 289 
Pedrazzi, 276 
Pcpoli, 280 
Piella, 259 
del Podesta, 252 
Pubblico, 252 
Zamlteccari, 286 
Zampieri. 276 
Piazza S. Domenico, 280 
Maggiore, 254 
Ncttuno, 251 
Portico dei Banchi, 254 
Torre degli Asinelli, 260 
della Garist- nda, 260 
Borgo S. Donino, ii. 204 
Borgo S. Sepolcro, iii. 407 
Bracco, pass of, i. 62 
Brescia, i. 241 — 254 

Biblioteca Quirimana, 245 
Broletto, 243 
Castle, 253 
Cathedrals, 244 
Churches — 
S. Afra, 249 
S. Alessandro, 250 
S. Clemente, 246 
S. Domenico, 251 
S. Faustino Maggiore, 251 
S. Francesco, 251 
S. Giovanni Evangelists 2^2 



INDEX. 



Brescia — continued. 
S. Giulia, 247 
Madonna delle Grarie, 350 

delle Miracoli, 250 
S. Maria Calchera, 247 
S. Nazzaro e Celso, 250 
S. Pietro in Oliveto, 253 
MuseoCivico, 247 
Patrio, 245 
Palazzo del Municipio, 243 
Torre del Orologio, 243 
della Palata, 251 
Brianza, the, i. 190 
Brienno, i. 194 
Broni, ii. 186 
Buonconvento, ill. 299 
Busseto, ii. 204 

C. 

Cadenabbia, i. 195 
Cagli, ii. 433 
Caldiero, i. 321 
Camaldoli, convent of, iii. 242 
Camerino, ii. 418 
Carnerlata, i. 183 
Camogli, i. 58 
Campaldino, iii. 223 
Campi, School of the, i. 231 
Campione, i. 258 
Campo Reggiano, iii. 403 
Campo Rosso, i. 8 
Caprese, iii. 4x2 
Caprile, i. 372 
Careggi, villa of, iii. 219 
Carmagnola, i. 93 
Carrara, i. 70 

Carrara di S. Stefano, i. 360 
Casale, i. 117 
Cascina, iii. 25! 
Casebruciate, ii. 302 
Casentino, the, iii. 226 
Castagnolo, iii. 215 
Casteggio, ii. 186 
Castel Arquato, ii. 204 
Castel Catajo, i. 360 
Castelfidardo, ii. 401 
Castel Franco, i. 370 
Castel Guelfo, ii. 206 
Castellaro, i. 18 
Castel lo, iii. 219 
Castelluzzo, i. 103 
Castel Secco, iii. 331 
Castiglione, i. 210 
Castiglione Fiorentino, iii. 332 
Castiglione d'Olona, i. 204 



I Cavallermaggiore, i. 94 
Centa, river, i. 22 
Cernobbio, i. 193 
Cerreto-Guidi. iii. 250 
Certaldo, iii. 251 
Certosa, the, i. 166 

of the Val d'Emo, iii. ao3 
Cervaro, i. 60 
Cervi, i. 20 
Cesena, ii. 363 
Cesenatico. ii. 350 
Chatillon, i. 109 
Chiana, Val di, iii. 321 
Chiaravalle, i. 163 
Chiavari, i. 61 
Chiavenna, i. 197 
Chioggia, ii. 141 
Chivasso, i. 117 
Chiusi, iii. 319 
Cittadella, 1. 370 
Citta di Castel lo. iii. 403 
Citta del Pieve, iii. 321 
Civitella Raniari, iii. 403 
Cogoletto, i. 27 
Colico, i. 197 
Como, i. 184 
Como, lake of, i. T92 
Cortina d' Ampezzo, L 375 
Cortona, iii. 333—338 
Cathedral, 337 
Churches — 
S. Agostino, 338 
S. Domenico, 334 
S. Margherita, 335 
S. Niccol6, 335 
Fortezza, 336 
Etruscan Museum, 336 
Cospaglia, Republic of, iii. 407 
Courmayeur, i. in 
Cremona, i. 230 — 240 
Baptistery, 237 
Campo Santo, 238 
Castle, 240 
Cathedral, 232 
Churches — 
S. Abbondio, 233 
S. Agata, 232 
S. Agostino, 232 
S. Giacomo in Breda, 233 
S. Luca, 232 
S. Margherita, 23a 
S. Nazzaro, 233 
S. Pelagia. 233 
S. Pietro al Po, 233 
S. Sigismondo, 239 
Palazzo Maggi, 232 



INDEX. 



Cremona — continued. 

Palazzo Pubblico, 238 

Torrazzo, 237 
Cuneo. i. 95 
Custozza, i. 302 



D. 

Desenzano, i. 255 
Diano Marina, i. 20 
Dolceacqua, i. 9 
Domo d'Ossola, i. 2x0 
Dongo, i. T07 
Donnaz, i. 108 



E. 

Empoli, Hi. 249 
Erba, i. 190 
Este, i. 361 
Euganean Hills, i. 358 

F. 

Faenza, ii. 353 
Fano, ii. 387—390 
Fcltre, i. 370 
Fermo, ii. 4x4 
Fiesole, iii. 193 
Finale Marina, i. 23 
Fiorenzuola, ii. 204 
Florence, iii. 1 — 188. 

Accademia della Crusca, 18 

delle Belle Arti, 131 
Filannonica, 80 
del Pimento, 18 
Badia, La, 54 
Baptistery, 101 
Bargello, 57 
Bigallo, 91 
Borgo dei Greci, 69 
S. Apostoli, 81 
dei Pinti, 140 
S. lacopo, 181 
Bridges (Ponte) — 
Carraja, 161 
S. Trinita. 161 
Vecchio. 164 
alle Grazie, 168 
Campanile of Giotto, 94 
Canto delle Colonnine, 68 
Cantonata dei Pazzi, 52 
Cascine, the, 160 
Cathedral, 95 
Collegio Eugeniano, 105 



Floren ce — con tin ued. 
Cemeteries — 

Florentine, at S. Miniaro, 201 

Jewish, 188 

Protestant, 142 
Churches — 

S. Ambrogio, 143 

S. Annunziata, 138 

S. Apostoli, 81 

S. Apollonia, 114 

La Badia, 55 

S. Biagio, 82 

Calze, le, 184 

S. Carlo Borromeo, 87 

Carmine, the, 185 

S. Croce, 69 

S. Elisabetta, 184 

S. Firenze, 67 

S. Frediano, 188 

S. Gaetano, 149 

S. Giovanni Battista, 101 

S. Giovanni no, 1x7 

S. Jacopo sopr' Arno, 181 

S. Leonardo in Arcetri, 42 

S. Lorenzo, 108 

S. Lucia, 160 

S. Maddalena dei Pazzi, 141 

S. Marco, 129 

S. Maria in Campidoglio, 89 
dei Fiore, 95 
Maggiore, 107 
Nipaticosa, 88 
Novella, 149 
sopr* Arno, 165 

S. Margherita dei Ricci, 50 

S. Marti no, 49 

S. Niccol6, 169 

Ogni Santi, 161 

Or S Michele, 83 

S. Piero Buonconsiglio, 89 
Scheraggio, 42 

S. Pietro Maggiore, 54 

S. Salvador, 161 

S. Si in one, 80 

S. Spirito, 182 

S. Stefano, 82 

S. Trinita, 15 
Convents — 

S. Apollonia, 114 

Carmine, 185 

S. Croce, 78 

Marat te, 79 

S. Maddalena dei Pazzi, 141 

S. Marco, 1x7 

S. Maria dcgli Angeli, 140 

iS. Maria. MwK&k, v& 



INDEX. 



Florence — continued. 

S. Onofrio, 158 
Croce al Trebbio, 149 
Egyptian Museum, 159 
Fortezza di S. Giorgio, 169 
Galleries — 

Uffiri, 19 

Feroni, 34 

Pitti, 172 
Gardens— 

Boboli, 181 

Ruccellai, 160 

TorregUni, 184 
Gates (Porta) — 

S. Frediano, 188 

S. Gallo, 1x4 

S. Giorgio, 169 

S. Niccol6, 169 

S. Romana, 185 
Hospitals (Ospedale) — 

Innocenti, 138 

S. Maria Nuova, 144 

della Scala, 159 

S. Matteo, 151 

Misericordia, 9a 
Houses (Case) of— 

Alfieri, 17 

S. Antonino, 170 

Corso Donati, 54 

Dante, 49 

Folco Portinari, 50 

Fra Bartolommeo, 184 

Ghiberti, 144 

Guidi, 170 

Mariotto Albertinelli, 49 

Michael Angelo, 80 

Niccol6 Soderini, 182 

S. Zenobio, 82 
Libraries — 

Magliabecchian, 18 

Marucelliana, 1x7 

Nazionale, 18 

Palatine, 18 

Riccardi, 117 
Marzocco, the, 43 
Mercato Nuovo, 82 

Vecchio, 89 
Palaces (Palazzo) — 

Alessandri, 53 

Antinori, 149 

Arte di Lana, 87 

Barbadori, 181 

Barberini, 69 

Borgherini.Bi 

Canigiani, 16& 

Capponi, 140 



\ 



Florence — continued. 

della Cavajola, 89 
Cento Finestre, 107 
Cerchi, 49 
Cocchi, 69 
Conte Bardi, 80 
Corsini, 162 
dei Galli, 53 
Gondi, 67 
Guadagni, 184 
Guicciardini, 171 
Martelli, 117 
della Mercanzia, 36 
Montalvo, 53 
del Municipio, 81 
Nonfinito, 52 
Orlandini, 107 
Pandolfini, 1x4 
Pitti, 171 
Quaratesi, 52 
Riccardi, 1x5 
Ridolfi, 171 
Rinuccini, 182 
Salviati, 50 
Seristori, 69 
Spini, 17 
Strozzi, 146 
Stufa, 69 
Torrigiani, x68 
del Turco, 81 
Uffizi, 18 
Uguccione, 36 
Valori, 54 
Vecchio, 42 
Velluti Zuti, 140 
Passage of the Ponte Vecchio, 

Piazza — 
della Ammnziata, 137 
d'Azeglio, 143 
del Carmine, 188 
dei Castellani, 68 
S. Croce, 69 
del Duomo, 104 
S. Felicita, 169 
S. Firenze, 67 
dei Giudici, 68 
del Grano, 68 
dell' Indipendenza, 158 
Manin, 161 
S. Maria Novella, 149 
S. Miniato tra due Torre, 90 
de Renai, 169 
della Signoria, 35 
S. Spirito, 184 



1ADEX. 



Florence — continued. 
Streets (Via)— 

Albizzi, 52 

AUegri, 79 

S. Agostino, 184 

dei Bardi, 165 

Calimala, 91 

Calzaioli, 83 

Cerretani, 149 

Condotta, 48 

S. Egidio, 144 

dei Fibbiai, 141 

del Fosso, 80 

S. Gallo, 114 

dei Ginori, 114 

Giraldi, 80 

Ghibellina, 79 

Guicciardini, 169 

Maggio, 170 

dei Malcontenti, 78 

della Mandorla, 140 

Marsigli, 170 

della Morta, 104 

Nazionale, 158 

dei Oricellari, 159 

Parione, 162 

Pelliceria, 91 

della Pergola, 141 

dei Pinti, 141 

Por S. Maria, 82 

Porta Rossa, 83 

S. Sebastiano, 141 

Seragli, 184 

S. Spirito, 183 

Tornabuoni, 146 

dei Veccliietti, 89 
Theatre of the Pagliano, 80 
Towers (Torre) — 

dei Amidei, 82 

Barbadore, 112 

Bocca di Ferro, 49 

dei Donati, 50 

S. Zenobio, 82 
Foligno, iii. 415 
ForU, ii. 356—362 
Cathedral, 357 
Citadel, 362 
Churches — 

S. Girolamo, 358 

S. Mercuriale, 357 

The Servi, 359 
Pinacoteca, 359 
Forliropopoli, ii. 363 
Fort Bard, i. 108 
Fratta, iii. 402 
Furlo, pass of the, ii. 432 



G. 



Galicano, ii. 506 
Gallinara, island of, i. 21 
Garda, i. 260 
Garda, lake of, i. 256 
Gargnano, i. 258 
Garlanda, i. 22 
Genoa, i. 29 — 56 

Acqua sola, promenade of, 47 
Albergo dei Poveri, 47 
Banco di S. Giorgio, 36 
Campo Santo, 57 
Cathedral, 37 
Churches — 
S. Agostino, 54 
S. Ambrogio, 42 
S. Annunziata, 46 
S. Donato, 54 
S. Giacomo, 53 
S. Giovanni di Pre*, 51 
S. Maria di Carignano, 54 
S. Maria di Castello, 53 
S. Matteo, 39 
S. Siro, 46 
S. Stefano, 56 
House of Andrea Doria, 39 
Loggia dei Banchi, 35 
Piazza — 
Acqua Verde, 50 
Bianchi, 35 
Carlo Felice, 42 
Embriaci, 53 
Pontoria, 54 
Ponte di Carignano, 54 
Porta di S. Andrea, 56 

S. Tomrnaso, 51 
Porto Franco, 36 
Strada degli Orefici, 35 
Gombo, the, ii. 479 
Gravedona, i. 197 
Gravellona, i. 210 
Gressoney S. Jean, i. 215 
Gubbio, ii. 434— 438 
Guesella, the, i. 376 



I. 

Idro, lake of, i. 260 
II Deserto, i. 27 
Imola, ii. 29 » 
Impruneta, iii. 210 
Inciso, i. 190 
Intra, i. 211 
Iseo, lake of, L 228 




*Uta raM ,j«. au 
Petna. iii. 34I a *' 
Jour, j. Ia p 

Venura, ij. .^, 
Jumped usa. i. ,a 

Lecco. i. i 9J 

J-^hora, ii. , 8l 

\*P>*So. i. 366 

Lertcf. i. 66 ^ 

"•Mlo, i. 6 J 

Umone, i. a - J 8 

Lo«o. i. aj, J 
Loe »"lo. L aia 
Lonigo, I. 33J 
LotbIo, fi. 4o*- 4 „ 
Luc^, fi. *£T*L' 
Calbedrai, ™ 

* Criafofbro 504 
?■ CSiosio. 5qj 

s. Mi Chel r^ Rosa ' w 

* £*»« Somaldo, .„ 
■*■ *™"»«nn sot 



i I i Ian — umtintitd. 



add Carmine, 15a 
a delta Grazie, 145 
a presw S. Celso, 1 



ro, 143 



S. Semplid 

S. Sepolcro, 149 

S. Stefano in Broglio, 141 
Cokmne di S. I jjrpnio, 131 
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. 
La Scaia, Theatre of, 150 
Loggia degli Ossi. 145 
Oapedale Maggiore. 140 
Palatio de Ha Citta, 145 
del Ragione, 145 
Litta, 145 



Piauud' 



'3° 



Miral 



i. 303 



Modena, ii. 933—943 

Cathedral, 335 

Churches — 

S. Francesco. 344 
S, Giovanni Decollate 34 
S. Maria Pomposa, 245 
S. Pietro. 344 
S. Vincent. 144 
La Ghirlnndaja, 337 
Palauo Ducale, 340 
Plaza Reale, 240 

Grande, 336 
Pinacoleea, 340 
University, 344 
Moncalieri, i. 89 
Monfenal, duchy of, i. 117 
Monselice, i. 361 
Monle-Aperto, iii. 207 
Montebcllo, i. 331 ; ii. 186 



Monte Concro, li, 400 
Monte Corona, iii. 403 
Monlefalco, iii. 417 
Monte Generoso, 1. 189 



Montegrotto r 1. 360 
Montelupo, iii. 34B 
Monte Murlo, ii. Jsa 



Monte Venda. 1. 358 
Monte Zago, ii. 304 
Monijovet, i. 109 



Padua, i. 335—358 

Archivio Pubblico. 341 
Baptistery, 34a 
Cathedral, 34a 
Churches— 

S. Antonio, 347 



Krem 



'. 338 
mi, 353 



S. Giorgio. 351 

S. Maria delfArenn. 553 
S. Maria Nuova, 351 
S. Maria in Vaniii, 344 

II Bo, 341 

Loggia del Consiglio, 33a 
Muni L i|>ale. 344 

Ooo But an i co. 346 



Churches— 

S. Alessandro aiB 

Anriunzia.a, 

? Giovanni E^ngdisf. 

| Man;, d^ Ste ™ a 

a. Sepolcro, an 
Cqllegio Ulw 
™« Faraese, a , 9 

*J Giardino. Ms 
KMWdiCone, al | 

J™™*, iii. 411 

5 nd B«. '77 
CureUo, 17, 

Lhriir-t..- /J 



^4jiurnes— 
S. Qnpw, I74 



INDEX. 



Piccolo Paggi, i. 60 
Plena, iii. 317 
Pietra Santa, i. 7a 
Pinezolo, i. 103 
Pisa, li. 440—480 

Accademia delle Belle Arti, 471 
Baptistery, 451 
Campanile, 446 
Campo-Santo, 45a 
Cascine, 479 
Cathedral, 416 
Churches — 
S. Biagio. 477 
S. Caterina, 475 
Cavalieri di S. Stefano, 472 
S. Francesco, 470 
S. Maria delle Spine, 468 
S. Matteo, 477 
S. Michele in Borgo, 479 
S. Niccola, 469 
S. Paolo del Orto, 476 
S. Paolo Ripa d'Arno, 478 
S. Pietro in Grado, 480 
S. Sepolcro, 477 
S. Sisto, 475 
Giardino Botanico, 470 
Palazzo Agostino, 469 
dei Banchi, 478 
Conventuale dei Cava- 
lieri, 47s 
del Governo, 478 
Gualandi, 475 
Lanfrcducci, 469 
Pieracchi, 478 
Toscanelli, 478 
Ponte alia Fortezza, 477 
al Mare, 470 
del Mezzo, 469 
University, 469 
Pisogne, i. 228 
Pistoia, ii. 510—510 
Baptistery, 516 
Cathedral, 5x7 
Churches — 
S. Andrea, 517 
S. Bartolommeo, 51 z 
S. Domenico, 511 
S. Francesco, 517 
S. Giovanni Evangelista, 511 
S. Jacopo, 514 
S. Maria dell' Utnilta, 518 
S. Paolo, 5x2 
S. Pietro Maggiore, 512 
S. Salvatorc, 5x7 
Palazzo del Comune, 5x3 
Pretorio, 5x4 
Maggiore, 513 



Po, river, i. 84, 85 
Poggibonsi, iii. 252 
Poggio a Cajano, iii. 2x6 
Poggio Ixnperiale, iii. 199 
Pontassieve, iii. 222 
Pontedera, iii. 251 
Ponte Felcino, iii. 402 
Ponte Grande, i. 210 
Ponte S. Martino, i. 108 
Poppi, iii. 227 
Porlezza, i. 199 
Porto, i. 201 
Porto Fino, i. 60 

Mauririo, i. 20 

Recanati, ii. 4x2 

Venere, i. 62 
Pozzolen^o, L 26 x 
Pra del lor, i. 261 
Prato, ii. 519 
Pratolino, iii. 197 
Prato Vecchio, iii. 246 

R. 

Racconigi, 94 
Kadicofani, iii. 317 
Rapallo, i. 61 
Ravenna, ii. 295 — 352 
Arcivescovado, 320 
Biblioteca Communale, 323 
Cathedral, 320 
Churches — 
S. Agata, 323 
S. Apollinare Nuovo, 327 
S. Apollinare in Classe, 337 
S. Domenico, 3x5 
S. Francesco, 323 
S. Giovanni Battista, 303 
S. Giovanni Evangelista, 316 
S. Maria in Affrisco, 316 
S. Maria in Cosmedin, 303 
S. Maria Maggiore, 307 
S. Maria in Porta Fuori, 332 
S. Nazaro e Celso, 304 
S. Niccol6, 323 
S. Spirito, 302 
S. Teodoro, 30a 
S. Vitale, 308 
Colon na dei Francesi, 348 
House of Byron, 349 
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, 

Palazzo Communale, 317 
Guiccioli, 349 
Theodoric, of, 330 

Piazza* de& Kqpita^vi 



INDEX. 



Ravenna — contin ued. 

Maggiorc, 317 
Pinacoteca, 321 
Tomb of Dante, 324 

the Exarch Isaac, 315 
Theodoric, 324 
Recanati, ii. 412 
Recoaro, i. 334 
Reggio, ii. 231 
Rho, i. 206 
Rimini, ii. 365 — 377 
Amphitheatre, 374 
Arch of Augustus, 373 
Bridge of Augustus, 373 
Castle of the Malatesti, 376 
Churches — 
S. Chiara, 374 
S. Francesco, 367 
S. Giuliano, 376 
Palazzo del Comune, 375 

RufTo, 375 
Piazza Cavour, 374 

Giulio Cesare, 371 
Ripafratta, ii. 490 
Riva, i. 259 

Rooca di Fontenellato, ii. 206 
Rocca Silana, ii. 489 
Rora, i. 106 
Rovigo, i. 365 
Rubicon, the, ii. 350 
Rusina, ii. 226 
Ruta, i. 59 



S. 



Sacro Monte of Orta, i. 213 

Varallo, i. 213 
Varese, i. 202 

Sagro di S. Michele, i. 84 

S. Agostino, i. 6 
Ambrogio, i. 89 
Angelo in Vado, ii. 365 
Columba, tomb of, iii. 293 
Domenico di Fiesolc, iii. 189 
Fiora, mountain of, iii. 317 
Fruttuoso, convent of, i.*6o 
Gimignano, iii 302 — 311 
Giovanni Uarione, i. 333 
Giuliano, ii. 490 
Giustino, iii. 407 
Leo, ii. 382 
Lorenzo al Mare, i. 20 
Margherita, i. 60 
Maria Pomposa, ii. 352 
Marino, republic of, u. 377 
Martino, i. 261 



S. Michele, Sagro di, i. 89 
Miniato, iii. 199 
Miniato dei Tedeschi, iii. 251 
Niccol6, ii. 186 
Pierino, iii. 251 
Quirioo, iii. 318 
Remo, i. 13 
Romolo, i. 16 
Salvatore, Monte di, i. 201 
Salvi, convent of, iii. 199 
Severino, ii. 417 
Stefano al Mare, i. 20 
Vivaldo, iii. 311 
Salarco, iii, 315 
Salo, i. 358 
Saluzzo, i. 94 
Sambonifazio, i. 321 
Sandria, i. 200 

Santuario, the, of Savona, i. 24 
Sarnico, i. 228 
Sarzana, i. 68 
Sarzanello, i. 69 
Sassoferrato, ii. 417 
Savigliano, i. 94 
Savignano, ii. 365 
Savona, i. 23 
Sennione, i. 255 
Serravalle, ii. 508 
Serravezza, i. 73 
Sestri, di Levante, i. 6r 
Settignano, iii. 108 
Shelley, death o(, i. 67 
Siena, iii. 252—296 
Badia, La, 289 
Biblioteca Communale, 285 
Casa di S. Caterina, 276 

dell* Opera, 272 
Cathedral, 265 
Churches — 
S. Agostino, 287 
S. Ansano, 292 
S. Bernardino, 289 
Carmine, 288 
Concessione, 286 
S. Cristoforo, 285 
S. Domenico, 278 
Fonte Giusta, 290 
S. Francesco, 288 
S. Giovanni Battista, 273 
Osservanza, I -a, 293 
S. Quirico, 288 
Servi di Maria, 286 
S. Spirito, 286 
Collegio Tolomei, 288 
Fonte Branda, 276 
Gaja, 256 



INDEX. 


Siena — continued. 


Turin — ten tin Htd. 


Nuova, 3S9 


Corpus Domini, 79 


Hospital of S. Maria delta Scaia, 


S. Lorenzo, 79 


*73 


Madre di Dto, 85 


Iitituto dclle Belle Art), 381 


Superga, 87 


Una, La, 3S9 




Loggia dei Nobili. 163 


Cangnano, 80 


del Papa, 363 


Madam a. 76 


Palazzo Buonjignon, 287 


Munirtpio, 79 


del Cajalano, 364 


Reale. 77 


dei Diavoli, 394 


Valentino, B6 


Grottanclli. 364 




Magnitico, 374 


Carignano, Bo 


Piccolomini. 363 


Carlo Alberto. 84 


Piccolomini Uelle Pa- 


Carlo Felice, 76 


Saracinl. 363 


Caitello, 76 


di Citta, 79 


Spanocchi, 289 


Kavoia, 79 


University, 386 


Public Gardens, 85 


Signs, ill. 115 




Sinalunga, iii. 314 
SinigaRfia, U. 391 


U. 


Sort. Iii. 941 




Solferrino, i. 356 


Urbino. ii. 430-431 


Sprite, iii. 4<3 
Speria. gulf uf, 1. 63 


Accartcmia delle Belle Aril. 436 




Spotomn. 1. 33 


Cathedral, 435 


Stress, 1. 307 


Churches — 


Slupinlgi, 1. 89 
Superga, La, I. 89 
Sum, i . 93 


S. Bernardino. 439 


Francesco, 439 
Giovanni Battisla, 439 


Sylvano, i. 60 


Snirito. 4*9 




Ducal Palace. 431 


T. 


Urbisnglia, ii. 4T7 


Uso, inc. ii. 350 


Taggia, i. 17 
Tai Cadoiv. 1. 373 




Tavemola, i. 338 




Tenda, Col (li, i. 95 


Vado. i. a 3 


Terminal j, i. 373 


Vai di Cnmporciero, i. 108 


Thrasymene, iii. 338 


Valdagno. i. 333 


Tidno. river, i. 177, 178 


Vflldieri, balhs of, i. 93 


Tolentino, ii. 416 


Valeggio. i. 30a 


Toroello, ii. 153 


Valcnct, i. 117 


Tortona. ii. 185 


Varallo, 1. 313 


Toscolano, i. 35B 


Varcnna, i. 196 


Trascone. i. 337 


Vnrese, i- 30 


Trebbia. Ihe, ii. 186 


Varigolli, i. 33 


Trissino. i. 333 
Turin, i. 74—B6 


Venas, i. 376 


Venice, ii. 1—156 

Ahlxui,i delta Misericord ia. 109 


Accidentia. 80 


Armoury, 77 
CanpucliinConvenl, 85 


Accademia, 51 


Archax>logica] Museum, 45 


Cathedral, 78 


Armenian Convent. 136 


Churches— 

Consolata, La, 79 


Arsenal. 97 

Bridge of Sighs, 40 



INDEX. 




Venice— -contimwd. 

Campanile, 16 

Campo — 
S. Angelo, 105 
S. Angelo Ranaello, 1x6 
S. Benedetto, 106 
S. Giovanni in Bragora, 100 
S. Maria, 131 
S. Maria Formosa, 82, 83 
S. Margherita, 117 
S. Paternian, 106 
S. Polo, 132 
S. Stefano, 105 
S. Zaccaria, 81 

Campiello Angaran, 1x9 

del la St rope, 131 

Canareggio, the, 114 

Casa Businello, 66 
Ferro, 79 
Goldoni, 130 

Churches — 
S. Andrea, 119 
S. Angelo di Murano, 149 
S. Antonino, 8a 
S. Aponal, 132 
S. Apostoli, 75, 109 
S. Biagio, 96 

S. Donato di Murano, 148 
S. Fosca di Torcello, 153 
S. Francesco delle Vignc, 92 
S. Geremia, 73 
S. Giacomo del Orio, 130 
S. Giacomo del Kialto, 68 
S. Giobbe, 114 
S. Giorgio, 135 
S. Giorgio del Greci, 82 
S. Giovanni in Bragora, 99 
S. Giovanni Crisostomo, 107 
S. Giovanni e Paolo, 84 
S. Gregorio, 50 
S. Giuliano, 107 
S. Giuseppe di Castello, 94 
S. Lazaro. 91 
S. Luca, 105 
S. Marco, 19 
S. Marcuola, 73 
S. Maria del Carmine, 1x7 
S. Maria Formosa, 82 
S. Maria dei Frari, 125 
S. Maria dei Gesuiti, 109 
S. Maria -Mater Domini, 13X 
S. Maria dei Miracoli, 107 
S. Maria del Orto, xxo 
S. Maria della Salute, 47 
S. Maria Zobenigo, 103 
S. Martino, 99 



Venice — continued* 

S. Mar&ale, iro 

S. Mauri zio, 104 

S. Moise. 103 

S. Niccolo al Lido. 139 

S. Niccol6 al TolendDQ, 

S. Pantaleone. 118 

S. Pietro di Castello, 94 

S. Pietro di Murano, 144 

S. Polo. 13a 

S. Raifaello, 116 

II Redentore, 134 

S. Rocco, 125 

S. Salvatore. io£ 

I Scalzi. 7a 

S. Silvestro. 67 

S. Simeone Grande, 70 

S. Spirito, 117 

S. Stae, 70 

S. Stefano, 104 

S. Trovaso, 115 

S. Vitale, 79 

S. Zaccaria. 80 
Corte del Maltese. 106 
del Salrion. 107 
del Rener, 75 
Doges of. 6 
Fondaco dei Tedeschi. 75 

dei Turchi, 71 
Frari, the, 125 
Giardini Papadopoli. 1x9 

Pubblici, 94 
Giudecca. the, 134 
Gondolas, xo 
Grimani Breviary, the, 41 
Islands— 

Burano, 149 

Castello, 102 

S. Elena, 138 

S. Giorgio, 135 

Giudecca. 134 

S. Lazaro, 136 

S. Michele, 145 

Mazzorbo, 149 

Murano, 146 

S. Niccol6, xoa 

Pelestina, 141 

S. Pietro, 93 

Poeggia, 141 

S. Servolo, 140 

Sot to Marina, 141 

Torcello, 150 
Libreria di S. Marco, 41 

Vecchie, 15 
Lido, the, 138 
Loggia sotto il Campanile, 1 



Venice — onlimud. 
Museo Comer. 71 
OrtO Botanico, 114 

Radoer, 100 

Balbi.65 

Barbarigo deile Terrain:, 66 

Beaton, 77 
Bernardo, 66 

Camerlenghi, 70 . 

Capello. T 3 a 

Cvalti. 77, 79 

Conlarini. 7S. 106 

Conlarini delle Scrigni, 63 

Capovilla. 71 

Coiner del la Ca Grande, 79 

del la Reg in a, 70 

Spinelli, 78 
Dandolo, 76 

Ducale, 30 
Duodo, 71 

Eriiao, 74 
Faliet. 108 

Foscan, 63 
Foscarini, 117 
Graisl, 78 
Grimani. 74, 77. 83 
Grimani a S. Polo, 65 

Giusliiiiani Lonin, 78 

London, 76, 105 
Manfrin, 73 
Marin, 76 
Manioni. 51 
Marcello, 74 
Maninengo, 77 
Michele delle Colonne, 75 
Mocenigo, 78 
Mora Lin, 78 
Morosini, 75, ioj 
Municiuio, 77 
Persico, 65 

Pisani, 65, 105 
Polo, 107 
Keuonico, 63 
SagTedo.75 

Knuudo, 10B 



Vendramin Calenghi, 73 
Zenobio. 117 
Papadopoli Gardens, iiq 



5. Polo, 13a 

del Rialto, 68 

dei Suspiri. 40 

S. Toma. 130 
Poul, tbe. 41 
Procuretie Nuove, 15 

Vecchie, is 
Railvrav Station, 7 
Rial to. '67 

Scila dei Giganti, 33 
Scuola dcgli Albanesc, 104 

S. Marco, 91 

S. Hoc™, 119 

Statue of Banolommeo Cull 



Torre del Orologio, 15 
Verona, i. 363—301 

Aecademia Filarmonica, jSo 
Amphitheatre, 199 
Arco dei Borsari, 385 
del Leone, 399 
Baptistery, 388 
Castel S. Felice, 390 

S. Pietro, 389 

Vecchio, aRo 
Cathedral, a86 
Churches- 



Elena. aSB 
Eufemia, 985 
Fermo ManBiore, 397 
Giorgio in Braida, 391 
Giovanni hi Fonte, 18S 
in Valle, 191 
Maria Antics, 373 

del I a Campagna. 300 
Main co la re, 3l" 



inC 



0. SOI 

CrJso. 393 



INDEX. 



Verona— continued. 

S. Pietro Martire, 269 
Siro, 291 
Stefano, 390 
Tommaso Cantuariense, 

392 
Zeno, s8x 
Gardens — 
Giusti, 293 

of the Orfanotrofio, 299 
House of Giolfino, 285 
Museo Civico, 295 

Lapidario, 280 
Oratorio dj S. Zenone, 284 
Palaces — 
Bevilacqua, 285 
Canossa, 285 
Cappelletti, 299 
dd Consiglio, 271 
Giasti, 293 
della Guardia, 280 
Maffei, 278 
Pompei, 295 
Portalupi, 285 
Piazza Bra, 279 

della Erbe, 278 
Navona, 271 
dei Signori, 270 
Pinacotcca, 295 
Ponte Acqua Morta, 298 
Castello, 280 
delle Navi, 297 
Nuovo, 292 
Pietra, 289 
Porta Stuppa, 280 
Tombs- 
Count of Castelbarco, 268 
The Scaligers, 272 
Vescovado, 288 
Walls, 300 
Viareggio, i. 73 
Vicenza, i. 321-333 
Basilica, 325 
Casa di Palladio, 327 
Pigafetta, 325 
di Ricovero, 330 
Cathedral, 324 
Churches — 
S. Corona, 326 
S. Lorenzo, 330 
S. Maria al Monte, 331 



Vicenza — continued. 
S. Pietro, 330 
S. Stefano, 526 
Museo Civico, 528 
Palazzo— 

Barbarano, 331 
Chiericati, 328 
Conte Porto al Castcll 
Loschi, 325 
Porto. 33/ 
della Ragione, 325 
Annibale Tiene, 325 
Marc Antonio Tiene, \ 
Valmarana, 331 
Rotonda Capra, 332 
Teatro Olimpico, 330 
Torre del Orologio, 325 
Villa Valmarana, 332 
Villa Carlotta, i. 194 
d'Este, i. 193 
Mela, i. 196 
Pizzo, i. 193 
Pliniana, i. 193 
Villafranca, i. 30a 
Villanuova, i. 321 
Villar, i. 104 
Vmchiana, ii. 504 
Voghera, ii. 185 
Vogogna, i. 210 
Volterra, ii. 483—489 
Baize, le, 488 
Baptistery, 487 
Buche dei Saradni, 489 
Cathedral, 486 
Churches — 
S. Agostino, 488 
S. Francesco, 488 
S. Michele, 488 
S. Salvatore, 488 
Etruscan Museum, 485 
I Marmini, 489 
Palazzo Communale, 485 
Porta del Arco, 484 
di Diana, 489 
Villa Inghirami, 489 
Voltri, i. 27 
Vorazze, i. 27 

W. 

Waldenses, the, i. 96 — 107 




JOHN CHILDS AND SON, PRINTERS. 



Uniform with " Cities of Italy." 

WALKS IN FLORENCE. 

By SUSAN AND JOANNA HORNER. 

With Illustrations. Second Edition. 

Two Vols., Crown 8vo., aix. 



TIMES, 

" No one can read it without wishing to visit Florence, and 
no one ought to visit Florence without having read it" 

BRITISH QUARTERLY REVIEW. 

11 It will make one who has never seen the historic city of 
Dante as familiar with it as though he had spent years there. 
To visitors it will hereafter be almost a sine qua non as a hand- 
book." 

GRAPHIC. 

• "A pleasanter literary companion could scarcely be found. 
Teeming with the results of observation, reading, and a sympa- 
thetical critical taste, its value is beyond question. 1 ' 

SPECTATOR. 

" We have in these two volumes a valuable acquisition." 

NONCONFORMIST. 

" The book will hereafter be a sine qua non for English and 
American visitors to Florence, whose numbers, we are fain to 
think, it will also tend very considerably to increase." 

GUARDIAN 

" A work which, by the accuracy of its information, the exact- 
ness of its detail, and the refined taste conspicuous in every 
page, proves its authors to be worthy inheritors of the honoured 
name they bear. Henceforward it will be as indispensable to 
every intelligent visitor to the ' City of Flowers ' as Mr. Hare's 
is for ' The Eternal City.' " 



DALDY, ISBISTER & CO., 56, LUDGATE HILL. 



THROUGH NORMANDY, 

By Mrs MACQUOID, 

Author of " Fatty," ftc. 

With 90 Illustrations by T. R- Macquoid. 

Crown 8vo, zax. 



SATURDAY REVIEW. 

" ' Through Normandy ' possesses the great charm of being 
written in a cheerful sprit. It leaves a bright and pleasant 
impression upon the mind ; and while those who already know 
Normandy will recognize the truth of her descriptions, and 
sympathize with her in her enthusiasm, those who are yet in 
ignorance of its attractions may be stirred by Mrs Macquoid's 
advocacy to the amendment of their education." 

ATHENAEUM. 

" The illustrations are excellent, and the work is pleasant as 
well as accurate." 

SCOTSMAN. 

" It so unites all necessary information with descriptions of 
scenery, with fine-art criticism, and with appropriate historical 
sketches, that it becomes a literary treasure." 

BRITISH QUARTERLY REVIEW. 

" One of the few books which can be read as a piece of 
literature, whilst at the same time handy and serviceable in the 
knapsack." 

RECORD. 

" Few readers will fail to catch some of her enthusiasm for a 
land so intimately connected with the early history of our 



race." 



TABLET. 



u All will read with interest every chapter of Mrs Macquoid's 
delightful, well-arranged book." 



DALDY, ISBISTEEl & CQ. % tf% LUDGATE HILL* E.C 



5 



FEB *•< 'flg