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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Story of Florence, by Edmund G. Gardner
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Story of Florence
+
+Author: Edmund G. Gardner
+
+Illustrator: Nelly Erichsen
+
+Release Date: October 18, 2011 [EBook #37793]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF FLORENCE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Melissa McDaniel and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  Transcriber's Note:
+
+  Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
+  Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation in the original
+  document have been preserved.
+
+
+
+
+  The Story of Florence
+
+
+
+
+  All rights reserved
+
+  First Edition, September 1900.
+  Second Edition, December 1900.
+
+  [Illustration: _Pallas taming a Centaur, by Botticelli._
+  (THE TRIUMPH OF LORENZO.)]
+
+
+
+
+  The Story of Florence
+
+  by Edmund G. Gardner
+
+  Illustrated by Nelly Erichsen
+
+  London: J. M. Dent & Co.
+  Aldine House, 29 and 30 Bedford Street
+  Covent Garden W.C.   1900
+
+
+
+
+  To
+  MY SISTER
+  MONICA MARY GARDNER
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The present volume is intended to supply a popular history of the
+Florentine Republic, in such a form that it can also be used as a
+guide-book. It has been my endeavour, while keeping within the
+necessary limits of this series of _Mediæval Towns_, to point out
+briefly the most salient features in the story of Florence, to tell
+again the tale of those of her streets and buildings, and indicate
+those of her artistic treasures, which are either most intimately
+connected with that story or most beautiful in themselves. Those who
+know best what an intensely fascinating and many-sided history that of
+Florence has been, who have studied most closely the work and
+characters of those strange and wonderful personalities who have lived
+within (and, in the case of the greatest, died without) her walls,
+will best appreciate my difficulty in compressing even a portion of
+all this wealth and profusion into the narrow bounds enjoined by the
+aim and scope of this book. Much has necessarily been curtailed over
+which it would have been tempting to linger, much inevitably omitted
+which the historian could not have passed over, nor the compiler of a
+guide-book failed to mention. In what I have selected for treatment
+and what omitted, I have usually let myself be guided by the
+remembrance of my own needs when I first commenced to visit Florence
+and to study her arts and history.
+
+It is needless to say that the number of books, old and new, is very
+considerable indeed, to which anyone venturing in these days to write
+yet another book on Florence must have had recourse, and to whose
+authors he is bound to be indebted--from the earliest Florentine
+chroniclers down to the most recent biographers of Lorenzo the
+Magnificent, of Savonarola, of Michelangelo--from Vasari down to our
+modern scientific art critics--from Richa and Moreni down to the
+Misses Horner. My obligations can hardly be acknowledged here in
+detail; but, to mention a few modern works alone, I am most largely
+indebted to Capponi's _Storia della Repubblica di Firenze_, to various
+writings of Professor Pasquale Villari, and to Mr Armstrong's _Lorenzo
+de' Medici_; to the works of Ruskin and J. A. Symonds, of M. Reymond
+and Mr Berenson; and, in the domains of topography, to Baedeker's
+_Hand Book_. In judging of the merits and the authorship of individual
+pictures and statues, I have usually given more weight to the results
+of modern criticism than to the pleasantness of old tradition.
+
+Carlyle's translation of the _Inferno_ and Mr Wicksteed's of the
+_Paradiso_ are usually quoted.
+
+If this little book should be found helpful in initiating the
+English-speaking visitor to the City of Flowers into more of the
+historical atmosphere of Florence and her monuments than guide-books
+and catalogues can supply, it will amply have fulfilled its object.
+
+  E. G. G.
+
+  ROEHAMPTON, May 1900.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+     CHAPTER I                                             PAGE
+
+     _The Commune and People of Florence_                     1
+
+     CHAPTER II
+
+     _The Times of Dante and Boccaccio_                      32
+
+     CHAPTER III
+
+     _The Medici and the Quattrocento_                       71
+
+     CHAPTER IV
+
+     _From Fra Girolamo to Duke Cosimo_                     111
+
+     CHAPTER V
+
+     _The Palazzo Vecchio--The Piazza della Signoria--The
+     Uffizi_                                                146
+
+     CHAPTER VI
+
+     _Or San Michele and the Sesto di San Piero_            184
+
+     CHAPTER VII
+
+     _From the Bargello past Santa Croce_                   214
+
+     CHAPTER VIII
+
+     _The Baptistery, the Campanile, and the Duomo_         246
+
+     CHAPTER IX
+
+     _The Palazzo Riccardi--San Lorenzo--San
+     Marco_                                                 283
+
+     CHAPTER X
+
+     _The Accademia delle Belle Arti--The Santissima
+     Annunziata, and other Buildings_                       314
+
+     CHAPTER XI
+
+     _The Bridges--The Quarter of Santa Maria
+     Novella_                                               340
+
+     CHAPTER XII
+
+     _Across the Arno_                                      374
+
+     CHAPTER XIII
+
+     _Conclusion_                                           409
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     _Genealogical Table of the Medici_                     423
+
+     _Chronological Index of Architects, Sculptors and
+     Painters_                                              424
+
+     _General Index_                                        430
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                                                           PAGE
+
+     _Pallas taming a Centaur (Photogravure)_[1]   Frontispiece
+
+     _Florence from the Boboli Gardens_                       3
+
+     _The Buondelmonte Tower_                                20
+
+     _The Palace of the Parte Guelfa_                        29
+
+     _Arms of Parte Guelfa_                                  31
+
+     _Florentine Families_                                   33
+
+     _Corso Donati's Tower_                                  40
+
+     _Across the Ponte Vecchio_                              47
+
+     _Mercato Nuovo, the Flower Market_                      51
+
+     _The Campanile_                                         63
+
+     _Cross of the Florentine People_                        70
+
+     _Florence in the Days of Lorenzo the Magnificent_       80
+
+     _The Badia of Fiesole_                                  83
+
+     "_In the Sculptor's Work-shop_" (_Nanni di
+       Banco_)                                               97
+
+     _Arms of the Pazzi_                                    110
+
+     _The Death of Savonarola_                              135
+
+     "_The Dawn_" (_Michelangelo_)                          144
+
+     _The Palazzo Vecchio_                                  147
+
+     _Looking through Vasari's Loggia, Uffizi_              161
+
+     "_Venus_" (_Sandro Botticelli_)                        178
+
+     _Orcagna's Tabernacle, Or San Michele_                 185
+
+     _Window of Or San Michele_                             191
+
+     _Tower of the Arte della Lana_                         201
+
+     _House of Dante_                                       207
+
+     _Arms of the Sesto di San Piero_                       213
+
+     _Bargello Courtyard and Staircase_                     217
+
+     _Santa Croce_                                          233
+
+     _Old Houses on the Arno_                               245
+
+     _The Baptistery_                                       251
+
+     _The Bigallo_                                          264
+
+     _Porta della Mandorla, Duomo_                          267
+
+     _Statue of Boniface VIII_                              270
+
+     _Arms of the Medici from the Badia at Fiesole_         283
+
+     _Tomb of Giovanni and Piero dei Medici_                288
+
+     _The Well of S. Marco_                                 299
+
+     _The Cloister of the Innocenti_                        331
+
+     _A Florentine Suburb_                                  337
+
+     _The Ponte Vecchio_                                    343
+
+     _The Tower of S. Zanobi_                               347
+
+     _Arms of the Strozzi_                                  353
+
+     _In the Green Cloisters, S. Maria Novella_             357
+
+     _In the Boboli Gardens_                                374
+
+     _The Fortifications of Michelangelo_                   399
+
+     _Porta San Giorgio_                                    403
+
+     _Map of Florence                               facing_ 422
+
+  [1] "_The Frontispiece and the Illustrations facing pages 97, 135,
+  144, 178 and 288 are reproduced, by permission, from photographs by
+  Messrs Alinari of Florence._"
+
+
+
+
+The Story of Florence
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+_The People and Commune of Florence_
+
+     "La bellissima e famosissima figlia di Roma, Fiorenza."
+         --_Dante._
+
+
+Before the imagination of a thirteenth century poet, one of the
+sweetest singers of the _dolce stil novo_, there rose a phantasy of a
+transfigured city, transformed into a capital of Fairyland, with his
+lady and himself as fairy queen and king:
+
+     "Amor, eo chero mea donna in domino,
+       l'Arno balsamo fino,
+       le mura di Fiorenza inargentate,
+     le rughe di cristallo lastricate,
+       fortezze alte e merlate,
+       mio fedel fosse ciaschedun Latino."[2]
+
+  [2] "Love, I demand to have my lady in fee,
+        Fine balm let Arno be,
+      The walls of Florence all of silver rear'd,
+      And crystal pavements in the public way;
+        With castles make me fear'd,
+      Till every Latin soul have owned my sway."
+          --LAPO GIANNI (_Rossetti_).
+
+But is not the reality even more beautiful than the dreamland Florence
+of Lapo Gianni's fancy? We stand on the heights of San Miniato, either
+in front of the Basilica itself or lower down in the Piazzale
+Michelangelo. Below us, on either bank of the silvery Arno, lies
+outstretched Dante's "most famous and most beauteous daughter of
+Rome," once the Queen of Etruria and centre of the most wonderful
+culture that the world has known since Athens, later the first capital
+of United Italy, and still, though shorn of much of her former
+splendour and beauty, one of the loveliest cities of Christendom.
+Opposite to us, to the north, rises the hill upon which stands
+Etruscan Fiesole, from which the people of Florence originally came:
+"that ungrateful and malignant people," Dante once called them, "who
+of old came down from Fiesole." Behind us stand the fortifications
+which mark the death of the Republic, thrown up or at least
+strengthened by Michelangelo in the city's last agony, when she barred
+her gates and defied the united power of Pope and Emperor to take the
+State that had once chosen Christ for her king.
+
+     "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.
+
+     "And thou in painting didst transcribe all taught
+       By loftiest meditations; marble knew
+     The sculptor's fearless soul--and as he wrought,
+       The grace of his own power and freedom grew."
+
+Between Fiesole and San Miniato, then, the story of the Florentine
+Republic may be said to be written.
+
+The beginnings of Florence are lost in cloudy legend, and her early
+chroniclers on the slenderest foundations have reared for her an
+unsubstantial, if imposing, fabric of fables--the tales which the
+women of old Florence, in the _Paradiso_, told to their house-holds--
+
+     "dei Troiani, di Fiesole, e di Roma."
+
+  [Illustration: FLORENCE FROM THE BOBOLI GARDENS]
+
+Setting aside the Trojans ("Priam" was mediæval for "Adam," as a
+modern novelist has remarked), there is no doubt that both Etruscan
+Fiesole and Imperial Rome united to found the "great city on the banks
+of the Arno." Fiesole or Faesulae upon its hill was an important
+Etruscan city, and a place of consequence in the days of the Roman
+Republic; fallen though it now is, traces of its old greatness remain.
+Behind the Romanesque cathedral are considerable remains of Etruscan
+walls and of a Roman theatre. Opposite it to the west we may ascend to
+enjoy the glorious view from the Convent of the Franciscans, where
+once the old citadel of Faesulae stood. Faesulae was ever the centre
+of Italian and democratic discontent against Rome and her Senate
+(_sempre ribelli di Roma_, says Villani of its inhabitants); and it
+was here, in October B.C. 62, that Caius Manlius planted the Eagle of
+revolt--an eagle which Marius had borne in the war against the
+Cimbri--and thus commenced the Catilinarian war, which resulted in the
+annihilation of Catiline's army near Pistoia.
+
+This, according to Villani, was the origin of Florence. According to
+him, Fiesole, after enduring the stupendous siege, was forced to
+surrender to the Romans under Julius Cæsar, and utterly razed to the
+ground. In the second sphere of Paradise, Justinian reminds Dante of
+how the Roman Eagle "seemed bitter to that hill beneath which thou
+wast born." Then, in order that Fiesole might never raise its head
+again, the Senate ordained that the greatest lords of Rome, who had
+been at the siege, should join with Cæsar in building a new city on
+the banks of the Arno. Florence, thus founded by Cæsar, was populated
+by the noblest citizens of Rome, who received into their number those
+of the inhabitants of fallen Fiesole who wished to live there. "Note
+then," says the old chronicler, "that it is not wonderful that the
+Florentines are always at war and in dissensions among themselves,
+being drawn and born from two peoples, so contrary and hostile and
+diverse in habits, as were the noble and virtuous Romans, and the
+savage and contentious folk of Fiesole." Dante similarly, in Canto XV.
+of the _Inferno_, ascribes the injustice of the Florentines towards
+himself to this mingling of the people of Fiesole with the true Roman
+nobility (with special reference, however, to the union of Florence
+with conquered Fiesole in the twelfth century):--
+
+                  "che tra li lazzi sorbi
+     si disconvien fruttare al dolce fico."[3]
+
+  [3] "For amongst the tart sorbs, it befits not the sweet fig to
+  fructify."
+
+And Brunetto Latini bids him keep himself free from their pollution:--
+
+     "Faccian le bestie Fiesolane strame
+       di lor medesme, e non tocchin la pianta,
+       s'alcuna surge ancor nel lor letame,
+     in cui riviva la semente santa
+       di quei Roman che vi rimaser quando
+       fu fatto il nido di malizia tanta." [4]
+
+  [4] "Let the beasts of Fiesole make litter of themselves, and not
+  touch the plant, if any yet springs up amid their rankness, in which
+  the holy seed revives of those Romans who remained there when it
+  became the nest of so much malice."
+
+The truth appears to be that Florence was originally founded by
+Etruscans from Fiesole, who came down from their mountain to the plain
+by the Arno for commercial purposes. This Etruscan colony was probably
+destroyed during the wars between Marius and Sulla, and a Roman
+military colony established here--probably in the time of Sulla, and
+augmented later by Cæsar and by Augustus. It has, indeed, been urged
+of late that the old Florentine story has some truth in it, and that
+Cæsar, not only in legend but in fact, may be regarded as the true
+first founder of Florence. Thus the Roman colony of Florentia
+gradually grew into a little city--_come una altra piccola Roma_,
+declares her patriotic chronicler. It had its capitol and its forum in
+the centre of the city, where the Mercato Vecchio once stood; it had
+an amphitheatre outside the walls, somewhere near where the Borgo dei
+Greci and the Piazza Peruzzi are to-day. It had baths and temples,
+though doubtless on a small scale. It had the shape and form of a
+Roman camp, which (together with the Roman walls in which it was
+inclosed) it may be said to have retained down to the middle of the
+twelfth century, in spite of legendary demolitions by Attila and
+Totila, and equally legendary reconstructions by Charlemagne. Above
+all, it had a grand temple to Mars, which almost certainly occupied
+the site of the present Baptistery, if not actually identical with it.
+Giovanni Villani tells us--and we shall have to return to his
+statement--that the wonderful octagonal building, now known as the
+Baptistery or the Church of St John, was consecrated as a temple by
+the Romans in honour of Mars, for their victory over the Fiesolans,
+and that Mars was the patron of the Florentines as long as paganism
+lasted. Round the equestrian statue that was supposed to have once
+stood in the midst of this temple, numberless legends have gathered.
+Dante refers to it again and again. In Santa Maria Novella you shall
+see how a great painter of the early Renaissance, Filippino Lippi,
+conceived of his city's first patron. When Florence changed him for
+the Baptist, and the people of Mars became the sheepfold of St John,
+this statue was removed from the temple and set upon a tower by the
+side of the Arno:--
+
+"The Florentines took up their idol which they called the God Mars,
+and set him upon a high tower near the river Arno; and they would not
+break or shatter it, seeing that in their ancient records they found
+that the said idol of Mars had been consecrated under the ascendency
+of such a planet, that if it should be broken or put in a
+dishonourable place, the city would suffer danger and damage and great
+mutation. And although the Florentines had newly become Christians,
+they still retained many customs of paganism, and retained them for a
+long time; and they greatly feared their ancient idol of Mars; so
+little perfect were they as yet in the Holy Faith."
+
+This tower is said to have been destroyed like the rest of Florence by
+the Goths, the statue falling into the Arno, where it lurked in hiding
+all the time that the city lay in ruins. On the legendary rebuilding
+of Florence by Charlemagne, the statue, too--or rather the mutilated
+fragment that remained--was restored to light and honour. Thus
+Villani:--
+
+"It is said that the ancients held the opinion that there was no power
+to rebuild the city, if that marble image, consecrated by necromancy
+to Mars by the first Pagan builders, was not first found again and
+drawn out of the Arno, in which it had been from the destruction of
+Florence down to that time. And, when found, they set it upon a pillar
+on the bank of the said river, where is now the head of the Ponte
+Vecchio. This we neither affirm nor believe, inasmuch as it appeareth
+to us to be the opinion of augurers and pagans, and not reasonable,
+but great folly, to hold that a statue so made could work thus; but
+commonly it was said by the ancients that, if it were changed, our
+city would needs suffer great mutation."
+
+Thus it became _quella pietra scema che guarda il ponte_, in Dantesque
+phrase; and we shall see what terrible sacrifice its clients
+unconsciously paid to it. Here it remained, much honoured by the
+Florentines; street boys were solemnly warned of the fearful
+judgments that fell on all who dared to throw mud or stones at it;
+until at last, in 1333, a great flood carried away bridge and statue
+alike, and it was seen no more. It has recently been suggested that
+the statue was, in reality, an equestrian monument in honour of some
+barbaric king, belonging to the fifth or sixth century.
+
+Florence, however, seems to have been--in spite of Villani's
+describing it as the Chamber of the Empire and the like--a place of
+very slight importance under the Empire. Tacitus mentions that a
+deputation was sent from Florentia to Tiberius to prevent the Chiana
+being turned into the Arno. Christianity is said to have been first
+introduced in the days of Nero; the Decian persecution raged here as
+elsewhere, and the soil was hallowed with the blood of the martyr,
+Miniatus. Christian worship is said to have been first offered up on
+the hill where a stately eleventh century Basilica now bears his name.
+When the greater peace of the Church was established under
+Constantine, a church dedicated to the Baptist on the site of the
+Martian temple and a basilica outside the walls, where now stands San
+Lorenzo, were among the earliest churches in Tuscany.
+
+In the year 405, the Goth leader Rhadagaisus, _omnium antiquorum
+praesentiumque hostium longe immanissimus_, as Orosius calls him,
+suddenly inundated Italy with more than 200,000 Goths, vowing to
+sacrifice all the blood of the Romans to his gods. In their terror the
+Romans seemed about to return to their old paganism, since Christ had
+failed to protect them. _Fervent tota urbe blasphemiae_, writes
+Orosius. They advanced towards Rome through the Tuscan Apennines, and
+are said to have besieged Florence, though there is no hint of this in
+Orosius. On the approach of Stilicho, at the head of thirty legions
+with a large force of barbarian auxiliaries, Rhadagaisus and his
+hordes--miraculously struck helpless with terror, as Orosius
+implies--let themselves be hemmed in in the mountains behind Fiesole,
+and all perished, by famine and exhaustion rather than by the sword.
+Villani ascribes the salvation of Florence to the prayers of its
+bishop, Zenobius, and adds that as this victory of "the Romans and
+Florentines" took place on the feast of the virgin martyr Reparata,
+her name was given to the church afterwards to become the Cathedral of
+Florence.
+
+Zenobius, now a somewhat misty figure, is the first great Florentine
+of history, and an impressive personage in Florentine art. We dimly
+discern in him an ideal bishop and father of his people; a man of
+great austerity and boundless charity, almost an earlier Antoninus.
+Perhaps the fact that some of the intervening Florentine bishops were
+anything but edifying, has made these two--almost at the beginning and
+end of the Middle Ages--stand forth in a somewhat ideal light. He
+appears to have lived a monastic life outside the walls in a small
+church on the site of the present San Lorenzo, with two young
+ecclesiastics, trained by him and St Ambrose, Eugenius and
+Crescentius. They died before him and are commonly united with him by
+the painters. Here he was frequently visited by St Ambrose--here he
+dispensed his charities and worked his miracles (according to the
+legend, he had a special gift of raising children to life)--here at
+length he died in the odour of sanctity, A.D. 424. The beautiful
+legend of his translation should be familiar to every student of
+Italian painting. I give it in the words of a monkish writer of the
+fourteenth century:--
+
+"About five years after he had been buried, there was made bishop one
+named Andrew, and this holy bishop summoned a great chapter of
+bishops and clerics, and said in the chapter that it was meet to bear
+the body of St Zenobius to the Cathedral Church of San Salvatore; and
+so it was ordained. Wherefore, on the 26th of January, he caused him
+to be unburied and borne to the Church of San Salvatore by four
+bishops; and these bishops bearing the body of St Zenobius were so
+pressed upon by the people that they fell near an elm, the which was
+close unto the Church of St John the Baptist; and when they fell, the
+case where the body of St Zenobius lay was broken, so that the body
+touched the elm, and gradually, as the elm was touched, it brought
+forth flowers and leaves, and lasted all that year with the flowers
+and leaves. The people, seeing the miracle, broke up all the elm, and
+with devotion carried the branches away. And the Florentines,
+beholding what was done, made a column of marble with a cross where
+the elm had been, so that the miracle should ever be remembered by the
+people."
+
+Like the statue of Mars, this column was destroyed by the flood of
+1333, and the one now standing to the north of the Baptistery was set
+up after that year. It was at one time the custom for the clergy on
+the feast of the translation to go in procession and fasten a green
+bough to this column. Zenobius now stands with St Reparata on the
+cathedral façade. Domenico Ghirlandaio painted him, together with his
+pupils Eugenius and Crescentius, in the Sala dei Gigli of the Palazzo
+della Signoria; an unknown follower of Orcagna had painted a similar
+picture for a pillar in the Duomo. Ghiberti cast his miracles in
+bronze for the shrine in the Chapel of the Sacrament; Verrocchio and
+Lorenzo di Credi at Pistoia placed him and the Baptist on either side
+of Madonna's throne. In a picture by some other follower of
+Verrocchio's in the Uffizi he is seen offering up a model of his city
+to the Blessed Virgin. Two of the most famous of his miracles, the
+raising of a child to life and the flowering of the elm tree at his
+translation, are superbly rendered in two pictures by Ridolfo
+Ghirlandaio. On May 25th the people still throng the Duomo with
+bunches of roses and other flowers, which they press to the reliquary
+which contains his head, and so obtain the "benedizione di San
+Zenobio." Thus does his memory live fresh and green among the people
+to whom he so faithfully ministered.
+
+Another barbarian king, the last Gothic hero Totila, advancing upon
+Rome in 542, took the same shorter but more difficult route across the
+Apennines. According to the legend, he utterly destroyed all Florence,
+with the exception of the Church of San Giovanni, and rebuilt Fiesole
+to oppose Rome and prevent Florence from being restored. The truth
+appears to be that he did not personally attack Florence, but sent a
+portion of his troops under his lieutenants. They were successfully
+resisted by Justin, who commanded the imperial garrison, and, on the
+advance of reinforcements from Ravenna, they drew off into the valley
+of the Mugello, where they turned upon the pursuing "Romans" (whose
+army consisted of worse barbarians than Goths) and completely routed
+them. Fiesole, which had apparently recovered from its old
+destruction, was probably too difficult to be assailed; but it appears
+to have been gradually growing at the expense of Florence--the
+citizens of the latter emigrating to it for greater safety. This was
+especially the case during the Lombard invasion, when the fortunes of
+Florence were at their lowest, and, indeed, in the second half of the
+eighth century, Florence almost sank to being a suburb of Fiesole.
+
+With the advent of Charlemagne and the restoration of the Empire,
+brighter days commenced for Florence,--so much so that the story ran
+that he had renewed the work of Julius Caesar and founded the city
+again. In 786 he wintered here with his court on his third visit to
+Rome; and, according to legend, he was here again in great wealth and
+pomp in 805, and founded the Church of Santissimi Apostoli--the oldest
+existing Florentine building after the Baptistery. Upon its façade you
+may still read a pompous inscription concerning the Emperor's
+reception in Florence, and how the Church was consecrated by
+Archbishop Turpin in the presence of Oliver and Roland, the Paladins!
+Florence was becoming a power in Tuscany, or at least beginning to see
+more of Popes and Emperors. The Ottos stayed within her walls on their
+way to be crowned at Rome; Popes, flying from their rebellious
+subjects, found shelter here. In 1055 Victor II. held a council in
+Florence. Beautiful Romanesque churches began to rise--notably the SS.
+Apostoli and San Miniato, both probably dating from the eleventh
+century. Great churchmen appeared among her sons, as San Giovanni
+Gualberto--the "merciful knight" of Burne-Jones' unforgettable
+picture--the reformer of the Benedictines and the founder of
+Vallombrosa. The early reformers, while Hildebrand was still
+"Archdeacon of the Roman Church," were specially active in Florence;
+and one of them, known as Peter Igneus, in 1068 endured the ordeal of
+fire and is said to have passed unhurt through the flames, to convict
+the Bishop of Florence of simony. This, with other matters relating to
+the times of Giovanni Gualberto and the struggles of the reformers of
+the clergy, you may see in the Bargello in a series of noteworthy
+marble bas-reliefs (terribly damaged, it is true), from the hand of
+Benedetto da Rovezzano.
+
+Although we already begin to hear of the "Florentine people" and the
+"Florentine citizens," Florence was at this time subject to the
+Margraves of Tuscany. One of them, Hugh the Great, who is said to have
+acted as vicar of the Emperor Otto III., and who died at the beginning
+of the eleventh century, lies buried in the Badia which had been
+founded by his mother, the Countess Willa, in 978. His tomb, one of
+the most noteworthy monuments of the fifteenth century, by Mino da
+Fiesole, may still be seen, near Filippino Lippi's Vision of St
+Bernard.
+
+It was while Florence was nominally under the sway of Hugo's most
+famous successor, the Countess Matilda of Tuscany, that Dante's
+ancestor Cacciaguida was born; and, in the fifteenth and sixteenth
+cantos of the _Paradiso_, he draws an ideal picture of that austere
+old Florence, _dentro dalla cerchia antica_, still within her Roman
+walls. We can still partly trace and partly conjecture the position of
+these walls. The city stood a little way back from the river, and had
+four master gates; the Porta San Piero on the east, the Porta del
+Duomo on the north, the Porta San Pancrazio on the west, the Porta
+Santa Maria on the south (towards the Ponte Vecchio). The heart of the
+city, the Forum or, as it came to be called, the Mercato Vecchio, has
+indeed been destroyed of late years to make way for the cold and
+altogether hideous Piazza Vittorio Emanuele; but we can still perceive
+that at its south-east corner the two main streets of this old
+_Florentia quadrata_ intersected,--Calimara, running from the Porta
+Santa Maria to the Porta del Duomo, south to north, and the Corso,
+running east to west from the Porta San Piero to the Porta San
+Pancrazio, along the lines of the present Corso, Via degli Speziali,
+and Via degli Strozzi. The Porta San Piero probably stood about where
+the Via del Corso joins the Via del Proconsolo, and there was a suburb
+reaching out to the Church of San Piero Maggiore. Then the walls ran
+along the lines of the present Via del Proconsolo and Via dei
+Balestrieri, inclosing Santa Reparata and the Baptistery, to the Duomo
+Gate beyond the Bishop's palace--probably somewhere near the opening
+of the modern Borgo San Lorenzo. Then along the Via Cerretani, Piazza
+Antinori, Via Tornabuoni, to the Gate of San Pancrazio, which was
+somewhere near the present Palazzo Strozzi; and so on to where the
+Church of Santa Trinità now stands, near which there was a postern
+gate called the Porta Rossa. Then they turned east along the present
+Via delle Terme to the Porta Santa Maria, which was somewhere near the
+end of the Mercato Nuovo, after which their course back to the Porta
+San Piero is more uncertain. Outside the walls were churches and
+ever-increasing suburbs, and Florence was already becoming an
+important commercial centre. Matilda's beneficent sway left it in
+practical independence to work out its own destinies; she protected it
+from imperial aggressions, and curbed the nobles of the contrada, who
+were of Teutonic descent and who, from their feudal castles round,
+looked with hostility upon the rich burgher city of pure Latin blood
+that was gradually reducing their power and territorial sway. At
+intervals the great Countess entered Florence, and either in person or
+by her deputies and judges (members of the chief Florentine families)
+administered justice in the Forum. Indeed she played the part of
+Dante's ideal Emperor in the _De Monarchia_; made Roman law obeyed
+through her dominions; established peace and curbed disorder; and
+therefore, in spite of her support of papal claims for political
+empire, when the _Divina Commedia_ came to be written, Dante placed
+her as guardian of the Earthly Paradise to which the Emperor should
+guide man, and made her the type of the glorified active life. Her
+praises, _la lauda di Matelda_, were long sung in the Florentine
+churches, as may be gathered from a passage in Boccaccio.
+
+It is from the death of Matilda in 1115 that the history of the
+Commune dates. During her lifetime she seems to have gradually,
+especially while engaged in her conflicts with the Emperor Henry,
+delegated her powers to the chief Florentine citizens themselves; and
+in her name they made war upon the aggressive nobility in the country
+round, in the interests of their commerce. For Dante the first half of
+this twelfth century represents the golden age in which his ancestor
+lived, when the great citizen nobles--Bellincion Berti, Ubertino
+Donati, and the heads of the Nerli and Vecchietti and the rest--lived
+simple and patriotic lives, filled the offices of state and led the
+troops against the foes of the Commune. In a grand burst of triumph
+that old Florentine crusader, Cacciaguida, closes the sixteenth canto
+of the _Paradiso_:
+
+     "Con queste genti, e con altre con esse,
+       vid'io Fiorenza in sì fatto riposo,
+       che non avea cagion onde piangesse;
+     con queste genti vid'io glorioso,
+       e giusto il popol suo tanto, che'l giglio
+       non era ad asta mai posto a ritroso,
+     nè per division fatto vermiglio."[5]
+
+  [5] "With these folk, and with others with them, did I see Florence in
+  such full repose, she had not cause for wailing;
+
+  With these folk I saw her people so glorious and so just, ne'er was
+  the lily on the shaft reversed, nor yet by faction dyed
+  vermilion."--Wicksteed's translation.
+
+When Matilda died, and the Popes and Emperors prepared to struggle for
+her legacy (which thus initiated the strifes of Guelfs and
+Ghibellines), the Florentine Republic asserted its independence: the
+citizen nobles who had been her delegates and judges now became the
+Consuls of the Commune and the leaders of the republican forces in
+war. In 1119 the Florentines assailed the castle of Monte Cascioli,
+and killed the imperial vicar who defended it; in 1125 they took and
+destroyed Fiesole, which had always been a refuge for robber nobles
+and all who hated the Republic. But already signs of division were
+seen in the city itself, though it was a century before it came to a
+head; and the great family of the Uberti--who, like the nobles of the
+contrada, were of Teutonic descent--were prominently to the front, but
+soon to be _disfatti per la lor superbia_. Scarcely was Matilda dead
+than they appear to have attempted to seize on the supreme power, and
+to have only been defeated with much bloodshed and burning of houses.
+Still the Republic pursued its victorious course through the twelfth
+century--putting down the feudal barons, forcing them to enter the
+city and join the Commune, and extending their commerce and influence
+as well as their territory on all sides. And already these nobles
+within and without the city were beginning to build their lofty
+towers, and to associate themselves into Societies of the Towers;
+while the people were grouped into associations which afterwards
+became the Greater and Lesser Arts or Guilds. Villani sees the origin
+of future contests in the mingling of races, Roman and Fiesolan;
+modern writers find it in the distinction, mentioned already, between
+the nobles, of partly Teutonic origin and imperial sympathies, and the
+burghers, who were the true Italians, the descendants of those over
+whom successive tides of barbarian conquest had swept, and to whom the
+ascendency of the nobles would mean an alien yoke. This struggle
+between a landed military and feudal nobility, waning in power and
+authority, and a commercial democracy of more purely Latin descent,
+ever increasing in wealth and importance, is what lies at the bottom
+of the contest between Florentine Guelfs and Ghibellines; and the
+rival claims of Pope and Emperor are of secondary importance, as far
+as Tuscany is concerned.
+
+In 1173 (as the most recent historian of Florence has shown, and not
+in the eleventh century as formerly supposed), the second circle of
+walls was built, and included a much larger tract of city, though many
+of the churches which we have been wont to consider the most essential
+things in Florence stand outside them. A new Porta San Piero, just
+beyond the present façade of the ruined church of San Piero Maggiore,
+enclosed the Borgo di San Piero; thence the walls passed round to the
+Porta di Borgo San Lorenzo, just to the north of the present Piazza,
+and swept round, with two gates of minor importance, past the chief
+western Porta San Pancrazio or Porta San Paolo, beyond which the
+present Piazza di Santa Maria Novella stands, down to the Arno where
+there was a Porta alla Carraia, at the point where the bridge was
+built later. Hence a lower wall ran along the Arno, taking in the
+parts excluded from the older circuit down to the Ponte Vecchio. About
+half-way between this and the Ponte Rubaconte, the walls turned up
+from the Arno, with several small gates, until they reached the place
+where the present Piazza di Santa Croce lies--which was outside. Here,
+just beyond the old site of the Amphitheatre, there was a gate, after
+which they ran straight without gate or postern to San Piero, where
+they had commenced.
+
+Instead of the old Quarters, named from the gates, the city was now
+divided into six corresponding Sesti or sextaries; the Sesto di Porta
+San Piero, the Sesto still called from the old Porta del Duomo, the
+Sesto di Porta Pancrazio, the Sesto di San Piero Scheraggio (a church
+near the Palazzo Vecchio, but now totally destroyed), and the Sesto di
+Borgo Santissimi Apostoli--these two replacing the old Quarter of
+Porta Santa Maria. Across the river lay the Sesto d'Oltrarno--then
+for the most part unfortified. At that time the inhabitants of
+Oltrarno were mostly the poor and the lower classes, but not a few
+noble families settled there later on. The Consuls, the supreme
+officers of the state, were elected annually, two for each sesto,
+usually nobles of popular tendencies; there was a council of a
+hundred, elected every year, its members being mainly chosen from the
+Guilds as the Consuls from the Towers; and a Parliament of the people
+could be summoned in the Piazza. Thus the popular government was
+constituted.
+
+Hardly had the new walls risen when the Uberti in 1177 attempted to
+overthrow the Consuls and seize the government of the city; they were
+partially successful, in that they managed to make the administration
+more aristocratic, after a prolonged civil struggle of two years'
+duration. In 1185 Frederick Barbarossa took away the privileges of the
+Republic and deprived it of its contrada; but his son, Henry VI.,
+apparently gave it back. With the beginning of the thirteenth century
+we find the Consuls replaced by a Podestà, a foreign noble elected by
+the citizens themselves; and the Florentines, not content with having
+back their contrada, beginning to make wars of conquest upon their
+neighbours, especially the Sienese, from whom they exacted a cession
+of territory in 1208.
+
+  [Illustration: THE BUONDELMONTE TOWER]
+
+In 1215 there was enacted a deed in which poets and chroniclers have
+seen a turning point in the history of Florence. Buondelmonte dei
+Buondelmonti, "a right winsome and comely knight," as Villani calls
+him, had pledged himself for political reasons to marry a maiden of
+the Amidei family--the kinsmen of the proud Uberti and Fifanti. But,
+at the instigation of Gualdrada Donati, he deserted his betrothed and
+married Gualdrada's own daughter, a girl of great beauty. Upon this
+the nobles of the kindred of the deserted girl held a council
+together to decide what vengeance to take, in which "Mosca dei
+Lamberti spoke the evil word: _Cosa fatta, capo ha_; to wit, that he
+should be slain; and so it was done." On Easter Sunday the Amidei and
+their associates assembled, after hearing mass in San Stefano, in a
+palace of the Amidei, which was on the Lungarno at the opening of the
+present Via Por Santa Maria; and they watched young Buondelmonte
+coming from Oltrarno, riding over the Ponte Vecchio "dressed nobly in
+a new robe all white and on a white palfrey," crowned with a garland,
+making his way towards the palaces of his kindred in Borgo Santissimi
+Apostoli. As soon as he had reached this side, at the foot of the
+pillar on which stood the statue of Mars, they rushed out upon him.
+Schiatta degli Uberti struck him from his horse with a mace, and Mosca
+dei Lamberti, Lambertuccio degli Amidei, Oderigo Fifanti, and one of
+the Gangalandi, stabbed him to death with their daggers at the foot of
+the statue. "Verily is it shown," writes Villani, "that the enemy of
+human nature by reason of the sins of the Florentines had power in
+this idol of Mars, which the pagan Florentines adored of old; for at
+the foot of his figure was this murder committed, whence such great
+evil followed to the city of Florence." The body was placed upon a
+bier, and, with the young bride supporting the dead head of her
+bridegroom, carried through the streets to urge the people to
+vengeance. Headed by the Uberti, the older and more aristocratic
+families took up the cause of the Amidei; the burghers and the
+democratically inclined nobles supported the Buondelmonti, and from
+this the chronicler dates the beginning of the Guelfs and Ghibellines
+in Florence.
+
+But it was only the names that were then introduced, to intensify a
+struggle which had in reality commenced a century before this, in
+1115, on the death of Matilda. As far as Guelf and Ghibelline meant a
+struggle of the commune of burghers and traders with a military
+aristocracy of Teutonic descent and feudal imperial tendencies, the
+thing is already clearly defined in the old contest between the Uberti
+and the Consuls. This, however, precipitated matters, and initiated
+fifty years of perpetual conflict. Dante, through Cacciaguida, touches
+upon the tragedy in his great way in _Paradiso_ XVI., where he calls
+it the ruin of old Florence.
+
+     "La casa di che nacque il vostro fleto,
+       per lo giusto disdegno che v'ha morti
+       e posto fine al vostro viver lieto,
+     era onorata ed essa e suoi consorti.
+       O Buondelmonte, quanto mal fuggisti
+       le nozze sue per gli altrui conforti!
+     Molti sarebbon lieti, che son tristi,
+       se Dio t'avesse conceduto ad Ema
+       la prima volta che a città venisti.
+     Ma conveniasi a quella pietra scema
+       che guarda il ponte, che Fiorenza fesse
+       vittima nella sua pace postrema."[6]
+
+  [6] "The house from which your wailing sprang, because of the just
+  anger which hath slain you and placed a term upon your joyous life,
+
+  "was honoured, it and its associates. Oh Buondelmonte, how ill didst
+  thou flee its nuptials at the prompting of another!
+
+  "Joyous had many been who now are sad, had God committed thee unto the
+  Ema the first time that thou camest to the city.
+
+  "But to that mutilated stone which guardeth the bridge 'twas meet that
+  Florence should give a victim in her last time of peace."
+
+And again, in the Hell of the sowers of discord, where they are
+horribly mutilated by the devil's sword, he meets the miserable Mosca.
+
+     "Ed un, ch'avea l'una e l'altra man mozza,
+       levando i moncherin per l'aura fosca,
+       sì che il sangue facea la faccia sozza,
+     gridò: Ricorderaiti anche del Mosca,
+       che dissi, lasso! 'Capo ha cosa fatta,'
+       che fu il mal seme per la gente tosca."[7]
+
+  [7] "And one who had both hands cut off, raising the stumps through
+  the dim air so that their blood defiled his face, cried: 'Thou wilt
+  recollect the Mosca too, ah me! who said, "A thing done has an end!"
+  which was the seed of evil to the Tuscan people.'" (_Inf._ xxviii.)
+
+For a time the Commune remained Guelf and powerful, in spite of
+dissensions; it adhered to the Pope against Frederick II., and waged
+successful wars with its Ghibelline rivals, Pisa and Siena. Of the
+other Tuscan cities Lucca was Guelf, Pistoia Ghibelline. A religious
+feud mingled with the political dissensions; heretics, the Paterini,
+Epicureans and other sects, were multiplying in Italy, favoured by
+Frederick II. and patronised by the Ghibellines. Fra Pietro of Verona,
+better known as St Peter Martyr, organised a crusade, and, with his
+white-robed captains of the Faith, hunted them in arms through the
+streets of Florence; at the Croce al Trebbio, near Santa Maria
+Novella, and in the Piazza di Santa Felicità over the Arno, columns
+still mark the place where he fell furiously upon them, _con l'uficio
+apostolico_. But in 1249, at the instigation of Frederick II., the
+Uberti and Ghibelline nobles rose in arms; and, after a desperate
+conflict with the Guelf magnates and the people, gained possession of
+the city, with the aid of the Emperor's German troops. And, on the
+night of February 2nd, the Guelf leaders with a great following of
+people armed and bearing torches buried Rustico Marignolli, who had
+fallen in defending the banner of the Lily, with military honours in
+San Lorenzo, and then sternly passed into exile. Their palaces and
+towers were destroyed, while the Uberti and their allies with the
+Emperor's German troops held the city. This lasted not two years. In
+1250, on the death of Frederick II., the Republic threw off the yoke,
+and the first democratic constitution of Florence was established, the
+_Primo Popolo_, in which the People were for the first time regularly
+organised both for peace and for war under a new officer, the Captain
+of the People, whose appointment was intended to outweigh the Podestà,
+the head of the Commune and the leader of the nobles. The Captain was
+intrusted with the white and red Gonfalon of the People, and
+associated with the central government of the Ancients of the people,
+who to some extent corresponded to the Consuls of olden time.
+
+This _Primo Popolo_ ran a victorious course of ten years, years of
+internal prosperity and almost continuous external victory. It was
+under it that the banner of the Commune was changed from a white lily
+on a red field to a red lily on a white field--_per division fatto
+vermiglio_, as Dante puts it--after the Uberti and Lamberti with the
+turbulent Ghibellines had been expelled. Pisa was humbled; Pistoia and
+Volterra forced to submit. But it came to a terrible end, illuminated
+only by the heroism of one of its conquerors. A conspiracy on the part
+of the Uberti to take the government from the people and subject the
+city to the great Ghibelline prince, Manfredi, King of Apulia and
+Sicily, son of Frederick II., was discovered and severely punished.
+Headed by Farinata degli Uberti and aided by King Manfredi's German
+mercenaries, the exiles gathered at Siena, against which the
+Florentine Republic declared war. In 1260 the Florentine army
+approached Siena. A preliminary skirmish, in which a band of German
+horsemen was cut to pieces and the royal banner captured, only led a
+few months later to the disastrous defeat of Montaperti, _che fece
+l'Arbia colorata in rosso_; in which, after enormous slaughter and
+loss of the Carroccio, or battle car of the Republic, "the ancient
+people of Florence was broken and annihilated" on September 4th, 1260.
+Without waiting for the armies of the conqueror, the Guelf nobles with
+their families and many of the burghers fled the city, mainly to
+Lucca; and, on the 16th of September, the Germans under Count
+Giordano, Manfredi's vicar, with Farinata and the exiles, entered
+Florence as conquerors. All liberty was destroyed, the houses of
+Guelfs razed to the ground, the Count Guido Novello--the lord of Poppi
+and a ruthless Ghibelline--made Podestà. The Via Ghibellina is his
+record. It was finally proposed in a great Ghibelline council at
+Empoli to raze Florence to the ground; but the fiery eloquence of
+Farinata degli Uberti, who declared that, even if he stood alone, he
+would defend her sword in hand as long as life lasted, saved his city.
+Marked out with all his house for the relentless hate of the
+Florentine people, Dante has secured to him a lurid crown of glory
+even in Hell. Out of the burning tombs of the heretics he rises, _come
+avesse l'inferno in gran dispitto_, still the unvanquished hero who,
+when all consented to destroy Florence, "alone with open face defended
+her."
+
+For nearly six years the life of the Florentine people was suspended,
+and lay crushed beneath an oppressive despotism of Ghibelline nobles
+and German soldiery under Guido Novello, the vicar of King Manfredi.
+Excluded from all political interests, the people imperceptibly
+organised their greater and lesser guilds, and waited the event.
+During this gloom Farinata degli Uberti died in 1264, and in the
+following year, 1265, Dante Alighieri was born. That same year, 1265,
+Charles of Anjou, the champion of the Church, invited by Clement IV.
+to take the crown of the kingdom of Naples and Sicily, entered Italy,
+and in February 1266 annihilated the army of Manfredi at the battle of
+Benevento. Foremost in the ranks of the crusaders--for as such the
+French were regarded--fought the Guelf exiles from Florence, under the
+Papal banner specially granted them by Pope Clement--a red eagle
+clutching a green dragon on a white field. This, with the addition of
+a red lily over the eagle's head, became the arms of the society known
+as the Parte Guelfa; you may see it on the Porta San Niccolò and in
+other parts of the city between the cross of the People and the red
+lily of the Commune. Many of the noble Florentines were knighted by
+the hand of King Charles before the battle, and did great deeds of
+valour upon the field. "These men cannot lose to-day," exclaimed
+Manfredi, as he watched their advance; and when the silver eagle of
+the house of Suabia fell from Manfredi's helmet and he died in the
+melée crying _Hoc est signum Dei_, the triumph of the Guelfs was
+complete and German rule at an end in Italy. Of Manfredi's heroic
+death and the dishonour done by the Pope's legate to his body, Dante
+has sung in the _Purgatorio_.
+
+When the news reached Florence, the Ghibellines trembled for their
+safety, and the people prepared to win back their own. An attempt at
+compromise was first made, under the auspices of Pope Clement. Two
+_Frati Gaudenti_ or "Cavalieri di Maria," members of an order of
+warrior monks from Bologna, were made Podestàs, one a Guelf and one a
+Ghibelline, to come to terms with the burghers. You may still trace
+the place where the Bottega and court of the Calimala stood in Mercato
+Nuovo (the Calimala being the Guild of dressers of foreign
+cloth--panni franceschi, as Villani calls it), near where the Via
+Porta Rossa now enters the present Via Calzaioli. Here the new council
+of thirty-six of the best citizens, burghers and artizans, with a few
+trusted members of the nobility, met every day to settle the affairs
+of the State. Dante has branded these two warrior monks as hypocrites,
+but, as Capponi says, from this Bottega issued at once and almost
+spontaneously the Republic of Florence. Their great achievement was
+the thorough organisation of the seven greater Guilds, of which more
+presently, to each of which were given consuls and rectors, and a
+gonfalon or ensign of its own, around which its followers might
+assemble in arms in defence of People and Commune. To counteract this,
+Guido Novello brought in more troops from the Ghibelline cities of
+Tuscany, and increased the taxes to pay his Germans; until he had
+fifteen hundred horsemen in the city under his command. With their aid
+the nobles, headed by the Lamberti, rushed to arms. The people rose
+_en masse_ and, headed by a Ghibelline noble, Gianni dei Soldanieri,
+who apparently had deserted his party in order to get control of the
+State (and who is placed by Dante in the Hell of traitors), raised
+barricades in the Piazza di Santa Trinità and in the Borgo SS.
+Apostoli, at the foot of the Tower of the Girolami, which still
+stands. The Ghibellines and Germans gathered in the Piazza di San
+Giovanni, held all the north-east of the town, and swept down upon
+the people's barricades under a heavy fire of darts and stones from
+towers and windows. But the street fighting put the horsemen at a
+hopeless disadvantage, and, repulsed in the assault, the Count and his
+followers evacuated the town. This was on St Martin's day, November
+11th, 1266. The next day a half-hearted attempt to re-enter the city
+at the gate near the Ponte alla Carraia was made, but easily driven
+off; and for two centuries and more no foreigner set foot as conqueror
+in Florence.
+
+Not that Florence either obtained or desired absolute independence.
+The first step was to choose Charles of Anjou, the new King of Naples
+and Sicily, for their suzerain for ten years; but, cruel tyrant as he
+was elsewhere, he showed himself a true friend to the Florentines, and
+his suzerainty seldom weighed upon them oppressively. The Uberti and
+others were expelled, and some, who held out among the castles, were
+put to death at his orders. But the government became truly
+democratic. There was a central administration of twelve Ancients,
+elected annually, two for each sesto; with a council of one hundred
+"good men of the People, without whose deliberation no great thing or
+expense could be done"; and, nominally at least, a parliament. Next
+came the Captain of the People (usually an alien noble of democratic
+sympathies), with a special council or _credenza_, called the Council
+of the Captain and Capetudini (the Capetudini composed of the consuls
+of the Guilds), of 80 members; and a general council of 300 (including
+the 80), all _popolani_ and Guelfs. Next came the Podestà, always an
+alien noble (appointed at first by King Charles), with the Council of
+the Podestà of 90 members, and the general Council of the Commune of
+300--in both of which nobles could sit as well as popolani. Measures
+presented by the 12 to the 100 were then submitted successively to
+the two councils of the Captain, and then, on the next day, to the
+councils of the Podestà and the Commune. Occasionally measures were
+concerted between the magistrates and a specially summoned council of
+_richiesti_, without the formalities and delays of these various
+councils. Each of the seven greater Arts[8] was further organised with
+its own officers and councils and banners, like a miniature republic,
+and its consuls (forming the Capetudini) always sat in the Captain's
+council and usually in that of the Podestà likewise.
+
+  [8] The Arte di Calimala, or of the Mercatanti di Calimala, the
+  dressers of foreign cloth; the Arte della Lana, or wool; the Arte dei
+  Giudici e Notai, judges and notaries, also called the Arte del
+  Proconsolo; the Arte del Cambio or dei Cambiatori, money-changers; the
+  Arte dei Medici e Speziali, physicians and apothecaries; the Arte
+  della Seta, or silk, also called the Arte di Por Santa Maria; and the
+  Arte dei Vaiai e Pellicciai, the furriers. The Minor Arts were
+  organised later.
+
+  [Illustration: THE PALACE OF THE PARTE GUELFA]
+
+There was one dark spot. A new organisation was set on foot, under the
+auspices of Pope Clement and King Charles, known as the Parte
+Guelfa--another miniature republic within the republic--with six
+captains (three nobles and three popolani) and two councils, mainly to
+persecute the Ghibellines, to manage confiscated goods, and uphold
+Guelf principles in the State. In later days these Captains of the
+Guelf Party became exceedingly powerful and oppressive, and were the
+cause of much dissension. They met at first in the Church of S. Maria
+sopra la Porta (now the Church of S. Biagio), and later had a special
+palace of their own--which still stands, partly in the Via delle
+Terme, as you pass up it from the Via Por Santa Maria on the right,
+and partly in the Piazza di San Biagio. It is an imposing and somewhat
+threatening mass, partly of the fourteenth and partly of the early
+fifteenth century. The church, which retains in part its structure of
+the thirteenth century, had been a place of secret meeting for the
+Guelfs during Guido Novello's rule; it still stands, but converted
+into a barracks for the firemen of Florence.
+
+Thus was the greatest and most triumphant Republic of the Middle Ages
+organised--the constitution under which the most glorious culture and
+art of the modern world was to flourish. The great Guilds were
+henceforth a power in the State, and the _Secondo Popolo_ had
+arisen--the democracy that Dante and Boccaccio were to know.
+
+  [Illustration: ARMS OF PARTE GUELFA]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+_The Times of Dante and Boccaccio_
+
+     "Godi, Fiorenza, poi che sei sì grande
+     che per mare e per terra batti l'ali,
+     e per l'inferno il tuo nome si spande."
+         --_Dante._
+
+
+The century that passed from the birth of Dante in 1265 to the deaths
+of Petrarch and Boccaccio, in 1374 and 1375 respectively, may be
+styled the _Trecento_, although it includes the last quarter of the
+thirteenth century and excludes the closing years of the fourteenth.
+In general Italian history, it runs from the downfall of the German
+Imperial power at the battle of Benevento, in 1266, to the return of
+the Popes from Avignon in 1377. In art, it is the epoch of the
+completion of Italian Gothic in architecture, of the followers and
+successors of Niccolò and Giovanni Pisano in sculpture, of the school
+of Giotto in painting. In letters, it is the great period of pure
+Tuscan prose and verse. Dante and Giovanni Villani, Dino Compagni,
+Petrarch, Boccaccio and Sacchetti, paint the age for us in all its
+aspects; and a note of mysticism is heard at the close (though not
+from a Florentine) in the Epistles of St. Catherine of Siena, of whom
+a living Italian poet has written--_Nel Giardino del conoscimento di
+sè ella è come una rosa di fuoco._ But at the same time it is a
+century full of civil war and sanguinary factions, in which every
+Italian city was divided against itself; and nowhere were these
+divisions more notable or more bitterly fought out than in Florence.
+Yet, in spite of it all, the Republic proceeded majestically on its
+triumphant course. Machiavelli lays much stress upon this in the Proem
+to his _Istorie Fiorentine_. "In Florence," he says, "at first the
+nobles were divided against each other, then the people against the
+nobles, and lastly the people against the populace; and it ofttimes
+happened that when one of these parties got the upper hand, it split
+into two. And from these divisions there resulted so many deaths, so
+many banishments, so many destructions of families, as never befell in
+any other city of which we have record. Verily, in my opinion, nothing
+manifests more clearly the power of our city than the result of these
+divisions, which would have been able to destroy every great and most
+potent city. Nevertheless ours seemed thereby to grow ever greater;
+such was the virtue of those citizens, and the power of their genius
+and disposition to make themselves and their country great, that those
+who remained free from these evils could exalt her with their virtue
+more than the malignity of those accidents, which had diminished them,
+had been able to cast her down. And without doubt, if only Florence,
+after her liberation from the Empire, had had the felicity of adopting
+a form of government which would have kept her united, I know not what
+republic, whether modern or ancient, would have surpassed her--with
+such great virtue in war and in peace would she have been filled."
+
+  [Illustration: FLORENTINE FAMILIES, EARLY THIRTEENTH CENTURY, WITH A
+  PORTION OF THE SECOND WALLS INDICATED (_Temple Classics: Paradiso_).
+  (The representation is approximate only: the Cerchi Palace near the
+  Corso degli Adimari should be more to the right.)]
+
+The first thirty-four years of this epoch are among the brightest in
+Florentine history, the years that ran from the triumph of the Guelfs
+to the sequel to the Jubilee of 1300, from the establishment of the
+_Secondo Popolo_ to its split into Neri and Bianchi, into Black Guelfs
+and White Guelfs. Externally Florence became the chief power of
+Tuscany, and all the neighbouring towns gradually, to a greater or
+less extent, acknowledged her sway; internally, in spite of growing
+friction between the burghers and the new Guelf nobility, between
+_popolani_ and _grandi_ or magnates, she was daily advancing in wealth
+and prosperity, in beauty and artistic power. The exquisite poetry of
+the _dolce stil novo_ was heard. Guido Cavalcanti, a noble Guelf who
+had married the daughter of Farinata degli Uberti, and, later, the
+notary Lapo Gianni and Dante Alighieri, showed the Italians what true
+lyric song was; philosophers like Brunetto Latini served the state;
+modern history was born with Giovanni Villani. Great palaces were
+built for the officers of the Republic; vast Gothic churches arose.
+Women of rare beauty, eternalised as Beatrice, Giovanna, Lagia and the
+like, passed through the streets and adorned the social gatherings in
+the open loggias of the palaces. Splendid pageants and processions
+hailed the Calends of May and the Nativity of the Baptist, and marked
+the civil and ecclesiastical festivities and state solemnities. The
+people advanced more and more in power and patriotism; while the
+magnates, in their towers and palace-fortresses, were partly forced to
+enter the life of the guilds, partly held aloof and plotted to recover
+their lost authority, but were always ready to officer the burgher
+forces in time of war, or to extend Florentine influence by serving as
+Podestàs and Captains in other Italian cities.
+
+Dante was born in the Sesto di San Piero Maggiore in May 1265, some
+eighteen months before the liberation of the city. He lost his mother
+in his infancy, and his father while he was still a boy. This father
+appears to have been a notary, and came from a noble but decadent
+family, who were probably connected with the Elisei, an aristocratic
+house of supposed Roman descent, who had by this time almost entirely
+disappeared. The Alighieri, who were Guelfs, do not seem to have
+ranked officially as _grandi_ or magnates; one of Dante's uncles had
+fought heroically at Montaperti. Almost all the families connected
+with the story of Dante's life had their houses in the Sesto di San
+Piero Maggiore, and their sites may in some instances still be traced.
+Here were the Cerchi, with whom he was to be politically associated in
+after years; the Donati, from whom sprung one of his dearest friends,
+Forese, with one of his deadliest foes, Messer Corso, and Dante's own
+wife, Gemma; and the Portinari, the house according to tradition of
+Beatrice, the "giver of blessing" of Dante's _Vita Nuova_, the
+mystical lady of the _Paradiso_. Guido Cavalcanti, the first and best
+of all his friends, lived a little apart from this Sesto di
+Scandali--as St Peter's section of the town came to be called--between
+the Mercato Nuovo and San Michele in Orto. Unlike the Alighieri,
+though not of such ancient birth as theirs, the Cavalcanti were
+exceedingly rich and powerful, and ranked officially among the
+_grandi_, the Guelf magnates. At this epoch, as Signor Carocci
+observes in his _Firenze scomparsa_, Florence must have presented the
+aspect of a vast forest of towers. These towers rose over the houses
+of powerful and wealthy families, to be used for offence or defence,
+when the faction fights raged, or to be dismantled and cut down when
+the people gained the upper hand. The best idea of such a mediæval
+city, on a smaller scale, can still be got at San Gemignano, "the fair
+town called of the Fair Towers," where dozens of these _torri_ still
+stand; and also, though to a less extent, at Gubbio. A few have been
+preserved here in Florence, and there are a number of narrow streets,
+on both sides of the Arno, which still retain some of their mediæval
+characteristics. In the Borgo Santissimi Apostoli, for instance, and
+in the Via Lambertesca, there are several striking towers of this
+kind, with remnants of palaces of the _grandi_; and, on the other side
+of the river, especially in the Via dei Bardi and the Borgo San
+Jacopo. When one family, or several associated families, had palaces
+on either side of a narrow street defended by such towers, and could
+throw chains and barricades across at a moment's notice, it will
+readily be understood that in times of popular tumult Florence
+bristled with fortresses in every direction.
+
+In 1282, the year before that in which Dante received the "most sweet
+salutation," _dolcissimo salutare_, of "the glorious lady of my mind
+who was called by many Beatrice, that knew not how she was called,"
+and saw the vision of the Lord of terrible aspect in the mist of the
+colour of fire (the vision which inspired the first of his sonnets
+which has been preserved to us), the democratic government of the
+_Secondo Popolo_ was confirmed by being placed entirely in the hands
+of the _Arti Maggiori_ or Greater Guilds. The Signoria was henceforth
+to be composed of the Priors of the Arts, chosen from the chief
+members of the Greater Guilds, who now became the supreme magistrates
+of the State. They were, at this epoch of Florentine history, six in
+number, one to represent each Sesto, and held office for two months
+only; on leaving office, they joined with the Capetudini, and other
+citizens summoned for the purpose, to elect their successors. At a
+later period this was done, ostensibly at least, by lot instead of
+election. The glorious Palazzo Vecchio had not yet been built, and the
+Priors met at first in a house belonging to the monks of the Badia,
+defended by the Torre della Castagna; and afterwards in a palace
+belonging to the Cerchi (both tower and palace are still standing). Of
+the seven Greater Arts--the _Calimala_, the Money-changers, the
+Wool-merchants, the Silk-merchants, the Physicians and Apothecaries,
+the traders in furs and skins, the Judges and Notaries--the latter
+alone do not seem at first to have been represented in the Priorate;
+but to a certain extent they exercised control over all the Guilds,
+sat in all their tribunals, and had a Proconsul, who came next to the
+Signoria in all state processions, and had a certain jurisdiction over
+all the Arts. It was thus essentially a government of those who were
+actually engaged in industry and commerce. "Henceforth," writes
+Pasquale Villari, "the Republic is properly a republic of merchants,
+and only he who is ascribed to the Arts can govern it: every grade of
+nobility, ancient or new, is more a loss than a privilege." The double
+organisation of the People under the Captain with his two councils,
+and the Commune under the Podestà with his special council and the
+general council (in these two latter alone, it will be remembered,
+could nobles sit and vote) still remained; but the authority of the
+Podestà was naturally diminished.
+
+  [Illustration: CORSO DONATI'S TOWER]
+
+Florence was now the predominant power in central Italy; the cities of
+Tuscany looked to her as the head of the Guelfic League, although,
+says Dino Compagni, "they love her more in discord than in peace, and
+obey her more for fear than for love." A protracted war against Pisa
+and Arezzo, carried on from 1287 to 1292, drew even Dante from his
+poetry and his study; it is believed that he took part in the great
+battle of Campaldino in 1289, in which the last efforts of the old
+Tuscan Ghibellinism were shattered by the Florentines and their
+allies, fighting under the royal banner of the House of Anjou. Amerigo
+di Narbona, one of the captains of King Charles II. of Naples, was in
+command of the Guelfic forces. From many points of view, this is one
+of the more interesting battles of the Middle Ages. It is said to have
+been almost the last Italian battle in which the burgher forces, and
+not the mercenary soldiery of the Condottieri, carried the day. Corso
+Donati and Vieri dei Cerchi, soon to be in deadly feud in the
+political arena, were among the captains of the Florentine host; and
+Dante himself is said to have served in the front rank of the cavalry.
+In a fragment of a letter ascribed to him by one of his earlier
+biographers, Dante speaks of this battle of Campaldino; "wherein I had
+much dread, and at the end the greatest gladness, by reason of the
+varying chances of that battle." One of the Ghibelline leaders,
+Buonconte da Montefeltro, who was mortally wounded and died in the
+rout, meets the divine poet on the shores of the Mountain of
+Purgation, and, in lines of almost ineffable pathos, tells him the
+whole story of his last moments. Villani, ever mindful of Florence
+being the daughter of Rome, assures us that the news of the great
+victory was miraculously brought to the Priors in the Cerchi Palace,
+in much the same way as the tidings of Lake Regillus to the expectant
+Fathers at the gate of Rome. Several of the exiled Uberti had fallen
+in the ranks of the enemy, fighting against their own country. In the
+cloisters of the Annunziata you will find a contemporary monument of
+the battle, let into the west wall of the church near the ground; the
+marble figure of an armed knight on horseback, with the golden lilies
+of France over his surcoat, charging down upon the foe. It is the tomb
+of the French cavalier, Guglielmo Berardi, "balius" of Amerigo di
+Narbona, who fell upon the field.
+
+The eleven years that follow Campaldino, culminating in the Jubilee of
+Pope Boniface VIII. and the opening of the fourteenth century, are the
+years of Dante's political life. They witnessed the great political
+reforms which confirmed the democratic character of the government,
+and the marvellous artistic embellishment of the city under Arnolfo di
+Cambio and his contemporaries. During these years the Palazzo Vecchio,
+the Duomo, and the grandest churches of Florence were founded; and the
+Third Walls, whose gates and some scanty remnants are with us to-day,
+were begun. Favoured by the Popes and the Angevin sovereigns of
+Naples, now that the old Ghibelline nobility, save in a few valleys
+and mountain fortresses, was almost extinct, the new nobles, the
+_grandi_ or Guelf magnates, proud of their exploits at Campaldino, and
+chafing against the burgher rule, began to adopt an overbearing line
+of conduct towards the people, and to be more factious than ever among
+themselves. Strong measures were adopted against them, such as the
+complete enfranchisement of the peasants of the contrada in
+1289--measures which culminated in the famous Ordinances of Justice,
+passed in 1293, by which the magnates were completely excluded from
+the administration, severe laws made to restrain their rough usage of
+the people, and a special magistrate, the _Gonfaloniere_ or
+"Standard-bearer of Justice," added to the Priors, to hold office like
+them for two months in rotation from each sesto of the city, and to
+rigidly enforce the laws against the magnates. This Gonfaloniere
+became practically the head of the Signoria, and was destined to
+become the supreme head of the State in the latter days of the
+Florentine Republic; to him was publicly assigned the great Gonfalon
+of the People, with its red cross on a white field; and he had a large
+force of armed popolani under his command to execute these ordinances,
+against which there was no appeal allowed.[9] These Ordinances also
+fixed the number of the Guilds at twenty-one--seven Arti Maggiori,
+mainly engaged in wholesale commerce, exportation and importation,
+fourteen Arti Minori, which carried on the retail traffic and internal
+trade of the city--and renewed their statutes.
+
+  [9] Some years later a new officer, the Executor of Justice, was
+  instituted to carry out these ordinances instead of leaving them to
+  the Gonfaloniere. This Executor of Justice was associated with the
+  Captain, but was usually a foreign Guelf burgher; later he developed
+  into the Bargello, head of police and governor of the gaol. It will,
+  of course, be seen that while Podestà, Captain, Executore (the
+  _Rettori_), were aliens, the Gonfaloniere and Priors (the _Signori_)
+  were necessarily Florentines and popolani.
+
+The hero of this Magna Charta of Florence is a certain Giano della
+Bella, a noble who had fought at Campaldino and had now joined the
+people; a man of untractable temper, who knew not how to make
+concessions; somewhat anti-clerical and obnoxious to the Pope, but
+consumed by an intense and savage thirst for justice, upon which the
+craftier politicians of both sides played. "Let the State perish,
+rather than such things be tolerated," was his constant political
+formula: _Perisca innanzi la città, che tante opere rie si
+sostengano._ But the magnates, from whom he was endeavouring to snatch
+their last political refuge, the Parte Guelfa, muttered, "Let us smite
+the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered"; and at length, after
+an ineffectual conspiracy against his life, Giano was driven out of
+the city, on March 5th, 1295, by a temporary alliance of the burghers
+and magnates against him. The _popolo minuto_ and artizans, upon whom
+he had mainly relied and whose interests he had sustained, deserted
+him; and the government remained henceforth in the hands of the
+wealthy burghers, the _popolo grosso_. Already a cleavage was becoming
+visible between these Arti Maggiori, who ruled the State, and the Arti
+Minori whose gains lay in local merchandise and traffic, partly
+dependent upon the magnates. And a butcher, nicknamed Pecora, or, as
+we may call him, Lambkin, appears prominently as a would-be
+politician; he cuts a quaintly fierce figure in Dino Compagni's
+chronicle. In this same year, 1295, Dante Alighieri entered public
+life, and, on July 6th, he spoke in the General Council of the Commune
+in support of certain modifications in the Ordinances of Justice,
+whereby nobles, by leaving their order and matriculating in one or
+other of the Arts, even without exercising it, could be free from
+their disabilities, and could share in the government of the State,
+and hold office in the Signoria. He himself, in this same year,
+matriculated in the Arte dei Medici e Speziali, the great guild which
+included the painters and the book-sellers.
+
+The growing dissensions in the Guelf Republic came to a head in 1300,
+the famous year of jubilee in which the Pope was said to have declared
+that the Florentines were the "fifth element." The rival factions of
+Bianchi and Neri, White Guelfs and Black Guelfs, which were now to
+divide the whole city, arose partly from the deadly hostility of two
+families each with a large following, the Cerchi and the Donati,
+headed respectively by Vieri dei Cerchi and Corso Donati, the two
+heroes of Campaldino; partly from an analogous feud in Pistoia, which
+was governed from Florence; partly from the political discord between
+that party in the State that clung to the (modified) Ordinances of
+Justice and supported the Signoria, and another party that hated the
+Ordinances and loved the tyrannical Parte Guelfa. They were further
+complicated by the intrigues of the "black" magnates with Pope
+Boniface VIII., who apparently hoped by their means to repress the
+burgher government and unite the city in obedience to himself. With
+this end in view, he had been endeavouring to obtain from Albert of
+Austria the renunciation, in favour of the Holy See, of all rights
+claimed by the Emperors over Tuscany. Dante himself, Guido Cavalcanti,
+and most of the best men in Florence either directly adhered to, or at
+least favoured, the Cerchi and the Whites; the populace, on the other
+hand, was taken with the dash and display of the more aristocratic
+Blacks, and would gladly have seen Messer Corso--"il Barone," as they
+called him--lord of the city. Rioting, in which Guido Cavalcanti
+played a wild and fantastic part, was of daily occurrence, especially
+in the Sesto di San Piero. The adherents of the Signoria had their
+head-quarters in the Cerchi Palace, in the Via della Condotta; the
+Blacks found their legal fortress in that of the Captains of the Parte
+Guelfa in the Via delle Terme. At last, on May 1st, the two factions
+"came to blood" in the Piazza di Santa Trinità on the occasion of a
+dance of girls to usher in the May. On June 15th Dante was elected one
+of the six Priors, to hold office till August 15th, and he at once
+took a strong line in resisting all interference from Rome, and in
+maintaining order within the city. In consequence of an assault upon
+the officers of the Guilds on St. John's Eve, the Signoria, probably
+on Dante's initiative, put under bounds a certain number of factious
+magnates, chosen impartially from both parties, including Corso Donati
+and Guido Cavalcanti. From his place of banishment at Sarzana, Guido,
+sick to death, wrote the most pathetic of all his lyrics:--
+
+     "Because I think not ever to return,
+       Ballad, to Tuscany,--
+       Go therefore thou for me
+         Straight to my lady's face,
+         Who, of her noble grace,
+       Shall show thee courtesy.
+
+            *       *       *       *       *
+
+     "Surely thou knowest, Ballad, how that Death
+       Assails me, till my life is almost sped:
+     Thou knowest how my heart still travaileth
+       Through the sore pangs which in my soul are bred:--
+       My body being now so nearly dead,
+         It cannot suffer more.
+         Then, going, I implore
+         That this my soul thou take
+         (Nay, do so for my sake),
+         When my heart sets it free."[10]
+
+  [10] Rossetti's translation of the _ripresa_ and second stanza of the
+  Ballata _Perch'i' no spero di tornar giammai_.
+
+And at the end of August, when Dante had left office, Guido returned
+to Florence with the rest of the Bianchi, only to die. For more than a
+year the "white" burghers were supreme, not only in Florence, but
+throughout a greater part of Tuscany; and in the following May they
+procured the expulsion of the Blacks from Pistoia. But Corso Donati at
+Rome was biding his time; and, on November 1st, 1301, Charles of
+Valois, brother of King Philip of France, entered Florence with some
+1200 horsemen, partly French and partly Italian,--ostensibly as papal
+peacemaker, but preparing to "joust with the lance of Judas." In Santa
+Maria Novella he solemnly swore, as the son of a king, to preserve the
+peace and well-being of the city; and at once armed his followers.
+Magnates and burghers alike, seeing themselves betrayed, began to
+barricade their houses and streets. On the same day (November 5th)
+Corso Donati, acting in unison with the French, appeared in the
+suburbs, entered the city by a postern gate in the second walls, near
+S. Piero Maggiore, and swept through the streets with an armed force,
+burst open the prisons, and drove the Priors out of their new Palace.
+For days the French and the Neri sacked the city and the contrada at
+their will, Charles being only intent upon securing a large share of
+the spoils for himself. But even he did not dare to alter the popular
+constitution, and was forced to content himself with substituting
+"black" for "white" burghers in the Signoria, and establishing a
+Podestà of his own following, Cante de' Gabbrielli of Gubbio, in the
+Palace of the Commune. An apparently genuine attempt on the part of
+the Pope, by a second "peacemaker," to undo the harm that his first
+had done, came to nothing; and the work of proscription commenced,
+under the direction of the new Podestà. Dante was one of the first
+victims. The two sentences against him (in each case with a few other
+names) are dated January 27th, 1302, and March 10th--and there were to
+be others later. It is the second decree that contains the famous
+clause, condemning him to be burned to death, if ever he fall into the
+power of the Commune. At the beginning of April all the leaders of the
+"white" faction, who had not already fled or turned "black," with
+their chief followers, magnates and burghers alike, were hounded into
+exile; and Charles left Florence to enter upon an almost equally
+shameful campaign in Sicily.
+
+  [Illustration: ACROSS THE PONTE VECCHIO]
+
+Dante is believed to have been absent from Florence on an embassy to
+the Pope when Charles of Valois came, and to have heard the news of
+his ruin at Siena as he hurried homewards--though both embassy and
+absence have been questioned by Dante scholars of repute. His
+ancestor, Cacciaguida, tells him in the _Paradiso_:--
+
+     "Tu lascerai ogni cosa diletta
+       più caramente, e questo è quello strale
+       che l'arco dello esilio pria saetta.
+     Tu proverai sì come sa di sale
+       lo pane altrui, e com'è duro calle
+       lo scendere e il salir per l'altrui scale."[11]
+
+  [11] "Thou shall abandon everything beloved most dearly; this is the
+  arrow which the bow of exile shall first shoot.
+
+  "Thou shalt make trial of how salt doth taste another's bread, and how
+  hard the path to descend and mount upon another's stair."
+     Wicksteed's translation.
+
+The rest of Dante's life was passed in exile, and only touches the
+story of Florence indirectly at certain points. "Since it was the
+pleasure of the citizens of the most beautiful and most famous
+daughter of Rome, Florence," he tells us in his _Convivio_, "to cast
+me forth from her most sweet bosom (in which I was born and nourished
+up to the summit of my life, and in which, with her good will, I
+desire with all my heart to rest my weary soul and end the time given
+me), I have gone through almost all the parts to which this language
+extends, a pilgrim, almost a beggar, showing against my will the wound
+of fortune, which is wont unjustly to be ofttimes reputed to the
+wounded."
+
+Attempts of the exiles to win their return to Florence by force of
+arms, with aid from the Ubaldini and the Tuscan Ghibellines, were
+easily repressed. But the victorious Neri themselves now split into
+two factions; the one, headed by Corso Donati and composed mainly of
+magnates, had a kind of doubtful support in the favour of the
+populace; the other, led by Rosso della Tosa, inclined to the Signoria
+and the _popolo grosso_. It was something like the old contest between
+Messer Corso and Vieri dei Cerchi, but with more entirely selfish
+ends; and there was evidently going to be a hard tussle between Messer
+Corso and Messer Rosso for the possession of the State. Civil war was
+renewed in the city, and the confusion was heightened by the
+restoration of a certain number of Bianchi, who were reconciled to the
+Government. The new Pope, Benedict XI., was ardently striving to
+pacify Florence and all Italy; and his legate, the Cardinal Niccolò da
+Prato, took up the cause of the exiles. Pompous peace-meetings were
+held in the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella, for the friars of St
+Dominic--to which order the new Pope belonged--had the welfare of the
+city deeply at heart; and at one of these meetings the exiled lawyer,
+Ser Petracco dall'Ancisa (in a few days to be the father of Italy's
+second poet), acted as the representative of his party. Attempts were
+made to revive the May-day pageants of brighter days--but they only
+resulted in a horrible disaster on the Ponte alla Carraia, of which
+more presently. The fiends of faction broke loose again; and in order
+to annihilate the Cavalcanti, who were still rich and powerful round
+about the Mercato Nuovo, the leaders of the Neri deliberately burned a
+large portion of the city. On July 20th, 1304, an attempt by the now
+allied Bianchi and Ghibellines to surprise the city proved a
+disastrous failure; and, on that very day (Dante being now far away at
+Verona, forming a party by himself), Francesco di Petracco--who was to
+call himself Petrarca and is called by us Petrarch--was born in exile
+at Arezzo.
+
+  [Illustration: MERCATO NUOVO, THE FLOWER MARKET]
+
+This miserable chapter of Florentine history ended tragically in 1308,
+with the death of Corso Donati. In his old age he had married a
+daughter of Florence's deadliest foe, the great Ghibelline champion,
+Uguccione della Faggiuola; and, in secret understanding with Uguccione
+and the Cardinal Napoleone degli Orsini (Pope Clement V. had already
+transferred the papal chair to Avignon and commenced the Babylonian
+captivity), he was preparing to overthrow the Signoria, abolish the
+Ordinances, and make himself Lord of Florence. But the people
+anticipated him. On Sunday morning, October 16th, the Priors ordered
+their great bell to be sounded; Corso was accused, condemned as a
+traitor and rebel, and sentence pronounced in less than an hour; and
+with the great Gonfalon of the People displayed, the forces of the
+Commune, supported by the swordsmen of the Della Tosa and a band of
+Catalan mercenaries in the service of the King of Naples, marched upon
+the Piazza di San Piero Maggiore. Over the Corbizzi tower floated the
+banner of the Donati, but only a handful of men gathered round the
+fierce old noble who, himself unable by reason of his gout to bear
+arms, encouraged them by his fiery words to hold out to the last. But
+the soldiery of Uguccione never came, and not a single magnate in the
+city stirred to aid him. Corso, forced at last to abandon his
+position, broke through his enemies, and, hotly pursued, fled through
+the Porta alla Croce. He was overtaken, captured, and barbarously
+slain by the lances of the hireling soldiery, near the Badia di San
+Salvi, at the instigation, as it was whispered, of Rosso della Tosa
+and Pazzino dei Pazzi. The monks carried him, as he lay dying, into
+the Abbey, where they gave him humble sepulchre for fear of the
+people. With all his crimes, there was nothing small in anything that
+Messer Corso did; he was a great spirit, one who could have
+accomplished mighty things in other circumstances, but who could not
+breathe freely in the atmosphere of a mercantile republic. "His life
+was perilous," says Dino Compagni sententiously, "and his death was
+blame-worthy."
+
+A brief but glorious chapter follows, though denounced in Dante's
+bitterest words. Hardly was Corso dead when, after their long
+silence, the imperial trumpets were again heard in the Garden of the
+Empire. Henry of Luxemburg, the last hero of the Middle Ages, elected
+Emperor as Henry VII., crossed the Alps in September 1310, resolved to
+heal the wounds of Italy, and to revive the fading mediæval dream of
+the Holy Roman Empire. In three wild and terrible letters, Dante
+announced to the princes and peoples of Italy the advent of this
+"peaceful king," this "new Moses"; threatened the Florentines with the
+vengeance of the Imperial Eagle; urged Cæsar on against the city--"the
+sick sheep that infecteth all the flock of the Lord with her
+contagion." But the Florentines rose to the occasion, and with the aid
+of their ally, the King of Naples, formed what was practically an
+Italian confederation to oppose the imperial invader. "It was at this
+moment," writes Professor Villari, "that the small merchant republic
+initiated a truly national policy, and became a great power in Italy."
+From the middle of September till the end of October, 1312, the
+imperial army lay round Florence. The Emperor, sick with fever, had
+his head-quarters in San Salvi. But he dared not venture upon an
+attack, although the fortifications were unfinished; and, in the
+following August, the Signoria of Florence could write exultantly to
+their allies, and announce "the blessed tidings" that "the most savage
+tyrant, Henry, late Count of Luxemburg, whom the rebellious
+persecutors of the Church, and treacherous foes of ourselves and you,
+called King of the Romans and Emperor of Germany," had died at
+Buonconvento.
+
+But in the Empyrean Heaven of Heavens, in the mystical convent of
+white stoles, Beatrice shows Dante the throne of glory prepared for
+the soul of the noble-hearted Cæsar:--
+
+     "In quel gran seggio, a che tu gli occhi tieni
+       per la corona che già v'è su posta,
+       prima che tu a queste nozze ceni,
+     sederà l'alma, che fia giù agosta,
+       dell'alto Enrico, ch'a drizzare Italia
+       verrà in prima che ella sia disposta." [12]
+
+  [12] "On that great seat where thou dost fix thine eyes, for the
+  crown's sake already placed above it, ere at this wedding feast
+  thyself do sup,
+
+  "Shall sit the soul (on earth 'twill be imperial) of the lofty Henry,
+  who shall come to straighten Italy ere she be ready for it."
+
+After this, darker days fell upon Florence. Dante, with a renewed
+sentence of death upon his head, was finishing his _Divina Commedia_
+at Verona and Ravenna,--until, on September 14th, 1321, he passed away
+in the latter city, with the music of the pine-forest in his ears and
+the monuments of dead emperors before his dying eyes. Petrarch, after
+a childhood spent at Carpentras, was studying law at Montpellier and
+Bologna--until, on that famous April morning in Santa Chiara at
+Avignon, he saw the golden-haired girl who made him the greatest
+lyrist of the Middle Ages. It was in the year 1327 that Laura--if such
+was really her name--thus crossed his path. Boccaccio, born at
+Certaldo in 1313, the year of the Emperor Henry's death, was growing
+up in Florence, a sharp and precocious boy. But the city was in a
+woeful plight; harassed still by factious magnates and burghers,
+plundered by foreign adventurers, who pretended to serve her, heavily
+taxed by the Angevin sovereigns--the _Reali_--of Naples. Florence had
+taken first King Robert, and then his son, Charles of Calabria, as
+overlord, for defence against external foes (first Henry VII., then
+Uguccione della Faggiuola, and then Castruccio Interminelli); and the
+vicars of these Neapolitan princes replaced for a while the Podestàs;
+their marshals robbed and corrupted; their Catalan soldiers clamoured
+for pay. The wars with Uguccione and Castruccio were most disastrous
+to the Republic; and the fortunate coincidence of the deaths of
+Castruccio and Charles of Calabria, in 1328, gave Florence back her
+liberty at the very moment when she no longer needed a defender.
+Although the Florentines professed to regard this suzerainty of the
+Reali di Napoli as an alliance rather than a subjection,--_compagnia e
+non servitù_ as Machiavelli puts it--it was an undoubted relief when
+it ended. The State was reorganised, and a new constitution confirmed
+in a solemn Parliament held in the Piazza. Henceforth the nomination
+of the Priors and Gonfaloniere was effected by lot, and controlled by
+a complicated process of scrutiny; the old councils were all annulled;
+and in future there were to be only two chief councils--the Council of
+the People, composed of 300 _popolani_, presided over by the Captain,
+and the Council of the Commune, of 250, presided over by the Podestà,
+in which latter (as in former councils of the kind) both _popolani_
+and _grandi_ could sit. Measures proposed by the Government were
+submitted first to the Council of the People, and then, if approved,
+to that of the Commune.
+
+Within the next few years, in spite of famine, disease, and a terrible
+inundation of the Arno in 1333, the Republic largely extended its
+sway. Pistoia, Arezzo, and other places of less account owned its
+signory; but an attempt to get possession of Lucca--with the
+incongruous aid of the Germans--failed. After the flood, the work of
+restoration was first directed by Giotto; and to this epoch we owe the
+most beautiful building in Florence, the Campanile. The discontent,
+excited by the mismanagement of the war against Lucca, threw the
+Republic into the arms of a new and peculiarly atrocious tyrant,
+Walter de Brienne, Duke of Athens, a French soldier of fortune,
+connected by blood with the _Reali_ of Naples. Elected first as war
+captain and chief justice, he acquired credit with the populace and
+the magnates by his executions of unpopular burghers; and finally, on
+September 8th, 1342, in the Piazza della Signoria, he was appointed
+Lord of Florence for life, amidst the acclamations of the lowest
+sections of the mob and the paid retainers of the treacherous nobles.
+The Priors were driven from their palace, the books of the Ordinances
+destroyed, and the Duke's banner erected upon the People's tower,
+while the church bells rang out the _Te Deum_. Arezzo, Pistoia, Colle
+di Val d'Elsa, San Gemignano, and Volterra acknowledged his rule; and
+with a curious mixture of hypocrisy, immorality, and revolting
+cruelty, he reigned as absolute lord until the following summer,
+backed by French and Burgundian soldiers who flocked to him from all
+quarters. By that time he had utterly disgusted all classes in the
+State, even the magnates by whose favour he had won his throne and the
+populace who had acclaimed him; and on the Feast of St. Anne, July
+26th, 1343, there was a general rising. The instruments of his cruelty
+were literally torn to pieces by the people, and he was besieged in
+the Palazzo Vecchio, which he had transformed into a fortress, and at
+length capitulated on August 3rd. The Sienese and Count Simone de'
+Conti Guidi, who had come to mediate, took him over the Ponte
+Rubaconte, through the Porta San Niccolò and thence into the
+Casentino, where they made him solemnly ratify his abdication.
+
+"Note," says Giovanni Villani, who was present at most of these things
+and has given us a most vivid picture of them, "that even as the Duke
+with fraud and treason took away the liberty of the Republic of
+Florence on the day of Our Lady in September,[13] not regarding the
+reverence due to her, so, as it were in divine vengeance, God
+permitted that the free citizens with armed hand should win it back on
+the day of her mother, Madonna Santa Anna, on the 26th day of July
+1343; and for this grace it was ordained by the Commune that the Feast
+of St. Anne should ever be kept like Easter in Florence, and that
+there should be celebrated a solemn office and great offerings by the
+Commune and all the Arts of Florence." St. Anne henceforth became the
+chief patroness and protectoress of the Republic, as Fra Bartolommeo
+painted her in his great unfinished picture in the Uffizi; and the
+solemn office and offerings were duly paid and celebrated in Or San
+Michele. One of Villani's minor grievances against the Duke is that he
+introduced frivolous French fashions of dress into the city, instead
+of the stately old Florentine costume, which the republicans
+considered to be the authentic garb of ancient Rome. That there was
+some ground for this complaint will readily be seen, by comparing the
+figure of a French cavalier in the Allegory of the Church in the
+Spanish Chapel at Santa Maria Novella (the figure formerly called
+Cimabue and now sometimes said to represent Walter de Brienne
+himself), with the simple grandeur and dignity of the dress worn by
+the burghers on their tombs in Santa Croce, or by Dante in the Duomo
+portrait.
+
+  [13] _i.e._ The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin.
+
+Only two months after the expulsion of the Duke of Athens, the great
+quarrel between the magnates and the people was fought to a finish, in
+September 1343. On the northern side of the Arno, the magnates made
+head at the houses of the Adimari near San Giovanni, at the opening of
+the present Via Calzaioli, where one of their towers still stands, at
+the houses of the Pazzi and Donati in the Piazza di San Pier Maggiore,
+and round those of the Cavalcanti in Mercato Nuovo. The people under
+their great gonfalon and the standards of the companies, led by the
+Medici and Rondinelli, stormed one position after another, forcing the
+defenders to surrender. On the other side of the Arno, the magnates
+and their retainers held the bridges and the narrow streets beyond.
+The Porta San Giorgio was in their hands, and, through it,
+reinforcements were hurried up from the country. Repulsed at the Ponte
+Vecchio and the Ponte Rubaconte, the forces of the people with their
+victorious standards at last carried the Ponte alla Carraia, which was
+held by the Nerli; and next, joined by the populace of the Oltrarno,
+forced the Rossi and Frescobaldi to yield. The Bardi alone remained;
+and, in that narrow street which still bears their name, and on the
+Ponte Vecchio and the Ponte Rubaconte, they withstood single-handed
+the onslaught of the whole might of the people, until they were
+assailed in the rear from the direction of the Via Romana. The
+infuriated populace sacked their houses, destroyed and burned the
+greater part of their palaces and towers. The long struggle between
+_grandi_ and _popolani_ was thus ended at last. "This was the cause,"
+says Machiavelli, "that Florence was stripped not only of all martial
+skill, but also of all generosity." The government was again reformed,
+and the minor arts admitted to a larger share; between the _popolo
+grosso_ and them, between burghers and populace, lay the struggle now,
+which was to end in the Medicean rule.
+
+But on all these perpetual changes in the form of the government of
+Florence the last word had, perhaps, been said in Dante's sarcastic
+outburst a quarter of a century before:--
+
+     "Atene e Lacedemone, che fenno
+       l'antiche leggi, e furon sì civili,
+       fecero al viver bene un picciol cenno
+     verso di te, che fai tanto sottili
+       provvedimenti, che a mezzo novembre
+       non giunge quel che tu d'ottobre fili.
+     Quante volte del tempo che rimembre,
+       legge, moneta, offizio, e costume
+       hai tu mutato, e rinnovato membre?
+     E se ben ti ricordi, e vedi lume,
+       vedrai te simigliante a quella inferma,
+       che non può trovar posa in su le piume,
+     ma con dar volta suo dolore scherma."[14]
+
+  [14] _Purg. VI._--
+     "Athens and Lacedæmon, they who made
+       The ancient laws, and were so civilised,
+       Made towards living well a little sign
+     Compared with thee, who makest such fine-spun
+       Provisions, that to middle of November
+       Reaches not what thou in October spinnest.
+     How oft, within the time of thy remembrance,
+       Laws, money, offices and usages
+       Hast thou remodelled, and renewed thy members?
+     And if thou mind thee well, and see the light,
+       Thou shalt behold thyself like a sick woman,
+       Who cannot find repose upon her down,
+     But by her tossing wardeth off her pain."
+         --_Longfellow._
+
+The terrible pestilence, known as the Black Death, swept over Europe
+in 1348. During the five months in which it devastated Florence
+three-fifths of the population perished, all civic life was suspended,
+and the gayest and most beautiful of cities seemed for a while to be
+transformed into the dim valley of disease and sin that lies
+outstretched at the bottom of Dante's Malebolge. It has been
+described, in all its horrors, in one of the most famous passages of
+modern prose--that appalling introduction to Boccaccio's _Decameron_.
+From the city in her agony, Boccaccio's three noble youths and seven
+"honest ladies" fled to the villas of Settignano and Fiesole, where
+they strove to drown the horror of the time by their music and
+dancing, their feasting and too often sadly obscene stories. Giovanni
+Villani was among the victims in Florence, and Petrarch's Laura at
+Avignon. The first canto of Petrarch's _Triumph of Death_ appears to
+be, in part, an allegorical representation--written many years
+later--of this fearful year.
+
+During the third quarter of this fourteenth century--the years which
+still saw the Popes remaining in their Babylonian exile at
+Avignon--the Florentines gradually regained their lost supremacy over
+the cities of Tuscany: Colle di Val d'Elsa, San Gemignano, Prato,
+Pistoia, Volterra, San Miniato dei Tedeschi. They carried on a war
+with the formidable tyrant of Milan, the Archbishop Giovanni Visconti,
+whose growing power was a perpetual menace to the liberties of the
+Tuscan communes. They made good use of the descent of the feeble
+emperor, Charles IV., into Italy; waged a new war with their old
+rival, Pisa; and readily accommodated themselves to the baser
+conditions of warfare that prevailed, now that Italy was the prey of
+the companies of mercenaries, ready to be hired by whatever prince or
+republic could afford the largest pay, or to fall upon whatever city
+seemed most likely to yield the heaviest ransom. Within the State
+itself the _popolo minuto_ and the Minor Guilds were advancing in
+power; Florence was now divided into four quarters (San Giovanni,
+Santa Maria Novella, Santa Croce, Santo Spirito), instead of the old
+Sesti; and the Signoria was now composed of the Gonfaloniere and
+_eight_ Priors, two from each quarter (instead of the former six), of
+whom two belonged to the Minor Arts. These, of course, still held
+office for only two months. Next came the twelve Buonuomini, who were
+the counsellors of the Signoria, and held office for three months;
+and the sixteen Gonfaloniers of the city companies, four from each
+quarter, holding office for four months. And there were, as before,
+the two great Councils of the People and the Commune; and still the
+three great officers who carried out their decrees, the Podestà, the
+Captain, the Executor of Justice. The feuds of Ricci and Albizzi kept
+up the inevitable factions, much as the Buondelmonti and Uberti,
+Cerchi and Donati had done of old; and an iniquitous system of
+"admonishing" those who were suspected of Ghibelline descent (the
+_ammoniti_ being excluded from office under heavy penalties) threw
+much power into the hands of the captains of the Parte Guelfa, whose
+oppressive conduct earned them deadly hatred. "To such arrogance,"
+says Machiavelli, "did the captains of the Party mount, that they were
+feared more than the members of the Signoria, and less reverence was
+paid to the latter than to the former; the palace of the Party was
+more esteemed than that of the Signoria, so that no ambassador came to
+Florence without having commissions to the captains."
+
+  [Illustration: THE CAMPANILE]
+
+Pope Gregory XI preceded his return to Rome by an attempted reconquest
+of the States of the Church, by means of foreign legates and hireling
+soldiers, of whom the worst were Bretons and English; although St.
+Catherine of Siena implored him, in the name of Christ, to come with
+the Cross in hand, like a meek lamb, and not with armed bands. The
+horrible atrocities committed in Romagna by these mercenaries,
+especially at Faenza and Cesena, stained what might have been a noble
+pontificate. Against Pope Gregory and his legates, the Florentines
+carried on a long and disastrous war; round the Otto della Guerra, the
+eight magistrates to whom the management of the war was intrusted,
+rallied those who hated the Parte Guelfa. The return of Gregory to
+Rome in 1377 opens a new epoch in Italian history. Echoes of this
+unnatural struggle between Florence and the Pope reach us in the
+letters of St Catherine and the canzoni of Franco Sacchetti; in the
+latter is some faint sound of Dante's _saeva indignatio_ against the
+unworthy pastors of the Church, but in the former we are lifted far
+above the miserable realities of a conflict carried on by political
+intrigue and foreign mercenaries, into the mystical realms of pure
+faith and divine charity.
+
+In 1376, the Loggia dei Priori, now less pleasantly known as the
+Loggia dei Lanzi, was founded; and in 1378 the bulk of the Duomo was
+practically completed. This may be taken as the close of the first or
+"heroic" epoch of Florentine Art, which runs simultaneously with the
+great democratic period of Florentine history, represented in
+literature by Dante and Boccaccio. The Duomo, the Palace of the
+Podestà, the Palace of the Priors, Santa Maria Novella, Santa Croce,
+Or San Michele, the Loggia of the Bigallo, and the Third Walls of the
+City (of which, on the northern side of the Arno, the gates alone
+remain), are its supreme monuments in architecture. Its heroes of
+greatest name are Arnolfo di Cambio, Giotto di Bondone, Andrea Pisano,
+Andrea di Cione or Orcagna (the "Archangel"), and, lastly and but
+recently recognised, Francesco Talenti.
+
+"No Italian architect," says Addington Symonds, "has enjoyed the proud
+privilege of stamping his own individuality more strongly on his
+native city than Arnolfo." At present, the walls of the city (or what
+remains of them)--_le mura di Fiorenza_ which Lapo Gianni would fain
+see _inargentate_--and the bulk of the Palazzo Vecchio and Santa
+Croce, alone represent Arnolfo's work. But the Duomo (mainly, in its
+present form, due to Francesco Talenti) probably still retains in
+part his design; and the glorious Church of Or San Michele, of which
+the actual architect is not certainly known, stands on the site of his
+Loggia.
+
+Giovanni Cimabue, the father of Florentine painting as Arnolfo of
+Florentine architecture, survives only as a name in Dante's immortal
+verse. Not a single authentic work remains from his hand in Florence.
+His supposed portrait in the cloisters of Santa Maria Novella is now
+held to be that of a French knight; the famous picture of the Madonna
+and Child with her angelic ministers, in the Rucellai Chapel, is shown
+to be the work of a Sienese master; and the other paintings once
+ascribed to him have absolutely no claims to bear his name. But the
+Borgo Allegro still bears its title from the rejoicings that hailed
+his masterpiece, and perhaps it is best that his achievement should
+thus live, only as a holy memory:--
+
+     "Credette Cimabue nella pittura
+     tener lo campo, ed ora ha Giotto il grido,
+     sì che la fama di colui è oscura."[15]
+
+  [15] "In painting Cimabue thought that he
+       Should hold the field, now Giotto has the cry,
+       So that the other's fame is growing dim."
+
+Of Cimabue's great pupil, Dante's friend and contemporary, Giotto, we
+know and possess much more. Through him mediæval Italy first spoke out
+through painting, and with no uncertain sound. He was born some ten
+years later than Dante. Cimabue--or so the legend runs, which is told
+by Leonardo da Vinci amongst others--found him among the mountains,
+guarding his father's flocks and drawing upon the stones the movements
+of the goats committed to his care. He was a typical Florentine
+craftsman; favoured by popes, admitted to the familiarity of kings, he
+remained to the end the same unspoilt shepherd whom Cimabue had found.
+Many choice and piquant tales are told by the novelists about his
+ugly presence and rare personality, his perpetual good humour, his
+sharp and witty answers to king and rustic alike, his hatred of all
+pretentiousness, carried to such an extent that he conceived a rooted
+objection to hearing himself called _maestro_. Padua and Assisi
+possess some of his very best work; but Florence can still show much.
+Two chapels in Santa Croce are painted by his hand; of the smaller
+pictures ascribed to him in churches and galleries, there is one
+authentic--the Madonna in the Accademia; and, perhaps most beautiful
+of all, the Campanile which he designed and commenced still rises in
+the midst of the city. Giotto died in 1336; his work was carried on by
+Andrea Pisano and practically finished by Francesco Talenti.
+
+Andrea di Ugolino Pisano (1270-1348), usually simply called Andrea
+Pisano, is similarly the father of Florentine sculpture. Vasari's
+curiously inaccurate account of him has somewhat blurred his real
+figure in the history of art. His great achievements are the casting
+of the first gate of the Baptistery in bronze, his work--apparently
+from Giotto's designs--in the lower series of marble reliefs round the
+Campanile, and his continuation of the Campanile itself after Giotto's
+death. He is said by Vasari to have built the Porta di San Frediano.
+
+There is little individuality in the followers of Giotto, who carried
+on his tradition and worked in his manner. They are very much below
+their master, and are often surpassed by the contemporary painters of
+Siena, such as Simone Martini and Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Taddeo Gaddi
+and his son, Agnolo, Giovanni di Milano, Bernardo Daddi, are their
+leaders; the chief title to fame of the first-named being the renowned
+Ponte Vecchio. But their total achievement, in conjunction with the
+Sienese, was of heroic magnitude. They covered the walls of churches
+and chapels, especially those connected with the Franciscans and
+Dominicans, with the scenes of Scripture, with the lives of Madonna
+and her saints; they set forth in all its fullness the whole Gospel
+story, for those who could neither read nor write; they conceived vast
+allegories of human life and human destinies; they filled the palaces
+of the republics with painted parables of good government. "By the
+grace of God," says a statute of Sienese painters, "we are the men who
+make manifest to the ignorant and unlettered the miraculous things
+achieved by the power and virtue of the Faith." At Siena, at Pisa and
+at Assisi, are perhaps the greatest works of this school; but here, in
+Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella, there is much, and of a very
+noble and characteristic kind. Spinello Aretino (1333-1410) may be
+regarded as the last of the Giotteschi; you may see his best series of
+frescoes in San Miniato, setting forth with much skill and power the
+life of the great Italian monk, whose face Dante so earnestly prayed
+to behold unveiled in Paradise.
+
+This heroic age of sculpture and painting culminated in Andrea Orcagna
+(1308-1368), Andrea Pisano's great pupil. Painter and sculptor,
+architect and poet, Orcagna is at once the inheritor of Niccolò and
+Giovanni Pisano, and of Giotto. The famous frescoes in the Pisan Campo
+Santo are now known to be the work of some other hand; his paintings
+in Santa Croce, with their priceless portraits, have perished; and,
+although frequently consulted in the construction of the Duomo, it is
+tolerably certain that he was not the architect of any of the
+Florentine buildings once ascribed to him. The Strozzi chapel of St
+Thomas in Santa Maria Novella, the oratory of the Madonna in San
+Michele in Orto, contain all his extant works; and they are
+sufficient to prove him, next to Giotto, the greatest painter of his
+century, with a feeling for grace and beauty even above Giotto's, and
+only less excellent in marble. Several of his poems have been
+preserved, mostly of a slightly satirical character; one, a sonnet on
+the nature of love, _Molti volendo dir che fosse Amore_, has had the
+honour of being ascribed to Dante.
+
+With the third quarter of the century, the first great epoch of
+Italian letters closes also. On the overthrow of the House of Suabia
+at Benevento, the centre of culture had shifted from Sicily to
+Tuscany, from Palermo to Florence. The prose and poetry of this epoch
+is almost entirely Tuscan, although the second of its greatest poets,
+Francesco Petrarca, comparatively seldom set foot within its
+boundaries. "My old nest is restored to me," he wrote to the Signoria,
+when they sent Boccaccio to invite his friend to return to Florence,
+"I can fly back to it, and I can fold there my wandering wings." But,
+save for a few flying visits, Petrarch had little inclination to
+attach himself to one city, when he felt that all Italy was his
+country.
+
+Dante had set forth all that was noblest in mediæval thought in
+imperishable form, supremely in his _Divina Commedia_, but appreciably
+and nobly in his various minor works as well, both verse and prose.
+Villani had started historical Italian prose on its triumphant course.
+Petrarch and Boccaccio, besides their great gifts to Italian
+literature, in the ethereal poetry of the one, painting every varying
+mood of the human soul, and the licentious prose of the other, hymning
+the triumph of the flesh, stand on the threshold of the Renaissance.
+Other names crowd in upon us at each stage of this epoch. Apart from
+his rare personality, Guido Cavalcanti's _ballate_ are his chief title
+to poetic fame, but, even so, less than the monument of glory that
+Dante has reared to him in the _Vita Nuova_, in the _De Vulgari
+Eloquentia_, in the _Divina Commedia_. Dino Compagni, the chronicler
+of the Whites and Blacks, was only less admirable as a patriot than as
+a historian. Matteo Villani, the brother of Giovanni, and Matteo's
+son, Filippo, carried on the great chronicler's work. Fra Jacopo
+Passavanti, the Dominican prior of Santa Maria Novella, in the middle
+of the century, showed how the purest Florentine vernacular could be
+used for the purpose of simple religious edification. Franco
+Sacchetti, politician, novelist and poet, may be taken as the last
+Florentine writer of this period; he anticipates the popular lyrism of
+the Quattrocento, rather in the same way as a group of scholars who at
+the same time gathered round the Augustinian, Luigi Marsili, in his
+cell at Santo Spirito heralds the coming of the humanists. It fell to
+Franco Sacchetti to sing the dirge of this heroic period of art and
+letters, in his elegiac canzoni on the deaths of Petrarch and
+Boccaccio:--
+
+     "Sonati sono i corni
+     d'ogni parte a ricolta;
+     la stagione è rivolta:
+     se tornerà non so, ma credo tardi."
+
+  [Illustration: CROSS OF THE FLORENTINE PEOPLE (FROM OLD HOUSE ON NORTH
+  SIDE OF DUOMO)]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+_The Medici and the Quattrocento_
+
+   "Tiranno è nome di uomo di mala vita, e pessimo fra tutti gli
+   altri uomini, che per forza sopra tutti vuol regnare, massime
+   quello che di cittadino è fatto tiranno."--_Savonarola._
+
+   "The Renaissance of the fifteenth century was in many things
+   great, rather by what it designed or aspired to do, than by what
+   it actually achieved."--_Walter Pater._
+
+
+_Non già Salvestro ma Salvator mundi_, "thou that with noble wisdom
+hast saved thy country." Thus in a sonnet does Franco Sacchetti hail
+Salvestro dei Medici, the originator of the greatness of his house. In
+1378, while the hatred between the Parte Guelfa and the adherents of
+the Otto della Guerra--the rivalry between the Palace of the Party and
+the Palace of the Signory--was at its height, the Captains of the
+Party conspired to seize upon the Palace of the Priors and take
+possession of the State. Their plans were frustrated by Salvestro dei
+Medici, a rich merchant and head of his ambitious and rising family,
+who was then Gonfaloniere of Justice. He proposed to restore the
+Ordinances against the magnates, and, when this petition was rejected
+by the Signoria and the Colleges,[16] he appealed to the Council of
+the People. The result was a riot, followed by a long series of
+tumults throughout the city; the _Arti Minori_ came to the front in
+arms; and, finally, the bloody revolution known as the Tumult of the
+Ciompi burst over Florence. These Ciompi, the lowest class of artizans
+and all those who were not represented in the Arts, headed by those
+who were subject to the great Arte della Lana, had been much favoured
+by the Duke of Athens, and had been given consuls and a standard with
+an angel painted upon it. On the fall of the Duke, these Ciompi, or
+_popolo minuto_, had lost these privileges, and were probably much
+oppressed by the consuls of the Arte della Lana. Secretly instigated
+by Salvestro--who thus initiated the Medicean policy of undermining
+the Republic by means of the populace--they rose _en masse_ on July
+20th, captured the Palace of the Podestà, burnt the houses of their
+enemies and the Bottega of the Arte della Lana, seized the standard of
+the people, and, with it and the banners of the Guilds displayed, came
+into the Piazza to demand a share in the government. On July 22nd they
+burst into the Palace of the Priors, headed by a wool-comber, Michele
+di Lando, carrying in his hands the great Gonfalon; him they acclaimed
+Gonfaloniere and lord of the city.
+
+  [16] The "Colleges" were the twelve Buonuomini and the sixteen
+  Gonfaloniers of the Companies. Measures proposed by the Signoria had
+  to be carried in the Colleges before being submitted to the Council of
+  the People, and afterwards to the Council of the Commune.
+
+This rough and half-naked wool-comber, whose mother made pots and pans
+and whose wife sold greens, is one of the heroes of Florentine
+history; and his noble simplicity throughout the whole affair is in
+striking contrast with the self-seeking and intrigues of the rich
+aristocratic merchants whose tool, to some extent, he appears to have
+been. The pious historian, Jacopo Nardi, likens him to the heroes of
+ancient Rome, Curius and Fabricius, and ranks him as a patriot and
+deliverer of the city, far above even Farinata degli Uberti. The next
+day the Parliament was duly summoned in the Piazza, Michele confirmed
+in his office, and a Balìa (or commission) given to him, together with
+the Eight and the Syndics of the Arts, to reform the State and elect
+the new Signoria--in which the newly constituted Guilds of the
+populace were to have a third with those of the greater and minor
+Arts. But, before Michele's term of office was over, the Ciompi were
+in arms again, fiercer than ever and with more outrageous demands,
+following the standards of the Angel and some of the minor Arts (who
+appear to have in part joined them). From Santa Maria Novella, their
+chosen head-quarters, on the last day of August they sent two
+representatives to overawe the Signoria. But Michele di Lando,
+answering their insolence with violence, rode through the city with
+the standard of Justice floating before him, while the great bell of
+the Priors' tower called the Guilds to arms; and by evening the
+populace had melted away, and the government of the people was
+re-established. The new Signoria was greeted in a canzone by
+Sacchetti, in which he declares that Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and
+Temperance are once more reinstated in the city.
+
+For the next few years the Minor Arts predominated in the government.
+Salvestro dei Medici kept in the background, but was presently
+banished. Michele di Lando seemed contented to have saved the State,
+and took little further share in the politics of the city. He appears
+later on to have been put under bounds at Chioggia; but to have
+returned to Florence before his death in 1401, when he was buried in
+Santa Croce. There were still tumults and conspiracies, resulting in
+frequent executions and banishments; while, without, inglorious wars
+were carried on by the companies of mercenary soldiers. This is the
+epoch in which the great English captain, Hawkwood, entered the
+service of the Florentine State. In 1382, after the execution of
+Giorgio Scali and the banishment of Tommaso Strozzi (noble burghers
+who headed the populace), the newly constituted Guilds were abolished,
+and the government returned to the greater Arts, who now held
+two-thirds of the offices--a proportion which was later increased to
+three-quarters.
+
+The period which follows, from 1382 to 1434, sees the close of the
+democratic government of Florence. The Republic, nominally still ruled
+by the greater Guilds, is in reality sustained and swayed by the
+_nobili popolani_ or _Ottimati_, members of wealthy families risen by
+riches or talent out of these greater Guilds into a new kind of
+burgher aristocracy. The struggle is now no longer between the Palace
+of the Signory and the Palace of the Party--for the days of the power
+of the Parte Guelfa are at an end--but between the Palace and the
+Piazza. The party of the Minor Arts and the Populace is repressed and
+ground down with war taxes; but behind them the Medici lurk and
+wait--first Vieri, then Giovanni di Averardo, then Cosimo di
+Giovanni--ever on the watch to put themselves at their head, and
+through them overturn the State. The party of the Ottimati is first
+led by Maso degli Albizzi, then by Niccolò da Uzzano, and lastly by
+Rinaldo degli Albizzi and his adherents--illustrious citizens not
+altogether unworthy of the great Republic that they swayed--the sort
+of dignified civic patricians whose figures, a little later, were to
+throng the frescoes of Masaccio and Ghirlandaio. But they were divided
+among themselves, persecuted their adversaries with proscription and
+banishment, thus making the exiles a perpetual source of danger to the
+State, and they were hated by the populace because of the war taxes.
+These wars were mainly carried on by mercenaries--who were now more
+usually Italians than foreigners--and, in spite of frequent defeats,
+generally ended well for Florence. Arezzo was purchased in 1384. A
+fierce struggle was carried on a few years later (1390-1402) with the
+"great serpent," Giovanni Galeazzo Visconti, who hoped to make himself
+King of Italy by violence as he had made himself Duke of Milan by
+treachery, and intended to be crowned in Florence. Pisa was finally
+and cruelly conquered in 1406; Cortona was obtained as the result of a
+prolonged war with King Ladislaus of Naples in 1414, in which the
+Republic had seemed once more in danger of falling into the hands of a
+foreign tyrant; and in 1421 Leghorn was sold to the Florentines by the
+Genoese, thus opening the sea to their merchandise.
+
+The deaths of Giovanni Galeazzo and Ladislaus freed the city from her
+most formidable external foes; and for a while she became the seat of
+the Papacy, the centre of Christendom. In 1419, after the schism, Pope
+Martin V. took up his abode in Florence; the great condottiere,
+Braccio, came with his victorious troops to do him honour; and the
+deposed John XXIII. humbled himself before the new Pontiff, and was at
+last laid to rest among the shadows of the Baptistery. In his _Storia
+Florentina_ Guicciardini declares that the government at this epoch
+was the wisest, the most glorious and the happiest that the city had
+ever had. It was the dawn of the Renaissance, and Florence was already
+full of artists and scholars, to whom these _nobili popolani_ were as
+generous and as enlightened patrons as their successors, the Medici,
+were to be. Even Cosimo's fervent admirer, the librarian Vespasiano
+Bisticci, endorses Guicciardini's verdict: "In that time," he says,
+"from 1422 to 1433, the city of Florence was in a most blissful state,
+abounding with excellent men in every faculty, and it was full of
+admirable citizens."
+
+Maso degli Albizzi died in 1417; and his successors in the
+oligarchy--the aged Niccolò da Uzzano, who stood throughout for
+moderation, and the fiery but less competent Rinaldo degli
+Albizzi--were no match for the rising and unscrupulous Medici. With
+the Albizzi was associated the noblest and most generous Florentine of
+the century, Palla Strozzi. The war with Filippo Visconti, resulting
+in the disastrous rout of Zagonara, and an unjust campaign against
+Lucca, in which horrible atrocities were committed by the Florentine
+commissioner, Astorre Gianni, shook their government. Giovanni dei
+Medici, the richest banker in Italy, was now the acknowledged head of
+the opposition; he had been Gonfaloniere in 1421, but would not put
+himself actively forward, although urged on by his sons, Cosimo and
+Lorenzo. He died in 1429; Niccolò da Uzzano followed him to the grave
+in 1432; and the final struggle between the fiercer spirits, Rinaldo
+and Cosimo, was at hand. "All these citizens," said Niccolò, shortly
+before his death, "some through ignorance, some through malice, are
+ready to sell this republic; and, thanks to their good fortune, they
+have found the purchaser."
+
+Shortly before this date, Masaccio painted all the leading spirits of
+the time in a fresco in the cloisters of the Carmine. This has been
+destroyed, but you may see a fine contemporary portrait of Giovanni in
+the Uffizi. The much admired and famous coloured bust in the Bargello,
+called the portrait of Niccolò da Uzzano by Donatello, has probably
+nothing to do either with Niccolò or with Donatello. Giovanni has the
+air of a prosperous and unpretending Florentine tradesman, but with a
+certain obvious parade of his lack of pushfulness.
+
+In 1433 the storm broke. A Signory hostile to Cosimo being elected, he
+was summoned to the Palace and imprisoned in an apartment high up in
+the Tower, a place known as the Alberghettino. Rinaldo degli Albizzi
+held the Piazza with his soldiery, and Cosimo heard the great bell
+ringing to call the people to Parliament, to grant a Balìa to reform
+the government and decide upon his fate. But he was too powerful at
+home and abroad; his popularity with those whom he had raised from low
+estate, and those whom he had relieved by his wealth, his influence
+with the foreign powers, such as Venice and Ferrara, were so great
+that his foes dared not take his life; and, indeed, they were hardly
+the men to have attempted such a crime. Banished to Padua (his brother
+Lorenzo and other members of his family being put under bounds at
+different cities), he was received everywhere, not as a fugitive, but
+as a prince; and the library of the Benedictines, built by Michelozzo
+at his expense, once bore witness to his stay in Venice. Hardly a year
+had passed when a new Signory was chosen, favourable to the Medici;
+Rinaldo degli Albizzi, after a vain show of resistance, laid down his
+arms on the intervention of Pope Eugenius, who was then at Santa Maria
+Novella, and was banished for ever from the city with his principal
+adherents. And finally, in a triumphant progress from Venice, "carried
+back to his country upon the shoulders of all Italy," as he said,
+Cosimo and his brother Lorenzo entered Florence on October 6th, 1434,
+rode past the deserted palaces of the Albizzi to the Palace of the
+Priors, and next day returned in triumph to their own house in the Via
+Larga.
+
+The Republic had practically fallen; the head of the Medici was
+virtually prince of the city and of her fair dominion. But Florence
+was not Milan or Naples, and Cosimo's part as tyrant was a peculiar
+one. The forms of the government were, with modifications, preserved;
+but by means of a Balìa empowered to elect the chief magistrates for
+a period of five years, and then renewed every five years, he secured
+that the Signoria should always be in his hands, or in those of his
+adherents. The grand Palace of the Priors was still ostensibly the
+seat of government; but, in reality, the State was in the firm grasp
+of the thin, dark-faced merchant in the Palace in the Via Larga, which
+we now know as the Palazzo Riccardi. Although in the earlier part of
+his reign he was occasionally elected Gonfaloniere, he otherwise held
+no office ostensibly, and affected the republican manner of a mere
+wealthy citizen. His personality, combined with the widely ramifying
+banking relations of the Medici, gave him an almost European
+influence. His popularity among the mountaineers and in the country
+districts, from which armed soldiery were ever ready to pour down into
+the city in his defence, made him the fitting man for the ever
+increasing external sway of Florence. The forms of the Republic were
+preserved, but he consolidated his power by a general levelling and
+disintegration, by severing the nerves of the State and breaking the
+power of the Guilds. He had certain hard and cynical maxims for
+guidance: "Better a city ruined than a city lost," "States are not
+ruled by Pater-Nosters," "New and worthy citizens can be made by a few
+ells of crimson cloth." So he elevated to wealth and power men of low
+kind, devoted to and dependent on himself; crushed the families
+opposed to him, or citizens who seemed too powerful, by wholesale
+banishments, or by ruining them with fines and taxation, although
+there was comparatively little blood shed. He was utterly ruthless in
+all this, and many of the noblest Florentine citizens fell victims.
+One murder must be laid to his charge, and it is one of peculiar, for
+him, unusual atrocity. Baldaccio d'Anghiari, a young captain of
+infantry, who promised fair to take a high place among the
+condottieri of the day, was treacherously invited to speak with the
+Gonfaloniere in the Palace of the Priors, and there stabbed to death
+by hireling assassins from the hills, and his body flung ignominiously
+into the Piazza. Cosimo's motive is said to have been partly jealousy
+of a possible rival, Neri Capponi, who had won popularity by his
+conquest of the Casentino for Florence in 1440, and who was intimate
+with Baldaccio; and partly desire to gratify Francesco Sforza, whose
+treacherous designs upon Milan he was furthering by the gold wrung
+from his over-taxed Florentines, and to whose plans Baldaccio was
+prepared to offer an obstacle.
+
+Florence was still for a time the seat of the Papacy. In January 1439,
+the Patriarch Joseph of Constantinople, and the Emperor of the East,
+John Paleologus, came to meet Pope Eugenius for the Council of
+Florence, which was intended to unite the Churches of Christendom. The
+Patriarch died here, and is buried in Santa Maria Novella. In the
+Riccardi Palace you may see him and the Emperor, forced, as it were,
+to take part in the triumph of the Medici in Benozzo Gozzoli's
+fresco--riding with them in the gorgeous train, that sets out
+ostensibly to seek the Babe of Bethlehem, and evidently has no
+intention of finding Him. Pope Eugenius returned to Rome in 1444; and
+in 1453 Mahomet II. stormed Constantinople, and Greek exiles thronged
+to Rome and Florence. In 1459, marvellous pageants greeted Pius II. in
+the city, on his way to stir up the Crusade that never went.
+
+In his foreign policy Cosimo inaugurated a totally new departure for
+Florence; he commenced a line of action which was of the utmost
+importance in Italian politics, and which his son and grandson carried
+still further. The long wars with which the last of the Visconti,
+Filippo Maria, harassed Italy and pressed Florence hard (in the last
+of these Rinaldo degli Albizzi and the exiles approached near enough
+to catch a distant glimpse of the city from which they were
+relentlessly shut out), ended with his death in 1447. Cosimo dei
+Medici now allied himself with the great condottiere, Francesco
+Sforza, and aided him with money to make good his claims upon the
+Duchy of Milan. Henceforth this new alliance between Florence and
+Milan, between the Medici and the Sforza, although most odious in the
+eyes of the Florentine people, became one of the chief factors in the
+balance of power in Italy. Soon afterwards Alfonso, the Aragonese
+ruler of Naples, entered into this triple alliance; Venice and Rome to
+some extent being regarded as a double alliance to counterbalance
+this. To these foreign princes Cosimo was almost as much prince of
+Florence as they of their dominions; and by what was practically a
+_coup d'état_ in 1459, Cosimo and his son Piero forcibly overthrew the
+last attempt of their opponents to get the Signoria out of their
+hands, and, by means of the creation of a new and permanent Council of
+a hundred of their chief adherents, more firmly than ever secured
+their hold upon the State.
+
+  [Illustration: FLORENCE IN THE DAYS OF LORENZO THE MAGNIFICENT
+  (_From an engraving, of about 1490, in the Berlin Museum_)]
+
+In his private life Cosimo was the simplest and most unpretentious of
+tyrants, and lived the life of a wealthy merchant-burgher of the day
+in its nobler aspects. He was an ideal father, a perfect man of
+business, an apparently kindly fellow-citizen to all. Above all things
+he loved the society of artists and men of letters; Brunelleschi and
+Michelozzo, Donatello and Fra Lippo Lippi--to name only a few more
+intimately connected with him--found in him the most generous and
+discerning of patrons; many of the noblest Early Renaissance churches
+and convents in Florence and its neighbourhood are due to his
+munificence--San Lorenzo and San Marco and the Badia of Fiesole are
+the most typical--and he even founded a hospital in Jerusalem. To a
+certain extent this was what we should now call "conscience money."
+His friend and biographer, Vespasiano Bisticci, writes: "He did these
+things because it appeared to him that he held money, not over well
+acquired; and he was wont to say that to God he had never given so
+much as to find Him on his books a debtor. And likewise he said: I
+know the humours of this city; fifty years will not pass before we are
+driven out; but the buildings will remain." The Greeks, who came to
+the Council of Florence or fled from the in-coming Turk, stimulated
+the study of their language and philosophy--though this had really
+commenced in the days of the Republic, before the deaths of Petrarch
+and Boccaccio--and found in Cosimo an ardent supporter. He founded
+great libraries in San Marco and in the Badia of Fiesole, the former
+with part of the codices collected by the scholar Niccolò Niccoli;
+although he had banished the old Palla Strozzi, the true renovator of
+the Florentine University, into hopeless exile. Into the Neo-Platonism
+of the Renaissance Cosimo threw himself heart and soul. "To Cosimo,"
+writes Burckhardt, "belongs the special glory of recognising in the
+Platonic philosophy the fairest flower of the ancient world of
+thought, of inspiring his friends with the same belief, and thus of
+fostering within humanistic circles themselves another and a higher
+resuscitation of antiquity." In a youth of Figline, Marsilio Ficino,
+the son of a doctor, Cosimo found a future high priest of this new
+religion of love and beauty; and bidding him minister to the minds of
+men rather than to their bodies, brought him into his palace, and gave
+him a house in the city and a beautiful farm near Careggi. Thus was
+founded the famous Platonic Academy, the centre of the richest
+Italian thought of the century. As his end drew near, Cosimo turned to
+the consolations of religion, and would pass long hours in his chosen
+cell in San Marco, communing with the Dominican Archbishop, Antonino,
+and Fra Angelico, the painter of mediæval Paradise. And with these
+thoughts, mingled with the readings of Marsilio's growing translation
+of Plato, he passed away at his villa at Careggi in 1464, on the first
+of August. Shortly before his death he had lost his favourite son,
+Giovanni; and had been carried through his palace, in the Via Larga,
+sighing that it was now too large a house for so small a family.
+Entitled by public decree _Pater Patriae_, he was buried at his own
+request without any pompous funeral, beneath a simple marble in front
+of the high altar of San Lorenzo.
+
+  [Illustration: THE BADIA OF FIESOLE]
+
+Cosimo was succeeded, not without some opposition from rivals to the
+Medici within their own party, by his son Piero. Piero's health was in
+a shattered condition--il Gottoso, he was called--and for the most
+part he lived in retirement at Careggi, occasionally carried into
+Florence in his litter, leaving his brilliant young son Lorenzo to act
+as a more ornamental figure-head for the State. The personal
+appearance of Piero is very different to that of his father or son; in
+his portrait bust by Mino da Fiesole in the Bargello, and in the
+picture by Bronzino in the National Gallery, there is less craft and a
+certain air of frank and manly resolution. In his daring move in
+support of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, when, on the death of Francesco, it
+seemed for a moment that the Milanese dynasty was tottering, and his
+promptness in crushing the formidable conspiracy of the "mountain"
+against himself, Piero showed that sickness had not destroyed his
+faculty of energetic action at the critical moment. He completely
+followed out his father's policy, drawing still tighter the bonds
+which united Florence with Milan and Naples, lavishing money on the
+decoration of the city and the corruption of the people. The
+opposition was headed by Luca Pitti, Agnolo Acciaiuoli, Dietisalvi
+Neroni and others, who had been reckoned as Cosimo's friends, but who
+were now intriguing with Venice and Ferrara to overthrow his son.
+Hoping to eclipse the Medici in their own special field of artistic
+display and wholesale corruption, Luca Pitti commenced that enormous
+palace which still bears the name of his family, filled it with bravos
+and refugees, resorted to all means fair or foul to get money to build
+and corrupt. It seemed for a moment that the adherents of the Mountain
+(as the opponents of the Medici were called, from this highly situated
+Pitti Palace) and the adherents of the Plain (where the comparatively
+modest Medicean palace--now the Palazzo Riccardi--stood in the Via
+Larga) might renew the old factions of Blacks and Whites. But in the
+late summer of 1466 the party of the Mountain was finally crushed;
+they were punished with more mercy than the Medici generally showed,
+and Luca Pitti was practically pardoned and left to a dishonourable
+old age in the unfinished palace, which was in after years to become
+the residence of the successors of his foes. About the same time
+Filippo Strozzi and other exiles were allowed to return, and another
+great palace began to rear its walls in the Via Tornabuoni, in after
+years to be a centre of anti-Medicean intrigue.
+
+The brilliancy and splendour of Lorenzo's youth--he who was hereafter
+to be known in history as the Magnificent--sheds a rich glow of colour
+round the closing months of Piero's pain-haunted life. Piero himself
+had been content with a Florentine wife, Lucrezia dei Tornabuoni, and
+he had married his daughters to Florentine citizens, Guglielmo Pazzi
+and Bernardo Rucellai; but Lorenzo must make a great foreign match,
+and was therefore given Clarice Orsini, the daughter of a great Roman
+noble. The splendid pageant in the Piazza Santa Croce, and the even
+more gorgeous marriage festivities in the palace in the Via Larga,
+were followed by a triumphal progress of the young bridegroom through
+Tuscany and the Riviera to Milan, to the court of that faithful ally
+of his house, but most abominable monster, Giovanni Maria Sforza.
+Piero died on December 3rd, 1469, and, like Cosimo, desired the simple
+burial which his sons piously gave him. His plain but beautiful
+monument designed by Verrocchio is in the older sacristy of San
+Lorenzo, where he lies with his brother Giovanni.
+
+"The second day after his death," writes Lorenzo in his diary,
+"although I, Lorenzo, was very young, in fact only in my twenty-first
+year, the leading men of the city and of the ruling party came to our
+house to express their sorrow for our misfortune, and to persuade me
+to take upon myself the charge of the government of the city, as my
+grandfather and father had already done. This proposal being contrary
+to the instincts of my age, and entailing great labour and danger, I
+accepted against my will, and only for the sake of protecting my
+friends, and our own fortunes, for in Florence one can ill live in the
+possession of wealth without control of the government."[17]
+
+  [17] From Mr Armstrong's _Lorenzo de' Medici_.
+
+These two youths, Lorenzo and Giuliano, were now, to all intents and
+purposes, lords and masters of Florence. Lorenzo was the ruling
+spirit; outwardly, in spite of his singularly harsh and
+unprepossessing appearance, devoted to the cult of love and beauty,
+delighting in sport and every kind of luxury, he was inwardly as hard
+and cruel as tempered steel, and firmly fixed from the outset upon
+developing the hardly defined prepotency of his house into a complete
+personal despotism. You may see him as a gallant boy in Benozzo
+Gozzoli's fresco in the palace of his father and grandfather, riding
+under a bay tree, and crowned with roses; and then, in early manhood,
+in Botticelli's famous Adoration of the Magi; and lastly, as a fully
+developed, omniscient and all-embracing tyrant, in that truly terrible
+picture by Vasari in the Uffizi, constructed out of contemporary
+materials--surely as eloquent a sermon against the iniquity of tyranny
+as the pages of Savonarola's _Reggimento di Firenze_. Giuliano was a
+kindlier and gentler soul, completely given up to pleasure and
+athletics; he lives for us still in many a picture from the hand of
+Sandro Botticelli, sometimes directly portrayed, as in the painting
+which Morelli bequeathed to Bergamo, more often idealised as Mars or
+as Hermes; his love for the fair Simonetta inspired Botticellian
+allegories and the most finished and courtly stanzas of Poliziano. The
+sons of both these brothers were destined to sit upon the throne of
+the Fisherman.
+
+A long step in despotism was gained in 1470, when the two great
+Councils of the People and the Commune were deprived of all their
+functions, which were now invested in the thoroughly Medicean Council
+of the Hundred. The next year Lorenzo's friend and ally, Galeazzo
+Maria Sforza, with his Duchess and courtiers, came to Florence. They
+were sumptuously received in the Medicean palace. The licence and
+wantonness of these Milanese scandalised even the lax Florentines, and
+largely added to the growing corruption of the city. The accidental
+burning of Santo Spirito during the performance of a miracle play was
+regarded as a certain sign of divine wrath. During his stay in
+Florence the Duke, in contrast with whom the worst of the Medici seems
+almost a saint, sat to one of the Pollaiuoli for the portrait still
+seen in the Uffizi; by comparison with him even Lorenzo looks
+charming; at the back of the picture there is a figure of Charity--but
+the Duke has very appropriately driven it to the wall. Unpopular
+though this Medicean-Sforza alliance was in Florence, it was
+undoubtedly one of the safe-guards of the harmony which,
+superficially, still existed between the five great powers of Italy.
+When Galeazzo Maria met the fate he so richly deserved, and was
+stabbed to death in the Church of San Stefano at Milan on December
+20th, 1476, Pope Sixtus gave solemn utterance to the general dismay:
+_Oggi è morta la pace d'Italia._
+
+But Sixtus and his nephews did not in their hearts desire peace in
+Italy, and were plotting against Lorenzo with the Pazzi, who, although
+united to the Medici by marriage, had secret and growing grievances
+against them. On the morning of Sunday April 26th, 1478, the
+conspirators set upon the two brothers at Mass in the Duomo; Giuliano
+perished beneath nineteen dagger-stabs; Lorenzo escaped with a slight
+wound in the neck. The Archbishop Salviati of Pisa in the meantime
+attempted to seize the Palace of the Priors, but was arrested by the
+Gonfaloniere, and promptly hung out of the window for his trouble.
+Jacopo Pazzi rode madly through the streets with an armed force,
+calling the people to arms, with the old shout of _Popolo e Libertà_,
+but was only answered by the ringing cries of _Palle, Palle_.[18] The
+vengeance taken by the people upon the conspirators was so prompt and
+terrible that Lorenzo had little left him to do (though that little he
+did to excess, punishing the innocent with the guilty); and the result
+of the plot simply was to leave him alone in the government, securely
+enthroned above the splash of blood. The Pope appears not to have
+been actually privy to the murder, but he promptly took up the cause
+of the murderers. It was followed by a general break-up of the Italian
+peace and a disastrous war, carried on mainly by mercenary soldiers,
+in which all the powers of Italy were more or less engaged; and
+Florence was terribly hard pressed by the allied forces of Naples and
+Rome. The plague broke out in the city; Lorenzo was practically
+deserted by his allies, and on the brink of financial ruin. Then was
+it that he did one of the most noteworthy, perhaps the noblest, of the
+actions of his life, and saved himself and the State by voluntarily
+going to Naples and putting himself in the power of King Ferrante, an
+infamous tyrant, who would readily have murdered his guest, if it had
+seemed to his advantage to do so. But, like all the Italians of the
+Renaissance, Ferrante was open to reason, and the eloquence of the
+Magnifico won him over to grant an honourable peace, with which
+Lorenzo returned to Florence in March 1480. "If Lorenzo was great when
+he left Florence," writes Machiavelli, "he returned much greater than
+ever; and he was received with such joy by the city as his great
+qualities and his fresh merits deserved, seeing that he had exposed
+his own life to restore peace to his country." Botticelli's noble
+allegory of the olive-decked Medicean Pallas, taming the Centaur of
+war and disorder, appears to have been painted in commemoration of
+this event. In the following August the Turks landed in Italy and
+stormed Otranto, and the need of union, in the face of "the common
+enemy Ottoman," reconciled the Pope to Florence, and secured for the
+time an uneasy peace among the powers of Italy.
+
+  [18] The _Palle_, it will be remembered, were the golden balls on the
+  Medicean arms, and hence the rallying cry of their adherents.
+
+Lorenzo's power in Florence and influence throughout Italy was now
+secure. By the institution in 1480 of a Council of Seventy, a
+permanent council to manage and control the election of the Signoria
+(with two special committees drawn from the Seventy every six months,
+the _Otto di pratica_ for foreign affairs and the _Dodici Procuratori_
+for internal), the State was firmly established in his hands--the
+older councils still remaining, as was usual in every Florentine
+reformation of government. Ten years later, in 1490, this council
+showed signs of independence; and Lorenzo therefore reduced the
+authority of electing the Signoria to a small committee with a
+reforming Balìa of seventeen, of which he was one. Had he lived
+longer, he would undoubtedly have crowned his policy either by being
+made Gonfaloniere for life, or by obtaining some similar
+constitutional confirmation of his position as head of the State.
+Externally his influence was thrown into the scale for peace, and, on
+the death of Sixtus IV. in 1484, he established friendly relations and
+a family alliance with the new Pontiff, Innocent VIII. Sarzana with
+Pietrasanta were won back for Florence, and portions of the Sienese
+territory which had been lost during the war with Naples and the
+Church; a virtual protectorate was established over portions of Umbria
+and Romagna, where the daggers of assassins daily emptied the thrones
+of minor tyrants. Two attempts on his life failed. In the last years
+of his foreign policy and diplomacy he showed himself truly the
+magnificent. East and West united to do him honour; the Sultan of the
+Turks and the Soldan of Egypt sent ambassadors and presents; the
+rulers of France and Germany treated him as an equal. Soon the torrent
+of foreign invasion was to sweep over the Alps and inundate all the
+"Ausonian" land; Milan and Naples were ready to rend each other;
+Ludovico Sforza was plotting his own rise upon the ruin of Italy, and
+already intriguing with France; but, for the present, Lorenzo
+succeeded in maintaining the balance of power between the five great
+Italian states, which seemed as though they might present a united
+front for mutual defence against the coming of the barbarians.
+
+_Sarebbe impossibile avesse avuto un tiranno migliore e più
+piacevole_, writes Guicciardini: "Florence could not have had a better
+or more delightful tyrant." The externals of life were splendid and
+gorgeous indeed in the city where Lorenzo ruled, but everything was in
+his hands and had virtually to proceed from him. His spies were
+everywhere; marriages might only be arranged and celebrated according
+to his good pleasure; the least sign of independence was promptly and
+severely repressed. By perpetual festivities and splendid shows, he
+strove to keep the minds of the citizens contented and occupied;
+tournaments, pageants, masques and triumphs filled the streets; and
+the strains of licentious songs, of which many were Lorenzo's own
+composition, helped to sap the morality of that people which Dante had
+once dreamed of as _sobria e pudica_. But around the Magnifico were
+grouped the greatest artists and scholars of the age, who found in him
+an enlightened Maecenas and most charming companion. _Amava
+maravigliosamente qualunque era in una arte eccellente_, writes
+Machiavelli of him; and that word--_maravigliosamente_--so entirely
+characteristic of Lorenzo and his ways, occurs again and again,
+repeated with studied persistence, in the chapter which closes
+Machiavelli's History. He was said to have sounded the depths of
+Platonic philosophy; he was a true poet, within certain limitations;
+few men have been more keenly alive to beauty in all its
+manifestations, physical and spiritual alike. Though profoundly
+immoral, _nelle cose veneree maravigliosamente involto_, he was a
+tolerable husband, and the fondest of fathers with his children, whom
+he adored. The delight of his closing days was the elevation of his
+favourite son, Giovanni, to the Cardinalate at the age of fourteen; it
+gave the Medici a voice in the Curia like the other princes of Europe,
+and pleased all Florence; but more than half Lorenzo's joy proceeded
+from paternal pride and love, and the letter of advice which he wrote
+for his son on the occasion shows both father and boy in a very
+amiable, even edifying light. And yet this same man had ruined the
+happiness of countless homes, and had even seized upon the doweries of
+Florentine maidens to fill his own coffers and pay his mercenaries.
+
+But the _bel viver italiano_ of the Quattrocento, with all its
+loveliness and all its immorality--more lovely and far less immoral in
+Florence than anywhere else--was drawing to an end. A new prophet had
+arisen, and, from the pulpits of San Marco and Santa Maria del Fiore,
+the stern Dominican, Fra Girolamo Savonarola, denounced the corruption
+of the day and announced that speedy judgment was at hand; the Church
+should be chastised, and that speedily, and renovation should follow.
+Prodigies were seen. The lions tore and rent each other in their
+cages; lightning struck the cupola of the Duomo on the side towards
+the Medicean palace; while in his villa at Careggi the Magnifico lay
+dying, watched over by his sister Bianca and the poet Poliziano. A
+visit from the young Pico della Mirandola cheered his last hours. He
+received the Last Sacraments, with every sign of contrition and
+humility. Then Savonarola came to his bedside. There are two accounts
+of what happened between these two terrible men, the corruptor of
+Florence and the prophet of renovation, and they are altogether
+inconsistent. The ultimate source of the one is apparently
+Savonarola's fellow-martyr, Fra Silvestro, an utterly untrustworthy
+witness; that of the other, Lorenzo's intimate, Poliziano. According
+to Savonarola's biographers and adherents, Lorenzo, overwhelmed with
+remorse and terror, had sent for the Frate to give him the absolution
+which his courtly confessor dared not refuse (_io non ho mai trovato
+uno che sia vero frate, se non lui_); and when the Dominican, seeming
+to soar above his natural height, bade him restore liberty to
+Florence, the Magnifico sullenly turned his back upon him and shortly
+afterwards died in despair.[19] According to Poliziano, an eyewitness
+and an absolutely whole-hearted adherent of the Medici, Fra Girolamo
+simply spoke a few words of priestly exhortation to the dying man;
+then, as he turned away, Lorenzo cried, "Your blessing, father, before
+you depart" (_Heus, benedictionem, Pater, priusquam a nobis
+proficisceris_) and the two together repeated word for word the
+Church's prayers for the departing; then Savonarola returned to his
+convent, and Lorenzo passed away in peace and consolation. Reverently
+and solemnly the body was brought from Careggi to Florence, rested for
+a while in San Marco, and was then buried, with all external
+simplicity, with his murdered brother in San Lorenzo. It was the
+beginning of April 1492, and the Magnifico was only in his
+forty-fourth year. The words of old Sixtus must have risen to the lips
+of many: _Oggi è morta la pace d'Italia_. "This man," said Ferrante of
+Naples, "lived long enough to make good his own title to immortality,
+but not long enough for Italy."
+
+  [19] The familiar legend that Lorenzo told Savonarola that the three
+  sins which lay heaviest on his conscience were the sack of Volterra,
+  the robbery of the Monte delle Doti, and the vengeance he had taken
+  for the Pazzi conspiracy, is only valuable as showing what were
+  popularly supposed by the Florentines to be his greatest crimes.
+
+Lorenzo left three sons--Piero, who virtually succeeded him in the
+same rather undefined princedom; the young Cardinal Giovanni; and
+Giuliano. Their father was wont to call Piero the "mad," Giovanni the
+"wise," Giuliano the "good"; and to a certain extent their after-lives
+corresponded with his characterisation. There was also a boy Giulio,
+Lorenzo's nephew, an illegitimate child of Giuliano the elder by a
+girl of the lower class; him Lorenzo left to the charge of Cardinal
+Giovanni--the future Pope Clement to the future Pope Leo. Piero had
+none of his father's abilities, and was not the man to guide the ship
+of State through the storm that was rising; he was a wild licentious
+young fellow, devoted to sport and athletics, with a great shock of
+dark hair; he was practically the only handsome member of his family,
+as you may see in a peculiarly fascinating Botticellian portrait in
+the Uffizi, where he is holding a medallion of his great grandfather
+Cosimo, and gazing out of the picture with a rather pathetic
+expression, as if the Florentines who set a price upon his head had
+misunderstood him.
+
+Piero's folly at once began to undo his father's work. A part of
+Lorenzo's policy had been to keep his family united, including those
+not belonging to the reigning branch. There were two young Medici then
+in the city, about Piero's own age; Lorenzo and Giovanni di Pier
+Francesco, the grandsons of Cosimo's brother Lorenzo (you may see
+Giovanni with his father in a picture by Filippino Lippi in the
+Uffizi). Lorenzo the Magnificent had made a point of keeping on good
+terms with them, for they were beloved of the people. Giovanni was
+destined, in a way, to play the part of Banquo to the Magnificent's
+Macbeth, had there been a Florentine prophet to tell him, "Thou shalt
+get kings though thou be none." But Piero disliked the two; at a dance
+he struck Giovanni, and then, when the brothers showed resentment, he
+arrested both and, not daring to take their lives, confined them to
+their villas. And these were times when a stronger head than Piero's
+might well have reeled. Italy's day had ended, and she was now to be
+the battle-ground for the gigantic forces of the monarchies of Europe.
+That same year in which Lorenzo died, Alexander VI. was elected to the
+Papacy he had so shamelessly bought. A mysterious terror fell upon the
+people; an agony of apprehension consumed their rulers throughout the
+length and breadth of the land. In 1494 the crash came. The old King
+Ferrante of Naples died, and his successor Alfonso prepared to meet
+the torrent of French arms which Ludovico Sforza, the usurping Duke of
+Milan, had invited into Italy.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In art and in letters, as well as in life and general conduct, this
+epoch of the Quattrocento is one of the most marvellous chapters in
+the history of human thought; the Renaissance as a wave broke over
+Italy, and from Italy surged on to the bounds of Europe. And of this
+"discovery by man of himself and of the world," Florence was the
+centre; in its hothouse of learning and culture the rarest
+personalities flourished, and its strangest and most brilliant flower,
+in whose hard brilliancy a suggestion of poison lurked, was Lorenzo
+the Magnificent himself.
+
+In both art and letters, the Renaissance had fully commenced before
+the accession of the Medici to power. Ghiberti's first bronze gates of
+the Baptistery and Masaccio's frescoes in the Carmine were executed
+under the regime of the _nobili popolani_, the Albizzi and their
+allies. Many of the men whom the Medici swept relentlessly from their
+path were in the fore-front of the movement, such as the noble and
+generous Palla Strozzi, one of the reformers of the Florentine Studio,
+who brought the Greek, Emanuel Chrysolaras, at the close of the
+fourteenth century, to make Florence the centre of Italian Hellenism.
+Palla lavished his wealth in the hunting of codices, and at last, when
+banished on Cosimo's return, died in harness at Padua at the venerable
+age of ninety-two. His house had always been full of learned men, and
+his reform of the university had brought throngs of students to
+Florence. Put under bounds for ten years at Padua, he lived the life
+of an ancient philosopher and of exemplary Christian virtue.
+Persecuted at the end of every ten years with a new sentence, the
+last--of ten more years--when he was eighty-two; robbed by death of
+his wife and sons; he bore all with the utmost patience and fortitude,
+until, in Vespasiano's words, "arrived at the age of ninety-two years,
+in perfect health of body and of mind, he gave up his soul to his
+Redeemer like a most faithful and good Christian."
+
+In 1401, the first year of the fifteenth century, the competition was
+announced for the second gates of the Baptistery, which marks the
+beginning of Renaissance sculpture; and the same year witnessed the
+birth of Masaccio, who, in the words of Leonardo da Vinci, "showed
+with his perfect work how those painters who follow aught but Nature,
+the mistress of the masters, laboured in vain," Morelli calls this
+Quattrocento the epoch of "character"; "that is, the period when it
+was the principal aim of art to seize and represent the outward
+appearances of persons and things, determined by inward and moral
+conditions." The intimate connection of arts and crafts is
+characteristic of the Quattrocento, as also the mutual interaction of
+art with art. Sculpture was in advance of painting in the opening
+stage of the century, and, indeed, influenced it profoundly
+throughout; about the middle of the century they met, and ran
+henceforth hand in hand. Many of the painters and sculptors, as,
+notably, Ghiberti and Botticelli, had been apprentices in the
+workshops of the goldsmiths; nor would the greatest painters disdain
+to undertake the adornment of a _cassone_, or chest for wedding
+presents, nor the most illustrious sculptor decline a commission for
+the button of a prelate's cope or some mere trifle of household
+furniture. The medals in the National Museum and the metal work on the
+exterior of the Strozzi Palace are as typical of the art of
+Renaissance Florence as the grandest statues and most elaborate
+altar-pieces.
+
+  [Illustration: IN THE SCULPTORS' WORKSHOP
+  BY NANNI DI BANCO
+  (For the Guild of Masters in Stone and Timber)]
+
+With the work of the individual artists we shall become better
+acquainted in subsequent chapters. Here we can merely name their
+leaders. In architecture and sculpture respectively, Filippo
+Brunelleschi (1377-1446) and Donatello (1386-1466) are the ruling
+spirits of the age. Their mutual friendship and brotherly rivalry
+almost recall the loves of Dante and Cavalcanti in an earlier day.
+Although Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455) justly won the competition for
+the second gates of the Baptistery, it is now thought that Filippo ran
+his successful rival much more closely than the critics of an earlier
+day supposed. Mr Perkins remarks that "indirectly Brunelleschi was the
+master of all the great painters and sculptors of his time, for he
+taught them how to apply science to art, and so far both Ghiberti and
+Donatello were his pupils, but the last was almost literally so, since
+the great architect was not only his friend, but also his counsellor
+and guide." Contemporaneous with these three _spiriti magni_ in their
+earlier works, and even to some extent anticipating them, is Nanni di
+Banco (died in 1421), a most excellent master, both in large
+monumental statues and in bas-reliefs, whose works are to be seen and
+loved outside and inside the Duomo, and in the niches round San
+Michele in Orto. A pleasant friendship united him with Donatello,
+although to regard him as that supreme master's pupil and follower,
+as Vasari does, is an anachronism. To this same earlier portion of the
+Quattrocento belong Leo Battista Alberti (1405-1472), a rare genius,
+but a wandering stone who, as an architect, accomplished comparatively
+little; Michelozzo Michelozzi (1396-1472), who worked as a sculptor
+with Ghiberti and Donatello, but is best known as the favoured
+architect of the Medici, for whom he built the palace so often
+mentioned in these pages, and now known as the Palazzo Riccardi, and
+the convent of San Marco; and Luca della Robbia (1399-1482), that
+beloved master of marble music, whose enamelled terra-cotta Madonnas
+are a perpetual fund of the purest delight. To Michelozzo and Luca in
+collaboration we owe the bronze gates of the Duomo sacristy, a work
+only inferior to Ghiberti's "Gates of Paradise."
+
+Slightly later come Donatello's great pupils, Desiderio da Settignano
+(1428-1464), Andrea Verrocchio (1435-1488), and Antonio Pollaiuolo
+(1429-1498). The two latter are almost equally famous as painters.
+Contemporaneous with them are Mino da Fiesole, Bernardo and Antonio
+Rossellino, Giuliano da San Gallo, Giuliano and Benedetto da Maiano,
+of whom the last-named was the first architect of the Strozzi Palace.
+The last great architect of the Quattrocento is Simone del Pollaiuolo,
+known as Cronaca (1457-1508); and its last great sculptor is Andrea
+della Robbia, Luca's nephew, who was born in 1435, and lived on until
+1525. Andrea's best works--and they are very numerous indeed, in the
+same enamelled terra-cotta--hardly yield in charm and fascination to
+those of Luca himself; in some of them, devotional art seems to reach
+its last perfection in sculpture. Giovanni, Andrea's son, and others
+of the family carried on the tradition--with cruder colours and less
+delicate feeling.
+
+Masaccio (1401-1428), one of "the inheritors of unfulfilled renown,"
+is the first great painter of the Renaissance, and bears much the same
+relation to the fifteenth as Giotto to the fourteenth century.
+Vasari's statement that Masaccio's master, Masolino, was Ghiberti's
+assistant appears to be incorrect; but it illustrates the dependence
+of the painting of this epoch upon sculpture. Masaccio's frescoes in
+the Carmine, which became the school of all Italian painting, were
+entirely executed before the Medicean regime. The Dominican, Fra
+Angelico da Fiesole (1387-1455), seems in his San Marco frescoes to
+bring the denizens of the Empyrean, of which the mediæval mystics
+dreamed, down to earth to dwell among the black and white robed
+children of St Dominic. The Carmelite, Fra Lippo Lippi (1406-1469),
+the favourite of Cosimo, inferior to the angelical painter in
+spiritual insight, had a keener eye for the beauty of the external
+world and a surer touch upon reality. His buoyant humour and excellent
+colouring make "the glad monk's gift" one of the most acceptable that
+the Quattrocento has to offer us. Andrea del Castagno (died in 1457)
+and Domenico Veneziano (died in 1461), together with Paolo Uccello
+(died in 1475), were all absorbed in scientific researches with an eye
+to the extension of the resources of their art; but the two former
+found time to paint a few masterpieces in their kind--especially a
+Cenacolo by Andrea in Santa Appollonia, which is the grandest
+representation of its sublime theme, until the time that Leonardo da
+Vinci painted on the walls of the Dominican convent at Milan. Problems
+of the anatomical construction of the human frame and the rendering of
+movement occupied Antonio Pollaiuolo (1429-1498) and Andrea Verrocchio
+(1435-1488); their work was taken up and completed a little later by
+two greater men, Luca Signorelli of Cortona and Leonardo da Vinci.
+
+The Florentine painting of this epoch culminates in the work of two
+men--Sandro di Mariano Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli
+(1447-1510), and Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494). If the greatest
+pictures were painted poems, as some have held, then Sandro
+Botticelli's masterpieces would be among the greatest of all time. In
+his rendering of religious themes, in his intensely poetic and
+strangely wistful attitude towards the fair myths of antiquity, and in
+his Neo-Platonic mingling of the two, he is the most complete and
+typical exponent of the finest spirit of the Quattrocento, to which,
+in spite of the date of his death, his art entirely belongs.
+Domenico's function, on the other hand, is to translate the external
+pomp and circumstance of his times into the most uninspired of painted
+prose, but with enormous technical skill and with considerable power
+of portraiture; this he effected above all in his ostensibly religious
+frescoes in Santa Maria Novella and Santa Trinità. Elsewhere he shows
+a certain pathetic sympathy with humbler life, as in his Santa Fina
+frescoes at San Gemignano, and in the admirable Adoration of the
+Shepherds in the Accademia; but this is a less characteristic vein.
+Filippino Lippi (1457-1504), the son of the Carmelite and the pupil of
+Botticelli, has a certain wayward charm, especially in his earlier
+works, but as a rule falls much below his master. He may be regarded
+as the last direct inheritor of the traditions of Masaccio. Associated
+with these are two lesser men, who lived considerably beyond the
+limits of the fifteenth century, but whose artistic methods never went
+past it; Piero di Cosimo (1462-1521) and Lorenzo di Credi (1459-1537).
+The former (called after Cosimo Rosselli, his master) was one of the
+most piquant personalities in the art world of Florence, as all
+readers of _Romola_ know. As a painter, he has been very much
+overestimated; at his best, he is a sort of Botticelli, with the
+Botticellian grace and the Botticellian poetry almost all left out. He
+was magnificent at designing pageants; and of one of his exploits in
+this kind, we shall hear more presently. Lorenzo di Credi,
+Verrocchio's favourite pupil, was later, like Botticelli and others,
+to fall under the spell of Fra Girolamo; his pictures breathe a true
+religious sentiment and are very carefully finished; but for the most
+part, though there are exceptions, they lack virility.
+
+Before this epoch closed, the two greatest heroes of Florentine art
+had appeared upon the scenes, but their great work lay still in the
+future. Leonardo da Vinci (born in 1452) had learned to paint in the
+school of Verrocchio; but painting was to occupy but a small portion
+of his time and labour. His mind roamed freely over every field of
+human activity, and plunged deeply into every sphere of human thought;
+nor is he adequately represented even by the greatest of the pictures
+that he has left. There is nothing of him now in Florence, save a few
+drawings in the Uffizi and an unfinished picture of the Epiphany.
+Leonardo finished little, and, with that little, time and man have
+dealt hardly. Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in the Casentino in
+1475, and nurtured among the stone quarries of Settignano. At the age
+of thirteen, his father apprenticed him to the Ghirlandaii, Domenico
+and his brother David; and, with his friend and fellow-student,
+Francesco Granacci, the boy began to frequent the gardens of the
+Medici, near San Marco, where in the midst of a rich collection of
+antiquities Donatello's pupil and successor, Bertoldo, directed a kind
+of Academy. Here Michelangelo attracted the attention of Lorenzo
+himself, by the head of an old satyr which he had hammered out of a
+piece of marble that fell to his hand; and the Magnifico took him into
+his household. This youthful period in the great master's career was
+occupied in drinking in culture from the Medicean circle, in studying
+the antique and, of the moderns, especially the works of Donatello and
+Masaccio. But, with the exception of a few early fragments from his
+hand, Michelangelo's work commenced with his first visit to Rome, in
+1496, and belongs to the following epoch.
+
+Turning from art to letters, the Quattrocento is an intermediate
+period between the mainly Tuscan literary movement of the fourteenth
+century and the general Italian literature of the sixteenth. The first
+part of this century is the time of the discovery of the old authors,
+of the copying of manuscripts (printing was not introduced into
+Florence until 1471), of the eager search for classical relics and
+antiquities, the comparative neglect of Italian when Latinity became
+the test of all. Florence was the centre of the Humanism of the
+Renaissance, the revival of Grecian culture, the blending of
+Christianity and Paganism, the aping of antiquity in theory and in
+practice. In the pages of Vespasiano we are given a series of lifelike
+portraits of the scholars of this epoch, who thronged to Florence,
+served the State as Secretary of the Republic or occupied chairs in
+her newly reorganised university, or basked in the sun of Strozzian or
+Medicean patronage. Niccolò Niccoli, who died in 1437, is one of the
+most typical of these scholars; an ardent collector of ancient
+manuscripts, his library, purchased after his death by Cosimo dei
+Medici, forms the nucleus of the Biblioteca Laurenziana. His house was
+adorned with all that was held most choice and precious; he always
+wore long sweeping red robes, and had his table covered with ancient
+vases and precious Greek cups and the like. In fact he played the
+ancient sage to such perfection that simply to watch him eat his
+dinner was a liberal education in itself! _A vederlo in tavola, così
+antico come era, era una gentilezza._
+
+Vespasiano tells a delightful yarn of how one fine day this Niccolò
+Niccoli, "who was another Socrates or another Cato for continence and
+virtue," was taking a constitutional round the Palazzo del Podestà,
+when he chanced to espy a youth of most comely aspect, one who was
+entirely devoted to worldly pleasures and delights, young Piero Pazzi.
+Calling him and learning his name, Niccolò proceeded to question him
+as to his profession. "Having a high old time," answered the ingenuous
+youth: _attendo a darmi buon tempo_. "Being thy father's son and so
+handsome," said the Sage severely, "it is a shame that thou dost not
+set thyself to learn the Latin language, which would be a great
+ornament to thee; and if thou dost not learn it, thou wilt be esteemed
+of no account; yea, when the flower of thy youth is past, thou shalt
+find thyself without any _virtù_." Messer Piero was converted on the
+spot; Niccolò straightway found him a master and provided him with
+books; and the pleasure-loving youth became a scholar and a patron of
+scholars. Vespasiano assures us that, if he had lived, _lo
+inconveniente che seguitò_--so he euphoniously terms the Pazzi
+conspiracy--would never have happened.
+
+Leonardo Bruni is the nearest approach to a really great figure in the
+Florentine literary world of the first half of the century. His
+translations of Plato and Aristotle, especially the former, mark an
+epoch. His Latin history of Florence shows genuine critical insight;
+but he is, perhaps, best known at the present day by his little Life
+of Dante in Italian, a charming and valuable sketch, which has
+preserved for us some fragments of Dantesque letters and several bits
+of really precious information about the divine poet, which seem to
+be authentic and which we do not find elsewhere. Leonardo appears to
+have undertaken it as a kind of holiday task, for recreation after the
+work of composing his more ponderous history. As Secretary of the
+Republic he exercised considerable political influence; his fame was
+so great that people came to Florence only to look at him; on his
+death in 1444, he was solemnly crowned on the bier as poet laureate,
+and buried in Santa Croce with stately pomp and applauded funeral
+orations. Leonardo's successors, Carlo Marsuppini (like him, an
+Aretine by birth) and Poggio Bracciolini--the one noted for his frank
+paganism, the other for the foulness of his literary invective--are
+less attractive figures; though the latter was no less famous and
+influential in his day. Giannozzo Manetti, who pronounced Bruni's
+funeral oration, was noted for his eloquence and incorruptibility, and
+stands out prominently amidst the scholars and humanists by virtue of
+his nobleness of character; like that other hero of the new learning,
+Palla Strozzi, he was driven into exile and persecuted by the
+Mediceans.
+
+Far more interesting are the men of light and learning who gathered
+round Lorenzo dei Medici in the latter half of the century. This is
+the epoch of the Platonic Academy, which Marsilio Ficino had founded
+under the auspices of Cosimo. The discussions held in the convent
+retreat among the forests of Camaldoli, the meetings in the Badia at
+the foot of Fiesole, the mystical banquets celebrated in Lorenzo's
+villa at Careggi in honour of the anniversary of Plato's birth and
+death, may have added little to the sum of man's philosophic thought;
+but the Neo-Platonic religion of love and beauty, which was there
+proclaimed to the modern world, has left eternal traces in the poetic
+literature both of Italy and of England. Spenser and Shelley might
+have sat with the nine guests, whose number honoured the nine Muses,
+at the famous Platonic banquet at Careggi, of which Marsilio Ficino
+himself has left us an account in his commentary on the _Symposium_.
+You may read a later Italian echo of it, when Marsilio Ficino had
+passed away and his academy was a thing of the past, in the
+impassioned and rapturous discourse on love and beauty poured forth by
+Pietro Bembo, at that wonderful daybreak which ends the discussions of
+Urbino's courtiers in Castiglione's treatise. In a creed that could
+find one formula to cover both the reception of the Stigmata by St
+Francis and the mystical flights of the Platonic Socrates and
+Plotinus; that could unite the Sibyls and Diotima with the Magdalene
+and the Virgin Martyrs; many a perplexed Italian of that epoch might
+find more than temporary rest for his soul.
+
+Simultaneously with this new Platonic movement there came a great
+revival of Italian literature, alike in poetry and in prose; what
+Carducci calls _il rinascimento della vita italiana nella forma
+classica_. The earlier humanists had scorned, or at least neglected
+the language of Dante; and the circle that surrounded Lorenzo was
+undoubtedly instrumental in this Italian reaction. Cristoforo Landini,
+one of the principal members of the Platonic Academy, now wrote the
+first Renaissance commentary upon the _Divina Commedia_; Leo Battista
+Alberti, also a leader in these Platonic disputations, defended the
+dignity of the Italian language, as Dante himself had done in an
+earlier day. Lorenzo himself compiled the so-called _Raccolta
+Aragonese_ of early Italian lyrics, and sent them to Frederick of
+Aragon, together with a letter full of enthusiasm for the Tuscan
+tongue, and with critical remarks on the individual poets of the
+thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Upon the popular poetry of
+Tuscany Lorenzo himself, and his favourite Angelo Ambrogini of
+Montepulciano, better known as Poliziano, founded a new school of
+Italian song. Luigi Pulci, the gay scoffer and cynical sceptic,
+entertained the festive gatherings in the Medicean palace with his
+wild tales, and, in his _Morgante Maggiore_, was practically the first
+to work up the popular legends of Orlando and the Paladins into a
+noteworthy poem--a poem of which Savonarola and his followers were
+afterwards to burn every copy that fell into their hands.
+
+Poliziano is at once the truest classical scholar, and, with the
+possible exception of Boiardo (who belongs to Ferrara, and does not
+come within the scope of the present volume), the greatest Italian
+poet of the fifteenth century. He is, indeed, the last and most
+perfect fruit of Florentine Humanism. His father, Benedetto Ambrogini,
+had been murdered in Montepulciano by the faction hostile to the
+Medici; and the boy Angelo, coming to Florence, and studying under
+Ficino and his colleagues, was received into Lorenzo's household as
+tutor to the younger Piero. His lectures at the Studio attracted
+students from all Europe, and his labours in the field of textual
+criticism won a fame that has lasted to the present day. In Italian he
+wrote the _Orfeo_ in two days for performance at Mantua, when he was
+eighteen, a lyrical tragedy which stamps him as the father of Italian
+dramatic opera; the scene of the descent of Orpheus into Hades
+contains lyrical passages of great melodiousness. Shortly before the
+Pazzi conspiracy, he composed his famous _Stanze_ in celebration of a
+tournament given by Giuliano dei Medici, and in honour of the _bella
+Simonetta_. There is absolutely no "fundamental brain work" about
+these exquisitely finished stanzas; but they are full of dainty
+mythological pictures quite in the Botticellian style, overladen,
+perhaps, with adulation of the reigning house and its _ben nato
+Lauro_. In his lyrics he gave artistic form to the _rispetti_ and
+_strambotti_ of the people, and wrote exceedingly musical _ballate_,
+or _canzoni a ballo_, which are the best of their kind in the whole
+range of Italian poetry. There is, however, little genuine passion in
+his love poems for his lady, Madonna Ippolita Leoncina of Prato;
+though in all that he wrote there is, as Villari puts it, "a fineness
+of taste that was almost Greek."
+
+Lorenzo dei Medici stands second to his friend as a poet; but he is a
+good second. His early affection for the fair Lucrezia Donati, with
+its inevitable sonnets and a commentary somewhat in the manner of
+Dante's _Vita Nuova_, is more fanciful than earnest, although
+Poliziano assures us of
+
+     "La lunga fedeltà del franco Lauro."
+
+But Lorenzo's intense love of external nature, his power of close
+observation and graphic description, are more clearly shown in such
+poems as the _Caccia col Falcone_ and the _Ambra_, written among the
+woods and hills in the country round his new villa of Poggio a Caiano.
+Elsewhere he gives free scope to the animal side of his sensual
+nature, and in his famous _Canti carnascialeschi_, songs to be sung at
+carnival and in masquerades, he at times revelled in pruriency, less
+for its own sake than for the deliberate corruption of the
+Florentines. And, for a time, their music drowned the impassioned
+voice of Savonarola, whose stern cry of warning and exhortation to
+repentance had for the nonce passed unheeded.
+
+There is extant a miracle play from Lorenzo's hand, the acts of the
+martyrs Giovanni and Paolo, who suffered in the days of the emperor
+Julian. Two sides of Lorenzo's nature are ever in conflict--the
+Lorenzo of the ballate and the carnival songs--the Lorenzo of the
+_laude_ and spiritual poems, many of which have the unmistakable ring
+of sincerity. And, in the story of his last days and the summoning of
+Savonarola to his bed-side, the triumph of the man's spiritual side is
+seen at the end; he is, indeed, in the position of the dying Julian of
+his own play:--
+
+     "Fallace vita! O nostra vana cura!
+     Lo spirto è già fuor del mio petto spinto:
+     O Cristo Galileo, tu hai vinto."
+
+Such was likewise the attitude of several members of the Medicean
+circle, when the crash came. Poliziano followed his friend and patron
+to the grave, in September 1494; his last hours received the
+consolations of religion from Savonarola's most devoted follower, Fra
+Domenico da Pescia (of whom more anon); after death, he was robed in
+the habit of St Dominic and buried in San Marco. Pico della Mirandola,
+too, had been present at the Magnifico's death-bed, though not there
+when the end actually came; he too, in 1494, received the Dominican
+habit in death, and was buried by Savonarola's friars in San Marco.
+Marsilio Ficino outlived his friends and denied Fra Girolamo; he died
+in 1499, and lies at rest in the Duomo.
+
+Of all these Medicean Platonists, Pico della Mirandola is the most
+fascinating. A young Lombard noble of almost feminine beauty, full of
+the pride of having mastered all the knowledge of his day, he first
+came to Florence in 1480 or 1482, almost at the very moment in which
+Marsilio Ficino finished his translation of Plato. He became at once
+the chosen friend of all the choicest spirits of Lorenzo's circle. Not
+only classical learning, but the mysterious East and the sacred lore
+of the Jews had rendered up their treasures for his intellectual
+feast; his mysticism shot far beyond even Ficino; all knowledge and
+all religions were to him a revelation of the Deity. Not only to
+Lorenzo and his associates did young Pico seem a phoenix of earthly
+and celestial wisdom, _uomo quasi divino_ as Machiavelli puts it; but
+even Savonarola in his _Triumphus Crucis_, written after Pico's death,
+declares that, by reason of his loftiness of intellect and the
+sublimity of his doctrine, he should be numbered amongst the miracles
+of God and Nature. Pico had been much beloved of many women, and not
+always a Platonic lover, but, towards the close of his short
+flower-like life, he burnt "fyve bokes that in his youthe of wanton
+versis of love with other lyke fantasies he had made," and all else
+seemed absorbed in the vision of love Divine. "The substance that I
+have left," he told his nephew, "I intend to give out to poor people,
+and, fencing myself with the crucifix, barefoot walking about the
+world, in every town and castle I purpose to preach of Christ."
+Savonarola, to whom he had confided all the secrets of his heart, was
+not the only martyr who revered the memory of the man whom Lorenzo the
+Magnificent had loved. Thomas More translated his life and letters,
+and reckoned him a saint. He would die at the time of the lilies, so a
+lady had told Pico; and he died indeed on the very day that the golden
+lilies on the royal standard of France were borne into Florence
+through the Porta San Frediano--consoled with wondrous visions of the
+Queen of Heaven, and speaking as though he beheld the heavens opened.
+
+A month or two earlier, the pen had dropped from the hand of Matteo
+Maria Boiardo, as he watched the French army descending the Alps; and
+he brought his unfinished _Orlando Innamorato_ to an abrupt close, too
+sick at heart to sing of the vain love of Fiordespina for
+Brandiamante:--
+
+     "Mentre che io canto, o Dio Redentore,
+     Vedo l'Italia tutta a fiamma e foco,
+     Per questi Galli, che con gran valore
+     Vengon, per disertar non so che loco."
+
+"Whilst I sing, Oh my God, I see all Italy in flame and fire, through
+these Gauls, who with great valour come, to lay waste I know not what
+place." On this note of vague terror, in the onrush of the barbarian
+hosts, the Quattrocento closes.
+
+  [Illustration: ARMS OF THE PAZZI]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+_From Fra Girolamo to Duke Cosimo_
+
+   "Vedendo lo omnipotente Dio multiplicare li peccati della Italia,
+   maxime nelli capi così ecclesiastici come seculari, non potendo
+   più sostenere, determinò purgare la Chiesa sua per uno gran
+   flagello. Et perchè come è scripto in Amos propheta, Non faciet
+   Dominus Deus verbum nisi revelaverit secretum suum ad servos suos
+   prophetas: volse per la salute delli suoi electi acciò che inanzi
+   al flagello si preparassino ad sofferire, che nella Italia questo
+   flagello fussi prenuntiato. Et essendo Firenze in mezzo la Italia
+   come il core in mezzo il corpo, s'è dignato di eleggere questa
+   città; nella quale siano tale cose prenuntiate: acciò che per lei
+   si sparghino negli altri luoghi."--_Savonarola._
+
+
+_Gladius Domini super terram cito et velociter_, "the Sword of the
+Lord upon the earth soon and speedily." These words rang ever in the
+ears of the Dominican friar who was now to eclipse the Medicean rulers
+of Florence. Girolamo Savonarola, the grandson of a famous Paduan
+physician who had settled at the court of Ferrara, had entered the
+order of St Dominic at Bologna in 1474, moved by the great misery of
+the world and the wickedness of men, and in 1481 had been sent to the
+convent of San Marco at Florence. The corruption of the Church, the
+vicious lives of her chief pastors, the growing immorality of the
+people, the tyranny and oppression of their rulers, had entered into
+his very soul--had found utterance in allegorical poetry, in an ode
+_De Ruina Mundi_, written whilst still in the world, in another, _De
+Ruina Ecclesiae_, composed in the silence of his Bolognese
+cloister--that cloister which, in better days, had been hallowed by
+the presence of St Dominic and the Angelical Doctor, Thomas Aquinas.
+And he believed himself set by God as a watchman in the centre of
+Italy, to announce to the people and princes that the sword was to
+fall upon them: "If the sword come, and thou hast not announced it,"
+said the spirit voice that spoke to him in the silence as the dæmon to
+Socrates, "and they perish unwarned, I will require their blood at thy
+hands and thou shalt bear the penalty."
+
+But at first the Florentines would not hear him; the gay dancings and
+the wild carnival songs of their rulers drowned his voice; courtly
+preachers like the Augustinian of Santo Spirito, Fra Mariano da
+Gennazano, laid more flattering unction to their souls. Other cities
+were more ready; San Gemignano first heard the word of prophecy that
+was soon to resound beneath the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore, even
+as, some two hundred years before, she had listened to the speech of
+Dante Alighieri. At the beginning of 1490, the Friar returned to
+Florence and San Marco; and, on Sunday, August 1st, expounding the
+Apocalypse in the Church of San Marco, he first set forth to the
+Florentines the three cardinal points of his doctrine; first, the
+Church was to be renovated; secondly, before this renovation, God
+would send a great scourge upon all Italy; thirdly, these things would
+come speedily. He preached the following Lent in the Duomo; and
+thenceforth his great work of reforming Florence, and announcing the
+impending judgments of God, went on its inspired way. "Go to Lorenzo
+dei Medici," he said to the five citizens who came to him, at the
+Magnifico's instigation, to urge him to let the future alone in his
+sermons, "and bid him do penance for his sins, for God intends to
+punish him and his"; and when elected Prior of San Marco in this same
+year, 1491, he would neither enter Lorenzo's palace to salute the
+patron of the convent, nor welcome him when he walked among the friars
+in the garden.
+
+Fra Girolamo was preaching the Lent in San Lorenzo, when the Magnifico
+died; and, a few days later, he saw a wondrous vision, as he himself
+tells us in the _Compendium Revelationum_. "In 1492," he says, "while
+I was preaching the Lent in San Lorenzo at Florence, I saw, on the
+night of Good Friday, two crosses. First, a black cross in the midst
+of Rome, whereof the head touched the heaven and the arms stretched
+forth over all the earth; and above it were written these words, _Crux
+irae Dei_. After I had beheld it, suddenly I saw the sky grow dark,
+and clouds fly through the air; winds, flashes of lightning and
+thunderbolts drove across, hail, fire and swords rained down, and slew
+a vast multitude of folk, so that few remained on the earth. And after
+this, there came a sky right calm and bright, and I saw another cross,
+of the same greatness as the first but of gold, rise up over
+Jerusalem; the which was so resplendent that it illumined all the
+world, and filled it all with flowers and joy; and above it was
+written, _Crux misericordiae Dei_. And I saw all generations of men
+and women come from all parts of the world, to adore it and embrace
+it."
+
+In the following August came the simoniacal election of Roderigo
+Borgia to the Papacy, as Alexander VI.; and in Advent another vision
+appeared to the prophet in his cell, which can only be told in Fra
+Girolamo's own words:--
+
+"I saw then in the year 1492, the night before the last sermon which I
+gave that Advent in Santa Reparata, a hand in Heaven with a sword,
+upon the which was written: _The sword of the Lord upon the earth,
+soon and speedily_; and over the hand was written, _True and just are
+the judgments of the Lord._ And it seemed that the arm of that hand
+proceeded from three faces in one light, of which the first said: _The
+iniquity of my sanctuary crieth to me from the earth._ The second
+replied: _Therefore will I visit with a rod their iniquities, and with
+stripes their sins._ The third said: _My mercy will I not remove from
+it, nor will I harm it in my truth, and I will have mercy upon the
+poor and the needy._ In like manner the first answered: _My people
+have forgotten my commandments days without number._ The second
+replied: _Therefore will I grind and break in pieces and will not have
+mercy._ The third said: _I will be mindful of those who walk in my
+precepts._ And straightway there came a great voice from all the three
+faces, over all the world, and it said: _Hearken, all ye dwellers on
+the earth; thus saith the Lord: I, the Lord, am speaking in my holy
+zeal. Behold, the days shall come and I will unsheath my sword upon
+you. Be ye converted therefore unto me, before my fury be
+accomplished; for when the destruction cometh, ye shall seek peace and
+there shall be none._ After these words it seemed to me that I saw the
+whole world, and that the Angels descended from Heaven to earth,
+arrayed in white, with a multitude of spotless stoles on their
+shoulders and red crosses in their hands; and they went through the
+world, offering to each man a white robe and a cross. Some men
+accepted them and robed themselves with them. Some would not accept
+them, although they did not impede the others who accepted them.
+Others would neither accept them nor permit that the others should
+accept them; and these were the tepid and the sapient of this world,
+who made mock of them and strove to persuade the contrary. After this,
+the hand turned the sword down towards the earth; and suddenly it
+seemed that all the air grew dark with clouds, and that it rained
+down swords and hail with great thunder and lightning and fire; and
+there came upon the earth pestilence and famine and great tribulation.
+And I saw the Angels go through the midst of the people, and give to
+those who had the white robe and the cross in their hands a clear wine
+to drink; and they drank and said: _How sweet in our mouths are thy
+words, O Lord._ And the dregs at the bottom of the chalice they gave
+to drink to the others, and they would not drink; and it seemed that
+these would fain have been converted to penitence and could not, and
+they said: _Wherefore dost thou forget us, Lord?_ And they wished to
+lift up their eyes and look up to God, but they could not, so weighed
+down were they with tribulations; for they were as though drunk, and
+it seemed that their hearts had left their breasts, and they went
+seeking the lusts of this world and found them not. And they walked
+like senseless beings without heart. After this was done, I heard a
+very great voice from those three faces, which said: _Hear ye then the
+word of the Lord: for this have I waited for you, that I may have
+mercy upon you. Come ye therefore to me, for I am kind and merciful,
+extending mercy to all who call upon me. But if you will not, I will
+turn my eyes from you for ever._ And it turned then to the just, and
+said: _But rejoice, ye just, and exult, for when my short anger shall
+have passed, I will break the horns of sinners, and the horns of the
+just shall be exalted._ And suddenly everything disappeared, and it
+was said to me: _Son, if sinners had eyes, they would surely see how
+grievous and hard is this pestilence, and how sharp the sword._"[20]
+
+  [20] This _Compendium of Revelations_ was, like the _Triumph of the
+  Cross_, published both in Latin and in Italian simultaneously. I have
+  rendered the above from the Italian version.
+
+The French army, terrible beyond any that the Italians had seen, and
+rendered even more terrible by the universal dread that filled all
+men's minds at this moment, entered Italy. On September 9th, 1494,
+Charles VIII. arrived at Asti, where he was received by Ludovico and
+his court, while the Swiss sacked and massacred at Rapallo. Here was
+the new Cyrus whom Savonarola had foretold, the leader chosen by God
+to chastise Italy and reform the Church. While the vague terror
+throughout the land was at its height, Savonarola, on September 21st,
+ascended the pulpit of the Duomo, and poured forth so terrible a flood
+of words on the text _Ecce ego adducam aquas diluvii super terram_,
+that the densely packed audience were overwhelmed in agonised panic.
+The bloodless mercenary conflicts of a century had reduced Italy to
+helplessness; the Aragonese resistance collapsed, and, sacking and
+slaughtering as they came, the French marched unopposed through
+Lunigiana upon Tuscany. Piero dei Medici, who had favoured the
+Aragonese in a half-hearted way, went to meet the French King,
+surrendered Sarzana and Pietrasanta, the fortresses which his father
+had won back for Florence, promised to cede Pisa and Leghorn, and made
+an absolute submission. "Behold," cried Savonarola, a few days later,
+"the sword has descended, the scourge has fallen, the prophecies are
+being fulfilled; behold, it is the Lord who is leading on these
+armies." And he bade the citizens fast and pray throughout the city:
+it was for the sins of Italy and of Florence that these things had
+happened; for the corruption of the Church, this tempest had arisen.
+
+It was the republican hero, Piero Capponi, who now gave utterance to
+the voice of the people. "Piero dei Medici," he said in the Council of
+the Seventy called by the Signoria on November 4th, "is no longer fit
+to rule the State: the Republic must provide for itself: the moment
+has come to shake off this baby government." They prepared for
+defence, but at the same time sent ambassadors to the "most Christian
+King," and amongst these ambassadors was Savonarola. In the meantime
+Piero dei Medici returned to Florence to find his government at an
+end; the Signoria refused him admittance into the palace; the people
+assailed him in the Piazza. He made a vain attempt to regain the State
+by arms, but the despairing shouts of _Palle, Palle,_ which his
+adherents and mercenaries raised, were drowned in the cries of _Popolo
+e Libertà_, as the citizens, as in the old days of the Republic, heard
+the great bell of the Palace tolling and saw the burghers once more in
+arms. On the 9th of November Piero and Giuliano fled through the Porta
+di San Gallo; the Cardinal Giovanni, who had shown more courage and
+resource, soon followed, disguised as a friar. There was some pillage
+done, but little bloodshed. The same day Pisa received the French
+troops, and shook off the Florentine yoke--an example shortly followed
+by other Tuscan cities. Florence had regained her liberty, but lost her
+empire. But the King had listened to the words of Savonarola--words
+preserved to us by the Friar himself in his _Compendium
+Revelationum_--who had hailed him as the Minister of Christ, but
+warned him sternly and fearlessly that, if he abused his power over
+Florence, the strength which God had given him would be shattered.
+
+On November 17th Charles, clad in black velvet with mantle of gold
+brocade and splendidly mounted, rode into Florence, as though into a
+conquered city, with lance levelled, through the Porta di San
+Frediano. With him was that priestly Mars, the terrible Cardinal della
+Rovere (afterwards Julius II.), now bent upon the deposition of
+Alexander VI. as a simoniacal usurper; and he was followed by all the
+gorgeous chivalry of France, with the fierce Swiss infantry, the light
+Gascon skirmishers, the gigantic Scottish bowmen--_uomini bestiali_ as
+the Florentines called them--in all about 12,000 men. The procession
+swept through the gaily decked streets over the Ponte Vecchio, wound
+round the Piazza della Signoria, and then round the Duomo, amidst
+deafening cries of _Viva Francia_ from the enthusiastic people. But
+when the King descended and entered the Cathedral, there was a sad
+disillusion--_parve al popolo un poco diminuta la fama_, as the good
+apothecary Luca Landucci tells us--for, when off his horse, he
+appeared a most insignificant little man, almost deformed, and with an
+idiotic expression of countenance, as his bust portrait in the
+Bargello still shows. This was not quite the sort of Cyrus that they
+had expected from Savonarola's discourses; but still, within and
+without Santa Maria del Fiore, the thunderous shouts of _Viva Francia_
+continued, until he was solemnly escorted to the Medicean palace which
+had been prepared for his reception.
+
+That night, and each following night during the French occupation,
+Florence shone so with illuminations that it seemed mid-day; every day
+was full of feasting and pageantry; but French and Florentines alike
+were in arms. The royal "deliverer"--egged on by the ladies of Piero's
+family and especially by Alfonsina, his young wife--talked of
+restoring the Medici; the Swiss, rioting in the Borgo SS. Apostoli,
+were severely handled by the populace, in a way that showed the King
+that the Republic was not to be trifled with. On November 24th the
+treaty was signed in the Medicean (now the Riccardi) palace, after a
+scene never forgotten by the Florentines. Discontented with the amount
+of the indemnity, the King exclaimed in a threatening voice, "I will
+bid my trumpets sound" (_io farò dare nelle trombe_). Piero Capponi
+thereupon snatched the treaty from the royal secretary, tore it in
+half, and exclaiming, "And we will sound our bells" (_e noi faremo
+dare nelle campane_), turned with his colleagues to leave the room.
+Charles, who knew Capponi of old (he had been Florentine Ambassador in
+France), had the good sense to laugh it off, and the Republic was
+saved. There was to be an alliance between the Republic and the King,
+who was henceforth to be called "Restorer and Protector of the Liberty
+of Florence." He was to receive a substantial indemnity. Pisa and the
+fortresses were for the present to be retained, but ultimately
+restored; the decree against the Medici was to be revoked, but they
+were still banished from Tuscany. But the King would not go. The
+tension every day grew greater, until at last Savonarola sought the
+royal presence, solemnly warned him that God's anger would fall upon
+him if he lingered, and sent him on his way. On November 28th the
+French left Florence, everyone, from Charles himself downwards,
+shamelessly carrying off everything of value that they could lay hands
+on, including the greater part of the treasures and rarities that
+Cosimo and Lorenzo had collected.
+
+It was now that all Florence turned to the voice that rang out from
+the Convent of San Marco and the pulpit of the Duomo; and Savonarola
+became, in some measure, the pilot of the State. Mainly through his
+influence, the government was remodelled somewhat on the basis of the
+Venetian constitution with modifications. The supreme authority was
+vested in the _Greater Council_, which created the magistrates and
+approved the laws; and it elected the _Council of Eighty_, with which
+the Signoria was bound to consult, which, together with the Signoria
+and the Colleges, made appointments and discussed matters which could
+not be debated in the Greater Council. A law was also passed, known as
+the "law of the six beans," which gave citizens the right of appeal
+from the decisions of the Signoria or the sentences of the _Otto di
+guardia e balìa_ (who could condemn even to death by six votes or
+"beans")--not to a special council to be chosen from the Greater
+Council, as Savonarola wished, but to the Greater Council itself.
+There was further a general amnesty proclaimed (March 1495). Finally,
+since the time-honoured calling of parliaments had been a mere farce,
+an excuse for masking revolution under the pretence of legality, and
+was the only means left by which the Medici could constitutionally
+have overthrown the new regime, it was ordained (August) that no
+parliament should ever again be held under pain of death. "The only
+purpose of parliament," said Savonarola, "is to snatch the sovereign
+power from the hands of the people." So enthusiastic--to use no
+harsher term--did the Friar show himself, that he declared from the
+pulpit that, if ever the Signoria should sound the bell for a
+parliament, their houses should be sacked, and that they themselves
+might be hacked to pieces by the crowd without any sin being thereby
+incurred; and that the Consiglio Maggiore was the work of God and not
+of man, and that whoever should attempt to change this government
+should for ever be accursed of the Lord. It was now that the Sala del
+Maggior Consiglio was built by Cronaca in the Priors' Palace, to
+accommodate this new government of the people; and the Signoria set up
+in the middle of the court and at their gate the two bronze statues by
+Donatello, which they took from Piero's palace--the _David_, an emblem
+of the triumphant young republic that had overthrown the giant of
+tyranny, the _Judith_ as a warning of the punishment that the State
+would inflict upon whoso should attempt its restoration; _exemplum
+salutis publicae cives posuere_, 1495, ran the new inscription put by
+these stern theocratic republicans upon its base.
+
+But in the meantime Charles had pursued his triumphant march, had
+entered Rome, had conquered the kingdom of Naples almost without a
+blow. Then fortune turned against him; Ludovico Sforza with the Pope
+formed an Italian league, including Venice, with hope of Germany and
+Spain, to expel the French from Italy--a league in which all but
+Florence and Ferrara joined. Charles was now in full retreat to secure
+his return to France, and was said to be marching on Florence with
+Piero dei Medici in his company--no reformation of the Church
+accomplished, no restoration of Pisa to his ally. The Florentines flew
+to arms. But Savonarola imagined that he had had a special Vision of
+the Lilies vouchsafed to him by the Blessed Virgin, which pointed to
+an alliance with France and the reacquisition of Pisa.[21] He went
+forth to meet the King at Poggibonsi, June 1495, overawed the fickle
+monarch by his prophetic exhortation, and at least kept the French out
+of Florence. A month later, the battle of Fornovo secured Charles'
+retreat and occasioned (what was more important to posterity)
+Mantegna's Madonna of the Victory. And of the lost cities and
+fortresses, Leghorn alone was recovered.
+
+  [21] When Savonarola entered upon the political arena, his spiritual
+  sight was often terribly dimmed. The cause of Pisa against Florence
+  was every bit as righteous as that of the Florentines themselves
+  against the Medici.
+
+But all that Savonarola had done, or was to do, in the political field
+was but the means to an end--the reformation and purification of
+Florence. It was to be a united and consecrated State, with Christ
+alone for King, adorned with all triumphs of Christian art and sacred
+poetry, a fire of spiritual felicity to Italy and all the earth. In
+Lent and Advent especially, his voice sounded from the pulpit,
+denouncing vice, showing the beauty of righteousness, the efficacy of
+the sacraments, and interpreting the Prophets, with special reference
+to the needs of his times. And for a while Florence seemed verily a
+new city. For the wild licence of the Carnival, for the Pagan
+pageantry that the Medicean princes had loved, for the sensual songs
+that had once floated up from every street of the City of
+Flowers--there were now bonfires of the vanities in the public
+squares; holocausts of immoral books, indecent pictures, all that
+ministered to luxury and wantonness (and much, too, that was very
+precious!); there were processions in honour of Christ and His Mother,
+there were new mystical lauds and hymns of divine love. A kind of
+spiritual inebriation took possession of the people and their rulers
+alike. Tonsured friars and grave citizens, with heads garlanded,
+mingled with the children and danced like David before the Ark,
+shouting, "_Viva Cristo e la Vergine Maria nostra regina._" They had
+indeed, like the Apostle, become fools for Christ's sake. "It was a
+holy time," writes good Luca Landucci, "but it was short. The wicked
+have prevailed over the good. Praised be God that I saw that short
+holy time. Wherefore I pray God that He may give it back to us, that
+holy and pure living. It was indeed a blessed time." Above all, the
+children of Florence were the Friar's chosen emissaries and agents in
+the great work he had in hand; he organised them into bands, with
+standard-bearers and officers like the time-honoured city companies
+with their gonfaloniers, and sent them round the city to seize
+vanities, forcibly to stop gambling, to collect alms for the poor, and
+even to exercise a supervision over the ladies' dresses. _Ecco i
+fanciugli del Frate_, was an instant signal for gamblers to take to
+flight, and for the fair and frail ladies to be on their very best
+behaviour. They proceeded with olive branches, like the children of
+Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday; they made the churches ring with
+their hymns to the Madonna, and even harangued the Signoria on the
+best method of reforming the morals of the citizens. "Out of the
+mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise," quotes
+Landucci: "I have written these things because they are true, and I
+have seen them and have felt their sweetness, and some of my own
+children were among these pure and blessed bands."[22]
+
+  [22] This Luca Landucci, whose diary we shall have occasion to quote
+  more than once, kept an apothecary's shop near the Strozzi Palace at
+  the Canto de' Tornaquinci. He was an ardent Piagnone, though he
+  wavered at times. He died in 1516, and was buried in Santa Maria
+  Novella.
+
+But the holy time was short indeed. Factions were still only too much
+alive. The _Bigi_ or _Palleschi_ were secretly ready to welcome the
+Medici back; the _Arrabbiati_, the powerful section of the citizens
+who, to some extent, held the traditions of the so-called _Ottimati_
+or _nobili popolani_, whom the Medici had overthrown, were even more
+bitter in their hatred to the _Frateschi_ or _Piagnoni_, as the
+adherents of the Friar were called, though prepared to make common
+cause with them on the least rumour of Piero dei Medici approaching
+the walls. The _Compagnacci_, or "bad companions," dissolute young men
+and evil livers, were banded together under Doffo Spini, and would
+gladly have taken the life of the man who had curtailed their
+opportunities for vice. And to these there were now added the open
+hostility of Pope Alexander VI., and the secret machinations of his
+worthy ally, the Duke of Milan. The Pope's hostility was at first
+mainly political; he had no objection whatever to Savonarola reforming
+faith and morals (so long as he did not ask Roderigo Borgia to reform
+himself), but could not abide the Friar declaring that he had a
+special mission from God and the Madonna to oppose the Italian league
+against France. At the same time the Pope would undoubtedly have been
+glad to see Piero dei Medici restored to power. But in the early part
+of 1496, it became a war to the death between these two--the Prophet
+of Righteousness and the Church's Caiaphas--a war which seemed at one
+moment about to convulse all Christendom, but which ended in the
+funeral pyre of the Piazza della Signoria.
+
+On Ash Wednesday, February 17th, Fra Girolamo, amidst the vastest
+audience that had yet flocked to hear his words, ascended once more
+the pulpit of Santa Maria del Fiore. He commenced by a profession of
+most absolute submission to the Church of Rome. "I have ever believed,
+and do believe," he said, "all that is believed by the Holy Roman
+Church, and have ever submitted, and do submit, myself to her.... I
+rely only on Christ and on the decisions of the Church of Rome." But
+this was a prelude to the famous series of sermons on Amos and
+Zechariah which he preached throughout this Lent, and which was in
+effect a superb and inspired denunciation of the wickedness of
+Alexander and his Court, of the shameless corruption of the Papal
+Curia and the Church generally, which had made Rome, for a while, the
+sink of Christendom. Nearly two hundred years before, St Peter had
+said the same thing to Dante in the Heaven of the Fixed Stars:--
+
+     "Quegli ch'usurpa in terra il loco mio,
+       il loco mio, il loco mio, che vaca
+       nella presenza del Figliuol di Dio,
+     fatto ha del cimitero mio cloaca
+       del sangue e della puzza, onde il perverso
+       che cadde di quassù, laggiù si placa."[23]
+
+  [23] "He who usurpeth upon earth my place, my place, my place, which
+  in the presence of the Son of God is vacant,
+
+  "hath made my burial-ground a conduit for that blood and filth,
+  whereby the apostate one who fell from here above, is soothed down
+  there below."--_Paradiso_ xxvii.
+      Wicksteed's Translation.
+
+These were, perhaps, the most terrible of all Savonarola's sermons and
+prophecies. Chastisement was to come upon Rome; she was to be girdled
+with steel, put to the sword, consumed with fire. Italy was to be
+ravaged with pestilence and famine; from all sides the barbarian
+hordes would sweep down upon her. Let them fly from this corrupted
+Rome, this new Babylon of confusion, and come to repentance. And for
+himself, he asked and hoped for nothing but the lot of the martyrs,
+when his work was done. These sermons echoed through all Europe; and
+when the Friar, after a temporary absence at Prato, returned to the
+pulpit in May with a new course of sermons on Ruth and Micah, he was
+no less daring; as loudly as ever he rebuked the hideous corruption of
+the times, the wickedness of the Roman Court, and announced the
+scourge that was at hand:--
+
+"I announce to thee, Italy and Rome, that the Lord will come forth out
+of His place. He has awaited thee so long that He can wait no more. I
+tell thee that God will draw forth the sword from the sheath; He will
+send the foreign nations; He will come forth out of His clemency and
+His mercy; and such bloodshed shall there be, so many deaths, such
+cruelty, that thou shalt say: O Lord, Thou hast come forth out of Thy
+place. Yea, the Lord shall come; He will come down and tread upon the
+high places of the earth. I say to thee, Italy and Rome, that the Lord
+will tread upon thee. I have bidden thee do penance; thou art worse
+than ever. The feet of the Lord shall tread upon thee; His feet shall
+be the horses, the armies of the foreign nations that shall trample
+upon the great men of Italy; and soon shall priests, friars, bishops,
+cardinals and great masters be trampled down....
+
+"Trust not, Rome, in saying: Here we have the relics, here we have St
+Peter and so many bodies of martyrs. God will not suffer such
+iniquities! I warn thee that their blood cries up to Christ to come
+and chastise thee."[24]
+
+  [24] Sermon on May 29th, 1496. In Villari and Casanova, _Scelte di
+  prediche e scritti di Fra Girolamo Savonarola_.
+
+But, in the meanwhile, the state of Florence was dark and dismal in
+the extreme. Pestilence and famine ravaged her streets; the war
+against Pisa seemed more hopeless every day; Piero Capponi had fallen
+in the field in September; and the forces of the League threatened her
+with destruction, unless she deserted the French alliance. King
+Charles showed no disposition to return; the Emperor Maximilian, with
+the Venetian fleet, was blockading her sole remaining port of Leghorn.
+A gleam of light came in October, when, at the very moment that the
+miraculous Madonna of the Impruneta was being borne through the
+streets in procession by the Piagnoni, a messenger brought the news
+that reinforcements and provisions had reached Leghorn from
+Marseilles; and it was followed in November by the dispersion of the
+imperial fleet by a tempest. At the opening of 1497 a Signory devoted
+to Savonarola, and headed by Francesco Valori as Gonfaloniere, was
+elected; and the following carnival witnessed an even more emphatic
+burning of the vanities in the great Piazza, while the sweet voices of
+the "children of the Friar" seemed to rise louder and louder in
+intercession and in praise. Savonarola was at this time living more
+in seclusion, broken in health, and entirely engaged upon his great
+theological treatise, the _Triumphus Crucis_; but in Lent he resumed
+his pulpit crusade against the corruption of the Church, the
+scandalous lives of her chief pastors, in a series of sermons on
+Ezekiel; above all in one most tremendous discourse on the text: "And
+in all thy abominations and thy fornications thou hast not remembered
+the days of thy youth." In April, relying upon the election of a new
+Signoria favourable to the Mediceans (and headed by Bernardo del Nero
+as Gonfaloniere), Piero dei Medici--who had been leading a most
+degraded life in Rome, and committing every turpitude imaginable--made
+an attempt to surprise Florence, which merely resulted in a
+contemptible fiasco. This threw the government into the hands of the
+Arrabbiati, who hated Savonarola even more than the Palleschi did, and
+who were intriguing with the Pope and the Duke of Milan. On Ascension
+Day the Compagnacci raised a disgraceful riot in the Duomo,
+interrupted Savonarola's sermon, and even attempted to take his life.
+Then at last there came from Rome the long-expected bull of
+excommunication, commencing, "We have heard from many persons worthy
+of belief that a certain Fra Girolamo Savonarola, at this present said
+to be vicar of San Marco in Florence, hath disseminated pernicious
+doctrines to the scandal and great grief of simple souls." It was
+published on June 18th in the Badia, the Annunziata, Santa Croce,
+Santa Maria Novella, and Santo Spirito, with the usual solemn
+ceremonies of ringing bells and dashing out of the lights--in the
+last-named church, especially, the monks "did the cursing in the most
+orgulist wise that might be done," as the compiler of the _Morte
+Darthur_ would put it.
+
+The Arrabbiati and Compagnacci were exultant, but the Signoria that
+entered office in July seemed disposed to make Savonarola's cause
+their own. A fresh plot was discovered to betray Florence to Piero dei
+Medici, and five of the noblest citizens in the State--the aged
+Bernardo del Nero, who had merely known of the plot and not divulged
+it, but who had been privy to Piero's coming in April while
+Gonfaloniere, among them--were beheaded in the courtyard of the
+Bargello's palace, adjoining the Palazzo Vecchio. In this Savonarola
+took no share; he was absorbed in tending those who were dying on all
+sides from the plague and famine, and in making the final revision of
+his _Triumph of the Cross_, which was to show to the Pope and all the
+world how steadfastly he held to the faith of the Church of Rome.[25]
+The execution of these conspirators caused great indignation among
+many in the city. They had been refused the right of appeal to the
+Consiglio Maggiore, and it was held that Fra Girolamo might have saved
+them, had he so chosen, and that his ally, Francesco Valori, who had
+relentlessly hounded them to their deaths, had been actuated mainly by
+personal hatred of Bernardo del Nero.
+
+  [25] Professor Villari justly remarks that "Savonarola's attacks were
+  never directed in the slightest degree against the dogmas of the Roman
+  Church, but solely against those who corrupted them." The _Triumph of
+  the Cross_ was intended to do for the Renaissance what St Thomas
+  Aquinas had accomplished for the Middle Ages in his _Summa contra
+  Gentiles_. As this book is the fullest expression of Savonarola's
+  creed, it is much to be regretted that more than one of its English
+  translators have omitted some of its most characteristic and important
+  passages bearing upon Catholic practice and doctrine, without the
+  slightest indication that any such process of "expurgation" has been
+  carried out.
+
+But Savonarola could not long keep silence, and in the following
+February, 1498, on Septuagesima Sunday, he again ascended the pulpit
+of the Duomo. Many of his adherents, Landucci tells us, kept away for
+fear of the excommunication: "I was one of those who did not go
+there." Not faith, but charity it is that justifies and perfects
+man--such was the burden of the Friar's sermons now: if the Pope gives
+commands which are contrary to charity, he is no instrument of the
+Lord, but a broken tool. The excommunication is invalid, the Lord will
+work a miracle through His servant when His time comes, and his only
+prayer is that he may die in defence of the truth. On the last day of
+the Carnival, after communicating his friars and a vast throng of the
+laity, Savonarola addressed the people in the Piazza of San Marco,
+and, holding on high the Host, prayed that Christ would send fire from
+heaven upon him that should swallow him up into hell, if he were
+deceiving himself, and if his words were not from God. There was a
+more gorgeous burning of the Vanities than ever; but all during Lent
+the unequal conflict went on, and the Friar began to talk of a future
+Council. This was the last straw. An interdict would ruin the commerce
+of Florence; and on the 17th of March the Signoria bowed before the
+storm, and forbade Savonarola to preach again. On the following
+morning, the third Sunday in Lent, he delivered his last sermon:--
+
+"If I am deceived, Christ, Thou hast deceived me, Thou. Holy Trinity,
+if I am deceived, Thou hast deceived me. Angels, if I am deceived, ye
+have deceived me. Saints of Paradise, if I am deceived, ye have
+deceived me. But all that God has said, or His angels or His saints
+have said, is most true, and it is impossible that they should lie;
+and, therefore, it is impossible that, when I repeat what they have
+told me, I should lie. O Rome, do all that thou wilt, for I assure
+thee of this, that the Lord is with me. O Rome, it is hard for thee to
+kick against the pricks. Thou shalt be purified yet.... Italy, Italy,
+the Lord is with me. Thou wilt not be able to do aught. Florence,
+Florence, that is, ye evil citizens of Florence, arm yourselves as ye
+will, ye shall be conquered this time, and ye shall not be able to
+kick against the pricks, for the Lord is with me, as a strong
+warrior." "Let us leave all to the Lord; He has been the Master of all
+the Prophets, and of all the holy men. He is the Master who wieldeth
+the hammer, and, when He hath used it for His purpose, putteth it not
+back into the chest, but casteth it aside. So did He unto Jeremiah,
+for when He had used him as much as He wished, He cast him aside and
+had him stoned. So will it be also with this hammer; when He shall
+have used it in His own way, He will cast it aside. Yea, we are
+content, let the Lord's will be done; and by the more suffering that
+shall be ours here below, so much the greater shall the crown be
+hereafter, there on high."
+
+"We will do with our prayers what we had to do with our preaching. O
+Lord, I commend to Thee the good and the pure of heart; and I pray
+Thee, look not at the negligence of the good, because human frailty is
+great, yea, their frailty is great. Bless, Lord, the good and pure of
+heart. Lord, I pray Thee that Thou delay no longer in fulfilling Thy
+promises."
+
+It was now, in the silence of his cell, that Savonarola prepared his
+last move. He would appeal to the princes of Christendom--the Emperor,
+Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, Henry VII. of England, the King of
+Hungary, and above all, that "most Christian King" Charles VIII. of
+France--to summon a general council, depose the simoniacal usurper who
+was polluting the chair of Peter, and reform the Church. He was
+prepared to promise miracles from God to confirm his words. These
+letters were written, but never sent; a preliminary message was
+forwarded from trustworthy friends in Florence to influential persons
+in each court to prepare them for what was coming; and the despatch
+to the Florentine ambassador in France was intercepted by the agents
+of the Duke of Milan. It was at once placed in the hands of Cardinal
+Ascanio Sforza in Rome, and the end was now a matter of days. The
+Signoria was hostile, and the famous ordeal by fire lit the
+conflagration that freed the martyr and patriot. On Sunday, March
+25th, the Franciscan Francesco da Puglia, preaching in Santa Croce and
+denouncing Savonarola, challenged him to prove his doctrines by a
+miracle, to pass unscathed through the fire. He was himself prepared
+to enter the flames with him, or at least said that he was. Against
+Savonarola's will his lieutenant, Fra Domenico, who had taken his
+place in the pulpit, drew up a series of conclusions (epitomising
+Savonarola's teaching and declaring the nullity of the excommunication),
+and declared himself ready to enter the fire to prove their truth.
+
+Huge was the delight of the Compagnacci at the prospect of such sport,
+and the Signoria seized upon it as a chance of ending the matter once
+for all. Whether the Franciscans were sincere, or whether it was a
+mere plot to enable the Arrabbiati and Compagnacci to destroy
+Savonarola, is still a matter of dispute. The Piagnoni were confident
+in the coming triumph of their prophet; champions came forward from
+both sides, professedly eager to enter the flames--although it was
+muttered that the Compagnacci and their Doffo Spini had promised the
+Franciscans that no harm should befall them. Savonarola misliked it,
+but took every precaution that, if the ordeal really came off, there
+should be no possibility of fraud or evasion. Of the amazing scene in
+the Piazza on April 7th, I will speak in the following chapter;
+suffice it to say here that it ended in a complete fiasco, and that
+Savonarola and his friars would never have reached their convent
+alive, but for the protection of the armed soldiery of the Signoria.
+Hounded home under the showers of stones and filth from the infuriated
+crowd, whose howls of execration echoed through San Marco, Fra
+Girolamo had the _Te Deum_ sung, but knew in his heart that all was
+lost. That very same day his Cyrus, the champion of his prophetic
+dreams, Charles VIII. of France, was struck down by an apoplectic
+stroke at Amboise; and, as though in judgment for his abandonment of
+what the prophet had told him was the work of the Lord, breathed his
+last in the utmost misery and ignominy.
+
+The next morning, Palm Sunday, April 8th, Savonarola preached a very
+short sermon in the church of San Marco, in which he offered himself
+in sacrifice to God and was prepared to suffer death for his flock.
+_Tanto fu sempre questo uomo simile a sè stesso_, says Jacopo Nardi.
+Hell had broken loose by the evening, and the Arrabbiati and
+Compagnacci, stabbing and hewing as they came, surged round the church
+and convent. In spite of Savonarola and Fra Domenico, the friars had
+weapons and ammunition in their cells, and there was a small band of
+devout laymen with them, prepared to hold by the prophet to the end.
+From vespers till past midnight the attack and defence went on; in the
+Piazza, in the church, and through the cloisters raged the fight,
+while riot and murder wantoned through the streets of the city.
+Francesco Valori, who had escaped from the convent in the hope of
+bringing reinforcements, was brutally murdered before his own door.
+The great bell of the convent tolled and tolled, animating both
+besieged and besiegers to fresh efforts, but bringing no relief from
+without. Savonarola, who had been prevented from following the
+impulses of his heart and delivering himself up to the infernal crew
+that thirsted for his blood in the Piazza, at last gathered his
+friars round him before the Blessed Sacrament, in the great hall of
+the Greek library, solemnly confirmed his doctrine, exhorted them to
+embrace the Cross alone, and then, together with Fra Domenico, gave
+himself into the hands of the forces of the Signoria. The entire
+cloisters were already swarming with his exultant foes. "The work of
+the Lord shall go forward without cease," he said, as the mace-bearers
+bound him and Domenico, "my death will but hasten it on." Buffeted and
+insulted by the Compagnacci and the populace, amidst the deafening
+uproar, the two Dominicans were brought to the Palazzo Vecchio. It
+seemed to the excited imaginations of the Piagnoni that the scenes of
+the first Passiontide at Jerusalem were now being repeated in the
+streets of fifteenth century Florence.
+
+The Signoria had no intention of handing over their captives to Rome,
+but appointed a commission of seventeen--including Doffo Spini and
+several of Savonarola's bitterest foes--to conduct the examination of
+the three friars. The third, Fra Silvestro, a weak and foolish
+visionary, had hid himself on the fatal night, but had been given up
+on the following day. Again and again were they most cruelly
+tortured--but in all essentials, though ever and anon they wrung some
+sort of agonised denial from his lips, Savonarola's testimony as to
+his divine mission was unshaken. Fra Domenico, the lion-hearted soul
+whom the children of Florence had loved, and to whom poets like
+Poliziano had turned on their death-beds, was as heroic on the rack or
+under the torment of the boot as he had been throughout his career.
+Out of Fra Silvestro the examiners could naturally extort almost
+anything they pleased. And a number of laymen and others, supposed to
+have been in their counsels, were similarly "examined," and their
+shrieks rang through the Bargello; but with little profit to the
+Friar's foes. So they falsified the confessions, and read the
+falsification aloud in the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, to the
+bewilderment of all Savonarola's quondam disciples who were there. "We
+had believed him to be a prophet," writes Landucci in his diary, "and
+he confessed that he was not a prophet, and that he had not received
+from God the things that he preached; and he confessed that many
+things in his sermons were the contrary to what he had given us to
+understand. And I was there when this process was read, whereat I was
+astounded, stupified, and amazed. Grief pierced my soul, when I saw so
+great an edifice fall to the ground, through being sadly based upon a
+single lie. I expected Florence to be a new Jerusalem, whence should
+proceed the laws and splendour and example of goodly living, and to
+see the renovation of the Church, the conversion of the infidels and
+the consolation of the good. And I heard the very contrary, and indeed
+took the medicine: _In voluntate tua, Domine, omnia sunt posita._"
+
+A packed election produced a new Signoria, crueller than the last.
+They still refused to send the friars to Rome, but invited the Pope's
+commissioners to Florence. These arrived on May 19th--the Dominican
+General, Torriani, a well-intentioned man, and the future Cardinal
+Romolino, a typical creature of the Borgias and a most infamous
+fellow. It was said that they meant to put Savonarola to death, even
+if he were a second St John the Baptist. The torture was renewed
+without result; the three friars were sentenced to be hanged and then
+burnt. Fra Domenico implored that he might be cast alive into the
+fire, in order that he might suffer more grievous torments for Christ,
+and desired only that the friars of Fiesole, of which convent he was
+prior, might bury him in some lowly spot, and be loyal to the
+teachings of Fra Girolamo. On the morning of May 23rd, Savonarola said
+his last Mass in the Chapel of the Priors, and communicated his
+companions. Then they were led out on to the Ringhiera overlooking the
+Piazza, from which a temporary _palchetto_ ran out towards the centre
+of the square to serve as scaffold. Here, the evening before, the
+gallows had been erected, beam across beam; but a cry had arisen among
+the crowd, _They are going to crucify him._ So it had been hacked
+about, in order that it might not seem even remotely to resemble a
+cross. But in spite of all their efforts, Jacopo Nardi tells us, that
+gallows still seemed to represent the figure of the Cross.
+
+  [Illustration: THE DEATH OF SAVONAROLA
+  (From an old, but quite contemporary, representation)]
+
+The guards of the Signoria kept back the crowds that pressed thicker
+and thicker round the scaffold, most of them bitterly hostile to the
+Friars and heaping every insult upon them. When Savonarola was
+stripped of the habit of Saint Dominic, he said, "Holy dress, how much
+did I long 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 degraded by the Bishop of
+Vasona, who had loved Fra Girolamo in better days; then in the same
+breath sentenced and absolved by Romolino, and finally condemned by
+the Eight--or the seven of them who were present--as representing the
+secular arm. The Bishop, in degrading Savonarola, stammered out:
+_Separo te ab Ecclesia militante atque triumphante_; to which the
+Friar calmly answered, in words which have become famous: _Militante,
+non triumphante; hoc enim tuum non est._ Silvestro suffered first,
+then Domenico. There was a pause before Savonarola followed; and in
+the sudden silence, as he looked his last upon the people, a voice
+cried: "Now, prophet, is the time for a miracle." And then another
+voice: "Now can I burn the man who would have burnt me"; and a
+ruffian, who had been waiting since dawn at the foot of the scaffold,
+fired the pile before the executioner could descend from his ladder.
+The bodies were burnt to ashes amidst the ferocious yells of the
+populace, and thrown into the Arno from the Ponte Vecchio. "Many fell
+from their faith," writes Landucci. A faithful few, including some
+noble Florentine ladies, gathered up relics, in spite of the crowd and
+the Signory, and collected what floated on the water. It was the vigil
+of Ascension Day.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Savonarola's martyrdom ends the story of mediæval Florence. The last
+man of the Middle Ages--born out of his due time--had perished. A
+portion of the prophecy was fulfilled at once. The people of Italy and
+their rulers alike were trampled into the dust beneath the feet of the
+foreigners--the Frenchmen, the Switzers, the Spaniards, the Germans.
+The new King of France, Louis XII., who claimed both the Duchy of
+Milan and the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, entered Milan in 1499; and,
+after a brief restoration, Ludovico Sforza expiated his treasons by
+being sold by the Swiss to a lingering life-in-death in a French
+dungeon. The Spaniards followed; and in 1501 the troops of Ferdinand
+the Catholic occupied Naples. Like the dragon and the lion in
+Leonardo's drawing, Spain and France now fell upon each other for the
+possession of the spoils of conquered Italy; the Emperor Maximilian
+and Pope Julius II. joined in the fray; fresh hordes of Swiss poured
+into Lombardy. The battle of Pavia in 1525 gave the final victory to
+Spain; and, in 1527, the judgment foretold by Savonarola fell upon
+Rome, when the Eternal City was devastated by the Spaniards and
+Germans, nominally the armies of the Emperor Charles V. The treaty of
+Câteau-Cambresis in 1559 finally forged the Austrian and Spanish
+fetters with which Italy was henceforth bound.
+
+The death of Savonarola did not materially alter the affairs of the
+Republic. The Greater Council kept its hold upon the people and city,
+and in 1502 Piero di Tommaso Soderini was elected Gonfaloniere for
+life. The new head of the State was a sincere Republican and a genuine
+whole-hearted patriot; a man of blameless life and noble character,
+but simple-minded almost to a fault, and of abilities hardly more than
+mediocre. Niccolò Machiavelli, who was born in 1469 and had entered
+political life in 1498, shortly after Savonarola's death, as Secretary
+to the Ten (the Dieci di Balìa), was much employed by the Gonfaloniere
+both in war and peace, especially on foreign legations; and, although
+he sneered at Soderini after his death for his simplicity, he
+co-operated faithfully and ably with him during his administration. It
+was under Soderini that Machiavelli organised the Florentine militia.
+Pisa was finally reconquered for Florence in 1509; and, although
+Machiavelli cruelly told the Pisan envoys that the Florentines
+required only their obedience, and cared nothing for their lives,
+their property, nor their honour, the conquerors showed unusual
+magnanimity and generosity in their triumph.
+
+These last years of the Republic are very glorious in the history of
+Florentine art. In 1498, just before the French entered Milan,
+Leonardo da Vinci had finished his Last Supper for Ludovico Sforza; in
+the same year, Michelangelo commenced his Pietà in Rome which is now
+in St Peter's; in 1499, Baccio della Porta began a fresco of the Last
+Judgment in Santa Maria Nuova, a fresco which, when he entered the
+Dominican order at San Marco and became henceforth known as Fra
+Bartolommeo, was finished by his friend, Mariotto Albertinelli. These
+three works, though in very different degrees, represent the opening
+of the Cinquecento in painting and sculpture. While Soderini ruled,
+both Leonardo and Michelangelo were working in Florence, for the Sala
+del Maggior Consiglio, and Michelangelo's gigantic David--the Republic
+preparing to meet its foes--was finished in 1504. This was the epoch
+in which Leonardo was studying those strange women of the Renaissance,
+whose mysterious smiles and wonderful hair still live for us in his
+drawings; and it was now that he painted here in Florence his Monna
+Lisa, "the embodiment of the old fancy, the symbol of the modern
+idea." At the close of 1504 the young Raphael came to Florence (as
+Perugino had done before him), and his art henceforth shows how
+profoundly he felt the Florentine influence. We know how he sketched
+the newly finished David, studied Masaccio's frescoes, copied bits of
+Leonardo's cartoon, was impressed by Bartolommeo's Last Judgment.
+Although it was especially Leonardo that he took for a model, Raphael
+found his most congenial friend and adviser in the artist friar of San
+Marco; and there is a pleasant tradition that he was himself
+influential in persuading Fra Bartolommeo to resume the brush.
+Leonardo soon went off to serve King Francis I. in France; Pope Julius
+summoned both Michelangelo and Raphael to Rome. These men were the
+masters of the world in painting and sculpture, and cannot really be
+confined to one school. Purely Florentine painting in the Cinquecento
+now culminated in the work of Fra Bartolommeo (1475-1517) and Andrea
+del Sarto (1486-1531), who had both been the pupils of Piero di
+Cosimo, although they felt other and greater influences later. After
+Angelico, Fra Bartolommeo is the most purely religious of all the
+Florentine masters; and, with the solitary exception of Andrea del
+Sarto, he is their only really great colourist. Two pictures of his at
+Lucca--one in the Cathedral, the other now in the Palazzo
+Pubblico--are among the greatest works of the Renaissance. In the
+latter especially, "Our Lady of Mercy," he shows himself the heir in
+painting of the traditions of Savonarola. Many of Bartolommeo's
+altar-pieces have grown very black, and have lost much of their effect
+by being removed from the churches for which they were painted; but
+enough is left in Florence to show his greatness. With him was
+associated that gay Bohemian and wild liver, Mariotto Albertinelli
+(1474-1515), who deserted painting to become an innkeeper, and who
+frequently worked in partnership with the friar. Andrea del Sarto, the
+tailor's son who loved not wisely but too well, is the last of a noble
+line of heroic craftsmen. Although his work lacks all inspiration, he
+is one of the greatest of colourists. "Andrea del Sarto," writes Mr
+Berenson, "approached, perhaps, as closely to a Giorgione or a Titian
+as could a Florentine, ill at ease in the neighbourhood of Leonardo
+and Michelangelo." He entirely belongs to these closing days of the
+Republic; his earliest frescoes were painted during Soderini's
+gonfalonierate; his latest just before the great siege.
+
+In the Carnival of 1511 a wonderfully grim pageant was shown to the
+Florentines, and it was ominous of coming events. It was known as the
+_Carro della Morte_, and had been designed with much secrecy by Piero
+di Cosimo. Drawn by buffaloes, a gigantic black chariot, all painted
+over with dead men's bones and white crosses, slowly passed through
+the streets. Upon the top of it, there stood a large figure of Death
+with a scythe in her hand; all round her, on the chariot, were closed
+coffins. When at intervals the Triumph paused, harsh and hoarse
+trumpet-blasts sounded; the coffins opened, and horrible figures,
+attired like skeletons, half issued forth. "We are dead," they sang,
+"as you see. So shall we see you dead. Once we were even as you are,
+soon shall you be as we." Before and after the chariot, rode a great
+band of what seemed to be mounted deaths, on the sorriest steeds that
+could be found. Each bore a great black banner with skull and
+cross-bones upon it, and each ghastly cavalier was attended by four
+skeletons with black torches. Ten black standards followed the
+Triumph; and, as it slowly moved on, the whole procession chanted the
+_Miserere_. Vasari tells us that this spectacle, which filled the city
+with terror and wonder, was supposed to signify the return of the
+Medici to Florence, which was to be "as it were, a resurrection from
+death to life."
+
+And, sure enough, in the following year the Spaniards under Raimondo
+da Cardona fell upon Tuscany, and, after the horrible sack and
+massacre of Prato, reinstated the Cardinal Giovanni dei Medici and
+Giuliano in Florence--their elder brother, Piero, had been drowned in
+the Garigliano eight years before. Piero Soderini went into exile, the
+Greater Council was abolished, and, while the city was held by their
+foreign troops, the Medici renewed the old pretence of summoning a
+parliament to grant a balìa to reform the State. At the beginning of
+1513 two young disciples of Savonarola, Pietro Paolo Boscoli and
+Agostino Capponi, resolved to imitate Brutus and Cassius, and to
+liberate Florence by the death of the Cardinal and his brother. Their
+plot was discovered, and they died on the scaffold. "Get this Brutus
+out of my head for me," said Boscoli to Luca della Robbia, kinsman of
+the great sculptor, "that I may meet my last end like a Christian";
+and, to the Dominican friar who confessed him, he said, "Father, the
+philosophers have taught me how to bear death manfully; do you help
+me to bear it out of love for Christ." In this same year the Cardinal
+Giovanni was elected Pope, and entered upon his splendid and
+scandalous pontificate as Leo X. "Let us enjoy the Papacy," was his
+maxim, "since God has given it to us."
+
+Although Machiavelli was ready to serve the Medici, he had been
+deprived of his posts at the restoration, imprisoned and tortured on
+suspicion of being concerned in Boscoli's conspiracy, and now,
+released in the amnesty granted by the newly elected Pope, was living
+in poverty and enforced retirement at his villa near San Casciano. It
+was now that he wrote his great books, the _Principe_ and the
+_Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio_. Florence was ruled by
+the Pope's nephew, the younger Lorenzo, son of Piero by Alfonsina
+Orsini. The government was practically what it had been under the
+Magnificent, save that this new Lorenzo, who had married a French
+princess, discarded the republican appearances which his grandfather
+had maintained, and surrounded himself with courtiers and soldiers.
+For him and for Giuliano, the Pope cherished designs of carving out
+large princedoms in Italy; and Machiavelli, in dedicating his
+_Principe_ first to Giuliano, who died in 1516, and then to Lorenzo,
+probably dreamed that some such prince as he described might drive out
+the foreigner and unify the nation. In his nobler moments Leo X., too,
+seems to have aspired to establish the independence of Italy. When
+Lorenzo died in 1519, leaving one daughter, who was afterwards to be
+the notorious Queen of France, there was no direct legitimate male
+descendant of Cosimo the elder left; and the Cardinal Giulio, son of
+the elder Giuliano, governed Florence with considerable mildness, and
+even seemed disposed to favour a genuine republican government, until
+a plot against his life hardened his heart. It was to him that
+Machiavelli, who was now to some extent received back into favour,
+afterwards dedicated his _Istorie Fiorentine_. In 1523 the Cardinal
+Giulio, in spite of his illegitimate birth, became Pope Clement VII.,
+that most hapless of Pontiffs, whose reign was so surpassingly
+disastrous to Italy. In Florence the Medici were now represented by
+two young bastards, Ippolito and Alessandro, the reputed children of
+the younger Giuliano and the younger Lorenzo respectively; while the
+Cardinal Passerini misruled the State in the name of the Pope. But
+more of the true Medicean spirit had passed into the person of a
+woman, Clarice, the daughter of Piero (and therefore the sister of the
+Duke Lorenzo), who was married to the younger Filippo Strozzi, and
+could ill bear to see her house end in these two base-born lads. And
+elsewhere in Italy Giovanni delle Bande Nere (as he was afterwards
+called, from the mourning of his soldiers for his death) was winning
+renown as a captain; he was the son of that Giovanni dei Medici with
+whom Piero had quarrelled, by Caterina Sforza, the Lady of Forlì, and
+had married Maria Salviati, a grand-daughter of Lorenzo the
+Magnificent. But the Pope would rather have lost Florence than that it
+should fall into the hands of the younger line.
+
+But the Florentine Republic was to have a more glorious sunset. In
+1527, while the imperial troops sacked Rome, the Florentines for the
+third time expelled the Medici and re-established the Republic, with
+first Niccolò Capponi and then Francesco Carducci as Gonfaloniere. In
+this sunset Machiavelli died; Andrea del Sarto painted the last great
+Florentine fresco; Michelangelo returned to serve the State in her
+hour of need. The voices of the Piagnoni were heard again from San
+Marco, and Niccolò Capponi in the Greater Council carried a
+resolution electing Jesus Christ king of Florence. But the plague fell
+upon the city; and her liberty was the price of the reconciliation of
+Pope and Emperor. From October 1529 until August 1530, their united
+forces--first under the Prince of Orange and then under Ferrante
+Gonzaga--beleaguered Florence. Francesco Ferrucci, the last hope of
+the Republic, was defeated and slain by the imperialists near San
+Marcello; and then, betrayed by her own infamous general Malatesta
+Baglioni, the city capitulated on the understanding that, although the
+form of the government was to be regulated and established by the
+Emperor, her liberty was preserved. The sun had indeed set of the most
+noble Republic in all history.
+
+Alessandro dei Medici, the reputed son of Lorenzo by a mulatto woman,
+was now made hereditary ruler of Florence by the Emperor, whose
+illegitimate daughter he married, and by the Pope. For a time, the
+Duke behaved with some decency; but after the death of Clement in
+1534, he showed himself in his true light as a most abominable tyrant,
+and would even have murdered Michelangelo, who had been working upon
+the tombs of Giuliano and Lorenzo. "It was certainly by God's aid,"
+writes Condivi, "that he happened to be away from Florence when
+Clement died." Alessandro appears to have poisoned his kinsman, the
+Cardinal Ippolito, the other illegitimate remnant of the elder
+Medicean line, in whom he dreaded a possible rival. Associated with
+him in his worst excesses was a legitimate scion of the younger branch
+of the house, Lorenzino--the _Lorenzaccio_ of Alfred de Musset's
+drama--who was the grandson of the Lorenzo di Pier Francesco mentioned
+in the previous chapter.[26] On January 5th, 1537, this young man--a
+reckless libertine, half scholar and half madman--stabbed the Duke
+Alessandro to death with the aid of a bravo, and fled, only to find a
+dishonourable grave some ten years later in Venice.
+
+  [26] See the Genealogical Table of the Medici.
+
+  [Illustration: THE DAWN
+  BY MICHELANGELO]
+
+Florence now fell into the hands of the ablest and most ruthless of
+all her rulers, Cosimo I. (the son of Giovanni delle Bande Nere), who
+united Medicean craft with the brutality of the Sforzas, conquered
+Siena, and became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany. At the opening of
+his reign the Florentine exiles, headed by the Strozzi and by Baccio
+Valori, attempted to recover the State, but were defeated by Cosimo's
+mercenaries. Their leaders were relentlessly put to death; and Filippo
+Strozzi, after prolonged torture, was either murdered in prison or
+committed suicide. A word will be said presently, in chapter ix., on
+Cosimo's descendants, the Medicean Grand Dukes who reigned in Tuscany
+for two hundred years.
+
+The older generation of artists had passed away with the Republic.
+After the siege Michelangelo alone remained, compelled to labour upon
+the Medicean tombs in San Lorenzo, which have become a monument, less
+to the tyrants for whom he reared them, than to the _saeva indignatio_
+of the great master himself at the downfall of his country. A madrigal
+of his, written either in the days of Alessandro or at the beginning
+of Cosimo's reign, expresses what was in his heart. Symonds renders
+it:--
+
+     "Lady, for joy of lovers numberless
+     Thou wast created fair as angels are;
+     Sure God hath fallen asleep in heaven afar,
+     When one man calls the bliss of many his."
+
+But the last days and last works of Michelangelo belong to the story
+of Rome rather than to that of Florence. Jacopo Carucci da Pontormo
+(1494-1557), who had been Andrea del Sarto's scholar, and whose
+earlier works had been painted before the downfall of the Republic,
+connects the earlier with the later Cinquecento; but of his work, as
+of that of his pupil Angelo Bronzino (1502-1572), the portraits alone
+have any significance for us now. Giorgio Vasari (1512-1574), although
+painter and architect--the Uffizi and part of the Palazzo Vecchio are
+his work--is chiefly famous for his delightful series of biographies of
+the artists themselves. Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571), that most piquant
+of personalities, and the Fleming Giambologna or Giovanni da Bologna
+(1524-1608), the master of the flying Mercury, are the last noteworthy
+sculptors of the Florentine school. When Michelangelo--_Michel,
+più che mortale, Angel divino_, as Ariosto calls him--passed away on
+February 18th, 1564, the Renaissance was over as far as Art was
+concerned. And not in Art only. The dome of St Peter's, that was
+slowly rising before Michelangelo's dying eyes, was a visible sign of
+the new spirit that was moving within the Church itself, the spirit
+that reformed the Church and purified the Papacy, and which brought
+about the renovation of which Savonarola had prophesied.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+_The Palazzo Vecchio--The Piazza della Signoria--The Uffizi_
+
+     "Ecco il Palagio de' Signori si bello
+     che chi cercasse tutto l'universo,
+     non credo ch'é trovasse par di quello."
+         --_Antonio Pucci._
+
+  [Illustration: THE PALAZZO VECCHIO]
+
+
+At the eastern corner of the Piazza della Signoria--that great square
+over which almost all the history of Florence may be said to have
+passed--rises the Palazzo Vecchio, with its great projecting parapets
+and its soaring tower: the old Palace of the Signoria, originally the
+Palace of the Priors, and therefore of the People. It is often stated
+that the square battlements of the Palace itself represent the Guelfs,
+while the forked battlements of the tower are in some mysterious way
+connected with the Ghibellines, who can hardly be said to have still
+existed as a real party in the city when they were built; there is, it
+appears, absolutely no historical foundation for this legend. The
+Palace was commenced by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1298, when, in
+consequence of the hostility between the magnates and the people, it
+was thought that the Priors were not sufficiently secure in the Palace
+of the Cerchi; and it may be taken to represent the whole course of
+Florentine history, from this government of the Secondo Popolo,
+through Savonarola's Republic and the Medicean despotism, down to the
+unification of Italy. Its design and essentials, however, are
+Arnolfo's and the people's, though many later architects, besides
+Vasari, have had their share in the completion of the present
+building. Arnolfo founded the great tower of the Priors upon an older
+tower of a family of magnates, the Foraboschi, and it was also known
+as the Torre della Vacca. When, in those fierce democratic days, its
+great bell rang to summon a Parliament in the Piazza, or to call the
+companies of the city to arms, it was popularly said that "the cow"
+was lowing. The upper part of the tower belongs to the fifteenth
+century. Stupendous though the Palazzo is, it would have been of
+vaster proportions but for the prohibition given to Arnolfo to raise
+the house of the Republic where the dwellings of the Uberti had once
+stood--_ribelli di Firenze e Ghibellini_. Not even the heroism of
+Farinata could make this stern people less "fierce against my kindred
+in all its laws," as that great Ghibelline puts it to Dante in the
+_Inferno_.
+
+The present steps and platform in front of the Palace are only the
+remnants of the famous Ringhiera constructed here in the fourteenth
+century, and removed in 1812. On it the Signoria used to meet to
+address the crowd in the Piazza, or to enter upon their term of
+office. Here, at one time, the Gonfaloniere received the Standard of
+the People, and here, at a somewhat later date, the batons of command
+were given to the condottieri who led the mercenaries in the pay of
+the Republic. Here the famous meeting took place at which the Duke of
+Athens was acclaimed _Signore a vita_ by the mob; and here, a few
+months later, his Burgundian followers thrust out the most unpopular
+of his agents to be torn to pieces by the besiegers. Here the Papal
+Commissioners and the Eight sat on the day of Savonarola's martyrdom,
+as told in the last chapter.
+
+The inscription over the door, with the monogram of Christ, was
+placed here by the Gonfaloniere Niccolò Capponi in February 1528, in
+the last temporary restoration of the Republic; it originally
+announced that Jesus Christ had been chosen King of the Florentine
+People, but was modified by Cosimo I. The huge marble group of
+Hercules and Cacus on the right, by Baccio Bandinelli, is an atrocity;
+in Benvenuto Cellini's autobiography there is a rare story of how he
+and Baccio wrangled about it in the Duke's presence, on which occasion
+Bandinelli was stung into making a foul--but probably true--accusation
+against Cellini, which might have had serious consequences. The
+Marzocco on the left, the emblematical lion of Florence, is a copy
+from Donatello.
+
+The court is the work of Michelozzo, commenced in 1434, on the return
+of the elder Cosimo from exile. The stucco ornamentations and
+grotesques were executed in 1565, on the occasion of the marriage of
+Francesco dei Medici, son of Cosimo I., with Giovanna of Austria; the
+faded frescoes are partly intended to symbolise the ducal exploits,
+partly views of Austrian cities in compliment to the bride. The bronze
+boy with a dolphin, on the fountain in the centre of the court, was
+made by Andrea Verrocchio for Lorenzo the Magnificent; it is an
+exquisite little work, full of life and motion--"the little boy who
+for ever half runs and half flits across the courtyard of the Palace,
+while the dolphin ceaselessly struggles in the arms, whose pressure
+sends the water spurting from the nostrils."[27]
+
+  [27] Mr Armstrong in his _Lorenzo de' Medici_.
+
+On the first floor is the _Sala del Consiglio Grande_, frequently
+called the _Salone dei Cinquecento_. It was mainly constructed in 1495
+by Simone del Pollaiuolo, called Cronaca from his capacity of telling
+endless stories about Fra Girolamo. Here the Greater Council met,
+which the Friar declared was the work of God and not of man. And here
+it was that, in a famous sermon preached before the Signoria and chief
+citizens on August 20th, 1496, he cried: "I want no hats, no mitres
+great or small; nought would I have save what Thou hast given to Thy
+saints--death; a red hat, a hat of blood--this do I desire." It was
+supposed that the Pope had offered to make him a cardinal. In this
+same hall on the evening of May 22nd, 1498, the evening before their
+death, Savonarola was allowed an hour's interview with his two
+companions; it was the first time that they had met since their
+arrest, and in the meanwhile Savonarola had been told that the others
+had recanted, and Domenico and Silvestro had been shown what purported
+to be their master's confession, seeming, in part at least, to abjure
+the cause for which Fra Domenico was yearning to shed his blood. A few
+years later, in 1503, the Gonfaloniere Piero Soderini intrusted the
+decoration of these walls to Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo; and
+it was then that this hall, so consecrated to liberty, became _la
+scuola del mondo_, the school of all the world in art; and Raphael
+himself was among the most ardent of its scholars. Leonardo drew his
+famous scene of the Battle of the Standard, and appears to have
+actually commenced painting on the wall. Michelangelo sketched the
+cartoon of a group of soldiers bathing in the Arno, suddenly surprised
+by the sound of the trumpet calling them to arms; but he did not
+proceed any further. These cartoons played the same part in the art of
+the Cinquecento as Masaccio's Carmine frescoes in that of the
+preceding century; it is the universal testimony of contemporaries
+that they were the supremely perfect works of the Renaissance. Vasari
+gives a full description of each--but no traces of the original works
+now remain. One episode from Leonardo's cartoon is preserved in an
+engraving by Edelinck after a copy, which is hardly likely to have
+been a faithful one, by Rubens; and there is an earlier engraving as
+well. A few figures are to be seen in a drawing at Venice, doubtfully
+ascribed to Raphael. Drawings and engravings of Michelangelo's
+soldiers have made a portion of his composition familiar--enough at
+least to make the world realise something of the extent of its loss.
+
+On the restoration of the Medici in 1512, the hall was used as a
+barracks for their foreign soldiers; and Vasari accuses Baccio
+Bandinelli of having seized the opportunity to destroy Michelangelo's
+cartoon--which hardly seems probable. The frescoes which now cover the
+walls are by Vasari and his school, the statues of the Medici partly
+by Bandinelli, whilst that of Fra Girolamo is modern. It was in this
+hall that the first Parliament of United Italy met, during the short
+period when Florence was the capital. The adjoining rooms, called
+after various illustrious members of the Medicean family, are adorned
+with pompous uninspiring frescoes of their exploits by Vasari; in the
+Salotto di Papa Clemente there is a representation of the siege of
+Florence by the papal and imperial armies, which gives a fine idea of
+the magnitude of the third walls of the city, Arnolfo's walls, though
+even then the towers had been in part shortened.
+
+On the second floor, the hall prettily known as the Sala dei Gigli
+contains some frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio, executed about 1482.
+They represent St Zenobius in his majesty, enthroned between Eugenius
+and Crescentius, with Roman heroes as it were in attendance upon this
+great patron of the Florentines. In a lunette, painted in imitation of
+bas-relief, there is a peculiarly beautiful Madonna and Child with
+Angels, also by Domenico Ghirlandaio. This room is sometimes called
+the Sala del Orologio, from a wonderful old clock that once stood
+here. The following room, into which a door with marble framework by
+Benedetto da Maiano leads, is the audience chamber of the Signoria; it
+was originally to have been decorated by Ghirlandaio, Botticelli,
+Perugino, and Filippino Lippi--but the present frescoes are by
+Salviati in the middle of the sixteenth century. Here, on the fateful
+day of the _Cimento_ or Ordeal, the two Franciscans, Francesco da
+Puglia and Giuliano Rondinelli, consulted with the Priors and then
+passed into the Chapel to await the event. Beyond is the Priors'
+Chapel, dedicated to St Bernard and decorated with frescoes in
+imitation of mosaic by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (Domenico's son). Here on
+the morning of his martyrdom Savonarola said Mass, and, before
+actually communicating, took the Host in his hands and uttered his
+famous prayer:--
+
+"Lord, I know that Thou art that very God, the Creator of the world
+and of human nature. I know that Thou art that perfect, indivisible
+and inseparable Trinity, distinct in three Persons, Father, Son, and
+Holy Ghost. I know that Thou art that Eternal Word, who didst descend
+from Heaven to earth in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Thou didst ascend
+the wood of the Cross to shed Thy precious Blood for us, miserable
+sinners. I pray Thee, my Lord; I pray Thee, my Salvation; I pray Thee,
+my Consoler; that such precious Blood be not shed for me in vain, but
+may be for the remission of all my sins. For these I crave Thy pardon,
+from the day that I received the water of Holy Baptism even to this
+moment; and I confess to Thee, Lord, my guilt. And so I crave pardon
+of Thee for what offence I have done to this city and all this people,
+in things spiritual and temporal, as well as for all those things
+wherein of myself I am not conscious of having erred. And humbly do I
+crave pardon of all those persons who are here standing round. May
+they pray to God for me, and may He make me strong up to the last end,
+so that the enemy may have no power over me. Amen."
+
+Beyond the Priors' chapel are the apartments of Duke Cosimo's Spanish
+wife, Eleonora of Toledo, with a little chapel decorated by Bronzino.
+It was in these rooms that the Duchess stormed at poor Benvenuto
+Cellini, when he passed through to speak with the Duke--as he tells us
+in his autobiography. Benvenuto had an awkward knack of suddenly
+appearing here whenever the Duke and Duchess were particularly busy;
+but their children were hugely delighted at seeing him, and little Don
+Garzia especially used to pull him by the cloak and "have the most
+pleasant sport with me that such a _bambino_ could have."
+
+A room in the tower, discovered in 1814, is supposed to be the
+Alberghettino, in which the elder Cosimo was imprisoned in 1433, and
+in which Savonarola passed his last days--save when he was brought down
+to the Bargello to be tortured. Here the Friar wrote his meditations
+upon the _In te, Domine, speravi_ and the _Miserere_--meditations
+which became famous throughout Christendom. The prayer, quoted above,
+is usually printed as a pendant to the _Miserere_.
+
+On the left of the palace, the great fountain with Neptune and his
+riotous gods and goddesses of the sea, by Bartolommeo Ammanati and his
+contemporaries, is a characteristic production of the later
+Cinquecento. No less characteristic, though in another way, is the
+equestrian statue in bronze of Cosimo I., as first Grand Duke of
+Tuscany, by Giovanni da Bologna; the tyrant sits on his steed,
+gloomily guarding the Palace and Piazza where he has finally
+extinguished the last sparks of republican liberty. It was finished
+in 1594, in the days of his son Ferdinand I., the third Grand Duke.
+
+At the beginning of the Via Gondi, adjoining the custom-house and now
+incorporated in the Palazzo Vecchio, was the palace of the Captain,
+the residence of the Bargello and Executor of Justice. It was here
+that the Pazzi conspirators were hung out of the windows in 1478; here
+that Bernardo del Nero and his associates were beheaded in 1497; and
+here, in the following year, the examination of Savonarola and his
+adherents was carried on. Near here, too, stood in old times the
+Serraglio, or den of the lions, which was also incorporated by Vasari
+into the Palace; the Via del Leone, in which Vasari's rather fine
+rustica façade stands, is named from them still.
+
+The Piazza saw the Pisan captives forced ignominiously to kiss the
+Marzocco in 1364, and to build the so-called Tetto dei Pisani, which
+formerly stood on the west, opposite the Palace. In this Piazza, too,
+the people assembled in parliament at the sounding of the great bell.
+In the fifteenth century, this simply meant that whatever party in the
+State desired to alter the government, in their own favour, occupied
+the openings of the Piazza with troops; and the noisy rabble that
+appeared on these occasions, to roar out their assent to whatever was
+proposed, had but little connection with the real People of Florence.
+Among the wildest scenes that this Piazza has witnessed were those
+during the rising of the Ciompi in 1378, when again and again the
+populace surged round the Palace with their banners and wild cries,
+until the terrified Signoria granted their demands. Here, too, took
+place Savonarola's famous burnings of the Vanities in Carnival time;
+large piles of these "lustful things" were surmounted by allegorical
+figures of King Carnival, or of Lucifer and the seven deadly sins,
+and then solemnly fired; while the people sang the _Te Deum_, the
+bells rang, and the trumpets and drums of the Signoria pealed out
+their loudest. But sport of less serious kind went on here
+too--tournaments and shows of wild beasts and the like--things that
+the Florentines dearly loved, and in which their rulers found it
+politic to fool them to the top of their bent. For instance, on June
+25th, 1514, there was a _caccia_ of a specially magnificent kind; a
+sort of glorified bull-fight, in which a fountain surrounded by green
+woods was constructed in the middle of the Piazza, and two lions, with
+bears and leopards, bulls, buffaloes, stags, horses, and the like were
+driven into the arena. Enormous prices were paid for seats; foreigners
+came from all countries, and four Roman cardinals were conspicuous,
+including Raphael's Bibbiena, disguised as Spanish gentlemen. Several
+people were killed by the beasts. It was always a sore point with the
+Florentines that their lions were such unsatisfactory brutes and never
+distinguished themselves on these occasions; they were no match for
+your Spanish bull, at a time when, in politics, the bull's master had
+yoked all Italy to his triumphal car.
+
+The _Loggia dei Priori_, now called the _Loggia dei Lanzi_ after the
+German lancers of Duke Cosimo who were stationed here, was originally
+built for the Priors and other magistrates to exercise public
+functions, with all the display that mediæval republics knew so well
+how to use. It is a kind of great open vaulted hall; a throne for a
+popular government, as M. Reymond calls it. Although frequently known
+as the Loggia of Orcagna, it was commenced in 1376 by Benci di Cione
+and Simone Talenti, and is intermediate in style between Gothic and
+Renaissance (in contrast to the pure Gothic of the Bigallo). The
+sculptures above, frequently ascribed to Agnolo Gaddi and
+representing the Virtues, are now assigned to Giovanni d'Ambrogio and
+Jacopo di Piero, and were executed between 1380 and 1390. Among the
+numerous statues that now stand beneath its roof (and which include
+Giambologna's Rape of the Sabines) are two of the finest bronzes in
+Florence: Donatello's _Judith and Holofernes_, cast for Cosimo the
+elder, and originally in the Medicean Palace, but, on the expulsion of
+the younger Piero, set up on the Ringhiera with the threatening
+inscription: _exemplum Salutis Publicae_; and Benvenuto Cellini's
+_Perseus with the head of Medusa_, cast in 1553 for the Grand Duke
+Cosimo (then only Duke), and possibly intended as a kind of despotic
+counter-blast to the Judith. The pedestal (with the exception of the
+bas-relief in front, of which the original is in the Bargello) is also
+Cellini's. Cellini gives us a rare account of the exhibiting of this
+Perseus to the people, while the Duke himself lurked behind a window
+over the door of the palace to hear what was said. He assures us that
+the crowd gazed upon him--that is, the artist, not the statue--as
+something altogether miraculous for having accomplished such a work,
+and that two noblemen from Sicily accosted him as he walked in the
+Piazza, with such ceremony as would have been too much even towards
+the Pope. He took a holiday in honour of the event, sang psalms and
+hymns the whole way out of Florence, and was absolutely convinced that
+the _ne plus ultra_ of art had been reached.
+
+But it is of Savonarola, and not of Benvenuto Cellini, that the Loggia
+reminds us; for here was the scene of the _Cimento di Fuoco_, the
+ordeal of fire, on April 7th, 1498. An immense crowd of men filled the
+Piazza; women and children were excluded, but packed every inch of
+windows, roofs, balconies. The streets and entrances were strongly
+held by troops, while more were drawn up round the Palace under
+Giovacchino della Vecchia. The platform bearing the intended pyre--a
+most formidable death-trap, which was to be fired behind the champions
+as soon as they were well within it--ran out from the Ringhiera
+towards the centre of the Piazza. In spite of the strict proclamation
+to armed men not to enter, Doffo Spini appeared with three hundred
+Compagnacci, "all armed like Paladins," says Simone Filipepi,[28] "in
+favour of the friars of St Francis." They entered the Piazza with a
+tremendous uproar, and formed up under the Tetto dei Pisani, opposite
+the Palace. Simone says that there was a pre-arranged plot, in virtue
+of which they only waited for a sign from the Palace to cut the
+Dominicans and their adherents to pieces. The Loggia was divided into
+two parts, the half nearer the Palace assigned to the Franciscans, the
+other, in which a temporary altar had been erected, to the Dominicans.
+In front of the Loggia the sun flashed back from the armour of a
+picked band of soldiers, under Marcuccio Salviati, apparently intended
+as a counter demonstration to Doffo Spini and his young aristocrats.
+The Franciscans were first on the field, and quietly took their
+station. Their two champions entered the Palace, and were seen no more
+during the proceedings. Then with exultant strains of the _Exsurgat
+Deus_, the Dominicans slowly made their way down the Corso degli
+Adimari and through the Piazza in procession, two and two. Their
+fierce psalm was caught up and re-echoed by their adherents as they
+passed. Preceded by a Crucifix, about two hundred of these black and
+white "hounds of the Lord" entered the field of battle, followed by
+Fra Domenico in a rich cope, and then Savonarola in full vestments
+with the Blessed Sacrament, attended by deacon and sub-deacon. A band
+of devout republican laymen, with candles and red crosses, brought up
+the rear. Savonarola entered the Loggia, set the Sacrament on the
+altar, and solemnly knelt in adoration.
+
+  [28] Botticelli's brother and an ardent Piagnone, whose chronicle has
+  been recently discovered and published by Villari and Casanova. The
+  Franciscans were possibly sincere in the business, and mere tools in
+  the hands of the Compagnacci; they are not likely to have been privy
+  to the plot.
+
+Then, while Fra Girolamo stood firm as a column, delay after delay
+commenced. The Dominican's cope might be enchanted, or his robe too
+for the matter of that, so Domenico was hurried into the Palace and
+his garments changed. The two Franciscan stalwarts remained in the
+Priors' chapel. In the meanwhile a storm passed over the city. A rush
+of the Compagnacci and populace towards the Loggia was driven back by
+Salviati's guard. Domenico returned with changed garments, and stood
+among the Franciscans; stones hurtled about him; he would enter the
+fire with the Crucifix--this was objected to; then with the
+Sacrament--this was worse. Domenico was convinced that he would pass
+through the ordeal scathless, and that the Sacrament would not protect
+him if his cause were not just; but he was equally convinced that it
+was God's will that he should not enter the fire without it. Evening
+fell in the midst of the wrangling, and at last the Signoria ordered
+both parties to go home. Only the efforts of Salviati and his soldiery
+saved Savonarola and Domenico from being torn to pieces at the hands
+of the infuriated mob, who apparently concluded that they had been
+trifled with. "As the Father Fra Girolamo issued from the Loggia with
+the Most Holy Sacrament in his hands," says Simone Filipepi, who was
+present, "and Fra Domenico with his Crucifix, the signal was given
+from the Palace to Doffo Spini to carry out his design; but he, as it
+pleased God, would do nothing." The Franciscans of Santa Croce were
+promised an annual subsidy of sixty pieces of silver for their share
+in the day's work: "Here, take the price of the innocent blood you
+have betrayed," was their greeting when they came to demand it.
+
+In after years, Doffo Spini was fond of gossiping with Botticelli and
+his brother, Simone Filipepi, and made no secret of his intention of
+killing Savonarola on this occasion. Yet, of all the Friar's
+persecutors, he was the only one that showed any signs of penitence
+for what he had done. "On the ninth day of April, 1503," writes Simone
+in his Chronicle, "as I, Simone di Mariano Filipepi, was leaving my
+house to go to vespers in San Marco, Doffo Spini, who was in the
+company of Bartolommeo di Lorenzo Carducci, saluted me. Bartolommeo
+turned to me, and said that Fra Girolamo and the Piagnoni had spoilt
+and undone the city; whereupon many words passed between him and me,
+which I will not set down here. But Doffo interposed, and said that he
+had never had any dealings with Fra Girolamo, until the time when, as
+a member of the Eight, he had to examine him in prison; and that, if
+he had heard Fra Girolamo earlier and had been intimate with him,
+'even as Simone here'--turning to me--'I would have been a more ardent
+partisan of his than even Simone, for nothing save good was ever seen
+in him even unto his death.'"
+
+
+THE UFFIZI
+
+Beyond the Palazzo Vecchio, between the Piazza and the Arno, stands
+the Palazzo degli Uffizi, which Giorgio Vasari reared in the third
+quarter of the sixteenth century, for Cosimo I. It contains the
+Archives, the Biblioteca Nazionale (which includes the Palatine and
+Magliabecchian Libraries, and, like all similar institutions in
+Italy, is generously thrown open to all comers without reserve), and,
+above all, the great picture gallery commenced by the Grand Dukes,
+usually simply known as the Uffizi and now officially the Galleria
+Reale degli Uffizi, which, together with its continuation in the Pitti
+Palace across the river, is undoubtedly the finest collection of
+pictures in the world.
+
+  [Illustration: LOOKING THROUGH VASARI'S LOGGIA, UFFIZI]
+
+Leaving the double lines of illustrious Florentines, men great in the
+arts of war and peace, in their marble niches watching over the
+pigeons who throng the Portico, we ascend to the picture gallery by
+the second door to the left.[29]
+
+  [29] The following notes make no pretence at furnishing a catalogue,
+  but are simply intended to indicate the more important Italian
+  pictures, especially the principal masterpieces of, or connected with
+  the Florentine school.
+
+
+RITRATTI DEI PITTORI--PRIMO CORRIDORE.
+
+On the way up, four rooms on the right contain the Portraits of the
+Painters, many of them painted by themselves. In the further room,
+Filippino Lippi by himself, fragment of a fresco (286). Raphael (288)
+at the age of twenty-three, with his spiritual, almost feminine
+beauty, painted by himself at Urbino during his Florentine period,
+about 1506. This is Raphael before the worldly influence of Rome had
+fallen upon him, the youth who came from Urbino and Perugia to the
+City of the Lilies with the letter of recommendation from Urbino's
+Duchess to Piero Soderini, to sit at the feet of Leonardo and
+Michelangelo, and wander with Fra Bartolommeo through the cloisters of
+San Marco. Titian (384), "in which he appears, painted by himself, on
+the confines of old age, vigorous and ardent still, fully conscious,
+moreover, though without affectation, of pre-eminent genius and
+supreme artistic rank" (Mr C. Phillips). Tintoretto, by himself (378);
+Andrea del Sarto, by himself (1176); a genuine portrait of
+Michelangelo (290), but of course not by himself; Rubens, by himself
+(228). An imaginary portrait of Leonardo da Vinci (292), of a much
+later period, may possibly preserve some tradition of the "magician's"
+appearance; the Dosso Dossi is doubtful; those of Giorgione and
+Bellini are certainly apocryphal. In the second room are two portraits
+of Rembrandt by himself. In the third room Angelica Kauffmann and
+Vigée Le Brun are charming in their way. In the fourth room, English
+visitors cannot fail to welcome several of their own painters of the
+nineteenth century, including Mr Watts.
+
+Passing the Medicean busts at the head of the stairs, the famous Wild
+Boar and the two Molossian Hounds, we enter the first or eastern
+corridor, containing paintings of the earlier masters, mingled with
+ancient busts and sarcophagi. The best specimens of the Giotteschi are
+an Agony in the Garden (8), wrongly ascribed to Giotto himself; an
+Entombment (27), ascribed to a Giotto di Stefano, called Giottino, a
+painter of whom hardly anything but the nickname is known; an
+Annunciation (28), ascribed to Agnolo Gaddi; and an altar-piece by
+Giovanni da Milano (32). There are some excellent early Sienese
+paintings; a Madonna and Child with Angels, by Pietro Lorenzetti,
+1340 (15); the Annunciation, by Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi (23); and
+a very curious picture of the Hermits of the Thebaid (16), a kind of
+devout fairy-land painted possibly by one of the Lorenzetti, in the
+spirit of those delightfully naïve _Vite del Santi Padri_. Lorenzo
+Monaco, or Don Lorenzo, a master who occupies an intermediate position
+between the Giotteschi and the Quattrocento, is represented by the
+Mystery of the Passion (40), a symbolical picture painted in 1404, of a
+type that Angelico brought to perfection in a fresco in San Marco; the
+Adoration of the Magi (39, the scenes in the frame by a later hand),
+and Madonna and Saints (41). The portrait of Giovanni dei Medici (43)
+is by an unknown hand of the Quattrocento. Paolo Uccello's Battle (52)
+is mainly a study in perspective. The Annunciation (53), by Neri di
+Bicci di Lorenzo, is a fair example of one of the least progressive
+painters of the Quattrocento. The pictures by Alessio Baldovinetti (56
+and 60) and Cosimo Rosselli (63 and 65) are tolerable examples of
+very uninteresting fifteenth century masters. The allegorical figures
+of the Virtues (69-73), ascribed to Piero Pollaiuolo, are second-rate;
+and the same may be said of an Annunciation (such is the real subject
+of 81) and the Perseus and Andromeda pictures (85, 86, 87) by Piero di
+Cosimo. But the real gem of this corridor is the Madonna and
+Child (74), which Luca Signorelli painted for Lorenzo dei Medici, a
+picture which profoundly influenced Michelangelo; the splendidly
+modelled nude figures of men in the background transport us into the
+golden age.
+
+
+TRIBUNA.
+
+The famous Tribuna is supposed to contain the masterpieces of the
+whole collection, though the lover of the Quattrocento will naturally
+seek his best-loved favourites elsewhere. Of the five ancient
+sculptures in the centre of the hall the best is that of the crouching
+barbarian slave, who is preparing his knife to flay Marsyas. It is a
+fine work of the Pergamene school. The celebrated Venus dei Medici is
+a typical Græco-Roman work, the inscription at its base being a
+comparatively modern forgery. It was formerly absurdly overpraised,
+and is in consequence perhaps too much depreciated at the present day.
+The remaining three--the Satyr, the Wrestlers, and the young
+Apollo--have each been largely and freely restored.
+
+Turning to the pictures, we have first the Madonna del
+Cardellino (1129), painted by Raphael during his Florentine period when
+under the influence of Fra Bartolommeo, in 1506 or thereabouts, and
+afterwards much damaged and restored: still one of the most beautiful
+of his early Madonnas. The St. John the Baptist (1127), ascribed to
+Raphael, is only a school piece, though from a design of the
+master's. The Madonna del Pozzo (1125), in spite of its hard and
+over-smooth colouring, was at one time attributed to Raphael; its
+ascription to Francia Bigio is somewhat conjectural. The portrait of a
+Lady wearing a wreath (1123), and popularly called the Fornarina,
+originally ascribed to Giorgione and later to Raphael, is believed to
+be by Sebastiano del Piombo. Then come a lady's portrait, ascribed to
+Raphael (1120); another by a Veronese master, erroneously ascribed to
+Mantegna, and erroneously said to represent the Duchess Elizabeth of
+Urbino (1121); Bernardino Luini's Daughter of Herodias (1135), a fine
+study of a female Italian criminal of the Renaissance; Perugino's
+portrait of Francesco delle Opere, holding a scroll inscribed _Timete
+Deum_, an admirable picture painted in oils about the year 1494, and
+formerly supposed to be a portrait of Perugino by himself (287);
+portrait of Evangelista Scappa, ascribed to Francia (1124); and a
+portrait of a man, by Sebastiano del Piombo (3458). Raphael's Pope
+Julius II. (1131) is a grand and terrible portrait of the tremendous
+warrior Pontiff, whom the Romans called a second Mars. Vasari says
+that in this picture he looks so exactly like himself that "one
+trembles before him as if he were still alive." Albert Dürer's
+Adoration of the Magi (1141) and Lucas van Leyden's Mystery of the
+Passion (1143) are powerful examples of the religious painting of the
+North, that loved beauty less for its own sake than did the Italians.
+The latter should be compared with similar pictures by Don Lorenzo and
+Fra Angelico. Titian's portrait of the Papal Nuncio Beccadelli (1116),
+painted in 1552, although a decidedly fine work, has been rather
+overpraised.
+
+Michelangelo's Holy Family (1139) is the only existing easel picture
+that the master completed. It was painted for the rich merchant,
+Angelo Doni (who haggled in a miserly fashion over the price and was
+in consequence forced to pay double the sum agreed upon), about 1504,
+in the days of the Gonfaloniere Soderini, when Michelangelo was
+engaged upon the famous cartoon for the Sala del Maggior Consiglio.
+Like Luca Signorelli, Michelangelo has introduced naked figures,
+apparently shepherds, into his background. "In the Doni Madonna of the
+Uffizi," writes Walter Pater, "Michelangelo actually brings the pagan
+religion, and with it the unveiled human form, the sleepy-looking
+fauns of a Dionysiac revel, into the presence of the Madonna, as
+simpler painters had introduced other products of the earth, birds or
+flowers; and he has given to that Madonna herself much of the uncouth
+energy of the older and more primitive 'Mighty Mother.'" The painters
+introduced into their pictures what they loved best, in earth or sky,
+as votive offerings to the Queen of Heaven; and what Signorelli and
+Michelangelo best loved was the human form. This is reflected in the
+latter's own lines:--
+
+     Nè Dio, sua grazia, mi si mostra altrove,
+     più che'n alcun leggiadro e mortal velo,
+     e quel sol amo, perchè'n quel si specchia.
+
+"Nor does God vouchsafe to reveal Himself to me anywhere more than in
+some lovely mortal veil, and that alone I love, because He is mirrored
+therein."
+
+In the strongest possible contrast to Michelangelo's picture are the
+two examples of the softest master of the Renaissance--Correggio's
+Repose on the Flight to Egypt (1118), and his Madonna adoring the
+Divine Child (1134). The former, with its rather out of place St.
+Francis of Assisi, is a work of what is known as Correggio's
+transition period, 1515-1518, after he had painted his earlier easel
+pictures and before commencing his great fresco work at Parma; the
+latter, a more characteristic picture, is slightly later and was given
+by the Duke of Mantua to Cosimo II. The figures of Prophets by Fra
+Bartolommeo (1130 and 1126), the side-wings of a picture now in the
+Pitti Gallery, are not remarkable in any way. The Madonna and Child
+with the Baptist and St. Sebastian (1122) is a work of Perugino's
+better period.
+
+There remain the two famous Venuses of Titian. The so-called Urbino
+Venus (1117)--a motive to some extent borrowed, and slightly coarsened
+in the borrowing, from Giorgione's picture at Dresden--is much the
+finer of the two. It was painted for Francesco Maria della Rovere,
+Duke of Urbino, and, although not a portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga, who
+was then a middle-aged woman, it was certainly intended to conjure up
+the beauty of her youth. What Eleonora really looked like at this
+time, you can see in the first of the two Venetian rooms, where
+Titian's portrait of her, painted at about the same date, hangs. The
+Venus and Cupid (1108) is a later work; the goddess is the likeness of
+a model who very frequently appears in the works of Titian and Palma.
+
+
+SCUOLA TOSCANA.
+
+On the left we pass out of the Tribuna to three rooms devoted to the
+Tuscan school.
+
+The first contains the smaller pictures, including several priceless
+Angelicos and Botticellis. Fra Angelico's Naming of St. John (1162),
+Marriage of the Blessed Virgin to St. Joseph (1178), and her Death
+(1184), are excellent examples of his delicate execution and spiritual
+expression in his smaller, miniature-like works. Antonio Pollaiuolo's
+Labours of Hercules (1153) is one of the masterpieces of this most
+uncompromising realist of the Quattrocento. Either by Antonio or his
+brother Piero, is also the portrait of that monster of iniquity,
+Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (30). Sandro Botticelli's Calumny
+(1182) is supposed to have been painted as a thankoffering to a friend
+who had defended him from the assaults of slanderous tongues; it is a
+splendid example of his dramatic intensity, the very statues in their
+niches taking part in the action. The subject--taken from Lucian's
+description of a picture by Apelles of Ephesus--was frequently painted
+by artists of the Renaissance, and there is a most magnificent drawing
+of the same by Andrea Mantegna at the British Museum, which was copied
+by Rembrandt. On the judgment-seat sits a man with ears like those of
+Midas, into which Ignorance and Suspicion on either side ever whisper.
+Before him stands Envy,--a hideous, pale, and haggard man, seeming
+wasted by some slow disease. He is making the accusation and leading
+Calumny, a scornful Botticellian beauty, who holds in one hand a torch
+and with the other drags her victim by the hair to the judge's feet.
+Calumny is tended and adorned by two female figures, Artifice and
+Deceit. But Repentance slowly follows, in black mourning habit; while
+naked Truth--the Botticellian Venus in another form--raises her hand
+in appeal to the heavens.
+
+The rather striking portrait of a painter (1163) is usually supposed
+to be Andrea Verrocchio, by Lorenzo di Credi, his pupil and successor;
+Mr Berenson, however, considers that it is Perugino and by Domenico
+Ghirlandaio. On the opposite wall are two very early Botticellis,
+Judith returning from the camp of the Assyrians (1156) and the finding
+of the body of Holofernes (1158), in a scale of colouring differing
+from that of his later works. The former is one of those pictures
+which have been illumined for us by Ruskin, who regards it as the only
+picture that is true to Judith; "The triumph of Miriam over a fallen
+host, the fire of exulting mortal life in an immortal hour, the purity
+and severity of a guardian angel--all are here; and as her servant
+follows, carrying indeed the head, but invisible--(a mere thing to be
+carried--no more to be so much as thought of)--she looks only at her
+mistress, with intense, servile, watchful love. Faithful, not in these
+days of fear only, but hitherto in all her life, and afterwards for
+ever." Walter Pater has read the picture in a different sense, and
+sees in it Judith "returning home across the hill country, when the
+great deed is over, and the moment of revulsion come, and the olive
+branch in her hand is becoming a burden."
+
+The portrait of Andrea del Sarto by himself (280) represents him in
+the latter days of his life, and was painted on a tile in 1529, about
+a year before his death, with some colours that remained over after he
+had finished the portrait of one of the Vallombrosan monks; his wife
+kept it by her until her death. The very powerful likeness of an old
+man in white cap and gown (1167), a fresco ascribed to Masaccio, is
+more probably the work of Filippino Lippi. The famous Head of Medusa
+(1159) must be seen with grateful reverence by all lovers of English
+poetry, for it was admired by Shelley and inspired him with certain
+familiar and exceedingly beautiful stanzas; but as for its being a
+work of Leonardo da Vinci, it is now almost universally admitted to be
+a comparatively late forgery, to supply the place of the lost Medusa
+of which Vasari speaks. The portrait (1157), also ascribed to
+Leonardo, is better, but probably no more authentic. Here is a most
+dainty little example of Fra Bartolommeo's work on a small scale
+(1161), representing the Circumcision and the Nativity, with the
+Annunciation in grisaille on the back. Botticelli's St. Augustine
+(1179) is an early work, and, like the Judith, shows his artistic
+derivation from Fra Lippo Lippi, to whom indeed it was formerly
+ascribed. His portrait of Piero di Lorenzo dei Medici (1154), a
+splendid young man in red cap and flowing dark hair, has been already
+referred to in chapter iii.; it was formerly supposed to be a likeness
+of Pico della Mirandola. It was painted before Piero's expulsion from
+Florence, probably during the life-time of the Magnificent, and
+represents him before he degenerated into the low tyrannical
+blackguard of later years; he apparently wishes to appeal to the
+memory of his great-grandfather Cosimo, whose medallion he holds, to
+find favour with his unwilling subjects. The portraits of Duke
+Cosimo's son and grandchild, Don Garzia and Donna Maria (1155 and
+1164), by Bronzino, should be noted. Finally we have the famous
+picture of Perseus freeing Andromeda, by Piero di Cosimo (1312). It is
+about the best specimen of his fantastic conceptions to be seen in
+Florence, and the monster itself is certainly a triumph of a somewhat
+unhealthy imagination nourished in solitude on an odd diet.
+
+In the second room are larger works of the great Tuscans. The
+Adoration of the Magi (1252) is one of the very few authentic works of
+Leonardo; it was one of his earliest productions, commenced in 1478,
+and, like so many other things of his, never finished. The St.
+Sebastian (1279) is one of the masterpieces of that wayward Lombard or
+rather Piedmontese--although we now associate him with Siena--who
+approached nearest of all to the art of Leonardo, Giovanni Antonio
+Bazzi, known still as Sodoma. Ridolfo Ghirlandaio's Miracles of
+Zenobius (1277 and 1275) are excellent works by a usually second-rate
+master. The Visitation with its predella, by Mariotto Albertinelli
+(1259), painted in 1503, is incomparably the greatest picture that Fra
+Bartolommeo's wild friend and fellow student ever produced, and one in
+which he most nearly approaches the best works of Bartolommeo himself.
+"The figures, however," Morelli points out, "are less refined and
+noble than those of the Frate, and the foliage of the trees is
+executed with miniature-like precision, which is never the case in the
+landscapes of the latter." Andrea del Sarto's genial and kindly St.
+James with the orphans (1254), is one of his last works; it was
+painted to serve as a standard in processions, and has consequently
+suffered considerably. Bronzino's Descent of Christ into Hades (1271),
+that "heap of cumbrous nothingnesses and sickening offensivenesses,"
+as Ruskin pleasantly called it, need only be seen to be loathed. The
+so-called Madonna delle Arpie, or our Lady of the Harpies, from the
+figures on the pedestal beneath her feet (1112), is perhaps the finest
+of all Andrea del Sarto's pictures; the Madonna is a highly idealised
+likeness of his own wife Lucrezia, and some have tried to recognise
+the features of the painter himself in the St. John:--
+
+     "You loved me quite enough, it seems to-night.
+     This must suffice me here. What would one have?
+     In heaven, perhaps, new chances, one more chance--
+     Four great walls in the New Jerusalem
+     Meted on each side by the Angel's reed,
+     For Leonard, Rafael, Agnolo and me
+     To cover--the three first without a wife,
+     While I have mine! So--still they overcome
+     Because there's still Lucrezia,--as I choose."
+
+The full-length portrait of Cosimo the Elder (1267), the Pater
+Patriae (so the flattery of the age hailed the man who said that a
+city destroyed was better than a city lost), was painted by Pontormo
+from some fifteenth century source, as a companion piece to his
+portrait here of Duke Cosimo I. (1270). The admirable portrait of
+Lorenzo the Magnificent by Vasari (1269) is similarly constructed from
+contemporary materials, and is probably the most valuable thing that
+Vasari has left to us in the way of painting. The unfinished picture
+by Fra Bartolommeo (1265), representing our Lady enthroned with St.
+Anne, the guardian of the Republic, watching over her and interceding
+for Florence, while the patrons of the city gather round for her
+defence, was intended for the altar in the Sala del Maggior Consiglio
+of the Palazzo Vecchio; it is conceived in something of the same
+spirit that made the last inheritors of Savonarola's tradition and
+teaching fondly believe that Angels would man the walls of Florence,
+rather than that she should again fall into the hands of her former
+tyrants, the Medici. The great Madonna and Child with four Saints and
+two Angels scattering flowers, by Filippino Lippi (1268), was painted
+in 1485 for the room in the Palazzo Vecchio in which the Otto di
+Pratica held their meetings. The Adoration of the Magi (1257), also by
+Filippino Lippi, painted in 1496, apart from its great value as a work
+of art, has a curious historical significance; the Magi and their
+principal attendants, who are thus pushing forwards to display their
+devotion to Our Lady of Florence and the Child whom the Florentines
+were to elect their King, are the members of the younger branch of the
+Medici, who have returned to the city now that Piero has been
+expelled, and are waiting their chance. See how they have already
+replaced the family of the elder Cosimo, who occupy this same
+position in a similar picture painted some eighteen years before by
+Sandro Botticelli, Filippino's master. At this epoch they had
+ostentatiously altered their name of Medici and called themselves
+Popolani, but were certainly intriguing against Fra Girolamo. The old
+astronomer kneeling to our extreme left is the elder Piero Francesco,
+watching the adventurous game for a throne that his children are
+preparing; the most prominent figure in the picture, from whose head a
+page is lifting the crown, is Pier Francesco's son, Giovanni, who will
+soon woo Caterina Sforza, the lady of Forlì, and make her the mother
+of Giovanni delle Bande Nere; and the precious vessel which he is to
+offer to the divine Child is handed to him by the younger Pier
+Francesco, the father of Lorenzaccio, that "Tuscan Brutus" whose
+dagger was to make Giovanni's grandson, Cosimo, the sole lord of
+Florence and her empire.[30]
+
+  [30] See the Genealogical Table in Appendix. The elder Pier Francesco
+  was dead many years before this picture was painted. It was for his
+  other son, Lorenzo, that Sandro Botticelli drew his illustrations of
+  the _Divina Commedia_.
+
+Granacci's Madonna of the Girdle (1280), over the door, formerly in
+San Piero Maggiore, is a good example of a painter who imitated most
+of his contemporaries and had little individuality. On easels in the
+middle of the room are (3452) Venus, by Lorenzo di Credi, a
+conscientious attempt to follow the fashion of the age and handle a
+subject quite alien to his natural sympathies--for Lorenzo di Credi
+was one of those who sacrificed their studies of the nude on
+Savonarola's pyre of the Vanities; and (3436) an Adoration of the
+Magi, a cartoon of Sandro Botticelli's, coloured by a later hand,
+marvellously full of life in movement, intense and passionate, in
+which--as though the painter anticipated the Reformation--the
+followers of the Magi are fighting furiously with each other in their
+desire to find the right way to the Stable of Bethlehem!
+
+The third room of the Tuscan School contains some of the truest
+masterpieces of the whole collection. The Epiphany, by Domenico
+Ghirlandaio (1295), painted in 1487, is one of that prosaic master's
+best easel pictures. The wonderful Annunciation (1288), in which the
+Archangel has alighted upon the flowers in the silence of an Italian
+twilight, with a mystical landscape of mountains and rivers, and
+far-off cities in the background, may possibly be an early work of
+Leonardo da Vinci, to whom it is officially assigned, but is ascribed
+by contemporary critics to Leonardo's master, Andrea Verrocchio. The
+least satisfactory passage is the rather wooden face and inappropriate
+action of the Madonna; Leonardo would surely not have made her, on
+receiving the angelic salutation, put her finger into her book to keep
+the place. After Three Saints by one of the Pollaiuoli (1301) and two
+smaller pictures by Lorenzo di Credi (1311 and 1313), we come to Piero
+della Francesca's grand portraits of Federigo of Montefeltro, Duke of
+Urbino, and his wife, Battista Sforza (1300); on the reverse, the Duke
+and Duchess are seen in triumphal cars surrounded with allegorical
+pageantry. Federigo is always, as here, represented in profile,
+because he lost his right eye and had the bridge of his nose broken in
+a tournament. The three predella scenes (1298) are characteristic
+examples of the minor works of Piero's great pupil, Luca Signorelli of
+Cortona.
+
+On the opposite wall are four Botticellian pictures. The Magnificat
+(1267 _bis_)--Sandro's most famous and familiar tondo--in which the
+Madonna rather sadly writes the Magnificat, while Angels cluster round
+to crown their Queen, to offer ink and book, or look into the thing
+that she has written, while the Dove hovers above her, is full of the
+haunting charm, the elusive mystery, the vague yearning, which makes
+the fascination of Botticelli to-day. She already seems to be
+anticipating the Passion of that Child--so unmistakably divine--who is
+guiding her hand. The Madonna of the Pomegranate (1289) is a somewhat
+similar, but less beautiful tondo; the Angel faces, who are said to be
+idealised portraits of the Medicean children, have partially lost
+their angelic look. The Fortitude (1299) is one of Sandro's earliest
+paintings, and its authenticity has been questioned; she seems to be
+dreading, almost shrinking from some great battle at hand, of which no
+man can foretell the end. The Annunciation (1316) is rather
+Botticellian in conception; but the colouring and execution generally
+do not suggest the master himself. Antonio Pollaiuolo's Prudence
+(1306) is a harsh companion to Sandro's Fortitude. The tondo (1291) of
+the Holy Family, by Luca Signorelli, is one of his best works in this
+kind; the colouring is less heavy than is usual with him, and the
+Child is more divine. Of the two carefully finished Annunciations by
+Lorenzo di Credi (1314, 1160), the latter is the earlier and finer.
+Fra Filippo's little Madonna of the Sea (1307), with her happy
+boy-like Angel attendants, is one of the monk's most attractive and
+characteristic works; perhaps the best of all his smaller pictures.
+And we have left to the last Fra Angelico's divinest dream of the
+Coronation of the Madonna in the Empyrean Heaven of Heavens (1290),
+amidst exultant throngs of Saints and Angels absorbed in the Beatific
+Vision of Paradise. It is the pictorial equivalent of Bernard's most
+ardent sermons on the Assumption of Mary and of the mystic musings of
+John of Damascus. Here are "the Angel choirs of Angelico, with the
+flames on their white foreheads waving brighter as they move, and the
+sparkles streaming from their purple wings like the glitter of many
+suns upon a sounding sea, listening in the pauses of alternate song,
+for the prolonging of the trumpet blast, and the answering of psaltery
+and cymbal, throughout the endless deep, and from all the star shores
+of heaven."[31]
+
+  [31] _Modern Painters_, vol. ii.
+
+
+SALA DI MAESTRI DIVERSI ITALIANI.
+
+In the small room which opens out of the Tribune, on the opposite side
+to these three Tuscan rooms, are two perfect little gems of more
+northern Italian painting. Mantegna's Madonna of the Quarries (1025),
+apart from its nobility of conception and grand austerity of
+sentiment, is a positive marvel of minute drawing with the point of
+the _pennello_. Every detail in the landscape, with the winding road
+up to the city on the hill, the field labourers in the meadow, the
+shepherds and travellers, on the left, and the stone-cutterss among
+the caverns on the right, preparing stone for the sculptors and
+architects of Florence and Rome, is elaborately rendered with
+exquisite delicacy and finish. It was painted at Rome in 1488, while
+Mantegna was working on his frescoes (now destroyed) for Pope Innocent
+VIII. in a chapel of the Vatican. The other is a little Madonna and
+Child with two Angels playing musical instruments, by Correggio
+(1002), a most exquisite little picture in an almost perfect state of
+preservation, formerly ascribed to Titian, but entirely characteristic
+of Correggio's earliest period when he was influenced by Mantegna and
+the Ferrarese.
+
+Beyond are the Dutch, Flemish, German, and French pictures which do
+not come into our present scope--though they include several excellent
+works as, notably, a little Madonna by Hans Memlinc and two Apostles
+by Albert Dürer. The cabinet of the gems contains some of the
+treasures left by the Medicean Grand Dukes, including work by Cellini
+and Giovanni da Bologna.
+
+
+SCUOLA VENETA.
+
+Crossing the short southern corridor, with some noteworthy ancient
+sculptury, we pass down the long western corridor. Out of this open
+first the two rooms devoted to the Venetian school. In the first, to
+seek the best only, are Titian's portraits of Francesco Maria della
+Rovere, third Duke of Urbino, and Eleonora Gonzaga, his duchess (605
+and 599), painted in 1537. A triptych by Mantegna (1111)--the
+Adoration of the Kings, between the Circumcision and the Ascension--is
+one of the earlier works of the great Paduan master; the face of the
+Divine Child in the Circumcision is marvellously painted. The Madonna
+by the Lake by Giovanni Bellini (631), also called the Allegory of the
+Tree of Life, is an exceedingly beautiful picture, one of Bellini's
+later works. Titian's Flora (626), an early work of the master,
+charming in its way, has been damaged and rather overpraised. In the
+second room, are three works by Giorgione; the Judgment of Solomon and
+the Ordeal of Moses (630 and 621), with their fantastic costumes and
+poetically conceived landscapes, are very youthful works indeed; the
+portrait of a Knight of Malta (622) is more mature, and one of the
+noblest of Venetian portraits. Florence thus possesses more authentic
+works of this wonderful, almost mythical, Venetian than does Venice
+herself. Here, too, is usually--except when it is in request
+elsewhere for the copyist--Titian's Madonna and Child with the boy
+John Baptist, and the old Antony Abbot, leaning on his staff and
+watching the flower play (633)--the most beautiful of Titian's early
+Giorgionesque Madonnas.
+
+  [Illustration: VENUS
+  BY SANDRO BOTTICELLI]
+
+
+SALA DI LORENZO MONACO.
+
+The following passage leads to the Sala di Lorenzo Monaco, the room
+which bears the name of the austere monk of Camaldoli, and, hallowed
+by the presence of Fra Angelico's Madonna, seems at times almost to
+re-echo still with the music of the Angel choir; but to which the
+modern worshipper turns to adore the Venus of the Renaissance rising
+from the Sea. For here is Sandro Botticelli's famous Birth of Venus
+(39), the most typical picture of the Quattrocento, painted for
+Lorenzo dei Medici and in part inspired by certain lines of Angelo
+Poliziano. But let all description be left to the golden words of
+Walter Pater in his _Renaissance_:--
+
+"At first, perhaps, you are attracted only by a quaintness of design,
+which seems to recall all at once whatever you have read of Florence
+in the fifteenth century; afterwards you may think that this
+quaintness must be incongruous with the subject, and that the colour
+is cadaverous or at least cold. And yet, the more you come to
+understand what imaginative colouring really is, that all colour is no
+mere delightful quality of natural things, but a spirit upon them by
+which they become expressive to the spirit, the better you will like
+this peculiar quality of colour; and you will find that quaint design
+of Botticelli's a more direct inlet into the Greek temper than the
+works of the Greeks themselves, even of the finest period. Of the
+Greeks as they really were, of their difference from ourselves, of
+the aspects of their outward life, we know far more than Botticelli,
+or his most learned contemporaries; but for us long familiarity has
+taken off the edge of the lesson, and we are hardly conscious of what
+we owe to the Hellenic spirit. But in pictures like this of
+Botticelli's you have a record of the first impression made by it on
+minds turned back towards it, in almost painful aspiration, from a
+world in which it had been ignored so long; and in the passion, the
+energy, the industry of realisation, with which Botticelli carries out
+his intention, is the exact measure of the legitimate influence over
+the human mind of the imaginative system of which this is the central
+myth. The light is indeed cold--mere sunless dawn; but a later painter
+would have cloyed you with sunshine; and you can see the better for
+that quietness in the morning air each long promontory, as it slopes
+down to the water's edge. Men go forth to their labours until the
+evening; but she is awake before them, and you might think that the
+sorrow in her face was at the thought of the whole long day of love
+yet to come. An emblematical figure of the wind blows hard across the
+grey water, moving forward the dainty-lipped shell on which she sails,
+the sea 'showing his teeth' as it moves in thin lines of foam, and
+sucking in, one by one, the falling roses, each severe in outline,
+plucked off short at the stalk, but embrowned a little, as
+Botticelli's flowers always are. Botticelli meant all that imagery to
+be altogether pleasurable; and it was partly an incompleteness of
+resources, inseparable from the art of that time, that subdued and
+chilled it; but his predilection for minor tones counts also; and what
+is unmistakable is the sadness with which he has conceived the goddess
+of pleasure, as the depositary of a great power over the lives of
+men."
+
+In this same room are five other masterpieces of early Tuscan
+painting. Don Lorenzo's Coronation of the Madonna (1309), though
+signed and dated 1413, may be regarded as the last great altar-piece
+of the school of Giotto and his followers. It has been terribly
+repainted. The presence in the most prominent position of St. Benedict
+and St. Romuald in their white robes shows that it was painted for a
+convent of Camaldolese monks. The predella, representing the Adoration
+of the Magi and scenes from the life of St. Benedict, includes a very
+sweet little picture of the last interview of the saint with his
+sister Scholastica, when, in answer to her prayers, God sent such a
+storm that her brother, although unwilling to break his monastic rule,
+was forced to spend the night with her. "I asked you a favour," she
+told him, "and you refused it me; I asked it of Almighty God, and He
+has granted it to me." In Browning's poem, Don Lorenzo is one of the
+models specially recommended to Lippo Lippi by his superiors:--
+
+     "You're not of the true painters, great and old;
+     Brother Angelico's the man, you'll find;
+     Brother Lorenzo stands his single peer;
+     Fag on at flesh, you'll never make the third."
+
+The Madonna and Child with St. Francis and St. John Baptist, St.
+Zenobius and St. Lucy (1305), is one of the very few authentic works
+by Domenico Veneziano, one of the great innovators in the painting of
+the fifteenth century.
+
+Sandro Botticelli's Adoration of the Magi (1286), painted for Santa
+Maria Novella, is enthusiastically praised by Vasari. It is not a very
+characteristic work of the painter's, but contains admirable portraits
+of the Medici and their court. The first king, kneeling up alone
+before the Divine Child, is Cosimo the Elder himself, according to
+Vasari, "the most faithful and animated likeness of all now known to
+exist of him"; the other two kings are his two sons, Piero il Gottoso
+in the centre, Giovanni di Cosimo on the right. The black-haired youth
+with folded hands, standing behind Giovanni, is Giuliano, who fell in
+the Pazzi conspiracy. On the extreme left, standing with his hands
+resting upon the hilt of his sword, is Lorenzo the Magnificent, who
+avenged Giuliano's death; behind Lorenzo, apparently clinging to him
+as though in anticipation or recollection of the conspiracy, is Angelo
+Poliziano. The rather sullen-looking personage, with a certain dash of
+sensuality about him, on our extreme right, gazing out of the picture,
+is Sandro himself. This picture, which was probably painted slightly
+before or shortly after the murder of Giuliano, has been called "the
+Apotheosis of the Medici"; it should be contrasted with the very
+different Nativity, now in the National Gallery, which Sandro painted
+many years later, in 1500, and which is full of the mystical
+aspirations of the disciples of Savonarola.
+
+The Madonna and Child with Angels, two Archangels standing guard and
+two Bishops kneeling in adoration (1297), is a rich and attractive
+work by Domenico Ghirlandaio. Fra Angelico's Tabernacle (17), Madonna
+and Child with the Baptist and St. Mark, and the famous series of
+much-copied Angels, was painted for the Guild of Flax-merchants, whose
+patron was St. Mark. The admirable Predella (1294) represents St. Mark
+reporting St. Peter's sermons, and St. Mark's martyrdom, together with
+the Adoration of the Magi.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Passing down the corridor, we come to the entrance to the passage
+which leads across the Ponte Vecchio to the Pitti Palace. There are
+some fine Italian engravings on the way down. The halls of the
+Inscriptions and Cameos contain ancient statues as well, including the
+so-called dying Alexander, and some of those so over-praised by
+Shelley. Among the pictures in the Sala del Baroccio, is a very genial
+lady with a volume of Petrarch's sonnets, by Andrea del Sarto (188).
+Here, too, are some excellent portraits by Bronzino; a lady with a
+missal (198); a rather pathetic picture of Eleonora of Toledo, the
+wife of Cosimo I., with Don Garzia--the boy with whom Cellini used to
+romp (172); Bartolommeo Panciatichi (159); Lucrezia Panciatichi (154),
+a peculiarly sympathetic rendering of an attractive personality.
+Sustermans' Galileo (163) is also worth notice. The Duchess Eleonora
+died almost simultaneously with her sons, Giovanni and Garzia, in
+1562, and there arose in consequence a legend that Garzia had murdered
+Giovanni, and had, in his turn, been killed by his own father, and
+that Eleonora had either also been murdered by the Duke or died of
+grief. Like many similar stories of the Medicean princes, this appears
+to be entirely fictitious.
+
+The Hall of Niobe contains the famous series of statues representing
+the destruction of Niobe and her children at the hands of Apollo and
+Artemis. They are Roman or Græco-Roman copies of a group assigned by
+tradition to the fourth century B.C., and which was brought from Asia
+Minor to Rome in the year 35 B.C. The finest of these statues is that
+of Niobe's son, the young man who is raising his cloak upon his arm as
+a shield; he was originally protecting a sister, who, already pierced
+by the fatal arrow, leaned against his knee as she died.
+
+In a room further on there is an interesting series of miniature
+portraits of the Medici, from Giovanni di Averardo to the family of
+Duke Cosimo. Six of the later ones are by Bronzino.
+
+At the end of the corridor, by Baccio Bandinelli's copy of the
+Laocoön, are three rooms containing the drawings and sketches of the
+Old Masters. It would take a book as long as the present to deal
+adequately with them. Many of the Florentine painters, who were always
+better draughtsmen than they were colourists, are seen to much greater
+advantage in their drawings than in their finished pictures. Besides a
+most rich collection of the early men and their successors, from
+Angelico to Bartolommeo, there are here several of Raphael's cartoons
+for Madonnas and two for his St. George and the Dragon; many of the
+most famous and characteristic drawings of Leonardo da Vinci (and it
+is from his drawings alone that we can now get any real notion of this
+"Magician of the Renaissance"); and some important specimens of
+Michelangelo. Here, too, is Andrea Mantegna's terrible Judith,
+conceived in the spirit of some Roman heroine, which once belonged to
+Vasari and was highly valued by him. It is dated 1491, and should be
+compared with Botticelli's rendering of the same theme.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+_Or San Michele and the Sesto di San Piero_
+
+     "Una figura della Donna mia
+     s'adora, Guido, a San Michele in Orto,
+     che di bella sembianza, onesta e pia,
+     de' peccatori è gran rifugio e porto."
+         (_Guido Cavalcanti_ to _Guido Orlandi_.)
+
+
+At the end of the bustling noisy Via Calzaioli, the Street of the
+Stocking-makers, rises the Oratory of Our Lady, known as San Michele
+in Orto, "St. Michael in the Garden." Around its outer walls,
+enshrined in little temples of their own, stand great statues of
+saints in marble and bronze by the hands of the greatest sculptors of
+Florence--the canonised patrons of the Arts or Guilds, keeping guard
+over the thronging crowds that pass below. This is the grand monument
+of the wealth and taste, devotion and charity, of the commercial
+democracy of the Middle Ages.
+
+  [Illustration: ORCAGNA'S TABERNACLE, OR SAN MICHELE]
+
+The ancient church of San Michele in Orto was demolished by order of
+the Commune in the thirteenth century, to make way for a piazza for
+the grain and corn market, in the centre of which Arnolfo di Cambio
+built a loggia in 1280. Upon one of the pilasters of this loggia there
+was painted a picture of the Madonna, held in highest reverence by the
+frequenters of the market; a special company or sodality of laymen
+was formed, the _Laudesi_ of Our Lady of Or San Michele, who met here
+every evening to sing _laudi_ in her honour, and who were
+distinguished even in mediæval Florence, where charity was always on a
+heroic scale, by their munificence towards the poor. "On July 3rd,
+1292," so Giovanni Villani writes, "great and manifest miracles began
+to be shown forth in the city of Florence by a figure of Holy Mary
+which was painted on a pilaster of the loggia of San Michele in Orto,
+where the grain was sold; the sick were healed, the deformed made
+straight, and the possessed visibly delivered in great numbers. But
+the preaching friars, and the friars minor likewise, through envy or
+some other cause, would put no faith in it, whereby they fell into
+much infamy with the Florentines. And so greatly grew the fame of
+these miracles and merits of Our Lady that folk flocked hither in
+pilgrimage from all parts of Tuscany at her feasts, bringing divers
+waxen images for the wonders worked, wherewith a great part of the
+loggia in front of and around the said figure was filled." In spite of
+ecclesiastical scepticism, this popular devotion ever increased; the
+company of the Laudesi, amongst whom, says Villani, was a good part of
+the best folk in Florence, had their hands always full of offerings
+and legacies, which they faithfully distributed to the poor.
+
+The wonderful tidings roused even Guido Cavalcanti from his melancholy
+musings among the tombs. As a sceptical philosopher, he had little
+faith in miracles, but an _esprit fort_ of the period could not allow
+himself to be on the same side as the friars. A delightful _via media_
+presented itself; the features of the Madonna in the picture bore a
+certain resemblance to his lady, and everything was at once made
+clear. So he took up his pen, and wrote a very beautiful sonnet to his
+friend, Guido Orlandi. It begins: "A figure of my Lady is adored,
+Guido, in San Michele in Orto, which, with her fair semblance, pure
+and tender, is the great refuge and harbour of sinners." And after
+describing (with evident devotional feeling, in spite of the obvious
+suggestion that it is the likeness of his lady that gives the picture
+its miraculous powers) the devotion of the people and the wonders
+worked on souls and bodies alike, he concludes: "Her fame goeth
+through far off lands: but the friars minor say it is idolatry, for
+envy that she is not their neighbour." But Orlandi professed himself
+much shocked at his friend's levity. "If thou hadst said, my friend,
+of Mary," so runs the double sonnet of his answer, "Loving and full of
+grace, thou art a red rose planted in the garden; thou wouldst have
+written fittingly. For she is the Truth and the Way, she was the
+mansion of our Lord, and is the port of our salvation." And he bids
+the greater Guido imitate the publican; cast the beam out of his own
+eye and let the mote alone in those of the friars: "The friars minor
+know the divine Latin scripture, and the good preachers are the
+defenders of the faith; their preaching is our medicine."
+
+One of the most terrible faction fights in Florentine history raged
+round the loggia and oratory on June 10th, 1304. The Cavalcanti and
+their allies were heroically holding their own, here and in Mercato
+Vecchio, against the overwhelming forces of the Neri headed by the
+Della Tosa, Sinibaldo Donati and Boccaccio Adimari, when Neri Abati
+fired the houses round Or San Michele; the wax images in Our Lady's
+oratory flared up, the loggia was burned to the ground, and all the
+houses along Calimara and Mercato Nuovo and beyond down to the Ponte
+Vecchio were utterly destroyed. The young nobles of the Neri faction
+galloped about with flaming torches to assail the houses of their
+foes; the Podestà with his troops came into Mercato Nuovo, stared at
+the blaze, but did nothing but block the way. In this part of the town
+was all the richest merchandise of Florence, and the loss was
+enormous. The Cavalcanti, against whom the iniquitous plot was
+specially aimed, were absolutely ruined, and left the city without
+further resistance.
+
+The pilaster with Madonna's picture had survived the fire, and the
+_Laudesi_ still met round it to sing her praises. But in 1336 the
+Signoria proposed to erect a grand new building on the site of the old
+loggia, which should serve at once for corn exchange and provide a
+fitting oratory for this new and growing cult of the Madonna di
+Orsanmichele. The present edifice, half palace and half church, was
+commenced in 1337, and finished at the opening of the fifteenth
+century. The actual building was in the hands of the Commune, who
+delegated their powers to the Arte di Por Sta. Maria or Arte della
+Seta. The Parte Guelfa and the Greater Guilds were to see to the
+external decoration of the pilasters, upon each of which tabernacles
+were made to receive the images of the Saints before which each of the
+Arts should come in state, to make offerings on the feasts of their
+proper patrons; while the shrine itself, and the internal decorations
+of the loggia (as it was still called), were left in the charge and
+care of the _Laudesi_ themselves, the Compagnia of Orsanmichele, which
+was thoroughly organised under its special captains. It is uncertain
+whom the Arte della Seta employed as architect; Vasari says that
+Taddeo Gaddi gave the design, others say Orcagna (who worked for the
+Laudesi inside), and more recently Francesco Talenti has been
+suggested. Benci di Cione and Simone di Francesco Talenti, who also
+worked at the same epoch upon the Duomo, were among the architects
+employed later. The closing in of the arcades, for the better
+protection of the tabernacle, took away the last remnants of its
+original appearance as an open loggia; and, shortly before, the corn
+market itself was removed to the present Piazza del Grano, and thus
+the "Palatium" became the present church. The extremely beautifully
+sculptured windows are the work of Simone di Francesco Talenti.
+
+There are fourteen of these little temples or niches, partly belonging
+to the Greater and partly to the Lesser Arts. It will be seen that,
+while the seven Greater Arts have each their niche, only six out of
+the fourteen Minor Arts are represented. Over the niches are _tondi_
+with the insignia of each Art. The statues were set up at different
+epochs, and are not always those that originally stood here--altered
+in one case from significant political motives, in others from the
+desire of the guilds to have something more thoroughly up to date--the
+rejected images being made over to the authorities of the Duomo for
+their unfinished façade, or sent into exile among the friars of Santa
+Croce. In 1404 the Signoria decreed that, within ten years from that
+date, the Arts who had secured their pilasters should have their
+statues in position, on pain of losing the right. But this does not
+seem to have been rigidly enforced.
+
+  [Illustration: WINDOW OF OR SAN MICHELE]
+
+Beginning at the corner of the northern side, facing towards the
+Duomo, we have the minor Art of the Butchers represented by
+Donatello's St. Peter in marble, an early and not very excellent work
+of the master, about 1412 (in a tabernacle of the previous century);
+the _tondo_ above containing their arms, a black goat on a gold field,
+is modern. Next comes the marble St. Philip, the patron saint of the
+minor Art of the Shoemakers, by Nanni di Banco, of 1408, a
+beautiful and characteristic work of this too often neglected
+sculptor. Then, also by Nanni di Banco, the _Quattro incoronati_, the
+"four crowned martyrs," who, being carvers by profession, were put to
+death under Diocletian for refusing to make idols, and are the patrons
+of the masters in stone and wood, a minor Art which included
+sculptors, architects, bricklayers, carpenters, and masons; the
+bas-relief under the shrine, also by Nanni, is a priceless masterpiece
+of realistic Florentine democratic art, and shows us the mediæval
+craftsmen at their work, the every-day life of the men who made
+Florence the dream of beauty which she became; above it are the arms
+of the Guild, in an ornate and beautiful medallion, by Luca della
+Robbia. The following shrine, that of the Art of makers of swords and
+armour, had originally Donatello's famous St. George in marble, of
+1415, which is now in the Bargello; the present bronze (inappropriate
+for a minor Art, according to the precedent of the others) is a modern
+copy; the bas-relief below, of St. George slaying the dragon, is still
+Donato's. On the western wall, opposite the old tower of the Guild of
+Wool, comes first a bronze St. Matthew, made together with its
+tabernacle by Ghiberti and Michelozzo for the greater Guild of
+Money-changers and Bankers (Arte del Cambio), and finished in 1422.
+The Annunciation above is by Niccolò of Arezzo, at the close of the
+Trecento. The very beautiful bronze statue of St. Stephen, by
+Ghiberti, represents the great Guild of Wool, Arte della Lana;
+originally they had a marble St. Stephen, but, seeing what excellent
+statues had been made for the Cambio and the Calimala Guilds, they
+declared that since the Arte della Lana claimed to be always mistress
+of the other Arts, she must excel in this also; so sent their St.
+Stephen away to the Cathedral, and assigned the new work to Ghiberti
+(1425). Then comes the marble St. Eligius, by Nanni di Banco (1415),
+for the minor Art of the Maniscalchi, which included farriers,
+iron-smiths, knife-makers, and the like; the bas-relief below, also by
+Nanni, represents the Saint (San Lò he is more familiarly called, or
+St. Eloy in French) engaged in shoeing a demoniacal horse.
+
+On the southern façade, we have St. Mark in marble for the minor Art
+of Linaioli and Rigattieri, flax merchants and hucksters, by
+Donatello, (about 1412).[32] The Arte dei Vaiai e Pellicciai,
+furriers, although a greater Guild, seems to have been contented with
+the rather insignificant marble St. James, which follows, of uncertain
+authorship, and dating from the end of the Trecento; the bas-relief
+seems later. The next shrine, that of the Doctors and Apothecaries,
+the great Guild to which Dante belonged and which included painters
+and booksellers, is empty; the Madonna herself is their patroness, but
+their statue is now inside the church; the Madonna and Child in the
+medallion above are by Luca della Robbia. The next niche is that of
+the great Arte della Seta or Arte di Por Santa Maria, the Guild of the
+Silk-merchants, to which embroiderers, goldsmiths and silversmiths
+were attached; the bronze statue of their patron, St. John the
+Evangelist, is by Baccio da Montelupo (1515), and replaces an earlier
+marble now in the Bargello; the medallion above with their arms, a
+gate on a shield supported by two cherubs, is by Luca della Robbia.
+
+  [32] The eight Arti Minori not represented are the vintners (St.
+  Martin), the inn-keepers (St. Julian), the cheesemongers (St.
+  Bartholomew), the leather-dressers (St. Augustine), the saddlemakers
+  (the Blessed Trinity), the joiners (the Annunciation), tin and
+  coppersmiths (St. Zenobius), and the bakers (St. Lawrence).
+
+Finally, on the façade in the Via Calzaioli, the first shrine is that
+of the Arte di Calimala or Arte dei Mercatanti, who carried on the
+great commerce in foreign cloth, the chief democratic guild of the
+latter half of the thirteenth century, but which, together with the
+Arte della Lana, began somewhat to decline towards the middle of the
+Quattrocento; their bronze St. John Baptist is Ghiberti's, but hardly
+one of his better works (1415). The large central tabernacle was
+originally assigned to the Parte Guelfa, the only organisation outside
+of the Guilds that was allowed to share in this work; for them,
+Donatello made a bronze statue of their patron, St. Louis of Toulouse,
+and either Donatello himself or Michelozzo prepared, in 1423, the
+beautiful niche for him which is still here. But, owing to the great
+unpopularity of the Parte Guelfa and their complete loss of authority
+under the new Medicean regime, this tabernacle was taken from them in
+1459 and made over to the Università dei Mercanti or Magistrato della
+Mercanzia, a board of magistrates who presided over all the Guilds;
+the arms of this magistracy were set up in the present medallion by
+Luca della Robbia in 1462; Donatello's St. Louis was sent to the
+friars minor; and, some years later, Verrocchio cast the present
+masterly group of Christ and St. Thomas. Landucci, in his diary for
+1483, tells us how it was set up, and that the bronze figure of the
+Saviour seemed to him the most beautiful that had ever been made. Last
+of all, the bronze statue of St. Luke was set up by Giovanni da
+Bologna in 1601, for the Judges and Notaries, who, like the
+silk-merchants, discarded an earlier marble. It must be observed that
+the substitution of the Commercial Tribunal for the tyrannical Parte
+Guelfa completes the purely democratic character of the whole
+monument.
+
+Entering the interior, we pass from the domains of the great
+commercial guilds and their patrons to those of the _Laudesi_ of Santa
+Maria. It is rich and subdued in colour, the vaults and pilasters
+covered with faded frescoes. It is divided into two parts, the one
+ending in the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin, the other in the chapel
+and altar of St. Anne, her mother and the deliveress of the Republic.
+These two record the two great events of fourteenth century Florentine
+history--the expulsion of the Duke of Athens and the Black Death. It
+was after this great plague that, in consequence of the Compagnia
+having had great riches left to them, "to the honour of the Holy
+Virgin Mary and for the benefit of the poor," the Captains of
+Orsanmichele, as the heads of these Laudesi were called, summoned
+Orcagna, in 1349, to the "work of the pilaster," as it was officially
+styled, to enclose what remained of the miraculous picture in a
+glorious tabernacle. He took ten years over it, finishing it in 1359,
+while the railing by Pietro di Migliore was completed in 1366. It was
+approximately at this epoch that it was decided to find another place
+for the market, and to close the arcades of the loggia, _per
+adornamento e salvezza del tabernacolo di Nostra Donna_.
+
+It is goldsmith's work on a gigantic scale, this marble reliquary of
+the archangelic painter. "A miracle of loveliness," wrote Lord
+Lindsay, "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." The whole is crowned with a statue of St.
+Michael, and the miraculous picture is enclosed in an infinite wealth
+and profusion of statues and arabesques, angels and prophets, precious
+stones and lions' heads. Scenes in bas-relief from Our Lady's life
+alternate with prophets and allegorical representations of the
+virtues, some of these latter being single figures of great beauty and
+some psychological insight in the rendering--for instance, Docilitas,
+Solertia, Justitia, Fortitudo--while marble Angels cluster round their
+Queen's tabernacle in eager service and loving worship. At the back is
+the great scene beneath which, to right and left, the series begins
+and ends--the death of Madonna and her Assumption, or rather, Our Lady
+of the Girdle, the giving of that celestial gift to the Thomas who had
+doubted, the mystical treasure which Tuscan Prato still fondly
+believes that her Duomo holds. This is perhaps the first
+representation of this mystery in Italian sculpture, and is signed and
+dated: _Andreas Cionis pictor Florentinus oratorii archimagister
+extitit hujus, 1359._ The figure with a small divided beard, talking
+with a man in a big hat and long beard, is Orcagna's own portrait. The
+miraculous painting itself is within the tabernacle. The picture in
+front, the Madonna and Child with goldfinch, adored by eight Angels,
+is believed to be either by Orcagna himself or Bernardo Daddi[33]; it
+is decidedly more primitive than their authenticated works, probably
+because it is a comparatively close rendering of the original
+composition.
+
+  [33] There are three extant documents concerning pictures of the
+  Madonna for the Captains of Saint Michael; two refer to a painting
+  ordered from Bernardo Daddi, in 1346 and 1347; the third to one by
+  Orcagna, 1352. _See_ Signor P. Franceschini's monograph on Or San
+  Michele, to which I am much indebted in this chapter.
+
+On the side altar on the right is the venerated Crucifix before which
+St. Antoninus used to pray. At one time the Dominicans were wont to
+come hither in procession on the anniversary of his death. In his
+Chronicle of Florence, Antoninus defends the friars from the
+accusations of Villani with respect to their scepticism about the
+miraculous picture. On the opposite side altar is the marble statue of
+Mother and Child from the tabernacle of the Medici e Speziali. It was
+executed about the year 1399; Vasari ascribes it to a Simone di
+Firenze, who may possibly be Simone di Francesco Talenti.
+
+The altar of St. Anne at the east end of the left half of the nave is
+one of the Republic's thank-offerings for their deliverance from the
+tyranny of Walter de Brienne. Public thanksgiving had been held here,
+before Our Lady's picture, as early as 1343, while the "Palatium" was
+still in building; but in the following year, 1344, at the instance of
+the captains of Or San Michele and others, the Signoria decreed that
+"for the perpetual memory of the grace conceded by God to the Commune
+and People of Florence, on the day of blessed Anne, Mother of the
+glorious Virgin, by the liberation of the city and the citizens, and
+by the destruction of the pernicious and tyrannical yoke," solemn
+offerings should be made on St. Anne's feast day by the Signoria and
+the consuls of the Arts, before her statue in Or San Michele, and that
+on that day all offices and shops should be closed, and no one be
+subject to arrest for debt. The present statue on this votive altar,
+representing the Madonna (here perhaps symbolising her faithful city
+of Florence) seated on the lap of St. Anne, who is thus protecting her
+and her Divine Child, was executed by Francesco da Sangallo in 1526,
+and replaces an older group in wood; although highly praised by
+Vasari, it will strike most people as not quite worthy of the place or
+the occasion. The powerful and expressive head of St. Anne is the best
+part of the group.
+
+The beneficent energies of these Laudesi and their captains spread far
+beyond the limits of this church and shrine. The great and still
+existing company of the Misericordia was originally connected with
+them; and the Bigallo for the foundling children was raised by them at
+the same time as their Tabernacle here. They contributed generously to
+the construction of the Duomo, and decorated chapels in Santa Croce
+and the Carmine. Sacchetti and Giovanni Boccaccio were among their
+officers; and it was while Boccaccio was serving as one of their
+captains in 1350 that they sent a sum of money by his hands to Dante's
+daughter Beatrice, in her distant convent at Ravenna. They appear to
+have spent all they had in the defence of Florentine liberty during
+the great siege of 1529.
+
+The imposing old tower that rises opposite San Michele in the Calimala
+is the Torrione of the Arte della Lana, copiously adorned with their
+arms--the Lamb bearing the Baptist's cross. It was erected at the end
+of the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century, and in it
+the consuls of the Guild had their meetings. It was stormed and sacked
+by the Ciompi in 1378. The heavy arch that connects the tower with the
+upper storey of Or San Michele, and rather disfigures the building, is
+the work of Buontalenti in the latter half of the sixteenth century.
+The large vaulted hall into which it leads, intended originally for
+the storage of grain and the like, is now known as the Sala di Dante,
+and witnesses the brilliant gatherings of Florentines and foreigners
+to listen to the readings of the _Divina Commedia_ given under the
+auspices of the _Società Dantesca Italiana_.
+
+This is the part of the city where the Arts had their wealth and
+strength; the very names of the streets show it; Calimala and
+Pellicceria, for instance, which run from the Mercato Vecchio to the
+Via Porta Rossa. The Mercato Vecchio, the centre of the city both in
+Roman and mediæval times, around which the houses and towers of the
+oldest families clustered--Elisei, Caponsacchi, Nerli, Vecchietti, and
+the rest of whom Dante's _Paradiso_ tells--is now a painfully
+unsightly modern square, with what appears to be a triumphal arch
+bearing the inscription: _L'antico centro della città da secolare
+squallore a vita nuova restituita_(!). Passing down the Calimala to
+the Via Porta Rossa and the Mercato Nuovo, near where the former
+enters the Via Calzaioli, the site is still indicated of the Calimala
+Bottega where the government of the Arts was first organised, as told
+in chapter i. Near here and in the Mercato Nuovo, the Cavalcanti had
+their palaces. In the Via Porta Rossa the Arte della Seta had their
+warehouses; the gate from which they took their second name, and which
+is represented on their shield, is of course the Por Santa Maria, Our
+Lady's Gate of the old walls or Cerchia Antica, which was somewhere
+about the middle of the present Via Por Santa Maria. The Church of
+Santa Maria sopra la Porta, between the Mercato Nuovo and the Via
+delle Terme, is the present San Biagio (now used by the firemen);
+adjoining it is the fine old palace of the dreaded captains of the
+Parte Guelfa. The Via Porta Rossa contains some mediæval houses and
+the lower portions of a few grand old towers still standing; as
+already said, in the first circle of walls there was a postern gate,
+at the end of the present street, opposite Santa Trinità. In the
+Mercato Nuovo, where a copy of the ancient boar--which figures in Hans
+Andersen's familiar story--seems to watch the flower market, the
+arcades were built by Battista del Tasso for Cosimo I. Here, too,
+modernisation has destroyed much. Hardly can we conjure up now that
+day of the great fire in 1304, when the nobles of the "black" faction
+galloped through the crowd of plunderers, with their blazing torches
+throwing a lurid glow on the steel-clad Podestà with his soldiers
+drawn up here idly to gaze upon the flames! A house that once belonged
+to the Cavalcanti is still standing in Mercato Nuovo, marked by the
+Cross of the People; the branch of the family who lived here left the
+magnates and joined the people, as the Cross indicates, changing their
+name from Cavalcanti to Cavallereschi.
+
+  [Illustration: TOWER OF THE ARTE DELLA LANA]
+
+The little fourteenth century church of St. Michael, now called San
+Carlo, which stands opposite San Michele in Orto on the other side of
+the Via Calzaioli, was originally a votive chapel to Saint Anne, built
+at the expense of the captains of the Laudesi on a site purchased by
+the Commune. It was begun in 1349 by Fioraventi and Benci di Cione,
+simultaneously with Orcagna's tabernacle, continued by Simone di
+Francesco Talenti, and completed at the opening of the fifteenth
+century. The captains intended to have the ceremonial offerings made
+here instead of in the Loggia; but the thing fell through owing to a
+disagreement with the Arte di Por Santa Maria, and the votive altar
+remained in the Loggia.
+
+Between San Carlo and the Duomo the street has been completely
+modernised. Of old it was the Corso degli Adimari, surrounded by the
+houses and towers of this fierce Guelf clan, who were at deadly feud
+with the Donati. Cacciaguida in the _Paradiso_ (canto xvi.) describes
+them as "the outrageous tribe that playeth dragon after whoso fleeth,
+and to whoso showeth tooth--or purse--is quiet as a lamb." One of
+their towers still stands on the left. On the right the place is
+marked where the famous loggia, called the Neghittosa, once stood,
+which belonged to the branch of the Adimari called the Cavicciuli,
+who, in spite of their hatred to the Donati, joined the Black Guelfs.
+One of them, Boccaccio or Boccaccino Adimari, seized upon Dante's
+goods when he was exiled, and exerted his influence to prevent his
+being recalled. In this loggia, too, Filippo Argenti used to sit, the
+_Fiorentino spirito bizzarro_ whom Dante saw rise before him covered
+with mire out of the marshy lake of Styx. He is supposed to have
+ridden a horse shod with silver, and there is a rare story in the
+_Decameron_ of a mad outburst of bestial fury on his part in this very
+loggia, on account of a mild practical joke on the part of Ciacco, a
+bon vivant of the period whom Dante has sternly flung into the hell of
+gluttons. On this occasion Filippo, who was an enormously big, strong,
+and sinewy man, beat a poor little dandy called Biondello within an
+inch of his life. In this same loggia, on August 4th, 1397, a party of
+young Florentine exiles, who had come secretly from Bologna with the
+intention of killing Maso degli Albizzi, took refuge, after a vain
+attempt to call the people to arms. From the highest part of the
+loggia, seeing a great crowd assembling round them, they harangued the
+mob, imploring them not stupidly to wait to see their would-be
+deliverers killed and themselves thrust back into still more grievous
+servitude. When not a soul moved, "finding out too late how dangerous
+it is to wish to set free a people that desires, happen what may, to
+be enslaved," as Machiavelli cynically puts it, they escaped into the
+Duomo, where, after a vain attempt at defending themselves, they were
+captured by the Captain, put to the question and executed. There were
+about ten of them in all, including three of the Cavicciuli and
+Antonio dei Medici.
+
+On November 9th, 1494, when the Florentines rose against Piero dei
+Medici and his brothers, the young Cardinal Giovanni rode down this
+street with retainers and a few citizens shouting, _Popolo e libertà_,
+pretending that he was going to join the insurgents. But when he got
+to San Michele in Orto, the people turned upon him from the piazza
+with their pikes and lances, with loud shouts of "Traitor!" upon which
+he fled back in great dread. Landucci saw him at the windows of his
+palace, on his knees with clasped hand, commending himself to God.
+"When I saw him," he says, "I grew very sorry for him (_m'inteneri
+assai_); and I judged that he was a good and sensible youth."
+
+To the east of the Via Calzaioli lies the Sesto di San Piero Maggiore,
+which, at the end of the thirteenth century, received the pleasant
+name of the Sesto di Scandali. It lies on either side of the Via del
+Corso, which with its continuations ran from east to west through the
+old city. In the Via della Condotta, at the corner of the Vicolo dei
+Cerchi, still stands the palace which belonged to a section of this
+family (the section known as the White Cerchi to distinguish them from
+Messer Vieri's branch, the Black Cerchi, who were even more "white" in
+politics, in spite of their name); in this palace the Priors sat
+before Arnolfo built the Palazzo Vecchio, which became the seat of
+government in 1299. It was there, not here, that Dante and his
+colleagues, on June 15th, 1300, entered upon office, and the same day
+confirmed the sentences which had been passed under their predecessors
+against the three traitors who had conspired to betray Florence to
+Pope Boniface; and then, a few days later, passed the decree by which
+Corso Donati and Guido Cavalcanti were sent into exile. Later the
+vicars of Robert of Anjou for a time resided here, and the
+administrators appointed to assess the confiscated goods of "rebels."
+At the corner of the Via dei Cerchi, where it joins the Via dei
+Cimatori, are traces of the loggia of the Cerchi; the same corner
+affords a picturesque glimpse of the belfrey of the Badia and the
+tower of the Podesta's palace.
+
+There was another great palace of the Cerchi, referred to in the
+_Paradiso_, which had formerly belonged to the Ravignani and the Conti
+Guidi, the acquisition of which by Messer Vieri had excited the envy
+of the Donati. This palace is described by Dante (_Parad._ xvi.) as
+being _sopra la porta_, that is, over the inner gate of St. Peter, the
+gate of the first circuit in Cacciaguida's day. No trace of it
+remains, but it was apparently on the north side of the Corso where it
+now joins the Via del Proconsolo. "Over the gate," says Cacciaguida,
+"which is now laden with new felony of such weight that there will
+soon be a wrecking of the ship, were the Ravignani, whence is
+descended the Count Guido, and whoever has since taken the name of the
+noble Bellincione." Here the daughter of Bellincione Berti, the _alto
+Bellincion_, lived,--the beautiful and good Gualdrada, whom we can
+dimly discern as a sweet and gracious presence in that far-off early
+Florence of which the _Paradiso_ sings; she was the ancestress of the
+great lords of the Casentino, the Conti Guidi. The principal houses of
+the Donati appear to have been on the Duomo side of the Corso, just
+before the Via dello Studio now joins it; but they had possessions on
+the other side as well. Giano della Bella had his house almost
+opposite to them, on the southern side. A little further on, at the
+corner where the Corso joins the Via del Proconsolo, Folco Portinari
+lived, the father, according to tradition, of Dante's Beatrice: "he
+who had been the father of so great a marvel, as this most noble
+Beatrice was manifestly seen to be." Folco's sons joined the Bianchi;
+one of them, Pigello, was poisoned during Dante's priorate; an elder
+son, Manetto Portinari (the friend of Dante and Cavalcanti),
+afterwards ratted and made his peace with the Neri. All the family are
+included, together with the Giuochi who lived opposite to them, in a
+sentence passed against Dante and his sons in 1315, from which Manetto
+Portinari is excepted by name. The building which now occupies the
+site of the Casa Portinari was once the Salviati Palace.
+
+  [Illustration: HOUSE OF DANTE]
+
+In the little Piazza di San Martino is shown the Casa di Dante, which
+undoubtedly belonged to the Alighieri, and in which Dante is said to
+have been born. It has been completely modernised. The Alighieri had
+also a house in the Via Santa Margherita, which runs from the Piazza
+San Martino to the Corso, opposite the little church of Santa
+Margherita. Hard by, in the Piazza dei Donati a section of that family
+had a house and garden; and here Dante saw and wooed Gemma, the
+daughter of Manetto Donati. The old tower which seems to watch over
+Dante's house from the other side of the Piazza San Martino, the
+Torre della Castagna, belonged in Dante's days to the monks of the
+Badia; in it, in 1282, the Priors of the Arts held their first
+meeting, when the government of the Republic was placed in their
+hands. At the corner of the Piazza, opposite Dante's house, lived the
+Sacchetti, the family from which the novelist, Franco, sprang. They
+were in deadly feud with Geri del Bello, the cousin of Dante's father,
+who lived in the house next to Dante's; and, shortly before the year
+of Dante's vision, the Sacchetti murdered Geri. He seems to have
+deserved his fate, and Dante places him among the sowers of discord in
+Hell, where he points at Dante and threatens him vehemently. "His
+violent death," says the poet in _Inferno_ xxix, "which is not yet
+avenged for him, by any that is a partner of his shame, made him
+indignant; therefore, as I suppose, he went away without speaking to
+me; and in that he has made me pity him the more." Thirty years after
+the murder, Geri's nephews broke into the house of the Sacchetti and
+stabbed one of the family to death; and the two families were finally
+reconciled in 1342, on which occasion Dante's half-brother, Francesco
+Alighieri, was the representative of the Alighieri. Many years later,
+Dante's great-grandson, Leonardo Alighieri, came from Verona to
+Florence. "He paid me a visit," writes Leonardo Bruni, "as a friend of
+the memory of his great-grandfather, Dante. And I showed him Dante's
+house, and that of his forebears, and I pointed out to him many
+particulars with which he was not acquainted, because he and his
+family had been estranged from their fatherland. And so does Fortune
+roll this world around, and change its inhabitants up and down as she
+turns her wheel."
+
+Beyond the Via del Proconsolo the Borgo, now called of the Albizzi,
+was originally the Borgo di San Piero--a suburb of the old city, but
+included in the second walls of the twelfth century. The present name
+records the brief, but not inglorious period of the rule of the
+oligarchy or Ottimati, before Cosimo dei Medici obtained complete
+possession of the State. It was formerly called the Corso di Por San
+Piero. The first palace on the right (De Rast or Quaratesi) was built
+for the Pazzi by Brunelleschi, and still shows their armorial bearings
+by Donatello. They had another palace further on, on the left,
+opposite the Via dell'Acqua. Still further on (past the Altoviti
+palace, with its caricatures) is the palace of the Albizzi family, on
+the left, as you approach the Piazza. Here Maso degli Albizzi, and
+then Rinaldo, lived and practically ruled the state. Giuliano dei
+Medici alighted here in 1512. At the end of the Borgo degli Albizzi is
+now the busy, rather picturesque little Piazza di San Piero Maggiore,
+usually full of stalls and trucks. St. Peter's Gate in Dante's time
+lay just beyond the church, to the left. In this Piazza also the
+Donati had houses; and it was through this gate that Corso Donati
+burst into Florence with his followers on the morning of November 5th,
+1301; "and he entered into the city like a daring and bold cavalier,"
+as Dino Compagni--who loves a strong personality even on the opposite
+side to his own--puts it. The Bianchi in the Sesto largely outnumbered
+his forces, but did not venture to attack him, while the populace
+bawled _Viva il Barone_ to their hearts' content. He incontinently
+seized that tall tower of the Corbizzi that still rises opposite to
+the façade of the church, at the southern corner of the Piazza in the
+Via del Mercatino, and hung out his banner from it. Seven years later
+he made his last stand in this square and round this tower, as we have
+told in chapter ii. Of the church of San Piero Maggiore, only the
+seventeenth century façade remains; but of old it ranked as the third
+of the Florentine temples. According to the legend, it was on his way
+to this church that San Zenobio raised the French child to life in the
+Borgo degli Albizzi, opposite the spot where the Palazzo Altoviti now
+stands. It is said to have been the only church in Florence free from
+the taint of simony in the days of St. Giovanni Gualberto, and of old
+had the privilege of first receiving the new Archbishops when they
+entered Florence. The Archbishop went through a curious and beautiful
+ceremony of mystic marriage with the Abbess of the Benedictine convent
+attached to the church, who apparently personified the diocese of
+Florence. Every year on Easter Monday the canons of the Duomo came
+here in procession; and on St. Peter's day the captains of the Parte
+Guelfa entered the Piazza in state to make a solemn offering, and had
+a race run in the Piazza Santa Croce after the ceremony. The artists,
+Lorenzo di Credi, Mariotto Albertinelli, Piero di Cosimo and Luca
+della Robbia were buried here. Two of the best pictures that the
+church contained--a Coronation of the Madonna ascribed to Orcagna and
+the famous Assumption said by Vasari to have been painted by
+Botticelli for Matteo Palmieri (which was supposed to inculcate
+heretical neoplatonic doctrines concerning the human soul and the
+Angels in the spheres), are now in the National Gallery of London.
+
+It was in this Piazza that the conspirators resolved to assassinate
+Maso degli Albizzi. Their spies watched him leave his palace, walk
+leisurely towards the church and then enter an apothecary's shop,
+close to San Piero. They hurried off to tell their associates, but
+when the would-be assassins arrived on the scene, they found that
+Maso had given them the slip and left the shop.
+
+Turning down the Via del Mercatino and back to the Badia along the Via
+Pandolfini, we pass the palace which once belonged to Francesco
+Valori, Savonarola's formidable adherent. Here it was on that terrible
+Palm Sunday, 1498, when Hell broke loose, as Landucci puts it, that
+Valori's wife was shot dead at a window, while her husband in the
+street below, on his way to answer the summons of the Signoria, was
+murdered near San Procolo by the kinsmen of the men whom he had sent
+to the scaffold.
+
+The Badia shares with the Baptistery and San Miniato the distinction
+of being the only Florentine churches mentioned by Dante. In
+Cacciaguida's days it was close to the old Roman wall; from its
+campanile even in Dante's time, Florence still "took tierce and nones
+"; and, at the sound of its bells, the craftsmen of the Arts went to
+and from their work. Originally founded by the Countess Willa in the
+tenth century, the Badia di San Stefano (as it was called) that Dante
+and Boccaccio knew was the work of Arnolfo di Cambio; but it was
+entirely rebuilt in the seventeenth century, with consequent
+destruction of priceless frescoes by Giotto and Masaccio. The present
+graceful campanile is of the fourteenth century. The relief in the
+lunette over the chief door, rather in the manner of Andrea della
+Robbia, is by Benedetto Buglione. In the left transept is the monument
+by Mino da Fiesole of Willa's son Hugo, Margrave of Tuscany, who died
+on St. Thomas' day, 1006. Dante calls him the great baron; his
+anniversary was solemnly celebrated here, and he was supposed to have
+conferred knighthood and nobility upon the Della Bella and other
+Florentine families. "Each one," says Cacciaguida, "who beareth aught
+of the fair arms of the great baron, whose name and worth the festival
+of Thomas keepeth living, from him derived knighthood and privilege"
+(_Paradiso_ xvi.). In a chapel to the left of this monument is
+Filippino Lippi's picture of the Madonna appearing to St. Bernard,
+painted in 1480, one of the most beautiful renderings of an
+exceedingly poetical subject. For Dante, Bernard is _colui
+ch'abbelliva di Maria, come del sole stella mattutina_, "he who drew
+light from Mary, as the morning star from the sun." Filippino has
+introduced the portrait of the donor, on the right, Francesco di
+Pugliese. The church contains two other works by Mino da Fiesole, a
+Madonna and (in the right transept) the sepulchral monument of
+Bernardo Giugni, who served the State as ambassador to Milan and
+Venice in the days of Cosimo and Piero dei Medici. At the entrance to
+the cloisters Francesco Valori is buried.
+
+It was in the Badia (and not in the Church of San Stefano, near the
+Via Por Santa Maria, as usually stated) that Boccaccio lectured upon
+the _Divina Commedia_ in 1373. Benvenuto da Imola came over from
+Bologna to attend his beloved master's readings, and was much edified.
+But the audience were not equally pleased, and Boccaccio had to defend
+himself in verse. One of the sonnets he wrote on this occasion, _Se
+Dante piange, dove ch'el si sia_, has been admirably translated by
+Dante Rossetti:--
+
+     If Dante mourns, there wheresoe'er he be,
+       That such high fancies of a soul so proud
+       Should be laid open to the vulgar crowd,
+       (As, touching my Discourse, I'm told by thee),
+
+     This were my grievous pain; and certainly
+       My proper blame should not be disavow'd;
+       Though hereof somewhat, I declare aloud
+       Were due to others, not alone to me.
+
+     False hopes, true poverty, and therewithal
+       The blinded judgment of a host of friends,
+       And their entreaties, made that I did thus.
+
+     But of all this there is no gain at all
+       Unto the thankless souls with whose base ends
+       Nothing agrees that's great or generous.
+
+  [Illustration: ARMS OF THE SESTO DI SAN PIERO]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+_From the Bargello past Santa Croce_
+
+     "Non ha l'ottimo artista alcun concetto,
+     ch'un marmo solo in sé non circonscriva
+     col suo soverchio; e solo a quello arriva
+     la man che ubbidisce all'intelletto."
+         --_Michelangelo Buonarroti._
+
+
+Even as the Palazzo Vecchio or Palace of the Priors is essentially the
+monument of the _Secondo Popolo_, so the Palazzo del Podestà or Palace
+of the Commune belongs to the _Primo Popolo_; it was commenced in
+1255, in that first great triumph of the democracy, although mainly
+finished towards the middle of the following century. Here sat the
+Podestà, with his assessors and retainers, whom he brought with him to
+Florence--himself always an alien noble. Originally he was the chief
+officer of the Republic, for the six months during which he held
+office, led the burgher forces in war, and acted as chief justice in
+peace; but he gradually sunk in popular estimation before the more
+democratic Captain of the People (who was himself, it will be
+remembered, normally an alien Guelf noble). A little later, both
+Podestà and Captain were eclipsed by the Gonfaloniere of Justice. In
+the fifteenth century the Podestà was still the president of the chief
+civil and criminal court of the city, and his office was only finally
+abolished during the Gonfalonierate of Piero Soderini at the
+beginning of the Cinquecento. Under the Medicean grand dukes the
+Bargello, or chief of police, resided here--hence the present name of
+the palace; and it is well to repeat, once for all, that when the
+Bargello, or Court of the Bargello, is mentioned in Florentine
+history--in grim tales of torture and executions and the like--it is
+not this building, but the residence of the Executore of Justice, now
+incorporated into the Palazzo Vecchio, that is usually meant.
+
+It was in this Palace of the Podestà, however, that Guido Novello
+resided and ruled the city in the name of King Manfred, during the
+short period of Ghibelline tyranny that followed Montaperti,
+1260-1266, and which the Via Ghibellina, first opened by him, recalls.
+The Palace was broken into by the populace in 1295, just before the
+fall of Giano della Bella, because a Lombard Podestà had unjustly
+acquitted Corso Donati for the death of a burgher at the hands of his
+riotous retainers. Here, too, was Cante dei Gabbrielli of Gubbio
+installed by Charles of Valois, in November 1301, and from its gates
+issued the Crier of the Republic that summoned Dante Alighieri and his
+companions in misfortune to appear before the Podestà's court. In one
+of those dark vaulted rooms on the ground floor, now full of a choice
+collection of mediæval arms and armour, Cante's successor, Fulcieri da
+Calvoli, tortured those of the Bianchi who fell into his cruel hands.
+"He sells their flesh while it is still alive," says Dante in the
+_Purgatorio_, "then slayeth them like a worn out brute: many doth he
+deprive of life, and himself of honour." Some died under the torments,
+others were beheaded.
+
+"Messer Donato Alberti," writes Dino Compagni, "mounted vilely upon an
+ass, in a peasant's smock, was brought before the Podestà. And when he
+saw him, he asked him: 'Are you Messer Donato Alberti?' He replied:
+'I am Donato. Would that Andrea da Cerreto were here before us, and
+Niccola Acciaioli, and Baldo d'Aguglione, and Jacopo da Certaldo, who
+have destroyed Florence.'[34] Then he was fastened to the rope and the
+cord adjusted to the pulley, and so they let him stay; and the windows
+and doors of the Palace were opened, and many citizens called in under
+other pretexts, that they might see him tortured and derided."
+
+  [34] These were the burghers and lawyers of the black faction, the
+  Podestà's allies and friends. This was in the spring of 1303.
+
+In the rising of the Ciompi, July 1378, the palace was forced to
+surrender to the insurgents after an assault of two hours. They let
+the Podestà escape, but burnt all books and papers, especially those
+of the hated Arte della Lana. At night as many as the palace could
+hold quartered themselves here.
+
+  [Illustration: BARGELLO COURTYARD AND STAIRCASE]
+
+The beautiful court and stairway, surrounded by statues and armorial
+bearings, the ascent guarded by the symbolical lion of Florence and
+leading to an open loggia, is the work of Benci di Cione and Neri di
+Fioraventi, 1333-1345. The palace is now the National Museum of
+Sculpture and kindred arts and crafts. Keeping to the left, round the
+court itself, we see a marble St. Luke by Niccolò di Piero Lamberti,
+of the end of the fourteenth century, from the niche of the Judges and
+Notaries at Or San Michele; a magnificent sixteenth century
+portalantern in beaten iron; the old marble St. John Evangelist,
+contemporaneous with the St. Luke, and probably by Piero di Giovanni
+Tedesco, from the niche of the Arte della Seta at Or San Michele; some
+allegorical statues by Giovanni da Bologna and Vincenzo Danti, in
+rather unsuccessful imitation of Michelangelo; a dying Adonis,
+questionably ascribed to Michelangelo. And, finally (numbered 18),
+there stands Michelangelo's so-called "Victory," the triumph of the
+ideal over outworn tyranny and superstition; a radiant youth, but worn
+and exhausted by the struggle, rising triumphantly over a shape of
+gigantic eld, so roughly hewn as to seem lost in the mist from which
+the young hero has gloriously freed himself.[35]
+
+  [35] Such, at least, seems the more obvious interpretation; but there
+  is a certain sensuality and cruelty about the victor's expression,
+  which, together with the fact that the vanquished undoubtedly has
+  something of Michelangelo's own features, lead us to suspect that the
+  master's sympathies were with the lost cause.
+
+Also on the ground floor, to the left, are two rooms full of statuary.
+The first contains nothing important, save perhaps the Madonna and
+Child with St. Peter and St. Paul, formerly above the Porta Romana. In
+the second room, a series of bas-reliefs by Benedetto da Rovezzano,
+begun in 1511 and terribly mutilated by the imperial soldiery during
+the siege, represent scenes connected with the life and miracles of
+St. Giovanni Gualberto, including the famous trial of Peter Igneus,
+who, in order to convict the Bishop of Florence of simony, passed
+unharmed through the ordeal of fire. Here is the unfinished bust of
+Brutus (111) by Michelangelo, one of his latest works, and a
+significant expression of the state of the man's heart, when he was
+forced to rear sumptuous monuments for the new tyrants who had
+overthrown his beloved Republic. Then a chimney-piece by Benedetto da
+Rovezzano from the Casa Borgherini, one of the most sumptuous pieces
+of domestic furniture of the Renaissance; a very beautiful tondo of
+the Madonna and Child with the little St. John (123) by Michelangelo,
+made for Bartolommeo Pitti early in the Cinquecento; the mask of a
+grinning faun with gap-teeth, traditionally shown as the head struck
+out by the boy Michelangelo in his first visit to the Medici Gardens,
+when he attracted the attention of Lorenzo the Magnificent--but
+probably a comparatively modern work suggested by Vasari's story; a
+sketch in marble for the martyrdom of St. Andrew, supposed to be a
+juvenile work of Michelangelo's, but also doubtful. Here too is
+Michelangelo's drunken Bacchus (128), an exquisitely-modelled
+intoxicated vine-crowned youth, behind whom a sly little satyr lurks,
+nibbling grapes. It is one of the master's earliest works, very
+carefully and delicately finished, executed during his first visit to
+Rome, for Messer Jacopo Galli, probably about 1497. Of this statue
+Ruskin wrote, while it was still in the Uffizi: "The white lassitude
+of joyous limbs, panther-like, yet passive, fainting with their own
+delight, that gleam among the Pagan formalisms of the Uffizi, far
+away, separating themselves in their lustrous lightness as the waves
+of an Alpine torrent do by their dancing from the dead stones, though
+the stones be as white as they." Shelley, on the contrary, found it
+"most revolting," "the idea of the deity of Bacchus in the conception
+of a Catholic." Near it is a tondo of the Virgin and Child with the
+Baptist, by Andrea Ferrucci.
+
+At the top of the picturesque and richly ornamented staircase, to the
+right of the loggia on the first floor, opens a great vaulted hall,
+where the works of Donatello, casts and originals, surround a cast of
+his great equestrian monument to Gattamelata at Padua--a hall of such
+noble proportions that even Gattamelata looks insignificant, where he
+sits his war-horse between the Cross of the People and the Lily of the
+Commune. Here the general council of the Commune met--the only council
+(besides the special council of the Podestà) in which the magnates
+could sit and vote, and it was here, on July 6th, 1295, that Dante
+Alighieri first entered public life; he spoke in support of the
+modifications of the Ordinances of Justice--which may have very
+probably been a few months before he definitely associated himself
+with the People by matriculating in the Arte dei Medici e Speziali.
+Among the casts and copies that fill this room, there are several
+original and splendid works of Donatello; the Marzocco, or symbolical
+lion of Florence protecting the shield of the Commune, which was
+formerly in front of the Palace of the Priors; the bronze David, full
+of Donatello's delight in the exuberance of youthful manhood just
+budding; the San Giovannino or little St. John; the marble David,
+inferior to the bronze, but heralding Michelangelo; the bronze bust of
+a youth, called the son of Gattamelata; Love trampling upon a snake
+(bronze); St. George in marble from Or San Michele, an idealised
+condottiere of the Quattrocento; St. John the Baptist from the
+Baptistery; and a bronze relief of the Crucifixion. The coloured bust
+is now believed by many critics to be neither the portrait of Niccolò
+da Uzzano nor by Donatello; it is possibly a Roman hero by some
+sculptor of the Seicento.
+
+The next room is the audience chamber of the Podestà. Besides the
+Cross and the Lilies on the windows, its walls and roof are covered
+with the gold lion on azure ground, the arms of the Duke of Athens.
+They were cancelled by decree of the Republic in 1343, and renewed in
+1861; as a patriotically worded tablet on the left, under the window,
+explains. Opening out of this is the famous Chapel of the
+Podestà--famous for the frescoes on its walls--once a prison. From out
+of these terribly ruined frescoes stands the figure of Dante (stands
+out, alas, because completely repainted--a mere _rifacimento_ with
+hardly a trace of the original work left) in what was once a
+_Paradiso_; the dim figures on either side are said to represent
+Brunette Latini and either Corso Donati or Guido Cavalcanti. In spite
+of a very pleasant fable, it is absolutely certain that this is not a
+contemporaneous portrait of Dante (although it may be regarded as an
+authentic likeness, to some extent) and was not painted by Giotto; the
+frescoes were executed by some later follower of Giotto (possibly by
+Taddeo Gaddi, who painted the lost portraits of Dante and Guido in
+Santa Croce) after 1345. The two paintings below on either side,
+Madonna and Child and St. Jerome, are votive pictures commissioned by
+pious Podestàs in 1490 and 1491, the former by Sebastiano Mainardi,
+the brother-in-law of Domenico Ghirlandaio.
+
+The third room contains small bronze works by Tuscan masters of the
+Quattrocento. In the centre, Verrocchio's David (22), cast for Lorenzo
+dei Medici, one of the masterpieces of the fifteenth century. Here are
+the famous trial plates for the great competition for the second
+bronze gates of the Baptistery, announced in 1401, the Sacrifice of
+Abraham, by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti respectively; the grace and
+harmony of Ghiberti's composition (12) contrast strongly with the
+force, almost violence, the dramatic action and movement of
+Brunelleschi's (13). Ghiberti's, unlike his rival's, is in one single
+piece; but, until lately, there has been a tendency to underrate the
+excellence of Brunelleschi's relief. Here, too, are Ghiberti's
+reliquary of St. Hyacinth, executed in 1428, with two beautiful
+floating Angels (21); several bas-reliefs by Bertoldo, Donatello's
+pupil and successor; the effigy of Marino Soccino, a lawyer of Siena,
+by the Sienese sculptor Il Vecchietta (16); and, in a glass case,
+Orpheus by Bertoldo, Hercules and Antæus by Antonio Pollaiuolo, and
+Love on a Scallop Shell by Donatello. The following room contains
+mostly bronzes by later masters, especially Cellini, Giovanni da
+Bologna, Vincenzo Danti. The most noteworthy of its contents are
+Daniele Ricciarelli's striking bust of Michelangelo (37); Cellini's
+bronze sketch for Perseus (38), his bronze bust of Duke Cosimo I.
+(39), his wax model for Perseus (40), the liberation of Andromeda,
+from the pedestal of the statue in the Loggia dei Lanzi (42); and
+above all, Giovanni da Bologna's flying Mercury (82), showing what
+exceedingly beautiful mythological work could still be produced when
+the golden days of the Renaissance were over. It was cast in 1565,
+and, like many of the best bronzes of this epoch, was originally
+placed on a fountain in one of the Medicean villas.
+
+On the second floor, first a long room with seals, etc., guarded by
+Rosso's frescoed Justice. Here, and in the room on the left, is a most
+wonderful array of the works in enamelled terra cotta of the Della
+Robbias--Luca and Andrea, followed by Giovanni and their imitators. In
+the best work of Luca and Andrea--and there is much of their very best
+and most perfect work in these two rooms--religious devotion received
+its highest and most perfect expression in sculpture. Their Madonnas,
+Annunciations, Nativities and the like, are the sculptural counterpart
+to Angelico's divinest paintings, though never quite attaining to his
+spiritual insight and supra-sensible gaze upon life. Andrea's work is
+more pictorial in treatment than Luca's, has less vigour and even at
+times a perceptible trace of sentimentality; but in sheer beauty his
+very best creations do not yield to those of his great master and
+uncle. Both Luca and Andrea kept to the simple blue and white--in the
+best part of their work--and surrounded their Madonnas with exquisite
+festoons of fruit and leaves: "wrought them," in Pater's words, "into
+all sorts of marvellous frames and garlands, giving them their natural
+colours, only subdued a little, a little paler than nature."
+
+To the right of the first Della Robbia room, are two more rooms full
+of statuary, and one with a collection of medals, including that
+commemorating Savonarola's Vision of the Sword of the Lord. In the
+first room--taking merely the more important--we may see Music,
+wrongly ascribed to Orcagna, probably earlier (139); bust of Charles
+VIII. of France (164), author uncertain; bust in terra cotta of a
+young warrior, by Antonio Pollaiuolo (161), as grandly insolent and
+confident as any of Signorelli's savage youths in the Orvieto
+frescoes. Also, bust of Matteo Palmieri, the humanist and suspected
+heretic, by Antonio Rossellino (160); bust of Pietro Mellini by
+Benedetto da Maiano (153); portrait of a young lady, by Matteo
+Civitali of Lucca (142); a long relief (146) ascribed to Verrocchio
+and representing the death of a lady of the Tornabuoni family in
+child-birth, which Shelley greatly admired and described at length,
+under the impression that he was studying a genuine antique: "It is
+altogether an admirable piece," he says, "quite in the spirit of
+Terence." The uncompromising realism of the male portraiture of the
+fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries is fully illustrated in this
+room, and there is at the same time a peculiar tenderness and
+winsomeness in representing young girls, which is exceedingly
+attractive.
+
+In the next room there are many excellent portraits of this kind,
+named and unnamed. Of more important works, we should notice the San
+Giovannino by Antonio Rossellino, and a tondo by the same master
+representing the Adoration of the Shepherds; Andrea Verrocchio's
+Madonna and Child; Verrocchio's Lady with the Bouquet (181), with
+those exquisite hands of which Gabriele D'Annunzio has almost wearied
+the readers of his _Gioconda_; by Matteo Civitali of Lucca, Faith
+gazing ecstatically upon the Sacrament. By Mino da Fiesole are a
+Madonna and Child, and several portrait busts--of the elder Piero dei
+Medici (234) and his brother Giovanni di Cosimo (236), and of Rinaldo
+della Luna. We should also notice the statues of Christ and three
+Apostles, of the school of Andrea Pisano; portrait of a girl by
+Desiderio da Settignano; two bas-reliefs by Luca della Robbia,
+representing the Liberation and Crucifixion of St. Peter, early works
+executed for a chapel in the Duomo; two sixteenth century busts,
+representing the younger Giuliano dei Medici and Giovanni delle Bande
+Nere; and, also, a curious fourteenth century group (222) apparently
+representing the coronation of an emperor by the Pope's legate.
+
+In the centre of the room are St. John Baptist by Benedetto da Maiano;
+Bacchus, by Jacopo Sansovino; and Michelangelo's second David (224),
+frequently miscalled Apollo, made for Baccio Valori after the siege of
+Florence, and pathetically different from the gigantic David of his
+youth, which had been chiselled more than a quarter of a century
+before, in all the passing glory of the Republican restoration.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When the Duke of Athens made himself tyrant of Florence, King Robert
+urged him to take up his abode in this palace, as Charles of Calabria
+had done, and leave the Palace of the People to the Priors. The advice
+was not taken, and, when the rising broke out, the palace was easily
+captured, before the Duke and his adherents in the Palazzo Vecchio
+were forced to surrender. Passing along the Via Ghibellina, we
+presently come on the right to what was originally the _Stinche_, a
+prison for nobles, _in qua carcerentur et custodiantur magnates_, so
+called from a castle of the Cavalcanti captured by the Neri in 1304,
+from which the prisoners were imprisoned here: it is now a part of the
+Teatro Pagliano. Later it became the place of captivity of the lowest
+criminals, and a first point of attack in risings of the populace. It
+contains, in a lunette on the stairs, a contemporary fresco
+representing the expulsion of the Duke of Athens on St. Anne's Day,
+1343. St. Anne is giving the banners of the People and of the Commune
+to a group of stern Republican warriors, while with one hand she
+indicates the Palace of the Priors, fortified with the tyrant's towers
+and battlements. By its side rises a great throne, from which the Duke
+is shrinking in terror from the Angel of the wrath of God; a broken
+sword lies at his feet; the banner of Brienne lies dishonoured in the
+dust, with the scales of justice that he profaned and the book of the
+law that he outraged. In so solemn and chastened a spirit could the
+artists of the Trecento conceive of their Republic's deliverance. The
+fresco was probably painted by either Giottino or Maso di Banco; it
+was once wrongly ascribed to Cennino Cennini, who wrote the _Treatise
+on Painting_, which was the approved text-book in the studios and
+workshops of the earlier masters.
+
+Further down the Via Ghibellina is the Casa Buonarroti, which once
+belonged to Michelangelo, and was bequeathed by his family to the
+city. It is entirely got up as a museum now, and not in the least
+suggestive of the great artist's life, though a tiny little study and
+a few letters and other relics are shown. There are, however, a
+certain number of his drawings here, including a design for the façade
+of San Lorenzo, which is of very questionable authenticity, and a
+Madonna. Two of his earliest works in marble are preserved here,
+executed at that epoch of his youth when he frequented the house and
+garden of Lorenzo the Magnificent. One is a bas-relief of the Madonna
+and Child--somewhat in the manner of Donatello--with two Angels at the
+top of a ladder. The other is a struggle of the Centaurs and Lapithae,
+a subject suggested to the boy by Angelo Poliziano, full of motion and
+vigour and wonderfully modelled. Vasari says, "To whoso considers this
+work, it does not seem from the hand of a youth, but from that of an
+accomplished and past master in these studies, and experienced in the
+art." The former is in the fifth room, the latter in the antechamber.
+There are also two models for the great David; a bust of the master in
+bronze by Ricciarelli, and his portrait by his pupil, Marcello
+Venusti. A predella representing the legend of St. Nicholas is by
+Francesco Pesellino, whose works are rare. In the third room (among
+the later allegories and scenes from the master's life) is a large
+picture supposed to have been painted by Jacopo da Empoli from a
+cartoon by Michelangelo, representing the Holy Family with the four
+Evangelists; it is a peculiarly unattractive work. The cartoon,
+ascribed to Michelangelo, is in the British Museum; and I would
+suggest that it was originally not a religious picture at all, but an
+allegory of Charity. The cross in the little Baptist's hand does not
+occur in the cartoon.
+
+Almost at the end of the Via Ghibellina are the Prisons which occupy
+the site of the famous convent of _Le Murate_. In this convent
+Caterina Sforza, the dethroned Lady of Forlì and mother of Giovanni
+delle Bande Nere, ended her days in 1509. Here the Duchessina, or
+"Little Duchess," as Caterina dei Medici was called, was placed by the
+Signoria after the expulsion of the Medici in 1527, in order to
+prevent Pope Clement VII. from using her for the purpose of a
+political marriage which might endanger the city. They seem to have
+feared especially the Prince of Orange. The result was that the
+convent became a centre of Medicean intrigue; and the Signoria, when
+the siege commenced, sent Salvestro Aldobrandini to take her away.
+When Salvestro arrived, after he had been kept waiting for some time,
+the little Duchess came to the grill of the parlour, dressed as a nun,
+and said that she intended to take the habit and stay for ever "with
+these my reverend mothers." According to Varchi, the poor little
+girl--she was barely eleven years old, had lost both parents in the
+year of her birth, and was practically alone in the city where the
+cruellest threats had been uttered against her--was terribly
+frightened and cried bitterly, "not knowing to what glory and felicity
+her life had been reserved by God and the Heavens." But Messer
+Salvestro and Messer Antonio de' Nerli did all they could to comfort
+and reassure her, and took her to the convent of Santa Lucia in the
+Via di San Gallo; "in which monastery," says Nardi, "she was received
+and treated with the same maternal love by those nuns, until the end
+of the war."
+
+In the centre of the oblong Piazza di Santa Croce rises the statue and
+monument of Dante Alighieri, erected on the occasion of the sixth
+centenary of his birth, in those glowing early days of the first
+completion of Italian unity; at its back stand the great Gothic church
+and convent, which Arnolfo di Cambio commenced for the Franciscans in
+1294, while Dante was still in Florence--the year before he entered
+political life.
+
+The great Piazza was a centre of festivities and stirring Florentine
+life, and has witnessed many historical scenes, in old times and in
+new, from the tournaments and jousts of the Middle Ages and early
+Renaissance to the penitential processions of the victims of the
+Inquisition in the days of the Medicean Grand Dukes, from the
+preaching of San Bernardino of Siena to the missionary labours of the
+Jesuit Segneri. On Christmas Day, 1301, Niccolò dei Cerchi was passing
+through this Piazza with a few friends on horseback on his way to his
+farm and mill--for that was hardly a happy Christmas for Guelfs of the
+white faction in Florence--while a friar was preaching in the open
+air, announcing the birth of Christ to the crowd; when Simone Donati
+with a band of mounted retainers gave chase, and, when he overtook
+him, killed him. In the scuffle Simone himself received a mortal
+wound, of which he died the same night. "Although it was a just
+judgment," writes Villani, "yet was it held a great loss, for the said
+Simone was the most accomplished and virtuous squire in Florence, and
+of the greatest promise, and he was all the hope of his father, Messer
+Corso." It was in the convent of Santa Croce that the Duke of Athens
+took up his abode in 1342, with much parade of religious simplicity,
+when about to seize upon the lordship of Florence; here, on that
+fateful September 8th, he assembled his followers and adherents in the
+Piazza, whence they marched to the Parliament at the Palazzo Vecchio,
+where he was proclaimed Signor of Florence for life. But in the
+following year, when he attempted to celebrate Easter with great pomp
+and luxury, and held grand jousts in this same Piazza for many days,
+the people sullenly held aloof and very few citizens entered the
+lists.
+
+Most gorgeous and altogether successful was the tournament given here
+by Lorenzo dei Medici in 1467, to celebrate his approaching marriage
+with Clarice Orsini, when he jousted against all comers in honour of
+the lady of his sonnets and odes, Lucrezia Donati. There was not much
+serious tilting about it, but a magnificent display of rich costumes
+and precious jewelled caps and helmets, and a glorious procession
+which must have been a positive feast of colour. "To follow the
+custom," writes Lorenzo himself, "and do like others, I gave a
+tournament on the Piazza Santa Croce at great cost and with much
+magnificence; I find that about 10,000 ducats were spent on it.
+Although I was not a very vigorous warrior, nor a hard hitter, the
+first prize was adjudged to me, a helmet inlaid with silver and a
+figure of Mars as the crest."[36] He sent a long account of the
+proceedings to his future bride, who answered: "I am glad that you are
+successful in what gives you pleasure, and that my prayer is heard,
+for I have no other wish than to see you happy." Luca Pulci, the
+luckless brother of Luigi, wrote a dull poem on the not very inspiring
+theme. A few years later, at the end of January 1478, a less sumptuous
+entertainment of the same sort was given by Giuliano dei Medici; and
+it was apparently on this occasion that Poliziano commenced his famous
+stanzas in honour of Giuliano and his lady love, Simonetta,--stanzas
+which were interrupted by the daggers of the Pazzi and their
+accomplices. It was no longer time for soft song or courtly sport when
+prelates and nobles were hanging from the palace windows, and the
+thunders of the Papal interdict were about to burst over the city and
+her rulers.
+
+  [36] Quoted in Mr Armstrong's _Lorenzo de' Medici_.
+
+Entering the Church through the unpleasing modern façade (which is,
+however, said to have followed the design of Cronaca himself, the
+architect of the exceedingly graceful convent of San Salvadore al
+Monte on the other side of the river), we catch a glow of colour from
+the east end, from the stained glass and frescoes in the choir. The
+vast and spacious nave of Arnolfo--like his Palazzo Vecchio, partly
+spoiled by Vasari--ends rather abruptly in the line of ten chapels
+with, in the midst of them, one very high recess which represents the
+apse and choir, thus giving the whole the T shape which we find in the
+Italian Gothic churches which were reared for the friars preachers and
+friars minor. The somewhat unsightly appearance, which many churches
+of this kind present in Italy, is due to the fact that Arnolfo and his
+school intended every inch of wall to be covered with significant
+fresco paintings, and this coloured decoration was seldom completely
+carried out, or has perished in the course of time. Fergusson remarks
+that "an Italian Church without its coloured decoration is only a
+framed canvas without harmony or meaning."
+
+Santa Croce is, in the words of the late Dean of Westminster, "the
+recognised shrine of Italian genius." On the pavement beneath our
+feet, outstretched on their tombstones, lie effigies of grave
+Florentine citizens, friars of note, prelates, scholars, warriors; in
+their robes of state or of daily life, in the Franciscan garb or in
+armour, with arms folded across their breasts, or still clasping the
+books they loved and wrote (in this way the humanists, such as
+Leonardo Bruni, were laid out in state after death); the knights have
+their swords by their sides, which they had wielded in defence of the
+Republic, and their hands clasped in prayer. Here they lie, waiting
+the resurrection. Has any echo of the Risorgimento reached them? In
+their long sleep, have they dreamed aught of the movement that has led
+Florence to raise tablets to the names of Cavour and Mazzini upon
+these walls? The tombs on the floor of the nave are mostly of the
+fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; the second from the central door
+is that of Galileo dei Galilei, like the other scholars lying with his
+hands folded across the book on his breast, the ancestor of the
+immortal astronomer: "This Galileo of the Galilei was, in his time,
+the head of philosophy and medicine; who also in the highest
+magistracy loved the Republic marvellously." About the middle of the
+nave is the tomb of John Catrick, Bishop of Exeter, who had come to
+Florence on an embassy from Henry V. of England to Pope Martin V., in
+1419. But those on the floor at the end of the right aisle and in the
+short right transept are the earliest and most interesting to the
+lover of early Florentine history; notice, for instance, the knightly
+tomb of a warrior of the great Ghibelline house of the Ubaldini, dated
+1358, at the foot of the steps to the chapel at the end of the right
+transept; and there is a similar one, only less fine, on the opposite
+side. Larger and more pretentious tombs and monuments of more recent
+date, to the heroes of Italian life and thought, pass in series along
+the side walls of the whole church, between the altars of the south
+and north (right and left) aisles.
+
+  [Illustration: SANTA CROCE]
+
+Over the central door, below the window whose stained glass is said to
+have been designed by Ghiberti, is Donatello's bronze statue of King
+Robert's canonised brother, the Franciscan Bishop St. Louis of
+Toulouse. This St. Louis, the patron saint of the Parte Guelfa, had
+been ordered by the captains of the Party for their niche at San
+Michele in Orto, from which he was irreverently banished shortly after
+the restoration of Cosimo dei Medici, when the Parte Guelfa was forced
+to surrender its niche. On the left of the entrance should be
+noticed with gratitude the tomb of the historian of the Florentine
+Republic, the Italian patriot, Gino Capponi.
+
+In the right aisle are the tomb and monument of Michelangelo, designed
+by Giorgio Vasari; on the pillar opposite to it, over the holy water
+stoop, a beautiful Madonna and Child in marble by Bernardo Rossellino,
+beneath which lies Francesco Nori, who was murdered whilst defending
+Lorenzo dei Medici in the Pazzi conspiracy; the comparatively modern
+monument to Dante, whose bones rest at Ravenna and for whom
+Michelangelo had offered in vain to raise a worthy sepulchre. Two
+sonnets by the great sculptor supply to some extent in verse what he
+was not suffered to do in marble: I quote the finer of the two, from
+Addington Symonds' excellent translation:--
+
+     From Heaven his spirit came, and, robed in clay,
+       The realms of justice and of mercy trod:
+       Then rose a living man to gaze on God,
+       That he might make the truth as clear as day.
+     For that pure star, that brightened with its ray
+       The undeserving nest where I was born,
+       The whole wide world would be a prize to scorn:
+       None but his Maker can due guerdon pay.
+     I speak of Dante, whose high work remains
+       Unknown, unhonoured by that thankless brood
+       Who only to just men deny their wage.
+     Were I but he! Born for like lingering pains,
+       Against his exile coupled with his good
+       I'd gladly change the world's best heritage.
+
+Then comes Canova's monument to Vittorio Alfieri, the great tragic
+dramatist of Italy (died 1803); followed by an eighteenth century
+monument to Machiavelli (died 1527), and the tomb of Padre Lanzi, the
+Jesuit historian of Italian art. The pulpit by a pillar in the nave is
+considered the most beautiful pulpit in Italy, and is, perhaps,
+Benedetto da Maiano's finest work; the bas-reliefs in marble
+represent scenes from the life of St. Francis and the martyrdom of
+some of his friars, with figures of the virtues below. Beyond Padre
+Lanzi's grave, over the tomb of the learned Franciscan Fra Benedetto
+Cavalcanti, are two exceedingly powerful figures of saints in fresco,
+the Baptist and St. Francis; they have been ascribed to various
+painters, but are almost certainly the work of Domenico Veneziano, and
+closely resemble the figures of the same saints in his undoubtedly
+genuine picture in the Sala di Lorenzo Monaco in the Uffizi. The
+adjacent Annunciation by Donatello, in _pietra serena_, was also made
+for the Cavalcanti; its fine Renaissance architectural setting is
+likewise Donatello's work. Above it are four lovely wooden Putti, who
+seem embracing each other for fear of tumbling off from their height;
+originally there were six, and the other two are preserved in the
+convent. M. Reymond has shown that this Annunciation is not an early
+work of the master's, as Vasari and others state, but is of the same
+style and period as the Cantoria of the Duomo, about 1435. Lastly, at
+the end of the right aisle is the splendid tomb of Leonardo Bruni
+(died 1444), secretary of the Republic, translator of Plato, historian
+of Florence, biographer of Dante,--the outstretched recumbent figure
+of the grand old humanist, watched over by Mary and her Babe with the
+Angels, by Bernardo Rossellino. A worthy monument to a noble soul,
+whose memory is dear to every lover of Dante. Yet we may, not without
+advantage, contrast it with the simpler Gothic sepulchres on the floor
+of the transepts,--the marble slabs that cover the bones of the old
+Florentines who, in war and peace, did the deeds of which Leonardo and
+his kind wrote.
+
+The tombs and monuments in the left aisle are less interesting.
+Opposite Leonardo Bruni's tomb is that of his successor, Carlo
+Marsuppini, called Carlo Aretino (died 1453), by Desiderio da
+Settignano; he was a good Greek scholar, a fluent orator and a
+professed Pagan, but accomplished no literary work of any value;
+utterly inferior as a man and as an author to Leonardo, he has an even
+more gorgeous tomb. In this aisle there are modern monuments to
+Vespasiano Bisticci and Donatello; and, opposite to Michelangelo's
+tomb, that of Galileo himself (died 1642), with traces of old
+fourteenth century frescoes round it, which may, perhaps, symbolise
+for us the fleeting phantoms of mediæval thought fading away before
+the advance of science.
+
+In the central chapel of the left or northern transept is the famous
+wooden Crucifix by Donatello, which gave rise to the fraternal contest
+between him and Brunelleschi. Brunelleschi told his friend that he had
+put upon his cross a contadino and not a figure like that of Christ.
+"Take some wood then," answered the nettled sculptor, "and try to make
+one thyself." Filippo did so; and when it was finished Donatello was
+so stupefied with admiration, that he let drop all the eggs and other
+things that he was carrying for their dinner. "I have had all I want
+for to-day," he exclaimed; "if you want your share, take it: to thee
+is it given to carve Christs and to me to make contadini." The rival
+piece may still be seen in Santa Maria Novella, and there is not much
+to choose between them. Donatello's is, perhaps, somewhat more
+realistic and less refined.
+
+The first two chapels of the left transept (fifth and fourth from the
+choir, respectively,) contain fourteenth century frescoes; a warrior
+of the Bardi family rising to judgment, the healing of Constantine's
+leprosy and other miracles of St. Sylvester, ascribed to Maso di
+Banco; the martyrdom of St. Lawrence and the martyrdom of St.
+Stephen, by Bernardo Daddi (the painter to whom it is attempted to
+ascribe the famous Last Judgment and Triumph of Death in the Pisan
+Campo Santo). All these imply a certain Dantesque selection; these
+subjects are among the examples quoted for purposes of meditation or
+admonition in the _Divina Commedia_. The coloured terracotta relief is
+by Giovanni della Robbia. The frescoes of the choir, by Agnolo Gaddi,
+are among the finest works of Giotto's school. They set forth the
+history of the wood of the True Cross, which, according to the legend,
+was a shoot of the tree of Eden planted by Seth on Adam's grave; the
+Queen of Sheba prophetically adored it, when she came to visit Solomon
+during the building of the Temple; cast into the pool of Bethsaida,
+the Jews dragged it out to make the Cross for Christ; then, after it
+had been buried on Mount Calvary for three centuries, St. Helen
+discovered it by its power of raising the dead to life. These subjects
+are set forth on the right wall; on the left, we have the taking of
+the relic of the Cross by the Persians under Chosroes, and its
+recovery by the Emperor Heraclius. In the scene where the Emperor
+barefooted carries the Cross into Jerusalem, the painter has
+introduced his own portrait, near one of the gates of the city, with a
+small beard and a red hood. Vasari thinks poorly of these frescoes;
+but the legend of the True Cross is of some importance to the student
+of Dante, whose profound allegory of the Church and Empire in the
+Earthly Paradise, at the close of the _Purgatorio_, is to some extent
+based upon it.
+
+The two Gothic chapels to the right of the choir contain Giotto's
+frescoes--both chapels were originally entirely painted by
+him--rescued from the whitewash under which they were discovered, and,
+in part at least, most terribly "restored." The frescoes in the
+first, the Bardi Chapel, illustrating the life of St. Francis, have
+suffered most; all the peculiar Giottesque charm of face has
+disappeared, and, instead, the restorer has given us monotonous
+countenances, almost deadly in their uniformity and utter lack of
+expression. Like all mediæval frescoes dealing with St. Francis, they
+should be read with the _Fioretti_ or with Dante's _Paradiso_, or with
+one of the old lives of the Seraphic Father in our hands. On the left
+(beginning at the top) we have his renunciation of the world in the
+presence of his father and the Bishop of Assisi--_innanzi alla sua
+spirital corte, et coram patre_, as Dante puts it; on the right, the
+confirmation of the order by Pope Honorius; on the left, the
+apparition of St. Francis to St. Antony of Padua; on the right, St.
+Francis and his followers before the Soldan--_nella presenza del
+Soldan superba_--in the ordeal of fire; and, below it, St. Francis on
+his death-bed, with the apparition to the sleeping bishop to assure
+him of the truth of the Stigmata. Opposite, left, the body is
+surrounded by weeping friars, the incredulous judge touching the wound
+in the side, while the simplest of the friars, at the saint's head,
+sees his soul carried up to heaven in a little cloud. This conception
+of saintly death was, perhaps, originally derived from Dante's dream
+of Beatrice in the _Vita Nuova_: "I seemed to look towards heaven, and
+to behold a multitude of Angels who were returning upwards, having
+before them an exceedingly white cloud; and these Angels were singing
+together gloriously." It became traditional in early Italian painting.
+On the window wall are four great Franciscans. St. Louis the King (one
+whom Dante does not seem to have held in honour), a splendid figure,
+calm and noble, in one hand the sceptre and in the other the
+Franciscan cord, his royal robe besprinkled with the golden lily of
+France over the armour of the warrior of the Cross; his face absorbed
+in celestial contemplation. He is the Christian realisation of the
+Platonic philosopher king; "St. Louis," says Walter Pater, "precisely
+because his whole being was full of heavenly vision, in self
+banishment from it for a while, led and ruled the French people so
+magnanimously alike in peace and war." Opposite him is St. Louis of
+Toulouse, with the royal crown at his feet; below are St. Elizabeth of
+Hungary, with her lap full of flowers; and, opposite to her, St.
+Clare, of whom Dante's Piccarda tells so sweetly in the
+_Paradiso_--that lady on high whom "perfected life and lofty merit
+doth enheaven." On the vaulted roof of the chapel are the glory of St.
+Francis and symbolical representations of the three vows--Poverty,
+Chastity, Obedience; not rendered as in Giotto's great allegories at
+Assisi, of which these are, as it were, his own later simplifications,
+but merely as the three mystical Angels that met Francis and his
+friars on the road to Siena, crying "Welcome, Lady Poverty." The
+picture of St. Francis on the altar, ascribed by Vasari to Cimabue, is
+probably by some unknown painter at the close of the thirteenth
+century.
+
+The frescoes in the following, the Chapel of the Peruzzi, are very
+much better preserved, especially in the scene of Herod's feast. Like
+all Giotto's genuine work, they are eloquent in their pictorial
+simplicity of diction; there are no useless crowds of spectators, as
+in the later work of Ghirlandaio and his contemporaries. On the left
+is the life of St. John the Baptist--the Angel appearing to Zacharias,
+the birth and naming of the Precursor, the dance of the daughter of
+Herodias at Herod's feast. This last has suffered less from
+restoration than any other work of Giotto's in Florence; both the
+rhythmically moving figure of the girl herself and that of the
+musician are very beautiful, and the expression on Herod's face is
+worthy of the psychological insight of the author of the Vices and
+Virtues in the Madonna's chapel at Padua. Ruskin talks of "the striped
+curtain behind the table being wrought with a variety and fantasy of
+playing colour which Paul Veronese could not better at his best." On
+the right wall is the life of the Evangelist, John the Divine, or
+rather its closing scenes; the mystical vision at Patmos, the seer
+_dormendo con la faccia arguta_, like the solitary elder who brought
+up the rear of the triumphal pageant in Dante's Earthly Paradise; the
+raising of Drusiana from the dead; the assumption of St. John. The
+curious legend represented in this last fresco--that St. John was
+taken up body and soul, _con le due stole_, into Heaven after death,
+and that his disciples found his tomb full of manna--was, of course,
+based upon the saying that went abroad among the brethren, "that that
+disciple should not die"; it is mentioned as a pious belief by St.
+Thomas, but is very forcibly repudiated by Giotto's great friend,
+Dante; in the _Paradiso_ St. John admonishes him to tell the world
+that only Christ and the Blessed Virgin rose from the dead. "In the
+earth my body is earth, and shall be there with the others, until our
+number be equalled with the eternal design."
+
+In the last chapel of the south transept, there are two curious
+frescoes apparently of the beginning of the fourteenth century, in
+honour of St. Michael; they represent his leading the Angelic hosts
+against the forces of Lucifer, and the legend of his apparition at
+Monte Gargano. The frescoes in the chapel at the end of the transept,
+the Baroncelli chapel, representing scenes in the life of the Blessed
+Virgin, are by Giotto's pupil, Taddeo Gaddi; they are similar to his
+work at Assisi. The Assumption opposite was painted by Sebastiano
+Mainardi from a cartoon by Domenico Ghirlandaio. In the Chapel of the
+Blessed Sacrament there are more frescoed lives of saints by Taddeo's
+son, Agnolo Gaddi, less admirable than his work in the choir; and
+statues of two Franciscans, of the Della Robbia school. The monument
+of the Countess of Albany may interest English admirers of the
+Stuarts, but hardly concerns the story of Florence.
+
+From the right transept a corridor leads off to the chapel of the
+Noviciate and the Sacristy. The former, built by Michelozzo for
+Cosimo, contains some beautiful terracotta work of the school of the
+Della Robbia, a tabernacle by Mino da Fiesole, and a Coronation of the
+Blessed Virgin ascribed to Giotto. This Coronation was originally the
+altar piece of the Baroncelli chapel, and is an excellent picture,
+although its authenticity is not above suspicion; the signature is
+almost certainly a forgery; this title of _Magister_ was Giotto's pet
+aversion, as we know from Boccaccio, and he never used it. Opening out
+of the Sacristy is a chapel, decorated with beautiful frescoes of the
+life of the Blessed Virgin and St. Mary Magdalene, now held to be the
+work of Taddeo Gaddi's Lombard pupil, Giovanni da Milano. There is, as
+has already been said, very little individuality in the work of
+Giotto's followers, but these frescoes are among the best of their
+kind.
+
+The first Gothic cloisters belong to the epoch of the foundation of
+the church, and were probably designed by Arnolfo himself; the second,
+early Renaissance, are Brunelleschi's. The Refectory, which is entered
+from the first cloisters, contains a fresco of the Last Supper--one of
+the earliest renderings of this theme for monastic dining-rooms--which
+used to be assigned to Giotto, and is probably by one of his
+scholars. This room had the invidious honour of being the seat of the
+Inquisition, which in Florence had always--save for a very brief
+period in the thirteenth century--been in the hands of the
+Franciscans, and not the Dominicans. It never had any real power in
+Florence--the _bel viver fiorentino_, which, even in the days of
+tyranny, was always characteristic of the city, was opposed to its
+influence. The beautiful chapel of the Pazzi was built by
+Brunelleschi; its frieze of Angels' heads is by Donatello and
+Desiderio; within are Luca della Robbia's Apostles and Evangelists.
+Jacopo Pazzi had headed the conspiracy against the Medici in 1478,
+and, after attempting to raise the people, had been captured in his
+escape, tortured and hanged. It was said that he had cried in dying
+that he gave his soul to the devil; he was certainly a notorious
+gambler and blasphemer. When buried here, the peasants believed that
+he brought a curse upon their crops; so the rabble dug him up, dragged
+the body through the streets, and finally with every conceivable
+indignity threw it into the Arno.
+
+Behind Santa Croce two streets of very opposite names and traditions
+meet, the _Via Borgo Allegri_ (which also intersects the Via
+Ghibellina) and the _Via dei Malcontenti_; the former records the
+legendary birthday of Italian painting, the latter the mournful
+processions of poor wretches condemned to death.
+
+According to the tradition, Giovanni Cimabue had his studio in the
+former street, and it was here that, in Dante's words, he thought to
+hold the field in painting: _Credette Cimabue nella pittura tener lo
+campo._ Here, according to Vasari, he was visited by Charles the Elder
+of Anjou, and his great Madonna carried hence in procession with music
+and lighted candles, ringing of bells and waving of banners, to Santa
+Maria Novella; while the street that had witnessed such a miracle was
+ever after called _Borgo Allegri_, "the happy suburb:" "named the Glad
+Borgo from that beauteous face," as Elizabeth Barrett Browning puts
+it. Unfortunately there are several little things that show that this
+story needs revision of some kind. When Charles of Anjou came to
+Florence, the first stone of Santa Maria Novella had not yet been
+laid, and the picture now shown there as Cimabue's appears to be a
+Sienese work. The legend, however, is very precious, and should be
+devoutly held. The king in question was probably another Angevin
+Charles--Carlo Martello, grandson of the elder Charles and titular
+King of Hungary, Dante's friend, who was certainly in Florence for
+nearly a month in the spring of 1295, and made himself exceedingly
+pleasant. Vasari has made a similar confusion in the case of two
+emperors of the name of Frederick. The picture has doubtless perished,
+but the Joyous Borgo has not changed its name.
+
+The Via dei Malcontenti leads out into the broad Viale Carlo Alberto,
+which marks the site of Arnolfo's wall. It formerly ended in a postern
+gate, known as the Porta della Giustizia, beyond which was a little
+chapel--of which no trace is left--and the place where the gallows
+stood. The condemned were first brought to a chapel which stood in the
+Via dei Malcontenti, near the present San Giuseppe, and then taken out
+to the chapel beyond the gate, where the prayers for the dying were
+said over them by the friars, after which they were delivered to the
+executioner.[37] In May 1503, as Simone Filipepi tells us, a man was
+beheaded here, whom the people apparently regarded as innocent; when
+he was dead, they rose up and stoned the executioner to death. And
+this was the same executioner who, five years before, had hanged
+Savonarola and his companions in the Piazza, and had insulted their
+dead bodies to please the dregs of the populace. The tower, of which
+the mutilated remains still stand here, the _Torre della Zecca
+Vecchia_, formerly called the _Torre Reale_, was originally a part of
+the defences of a bridge which it was intended to build here in honour
+of King Robert of Naples in 1317, and guarded the Arno at this point.
+After the siege, during which the Porta della Giustizia was walled up,
+Duke Alessandro incorporated the then lofty Torre Reale into a strong
+fortress which he constructed here, the Fortezza Vecchia. In later
+days, offices connected with the Arte del Cambio and the Mint were
+established in its place, whence the present name of the Torre della
+Zecca Vecchia.
+
+  [37] See Guido Carocci, _Firenze Scomparsa_, here and generally.
+
+  [Illustration: OLD HOUSES ON THE ARNO]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+_The Baptistery, the Campanile, and the Duomo_
+
+   "There the traditions of faith and hope, of both the Gentile and
+   Jewish races, met for their beautiful labour: the Baptistery of
+   Florence is the last building raised on the earth by the
+   descendants of the workmen taught by Dædalus: and the Tower of
+   Giotto is the loveliest of those raised on earth under the
+   inspiration of the men who lifted up the tabernacle in the
+   wilderness. Of living Greek work there is none after the
+   Florentine Baptistery; of living Christian work, none so perfect
+   as the Tower of Giotto."--_Ruskin._
+
+   "Il non mai abbastanza lodato tempio di Santa Maria del
+   Fiore."--_Vasari._
+
+
+To the west of the Piazza del Duomo stands the octagonal building of
+black and white marble--"_l'antico vostro Batisteo_" as Cacciaguida
+calls it to Dante--which, in one shape or another, may be said to have
+watched over the history of Florence from the beginning. "It is," says
+Ruskin, "the central building of Etrurian Christianity--of European
+Christianity." Here, in old pagan times, stood the Temple of Mars,
+with the shrine and sanctuary of the God of War. This was the
+Cathedral of Florence during a portion at least of the early history
+of the Republic, before the great Gothic building rose that now
+overshadows it to the east.
+
+Villani and other early writers all suppose that this present building
+really was the original Temple of Mars, converted into a church for
+St. John the Baptist. Villani tells us that, after the founding of
+Florence by Julius Cæsar and other noble Romans, the citizens of this
+new Rome decided to erect a marvellous temple to the honour of Mars,
+in thanksgiving for the victory which the Romans had won over the city
+of Fiesole; and for this purpose the Senate sent them the best and
+most subtle masters that there were in Rome. Black and white marble
+was brought by sea and then up the Arno, with columns of various
+sizes; stone and other columns were taken from Fiesole, and the temple
+was erected in the place where the Etruscans of Fiesole had once held
+their market:--
+
+"Right noble and beauteous did they make it with eight faces, and when
+they had done it with great diligence, they consecrated it to their
+god Mars, who was the god of the Romans; and they had him carved in
+marble, in the shape of a knight armed on horseback. They set him upon
+a marble column in the midst of that temple, and him did they hold in
+great reverence and adored as their god, what time Paganism lasted in
+Florence. And we find that the said temple was commenced at the time
+that Octavian Augustus reigned, and that it was erected under the
+ascendency of such a constellation that it will last well nigh to
+eternity."
+
+There is much difference of opinion as to the real date of
+construction of the present building. While some authorities have
+assigned it to the eleventh or even to the twelfth century, others
+have supposed that it is either a Christian temple constructed in the
+sixth century on the site of the old Temple of Mars, or the original
+Temple converted into Christian use. It has indeed been recently urged
+that it is essentially a genuine Roman work of the fourth century,
+very analogous in structure to the Pantheon at Rome, on the model of
+which it was probably built. The little apse to the south-west--the
+part which contains the choir and altar--is certainly of the twelfth
+century. There was originally a round opening at the centre of the
+dome--like the Pantheon--and under this opening, according to Villani,
+the statue of Mars stood. It was closed in the twelfth century. The
+dome served Brunelleschi as a model for the cupola of Santa Maria del
+Fiore. The lantern was added in the sixteenth century. Although this
+building, so sacrosanct to the Florentines, had been spared by the
+Goths and Lombards, it narrowly escaped destruction at the hands of
+the Tuscan Ghibellines. In 1249, when the Ghibellines, with the aid of
+the Emperor Frederick II., had expelled the Guelfs, the conquerors
+endeavoured to destroy the Baptistery by means of the tower called the
+Guardamorto, which stood in the Piazza towards the entrance of the
+Corso degli Adimari, and watched over the tombs of the dead citizens
+who were buried round San Giovanni. This device of making the tower
+fall upon the church failed. "As it pleased God," writes Villani,
+"through the reverence and miraculous power of the blessed John, the
+tower, when it fell, manifestly avoided the holy Church, and turned
+back and fell across the Piazza; whereat all the Florentines wondered,
+and the People greatly rejoiced."
+
+At the close of the thirteenth century, in those golden days of
+Dante's youth and early manhood, there were steps leading up to the
+church, and it was surrounded by these tombs. Many of the latter seem
+to have been old pagan sarcophagi adopted for use by the Florentine
+aristocracy. Here Guido Cavalcanti used to wander in his solitary
+musings and speculations--trying to find out that there was no God, as
+his friends charitably suggested--and Boccaccio tells a most
+delightful story of a friendly encounter between him and some young
+Florentine nobles, who objected to his unsociable habits. In 1293,
+Arnolfo di Cambio levelled the Piazza, removed the tombs, and
+plastered the pilasters in the angles of the octagonal with slabs of
+black and white marble of Prato, as now we see. The similar decoration
+of the eight faces of the church is much earlier.
+
+The interior is very dark indeed--so dark that the mosaics, which
+Dante must in part have looked upon, would need a very bright day to
+be visible. At present they are almost completely concealed by the
+scaffolding of the restorers.[38] Over the whole church preside the
+two Saints whom an earlier Florentine worshipper of Mars could least
+have comprehended--the Baptist and the Magdalene. And the spirit of
+Dante haunts it as he does no other Florentine building--_il mio bel
+San Giovanni_, he lovingly calls it. "In your ancient Baptistery," his
+ancestor tells him in the fifteenth Canto of the _Paradiso_, "I became
+at once a Christian and Cacciaguida." And, indeed, the same holds true
+of countless generations of Florentines--among them the keenest
+intellects and most subtle hands that the world has known--all
+baptised here. But it has memories of another kind. The shameful
+penance of oblation to St. John--if Boccaccio's tale be true, and if
+the letter ascribed to Dante is authentic--was rejected by him; but
+many another Florentine, with bare feet and lighted candle, has
+entered here as a prisoner in penitential garb. The present
+font--although of early date--was placed here in the seventeenth
+century, to replace the very famous one which played so large a part
+in Dante's thoughts. Here had he been baptised--here, in one of the
+most pathetic passages of the _Paradiso_, did he yearn, before death
+came, to take the laurel crown:--
+
+  [38] The earliest of these mosaics are those in the tribune, executed
+  originally by a certain Fra Jacopo in the year 1225; those in the dome
+  are in part ascribed to Dante's contemporary, Andrea Tafi.
+
+     Se mai continga che il poema sacro,
+       al quale ha posto mano e cielo e terra,
+       sì che m'ha fatto per più anni macro,
+     vinca la crudeltà, che fuor mi serra
+       del bello ovil, dov'io dormii agnello,
+       nimico ai lupi che gli danno guerra;
+     con altra voce omai, con altro vello
+       ritornerò poeta, ed in sul fonte
+       del mio battesmo prenderò il cappello;
+     però che nella Fede, che fa conte
+       l'anime a Dio, quivi entra' io.[39]
+
+  [39]
+     Should it e'er come to pass that the sacred poem to which
+       both heaven and earth so have set hand, that it hath
+       made me lean through many a year,
+     should overcome the cruelty which doth bar me forth from
+       the fair sheepfold wherein I used to sleep, a lamb, foe to
+       the wolves which war upon it;
+     with changed voice now, and with changed fleece shall I
+       return, a poet, and at the font of my baptism shall I
+       assume the chaplet;
+     because into the Faith which maketh souls known of God,
+       'twas there I entered.
+         --Par. xxv. 1-11, _Wicksteed's translation_.
+
+This ancient font, which stood in the centre of the church, appears to
+have had round holes or _pozzetti_ in its outer wall, in which the
+priests stood to baptise; and Dante tells us in the _Inferno_ that he
+broke one of these _pozzetti_, to save a boy from being drowned or
+suffocated. The boy saved was apparently not being baptised, but was
+playing about with others, and had either tumbled into the font itself
+or climbed head foremost into one of the _pozzetti_. When the divine
+poet was exiled, charitable people said that he had done this from
+heretical motives--just as they had looked with suspicion upon his
+friend Guido's spiritual wanderings in the same locality.
+
+  [Illustration: THE BAPTISTERY]
+
+Though the old font has gone, St. John, to the left of the high altar,
+still keeps watch over all the Florentine children brought to be
+baptised--to be made _conti_, known to God, and to himself in God.
+Opposite to him is the great type of repentance after baptism, St.
+Mary Magdalene, a wooden statue by Donatello. What a contrast is here
+with those pagan Magdalenes of the Renaissance--such as Titian and
+Correggio painted! Fearfully wasted and haggard, this terrible figure
+of asceticism--when once the first shock of repulsion is got over--is
+unmistakably a masterpiece of the sculptor; it is as though one of the
+Penitential Psalms had taken bodily shape.
+
+On the other side of the church stands the tomb of the dethroned Pope,
+John XXIII., Baldassarre Cossa, one of the earliest works in the
+Renaissance style, reared by Michelozzo and Donatello, 1424-1427, for
+Cosimo dei Medici. The fallen Pontiff rests at last in peace in the
+city which had witnessed his submission to his successful rival,
+Martin V., and which had given a home to his closing days; here he
+lies, forgetful of councils and cardinals:--
+
+     "After life's fitful fever he sleeps well."
+
+The recumbent figure in bronze is the work of Donatello, as also the
+Madonna and Child that guard his last slumber. Below, are Faith, Hope,
+and Charity--the former by Michelozzo (to whom also the architectural
+part of the monument is due), the two latter by Donatello. It is said
+that Pope Martin V. objected to the inscription, "quondam papa," and
+was answered in the words of Pilate: _quod scripsi, scripsi_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+But the glory of the Baptistery is in its three bronze gates, the
+finest triumph of bronze casting. On November 6th, 1329, the consuls
+of the Arte di Calimala, who had charge of the works of San Giovanni,
+ordained that their doors should be of metal and as beautiful as
+possible. The first of the three, now the southern gate opposite the
+Bigallo (but originally the _porta di mezzo_ opposite the Duomo), was
+assigned by them to Andrea Pisano on January 9th, 1330; he made the
+models in the same year, as the inscription on the gate itself shows;
+the casting was finished in 1336. Vasari's statement that Giotto
+furnished the designs for Andrea is now entirely discredited. These
+gates set before us, in twenty-eight reliefs, twenty scenes from the
+life of the Baptist with eight symbolical virtues below--all set round
+with lions' heads. Those who know the work of the earlier Pisan
+masters, Niccolò and Giovanni, will at once perceive how completely
+Andrea has freed himself from the traditions of the school of Pisa;
+instead of filling the whole available space with figures on different
+planes and telling several stories at once, Andrea composes his relief
+of a few figures on the same plane, and leaves the background free.
+There are never any unnecessary figures or mere spectators; the bare
+essentials of the episode are set before us as simply as possible,
+whether it be Zacharias writing the name of John or the dance of the
+daughter of Herodias, which may well be compared with Giotto's
+frescoes in Santa Croce. Most perfect of all are the eight figures of
+the Virtues in the eight lower panels, and they should be compared
+with Giotto's allegories at Padua. We have Hope winged and straining
+upwards towards a crown, Faith with cross and sacramental cup, Charity
+and Prudence, above; Fortitude, Temperance and Justice below; and
+then, to complete the eight, Dante's favourite virtue, the maiden
+Humility. The Temperance, with Giotto and Andrea Pisano, is not the
+mere opposite of Gluttony, with pitcher of water and cup (as we may
+see her presently in Santa Maria Novella); but it is the cardinal
+virtue which, St. Thomas says, includes "any virtue whatsoever that
+puts in practice moderation in any matter, and restrains appetite in
+its tendency in any direction." Andrea Pisano's Temperance sits next
+to his Justice, with the sword and scales; she too has a sword, even
+as Justice has, but she is either sheathing it or drawing it with
+reluctance.
+
+The lovely and luxuriant decorative frieze that runs round this portal
+was executed by Ghiberti's pupils in the middle of the fifteenth
+century. Over the gate is the beheading of St. John the Baptist--two
+second-rate figures by Vincenzo Danti.
+
+The second or northern gate is more than three-quarters of a century
+later, and it is the result of that famous competition which opened
+the Quattrocento. It was assigned to Lorenzo Ghiberti in 1403, and he
+had with him his stepfather Bartolo di Michele, and other assistants
+(including possibly Donatello). It was finished and set up gilded in
+April 1424, at the main entry between the two porphyry columns,
+opposite the Duomo, whence Andrea's gate was removed. It will be
+observed that each new gate was first put in this place of honour, and
+then translated to make room for its better. The plan of Ghiberti's is
+similar to that of Andrea's gate--in fact it is his style of work
+brought to its ultimate perfection. Twenty-eight reliefs represent
+scenes from the New Testament, from the Annunciation to the Descent of
+the Holy Spirit, while in eight lower compartments are the four
+Evangelists and the four great Latin Doctors. The scene of the
+Temptation of the Saviour is particularly striking, and the figure of
+the Evangelist John, the Eagle of Christ, has the utmost grandeur.
+Over the door are three finely modelled figures representing St. John
+the Baptist disputing with a Levite and a Pharisee--or, perhaps, the
+Baptist between two Prophets--by Giovanni Francesco Rustici
+(1506-1511), a pupil of Verrocchio's, who appears to have been
+influenced by Leonardo da Vinci.
+
+But in the third or eastern gate, opposite the Duomo, Ghiberti was to
+crown the whole achievement of his life. Mr Perkins remarks: "Had he
+never lived to make the second gates, which to the world in general
+are far superior to the first, he would have been known in history as
+a continuator of the school of Andrea Pisano, enriched with all those
+added graces which belonged to his own style, and those refinements of
+technique which the progress made in bronze casting had rendered
+perfect."[40] In the meantime the laws of perspective had been
+understood, and their science set forth by Brunelleschi; and when
+Ghiberti, on the completion of his first gates, was in January 1425
+invited by the consuls of the Guild (amongst whom was the great
+anti-Medicean politician, Niccolò da Uzzano) to model the third doors,
+he was full of this new knowledge. "I strove," he says in his
+commentaries, "to imitate nature to the uttermost." The subjects were
+selected for him by Leonardo Bruni--ten stories from the Old Testament
+which, says Leonardo in his letter to Niccolò da Uzzano and his
+colleagues, "should have two things: first and chiefly, they must be
+illustrious; and secondly, they must be significant. Illustrious, I
+call those which can satisfy the eye with variety of design;
+significant, those which have importance worthy of memory." For the
+rest, their main instructions to him were that he should make the
+whole the richest, most perfect and most beauteous work imaginable,
+regardless of time and cost.
+
+  [40] By these "second gates" are of course meant Ghiberti's second
+  gates: in reality the "third gates" of the Baptistery.
+
+The work took more than twenty-five years. The stories were all
+modelled in wax by 1440, when the casting of the bronze commenced;
+the whole was finished in 1447, gilded in 1452--the gilding has
+happily worn off from all the gates--and finally set up in June 1452,
+in the place where Ghiberti's other gate had been. Among his numerous
+assistants were again his stepfather Bartolo, his son Vittorio, and,
+among the less important, the painters Paolo Uccello and Benozzo
+Gozzoli.
+
+The result is a series of most magnificent pictures in bronze.
+Ghiberti worked upon his reliefs like a painter, and lavished all the
+newly-discovered scientific resources of the painter's art upon them.
+Whether legitimate sculpture or not, it is, beyond a doubt, one of the
+most beautiful things in the world. "I sought to understand," he says
+in his second commentary, that book which excited Vasari's scorn, "how
+forms strike upon the eye, and how the theoretic part of graphic 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." It is a triumph of science wedded to the most exquisite
+sense of beauty. Each of the ten bas-reliefs contains several motives
+and an enormous number of these figures on different planes; which is,
+in a sense, going back from the simplicity of Andrea Pisano to glorify
+the old manner of Niccolò and Giovanni. In the first, the creation of
+man, the creation of woman, and the expulsion from Eden are seen; in
+the second, the sacrifice of Abel, in which the ploughing of Cain's
+oxen especially pleased Vasari; in the third, the story of Noah; in
+the fourth, the story of Abraham, a return to the theme in which
+Ghiberti had won his first laurels,--the three Angels appearing to
+Abraham have incomparable grace and loveliness, and the landscape in
+bronze is a marvel of skill. In the fifth and sixth, we have the
+stories of Jacob and Joseph, respectively; in the seventh and eighth,
+of Moses and Joshua; in the ninth and tenth, of David and Solomon. The
+latter is supposed to have been imitated by Raphael, in his famous
+fresco of the School of Athens in the Vatican. The architectural
+backgrounds--dream palaces endowed with permanent life in bronze--are
+as marvellous as the figures and landscapes. Hardly less beautiful are
+the minor ornaments that surround these masterpieces,--the wonderful
+decorative frieze of fruits and birds and beasts that frames the
+whole, the statuettes alternating with busts in the double border
+round the bas-reliefs. It is the ultimate perfection of decorative
+art. Among the statuettes a figure of Miriam, recalling an Angel of
+Angelico, is of peculiar loveliness. In the middle of the whole, in
+the centre at the lower corners of the Jacob and Joseph respectively,
+are portrait busts of Lorenzo Ghiberti himself and Bartolo di Michele.
+Vasari has said the last word:--
+
+"And in very truth can it be said that this work hath its perfection
+in all things, and that it is the most beautiful work of the world, or
+that ever was seen amongst ancients or moderns. And verily ought
+Lorenzo to be truly praised, seeing that one day Michelangelo
+Buonarroti, when he stopped to look at this work, being asked what he
+thought of it and if these gates were beautiful, replied: 'They are so
+beautiful that they would do well for the Gates of Paradise.' Praise
+verily proper, and spoken by one who could judge them."
+
+The Baptism of Christ over the portal is an unattractive work by
+Andrea Sansovino (circa 1505), finished by Vincenzo Danti. The Angel
+is a seventeenth century addition. More interesting far, are the
+scorched porphyry columns on either side of the gate; these were part
+of the booty carried off by the Pisan galleys from Majorca in 1117,
+and presented to the Florentines in gratitude for their having guarded
+Pisa during the absence of the troops. Villani says that the Pisans
+offered their allies the choice between these porphyry columns and
+some metal gates, and that, on their choosing the columns, they sent
+them to Florence covered with scarlet, but that some said that they
+scorched them first for envy. It was between these columns that
+Cavalcanti was lingering and musing when the gay cavalcade of Betto
+Brunelleschi and his friends, in Boccaccio's novel, swooped down upon
+him through the Piazza di Santa Reparata: "Thou, Guido, wilt none of
+our fellowship; but lo now! when thou shalt have found that there is
+no God, what wilt thou have done?"
+
+From the gate which might have stood at the doors of Paradise, or at
+least have guarded that sacred threshold by which Virgil and Dante
+entered Purgatory, we cross to the tower which might fittingly have
+sounded tierce and nones to the valley of the Princes. This
+"Shepherd's Tower," according to Ruskin, is "the model and mirror of
+perfect architecture." The characteristics of Power and Beauty, he
+writes in the _Seven Lamps of Architecture_, "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."
+
+Like Ghiberti's bronze gates, this exquisitely lovely tower of marble
+has beauty beyond words: "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." It was commenced by Giotto himself in 1334, when the first
+stone was solemnly laid. When Giotto died in 1336, the work had
+probably not risen above the stage of the lower series of reliefs.
+Andrea Pisano was chosen to succeed him, and he carried it on from
+1337 to 1342, finishing the first story and bringing it up to the
+first of the three stories of windows; it will be observed that
+Andrea, who was primarily a sculptor, unlike Giotto, made provision
+for the presence of large monumental statues as well as reliefs in his
+decorative scheme. Through some misunderstanding, Andrea was then
+deprived of the work, which was intrusted to Francesco Talenti.
+Francesco Talenti carried it on until 1387, making a general
+modification in the architecture and decoration; the three most
+beautiful windows, increasing in size as we ascend, with their
+beautiful Gothic tracery, are his work. According to Giotto's original
+plan, the whole was to have been crowned with a pyramidical steeple or
+spire; Vasari says that it was abandoned "because it was a German
+thing, and of antiquated fashion."
+
+All around the base of the tower runs a wonderful series of
+bas-reliefs on a very small scale, setting forth the whole history of
+human skill under divine guidance, from the creation of man to the
+reign of art, science, and letters, in twenty-seven exquisitely
+"inlaid jewels of Giotto's." At each corner of the tower are three
+shields, the red Cross of the People between the red lilies of the
+Commune. "This smallness of scale," says Ruskin of these reliefs
+"enabled the master workmen of the tower to execute them with their
+own hands; and for the rest, in the very finest architecture, the
+decoration of the most precious kind is usually thought of as a jewel,
+and set with space round it--as the jewels of a crown, or the clasp of
+a girdle." These twenty-seven subjects, with the possible exception of
+the last five on the northern side, were designed by Giotto himself;
+and are, together with the first bronze door, the greatest Florentine
+work in sculpture of the first half of the fourteenth century. The
+execution is, in the main, Andrea Pisano's; but there is a constant
+tradition that some of the reliefs are from Giotto's own hand. Antonio
+Pucci, in the eighty-fifth canto of his _Centiloquio_, distinctly
+states that Giotto carved the earlier ones, _i primi intagli fe con
+bello stile_, and Pucci was almost Giotto's contemporary. "Pastoral
+life," "Jubal," "Tubal Cain," "Sculpture," "Painting," are the special
+subjects which it is most plausible, or perhaps most attractive, to
+ascribe to him.
+
+On the western side we have the creation of Man, the creation of
+Woman; and then, thirdly, Adam and Eve toiling, or you may call it the
+dignity of labour, if you will--Giotto's rendering of the thought
+which John Ball was to give deadly meaning to, or ever the fourteenth
+century closed--
+
+     When Adam delved and Evë span,
+     Who was then the gentleman?
+
+Then come pastoral life, Jabal with his tent, his flock and dog;
+Jubal, the maker of stringed and wind instruments; Tubal Cain, the
+first worker in metal; the first vintage, represented by the story of
+Noah. On the southern side comes first Astronomy, represented by
+either Zoroaster or Ptolemy. Then follow Building, Pottery, Riding,
+Weaving, and (according to Ruskin) the Giving of Law. Lastly
+Daedalus, symbolising, according to Ruskin, "the conquest of the
+element of air"; or, more probably, here as in Dante (_Paradiso_
+viii.), the typical mechanician. Next, on the eastern side, comes
+Rowing, symbolising, according to Ruskin, "the conquest of the
+sea"--very possibly intended for Jason and the Argo, a type adopted in
+several places by Dante. The next relief, "the conquest of the earth,"
+probably represents the slaying of Antæus by Hercules, and symbolises
+the "beneficent strength of civilisation, crushing the savageness of
+inhumanity." Giotto uses his mythology much as Dante does--as
+something only a little less sacred, and of barely less authority than
+theology--and the conquest of Antæus by Hercules was a solemn subject
+with Dante too; besides a reference in the _Inferno_, he mentions it
+twice in the _De Monarchia_ as a special revelation of God's judgment
+by way of ordeal, and touches upon it again in the _Convivio, secondo
+le testimonianze delle scritture_. Here Hercules immediately follows
+the "conquest of the sea," as having, by his columns, set sacred
+limits to warn men that they must pass no further (_Inferno_ xxvi.).
+Brutality being thus overthrown, we are shown agriculture and
+trade,--represented by a splendid team of ploughing bulls and a
+horse-chariot, respectively. Then, over the door of the tower, the
+Lamb with the symbol of Resurrection, perhaps, as Ruskin thinks, to
+"express the law of Sacrifice and door of ascent to Heaven"; or,
+perhaps, merely as being the emblem of the great Guild of wool
+merchants, the Arte della Lana, who had charge of the cathedral works.
+Then follow the representations of the arts, commencing with the
+relief at the corner: Geometry, regarded as the foundation of the
+others to follow, as being _senza macula d'errore e certissima_.
+Turning the corner, the first and second, on the northern side,
+represent Sculpture and Painting, and were possibly carved by Giotto
+himself. The remaining five are all later, and from the hand of Luca
+della Robbia, who perhaps worked from designs left by Giotto--Grammar,
+which may be taken to represent Literature in general, Arithmetic, the
+science of numbers (in its great mediæval sense), Dialectics; closing
+with Music, in some respects the most beautiful of the series,
+symbolised in Orpheus charming beasts and birds by his strains, and
+Harmony. "Harmony of song," writes Ruskin, "in the full power of it,
+meaning perfect education in all art of the Muses and of civilised
+life; the mystery of its concord is taken for the symbol of that of a
+perfect state; one day, doubtless, of the perfect world."
+
+Above this fundamental series of bas-reliefs, there runs a second
+series of four groups of seven. They were probably executed by pupils
+of Andrea Pisano, and are altogether inferior to those below--the
+seven Sacraments on the northern side being the best. Above are a
+series of heroic statues in marble. Of these the oldest are those less
+easily visible, on the north opposite the Duomo, representing David
+and Solomon, with two Sibyls; M. Reymond ascribes them to Andrea
+Pisano. Those opposite the Misericordia are also of the fourteenth
+century. On the east are Habakkuk and Abraham, by Donatello (the
+latter in part by a pupil), between two Patriarchs probably by Niccolò
+d'Arezzo, the chief sculptor of the Florentine school at the end of
+the Trecento. Three of the four statues opposite the Baptistery are by
+Donatello; figures of marvellous strength and vigour. It is quite
+uncertain whom they are intended to represent (the "Solomon" and
+"David," below the two in the centre, refer to the older statues which
+once stood here), but the two younger are said to be the Baptist and
+Jeremiah. The old bald-headed prophet, irreverently called the
+_Zuccone_ or "Bald-head," is one of Donatello's masterpieces, and is
+said to have been the sculptor's own favourite creation. Vasari tells
+us that, while working upon it, Donatello used to bid it talk to him,
+and, when he wanted to be particularly believed, he used to swear by
+it: "By the faith that I bear to my Zuccone."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  [Illustration: THE BIGALLO]
+
+At the end of the Via Calzaioli, opposite the Baptistery, is that
+little Gothic gem, the Loggia called the _Bigallo_, erected between
+1352 and 1358, for the "Captains of Our Lady of Mercy," while Orcagna
+was rearing his more gorgeous tabernacle for the "Captains of Our Lady
+of Or San Michele." Its architect is unknown; his manner resembles
+Orcagna's, to whom the work has been erroneously ascribed. The Madonna
+is by Alberto Arnoldi (1361). The Bigallo was intended for the public
+functions of charity of the foundling hospital, which was founded
+under the auspices of the Confraternity of the Misericordia, whose
+oratory is on the other side of the way. These Brothers of Mercy, in
+their mysterious black robes hiding their faces, are familiar enough
+even to the most casual visitor to Florence; and their work of succour
+to the sick and injured has gone on uninterruptedly throughout the
+whole of Florentine history.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the last decade of the thirteenth century, when the People and
+Commune of Florence were in an unusually peaceful state, after the
+tumults caused by the reforms and expulsion of Giano della Bella had
+subsided, the new Cathedral was commenced on the site of the older
+church of Santa Reparata. The first stones and foundations were
+blessed with great solemnity in 1296; and, in this golden age of the
+democracy, the work proceeded apace, until in a document of April
+1299, concerning the exemption of Arnolfo di Cambio from all taxation,
+it is stated that "by reason of his industry, experience and genius,
+the Commune and People of Florence from the magnificent and visible
+beginning of the said work of the said church, commenced by the same
+Master Arnolphus, hope to have a more beautiful and more honourable
+temple than any other which there is in the regions of Tuscany."
+
+But although the original design and beginning were undoubtedly
+Arnolfo's, the troublous times that fell upon Florence appear to have
+interrupted the work; and it was almost abandoned for lack of funds
+until 1334, when Giotto was appointed capo-maestro of the Commune and
+of the work of Santa Reparata, as it was still called. The Cathedral
+was now in charge of the Arte della Lana, as the Baptistery was in
+that of the Arte di Calimala. It is not precisely known what Giotto
+did with it; but the work languished again after his death, until
+Francesco Talenti was appointed capo-maestro, and, in July 1357, the
+foundations were laid of the present church of Santa Maria del Fiore,
+on a larger and more magnificent scale. Arnolfo's work appears to
+have been partly destroyed, partly enlarged and extended. Other
+capo-maestri carried on what Francesco Talenti had commenced, until,
+in 1378, just at the end of mediæval Florence, the fourth and last
+great vault was closed, and the main work finished.
+
+The completion of the Cathedral belongs to that intermediate epoch
+which saw the decline of the great democracy and the dawn of the
+Renaissance, and ran from 1378 to 1421, in which latter year the third
+tribune was finished. Filippo Brunelleschi's dome or cupola, raised
+upon a frieze or drum high above the three great semi-domes, with a
+large window in each of the eight sides, was commenced in 1420 and
+finished in 1434, the year which witnessed the establishment of the
+Medicean regime in Florence. Vasari waxes most enthusiastic over this
+work. "Heaven willed," he writes, "after the earth had been for so
+many years without an excellent soul or a divine spirit, that Filippo
+should leave to the world from himself the greatest, the most lofty
+and the most beauteous construction of all others made in the time of
+the moderns and even in that of the ancients." And Michelangelo
+imitated it in St Peter's at Rome, turning back, as he rode away from
+Florence, to gaze upon Filippo's work, and declaring that he could not
+do anything more beautiful. Some modern writers have passed a very
+different judgment. Fergusson says:--"The plain, heavy, simple
+outlined dome of Brunelleschi acts like an extinguisher, crushing all
+the lower part of the composition, and both internally and externally
+destroying all harmony between the parts." Brunelleschi also designed
+the Lantern, which was commenced shortly before his death (1446) and
+finished in 1461. The palla or ball, which crowns the whole, was added
+by Andrea Verrocchio. In the fresco in the Spanish Chapel of Santa
+Maria Novella, you shall see the Catholic Church symbolised by the
+earlier church of Santa Reparata; and, as the fresco was executed
+before the middle of the fourteenth century, it apparently represents
+the designs of Arnolfo and Giotto. Vasari, indeed, states that it was
+taken from Arnolfo's model in wood. "From this painting," he says, "it
+is obvious that Arnolfo had proposed to raise the dome immediately
+over the piers and above the first cornice, at that point namely where
+Filippo di Ser Brunellesco, desiring to render the building less
+heavy, interposed the whole space wherein we now see the windows,
+before adding the dome."[41]
+
+  [41] "There is only one point from which the size of the Cathedral of
+  Florence is felt; and that is from the corner of the Via de'
+  Balestrieri, opposite the south-east angle, where it happens that the
+  dome is seen rising instantly above the apse and transepts" (_Seven
+  Lamps_).
+
+  [Illustration: PORTA DELLA MANDORLA, DUOMO]
+
+The Duomo has had three façades. Of the first façade, the façade of
+Arnolfo's church before 1357, only two statues remain which probably
+formed part of it; one of Boniface VIII. within the Cathedral, of
+which more presently, and a statue of a Bishop in the sacristy. The
+second façade, commenced in 1357, and still in progress in 1420, was
+left unfinished, and barbarously destroyed towards the end of the
+sixteenth century. A fresco by Poccetti in the first cloister of San
+Marco, the fifth to the right of the entrance, representing the
+entrance of St. Antoninus into Florence to take possession of his see,
+shows this second façade. Some of the statues that once decorated it
+still exist. The Boniface reappeared upon it from the first façade,
+between St. Peter and St. Paul; over the principal gate was Our Lady
+of the Flower herself, presenting her Child to give His blessing to
+the Florentines--and this is still preserved in the Opera del
+Duomo--by an unknown artist of the latter half of the fourteenth
+century; she was formerly attended by Zenobius and Reparata, while
+Angels held a canopy over her--these are lost. Four Doctors of the
+Church, now mutilated and transformed into poets, are still to be seen
+on the way to Poggio Imperiale--by Niccolò d'Arezzo and Piero di
+Giovanni Tedesco (1396); some Apostles, probably by the latter, and
+very fine works, are in the court of the Riccardi Palace. The last
+statues made for the façade, the four Evangelists, of the first
+fifteen years of the Quattrocento, are now within the present church,
+in the chapels of the Tribune of St. Zenobius. There is a curious
+tradition that Donatello placed Farinata degli Uberti on the façade;
+and few men would have deserved the honour better. After the sixteenth
+century the façade remained a desolate waste down to our own times.
+The present façade, gorgeous but admirable in its way, was designed by
+De Fabris, and finished between 1875 and 1887; the first stone was
+laid by Victor Emmanuel in 1860. Thus has the United Italy of to-day
+completed the work of the great Republic of the Middle Ages.
+
+  [Illustration: STATUE OF BONIFACE VIII.]
+
+The four side gates of the Duomo are among the chief artistic
+monuments of Florentine sculpture in the epoch that intervened between
+the setting of Andrea Pisano and Orcagna, and the rising of Donatello
+and Ghiberti. Nearer the façade, south and north, the two plainer and
+earlier portals are always closed; the two more ornate and later, the
+gate of the canons on the south and the gate of the Mandorla on the
+north, are the ordinary entrances into the aisles of the cathedral.
+
+Earliest of the four is the minor southern portal near the Campanile,
+over which the pigeons cluster and coo. Our Lady of the Pigeons, in
+the tympanum, is an excellent work of the school of Nino Pisano
+(Andrea's son), rather later than the middle of the Trecento. The
+northern minor portal is similar in style, with sculpture subordinated
+to polychromatic decoration, but with beautiful twisted columns, of
+which the two outermost rest upon grand mediæval lions, who are helped
+to bear them by delicious little winged _putti_. Third in order of
+construction comes the chief southern portal, the Porta dei Canonici,
+belonging to the last decade of the fourteenth century. The pilasters
+are richly decorated with sculptured foliage and figures of animals in
+the intervals between the leaves. In the tympanum above, the Madonna
+and Child with two adoring Angels--statues of great grace and
+beauty--are by Lorenzo di Giovanni d'Ambrogio, 1402. Above are Angels
+bearing a tondo of the Pietà.
+
+The Porta della Mandorla is one of the most perfect examples of
+Florentine decorative sculpture that exists. M. Reymond calls it "le
+produit le plus pur du génie florentin dans toute l'indépendance de sa
+pensée." It was commenced by Giovanni di Ambrogio, the chief master of
+the canons' gate; and finished by Niccolò da Arezzo, in the early
+years of the fifteenth century. The decorations of its pilasters, with
+nude figures amidst the conventional foliage between the angels with
+their wings and scrolls, are already almost in the spirit of the
+Renaissance. The mosaic over the door, representing the Annunciation,
+was executed by Domenico Ghirlandaio in 1490. "Amongst modern masters
+of mosaic," says Vasari, "nothing has yet been seen better than this.
+Domenico was wont to say that painting is mere design, and that the
+true painting for eternity is mosaic." The two small statues of
+Prophets are the earliest works of Donatello, 1405-1406. Above is the
+famous relief which crowns the whole, and from which the door takes
+its name--the glorified Madonna of the Mandorla. Formerly ascribed to
+Jacopo della Quercia, it is now recognised as the work of Nanni di
+Banco, whose father Antonio collaborated with Niccolò da Arezzo on the
+door. It represents the Madonna borne up in the Mandorla surrounded by
+Angels, three of whom above are hymning her triumph. With a singularly
+sweet yet majestic maternal gesture, she consigns her girdle to the
+kneeling Thomas on the left; on the right among the rocks, a bear is
+either shaking or climbing a tree. This work, executed slightly before
+1420, is the best example of the noble manner of the fourteenth
+century united to the technical mastery of the fifteenth. Though
+matured late, it is the most perfect fruit of the school of Orcagna.
+Nanni died before it was quite completed. The precise symbolism of
+the bear is not easy to determine; it occurs also in Andrea Pisano's
+relief of Adam and Eve labouring, on the Campanile. According to St.
+Buonaventura, the bear is an emblem of Lust; according to the
+Bestiaries, of Violence. The probability is that here it merely
+represents the evil one, symbolising the Fall in the Adam and Eve
+relief, and now implying that Mary healed the wound that Eve had dealt
+the human race--_la piaga che Maria richiuse ed unse_.
+
+The interior is somewhat bare, and the aisles and vaults are so
+proportioned and constructed as to destroy much of the effect of the
+vast size both of the whole and of the parts. The nave and aisles lead
+to a great octagonal space beneath the dome, where the choir is
+placed, extending into three polygonal apses, those to right and left
+representing the transepts.
+
+Over the central door is a fine but restored mosaic of the Coronation
+of Madonna, by Giotto's friend and contemporary, Gaddo Gaddi, which is
+highly praised by Vasari. On either side stand two great equestrian
+portraits in fresco of condottieri, who served the Republic in
+critical times; by Andrea del Castagno is Niccolò da Tolentino, who
+fought in the Florentine pay with average success and more than
+average fidelity, and died in 1435, a prisoner in the hands of Filippo
+Maria Visconti; by Paolo Uccello is Giovanni Aguto, or John Hawkwood,
+a greater captain, but of more dubious character, who died in 1394.
+Let it stand to Hawkwood's credit that St Catherine of Siena once
+wrote to him, _O carissimo e dolcissimo fratello in Cristo Gesù_. By
+the side of the entrance is the famous statue, mutilated but
+extraordinarily impressive, of Boniface VIII., ascribed by Vasari to
+Andrea Pisano, but which is certainly earlier, and may possibly,
+according to M. Reymond, be assigned to Arnolfo di Cambio himself. It
+represents the terrible Pontiff in the flower of his age; hardly a
+portrait, but an idealised rendering of a Papal politician, a _papa
+re_ of the Middle Ages. Even so might he have looked when he received
+Dante and his fellow-ambassadors alone, and addressed to them the
+words recorded by Dino Compagni: "Why are ye so obstinate? Humble
+yourselves before me. I tell you in very truth that I have no other
+intention, save for your peace. Let two of you go back, and they shall
+have my benediction if they bring it about that my will be obeyed."
+
+As though in contrast with this worldly Pope, on the first pillars in
+the aisles are pictures of two ideal pastors; on the left, St Zenobius
+enthroned with Eugenius and Crescentius, by an unknown painter of the
+school of Orcagna; on the right, a similar but comparatively modern
+picture of St Antoninus giving his blessing. In the middle of the
+nave, is the original resting-place of the body of Zenobius; here the
+picturesque blessing of the roses takes place on his feast-day. The
+right and left aisles contain some striking statues and interesting
+monuments. First on the right is a statue of a Prophet (sometimes
+called Joshua), an early Donatello, said to be the portrait of
+Giannozzo Manetti, between the monuments of Brunelleschi and Giotto;
+the bust of the latter is by Benedetto da Maiano, and the inscription
+by Poliziano. Opposite these, in the left aisle, is a most life-like
+and realistic statue of a Prophet by Donatello, said to be the
+portrait of Poggio Bracciolini, between modern medallions of De Fabris
+and Arnolfo. Further on, on the right, are Hezekiah by Nanni di Banco,
+and a fine portrait bust of Marsilio Ficino by Andrea Ferrucci
+(1520)--the mystic dreamer caught in a rare moment of inspiration, as
+on that wonderful day when he closed his finished Plato, and saw young
+Pico della Mirandola before him. Opposite them, on the left, are David
+by Ciuffagni, and a bust of the musician Squarcialupi by Benedetto da
+Maiano. On the last pillars of the nave, right and left, stand later
+statues of the Apostles--St Matthew by Vincenzo de' Rossi, and St
+James by Jacopo Sansovino.
+
+Under Brunelleschi's vast dome--the effect of which is terribly marred
+by miserable frescoes by Vasari and Zuccheri--are the choir and the
+high altar. The stained glass in the windows in the drum is from
+designs of Ghiberti, Donatello (the Coronation), and Paolo Uccello.
+Behind the high altar is one of the most solemn and pathetic works of
+art in existence--Michelangelo's last effort in sculpture, the
+unfinished Deposition from the Cross; "the strange spectral wreath of
+the Florence Pietà, casting its pyramidal, distorted shadow, full of
+pain and death, among the faint purple lights that cross and perish
+under the obscure dome of Santa Maria del Fiore."[42] It is a group of
+four figures more than life-size; the body of Christ is received in
+the arms of His mother, who sustains Him with the aid of St Mary
+Magdalene and the standing Nicodemus, who bends over the group at the
+back with a countenance full of unutterable love and sorrow. Although,
+in a fit of impatience, Michelangelo damaged the work and allowed it
+to be patched up by others, he had intended it for his own sepulchre,
+and there is no doubt that the Nicodemus--whose features to some
+extent are modelled from his own--represents his own attitude as death
+approached. His sonnet to Giorgio Vasari is an expression of the same
+temper, and the most precious commentary upon his work:--
+
+  [42] _Modern Painters_, vol. ii. "Of Imagination Penetrative."
+
+     Now hath my life across a stormy sea,
+       Like a frail bark reached that wide port where all
+       Are bidden, ere the final reckoning fall
+       Of good and evil for eternity.
+     Now know I well how that fond phantasy,
+       Which made my soul the worshipper and thrall
+       Of earthly art, is vain; how criminal
+       Is that which all men seek unwillingly.
+     Those amorous thoughts which were so lightly dressed,
+       What are they when the double death is nigh?
+       The one I know for sure, the other dread.
+     Painting nor sculpture now can lull to rest
+       My soul that turns to His great Love on high,
+       Whose arms, to clasp us, on the Cross were spread.
+         (_Addington Symonds' translation._)
+
+The apse at the east end, or tribuna di San Zenobio, ends in the altar
+of the Blessed Sacrament, which is also the shrine of Saint Zenobius.
+The reliquary which contains his remains is the work of Lorenzo
+Ghiberti, and was finished in 1446; the bronze reliefs set forth his
+principal miracles, and there is a most exquisite group of those
+flying Angels which Ghiberti realises so wonderfully. Some of the
+glass in the windows is also from his design. The seated statues in
+the four chapels, representing the four Evangelists, were originally
+on the façade; the St. Luke, by Nanni di Banco, in the first chapel on
+the right, is the best of the four; then follow St. John, a very early
+Donatello, and, on the other side, St. Matthew by Ciuffagni and St.
+Mark by Niccolò da Arezzo (slightly earlier than the others). The two
+Apostles standing on guard at the entrance of the tribune, St. John
+and St. Peter, are by Benedetto da Rovezzano. To right and left are
+the southern and northern sacristies. Over the door of the southern
+sacristy is a very beautiful bas-relief by Luca della Robbia,
+representing the Ascension (1446), like a Fra Angelico in enamelled
+terracotta; within the sacristy are two kneeling Angels also by Luca
+(1448), practically his only isolated statues, of the greatest beauty
+and harmony; and also a rather indifferent St. Michael, a late work of
+Lorenzo di Credi. Over the door of the northern sacristy is the
+Resurrection by Luca della Robbia (1443), perhaps his earliest extant
+work in this enamelled terracotta. The bronze doors of this northern
+sacristy are by Michelozzo and Luca della Robbia, assisted by Maso and
+Giovanni di Bartolommeo, and were executed between 1446 and 1467. They
+are composed of ten reliefs with decorative heads at the corners of
+each, as in Lorenzo Ghiberti's work. Above are Madonna and Child with
+two Angels; the Baptist with two Angels; in the centre the four
+Evangelists, each with two Angels; and below, the four Doctors, each
+with two Angels. M. Reymond has shown that the four latter are the
+work of Michelozzo. Of Luca's work, the four Evangelists are later
+than the two topmost reliefs, and are most beautiful; the Angels are
+especially lovely, and there are admirable decorative heads between.
+Within, are some characteristic _putti_ by Donatello.
+
+The side apses, which represent the right and left transepts, guarded
+by sixteenth century Apostles, and with frescoed Saints and Prophets
+in the chapels by Bicci di Lorenzo, are quite uninteresting.
+
+By the door that leads out of the northern aisle into the street, is a
+wonderful picture, painted in honour of Dante by order of the State in
+1465, by Domenico di Michelino, a pupil of Fra Angelico, whose works,
+with this exception, are hardly identified. At the time that this was
+painted, the authentic portrait of Dante still existed in the (now
+lost) fresco at Santa Croce, so we may take this as a fairly probable
+likeness; it is, at the same time, one of the earliest efforts to give
+pictorial treatment to the _Purgatorio_. Outside the gates of Florence
+stands Dante in spirit, clothed in the simple red robe of a
+Florentine citizen, and wearing the laurel wreath which was denied to
+him in life; in his left hand he holds the open volume of the _Divina
+Commedia_, from which rays of burning light proceed and illumine all
+the city. But it is not the mediæval Florence that the divine singer
+had known, which his ghost now revisits, but the Florence of the
+Quattrocento--with the completed Cathedral and the cupola of
+Brunelleschi rising over it, with the Campanile and the great tower of
+the Palazzo della Signoria completed--the Florence which has just lost
+Cosimo dei Medici, Pater Patriae, and may need fresh guidance, now
+that great mutations are at hand in Italy. With his right hand he
+indicates the gate of Hell and its antechamber; but it is not the
+torments of its true inmates that he would bid the Florentines mark,
+but the shameful and degrading lot of the cowards and neutrals, the
+trimmers, who would follow no standard upon earth, and are now
+rejected by Heaven and Hell alike; "the crew of caitiffs hateful to
+God and to his enemies," who now are compelled, goaded on by hornets
+and wasps, to rush for ever after a devil-carried ensign, "which
+whirling ran so quickly that it seemed to scorn all pause." Behind,
+among the rocks and precipices of Hell, the monstrous fiends of
+schism, treason and anarchy glare through the gate, preparing to sweep
+down upon the City of the Lily, if she heeds not the lesson. In the
+centre of the picture, in the distance, the Mountain of Purgation
+rises over the shore of the lonely ocean, on the little island where
+rushes alone grow above the soft mud. The Angel at the gate, seated
+upon the rock of diamond, above the three steps of contrition,
+confession, and satisfaction, marks the brows of the penitent souls
+with his dazzling sword, and admits them into the terraces of the
+mountain, where Pride, Anger, Envy, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony, and
+Lust (the latter, in the purifying fire of the seventh terrace, merely
+indicated by the flames on the right) are purged away. On the top of
+the mountain Adam and Eve stand in the Earthly Paradise, which
+symbolises blessedness of this life, the end to which an ideal ruler
+is to lead the human race, and the state of innocence to which the
+purgatorial pains restore man. Above and around sweep the spheres of
+the planets, the lower moving heavens, from which the angelic
+influences are poured down upon the Universe beneath their sway.
+
+Thirteen years after this picture was painted, the Duomo saw Giuliano
+dei Medici fall beneath the daggers of the Pazzi and their
+confederates on Sunday, April 26th, 1478. The bell that rang for the
+Elevation of the Host was the signal. Giuliano had been moving round
+about the choir, and was standing not far from the picture of Dante,
+when Bernardo Baroncelli and Francesco Pazzi struck the first blows.
+Lorenzo, who was on the opposite side of the choir, beat off his
+assailants with his sword and then fled across into the northern
+sacristy, through the bronze gates of Michelozzo and Luca della
+Robbia, which Poliziano and the Cavalcanti now closed against the
+conspirators. The boy cardinal, Raffaello Sansoni, whose visit to the
+Medicean brothers had furnished the Pazzi with their chance, fled in
+abject terror into the other sacristy. Francesco Nori, a faithful
+friend of the Medici, was murdered by Baroncelli in defending his
+masters' lives; he is very probably the bare-headed figure kneeling
+behind Giuliano in Botticelli's Adoration of the Magi in the
+Uffizi.[43]
+
+  [43] The Duomo has fairer memories of the Pazzi, than this deed of
+  blood and treachery. Their ancestor at the Crusades had carried the
+  sacred fire from Jerusalem to Florence, and still, on Easter Eve, an
+  artificial dove sent from the high altar lights the car of fireworks
+  in the Piazza--the Carro dei Pazzi--in front of the church, in honour
+  of their name.
+
+But of all the scenes that have passed beneath Brunelleschi's cupola,
+the most in accordance with the spirit of Dante's picture are those
+connected with Savonarola. It was here that his most famous and most
+terrible sermons were delivered; here, on that fateful September
+morning when the French host was sweeping down through Italy, he gazed
+in silence upon the expectant multitude that thronged the building,
+and then, stretching forth his hands, cried aloud in a terrible voice
+the ominous text of Genesis: "Behold I, even I, do bring a flood of
+waters upon the earth;" and here, too, the fatal riot commenced which
+ended with the storming of the convent. And here, in a gentler vein,
+the children of Florence were wont to await the coming of their father
+and prophet. "The children," writes Simone Filipepi, "were placed all
+together upon certain steps made on purpose for them, and there were
+about three thousand of them; they came an hour or two before the
+sermon; and, in the meanwhile, some read psalms and others said the
+rosary, and often choir by choir they sang lauds and psalms most
+devoutly; and when the Father appeared, to mount up into the pulpit,
+the said children sang the _Ave Maris Stella_, and likewise the people
+answered back, in such wise that all that time, from early morning
+even to the end of the sermon, one seemed to be verily in Paradise."
+
+The Opera del Duomo or Cathedral Museum contains, besides several
+works of minor importance (including the Madonna from the second
+façade), three of the great achievements of Florentine sculpture
+during the fifteenth century; the two _cantorie_, or organ galleries,
+of Donatello and Luca della Robbia; the silver altar for the
+Baptistery, with the statue of the Baptist by Michelozzo, and reliefs
+in silver by Antonio Pollaiuolo and Andrea Verrocchio, representing
+the Nativity of the Baptist by the former, the dance of the daughter
+of Herodias and the Decollation of the Saint by the latter.
+
+The two organ galleries, facing each other and finished almost
+simultaneously (about 1440), are an utter contrast both in spirit and
+in execution. There is nothing specially angelic or devotional about
+Donatello's wonderful frieze of dancing genii, winged boys that might
+well have danced round Venus at Psyche's wedding-feast, but would have
+been out of place among the Angels who, as the old mystic puts it,
+"rejoiced exceedingly when the most Blessed Virgin entered the
+Heavenly City." The beauty of rhythmic movement, the joy of living and
+of being young, exultancy, _baldanza_--these are what they express for
+us. Luca della Robbia's boys and girls, singing together and playing
+musical instruments, have less exuberance and motion, but more grace
+and repose; they illustrate in ten high reliefs the verses of the
+psalm, _Laudate Dominum in sanctis ejus_, which is inscribed upon the
+Cantoria; and those that dance are more chastened in their joy, more
+in the spirit of David before the Ark. But all are as wrapt and
+absorbed in their music, as are Donatello's in their wild yet
+harmonious romp.
+
+In detail and considered separately, Luca's more perfectly finished
+groups, with their exquisite purity of line, are decidedly more lovely
+than Donatello's more roughly sketched, lower and flatter bas-reliefs;
+but, seen from a distance and raised from the ground, as they were
+originally intended, Donatello's are decidedly more effective as a
+whole. It is only of late years that the reliefs have been remounted
+and set up in the way we now see; and it is not quite certain whether
+their present arrangement, in all respects, exactly corresponds to
+what was originally intended by the masters. It was in this building,
+the Opera del Duomo, that Donatello at one time had his school and
+studio; and it was here, in the early years of the Cinquecento, that
+Michelangelo worked upon the shapeless mass of marble which became the
+gigantic David.
+
+  [Illustration: CROSS OF THE FLORENTINE PEOPLE (FROM OLD HOUSE ON NORTH
+  SIDE OF DUOMO)]
+
+  [Illustration: ARMS OF THE MEDICI FROM THE BADIA AT FIESOLE.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+_The Palazzo Riccardi--San Lorenzo--San Marco._
+
+     Per molti, donna, anzi per mille amanti,
+     creata fusti, e d'angelica forma.
+     Or par che'n ciel si dorma,
+     s'un sol s'appropria quel ch'è dato a tanti.
+         (_Michelangelo Buonarroti_).
+
+
+The Via dei Martelli leads from the Baptistery into the Via Cavour,
+formerly the historical Via Larga. Here stands the great Palace of the
+Medici, now called the Palazzo Riccardi from the name of the family to
+whom the Grand Duke Ferdinand II. sold it in the seventeenth century.
+
+The palace was begun by Michelozzo for Cosimo the Elder shortly before
+his exile, and completed after his return, when it became in reality
+the seat of government of the city, although the Signoria still kept
+up the pretence of a republic in the Palazzo Vecchio. Here Lorenzo the
+Magnificent was born on January 1st, 1449, and here the most brilliant
+and cultured society of artists and scholars that the world had seen
+gathered round him and his family.[44] Here, too, after the expulsion
+of Lorenzo's mad son, Piero, in 1494, Charles VIII. of France was
+splendidly lodged; here Piero Capponi tore the dishonourable treaty
+and saved the Republic, and here Fra Girolamo a few days later
+admonished the fickle king. On the return of the Medici, the Cardinal
+Giovanni, the younger Lorenzo, and the Cardinal Giulio successively
+governed the city here; until in 1527 the people drove out the young
+pretenders, Alessandro and Ippolito, with their guardian, the Cardinal
+Passerini. It was on this latter occasion that Piero's daughter,
+Madonna Clarice, the wife of the younger Filippo Strozzi, was carried
+hither in her litter, and literally slanged these boys and the
+Cardinal out of Florence. She is reported, with more vehemence than
+delicacy, to have told her young kinsmen that the house of Lorenzo dei
+Medici was not a stable for mules. During the siege, the people wished
+to entirely destroy the palace and rename the place the Piazza dei
+Muli.
+
+  [44] It should be observed that Lorenzo was not specially called the
+  "Magnificent" by his contemporaries. All the more prominent members of
+  the Medicean family were styled _Magnifico_ in the same way.
+
+After the restoration Alessandro carried on his abominable career
+here, until, on January 5th, 1537, the dagger of another Lorenzo freed
+the world from an infamous monster. Some months before, Benvenuto
+Cellini came to the palace, as he tells us in his autobiography, to
+show the Duke the wax models for his medals which he was making.
+Alessandro was lying on his bed, indisposed, and with him was only
+this Lorenzino or Lorenzaccio, _quel pazzo malinconico filosafo di
+Lorenzino_, as Benvenuto calls him elsewhere. "The Duke," writes
+Benvenuto, "several times signed to him that he too should urge me to
+stop; upon which Lorenzino never said anything else, but: 'Benvenuto,
+you would do best for yourself to stay.' To which I said that I wanted
+by all means to return to Rome. He said nothing more, and kept
+continually staring at the Duke with a most evil eye. Having finished
+the medal and shut it up in its case, I said to the Duke: 'My Lord, be
+content, for I will make you a much more beautiful medal than I made
+for Pope Clement; for reason wills that I should do better, since that
+was the first that ever I made; and Messer Lorenzo here will give me
+some splendid subject for a reverse, like the learned person and
+magnificent genius that he is.' To these words the said Lorenzo
+promptly answered: 'I was thinking of nothing else, save how to give
+thee a reverse that should be worthy of his Excellency.' The Duke
+grinned, and, looking at Lorenzo, said: 'Lorenzo, you shall give him
+the reverse, and he shall make it here, and shall not go away.'
+Lorenzo replied hastily, saying: 'I will do it as quickly as I
+possibly can, and I hope to do a thing that will astonish the world.'
+The Duke, who sometimes thought him a madman and sometimes a coward,
+turned over in his bed, and laughed at the words which he had said to
+him. I went away without other ceremonies of leave-taking, and left
+them alone together."
+
+On the fatal night Lorenzino lured the Duke into his own rooms, in
+what was afterwards called the Strada del Traditore, which was
+incorporated into the palace by the Riccardi. Alessandro, tired out
+with the excesses of the day, threw himself upon a bed; Lorenzino went
+out of the room, ostensibly to fetch his kinswoman, Caterina Ginori,
+whose beauty had been the bait; and he returned with the bravo
+Scoroncocolo, with whose assistance he assassinated him. Those who saw
+Sarah Bernhardt in the part of "Lorenzaccio," will not easily forget
+her rendering of this scene. Lorenzino published an Apologia, in which
+he enumerates Alessandro's crimes, declares that he was no true
+offspring of the Medici, and that his own single motive was the
+liberation of Florence from tyranny. He fled first to Constantinople,
+and then to Venice, where he was murdered in 1547 by the agents of
+Alessandro's successor, Cosimo I., who transferred the ducal residence
+from the present palace first to the Palazzo Vecchio, and then across
+the river to the Pitti Palace.
+
+With the exception of the chapel, the interior of the Palazzo Riccardi
+is not very suggestive of the old Medicean glories of the days of
+Lorenzo the Magnificent. There is a fine court, surrounded with
+sarcophagi and statues, including some of the old tombs which stood
+round the Baptistery and among which Guido Cavalcanti used to linger,
+and some statues of Apostles from the second façade of the Duomo.
+Above the arcades are eight fine classical medallions by Donatello,
+copied and enlarged from antique gems. The rooms above have been
+entirely altered since the days when Capponi defied King Charles, and
+Madonna Clarice taunted Alessandro and Ippolito; the large gallery,
+which witnessed these scenes, is covered with frescoes by Luca
+Giordano, executed in the early part of the seventeenth century. The
+Chapel--still entirely reminiscent of the better Medici--was painted
+by Benozzo Gozzoli shortly before the death of Cosimo the Elder, with
+frescoes representing the Procession of the Magi, in a delightfully
+impossible landscape. The two older kings are the Patriarch Joseph of
+Constantinople, and John Paleologus, Emperor of the East, who had
+visited Florence twenty years before on the occasion of the Council
+(Benozzo, it must be observed, was painting them in 1459, after the
+fall of Constantinople); the third is Lorenzo dei Medici himself, as a
+boy. Behind follow the rest of the Medicean court, Cosimo himself and
+his son, Piero, content apparently to be led forward by this mere lad;
+and in their train is Benozzo Gozzoli himself, marked by the signature
+on his hat. The picture of the Nativity itself, round which Benozzo's
+lovely Angels--though very earthly compared with Angelico's--seem
+still to linger in attendance, is believed to have been one by Lippo
+Lippi, now at Berlin.
+
+In the chapter _Of the Superhuman Ideal_, in the second volume of
+_Modern Painters_, Ruskin refers to these frescoes as the most
+beautiful instance of the supernatural landscapes of the early
+religious painters:--
+
+"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. Severer mountains rise in the distance, ruder prominences
+and less flowery vary the nearer ground, and gloomy shadows remain
+unbroken beneath the forest branches."
+
+Among the manuscripts in the _Biblioteca Riccardiana_, which is
+entered from the Via Ginori at the back of the palace, is the most
+striking and plausible of all existing portraits of Dante. It is at
+the beginning of a codex of the Canzoni (numbered 1040), and appears
+to have been painted about 1436.
+
+From the palace where the elder Medici lived, we turn to the church
+where they, and their successors of the younger line, lie in death. In
+the Piazza San Lorenzo there is an inane statue of the father of
+Cosimo I., Giovanni delle Bande Nere, by Baccio Bandinelli. Here, in
+June 1865, Robert Browning picked up at a stall the "square old yellow
+Book" with "the crumpled vellum covers," which gave him the story of
+_The Ring and the Book_:--
+
+                     "I found this book,
+     Gave a lira for it, eightpence English just,
+     (Mark the predestination!) when a Hand,
+     Always above my shoulder, pushed me once,
+     One day still fierce 'mid many a day struck calm,
+     Across a square in Florence, crammed with booths,
+     Buzzing and blaze, noon-tide and market-time,
+     Toward Baccio's marble--ay, the basement ledge
+     O' the pedestal where sits and menaces
+     John of the Black Bands with the upright spear,
+     'Twixt palace and church--Riccardi where they lived,
+     His race, and San Lorenzo where they lie.
+
+                     "That memorable day,
+     (June was the month, Lorenzo named the Square)
+     I leaned a little and overlooked my prize
+     By the low railing round the fountain-source
+     Close to the statue, where a step descends:
+     While clinked the cans of copper, as stooped and rose
+     Thick-ankled girls who brimmed them, and made place
+     For market men glad to pitch basket down,
+     Dip a broad melon-leaf that holds the wet,
+     And whisk their faded fresh."
+
+  [Illustration: THE TOMB OF GIOVANNI AND PIERO DEI MEDICI
+  BY ANDREA VERROCCHIO
+  (In San Lorenzo)]
+
+The unsightly bare front of San Lorenzo represents several fruitless
+and miserable years of Michelangelo's life. Pope Leo X. and the
+Cardinal Giulio dei Medici commissioned him to make a new façade, in
+1516, and for some years he consumed his time labouring among the
+quarries of Carrara and Pietrasanta, getting the marble for it and for
+the statues with which it was to be adorned. In one of his letters he
+says: "I am perfectly disposed (_a me basta l'animo_) to make this
+work of the façade of San Lorenzo so that, both in architecture and in
+sculpture, it shall be the mirror of all Italy; but the Pope and the
+Cardinal must decide quickly, if they want me to do it or not"; and
+again, some time later: "What I have promised to do, I shall do by all
+means, and I shall make the most beautiful work that was ever made in
+Italy, if God helps me." But nothing came of it all; and in after
+years Michelangelo bitterly declared that Leo had only pretended that
+he wanted the façade finished, in order to prevent him working upon
+the tomb of Pope Julius.
+
+"The ancient Ambrosian Basilica of St. Lawrence," founded according to
+tradition by a Florentine widow named Giuliana, and consecrated by St.
+Ambrose in the days of Zenobius, was entirely destroyed by fire early
+in the fifteenth century, during a solemn service ordered by the
+Signoria to invoke the protection of St. Ambrose for the Florentines
+in their war against Filippo Maria Visconti. Practically the only
+relic of this Basilica is the miraculous image of the Madonna in the
+right transept. The present church was erected from the designs of
+Filippo Brunelleschi, at the cost of the Medici (especially Giovanni
+di Averardo, who may be regarded as its chief founder) and seven other
+Florentine families. It is simple and harmonious in structure; the
+cupola, which is so visible in distant views of Florence, looking
+like a smaller edition of the Duomo, unlike the latter, rests directly
+upon the cross. This appears to be one of the modifications from what
+Brunelleschi had intended.
+
+The two pulpits with their bronze reliefs, right and left, are the
+last works of Donatello; they were executed in part and finished by
+his pupil, Bertoldo. The marble singing gallery in the left aisle
+(near a fresco of the martyrdom of St. Lawrence, by Bronzino) is also
+the joint work of Donatello and Bertoldo. In the right transept is a
+marble tabernacle by Donatello's great pupil, Desiderio da Settignano.
+Beneath a porphyry slab in front of the choir, Cosimo the Elder, the
+Pater Patriae, lies; Donatello is buried in the same vault as his
+great patron and friend. In the Martelli Chapel, on the left, is an
+exceedingly beautiful Annunciation by Fra Filippo Lippi, a fine
+example of his colouring (in which he is decidedly the best of all the
+early Florentines); Gabriel is attended by two minor Angels, squires
+waiting upon this great Prince of the Archangelic order, who are full
+of that peculiar mixture of boyish high spirits and religious
+sentiment which gives a special charm of its own to all that Lippo
+does.
+
+The _Sagrestia Vecchia_, founded by Giovanni di Averardo, was erected
+by Brunelleschi and decorated by Donatello for Cosimo the Elder. In
+the centre is the marble sarcophagus, adorned with _putti_ and
+festoons, containing the remains of Giovanni and his wife Piccarda,
+Cosimo's father and mother, by Donatello. The bronze doors (hardly
+among his best works), the marble balustrade before the altar, the
+stucco medallions of the Evangelists, the reliefs of patron saints of
+the Medici and the frieze of Angels' heads are all Donatello's; also
+an exceedingly beautiful terracotta bust of St. Lawrence, which is one
+of his most attractive creations. In the niche on the left of the
+entrance is the simple but very beautiful tomb of the two sons of
+Cosimo, Piero and Giovanni--who are united also in Botticelli's
+Adoration of the Magi as the two kings--and it serves also as a
+monument to Cosimo himself; it was made by Andrea Verrocchio for
+Lorenzo and Giuliano, Piero's sons. The remains of Lorenzo and
+Giuliano rested together in this sacristy until they were translated
+in the sixteenth century. In spite of a misleading modern inscription,
+they were apparently not buried in their father's grave, and the
+actual site of their former tomb is unknown. They now lie together in
+the _Sagrestia Nuova_. The simplicity of these funereal monuments and
+the _pietàs_ which united the members of the family so closely, in
+death and in life alike, are very characteristic of these earlier
+Medicean rulers of Florence.
+
+The cloisters of San Lorenzo, haunted by needy and destitute cats,
+were also designed by Brunelleschi. To the right, after passing
+Francesco da San Gallo's statue of Paolo Giovio, the historian, who
+died in 1559, is the entrance to the famous Biblioteca Laurenziana.
+The nucleus of this library was the collection of codices formed by
+Niccolò Niccoli, which were afterwards purchased by Cosimo the Elder,
+and still more largely increased by Lorenzo the Magnificent; after the
+expulsion of Piero the younger, they were bought by the Friars of San
+Marco, and then from them by the Cardinal Giovanni, who transferred
+them to the Medicean villa at Rome. In accordance with Pope Leo's
+wish, Clement VII. (then the Cardinal Giulio) brought them back to
+Florence, and, when Pope, commissioned Michelangelo to design the
+building that was to house them. The portico, vestibule and staircase
+were designed by him, and, in judging of their effect, it must be
+remembered that Michelangelo professed that architecture was not his
+business, and also that the vestibule and staircase were intended to
+have been adorned with bronzes and statues. It was commenced in 1524,
+before the siege. Of the numberless precious manuscripts which this
+collection contains, we will mention only two classical and one
+mediæval; the famous Pandects of Justinian which the Pisans took from
+Amalfi, and the Medicean Virgil of the fourth or fifth century; and
+Boccaccio's autograph manuscript of Dante's Eclogues and Epistles.
+This latter codex, shown under the glass at the entrance to the
+Rotunda, is the only manuscript in existence which contains Dante's
+Epistles to the Italian Cardinals and to a Florentine Friend. In the
+first, he defines his attitude towards the Church, and declares that
+he is not touching the Ark, but merely turning to the kicking oxen who
+are dragging it out of the right path; in the second, he proudly
+proclaims his innocence, rejects the amnesty, and refuses to return to
+Florence under dishonourable conditions. Although undoubtedly in
+Boccaccio's handwriting, it has been much disputed of late years as to
+whether these two letters are really by Dante. There is not a single
+autograph manuscript, nor a single scrap of Dante's handwriting extant
+at the present day.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+From the Piazza Madonna, at the back of San Lorenzo, we enter a chilly
+vestibule, the burial vault of less important members of the families
+of the Medicean Grand Dukes, and ascend to the _Sagrestia Nuova_,
+where the last male descendants of Cosimo the Elder and Lorenzo the
+Magnificent lie. Although the idea of adding some such mausoleum to
+San Lorenzo appears to have originated with Leo X., this New Sacristy
+was built by Michelangelo for Clement VII., commenced while he was
+still the Cardinal Giulio and finished in 1524, before the Library
+was constructed. Its form was intended to correspond with that of
+Brunelleschi's Old Sacristy, and it was to contain four sepulchral
+monuments. Two of these, the only two that were actually constructed,
+were for the younger Lorenzo, titular Duke of Urbino (who died in
+1519, the son of Piero and nephew of Pope Leo), and the younger
+Giuliano, Duke of Nemours (who died in 1516, the third son of the
+Magnificent and younger brother of Leo). It is not quite certain for
+whom the other two monuments were to have been, but it is most
+probable that they were for the fathers of the two Medicean Popes,
+Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother the elder Giuliano, whose
+remains were translated hither by Duke Cosimo I. and rediscovered a
+few years ago. Michelangelo commenced the statues before the third
+expulsion of the Medici, worked on them in secret while he was
+fortifying Florence against Pope Clement before the siege, and
+returned to them, after the downfall of the Republic, as the condition
+of obtaining the Pope's pardon. He resumed work, full of bitterness at
+the treacherous overthrow of the Republic, tormented by the heirs of
+Pope Julius II., whose tomb he had been forced to abandon, suffering
+from insomnia and shattered health, threatened with death by the
+tyrant Alessandro. When he left Florence finally in 1534, just before
+the death of Clement, the statues had not even been put into their
+places.
+
+Neither of the ducal statues is a portrait, but they appear to
+represent the active and contemplative lives, like the Leah and Rachel
+on the tomb of Pope Julius II. at Rome. On the right sits Giuliano,
+holding the baton of command as Gonfaloniere of the Church. His
+handsome sensual features to some extent recall those of the
+victorious youth in the allegory in the Bargello. He holds his baton
+somewhat loosely, as though he half realised the baseness of the
+historical part he was doomed to play, and had not got his heart in
+it. Opposite is Lorenzo, immersed in profound thought, "ghastly as a
+tyrant's dream." What visions are haunting him of the sack of Prato,
+of the atrocities of the barbarian hordes in the Eternal City, of the
+doom his house has brought upon Florence? Does he already smell the
+blood that his daughter will shed, fifty years later, on St.
+Bartholomew's day? Here he sits, as Elizabeth Barrett Browning puts
+it:--
+
+     "With everlasting shadow on his face,
+       While the slow dawns and twilights disapprove
+      The ashes of his long extinguished race,
+       Which never more shall clog the feet of men."
+
+"It fascinates and is intolerable," as Rogers wrote of this statue. It
+is, probably, not due to Michelangelo that the niches in which the
+dukes sit are too narrow for them; but the result is to make the
+tyrants seem as helpless as their victims, in the fetters of destiny.
+Beneath them are four tremendous and terrible allegorical figures:
+"those four ineffable types," writes Ruskin, "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." Beneath
+Lorenzo are Dawn and Twilight; Dawn awakes in agony, but her most
+horrible dreams are better than the reality which she must face;
+Twilight has worked all day in vain, and, like a helpless Titan, is
+sinking now into a slumber where is no repose. Beneath Giuliano are
+Day and Night: Day is captive and unable to rise, his mighty powers
+are uselessly wasted and he glares defiance; Night is buried in
+torturing dreams, but Michelangelo has forbidden us to wake her:--
+
+     "Grato mi è il sonno, e più l'esser di sasso;
+     mentre che il danno e la vergogna dura,
+     non veder, non sentir, m'è gran ventura;
+     però non mi destar; deh, parla basso!"[45]
+
+  [45] "Grateful to me is sleep, and more the being stone; while ruin
+  and shame last, not to see, not to feel, is great good fortune to me.
+  Therefore wake me not; ah, speak low!"
+
+It will be remembered that it was for these two young men, to whom
+Michelangelo has thus reared the noblest sepulchral monuments of the
+modern world, that Leo X. desired to build kingdoms and that
+Machiavelli wrote one of the masterpieces of Italian prose--the
+_Principe_. Giuliano was the most respectable of the elder Medicean
+line; in Castiglione's _Cortigiano_ he is an attractive figure, the
+chivalrous champion of women. It is not easy to get a definite idea of
+the character of Lorenzo, who, as we saw in chapter iv., was virtually
+tyrant of Florence during his uncle's pontificate. The Venetian
+ambassador once wrote of him that he was fitted for great deeds, and
+only a little inferior to Cæsar Borgia--which was intended for very
+high praise; but there was nothing in him to deserve either
+Michelangelo's monument or Machiavelli's dedication. He usurped the
+Duchy of Urbino, and spent his last days in fooling with a jester. His
+reputed son, the foul Duke Alessandro, lies buried with him here in
+the same coffin.
+
+Opposite the altar is the Madonna and Child, by Michelangelo. The
+Madonna is one of the noblest and most beautiful of all the master's
+works, but the Child, whom Florence had once chosen for her King, has
+turned His face away from the city. A few years later, and Cosimo I.
+will alter the inscription which Niccolò Capponi had set up on the
+Palazzo Vecchio. The patron saints of the Medici on either side, Sts.
+Cosmas and Damian, are by Michelangelo's pupils and assistants, Fra
+Giovanni Angiolo da Montorsoli and Raffaello da Montelupo. Beneath
+these statues lie Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother, the elder
+Giuliano. Their bodies were removed hither from the Old Sacristy in
+1559, and the question as to their place of burial was finally set at
+rest, in October 1895, by the discovery of their bodies. It is
+probable that Michelangelo had originally intended the Madonna for the
+tomb of his first patron, Lorenzo.
+
+In judging of the general effect of this _Sagrestia Nuova_, which is
+certainly somewhat cold, it must be remembered that Michelangelo
+intended it to be full of statues and that the walls were to have been
+covered with paintings. "Its justification," says Addington Symonds,
+"lies in the fact that it demanded statuary and colour for its
+completion." The vault was frescoed by Giovanni da Udine, but is now
+whitewashed. In 1562, Vasari wrote to Michelangelo at Rome on behalf
+of Duke Cosimo, telling him that "the place is being now used for
+religious services by day and night, according to the intentions of
+Pope Clement," and that the Duke was anxious that all the best
+sculptors and painters of the newly instituted Academy should work
+upon the Sacristy and finish it from Michelangelo's designs. "He
+intends," writes Vasari, "that the new Academicians shall complete the
+whole imperfect scheme, in order that the world may see that, while so
+many men of genius still exist among us, the noblest work which was
+ever yet conceived on earth has not been left unfinished." And the
+Duke wants to know what Michelangelo's own idea is about the statues
+and paintings; "He is particularly anxious that you should be assured
+of his determination to alter nothing you have already done or
+planned, but, on the contrary, to carry out the whole work according
+to your conception. The Academicians, too, are unanimous in their
+hearty desire to abide by this decision."[46]
+
+  [46] Given in Addington Symonds' _Life of Michelangelo_.
+
+In the _Cappella dei Principi_, gorgeous with its marbles and mosaics,
+lie the sovereigns of the younger line, the Medicean Grand Dukes of
+Tuscany, the descendants of the great captain Giovanni delle Bande
+Nere. Here are the sepulchral monuments of Cosimo I. (1537-1574); of
+his sons, Francesco (1574-1587) and Ferdinand I. (1587-1609); and of
+Ferdinand's son, grandson and great-grandson, Cosimo II. (1609-1621),
+Ferdinand II. (1627-1670), Cosimo III. (1670-1723). The statues are
+those of Ferdinand I. and Cosimo II.
+
+Cosimo I. finally transformed the republic into a monarchy, created a
+new aristocracy and established a small standing army, though he
+mainly relied upon Spanish and German mercenaries. He conquered Siena
+in 1553, and in 1570 was invested with the grand ducal crown by Pius
+V.--a title which the Emperor confirmed to his successor. Although the
+tragedy which tradition has hung round the end of the Duchess Eleonora
+and her two sons has not stood the test of historical criticism, there
+are plenty of bloody deeds to be laid to Duke Cosimo's account during
+his able and ruthless reign. Towards the close of his life he married
+his mistress, Cammilla Martelli, and made over the government to his
+son. This son, Francesco, the founder of the Uffizi Gallery and of the
+modern city of Leghorn, had more than his father's vices and hardly
+any of his ability; his intrigue with the beautiful Venetian, Bianca
+Cappello, whom he afterwards married, and who died with him, has
+excited more interest than it deserves. The Cardinal Ferdinand, who
+succeeded him and renounced the cardinalate, was incomparably the best
+of the house--a man of magnanimous character and an enlightened
+ruler. He shook off the influence of Spain, and built an excellent
+navy to make war upon the Turks and Barbary corsairs. Cosimo II. and
+Ferdinand II. reigned quietly and benevolently, with no ability but
+with plenty of good intentions. Chiabrera sings their praises with
+rather unnecessary fervour. But the wealth and prosperity of Tuscany
+was waning, and Cosimo III., a luxurious and selfish bigot, could do
+nothing to arrest the decay. On the death of his miserable and
+contemptible successor, Gian Gastone dei Medici in 1737, the Medicean
+dynasty was at an end.
+
+Stretching along a portion of the Via Larga, and near the Piazza di
+San Marco, were the famous gardens of the Medici, which the people
+sacked in 1494 on the expulsion of Piero. The Casino Mediceo, built by
+Buontalenti in 1576, marks the site. Here were placed some of
+Lorenzo's antique statues and curios; and here Bertoldo had his great
+art school, where the most famous painters and sculptors came to bask
+in the sun of Medicean patronage, and to copy the antique. Here the
+boy Michelangelo came with his friend Granacci, and here Andrea
+Verrocchio first trained the young Leonardo. In this garden, too,
+Angelo Poliziano walked with his pupils, and initiated Michelangelo
+into the newly revived Hellenic culture. There is nothing now to
+recall these past glories.
+
+  [Illustration: THE WELL OF S. MARCO]
+
+The church of San Marco has been frequently altered and modernised,
+and there is little now to remind us that it was here on August 1,
+1489, that Savonarola began to expound the Apocalypse. Over the
+entrance is a Crucifix ascribed by Vasari to Giotto. On the second
+altar to the right is a much-damaged but authentic Madonna and Saints
+by Fra Bartolommeo; that on the opposite altar, on the left, is a
+copy of the original now in the Pitti Palace. There are some
+picturesque bits of old fourteenth century frescoes on the left wall,
+and beneath them, between the second and third altars, lie Pico della
+Mirandola and his friend Girolamo Benivieni, and Angelo Poliziano. The
+left transept contains the tomb and shrine of St Antoninus, the good
+Dominican Archbishop of Florence, with statues by Giovanni da Bologna
+and his followers, and later frescoes. In the sacristy, which was
+designed by Brunelleschi, there is a fine bronze recumbent statue of
+him. Antoninus was Prior of San Marco in the days of Angelico, and
+Vasari tells us that when Angelico went to Rome, to paint for Pope
+Eugenius, the Pope wished to make the painter Archbishop of Florence:
+"When the said friar heard this, he besought his Holiness to find
+somebody else, because he did not feel himself apt to govern people;
+but that since his Order had a friar who loved the poor, who was most
+learned and fit for rule, and who feared God, this dignity would be
+much better conferred upon him than on himself. The Pope, hearing
+this, and bethinking him that what he said was true, granted his
+request freely; and so Fra Antonino was made Archbishop of Florence,
+of the Order of Preachers, a man truly most illustrious for sanctity
+and learning."
+
+It was in the church of San Marco that Savonarola celebrated Mass on
+the day of the Ordeal; here the women waited and prayed, while the
+procession set forth; and hither the Dominicans returned at evening,
+amidst the howls and derision of the crowd. Here, on the next evening,
+the fiercest of the fighting took place. The attempt of the enemy to
+break into the church by the sacristy door was repulsed. One of the
+Panciatichi, a mere boy, mortally wounded, joyfully received the last
+sacraments from Fra Domenico on the steps of the altar, and died in
+such bliss, that the rest envied him. Finally the great door of the
+church was broken down; Fra Enrico, a German, mounted the pulpit and
+fired again and again into the midst of the Compagnacci, shouting with
+each shot, _Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine_. Driven from the pulpit,
+he and other friars planted their arquebusses beneath the Crucifix on
+the high altar, and continued to fire. The church was now so full of
+smoke that the friars could hardly continue the defence, until Fra
+Giovacchino della Robbia broke one of the windows with a lance. At
+last, when the Signoria threatened to destroy the whole convent with
+artillery, Savonarola ordered the friars to go in procession from the
+church to the dormitory, and himself, taking the Blessed Sacrament
+from the altar, slowly followed them.
+
+The convent itself, now officially the _Museo di San Marco_,
+originally a house of Silvestrine monks, was made over to the
+Dominicans by Pope Eugenius IV., at the instance of Cosimo dei Medici
+and his brother Lorenzo. They solemnly took possession in 1436, and
+Michelozzo entirely rebuilt the whole convent for them, mainly at the
+cost of Cosimo, between 1437 and 1452. "It is believed," says Vasari,
+"to be the best conceived and the most beautiful and commodious
+convent of any in Italy, thanks to the virtue and industry of
+Michelozzo." Fra Giovanni da Fiesole, as the Beato Angelico was
+called, came from his Fiesolan convent, and worked simultaneously with
+Michelozzo for about eight or nine years (until the Pope summoned him
+to Rome in 1445 to paint in the Vatican), covering with his mystical
+dreams the walls that his friend designed. That other artistic glory
+of the Dominicans, Fra Bartolommeo, took the habit here in 1500,
+though there are now only a few unimportant works of his remaining in
+the convent. Never was there such a visible outpouring of the praying
+heart in painting, as in the work of these two friars. And Antoninus
+and Savonarola strove to make the spirit world that they painted a
+living reality, for Florence and for the Church.
+
+The first cloister is surrounded by later frescoes, scenes from the
+life of St. Antoninus, partly by Bernardino Poccetti and Matteo
+Rosselli, at the beginning of the seventeenth century. They are not of
+great artistic value, but one, the fifth on the right of the entrance,
+representing the entry of St. Antoninus into Florence, shows the old
+façade of the Duomo. Like gems in this rather indifferent setting, are
+five exquisite frescoes by Angelico in lunettes over the doors; St.
+Thomas Aquinas, Christ as a pilgrim received by two Dominican friars,
+Christ in the tomb, St. Dominic (spoilt), St. Peter Martyr; also a
+larger fresco of St. Dominic at the foot of the Cross. The second of
+these, symbolising the hospitality of the convent rule, is one of
+Angelico's masterpieces; beneath it is the entrance to the Foresteria,
+the guest-chambers. Under the third lunette we pass into the great
+Refectory, with its customary pulpit for the novice reader: here,
+instead of the usual Last Supper, is a striking fresco of St. Dominic
+and his friars miraculously fed by Angels, painted in 1536 by Giovanni
+Antonio Sogliani (a pupil of Lorenzo di Credi); the Crucifixion above,
+with St. Catherine of Siena and St. Antoninus, is said to be by Fra
+Bartolommeo. Here, too, on the right is the original framework by
+Jacopo di Bartolommeo da Sete and Simone da Fiesole, executed in 1433,
+for Angelico's great tabernacle now in the Uffizi.
+
+Angelico's St. Dominic appropriately watches over the Chapter House,
+which contains the largest of Fra Giovanni's frescoes and one of the
+greatest masterpieces of religious art: the Crucifixion with the
+patron saints of Florence, of the convent, and of the Medici, the
+founders of the religious orders, the representatives of the zeal and
+learning of the Dominicans, all gathered and united in contemplation
+around the Cross of Christ. It was ordered by Cosimo dei Medici, and
+painted about 1441. On our left are the Madonna, supported by the
+Magdalene, the other Mary, and the beloved Disciple; the Baptist and
+St. Mark, representing the city and the convent; St. Lawrence and St.
+Cosmas (said by Vasari to be a portrait of Nanni di Banco, who died
+twenty years before), and St. Damian. On our right, kneeling at the
+foot of the Cross, is St. Dominic, a masterpiece of expression and
+sentiment; behind him St. Augustine and St. Albert of Jerusalem
+represent Augustinians and Carmelites; St. Jerome, St. Francis, St.
+Bernard, St. John Gualbert kneel; St. Benedict and St. Romuald stand
+behind them, while at the end are St. Peter Martyr and St. Thomas
+Aquinas. All the male heads are admirably characterised and
+discriminated, unlike Angelico's women, who are usually either merely
+conventionally done or idealised into Angels. Round the picture is a
+frieze of prophets, culminating in the mystical Pelican; below is the
+great tree of the Dominican order, spreading out from St. Dominic
+himself in the centre, with Popes Innocent V. and Benedict XI. on
+either hand. The St. Antoninus was added later. Vasari tells us that,
+in this tree, the brothers of the order assisted Angelico by obtaining
+portraits of the various personages represented from different places;
+and they may therefore be regarded as the real, or traditional,
+likenesses of the great Dominicans. The same probably applies to the
+wonderful figure of Aquinas in the picture itself.
+
+Beyond is a second and larger cloister, surrounded by very inferior
+frescoes of the life of St. Dominic, full of old armorial bearings and
+architectural fragments arranged rather incongruously. Some of the
+lunettes over the cells contain frescoes of the school of Fra
+Bartolommeo. The Academy of the Crusca is established here, in what
+was once the dormitory of the Novices. Connected with this cloister
+was the convent garden. "In the summer time," writes Simone Filipepi,
+"in the evening after supper, the Father Fra Girolamo used to walk
+with his friars in the garden, and he would make them all sit round
+him with the Bible in his hand, and here he expounded to them some
+fair passage of the Scriptures, sometimes questioning some novice or
+other, as occasion arose. At these meetings there gathered also some
+fifty or sixty learned laymen, for their edification. When, by reason
+of rain or other cause, it was not possible in the garden, they went
+into the _hospitium_ to do the same; and for an hour or two one seemed
+verily to be in Paradise, such charity and devotion and simplicity
+appeared in all. Blessed was he who could be there." Shortly before
+the Ordeal of Fire, Fra Girolamo was walking in the garden with Fra
+Placido Cinozzi, when an exceedingly beautiful boy of noble family
+came to him with a ticket upon which was written his name, offering
+himself to pass through the flames. And thinking that this might not
+be sufficient, he fell upon his knees, begging the Friar that he might
+be allowed to undergo the ordeal for him. "Rise up, my son," said
+Savonarola, "for this thy good will is wondrously pleasing unto God";
+and, when the boy had gone, he turned to Fra Placido and said: "From
+many persons have I had these applications, but from none have I
+received so much joy as from this child, for which may God be
+praised."
+
+To the left of the staircase to the upper floor, is the smaller
+refectory with a fresco of the Last Supper by Domenico Ghirlandaio,
+not by any means one of the painter's best works.
+
+On the top of the stairs we are initiated into the spirit of the place
+by Angelico's most beautiful Annunciation, with its inscription,
+_Virginis intacte cum veneris ante figuram, pretereundo cave ne
+sileatur Ave_, "When thou shalt have come before the image of the
+spotless Virgin, beware lest by negligence the Ave be silent."
+
+On the left of the stairway a double series of cells on either side of
+the corridor leads us to Savonarola's room. At the head of the
+corridor is one of those representations that Angelico repeated so
+often, usually with modifications, of St. Dominic at the foot of the
+Cross. Each of the cells has a painted lyric of the life of Christ and
+His mother, from Angelico's hand; almost each scene with Dominican
+witnesses and auditors introduced,--Dominic, Aquinas, Peter Martyr, as
+the case may be. In these frescoes Angelico was undoubtedly assisted
+by pupils, from whom a few of the less excellent scenes may come;
+there is an interesting, but altogether untrustworthy tradition that
+some were executed by his brother, Fra Benedetto da Mugello, who took
+the Dominican habit simultaneously with him and was Prior of the
+convent at Fiesole. Taking the cells on the left first, we see the
+_Noli me tangere_ (1), the Entombment (2), the Annunciation (3), the
+Crucifixion (4), the Nativity (5), the Transfiguration (6), a most
+wonderful picture. Opposite the Transfiguration, on the right wall of
+the corridor, is a Madonna and Saints, painted by the Friar somewhat
+later than the frescoes in the cells (which, it should be observed,
+appear to have been painted on the walls before the cells were
+actually partitioned off)--St. John Evangelist and St. Mark, the three
+great Dominicans and the patrons of the Medici. Then, on the left, the
+following cells contain the Mocking of Christ (7), the Resurrection
+with the Maries at the tomb (8), the Coronation of the Madonna (9),
+one of the grandest of the whole series, with St. Dominic and St.
+Francis kneeling below, and behind them St. Benedict and St. Thomas
+Aquinas, St. Peter Martyr and St. Paul the Hermit. The Presentation in
+the Temple (10), and the Madonna and Child with Aquinas and Augustine
+(11), are inferior to the rest.
+
+The shorter passage now turns to the cells occupied by Fra Girolamo
+Savonarola; one large cell leading into two smaller ones (12-14). In
+the larger are placed three frescoes by Fra Bartolommeo; Christ and
+the two disciples at Emmaus, formerly over the doorway of the
+refectory, and two Madonnas--one from the Dominican convent in the
+Mugnone being especially beautiful. Here are also modern busts of
+Savonarola by Dupré and Benivieni by Bastianini. In the first inner
+cell are Savonarola's portrait, apparently copied from a medal and
+wrongly ascribed to Bartolommeo, his Crucifix and his relics, his
+manuscripts and books of devotion, and, in another case, his hair
+shirt and rosary, his beloved Dominican garb which he gave up on the
+day of his martyrdom. In the inmost cell are the Cross which he is
+said to have carried, and a copy of the old (but not contemporary)
+picture of his death, of which the original is in the Corsini Palace.
+
+The seven small cells on the right (15-21) were assigned to the
+Juniors, the younger friars who had just passed through the Noviciate.
+Each contains a fresco by Angelico of St. Dominic at the foot of the
+Cross, now scourging himself, now absorbed in contemplation, now
+covering his face with his hands, but in no two cases identical. Into
+one of these cells a divine apparition was said to have come to one of
+these youths, after hearing Savonarola's "most fervent and most
+wondrous discourse" upon the mystery of the Incarnation. The story is
+told by Simone Filipepi:--
+
+"On the night of the most Holy Nativity, to a young friar in the
+convent, who had not yet sung Mass, had appeared visibly in his cell
+on the little altar, whilst he was engaged in prayer, Our Lord in the
+form of a little infant even as when He was born in the stable. And
+when the hour came to go into the choir for matins, the said friar
+commenced to debate in his mind whether he ought to go and leave here
+the Holy Child, and deprive himself of such sweetness, or not. At last
+he resolved to go and to bear It with him; so, having wrapped It up in
+his arms and under his cowl as best he could, all trembling with joy
+and with fear, he went down into the choir without telling anyone.
+But, when it came to his turn to sing a lesson, whilst he approached
+the reading-desk, the Infant vanished from his arms; and when the
+friar was aware of this, he remained so overwhelmed and almost beside
+himself that he commenced to wander through the choir, like one who
+seeks a thing lost, so that it was necessary that another should read
+that lesson."
+
+Passing back again down the corridor, we see in the cells two more
+Crucifixions (22 and 23); the Baptism of Christ with Madonna as
+witness (24), the Crucifixion (25); then, passing the great Madonna
+fresco, the Mystery of the Passion (26), in one of those symbolical
+representations which seem to have originated with the Camaldolese
+painter, Don Lorenzo; Christ bound to the pillar, with St. Dominic
+scourging himself and the Madonna appealing to us (27, perhaps by a
+pupil); Christ bearing the Cross (28); two more Crucifixions (29 and
+30), apparently not executed by Angelico himself.
+
+At the side of Angelico's Annunciation opposite the stairs, we enter
+the cell of St. Antoninus (31). Here is one of Angelico's most
+beautiful and characteristic frescoes, Christ's descent into Hades:
+"the intense, 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," as
+Ruskin describes it. Here, too, is the death mask of Antoninus, his
+portrait perhaps drawn from the death mask by Bartolommeo, his
+manuscripts and relics; also a tree of saintly Dominicans, Savonarola
+being on the main trunk, the third from the root.
+
+The next cell on the right (32) has the Sermon on the Mount and the
+Temptation in the Wilderness. In the following (33), also double,
+besides the frescoed Kiss of Judas, are two minute pictures by Fra
+Angelico, belonging to an earlier stage of his art than the frescoes,
+intended for reliquaries and formerly in Santa Maria Novella. One of
+them, the _Madonna della Stella_, is a very perfect and typical
+example of the Friar's smaller works, in their "purity of colour
+almost shadowless." The other, the Coronation of the Madonna, is less
+excellent and has suffered from retouching. The Agony in the Garden
+(in cell 34) contains a curious piece of mediæval symbolism in the
+presence of Mary and Martha, contemplation and action, the Mary being
+here the Blessed Virgin. In the same cell is another of the
+reliquaries from Santa Maria Novella, the Annunciation over the
+Adoration of the Magi, with Madonna and Child, the Virgin Martyrs, the
+Magdalene and St. Catherine of Siena below; the drawing is rather
+faulty. In the following cells are the Last Supper (35), conceived
+mystically as the institution of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar,
+with the Madonna alone as witness; the Deposition from the Cross (36);
+and the Crucifixion (37), in which Dominic stands with out-stretched
+arms.
+
+Opposite on the right (38-39) is the great cell where Pope Eugenius
+stayed on the occasion of the consecration of San Marco in 1442; here
+Cosimo the Elder, Pater Patriae, spent long hours of his closing days,
+in spiritual intercourse with St. Antoninus and after the latter's
+death. In the outer compartment the Medicean saint, Cosmas, joins
+Madonna and Peter Martyr at the foot of the Cross. Within are the
+Adoration of the Magi and a Pietà, both from Angelico's hand, and the
+former, one of his latest masterpieces, probably painted with
+reference to the fact that the convent had been consecrated on the
+Feast of the Epiphany. Here, too, is an old terracotta bust of
+Antoninus, and a splendid but damaged picture of Cosimo himself by
+Jacopo da Pontormo, incomparably finer than that artist's similarly
+constructed work in the Uffizi. Between two smaller cells containing
+Crucifixions, both apparently by Angelico himself (42-43--the former
+with the Mary and Martha motive at the foot of the Cross), is the
+great Greek Library, built by Michelozzo for Cosimo. Here Cosimo
+deposited a portion of the manuscripts which had been collected by
+Niccolò Niccoli, with additions of his own, and it became the first
+public library in Italy. Its shelves are now empty and bare, but it
+contains a fine collection of illuminated ritual books from suppressed
+convents, several of which are, rather doubtfully, ascribed to
+Angelico's brother, Fra Benedetto da Mugello.
+
+It was in this library that Savonarola exercised for the last time his
+functions of Prior of San Marco, and surrendered to the commissioners
+of the Signoria, on the night of Palm Sunday, 1498. What happened had
+best be told in the words of the Padre Pacifico Burlamacchi of the
+same convent, Savonarola's contemporary and follower. After several
+fictitious summonses had come:--
+
+"They returned at last with the decree of the Signoria in writing, but
+with the open promise that Fra Girolamo should be restored safe and
+sound, together with his companions. When he heard this, he told them
+that he would obey. But first he retired with his friars into the
+Greek Library, where he made them in Latin a most beautiful sermon,
+exhorting them to follow onwards in the way of God with faith, prayer,
+and patience; telling them that it was necessary to go to heaven by
+the way of tribulations, and that therefore they ought not in any way
+to be terrified; alleging many old examples of the ingratitude of the
+city of Florence in return for the benefits received from their Order.
+As that of St. Peter Martyr who, after doing so many marvellous things
+in Florence, was slain, the Florentines paying the price of his blood.
+And of St. Catherine of Siena, whom many had sought to kill, after she
+had borne so many labours for them, going personally to Avignon to
+plead their cause before the Pope. Nor had less happened to St.
+Antoninus, their Archbishop and excellent Pastor, whom they had once
+wished to throw from the windows. And that it was no marvel, if he
+also, after such sorrows and labourings, was paid at the end in the
+same coin. But that he was ready to receive everything with desire and
+happiness for the love of his Lord, knowing that in nought else
+consisted the Christian life, save in doing good and suffering evil.
+And thus, while all the bye-standers wept, he finished his sermon.
+Then, issuing forth from the library, he said to those laymen who
+awaited him: 'I will say to you what Jeremiah said: This thing I
+expected, but not so soon nor so suddenly.' He exhorted them further
+to live well and to be fervent in prayer. And having confessed to the
+Father Fra Domenico da Pescia, he took the Communion in the first
+library. And the same did Fra Domenico. After eating a little, he was
+somewhat refreshed; and he spoke the last words to his friars,
+exhorting them to persevere in religion, and kissing them all, he took
+his last departure from them. In the parting one of his children said
+to him: 'Father, why dost thou abandon us and leave us so desolate?'
+To which he replied: 'Son, have patience, God will help you'; and he
+added that he would either see them again alive, or that after death
+he would appear to them without fail. Also, as he departed, he gave up
+the common keys to the brethren, with so great humility and charity,
+that the friars could not keep themselves from tears; and many of them
+wished by all means to go with him. At last, recommending himself to
+their prayers, he made his way towards the door of the library, where
+the first Commissioners all armed were awaiting him; to whom, giving
+himself into their hands like a most meek lamb, he said: 'I recommend
+to you this my flock and all these other citizens.' And when he was in
+the corridor of the library, he said: 'My friars, doubt not, for God
+will not fail to perfect His work; and although I be put to death, I
+shall help you more than I have done in life, and I will return
+without fail to console you, either dead or alive.' Arrived at the
+holy water, which is at the exit of the choir, Fra Domenico said to
+him: 'Fain would I too come to these nuptials.' Certain of the laymen,
+his friends, were arrested at the command of the Signoria. When the
+Father Fra Girolamo was in the first cloister, Fra Benedetto, the
+miniaturist, strove ardently to go with him; and, when the officers
+thrust him back, he still insisted that he would go. But the Father
+Fra Girolamo turned to him, and said: 'Fra Benedetto, on your
+obedience come not, for I and Fra Domenico have to die for the love of
+Christ.' And thus he was torn away from the eyes of his children."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+_The Accademia delle Belle Arti--The Santissima Annunziata--And other
+Buildings_
+
+     "In Firenze, più che altrove, venivano gli uomini perfetti in tutte
+     l'arti, e specialmente nella pittura."--_Vasari._
+
+
+Turning southwards from the Piazza di San Marco into the Via Ricasoli,
+we come to the _Accademia delle Belle Arti_, with its collection of
+Tuscan and Umbrian pictures, mostly gathered from suppressed churches
+and convents.
+
+In the central hall, the Tribune of the David, Michelangelo's gigantic
+marble youth stands under the cupola, surrounded by casts of the
+master's other works. The young hero has just caught sight of the
+approaching enemy, and is all braced up for the immortal moment.
+Commenced in 1501 and finished at the beginning of 1504, out of a
+block of marble over which an earlier sculptor had bungled, it was
+originally set up in front of the Palazzo Vecchio on the Ringhiera, as
+though to defend the great Palace of the People. It is supposed to
+have taken five days to move the statue from the Opera del Duomo,
+where Michelangelo had chiselled it out, to the Palace. When the
+simple-minded Gonfaloniere, Piero Soderini, saw it, he told the artist
+that the nose appeared to him to be too large; whereupon Michelangelo
+mounted a ladder, pretended to work upon it for a few moments,
+dropping a little marble dust all the time, which he had taken up with
+him, and then turned round for approval to the Gonfaloniere, who
+assured him that he had now given the statue life. This _gigante di
+Fiorenza_, as it was called, was considerably damaged during the third
+expulsion of the Medici in 1527, but retained its proud position
+before the Palace until 1873.
+
+On the right, as we approach the giant, is the _Sala del Beato
+Angelico_, containing a lovely array of Fra Angelico's smaller
+paintings. Were we to attempt to sum up Angelico's chief
+characteristics in one word, that word would be _onestà_, in its early
+mediaeval sense as Dante uses it in the _Vita Nuova_, signifying not
+merely purity or chastity, as it came later to mean, but the outward
+manifestation of spiritual beauty,--the _honestas_ of which Aquinas
+speaks. A supreme expression of this may be found in the Paradise of
+his Last Judgment (266), the mystical dance of saints and Angels in
+the celestial garden that blossoms under the rays of the Sun of Divine
+Love, and on all the faces of the blessed beneath the Queen of Mercy
+on the Judge's right. The Hell is, naturally, almost a failure. In
+many of the small scenes from the lives of Christ and His Mother, of
+which there are several complete series here, some of the heads are
+absolute miracles of expression; notice, for instance, the Judas
+receiving the thirty pieces of silver, and all the faces in the
+Betrayal (237), and, above all perhaps, the Peter in the Entry into
+Jerusalem (252), on every line of whose face seems written: "Lord, why
+can I not follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake." The
+Deposition from the Cross (246), contemplated by St. Dominic, the
+Beata Villana and St. Catherine of Alexandria, appears to be an
+earlier work of Angelico's. Here, also, are three great Madonnas
+painted by the Friar as altar pieces for convent churches; the Madonna
+and Child surrounded by Angels and saints, while Cosmas and Damian,
+the patrons of the Medici, kneel at her feet (281), was executed in
+1438 for the high altar of San Marco, and, though now terribly
+injured, was originally one of his best pictures; the Madonna and
+Child, with two Angels and six saints, Peter Martyr, Cosmas and
+Damian, Francis, Antony of Padua, and Louis of Toulouse (265), was
+painted for the convent of the Osservanza near Mugello,--hence the
+group of Franciscans on the left; the third (227), in which Cosmas and
+Damian stand with St. Dominic on the right of the Madonna, and St.
+Francis with Lawrence and John the Divine on her left, is an inferior
+work from his hand.
+
+Also in this room are four delicious little panels by Lippo Lippi (264
+and 263), representing the Annunciation divided into two compartments,
+St. Antony Abbot and the Baptist; two Monks of the Vallombrosa, by
+Perugino (241, 242), almost worthy of Raphael; and two charming scenes
+of mediaeval university life, the School of Albertus Magnus (231) and
+the School of St. Thomas Aquinas (247). These two latter appear to be
+by some pupil of Fra Angelico, and may possibly be very early works of
+Benozzo Gozzoli. In the first, Albert is lecturing to an audience,
+partly lay and partly clerical, amongst whom is St. Thomas, then a
+youthful novice but already distinguished by the halo and the sun upon
+his breast; in the second, Thomas himself is now holding the
+professorial chair, surrounded by pupils listening or taking notes,
+while Dominicans throng the cloisters behind. On his right sits the
+King of France; below his seat the discomforted Averrhoes humbly
+places himself on the lowest step, between the heretics--William of
+St. Amour and Sabellius.
+
+From the left of the David's tribune, we turn into three rooms
+containing masterpieces of the Quattrocento (with a few later works),
+and appropriately named after Botticelli and Perugino.
+
+In the _Sala prima del Botticelli_ is Sandro's famous _Primavera_, the
+Allegory of Spring or the Kingdom of Venus (80). Inspired in part by
+Poliziano's _stanze_ in honour of Giuliano dei Medici and his Bella
+Simonetta, Botticelli nevertheless has given to his strange--not
+altogether decipherable--allegory, a vague mysterious poetry far
+beyond anything that Messer Angelo could have suggested to him.
+Through this weirdly coloured garden of the Queen of Love, in "the
+light that never was on sea or land," blind Cupid darts upon his
+little wings, shooting, apparently at random, a flame-tipped arrow
+which will surely pierce the heart of the central maiden of those
+three, who, in their thin clinging white raiment, personify the
+Graces. The eyes of Simonetta--for it is clearly she--rest for a
+moment in the dance upon the stalwart Hermes, an idealised Giuliano,
+who has turned away carelessly from the scene. Flora, "pranked and
+pied for birth," advances from our right, scattering flowers rapidly
+as she approaches; while behind her a wanton Zephyr, borne on his
+strong wings, breaks through the wood to clasp Fertility, from whose
+mouth the flowers are starting. Venus herself, the mistress of nature,
+for whom and by whom all these things are done, stands somewhat sadly
+apart in the centre of the picture; this is only one more of the
+numberless springs that have passed over her since she first rose from
+the sea, and she is somewhat weary of it all:--
+
+     "Te, dea, te fugiunt venti, te nubila caeli
+     Adventumque tuum, tibi suavis daedala tellus
+     Summittit flores, tibi rident aequora ponti
+     Placatumque nitet diffuso lumine caelum."[47]
+
+  [47] "Before thee, goddess, flee the winds, the clouds of heaven;
+  before thee and thy advent; for thee earth manifold in works puts
+  forth sweet-smelling flowers; for thee the levels of the sea do laugh
+  and heaven propitiated shines with outspread light" (Munro's
+  _Lucretius_).
+
+This was one of the pictures painted for Lorenzo the Magnificent.
+Botticelli's other picture in this room, the large Coronation of the
+Madonna (73) with its predella (74), was commissioned by the Arte di
+Por Sta. Maria, the Guild of Silk-merchants, for an altar in San
+Marco; the ring of festive Angels, encircling their King and Queen, is
+in one of the master's most characteristic moods. On either side of
+the Primavera are two early works by Lippo Lippi; Madonna adoring the
+Divine Child in a rocky landscape, with the little St. John and an old
+hermit (79), and the Nativity (82), with Angels and shepherds, Jerome,
+Magdalene and Hilarion. Other important pictures in this room are
+Andrea del Sarto's Four Saints (76), one of his latest works painted
+for the monks of Vallombrosa in 1528; Andrea Verrocchio's Baptism of
+Christ (71), in which the two Angels were possibly painted by
+Verrocchio's great pupil, Leonardo, in his youth; Masaccio's Madonna
+and Child watched over by St. Anne (70), an early and damaged work,
+the only authentic easel picture of his in Florence. The three small
+predella pictures (72), the Nativity, the martyrdom of Sts. Cosmas and
+Damian, St. Anthony of Padua finding a stone in the place of the dead
+miser's heart, by Francesco Pesellino, 1422-1457, the pupil of Lippo
+Lippi, are fine examples of a painter who normally only worked on this
+small scale and whose works are very rare indeed. Francesco Granacci,
+who painted the Assumption (68), is chiefly interesting as having
+been Michelangelo's friend and fellow pupil under Ghirlandaio.
+
+The _Sala del Perugino_ takes its name from three works of that master
+which it contains; the great Vallombrosa Assumption (57), signed and
+dated 1500, one of the painter's finest altar pieces, with a very
+characteristic St. Michael--the Archangel who was by tradition the
+genius of the Assumption, as Gabriel had been of the Annunciation; the
+Deposition from the Cross (56); and the Agony in the Garden (53). But
+the gem of the whole room is Lippo Lippi's Coronation of the Madonna
+(62), one of the masterpieces of the early Florentine school, which he
+commenced for the nuns of Sant' Ambrogio in 1441. The throngs of boys
+and girls, bearing lilies and playing at being Angels, are altogether
+delightful, and the two little orphans, that are being petted by the
+pretty Florentine lady on our right, are characteristic of Fra
+Filippo's never failing sympathy with child life. On the left two
+admirably characterised monks are patronised by St. Ambrose, and in
+the right corner the jolly Carmelite himself, under the wing of the
+Baptist, is welcomed by a little Angel with the scroll, _Is perfecit
+opus_. It will be observed that "poor brother Lippo" has dressed
+himself with greater care for his celestial visit, than he announced
+his intention of doing in Robert Browning's poem:--
+
+                   "Well, all these
+     Secured at their devotion, up shall come
+     Out of a corner when you least expect,
+     As one by a dark stair into a great light,
+     Music and talking, who but Lippo! I!--
+     Mazed, motionless and moon-struck--I'm the man!
+     Back I shrink--what is this I see and hear?
+     I, caught up with my monk's things by mistake,
+     My old serge gown and rope that goes all round,
+     I, in this presence, this pure company!
+     Where's a hole, where's a corner for escape?
+     Then steps a sweet angelic slip of a thing
+     Forward, puts out a soft palm--'Not so fast!'
+     Addresses the celestial presence, 'Nay--
+     'He made you and devised you, after all,
+     'Though he's none of you! Could Saint John there draw--
+     'His camel-hair make up a painting-brush?
+     'We come to brother Lippo for all that,
+     '_Iste perfecit opus!_'"
+
+Fra Filippo's Madonna and Child, with Sts. Cosmas and Damian, Francis
+and Antony, painted for the Medicean chapel in Santa Croce (55), is an
+earlier and less characteristic work. Over the door is St. Vincent
+preaching, by Fra Bartolommeo (58), originally painted to go over the
+entrance to the sacristy in San Marco--a striking representation of a
+Dominican preacher of repentance and renovation, conceived in the
+spirit of Savonarola, but terribly "restored." The Trinità (63) is one
+of Mariotto Albertinelli's best works, but sadly damaged. The two
+child Angels (61) by Andrea del Sarto, originally belonged to his
+picture of the Four Saints, in the last room; the Crucifixion, with
+the wonderful figure of the Magdalene at the foot of the Cross (65),
+ascribed to Luca Signorelli, does not appear to be from the master's
+own hand; Ghirlandaio's predella (67), with scenes from the lives of
+Sts. Dionysius, Clement, Dominic, and Thomas Aquinas, belongs to a
+great picture which we shall see presently.
+
+The _Sala seconda del Botticelli_ contains three pictures ascribed to
+the master, but only one is authentic--the Madonna and Child enthroned
+with six Saints, while Angels raise the curtain over her throne or
+hold up emblems of the Passion (85); it is inscribed with Dante's
+line--
+
+     "Vergine Madre, Figlia del tuo Figlio."
+
+The familiar Three Archangels (84), though attributed to Sandro, is
+not even a work of his school. There is a charming little predella
+picture by Fra Filippo (86), representing a miracle of San Frediano,
+St. Michael announcing her death to the Blessed Virgin, and a friar
+contemplating the mystery of the Blessed Trinity--pierced by the
+"three arrows of the three stringed bow," to adopt Dante's phrase. The
+Deposition from the Cross (98), was commenced by Filippino Lippi for
+the Annunziata, and finished after his death in 1504 by Perugino, who
+added the group of Maries with the Magdalene and the figure on our
+right. The Vision of St. Bernard (97), by Fra Bartolommeo, is the
+first picture that the Friar undertook on resuming his brush, after
+Raphael's visit to Florence had stirred him up to new efforts;
+commenced in 1506, it was left unfinished, and has been injured by
+renovations. Here are two excellent paintings by Lorenzo di Credi (92
+and 94), the former, the Adoration of the Shepherds, being his very
+best and most perfectly finished work. High up are two figures in
+niches by Filippino Lippi, the Baptist and the Magdalene (93 and 89),
+hardly pleasing. The Resurrection (90), by Raffaellino del Garbo, is
+the only authentic work in Florence of a pupil of Filippino's, who
+gave great promise which was never fulfilled.
+
+At the end of the hall are three Sale _dei Maestri Toscani_, from the
+earliest Primitives down to the eighteenth century. Only a few need
+concern us much.
+
+The first room contains the works of the earlier masters, from a
+pseudo-Cimabue (102), to Luca Signorelli, whose Madonna and Child with
+Archangels and Doctors (164), painted for a church in Cortona, has
+suffered from restoration. There are four genuine, very tiny pictures
+by Botticelli (157, 158, 161, 162). The Adoration of the Kings (165),
+by Gentile da Fabriano, is one of the most delightful old pictures in
+Florence; Gentile da Fabriano, an Umbrian master who, through Jacopo
+Bellini, had a considerable influence upon the early Venetian school,
+settled in Florence in 1422, and finished this picture in the
+following year for Santa Trinità, near which he kept a much frequented
+bottega. Michelangelo said that Gentile had a hand similar to his
+name; and this picture, with its rich and varied poetry, is his
+masterpiece. The man wearing a turban, seen full face behind the third
+king, is the painter himself. Kugler remarks: "Fra Angelico and
+Gentile are like two brothers, both highly gifted by nature, both full
+of the most refined and amiable feelings; but the one became a monk,
+the other a knight." The smaller pictures surrounding it are almost
+equally charming in their way--especially, perhaps, the Flight into
+Egypt in the predella. The Deposition from the Cross (166), by Fra
+Angelico, also comes from Santa Trinità, for which it was finished in
+1445; originally one of Angelico's masterpieces, it has been badly
+repainted; the saints in the frame are extremely beautiful, especially
+a most wonderful St. Michael at the top, on our left; the man standing
+on the ladder, wearing a black hood, is the architect, Michelozzo, who
+was the Friar's friend, and may be recognised in several of his
+paintings. The lunettes in the three Gothic arches above Angelico's
+picture, and which, perhaps, did not originally belong to it, are by
+the Camaldolese Don Lorenzo, by whom are also the Annunciation with
+four Saints (143), and the three predella scenes (144, 145, 146).
+
+Of the earlier pictures, the Madonna and Child adored by Angels (103)
+is now believed to be the only authentic easel picture of Giotto's
+that remains to us--though this is, possibly, an excess of scepticism.
+Besides several works ascribed to Taddeo Gaddi and his son Agnolo, by
+the former of whom are probably the small panels from Santa Croce,
+formerly attributed to Giotto, we should notice the Pietà by Giovanni
+da Milano (131); the Presentation in the Temple by Ambrogio Lorenzetti
+(134), signed and dated 1342; and a large altarpiece ascribed to
+Pietro Cavallini (157). The so-called Marriage of Boccaccio Adimari
+with Lisa Ricasoli (147) is an odd picture of the social customs of
+old Florence.
+
+In the second room are chiefly works by Fra Bartolommeo and Mariotto
+Albertinelli. By the Frate, are the series of heads of Christ and
+Saints (168), excepting the Baptist on the right; they are frescoes
+taken from San Marco, excepting the Christ on the left, inscribed
+"Orate pro pictore 1514," which is in oil on canvas. Also by him are
+the two frescoes of Madonna and Child (171, 173), and the splendid
+portrait of Savonarola in the character of St. Peter Martyr (172), the
+great religious persecutor of the Middle Ages, to whom Fra Girolamo
+had a special devotion. By Albertinelli, are the Madonna and Saints
+(167), and the Annunciation (169), signed and dated 1510. This room
+also contains several pictures by Fra Paolino da Pistoia and the
+Dominican nun, Plautilla Nelli, two pious but insipid artists, who
+inherited Fra Bartolommeo's drawings and tried to carry on his
+traditions. On a stand in the middle of the room, is Domenico
+Ghirlandaio's Adoration of the Shepherds (195), from Santa Trinità, a
+splendid work with--as Vasari puts it--"certain heads of shepherds
+which are held a divine thing."
+
+On the walls of the third room are later pictures of no importance or
+significance. But in the middle of the room is another masterpiece by
+Ghirlandaio (66); the Madonna and Child with two Angels, Thomas
+Aquinas and Dionysius standing on either side of the throne, Dominic
+and Clement kneeling. It is seldom, indeed, that this prosaic painter
+succeeded in creating such a thinker as this Thomas, such a mystic as
+this Dionysius; in the head of the latter we see indeed the image of
+the man who, according to the pleasant mediæval fable eternalised by
+Dante, "in the flesh below, saw deepest into the Angelic nature and
+its ministry."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the Via Cavour, beyond San Marco, is the _Chiostro dello Scalzo_, a
+cloister belonging to a brotherhood dedicated to St. John, which was
+suppressed in the eighteenth century. Here are a series of frescoes
+painted in grisaille by Andrea del Sarto and his partner, Francia
+Bigio, representing scenes from the life of the Precursor, with
+allegorical figures of the Virtues. The Baptism of Christ is the
+earliest, and was painted by the two artists in collaboration, in 1509
+or 1510. After some work for the Servites, which we shall see
+presently, Andrea returned to this cloister; and painted, from 1515 to
+1517, the Justice, St. John preaching, St. John baptising the people,
+and his imprisonment. Some of the figures in these frescoes show the
+influence of Albert Dürer's engravings. Towards the end of 1518,
+Andrea went off to France to work for King Francis I.; and, while he
+was away, Francia Bigio painted St. John leaving his parents, and St.
+John's first meeting with Christ. On Andrea's return, he set to work
+here again and painted, at intervals from 1520 to 1526, Charity, Faith
+and Hope, the dance of the daughter of Herodias, the decollation of
+St. John, and the presentation of his head, the Angel appearing to
+Zacharias, the Visitation, and, last of all, the Birth of the Baptist.
+The Charity is Andrea's own wife, Lucrezia, who at this very time, if
+Vasari's story is true, was persuading him to break his promise to the
+French King and to squander the money which had been intrusted to him
+for the purchase of works of art.
+
+The Via della Sapienza leads from San Marco into the _Piazza della
+Santissima Annunziata_. In one of the houses on the left, now
+incorporated into the Reale Istituto di Studi Superiori, Andrea del
+Sarto and Francia Bigio lodged with other painters, before Andrea's
+marriage; and here, usually under the presidency of the sculptor
+Rustici, the "Compagnia del Paiuolo," an artists' club of twelve
+members, met for feasting and disport.[48]
+
+  [48] See _Andrea del Sarto_, by H. Guinness in the _Great Masters_
+  series, and _G. F. Rustici_ in Vasari.
+
+This Piazza was a great place for processions in old Florence. Here
+stand the church of the _Santissima Annunziata_ and the convent of the
+Servites, while the Piazza itself is flanked to right and left by
+arcades originally designed by Brunelleschi. The equestrian statue of
+the Grand Duke Ferdinand I. was cast by Giovanni da Bologna out of
+metal from captured Turkish guns. The arcade on the right, as we face
+the church, with its charming medallions of babies in swaddling
+clothes by Andrea della Robbia, is a part of the Spedale degli
+Innocenti or Hospital for Foundlings, which was commenced from
+Brunelleschi's designs in 1421, during the Gonfalonierate of Giovanni
+dei Medici; the work, which was eloquently supported in the Council of
+the People by Leonardo Bruni, was raised by the Silk-merchants Guild,
+the Arte di Por Santa Maria. On its steps the Compagnacci murdered
+their first victim in the attack on San Marco. There is a picturesque
+court, designed by Brunelleschi, with an Annunciation by Andrea della
+Robbia over the door of the chapel, and a small picture gallery, which
+contains nothing of much importance, save a Holy Family with Saints by
+Piero di Cosimo. In the chapel, or church of Santa Maria degli
+Innocenti, there is a masterpiece by Domenico Ghirlandaio, painted in
+1488, an Adoration of the Magi (the fourth head on the left is the
+painter himself), in which the Massacre of the Innocents is seen in
+the background, and two of these glorified infant martyrs, under the
+protection of the two St. Johns, are kneeling most sweetly in front of
+the Madonna and her Child, for whom they have died, joining in the
+adoration of the kings and the _gloria_ of the angelic choir.
+
+The church of the Santissima Annunziata was founded in the thirteenth
+century, but has been completely altered and modernised since at
+different epochs. In summer mornings lilies and other flowers lie in
+heaps in its portico and beneath Ghirlandaio's mosaic of the
+Annunciation, to be offered at Madonna's shrine within. The entrance
+court was built in the fifteenth century, at the expense of the elder
+Piero dei Medici. The fresco to the left of the entrance, the Nativity
+of Christ, is by Alessio Baldovinetti. Within the glass, to the left,
+are six frescoes representing the life and miracles of the great
+Servite, Filippo Benizzi; that of his receiving the habit of the order
+is by Cosimo Rosselli (1476); the remaining five are early works by
+Andrea del Sarto, painted in 1509 and 1510, for which he received a
+mere trifle; in the midst of them is an indifferent seventeenth
+century bust of their painter. The frescoes on the right, representing
+the life of the Madonna, of whom this order claims to be the special
+servants, are slightly later. The approach of the Magi and the
+Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, the latter dated 1514, are among the
+finest works of Andrea del Sarto; in the former he has introduced
+himself and the sculptor Sansovino, and among the ladies in the latter
+is his wife. Fifty years afterwards the painter Jacopo da Empoli was
+copying this picture, when a very old lady, who was going into the
+church to hear mass, stopped to look at his work, and then, pointing
+to the portrait of Lucrezia, told him that it was herself. The
+Sposalizio, by Francia Bigio, painted in 1513, was damaged by the
+painter himself in a fit of passion at the meddling of the monks. The
+Visitation, by Jacopo da Pontormo, painted in 1516, shows what
+admirable work this artist could do in his youth, before he fell into
+his mannered imitations of Michelangelo; the Assumption, painted
+slightly later by another of Andrea's pupils, Rosso Fiorentino, is
+less excellent.
+
+Inside the church itself, on the left, is the sanctuary of Our Lady of
+the Annunciation, one of the most highly revered shrines in Tuscany;
+it was constructed from the designs of Michelozzo at the cost of the
+elder Piero dei Medici to enclose the miraculous picture of the
+Annunciation, and lavishly decorated and adorned by the Medicean Grand
+Dukes. After the Pazzi conspiracy, Piero's son Lorenzo had a waxen
+image of himself suspended here in thanksgiving for his escape. Over
+the altar there is usually a beautiful little head of the Saviour, by
+Andrea del Sarto. The little oratory beyond, with the Madonna's
+mystical emblems on its walls, was constructed in the seventeenth
+century.
+
+In the second chapel from the shrine is a fresco by Andrea del
+Castagno, which was discovered in the summer of 1899 under a copy of
+Michelangelo's Last Judgment. It represents St. Jerome and two women
+saints adoring the Blessed Trinity, and is characteristic of the _modo
+terribile_ in which this painter conceived his subjects; the heads of
+the Jerome and the older saint to our right are particularly powerful.
+For the rest, the interior of this church is more gorgeous than
+tasteful; and the other works which it contains, including the two
+Peruginos, and some tolerable monuments, are third rate. The rotunda
+of the choir was designed by Leo Battista Alberti and erected at the
+cost of the Marquis of Mantua, whose descendant, San Luigi Gonzaga,
+had a special devotion to the miraculous picture.
+
+From the north transept, the cloisters are entered. Here, over the
+door, is the Madonna del Sacco, an exceedingly beautiful fresco by
+Andrea del Sarto, painted in 1525. St. Joseph, leaning upon the sack
+which gives the picture its name, is reading aloud the Prophecies to
+the Mother and Child whom they concern. In this cloister--which was
+built by Cronaca--is the monument of the French knight slain at
+Campaldino in 1289 (_see_ chapter ii.), which should be contrasted
+with the later monuments of condottieri in the Duomo. Here also is the
+chapel of St. Luke, where the Academy of Artists, founded under Cosimo
+I., used to meet.
+
+A good view of the exterior of the rotunda can be obtained from the
+Via Gino Capponi. At the corner of this street and the Via del
+Mandorlo is the house which Andrea del Sarto bought for himself and
+his Lucrezia, after his return from France, and here he died in 1531,
+"full of glory and of domestic sorrows." Lucrezia survived him for
+nearly forty years, and died in 1570. Perhaps, if she had not made
+herself so unpleasant to her husband's pupils and assistants, good
+Giorgio Vasari--the youngest of them--might not have left us so dark a
+picture of this beautiful Florentine.
+
+The rather picturesque bit of ruin in the Via degli Alfani, at the
+corner of the Via del Castellaccio, is merely a part of an oratory in
+connection with Santa Maria degli Angioli, which Brunelleschi
+commenced for Filippo Scolari, but which was abandoned. _Santa Maria
+degli Angioli_ itself, a suppressed Camaldolese house, was of old one
+of the most important convents in Florence. The famous poet, Fra
+Guittone d'Arezzo, of whom Dante speaks disparagingly in the
+_Commedia_ and in the _De Vulgari Eloquentia_, was instrumental in its
+foundation in 1293. It was sacked in 1378 during the rising of the
+Ciompi. This convent in the earlier portion of the fifteenth century
+was a centre of Hellenic studies and humanistic culture, under Father
+Ambrogio Traversari, who died at the close of the Council of Florence.
+In the cloister there is still a powerful fresco by Andrea del
+Castagno representing Christ on the Cross, with Madonna and the
+Magdalene, the Baptist, St. Benedict and St. Romuald. The Romuald
+especially, the founder of the order, is a fine life-like figure.
+
+The _Spedale di Santa Maria Nuova_ was originally founded by Messer
+Folco Portinari, the father of the girl who may have been Dante's
+"Giver of Blessing," in 1287. Folco died in 1289, and is buried within
+the church, which contains one of Andrea della Robbia's Madonnas. Over
+the portal is a terracotta Coronation of the Madonna by Bicci di
+Lorenzo, erected in 1424. The two frescoes, representing scenes in the
+history of the hospital, are of the early part of the fifteenth
+century; the one on the right was painted in 1424 by Bicci di Lorenzo.
+In the Via Bufalini, Ghiberti had his workshop; in what was once his
+house is now the picture gallery of the hospital. Here is the fresco
+of the Last Judgment, commenced by Fra Bartolommeo in 1499, before he
+abandoned the world, and finished by Mariotto Albertinelli. Among its
+contents are an Annunciation by Albertinelli, Madonnas by Cosimo
+Rosselli and Rosso Fiorentino, and a terracotta Madonna by
+Verrocchio. The two pictures ascribed to Angelico and Botticelli are
+not authentic. But in some respects more interesting than these
+Florentine works is the triptych by the Fleming, Hugo Van der Goes,
+painted between 1470 and 1475 for Tommaso Portinari, Messer Folco's
+descendant; in the centre is the "Adoration of the Shepherds," with
+deliciously quaint little Angels; in the side wings, Tommaso Portinari
+with his two boys, his wife and their little girl, are guarded by
+their patron saints. Tommaso Portinari was agent for the Medici in
+Bruges; and, on the occasion of the wedding of Charles the Bold of
+Burgundy with Margaret of York in 1468, he made a fine show riding in
+the procession at the head of the Florentines.
+
+  [Illustration: THE CLOISTER OF THE INNOCENTI]
+
+A little more to the east are the church and suppressed convent of
+Santa Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi. In the church, which has a fine court
+designed by Giuliano da San Gallo, is a Coronation of the Madonna by
+Cosimo Rosselli; in the chapter-house of the convent is a Crucifixion
+by Perugino, painted in the closing years of the Quattrocento, perhaps
+the grandest of all his frescoes. In Ruskin's chapter on the
+_Superhuman Ideal_, in the second volume of _Modern Painters_, he
+cites the background of this fresco (together with Benozzo Gozzoli's
+in the Palazzo Riccardi) as one of the most perfect examples of those
+ideal landscapes of the religious painters, in which Perugino is
+supreme: "In the landscape of the fresco in Sta. Maria Maddalena at
+Florence 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, and a small village with its simple spire peeps from the
+forest at the bend of the valley."
+
+Beyond is the church of Sant' Ambrogio, once belonging to the convent
+of Benedictine nuns for whom Fra Lippo Lippi painted his great
+Coronation of Madonna. The church is hardly interesting at present,
+but contains an Assumption by Cosimo Rosselli, and, in the chapel of
+the Blessed Sacrament, a marble tabernacle by Mino da Fiesole and a
+fresco by Cosimo Rosselli painted in 1486, representing the legend of
+a miraculous chalice with some fine Florentine portrait heads,
+altogether above the usual level of Cosimo's work.
+
+The Borgo la Croce leads hence to the Porta alla Croce, in the very
+prosaic and modern Piazza Beccaria. This Porta alla Croce, the eastern
+gate of Florence in the third walls, was commenced by Arnolfo di
+Cambio in 1284; the frescoed Madonna in the lunette is by one of the
+later followers of Ghirlandaio. Through this gate, on October 6th
+1308, Corso Donati fled from Florence, after his desperate attempt to
+hold the Piazza di San Piero Maggiore against the forces of the
+Signoria. Following the Via Aretina towards Rovezzano, we soon reach
+the remains of the Badia di San Salvi, where he was slain by his
+captors--as Dante makes his brother Forese darkly prophesy in the
+twenty-fourth canto of the _Purgatorio_. Four year later, in October
+1312, the Emperor Henry VII. lay sick in the Abbey, while his army
+ineffectually besieged Florence. Nothing remains to remind us of that
+epoch, although the district is still called the Campo di Marte or
+Campo di Arrigo. We know from Leonardo Bruni that Dante, although he
+had urged the Emperor on to attack the city, did not join the imperial
+army like many of his fellow exiles had done: "so much reverence did
+he yet retain for his fatherland." In the old refectory of the Abbey
+is Andrea del Sarto's Last Supper, one of his most admirable frescoes,
+painted between 1525 and 1527, equally excellent in colour and design.
+"I know not," writes Vasari, "what to say of this _Cenacolo_ that
+would not be too little, seeing it to be such that all who behold it
+are struck with astonishment." When the siege was expected in 1529,
+and the defenders of the city were destroying everything in the
+suburbs which could give aid or cover to the enemy, a party of them
+broke down a wall in the convent and found themselves face to face
+with this picture. Lost in admiration, they built up a portion of what
+they had destroyed, in order that this last triumph of Florentine
+painting might be secure from the hand of war.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On this side of the river, those walls of Florence which Lapo Gianni
+would fain have seen _inargentate_--the third circle reared by Arnolfo
+and his successors--have been almost entirely destroyed, and their
+site marked by the broad utterly prosaic Viali. Besides the Porta alla
+Croce, the Porta San Gallo and the Porta al Prato still stand, on the
+north and west respectively. The Porta San Gallo was begun from
+Arnolfo's design in 1284, but not finished until 1327; the fresco in
+the lunette is by Michele di Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, Ridolfo's adopted
+son. On July 21, 1304, the exiled Bianchi and Ghibellines made a
+desperate attempt to surprise Florence through this gate, led by the
+heroic young Baschiera della Tosa. In 1494, Piero dei Medici and his
+brother Giuliano fled from the people through it; and in 1738 the
+first Austrian Grand Duke, Francis II., entered by it. The triumphant
+arch beyond, at which the lions of the Republic, to right and left of
+the gate, appear to gaze with little favour, marked this latter
+event.
+
+These Austrian Grand Dukes were decidedly better rulers than the
+Medici, to whom, by an imperial usurpation, they succeeded on the
+death of Gian Gastone. Leopold I., Ferdinand III., Leopold II., were
+tolerant and liberal-minded sovereigns, and under them Tuscany became
+the most prosperous state in Italy: "a Garden of Paradise without the
+tree of knowledge and without the tree of life." But, when the
+Risorgimento came, their sway was found incompatible with the
+aspirations of the Italians towards national unification; the last
+Grand Duke, after wavering between Austria and young Italy, threw in
+his lot with the former, and after having brought the Austrians into
+Tuscany, was forced to abdicate. Thus Florence became the first
+capital of Victor Emmanuel's kingdom.
+
+In the Via di San Gallo is the very graceful Palazzo Pandolfini,
+commenced in 1520 from Raphael's designs, on the left as we move
+inwards from the gate. From the Via 27 Aprile, which joins the Via di
+San Gallo, we enter the former convent of Sta. Appollonia. In what was
+once its refectory is a fresco of the Last Supper by Andrea del
+Castagno, with the Crucifixion, Entombment, and Resurrection. Andrea
+del Castagno impressed his contemporaries by his furious passions and
+savage intractability of temper, his quality of _terribilità_;
+although we now know that Vasari's story that Andrea obtained the
+secret of using oil as a vehicle in painting from his friend, Domenico
+Veneziano, and then murdered him, must be a mere fable, since Domenico
+survived Andrea by nearly five years. Rugged unadorned strength, with
+considerable power of characterisation and great technical dexterity,
+mark his extant works, which are very few in number. This _Cenacolo_
+in the finest of them all; the figures are full of life and
+character, although the Saviour is unpleasing and the Judas inclines
+to caricature. The nine figures from the Villa Pandolfini, frescoes
+transferred to canvas, are also his; Filippo Scolari, known as Pippo
+Spano (a Florentine connected with the Buondelmonti, but Ghibelline,
+who became Count of Temesvar and a great Hungarian captain), Farinata
+degli Uberti, Niccolò Acciaiuoli (a Florentine who became Grand
+Seneschal of the kingdom of Naples and founded the Certosa), the
+Cumæan Sibyl, Esther, Queen Tomyris, Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio.
+The two poets and Boccaccio are the least successful, since they were
+altogether out of Andrea's line, but there must have been something
+noble in the man to enable him so to realise Farinata degli Uberti, as
+he stood alone at Empoli when all others agreed to destroy Florence,
+to defend her to the last: _Colui che la difese a viso aperto._
+
+A _Cenacolo_ of a very different character may be seen in the
+refectory of the suppressed convent of Sant' Onofrio in the Via di
+Faenza. Though showing Florentine influence in its composition, this
+fresco is mainly Umbrian in character; from a half deciphered
+inscription on the robe of one of the Apostles (which appears to have
+been altered), it was once attempted to ascribe it to Raphael. It is
+now believed to be partly the work of Perugino, partly that of some
+pupil or pupils of his--perhaps Gerino da Pistoia or Giannicola Manni.
+It has also been ascribed to Giovanni Lo Spagna and to Raffaellino del
+Garbo. Morelli supposed it to be the work of a pupil of Perugino who
+was inspired by a Florentine engraving of the fifteenth century, and
+suggested Giannicola Manni. In the same street is the picturesque
+little Gothic church of San Jacopo in Campo Corbolini.
+
+  [Illustration: A FLORENTINE SUBURB]
+
+At the end of the Via Faenza--where once stood one of Arnolfo's
+gates--we are out again upon the Viale, here named after Filippo
+Strozzi. Opposite rises what was the great Medicean citadel, the
+Fortezza da Basso, built by Alessandro dei Medici to overawe the city.
+Michelangelo steadfastly refused, at the risk of his life, to have
+anything to do with it. Filippo Strozzi is said to have aided
+Alessandro in carrying out this design, and even to have urged it upon
+him, although he was warned that he was digging his own grave. After
+the unsuccessful attempt of the exiles to overthrow the
+newly-established government of Duke Cosimo, while Baccio Valori and
+the other prisoners were sent to be beheaded or hanged in the
+Bargello, Filippo Strozzi was imprisoned here and cruelly tortured, in
+spite of the devoted attempts of his children to obtain his release.
+Here at length, in 1538, he was found dead in his cell. He was said to
+have left a paper declaring that, lest he should be more terribly
+tortured and forced to say things to prejudice his own honour and
+inculpate innocent persons, he had resolved to take his own life, and
+that he commended his soul to God, humbly praying Him, if He would
+grant it no other good, at least to give it a place with that of Cato
+of Utica. It is not improbable that the paper was a fabrication, and
+that Filippo had been murdered by orders of the Duke.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+_The Bridges--The Quarter of Santa Maria Novella_
+
+     "Sopra il bel fiume d'Arno alla gran villa."
+         --_Dante._
+
+
+Outside the portico of the Uffizi four Florentine heroes--Farinata
+degli Uberti, Piero Capponi, Giovanni delle Bande Nere, Francesco
+Ferrucci--from their marble niches keep watch and ward over the river.
+This Arno, which Lapo Gianni dreamed of as _balsamo fino_, is spanned
+by four ancient and famous bridges, and bordered on both banks by the
+Lungarno.
+
+To the east is the Ponte Rubaconte--so called after the Milanese
+Podestà, during whose term of office it was made--or Ponte alle
+Grazie, built in 1237; it is mentioned by Dante in Canto xii. of the
+_Purgatorio_, and is the only existing Florentine bridge which could
+have actually felt the footsteps of the man who was afterwards to
+tread scathless through the ways of Hell, "unbitten by its whirring
+sulphur-spume." It has, however, been completely altered at various
+periods. On this bridge a solemn reconciliation was effected between
+Guelfs and Ghibellines on July 2, 1273, by Pope Gregory X. The Pope in
+state, between Charles of Anjou and the Emperor Baldwin of
+Constantinople, blessed his "reconciled" people from the bridge, and
+afterwards laid the first stone of a church called San Gregorio della
+Pace in the Piazza dei Mozzi, now destroyed. As soon as the Pope's
+back was turned, Charles contrived that his work should be undone, and
+the Ghibellines hounded again out of the city.[49]
+
+  [49] Opposite the bridge, at the beginning of the Via dei Benci, is
+  the palace of the old Alberti family; the remains of their loggia
+  stand further up the street, at the corner of the Borgo Santa Croce.
+  In all these streets, between the Lungarno della Borsa and the Borgo
+  dei Greci, there are many old houses and palaces; in the Piazza dei
+  Peruzzi the houses, formerly of that family and partly built in the
+  fourteenth century, follow the lines of the Roman amphitheatre--the
+  _Parlascio_ of the early Middle Ages. The Palazzo dei Giudici--in the
+  piazza of that name--was originally built in the thirteenth century,
+  though reconstructed at a later epoch.
+
+Below the Ponte alle Grazie comes the Ponte Vecchio, the Bridge _par
+excellence_; _il ponte_, or _il passo d'Arno_, as Dante calls it. More
+than a mere bridge over a river, this Ponte Vecchio is a link in the
+chain binding Florence to the Eternal City. A Roman bridge stood here
+of old, and a Roman road may be said to have run across it; it heard
+the tramp of Roman legionaries, and shook beneath the horses of
+Totila's Gothic chivalry. This Roman bridge possibly lasted down to
+the great inundation of 1333. The present structure, erected by Taddeo
+Gaddi after 1360, with its exquisite framed pictures of the river and
+city in the centre, is one of the most characteristic bits of old
+Florence still remaining. The shops of goldsmiths and jewellers were
+originally established here in the days of Cosimo I., for whom Giorgio
+Vasari built the gallery that runs above to connect the two Grand
+Ducal Palaces. Connecting the Porta Romana with the heart of the city,
+the bridge has witnessed most of the great pageants and processions in
+Florentine history. Popes and Emperors have crossed it in state;
+Florentine generals, or hireling condottieri, at the head of their
+victorious troops; the Piagnoni, bearing the miraculous Madonna of the
+Impruneta to save the city from famine and pestilence; and
+Savonarola's new Cyrus, Charles VIII., as conqueror, with lance
+levelled. Across it, in 1515, was Pope Leo X. borne in his litter,
+blessing the people to right and left, amidst the exultant cries of
+_Palle, Palle!_ from the crowd, who had forgotten for the time all the
+crimes of his house in their delight at seeing their countryman, the
+son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, raised to the papal throne.
+
+In Dante's day, what remained of the famous statue supposed of Mars,
+_quella pietra scema che guarda il ponte_, "that mutilated stone which
+guardeth the bridge," still stood here at the corner, probably at the
+beginning of the present Lungarno Acciaiuoli. "I was of that city that
+changed its first patron for the Baptist," says an unknown suicide in
+the seventh circle of Hell, probably one of the Mozzi: "on which
+account he with his art will ever make it sorrowful. And were it not
+that at the passage of the Arno there yet remains some semblance of
+him, those citizens, who afterwards rebuilt it on the ashes left by
+Attila, would have laboured in vain." Here, as we saw in chapter i.,
+young Buondelmonte was murdered in 1215, a sacrifice to Mars in the
+city's "last time of peace," _nella sua pace postrema_.
+
+  [Illustration: THE PONTE VECCHIO]
+
+Lower down comes the Ponte Santa Trinità, originally built in 1252;
+and still lower the Ponte alla Carraia, built between 1218 and 1220 in
+the days of Frederick II., for the sake of the growing commerce of the
+Borgo Ognissanti. This latter bridge was originally called the Ponte
+Nuovo, as at that time the only other bridge over the Arno was the
+Ponte Vecchio. It was here that a terrible disaster took place on
+May 1st, 1304--a strange piece of grim mediæval jesting by the irony
+of fate turned to still grimmer earnest. After a cruel period of
+disasters and faction fights, there had come a momentary gleam of
+peace, and it was determined to renew the pageants and festivities
+that had been held in better days on May-day, "in the good time
+passed, of the tranquil and good state of Florence," each contrada
+trying to rival the other. What followed had best be told in the words
+of Giovanni Villani, an eye-witness:--
+
+"Amongst the others, the folk of the Borgo San Frediano, who had been
+wont of yore to devise the newest and most diverse pastimes, sent out
+a proclamation, that those who wished to know news of the other world
+should be upon the Ponte alla Carraia and around the Arno on the day
+of the calends of May. And they arranged scaffolds on the Arno upon
+boats and ships, and made thereon the likeness and figure of Hell with
+fires and other pains and torments, with men arrayed like demons,
+horrible to behold, and others who bore the semblance of naked souls,
+that seemed real persons; and they hurled them into those divers
+torments with loud cries and shrieks and uproar, the which seemed
+hateful and appalling to hear and to behold. Many were the citizens
+that gathered here to witness this new sport; and the Ponte alla
+Carraia, the which was then of wood from pile to pile, was so laden
+with folk that it broke down in several places, and fell with the
+people who were upon it, whereby many persons died there and were
+drowned, and many were grieviously injured; so that the game was
+changed from jest to earnest, and, as the proclamation had run, so
+indeed did many depart in death to hear news of the other world, with
+great mourning and lamentation to all the city, for each one thought
+that he had lost son or brother."
+
+The famous inundation of November 1333 swept away all the bridges,
+excepting the Ponte Rubaconte. The present Ponte Santa Trinità and
+Ponte alla Carraia were erected for Duke Cosimo I. by Bartolommeo
+Ammanati, shortly after the middle of the sixteenth century.
+
+Turning from the river at the Ponte Vecchio by the Via Por Sta. Maria,
+we see on the right the old church of San Stefano, with a completely
+modernised interior. Here in 1426 Rinaldo degli Albizzi and Niccolò da
+Uzzano held a meeting of some seventy citizens, and Rinaldo proposed
+to check the growing power of the populace by admitting the magnates
+into the government and reducing the number of Arti Minori. Their plan
+failed through the opposition of Giovanni dei Medici, who acquired
+much popularity thereby. It should be remembered that it was not here,
+as usually stated, but in the Badia, which was also dedicated to St.
+Stephen, that Boccaccio lectured on Dante.
+
+Right and left two very old streets diverge, the Via Lambertesca and
+the Borgo Santissimi Apostoli, with splendid mediæval towers. In the
+former, at the angle of the Via di Por Santa Maria, are the towers of
+the Girolami and Gherardini, round which there was fierce fighting in
+the expulsion of the Ghibellines in 1266. Opposite, at the opening of
+the Borgo Santissimi Apostoli, are the towers of the Baldovinetti (the
+tower of San Zenobio) and of the Amidei--_la casa di che nacque il
+vostro fleto_, as Cacciaguida puts it to Dante: "the house from which
+your wailing sprang," whose feud with the Buondelmonti was supposed to
+have originated the Guelf and Ghibelline factions in Florence. And
+further down the Borgo Santissimi Apostoli, at the opening of the
+Chiasso delle Misure, is the tall and stately tower of these
+Buondelmonti themselves, who also had a palace on the opposite side of
+the street.
+
+The old church of the Santissimi Apostoli, in the Piazza del Limbo,
+has an inscription on its façade stating that it was founded by
+Charlemagne, and consecrated by Archbishop Turpin, with Roland and
+Oliver as witnesses. It appears to have been built in the eleventh
+century, and is the oldest church on this side of the Arno, with the
+exception of the Baptistery. Its interior, which is well preserved, is
+said to have been taken by Filippo Brunelleschi as the model for San
+Lorenzo and Santo Spirito. In it is a beautiful Ciborium by Andrea
+della Robbia, with monuments of some of the Altoviti family.
+
+  [Illustration: THE TOWER OF S. ZANOBI]
+
+The Piazza Santa Trinità was a great place for social and other
+gatherings in mediæval and renaissance Florence. Here on the first of
+May 1300, a dance of girls was being held to greet the calends of May
+in the old Florentine fashion, when a band of mounted youths of the
+Donati, Pazzi and Spini came to blows with a rival company of the
+Cerchi and their allies; and thus the first blood was shed in the
+disastrous struggle between the Bianchi and Neri. A few days later a
+similar faction fight took place on the other side of the bridge, in
+the Piazza Frescobaldi, on the occasion of a lady's funeral. The
+great Palazzo Spini, opposite the church, was built at the end of the
+thirteenth and beginning of the fourteenth century by Geri Spini, the
+rich papal banker and one of the leaders of the "black" faction. Here
+he received the Pope's ambassadors and made a great display of his
+wealth and magnificence, as we gather from Boccaccio's _Decameron_,
+which gives us an amusing story of his friendship with Cisti the
+baker, and another of the witty repartees of Madonna Oretta, Geri's
+wife, a lady of the Malaspina. When Charles of Valois entered Florence
+in November 1301, Messer Geri entertained a portion of the French
+barons here, while the Prince himself took up his quarters with the
+Frescobaldi over the river; during that tumultuous period of
+Florentine history that followed the expulsion of the Bianchi, Geri
+was one of the most prominent politicians in the State.
+
+Savonarola's processions of friars and children used to pass through
+this piazza and over the bridge, returning by way of the Ponte
+Vecchio. On the Feast of Corpus Christi, 1497, as the Blessed
+Sacrament was being borne along, with many children carrying red
+crosses, they were set upon by some of the Compagnacci. The story is
+quaintly told by Landucci: "As the said procession was passing over
+the Bridge of Santa Trinità, certain youths were standing to see it
+pass, by the side of a little church which is on the bridge on the
+right hand going towards Santo Spirito. Seeing those children with the
+crosses, they said: 'Here are the children of Fra Girolamo.' And one
+of them coming up to them, took one of these crosses and, snatching it
+out of the hand of that child, broke it and threw it into the Arno, as
+though he had been an infidel; and all this he did for hatred of the
+Friar."
+
+The column in the Piazza--taken from the Baths of Caracalla at
+Rome--was set here by Duke Cosimo I., to celebrate his victory over
+the heroic Piero Strozzi, _il maravigliosissimo bravo Piero Strozzi_
+as Benvenuto Cellini calls him, in 1563. The porphyry statue of
+Justice was set high up on this pedestal by the most unjust of all
+rulers of Florence, the Grand Duke Francesco I., Cosimo's son. This
+same piazza witnessed a not over friendly meeting of Leonardo da Vinci
+and Michelangelo. Leonardo, at the time that he was engaged upon his
+cartoon for the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, was walking in the square,
+dressed in his usual sumptuous fashion, with a rose coloured tunic
+reaching down to his knees; when a group of citizens, who were
+discussing Dante, called him and asked him the meaning of a passage in
+question. At that moment Michelangelo passed by, and Leonardo
+courteously referred them to him. "Explain it yourself," said the
+great sculptor, "you, who made the model of a horse to cast in bronze,
+and could not cast it, and to your shame left it in the lurch."[50]
+And he abruptly turned his back on the group, leaving Leonardo red
+with either shame or anger.
+
+  [50] See Addington Symonds' _Michelangelo_. The horse in question was
+  the equestrian monument of Francesco Sforza.
+
+The church of Santa Trinità was originally built in the Gothic style
+by Niccolò Pisano, shortly after 1250, in the days of the Primo Popolo
+and contemporaneously with the Palazzo del Podestà. It was largely
+altered by Buontalenti in the last part of the sixteenth century, and
+has been recently completely restored. It is a fine example of Italian
+Gothic. In the interior, are a Mary Magdalene by Desiderio da
+Settignano and a marble altar by Benedetto da Rovezzano; and also, in
+one of the chapels of the right aisle, an Annunciation by Don
+Lorenzo, one of his best works, with some frescoes, partly obliterated
+and much "restored," by the same good Camaldolese monk.
+
+But the great attraction of this church is the Sassetti Chapel next to
+the sacristy, which contains a splendid series of frescoes painted in
+1485 by Domenico Ghirlandaio. The altar piece is only a copy of the
+original, now in the Accademia. The frescoes represent scenes from the
+life of St. Francis, and should be compared with Giotto's simpler
+handling of the same theme in the Bardi Chapel at Santa Croce. We have
+the Saint renouncing the world, the confirmation of his rule by
+Honorius, his preaching to the Soldan, his reception of the Stigmata,
+his death and funeral (in which the life-like spectacled bishop
+aroused Vasari's enthusiastic admiration), and the raising to life of
+a child of the Sassetti family by an apparition of St. Francis in the
+Piazza outside the church. The last is especially interesting as
+giving us a picture of the Piazza in its former state, such as it
+might have been in the Mayday faction fight, with the Spini Palace,
+the older bridge, and the houses of the Frescobaldi beyond the river.
+Each fresco is full of interesting portraits; among the spectators in
+the consistory is Lorenzo the Magnificent; Ghirlandaio himself appears
+in the death scene; and, perhaps, most interesting of all, if Vasari's
+identification can be trusted, are the three who stand on the right
+near the church in the scene of the resuscitation of the child. These
+three are said to be Maso degli Albizzi, the founder of the party of
+the Ottimati, those _nobili popolani_ who held the State before they
+were eclipsed by the Medici; Agnolo Acciaiuoli, who was ruined by
+adhering to Luca Pitti against Piero dei Medici; and that noblest of
+all the Medicean victims, Palla Strozzi (_see_ chapter iii.). It
+should, however, be remembered that Maso degli Albizzi had died
+nearly seventy years before, and that not even Palla Strozzi can be
+regarded as a contemporary portrait. The sacristy of this church was
+founded by the Strozzi, and one of the house, Onofrio, lies buried
+within it. Extremely fine, too, are the portraits of Francesco
+Sassetti himself and his wife, kneeling below near the altar, also by
+Ghirlandaio, who likewise painted the sibyls on the ceiling and the
+fresco representing the sibyl prophesying of the Incarnation to
+Augustus, over the entrance to the chapel. The sepulchral monuments of
+Francesco and his wife are by Giuliano da San Gallo.
+
+The famous Crucifix of San Miniato, which bowed its head to San
+Giovanni Gualberto when he spared the murderer of his brother, was
+transferred to Santa Trinità in 1671 with great pomp and ceremony, and
+is still preserved here.
+
+In June 1301 a council was held in the church by the leaders of the
+Neri, nominally to bring about a concord with the rival faction, in
+reality to entrap the Cerchi and pave the way for their expulsion by
+foreign aid. Among the Bianchi present was the chronicler, Dino
+Compagni; "desirous of unity and peace among citizens," and, before
+the council broke up, he made a strong appeal to the more factious
+members. "Signors," he said, "why would you confound and undo so good
+a city? Against whom would you fight? Against your own brothers? What
+victory shall ye have? Nought else but lamentation." The Neri answered
+that the object of their council was merely to stop scandal and
+establish peace; but it soon became known that there was a conspiracy
+between them and the Conte Simone da Battifolle of the Casentino, who
+was sending his son with a strong force towards Florence. Simone dei
+Bardi (who had been the husband of Beatrice Portinari) appears to
+have been the connecting link of the conspiracy, which the prompt
+action of the Signoria checked for the present. The evil day, however,
+was postponed, not averted.
+
+Following the Via di Parione we reach the back of the Palazzo
+Corsini--a large seventeenth century palace whose front is on the
+Lungarno. Here is a large picture gallery, in which a good many of the
+pictures are erroneously ascribed, but which contains a few more
+important works. The two gems of the collection are Botticelli's
+portrait of a Goldsmith (210), formerly ascribed to one of the
+Pollaiuoli; and Luca Signorelli's tondo (157), of Madonna and Child
+with St. Jerome and St. Bernard. A Madonna and Child with Angels and
+the Baptist (162) by Filippino Lippi, or ascribed to him, is a
+charming and poetical picture; but is not admitted by Mr Berenson into
+his list of genuine works by this painter. The supposed cartoon for
+Raphael's Julius II. is of very doubtful authenticity. The picture of
+the martyrdom of Savonarola (292) is interesting and valuable as
+affording a view of the Piazza at that epoch, but cannot be regarded
+as an accurate historical representation of the event. That
+seventeenth century reincarnation of Lorenzo di Credi, Carlo Dolci, is
+represented here by several pictures which are above his usual level;
+for instance, Poetry (179) is a really beautiful thing of its kind.
+Among the other pictures is a little Apollo and Daphne (241), probably
+an early work of Andrea del Sarto. The Raffaellino di Carlo who
+painted the Madonna and Saints (200), is not to be confused with
+Filippino's pupil, Raffaellino del Garbo.
+
+In the Via Tornabuoni, the continuation of the Piazza Santa Trinità,
+stands the finest of all Florentine palaces of the Renaissance, the
+Palazzo Strozzi. It was begun in 1489 for the elder Filippo Strozzi,
+with the advice and encouragement of Lorenzo the Magnificent, by
+Benedetto da Maiano, and continued by Simone del Pollaiuolo (called
+"Cronaca" from his yarning propensities), to whom the cornice and
+court are due. It was finished for the younger Filippo Strozzi, the
+husband of Clarice dei Medici, shortly before his fall, in the days of
+Duke Alessandro. The works in iron on the exterior--lanterns,
+torch-holders and the like, especially a wonderful _fanale_ at the
+corner--are by Niccolò Grosso (called "Caparra" from his habit of
+demanding payment in advance), and the finest things of their kind
+imaginable. Filippo Strozzi played a curiously inconstant part in the
+history of the closing days of the Republic. After having been the
+most intimate associate of his brother-in-law, the younger Lorenzo, he
+was instrumental first in the expulsion of Ippolito and Alessandro,
+then in the establishment of Alessandro's tyranny; and finally,
+finding himself cast by the irony of fate for the part of the last
+Republican hero, he took the field against Duke Cosimo, only to find a
+miserable end in a dungeon. One of his daughters, Luisa Capponi, was
+believed to have been poisoned by order of Alessandro; his son, Piero,
+became the bravest Italian captain of the sixteenth century and
+carried on a heroic contest with Cosimo's mercenary troops.
+
+  [Illustration: ARMS OF THE STROZZI]
+
+Down the Via della Vigna Nuova is another of these Renaissance
+palaces, built for a similar noble family associated with the
+Medici,--the Palazzo Rucellai. Bernardo Rucellai--who was not
+originally of noble origin, but whose family had acquired what in
+Florence was the real title to nobility, vast wealth in
+commerce--married Nannina, the younger sister of Lorenzo the
+Magnificent, and had this palace begun for him in 1460 by Bernardo
+Rossellino from the design of Leo Battista Alberti,--to whom also the
+Rucellai loggia opposite is due. More of Alberti's work for the
+Rucellai may be seen at the back of the palace, in the Via della
+Spada, where in the former church of San Pancrazio (which gave its
+name to a _sesto_ in old Florence) is the chapel which he built for
+Bernardo Rucellai in imitation of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
+
+The Via delle Belle Donne--most poetically named of Florentine
+streets--leads hence into the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella. On the
+way, where five roads meet, is the Croce al Trebbio, with symbols of
+the four Evangelists below the Crucifix. It marks the site of one of
+St Peter Martyr's fiercest triumphs over the Paterini, one of those
+"marvellous works" for which Savonarola, in his last address to his
+friars, complains that the Florentines had been so ungrateful towards
+his Order. But the story of the Dominicans of Santa Maria Novella is
+not one of persecution, but of peace-making. They played at times as
+noble a part in mediæval Florence as their brethren of San Marco were
+to do in the early Renaissance; and later, during the great siege,
+they took up the work of Fra Girolamo, and inspired the people to
+their last heroic defence of the Republic.
+
+Opposite Santa Maria Novella is the Loggia di San Paolo, designed by
+Brunelleschi, and erected in 1451, shortly after his death. The
+coloured terracotta reliefs, by Andrea della Robbia, include two fine
+portraits of governors of the hospital (not of the Della Robbia
+themselves, as frequently stated). The relief in a lunette over the
+door on the right, representing the meeting of St Francis and St
+Dominic, is one of Andrea's best works:--
+
+     "L'un fu tutto serafico in ardore,
+        l'altro per sapienza in terra fue
+        di cherubica luce uno splendore.
+      Dell'un dirò, però che d'ambedue
+        si dice l'un pregiando, qual ch'uom prende,
+        perchè ad un fine fur l'opere sue."[51]
+
+  [51] "The one was all seraphic in his ardour, the other by his
+         wisdom was on earth a splendour of cherubic light.
+       "Of one will I discourse, because of both the two he speaketh
+         who doth either praise, which so he will; for to one end
+         their works."
+           --Wicksteed's translation, _Paradiso_ xi.
+
+In 1212, three years before the murder of Buondelmonte, the first band
+of Franciscans had come to Florence, sent thither by St Francis
+himself from Assisi. A few years later, at the invitation of a
+Florentine merchant Diodato, who had built a chapel and house as an
+act of restitution, St Dominic, from Bologna, sent the Blessed John of
+Salerno with twelve friars to occupy this mission at Ripoli, about
+three miles beyond where now stands the Gate of S. Niccolò. Thence
+they extended their apostolic labours into the city, and when St
+Dominic came, at the end of 1219, they had already made progress.
+Finally they moved into the city--first to San Pancrazio, and at
+length settled at Santa Maria tra le Vigne, a little church then
+outside the walls, where B. Giovanni was installed by the Pope's
+legate and the bishop in 1221. Before the church, in the present
+piazza, St Peter Martyr, the "hammer of the heretics," fought the
+Paterini with both spiritual and material arms. At last, the growth of
+the order requiring larger room, on St Luke's day, 1278, Cardinal
+Latino de' Frangipani laid here the first stone of Santa Maria
+Novella.
+
+Where once the little church of Our Lady among the Vines stood outside
+the second circuit of the city's walls, rises now the finest Italian
+Gothic church in Florence. Less than a year after it had been
+commenced, the same Dominican cardinal who had laid the first stone
+summoned a mass meeting in the Piazza, and succeeded in patching up a
+temporary peace between Guelfs and Ghibellines, and among the Guelf
+magnates themselves, 1279. This Cardinal Latino left a memory revered
+in Florence, and Fra Angelico, in the picture now in our National
+Gallery, placed him among the glorified saints attending upon the
+resurrection of Our Lord. Some twenty years later, in November 1301, a
+parliament was held within the still unfinished church, at which
+another Papal peacemaker, the infamous Charles of Valois, in the
+presence of the Priors of the Republic, the Podestà and the Captain,
+the bishop and chief citizens, received the _balìa_ to guard Florence
+and pacify the Guelfs, and swore on the faith of the son of a king to
+preserve the city in peace and prosperity. We have seen how he kept
+his word. Santa Maria Novella, in 1304, was the centre of the sincere
+and devoted attempts made by Boniface's successor, the sainted
+Benedict XI., to heal the wounds of Florence; attempts in which,
+throughout Italy, the Dominicans were his "angels of peace," as he
+called his missioners. When the Republic finally fell into the hands
+of Cosimo dei Medici in 1434, the exiled Pope Eugenius IV. was staying
+in the adjoining monastery; it was here that he made his unsuccessful
+attempt to mediate, and heard the bitter farewell words of Rinaldo
+degli Albizzi: "I blame myself most of all, because I believed that
+you, who had been hunted out of your own country, could keep me in
+mine."
+
+  [Illustration: IN THE GREEN CLOISTERS, S. MARIA NOVELLA]
+
+The church itself, striped tiger-like in black and white marble,
+was constructed from the designs of three Dominican friars, Fra
+Ristoro da Campi, Fra Sisto, and Fra Giovanni da Campi. Fra Giovanni
+was a scholar or imitator of Arnolfo di Cambio, and the two former
+were the architects who restored the Ponte alla Carraia and the Ponte
+Santa Trinità after their destruction in 1269. The façade (with the
+exception of the lower part, which belongs to the fourteenth century)
+was designed by Leo Battista Alberti, whose friends the Rucellai were
+the chief benefactors of this church; the lovely but completely
+restored pointed arcades on the right, with niches for tombs and
+armorial bearings, were designed by Brunelleschi. On the left, though
+in part reduced to vile usage, there is a bit comparatively less
+altered. The interior was completed soon after the middle of the
+fourteenth century, when Fra Jacopo Passavanti--the author of that
+model of pure Tuscan prose, _Lo Specchio della vera Penitenza_--was
+Prior of the convent. The campanile is said to have been designed by
+another Dominican, Fra Jacopo Talenti, the probable architect of the
+so-called Spanish Chapel in the cloisters on the left of the church,
+of which more presently.
+
+During the great siege of Florence the mantle of Savonarola seemed to
+have fallen upon the heroic Prior of Santa Maria Novella, Fra
+Benedetto da Foiano. When the news of the alliance between Pope and
+Emperor came to Florence, while all Bologna was in festa for the
+coronation of the Emperor, Varchi tells us that Fra Benedetto
+delivered a great sermon in the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, which was
+thrown open to all who would come to hear; in which sermon he proved
+from passages in the Old and New Testaments that Florence would be
+delivered from all dangers, and then enjoy perpetual perfect felicity
+in the liberty she so desired. With such grace and eloquence did he
+speak, that the vast audience was moved to tears and to joy by turns.
+At the end, "with ineffable gestures and words," he gave to the
+Gonfaloniere, Raffaello Girolami, a standard upon one side of which
+was a Christ victorious over the hostile soldiery, and upon the other
+the red Cross of the Florentine Commune, saying: _Cum hoc et in hoc
+vinces._ After the capitulation Malatesta Baglioni seized the friar
+and sent him to Rome, where he was slowly starved to death in the
+dungeon of Sant' Angelo.
+
+The interior was thus not quite finished, when Boccaccio's seven
+maidens met here on a Wednesday morning in early spring in that
+terrible year of pestilence, 1348; yet we may readily picture to
+ourselves the scene described in the introduction to the _Decameron_;
+the empty church; the girls in their dark mourning garb, after hearing
+Mass, seated together in a side chapel and gradually passing from
+telling their beads to discussing more mundane matters; and then, no
+sooner do three members of the other sex appear upon the scenes than a
+sudden gleam of gladness lights up their faces, and even the plague
+itself is forgotten. One of them, indeed, blushed; "she became all
+crimson in the face through modesty," says Boccaccio, "because there
+was one of their number who was beloved by one of these youths;" but
+afterwards found no difficulty in rivalling the others in the
+impropriety of her talk.
+
+Entering the western portal, we find ourselves in a nave of rather
+large proportions, somewhat dark but not without a glow from the
+stained glass windows--adapted above all for preaching. As in Santa
+Croce, it is cut across by a line of chapels, thus giving the whole a
+T shape, and what represents the apse is merely a deeper and taller
+recess behind the high altar. There is nothing much to interest us
+here in the nave or aisles, save, by the side of the central door,
+one of the very few extant works of Masaccio, a fresco representing
+the Blessed Trinity adored by the Madonna and St. John, with two
+kneeling donors--portraits of which no amount of restoration can
+altogether destroy the truth and grandeur. The Annunciation, on the
+opposite side of the door, is a mediocre fresco of the fourteenth
+century. The Crucifix above is one of several works of the kind
+ascribed to Giotto.
+
+It will be best to take the chapels at the end of the nave and in the
+transepts in the order into which they fall, as illustrating the
+development of Florentine art.
+
+On the right a flight of steps leads up into the Rucellai chapel
+where, half concealed in darkness, hangs the famous picture once
+supposed to mark the very birthday of Florentine painting. That
+Cimabue really painted a glorious Madonna for this church, which was
+worshipped by a king and hailed with acclamation by a rejoicing
+people, is to be most firmly and devoutly held. Unfortunately, it
+seems highly probable that this picture is not Cimabue's Madonna. It
+is decidedly Sienese in character, and, as there is documentary
+evidence that Duccio of Siena painted a Madonna for Santa Maria
+Novella, and as the attendant Angels are in all respects similar to
+those in Duccio's authenticated works, the picture is probably his. It
+deserves all veneration, nevertheless, for it is a noble picture in
+the truest sense of the word. In the same chapel is the monument of
+the Dominican nun, the Beata Villana, by Bernardo Rossellino.
+
+Crossing the church to the chapel in the left transept, the Strozzi
+Chapel, we mount into the true atmosphere of the Middle Ages--into one
+of those pictured theatres which set before us in part what Dante gave
+in full in his _Commedia_. The whole chapel is dedicated to St. Thomas
+Aquinas, the glory of the philosophy of the mediæval world and, above
+all, of the Dominican order, whose cardinal virtues are extolled in
+allegorical fashion on the ceiling; but the frescoes are drawn from
+the work of his greatest Florentine disciple, Dante Alighieri, in
+whose poem Thomas mainly lives for the non-Catholic world. It contains
+all Orcagna's extant work in painting. The altar piece, executed by
+Andrea Orcagna in 1357, is the grandest of its kind belonging to the
+Giottesque period. Its central motive, of the Saviour delivering the
+keys to St. Peter and the Summa to St. Thomas, the spiritual and
+philosophical regimens of the mediæval world, is very finely rendered;
+while the angelic choir is a foretaste of Angelico. Madonna presents
+St. Thomas; the Baptist, St. Peter; Michael and Catherine are in
+attendance upon the Queen of Heaven, Lawrence and Paul upon the
+Precursor. The predella represents St. Peter walking upon the waves,
+with on either side an episode in the life of St. Thomas and a miracle
+of St. Lawrence. The frescoes are best seen on a very bright morning,
+shortly before noon. The Last Judgment, by Andrea, shows the
+traditional representation of the Angels with trumpets and with the
+emblems of the Passion, wheeling round the Judge; and the dead rising
+to judgment, impelled irresistibly to right or left even before the
+sentence is pronounced. Above the one band, kneels the white-robed
+Madonna in intercession--type of the Divine Mercy as in Dante; over
+the others, at the head of the Apostles, is the Baptist who seems
+appealing for judgment--type of the Divine Justice. This placing Mary
+and St John opposite to each other, as in Dante's Rose of Paradise, is
+typical of Florentine art; Santa Maria del Fiore and San Giovanni are,
+as it were, inseparable. Among the blessed is Dante, gazing up in
+fixed adoration at the Madonna, as when following St Bernard's prayer
+at the close of his Vision; on the other side some of the faces of the
+lost are a miracle of expression. The Hell on the right wall, by
+Andrea's brother Leonardo, is more immediately taken from the
+_Commedia_. The Paradise on the left, or, rather, the Empyrean
+Heaven--with the faces _suadi di carità_, Angels and Saints absorbed
+in vision and love of God--is by Andrea himself, and is more directly
+pictorial than Dante's _Paradiso_ could admit. Christ and the Madonna
+are enthroned side by side, whereas we do not actually see Him in
+human form in the _Commedia_,--perhaps in accordance with that
+reverence which impels the divine poet to make the name _Cristo_ rhyme
+with nothing but itself. For sheer loveliness in detail, no other
+fourteenth century master produced anything to compare with this
+fresco; it may be said to mark the advent of a new element in Italian
+art.
+
+Thence we pass into the early Renaissance with Brunelleschi and
+Ghiberti, with Ghirlandaio and Filippino Lippi. In the chapel to the
+left of the choir hangs Filippo Brunelleschi's famous wooden Crucifix,
+carved in friendly rivalry with Donatello. The rival piece,
+Donatello's share in this sculptured _tenzone_, has been seen in Santa
+Croce.
+
+In the choir are frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio, and a fine brass by
+Lorenzo Ghiberti. These frescoes were begun in 1486, immediately after
+the completion of the Santa Trinità series, and finished in 1490; and,
+though devoid of the highest artistic qualities, are eminently
+characteristic of their epoch. Though representing scenes from the
+life of the Madonna and the Baptist, this is entirely subordinated to
+the portrait groups of noble Florentines and their ladies, introduced
+as usually utterly uninterested spectators of the sacred events. As
+religious pictures they are naught; but as representations of
+contemporary Florentine life, most valuable. Hardly elsewhere shall
+you see so fine a series of portraits of the men and women of the
+early Renaissance; but they have other things to think of than the
+Gospel history. Look at the scene of the Angel appearing to Zacharias.
+The actual event is hardly noticed; hidden in the throng of citizens,
+too busily living the life of the Renaissance to attend to such
+trifles; besides, it would not improve their style to read St. Luke.
+In the Visitation, the Nativity of the Baptist, the Nativity of the
+Blessed Virgin, a fashionable beauty of the period sweeps in with her
+attendants--and it is hardly uncharitable to suppose that, if not
+herself, at least her painter thought more of her fine clothes than of
+her devotional aspect. The portraits of the donors, Giovanni
+Tornabuoni and his wife, are on the window wall. In the scene of the
+expulsion of Joachim from the Temple, a group of painters stands
+together (towards the window); the old cleanly-shaven man in a red hat
+is Alessio Baldovinetti, Ghirlandaio's master; next to him, with a lot
+of dark hair, dressed in a red mantle and blue vest, is Domenico
+Ghirlandaio himself; his pupil and brother-in-law, Sebastiano
+Mainardi, and his brother, David Ghirlandaio, are with him--the latter
+being the figure with shoulder turned and hat on head. In the
+apparition to Zacharias, among the numerous portraits, a group of four
+half figures discussing at the foot of the history is of special
+interest; three of them are said to represent Marsilio Ficino,
+Cristoforo Landini, and Angelo Poliziano (in the middle, slightly
+raising his hand); the fourth, turned to speak to Landini, is said by
+Vasari to be a famous teacher of Greek, Demetrius, but now supposed to
+be Gentile Becchi, a learned bishop of Arezzo. The stained glass was
+designed by Filippino Lippi. Under the high altar rests the body of
+the Blessed John of Salerno, the "Apostle of Florence," who brought
+the first band of Dominicans to the city.
+
+Less admired, but in some respects more admirable, are the frescoes by
+Filippino Lippi in the chapel on the right of the choir, almost his
+last works, painted about 1502, and very much injured by restoration.
+The window is also from his design. The frescoes represent scenes from
+the lives of St. John and St. Philip, and are remarkable for their
+lavish display of Roman antiquities, in which they challenge
+comparison with Andrea Mantegna. The scene of St. Philip exorcising
+the dragon is especially fine. Observe how the characteristic
+intensity of the school of Botticelli is shown in the way in which the
+very statues take part in the action. Mars flourishes his broken
+spear, his wolves and kites cower to him for protection from the
+emissaries of the new faith, whose triumph is further symbolised in
+the two figures above of ancient deities conquered by Angels. An
+analogous instance will be found in Botticelli's famous Calumny in the
+Uffizi. In this statue of Mars is seen the last rendering of the old
+Florentine tradition of their _primo padrone_. Thus, perhaps, did the
+new pagans of the Renaissance lovingly idealise "that mutilated stone
+which guards the bridge."
+
+The monument of the elder Filippo Strozzi, in the same chapel, is a
+fine piece of work by Benedetto da Maiano, with a lovely tondo of the
+Madonna and Child attended by Angels. And we should also notice
+Giovanni della Robbia's fountain in the sacristy, before passing into
+the cloisters.
+
+Here in the cloisters we pass back again into more purely mediæval
+thought. Passing some early frescoes of the life of the Madonna--the
+dream of Joachim, his meeting St. Anne, the Birth and Presentation of
+the Blessed Virgin--which Ruskin believed to be by Giotto himself--we
+enter to the left the delicious Green Cloisters; a pleasant lounging
+place in summer. In the lunettes along the walls are frescoed scenes
+from Genesis in _terra verde_, of which the most notable are by Paolo
+Uccello--the Flood and the Sacrifice of Noah. Uccello's interests were
+scientific rather than artistic. These frescoes are amazingly clever
+exercises in the new art of perspective, the _dolce cosa_ as he called
+it when his wife complained of his absorption; but are more curious
+than beautiful, and hardly inspire us with more than mild admiration
+at the painter's cleverness in poising the figure--which, we regret to
+say, he intends for the Almighty--so ingeniously in mid air.
+
+But out of these cloisters, on the right, opens the so-called Spanish
+Chapel--the Cappella degli Spagnuoli--one of the rarest buildings in
+Italy for the student of mediæval doctrine. Here, as in the Strozzi
+Chapel, we are in the grasp of the same mighty spirit that inspired
+the _Divina Commedia_ and the _De Monarchia_, although the actual
+execution falls far below the design. The chapel--designed by Fra
+Jacopo Talenti in 1320--was formerly the chapter-house of the convent;
+it seems to have acquired the title of Spanish Chapel in the days of
+Duke Cosimo I., when Spaniards swarmed in Florence and were wont to
+hold solemn festival here on St. James' day. The frescoes that cover
+its ceiling and walls were executed about the middle of the fourteenth
+century--according to Vasari by Simone Martini and Taddeo Gaddi,
+though this seems highly doubtful. Their general design is possibly
+due to Fra Jacopo Passavanti. They set forth the Dominican ideal, the
+Church and the world as the Friars Preachers conceived of them, even
+as Giotto's famous allegories at Assisi show us the same through
+Franciscan glasses. While Orcagna painted the world beyond the grave
+in honour of the Angelical Doctor, these artists set forth the present
+world as it should be under his direction and that of his brothers,
+the "hounds of the Lord," _domini canes_, who defended the _orto
+cattolico_.
+
+The vaulted roof is divided into four segments; and the picture in
+each segment corresponds to a great fresco on the wall below. On the
+wall opposite, as we enter, is represented the supreme event of the
+world's history, from which all the rest starts and upon which the
+whole hinges, the Passion of Christ, leading up to the Resurrection on
+the roof above it. On the segment of the roof over the door is the
+Ascension, and on the wall below was shown (now much damaged) how the
+Dominicans received and carried out Christ's last injunction to His
+disciples. In the left segment of the roof is the Descent of the Holy
+Spirit; and beneath it, on the wall, the result of this outpouring
+upon the world of intellect is shown in the triumph of Philosophy in
+the person of Aquinas, its supreme mediæval exponent. In the right
+segment is the Ship of Peter; and, on the wall below, is seen how
+Peter becomes a fisher of men, the triumph of his Church under the
+guidance of the Dominicans. These two great allegorical frescoes--the
+triumph of St. Thomas and the _civil briga_ of the Church--are thus a
+more complete working out of the scheme set forth more simply by
+Orcagna in his altar piece in the Strozzi Chapel above--the functions
+delegated by Christ to Peter and St. Thomas--the power of the Keys and
+the doctrine of the _Summa Theologica_.
+
+In the centre of the philosophical allegory, St. Thomas Aquinas is
+seated on a Gothic throne, with an open book in his hands bearing the
+text from the Book of Wisdom with which the Church begins her lesson
+in his honour: _Optavi, et datus est mihi sensus. Invocavi, et venit
+in me spiritus sapientiae; et praeposui illam regnis et sedibus._[52]
+Over his head hover seven Angels, invested with the emblems of the
+three theological and four cardinal virtues; around him are seated the
+Apostles and Prophets, in support of his doctrine; beneath his feet
+heresiarchs are humbled--Sabellius and Arius, to wit--and even
+Averrhoes, who "made the great comment," seems subdued. Below, in
+fourteen little shrines, are allegorical figures of the fourteen
+sciences which meet and are given ultimate form in his work, and at
+the feet of each maiden sits some great exponent of the science. From
+right to left, the seven liberal arts of the Trivium and Quadrivium
+lead up to the Science of Numbers, represented on earth by Pythagoras;
+from left to right, the earthly and celestial sciences lead up to
+Dogmatic Theology, represented by Augustine.[53]
+
+  [52] "I desired, and understanding was given me. I prayed, and the
+  spirit of Wisdom came upon me; and I preferred her before kingdoms and
+  thrones."
+
+  [53] The identification of each science and its representative is
+  rather doubtful, especially in the celestial series. From altar to
+  centre, Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic are represented by Aelius
+  Donatus, Cicero and Aristotle (or Zeno); Music, Astronomy, Geometry,
+  Arithmetic by Tubal Cain, Zoroaster (or Ptolemy), Euclid and
+  Pythagoras. From window to centre, Civil Law is represented by
+  Justinian, Canon Law by Innocent III., Philosophy apparently by
+  Boethius; the next four seem to be Contemplative, Moral, Mystical and
+  Dogmatic Theology, and their representatives Jerome, John of Damascus,
+  Basil and Augustine--but, with the exception of St. Augustine, the
+  identification is quite arbitrary. Possibly if the Logician is Zeno,
+  the Philosopher is not Boethius but Aristotle; the figure above,
+  representing Philosophy, holds a mirror which seems to symbolise the
+  divine creation of the cosmic Universe.
+
+On the opposite wall is the Church militant and triumphant. Before
+Santa Maria del Fiore, here symbolising the Church militant, sit the
+two ideal guides of man, according to the dual scheme of Dante's _De
+Monarchia_--the Pope and the Emperor. On either side are seated in a
+descending line the great dignitaries of the Church and the Empire;
+Cardinal and Abbot, King and Baron; while all around are gathered the
+clergy and the laity, religious of every order, judges and nobles,
+merchants and scholars, with a few ladies kneeling on the right, one
+of whom is said to be Petrarch's Laura. Many of these figures are
+apparently portraits, but the attempts at identification--such as that
+of the Pope with Benedict XI., the Emperor with Henry VII.--are
+entirely untrustworthy. The Bishop, however, standing at the head of
+the clergy, is apparently Agnolo Acciaiuoli, Bishop of Florence; and
+the French cavalier, in short tunic and hood, standing opposite to him
+at the head of the laity (formerly called Cimabue), is said--very
+questionably--to be the Duke of Athens. At the feet of the successors
+of Peter and Cæsar are gathered the sheep and lambs of Christ's fold,
+watched over by the black and white hounds that symbolise the
+Dominicans. On the right, Dominic urges on his watchdogs against the
+heretical wolves who are carrying off the lambs of the flock; Peter
+Martyr hammers the unbelievers with the weapon of argument alone;
+Aquinas convinces them with the light of his philosophic doctrine. But
+beyond is Acrasia's Bower of Bliss, a mediaeval rendering of what
+Spenser hereafter so divinely sung in the second book of the _Faerie
+Queene_. Figures of vice sit enthroned; while seven damsels, Acrasia's
+handmaidens, dance before them; and youth sports in the shade of the
+forbidden myrtles. Then come repentance and the confessional; a
+Dominican friar (not one of the great Saints, but any humble priest of
+the order) absolves the penitents; St Dominic appears again, and shows
+them the way to Paradise; and then, becoming as little children, they
+are crowned by the Angels, and St. Peter lets them through the gate
+to join the Church Triumphant. Above in the Empyrean is the Throne of
+the Lord, with the Lamb and the four mystical Beasts, and the Madonna
+herself standing up at the head of the Angelic Hierarchies.
+
+In the great cloisters beyond, the Ciompi made their headquarters in
+1378, under their Eight of Santa Maria Novella; and, at the request of
+their leaders, the prior of the convent sent some of his preachers to
+furnish them with spiritual consolation and advice.
+
+Passing through the Piazza--where marble obelisks resting on tortoises
+mark the goals of the chariot races held here under Cosimo I. and his
+successors, on the Eve of St. John--and down the Via della Scala, we
+come to the former Spezeria of the convent, still a flourishing
+manufactory of perfumes, liqueurs and the like, though no longer in
+the hands of the friars. In what was once its chapel, are frescoes by
+Spinello Aretino and his pupils, painted at the end of the Trecento,
+and representing the Passion of Christ. They are inferior to
+Spinello's work at Siena and on San Miniato, but the Christ bearing
+the Cross has much majesty, and, in the scene of the washing of the
+feet, the nervous action of Judas as he starts up is finely conceived.
+
+The famous Orti Oricellari, the gardens of the Rucellai, lie further
+down the Via della Scala. Here in the early days of the Cinquecento
+the most brilliant literary circles of Florentine society met; and
+there was a sort of revival of the old Platonic Academy, which had
+died out with Marsilio Ficino. Machiavelli wrote for these gatherings
+his discourses on Livy and his Art of War. Although their meetings
+were mainly frequented by Mediceans, some of the younger members were
+ardent Republicans; and it was here that a conspiracy was hatched
+against the life of the Cardinal Giulio dei Medici, for which Jacopo
+da Diacceto and one of the Alamanni died upon the scaffold. In later
+days these Orti belonged to Bianca Cappello. At the corner of the
+adjoining palace is a little Madonna by Luca della Robbia; and further
+on, in a lunette on the right of the former church of San Jacopo in
+Ripoli, there is a group of Madonna and Child with St. James and St.
+Dominic, probably by Andrea della Robbia. In the Via di Palazzuolo,
+the little church of San Francesco dei Vanchetoni contains two small
+marble busts of children, exceedingly delicately modelled, supposed to
+represent the Gesù Bambino and the boy Baptist; they are ascribed to
+Donatello, but recent writers attribute them to Desiderio or
+Rossellino.
+
+In the Borgo Ognissanti, where the Swiss of Charles VIII. in 1494,
+forcing their way into the city from the Porta al Prato, were driven
+back by the inhabitants, are the church of Ognissanti and the
+Franciscan convent of San Salvadore. The church and convent originally
+belonged to the Frati Umiliati, who settled here in 1251, were largely
+influential in promoting the Florentine wool trade, and exceedingly
+democratic in their sympathies. Their convent was a great place for
+political meetings in the days of Giano della Bella, who used to walk
+in their garden taking counsel with his friends. After the siege they
+were expelled from Florence, and the church and convent made over to
+the Franciscans of the Osservanza, who are said to have brought hither
+the habit which St. Francis wore when he received the Stigmata. The
+present church was built in the second half of the sixteenth century,
+but contains some excellent pictures and frescoes belonging to the
+older edifice. Over the second altar to the right is a frescoed Pietà,
+one of the earliest works of Domenico Ghirlandaio, with above it the
+Madonna taking the Vespucci family under her protection--among them
+Amerigo, who was to give his name to the new continent of America.
+Further on, over a confessional, is Sandro Botticelli's St. Augustine,
+the only fresco of his still remaining in Florence; opposite to it,
+over a confessional on the left, is St. Jerome by Domenico
+Ghirlandaio; both apparently painted in 1480. In the left transept is
+a Crucifix ascribed to Giotto; Vasari tells us that it was the
+original of the numerous works of this kind which Puccio Capanna and
+others of his pupils multiplied through Italy. In the sacristy is a
+much restored fresco of the Crucifixion, belonging to the Trecento.
+Sandro Botticelli was buried in this church in 1510, and, two years
+later, Amerigo Vespucci in 1512. In the former Refectory of the
+convent is a fresco of the Last Supper, painted by Domenico
+Ghirlandaio in 1480, and very much finer than his similar work in San
+Marco. In the lunette over the portal of the church is represented the
+Coronation of the Blessed Virgin, by Giovanni della Robbia.
+
+The Borgo Ognissanti leads hence westward into the Via del Prato, and
+through the Porta al Prato, one of the four gates of the third wall of
+the city, begun by Arnolfo in 1284; now merely a mutilated torso of
+Arnolfo's stately structure, left stranded in the prosaic wilderness
+of the modern Viale. The fresco in the lunette is by Michele di
+Ridolfo Ghirlandaio. Down towards the Arno a single tower remains from
+the old walls, mutilated, solitary and degraded so as to look a mere
+modern bit of masonry.
+
+Beyond are the Cascine Gardens, stretching for some two miles between
+the Arno and the Mugnone, delicious to linger in, and a sacred place
+to all lovers of English poetry. For here, towards the close of 1819,
+"in a wood that skirts the Arno, near Florence, and on a day when
+that tempestuous wind, whose temperature is at once mild and
+animating, was collecting the vapours which pour down the autumnal
+rains," Shelley wrote the divinest of all English lyrics: the _Ode to
+the West Wind_.
+
+     "Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is:
+     What if my leaves are falling like its own!
+     The tumult of thy mighty harmonies
+
+     Will take from both a deep, autumnal tone,
+     Sweet though in sadness. Be thou, spirit fierce,
+     My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!
+
+     Drive my dead thoughts over the universe
+     Like withered leaves to quicken a new birth!
+     And, by the incantation of this verse,
+
+     Scatter, as from an unextinguished hearth
+     Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!
+     Be through my lips to unawakened earth
+
+     The trumpet of a prophecy! O, wind,
+     If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"
+
+
+
+
+
+  [Illustration: IN THE BOBOLI GARDENS]
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+_Across the Arno_
+
+     "Come a man destra, per salire al monte,
+       dove siede la Chiesa che soggioga
+       la ben guidata sopra Rubaconte,
+     si rompe del montar l'ardita foga.
+       per le scalee che si fero ad etade
+       ch'era sicuro il quaderno e la doga."
+         --_Dante._
+
+
+Across the river, partly lying along its bank and partly climbing up
+St. George's hill to the south, lies what was the Sesto d'Oltrarno in
+the days when old Florence was divided into sextaries, and became the
+Quartiere di Santo Spirito when the city was reorganised in quarters
+after the expulsion of the Duke of Athens. It was not originally a
+part of the city itself. At the time of building the second walls in
+the twelfth century (_see_ chapter i.), there were merely three
+_borghi_ or suburbs beyond the Arno, inhabited by the poorest
+classes, each of the three beginning at the head of the Ponte Vecchio;
+the Borgo Pidiglioso to the east, towards the present Via dei Bardi
+and Santa Lucia, where the road went on to Rome by way of Figline and
+Arezzo; the Borgo di Santa Felicità, to the south, ending in a gate at
+the present Piazza San Felice, where the road to Siena commenced; and
+the Borgo San Jacopo to the west, with a gate in the present Piazza
+Frescobaldi, on the way to Pisa. A few rich and noble families began
+to settle here towards the beginning of the thirteenth century. When
+the dissensions between Guelfs and Ghibellines came to a head in 1215,
+the Nerli and Rossi were Guelfs, the Gangalandi, Ubbriachi and
+Mannelli, Ghibellines; and these were then the only nobles of the
+Oltrarno, although Villani tells us that "the Frescobaldi and the
+Bardi and the Mozzi were already beginning to become powerful." The
+_Primo Popolo_ commenced to wall it in, in 1250, with the stones from
+dismantled feudal towers; and it was finally included in the third
+circle of the walls at the beginning of the fourteenth century--a
+point to which we shall return.
+
+As we saw in chapter iii., it was in the Oltrarno that the nobles made
+their last stand against the People in 1343, when the Nerli held the
+Ponte alla Carraia, the Frescobaldi and Mannelli the Ponte di Santa
+Trinità, and the Rossi and Bardi defended the Ponte Vecchio and the
+Ponte Rubaconte, with the narrow streets between. In the following
+century it was the headquarters of the faction opposed to the Medici,
+the Party of the Mountain, as it was called, from the lofty position
+of Luca Pitti's great palace. A century more, and it became the seat
+of government under the Medicean Grand Dukes, and the whole was
+crowned by the fortress of the Belvedere which Buontalenti built in
+1590 for Ferdinand I.
+
+At the head of the Ponte Vecchio, to right and left, the Borgo San
+Jacopo and the Via dei Bardi still retain something of their old
+characteristics and mediæval appearance. In the former especially are
+some fine towers remaining of the Rossi, Nerli, Barbadori, and other
+families; particularly one which belonged to the Marsili, opposite the
+church of San Jacopo. A side street, the Via dei Giudei, once
+inhabited by Jews, is still very picturesque. The little church of San
+Jacopo, originally built in the eleventh century, but entirely
+reconstructed in more recent times, still possesses an old Romanesque
+portico. In this church some of the more bitter spirits among the
+nobles held a council in 1294, and unanimously decided to murder Giano
+della Bella. "The dogs of the people," said Messer Berto Frescobaldi,
+who was the spokesman, "have robbed us of honour and office, and we
+cannot enter the Palace. If we beat one of our own servants, we are
+undone. Wherefore, my lords, it is my rede that we should come forth
+from this servitude. Let us take up arms and assemble in the piazza;
+let us slay the plebeians, friends and foes alike, so that never again
+shall we or our children be subjected to them." His plan, however,
+seemed too dangerous to the other nobles. "If our design failed," said
+Messer Baldo della Tosa, "we should all be killed"; and it was decided
+to proceed by more prudent means, and to disorganise the People and
+undermine Giano's credit with them, before taking further action.
+
+At the end of the Borgo San Jacopo, the Frescobaldi had their palaces
+in the piazza which still bears their name, at the head of the Ponte
+Santa Trinità. Here Charles of Valois took up his headquarters in
+November 1301, with the intention of keeping this portion of the city
+in case he lost his hold of the rest. Opposite the bridge the Capponi
+had their palace; the heroic Piero Capponi lived here; and then the
+Gonfaloniere Niccolò, who, accused of favouring the Medici, was
+deprived of his office, and died broken-hearted just before the siege.
+
+On the left of the Ponte Vecchio the Via dei Bardi, where the nobles
+and retainers of that fierce old house made their last stand against
+the People after the Frescobaldi had been forced to surrender, has
+been much spoilt of recent years, though a few fine palaces remain,
+and some towers, especially two, of the Mannelli and Ridolfi, at the
+beginning of the street. In the Via dei Bardi, the fine Capponi Palace
+was built for Niccolò da Uzzano at the beginning of the Quattrocento.
+The church of Santa Lucia has a Della Robbia relief over the entrance,
+and a picture of the school of Fra Filippo in the interior. The street
+ends in the Piazza dei Mozzi, opposite the Ponte alle Grazie or Ponte
+Rubaconte, where stands the Torrigiani Palace, built by Baccio
+d'Agnolo in the sixteenth century.
+
+From the Ponte Vecchio the Via Guicciardini leads to the Pitti Palace,
+and onwards to the Via Romana and great Porta Romana. In the Piazza
+Santa Felicità a column marks the site of one of St. Peter Martyr's
+triumphs over the Paterini; the loggia is by Vasari; the historian
+Guicciardini is buried in the church, which contains some second-rate
+pictures. Further on, on the right, is the house where Machiavelli
+died, a disappointed and misunderstood patriot, in 1527; on the left
+is Guicciardini's palace.
+
+The magnificent Palazzo Pitti was commenced shortly after 1440 by
+Brunelleschi and Michelozzo, for Luca Pitti, that vain and incompetent
+old noble who hoped to eclipse the Medici during the closing days of
+the elder Cosimo. Messer Luca grew so confident, Machiavelli tells us,
+that "he began two buildings, one in Florence and the other at
+Ruciano, a place about a mile from the city; both were in right royal
+style, but that in the city was altogether greater than any other that
+had ever been built by a private citizen until that day. And to
+complete them he shrank from no measures, however extraordinary; for
+not only did citizens and private persons contribute and aid him with
+things necessary for the building, but communes and corporations lent
+him help. Besides this, all who were under ban, and whosoever had
+committed murder or theft or anything else for which he feared public
+punishment, provided that he were a person useful for the work, found
+secure refuge within these buildings." After the triumph of Piero dei
+Medici in 1466, Luca Pitti was pardoned, but ruined. "Straightway,"
+writes Machiavelli, "he learned what difference there is between
+success and failure, between dishonour and honour. A great solitude
+reigned in his houses, which before had been frequented by vast
+throngs of citizens. In the street his friends and relations feared
+not merely to accompany him, but even to salute him, since from some
+of them the honours had been taken, from others their property, and
+all alike were menaced. The superb edifices which he had commenced
+were abandoned by the builders; the benefits which had been heaped
+upon him in the past were changed into injuries, honours into insults.
+Many of those who had freely given him something of great value, now
+demanded it back from him as having been merely lent, and those
+others, who had been wont to praise him to the skies, now blamed him
+for an ungrateful and violent man. Wherefore too late did he repent
+that he had not trusted Niccolò Soderini, and sought rather to die
+with honour with arms in hand, than live on in dishonour among his
+victorious enemies."
+
+In 1549 the unfinished palace was sold by Luca Pitti's descendants to
+Eleonora of Toledo, Duke Cosimo's wife, and it was finished by
+Ammanati during the latter half of the sixteenth century; the wings
+are a later addition. The whole building, with its huge dimensions and
+boldly rusticated masonry, is one of the most monumental and grandiose
+of European palaces. It was first the residence of the Medicean Grand
+Dukes, then of their Austrian successors, and is now one of the royal
+palaces of the King of Italy.
+
+In one of the royal apartments there is a famous picture of
+Botticelli's, Pallas taming a Centaur, which probably refers to the
+return of Lorenzo the Magnificent to Florence after his diplomatic
+victory over the King of Naples and the League, in 1480. The beautiful
+and stately Medicean Pallas is wreathed all over with olive branches;
+her mantle is green, like that of Dante's Beatrice in the Earthly
+Paradise; her white dress is copiously besprinkled with Lorenzo's
+crest, the three rings. The Centaur himself is splendidly conceived
+and realised--a characteristic Botticellian modification of those
+terrible beings who hunt the damned souls of tyrants and robbers
+through the river of blood in Dante's Hell. Opposite the Pallas there
+is a small tondo, in which the Madonna and four Angels are adoring the
+divine Child in a garden of roses and wild strawberries. The latter
+was discovered in 1899 and ascribed to Botticelli, but appears to be
+only a school piece.
+
+The great glory of the Pitti Palace is its picture gallery, a
+magnificent array of masterpieces, hung in sumptuously decorated rooms
+with allegorical ceiling-paintings in the overblown and superficial
+style of the artists of the decadence--Pietro da Cortona and others of
+his kind:--
+
+           "Both in Florence and in Rome
+     The elder race so make themselves at home
+     That scarce we give a glance to ceilingfuls
+     Of such like as Francesco."
+
+So Robert Browning writes of one of Pietro's pupils. The Quattrocento
+is, with a few noteworthy exceptions, scarcely represented; but no
+collection is richer in the works of the great Italians of the
+Cinquecento at the culmination of the Renaissance. We can here, as in
+the Uffizi, merely indicate the more important pictures in each room.
+At the top of the staircase is a marble fountain ascribed to
+Donatello. The names of the rooms are usually derived from the
+subjects painted on the ceilings; we take the six principal saloons
+first.
+
+
+In the _Sala dell' Iliade_.
+
+First, the three masterpieces of this room. Fra Bartolommeo's great
+altar-piece painted in 1512 for San Marco (208), representing Madonna
+and Child surrounded by Saints, with a group of Dominicans attending
+upon the mystic marriage of St. Catherine of Siena, is a splendid
+picture, but darkened and injured; the two _putti_, making melody at
+the foot of Madonna's throne, are quite Venetian in character.
+
+Titian's Cardinal Ippolito dei Medici (201) is one of the master's
+grandest portraits; the Cardinal is represented in Hungarian military
+costume. Ippolito, like his reputed father the younger Giuliano, was
+one of the more respectable members of the elder branch of the Medici;
+he was brought up with Alessandro, but the two youths hated each other
+mortally from their boyhood. Young and handsome, cultured and lavishly
+generous, Ippolito was exceedingly popular and ambitious, and felt
+bitterly the injustice of Pope Clement in making Alessandro lord of
+Florence instead of him. Clement conferred an archbishopric and other
+things upon him, but could by no means keep him quiet. "Aspiring to
+temporal greatness," writes Varchi, "and having set his heart upon
+things of war rather than affairs of the Church, he hardly knew
+himself what he wanted, and was never content." The Pope, towards whom
+Ippolito openly showed his contempt, complained that he could not
+exert any control over so eccentric and headstrong a character, _un
+cervello eteroclito e così balzano_. After the Pope's death, the
+Cardinal intrigued with the Florentine exiles in order to supplant
+Alessandro, upon which the Duke had him poisoned in 1535, in the
+twenty-fifth year of his age. Titian painted him in 1533.
+
+The famous Concert (185), representing a passionate-faced monk of the
+Augustinian order at the harpsichord, while an older and more prosaic
+ecclesiastic stands behind him with a viol, and a youthful worldling
+half carelessly listens, was formerly taken as the standard of
+Giorgione's work; it is now usually regarded as an early Titian.
+Although much damaged and repainted, it remains one of the most
+beautiful of Venetian painted lyrics.
+
+Andrea del Sarto's two Assumptions, one (225) painted before 1526 for
+a church at Cortona, the other (191) left unfinished in 1531, show the
+artist ineffectually striving after the sublime, and helplessly pulled
+down to earth by the draperies of the Apostles round the tomb. Of
+smaller works should be noticed: an early Titian, the Saviour (228);
+two portraits by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (224, 207), of which the latter,
+a goldsmith, has been ascribed to Leonardo; a lady known as _La
+Gravida_ (229), probably by Raphael early in his Florentine period;
+Daniele Barbaro by Paolo Veronese (216); Titian's Philip II. of Spain
+(200); a male portrait by Andrea del Sarto (184), said, with little
+plausibility, to represent himself; a Holy Family (235) by Rubens.
+
+
+In the _Sala di Saturno_.
+
+Here are some of the choicest pictures in the collection, including a
+whole series of Raphael's. Raphael's Madonna del Gran Duca (178)--so
+called from its modern purchaser, Ferdinand III.--was painted in 1504
+or 1505, either before leaving Urbino or shortly after his arrival in
+Florence; it is the sweetest and most purely devotional of all his
+Madonnas. Morelli points out that it is strongly reminiscent of
+Raphael's first master, Timoteo Viti. The portraits of Angelo Doni and
+Maddalena Doni (61 and 59) also belong to the beginning of Raphael's
+Florentine epoch, about 1505 or 1506, and show how much he felt the
+influence of Leonardo; Angelo Doni, it will be remembered, was the
+parsimonious merchant for whom Michelangelo painted the Madonna of the
+Tribuna. The Madonna del Baldacchino (165) was commenced by Raphael in
+1508, the last picture of his Florentine period, ordered by the Dei
+for Santo Spirito; it shows the influence of Fra Bartolommeo in its
+composition, and was left unfinished when Pope Julius summoned the
+painter to Rome; in its present state, there is hardly anything of
+Raphael's about it. The beautiful Madonna della Seggiola (151) is a
+work of Raphael's Roman period, painted in 1513 or 1514. The Vision of
+Ezekiel (174) is slightly later, painted in 1517 or thereabout, and
+shows that Raphael had felt the influence of Michelangelo; one of the
+smallest and most sublime of all his pictures; the landscape is less
+conventional than we often see in his later works. Neither of the two
+portraits ascribed to Raphael in this room (171, 158) can any longer
+be accepted as a genuine work of the master.
+
+Andrea del Sarto and Fra Bartolommeo are likewise represented by
+masterpieces. The Friar's Risen Christ with Four Evangelists (159),
+beneath whom two beautiful _putti_ hold the orb of the world, was
+painted in 1516, the year before the painter's death; it is one of the
+noblest and most divine representations of the Saviour in the whole
+history of art. Andrea's so-called _Disputa_ (172), in which a group
+of Saints is discussing the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, painted in
+1518, is as superbly coloured as any of the greatest Venetian
+triumphs; the Magdalene is again the painter's own wife. Perugino's
+Deposition from the Cross (164), painted in 1495, shows the great
+Umbrian also at his best.
+
+Among the minor pictures in this room may be noted a pretty little
+trifle of the school of Raphael, so often copied, Apollo and the Muses
+(167), questionably ascribed to Giulio Romano; and a Nymph pursued by
+a Satyr (147), supposed by Morelli to be by Giorgione, now assigned to
+Dosso Dossi of Ferrara.
+
+
+In the _Sala di Giove_.
+
+The treasure of this room is the _Velata_ (245), Raphael's own
+portrait of the woman that he loved, to whom he wrote his sonnets, and
+whom he afterwards idealised as the Madonna di San Sisto; her
+personality remains a mystery. Titian's _Bella_ (18), a rather stolid
+rejuvenation of Eleonora Gonzaga, is chiefly valuable for its
+magnificent representation of a wonderful Venetian costume. Here are
+three works of Andrea del Sarto--the Annunciation (124), the Madonna
+in Glory, with four Saints (123), and St John the Baptist (272); the
+first is one of his most beautiful paintings. The picture supposed to
+represent Andrea and his wife (118) is not by the master himself.
+Bartolommeo's St Mark (125) was painted by him in 1514, to show that
+he could do large figures, whereas he had been told that he had a
+_maniera minuta_; it is not altogether successful. His Deposition from
+the Cross (64) is one of his latest and most earnest religious works.
+The Three Fates (113) by Rosso Fiorentino is an undeniably powerful
+and impressive picture; it was formerly ascribed to Michelangelo. The
+Three Ages (110), ascribed to Lorenzo Lotto here, was by Morelli
+attributed to Giorgione, and is now assigned by highly competent
+critics to a certain Morto da Feltre, of whom little is known save
+that he is said to have been Giorgione's successful rival for the
+favours of a ripe Venetian beauty; the picture itself, though injured
+by restoration, belongs to the same category as the Concert. "In such
+favourite incidents of Giorgione's school," writes Walter Pater,
+"music or music-like intervals in our existence, life itself is
+conceived as a sort of listening--listening to music, to the reading
+of Bandello's novels, to the sound of water, to time as it flies."
+
+
+In the _Sala di Marte_.
+
+The most important pictures of this room are: Titian's portrait of a
+young man with a glove (92); the Holy Family, called of the
+_Impannata_ or "covered window" (94), a work of Raphael's Roman
+period, painted by his scholars, perhaps by Giulio Romano; Cristofano
+Allori's Judith (96), a splendid and justly celebrated picture,
+showing what exceedingly fine works could be produced by Florentines
+even in the decadence (Allori died in 1621); Andrea del Sarto's scenes
+from the history of Joseph (87, 88), panels for cassoni or bridal
+chests, painted for the marriage of Francesco Borgherini and
+Margherita Acciaiuoli; a Rubens, the so-called Four Philosophers (85),
+representing himself with his brother, and the scholars Lipsius and
+Grotius; Andrea del Sarto's Holy Family (81), one of his last works,
+painted in 1529 for Ottaviano dei Medici and said to have been
+finished during the siege; Van Dyck's Cardinal Giulio Bentivoglio
+(82). It is uncertain whether this Julius II. (79) or that in the
+Tribuna of the Uffizi is Raphael's original, but the present picture
+appears to be the favourite; both are magnificent portraits of this
+terrible old warrior pontiff, who, for all his fierceness, was the
+noblest and most enlightened patron that Raphael and Michelangelo had.
+It was probably at his bidding that Raphael painted Savonarola among
+the Church's doctors and theologians in the Vatican.
+
+
+In the _Sala di Apollo_ and _Sala di Venere_.
+
+Here, first of all, is Raphael's celebrated portrait of Pope Julius'
+unworthy successor, Leo X. (40), the son of Lorenzo the Magnificent;
+on the left--that is, the Pope's right hand--is the Cardinal Giulio
+dei Medici, afterwards Pope Clement VII.; behind the chair is the
+Cardinal Luigi dei Rossi, the descendant of a daughter of Piero il
+Gottoso. One of Raphael's most consummate works.
+
+Andrea del Sarto's Pietà (58) was painted in 1523 or 1524 for a
+convent of nuns in the Mugello, whither Andrea had taken his wife and
+household while the plague raged in Florence; it is one of his finest
+works. Titian's Magdalene (67) has been called by Ruskin a
+"disgusting" picture; as a pseudo-religious work, it would be hard to
+find anything more offensive; but it has undeniably great technical
+qualities. His Pietro Aretino (54), on the other hand, is a noble
+portrait of an infamous blackguard. Noteworthy are also Andrea del
+Sarto's portrait (66), apparently one of his many representations of
+himself, and Murillo's Mother and Child (63).
+
+In the _Sala di Venere_, are a superb landscape by Rubens (14),
+sometimes called the Hay Harvest and sometimes the Return of the
+Contadini; also a fine female portrait, wrongly ascribed to Leonardo
+(140); the Triumph of David by Matteo Rosselli (13). It should be
+observed that the gems of the collection are frequently shifted from
+room to room for the benefit of the copyist.
+
+
+The _Sala dell' Educazione di Giove_ and following rooms.
+
+A series of smaller rooms, no less gorgeously decorated, adjoins the
+Sala dell' Iliade. In the _Sala dell' Educazione di Giove_ are: Fra
+Bartolommeo's Holy Family with St. Elizabeth (256), over the door; the
+Zingarella or Gipsy Girl (246), a charming little idyllic picture by
+Boccaccino of Cremona, formerly ascribed to Garofalo; Philip IV. of
+Spain (243) by Velasquez. Carlo Dolci's St Andrew (266) is above his
+usual level; but it is rather hard to understand how Guido Reni's
+Cleopatra (270) could ever be admired.
+
+In the _Sala di Prometeo_ are some earlier paintings; but those
+ascribed to Botticelli, Filippino Lippi, and Ghirlandaio are merely
+school-pieces. Fra Filippo Lippi's Madonna and Child with the
+Pomegranate (343) is a genuine and excellent work; in the background
+are seen the meeting of Joachim and Anne, with the Nativity of the
+Blessed Virgin. Crowe and Cavalcasella observe that "this group of the
+Virgin and Child reminds one forcibly of those by Donatello or
+Desiderio da Settignano," and it shows how much the painters of the
+Quattrocento were influenced by the sculptors; the Madonna's face, for
+no obvious reason, is said to be that of Lucrezia Buti, the girl whom
+Lippo carried off from a convent at Prato. A curious little allegory
+(336) is ascribed by Morelli to Filippino Lippi. We should also notice
+the beautiful Madonna with Angels adoring the Divine Child in a rose
+garden (347), a characteristic Florentine work of the latter part of
+the Quattrocento, once erroneously ascribed to Filippino Lippi; an
+Ecce Homo in fresco by Fra Bartolommeo (377); a Holy Family by
+Mariotto Albertinelli (365); and a tondo by Luca Signorelli (355), in
+which St. Catherine is apparently writing at the dictation of the
+Divine Child. But the two gems of this room are the head of a Saint
+(370) and the portrait of a man in red dress and hat (375) by one of
+the earlier painters of the Quattrocento, probably Domenico Veneziano;
+"perhaps," writes Mr Berenson, "the first great achievements in this
+kind of the Renaissance." Here, too, is a fine portrait by Lorenzo
+Costa (376) of Giovanni Bentivoglio.
+
+In the _Sala del Poccetti_, _Sala della Giustizia_, _Sala di Flora_,
+_Sala dei Putti_, the pictures are, for the most part, unimportant.
+The so-called portrait of the _bella Simonetta_, the innamorata of
+Giuliano dei Medici (353), is not authentic and should not be ascribed
+to Sandro Botticelli. There are some fairly good portraits; a Titian
+(495), a Sebastiano del Piombo (409), Duke Cosimo I. by Bronzino
+(403), Oliver Cromwell by Lely (408). Calumny by Francia Bigio (427)
+is curious as a later rendering of a theme that attracted the greatest
+masters of the Quattrocento (Botticelli, Mantegna, Luca Signorelli all
+tried it). Lovers of Browning will be glad to have their attention
+called to the Judith of Artemisia Gentileschi (444): "a wonder of a
+woman painting too."
+
+A passage leads down two flights of steps, with occasional glimpses
+of the Boboli Gardens, through corridors of Medicean portraits,
+Florentine celebrities, old pictures of processions in piazza, and the
+like. Then over the Ponte Vecchio, with views of the Arno on either
+hand as we cross, to the Uffizi.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Behind the Pitti Palace are the delicious Boboli Gardens, commenced
+for Duke Cosimo I., with shady walks and exquisitely framed views of
+Florence. In a grotto near the entrance are four unfinished statues by
+Michelangelo; they are usually supposed to have been intended for the
+tomb of Julius II., but may possibly have been connected with the
+projected façade of San Lorenzo.
+
+Nearly opposite the Palazzo Pitti is the Casa Guidi, where the
+Brownings lived and wrote. Here Elizabeth Barrett Browning died in
+June 1861, she who "made of her verse a golden ring linking England to
+Italy"; these were the famous "Casa Guidi windows" from which she
+watched the liberation and unification of Italy:--
+
+     "I heard last night a little child go singing
+       'Neath Casa Guidi windows, by the church,
+     _O bella libertà, O bella!_--stringing
+       The same words still on notes he went in search
+     So high for, you concluded the upspringing
+       Of such a nimble bird to sky from perch
+     Must leave the whole bush in a tremble green,
+       And that the heart of Italy must beat,
+     While such a voice had leave to rise serene
+       'Twixt church and palace of a Florence street."
+
+The church in question, San Felice, contains a good picture of St.
+Anthony, St. Rock and St. Catherine by some follower of Botticelli and
+Filippino Lippi; also a Crucifixion of the school of Giotto. Thence
+the Via Mazzetta leads into the Piazza Santo Spirito, at the corner
+of which is the Palazzo Guadagni, built by Cronaca at the end of the
+Quattrocento; with fine iron work, lantern holders and the like, on
+the exterior.
+
+The present church of Santo Spirito--the finest Early Renaissance
+church in Florence--was built between 1471 and 1487, after
+Brunelleschi's designs, to replace his earlier building which had been
+burned down in 1471 on the occasion of the visit of Galeazzo Maria
+Sforza to Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother. It is a fine
+example of Brunelleschi's adaptation of the early basilican type, is
+borne upon graceful Corinthian columns and nobly proportioned. The
+octagonal sacristy is by Giuliano da San Gallo and Cronaca, finished
+in 1497, and the campanile by Baccio d'Agnolo at the beginning of the
+sixteenth century.
+
+The stained glass window over the entrance was designed by Perugino.
+In the right transept is an excellent picture by Filippino Lippi;
+Madonna and Child with the little St. John, St. Catherine and St.
+Nicholas, with the donor, Tanai de' Nerli, and his wife. Also in the
+right transept is the tomb of the Capponi; Gino, the conqueror of Pisa
+and historian of the Ciompi; Neri, the conqueror of the Casentino; and
+that great republican soldier and hero, Piero Capponi, who had saved
+Florence from Charles of France and fell in the Pisan war. The vision
+of St. Bernard is an old copy from Perugino. None of the other
+pictures in the church are more than school pieces; there are two in
+the left transept ascribed to Filippino's disappointing pupil,
+Raffaellino del Garbo--the Trinità with St. Mary of Egypt and St.
+Catherine, and the Madonna with Sts. Lawrence, Stephen, John and
+Bernard. The latter picture is by Raffaellino di Carlo.
+
+During the last quarter of the fourteenth century the convent of
+Santo Spirito--which is an Augustinian house--was the centre of a
+circle of scholars, who represent an epoch intermediate between the
+great writers of the Trecento and the humanists of the early
+Quattrocento. Prominent among them was Coluccio Salutati, who for many
+years served the Republic as Chancellor and died in 1406. He was
+influential in founding the first chair of Greek, and his letters on
+behalf of Florence were so eloquent and powerful that the "great
+viper," Giovanni Galeazzo Visconti, declared that he dreaded one of
+them more than many swords. Also Filippo Villani, the nephew of the
+great chroniclers, Giovanni and Matteo, who had succeeded Boccaccio as
+lecturer on Dante. They met here with other kindred spirits in the
+cell of Fra Luigi Marsili, a learned monk and impassioned worshipper
+of Petrarch, upon whose great crusading canzone--_O aspettata in ciel,
+beata e bella_--he wrote a commentary which is still extant. Fra Luigi
+died in 1394. A century later, the monks of this convent took a
+violent part in opposition to Savonarola; and it was here, in the
+pulpit of the choir of the church, that Landucci tells us that he
+heard the bull of excommunication read "by a Fra Leonardo, their
+preacher, and an adversary of the said Fra Girolamo,"--"between two
+lighted torches and many friars," as he rather quaintly puts it.
+
+"The Carmine's my cloister: hunt it up," says Browning's Lippo Lippi
+to his captors; and the Via Mazzetta and the Via Santa Monaca will
+take us to it. This church of the Carmelites, Santa Maria del Carmine,
+was consecrated in 1422; and, almost immediately after, the mighty
+series of frescoes was begun in the Brancacci Chapel at the end of the
+right transept--frescoes which were to become the school for all
+future painting. In the eighteenth century the greater part of the
+church was destroyed by fire, but this chapel was spared by the
+flames, and the frescoes, though terribly damaged and grievously
+restored, still remain on its walls.
+
+This Brancacci Chapel of the Carmine plays the same part in the
+history of painting as the bronze gates of the Baptistery in that of
+sculpture. It was in that same eventful year, 1401, of the famous
+competition between Ghiberti and Brunelleschi, that the new Giotto was
+born--Tommaso, the son of a notary in Castello San Giovanni di
+Valdarno. With him, as we saw in chapter iii., the second great epoch
+of Italian painting, the Quattrocento, or Epoch of Character, opens.
+His was a rare and piquant personality; _persona astrattissima e molto
+a caso_, says Vasari, "an absent-minded fellow and very casual."
+Intent upon his art, he took no care of himself and thought nothing of
+the ordinary needs and affairs of the world, though always ready to do
+others a good turn. From his general negligence and untidiness, he was
+nicknamed _Masaccio_--"hulking Tom"--which has become one of the most
+honourable names in the history of art. The little chapel in which we
+now stand and survey his handiwork, or what remains of it, is nothing
+less than the birthplace of modern painting. Sculpture had indeed
+preceded painting in its return to nature and in its direct study of
+the human form, and the influence of Donatello lies as strongly over
+all the painters of the Quattrocento. Vasari even states that Masolino
+da Panicale (Masolino = "dear little Tom"), Masaccio's master, had
+been one of Ghiberti's assistants in the casting of the bronze gates,
+but this is questionable; it is possible that he had been Ghiberti's
+pupil, though he learned the principles of painting from Gherardo
+Starnina, one of the last artists of the Trecento. It was shortly
+after 1422 that Masolino commenced this great series of frescoes
+setting forth the life of St. Peter; within the next few years
+Masaccio continued his work; and, more than half a century later, in
+1484, Filippino Lippi took it up where Masaccio had left off, and
+completed the series.
+
+Masolino's contribution to the whole appears to be confined to three
+pictures: St. Peter preaching, with Carmelites in the background to
+carry his doctrines into fifteenth century Florence, on the left of
+the window; the upper row of scenes on the right wall, representing
+St. Peter and St. John raising the cripple at the Beautiful Gate of
+the Temple, and the healing of Tabitha (according to others, the
+resuscitation of Petronilla); and the narrow fresco of the Fall of
+Adam and Eve, on the right of the entrance. Some have also ascribed to
+him the striking figure of St. Peter enthroned, attended by
+Carmelites, while the faithful approach to kiss his feet--the picture
+in the corner on the left which, in a way, sets the keynote to the
+whole--but it is more probably the work of Masaccio (others ascribe it
+to Filippino). Admirable though these paintings are, they exhibit a
+certain immaturity as contrasted with those by Masaccio: in the
+Raising of Tabitha, for instance, those two youths with their odd
+headgear might almost have stepped out of some Giottesque fresco; and
+the rendering of the nude in the Adam and Eve, though wonderful at
+that epoch, is much inferior to Masaccio's opposite. Nevertheless,
+Masolino's grave and dignified figures introduced the type that
+Masaccio was soon to render perfect.
+
+From the hand of Masaccio are the Expulsion from Paradise; the Tribute
+Money; the Raising of the Dead Youth (in part); and (probably) the St.
+Peter enthroned, on the left wall; St. Peter and St. John healing the
+sick with their shadow, under Masolino's Peter preaching (and the
+figure behind with a red cap, leaning on a stick, is Masaccio's pious
+portrait of his master Masolino himself); St. Peter baptising, St.
+Peter and St. John giving alms, on the opposite side of the window.
+Each figure is admirably rendered, its character perfectly realised;
+Masaccio may indeed be said to have completed what Giotto had begun,
+and freed Italian art from the mannerism of the later followers of
+Giotto, even as Giotto himself had delivered her from Byzantine
+formalism. "After Giotto," writes Leonardo da Vinci, "the art of
+painting declined again, because every one imitated the pictures that
+were already done; thus it went on from century to century until
+Tommaso of Florence, nicknamed Masaccio, showed by his perfect works
+how those who take for their standard any one but Nature--the mistress
+of all masters--weary themselves in vain."[54] This return to nature
+is seen even in the landscape, notably in the noble background to the
+Tribute Money; but above all, in his study of man and the human form.
+"For the first time," says Kugler, "his aim is the study of form for
+itself, the study of the external conformation of man. With such an
+aim is identified a feeling which, in beauty, sees and preserves the
+expression of proportion; and in repose or motion, the expression of
+an harmonious development of the powers of the human frame." For sheer
+dignity and grandeur there is nothing to compare with it, till we come
+to the work of Raphael and Michelangelo in the Vatican; the
+composition of the Tribute Money and the Healing of the Sick initiated
+the method of religious illustration that reached its ultimate
+perfection in Raphael--what has been called giving Greek form to
+Hebrew thought. The treatment of the nude especially seemed a novel
+thing in its day; the wonderful modelling of the naked youth shivering
+with the cold, in the scene of St. Peter baptising, was hailed as a
+marvel of art, and is cited by Vasari as one of the _cose rarissime_
+of painting. In the scene of the Tribute Money, the last Apostle on
+our right (in the central picture where our Lord and His disciples are
+confronted by the eager collector) whose proud bearing is hardly
+evangelical, is Masaccio himself, with scanty beard and untidy hair.
+Although less excellent than the Baptism as a study of the nude, the
+Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden is a masterpiece of which it is
+impossible to speak too highly. Our _primi parenti_, weighed down with
+the consciousness of ineffable tragedy, are impelled irresistibly
+onward by divine destiny; they need not see the Angel in his flaming
+robe on his cloud of fire, with his flashing sword and out-stretched
+hand; terrible in his beauty as he is to the spectator, he is as
+nothing to them, compared with the face of an offended God and the
+knowledge of the _tanto esilio_. Surely this is how Dante himself
+would have conceived the scene.
+
+  [54] In Richter's _Literary Works of Leonardo da Vinci_. Leonardo
+  rather too sweepingly ignores the fact that there were a few excellent
+  masters between the two.
+
+Masaccio died at Rome in 1428, aged twenty-seven years. In his short
+life he had set modern painting on her triumphant progress, and his
+frescoes became the school for all subsequent painters, "All in
+short," says Vasari, "who have sought to acquire their art in its
+perfection, have constantly repaired to study it in this chapel, there
+imbibing the precepts and rules necessary to be followed for the
+command of success, and learning to labour effectually from the
+figures of Masaccio." If he is to rank among "the inheritors of
+unfulfilled renown," Masaccio may be said to stand towards Raphael as
+Keats towards Tennyson. Masolino outlived his great pupil for several
+years, and died about 1435.
+
+The fresco of the Raising up of the dead Youth, left unfinished by
+Masaccio when he left Florence for Rome, was completed by Filippino
+Lippi (the son of that run-a-way Carmelite in whom the spirit of
+Masaccio was said to have lived again), in 1484. The five figures on
+the left appear to be from Filippino's hand (the second from the end
+is said to be Luigi Pulci, the poet), as also the resuscitated boy
+(said to be Francesco Granacci the painter, who was then about fifteen
+years old) and the group of eight on the right. Under Masaccio's Adam
+and Eve, he painted St. Paul visiting St. Peter in prison; under
+Masolino's Fall, the Liberation of Peter by the Angel, two exceedingly
+beautiful and simple compositions. And, on the right wall of the
+chapel, St. Peter and St. Paul before the Proconsul and the
+Crucifixion of St. Peter are also by Filippino. In the Crucifixion
+scene, which is inferior to the rest, the last of the three spectators
+on our right, wearing a black cap, is Filippino's master, Sandro
+Botticelli. In the presence of the Proconsul, the elderly man with a
+keen face, in a red cap to the right of the judge, is Antonio
+Pollaiuolo; and, on our right, the youth whose head appears in the
+corner is certainly Filippino himself--a kind of signature to the
+whole.
+
+Apart from the Brancacci chapel, the interest of the Carmine is mainly
+confined to the tomb of the noble and simple-hearted ex-Gonfaloniere,
+Piero Soderini (who died in 1513), in the choir; it was originally by
+Benedetto da Rovezzano, but has been restored. There are frescoes in
+the sacristy, representing the life of St. Cecilia, by one of Giotto's
+later followers, possibly Spinello Aretino, and, in the cloisters, a
+noteworthy Madonna of the same school, ascribed to Giovanni da Milano.
+
+Beyond the Carmine, westwards, is the Borgo San Frediano, now, as in
+olden time, the poorest part of Florence. It was the ringing of the
+bell of the Carmine that gave the signal for the rising of the Ciompi
+in 1378. Unlike their neighbours, the Augustinians of Santo Spirito,
+the good fathers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel were for the most part
+ardent followers of Savonarola, and, on the first of October 1497, one
+of them preached an open-air sermon near the Porta San Frediano, in
+which he declared that he himself had had a special revelation from
+God on the subject of Fra Girolamo's sanctity, and that all who
+resisted the Friar would be horribly punished; even Landucci admits
+that he talked arrant nonsense, _pazzie_. The parish church of this
+district, San Frediano in Cestello, is quite uninteresting. At the end
+of the Via San Frediano is the great Porta San Frediano, of which more
+presently.
+
+The gates and walls of Oltrarno were built between 1324 and 1327, in
+the days of the Republic's great struggle with Castruccio
+Interminelli. Unlike those on the northern bank, they are still in
+part standing. There are five gates on this side of the river--the
+Porta San Niccolò, the Porta San Miniato, the Porta San Giorgio, the
+Porta Romana or Por San Piero Gattolino, and the Porta San Frediano.
+It was all round this part of the city that the imperial army lay
+during the siege of 1529 and 1530.
+
+On the east of the city, on the banks of the Arno, rises first the
+Porta San Niccolò--mutilated and isolated, but the only one of the
+gates that has retained a remnant of its ancient height and dignity.
+In a lunette on the inner side is a fresco of 1357--Madonna and Child
+with Saints, Angels and Prophets. Around are carved the lilies of the
+Commune. On the side facing the hill are the arms of the Parte Guelfa
+and of the People, with the lily of the Commune between them. Within
+the gate the Borgo San Niccolò leads to the church of San Niccolò,
+which contains a picture by Neri di Bicci and one of the Pollaiuoli,
+and four saints ascribed to Gentile da Fabriano. It is one of the
+oldest Florentine churches, though not interesting in its present
+state. There is an altogether untrustworthy tradition that
+Michelangelo was sheltered in the tower of this church after the
+capitulation of the city, but he seems to have been more probably in
+the house of a trusted friend. Pope Clement ordered that he should be
+sought for, but left at liberty and treated with all courtesy if he
+agreed to go on working at the Medicean monuments in San Lorenzo; and,
+hearing this, the sculptor came out from his hiding place. It may be
+observed that San Niccolò was a most improbable place for him to have
+sought refuge in, as Malatesta Baglioni had his headquarters close by.
+
+Beyond the Porta San Niccolò is the Piano di Ripoli, where the Prince
+of Orange had his headquarters. Before his exile Dante possessed some
+land here. It was here that the first Dominican house was established
+in Tuscany under St Dominic's companion, Blessed John of Salerno. Up
+beyond the terminus of the tramway a splendid view of Florence can be
+obtained.
+
+Near the Porta San Niccolò the long flight of stairs mounts up the
+hill of _San Francesco e San Miniato_, which commands the city from
+the south-east, to the Piazzale Michelangelo just below the church. A
+long and exceedingly beautiful drive leads also to this Piazzale from
+the Porta Romana--the Viale dei Colli--and passes down again to the
+Barriera San Niccolò by the Viale Michelangelo. This Viale dei Colli,
+at least, is one of those few works which even those folk who make a
+point of sneering at everything done in Florence since the unification
+of Italy are constrained to admire. It would seem that even in the
+thirteenth century there were steps of some kind constructed up the
+hill-side to the church. In that passage from the _Purgatorio_ (canto
+xii.) which I have put at the head of this chapter, Dante compares the
+ascent from the first to the second circle of Purgatory to this climb:
+"As on the right hand, to mount the hill where stands the church which
+overhangs the well-guided city, above Rubaconte, the bold abruptness
+of the ascent is broken by the steps that were made in the age when
+the ledger and the stave were safe."[55]
+
+  [55] The ledger and the stave (_il quaderno e la doga_): "In 1299
+  Messer Niccola Acciaiuoli and Messer Baldo d' Aguglione abstracted
+  from the public records a leaf containing the evidence of a
+  disreputable transaction, in which they, together with the Podestà,
+  had been engaged. At about the same time Messer Durante de'
+  Chiaramontesi, being officer of the customs for salt, took away a
+  stave (_doga_) from the standard measure, thus making it
+  smaller."--_A. J. Butler._
+
+The Piazzale, adorned with bronze copies of Michelangelo's great
+statues, commands one of the grandest views of Florence, with the
+valley of the Arno and the mountains round, that "in silence listen
+for the word said next," as Mrs Browning has it. Up beyond is the
+exceedingly graceful Franciscan church of San Salvadore al Monte--"the
+purest vessel of Franciscan simplicity," a modern Italian poet has
+called it--built by Cronaca in the last years of the fifteenth
+century. It contains a few works by Giovanni della Robbia. It was as
+he descended this hill with a few armed followers that Giovanni
+Gualberto met and pardoned the murderer of his brother; a small chapel
+or tabernacle, on the way up from the convent to San Miniato, still
+marks the spot, but the Crucifix which is said to have bowed down its
+head towards him is now preserved in Santa Trinità.
+
+  [Illustration: THE FORTIFICATIONS OF MICHELANGELO]
+
+This Monte di San Francesco e di San Miniato overlooks the whole city,
+and Florence lay at the mercy of whoever got possession of it.
+Varchi in his history apologises for those architects who built the
+walls of the city by reminding us that, in their days, artillery was
+not even dreamed of, much less invented. Michelangelo armed the
+campanile of San Miniato, against which the fiercest fire of the
+imperialists was directed, and erected bastions covering the hill,
+enclosing it, as it were, within the walls up from the Porta San
+Miniato and down again to the Porta San Niccolò. It was intrusted to
+the guard of Stefano Colonna, who finally joined Malatesta Baglioni in
+betraying the city. Some bits of Michelangelo's work remain near the
+Basilica, which itself is one of the most venerable edifices of the
+kind in Tuscany; the earliest Florentine Christians are said to have
+met here in the woods, during the reign of Nero, and here Saint
+Miniatus, according to tradition the son of an Armenian king, lived in
+his hermitage until martyred by Decius outside the present Porta alla
+Croce. In the days of Gregory the Great, San Frediano of Lucca came
+every year with his clergy to worship the relics of Miniatus; a
+basilica already stood here in the time of Charlemagne; and the
+present edifice is said to have been begun in 1013 by the Bishop
+Alibrando, with the aid of the Emperor St Henry and his wife
+Cunegunda. It was held by the Benedictines, first the black monks and
+then the Olivetans who took it over from Gregory XI. in 1373. The new
+Bishops of Florence, the first time they set foot out of the city,
+came here to sing Mass. In 1553 the monastery was suppressed by Duke
+Cosimo I., and turned into a fortress.
+
+San Miniato al Monte is one of the earliest and one of the finest
+examples of the Tuscan Romanesque style of architecture. Both interior
+and exterior are adorned with inlaid coloured marble, of simple
+design, and the fine "nearly classical" pillars within are probably
+taken from some ancient Roman building. Fergusson remarks that, but
+for the rather faulty construction of the façade, "it would be
+difficult to find a church in Italy containing more of classical
+elegance, with perfect appropriateness for the purposes of Christian
+worship." In the crypt beneath the altar is the tomb of San Miniato
+and others of the Decian martyrs. The great mosaic on the upper part
+of the apse was originally executed at the end of the thirteenth
+century. The Early Renaissance chapel in the nave was constructed by
+Michelozzo in 1448 for Piero dei Medici, to contain Giovanni
+Gualberto's miraculous Crucifix. In the left aisle is the Cappella di
+San Jacopo with the monument of the Cardinal James of Portugal, who
+"lived in the flesh as if he were freed from it, like an Angel rather
+than a man, and died in the odour of sanctity at the early age of
+twenty-six," in 1459. This tomb by Antonio Rossellino is the third of
+the "three finest Renaissance tombs in Tuscany," the other two being
+those of Leonardo Bruni (1444) by Antonio's brother Bernardo, and
+Carlo Marsuppini by Desiderio (1453), both of which we have seen in
+Santa Croce. Mr Perkins observes that the present tomb preserves the
+golden mean in point of ornament between the other two. The Madonna
+and Child with the Angels, watching over the young Cardinal's repose,
+are especially beautiful. The Virtues on the ceiling are by Luca della
+Robbia, and the Annunciation opposite the tomb by Alessio
+Baldovinetti. The Gothic sacristy was built for one of the great
+Alberti family, Benedetto di Nerozzo, in 1387, and decorated shortly
+after with a splendid series of frescoes by Spinello Aretino, setting
+forth the life of St. Benedict. These are Spinello's noblest works and
+the last great creation of the genuine school of Giotto. Especially
+fine are the scenes with the Gothic king Totila, and the death and
+apotheosis of the Saint, which latter may be compared with Giotto's
+St. Francis in Santa Croce. The whole is like a painted chapter of St.
+Gregory's Dialogues.
+
+  [Illustration: PORTA SAN GIORGIO]
+
+The Porta San Miniato, below the hill, almost at the foot of the
+Basilica, is little more than a gap in the wall. On both sides are the
+arms of the Commune and the People, the Cross of the latter outside
+the lily of the former. Upwards from the Porta San Miniato to the
+Porta San Giorgio a glorious bit of the old wall remains, clad inside
+and out with olives, running up the hillside of San Giorgio; even some
+remnants of the old towers are standing, two indeed having been only
+partially demolished. Beneath the former Medicean fortress and upper
+citadel of Belvedere stands the Porta San Giorgio. This, although
+small, is the most picturesque of all the gates of Florence. On its
+outer side is a spirited bas-relief of St. George and the Dragon in
+stone--of the end of the fourteenth century--over the lily of the
+Commune; in the lunette, on the inner side, is a fresco painted in
+1330--probably by Bernardo Daddi--of Santa Maria del Fiore enthroned
+with the Divine Babe between St. George and St. Leonard. This was the
+only gate held by the nobles in the great struggle of 1343, when the
+banners of the people were carried across the bridge in triumph, and
+the Bardi and Frescobaldi fought from street to street; through it the
+magnates had secretly brought in banditti and retainers from the
+country, and through it some of the Bardi fled when the people swept
+down upon their palaces. Inside the gate the steep Via della Costa San
+Giorgio winds down past Galileo's house to Santa Felicità. Outside the
+gate the Via San Leonardo leads, between olive groves and vineyards,
+into the Viale dei Colli. In the curious little church of San Leonardo
+in Arcetri, on the left, is an old _ambone_ or pulpit from the
+demolished church of San Piero Scheraggio, with ancient bas-reliefs.
+This pulpit is traditionally supposed to have been a part of the
+spoils in the destruction of Fiesole; it appears to belong to the
+latter part of the twelfth century.
+
+The great Porta Romana, or Porta San Piero Gattolino, was originally
+erected in 1328; it is still of imposing dimensions, though its
+immediate surroundings are somewhat prosaic. Many a Pope and Emperor
+has passed through here, to or from the eternal city; the marble
+tablets on either side record the entrance of Leo X. in 1515, on his
+way from Rome to Bologna to meet Francis I. of France, and of Charles
+V. in 1536 to confirm the infamous Duke Alessandro on the throne--a
+confirmation which the dagger of Lorenzino happily annulled in the
+following year. It was here that Pope Leo's brother, Piero dei Medici,
+had made his unsuccessful attempt to surprise the city on April 28th
+1497, with some thousand men or more, horse and foot. A countryman at
+daybreak had seen them resting and breakfasting on the way, some few
+miles from the city; by taking short cuts over the country, he evaded
+their scouts who were intercepting all persons passing northwards, and
+reached Florence with the news just at the morning opening of the
+gate. The result was that the Magnifico Piero and his braves found it
+closed in their faces and the forces of the Signoria guarding the
+walls, so, after ignominiously skulking for a few hours out of range
+of the artillery, they fled back towards Siena.
+
+Near the Porta Romana the Viale dei Colli commences to the left, as
+the Viale Machiavelli; and, straight on, the beautifully shady
+Stradone del Poggio Imperiale runs up to the villa of that name, built
+for Maria Maddalena of Austria in 1622. The statues at the beginning
+of the road were once saints on the second façade of the Duomo. It was
+on the rising ground that divides the Strada Romana from the present
+Stradone that the famous convent of Monticelli stood, recorded in
+Dante's _Paradiso_ and Petrarca's _Trionfo della Pudicizia_, in which
+Piccarda Donati took the habit of St. Clare, and from which she was
+dragged by her brother Corso to marry Rossellino della Tosa:--
+
+     "Perfetta vita ed alto merto inciela
+       donna più su, mi disse, alla cui norma
+       nel vostro mondo giù si veste e vela,
+
+     perchè in fino al morir si vegghi e dorma
+       con quello sposo ch'ogni voto accetta,
+       che caritate a suo piacer conforma.
+
+     Dal mondo, per seguirla, giovinetta
+       fuggi'mi, e nel suo abito mi chiusi,
+       e promisi la via della sua setta.
+
+     Uomini poi, a mal più ch'al bene usi,
+       fuor mi rapiron della dolce chiostra;
+       e Dio si sa qual poi mia vita fusi."[56]
+
+  [56] "Perfected life and high desert enheaveneth a lady more aloft,"
+  she said, "by whose rule down in your world there are who clothe and
+  veil themselves,
+
+  That they, even till death, may wake and sleep with that Spouse who
+  accepteth every vow that love hath made conform with his good
+  pleasure.
+
+  From the world, to follow her, I fled while yet a girl, and in her
+  habit I enclosed myself, and promised the way of her company.
+
+  Thereafter men more used to ill than good tore me away from the sweet
+  cloister; and God doth know what my life then became."--_Paradiso_
+  iii. Wicksteed's translation.
+
+It was at Poggio Imperiale, then called the Poggio dei Baroncelli,
+that a famous combat took place during the early days of the siege, in
+which Ludovico Martelli and Dante da Castiglione fought two
+Florentines who were serving in the imperial army, Giovanni Bandini
+and Bertino Aldobrandini. Both Martelli, the original challenger, and
+Aldobrandini were mortally wounded. Martelli's real motive in sending
+the challenge is said to have been that he and Bandini were rivals for
+the favours of a Florentine lady, Marietta de' Ricci. Among the many
+beautiful villas and gardens which stud the country beyond Poggio
+Imperiale, are Galileo's Tower, from which he made his astronomical
+observations, and the villa in which he was visited by Milton. Near
+Santa Margherita a Montici, to the east, is the villa in which the
+articles of capitulation were arranged by the Florentine ambassadors
+with Ferrante Gonzaga, commander of the Imperial troops, and Baccio
+Valori, commissary of the Pope. But already Malatesta had opened the
+Porta Romana and turned his artillery against the city which he had
+solemnly sworn to defend.
+
+Beyond the Porta Romana the road to the right of Poggio Imperiale
+leads to the valley of the Ema, above which the great Certosa rises on
+the hill of Montaguto. Shortly before reaching the monastery the Ema
+is crossed--an insignificant stream in which Cacciaguida (in
+_Paradiso_ xvi.) rather paradoxically regrets that Buondelmonte was
+not drowned on his way to Florence: "Joyous had many been who now are
+sad, had God committed thee unto the Ema the first time that thou
+camest to the city." The Certosa itself, that "huge battlemented
+convent-block over the little forky flashing Greve," as Browning calls
+it, was founded by Niccolò Acciaiuoli, the Florentine Grand Seneschal
+of Naples, in 1341; it is one of the finest of the later mediæval
+monasteries. Orcagna is said to have built one of the side chapels of
+the church, which contains a fine early Giottesque altarpiece; and in
+a kind of crypt there are noble tombs of the Acciaiuoli--one, the
+monument of the founder, being possibly by Orcagna, and one of the
+later ones ascribed (doubtfully) to Donatello. In the chapter-house
+are a Crucifixion by Mariotto Albertinelli, and the monument of
+Leonardo Buonafede by Francesco da San Gallo. From the convent and
+further up the valley, there are beautiful views. About three miles
+further on is the sanctuary and shrine of the Madonna dell' Impruneta,
+built for the miraculous image of the Madonna, which was carried down
+in procession to Florence in times of pestilence and danger.
+Savonarola especially had placed great faith in the miraculous powers
+of this image and these processions; and during the siege it remained
+in Florence ceremoniously guarded in the Duomo, a kind of mystic
+Palladium.
+
+Between the Porta Romana and Porta San Frediano some tracts of the
+city wall remain, but the whole is painfully prosaic. The Porta San
+Frediano itself is a massive structure, erected between 1324 and 1327,
+possibly by Andrea Pisano; it need hardly be repeated that we cannot
+judge of the original mediæval appearance of the gates of Florence,
+with their towers and ante-portals, even from the least mutilated of
+their present remnants. It was through this gate that the Florentine
+army passed in triumph in 1363 with their long trains of captured
+Pisans; and here, after Pisa had shaken off for a while the yoke,
+Charles of France rode in as a conqueror on November 17, 1494,
+Savonarola's new Cyrus, and was solemnly received at the gate by the
+Signoria. Within the gate a strip of wall runs down to the river, with
+two later towers built by Medicean grand dukes. At the end is a chapel
+built in 1856, and containing a Pietà from the walls of a demolished
+convent--ascribed without warrant to Domenico Ghirlandaio.
+
+It was somewhere near here that S. Frediano, coming from Lucca to pay
+his annual visit to the shrine of San Miniato, miraculously crossed
+the Arno in flood. Outside the gate, a little off the Leghorn road to
+the left, is the suppressed abbey of Monte Oliveto, and beyond it, to
+the south, the hill of Bellosguardo--both points from which splendid
+views of Florence and its surroundings are obtained.
+
+These dream-like glimpses of the City of Flowers, which every coign of
+vantage seems to give us round Florence--might we not, sometimes,
+imagine that we had stumbled unawares upon the Platonic City of the
+Perfect? There are two lines from one of Dante's canzoni in praise of
+his mystical lady that rise to our mind at every turn:--
+
+     "Io non la vidi tante volte ancora,
+     ch'io non trovassi in lei nuova bellezza,"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+_Conclusion_
+
+
+The setting of Florence is in every way worthy of the gem which it
+encloses. On each side of the city and throughout its province
+beautiful walks and drives lead to churches, villas and villages full
+of historical interest or enriched with artistic treasures. I can here
+merely indicate a very few such places.
+
+To the north of the city rises Fiesole on its hill, of which the
+historical connection with Florence has been briefly discussed in
+chapter i. At its foot stands the Dominican convent, in which Fra
+Giovanni, whom we know better as the Beato Angelico, took the habit of
+the order, and in which both his brother, Fra Benedetto, and himself
+were in turn priors. Savonarola's fellow martyr, Fra Domenico da
+Pescia, was likewise prior of this house. The church contains a
+Madonna by Angelico, with the background painted in by Lorenzo di
+Credi (its exquisitely beautiful predella is now one of the chief
+ornaments of the National Gallery of London), a Baptism of Christ by
+Lorenzo di Credi, and an Adoration of the Magi designed by Andrea del
+Sarto and executed by Sogliani. A little to the left is the famous
+Badia di Fiesole, originally of the eleventh century, but rebuilt for
+Cosimo the Elder by Filippo Brunelleschi. It was one of Cosimo's
+favourite foundations; Marsilio Ficino's Platonic Academy frequently
+met in the loggia with its beautiful view towards the city. In the
+church, Lorenzo's second son, Giovanni, was invested with the
+Cardinalate in 1492; and here, in 1516, his third son, Giuliano, Duke
+of Nemours, the best of the Medici, died. On the way up to Fiesole
+itself is the handsome villa Mozzi, built for Giovanni di Cosimo de'
+Medici by Michelozzo. It was in this villa that the Pazzi had
+originally intended to murder Lorenzo and the elder Giuliano, but
+their plan was frustrated by the illness of Giuliano, which prevented
+his being present.
+
+In Fiesole itself, the remains of the Etruscan wall and the old
+theatre tell of the classical Faesulae; its Tuscan Romanesque Duomo
+(of the eleventh and twelfth centuries) recalls the days when the city
+seemed a rival to Florence itself and was the resort of the robber
+barons, who preyed upon her ever growing commerce. It contains
+sculptures by Mino da Fiesole and that later Fiesolan, Andrea Ferrucci
+(to whom we owe the bust of Marsilio Ficino), and a fine terracotta by
+one of the Della Robbias. From the Franciscan convent, which occupies
+the site of the old Roman citadel, a superb view of Florence and its
+valley is obtained. From Fiesole, towards the south-east, we reach
+Ponte a Mensola (also reached from the Porta alla Croce), the Mensola
+of Boccaccio's _Ninfale fiesolano_, above which is Settignano, where
+Desiderio was born and Michelangelo nurtured, and where Boccaccio had
+a podere. The Villa Poggio Gherardo, below Settignano, shares with the
+Villa Palmieri below Fiesole the distinction of being traditionally
+one of those introduced into the _Decameron_.
+
+Northwestwards of the Badia of Fiesole runs the road from Florence to
+Bologna, past the village of Trespiano, some three or four miles from
+the Porta San Gallo. In the twelfth century Trespiano was the northern
+boundary of Florentine territory, as Galluzzo--on the way towards the
+Certosa and about two miles from the Porta Romana--was its southern
+limit. Cacciaguida, in _Paradiso_ xvi., refers to this as an ideal
+golden time when the citizenship "saw itself pure even in the lowest
+artizan." A little way north of Trespiano, on the old Bolognese road,
+is the Uccellatoio--referred to in canto xv.--the first point from
+which Florence is visible. Below Trespiano, at La Lastra, rather more
+than two miles from the city, the exiled Bianchi and Ghibellines, with
+auxiliaries from Bologna and Arezzo, assembled in that fatal July of
+1304. The leaders of the Neri were absent at Perugia, and, at the
+first sight of the white standards waving from the hill, terror and
+consternation filled their partisans throughout the city. Had their
+enterprise been better organised, the exiles would undoubtedly have
+captured Florence. Seeing that they were discovered, and urged on by
+their friends within the city, without waiting for the Uberti, whose
+cavalry was advancing from Pistoia to their support and whose
+appointed day of coming they had anticipated, Baschiera della Tosa, in
+spite of the terrible heat, ordered an immediate advance upon the
+Porta San Gallo. The walls of the third circle were only in part built
+at that epoch, and those of the second circle still stood with their
+gates. The exiles, for the most part mounted, drew up round San Marco
+and the Annunziata, "with white standards spread, with garlands of
+olive and drawn swords, crying _peace_," writes Dino Compagni, who was
+in Florence at the time, "without doing violence or plundering anyone.
+A right goodly sight was it to see them, with the sign of peace thus
+arrayed. The heat was so great, that it seemed that the very air
+burned." But their friends within did not stir. They forced the Porta
+degli Spadai which stood at the head of the present Via dei Martelli,
+but were repulsed at the Piazza San Giovanni and the Duomo, and the
+sudden blazing up of a palace in the rear completed their rout. Many
+fell on the way, simply from the heat, while the Neri, becoming
+fierce-hearted like lions, as Compagni says, hotly pursued them,
+hunting out those who had hidden themselves among the vineyards and
+houses, hanging all they caught. In their flight, a little way from
+Florence, the exiles met Tolosato degli Uberti hastening up with his
+Ghibellines to meet them on the appointed day. Tolosato, a fierce
+captain and experienced in civil war, tried in vain to rally them,
+and, when all his efforts proved unavailing, returned to Pistoia
+declaring that the youthful rashness of Baschiera had lost him the
+city. Dante had taken no part in the affair; he had broken with his
+fellow exiles in the previous year, and made a party for himself as he
+tells us in the _Paradiso_.
+
+To the west and north-west of Florence are several interesting villas
+of the Medici. The Villa Medicea in Careggi, the most famous of all,
+is not always accessible. It is situated in the loveliest country,
+within a short walk of the tramway station of Ponte a Rifredi. Built
+originally by Michelozzo for Cosimo the Elder, it was almost burned
+down by a band of republican youths shortly before the siege. Here
+Cosimo died, consoling his last hours with Marsilio Ficino's
+Platonics; here the elder Piero lived in retirement, too shattered in
+health to do more than nominally succeed his father at the head of the
+State. On August 23rd 1466, there was an attempt made to murder Piero
+as he was carried into Florence from Careggi in his litter. A band of
+armed men, in the pay of Luca Pitti and Dietisalvi Neroni, lay in wait
+for the litter on the way to the Porta Faenza; but young Lorenzo, who
+was riding on in advance of his father's cortège, came across them
+first, and, without appearing to take any alarm at the meeting,
+secretly sent back a messenger to bid his father take another way.
+Under Lorenzo himself, this villa became the centre of the
+Neo-Platonic movement; and here on November 7th, the day supposed to
+be the anniversary of Plato's birth and death, the famous banquet was
+held at which Marsilio Ficino and the chosen spirits of the Academy
+discussed and expounded the _Symposium_. Here on April 8th 1492, the
+Magnifico died (see chap. iii.). In the same neighbourhood, a little
+further on in the direction of Pistoia, are the villas of Petraia and
+Castello (for both of which _permessi_ are given at the Pitti Palace,
+together with that for Poggio a Caiano), both reminiscent of the
+Medicean grand ducal family; in the latter Cosimo I. lived with his
+mother, Maria Salviati, before his accession to the throne, and here
+he died in 1574.
+
+Also beyond the Porta al Prato (about an hour and a half by the
+tramway from behind Santa Maria Novella), is the Villa Reale of Poggio
+a Caiano, superbly situated where the Pistoian Apennines begin to rise
+up from the plain. The villa was built by Giuliano da San Gallo for
+Lorenzo, and the Magnifico loved it best of all his country houses. It
+was here that he wrote his _Ambra_ and his _Caccia col Falcone_; in
+both of these poems the beautiful scenery round plays its part. When
+Pope Clement VII. sent the two boys, Ippolito and Alessandro, to
+represent the Medici in Florence, Alessandro generally stayed here,
+while Ippolito resided within the city in the palace in the Via Larga.
+When Charles V. came to Florence in 1536 to confirm Alessandro upon
+the throne, he declared that this villa "was not the building for a
+private citizen." Here, too, the Grand Duke Francesco and Bianca
+Cappello died, on October 19th and 20th, 1587, after entertaining the
+Cardinal Ferdinando, who thus became Grand Duke; it was said that
+Bianca had attempted to poison the Cardinal, and that she and her
+husband had themselves eaten of the pasty that she had prepared for
+him. It appears, however, that there is no reason for supposing that
+their deaths were other than natural. At present the villa is a royal
+country house, in which reminiscences of the Re Galantuomo clash
+rather oddly with those of the Medicean Princes. All round runs a
+loggia with fine views, and there are an uninteresting park and
+garden. The classical portico is noteworthy, all the rest being of the
+utmost simplicity.
+
+Within the palace a large room, with a remarkably fine ceiling by
+Giuliano da San Gallo, is decorated with a series of frescoes from
+Roman history intended to be typical of events in the lives of Cosimo
+the Elder and Lorenzo the Magnificent. Vasari says that, for a villa,
+this is _la più bella sala del mondo_. The frescoes, ordered by Pope
+Leo X. and the Cardinal Giulio, under the direction of Ottaviano dei
+Medici, were begun by Andrea dei Sarto, Francia Bigio and Jacopo da
+Pontormo, left unfinished for more than fifty years, and then
+completed by Alessandro Allori for the Grand Duke Francesco. The
+Triumph of Cicero, by Francia Bigio, is supposed to typify the return
+of Cosimo from exile in 1434; Caesar receiving tribute from Egypt, by
+Andrea del Sarto, refers to the coming of an embassy from the Soldan
+to Lorenzo in 1487, with magnificent gifts and treasures. Andrea's
+fresco is full of curious beasts and birds, including the long-eared
+sheep which Lorenzo naturalised in the grounds of the villa, and the
+famous giraffe which the Soldan sent on this occasion and which, as Mr
+Armstrong writes, "became the most popular character in Florence,"
+until its death at the beginning of 1489. The Regent of France, Anne
+of Beaujeu, made ineffectual overtures to Lorenzo to get him to make
+her a present of the strange beast. This fresco was left unfinished
+on the death of Pope Leo in 1521, and finished by Alessandro Allori in
+1582. The charming mythological decorations between the windows are by
+Jacopo da Pontormo. The two later frescoes by Alessandro Allori,
+painted about 1580, represent Scipio in the house of Syphax and
+Flamininus in Greece, which typify Lorenzo's visit to Ferrante of
+Naples, in 1480, and his presence at the Diet of Cremona in 1483, on
+which latter occasion, as Mr Armstrong puts it, "his good sense and
+powers of expression and persuasion gave him an importance which the
+military weakness of Florence denied to him in the field"--but the
+result was little more than a not very honourable league of the
+Italian powers against Venice. The Apples of the Hesperides, and the
+rest of the mythological decorations in continuation of Pontormo's
+lunette, are also Allori's. The whole has an air of regal triumph
+without needless parade.
+
+The road should be followed beyond the villa, in order to ascend to
+the left to the little church among the hills. A superb view is
+obtained over the plain to Florence beyond the Villa Reale lying below
+us. Behind, we are already among the Apennines. A beautiful glimpse of
+Prato can be seen to the left, four miles away.
+
+Prato itself is about twelve miles from Florence. It was a gay little
+town in the fifteenth century, when it witnessed "brother Lippo's
+doings, up and down," and heard Messer Angelo Poliziano's musical
+sighings for the love of Madonna Ippolita Leoncina. A few years later
+it listened to the voice of Fra Girolamo Savonarola, and at last its
+bright day of prosperity ended in the horrible sack and carnage from
+the Spanish soldiery under Raimondo da Cardona in 1512. Its
+Duomo--dedicated to St. Stephen and the Baptist--a Tuscan Romanesque
+church completed in the Gothic style by Giovanni Pisano, with a fine
+campanile built at the beginning of the fourteenth century, claims to
+possess a strange and wondrous relic: nothing less than the Cintola or
+Girdle of the Blessed Virgin, delivered by her--according to a pious
+and poetical legend--to St. Thomas at her Assumption, and then won
+back for Christendom by a native of Prato, Michele Dagonari, in the
+Crusades. Be that as it may, what purports to be this relic is
+exhibited on occasions in the Pulpito della Cintola on the exterior of
+the Duomo, a magnificent work by Donatello and Michelozzo, in which
+the former master has carved a wonderful series of dancing genii
+hardly, if at all, inferior to those more famous bas-reliefs executed
+a little later for the cantoria of Santa Maria del Fiore. Within, over
+the entrance wall, is a picture by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio of the Madonna
+giving the girdle to the Thomas who had doubted. And in the chapel on
+the left (with a most beautifully worked bronze screen, with a lovely
+frieze of cupids, birds and beasts--the work of Bruno Lapi and
+Pasquino di Matteo, 1444-1461), the Cintola is preserved amid frescoes
+by Agnolo Gaddi setting forth the life of Madonna, her granting of
+Prato's treasure to St Thomas at the Assumption, and its discovery by
+Michele Dagonari.
+
+The church is rich in works of Florentine art--a pulpit by Mino da
+Fiesole and Antonio Rossellino; the Madonna dell' Ulivo by Giuliano da
+Maiano; frescoes said to be in part by Masolino's reputed master
+Starnina in the chapel to the right of the choir. But Prato's great
+artistic glory must be sought in Fra Lippo Lippi's frescoes in the
+choir, painted between 1452 and 1464. These are the great achievements
+of the Friar's life. On the left is the life of St. Stephen, on the
+right that of the Baptist. They show very strongly the influence of
+Masaccio, and make us understand why the Florentines said that the
+spirit of Masaccio had entered into the body of Fra Filippo. Inferior
+to Masaccio in most respects, Filippo had a feeling for facial beauty
+and spiritual expression, and for a certain type of feminine grace
+which we hardly find in his prototype. The wonderful figure of the
+dancing girl in Herod's banquet, and again her naïve bearing when she
+kneels before her mother with the martyr's head, oblivious of the
+horror of the spectators and merely bent upon showing us her own sweet
+face, are characteristic of Lippo, as also, in another way, his
+feeling for boyhood shown in the little St. John's farewell to his
+parents. The Burial of St. Stephen is full of fine Florentine
+portraits in the manner of the Carmine frescoes. The dignified
+ecclesiastic at the head of the clergy is Carlo dei Medici, the
+illegitimate son of Cosimo. On the extreme right is Lippo himself.
+Carlo looks rather like a younger, more refined edition of Leo X.
+
+It was while engaged upon these frescoes that Lippo Lippi was
+commissioned by the nuns of Santa Margherita to paint a Madonna for
+them, and took the opportunity of carrying off Lucrezia Buti, a
+beautiful girl staying in the convent who had sat to him as the
+Madonna, during one of the Cintola festivities. Lippo appears to have
+been practically unfrocked at this time, but he refused the
+dispensation of the Pope who wished him to marry her legally, as he
+preferred to live a loose life. Between the station and the Duomo you
+can see the house where they lived and where Filippino Lippi was born.
+Opposite the convent of Santa Margherita is a tabernacle containing a
+wonderfully beautiful fresco by Filippino, a Madonna and Child with
+Angels, adored by St. Margaret and St. Catherine, St. Antony and St.
+Stephen. All the faces are of the utmost loveliness, and the
+Catherine especially is like a foretaste of Luini's famous fresco at
+Milan. In the town picture gallery there are four pictures ascribed to
+Lippo Lippi--all four of rather questionable authenticity--and one by
+Filippino, a Madonna and Child with St. Stephen and the Baptist,
+which, although utterly ruined, appears to be genuine. The Protomartyr
+and the Precursor seem always inseparable throughout the faithful
+little city of the Cintola.
+
+Prato can likewise boast some excellent terracotta works by Andrea
+della Robbia, both outside the Duomo and in the churches of Our Lady
+of Good Counsel and Our Lady of the Prisons. This latter church, the
+Madonna delle Carceri, reared by Giuliano da San Gallo between 1485
+and 1491, is perhaps the most beautiful and most truly classical of
+all Early Renaissance buildings in Tuscany.
+
+Ten miles beyond Prato lies Pistoia, at the very foot of the
+Apennines, the city of Dante's friend and correspondent, Messer Cino,
+the poet of the golden haired Selvaggia, he who sang the dirge of
+Caesar Henry; the centre of the fiercest faction struggles of Italian
+history. It was the Florentine traditional policy to keep Pisa by
+fortresses and Pistoia by factions. It lies, however, beyond the scope
+of the present book, with the other Tuscan cities that owned the sway
+of the great Republic. San Gemignano, that most wonderful of all the
+smaller towns of Tuscany, the city of "the fair towers," of Santa Fina
+and of the gayest of mediæval poets, Messer Folgore, comes into
+another volume of this series.
+
+But it is impossible to conclude even the briefest study of Florence
+without a word upon that Tuscan Earthly Paradise, the Casentino and
+upper valley of the Arno, although it lies for the most part not in
+the province of Florence but in that of Arezzo. It is best reached by
+the diligence which runs from Pontassieve over the Consuma Pass--where
+Arnaldo of Brescia, who lies in the last horrible round of Dante's
+Malebolge, was burned alive for counterfeiting the golden florins of
+Florence--to Stia.[57] A whole chapter of Florentine history may be
+read among the mountains of the Casentino, writ large upon its castles
+and monasteries. If the towers of San Gemignano give us still the
+clearest extant picture of the life led by the nobles and magnates
+when forced to enter the cities, we can see best in the Casentino how
+they exercised their feudal sway and maintained for a while their
+independence of the burgher Commune. The Casentino was ruled by the
+Conti Guidi, that great clan whose four branches--the Counts of
+Romena, the Counts of Porciano, the Counts of Battifolle and Poppi,
+the Counts of Dovadola (to whom Bagno in Romagna and Pratovecchio here
+appear to have belonged)--sprang from the four sons of Gualdrada,
+Bellincion Berti's daughter. Poppi remains a superb monument of the
+power and taste of these "Counts Palatine of Tuscany"; its palace on a
+small scale resembles the Palazzo Vecchio of Florence. Romena and
+Porciano, higher up stream, overhanging Pratovecchio and Stia, have
+been immortalised by the verse and hallowed by the footsteps of Dante
+Alighieri. Beneath the hill upon which Poppi stands, an old bridge
+still spans the Arno, upon which the last of the Conti Guidi, the
+Count Francesco, surrendered in 1440 to the Florentine commissary,
+Neri Capponi. After the second expulsion of the Medici from Florence,
+Piero and Giuliano for some time lurked in the Casentino, with
+Bernardo Dovizi at Bibbiena.
+
+  [57] The lover of Florentine history cannot readily tear himself away
+  from the Casentino. The Albergo Amorosi at Bibbiena, almost at the
+  foot of La Verna, makes delightful headquarters. There is an excellent
+  _Guida illustrata del Casentino_ by C. Beni. For the Conti Guidi,
+  Witte's essay should be consulted; it is translated in _Witte's Essays
+  on Dante_ by C. M. Lawrence and P. H. Wicksteed. La Verna will be
+  fully dealt with in the Assisi volume of this series, so I do not
+  describe it here.
+
+Throughout the Casentino Dante himself should be our guide. There is
+hardly another district in Italy so intimately connected with the
+divine poet; save only Florence and Ravenna, there is, perhaps, none
+where we more frequently need to have recourse to the pages of the
+_Divina Commedia_. With the _Inferno_ in our hands, we seek out Count
+Alessandro's castle of Romena and what purports to be the Fonte
+Branda, below the castle to the left, for whose waters--even to cool
+the thirst of Hell--Maestro Adamo would not have given the sight of
+his seducer sharing his agony. With the _Purgatorio_ we trace the
+course of the Arno from where, a mere _fiumicello_, it takes its rise
+in Falterona, and runs down past Porciano and Poppi to sweep away from
+the Aretines, "turning aside its muzzle in disdain." There is a
+tradition that Dante was imprisoned in the castle of Porciano. We know
+that he was the guest of various members of the Conti Guidi at
+different times during his exile; it was from one of their castles,
+probably Poppi, that on March 31st and April 16th, 1311, he directed
+his two terrible letters to the Florentine government and to the
+Emperor Henry. It was in the Casentino, too, that he composed the
+Canzone _Amor, dacchè convien pur ch'io mi doglia_, "Love, since I
+needs must make complaint," one of the latest and most perplexing of
+his lyrics.
+
+The battlefield of Campaldino lies beyond Poppi, on the eastern side
+of the river, near the old convent and church of Certomondo, founded
+some twenty or thirty years before by two of the Conti Guidi to
+commemorate the great Ghibelline victory of Montaperti, but now to
+witness the triumph of the Guelfs. The Aretines, under their Bishop
+and Buonconte da Montefeltro, had marched up the valley along the
+direction of the present railway to Bibbiena, to check the ravages of
+the Florentines who, with their French allies, had made their way
+through the mountains above Pratovecchio and were laying waste the
+country of the Conti Guidi. It was on the Feast of St. Barnabas, 1289,
+that the two armies stood face to face, and Dante riding in the
+Florentine light cavalry, if the fragment of a letter preserved to us
+by Leonardo Bruni be authentic, "had much dread and at the end the
+greatest gladness, by reason of the varying chances of that battle."
+There are no relics of the struggle to be found in Certomondo; only a
+very small portion of the cloisters remains, and the church itself
+contains nothing of note save an Annunciation by Neri di Bicci. But
+about an hour's walk from the battlefield, perhaps a mile from the
+foot of the hill on which Bibbiena stands, is a spot most sacred to
+all lovers of Dante. Here the stream of the Archiano, banked with
+poplars and willows, flows into the Arno; and here, at the close of
+that same terrible and glorious day, Buonconte da Montefeltro died of
+his wounds, gasping out the name of Mary. At evening the nightingales
+are loud around the spot, but their song is less sweet then the
+ineffable stanzas in the fifth canto of the _Purgatorio_ in which
+Dante has raised an imperishable monument to the young Ghibelline
+warrior.
+
+But, more famous than its castles or even its Dantesque memories, the
+Casentino is hallowed by its noble sanctuaries of Vallombrosa,
+Camaldoli, La Verna. Less noted but still very interesting is the
+Dominican church and convent of the Madonna del Sasso, just below
+Bibbiena on the way towards La Verna, hallowed with memories of
+Savonarola and the Piagnoni, and still a place of devout pilgrimage to
+Our Lady of the Rock. There is a fine Assumption in its church,
+painted by Fra Paolino from Bartolommeo's cartoon. Vallombrosa and
+Camaldoli, founded respectively by Giovanni Gualberto and Romualdus,
+have shared the fate of all such institutions in modern Italy.
+
+La Verna remains undisturbed, that "harsh rock between Tiber and
+Arno," as Dante calls it, where Francis "received from Christ the
+final seal;" the sacred mountain from which, on that September morning
+before the dawn, so bright a light of Divine Love shone forth to
+rekindle the mediæval world, that all the country seemed aflame, as
+the crucified Seraph uttered the words of mystery--_Tu sei il mio
+Gonfaloniere_: "Thou art my standard-bearer." To enter the precincts
+of this sacred place, under the arch hewn out from between the rocks,
+is like a first introduction to the spirit of the _Divina Commedia_.
+
+     "Non est in toto sanctior orbe mons."
+
+For here, at least, is one spot left in the world, where, although
+Renaissance and Reformation, Revolution and Risorgimento, have swept
+round it, the Middle Ages still reign a living reality, in their
+noblest aspect, with the _poverelli_ of the Seraphic Father; and the
+mystical light, that shone out on the day of the Stigmata, still
+burns: "while the eternal ages watch and wait."
+
+  [Illustration: FLORENCE]
+
+
+
+
+   TABLE OF THE MEDICI
+
+   GIOVANNI DI AVERARDO (GIOVANNI BICCI) 1360-1429, m. Piccarda Bueri.
+                          ____________|______________________(continued below)
+   COSIMO (Pater Patriae), 1389-1464, m. Contessina dei Bardi.
+         _____________________________|________________
+         |                     |                       |
+   PIERO (il Gottoso)      GIOVANNI,                 CARLO,
+   1416-1469,              1424-1463,                (illegitimate),
+   m. Lucrezia Tornabuoni. m. Ginevra degli          d. 1492.
+                           Alessandri.
+      ___|______________________________________________
+      |                    |           |                |
+   LORENZO,             GIULIANO,    BIANCA,         NANNINA,
+   (the Magnificent),   1453-1478.   m. Guglielmo    m. Bernardo
+   1449-1492,               |           dei Pazzi.      Rucellai.
+   m. Clarice Orsini.       |
+      |                 GIULIO (illegitimate),
+      |                 d. 1534,
+      |                 (Pope Clement VII.)
+    __|_____________________________________________________________
+    |               |               |                   |           |
+   PIERO,        GIOVANNI,      GIULIANO,           LUCREZIA,   MADDALENA,
+   1471-1503,    1475-1521,     (Duke of Nemours),  m. Giacomo  m. Franceschetto
+   m. Alfonsina  (Pope Leo X.)  1479-1516,          Salviati.   Cibo.
+      Orsini.                   m. Filiberta of         |
+        |                           Savoy.              |
+     ___|________________             |               __|_____________
+     |                   |            |              |                |
+   LORENZO,           CLARICE,    IPPOLITO,[58]      MARIA,       FRANCESCA,
+   (titular Duke      m. Filippo  (Illegitimate),   m. Giovanni  m. Ottaviano
+   of Urbino),           Strozzi  1511-1535,        delle Bande  dei Medici.
+   1492-1519,                     (Cardinal).       Nere.            |
+   m. Madeleine de                                              Alessandro,
+   la Tour d'Auvergne.                                          d. 1605,
+        _|______________                                         (Pope Leo XI.)
+       |                |
+   ALESSANDRO,[59]    CATERINA,
+   (Illegitimate),   1519-1589,
+   d. 1537,          m. Henri II.
+   m. Margherita       of France.
+      of Austria.
+
+   [58][59] _The parentage of Ippolito and Alessandro is somewhat uncertain. The
+   former was probably Giuliano's son by a lady of Pesaro, the latter probably
+   the son of Lorenzo by a mulatto woman._
+
+   -----------continued from above
+   ___________________
+                      |
+   LORENZO, 1395-1440, m. Ginevra Cavalcanti.
+                      |
+                PIERO FRANCESCO,
+                d. 1467 (or 1476),
+                m. Laudomia Acciaiuoli.
+           _______________|_______
+          |                       |
+   LORENZO, d. 1503,          GIOVANNI, d. 1498,
+   m. Semiramide Appini.      m. Caterina Sforza.
+          |                            |
+   PIER FRANCESCO,            GIOVANNI, ("delle Bande
+   d. 1525,                   Nere"), 1498-1526,
+   m. Maria Soderini.         m. Maria Salviati.
+        __|__________________________    |____________
+       |                |            |                |
+   LORENZO,         LAUDOMIA,    MADDALENA,        COSIMO I.
+   ("Lorenzino"     m. Piero     m. Roberto        (Grand Duke),
+        or             Strozzi.     Strozzi.       1519-1574,
+   "Lorenzaccio"),                                 m. Eleonora of Toledo
+   1514-1547.                                         (and Cammilla Martelli)
+                          _____________________________________|_____
+                         |                  |           |            |
+                   FRANCESCO I.,         GIOVANNI,   GARZIA,    FERDINAND I.,
+                   1541-1587,            d. 1562.    d. 1562.   1549-1609,
+                   m. Joanna of                                 m. Christina of
+                      Austria (and                                 Lorraine.
+                      Bianca Cappello).                          ______|
+                        |                                        |
+                      MARIA                                 COSIMO II.,
+                      m. Henri IV.                          1590-1621,
+                      of France                             m. Maria Maddalena
+                                                               of Austria.
+                                                                   |
+                                                            FERDINAND II.,
+                                                            1610-1670.
+                                                                   |
+                                                            COSIMO III.,
+                                                            1642-1723.
+                                                                   |
+                                                            GIOVANNI GASTONE,
+                                                            1671-1737.
+
+
+
+
+CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX OF ARCHITECTS, SCULPTORS & PAINTERS
+
+(_Names of non-Italians in italics_)
+
+
+     ARCHITECTS AND SCULPTORS
+
+     Niccolò Pisano (circa 1206-1278), 32, 254, 349.
+
+     Fra Sisto (died 1289), 359.
+
+     Fra Ristoro da Campi (died 1283), 359.
+
+     Arnolfo di Cambio (1232?-1300 or 1310), 41, 65, 66, 146-149, 184,
+       205, 211, 228, 231, 242, 248, 265, 269, 274, 333, 334, 372.
+
+     Giovanni Pisano (circa 1250-after 1328), 32, 254, 416.
+
+     Giotto da Bondone. See under Painters.
+
+     Andrea Pisano (1270-1348), 65, 67, 225, 254, 255, 260-263, 408.
+
+     Fra Giovanni da Campi (died 1339), 359.
+
+     Taddeo Gaddi. See under Painters.
+
+     Fra Jacopo Talenti da Nipozzano (died 1362), 359, 366.
+
+     Nino Pisano (died 1368), 271.
+
+     Andrea Orcagna. See under Painters.
+
+     Francesco Talenti (died after 1387), 65, 67, 189, 260, 265, 266.
+
+     Pietro di Migliore (middle of fourteenth century), 196.
+
+     Alberto Arnoldi (died circa 1378), 264.
+
+     Simone di Francesco Talenti (end of fourteenth century), 156,
+       189, 190, 198, 203.
+
+     Benci di Cione (latter half of fourteenth century), 156, 189,
+       203, 216.
+
+     Neri di Fioraventi (latter half of fourteenth century) 203, 216.
+
+     Giovanni di Ambrogio (last quarter of fourteenth century), 157.
+
+     Jacopo di Piero (last quarter of fourteenth century), 157.
+
+     Piero di Giovanni Tedesco (end of Trecento), 216, 270.
+
+     Niccolò di Piero Lamberti da Arezzo (1360?-1444?), 193, 216, 263,
+       270, 272, 276.
+
+     Nanni di Antonio di Banco (died in 1421), 97, 190, 193, 194,
+       272-274, 276, 304.
+
+     Jacopo della Quercia (1371-1438), 272.
+
+     Bicci di Lorenzo. See under Painters.
+
+     Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446), 80, 97, 222, 237, 242, 243,
+       266, 269, 274, 289, 290, 291, 301, 325, 328, 347, 354, 363,
+       377, 389, 409.
+
+     Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455), 11, 95, 97, 193, 195, 222, 232,
+       255-258, 275-277, 329, 363.
+
+     Bernardo Ciuffagni (1381-1457), 275, 276.
+
+     Donatello, Donate di Betto Bardi (1386-1466), 76, 80, 97, 150,
+       157, 190, 193-195, 209, 220, 221, 223, 232, 236, 237, 243, 253,
+       263, 264, 270, 272, 274, 275, 277, 280-282, 286, 363, 371, 380.
+
+     Michelozzo Michelozzi (1396-1472), 77, 80, 98, 150, 193, 242,
+       253, 277, 284, 302, 310, 322, 327, 377, 402, 410, 412, 416.
+
+     Luca della Robbia (1399-1482), 98, 193, 194, 195, 210, 223, 225,
+       243, 263, 276, 277, 281, 288, 371, 402.
+
+     Leo (Leone) Battista Alberti (1405-1472), 98, 328, 354, 359.
+
+     Bernardo Rossellino (1409-1464), 98, 235, 236, 354, 361.
+
+     Vecchietta (1410-1480), 222.
+
+     Antonio Rossellino (1427-1478), 98, 224, 371, 402, 416.
+
+     Desiderio da Settignano (1428-1464), 98, 225, 237, 243, 290, 349,
+       371, 410.
+
+     Antonio Pollaiuolo (1429-1498), 87, 98, 99, 167, 168, 175, 222,
+       224, 280, 281, 395.
+
+     Mino da Fiesole (1431-1484), 82, 98, 212, 225, 242, 410, 416.
+
+     Giuliano da Maiano (1432-1490), 98, 416.
+
+     Andrea Verrocchio (1435-1488), 11, 86, 98, 99, 150, 168, 174,
+       195, 222, 224, 225, 280, 281, 292, 298, 318, 329.
+
+     Matteo Civitali (1435-1501), 224, 225.
+
+     Andrea della Robbia (1435-1525), 98, 223, 325, 329, 347, 354,
+       355, 371, 418.
+
+     Benedetto da Maiano (1442-1497), 98, 153, 224, 225, 235, 274,
+       353, 365.
+
+     Bertoldo (died 1491), 101, 222, 290, 298.
+
+     Giuliano da San Gallo (1445-1516), 98, 330, 351, 389, 413, 414,
+       418.
+
+     Cronaca, Simone del Pollaiuolo (1457-1508), 98, 150, 230, 353,
+       389, 398.
+
+     Benedetto Buglione (1461-1521), 211.
+
+     Caparra, Niccolò Grosso (worker in metal, latter half of
+       fifteenth century), 353.
+
+     Andrea Ferrucci da Fiesole (1465-1526), 220, 274, 410.
+
+     Baccio d'Agnolo (1462-1543), 377, 389.
+
+     Giovanni della Robbia (1469-1527), 98, 223, 238, 365, 371, 398.
+
+     Andrea Sansovino (circa 1460-1529), 258.
+
+     Baccio da Montelupo (1469-1535), 194.
+
+     Benedetto da Rovezzano (1474-1552), 13, 219, 276, 349, 395.
+
+     Giovanni Francesco Rustici (1474-1554), 255, 256, 325.
+
+     Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), 2, 101, 102, 137, 138,
+       142-145, 151, 152, 162, 164-166, 183, 216, 219, 220, 223,
+       225-227, 235, 258, 266, 275, 276, 282, 289, 291-296, 298,
+       314, 315, 322, 339, 349, 385, 388, 397, 398, 401, 410.
+
+     Jacopo Sansovino (1486-1570), 225, 275, 326.
+
+     Baccio Bandinelli (1487-1559), 150, 152, 288.
+
+     Francesco da San Gallo (1494-1576), 198, 291, 407.
+
+     Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571), 145, 150, 154, 157, 223, 284, 285,
+       349.
+
+     Raffaello di Baccio da Montelupo (1505-1566), 296.
+
+     Fra Giovanni Agnolo da Montorsoli (1506-1563), 296.
+
+     Battista del Tasso (died 1555), 200.
+
+     Bartolommeo Ammanati (1511-1592), 154, 346, 379.
+
+     Giorgio Vasari (1512-1574), 67, 87, 140, 145, 149, 151, 152, 155,
+       160, 172, 231, 235, 275, et passim.
+
+     Giovanni da Bologna (1524-1608), 145, 154, 157, 195, 216, 223,
+       301, 325.
+
+     Vincenzo Danti, (1530-1576), 216, 233, 255, 258.
+
+     Bernardo Buontalenti (1536-1608), 199, 298, 375.
+
+
+     PAINTERS
+
+     Fra Jacopo, worker in mosaic (working in 1225), 249.
+
+     Giovanni Cimabue (1240-1302), 66, 243, 244, 321, 361.
+
+     Andrea Tafi, worker in mosaic (1250?-1320?), 249.
+
+     Gaddo Gaddi (circa 1259-1333), 273.
+
+     Duccio di Buoninsegna (circa 1260-1339), 361.
+
+     Giotto da Bondone (1276?-1336), 32, 56, 65, 66, 67, 69, 163, 222,
+       238-241, 242, 259-263, 265, 274, 298, 322, 323, 361, 366, 372,
+       403.
+
+     Simone Martini (1283-1344), 67, 163, 366
+
+     Lippo Memmi (died 1356), 163.
+
+     Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti (died circa 1348), 67, 163, 323.
+
+     Taddeo Gaddi (circa 1300-1366), 67, 189, 222, 241, 322, 341, 366.
+
+     Bernardo Daddi (died in 1350), 67, 197, 238, 404.
+
+     Giottino, Giotto di Stefano (died after 1369), 163, 226.
+
+     Puccio Capanna (flourished circa 1350), 372.
+
+     Maso di Banco (working in middle of Trecento), 226, 237.
+
+     Pietro Cavallini (died circa 1360), 323.
+
+     Giovanni da Milano (died after 1360), 67, 163, 323, 395.
+
+     Leonardo Orcagna (born before 1308), 362.
+
+     Andrea Orcagna (1308-1368), 11, 65, 68, 69, 156, 185, 189, 196,
+       197, 210, 224, 264, 362, 363, 366, 367, 407.
+
+     Agnolo Gaddi (died 1396), 67, 157, 163, 238, 242, 322, 416.
+
+     Cennino Cennini (end of Trecento), 226.
+
+     Spinello Aretino (1333-1410), 68, 370, 395, 402, 403.
+
+     Gherardo Starnina (1354-1408), 391, 416.
+
+     Don Lorenzo, il Monaco (1370-1425), 163, 178, 180, 308, 322, 350.
+
+     Gentile da Fabriano (1370-1450), 321, 322, 396.
+
+     Bicci di Lorenzo (1373-1452), 277, 329.
+
+     Masolino (born circa 1384, died after 1435), 99, 391-395, 416.
+
+     Masaccio (1401-1428), 74, 76, 95, 99, 102, 169, 318, 391-395,
+       417.
+
+     Fra Giovanni Angelico (1387-1455), 99, 167, 175, 176, 178, 181,
+       183, 301-304, 306-310, 315, 316, 322, 328, 356, 409.
+
+     Andrea del Castagno (1396?-1457), 99, 273, 327, 329, 335, 336.
+
+     Domenico Veneziano (died 1461), 99, 180, 236, 335, 387.
+
+     Paolo Uccello (1397-1475), 99, 163, 257, 273, 275, 366.
+
+     Fra Filippo Lippi (1406-1469), 80, 99, 170, 175, 287, 290, 316,
+       318-321, 333, 386, 390, 415-418.
+
+     Piero della Francesca (1415-1492), 174.
+
+     Neri di Bicci (1419-1491), 163, 396, 421.
+
+     Benozzo Gozzoli (1420-1498), 79, 87, 257, 287, 288, 316, 330.
+
+     Domenico di Michelino (working in 1461), 277.
+
+     Francesco Pesellino (1422-1457), 227, 318.
+
+     Alessio Baldovinetti (1427-1499), 163, 326, 364, 402.
+
+     Antonio Pollaiuolo. See under Sculptors.
+
+     Giovanni Bellini (circa 1428-1516), 162, 177.
+
+     Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506), 165, 168, 176, 177, 183, 365.
+
+     Andrea Verrocchio. See under Sculptors.
+
+     _Hans Memlinc_ (circa 1435-1495), 177.
+
+     Cosimo Rosselli (1439-1507), 100, 164, 326, 329, 330, 333.
+
+     Piero Pollaiuolo (1443-1496), 164, 174.
+
+     Luca Signorelli (1441-1523), 100, 164, 166, 174, 175, 320, 321,
+       352, 387.
+
+     _Hugo Van der Goes_ (died 1482), 330.
+
+     Pietro Vannucci, Perugino (1446-1523), 165, 167, 168, 316, 319,
+       321, 328, 389, 330, 336, 383.
+
+     Alessandro Filipepi, Sandro Botticelli (1447-1510), 87, 89, 94,
+       97, 100, 160, 168, 169, 170, 173, 174, 175, 178-181, 210, 279,
+       291, 317, 318, 320, 321, 352, 365, 372, 379, 395.
+
+     Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494), 11, 74, 100, 101, 168, 174,
+       181, 242, 272, 320, 323, 324, 326, 350, 351, 363, 364, 371,
+       372.
+
+     Francesco Raibolini, Francia (1450-1517), 165.
+
+     David Ghirlandaio (1452-1525), 101, 364.
+
+     Sebastiano Mainardi (died 1513), 222, 242, 364.
+
+     Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), 66, 99, 100, 101, 137, 138, 151,
+       162, 169, 170, 174, 183, 256, 298, 318, 349, 386, 393.
+
+     Filippino Lippi (1457-1504), 7, 14, 94, 100, 162, 169, 172, 173,
+       212, 321, 352, 365, 387, 389, 392, 395, 417, 418.
+
+     Lorenzo di Credi (1459-1537), 11, 100, 101, 168, 173, 174, 175,
+       210, 277, 321, 409.
+
+     Piero di Cosimo (1462-1521), 100, 101, 139, 164, 170, 210, 325.
+
+     Lorenzo Costa (circa 1460-1535), 387.
+
+     Raffaellino del Garbo (1466-1524), 321, 351, 389.
+
+     Raffaellino di Carlo (1470-1516), 352, 389.
+
+     Boccaccino da Cremona (died 1518), 386.
+
+     Timoteo Viti (1469-1523), 382.
+
+     Francesco Granacci (1469-1543), 101, 173, 298, 318, 395.
+
+     _Albert Dürer_ (1471-1528), 165, 177, 324.
+
+     Mariotto Albertinelli (1474-1515), 137-139, 171, 210, 320, 323,
+       329, 387, 407.
+
+     Michelangelo Buonarroti. See under Architects and Sculptors.
+
+     Fra Bartolommeo (1475-1517), 137-139, 164, 167, 170-172, 183,
+     301-303, 307, 309, 320, 321, 323, 329, 380, 383, 384, 387.
+
+     Bernardino Luini (1475-1533), 165, 418.
+
+     Morto da Feltre (1475?-1522?), 384.
+
+     Giorgio Barbarelli, Giorgione (1477-1511), 162, 164, 167, 177,
+       381, 384.
+
+     Tiziano Vecelli, Titian (1477-1576), 162, 165, 167, 177, 178,
+       253, 380, 381, 383, 384-386, 387.
+
+     Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, Sodoma (1477-1549), 170.
+
+     Dosso Dossi (1479-1542), 162, 383.
+
+     Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1555), 384.
+
+     Francia Bigio (1482-1525), 164, 324-327, 414.
+
+     Raffaello Sanzio, Raphael (1483-1520), 138, 151, 152, 162, 164,
+       165, 183, 258, 321, 335, 336, 352, 381-385, 393, 394.
+
+     Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (1483-1561), 12, 153, 171, 381, 416.
+
+     Sebastiano del Piombo (1485-1547), 164, 387.
+
+     Andrea del Sarto (1486-1531), 138, 139, 142, 162, 169, 171, 182,
+       318, 320, 324-328, 334, 352, 381-386, 414.
+
+     Giovanni da Udine (1487-1564), 296.
+
+     Fra Paolino da Pistoia (1490-1547), 323, 412.
+
+     Giovanni Antonio Sogliani (1492-1544), 303, 409.
+
+     Giulio Romano (1492-1546), 383, 384.
+
+     Antonio Allegri da Correggio (1494-1534), 166, 167, 176, 253.
+
+     Rosso Fiorentino (1494-1541), 223, 327, 329, 384.
+
+     Jacopo da Pontormo (1494-1557), 144, 145, 172, 310, 327, 414,
+       415.
+
+     _Lucas Van Leyden_ (1494-1533), 165.
+
+     Angelo Bronzino (1502-1572), 82, 145, 154, 170, 171, 182, 290.
+
+     Michele di Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (1503-1577), 334, 372.
+
+     Daniele Ricciarelli, da Volterra (1509-1566), 223, 227.
+
+     Francesco Salviati (1510-1563), 153.
+
+     Giorgio Vasari. See under Architects and Sculptors.
+
+     Jacopo Robusti, Tintoretto (1518-1594), 162.
+
+     Paolo Veronese (1528-1588), 241, 381.
+
+     Taddeo Zuccheri (1529-1566), 275.
+
+     Marcello Venusti (died circa 1580), 227.
+
+     Alessandro Allori (1535-1607), 414, 415.
+
+     Bernardo Poccetti (1542-1612), 303.
+
+     Jacopo da Empoli (1554-1640), 227, 327.
+
+     Guido Reni (1575-1642), 386.
+
+     Cristofano Allori (1577-1621), 384.
+
+     _Peter Paul Rubens_ (1577-1640), 152, 162, 382, 385, 386.
+
+     Matteo Rosselli (1578-1650), 303, 386.
+
+     Artemisia Gentileschi (died 1642), 387.
+
+     Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669), 379, 380.
+
+     _Justus Sustermans_ (1597-1681), 182.
+
+     _Antony Van Dyck_ (1599-1641), 385.
+
+     _Diego Velasquez_ (1599-1660), 386.
+
+     _Rembrandt Van Rÿn_ (1606-1669), 162.
+
+     Carlo Dolci (1616-1686), 352, 386.
+
+     _Peter Lely_ (1618-1680), 387.
+
+     Luca Giordano (1632-1705), 286.
+
+
+
+
+GENERAL INDEX
+
+  (_Names of Artists not included_)
+
+
+     A.
+
+     _Accademia delle Belle Arti_, 314-324.
+
+     Acciaiuoli, Agnolo (bishop), 369;
+       Agnolo (anti-Medicean), 85, 350;
+       Niccolò (grand seneschal), 336, 407;
+       Niccola (swindler), 398.
+
+     Adimari, family, 58, 203, 204.
+
+     Adimari, Boccaccio, 188, 203.
+
+     Alamanni, Luigi, 371.
+
+     Alberti, palace of the, 341;
+       Benedetto degli, 402;
+       Donato, 215, 216.
+
+     _Albizzi, Borgo degli_, 208-210.
+
+     Albizzi, Maso degli, 74, 76, 209-211, 350, 351.
+
+     Albizzi, Rinaldo degli, 74-77, 209, 346, 356.
+
+     Alighieri, family, 36, 37, 207, 208.
+
+     ALIGHIERI, DANTE, 2, 5, 6, 8, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 24;
+       his birth, 25, 32-37;
+       his love, 38;
+       at Campaldino, 39, 40;
+       political life, 41, 43;
+       priorate, 44, 45;
+       exile, 46, 49, 50, 53, 54;
+       death, 55;
+       on the Florentine Constitution, 59, 60, 65, 66, 69, 70, 91,
+         103, 112, 124, 199, 200, 203-206;
+       his house and family, 207, 208; 215;
+       in the Council of the Commune, 221;
+       portrait in the Bargello, 221, 222;
+       monument, 228, 235, 238-241, 243, 246, 248-250, 262, 274;
+       picture of him in the Duomo, 277-279;
+       portrait in the Biblioteca Riccardiana, 288;
+       his letters, 292, 329, 333, 340, 342, 346, 355, 361-363, 368,
+         379, 394, 397, 398, 405, 408, 412;
+       with him in the Casentino, 419-422.
+
+     Aldobrandini, Bertino, 406;
+       Salvestro, 228.
+
+     Alexander VI., Pope, 95, 113, 117, 123, 124.
+
+     Altoviti, palace of the, 209.
+
+     _Ambrogio, S._, 333.
+
+     Amidei, family, 19-21, 346;
+       tower, 346.
+
+     Ambrogini, Angelo. _See_ Poliziano.
+
+     _Annunziata, SS._, Piazza, 325;
+       church and convent, 40, 127, 326-328.
+
+     Antoninus, S., 10, 82, 197, 274, 301, 303, 304, 309.
+
+     _Apostoli, SS._, 13, 347.
+
+     _Appollonia, S._, 99, 335, 336.
+
+     Argenti, Filippo, 204.
+
+     Arts or Guilds, 17, 25-28, 38, 39, 42, 43, 61, 72, 73, 74, 78,
+       184, 189-196.
+
+     Athens, Duke of, 57, 58, 72, 149, 198, 221, 225, 226, 229, 369.
+
+
+     B.
+
+     _Badia_, 127, 211-213.
+
+     Baglioni, Malatesta, 143, 360, 401, 406, 407.
+
+     Baldovinetti, tower of the, 346.
+
+     Bandini, Giovanni, 406.
+
+     _Baptistery_, 7, 11, 246-259.
+
+     Baroncelli, Bernardo, 279.
+
+     _Bardi, cappella dei_, 239;
+       _via dei_, 38, 376, 377.
+
+     Bardi, family, 59, 375;
+       Simone dei, 351.
+
+     Bargello, office of, 42 (note), 215;
+       former quarters of, 128, 134, 155, 215.
+
+     _Bargello, Museo Nazionale_, (Palazzo del Podestà), 214-225.
+
+     Battifolle, Counts of, 351, 419.
+
+     _Belle Donne, Via delle_, 354.
+
+     Benedict XI., Pope, 50, 304, 356, 369.
+
+     Benevento, Battle of, 25, 32, 69.
+
+     Beatrice, 36, 37, 206, 329.
+
+     Benedetto da Foiano, Fra, 359, 360.
+
+     Bellincion Berti, 16, 206.
+
+     Bella, Giano della, 42, 43, 206, 215, 371, 376.
+
+     Bello, Geri del, 208.
+
+     _Belvedere, Fortezza_, 375, 403.
+
+     _Biagio, S._ (S. Maria sopra la Porta), 28, 29, 200.
+
+     "Bianchi e Neri," Whites and Blacks, 35, 43-50, 70, 215, 216,
+       347, 348, 350, 351.
+
+     Bibbiena, 419-422.
+
+     _Biblioteca Laurenziana_, 102, 291, 292.
+
+     _Biblioteca Nazionale_, 160.
+
+     _Biblioteca Riccardiana_, 288.
+
+     _Bigallo_, the, 65, 264.
+
+     Bisticci, Vespasiano, 75, 81, 103, 237.
+
+     _Boboli Gardens_, 388.
+
+     Boiardo, 109.
+
+     Boniface VIII., Pope, 41, 43-46, 269, 270, 273, 274, 356.
+
+     Borgia. _See_ Alexander VI.
+
+     _Borgo degli Albizzi_ (San Piero), 208-210.
+
+     _Borgo SS. Apostoli_, 26, 37, 346, 347.
+
+     _Borgo San Frediano_, 345, 395, 396.
+
+     _Borgo San Jacopo_, 38, 375, 376.
+
+     _Borgo Ognissanti_, 342, 371, 372.
+
+     _Borgo Allegri, Via_, 66, 243, 244.
+
+     Boccaccio, 31, 32, 55, 60, 61, 69, 70, 198, 204, 213, 248, 259,
+       346, 347, 360, 410.
+
+     Boscoli, P. P., 140, 141.
+
+     Bracciolini, Poggio, 104, 274.
+
+     _Brancacci Chapel_, 391-395.
+
+     Browning, E. B., 244, 294, 388.
+
+     Browning, Robert, 171, 288, 319, 380, 388, 407.
+
+     Bruni, Leonardo, 103, 104, 208, 231, 236, 256, 325, 333, 421.
+
+     _Buonarroti, Casa_, 226, 227.
+
+     Buondelmonti, the, 346, 347.
+
+     Buondelmonti, Buondelmonte degli, 19-21, 342, 407.
+
+     Brunelleschi, Betto, 259.
+
+     Burlamacchi, Padre, 311.
+
+
+     C.
+
+     Cacciaguida, 14, 16, 21, 49, 407, 411.
+
+     Calimala, Arte di, 26, 28, 38, 195, 200, 253, 256.
+
+     _Calimara_ (_Calimala_), 200.
+
+     Calvoli, Fulcieri da, 215.
+
+     _Calzaioli, Via_ (Corso degli Adimari), 183, 203-205.
+
+     Camaldoli, 421.
+
+     _Campanile_, 56, 67, 259-264.
+
+     Campaldino, Battle of, 39-41, 420, 421.
+
+     Cappello, Bianca, 297, 371, 413-414.
+
+     _Cappella dei Principi_, 297, 298.
+
+     _Cappella degli Spagnuoli_, 366-370.
+
+     Capponi, Agostino, 140;
+       Gino, 389;
+       Gino (Marchese), 235;
+       Luisa, 353;
+       Neri, 79, 389, 420;
+       Niccolò, 142, 143, 150, 377;
+       Piero, 116, 119, 126, 286, 340, 377, 389.
+
+     Captain of the People, 23, 27, 28, 42 (note), 155.
+
+     Carducci, Francesco, 142.
+
+     Careggi, 412, 413.
+
+     _San Carlo_ (S. Michele), 203.
+
+     _Carmine_. See _S. Maria del Carmine_.
+
+     Casentino, the, 418-422.
+
+     _Cascine_, 372, 373.
+
+     _Castagna, Torre della_, 38, 207, 208.
+
+     Castello, 413.
+
+     Catherine of Siena, S., 32, 62, 273.
+
+     Cavalcanti, family, 37, 50, 59, 203.
+
+     Cavalcanti, Guido, 36, 37, 44, 45, 187, 188, 248, 259.
+
+     Cerchi, the, 37, 43, 44, 205, 206;
+       palace, etc., 205;
+       Vieri dei, 40, 43.
+
+     Certosa di Val d'Ema, 407.
+
+     Certomondo, 421.
+
+     Charlemagne, 12, 13, 347;
+       Charles of Anjou, 25, 27, 28;
+       Charles V., Emperor, 137, 143, 404, 413;
+       Charles VIII. of France, 116-119, 121, 132, 224, 284, 342, 408.
+       Charles of Valois, 45, 46, 348, 356.
+
+     Cino da Pistoia, 418.
+
+     Compagni, Dino, 32, 53, 70, 209, 351.
+
+     "Colleges," the, 71.
+
+     _Consuma_, 419.
+
+     Conti Guidi, 206, 419, 420.
+
+     _Corbizzi Tower_ ("Corso Donati's Tower"), 40, 53, 209.
+
+     _Corsini Palace and Picture Gallery_, 352.
+
+     _Santa Croce, Piazza_, 228-230;
+       _Church and cloisters_, 230-243.
+
+
+     D.
+
+     Diacceto, Jacopo da, 371.
+
+     Donati, the, 37, 43, 203, 206, 207;
+       Corso, 37, 40, 43, 44-46, 49, 50, 53, 209, 333;
+       Forese, 37, 333;
+       Gemma, 37, 207;
+       Gualdrada, 19;
+       Lucrezia, 107, 230;
+       Piccarda, 405, 406;
+       Simone, 229;
+       Sinibaldo, 188.
+
+     _Duomo_, (see _Santa Maria del Fiore_);
+       _Opera del_, 280-282.
+
+     Domenico da Pescia, F., 131-135, 151, 159, 409.
+
+
+     E.
+
+     Eugenius IV., Pope, 77, 79, 310, 356.
+
+     Executore, the, 42, 62, 155.
+
+
+     F.
+
+     Florence, _passim_.
+
+     Faggiuola, Uguccione della, 50, 53, 55, 56.
+
+     _Felice, S._, 388.
+
+     _Felicità, S._, 377.
+
+     Ferrante, King of Naples, 89, 93, 95.
+
+     Ferdinand III., Grand Duke, 335, 382.
+
+     Francis II., Grand Duke, 334.
+
+     Ferrucci, F., 143, 340.
+
+     Ficino, Marsilio, 81, 82, 104, 105, 108, 274, 275, 364, 409.
+
+     Fiesole, 2, 5, 6, 12, 16, 17, 409, 410.
+
+     Filipepi, Simone, 158-160, 280, 305, 308.
+
+     Foiano. See _Fra Benedetto_.
+
+     _Fortezza da Basso_, 339.
+
+     _Francesco dei Vanchetoni, S._, 371.
+
+     Frescobaldi, the, 59, 348, 375, 376;
+       Piazza, 347, 376.
+
+
+     G.
+
+     Galileo, 182, 237, 404, 406.
+
+     _Ghibellina, Via_, 24, 225-228.
+
+     Gianni, Lapo, 1, 36, 65, 340.
+
+     Giovanni Gualberto, S., 13, 398, 422.
+
+     _Giovanni Battista, S._ See _Baptistery_.
+
+     Girolamo, Fra. _See_ Savonarola.
+
+     Girolami and Gherardini, Towers of, 346.
+
+     Gonfaloniere, the office of, 41, 42.
+
+     Gregory X., 340;
+       Gregory XI., 62, 65, 401.
+
+     Gonzaga, Eleonora, 167, 177, 383;
+       Ferrante, 143, 406.
+
+     _Guadagni, Palazzo_, 389.
+
+     Guelfs and Ghibellines, 16-18, 21-27, _et passim_.
+
+     Guido Novello, 24-27, 215.
+
+
+     H.
+
+     Hawkwood, John (Giovanni Aguto), 73, 273.
+
+     Henry IV., 16;
+       Henry VI., 19;
+       Henry VII., 54, 55, 333, 369, Emperors.
+
+     Hildebrand, Pope Gregory VII., 13.
+
+     Hugh, or Hugo, Margrave of Tuscany, 14, 211.
+
+
+     I.
+
+     _Impruneta_, 407.
+
+     _Innocenti, Santa Maria degli_, 326.
+
+     _Innocenti, Spedale degli_, 325.
+
+     Interminelli, Castruccio (Castracani) degli, 55, 56, 396.
+
+
+     J.
+
+     Julius II., Pope, 117, 136, 138, 165, 385.
+
+     John XXIII., Pope, 75, 253.
+
+     _Jacopo in Ripoli, S._, 371.
+
+     _Jacopo Oltrarno, S._, 376.
+
+
+     L.
+
+     Ladislaus, King of Naples, 75.
+
+     _Lambertesca, Via_, 37, 346.
+
+     Lamberti, family, 23.
+
+     Lamberti, Mosca degli, 20, 22.
+
+     Landini, Cristoforo, 105, 364.
+
+     Landucci, Luca, 118, 122, 123, 128, 134, 205, 348, 390, 396.
+
+     Lane, Arte della, 28, 38, 72, 193, 195, 199, 262, 265.
+
+     La Lastra, affair of, 411, 412.
+
+     _Leonardo in Arcetri, S._, 404.
+
+     _Lorenzo, San, Piazza_, 288;
+       _Basilica_, 289, 290;
+       _Sagrestia Vecchia_, 290, 291;
+       _cloisters and Biblioteca_, 291, 292;
+       _Sagrestia Nuova_, 292-296;
+       _Cappella dei Principi_, 297.
+
+     St Louis IX. of France, 239, 240.
+
+     _Lungarno_, 340-345.
+
+     Latini, Brunetto, 6, 36.
+
+     Latino, Cardinal, 355, 356.
+
+     Leo X., Pope. See _Dei Medici, Giovanni di Lorenzo_.
+
+     Leopold I. and II., Grand Dukes, 335.
+
+     _Loggia dei Lanzi_, 65, 156-160.
+
+     _Loggia di San Paolo_, 354.
+
+
+     M.
+
+     Machiavelli, Niccolò, 35, 59, 89, 91, 109, 137, 141, 142, 204,
+       235, 377, 378.
+
+     _Malcontenti, Via dei_, 243, 244.
+
+     Manetti, Giannozzo, 104, 274.
+
+     Manfredi, 24, 25.
+
+     Mannelli, the, 375.
+
+     _Marco, S._, 81, 82, 93;
+       the church of 298-302;
+       the convent, 302-313.
+       See also Savonarola.
+
+     _Margherita, S., a Montici_, 406.
+
+     _Margherita, S._ (at Prato), 417.
+
+     _Maria, S., degli Angioli_, 328, 329.
+
+     _Maria S., delle Carceri_ (in Prato), 418.
+
+     _Maria, S., del Carmine_, 390-396.
+
+     _Maria, S., del Fiore_ (S. Reparata, the Duomo), 10-12, 65, 118,
+       265-282.
+
+     _Maria, S., Novella_, 50, 65, 354-370;
+       _Spezeria di_, 370.
+
+     _Maria, S., Nuova_, 329, 330.
+
+     _Maria Maddalena, S., de' Pazzi_, 330.
+
+     _Maria, S., del Sasso_ (at Bibbiena), 422.
+
+     Marignolli, Rustico, 23.
+
+     Mars, temple and statue of, 7-9, 20, 21, 246-248, 342, 365.
+
+     Marsili, Fra Luigi, 390.
+
+     Marsuppini, Carlo, 104, 237.
+
+     Martelli, Cammilla, 297;
+       Ludovico, 406.
+
+     Martin, V., Pope, 75, 253.
+
+     Matilda, Countess, 14-16.
+
+     MEDICI, family:
+       head the people, 59;
+       their first expulsion, 77;
+       their second expulsion, 117;
+       their return, 140;
+       third expulsion, 142;
+       apotheosis, 181;
+       their Austrian successors, 335.
+
+     ---- gardens (_Casino Mediceo_), 298.
+
+     ---- palaces. See _Pitti_, _Riccardi_, _Palazzo Vecchio_.
+
+     ---- villas, 410, 412-415.
+
+     MEDICI (DEI), Alessandro, 142-144, 245, 284-286, 293, 295, 339,
+       353, 380, 381, 404, 413.
+
+     ---- Antonio, 204.
+
+     ---- Bianca, 92.
+
+     ---- Carlo, 417.
+
+     ---- Caterina, 141, 227, 228, 294.
+
+     ---- Clarice, 142, 284, 286, 353.
+
+     ---- COSIMO THE ELDER (Pater Patriae):
+       leads opposition to the Ottimati, 74, 76;
+       banished and recalled, 77;
+       home policy, 78, 79;
+       foreign policy, 79, 80;
+       private life, patronage of art and letters, 80, 81;
+       death, 82;
+       portraits, 171, 172, 180; 232, 242, 253, 284;
+       in Gozzoli's fresco, 287;
+       tomb and monument in San Lorenzo, 290, 291;
+       founder of San Marco, 302, 304;
+       his cell and portrait there, 310;
+       founds library of San Marco and Badia of Fiesole, 310, 409;
+       dies at Careggi, 412;
+       fresco in his honour at Poggio a Caiano, 414.
+
+     ---- Cosimo I., first Grand Duke, 144, 150, 154, 157, 160, 172,
+       173, 182, 286, 293, 295-297, 328, 339, 349, 353.
+
+     ---- Cosimo II., fourth Grand Duke, 297, 298.
+
+     ---- Cosimo III., sixth Grand Duke, 297, 298.
+
+     ---- Ferdinand I., Cardinal, and third Grand Duke, 155, 297, 298,
+       375, 413.
+
+     ---- Ferdinand II., fifth Grand Duke, 283, 277, 298.
+
+     ---- Francesco, second Grand Duke, 150, 297, 349, 413, 415.
+
+     ---- Garzia, 170, 154, 182.
+
+     ---- Giovanni (son of Cosimo I.), 182.
+
+     ---- Giovanni di Averardo (Giovanni Bicci), 74, 76, 163, 182,
+       289, 290.
+
+     ---- Giovanni di Cosimo, 82, 86, 181, 225, 291, 410.
+
+     ---- Giovanni di Lorenzo (Cardinal, afterwards Pope Leo X.), 92,
+       94, 117, 140, 141, 204, 205, 289, 291, 292, 293, 342, 385, 404,
+       405, 410, 414, 415, 417.
+
+     ---- Giovanni di Piero Francesco, 94, 142, 173.
+
+     ---- Giovanni delle Bande Nere 142, 144, 173, 225, 288, 297, 340.
+
+     ---- Giovanni Gastone, seventh Grand Duke, 298, 335.
+
+       Giuliano di Piero (the Elder), 86-88, 93, 94, 106, 181, 230,
+         279, 291, 296, 387, 410.
+       Giuliano di Lorenzo (Duke of Nemours), 94, 117, 140, 141, 143,
+         209, 225, 293-295, 334, 380, 410, 420.
+       Giulio (Cardinal, afterwards Clement VII.), 94, 141-143, 152,
+         228, 284, 285, 289, 291-293, 359, 371, 381, 382, 397,
+         413-414.
+       Ippolito (Cardinal), 142, 143, 284, 286, 353, 380, 381, 413.
+       Lorenzo di Giovanni, 76, 77, 302.
+       LORENZO (THE MAGNIFICENT):
+         his youth, 82, 85, 86;
+         succeeds his father, 86;
+         his portraits, 87;
+         wounded in the Pazzi conspiracy, 88;
+         his struggle with Naples and Rome, 89;
+         his government, 89, 90;
+         character, 91;
+         last days and death, 92, 93;
+         his sons, 94;
+         his circle, 104, 105;
+         his poetry, 107, 108;
+         love for Pico, 109; 112, 150, 164, 172, 181;
+         his tournaments, 229, 230; 235, 279;
+         his palace, 284, 287;
+         his tomb and remains, 291, 293, 296, 318, 327, 350, 353, 379,
+           389;
+         saved his father's life, 412;
+         death at Careggi, 413;
+         his villa of Poggio a Caiano, 413-415.
+       Lorenzo di Piero, the younger (titular Duke of Urbino),
+         141-143, 284, 293-295, 353.
+       Lorenzo di Piero Francesco, the elder, 94, 143, 173 (note).
+       Lorenzo, called Lorenzino or Lorenzaccio, 143, 144, 173,
+         284-286, 405.
+       Maria, 170
+       Nannina, 354.
+       Ottaviano, 385, 414.
+       Piero Francesco, the elder, 94, 173.
+       Piero Francesco, the younger, 173.
+       Piero di Cosimo ("il Gottoso"), 82, 85, 86, 181, 225, 287, 291,
+         326, 327, 378, 402.
+       Piero di Lorenzo, 93-95, 106, 116, 117, 121, 123, 124, 127,
+         128, 140, 141, 170, 284, 334, 405, 420.
+       Salvestro, 71-73.
+       Vieri, 74.
+
+     Medici e Speziali, Guild of, 28, 38, 194, 198, 221.
+
+     _Mercato Nuovo_, 200, 203.
+
+     _Mercato Vecchio_, 7, 199, 200.
+
+     _Michele, S., in Orto_. See _Or San Michele_.
+
+     Michele di Lando, 72, 73.
+
+     _Miniato, S., hill_ of, 1, 2, 398-401.
+
+     _Miniato al Monte, S._, 13, 398, 401, 403.
+
+     Misericordia, Confraternity of, 264.
+
+     Montaperti, Battle of, 23, 24.
+
+     Montefeltro, Buonconte da, 40, 421.
+
+     Montefeltro, Federigo da (Duke of Urbino), 174.
+
+     _Monticelli, convent_, 405.
+
+     Mozzi, the, 342, 375;
+       Piazza dei, 377;
+       villa, 410.
+
+     _Murate, le_, 227, 228.
+
+
+     N.
+
+     Nerli, the, 375, 376.
+
+     Neri. _See_ Bianchi.
+
+     Nero, Bernardo del, 128, 155.
+
+     Neroni, Dietisalvi, 85, 412.
+
+     Niccoli, Niccolò, 102, 103, 291.
+
+     _Niccolò, S._, 396, 397.
+
+     Nori, Francesco, 235, 279.
+
+     Nardi, Jacopo, 72, 135, 228.
+
+
+     O.
+
+     _Ognissanti_, 371-372.
+
+     _Oltrarno_ (Sesto di, afterwards Quartiere di Santo Spirito),
+       18-19, 374, 396.
+
+     _Onofrio, S._, 336.
+
+     Orange, Prince of, 143, 228, 397.
+
+     Ordinances of Justice, 41-43, 71, 221.
+
+     _Or San Michele_, 65, 66, 184-199.
+
+     Orlandi, Guido, 187, 188.
+
+     Orsini, Alfonsina, 118, 141;
+       Clarice, 86;
+       Napoleone, 50.
+
+     _Orti Oricellari_, 370, 371.
+
+     Otto della Guerra, 62.
+
+
+     P.
+
+     _Palazzo Vecchio (della Signoria)_, 41, 65, 72, 78, 79, 146-154.
+
+     Palmieri, Matteo, 210, 224.
+
+     _Pandolfini, Palazzo_, 335.
+
+     Parte Guelfa, 28, 44, 62, 71, 74, 195, 232;
+       Palace of, 28-31, 200.
+
+     Passavanti, Fra Jacopo, 70, 359, 366.
+
+     Passerini, Cardinal, 142.
+
+     Pater, Walter, 71, 166, 169, 178, 179, 224, 240.
+
+     Pazzi, conspiracy, 88, 89, 93 (note), 103, 155, 181, 279, 410;
+       carro dei, 279;
+       cappella dei, 243;
+       family, 59, 347;
+       palaces, 209.
+
+     Pazzi (dei), Francesco, 279;
+       Jacopo, 89, 243;
+       Guglielmo, 85;
+       Pazzino, 53;
+       Piero, 103.
+
+     Pecora, 43.
+
+     _Peruzzi, Piazza dei_, 7, 341 (note);
+       _Cappella dei_, 240, 241.
+
+     Peter Igneus, 13.
+
+     Petracco, 50.
+
+     Petrarca, Francesco, 32, 50, 55, 61, 69, 81, 405.
+
+     _Piazzale Michelangelo_, 398.
+
+     Pico della Mirandola, 92, 108, 109, 170, 301.
+
+     _Piero Maggiore, S., Piazza di_, 53, 59, 209, 210.
+
+     Pistoia, 418.
+
+     Pitti, Luca, 85, 375, 377, 378, 412.
+
+     _Pitti, Palazzo and R. Galleria_, 377-388.
+
+     Podestà, office of, 19, 23, 27, 28, 214.
+
+     _Podestà, Palazzo del_. See _Bargello_.
+
+     _Poggio a Caiano_, 413-415.
+
+     _Poggio Imperiale_, 405, 406.
+
+     Poliziano, Angelo, 87, 92, 93, 106-108, 178, 181, 227, 298, 301,
+       364, 415.
+
+     Pulci, Luigi, 106.
+
+     _Ponte alla Carraia_, 342, 345, 346:
+       _Ponte alle Grazie (Rubaconte)_, 340, 341, 375, 377, 398;
+       _Ponte S. Trinità_, 342, 346, 348, 350;
+       _Ponte Vecchio_, 20, 341, 342, 375.
+
+     Poppi, 419, 420.
+
+     _Popolo, Primo_, 23, 24, 214;
+       _Secondo_, 27, 28, 31, 35, 41, 42, 146.
+
+     Porciano, 419, 420.
+
+     Ponte a Mensola, 410.
+
+     _Porta alla Croce_, 53, 333, 334;
+       _Porta San Frediano_, 67, 408;
+       _Porta San Gallo_, 334;
+       _Porta San Giorgio_, 403, 404;
+       _Porta San Miniato_, 403;
+       _Porta San Niccolò_, 25, 396, 397;
+       _Porta al Prato_, 334, 371, 372;
+       _Porta Romana_, 377, 404, 405, 407.
+
+     Por S. Maria, Via, 346.
+
+     Portinari, the, 206, 207;
+       Beatrice, 37, 206;
+       Folco, 206, 329;
+       Manetto, 206, 207;
+       Tommaso, 330.
+
+     Prato, 415-418.
+
+     Pratovecchio, 419.
+
+
+     Q.
+
+     _Quaratesi, Palazzo_ (De Rast), 209.
+
+
+     R.
+
+     _Reparata, S._ See _S. Maria del Fiore_.
+
+     Ricci, the, 62;
+       Marietta dei, 406.
+
+     _Riccardi, Palazzo_, 78, 79, 87, 98, 118, 283-288.
+
+     _Riccardiana, Biblioteca_, 288.
+
+     Ripoli, Piano di, 397.
+
+     Rossi, the, 59, 376, 376.
+
+     Robert, King of Naples, 54, 55, 225, 245.
+
+     Romena, 419, 420.
+
+     Rovere, Cardinal della. _See_ Julius II.
+
+     Rovere, Francesco Maria, 167, 177.
+
+     Rucellai, Bernardo, 85, 353, 354.
+
+     _Rucellai, Palazzo, Loggia, Cappella_, 353, 354;
+       chapel in _S. Maria Novella_, 361;
+       _gardens_, 370, 371.
+
+     Ruskin, _passim_.
+
+
+     S.
+
+     Sacchetti, Franco, 32, 65, 70, 71, 199;
+       family of, 208.
+
+     _S. Salvi_, 54, 333, 334.
+
+     Salviati, house of, 207;
+       Abp, 88;
+       Marcuccio, 158, 159;
+       Maria, 142, 413.
+
+     _S. Salvadore al Monte_, 398.
+
+     SAVONAROLA, FRA GIROLAMO.
+       At the death-bed of Lorenzo, 92, 93, 108;
+       friendship with Pico, 109;
+       earlier life, 111;
+       commences his mission, 112;
+       his visions of the Two Crosses and the Sword, 113-115;
+       during the French invasion, 116, 117, 119;
+       guides the Republic, 119, 120;
+       his vision of the Lilies, 121;
+       his reformation of Florence, 121-123;
+       struggle with the Pope begins, 123, 124;
+       denounces corruption, 124-126;
+       is excommunicated, 127;
+       his orthodoxy, 128;
+       returns to the pulpit, 128;
+       promises miracles, 129;
+       his last sermon, 129, 130;
+       appeals to Christendom against the Pope, 130;
+       the Ordeal by Fire, 131, 132, 157-160;
+       his capture, 132-133;
+       is tortured, 133-134;
+       his martyrdom, 134-136;
+       prophecies fulfilled, 136, 145;
+       his discourse to the Signoria, 151;
+       his prayer and meditations, 153, 154;
+       medal and picture of, 224, 352;
+       sermons in the Duomo, 280;
+       in San Marco, 298, 301-303, 305, 307-309;
+       on the night of Palm Sunday, 310-313;
+       his portrait, 323.
+
+     Salutati, Coluccio, 390.
+
+     _Scalzo, Chiostro dello_, 324.
+
+     Scolari, Filippo (Pippo Spano), 329, 336.
+
+     Seta, Arte della (Arte di Por S. Maria), 28, 38, 189, 194, 318, 325.
+
+     Settignano, 410.
+
+     Sforza, Caterina, 142, 173, 227;
+       Francesco, 78, 79, 82;
+       Galeazzo Maria, 82, 86-88, 168;
+       Ludovico, 90, 95, 121, 124, 136, 137.
+
+     Shelley, 2, 105, 169, 220, 373.
+
+     _Signoria, Palazzo della_. See _Palazzo Vecchio_.
+
+     _Signoria, Piazza della_, 118, 135, 136, 146, 154-160.
+
+     Silvestro, Fra, 92, 133, 135, 151.
+
+     Sixtus IV., Pope, 88-90, 93.
+
+     Soldanieri, Gianni dei, 26.
+
+     _Spini, Palazzo_, 348.
+
+     Spini, Doffo, 123, 131, 133, 158-160;
+       Geri, 348.
+
+     _Spirito, S._, 70, 87, 127, 389-390.
+
+     _Stefano, S._ (in the Via Por S. Maria), 20, 346.
+       See also _Badia_.
+
+     Stia, 419.
+
+     _Stinche, Le_ (Teatro Pagliano), 226.
+
+     _Strozzi, Palazzo_, 15, 85, 97, 98, 352, 353.
+
+     _Strozzi, Cappella_, 68, 361-363.
+
+     Strozzi, Filippo, the elder, 85, 352, 365;
+       Filippo, the younger, 142, 144, 284, 339, 353;
+       Palla, 76, 81, 95, 104, 350, 351;
+       Piero, 349, 353;
+       Tommaso, 74.
+
+
+     T.
+
+     _Torrigiani, Palazzo_, 377.
+
+     Tornabuoni, Lucrezia, 85.
+
+     Tosa (della), Baldo, 376;
+       Baschiera, 334, 411;
+       Rossellino, 405;
+       Rosso, 49, 50, 53.
+
+     Traversari, Ambrogio, 329.
+
+     Trespiano, 410, 411.
+
+     _Trebbio, Croce al_, 22, 354.
+
+     _Trinità, S._, church, 100, 349-351;
+       piazza, 26, 44, 347-349.
+
+     Towers, Societies of, 19.
+
+
+     U.
+
+     Ubaldini, 49, 232.
+
+     Uberti, the, 17, 19-21, 23, 40, 62, 149, 411;
+       Farinata degli, 24, 25, 36, 72, 149, 270, 336, 340;
+       Schiatta degli, 20;
+       Tolosato degli, 412.
+
+     Uccellatoio, 411.
+
+     _Uffizi, R. Galleria degli_, 160-183.
+
+     Umiliati, Frati, 371.
+
+     Urbino, Dukes of. _See_ Medici (Lorenzo), Montefeltro, Della Rovere.
+
+     Uzzano, Niccolò da, 74, 76, 221, 256, 346, 377.
+
+
+     V.
+
+     Vallombrosa, 13, 421, 422.
+
+     Valori, Baccio, 144, 225, 339, 406.
+
+     Valori, Francesco, 126, 128, 132, 211, 212.
+
+     Varchi, 228, 359, 381, 401.
+
+     _La Verna_, 421, 422.
+
+     Vespucci, Amerigo, 372.
+
+     Villani, Filippo, 70, 390.
+
+     Villani, Giovanni, 5-8, 32, 36, 69, _et passim_.
+
+     Villani, Matteo, 70.
+
+     Visconti, Filippo, 76, 80, 273, 289;
+       Giovanni, 61;
+       Giovanni Galeazzo, 75, 390.
+
+
+     Z.
+
+     Zagonara, Battle of, 76.
+
+     _Zecca Vecchia, Torre della_, 245.
+
+     Zenobius, S., 10, 11, 12, 152, 171, 210, 274, 276.
+
+
+TURNBULL AND SPEARS, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Story of Florence, by Edmund G. Gardner
+
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Story of Florence, by Edmund G. Gardner
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Story of Florence
+
+Author: Edmund G. Gardner
+
+Illustrator: Nelly Erichsen
+
+Release Date: October 18, 2011 [EBook #37793]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF FLORENCE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Melissa McDaniel and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="tnbox">
+<p class="center"><b>Transcriber's Note:</b></p>
+<p>Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have
+been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</p>
+
+<p>Some illustrations were originally located in the middle of paragraphs.
+These have been adjusted so as not to interrupt the flow of reading.
+In some cases this means that the page number of the illustration
+is not visible.
+</p>
+
+</div>
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="423" height="650" alt="cover" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<h1 class="p4"><i>The Story of Florence</i></h1>
+
+<p class="center p6"><i>All rights reserved</i></p>
+
+<p class="center p6"><i>First Edition, September 1900.</i></p>
+<p class="center"><i>Second Edition, December 1900.</i></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter p12"><a name="illo_1" id="illo_1"></a>
+<img src="images/illus004_tmb.jpg" width="283" height="400" alt="Pallas taming a Centaur" />
+<p class="caption"><i>Pallas taming a Centaur,<br />
+by Botticelli.</i><br />
+(THE TRIUMPH OF LORENZO.)</p>
+<a href="images/illus004_fs75.jpg">View larger image</a>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center p6"><big><i>The Story of</i> <big>Florence</big></big></p>
+
+<h2><i>by Edmund G. Gardner</i></h2>
+
+<h3><i>Illustrated by Nelly Erichsen</i></h3>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/logoa.png" width="300" height="274" alt="Printer&#39;s logo" title="" /></div>
+
+<p class="title_page">
+<span class="font80"><i>London:</i></span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<i>J. M. Dent &amp; Co.</i><br />
+<span class="font70"><i>Aldine House, 29 and 30 Bedford Street</i></span><br />
+<span class="font80"><i>Covent Garden W.C.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &#42; &#42;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 1900</i></span></p>
+
+<p class="center p12">To</p>
+
+<p class="center">MY SISTER</p>
+
+<p class="center">MONICA MARY GARDNER</p>
+
+<h2 class="p12">PREFACE<a name="preface" id="preface"></a></h2>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="page_vii">[vii]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE present volume is intended to supply a popular
+history of the Florentine Republic, in such a
+form that it can also be used as a guide-book. It
+has been my endeavour, while keeping within the
+necessary limits of this series of <i>Medi&aelig;val Towns</i>, to
+point out briefly the most salient features in the story
+of Florence, to tell again the tale of those of her
+streets and buildings, and indicate those of her artistic
+treasures, which are either most intimately connected
+with that story or most beautiful in themselves.
+Those who know best what an intensely fascinating
+and many-sided history that of Florence has been, who
+have studied most closely the work and characters of
+those strange and wonderful personalities who have
+lived within (and, in the case of the greatest, died
+without) her walls, will best appreciate my difficulty
+in compressing even a portion of all this wealth and
+profusion into the narrow bounds enjoined by the aim
+and scope of this book. Much has necessarily been
+curtailed over which it would have been tempting to
+linger, much inevitably omitted which the historian
+could not have passed over, nor the compiler of a
+guide-book failed to mention. In what I have selected
+for treatment and what omitted, I have usually
+let myself be guided by the remembrance of my own
+needs when I first commenced to visit Florence and to
+study her arts and history.</p>
+
+<p>It is needless to say that the number of books, old
+and new, is very considerable indeed, to which anyone<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_viii" id="page_viii">[viii]</a></span>
+venturing in these days to write yet another book on
+Florence must have had recourse, and to whose
+authors he is bound to be indebted&ndash;from the earliest
+Florentine chroniclers down to the most recent biographers
+of Lorenzo the Magnificent, of Savonarola,
+of Michelangelo&ndash;from Vasari down to our modern
+scientific art critics&ndash;from Richa and Moreni down to
+the Misses Horner. My obligations can hardly be
+acknowledged here in detail; but, to mention a few
+modern works alone, I am most largely indebted to
+Capponi's <i>Storia della Repubblica di Firenze</i>, to various
+writings of Professor Pasquale Villari, and to Mr Armstrong's
+<i>Lorenzo de' Medici</i>; to the works of Ruskin
+and J. A. Symonds, of M. Reymond and Mr Berenson;
+and, in the domains of topography, to Baedeker's <i>Hand
+Book</i>. In judging of the merits and the authorship of
+individual pictures and statues, I have usually given
+more weight to the results of modern criticism than to
+the pleasantness of old tradition.</p>
+
+<p>Carlyle's translation of the <i>Inferno</i> and Mr Wicksteed's
+of the <i>Paradiso</i> are usually quoted.</p>
+
+<p>If this little book should be found helpful in initiating
+the English-speaking visitor to the City of
+Flowers into more of the historical atmosphere of
+Florence and her monuments than guide-books and
+catalogues can supply, it will amply have fulfilled its
+object.</p>
+
+<p class="right">E. G. G.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Roehampton</span>, <i>May</i> 1900.</p>
+
+<h2 class="p6">CONTENTS</h2>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_ix" id="page_ix">[ix]</a></span></p>
+<ul class="idx p2">
+<li class="idx center"><a href="#chapter_i">CHAPTER I</a>
+<span class="tocright">PAGE</span></li>
+<li class="idx"><span class="smcap"><i>The Commune and People of Florence</i></span>
+<span class="tocright"><a href="#page_1">1</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx center"><a href="#chapter_ii">CHAPTER II</a></li>
+<li class="idx"><span class="smcap"><i>The Times of Dante and Boccaccio</i></span>
+<span class="tocright"><a href="#page_32">32</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx center"><a href="#chapter_iii">CHAPTER III</a></li>
+<li class="idx"><span class="smcap"><i>The Medici and the Quattrocento</i></span>
+<span class="tocright"><a href="#page_71">71</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx center"><a href="#chapter_iv">CHAPTER IV</a></li>
+<li class="idx"><span class="smcap"><i>From Fra Girolamo to Duke Cosimo</i></span>
+<span class="tocright"><a href="#page_111">111</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx center"><a href="#chapter_v">CHAPTER V</a></li>
+<li class="idx"><span class="smcap"><i>The Palazzo Vecchio&ndash;The Piazza della Signoria&ndash; The
+Uffizi</i></span>
+<span class="tocright"><a href="#page_146">146</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx center"><a href="#chapter_vi">CHAPTER VI</a></li>
+<li class="idx"><span class="smcap"><i>Or San Michele and the Sesto di San Piero</i></span>
+<span class="tocright"><a href="#page_184">184</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx center"><a href="#chapter_vii">CHAPTER VII</a></li>
+<li class="idx"><span class="smcap"><i>From the Bargello past Santa Croce</i></span>
+<span class="tocright"><a href="#page_214">214</a></span></li>
+</ul>
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_x" id="page_x">[x]</a></p>
+<ul class="idx">
+<li class="idx center"><a href="#chapter_viii">CHAPTER VIII</a></li>
+<li class="idx"><span class="smcap"><i>The Baptistery, the Campanile, and the Duomo</i></span>
+<span class="tocright"><a href="#page_246">246</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx center"><a href="#chapter_ix">CHAPTER IX</a></li>
+<li class="idx"><span class="smcap"><i>The Palazzo Riccardi&ndash;San Lorenzo&ndash;San
+Marco</i></span>
+<span class="tocright"><a href="#page_283">283</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx center"><a href="#chapter_x">CHAPTER X</a></li>
+<li class="idx"><span class="smcap"><i>The Accademia delle Belle Arti&ndash;The Santissima
+Annunziata, and other Buildings</i></span>
+<span class="tocright"><a href="#page_314">314</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx center"><a href="#chapter_xi">CHAPTER XI</a></li>
+<li class="idx"><span class="smcap"><i>The Bridges&ndash;The Quarter of Santa Maria
+Novella</i></span>
+<span class="tocright"><a href="#page_340">340</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx center"><a href="#chapter_xii">CHAPTER XII</a></li>
+<li class="idx"><span class="smcap"><i>Across the Arno</i></span>
+<span class="tocright"><a href="#page_374">374</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx center"><a href="#chapter_xiii">CHAPTER XIII</a></li>
+<li class="idx"><span class="smcap"><i>Conclusion</i></span>
+<span class="tocright"><a href="#page_409">409</a></span></li>
+</ul>
+<hr class="c15" />
+<ul class="idx">
+<li class="idx"><i>Genealogical Table of the Medici</i>
+<span class="tocright"><a href="#page_423">423</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Chronological Index of Architects, Sculptors and
+Painters</i>
+<span class="tocright"><a href="#page_424">424</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>General Index</i>
+<span class="tocright"><a href="#page_430">430</a></span></li>
+</ul>
+
+<h2 class="p6">ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_xi" id="page_xi">[xi]</a></p>
+<ul class="idx p2">
+<li class="idx">&nbsp;<span class="tocright">PAGE</span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Pallas taming a Centaur (Photogravure)</i><a name="fnanchor_1" id="fnanchor_1"></a><a href="#footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a><span class="tocright"><i><a href="#illo_1">Frontispiece</a></i></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Florence from the Boboli Gardens</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_2">3</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>The Buondelmonte Tower</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_3">20</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>The Palace of the Parte Guelfa</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_4">29</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Arms of Parte Guelfa</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_5">31</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Florentine Families</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_6">33</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Corso Donati's Tower</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_7">40</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Across the Ponte Vecchio</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_8">47</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Mercato Nuovo, the Flower Market</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_9">51</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>The Campanile</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_10">63</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Cross of the Florentine People</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_11">70</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Florence in the Days of Lorenzo the Magnificent</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_12">80</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>The Badia of Fiesole</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_13">83</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx">"<i>In the Sculptor's Work-shop</i>" (<i>Nanni di Banco</i>)<a href="#footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_14">97</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Arms of the Pazzi</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_15">110</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>The Death of Savonarola</i><a href="#footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_16">135</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx">"<i>The Dawn</i>" (<i>Michelangelo</i>)<a href="#footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_17">144</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>The Palazzo Vecchio</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_18">147</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Looking through Vasari's Loggia, Uffizi</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_19">161</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx">"<i>Venus</i>" (<i>Sandro Botticelli</i>)<a href="#footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_20">178</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Orcagna's Tabernacle, Or San Michele</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_21">185</a></span></li>
+</ul>
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_xii" id="page_xii">[xii]</a></p>
+<ul class="idx">
+<li class="idx"><i>Window of Or San Michele</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_22">191</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Tower of the Arte della Lana</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_23">201</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>House of Dante</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_24">207</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Arms of the Sesto di San Piero</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_25">213</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Bargello Courtyard and Staircase</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_26">217</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Santa Croce</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_27">233</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Old Houses on the Arno</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_28">245</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>The Baptistery</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_29">251</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>The Bigallo</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_30">264</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Porta della Mandorla, Duomo</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_31">267</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Statue of Boniface VIII</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_32">270</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Arms of the Medici from the Badia at Fiesole</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_33">283</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Tomb of Giovanni and Piero dei Medici</i><a href="#footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_34">288</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>The Well of S. Marco</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_35">299</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>The Cloister of the Innocenti</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_36">331</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>A Florentine Suburb</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_37">337</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>The Ponte Vecchio</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_38">343</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>The Tower of S. Zanobi</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_39">347</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Arms of the Strozzi</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_40">353</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>In the Green Cloisters, S. Maria Novella</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_41">357</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>In the Boboli Gardens</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_42">374</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>The Fortifications of Michelangelo</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_43">399</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Porta San Giorgio</i><span class="tocright"><a href="#illo_44">403</a></span></li>
+<li class="idx"><i>Map of Florence</i><span class="tocright"><i>facing</i>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="#illo_45">422</a></span></li>
+</ul>
+
+<p class="p6 b2 center">The Story of Florence</p>
+
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_1" id="page_1">[1]</a></p>
+<h2><a name="chapter_i" id="chapter_i"></a>CHAPTER I</h2>
+
+<h3><i>The People and Commune of Florence</i></h3>
+
+<p class="font90 left25" >"La bellissima e famosissima figlia di Roma, Fiorenza."<br />
+<span class="i14">&ndash;<i>Dante.</i></span></p>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">B</span>EFORE the imagination of a thirteenth century
+poet, one of the sweetest singers of the <i>dolce stil
+novo</i>, there rose a phantasy of a transfigured city, transformed
+into a capital of Fairyland, with his lady and
+himself as fairy queen and king:</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+<span class="o1">"Amor, eo chero mea donna in domino,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">l'Arno balsamo fino,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">le mura di Fiorenza inargentate,</span><br />
+le rughe di cristallo lastricate,<br />
+<span class="i1">fortezze alte e merlate,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">mio fedel fosse ciaschedun Latino."<a name="fnanchor_2" id="fnanchor_2"></a><a href="#footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>But is not the reality even more beautiful than the
+dreamland Florence of Lapo Gianni's fancy? We
+stand on the heights of San Miniato, either in front
+of the Basilica itself or lower down in the Piazzale
+Michelangelo. Below us, on either bank of the
+silvery Arno, lies outstretched Dante's "most famous<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_2" id="page_2">[2]</a></span>
+and most beauteous daughter of Rome," once the
+Queen of Etruria and centre of the most wonderful
+culture that the world has known since Athens, later
+the first capital of United Italy, and still, though shorn
+of much of her former splendour and beauty, one of
+the loveliest cities of Christendom. Opposite to us, to
+the north, rises the hill upon which stands Etruscan
+Fiesole, from which the people of Florence originally
+came: "that ungrateful and malignant people," Dante
+once called them, "who of old came down from
+Fiesole." Behind us stand the fortifications which
+mark the death of the Republic, thrown up or at least
+strengthened by Michelangelo in the city's last agony,
+when she barred her gates and defied the united power
+of Pope and Emperor to take the State that had once
+chosen Christ for her king.</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<p><span class="o1">"O foster-nurse of man's abandoned glory</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Since Athens, its great mother, sunk in splendour;<br /></span>
+Thou shadowest forth that mighty shape in story,<br />
+<span class="i1">As ocean its wrecked fanes, severe yet tender:<br /></span>
+The light-invested angel Poesy<br />
+<span class="i1">Was drawn from the dim world to welcome thee.</span></p>
+
+<p>"And thou in painting didst transcribe all taught<br />
+<span class="i2">By loftiest meditations; marble knew<br /></span>
+The sculptor's fearless soul&ndash;and as he wrought,<br />
+<span class="i2">The grace of his own power and freedom grew."</span>
+</p></div>
+
+<p>Between Fiesole and San Miniato, then, the story
+of the Florentine Republic may be said to be written.</p>
+
+<p>The beginnings of Florence are lost in cloudy
+legend, and her early chroniclers on the slenderest
+foundations have reared for her an unsubstantial, if
+imposing, fabric of fables&ndash;the tales which the women
+of old Florence, in the <i>Paradiso</i>, told to their house-holds&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="font90 left25">"dei Troiani, di Fiesole, e di Roma."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_2" id="illo_2"></a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_3" id="page_3">[3]</a></span>
+<img src="images/illus017_tmb.jpg" width="285" height="400" alt="From the Boboli Gardens" title="" />
+<p class="caption">FLORENCE FROM THE BOBOLI GARDENS</p>
+<a href="images/illus017_fs.jpg">View larger image</a>
+</div>
+<p>Setting aside the Trojans ("Priam" was medi&aelig;val for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_5" id="page_5">[5]</a></span>
+"Adam," as a modern novelist has remarked), there
+is no doubt that both Etruscan Fiesole and Imperial
+Rome united to found the "great city on the banks of
+the Arno." Fiesole or Faesulae upon its hill was an
+important Etruscan city, and a place of consequence
+in the days of the Roman Republic; fallen though
+it now is, traces of its old greatness remain. Behind
+the Romanesque cathedral are considerable remains of
+Etruscan walls and of a Roman theatre. Opposite
+it to the west we may ascend to enjoy the glorious
+view from the Convent of the Franciscans, where
+once the old citadel of Faesulae stood. Faesulae was
+ever the centre of Italian and democratic discontent
+against Rome and her Senate (<i>sempre ribelli di Roma</i>,
+says Villani of its inhabitants); and it was here,
+in October <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> 62, that Caius Manlius planted the
+Eagle of revolt&ndash;an eagle which Marius had borne
+in the war against the Cimbri&ndash;and thus commenced
+the Catilinarian war, which resulted in the annihilation
+of Catiline's army near Pistoia.</p>
+
+<p>This, according to Villani, was the origin of
+Florence. According to him, Fiesole, after enduring
+the stupendous siege, was forced to surrender to the
+Romans under Julius C&aelig;sar, and utterly razed to the
+ground. In the second sphere of Paradise, Justinian
+reminds Dante of how the Roman Eagle "seemed
+bitter to that hill beneath which thou wast born."
+Then, in order that Fiesole might never raise its head
+again, the Senate ordained that the greatest lords of
+Rome, who had been at the siege, should join with
+C&aelig;sar in building a new city on the banks of the
+Arno. Florence, thus founded by C&aelig;sar, was populated
+by the noblest citizens of Rome, who received
+into their number those of the inhabitants of fallen
+Fiesole who wished to live there. "Note then," says
+the old chronicler, "that it is not wonderful that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_6" id="page_6">[6]</a></span>
+Florentines are always at war and in dissensions among
+themselves, being drawn and born from two peoples, so
+contrary and hostile and diverse in habits, as were the
+noble and virtuous Romans, and the savage and contentious
+folk of Fiesole." Dante similarly, in Canto
+XV. of the <i>Inferno</i>, ascribes the injustice of the
+Florentines towards himself to this mingling of the
+people of Fiesole with the true Roman nobility (with
+special reference, however, to the union of Florence
+with conquered Fiesole in the twelfth century):&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem"><span class="i6">"che tra li lazzi sorbi</span><br />
+si disconvien fruttare al dolce fico."<a name="fnanchor_3" id="fnanchor_3"></a><a href="#footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p>
+
+<p>And Brunetto Latini bids him keep himself free from
+their pollution:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem"><span class="o1">"Faccian le bestie Fiesolane strame</span><br />
+<span class="i1">di lor medesme, e non tocchin la pianta,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">s'alcuna surge ancor nel lor letame,</span><br />
+in cui riviva la semente santa<br />
+<span class="i1">di quei Roman che vi rimaser quando</span><br />
+<span class="i1">fu fatto il nido di malizia tanta."</span><a name="fnanchor_4" id="fnanchor_4"></a><a href="#footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p>
+
+<p>The truth appears to be that Florence was originally
+founded by Etruscans from Fiesole, who came down
+from their mountain to the plain by the Arno for commercial
+purposes. This Etruscan colony was probably
+destroyed during the wars between Marius and Sulla,
+and a Roman military colony established here&ndash;probably
+in the time of Sulla, and augmented later by C&aelig;sar
+and by Augustus. It has, indeed, been urged of late
+that the old Florentine story has some truth in it, and
+that C&aelig;sar, not only in legend but in fact, may be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_7" id="page_7">[7]</a></span>
+regarded as the true first founder of Florence. Thus
+the Roman colony of Florentia gradually grew into a
+little city&ndash;<i>come una altra piccola Roma</i>, declares her
+patriotic chronicler. It had its capitol and its forum
+in the centre of the city, where the Mercato Vecchio
+once stood; it had an amphitheatre outside the walls,
+somewhere near where the Borgo dei Greci and the
+Piazza Peruzzi are to-day. It had baths and temples,
+though doubtless on a small scale. It had the shape
+and form of a Roman camp, which (together with the
+Roman walls in which it was inclosed) it may be said
+to have retained down to the middle of the twelfth
+century, in spite of legendary demolitions by Attila
+and Totila, and equally legendary reconstructions by
+Charlemagne. Above all, it had a grand temple to
+Mars, which almost certainly occupied the site of the
+present Baptistery, if not actually identical with it.
+Giovanni Villani tells us&ndash;and we shall have to return
+to his statement&ndash;that the wonderful octagonal building,
+now known as the Baptistery or the Church of St
+John, was consecrated as a temple by the Romans in
+honour of Mars, for their victory over the Fiesolans,
+and that Mars was the patron of the Florentines as
+long as paganism lasted. Round the equestrian statue
+that was supposed to have once stood in the midst of
+this temple, numberless legends have gathered. Dante
+refers to it again and again. In Santa Maria Novella
+you shall see how a great painter of the early Renaissance,
+Filippino Lippi, conceived of his city's first
+patron. When Florence changed him for the Baptist,
+and the people of Mars became the sheepfold of St
+John, this statue was removed from the temple and set
+upon a tower by the side of the Arno:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p>"The Florentines took up their idol which they
+called the God Mars, and set him upon a high tower
+near the river Arno; and they would not break or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_8" id="page_8">[8]</a></span>
+shatter it, seeing that in their ancient records they
+found that the said idol of Mars had been consecrated
+under the ascendency of such a planet, that if
+it should be broken or put in a dishonourable place,
+the city would suffer danger and damage and great
+mutation. And although the Florentines had newly
+become Christians, they still retained many customs of
+paganism, and retained them for a long time; and they
+greatly feared their ancient idol of Mars; so little
+perfect were they as yet in the Holy Faith."</p>
+
+<p>This tower is said to have been destroyed like the
+rest of Florence by the Goths, the statue falling into
+the Arno, where it lurked in hiding all the time that
+the city lay in ruins. On the legendary rebuilding of
+Florence by Charlemagne, the statue, too&ndash;or rather
+the mutilated fragment that remained&ndash;was restored to
+light and honour. Thus Villani:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p>"It is said that the ancients held the opinion that
+there was no power to rebuild the city, if that marble
+image, consecrated by necromancy to Mars by the first
+Pagan builders, was not first found again and drawn
+out of the Arno, in which it had been from the destruction
+of Florence down to that time. And, when
+found, they set it upon a pillar on the bank of the said
+river, where is now the head of the Ponte Vecchio.
+This we neither affirm nor believe, inasmuch as it appeareth
+to us to be the opinion of augurers and pagans,
+and not reasonable, but great folly, to hold that a
+statue so made could work thus; but commonly it was
+said by the ancients that, if it were changed, our city
+would needs suffer great mutation."</p>
+
+<p>Thus it became <i>quella pietra scema che guarda il
+ponte</i>, in Dantesque phrase; and we shall see what terrible
+sacrifice its clients unconsciously paid to it. Here it
+remained, much honoured by the Florentines; street
+boys were solemnly warned of the fearful judgments<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_9" id="page_9">[9]</a></span>
+that fell on all who dared to throw mud or stones at
+it; until at last, in 1333, a great flood carried away
+bridge and statue alike, and it was seen no more. It
+has recently been suggested that the statue was, in
+reality, an equestrian monument in honour of some
+barbaric king, belonging to the fifth or sixth century.</p>
+
+<p>Florence, however, seems to have been&ndash;in spite of
+Villani's describing it as the Chamber of the Empire
+and the like&ndash;a place of very slight importance under
+the Empire. Tacitus mentions that a deputation was
+sent from Florentia to Tiberius to prevent the Chiana
+being turned into the Arno. Christianity is said to
+have been first introduced in the days of Nero; the
+Decian persecution raged here as elsewhere, and the
+soil was hallowed with the blood of the martyr,
+Miniatus. Christian worship is said to have been first
+offered up on the hill where a stately eleventh century
+Basilica now bears his name. When the greater
+peace of the Church was established under Constantine,
+a church dedicated to the Baptist on the site of the
+Martian temple and a basilica outside the walls, where
+now stands San Lorenzo, were among the earliest
+churches in Tuscany.</p>
+
+<p>In the year 405, the Goth leader Rhadagaisus,
+<i>omnium antiquorum praesentiumque hostium longe immanissimus</i>,
+as Orosius calls him, suddenly inundated Italy
+with more than 200,000 Goths, vowing to sacrifice all
+the blood of the Romans to his gods. In their terror
+the Romans seemed about to return to their old
+paganism, since Christ had failed to protect them.
+<i>Fervent tota urbe blasphemiae</i>, writes Orosius. They
+advanced towards Rome through the Tuscan Apennines,
+and are said to have besieged Florence,
+though there is no hint of this in Orosius. On the
+approach of Stilicho, at the head of thirty legions with
+a large force of barbarian auxiliaries, Rhadagaisus and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_10" id="page_10">[10]</a></span>
+his hordes&ndash;miraculously struck helpless with terror, as
+Orosius implies&ndash;let themselves be hemmed in in the
+mountains behind Fiesole, and all perished, by famine
+and exhaustion rather than by the sword. Villani
+ascribes the salvation of Florence to the prayers of its
+bishop, Zenobius, and adds that as this victory of "the
+Romans and Florentines" took place on the feast of
+the virgin martyr Reparata, her name was given to the
+church afterwards to become the Cathedral of
+Florence.</p>
+
+<p>Zenobius, now a somewhat misty figure, is the first
+great Florentine of history, and an impressive personage
+in Florentine art. We dimly discern in him an ideal
+bishop and father of his people; a man of great austerity
+and boundless charity, almost an earlier Antoninus.
+Perhaps the fact that some of the intervening
+Florentine bishops were anything but edifying, has
+made these two&ndash;almost at the beginning and end of
+the Middle Ages&ndash;stand forth in a somewhat ideal
+light. He appears to have lived a monastic life outside
+the walls in a small church on the site of the
+present San Lorenzo, with two young ecclesiastics,
+trained by him and St Ambrose, Eugenius and Crescentius.
+They died before him and are commonly
+united with him by the painters. Here he was frequently
+visited by St Ambrose&ndash;here he dispensed
+his charities and worked his miracles (according to
+the legend, he had a special gift of raising children
+to life)&ndash;here at length he died in the odour of
+sanctity, <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 424. The beautiful legend of his translation
+should be familiar to every student of Italian
+painting. I give it in the words of a monkish writer
+of the fourteenth century:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p>"About five years after he had been buried, there
+was made bishop one named Andrew, and this holy
+bishop summoned a great chapter of bishops and clerics,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_11" id="page_11">[11]</a></span>
+and said in the chapter that it was meet to bear the
+body of St Zenobius to the Cathedral Church of San
+Salvatore; and so it was ordained. Wherefore, on the
+26th of January, he caused him to be unburied and
+borne to the Church of San Salvatore by four bishops;
+and these bishops bearing the body of St Zenobius
+were so pressed upon by the people that they fell near
+an elm, the which was close unto the Church of St
+John the Baptist; and when they fell, the case where
+the body of St Zenobius lay was broken, so that the
+body touched the elm, and gradually, as the elm was
+touched, it brought forth flowers and leaves, and lasted
+all that year with the flowers and leaves. The people,
+seeing the miracle, broke up all the elm, and with
+devotion carried the branches away. And the Florentines,
+beholding what was done, made a column of
+marble with a cross where the elm had been, so
+that the miracle should ever be remembered by the
+people."</p>
+
+<p>Like the statue of Mars, this column was destroyed
+by the flood of 1333, and the one now standing to
+the north of the Baptistery was set up after that year.
+It was at one time the custom for the clergy on the
+feast of the translation to go in procession and fasten
+a green bough to this column. Zenobius now stands
+with St Reparata on the cathedral fa&ccedil;ade. Domenico
+Ghirlandaio painted him, together with his pupils
+Eugenius and Crescentius, in the Sala dei Gigli of
+the Palazzo della Signoria; an unknown follower of
+Orcagna had painted a similar picture for a pillar in
+the Duomo. Ghiberti cast his miracles in bronze for
+the shrine in the Chapel of the Sacrament; Verrocchio
+and Lorenzo di Credi at Pistoia placed him and the
+Baptist on either side of Madonna's throne. In a
+picture by some other follower of Verrocchio's in the
+Uffizi he is seen offering up a model of his city to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_12" id="page_12">[12]</a></span>
+Blessed Virgin. Two of the most famous of his miracles,
+the raising of a child to life and the flowering of
+the elm tree at his translation, are superbly rendered
+in two pictures by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio. On May
+25th the people still throng the Duomo with bunches
+of roses and other flowers, which they press to the
+reliquary which contains his head, and so obtain the
+"benedizione di San Zenobio." Thus does his memory
+live fresh and green among the people to whom he
+so faithfully ministered.</p>
+
+<p>Another barbarian king, the last Gothic hero Totila,
+advancing upon Rome in 542, took the same shorter
+but more difficult route across the Apennines. According
+to the legend, he utterly destroyed all Florence,
+with the exception of the Church of San Giovanni,
+and rebuilt Fiesole to oppose Rome and prevent Florence
+from being restored. The truth appears to be
+that he did not personally attack Florence, but sent a
+portion of his troops under his lieutenants. They were
+successfully resisted by Justin, who commanded the
+imperial garrison, and, on the advance of reinforcements
+from Ravenna, they drew off into the valley
+of the Mugello, where they turned upon the pursuing
+"Romans" (whose army consisted of worse barbarians
+than Goths) and completely routed them. Fiesole,
+which had apparently recovered from its old destruction,
+was probably too difficult to be assailed; but it appears
+to have been gradually growing at the expense of
+Florence&ndash;the citizens of the latter emigrating to it
+for greater safety. This was especially the case during
+the Lombard invasion, when the fortunes of Florence
+were at their lowest, and, indeed, in the second half
+of the eighth century, Florence almost sank to being
+a suburb of Fiesole.</p>
+
+<p>With the advent of Charlemagne and the restoration
+of the Empire, brighter days commenced for Florence,&ndash;so<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_13" id="page_13">[13]</a></span>
+much so that the story ran that he had renewed
+the work of Julius Caesar and founded the city again.
+In 786 he wintered here with his court on his third
+visit to Rome; and, according to legend, he was
+here again in great wealth and pomp in 805, and
+founded the Church of Santissimi Apostoli&ndash;the oldest
+existing Florentine building after the Baptistery. Upon
+its fa&ccedil;ade you may still read a pompous inscription concerning
+the Emperor's reception in Florence, and how
+the Church was consecrated by Archbishop Turpin in
+the presence of Oliver and Roland, the Paladins! Florence
+was becoming a power in Tuscany, or at least
+beginning to see more of Popes and Emperors. The
+Ottos stayed within her walls on their way to be
+crowned at Rome; Popes, flying from their rebellious
+subjects, found shelter here. In 1055 Victor II. held
+a council in Florence. Beautiful Romanesque churches
+began to rise&ndash;notably the SS. Apostoli and San Miniato,
+both probably dating from the eleventh century. Great
+churchmen appeared among her sons, as San Giovanni
+Gualberto&ndash;the "merciful knight" of Burne-Jones'
+unforgettable picture&ndash;the reformer of the Benedictines
+and the founder of Vallombrosa. The early reformers,
+while Hildebrand was still "Archdeacon of the Roman
+Church," were specially active in Florence; and one
+of them, known as Peter Igneus, in 1068 endured the
+ordeal of fire and is said to have passed unhurt through
+the flames, to convict the Bishop of Florence of simony.
+This, with other matters relating to the times of Giovanni
+Gualberto and the struggles of the reformers of
+the clergy, you may see in the Bargello in a series of
+noteworthy marble bas-reliefs (terribly damaged, it is
+true), from the hand of Benedetto da Rovezzano.</p>
+
+<p>Although we already begin to hear of the "Florentine
+people" and the "Florentine citizens," Florence was
+at this time subject to the Margraves of Tuscany. One<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_14" id="page_14">[14]</a></span>
+of them, Hugh the Great, who is said to have acted as
+vicar of the Emperor Otto III., and who died at the
+beginning of the eleventh century, lies buried in the
+Badia which had been founded by his mother, the
+Countess Willa, in 978. His tomb, one of the most
+noteworthy monuments of the fifteenth century, by Mino
+da Fiesole, may still be seen, near Filippino Lippi's
+Vision of St Bernard.</p>
+
+<p>It was while Florence was nominally under the sway
+of Hugo's most famous successor, the Countess Matilda
+of Tuscany, that Dante's ancestor Cacciaguida
+was born; and, in the fifteenth and sixteenth cantos of
+the <i>Paradiso</i>, he draws an ideal picture of that austere
+old Florence, <i>dentro dalla cerchia antica</i>, still within
+her Roman walls. We can still partly trace and partly
+conjecture the position of these walls. The city stood
+a little way back from the river, and had four master
+gates; the Porta San Piero on the east, the Porta del
+Duomo on the north, the Porta San Pancrazio on the
+west, the Porta Santa Maria on the south (towards the
+Ponte Vecchio). The heart of the city, the Forum
+or, as it came to be called, the Mercato Vecchio, has
+indeed been destroyed of late years to make way for the
+cold and altogether hideous Piazza Vittorio Emanuele;
+but we can still perceive that at its south-east corner
+the two main streets of this old <i>Florentia quadrata</i>
+intersected,&ndash;Calimara, running from the Porta Santa
+Maria to the Porta del Duomo, south to north, and
+the Corso, running east to west from the Porta
+San Piero to the Porta San Pancrazio, along the
+lines of the present Corso, Via degli Speziali, and
+Via degli Strozzi. The Porta San Piero probably
+stood about where the Via del Corso joins the Via
+del Proconsolo, and there was a suburb reaching out to
+the Church of San Piero Maggiore. Then the walls
+ran along the lines of the present Via del Proconsolo<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_15" id="page_15">[15]</a></span>
+and Via dei Balestrieri, inclosing Santa Reparata and
+the Baptistery, to the Duomo Gate beyond the Bishop's
+palace&ndash;probably somewhere near the opening of the
+modern Borgo San Lorenzo. Then along the Via
+Cerretani, Piazza Antinori, Via Tornabuoni, to the
+Gate of San Pancrazio, which was somewhere near
+the present Palazzo Strozzi; and so on to where the
+Church of Santa Trinit&agrave; now stands, near which there
+was a postern gate called the Porta Rossa. Then they
+turned east along the present Via delle Terme to the
+Porta Santa Maria, which was somewhere near the end
+of the Mercato Nuovo, after which their course back to
+the Porta San Piero is more uncertain. Outside the
+walls were churches and ever-increasing suburbs, and
+Florence was already becoming an important commercial
+centre. Matilda's beneficent sway left it in
+practical independence to work out its own destinies;
+she protected it from imperial aggressions, and curbed
+the nobles of the contrada, who were of Teutonic
+descent and who, from their feudal castles round,
+looked with hostility upon the rich burgher city of
+pure Latin blood that was gradually reducing their
+power and territorial sway. At intervals the great
+Countess entered Florence, and either in person or by
+her deputies and judges (members of the chief Florentine
+families) administered justice in the Forum. Indeed
+she played the part of Dante's ideal Emperor in
+the <i>De Monarchia</i>; made Roman law obeyed through
+her dominions; established peace and curbed disorder;
+and therefore, in spite of her support of papal claims for
+political empire, when the <i>Divina Commedia</i> came to be
+written, Dante placed her as guardian of the Earthly
+Paradise to which the Emperor should guide man, and
+made her the type of the glorified active life. Her
+praises, <i>la lauda di Matelda</i>, were long sung in the
+Florentine churches, as may be gathered from a passage<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_16" id="page_16">[16]</a></span>
+in Boccaccio.</p>
+
+<p>It is from the death of Matilda in 1115 that the
+history of the Commune dates. During her lifetime
+she seems to have gradually, especially while engaged
+in her conflicts with the Emperor Henry, delegated
+her powers to the chief Florentine citizens themselves;
+and in her name they made war upon the aggressive
+nobility in the country round, in the interests of their
+commerce. For Dante the first half of this twelfth
+century represents the golden age in which his ancestor
+lived, when the great citizen nobles&ndash;Bellincion Berti,
+Ubertino Donati, and the heads of the Nerli and Vecchietti
+and the rest&ndash;lived simple and patriotic lives,
+filled the offices of state and led the troops against the
+foes of the Commune. In a grand burst of triumph
+that old Florentine crusader, Cacciaguida, closes the
+sixteenth canto of the <i>Paradiso</i>:</p>
+
+<p class="poem"><span class="o1">"Con queste genti, e con altre con esse,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">vid'io Fiorenza in s&igrave; fatto riposo,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">che non avea cagion onde piangesse;</span><br />
+con queste genti vid'io glorioso,<br />
+<span class="i1">e giusto il popol suo tanto, che'l giglio</span><br />
+<span class="i1">non era ad asta mai posto a ritroso,</span><br />
+n&egrave; per division fatto vermiglio."<a name="fnanchor_5" id="fnanchor_5"></a><a href="#footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p>
+
+<p>When Matilda died, and the Popes and Emperors
+prepared to struggle for her legacy (which thus initiated
+the strifes of Guelfs and Ghibellines), the Florentine
+Republic asserted its independence: the citizen nobles
+who had been her delegates and judges now became
+the Consuls of the Commune and the leaders of the
+republican forces in war. In 1119 the Florentines
+assailed the castle of Monte Cascioli, and killed the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_17" id="page_17">[17]</a></span>
+imperial vicar who defended it; in 1125 they took
+and destroyed Fiesole, which had always been a refuge
+for robber nobles and all who hated the Republic. But
+already signs of division were seen in the city itself,
+though it was a century before it came to a head; and
+the great family of the Uberti&ndash;who, like the nobles
+of the contrada, were of Teutonic descent&ndash;were prominently
+to the front, but soon to be <i>disfatti per la lor
+superbia</i>. Scarcely was Matilda dead than they appear
+to have attempted to seize on the supreme power, and
+to have only been defeated with much bloodshed and
+burning of houses. Still the Republic pursued its victorious
+course through the twelfth century&ndash;putting
+down the feudal barons, forcing them to enter the city
+and join the Commune, and extending their commerce
+and influence as well as their territory on all sides.
+And already these nobles within and without the city
+were beginning to build their lofty towers, and to
+associate themselves into Societies of the Towers;
+while the people were grouped into associations which
+afterwards became the Greater and Lesser Arts or
+Guilds. Villani sees the origin of future contests in
+the mingling of races, Roman and Fiesolan; modern
+writers find it in the distinction, mentioned already,
+between the nobles, of partly Teutonic origin and
+imperial sympathies, and the burghers, who were the
+true Italians, the descendants of those over whom successive
+tides of barbarian conquest had swept, and to
+whom the ascendency of the nobles would mean an
+alien yoke. This struggle between a landed military
+and feudal nobility, waning in power and authority,
+and a commercial democracy of more purely Latin
+descent, ever increasing in wealth and importance,
+is what lies at the bottom of the contest between
+Florentine Guelfs and Ghibellines; and the rival
+claims of Pope and Emperor are of secondary importance,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_18" id="page_18">[18]</a></span>
+as far as Tuscany is concerned.</p>
+
+<p>In 1173 (as the most recent historian of Florence
+has shown, and not in the eleventh century as formerly
+supposed), the second circle of walls was built, and
+included a much larger tract of city, though many of
+the churches which we have been wont to consider the
+most essential things in Florence stand outside them.
+A new Porta San Piero, just beyond the present fa&ccedil;ade
+of the ruined church of San Piero Maggiore, enclosed
+the Borgo di San Piero; thence the walls passed round
+to the Porta di Borgo San Lorenzo, just to the north
+of the present Piazza, and swept round, with two
+gates of minor importance, past the chief western Porta
+San Pancrazio or Porta San Paolo, beyond which the
+present Piazza di Santa Maria Novella stands, down to
+the Arno where there was a Porta alla Carraia, at the
+point where the bridge was built later. Hence a lower
+wall ran along the Arno, taking in the parts excluded
+from the older circuit down to the Ponte Vecchio.
+About half-way between this and the Ponte Rubaconte,
+the walls turned up from the Arno, with several small
+gates, until they reached the place where the present
+Piazza di Santa Croce lies&ndash;which was outside. Here,
+just beyond the old site of the Amphitheatre, there was
+a gate, after which they ran straight without gate or
+postern to San Piero, where they had commenced.</p>
+
+<p>Instead of the old Quarters, named from the gates,
+the city was now divided into six corresponding Sesti
+or sextaries; the Sesto di Porta San Piero, the Sesto
+still called from the old Porta del Duomo, the Sesto
+di Porta Pancrazio, the Sesto di San Piero Scheraggio
+(a church near the Palazzo Vecchio, but now totally
+destroyed), and the Sesto di Borgo Santissimi Apostoli&ndash;these
+two replacing the old Quarter of Porta Santa
+Maria. Across the river lay the Sesto d'Oltrarno&ndash;then
+for the most part unfortified. At that time the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_19" id="page_19">[19]</a></span>
+inhabitants of Oltrarno were mostly the poor and the
+lower classes, but not a few noble families settled there
+later on. The Consuls, the supreme officers of the
+state, were elected annually, two for each sesto, usually
+nobles of popular tendencies; there was a council of a
+hundred, elected every year, its members being mainly
+chosen from the Guilds as the Consuls from the
+Towers; and a Parliament of the people could be
+summoned in the Piazza. Thus the popular government
+was constituted.</p>
+
+<p>Hardly had the new walls risen when the Uberti in
+1177 attempted to overthrow the Consuls and seize
+the government of the city; they were partially successful,
+in that they managed to make the administration
+more aristocratic, after a prolonged civil struggle of two
+years' duration. In 1185 Frederick Barbarossa took
+away the privileges of the Republic and deprived it of
+its contrada; but his son, Henry VI., apparently gave
+it back. With the beginning of the thirteenth century
+we find the Consuls replaced by a Podest&agrave;, a
+foreign noble elected by the citizens themselves; and
+the Florentines, not content with having back their
+contrada, beginning to make wars of conquest upon their
+neighbours, especially the Sienese, from whom they
+exacted a cession of territory in 1208.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft"><a name="illo_3" id="illo_3"></a>
+<img src="images/illus034_tmb.jpg" width="270" height="400" alt="The Buondelmonte Tower" title="" />
+<p class="caption">THE BUONDELMONTE TOWER</p>
+<a href="images/illus034_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>In 1215 there was enacted a deed in which poets
+and chroniclers have seen a turning point in the history
+of Florence. Buondelmonte dei Buondelmonti, "a
+right winsome and comely knight," as Villani calls him,
+had pledged himself for political reasons to marry a
+maiden of the Amidei family&ndash;the kinsmen of the
+proud Uberti and Fifanti. But, at the instigation of
+Gualdrada Donati, he deserted his betrothed and married
+Gualdrada's own daughter, a girl of great beauty.
+Upon this the nobles of the kindred of the deserted
+girl held a council together to decide what vengeance<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_20" id="page_20">[20]</a></span>
+to take, in which "Mosca dei Lamberti spoke the evil
+word: <i>Cosa fatta, capo ha</i>; to wit, that he should be
+slain; and so it was done." On Easter Sunday the
+Amidei and their associates assembled, after hearing mass
+in San Stefano, in a palace of the Amidei, which was on
+the Lungarno at the
+opening of the present
+Via Por Santa Maria;
+and they watched young
+Buondelmonte coming
+from Oltrarno, riding
+over the Ponte Vecchio
+"dressed nobly in a new
+robe all white and on a
+white palfrey," crowned
+with a garland, making
+his way towards the
+palaces of his kindred in
+Borgo Santissimi Apostoli.
+As soon as he had
+reached this side, at the
+foot of the pillar on
+which stood the statue
+of Mars, they rushed out
+upon him. Schiatta degli
+Uberti struck him from
+his horse with a mace,
+and Mosca dei Lamberti, Lambertuccio degli Amidei,
+Oderigo Fifanti, and one of the Gangalandi, stabbed
+him to death with their daggers at the foot of the
+statue. "Verily is it shown," writes Villani, "that
+the enemy of human nature by reason of the sins of the
+Florentines had power in this idol of Mars, which the
+pagan Florentines adored of old; for at the foot of his
+figure was this murder committed, whence such great
+evil followed to the city of Florence." The body<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_21" id="page_21">[21]</a></span>
+was placed upon a bier, and, with the young bride supporting
+the dead head of her bridegroom, carried through
+the streets to urge the people to vengeance. Headed
+by the Uberti, the older and more aristocratic families
+took up the cause of the Amidei; the burghers and the
+democratically inclined nobles supported the Buondelmonti,
+and from this the chronicler dates the beginning
+of the Guelfs and Ghibellines in Florence.</p>
+
+<p>But it was only the names that were then introduced,
+to intensify a struggle which had in reality commenced
+a century before this, in 1115, on the death of Matilda.
+As far as Guelf and Ghibelline meant a struggle of the
+commune of burghers and traders with a military aristocracy
+of Teutonic descent and feudal imperial tendencies,
+the thing is already clearly defined in the old
+contest between the Uberti and the Consuls. This,
+however, precipitated matters, and initiated fifty years
+of perpetual conflict. Dante, through Cacciaguida,
+touches upon the tragedy in his great way in <i>Paradiso</i>
+XVI., where he calls it the ruin of old Florence.</p>
+
+<p class="poem p2"><span class="o1">"La casa di che nacque il vostro fleto,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">per lo giusto disdegno che v'ha morti</span><br />
+<span class="i1">e posto fine al vostro viver lieto,</span><br />
+era onorata ed essa e suoi consorti.<br />
+<span class="i1">O Buondelmonte, quanto mal fuggisti</span><br />
+<span class="i1">le nozze sue per gli altrui conforti!</span><br />
+Molti sarebbon lieti, che son tristi,<br />
+<span class="i1">se Dio t'avesse conceduto ad Ema</span><br />
+<span class="i1">la prima volta che a citt&agrave; venisti.</span><br />
+Ma conveniasi a quella pietra scema<br />
+<span class="i1">che guarda il ponte, che Fiorenza fesse</span><br />
+<span class="i1">vittima nella sua pace postrema."<a name="fnanchor_6" id="fnanchor_6"></a><a href="#footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And again, in the Hell of the sowers of discord,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_22" id="page_22">[22]</a></span>
+where they are horribly mutilated by the devil's sword,
+he meets the miserable Mosca.</p>
+
+<p class="poem"><span class="o1">"Ed un, ch'avea l'una e l'altra man mozza,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">levando i moncherin per l'aura fosca,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">s&igrave; che il sangue facea la faccia sozza,</span><br />
+grid&ograve;: Ricorderaiti anche del Mosca,<br />
+<span class="i1">che dissi, lasso! 'Capo ha cosa fatta,'</span><br />
+<span class="i1">che fu il mal seme per la gente tosca."<a name="fnanchor_7" id="fnanchor_7"></a><a href="#footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>For a time the Commune remained Guelf and
+powerful, in spite of dissensions; it adhered to the
+Pope against Frederick II., and waged successful wars
+with its Ghibelline rivals, Pisa and Siena. Of the
+other Tuscan cities Lucca was Guelf, Pistoia Ghibelline.
+A religious feud mingled with the political
+dissensions; heretics, the Paterini, Epicureans and
+other sects, were multiplying in Italy, favoured by
+Frederick II. and patronised by the Ghibellines. Fra
+Pietro of Verona, better known as St Peter Martyr,
+organised a crusade, and, with his white-robed captains
+of the Faith, hunted them in arms through the streets
+of Florence; at the Croce al Trebbio, near Santa
+Maria Novella, and in the Piazza di Santa Felicit&agrave;
+over the Arno, columns still mark the place where he
+fell furiously upon them, <i>con l'uficio apostolico</i>. But in
+1249, at the instigation of Frederick II., the Uberti<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_23" id="page_23">[23]</a></span>
+and Ghibelline nobles rose in arms; and, after a
+desperate conflict with the Guelf magnates and the
+people, gained possession of the city, with the aid of
+the Emperor's German troops. And, on the night
+of February 2nd, the Guelf leaders with a great following
+of people armed and bearing torches buried
+Rustico Marignolli, who had fallen in defending the
+banner of the Lily, with military honours in San
+Lorenzo, and then sternly passed into exile. Their
+palaces and towers were destroyed, while the Uberti
+and their allies with the Emperor's German troops
+held the city. This lasted not two years. In 1250,
+on the death of Frederick II., the Republic threw off
+the yoke, and the first democratic constitution of
+Florence was established, the <i>Primo Popolo</i>, in which
+the People were for the first time regularly organised
+both for peace and for war under a new officer, the
+Captain of the People, whose appointment was intended
+to outweigh the Podest&agrave;, the head of the
+Commune and the leader of the nobles. The Captain
+was intrusted with the white and red Gonfalon of
+the People, and associated with the central government
+of the Ancients of the people, who to some
+extent corresponded to the Consuls of olden time.</p>
+
+<p>This <i>Primo Popolo</i> ran a victorious course of ten
+years, years of internal prosperity and almost continuous
+external victory. It was under it that the banner of the
+Commune was changed from a white lily on a red field
+to a red lily on a white field&ndash;<i>per division fatto
+vermiglio</i>, as Dante puts it&ndash;after the Uberti and
+Lamberti with the turbulent Ghibellines had been
+expelled. Pisa was humbled; Pistoia and Volterra
+forced to submit. But it came to a terrible end,
+illuminated only by the heroism of one of its conquerors.
+A conspiracy on the part of the Uberti to
+take the government from the people and subject the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_24" id="page_24">[24]</a></span>
+city to the great Ghibelline prince, Manfredi, King of
+Apulia and Sicily, son of Frederick II., was discovered
+and severely punished. Headed by Farinata
+degli Uberti and aided by King Manfredi's German
+mercenaries, the exiles gathered at Siena, against
+which the Florentine Republic declared war. In
+1260 the Florentine army approached Siena. A preliminary
+skirmish, in which a band of German horsemen
+was cut to pieces and the royal banner captured,
+only led a few months later to the disastrous defeat of
+Montaperti, <i>che fece l'Arbia colorata in rosso</i>; in which,
+after enormous slaughter and loss of the Carroccio, or
+battle car of the Republic, "the ancient people of
+Florence was broken and annihilated" on September
+4th, 1260. Without waiting for the armies of the
+conqueror, the Guelf nobles with their families and
+many of the burghers fled the city, mainly to Lucca;
+and, on the 16th of September, the Germans under
+Count Giordano, Manfredi's vicar, with Farinata and
+the exiles, entered Florence as conquerors. All
+liberty was destroyed, the houses of Guelfs razed to
+the ground, the Count Guido Novello&ndash;the lord of
+Poppi and a ruthless Ghibelline&ndash;made Podest&agrave;.
+The Via Ghibellina is his record. It was finally
+proposed in a great Ghibelline council at Empoli to
+raze Florence to the ground; but the fiery eloquence
+of Farinata degli Uberti, who declared that, even if he
+stood alone, he would defend her sword in hand as long
+as life lasted, saved his city. Marked out with all his
+house for the relentless hate of the Florentine people,
+Dante has secured to him a lurid crown of glory even
+in Hell. Out of the burning tombs of the heretics he
+rises, <i>come avesse l'inferno in gran dispitto</i>, still the
+unvanquished hero who, when all consented to destroy
+Florence, "alone with open face defended her."</p>
+
+<p>For nearly six years the life of the Florentine people<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_25" id="page_25">[25]</a></span>
+was suspended, and lay crushed beneath an oppressive
+despotism of Ghibelline nobles and German soldiery
+under Guido Novello, the vicar of King Manfredi.
+Excluded from all political interests, the people imperceptibly
+organised their greater and lesser guilds, and
+waited the event. During this gloom Farinata degli
+Uberti died in 1264, and in the following year, 1265,
+Dante Alighieri was born. That same year, 1265,
+Charles of Anjou, the champion of the Church, invited
+by Clement IV. to take the crown of the kingdom of
+Naples and Sicily, entered Italy, and in February
+1266 annihilated the army of Manfredi at the battle
+of Benevento. Foremost in the ranks of the crusaders&ndash;for
+as such the French were regarded&ndash;fought the
+Guelf exiles from Florence, under the Papal banner
+specially granted them by Pope Clement&ndash;a red eagle
+clutching a green dragon on a white field. This, with
+the addition of a red lily over the eagle's head, became
+the arms of the society known as the Parte Guelfa;
+you may see it on the Porta San Niccol&ograve; and in other
+parts of the city between the cross of the People and
+the red lily of the Commune. Many of the noble
+Florentines were knighted by the hand of King
+Charles before the battle, and did great deeds of
+valour upon the field. "These men cannot lose to-day,"
+exclaimed Manfredi, as he watched their advance;
+and when the silver eagle of the house of Suabia fell
+from Manfredi's helmet and he died in the mel&eacute;e
+crying <i>Hoc est signum Dei</i>, the triumph of the Guelfs
+was complete and German rule at an end in Italy.
+Of Manfredi's heroic death and the dishonour done
+by the Pope's legate to his body, Dante has sung in
+the <i>Purgatorio</i>.</p>
+
+<p>When the news reached Florence, the Ghibellines
+trembled for their safety, and the people prepared to
+win back their own. An attempt at compromise was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_26" id="page_26">[26]</a></span>
+first made, under the auspices of Pope Clement. Two
+<i>Frati Gaudenti</i> or "Cavalieri di Maria," members of
+an order of warrior monks from Bologna, were made
+Podest&agrave;s, one a Guelf and one a Ghibelline, to come
+to terms with the burghers. You may still trace the
+place where the Bottega and court of the Calimala
+stood in Mercato Nuovo (the Calimala being the Guild
+of dressers of foreign cloth&ndash;panni franceschi, as Villani
+calls it), near where the Via Porta Rossa now enters
+the present Via Calzaioli. Here the new council of
+thirty-six of the best citizens, burghers and artizans,
+with a few trusted members of the nobility, met every
+day to settle the affairs of the State. Dante has
+branded these two warrior monks as hypocrites, but, as
+Capponi says, from this Bottega issued at once and almost
+spontaneously the Republic of Florence. Their
+great achievement was the thorough organisation of the
+seven greater Guilds, of which more presently, to each
+of which were given consuls and rectors, and a gonfalon
+or ensign of its own, around which its followers might
+assemble in arms in defence of People and Commune.
+To counteract this, Guido Novello brought in more
+troops from the Ghibelline cities of Tuscany, and
+increased the taxes to pay his Germans; until he had
+fifteen hundred horsemen in the city under his command.
+With their aid the nobles, headed by the
+Lamberti, rushed to arms. The people rose <i>en masse</i>
+and, headed by a Ghibelline noble, Gianni dei
+Soldanieri, who apparently had deserted his party in
+order to get control of the State (and who is placed
+by Dante in the Hell of traitors), raised barricades in
+the Piazza di Santa Trinit&agrave; and in the Borgo SS.
+Apostoli, at the foot of the Tower of the Girolami,
+which still stands. The Ghibellines and Germans
+gathered in the Piazza di San Giovanni, held all the
+north-east of the town, and swept down upon the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_27" id="page_27">[27]</a></span>
+people's barricades under a heavy fire of darts and
+stones from towers and windows. But the street fighting
+put the horsemen at a hopeless disadvantage, and,
+repulsed in the assault, the Count and his followers
+evacuated the town. This was on St Martin's day,
+November 11th, 1266. The next day a half-hearted
+attempt to re-enter the city at the gate near the Ponte
+alla Carraia was made, but easily driven off; and for
+two centuries and more no foreigner set foot as conqueror
+in Florence.</p>
+
+<p>Not that Florence either obtained or desired absolute
+independence. The first step was to choose Charles of
+Anjou, the new King of Naples and Sicily, for their
+suzerain for ten years; but, cruel tyrant as he was
+elsewhere, he showed himself a true friend to the
+Florentines, and his suzerainty seldom weighed upon
+them oppressively. The Uberti and others were expelled,
+and some, who held out among the castles, were
+put to death at his orders. But the government became
+truly democratic. There was a central administration
+of twelve Ancients, elected annually, two for each
+sesto; with a council of one hundred "good men of
+the People, without whose deliberation no great thing
+or expense could be done"; and, nominally at least,
+a parliament. Next came the Captain of the People
+(usually an alien noble of democratic sympathies), with
+a special council or <i>credenza</i>, called the Council of the
+Captain and Capetudini (the Capetudini composed of the
+consuls of the Guilds), of 80 members; and a general
+council of 300 (including the 80), all <i>popolani</i> and
+Guelfs. Next came the Podest&agrave;, always an alien
+noble (appointed at first by King Charles), with the
+Council of the Podest&agrave; of 90 members, and the general
+Council of the Commune of 300&ndash;in both of which
+nobles could sit as well as popolani. Measures presented
+by the 12 to the 100 were then submitted<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_28" id="page_28">[28]</a></span>
+successively to the two councils of the Captain, and
+then, on the next day, to the councils of the Podest&agrave;
+and the Commune. Occasionally measures were concerted
+between the magistrates and a specially summoned
+council of <i>richiesti</i>, without the formalities and delays
+of these various councils. Each of the seven greater
+Arts<a name="fnanchor_8" id="fnanchor_8"></a><a href="#footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> was further organised with its own officers and
+councils and banners, like a miniature republic, and its
+consuls (forming the Capetudini) always sat in the
+Captain's council and usually in that of the Podest&agrave;
+likewise.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_4" id="illo_4"></a>
+<img src="images/illus043_tmb.jpg" width="264" height="400" alt="THE PALACE OF THE PARTE GUELFA" />
+<p class="caption">THE PALACE OF THE PARTE GUELFA</p>
+<a href="images/illus043_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>There was one dark spot. A new organisation was
+set on foot, under the auspices of Pope Clement and
+King Charles, known as the Parte Guelfa&ndash;another
+miniature republic within the republic&ndash;with six captains
+(three nobles and three popolani) and two councils,
+mainly to persecute the Ghibellines, to manage confiscated
+goods, and uphold Guelf principles in the State.
+In later days these Captains of the Guelf Party became
+exceedingly powerful and oppressive, and were the cause
+of much dissension. They met at first in the Church
+of S. Maria sopra la Porta (now the Church of S.
+Biagio), and later had a special palace of their own&ndash;which
+still stands, partly in the Via delle Terme, as
+you pass up it from the Via Por Santa Maria on the
+right, and partly in the Piazza di San Biagio. It is
+an imposing and somewhat threatening mass, partly of
+the fourteenth and partly of the early fifteenth century.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_31" id="page_31">[31]</a></span>
+The church, which retains in part its structure of the
+thirteenth century, had been a place of secret meeting
+for the Guelfs during Guido Novello's rule; it still
+stands, but converted into a barracks for the firemen
+of Florence.</p>
+
+<p>Thus was the greatest and most triumphant Republic
+of the Middle Ages organised&ndash;the constitution under
+which the most glorious culture and art of the modern
+world was to flourish. The great Guilds were henceforth
+a power in the State, and the <i>Secondo Popolo</i> had
+arisen&ndash;the democracy that Dante and Boccaccio were
+to know.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_5" id="illo_5"></a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_29" id="page_29"></a></span>
+<img src="images/illus045_tmb.jpg" width="190" height="300" alt="ARMS OF PARTE GUELFA" title="" />
+<p class="caption">ARMS OF PARTE GUELFA</p>
+<a href="images/illus045_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_32" id="page_32">[32]</a></p>
+<h2 class="p6"><a name="chapter_ii" id="chapter_ii"></a>CHAPTER II</h2>
+
+<h3><i>The Times of Dante and Boccaccio</i></h3>
+
+<p class="left25 font90"><span class="o1">"Godi, Fiorenza, poi che sei s&igrave; grande</span><br />
+che per mare e per terra batti l'ali,<br />
+e per l'inferno il tuo nome si spande."<br />
+<span class="i14">&ndash;<i>Dante.</i></span></p>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE century that passed from the birth of Dante
+in 1265 to the deaths of Petrarch and Boccaccio,
+in 1374 and 1375 respectively, may be styled the
+<i>Trecento</i>, although it includes the last quarter of the
+thirteenth century and excludes the closing years of
+the fourteenth. In general Italian history, it runs from
+the downfall of the German Imperial power at the
+battle of Benevento, in 1266, to the return of the Popes
+from Avignon in 1377. In art, it is the epoch of the
+completion of Italian Gothic in architecture, of the
+followers and successors of Niccol&ograve; and Giovanni Pisano
+in sculpture, of the school of Giotto in painting. In
+letters, it is the great period of pure Tuscan prose and
+verse. Dante and Giovanni Villani, Dino Compagni,
+Petrarch, Boccaccio and Sacchetti, paint the age for us
+in all its aspects; and a note of mysticism is heard at
+the close (though not from a Florentine) in the Epistles
+of St. Catherine of Siena, of whom a living Italian poet
+has written&ndash;<i>Nel Giardino del conoscimento di s&egrave; ella &egrave;
+come una rosa di fuoco.</i> But at the same time it is a
+century full of civil war and sanguinary factions, in
+which every Italian city was divided against itself; and
+nowhere were these divisions more notable or more<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_35" id="page_35">[35]</a></span>
+bitterly fought out than in Florence. Yet, in spite
+of it all, the Republic proceeded majestically on its
+triumphant course. Machiavelli lays much stress upon
+this in the Proem to his <i>Istorie Fiorentine</i>. "In Florence,"
+he says, "at first the nobles were divided against
+each other, then the people against the nobles, and lastly
+the people against the populace; and it ofttimes happened
+that when one of these parties got the upper hand, it
+split into two. And from these divisions there resulted
+so many deaths, so many banishments, so many destructions
+of families, as never befell in any other city of
+which we have record. Verily, in my opinion, nothing
+manifests more clearly the power of our city than the
+result of these divisions, which would have been able
+to destroy every great and most potent city. Nevertheless
+ours seemed thereby to grow ever greater; such
+was the virtue of those citizens, and the power of their
+genius and disposition to make themselves and their
+country great, that those who remained free from these
+evils could exalt her with their virtue more than the
+malignity of those accidents, which had diminished
+them, had been able to cast her down. And without
+doubt, if only Florence, after her liberation from the
+Empire, had had the felicity of adopting a form of
+government which would have kept her united, I know
+not what republic, whether modern or ancient, would
+have surpassed her&ndash;with such great virtue in war and
+in peace would she have been filled."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_6" id="illo_6"></a>
+<img src="images/illus047_tmb.jpg" width="243" height="400" alt="FLORENTINE FAMILIES" title="" />
+<p class="caption">
+FLORENTINE FAMILIES, EARLY THIRTEENTH CENTURY,<br />WITH
+A PORTION OF THE SECOND WALLS INDICATED<br />(<i>Temple
+Classics: Paradiso</i>).<br />(The representation is approximate
+only: the Cerchi Palace near the Corso degli
+Adimari should be more to the right.)</p>
+<a href="images/illus047_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>The first thirty-four years of this epoch are among
+the brightest in Florentine history, the years that ran
+from the triumph of the Guelfs to the sequel to the
+Jubilee of 1300, from the establishment of the <i>Secondo
+Popolo</i> to its split into Neri and Bianchi, into Black
+Guelfs and White Guelfs. Externally Florence became
+the chief power of Tuscany, and all the neighbouring
+towns gradually, to a greater or less extent,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_36" id="page_36">[36]</a></span>
+acknowledged her sway; internally, in spite of growing
+friction between the burghers and the new Guelf nobility,
+between <i>popolani</i> and <i>grandi</i> or magnates, she was daily
+advancing in wealth and prosperity, in beauty and
+artistic power. The exquisite poetry of the <i>dolce stil
+novo</i> was heard. Guido Cavalcanti, a noble Guelf who
+had married the daughter of Farinata degli Uberti, and,
+later, the notary Lapo Gianni and Dante Alighieri,
+showed the Italians what true lyric song was; philosophers
+like Brunetto Latini served the state; modern
+history was born with Giovanni Villani. Great palaces
+were built for the officers of the Republic; vast Gothic
+churches arose. Women of rare beauty, eternalised as
+Beatrice, Giovanna, Lagia and the like, passed through
+the streets and adorned the social gatherings in the open
+loggias of the palaces. Splendid pageants and processions
+hailed the Calends of May and the Nativity of
+the Baptist, and marked the civil and ecclesiastical
+festivities and state solemnities. The people advanced
+more and more in power and patriotism; while the
+magnates, in their towers and palace-fortresses, were
+partly forced to enter the life of the guilds, partly held
+aloof and plotted to recover their lost authority, but
+were always ready to officer the burgher forces in time
+of war, or to extend Florentine influence by serving as
+Podest&agrave;s and Captains in other Italian cities.</p>
+
+<p>Dante was born in the Sesto di San Piero Maggiore
+in May 1265, some eighteen months before the liberation
+of the city. He lost his mother in his infancy,
+and his father while he was still a boy. This father
+appears to have been a notary, and came from a noble
+but decadent family, who were probably connected
+with the Elisei, an aristocratic house of supposed
+Roman descent, who had by this time almost entirely
+disappeared. The Alighieri, who were Guelfs, do
+not seem to have ranked officially as <i>grandi</i> or magnates;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_37" id="page_37">[37]</a></span>
+one of Dante's uncles had fought heroically at
+Montaperti. Almost all the families connected with
+the story of Dante's life had their houses in the Sesto
+di San Piero Maggiore, and their sites may in some
+instances still be traced. Here were the Cerchi, with
+whom he was to be politically associated in after years;
+the Donati, from whom sprung one of his dearest
+friends, Forese, with one of his deadliest foes, Messer
+Corso, and Dante's own wife, Gemma; and the Portinari,
+the house according to tradition of Beatrice, the
+"giver of blessing" of Dante's <i>Vita Nuova</i>, the
+mystical lady of the <i>Paradiso</i>. Guido Cavalcanti,
+the first and best of all his friends, lived a little apart
+from this Sesto di Scandali&ndash;as St Peter's section of
+the town came to be called&ndash;between the Mercato
+Nuovo and San Michele in Orto. Unlike the
+Alighieri, though not of such ancient birth as theirs,
+the Cavalcanti were exceedingly rich and powerful, and
+ranked officially among the <i>grandi</i>, the Guelf magnates.
+At this epoch, as Signor Carocci observes in
+his <i>Firenze scomparsa</i>, Florence must have presented
+the aspect of a vast forest of towers. These towers
+rose over the houses of powerful and wealthy families,
+to be used for offence or defence, when the faction
+fights raged, or to be dismantled and cut down when
+the people gained the upper hand. The best idea of
+such a medi&aelig;val city, on a smaller scale, can still be
+got at San Gemignano, "the fair town called of the
+Fair Towers," where dozens of these <i>torri</i> still stand;
+and also, though to a less extent, at Gubbio. A few
+have been preserved here in Florence, and there are a
+number of narrow streets, on both sides of the Arno,
+which still retain some of their medi&aelig;val characteristics.
+In the Borgo Santissimi Apostoli, for instance, and in
+the Via Lambertesca, there are several striking towers
+of this kind, with remnants of palaces of the <i>grandi</i>;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_38" id="page_38">[38]</a></span>
+and, on the other side of the river, especially in the
+Via dei Bardi and the Borgo San Jacopo. When one
+family, or several associated families, had palaces on
+either side of a narrow street defended by such towers,
+and could throw chains and barricades across at a
+moment's notice, it will readily be understood that in
+times of popular tumult Florence bristled with fortresses
+in every direction.</p>
+
+<p>In 1282, the year before that in which Dante received
+the "most sweet salutation," <i>dolcissimo salutare</i>,
+of "the glorious lady of my mind who was called by
+many Beatrice, that knew not how she was called,"
+and saw the vision of the Lord of terrible aspect in the
+mist of the colour of fire (the vision which inspired
+the first of his sonnets which has been preserved to us),
+the democratic government of the <i>Secondo Popolo</i> was
+confirmed by being placed entirely in the hands of the
+<i>Arti Maggiori</i> or Greater Guilds. The Signoria was
+henceforth to be composed of the Priors of the Arts,
+chosen from the chief members of the Greater Guilds,
+who now became the supreme magistrates of the State.
+They were, at this epoch of Florentine history, six in
+number, one to represent each Sesto, and held office
+for two months only; on leaving office, they joined
+with the Capetudini, and other citizens summoned for
+the purpose, to elect their successors. At a later period
+this was done, ostensibly at least, by lot instead of
+election. The glorious Palazzo Vecchio had not yet
+been built, and the Priors met at first in a house belonging
+to the monks of the Badia, defended by the
+Torre della Castagna; and afterwards in a palace belonging
+to the Cerchi (both tower and palace are still
+standing). Of the seven Greater Arts&ndash;the <i>Calimala</i>,
+the Money-changers, the Wool-merchants, the Silk-merchants,
+the Physicians and Apothecaries, the traders
+in furs and skins, the Judges and Notaries&ndash;the latter<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_39" id="page_39">[39]</a></span>
+alone do not seem at first to have been represented in
+the Priorate; but to a certain extent they exercised
+control over all the Guilds, sat in all their tribunals,
+and had a Proconsul, who came next to the Signoria in
+all state processions, and had a certain jurisdiction
+over all the Arts. It was thus essentially a government
+of those who were actually engaged in industry
+and commerce. "Henceforth," writes Pasquale Villari,
+"the Republic is properly a republic of merchants, and
+only he who is ascribed to the Arts can govern it:
+every grade of nobility, ancient or new, is more a loss
+than a privilege." The double organisation of the
+People under the Captain with his two councils, and
+the Commune under the Podest&agrave; with his special
+council and the general council (in these two latter
+alone, it will be remembered, could nobles sit and vote)
+still remained; but the authority of the Podest&agrave; was
+naturally diminished.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft"><a name="illo_7" id="illo_7"></a>
+<img src="images/illus054_tmb.jpg" width="271" height="400" alt="CORSO DONATI&#39;S TOWER" title="" />
+<p class="caption">CORSO DONATI&#39;S TOWER</p>
+<a href="images/illus054_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>Florence was now the predominant power in central
+Italy; the cities of Tuscany looked to her as the head
+of the Guelfic League, although, says Dino Compagni,
+"they love her more in discord than in peace, and
+obey her more for fear than for love." A protracted
+war against Pisa and Arezzo, carried on from 1287 to
+1292, drew even Dante from his poetry and his study;
+it is believed that he took part in the great battle of
+Campaldino in 1289, in which the last efforts of the
+old Tuscan Ghibellinism were shattered by the Florentines
+and their allies, fighting under the royal banner of
+the House of Anjou. Amerigo di Narbona, one of
+the captains of King Charles II. of Naples, was in
+command of the Guelfic forces. From many points of
+view, this is one of the more interesting battles of the
+Middle Ages. It is said to have been almost the last
+Italian battle in which the burgher forces, and not the
+mercenary soldiery of the Condottieri, carried the day.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_40" id="page_40">[40]</a></span>
+Corso Donati and Vieri dei Cerchi, soon to be in deadly
+feud in the political arena, were among the captains of
+the Florentine host; and Dante himself is said to have
+served in the front rank of the cavalry. In a fragment
+of a letter ascribed to him by one of his earlier biographers,
+Dante speaks
+of this battle of Campaldino;
+"wherein I
+had much dread, and
+at the end the greatest
+gladness, by reason of
+the varying chances of
+that battle." One of
+the Ghibelline leaders,
+Buonconte da Montefeltro,
+who was mortally
+wounded and died
+in the rout, meets the
+divine poet on the
+shores of the Mountain
+of Purgation, and,
+in lines of almost ineffable
+pathos, tells
+him the whole story
+of his last moments.
+Villani, ever mindful
+of Florence being the
+daughter of Rome, assures us that the news of the
+great victory was miraculously brought to the Priors
+in the Cerchi Palace, in much the same way as the
+tidings of Lake Regillus to the expectant Fathers at
+the gate of Rome. Several of the exiled Uberti had
+fallen in the ranks of the enemy, fighting against their
+own country. In the cloisters of the Annunziata you
+will find a contemporary monument of the battle, let
+into the west wall of the church near the ground;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_41" id="page_41">[41]</a></span>
+the marble figure of an armed knight on horseback,
+with the golden lilies of France over his surcoat,
+charging down upon the foe. It is the tomb of the
+French cavalier, Guglielmo Berardi, "balius" of
+Amerigo di Narbona, who fell upon the field.</p>
+
+<p>The eleven years that follow Campaldino, culminating
+in the Jubilee of Pope Boniface VIII. and the
+opening of the fourteenth century, are the years of
+Dante's political life. They witnessed the great
+political reforms which confirmed the democratic
+character of the government, and the marvellous
+artistic embellishment of the city under Arnolfo di
+Cambio and his contemporaries. During these years
+the Palazzo Vecchio, the Duomo, and the grandest
+churches of Florence were founded; and the Third
+Walls, whose gates and some scanty remnants are with
+us to-day, were begun. Favoured by the Popes and
+the Angevin sovereigns of Naples, now that the old
+Ghibelline nobility, save in a few valleys and mountain
+fortresses, was almost extinct, the new nobles, the
+<i>grandi</i> or Guelf magnates, proud of their exploits at
+Campaldino, and chafing against the burgher rule,
+began to adopt an overbearing line of conduct towards
+the people, and to be more factious than ever among
+themselves. Strong measures were adopted against
+them, such as the complete enfranchisement of the
+peasants of the contrada in 1289&ndash;measures which
+culminated in the famous Ordinances of Justice, passed
+in 1293, by which the magnates were completely
+excluded from the administration, severe laws made
+to restrain their rough usage of the people, and a
+special magistrate, the <i>Gonfaloniere</i> or "Standard-bearer
+of Justice," added to the Priors, to hold office
+like them for two months in rotation from each sesto
+of the city, and to rigidly enforce the laws against the
+magnates. This Gonfaloniere became practically the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_42" id="page_42">[42]</a></span>
+head of the Signoria, and was destined to become the
+supreme head of the State in the latter days of the
+Florentine Republic; to him was publicly assigned
+the great Gonfalon of the People, with its red cross
+on a white field; and he had a large force of armed
+popolani under his command to execute these ordinances,
+against which there was no appeal allowed.<a name="fnanchor_9" id="fnanchor_9"></a><a href="#footnote_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a>
+These Ordinances also fixed the number of the Guilds
+at twenty-one&ndash;seven Arti Maggiori, mainly engaged
+in wholesale commerce, exportation and importation,
+fourteen Arti Minori, which carried on the retail traffic
+and internal trade of the city&ndash;and renewed their
+statutes.</p>
+
+<p>The hero of this Magna Charta of Florence is a
+certain Giano della Bella, a noble who had fought at
+Campaldino and had now joined the people; a man of
+untractable temper, who knew not how to make concessions;
+somewhat anti-clerical and obnoxious to the
+Pope, but consumed by an intense and savage thirst for
+justice, upon which the craftier politicians of both sides
+played. "Let the State perish, rather than such things
+be tolerated," was his constant political formula: <i>Perisca
+innanzi la citt&agrave;, che tante opere rie si sostengano.</i> But
+the magnates, from whom he was endeavouring to snatch
+their last political refuge, the Parte Guelfa, muttered,
+"Let us smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be
+scattered"; and at length, after an ineffectual conspiracy
+against his life, Giano was driven out of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_43" id="page_43">[43]</a></span>
+city, on March 5th, 1295, by a temporary alliance of
+the burghers and magnates against him. The <i>popolo
+minuto</i> and artizans, upon whom he had mainly relied
+and whose interests he had sustained, deserted him;
+and the government remained henceforth in the hands
+of the wealthy burghers, the <i>popolo grosso</i>. Already
+a cleavage was becoming visible between these Arti
+Maggiori, who ruled the State, and the Arti Minori
+whose gains lay in local merchandise and traffic,
+partly dependent upon the magnates. And a butcher,
+nicknamed Pecora, or, as we may call him, Lambkin,
+appears prominently as a would-be politician; he cuts
+a quaintly fierce figure in Dino Compagni's chronicle.
+In this same year, 1295, Dante Alighieri entered public
+life, and, on July 6th, he spoke in the General Council
+of the Commune in support of certain modifications in
+the Ordinances of Justice, whereby nobles, by leaving
+their order and matriculating in one or other of the
+Arts, even without exercising it, could be free from
+their disabilities, and could share in the government of
+the State, and hold office in the Signoria. He himself,
+in this same year, matriculated in the Arte dei
+Medici e Speziali, the great guild which included the
+painters and the book-sellers.</p>
+
+<p>The growing dissensions in the Guelf Republic came
+to a head in 1300, the famous year of jubilee in which
+the Pope was said to have declared that the Florentines
+were the "fifth element." The rival factions of Bianchi
+and Neri, White Guelfs and Black Guelfs, which were
+now to divide the whole city, arose partly from the
+deadly hostility of two families each with a large following,
+the Cerchi and the Donati, headed respectively
+by Vieri dei Cerchi and Corso Donati, the two heroes
+of Campaldino; partly from an analogous feud in Pistoia,
+which was governed from Florence; partly from the
+political discord between that party in the State that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_44" id="page_44">[44]</a></span>
+clung to the (modified) Ordinances of Justice and supported
+the Signoria, and another party that hated the
+Ordinances and loved the tyrannical Parte Guelfa.
+They were further complicated by the intrigues of the
+"black" magnates with Pope Boniface VIII., who
+apparently hoped by their means to repress the burgher
+government and unite the city in obedience to himself.
+With this end in view, he had been endeavouring to
+obtain from Albert of Austria the renunciation, in
+favour of the Holy See, of all rights claimed by
+the Emperors over Tuscany. Dante himself, Guido
+Cavalcanti, and most of the best men in Florence either
+directly adhered to, or at least favoured, the Cerchi
+and the Whites; the populace, on the other hand, was
+taken with the dash and display of the more aristocratic
+Blacks, and would gladly have seen Messer Corso&ndash;"il
+Barone," as they called him&ndash;lord of the city.
+Rioting, in which Guido Cavalcanti played a wild and
+fantastic part, was of daily occurrence, especially in the
+Sesto di San Piero. The adherents of the Signoria
+had their head-quarters in the Cerchi Palace, in the
+Via della Condotta; the Blacks found their legal fortress
+in that of the Captains of the Parte Guelfa in the Via
+delle Terme. At last, on May 1st, the two factions
+"came to blood" in the Piazza di Santa Trinit&agrave; on
+the occasion of a dance of girls to usher in the May.
+On June 15th Dante was elected one of the six Priors,
+to hold office till August 15th, and he at once took a
+strong line in resisting all interference from Rome, and
+in maintaining order within the city. In consequence
+of an assault upon the officers of the Guilds on St.
+John's Eve, the Signoria, probably on Dante's initiative,
+put under bounds a certain number of factious
+magnates, chosen impartially from both parties, including
+Corso Donati and Guido Cavalcanti. From his
+place of banishment at Sarzana, Guido, sick to death,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_45" id="page_45">[45]</a></span>
+wrote the most pathetic of all his lyrics:&ndash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<p><span class="o1">"Because I think not ever to return,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Ballad, to Tuscany,&ndash;</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Go therefore thou for me</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Straight to my lady's face,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Who, of her noble grace,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Shall show thee courtesy.</span><br /></p>
+
+<p><span class="i4"> &#42;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#42;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#42;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#42;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&#42;</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="o1">"Surely thou knowest, Ballad, how that Death</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Assails me, till my life is almost sped:</span><br />
+Thou knowest how my heart still travaileth<br />
+<span class="i1">Through the sore pangs which in my soul are bred:&ndash;</span><br />
+<span class="i1">My body being now so nearly dead,</span><br />
+<span class="i2">It cannot suffer more.</span><br />
+<span class="i2">Then, going, I implore</span><br />
+<span class="i2">That this my soul thou take</span><br />
+<span class="i2">(Nay, do so for my sake),</span><br />
+<span class="i2">When my heart sets it free."<a name="fnanchor_10" id="fnanchor_10"></a><a href="#footnote_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></span></p></div>
+
+<p>And at the end of August, when Dante had left
+office, Guido returned to Florence with the rest of the
+Bianchi, only to die. For more than a year the "white"
+burghers were supreme, not only in Florence, but
+throughout a greater part of Tuscany; and in the following
+May they procured the expulsion of the Blacks
+from Pistoia. But Corso Donati at Rome was biding
+his time; and, on November 1st, 1301, Charles of
+Valois, brother of King Philip of France, entered
+Florence with some 1200 horsemen, partly French and
+partly Italian,&ndash;ostensibly as papal peacemaker, but
+preparing to "joust with the lance of Judas." In
+Santa Maria Novella he solemnly swore, as the son
+of a king, to preserve the peace and well-being of the
+city; and at once armed his followers. Magnates and
+burghers alike, seeing themselves betrayed, began to
+barricade their houses and streets. On the same day<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_46" id="page_46">[46]</a></span>
+(November 5th) Corso Donati, acting in unison with
+the French, appeared in the suburbs, entered the city
+by a postern gate in the second walls, near S. Piero
+Maggiore, and swept through the streets with an armed
+force, burst open the prisons, and drove the Priors
+out of their new Palace. For days the French and
+the Neri sacked the city and the contrada at their will,
+Charles being only intent upon securing a large share
+of the spoils for himself. But even he did not dare to
+alter the popular constitution, and was forced to content
+himself with substituting "black" for "white"
+burghers in the Signoria, and establishing a Podest&agrave; of
+his own following, Cante de' Gabbrielli of Gubbio, in
+the Palace of the Commune. An apparently genuine
+attempt on the part of the Pope, by a second "peacemaker,"
+to undo the harm that his first had done, came
+to nothing; and the work of proscription commenced,
+under the direction of the new Podest&agrave;. Dante was
+one of the first victims. The two sentences against
+him (in each case with a few other names) are dated
+January 27th, 1302, and March 10th&ndash;and there were
+to be others later. It is the second decree that contains
+the famous clause, condemning him to be burned
+to death, if ever he fall into the power of the Commune.
+At the beginning of April all the leaders of the
+"white" faction, who had not already fled or turned
+"black," with their chief followers, magnates and
+burghers alike, were hounded into exile; and Charles
+left Florence to enter upon an almost equally shameful
+campaign in Sicily.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_8" id="illo_8"></a>
+<img src="images/illus061_tmb.jpg" width="259" height="400" alt="ACROSS THE PONTE VECCHIO" title="" />
+<p class="caption">ACROSS THE PONTE VECCHIO</p>
+<a href="images/illus061_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>Dante is believed to have been absent from Florence
+on an embassy to the Pope when Charles of Valois
+came, and to have heard the news of his ruin at Siena
+as he hurried homewards&ndash;though both embassy and
+absence have been questioned by Dante scholars of
+repute. His ancestor, Cacciaguida, tells him in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_49" id="page_49">[49]</a></span>
+<i>Paradiso</i>:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem"><span class="o1">"Tu lascerai ogni cosa diletta</span><br />
+<span class="i1">pi&ugrave; caramente, e questo &egrave; quello strale</span><br />
+<span class="i1">che l'arco dello esilio pria saetta.</span><br />
+Tu proverai s&igrave; come sa di sale<br />
+<span class="i1">lo pane altrui, e com'&egrave; duro calle</span><br />
+<span class="i1">lo scendere e il salir per l'altrui scale."<a name="fnanchor_11" id="fnanchor_11"></a><a href="#footnote_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></span><br /></p>
+
+<p>The rest of Dante's life was passed in exile, and only
+touches the story of Florence indirectly at certain points.
+"Since it was the pleasure of the citizens of the most
+beautiful and most famous daughter of Rome, Florence,"
+he tells us in his <i>Convivio</i>, "to cast me forth from her
+most sweet bosom (in which I was born and nourished
+up to the summit of my life, and in which, with her
+good will, I desire with all my heart to rest my weary
+soul and end the time given me), I have gone through
+almost all the parts to which this language extends, a
+pilgrim, almost a beggar, showing against my will the
+wound of fortune, which is wont unjustly to be ofttimes
+reputed to the wounded."</p>
+
+<p>Attempts of the exiles to win their return to Florence
+by force of arms, with aid from the Ubaldini and the
+Tuscan Ghibellines, were easily repressed. But the
+victorious Neri themselves now split into two factions;
+the one, headed by Corso Donati and composed mainly
+of magnates, had a kind of doubtful support in the
+favour of the populace; the other, led by Rosso della
+Tosa, inclined to the Signoria and the <i>popolo grosso</i>.
+It was something like the old contest between Messer
+Corso and Vieri dei Cerchi, but with more entirely
+selfish ends; and there was evidently going to be a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_50" id="page_50">[50]</a></span>
+hard tussle between Messer Corso and Messer Rosso
+for the possession of the State. Civil war was renewed
+in the city, and the confusion was heightened by the
+restoration of a certain number of Bianchi, who were
+reconciled to the Government. The new Pope, Benedict
+XI., was ardently striving to pacify Florence and
+all Italy; and his legate, the Cardinal Niccol&ograve; da Prato,
+took up the cause of the exiles. Pompous peace-meetings
+were held in the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella,
+for the friars of St Dominic&ndash;to which order the new
+Pope belonged&ndash;had the welfare of the city deeply at
+heart; and at one of these meetings the exiled lawyer,
+Ser Petracco dall'Ancisa (in a few days to be the
+father of Italy's second poet), acted as the representative
+of his party. Attempts were made to revive the
+May-day pageants of brighter days&ndash;but they only
+resulted in a horrible disaster on the Ponte alla Carraia,
+of which more presently. The fiends of faction broke
+loose again; and in order to annihilate the Cavalcanti,
+who were still rich and powerful round about the Mercato
+Nuovo, the leaders of the Neri deliberately burned a
+large portion of the city. On July 20th, 1304, an
+attempt by the now allied Bianchi and Ghibellines to
+surprise the city proved a disastrous failure; and, on
+that very day (Dante being now far away at Verona,
+forming a party by himself), Francesco di Petracco&ndash;who
+was to call himself Petrarca and is called by us
+Petrarch&ndash;was born in exile at Arezzo.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_9" id="illo_9"></a>
+<img src="images/illus065_tmb.jpg" width="260" height="400" alt="MERCATO NUOVO, THE FLOWER MARKET" title="" />
+<p class="caption">MERCATO NUOVO, THE FLOWER MARKET</p>
+<a href="images/illus065_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>This miserable chapter of Florentine history ended
+tragically in 1308, with the death of Corso Donati.
+In his old age he had married a daughter of Florence's
+deadliest foe, the great Ghibelline champion, Uguccione
+della Faggiuola; and, in secret understanding with
+Uguccione and the Cardinal Napoleone degli Orsini
+(Pope Clement V. had already transferred the papal
+chair to Avignon and commenced the Babylonian captivity),<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_53" id="page_53">[53]</a></span>
+he was preparing to overthrow the Signoria,
+abolish the Ordinances, and make himself Lord of
+Florence. But the people anticipated him. On Sunday
+morning, October 16th, the Priors ordered their
+great bell to be sounded; Corso was accused, condemned
+as a traitor and rebel, and sentence pronounced
+in less than an hour; and with the great Gonfalon of
+the People displayed, the forces of the Commune, supported
+by the swordsmen of the Della Tosa and a band
+of Catalan mercenaries in the service of the King of
+Naples, marched upon the Piazza di San Piero Maggiore.
+Over the Corbizzi tower floated the banner of the
+Donati, but only a handful of men gathered round the
+fierce old noble who, himself unable by reason of his
+gout to bear arms, encouraged them by his fiery words
+to hold out to the last. But the soldiery of Uguccione
+never came, and not a single magnate in the city stirred
+to aid him. Corso, forced at last to abandon his position,
+broke through his enemies, and, hotly pursued,
+fled through the Porta alla Croce. He was overtaken,
+captured, and barbarously slain by the lances of the
+hireling soldiery, near the Badia di San Salvi, at the
+instigation, as it was whispered, of Rosso della Tosa and
+Pazzino dei Pazzi. The monks carried him, as he
+lay dying, into the Abbey, where they gave him humble
+sepulchre for fear of the people. With all his crimes,
+there was nothing small in anything that Messer Corso
+did; he was a great spirit, one who could have accomplished
+mighty things in other circumstances, but who
+could not breathe freely in the atmosphere of a mercantile
+republic. "His life was perilous," says Dino
+Compagni sententiously, "and his death was blame-worthy."</p>
+
+<p>A brief but glorious chapter follows, though denounced
+in Dante's bitterest words. Hardly was
+Corso dead when, after their long silence, the imperial<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_54" id="page_54">[54]</a></span>
+trumpets were again heard in the Garden of the
+Empire. Henry of Luxemburg, the last hero of the
+Middle Ages, elected Emperor as Henry VII., crossed
+the Alps in September 1310, resolved to heal the
+wounds of Italy, and to revive the fading medi&aelig;val
+dream of the Holy Roman Empire. In three wild
+and terrible letters, Dante announced to the princes
+and peoples of Italy the advent of this "peaceful
+king," this "new Moses"; threatened the Florentines
+with the vengeance of the Imperial Eagle;
+urged C&aelig;sar on against the city&ndash;"the sick sheep
+that infecteth all the flock of the Lord with her
+contagion." But the Florentines rose to the occasion,
+and with the aid of their ally, the King of Naples,
+formed what was practically an Italian confederation
+to oppose the imperial invader. "It was at this
+moment," writes Professor Villari, "that the small
+merchant republic initiated a truly national policy, and
+became a great power in Italy." From the middle of
+September till the end of October, 1312, the imperial
+army lay round Florence. The Emperor, sick with
+fever, had his head-quarters in San Salvi. But he
+dared not venture upon an attack, although the fortifications
+were unfinished; and, in the following August,
+the Signoria of Florence could write exultantly to their
+allies, and announce "the blessed tidings" that "the
+most savage tyrant, Henry, late Count of Luxemburg,
+whom the rebellious persecutors of the Church, and
+treacherous foes of ourselves and you, called King of
+the Romans and Emperor of Germany," had died at
+Buonconvento.</p>
+
+<p>But in the Empyrean Heaven of Heavens, in the
+mystical convent of white stoles, Beatrice shows Dante
+the throne of glory prepared for the soul of the noble-hearted
+C&aelig;sar:&ndash;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_55" id="page_55">[55]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="poem"><span class="o1">"In quel gran seggio, a che tu gli occhi tieni</span><br />
+<span class="i1">per la corona che gi&agrave; v'&egrave; su posta,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">prima che tu a queste nozze ceni,</span><br />
+seder&agrave; l'alma, che fia gi&ugrave; agosta,<br />
+<span class="i1">dell'alto Enrico, ch'a drizzare Italia</span><br />
+<span class="i1">verr&agrave; in prima che ella sia disposta."<a name="fnanchor_12" id="fnanchor_12"></a><a href="#footnote_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></span><br /></p>
+
+<p>After this, darker days fell upon Florence. Dante,
+with a renewed sentence of death upon his head, was
+finishing his <i>Divina Commedia</i> at Verona and Ravenna,&ndash;until, on September 14th, 1321, he passed away in
+the latter city, with the music of the pine-forest in his
+ears and the monuments of dead emperors before his
+dying eyes. Petrarch, after a childhood spent at
+Carpentras, was studying law at Montpellier and
+Bologna&ndash;until, on that famous April morning in
+Santa Chiara at Avignon, he saw the golden-haired
+girl who made him the greatest lyrist of the Middle
+Ages. It was in the year 1327 that Laura&ndash;if
+such was really her name&ndash;thus crossed his path.
+Boccaccio, born at Certaldo in 1313, the year of the
+Emperor Henry's death, was growing up in Florence,
+a sharp and precocious boy. But the city was in a
+woeful plight; harassed still by factious magnates and
+burghers, plundered by foreign adventurers, who pretended
+to serve her, heavily taxed by the Angevin
+sovereigns&ndash;the <i>Reali</i>&ndash;of Naples. Florence had
+taken first King Robert, and then his son, Charles of
+Calabria, as overlord, for defence against external foes
+(first Henry VII., then Uguccione della Faggiuola,
+and then Castruccio Interminelli); and the vicars of
+these Neapolitan princes replaced for a while the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_56" id="page_56">[56]</a></span>
+Podest&agrave;s; their marshals robbed and corrupted; their
+Catalan soldiers clamoured for pay. The wars with
+Uguccione and Castruccio were most disastrous to the
+Republic; and the fortunate coincidence of the deaths
+of Castruccio and Charles of Calabria, in 1328, gave
+Florence back her liberty at the very moment when
+she no longer needed a defender. Although the
+Florentines professed to regard this suzerainty of the
+Reali di Napoli as an alliance rather than a subjection,&ndash;<i>compagnia
+e non servit&ugrave;</i> as Machiavelli puts it&ndash;it
+was an undoubted relief when it ended. The State
+was reorganised, and a new constitution confirmed in
+a solemn Parliament held in the Piazza. Henceforth
+the nomination of the Priors and Gonfaloniere was
+effected by lot, and controlled by a complicated process
+of scrutiny; the old councils were all annulled;
+and in future there were to be only two chief councils&ndash;the
+Council of the People, composed of 300 <i>popolani</i>,
+presided over by the Captain, and the Council of the
+Commune, of 250, presided over by the Podest&agrave;, in
+which latter (as in former councils of the kind) both
+<i>popolani</i> and <i>grandi</i> could sit. Measures proposed by
+the Government were submitted first to the Council
+of the People, and then, if approved, to that of the
+Commune.</p>
+
+<p>Within the next few years, in spite of famine,
+disease, and a terrible inundation of the Arno in 1333,
+the Republic largely extended its sway. Pistoia,
+Arezzo, and other places of less account owned its
+signory; but an attempt to get possession of Lucca&ndash;with
+the incongruous aid of the Germans&ndash;failed.
+After the flood, the work of restoration was first
+directed by Giotto; and to this epoch we owe the
+most beautiful building in Florence, the Campanile.
+The discontent, excited by the mismanagement of the
+war against Lucca, threw the Republic into the arms<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_57" id="page_57">[57]</a></span>
+of a new and peculiarly atrocious tyrant, Walter de
+Brienne, Duke of Athens, a French soldier of fortune,
+connected by blood with the <i>Reali</i> of Naples. Elected
+first as war captain and chief justice, he acquired credit
+with the populace and the magnates by his executions
+of unpopular burghers; and finally, on September 8th,
+1342, in the Piazza della Signoria, he was appointed
+Lord of Florence for life, amidst the acclamations of
+the lowest sections of the mob and the paid retainers of
+the treacherous nobles. The Priors were driven from
+their palace, the books of the Ordinances destroyed,
+and the Duke's banner erected upon the People's
+tower, while the church bells rang out the <i>Te Deum</i>.
+Arezzo, Pistoia, Colle di Val d'Elsa, San Gemignano,
+and Volterra acknowledged his rule; and with a
+curious mixture of hypocrisy, immorality, and revolting
+cruelty, he reigned as absolute lord until the following
+summer, backed by French and Burgundian soldiers
+who flocked to him from all quarters. By that time
+he had utterly disgusted all classes in the State, even
+the magnates by whose favour he had won his throne
+and the populace who had acclaimed him; and on the
+Feast of St. Anne, July 26th, 1343, there was a
+general rising. The instruments of his cruelty were
+literally torn to pieces by the people, and he was
+besieged in the Palazzo Vecchio, which he had transformed
+into a fortress, and at length capitulated on
+August 3rd. The Sienese and Count Simone de' Conti
+Guidi, who had come to mediate, took him over the
+Ponte Rubaconte, through the Porta San Niccol&ograve; and
+thence into the Casentino, where they made him
+solemnly ratify his abdication.</p>
+
+<p>"Note," says Giovanni Villani, who was present at
+most of these things and has given us a most vivid
+picture of them, "that even as the Duke with fraud
+and treason took away the liberty of the Republic of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_58" id="page_58">[58]</a></span>
+Florence on the day of Our Lady in September,<a name="fnanchor_13" id="fnanchor_13"></a><a href="#footnote_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> not
+regarding the reverence due to her, so, as it were in
+divine vengeance, God permitted that the free citizens
+with armed hand should win it back on the day of her
+mother, Madonna Santa Anna, on the 26th day of
+July 1343; and for this grace it was ordained by the
+Commune that the Feast of St. Anne should ever be
+kept like Easter in Florence, and that there should be
+celebrated a solemn office and great offerings by the
+Commune and all the Arts of Florence." St. Anne
+henceforth became the chief patroness and protectoress
+of the Republic, as Fra Bartolommeo painted her in
+his great unfinished picture in the Uffizi; and the
+solemn office and offerings were duly paid and celebrated
+in Or San Michele. One of Villani's minor
+grievances against the Duke is that he introduced
+frivolous French fashions of dress into the city, instead
+of the stately old Florentine costume, which the republicans
+considered to be the authentic garb of ancient
+Rome. That there was some ground for this complaint
+will readily be seen, by comparing the figure of
+a French cavalier in the Allegory of the Church in
+the Spanish Chapel at Santa Maria Novella (the figure
+formerly called Cimabue and now sometimes said to
+represent Walter de Brienne himself), with the simple
+grandeur and dignity of the dress worn by the burghers
+on their tombs in Santa Croce, or by Dante in the
+Duomo portrait.</p>
+
+<p>Only two months after the expulsion of the Duke
+of Athens, the great quarrel between the magnates and
+the people was fought to a finish, in September 1343.
+On the northern side of the Arno, the magnates made
+head at the houses of the Adimari near San Giovanni,
+at the opening of the present Via Calzaioli, where one
+of their towers still stands, at the houses of the Pazzi<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_59" id="page_59">[59]</a></span>
+and Donati in the Piazza di San Pier Maggiore, and
+round those of the Cavalcanti in Mercato Nuovo.
+The people under their great gonfalon and the standards
+of the companies, led by the Medici and Rondinelli,
+stormed one position after another, forcing the defenders
+to surrender. On the other side of the Arno,
+the magnates and their retainers held the bridges and
+the narrow streets beyond. The Porta San Giorgio
+was in their hands, and, through it, reinforcements
+were hurried up from the country. Repulsed at the
+Ponte Vecchio and the Ponte Rubaconte, the forces of
+the people with their victorious standards at last
+carried the Ponte alla Carraia, which was held by the
+Nerli; and next, joined by the populace of the
+Oltrarno, forced the Rossi and Frescobaldi to yield.
+The Bardi alone remained; and, in that narrow street
+which still bears their name, and on the Ponte Vecchio
+and the Ponte Rubaconte, they withstood single-handed
+the onslaught of the whole might of the people,
+until they were assailed in the rear from the direction
+of the Via Romana. The infuriated populace sacked
+their houses, destroyed and burned the greater part of
+their palaces and towers. The long struggle between
+<i>grandi</i> and <i>popolani</i> was thus ended at last. "This
+was the cause," says Machiavelli, "that Florence was
+stripped not only of all martial skill, but also of all
+generosity." The government was again reformed,
+and the minor arts admitted to a larger share; between
+the <i>popolo grosso</i> and them, between burghers
+and populace, lay the struggle now, which was to end
+in the Medicean rule.</p>
+
+<p>But on all these perpetual changes in the form of the
+government of Florence the last word had, perhaps,
+been said in Dante's sarcastic outburst a quarter of
+a century before:&ndash;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_60" id="page_60">[60]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="poem"><span class="o1">"Atene e Lacedemone, che fenno</span><br />
+<span class="i1">l'antiche leggi, e furon s&igrave; civili,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">fecero al viver bene un picciol cenno</span><br />
+verso di te, che fai tanto sottili<br />
+<span class="i1">provvedimenti, che a mezzo novembre</span><br />
+<span class="i1">non giunge quel che tu d'ottobre fili.</span><br />
+Quante volte del tempo che rimembre,<br />
+<span class="i1">legge, moneta, offizio, e costume</span><br />
+<span class="i1">hai tu mutato, e rinnovato membre?</span><br />
+E se ben ti ricordi, e vedi lume,<br />
+<span class="i1">vedrai te simigliante a quella inferma,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">che non pu&ograve; trovar posa in su le piume,</span><br />
+ma con dar volta suo dolore scherma."<a name="fnanchor_14" id="fnanchor_14"></a><a href="#footnote_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p>
+
+<p>The terrible pestilence, known as the Black Death,
+swept over Europe in 1348. During the five months
+in which it devastated Florence three-fifths of the
+population perished, all civic life was suspended, and
+the gayest and most beautiful of cities seemed for a
+while to be transformed into the dim valley of disease
+and sin that lies outstretched at the bottom of Dante's
+Malebolge. It has been described, in all its horrors,
+in one of the most famous passages of modern prose&ndash;that
+appalling introduction to Boccaccio's <i>Decameron</i>.
+From the city in her agony, Boccaccio's three noble
+youths and seven "honest ladies" fled to the villas of
+Settignano and Fiesole, where they strove to drown the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_61" id="page_61">[61]</a></span>
+horror of the time by their music and dancing, their
+feasting and too often sadly obscene stories. Giovanni
+Villani was among the victims in Florence, and
+Petrarch's Laura at Avignon. The first canto of
+Petrarch's <i>Triumph of Death</i> appears to be, in part,
+an allegorical representation&ndash;written many years later&ndash;of
+this fearful year.</p>
+
+<p>During the third quarter of this fourteenth century&ndash;the
+years which still saw the Popes remaining in
+their Babylonian exile at Avignon&ndash;the Florentines
+gradually regained their lost supremacy over the cities
+of Tuscany: Colle di Val d'Elsa, San Gemignano,
+Prato, Pistoia, Volterra, San Miniato dei Tedeschi.
+They carried on a war with the formidable tyrant
+of Milan, the Archbishop Giovanni Visconti, whose
+growing power was a perpetual menace to the liberties
+of the Tuscan communes. They made good use of
+the descent of the feeble emperor, Charles IV., into
+Italy; waged a new war with their old rival, Pisa;
+and readily accommodated themselves to the baser
+conditions of warfare that prevailed, now that Italy
+was the prey of the companies of mercenaries, ready to
+be hired by whatever prince or republic could afford
+the largest pay, or to fall upon whatever city seemed
+most likely to yield the heaviest ransom. Within the
+State itself the <i>popolo minuto</i> and the Minor Guilds
+were advancing in power; Florence was now divided
+into four quarters (San Giovanni, Santa Maria Novella,
+Santa Croce, Santo Spirito), instead of the old Sesti;
+and the Signoria was now composed of the Gonfaloniere
+and <i>eight</i> Priors, two from each quarter (instead of the
+former six), of whom two belonged to the Minor Arts.
+These, of course, still held office for only two months.
+Next came the twelve Buonuomini, who were the
+counsellors of the Signoria, and held office for three
+months; and the sixteen Gonfaloniers of the city<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_62" id="page_62">[62]</a></span>
+companies, four from each quarter, holding office for
+four months. And there were, as before, the two
+great Councils of the People and the Commune; and
+still the three great officers who carried out their
+decrees, the Podest&agrave;, the Captain, the Executor of
+Justice. The feuds of Ricci and Albizzi kept up the
+inevitable factions, much as the Buondelmonti and
+Uberti, Cerchi and Donati had done of old; and an
+iniquitous system of "admonishing" those who were
+suspected of Ghibelline descent (the <i>ammoniti</i> being
+excluded from office under heavy penalties) threw
+much power into the hands of the captains of the
+Parte Guelfa, whose oppressive conduct earned them
+deadly hatred. "To such arrogance," says Machiavelli,
+"did the captains of the Party mount, that they
+were feared more than the members of the Signoria,
+and less reverence was paid to the latter than to the
+former; the palace of the Party was more esteemed
+than that of the Signoria, so that no ambassador
+came to Florence without having commissions to the
+captains."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_10" id="illo_10"></a>
+<img src="images/illus077_tmb.jpg" width="251" height="400" alt="THE CAMPANILE" title="" />
+<p class="caption">THE CAMPANILE</p>
+<a href="images/illus077_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>Pope Gregory XI preceded his return to Rome by
+an attempted reconquest of the States of the Church,
+by means of foreign legates and hireling soldiers, of
+whom the worst were Bretons and English; although
+St. Catherine of Siena implored him, in the name of
+Christ, to come with the Cross in hand, like a meek
+lamb, and not with armed bands. The horrible atrocities
+committed in Romagna by these mercenaries,
+especially at Faenza and Cesena, stained what might
+have been a noble pontificate. Against Pope Gregory
+and his legates, the Florentines carried on a long and
+disastrous war; round the Otto della Guerra, the eight
+magistrates to whom the management of the war was
+intrusted, rallied those who hated the Parte Guelfa.
+The return of Gregory to Rome in 1377 opens a new<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_65" id="page_65">[65]</a></span>
+epoch in Italian history. Echoes of this unnatural
+struggle between Florence and the Pope reach us in
+the letters of St Catherine and the canzoni of Franco
+Sacchetti; in the latter is some faint sound of Dante's
+<i>saeva indignatio</i> against the unworthy pastors of the
+Church, but in the former we are lifted far above the
+miserable realities of a conflict carried on by political
+intrigue and foreign mercenaries, into the mystical realms
+of pure faith and divine charity.</p>
+
+<p>In 1376, the Loggia dei Priori, now less pleasantly
+known as the Loggia dei Lanzi, was founded; and in
+1378 the bulk of the Duomo was practically completed.
+This may be taken as the close of the first or "heroic"
+epoch of Florentine Art, which runs simultaneously with
+the great democratic period of Florentine history, represented
+in literature by Dante and Boccaccio. The
+Duomo, the Palace of the Podest&agrave;, the Palace of the
+Priors, Santa Maria Novella, Santa Croce, Or San
+Michele, the Loggia of the Bigallo, and the Third
+Walls of the City (of which, on the northern side of
+the Arno, the gates alone remain), are its supreme
+monuments in architecture. Its heroes of greatest
+name are Arnolfo di Cambio, Giotto di Bondone,
+Andrea Pisano, Andrea di Cione or Orcagna (the
+"Archangel"), and, lastly and but recently recognised,
+Francesco Talenti.</p>
+
+<p>"No Italian architect," says Addington Symonds,
+"has enjoyed the proud privilege of stamping his own
+individuality more strongly on his native city than
+Arnolfo." At present, the walls of the city (or what
+remains of them)&ndash;<i>le mura di Fiorenza</i> which Lapo
+Gianni would fain see <i>inargentate</i>&ndash;and the bulk of
+the Palazzo Vecchio and Santa Croce, alone represent
+Arnolfo's work. But the Duomo (mainly, in its present
+form, due to Francesco Talenti) probably still retains
+in part his design; and the glorious Church of Or San<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_66" id="page_66">[66]</a></span>
+Michele, of which the actual architect is not certainly
+known, stands on the site of his Loggia.</p>
+
+<p>Giovanni Cimabue, the father of Florentine painting
+as Arnolfo of Florentine architecture, survives only as
+a name in Dante's immortal verse. Not a single
+authentic work remains from his hand in Florence.
+His supposed portrait in the cloisters of Santa Maria
+Novella is now held to be that of a French knight;
+the famous picture of the Madonna and Child with
+her angelic ministers, in the Rucellai Chapel, is shown
+to be the work of a Sienese master; and the other
+paintings once ascribed to him have absolutely no
+claims to bear his name. But the Borgo Allegro
+still bears its title from the rejoicings that hailed his
+masterpiece, and perhaps it is best that his achievement
+should thus live, only as a holy memory:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+<span class="o1">"Credette Cimabue nella pittura</span><br />
+tener lo campo, ed ora ha Giotto il grido,<br />
+s&igrave; che la fama di colui &egrave; oscura."<a name="fnanchor_15" id="fnanchor_15"></a><a href="#footnote_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a><br /></p>
+
+<p>Of Cimabue's great pupil, Dante's friend and contemporary,
+Giotto, we know and possess much more.
+Through him medi&aelig;val Italy first spoke out through
+painting, and with no uncertain sound. He was born
+some ten years later than Dante. Cimabue&ndash;or so the
+legend runs, which is told by Leonardo da Vinci
+amongst others&ndash;found him among the mountains,
+guarding his father's flocks and drawing upon the
+stones the movements of the goats committed to his
+care. He was a typical Florentine craftsman; favoured
+by popes, admitted to the familiarity of kings, he remained
+to the end the same unspoilt shepherd whom
+Cimabue had found. Many choice and piquant tales
+are told by the novelists about his ugly presence and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_67" id="page_67">[67]</a></span>
+rare personality, his perpetual good humour, his sharp
+and witty answers to king and rustic alike, his hatred
+of all pretentiousness, carried to such an extent that he
+conceived a rooted objection to hearing himself called
+<i>maestro</i>. Padua and Assisi possess some of his very
+best work; but Florence can still show much. Two
+chapels in Santa Croce are painted by his hand; of the
+smaller pictures ascribed to him in churches and galleries,
+there is one authentic&ndash;the Madonna in the
+Accademia; and, perhaps most beautiful of all, the
+Campanile which he designed and commenced still rises
+in the midst of the city. Giotto died in 1336; his
+work was carried on by Andrea Pisano and practically
+finished by Francesco Talenti.</p>
+
+<p>Andrea di Ugolino Pisano (1270-1348), usually
+simply called Andrea Pisano, is similarly the father of
+Florentine sculpture. Vasari's curiously inaccurate
+account of him has somewhat blurred his real figure
+in the history of art. His great achievements are the
+casting of the first gate of the Baptistery in bronze,
+his work&ndash;apparently from Giotto's designs&ndash;in the
+lower series of marble reliefs round the Campanile,
+and his continuation of the Campanile itself after
+Giotto's death. He is said by Vasari to have built
+the Porta di San Frediano.</p>
+
+<p>There is little individuality in the followers of
+Giotto, who carried on his tradition and worked in
+his manner. They are very much below their master,
+and are often surpassed by the contemporary painters
+of Siena, such as Simone Martini and Ambrogio
+Lorenzetti. Taddeo Gaddi and his son, Agnolo,
+Giovanni di Milano, Bernardo Daddi, are their leaders;
+the chief title to fame of the first-named being the
+renowned Ponte Vecchio. But their total achievement,
+in conjunction with the Sienese, was of heroic
+magnitude. They covered the walls of churches and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_68" id="page_68">[68]</a></span>
+chapels, especially those connected with the Franciscans
+and Dominicans, with the scenes of Scripture,
+with the lives of Madonna and her saints; they set
+forth in all its fullness the whole Gospel story, for
+those who could neither read nor write; they conceived
+vast allegories of human life and human destinies;
+they filled the palaces of the republics with painted
+parables of good government. "By the grace of
+God," says a statute of Sienese painters, "we are
+the men who make manifest to the ignorant and unlettered
+the miraculous things achieved by the power
+and virtue of the Faith." At Siena, at Pisa and at
+Assisi, are perhaps the greatest works of this school;
+but here, in Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella,
+there is much, and of a very noble and characteristic
+kind. Spinello Aretino (1333-1410) may be regarded
+as the last of the Giotteschi; you may see
+his best series of frescoes in San Miniato, setting forth
+with much skill and power the life of the great Italian
+monk, whose face Dante so earnestly prayed to behold
+unveiled in Paradise.</p>
+
+<p>This heroic age of sculpture and painting culminated
+in Andrea Orcagna (1308-1368), Andrea Pisano's
+great pupil. Painter and sculptor, architect and
+poet, Orcagna is at once the inheritor of Niccol&ograve; and
+Giovanni Pisano, and of Giotto. The famous frescoes
+in the Pisan Campo Santo are now known to be
+the work of some other hand; his paintings in Santa
+Croce, with their priceless portraits, have perished;
+and, although frequently consulted in the construction
+of the Duomo, it is tolerably certain that he was not
+the architect of any of the Florentine buildings once
+ascribed to him. The Strozzi chapel of St Thomas
+in Santa Maria Novella, the oratory of the Madonna
+in San Michele in Orto, contain all his extant works;
+and they are sufficient to prove him, next to Giotto,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_69" id="page_69">[69]</a></span>
+the greatest painter of his century, with a feeling for
+grace and beauty even above Giotto's, and only less
+excellent in marble. Several of his poems have been
+preserved, mostly of a slightly satirical character; one,
+a sonnet on the nature of love, <i>Molti volendo dir che fosse
+Amore</i>, has had the honour of being ascribed to Dante.</p>
+
+<p>With the third quarter of the century, the first great
+epoch of Italian letters closes also. On the overthrow
+of the House of Suabia at Benevento, the centre of
+culture had shifted from Sicily to Tuscany, from
+Palermo to Florence. The prose and poetry of this
+epoch is almost entirely Tuscan, although the second
+of its greatest poets, Francesco Petrarca, comparatively
+seldom set foot within its boundaries. "My old nest
+is restored to me," he wrote to the Signoria, when
+they sent Boccaccio to invite his friend to return to
+Florence, "I can fly back to it, and I can fold there
+my wandering wings." But, save for a few flying
+visits, Petrarch had little inclination to attach himself
+to one city, when he felt that all Italy was his country.</p>
+
+<p>Dante had set forth all that was noblest in medi&aelig;val
+thought in imperishable form, supremely in his <i>Divina
+Commedia</i>, but appreciably and nobly in his various
+minor works as well, both verse and prose. Villani
+had started historical Italian prose on its triumphant
+course. Petrarch and Boccaccio, besides their great
+gifts to Italian literature, in the ethereal poetry of the
+one, painting every varying mood of the human soul,
+and the licentious prose of the other, hymning the
+triumph of the flesh, stand on the threshold of
+the Renaissance. Other names crowd in upon us
+at each stage of this epoch. Apart from his rare
+personality, Guido Cavalcanti's <i>ballate</i> are his chief
+title to poetic fame, but, even so, less than the monument
+of glory that Dante has reared to him in the
+<i>Vita Nuova</i>, in the <i>De Vulgari Eloquentia</i>, in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_70" id="page_70">[70]</a></span>
+<i>Divina Commedia</i>. Dino Compagni, the chronicler
+of the Whites and Blacks, was only less admirable
+as a patriot than as a historian. Matteo Villani, the
+brother of Giovanni, and Matteo's son, Filippo, carried
+on the great chronicler's work. Fra Jacopo Passavanti,
+the Dominican prior of Santa Maria Novella, in the
+middle of the century, showed how the purest Florentine
+vernacular could be used for the purpose of simple
+religious edification. Franco Sacchetti, politician,
+novelist and poet, may be taken as the last Florentine
+writer of this period; he anticipates the popular
+lyrism of the Quattrocento, rather in the same way
+as a group of scholars who at the same time gathered
+round the Augustinian, Luigi Marsili, in his cell at
+Santo Spirito heralds the coming of the humanists.
+It fell to Franco Sacchetti to sing the dirge of this
+heroic period of art and letters, in his elegiac canzoni
+on the deaths of Petrarch and Boccaccio:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem"><span class="o1">"Sonati sono i corni</span><br />
+d'ogni parte a ricolta;<br />
+la stagione &egrave; rivolta:<br />
+se torner&agrave; non so, ma credo tardi."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_11" id="illo_11"></a>
+<img src="images/illus084_tmb.jpg" width="150" height="240" alt="CROSS OF THE FLORENTINE PEOPLE" title="" />
+<p class="caption">CROSS OF THE FLORENTINE PEOPLE<br />
+(FROM OLD HOUSE ON NORTH SIDE OF DUOMO)</p>
+<a href="images/illus084_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_71" id="page_71">[71]</a></p>
+<h2 class="p6"><a name="chapter_iii" id="chapter_iii"></a>CHAPTER III</h2>
+<h3><i>The Medici and the Quattrocento</i></h3>
+
+<p class="blockquot">
+"Tiranno &egrave; nome di uomo di mala vita, e pessimo fra
+tutti gli altri uomini, che per forza sopra tutti vuol regnare,
+massime quello che di cittadino &egrave; fatto tiranno."&ndash;<i>Savonarola.</i></p>
+
+<p class="blockquot">"The Renaissance of the fifteenth century was in many
+things great, rather by what it designed or aspired to do,
+than by what it actually achieved."&ndash;<i>Walter Pater.</i></p>
+
+<p><i><span class="dropcap">N</span>ON gi&agrave; Salvestro ma Salvator mundi</i>, "thou that
+with noble wisdom hast saved thy country."
+Thus in a sonnet does Franco Sacchetti hail Salvestro
+dei Medici, the originator of the greatness of his house.
+In 1378, while the hatred between the Parte Guelfa
+and the adherents of the Otto della Guerra&ndash;the rivalry
+between the Palace of the Party and the Palace of the
+Signory&ndash;was at its height, the Captains of the Party
+conspired to seize upon the Palace of the Priors and
+take possession of the State. Their plans were frustrated
+by Salvestro dei Medici, a rich merchant and
+head of his ambitious and rising family, who was then
+Gonfaloniere of Justice. He proposed to restore the
+Ordinances against the magnates, and, when this petition
+was rejected by the Signoria and the Colleges,<a name="fnanchor_16" id="fnanchor_16"></a><a href="#footnote_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> he
+appealed to the Council of the People. The result was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_72" id="page_72">[72]</a></span>
+a riot, followed by a long series of tumults throughout
+the city; the <i>Arti Minori</i> came to the front in arms;
+and, finally, the bloody revolution known as the Tumult
+of the Ciompi burst over Florence. These Ciompi,
+the lowest class of artizans and all those who were not
+represented in the Arts, headed by those who were
+subject to the great Arte della Lana, had been much
+favoured by the Duke of Athens, and had been given
+consuls and a standard with an angel painted upon it.
+On the fall of the Duke, these Ciompi, or <i>popolo
+minuto</i>, had lost these privileges, and were probably
+much oppressed by the consuls of the Arte della Lana.
+Secretly instigated by Salvestro&ndash;who thus initiated
+the Medicean policy of undermining the Republic by
+means of the populace&ndash;they rose <i>en masse</i> on July
+20th, captured the Palace of the Podest&agrave;, burnt the
+houses of their enemies and the Bottega of the Arte
+della Lana, seized the standard of the people, and,
+with it and the banners of the Guilds displayed, came
+into the Piazza to demand a share in the government.
+On July 22nd they burst into the Palace of the Priors,
+headed by a wool-comber, Michele di Lando, carrying
+in his hands the great Gonfalon; him they acclaimed
+Gonfaloniere and lord of the city.</p>
+
+<p>This rough and half-naked wool-comber, whose
+mother made pots and pans and whose wife sold
+greens, is one of the heroes of Florentine history; and
+his noble simplicity throughout the whole affair is in
+striking contrast with the self-seeking and intrigues
+of the rich aristocratic merchants whose tool, to some
+extent, he appears to have been. The pious historian,
+Jacopo Nardi, likens him to the heroes of ancient
+Rome, Curius and Fabricius, and ranks him as a
+patriot and deliverer of the city, far above even
+Farinata degli Uberti. The next day the Parliament
+was duly summoned in the Piazza, Michele confirmed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_73" id="page_73">[73]</a></span>
+in his office, and a Bal&igrave;a (or commission) given to him,
+together with the Eight and the Syndics of the Arts,
+to reform the State and elect the new Signoria&ndash;in
+which the newly constituted Guilds of the populace
+were to have a third with those of the greater and
+minor Arts. But, before Michele's term of office
+was over, the Ciompi were in arms again, fiercer than
+ever and with more outrageous demands, following the
+standards of the Angel and some of the minor Arts (who
+appear to have in part joined them). From Santa
+Maria Novella, their chosen head-quarters, on the last
+day of August they sent two representatives to overawe
+the Signoria. But Michele di Lando, answering their
+insolence with violence, rode through the city with the
+standard of Justice floating before him, while the great
+bell of the Priors' tower called the Guilds to arms; and
+by evening the populace had melted away, and the
+government of the people was re-established. The new
+Signoria was greeted in a canzone by Sacchetti, in which
+he declares that Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance
+are once more reinstated in the city.</p>
+
+<p>For the next few years the Minor Arts predominated
+in the government. Salvestro dei Medici
+kept in the background, but was presently banished.
+Michele di Lando seemed contented to have saved the
+State, and took little further share in the politics of
+the city. He appears later on to have been put under
+bounds at Chioggia; but to have returned to Florence
+before his death in 1401, when he was buried in Santa
+Croce. There were still tumults and conspiracies,
+resulting in frequent executions and banishments; while,
+without, inglorious wars were carried on by the companies
+of mercenary soldiers. This is the epoch in
+which the great English captain, Hawkwood, entered
+the service of the Florentine State. In 1382, after
+the execution of Giorgio Scali and the banishment of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_74" id="page_74">[74]</a></span>
+Tommaso Strozzi (noble burghers who headed the
+populace), the newly constituted Guilds were abolished,
+and the government returned to the greater Arts, who
+now held two-thirds of the offices&ndash;a proportion which
+was later increased to three-quarters.</p>
+
+<p>The period which follows, from 1382 to 1434,
+sees the close of the democratic government of
+Florence. The Republic, nominally still ruled by
+the greater Guilds, is in reality sustained and swayed
+by the <i>nobili popolani</i> or <i>Ottimati</i>, members of wealthy
+families risen by riches or talent out of these greater
+Guilds into a new kind of burgher aristocracy. The
+struggle is now no longer between the Palace of the
+Signory and the Palace of the Party&ndash;for the days of
+the power of the Parte Guelfa are at an end&ndash;but
+between the Palace and the Piazza. The party of
+the Minor Arts and the Populace is repressed and
+ground down with war taxes; but behind them the
+Medici lurk and wait&ndash;first Vieri, then Giovanni di
+Averardo, then Cosimo di Giovanni&ndash;ever on the
+watch to put themselves at their head, and through
+them overturn the State. The party of the Ottimati
+is first led by Maso degli Albizzi, then by Niccol&ograve;
+da Uzzano, and lastly by Rinaldo degli Albizzi and
+his adherents&ndash;illustrious citizens not altogether unworthy
+of the great Republic that they swayed&ndash;the
+sort of dignified civic patricians whose figures, a little
+later, were to throng the frescoes of Masaccio and
+Ghirlandaio. But they were divided among themselves,
+persecuted their adversaries with proscription
+and banishment, thus making the exiles a perpetual
+source of danger to the State, and they were hated by
+the populace because of the war taxes. These wars
+were mainly carried on by mercenaries&ndash;who were
+now more usually Italians than foreigners&ndash;and, in
+spite of frequent defeats, generally ended well for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_75" id="page_75">[75]</a></span>
+Florence. Arezzo was purchased in 1384. A fierce
+struggle was carried on a few years later (1390-1402)
+with the "great serpent," Giovanni Galeazzo Visconti,
+who hoped to make himself King of Italy by violence as
+he had made himself Duke of Milan by treachery, and
+intended to be crowned in Florence. Pisa was finally
+and cruelly conquered in 1406; Cortona was obtained
+as the result of a prolonged war with King Ladislaus
+of Naples in 1414, in which the Republic had seemed
+once more in danger of falling into the hands of a
+foreign tyrant; and in 1421 Leghorn was sold to
+the Florentines by the Genoese, thus opening the sea
+to their merchandise.</p>
+
+<p>The deaths of Giovanni Galeazzo and Ladislaus
+freed the city from her most formidable external foes;
+and for a while she became the seat of the Papacy, the
+centre of Christendom. In 1419, after the schism,
+Pope Martin V. took up his abode in Florence; the
+great condottiere, Braccio, came with his victorious
+troops to do him honour; and the deposed John
+XXIII. humbled himself before the new Pontiff, and
+was at last laid to rest among the shadows of the
+Baptistery. In his <i>Storia Florentina</i> Guicciardini declares
+that the government at this epoch was the
+wisest, the most glorious and the happiest that the
+city had ever had. It was the dawn of the Renaissance,
+and Florence was already full of artists and
+scholars, to whom these <i>nobili popolani</i> were as generous
+and as enlightened patrons as their successors, the
+Medici, were to be. Even Cosimo's fervent admirer,
+the librarian Vespasiano Bisticci, endorses Guicciardini's
+verdict: "In that time," he says, "from 1422
+to 1433, the city of Florence was in a most blissful
+state, abounding with excellent men in every faculty,
+and it was full of admirable citizens."</p>
+
+<p>Maso degli Albizzi died in 1417; and his successors<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_76" id="page_76">[76]</a></span>
+in the oligarchy&ndash;the aged Niccol&ograve; da Uzzano,
+who stood throughout for moderation, and the fiery
+but less competent Rinaldo degli Albizzi&ndash;were no
+match for the rising and unscrupulous Medici. With
+the Albizzi was associated the noblest and most
+generous Florentine of the century, Palla Strozzi.
+The war with Filippo Visconti, resulting in the disastrous
+rout of Zagonara, and an unjust campaign
+against Lucca, in which horrible atrocities were committed
+by the Florentine commissioner, Astorre Gianni,
+shook their government. Giovanni dei Medici, the
+richest banker in Italy, was now the acknowledged
+head of the opposition; he had been Gonfaloniere in
+1421, but would not put himself actively forward,
+although urged on by his sons, Cosimo and Lorenzo.
+He died in 1429; Niccol&ograve; da Uzzano followed him
+to the grave in 1432; and the final struggle between
+the fiercer spirits, Rinaldo and Cosimo, was at hand.
+"All these citizens," said Niccol&ograve;, shortly before his
+death, "some through ignorance, some through malice,
+are ready to sell this republic; and, thanks to their
+good fortune, they have found the purchaser."</p>
+
+<p>Shortly before this date, Masaccio painted all the
+leading spirits of the time in a fresco in the cloisters of
+the Carmine. This has been destroyed, but you may
+see a fine contemporary portrait of Giovanni in the
+Uffizi. The much admired and famous coloured bust
+in the Bargello, called the portrait of Niccol&ograve; da
+Uzzano by Donatello, has probably nothing to do
+either with Niccol&ograve; or with Donatello. Giovanni has
+the air of a prosperous and unpretending Florentine
+tradesman, but with a certain obvious parade of his
+lack of pushfulness.</p>
+
+<p>In 1433 the storm broke. A Signory hostile to
+Cosimo being elected, he was summoned to the Palace
+and imprisoned in an apartment high up in the Tower,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_77" id="page_77">[77]</a></span>
+a place known as the Alberghettino. Rinaldo degli
+Albizzi held the Piazza with his soldiery, and Cosimo
+heard the great bell ringing to call the people to
+Parliament, to grant a Bal&igrave;a to reform the government
+and decide upon his fate. But he was too powerful at
+home and abroad; his popularity with those whom he had
+raised from low estate, and those whom he had relieved
+by his wealth, his influence with the foreign powers, such
+as Venice and Ferrara, were so great that his foes dared
+not take his life; and, indeed, they were hardly the
+men to have attempted such a crime. Banished to
+Padua (his brother Lorenzo and other members of his
+family being put under bounds at different cities), he
+was received everywhere, not as a fugitive, but as a
+prince; and the library of the Benedictines, built by
+Michelozzo at his expense, once bore witness to his
+stay in Venice. Hardly a year had passed when a
+new Signory was chosen, favourable to the Medici;
+Rinaldo degli Albizzi, after a vain show of resistance,
+laid down his arms on the intervention of Pope Eugenius,
+who was then at Santa Maria Novella, and was banished
+for ever from the city with his principal adherents.
+And finally, in a triumphant progress from Venice,
+"carried back to his country upon the shoulders of
+all Italy," as he said, Cosimo and his brother Lorenzo
+entered Florence on October 6th, 1434, rode past the
+deserted palaces of the Albizzi to the Palace of the
+Priors, and next day returned in triumph to their own
+house in the Via Larga.</p>
+
+<p>The Republic had practically fallen; the head of
+the Medici was virtually prince of the city and of her
+fair dominion. But Florence was not Milan or Naples,
+and Cosimo's part as tyrant was a peculiar one. The
+forms of the government were, with modifications,
+preserved; but by means of a Bal&igrave;a empowered to
+elect the chief magistrates for a period of five years,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_78" id="page_78">[78]</a></span>
+and then renewed every five years, he secured that the
+Signoria should always be in his hands, or in those of
+his adherents. The grand Palace of the Priors was
+still ostensibly the seat of government; but, in reality,
+the State was in the firm grasp of the thin, dark-faced
+merchant in the Palace in the Via Larga, which we
+now know as the Palazzo Riccardi. Although in the
+earlier part of his reign he was occasionally elected
+Gonfaloniere, he otherwise held no office ostensibly,
+and affected the republican manner of a mere wealthy
+citizen. His personality, combined with the widely
+ramifying banking relations of the Medici, gave him an
+almost European influence. His popularity among the
+mountaineers and in the country districts, from which
+armed soldiery were ever ready to pour down into the
+city in his defence, made him the fitting man for the
+ever increasing external sway of Florence. The forms
+of the Republic were preserved, but he consolidated his
+power by a general levelling and disintegration, by
+severing the nerves of the State and breaking the power
+of the Guilds. He had certain hard and cynical
+maxims for guidance: "Better a city ruined than a
+city lost," "States are not ruled by Pater-Nosters,"
+"New and worthy citizens can be made by a few ells
+of crimson cloth." So he elevated to wealth and power
+men of low kind, devoted to and dependent on himself;
+crushed the families opposed to him, or citizens who
+seemed too powerful, by wholesale banishments, or by
+ruining them with fines and taxation, although there was
+comparatively little blood shed. He was utterly ruthless
+in all this, and many of the noblest Florentine
+citizens fell victims. One murder must be laid to his
+charge, and it is one of peculiar, for him, unusual atrocity.
+Baldaccio d'Anghiari, a young captain of infantry, who
+promised fair to take a high place among the condottieri
+of the day, was treacherously invited to speak with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_79" id="page_79">[79]</a></span>
+Gonfaloniere in the Palace of the Priors, and there
+stabbed to death by hireling assassins from the hills,
+and his body flung ignominiously into the Piazza.
+Cosimo's motive is said to have been partly jealousy
+of a possible rival, Neri Capponi, who had won popularity
+by his conquest of the Casentino for Florence in
+1440, and who was intimate with Baldaccio; and
+partly desire to gratify Francesco Sforza, whose
+treacherous designs upon Milan he was furthering by
+the gold wrung from his over-taxed Florentines, and
+to whose plans Baldaccio was prepared to offer an
+obstacle.</p>
+
+<p>Florence was still for a time the seat of the Papacy.
+In January 1439, the Patriarch Joseph of Constantinople,
+and the Emperor of the East, John Paleologus,
+came to meet Pope Eugenius for the Council of
+Florence, which was intended to unite the Churches
+of Christendom. The Patriarch died here, and is
+buried in Santa Maria Novella. In the Riccardi
+Palace you may see him and the Emperor, forced,
+as it were, to take part in the triumph of the Medici
+in Benozzo Gozzoli's fresco&ndash;riding with them in the
+gorgeous train, that sets out ostensibly to seek the Babe
+of Bethlehem, and evidently has no intention of finding
+Him. Pope Eugenius returned to Rome in 1444;
+and in 1453 Mahomet II. stormed Constantinople, and
+Greek exiles thronged to Rome and Florence. In
+1459, marvellous pageants greeted Pius II. in the
+city, on his way to stir up the Crusade that never
+went.</p>
+
+<p>In his foreign policy Cosimo inaugurated a totally
+new departure for Florence; he commenced a line of
+action which was of the utmost importance in Italian
+politics, and which his son and grandson carried still
+further. The long wars with which the last of the
+Visconti, Filippo Maria, harassed Italy and pressed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_80" id="page_80">[80]</a></span>
+Florence hard (in the last of these Rinaldo degli
+Albizzi and the exiles approached near enough to
+catch a distant glimpse of the city from which they
+were relentlessly shut out), ended with his death in
+1447. Cosimo dei Medici now allied himself with
+the great condottiere, Francesco Sforza, and aided him
+with money to make good his claims upon the Duchy
+of Milan. Henceforth this new alliance between
+Florence and Milan, between the Medici and the
+Sforza, although most odious in the eyes of the
+Florentine people, became one of the chief factors
+in the balance of power in Italy. Soon afterwards
+Alfonso, the Aragonese ruler of Naples, entered into
+this triple alliance; Venice and Rome to some extent
+being regarded as a double alliance to counterbalance
+this. To these foreign princes Cosimo was almost as
+much prince of Florence as they of their dominions;
+and by what was practically a <i>coup d'&eacute;tat</i> in 1459,
+Cosimo and his son Piero forcibly overthrew the last
+attempt of their opponents to get the Signoria out of
+their hands, and, by means of the creation of a new
+and permanent Council of a hundred of their chief
+adherents, more firmly than ever secured their hold
+upon the State.</p>
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_12" id="illo_12"></a>
+<img src="images/illus094_tmb.jpg" width="400" height="180" alt="FLORENCE IN THE DAYS OF LORENZO" title="" />
+<p class="caption">FLORENCE IN THE DAYS OF LORENZO THE MAGNIFICENT<br />
+From an engraving, of about 1490, in the Berlin Museum</p>
+<a href="images/illus094_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>In his private life Cosimo was the simplest and most
+unpretentious of tyrants, and lived the life of a wealthy
+merchant-burgher of the day in its nobler aspects. He
+was an ideal father, a perfect man of business, an
+apparently kindly fellow-citizen to all. Above all
+things he loved the society of artists and men of
+letters; Brunelleschi and Michelozzo, Donatello and
+Fra Lippo Lippi&ndash;to name only a few more intimately
+connected with him&ndash;found in him the most generous
+and discerning of patrons; many of the noblest Early
+Renaissance churches and convents in Florence and its
+neighbourhood are due to his munificence&ndash;San Lorenzo<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_81" id="page_81">[81]</a></span>
+and San Marco and the Badia of Fiesole are the most
+typical&ndash;and he even founded a hospital in Jerusalem.
+To a certain extent this was what we should now call
+"conscience money." His friend and biographer,
+Vespasiano Bisticci, writes: "He did these things
+because it appeared to him that he held money, not
+over well acquired; and he was wont to say that to
+God he had never given so much as to find Him on
+his books a debtor. And likewise he said: I know
+the humours of this city; fifty years will not pass before
+we are driven out; but the buildings will remain."
+The Greeks, who came to the Council of Florence or
+fled from the in-coming Turk, stimulated the study of
+their language and philosophy&ndash;though this had really
+commenced in the days of the Republic, before the
+deaths of Petrarch and Boccaccio&ndash;and found in Cosimo
+an ardent supporter. He founded great libraries in San
+Marco and in the Badia of Fiesole, the former with
+part of the codices collected by the scholar Niccol&ograve;
+Niccoli; although he had banished the old Palla Strozzi,
+the true renovator of the Florentine University, into
+hopeless exile. Into the Neo-Platonism of the Renaissance
+Cosimo threw himself heart and soul. "To
+Cosimo," writes Burckhardt, "belongs the special
+glory of recognising in the Platonic philosophy the
+fairest flower of the ancient world of thought, of inspiring
+his friends with the same belief, and thus of
+fostering within humanistic circles themselves another
+and a higher resuscitation of antiquity." In a youth of
+Figline, Marsilio Ficino, the son of a doctor, Cosimo
+found a future high priest of this new religion of love
+and beauty; and bidding him minister to the minds of
+men rather than to their bodies, brought him into his
+palace, and gave him a house in the city and a beautiful
+farm near Careggi. Thus was founded the famous
+Platonic Academy, the centre of the richest Italian<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_82" id="page_82">[82]</a></span>
+thought of the century. As his end drew near, Cosimo
+turned to the consolations of religion, and would pass
+long hours in his chosen cell in San Marco, communing
+with the Dominican Archbishop, Antonino, and Fra
+Angelico, the painter of medi&aelig;val Paradise. And with
+these thoughts, mingled with the readings of Marsilio's
+growing translation of Plato, he passed away at his villa
+at Careggi in 1464, on the first of August. Shortly
+before his death he had lost his favourite son, Giovanni;
+and had been carried through his palace, in the Via
+Larga, sighing that it was now too large a house for
+so small a family. Entitled by public decree <i>Pater
+Patriae</i>, he was buried at his own request without any
+pompous funeral, beneath a simple marble in front of
+the high altar of San Lorenzo.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_13" id="illo_13"></a>
+<img src="images/illus097_tmb.jpg" width="287" height="400" alt="THE BADIA OF FIESOLE" title="" />
+<p class="caption">THE BADIA OF FIESOLE</p>
+<a href="images/illus097_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>Cosimo was succeeded, not without some opposition
+from rivals to the Medici within their own party, by
+his son Piero. Piero's health was in a shattered condition&ndash;il
+Gottoso, he was called&ndash;and for the most
+part he lived in retirement at Careggi, occasionally
+carried into Florence in his litter, leaving his brilliant
+young son Lorenzo to act as a more ornamental figure-head
+for the State. The personal appearance of Piero
+is very different to that of his father or son; in his
+portrait bust by Mino da Fiesole in the Bargello, and
+in the picture by Bronzino in the National Gallery,
+there is less craft and a certain air of frank and manly
+resolution. In his daring move in support of Galeazzo
+Maria Sforza, when, on the death of Francesco, it
+seemed for a moment that the Milanese dynasty was
+tottering, and his promptness in crushing the formidable
+conspiracy of the "mountain" against himself, Piero
+showed that sickness had not destroyed his faculty of
+energetic action at the critical moment. He completely
+followed out his father's policy, drawing still
+tighter the bonds which united Florence with Milan<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_85" id="page_85">[85]</a></span>
+and Naples, lavishing money on the decoration of the
+city and the corruption of the people. The opposition
+was headed by Luca Pitti, Agnolo Acciaiuoli, Dietisalvi
+Neroni and others, who had been reckoned as
+Cosimo's friends, but who were now intriguing with
+Venice and Ferrara to overthrow his son. Hoping to
+eclipse the Medici in their own special field of artistic
+display and wholesale corruption, Luca Pitti commenced
+that enormous palace which still bears the
+name of his family, filled it with bravos and refugees,
+resorted to all means fair or foul to get money to build
+and corrupt. It seemed for a moment that the adherents
+of the Mountain (as the opponents of the Medici
+were called, from this highly situated Pitti Palace)
+and the adherents of the Plain (where the comparatively
+modest Medicean palace&ndash;now the Palazzo
+Riccardi&ndash;stood in the Via Larga) might renew
+the old factions of Blacks and Whites. But in the
+late summer of 1466 the party of the Mountain was
+finally crushed; they were punished with more mercy
+than the Medici generally showed, and Luca Pitti was
+practically pardoned and left to a dishonourable old age
+in the unfinished palace, which was in after years to
+become the residence of the successors of his foes.
+About the same time Filippo Strozzi and other exiles
+were allowed to return, and another great palace began
+to rear its walls in the Via Tornabuoni, in after years
+to be a centre of anti-Medicean intrigue.</p>
+
+<p>The brilliancy and splendour of Lorenzo's youth&ndash;he
+who was hereafter to be known in history as the
+Magnificent&ndash;sheds a rich glow of colour round the
+closing months of Piero's pain-haunted life. Piero himself
+had been content with a Florentine wife, Lucrezia
+dei Tornabuoni, and he had married his daughters
+to Florentine citizens, Guglielmo Pazzi and Bernardo
+Rucellai; but Lorenzo must make a great foreign<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_86" id="page_86">[86]</a></span>
+match, and was therefore given Clarice Orsini, the
+daughter of a great Roman noble. The splendid
+pageant in the Piazza Santa Croce, and the even more
+gorgeous marriage festivities in the palace in the Via
+Larga, were followed by a triumphal progress of the
+young bridegroom through Tuscany and the Riviera to
+Milan, to the court of that faithful ally of his house,
+but most abominable monster, Giovanni Maria Sforza.
+Piero died on December 3rd, 1469, and, like Cosimo,
+desired the simple burial which his sons piously gave
+him. His plain but beautiful monument designed by
+Verrocchio is in the older sacristy of San Lorenzo,
+where he lies with his brother Giovanni.</p>
+
+<p>"The second day after his death," writes Lorenzo
+in his diary, "although I, Lorenzo, was very young,
+in fact only in my twenty-first year, the leading men of
+the city and of the ruling party came to our house to
+express their sorrow for our misfortune, and to persuade
+me to take upon myself the charge of the government
+of the city, as my grandfather and father had
+already done. This proposal being contrary to the
+instincts of my age, and entailing great labour and
+danger, I accepted against my will, and only for the
+sake of protecting my friends, and our own fortunes,
+for in Florence one can ill live in the possession of
+wealth without control of the government."<a name="fnanchor_17" id="fnanchor_17"></a><a href="#footnote_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a></p>
+
+<p>These two youths, Lorenzo and Giuliano, were now,
+to all intents and purposes, lords and masters of Florence.
+Lorenzo was the ruling spirit; outwardly, in
+spite of his singularly harsh and unprepossessing appearance,
+devoted to the cult of love and beauty, delighting
+in sport and every kind of luxury, he was inwardly as
+hard and cruel as tempered steel, and firmly fixed from
+the outset upon developing the hardly defined prepotency
+of his house into a complete personal despotism.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_87" id="page_87">[87]</a></span>
+You may see him as a gallant boy in Benozzo Gozzoli's
+fresco in the palace of his father and grandfather,
+riding under a bay tree, and crowned with roses; and
+then, in early manhood, in Botticelli's famous Adoration
+of the Magi; and lastly, as a fully developed,
+omniscient and all-embracing tyrant, in that truly terrible
+picture by Vasari in the Uffizi, constructed out of
+contemporary materials&ndash;surely as eloquent a sermon
+against the iniquity of tyranny as the pages of Savonarola's
+<i>Reggimento di Firenze</i>. Giuliano was a kindlier
+and gentler soul, completely given up to pleasure and
+athletics; he lives for us still in many a picture from
+the hand of Sandro Botticelli, sometimes directly portrayed,
+as in the painting which Morelli bequeathed to
+Bergamo, more often idealised as Mars or as Hermes;
+his love for the fair Simonetta inspired Botticellian
+allegories and the most finished and courtly stanzas of
+Poliziano. The sons of both these brothers were
+destined to sit upon the throne of the Fisherman.</p>
+
+<p>A long step in despotism was gained in 1488, when
+the two great Councils of the People and the Commune
+were deprived of all their functions, which were now
+invested in the thoroughly Medicean Council of the
+Hundred. The next year Lorenzo's friend and ally,
+Galeazzo Maria Sforza, with his Duchess and courtiers,
+came to Florence. They were sumptuously received in
+the Medicean palace. The licence and wantonness of
+these Milanese scandalised even the lax Florentines,
+and largely added to the growing corruption of the
+city. The accidental burning of Santo Spirito during
+the performance of a miracle play was regarded as a
+certain sign of divine wrath. During his stay in
+Florence the Duke, in contrast with whom the worst
+of the Medici seems almost a saint, sat to one of the
+Pollaiuoli for the portrait still seen in the Uffizi; by
+comparison with him even Lorenzo looks charming;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_88" id="page_88">[88]</a></span>
+at the back of the picture there is a figure of Charity&ndash;but
+the Duke has very appropriately driven it to the
+wall. Unpopular though this Medicean-Sforza alliance
+was in Florence, it was undoubtedly one of the safe-guards
+of the harmony which, superficially, still existed
+between the five great powers of Italy. When Galeazzo
+Maria met the fate he so richly deserved, and was
+stabbed to death in the Church of San Stefano at
+Milan on December 20th, 1476, Pope Sixtus gave
+solemn utterance to the general dismay: <i>Oggi &egrave; morta
+la pace d'Italia.</i></p>
+
+<p>But Sixtus and his nephews did not in their hearts
+desire peace in Italy, and were plotting against Lorenzo
+with the Pazzi, who, although united to the Medici by
+marriage, had secret and growing grievances against
+them. On the morning of Sunday April 26th, 1478,
+the conspirators set upon the two brothers at Mass
+in the Duomo; Giuliano perished beneath nineteen
+dagger-stabs; Lorenzo escaped with a slight wound
+in the neck. The Archbishop Salviati of Pisa in the
+meantime attempted to seize the Palace of the Priors,
+but was arrested by the Gonfaloniere, and promptly
+hung out of the window for his trouble. Jacopo
+Pazzi rode madly through the streets with an armed
+force, calling the people to arms, with the old shout of
+<i>Popolo e Libert&agrave;</i>, but was only answered by the ringing
+cries of <i>Palle, Palle</i>.<a name="fnanchor_18" id="fnanchor_18"></a><a href="#footnote_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> The vengeance taken by the
+people upon the conspirators was so prompt and terrible
+that Lorenzo had little left him to do (though that
+little he did to excess, punishing the innocent with the
+guilty); and the result of the plot simply was to leave
+him alone in the government, securely enthroned above
+the splash of blood. The Pope appears not to have<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_89" id="page_89">[89]</a></span>
+been actually privy to the murder, but he promptly took
+up the cause of the murderers. It was followed by a
+general break-up of the Italian peace and a disastrous
+war, carried on mainly by mercenary soldiers, in which
+all the powers of Italy were more or less engaged; and
+Florence was terribly hard pressed by the allied forces
+of Naples and Rome. The plague broke out in the
+city; Lorenzo was practically deserted by his allies,
+and on the brink of financial ruin. Then was it that
+he did one of the most noteworthy, perhaps the noblest,
+of the actions of his life, and saved himself and the
+State by voluntarily going to Naples and putting himself
+in the power of King Ferrante, an infamous tyrant,
+who would readily have murdered his guest, if it had
+seemed to his advantage to do so. But, like all the
+Italians of the Renaissance, Ferrante was open to reason,
+and the eloquence of the Magnifico won him over to
+grant an honourable peace, with which Lorenzo returned
+to Florence in March 1480. "If Lorenzo was great
+when he left Florence," writes Machiavelli, "he returned
+much greater than ever; and he was received
+with such joy by the city as his great qualities and his
+fresh merits deserved, seeing that he had exposed his
+own life to restore peace to his country." Botticelli's
+noble allegory of the olive-decked Medicean Pallas,
+taming the Centaur of war and disorder, appears to have
+been painted in commemoration of this event. In the
+following August the Turks landed in Italy and stormed
+Otranto, and the need of union, in the face of "the
+common enemy Ottoman," reconciled the Pope to
+Florence, and secured for the time an uneasy peace
+among the powers of Italy.</p>
+
+<p>Lorenzo's power in Florence and influence throughout
+Italy was now secure. By the institution in 1480
+of a Council of Seventy, a permanent council to manage
+and control the election of the Signoria (with two<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_90" id="page_90">[90]</a></span>
+special committees drawn from the Seventy every six
+months, the <i>Otto di pratica</i> for foreign affairs and
+the <i>Dodici Procuratori</i> for internal), the State was
+firmly established in his hands&ndash;the older councils
+still remaining, as was usual in every Florentine reformation
+of government. Ten years later, in 1490, this
+council showed signs of independence; and Lorenzo
+therefore reduced the authority of electing the Signoria
+to a small committee with a reforming Bal&igrave;a of seventeen,
+of which he was one. Had he lived longer, he
+would undoubtedly have crowned his policy either by
+being made Gonfaloniere for life, or by obtaining some
+similar constitutional confirmation of his position as
+head of the State. Externally his influence was
+thrown into the scale for peace, and, on the death
+of Sixtus IV. in 1484, he established friendly relations
+and a family alliance with the new Pontiff,
+Innocent VIII. Sarzana with Pietrasanta were won
+back for Florence, and portions of the Sienese territory
+which had been lost during the war with Naples and
+the Church; a virtual protectorate was established
+over portions of Umbria and Romagna, where the
+daggers of assassins daily emptied the thrones of
+minor tyrants. Two attempts on his life failed. In
+the last years of his foreign policy and diplomacy he
+showed himself truly the magnificent. East and West
+united to do him honour; the Sultan of the Turks and
+the Soldan of Egypt sent ambassadors and presents;
+the rulers of France and Germany treated him as an
+equal. Soon the torrent of foreign invasion was to
+sweep over the Alps and inundate all the "Ausonian"
+land; Milan and Naples were ready to rend each
+other; Ludovico Sforza was plotting his own rise
+upon the ruin of Italy, and already intriguing with
+France; but, for the present, Lorenzo succeeded in
+maintaining the balance of power between the five<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_91" id="page_91">[91]</a></span>
+great Italian states, which seemed as though they might
+present a united front for mutual defence against the
+coming of the barbarians.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sarebbe impossibile avesse avuto un tiranno migliore e
+pi&ugrave; piacevole</i>, writes Guicciardini: "Florence could not
+have had a better or more delightful tyrant." The
+externals of life were splendid and gorgeous indeed in
+the city where Lorenzo ruled, but everything was in his
+hands and had virtually to proceed from him. His
+spies were everywhere; marriages might only be
+arranged and celebrated according to his good pleasure;
+the least sign of independence was promptly
+and severely repressed. By perpetual festivities and
+splendid shows, he strove to keep the minds of the
+citizens contented and occupied; tournaments, pageants,
+masques and triumphs filled the streets; and
+the strains of licentious songs, of which many were
+Lorenzo's own composition, helped to sap the morality
+of that people which Dante had once dreamed of as
+<i>sobria e pudica</i>. But around the Magnifico were
+grouped the greatest artists and scholars of the age,
+who found in him an enlightened Maecenas and most
+charming companion. <i>Amava maravigliosamente qualunque
+era in una arte eccellente</i>, writes Machiavelli of
+him; and that word&ndash;<i>maravigliosamente</i>&ndash;so entirely
+characteristic of Lorenzo and his ways, occurs again
+and again, repeated with studied persistence, in the
+chapter which closes Machiavelli's History. He was
+said to have sounded the depths of Platonic philosophy;
+he was a true poet, within certain limitations;
+few men have been more keenly alive to beauty in all
+its manifestations, physical and spiritual alike. Though
+profoundly immoral, <i>nelle cose veneree maravigliosamente
+involto</i>, he was a tolerable husband, and the fondest of
+fathers with his children, whom he adored. The
+delight of his closing days was the elevation of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_92" id="page_92">[92]</a></span>
+favourite son, Giovanni, to the Cardinalate at the age
+of fourteen; it gave the Medici a voice in the Curia
+like the other princes of Europe, and pleased all
+Florence; but more than half Lorenzo's joy proceeded
+from paternal pride and love, and the letter of
+advice which he wrote for his son on the occasion
+shows both father and boy in a very amiable, even
+edifying light. And yet this same man had ruined
+the happiness of countless homes, and had even seized
+upon the doweries of Florentine maidens to fill his own
+coffers and pay his mercenaries.</p>
+
+<p>But the <i>bel viver italiano</i> of the Quattrocento, with
+all its loveliness and all its immorality&ndash;more lovely
+and far less immoral in Florence than anywhere else&ndash;was
+drawing to an end. A new prophet had arisen,
+and, from the pulpits of San Marco and Santa Maria
+del Fiore, the stern Dominican, Fra Girolamo
+Savonarola, denounced the corruption of the day and
+announced that speedy judgment was at hand; the
+Church should be chastised, and that speedily, and
+renovation should follow. Prodigies were seen. The
+lions tore and rent each other in their cages; lightning
+struck the cupola of the Duomo on the side towards
+the Medicean palace; while in his villa at Careggi the
+Magnifico lay dying, watched over by his sister Bianca
+and the poet Poliziano. A visit from the young Pico
+della Mirandola cheered his last hours. He received
+the Last Sacraments, with every sign of contrition and
+humility. Then Savonarola came to his bedside.
+There are two accounts of what happened between
+these two terrible men, the corruptor of Florence and
+the prophet of renovation, and they are altogether
+inconsistent. The ultimate source of the one is apparently
+Savonarola's fellow-martyr, Fra Silvestro,
+an utterly untrustworthy witness; that of the
+other, Lorenzo's intimate, Poliziano. According to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_93" id="page_93">[93]</a></span>
+Savonarola's biographers and adherents, Lorenzo,
+overwhelmed with remorse and terror, had sent for
+the Frate to give him the absolution which his courtly
+confessor dared not refuse (<i>io non ho mai trovato
+uno che sia vero frate, se non lui</i>); and when the
+Dominican, seeming to soar above his natural height,
+bade him restore liberty to Florence, the Magnifico
+sullenly turned his back upon him and shortly afterwards
+died in despair.<a name="fnanchor_19" id="fnanchor_19"></a><a href="#footnote_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> According to Poliziano, an
+eyewitness and an absolutely whole-hearted adherent
+of the Medici, Fra Girolamo simply spoke a few
+words of priestly exhortation to the dying man; then,
+as he turned away, Lorenzo cried, "Your blessing,
+father, before you depart" (<i>Heus, benedictionem, Pater,
+priusquam a nobis proficisceris</i>) and the two together
+repeated word for word the Church's prayers for the
+departing; then Savonarola returned to his convent,
+and Lorenzo passed away in peace and consolation.
+Reverently and solemnly the body was brought from
+Careggi to Florence, rested for a while in San Marco,
+and was then buried, with all external simplicity, with
+his murdered brother in San Lorenzo. It was the
+beginning of April 1492, and the Magnifico was only
+in his forty-fourth year. The words of old Sixtus
+must have risen to the lips of many: <i>Oggi &egrave; morta la
+pace d'Italia</i>. "This man," said Ferrante of Naples,
+"lived long enough to make good his own title to
+immortality, but not long enough for Italy."</p>
+
+<p>Lorenzo left three sons&ndash;Piero, who virtually succeeded
+him in the same rather undefined princedom;
+the young Cardinal Giovanni; and Giuliano. Their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_94" id="page_94">[94]</a></span>
+father was wont to call Piero the "mad," Giovanni
+the "wise," Giuliano the "good"; and to a certain
+extent their after-lives corresponded with his characterisation.
+There was also a boy Giulio, Lorenzo's
+nephew, an illegitimate child of Giuliano the elder by
+a girl of the lower class; him Lorenzo left to the
+charge of Cardinal Giovanni&ndash;the future Pope Clement
+to the future Pope Leo. Piero had none of his father's
+abilities, and was not the man to guide the ship of
+State through the storm that was rising; he was a wild
+licentious young fellow, devoted to sport and athletics,
+with a great shock of dark hair; he was practically
+the only handsome member of his family, as you may
+see in a peculiarly fascinating Botticellian portrait in
+the Uffizi, where he is holding a medallion of his great
+grandfather Cosimo, and gazing out of the picture with
+a rather pathetic expression, as if the Florentines who
+set a price upon his head had misunderstood him.</p>
+
+<p>Piero's folly at once began to undo his father's
+work. A part of Lorenzo's policy had been to keep
+his family united, including those not belonging to the
+reigning branch. There were two young Medici then
+in the city, about Piero's own age; Lorenzo and
+Giovanni di Pier Francesco, the grandsons of Cosimo's
+brother Lorenzo (you may see Giovanni with his
+father in a picture by Filippino Lippi in the Uffizi).
+Lorenzo the Magnificent had made a point of keeping
+on good terms with them, for they were beloved of the
+people. Giovanni was destined, in a way, to play the
+part of Banquo to the Magnificent's Macbeth, had there
+been a Florentine prophet to tell him, "Thou shalt get
+kings though thou be none." But Piero disliked the
+two; at a dance he struck Giovanni, and then, when the
+brothers showed resentment, he arrested both and, not
+daring to take their lives, confined them to their villas.
+And these were times when a stronger head than<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_95" id="page_95">[95]</a></span>
+Piero's might well have reeled. Italy's day had
+ended, and she was now to be the battle-ground for
+the gigantic forces of the monarchies of Europe. That
+same year in which Lorenzo died, Alexander VI.
+was elected to the Papacy he had so shamelessly
+bought. A mysterious terror fell upon the people; an
+agony of apprehension consumed their rulers throughout
+the length and breadth of the land. In 1494 the
+crash came. The old King Ferrante of Naples died,
+and his successor Alfonso prepared to meet the torrent
+of French arms which Ludovico Sforza, the usurping
+Duke of Milan, had invited into Italy.</p>
+
+<hr class="c15" />
+
+<p>In art and in letters, as well as in life and general
+conduct, this epoch of the Quattrocento is one of the
+most marvellous chapters in the history of human
+thought; the Renaissance as a wave broke over Italy,
+and from Italy surged on to the bounds of Europe.
+And of this "discovery by man of himself and of the
+world," Florence was the centre; in its hothouse of
+learning and culture the rarest personalities flourished,
+and its strangest and most brilliant flower, in whose
+hard brilliancy a suggestion of poison lurked, was
+Lorenzo the Magnificent himself.</p>
+
+<p>In both art and letters, the Renaissance had fully
+commenced before the accession of the Medici to
+power. Ghiberti's first bronze gates of the Baptistery
+and Masaccio's frescoes in the Carmine were executed
+under the regime of the <i>nobili popolani</i>, the Albizzi and
+their allies. Many of the men whom the Medici
+swept relentlessly from their path were in the fore-front
+of the movement, such as the noble and generous
+Palla Strozzi, one of the reformers of the Florentine
+Studio, who brought the Greek, Emanuel Chrysolaras,
+at the close of the fourteenth century, to make Florence
+the centre of Italian Hellenism. Palla lavished his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_96" id="page_96">[96]</a></span>
+wealth in the hunting of codices, and at last, when
+banished on Cosimo's return, died in harness at Padua
+at the venerable age of ninety-two. His house had
+always been full of learned men, and his reform of
+the university had brought throngs of students to
+Florence. Put under bounds for ten years at Padua,
+he lived the life of an ancient philosopher and of
+exemplary Christian virtue. Persecuted at the end
+of every ten years with a new sentence, the last&ndash;of
+ten more years&ndash;when he was eighty-two; robbed
+by death of his wife and sons; he bore all with the
+utmost patience and fortitude, until, in Vespasiano's
+words, "arrived at the age of ninety-two years, in
+perfect health of body and of mind, he gave up his
+soul to his Redeemer like a most faithful and good
+Christian."</p>
+
+<p>In 1401, the first year of the fifteenth century, the
+competition was announced for the second gates of the
+Baptistery, which marks the beginning of Renaissance
+sculpture; and the same year witnessed the birth of
+Masaccio, who, in the words of Leonardo da Vinci,
+"showed with his perfect work how those painters
+who follow aught but Nature, the mistress of the
+masters, laboured in vain," Morelli calls this Quattrocento
+the epoch of "character"; "that is, the period
+when it was the principal aim of art to seize and
+represent the outward appearances of persons and
+things, determined by inward and moral conditions."
+The intimate connection of arts and crafts is characteristic
+of the Quattrocento, as also the mutual
+interaction of art with art. Sculpture was in advance
+of painting in the opening stage of the century, and,
+indeed, influenced it profoundly throughout; about the
+middle of the century they met, and ran henceforth
+hand in hand. Many of the painters and sculptors, as,
+notably, Ghiberti and Botticelli, had been apprentices<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_97" id="page_97">[97]</a></span>
+in the workshops of the goldsmiths; nor would the
+greatest painters disdain to undertake the adornment of
+a <i>cassone</i>, or chest for wedding presents, nor the most
+illustrious sculptor decline a commission for the button
+of a prelate's cope or some mere trifle of household
+furniture. The medals in the National Museum and
+the metal work on the exterior of the Strozzi Palace
+are as typical of the art of Renaissance Florence as the
+grandest statues and most elaborate altar-pieces.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_14" id="illo_14"></a>
+<img src="images/illus110_tmb.jpg" width="400" height="201" alt="&quot;IN THE SCULPTOR&#39;S WORKSHOP&quot; (Nanni di Banco)" title="" />
+<p class="caption">&quot;IN THE SCULPTOR&#39;S WORKSHOP&quot;<br /><span class="smcap">By Nanni di Banco</span><br />
+(For the Guild of Masters in Stone and Timber)</p>
+<a href="images/illus110_fs50.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>With the work of the individual artists we shall
+become better acquainted in subsequent chapters.
+Here we can merely name their leaders. In architecture
+and sculpture respectively, Filippo Brunelleschi
+(1377-1446) and Donatello (1386-1466) are the
+ruling spirits of the age. Their mutual friendship and
+brotherly rivalry almost recall the loves of Dante and
+Cavalcanti in an earlier day. Although Lorenzo
+Ghiberti (1378-1455) justly won the competition for
+the second gates of the Baptistery, it is now thought
+that Filippo ran his successful rival much more closely
+than the critics of an earlier day supposed. Mr
+Perkins remarks that "indirectly Brunelleschi was
+the master of all the great painters and sculptors of
+his time, for he taught them how to apply science
+to art, and so far both Ghiberti and Donatello were
+his pupils, but the last was almost literally so, since
+the great architect was not only his friend, but also his
+counsellor and guide." Contemporaneous with these
+three <i>spiriti magni</i> in their earlier works, and even
+to some extent anticipating them, is Nanni di Banco
+(died in 1421), a most excellent master, both in large
+monumental statues and in bas-reliefs, whose works
+are to be seen and loved outside and inside the Duomo,
+and in the niches round San Michele in Orto. A
+pleasant friendship united him with Donatello, although
+to regard him as that supreme master's pupil and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_98" id="page_98">[98]</a></span>
+follower, as Vasari does, is an anachronism. To this
+same earlier portion of the Quattrocento belong Leo
+Battista Alberti (1405-1472), a rare genius, but a
+wandering stone who, as an architect, accomplished
+comparatively little; Michelozzo Michelozzi (1396-1472),
+who worked as a sculptor with Ghiberti and
+Donatello, but is best known as the favoured architect
+of the Medici, for whom he built the palace so often
+mentioned in these pages, and now known as the
+Palazzo Riccardi, and the convent of San Marco;
+and Luca della Robbia (1399-1482), that beloved
+master of marble music, whose enamelled terra-cotta
+Madonnas are a perpetual fund of the purest delight.
+To Michelozzo and Luca in collaboration we owe the
+bronze gates of the Duomo sacristy, a work only
+inferior to Ghiberti's "Gates of Paradise."</p>
+
+<p>Slightly later come Donatello's great pupils, Desiderio
+da Settignano (1428-1464), Andrea Verrocchio
+(1435-1488), and Antonio Pollaiuolo (1429-1498).
+The two latter are almost equally famous as
+painters. Contemporaneous with them are Mino da
+Fiesole, Bernardo and Antonio Rossellino, Giuliano
+da San Gallo, Giuliano and Benedetto da Maiano, of
+whom the last-named was the first architect of the Strozzi
+Palace. The last great architect of the Quattrocento
+is Simone del Pollaiuolo, known as Cronaca (1457-1508);
+and its last great sculptor is Andrea della
+Robbia, Luca's nephew, who was born in 1435, and
+lived on until 1525. Andrea's best works&ndash;and they
+are very numerous indeed, in the same enamelled terra-cotta&ndash;hardly
+yield in charm and fascination to those
+of Luca himself; in some of them, devotional art seems
+to reach its last perfection in sculpture. Giovanni,
+Andrea's son, and others of the family carried on the
+tradition&ndash;with cruder colours and less delicate feeling.</p>
+
+<p>Masaccio (1401-1428), one of "the inheritors of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_99" id="page_99">[99]</a></span>
+unfulfilled renown," is the first great painter of the
+Renaissance, and bears much the same relation to the
+fifteenth as Giotto to the fourteenth century. Vasari's
+statement that Masaccio's master, Masolino, was
+Ghiberti's assistant appears to be incorrect; but it
+illustrates the dependence of the painting of this epoch
+upon sculpture. Masaccio's frescoes in the Carmine,
+which became the school of all Italian painting, were
+entirely executed before the Medicean regime. The
+Dominican, Fra Angelico da Fiesole (1387-1455),
+seems in his San Marco frescoes to bring the denizens
+of the Empyrean, of which the medi&aelig;val mystics
+dreamed, down to earth to dwell among the black
+and white robed children of St Dominic. The Carmelite,
+Fra Lippo Lippi (1406-1469), the favourite
+of Cosimo, inferior to the angelical painter in spiritual
+insight, had a keener eye for the beauty of the external
+world and a surer touch upon reality. His buoyant
+humour and excellent colouring make "the glad
+monk's gift" one of the most acceptable that the
+Quattrocento has to offer us. Andrea del Castagno
+(died in 1457) and Domenico Veneziano (died in
+1461), together with Paolo Uccello (died in 1475),
+were all absorbed in scientific researches with an eye
+to the extension of the resources of their art; but the
+two former found time to paint a few masterpieces
+in their kind&ndash;especially a Cenacolo by Andrea in
+Santa Appollonia, which is the grandest representation
+of its sublime theme, until the time that Leonardo da
+Vinci painted on the walls of the Dominican convent
+at Milan. Problems of the anatomical construction
+of the human frame and the rendering of movement
+occupied Antonio Pollaiuolo (1429-1498) and
+Andrea Verrocchio (1435-1488); their work was
+taken up and completed a little later by two greater
+men, Luca Signorelli of Cortona and Leonardo da<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100">[100]</a></span>
+Vinci.</p>
+
+<p>The Florentine painting of this epoch culminates in
+the work of two men&ndash;Sandro di Mariano Filipepi,
+better known as Sandro Botticelli (1447-1510), and
+Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494). If the greatest
+pictures were painted poems, as some have held, then
+Sandro Botticelli's masterpieces would be among the
+greatest of all time. In his rendering of religious
+themes, in his intensely poetic and strangely wistful
+attitude towards the fair myths of antiquity, and in his
+Neo-Platonic mingling of the two, he is the most complete
+and typical exponent of the finest spirit of the
+Quattrocento, to which, in spite of the date of his death,
+his art entirely belongs. Domenico's function, on the
+other hand, is to translate the external pomp and
+circumstance of his times into the most uninspired of
+painted prose, but with enormous technical skill and
+with considerable power of portraiture; this he effected
+above all in his ostensibly religious frescoes in Santa
+Maria Novella and Santa Trinit&agrave;. Elsewhere he
+shows a certain pathetic sympathy with humbler life,
+as in his Santa Fina frescoes at San Gemignano, and
+in the admirable Adoration of the Shepherds in the
+Accademia; but this is a less characteristic vein. Filippino
+Lippi (1457-1504), the son of the Carmelite and
+the pupil of Botticelli, has a certain wayward charm,
+especially in his earlier works, but as a rule falls much
+below his master. He may be regarded as the last
+direct inheritor of the traditions of Masaccio. Associated
+with these are two lesser men, who lived considerably
+beyond the limits of the fifteenth century, but
+whose artistic methods never went past it; Piero di
+Cosimo (1462-1521) and Lorenzo di Credi (1459-1537).
+The former (called after Cosimo Rosselli,
+his master) was one of the most piquant personalities in
+the art world of Florence, as all readers of <i>Romola</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101">[101]</a></span>
+know. As a painter, he has been very much overestimated;
+at his best, he is a sort of Botticelli, with
+the Botticellian grace and the Botticellian poetry almost
+all left out. He was magnificent at designing pageants;
+and of one of his exploits in this kind, we shall hear
+more presently. Lorenzo di Credi, Verrocchio's favourite
+pupil, was later, like Botticelli and others, to fall
+under the spell of Fra Girolamo; his pictures breathe
+a true religious sentiment and are very carefully finished;
+but for the most part, though there are exceptions, they
+lack virility.</p>
+
+<p>Before this epoch closed, the two greatest heroes of
+Florentine art had appeared upon the scenes, but their
+great work lay still in the future. Leonardo da Vinci
+(born in 1452) had learned to paint in the school of
+Verrocchio; but painting was to occupy but a small
+portion of his time and labour. His mind roamed
+freely over every field of human activity, and plunged
+deeply into every sphere of human thought; nor is he
+adequately represented even by the greatest of the
+pictures that he has left. There is nothing of him
+now in Florence, save a few drawings in the Uffizi
+and an unfinished picture of the Epiphany. Leonardo
+finished little, and, with that little, time and man have
+dealt hardly. Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in
+the Casentino in 1475, and nurtured among the stone
+quarries of Settignano. At the age of thirteen, his
+father apprenticed him to the Ghirlandaii, Domenico
+and his brother David; and, with his friend and fellow-student,
+Francesco Granacci, the boy began to frequent
+the gardens of the Medici, near San Marco, where in
+the midst of a rich collection of antiquities Donatello's
+pupil and successor, Bertoldo, directed a kind of Academy.
+Here Michelangelo attracted the attention of
+Lorenzo himself, by the head of an old satyr which he
+had hammered out of a piece of marble that fell to his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102" id="page_102">[102]</a></span>
+hand; and the Magnifico took him into his household.
+This youthful period in the great master's career was
+occupied in drinking in culture from the Medicean circle,
+in studying the antique and, of the moderns, especially
+the works of Donatello and Masaccio. But, with the
+exception of a few early fragments from his hand,
+Michelangelo's work commenced with his first visit
+to Rome, in 1496, and belongs to the following
+epoch.</p>
+
+<p>Turning from art to letters, the Quattrocento is
+an intermediate period between the mainly Tuscan
+literary movement of the fourteenth century and the
+general Italian literature of the sixteenth. The first
+part of this century is the time of the discovery of the
+old authors, of the copying of manuscripts (printing
+was not introduced into Florence until 1471), of the
+eager search for classical relics and antiquities, the
+comparative neglect of Italian when Latinity became
+the test of all. Florence was the centre of the
+Humanism of the Renaissance, the revival of Grecian
+culture, the blending of Christianity and Paganism, the
+aping of antiquity in theory and in practice. In the
+pages of Vespasiano we are given a series of lifelike
+portraits of the scholars of this epoch, who thronged to
+Florence, served the State as Secretary of the Republic
+or occupied chairs in her newly reorganised university,
+or basked in the sun of Strozzian or Medicean patronage.
+Niccol&ograve; Niccoli, who died in 1437, is one of
+the most typical of these scholars; an ardent collector
+of ancient manuscripts, his library, purchased after his
+death by Cosimo dei Medici, forms the nucleus of
+the Biblioteca Laurenziana. His house was adorned
+with all that was held most choice and precious; he
+always wore long sweeping red robes, and had his table
+covered with ancient vases and precious Greek cups
+and the like. In fact he played the ancient sage to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103" id="page_103">[103]</a></span>
+such perfection that simply to watch him eat his dinner
+was a liberal education in itself! <i>A vederlo in tavola,
+cos&igrave; antico come era, era una gentilezza.</i></p>
+
+<p>Vespasiano tells a delightful yarn of how one fine
+day this Niccol&ograve; Niccoli, "who was another Socrates
+or another Cato for continence and virtue," was taking
+a constitutional round the Palazzo del Podest&agrave;, when
+he chanced to espy a youth of most comely aspect,
+one who was entirely devoted to worldly pleasures and
+delights, young Piero Pazzi. Calling him and learning
+his name, Niccol&ograve; proceeded to question him as to
+his profession. "Having a high old time," answered
+the ingenuous youth: <i>attendo a darmi buon tempo</i>.
+"Being thy father's son and so handsome," said the
+Sage severely, "it is a shame that thou dost not set
+thyself to learn the Latin language, which would be a
+great ornament to thee; and if thou dost not learn
+it, thou wilt be esteemed of no account; yea, when
+the flower of thy youth is past, thou shalt find thyself
+without any <i>virt&ugrave;</i>." Messer Piero was converted on
+the spot; Niccol&ograve; straightway found him a master and
+provided him with books; and the pleasure-loving
+youth became a scholar and a patron of scholars.
+Vespasiano assures us that, if he had lived, <i>lo inconveniente
+che seguit&ograve;</i>&ndash;so he euphoniously terms the
+Pazzi conspiracy&ndash;would never have happened.</p>
+
+<p>Leonardo Bruni is the nearest approach to a really
+great figure in the Florentine literary world of the
+first half of the century. His translations of Plato
+and Aristotle, especially the former, mark an epoch.
+His Latin history of Florence shows genuine critical
+insight; but he is, perhaps, best known at the present
+day by his little Life of Dante in Italian, a charming
+and valuable sketch, which has preserved for us some
+fragments of Dantesque letters and several bits of
+really precious information about the divine poet,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104">[104]</a></span>
+which seem to be authentic and which we do not find
+elsewhere. Leonardo appears to have undertaken it
+as a kind of holiday task, for recreation after the work
+of composing his more ponderous history. As Secretary
+of the Republic he exercised considerable political
+influence; his fame was so great that people came to
+Florence only to look at him; on his death in 1444,
+he was solemnly crowned on the bier as poet laureate,
+and buried in Santa Croce with stately pomp and
+applauded funeral orations. Leonardo's successors,
+Carlo Marsuppini (like him, an Aretine by birth) and
+Poggio Bracciolini&ndash;the one noted for his frank
+paganism, the other for the foulness of his literary
+invective&ndash;are less attractive figures; though the latter
+was no less famous and influential in his day. Giannozzo
+Manetti, who pronounced Bruni's funeral oration, was noted for
+his eloquence and incorruptibility,
+and stands out prominently amidst the scholars
+and humanists by virtue of his nobleness of character;
+like that other hero of the new learning, Palla Strozzi,
+he was driven into exile and persecuted by the
+Mediceans.</p>
+
+<p>Far more interesting are the men of light and
+learning who gathered round Lorenzo dei Medici
+in the latter half of the century. This is the epoch of
+the Platonic Academy, which Marsilio Ficino had
+founded under the auspices of Cosimo. The discussions
+held in the convent retreat among the forests
+of Camaldoli, the meetings in the Badia at the foot of
+Fiesole, the mystical banquets celebrated in Lorenzo's
+villa at Careggi in honour of the anniversary of Plato's
+birth and death, may have added little to the sum of
+man's philosophic thought; but the Neo-Platonic religion
+of love and beauty, which was there proclaimed
+to the modern world, has left eternal traces in the
+poetic literature both of Italy and of England.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105">[105]</a></span>
+Spenser and Shelley might have sat with the nine
+guests, whose number honoured the nine Muses, at the
+famous Platonic banquet at Careggi, of which Marsilio
+Ficino himself has left us an account in his commentary
+on the <i>Symposium</i>. You may read a later
+Italian echo of it, when Marsilio Ficino had passed
+away and his academy was a thing of the past, in the
+impassioned and rapturous discourse on love and beauty
+poured forth by Pietro Bembo, at that wonderful daybreak
+which ends the discussions of Urbino's courtiers
+in Castiglione's treatise. In a creed that could find
+one formula to cover both the reception of the Stigmata
+by St Francis and the mystical flights of the Platonic
+Socrates and Plotinus; that could unite the Sibyls and
+Diotima with the Magdalene and the Virgin Martyrs;
+many a perplexed Italian of that epoch might find
+more than temporary rest for his soul.</p>
+
+<p>Simultaneously with this new Platonic movement
+there came a great revival of Italian literature, alike
+in poetry and in prose; what Carducci calls <i>il rinascimento
+della vita italiana nella forma classica</i>. The
+earlier humanists had scorned, or at least neglected
+the language of Dante; and the circle that surrounded
+Lorenzo was undoubtedly instrumental in this Italian
+reaction. Cristoforo Landini, one of the principal
+members of the Platonic Academy, now wrote the
+first Renaissance commentary upon the <i>Divina Commedia</i>;
+Leo Battista Alberti, also a leader in these
+Platonic disputations, defended the dignity of the
+Italian language, as Dante himself had done in an
+earlier day. Lorenzo himself compiled the so-called
+<i>Raccolta Aragonese</i> of early Italian lyrics, and sent
+them to Frederick of Aragon, together with a letter
+full of enthusiasm for the Tuscan tongue, and with
+critical remarks on the individual poets of the thirteenth
+and fourteenth centuries. Upon the popular poetry of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106">[106]</a></span>
+Tuscany Lorenzo himself, and his favourite Angelo
+Ambrogini of Montepulciano, better known as Poliziano,
+founded a new school of Italian song. Luigi Pulci,
+the gay scoffer and cynical sceptic, entertained the
+festive gatherings in the Medicean palace with his wild
+tales, and, in his <i>Morgante Maggiore</i>, was practically
+the first to work up the popular legends of Orlando
+and the Paladins into a noteworthy poem&ndash;a poem of
+which Savonarola and his followers were afterwards to
+burn every copy that fell into their hands.</p>
+
+<p>Poliziano is at once the truest classical scholar, and,
+with the possible exception of Boiardo (who belongs
+to Ferrara, and does not come within the scope of
+the present volume), the greatest Italian poet of the
+fifteenth century. He is, indeed, the last and most
+perfect fruit of Florentine Humanism. His father,
+Benedetto Ambrogini, had been murdered in Montepulciano
+by the faction hostile to the Medici; and the
+boy Angelo, coming to Florence, and studying under
+Ficino and his colleagues, was received into Lorenzo's
+household as tutor to the younger Piero. His lectures
+at the Studio attracted students from all Europe, and
+his labours in the field of textual criticism won a fame
+that has lasted to the present day. In Italian he
+wrote the <i>Orfeo</i> in two days for performance at Mantua,
+when he was eighteen, a lyrical tragedy which stamps
+him as the father of Italian dramatic opera; the scene
+of the descent of Orpheus into Hades contains lyrical
+passages of great melodiousness. Shortly before the
+Pazzi conspiracy, he composed his famous <i>Stanze</i> in
+celebration of a tournament given by Giuliano dei
+Medici, and in honour of the <i>bella Simonetta</i>. There
+is absolutely no "fundamental brain work" about these
+exquisitely finished stanzas; but they are full of dainty
+mythological pictures quite in the Botticellian style,
+overladen, perhaps, with adulation of the reigning<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107">[107]</a></span>
+house and its <i>ben nato Lauro</i>. In his lyrics he gave
+artistic form to the <i>rispetti</i> and <i>strambotti</i> of the people,
+and wrote exceedingly musical <i>ballate</i>, or <i>canzoni a
+ballo</i>, which are the best of their kind in the whole
+range of Italian poetry. There is, however, little
+genuine passion in his love poems for his lady, Madonna
+Ippolita Leoncina of Prato; though in all that he
+wrote there is, as Villari puts it, "a fineness of taste
+that was almost Greek."</p>
+
+<p>Lorenzo dei Medici stands second to his friend as a
+poet; but he is a good second. His early affection
+for the fair Lucrezia Donati, with its inevitable
+sonnets and a commentary somewhat in the manner
+of Dante's <i>Vita Nuova</i>, is more fanciful than earnest,
+although Poliziano assures us of</p>
+
+<p class="poem">"La lunga fedelt&agrave; del franco Lauro."</p>
+
+<p>But Lorenzo's intense love of external nature, his
+power of close observation and graphic description, are
+more clearly shown in such poems as the <i>Caccia col
+Falcone</i> and the <i>Ambra</i>, written among the woods and
+hills in the country round his new villa of Poggio
+a Caiano. Elsewhere he gives free scope to the
+animal side of his sensual nature, and in his famous
+<i>Canti carnascialeschi</i>, songs to be sung at carnival and
+in masquerades, he at times revelled in pruriency, less
+for its own sake than for the deliberate corruption
+of the Florentines. And, for a time, their music
+drowned the impassioned voice of Savonarola, whose
+stern cry of warning and exhortation to repentance had
+for the nonce passed unheeded.</p>
+
+<p>There is extant a miracle play from Lorenzo's hand,
+the acts of the martyrs Giovanni and Paolo, who
+suffered in the days of the emperor Julian. Two sides
+of Lorenzo's nature are ever in conflict&ndash;the Lorenzo
+of the ballate and the carnival songs&ndash;the Lorenzo of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108">[108]</a></span>
+the <i>laude</i> and spiritual poems, many of which have the
+unmistakable ring of sincerity. And, in the story of
+his last days and the summoning of Savonarola to his
+bed-side, the triumph of the man's spiritual side is seen
+at the end; he is, indeed, in the position of the dying
+Julian of his own play:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+<span class="o1">"Fallace vita! O nostra vana cura!</span><br />
+Lo spirto &egrave; gi&agrave; fuor del mio petto spinto:<br />
+O Cristo Galileo, tu hai vinto."</p>
+
+<p>Such was likewise the attitude of several members of
+the Medicean circle, when the crash came. Poliziano
+followed his friend and patron to the grave, in September
+1494; his last hours received the consolations of
+religion from Savonarola's most devoted follower, Fra
+Domenico da Pescia (of whom more anon); after
+death, he was robed in the habit of St Dominic and
+buried in San Marco. Pico della Mirandola, too, had
+been present at the Magnifico's death-bed, though not
+there when the end actually came; he too, in 1494,
+received the Dominican habit in death, and was buried
+by Savonarola's friars in San Marco. Marsilio Ficino
+outlived his friends and denied Fra Girolamo; he died
+in 1499, and lies at rest in the Duomo.</p>
+
+<p>Of all these Medicean Platonists, Pico della Mirandola
+is the most fascinating. A young Lombard noble
+of almost feminine beauty, full of the pride of having
+mastered all the knowledge of his day, he first came to
+Florence in 1480 or 1482, almost at the very moment
+in which Marsilio Ficino finished his translation of
+Plato. He became at once the chosen friend of all
+the choicest spirits of Lorenzo's circle. Not only
+classical learning, but the mysterious East and the
+sacred lore of the Jews had rendered up their treasures
+for his intellectual feast; his mysticism shot far beyond
+even Ficino; all knowledge and all religions were to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109">[109]</a></span>
+him a revelation of the Deity. Not only to Lorenzo
+and his associates did young Pico seem a ph&#339;nix of
+earthly and celestial wisdom, <i>uomo quasi divino</i> as
+Machiavelli puts it; but even Savonarola in his
+<i>Triumphus Crucis</i>, written after Pico's death, declares
+that, by reason of his loftiness of intellect and the sublimity
+of his doctrine, he should be numbered amongst
+the miracles of God and Nature. Pico had been
+much beloved of many women, and not always a
+Platonic lover, but, towards the close of his short
+flower-like life, he burnt "fyve bokes that in his
+youthe of wanton versis of love with other lyke
+fantasies he had made," and all else seemed absorbed
+in the vision of love Divine. "The substance that I
+have left," he told his nephew, "I intend to give out
+to poor people, and, fencing myself with the crucifix,
+barefoot walking about the world, in every town and
+castle I purpose to preach of Christ." Savonarola, to
+whom he had confided all the secrets of his heart, was
+not the only martyr who revered the memory of the
+man whom Lorenzo the Magnificent had loved.
+Thomas More translated his life and letters, and
+reckoned him a saint. He would die at the time of
+the lilies, so a lady had told Pico; and he died indeed
+on the very day that the golden lilies on the royal
+standard of France were borne into Florence through
+the Porta San Frediano&ndash;consoled with wondrous
+visions of the Queen of Heaven, and speaking as though
+he beheld the heavens opened.</p>
+
+<p>A month or two earlier, the pen had dropped from
+the hand of Matteo Maria Boiardo, as he watched the
+French army descending the Alps; and he brought his
+unfinished <i>Orlando Innamorato</i> to an abrupt close, too
+sick at heart to sing of the vain love of Fiordespina
+for Brandiamante:&ndash;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110">[110]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="poem"><span class="o1">"Mentre che io canto, o Dio Redentore,</span><br />
+Vedo l'Italia tutta a fiamma e foco,<br />
+Per questi Galli, che con gran valore<br />
+Vengon, per disertar non so che loco."</p>
+
+<p>"Whilst I sing, Oh my God, I see all Italy in flame
+and fire, through these Gauls, who with great valour
+come, to lay waste I know not what place." On this
+note of vague terror, in the onrush of the barbarian
+hosts, the Quattrocento closes.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_15" id="illo_15"></a>
+<img src="images/illus124_tmb.jpg" width="300" height="388" alt="ARMS OF THE PAZZI" title="" />
+<p class="caption">ARMS OF THE PAZZI</p>
+<a href="images/illus124_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111">[111]</a></p>
+<h2 class="p6"><a name="chapter_iv" id="chapter_iv"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2>
+<h3><i>From Fra Girolamo to Duke Cosimo</i></h3>
+
+<p class="blockquot">"Vedendo lo omnipotente Dio multiplicare li peccati
+della Italia, maxime nelli capi cos&igrave; ecclesiastici come seculari,
+non potendo pi&ugrave; sostenere, determin&ograve; purgare la Chiesa sua
+per uno gran flagello. Et perch&egrave; come &egrave; scripto in Amos
+propheta, Non faciet Dominus Deus verbum nisi revelaverit
+secretum suum ad servos suos prophetas: volse per la salute
+delli suoi electi acci&ograve; che inanzi al flagello si preparassino
+ad sofferire, che nella Italia questo flagello fussi prenuntiato.
+Et essendo Firenze in mezzo la Italia come il core in mezzo
+il corpo, s'&egrave; dignato di eleggere questa citt&agrave;; nella quale
+siano tale cose prenuntiate: acci&ograve; che per lei si sparghino
+negli altri luoghi."&ndash;<i>Savonarola.</i></p>
+
+<p><i><span class="dropcap">G</span>LADIUS Domini super terram cito et velociter</i>,
+"the Sword of the Lord upon the earth soon
+and speedily." These words rang ever in the ears
+of the Dominican friar who was now to eclipse the
+Medicean rulers of Florence. Girolamo Savonarola,
+the grandson of a famous Paduan physician who had
+settled at the court of Ferrara, had entered the order
+of St Dominic at Bologna in 1474, moved by the
+great misery of the world and the wickedness of men,
+and in 1481 had been sent to the convent of San
+Marco at Florence. The corruption of the Church,
+the vicious lives of her chief pastors, the growing
+immorality of the people, the tyranny and oppression
+of their rulers, had entered into his very soul&ndash;had
+found utterance in allegorical poetry, in an ode <i>De
+Ruina Mundi</i>, written whilst still in the world, in
+another, <i>De Ruina Ecclesiae</i>, composed in the silence
+of his Bolognese cloister&ndash;that cloister which, in better<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112" id="page_112">[112]</a></span>
+days, had been hallowed by the presence of St Dominic
+and the Angelical Doctor, Thomas Aquinas. And
+he believed himself set by God as a watchman in the
+centre of Italy, to announce to the people and princes
+that the sword was to fall upon them: "If the sword
+come, and thou hast not announced it," said the spirit
+voice that spoke to him in the silence as the d&aelig;mon to
+Socrates, "and they perish unwarned, I will require their
+blood at thy hands and thou shalt bear the penalty."</p>
+
+<p>But at first the Florentines would not hear him;
+the gay dancings and the wild carnival songs of their
+rulers drowned his voice; courtly preachers like the
+Augustinian of Santo Spirito, Fra Mariano da Gennazano,
+laid more flattering unction to their souls.
+Other cities were more ready; San Gemignano first
+heard the word of prophecy that was soon to resound
+beneath the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore, even as,
+some two hundred years before, she had listened to
+the speech of Dante Alighieri. At the beginning
+of 1490, the Friar returned to Florence and San
+Marco; and, on Sunday, August 1st, expounding the
+Apocalypse in the Church of San Marco, he first
+set forth to the Florentines the three cardinal points
+of his doctrine; first, the Church was to be renovated;
+secondly, before this renovation, God would send a
+great scourge upon all Italy; thirdly, these things
+would come speedily. He preached the following
+Lent in the Duomo; and thenceforth his great work
+of reforming Florence, and announcing the impending
+judgments of God, went on its inspired way. "Go
+to Lorenzo dei Medici," he said to the five citizens
+who came to him, at the Magnifico's instigation, to
+urge him to let the future alone in his sermons, "and
+bid him do penance for his sins, for God intends to
+punish him and his"; and when elected Prior of San
+Marco in this same year, 1491, he would neither<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_113" id="page_113">[113]</a></span>
+enter Lorenzo's palace to salute the patron of the
+convent, nor welcome him when he walked among
+the friars in the garden.</p>
+
+<p>Fra Girolamo was preaching the Lent in San
+Lorenzo, when the Magnifico died; and, a few days
+later, he saw a wondrous vision, as he himself tells
+us in the <i>Compendium Revelationum</i>. "In 1492," he
+says, "while I was preaching the Lent in San Lorenzo
+at Florence, I saw, on the night of Good Friday, two
+crosses. First, a black cross in the midst of Rome,
+whereof the head touched the heaven and the arms
+stretched forth over all the earth; and above it were
+written these words, <i>Crux irae Dei</i>. After I had
+beheld it, suddenly I saw the sky grow dark, and
+clouds fly through the air; winds, flashes of lightning
+and thunderbolts drove across, hail, fire and swords
+rained down, and slew a vast multitude of folk, so
+that few remained on the earth. And after this, there
+came a sky right calm and bright, and I saw another
+cross, of the same greatness as the first but of gold,
+rise up over Jerusalem; the which was so resplendent
+that it illumined all the world, and filled it all with
+flowers and joy; and above it was written, <i>Crux misericordiae
+Dei</i>. And I saw all generations of men and
+women come from all parts of the world, to adore
+it and embrace it."</p>
+
+<p>In the following August came the simoniacal election
+of Roderigo Borgia to the Papacy, as Alexander VI.;
+and in Advent another vision appeared to the prophet
+in his cell, which can only be told in Fra Girolamo's
+own words:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p>"I saw then in the year 1492, the night before the
+last sermon which I gave that Advent in Santa
+Reparata, a hand in Heaven with a sword, upon the
+which was written: <i>The sword of the Lord upon the
+earth, soon and speedily</i>; and over the hand was written,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_114" id="page_114">[114]</a></span>
+<i>True and just are the judgments of the Lord.</i> And
+it seemed that the arm of that hand proceeded from
+three faces in one light, of which the first said: <i>The
+iniquity of my sanctuary crieth to me from the earth.</i>
+The second replied: <i>Therefore will I visit with a rod
+their iniquities, and with stripes their sins.</i> The third
+said: <i>My mercy will I not remove from it, nor will
+I harm it in my truth, and I will have mercy upon the
+poor and the needy.</i> In like manner the first answered:
+<i>My people have forgotten my commandments days without
+number.</i> The second replied: <i>Therefore will I grind
+and break in pieces and will not have mercy.</i> The third
+said: <i>I will be mindful of those who walk in my precepts.</i>
+And straightway there came a great voice from all the
+three faces, over all the world, and it said: <i>Hearken,
+all ye dwellers on the earth; thus saith the Lord: I,
+the Lord, am speaking in my holy zeal. Behold, the
+days shall come and I will unsheath my sword upon you.
+Be ye converted therefore unto me, before my fury be
+accomplished; for when the destruction cometh, ye shall
+seek peace and there shall be none.</i> After these words
+it seemed to me that I saw the whole world, and that
+the Angels descended from Heaven to earth, arrayed
+in white, with a multitude of spotless stoles on their
+shoulders and red crosses in their hands; and they
+went through the world, offering to each man a white
+robe and a cross. Some men accepted them and
+robed themselves with them. Some would not accept
+them, although they did not impede the others who
+accepted them. Others would neither accept them
+nor permit that the others should accept them; and
+these were the tepid and the sapient of this world,
+who made mock of them and strove to persuade the
+contrary. After this, the hand turned the sword
+down towards the earth; and suddenly it seemed that
+all the air grew dark with clouds, and that it rained<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_115" id="page_115">[115]</a></span>
+down swords and hail with great thunder and lightning
+and fire; and there came upon the earth pestilence
+and famine and great tribulation. And I saw the
+Angels go through the midst of the people, and give
+to those who had the white robe and the cross in
+their hands a clear wine to drink; and they drank
+and said: <i>How sweet in our mouths are thy words, O
+Lord.</i> And the dregs at the bottom of the chalice
+they gave to drink to the others, and they would not
+drink; and it seemed that these would fain have been
+converted to penitence and could not, and they said:
+<i>Wherefore dost thou forget us, Lord?</i> And they
+wished to lift up their eyes and look up to God, but
+they could not, so weighed down were they with
+tribulations; for they were as though drunk, and it
+seemed that their hearts had left their breasts, and
+they went seeking the lusts of this world and found
+them not. And they walked like senseless beings
+without heart. After this was done, I heard a very
+great voice from those three faces, which said: <i>Hear
+ye then the word of the Lord: for this have I waited
+for you, that I may have mercy upon you. Come ye
+therefore to me, for I am kind and merciful, extending
+mercy to all who call upon me. But if you will not,
+I will turn my eyes from you for ever.</i> And it turned
+then to the just, and said: <i>But rejoice, ye just, and
+exult, for when my short anger shall have passed, I
+will break the horns of sinners, and the horns of the
+just shall be exalted.</i> And suddenly everything disappeared,
+and it was said to me: <i>Son, if sinners had
+eyes, they would surely see how grievous and hard is
+this pestilence, and how sharp the sword.</i>"<a name="fnanchor_20" id="fnanchor_20"></a><a href="#footnote_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a></p>
+
+<p>The French army, terrible beyond any that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_116" id="page_116">[116]</a></span>
+Italians had seen, and rendered even more terrible by
+the universal dread that filled all men's minds at this
+moment, entered Italy. On September 9th, 1494,
+Charles VIII. arrived at Asti, where he was received
+by Ludovico and his court, while the Swiss sacked and
+massacred at Rapallo. Here was the new Cyrus whom
+Savonarola had foretold, the leader chosen by God to
+chastise Italy and reform the Church. While the
+vague terror throughout the land was at its height,
+Savonarola, on September 21st, ascended the pulpit
+of the Duomo, and poured forth so terrible a flood of
+words on the text <i>Ecce ego adducam aquas diluvii super
+terram</i>, that the densely packed audience were overwhelmed
+in agonised panic. The bloodless mercenary
+conflicts of a century had reduced Italy to helplessness;
+the Aragonese resistance collapsed, and, sacking and
+slaughtering as they came, the French marched unopposed
+through Lunigiana upon Tuscany. Piero dei
+Medici, who had favoured the Aragonese in a half-hearted
+way, went to meet the French King, surrendered
+Sarzana and Pietrasanta, the fortresses which
+his father had won back for Florence, promised to cede
+Pisa and Leghorn, and made an absolute submission.
+"Behold," cried Savonarola, a few days later, "the
+sword has descended, the scourge has fallen, the
+prophecies are being fulfilled; behold, it is the Lord
+who is leading on these armies." And he bade the
+citizens fast and pray throughout the city: it was for
+the sins of Italy and of Florence that these things had
+happened; for the corruption of the Church, this tempest
+had arisen.</p>
+
+<p>It was the republican hero, Piero Capponi, who
+now gave utterance to the voice of the people. "Piero
+dei Medici," he said in the Council of the Seventy
+called by the Signoria on November 4th, "is no longer
+fit to rule the State: the Republic must provide for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_117" id="page_117">[117]</a></span>
+itself: the moment has come to shake off this baby
+government." They prepared for defence, but at the
+same time sent ambassadors to the "most Christian
+King," and amongst these ambassadors was Savonarola.
+In the meantime Piero dei Medici returned to Florence
+to find his government at an end; the Signoria refused
+him admittance into the palace; the people assailed
+him in the Piazza. He made a vain attempt to regain
+the State by arms, but the despairing shouts of <i>Palle,
+Palle,</i> which his adherents and mercenaries raised, were
+drowned in the cries of <i>Popolo e Libert&agrave;</i>, as the citizens,
+as in the old days of the Republic, heard the great bell
+of the Palace tolling and saw the burghers once more
+in arms. On the 9th of November Piero and Giuliano
+fled through the Porta di San Gallo; the Cardinal
+Giovanni, who had shown more courage and resource,
+soon followed, disguised as a friar. There was some
+pillage done, but little bloodshed. The same day
+Pisa received the French troops, and shook off the
+Florentine yoke&ndash;an example shortly followed by
+other Tuscan cities. Florence had regained her
+liberty, but lost her empire. But the King had
+listened to the words of Savonarola&ndash;words preserved
+to us by the Friar himself in his <i>Compendium Revelationum</i>&ndash;who
+had hailed him as the Minister of Christ,
+but warned him sternly and fearlessly that, if he abused
+his power over Florence, the strength which God had
+given him would be shattered.</p>
+
+<p>On November 17th Charles, clad in black velvet
+with mantle of gold brocade and splendidly mounted,
+rode into Florence, as though into a conquered city,
+with lance levelled, through the Porta di San Frediano.
+With him was that priestly Mars, the terrible Cardinal
+della Rovere (afterwards Julius II.), now bent upon the
+deposition of Alexander VI. as a simoniacal usurper;
+and he was followed by all the gorgeous chivalry of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_118" id="page_118">[118]</a></span>
+France, with the fierce Swiss infantry, the light Gascon
+skirmishers, the gigantic Scottish bowmen&ndash;<i>uomini
+bestiali</i> as the Florentines called them&ndash;in all about
+12,000 men. The procession swept through the gaily
+decked streets over the Ponte Vecchio, wound round
+the Piazza della Signoria, and then round the Duomo,
+amidst deafening cries of <i>Viva Francia</i> from the enthusiastic
+people. But when the King descended and
+entered the Cathedral, there was a sad disillusion&ndash;<i>parve
+al popolo un poco diminuta la fama</i>, as the good
+apothecary Luca Landucci tells us&ndash;for, when off his
+horse, he appeared a most insignificant little man,
+almost deformed, and with an idiotic expression of
+countenance, as his bust portrait in the Bargello still
+shows. This was not quite the sort of Cyrus that
+they had expected from Savonarola's discourses; but
+still, within and without Santa Maria del Fiore, the
+thunderous shouts of <i>Viva Francia</i> continued, until he
+was solemnly escorted to the Medicean palace which
+had been prepared for his reception.</p>
+
+<p>That night, and each following night during the
+French occupation, Florence shone so with illuminations
+that it seemed mid-day; every day was full of
+feasting and pageantry; but French and Florentines
+alike were in arms. The royal "deliverer"&ndash;egged
+on by the ladies of Piero's family and especially by
+Alfonsina, his young wife&ndash;talked of restoring the
+Medici; the Swiss, rioting in the Borgo SS. Apostoli,
+were severely handled by the populace, in a way
+that showed the King that the Republic was not to
+be trifled with. On November 24th the treaty was
+signed in the Medicean (now the Riccardi) palace,
+after a scene never forgotten by the Florentines. Discontented
+with the amount of the indemnity, the King
+exclaimed in a threatening voice, "I will bid my
+trumpets sound" (<i>io far&ograve; dare nelle trombe</i>). Piero<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_119" id="page_119">[119]</a></span>
+Capponi thereupon snatched the treaty from the royal
+secretary, tore it in half, and exclaiming, "And we
+will sound our bells" (<i>e noi faremo dare nelle campane</i>),
+turned with his colleagues to leave the room. Charles,
+who knew Capponi of old (he had been Florentine
+Ambassador in France), had the good sense to laugh
+it off, and the Republic was saved. There was to be
+an alliance between the Republic and the King, who
+was henceforth to be called "Restorer and Protector of
+the Liberty of Florence." He was to receive a substantial
+indemnity. Pisa and the fortresses were for
+the present to be retained, but ultimately restored; the
+decree against the Medici was to be revoked, but they
+were still banished from Tuscany. But the King
+would not go. The tension every day grew greater,
+until at last Savonarola sought the royal presence,
+solemnly warned him that God's anger would fall
+upon him if he lingered, and sent him on his
+way. On November 28th the French left Florence,
+everyone, from Charles himself downwards, shamelessly
+carrying off everything of value that they could
+lay hands on, including the greater part of the
+treasures and rarities that Cosimo and Lorenzo had
+collected.</p>
+
+<p>It was now that all Florence turned to the voice
+that rang out from the Convent of San Marco and the
+pulpit of the Duomo; and Savonarola became, in some
+measure, the pilot of the State. Mainly through his
+influence, the government was remodelled somewhat on
+the basis of the Venetian constitution with modifications.
+The supreme authority was vested in the
+<i>Greater Council</i>, which created the magistrates and
+approved the laws; and it elected the <i>Council of Eighty</i>,
+with which the Signoria was bound to consult, which,
+together with the Signoria and the Colleges, made
+appointments and discussed matters which could not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_120" id="page_120">[120]</a></span>
+be debated in the Greater Council. A law was also
+passed, known as the "law of the six beans," which
+gave citizens the right of appeal from the decisions of
+the Signoria or the sentences of the <i>Otto di guardia
+e bal&igrave;a</i> (who could condemn even to death by six votes
+or "beans")&ndash;not to a special council to be chosen
+from the Greater Council, as Savonarola wished, but
+to the Greater Council itself. There was further a
+general amnesty proclaimed (March 1495). Finally,
+since the time-honoured calling of parliaments had been
+a mere farce, an excuse for masking revolution under
+the pretence of legality, and was the only means left
+by which the Medici could constitutionally have overthrown
+the new regime, it was ordained (August) that
+no parliament should ever again be held under pain
+of death. "The only purpose of parliament," said
+Savonarola, "is to snatch the sovereign power from
+the hands of the people." So enthusiastic&ndash;to use
+no harsher term&ndash;did the Friar show himself, that he
+declared from the pulpit that, if ever the Signoria
+should sound the bell for a parliament, their houses
+should be sacked, and that they themselves might be
+hacked to pieces by the crowd without any sin being
+thereby incurred; and that the Consiglio Maggiore
+was the work of God and not of man, and that whoever
+should attempt to change this government should
+for ever be accursed of the Lord. It was now that
+the Sala del Maggior Consiglio was built by Cronaca
+in the Priors' Palace, to accommodate this new government
+of the people; and the Signoria set up in the
+middle of the court and at their gate the two bronze
+statues by Donatello, which they took from Piero's
+palace&ndash;the <i>David</i>, an emblem of the triumphant
+young republic that had overthrown the giant of
+tyranny, the <i>Judith</i> as a warning of the punishment that
+the State would inflict upon whoso should attempt its<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_121" id="page_121">[121]</a></span>
+restoration; <i>exemplum salutis publicae cives posuere</i>,
+1495, ran the new inscription put by these stern
+theocratic republicans upon its base.</p>
+
+<p>But in the meantime Charles had pursued his
+triumphant march, had entered Rome, had conquered
+the kingdom of Naples almost without a blow. Then
+fortune turned against him; Ludovico Sforza with
+the Pope formed an Italian league, including Venice,
+with hope of Germany and Spain, to expel the French
+from Italy&ndash;a league in which all but Florence and
+Ferrara joined. Charles was now in full retreat to
+secure his return to France, and was said to be marching
+on Florence with Piero dei Medici in his company&ndash;no
+reformation of the Church accomplished, no restoration
+of Pisa to his ally. The Florentines flew to
+arms. But Savonarola imagined that he had had a
+special Vision of the Lilies vouchsafed to him by the
+Blessed Virgin, which pointed to an alliance with
+France and the reacquisition of Pisa.<a name="fnanchor_21" id="fnanchor_21"></a><a href="#footnote_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> He went forth
+to meet the King at Poggibonsi, June 1495, overawed
+the fickle monarch by his prophetic exhortation,
+and at least kept the French out of Florence. A
+month later, the battle of Fornovo secured Charles'
+retreat and occasioned (what was more important to
+posterity) Mantegna's Madonna of the Victory. And
+of the lost cities and fortresses, Leghorn alone was
+recovered.</p>
+
+<p>But all that Savonarola had done, or was to do, in
+the political field was but the means to an end&ndash;the
+reformation and purification of Florence. It was to be
+a united and consecrated State, with Christ alone for
+King, adorned with all triumphs of Christian art and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_122" id="page_122">[122]</a></span>
+sacred poetry, a fire of spiritual felicity to Italy and all
+the earth. In Lent and Advent especially, his voice
+sounded from the pulpit, denouncing vice, showing the
+beauty of righteousness, the efficacy of the sacraments,
+and interpreting the Prophets, with special reference to
+the needs of his times. And for a while Florence
+seemed verily a new city. For the wild licence of the
+Carnival, for the Pagan pageantry that the Medicean
+princes had loved, for the sensual songs that had once
+floated up from every street of the City of Flowers&ndash;there
+were now bonfires of the vanities in the public
+squares; holocausts of immoral books, indecent pictures,
+all that ministered to luxury and wantonness (and much,
+too, that was very precious!); there were processions
+in honour of Christ and His Mother, there were new
+mystical lauds and hymns of divine love. A kind of
+spiritual inebriation took possession of the people and
+their rulers alike. Tonsured friars and grave citizens,
+with heads garlanded, mingled with the children and
+danced like David before the Ark, shouting, "<i>Viva
+Cristo e la Vergine Maria nostra regina.</i>" They had
+indeed, like the Apostle, become fools for Christ's
+sake. "It was a holy time," writes good Luca
+Landucci, "but it was short. The wicked have prevailed
+over the good. Praised be God that I saw
+that short holy time. Wherefore I pray God that
+He may give it back to us, that holy and pure living.
+It was indeed a blessed time." Above all, the children
+of Florence were the Friar's chosen emissaries and
+agents in the great work he had in hand; he organised
+them into bands, with standard-bearers and officers like
+the time-honoured city companies with their gonfaloniers,
+and sent them round the city to seize
+vanities, forcibly to stop gambling, to collect alms
+for the poor, and even to exercise a supervision over
+the ladies' dresses. <i>Ecco i fanciugli del Frate</i>, was an<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_123" id="page_123">[123]</a></span>
+instant signal for gamblers to take to flight, and for the
+fair and frail ladies to be on their very best behaviour.
+They proceeded with olive branches, like the children
+of Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday; they
+made the churches ring with their hymns to the
+Madonna, and even harangued the Signoria on the
+best method of reforming the morals of the citizens.
+"Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou
+hast perfected praise," quotes Landucci: "I have
+written these things because they are true, and I have
+seen them and have felt their sweetness, and some of
+my own children were among these pure and blessed
+bands."<a name="fnanchor_22" id="fnanchor_22"></a><a href="#footnote_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></p>
+
+<p>But the holy time was short indeed. Factions were
+still only too much alive. The <i>Bigi</i> or <i>Palleschi</i> were
+secretly ready to welcome the Medici back; the
+<i>Arrabbiati</i>, the powerful section of the citizens who,
+to some extent, held the traditions of the so-called
+<i>Ottimati</i> or <i>nobili popolani</i>, whom the Medici had overthrown,
+were even more bitter in their hatred to the
+<i>Frateschi</i> or <i>Piagnoni</i>, as the adherents of the Friar
+were called, though prepared to make common cause
+with them on the least rumour of Piero dei Medici
+approaching the walls. The <i>Compagnacci</i>, or "bad
+companions," dissolute young men and evil livers, were
+banded together under Doffo Spini, and would gladly
+have taken the life of the man who had curtailed their
+opportunities for vice. And to these there were now
+added the open hostility of Pope Alexander VI., and
+the secret machinations of his worthy ally, the Duke
+of Milan. The Pope's hostility was at first mainly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_124" id="page_124">[124]</a></span>
+political; he had no objection whatever to Savonarola
+reforming faith and morals (so long as he did not ask
+Roderigo Borgia to reform himself), but could not
+abide the Friar declaring that he had a special mission
+from God and the Madonna to oppose the Italian league
+against France. At the same time the Pope would
+undoubtedly have been glad to see Piero dei Medici
+restored to power. But in the early part of 1496, it
+became a war to the death between these two&ndash;the
+Prophet of Righteousness and the Church's Caiaphas&ndash;a
+war which seemed at one moment about to convulse
+all Christendom, but which ended in the funeral pyre
+of the Piazza della Signoria.</p>
+
+<p>On Ash Wednesday, February 17th, Fra Girolamo,
+amidst the vastest audience that had yet flocked to hear
+his words, ascended once more the pulpit of Santa
+Maria del Fiore. He commenced by a profession of
+most absolute submission to the Church of Rome. "I
+have ever believed, and do believe," he said, "all that
+is believed by the Holy Roman Church, and have ever
+submitted, and do submit, myself to her.... I rely
+only on Christ and on the decisions of the Church of
+Rome." But this was a prelude to the famous series
+of sermons on Amos and Zechariah which he preached
+throughout this Lent, and which was in effect a
+superb and inspired denunciation of the wickedness of
+Alexander and his Court, of the shameless corruption
+of the Papal Curia and the Church generally, which
+had made Rome, for a while, the sink of Christendom.
+Nearly two hundred years before, St Peter had said
+the same thing to Dante in the Heaven of the Fixed
+Stars:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem"><span class="o1">"Quegli ch'usurpa in terra il loco mio,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">il loco mio, il loco mio, che vaca</span><br />
+<span class="i1">nella presenza del Figliuol di Dio,</span><br />
+fatto ha del cimitero mio cloaca<br />
+<span class="i1">del sangue e della puzza, onde il perverso</span><br />
+<span class="i1">che cadde di quass&ugrave;, laggi&ugrave; si placa."<a name="fnanchor_23" id="fnanchor_23"></a><a href="#footnote_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></span><br /></p>
+
+<p>These were, perhaps, the most terrible of all<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_125" id="page_125">[125]</a></span>
+Savonarola's sermons and prophecies. Chastisement
+was to come upon Rome; she was to be girdled
+with steel, put to the sword, consumed with fire.
+Italy was to be ravaged with pestilence and famine;
+from all sides the barbarian hordes would sweep down
+upon her. Let them fly from this corrupted Rome,
+this new Babylon of confusion, and come to repentance.
+And for himself, he asked and hoped for nothing but
+the lot of the martyrs, when his work was done. These
+sermons echoed through all Europe; and when the
+Friar, after a temporary absence at Prato, returned to
+the pulpit in May with a new course of sermons on
+Ruth and Micah, he was no less daring; as loudly as
+ever he rebuked the hideous corruption of the times,
+the wickedness of the Roman Court, and announced
+the scourge that was at hand:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p>"I announce to thee, Italy and Rome, that the Lord
+will come forth out of His place. He has awaited
+thee so long that He can wait no more. I tell thee
+that God will draw forth the sword from the sheath;
+He will send the foreign nations; He will come forth
+out of His clemency and His mercy; and such bloodshed
+shall there be, so many deaths, such cruelty, that
+thou shalt say: O Lord, Thou hast come forth out of
+Thy place. Yea, the Lord shall come; He will come
+down and tread upon the high places of the earth. I
+say to thee, Italy and Rome, that the Lord will tread
+upon thee. I have bidden thee do penance; thou art
+worse than ever. The feet of the Lord shall tread
+upon thee; His feet shall be the horses, the armies of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_126" id="page_126">[126]</a></span>
+the foreign nations that shall trample upon the great
+men of Italy; and soon shall priests, friars, bishops,
+cardinals and great masters be trampled down....</p>
+
+<p>"Trust not, Rome, in saying: Here we have the
+relics, here we have St Peter and so many bodies of
+martyrs. God will not suffer such iniquities! I warn
+thee that their blood cries up to Christ to come and
+chastise thee."<a name="fnanchor_24" id="fnanchor_24"></a><a href="#footnote_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a></p>
+
+<p>But, in the meanwhile, the state of Florence was
+dark and dismal in the extreme. Pestilence and
+famine ravaged her streets; the war against Pisa
+seemed more hopeless every day; Piero Capponi had
+fallen in the field in September; and the forces of the
+League threatened her with destruction, unless she
+deserted the French alliance. King Charles showed
+no disposition to return; the Emperor Maximilian,
+with the Venetian fleet, was blockading her sole
+remaining port of Leghorn. A gleam of light came
+in October, when, at the very moment that the
+miraculous Madonna of the Impruneta was being borne
+through the streets in procession by the Piagnoni, a
+messenger brought the news that reinforcements and
+provisions had reached Leghorn from Marseilles; and
+it was followed in November by the dispersion of the
+imperial fleet by a tempest. At the opening of 1497
+a Signory devoted to Savonarola, and headed by
+Francesco Valori as Gonfaloniere, was elected; and
+the following carnival witnessed an even more emphatic
+burning of the vanities in the great Piazza, while the
+sweet voices of the "children of the Friar" seemed
+to rise louder and louder in intercession and in praise.
+Savonarola was at this time living more in seclusion,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_127" id="page_127">[127]</a></span>
+broken in health, and entirely engaged upon his great
+theological treatise, the <i>Triumphus Crucis</i>; but in
+Lent he resumed his pulpit crusade against the corruption
+of the Church, the scandalous lives of her chief
+pastors, in a series of sermons on Ezekiel; above all in
+one most tremendous discourse on the text: "And
+in all thy abominations and thy fornications thou hast
+not remembered the days of thy youth." In April,
+relying upon the election of a new Signoria favourable
+to the Mediceans (and headed by Bernardo del Nero
+as Gonfaloniere), Piero dei Medici&ndash;who had been
+leading a most degraded life in Rome, and committing
+every turpitude imaginable&ndash;made an attempt to surprise
+Florence, which merely resulted in a contemptible
+fiasco. This threw the government into the hands of
+the Arrabbiati, who hated Savonarola even more than
+the Palleschi did, and who were intriguing with the
+Pope and the Duke of Milan. On Ascension Day
+the Compagnacci raised a disgraceful riot in the Duomo,
+interrupted Savonarola's sermon, and even attempted to
+take his life. Then at last there came from Rome the
+long-expected bull of excommunication, commencing,
+"We have heard from many persons worthy of belief
+that a certain Fra Girolamo Savonarola, at this present
+said to be vicar of San Marco in Florence, hath
+disseminated pernicious doctrines to the scandal and
+great grief of simple souls." It was published on June
+18th in the Badia, the Annunziata, Santa Croce,
+Santa Maria Novella, and Santo Spirito, with the
+usual solemn ceremonies of ringing bells and dashing
+out of the lights&ndash;in the last-named church, especially,
+the monks "did the cursing in the most orgulist wise
+that might be done," as the compiler of the <i>Morte
+Darthur</i> would put it.</p>
+
+<p>The Arrabbiati and Compagnacci were exultant, but
+the Signoria that entered office in July seemed disposed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_128" id="page_128">[128]</a></span>
+to make Savonarola's cause their own. A fresh plot
+was discovered to betray Florence to Piero dei Medici,
+and five of the noblest citizens in the State&ndash;the aged
+Bernardo del Nero, who had merely known of the
+plot and not divulged it, but who had been privy to
+Piero's coming in April while Gonfaloniere, among
+them&ndash;were beheaded in the courtyard of the Bargello's
+palace, adjoining the Palazzo Vecchio. In this
+Savonarola took no share; he was absorbed in tending
+those who were dying on all sides from the plague and
+famine, and in making the final revision of his <i>Triumph
+of the Cross</i>, which was to show to the Pope and all
+the world how steadfastly he held to the faith of the
+Church of Rome.<a name="fnanchor_25" id="fnanchor_25"></a><a href="#footnote_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> The execution of these conspirators
+caused great indignation among many in the city. They
+had been refused the right of appeal to the Consiglio
+Maggiore, and it was held that Fra Girolamo might
+have saved them, had he so chosen, and that his ally,
+Francesco Valori, who had relentlessly hounded them
+to their deaths, had been actuated mainly by personal
+hatred of Bernardo del Nero.</p>
+
+<p>But Savonarola could not long keep silence, and in
+the following February, 1498, on Septuagesima Sunday,
+he again ascended the pulpit of the Duomo.
+Many of his adherents, Landucci tells us, kept away
+for fear of the excommunication: "I was one of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_129" id="page_129">[129]</a></span>
+those who did not go there." Not faith, but charity
+it is that justifies and perfects man&ndash;such was the
+burden of the Friar's sermons now: if the Pope gives
+commands which are contrary to charity, he is no
+instrument of the Lord, but a broken tool. The
+excommunication is invalid, the Lord will work a
+miracle through His servant when His time comes,
+and his only prayer is that he may die in defence of
+the truth. On the last day of the Carnival, after communicating
+his friars and a vast throng of the laity,
+Savonarola addressed the people in the Piazza of San
+Marco, and, holding on high the Host, prayed that
+Christ would send fire from heaven upon him that
+should swallow him up into hell, if he were deceiving
+himself, and if his words were not from God. There
+was a more gorgeous burning of the Vanities than ever;
+but all during Lent the unequal conflict went on, and
+the Friar began to talk of a future Council. This was
+the last straw. An interdict would ruin the commerce
+of Florence; and on the 17th of March the Signoria
+bowed before the storm, and forbade Savonarola to
+preach again. On the following morning, the third
+Sunday in Lent, he delivered his last sermon:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p>"If I am deceived, Christ, Thou hast deceived me,
+Thou. Holy Trinity, if I am deceived, Thou hast
+deceived me. Angels, if I am deceived, ye have
+deceived me. Saints of Paradise, if I am deceived,
+ye have deceived me. But all that God has said, or
+His angels or His saints have said, is most true, and it
+is impossible that they should lie; and, therefore, it is
+impossible that, when I repeat what they have told me,
+I should lie. O Rome, do all that thou wilt, for I
+assure thee of this, that the Lord is with me. O
+Rome, it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
+Thou shalt be purified yet.... Italy, Italy, the
+Lord is with me. Thou wilt not be able to do aught.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_130" id="page_130">[130]</a></span>
+Florence, Florence, that is, ye evil citizens of Florence,
+arm yourselves as ye will, ye shall be conquered this
+time, and ye shall not be able to kick against the pricks,
+for the Lord is with me, as a strong warrior." "Let
+us leave all to the Lord; He has been the Master of
+all the Prophets, and of all the holy men. He is the
+Master who wieldeth the hammer, and, when He hath
+used it for His purpose, putteth it not back into the
+chest, but casteth it aside. So did He unto Jeremiah,
+for when He had used him as much as He wished, He
+cast him aside and had him stoned. So will it be also
+with this hammer; when He shall have used it in His
+own way, He will cast it aside. Yea, we are content,
+let the Lord's will be done; and by the more suffering
+that shall be ours here below, so much the greater shall
+the crown be hereafter, there on high."</p>
+
+<p>"We will do with our prayers what we had to do
+with our preaching. O Lord, I commend to Thee
+the good and the pure of heart; and I pray Thee,
+look not at the negligence of the good, because human
+frailty is great, yea, their frailty is great. Bless, Lord,
+the good and pure of heart. Lord, I pray Thee that
+Thou delay no longer in fulfilling Thy promises."</p>
+
+<p>It was now, in the silence of his cell, that Savonarola
+prepared his last move. He would appeal to the princes
+of Christendom&ndash;the Emperor, Ferdinand and Isabella
+of Spain, Henry VII. of England, the King of Hungary,
+and above all, that "most Christian King"
+Charles VIII. of France&ndash;to summon a general
+council, depose the simoniacal usurper who was polluting
+the chair of Peter, and reform the Church. He
+was prepared to promise miracles from God to confirm
+his words. These letters were written, but never sent;
+a preliminary message was forwarded from trustworthy
+friends in Florence to influential persons in each court
+to prepare them for what was coming; and the despatch<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_131" id="page_131">[131]</a></span>
+to the Florentine ambassador in France was intercepted
+by the agents of the Duke of Milan. It was at once
+placed in the hands of Cardinal Ascanio Sforza in
+Rome, and the end was now a matter of days. The
+Signoria was hostile, and the famous ordeal by fire lit
+the conflagration that freed the martyr and patriot.
+On Sunday, March 25th, the Franciscan Francesco
+da Puglia, preaching in Santa Croce and denouncing
+Savonarola, challenged him to prove his doctrines by a
+miracle, to pass unscathed through the fire. He was
+himself prepared to enter the flames with him, or at
+least said that he was. Against Savonarola's will his
+lieutenant, Fra Domenico, who had taken his place in
+the pulpit, drew up a series of conclusions (epitomising
+Savonarola's teaching and declaring the nullity of the
+excommunication), and declared himself ready to enter
+the fire to prove their truth.</p>
+
+<p>Huge was the delight of the Compagnacci at the
+prospect of such sport, and the Signoria seized upon it
+as a chance of ending the matter once for all.
+Whether the Franciscans were sincere, or whether it
+was a mere plot to enable the Arrabbiati and Compagnacci
+to destroy Savonarola, is still a matter of
+dispute. The Piagnoni were confident in the coming
+triumph of their prophet; champions came forward
+from both sides, professedly eager to enter the flames&ndash;although
+it was muttered that the Compagnacci and
+their Doffo Spini had promised the Franciscans that
+no harm should befall them. Savonarola misliked it,
+but took every precaution that, if the ordeal really
+came off, there should be no possibility of fraud or
+evasion. Of the amazing scene in the Piazza on
+April 7th, I will speak in the following chapter;
+suffice it to say here that it ended in a complete fiasco,
+and that Savonarola and his friars would never have
+reached their convent alive, but for the protection of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_132" id="page_132">[132]</a></span>
+the armed soldiery of the Signoria. Hounded home
+under the showers of stones and filth from the infuriated
+crowd, whose howls of execration echoed
+through San Marco, Fra Girolamo had the <i>Te Deum</i>
+sung, but knew in his heart that all was lost. That
+very same day his Cyrus, the champion of his prophetic
+dreams, Charles VIII. of France, was struck down
+by an apoplectic stroke at Amboise; and, as though
+in judgment for his abandonment of what the prophet
+had told him was the work of the Lord, breathed his
+last in the utmost misery and ignominy.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning, Palm Sunday, April 8th,
+Savonarola preached a very short sermon in the
+church of San Marco, in which he offered himself in
+sacrifice to God and was prepared to suffer death for
+his flock. <i>Tanto fu sempre questo uomo simile a s&egrave;
+stesso</i>, says Jacopo Nardi. Hell had broken loose by
+the evening, and the Arrabbiati and Compagnacci,
+stabbing and hewing as they came, surged round the
+church and convent. In spite of Savonarola and Fra
+Domenico, the friars had weapons and ammunition in
+their cells, and there was a small band of devout laymen
+with them, prepared to hold by the prophet to
+the end. From vespers till past midnight the attack
+and defence went on; in the Piazza, in the church,
+and through the cloisters raged the fight, while riot
+and murder wantoned through the streets of the city.
+Francesco Valori, who had escaped from the convent
+in the hope of bringing reinforcements, was brutally
+murdered before his own door. The great bell of the
+convent tolled and tolled, animating both besieged
+and besiegers to fresh efforts, but bringing no relief
+from without. Savonarola, who had been prevented
+from following the impulses of his heart and delivering
+himself up to the infernal crew that thirsted for his
+blood in the Piazza, at last gathered his friars round<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_133" id="page_133">[133]</a></span>
+him before the Blessed Sacrament, in the great hall of
+the Greek library, solemnly confirmed his doctrine,
+exhorted them to embrace the Cross alone, and then,
+together with Fra Domenico, gave himself into the
+hands of the forces of the Signoria. The entire
+cloisters were already swarming with his exultant foes.
+"The work of the Lord shall go forward without
+cease," he said, as the mace-bearers bound him and
+Domenico, "my death will but hasten it on."
+Buffeted and insulted by the Compagnacci and the
+populace, amidst the deafening uproar, the two
+Dominicans were brought to the Palazzo Vecchio.
+It seemed to the excited imaginations of the Piagnoni
+that the scenes of the first Passiontide at Jerusalem
+were now being repeated in the streets of fifteenth
+century Florence.</p>
+
+<p>The Signoria had no intention of handing over their
+captives to Rome, but appointed a commission of
+seventeen&ndash;including Doffo Spini and several of
+Savonarola's bitterest foes&ndash;to conduct the examination
+of the three friars. The third, Fra Silvestro, a
+weak and foolish visionary, had hid himself on the
+fatal night, but had been given up on the following
+day. Again and again were they most cruelly tortured&ndash;but
+in all essentials, though ever and anon they wrung
+some sort of agonised denial from his lips, Savonarola's
+testimony as to his divine mission was unshaken. Fra
+Domenico, the lion-hearted soul whom the children of
+Florence had loved, and to whom poets like Poliziano
+had turned on their death-beds, was as heroic on the
+rack or under the torment of the boot as he had been
+throughout his career. Out of Fra Silvestro the
+examiners could naturally extort almost anything they
+pleased. And a number of laymen and others, supposed
+to have been in their counsels, were similarly
+"examined," and their shrieks rang through the Bargello;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_134" id="page_134">[134]</a></span>
+but with little profit to the Friar's foes. So they
+falsified the confessions, and read the falsification aloud
+in the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, to the bewilderment
+of all Savonarola's quondam disciples who were there.
+"We had believed him to be a prophet," writes Landucci
+in his diary, "and he confessed that he was not
+a prophet, and that he had not received from God the
+things that he preached; and he confessed that many
+things in his sermons were the contrary to what he had
+given us to understand. And I was there when this
+process was read, whereat I was astounded, stupified,
+and amazed. Grief pierced my soul, when I saw so
+great an edifice fall to the ground, through being sadly
+based upon a single lie. I expected Florence to be a
+new Jerusalem, whence should proceed the laws and
+splendour and example of goodly living, and to see the
+renovation of the Church, the conversion of the infidels
+and the consolation of the good. And I heard the very
+contrary, and indeed took the medicine: <i>In voluntate
+tua, Domine, omnia sunt posita.</i>"</p>
+
+<p>A packed election produced a new Signoria, crueller
+than the last. They still refused to send the friars
+to Rome, but invited the Pope's commissioners to
+Florence. These arrived on May 19th&ndash;the
+Dominican General, Torriani, a well-intentioned man,
+and the future Cardinal Romolino, a typical creature
+of the Borgias and a most infamous fellow. It was
+said that they meant to put Savonarola to death, even
+if he were a second St John the Baptist. The torture
+was renewed without result; the three friars were sentenced
+to be hanged and then burnt. Fra Domenico
+implored that he might be cast alive into the fire, in
+order that he might suffer more grievous torments for
+Christ, and desired only that the friars of Fiesole, of
+which convent he was prior, might bury him in some
+lowly spot, and be loyal to the teachings of Fra<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_135" id="page_135">[135]</a></span>
+Girolamo. On the morning of May 23rd, Savonarola
+said his last Mass in the Chapel of the Priors, and
+communicated his companions. Then they were led
+out on to the Ringhiera overlooking the Piazza, from
+which a temporary <i>palchetto</i> ran out towards the centre
+of the square to serve as scaffold. Here, the evening
+before, the gallows had been erected, beam across beam;
+but a cry had arisen among the crowd, <i>They are going
+to crucify him.</i> So it had been hacked about, in order
+that it might not seem even remotely to resemble a
+cross. But in spite of all their efforts, Jacopo Nardi
+tells us, that gallows still seemed to represent the figure
+of the Cross.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_16" id="illo_16"></a>
+<img src="images/illus148_tmb.jpg" width="400" height="338" alt="THE DEATH OF SAVONAROLA" title="" />
+<p class="caption">THE DEATH OF SAVONAROLA<br />
+(From an old, but quite contemporary, representation)</p>
+<a href="images/illus148_fs40.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>The guards of the Signoria kept back the crowds
+that pressed thicker and thicker round the scaffold,
+most of them bitterly hostile to the Friars and heaping
+every insult upon them. When Savonarola was stripped
+of the habit of Saint Dominic, he said, "Holy dress,
+how much did I long 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 degraded by the
+Bishop of Vasona, who had loved Fra Girolamo in
+better days; then in the same breath sentenced and
+absolved by Romolino, and finally condemned by the
+Eight&ndash;or the seven of them who were present&ndash;as
+representing the secular arm. The Bishop, in degrading
+Savonarola, stammered out: <i>Separo te ab Ecclesia
+militante atque triumphante</i>; to which the Friar calmly
+answered, in words which have become famous: <i>Militante,
+non triumphante; hoc enim tuum non est.</i> Silvestro
+suffered first, then Domenico. There was a
+pause before Savonarola followed; and in the sudden
+silence, as he looked his last upon the people, a voice
+cried: "Now, prophet, is the time for a miracle."
+And then another voice: "Now can I burn the man<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_136" id="page_136">[136]</a></span>
+who would have burnt me"; and a ruffian, who had
+been waiting since dawn at the foot of the scaffold,
+fired the pile before the executioner could descend
+from his ladder. The bodies were burnt to ashes
+amidst the ferocious yells of the populace, and thrown
+into the Arno from the Ponte Vecchio. "Many fell
+from their faith," writes Landucci. A faithful few,
+including some noble Florentine ladies, gathered up
+relics, in spite of the crowd and the Signory, and
+collected what floated on the water. It was the vigil
+of Ascension Day.</p>
+
+<hr class="c15" />
+
+<p>Savonarola's martyrdom ends the story of medi&aelig;val
+Florence. The last man of the Middle Ages&ndash;born
+out of his due time&ndash;had perished. A portion of the
+prophecy was fulfilled at once. The people of Italy
+and their rulers alike were trampled into the dust
+beneath the feet of the foreigners&ndash;the Frenchmen,
+the Switzers, the Spaniards, the Germans. The new
+King of France, Louis XII., who claimed both the
+Duchy of Milan and the kingdom of the Two Sicilies,
+entered Milan in 1499; and, after a brief restoration,
+Ludovico Sforza expiated his treasons by being sold by
+the Swiss to a lingering life-in-death in a French dungeon.
+The Spaniards followed; and in 1501 the
+troops of Ferdinand the Catholic occupied Naples.
+Like the dragon and the lion in Leonardo's drawing,
+Spain and France now fell upon each other for the
+possession of the spoils of conquered Italy; the Emperor
+Maximilian and Pope Julius II. joined in the fray;
+fresh hordes of Swiss poured into Lombardy. The
+battle of Pavia in 1525 gave the final victory to Spain;
+and, in 1527, the judgment foretold by Savonarola fell
+upon Rome, when the Eternal City was devastated by
+the Spaniards and Germans, nominally the armies of
+the Emperor Charles V. The treaty of C&acirc;teau-Cambresis<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_137" id="page_137">[137]</a></span>
+in 1559 finally forged the Austrian and
+Spanish fetters with which Italy was henceforth bound.</p>
+
+<p>The death of Savonarola did not materially alter the
+affairs of the Republic. The Greater Council kept its
+hold upon the people and city, and in 1502 Piero di
+Tommaso Soderini was elected Gonfaloniere for life.
+The new head of the State was a sincere Republican and
+a genuine whole-hearted patriot; a man of blameless
+life and noble character, but simple-minded almost to
+a fault, and of abilities hardly more than mediocre.
+Niccol&ograve; Machiavelli, who was born in 1469 and had
+entered political life in 1498, shortly after Savonarola's
+death, as Secretary to the Ten (the Dieci di Bal&igrave;a),
+was much employed by the Gonfaloniere both in war
+and peace, especially on foreign legations; and, although
+he sneered at Soderini after his death for his simplicity,
+he co-operated faithfully and ably with him during his
+administration. It was under Soderini that Machiavelli
+organised the Florentine militia. Pisa was finally reconquered
+for Florence in 1509; and, although Machiavelli
+cruelly told the Pisan envoys that the Florentines
+required only their obedience, and cared nothing for
+their lives, their property, nor their honour, the conquerors
+showed unusual magnanimity and generosity in
+their triumph.</p>
+
+<p>These last years of the Republic are very glorious in
+the history of Florentine art. In 1498, just before the
+French entered Milan, Leonardo da Vinci had finished
+his Last Supper for Ludovico Sforza; in the same
+year, Michelangelo commenced his Piet&agrave; in Rome which
+is now in St Peter's; in 1499, Baccio della Porta
+began a fresco of the Last Judgment in Santa Maria
+Nuova, a fresco which, when he entered the Dominican
+order at San Marco and became henceforth known as
+Fra Bartolommeo, was finished by his friend, Mariotto
+Albertinelli. These three works, though in very different<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_138" id="page_138">[138]</a></span>
+degrees, represent the opening of the Cinquecento
+in painting and sculpture. While Soderini ruled, both
+Leonardo and Michelangelo were working in Florence,
+for the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, and Michelangelo's
+gigantic David&ndash;the Republic preparing to
+meet its foes&ndash;was finished in 1504. This was the
+epoch in which Leonardo was studying those strange
+women of the Renaissance, whose mysterious smiles
+and wonderful hair still live for us in his drawings;
+and it was now that he painted here in Florence his
+Monna Lisa, "the embodiment of the old fancy, the
+symbol of the modern idea." At the close of 1504
+the young Raphael came to Florence (as Perugino
+had done before him), and his art henceforth shows
+how profoundly he felt the Florentine influence. We
+know how he sketched the newly finished David,
+studied Masaccio's frescoes, copied bits of Leonardo's
+cartoon, was impressed by Bartolommeo's Last Judgment.
+Although it was especially Leonardo that he
+took for a model, Raphael found his most congenial
+friend and adviser in the artist friar of San Marco;
+and there is a pleasant tradition that he was himself
+influential in persuading Fra Bartolommeo to resume
+the brush. Leonardo soon went off to serve King
+Francis I. in France; Pope Julius summoned both
+Michelangelo and Raphael to Rome. These men
+were the masters of the world in painting and sculpture,
+and cannot really be confined to one school. Purely
+Florentine painting in the Cinquecento now culminated
+in the work of Fra Bartolommeo (1475-1517) and
+Andrea del Sarto (1486-1531), who had both been
+the pupils of Piero di Cosimo, although they felt other
+and greater influences later. After Angelico, Fra
+Bartolommeo is the most purely religious of all the
+Florentine masters; and, with the solitary exception
+of Andrea del Sarto, he is their only really great<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_139" id="page_139">[139]</a></span>
+colourist. Two pictures of his at Lucca&ndash;one in the
+Cathedral, the other now in the Palazzo Pubblico&ndash;are
+among the greatest works of the Renaissance. In
+the latter especially, "Our Lady of Mercy," he
+shows himself the heir in painting of the traditions of
+Savonarola. Many of Bartolommeo's altar-pieces have
+grown very black, and have lost much of their effect
+by being removed from the churches for which they
+were painted; but enough is left in Florence to show
+his greatness. With him was associated that gay
+Bohemian and wild liver, Mariotto Albertinelli (1474-1515),
+who deserted painting to become an innkeeper,
+and who frequently worked in partnership with the
+friar. Andrea del Sarto, the tailor's son who loved
+not wisely but too well, is the last of a noble line
+of heroic craftsmen. Although his work lacks all
+inspiration, he is one of the greatest of colourists.
+"Andrea del Sarto," writes Mr Berenson, "approached,
+perhaps, as closely to a Giorgione or a Titian as could
+a Florentine, ill at ease in the neighbourhood of
+Leonardo and Michelangelo." He entirely belongs
+to these closing days of the Republic; his earliest
+frescoes were painted during Soderini's gonfalonierate;
+his latest just before the great siege.</p>
+
+<p>In the Carnival of 1511 a wonderfully grim pageant
+was shown to the Florentines, and it was ominous of
+coming events. It was known as the <i>Carro della
+Morte</i>, and had been designed with much secrecy by
+Piero di Cosimo. Drawn by buffaloes, a gigantic
+black chariot, all painted over with dead men's bones
+and white crosses, slowly passed through the streets.
+Upon the top of it, there stood a large figure of Death
+with a scythe in her hand; all round her, on the
+chariot, were closed coffins. When at intervals the
+Triumph paused, harsh and hoarse trumpet-blasts
+sounded; the coffins opened, and horrible figures,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_140" id="page_140">[140]</a></span>
+attired like skeletons, half issued forth. "We are
+dead," they sang, "as you see. So shall we see you
+dead. Once we were even as you are, soon shall you
+be as we." Before and after the chariot, rode a great
+band of what seemed to be mounted deaths, on the
+sorriest steeds that could be found. Each bore a great
+black banner with skull and cross-bones upon it, and
+each ghastly cavalier was attended by four skeletons
+with black torches. Ten black standards followed the
+Triumph; and, as it slowly moved on, the whole
+procession chanted the <i>Miserere</i>. Vasari tells us that
+this spectacle, which filled the city with terror and
+wonder, was supposed to signify the return of the
+Medici to Florence, which was to be "as it were, a
+resurrection from death to life."</p>
+
+<p>And, sure enough, in the following year the
+Spaniards under Raimondo da Cardona fell upon
+Tuscany, and, after the horrible sack and massacre
+of Prato, reinstated the Cardinal Giovanni dei Medici
+and Giuliano in Florence&ndash;their elder brother, Piero,
+had been drowned in the Garigliano eight years before.
+Piero Soderini went into exile, the Greater Council
+was abolished, and, while the city was held by their
+foreign troops, the Medici renewed the old pretence of
+summoning a parliament to grant a bal&igrave;a to reform the
+State. At the beginning of 1513 two young disciples
+of Savonarola, Pietro Paolo Boscoli and Agostino
+Capponi, resolved to imitate Brutus and Cassius, and to
+liberate Florence by the death of the Cardinal and his
+brother. Their plot was discovered, and they died on
+the scaffold. "Get this Brutus out of my head for
+me," said Boscoli to Luca della Robbia, kinsman of
+the great sculptor, "that I may meet my last end
+like a Christian"; and, to the Dominican friar who
+confessed him, he said, "Father, the philosophers
+have taught me how to bear death manfully; do you<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_141" id="page_141">[141]</a></span>
+help me to bear it out of love for Christ." In this
+same year the Cardinal Giovanni was elected Pope,
+and entered upon his splendid and scandalous pontificate
+as Leo X. "Let us enjoy the Papacy," was his
+maxim, "since God has given it to us."</p>
+
+<p>Although Machiavelli was ready to serve the Medici,
+he had been deprived of his posts at the restoration,
+imprisoned and tortured on suspicion of being concerned
+in Boscoli's conspiracy, and now, released in
+the amnesty granted by the newly elected Pope, was
+living in poverty and enforced retirement at his villa
+near San Casciano. It was now that he wrote his
+great books, the <i>Principe</i> and the <i>Discorsi sopra la prima
+deca di Tito Livio</i>. Florence was ruled by the Pope's
+nephew, the younger Lorenzo, son of Piero by
+Alfonsina Orsini. The government was practically
+what it had been under the Magnificent, save that this
+new Lorenzo, who had married a French princess,
+discarded the republican appearances which his grandfather
+had maintained, and surrounded himself with
+courtiers and soldiers. For him and for Giuliano, the
+Pope cherished designs of carving out large princedoms
+in Italy; and Machiavelli, in dedicating his <i>Principe</i>
+first to Giuliano, who died in 1516, and then to
+Lorenzo, probably dreamed that some such prince as
+he described might drive out the foreigner and unify
+the nation. In his nobler moments Leo X., too,
+seems to have aspired to establish the independence of
+Italy. When Lorenzo died in 1519, leaving one
+daughter, who was afterwards to be the notorious
+Queen of France, there was no direct legitimate male
+descendant of Cosimo the elder left; and the Cardinal
+Giulio, son of the elder Giuliano, governed Florence
+with considerable mildness, and even seemed disposed
+to favour a genuine republican government, until a plot
+against his life hardened his heart. It was to him that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_142" id="page_142">[142]</a></span>
+Machiavelli, who was now to some extent received
+back into favour, afterwards dedicated his <i>Istorie
+Fiorentine</i>. In 1523 the Cardinal Giulio, in spite of
+his illegitimate birth, became Pope Clement VII.,
+that most hapless of Pontiffs, whose reign was so
+surpassingly disastrous to Italy. In Florence the
+Medici were now represented by two young bastards,
+Ippolito and Alessandro, the reputed children of the
+younger Giuliano and the younger Lorenzo respectively;
+while the Cardinal Passerini misruled the State
+in the name of the Pope. But more of the true
+Medicean spirit had passed into the person of a
+woman, Clarice, the daughter of Piero (and therefore
+the sister of the Duke Lorenzo), who was married to
+the younger Filippo Strozzi, and could ill bear to see
+her house end in these two base-born lads. And
+elsewhere in Italy Giovanni delle Bande Nere (as he
+was afterwards called, from the mourning of his
+soldiers for his death) was winning renown as a
+captain; he was the son of that Giovanni dei Medici
+with whom Piero had quarrelled, by Caterina Sforza,
+the Lady of Forl&igrave;, and had married Maria Salviati,
+a grand-daughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent. But
+the Pope would rather have lost Florence than that it
+should fall into the hands of the younger line.</p>
+
+<p>But the Florentine Republic was to have a more
+glorious sunset. In 1527, while the imperial troops
+sacked Rome, the Florentines for the third time
+expelled the Medici and re-established the Republic,
+with first Niccol&ograve; Capponi and then Francesco Carducci
+as Gonfaloniere. In this sunset Machiavelli
+died; Andrea del Sarto painted the last great
+Florentine fresco; Michelangelo returned to serve
+the State in her hour of need. The voices of the
+Piagnoni were heard again from San Marco, and
+Niccol&ograve; Capponi in the Greater Council carried a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_143" id="page_143">[143]</a></span>
+resolution electing Jesus Christ king of Florence.
+But the plague fell upon the city; and her liberty
+was the price of the reconciliation of Pope and
+Emperor. From October 1529 until August 1530,
+their united forces&ndash;first under the Prince of Orange
+and then under Ferrante Gonzaga&ndash;beleaguered Florence.
+Francesco Ferrucci, the last hope of the
+Republic, was defeated and slain by the imperialists
+near San Marcello; and then, betrayed by her own
+infamous general Malatesta Baglioni, the city capitulated
+on the understanding that, although the form of
+the government was to be regulated and established by
+the Emperor, her liberty was preserved. The sun
+had indeed set of the most noble Republic in all
+history.</p>
+
+<p>Alessandro dei Medici, the reputed son of Lorenzo
+by a mulatto woman, was now made hereditary ruler of
+Florence by the Emperor, whose illegitimate daughter
+he married, and by the Pope. For a time, the Duke
+behaved with some decency; but after the death of
+Clement in 1534, he showed himself in his true light
+as a most abominable tyrant, and would even have
+murdered Michelangelo, who had been working upon
+the tombs of Giuliano and Lorenzo. "It was certainly
+by God's aid," writes Condivi, "that he happened to
+be away from Florence when Clement died." Alessandro
+appears to have poisoned his kinsman, the
+Cardinal Ippolito, the other illegitimate remnant of
+the elder Medicean line, in whom he dreaded a possible
+rival. Associated with him in his worst excesses was
+a legitimate scion of the younger branch of the house,
+Lorenzino&ndash;the <i>Lorenzaccio</i> of Alfred de Musset's
+drama&ndash;who was the grandson of the Lorenzo di
+Pier Francesco mentioned in the previous chapter.<a name="fnanchor_26" id="fnanchor_26"></a><a href="#footnote_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a>
+On January 5th, 1537, this young man&ndash;a reckless<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_144" id="page_144">[144]</a></span>
+libertine, half scholar and half madman&ndash;stabbed the
+Duke Alessandro to death with the aid of a bravo,
+and fled, only to find a dishonourable grave some ten
+years later in Venice.</p>
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_17" id="illo_17"></a>
+<img src="images/illus158_tmb.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="THE DAWN" title="" />
+<p class="caption">THE DAWN<br />
+<span class="smcap">By Michelangelo</span></p><a href="images/illus158_fs45.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>Florence now fell into the hands of the ablest and
+most ruthless of all her rulers, Cosimo I. (the son of
+Giovanni delle Bande Nere), who united Medicean
+craft with the brutality of the Sforzas, conquered
+Siena, and became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany.
+At the opening of his reign the Florentine exiles,
+headed by the Strozzi and by Baccio Valori, attempted
+to recover the State, but were defeated by Cosimo's
+mercenaries. Their leaders were relentlessly put to
+death; and Filippo Strozzi, after prolonged torture,
+was either murdered in prison or committed suicide.
+A word will be said presently, in chapter ix., on
+Cosimo's descendants, the Medicean Grand Dukes
+who reigned in Tuscany for two hundred years.</p>
+
+<p>The older generation of artists had passed away with
+the Republic. After the siege Michelangelo alone
+remained, compelled to labour upon the Medicean
+tombs in San Lorenzo, which have become a monument,
+less to the tyrants for whom he reared them,
+than to the <i>saeva indignatio</i> of the great master himself
+at the downfall of his country. A madrigal of
+his, written either in the days of Alessandro or at
+the beginning of Cosimo's reign, expresses what was
+in his heart. Symonds renders it:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem"><span class="o1">"Lady, for joy of lovers numberless</span><br />
+Thou wast created fair as angels are;<br />
+Sure God hath fallen asleep in heaven afar,<br />
+When one man calls the bliss of many his."</p>
+
+<p>But the last days and last works of Michelangelo
+belong to the story of Rome rather than to that of
+Florence. Jacopo Carucci da Pontormo (1494-1557),
+who had been Andrea del Sarto's scholar, and whose<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_145" id="page_145">[145]</a></span>
+earlier works had been painted before the downfall
+of the Republic, connects the earlier with the later
+Cinquecento; but of his work, as of that of his pupil
+Angelo Bronzino (1502-1572), the portraits alone
+have any significance for us now. Giorgio Vasari
+(1512-1574), although painter and architect&ndash;the
+Uffizi and part of the Palazzo Vecchio are his work&ndash;is
+chiefly famous for his delightful series of biographies
+of the artists themselves. Benvenuto Cellini
+(1500-1571), that most piquant of personalities, and
+the Fleming Giambologna or Giovanni da Bologna
+(1524-1608), the master of the flying Mercury, are
+the last noteworthy sculptors of the Florentine school.
+When Michelangelo&ndash;<i>Michel, pi&ugrave; che mortale, Angel
+divino</i>, as Ariosto calls him&ndash;passed away on February
+18th, 1564, the Renaissance was over as far as Art
+was concerned. And not in Art only. The dome
+of St Peter's, that was slowly rising before Michelangelo's
+dying eyes, was a visible sign of the new spirit
+that was moving within the Church itself, the spirit
+that reformed the Church and purified the Papacy, and
+which brought about the renovation of which Savonarola
+had prophesied.</p>
+
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_146" id="page_146">[146]</a></p>
+<h2 class="p6"><a name="chapter_v" id="chapter_v"></a>CHAPTER V</h2>
+
+<h3><i>The Palazzo Vecchio&ndash;The Piazza della Signoria&ndash;The Uffizi</i></h3>
+
+<p class="poem"><span class="o1">"Ecco il Palagio de' Signori si bello</span><br />
+che chi cercasse tutto l'universo,<br />
+non credo ch'&eacute; trovasse par di quello."<br />
+<span class="i10">&ndash;<i>Antonio Pucci.</i></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_18" id="illo_18"></a>
+<img src="images/illus161_tmb.jpg" width="257" height="400" alt="THE PALAZZO VECCHIO" title="" />
+<p class="caption">THE PALAZZO VECCHIO</p>
+<a href="images/illus161_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">A</span>T the eastern corner of the Piazza della Signoria&ndash;that
+great square over which almost all the
+history of Florence may be said to have passed&ndash;rises
+the Palazzo Vecchio, with its great projecting parapets
+and its soaring tower: the old Palace of the Signoria,
+originally the Palace of the Priors, and therefore of
+the People. It is often stated that the square battlements
+of the Palace itself represent the Guelfs, while
+the forked battlements of the tower are in some mysterious
+way connected with the Ghibellines, who can
+hardly be said to have still existed as a real party in
+the city when they were built; there is, it appears,
+absolutely no historical foundation for this legend. The
+Palace was commenced by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1298,
+when, in consequence of the hostility between the
+magnates and the people, it was thought that the
+Priors were not sufficiently secure in the Palace of
+the Cerchi; and it may be taken to represent the whole
+course of Florentine history, from this government of
+the Secondo Popolo, through Savonarola's Republic
+and the Medicean despotism, down to the unification of
+Italy. Its design and essentials, however, are Arnolfo's<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_149" id="page_149">[149]</a></span>
+and the people's, though many later architects, besides
+Vasari, have had their share in the completion of the
+present building. Arnolfo founded the great tower of
+the Priors upon an older tower of a family of magnates,
+the Foraboschi, and it was also known as the Torre
+della Vacca. When, in those fierce democratic days,
+its great bell rang to summon a Parliament in the
+Piazza, or to call the companies of the city to arms,
+it was popularly said that "the cow" was lowing. The
+upper part of the tower belongs to the fifteenth century.
+Stupendous though the Palazzo is, it would have been
+of vaster proportions but for the prohibition given to
+Arnolfo to raise the house of the Republic where the
+dwellings of the Uberti had once stood&ndash;<i>ribelli di
+Firenze e Ghibellini</i>. Not even the heroism of Farinata
+could make this stern people less "fierce against my
+kindred in all its laws," as that great Ghibelline puts it
+to Dante in the <i>Inferno</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The present steps and platform in front of the Palace
+are only the remnants of the famous Ringhiera constructed
+here in the fourteenth century, and removed in
+1812. On it the Signoria used to meet to address the
+crowd in the Piazza, or to enter upon their term of
+office. Here, at one time, the Gonfaloniere received
+the Standard of the People, and here, at a somewhat
+later date, the batons of command were given to the
+condottieri who led the mercenaries in the pay of the
+Republic. Here the famous meeting took place at
+which the Duke of Athens was acclaimed <i>Signore a
+vita</i> by the mob; and here, a few months later, his
+Burgundian followers thrust out the most unpopular of
+his agents to be torn to pieces by the besiegers. Here
+the Papal Commissioners and the Eight sat on the day
+of Savonarola's martyrdom, as told in the last chapter.</p>
+
+<p>The inscription over the door, with the monogram
+of Christ, was placed here by the Gonfaloniere Niccol&ograve;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_150" id="page_150">[150]</a></span>
+Capponi in February 1528, in the last temporary restoration
+of the Republic; it originally announced that
+Jesus Christ had been chosen King of the Florentine
+People, but was modified by Cosimo I. The huge
+marble group of Hercules and Cacus on the right, by
+Baccio Bandinelli, is an atrocity; in Benvenuto Cellini's
+autobiography there is a rare story of how he and
+Baccio wrangled about it in the Duke's presence, on
+which occasion Bandinelli was stung into making a
+foul&ndash;but probably true&ndash;accusation against Cellini,
+which might have had serious consequences. The
+Marzocco on the left, the emblematical lion of Florence,
+is a copy from Donatello.</p>
+
+<p>The court is the work of Michelozzo, commenced
+in 1434, on the return of the elder Cosimo from exile.
+The stucco ornamentations and grotesques were executed
+in 1565, on the occasion of the marriage of Francesco
+dei Medici, son of Cosimo I., with Giovanna of Austria;
+the faded frescoes are partly intended to symbolise the
+ducal exploits, partly views of Austrian cities in compliment
+to the bride. The bronze boy with a dolphin,
+on the fountain in the centre of the court, was made by
+Andrea Verrocchio for Lorenzo the Magnificent; it is
+an exquisite little work, full of life and motion&ndash;"the
+little boy who for ever half runs and half flits across
+the courtyard of the Palace, while the dolphin ceaselessly
+struggles in the arms, whose pressure sends the
+water spurting from the nostrils."<a name="fnanchor_27" id="fnanchor_27"></a><a href="#footnote_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a></p>
+
+<p>On the first floor is the <i>Sala del Consiglio Grande</i>,
+frequently called the <i>Salone dei Cinquecento</i>. It was
+mainly constructed in 1495 by Simone del Pollaiuolo,
+called Cronaca from his capacity of telling endless
+stories about Fra Girolamo. Here the Greater
+Council met, which the Friar declared was the work
+of God and not of man. And here it was that, in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_151" id="page_151">[151]</a></span>
+famous sermon preached before the Signoria and chief
+citizens on August 20th, 1496, he cried: "I want no
+hats, no mitres great or small; nought would I have
+save what Thou hast given to Thy saints&ndash;death;
+a red hat, a hat of blood&ndash;this do I desire." It was
+supposed that the Pope had offered to make him a
+cardinal. In this same hall on the evening of May
+22nd, 1498, the evening before their death, Savonarola
+was allowed an hour's interview with his two companions;
+it was the first time that they had met since
+their arrest, and in the meanwhile Savonarola had been
+told that the others had recanted, and Domenico and
+Silvestro had been shown what purported to be their
+master's confession, seeming, in part at least, to abjure
+the cause for which Fra Domenico was yearning to
+shed his blood. A few years later, in 1503, the
+Gonfaloniere Piero Soderini intrusted the decoration
+of these walls to Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo;
+and it was then that this hall, so consecrated to liberty,
+became <i>la scuola del mondo</i>, the school of all the world
+in art; and Raphael himself was among the most
+ardent of its scholars. Leonardo drew his famous
+scene of the Battle of the Standard, and appears to
+have actually commenced painting on the wall. Michelangelo
+sketched the cartoon of a group of soldiers
+bathing in the Arno, suddenly surprised by the sound
+of the trumpet calling them to arms; but he did not
+proceed any further. These cartoons played the same
+part in the art of the Cinquecento as Masaccio's Carmine
+frescoes in that of the preceding century; it is the
+universal testimony of contemporaries that they were
+the supremely perfect works of the Renaissance.
+Vasari gives a full description of each&ndash;but no traces
+of the original works now remain. One episode from
+Leonardo's cartoon is preserved in an engraving by
+Edelinck after a copy, which is hardly likely to have<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_152" id="page_152">[152]</a></span>
+been a faithful one, by Rubens; and there is an earlier
+engraving as well. A few figures are to be seen in
+a drawing at Venice, doubtfully ascribed to Raphael.
+Drawings and engravings of Michelangelo's soldiers
+have made a portion of his composition familiar&ndash;enough
+at least to make the world realise something
+of the extent of its loss.</p>
+
+<p>On the restoration of the Medici in 1512, the hall
+was used as a barracks for their foreign soldiers; and
+Vasari accuses Baccio Bandinelli of having seized the
+opportunity to destroy Michelangelo's cartoon&ndash;which
+hardly seems probable. The frescoes which now cover
+the walls are by Vasari and his school, the statues of
+the Medici partly by Bandinelli, whilst that of Fra
+Girolamo is modern. It was in this hall that the
+first Parliament of United Italy met, during the
+short period when Florence was the capital. The
+adjoining rooms, called after various illustrious members
+of the Medicean family, are adorned with pompous
+uninspiring frescoes of their exploits by Vasari; in
+the Salotto di Papa Clemente there is a representation
+of the siege of Florence by the papal and imperial
+armies, which gives a fine idea of the magnitude of the
+third walls of the city, Arnolfo's walls, though even
+then the towers had been in part shortened.</p>
+
+<p>On the second floor, the hall prettily known as the
+Sala dei Gigli contains some frescoes by Domenico
+Ghirlandaio, executed about 1482. They represent
+St Zenobius in his majesty, enthroned between
+Eugenius and Crescentius, with Roman heroes as it
+were in attendance upon this great patron of the
+Florentines. In a lunette, painted in imitation of
+bas-relief, there is a peculiarly beautiful Madonna and
+Child with Angels, also by Domenico Ghirlandaio.
+This room is sometimes called the Sala del Orologio,
+from a wonderful old clock that once stood here. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_153" id="page_153">[153]</a></span>
+following room, into which a door with marble framework
+by Benedetto da Maiano leads, is the audience
+chamber of the Signoria; it was originally to have
+been decorated by Ghirlandaio, Botticelli, Perugino,
+and Filippino Lippi&ndash;but the present frescoes are by
+Salviati in the middle of the sixteenth century. Here,
+on the fateful day of the <i>Cimento</i> or Ordeal, the two
+Franciscans, Francesco da Puglia and Giuliano
+Rondinelli, consulted with the Priors and then passed
+into the Chapel to await the event. Beyond is the
+Priors' Chapel, dedicated to St Bernard and decorated
+with frescoes in imitation of mosaic by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio
+(Domenico's son). Here on the morning of
+his martyrdom Savonarola said Mass, and, before
+actually communicating, took the Host in his hands
+and uttered his famous prayer:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p>"Lord, I know that Thou art that very God, the
+Creator of the world and of human nature. I know
+that Thou art that perfect, indivisible and inseparable
+Trinity, distinct in three Persons, Father, Son, and
+Holy Ghost. I know that Thou art that Eternal
+Word, who didst descend from Heaven to earth in
+the womb of the Virgin Mary. Thou didst ascend
+the wood of the Cross to shed Thy precious Blood
+for us, miserable sinners. I pray Thee, my Lord;
+I pray Thee, my Salvation; I pray Thee, my Consoler;
+that such precious Blood be not shed for me
+in vain, but may be for the remission of all my sins.
+For these I crave Thy pardon, from the day that I
+received the water of Holy Baptism even to this
+moment; and I confess to Thee, Lord, my guilt.
+And so I crave pardon of Thee for what offence I
+have done to this city and all this people, in things
+spiritual and temporal, as well as for all those things
+wherein of myself I am not conscious of having erred.
+And humbly do I crave pardon of all those persons<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_154" id="page_154">[154]</a></span>
+who are here standing round. May they pray to God
+for me, and may He make me strong up to the last
+end, so that the enemy may have no power over me.
+Amen."</p>
+
+<p>Beyond the Priors' chapel are the apartments of
+Duke Cosimo's Spanish wife, Eleonora of Toledo,
+with a little chapel decorated by Bronzino. It was in
+these rooms that the Duchess stormed at poor Benvenuto
+Cellini, when he passed through to speak with
+the Duke&ndash;as he tells us in his autobiography.
+Benvenuto had an awkward knack of suddenly appearing
+here whenever the Duke and Duchess were
+particularly busy; but their children were hugely delighted
+at seeing him, and little Don Garzia especially
+used to pull him by the cloak and "have the most
+pleasant sport with me that such a <i>bambino</i> could
+have."</p>
+
+<p>A room in the tower, discovered in 1814, is
+supposed to be the Alberghettino, in which the elder
+Cosimo was imprisoned in 1433, and in which
+Savonarola passed his last days&ndash;save when he was
+brought down to the Bargello to be tortured. Here
+the Friar wrote his meditations upon the <i>In te, Domine,
+speravi</i> and the <i>Miserere</i>&ndash;meditations which became
+famous throughout Christendom. The prayer, quoted
+above, is usually printed as a pendant to the <i>Miserere</i>.</p>
+
+<p>On the left of the palace, the great fountain with
+Neptune and his riotous gods and goddesses of the
+sea, by Bartolommeo Ammanati and his contemporaries,
+is a characteristic production of the later Cinquecento.
+No less characteristic, though in another way, is the
+equestrian statue in bronze of Cosimo I., as first Grand
+Duke of Tuscany, by Giovanni da Bologna; the
+tyrant sits on his steed, gloomily guarding the Palace
+and Piazza where he has finally extinguished the last
+sparks of republican liberty. It was finished in 1594,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_155" id="page_155">[155]</a></span>
+in the days of his son Ferdinand I., the third Grand
+Duke.</p>
+
+<p>At the beginning of the Via Gondi, adjoining the
+custom-house and now incorporated in the Palazzo
+Vecchio, was the palace of the Captain, the residence
+of the Bargello and Executor of Justice. It was here
+that the Pazzi conspirators were hung out of the
+windows in 1478; here that Bernardo del Nero and
+his associates were beheaded in 1497; and here, in
+the following year, the examination of Savonarola and
+his adherents was carried on. Near here, too, stood
+in old times the Serraglio, or den of the lions, which
+was also incorporated by Vasari into the Palace; the
+Via del Leone, in which Vasari's rather fine rustica
+fa&ccedil;ade stands, is named from them still.</p>
+
+<p>The Piazza saw the Pisan captives forced ignominiously
+to kiss the Marzocco in 1364, and to build
+the so-called Tetto dei Pisani, which formerly stood
+on the west, opposite the Palace. In this Piazza, too,
+the people assembled in parliament at the sounding of
+the great bell. In the fifteenth century, this simply
+meant that whatever party in the State desired to alter
+the government, in their own favour, occupied the
+openings of the Piazza with troops; and the noisy
+rabble that appeared on these occasions, to roar out
+their assent to whatever was proposed, had but little
+connection with the real People of Florence. Among
+the wildest scenes that this Piazza has witnessed were
+those during the rising of the Ciompi in 1378, when
+again and again the populace surged round the Palace
+with their banners and wild cries, until the terrified
+Signoria granted their demands. Here, too, took place
+Savonarola's famous burnings of the Vanities in Carnival
+time; large piles of these "lustful things" were surmounted
+by allegorical figures of King Carnival, or of
+Lucifer and the seven deadly sins, and then solemnly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_156" id="page_156">[156]</a></span>
+fired; while the people sang the <i>Te Deum</i>, the bells
+rang, and the trumpets and drums of the Signoria
+pealed out their loudest. But sport of less serious
+kind went on here too&ndash;tournaments and shows of
+wild beasts and the like&ndash;things that the Florentines
+dearly loved, and in which their rulers found it politic
+to fool them to the top of their bent. For instance,
+on June 25th, 1514, there was a <i>caccia</i> of a specially
+magnificent kind; a sort of glorified bull-fight, in
+which a fountain surrounded by green woods was constructed
+in the middle of the Piazza, and two lions, with
+bears and leopards, bulls, buffaloes, stags, horses, and
+the like were driven into the arena. Enormous prices
+were paid for seats; foreigners came from all countries,
+and four Roman cardinals were conspicuous, including
+Raphael's Bibbiena, disguised as Spanish gentlemen.
+Several people were killed by the beasts. It was
+always a sore point with the Florentines that their
+lions were such unsatisfactory brutes and never distinguished
+themselves on these occasions; they were
+no match for your Spanish bull, at a time when, in
+politics, the bull's master had yoked all Italy to his
+triumphal car.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Loggia dei Priori</i>, now called the <i>Loggia dei
+Lanzi</i> after the German lancers of Duke Cosimo who
+were stationed here, was originally built for the Priors
+and other magistrates to exercise public functions, with
+all the display that medi&aelig;val republics knew so well
+how to use. It is a kind of great open vaulted hall;
+a throne for a popular government, as M. Reymond
+calls it. Although frequently known as the Loggia of
+Orcagna, it was commenced in 1376 by Benci di Cione
+and Simone Talenti, and is intermediate in style between
+Gothic and Renaissance (in contrast to the pure
+Gothic of the Bigallo). The sculptures above, frequently
+ascribed to Agnolo Gaddi and representing the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_157" id="page_157">[157]</a></span>
+Virtues, are now assigned to Giovanni d'Ambrogio and
+Jacopo di Piero, and were executed between 1380 and
+1390. Among the numerous statues that now stand
+beneath its roof (and which include Giambologna's
+Rape of the Sabines) are two of the finest bronzes in
+Florence: Donatello's <i>Judith and Holofernes</i>, cast for
+Cosimo the elder, and originally in the Medicean
+Palace, but, on the expulsion of the younger Piero,
+set up on the Ringhiera with the threatening inscription:
+<i>exemplum Salutis Publicae</i>; and Benvenuto
+Cellini's <i>Perseus with the head of Medusa</i>, cast in
+1553 for the Grand Duke Cosimo (then only Duke),
+and possibly intended as a kind of despotic counter-blast
+to the Judith. The pedestal (with the exception
+of the bas-relief in front, of which the original is in the
+Bargello) is also Cellini's. Cellini gives us a rare
+account of the exhibiting of this Perseus to the people,
+while the Duke himself lurked behind a window over
+the door of the palace to hear what was said. He
+assures us that the crowd gazed upon him&ndash;that is, the
+artist, not the statue&ndash;as something altogether miraculous
+for having accomplished such a work, and that
+two noblemen from Sicily accosted him as he walked
+in the Piazza, with such ceremony as would have been
+too much even towards the Pope. He took a holiday
+in honour of the event, sang psalms and hymns the
+whole way out of Florence, and was absolutely convinced
+that the <i>ne plus ultra</i> of art had been reached.</p>
+
+<p>But it is of Savonarola, and not of Benvenuto Cellini,
+that the Loggia reminds us; for here was the scene of
+the <i>Cimento di Fuoco</i>, the ordeal of fire, on April 7th,
+1498. An immense crowd of men filled the Piazza;
+women and children were excluded, but packed every
+inch of windows, roofs, balconies. The streets and
+entrances were strongly held by troops, while more
+were drawn up round the Palace under Giovacchino<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_158" id="page_158">[158]</a></span>
+della Vecchia. The platform bearing the intended
+pyre&ndash;a most formidable death-trap, which was to be
+fired behind the champions as soon as they were well
+within it&ndash;ran out from the Ringhiera towards the
+centre of the Piazza. In spite of the strict proclamation
+to armed men not to enter, Doffo Spini appeared with
+three hundred Compagnacci, "all armed like Paladins,"
+says Simone Filipepi,<a name="fnanchor_28" id="fnanchor_28"></a><a href="#footnote_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> "in favour of the friars of St
+Francis." They entered the Piazza with a tremendous
+uproar, and formed up under the Tetto dei Pisani,
+opposite the Palace. Simone says that there was a
+pre-arranged plot, in virtue of which they only waited
+for a sign from the Palace to cut the Dominicans and
+their adherents to pieces. The Loggia was divided
+into two parts, the half nearer the Palace assigned to
+the Franciscans, the other, in which a temporary altar
+had been erected, to the Dominicans. In front of the
+Loggia the sun flashed back from the armour of a
+picked band of soldiers, under Marcuccio Salviati,
+apparently intended as a counter demonstration to
+Doffo Spini and his young aristocrats. The Franciscans
+were first on the field, and quietly took their
+station. Their two champions entered the Palace, and
+were seen no more during the proceedings. Then with
+exultant strains of the <i>Exsurgat Deus</i>, the Dominicans
+slowly made their way down the Corso degli Adimari
+and through the Piazza in procession, two and two.
+Their fierce psalm was caught up and re-echoed by
+their adherents as they passed. Preceded by a Crucifix,
+about two hundred of these black and white "hounds<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_159" id="page_159">[159]</a></span>
+of the Lord" entered the field of battle, followed by
+Fra Domenico in a rich cope, and then Savonarola in
+full vestments with the Blessed Sacrament, attended by
+deacon and sub-deacon. A band of devout republican
+laymen, with candles and red crosses, brought up the
+rear. Savonarola entered the Loggia, set the Sacrament
+on the altar, and solemnly knelt in adoration.</p>
+
+<p>Then, while Fra Girolamo stood firm as a column,
+delay after delay commenced. The Dominican's cope
+might be enchanted, or his robe too for the matter of
+that, so Domenico was hurried into the Palace and his
+garments changed. The two Franciscan stalwarts remained
+in the Priors' chapel. In the meanwhile a
+storm passed over the city. A rush of the Compagnacci
+and populace towards the Loggia was driven
+back by Salviati's guard. Domenico returned with
+changed garments, and stood among the Franciscans;
+stones hurtled about him; he would enter the fire with
+the Crucifix&ndash;this was objected to; then with the
+Sacrament&ndash;this was worse. Domenico was convinced
+that he would pass through the ordeal scathless,
+and that the Sacrament would not protect him if
+his cause were not just; but he was equally convinced
+that it was God's will that he should not enter the fire
+without it. Evening fell in the midst of the wrangling,
+and at last the Signoria ordered both parties to go home.
+Only the efforts of Salviati and his soldiery saved Savonarola
+and Domenico from being torn to pieces at the
+hands of the infuriated mob, who apparently concluded
+that they had been trifled with. "As the Father Fra
+Girolamo issued from the Loggia with the Most Holy
+Sacrament in his hands," says Simone Filipepi, who
+was present, "and Fra Domenico with his Crucifix,
+the signal was given from the Palace to Doffo Spini to
+carry out his design; but he, as it pleased God, would
+do nothing." The Franciscans of Santa Croce were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_160" id="page_160">[160]</a></span>
+promised an annual subsidy of sixty pieces of silver for
+their share in the day's work: "Here, take the price
+of the innocent blood you have betrayed," was their
+greeting when they came to demand it.</p>
+
+<p>In after years, Doffo Spini was fond of gossiping
+with Botticelli and his brother, Simone Filipepi, and
+made no secret of his intention of killing Savonarola on
+this occasion. Yet, of all the Friar's persecutors, he
+was the only one that showed any signs of penitence
+for what he had done. "On the ninth day of April,
+1503," writes Simone in his Chronicle, "as I, Simone
+di Mariano Filipepi, was leaving my house to go to
+vespers in San Marco, Doffo Spini, who was in the
+company of Bartolommeo di Lorenzo Carducci, saluted
+me. Bartolommeo turned to me, and said that Fra
+Girolamo and the Piagnoni had spoilt and undone the
+city; whereupon many words passed between him and
+me, which I will not set down here. But Doffo interposed,
+and said that he had never had any dealings with
+Fra Girolamo, until the time when, as a member of the
+Eight, he had to examine him in prison; and that, if
+he had heard Fra Girolamo earlier and had been intimate
+with him, 'even as Simone here'&ndash;turning to
+me&ndash;'I would have been a more ardent partisan of his
+than even Simone, for nothing save good was ever seen
+in him even unto his death.'"</p>
+
+<p class="center"><big><b><span class="smcap">The Uffizi</span></b></big></p>
+
+<p>Beyond the Palazzo Vecchio, between the Piazza
+and the Arno, stands the Palazzo degli Uffizi, which
+Giorgio Vasari reared in the third quarter of the sixteenth
+century, for Cosimo I. It contains the Archives,
+the Biblioteca Nazionale (which includes the Palatine
+and Magliabecchian Libraries, and, like all similar institutions
+in Italy, is generously thrown open to all<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_161" id="page_161">[161]</a></span>
+comers without reserve), and, above all, the great
+picture gallery commenced by the Grand Dukes,
+usually simply known as the Uffizi and now officially
+the Galleria Reale degli Uffizi, which, together with
+its continuation in the Pitti Palace across the river, is
+undoubtedly the finest collection of pictures in the
+world.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_19" id="illo_19"></a>
+<img src="images/illus175_tmb.jpg" width="311" height="400" alt="LOOKING THROUGH VASARI&#39;S LOGGIA, UFFIZI" title="" />
+<p class="caption">LOOKING THROUGH VASARI&#39;S LOGGIA, UFFIZI</p>
+<a href="images/illus175_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>Leaving the double lines of illustrious Florentines,
+men great in the arts of war and peace, in their marble
+niches watching over the pigeons who throng the Portico,
+we ascend to the picture gallery by the second<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_162" id="page_162">[162]</a></span>
+door to the left.<a name="fnanchor_29" id="fnanchor_29"></a><a href="#footnote_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a></p>
+
+<p class="center"><big><b><span class="smcap">Ritratti dei Pittori&ndash;Primo Corridore.</span></b></big></p>
+
+<p>On the way up, four rooms on the right contain the
+Portraits of the Painters, many of them painted by
+themselves. In the further room, Filippino Lippi by
+himself, fragment of a fresco (286). Raphael (288)
+at the age of twenty-three, with his spiritual, almost
+feminine beauty, painted by himself at Urbino during
+his Florentine period, about 1506. This is Raphael
+before the worldly influence of Rome had fallen upon
+him, the youth who came from Urbino and Perugia to
+the City of the Lilies with the letter of recommendation
+from Urbino's Duchess to Piero Soderini, to sit at
+the feet of Leonardo and Michelangelo, and wander
+with Fra Bartolommeo through the cloisters of San
+Marco. Titian (384), "in which he appears, painted
+by himself, on the confines of old age, vigorous and
+ardent still, fully conscious, moreover, though without
+affectation, of pre-eminent genius and supreme artistic
+rank" (Mr C. Phillips). Tintoretto, by himself
+(378); Andrea del Sarto, by himself (1176); a
+genuine portrait of Michelangelo (290), but of course
+not by himself; Rubens, by himself (228). An
+imaginary portrait of Leonardo da Vinci (292), of a
+much later period, may possibly preserve some tradition
+of the "magician's" appearance; the Dosso Dossi is
+doubtful; those of Giorgione and Bellini are certainly
+apocryphal. In the second room are two portraits of
+Rembrandt by himself. In the third room Angelica
+Kauffmann and Vig&eacute;e Le Brun are charming in their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_163" id="page_163">[163]</a></span>
+way. In the fourth room, English visitors cannot fail
+to welcome several of their own painters of the nineteenth
+century, including Mr Watts.</p>
+
+<p>Passing the Medicean busts at the head of the stairs,
+the famous Wild Boar and the two Molossian Hounds,
+we enter the first or eastern corridor, containing paintings
+of the earlier masters, mingled with ancient busts
+and sarcophagi. The best specimens of the Giotteschi
+are an Agony in the Garden (8), wrongly ascribed to
+Giotto himself; an Entombment (27), ascribed to a
+Giotto di Stefano, called Giottino, a painter of whom
+hardly anything but the nickname is known; an Annunciation (28),
+ascribed to Agnolo Gaddi; and an
+altar-piece by Giovanni da Milano (32). There are
+some excellent early Sienese paintings; a Madonna
+and Child with Angels, by Pietro Lorenzetti, 1340 (15);
+the Annunciation, by Simone Martini and
+Lippo Memmi (23); and a very curious picture of
+the Hermits of the Thebaid (16), a kind of devout
+fairy-land painted possibly by one of the Lorenzetti,
+in the spirit of those delightfully na&iuml;ve <i>Vite del Santi
+Padri</i>. Lorenzo Monaco, or Don Lorenzo, a master
+who occupies an intermediate position between the
+Giotteschi and the Quattrocento, is represented by the
+Mystery of the Passion (40), a symbolical picture
+painted in 1404, of a type that Angelico brought to
+perfection in a fresco in San Marco; the Adoration
+of the Magi (39, the scenes in the frame by a later
+hand), and Madonna and Saints (41). The portrait
+of Giovanni dei Medici (43) is by an unknown hand
+of the Quattrocento. Paolo Uccello's Battle (52) is
+mainly a study in perspective. The Annunciation (53),
+by Neri di Bicci di Lorenzo, is a fair example of
+one of the least progressive painters of the Quattrocento.
+The pictures by Alessio Baldovinetti (56 and
+60) and Cosimo Rosselli (63 and 65) are tolerable<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_164" id="page_164">[164]</a></span>
+examples of very uninteresting fifteenth century masters.
+The allegorical figures of the Virtues (69-73), ascribed
+to Piero Pollaiuolo, are second-rate; and the same may
+be said of an Annunciation (such is the real subject
+of 81) and the Perseus and Andromeda pictures (85,
+86, 87) by Piero di Cosimo. But the real gem of
+this corridor is the Madonna and Child (74), which
+Luca Signorelli painted for Lorenzo dei Medici, a
+picture which profoundly influenced Michelangelo; the
+splendidly modelled nude figures of men in the background
+transport us into the golden age.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><big><b><span class="smcap">Tribuna.</span></b></big></p>
+
+<p>The famous Tribuna is supposed to contain the
+masterpieces of the whole collection, though the lover
+of the Quattrocento will naturally seek his best-loved
+favourites elsewhere. Of the five ancient sculptures in
+the centre of the hall the best is that of the crouching
+barbarian slave, who is preparing his knife to flay
+Marsyas. It is a fine work of the Pergamene school.
+The celebrated Venus dei Medici is a typical Gr&aelig;co-Roman
+work, the inscription at its base being a comparatively
+modern forgery. It was formerly absurdly
+overpraised, and is in consequence perhaps too much
+depreciated at the present day. The remaining three&ndash;the Satyr,
+the Wrestlers, and the young Apollo&ndash;have
+each been largely and freely restored.</p>
+
+<p>Turning to the pictures, we have first the Madonna
+del Cardellino (1129), painted by Raphael during his
+Florentine period when under the influence of Fra
+Bartolommeo, in 1506 or thereabouts, and afterwards
+much damaged and restored: still one of the most
+beautiful of his early Madonnas. The St. John the
+Baptist (1127), ascribed to Raphael, is only a school
+piece, though from a design of the master's. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_165" id="page_165">[165]</a></span>
+Madonna del Pozzo (1125), in spite of its hard and
+over-smooth colouring, was at one time attributed to
+Raphael; its ascription to Francia Bigio is somewhat
+conjectural. The portrait of a Lady wearing a wreath
+(1123), and popularly called the Fornarina, originally
+ascribed to Giorgione and later to Raphael, is believed
+to be by Sebastiano del Piombo. Then come a
+lady's portrait, ascribed to Raphael (1120); another
+by a Veronese master, erroneously ascribed to Mantegna,
+and erroneously said to represent the Duchess
+Elizabeth of Urbino (1121); Bernardino Luini's
+Daughter of Herodias (1135), a fine study of a
+female Italian criminal of the Renaissance; Perugino's
+portrait of Francesco delle Opere, holding a scroll
+inscribed <i>Timete Deum</i>, an admirable picture painted in
+oils about the year 1494, and formerly supposed to be
+a portrait of Perugino by himself (287); portrait of
+Evangelista Scappa, ascribed to Francia (1124); and
+a portrait of a man, by Sebastiano del Piombo (3458).
+Raphael's Pope Julius II. (1131) is a grand and terrible
+portrait of the tremendous warrior Pontiff, whom
+the Romans called a second Mars. Vasari says that
+in this picture he looks so exactly like himself that
+"one trembles before him as if he were still alive."
+Albert D&uuml;rer's Adoration of the Magi (1141) and
+Lucas van Leyden's Mystery of the Passion (1143)
+are powerful examples of the religious painting of the
+North, that loved beauty less for its own sake than did
+the Italians. The latter should be compared with
+similar pictures by Don Lorenzo and Fra Angelico.
+Titian's portrait of the Papal Nuncio Beccadelli
+(1116), painted in 1552, although a decidedly fine
+work, has been rather overpraised.</p>
+
+<p>Michelangelo's Holy Family (1139) is the only
+existing easel picture that the master completed. It
+was painted for the rich merchant, Angelo Doni (who<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_166" id="page_166">[166]</a></span>
+haggled in a miserly fashion over the price and was in
+consequence forced to pay double the sum agreed upon),
+about 1504, in the days of the Gonfaloniere Soderini,
+when Michelangelo was engaged upon the famous
+cartoon for the Sala del Maggior Consiglio. Like
+Luca Signorelli, Michelangelo has introduced naked
+figures, apparently shepherds, into his background.
+"In the Doni Madonna of the Uffizi," writes Walter
+Pater, "Michelangelo actually brings the pagan
+religion, and with it the unveiled human form, the
+sleepy-looking fauns of a Dionysiac revel, into the
+presence of the Madonna, as simpler painters had
+introduced other products of the earth, birds or
+flowers; and he has given to that Madonna herself
+much of the uncouth energy of the older and more
+primitive 'Mighty Mother.'" The painters introduced
+into their pictures what they loved best, in earth
+or sky, as votive offerings to the Queen of Heaven;
+and what Signorelli and Michelangelo best loved was
+the human form. This is reflected in the latter's own
+lines:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem">N&egrave; Dio, sua grazia, mi si mostra altrove,<br />
+pi&ugrave; che'n alcun leggiadro e mortal velo,<br />
+e quel sol amo, perch&egrave;'n quel si specchia.</p>
+
+<p>"Nor does God vouchsafe to reveal Himself to me
+anywhere more than in some lovely mortal veil, and
+that alone I love, because He is mirrored therein."</p>
+
+<p>In the strongest possible contrast to Michelangelo's
+picture are the two examples of the softest
+master of the Renaissance&ndash;Correggio's Repose on
+the Flight to Egypt (1118), and his Madonna adoring
+the Divine Child (1134). The former, with its
+rather out of place St. Francis of Assisi, is a work of
+what is known as Correggio's transition period, 1515-1518,
+after he had painted his earlier easel pictures
+and before commencing his great fresco work at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_167" id="page_167">[167]</a></span>
+Parma; the latter, a more characteristic picture, is
+slightly later and was given by the Duke of Mantua to
+Cosimo II. The figures of Prophets by Fra Bartolommeo
+(1130 and 1126), the side-wings of a picture
+now in the Pitti Gallery, are not remarkable in any
+way. The Madonna and Child with the Baptist and
+St. Sebastian (1122) is a work of Perugino's better
+period.</p>
+
+<p>There remain the two famous Venuses of Titian.
+The so-called Urbino Venus (1117)&ndash;a motive to
+some extent borrowed, and slightly coarsened in the
+borrowing, from Giorgione's picture at Dresden&ndash;is
+much the finer of the two. It was painted for
+Francesco Maria della Rovere, Duke of Urbino,
+and, although not a portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga,
+who was then a middle-aged woman, it was certainly
+intended to conjure up the beauty of her youth.
+What Eleonora really looked like at this time, you
+can see in the first of the two Venetian rooms, where
+Titian's portrait of her, painted at about the same
+date, hangs. The Venus and Cupid (1108) is a
+later work; the goddess is the likeness of a model
+who very frequently appears in the works of Titian
+and Palma.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><big><span class="smcap">Scuola Toscana.</span></big></b></p>
+
+<p>On the left we pass out of the Tribuna to three
+rooms devoted to the Tuscan school.</p>
+
+<p>The first contains the smaller pictures, including
+several priceless Angelicos and Botticellis. Fra
+Angelico's Naming of St. John (1162), Marriage
+of the Blessed Virgin to St. Joseph (1178), and
+her Death (1184), are excellent examples of his
+delicate execution and spiritual expression in his
+smaller, miniature-like works. Antonio Pollaiuolo's
+Labours of Hercules (1153) is one of the masterpieces<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_168" id="page_168">[168]</a></span>
+of this most uncompromising realist of the
+Quattrocento. Either by Antonio or his brother
+Piero, is also the portrait of that monster of iniquity,
+Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (30).
+Sandro Botticelli's Calumny (1182) is supposed to
+have been painted as a thankoffering to a friend
+who had defended him from the assaults of slanderous
+tongues; it is a splendid example of his dramatic
+intensity, the very statues in their niches taking part
+in the action. The subject&ndash;taken from Lucian's
+description of a picture by Apelles of Ephesus&ndash;was
+frequently painted by artists of the Renaissance,
+and there is a most magnificent drawing of the same
+by Andrea Mantegna at the British Museum, which
+was copied by Rembrandt. On the judgment-seat
+sits a man with ears like those of Midas, into which
+Ignorance and Suspicion on either side ever whisper.
+Before him stands Envy,&ndash;a hideous, pale, and
+haggard man, seeming wasted by some slow disease.
+He is making the accusation and leading Calumny,
+a scornful Botticellian beauty, who holds in one
+hand a torch and with the other drags her victim
+by the hair to the judge's feet. Calumny is tended
+and adorned by two female figures, Artifice and
+Deceit. But Repentance slowly follows, in black
+mourning habit; while naked Truth&ndash;the Botticellian
+Venus in another form&ndash;raises her hand in appeal to
+the heavens.</p>
+
+<p>The rather striking portrait of a painter (1163) is
+usually supposed to be Andrea Verrocchio, by Lorenzo
+di Credi, his pupil and successor; Mr Berenson, however,
+considers that it is Perugino and by Domenico
+Ghirlandaio. On the opposite wall are two very early
+Botticellis, Judith returning from the camp of the
+Assyrians (1156) and the finding of the body of
+Holofernes (1158), in a scale of colouring differing<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_169" id="page_169">[169]</a></span>
+from that of his later works. The former is one of
+those pictures which have been illumined for us by
+Ruskin, who regards it as the only picture that is true
+to Judith; "The triumph of Miriam over a fallen
+host, the fire of exulting mortal life in an immortal
+hour, the purity and severity of a guardian angel&ndash;all
+are here; and as her servant follows, carrying indeed
+the head, but invisible&ndash;(a mere thing to be carried&ndash;no
+more to be so much as thought of)&ndash;she looks only
+at her mistress, with intense, servile, watchful love.
+Faithful, not in these days of fear only, but hitherto in
+all her life, and afterwards for ever." Walter Pater
+has read the picture in a different sense, and sees in it
+Judith "returning home across the hill country, when
+the great deed is over, and the moment of revulsion
+come, and the olive branch in her hand is becoming a
+burden."</p>
+
+<p>The portrait of Andrea del Sarto by himself (280)
+represents him in the latter days of his life, and was
+painted on a tile in 1529, about a year before his
+death, with some colours that remained over after he
+had finished the portrait of one of the Vallombrosan
+monks; his wife kept it by her until her death. The
+very powerful likeness of an old man in white cap and
+gown (1167), a fresco ascribed to Masaccio, is more
+probably the work of Filippino Lippi. The famous
+Head of Medusa (1159) must be seen with grateful
+reverence by all lovers of English poetry, for it was
+admired by Shelley and inspired him with certain
+familiar and exceedingly beautiful stanzas; but as for
+its being a work of Leonardo da Vinci, it is now
+almost universally admitted to be a comparatively late
+forgery, to supply the place of the lost Medusa of
+which Vasari speaks. The portrait (1157), also ascribed
+to Leonardo, is better, but probably no more
+authentic. Here is a most dainty little example of Fra<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_170" id="page_170">[170]</a></span>
+Bartolommeo's work on a small scale (1161), representing
+the Circumcision and the Nativity, with the
+Annunciation in grisaille on the back. Botticelli's
+St. Augustine (1179) is an early work, and, like the
+Judith, shows his artistic derivation from Fra Lippo
+Lippi, to whom indeed it was formerly ascribed. His
+portrait of Piero di Lorenzo dei Medici (1154), a
+splendid young man in red cap and flowing dark hair,
+has been already referred to in chapter iii.; it was
+formerly supposed to be a likeness of Pico della
+Mirandola. It was painted before Piero's expulsion
+from Florence, probably during the life-time of the
+Magnificent, and represents him before he degenerated
+into the low tyrannical blackguard of later years; he
+apparently wishes to appeal to the memory of his
+great-grandfather Cosimo, whose medallion he holds,
+to find favour with his unwilling subjects. The portraits
+of Duke Cosimo's son and grandchild, Don
+Garzia and Donna Maria (1155 and 1164), by
+Bronzino, should be noted. Finally we have the
+famous picture of Perseus freeing Andromeda, by
+Piero di Cosimo (1312). It is about the best
+specimen of his fantastic conceptions to be seen in
+Florence, and the monster itself is certainly a triumph
+of a somewhat unhealthy imagination nourished in
+solitude on an odd diet.</p>
+
+<p>In the second room are larger works of the great
+Tuscans. The Adoration of the Magi (1252) is one of
+the very few authentic works of Leonardo; it was one of
+his earliest productions, commenced in 1478, and, like
+so many other things of his, never finished. The St.
+Sebastian (1279) is one of the masterpieces of that wayward
+Lombard or rather Piedmontese&ndash;although we
+now associate him with Siena&ndash;who approached nearest
+of all to the art of Leonardo, Giovanni Antonio Bazzi,
+known still as Sodoma. Ridolfo Ghirlandaio's Miracles<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_171" id="page_171">[171]</a></span>
+of Zenobius (1277 and 1275) are excellent works by
+a usually second-rate master. The Visitation with its
+predella, by Mariotto Albertinelli (1259), painted in
+1503, is incomparably the greatest picture that Fra
+Bartolommeo's wild friend and fellow student ever
+produced, and one in which he most nearly approaches
+the best works of Bartolommeo himself. "The
+figures, however," Morelli points out, "are less refined
+and noble than those of the Frate, and the foliage of
+the trees is executed with miniature-like precision,
+which is never the case in the landscapes of the latter."
+Andrea del Sarto's genial and kindly St. James with
+the orphans (1254), is one of his last works; it was
+painted to serve as a standard in processions, and has
+consequently suffered considerably. Bronzino's Descent
+of Christ into Hades (1271), that "heap of cumbrous
+nothingnesses and sickening offensivenesses," as Ruskin
+pleasantly called it, need only be seen to be loathed.
+The so-called Madonna delle Arpie, or our Lady of
+the Harpies, from the figures on the pedestal beneath
+her feet (1112), is perhaps the finest of all Andrea del
+Sarto's pictures; the Madonna is a highly idealised
+likeness of his own wife Lucrezia, and some have
+tried to recognise the features of the painter himself in
+the St. John:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem"><span class="o1">"You loved me quite enough, it seems to-night.</span><br />
+This must suffice me here. What would one have?<br />
+In heaven, perhaps, new chances, one more chance&ndash;<br />
+Four great walls in the New Jerusalem<br />
+Meted on each side by the Angel's reed,<br />
+For Leonard, Rafael, Agnolo and me<br />
+To cover&ndash;the three first without a wife,<br />
+While I have mine! So&ndash;still they overcome<br />
+Because there's still Lucrezia,&ndash;as I choose."</p>
+
+<p>The full-length portrait of Cosimo the Elder (1267),
+the Pater Patriae (so the flattery of the age hailed the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_172" id="page_172">[172]</a></span>
+man who said that a city destroyed was better than a
+city lost), was painted by Pontormo from some
+fifteenth century source, as a companion piece to his
+portrait here of Duke Cosimo I. (1270). The
+admirable portrait of Lorenzo the Magnificent by
+Vasari (1269) is similarly constructed from contemporary
+materials, and is probably the most valuable
+thing that Vasari has left to us in the way of painting.
+The unfinished picture by Fra Bartolommeo (1265),
+representing our Lady enthroned with St. Anne, the
+guardian of the Republic, watching over her and
+interceding for Florence, while the patrons of the
+city gather round for her defence, was intended for
+the altar in the Sala del Maggior Consiglio of the
+Palazzo Vecchio; it is conceived in something of the
+same spirit that made the last inheritors of Savonarola's
+tradition and teaching fondly believe that Angels would
+man the walls of Florence, rather than that she should
+again fall into the hands of her former tyrants, the
+Medici. The great Madonna and Child with four
+Saints and two Angels scattering flowers, by Filippino
+Lippi (1268), was painted in 1485 for the room in
+the Palazzo Vecchio in which the Otto di Pratica
+held their meetings. The Adoration of the Magi
+(1257), also by Filippino Lippi, painted in 1496,
+apart from its great value as a work of art, has a
+curious historical significance; the Magi and their
+principal attendants, who are thus pushing forwards
+to display their devotion to Our Lady of Florence
+and the Child whom the Florentines were to elect
+their King, are the members of the younger branch
+of the Medici, who have returned to the city now
+that Piero has been expelled, and are waiting their
+chance. See how they have already replaced the
+family of the elder Cosimo, who occupy this same
+position in a similar picture painted some eighteen<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_173" id="page_173">[173]</a></span>
+years before by Sandro Botticelli, Filippino's master.
+At this epoch they had ostentatiously altered their
+name of Medici and called themselves Popolani, but
+were certainly intriguing against Fra Girolamo. The
+old astronomer kneeling to our extreme left is the
+elder Piero Francesco, watching the adventurous game
+for a throne that his children are preparing; the most
+prominent figure in the picture, from whose head a
+page is lifting the crown, is Pier Francesco's son,
+Giovanni, who will soon woo Caterina Sforza, the
+lady of Forl&igrave;, and make her the mother of Giovanni
+delle Bande Nere; and the precious vessel which he
+is to offer to the divine Child is handed to him by
+the younger Pier Francesco, the father of Lorenzaccio,
+that "Tuscan Brutus" whose dagger was to make
+Giovanni's grandson, Cosimo, the sole lord of Florence
+and her empire.<a name="fnanchor_30" id="fnanchor_30"></a><a href="#footnote_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a></p>
+
+<p>Granacci's Madonna of the Girdle (1280), over
+the door, formerly in San Piero Maggiore, is a good
+example of a painter who imitated most of his contemporaries
+and had little individuality. On easels
+in the middle of the room are (3452) Venus, by
+Lorenzo di Credi, a conscientious attempt to follow
+the fashion of the age and handle a subject quite alien
+to his natural sympathies&ndash;for Lorenzo di Credi was
+one of those who sacrificed their studies of the nude
+on Savonarola's pyre of the Vanities; and (3436) an
+Adoration of the Magi, a cartoon of Sandro Botticelli's,
+coloured by a later hand, marvellously full of life in
+movement, intense and passionate, in which&ndash;as though
+the painter anticipated the Reformation&ndash;the followers
+of the Magi are fighting furiously with each other in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_174" id="page_174">[174]</a></span>
+their desire to find the right way to the Stable of
+Bethlehem!</p>
+
+<p>The third room of the Tuscan School contains some
+of the truest masterpieces of the whole collection. The
+Epiphany, by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1295), painted
+in 1487, is one of that prosaic master's best easel
+pictures. The wonderful Annunciation (1288), in
+which the Archangel has alighted upon the flowers
+in the silence of an Italian twilight, with a mystical
+landscape of mountains and rivers, and far-off cities
+in the background, may possibly be an early work of
+Leonardo da Vinci, to whom it is officially assigned,
+but is ascribed by contemporary critics to Leonardo's
+master, Andrea Verrocchio. The least satisfactory
+passage is the rather wooden face and inappropriate
+action of the Madonna; Leonardo would surely not
+have made her, on receiving the angelic salutation,
+put her finger into her book to keep the place. After
+Three Saints by one of the Pollaiuoli (1301) and two
+smaller pictures by Lorenzo di Credi (1311 and 1313),
+we come to Piero della Francesca's grand portraits of
+Federigo of Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, and his
+wife, Battista Sforza (1300); on the reverse, the
+Duke and Duchess are seen in triumphal cars surrounded
+with allegorical pageantry. Federigo is always,
+as here, represented in profile, because he lost his right
+eye and had the bridge of his nose broken in a tournament.
+The three predella scenes (1298) are characteristic
+examples of the minor works of Piero's great
+pupil, Luca Signorelli of Cortona.</p>
+
+<p>On the opposite wall are four Botticellian pictures.
+The Magnificat (1267 <i>bis</i>)&ndash;Sandro's most famous
+and familiar tondo&ndash;in which the Madonna rather
+sadly writes the Magnificat, while Angels cluster
+round to crown their Queen, to offer ink and book,
+or look into the thing that she has written, while<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_175" id="page_175">[175]</a></span>
+the Dove hovers above her, is full of the haunting
+charm, the elusive mystery, the vague yearning,
+which makes the fascination of Botticelli to-day.
+She already seems to be anticipating the Passion of
+that Child&ndash;so unmistakably divine&ndash;who is guiding
+her hand. The Madonna of the Pomegranate (1289)
+is a somewhat similar, but less beautiful tondo; the
+Angel faces, who are said to be idealised portraits
+of the Medicean children, have partially lost their
+angelic look. The Fortitude (1299) is one of
+Sandro's earliest paintings, and its authenticity has
+been questioned; she seems to be dreading, almost
+shrinking from some great battle at hand, of which
+no man can foretell the end. The Annunciation
+(1316) is rather Botticellian in conception; but the
+colouring and execution generally do not suggest the
+master himself. Antonio Pollaiuolo's Prudence
+(1306) is a harsh companion to Sandro's Fortitude.
+The tondo (1291) of the Holy Family, by Luca
+Signorelli, is one of his best works in this kind;
+the colouring is less heavy than is usual with him,
+and the Child is more divine. Of the two carefully
+finished Annunciations by Lorenzo di Credi (1314,
+1160), the latter is the earlier and finer. Fra
+Filippo's little Madonna of the Sea (1307), with
+her happy boy-like Angel attendants, is one of the
+monk's most attractive and characteristic works;
+perhaps the best of all his smaller pictures. And
+we have left to the last Fra Angelico's divinest
+dream of the Coronation of the Madonna in the
+Empyrean Heaven of Heavens (1290), amidst exultant
+throngs of Saints and Angels absorbed in the
+Beatific Vision of Paradise. It is the pictorial
+equivalent of Bernard's most ardent sermons on the
+Assumption of Mary and of the mystic musings of
+John of Damascus. Here are "the Angel choirs<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_176" id="page_176">[176]</a></span>
+of Angelico, with the flames on their white foreheads
+waving brighter as they move, and the sparkles
+streaming from their purple wings like the glitter
+of many suns upon a sounding sea, listening in the
+pauses of alternate song, for the prolonging of the
+trumpet blast, and the answering of psaltery and
+cymbal, throughout the endless deep, and from all
+the star shores of heaven."<a name="fnanchor_31" id="fnanchor_31"></a><a href="#footnote_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a></p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><big><span class="smcap">Sala di maestri diversi Italiani.</span></big></b></p>
+
+<p>In the small room which opens out of the Tribune,
+on the opposite side to these three Tuscan rooms,
+are two perfect little gems of more northern Italian
+painting. Mantegna's Madonna of the Quarries (1025),
+apart from its nobility of conception and grand austerity
+of sentiment, is a positive marvel of minute drawing
+with the point of the <i>pennello</i>. Every detail in the
+landscape, with the winding road up to the city
+on the hill, the field labourers in the meadow, the
+shepherds and travellers, on the left, and the stone-cutterss
+among the caverns on the right, preparing
+stone for the sculptors and architects of Florence
+and Rome, is elaborately rendered with exquisite
+delicacy and finish. It was painted at Rome in
+1488, while Mantegna was working on his frescoes
+(now destroyed) for Pope Innocent VIII. in a chapel
+of the Vatican. The other is a little Madonna and
+Child with two Angels playing musical instruments,
+by Correggio (1002), a most exquisite little picture
+in an almost perfect state of preservation, formerly
+ascribed to Titian, but entirely characteristic of Correggio's
+earliest period when he was influenced by
+Mantegna and the Ferrarese.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond are the Dutch, Flemish, German, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_177" id="page_177">[177]</a></span>
+French pictures which do not come into our present
+scope&ndash;though they include several excellent works as,
+notably, a little Madonna by Hans Memlinc and two
+Apostles by Albert D&uuml;rer. The cabinet of the gems
+contains some of the treasures left by the Medicean
+Grand Dukes, including work by Cellini and Giovanni
+da Bologna.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b><big><span class="smcap">Scuola Veneta.</span></big></b></p>
+
+<p>Crossing the short southern corridor, with some
+noteworthy ancient sculptury, we pass down the long
+western corridor. Out of this open first the two
+rooms devoted to the Venetian school. In the first, to
+seek the best only, are Titian's portraits of Francesco
+Maria della Rovere, third Duke of Urbino, and
+Eleonora Gonzaga, his duchess (605 and 599),
+painted in 1537. A triptych by Mantegna (1111)&ndash;the
+Adoration of the Kings, between the Circumcision
+and the Ascension&ndash;is one of the earlier works of the
+great Paduan master; the face of the Divine Child
+in the Circumcision is marvellously painted. The
+Madonna by the Lake by Giovanni Bellini (631),
+also called the Allegory of the Tree of Life, is an
+exceedingly beautiful picture, one of Bellini's later
+works. Titian's Flora (626), an early work of the
+master, charming in its way, has been damaged and
+rather overpraised. In the second room, are three
+works by Giorgione; the Judgment of Solomon and
+the Ordeal of Moses (630 and 621), with their
+fantastic costumes and poetically conceived landscapes,
+are very youthful works indeed; the portrait of a
+Knight of Malta (622) is more mature, and one of the
+noblest of Venetian portraits. Florence thus possesses
+more authentic works of this wonderful, almost mythical,
+Venetian than does Venice herself. Here, too, is
+usually&ndash;except when it is in request elsewhere for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_178" id="page_178">[178]</a></span>
+copyist&ndash;Titian's Madonna and Child with the boy
+John Baptist, and the old Antony Abbot, leaning on his
+staff and watching the flower play (633)&ndash;the most
+beautiful of Titian's early Giorgionesque Madonnas.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_20" id="illo_20"></a>
+<img src="images/illus193_tmb.jpg" width="304" height="400" alt="Venus" title="" />
+<p class="caption">VENUS<br />
+<span class="smcap">By Sandro Botticelli</span></p><a href="images/illus193_fs75.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p class="center"><b><big><span class="smcap">Sala di Lorenzo Monaco.</span></big></b></p>
+
+<p>The following passage leads to the Sala di Lorenzo
+Monaco, the room which bears the name of the austere
+monk of Camaldoli, and, hallowed by the presence of
+Fra Angelico's Madonna, seems at times almost to
+re-echo still with the music of the Angel choir; but to
+which the modern worshipper turns to adore the Venus
+of the Renaissance rising from the Sea. For here is
+Sandro Botticelli's famous Birth of Venus (39), the
+most typical picture of the Quattrocento, painted for
+Lorenzo dei Medici and in part inspired by certain
+lines of Angelo Poliziano. But let all description be
+left to the golden words of Walter Pater in his
+<i>Renaissance</i>:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p>"At first, perhaps, you are attracted only by a
+quaintness of design, which seems to recall all at once
+whatever you have read of Florence in the fifteenth
+century; afterwards you may think that this quaintness
+must be incongruous with the subject, and that
+the colour is cadaverous or at least cold. And yet, the
+more you come to understand what imaginative colouring
+really is, that all colour is no mere delightful quality
+of natural things, but a spirit upon them by which they
+become expressive to the spirit, the better you will like
+this peculiar quality of colour; and you will find that
+quaint design of Botticelli's a more direct inlet into the
+Greek temper than the works of the Greeks themselves,
+even of the finest period. Of the Greeks
+as they really were, of their difference from ourselves,
+of the aspects of their outward life, we know far<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_179" id="page_179">[179]</a></span>
+more than Botticelli, or his most learned contemporaries;
+but for us long familiarity has taken off
+the edge of the lesson, and we are hardly conscious of
+what we owe to the Hellenic spirit. But in pictures
+like this of Botticelli's you have a record of the first
+impression made by it on minds turned back towards
+it, in almost painful aspiration, from a world in which
+it had been ignored so long; and in the passion, the
+energy, the industry of realisation, with which Botticelli
+carries out his intention, is the exact measure of
+the legitimate influence over the human mind of the
+imaginative system of which this is the central myth.
+The light is indeed cold&ndash;mere sunless dawn; but a
+later painter would have cloyed you with sunshine;
+and you can see the better for that quietness in the
+morning air each long promontory, as it slopes down
+to the water's edge. Men go forth to their labours
+until the evening; but she is awake before them, and
+you might think that the sorrow in her face was at the
+thought of the whole long day of love yet to come.
+An emblematical figure of the wind blows hard across
+the grey water, moving forward the dainty-lipped
+shell on which she sails, the sea 'showing his teeth'
+as it moves in thin lines of foam, and sucking in, one
+by one, the falling roses, each severe in outline, plucked
+off short at the stalk, but embrowned a little, as Botticelli's
+flowers always are. Botticelli meant all that
+imagery to be altogether pleasurable; and it was partly
+an incompleteness of resources, inseparable from the art
+of that time, that subdued and chilled it; but his predilection
+for minor tones counts also; and what is
+unmistakable is the sadness with which he has conceived
+the goddess of pleasure, as the depositary of a
+great power over the lives of men."</p>
+
+<p>In this same room are five other masterpieces of
+early Tuscan painting. Don Lorenzo's Coronation<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_180" id="page_180">[180]</a></span>
+of the Madonna (1309), though signed and dated
+1413, may be regarded as the last great altar-piece of
+the school of Giotto and his followers. It has been
+terribly repainted. The presence in the most prominent
+position of St. Benedict and St. Romuald in their white
+robes shows that it was painted for a convent of
+Camaldolese monks. The predella, representing the
+Adoration of the Magi and scenes from the life of St.
+Benedict, includes a very sweet little picture of the
+last interview of the saint with his sister Scholastica,
+when, in answer to her prayers, God sent such a storm
+that her brother, although unwilling to break his
+monastic rule, was forced to spend the night with her.
+"I asked you a favour," she told him, "and you
+refused it me; I asked it of Almighty God, and He
+has granted it to me." In Browning's poem, Don
+Lorenzo is one of the models specially recommended
+to Lippo Lippi by his superiors:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem"><span class="o1">"You're not of the true painters, great and old;</span><br />
+Brother Angelico's the man, you'll find;<br />
+Brother Lorenzo stands his single peer;<br />
+Fag on at flesh, you'll never make the third."</p>
+
+<p>The Madonna and Child with St. Francis and St.
+John Baptist, St. Zenobius and St. Lucy (1305), is
+one of the very few authentic works by Domenico
+Veneziano, one of the great innovators in the painting
+of the fifteenth century.</p>
+
+<p>Sandro Botticelli's Adoration of the Magi (1286),
+painted for Santa Maria Novella, is enthusiastically
+praised by Vasari. It is not a very characteristic
+work of the painter's, but contains admirable portraits
+of the Medici and their court. The first king, kneeling
+up alone before the Divine Child, is Cosimo the
+Elder himself, according to Vasari, "the most faithful<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_181" id="page_181">[181]</a></span>
+and animated likeness of all now known to exist of
+him"; the other two kings are his two sons, Piero
+il Gottoso in the centre, Giovanni di Cosimo on the
+right. The black-haired youth with folded hands,
+standing behind Giovanni, is Giuliano, who fell in
+the Pazzi conspiracy. On the extreme left, standing
+with his hands resting upon the hilt of his sword,
+is Lorenzo the Magnificent, who avenged Giuliano's
+death; behind Lorenzo, apparently clinging to him
+as though in anticipation or recollection of the conspiracy,
+is Angelo Poliziano. The rather sullen-looking
+personage, with a certain dash of sensuality
+about him, on our extreme right, gazing out of the
+picture, is Sandro himself. This picture, which was
+probably painted slightly before or shortly after the
+murder of Giuliano, has been called "the Apotheosis
+of the Medici"; it should be contrasted with the
+very different Nativity, now in the National Gallery,
+which Sandro painted many years later, in 1500,
+and which is full of the mystical aspirations of the
+disciples of Savonarola.</p>
+
+<p>The Madonna and Child with Angels, two Archangels
+standing guard and two Bishops kneeling in
+adoration (1297), is a rich and attractive work by
+Domenico Ghirlandaio. Fra Angelico's Tabernacle
+(17), Madonna and Child with the Baptist and St.
+Mark, and the famous series of much-copied Angels,
+was painted for the Guild of Flax-merchants, whose
+patron was St. Mark. The admirable Predella (1294)
+represents St. Mark reporting St. Peter's sermons, and
+St. Mark's martyrdom, together with the Adoration of
+the Magi.</p>
+
+<hr class="c15" />
+
+<p>Passing down the corridor, we come to the entrance
+to the passage which leads across the Ponte Vecchio
+to the Pitti Palace. There are some fine Italian<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_182" id="page_182">[182]</a></span>
+engravings on the way down. The halls of the
+Inscriptions and Cameos contain ancient statues as
+well, including the so-called dying Alexander, and
+some of those so over-praised by Shelley. Among
+the pictures in the Sala del Baroccio, is a very genial
+lady with a volume of Petrarch's sonnets, by Andrea
+del Sarto (188). Here, too, are some excellent portraits
+by Bronzino; a lady with a missal (198); a rather
+pathetic picture of Eleonora of Toledo, the wife of
+Cosimo I., with Don Garzia&ndash;the boy with whom
+Cellini used to romp (172); Bartolommeo Panciatichi
+(159); Lucrezia Panciatichi (154), a peculiarly sympathetic
+rendering of an attractive personality. Sustermans'
+Galileo (163) is also worth notice. The
+Duchess Eleonora died almost simultaneously with
+her sons, Giovanni and Garzia, in 1562, and there
+arose in consequence a legend that Garzia had murdered
+Giovanni, and had, in his turn, been killed by
+his own father, and that Eleonora had either also been
+murdered by the Duke or died of grief. Like many
+similar stories of the Medicean princes, this appears to
+be entirely fictitious.</p>
+
+<p>The Hall of Niobe contains the famous series of
+statues representing the destruction of Niobe and her
+children at the hands of Apollo and Artemis. They
+are Roman or Gr&aelig;co-Roman copies of a group assigned
+by tradition to the fourth century <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, and
+which was brought from Asia Minor to Rome in the
+year 35 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> The finest of these statues is that of
+Niobe's son, the young man who is raising his cloak
+upon his arm as a shield; he was originally protecting
+a sister, who, already pierced by the fatal arrow, leaned
+against his knee as she died.</p>
+
+<p>In a room further on there is an interesting series of
+miniature portraits of the Medici, from Giovanni di
+Averardo to the family of Duke Cosimo. Six of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_183" id="page_183">[183]</a></span>
+later ones are by Bronzino.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of the corridor, by Baccio Bandinelli's
+copy of the Laoco&ouml;n, are three rooms containing the
+drawings and sketches of the Old Masters. It would
+take a book as long as the present to deal adequately
+with them. Many of the Florentine painters, who
+were always better draughtsmen than they were
+colourists, are seen to much greater advantage in their
+drawings than in their finished pictures. Besides a
+most rich collection of the early men and their
+successors, from Angelico to Bartolommeo, there are
+here several of Raphael's cartoons for Madonnas and
+two for his St. George and the Dragon; many of the
+most famous and characteristic drawings of Leonardo
+da Vinci (and it is from his drawings alone that we
+can now get any real notion of this "Magician of the
+Renaissance"); and some important specimens of
+Michelangelo. Here, too, is Andrea Mantegna's
+terrible Judith, conceived in the spirit of some Roman
+heroine, which once belonged to Vasari and was
+highly valued by him. It is dated 1491, and should
+be compared with Botticelli's rendering of the same
+theme.</p>
+
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_184" id="page_184">[184]</a></p>
+<h2 class="p6"><a name="chapter_vi" id="chapter_vi"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2>
+<h3><i>Or San Michele and the Sesto di San Piero</i></h3>
+
+<p class="poem">
+<span class="o1">"Una figura della Donna mia</span><br />
+s'adora, Guido, a San Michele in Orto,<br />
+che di bella sembianza, onesta e pia,<br />
+de' peccatori &egrave; gran rifugio e porto."<br />
+<span class="i6">(<i>Guido Cavalcanti</i> to <i>Guido Orlandi</i>.)</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">A</span>T the end of the bustling noisy Via Calzaioli, the
+Street of the Stocking-makers, rises the Oratory
+of Our Lady, known as San Michele in Orto, "St.
+Michael in the Garden." Around its outer walls,
+enshrined in little temples of their own, stand great
+statues of saints in marble and bronze by the hands of
+the greatest sculptors of Florence&ndash;the canonised
+patrons of the Arts or Guilds, keeping guard over the
+thronging crowds that pass below. This is the grand
+monument of the wealth and taste, devotion and
+charity, of the commercial democracy of the Middle
+Ages.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_21" id="illo_21"></a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_185" id="page_185"></a></span>
+<img src="images/illus201_tmb.jpg" width="262" height="400" alt="ORCAGNA&#39;S TABERNACLE, OR SAN MICHELE" title="" />
+<p class="caption">ORCAGNA&#39;S TABERNACLE, OR SAN MICHELE</p>
+<a href="images/illus201_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>The ancient church of San Michele in Orto was
+demolished by order of the Commune in the thirteenth
+century, to make way for a piazza for the grain and
+corn market, in the centre of which Arnolfo di
+Cambio built a loggia in 1280. Upon one of the
+pilasters of this loggia there was painted a picture of
+the Madonna, held in highest reverence by the frequenters
+of the market; a special company or sodality
+of laymen was formed, the <i>Laudesi</i> of Our Lady of Or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_187" id="page_187">[187]</a></span>
+San Michele, who met here every evening to sing
+<i>laudi</i> in her honour, and who were distinguished even
+in medi&aelig;val Florence, where charity was always on
+a heroic scale, by their munificence towards the poor.
+"On July 3rd, 1292," so Giovanni Villani writes,
+"great and manifest miracles began to be shown forth
+in the city of Florence by a figure of Holy Mary
+which was painted on a pilaster of the loggia of San
+Michele in Orto, where the grain was sold; the sick
+were healed, the deformed made straight, and the
+possessed visibly delivered in great numbers. But the
+preaching friars, and the friars minor likewise, through
+envy or some other cause, would put no faith in it,
+whereby they fell into much infamy with the Florentines.
+And so greatly grew the fame of these miracles
+and merits of Our Lady that folk flocked hither in
+pilgrimage from all parts of Tuscany at her feasts,
+bringing divers waxen images for the wonders worked,
+wherewith a great part of the loggia in front of and
+around the said figure was filled." In spite of ecclesiastical
+scepticism, this popular devotion ever increased;
+the company of the Laudesi, amongst whom, says
+Villani, was a good part of the best folk in Florence,
+had their hands always full of offerings and legacies,
+which they faithfully distributed to the poor.</p>
+
+<p>The wonderful tidings roused even Guido Cavalcanti
+from his melancholy musings among the tombs. As a
+sceptical philosopher, he had little faith in miracles,
+but an <i>esprit fort</i> of the period could not allow himself
+to be on the same side as the friars. A delightful
+<i>via media</i> presented itself; the features of the Madonna
+in the picture bore a certain resemblance to his lady,
+and everything was at once made clear. So he took
+up his pen, and wrote a very beautiful sonnet to his
+friend, Guido Orlandi. It begins: "A figure of my
+Lady is adored, Guido, in San Michele in Orto,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_188" id="page_188">[188]</a></span>
+which, with her fair semblance, pure and tender, is
+the great refuge and harbour of sinners." And after
+describing (with evident devotional feeling, in spite of
+the obvious suggestion that it is the likeness of his
+lady that gives the picture its miraculous powers) the
+devotion of the people and the wonders worked
+on souls and bodies alike, he concludes: "Her fame
+goeth through far off lands: but the friars minor say
+it is idolatry, for envy that she is not their neighbour."
+But Orlandi professed himself much shocked at his
+friend's levity. "If thou hadst said, my friend, of
+Mary," so runs the double sonnet of his answer,
+"Loving and full of grace, thou art a red rose planted
+in the garden; thou wouldst have written fittingly.
+For she is the Truth and the Way, she was the
+mansion of our Lord, and is the port of our salvation."
+And he bids the greater Guido imitate the publican;
+cast the beam out of his own eye and let the mote
+alone in those of the friars: "The friars minor know
+the divine Latin scripture, and the good preachers are
+the defenders of the faith; their preaching is our
+medicine."</p>
+
+<p>One of the most terrible faction fights in Florentine
+history raged round the loggia and oratory on June
+10th, 1304. The Cavalcanti and their allies were
+heroically holding their own, here and in Mercato
+Vecchio, against the overwhelming forces of the Neri
+headed by the Della Tosa, Sinibaldo Donati and
+Boccaccio Adimari, when Neri Abati fired the houses
+round Or San Michele; the wax images in Our
+Lady's oratory flared up, the loggia was burned to
+the ground, and all the houses along Calimara and
+Mercato Nuovo and beyond down to the Ponte
+Vecchio were utterly destroyed. The young nobles
+of the Neri faction galloped about with flaming torches
+to assail the houses of their foes; the Podest&agrave; with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_189" id="page_189">[189]</a></span>
+his troops came into Mercato Nuovo, stared at the
+blaze, but did nothing but block the way. In this
+part of the town was all the richest merchandise of
+Florence, and the loss was enormous. The Cavalcanti,
+against whom the iniquitous plot was specially aimed,
+were absolutely ruined, and left the city without further
+resistance.</p>
+
+<p>The pilaster with Madonna's picture had survived
+the fire, and the <i>Laudesi</i> still met round it to sing her
+praises. But in 1336 the Signoria proposed to erect
+a grand new building on the site of the old loggia,
+which should serve at once for corn exchange and
+provide a fitting oratory for this new and growing
+cult of the Madonna di Orsanmichele. The present
+edifice, half palace and half church, was commenced
+in 1337, and finished at the opening of the fifteenth
+century. The actual building was in the hands of the
+Commune, who delegated their powers to the Arte di
+Por Sta. Maria or Arte della Seta. The Parte Guelfa
+and the Greater Guilds were to see to the external
+decoration of the pilasters, upon each of which tabernacles
+were made to receive the images of the Saints
+before which each of the Arts should come in state, to
+make offerings on the feasts of their proper patrons;
+while the shrine itself, and the internal decorations of
+the loggia (as it was still called), were left in the
+charge and care of the <i>Laudesi</i> themselves, the Compagnia
+of Orsanmichele, which was thoroughly organised
+under its special captains. It is uncertain whom
+the Arte della Seta employed as architect; Vasari
+says that Taddeo Gaddi gave the design, others say
+Orcagna (who worked for the Laudesi inside), and
+more recently Francesco Talenti has been suggested.
+Benci di Cione and Simone di Francesco Talenti,
+who also worked at the same epoch upon the Duomo,
+were among the architects employed later. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_190" id="page_190">[190]</a></span>
+closing in of the arcades, for the better protection of
+the tabernacle, took away the last remnants of its
+original appearance as an open loggia; and, shortly
+before, the corn market itself was removed to the
+present Piazza del Grano, and thus the "Palatium"
+became the present church. The extremely beautifully
+sculptured windows are the work of Simone di
+Francesco Talenti.</p>
+
+<p>There are fourteen of these little temples or niches,
+partly belonging to the Greater and partly to the
+Lesser Arts. It will be seen that, while the seven
+Greater Arts have each their niche, only six out of
+the fourteen Minor Arts are represented. Over the
+niches are <i>tondi</i> with the insignia of each Art. The
+statues were set up at different epochs, and are not
+always those that originally stood here&ndash;altered in one
+case from significant political motives, in others from
+the desire of the guilds to have something more
+thoroughly up to date&ndash;the rejected images being
+made over to the authorities of the Duomo for their
+unfinished fa&ccedil;ade, or sent into exile among the friars
+of Santa Croce. In 1404 the Signoria decreed that,
+within ten years from that date, the Arts who had
+secured their pilasters should have their statues in
+position, on pain of losing the right. But this does
+not seem to have been rigidly enforced.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_22" id="illo_22"></a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_191" id="page_191">[191]</a></span>
+<img src="images/illus207_tmb.jpg" width="258" height="400" alt="WINDOW OF OR SAN MICHELE" title="" />
+<p class="caption">WINDOW OF OR SAN MICHELE</p>
+<a href="images/illus207_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>Beginning at the corner of the northern side, facing
+towards the Duomo, we have the minor Art of the
+Butchers represented by Donatello's St. Peter in marble,
+an early and not very excellent work of the master,
+about 1412 (in a tabernacle of the previous century);
+the <i>tondo</i> above containing their arms, a black goat on
+a gold field, is modern. Next comes the marble
+St. Philip, the patron saint of the minor Art of the
+Shoemakers, by Nanni di Banco, of 1408, a beautiful
+and characteristic work of this too often neglected<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_193" id="page_193"></a></span>
+sculptor. Then, also by Nanni di Banco, the <i>Quattro
+incoronati</i>, the "four crowned martyrs," who, being
+carvers by profession, were put to death under
+Diocletian for refusing to make idols, and are the
+patrons of the masters in stone and wood, a minor Art
+which included sculptors, architects, bricklayers, carpenters,
+and masons; the bas-relief under the shrine,
+also by Nanni, is a priceless masterpiece of realistic
+Florentine democratic art, and shows us the medi&aelig;val
+craftsmen at their work, the every-day life of the men
+who made Florence the dream of beauty which she
+became; above it are the arms of the Guild, in an
+ornate and beautiful medallion, by Luca della
+Robbia. The following shrine, that of the Art of
+makers of swords and armour, had originally Donatello's
+famous St. George in marble, of 1415, which
+is now in the Bargello; the present bronze (inappropriate
+for a minor Art, according to the precedent
+of the others) is a modern copy; the bas-relief
+below, of St. George slaying the dragon, is still
+Donato's. On the western wall, opposite the old
+tower of the Guild of Wool, comes first a bronze
+St. Matthew, made together with its tabernacle by
+Ghiberti and Michelozzo for the greater Guild of
+Money-changers and Bankers (Arte del Cambio),
+and finished in 1422. The Annunciation above is
+by Niccol&ograve; of Arezzo, at the close of the Trecento.
+The very beautiful bronze statue of St. Stephen, by
+Ghiberti, represents the great Guild of Wool, Arte
+della Lana; originally they had a marble St. Stephen,
+but, seeing what excellent statues had been made for
+the Cambio and the Calimala Guilds, they declared
+that since the Arte della Lana claimed to be always
+mistress of the other Arts, she must excel in this
+also; so sent their St. Stephen away to the Cathedral,
+and assigned the new work to Ghiberti (1425).<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_194" id="page_194">[194]</a></span>
+Then comes the marble St. Eligius, by Nanni di
+Banco (1415), for the minor Art of the Maniscalchi,
+which included farriers, iron-smiths, knife-makers,
+and the like; the bas-relief below, also by Nanni,
+represents the Saint (San L&ograve; he is more familiarly
+called, or St. Eloy in French) engaged in shoeing
+a demoniacal horse.</p>
+
+<p>On the southern fa&ccedil;ade, we have St. Mark in
+marble for the minor Art of Linaioli and Rigattieri,
+flax merchants and hucksters, by Donatello, (about
+1412).<a name="fnanchor_32" id="fnanchor_32"></a><a href="#footnote_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> The Arte dei Vaiai e Pellicciai, furriers,
+although a greater Guild, seems to have been contented
+with the rather insignificant marble St. James,
+which follows, of uncertain authorship, and dating
+from the end of the Trecento; the bas-relief seems
+later. The next shrine, that of the Doctors and
+Apothecaries, the great Guild to which Dante belonged
+and which included painters and booksellers,
+is empty; the Madonna herself is their patroness,
+but their statue is now inside the church; the
+Madonna and Child in the medallion above are by
+Luca della Robbia. The next niche is that of the
+great Arte della Seta or Arte di Por Santa Maria,
+the Guild of the Silk-merchants, to which embroiderers,
+goldsmiths and silversmiths were attached;
+the bronze statue of their patron, St. John the Evangelist,
+is by Baccio da Montelupo (1515), and replaces
+an earlier marble now in the Bargello; the
+medallion above with their arms, a gate on a shield
+supported by two cherubs, is by Luca della Robbia.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, on the fa&ccedil;ade in the Via Calzaioli, the first<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_195" id="page_195">[195]</a></span>
+shrine is that of the Arte di Calimala or Arte dei
+Mercatanti, who carried on the great commerce in
+foreign cloth, the chief democratic guild of the latter
+half of the thirteenth century, but which, together with
+the Arte della Lana, began somewhat to decline
+towards the middle of the Quattrocento; their bronze
+St. John Baptist is Ghiberti's, but hardly one of his
+better works (1415). The large central tabernacle
+was originally assigned to the Parte Guelfa, the only
+organisation outside of the Guilds that was allowed to
+share in this work; for them, Donatello made a bronze
+statue of their patron, St. Louis of Toulouse, and
+either Donatello himself or Michelozzo prepared, in
+1423, the beautiful niche for him which is still here.
+But, owing to the great unpopularity of the Parte
+Guelfa and their complete loss of authority under
+the new Medicean regime, this tabernacle was taken
+from them in 1459 and made over to the Universit&agrave;
+dei Mercanti or Magistrato della Mercanzia, a board
+of magistrates who presided over all the Guilds; the
+arms of this magistracy were set up in the present
+medallion by Luca della Robbia in 1462; Donatello's
+St. Louis was sent to the friars minor; and, some
+years later, Verrocchio cast the present masterly group
+of Christ and St. Thomas. Landucci, in his diary for
+1483, tells us how it was set up, and that the bronze
+figure of the Saviour seemed to him the most beautiful
+that had ever been made. Last of all, the bronze
+statue of St. Luke was set up by Giovanni da Bologna
+in 1601, for the Judges and Notaries, who, like the
+silk-merchants, discarded an earlier marble. It must
+be observed that the substitution of the Commercial
+Tribunal for the tyrannical Parte Guelfa completes
+the purely democratic character of the whole monument.</p>
+
+<p>Entering the interior, we pass from the domains of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_196" id="page_196">[196]</a></span>
+the great commercial guilds and their patrons to those
+of the <i>Laudesi</i> of Santa Maria. It is rich and subdued
+in colour, the vaults and pilasters covered with faded
+frescoes. It is divided into two parts, the one ending
+in the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin, the other in the
+chapel and altar of St. Anne, her mother and the deliveress
+of the Republic. These two record the two
+great events of fourteenth century Florentine history&ndash;the
+expulsion of the Duke of Athens and the Black
+Death. It was after this great plague that, in consequence
+of the Compagnia having had great riches left
+to them, "to the honour of the Holy Virgin Mary and
+for the benefit of the poor," the Captains of Orsanmichele,
+as the heads of these Laudesi were called, summoned
+Orcagna, in 1349, to the "work of the
+pilaster," as it was officially styled, to enclose what
+remained of the miraculous picture in a glorious tabernacle.
+He took ten years over it, finishing it in 1359,
+while the railing by Pietro di Migliore was completed
+in 1366. It was approximately at this epoch that it
+was decided to find another place for the market, and
+to close the arcades of the loggia, <i>per adornamento e
+salvezza del tabernacolo di Nostra Donna</i>.</p>
+
+<p>It is goldsmith's work on a gigantic scale, this
+marble reliquary of the archangelic painter. "A
+miracle of loveliness," wrote Lord Lindsay, "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&ndash;worthy
+of her who was spotless among women."
+The whole is crowned with a statue of St. Michael,
+and the miraculous picture is enclosed in an infinite
+wealth and profusion of statues and arabesques, angels
+and prophets, precious stones and lions' heads. Scenes
+in bas-relief from Our Lady's life alternate with
+prophets and allegorical representations of the virtues,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_197" id="page_197">[197]</a></span>
+some of these latter being single figures of great beauty
+and some psychological insight in the rendering&ndash;for
+instance, Docilitas, Solertia, Justitia, Fortitudo&ndash;while
+marble Angels cluster round their Queen's tabernacle in
+eager service and loving worship. At the back is the
+great scene beneath which, to right and left, the series
+begins and ends&ndash;the death of Madonna and her
+Assumption, or rather, Our Lady of the Girdle, the
+giving of that celestial gift to the Thomas who had
+doubted, the mystical treasure which Tuscan Prato
+still fondly believes that her Duomo holds. This is
+perhaps the first representation of this mystery in
+Italian sculpture, and is signed and dated: <i>Andreas
+Cionis pictor Florentinus oratorii archimagister extitit
+hujus, 1359.</i> The figure with a small divided beard,
+talking with a man in a big hat and long beard, is
+Orcagna's own portrait. The miraculous painting
+itself is within the tabernacle. The picture in front,
+the Madonna and Child with goldfinch, adored by
+eight Angels, is believed to be either by Orcagna himself
+or Bernardo Daddi<a name="fnanchor_33" id="fnanchor_33"></a><a href="#footnote_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a>; it is decidedly more primitive
+than their authenticated works, probably because
+it is a comparatively close rendering of the original
+composition.</p>
+
+<p>On the side altar on the right is the venerated
+Crucifix before which St. Antoninus used to pray.
+At one time the Dominicans were wont to come hither
+in procession on the anniversary of his death. In his
+Chronicle of Florence, Antoninus defends the friars
+from the accusations of Villani with respect to their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_198" id="page_198">[198]</a></span>
+scepticism about the miraculous picture. On the opposite
+side altar is the marble statue of Mother and
+Child from the tabernacle of the Medici e Speziali. It
+was executed about the year 1399; Vasari ascribes it
+to a Simone di Firenze, who may possibly be Simone
+di Francesco Talenti.</p>
+
+<p>The altar of St. Anne at the east end of the left half
+of the nave is one of the Republic's thank-offerings for
+their deliverance from the tyranny of Walter de
+Brienne. Public thanksgiving had been held here,
+before Our Lady's picture, as early as 1343, while the
+"Palatium" was still in building; but in the following
+year, 1344, at the instance of the captains of Or San
+Michele and others, the Signoria decreed that "for the
+perpetual memory of the grace conceded by God to
+the Commune and People of Florence, on the day of
+blessed Anne, Mother of the glorious Virgin, by the
+liberation of the city and the citizens, and by the destruction
+of the pernicious and tyrannical yoke," solemn
+offerings should be made on St. Anne's feast day by
+the Signoria and the consuls of the Arts, before her
+statue in Or San Michele, and that on that day all
+offices and shops should be closed, and no one be
+subject to arrest for debt. The present statue on this
+votive altar, representing the Madonna (here perhaps
+symbolising her faithful city of Florence) seated on the
+lap of St. Anne, who is thus protecting her and her
+Divine Child, was executed by Francesco da Sangallo
+in 1526, and replaces an older group in wood; although
+highly praised by Vasari, it will strike most
+people as not quite worthy of the place or the occasion.
+The powerful and expressive head of St. Anne is the
+best part of the group.</p>
+
+<p>The beneficent energies of these Laudesi and their
+captains spread far beyond the limits of this church
+and shrine. The great and still existing company of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_199" id="page_199">[199]</a></span>
+the Misericordia was originally connected with them;
+and the Bigallo for the foundling children was raised
+by them at the same time as their Tabernacle here.
+They contributed generously to the construction of
+the Duomo, and decorated chapels in Santa Croce
+and the Carmine. Sacchetti and Giovanni Boccaccio
+were among their officers; and it was while Boccaccio
+was serving as one of their captains in 1350 that they
+sent a sum of money by his hands to Dante's daughter
+Beatrice, in her distant convent at Ravenna. They
+appear to have spent all they had in the defence of
+Florentine liberty during the great siege of 1529.</p>
+
+<p>The imposing old tower that rises opposite San
+Michele in the Calimala is the Torrione of the Arte
+della Lana, copiously adorned with their arms&ndash;the
+Lamb bearing the Baptist's cross. It was erected at
+the end of the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth
+century, and in it the consuls of the Guild had their
+meetings. It was stormed and sacked by the Ciompi
+in 1378. The heavy arch that connects the tower
+with the upper storey of Or San Michele, and rather
+disfigures the building, is the work of Buontalenti in
+the latter half of the sixteenth century. The large
+vaulted hall into which it leads, intended originally
+for the storage of grain and the like, is now known
+as the Sala di Dante, and witnesses the brilliant
+gatherings of Florentines and foreigners to listen to
+the readings of the <i>Divina Commedia</i> given under the
+auspices of the <i>Societ&agrave; Dantesca Italiana</i>.</p>
+
+<p>This is the part of the city where the Arts had
+their wealth and strength; the very names of the streets
+show it; Calimala and Pellicceria, for instance, which
+run from the Mercato Vecchio to the Via Porta
+Rossa. The Mercato Vecchio, the centre of the city
+both in Roman and medi&aelig;val times, around which the
+houses and towers of the oldest families clustered&ndash;Elisei,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_200" id="page_200">[200]</a></span>
+Caponsacchi, Nerli, Vecchietti, and the rest of
+whom Dante's <i>Paradiso</i> tells&ndash;is now a painfully unsightly
+modern square, with what appears to be a
+triumphal arch bearing the inscription: <i>L'antico centro
+della citt&agrave; da secolare squallore a vita nuova restituita</i>(!).
+Passing down the Calimala to the Via Porta
+Rossa and the Mercato Nuovo, near where the former
+enters the Via Calzaioli, the site is still indicated of
+the Calimala Bottega where the government of the
+Arts was first organised, as told in chapter i. Near
+here and in the Mercato Nuovo, the Cavalcanti had
+their palaces. In the Via Porta Rossa the Arte della
+Seta had their warehouses; the gate from which they
+took their second name, and which is represented on
+their shield, is of course the Por Santa Maria, Our
+Lady's Gate of the old walls or Cerchia Antica,
+which was somewhere about the middle of the present
+Via Por Santa Maria. The Church of Santa Maria
+sopra la Porta, between the Mercato Nuovo and the
+Via delle Terme, is the present San Biagio (now used
+by the firemen); adjoining it is the fine old palace of
+the dreaded captains of the Parte Guelfa. The Via
+Porta Rossa contains some medi&aelig;val houses and the
+lower portions of a few grand old towers still standing;
+as already said, in the first circle of walls there was a
+postern gate, at the end of the present street, opposite
+Santa Trinit&agrave;. In the Mercato Nuovo, where a copy
+of the ancient boar&ndash;which figures in Hans Andersen's
+familiar story&ndash;seems to watch the flower market, the
+arcades were built by Battista del Tasso for Cosimo I.
+Here, too, modernisation has destroyed much. Hardly
+can we conjure up now that day of the great fire in
+1304, when the nobles of the "black" faction
+galloped through the crowd of plunderers, with their
+blazing torches throwing a lurid glow on the steel-clad
+Podest&agrave; with his soldiers drawn up here idly to gaze<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_203" id="page_203">[203]</a></span>
+upon the flames! A house that once belonged to the
+Cavalcanti is still standing in Mercato Nuovo, marked
+by the Cross of the People; the branch of the family
+who lived here left the magnates and joined the people,
+as the Cross indicates, changing their name from Cavalcanti
+to Cavallereschi.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_23" id="illo_23"></a>
+<img src="images/illus217_tmb.jpg" width="265" height="400" alt="TOWER OF THE ARTE DELLA LANA" title="" />
+<p class="caption">TOWER OF THE ARTE DELLA LANA</p>
+<a href="images/illus217_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>The little fourteenth century church of St. Michael,
+now called San Carlo, which stands opposite San
+Michele in Orto on the other side of the Via Calzaioli,
+was originally a votive chapel to Saint Anne, built at
+the expense of the captains of the Laudesi on a site
+purchased by the Commune. It was begun in 1349
+by Fioraventi and Benci di Cione, simultaneously with
+Orcagna's tabernacle, continued by Simone di Francesco
+Talenti, and completed at the opening of the
+fifteenth century. The captains intended to have
+the ceremonial offerings made here instead of in the
+Loggia; but the thing fell through owing to a disagreement
+with the Arte di Por Santa Maria, and the
+votive altar remained in the Loggia.</p>
+
+<p>Between San Carlo and the Duomo the street has
+been completely modernised. Of old it was the Corso
+degli Adimari, surrounded by the houses and towers
+of this fierce Guelf clan, who were at deadly feud with
+the Donati. Cacciaguida in the <i>Paradiso</i> (canto xvi.)
+describes them as "the outrageous tribe that playeth
+dragon after whoso fleeth, and to whoso showeth
+tooth&ndash;or purse&ndash;is quiet as a lamb." One of their
+towers still stands on the left. On the right the
+place is marked where the famous loggia, called the
+Neghittosa, once stood, which belonged to the branch
+of the Adimari called the Cavicciuli, who, in spite of
+their hatred to the Donati, joined the Black Guelfs.
+One of them, Boccaccio or Boccaccino Adimari,
+seized upon Dante's goods when he was exiled, and
+exerted his influence to prevent his being recalled.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_204" id="page_204">[204]</a></span>
+In this loggia, too, Filippo Argenti used to sit, the
+<i>Fiorentino spirito bizzarro</i> whom Dante saw rise before
+him covered with mire out of the marshy lake of Styx.
+He is supposed to have ridden a horse shod with
+silver, and there is a rare story in the <i>Decameron</i> of a
+mad outburst of bestial fury on his part in this very
+loggia, on account of a mild practical joke on the
+part of Ciacco, a bon vivant of the period whom
+Dante has sternly flung into the hell of gluttons. On
+this occasion Filippo, who was an enormously big,
+strong, and sinewy man, beat a poor little dandy called
+Biondello within an inch of his life. In this same
+loggia, on August 4th, 1397, a party of young
+Florentine exiles, who had come secretly from
+Bologna with the intention of killing Maso degli
+Albizzi, took refuge, after a vain attempt to call the
+people to arms. From the highest part of the loggia,
+seeing a great crowd assembling round them, they
+harangued the mob, imploring them not stupidly to
+wait to see their would-be deliverers killed and themselves
+thrust back into still more grievous servitude.
+When not a soul moved, "finding out too late how
+dangerous it is to wish to set free a people that
+desires, happen what may, to be enslaved," as Machiavelli
+cynically puts it, they escaped into the Duomo,
+where, after a vain attempt at defending themselves,
+they were captured by the Captain, put to the question
+and executed. There were about ten of them in all, including
+three of the Cavicciuli and Antonio dei Medici.</p>
+
+<p>On November 9th, 1494, when the Florentines
+rose against Piero dei Medici and his brothers, the
+young Cardinal Giovanni rode down this street with
+retainers and a few citizens shouting, <i>Popolo e libert&agrave;</i>,
+pretending that he was going to join the insurgents.
+But when he got to San Michele in Orto, the people
+turned upon him from the piazza with their pikes and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_205" id="page_205">[205]</a></span>
+lances, with loud shouts of "Traitor!" upon which
+he fled back in great dread. Landucci saw him at
+the windows of his palace, on his knees with clasped
+hand, commending himself to God. "When I saw
+him," he says, "I grew very sorry for him (<i>m'inteneri
+assai</i>); and I judged that he was a good and
+sensible youth."</p>
+
+<p>To the east of the Via Calzaioli lies the Sesto di
+San Piero Maggiore, which, at the end of the thirteenth
+century, received the pleasant name of the
+Sesto di Scandali. It lies on either side of the Via
+del Corso, which with its continuations ran from east
+to west through the old city. In the Via della Condotta,
+at the corner of the Vicolo dei Cerchi, still
+stands the palace which belonged to a section of this
+family (the section known as the White Cerchi to
+distinguish them from Messer Vieri's branch, the
+Black Cerchi, who were even more "white" in
+politics, in spite of their name); in this palace the
+Priors sat before Arnolfo built the Palazzo Vecchio,
+which became the seat of government in 1299. It was
+there, not here, that Dante and his colleagues, on June
+15th, 1300, entered upon office, and the same day
+confirmed the sentences which had been passed under
+their predecessors against the three traitors who had
+conspired to betray Florence to Pope Boniface; and
+then, a few days later, passed the decree by which
+Corso Donati and Guido Cavalcanti were sent into
+exile. Later the vicars of Robert of Anjou for a time
+resided here, and the administrators appointed to assess
+the confiscated goods of "rebels." At the corner of
+the Via dei Cerchi, where it joins the Via dei Cimatori,
+are traces of the loggia of the Cerchi; the same corner
+affords a picturesque glimpse of the belfrey of the
+Badia and the tower of the Podesta's palace.</p>
+
+<p>There was another great palace of the Cerchi, referred<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_206" id="page_206">[206]</a></span>
+to in the <i>Paradiso</i>, which had formerly belonged
+to the Ravignani and the Conti Guidi, the acquisition
+of which by Messer Vieri had excited the envy of the
+Donati. This palace is described by Dante (<i>Parad.</i>
+xvi.) as being <i>sopra la porta</i>, that is, over the inner
+gate of St. Peter, the gate of the first circuit in
+Cacciaguida's day. No trace of it remains, but it
+was apparently on the north side of the Corso where
+it now joins the Via del Proconsolo. "Over the
+gate," says Cacciaguida, "which is now laden with
+new felony of such weight that there will soon be a
+wrecking of the ship, were the Ravignani, whence is
+descended the Count Guido, and whoever has since
+taken the name of the noble Bellincione." Here the
+daughter of Bellincione Berti, the <i>alto Bellincion</i>, lived,&ndash;the
+beautiful and good Gualdrada, whom we can
+dimly discern as a sweet and gracious presence in that
+far-off early Florence of which the <i>Paradiso</i> sings;
+she was the ancestress of the great lords of the Casentino,
+the Conti Guidi. The principal houses of the
+Donati appear to have been on the Duomo side of the
+Corso, just before the Via dello Studio now joins it;
+but they had possessions on the other side as well.
+Giano della Bella had his house almost opposite to
+them, on the southern side. A little further on, at
+the corner where the Corso joins the Via del Proconsolo,
+Folco Portinari lived, the father, according
+to tradition, of Dante's Beatrice: "he who had been
+the father of so great a marvel, as this most noble
+Beatrice was manifestly seen to be." Folco's sons
+joined the Bianchi; one of them, Pigello, was
+poisoned during Dante's priorate; an elder son,
+Manetto Portinari (the friend of Dante and Cavalcanti),
+afterwards ratted and made his peace with the
+Neri. All the family are included, together with the
+Giuochi who lived opposite to them, in a sentence<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_207" id="page_207">[207]</a></span>
+passed against Dante and his sons in 1315, from which
+Manetto Portinari is
+excepted by name.
+The building which
+now occupies the site
+of the Casa Portinari
+was once the Salviati
+Palace.</p>
+
+<div class="figright"><a name="illo_24" id="illo_24"></a>
+<img src="images/illus223_tmb.jpg" width="290" height="400" alt="HOUSE OF DANTE" title="" />
+<p class="caption">HOUSE OF DANTE</p>
+<a href="images/illus223_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>In the little Piazza
+di San Martino is
+shown the Casa di
+Dante, which undoubtedly
+belonged
+to the Alighieri, and
+in which Dante is
+said to have been
+born. It has been
+completely modernised.
+The Alighieri
+had also a house in
+the Via Santa Margherita,
+which runs
+from the Piazza San
+Martino to the Corso,
+opposite the little
+church of Santa Margherita.
+Hard by,
+in the Piazza dei
+Donati a section of
+that family had a
+house and garden;
+and here Dante saw
+and wooed Gemma,
+the daughter of Manetto Donati. The old tower
+which seems to watch over Dante's house from
+the other side of the Piazza San Martino, the Torre<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_208" id="page_208">[208]</a></span>
+della Castagna, belonged in Dante's days to the monks
+of the Badia; in it, in 1282, the Priors of the
+Arts held their first meeting, when the government
+of the Republic was placed in their hands. At the
+corner of the Piazza, opposite Dante's house, lived
+the Sacchetti, the family from which the novelist,
+Franco, sprang. They were in deadly feud with Geri
+del Bello, the cousin of Dante's father, who lived in
+the house next to Dante's; and, shortly before the
+year of Dante's vision, the Sacchetti murdered Geri.
+He seems to have deserved his fate, and Dante places
+him among the sowers of discord in Hell, where he
+points at Dante and threatens him vehemently. "His
+violent death," says the poet in <i>Inferno</i> xxix, "which
+is not yet avenged for him, by any that is a partner
+of his shame, made him indignant; therefore, as I
+suppose, he went away without speaking to me; and
+in that he has made me pity him the more." Thirty
+years after the murder, Geri's nephews broke into the
+house of the Sacchetti and stabbed one of the family
+to death; and the two families were finally reconciled
+in 1342, on which occasion Dante's half-brother,
+Francesco Alighieri, was the representative of the
+Alighieri. Many years later, Dante's great-grandson,
+Leonardo Alighieri, came from Verona to Florence.
+"He paid me a visit," writes Leonardo Bruni,
+"as a friend of the memory of his great-grandfather,
+Dante. And I showed him Dante's house, and that of
+his forebears, and I pointed out to him many particulars
+with which he was not acquainted, because he and his
+family had been estranged from their fatherland. And
+so does Fortune roll this world around, and change its
+inhabitants up and down as she turns her wheel."</p>
+
+<p>Beyond the Via del Proconsolo the Borgo, now
+called of the Albizzi, was originally the Borgo di
+San Piero&ndash;a suburb of the old city, but included<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_209" id="page_209">[209]</a></span>
+in the second walls of the twelfth century. The
+present name records the brief, but not inglorious
+period of the rule of the oligarchy or Ottimati,
+before Cosimo dei Medici obtained complete possession
+of the State. It was formerly called the Corso di
+Por San Piero. The first palace on the right (De
+Rast or Quaratesi) was built for the Pazzi by
+Brunelleschi, and still shows their armorial bearings
+by Donatello. They had another palace further on,
+on the left, opposite the Via dell'Acqua. Still
+further on (past the Altoviti palace, with its caricatures)
+is the palace of the Albizzi family, on the left,
+as you approach the Piazza. Here Maso degli
+Albizzi, and then Rinaldo, lived and practically ruled
+the state. Giuliano dei Medici alighted here in
+1512. At the end of the Borgo degli Albizzi is
+now the busy, rather picturesque little Piazza di San
+Piero Maggiore, usually full of stalls and trucks.
+St. Peter's Gate in Dante's time lay just beyond the
+church, to the left. In this Piazza also the Donati
+had houses; and it was through this gate that Corso
+Donati burst into Florence with his followers on the
+morning of November 5th, 1301; "and he entered
+into the city like a daring and bold cavalier," as
+Dino Compagni&ndash;who loves a strong personality even
+on the opposite side to his own&ndash;puts it. The
+Bianchi in the Sesto largely outnumbered his forces,
+but did not venture to attack him, while the populace
+bawled <i>Viva il Barone</i> to their hearts' content. He
+incontinently seized that tall tower of the Corbizzi
+that still rises opposite to the fa&ccedil;ade of the church,
+at the southern corner of the Piazza in the Via del
+Mercatino, and hung out his banner from it. Seven
+years later he made his last stand in this square and
+round this tower, as we have told in chapter ii.
+Of the church of San Piero Maggiore, only the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_210" id="page_210">[210]</a></span>
+seventeenth century fa&ccedil;ade remains; but of old it
+ranked as the third of the Florentine temples. According
+to the legend, it was on his way to this
+church that San Zenobio raised the French child to
+life in the Borgo degli Albizzi, opposite the spot
+where the Palazzo Altoviti now stands. It is said
+to have been the only church in Florence free from
+the taint of simony in the days of St. Giovanni Gualberto,
+and of old had the privilege of first receiving
+the new Archbishops when they entered Florence. The
+Archbishop went through a curious and beautiful
+ceremony of mystic marriage with the Abbess of the
+Benedictine convent attached to the church, who
+apparently personified the diocese of Florence. Every
+year on Easter Monday the canons of the Duomo
+came here in procession; and on St. Peter's day the
+captains of the Parte Guelfa entered the Piazza in
+state to make a solemn offering, and had a race run
+in the Piazza Santa Croce after the ceremony. The
+artists, Lorenzo di Credi, Mariotto Albertinelli, Piero
+di Cosimo and Luca della Robbia were buried here.
+Two of the best pictures that the church contained&ndash;a
+Coronation of the Madonna ascribed to Orcagna
+and the famous Assumption said by Vasari to have
+been painted by Botticelli for Matteo Palmieri (which
+was supposed to inculcate heretical neoplatonic doctrines
+concerning the human soul and the Angels in the
+spheres), are now in the National Gallery of
+London.</p>
+
+<p>It was in this Piazza that the conspirators resolved
+to assassinate Maso degli Albizzi. Their spies watched
+him leave his palace, walk leisurely towards the church
+and then enter an apothecary's shop, close to San
+Piero. They hurried off to tell their associates, but
+when the would-be assassins arrived on the scene,
+they found that Maso had given them the slip and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_211" id="page_211">[211]</a></span>
+left the shop.</p>
+
+<p>Turning down the Via del Mercatino and back
+to the Badia along the Via Pandolfini, we pass the
+palace which once belonged to Francesco Valori,
+Savonarola's formidable adherent. Here it was on
+that terrible Palm Sunday, 1498, when Hell broke
+loose, as Landucci puts it, that Valori's wife was
+shot dead at a window, while her husband in the
+street below, on his way to answer the summons of
+the Signoria, was murdered near San Procolo by
+the kinsmen of the men whom he had sent to the
+scaffold.</p>
+
+<p>The Badia shares with the Baptistery and San
+Miniato the distinction of being the only Florentine
+churches mentioned by Dante. In Cacciaguida's days
+it was close to the old Roman wall; from its campanile
+even in Dante's time, Florence still "took tierce and
+nones "; and, at the sound of its bells, the craftsmen
+of the Arts went to and from their work. Originally
+founded by the Countess Willa in the tenth century,
+the Badia di San Stefano (as it was called) that Dante
+and Boccaccio knew was the work of Arnolfo di
+Cambio; but it was entirely rebuilt in the seventeenth
+century, with consequent destruction of priceless
+frescoes by Giotto and Masaccio. The present
+graceful campanile is of the fourteenth century. The
+relief in the lunette over the chief door, rather in the
+manner of Andrea della Robbia, is by Benedetto
+Buglione. In the left transept is the monument by
+Mino da Fiesole of Willa's son Hugo, Margrave of
+Tuscany, who died on St. Thomas' day, 1006.
+Dante calls him the great baron; his anniversary was
+solemnly celebrated here, and he was supposed to have
+conferred knighthood and nobility upon the Della Bella
+and other Florentine families. "Each one," says
+Cacciaguida, "who beareth aught of the fair arms of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_212" id="page_212">[212]</a></span>
+the great baron, whose name and worth the festival of
+Thomas keepeth living, from him derived knighthood
+and privilege" (<i>Paradiso</i> xvi.). In a chapel to the
+left of this monument is Filippino Lippi's picture of
+the Madonna appearing to St. Bernard, painted in
+1480, one of the most beautiful renderings of an
+exceedingly poetical subject. For Dante, Bernard is
+<i>colui ch'abbelliva di Maria, come del sole stella mattutina</i>,
+"he who drew light from Mary, as the morning star
+from the sun." Filippino has introduced the portrait
+of the donor, on the right, Francesco di Pugliese.
+The church contains two other works by Mino da
+Fiesole, a Madonna and (in the right transept) the
+sepulchral monument of Bernardo Giugni, who served
+the State as ambassador to Milan and Venice in the
+days of Cosimo and Piero dei Medici. At the
+entrance to the cloisters Francesco Valori is buried.</p>
+
+<p>It was in the Badia (and not in the Church of
+San Stefano, near the Via Por Santa Maria, as usually
+stated) that Boccaccio lectured upon the <i>Divina Commedia</i>
+in 1373. Benvenuto da Imola came over from
+Bologna to attend his beloved master's readings, and
+was much edified. But the audience were not equally
+pleased, and Boccaccio had to defend himself in verse.
+One of the sonnets he wrote on this occasion, <i>Se Dante
+piange, dove ch'el si sia</i>, has been admirably translated
+by Dante Rossetti:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_213" id="page_213">[213]</a></p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<p>If Dante mourns, there wheresoe'er he be,<br />
+<span class="i1">That such high fancies of a soul so proud</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Should be laid open to the vulgar crowd,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">(As, touching my Discourse, I'm told by thee),</span></p>
+
+<p>This were my grievous pain; and certainly<br />
+<span class="i1">My proper blame should not be disavow'd;</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Though hereof somewhat, I declare aloud</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Were due to others, not alone to me.</span></p>
+
+<p>False hopes, true poverty, and therewithal<br />
+<span class="i1">The blinded judgment of a host of friends,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">And their entreaties, made that I did thus.</span></p>
+
+<p>But of all this there is no gain at all<br />
+<span class="i1">Unto the thankless souls with whose base ends</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Nothing agrees that's great or generous.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_25" id="illo_25"></a>
+<img src="images/illus229_tmb.jpg" width="150" height="234" alt="ARMS OF THE SESTO DI SAN PIERO" title="" />
+<p class="caption">ARMS OF THE SESTO DI SAN PIERO</p>
+<a href="images/illus229_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_214" id="page_214">[214]</a></p>
+<h2 class="p6"><a name="chapter_vii" id="chapter_vii"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2>
+<h3><i>From the Bargello past Santa Croce</i></h3>
+
+<p class="poem">
+<span class="o1">"Non ha l'ottimo artista alcun concetto,</span><br />
+ch'un marmo solo in s&eacute; non circonscriva<br />
+col suo soverchio; e solo a quello arriva<br />
+la man che ubbidisce all'intelletto."<br />
+<span class="i10">&ndash;<i>Michelangelo Buonarroti.</i></span></p>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">E</span>VEN as the Palazzo Vecchio or Palace of the
+Priors is essentially the monument of the <i>Secondo
+Popolo</i>, so the Palazzo del Podest&agrave; or Palace of the
+Commune belongs to the <i>Primo Popolo</i>; it was commenced
+in 1255, in that first great triumph of the
+democracy, although mainly finished towards the
+middle of the following century. Here sat the
+Podest&agrave;, with his assessors and retainers, whom he
+brought with him to Florence&ndash;himself always an
+alien noble. Originally he was the chief officer of the
+Republic, for the six months during which he held
+office, led the burgher forces in war, and acted as chief
+justice in peace; but he gradually sunk in popular estimation
+before the more democratic Captain of the
+People (who was himself, it will be remembered, normally
+an alien Guelf noble). A little later, both
+Podest&agrave; and Captain were eclipsed by the Gonfaloniere
+of Justice. In the fifteenth century the Podest&agrave; was
+still the president of the chief civil and criminal court
+of the city, and his office was only finally abolished
+during the Gonfalonierate of Piero Soderini at the
+beginning of the Cinquecento. Under the Medicean<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_215" id="page_215">[215]</a></span>
+grand dukes the Bargello, or chief of police, resided
+here&ndash;hence the present name of the palace; and it is
+well to repeat, once for all, that when the Bargello, or
+Court of the Bargello, is mentioned in Florentine
+history&ndash;in grim tales of torture and executions and
+the like&ndash;it is not this building, but the residence of
+the Executore of Justice, now incorporated into the
+Palazzo Vecchio, that is usually meant.</p>
+
+<p>It was in this Palace of the Podest&agrave;, however, that
+Guido Novello resided and ruled the city in the name
+of King Manfred, during the short period of Ghibelline
+tyranny that followed Montaperti, 1260-1266, and which
+the Via Ghibellina, first opened by him, recalls. The
+Palace was broken into by the populace in 1295, just
+before the fall of Giano della Bella, because a Lombard
+Podest&agrave; had unjustly acquitted Corso Donati for the
+death of a burgher at the hands of his riotous retainers.
+Here, too, was Cante dei Gabbrielli of
+Gubbio installed by Charles of Valois, in November
+1301, and from its gates issued the Crier of the
+Republic that summoned Dante Alighieri and his
+companions in misfortune to appear before the
+Podest&agrave;'s court. In one of those dark vaulted rooms
+on the ground floor, now full of a choice collection of
+medi&aelig;val arms and armour, Cante's successor, Fulcieri
+da Calvoli, tortured those of the Bianchi who fell into his
+cruel hands. "He sells their flesh while it is still alive,"
+says Dante in the <i>Purgatorio</i>, "then slayeth them like
+a worn out brute: many doth he deprive of life, and
+himself of honour." Some died under the torments,
+others were beheaded.</p>
+
+<p>"Messer Donato Alberti," writes Dino Compagni,
+"mounted vilely upon an ass, in a peasant's smock, was
+brought before the Podest&agrave;. And when he saw him,
+he asked him: 'Are you Messer Donato Alberti?'
+He replied: 'I am Donato. Would that Andrea da<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_216" id="page_216">[216]</a></span>
+Cerreto were here before us, and Niccola Acciaioli,
+and Baldo d'Aguglione, and Jacopo da Certaldo, who
+have destroyed Florence.'<a name="fnanchor_34" id="fnanchor_34"></a><a href="#footnote_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> Then he was fastened to
+the rope and the cord adjusted to the pulley, and so
+they let him stay; and the windows and doors of the
+Palace were opened, and many citizens called in under
+other pretexts, that they might see him tortured and
+derided."</p>
+
+<p>In the rising of the Ciompi, July 1378, the palace
+was forced to surrender to the insurgents after an
+assault of two hours. They let the Podest&agrave; escape,
+but burnt all books and papers, especially those of the
+hated Arte della Lana. At night as many as the
+palace could hold quartered themselves here.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_26" id="illo_26"></a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_217" id="page_217"></a></span>
+<img src="images/illus233_tmb.jpg" width="253" height="400" alt="BARGELLO COURTYARD AND STAIRCASE" title="" />
+<p class="caption">BARGELLO COURTYARD AND STAIRCASE</p>
+<a href="images/illus233_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>The beautiful court and stairway, surrounded by
+statues and armorial bearings, the ascent guarded by
+the symbolical lion of Florence and leading to an open
+loggia, is the work of Benci di Cione and Neri di
+Fioraventi, 1333-1345. The palace is now the
+National Museum of Sculpture and kindred arts and
+crafts. Keeping to the left, round the court itself, we
+see a marble St. Luke by Niccol&ograve; di Piero Lamberti,
+of the end of the fourteenth century, from the niche of
+the Judges and Notaries at Or San Michele; a magnificent
+sixteenth century portalantern in beaten iron;
+the old marble St. John Evangelist, contemporaneous
+with the St. Luke, and probably by Piero di Giovanni
+Tedesco, from the niche of the Arte della Seta at Or
+San Michele; some allegorical statues by Giovanni da
+Bologna and Vincenzo Danti, in rather unsuccessful
+imitation of Michelangelo; a dying Adonis, questionably
+ascribed to Michelangelo. And, finally
+(numbered 18), there stands Michelangelo's so-called<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_219" id="page_219">[219]</a></span>
+"Victory," the triumph of the ideal over outworn
+tyranny and superstition; a radiant youth, but worn
+and exhausted by the struggle, rising triumphantly over
+a shape of gigantic eld, so roughly hewn as to seem
+lost in the mist from which the young hero has
+gloriously freed himself.<a name="fnanchor_35" id="fnanchor_35"></a><a href="#footnote_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a></p>
+
+<p>Also on the ground floor, to the left, are two rooms
+full of statuary. The first contains nothing important,
+save perhaps the Madonna and Child with St. Peter
+and St. Paul, formerly above the Porta Romana. In
+the second room, a series of bas-reliefs by Benedetto da
+Rovezzano, begun in 1511 and terribly mutilated by
+the imperial soldiery during the siege, represent scenes
+connected with the life and miracles of St. Giovanni
+Gualberto, including the famous trial of Peter Igneus,
+who, in order to convict the Bishop of Florence of
+simony, passed unharmed through the ordeal of fire.
+Here is the unfinished bust of Brutus (111) by
+Michelangelo, one of his latest works, and a significant
+expression of the state of the man's heart, when he
+was forced to rear sumptuous monuments for the new
+tyrants who had overthrown his beloved Republic.
+Then a chimney-piece by Benedetto da Rovezzano
+from the Casa Borgherini, one of the most sumptuous
+pieces of domestic furniture of the Renaissance; a very
+beautiful tondo of the Madonna and Child with the
+little St. John (123) by Michelangelo, made for
+Bartolommeo Pitti early in the Cinquecento; the mask
+of a grinning faun with gap-teeth, traditionally shown
+as the head struck out by the boy Michelangelo in his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_220" id="page_220">[220]</a></span>
+first visit to the Medici Gardens, when he attracted the
+attention of Lorenzo the Magnificent&ndash;but probably a
+comparatively modern work suggested by Vasari's
+story; a sketch in marble for the martyrdom of St.
+Andrew, supposed to be a juvenile work of Michelangelo's,
+but also doubtful. Here too is Michelangelo's
+drunken Bacchus (128), an exquisitely-modelled
+intoxicated vine-crowned youth, behind
+whom a sly little satyr lurks, nibbling grapes. It is
+one of the master's earliest works, very carefully and
+delicately finished, executed during his first visit to
+Rome, for Messer Jacopo Galli, probably about 1497.
+Of this statue Ruskin wrote, while it was still in the
+Uffizi: "The white lassitude of joyous limbs, panther-like,
+yet passive, fainting with their own delight, that
+gleam among the Pagan formalisms of the Uffizi, far
+away, separating themselves in their lustrous lightness
+as the waves of an Alpine torrent do by their dancing
+from the dead stones, though the stones be as white as
+they." Shelley, on the contrary, found it "most
+revolting," "the idea of the deity of Bacchus in the
+conception of a Catholic." Near it is a tondo of the
+Virgin and Child with the Baptist, by Andrea
+Ferrucci.</p>
+
+<p>At the top of the picturesque and richly ornamented
+staircase, to the right of the loggia on the first floor,
+opens a great vaulted hall, where the works of Donatello,
+casts and originals, surround a cast of his great
+equestrian monument to Gattamelata at Padua&ndash;a hall
+of such noble proportions that even Gattamelata looks
+insignificant, where he sits his war-horse between the
+Cross of the People and the Lily of the Commune.
+Here the general council of the Commune met&ndash;the
+only council (besides the special council of the Podest&agrave;)
+in which the magnates could sit and vote, and it was
+here, on July 6th, 1295, that Dante Alighieri first
+entered public life; he spoke in support of the modifications<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_221" id="page_221">[221]</a></span>
+of the Ordinances of Justice&ndash;which may have
+very probably been a few months before he definitely
+associated himself with the People by matriculating in
+the Arte dei Medici e Speziali. Among the casts and
+copies that fill this room, there are several original and
+splendid works of Donatello; the Marzocco, or symbolical
+lion of Florence protecting the shield of the
+Commune, which was formerly in front of the Palace
+of the Priors; the bronze David, full of Donatello's
+delight in the exuberance of youthful manhood just
+budding; the San Giovannino or little St. John;
+the marble David, inferior to the bronze, but heralding
+Michelangelo; the bronze bust of a youth, called
+the son of Gattamelata; Love trampling upon a snake
+(bronze); St. George in marble from Or San Michele,
+an idealised condottiere of the Quattrocento; St. John
+the Baptist from the Baptistery; and a bronze relief of
+the Crucifixion. The coloured bust is now believed
+by many critics to be neither the portrait of Niccol&ograve; da
+Uzzano nor by Donatello; it is possibly a Roman hero
+by some sculptor of the Seicento.</p>
+
+<p>The next room is the audience chamber of the
+Podest&agrave;. Besides the Cross and the Lilies on the
+windows, its walls and roof are covered with the
+gold lion on azure ground, the arms of the Duke
+of Athens. They were cancelled by decree of the
+Republic in 1343, and renewed in 1861; as a patriotically
+worded tablet on the left, under the window,
+explains. Opening out of this is the famous Chapel of
+the Podest&agrave;&ndash;famous for the frescoes on its walls&ndash;once
+a prison. From out of these terribly ruined
+frescoes stands the figure of Dante (stands out, alas,
+because completely repainted&ndash;a mere <i>rifacimento</i> with
+hardly a trace of the original work left) in what was
+once a <i>Paradiso</i>; the dim figures on either side are
+said to represent Brunette Latini and either Corso<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_222" id="page_222">[222]</a></span>
+Donati or Guido Cavalcanti. In spite of a very
+pleasant fable, it is absolutely certain that this is not
+a contemporaneous portrait of Dante (although it may
+be regarded as an authentic likeness, to some extent)
+and was not painted by Giotto; the frescoes were
+executed by some later follower of Giotto (possibly by
+Taddeo Gaddi, who painted the lost portraits of Dante
+and Guido in Santa Croce) after 1345. The two
+paintings below on either side, Madonna and Child
+and St. Jerome, are votive pictures commissioned by
+pious Podest&agrave;s in 1490 and 1491, the former by
+Sebastiano Mainardi, the brother-in-law of Domenico
+Ghirlandaio.</p>
+
+<p>The third room contains small bronze works by
+Tuscan masters of the Quattrocento. In the centre,
+Verrocchio's David (22), cast for Lorenzo dei
+Medici, one of the masterpieces of the fifteenth
+century. Here are the famous trial plates for the
+great competition for the second bronze gates of the
+Baptistery, announced in 1401, the Sacrifice of
+Abraham, by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti respectively;
+the grace and harmony of Ghiberti's composition
+(12) contrast strongly with the force, almost violence,
+the dramatic action and movement of Brunelleschi's
+(13). Ghiberti's, unlike his rival's, is in one single
+piece; but, until lately, there has been a tendency to
+underrate the excellence of Brunelleschi's relief.
+Here, too, are Ghiberti's reliquary of St. Hyacinth,
+executed in 1428, with two beautiful floating Angels
+(21); several bas-reliefs by Bertoldo, Donatello's
+pupil and successor; the effigy of Marino Soccino,
+a lawyer of Siena, by the Sienese sculptor Il Vecchietta
+(16); and, in a glass case, Orpheus by Bertoldo,
+Hercules and Ant&aelig;us by Antonio Pollaiuolo, and
+Love on a Scallop Shell by Donatello. The following<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_223" id="page_223">[223]</a></span>
+room contains mostly bronzes by later masters, especially
+Cellini, Giovanni da Bologna, Vincenzo Danti.
+The most noteworthy of its contents are Daniele
+Ricciarelli's striking bust of Michelangelo (37);
+Cellini's bronze sketch for Perseus (38), his bronze
+bust of Duke Cosimo I. (39), his wax model for
+Perseus (40), the liberation of Andromeda, from the
+pedestal of the statue in the Loggia dei Lanzi (42);
+and above all, Giovanni da Bologna's flying Mercury
+(82), showing what exceedingly beautiful mythological
+work could still be produced when the golden days
+of the Renaissance were over. It was cast in 1565,
+and, like many of the best bronzes of this epoch, was
+originally placed on a fountain in one of the Medicean
+villas.</p>
+
+<p>On the second floor, first a long room with seals,
+etc., guarded by Rosso's frescoed Justice. Here, and
+in the room on the left, is a most wonderful array
+of the works in enamelled terra cotta of the Della
+Robbias&ndash;Luca and Andrea, followed by Giovanni
+and their imitators. In the best work of Luca and
+Andrea&ndash;and there is much of their very best and
+most perfect work in these two rooms&ndash;religious
+devotion received its highest and most perfect expression
+in sculpture. Their Madonnas, Annunciations,
+Nativities and the like, are the sculptural
+counterpart to Angelico's divinest paintings, though
+never quite attaining to his spiritual insight and supra-sensible
+gaze upon life. Andrea's work is more
+pictorial in treatment than Luca's, has less vigour
+and even at times a perceptible trace of sentimentality;
+but in sheer beauty his very best creations do not
+yield to those of his great master and uncle. Both
+Luca and Andrea kept to the simple blue and white&ndash;in
+the best part of their work&ndash;and surrounded their
+Madonnas with exquisite festoons of fruit and leaves:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_224" id="page_224">[224]</a></span>
+"wrought them," in Pater's words, "into all sorts of
+marvellous frames and garlands, giving them their
+natural colours, only subdued a little, a little paler
+than nature."</p>
+
+<p>To the right of the first Della Robbia room, are
+two more rooms full of statuary, and one with a
+collection of medals, including that commemorating
+Savonarola's Vision of the Sword of the Lord. In
+the first room&ndash;taking merely the more important&ndash;we
+may see Music, wrongly ascribed to Orcagna,
+probably earlier (139); bust of Charles VIII. of
+France (164), author uncertain; bust in terra cotta
+of a young warrior, by Antonio Pollaiuolo (161), as
+grandly insolent and confident as any of Signorelli's
+savage youths in the Orvieto frescoes. Also, bust of
+Matteo Palmieri, the humanist and suspected heretic,
+by Antonio Rossellino (160); bust of Pietro Mellini
+by Benedetto da Maiano (153); portrait of a young
+lady, by Matteo Civitali of Lucca (142); a long
+relief (146) ascribed to Verrocchio and representing
+the death of a lady of the Tornabuoni family in
+child-birth, which Shelley greatly admired and described
+at length, under the impression that he was
+studying a genuine antique: "It is altogether an
+admirable piece," he says, "quite in the spirit of
+Terence." The uncompromising realism of the male
+portraiture of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries
+is fully illustrated in this room, and there is at the
+same time a peculiar tenderness and winsomeness in
+representing young girls, which is exceedingly attractive.</p>
+
+<p>In the next room there are many excellent portraits
+of this kind, named and unnamed. Of more important
+works, we should notice the San Giovannino by Antonio
+Rossellino, and a tondo by the same master
+representing the Adoration of the Shepherds; Andrea
+Verrocchio's Madonna and Child; Verrocchio's Lady<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_225" id="page_225">[225]</a></span>
+with the Bouquet (181), with those exquisite hands of
+which Gabriele D'Annunzio has almost wearied the
+readers of his <i>Gioconda</i>; by Matteo Civitali of Lucca,
+Faith gazing ecstatically upon the Sacrament. By
+Mino da Fiesole are a Madonna and Child, and
+several portrait busts&ndash;of the elder Piero dei Medici
+(234) and his brother Giovanni di Cosimo (236),
+and of Rinaldo della Luna. We should also notice
+the statues of Christ and three Apostles, of the school
+of Andrea Pisano; portrait of a girl by Desiderio da
+Settignano; two bas-reliefs by Luca della Robbia,
+representing the Liberation and Crucifixion of St.
+Peter, early works executed for a chapel in the Duomo;
+two sixteenth century busts, representing the younger
+Giuliano dei Medici and Giovanni delle Bande Nere;
+and, also, a curious fourteenth century group (222)
+apparently representing the coronation of an emperor
+by the Pope's legate.</p>
+
+<p>In the centre of the room are St. John Baptist by
+Benedetto da Maiano; Bacchus, by Jacopo Sansovino;
+and Michelangelo's second David (224),
+frequently miscalled Apollo, made for Baccio Valori
+after the siege of Florence, and pathetically different
+from the gigantic David of his youth, which had been
+chiselled more than a quarter of a century before, in all
+the passing glory of the Republican restoration.</p>
+
+<hr class="c15" />
+
+<p>When the Duke of Athens made himself tyrant of
+Florence, King Robert urged him to take up his abode
+in this palace, as Charles of Calabria had done, and
+leave the Palace of the People to the Priors. The
+advice was not taken, and, when the rising broke out,
+the palace was easily captured, before the Duke and
+his adherents in the Palazzo Vecchio were forced to
+surrender. Passing along the Via Ghibellina, we presently
+come on the right to what was originally the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_226" id="page_226">[226]</a></span>
+<i>Stinche</i>, a prison for nobles, <i>in qua carcerentur et custodiantur
+magnates</i>, so called from a castle of the Cavalcanti
+captured by the Neri in 1304, from which the prisoners
+were imprisoned here: it is now a part of the Teatro
+Pagliano. Later it became the place of captivity of
+the lowest criminals, and a first point of attack in
+risings of the populace. It contains, in a lunette on
+the stairs, a contemporary fresco representing the expulsion
+of the Duke of Athens on St. Anne's Day,
+1343. St. Anne is giving the banners of the People
+and of the Commune to a group of stern Republican
+warriors, while with one hand she indicates the Palace
+of the Priors, fortified with the tyrant's towers and
+battlements. By its side rises a great throne, from
+which the Duke is shrinking in terror from the Angel
+of the wrath of God; a broken sword lies at his feet;
+the banner of Brienne lies dishonoured in the dust,
+with the scales of justice that he profaned and the
+book of the law that he outraged. In so solemn and
+chastened a spirit could the artists of the Trecento
+conceive of their Republic's deliverance. The fresco was
+probably painted by either Giottino or Maso di Banco;
+it was once wrongly ascribed to Cennino Cennini,
+who wrote the <i>Treatise on Painting</i>, which was the
+approved text-book in the studios and workshops of the
+earlier masters.</p>
+
+<p>Further down the Via Ghibellina is the Casa
+Buonarroti, which once belonged to Michelangelo,
+and was bequeathed by his family to the city. It is
+entirely got up as a museum now, and not in the least
+suggestive of the great artist's life, though a tiny little
+study and a few letters and other relics are shown.
+There are, however, a certain number of his drawings
+here, including a design for the fa&ccedil;ade of San Lorenzo,
+which is of very questionable authenticity, and a
+Madonna. Two of his earliest works in marble are<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_227" id="page_227">[227]</a></span>
+preserved here, executed at that epoch of his youth
+when he frequented the house and garden of Lorenzo
+the Magnificent. One is a bas-relief of the Madonna
+and Child&ndash;somewhat in the manner of Donatello&ndash;with
+two Angels at the top of a ladder. The other
+is a struggle of the Centaurs and Lapithae, a subject
+suggested to the boy by Angelo Poliziano, full of
+motion and vigour and wonderfully modelled. Vasari
+says, "To whoso considers this work, it does not
+seem from the hand of a youth, but from that of an
+accomplished and past master in these studies, and
+experienced in the art." The former is in the fifth
+room, the latter in the antechamber. There are also
+two models for the great David; a bust of the master
+in bronze by Ricciarelli, and his portrait by his
+pupil, Marcello Venusti. A predella representing the
+legend of St. Nicholas is by Francesco Pesellino,
+whose works are rare. In the third room (among
+the later allegories and scenes from the master's life)
+is a large picture supposed to have been painted by
+Jacopo da Empoli from a cartoon by Michelangelo,
+representing the Holy Family with the four Evangelists;
+it is a peculiarly unattractive work. The
+cartoon, ascribed to Michelangelo, is in the British
+Museum; and I would suggest that it was originally
+not a religious picture at all, but an allegory of
+Charity. The cross in the little Baptist's hand does
+not occur in the cartoon.</p>
+
+<p>Almost at the end of the Via Ghibellina are the
+Prisons which occupy the site of the famous convent
+of <i>Le Murate</i>. In this convent Caterina Sforza, the
+dethroned Lady of Forl&igrave; and mother of Giovanni
+delle Bande Nere, ended her days in 1509. Here
+the Duchessina, or "Little Duchess," as Caterina
+dei Medici was called, was placed by the Signoria
+after the expulsion of the Medici in 1527, in order to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_228" id="page_228">[228]</a></span>
+prevent Pope Clement VII. from using her for the
+purpose of a political marriage which might endanger
+the city. They seem to have feared especially the
+Prince of Orange. The result was that the convent
+became a centre of Medicean intrigue; and the
+Signoria, when the siege commenced, sent Salvestro
+Aldobrandini to take her away. When Salvestro
+arrived, after he had been kept waiting for some time,
+the little Duchess came to the grill of the parlour,
+dressed as a nun, and said that she intended to take
+the habit and stay for ever "with these my reverend
+mothers." According to Varchi, the poor little girl&ndash;she
+was barely eleven years old, had lost both
+parents in the year of her birth, and was practically
+alone in the city where the cruellest threats had been
+uttered against her&ndash;was terribly frightened and cried
+bitterly, "not knowing to what glory and felicity her
+life had been reserved by God and the Heavens."
+But Messer Salvestro and Messer Antonio de' Nerli
+did all they could to comfort and reassure her, and
+took her to the convent of Santa Lucia in the Via di
+San Gallo; "in which monastery," says Nardi, "she
+was received and treated with the same maternal love
+by those nuns, until the end of the war."</p>
+
+<p>In the centre of the oblong Piazza di Santa Croce
+rises the statue and monument of Dante Alighieri,
+erected on the occasion of the sixth centenary of his
+birth, in those glowing early days of the first completion
+of Italian unity; at its back stand the great
+Gothic church and convent, which Arnolfo di Cambio
+commenced for the Franciscans in 1294, while Dante
+was still in Florence&ndash;the year before he entered
+political life.</p>
+
+<p>The great Piazza was a centre of festivities and
+stirring Florentine life, and has witnessed many
+historical scenes, in old times and in new, from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_229" id="page_229">[229]</a></span>
+tournaments and jousts of the Middle Ages and early
+Renaissance to the penitential processions of the
+victims of the Inquisition in the days of the Medicean
+Grand Dukes, from the preaching of San Bernardino
+of Siena to the missionary labours of the Jesuit
+Segneri. On Christmas Day, 1301, Niccol&ograve; dei
+Cerchi was passing through this Piazza with a few
+friends on horseback on his way to his farm and mill&ndash;for
+that was hardly a happy Christmas for Guelfs
+of the white faction in Florence&ndash;while a friar was
+preaching in the open air, announcing the birth of
+Christ to the crowd; when Simone Donati with a
+band of mounted retainers gave chase, and, when he
+overtook him, killed him. In the scuffle Simone
+himself received a mortal wound, of which he died
+the same night. "Although it was a just judgment,"
+writes Villani, "yet was it held a great loss, for the
+said Simone was the most accomplished and virtuous
+squire in Florence, and of the greatest promise, and
+he was all the hope of his father, Messer Corso."
+It was in the convent of Santa Croce that the Duke
+of Athens took up his abode in 1342, with much
+parade of religious simplicity, when about to seize
+upon the lordship of Florence; here, on that fateful
+September 8th, he assembled his followers and adherents
+in the Piazza, whence they marched to the
+Parliament at the Palazzo Vecchio, where he was
+proclaimed Signor of Florence for life. But in
+the following year, when he attempted to celebrate
+Easter with great pomp and luxury, and held grand
+jousts in this same Piazza for many days, the people
+sullenly held aloof and very few citizens entered the
+lists.</p>
+
+<p>Most gorgeous and altogether successful was the
+tournament given here by Lorenzo dei Medici in
+1467, to celebrate his approaching marriage with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_230" id="page_230">[230]</a></span>
+Clarice Orsini, when he jousted against all comers in
+honour of the lady of his sonnets and odes, Lucrezia
+Donati. There was not much serious tilting about
+it, but a magnificent display of rich costumes and
+precious jewelled caps and helmets, and a glorious
+procession which must have been a positive feast of
+colour. "To follow the custom," writes Lorenzo
+himself, "and do like others, I gave a tournament on
+the Piazza Santa Croce at great cost and with much
+magnificence; I find that about 10,000 ducats were
+spent on it. Although I was not a very vigorous
+warrior, nor a hard hitter, the first prize was adjudged
+to me, a helmet inlaid with silver and a figure of
+Mars as the crest."<a name="fnanchor_36" id="fnanchor_36"></a><a href="#footnote_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> He sent a long account of the
+proceedings to his future bride, who answered: "I
+am glad that you are successful in what gives you
+pleasure, and that my prayer is heard, for I have no
+other wish than to see you happy." Luca Pulci,
+the luckless brother of Luigi, wrote a dull poem on
+the not very inspiring theme. A few years later, at
+the end of January 1478, a less sumptuous entertainment
+of the same sort was given by Giuliano dei
+Medici; and it was apparently on this occasion that
+Poliziano commenced his famous stanzas in honour of
+Giuliano and his lady love, Simonetta,&ndash;stanzas which
+were interrupted by the daggers of the Pazzi and
+their accomplices. It was no longer time for soft
+song or courtly sport when prelates and nobles were
+hanging from the palace windows, and the thunders
+of the Papal interdict were about to burst over the
+city and her rulers.</p>
+
+<p>Entering the Church through the unpleasing
+modern fa&ccedil;ade (which is, however, said to have followed
+the design of Cronaca himself, the architect
+of the exceedingly graceful convent of San Salvadore<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_231" id="page_231">[231]</a></span>
+al Monte on the other side of the river), we catch a
+glow of colour from the east end, from the stained
+glass and frescoes in the choir. The vast and
+spacious nave of Arnolfo&ndash;like his Palazzo Vecchio,
+partly spoiled by Vasari&ndash;ends rather abruptly in the
+line of ten chapels with, in the midst of them, one
+very high recess which represents the apse and choir,
+thus giving the whole the T shape which we find in
+the Italian Gothic churches which were reared for
+the friars preachers and friars minor. The somewhat
+unsightly appearance, which many churches of
+this kind present in Italy, is due to the fact that
+Arnolfo and his school intended every inch of wall to
+be covered with significant fresco paintings, and this
+coloured decoration was seldom completely carried
+out, or has perished in the course of time. Fergusson
+remarks that "an Italian Church without its
+coloured decoration is only a framed canvas without
+harmony or meaning."</p>
+
+<p>Santa Croce is, in the words of the late Dean of
+Westminster, "the recognised shrine of Italian
+genius." On the pavement beneath our feet, outstretched
+on their tombstones, lie effigies of grave
+Florentine citizens, friars of note, prelates, scholars,
+warriors; in their robes of state or of daily life, in
+the Franciscan garb or in armour, with arms folded
+across their breasts, or still clasping the books they
+loved and wrote (in this way the humanists, such as
+Leonardo Bruni, were laid out in state after death);
+the knights have their swords by their sides, which
+they had wielded in defence of the Republic, and their
+hands clasped in prayer. Here they lie, waiting the
+resurrection. Has any echo of the Risorgimento
+reached them? In their long sleep, have they
+dreamed aught of the movement that has led Florence
+to raise tablets to the names of Cavour and Mazzini<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_232" id="page_232">[232]</a></span>
+upon these walls? The tombs on the floor of the
+nave are mostly of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries;
+the second from the central door is that of
+Galileo dei Galilei, like the other scholars lying with
+his hands folded across the book on his breast, the
+ancestor of the immortal astronomer: "This Galileo
+of the Galilei was, in his time, the head of philosophy
+and medicine; who also in the highest magistracy loved
+the Republic marvellously." About the middle of
+the nave is the tomb of John Catrick, Bishop of
+Exeter, who had come to Florence on an embassy
+from Henry V. of England to Pope Martin V., in
+1419. But those on the floor at the end of the right
+aisle and in the short right transept are the earliest and
+most interesting to the lover of early Florentine history;
+notice, for instance, the knightly tomb of a
+warrior of the great Ghibelline house of the Ubaldini,
+dated 1358, at the foot of the steps to the chapel at
+the end of the right transept; and there is a similar
+one, only less fine, on the opposite side. Larger and
+more pretentious tombs and monuments of more recent
+date, to the heroes of Italian life and thought, pass in
+series along the side walls of the whole church, between
+the altars of the south and north (right and
+left) aisles.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_27" id="illo_27"></a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_233" id="page_233"></a></span>
+<img src="images/illus249_tmb.jpg" width="251" height="400" alt="SANTA CROCE" title="" />
+<p class="caption">SANTA CROCE</p>
+<a href="images/illus249_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>Over the central door, below the window whose
+stained glass is said to have been designed by Ghiberti,
+is Donatello's bronze statue of King Robert's canonised
+brother, the Franciscan Bishop St. Louis of Toulouse.
+This St. Louis, the patron saint of the Parte Guelfa,
+had been ordered by the captains of the Party for their
+niche at San Michele in Orto, from which he was
+irreverently banished shortly after the restoration of
+Cosimo dei Medici, when the Parte Guelfa was forced
+to surrender its niche. On the left of the entrance
+should be noticed with gratitude the tomb of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_235" id="page_235">[235]</a></span>
+historian of the Florentine Republic, the Italian
+patriot, Gino Capponi.</p>
+
+<p>In the right aisle are the tomb and monument of
+Michelangelo, designed by Giorgio Vasari; on the
+pillar opposite to it, over the holy water stoop, a
+beautiful Madonna and Child in marble by Bernardo
+Rossellino, beneath which lies Francesco Nori, who
+was murdered whilst defending Lorenzo dei Medici
+in the Pazzi conspiracy; the comparatively modern
+monument to Dante, whose bones rest at Ravenna
+and for whom Michelangelo had offered in vain to
+raise a worthy sepulchre. Two sonnets by the great
+sculptor supply to some extent in verse what he was
+not suffered to do in marble: I quote the finer of the
+two, from Addington Symonds' excellent translation:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+From Heaven his spirit came, and, robed in clay,<br />
+<span class="i1">The realms of justice and of mercy trod:</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Then rose a living man to gaze on God,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">That he might make the truth as clear as day.</span><br />
+For that pure star, that brightened with its ray<br />
+<span class="i1">The undeserving nest where I was born,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">The whole wide world would be a prize to scorn:</span><br />
+<span class="i1">None but his Maker can due guerdon pay.</span><br />
+I speak of Dante, whose high work remains<br />
+<span class="i1">Unknown, unhonoured by that thankless brood</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Who only to just men deny their wage.</span><br />
+Were I but he! Born for like lingering pains,<br />
+<span class="i1">Against his exile coupled with his good</span><br />
+<span class="i1">I'd gladly change the world's best heritage.</span></p>
+
+<p>Then comes Canova's monument to Vittorio Alfieri,
+the great tragic dramatist of Italy (died 1803);
+followed by an eighteenth century monument to
+Machiavelli (died 1527), and the tomb of Padre
+Lanzi, the Jesuit historian of Italian art. The pulpit
+by a pillar in the nave is considered the most beautiful
+pulpit in Italy, and is, perhaps, Benedetto da Maiano's
+finest work; the bas-reliefs in marble represent scenes<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_236" id="page_236">[236]</a></span>
+from the life of St. Francis and the martyrdom of
+some of his friars, with figures of the virtues below.
+Beyond Padre Lanzi's grave, over the tomb of the
+learned Franciscan Fra Benedetto Cavalcanti, are two
+exceedingly powerful figures of saints in fresco, the
+Baptist and St. Francis; they have been ascribed to
+various painters, but are almost certainly the work of
+Domenico Veneziano, and closely resemble the figures
+of the same saints in his undoubtedly genuine picture
+in the Sala di Lorenzo Monaco in the Uffizi. The
+adjacent Annunciation by Donatello, in <i>pietra serena</i>,
+was also made for the Cavalcanti; its fine Renaissance
+architectural setting is likewise Donatello's work.
+Above it are four lovely wooden Putti, who seem
+embracing each other for fear of tumbling off from
+their height; originally there were six, and the other
+two are preserved in the convent. M. Reymond has
+shown that this Annunciation is not an early work of
+the master's, as Vasari and others state, but is of the
+same style and period as the Cantoria of the Duomo,
+about 1435. Lastly, at the end of the right aisle is
+the splendid tomb of Leonardo Bruni (died 1444),
+secretary of the Republic, translator of Plato, historian
+of Florence, biographer of Dante,&ndash;the outstretched
+recumbent figure of the grand old humanist, watched
+over by Mary and her Babe with the Angels, by
+Bernardo Rossellino. A worthy monument to a
+noble soul, whose memory is dear to every lover of
+Dante. Yet we may, not without advantage, contrast
+it with the simpler Gothic sepulchres on the floor
+of the transepts,&ndash;the marble slabs that cover the
+bones of the old Florentines who, in war and peace,
+did the deeds of which Leonardo and his kind wrote.</p>
+
+<p>The tombs and monuments in the left aisle are less
+interesting. Opposite Leonardo Bruni's tomb is that
+of his successor, Carlo Marsuppini, called Carlo Aretino<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_237" id="page_237">[237]</a></span>
+(died 1453), by Desiderio da Settignano; he was a
+good Greek scholar, a fluent orator and a professed
+Pagan, but accomplished no literary work of any
+value; utterly inferior as a man and as an author to
+Leonardo, he has an even more gorgeous tomb. In
+this aisle there are modern monuments to Vespasiano
+Bisticci and Donatello; and, opposite to Michelangelo's
+tomb, that of Galileo himself (died 1642),
+with traces of old fourteenth century frescoes round
+it, which may, perhaps, symbolise for us the fleeting
+phantoms of medi&aelig;val thought fading away before the
+advance of science.</p>
+
+<p>In the central chapel of the left or northern transept
+is the famous wooden Crucifix by Donatello,
+which gave rise to the fraternal contest between him
+and Brunelleschi. Brunelleschi told his friend that
+he had put upon his cross a contadino and not a
+figure like that of Christ. "Take some wood then,"
+answered the nettled sculptor, "and try to make one
+thyself." Filippo did so; and when it was finished
+Donatello was so stupefied with admiration, that he
+let drop all the eggs and other things that he was
+carrying for their dinner. "I have had all I want
+for to-day," he exclaimed; "if you want your share,
+take it: to thee is it given to carve Christs and to
+me to make contadini." The rival piece may still
+be seen in Santa Maria Novella, and there is not
+much to choose between them. Donatello's is, perhaps,
+somewhat more realistic and less refined.</p>
+
+<p>The first two chapels of the left transept (fifth
+and fourth from the choir, respectively,) contain
+fourteenth century frescoes; a warrior of the Bardi
+family rising to judgment, the healing of Constantine's
+leprosy and other miracles of St. Sylvester, ascribed to
+Maso di Banco; the martyrdom of St. Lawrence and the
+martyrdom of St. Stephen, by Bernardo Daddi (the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_238" id="page_238">[238]</a></span>
+painter to whom it is attempted to ascribe the famous
+Last Judgment and Triumph of Death in the Pisan
+Campo Santo). All these imply a certain Dantesque
+selection; these subjects are among the examples
+quoted for purposes of meditation or admonition in
+the <i>Divina Commedia</i>. The coloured terracotta relief
+is by Giovanni della Robbia. The frescoes of the
+choir, by Agnolo Gaddi, are among the finest works
+of Giotto's school. They set forth the history of
+the wood of the True Cross, which, according to
+the legend, was a shoot of the tree of Eden planted
+by Seth on Adam's grave; the Queen of Sheba prophetically
+adored it, when she came to visit Solomon
+during the building of the Temple; cast into the
+pool of Bethsaida, the Jews dragged it out to make
+the Cross for Christ; then, after it had been buried
+on Mount Calvary for three centuries, St. Helen discovered
+it by its power of raising the dead to life.
+These subjects are set forth on the right wall; on
+the left, we have the taking of the relic of the Cross
+by the Persians under Chosroes, and its recovery by
+the Emperor Heraclius. In the scene where the
+Emperor barefooted carries the Cross into Jerusalem,
+the painter has introduced his own portrait, near one
+of the gates of the city, with a small beard and a red
+hood. Vasari thinks poorly of these frescoes; but
+the legend of the True Cross is of some importance
+to the student of Dante, whose profound allegory of
+the Church and Empire in the Earthly Paradise, at the
+close of the <i>Purgatorio</i>, is to some extent based upon it.</p>
+
+<p>The two Gothic chapels to the right of the choir
+contain Giotto's frescoes&ndash;both chapels were originally
+entirely painted by him&ndash;rescued from the whitewash
+under which they were discovered, and, in part at
+least, most terribly "restored." The frescoes in the
+first, the Bardi Chapel, illustrating the life of St.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_239" id="page_239">[239]</a></span>
+Francis, have suffered most; all the peculiar Giottesque
+charm of face has disappeared, and, instead, the
+restorer has given us monotonous countenances, almost
+deadly in their uniformity and utter lack of expression.
+Like all medi&aelig;val frescoes dealing with St. Francis,
+they should be read with the <i>Fioretti</i> or with Dante's
+<i>Paradiso</i>, or with one of the old lives of the Seraphic
+Father in our hands. On the left (beginning at the
+top) we have his renunciation of the world in the
+presence of his father and the Bishop of Assisi&ndash;<i>innanzi
+alla sua spirital corte, et coram patre</i>, as Dante
+puts it; on the right, the confirmation of the order
+by Pope Honorius; on the left, the apparition of
+St. Francis to St. Antony of Padua; on the right,
+St. Francis and his followers before the Soldan&ndash;<i>nella
+presenza del Soldan superba</i>&ndash;in the ordeal of
+fire; and, below it, St. Francis on his death-bed,
+with the apparition to the sleeping bishop to assure
+him of the truth of the Stigmata. Opposite, left,
+the body is surrounded by weeping friars, the incredulous
+judge touching the wound in the side, while
+the simplest of the friars, at the saint's head, sees
+his soul carried up to heaven in a little cloud. This
+conception of saintly death was, perhaps, originally
+derived from Dante's dream of Beatrice in the <i>Vita
+Nuova</i>: "I seemed to look towards heaven, and
+to behold a multitude of Angels who were returning
+upwards, having before them an exceedingly white
+cloud; and these Angels were singing together
+gloriously." It became traditional in early Italian
+painting. On the window wall are four great Franciscans.
+St. Louis the King (one whom Dante does
+not seem to have held in honour), a splendid figure,
+calm and noble, in one hand the sceptre and in the
+other the Franciscan cord, his royal robe besprinkled
+with the golden lily of France over the armour of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_240" id="page_240">[240]</a></span>
+the warrior of the Cross; his face absorbed in celestial
+contemplation. He is the Christian realisation of
+the Platonic philosopher king; "St. Louis," says
+Walter Pater, "precisely because his whole being
+was full of heavenly vision, in self banishment from
+it for a while, led and ruled the French people so
+magnanimously alike in peace and war." Opposite
+him is St. Louis of Toulouse, with the royal crown
+at his feet; below are St. Elizabeth of Hungary,
+with her lap full of flowers; and, opposite to her,
+St. Clare, of whom Dante's Piccarda tells so sweetly
+in the <i>Paradiso</i>&ndash;that lady on high whom "perfected
+life and lofty merit doth enheaven." On the vaulted
+roof of the chapel are the glory of St. Francis and
+symbolical representations of the three vows&ndash;Poverty,
+Chastity, Obedience; not rendered as in Giotto's
+great allegories at Assisi, of which these are, as it
+were, his own later simplifications, but merely as the
+three mystical Angels that met Francis and his friars
+on the road to Siena, crying "Welcome, Lady
+Poverty." The picture of St. Francis on the altar,
+ascribed by Vasari to Cimabue, is probably by some
+unknown painter at the close of the thirteenth century.</p>
+
+<p>The frescoes in the following, the Chapel of the
+Peruzzi, are very much better preserved, especially in
+the scene of Herod's feast. Like all Giotto's genuine
+work, they are eloquent in their pictorial simplicity of
+diction; there are no useless crowds of spectators, as
+in the later work of Ghirlandaio and his contemporaries.
+On the left is the life of St. John the
+Baptist&ndash;the Angel appearing to Zacharias, the birth
+and naming of the Precursor, the dance of the daughter
+of Herodias at Herod's feast. This last has suffered
+less from restoration than any other work of Giotto's
+in Florence; both the rhythmically moving figure of
+the girl herself and that of the musician are very<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_241" id="page_241">[241]</a></span>
+beautiful, and the expression on Herod's face is worthy
+of the psychological insight of the author of the Vices
+and Virtues in the Madonna's chapel at Padua.
+Ruskin talks of "the striped curtain behind the table
+being wrought with a variety and fantasy of playing
+colour which Paul Veronese could not better at his best."
+On the right wall is the life of the Evangelist, John
+the Divine, or rather its closing scenes; the mystical
+vision at Patmos, the seer <i>dormendo con la faccia arguta</i>,
+like the solitary elder who brought up the rear of the
+triumphal pageant in Dante's Earthly Paradise; the
+raising of Drusiana from the dead; the assumption of
+St. John. The curious legend represented in this last
+fresco&ndash;that St. John was taken up body and soul,
+<i>con le due stole</i>, into Heaven after death, and that
+his disciples found his tomb full of manna&ndash;was, of
+course, based upon the saying that went abroad among
+the brethren, "that that disciple should not die"; it is
+mentioned as a pious belief by St. Thomas, but is very
+forcibly repudiated by Giotto's great friend, Dante;
+in the <i>Paradiso</i> St. John admonishes him to tell the
+world that only Christ and the Blessed Virgin rose
+from the dead. "In the earth my body is earth,
+and shall be there with the others, until our number be
+equalled with the eternal design."</p>
+
+<p>In the last chapel of the south transept, there are
+two curious frescoes apparently of the beginning of the
+fourteenth century, in honour of St. Michael; they
+represent his leading the Angelic hosts against the
+forces of Lucifer, and the legend of his apparition at
+Monte Gargano. The frescoes in the chapel at the
+end of the transept, the Baroncelli chapel, representing
+scenes in the life of the Blessed Virgin, are by Giotto's
+pupil, Taddeo Gaddi; they are similar to his work at
+Assisi. The Assumption opposite was painted by
+Sebastiano Mainardi from a cartoon by Domenico<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_242" id="page_242">[242]</a></span>
+Ghirlandaio. In the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
+there are more frescoed lives of saints by
+Taddeo's son, Agnolo Gaddi, less admirable than his
+work in the choir; and statues of two Franciscans, of
+the Della Robbia school. The monument of the
+Countess of Albany may interest English admirers
+of the Stuarts, but hardly concerns the story of
+Florence.</p>
+
+<p>From the right transept a corridor leads off to
+the chapel of the Noviciate and the Sacristy. The
+former, built by Michelozzo for Cosimo, contains some
+beautiful terracotta work of the school of the Della
+Robbia, a tabernacle by Mino da Fiesole, and a Coronation
+of the Blessed Virgin ascribed to Giotto. This
+Coronation was originally the altar piece of the Baroncelli
+chapel, and is an excellent picture, although its
+authenticity is not above suspicion; the signature is
+almost certainly a forgery; this title of <i>Magister</i> was
+Giotto's pet aversion, as we know from Boccaccio, and
+he never used it. Opening out of the Sacristy is a
+chapel, decorated with beautiful frescoes of the life
+of the Blessed Virgin and St. Mary Magdalene, now
+held to be the work of Taddeo Gaddi's Lombard
+pupil, Giovanni da Milano. There is, as has already
+been said, very little individuality in the work of
+Giotto's followers, but these frescoes are among the
+best of their kind.</p>
+
+<p>The first Gothic cloisters belong to the epoch of
+the foundation of the church, and were probably designed
+by Arnolfo himself; the second, early Renaissance,
+are Brunelleschi's. The Refectory, which is
+entered from the first cloisters, contains a fresco of
+the Last Supper&ndash;one of the earliest renderings of
+this theme for monastic dining-rooms&ndash;which used
+to be assigned to Giotto, and is probably by one of
+his scholars. This room had the invidious honour of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_243" id="page_243">[243]</a></span>
+being the seat of the Inquisition, which in Florence
+had always&ndash;save for a very brief period in the
+thirteenth century&ndash;been in the hands of the Franciscans,
+and not the Dominicans. It never had any real
+power in Florence&ndash;the <i>bel viver fiorentino</i>, which,
+even in the days of tyranny, was always characteristic
+of the city, was opposed to its influence. The beautiful
+chapel of the Pazzi was built by Brunelleschi;
+its frieze of Angels' heads is by Donatello and
+Desiderio; within are Luca della Robbia's Apostles
+and Evangelists. Jacopo Pazzi had headed the conspiracy
+against the Medici in 1478, and, after
+attempting to raise the people, had been captured in
+his escape, tortured and hanged. It was said that he
+had cried in dying that he gave his soul to the devil;
+he was certainly a notorious gambler and blasphemer.
+When buried here, the peasants believed that he brought
+a curse upon their crops; so the rabble dug him up,
+dragged the body through the streets, and finally with
+every conceivable indignity threw it into the Arno.</p>
+
+<p>Behind Santa Croce two streets of very opposite
+names and traditions meet, the <i>Via Borgo Allegri</i>
+(which also intersects the Via Ghibellina) and the
+<i>Via dei Malcontenti</i>; the former records the legendary
+birthday of Italian painting, the latter the mournful
+processions of poor wretches condemned to death.</p>
+
+<p>According to the tradition, Giovanni Cimabue had
+his studio in the former street, and it was here that,
+in Dante's words, he thought to hold the field in
+painting: <i>Credette Cimabue nella pittura tener lo campo.</i>
+Here, according to Vasari, he was visited by Charles
+the Elder of Anjou, and his great Madonna carried
+hence in procession with music and lighted candles,
+ringing of bells and waving of banners, to Santa
+Maria Novella; while the street that had witnessed
+such a miracle was ever after called <i>Borgo Allegri</i>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_244" id="page_244">[244]</a></span>
+"the happy suburb:" "named the Glad Borgo from
+that beauteous face," as Elizabeth Barrett Browning
+puts it. Unfortunately there are several little things
+that show that this story needs revision of some kind.
+When Charles of Anjou came to Florence, the first
+stone of Santa Maria Novella had not yet been laid,
+and the picture now shown there as Cimabue's appears
+to be a Sienese work. The legend, however, is very
+precious, and should be devoutly held. The king in
+question was probably another Angevin Charles&ndash;Carlo
+Martello, grandson of the elder Charles and
+titular King of Hungary, Dante's friend, who was
+certainly in Florence for nearly a month in the spring
+of 1295, and made himself exceedingly pleasant.
+Vasari has made a similar confusion in the case of two
+emperors of the name of Frederick. The picture has
+doubtless perished, but the Joyous Borgo has not
+changed its name.</p>
+
+<p>The Via dei Malcontenti leads out into the broad
+Viale Carlo Alberto, which marks the site of
+Arnolfo's wall. It formerly ended in a postern gate,
+known as the Porta della Giustizia, beyond which
+was a little chapel&ndash;of which no trace is left&ndash;and
+the place where the gallows stood. The condemned
+were first brought to a chapel which stood in the
+Via dei Malcontenti, near the present San Giuseppe,
+and then taken out to the chapel beyond the gate,
+where the prayers for the dying were said over them
+by the friars, after which they were delivered to the
+executioner.<a name="fnanchor_37" id="fnanchor_37"></a><a href="#footnote_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> In May 1503, as Simone Filipepi tells
+us, a man was beheaded here, whom the people
+apparently regarded as innocent; when he was dead,
+they rose up and stoned the executioner to death.
+And this was the same executioner who, five years
+before, had hanged Savonarola and his companions in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_245" id="page_245">[245]</a></span>
+the Piazza, and had insulted their dead bodies to
+please the dregs of the populace. The tower, of
+which the mutilated remains still stand here, the
+<i>Torre della Zecca Vecchia</i>, formerly called the <i>Torre
+Reale</i>, was originally a part of the defences of a bridge
+which it was intended to build here in honour of
+King Robert of Naples in 1317, and guarded the
+Arno at this point. After the siege, during which
+the Porta della Giustizia was walled up, Duke
+Alessandro incorporated the then lofty Torre Reale
+into a strong fortress which he constructed here, the
+Fortezza Vecchia. In later days, offices connected
+with the Arte del Cambio and the Mint were established
+in its place, whence the present name of the
+Torre della Zecca Vecchia.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_28" id="illo_28"></a>
+<img src="images/illus261_tmb.jpg" width="400" height="295" alt="OLD HOUSES ON THE ARNO" title="" />
+<p class="caption">OLD HOUSES ON THE ARNO</p>
+<a href="images/illus261_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_246" id="page_246">[246]</a></p>
+<h2 class="p6"><a name="chapter_viii" id="chapter_viii"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2>
+<h3><i>The Baptistery, the Campanile, and the Duomo</i></h3>
+
+<p class="blockquot">
+"There the traditions of faith and hope, of both the Gentile
+and Jewish races, met for their beautiful labour: the Baptistery
+of Florence is the last building raised on the earth by the descendants
+of the workmen taught by D&aelig;dalus: and the Tower
+of Giotto is the loveliest of those raised on earth under the inspiration
+of the men who lifted up the tabernacle in the wilderness.
+Of living Greek work there is none after the Florentine
+Baptistery; of living Christian work, none so perfect as the
+Tower of Giotto."&ndash;<i>Ruskin.</i></p>
+
+<p class="blockquot">"Il non mai abbastanza lodato tempio di Santa Maria del
+Fiore."&ndash;<i>Vasari.</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>O the west of the Piazza del Duomo stands the
+octagonal building of black and white marble&ndash;"<i>l'antico
+vostro Batisteo</i>" as Cacciaguida calls it to
+Dante&ndash;which, in one shape or another, may be said
+to have watched over the history of Florence from the
+beginning. "It is," says Ruskin, "the central building
+of Etrurian Christianity&ndash;of European Christianity."
+Here, in old pagan times, stood the Temple of Mars,
+with the shrine and sanctuary of the God of War.
+This was the Cathedral of Florence during a portion
+at least of the early history of the Republic, before the
+great Gothic building rose that now overshadows it to
+the east.</p>
+
+<p>Villani and other early writers all suppose that this
+present building really was the original Temple of Mars,
+converted into a church for St. John the Baptist. Villani
+tells us that, after the founding of Florence by
+Julius C&aelig;sar and other noble Romans, the citizens of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_247" id="page_247">[247]</a></span>
+this new Rome decided to erect a marvellous temple to
+the honour of Mars, in thanksgiving for the victory
+which the Romans had won over the city of Fiesole;
+and for this purpose the Senate sent them the best and
+most subtle masters that there were in Rome. Black
+and white marble was brought by sea and then up the
+Arno, with columns of various sizes; stone and other
+columns were taken from Fiesole, and the temple was
+erected in the place where the Etruscans of Fiesole
+had once held their market:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p>
+"Right noble and beauteous did they make it with
+eight faces, and when they had done it with great diligence,
+they consecrated it to their god Mars, who was
+the god of the Romans; and they had him carved in
+marble, in the shape of a knight armed on horseback.
+They set him upon a marble column in the midst of that
+temple, and him did they hold in great reverence and
+adored as their god, what time Paganism lasted in Florence.
+And we find that the said temple was commenced
+at the time that Octavian Augustus reigned,
+and that it was erected under the ascendency of such a
+constellation that it will last well nigh to eternity."</p>
+
+<p>There is much difference of opinion as to the real
+date of construction of the present building. While
+some authorities have assigned it to the eleventh or
+even to the twelfth century, others have supposed that
+it is either a Christian temple constructed in the sixth
+century on the site of the old Temple of Mars, or the
+original Temple converted into Christian use. It
+has indeed been recently urged that it is essentially a
+genuine Roman work of the fourth century, very
+analogous in structure to the Pantheon at Rome, on
+the model of which it was probably built. The little
+apse to the south-west&ndash;the part which contains the
+choir and altar&ndash;is certainly of the twelfth century.
+There was originally a round opening at the centre of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_248" id="page_248">[248]</a></span>
+the dome&ndash;like the Pantheon&ndash;and under this opening,
+according to Villani, the statue of Mars stood. It was
+closed in the twelfth century. The dome served Brunelleschi
+as a model for the cupola of Santa Maria del
+Fiore. The lantern was added in the sixteenth century.
+Although this building, so sacrosanct to the
+Florentines, had been spared by the Goths and Lombards,
+it narrowly escaped destruction at the hands of
+the Tuscan Ghibellines. In 1249, when the Ghibellines,
+with the aid of the Emperor Frederick II., had
+expelled the Guelfs, the conquerors endeavoured to
+destroy the Baptistery by means of the tower called
+the Guardamorto, which stood in the Piazza towards
+the entrance of the Corso degli Adimari, and watched
+over the tombs of the dead citizens who were buried
+round San Giovanni. This device of making the tower
+fall upon the church failed. "As it pleased God,"
+writes Villani, "through the reverence and miraculous
+power of the blessed John, the tower, when it fell,
+manifestly avoided the holy Church, and turned back
+and fell across the Piazza; whereat all the Florentines
+wondered, and the People greatly rejoiced."</p>
+
+<p>At the close of the thirteenth century, in those
+golden days of Dante's youth and early manhood,
+there were steps leading up to the church, and it was
+surrounded by these tombs. Many of the latter seem
+to have been old pagan sarcophagi adopted for use by
+the Florentine aristocracy. Here Guido Cavalcanti
+used to wander in his solitary musings and speculations&ndash;trying
+to find out that there was no God, as his
+friends charitably suggested&ndash;and Boccaccio tells a
+most delightful story of a friendly encounter between
+him and some young Florentine nobles, who objected
+to his unsociable habits. In 1293, Arnolfo di Cambio
+levelled the Piazza, removed the tombs, and plastered
+the pilasters in the angles of the octagonal with slabs<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_249" id="page_249">[249]</a></span>
+of black and white marble of Prato, as now we see.
+The similar decoration of the eight faces of the church
+is much earlier.</p>
+
+<p>The interior is very dark indeed&ndash;so dark that the
+mosaics, which Dante must in part have looked upon,
+would need a very bright day to be visible. At
+present they are almost completely concealed by the
+scaffolding of the restorers.<a name="fnanchor_38" id="fnanchor_38"></a><a href="#footnote_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> Over the whole church
+preside the two Saints whom an earlier Florentine
+worshipper of Mars could least have comprehended&ndash;the
+Baptist and the Magdalene. And the spirit of
+Dante haunts it as he does no other Florentine
+building&ndash;<i>il mio bel San Giovanni</i>, he lovingly calls
+it. "In your ancient Baptistery," his ancestor tells
+him in the fifteenth Canto of the <i>Paradiso</i>, "I became
+at once a Christian and Cacciaguida." And, indeed,
+the same holds true of countless generations of Florentines&ndash;among
+them the keenest intellects and most
+subtle hands that the world has known&ndash;all baptised
+here. But it has memories of another kind. The
+shameful penance of oblation to St. John&ndash;if Boccaccio's
+tale be true, and if the letter ascribed to Dante is
+authentic&ndash;was rejected by him; but many another
+Florentine, with bare feet and lighted candle, has
+entered here as a prisoner in penitential garb. The
+present font&ndash;although of early date&ndash;was placed here
+in the seventeenth century, to replace the very famous
+one which played so large a part in Dante's thoughts.
+Here had he been baptised&ndash;here, in one of the most
+pathetic passages of the <i>Paradiso</i>, did he yearn, before
+death came, to take the laurel crown:&ndash;</p>
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_250" id="page_250">[250]</a></p>
+<p class="poem">
+Se mai continga che il poema sacro,<br />
+<span class="i1">al quale ha posto mano e cielo e terra,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">s&igrave; che m'ha fatto per pi&ugrave; anni macro,</span><br />
+vinca la crudelt&agrave;, che fuor mi serra<br />
+<span class="i1">del bello ovil, dov'io dormii agnello,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">nimico ai lupi che gli danno guerra;</span><br />
+con altra voce omai, con altro vello<br />
+<span class="i1">ritorner&ograve; poeta, ed in sul fonte</span><br />
+<span class="i1">del mio battesmo prender&ograve; il cappello;</span><br />
+per&ograve; che nella Fede, che fa conte<br />
+<span class="i1">l'anime a Dio, quivi entra' io.<a name="fnanchor_39" id="fnanchor_39"></a><a href="#footnote_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a></span><br /></p>
+
+<p>This ancient font, which stood in the centre of the
+church, appears to have had round holes or <i>pozzetti</i> in
+its outer wall, in which the priests stood to baptise;
+and Dante tells us in the <i>Inferno</i> that he broke one of
+these <i>pozzetti</i>, to save a boy from being drowned or
+suffocated. The boy saved was apparently not being
+baptised, but was playing about with others, and had
+either tumbled into the font itself or climbed head foremost
+into one of the <i>pozzetti</i>. When the divine poet
+was exiled, charitable people said that he had done this
+from heretical motives&ndash;just as they had looked with
+suspicion upon his friend Guido's spiritual wanderings
+in the same locality.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_29" id="illo_29"></a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_251" id="page_251"></a></span>
+<img src="images/illus267_tmb.jpg" width="257" height="400" alt="THE BAPTISTERY" title="" />
+<p class="caption">THE BAPTISTERY</p>
+<a href="images/illus267_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>Though the old font has gone, St. John, to the left of
+the high altar, still keeps watch over all the Florentine
+children brought to be baptised&ndash;to be made <i>conti</i>, known
+to God, and to himself in God. Opposite to him is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_253" id="page_253">[253]</a></span>
+the great type of repentance after baptism, St. Mary
+Magdalene, a wooden statue by Donatello. What a
+contrast is here with those pagan Magdalenes of the
+Renaissance&ndash;such as Titian and Correggio painted!
+Fearfully wasted and haggard, this terrible figure of
+asceticism&ndash;when once the first shock of repulsion is
+got over&ndash;is unmistakably a masterpiece of the sculptor;
+it is as though one of the Penitential Psalms had taken
+bodily shape.</p>
+
+<p>On the other side of the church stands the tomb of
+the dethroned Pope, John XXIII., Baldassarre Cossa,
+one of the earliest works in the Renaissance style,
+reared by Michelozzo and Donatello, 1424-1427, for
+Cosimo dei Medici. The fallen Pontiff rests at last in
+peace in the city which had witnessed his submission to
+his successful rival, Martin V., and which had given a
+home to his closing days; here he lies, forgetful of
+councils and cardinals:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="blockquot">
+"After life's fitful fever he sleeps well."</p>
+
+<p>The recumbent figure in bronze is the work of Donatello,
+as also the Madonna and Child that guard his last
+slumber. Below, are Faith, Hope, and Charity&ndash;the
+former by Michelozzo (to whom also the architectural
+part of the monument is due), the two latter by Donatello.
+It is said that Pope Martin V. objected to the
+inscription, "quondam papa," and was answered in the
+words of Pilate: <i>quod scripsi, scripsi</i>.</p>
+
+<hr class="c15" />
+
+<p>But the glory of the Baptistery is in its three
+bronze gates, the finest triumph of bronze casting.
+On November 6th, 1329, the consuls of the Arte
+di Calimala, who had charge of the works of San
+Giovanni, ordained that their doors should be of
+metal and as beautiful as possible. The first of the
+three, now the southern gate opposite the Bigallo<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_254" id="page_254">[254]</a></span>
+(but originally the <i>porta di mezzo</i> opposite the Duomo),
+was assigned by them to Andrea Pisano on January
+9th, 1330; he made the models in the same year, as
+the inscription on the gate itself shows; the casting
+was finished in 1336. Vasari's statement that Giotto
+furnished the designs for Andrea is now entirely
+discredited. These gates set before us, in twenty-eight
+reliefs, twenty scenes from the life of the Baptist
+with eight symbolical virtues below&ndash;all set round with
+lions' heads. Those who know the work of the
+earlier Pisan masters, Niccol&ograve; and Giovanni, will at
+once perceive how completely Andrea has freed himself
+from the traditions of the school of Pisa; instead
+of filling the whole available space with figures on
+different planes and telling several stories at once,
+Andrea composes his relief of a few figures on the
+same plane, and leaves the background free. There
+are never any unnecessary figures or mere spectators;
+the bare essentials of the episode are set before us as
+simply as possible, whether it be Zacharias writing
+the name of John or the dance of the daughter of
+Herodias, which may well be compared with Giotto's
+frescoes in Santa Croce. Most perfect of all are the
+eight figures of the Virtues in the eight lower panels,
+and they should be compared with Giotto's allegories
+at Padua. We have Hope winged and straining
+upwards towards a crown, Faith with cross and sacramental
+cup, Charity and Prudence, above; Fortitude,
+Temperance and Justice below; and then, to complete
+the eight, Dante's favourite virtue, the maiden Humility.
+The Temperance, with Giotto and Andrea
+Pisano, is not the mere opposite of Gluttony, with
+pitcher of water and cup (as we may see her presently
+in Santa Maria Novella); but it is the cardinal virtue
+which, St. Thomas says, includes "any virtue whatsoever
+that puts in practice moderation in any matter,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_255" id="page_255">[255]</a></span>
+and restrains appetite in its tendency in any direction."
+Andrea Pisano's Temperance sits next to his Justice,
+with the sword and scales; she too has a sword, even
+as Justice has, but she is either sheathing it or drawing
+it with reluctance.</p>
+
+<p>The lovely and luxuriant decorative frieze that runs
+round this portal was executed by Ghiberti's pupils
+in the middle of the fifteenth century. Over the
+gate is the beheading of St. John the Baptist&ndash;two
+second-rate figures by Vincenzo Danti.</p>
+
+<p>The second or northern gate is more than three-quarters
+of a century later, and it is the result of that
+famous competition which opened the Quattrocento.
+It was assigned to Lorenzo Ghiberti in 1403, and he
+had with him his stepfather Bartolo di Michele, and
+other assistants (including possibly Donatello). It
+was finished and set up gilded in April 1424, at the
+main entry between the two porphyry columns, opposite
+the Duomo, whence Andrea's gate was removed. It
+will be observed that each new gate was first put in
+this place of honour, and then translated to make
+room for its better. The plan of Ghiberti's is similar
+to that of Andrea's gate&ndash;in fact it is his style of
+work brought to its ultimate perfection. Twenty-eight
+reliefs represent scenes from the New Testament,
+from the Annunciation to the Descent of the Holy
+Spirit, while in eight lower compartments are the four
+Evangelists and the four great Latin Doctors. The
+scene of the Temptation of the Saviour is particularly
+striking, and the figure of the Evangelist John, the
+Eagle of Christ, has the utmost grandeur. Over the
+door are three finely modelled figures representing
+St. John the Baptist disputing with a Levite and a
+Pharisee&ndash;or, perhaps, the Baptist between two Prophets&ndash;by
+Giovanni Francesco Rustici (1506-1511),
+a pupil of Verrocchio's, who appears to have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_256" id="page_256">[256]</a></span>
+influenced by Leonardo da Vinci.</p>
+
+<p>But in the third or eastern gate, opposite the
+Duomo, Ghiberti was to crown the whole achievement
+of his life. Mr Perkins remarks: "Had he
+never lived to make the second gates, which to the
+world in general are far superior to the first, he would
+have been known in history as a continuator of the
+school of Andrea Pisano, enriched with all those
+added graces which belonged to his own style, and
+those refinements of technique which the progress
+made in bronze casting had rendered perfect."<a name="fnanchor_40" id="fnanchor_40"></a><a href="#footnote_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a> In
+the meantime the laws of perspective had been understood,
+and their science set forth by Brunelleschi;
+and when Ghiberti, on the completion of his first
+gates, was in January 1425 invited by the consuls of
+the Guild (amongst whom was the great anti-Medicean
+politician, Niccol&ograve; da Uzzano) to model the third
+doors, he was full of this new knowledge. "I
+strove," he says in his commentaries, "to imitate
+nature to the uttermost." The subjects were selected
+for him by Leonardo Bruni&ndash;ten stories from the
+Old Testament which, says Leonardo in his letter to
+Niccol&ograve; da Uzzano and his colleagues, "should have
+two things: first and chiefly, they must be illustrious;
+and secondly, they must be significant. Illustrious,
+I call those which can satisfy the eye with variety
+of design; significant, those which have importance
+worthy of memory." For the rest, their main instructions
+to him were that he should make the whole
+the richest, most perfect and most beauteous work
+imaginable, regardless of time and cost.</p>
+
+<p>The work took more than twenty-five years. The
+stories were all modelled in wax by 1440, when the
+casting of the bronze commenced; the whole was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_257" id="page_257">[257]</a></span>
+finished in 1447, gilded in 1452&ndash;the gilding has
+happily worn off from all the gates&ndash;and finally set
+up in June 1452, in the place where Ghiberti's other
+gate had been. Among his numerous assistants were
+again his stepfather Bartolo, his son Vittorio, and,
+among the less important, the painters Paolo Uccello
+and Benozzo Gozzoli.</p>
+
+<p>The result is a series of most magnificent pictures
+in bronze. Ghiberti worked upon his reliefs like a
+painter, and lavished all the newly-discovered scientific
+resources of the painter's art upon them. Whether
+legitimate sculpture or not, it is, beyond a doubt, one
+of the most beautiful things in the world. "I sought
+to understand," he says in his second commentary,
+that book which excited Vasari's scorn, "how forms
+strike upon the eye, and how the theoretic part
+of graphic 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."
+It is a triumph of science wedded to the most exquisite
+sense of beauty. Each of the ten bas-reliefs
+contains several motives and an enormous number of
+these figures on different planes; which is, in a sense,
+going back from the simplicity of Andrea Pisano to
+glorify the old manner of Niccol&ograve; and Giovanni. In
+the first, the creation of man, the creation of woman,
+and the expulsion from Eden are seen; in the second,
+the sacrifice of Abel, in which the ploughing of Cain's
+oxen especially pleased Vasari; in the third, the
+story of Noah; in the fourth, the story of Abraham,
+a return to the theme in which Ghiberti had won his
+first laurels,&ndash;the three Angels appearing to Abraham
+have incomparable grace and loveliness, and the landscape<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_258" id="page_258">[258]</a></span>
+in bronze is a marvel of skill. In the fifth and
+sixth, we have the stories of Jacob and Joseph, respectively;
+in the seventh and eighth, of Moses and
+Joshua; in the ninth and tenth, of David and Solomon.
+The latter is supposed to have been imitated
+by Raphael, in his famous fresco of the School of
+Athens in the Vatican. The architectural backgrounds&ndash;dream
+palaces endowed with permanent
+life in bronze&ndash;are as marvellous as the figures and
+landscapes. Hardly less beautiful are the minor
+ornaments that surround these masterpieces,&ndash;the
+wonderful decorative frieze of fruits and birds and
+beasts that frames the whole, the statuettes alternating
+with busts in the double border round the bas-reliefs.
+It is the ultimate perfection of decorative art.
+Among the statuettes a figure of Miriam, recalling an
+Angel of Angelico, is of peculiar loveliness. In the
+middle of the whole, in the centre at the lower
+corners of the Jacob and Joseph respectively, are
+portrait busts of Lorenzo Ghiberti himself and
+Bartolo di Michele. Vasari has said the last
+word:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p>"And in very truth can it be said that this work
+hath its perfection in all things, and that it is the
+most beautiful work of the world, or that ever was
+seen amongst ancients or moderns. And verily ought
+Lorenzo to be truly praised, seeing that one day
+Michelangelo Buonarroti, when he stopped to look at
+this work, being asked what he thought of it and if
+these gates were beautiful, replied: 'They are so
+beautiful that they would do well for the Gates of
+Paradise.' Praise verily proper, and spoken by one
+who could judge them."</p>
+
+<p>The Baptism of Christ over the portal is an unattractive
+work by Andrea Sansovino (circa 1505),
+finished by Vincenzo Danti. The Angel is a seventeenth<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_259" id="page_259">[259]</a></span>
+century addition. More interesting far, are the
+scorched porphyry columns on either side of the gate;
+these were part of the booty carried off by the Pisan
+galleys from Majorca in 1117, and presented to the
+Florentines in gratitude for their having guarded Pisa
+during the absence of the troops. Villani says that
+the Pisans offered their allies the choice between
+these porphyry columns and some metal gates, and
+that, on their choosing the columns, they sent them
+to Florence covered with scarlet, but that some said
+that they scorched them first for envy. It was between
+these columns that Cavalcanti was lingering
+and musing when the gay cavalcade of Betto Brunelleschi
+and his friends, in Boccaccio's novel, swooped
+down upon him through the Piazza di Santa
+Reparata: "Thou, Guido, wilt none of our fellowship;
+but lo now! when thou shalt have found that
+there is no God, what wilt thou have done?"</p>
+
+<p>From the gate which might have stood at the
+doors of Paradise, or at least have guarded that
+sacred threshold by which Virgil and Dante entered
+Purgatory, we cross to the tower which might
+fittingly have sounded tierce and nones to the valley
+of the Princes. This "Shepherd's Tower," according
+to Ruskin, is "the model and mirror of perfect
+architecture." The characteristics of Power and
+Beauty, he writes in the <i>Seven Lamps of Architecture</i>,
+"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."</p>
+
+<p>Like Ghiberti's bronze gates, this exquisitely lovely
+tower of marble has beauty beyond words: "That
+bright, smooth, sunny surface of glowing jasper, those
+spiral shafts and fairy traceries, so white, so faint, so<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_260" id="page_260">[260]</a></span>
+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." It was commenced
+by Giotto himself in 1334, when the first
+stone was solemnly laid. When Giotto died in 1336,
+the work had probably not risen above the stage of
+the lower series of reliefs. Andrea Pisano was
+chosen to succeed him, and he carried it on from
+1337 to 1342, finishing the first story and bringing
+it up to the first of the three stories of windows; it
+will be observed that Andrea, who was primarily a
+sculptor, unlike Giotto, made provision for the presence
+of large monumental statues as well as reliefs in
+his decorative scheme. Through some misunderstanding,
+Andrea was then deprived of the work,
+which was intrusted to Francesco Talenti. Francesco
+Talenti carried it on until 1387, making a
+general modification in the architecture and decoration;
+the three most beautiful windows, increasing in
+size as we ascend, with their beautiful Gothic tracery,
+are his work. According to Giotto's original plan,
+the whole was to have been crowned with a pyramidical
+steeple or spire; Vasari says that it was abandoned
+"because it was a German thing, and of antiquated
+fashion."</p>
+
+<p>All around the base of the tower runs a wonderful
+series of bas-reliefs on a very small scale, setting forth
+the whole history of human skill under divine guidance,
+from the creation of man to the reign of art,
+science, and letters, in twenty-seven exquisitely
+"inlaid jewels of Giotto's." At each corner of the
+tower are three shields, the red Cross of the People
+between the red lilies of the Commune. "This
+smallness of scale," says Ruskin of these reliefs
+"enabled the master workmen of the tower to execute<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_261" id="page_261">[261]</a></span>
+them with their own hands; and for the rest, in the
+very finest architecture, the decoration of the most
+precious kind is usually thought of as a jewel, and set
+with space round it&ndash;as the jewels of a crown, or the
+clasp of a girdle." These twenty-seven subjects,
+with the possible exception of the last five on the
+northern side, were designed by Giotto himself; and
+are, together with the first bronze door, the greatest
+Florentine work in sculpture of the first half of the
+fourteenth century. The execution is, in the main,
+Andrea Pisano's; but there is a constant tradition
+that some of the reliefs are from Giotto's own hand.
+Antonio Pucci, in the eighty-fifth canto of his
+<i>Centiloquio</i>, distinctly states that Giotto carved the
+earlier ones, <i>i primi intagli fe con bello stile</i>, and Pucci
+was almost Giotto's contemporary. "Pastoral life,"
+"Jubal," "Tubal Cain," "Sculpture," "Painting,"
+are the special subjects which it is most plausible, or
+perhaps most attractive, to ascribe to him.</p>
+
+<p>On the western side we have the creation of Man,
+the creation of Woman; and then, thirdly, Adam
+and Eve toiling, or you may call it the dignity of
+labour, if you will&ndash;Giotto's rendering of the thought
+which John Ball was to give deadly meaning to, or
+ever the fourteenth century closed&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+When Adam delved and Ev&euml; span,<br />
+Who was then the gentleman?<br /></p>
+
+<p>Then come pastoral life, Jabal with his tent, his
+flock and dog; Jubal, the maker of stringed and wind
+instruments; Tubal Cain, the first worker in metal;
+the first vintage, represented by the story of Noah.
+On the southern side comes first Astronomy, represented
+by either Zoroaster or Ptolemy. Then follow
+Building, Pottery, Riding, Weaving, and (according
+to Ruskin) the Giving of Law. Lastly Daedalus,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_262" id="page_262">[262]</a></span>
+symbolising, according to Ruskin, "the conquest of
+the element of air"; or, more probably, here as in
+Dante (<i>Paradiso</i> viii.), the typical mechanician.
+Next, on the eastern side, comes Rowing, symbolising,
+according to Ruskin, "the conquest of the
+sea"&ndash;very possibly intended for Jason and the
+Argo, a type adopted in several places by Dante.
+The next relief, "the conquest of the earth," probably
+represents the slaying of Ant&aelig;us by Hercules,
+and symbolises the "beneficent strength of civilisation,
+crushing the savageness of inhumanity." Giotto uses
+his mythology much as Dante does&ndash;as something only
+a little less sacred, and of barely less authority than
+theology&ndash;and the conquest of Ant&aelig;us by Hercules
+was a solemn subject with Dante too; besides a
+reference in the <i>Inferno</i>, he mentions it twice in the
+<i>De Monarchia</i> as a special revelation of God's judgment
+by way of ordeal, and touches upon it again in
+the <i>Convivio, secondo le testimonianze delle scritture</i>.
+Here Hercules immediately follows the "conquest
+of the sea," as having, by his columns, set sacred
+limits to warn men that they must pass no further
+(<i>Inferno</i> xxvi.). Brutality being thus overthrown,
+we are shown agriculture and trade,&ndash;represented by a
+splendid team of ploughing bulls and a horse-chariot,
+respectively. Then, over the door of the tower, the
+Lamb with the symbol of Resurrection, perhaps, as
+Ruskin thinks, to "express the law of Sacrifice and
+door of ascent to Heaven"; or, perhaps, merely as
+being the emblem of the great Guild of wool merchants,
+the Arte della Lana, who had charge of the cathedral
+works. Then follow the representations of the arts,
+commencing with the relief at the corner: Geometry,
+regarded as the foundation of the others to follow,
+as being <i>senza macula d'errore e certissima</i>. Turning
+the corner, the first and second, on the northern side,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_263" id="page_263">[263]</a></span>
+represent Sculpture and Painting, and were possibly
+carved by Giotto himself. The remaining five are all
+later, and from the hand of Luca della Robbia, who
+perhaps worked from designs left by Giotto&ndash;Grammar,
+which may be taken to represent Literature in general,
+Arithmetic, the science of numbers (in its great medi&aelig;val
+sense), Dialectics; closing with Music, in some
+respects the most beautiful of the series, symbolised in
+Orpheus charming beasts and birds by his strains, and
+Harmony. "Harmony of song," writes Ruskin, "in
+the full power of it, meaning perfect education in all
+art of the Muses and of civilised life; the mystery of
+its concord is taken for the symbol of that of a perfect
+state; one day, doubtless, of the perfect world."</p>
+
+<p>Above this fundamental series of bas-reliefs, there
+runs a second series of four groups of seven. They
+were probably executed by pupils of Andrea Pisano,
+and are altogether inferior to those below&ndash;the seven
+Sacraments on the northern side being the best. Above
+are a series of heroic statues in marble. Of these the
+oldest are those less easily visible, on the north opposite
+the Duomo, representing David and Solomon, with two
+Sibyls; M. Reymond ascribes them to Andrea Pisano.
+Those opposite the Misericordia are also of the fourteenth
+century. On the east are Habakkuk and Abraham,
+by Donatello (the latter in part by a pupil),
+between two Patriarchs probably by Niccol&ograve; d'Arezzo,
+the chief sculptor of the Florentine school at the end
+of the Trecento. Three of the four statues opposite the
+Baptistery are by Donatello; figures of marvellous
+strength and vigour. It is quite uncertain whom
+they are intended to represent (the "Solomon" and
+"David," below the two in the centre, refer to the
+older statues which once stood here), but the two
+younger are said to be the Baptist and Jeremiah. The
+old bald-headed prophet, irreverently called the <i>Zuccone</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_264" id="page_264">[264]</a></span>
+or "Bald-head," is one of Donatello's masterpieces,
+and is said to have been the sculptor's own favourite
+creation. Vasari tells us that, while working upon it,
+Donatello used to bid it talk to him, and, when he
+wanted to be particularly believed, he used to swear by
+it: "By the faith
+that I bear to my
+Zuccone."</p>
+
+<hr class="c15" />
+
+<div class="figleft"><a name="illo_30" id="illo_30"></a>
+<img src="images/illus280_tmb.jpg" width="336" height="400" alt="THE BIGALLO" title="" />
+<p class="caption">THE BIGALLO</p>
+<a href="images/illus280_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>At the end of the
+Via Calzaioli, opposite
+the Baptistery,
+is that little Gothic
+gem, the Loggia
+called the <i>Bigallo</i>,
+erected between
+1352 and 1358,
+for the "Captains
+of Our Lady of
+Mercy," while
+Orcagna was rearing
+his more gorgeous
+tabernacle for
+the "Captains of
+Our Lady of Or
+San Michele." Its
+architect is unknown;
+his manner resembles Orcagna's, to whom the
+work has been erroneously ascribed. The Madonna
+is by Alberto Arnoldi (1361). The Bigallo was intended
+for the public functions of charity of the foundling
+hospital, which was founded under the auspices of
+the Confraternity of the Misericordia, whose oratory is
+on the other side of the way. These Brothers of
+Mercy, in their mysterious black robes hiding their
+faces, are familiar enough even to the most casual<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_265" id="page_265">[265]</a></span>
+visitor to Florence; and their work of succour to
+the sick and injured has gone on uninterruptedly
+throughout the whole of Florentine history.</p>
+
+<hr class="c15" />
+
+<p>In the last decade of the thirteenth century, when
+the People and Commune of Florence were in an unusually
+peaceful state, after the tumults caused by the
+reforms and expulsion of Giano della Bella had subsided,
+the new Cathedral was commenced on the site of
+the older church of Santa Reparata. The first stones
+and foundations were blessed with great solemnity in
+1296; and, in this golden age of the democracy, the
+work proceeded apace, until in a document of April
+1299, concerning the exemption of Arnolfo di Cambio
+from all taxation, it is stated that "by reason of his
+industry, experience and genius, the Commune and
+People of Florence from the magnificent and visible
+beginning of the said work of the said church, commenced
+by the same Master Arnolphus, hope to have
+a more beautiful and more honourable temple than any
+other which there is in the regions of Tuscany."</p>
+
+<p>But although the original design and beginning were
+undoubtedly Arnolfo's, the troublous times that fell
+upon Florence appear to have interrupted the work;
+and it was almost abandoned for lack of funds until
+1334, when Giotto was appointed capo-maestro of the
+Commune and of the work of Santa Reparata, as it
+was still called. The Cathedral was now in charge of
+the Arte della Lana, as the Baptistery was in that of
+the Arte di Calimala. It is not precisely known what
+Giotto did with it; but the work languished again
+after his death, until Francesco Talenti was appointed
+capo-maestro, and, in July 1357, the foundations were
+laid of the present church of Santa Maria del Fiore,
+on a larger and more magnificent scale. Arnolfo's
+work appears to have been partly destroyed, partly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_266" id="page_266">[266]</a></span>
+enlarged and extended. Other capo-maestri carried
+on what Francesco Talenti had commenced, until, in
+1378, just at the end of medi&aelig;val Florence, the fourth
+and last great vault was closed, and the main work
+finished.</p>
+
+<p>The completion of the Cathedral belongs to that intermediate
+epoch which saw the decline of the great
+democracy and the dawn of the Renaissance, and ran
+from 1378 to 1421, in which latter year the third
+tribune was finished. Filippo Brunelleschi's dome or
+cupola, raised upon a frieze or drum high above the
+three great semi-domes, with a large window in each of
+the eight sides, was commenced in 1420 and finished
+in 1434, the year which witnessed the establishment
+of the Medicean regime in Florence. Vasari waxes
+most enthusiastic over this work. "Heaven willed,"
+he writes, "after the earth had been for so many years
+without an excellent soul or a divine spirit, that Filippo
+should leave to the world from himself the greatest, the
+most lofty and the most beauteous construction of all
+others made in the time of the moderns and even in
+that of the ancients." And Michelangelo imitated it
+in St Peter's at Rome, turning back, as he rode away
+from Florence, to gaze upon Filippo's work, and declaring
+that he could not do anything more beautiful.
+Some modern writers have passed a very different
+judgment. Fergusson says:&ndash;"The plain, heavy,
+simple outlined dome of Brunelleschi acts like an
+extinguisher, crushing all the lower part of the composition,
+and both internally and externally destroying
+all harmony between the parts." Brunelleschi also
+designed the Lantern, which was commenced shortly
+before his death (1446) and finished in 1461. The
+palla or ball, which crowns the whole, was added by
+Andrea Verrocchio. In the fresco in the Spanish
+Chapel of Santa Maria Novella, you shall see the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_269" id="page_269">[269]</a></span>
+Catholic Church symbolised by the earlier church of
+Santa Reparata; and, as the fresco was executed before
+the middle of the fourteenth century, it apparently
+represents the designs of Arnolfo and Giotto. Vasari,
+indeed, states that it was taken from Arnolfo's model
+in wood. "From this painting," he says, "it is obvious
+that Arnolfo had proposed to raise the dome immediately
+over the piers and above the first cornice, at that
+point namely where Filippo di Ser Brunellesco, desiring
+to render the building less heavy, interposed the
+whole space wherein we now see the windows, before
+adding the dome."<a name="fnanchor_41" id="fnanchor_41"></a><a href="#footnote_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_31" id="illo_31"></a>
+<img src="images/illus283_tmb.jpg" width="224" height="400" alt="PORTA DELLA MANDORLA, DUOMO" title="" />
+<p class="caption">PORTA DELLA MANDORLA, DUOMO</p>
+<a href="images/illus283_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>The Duomo has had three fa&ccedil;ades. Of the first
+fa&ccedil;ade, the fa&ccedil;ade of Arnolfo's church before 1357,
+only two statues remain which probably formed part of
+it; one of Boniface VIII. within the Cathedral, of
+which more presently, and a statue of a Bishop in the
+sacristy. The second fa&ccedil;ade, commenced in 1357, and
+still in progress in 1420, was left unfinished, and barbarously
+destroyed towards the end of the sixteenth
+century. A fresco by Poccetti in the first cloister
+of San Marco, the fifth to the right of the entrance, representing
+the entrance of St. Antoninus into Florence
+to take possession of his see, shows this second fa&ccedil;ade.
+Some of the statues that once decorated it still exist.
+The Boniface reappeared upon it from the first fa&ccedil;ade,
+between St. Peter and St. Paul; over the principal gate
+was Our Lady of the Flower herself, presenting her
+Child to give His blessing to the Florentines&ndash;and this
+is still preserved in the Opera del Duomo&ndash;by an unknown
+artist of the latter<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_270" id="page_270">[270]</a></span>
+half of the fourteenth century;
+she was formerly
+attended by Zenobius and
+Reparata, while Angels
+held a canopy over her&ndash;these
+are lost. Four
+Doctors of the Church,
+now mutilated and transformed
+into poets, are
+still to be seen on the
+way to Poggio Imperiale&ndash;by
+Niccol&ograve; d'Arezzo
+and Piero di Giovanni
+Tedesco (1396); some
+Apostles, probably by
+the latter, and very fine
+works, are in the court
+of the Riccardi Palace.
+The last statues made
+for the fa&ccedil;ade, the four
+Evangelists, of the first
+fifteen years of the
+Quattrocento, are now
+within the present
+church, in the chapels
+of the Tribune of St.
+Zenobius. There is a
+curious tradition that
+Donatello placed Farinata
+degli Uberti on the
+fa&ccedil;ade; and few men
+would have deserved the
+honour better. After
+the sixteenth century the
+fa&ccedil;ade remained a desolate
+waste down to our own times. The present<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_271" id="page_271">[271]</a></span>
+fa&ccedil;ade, gorgeous but admirable in its way, was designed
+by De Fabris, and finished between 1875 and
+1887; the first stone was laid by Victor Emmanuel
+in 1860. Thus has the United Italy of to-day
+completed the work of the great Republic of the
+Middle Ages.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft"><a name="illo_32" id="illo_32"></a>
+<img src="images/illus286_tmb.jpg" width="137" height="400" alt="STATUE OF BONIFACE VIII." title="" />
+<p class="caption">STATUE OF BONIFACE VIII.</p>
+<a href="images/illus286_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>The four side gates of the Duomo are among the
+chief artistic monuments of Florentine sculpture in
+the epoch that intervened between the setting of
+Andrea Pisano and Orcagna, and the rising of Donatello
+and Ghiberti. Nearer the fa&ccedil;ade, south and
+north, the two plainer and earlier portals are always
+closed; the two more ornate and later, the gate of
+the canons on the south and the gate of the Mandorla
+on the north, are the ordinary entrances into the aisles
+of the cathedral.</p>
+
+<p>Earliest of the four is the minor southern portal
+near the Campanile, over which the pigeons cluster
+and coo. Our Lady of the Pigeons, in the tympanum,
+is an excellent work of the school of Nino Pisano
+(Andrea's son), rather later than the middle of the
+Trecento. The northern minor portal is similar in
+style, with sculpture subordinated to polychromatic
+decoration, but with beautiful twisted columns, of
+which the two outermost rest upon grand medi&aelig;val
+lions, who are helped to bear them by delicious
+little winged <i>putti</i>. Third in order of construction
+comes the chief southern portal, the Porta dei Canonici,
+belonging to the last decade of the fourteenth century.
+The pilasters are richly decorated with sculptured
+foliage and figures of animals in the intervals between
+the leaves. In the tympanum above, the Madonna and
+Child with two adoring Angels&ndash;statues of great grace
+and beauty&ndash;are by Lorenzo di Giovanni d'Ambrogio,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_272" id="page_272">[272]</a></span>
+1402. Above are Angels bearing a tondo of the Piet&agrave;.</p>
+
+<p>The Porta della Mandorla is one of the most
+perfect examples of Florentine decorative sculpture
+that exists. M. Reymond calls it "le produit le
+plus pur du g&eacute;nie florentin dans toute l'ind&eacute;pendance
+de sa pens&eacute;e." It was commenced by Giovanni di
+Ambrogio, the chief master of the canons' gate;
+and finished by Niccol&ograve; da Arezzo, in the early
+years of the fifteenth century. The decorations of
+its pilasters, with nude figures amidst the conventional
+foliage between the angels with their wings and scrolls,
+are already almost in the spirit of the Renaissance.
+The mosaic over the door, representing the Annunciation,
+was executed by Domenico Ghirlandaio in
+1490. "Amongst modern masters of mosaic," says
+Vasari, "nothing has yet been seen better than this.
+Domenico was wont to say that painting is mere
+design, and that the true painting for eternity is
+mosaic." The two small statues of Prophets are
+the earliest works of Donatello, 1405-1406. Above
+is the famous relief which crowns the whole, and from
+which the door takes its name&ndash;the glorified Madonna
+of the Mandorla. Formerly ascribed to Jacopo della
+Quercia, it is now recognised as the work of Nanni
+di Banco, whose father Antonio collaborated with
+Niccol&ograve; da Arezzo on the door. It represents the
+Madonna borne up in the Mandorla surrounded by
+Angels, three of whom above are hymning her triumph.
+With a singularly sweet yet majestic maternal gesture,
+she consigns her girdle to the kneeling Thomas on
+the left; on the right among the rocks, a bear is
+either shaking or climbing a tree. This work, executed
+slightly before 1420, is the best example of
+the noble manner of the fourteenth century united
+to the technical mastery of the fifteenth. Though
+matured late, it is the most perfect fruit of the school
+of Orcagna. Nanni died before it was quite completed.
+The precise symbolism of the bear is not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_273" id="page_273">[273]</a></span>
+easy to determine; it occurs also in Andrea Pisano's
+relief of Adam and Eve labouring, on the Campanile.
+According to St. Buonaventura, the bear is an emblem
+of Lust; according to the Bestiaries, of Violence.
+The probability is that here it merely represents the
+evil one, symbolising the Fall in the Adam and Eve
+relief, and now implying that Mary healed the wound
+that Eve had dealt the human race&ndash;<i>la piaga che
+Maria richiuse ed unse</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The interior is somewhat bare, and the aisles and
+vaults are so proportioned and constructed as to
+destroy much of the effect of the vast size both of
+the whole and of the parts. The nave and aisles lead
+to a great octagonal space beneath the dome, where
+the choir is placed, extending into three polygonal
+apses, those to right and left representing the transepts.</p>
+
+<p>Over the central door is a fine but restored mosaic
+of the Coronation of Madonna, by Giotto's friend and
+contemporary, Gaddo Gaddi, which is highly praised
+by Vasari. On either side stand two great equestrian
+portraits in fresco of condottieri, who served the
+Republic in critical times; by Andrea del Castagno is
+Niccol&ograve; da Tolentino, who fought in the Florentine
+pay with average success and more than average
+fidelity, and died in 1435, a prisoner in the hands of
+Filippo Maria Visconti; by Paolo Uccello is Giovanni
+Aguto, or John Hawkwood, a greater captain, but of
+more dubious character, who died in 1394. Let it
+stand to Hawkwood's credit that St Catherine of
+Siena once wrote to him, <i>O carissimo e dolcissimo
+fratello in Cristo Ges&ugrave;</i>. By the side of the entrance
+is the famous statue, mutilated but extraordinarily impressive,
+of Boniface VIII., ascribed by Vasari to
+Andrea Pisano, but which is certainly earlier, and
+may possibly, according to M. Reymond, be assigned<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_274" id="page_274">[274]</a></span>
+to Arnolfo di Cambio himself. It represents the
+terrible Pontiff in the flower of his age; hardly a portrait,
+but an idealised rendering of a Papal politician, a
+<i>papa re</i> of the Middle Ages. Even so might he have
+looked when he received Dante and his fellow-ambassadors
+alone, and addressed to them the words
+recorded by Dino Compagni: "Why are ye so
+obstinate? Humble yourselves before me. I tell
+you in very truth that I have no other intention, save
+for your peace. Let two of you go back, and they
+shall have my benediction if they bring it about that
+my will be obeyed."</p>
+
+<p>As though in contrast with this worldly Pope, on
+the first pillars in the aisles are pictures of two ideal
+pastors; on the left, St Zenobius enthroned with
+Eugenius and Crescentius, by an unknown painter of
+the school of Orcagna; on the right, a similar but
+comparatively modern picture of St Antoninus giving
+his blessing. In the middle of the nave, is the original
+resting-place of the body of Zenobius; here the picturesque
+blessing of the roses takes place on his feast-day.
+The right and left aisles contain some striking
+statues and interesting monuments. First on the right
+is a statue of a Prophet (sometimes called Joshua),
+an early Donatello, said to be the portrait of Giannozzo
+Manetti, between the monuments of Brunelleschi
+and Giotto; the bust of the latter is by Benedetto
+da Maiano, and the inscription by Poliziano.
+Opposite these, in the left aisle, is a most life-like and
+realistic statue of a Prophet by Donatello, said to be
+the portrait of Poggio Bracciolini, between modern
+medallions of De Fabris and Arnolfo. Further on,
+on the right, are Hezekiah by Nanni di Banco, and
+a fine portrait bust of Marsilio Ficino by Andrea
+Ferrucci (1520)&ndash;the mystic dreamer caught in a rare
+moment of inspiration, as on that wonderful day when<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_275" id="page_275">[275]</a></span>
+he closed his finished Plato, and saw young Pico della
+Mirandola before him. Opposite them, on the left,
+are David by Ciuffagni, and a bust of the musician
+Squarcialupi by Benedetto da Maiano. On the last
+pillars of the nave, right and left, stand later statues of
+the Apostles&ndash;St Matthew by Vincenzo de' Rossi,
+and St James by Jacopo Sansovino.</p>
+
+<p>Under Brunelleschi's vast dome&ndash;the effect of
+which is terribly marred by miserable frescoes by
+Vasari and Zuccheri&ndash;are the choir and the high altar.
+The stained glass in the windows in the drum is from
+designs of Ghiberti, Donatello (the Coronation), and
+Paolo Uccello. Behind the high altar is one of the
+most solemn and pathetic works of art in existence&ndash;Michelangelo's
+last effort in sculpture, the unfinished
+Deposition from the Cross; "the strange spectral
+wreath of the Florence Piet&agrave;, casting its pyramidal,
+distorted shadow, full of pain and death, among the
+faint purple lights that cross and perish under the
+obscure dome of Santa Maria del Fiore."<a name="fnanchor_42" id="fnanchor_42"></a><a href="#footnote_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> It is a
+group of four figures more than life-size; the body of
+Christ is received in the arms of His mother, who
+sustains Him with the aid of St Mary Magdalene and
+the standing Nicodemus, who bends over the group at
+the back with a countenance full of unutterable love
+and sorrow. Although, in a fit of impatience, Michelangelo
+damaged the work and allowed it to be patched
+up by others, he had intended it for his own sepulchre,
+and there is no doubt that the Nicodemus&ndash;whose
+features to some extent are modelled from his own&ndash;represents
+his own attitude as death approached. His
+sonnet to Giorgio Vasari is an expression of the same
+temper, and the most precious commentary upon his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_276" id="page_276">[276]</a></span>
+work:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+Now hath my life across a stormy sea,<br />
+<span class="i1">Like a frail bark reached that wide port where all</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Are bidden, ere the final reckoning fall</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Of good and evil for eternity.</span><br />
+Now know I well how that fond phantasy,<br />
+<span class="i1">Which made my soul the worshipper and thrall</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Of earthly art, is vain; how criminal</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Is that which all men seek unwillingly.</span><br />
+Those amorous thoughts which were so lightly dressed,<br />
+<span class="i1">What are they when the double death is nigh?</span><br />
+<span class="i1">The one I know for sure, the other dread.</span><br />
+Painting nor sculpture now can lull to rest<br />
+<span class="i1">My soul that turns to His great Love on high,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Whose arms, to clasp us, on the Cross were spread.</span><br />
+<span class="i8">(<i>Addington Symonds' translation.</i>)</span>
+</p>
+
+<p>The apse at the east end, or tribuna di San Zenobio,
+ends in the altar of the Blessed Sacrament, which is
+also the shrine of Saint Zenobius. The reliquary which
+contains his remains is the work of Lorenzo Ghiberti,
+and was finished in 1446; the bronze reliefs set forth
+his principal miracles, and there is a most exquisite group
+of those flying Angels which Ghiberti realises so wonderfully.
+Some of the glass in the windows is also from
+his design. The seated statues in the four chapels,
+representing the four Evangelists, were originally on
+the fa&ccedil;ade; the St. Luke, by Nanni di Banco, in the
+first chapel on the right, is the best of the four; then
+follow St. John, a very early Donatello, and, on the
+other side, St. Matthew by Ciuffagni and St. Mark by
+Niccol&ograve; da Arezzo (slightly earlier than the others).
+The two Apostles standing on guard at the entrance of
+the tribune, St. John and St. Peter, are by Benedetto
+da Rovezzano. To right and left are the southern
+and northern sacristies. Over the door of the southern
+sacristy is a very beautiful bas-relief by Luca della
+Robbia, representing the Ascension (1446), like a
+Fra Angelico in enamelled terracotta; within the
+sacristy are two kneeling Angels also by Luca (1448),<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_277" id="page_277">[277]</a></span>
+practically his only isolated statues, of the greatest
+beauty and harmony; and also a rather indifferent St.
+Michael, a late work of Lorenzo di Credi. Over the
+door of the northern sacristy is the Resurrection by
+Luca della Robbia (1443), perhaps his earliest extant
+work in this enamelled terracotta. The bronze doors
+of this northern sacristy are by Michelozzo and Luca
+della Robbia, assisted by Maso and Giovanni di Bartolommeo,
+and were executed between 1446 and 1467.
+They are composed of ten reliefs with decorative heads
+at the corners of each, as in Lorenzo Ghiberti's work.
+Above are Madonna and Child with two Angels; the
+Baptist with two Angels; in the centre the four Evangelists,
+each with two Angels; and below, the four
+Doctors, each with two Angels. M. Reymond has
+shown that the four latter are the work of Michelozzo.
+Of Luca's work, the four Evangelists are later than
+the two topmost reliefs, and are most beautiful; the
+Angels are especially lovely, and there are admirable
+decorative heads between. Within, are some characteristic
+<i>putti</i> by Donatello.</p>
+
+<p>The side apses, which represent the right and left
+transepts, guarded by sixteenth century Apostles, and
+with frescoed Saints and Prophets in the chapels by
+Bicci di Lorenzo, are quite uninteresting.</p>
+
+<p>By the door that leads out of the northern aisle into
+the street, is a wonderful picture, painted in honour
+of Dante by order of the State in 1465, by Domenico
+di Michelino, a pupil of Fra Angelico, whose works,
+with this exception, are hardly identified. At the
+time that this was painted, the authentic portrait of
+Dante still existed in the (now lost) fresco at Santa
+Croce, so we may take this as a fairly probable likeness;
+it is, at the same time, one of the earliest efforts
+to give pictorial treatment to the <i>Purgatorio</i>. Outside
+the gates of Florence stands Dante in spirit, clothed
+in the simple red robe of a Florentine citizen, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_278" id="page_278">[278]</a></span>
+wearing the laurel wreath which was denied to him in
+life; in his left hand he holds the open volume of the
+<i>Divina Commedia</i>, from which rays of burning light
+proceed and illumine all the city. But it is not the
+medi&aelig;val Florence that the divine singer had known,
+which his ghost now revisits, but the Florence of the
+Quattrocento&ndash;with the completed Cathedral and the
+cupola of Brunelleschi rising over it, with the Campanile
+and the great tower of the Palazzo della Signoria
+completed&ndash;the Florence which has just lost Cosimo
+dei Medici, Pater Patriae, and may need fresh guidance,
+now that great mutations are at hand in Italy.
+With his right hand he indicates the gate of Hell
+and its antechamber; but it is not the torments of
+its true inmates that he would bid the Florentines
+mark, but the shameful and degrading lot of the cowards
+and neutrals, the trimmers, who would follow no
+standard upon earth, and are now rejected by Heaven
+and Hell alike; "the crew of caitiffs hateful to God
+and to his enemies," who now are compelled, goaded
+on by hornets and wasps, to rush for ever after a devil-carried
+ensign, "which whirling ran so quickly that it
+seemed to scorn all pause." Behind, among the rocks
+and precipices of Hell, the monstrous fiends of schism,
+treason and anarchy glare through the gate, preparing
+to sweep down upon the City of the Lily, if she heeds
+not the lesson. In the centre of the picture, in the
+distance, the Mountain of Purgation rises over the
+shore of the lonely ocean, on the little island where
+rushes alone grow above the soft mud. The Angel at
+the gate, seated upon the rock of diamond, above the
+three steps of contrition, confession, and satisfaction,
+marks the brows of the penitent souls with his dazzling
+sword, and admits them into the terraces of the
+mountain, where Pride, Anger, Envy, Sloth, Avarice,
+Gluttony, and Lust (the latter, in the purifying fire<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_279" id="page_279">[279]</a></span>
+of the seventh terrace, merely indicated by the flames
+on the right) are purged away. On the top of the
+mountain Adam and Eve stand in the Earthly Paradise,
+which symbolises blessedness of this life, the end
+to which an ideal ruler is to lead the human race, and
+the state of innocence to which the purgatorial pains
+restore man. Above and around sweep the spheres of
+the planets, the lower moving heavens, from which the
+angelic influences are poured down upon the Universe
+beneath their sway.</p>
+
+<p>Thirteen years after this picture was painted, the
+Duomo saw Giuliano dei Medici fall beneath the
+daggers of the Pazzi and their confederates on Sunday,
+April 26th, 1478. The bell that rang for the Elevation
+of the Host was the signal. Giuliano had been
+moving round about the choir, and was standing not
+far from the picture of Dante, when Bernardo Baroncelli
+and Francesco Pazzi struck the first blows. Lorenzo,
+who was on the opposite side of the choir, beat off his
+assailants with his sword and then fled across into the
+northern sacristy, through the bronze gates of Michelozzo
+and Luca della Robbia, which Poliziano and the
+Cavalcanti now closed against the conspirators. The
+boy cardinal, Raffaello Sansoni, whose visit to the
+Medicean brothers had furnished the Pazzi with their
+chance, fled in abject terror into the other sacristy. Francesco
+Nori, a faithful friend of the Medici, was murdered
+by Baroncelli in defending his masters' lives; he is very
+probably the bare-headed figure kneeling behind Giuliano
+in Botticelli's Adoration of the Magi in the Uffizi.<a name="fnanchor_43" id="fnanchor_43"></a><a href="#footnote_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a></p>
+
+<p>But of all the scenes that have passed beneath<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_280" id="page_280">[280]</a></span>
+Brunelleschi's cupola, the most in accordance with
+the spirit of Dante's picture are those connected with
+Savonarola. It was here that his most famous and
+most terrible sermons were delivered; here, on that
+fateful September morning when the French host was
+sweeping down through Italy, he gazed in silence
+upon the expectant multitude that thronged the building,
+and then, stretching forth his hands, cried aloud in
+a terrible voice the ominous text of Genesis: "Behold
+I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth;"
+and here, too, the fatal riot commenced which ended
+with the storming of the convent. And here, in a
+gentler vein, the children of Florence were wont to
+await the coming of their father and prophet. "The
+children," writes Simone Filipepi, "were placed all
+together upon certain steps made on purpose for them,
+and there were about three thousand of them; they
+came an hour or two before the sermon; and, in the
+meanwhile, some read psalms and others said the
+rosary, and often choir by choir they sang lauds and
+psalms most devoutly; and when the Father appeared,
+to mount up into the pulpit, the said children sang the
+<i>Ave Maris Stella</i>, and likewise the people answered
+back, in such wise that all that time, from early morning
+even to the end of the sermon, one seemed to be
+verily in Paradise."</p>
+
+<p>The Opera del Duomo or Cathedral Museum contains,
+besides several works of minor importance
+(including the Madonna from the second fa&ccedil;ade),
+three of the great achievements of Florentine sculpture
+during the fifteenth century; the two <i>cantorie</i>, or
+organ galleries, of Donatello and Luca della Robbia;
+the silver altar for the Baptistery, with the statue of
+the Baptist by Michelozzo, and reliefs in silver by
+Antonio Pollaiuolo and Andrea Verrocchio, representing
+the Nativity of the Baptist by the former, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_281" id="page_281">[281]</a></span>
+dance of the daughter of Herodias and the Decollation
+of the Saint by the latter.</p>
+
+<p>The two organ galleries, facing each other and
+finished almost simultaneously (about 1440), are an
+utter contrast both in spirit and in execution. There
+is nothing specially angelic or devotional about Donatello's
+wonderful frieze of dancing genii, winged boys
+that might well have danced round Venus at Psyche's
+wedding-feast, but would have been out of place
+among the Angels who, as the old mystic puts it,
+"rejoiced exceedingly when the most Blessed Virgin
+entered the Heavenly City." The beauty of rhythmic
+movement, the joy of living and of being young,
+exultancy, <i>baldanza</i>&ndash;these are what they express for
+us. Luca della Robbia's boys and girls, singing
+together and playing musical instruments, have less
+exuberance and motion, but more grace and repose;
+they illustrate in ten high reliefs the verses of the
+psalm, <i>Laudate Dominum in sanctis ejus</i>, which is inscribed
+upon the Cantoria; and those that dance are
+more chastened in their joy, more in the spirit of
+David before the Ark. But all are as wrapt and
+absorbed in their music, as are Donatello's in their wild
+yet harmonious romp.</p>
+
+<p>In detail and considered separately, Luca's more
+perfectly finished groups, with their exquisite purity of
+line, are decidedly more lovely than Donatello's more
+roughly sketched, lower and flatter bas-reliefs; but,
+seen from a distance and raised from the ground, as
+they were originally intended, Donatello's are decidedly
+more effective as a whole. It is only of late
+years that the reliefs have been remounted and set up
+in the way we now see; and it is not quite certain
+whether their present arrangement, in all respects, exactly
+corresponds to what was originally intended by
+the masters. It was in this building, the Opera del
+Duomo, that Donatello at one time had his school
+and studio; and it was here, in the early years of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_282" id="page_282">[282]</a></span>
+Cinquecento, that Michelangelo worked upon the
+shapeless mass of marble which became the gigantic
+David.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+<img src="images/illus298_tmb.jpg" width="135" height="230" alt="CROSS OF THE FLORENTINE PEOPLE" title="" />
+<p class="caption">CROSS OF THE FLORENTINE PEOPLE<br />
+(FROM OLD HOUSE ON NORTH SIDE OF DUOMO)</p>
+<a href="images/illus298_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter p6"><a name="illo_33" id="illo_33"></a>
+<img src="images/illus299_tmb.jpg" width="400" height="363" alt="ARMS OF THE MEDICI FROM THE BADIA AT FIESOLE." title="" />
+<p class="caption">ARMS OF THE MEDICI FROM THE BADIA AT FIESOLE.</p>
+<a href="images/illus299_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_283" id="page_283">[283]</a></p>
+<h2><a name="chapter_ix" id="chapter_ix"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+<h3><i>The Palazzo Riccardi&ndash;San Lorenzo<br />
+San Marco.</i></h3>
+
+<p class="poem">
+Per molti, donna, anzi per mille amanti,<br />
+creata fusti, e d'angelica forma.<br />
+Or par che'n ciel si dorma,<br />
+s'un sol s'appropria quel ch'&egrave; dato a tanti.<br />
+<span class="i8">(<i>Michelangelo Buonarroti</i>).</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE Via dei Martelli leads from the Baptistery
+into the Via Cavour, formerly the historical Via
+Larga. Here stands the great Palace of the Medici,
+now called the Palazzo Riccardi from the name of
+the family to whom the Grand Duke Ferdinand II.
+sold it in the seventeenth century.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_284" id="page_284">[284]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The palace was begun by Michelozzo for Cosimo
+the Elder shortly before his exile, and completed after
+his return, when it became in reality the seat of
+government of the city, although the Signoria still
+kept up the pretence of a republic in the Palazzo
+Vecchio. Here Lorenzo the Magnificent was born
+on January 1st, 1449, and here the most brilliant and
+cultured society of artists and scholars that the world
+had seen gathered round him and his family.<a name="fnanchor_44" id="fnanchor_44"></a><a href="#footnote_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> Here,
+too, after the expulsion of Lorenzo's mad son, Piero,
+in 1494, Charles VIII. of France was splendidly
+lodged; here Piero Capponi tore the dishonourable
+treaty and saved the Republic, and here Fra Girolamo
+a few days later admonished the fickle king. On the
+return of the Medici, the Cardinal Giovanni, the
+younger Lorenzo, and the Cardinal Giulio successively
+governed the city here; until in 1527 the people drove
+out the young pretenders, Alessandro and Ippolito,
+with their guardian, the Cardinal Passerini. It was
+on this latter occasion that Piero's daughter, Madonna
+Clarice, the wife of the younger Filippo Strozzi, was
+carried hither in her litter, and literally slanged these
+boys and the Cardinal out of Florence. She is reported,
+with more vehemence than delicacy, to have
+told her young kinsmen that the house of Lorenzo dei
+Medici was not a stable for mules. During the siege,
+the people wished to entirely destroy the palace and
+rename the place the Piazza dei Muli.</p>
+
+<p>After the restoration Alessandro carried on his
+abominable career here, until, on January 5th, 1537,
+the dagger of another Lorenzo freed the world from an
+infamous monster. Some months before, Benvenuto
+Cellini came to the palace, as he tells us in his autobiography,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_285" id="page_285">[285]</a></span>
+to show the Duke the wax models for his
+medals which he was making. Alessandro was lying
+on his bed, indisposed, and with him was only this
+Lorenzino or Lorenzaccio, <i>quel pazzo malinconico
+filosafo di Lorenzino</i>, as Benvenuto calls him elsewhere.
+"The Duke," writes Benvenuto, "several times signed
+to him that he too should urge me to stop; upon
+which Lorenzino never said anything else, but:
+'Benvenuto, you would do best for yourself to stay.'
+To which I said that I wanted by all means to return
+to Rome. He said nothing more, and kept continually
+staring at the Duke with a most evil eye.
+Having finished the medal and shut it up in its case, I
+said to the Duke: 'My Lord, be content, for I will
+make you a much more beautiful medal than I made
+for Pope Clement; for reason wills that I should do
+better, since that was the first that ever I made; and
+Messer Lorenzo here will give me some splendid
+subject for a reverse, like the learned person and
+magnificent genius that he is.' To these words the
+said Lorenzo promptly answered: 'I was thinking of
+nothing else, save how to give thee a reverse that
+should be worthy of his Excellency.' The Duke
+grinned, and, looking at Lorenzo, said: 'Lorenzo,
+you shall give him the reverse, and he shall make it
+here, and shall not go away.' Lorenzo replied
+hastily, saying: 'I will do it as quickly as I possibly
+can, and I hope to do a thing that will astonish the
+world.' The Duke, who sometimes thought him a
+madman and sometimes a coward, turned over in his
+bed, and laughed at the words which he had said to
+him. I went away without other ceremonies of leave-taking,
+and left them alone together."</p>
+
+<p>On the fatal night Lorenzino lured the Duke into
+his own rooms, in what was afterwards called the
+Strada del Traditore, which was incorporated into<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_286" id="page_286">[286]</a></span>
+the palace by the Riccardi. Alessandro, tired out
+with the excesses of the day, threw himself upon a
+bed; Lorenzino went out of the room, ostensibly to
+fetch his kinswoman, Caterina Ginori, whose beauty
+had been the bait; and he returned with the bravo
+Scoroncocolo, with whose assistance he assassinated
+him. Those who saw Sarah Bernhardt in the part
+of "Lorenzaccio," will not easily forget her rendering
+of this scene. Lorenzino published an Apologia, in
+which he enumerates Alessandro's crimes, declares
+that he was no true offspring of the Medici, and that
+his own single motive was the liberation of Florence
+from tyranny. He fled first to Constantinople, and
+then to Venice, where he was murdered in 1547 by
+the agents of Alessandro's successor, Cosimo I., who
+transferred the ducal residence from the present palace
+first to the Palazzo Vecchio, and then across the river
+to the Pitti Palace.</p>
+
+<p>With the exception of the chapel, the interior of
+the Palazzo Riccardi is not very suggestive of the old
+Medicean glories of the days of Lorenzo the Magnificent.
+There is a fine court, surrounded with
+sarcophagi and statues, including some of the old
+tombs which stood round the Baptistery and among
+which Guido Cavalcanti used to linger, and some
+statues of Apostles from the second fa&ccedil;ade of the
+Duomo. Above the arcades are eight fine classical
+medallions by Donatello, copied and enlarged from
+antique gems. The rooms above have been entirely
+altered since the days when Capponi defied King
+Charles, and Madonna Clarice taunted Alessandro
+and Ippolito; the large gallery, which witnessed these
+scenes, is covered with frescoes by Luca Giordano,
+executed in the early part of the seventeenth century.
+The Chapel&ndash;still entirely reminiscent of the better
+Medici&ndash;was painted by Benozzo Gozzoli shortly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_287" id="page_287">[287]</a></span>
+before the death of Cosimo the Elder, with frescoes
+representing the Procession of the Magi, in a delightfully
+impossible landscape. The two older kings are the
+Patriarch Joseph of Constantinople, and John Paleologus,
+Emperor of the East, who had visited Florence
+twenty years before on the occasion of the Council
+(Benozzo, it must be observed, was painting them in
+1459, after the fall of Constantinople); the third is
+Lorenzo dei Medici himself, as a boy. Behind
+follow the rest of the Medicean court, Cosimo himself
+and his son, Piero, content apparently to be led
+forward by this mere lad; and in their train is
+Benozzo Gozzoli himself, marked by the signature on
+his hat. The picture of the Nativity itself, round
+which Benozzo's lovely Angels&ndash;though very earthly
+compared with Angelico's&ndash;seem still to linger in
+attendance, is believed to have been one by Lippo
+Lippi, now at Berlin.</p>
+
+<p>In the chapter <i>Of the Superhuman Ideal</i>, in the
+second volume of <i>Modern Painters</i>, Ruskin refers to
+these frescoes as the most beautiful instance of the
+supernatural landscapes of the early religious painters:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p>"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. Severer
+mountains rise in the distance, ruder prominences and
+less flowery vary the nearer ground, and gloomy<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_288" id="page_288">[288]</a></span>
+shadows remain unbroken beneath the forest branches."</p>
+
+<p>Among the manuscripts in the <i>Biblioteca Riccardiana</i>,
+which is entered from the Via Ginori at the back of
+the palace, is the most striking and plausible of all
+existing portraits of Dante. It is at the beginning
+of a codex of the Canzoni (numbered 1040), and
+appears to have been painted about 1436.</p>
+
+<p>From the palace where the elder Medici lived, we
+turn to the church where they, and their successors of
+the younger line, lie in death. In the Piazza San
+Lorenzo there is an inane statue of the father of
+Cosimo I., Giovanni delle Bande Nere, by Baccio
+Bandinelli. Here, in June 1865, Robert Browning
+picked up at a stall the "square old yellow Book"
+with "the crumpled vellum covers," which gave him
+the story of <i>The Ring and the Book</i>:&ndash;
+</p>
+<div class="poem">
+<p><span class="i8">"I found this book,</span><br />
+Gave a lira for it, eightpence English just,<br />
+(Mark the predestination!) when a Hand,<br />
+Always above my shoulder, pushed me once,<br />
+One day still fierce 'mid many a day struck calm,<br />
+Across a square in Florence, crammed with booths,<br />
+Buzzing and blaze, noon-tide and market-time,<br />
+Toward Baccio's marble&ndash;ay, the basement ledge<br />
+O' the pedestal where sits and menaces<br />
+John of the Black Bands with the upright spear,<br />
+'Twixt palace and church&ndash;Riccardi where they lived,<br />
+His race, and San Lorenzo where they lie.</p>
+
+<p><span class="i8">"That memorable day,</span><br />
+(June was the month, Lorenzo named the Square)<br />
+I leaned a little and overlooked my prize<br />
+By the low railing round the fountain-source<br />
+Close to the statue, where a step descends:<br />
+While clinked the cans of copper, as stooped and rose<br />
+Thick-ankled girls who brimmed them, and made place<br />
+For market men glad to pitch basket down,<br />
+Dip a broad melon-leaf that holds the wet,<br />
+And whisk their faded fresh."</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_34" id="illo_34"></a>
+<img src="images/illus305_tmb.jpg" width="279" height="400" alt="THE TOMB OF GIOVANNI AND PIERO DEI MEDICI" title="" />
+<p class="caption">THE TOMB OF GIOVANNI AND PIERO DEI MEDICI<br />
+<span class="smcap">By Andrea Verrocchio</span><br />
+(In San Lorenzo)</p>
+<a href="images/illus305_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_289" id="page_289">[289]</a></p>
+<p>The unsightly bare front of San Lorenzo represents
+several fruitless and miserable years of Michelangelo's
+life. Pope Leo X. and the Cardinal Giulio dei Medici
+commissioned him to make a new fa&ccedil;ade, in 1516, and
+for some years he consumed his time labouring among
+the quarries of Carrara and Pietrasanta, getting the
+marble for it and for the statues with which it was to
+be adorned. In one of his letters he says: "I am
+perfectly disposed (<i>a me basta l'animo</i>) to make this
+work of the fa&ccedil;ade of San Lorenzo so that, both in
+architecture and in sculpture, it shall be the mirror of
+all Italy; but the Pope and the Cardinal must decide
+quickly, if they want me to do it or not"; and again,
+some time later: "What I have promised to do, I
+shall do by all means, and I shall make the most
+beautiful work that was ever made in Italy, if God
+helps me." But nothing came of it all; and in after
+years Michelangelo bitterly declared that Leo had
+only pretended that he wanted the fa&ccedil;ade finished, in
+order to prevent him working upon the tomb of Pope
+Julius.</p>
+
+<p>"The ancient Ambrosian Basilica of St. Lawrence,"
+founded according to tradition by a Florentine widow
+named Giuliana, and consecrated by St. Ambrose in
+the days of Zenobius, was entirely destroyed by fire
+early in the fifteenth century, during a solemn service
+ordered by the Signoria to invoke the protection of St.
+Ambrose for the Florentines in their war against Filippo
+Maria Visconti. Practically the only relic of this Basilica
+is the miraculous image of the Madonna in the
+right transept. The present church was erected from
+the designs of Filippo Brunelleschi, at the cost of the
+Medici (especially Giovanni di Averardo, who may be
+regarded as its chief founder) and seven other Florentine
+families. It is simple and harmonious in structure;
+the cupola, which is so visible in distant views of Florence,
+looking like a smaller edition of the Duomo,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_290" id="page_290">[290]</a></span>
+unlike the latter, rests directly upon the cross. This
+appears to be one of the modifications from what Brunelleschi
+had intended.</p>
+
+<p>The two pulpits with their bronze reliefs, right and
+left, are the last works of Donatello; they were executed
+in part and finished by his pupil, Bertoldo. The
+marble singing gallery in the left aisle (near a fresco of
+the martyrdom of St. Lawrence, by Bronzino) is also
+the joint work of Donatello and Bertoldo. In the
+right transept is a marble tabernacle by Donatello's
+great pupil, Desiderio da Settignano. Beneath a porphyry
+slab in front of the choir, Cosimo the Elder, the
+Pater Patriae, lies; Donatello is buried in the same
+vault as his great patron and friend. In the Martelli
+Chapel, on the left, is an exceedingly beautiful Annunciation
+by Fra Filippo Lippi, a fine example of his
+colouring (in which he is decidedly the best of all the
+early Florentines); Gabriel is attended by two minor
+Angels, squires waiting upon this great Prince of the
+Archangelic order, who are full of that peculiar mixture
+of boyish high spirits and religious sentiment which
+gives a special charm of its own to all that Lippo does.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Sagrestia Vecchia</i>, founded by Giovanni di
+Averardo, was erected by Brunelleschi and decorated
+by Donatello for Cosimo the Elder. In the centre is
+the marble sarcophagus, adorned with <i>putti</i> and
+festoons, containing the remains of Giovanni and his
+wife Piccarda, Cosimo's father and mother, by Donatello.
+The bronze doors (hardly among his best
+works), the marble balustrade before the altar, the
+stucco medallions of the Evangelists, the reliefs of
+patron saints of the Medici and the frieze of Angels'
+heads are all Donatello's; also an exceedingly beautiful
+terracotta bust of St. Lawrence, which is one of
+his most attractive creations. In the niche on the left
+of the entrance is the simple but very beautiful tomb of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_291" id="page_291">[291]</a></span>
+the two sons of Cosimo, Piero and Giovanni&ndash;who
+are united also in Botticelli's Adoration of the Magi as
+the two kings&ndash;and it serves also as a monument to
+Cosimo himself; it was made by Andrea Verrocchio
+for Lorenzo and Giuliano, Piero's sons. The remains
+of Lorenzo and Giuliano rested together in this sacristy
+until they were translated in the sixteenth century. In
+spite of a misleading modern inscription, they were
+apparently not buried in their father's grave, and the
+actual site of their former tomb is unknown. They
+now lie together in the <i>Sagrestia Nuova</i>. The simplicity
+of these funereal monuments and the <i>piet&agrave;s</i>
+which united the members of the family so closely, in
+death and in life alike, are very characteristic of these
+earlier Medicean rulers of Florence.</p>
+
+<p>The cloisters of San Lorenzo, haunted by needy
+and destitute cats, were also designed by Brunelleschi.
+To the right, after passing Francesco da San Gallo's
+statue of Paolo Giovio, the historian, who died in
+1559, is the entrance to the famous Biblioteca
+Laurenziana. The nucleus of this library was the
+collection of codices formed by Niccol&ograve; Niccoli,
+which were afterwards purchased by Cosimo the
+Elder, and still more largely increased by Lorenzo the
+Magnificent; after the expulsion of Piero the younger,
+they were bought by the Friars of San Marco, and
+then from them by the Cardinal Giovanni, who transferred
+them to the Medicean villa at Rome. In accordance
+with Pope Leo's wish, Clement VII. (then
+the Cardinal Giulio) brought them back to Florence,
+and, when Pope, commissioned Michelangelo to design
+the building that was to house them. The portico,
+vestibule and staircase were designed by him, and, in
+judging of their effect, it must be remembered that
+Michelangelo professed that architecture was not his
+business, and also that the vestibule and staircase were<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_292" id="page_292">[292]</a></span>
+intended to have been adorned with bronzes and
+statues. It was commenced in 1524, before the siege.
+Of the numberless precious manuscripts which this
+collection contains, we will mention only two classical
+and one medi&aelig;val; the famous Pandects of Justinian
+which the Pisans took from Amalfi, and the
+Medicean Virgil of the fourth or fifth century; and
+Boccaccio's autograph manuscript of Dante's Eclogues
+and Epistles. This latter codex, shown under the
+glass at the entrance to the Rotunda, is the only
+manuscript in existence which contains Dante's
+Epistles to the Italian Cardinals and to a Florentine
+Friend. In the first, he defines his attitude towards
+the Church, and declares that he is not touching the
+Ark, but merely turning to the kicking oxen who are
+dragging it out of the right path; in the second, he
+proudly proclaims his innocence, rejects the amnesty,
+and refuses to return to Florence under dishonourable
+conditions. Although undoubtedly in Boccaccio's
+handwriting, it has been much disputed of late years as
+to whether these two letters are really by Dante.
+There is not a single autograph manuscript, nor a
+single scrap of Dante's handwriting extant at the
+present day.</p>
+
+<hr class="c15" />
+
+<p>From the Piazza Madonna, at the back of San Lorenzo,
+we enter a chilly vestibule, the burial vault of less important
+members of the families of the Medicean Grand
+Dukes, and ascend to the <i>Sagrestia Nuova</i>, where the
+last male descendants of Cosimo the Elder and Lorenzo
+the Magnificent lie. Although the idea of adding some
+such mausoleum to San Lorenzo appears to have originated
+with Leo X., this New Sacristy was built by
+Michelangelo for Clement VII., commenced while he
+was still the Cardinal Giulio and finished in 1524,
+before the Library was constructed. Its form was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_293" id="page_293">[293]</a></span>
+intended to correspond with that of Brunelleschi's Old
+Sacristy, and it was to contain four sepulchral monuments.
+Two of these, the only two that were actually
+constructed, were for the younger Lorenzo, titular
+Duke of Urbino (who died in 1519, the son of Piero
+and nephew of Pope Leo), and the younger Giuliano,
+Duke of Nemours (who died in 1516, the third son
+of the Magnificent and younger brother of Leo). It is
+not quite certain for whom the other two monuments
+were to have been, but it is most probable that they
+were for the fathers of the two Medicean Popes,
+Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother the elder
+Giuliano, whose remains were translated hither by
+Duke Cosimo I. and rediscovered a few years ago.
+Michelangelo commenced the statues before the third
+expulsion of the Medici, worked on them in secret while
+he was fortifying Florence against Pope Clement before
+the siege, and returned to them, after the downfall of
+the Republic, as the condition of obtaining the Pope's
+pardon. He resumed work, full of bitterness at the
+treacherous overthrow of the Republic, tormented by
+the heirs of Pope Julius II., whose tomb he had been
+forced to abandon, suffering from insomnia and shattered
+health, threatened with death by the tyrant Alessandro.
+When he left Florence finally in 1534, just before the
+death of Clement, the statues had not even been put
+into their places.</p>
+
+<p>Neither of the ducal statues is a portrait, but they
+appear to represent the active and contemplative lives,
+like the Leah and Rachel on the tomb of Pope Julius
+II. at Rome. On the right sits Giuliano, holding the
+baton of command as Gonfaloniere of the Church.
+His handsome sensual features to some extent recall
+those of the victorious youth in the allegory in the
+Bargello. He holds his baton somewhat loosely, as
+though he half realised the baseness of the historical<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_294" id="page_294">[294]</a></span>
+part he was doomed to play, and had not got his heart
+in it. Opposite is Lorenzo, immersed in profound
+thought, "ghastly as a tyrant's dream." What
+visions are haunting him of the sack of Prato, of the
+atrocities of the barbarian hordes in the Eternal City,
+of the doom his house has brought upon Florence?
+Does he already smell the blood that his daughter will
+shed, fifty years later, on St. Bartholomew's day?
+Here he sits, as Elizabeth Barrett Browning puts
+it:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+<span class="o1">"With everlasting shadow on his face,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">While the slow dawns and twilights disapprove</span><br />
+ The ashes of his long extinguished race,<br />
+<span class="i1">Which never more shall clog the feet of men."</span></p>
+
+<p>"It fascinates and is intolerable," as Rogers wrote
+of this statue. It is, probably, not due to Michelangelo
+that the niches in which the dukes sit are too
+narrow for them; but the result is to make the tyrants
+seem as helpless as their victims, in the fetters of
+destiny. Beneath them are four tremendous and
+terrible allegorical figures: "those four ineffable
+types," writes Ruskin, "not of darkness nor of day&ndash;not
+of morning nor evening, but of the departure and
+the resurrection, the twilight and the dawn of the
+souls of men." Beneath Lorenzo are Dawn and
+Twilight; Dawn awakes in agony, but her most
+horrible dreams are better than the reality which she
+must face; Twilight has worked all day in vain, and,
+like a helpless Titan, is sinking now into a slumber
+where is no repose. Beneath Giuliano are Day and
+Night: Day is captive and unable to rise, his mighty
+powers are uselessly wasted and he glares defiance;
+Night is buried in torturing dreams, but Michelangelo
+has forbidden us to wake her:&ndash;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_295" id="page_295">[295]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+<span class="o1">"Grato mi &egrave; il sonno, e pi&ugrave; l'esser di sasso;</span><br />
+mentre che il danno e la vergogna dura,<br />
+non veder, non sentir, m'&egrave; gran ventura;<br />
+per&ograve; non mi destar; deh, parla basso!"<a name="fnanchor_45" id="fnanchor_45"></a><a href="#footnote_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a></p>
+
+<p>It will be remembered that it was for these two
+young men, to whom Michelangelo has thus reared the
+noblest sepulchral monuments of the modern world,
+that Leo X. desired to build kingdoms and that
+Machiavelli wrote one of the masterpieces of Italian
+prose&ndash;the <i>Principe</i>. Giuliano was the most respectable
+of the elder Medicean line; in Castiglione's
+<i>Cortigiano</i> he is an attractive figure, the chivalrous
+champion of women. It is not easy to get a definite
+idea of the character of Lorenzo, who, as we saw in
+chapter iv., was virtually tyrant of Florence during his
+uncle's pontificate. The Venetian ambassador once
+wrote of him that he was fitted for great deeds, and
+only a little inferior to C&aelig;sar Borgia&ndash;which was intended
+for very high praise; but there was nothing in
+him to deserve either Michelangelo's monument or
+Machiavelli's dedication. He usurped the Duchy of
+Urbino, and spent his last days in fooling with a jester.
+His reputed son, the foul Duke Alessandro, lies buried
+with him here in the same coffin.</p>
+
+<p>Opposite the altar is the Madonna and Child, by
+Michelangelo. The Madonna is one of the noblest
+and most beautiful of all the master's works, but the
+Child, whom Florence had once chosen for her King,
+has turned His face away from the city. A few
+years later, and Cosimo I. will alter the inscription
+which Niccol&ograve; Capponi had set up on the Palazzo
+Vecchio. The patron saints of the Medici on either
+side, Sts. Cosmas and Damian, are by Michelangelo's
+pupils and assistants, Fra Giovanni Angiolo da Montorsoli<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_296" id="page_296">[296]</a></span>
+and Raffaello da Montelupo. Beneath these
+statues lie Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother,
+the elder Giuliano. Their bodies were removed
+hither from the Old Sacristy in 1559, and the question
+as to their place of burial was finally set at rest,
+in October 1895, by the discovery of their bodies.
+It is probable that Michelangelo had originally intended
+the Madonna for the tomb of his first patron,
+Lorenzo.</p>
+
+<p>In judging of the general effect of this <i>Sagrestia
+Nuova</i>, which is certainly somewhat cold, it must be
+remembered that Michelangelo intended it to be full of
+statues and that the walls were to have been covered
+with paintings. "Its justification," says Addington
+Symonds, "lies in the fact that it demanded statuary
+and colour for its completion." The vault was frescoed
+by Giovanni da Udine, but is now whitewashed. In
+1562, Vasari wrote to Michelangelo at Rome on
+behalf of Duke Cosimo, telling him that "the place is
+being now used for religious services by day and night,
+according to the intentions of Pope Clement," and that
+the Duke was anxious that all the best sculptors and
+painters of the newly instituted Academy should work
+upon the Sacristy and finish it from Michelangelo's
+designs. "He intends," writes Vasari, "that the new
+Academicians shall complete the whole imperfect
+scheme, in order that the world may see that, while
+so many men of genius still exist among us, the noblest
+work which was ever yet conceived on earth has not
+been left unfinished." And the Duke wants to know
+what Michelangelo's own idea is about the statues and
+paintings; "He is particularly anxious that you should
+be assured of his determination to alter nothing you
+have already done or planned, but, on the contrary, to
+carry out the whole work according to your conception.
+The Academicians, too, are unanimous in their hearty<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_297" id="page_297">[297]</a></span>
+desire to abide by this decision."<a name="fnanchor_46" id="fnanchor_46"></a><a href="#footnote_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a></p>
+
+<p>In the <i>Cappella dei Principi</i>, gorgeous with its
+marbles and mosaics, lie the sovereigns of the younger
+line, the Medicean Grand Dukes of Tuscany, the
+descendants of the great captain Giovanni delle Bande
+Nere. Here are the sepulchral monuments of Cosimo
+I. (1537-1574); of his sons, Francesco (1574-1587)
+and Ferdinand I. (1587-1609); and of Ferdinand's
+son, grandson and great-grandson, Cosimo II.
+(1609-1621), Ferdinand II. (1627-1670), Cosimo
+III. (1670-1723). The statues are those of Ferdinand
+I. and Cosimo II.</p>
+
+<p>Cosimo I. finally transformed the republic into a
+monarchy, created a new aristocracy and established a
+small standing army, though he mainly relied upon
+Spanish and German mercenaries. He conquered
+Siena in 1553, and in 1570 was invested with the
+grand ducal crown by Pius V.&ndash;a title which the
+Emperor confirmed to his successor. Although the
+tragedy which tradition has hung round the end of the
+Duchess Eleonora and her two sons has not stood the
+test of historical criticism, there are plenty of bloody
+deeds to be laid to Duke Cosimo's account during his
+able and ruthless reign. Towards the close of his life
+he married his mistress, Cammilla Martelli, and made
+over the government to his son. This son, Francesco,
+the founder of the Uffizi Gallery and of the modern
+city of Leghorn, had more than his father's vices and
+hardly any of his ability; his intrigue with the beautiful
+Venetian, Bianca Cappello, whom he afterwards
+married, and who died with him, has excited more
+interest than it deserves. The Cardinal Ferdinand,
+who succeeded him and renounced the cardinalate, was
+incomparably the best of the house&ndash;a man of magnanimous
+character and an enlightened ruler. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_298" id="page_298">[298]</a></span>
+shook off the influence of Spain, and built an excellent
+navy to make war upon the Turks and Barbary
+corsairs. Cosimo II. and Ferdinand II. reigned
+quietly and benevolently, with no ability but with
+plenty of good intentions. Chiabrera sings their
+praises with rather unnecessary fervour. But the
+wealth and prosperity of Tuscany was waning, and
+Cosimo III., a luxurious and selfish bigot, could do
+nothing to arrest the decay. On the death of his
+miserable and contemptible successor, Gian Gastone
+dei Medici in 1737, the Medicean dynasty was at an
+end.</p>
+
+<p>Stretching along a portion of the Via Larga, and
+near the Piazza di San Marco, were the famous
+gardens of the Medici, which the people sacked in
+1494 on the expulsion of Piero. The Casino
+Mediceo, built by Buontalenti in 1576, marks the
+site. Here were placed some of Lorenzo's antique
+statues and curios; and here Bertoldo had his great
+art school, where the most famous painters and sculptors
+came to bask in the sun of Medicean patronage,
+and to copy the antique. Here the boy Michelangelo
+came with his friend Granacci, and here
+Andrea Verrocchio first trained the young Leonardo.
+In this garden, too, Angelo Poliziano walked with his
+pupils, and initiated Michelangelo into the newly revived
+Hellenic culture. There is nothing now to
+recall these past glories.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_35" id="illo_35"></a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_299" id="page_299"></a></span>
+<img src="images/illus317_tmb.jpg" width="263" height="400" alt="THE WELL OF S. MARCO" title="" />
+<p class="caption">THE WELL OF S. MARCO</p>
+<a href="images/illus317_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>The church of San Marco has been frequently
+altered and modernised, and there is little now to
+remind us that it was here on August 1, 1489, that
+Savonarola began to expound the Apocalypse. Over
+the entrance is a Crucifix ascribed by Vasari to
+Giotto. On the second altar to the right is a much-damaged
+but authentic Madonna and Saints by Fra
+Bartolommeo; that on the opposite altar, on the left,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_301" id="page_301">[301]</a></span>
+is a copy of the original now in the Pitti Palace.
+There are some picturesque bits of old fourteenth
+century frescoes on the left wall, and beneath them,
+between the second and third altars, lie Pico della
+Mirandola and his friend Girolamo Benivieni, and
+Angelo Poliziano. The left transept contains the
+tomb and shrine of St Antoninus, the good Dominican
+Archbishop of Florence, with statues by Giovanni
+da Bologna and his followers, and later frescoes. In
+the sacristy, which was designed by Brunelleschi, there
+is a fine bronze recumbent statue of him. Antoninus
+was Prior of San Marco in the days of Angelico, and
+Vasari tells us that when Angelico went to Rome, to
+paint for Pope Eugenius, the Pope wished to make
+the painter Archbishop of Florence: "When the
+said friar heard this, he besought his Holiness to find
+somebody else, because he did not feel himself apt to
+govern people; but that since his Order had a friar
+who loved the poor, who was most learned and fit for
+rule, and who feared God, this dignity would be
+much better conferred upon him than on himself.
+The Pope, hearing this, and bethinking him that what
+he said was true, granted his request freely; and so
+Fra Antonino was made Archbishop of Florence, of
+the Order of Preachers, a man truly most illustrious
+for sanctity and learning."</p>
+
+<p>It was in the church of San Marco that Savonarola
+celebrated Mass on the day of the Ordeal; here the
+women waited and prayed, while the procession set
+forth; and hither the Dominicans returned at evening,
+amidst the howls and derision of the crowd. Here,
+on the next evening, the fiercest of the fighting took
+place. The attempt of the enemy to break into the
+church by the sacristy door was repulsed. One of
+the Panciatichi, a mere boy, mortally wounded, joyfully
+received the last sacraments from Fra Domenico<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_302" id="page_302">[302]</a></span>
+on the steps of the altar, and died in such bliss, that
+the rest envied him. Finally the great door of the
+church was broken down; Fra Enrico, a German,
+mounted the pulpit and fired again and again into the
+midst of the Compagnacci, shouting with each shot,
+<i>Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine</i>. Driven from the
+pulpit, he and other friars planted their arquebusses
+beneath the Crucifix on the high altar, and continued
+to fire. The church was now so full of smoke that
+the friars could hardly continue the defence, until Fra
+Giovacchino della Robbia broke one of the windows
+with a lance. At last, when the Signoria threatened
+to destroy the whole convent with artillery, Savonarola
+ordered the friars to go in procession from the church
+to the dormitory, and himself, taking the Blessed
+Sacrament from the altar, slowly followed them.</p>
+
+<p>The convent itself, now officially the <i>Museo di
+San Marco</i>, originally a house of Silvestrine monks,
+was made over to the Dominicans by Pope Eugenius
+IV., at the instance of Cosimo dei Medici and his
+brother Lorenzo. They solemnly took possession in
+1436, and Michelozzo entirely rebuilt the whole
+convent for them, mainly at the cost of Cosimo,
+between 1437 and 1452. "It is believed," says
+Vasari, "to be the best conceived and the most
+beautiful and commodious convent of any in Italy,
+thanks to the virtue and industry of Michelozzo."
+Fra Giovanni da Fiesole, as the Beato Angelico was
+called, came from his Fiesolan convent, and worked
+simultaneously with Michelozzo for about eight or nine
+years (until the Pope summoned him to Rome in 1445
+to paint in the Vatican), covering with his mystical
+dreams the walls that his friend designed. That other
+artistic glory of the Dominicans, Fra Bartolommeo,
+took the habit here in 1500, though there are now
+only a few unimportant works of his remaining in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_303" id="page_303">[303]</a></span>
+convent. Never was there such a visible outpouring
+of the praying heart in painting, as in the work of
+these two friars. And Antoninus and Savonarola
+strove to make the spirit world that they painted a
+living reality, for Florence and for the Church.</p>
+
+<p>The first cloister is surrounded by later frescoes,
+scenes from the life of St. Antoninus, partly by
+Bernardino Poccetti and Matteo Rosselli, at the beginning
+of the seventeenth century. They are not of
+great artistic value, but one, the fifth on the right of
+the entrance, representing the entry of St. Antoninus
+into Florence, shows the old fa&ccedil;ade of the Duomo.
+Like gems in this rather indifferent setting, are five
+exquisite frescoes by Angelico in lunettes over the
+doors; St. Thomas Aquinas, Christ as a pilgrim
+received by two Dominican friars, Christ in the tomb,
+St. Dominic (spoilt), St. Peter Martyr; also a larger
+fresco of St. Dominic at the foot of the Cross. The
+second of these, symbolising the hospitality of the
+convent rule, is one of Angelico's masterpieces; beneath
+it is the entrance to the Foresteria, the guest-chambers.
+Under the third lunette we pass into the
+great Refectory, with its customary pulpit for the
+novice reader: here, instead of the usual Last Supper,
+is a striking fresco of St. Dominic and his friars
+miraculously fed by Angels, painted in 1536 by
+Giovanni Antonio Sogliani (a pupil of Lorenzo di
+Credi); the Crucifixion above, with St. Catherine
+of Siena and St. Antoninus, is said to be by Fra
+Bartolommeo. Here, too, on the right is the original
+framework by Jacopo di Bartolommeo da Sete and
+Simone da Fiesole, executed in 1433, for Angelico's
+great tabernacle now in the Uffizi.</p>
+
+<p>Angelico's St. Dominic appropriately watches over
+the Chapter House, which contains the largest of Fra
+Giovanni's frescoes and one of the greatest masterpieces<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_304" id="page_304">[304]</a></span>
+of religious art: the Crucifixion with the patron
+saints of Florence, of the convent, and of the Medici,
+the founders of the religious orders, the representatives
+of the zeal and learning of the Dominicans, all
+gathered and united in contemplation around the
+Cross of Christ. It was ordered by Cosimo dei
+Medici, and painted about 1441. On our left are the
+Madonna, supported by the Magdalene, the other
+Mary, and the beloved Disciple; the Baptist and
+St. Mark, representing the city and the convent;
+St. Lawrence and St. Cosmas (said by Vasari to be
+a portrait of Nanni di Banco, who died twenty years
+before), and St. Damian. On our right, kneeling at
+the foot of the Cross, is St. Dominic, a masterpiece
+of expression and sentiment; behind him St. Augustine
+and St. Albert of Jerusalem represent Augustinians
+and Carmelites; St. Jerome, St. Francis, St. Bernard,
+St. John Gualbert kneel; St. Benedict and St. Romuald
+stand behind them, while at the end are St. Peter
+Martyr and St. Thomas Aquinas. All the male
+heads are admirably characterised and discriminated,
+unlike Angelico's women, who are usually either
+merely conventionally done or idealised into Angels.
+Round the picture is a frieze of prophets, culminating
+in the mystical Pelican; below is the great tree of the
+Dominican order, spreading out from St. Dominic
+himself in the centre, with Popes Innocent V. and
+Benedict XI. on either hand. The St. Antoninus was
+added later. Vasari tells us that, in this tree, the
+brothers of the order assisted Angelico by obtaining
+portraits of the various personages represented from
+different places; and they may therefore be regarded
+as the real, or traditional, likenesses of the great
+Dominicans. The same probably applies to the
+wonderful figure of Aquinas in the picture itself.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_305" id="page_305">[305]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Beyond is a second and larger cloister, surrounded
+by very inferior frescoes of the life of St. Dominic,
+full of old armorial bearings and architectural fragments
+arranged rather incongruously. Some of the
+lunettes over the cells contain frescoes of the school
+of Fra Bartolommeo. The Academy of the Crusca
+is established here, in what was once the dormitory
+of the Novices. Connected with this cloister was
+the convent garden. "In the summer time," writes
+Simone Filipepi, "in the evening after supper, the
+Father Fra Girolamo used to walk with his friars
+in the garden, and he would make them all sit round
+him with the Bible in his hand, and here he expounded
+to them some fair passage of the Scriptures, sometimes
+questioning some novice or other, as occasion arose.
+At these meetings there gathered also some fifty or sixty
+learned laymen, for their edification. When, by reason
+of rain or other cause, it was not possible in the
+garden, they went into the <i>hospitium</i> to do the same;
+and for an hour or two one seemed verily to be in
+Paradise, such charity and devotion and simplicity
+appeared in all. Blessed was he who could be
+there." Shortly before the Ordeal of Fire, Fra
+Girolamo was walking in the garden with Fra
+Placido Cinozzi, when an exceedingly beautiful boy
+of noble family came to him with a ticket upon which
+was written his name, offering himself to pass through
+the flames. And thinking that this might not be
+sufficient, he fell upon his knees, begging the Friar
+that he might be allowed to undergo the ordeal for
+him. "Rise up, my son," said Savonarola, "for
+this thy good will is wondrously pleasing unto God";
+and, when the boy had gone, he turned to Fra Placido
+and said: "From many persons have I had these applications,
+but from none have I received so much joy
+as from this child, for which may God be praised."</p>
+
+<p>To the left of the staircase to the upper floor, is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_306" id="page_306">[306]</a></span>
+the smaller refectory with a fresco of the Last Supper
+by Domenico Ghirlandaio, not by any means one of
+the painter's best works.</p>
+
+<p>On the top of the stairs we are initiated into the
+spirit of the place by Angelico's most beautiful Annunciation,
+with its inscription, <i>Virginis intacte cum
+veneris ante figuram, pretereundo cave ne sileatur Ave</i>,
+"When thou shalt have come before the image of
+the spotless Virgin, beware lest by negligence the
+Ave be silent."</p>
+
+<p>On the left of the stairway a double series of
+cells on either side of the corridor leads us to Savonarola's
+room. At the head of the corridor is one
+of those representations that Angelico repeated so
+often, usually with modifications, of St. Dominic at
+the foot of the Cross. Each of the cells has a
+painted lyric of the life of Christ and His mother,
+from Angelico's hand; almost each scene with
+Dominican witnesses and auditors introduced,&ndash;Dominic,
+Aquinas, Peter Martyr, as the case may
+be. In these frescoes Angelico was undoubtedly assisted
+by pupils, from whom a few of the less excellent
+scenes may come; there is an interesting, but altogether
+untrustworthy tradition that some were executed
+by his brother, Fra Benedetto da Mugello,
+who took the Dominican habit simultaneously with
+him and was Prior of the convent at Fiesole. Taking
+the cells on the left first, we see the <i>Noli me tangere</i>
+(1), the Entombment (2), the Annunciation (3),
+the Crucifixion (4), the Nativity (5), the Transfiguration
+(6), a most wonderful picture. Opposite
+the Transfiguration, on the right wall of the corridor,
+is a Madonna and Saints, painted by the Friar somewhat
+later than the frescoes in the cells (which, it
+should be observed, appear to have been painted on
+the walls before the cells were actually partitioned<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_307" id="page_307">[307]</a></span>
+off)&ndash;St. John Evangelist and St. Mark, the three
+great Dominicans and the patrons of the Medici.
+Then, on the left, the following cells contain the
+Mocking of Christ (7), the Resurrection with the
+Maries at the tomb (8), the Coronation of the
+Madonna (9), one of the grandest of the whole
+series, with St. Dominic and St. Francis kneeling
+below, and behind them St. Benedict and St. Thomas
+Aquinas, St. Peter Martyr and St. Paul the Hermit.
+The Presentation in the Temple (10), and the
+Madonna and Child with Aquinas and Augustine
+(11), are inferior to the rest.</p>
+
+<p>The shorter passage now turns to the cells occupied
+by Fra Girolamo Savonarola; one large cell leading
+into two smaller ones (12-14). In the larger are
+placed three frescoes by Fra Bartolommeo; Christ and
+the two disciples at Emmaus, formerly over the doorway
+of the refectory, and two Madonnas&ndash;one from
+the Dominican convent in the Mugnone being especially
+beautiful. Here are also modern busts of Savonarola
+by Dupr&eacute; and Benivieni by Bastianini. In the
+first inner cell are Savonarola's portrait, apparently
+copied from a medal and wrongly ascribed to Bartolommeo,
+his Crucifix and his relics, his manuscripts
+and books of devotion, and, in another case, his hair shirt
+and rosary, his beloved Dominican garb which he
+gave up on the day of his martyrdom. In the inmost
+cell are the Cross which he is said to have carried, and a
+copy of the old (but not contemporary) picture of his
+death, of which the original is in the Corsini Palace.</p>
+
+<p>The seven small cells on the right (15-21) were
+assigned to the Juniors, the younger friars who had
+just passed through the Noviciate. Each contains a
+fresco by Angelico of St. Dominic at the foot of the
+Cross, now scourging himself, now absorbed in contemplation,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_308" id="page_308">[308]</a></span>
+now covering his face with his hands, but
+in no two cases identical. Into one of these cells a
+divine apparition was said to have come to one of these
+youths, after hearing Savonarola's "most fervent and
+most wondrous discourse" upon the mystery of the
+Incarnation. The story is told by Simone Filipepi:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p>"On the night of the most Holy Nativity, to a
+young friar in the convent, who had not yet sung Mass,
+had appeared visibly in his cell on the little altar, whilst
+he was engaged in prayer, Our Lord in the form of a
+little infant even as when He was born in the stable.
+And when the hour came to go into the choir for
+matins, the said friar commenced to debate in his mind
+whether he ought to go and leave here the Holy Child,
+and deprive himself of such sweetness, or not. At
+last he resolved to go and to bear It with him; so, having
+wrapped It up in his arms and under his cowl as best
+he could, all trembling with joy and with fear, he went
+down into the choir without telling anyone. But,
+when it came to his turn to sing a lesson, whilst he
+approached the reading-desk, the Infant vanished from
+his arms; and when the friar was aware of this, he
+remained so overwhelmed and almost beside himself
+that he commenced to wander through the choir, like
+one who seeks a thing lost, so that it was necessary
+that another should read that lesson."</p>
+
+<p>Passing back again down the corridor, we see in the
+cells two more Crucifixions (22 and 23); the Baptism
+of Christ with Madonna as witness (24), the Crucifixion
+(25); then, passing the great Madonna fresco,
+the Mystery of the Passion (26), in one of those
+symbolical representations which seem to have originated
+with the Camaldolese painter, Don Lorenzo;
+Christ bound to the pillar, with St. Dominic scourging
+himself and the Madonna appealing to us (27, perhaps
+by a pupil); Christ bearing the Cross (28); two more
+Crucifixions (29 and 30), apparently not executed by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_309" id="page_309">[309]</a></span>
+Angelico himself.</p>
+
+<p>At the side of Angelico's Annunciation opposite
+the stairs, we enter the cell of St. Antoninus (31).
+Here is one of Angelico's most beautiful and characteristic
+frescoes, Christ's descent into Hades: "the
+intense, 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," as Ruskin describes it. Here,
+too, is the death mask of Antoninus, his portrait perhaps
+drawn from the death mask by Bartolommeo, his manuscripts
+and relics; also a tree of saintly Dominicans,
+Savonarola being on the main trunk, the third from the
+root.</p>
+
+<p>The next cell on the right (32) has the Sermon on
+the Mount and the Temptation in the Wilderness. In
+the following (33), also double, besides the frescoed
+Kiss of Judas, are two minute pictures by Fra Angelico,
+belonging to an earlier stage of his art than the frescoes,
+intended for reliquaries and formerly in Santa Maria
+Novella. One of them, the <i>Madonna della Stella</i>, is a
+very perfect and typical example of the Friar's smaller
+works, in their "purity of colour almost shadowless."
+The other, the Coronation of the Madonna, is less excellent
+and has suffered from retouching. The Agony in the
+Garden (in cell 34) contains a curious piece of medi&aelig;val
+symbolism in the presence of Mary and Martha,
+contemplation and action, the Mary being here the
+Blessed Virgin. In the same cell is another of the
+reliquaries from Santa Maria Novella, the Annunciation
+over the Adoration of the Magi, with Madonna
+and Child, the Virgin Martyrs, the Magdalene and
+St. Catherine of Siena below; the drawing is rather
+faulty. In the following cells are the Last Supper
+(35), conceived mystically as the institution of the
+Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, with the Madonna<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_310" id="page_310">[310]</a></span>
+alone as witness; the Deposition from the Cross (36);
+and the Crucifixion (37), in which Dominic stands
+with out-stretched arms.</p>
+
+<p>Opposite on the right (38-39) is the great cell
+where Pope Eugenius stayed on the occasion of the
+consecration of San Marco in 1442; here Cosimo the
+Elder, Pater Patriae, spent long hours of his closing
+days, in spiritual intercourse with St. Antoninus and
+after the latter's death. In the outer compartment
+the Medicean saint, Cosmas, joins Madonna and Peter
+Martyr at the foot of the Cross. Within are the
+Adoration of the Magi and a Piet&agrave;, both from
+Angelico's hand, and the former, one of his latest
+masterpieces, probably painted with reference to the
+fact that the convent had been consecrated on the
+Feast of the Epiphany. Here, too, is an old terracotta
+bust of Antoninus, and a splendid but damaged
+picture of Cosimo himself by Jacopo da Pontormo,
+incomparably finer than that artist's similarly constructed
+work in the Uffizi. Between two smaller
+cells containing Crucifixions, both apparently by
+Angelico himself (42-43&ndash;the former with the Mary
+and Martha motive at the foot of the Cross), is the
+great Greek Library, built by Michelozzo for Cosimo.
+Here Cosimo deposited a portion of the manuscripts
+which had been collected by Niccol&ograve; Niccoli, with
+additions of his own, and it became the first public
+library in Italy. Its shelves are now empty and bare,
+but it contains a fine collection of illuminated ritual
+books from suppressed convents, several of which are,
+rather doubtfully, ascribed to Angelico's brother, Fra
+Benedetto da Mugello.</p>
+
+<p>It was in this library that Savonarola exercised for
+the last time his functions of Prior of San Marco, and
+surrendered to the commissioners of the Signoria, on<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_311" id="page_311">[311]</a></span>
+the night of Palm Sunday, 1498. What happened
+had best be told in the words of the Padre Pacifico
+Burlamacchi of the same convent, Savonarola's contemporary
+and follower. After several fictitious summonses
+had come:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p>"They returned at last with the decree of the
+Signoria in writing, but with the open promise that
+Fra Girolamo should be restored safe and sound,
+together with his companions. When he heard this,
+he told them that he would obey. But first he retired
+with his friars into the Greek Library, where he made
+them in Latin a most beautiful sermon, exhorting
+them to follow onwards in the way of God with faith,
+prayer, and patience; telling them that it was necessary
+to go to heaven by the way of tribulations, and
+that therefore they ought not in any way to be terrified;
+alleging many old examples of the ingratitude of the
+city of Florence in return for the benefits received
+from their Order. As that of St. Peter Martyr who,
+after doing so many marvellous things in Florence,
+was slain, the Florentines paying the price of his
+blood. And of St. Catherine of Siena, whom many
+had sought to kill, after she had borne so many labours
+for them, going personally to Avignon to plead their
+cause before the Pope. Nor had less happened to
+St. Antoninus, their Archbishop and excellent Pastor,
+whom they had once wished to throw from the windows.
+And that it was no marvel, if he also, after
+such sorrows and labourings, was paid at the end in the
+same coin. But that he was ready to receive everything
+with desire and happiness for the love of his Lord,
+knowing that in nought else consisted the Christian life,
+save in doing good and suffering evil. And thus,
+while all the bye-standers wept, he finished his sermon.
+Then, issuing forth from the library, he said to those
+laymen who awaited him: 'I will say to you what
+Jeremiah said: This thing I expected, but not so soon<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_312" id="page_312">[312]</a></span>
+nor so suddenly.' He exhorted them further to live
+well and to be fervent in prayer. And having confessed
+to the Father Fra Domenico da Pescia, he
+took the Communion in the first library. And the
+same did Fra Domenico. After eating a little, he
+was somewhat refreshed; and he spoke the last words
+to his friars, exhorting them to persevere in religion, and
+kissing them all, he took his last departure from them.
+In the parting one of his children said to him: 'Father,
+why dost thou abandon us and leave us so desolate?'
+To which he replied: 'Son, have patience, God will
+help you'; and he added that he would either see
+them again alive, or that after death he would appear
+to them without fail. Also, as he departed, he gave
+up the common keys to the brethren, with so great
+humility and charity, that the friars could not keep
+themselves from tears; and many of them wished by all
+means to go with him. At last, recommending himself
+to their prayers, he made his way towards the door
+of the library, where the first Commissioners all armed
+were awaiting him; to whom, giving himself into their
+hands like a most meek lamb, he said: 'I recommend
+to you this my flock and all these other citizens.' And
+when he was in the corridor of the library, he said:
+'My friars, doubt not, for God will not fail to perfect
+His work; and although I be put to death, I shall
+help you more than I have done in life, and I will
+return without fail to console you, either dead or alive.'
+Arrived at the holy water, which is at the exit of the
+choir, Fra Domenico said to him: 'Fain would I too
+come to these nuptials.' Certain of the laymen, his
+friends, were arrested at the command of the Signoria.
+When the Father Fra Girolamo was in the first
+cloister, Fra Benedetto, the miniaturist, strove ardently
+to go with him; and, when the officers thrust him
+back, he still insisted that he would go. But the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_313" id="page_313">[313]</a></span>
+Father Fra Girolamo turned to him, and said: 'Fra
+Benedetto, on your obedience come not, for I and
+Fra Domenico have to die for the love of Christ.'
+And thus he was torn away from the eyes of his
+children."</p>
+
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_314" id="page_314">[314]</a></p>
+<h2 class="p6"><a name="chapter_x" id="chapter_x"></a>CHAPTER X</h2>
+
+<h3><i>The Accademia delle Belle Arti&ndash;The Santissima Annunziata&ndash;And other
+Buildings</i></h3>
+
+<p class="blockquot">
+"In Firenze, pi&ugrave; che altrove, venivano gli uomini perfetti
+in tutte l'arti, e specialmente nella pittura."&ndash;<i>Vasari.</i>
+</p>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>URNING southwards from the Piazza di San
+Marco into the Via Ricasoli, we come to the
+<i>Accademia delle Belle Arti</i>, with its collection of
+Tuscan and Umbrian pictures, mostly gathered from
+suppressed churches and convents.</p>
+
+<p>In the central hall, the Tribune of the David,
+Michelangelo's gigantic marble youth stands under the
+cupola, surrounded by casts of the master's other
+works. The young hero has just caught sight of the
+approaching enemy, and is all braced up for the immortal
+moment. Commenced in 1501 and finished
+at the beginning of 1504, out of a block of marble
+over which an earlier sculptor had bungled, it was
+originally set up in front of the Palazzo Vecchio on
+the Ringhiera, as though to defend the great Palace of
+the People. It is supposed to have taken five days to
+move the statue from the Opera del Duomo, where
+Michelangelo had chiselled it out, to the Palace.
+When the simple-minded Gonfaloniere, Piero Soderini,
+saw it, he told the artist that the nose appeared to
+him to be too large; whereupon Michelangelo mounted<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_315" id="page_315">[315]</a></span>
+a ladder, pretended to work upon it for a few moments,
+dropping a little marble dust all the time, which he had
+taken up with him, and then turned round for approval
+to the Gonfaloniere, who assured him that he had
+now given the statue life. This <i>gigante di Fiorenza</i>,
+as it was called, was considerably damaged during the
+third expulsion of the Medici in 1527, but retained its
+proud position before the Palace until 1873.</p>
+
+<p>On the right, as we approach the giant, is the <i>Sala
+del Beato Angelico</i>, containing a lovely array of Fra
+Angelico's smaller paintings. Were we to attempt to
+sum up Angelico's chief characteristics in one word,
+that word would be <i>onest&agrave;</i>, in its early mediaeval
+sense as Dante uses it in the <i>Vita Nuova</i>, signifying not
+merely purity or chastity, as it came later to mean, but
+the outward manifestation of spiritual beauty,&ndash;the
+<i>honestas</i> of which Aquinas speaks. A supreme expression
+of this may be found in the Paradise of his
+Last Judgment (266), the mystical dance of saints
+and Angels in the celestial garden that blossoms under
+the rays of the Sun of Divine Love, and on all the
+faces of the blessed beneath the Queen of Mercy on
+the Judge's right. The Hell is, naturally, almost a
+failure. In many of the small scenes from the lives of
+Christ and His Mother, of which there are several
+complete series here, some of the heads are absolute
+miracles of expression; notice, for instance, the Judas
+receiving the thirty pieces of silver, and all the faces in
+the Betrayal (237), and, above all perhaps, the Peter
+in the Entry into Jerusalem (252), on every line of
+whose face seems written: "Lord, why can I not
+follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy
+sake." The Deposition from the Cross (246), contemplated
+by St. Dominic, the Beata Villana and St.
+Catherine of Alexandria, appears to be an earlier work
+of Angelico's. Here, also, are three great Madonnas<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_316" id="page_316">[316]</a></span>
+painted by the Friar as altar pieces for convent
+churches; the Madonna and Child surrounded by
+Angels and saints, while Cosmas and Damian, the
+patrons of the Medici, kneel at her feet (281), was
+executed in 1438 for the high altar of San Marco,
+and, though now terribly injured, was originally one
+of his best pictures; the Madonna and Child, with
+two Angels and six saints, Peter Martyr, Cosmas and
+Damian, Francis, Antony of Padua, and Louis of
+Toulouse (265), was painted for the convent of the
+Osservanza near Mugello,&ndash;hence the group of Franciscans
+on the left; the third (227), in which Cosmas
+and Damian stand with St. Dominic on the right of
+the Madonna, and St. Francis with Lawrence and
+John the Divine on her left, is an inferior work
+from his hand.</p>
+
+<p>Also in this room are four delicious little panels by
+Lippo Lippi (264 and 263), representing the Annunciation
+divided into two compartments, St. Antony
+Abbot and the Baptist; two Monks of the Vallombrosa,
+by Perugino (241, 242), almost worthy of
+Raphael; and two charming scenes of mediaeval
+university life, the School of Albertus Magnus (231)
+and the School of St. Thomas Aquinas (247).
+These two latter appear to be by some pupil of Fra
+Angelico, and may possibly be very early works of
+Benozzo Gozzoli. In the first, Albert is lecturing
+to an audience, partly lay and partly clerical, amongst
+whom is St. Thomas, then a youthful novice but
+already distinguished by the halo and the sun upon his
+breast; in the second, Thomas himself is now holding
+the professorial chair, surrounded by pupils listening or
+taking notes, while Dominicans throng the cloisters
+behind. On his right sits the King of France; below
+his seat the discomforted Averrhoes humbly
+places himself on the lowest step, between the heretics&ndash;William<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_317" id="page_317">[317]</a></span>
+of St. Amour and Sabellius.</p>
+
+<p>From the left of the David's tribune, we turn into
+three rooms containing masterpieces of the Quattrocento
+(with a few later works), and appropriately named
+after Botticelli and Perugino.</p>
+
+<p>In the <i>Sala prima del Botticelli</i> is Sandro's famous
+<i>Primavera</i>, the Allegory of Spring or the Kingdom
+of Venus (80). Inspired in part by Poliziano's
+<i>stanze</i> in honour of Giuliano dei Medici and his Bella
+Simonetta, Botticelli nevertheless has given to his
+strange&ndash;not altogether decipherable&ndash;allegory, a
+vague mysterious poetry far beyond anything that
+Messer Angelo could have suggested to him. Through
+this weirdly coloured garden of the Queen of Love,
+in "the light that never was on sea or land," blind
+Cupid darts upon his little wings, shooting, apparently
+at random, a flame-tipped arrow which will surely
+pierce the heart of the central maiden of those three,
+who, in their thin clinging white raiment, personify the
+Graces. The eyes of Simonetta&ndash;for it is clearly she&ndash;rest
+for a moment in the dance upon the stalwart
+Hermes, an idealised Giuliano, who has turned away
+carelessly from the scene. Flora, "pranked and pied
+for birth," advances from our right, scattering flowers
+rapidly as she approaches; while behind her a wanton
+Zephyr, borne on his strong wings, breaks through the
+wood to clasp Fertility, from whose mouth the flowers
+are starting. Venus herself, the mistress of nature, for
+whom and by whom all these things are done, stands
+somewhat sadly apart in the centre of the picture;
+this is only one more of the numberless springs that
+have passed over her since she first rose from the sea,
+and she is somewhat weary of it all:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+<span class="o1">"Te, dea, te fugiunt venti, te nubila caeli</span><br />
+Adventumque tuum, tibi suavis daedala tellus<br />
+Summittit flores, tibi rident aequora ponti<br />
+Placatumque nitet diffuso lumine caelum."<a name="fnanchor_47" id="fnanchor_47"></a><a href="#footnote_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a></p>
+
+<p>This was one of the pictures painted for Lorenzo the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_318" id="page_318">[318]</a></span>
+Magnificent. Botticelli's other picture in this room,
+the large Coronation of the Madonna (73) with its
+predella (74), was commissioned by the Arte di Por
+Sta. Maria, the Guild of Silk-merchants, for an altar
+in San Marco; the ring of festive Angels, encircling
+their King and Queen, is in one of the master's most
+characteristic moods. On either side of the Primavera
+are two early works by Lippo Lippi; Madonna adoring
+the Divine Child in a rocky landscape, with the little
+St. John and an old hermit (79), and the Nativity
+(82), with Angels and shepherds, Jerome, Magdalene
+and Hilarion. Other important pictures in this room
+are Andrea del Sarto's Four Saints (76), one of his
+latest works painted for the monks of Vallombrosa
+in 1528; Andrea Verrocchio's Baptism of Christ
+(71), in which the two Angels were possibly painted
+by Verrocchio's great pupil, Leonardo, in his youth;
+Masaccio's Madonna and Child watched over by St.
+Anne (70), an early and damaged work, the only
+authentic easel picture of his in Florence. The three
+small predella pictures (72), the Nativity, the martyrdom
+of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, St. Anthony of
+Padua finding a stone in the place of the dead miser's
+heart, by Francesco Pesellino, 1422-1457, the pupil
+of Lippo Lippi, are fine examples of a painter who
+normally only worked on this small scale and whose
+works are very rare indeed. Francesco Granacci,
+who painted the Assumption (68), is chiefly interesting
+as having been Michelangelo's friend and fellow pupil<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_319" id="page_319">[319]</a></span>
+under Ghirlandaio.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Sala del Perugino</i> takes its name from three
+works of that master which it contains; the great
+Vallombrosa Assumption (57), signed and dated
+1500, one of the painter's finest altar pieces, with a
+very characteristic St. Michael&ndash;the Archangel who
+was by tradition the genius of the Assumption, as
+Gabriel had been of the Annunciation; the Deposition
+from the Cross (56); and the Agony in the Garden
+(53). But the gem of the whole room is Lippo
+Lippi's Coronation of the Madonna (62), one of
+the masterpieces of the early Florentine school, which
+he commenced for the nuns of Sant' Ambrogio in
+1441. The throngs of boys and girls, bearing lilies
+and playing at being Angels, are altogether delightful,
+and the two little orphans, that are being petted by
+the pretty Florentine lady on our right, are characteristic
+of Fra Filippo's never failing sympathy with
+child life. On the left two admirably characterised
+monks are patronised by St. Ambrose, and in the
+right corner the jolly Carmelite himself, under the
+wing of the Baptist, is welcomed by a little Angel
+with the scroll, <i>Is perfecit opus</i>. It will be observed
+that "poor brother Lippo" has dressed himself with
+greater care for his celestial visit, than he announced
+his intention of doing in Robert Browning's poem:&ndash;</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_320" id="page_320">[320]</a></span></p>
+<p class="poem">
+<span class="i6">"Well, all these</span><br />
+Secured at their devotion, up shall come<br />
+Out of a corner when you least expect,<br />
+As one by a dark stair into a great light,<br />
+Music and talking, who but Lippo! I!&ndash;<br />
+Mazed, motionless and moon-struck&ndash;I'm the man!<br />
+Back I shrink&ndash;what is this I see and hear?<br />
+I, caught up with my monk's things by mistake,<br />
+My old serge gown and rope that goes all round,<br />
+I, in this presence, this pure company!<br />
+Where's a hole, where's a corner for escape?<br />
+Then steps a sweet angelic slip of a thing<br />
+Forward, puts out a soft palm&ndash;'Not so fast!'<br />
+Addresses the celestial presence, 'Nay&ndash;<br />
+'He made you and devised you, after all,<br />
+'Though he's none of you! Could Saint John there draw&ndash;<br />
+'His camel-hair make up a painting-brush?<br />
+'We come to brother Lippo for all that,<br />
+'<i>Iste perfecit opus!</i>'"</p>
+
+<p>Fra Filippo's Madonna and Child, with Sts. Cosmas
+and Damian, Francis and Antony, painted for the
+Medicean chapel in Santa Croce (55), is an earlier and
+less characteristic work. Over the door is St. Vincent
+preaching, by Fra Bartolommeo (58), originally painted
+to go over the entrance to the sacristy in San Marco&ndash;a
+striking representation of a Dominican preacher of
+repentance and renovation, conceived in the spirit of
+Savonarola, but terribly "restored." The Trinit&agrave;
+(63) is one of Mariotto Albertinelli's best works,
+but sadly damaged. The two child Angels (61) by
+Andrea del Sarto, originally belonged to his picture of
+the Four Saints, in the last room; the Crucifixion,
+with the wonderful figure of the Magdalene at the foot
+of the Cross (65), ascribed to Luca Signorelli, does
+not appear to be from the master's own hand; Ghirlandaio's
+predella (67), with scenes from the lives of Sts.
+Dionysius, Clement, Dominic, and Thomas Aquinas,
+belongs to a great picture which we shall see presently.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Sala seconda del Botticelli</i> contains three pictures
+ascribed to the master, but only one is authentic&ndash;the
+Madonna and Child enthroned with six Saints, while
+Angels raise the curtain over her throne or hold up
+emblems of the Passion (85); it is inscribed with
+Dante's line&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="blockquot">
+"Vergine Madre, Figlia del tuo Figlio."</p>
+
+<p>The familiar Three Archangels (84), though attributed
+to Sandro, is not even a work of his school. There is
+a charming little predella picture by Fra Filippo (86),<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_321" id="page_321">[321]</a></span>
+representing a miracle of San Frediano, St. Michael
+announcing her death to the Blessed Virgin, and a friar
+contemplating the mystery of the Blessed Trinity&ndash;pierced
+by the "three arrows of the three stringed
+bow," to adopt Dante's phrase. The Deposition
+from the Cross (98), was commenced by Filippino
+Lippi for the Annunziata, and finished after his death
+in 1504 by Perugino, who added the group of Maries
+with the Magdalene and the figure on our right. The
+Vision of St. Bernard (97), by Fra Bartolommeo, is
+the first picture that the Friar undertook on resuming
+his brush, after Raphael's visit to Florence had stirred
+him up to new efforts; commenced in 1506, it was left
+unfinished, and has been injured by renovations. Here
+are two excellent paintings by Lorenzo di Credi (92
+and 94), the former, the Adoration of the Shepherds,
+being his very best and most perfectly finished work.
+High up are two figures in niches by Filippino Lippi,
+the Baptist and the Magdalene (93 and 89), hardly
+pleasing. The Resurrection (90), by Raffaellino del
+Garbo, is the only authentic work in Florence of a
+pupil of Filippino's, who gave great promise which was
+never fulfilled.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of the hall are three Sale <i>dei Maestri
+Toscani</i>, from the earliest Primitives down to the
+eighteenth century. Only a few need concern us
+much.</p>
+
+<p>The first room contains the works of the earlier
+masters, from a pseudo-Cimabue (102), to Luca
+Signorelli, whose Madonna and Child with Archangels
+and Doctors (164), painted for a church in
+Cortona, has suffered from restoration. There are four
+genuine, very tiny pictures by Botticelli (157, 158,
+161, 162). The Adoration of the Kings (165), by
+Gentile da Fabriano, is one of the most delightful old
+pictures in Florence; Gentile da Fabriano, an Umbrian<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_322" id="page_322">[322]</a></span>
+master who, through Jacopo Bellini, had a considerable
+influence upon the early Venetian school, settled in
+Florence in 1422, and finished this picture in the
+following year for Santa Trinit&agrave;, near which he kept
+a much frequented bottega. Michelangelo said that
+Gentile had a hand similar to his name; and this picture,
+with its rich and varied poetry, is his masterpiece. The
+man wearing a turban, seen full face behind the third
+king, is the painter himself. Kugler remarks: "Fra
+Angelico and Gentile are like two brothers, both
+highly gifted by nature, both full of the most refined
+and amiable feelings; but the one became a
+monk, the other a knight." The smaller pictures
+surrounding it are almost equally charming in their
+way&ndash;especially, perhaps, the Flight into Egypt in
+the predella. The Deposition from the Cross (166),
+by Fra Angelico, also comes from Santa Trinit&agrave;, for
+which it was finished in 1445; originally one of
+Angelico's masterpieces, it has been badly repainted;
+the saints in the frame are extremely beautiful, especially
+a most wonderful St. Michael at the top, on our
+left; the man standing on the ladder, wearing a black
+hood, is the architect, Michelozzo, who was the Friar's
+friend, and may be recognised in several of his paintings.
+The lunettes in the three Gothic arches above Angelico's
+picture, and which, perhaps, did not originally belong
+to it, are by the Camaldolese Don Lorenzo, by whom
+are also the Annunciation with four Saints (143), and
+the three predella scenes (144, 145, 146).</p>
+
+<p>Of the earlier pictures, the Madonna and Child
+adored by Angels (103) is now believed to be the
+only authentic easel picture of Giotto's that remains to
+us&ndash;though this is, possibly, an excess of scepticism.
+Besides several works ascribed to Taddeo Gaddi and
+his son Agnolo, by the former of whom are probably
+the small panels from Santa Croce, formerly attributed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_323" id="page_323">[323]</a></span>
+to Giotto, we should notice the Piet&agrave; by Giovanni da
+Milano (131); the Presentation in the Temple by
+Ambrogio Lorenzetti (134), signed and dated 1342;
+and a large altarpiece ascribed to Pietro Cavallini (157).
+The so-called Marriage of Boccaccio Adimari with
+Lisa Ricasoli (147) is an odd picture of the social
+customs of old Florence.</p>
+
+<p>In the second room are chiefly works by Fra
+Bartolommeo and Mariotto Albertinelli. By the
+Frate, are the series of heads of Christ and Saints
+(168), excepting the Baptist on the right; they are
+frescoes taken from San Marco, excepting the Christ
+on the left, inscribed "Orate pro pictore 1514,"
+which is in oil on canvas. Also by him are the
+two frescoes of Madonna and Child (171, 173),
+and the splendid portrait of Savonarola in the character
+of St. Peter Martyr (172), the great religious
+persecutor of the Middle Ages, to whom Fra Girolamo
+had a special devotion. By Albertinelli, are
+the Madonna and Saints (167), and the Annunciation
+(169), signed and dated 1510. This room also
+contains several pictures by Fra Paolino da Pistoia and
+the Dominican nun, Plautilla Nelli, two pious but insipid
+artists, who inherited Fra Bartolommeo's drawings
+and tried to carry on his traditions. On a stand
+in the middle of the room, is Domenico Ghirlandaio's
+Adoration of the Shepherds (195), from Santa Trinit&agrave;,
+a splendid work with&ndash;as Vasari puts it&ndash;"certain
+heads of shepherds which are held a divine thing."</p>
+
+<p>On the walls of the third room are later pictures of
+no importance or significance. But in the middle of
+the room is another masterpiece by Ghirlandaio (66);
+the Madonna and Child with two Angels, Thomas
+Aquinas and Dionysius standing on either side of the
+throne, Dominic and Clement kneeling. It is
+seldom, indeed, that this prosaic painter succeeded in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_324" id="page_324">[324]</a></span>
+creating such a thinker as this Thomas, such a mystic
+as this Dionysius; in the head of the latter we see indeed
+the image of the man who, according to the
+pleasant medi&aelig;val fable eternalised by Dante, "in the
+flesh below, saw deepest into the Angelic nature and
+its ministry."</p>
+
+<hr class="c15" />
+
+<p>In the Via Cavour, beyond San Marco, is the
+<i>Chiostro dello Scalzo</i>, a cloister belonging to a brotherhood
+dedicated to St. John, which was suppressed in
+the eighteenth century. Here are a series of frescoes
+painted in grisaille by Andrea del Sarto and his partner,
+Francia Bigio, representing scenes from the life of the
+Precursor, with allegorical figures of the Virtues. The
+Baptism of Christ is the earliest, and was painted by
+the two artists in collaboration, in 1509 or 1510.
+After some work for the Servites, which we shall
+see presently, Andrea returned to this cloister; and
+painted, from 1515 to 1517, the Justice, St. John
+preaching, St. John baptising the people, and his
+imprisonment. Some of the figures in these frescoes
+show the influence of Albert D&uuml;rer's engravings. Towards
+the end of 1518, Andrea went off to France to
+work for King Francis I.; and, while he was away,
+Francia Bigio painted St. John leaving his parents, and
+St. John's first meeting with Christ. On Andrea's return,
+he set to work here again and painted, at intervals
+from 1520 to 1526, Charity, Faith and Hope, the
+dance of the daughter of Herodias, the decollation of
+St. John, and the presentation of his head, the Angel
+appearing to Zacharias, the Visitation, and, last of all,
+the Birth of the Baptist. The Charity is Andrea's
+own wife, Lucrezia, who at this very time, if Vasari's
+story is true, was persuading him to break his promise
+to the French King and to squander the money which
+had been intrusted to him for the purchase of works of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_325" id="page_325">[325]</a></span>
+art.</p>
+
+<p>The Via della Sapienza leads from San Marco into
+the <i>Piazza della Santissima Annunziata</i>. In one of
+the houses on the left, now incorporated into the Reale
+Istituto di Studi Superiori, Andrea del Sarto and
+Francia Bigio lodged with other painters, before
+Andrea's marriage; and here, usually under the presidency
+of the sculptor Rustici, the "Compagnia del
+Paiuolo," an artists' club of twelve members, met for
+feasting and disport.<a name="fnanchor_48" id="fnanchor_48"></a><a href="#footnote_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a></p>
+
+<p>This Piazza was a great place for processions in old
+Florence. Here stand the church of the <i>Santissima
+Annunziata</i> and the convent of the Servites, while the
+Piazza itself is flanked to right and left by arcades
+originally designed by Brunelleschi. The equestrian
+statue of the Grand Duke Ferdinand I. was cast by
+Giovanni da Bologna out of metal from captured
+Turkish guns. The arcade on the right, as we face
+the church, with its charming medallions of babies in
+swaddling clothes by Andrea della Robbia, is a part
+of the Spedale degli Innocenti or Hospital for Foundlings,
+which was commenced from Brunelleschi's designs
+in 1421, during the Gonfalonierate of Giovanni
+dei Medici; the work, which was eloquently supported
+in the Council of the People by Leonardo Bruni, was
+raised by the Silk-merchants Guild, the Arte di Por
+Santa Maria. On its steps the Compagnacci murdered
+their first victim in the attack on San Marco. There
+is a picturesque court, designed by Brunelleschi, with
+an Annunciation by Andrea della Robbia over the
+door of the chapel, and a small picture gallery, which
+contains nothing of much importance, save a Holy
+Family with Saints by Piero di Cosimo. In the
+chapel, or church of Santa Maria degli Innocenti,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_326" id="page_326">[326]</a></span>
+there is a masterpiece by Domenico Ghirlandaio,
+painted in 1488, an Adoration of the Magi (the
+fourth head on the left is the painter himself), in
+which the Massacre of the Innocents is seen in the
+background, and two of these glorified infant martyrs,
+under the protection of the two St. Johns, are kneeling
+most sweetly in front of the Madonna and her
+Child, for whom they have died, joining in the adoration
+of the kings and the <i>gloria</i> of the angelic choir.</p>
+
+<p>The church of the Santissima Annunziata was
+founded in the thirteenth century, but has been completely
+altered and modernised since at different epochs.
+In summer mornings lilies and other flowers lie in
+heaps in its portico and beneath Ghirlandaio's mosaic
+of the Annunciation, to be offered at Madonna's
+shrine within. The entrance court was built in the
+fifteenth century, at the expense of the elder Piero dei
+Medici. The fresco to the left of the entrance, the
+Nativity of Christ, is by Alessio Baldovinetti. Within
+the glass, to the left, are six frescoes representing the
+life and miracles of the great Servite, Filippo Benizzi;
+that of his receiving the habit of the order is by
+Cosimo Rosselli (1476); the remaining five are early
+works by Andrea del Sarto, painted in 1509 and
+1510, for which he received a mere trifle; in the
+midst of them is an indifferent seventeenth century
+bust of their painter. The frescoes on the right,
+representing the life of the Madonna, of whom this
+order claims to be the special servants, are slightly
+later. The approach of the Magi and the Nativity
+of the Blessed Virgin, the latter dated 1514, are
+among the finest works of Andrea del Sarto; in the
+former he has introduced himself and the sculptor
+Sansovino, and among the ladies in the latter is his
+wife. Fifty years afterwards the painter Jacopo da
+Empoli was copying this picture, when a very old lady,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_327" id="page_327">[327]</a></span>
+who was going into the church to hear mass, stopped
+to look at his work, and then, pointing to the portrait
+of Lucrezia, told him that it was herself. The
+Sposalizio, by Francia Bigio, painted in 1513, was
+damaged by the painter himself in a fit of passion at
+the meddling of the monks. The Visitation, by
+Jacopo da Pontormo, painted in 1516, shows what
+admirable work this artist could do in his youth,
+before he fell into his mannered imitations of Michelangelo;
+the Assumption, painted slightly later by
+another of Andrea's pupils, Rosso Fiorentino, is less
+excellent.</p>
+
+<p>Inside the church itself, on the left, is the sanctuary
+of Our Lady of the Annunciation, one of the most
+highly revered shrines in Tuscany; it was constructed
+from the designs of Michelozzo at the cost of the
+elder Piero dei Medici to enclose the miraculous
+picture of the Annunciation, and lavishly decorated
+and adorned by the Medicean Grand Dukes. After
+the Pazzi conspiracy, Piero's son Lorenzo had a
+waxen image of himself suspended here in thanksgiving
+for his escape. Over the altar there is usually
+a beautiful little head of the Saviour, by Andrea del
+Sarto. The little oratory beyond, with the Madonna's
+mystical emblems on its walls, was constructed in the
+seventeenth century.</p>
+
+<p>In the second chapel from the shrine is a fresco by
+Andrea del Castagno, which was discovered in the
+summer of 1899 under a copy of Michelangelo's
+Last Judgment. It represents St. Jerome and two
+women saints adoring the Blessed Trinity, and is characteristic
+of the <i>modo terribile</i> in which this painter
+conceived his subjects; the heads of the Jerome and
+the older saint to our right are particularly powerful.
+For the rest, the interior of this church is more
+gorgeous than tasteful; and the other works which it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_328" id="page_328">[328]</a></span>
+contains, including the two Peruginos, and some
+tolerable monuments, are third rate. The rotunda
+of the choir was designed by Leo Battista Alberti
+and erected at the cost of the Marquis of Mantua,
+whose descendant, San Luigi Gonzaga, had a special
+devotion to the miraculous picture.</p>
+
+<p>From the north transept, the cloisters are entered.
+Here, over the door, is the Madonna del Sacco, an
+exceedingly beautiful fresco by Andrea del Sarto,
+painted in 1525. St. Joseph, leaning upon the sack
+which gives the picture its name, is reading aloud the
+Prophecies to the Mother and Child whom they
+concern. In this cloister&ndash;which was built by
+Cronaca&ndash;is the monument of the French knight
+slain at Campaldino in 1289 (<i>see</i> chapter ii.), which
+should be contrasted with the later monuments of
+condottieri in the Duomo. Here also is the chapel
+of St. Luke, where the Academy of Artists, founded
+under Cosimo I., used to meet.</p>
+
+<p>A good view of the exterior of the rotunda can be
+obtained from the Via Gino Capponi. At the corner
+of this street and the Via del Mandorlo is the house
+which Andrea del Sarto bought for himself and his
+Lucrezia, after his return from France, and here he
+died in 1531, "full of glory and of domestic sorrows."
+Lucrezia survived him for nearly forty years, and died
+in 1570. Perhaps, if she had not made herself so
+unpleasant to her husband's pupils and assistants, good
+Giorgio Vasari&ndash;the youngest of them&ndash;might not
+have left us so dark a picture of this beautiful
+Florentine.</p>
+
+<p>The rather picturesque bit of ruin in the Via degli
+Alfani, at the corner of the Via del Castellaccio,
+is merely a part of an oratory in connection with Santa
+Maria degli Angioli, which Brunelleschi commenced
+for Filippo Scolari, but which was abandoned. <i>Santa
+Maria degli Angioli</i> itself, a suppressed Camaldolese<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_329" id="page_329">[329]</a></span>
+house, was of old one of the most important convents
+in Florence. The famous poet, Fra Guittone
+d'Arezzo, of whom Dante speaks disparagingly in
+the <i>Commedia</i> and in the <i>De Vulgari Eloquentia</i>, was
+instrumental in its foundation in 1293. It was sacked
+in 1378 during the rising of the Ciompi. This
+convent in the earlier portion of the fifteenth century
+was a centre of Hellenic studies and humanistic
+culture, under Father Ambrogio Traversari, who
+died at the close of the Council of Florence. In
+the cloister there is still a powerful fresco by Andrea
+del Castagno representing Christ on the Cross, with
+Madonna and the Magdalene, the Baptist, St. Benedict
+and St. Romuald. The Romuald especially, the
+founder of the order, is a fine life-like figure.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Spedale di Santa Maria Nuova</i> was originally
+founded by Messer Folco Portinari, the father of the
+girl who may have been Dante's "Giver of Blessing,"
+in 1287. Folco died in 1289, and is buried within
+the church, which contains one of Andrea della
+Robbia's Madonnas. Over the portal is a terracotta
+Coronation of the Madonna by Bicci di Lorenzo,
+erected in 1424. The two frescoes, representing
+scenes in the history of the hospital, are of the early
+part of the fifteenth century; the one on the right
+was painted in 1424 by Bicci di Lorenzo. In the
+Via Bufalini, Ghiberti had his workshop; in what
+was once his house is now the picture gallery of the
+hospital. Here is the fresco of the Last Judgment,
+commenced by Fra Bartolommeo in 1499, before he
+abandoned the world, and finished by Mariotto Albertinelli.
+Among its contents are an Annunciation
+by Albertinelli, Madonnas by Cosimo Rosselli and
+Rosso Fiorentino, and a terracotta Madonna by Verrocchio.
+The two pictures ascribed to Angelico and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_330" id="page_330">[330]</a></span>
+Botticelli are not authentic. But in some respects
+more interesting than these Florentine works is the
+triptych by the Fleming, Hugo Van der Goes, painted
+between 1470 and 1475 for Tommaso Portinari,
+Messer Folco's descendant; in the centre is the
+"Adoration of the Shepherds," with deliciously
+quaint little Angels; in the side wings, Tommaso
+Portinari with his two boys, his wife and their little
+girl, are guarded by their patron saints. Tommaso
+Portinari was agent for the Medici in Bruges; and, on
+the occasion of the wedding of Charles the Bold of
+Burgundy with Margaret of York in 1468, he made a
+fine show riding in the procession at the head of the
+Florentines.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_36" id="illo_36"></a><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_331" id="page_331"></a></span>
+<img src="images/illus349_tmb.jpg" width="261" height="400" alt="THE CLOISTER OF THE INNOCENTI" title="" />
+<p class="caption">THE CLOISTER OF THE INNOCENTI</p>
+<a href="images/illus349_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>A little more to the east are the church and suppressed
+convent of Santa Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi.
+In the church, which has a fine court designed by
+Giuliano da San Gallo, is a Coronation of the Madonna
+by Cosimo Rosselli; in the chapter-house of the
+convent is a Crucifixion by Perugino, painted in the
+closing years of the Quattrocento, perhaps the grandest
+of all his frescoes. In Ruskin's chapter on the
+<i>Superhuman Ideal</i>, in the second volume of <i>Modern
+Painters</i>, he cites the background of this fresco
+(together with Benozzo Gozzoli's in the Palazzo
+Riccardi) as one of the most perfect examples of
+those ideal landscapes of the religious painters, in
+which Perugino is supreme: "In the landscape of
+the fresco in Sta. Maria Maddalena at Florence 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, and a small village with its simple
+spire peeps from the forest at the bend of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_333" id="page_333">[333]</a></span>
+valley."</p>
+
+<p>Beyond is the church of Sant' Ambrogio, once
+belonging to the convent of Benedictine nuns for
+whom Fra Lippo Lippi painted his great Coronation
+of Madonna. The church is hardly interesting at present,
+but contains an Assumption by Cosimo Rosselli,
+and, in the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, a marble
+tabernacle by Mino da Fiesole and a fresco by Cosimo
+Rosselli painted in 1486, representing the legend of
+a miraculous chalice with some fine Florentine portrait
+heads, altogether above the usual level of Cosimo's
+work.</p>
+
+<p>The Borgo la Croce leads hence to the Porta
+alla Croce, in the very prosaic and modern Piazza
+Beccaria. This Porta alla Croce, the eastern gate
+of Florence in the third walls, was commenced by
+Arnolfo di Cambio in 1284; the frescoed Madonna
+in the lunette is by one of the later followers of
+Ghirlandaio. Through this gate, on October 6th
+1308, Corso Donati fled from Florence, after his
+desperate attempt to hold the Piazza di San Piero
+Maggiore against the forces of the Signoria. Following
+the Via Aretina towards Rovezzano, we soon
+reach the remains of the Badia di San Salvi, where
+he was slain by his captors&ndash;as Dante makes his
+brother Forese darkly prophesy in the twenty-fourth
+canto of the <i>Purgatorio</i>. Four year later, in October
+1312, the Emperor Henry VII. lay sick in the
+Abbey, while his army ineffectually besieged Florence.
+Nothing remains to remind us of that epoch, although
+the district is still called the Campo di Marte or
+Campo di Arrigo. We know from Leonardo Bruni
+that Dante, although he had urged the Emperor on
+to attack the city, did not join the imperial army
+like many of his fellow exiles had done: "so much
+reverence did he yet retain for his fatherland." In<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_334" id="page_334">[334]</a></span>
+the old refectory of the Abbey is Andrea del Sarto's
+Last Supper, one of his most admirable frescoes,
+painted between 1525 and 1527, equally excellent
+in colour and design. "I know not," writes Vasari,
+"what to say of this <i>Cenacolo</i> that would not be
+too little, seeing it to be such that all who behold
+it are struck with astonishment." When the siege
+was expected in 1529, and the defenders of the city
+were destroying everything in the suburbs which could
+give aid or cover to the enemy, a party of them
+broke down a wall in the convent and found themselves
+face to face with this picture. Lost in admiration,
+they built up a portion of what they had
+destroyed, in order that this last triumph of Florentine
+painting might be secure from the hand of war.</p>
+
+<hr class="c15" />
+
+<p>On this side of the river, those walls of Florence
+which Lapo Gianni would fain have seen <i>inargentate</i>&ndash;the
+third circle reared by Arnolfo and his successors&ndash;have
+been almost entirely destroyed, and their site
+marked by the broad utterly prosaic Viali. Besides
+the Porta alla Croce, the Porta San Gallo and the
+Porta al Prato still stand, on the north and west
+respectively. The Porta San Gallo was begun from
+Arnolfo's design in 1284, but not finished until 1327;
+the fresco in the lunette is by Michele di Ridolfo
+Ghirlandaio, Ridolfo's adopted son. On July 21,
+1304, the exiled Bianchi and Ghibellines made a
+desperate attempt to surprise Florence through this
+gate, led by the heroic young Baschiera della Tosa.
+In 1494, Piero dei Medici and his brother Giuliano
+fled from the people through it; and in 1738 the
+first Austrian Grand Duke, Francis II., entered by it.
+The triumphant arch beyond, at which the lions
+of the Republic, to right and left of the gate, appear
+to gaze with little favour, marked this latter<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_335" id="page_335">[335]</a></span>
+event.</p>
+
+<p>These Austrian Grand Dukes were decidedly better
+rulers than the Medici, to whom, by an imperial usurpation,
+they succeeded on the death of Gian Gastone.
+Leopold I., Ferdinand III., Leopold II., were tolerant
+and liberal-minded sovereigns, and under them Tuscany
+became the most prosperous state in Italy: "a Garden
+of Paradise without the tree of knowledge and without
+the tree of life." But, when the Risorgimento
+came, their sway was found incompatible with the
+aspirations of the Italians towards national unification;
+the last Grand Duke, after wavering between Austria
+and young Italy, threw in his lot with the former, and
+after having brought the Austrians into Tuscany, was
+forced to abdicate. Thus Florence became the first
+capital of Victor Emmanuel's kingdom.</p>
+
+<p>In the Via di San Gallo is the very graceful
+Palazzo Pandolfini, commenced in 1520 from Raphael's
+designs, on the left as we move inwards from the gate.
+From the Via 27 Aprile, which joins the Via di San
+Gallo, we enter the former convent of Sta. Appollonia.
+In what was once its refectory is a fresco of the Last
+Supper by Andrea del Castagno, with the Crucifixion,
+Entombment, and Resurrection. Andrea del Castagno
+impressed his contemporaries by his furious passions and
+savage intractability of temper, his quality of <i>terribilit&agrave;</i>;
+although we now know that Vasari's story that Andrea
+obtained the secret of using oil as a vehicle in painting
+from his friend, Domenico Veneziano, and then murdered
+him, must be a mere fable, since Domenico
+survived Andrea by nearly five years. Rugged unadorned
+strength, with considerable power of characterisation
+and great technical dexterity, mark his
+extant works, which are very few in number. This
+<i>Cenacolo</i> in the finest of them all; the figures are full<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_336" id="page_336">[336]</a></span>
+of life and character, although the Saviour is unpleasing
+and the Judas inclines to caricature. The nine figures
+from the Villa Pandolfini, frescoes transferred to canvas,
+are also his; Filippo Scolari, known as Pippo Spano
+(a Florentine connected with the Buondelmonti, but
+Ghibelline, who became Count of Temesvar and a great
+Hungarian captain), Farinata degli Uberti, Niccol&ograve;
+Acciaiuoli (a Florentine who became Grand Seneschal
+of the kingdom of Naples and founded the Certosa),
+the Cum&aelig;an Sibyl, Esther, Queen Tomyris, Dante,
+Petrarch, and Boccaccio. The two poets and Boccaccio
+are the least successful, since they were altogether
+out of Andrea's line, but there must have been something
+noble in the man to enable him so to realise
+Farinata degli Uberti, as he stood alone at Empoli
+when all others agreed to destroy Florence, to defend
+her to the last: <i>Colui che la difese a viso aperto.</i></p>
+
+<p>A <i>Cenacolo</i> of a very different character may be seen
+in the refectory of the suppressed convent of
+Sant' Onofrio in the Via di Faenza. Though showing
+Florentine influence in its composition, this fresco is
+mainly Umbrian in character; from a half deciphered
+inscription on the robe of one of the Apostles (which
+appears to have been altered), it was once attempted to
+ascribe it to Raphael. It is now believed to be partly
+the work of Perugino, partly that of some pupil or
+pupils of his&ndash;perhaps Gerino da Pistoia or Giannicola
+Manni. It has also been ascribed to Giovanni Lo
+Spagna and to Raffaellino del Garbo. Morelli supposed
+it to be the work of a pupil of Perugino who
+was inspired by a Florentine engraving of the fifteenth
+century, and suggested Giannicola Manni. In the
+same street is the picturesque little Gothic church of
+San Jacopo in Campo Corbolini.</p>
+
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_337" id="page_337">[337]</a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_37" id="illo_37"></a>
+<img src="images/illus355_tmb.jpg" width="262" height="400" alt="A FLORENTINE SUBURB" title="" />
+<p class="caption">A FLORENTINE SUBURB</p>
+<a href="images/illus355_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_339" id="page_339">[339]</a></p>
+<p>At the end of the Via Faenza&ndash;where once stood
+one of Arnolfo's gates&ndash;we are out again upon the
+Viale, here named after Filippo Strozzi. Opposite
+rises what was the great Medicean citadel, the Fortezza
+da Basso, built by Alessandro dei Medici to overawe
+the city. Michelangelo steadfastly refused, at the risk
+of his life, to have anything to do with it. Filippo
+Strozzi is said to have aided Alessandro in carrying
+out this design, and even to have urged it upon him,
+although he was warned that he was digging his own
+grave. After the unsuccessful attempt of the exiles to
+overthrow the newly-established government of Duke
+Cosimo, while Baccio Valori and the other prisoners
+were sent to be beheaded or hanged in the Bargello,
+Filippo Strozzi was imprisoned here and cruelly tortured,
+in spite of the devoted attempts of his children
+to obtain his release. Here at length, in 1538, he
+was found dead in his cell. He was said to have left a
+paper declaring that, lest he should be more terribly
+tortured and forced to say things to prejudice his own
+honour and inculpate innocent persons, he had resolved
+to take his own life, and that he commended his soul
+to God, humbly praying Him, if He would grant it no
+other good, at least to give it a place with that of Cato
+of Utica. It is not improbable that the paper was a
+fabrication, and that Filippo had been murdered by
+orders of the Duke.</p>
+
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_340" id="page_340">[340]</a></p>
+<h2 class="p6"><a name="chapter_xi" id="chapter_xi"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2>
+<h3><i>The Bridges&ndash;The Quarter of Santa
+Maria Novella</i></h3>
+
+<p class="poem">
+"Sopra il bel fiume d'Arno alla gran villa."<br />
+<span class="i10">&ndash;<i>Dante.</i></span></p>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">O</span>UTSIDE the portico of the Uffizi four Florentine
+heroes&ndash;Farinata degli Uberti, Piero Capponi,
+Giovanni delle Bande Nere, Francesco Ferrucci&ndash;from
+their marble niches keep watch and ward over
+the river. This Arno, which Lapo Gianni dreamed
+of as <i>balsamo fino</i>, is spanned by four ancient and
+famous bridges, and bordered on both banks by the
+Lungarno.</p>
+
+<p>To the east is the Ponte Rubaconte&ndash;so called after
+the Milanese Podest&agrave;, during whose term of office it
+was made&ndash;or Ponte alle Grazie, built in 1237; it is
+mentioned by Dante in Canto xii. of the <i>Purgatorio</i>,
+and is the only existing Florentine bridge which could
+have actually felt the footsteps of the man who was
+afterwards to tread scathless through the ways of
+Hell, "unbitten by its whirring sulphur-spume." It
+has, however, been completely altered at various
+periods. On this bridge a solemn reconciliation was
+effected between Guelfs and Ghibellines on July 2,
+1273, by Pope Gregory X. The Pope in state,
+between Charles of Anjou and the Emperor Baldwin
+of Constantinople, blessed his "reconciled" people
+from the bridge, and afterwards laid the first stone of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_341" id="page_341">[341]</a></span>
+a church called San Gregorio della Pace in the Piazza
+dei Mozzi, now destroyed. As soon as the Pope's
+back was turned, Charles contrived that his work
+should be undone, and the Ghibellines hounded again
+out of the city.<a name="fnanchor_49" id="fnanchor_49"></a><a href="#footnote_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a></p>
+
+<p>Below the Ponte alle Grazie comes the Ponte
+Vecchio, the Bridge <i>par excellence</i>; <i>il ponte</i>, or <i>il
+passo d'Arno</i>, as Dante calls it. More than a mere
+bridge over a river, this Ponte Vecchio is a link in
+the chain binding Florence to the Eternal City. A
+Roman bridge stood here of old, and a Roman road
+may be said to have run across it; it heard the tramp
+of Roman legionaries, and shook beneath the horses of
+Totila's Gothic chivalry. This Roman bridge possibly
+lasted down to the great inundation of 1333.
+The present structure, erected by Taddeo Gaddi after
+1360, with its exquisite framed pictures of the river
+and city in the centre, is one of the most characteristic
+bits of old Florence still remaining. The shops of
+goldsmiths and jewellers were originally established
+here in the days of Cosimo I., for whom Giorgio
+Vasari built the gallery that runs above to connect the
+two Grand Ducal Palaces. Connecting the Porta
+Romana with the heart of the city, the bridge has
+witnessed most of the great pageants and processions
+in Florentine history. Popes and Emperors have
+crossed it in state; Florentine generals, or hireling<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_342" id="page_342">[342]</a></span>
+condottieri, at the head of their victorious troops; the
+Piagnoni, bearing the miraculous Madonna of the
+Impruneta to save the city from famine and pestilence;
+and Savonarola's new Cyrus, Charles VIII., as conqueror,
+with lance levelled. Across it, in 1515, was
+Pope Leo X. borne in his litter, blessing the people
+to right and left, amidst the exultant cries of <i>Palle,
+Palle!</i> from the crowd, who had forgotten for the
+time all the crimes of his house in their delight at
+seeing their countryman, the son of Lorenzo the
+Magnificent, raised to the papal throne.</p>
+
+<p>In Dante's day, what remained of the famous statue
+supposed of Mars, <i>quella pietra scema che guarda il ponte</i>,
+"that mutilated stone which guardeth the bridge," still
+stood here at the corner, probably at the beginning of
+the present Lungarno Acciaiuoli. "I was of that city
+that changed its first patron for the Baptist," says an
+unknown suicide in the seventh circle of Hell, probably
+one of the Mozzi: "on which account he with his art
+will ever make it sorrowful. And were it not that at
+the passage of the Arno there yet remains some semblance
+of him, those citizens, who afterwards rebuilt it
+on the ashes left by Attila, would have laboured in
+vain." Here, as we saw in chapter i., young Buondelmonte
+was murdered in 1215, a sacrifice to Mars
+in the city's "last time of peace," <i>nella sua pace
+postrema</i>.</p>
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_343" id="page_343"></a></p>
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_38" id="illo_38"></a>
+<img src="images/illus361_tmb.jpg" width="400" height="256" alt="THE PONTE VECCHIO" title="" />
+<p class="caption">THE PONTE VECCHIO</p>
+<a href="images/illus361_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>Lower down comes the Ponte Santa Trinit&agrave;,
+originally built in 1252; and still lower the Ponte
+alla Carraia, built between 1218 and 1220 in the days
+of Frederick II., for the sake of the growing commerce
+of the Borgo Ognissanti. This latter bridge
+was originally called the Ponte Nuovo, as at that time
+the only other bridge over the Arno was the Ponte
+Vecchio. It was here that a terrible disaster took
+place on May 1st, 1304&ndash;a strange piece of grim<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_345" id="page_345">[345]</a></span>
+medi&aelig;val jesting by the irony of fate turned to still
+grimmer earnest. After a cruel period of disasters
+and faction fights, there had come a momentary gleam
+of peace, and it was determined to renew the pageants
+and festivities that had been held in better days on
+May-day, "in the good time passed, of the tranquil
+and good state of Florence," each contrada trying to
+rival the other. What followed had best be told in
+the words of Giovanni Villani, an eye-witness:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p>"Amongst the others, the folk of the Borgo San
+Frediano, who had been wont of yore to devise the
+newest and most diverse pastimes, sent out a proclamation,
+that those who wished to know news of the other
+world should be upon the Ponte alla Carraia and
+around the Arno on the day of the calends of May.
+And they arranged scaffolds on the Arno upon boats
+and ships, and made thereon the likeness and figure of
+Hell with fires and other pains and torments, with
+men arrayed like demons, horrible to behold, and
+others who bore the semblance of naked souls, that
+seemed real persons; and they hurled them into those
+divers torments with loud cries and shrieks and uproar,
+the which seemed hateful and appalling to hear and to
+behold. Many were the citizens that gathered here to
+witness this new sport; and the Ponte alla Carraia,
+the which was then of wood from pile to pile, was so
+laden with folk that it broke down in several places,
+and fell with the people who were upon it, whereby
+many persons died there and were drowned, and many
+were grieviously injured; so that the game was changed
+from jest to earnest, and, as the proclamation had run,
+so indeed did many depart in death to hear news of
+the other world, with great mourning and lamentation
+to all the city, for each one thought that he had lost
+son or brother."</p>
+
+<p>The famous inundation of November 1333 swept<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_346" id="page_346">[346]</a></span>
+away all the bridges, excepting the Ponte Rubaconte.
+The present Ponte Santa Trinit&agrave; and Ponte alla
+Carraia were erected for Duke Cosimo I. by Bartolommeo
+Ammanati, shortly after the middle of the
+sixteenth century.</p>
+
+<p>Turning from the river at the Ponte Vecchio by
+the Via Por Sta. Maria, we see on the right the old
+church of San Stefano, with a completely modernised
+interior. Here in 1426 Rinaldo degli Albizzi and
+Niccol&ograve; da Uzzano held a meeting of some seventy
+citizens, and Rinaldo proposed to check the growing
+power of the populace by admitting the magnates into
+the government and reducing the number of Arti Minori.
+Their plan failed through the opposition of Giovanni
+dei Medici, who acquired much popularity thereby.
+It should be remembered that it was not here, as
+usually stated, but in the Badia, which was also dedicated
+to St. Stephen, that Boccaccio lectured on
+Dante.</p>
+
+<p>Right and left two very old streets diverge, the Via
+Lambertesca and the Borgo Santissimi Apostoli, with
+splendid medi&aelig;val towers. In the former, at the
+angle of the Via di Por Santa Maria, are the towers
+of the Girolami and Gherardini, round which there
+was fierce fighting in the expulsion of the Ghibellines
+in 1266. Opposite, at the opening of the Borgo
+Santissimi Apostoli, are the towers of the Baldovinetti
+(the tower of San Zenobio) and of the Amidei&ndash;<i>la
+casa di che nacque il vostro fleto</i>, as Cacciaguida puts
+it to Dante: "the house from which your wailing
+sprang," whose feud with the Buondelmonti was supposed
+to have originated the Guelf and Ghibelline
+factions in Florence. And further down the Borgo
+Santissimi Apostoli, at the opening of the Chiasso
+delle Misure, is the tall and stately tower of these
+Buondelmonti themselves, who also had a palace on<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_347" id="page_347">[347]</a></span>
+the opposite side of the street.</p>
+
+<p>The old church of the Santissimi Apostoli, in the
+Piazza del Limbo, has an inscription on its fa&ccedil;ade
+stating that it was founded by Charlemagne, and consecrated
+by Archbishop Turpin, with Roland and
+Oliver as witnesses. It appears
+to have been built in
+the eleventh century, and is
+the oldest church on this side
+of the Arno, with the exception
+of the Baptistery.
+Its interior, which is well
+preserved, is said to have
+been taken by Filippo
+Brunelleschi as the model
+for San Lorenzo and Santo
+Spirito. In it is a beautiful
+Ciborium by Andrea della
+Robbia, with monuments of
+some of the Altoviti family.</p>
+
+<div class="figright"><a name="illo_39" id="illo_39"></a>
+<img src="images/illus365_tmb.jpg" width="242" height="400" alt="THE TOWER OF S. ZANOBI" title="" />
+<p class="caption">THE TOWER OF S. ZANOBI</p>
+<a href="images/illus365_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>The Piazza Santa Trinit&agrave;
+was a great place for social
+and other gatherings in
+medi&aelig;val and renaissance
+Florence. Here on the
+first of May 1300, a dance
+of girls was being held to
+greet the calends of May
+in the old Florentine fashion, when a band of mounted
+youths of the Donati, Pazzi and Spini came to blows
+with a rival company of the Cerchi and their allies;
+and thus the first blood was shed in the disastrous
+struggle between the Bianchi and Neri. A few days
+later a similar faction fight took place on the other
+side of the bridge, in the Piazza Frescobaldi, on the
+occasion of a lady's funeral. The great Palazzo<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_348" id="page_348">[348]</a></span>
+Spini, opposite the church, was built at the end of
+the thirteenth and beginning of the fourteenth century
+by Geri Spini, the rich papal banker and one of the
+leaders of the "black" faction. Here he received the
+Pope's ambassadors and made a great display of his
+wealth and magnificence, as we gather from Boccaccio's
+<i>Decameron</i>, which gives us an amusing story of his
+friendship with Cisti the baker, and another of the
+witty repartees of Madonna Oretta, Geri's wife, a
+lady of the Malaspina. When Charles of Valois
+entered Florence in November 1301, Messer Geri
+entertained a portion of the French barons here, while
+the Prince himself took up his quarters with the
+Frescobaldi over the river; during that tumultuous
+period of Florentine history that followed the expulsion
+of the Bianchi, Geri was one of the most
+prominent politicians in the State.</p>
+
+<p>Savonarola's processions of friars and children
+used to pass through this piazza and over the
+bridge, returning by way of the Ponte Vecchio. On
+the Feast of Corpus Christi, 1497, as the Blessed
+Sacrament was being borne along, with many children
+carrying red crosses, they were set upon by some of
+the Compagnacci. The story is quaintly told by
+Landucci: "As the said procession was passing over
+the Bridge of Santa Trinit&agrave;, certain youths were
+standing to see it pass, by the side of a little church
+which is on the bridge on the right hand going
+towards Santo Spirito. Seeing those children with
+the crosses, they said: 'Here are the children of Fra
+Girolamo.' And one of them coming up to them,
+took one of these crosses and, snatching it out of the
+hand of that child, broke it and threw it into the
+Arno, as though he had been an infidel; and all this
+he did for hatred of the Friar."</p>
+
+<p>The column in the Piazza&ndash;taken from the Baths<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_349" id="page_349">[349]</a></span>
+of Caracalla at Rome&ndash;was set here by Duke
+Cosimo I., to celebrate his victory over the heroic
+Piero Strozzi, <i>il maravigliosissimo bravo Piero Strozzi</i>
+as Benvenuto Cellini calls him, in 1563. The
+porphyry statue of Justice was set high up on this
+pedestal by the most unjust of all rulers of Florence, the
+Grand Duke Francesco I., Cosimo's son. This
+same piazza witnessed a not over friendly meeting of
+Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Leonardo, at
+the time that he was engaged upon his cartoon for the
+Sala del Maggior Consiglio, was walking in the square,
+dressed in his usual sumptuous fashion, with a rose
+coloured tunic reaching down to his knees; when a
+group of citizens, who were discussing Dante, called
+him and asked him the meaning of a passage in
+question. At that moment Michelangelo passed by,
+and Leonardo courteously referred them to him.
+"Explain it yourself," said the great sculptor, "you,
+who made the model of a horse to cast in bronze, and
+could not cast it, and to your shame left it in the
+lurch."<a name="fnanchor_50" id="fnanchor_50"></a><a href="#footnote_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a> And he abruptly turned his back on the
+group, leaving Leonardo red with either shame or
+anger.</p>
+
+<p>The church of Santa Trinit&agrave; was originally built
+in the Gothic style by Niccol&ograve; Pisano, shortly after
+1250, in the days of the Primo Popolo and contemporaneously
+with the Palazzo del Podest&agrave;. It was
+largely altered by Buontalenti in the last part of the
+sixteenth century, and has been recently completely
+restored. It is a fine example of Italian Gothic. In
+the interior, are a Mary Magdalene by Desiderio da
+Settignano and a marble altar by Benedetto da Rovezzano;
+and also, in one of the chapels of the right aisle,
+an Annunciation by Don Lorenzo, one of his best<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_350" id="page_350">[350]</a></span>
+works, with some frescoes, partly obliterated and much
+"restored," by the same good Camaldolese monk.</p>
+
+<p>But the great attraction of this church is the
+Sassetti Chapel next to the sacristy, which contains a
+splendid series of frescoes painted in 1485 by
+Domenico Ghirlandaio. The altar piece is only a
+copy of the original, now in the Accademia. The
+frescoes represent scenes from the life of St. Francis,
+and should be compared with Giotto's simpler handling
+of the same theme in the Bardi Chapel at Santa Croce.
+We have the Saint renouncing the world, the confirmation
+of his rule by Honorius, his preaching to the
+Soldan, his reception of the Stigmata, his death and
+funeral (in which the life-like spectacled bishop
+aroused Vasari's enthusiastic admiration), and the
+raising to life of a child of the Sassetti family by an
+apparition of St. Francis in the Piazza outside the
+church. The last is especially interesting as giving
+us a picture of the Piazza in its former state, such as
+it might have been in the Mayday faction fight, with
+the Spini Palace, the older bridge, and the houses of
+the Frescobaldi beyond the river. Each fresco is full
+of interesting portraits; among the spectators in the
+consistory is Lorenzo the Magnificent; Ghirlandaio
+himself appears in the death scene; and, perhaps, most
+interesting of all, if Vasari's identification can be
+trusted, are the three who stand on the right near the
+church in the scene of the resuscitation of the child.
+These three are said to be Maso degli Albizzi, the
+founder of the party of the Ottimati, those <i>nobili
+popolani</i> who held the State before they were eclipsed
+by the Medici; Agnolo Acciaiuoli, who was ruined by
+adhering to Luca Pitti against Piero dei Medici; and
+that noblest of all the Medicean victims, Palla Strozzi
+(<i>see</i> chapter iii.). It should, however, be remembered
+that Maso degli Albizzi had died nearly seventy<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_351" id="page_351">[351]</a></span>
+years before, and that not even Palla Strozzi can be
+regarded as a contemporary portrait. The sacristy of
+this church was founded by the Strozzi, and one of
+the house, Onofrio, lies buried within it. Extremely
+fine, too, are the portraits of Francesco Sassetti himself
+and his wife, kneeling below near the altar, also by
+Ghirlandaio, who likewise painted the sibyls on the
+ceiling and the fresco representing the sibyl prophesying
+of the Incarnation to Augustus, over the entrance
+to the chapel. The sepulchral monuments of Francesco
+and his wife are by Giuliano da San Gallo.</p>
+
+<p>The famous Crucifix of San Miniato, which bowed
+its head to San Giovanni Gualberto when he spared
+the murderer of his brother, was transferred to Santa
+Trinit&agrave; in 1671 with great pomp and ceremony, and is
+still preserved here.</p>
+
+<p>In June 1301 a council was held in the church by
+the leaders of the Neri, nominally to bring about a
+concord with the rival faction, in reality to entrap the
+Cerchi and pave the way for their expulsion by foreign
+aid. Among the Bianchi present was the chronicler,
+Dino Compagni; "desirous of unity and peace among
+citizens," and, before the council broke up, he made
+a strong appeal to the more factious members.
+"Signors," he said, "why would you confound and
+undo so good a city? Against whom would you
+fight? Against your own brothers? What victory
+shall ye have? Nought else but lamentation." The
+Neri answered that the object of their council was
+merely to stop scandal and establish peace; but it soon
+became known that there was a conspiracy between
+them and the Conte Simone da Battifolle of the Casentino,
+who was sending his son with a strong force towards
+Florence. Simone dei Bardi (who had been
+the husband of Beatrice Portinari) appears to have
+been the connecting link of the conspiracy, which the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_352" id="page_352">[352]</a></span>
+prompt action of the Signoria checked for the present.
+The evil day, however, was postponed, not averted.</p>
+
+<p>Following the Via di Parione we reach the back of
+the Palazzo Corsini&ndash;a large seventeenth century
+palace whose front is on the Lungarno. Here is a
+large picture gallery, in which a good many of the
+pictures are erroneously ascribed, but which contains a
+few more important works. The two gems of the
+collection are Botticelli's portrait of a Goldsmith
+(210), formerly ascribed to one of the Pollaiuoli;
+and Luca Signorelli's tondo (157), of Madonna and
+Child with St. Jerome and St. Bernard. A Madonna
+and Child with Angels and the Baptist (162) by
+Filippino Lippi, or ascribed to him, is a charming and
+poetical picture; but is not admitted by Mr Berenson
+into his list of genuine works by this painter. The
+supposed cartoon for Raphael's Julius II. is of very
+doubtful authenticity. The picture of the martyrdom
+of Savonarola (292) is interesting and valuable as
+affording a view of the Piazza at that epoch, but
+cannot be regarded as an accurate historical representation
+of the event. That seventeenth century
+reincarnation of Lorenzo di Credi, Carlo Dolci, is
+represented here by several pictures which are above
+his usual level; for instance, Poetry (179) is a really
+beautiful thing of its kind. Among the other pictures
+is a little Apollo and Daphne (241), probably an
+early work of Andrea del Sarto. The Raffaellino di
+Carlo who painted the Madonna and Saints (200), is
+not to be confused with Filippino's pupil, Raffaellino
+del Garbo.</p>
+
+<p>In the Via Tornabuoni, the continuation of the
+Piazza Santa Trinit&agrave;, stands the finest of all Florentine
+palaces of the Renaissance, the Palazzo Strozzi. It
+was begun in 1489 for the elder Filippo Strozzi, with
+the advice and encouragement of Lorenzo the Magnificent,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_353" id="page_353">[353]</a></span>
+by Benedetto da Maiano, and continued by
+Simone del Pollaiuolo (called "Cronaca" from his
+yarning propensities), to whom the cornice and court
+are due. It was finished for the younger Filippo
+Strozzi, the husband of Clarice dei Medici, shortly
+before his fall, in the days of Duke Alessandro.
+The works in iron on the exterior&ndash;lanterns, torch-holders
+and the like, especially a wonderful <i>fanale</i> at
+the corner&ndash;are by Niccol&ograve; Grosso (called "Caparra"
+from his habit of demanding payment in advance), and
+the finest things of their kind imaginable. Filippo
+Strozzi played a curiously
+inconstant part
+in the history of the
+closing days of the
+Republic. After having
+been the most intimate
+associate of his
+brother-in-law, the
+younger Lorenzo, he was instrumental first in the
+expulsion of Ippolito and Alessandro, then in the
+establishment of Alessandro's tyranny; and finally,
+finding himself cast by the irony of fate for the part of
+the last Republican hero, he took the field against
+Duke Cosimo, only to find a miserable end in a
+dungeon. One of his daughters, Luisa Capponi, was
+believed to have been poisoned by order of Alessandro;
+his son, Piero, became the bravest Italian
+captain of the sixteenth century and carried on a heroic
+contest with Cosimo's mercenary troops.</p>
+
+<div class="figright"><a name="illo_40" id="illo_40"></a>
+<img src="images/illus371_tmb.jpg" width="371" height="177" alt="ARMS OF THE STROZZI" title="" />
+<p class="caption">ARMS OF THE STROZZI</p>
+<a href="images/illus371_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>Down the Via della Vigna Nuova is another of
+these Renaissance palaces, built for a similar noble
+family associated with the Medici,&ndash;the Palazzo
+Rucellai. Bernardo Rucellai&ndash;who was not originally
+of noble origin, but whose family had acquired
+what in Florence was the real title to nobility, vast<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_354" id="page_354">[354]</a></span>
+wealth in commerce&ndash;married Nannina, the younger
+sister of Lorenzo the Magnificent, and had this palace
+begun for him in 1460 by Bernardo Rossellino from
+the design of Leo Battista Alberti,&ndash;to whom also
+the Rucellai loggia opposite is due. More of
+Alberti's work for the Rucellai may be seen at the
+back of the palace, in the Via della Spada, where in
+the former church of San Pancrazio (which gave its
+name to a <i>sesto</i> in old Florence) is the chapel which
+he built for Bernardo Rucellai in imitation of the
+Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.</p>
+
+<p>The Via delle Belle Donne&ndash;most poetically named
+of Florentine streets&ndash;leads hence into the Piazza di
+Santa Maria Novella. On the way, where five roads
+meet, is the Croce al Trebbio, with symbols of the
+four Evangelists below the Crucifix. It marks the
+site of one of St Peter Martyr's fiercest triumphs over
+the Paterini, one of those "marvellous works" for
+which Savonarola, in his last address to his friars,
+complains that the Florentines had been so ungrateful
+towards his Order. But the story of the Dominicans
+of Santa Maria Novella is not one of persecution, but
+of peace-making. They played at times as noble a
+part in medi&aelig;val Florence as their brethren of San
+Marco were to do in the early Renaissance; and
+later, during the great siege, they took up the work of
+Fra Girolamo, and inspired the people to their last
+heroic defence of the Republic.</p>
+
+<p>Opposite Santa Maria Novella is the Loggia di San
+Paolo, designed by Brunelleschi, and erected in 1451,
+shortly after his death. The coloured terracotta
+reliefs, by Andrea della Robbia, include two fine
+portraits of governors of the hospital (not of the
+Della Robbia themselves, as frequently stated). The
+relief in a lunette over the door on the right, representing
+the meeting of St Francis and St Dominic, is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_355" id="page_355">[355]</a></span>
+one of Andrea's best works:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+<span class="o1">"L'un fu tutto serafico in ardore,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">l'altro per sapienza in terra fue</span><br />
+<span class="i1">di cherubica luce uno splendore.</span><br />
+Dell'un dir&ograve;, per&ograve; che d'ambedue<br />
+<span class="i1">si dice l'un pregiando, qual ch'uom prende,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">perch&egrave; ad un fine fur l'opere sue."<a name="fnanchor_51" id="fnanchor_51"></a><a href="#footnote_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In 1212, three years before the murder of Buondelmonte,
+the first band of Franciscans had come to
+Florence, sent thither by St Francis himself from
+Assisi. A few years later, at the invitation of a
+Florentine merchant Diodato, who had built a chapel
+and house as an act of restitution, St Dominic, from
+Bologna, sent the Blessed John of Salerno with
+twelve friars to occupy this mission at Ripoli, about
+three miles beyond where now stands the Gate of S.
+Niccol&ograve;. Thence they extended their apostolic
+labours into the city, and when St Dominic came, at
+the end of 1219, they had already made progress.
+Finally they moved into the city&ndash;first to San Pancrazio,
+and at length settled at Santa Maria tra le
+Vigne, a little church then outside the walls, where B.
+Giovanni was installed by the Pope's legate and the
+bishop in 1221. Before the church, in the present
+piazza, St Peter Martyr, the "hammer of the heretics,"
+fought the Paterini with both spiritual and material
+arms. At last, the growth of the order requiring
+larger room, on St Luke's day, 1278, Cardinal Latino
+de' Frangipani laid here the first stone of Santa Maria
+Novella.</p>
+
+<p>Where once the little church of Our Lady among<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_356" id="page_356">[356]</a></span>
+the Vines stood outside the second circuit of the city's
+walls, rises now the finest Italian Gothic church in
+Florence. Less than a year after it had been commenced,
+the same Dominican cardinal who had laid
+the first stone summoned a mass meeting in the
+Piazza, and succeeded in patching up a temporary
+peace between Guelfs and Ghibellines, and among the
+Guelf magnates themselves, 1279. This Cardinal
+Latino left a memory revered in Florence, and Fra
+Angelico, in the picture now in our National Gallery,
+placed him among the glorified saints attending upon
+the resurrection of Our Lord. Some twenty years
+later, in November 1301, a parliament was held within
+the still unfinished church, at which another Papal
+peacemaker, the infamous Charles of Valois, in the
+presence of the Priors of the Republic, the Podest&agrave;
+and the Captain, the bishop and chief citizens, received
+the <i>bal&igrave;a</i> to guard Florence and pacify the Guelfs,
+and swore on the faith of the son of a king to preserve
+the city in peace and prosperity. We have seen
+how he kept his word. Santa Maria Novella, in
+1304, was the centre of the sincere and devoted
+attempts made by Boniface's successor, the sainted
+Benedict XI., to heal the wounds of Florence; attempts
+in which, throughout Italy, the Dominicans were
+his "angels of peace," as he called his missioners.
+When the Republic finally fell into the hands of
+Cosimo dei Medici in 1434, the exiled Pope
+Eugenius IV. was staying in the adjoining monastery;
+it was here that he made his unsuccessful attempt to
+mediate, and heard the bitter farewell words of
+Rinaldo degli Albizzi: "I blame myself most of all,
+because I believed that you, who had been hunted out
+of your own country, could keep me in mine."</p>
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_357" id="page_357">[357]</a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_41" id="illo_41"></a>
+<img src="images/illus375_tmb.jpg" width="272" height="400" alt="IN THE GREEN CLOISTERS, S. MARIA NOVELLA" title="" />
+<p class="caption">IN THE GREEN CLOISTERS, S. MARIA NOVELLA</p>
+<a href="images/illus375_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_359" id="page_359">[359]</a></p>
+<p>The church itself, striped tiger-like in black and
+white marble, was constructed from the designs of
+three Dominican friars, Fra Ristoro da Campi, Fra
+Sisto, and Fra Giovanni da Campi. Fra Giovanni
+was a scholar or imitator of Arnolfo di Cambio, and
+the two former were the architects who restored the
+Ponte alla Carraia and the Ponte Santa Trinit&agrave; after
+their destruction in 1269. The fa&ccedil;ade (with the exception
+of the lower part, which belongs to the fourteenth
+century) was designed by Leo Battista Alberti,
+whose friends the Rucellai were the chief benefactors
+of this church; the lovely but completely restored
+pointed arcades on the right, with niches for tombs and
+armorial bearings, were designed by Brunelleschi. On
+the left, though in part reduced to vile usage, there is a
+bit comparatively less altered. The interior was completed
+soon after the middle of the fourteenth century,
+when Fra Jacopo Passavanti&ndash;the author of that model
+of pure Tuscan prose, <i>Lo Specchio della vera Penitenza</i>&ndash;was
+Prior of the convent. The campanile is said
+to have been designed by another Dominican, Fra
+Jacopo Talenti, the probable architect of the so-called
+Spanish Chapel in the cloisters on the left of the
+church, of which more presently.</p>
+
+<p>During the great siege of Florence the mantle of
+Savonarola seemed to have fallen upon the heroic
+Prior of Santa Maria Novella, Fra Benedetto da
+Foiano. When the news of the alliance between
+Pope and Emperor came to Florence, while all Bologna
+was in festa for the coronation of the Emperor, Varchi
+tells us that Fra Benedetto delivered a great sermon in
+the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, which was thrown
+open to all who would come to hear; in which sermon
+he proved from passages in the Old and New Testaments
+that Florence would be delivered from all
+dangers, and then enjoy perpetual perfect felicity in
+the liberty she so desired. With such grace and
+eloquence did he speak, that the vast audience was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_360" id="page_360">[360]</a></span>
+moved to tears and to joy by turns. At the end,
+"with ineffable gestures and words," he gave to the
+Gonfaloniere, Raffaello Girolami, a standard upon one
+side of which was a Christ victorious over the hostile
+soldiery, and upon the other the red Cross of the
+Florentine Commune, saying: <i>Cum hoc et in hoc vinces.</i>
+After the capitulation Malatesta Baglioni seized the
+friar and sent him to Rome, where he was slowly
+starved to death in the dungeon of Sant' Angelo.</p>
+
+<p>The interior was thus not quite finished, when
+Boccaccio's seven maidens met here on a Wednesday
+morning in early spring in that terrible year of pestilence,
+1348; yet we may readily picture to ourselves
+the scene described in the introduction to the <i>Decameron</i>;
+the empty church; the girls in their dark
+mourning garb, after hearing Mass, seated together in a
+side chapel and gradually passing from telling their
+beads to discussing more mundane matters; and
+then, no sooner do three members of the other sex
+appear upon the scenes than a sudden gleam of gladness
+lights up their faces, and even the plague itself is
+forgotten. One of them, indeed, blushed; "she
+became all crimson in the face through modesty," says
+Boccaccio, "because there was one of their number
+who was beloved by one of these youths;" but afterwards
+found no difficulty in rivalling the others in the
+impropriety of her talk.</p>
+
+<p>Entering the western portal, we find ourselves in a
+nave of rather large proportions, somewhat dark but
+not without a glow from the stained glass windows&ndash;adapted
+above all for preaching. As in Santa Croce,
+it is cut across by a line of chapels, thus giving the
+whole a T shape, and what represents the apse is
+merely a deeper and taller recess behind the high altar.
+There is nothing much to interest us here in the nave
+or aisles, save, by the side of the central door, one of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_361" id="page_361">[361]</a></span>
+the very few extant works of Masaccio, a fresco representing
+the Blessed Trinity adored by the Madonna
+and St. John, with two kneeling donors&ndash;portraits of
+which no amount of restoration can altogether destroy
+the truth and grandeur. The Annunciation, on the
+opposite side of the door, is a mediocre fresco of the
+fourteenth century. The Crucifix above is one of
+several works of the kind ascribed to Giotto.</p>
+
+<p>It will be best to take the chapels at the end of the
+nave and in the transepts in the order into which they
+fall, as illustrating the development of Florentine art.</p>
+
+<p>On the right a flight of steps leads up into the
+Rucellai chapel where, half concealed in darkness,
+hangs the famous picture once supposed to mark the
+very birthday of Florentine painting. That Cimabue
+really painted a glorious Madonna for this church,
+which was worshipped by a king and hailed with
+acclamation by a rejoicing people, is to be most firmly
+and devoutly held. Unfortunately, it seems highly
+probable that this picture is not Cimabue's Madonna.
+It is decidedly Sienese in character, and, as there is
+documentary evidence that Duccio of Siena painted a
+Madonna for Santa Maria Novella, and as the attendant
+Angels are in all respects similar to those in
+Duccio's authenticated works, the picture is probably
+his. It deserves all veneration, nevertheless, for it is
+a noble picture in the truest sense of the word. In
+the same chapel is the monument of the Dominican
+nun, the Beata Villana, by Bernardo Rossellino.</p>
+
+<p>Crossing the church to the chapel in the left transept,
+the Strozzi Chapel, we mount into the true
+atmosphere of the Middle Ages&ndash;into one of those
+pictured theatres which set before us in part what
+Dante gave in full in his <i>Commedia</i>. The whole
+chapel is dedicated to St. Thomas Aquinas, the glory
+of the philosophy of the medi&aelig;val world and, above<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_362" id="page_362">[362]</a></span>
+all, of the Dominican order, whose cardinal virtues
+are extolled in allegorical fashion on the ceiling; but
+the frescoes are drawn from the work of his greatest
+Florentine disciple, Dante Alighieri, in whose poem
+Thomas mainly lives for the non-Catholic world.
+It contains all Orcagna's extant work in painting.
+The altar piece, executed by Andrea Orcagna in
+1357, is the grandest of its kind belonging to the
+Giottesque period. Its central motive, of the Saviour
+delivering the keys to St. Peter and the Summa to St.
+Thomas, the spiritual and philosophical regimens of
+the medi&aelig;val world, is very finely rendered; while the
+angelic choir is a foretaste of Angelico. Madonna
+presents St. Thomas; the Baptist, St. Peter; Michael
+and Catherine are in attendance upon the Queen of
+Heaven, Lawrence and Paul upon the Precursor.
+The predella represents St. Peter walking upon the
+waves, with on either side an episode in the life of St.
+Thomas and a miracle of St. Lawrence. The frescoes
+are best seen on a very bright morning, shortly before
+noon. The Last Judgment, by Andrea, shows the
+traditional representation of the Angels with trumpets
+and with the emblems of the Passion, wheeling round
+the Judge; and the dead rising to judgment, impelled
+irresistibly to right or left even before the sentence is
+pronounced. Above the one band, kneels the white-robed
+Madonna in intercession&ndash;type of the Divine
+Mercy as in Dante; over the others, at the head of
+the Apostles, is the Baptist who seems appealing for
+judgment&ndash;type of the Divine Justice. This placing
+Mary and St John opposite to each other, as in
+Dante's Rose of Paradise, is typical of Florentine
+art; Santa Maria del Fiore and San Giovanni are, as
+it were, inseparable. Among the blessed is Dante,
+gazing up in fixed adoration at the Madonna, as when
+following St Bernard's prayer at the close of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_363" id="page_363">[363]</a></span>
+Vision; on the other side some of the faces of the
+lost are a miracle of expression. The Hell on the
+right wall, by Andrea's brother Leonardo, is more
+immediately taken from the <i>Commedia</i>. The Paradise
+on the left, or, rather, the Empyrean Heaven&ndash;with
+the faces <i>suadi di carit&agrave;</i>, Angels and Saints absorbed
+in vision and love of God&ndash;is by Andrea himself, and
+is more directly pictorial than Dante's <i>Paradiso</i> could
+admit. Christ and the Madonna are enthroned side
+by side, whereas we do not actually see Him in human
+form in the <i>Commedia</i>,&ndash;perhaps in accordance with
+that reverence which impels the divine poet to make
+the name <i>Cristo</i> rhyme with nothing but itself. For
+sheer loveliness in detail, no other fourteenth century
+master produced anything to compare with this fresco;
+it may be said to mark the advent of a new element in
+Italian art.</p>
+
+<p>Thence we pass into the early Renaissance with
+Brunelleschi and Ghiberti, with Ghirlandaio and
+Filippino Lippi. In the chapel to the left of the
+choir hangs Filippo Brunelleschi's famous wooden
+Crucifix, carved in friendly rivalry with Donatello.
+The rival piece, Donatello's share in this sculptured
+<i>tenzone</i>, has been seen in Santa Croce.</p>
+
+<p>In the choir are frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio,
+and a fine brass by Lorenzo Ghiberti. These frescoes
+were begun in 1486, immediately after the completion
+of the Santa Trinit&agrave; series, and finished in 1490; and,
+though devoid of the highest artistic qualities, are eminently
+characteristic of their epoch. Though representing
+scenes from the life of the Madonna and the
+Baptist, this is entirely subordinated to the portrait
+groups of noble Florentines and their ladies, introduced
+as usually utterly uninterested spectators of the
+sacred events. As religious pictures they are naught;
+but as representations of contemporary Florentine life,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_364" id="page_364">[364]</a></span>
+most valuable. Hardly elsewhere shall you see so fine
+a series of portraits of the men and women of the early
+Renaissance; but they have other things to think of
+than the Gospel history. Look at the scene of the
+Angel appearing to Zacharias. The actual event is
+hardly noticed; hidden in the throng of citizens, too
+busily living the life of the Renaissance to attend to
+such trifles; besides, it would not improve their style
+to read St. Luke. In the Visitation, the Nativity of
+the Baptist, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, a
+fashionable beauty of the period sweeps in with her
+attendants&ndash;and it is hardly uncharitable to suppose
+that, if not herself, at least her painter thought more
+of her fine clothes than of her devotional aspect. The
+portraits of the donors, Giovanni Tornabuoni and his
+wife, are on the window wall. In the scene of the
+expulsion of Joachim from the Temple, a group of
+painters stands together (towards the window); the old
+cleanly-shaven man in a red hat is Alessio Baldovinetti,
+Ghirlandaio's master; next to him, with a lot of dark
+hair, dressed in a red mantle and blue vest, is Domenico
+Ghirlandaio himself; his pupil and brother-in-law,
+Sebastiano Mainardi, and his brother, David Ghirlandaio,
+are with him&ndash;the latter being the figure with
+shoulder turned and hat on head. In the apparition to
+Zacharias, among the numerous portraits, a group of
+four half figures discussing at the foot of the history is
+of special interest; three of them are said to represent
+Marsilio Ficino, Cristoforo Landini, and Angelo Poliziano
+(in the middle, slightly raising his hand); the
+fourth, turned to speak to Landini, is said by Vasari
+to be a famous teacher of Greek, Demetrius, but now
+supposed to be Gentile Becchi, a learned bishop of
+Arezzo. The stained glass was designed by Filippino
+Lippi. Under the high altar rests the body of the
+Blessed John of Salerno, the "Apostle of Florence,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_365" id="page_365">[365]</a></span>"
+who brought the first band of Dominicans to the city.</p>
+
+<p>Less admired, but in some respects more admirable,
+are the frescoes by Filippino Lippi in the chapel on
+the right of the choir, almost his last works, painted
+about 1502, and very much injured by restoration.
+The window is also from his design. The frescoes
+represent scenes from the lives of St. John and St.
+Philip, and are remarkable for their lavish display of
+Roman antiquities, in which they challenge comparison
+with Andrea Mantegna. The scene of St. Philip exorcising
+the dragon is especially fine. Observe how
+the characteristic intensity of the school of Botticelli is
+shown in the way in which the very statues take part
+in the action. Mars flourishes his broken spear, his
+wolves and kites cower to him for protection from the
+emissaries of the new faith, whose triumph is further
+symbolised in the two figures above of ancient deities
+conquered by Angels. An analogous instance will be
+found in Botticelli's famous Calumny in the Uffizi. In
+this statue of Mars is seen the last rendering of the old
+Florentine tradition of their <i>primo padrone</i>. Thus, perhaps,
+did the new pagans of the Renaissance lovingly
+idealise "that mutilated stone which guards the
+bridge."</p>
+
+<p>The monument of the elder Filippo Strozzi, in the
+same chapel, is a fine piece of work by Benedetto da
+Maiano, with a lovely tondo of the Madonna and Child
+attended by Angels. And we should also notice Giovanni
+della Robbia's fountain in the sacristy, before
+passing into the cloisters.</p>
+
+<p>Here in the cloisters we pass back again into more
+purely medi&aelig;val thought. Passing some early frescoes
+of the life of the Madonna&ndash;the dream of Joachim,
+his meeting St. Anne, the Birth and Presentation of
+the Blessed Virgin&ndash;which Ruskin believed to be by
+Giotto himself&ndash;we enter to the left the delicious<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_366" id="page_366">[366]</a></span>
+Green Cloisters; a pleasant lounging place in summer.
+In the lunettes along the walls are frescoed scenes from
+Genesis in <i>terra verde</i>, of which the most notable
+are by Paolo Uccello&ndash;the Flood and the Sacrifice of
+Noah. Uccello's interests were scientific rather than
+artistic. These frescoes are amazingly clever exercises
+in the new art of perspective, the <i>dolce cosa</i> as he called
+it when his wife complained of his absorption; but
+are more curious than beautiful, and hardly inspire
+us with more than mild admiration at the painter's
+cleverness in poising the figure&ndash;which, we regret to
+say, he intends for the Almighty&ndash;so ingeniously in
+mid air.</p>
+
+<p>But out of these cloisters, on the right, opens the
+so-called Spanish Chapel&ndash;the Cappella degli Spagnuoli&ndash;one
+of the rarest buildings in Italy for the
+student of medi&aelig;val doctrine. Here, as in the Strozzi
+Chapel, we are in the grasp of the same mighty spirit
+that inspired the <i>Divina Commedia</i> and the <i>De
+Monarchia</i>, although the actual execution falls far
+below the design. The chapel&ndash;designed by Fra
+Jacopo Talenti in 1320&ndash;was formerly the chapter-house
+of the convent; it seems to have acquired the
+title of Spanish Chapel in the days of Duke Cosimo I.,
+when Spaniards swarmed in Florence and were wont
+to hold solemn festival here on St. James' day. The
+frescoes that cover its ceiling and walls were executed
+about the middle of the fourteenth century&ndash;according
+to Vasari by Simone Martini and Taddeo Gaddi,
+though this seems highly doubtful. Their general
+design is possibly due to Fra Jacopo Passavanti.
+They set forth the Dominican ideal, the Church and
+the world as the Friars Preachers conceived of them,
+even as Giotto's famous allegories at Assisi show us
+the same through Franciscan glasses. While Orcagna
+painted the world beyond the grave in honour of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_367" id="page_367">[367]</a></span>
+Angelical Doctor, these artists set forth the present
+world as it should be under his direction and that of
+his brothers, the "hounds of the Lord," <i>domini canes</i>,
+who defended the <i>orto cattolico</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The vaulted roof is divided into four segments;
+and the picture in each segment corresponds to a great
+fresco on the wall below. On the wall opposite, as
+we enter, is represented the supreme event of the
+world's history, from which all the rest starts and
+upon which the whole hinges, the Passion of Christ,
+leading up to the Resurrection on the roof above it.
+On the segment of the roof over the door is the
+Ascension, and on the wall below was shown (now
+much damaged) how the Dominicans received and
+carried out Christ's last injunction to His disciples.
+In the left segment of the roof is the Descent of the
+Holy Spirit; and beneath it, on the wall, the result
+of this outpouring upon the world of intellect is shown
+in the triumph of Philosophy in the person of Aquinas,
+its supreme medi&aelig;val exponent. In the right segment
+is the Ship of Peter; and, on the wall below, is seen
+how Peter becomes a fisher of men, the triumph of
+his Church under the guidance of the Dominicans.
+These two great allegorical frescoes&ndash;the triumph of
+St. Thomas and the <i>civil briga</i> of the Church&ndash;are
+thus a more complete working out of the scheme set
+forth more simply by Orcagna in his altar piece in
+the Strozzi Chapel above&ndash;the functions delegated by
+Christ to Peter and St. Thomas&ndash;the power of the
+Keys and the doctrine of the <i>Summa Theologica</i>.</p>
+
+<p>In the centre of the philosophical allegory, St.
+Thomas Aquinas is seated on a Gothic throne, with an
+open book in his hands bearing the text from the
+Book of Wisdom with which the Church begins her
+lesson in his honour: <i>Optavi, et datus est mihi sensus.
+Invocavi, et venit in me spiritus sapientiae; et praeposui
+illam regnis et sedibus.</i><a name="fnanchor_52" id="fnanchor_52"></a><a href="#footnote_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a> Over his head hover seven<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_368" id="page_368">[368]</a></span>
+Angels, invested with the emblems of the three theological
+and four cardinal virtues; around him are
+seated the Apostles and Prophets, in support of his
+doctrine; beneath his feet heresiarchs are humbled&ndash;Sabellius
+and Arius, to wit&ndash;and even Averrhoes, who
+"made the great comment," seems subdued. Below,
+in fourteen little shrines, are allegorical figures of the
+fourteen sciences which meet and are given ultimate
+form in his work, and at the feet of each maiden sits
+some great exponent of the science. From right to
+left, the seven liberal arts of the Trivium and Quadrivium
+lead up to the Science of Numbers, represented
+on earth by Pythagoras; from left to right, the earthly
+and celestial sciences lead up to Dogmatic Theology,
+represented by Augustine.<a name="fnanchor_53" id="fnanchor_53"></a><a href="#footnote_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a></p>
+
+<p>On the opposite wall is the Church militant and
+triumphant. Before Santa Maria del Fiore, here
+symbolising the Church militant, sit the two ideal
+guides of man, according to the dual scheme of Dante's
+<i>De Monarchia</i>&ndash;the Pope and the Emperor. On<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_369" id="page_369">[369]</a></span>
+either side are seated in a descending line the great
+dignitaries of the Church and the Empire; Cardinal
+and Abbot, King and Baron; while all around are
+gathered the clergy and the laity, religious of every
+order, judges and nobles, merchants and scholars, with
+a few ladies kneeling on the right, one of whom is
+said to be Petrarch's Laura. Many of these figures
+are apparently portraits, but the attempts at identification&ndash;such
+as that of the Pope with Benedict XI., the
+Emperor with Henry VII.&ndash;are entirely untrustworthy.
+The Bishop, however, standing at the head
+of the clergy, is apparently Agnolo Acciaiuoli, Bishop
+of Florence; and the French cavalier, in short tunic
+and hood, standing opposite to him at the head of the
+laity (formerly called Cimabue), is said&ndash;very questionably&ndash;to
+be the Duke of Athens. At the feet
+of the successors of Peter and C&aelig;sar are gathered the
+sheep and lambs of Christ's fold, watched over by the
+black and white hounds that symbolise the Dominicans.
+On the right, Dominic urges on his watchdogs against
+the heretical wolves who are carrying off the lambs of
+the flock; Peter Martyr hammers the unbelievers with
+the weapon of argument alone; Aquinas convinces
+them with the light of his philosophic doctrine. But
+beyond is Acrasia's Bower of Bliss, a mediaeval
+rendering of what Spenser hereafter so divinely sung
+in the second book of the <i>Faerie Queene</i>. Figures of
+vice sit enthroned; while seven damsels, Acrasia's
+handmaidens, dance before them; and youth sports
+in the shade of the forbidden myrtles. Then come
+repentance and the confessional; a Dominican friar
+(not one of the great Saints, but any humble priest of
+the order) absolves the penitents; St Dominic appears
+again, and shows them the way to Paradise; and then,
+becoming as little children, they are crowned by the
+Angels, and St. Peter lets them through the gate to join<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_370" id="page_370">[370]</a></span>
+the Church Triumphant. Above in the Empyrean is
+the Throne of the Lord, with the Lamb and the four
+mystical Beasts, and the Madonna herself standing
+up at the head of the Angelic Hierarchies.</p>
+
+<p>In the great cloisters beyond, the Ciompi made their
+headquarters in 1378, under their Eight of Santa
+Maria Novella; and, at the request of their leaders,
+the prior of the convent sent some of his preachers to
+furnish them with spiritual consolation and advice.</p>
+
+<p>Passing through the Piazza&ndash;where marble obelisks
+resting on tortoises mark the goals of the chariot races
+held here under Cosimo I. and his successors, on the
+Eve of St. John&ndash;and down the Via della Scala, we
+come to the former Spezeria of the convent, still a
+flourishing manufactory of perfumes, liqueurs and the
+like, though no longer in the hands of the friars. In
+what was once its chapel, are frescoes by Spinello
+Aretino and his pupils, painted at the end of the
+Trecento, and representing the Passion of Christ.
+They are inferior to Spinello's work at Siena and on
+San Miniato, but the Christ bearing the Cross has
+much majesty, and, in the scene of the washing of the
+feet, the nervous action of Judas as he starts up is
+finely conceived.</p>
+
+<p>The famous Orti Oricellari, the gardens of the
+Rucellai, lie further down the Via della Scala. Here
+in the early days of the Cinquecento the most brilliant
+literary circles of Florentine society met; and there
+was a sort of revival of the old Platonic Academy,
+which had died out with Marsilio Ficino. Machiavelli
+wrote for these gatherings his discourses on Livy
+and his Art of War. Although their meetings were
+mainly frequented by Mediceans, some of the younger
+members were ardent Republicans; and it was here
+that a conspiracy was hatched against the life of the
+Cardinal Giulio dei Medici, for which Jacopo da<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_371" id="page_371">[371]</a></span>
+Diacceto and one of the Alamanni died upon the
+scaffold. In later days these Orti belonged to Bianca
+Cappello. At the corner of the adjoining palace
+is a little Madonna by Luca della Robbia; and further
+on, in a lunette on the right of the former church of
+San Jacopo in Ripoli, there is a group of Madonna
+and Child with St. James and St. Dominic, probably
+by Andrea della Robbia. In the Via di Palazzuolo,
+the little church of San Francesco dei Vanchetoni
+contains two small marble busts of children, exceedingly
+delicately modelled, supposed to represent the
+Ges&ugrave; Bambino and the boy Baptist; they are ascribed
+to Donatello, but recent writers attribute them to
+Desiderio or Rossellino.</p>
+
+<p>In the Borgo Ognissanti, where the Swiss of
+Charles VIII. in 1494, forcing their way into the
+city from the Porta al Prato, were driven back by
+the inhabitants, are the church of Ognissanti and the
+Franciscan convent of San Salvadore. The church
+and convent originally belonged to the Frati Umiliati,
+who settled here in 1251, were largely influential in
+promoting the Florentine wool trade, and exceedingly
+democratic in their sympathies. Their convent was
+a great place for political meetings in the days of
+Giano della Bella, who used to walk in their garden
+taking counsel with his friends. After the siege
+they were expelled from Florence, and the church
+and convent made over to the Franciscans of the
+Osservanza, who are said to have brought hither the
+habit which St. Francis wore when he received the
+Stigmata. The present church was built in the second
+half of the sixteenth century, but contains some excellent
+pictures and frescoes belonging to the older
+edifice. Over the second altar to the right is a
+frescoed Piet&agrave;, one of the earliest works of Domenico
+Ghirlandaio, with above it the Madonna taking the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_372" id="page_372">[372]</a></span>
+Vespucci family under her protection&ndash;among them
+Amerigo, who was to give his name to the new
+continent of America. Further on, over a confessional,
+is Sandro Botticelli's St. Augustine, the
+only fresco of his still remaining in Florence; opposite
+to it, over a confessional on the left, is St. Jerome
+by Domenico Ghirlandaio; both apparently painted
+in 1480. In the left transept is a Crucifix ascribed
+to Giotto; Vasari tells us that it was the original
+of the numerous works of this kind which Puccio
+Capanna and others of his pupils multiplied through
+Italy. In the sacristy is a much restored fresco of
+the Crucifixion, belonging to the Trecento. Sandro
+Botticelli was buried in this church in 1510, and,
+two years later, Amerigo Vespucci in 1512. In
+the former Refectory of the convent is a fresco of
+the Last Supper, painted by Domenico Ghirlandaio
+in 1480, and very much finer than his similar work
+in San Marco. In the lunette over the portal of
+the church is represented the Coronation of the
+Blessed Virgin, by Giovanni della Robbia.</p>
+
+<p>The Borgo Ognissanti leads hence westward into
+the Via del Prato, and through the Porta al Prato,
+one of the four gates of the third wall of the city,
+begun by Arnolfo in 1284; now merely a mutilated
+torso of Arnolfo's stately structure, left stranded in
+the prosaic wilderness of the modern Viale. The
+fresco in the lunette is by Michele di Ridolfo Ghirlandaio.
+Down towards the Arno a single tower
+remains from the old walls, mutilated, solitary and
+degraded so as to look a mere modern bit of masonry.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond are the Cascine Gardens, stretching for some
+two miles between the Arno and the Mugnone, delicious
+to linger in, and a sacred place to all lovers of English
+poetry. For here, towards the close of 1819, "in a
+wood that skirts the Arno, near Florence, and on a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_373" id="page_373">[373]</a></span>
+day when that tempestuous wind, whose temperature is
+at once mild and animating, was collecting the vapours
+which pour down the autumnal rains," Shelley wrote
+the divinest of all English lyrics: the <i>Ode to the West
+Wind</i>.</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<p>
+<span class="o1">"Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is:</span><br />
+What if my leaves are falling like its own!<br />
+The tumult of thy mighty harmonies</p>
+
+<p>Will take from both a deep, autumnal tone,<br />
+Sweet though in sadness. Be thou, spirit fierce,<br />
+My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!</p>
+
+<p>Drive my dead thoughts over the universe<br />
+Like withered leaves to quicken a new birth!<br />
+And, by the incantation of this verse,</p>
+
+<p>Scatter, as from an unextinguished hearth<br />
+Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!<br />
+Be through my lips to unawakened earth</p>
+
+<p>The trumpet of a prophecy! O, wind,<br />
+If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"</p>
+</div>
+
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_374" id="page_374">[374]</a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter p6"><a name="illo_42" id="illo_42"></a>
+<img src="images/illus392_tmb.jpg" width="400" height="272" alt="IN THE BOBOLI GARDENS" title="" />
+<p class="caption">IN THE BOBOLI GARDENS</p>
+<a href="images/illus392_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<h2><a name="chapter_xii" id="chapter_xii"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2>
+<h3><i>Across the Arno</i></h3>
+
+<p class="poem">
+<span class="o1">"Come a man destra, per salire al monte,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">dove siede la Chiesa che soggioga</span><br />
+<span class="i1">la ben guidata sopra Rubaconte,</span><br />
+si rompe del montar l'ardita foga.<br />
+<span class="i1">per le scalee che si fero ad etade</span><br />
+<span class="i1">ch'era sicuro il quaderno e la doga."</span><br />
+<span class="i10">&ndash;<i>Dante.</i></span></p>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">A</span>CROSS the river, partly lying along its bank and
+partly climbing up St. George's hill to the south,
+lies what was the Sesto d'Oltrarno in the days when
+old Florence was divided into sextaries, and became
+the Quartiere di Santo Spirito when the city was reorganised
+in quarters after the expulsion of the Duke
+of Athens. It was not originally a part of the city
+itself. At the time of building the second walls in the
+twelfth century (<i>see</i> chapter i.), there were merely
+three <i>borghi</i> or suburbs beyond the Arno, inhabited by
+the poorest classes, each of the three beginning at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_375" id="page_375">[375]</a></span>
+head of the Ponte Vecchio; the Borgo Pidiglioso to
+the east, towards the present Via dei Bardi and Santa
+Lucia, where the road went on to Rome by way of
+Figline and Arezzo; the Borgo di Santa Felicit&agrave;, to
+the south, ending in a gate at the present Piazza San
+Felice, where the road to Siena commenced; and the
+Borgo San Jacopo to the west, with a gate in the present
+Piazza Frescobaldi, on the way to Pisa. A few rich
+and noble families began to settle here towards the beginning
+of the thirteenth century. When the dissensions
+between Guelfs and Ghibellines came to a head
+in 1215, the Nerli and Rossi were Guelfs, the Gangalandi,
+Ubbriachi and Mannelli, Ghibellines; and these
+were then the only nobles of the Oltrarno, although
+Villani tells us that "the Frescobaldi and the Bardi
+and the Mozzi were already beginning to become
+powerful." The <i>Primo Popolo</i> commenced to wall
+it in, in 1250, with the stones from dismantled feudal
+towers; and it was finally included in the third circle of
+the walls at the beginning of the fourteenth century&ndash;a
+point to which we shall return.</p>
+
+<p>As we saw in chapter iii., it was in the Oltrarno
+that the nobles made their last stand against the People
+in 1343, when the Nerli held the Ponte alla Carraia,
+the Frescobaldi and Mannelli the Ponte di Santa
+Trinit&agrave;, and the Rossi and Bardi defended the Ponte
+Vecchio and the Ponte Rubaconte, with the narrow
+streets between. In the following century it was the
+headquarters of the faction opposed to the Medici,
+the Party of the Mountain, as it was called, from
+the lofty position of Luca Pitti's great palace. A
+century more, and it became the seat of government
+under the Medicean Grand Dukes, and the whole was
+crowned by the fortress of the Belvedere which Buontalenti
+built in 1590 for Ferdinand I.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_376" id="page_376">[376]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>At the head of the Ponte Vecchio, to right and left,
+the Borgo San Jacopo and the Via dei Bardi still retain
+something of their old characteristics and medi&aelig;val
+appearance. In the former especially are some fine
+towers remaining of the Rossi, Nerli, Barbadori, and
+other families; particularly one which belonged to the
+Marsili, opposite the church of San Jacopo. A side
+street, the Via dei Giudei, once inhabited by Jews,
+is still very picturesque. The little church of San
+Jacopo, originally built in the eleventh century, but entirely
+reconstructed in more recent times, still possesses
+an old Romanesque portico. In this church some of the
+more bitter spirits among the nobles held a council in
+1294, and unanimously decided to murder Giano della
+Bella. "The dogs of the people," said Messer Berto
+Frescobaldi, who was the spokesman, "have robbed us
+of honour and office, and we cannot enter the Palace.
+If we beat one of our own servants, we are undone.
+Wherefore, my lords, it is my rede that we should come
+forth from this servitude. Let us take up arms and
+assemble in the piazza; let us slay the plebeians, friends
+and foes alike, so that never again shall we or our
+children be subjected to them." His plan, however,
+seemed too dangerous to the other nobles. "If our
+design failed," said Messer Baldo della Tosa, "we
+should all be killed"; and it was decided to proceed
+by more prudent means, and to disorganise the People
+and undermine Giano's credit with them, before taking
+further action.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of the Borgo San Jacopo, the Frescobaldi
+had their palaces in the piazza which still bears
+their name, at the head of the Ponte Santa Trinit&agrave;.
+Here Charles of Valois took up his headquarters in
+November 1301, with the intention of keeping this
+portion of the city in case he lost his hold of the rest.
+Opposite the bridge the Capponi had their palace; the
+heroic Piero Capponi lived here; and then the Gonfaloniere<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_377" id="page_377">[377]</a></span>
+Niccol&ograve;, who, accused of favouring the
+Medici, was deprived of his office, and died broken-hearted
+just before the siege.</p>
+
+<p>On the left of the Ponte Vecchio the Via dei Bardi,
+where the nobles and retainers of that fierce old house
+made their last stand against the People after the
+Frescobaldi had been forced to surrender, has been
+much spoilt of recent years, though a few fine palaces
+remain, and some towers, especially two, of the Mannelli
+and Ridolfi, at the beginning of the street. In
+the Via dei Bardi, the fine Capponi Palace was built
+for Niccol&ograve; da Uzzano at the beginning of the
+Quattrocento. The church of Santa Lucia has a
+Della Robbia relief over the entrance, and a picture
+of the school of Fra Filippo in the interior. The
+street ends in the Piazza dei Mozzi, opposite the Ponte
+alle Grazie or Ponte Rubaconte, where stands the
+Torrigiani Palace, built by Baccio d'Agnolo in the
+sixteenth century.</p>
+
+<p>From the Ponte Vecchio the Via Guicciardini leads
+to the Pitti Palace, and onwards to the Via Romana
+and great Porta Romana. In the Piazza Santa Felicit&agrave;
+a column marks the site of one of St. Peter
+Martyr's triumphs over the Paterini; the loggia is
+by Vasari; the historian Guicciardini is buried in the
+church, which contains some second-rate pictures.
+Further on, on the right, is the house where Machiavelli
+died, a disappointed and misunderstood patriot,
+in 1527; on the left is Guicciardini's palace.</p>
+
+<p>The magnificent Palazzo Pitti was commenced
+shortly after 1440 by Brunelleschi and Michelozzo,
+for Luca Pitti, that vain and incompetent old noble
+who hoped to eclipse the Medici during the closing
+days of the elder Cosimo. Messer Luca grew so
+confident, Machiavelli tells us, that "he began two
+buildings, one in Florence and the other at Ruciano, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_378" id="page_378">[378]</a></span>
+place about a mile from the city; both were in right
+royal style, but that in the city was altogether greater
+than any other that had ever been built by a private
+citizen until that day. And to complete them he
+shrank from no measures, however extraordinary; for
+not only did citizens and private persons contribute and
+aid him with things necessary for the building, but
+communes and corporations lent him help. Besides
+this, all who were under ban, and whosoever had
+committed murder or theft or anything else for which
+he feared public punishment, provided that he were a
+person useful for the work, found secure refuge within
+these buildings." After the triumph of Piero dei
+Medici in 1466, Luca Pitti was pardoned, but ruined.
+"Straightway," writes Machiavelli, "he learned what
+difference there is between success and failure, between
+dishonour and honour. A great solitude reigned in
+his houses, which before had been frequented by vast
+throngs of citizens. In the street his friends and relations
+feared not merely to accompany him, but even to
+salute him, since from some of them the honours had
+been taken, from others their property, and all alike
+were menaced. The superb edifices which he had
+commenced were abandoned by the builders; the
+benefits which had been heaped upon him in the past
+were changed into injuries, honours into insults.
+Many of those who had freely given him something of
+great value, now demanded it back from him as having
+been merely lent, and those others, who had been
+wont to praise him to the skies, now blamed him for an
+ungrateful and violent man. Wherefore too late did
+he repent that he had not trusted Niccol&ograve; Soderini,
+and sought rather to die with honour with arms in
+hand, than live on in dishonour among his victorious
+enemies."<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_379" id="page_379">[379]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In 1549 the unfinished palace was sold by Luca
+Pitti's descendants to Eleonora of Toledo, Duke
+Cosimo's wife, and it was finished by Ammanati during
+the latter half of the sixteenth century; the wings are
+a later addition. The whole building, with its huge
+dimensions and boldly rusticated masonry, is one
+of the most monumental and grandiose of European
+palaces. It was first the residence of the Medicean
+Grand Dukes, then of their Austrian successors,
+and is now one of the royal palaces of the King of
+Italy.</p>
+
+<p>In one of the royal apartments there is a famous
+picture of Botticelli's, Pallas taming a Centaur, which
+probably refers to the return of Lorenzo the Magnificent
+to Florence after his diplomatic victory over the
+King of Naples and the League, in 1480. The
+beautiful and stately Medicean Pallas is wreathed all
+over with olive branches; her mantle is green, like that
+of Dante's Beatrice in the Earthly Paradise; her white
+dress is copiously besprinkled with Lorenzo's crest,
+the three rings. The Centaur himself is splendidly
+conceived and realised&ndash;a characteristic Botticellian
+modification of those terrible beings who hunt the
+damned souls of tyrants and robbers through the river
+of blood in Dante's Hell. Opposite the Pallas there
+is a small tondo, in which the Madonna and four Angels
+are adoring the divine Child in a garden of roses and
+wild strawberries. The latter was discovered in 1899
+and ascribed to Botticelli, but appears to be only a
+school piece.</p>
+
+<p>The great glory of the Pitti Palace is its picture
+gallery, a magnificent array of masterpieces, hung in
+sumptuously decorated rooms with allegorical ceiling-paintings
+in the overblown and superficial style of the
+artists of the decadence&ndash;Pietro da Cortona and others
+of his kind:&ndash;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_380" id="page_380">[380]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="poem"><span class="i2">"Both in Florence and in Rome</span><br />
+The elder race so make themselves at home<br />
+That scarce we give a glance to ceilingfuls<br />
+Of such like as Francesco."</p>
+
+<p>So Robert Browning writes of one of Pietro's pupils.
+The Quattrocento is, with a few noteworthy exceptions,
+scarcely represented; but no collection is richer
+in the works of the great Italians of the Cinquecento
+at the culmination of the Renaissance. We can here,
+as in the Uffizi, merely indicate the more important
+pictures in each room. At the top of the staircase
+is a marble fountain ascribed to Donatello. The
+names of the rooms are usually derived from the
+subjects painted on the ceilings; we take the six
+principal saloons first.</p>
+
+<h3>In the <i>Sala dell' Iliade</i>.</h3>
+
+<p>First, the three masterpieces of this room. Fra
+Bartolommeo's great altar-piece painted in 1512 for
+San Marco (208), representing Madonna and Child
+surrounded by Saints, with a group of Dominicans
+attending upon the mystic marriage of St. Catherine
+of Siena, is a splendid picture, but darkened and injured;
+the two <i>putti</i>, making melody at the foot
+of Madonna's throne, are quite Venetian in character.</p>
+
+<p>Titian's Cardinal Ippolito dei Medici (201) is one
+of the master's grandest portraits; the Cardinal is represented
+in Hungarian military costume. Ippolito,
+like his reputed father the younger Giuliano, was one
+of the more respectable members of the elder branch
+of the Medici; he was brought up with Alessandro,
+but the two youths hated each other mortally from
+their boyhood. Young and handsome, cultured and
+lavishly generous, Ippolito was exceedingly popular
+and ambitious, and felt bitterly the injustice of Pope
+Clement in making Alessandro lord of Florence instead<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_381" id="page_381">[381]</a></span>
+of him. Clement conferred an archbishopric and
+other things upon him, but could by no means keep
+him quiet. "Aspiring to temporal greatness," writes
+Varchi, "and having set his heart upon things of war
+rather than affairs of the Church, he hardly knew himself
+what he wanted, and was never content." The
+Pope, towards whom Ippolito openly showed his contempt,
+complained that he could not exert any control
+over so eccentric and headstrong a character, <i>un cervello
+eteroclito e cos&igrave; balzano</i>. After the Pope's death, the
+Cardinal intrigued with the Florentine exiles in order
+to supplant Alessandro, upon which the Duke had him
+poisoned in 1535, in the twenty-fifth year of his age.
+Titian painted him in 1533.</p>
+
+<p>The famous Concert (185), representing a passionate-faced
+monk of the Augustinian order at the harpsichord,
+while an older and more prosaic ecclesiastic stands behind
+him with a viol, and a youthful worldling half
+carelessly listens, was formerly taken as the standard of
+Giorgione's work; it is now usually regarded as an
+early Titian. Although much damaged and repainted,
+it remains one of the most beautiful of Venetian painted
+lyrics.</p>
+
+<p>Andrea del Sarto's two Assumptions, one (225)
+painted before 1526 for a church at Cortona, the
+other (191) left unfinished in 1531, show the artist
+ineffectually striving after the sublime, and helplessly
+pulled down to earth by the draperies of the Apostles
+round the tomb. Of smaller works should be noticed:
+an early Titian, the Saviour (228); two portraits by
+Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (224, 207), of which the latter,
+a goldsmith, has been ascribed to Leonardo; a lady
+known as <i>La Gravida</i> (229), probably by Raphael
+early in his Florentine period; Daniele Barbaro by
+Paolo Veronese (216); Titian's Philip II. of Spain
+(200); a male portrait by Andrea del Sarto (184),<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_382" id="page_382">[382]</a></span>
+said, with little plausibility, to represent himself; a
+Holy Family (235) by Rubens.</p>
+
+<h3>In the <i>Sala di Saturno</i>.</h3>
+
+<p>Here are some of the choicest pictures in the collection,
+including a whole series of Raphael's. Raphael's
+Madonna del Gran Duca (178)&ndash;so called from its
+modern purchaser, Ferdinand III.&ndash;was painted in
+1504 or 1505, either before leaving Urbino or shortly
+after his arrival in Florence; it is the sweetest and
+most purely devotional of all his Madonnas. Morelli
+points out that it is strongly reminiscent of Raphael's
+first master, Timoteo Viti. The portraits of Angelo
+Doni and Maddalena Doni (61 and 59) also belong
+to the beginning of Raphael's Florentine epoch, about
+1505 or 1506, and show how much he felt the influence
+of Leonardo; Angelo Doni, it will be remembered,
+was the parsimonious merchant for whom Michelangelo
+painted the Madonna of the Tribuna. The
+Madonna del Baldacchino (165) was commenced by
+Raphael in 1508, the last picture of his Florentine
+period, ordered by the Dei for Santo Spirito; it shows
+the influence of Fra Bartolommeo in its composition,
+and was left unfinished when Pope Julius summoned
+the painter to Rome; in its present state, there is
+hardly anything of Raphael's about it. The beautiful
+Madonna della Seggiola (151) is a work of Raphael's
+Roman period, painted in 1513 or 1514. The Vision
+of Ezekiel (174) is slightly later, painted in 1517 or
+thereabout, and shows that Raphael had felt the influence
+of Michelangelo; one of the smallest and most
+sublime of all his pictures; the landscape is less conventional
+than we often see in his later works. Neither
+of the two portraits ascribed to Raphael in this room
+(171, 158) can any longer be accepted as a genuine<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_383" id="page_383">[383]</a></span>
+work of the master.</p>
+
+<p>Andrea del Sarto and Fra Bartolommeo are likewise
+represented by masterpieces. The Friar's Risen
+Christ with Four Evangelists (159), beneath whom
+two beautiful <i>putti</i> hold the orb of the world, was painted
+in 1516, the year before the painter's death; it is one
+of the noblest and most divine representations of the
+Saviour in the whole history of art. Andrea's so-called
+<i>Disputa</i> (172), in which a group of Saints is discussing
+the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, painted in
+1518, is as superbly coloured as any of the greatest
+Venetian triumphs; the Magdalene is again the
+painter's own wife. Perugino's Deposition from the
+Cross (164), painted in 1495, shows the great Umbrian
+also at his best.</p>
+
+<p>Among the minor pictures in this room may be
+noted a pretty little trifle of the school of Raphael, so
+often copied, Apollo and the Muses (167), questionably
+ascribed to Giulio Romano; and a Nymph pursued by
+a Satyr (147), supposed by Morelli to be by Giorgione,
+now assigned to Dosso Dossi of Ferrara.</p>
+
+<h3>In the <i>Sala di Giove</i>.</h3>
+
+<p>The treasure of this room is the <i>Velata</i> (245),
+Raphael's own portrait of the woman that he loved,
+to whom he wrote his sonnets, and whom he afterwards
+idealised as the Madonna di San Sisto; her
+personality remains a mystery. Titian's <i>Bella</i> (18), a
+rather stolid rejuvenation of Eleonora Gonzaga, is
+chiefly valuable for its magnificent representation of a
+wonderful Venetian costume. Here are three works
+of Andrea del Sarto&ndash;the Annunciation (124), the
+Madonna in Glory, with four Saints (123), and St
+John the Baptist (272); the first is one of his
+most beautiful paintings. The picture supposed to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_384" id="page_384">[384]</a></span>
+represent Andrea and his wife (118) is not by the
+master himself. Bartolommeo's St Mark (125) was
+painted by him in 1514, to show that he could do
+large figures, whereas he had been told that he had a
+<i>maniera minuta</i>; it is not altogether successful. His
+Deposition from the Cross (64) is one of his latest
+and most earnest religious works. The Three Fates
+(113) by Rosso Fiorentino is an undeniably powerful
+and impressive picture; it was formerly ascribed to
+Michelangelo. The Three Ages (110), ascribed
+to Lorenzo Lotto here, was by Morelli attributed to
+Giorgione, and is now assigned by highly competent
+critics to a certain Morto da Feltre, of whom little
+is known save that he is said to have been Giorgione's
+successful rival for the favours of a ripe Venetian
+beauty; the picture itself, though injured by
+restoration, belongs to the same category as the
+Concert. "In such favourite incidents of Giorgione's
+school," writes Walter Pater, "music or music-like
+intervals in our existence, life itself is conceived as a
+sort of listening&ndash;listening to music, to the reading of
+Bandello's novels, to the sound of water, to time as it
+flies."</p>
+
+<h3>In the <i>Sala di Marte</i>.</h3>
+
+<p>The most important pictures of this room are:
+Titian's portrait of a young man with a glove (92);
+the Holy Family, called of the <i>Impannata</i> or "covered
+window" (94) a work of Raphael's Roman period,
+painted by his scholars, perhaps by Giulio Romano;
+Cristofano Allori's Judith (96), a splendid and
+justly celebrated picture, showing what exceedingly
+fine works could be produced by Florentines even in
+the decadence (Allori died in 1621); Andrea del
+Sarto's scenes from the history of Joseph (87, 88),
+panels for cassoni or bridal chests, painted for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_385" id="page_385">[385]</a></span>
+marriage of Francesco Borgherini and Margherita
+Acciaiuoli; a Rubens, the so-called Four Philosophers
+(85), representing himself with his brother, and the
+scholars Lipsius and Grotius; Andrea del Sarto's
+Holy Family (81), one of his last works, painted in
+1529 for Ottaviano dei Medici and said to have been
+finished during the siege; Van Dyck's Cardinal
+Giulio Bentivoglio (82). It is uncertain whether
+this Julius II. (79) or that in the Tribuna of the
+Uffizi is Raphael's original, but the present picture
+appears to be the favourite; both are magnificent portraits
+of this terrible old warrior pontiff, who, for all
+his fierceness, was the noblest and most enlightened
+patron that Raphael and Michelangelo had. It was
+probably at his bidding that Raphael painted Savonarola
+among the Church's doctors and theologians in the
+Vatican.</p>
+
+<h3>In the <i>Sala di Apollo</i> and <i>Sala di Venere</i>.</h3>
+
+<p>Here, first of all, is Raphael's celebrated portrait of
+Pope Julius' unworthy successor, Leo X. (40), the son
+of Lorenzo the Magnificent; on the left&ndash;that is, the
+Pope's right hand&ndash;is the Cardinal Giulio dei Medici,
+afterwards Pope Clement VII.; behind the chair is
+the Cardinal Luigi dei Rossi, the descendant of a
+daughter of Piero il Gottoso. One of Raphael's most
+consummate works.</p>
+
+<p>Andrea del Sarto's Piet&agrave; (58) was painted in 1523
+or 1524 for a convent of nuns in the Mugello, whither
+Andrea had taken his wife and household while the
+plague raged in Florence; it is one of his finest works.
+Titian's Magdalene (67) has been called by Ruskin a
+"disgusting" picture; as a pseudo-religious work, it
+would be hard to find anything more offensive; but
+it has undeniably great technical qualities. His Pietro
+Aretino (54), on the other hand, is a noble portrait<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_386" id="page_386">[386]</a></span>
+of an infamous blackguard. Noteworthy are also
+Andrea del Sarto's portrait (66), apparently one of
+his many representations of himself, and Murillo's
+Mother and Child (63).</p>
+
+<p>In the <i>Sala di Venere</i>, are a superb landscape by
+Rubens (14), sometimes called the Hay Harvest and
+sometimes the Return of the Contadini; also a fine
+female portrait, wrongly ascribed to Leonardo (140);
+the Triumph of David by Matteo Rosselli (13).
+It should be observed that the gems of the collection
+are frequently shifted from room to room for the
+benefit of the copyist.</p>
+
+<h3>The <i>Sala dell' Educazione di Giove</i> and following rooms.</h3>
+
+<p>A series of smaller rooms, no less gorgeously decorated,
+adjoins the Sala dell' Iliade. In the <i>Sala dell'
+Educazione di Giove</i> are: Fra Bartolommeo's Holy
+Family with St. Elizabeth (256), over the door; the
+Zingarella or Gipsy Girl (246), a charming little
+idyllic picture by Boccaccino of Cremona, formerly
+ascribed to Garofalo; Philip IV. of Spain (243) by
+Velasquez. Carlo Dolci's St Andrew (266) is
+above his usual level; but it is rather hard to understand
+how Guido Reni's Cleopatra (270) could ever
+be admired.</p>
+
+<p>In the <i>Sala di Prometeo</i> are some earlier paintings;
+but those ascribed to Botticelli, Filippino
+Lippi, and Ghirlandaio are merely school-pieces.
+Fra Filippo Lippi's Madonna and Child with
+the Pomegranate (343) is a genuine and excellent
+work; in the background are seen the meeting of
+Joachim and Anne, with the Nativity of the Blessed
+Virgin. Crowe and Cavalcasella observe that "this
+group of the Virgin and Child reminds one forcibly of
+those by Donatello or Desiderio da Settignano," and
+it shows how much the painters of the Quattrocento<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_387" id="page_387">[387]</a></span>
+were influenced by the sculptors; the Madonna's face,
+for no obvious reason, is said to be that of Lucrezia
+Buti, the girl whom Lippo carried off from a convent
+at Prato. A curious little allegory (336) is ascribed
+by Morelli to Filippino Lippi. We should also notice
+the beautiful Madonna with Angels adoring the Divine
+Child in a rose garden (347), a characteristic Florentine
+work of the latter part of the Quattrocento, once
+erroneously ascribed to Filippino Lippi; an Ecce Homo
+in fresco by Fra Bartolommeo (377); a Holy Family
+by Mariotto Albertinelli (365); and a tondo by Luca
+Signorelli (355), in which St. Catherine is apparently
+writing at the dictation of the Divine Child. But the
+two gems of this room are the head of a Saint (370)
+and the portrait of a man in red dress and hat (375)
+by one of the earlier painters of the Quattrocento,
+probably Domenico Veneziano; "perhaps," writes
+Mr Berenson, "the first great achievements in this
+kind of the Renaissance." Here, too, is a fine portrait
+by Lorenzo Costa (376) of Giovanni Bentivoglio.</p>
+
+<p>In the <i>Sala del Poccetti</i>, <i>Sala della Giustizia</i>, <i>Sala di
+Flora</i>, <i>Sala dei Putti</i>, the pictures are, for the most
+part, unimportant. The so-called portrait of the
+<i>bella Simonetta</i>, the innamorata of Giuliano dei
+Medici (353), is not authentic and should not be
+ascribed to Sandro Botticelli. There are some fairly
+good portraits; a Titian (495), a Sebastiano del
+Piombo (409), Duke Cosimo I. by Bronzino (403),
+Oliver Cromwell by Lely (408). Calumny by
+Francia Bigio (427) is curious as a later rendering
+of a theme that attracted the greatest masters of the
+Quattrocento (Botticelli, Mantegna, Luca Signorelli all
+tried it). Lovers of Browning will be glad to have
+their attention called to the Judith of Artemisia Gentileschi
+(444): "a wonder of a woman painting too."</p>
+
+<p>A passage leads down two flights of steps, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_388" id="page_388">[388]</a></span>
+occasional glimpses of the Boboli Gardens, through
+corridors of Medicean portraits, Florentine celebrities,
+old pictures of processions in piazza, and the like.
+Then over the Ponte Vecchio, with views of the
+Arno on either hand as we cross, to the Uffizi.</p>
+
+<hr class="c15" />
+
+<p>Behind the Pitti Palace are the delicious Boboli
+Gardens, commenced for Duke Cosimo I., with
+shady walks and exquisitely framed views of Florence.
+In a grotto near the entrance are four unfinished
+statues by Michelangelo; they are usually supposed
+to have been intended for the tomb of Julius II.,
+but may possibly have been connected with the
+projected fa&ccedil;ade of San Lorenzo.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly opposite the Palazzo Pitti is the Casa Guidi,
+where the Brownings lived and wrote. Here Elizabeth
+Barrett Browning died in June 1861, she who
+"made of her verse a golden ring linking England
+to Italy"; these were the famous "Casa Guidi
+windows" from which she watched the liberation
+and unification of Italy:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem"><span class="o1">"I heard last night a little child go singing</span><br />
+<span  class="i1">'Neath Casa Guidi windows, by the church,</span><br />
+<i>O bella libert&agrave;, O bella!</i>&ndash;stringing<br />
+<span  class="i1">The same words still on notes he went in search</span><br />
+So high for, you concluded the upspringing<br />
+<span  class="i1">Of such a nimble bird to sky from perch</span><br />
+Must leave the whole bush in a tremble green,<br />
+<span  class="i1">And that the heart of Italy must beat,</span><br />
+While such a voice had leave to rise serene<br />
+<span  class="i1">'Twixt church and palace of a Florence street."</span></p>
+
+<p>The church in question, San Felice, contains a
+good picture of St. Anthony, St. Rock and St. Catherine
+by some follower of Botticelli and Filippino
+Lippi; also a Crucifixion of the school of Giotto.
+Thence the Via Mazzetta leads into the Piazza Santo
+Spirito, at the corner of which is the Palazzo Guadagni,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_389" id="page_389">[389]</a></span>
+built by Cronaca at the end of the Quattrocento; with
+fine iron work, lantern holders and the like, on the
+exterior.</p>
+
+<p>The present church of Santo Spirito&ndash;the finest
+Early Renaissance church in Florence&ndash;was built
+between 1471 and 1487, after Brunelleschi's designs,
+to replace his earlier building which had been burned
+down in 1471 on the occasion of the visit of Galeazzo
+Maria Sforza to Lorenzo the Magnificent and his
+brother. It is a fine example of Brunelleschi's adaptation
+of the early basilican type, is borne upon graceful
+Corinthian columns and nobly proportioned. The
+octagonal sacristy is by Giuliano da San Gallo and
+Cronaca, finished in 1497, and the campanile by Baccio
+d'Agnolo at the beginning of the sixteenth century.</p>
+
+<p>The stained glass window over the entrance was
+designed by Perugino. In the right transept is an
+excellent picture by Filippino Lippi; Madonna and
+Child with the little St. John, St. Catherine and St.
+Nicholas, with the donor, Tanai de' Nerli, and his
+wife. Also in the right transept is the tomb of
+the Capponi; Gino, the conqueror of Pisa and
+historian of the Ciompi; Neri, the conqueror of the
+Casentino; and that great republican soldier and hero,
+Piero Capponi, who had saved Florence from Charles
+of France and fell in the Pisan war. The vision of
+St. Bernard is an old copy from Perugino. None
+of the other pictures in the church are more than
+school pieces; there are two in the left transept ascribed
+to Filippino's disappointing pupil, Raffaellino del
+Garbo&ndash;the Trinit&agrave; with St. Mary of Egypt and St.
+Catherine, and the Madonna with Sts. Lawrence,
+Stephen, John and Bernard. The latter picture is
+by Raffaellino di Carlo.</p>
+
+<p>During the last quarter of the fourteenth century
+the convent of Santo Spirito&ndash;which is an Augustinian<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_390" id="page_390">[390]</a></span>
+house&ndash;was the centre of a circle of scholars, who
+represent an epoch intermediate between the great
+writers of the Trecento and the humanists of the
+early Quattrocento. Prominent among them was
+Coluccio Salutati, who for many years served the
+Republic as Chancellor and died in 1406. He was
+influential in founding the first chair of Greek, and
+his letters on behalf of Florence were so eloquent
+and powerful that the "great viper," Giovanni
+Galeazzo Visconti, declared that he dreaded one of
+them more than many swords. Also Filippo Villani,
+the nephew of the great chroniclers, Giovanni and
+Matteo, who had succeeded Boccaccio as lecturer on
+Dante. They met here with other kindred spirits
+in the cell of Fra Luigi Marsili, a learned monk and
+impassioned worshipper of Petrarch, upon whose great
+crusading canzone&ndash;<i>O aspettata in ciel, beata e bella</i>&ndash;he
+wrote a commentary which is still extant. Fra
+Luigi died in 1394. A century later, the monks
+of this convent took a violent part in opposition to
+Savonarola; and it was here, in the pulpit of the
+choir of the church, that Landucci tells us that he
+heard the bull of excommunication read "by a Fra
+Leonardo, their preacher, and an adversary of the
+said Fra Girolamo,"&ndash;"between two lighted torches
+and many friars," as he rather quaintly puts it.</p>
+
+<p>"The Carmine's my cloister: hunt it up," says
+Browning's Lippo Lippi to his captors; and the Via
+Mazzetta and the Via Santa Monaca will take us
+to it. This church of the Carmelites, Santa Maria
+del Carmine, was consecrated in 1422; and, almost
+immediately after, the mighty series of frescoes was
+begun in the Brancacci Chapel at the end of the right
+transept&ndash;frescoes which were to become the school
+for all future painting. In the eighteenth century the
+greater part of the church was destroyed by fire, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_391" id="page_391">[391]</a></span>
+this chapel was spared by the flames, and the frescoes,
+though terribly damaged and grievously restored, still
+remain on its walls.</p>
+
+<p>This Brancacci Chapel of the Carmine plays the
+same part in the history of painting as the bronze
+gates of the Baptistery in that of sculpture. It was in
+that same eventful year, 1401, of the famous competition
+between Ghiberti and Brunelleschi, that the new
+Giotto was born&ndash;Tommaso, the son of a notary in
+Castello San Giovanni di Valdarno. With him, as
+we saw in chapter iii., the second great epoch of
+Italian painting, the Quattrocento, or Epoch of Character,
+opens. His was a rare and piquant personality;
+<i>persona astrattissima e molto a caso</i>, says Vasari, "an
+absent-minded fellow and very casual." Intent upon
+his art, he took no care of himself and thought nothing
+of the ordinary needs and affairs of the world, though
+always ready to do others a good turn. From his
+general negligence and untidiness, he was nicknamed
+<i>Masaccio</i>&ndash;"hulking Tom"&ndash;which has become one
+of the most honourable names in the history of art.
+The little chapel in which we now stand and survey
+his handiwork, or what remains of it, is nothing less
+than the birthplace of modern painting. Sculpture had
+indeed preceded painting in its return to nature and in
+its direct study of the human form, and the influence of
+Donatello lies as strongly over all the painters of the
+Quattrocento. Vasari even states that Masolino da
+Panicale (Masolino &#61; "dear little Tom"), Masaccio's
+master, had been one of Ghiberti's assistants in the
+casting of the bronze gates, but this is questionable; it
+is possible that he had been Ghiberti's pupil, though
+he learned the principles of painting from Gherardo
+Starnina, one of the last artists of the Trecento. It
+was shortly after 1422 that Masolino commenced this
+great series of frescoes setting forth the life of St.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_392" id="page_392">[392]</a></span>
+Peter; within the next few years Masaccio continued
+his work; and, more than half a century later, in
+1484, Filippino Lippi took it up where Masaccio had
+left off, and completed the series.</p>
+
+<p>Masolino's contribution to the whole appears to be
+confined to three pictures: St. Peter preaching, with
+Carmelites in the background to carry his doctrines
+into fifteenth century Florence, on the left of the
+window; the upper row of scenes on the right wall,
+representing St. Peter and St. John raising the cripple
+at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, and the healing
+of Tabitha (according to others, the resuscitation of
+Petronilla); and the narrow fresco of the Fall of
+Adam and Eve, on the right of the entrance. Some
+have also ascribed to him the striking figure of St.
+Peter enthroned, attended by Carmelites, while the
+faithful approach to kiss his feet&ndash;the picture in the
+corner on the left which, in a way, sets the keynote to
+the whole&ndash;but it is more probably the work of
+Masaccio (others ascribe it to Filippino). Admirable
+though these paintings are, they exhibit a certain
+immaturity as contrasted with those by Masaccio: in
+the Raising of Tabitha, for instance, those two youths
+with their odd headgear might almost have stepped
+out of some Giottesque fresco; and the rendering of the
+nude in the Adam and Eve, though wonderful at that
+epoch, is much inferior to Masaccio's opposite. Nevertheless,
+Masolino's grave and dignified figures introduced
+the type that Masaccio was soon to render perfect.</p>
+
+<p>From the hand of Masaccio are the Expulsion from
+Paradise; the Tribute Money; the Raising of the
+Dead Youth (in part); and (probably) the St. Peter
+enthroned, on the left wall; St. Peter and St. John
+healing the sick with their shadow, under Masolino's
+Peter preaching (and the figure behind with a red
+cap, leaning on a stick, is Masaccio's pious portrait<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_393" id="page_393">[393]</a></span>
+of his master Masolino himself); St. Peter baptising,
+St. Peter and St. John giving alms, on the opposite
+side of the window. Each figure is admirably rendered,
+its character perfectly realised; Masaccio may indeed
+be said to have completed what Giotto had begun, and
+freed Italian art from the mannerism of the later followers
+of Giotto, even as Giotto himself had delivered
+her from Byzantine formalism. "After Giotto,"
+writes Leonardo da Vinci, "the art of painting declined
+again, because every one imitated the pictures that were
+already done; thus it went on from century to century
+until Tommaso of Florence, nicknamed Masaccio, showed
+by his perfect works how those who take for their standard
+any one but Nature&ndash;the mistress of all masters&ndash;weary
+themselves in vain."<a name="fnanchor_54" id="fnanchor_54"></a><a href="#footnote_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a> This return to nature is
+seen even in the landscape, notably in the noble background
+to the Tribute Money; but above all, in his
+study of man and the human form. "For the first
+time," says Kugler, "his aim is the study of form for
+itself, the study of the external conformation of man.
+With such an aim is identified a feeling which, in beauty,
+sees and preserves the expression of proportion; and in
+repose or motion, the expression of an harmonious
+development of the powers of the human frame."
+For sheer dignity and grandeur there is nothing to
+compare with it, till we come to the work of Raphael
+and Michelangelo in the Vatican; the composition of
+the Tribute Money and the Healing of the Sick
+initiated the method of religious illustration that
+reached its ultimate perfection in Raphael&ndash;what has
+been called giving Greek form to Hebrew thought.
+The treatment of the nude especially seemed a novel
+thing in its day; the wonderful modelling of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_394" id="page_394">[394]</a></span>
+naked youth shivering with the cold, in the scene of St.
+Peter baptising, was hailed as a marvel of art, and is
+cited by Vasari as one of the <i>cose rarissime</i> of painting.
+In the scene of the Tribute Money, the last Apostle
+on our right (in the central picture where our Lord
+and His disciples are confronted by the eager collector)
+whose proud bearing is hardly evangelical, is Masaccio
+himself, with scanty beard and untidy hair. Although
+less excellent than the Baptism as a study of the nude,
+the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden is a
+masterpiece of which it is impossible to speak too
+highly. Our <i>primi parenti</i>, weighed down with the
+consciousness of ineffable tragedy, are impelled irresistibly
+onward by divine destiny; they need not see the
+Angel in his flaming robe on his cloud of fire, with his
+flashing sword and out-stretched hand; terrible in his
+beauty as he is to the spectator, he is as nothing to
+them, compared with the face of an offended God and
+the knowledge of the <i>tanto esilio</i>. Surely this is how
+Dante himself would have conceived the scene.</p>
+
+<p>Masaccio died at Rome in 1428, aged twenty-seven
+years. In his short life he had set modern painting on
+her triumphant progress, and his frescoes became the
+school for all subsequent painters, "All in short,"
+says Vasari, "who have sought to acquire their art in
+its perfection, have constantly repaired to study it in
+this chapel, there imbibing the precepts and rules necessary
+to be followed for the command of success, and
+learning to labour effectually from the figures of Masaccio."
+If he is to rank among "the inheritors of
+unfulfilled renown," Masaccio may be said to stand
+towards Raphael as Keats towards Tennyson. Masolino
+outlived his great pupil for several years, and died
+about 1435.</p>
+
+<p>The fresco of the Raising up of the dead Youth,
+left unfinished by Masaccio when he left Florence for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_395" id="page_395">[395]</a></span>
+Rome, was completed by Filippino Lippi (the son of
+that run-a-way Carmelite in whom the spirit of Masaccio
+was said to have lived again), in 1484. The five figures
+on the left appear to be from Filippino's hand (the
+second from the end is said to be Luigi Pulci, the
+poet), as also the resuscitated boy (said to be Francesco
+Granacci the painter, who was then about fifteen years
+old) and the group of eight on the right. Under
+Masaccio's Adam and Eve, he painted St. Paul visiting
+St. Peter in prison; under Masolino's Fall, the Liberation
+of Peter by the Angel, two exceedingly beautiful
+and simple compositions. And, on the right wall of the
+chapel, St. Peter and St. Paul before the Proconsul
+and the Crucifixion of St. Peter are also by Filippino.
+In the Crucifixion scene, which is inferior to the rest,
+the last of the three spectators on our right, wearing a
+black cap, is Filippino's master, Sandro Botticelli. In
+the presence of the Proconsul, the elderly man with a
+keen face, in a red cap to the right of the judge, is
+Antonio Pollaiuolo; and, on our right, the youth
+whose head appears in the corner is certainly Filippino
+himself&ndash;a kind of signature to the whole.</p>
+
+<p>Apart from the Brancacci chapel, the interest of the
+Carmine is mainly confined to the tomb of the noble
+and simple-hearted ex-Gonfaloniere, Piero Soderini
+(who died in 1513), in the choir; it was originally
+by Benedetto da Rovezzano, but has been restored.
+There are frescoes in the sacristy, representing the
+life of St. Cecilia, by one of Giotto's later followers,
+possibly Spinello Aretino, and, in the cloisters, a noteworthy
+Madonna of the same school, ascribed to
+Giovanni da Milano.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond the Carmine, westwards, is the Borgo San
+Frediano, now, as in olden time, the poorest part of
+Florence. It was the ringing of the bell of the
+Carmine that gave the signal for the rising of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_396" id="page_396">[396]</a></span>
+Ciompi in 1378. Unlike their neighbours, the
+Augustinians of Santo Spirito, the good fathers of
+Our Lady of Mount Carmel were for the most part
+ardent followers of Savonarola, and, on the first of
+October 1497, one of them preached an open-air
+sermon near the Porta San Frediano, in which he
+declared that he himself had had a special revelation
+from God on the subject of Fra Girolamo's sanctity,
+and that all who resisted the Friar would be horribly
+punished; even Landucci admits that he talked arrant
+nonsense, <i>pazzie</i>. The parish church of this district,
+San Frediano in Cestello, is quite uninteresting. At
+the end of the Via San Frediano is the great Porta
+San Frediano, of which more presently.</p>
+
+<p>The gates and walls of Oltrarno were built between
+1324 and 1327, in the days of the Republic's great
+struggle with Castruccio Interminelli. Unlike those
+on the northern bank, they are still in part standing.
+There are five gates on this side of the river&ndash;the
+Porta San Niccol&ograve;, the Porta San Miniato, the Porta
+San Giorgio, the Porta Romana or Por San Piero
+Gattolino, and the Porta San Frediano. It was all
+round this part of the city that the imperial army lay
+during the siege of 1529 and 1530.</p>
+
+<p>On the east of the city, on the banks of the Arno,
+rises first the Porta San Niccol&ograve;&ndash;mutilated and isolated,
+but the only one of the gates that has retained a remnant
+of its ancient height and dignity. In a lunette on the
+inner side is a fresco of 1357&ndash;Madonna and Child with
+Saints, Angels and Prophets. Around are carved the
+lilies of the Commune. On the side facing the hill are
+the arms of the Parte Guelfa and of the People, with
+the lily of the Commune between them. Within the
+gate the Borgo San Niccol&ograve; leads to the church of
+San Niccol&ograve;, which contains a picture by Neri di Bicci
+and one of the Pollaiuoli, and four saints ascribed to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_397" id="page_397">[397]</a></span>
+Gentile da Fabriano. It is one of the oldest Florentine
+churches, though not interesting in its present state.
+There is an altogether untrustworthy tradition that
+Michelangelo was sheltered in the tower of this church
+after the capitulation of the city, but he seems to have
+been more probably in the house of a trusted friend.
+Pope Clement ordered that he should be sought for,
+but left at liberty and treated with all courtesy if he
+agreed to go on working at the Medicean monuments in
+San Lorenzo; and, hearing this, the sculptor came out
+from his hiding place. It may be observed that San
+Niccol&ograve; was a most improbable place for him to have
+sought refuge in, as Malatesta Baglioni had his headquarters
+close by.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond the Porta San Niccol&ograve; is the Piano di Ripoli,
+where the Prince of Orange had his headquarters.
+Before his exile Dante possessed some land here. It
+was here that the first Dominican house was established
+in Tuscany under St Dominic's companion,
+Blessed John of Salerno. Up beyond the terminus of
+the tramway a splendid view of Florence can be
+obtained.</p>
+
+<p>Near the Porta San Niccol&ograve; the long flight of stairs
+mounts up the hill of <i>San Francesco e San Miniato</i>,
+which commands the city from the south-east, to
+the Piazzale Michelangelo just below the church.
+A long and exceedingly beautiful drive leads also to
+this Piazzale from the Porta Romana&ndash;the Viale dei
+Colli&ndash;and passes down again to the Barriera San
+Niccol&ograve; by the Viale Michelangelo. This Viale dei
+Colli, at least, is one of those few works which even
+those folk who make a point of sneering at everything
+done in Florence since the unification of Italy are
+constrained to admire. It would seem that even in
+the thirteenth century there were steps of some kind
+constructed up the hill-side to the church. In that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_398" id="page_398">[398]</a></span>
+passage from the <i>Purgatorio</i> (canto xii.) which I
+have put at the head of this chapter, Dante compares
+the ascent from the first to the second circle of
+Purgatory to this climb: "As on the right hand, to
+mount the hill where stands the church which overhangs
+the well-guided city, above Rubaconte, the
+bold abruptness of the ascent is broken by the steps
+that were made in the age when the ledger and the
+stave were safe."<a name="fnanchor_55" id="fnanchor_55"></a><a href="#footnote_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a></p>
+
+<p>The Piazzale, adorned with bronze copies of
+Michelangelo's great statues, commands one of the
+grandest views of Florence, with the valley of the
+Arno and the mountains round, that "in silence listen
+for the word said next," as Mrs Browning has it.
+Up beyond is the exceedingly graceful Franciscan
+church of San Salvadore al Monte&ndash;"the purest vessel
+of Franciscan simplicity," a modern Italian poet has
+called it&ndash;built by Cronaca in the last years of the
+fifteenth century. It contains a few works by
+Giovanni della Robbia. It was as he descended this
+hill with a few armed followers that Giovanni Gualberto
+met and pardoned the murderer of his brother;
+a small chapel or tabernacle, on the way up from the
+convent to San Miniato, still marks the spot, but the
+Crucifix which is said to have bowed down its head
+towards him is now preserved in Santa Trinit&agrave;.</p>
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_399" id="page_399"></a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_43" id="illo_43"></a>
+<img src="images/illus417_tmb.jpg" width="264" height="400" alt="THE FORTIFICATIONS OF MICHELANGELO" title="" />
+<p class="caption">THE FORTIFICATIONS OF MICHELANGELO</p>
+<a href="images/illus417_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>This Monte di San Francesco e di San Miniato
+overlooks the whole city, and Florence lay at the
+mercy of whoever got possession of it. Varchi in his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_401" id="page_401">[401]</a></span>
+history apologises for those architects who built the
+walls of the city by reminding us that, in their days,
+artillery was not even dreamed of, much less invented.
+Michelangelo armed the campanile of San Miniato,
+against which the fiercest fire of the imperialists was
+directed, and erected bastions covering the hill,
+enclosing it, as it were, within the walls up from the
+Porta San Miniato and down again to the Porta San
+Niccol&ograve;. It was intrusted to the guard of Stefano
+Colonna, who finally joined Malatesta Baglioni in
+betraying the city. Some bits of Michelangelo's work
+remain near the Basilica, which itself is one of the
+most venerable edifices of the kind in Tuscany; the
+earliest Florentine Christians are said to have met here
+in the woods, during the reign of Nero, and here
+Saint Miniatus, according to tradition the son of an
+Armenian king, lived in his hermitage until martyred
+by Decius outside the present Porta alla Croce. In
+the days of Gregory the Great, San Frediano of
+Lucca came every year with his clergy to worship the
+relics of Miniatus; a basilica already stood here in
+the time of Charlemagne; and the present edifice is
+said to have been begun in 1013 by the Bishop
+Alibrando, with the aid of the Emperor St Henry and
+his wife Cunegunda. It was held by the Benedictines,
+first the black monks and then the Olivetans who took
+it over from Gregory XI. in 1373. The new
+Bishops of Florence, the first time they set foot out of
+the city, came here to sing Mass. In 1553 the
+monastery was suppressed by Duke Cosimo I., and
+turned into a fortress.</p>
+
+<p>San Miniato al Monte is one of the earliest and
+one of the finest examples of the Tuscan Romanesque
+style of architecture. Both interior and exterior are
+adorned with inlaid coloured marble, of simple
+design, and the fine "nearly classical" pillars within<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_402" id="page_402">[402]</a></span>
+are probably taken from some ancient Roman building.
+Fergusson remarks that, but for the rather
+faulty construction of the fa&ccedil;ade, "it would be difficult
+to find a church in Italy containing more of classical
+elegance, with perfect appropriateness for the purposes
+of Christian worship." In the crypt beneath the altar
+is the tomb of San Miniato and others of the Decian
+martyrs. The great mosaic on the upper part of the
+apse was originally executed at the end of the thirteenth
+century. The Early Renaissance chapel in the
+nave was constructed by Michelozzo in 1448 for Piero
+dei Medici, to contain Giovanni Gualberto's miraculous
+Crucifix. In the left aisle is the Cappella di San
+Jacopo with the monument of the Cardinal James of
+Portugal, who "lived in the flesh as if he were freed
+from it, like an Angel rather than a man, and died in
+the odour of sanctity at the early age of twenty-six,"
+in 1459. This tomb by Antonio Rossellino is the
+third of the "three finest Renaissance tombs in
+Tuscany," the other two being those of Leonardo
+Bruni (1444) by Antonio's brother Bernardo, and
+Carlo Marsuppini by Desiderio (1453), both of
+which we have seen in Santa Croce. Mr Perkins
+observes that the present tomb preserves the golden
+mean in point of ornament between the other two.
+The Madonna and Child with the Angels, watching
+over the young Cardinal's repose, are especially
+beautiful. The Virtues on the ceiling are by Luca
+della Robbia, and the Annunciation opposite the tomb
+by Alessio Baldovinetti. The Gothic sacristy was
+built for one of the great Alberti family, Benedetto di
+Nerozzo, in 1387, and decorated shortly after with a
+splendid series of frescoes by Spinello Aretino, setting
+forth the life of St. Benedict. These are Spinello's
+noblest works and the last great creation of the
+genuine school of Giotto. Especially fine are the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_403" id="page_403">[403]</a></span>
+scenes with the Gothic king Totila, and the death
+and apotheosis of the Saint, which latter may be
+compared with
+Giotto's St. Francis
+in Santa Croce.
+The whole is like
+a painted chapter
+of St. Gregory's
+Dialogues.</p>
+
+<div class="figright"><a name="illo_44" id="illo_44"></a>
+<img src="images/illus421_tmb.jpg" width="252" height="400" alt="PORTA SAN GIORGIO" title="" />
+<p class="caption">PORTA SAN GIORGIO</p>
+<a href="images/illus421_fs.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<p>The Porta San
+Miniato, below the
+hill, almost at the
+foot of the Basilica,
+is little more
+than a gap in the
+wall. On both
+sides are the arms
+of the Commune
+and the People,
+the Cross of the
+latter outside the
+lily of the former.
+Upwards from the
+Porta San Miniato
+to the Porta San
+Giorgio a glorious
+bit of the old wall
+remains, clad inside
+and out with
+olives, running up
+the hillside of San
+Giorgio; even some remnants of the old towers are
+standing, two indeed having been only partially demolished.
+Beneath the former Medicean fortress
+and upper citadel of Belvedere stands the Porta
+San Giorgio. This, although small, is the most<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_404" id="page_404">[404]</a></span>
+picturesque of all the gates of Florence. On its
+outer side is a spirited bas-relief of St. George and
+the Dragon in stone&ndash;of the end of the fourteenth century&ndash;over
+the lily of the Commune; in the lunette,
+on the inner side, is a fresco painted in 1330&ndash;probably
+by Bernardo Daddi&ndash;of Santa Maria del Fiore enthroned
+with the Divine Babe between St. George and
+St. Leonard. This was the only gate held by the
+nobles in the great struggle of 1343, when the banners
+of the people were carried across the bridge in triumph,
+and the Bardi and Frescobaldi fought from street to
+street; through it the magnates had secretly brought in
+banditti and retainers from the country, and through it
+some of the Bardi fled when the people swept down
+upon their palaces. Inside the gate the steep Via della
+Costa San Giorgio winds down past Galileo's house to
+Santa Felicit&agrave;. Outside the gate the Via San
+Leonardo leads, between olive groves and vineyards,
+into the Viale dei Colli. In the curious little church
+of San Leonardo in Arcetri, on the left, is an old
+<i>ambone</i> or pulpit from the demolished church of San
+Piero Scheraggio, with ancient bas-reliefs. This
+pulpit is traditionally supposed to have been a part of
+the spoils in the destruction of Fiesole; it appears to
+belong to the latter part of the twelfth century.</p>
+
+<p>The great Porta Romana, or Porta San Piero
+Gattolino, was originally erected in 1328; it is still
+of imposing dimensions, though its immediate surroundings
+are somewhat prosaic. Many a Pope and
+Emperor has passed through here, to or from the
+eternal city; the marble tablets on either side record
+the entrance of Leo X. in 1515, on his way from
+Rome to Bologna to meet Francis I. of France, and
+of Charles V. in 1536 to confirm the infamous Duke
+Alessandro on the throne&ndash;a confirmation which the
+dagger of Lorenzino happily annulled in the following<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_405" id="page_405">[405]</a></span>
+year. It was here that Pope Leo's brother, Piero
+dei Medici, had made his unsuccessful attempt to
+surprise the city on April 28th 1497, with some
+thousand men or more, horse and foot. A countryman
+at daybreak had seen them resting and breakfasting on
+the way, some few miles from the city; by taking
+short cuts over the country, he evaded their scouts
+who were intercepting all persons passing northwards,
+and reached Florence with the news just at the
+morning opening of the gate. The result was that
+the Magnifico Piero and his braves found it closed in
+their faces and the forces of the Signoria guarding the
+walls, so, after ignominiously skulking for a few hours
+out of range of the artillery, they fled back towards
+Siena.</p>
+
+<p>Near the Porta Romana the Viale dei Colli commences
+to the left, as the Viale Machiavelli; and,
+straight on, the beautifully shady Stradone del Poggio
+Imperiale runs up to the villa of that name, built for
+Maria Maddalena of Austria in 1622. The statues
+at the beginning of the road were once saints on the
+second fa&ccedil;ade of the Duomo. It was on the rising
+ground that divides the Strada Romana from the
+present Stradone that the famous convent of Monticelli
+stood, recorded in Dante's <i>Paradiso</i> and Petrarca's
+<i>Trionfo della Pudicizia</i>, in which Piccarda Donati took
+the habit of St. Clare, and from which she was
+dragged by her brother Corso to marry Rossellino
+della Tosa:&ndash;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_406" id="page_406">[406]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<p><span class="o1">"Perfetta vita ed alto merto inciela</span><br />
+<span class="i1">donna pi&ugrave; su, mi disse, alla cui norma</span><br />
+<span class="i1">nel vostro mondo gi&ugrave; si veste e vela,</span></p>
+
+<p>perch&egrave; in fino al morir si vegghi e dorma<br />
+<span class="i1">con quello sposo ch'ogni voto accetta,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">che caritate a suo piacer conforma.</span></p>
+
+<p>Dal mondo, per seguirla, giovinetta<br />
+<span class="i1">fuggi'mi, e nel suo abito mi chiusi,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">e promisi la via della sua setta.</span></p>
+
+<p>Uomini poi, a mal pi&ugrave; ch'al bene usi,<br />
+<span class="i1">fuor mi rapiron della dolce chiostra;</span><br />
+<span class="i1">e Dio si sa qual poi mia vita fusi."<a name="fnanchor_56" id="fnanchor_56"></a><a href="#footnote_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a></span></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>It was at Poggio Imperiale, then called the Poggio
+dei Baroncelli, that a famous combat took place during
+the early days of the siege, in which Ludovico Martelli
+and Dante da Castiglione fought two Florentines who
+were serving in the imperial army, Giovanni Bandini
+and Bertino Aldobrandini. Both Martelli, the original
+challenger, and Aldobrandini were mortally wounded.
+Martelli's real motive in sending the challenge is said
+to have been that he and Bandini were rivals for the
+favours of a Florentine lady, Marietta de' Ricci.
+Among the many beautiful villas and gardens which
+stud the country beyond Poggio Imperiale, are Galileo's
+Tower, from which he made his astronomical observations,
+and the villa in which he was visited by Milton.
+Near Santa Margherita a Montici, to the east, is the
+villa in which the articles of capitulation were arranged
+by the Florentine ambassadors with Ferrante Gonzaga,
+commander of the Imperial troops, and Baccio Valori,
+commissary of the Pope. But already Malatesta had
+opened the Porta Romana and turned his artillery against<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_407" id="page_407">[407]</a></span>
+the city which he had solemnly sworn to defend.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond the Porta Romana the road to the right of
+Poggio Imperiale leads to the valley of the Ema, above
+which the great Certosa rises on the hill of Montaguto.
+Shortly before reaching the monastery the Ema is
+crossed&ndash;an insignificant stream in which Cacciaguida
+(in <i>Paradiso</i> xvi.) rather paradoxically regrets that
+Buondelmonte was not drowned on his way to Florence:
+"Joyous had many been who now are sad, had God
+committed thee unto the Ema the first time that thou
+camest to the city." The Certosa itself, that "huge
+battlemented convent-block over the little forky flashing
+Greve," as Browning calls it, was founded by Niccol&ograve;
+Acciaiuoli, the Florentine Grand Seneschal of Naples,
+in 1341; it is one of the finest of the later medi&aelig;val
+monasteries. Orcagna is said to have built one of the
+side chapels of the church, which contains a fine early
+Giottesque altarpiece; and in a kind of crypt there are
+noble tombs of the Acciaiuoli&ndash;one, the monument of
+the founder, being possibly by Orcagna, and one of the
+later ones ascribed (doubtfully) to Donatello. In the
+chapter-house are a Crucifixion by Mariotto Albertinelli,
+and the monument of Leonardo Buonafede by
+Francesco da San Gallo. From the convent and further
+up the valley, there are beautiful views. About three
+miles further on is the sanctuary and shrine of the
+Madonna dell' Impruneta, built for the miraculous
+image of the Madonna, which was carried down in
+procession to Florence in times of pestilence and
+danger. Savonarola especially had placed great faith
+in the miraculous powers of this image and these processions;
+and during the siege it remained in Florence
+ceremoniously guarded in the Duomo, a kind of mystic
+Palladium.</p>
+
+<p>Between the Porta Romana and Porta San Frediano
+some tracts of the city wall remain, but the whole is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_408" id="page_408">[408]</a></span>
+painfully prosaic. The Porta San Frediano itself is
+a massive structure, erected between 1324 and 1327,
+possibly by Andrea Pisano; it need hardly be repeated
+that we cannot judge of the original medi&aelig;val appearance
+of the gates of Florence, with their towers and
+ante-portals, even from the least mutilated of their
+present remnants. It was through this gate that the
+Florentine army passed in triumph in 1363 with their
+long trains of captured Pisans; and here, after Pisa
+had shaken off for a while the yoke, Charles of France
+rode in as a conqueror on November 17, 1494, Savonarola's
+new Cyrus, and was solemnly received at the gate
+by the Signoria. Within the gate a strip of wall runs
+down to the river, with two later towers built by Medicean
+grand dukes. At the end is a chapel built in
+1856, and containing a Piet&agrave; from the walls of a demolished
+convent&ndash;ascribed without warrant to Domenico
+Ghirlandaio.</p>
+
+<p>It was somewhere near here that S. Frediano, coming
+from Lucca to pay his annual visit to the shrine of San
+Miniato, miraculously crossed the Arno in flood. Outside
+the gate, a little off the Leghorn road to the left,
+is the suppressed abbey of Monte Oliveto, and beyond
+it, to the south, the hill of Bellosguardo&ndash;both points
+from which splendid views of Florence and its surroundings
+are obtained.</p>
+
+<p>These dream-like glimpses of the City of Flowers,
+which every coign of vantage seems to give us round
+Florence&ndash;might we not, sometimes, imagine that we
+had stumbled unawares upon the Platonic City of the
+Perfect? There are two lines from one of Dante's
+canzoni in praise of his mystical lady that rise to our
+mind at every turn:&ndash;</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+<span class="o1">"Io non la vidi tante volte ancora,</span><br />
+<span class="i0">ch'io non trovassi in lei nuova bellezza,"</span></p>
+
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_409" id="page_409">[409]</a></p>
+
+<h2 class="p6"><a name="chapter_xiii" id="chapter_xiii"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h2>
+<h3><i>Conclusion</i></h3>
+
+<p><span class="dropcap">T</span>HE setting of Florence is in every way worthy of
+the gem which it encloses. On each side of the
+city and throughout its province beautiful walks and
+drives lead to churches, villas and villages full of historical
+interest or enriched with artistic treasures. I
+can here merely indicate a very few such places.</p>
+
+<p>To the north of the city rises Fiesole on its hill, of
+which the historical connection with Florence has been
+briefly discussed in chapter i. At its foot stands the
+Dominican convent, in which Fra Giovanni, whom we
+know better as the Beato Angelico, took the habit of
+the order, and in which both his brother, Fra Benedetto,
+and himself were in turn priors. Savonarola's
+fellow martyr, Fra Domenico da Pescia, was likewise
+prior of this house. The church contains a Madonna
+by Angelico, with the background painted in by Lorenzo
+di Credi (its exquisitely beautiful predella is now
+one of the chief ornaments of the National Gallery of
+London), a Baptism of Christ by Lorenzo di Credi,
+and an Adoration of the Magi designed by Andrea del
+Sarto and executed by Sogliani. A little to the left
+is the famous Badia di Fiesole, originally of the eleventh
+century, but rebuilt for Cosimo the Elder by Filippo
+Brunelleschi. It was one of Cosimo's favourite foundations;
+Marsilio Ficino's Platonic Academy frequently
+met in the loggia with its beautiful view
+towards the city. In the church, Lorenzo's second
+son, Giovanni, was invested with the Cardinalate in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_410" id="page_410">[410]</a></span>
+1492; and here, in 1516, his third son, Giuliano,
+Duke of Nemours, the best of the Medici, died. On
+the way up to Fiesole itself is the handsome villa Mozzi,
+built for Giovanni di Cosimo de' Medici by Michelozzo.
+It was in this villa that the Pazzi had originally intended
+to murder Lorenzo and the elder Giuliano,
+but their plan was frustrated by the illness of Giuliano,
+which prevented his being present.</p>
+
+<p>In Fiesole itself, the remains of the Etruscan wall
+and the old theatre tell of the classical Faesulae; its
+Tuscan Romanesque Duomo (of the eleventh and
+twelfth centuries) recalls the days when the city seemed
+a rival to Florence itself and was the resort of the
+robber barons, who preyed upon her ever growing commerce.
+It contains sculptures by Mino da Fiesole
+and that later Fiesolan, Andrea Ferrucci (to whom
+we owe the bust of Marsilio Ficino), and a fine terracotta
+by one of the Della Robbias. From the Franciscan
+convent, which occupies the site of the old
+Roman citadel, a superb view of Florence and its
+valley is obtained. From Fiesole, towards the south-east,
+we reach Ponte a Mensola (also reached from the
+Porta alla Croce), the Mensola of Boccaccio's <i>Ninfale
+fiesolano</i>, above which is Settignano, where Desiderio
+was born and Michelangelo nurtured, and where Boccaccio
+had a podere. The Villa Poggio Gherardo,
+below Settignano, shares with the Villa Palmieri below
+Fiesole the distinction of being traditionally one of
+those introduced into the <i>Decameron</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Northwestwards of the Badia of Fiesole runs the
+road from Florence to Bologna, past the village of
+Trespiano, some three or four miles from the Porta
+San Gallo. In the twelfth century Trespiano was the
+northern boundary of Florentine territory, as Galluzzo&ndash;on
+the way towards the Certosa and about two
+miles from the Porta Romana&ndash;was its southern limit.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_411" id="page_411">[411]</a></span>
+Cacciaguida, in <i>Paradiso</i> xvi., refers to this as an ideal
+golden time when the citizenship "saw itself pure even
+in the lowest artizan." A little way north of Trespiano,
+on the old Bolognese road, is the Uccellatoio&ndash;referred
+to in canto xv.&ndash;the first point from which
+Florence is visible. Below Trespiano, at La Lastra,
+rather more than two miles from the city, the exiled
+Bianchi and Ghibellines, with auxiliaries from Bologna
+and Arezzo, assembled in that fatal July of 1304. The
+leaders of the Neri were absent at Perugia, and, at the
+first sight of the white standards waving from the hill,
+terror and consternation filled their partisans throughout
+the city. Had their enterprise been better organised,
+the exiles would undoubtedly have captured Florence.
+Seeing that they were discovered, and urged on by
+their friends within the city, without waiting for the
+Uberti, whose cavalry was advancing from Pistoia to
+their support and whose appointed day of coming they
+had anticipated, Baschiera della Tosa, in spite of the
+terrible heat, ordered an immediate advance upon the
+Porta San Gallo. The walls of the third circle were
+only in part built at that epoch, and those of the second
+circle still stood with their gates. The exiles, for the
+most part mounted, drew up round San Marco and the
+Annunziata, "with white standards spread, with garlands
+of olive and drawn swords, crying <i>peace</i>," writes
+Dino Compagni, who was in Florence at the time,
+"without doing violence or plundering anyone. A
+right goodly sight was it to see them, with the sign
+of peace thus arrayed. The heat was so great, that it
+seemed that the very air burned." But their friends
+within did not stir. They forced the Porta degli
+Spadai which stood at the head of the present Via
+dei Martelli, but were repulsed at the Piazza San
+Giovanni and the Duomo, and the sudden blazing up
+of a palace in the rear completed their rout. Many<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_412" id="page_412">[412]</a></span>
+fell on the way, simply from the heat, while the Neri,
+becoming fierce-hearted like lions, as Compagni says,
+hotly pursued them, hunting out those who had hidden
+themselves among the vineyards and houses, hanging
+all they caught. In their flight, a little way from
+Florence, the exiles met Tolosato degli Uberti hastening
+up with his Ghibellines to meet them on the appointed
+day. Tolosato, a fierce captain and experienced
+in civil war, tried in vain to rally them, and,
+when all his efforts proved unavailing, returned to
+Pistoia declaring that the youthful rashness of Baschiera
+had lost him the city. Dante had taken no part in the
+affair; he had broken with his fellow exiles in the previous
+year, and made a party for himself as he tells us
+in the <i>Paradiso</i>.</p>
+
+<p>To the west and north-west of Florence are several
+interesting villas of the Medici. The Villa Medicea in
+Careggi, the most famous of all, is not always accessible.
+It is situated in the loveliest country, within
+a short walk of the tramway station of Ponte a Rifredi.
+Built originally by Michelozzo for Cosimo the Elder,
+it was almost burned down by a band of republican
+youths shortly before the siege. Here Cosimo died,
+consoling his last hours with Marsilio Ficino's Platonics;
+here the elder Piero lived in retirement, too
+shattered in health to do more than nominally succeed
+his father at the head of the State. On August 23rd
+1466, there was an attempt made to murder Piero as
+he was carried into Florence from Careggi in his litter.
+A band of armed men, in the pay of Luca Pitti and
+Dietisalvi Neroni, lay in wait for the litter on the way
+to the Porta Faenza; but young Lorenzo, who was
+riding on in advance of his father's cort&egrave;ge, came across
+them first, and, without appearing to take any alarm at
+the meeting, secretly sent back a messenger to bid his
+father take another way. Under Lorenzo himself, this<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_413" id="page_413">[413]</a></span>
+villa became the centre of the Neo-Platonic movement;
+and here on November 7th, the day supposed to be the
+anniversary of Plato's birth and death, the famous
+banquet was held at which Marsilio Ficino and the
+chosen spirits of the Academy discussed and expounded
+the <i>Symposium</i>. Here on April 8th 1492,
+the Magnifico died (see chap. iii.). In the same
+neighbourhood, a little further on in the direction of
+Pistoia, are the villas of Petraia and Castello (for both
+of which <i>permessi</i> are given at the Pitti Palace, together
+with that for Poggio a Caiano), both reminiscent
+of the Medicean grand ducal family; in the
+latter Cosimo I. lived with his mother, Maria Salviati,
+before his accession to the throne, and here he died in
+1574.</p>
+
+<p>Also beyond the Porta al Prato (about an hour and
+a half by the tramway from behind Santa Maria
+Novella), is the Villa Reale of Poggio a Caiano,
+superbly situated where the Pistoian Apennines begin
+to rise up from the plain. The villa was built by Giuliano
+da San Gallo for Lorenzo, and the Magnifico
+loved it best of all his country houses. It was here
+that he wrote his <i>Ambra</i> and his <i>Caccia col Falcone</i>; in
+both of these poems the beautiful scenery round plays
+its part. When Pope Clement VII. sent the two boys,
+Ippolito and Alessandro, to represent the Medici in
+Florence, Alessandro generally stayed here, while Ippolito
+resided within the city in the palace in the Via
+Larga. When Charles V. came to Florence in 1536
+to confirm Alessandro upon the throne, he declared
+that this villa "was not the building for a private
+citizen." Here, too, the Grand Duke Francesco and
+Bianca Cappello died, on October 19th and 20th,
+1587, after entertaining the Cardinal Ferdinando, who
+thus became Grand Duke; it was said that Bianca
+had attempted to poison the Cardinal, and that she and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_414" id="page_414">[414]</a></span>
+her husband had themselves eaten of the pasty that she
+had prepared for him. It appears, however, that there
+is no reason for supposing that their deaths were other
+than natural. At present the villa is a royal country
+house, in which reminiscences of the Re Galantuomo
+clash rather oddly with those of the Medicean Princes.
+All round runs a loggia with fine views, and there
+are an uninteresting park and garden. The classical
+portico is noteworthy, all the rest being of the utmost
+simplicity.</p>
+
+<p>Within the palace a large room, with a remarkably
+fine ceiling by Giuliano da San Gallo, is decorated
+with a series of frescoes from Roman history intended
+to be typical of events in the lives of Cosimo the Elder
+and Lorenzo the Magnificent. Vasari says that, for a
+villa, this is <i>la pi&ugrave; bella sala del mondo</i>. The frescoes,
+ordered by Pope Leo X. and the Cardinal Giulio,
+under the direction of Ottaviano dei Medici, were
+begun by Andrea dei Sarto, Francia Bigio and Jacopo
+da Pontormo, left unfinished for more than fifty years,
+and then completed by Alessandro Allori for the
+Grand Duke Francesco. The Triumph of Cicero,
+by Francia Bigio, is supposed to typify the return of
+Cosimo from exile in 1434; Caesar receiving tribute
+from Egypt, by Andrea del Sarto, refers to the coming
+of an embassy from the Soldan to Lorenzo in 1487,
+with magnificent gifts and treasures. Andrea's fresco
+is full of curious beasts and birds, including the long-eared
+sheep which Lorenzo naturalised in the grounds
+of the villa, and the famous giraffe which the Soldan
+sent on this occasion and which, as Mr Armstrong writes,
+"became the most popular character in Florence," until
+its death at the beginning of 1489. The Regent of
+France, Anne of Beaujeu, made ineffectual overtures
+to Lorenzo to get him to make her a present of the
+strange beast. This fresco was left unfinished on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_415" id="page_415">[415]</a></span>
+death of Pope Leo in 1521, and finished by Alessandro
+Allori in 1582. The charming mythological
+decorations between the windows are by Jacopo da
+Pontormo. The two later frescoes by Alessandro
+Allori, painted about 1580, represent Scipio in the
+house of Syphax and Flamininus in Greece, which
+typify Lorenzo's visit to Ferrante of Naples, in 1480,
+and his presence at the Diet of Cremona in 1483, on
+which latter occasion, as Mr Armstrong puts it, "his
+good sense and powers of expression and persuasion
+gave him an importance which the military weakness of
+Florence denied to him in the field"&ndash;but the result
+was little more than a not very honourable league of
+the Italian powers against Venice. The Apples of the
+Hesperides, and the rest of the mythological decorations
+in continuation of Pontormo's lunette, are also Allori's.
+The whole has an air of regal triumph without needless
+parade.</p>
+
+<p>The road should be followed beyond the villa, in
+order to ascend to the left to the little church among
+the hills. A superb view is obtained over the plain to
+Florence beyond the Villa Reale lying below us.
+Behind, we are already among the Apennines. A
+beautiful glimpse of Prato can be seen to the left, four
+miles away.</p>
+
+<p>Prato itself is about twelve miles from Florence. It
+was a gay little town in the fifteenth century, when it
+witnessed "brother Lippo's doings, up and down,"
+and heard Messer Angelo Poliziano's musical sighings
+for the love of Madonna Ippolita Leoncina. A few
+years later it listened to the voice of Fra Girolamo
+Savonarola, and at last its bright day of prosperity
+ended in the horrible sack and carnage from the
+Spanish soldiery under Raimondo da Cardona in 1512.
+Its Duomo&ndash;dedicated to St. Stephen and the Baptist&ndash;a
+Tuscan Romanesque church completed in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_416" id="page_416">[416]</a></span>
+Gothic style by Giovanni Pisano, with a fine campanile
+built at the beginning of the fourteenth century,
+claims to possess a strange and wondrous relic: nothing
+less than the Cintola or Girdle of the Blessed Virgin,
+delivered by her&ndash;according to a pious and poetical
+legend&ndash;to St. Thomas at her Assumption, and then
+won back for Christendom by a native of Prato,
+Michele Dagonari, in the Crusades. Be that as it
+may, what purports to be this relic is exhibited on
+occasions in the Pulpito della Cintola on the exterior
+of the Duomo, a magnificent work by Donatello and
+Michelozzo, in which the former master has carved a
+wonderful series of dancing genii hardly, if at all,
+inferior to those more famous bas-reliefs executed a
+little later for the cantoria of Santa Maria del Fiore.
+Within, over the entrance wall, is a picture by Ridolfo
+Ghirlandaio of the Madonna giving the girdle to the
+Thomas who had doubted. And in the chapel on the
+left (with a most beautifully worked bronze screen,
+with a lovely frieze of cupids, birds and beasts&ndash;the
+work of Bruno Lapi and Pasquino di Matteo, 1444-1461),
+the Cintola is preserved amid frescoes by
+Agnolo Gaddi setting forth the life of Madonna, her
+granting of Prato's treasure to St Thomas at the
+Assumption, and its discovery by Michele Dagonari.</p>
+
+<p>The church is rich in works of Florentine art&ndash;a
+pulpit by Mino da Fiesole and Antonio Rossellino;
+the Madonna dell' Ulivo by Giuliano da Maiano;
+frescoes said to be in part by Masolino's reputed
+master Starnina in the chapel to the right of the
+choir. But Prato's great artistic glory must be
+sought in Fra Lippo Lippi's frescoes in the choir,
+painted between 1452 and 1464. These are the
+great achievements of the Friar's life. On the left
+is the life of St. Stephen, on the right that of the
+Baptist. They show very strongly the influence of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_417" id="page_417">[417]</a></span>
+Masaccio, and make us understand why the Florentines
+said that the spirit of Masaccio had entered into the body
+of Fra Filippo. Inferior to Masaccio in most respects,
+Filippo had a feeling for facial beauty and spiritual
+expression, and for a certain type of feminine grace
+which we hardly find in his prototype. The wonderful
+figure of the dancing girl in Herod's banquet, and
+again her na&iuml;ve bearing when she kneels before her
+mother with the martyr's head, oblivious of the horror
+of the spectators and merely bent upon showing us her
+own sweet face, are characteristic of Lippo, as also, in
+another way, his feeling for boyhood shown in the
+little St. John's farewell to his parents. The Burial
+of St. Stephen is full of fine Florentine portraits in
+the manner of the Carmine frescoes. The dignified
+ecclesiastic at the head of the clergy is Carlo dei
+Medici, the illegitimate son of Cosimo. On the extreme
+right is Lippo himself. Carlo looks rather like
+a younger, more refined edition of Leo X.</p>
+
+<p>It was while engaged upon these frescoes that Lippo
+Lippi was commissioned by the nuns of Santa Margherita
+to paint a Madonna for them, and took the
+opportunity of carrying off Lucrezia Buti, a beautiful
+girl staying in the convent who had sat to him as the
+Madonna, during one of the Cintola festivities. Lippo
+appears to have been practically unfrocked at this
+time, but he refused the dispensation of the Pope who
+wished him to marry her legally, as he preferred
+to live a loose life. Between the station and the
+Duomo you can see the house where they lived and
+where Filippino Lippi was born. Opposite the
+convent of Santa Margherita is a tabernacle containing
+a wonderfully beautiful fresco by Filippino, a Madonna
+and Child with Angels, adored by St. Margaret and
+St. Catherine, St. Antony and St. Stephen. All the
+faces are of the utmost loveliness, and the Catherine<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_418" id="page_418">[418]</a></span>
+especially is like a foretaste of Luini's famous fresco at
+Milan. In the town picture gallery there are four
+pictures ascribed to Lippo Lippi&ndash;all four of rather
+questionable authenticity&ndash;and one by Filippino, a
+Madonna and Child with St. Stephen and the Baptist,
+which, although utterly ruined, appears to be genuine.
+The Protomartyr and the Precursor seem always inseparable
+throughout the faithful little city of the
+Cintola.</p>
+
+<p>Prato can likewise boast some excellent terracotta
+works by Andrea della Robbia, both outside the
+Duomo and in the churches of Our Lady of Good
+Counsel and Our Lady of the Prisons. This latter
+church, the Madonna delle Carceri, reared by
+Giuliano da San Gallo between 1485 and 1491, is
+perhaps the most beautiful and most truly classical
+of all Early Renaissance buildings in Tuscany.</p>
+
+<p>Ten miles beyond Prato lies Pistoia, at the very
+foot of the Apennines, the city of Dante's friend and
+correspondent, Messer Cino, the poet of the golden
+haired Selvaggia, he who sang the dirge of Caesar
+Henry; the centre of the fiercest faction struggles of
+Italian history. It was the Florentine traditional
+policy to keep Pisa by fortresses and Pistoia by
+factions. It lies, however, beyond the scope of the
+present book, with the other Tuscan cities that owned
+the sway of the great Republic. San Gemignano,
+that most wonderful of all the smaller towns of
+Tuscany, the city of "the fair towers," of Santa Fina
+and of the gayest of medi&aelig;val poets, Messer Folgore,
+comes into another volume of this series.</p>
+
+<p>But it is impossible to conclude even the briefest
+study of Florence without a word upon that Tuscan
+Earthly Paradise, the Casentino and upper valley of
+the Arno, although it lies for the most part not in the
+province of Florence but in that of Arezzo. It is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_419" id="page_419">[419]</a></span>
+best reached by the diligence which runs from Pontassieve
+over the Consuma Pass&ndash;where Arnaldo of
+Brescia, who lies in the last horrible round of Dante's
+Malebolge, was burned alive for counterfeiting the
+golden florins of Florence&ndash;to Stia.<a name="fnanchor_57" id="fnanchor_57"></a><a href="#footnote_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a> A whole
+chapter of Florentine history may be read among the
+mountains of the Casentino, writ large upon its castles
+and monasteries. If the towers of San Gemignano
+give us still the clearest extant picture of the life led
+by the nobles and magnates when forced to enter the
+cities, we can see best in the Casentino how they
+exercised their feudal sway and maintained for a while
+their independence of the burgher Commune. The
+Casentino was ruled by the Conti Guidi, that great
+clan whose four branches&ndash;the Counts of Romena,
+the Counts of Porciano, the Counts of Battifolle and
+Poppi, the Counts of Dovadola (to whom Bagno in
+Romagna and Pratovecchio here appear to have belonged)&ndash;sprang
+from the four sons of Gualdrada,
+Bellincion Berti's daughter. Poppi remains a superb
+monument of the power and taste of these "Counts
+Palatine of Tuscany"; its palace on a small scale
+resembles the Palazzo Vecchio of Florence. Romena
+and Porciano, higher up stream, overhanging Pratovecchio
+and Stia, have been immortalised by the verse
+and hallowed by the footsteps of Dante Alighieri.
+Beneath the hill upon which Poppi stands, an old
+bridge still spans the Arno, upon which the last of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_420" id="page_420">[420]</a></span>
+Conti Guidi, the Count Francesco, surrendered in
+1440 to the Florentine commissary, Neri Capponi.
+After the second expulsion of the Medici from
+Florence, Piero and Giuliano for some time lurked in
+the Casentino, with Bernardo Dovizi at Bibbiena.</p>
+
+<p>Throughout the Casentino Dante himself should be
+our guide. There is hardly another district in Italy
+so intimately connected with the divine poet; save only
+Florence and Ravenna, there is, perhaps, none where
+we more frequently need to have recourse to the pages
+of the <i>Divina Commedia</i>. With the <i>Inferno</i> in our
+hands, we seek out Count Alessandro's castle of
+Romena and what purports to be the Fonte Branda,
+below the castle to the left, for whose waters&ndash;even to
+cool the thirst of Hell&ndash;Maestro Adamo would not
+have given the sight of his seducer sharing his agony.
+With the <i>Purgatorio</i> we trace the course of the Arno
+from where, a mere <i>fiumicello</i>, it takes its rise in
+Falterona, and runs down past Porciano and Poppi to
+sweep away from the Aretines, "turning aside its
+muzzle in disdain." There is a tradition that Dante
+was imprisoned in the castle of Porciano. We know
+that he was the guest of various members of the Conti
+Guidi at different times during his exile; it was from
+one of their castles, probably Poppi, that on March
+31st and April 16th, 1311, he directed his two terrible
+letters to the Florentine government and to the
+Emperor Henry. It was in the Casentino, too, that
+he composed the Canzone <i>Amor, dacch&egrave; convien pur
+ch'io mi doglia</i>, "Love, since I needs must make complaint,"
+one of the latest and most perplexing of his
+lyrics.</p>
+
+<p>The battlefield of Campaldino lies beyond Poppi,
+on the eastern side of the river, near the old convent
+and church of Certomondo, founded some twenty or
+thirty years before by two of the Conti Guidi to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_421" id="page_421">[421]</a></span>
+commemorate the great Ghibelline victory of Montaperti,
+but now to witness the triumph of the Guelfs.
+The Aretines, under their Bishop and Buonconte da
+Montefeltro, had marched up the valley along the
+direction of the present railway to Bibbiena, to check
+the ravages of the Florentines who, with their French
+allies, had made their way through the mountains
+above Pratovecchio and were laying waste the country
+of the Conti Guidi. It was on the Feast of St.
+Barnabas, 1289, that the two armies stood face to
+face, and Dante riding in the Florentine light cavalry,
+if the fragment of a letter preserved to us by Leonardo
+Bruni be authentic, "had much dread and at the
+end the greatest gladness, by reason of the varying
+chances of that battle." There are no relics of the
+struggle to be found in Certomondo; only a very
+small portion of the cloisters remains, and the church
+itself contains nothing of note save an Annunciation
+by Neri di Bicci. But about an hour's walk from
+the battlefield, perhaps a mile from the foot of the
+hill on which Bibbiena stands, is a spot most sacred
+to all lovers of Dante. Here the stream of the
+Archiano, banked with poplars and willows, flows
+into the Arno; and here, at the close of that same
+terrible and glorious day, Buonconte da Montefeltro
+died of his wounds, gasping out the name of Mary.
+At evening the nightingales are loud around the spot,
+but their song is less sweet then the ineffable stanzas
+in the fifth canto of the <i>Purgatorio</i> in which Dante
+has raised an imperishable monument to the young
+Ghibelline warrior.</p>
+
+<p>But, more famous than its castles or even its
+Dantesque memories, the Casentino is hallowed by
+its noble sanctuaries of Vallombrosa, Camaldoli, La
+Verna. Less noted but still very interesting is the
+Dominican church and convent of the Madonna<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_422" id="page_422">[422]</a></span>
+del Sasso, just below Bibbiena on the way towards
+La Verna, hallowed with memories of Savonarola
+and the Piagnoni, and still a place of devout pilgrimage
+to Our Lady of the Rock. There is a fine
+Assumption in its church, painted by Fra Paolino
+from Bartolommeo's cartoon. Vallombrosa and
+Camaldoli, founded respectively by Giovanni Gualberto
+and Romualdus, have shared the fate of all
+such institutions in modern Italy.</p>
+
+<p>La Verna remains undisturbed, that "harsh rock
+between Tiber and Arno," as Dante calls it, where
+Francis "received from Christ the final seal;"
+the sacred mountain from which, on that September
+morning before the dawn, so bright a light of Divine
+Love shone forth to rekindle the medi&aelig;val world,
+that all the country seemed aflame, as the crucified
+Seraph uttered the words of mystery&ndash;<i>Tu sei il mio
+Gonfaloniere</i>: "Thou art my standard-bearer." To
+enter the precincts of this sacred place, under the
+arch hewn out from between the rocks, is like a first
+introduction to the spirit of the <i>Divina Commedia</i>.</p>
+
+<p class="blockquot">
+"Non est in toto sanctior orbe mons."</p>
+
+<p>For here, at least, is one spot left in the world, where,
+although Renaissance and Reformation, Revolution
+and Risorgimento, have swept round it, the Middle
+Ages still reign a living reality, in their noblest aspect,
+with the <i>poverelli</i> of the Seraphic Father; and the
+mystical light, that shone out on the day of the Stigmata,
+still burns: "while the eternal ages watch and
+wait."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter"><a name="illo_45" id="illo_45"></a>
+<img src="images/florencemap_tmb.jpg" width="532" height="400" alt="FLORENCE" title="" />
+<p class="caption">FLORENCE</p>
+<a href="images/florencemap_fs22.jpg">View larger image</a></div>
+
+<h2 class="p6">TABLE OF THE MEDICI</h2>
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_423" id="page_423">[423]</a></p>
+
+<div class="p4 font90 center"><a name="Family_Tree" id="Family_Tree"></a>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" summary="Family Tree">
+<tr>
+<td colspan="18">GIOVANNI DI AVERARDO (<span class="smcap">Giovanni Bicci</span>) 1360-1429, m. Piccarda Bueri.</td></tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="5">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_bottom">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="8" class="bor_bottom bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="3">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="5">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="10" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="3" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="8"><span class="smcap">Cosimo</span> (Pater Patriae), 1389-1464, m. Contessina dei Bardi.</td>
+<td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="8"><span class="smcap">Lorenzo</span>, 1395-1440, m. Ginevra Cavalcanti.</td></tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="4" class="bor_bottom bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_bottom">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="7" class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="5">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="3" class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="7" class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="3">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Piero</span> (il Gottoso),<br />
+1416-1469,<br />
+m. Lucrezia Tornabuoni.</td>
+<td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Giovanni</span>,<br />
+1424-1463,<br />
+m. Ginevra degli<br />
+Alessandri.</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Carlo</span><br />
+(illegitimate),<br />
+d. 1492.</td>
+<td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="8" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Piero Francesco</span>, d. 1467 (or 1476),<br />
+m. Laudomia Acciaiuoli.</td></tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="6" class="bor_bottom bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="4">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="3" class="bor_bottom bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_bottom">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="4" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="5" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Lorenzo</span><br />
+(the Magnificent),<br />
+1449-1492,<br />
+m. Clarice<br />
+Orsini.<br /></td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Giuliano</span>,<br />
+1453-1478.</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Bianca</span>,<br />
+m. Guglielmo<br />
+dei Pazzi.</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Nannina</span>,<br />
+m. Bernardo<br />
+Rucellai.</td>
+<td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="4" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Lorenzo</span>, d. 1503,<br />
+m. Semiramide Appini.</td>
+<td colspan="4" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Giovanni</span>, d. 1498,<br />
+m. Caterina Sforza.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" >&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="8" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="5" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="1" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Giulio</span> (illegitimate),<br />
+d. 1534,<br />
+(Pope Clement VII.)</td>
+<td colspan="6">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="4" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Pier Francesco</span>,<br />
+d. 1525,<br />
+m. Maria Soderini.</td>
+<td colspan="4" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Giovanni</span>, ("delle Bande<br />
+Nere"), 1498-1526,<br />
+m. Maria Salviati.</td></tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="8" class="bor_bottom">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_bottom bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_bottom">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr><td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Piero</span>,<br />
+1471-1503,<br />
+m. Alfonsina<br />
+Orsini.</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Giovanni</span>,<br />
+1475-1521<br />
+(Pope Leo X.)</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Giuliano</span>,<br />
+(Duke of Nemours),<br />
+1479-1516,<br />
+m. Filiberta of Savoy.</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Lucrezia</span>,<br />
+m. Giacomo<br />
+Salviati.</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Maddalena</span>,<br />
+m. Franceschetto<br />
+Cibo.</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Lorenzo</span><br />
+("Lorenzino"<br />
+or<br />
+"Lorenzaccio"),<br />
+1514-1547.</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Laudomia</span>,<br />
+m. Piero<br />
+Strozzi.</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Maddalena</span>,<br />
+m. Roberto<br />
+Strozzi.</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Cosimo I</span>.<br />
+(Grand Duke),<br />
+1519-1574, m.<br />
+Eleonora of Toledo<br />
+(and Cammilla<br />
+Martelli).</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_bottom bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_left bor_bottom">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="6" class="bor_right bor_bottom">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_left bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" ></td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_left bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_right ">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Lorenzo</span><br />
+(titular Duke of<br />
+Urbino), 1492-1519,<br />
+m. Madeleine de<br />
+la Tour d'Auvergne.</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Clarice</span>,<br />
+m. Filippo<br />
+Strozzi</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Ippolito</span> <a name="fnanchor_58" id="fnanchor_58"></a><a href="#footnote_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a><br />
+(Illegitimate),<br />
+1511-1535,
+(Cardinal).</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Maria</span>,<br />
+m. Giovanni<br />
+delle Bande<br />
+Nere.</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Francesca</span>,<br />
+m. Ottaviano<br />
+dei Medici.</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Francesco I</span>.,<br />
+1541-1587,<br />
+m. Joanna of Austria (and<br />
+Bianca Cappello).</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Giovanni</span>,<br />
+d. 1562.</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Garzia</span>,<br />
+d. 1562.</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Ferdinand I</span>.,<br />
+1549-1609,<br />
+m. Christina of Lorraine.</td></tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_bottom bor_left">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="6" class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="6" class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_left bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+
+<td colspan="6" class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+
+<td colspan="6" class="bor_right ">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Alessandro</span><a href="#footnote_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a><br />
+(Illegitimate), d. 1537,<br />
+m. Margherita<br />
+of Austria.</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Caterina</span>,<br />
+1519-1589,<br />
+m. Henri II.<br />
+of France.</td>
+<td colspan="4">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Alessandro</span>,<br />
+d. 1605,<br />
+(Pope Leo XI.)</td>
+<td colspan="2" valign="top"><span class="smcap">Maria</span><br />
+m. Henri IV.<br />
+of France</td>
+<td colspan="4">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Cosimo II.</span>,<br />
+1590-1621,<br />
+m. Maria Maddalena<br />
+of Austria.</td></tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="17" class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="16">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Ferdinand II.</span>,<br />1610-1670.</td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="17" class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="16">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Cosimo III.</span>,<br />1642-1723.</td></tr>
+<tr><td colspan="17" class="bor_right">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="16">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2"><span class="smcap">Giovanni Gastone</span>,<br />
+1671-1737.</td></tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center p6"><big>CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX</big></p>
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_424" id="page_424">[424]</a></p>
+<p class="center"><small>OF</small></p>
+<p class="center">ARCHITECTS, SCULPTORS &amp; PAINTERS</p>
+<p class="center"><small>(<i>Names of non-Italians in italics</i>)</small></p>
+
+<p class="center">ARCHITECTS AND SCULPTORS</p>
+<div class="left25 right10">
+<ul class="none">
+<li>Niccol&ograve; Pisano (circa 1206-1278), <a href="#page_32">32</a>, <a href="#page_254">254</a>, <a href="#page_349">349</a>.</li>
+<li>Fra Sisto (died 1289), <a href="#page_359">359</a>.</li>
+<li>Fra Ristoro da Campi (died 1283), <a href="#page_359">359</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Arnolfo di Cambio (1232?-1300 or 1310), <a href="#page_41">41</a>, <a href="#page_65">65</a>, <a href="#page_66">66</a>, <a href="#page_146">146</a>-<a href="#page_149">149</a>, <a href="#page_184">184</a>, <a href="#page_205">205</a>, <a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_228">228</a>, <a href="#page_231">231</a>, <a href="#page_242">242</a>, <a href="#page_248">248</a>, <a href="#page_265">265</a>, <a href="#page_269">269</a>, <a href="#page_274">274</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>, <a href="#page_334">334</a>, <a href="#page_372">372</a>.</li>
+<li>Giovanni Pisano (circa 1250-after 1328), <a href="#page_32">32</a>, <a href="#page_254">254</a>, <a href="#page_416">416</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a href="#Giotto_da_Bondone">Giotto da Bondone</a>. See under Painters.</li>
+
+<li>Andrea Pisano (1270-1348), <a href="#page_65">65</a>, <a href="#page_67">67</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_254">254</a>, <a href="#page_255">255</a>, <a href="#page_260">260</a>-<a href="#page_263">263</a>, <a href="#page_408">408</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Fra Giovanni da Campi (died 1339), <a href="#page_359">359</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a href="#Taddeo_Gaddi">Taddeo Gaddi</a>. See under Painters.</li>
+
+<li>Fra Jacopo Talenti da Nipozzano (died 1362), <a href="#page_359">359</a>, <a href="#page_366">366</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nino Pisano (died 1368), <a href="#page_271">271</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a href="#Andrea_Orcagna">Andrea Orcagna</a>. See under Painters.</li>
+
+<li>Francesco Talenti (died after 1387), <a href="#page_65">65</a>, <a href="#page_67">67</a>, <a href="#page_189">189</a>, <a href="#page_260">260</a>, <a href="#page_265">265</a>, <a href="#page_266">266</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pietro di Migliore (middle of fourteenth century), <a href="#page_196">196</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Alberto Arnoldi (died circa 1378), <a href="#page_264">264</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Simone di Francesco Talenti (end of fourteenth century), <a href="#page_156">156</a>, <a href="#page_189">189</a>, <a href="#page_190">190</a>, <a href="#page_198">198</a>, <a href="#page_203">203</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Benci di Cione (latter half of fourteenth century), <a href="#page_156">156</a>, <a href="#page_189">189</a>, <a href="#page_203">203</a>, <a href="#page_216">216</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Neri di Fioraventi (latter half of fourteenth century) <a href="#page_203">203</a>, <a href="#page_216">216</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Giovanni di Ambrogio (last quarter of fourteenth century), <a href="#page_157">157</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jacopo di Piero (last quarter of fourteenth century), <a href="#page_157">157</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Piero di Giovanni Tedesco (end of Trecento), <a href="#page_216">216</a>, <a href="#page_270">270</a>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_425" id="page_425">[425]</a></span></li>
+
+<li>Niccol&ograve; di Piero Lamberti da Arezzo (1360?-1444?), <a href="#page_193">193</a>, <a href="#page_216">216</a>, <a href="#page_263">263</a>, <a href="#page_270">270</a>, <a href="#page_272">272</a>, <a href="#page_276">276</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nanni di Antonio di Banco (died in 1421), <a href="#page_97">97</a>, <a href="#page_190">190</a>, <a href="#page_193">193</a>, <a href="#page_194">194</a>, <a href="#page_272">272</a>-<a href="#page_274">274</a>, <a href="#page_276">276</a>, <a href="#page_304">304</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jacopo della Quercia (1371-1438), <a href="#page_272">272</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a href="#Bicci_di_Lorenzo">Bicci di Lorenzo.</a> See under Painters.</li>
+
+<li>Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446), <a href="#page_80">80</a>, <a href="#page_97">97</a>, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_237">237</a>, <a href="#page_242">242</a>, <a href="#page_243">243</a>, <a href="#page_266">266</a>, <a href="#page_269">269</a>, <a href="#page_274">274</a>, <a href="#page_289">289</a>, <a href="#page_290">290</a>, <a href="#page_291">291</a>, <a href="#page_301">301</a>, <a href="#page_325">325</a>, <a href="#page_328">328</a>, <a href="#page_347">347</a>, <a href="#page_354">354</a>, <a href="#page_363">363</a>, <a href="#page_377">377</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455), <a href="#page_11">11</a>, <a href="#page_95">95</a>, <a href="#page_97">97</a>, <a href="#page_193">193</a>, <a href="#page_195">195</a>, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, <a href="#page_255">255</a>-<a href="#page_258">258</a>, <a href="#page_275">275</a>-<a href="#page_277">277</a>, <a href="#page_329">329</a>, <a href="#page_363">363</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bernardo Ciuffagni (1381-1457), <a href="#page_275">275</a>, <a href="#page_276">276</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Donatello, Donate di Betto Bardi (1386-1466), <a href="#page_76">76</a>, <a href="#page_80">80</a>, <a href="#page_97">97</a>, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, <a href="#page_157">157</a>, <a href="#page_190">190</a>, <a href="#page_193">193</a>-<a href="#page_195">195</a>, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_220">220</a>, <a href="#page_221">221</a>, <a href="#page_223">223</a>, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, <a href="#page_236">236</a>, <a href="#page_237">237</a>, <a href="#page_243">243</a>, <a href="#page_253">253</a>, <a href="#page_263">263</a>, <a href="#page_264">264</a>, <a href="#page_270">270</a>, <a href="#page_272">272</a>, <a href="#page_274">274</a>, <a href="#page_275">275</a>, <a href="#page_277">277</a>, <a href="#page_280">280</a>-<a href="#page_282">282</a>, <a href="#page_286">286</a>, <a href="#page_363">363</a>, <a href="#page_371">371</a>, <a href="#page_380">380</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Michelozzo Michelozzi (1396-1472), <a href="#page_77">77</a>, <a href="#page_80">80</a>, <a href="#page_98">98</a>, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, <a href="#page_193">193</a>, <a href="#page_242">242</a>, <a href="#page_253">253</a>, <a href="#page_277">277</a>, <a href="#page_284">284</a>, <a href="#page_302">302</a>, <a href="#page_310">310</a>, <a href="#page_322">322</a>, <a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_377">377</a>, <a href="#page_402">402</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a>, <a href="#page_412">412</a>, <a href="#page_416">416</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Luca della Robbia (1399-1482), <a href="#page_98">98</a>, <a href="#page_193">193</a>, <a href="#page_194">194</a>, <a href="#page_195">195</a>, <a href="#page_210">210</a>, <a href="#page_223">223</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_243">243</a>, <a href="#page_263">263</a>, <a href="#page_276">276</a>, <a href="#page_277">277</a>, <a href="#page_281">281</a>, <a href="#page_288">288</a>, <a href="#page_371">371</a>, <a href="#page_402">402</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Leo (Leone) Battista Alberti (1405-1472), <a href="#page_98">98</a>, <a href="#page_328">328</a>, <a href="#page_354">354</a>, <a href="#page_359">359</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bernardo Rossellino (1409-1464), <a href="#page_98">98</a>, <a href="#page_235">235</a>, <a href="#page_236">236</a>, <a href="#page_354">354</a>, <a href="#page_361">361</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Vecchietta (1410-1480), <a href="#page_222">222</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Antonio Rossellino (1427-1478), <a href="#page_98">98</a>, <a href="#page_224">224</a>, <a href="#page_371">371</a>, <a href="#page_402">402</a>, <a href="#page_416">416</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Desiderio da Settignano (1428-1464), <a href="#page_98">98</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_237">237</a>, <a href="#page_243">243</a>, <a href="#page_290">290</a>, <a href="#page_349">349</a>, <a href="#page_371">371</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Antonio_Pollaiuolo" id="Antonio_Pollaiuolo"></a>Antonio Pollaiuolo (1429-1498), <a href="#page_87">87</a>, <a href="#page_98">98</a>, <a href="#page_99">99</a>, <a href="#page_167">167</a>, <a href="#page_168">168</a>, <a href="#page_175">175</a>, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_224">224</a>, <a href="#page_280">280</a>, <a href="#page_281">281</a>, <a href="#page_395">395</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mino da Fiesole (1431-1484), <a href="#page_82">82</a>, <a href="#page_98">98</a>, <a href="#page_212">212</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_242">242</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a>, <a href="#page_416">416</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Giuliano da Maiano (1432-1490), <a href="#page_98">98</a>, <a href="#page_416">416</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Andrea_Verrocchio" id="Andrea_Verrocchio"></a>Andrea Verrocchio (1435-1488), <a href="#page_11">11</a>, <a href="#page_86">86</a>, <a href="#page_98">98</a>, <a href="#page_99">99</a>, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, <a href="#page_168">168</a>, <a href="#page_174">174</a>, <a href="#page_195">195</a>, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_224">224</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_280">280</a>, <a href="#page_281">281</a>, <a href="#page_292">292</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_329">329</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Matteo Civitali (1435-1501), <a href="#page_224">224</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Andrea della Robbia (1435-1525), <a href="#page_98">98</a>, <a href="#page_223">223</a>, <a href="#page_325">325</a>, <a href="#page_329">329</a>, <a href="#page_347">347</a>, <a href="#page_354">354</a>, <a href="#page_355">355</a>, <a href="#page_371">371</a>, <a href="#page_418">418</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Benedetto da Maiano (1442-1497), <a href="#page_98">98</a>, <a href="#page_153">153</a>, <a href="#page_224">224</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_235">235</a>, <a href="#page_274">274</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>, <a href="#page_365">365</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bertoldo (died 1491), <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_290">290</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Giuliano da San Gallo (1445-1516), <a href="#page_98">98</a>, <a href="#page_330">330</a>, <a href="#page_351">351</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a>, <a href="#page_413">413</a>, <a href="#page_414">414</a>, <a href="#page_418">418</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cronaca, Simone del Pollaiuolo (1457-1508), <a href="#page_98">98</a>, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, <a href="#page_230">230</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a>, <a href="#page_398">398</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Benedetto Buglione (1461-1521), <a href="#page_211">211</a>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_426" id="page_426">[426]</a></span></li>
+
+<li>Caparra, Niccol&ograve; Grosso (worker in metal, latter half of fifteenth century), <a href="#page_353">353</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Andrea Ferrucci da Fiesole (1465-1526), <a href="#page_220">220</a>, <a href="#page_274">274</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Baccio d'Agnolo (1462-1543), <a href="#page_377">377</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Giovanni della Robbia (1469-1527), <a href="#page_98">98</a>, <a href="#page_223">223</a>, <a href="#page_238">238</a>, <a href="#page_365">365</a>, <a href="#page_371">371</a>, <a href="#page_398">398</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Andrea Sansovino (circa 1460-1529), <a href="#page_258">258</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Baccio da Montelupo (1469-1535), <a href="#page_194">194</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Benedetto da Rovezzano (1474-1552), <a href="#page_13">13</a>, <a href="#page_219">219</a>, <a href="#page_276">276</a>, <a href="#page_349">349</a>, <a href="#page_395">395</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Giovanni Francesco Rustici (1474-1554), <a href="#page_255">255</a>, <a href="#page_256">256</a>, <a href="#page_325">325</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Michelangelo_Buonarroti" id="Michelangelo_Buonarroti"></a>Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), <a href="#page_2">2</a>, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_102">102</a>, <a href="#page_137">137</a>, <a href="#page_138">138</a>, <a href="#page_142">142</a>-<a href="#page_145">145</a>, <a href="#page_151">151</a>, <a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a>-<a href="#page_166">166</a>, <a href="#page_183">183</a>, <a href="#page_216">216</a>, <a href="#page_219">219</a>, <a href="#page_220">220</a>, <a href="#page_223">223</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>-<a href="#page_227">227</a>, <a href="#page_235">235</a>, <a href="#page_258">258</a>, <a href="#page_266">266</a>, <a href="#page_275">275</a>, <a href="#page_276">276</a>, <a href="#page_282">282</a>, <a href="#page_289">289</a>, <a href="#page_291">291</a>-<a href="#page_296">296</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>, <a href="#page_314">314</a>, <a href="#page_315">315</a>, <a href="#page_322">322</a>, <a href="#page_339">339</a>, <a href="#page_349">349</a>, <a href="#page_385">385</a>, <a href="#page_388">388</a>, <a href="#page_397">397</a>, <a href="#page_398">398</a>, <a href="#page_401">401</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jacopo Sansovino (1486-1570), <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_275">275</a>, <a href="#page_326">326</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Baccio Bandinelli (1487-1559), <a href="#page_150">150</a>, <a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_288">288</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Francesco da San Gallo (1494-1576), <a href="#page_198">198</a>, <a href="#page_291">291</a>, <a href="#page_407">407</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571), <a href="#page_145">145</a>, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, <a href="#page_154">154</a>, <a href="#page_157">157</a>, <a href="#page_223">223</a>, <a href="#page_284">284</a>, <a href="#page_285">285</a>, <a href="#page_349">349</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Raffaello di Baccio da Montelupo (1505-1566), <a href="#page_296">296</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Fra Giovanni Agnolo da Montorsoli (1506-1563), <a href="#page_296">296</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Battista del Tasso (died 1555), <a href="#page_200">200</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bartolommeo Ammanati (1511-1592), <a href="#page_154">154</a>, <a href="#page_346">346</a>, <a href="#page_379">379</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Giorgio_Vasari" id="Giorgio_Vasari"></a>Giorgio Vasari (1512-1574), <a href="#page_67">67</a>, <a href="#page_87">87</a>, <a href="#page_140">140</a>, <a href="#page_145">145</a>, <a href="#page_149">149</a>, <a href="#page_151">151</a>, <a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_155">155</a>, <a href="#page_160">160</a>, <a href="#page_172">172</a>, <a href="#page_231">231</a>, <a href="#page_235">235</a>, <a href="#page_275">275</a>, et passim.</li>
+
+<li>Giovanni da Bologna (1524-1608), <a href="#page_145">145</a>, <a href="#page_154">154</a>, <a href="#page_157">157</a>, <a href="#page_195">195</a>, <a href="#page_216">216</a>, <a href="#page_223">223</a>, <a href="#page_301">301</a>, <a href="#page_325">325</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Vincenzo Danti, (1530-1576), <a href="#page_216">216</a>, <a href="#page_233">233</a>, <a href="#page_255">255</a>, <a href="#page_258">258</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bernardo Buontalenti (1536-1608), <a href="#page_199">199</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>, <a href="#page_375">375</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+
+<p class="p6 center">PAINTERS</p>
+<div class="left25 right10">
+<ul class="none">
+<li>Fra Jacopo, worker in mosaic (working in 1225), <a href="#page_249">249</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Giovanni Cimabue (1240-1302), <a href="#page_66">66</a>, <a href="#page_243">243</a>, <a href="#page_244">244</a>, <a href="#page_321">321</a>, <a href="#page_361">361</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Andrea Tafi, worker in mosaic (1250?-1320?), <a href="#page_249">249</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gaddo Gaddi (circa 1259-1333), <a href="#page_273">273</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Duccio di Buoninsegna (circa 1260-1339), <a href="#page_361">361</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Giotto_da_Bondone" id="Giotto_da_Bondone"></a>Giotto da Bondone (1276?-1336), <a href="#page_32">32</a>, <a href="#page_56">56</a>, <a href="#page_65">65</a>, <a href="#page_66">66</a>, <a href="#page_67">67</a>, <a href="#page_69">69</a>, <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_238">238</a>-<a href="#page_241">241</a>, <a href="#page_242">242</a>, <a href="#page_259">259</a>-<a href="#page_263">263</a>, <a href="#page_265">265</a>, <a href="#page_274">274</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>, <a href="#page_322">322</a>, <a href="#page_323">323</a>, <a href="#page_361">361</a>, <a href="#page_366">366</a>, <a href="#page_372">372</a>, <a href="#page_403">403</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Simone Martini (1283-1344), <a href="#page_67">67</a>, <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_366">366</a></li>
+
+<li>Lippo Memmi (died 1356), <a href="#page_163">163</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti (died circa 1348), <a href="#page_67">67</a>, <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_323">323</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Taddeo_Gaddi" id="Taddeo_Gaddi"></a>Taddeo Gaddi (circa 1300-1366), <a href="#page_67">67</a>, <a href="#page_189">189</a>, <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_241">241</a>, <a href="#page_322">322</a>, <a href="#page_341">341</a>, <a href="#page_366">366</a>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_427" id="page_427">[427]</a></span></li>
+
+<li>Bernardo Daddi (died in 1350), <a href="#page_67">67</a>, <a href="#page_197">197</a>, <a href="#page_238">238</a>, <a href="#page_404">404</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Giottino, Giotto di Stefano (died after 1369), <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Puccio Capanna (flourished circa 1350), <a href="#page_372">372</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Maso di Banco (working in middle of Trecento), <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_237">237</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pietro Cavallini (died circa 1360), <a href="#page_323">323</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Giovanni da Milano (died after 1360), <a href="#page_67">67</a>, <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_323">323</a>, <a href="#page_395">395</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Leonardo Orcagna (born before 1308), <a href="#page_362">362</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Andrea_Orcagna" id="Andrea_Orcagna"></a>Andrea Orcagna (1308-1368), <a href="#page_11">11</a>, <a href="#page_65">65</a>, <a href="#page_68">68</a>, <a href="#page_69">69</a>, <a href="#page_156">156</a>, <a href="#page_185">185</a>, <a href="#page_189">189</a>, <a href="#page_196">196</a>, <a href="#page_197">197</a>, <a href="#page_210">210</a>, <a href="#page_224">224</a>, <a href="#page_264">264</a>, <a href="#page_362">362</a>, <a href="#page_363">363</a>, <a href="#page_366">366</a>, <a href="#page_367">367</a>, <a href="#page_407">407</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Agnolo Gaddi (died 1396), <a href="#page_67">67</a>, <a href="#page_157">157</a>, <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_238">238</a>, <a href="#page_242">242</a>, <a href="#page_322">322</a>, <a href="#page_416">416</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cennino Cennini (end of Trecento), <a href="#page_226">226</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Spinello Aretino (1333-1410), <a href="#page_68">68</a>, <a href="#page_370">370</a>, <a href="#page_395">395</a>, <a href="#page_402">402</a>, <a href="#page_403">403</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gherardo Starnina (1354-1408), <a href="#page_391">391</a>, <a href="#page_416">416</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Don Lorenzo, il Monaco (1370-1425), <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_178">178</a>, <a href="#page_180">180</a>, <a href="#page_308">308</a>, <a href="#page_322">322</a>, <a href="#page_350">350</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gentile da Fabriano (1370-1450), <a href="#page_321">321</a>, <a href="#page_322">322</a>, <a href="#page_396">396</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Bicci_di_Lorenzo" id="Bicci_di_Lorenzo"></a>Bicci di Lorenzo (1373-1452), <a href="#page_277">277</a>, <a href="#page_329">329</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Masolino (born circa 1384, died after 1435), <a href="#page_99">99</a>, <a href="#page_391">391</a>-<a href="#page_395">395</a>, <a href="#page_416">416</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Masaccio (1401-1428), <a href="#page_74">74</a>, <a href="#page_76">76</a>, <a href="#page_95">95</a>, <a href="#page_99">99</a>, <a href="#page_102">102</a>, <a href="#page_169">169</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_391">391</a>-<a href="#page_395">395</a>, <a href="#page_417">417</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Fra Giovanni Angelico (1387-1455), <a href="#page_99">99</a>, <a href="#page_167">167</a>, <a href="#page_175">175</a>, <a href="#page_176">176</a>, <a href="#page_178">178</a>, <a href="#page_181">181</a>, <a href="#page_183">183</a>, <a href="#page_301">301</a>-<a href="#page_304">304</a>, <a href="#page_306">306</a>-<a href="#page_310">310</a>, <a href="#page_315">315</a>, <a href="#page_316">316</a>, <a href="#page_322">322</a>, <a href="#page_328">328</a>, <a href="#page_356">356</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Andrea del Castagno (1396?-1457), <a href="#page_99">99</a>, <a href="#page_273">273</a>, <a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_329">329</a>, <a href="#page_335">335</a>, <a href="#page_336">336</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Domenico Veneziano (died 1461), <a href="#page_99">99</a>, <a href="#page_180">180</a>, <a href="#page_236">236</a>, <a href="#page_335">335</a>, <a href="#page_387">387</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Paolo Uccello (1397-1475), <a href="#page_99">99</a>, <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_257">257</a>, <a href="#page_273">273</a>, <a href="#page_275">275</a>, <a href="#page_366">366</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Fra Filippo Lippi (1406-1469), <a href="#page_80">80</a>, <a href="#page_99">99</a>, <a href="#page_170">170</a>, <a href="#page_175">175</a>, <a href="#page_287">287</a>, <a href="#page_290">290</a>, <a href="#page_316">316</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>-<a href="#page_321">321</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>, <a href="#page_386">386</a>, <a href="#page_390">390</a>, <a href="#page_415">415</a>-<a href="#page_418">418</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Piero della Francesca (1415-1492), <a href="#page_174">174</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Neri di Bicci (1419-1491), <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_396">396</a>, <a href="#page_421">421</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Benozzo Gozzoli (1420-1498), <a href="#page_79">79</a>, <a href="#page_87">87</a>, <a href="#page_257">257</a>, <a href="#page_287">287</a>, <a href="#page_288">288</a>, <a href="#page_316">316</a>, <a href="#page_330">330</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Domenico di Michelino (working in 1461), <a href="#page_277">277</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Francesco Pesellino (1422-1457), <a href="#page_227">227</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Alessio Baldovinetti (1427-1499), <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_326">326</a>, <a href="#page_364">364</a>, <a href="#page_402">402</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a href="#Antonio_Pollaiuolo">Antonio Pollaiuolo</a>. See under Sculptors.</li>
+
+<li>Giovanni Bellini (circa 1428-1516), <a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_177">177</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506), <a href="#page_165">165</a>, <a href="#page_168">168</a>, <a href="#page_176">176</a>, <a href="#page_177">177</a>, <a href="#page_183">183</a>, <a href="#page_365">365</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a href="#Andrea_Verrocchio">Andrea Verrocchio.</a> See under Sculptors.</li>
+
+<li><i>Hans Memlinc</i> (circa 1435-1495), <a href="#page_177">177</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cosimo Rosselli (1439-1507), <a href="#page_100">100</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_326">326</a>, <a href="#page_329">329</a>, <a href="#page_330">330</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Piero Pollaiuolo (1443-1496), <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_174">174</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Luca Signorelli (1441-1523), <a href="#page_100">100</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_166">166</a>, <a href="#page_174">174</a>, <a href="#page_175">175</a>, <a href="#page_320">320</a>, <a href="#page_321">321</a>, <a href="#page_352">352</a>, <a href="#page_387">387</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Hugo Van der Goes</i> (died 1482), <a href="#page_330">330</a>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_428" id="page_428">[428]</a></span></li>
+
+<li>Pietro Vannucci, Perugino (1446-1523), <a href="#page_165">165</a>, <a href="#page_167">167</a>, <a href="#page_168">168</a>, <a href="#page_316">316</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_321">321</a>, <a href="#page_328">328</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a>, <a href="#page_330">330</a>, <a href="#page_336">336</a>, <a href="#page_383">383</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Alessandro Filipepi, Sandro Botticelli (1447-1510), <a href="#page_87">87</a>, <a href="#page_89">89</a>, <a href="#page_94">94</a>, <a href="#page_97">97</a>, <a href="#page_100">100</a>, <a href="#page_160">160</a>, <a href="#page_168">168</a>, <a href="#page_169">169</a>, <a href="#page_170">170</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a>, <a href="#page_174">174</a>, <a href="#page_175">175</a>, <a href="#page_178">178</a>-<a href="#page_181">181</a>, <a href="#page_210">210</a>, <a href="#page_279">279</a>, <a href="#page_291">291</a>, <a href="#page_317">317</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_320">320</a>, <a href="#page_321">321</a>, <a href="#page_352">352</a>, <a href="#page_365">365</a>, <a href="#page_372">372</a>, <a href="#page_379">379</a>, <a href="#page_395">395</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494), <a href="#page_11">11</a>, <a href="#page_74">74</a>, <a href="#page_100">100</a>, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_168">168</a>, <a href="#page_174">174</a>, <a href="#page_181">181</a>, <a href="#page_242">242</a>, <a href="#page_272">272</a>, <a href="#page_320">320</a>, <a href="#page_323">323</a>, <a href="#page_324">324</a>, <a href="#page_326">326</a>, <a href="#page_350">350</a>, <a href="#page_351">351</a>, <a href="#page_363">363</a>, <a href="#page_364">364</a>, <a href="#page_371">371</a>, <a href="#page_372">372</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Francesco Raibolini, Francia (1450-1517), <a href="#page_165">165</a>.</li>
+
+<li>David Ghirlandaio (1452-1525), <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_364">364</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sebastiano Mainardi (died 1513), <a href="#page_222">222</a>, <a href="#page_242">242</a>, <a href="#page_364">364</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), <a href="#page_66">66</a>, <a href="#page_99">99</a>, <a href="#page_100">100</a>, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_137">137</a>, <a href="#page_138">138</a>, <a href="#page_151">151</a>, <a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_169">169</a>, <a href="#page_170">170</a>, <a href="#page_174">174</a>, <a href="#page_183">183</a>, <a href="#page_256">256</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_349">349</a>, <a href="#page_386">386</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Filippino Lippi (1457-1504), <a href="#page_7">7</a>, <a href="#page_14">14</a>, <a href="#page_94">94</a>, <a href="#page_100">100</a>, <a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_169">169</a>, <a href="#page_172">172</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a>, <a href="#page_212">212</a>, <a href="#page_321">321</a>, <a href="#page_352">352</a>, <a href="#page_365">365</a>, <a href="#page_387">387</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a>, <a href="#page_392">392</a>, <a href="#page_395">395</a>, <a href="#page_417">417</a>, <a href="#page_418">418</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lorenzo di Credi (1459-1537), <a href="#page_11">11</a>, <a href="#page_100">100</a>, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_168">168</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a>, <a href="#page_174">174</a>, <a href="#page_175">175</a>, <a href="#page_210">210</a>, <a href="#page_277">277</a>, <a href="#page_321">321</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Piero di Cosimo (1462-1521), <a href="#page_100">100</a>, <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_139">139</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_170">170</a>, <a href="#page_210">210</a>, <a href="#page_325">325</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lorenzo Costa (circa 1460-1535), <a href="#page_387">387</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Raffaellino del Garbo (1466-1524), <a href="#page_321">321</a>, <a href="#page_351">351</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Raffaellino di Carlo (1470-1516), <a href="#page_352">352</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Boccaccino da Cremona (died 1518), <a href="#page_386">386</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Timoteo Viti (1469-1523), <a href="#page_382">382</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Francesco Granacci (1469-1543), <a href="#page_101">101</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_395">395</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Albert D&uuml;rer</i> (1471-1528), <a href="#page_165">165</a>, <a href="#page_177">177</a>, <a href="#page_324">324</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mariotto Albertinelli (1474-1515), <a href="#page_137">137</a>-<a href="#page_139">139</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_210">210</a>, <a href="#page_320">320</a>, <a href="#page_323">323</a>, <a href="#page_329">329</a>, <a href="#page_387">387</a>, <a href="#page_407">407</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a href="#Michelangelo_Buonarroti">Michelangelo Buonarroti.</a> See under Architects and Sculptors.</li>
+
+<li>Fra Bartolommeo (1475-1517), <a href="#page_137">137</a>-<a href="#page_139">139</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_167">167</a>, <a href="#page_170">170</a>-<a href="#page_172">172</a>, <a href="#page_183">183</a>, <a href="#page_301">301</a>-<a href="#page_303">303</a>, <a href="#page_307">307</a>, <a href="#page_309">309</a>, <a href="#page_320">320</a>, <a href="#page_321">321</a>, <a href="#page_323">323</a>, <a href="#page_329">329</a>, <a href="#page_380">380</a>, <a href="#page_383">383</a>, <a href="#page_384">384</a>, <a href="#page_387">387</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bernardino Luini (1475-1533), <a href="#page_165">165</a>, <a href="#page_418">418</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Morto da Feltre (1475?-1522?), <a href="#page_384">384</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Giorgio Barbarelli, Giorgione (1477-1511), <a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_167">167</a>, <a href="#page_177">177</a>, <a href="#page_381">381</a>, <a href="#page_384">384</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tiziano Vecelli, Titian (1477-1576), <a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_165">165</a>, <a href="#page_167">167</a>, <a href="#page_177">177</a>, <a href="#page_178">178</a>, <a href="#page_253">253</a>, <a href="#page_380">380</a>, <a href="#page_381">381</a>, <a href="#page_383">383</a>, <a href="#page_384">384</a>-<a href="#page_386">386</a>, <a href="#page_387">387</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, Sodoma (1477-1549), <a href="#page_170">170</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Dosso Dossi (1479-1542), <a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_383">383</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1555), <a href="#page_384">384</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Francia Bigio (1482-1525), <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_324">324</a>-<a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_414">414</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Raffaello Sanzio, Raphael (1483-1520), <a href="#page_138">138</a>, <a href="#page_151">151</a>, <a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_165">165</a>, <a href="#page_183">183</a>, <a href="#page_258">258</a>, <a href="#page_321">321</a>, <a href="#page_335">335</a>, <a href="#page_336">336</a>, <a href="#page_352">352</a>, <a href="#page_381">381</a>-<a href="#page_385">385</a>, <a href="#page_393">393</a>, <a href="#page_394">394</a>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_429" id="page_429">[429]</a></span></li>
+
+<li>Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (1483-1561), <a href="#page_12">12</a>, <a href="#page_153">153</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_381">381</a>, <a href="#page_416">416</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sebastiano del Piombo (1485-1547), <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_387">387</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Andrea del Sarto (1486-1531), <a href="#page_138">138</a>, <a href="#page_139">139</a>, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_169">169</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_182">182</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_320">320</a>, <a href="#page_324">324</a>-<a href="#page_328">328</a>, <a href="#page_334">334</a>, <a href="#page_352">352</a>, <a href="#page_381">381</a>-<a href="#page_386">386</a>, <a href="#page_414">414</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Giovanni da Udine (1487-1564), <a href="#page_296">296</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Fra Paolino da Pistoia (1490-1547), <a href="#page_323">323</a>, <a href="#page_412">412</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Giovanni Antonio Sogliani (1492-1544), <a href="#page_303">303</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Giulio Romano (1492-1546), <a href="#page_383">383</a>, <a href="#page_384">384</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Antonio Allegri da Correggio (1494-1534), <a href="#page_166">166</a>, <a href="#page_167">167</a>, <a href="#page_176">176</a>, <a href="#page_253">253</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rosso Fiorentino (1494-1541), <a href="#page_223">223</a>, <a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_329">329</a>, <a href="#page_384">384</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jacopo da Pontormo (1494-1557), <a href="#page_144">144</a>, <a href="#page_145">145</a>, <a href="#page_172">172</a>, <a href="#page_310">310</a>, <a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_414">414</a>, <a href="#page_415">415</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Lucas Van Leyden</i> (1494-1533), <a href="#page_165">165</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Angelo Bronzino (1502-1572), <a href="#page_82">82</a>, <a href="#page_145">145</a>, <a href="#page_154">154</a>, <a href="#page_170">170</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_182">182</a>, <a href="#page_290">290</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Michele di Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (1503-1577), <a href="#page_334">334</a>, <a href="#page_372">372</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Daniele Ricciarelli, da Volterra (1509-1566), <a href="#page_223">223</a>, <a href="#page_227">227</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Francesco Salviati (1510-1563), <a href="#page_153">153</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a href="#Giorgio_Vasari">Giorgio Vasari.</a> See under Architects and Sculptors.</li>
+
+<li>Jacopo Robusti, Tintoretto (1518-1594), <a href="#page_162">162</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Paolo Veronese (1528-1588), <a href="#page_241">241</a>, <a href="#page_381">381</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Taddeo Zuccheri (1529-1566), <a href="#page_275">275</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Marcello Venusti (died circa 1580), <a href="#page_227">227</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Alessandro Allori (1535-1607), <a href="#page_414">414</a>, <a href="#page_415">415</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bernardo Poccetti (1542-1612), <a href="#page_303">303</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Jacopo da Empoli (1554-1640), <a href="#page_227">227</a>, <a href="#page_327">327</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Guido Reni (1575-1642), <a href="#page_386">386</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cristofano Allori (1577-1621), <a href="#page_384">384</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Peter Paul Rubens</i> (1577-1640), <a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_162">162</a>, <a href="#page_382">382</a>, <a href="#page_385">385</a>, <a href="#page_386">386</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Matteo Rosselli (1578-1650), <a href="#page_303">303</a>, <a href="#page_386">386</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Artemisia Gentileschi (died 1642), <a href="#page_387">387</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669), <a href="#page_379">379</a>, <a href="#page_380">380</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Justus Sustermans</i> (1597-1681), <a href="#page_182">182</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Antony Van Dyck</i> (1599-1641), <a href="#page_385">385</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Diego Velasquez</i> (1599-1660), <a href="#page_386">386</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Rembrandt Van R&yuml;n</i> (1606-1669), <a href="#page_162">162</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Carlo Dolci (1616-1686), <a href="#page_352">352</a>, <a href="#page_386">386</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Peter Lely</i> (1618-1680), <a href="#page_387">387</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Luca Giordano (1632-1705), <a href="#page_286">286</a>.</li></ul>
+</div>
+
+<h2 class="p6"><a name="index" id="index"></a>GENERAL INDEX</h2>
+<p class="pagenum"><a name="page_430" id="page_430">[430]</a></p>
+<p class="center">(<i>Names of Artists not included</i>)</p>
+<div class="left25 right10">
+<ul class="none">
+<li class="i6">A.</li>
+<li><i>Accademia delle Belle Arti</i>, <a href="#page_314">314</a>-<a href="#page_324">324</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Acciaiuoli, Agnolo (bishop), <a href="#page_369">369</a>;
+<ul class="none">
+<li>Agnolo (anti-Medicean), <a href="#page_85">85</a>, <a href="#page_350">350</a>;</li>
+<li>Niccol&ograve; (grand seneschal), <a href="#page_336">336</a>, <a href="#page_407">407</a>;</li>
+<li>Niccola (swindler), <a href="#page_398">398</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Adimari, family, <a href="#page_58">58</a>, <a href="#page_203">203</a>, <a href="#page_204">204</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Adimari, Boccaccio, <a href="#page_188">188</a>, <a href="#page_203">203</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Alamanni, Luigi, <a href="#page_371">371</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Alberti, palace of the, <a href="#page_341">341</a>;
+<ul class="none">
+<li>Benedetto degli, <a href="#page_402">402</a>;</li>
+<li>Donato, <a href="#page_215">215</a>, <a href="#page_216">216</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li><i>Albizzi, Borgo degli</i>, <a href="#page_208">208</a>-<a href="#page_210">210</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Albizzi, Maso degli, <a href="#page_74">74</a>, <a href="#page_76">76</a>, <a href="#page_209">209</a>-<a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_350">350</a>, <a href="#page_351">351</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Albizzi, Rinaldo degli, <a href="#page_74">74</a>-<a href="#page_77">77</a>, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_346">346</a>, <a href="#page_356">356</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Alighieri, family, <a href="#page_36">36</a>, <a href="#page_37">37</a>, <a href="#page_207">207</a>, <a href="#page_208">208</a>.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Alighieri, Dante</span>, <a href="#page_2">2</a>, <a href="#page_5">5</a>, <a href="#page_6">6</a>, <a href="#page_8">8</a>, <a href="#page_14">14</a>, <a href="#page_15">15</a>, <a href="#page_16">16</a>, <a href="#page_21">21</a>, <a href="#page_22">22</a>, <a href="#page_24">24</a>;
+<ul class="none">
+<li>his birth, <a href="#page_25">25</a>, <a href="#page_32">32</a>-<a href="#page_37">37</a>;</li>
+<li>his love, <a href="#page_38">38</a>;</li>
+<li>at Campaldino, <a href="#page_39">39</a>, <a href="#page_40">40</a>;</li>
+<li>political life, <a href="#page_41">41</a>, <a href="#page_43">43</a>;</li>
+<li>priorate, <a href="#page_44">44</a>, <a href="#page_45">45</a>;</li>
+<li>exile, <a href="#page_46">46</a>, <a href="#page_49">49</a>, <a href="#page_50">50</a>, <a href="#page_53">53</a>, <a href="#page_54">54</a>;</li>
+<li>death, <a href="#page_55">55</a>;</li>
+<li>on the Florentine Constitution, <a href="#page_59">59</a>, <a href="#page_60">60</a>, <a href="#page_65">65</a>, <a href="#page_66">66</a>, <a href="#page_69">69</a>, <a href="#page_70">70</a>, <a href="#page_91">91</a>, <a href="#page_103">103</a>, <a href="#page_112">112</a>, <a href="#page_124">124</a>, <a href="#page_199">199</a>, <a href="#page_200">200</a>, <a href="#page_203">203</a>-<a href="#page_206">206</a>;</li>
+<li>his house and family, <a href="#page_207">207</a>, <a href="#page_208">208</a>, <a href="#page_215">215</a>;</li>
+<li>in the Council of the Commune, <a href="#page_221">221</a>;</li>
+<li>portrait in the Bargello, <a href="#page_221">221</a>, <a href="#page_222">222</a>;</li>
+<li>monument, <a href="#page_228">228</a>, <a href="#page_235">235</a>, <a href="#page_238">238</a>-<a href="#page_241">241</a>, <a href="#page_243">243</a>, <a href="#page_246">246</a>, <a href="#page_248">248</a>-<a href="#page_250">250</a>, <a href="#page_262">262</a>, <a href="#page_274">274</a>;</li>
+<li>picture of him in the Duomo, <a href="#page_277">277</a>-<a href="#page_279">279</a>;</li>
+<li>portrait in the Biblioteca Riccardiana, <a href="#page_288">288</a>;</li>
+<li>his letters, <a href="#page_292">292</a>, <a href="#page_329">329</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>, <a href="#page_340">340</a>, <a href="#page_342">342</a>, <a href="#page_346">346</a>, <a href="#page_355">355</a>, <a href="#page_361">361</a>-<a href="#page_363">363</a>, <a href="#page_368">368</a>, <a href="#page_379">379</a>, <a href="#page_394">394</a>, <a href="#page_397">397</a>, <a href="#page_398">398</a>, <a href="#page_405">405</a>, <a href="#page_408">408</a>, <a href="#page_412">412</a>;</li>
+<li>with him in the Casentino, <a href="#page_419">419</a>-<a href="#page_422">422</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Aldobrandini, Bertino, <a href="#page_406">406</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Salvestro, <a href="#page_228">228</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li><a name="Alexander" id="Alexander"></a>Alexander VI., Pope, <a href="#page_95">95</a>, <a href="#page_113">113</a>, <a href="#page_117">117</a>, <a href="#page_123">123</a>, <a href="#page_124">124</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Altoviti, palace of the, <a href="#page_209">209</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Ambrogio, S.</i>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Amidei, family, <a href="#page_19">19</a>-<a href="#page_21">21</a>, <a href="#page_346">346</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>tower, <a href="#page_346">346</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Ambrogini, Angelo. <i>See</i> <a href="#Poliziano">Poliziano</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Annunziata, SS.</i>, Piazza, <a href="#page_325">325</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>church and convent, <a href="#page_40">40</a>, <a href="#page_127">127</a>, <a href="#page_326">326</a>-<a href="#page_328">328</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Antoninus, S., <a href="#page_10">10</a>, <a href="#page_82">82</a>, <a href="#page_197">197</a>, <a href="#page_274">274</a>, <a href="#page_301">301</a>, <a href="#page_303">303</a>, <a href="#page_304">304</a>, <a href="#page_309">309</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Apostoli, SS.</i>, <a href="#page_13">13</a>, <a href="#page_347">347</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Appollonia, S.</i>, <a href="#page_99">99</a>, <a href="#page_335">335</a>, <a href="#page_336">336</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Argenti, Filippo, <a href="#page_204">204</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Arts or Guilds, <a href="#page_17">17</a>, <a href="#page_25">25</a>-<a href="#page_28">28</a>, <a href="#page_38">38</a>, <a href="#page_39">39</a>, <a href="#page_42">42</a>, <a href="#page_43">43</a>, <a href="#page_61">61</a>, <a href="#page_72">72</a>, <a href="#page_73">73</a>, <a href="#page_74">74</a>, <a href="#page_78">78</a>, <a href="#page_184">184</a>, <a href="#page_189">189</a>-<a href="#page_196">196</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Athens, Duke of, <a href="#page_57">57</a>, <a href="#page_58">58</a>, <a href="#page_72">72</a>, <a href="#page_149">149</a>, <a href="#page_198">198</a>, <a href="#page_221">221</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_229">229</a>, <a href="#page_369">369</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+<li class="i6">B.</li>
+
+<li><i><a name="Badia" id="Badia"></a>Badia</i>, <a href="#page_127">127</a>, <a href="#page_211">211</a>-<a href="#page_213">213</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Baglioni, Malatesta, <a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#page_360">360</a>, <a href="#page_401">401</a>, <a href="#page_406">406</a>, <a href="#page_407">407</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Baldovinetti, tower of the, <a href="#page_346">346</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bandini, Giovanni, <a href="#page_406">406</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i><a name="Baptistery" id="Baptistery"></a>Baptistery</i>, <a href="#page_7">7</a>, <a href="#page_11">11</a>, <a href="#page_246">246</a>-<a href="#page_259">259</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Baroncelli, Bernardo, <a href="#page_279">279</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Bardi, cappella dei</i>, <a href="#page_239">239</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li><i>via dei</i>, <a href="#page_38">38</a>, <a href="#page_376">376</a>, <a href="#page_377">377</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Bardi, family, <a href="#page_59">59</a>, <a href="#page_375">375</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Simone dei, <a href="#page_351">351</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li><a name="Bargello" id="Bargello"></a>Bargello, office of, <a href="#footnote_9">42 (note</a>), <a href="#page_215">215</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>former quarters of, <a href="#page_128">128</a>, <a href="#page_134">134</a>, <a href="#page_155">155</a>, <a href="#page_215">215</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li><i>Bargello, Museo Nazionale</i>, (Palazzo del Podest&agrave;), <a href="#page_214">214</a>-<a href="#page_225">225</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Battifolle, Counts of, <a href="#page_351">351</a>, <a href="#page_419">419</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Belle Donne, Via delle</i>, <a href="#page_354">354</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Benedict XI., Pope, <a href="#page_50">50</a>, <a href="#page_304">304</a>, <a href="#page_356">356</a>, <a href="#page_369">369</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Benevento, Battle of, <a href="#page_25">25</a>, <a href="#page_32">32</a>, <a href="#page_69">69</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Beatrice, <a href="#page_36">36</a>, <a href="#page_37">37</a>, <a href="#page_206">206</a>, <a href="#page_329">329</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Benedetto" id="Benedetto"></a>Benedetto da Foiano, Fra, <a href="#page_359">359</a>, <a href="#page_360">360</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bellincion Berti, <a href="#page_16">16</a>, <a href="#page_206">206</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bella, Giano della, <a href="#page_42">42</a>, <a href="#page_43">43</a>, <a href="#page_206">206</a>, <a href="#page_215">215</a>, <a href="#page_371">371</a>, <a href="#page_376">376</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bello, Geri del, <a href="#page_208">208</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Belvedere, Fortezza</i>, <a href="#page_375">375</a>, <a href="#page_403">403</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Biagio, S.</i> (S. Maria sopra la Porta), <a href="#page_28">28</a>, <a href="#page_29">29</a>, <a href="#page_200">200</a>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_431" id="page_431">[431]</a></span></li>
+
+<li>"<a name="Bianchi" id="Bianchi"></a>Bianchi e Neri," Whites and Blacks, <a href="#page_35">35</a>, <a href="#page_43">43</a>-<a href="#page_50">50</a>, <a href="#page_70">70</a>, <a href="#page_215">215</a>, <a href="#page_216">216</a>, <a href="#page_347">347</a>, <a href="#page_348">348</a>, <a href="#page_350">350</a>, <a href="#page_351">351</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bibbiena, <a href="#page_419">419</a>-<a href="#page_422">422</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Biblioteca Laurenziana</i>, <a href="#page_102">102</a>, <a href="#page_291">291</a>, <a href="#page_292">292</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Biblioteca Nazionale</i>, <a href="#page_160">160</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Biblioteca Riccardiana</i>, <a href="#page_288">288</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Bigallo</i>, the, <a href="#page_65">65</a>, <a href="#page_264">264</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bisticci, Vespasiano, <a href="#page_75">75</a>, <a href="#page_81">81</a>, <a href="#page_103">103</a>, <a href="#page_237">237</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Boboli Gardens</i>, <a href="#page_388">388</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Boiardo, <a href="#page_109">109</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Boniface VIII., Pope, <a href="#page_41">41</a>, <a href="#page_43">43</a>-<a href="#page_46">46</a>, <a href="#page_269">269</a>, <a href="#page_270">270</a>, <a href="#page_273">273</a>, <a href="#page_274">274</a>, <a href="#page_356">356</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Borgia. <i>See</i> <a href="#Alexander">Alexander VI.</a></li>
+
+<li><i>Borgo degli Albizzi</i> (San Piero), <a href="#page_208">208</a>-<a href="#page_210">210</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Borgo SS. Apostoli</i>, <a href="#page_26">26</a>, <a href="#page_37">37</a>, <a href="#page_346">346</a>, <a href="#page_347">347</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Borgo San Frediano</i>, <a href="#page_345">345</a>, <a href="#page_395">395</a>, <a href="#page_396">396</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Borgo San Jacopo</i>, <a href="#page_38">38</a>, <a href="#page_375">375</a>, <a href="#page_376">376</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Borgo Ognissanti</i>, <a href="#page_342">342</a>, <a href="#page_371">371</a>, <a href="#page_372">372</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Borgo Allegri, Via</i>, <a href="#page_66">66</a>, <a href="#page_243">243</a>, <a href="#page_244">244</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Boccaccio, <a href="#page_31">31</a>, <a href="#page_32">32</a>, <a href="#page_55">55</a>, <a href="#page_60">60</a>, <a href="#page_61">61</a>, <a href="#page_69">69</a>, <a href="#page_70">70</a>, <a href="#page_198">198</a>, <a href="#page_204">204</a>, <a href="#page_213">213</a>, <a href="#page_248">248</a>, <a href="#page_259">259</a>, <a href="#page_346">346</a>, <a href="#page_347">347</a>, <a href="#page_360">360</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Boscoli, P. P., <a href="#page_140">140</a>, <a href="#page_141">141</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bracciolini, Poggio, <a href="#page_104">104</a>, <a href="#page_274">274</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Brancacci Chapel</i>, <a href="#page_391">391</a>-<a href="#page_395">395</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Browning, E. B., <a href="#page_244">244</a>, <a href="#page_294">294</a>, <a href="#page_388">388</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Browning, Robert, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_288">288</a>, <a href="#page_319">319</a>, <a href="#page_380">380</a>, <a href="#page_388">388</a>, <a href="#page_407">407</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bruni, Leonardo, <a href="#page_103">103</a>, <a href="#page_104">104</a>, <a href="#page_208">208</a>, <a href="#page_231">231</a>, <a href="#page_236">236</a>, <a href="#page_256">256</a>, <a href="#page_325">325</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>, <a href="#page_421">421</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Buonarroti, Casa</i>, <a href="#page_226">226</a>, <a href="#page_227">227</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Buondelmonti, the, <a href="#page_346">346</a>, <a href="#page_347">347</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Buondelmonti, Buondelmonte degli, <a href="#page_19">19</a>-<a href="#page_21">21</a>, <a href="#page_342">342</a>, <a href="#page_407">407</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Brunelleschi, Betto, <a href="#page_259">259</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Burlamacchi, Padre, <a href="#page_311">311</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+<li class="i6">C.</li>
+
+<li>Cacciaguida, <a href="#page_14">14</a>, <a href="#page_16">16</a>, <a href="#page_21">21</a>, <a href="#page_49">49</a>, <a href="#page_407">407</a>, <a href="#page_411">411</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Calimala, Arte di, <a href="#page_26">26</a>, <a href="#page_28">28</a>, <a href="#page_38">38</a>, <a href="#page_195">195</a>, <a href="#page_200">200</a>, <a href="#page_253">253</a>, <a href="#page_256">256</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Calimara</i> (<i>Calimala</i>), <a href="#page_200">200</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Calvoli, Fulcieri da, <a href="#page_215">215</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Calzaioli, Via</i> (Corso degli Adimari), <a href="#page_183">183</a>, <a href="#page_203">203</a>-<a href="#page_205">205</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Camaldoli, <a href="#page_421">421</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Campanile</i>, <a href="#page_56">56</a>, <a href="#page_67">67</a>, <a href="#page_259">259</a>-<a href="#page_264">264</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Campaldino, Battle of, <a href="#page_39">39</a>-<a href="#page_41">41</a>, <a href="#page_420">420</a>, <a href="#page_421">421</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cappello, Bianca, <a href="#page_297">297</a>, <a href="#page_371">371</a>, <a href="#page_413">413</a>-<a href="#page_414">414</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Cappella dei Principi</i>, <a href="#page_297">297</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Cappella degli Spagnuoli</i>, <a href="#page_366">366</a>-<a href="#page_370">370</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Capponi, Agostino, <a href="#page_140">140</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Gino, <a href="#page_389">389</a>;</li>
+<li>Gino (Marchese), <a href="#page_235">235</a>;</li>
+<li>Luisa, <a href="#page_353">353</a>;</li>
+<li>Neri, <a href="#page_79">79</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a>, <a href="#page_420">420</a>;</li>
+<li>Niccol&ograve;, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, <a href="#page_377">377</a>;</li>
+<li>Piero, <a href="#page_116">116</a>, <a href="#page_119">119</a>, <a href="#page_126">126</a>, <a href="#page_286">286</a>, <a href="#page_340">340</a>, <a href="#page_377">377</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Captain of the People, <a href="#page_23">23</a>, <a href="#page_27">27</a>, <a href="#page_28">28</a>, <a href="#footnote_9">42 (note)</a>, <a href="#page_155">155</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Carducci, Francesco, <a href="#page_142">142</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Careggi, <a href="#page_412">412</a>, <a href="#page_413">413</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>San Carlo</i> (S. Michele), <a href="#page_203">203</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Carmine</i>. See <i><a href="#Carmine">S. Maria del Carmine</a></i>.</li>
+
+<li>Casentino, the, <a href="#page_418">418</a>-<a href="#page_422">422</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Cascine</i>, <a href="#page_372">372</a>, <a href="#page_373">373</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Castagna, Torre della</i>, <a href="#page_38">38</a>, <a href="#page_207">207</a>, <a href="#page_208">208</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Castello, <a href="#page_413">413</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Catherine of Siena, S., <a href="#page_32">32</a>, <a href="#page_62">62</a>, <a href="#page_273">273</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cavalcanti, family, <a href="#page_37">37</a>, <a href="#page_50">50</a>, <a href="#page_59">59</a>, <a href="#page_203">203</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cavalcanti, Guido, <a href="#page_36">36</a>, <a href="#page_37">37</a>, <a href="#page_44">44</a>, <a href="#page_45">45</a>, <a href="#page_187">187</a>, <a href="#page_188">188</a>, <a href="#page_248">248</a>, <a href="#page_259">259</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cerchi, the, <a href="#page_37">37</a>, <a href="#page_43">43</a>, <a href="#page_44">44</a>, <a href="#page_205">205</a>, <a href="#page_206">206</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>palace, etc., <a href="#page_205">205</a>;</li>
+<li>Vieri dei, <a href="#page_40">40</a>, <a href="#page_43">43</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Certosa di Val d'Ema, <a href="#page_407">407</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Certomondo, <a href="#page_421">421</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Charlemagne, <a href="#page_12">12</a>, <a href="#page_13">13</a>, <a href="#page_347">347</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Charles of Anjou, <a href="#page_25">25</a>, <a href="#page_27">27</a>, <a href="#page_28">28</a>;</li>
+<li>Charles V., Emperor, <a href="#page_137">137</a>, <a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#page_404">404</a>, <a href="#page_413">413</a>;</li>
+<li>Charles VIII. of France, <a href="#page_116">116</a>-<a href="#page_119">119</a>, <a href="#page_121">121</a>, <a href="#page_132">132</a>, <a href="#page_224">224</a>, <a href="#page_284">284</a>, <a href="#page_342">342</a>, <a href="#page_408">408</a>.</li>
+<li>Charles of Valois, <a href="#page_45">45</a>, <a href="#page_46">46</a>, <a href="#page_348">348</a>, <a href="#page_356">356</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Cino da Pistoia, <a href="#page_418">418</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Compagni, Dino, <a href="#page_32">32</a>, <a href="#page_53">53</a>, <a href="#page_70">70</a>, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_351">351</a>.</li>
+
+<li>"Colleges," the, <a href="#page_71">71</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Consuma</i>, <a href="#page_419">419</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Conti Guidi, <a href="#page_206">206</a>, <a href="#page_419">419</a>, <a href="#page_420">420</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Corbizzi Tower</i> ("Corso Donati's Tower"), <a href="#page_40">40</a>, <a href="#page_53">53</a>, <a href="#page_209">209</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Corsini Palace and Picture Gallery</i>, <a href="#page_352">352</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Santa Croce, Piazza</i>, <a href="#page_228">228</a>-<a href="#page_230">230</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li><i>Church and cloisters</i>, <a href="#page_230">230</a>-<a href="#page_243">243</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+<li class="i6">D.</li>
+
+<li>Diacceto, Jacopo da, <a href="#page_371">371</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Donati, the, <a href="#page_37">37</a>, <a href="#page_43">43</a>, <a href="#page_203">203</a>, <a href="#page_206">206</a>, <a href="#page_207">207</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Corso, <a href="#page_37">37</a>, <a href="#page_40">40</a>, <a href="#page_43">43</a>, <a href="#page_44">44</a>-<a href="#page_46">46</a>, <a href="#page_49">49</a>, <a href="#page_50">50</a>, <a href="#page_53">53</a>, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>;</li>
+<li>Forese, <a href="#page_37">37</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_432" id="page_432">[432]</a></span></li>
+<li>Gemma, <a href="#page_37">37</a>, <a href="#page_207">207</a>;</li>
+<li>Gualdrada, <a href="#page_19">19</a>;</li>
+<li>Lucrezia, <a href="#page_107">107</a>, <a href="#page_230">230</a>;</li>
+<li>Piccarda, <a href="#page_405">405</a>, <a href="#page_406">406</a>;</li>
+<li>Simone, <a href="#page_229">229</a>;</li>
+<li>Sinibaldo, <a href="#page_188">188</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li><i>Duomo</i>, (See <i><a href="#Fiore">Santa Maria del Fiore</a></i>);
+<ul class="none"><li><i>Opera del</i>, <a href="#page_280">280</a>-<a href="#page_282">282</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Domenico da Pescia, F., <a href="#page_131">131</a>-<a href="#page_135">135</a>, <a href="#page_151">151</a>, <a href="#page_159">159</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+<li class="i6">E.</li>
+
+<li>Eugenius IV., Pope, <a href="#page_77">77</a>, <a href="#page_79">79</a>, <a href="#page_310">310</a>, <a href="#page_356">356</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Executore, the, <a href="#page_42">42</a>, <a href="#page_62">62</a>, <a href="#page_155">155</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+<li class="i6">F.</li>
+
+<li>Florence, <i>passim</i>.</li>
+
+<li>Faggiuola, Uguccione della, <a href="#page_50">50</a>, <a href="#page_53">53</a>, <a href="#page_55">55</a>, <a href="#page_56">56</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Felice, S.</i>, <a href="#page_388">388</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Felicit&agrave;, S.</i>, <a href="#page_377">377</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ferrante, King of Naples, <a href="#page_89">89</a>, <a href="#page_93">93</a>, <a href="#page_95">95</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ferdinand III., Grand Duke, <a href="#page_335">335</a>, <a href="#page_382">382</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Francis II., Grand Duke, <a href="#page_334">334</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ferrucci, F., <a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#page_340">340</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ficino, Marsilio, <a href="#page_81">81</a>, <a href="#page_82">82</a>, <a href="#page_104">104</a>, <a href="#page_105">105</a>, <a href="#page_108">108</a>, <a href="#page_274">274</a>, <a href="#page_275">275</a>, <a href="#page_364">364</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Fiesole, <a href="#page_2">2</a>, <a href="#page_5">5</a>, <a href="#page_6">6</a>, <a href="#page_12">12</a>, <a href="#page_16">16</a>, <a href="#page_17">17</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Filipepi, Simone, <a href="#page_158">158</a>-<a href="#page_160">160</a>, <a href="#page_280">280</a>, <a href="#page_305">305</a>, <a href="#page_308">308</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Foiano. See <i><a href="#Benedetto">Fra Benedetto</a></i>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Fortezza da Basso</i>, <a href="#page_339">339</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Francesco dei Vanchetoni, S.</i>, <a href="#page_371">371</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Frescobaldi, the, <a href="#page_59">59</a>, <a href="#page_348">348</a>, <a href="#page_375">375</a>, <a href="#page_376">376</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Piazza, <a href="#page_347">347</a>, <a href="#page_376">376</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+<li class="i6">G.</li>
+
+<li>Galileo, <a href="#page_182">182</a>, <a href="#page_237">237</a>, <a href="#page_404">404</a>, <a href="#page_406">406</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Ghibellina, Via</i>, <a href="#page_24">24</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>-<a href="#page_228">228</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gianni, Lapo, <a href="#page_1">1</a>, <a href="#page_36">36</a>, <a href="#page_65">65</a>, <a href="#page_340">340</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Giovanni Gualberto, S., <a href="#page_13">13</a>, <a href="#page_398">398</a>, <a href="#page_422">422</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Giovanni Battista, S.</i> See <i><a href="#Baptistery">Baptistery</a></i>.</li>
+
+<li>Girolamo, Fra. See <a href="#Savonarola">Savonarola</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Girolami and Gherardini, Towers of, <a href="#page_346">346</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gonfaloniere, the office of, <a href="#page_41">41</a>, <a href="#page_42">42</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Gregory X., <a href="#page_340">340</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Gregory XI., <a href="#page_62">62</a>, <a href="#page_65">65</a>, <a href="#page_401">401</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Gonzaga, Eleonora, <a href="#page_167">167</a>, <a href="#page_177">177</a>, <a href="#page_383">383</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Ferrante, <a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#page_406">406</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li><i>Guadagni, Palazzo</i>, <a href="#page_389">389</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Guelfs and Ghibellines, <a href="#page_16">16</a>-<a href="#page_18">18</a>, <a href="#page_21">21</a>-<a href="#page_27">27</a>, <i>et passim</i>.</li>
+
+<li>Guido Novello, <a href="#page_24">24</a>-<a href="#page_27">27</a>, <a href="#page_215">215</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+<li class="i6">H.</li>
+
+<li>Hawkwood, John (Giovanni Aguto), <a href="#page_73">73</a>, <a href="#page_273">273</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Henry IV., <a href="#page_16">16</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Henry VI., <a href="#page_19">19</a>;</li>
+<li>Henry VII., <a href="#page_54">54</a>, <a href="#page_55">55</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>, <a href="#page_369">369</a>, Emperors.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Hildebrand, Pope Gregory VII., <a href="#page_13">13</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Hugh, or Hugo, Margrave of Tuscany, <a href="#page_14">14</a>, <a href="#page_211">211</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+<li class="i6">I.</li>
+
+<li><i>Impruneta</i>, <a href="#page_407">407</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Innocenti, Santa Maria degli</i>, <a href="#page_326">326</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Innocenti, Spedale degli</i>, <a href="#page_325">325</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Interminelli, Castruccio (Castracani) degli, <a href="#page_55">55</a>, <a href="#page_56">56</a>, <a href="#page_396">396</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+<li class="i6">J.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Julius_II" id="Julius_II"></a>Julius II., Pope, <a href="#page_117">117</a>, <a href="#page_136">136</a>, <a href="#page_138">138</a>, <a href="#page_165">165</a>, <a href="#page_385">385</a>.</li>
+
+<li>John XXIII., Pope, <a href="#page_75">75</a>, <a href="#page_253">253</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Jacopo in Ripoli, S.</i>, <a href="#page_371">371</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Jacopo Oltrarno, S.</i>, <a href="#page_376">376</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+
+<li class="i6">L.</li>
+
+<li>Ladislaus, King of Naples, <a href="#page_75">75</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Lambertesca, Via</i>, <a href="#page_37">37</a>, <a href="#page_346">346</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lamberti, family, <a href="#page_23">23</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lamberti, Mosca degli, <a href="#page_20">20</a>, <a href="#page_22">22</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Landini, Cristoforo, <a href="#page_105">105</a>, <a href="#page_364">364</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Landucci, Luca, <a href="#page_118">118</a>, <a href="#page_122">122</a>, <a href="#page_123">123</a>, <a href="#page_128">128</a>, <a href="#page_134">134</a>, <a href="#page_205">205</a>, <a href="#page_348">348</a>, <a href="#page_390">390</a>, <a href="#page_396">396</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Lane, Arte della, <a href="#page_28">28</a>, <a href="#page_38">38</a>, <a href="#page_72">72</a>, <a href="#page_193">193</a>, <a href="#page_195">195</a>, <a href="#page_199">199</a>, <a href="#page_262">262</a>, <a href="#page_265">265</a>.</li>
+
+<li>La Lastra, affair of, <a href="#page_411">411</a>, <a href="#page_412">412</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Leonardo in Arcetri, S.</i>, <a href="#page_404">404</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Lorenzo, San, Piazza</i>, <a href="#page_288">288</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li><i>Basilica</i>, <a href="#page_289">289</a>, <a href="#page_290">290</a>;</li>
+<li><i>Sagrestia Vecchia</i>, <a href="#page_290">290</a>, <a href="#page_291">291</a>;</li>
+<li><i>cloisters and Biblioteca</i>, <a href="#page_291">291</a>, <a href="#page_292">292</a>;</li>
+<li><i>Sagrestia Nuova</i>, <a href="#page_292">292</a>-<a href="#page_296">296</a>;</li>
+<li><i>Cappella dei Principi</i>, <a href="#page_297">297</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>St Louis IX. of France, <a href="#page_239">239</a>, <a href="#page_240">240</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Lungarno</i>, <a href="#page_340">340</a>-<a href="#page_345">345</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Latini, Brunetto, <a href="#page_6">6</a>, <a href="#page_36">36</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Latino, Cardinal, <a href="#page_355">355</a>, <a href="#page_356">356</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Leo X., Pope. See <i><a href="#Giovanni_di_Lorenzo">Dei Medici, Giovanni di Lorenzo</a></i>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_433" id="page_433">[433]</a></span></li>
+
+<li>Leopold I. and II., Grand Dukes, <a href="#page_335">335</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Loggia dei Lanzi</i>, <a href="#page_65">65</a>, <a href="#page_156">156</a>-<a href="#page_160">160</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Loggia di San Paolo</i>, <a href="#page_354">354</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+
+<li class="i6">M.</li>
+
+<li>Machiavelli, Niccol&ograve;, <a href="#page_35">35</a>, <a href="#page_59">59</a>, <a href="#page_89">89</a>, <a href="#page_91">91</a>, <a href="#page_109">109</a>, <a href="#page_137">137</a>, <a href="#page_141">141</a>, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_204">204</a>, <a href="#page_235">235</a>, <a href="#page_377">377</a>, <a href="#page_378">378</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Malcontenti, Via dei</i>, <a href="#page_243">243</a>, <a href="#page_244">244</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Manetti, Giannozzo, <a href="#page_104">104</a>, <a href="#page_274">274</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Manfredi, <a href="#page_24">24</a>, <a href="#page_25">25</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mannelli, the, <a href="#page_375">375</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Marco, S.</i>, <a href="#page_81">81</a>, <a href="#page_82">82</a>, <a href="#page_93">93</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>the church of <a href="#page_298">298</a>-<a href="#page_302">302</a>;</li>
+<li>the convent, <a href="#page_302">302</a>-<a href="#page_313">313</a>.</li>
+<li>See also <a href="#Savonarola">Savonarola</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li><i>Margherita, S., a Montici</i>, <a href="#page_406">406</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Margherita, S.</i> (at Prato), <a href="#page_417">417</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Maria, S., degli Angioli</i>, <a href="#page_328">328</a>, <a href="#page_329">329</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Maria S., delle Carceri</i> (in Prato), <a href="#page_418">418</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Maria, S., del <a name="Carmine" id="Carmine"></a>Carmine</i>, <a href="#page_390">390</a>-<a href="#page_396">396</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Maria, S., del <a name="Fiore" id="Fiore"></a>Fiore</i> (S. Reparata, the Duomo), <a href="#page_10">10</a>-<a href="#page_12">12</a>, <a href="#page_65">65</a>, <a href="#page_118">118</a>, <a href="#page_265">265</a>-<a href="#page_282">282</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Maria, S., Novella</i>, <a href="#page_50">50</a>, <a href="#page_65">65</a>, <a href="#page_354">354</a>-<a href="#page_370">370</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li><i>Spezeria di</i>, <a href="#page_370">370</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li><i>Maria, S., Nuova</i>, <a href="#page_329">329</a>, <a href="#page_330">330</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Maria Maddalena, S., de' Pazzi</i>, <a href="#page_330">330</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Maria, S., del Sasso</i> (at Bibbiena), <a href="#page_422">422</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Marignolli, Rustico, <a href="#page_23">23</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mars, temple and statue of, <a href="#page_7">7</a>-<a href="#page_9">9</a>, <a href="#page_20">20</a>, <a href="#page_21">21</a>, <a href="#page_246">246</a>-<a href="#page_248">248</a>, <a href="#page_342">342</a>, <a href="#page_365">365</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Marsili, Fra Luigi, <a href="#page_390">390</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Marsuppini, Carlo, <a href="#page_104">104</a>, <a href="#page_237">237</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Martelli, Cammilla, <a href="#page_297">297</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Ludovico, <a href="#page_406">406</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Martin, V., Pope, <a href="#page_75">75</a>, <a href="#page_253">253</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Matilda, Countess, <a href="#page_14">14</a>-<a href="#page_16">16</a>.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Medici</span>, family;
+<ul class="none"><li>head the people, <a href="#page_59">59</a>;</li>
+<li>their first expulsion, <a href="#page_77">77</a>;</li>
+<li>their second expulsion, <a href="#page_117">117</a>;</li>
+<li>their return, <a href="#page_140">140</a>;</li>
+<li>third expulsion, <a href="#page_142">142</a>;</li>
+<li>apotheosis, <a href="#page_181">181</a>;</li>
+<li>their Austrian successors, <a href="#page_335">335</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>&mdash; gardens (<i>Casino Mediceo</i>), <a href="#page_298">298</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; palaces. See <i><a href="#Pitti">Pitti</a></i>, <i><a href="#Riccardi">Riccardi</a></i>, <i><a href="#Palazzo_Vecchio">Palazzo Vecchio</a></i>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; villas, <a href="#page_410">410</a>, <a href="#page_412">412</a>-<a href="#page_415">415</a>.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap">Medici (dei)</span>, Alessandro, <a href="#page_142">142</a>-<a href="#page_144">144</a>, <a href="#page_245">245</a>, <a href="#page_284">284</a>-<a href="#page_286">286</a>, <a href="#page_293">293</a>, <a href="#page_295">295</a>, <a href="#page_339">339</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>, <a href="#page_380">380</a>, <a href="#page_381">381</a>, <a href="#page_404">404</a>, <a href="#page_413">413</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Antonio, <a href="#page_204">204</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Bianca, <a href="#page_92">92</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Carlo, <a href="#page_417">417</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Caterina, <a href="#page_141">141</a>, <a href="#page_227">227</a>, <a href="#page_228">228</a>, <a href="#page_294">294</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Clarice, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_284">284</a>, <a href="#page_286">286</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; <span class="smcap">Cosimo the elder</span> (Pater Patriae):
+<ul class="none"><li>leads opposition to the Ottimati, <a href="#page_74">74</a>, <a href="#page_76">76</a>;</li>
+<li>banished and recalled, <a href="#page_77">77</a>;</li>
+<li>home policy, <a href="#page_78">78</a>, <a href="#page_79">79</a>;</li>
+<li>foreign policy, <a href="#page_79">79</a>, <a href="#page_80">80</a>;</li>
+<li>private life, patronage of art and letters, <a href="#page_80">80</a>, <a href="#page_81">81</a>;</li>
+<li>death, <a href="#page_82">82</a>;</li>
+<li>portraits, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_172">172</a>, <a href="#page_180">180</a>, <a href="#page_232">232</a>, <a href="#page_242">242</a>, <a href="#page_253">253</a>, <a href="#page_284">284</a>;</li>
+<li>in Gozzoli's fresco, <a href="#page_287">287</a>;</li>
+<li>tomb and monument in San Lorenzo, <a href="#page_290">290</a>, <a href="#page_291">291</a>;</li>
+<li>founder of San Marco, <a href="#page_302">302</a>, <a href="#page_304">304</a>;</li>
+<li>his cell and portrait there, <a href="#page_310">310</a>;</li>
+<li>founds library of San Marco and Badia of Fiesole, <a href="#page_310">310</a>, <a href="#page_409">409</a>;</li>
+<li>dies at Careggi, <a href="#page_412">412</a>;</li>
+<li>fresco in his honour at Poggio a Caiano, <a href="#page_414">414</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>&mdash; Cosimo I., first Grand Duke, <a href="#page_144">144</a>, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, <a href="#page_154">154</a>, <a href="#page_157">157</a>, <a href="#page_160">160</a>, <a href="#page_172">172</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a>, <a href="#page_182">182</a>, <a href="#page_286">286</a>, <a href="#page_293">293</a>, <a href="#page_295">295</a>-<a href="#page_297">297</a>, <a href="#page_328">328</a>, <a href="#page_339">339</a>, <a href="#page_349">349</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Cosimo II., fourth Grand Duke, <a href="#page_297">297</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Cosimo III., sixth Grand Duke, <a href="#page_297">297</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Ferdinand I., Cardinal, and third Grand Duke, <a href="#page_155">155</a>, <a href="#page_297">297</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>, <a href="#page_375">375</a>, <a href="#page_413">413</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Ferdinand II., fifth Grand Duke, <a href="#page_283">283</a>, <a href="#page_277">277</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Francesco, second Grand Duke, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, <a href="#page_297">297</a>, <a href="#page_349">349</a>, <a href="#page_413">413</a>, <a href="#page_415">415</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Garzia, <a href="#page_170">170</a>, <a href="#page_154">154</a>, <a href="#page_182">182</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Giovanni (son of Cosimo I.), <a href="#page_182">182</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Giovanni di Averardo (Giovanni Bicci), <a href="#page_74">74</a>, <a href="#page_76">76</a>, <a href="#page_163">163</a>, <a href="#page_182">182</a>, <a href="#page_289">289</a>, <a href="#page_290">290</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Giovanni di Cosimo, <a href="#page_82">82</a>, <a href="#page_86">86</a>, <a href="#page_181">181</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_291">291</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; <a name="Giovanni_di_Lorenzo" id="Giovanni_di_Lorenzo"></a>Giovanni di Lorenzo (Cardinal, afterwards Pope Leo X.), <a href="#page_92">92</a>, <a href="#page_94">94</a>, <a href="#page_117">117</a>, <a href="#page_140">140</a>, <a href="#page_141">141</a>, <a href="#page_204">204</a>, <a href="#page_205">205</a>, <a href="#page_289">289</a>, <a href="#page_291">291</a>, <a href="#page_292">292</a>, <a href="#page_293">293</a>, <a href="#page_342">342</a>, <a href="#page_385">385</a>, <a href="#page_404">404</a>, <a href="#page_405">405</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a>, <a href="#page_414">414</a>, <a href="#page_415">415</a>, <a href="#page_417">417</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Giovanni di Piero Francesco, <a href="#page_94">94</a>, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Giovanni delle Bande Nere 142, <a href="#page_144">144</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_288">288</a>, <a href="#page_297">297</a>, <a href="#page_340">340</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Giovanni Gastone, seventh Grand Duke, <a href="#page_298">298</a>, <a href="#page_335">335</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Giuliano di Piero (the Elder), <a href="#page_86">86</a>-<a href="#page_88">88</a>, <a href="#page_93">93</a>, <a href="#page_94">94</a>, <a href="#page_106">106</a>, <a href="#page_181">181</a>, <a href="#page_230">230</a>, <a href="#page_279">279</a>, <a href="#page_291">291</a>, <a href="#page_296">296</a>, <a href="#page_387">387</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_434" id="page_434">[434]</a></span></li>
+
+<li>&mdash; Giuliano di Lorenzo (Duke of Nemours), <a href="#page_94">94</a>, <a href="#page_117">117</a>, <a href="#page_140">140</a>, <a href="#page_141">141</a>, <a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_293">293</a>-<a href="#page_295">295</a>, <a href="#page_334">334</a>, <a href="#page_380">380</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a>, <a href="#page_420">420</a>.</li>
+<li>&mdash; Giulio (Cardinal, afterwards Clement VII.), <a href="#page_94">94</a>, <a href="#page_141">141</a>-<a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_228">228</a>, <a href="#page_284">284</a>, <a href="#page_285">285</a>, <a href="#page_289">289</a>, <a href="#page_291">291</a>-<a href="#page_293">293</a>, <a href="#page_359">359</a>, <a href="#page_371">371</a>, <a href="#page_381">381</a>, <a href="#page_382">382</a>, <a href="#page_397">397</a>, <a href="#page_413">413</a>-<a href="#page_414">414</a>.</li>
+<li>&mdash; Ippolito (Cardinal), <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#page_284">284</a>, <a href="#page_286">286</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>, <a href="#page_380">380</a>, <a href="#page_381">381</a>, <a href="#page_413">413</a>.</li>
+<li>&mdash; Lorenzo di Giovanni, <a href="#page_76">76</a>, <a href="#page_77">77</a>, <a href="#page_302">302</a>.</li>
+<li>&mdash; <span class="smcap">Lorenzo (the Magnificent):</span>
+<ul class="none"><li>his youth, <a href="#page_82">82</a>, <a href="#page_85">85</a>, <a href="#page_86">86</a>;</li>
+<li>succeeds his father, <a href="#page_86">86</a>;</li>
+<li>his portraits, <a href="#page_87">87</a>;</li>
+<li>wounded in the Pazzi conspiracy, <a href="#page_88">88</a>;</li>
+<li>his struggle with Naples and Rome, <a href="#page_89">89</a>;</li>
+<li>his government, <a href="#page_89">89</a>, <a href="#page_90">90</a>;</li>
+<li>character, <a href="#page_91">91</a>;</li>
+<li>last days and death, <a href="#page_92">92</a>, <a href="#page_93">93</a>;</li>
+<li>his sons, <a href="#page_94">94</a>;</li>
+<li>his circle, <a href="#page_104">104</a>, <a href="#page_105">105</a>;</li>
+<li>his poetry, <a href="#page_107">107</a>, <a href="#page_108">108</a>;</li>
+<li>love for Pico, <a href="#page_109">109</a>, <a href="#page_112">112</a>, <a href="#page_150">150</a>, <a href="#page_164">164</a>, <a href="#page_172">172</a>, <a href="#page_181">181</a>;</li>
+<li>his tournaments, <a href="#page_229">229</a>, <a href="#page_230">230</a> <a href="#page_235">235</a>, <a href="#page_279">279</a>;</li>
+<li>his palace, <a href="#page_284">284</a>, <a href="#page_287">287</a>;</li>
+<li>his tomb and remains, <a href="#page_291">291</a>, <a href="#page_293">293</a>, <a href="#page_296">296</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_350">350</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>, <a href="#page_379">379</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a>;</li>
+<li>saved his father's life, <a href="#page_412">412</a>;</li>
+<li>death at Careggi, <a href="#page_413">413</a>;</li>
+<li>his villa of Poggio a Caiano, <a href="#page_413">413</a>-<a href="#page_415">415</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>&mdash;<a name="Lorenzo" id="Lorenzo"></a> Lorenzo di Piero, the younger (titular Duke of Urbino), <a href="#page_141">141</a>-<a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#page_284">284</a>, <a href="#page_293">293</a>-<a href="#page_295">295</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>.</li>
+<li>&mdash; Lorenzo di Piero Francesco, the elder, <a href="#page_94">94</a>, <a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#footnote_30">173 (note)</a>.</li>
+<li>&mdash; Lorenzo, called Lorenzino or Lorenzaccio, <a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#page_144">144</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a>, <a href="#page_284">284</a>-<a href="#page_286">286</a>, <a href="#page_405">405</a>.</li>
+<li>&mdash; Maria, <a href="#page_170">170</a></li>
+<li>&mdash; Nannina, <a href="#page_354">354</a>.</li>
+<li>&mdash; Ottaviano, <a href="#page_385">385</a>, <a href="#page_414">414</a>.</li>
+<li>&mdash; Piero Francesco, the elder, <a href="#page_94">94</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a>.</li>
+<li>&mdash; Piero Francesco, the younger, <a href="#page_173">173</a>.</li>
+<li>&mdash; Piero di Cosimo ("il Gottoso"), <a href="#page_82">82</a>, <a href="#page_85">85</a>, <a href="#page_86">86</a>, <a href="#page_181">181</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_287">287</a>, <a href="#page_291">291</a>, <a href="#page_326">326</a>, <a href="#page_327">327</a>, <a href="#page_378">378</a>, <a href="#page_402">402</a>.</li>
+<li>&mdash; Piero di Lorenzo, <a href="#page_93">93</a>-<a href="#page_95">95</a>, <a href="#page_106">106</a>, <a href="#page_116">116</a>, <a href="#page_117">117</a>, <a href="#page_121">121</a>, <a href="#page_123">123</a>, <a href="#page_124">124</a>, <a href="#page_127">127</a>, <a href="#page_128">128</a>, <a href="#page_140">140</a>, <a href="#page_141">141</a>, <a href="#page_170">170</a>, <a href="#page_284">284</a>, <a href="#page_334">334</a>, <a href="#page_405">405</a>, <a href="#page_420">420</a>.</li>
+<li>&mdash; Salvestro, <a href="#page_71">71</a>-<a href="#page_73">73</a>.</li>
+<li>&mdash; Vieri, <a href="#page_74">74</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Medici e Speziali, Guild of, <a href="#page_28">28</a>, <a href="#page_38">38</a>, <a href="#page_194">194</a>, <a href="#page_198">198</a>, <a href="#page_221">221</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Mercato Nuovo</i>, <a href="#page_200">200</a>, <a href="#page_203">203</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Mercato Vecchio</i>, <a href="#page_7">7</a>, <a href="#page_199">199</a>, <a href="#page_200">200</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Michele, S., in Orto</i>. See <i><a href="#Or_San_Michele">Or San Michele</a></i>.</li>
+
+<li>Michele di Lando, <a href="#page_72">72</a>, <a href="#page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Miniato, S., hill</i> of, <a href="#page_1">1</a>, <a href="#page_2">2</a>, <a href="#page_398">398</a>-<a href="#page_401">401</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Miniato al Monte, S.</i>, <a href="#page_13">13</a>, <a href="#page_398">398</a>, <a href="#page_401">401</a>, <a href="#page_403">403</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Misericordia, Confraternity of, <a href="#page_264">264</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Montaperti, Battle of, <a href="#page_23">23</a>, <a href="#page_24">24</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Montefeltro, Buonconte da, <a href="#page_40">40</a>, <a href="#page_421">421</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Montefeltro" id="Montefeltro"></a>Montefeltro, Federigo da (Duke of Urbino), <a href="#page_174">174</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Monticelli, convent</i>, <a href="#page_405">405</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Mozzi, the, <a href="#page_342">342</a>, <a href="#page_375">375</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Piazza dei, <a href="#page_377">377</a>;</li>
+<li>villa, <a href="#page_410">410</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li><i>Murate, le</i>, <a href="#page_227">227</a>, <a href="#page_228">228</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+
+<li class="i6">N.</li>
+
+<li>Nerli, the, <a href="#page_375">375</a>, <a href="#page_376">376</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Neri. <i>See</i> <a href="#Bianchi">Bianchi</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nero, Bernardo del, <a href="#page_128">128</a>, <a href="#page_155">155</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Neroni, Dietisalvi, <a href="#page_85">85</a>, <a href="#page_412">412</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Niccoli, Niccol&ograve;, <a href="#page_102">102</a>, <a href="#page_103">103</a>, <a href="#page_291">291</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Niccol&ograve;, S.</i>, <a href="#page_396">396</a>, <a href="#page_397">397</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nori, Francesco, <a href="#page_235">235</a>, <a href="#page_279">279</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Nardi, Jacopo, <a href="#page_72">72</a>, <a href="#page_135">135</a>, <a href="#page_228">228</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+
+<li class="i6">O.</li>
+
+<li><i>Ognissanti</i>, <a href="#page_371">371</a>-<a href="#page_372">372</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Oltrarno</i> (Sesto di, afterwards Quartiere di Santo Spirito), <a href="#page_18">18</a>-<a href="#page_19">19</a>, <a href="#page_374">374</a>, <a href="#page_396">396</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Onofrio, S.</i>, <a href="#page_336">336</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Orange, Prince of, <a href="#page_143">143</a>, <a href="#page_228">228</a>, <a href="#page_397">397</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ordinances of Justice, <a href="#page_41">41</a>-<a href="#page_43">43</a>, <a href="#page_71">71</a>, <a href="#page_221">221</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i><a name="Or_San_Michele" id="Or_San_Michele"></a>Or San Michele</i>, <a href="#page_65">65</a>, <a href="#page_66">66</a>, <a href="#page_184">184</a>-<a href="#page_199">199</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Orlandi, Guido, <a href="#page_187">187</a>, <a href="#page_188">188</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Orsini, Alfonsina, <a href="#page_118">118</a>, <a href="#page_141">141</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Clarice, <a href="#page_86">86</a>;</li>
+<li>Napoleone, <a href="#page_50">50</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li><i>Orti Oricellari</i>, <a href="#page_370">370</a>, <a href="#page_371">371</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Otto della Guerra, <a href="#page_62">62</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+
+<li class="i6">P.</li>
+
+<li><i><a name="Palazzo_Vecchio" id="Palazzo_Vecchio"></a>Palazzo Vecchio (della Signoria)</i>, <a href="#page_41">41</a>, <a href="#page_65">65</a>, <a href="#page_72">72</a>, <a href="#page_78">78</a>, <a href="#page_79">79</a>, <a href="#page_146">146</a>-<a href="#page_154">154</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Palmieri, Matteo, <a href="#page_210">210</a>, <a href="#page_224">224</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Pandolfini, Palazzo</i>, <a href="#page_335">335</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Parte Guelfa, <a href="#page_28">28</a>, <a href="#page_44">44</a>, <a href="#page_62">62</a>, <a href="#page_71">71</a>, <a href="#page_74">74</a>, <a href="#page_195">195</a>, <a href="#page_232">232</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Palace of, <a href="#page_28">28</a>-<a href="#page_31">31</a>, <a href="#page_200">200</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Passavanti, Fra Jacopo, <a href="#page_70">70</a>, <a href="#page_359">359</a>, <a href="#page_366">366</a>.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_435" id="page_435">[435]</a></span></li>
+
+<li>Passerini, Cardinal, <a href="#page_142">142</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pater, Walter, <a href="#page_71">71</a>, <a href="#page_166">166</a>, <a href="#page_169">169</a>, <a href="#page_178">178</a>, <a href="#page_179">179</a>, <a href="#page_224">224</a>, <a href="#page_240">240</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pazzi, conspiracy, <a href="#page_88">88</a>, <a href="#page_89">89</a>, <a href="#footnote_19">93 (note)</a>, <a href="#page_103">103</a>, <a href="#page_155">155</a>, <a href="#page_181">181</a>, <a href="#page_279">279</a>, <a href="#page_410">410</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>carro dei, <a href="#page_279">279</a>;</li>
+<li>cappella dei, <a href="#page_243">243</a>;</li>
+<li>family, <a href="#page_59">59</a>, <a href="#page_347">347</a>;</li>
+<li>palaces, <a href="#page_209">209</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Pazzi (dei), Francesco, <a href="#page_279">279</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Jacopo, <a href="#page_89">89</a>, <a href="#page_243">243</a>;</li>
+<li>Guglielmo, <a href="#page_85">85</a>;</li>
+<li>Pazzino, <a href="#page_53">53</a>;</li>
+<li>Piero, <a href="#page_103">103</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+
+<li>Pecora, <a href="#page_43">43</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Peruzzi, Piazza dei</i>, <a href="#page_7">7</a>, <a href="#footnote_49">341 (note)</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li><i>Cappella dei</i>, <a href="#page_240">240</a>, <a href="#page_241">241</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Peter Igneus, <a href="#page_13">13</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Petracco, <a href="#page_50">50</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Petrarca, Francesco, <a href="#page_32">32</a>, <a href="#page_50">50</a>, <a href="#page_55">55</a>, <a href="#page_61">61</a>, <a href="#page_69">69</a>, <a href="#page_81">81</a>, <a href="#page_405">405</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Piazzale Michelangelo</i>, <a href="#page_398">398</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pico della Mirandola, <a href="#page_92">92</a>, <a href="#page_108">108</a>, <a href="#page_109">109</a>, <a href="#page_170">170</a>, <a href="#page_301">301</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Piero Maggiore, S., Piazza di</i>, <a href="#page_53">53</a>, <a href="#page_59">59</a>, <a href="#page_209">209</a>, <a href="#page_210">210</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pistoia, <a href="#page_418">418</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pitti, Luca, <a href="#page_85">85</a>, <a href="#page_375">375</a>, <a href="#page_377">377</a>, <a href="#page_378">378</a>, <a href="#page_412">412</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i><a name="Pitti" id="Pitti"></a>Pitti, Palazzo and R. Galleria</i>, <a href="#page_377">377</a>-<a href="#page_388">388</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Podest&agrave;, office of, <a href="#page_19">19</a>, <a href="#page_23">23</a>, <a href="#page_27">27</a>, <a href="#page_28">28</a>, <a href="#page_214">214</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Podest&agrave;, Palazzo del</i>. See <i><a href="#Bargello">Bargello</a></i>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Poggio a Caiano</i>, <a href="#page_413">413</a>-<a href="#page_415">415</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Poggio Imperiale</i>, <a href="#page_405">405</a>, <a href="#page_406">406</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Poliziano" id="Poliziano"></a>Poliziano, Angelo, <a href="#page_87">87</a>, <a href="#page_92">92</a>, <a href="#page_93">93</a>, <a href="#page_106">106</a>-<a href="#page_108">108</a>, <a href="#page_178">178</a>, <a href="#page_181">181</a>, <a href="#page_227">227</a>, <a href="#page_298">298</a>, <a href="#page_301">301</a>, <a href="#page_364">364</a>, <a href="#page_415">415</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pulci, Luigi, <a href="#page_106">106</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Ponte alla Carraia</i>, <a href="#page_342">342</a>, <a href="#page_345">345</a>, <a href="#page_346">346</a>:
+<ul class="none"><li><i>Ponte alle Grazie (Rubaconte)</i>, <a href="#page_340">340</a>, <a href="#page_341">341</a>, <a href="#page_375">375</a>, <a href="#page_377">377</a>, <a href="#page_398">398</a>;</li>
+<li><i>Ponte S. Trinit&agrave;</i>, <a href="#page_342">342</a>, <a href="#page_346">346</a>, <a href="#page_348">348</a>, <a href="#page_350">350</a>;</li>
+<li><i>Ponte Vecchio</i>, <a href="#page_20">20</a>, <a href="#page_341">341</a>, <a href="#page_342">342</a>, <a href="#page_375">375</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Poppi, <a href="#page_419">419</a>, <a href="#page_420">420</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Popolo, Primo</i>, <a href="#page_23">23</a>, <a href="#page_24">24</a>, <a href="#page_214">214</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li><i>Secondo</i>, <a href="#page_27">27</a>, <a href="#page_28">28</a>, <a href="#page_31">31</a>, <a href="#page_35">35</a>, <a href="#page_41">41</a>, <a href="#page_42">42</a>, <a href="#page_146">146</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Porciano, <a href="#page_419">419</a>, <a href="#page_420">420</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ponte a Mensola, <a href="#page_410">410</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Porta alla Croce</i>, <a href="#page_53">53</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>, <a href="#page_334">334</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li><i>Porta San Frediano</i>, <a href="#page_67">67</a>, <a href="#page_408">408</a>;</li>
+<li><i>Porta San Gallo</i>, <a href="#page_334">334</a>;</li>
+<li><i>Porta San Giorgio</i>, <a href="#page_403">403</a>, <a href="#page_404">404</a>;</li>
+<li><i>Porta San Miniato</i>, <a href="#page_403">403</a>;</li>
+<li><i>Porta San Niccol&ograve;</i>, <a href="#page_25">25</a>, <a href="#page_396">396</a>, <a href="#page_397">397</a>;</li>
+<li><i>Porta al Prato</i>, <a href="#page_334">334</a>, <a href="#page_371">371</a>, <a href="#page_372">372</a>;</li>
+<li><i>Porta Romana</i>, <a href="#page_377">377</a>, <a href="#page_404">404</a>, <a href="#page_405">405</a>, <a href="#page_407">407</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Por S. Maria, Via, <a href="#page_346">346</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Portinari, the, <a href="#page_206">206</a>, <a href="#page_207">207</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Beatrice, <a href="#page_37">37</a>, <a href="#page_206">206</a>;</li>
+<li>Folco, <a href="#page_206">206</a>, <a href="#page_329">329</a>;</li>
+<li>Manetto, <a href="#page_206">206</a>, <a href="#page_207">207</a>;</li>
+<li>Tommaso, <a href="#page_330">330</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Prato, <a href="#page_415">415</a>-<a href="#page_418">418</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Pratovecchio, <a href="#page_419">419</a>.</li>
+
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+<li class="i6">Q.</li>
+
+<li><i>Quaratesi, Palazzo</i> (De Rast), <a href="#page_209">209</a>.</li>
+
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+<li class="i6">R.</li>
+
+<li><i>Reparata, S.</i> See <i><a href="#Fiore">S. Maria del Fiore</a></i>.</li>
+
+<li>Ricci, the, <a href="#page_62">62</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Marietta dei, <a href="#page_406">406</a>.</li></ul></li>
+
+<li><i><a name="Riccardi" id="Riccardi"></a>Riccardi, Palazzo</i>, <a href="#page_78">78</a>, <a href="#page_79">79</a>, <a href="#page_87">87</a>, <a href="#page_98">98</a>, <a href="#page_118">118</a>, <a href="#page_283">283</a>-<a href="#page_288">288</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Riccardiana, Biblioteca</i>, <a href="#page_288">288</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Ripoli, Piano di, <a href="#page_397">397</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rossi, the, <a href="#page_59">59</a>, <a href="#page_376">376</a>, <a href="#page_376">376</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Robert, King of Naples, <a href="#page_54">54</a>, <a href="#page_55">55</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_245">245</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Romena, <a href="#page_419">419</a>, <a href="#page_420">420</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rovere, Cardinal della. See <a href="#Julius_II">Julius II</a>.</li>
+
+<li><a name="Rovere" id="Rovere"></a>Rovere, Francesco Maria della, <a href="#page_167">167</a>, <a href="#page_177">177</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rucellai, Bernardo, <a href="#page_85">85</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>, <a href="#page_354">354</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Rucellai, Palazzo, Loggia, Cappella</i>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>, <a href="#page_354">354</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>chapel in <i>S. Maria Novella</i>, <a href="#page_361">361</a>;</li>
+<li><i>gardens</i>, <a href="#page_370">370</a>, <a href="#page_371">371</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Ruskin, <i>passim</i>.</li>
+
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+<li class="i6">S.</li>
+
+<li>Sacchetti, Franco, <a href="#page_32">32</a>, <a href="#page_65">65</a>, <a href="#page_70">70</a>, <a href="#page_71">71</a>, <a href="#page_199">199</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>family of, <a href="#page_208">208</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li><i>S. Salvi</i>, <a href="#page_54">54</a>, <a href="#page_333">333</a>, <a href="#page_334">334</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Salviati, house of, <a href="#page_207">207</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Abp, <a href="#page_88">88</a>;</li>
+<li>Marcuccio, <a href="#page_158">158</a>, <a href="#page_159">159</a>;</li>
+<li>Maria, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_413">413</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li><i>S. Salvadore al Monte</i>, <a href="#page_398">398</a>.</li>
+
+<li><span class="smcap"><a name="Savonarola" id="Savonarola"></a>Savonarola, Fra Girolamo.</span>
+<ul class="none"><li>At the death-bed of Lorenzo, <a href="#page_92">92</a>, <a href="#page_93">93</a>, <a href="#page_108">108</a>;</li>
+<li>friendship with Pico, <a href="#page_109">109</a>;</li>
+<li>earlier life, <a href="#page_111">111</a>;</li>
+<li>commences his mission, <a href="#page_112">112</a>;</li>
+<li>his visions of the Two Crosses and the Sword, <a href="#page_113">113</a>-<a href="#page_115">115</a>;</li>
+<li>during the French invasion, <a href="#page_116">116</a>, <a href="#page_117">117</a>, <a href="#page_119">119</a>;</li>
+<li>guides the Republic, <a href="#page_119">119</a>, <a href="#page_120">120</a>;</li>
+<li>his vision of the Lilies, <a href="#page_121">121</a>;</li>
+<li>his reformation of Florence, <a href="#page_121">121</a>-<a href="#page_123">123</a>;</li>
+<li>struggle with the Pope begins, <a href="#page_123">123</a>, <a href="#page_124">124</a>;</li>
+<li>denounces corruption, <a href="#page_124">124</a>-<a href="#page_126">126</a>;</li>
+<li>is excommunicated, <a href="#page_127">127</a>;</li>
+<li>his orthodoxy, <a href="#page_128">128</a>;</li>
+<li>returns to the pulpit, <a href="#page_128">128</a>;</li>
+<li>promises miracles, <a href="#page_129">129</a>;</li>
+<li>his last sermon, <a href="#page_129">129</a>, <a href="#page_130">130</a>;</li>
+<li>appeals to Christendom against the Pope, <a href="#page_130">130</a>;</li>
+<li>the Ordeal by Fire, <a href="#page_131">131</a>, <a href="#page_132">132</a>, <a href="#page_157">157</a>-<a href="#page_160">160</a>;</li>
+<li>his capture, <a href="#page_132">132</a>-<a href="#page_133">133</a>;</li>
+<li>is tortured, <a href="#page_133">133</a>-<a href="#page_134">134</a>;</li>
+<li>his martyrdom, <a href="#page_134">134</a>-<a href="#page_136">136</a>;</li>
+<li>prophecies fulfilled, <a href="#page_136">136</a>, <a href="#page_145">145</a>;</li>
+<li>his discourse to the Signoria, <a href="#page_151">151</a>;</li>
+<li>his prayer and meditations, <a href="#page_153">153</a>, <a href="#page_154">154</a>;</li>
+<li>medal and picture of, <a href="#page_224">224</a>, <a href="#page_352">352</a>;</li>
+<li>sermons in the Duomo, <a href="#page_280">280</a>;</li>
+<li>in San Marco, <a href="#page_298">298</a>, <a href="#page_301">301</a>-<a href="#page_303">303</a>, <a href="#page_305">305</a>, <a href="#page_307">307</a>-<a href="#page_309">309</a>;</li>
+<li>on the night of Palm Sunday, <a href="#page_310">310</a>-<a href="#page_313">313</a>;</li>
+<li>his portrait, <a href="#page_323">323</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Salutati, Coluccio, <a href="#page_390">390</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Scalzo, Chiostro dello</i>, <a href="#page_324">324</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Scolari, Filippo (Pippo Spano), <a href="#page_329">329</a>, <a href="#page_336">336</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Seta, Arte della (Arte di Por S. Maria), <a href="#page_28">28</a>, <a href="#page_38">38</a>, <a href="#page_189">189</a>, <a href="#page_194">194</a>, <a href="#page_318">318</a>, <a href="#page_325">325</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Settignano, <a href="#page_410">410</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sforza, Caterina, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_173">173</a>, <a href="#page_227">227</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Francesco, <a href="#page_78">78</a>, <a href="#page_79">79</a>, <a href="#page_82">82</a>;</li>
+<li>Galeazzo Maria, <a href="#page_82">82</a>, <a href="#page_86">86</a>-<a href="#page_88">88</a>, <a href="#page_168">168</a>;</li>
+<li>Ludovico, <a href="#page_90">90</a>, <a href="#page_95">95</a>, <a href="#page_121">121</a>, <a href="#page_124">124</a>, <a href="#page_136">136</a>, <a href="#page_137">137</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Shelley, <a href="#page_2">2</a>, <a href="#page_105">105</a>, <a href="#page_169">169</a>, <a href="#page_220">220</a>, <a href="#page_373">373</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Signoria, Palazzo della</i>. See <i><a href="#Palazzo_Vecchio">Palazzo Vecchio</a></i>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Signoria, Piazza della</i>, <a href="#page_118">118</a>, <a href="#page_135">135</a>, <a href="#page_136">136</a>, <a href="#page_146">146</a>, <a href="#page_154">154</a>-<a href="#page_160">160</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Silvestro, Fra, <a href="#page_92">92</a>, <a href="#page_133">133</a>, <a href="#page_135">135</a>, <a href="#page_151">151</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sixtus IV., Pope, <a href="#page_88">88</a>-<a href="#page_90">90</a>, <a href="#page_93">93</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Soldanieri, Gianni dei, <a href="#page_26">26</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Spini, Palazzo</i>, <a href="#page_348">348</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Spini, Doffo, <a href="#page_123">123</a>, <a href="#page_131">131</a>, <a href="#page_133">133</a>, <a href="#page_158">158</a>-<a href="#page_160">160</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Geri, <a href="#page_348">348</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li><i>Spirito, S.</i>, <a href="#page_70">70</a>, <a href="#page_87">87</a>, <a href="#page_127">127</a>, <a href="#page_389">389</a>-<a href="#page_390">390</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Stefano, S.</i> (in the Via Por S. Maria), <a href="#page_20">20</a>, <a href="#page_346">346</a>.
+<ul class="none"><li>See also <i><a href="#Badia">Badia</a></i>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Stia, <a href="#page_419">419</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Stinche, Le</i> (Teatro Pagliano), <a href="#page_226">226</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Strozzi, Palazzo</i>, <a href="#page_15">15</a>, <a href="#page_85">85</a>, <a href="#page_97">97</a>, <a href="#page_98">98</a>, <a href="#page_352">352</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Strozzi, Cappella</i>, <a href="#page_68">68</a>, <a href="#page_361">361</a>-<a href="#page_363">363</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Strozzi, Filippo, the elder, <a href="#page_85">85</a>, <a href="#page_352">352</a>, <a href="#page_365">365</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Filippo, the younger, <a href="#page_142">142</a>, <a href="#page_144">144</a>, <a href="#page_284">284</a>, <a href="#page_339">339</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>;</li>
+<li>Palla, <a href="#page_76">76</a>, <a href="#page_81">81</a>, <a href="#page_95">95</a>, <a href="#page_104">104</a>, <a href="#page_350">350</a>, <a href="#page_351">351</a>;</li>
+<li>Piero, <a href="#page_349">349</a>, <a href="#page_353">353</a>;</li>
+<li>Tommaso, <a href="#page_74">74</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+<li class="i6">T.</li>
+
+<li><i>Torrigiani, Palazzo</i>, <a href="#page_377">377</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tornabuoni, Lucrezia, <a href="#page_85">85</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tosa (della), Baldo, <a href="#page_376">376</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Baschiera, <a href="#page_334">334</a>, <a href="#page_411">411</a>;</li>
+<li>Rossellino, <a href="#page_405">405</a>;</li>
+<li>Rosso, <a href="#page_49">49</a>, <a href="#page_50">50</a>, <a href="#page_53">53</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Traversari, Ambrogio, <a href="#page_329">329</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Trespiano, <a href="#page_410">410</a>, <a href="#page_411">411</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Trebbio, Croce al</i>, <a href="#page_22">22</a>, <a href="#page_354">354</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Trinit&agrave;, S.</i>, church, <a href="#page_100">100</a>, <a href="#page_349">349</a>-<a href="#page_351">351</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>piazza, <a href="#page_26">26</a>, <a href="#page_44">44</a>, <a href="#page_347">347</a>-<a href="#page_349">349</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Towers, Societies of, <a href="#page_19">19</a>.</li>
+
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+<li class="i6">U.</li>
+
+<li>Ubaldini, <a href="#page_49">49</a>, <a href="#page_232">232</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Uberti, the, <a href="#page_17">17</a>, <a href="#page_19">19</a>-<a href="#page_21">21</a>, <a href="#page_23">23</a>, <a href="#page_40">40</a>, <a href="#page_62">62</a>, <a href="#page_149">149</a>, <a href="#page_411">411</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Farinata degli, <a href="#page_24">24</a>, <a href="#page_25">25</a>, <a href="#page_36">36</a>, <a href="#page_72">72</a>, <a href="#page_149">149</a>, <a href="#page_270">270</a>, <a href="#page_336">336</a>, <a href="#page_340">340</a>;</li>
+<li>Schiatta degli, <a href="#page_20">20</a>;</li>
+<li>Tolosato degli, <a href="#page_412">412</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+<li>Uccellatoio, <a href="#page_411">411</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Uffizi, R. Galleria degli</i>, <a href="#page_160">160</a>-<a href="#page_183">183</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Umiliati, Frati, <a href="#page_371">371</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Urbino, Dukes of. <i>See</i> <a href="#Lorenzo">Medici (Lorenzo)</a>, <a href="#Montefeltro">Montefeltro</a>, <a href="#Rovere">Della Rovere</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Uzzano, Niccol&ograve; da, <a href="#page_74">74</a>, <a href="#page_76">76</a>, <a href="#page_221">221</a>, <a href="#page_256">256</a>, <a href="#page_346">346</a>, <a href="#page_377">377</a>.</li>
+
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+<li class="i6">V.</li>
+
+<li>Vallombrosa, <a href="#page_13">13</a>, <a href="#page_421">421</a>, <a href="#page_422">422</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Valori, Baccio, <a href="#page_144">144</a>, <a href="#page_225">225</a>, <a href="#page_339">339</a>, <a href="#page_406">406</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Valori, Francesco, <a href="#page_126">126</a>, <a href="#page_128">128</a>, <a href="#page_132">132</a>, <a href="#page_211">211</a>, <a href="#page_212">212</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Varchi, <a href="#page_228">228</a>, <a href="#page_359">359</a>, <a href="#page_381">381</a>, <a href="#page_401">401</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>La Verna</i>, <a href="#page_421">421</a>, <a href="#page_422">422</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Vespucci, Amerigo, <a href="#page_372">372</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Villani, Filippo, <a href="#page_70">70</a>, <a href="#page_390">390</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Villani, Giovanni, <a href="#page_5">5</a>-<a href="#page_8">8</a>, <a href="#page_32">32</a>, <a href="#page_36">36</a>, <a href="#page_69">69</a>, <i>et passim</i>.</li>
+
+<li>Villani, Matteo, <a href="#page_70">70</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Visconti, Filippo, <a href="#page_76">76</a>, <a href="#page_80">80</a>, <a href="#page_273">273</a>, <a href="#page_289">289</a>;
+<ul class="none"><li>Giovanni, <a href="#page_61">61</a>;</li>
+<li>Giovanni Galeazzo, <a href="#page_75">75</a>, <a href="#page_390">390</a>.</li>
+</ul></li>
+</ul>
+<ul class="none">
+<li class="i6">Z.</li>
+
+<li>Zagonara, Battle of, <a href="#page_76">76</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Zecca Vecchia, Torre della</i>, <a href="#page_245">245</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Zenobius, S., <a href="#page_10">10</a>, <a href="#page_11">11</a>, <a href="#page_12">12</a>, <a href="#page_152">152</a>, <a href="#page_171">171</a>, <a href="#page_210">210</a>, <a href="#page_274">274</a>, <a href="#page_276">276</a>.</li>
+</ul></div>
+
+<p class="p6 center"><b>TURNBULL AND SPEARS, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.</b></p>
+
+<hr class="c15" />
+<h3><a name="footnotes" id="footnotes"></a>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_1" id="footnote_1"></a><a href="#fnanchor_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a>
+The Frontispiece and the Illustrations facing pages 97, 135,
+144, 178 and 288 are reproduced, by permission, from photographs
+by Messrs Alinari of Florence.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_2" id="footnote_2"></a><a href="#fnanchor_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a>
+"Love, I demand to have my lady in fee,<br />
+<span class="i1">Fine balm let Arno be,</span><br />
+The walls of Florence all of silver rear'd,<br />
+And crystal pavements in the public way;<br />
+<span class="i1">With castles make me fear'd,</span><br />
+Till every Latin soul have owned my sway."<br />
+<span class="i8">&ndash;</span><span class="smcap">Lapo Gianni</span> (<i>Rossetti</i>).</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_3" id="footnote_3"></a><a href="#fnanchor_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a>"For amongst the tart sorbs, it befits not the sweet fig
+to fructify."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_4" id="footnote_4"></a><a href="#fnanchor_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a>
+"Let the beasts of Fiesole make litter of themselves, and
+not touch the plant, if any yet springs up amid their rankness,
+in which the holy seed revives of those Romans who
+remained there when it became the nest of so much malice."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_5" id="footnote_5"></a><a href="#fnanchor_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a>
+"With these folk, and with others with them, did I see
+Florence in such full repose, she had not cause for wailing;</p>
+
+<p>With these folk I saw her people so glorious and so just,
+ne'er was the lily on the shaft reversed, nor yet by faction
+dyed vermilion."<br />
+<span class="i8">&ndash;Wicksteed's translation.</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_6" id="footnote_6"></a><a href="#fnanchor_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a>
+"The house from which your wailing sprang, because of
+the just anger which hath slain you and placed a term upon
+your joyous life,</p>
+
+<p>"was honoured, it and its associates. Oh Buondelmonte,
+how ill didst thou flee its nuptials at the prompting of
+another!</p>
+
+<p>"Joyous had many been who now are sad, had God committed
+thee unto the Ema the first time that thou camest to
+the city.</p>
+
+<p>"But to that mutilated stone which guardeth the bridge
+'twas meet that Florence should give a victim in her last
+time of peace."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_7" id="footnote_7"></a><a href="#fnanchor_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a>
+"And one who had both hands cut off, raising the
+stumps through the dim air so that their blood defiled his
+face, cried: 'Thou wilt recollect the Mosca too, ah me!
+who said, "A thing done has an end!" which was the seed
+of evil to the Tuscan people.'" (<i>Inf.</i> xxviii.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_8" id="footnote_8"></a><a href="#fnanchor_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a>
+The Arte di Calimala, or of the Mercatanti di Calimala,
+the dressers of foreign cloth; the Arte della Lana, or
+wool; the Arte dei Giudici e Notai, judges and notaries, also
+called the Arte del Proconsolo; the Arte del Cambio or dei
+Cambiatori, money-changers; the Arte dei Medici e Speziali,
+physicians and apothecaries; the Arte della Seta, or silk, also
+called the Arte di Por Santa Maria; and the Arte dei Vaiai
+e Pellicciai, the furriers. The Minor Arts were organised
+later.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_9" id="footnote_9"></a><a href="#fnanchor_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a>
+Some years later a new officer, the Executor of Justice,
+was instituted to carry out these ordinances instead of leaving
+them to the Gonfaloniere. This Executor of Justice was
+associated with the Captain, but was usually a foreign Guelf
+burgher; later he developed into the Bargello, head of
+police and governor of the gaol. It will, of course, be seen
+that while Podest&agrave;, Captain, Executore (the <i>Rettori</i>), were
+aliens, the Gonfaloniere and Priors (the <i>Signori</i>) were necessarily
+Florentines and popolani.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_10" id="footnote_10"></a><a href="#fnanchor_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a>
+Rossetti's translation of the <i>ripresa</i> and second stanza
+of the Ballata <i>Perch'i' no spero di tornar giammai</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_11" id="footnote_11"></a><a href="#fnanchor_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a>
+"Thou shall abandon everything beloved most dearly;
+this is the arrow which the bow of exile shall first shoot.</p>
+
+<p>"Thou shalt make trial of how salt doth taste another's
+bread, and how hard the path to descend and mount upon
+another's stair."<br />
+
+<span class="i8">&ndash;Wicksteed's translation.</span></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_12" id="footnote_12"></a><a href="#fnanchor_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a>
+"On that great seat where thou dost fix thine eyes, for
+the crown's sake already placed above it, ere at this wedding
+feast thyself do sup,</p>
+
+<p>"Shall sit the soul (on earth 'twill be imperial) of the
+lofty Henry, who shall come to straighten Italy ere she be
+ready for it."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_13" id="footnote_13"></a><a href="#fnanchor_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a>
+<i>i.e.</i> The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_14" id="footnote_14"></a><a href="#fnanchor_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a>
+<i>Purg. VI.</i>&ndash;<br />
+<span class="o1">"Athens and Laced&aelig;mon, they who made</span><br />
+<span class="i1">The ancient laws, and were so civilised,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Made towards living well a little sign</span><br />
+Compared with thee, who makest such fine-spun<br />
+<span class="i1">Provisions, that to middle of November</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Reaches not what thou in October spinnest.</span><br />
+How oft, within the time of thy remembrance,<br />
+<span class="i1">Laws, money, offices and usages</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Hast thou remodelled, and renewed thy members?</span><br />
+And if thou mind thee well, and see the light,<br />
+<span class="i1">Thou shalt behold thyself like a sick woman,</span><br />
+<span class="i1">Who cannot find repose upon her down,</span><br />
+But by her tossing wardeth off her pain."<br />
+<span class="i8">&ndash;<i>Longfellow.</i></span></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_15" id="footnote_15"></a><a href="#fnanchor_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a>
+<span class="o1">"In painting Cimabue thought that he</span><br />
+Should hold the field, now Giotto has the cry,<br />
+So that the other's fame is growing dim."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_16" id="footnote_16"></a><a href="#fnanchor_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a>
+The "Colleges" were the twelve Buonuomini and the
+sixteen Gonfaloniers of the Companies. Measures proposed
+by the Signoria had to be carried in the Colleges before
+being submitted to the Council of the People, and afterwards
+to the Council of the Commune.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_17" id="footnote_17"></a><a href="#fnanchor_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a>
+From Mr Armstrong's <i>Lorenzo de' Medici</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_18" id="footnote_18"></a><a href="#fnanchor_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a>
+The <i>Palle</i>, it will be remembered, were the golden balls
+on the Medicean arms, and hence the rallying cry of their
+adherents.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_19" id="footnote_19"></a><a href="#fnanchor_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a>
+The familiar legend that Lorenzo told Savonarola that
+the three sins which lay heaviest on his conscience were the
+sack of Volterra, the robbery of the Monte delle Doti, and
+the vengeance he had taken for the Pazzi conspiracy, is
+only valuable as showing what were popularly supposed
+by the Florentines to be his greatest crimes.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_20" id="footnote_20"></a><a href="#fnanchor_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a>
+This <i>Compendium of Revelations</i> was, like the <i>Triumph of
+the Cross</i>, published both in Latin and in Italian simultaneously.
+I have rendered the above from the Italian version.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_21" id="footnote_21"></a><a href="#fnanchor_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a>
+When Savonarola entered upon the political arena, his
+spiritual sight was often terribly dimmed. The cause of
+Pisa against Florence was every bit as righteous as that of
+the Florentines themselves against the Medici.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_22" id="footnote_22"></a><a href="#fnanchor_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a>
+This Luca Landucci, whose diary we shall have occasion
+to quote more than once, kept an apothecary's shop near the
+Strozzi Palace at the Canto de' Tornaquinci. He was an
+ardent Piagnone, though he wavered at times. He died in
+1516, and was buried in Santa Maria Novella.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_23" id="footnote_23"></a><a href="#fnanchor_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a>
+"He who usurpeth upon earth my place, my place, my
+place, which in the presence of the Son of God is vacant,</p>
+
+<p>"hath made my burial-ground a conduit for that blood
+and filth, whereby the apostate one who fell from here above,
+is soothed down there below."&ndash;<i>Paradiso</i> xxvii.<br />
+<span class="i8">&ndash;Wicksteed's Translation.</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_24" id="footnote_24"></a><a href="#fnanchor_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a>
+Sermon on May 29th, 1496. In Villari and Casanova,
+<i>Scelte di prediche e scritti di Fra Girolamo Savonarola</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_25" id="footnote_25"></a><a href="#fnanchor_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a>
+Professor Villari justly remarks that "Savonarola's
+attacks were never directed in the slightest degree against
+the dogmas of the Roman Church, but solely against those
+who corrupted them." The <i>Triumph of the Cross</i> was intended
+to do for the Renaissance what St Thomas Aquinas
+had accomplished for the Middle Ages in his <i>Summa contra
+Gentiles</i>. As this book is the fullest expression of Savonarola's
+creed, it is much to be regretted that more than one of its
+English translators have omitted some of its most characteristic
+and important passages bearing upon Catholic practice
+and doctrine, without the slightest indication that any such
+process of "expurgation" has been carried out.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_26" id="footnote_26"></a><a href="#fnanchor_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a>
+See the <a href="#Family_Tree">Genealogical Table of the Medici</a>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_27" id="footnote_27"></a><a href="#fnanchor_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a>
+Mr Armstrong in his <i>Lorenzo de' Medici</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_28" id="footnote_28"></a><a href="#fnanchor_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a>
+Botticelli's brother and an ardent Piagnone, whose
+chronicle has been recently discovered and published by
+Villari and Casanova. The Franciscans were possibly sincere
+in the business, and mere tools in the hands of the
+Compagnacci; they are not likely to have been privy to
+the plot.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_29" id="footnote_29"></a><a href="#fnanchor_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a>
+The following notes make no pretence at furnishing a
+catalogue, but are simply intended to indicate the more
+important Italian pictures, especially the principal masterpieces
+of, or connected with the Florentine school.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_30" id="footnote_30"></a><a href="#fnanchor_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a>
+See the <a href="#Family_Tree">Genealogical Table </a>in Appendix. The elder Pier
+Francesco was dead many years before this picture was painted.
+It was for his other son, Lorenzo, that Sandro Botticelli drew
+his illustrations of the <i>Divina Commedia</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_31" id="footnote_31"></a><a href="#fnanchor_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a>
+<i>Modern Painters</i>, vol. ii.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_32" id="footnote_32"></a><a href="#fnanchor_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a>
+The eight Arti Minori not represented are the vintners
+(St. Martin), the inn-keepers (St. Julian), the cheesemongers
+(St. Bartholomew), the leather-dressers (St. Augustine), the
+saddlemakers (the Blessed Trinity), the joiners (the Annunciation),
+tin and coppersmiths (St. Zenobius), and the bakers
+(St. Lawrence).</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_33" id="footnote_33"></a><a href="#fnanchor_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a>
+There are three extant documents concerning pictures of
+the Madonna for the Captains of Saint Michael; two refer
+to a painting ordered from Bernardo Daddi, in 1346 and
+1347; the third to one by Orcagna, 1352. <i>See</i> Signor P.
+Franceschini's monograph on Or San Michele, to which I am
+much indebted in this chapter.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_34" id="footnote_34"></a><a href="#fnanchor_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a>
+These were the burghers and lawyers of the black faction,
+the Podest&agrave;'s allies and friends. This was in the spring of
+1303.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_35" id="footnote_35"></a><a href="#fnanchor_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a>
+Such, at least, seems the more obvious interpretation; but
+there is a certain sensuality and cruelty about the victor's expression,
+which, together with the fact that the vanquished
+undoubtedly has something of Michelangelo's own features,
+lead us to suspect that the master's sympathies were with the
+lost cause.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_36" id="footnote_36"></a><a href="#fnanchor_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a>
+Quoted in Mr Armstrong's <i>Lorenzo de' Medici</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_37" id="footnote_37"></a><a href="#fnanchor_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a>
+See Guido Carocci, <i>Firenze Scomparsa</i>, here and generally.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_38" id="footnote_38"></a><a href="#fnanchor_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a>
+The earliest of these mosaics are those in the tribune,
+executed originally by a certain Fra Jacopo in the year 1225;
+those in the dome are in part ascribed to Dante's contemporary,
+Andrea Tafi.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_39" id="footnote_39"></a><a href="#fnanchor_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a>
+Should it e'er come to pass that the sacred poem to which<br />
+<span class="i1">both heaven and earth so have set hand, that it hath</span><br />
+<span class="i1">made me lean through many a year,</span><br />
+should overcome the cruelty which doth bar me forth from<br />
+<span class="i1">the fair sheepfold wherein I used to sleep, a lamb, foe to</span><br />
+<span class="i1">the wolves which war upon it;</span><br />
+with changed voice now, and with changed fleece shall I<br />
+<span class="i1">return, a poet, and at the font of my baptism shall I</span><br />
+<span class="i1">assume the chaplet;</span><br />
+because into the Faith which maketh souls known of God,<br />
+<span class="i1">'twas there I entered.</span><br />
+<span class="i8">&ndash;Par. xxv. 1-11, <i>Wicksteed's translation</i>.</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_40" id="footnote_40"></a><a href="#fnanchor_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a>
+By these "second gates" are of course meant Ghiberti's
+second gates: in reality the "third gates" of the Baptistery.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_41" id="footnote_41"></a><a href="#fnanchor_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a>
+"There is only one point from which the size of the
+Cathedral of Florence is felt; and that is from the corner of
+the Via de' Balestrieri, opposite the south-east angle, where it
+happens that the dome is seen rising instantly above the apse
+and transepts" (<i>Seven Lamps</i>).</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_42" id="footnote_42"></a><a href="#fnanchor_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a>
+<i>Modern Painters</i>, vol. ii. "Of Imagination Penetrative."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_43" id="footnote_43"></a><a href="#fnanchor_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a>
+The Duomo has fairer memories of the Pazzi, than this
+deed of blood and treachery. Their ancestor at the Crusades
+had carried the sacred fire from Jerusalem to Florence, and
+still, on Easter Eve, an artificial dove sent from the high altar
+lights the car of fireworks in the Piazza&ndash;the Carro dei Pazzi&ndash;in
+front of the church, in honour of their name.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_44" id="footnote_44"></a><a href="#fnanchor_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a>
+It should be observed that Lorenzo was not specially
+called the "Magnificent" by his contemporaries. All the more
+prominent members of the Medicean family were styled <i>Magnifico</i>
+in the same way.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_45" id="footnote_45"></a><a href="#fnanchor_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a>
+"Grateful to me is sleep, and more the being stone;
+while ruin and shame last, not to see, not to feel, is great good
+fortune to me. Therefore wake me not; ah, speak low!"</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_46" id="footnote_46"></a><a href="#fnanchor_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a>
+Given in Addington Symonds' <i>Life of Michelangelo</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_47" id="footnote_47"></a><a href="#fnanchor_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a>
+"Before thee, goddess, flee the winds, the clouds of heaven;
+before thee and thy advent; for thee earth manifold in works
+puts forth sweet-smelling flowers; for thee the levels of the
+sea do laugh and heaven propitiated shines with outspread
+light" (Munro's <i>Lucretius</i>).</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_48" id="footnote_48"></a><a href="#fnanchor_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a>
+See <i>Andrea del Sarto</i>, by H. Guinness in the <i>Great Masters</i>
+series, and <i>G. F. Rustici</i> in Vasari.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_49" id="footnote_49"></a><a href="#fnanchor_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a>
+Opposite the bridge, at the beginning of the Via dei
+Benci, is the palace of the old Alberti family; the remains
+of their loggia stand further up the street, at the corner of
+the Borgo Santa Croce. In all these streets, between the
+Lungarno della Borsa and the Borgo dei Greci, there are
+many old houses and palaces; in the Piazza dei Peruzzi the
+houses, formerly of that family and partly built in the fourteenth
+century, follow the lines of the Roman amphitheatre&ndash;the
+<i>Parlascio</i> of the early Middle Ages. The Palazzo dei
+Giudici&ndash;in the piazza of that name&ndash;was originally built in
+the thirteenth century, though reconstructed at a later epoch.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_50" id="footnote_50"></a><a href="#fnanchor_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a>
+See Addington Symonds' <i>Michelangelo</i>. The horse in
+question was the equestrian monument of Francesco Sforza.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_51" id="footnote_51"></a><a href="#fnanchor_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a>
+"The one was all seraphic in his ardour, the other by his<br />
+<span class="i1">wisdom was on earth a splendour of cherubic light.</span><br />
+"Of one will I discourse, because of both the two he<br />
+<span class="i1">speaketh who doth either praise, which so he will;</span><br />
+<span class="i1">for to one end their works."</span><br />
+<span class="i8">&ndash;Wicksteed's translation, <i>Paradiso</i> xi.</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_52" id="footnote_52"></a><a href="#fnanchor_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a>
+"I desired, and understanding was given me. I prayed,
+and the spirit of Wisdom came upon me; and I preferred her
+before kingdoms and thrones."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_53" id="footnote_53"></a><a href="#fnanchor_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a>
+The identification of each science and its representative is
+rather doubtful, especially in the celestial series. From altar
+to centre, Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic are represented by
+Aelius Donatus, Cicero and Aristotle (or Zeno); Music,
+Astronomy, Geometry, Arithmetic by Tubal Cain, Zoroaster
+(or Ptolemy), Euclid and Pythagoras. From window to
+centre, Civil Law is represented by Justinian, Canon Law by
+Innocent III., Philosophy apparently by Boethius; the next
+four seem to be Contemplative, Moral, Mystical and Dogmatic
+Theology, and their representatives Jerome, John of Damascus,
+Basil and Augustine&ndash;but, with the exception of St. Augustine,
+the identification is quite arbitrary. Possibly if the Logician
+is Zeno, the Philosopher is not Boethius but Aristotle; the
+figure above, representing Philosophy, holds a mirror which
+seems to symbolise the divine creation of the cosmic Universe.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_54" id="footnote_54"></a><a href="#fnanchor_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a>
+In Richter's <i>Literary Works of Leonardo da Vinci</i>. Leonardo
+rather too sweepingly ignores the fact that there were a few
+excellent masters between the two.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_55" id="footnote_55"></a><a href="#fnanchor_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a>
+The ledger and the stave (<i>il quaderno e la doga</i>): "In 1299
+Messer Niccola Acciaiuoli and Messer Baldo d' Aguglione
+abstracted from the public records a leaf containing the evidence
+of a disreputable transaction, in which they, together
+with the Podest&agrave;, had been engaged. At about the same
+time Messer Durante de' Chiaramontesi, being officer of the
+customs for salt, took away a stave (<i>doga</i>) from the standard
+measure, thus making it smaller."&ndash;<i>A. J. Butler.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_56" id="footnote_56"></a><a href="#fnanchor_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a>
+"Perfected life and high desert enheaveneth a lady more
+aloft," she said, "by whose rule down in your world there are
+who clothe and veil themselves,</p>
+
+<p>That they, even till death, may wake and sleep with that
+Spouse who accepteth every vow that love hath made conform
+with his good pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>From the world, to follow her, I fled while yet a girl, and
+in her habit I enclosed myself, and promised the way of her
+company.</p>
+
+<p>Thereafter men more used to ill than good tore me away
+from the sweet cloister; and God doth know what my life
+then became."<br />
+<span class="i8">&ndash;<i>Paradiso</i> iii. Wicksteed's translation.</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_57" id="footnote_57"></a><a href="#fnanchor_57"><span class="label">[57]</span></a>
+The lover of Florentine history cannot readily tear himself
+away from the Casentino. The Albergo Amorosi at
+Bibbiena, almost at the foot of La Verna, makes delightful
+headquarters. There is an excellent <i>Guida illustrata del
+Casentino</i> by C. Beni. For the Conti Guidi, Witte's essay
+should be consulted; it is translated in <i>Witte's Essays on Dante</i>
+by C. M. Lawrence and P. H. Wicksteed. La Verna will be
+fully dealt with in the Assisi volume of this series, so I do not
+describe it here.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+<p><a name="footnote_58" id="footnote_58"></a><a href="#fnanchor_58"><span class="label">[58]</span></a>
+The parentage of Ippolito and Alessandro is somewhat uncertain. The
+former was probably Giuliano's son by a lady of Pesaro, the latter probably
+the son of Lorenzo by a mulatto woman.</p></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Story of Florence, by Edmund G. Gardner
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+</body>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Story of Florence, by Edmund G. Gardner
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Story of Florence
+
+Author: Edmund G. Gardner
+
+Illustrator: Nelly Erichsen
+
+Release Date: October 18, 2011 [EBook #37793]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF FLORENCE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Melissa McDaniel and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+  Transcriber's Note:
+
+  Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
+  Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation in the original
+  document have been preserved.
+
+
+
+
+  The Story of Florence
+
+
+
+
+  All rights reserved
+
+  First Edition, September 1900.
+  Second Edition, December 1900.
+
+  [Illustration: _Pallas taming a Centaur, by Botticelli._
+  (THE TRIUMPH OF LORENZO.)]
+
+
+
+
+  The Story of Florence
+
+  by Edmund G. Gardner
+
+  Illustrated by Nelly Erichsen
+
+  London: J. M. Dent & Co.
+  Aldine House, 29 and 30 Bedford Street
+  Covent Garden W.C.   1900
+
+
+
+
+  To
+  MY SISTER
+  MONICA MARY GARDNER
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The present volume is intended to supply a popular history of the
+Florentine Republic, in such a form that it can also be used as a
+guide-book. It has been my endeavour, while keeping within the
+necessary limits of this series of _Mediaeval Towns_, to point out
+briefly the most salient features in the story of Florence, to tell
+again the tale of those of her streets and buildings, and indicate
+those of her artistic treasures, which are either most intimately
+connected with that story or most beautiful in themselves. Those who
+know best what an intensely fascinating and many-sided history that of
+Florence has been, who have studied most closely the work and
+characters of those strange and wonderful personalities who have lived
+within (and, in the case of the greatest, died without) her walls,
+will best appreciate my difficulty in compressing even a portion of
+all this wealth and profusion into the narrow bounds enjoined by the
+aim and scope of this book. Much has necessarily been curtailed over
+which it would have been tempting to linger, much inevitably omitted
+which the historian could not have passed over, nor the compiler of a
+guide-book failed to mention. In what I have selected for treatment
+and what omitted, I have usually let myself be guided by the
+remembrance of my own needs when I first commenced to visit Florence
+and to study her arts and history.
+
+It is needless to say that the number of books, old and new, is very
+considerable indeed, to which anyone venturing in these days to write
+yet another book on Florence must have had recourse, and to whose
+authors he is bound to be indebted--from the earliest Florentine
+chroniclers down to the most recent biographers of Lorenzo the
+Magnificent, of Savonarola, of Michelangelo--from Vasari down to our
+modern scientific art critics--from Richa and Moreni down to the
+Misses Horner. My obligations can hardly be acknowledged here in
+detail; but, to mention a few modern works alone, I am most largely
+indebted to Capponi's _Storia della Repubblica di Firenze_, to various
+writings of Professor Pasquale Villari, and to Mr Armstrong's _Lorenzo
+de' Medici_; to the works of Ruskin and J. A. Symonds, of M. Reymond
+and Mr Berenson; and, in the domains of topography, to Baedeker's
+_Hand Book_. In judging of the merits and the authorship of individual
+pictures and statues, I have usually given more weight to the results
+of modern criticism than to the pleasantness of old tradition.
+
+Carlyle's translation of the _Inferno_ and Mr Wicksteed's of the
+_Paradiso_ are usually quoted.
+
+If this little book should be found helpful in initiating the
+English-speaking visitor to the City of Flowers into more of the
+historical atmosphere of Florence and her monuments than guide-books
+and catalogues can supply, it will amply have fulfilled its object.
+
+  E. G. G.
+
+  ROEHAMPTON, May 1900.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+     CHAPTER I                                             PAGE
+
+     _The Commune and People of Florence_                     1
+
+     CHAPTER II
+
+     _The Times of Dante and Boccaccio_                      32
+
+     CHAPTER III
+
+     _The Medici and the Quattrocento_                       71
+
+     CHAPTER IV
+
+     _From Fra Girolamo to Duke Cosimo_                     111
+
+     CHAPTER V
+
+     _The Palazzo Vecchio--The Piazza della Signoria--The
+     Uffizi_                                                146
+
+     CHAPTER VI
+
+     _Or San Michele and the Sesto di San Piero_            184
+
+     CHAPTER VII
+
+     _From the Bargello past Santa Croce_                   214
+
+     CHAPTER VIII
+
+     _The Baptistery, the Campanile, and the Duomo_         246
+
+     CHAPTER IX
+
+     _The Palazzo Riccardi--San Lorenzo--San
+     Marco_                                                 283
+
+     CHAPTER X
+
+     _The Accademia delle Belle Arti--The Santissima
+     Annunziata, and other Buildings_                       314
+
+     CHAPTER XI
+
+     _The Bridges--The Quarter of Santa Maria
+     Novella_                                               340
+
+     CHAPTER XII
+
+     _Across the Arno_                                      374
+
+     CHAPTER XIII
+
+     _Conclusion_                                           409
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+     _Genealogical Table of the Medici_                     423
+
+     _Chronological Index of Architects, Sculptors and
+     Painters_                                              424
+
+     _General Index_                                        430
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                                                           PAGE
+
+     _Pallas taming a Centaur (Photogravure)_[1]   Frontispiece
+
+     _Florence from the Boboli Gardens_                       3
+
+     _The Buondelmonte Tower_                                20
+
+     _The Palace of the Parte Guelfa_                        29
+
+     _Arms of Parte Guelfa_                                  31
+
+     _Florentine Families_                                   33
+
+     _Corso Donati's Tower_                                  40
+
+     _Across the Ponte Vecchio_                              47
+
+     _Mercato Nuovo, the Flower Market_                      51
+
+     _The Campanile_                                         63
+
+     _Cross of the Florentine People_                        70
+
+     _Florence in the Days of Lorenzo the Magnificent_       80
+
+     _The Badia of Fiesole_                                  83
+
+     "_In the Sculptor's Work-shop_" (_Nanni di
+       Banco_)                                               97
+
+     _Arms of the Pazzi_                                    110
+
+     _The Death of Savonarola_                              135
+
+     "_The Dawn_" (_Michelangelo_)                          144
+
+     _The Palazzo Vecchio_                                  147
+
+     _Looking through Vasari's Loggia, Uffizi_              161
+
+     "_Venus_" (_Sandro Botticelli_)                        178
+
+     _Orcagna's Tabernacle, Or San Michele_                 185
+
+     _Window of Or San Michele_                             191
+
+     _Tower of the Arte della Lana_                         201
+
+     _House of Dante_                                       207
+
+     _Arms of the Sesto di San Piero_                       213
+
+     _Bargello Courtyard and Staircase_                     217
+
+     _Santa Croce_                                          233
+
+     _Old Houses on the Arno_                               245
+
+     _The Baptistery_                                       251
+
+     _The Bigallo_                                          264
+
+     _Porta della Mandorla, Duomo_                          267
+
+     _Statue of Boniface VIII_                              270
+
+     _Arms of the Medici from the Badia at Fiesole_         283
+
+     _Tomb of Giovanni and Piero dei Medici_                288
+
+     _The Well of S. Marco_                                 299
+
+     _The Cloister of the Innocenti_                        331
+
+     _A Florentine Suburb_                                  337
+
+     _The Ponte Vecchio_                                    343
+
+     _The Tower of S. Zanobi_                               347
+
+     _Arms of the Strozzi_                                  353
+
+     _In the Green Cloisters, S. Maria Novella_             357
+
+     _In the Boboli Gardens_                                374
+
+     _The Fortifications of Michelangelo_                   399
+
+     _Porta San Giorgio_                                    403
+
+     _Map of Florence                               facing_ 422
+
+  [1] "_The Frontispiece and the Illustrations facing pages 97, 135,
+  144, 178 and 288 are reproduced, by permission, from photographs by
+  Messrs Alinari of Florence._"
+
+
+
+
+The Story of Florence
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+_The People and Commune of Florence_
+
+     "La bellissima e famosissima figlia di Roma, Fiorenza."
+         --_Dante._
+
+
+Before the imagination of a thirteenth century poet, one of the
+sweetest singers of the _dolce stil novo_, there rose a phantasy of a
+transfigured city, transformed into a capital of Fairyland, with his
+lady and himself as fairy queen and king:
+
+     "Amor, eo chero mea donna in domino,
+       l'Arno balsamo fino,
+       le mura di Fiorenza inargentate,
+     le rughe di cristallo lastricate,
+       fortezze alte e merlate,
+       mio fedel fosse ciaschedun Latino."[2]
+
+  [2] "Love, I demand to have my lady in fee,
+        Fine balm let Arno be,
+      The walls of Florence all of silver rear'd,
+      And crystal pavements in the public way;
+        With castles make me fear'd,
+      Till every Latin soul have owned my sway."
+          --LAPO GIANNI (_Rossetti_).
+
+But is not the reality even more beautiful than the dreamland Florence
+of Lapo Gianni's fancy? We stand on the heights of San Miniato, either
+in front of the Basilica itself or lower down in the Piazzale
+Michelangelo. Below us, on either bank of the silvery Arno, lies
+outstretched Dante's "most famous and most beauteous daughter of
+Rome," once the Queen of Etruria and centre of the most wonderful
+culture that the world has known since Athens, later the first capital
+of United Italy, and still, though shorn of much of her former
+splendour and beauty, one of the loveliest cities of Christendom.
+Opposite to us, to the north, rises the hill upon which stands
+Etruscan Fiesole, from which the people of Florence originally came:
+"that ungrateful and malignant people," Dante once called them, "who
+of old came down from Fiesole." Behind us stand the fortifications
+which mark the death of the Republic, thrown up or at least
+strengthened by Michelangelo in the city's last agony, when she barred
+her gates and defied the united power of Pope and Emperor to take the
+State that had once chosen Christ for her king.
+
+     "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.
+
+     "And thou in painting didst transcribe all taught
+       By loftiest meditations; marble knew
+     The sculptor's fearless soul--and as he wrought,
+       The grace of his own power and freedom grew."
+
+Between Fiesole and San Miniato, then, the story of the Florentine
+Republic may be said to be written.
+
+The beginnings of Florence are lost in cloudy legend, and her early
+chroniclers on the slenderest foundations have reared for her an
+unsubstantial, if imposing, fabric of fables--the tales which the
+women of old Florence, in the _Paradiso_, told to their house-holds--
+
+     "dei Troiani, di Fiesole, e di Roma."
+
+  [Illustration: FLORENCE FROM THE BOBOLI GARDENS]
+
+Setting aside the Trojans ("Priam" was mediaeval for "Adam," as a
+modern novelist has remarked), there is no doubt that both Etruscan
+Fiesole and Imperial Rome united to found the "great city on the banks
+of the Arno." Fiesole or Faesulae upon its hill was an important
+Etruscan city, and a place of consequence in the days of the Roman
+Republic; fallen though it now is, traces of its old greatness remain.
+Behind the Romanesque cathedral are considerable remains of Etruscan
+walls and of a Roman theatre. Opposite it to the west we may ascend to
+enjoy the glorious view from the Convent of the Franciscans, where
+once the old citadel of Faesulae stood. Faesulae was ever the centre
+of Italian and democratic discontent against Rome and her Senate
+(_sempre ribelli di Roma_, says Villani of its inhabitants); and it
+was here, in October B.C. 62, that Caius Manlius planted the Eagle of
+revolt--an eagle which Marius had borne in the war against the
+Cimbri--and thus commenced the Catilinarian war, which resulted in the
+annihilation of Catiline's army near Pistoia.
+
+This, according to Villani, was the origin of Florence. According to
+him, Fiesole, after enduring the stupendous siege, was forced to
+surrender to the Romans under Julius Caesar, and utterly razed to the
+ground. In the second sphere of Paradise, Justinian reminds Dante of
+how the Roman Eagle "seemed bitter to that hill beneath which thou
+wast born." Then, in order that Fiesole might never raise its head
+again, the Senate ordained that the greatest lords of Rome, who had
+been at the siege, should join with Caesar in building a new city on
+the banks of the Arno. Florence, thus founded by Caesar, was populated
+by the noblest citizens of Rome, who received into their number those
+of the inhabitants of fallen Fiesole who wished to live there. "Note
+then," says the old chronicler, "that it is not wonderful that the
+Florentines are always at war and in dissensions among themselves,
+being drawn and born from two peoples, so contrary and hostile and
+diverse in habits, as were the noble and virtuous Romans, and the
+savage and contentious folk of Fiesole." Dante similarly, in Canto XV.
+of the _Inferno_, ascribes the injustice of the Florentines towards
+himself to this mingling of the people of Fiesole with the true Roman
+nobility (with special reference, however, to the union of Florence
+with conquered Fiesole in the twelfth century):--
+
+                  "che tra li lazzi sorbi
+     si disconvien fruttare al dolce fico."[3]
+
+  [3] "For amongst the tart sorbs, it befits not the sweet fig to
+  fructify."
+
+And Brunetto Latini bids him keep himself free from their pollution:--
+
+     "Faccian le bestie Fiesolane strame
+       di lor medesme, e non tocchin la pianta,
+       s'alcuna surge ancor nel lor letame,
+     in cui riviva la semente santa
+       di quei Roman che vi rimaser quando
+       fu fatto il nido di malizia tanta." [4]
+
+  [4] "Let the beasts of Fiesole make litter of themselves, and not
+  touch the plant, if any yet springs up amid their rankness, in which
+  the holy seed revives of those Romans who remained there when it
+  became the nest of so much malice."
+
+The truth appears to be that Florence was originally founded by
+Etruscans from Fiesole, who came down from their mountain to the plain
+by the Arno for commercial purposes. This Etruscan colony was probably
+destroyed during the wars between Marius and Sulla, and a Roman
+military colony established here--probably in the time of Sulla, and
+augmented later by Caesar and by Augustus. It has, indeed, been urged
+of late that the old Florentine story has some truth in it, and that
+Caesar, not only in legend but in fact, may be regarded as the true
+first founder of Florence. Thus the Roman colony of Florentia
+gradually grew into a little city--_come una altra piccola Roma_,
+declares her patriotic chronicler. It had its capitol and its forum in
+the centre of the city, where the Mercato Vecchio once stood; it had
+an amphitheatre outside the walls, somewhere near where the Borgo dei
+Greci and the Piazza Peruzzi are to-day. It had baths and temples,
+though doubtless on a small scale. It had the shape and form of a
+Roman camp, which (together with the Roman walls in which it was
+inclosed) it may be said to have retained down to the middle of the
+twelfth century, in spite of legendary demolitions by Attila and
+Totila, and equally legendary reconstructions by Charlemagne. Above
+all, it had a grand temple to Mars, which almost certainly occupied
+the site of the present Baptistery, if not actually identical with it.
+Giovanni Villani tells us--and we shall have to return to his
+statement--that the wonderful octagonal building, now known as the
+Baptistery or the Church of St John, was consecrated as a temple by
+the Romans in honour of Mars, for their victory over the Fiesolans,
+and that Mars was the patron of the Florentines as long as paganism
+lasted. Round the equestrian statue that was supposed to have once
+stood in the midst of this temple, numberless legends have gathered.
+Dante refers to it again and again. In Santa Maria Novella you shall
+see how a great painter of the early Renaissance, Filippino Lippi,
+conceived of his city's first patron. When Florence changed him for
+the Baptist, and the people of Mars became the sheepfold of St John,
+this statue was removed from the temple and set upon a tower by the
+side of the Arno:--
+
+"The Florentines took up their idol which they called the God Mars,
+and set him upon a high tower near the river Arno; and they would not
+break or shatter it, seeing that in their ancient records they found
+that the said idol of Mars had been consecrated under the ascendency
+of such a planet, that if it should be broken or put in a
+dishonourable place, the city would suffer danger and damage and great
+mutation. And although the Florentines had newly become Christians,
+they still retained many customs of paganism, and retained them for a
+long time; and they greatly feared their ancient idol of Mars; so
+little perfect were they as yet in the Holy Faith."
+
+This tower is said to have been destroyed like the rest of Florence by
+the Goths, the statue falling into the Arno, where it lurked in hiding
+all the time that the city lay in ruins. On the legendary rebuilding
+of Florence by Charlemagne, the statue, too--or rather the mutilated
+fragment that remained--was restored to light and honour. Thus
+Villani:--
+
+"It is said that the ancients held the opinion that there was no power
+to rebuild the city, if that marble image, consecrated by necromancy
+to Mars by the first Pagan builders, was not first found again and
+drawn out of the Arno, in which it had been from the destruction of
+Florence down to that time. And, when found, they set it upon a pillar
+on the bank of the said river, where is now the head of the Ponte
+Vecchio. This we neither affirm nor believe, inasmuch as it appeareth
+to us to be the opinion of augurers and pagans, and not reasonable,
+but great folly, to hold that a statue so made could work thus; but
+commonly it was said by the ancients that, if it were changed, our
+city would needs suffer great mutation."
+
+Thus it became _quella pietra scema che guarda il ponte_, in Dantesque
+phrase; and we shall see what terrible sacrifice its clients
+unconsciously paid to it. Here it remained, much honoured by the
+Florentines; street boys were solemnly warned of the fearful
+judgments that fell on all who dared to throw mud or stones at it;
+until at last, in 1333, a great flood carried away bridge and statue
+alike, and it was seen no more. It has recently been suggested that
+the statue was, in reality, an equestrian monument in honour of some
+barbaric king, belonging to the fifth or sixth century.
+
+Florence, however, seems to have been--in spite of Villani's
+describing it as the Chamber of the Empire and the like--a place of
+very slight importance under the Empire. Tacitus mentions that a
+deputation was sent from Florentia to Tiberius to prevent the Chiana
+being turned into the Arno. Christianity is said to have been first
+introduced in the days of Nero; the Decian persecution raged here as
+elsewhere, and the soil was hallowed with the blood of the martyr,
+Miniatus. Christian worship is said to have been first offered up on
+the hill where a stately eleventh century Basilica now bears his name.
+When the greater peace of the Church was established under
+Constantine, a church dedicated to the Baptist on the site of the
+Martian temple and a basilica outside the walls, where now stands San
+Lorenzo, were among the earliest churches in Tuscany.
+
+In the year 405, the Goth leader Rhadagaisus, _omnium antiquorum
+praesentiumque hostium longe immanissimus_, as Orosius calls him,
+suddenly inundated Italy with more than 200,000 Goths, vowing to
+sacrifice all the blood of the Romans to his gods. In their terror the
+Romans seemed about to return to their old paganism, since Christ had
+failed to protect them. _Fervent tota urbe blasphemiae_, writes
+Orosius. They advanced towards Rome through the Tuscan Apennines, and
+are said to have besieged Florence, though there is no hint of this in
+Orosius. On the approach of Stilicho, at the head of thirty legions
+with a large force of barbarian auxiliaries, Rhadagaisus and his
+hordes--miraculously struck helpless with terror, as Orosius
+implies--let themselves be hemmed in in the mountains behind Fiesole,
+and all perished, by famine and exhaustion rather than by the sword.
+Villani ascribes the salvation of Florence to the prayers of its
+bishop, Zenobius, and adds that as this victory of "the Romans and
+Florentines" took place on the feast of the virgin martyr Reparata,
+her name was given to the church afterwards to become the Cathedral of
+Florence.
+
+Zenobius, now a somewhat misty figure, is the first great Florentine
+of history, and an impressive personage in Florentine art. We dimly
+discern in him an ideal bishop and father of his people; a man of
+great austerity and boundless charity, almost an earlier Antoninus.
+Perhaps the fact that some of the intervening Florentine bishops were
+anything but edifying, has made these two--almost at the beginning and
+end of the Middle Ages--stand forth in a somewhat ideal light. He
+appears to have lived a monastic life outside the walls in a small
+church on the site of the present San Lorenzo, with two young
+ecclesiastics, trained by him and St Ambrose, Eugenius and
+Crescentius. They died before him and are commonly united with him by
+the painters. Here he was frequently visited by St Ambrose--here he
+dispensed his charities and worked his miracles (according to the
+legend, he had a special gift of raising children to life)--here at
+length he died in the odour of sanctity, A.D. 424. The beautiful
+legend of his translation should be familiar to every student of
+Italian painting. I give it in the words of a monkish writer of the
+fourteenth century:--
+
+"About five years after he had been buried, there was made bishop one
+named Andrew, and this holy bishop summoned a great chapter of
+bishops and clerics, and said in the chapter that it was meet to bear
+the body of St Zenobius to the Cathedral Church of San Salvatore; and
+so it was ordained. Wherefore, on the 26th of January, he caused him
+to be unburied and borne to the Church of San Salvatore by four
+bishops; and these bishops bearing the body of St Zenobius were so
+pressed upon by the people that they fell near an elm, the which was
+close unto the Church of St John the Baptist; and when they fell, the
+case where the body of St Zenobius lay was broken, so that the body
+touched the elm, and gradually, as the elm was touched, it brought
+forth flowers and leaves, and lasted all that year with the flowers
+and leaves. The people, seeing the miracle, broke up all the elm, and
+with devotion carried the branches away. And the Florentines,
+beholding what was done, made a column of marble with a cross where
+the elm had been, so that the miracle should ever be remembered by the
+people."
+
+Like the statue of Mars, this column was destroyed by the flood of
+1333, and the one now standing to the north of the Baptistery was set
+up after that year. It was at one time the custom for the clergy on
+the feast of the translation to go in procession and fasten a green
+bough to this column. Zenobius now stands with St Reparata on the
+cathedral facade. Domenico Ghirlandaio painted him, together with his
+pupils Eugenius and Crescentius, in the Sala dei Gigli of the Palazzo
+della Signoria; an unknown follower of Orcagna had painted a similar
+picture for a pillar in the Duomo. Ghiberti cast his miracles in
+bronze for the shrine in the Chapel of the Sacrament; Verrocchio and
+Lorenzo di Credi at Pistoia placed him and the Baptist on either side
+of Madonna's throne. In a picture by some other follower of
+Verrocchio's in the Uffizi he is seen offering up a model of his city
+to the Blessed Virgin. Two of the most famous of his miracles, the
+raising of a child to life and the flowering of the elm tree at his
+translation, are superbly rendered in two pictures by Ridolfo
+Ghirlandaio. On May 25th the people still throng the Duomo with
+bunches of roses and other flowers, which they press to the reliquary
+which contains his head, and so obtain the "benedizione di San
+Zenobio." Thus does his memory live fresh and green among the people
+to whom he so faithfully ministered.
+
+Another barbarian king, the last Gothic hero Totila, advancing upon
+Rome in 542, took the same shorter but more difficult route across the
+Apennines. According to the legend, he utterly destroyed all Florence,
+with the exception of the Church of San Giovanni, and rebuilt Fiesole
+to oppose Rome and prevent Florence from being restored. The truth
+appears to be that he did not personally attack Florence, but sent a
+portion of his troops under his lieutenants. They were successfully
+resisted by Justin, who commanded the imperial garrison, and, on the
+advance of reinforcements from Ravenna, they drew off into the valley
+of the Mugello, where they turned upon the pursuing "Romans" (whose
+army consisted of worse barbarians than Goths) and completely routed
+them. Fiesole, which had apparently recovered from its old
+destruction, was probably too difficult to be assailed; but it appears
+to have been gradually growing at the expense of Florence--the
+citizens of the latter emigrating to it for greater safety. This was
+especially the case during the Lombard invasion, when the fortunes of
+Florence were at their lowest, and, indeed, in the second half of the
+eighth century, Florence almost sank to being a suburb of Fiesole.
+
+With the advent of Charlemagne and the restoration of the Empire,
+brighter days commenced for Florence,--so much so that the story ran
+that he had renewed the work of Julius Caesar and founded the city
+again. In 786 he wintered here with his court on his third visit to
+Rome; and, according to legend, he was here again in great wealth and
+pomp in 805, and founded the Church of Santissimi Apostoli--the oldest
+existing Florentine building after the Baptistery. Upon its facade you
+may still read a pompous inscription concerning the Emperor's
+reception in Florence, and how the Church was consecrated by
+Archbishop Turpin in the presence of Oliver and Roland, the Paladins!
+Florence was becoming a power in Tuscany, or at least beginning to see
+more of Popes and Emperors. The Ottos stayed within her walls on their
+way to be crowned at Rome; Popes, flying from their rebellious
+subjects, found shelter here. In 1055 Victor II. held a council in
+Florence. Beautiful Romanesque churches began to rise--notably the SS.
+Apostoli and San Miniato, both probably dating from the eleventh
+century. Great churchmen appeared among her sons, as San Giovanni
+Gualberto--the "merciful knight" of Burne-Jones' unforgettable
+picture--the reformer of the Benedictines and the founder of
+Vallombrosa. The early reformers, while Hildebrand was still
+"Archdeacon of the Roman Church," were specially active in Florence;
+and one of them, known as Peter Igneus, in 1068 endured the ordeal of
+fire and is said to have passed unhurt through the flames, to convict
+the Bishop of Florence of simony. This, with other matters relating to
+the times of Giovanni Gualberto and the struggles of the reformers of
+the clergy, you may see in the Bargello in a series of noteworthy
+marble bas-reliefs (terribly damaged, it is true), from the hand of
+Benedetto da Rovezzano.
+
+Although we already begin to hear of the "Florentine people" and the
+"Florentine citizens," Florence was at this time subject to the
+Margraves of Tuscany. One of them, Hugh the Great, who is said to have
+acted as vicar of the Emperor Otto III., and who died at the beginning
+of the eleventh century, lies buried in the Badia which had been
+founded by his mother, the Countess Willa, in 978. His tomb, one of
+the most noteworthy monuments of the fifteenth century, by Mino da
+Fiesole, may still be seen, near Filippino Lippi's Vision of St
+Bernard.
+
+It was while Florence was nominally under the sway of Hugo's most
+famous successor, the Countess Matilda of Tuscany, that Dante's
+ancestor Cacciaguida was born; and, in the fifteenth and sixteenth
+cantos of the _Paradiso_, he draws an ideal picture of that austere
+old Florence, _dentro dalla cerchia antica_, still within her Roman
+walls. We can still partly trace and partly conjecture the position of
+these walls. The city stood a little way back from the river, and had
+four master gates; the Porta San Piero on the east, the Porta del
+Duomo on the north, the Porta San Pancrazio on the west, the Porta
+Santa Maria on the south (towards the Ponte Vecchio). The heart of the
+city, the Forum or, as it came to be called, the Mercato Vecchio, has
+indeed been destroyed of late years to make way for the cold and
+altogether hideous Piazza Vittorio Emanuele; but we can still perceive
+that at its south-east corner the two main streets of this old
+_Florentia quadrata_ intersected,--Calimara, running from the Porta
+Santa Maria to the Porta del Duomo, south to north, and the Corso,
+running east to west from the Porta San Piero to the Porta San
+Pancrazio, along the lines of the present Corso, Via degli Speziali,
+and Via degli Strozzi. The Porta San Piero probably stood about where
+the Via del Corso joins the Via del Proconsolo, and there was a suburb
+reaching out to the Church of San Piero Maggiore. Then the walls ran
+along the lines of the present Via del Proconsolo and Via dei
+Balestrieri, inclosing Santa Reparata and the Baptistery, to the Duomo
+Gate beyond the Bishop's palace--probably somewhere near the opening
+of the modern Borgo San Lorenzo. Then along the Via Cerretani, Piazza
+Antinori, Via Tornabuoni, to the Gate of San Pancrazio, which was
+somewhere near the present Palazzo Strozzi; and so on to where the
+Church of Santa Trinita now stands, near which there was a postern
+gate called the Porta Rossa. Then they turned east along the present
+Via delle Terme to the Porta Santa Maria, which was somewhere near the
+end of the Mercato Nuovo, after which their course back to the Porta
+San Piero is more uncertain. Outside the walls were churches and
+ever-increasing suburbs, and Florence was already becoming an
+important commercial centre. Matilda's beneficent sway left it in
+practical independence to work out its own destinies; she protected it
+from imperial aggressions, and curbed the nobles of the contrada, who
+were of Teutonic descent and who, from their feudal castles round,
+looked with hostility upon the rich burgher city of pure Latin blood
+that was gradually reducing their power and territorial sway. At
+intervals the great Countess entered Florence, and either in person or
+by her deputies and judges (members of the chief Florentine families)
+administered justice in the Forum. Indeed she played the part of
+Dante's ideal Emperor in the _De Monarchia_; made Roman law obeyed
+through her dominions; established peace and curbed disorder; and
+therefore, in spite of her support of papal claims for political
+empire, when the _Divina Commedia_ came to be written, Dante placed
+her as guardian of the Earthly Paradise to which the Emperor should
+guide man, and made her the type of the glorified active life. Her
+praises, _la lauda di Matelda_, were long sung in the Florentine
+churches, as may be gathered from a passage in Boccaccio.
+
+It is from the death of Matilda in 1115 that the history of the
+Commune dates. During her lifetime she seems to have gradually,
+especially while engaged in her conflicts with the Emperor Henry,
+delegated her powers to the chief Florentine citizens themselves; and
+in her name they made war upon the aggressive nobility in the country
+round, in the interests of their commerce. For Dante the first half of
+this twelfth century represents the golden age in which his ancestor
+lived, when the great citizen nobles--Bellincion Berti, Ubertino
+Donati, and the heads of the Nerli and Vecchietti and the rest--lived
+simple and patriotic lives, filled the offices of state and led the
+troops against the foes of the Commune. In a grand burst of triumph
+that old Florentine crusader, Cacciaguida, closes the sixteenth canto
+of the _Paradiso_:
+
+     "Con queste genti, e con altre con esse,
+       vid'io Fiorenza in si fatto riposo,
+       che non avea cagion onde piangesse;
+     con queste genti vid'io glorioso,
+       e giusto il popol suo tanto, che'l giglio
+       non era ad asta mai posto a ritroso,
+     ne per division fatto vermiglio."[5]
+
+  [5] "With these folk, and with others with them, did I see Florence in
+  such full repose, she had not cause for wailing;
+
+  With these folk I saw her people so glorious and so just, ne'er was
+  the lily on the shaft reversed, nor yet by faction dyed
+  vermilion."--Wicksteed's translation.
+
+When Matilda died, and the Popes and Emperors prepared to struggle for
+her legacy (which thus initiated the strifes of Guelfs and
+Ghibellines), the Florentine Republic asserted its independence: the
+citizen nobles who had been her delegates and judges now became the
+Consuls of the Commune and the leaders of the republican forces in
+war. In 1119 the Florentines assailed the castle of Monte Cascioli,
+and killed the imperial vicar who defended it; in 1125 they took and
+destroyed Fiesole, which had always been a refuge for robber nobles
+and all who hated the Republic. But already signs of division were
+seen in the city itself, though it was a century before it came to a
+head; and the great family of the Uberti--who, like the nobles of the
+contrada, were of Teutonic descent--were prominently to the front, but
+soon to be _disfatti per la lor superbia_. Scarcely was Matilda dead
+than they appear to have attempted to seize on the supreme power, and
+to have only been defeated with much bloodshed and burning of houses.
+Still the Republic pursued its victorious course through the twelfth
+century--putting down the feudal barons, forcing them to enter the
+city and join the Commune, and extending their commerce and influence
+as well as their territory on all sides. And already these nobles
+within and without the city were beginning to build their lofty
+towers, and to associate themselves into Societies of the Towers;
+while the people were grouped into associations which afterwards
+became the Greater and Lesser Arts or Guilds. Villani sees the origin
+of future contests in the mingling of races, Roman and Fiesolan;
+modern writers find it in the distinction, mentioned already, between
+the nobles, of partly Teutonic origin and imperial sympathies, and the
+burghers, who were the true Italians, the descendants of those over
+whom successive tides of barbarian conquest had swept, and to whom the
+ascendency of the nobles would mean an alien yoke. This struggle
+between a landed military and feudal nobility, waning in power and
+authority, and a commercial democracy of more purely Latin descent,
+ever increasing in wealth and importance, is what lies at the bottom
+of the contest between Florentine Guelfs and Ghibellines; and the
+rival claims of Pope and Emperor are of secondary importance, as far
+as Tuscany is concerned.
+
+In 1173 (as the most recent historian of Florence has shown, and not
+in the eleventh century as formerly supposed), the second circle of
+walls was built, and included a much larger tract of city, though many
+of the churches which we have been wont to consider the most essential
+things in Florence stand outside them. A new Porta San Piero, just
+beyond the present facade of the ruined church of San Piero Maggiore,
+enclosed the Borgo di San Piero; thence the walls passed round to the
+Porta di Borgo San Lorenzo, just to the north of the present Piazza,
+and swept round, with two gates of minor importance, past the chief
+western Porta San Pancrazio or Porta San Paolo, beyond which the
+present Piazza di Santa Maria Novella stands, down to the Arno where
+there was a Porta alla Carraia, at the point where the bridge was
+built later. Hence a lower wall ran along the Arno, taking in the
+parts excluded from the older circuit down to the Ponte Vecchio. About
+half-way between this and the Ponte Rubaconte, the walls turned up
+from the Arno, with several small gates, until they reached the place
+where the present Piazza di Santa Croce lies--which was outside. Here,
+just beyond the old site of the Amphitheatre, there was a gate, after
+which they ran straight without gate or postern to San Piero, where
+they had commenced.
+
+Instead of the old Quarters, named from the gates, the city was now
+divided into six corresponding Sesti or sextaries; the Sesto di Porta
+San Piero, the Sesto still called from the old Porta del Duomo, the
+Sesto di Porta Pancrazio, the Sesto di San Piero Scheraggio (a church
+near the Palazzo Vecchio, but now totally destroyed), and the Sesto di
+Borgo Santissimi Apostoli--these two replacing the old Quarter of
+Porta Santa Maria. Across the river lay the Sesto d'Oltrarno--then
+for the most part unfortified. At that time the inhabitants of
+Oltrarno were mostly the poor and the lower classes, but not a few
+noble families settled there later on. The Consuls, the supreme
+officers of the state, were elected annually, two for each sesto,
+usually nobles of popular tendencies; there was a council of a
+hundred, elected every year, its members being mainly chosen from the
+Guilds as the Consuls from the Towers; and a Parliament of the people
+could be summoned in the Piazza. Thus the popular government was
+constituted.
+
+Hardly had the new walls risen when the Uberti in 1177 attempted to
+overthrow the Consuls and seize the government of the city; they were
+partially successful, in that they managed to make the administration
+more aristocratic, after a prolonged civil struggle of two years'
+duration. In 1185 Frederick Barbarossa took away the privileges of the
+Republic and deprived it of its contrada; but his son, Henry VI.,
+apparently gave it back. With the beginning of the thirteenth century
+we find the Consuls replaced by a Podesta, a foreign noble elected by
+the citizens themselves; and the Florentines, not content with having
+back their contrada, beginning to make wars of conquest upon their
+neighbours, especially the Sienese, from whom they exacted a cession
+of territory in 1208.
+
+  [Illustration: THE BUONDELMONTE TOWER]
+
+In 1215 there was enacted a deed in which poets and chroniclers have
+seen a turning point in the history of Florence. Buondelmonte dei
+Buondelmonti, "a right winsome and comely knight," as Villani calls
+him, had pledged himself for political reasons to marry a maiden of
+the Amidei family--the kinsmen of the proud Uberti and Fifanti. But,
+at the instigation of Gualdrada Donati, he deserted his betrothed and
+married Gualdrada's own daughter, a girl of great beauty. Upon this
+the nobles of the kindred of the deserted girl held a council
+together to decide what vengeance to take, in which "Mosca dei
+Lamberti spoke the evil word: _Cosa fatta, capo ha_; to wit, that he
+should be slain; and so it was done." On Easter Sunday the Amidei and
+their associates assembled, after hearing mass in San Stefano, in a
+palace of the Amidei, which was on the Lungarno at the opening of the
+present Via Por Santa Maria; and they watched young Buondelmonte
+coming from Oltrarno, riding over the Ponte Vecchio "dressed nobly in
+a new robe all white and on a white palfrey," crowned with a garland,
+making his way towards the palaces of his kindred in Borgo Santissimi
+Apostoli. As soon as he had reached this side, at the foot of the
+pillar on which stood the statue of Mars, they rushed out upon him.
+Schiatta degli Uberti struck him from his horse with a mace, and Mosca
+dei Lamberti, Lambertuccio degli Amidei, Oderigo Fifanti, and one of
+the Gangalandi, stabbed him to death with their daggers at the foot of
+the statue. "Verily is it shown," writes Villani, "that the enemy of
+human nature by reason of the sins of the Florentines had power in
+this idol of Mars, which the pagan Florentines adored of old; for at
+the foot of his figure was this murder committed, whence such great
+evil followed to the city of Florence." The body was placed upon a
+bier, and, with the young bride supporting the dead head of her
+bridegroom, carried through the streets to urge the people to
+vengeance. Headed by the Uberti, the older and more aristocratic
+families took up the cause of the Amidei; the burghers and the
+democratically inclined nobles supported the Buondelmonti, and from
+this the chronicler dates the beginning of the Guelfs and Ghibellines
+in Florence.
+
+But it was only the names that were then introduced, to intensify a
+struggle which had in reality commenced a century before this, in
+1115, on the death of Matilda. As far as Guelf and Ghibelline meant a
+struggle of the commune of burghers and traders with a military
+aristocracy of Teutonic descent and feudal imperial tendencies, the
+thing is already clearly defined in the old contest between the Uberti
+and the Consuls. This, however, precipitated matters, and initiated
+fifty years of perpetual conflict. Dante, through Cacciaguida, touches
+upon the tragedy in his great way in _Paradiso_ XVI., where he calls
+it the ruin of old Florence.
+
+     "La casa di che nacque il vostro fleto,
+       per lo giusto disdegno che v'ha morti
+       e posto fine al vostro viver lieto,
+     era onorata ed essa e suoi consorti.
+       O Buondelmonte, quanto mal fuggisti
+       le nozze sue per gli altrui conforti!
+     Molti sarebbon lieti, che son tristi,
+       se Dio t'avesse conceduto ad Ema
+       la prima volta che a citta venisti.
+     Ma conveniasi a quella pietra scema
+       che guarda il ponte, che Fiorenza fesse
+       vittima nella sua pace postrema."[6]
+
+  [6] "The house from which your wailing sprang, because of the just
+  anger which hath slain you and placed a term upon your joyous life,
+
+  "was honoured, it and its associates. Oh Buondelmonte, how ill didst
+  thou flee its nuptials at the prompting of another!
+
+  "Joyous had many been who now are sad, had God committed thee unto the
+  Ema the first time that thou camest to the city.
+
+  "But to that mutilated stone which guardeth the bridge 'twas meet that
+  Florence should give a victim in her last time of peace."
+
+And again, in the Hell of the sowers of discord, where they are
+horribly mutilated by the devil's sword, he meets the miserable Mosca.
+
+     "Ed un, ch'avea l'una e l'altra man mozza,
+       levando i moncherin per l'aura fosca,
+       si che il sangue facea la faccia sozza,
+     grido: Ricorderaiti anche del Mosca,
+       che dissi, lasso! 'Capo ha cosa fatta,'
+       che fu il mal seme per la gente tosca."[7]
+
+  [7] "And one who had both hands cut off, raising the stumps through
+  the dim air so that their blood defiled his face, cried: 'Thou wilt
+  recollect the Mosca too, ah me! who said, "A thing done has an end!"
+  which was the seed of evil to the Tuscan people.'" (_Inf._ xxviii.)
+
+For a time the Commune remained Guelf and powerful, in spite of
+dissensions; it adhered to the Pope against Frederick II., and waged
+successful wars with its Ghibelline rivals, Pisa and Siena. Of the
+other Tuscan cities Lucca was Guelf, Pistoia Ghibelline. A religious
+feud mingled with the political dissensions; heretics, the Paterini,
+Epicureans and other sects, were multiplying in Italy, favoured by
+Frederick II. and patronised by the Ghibellines. Fra Pietro of Verona,
+better known as St Peter Martyr, organised a crusade, and, with his
+white-robed captains of the Faith, hunted them in arms through the
+streets of Florence; at the Croce al Trebbio, near Santa Maria
+Novella, and in the Piazza di Santa Felicita over the Arno, columns
+still mark the place where he fell furiously upon them, _con l'uficio
+apostolico_. But in 1249, at the instigation of Frederick II., the
+Uberti and Ghibelline nobles rose in arms; and, after a desperate
+conflict with the Guelf magnates and the people, gained possession of
+the city, with the aid of the Emperor's German troops. And, on the
+night of February 2nd, the Guelf leaders with a great following of
+people armed and bearing torches buried Rustico Marignolli, who had
+fallen in defending the banner of the Lily, with military honours in
+San Lorenzo, and then sternly passed into exile. Their palaces and
+towers were destroyed, while the Uberti and their allies with the
+Emperor's German troops held the city. This lasted not two years. In
+1250, on the death of Frederick II., the Republic threw off the yoke,
+and the first democratic constitution of Florence was established, the
+_Primo Popolo_, in which the People were for the first time regularly
+organised both for peace and for war under a new officer, the Captain
+of the People, whose appointment was intended to outweigh the Podesta,
+the head of the Commune and the leader of the nobles. The Captain was
+intrusted with the white and red Gonfalon of the People, and
+associated with the central government of the Ancients of the people,
+who to some extent corresponded to the Consuls of olden time.
+
+This _Primo Popolo_ ran a victorious course of ten years, years of
+internal prosperity and almost continuous external victory. It was
+under it that the banner of the Commune was changed from a white lily
+on a red field to a red lily on a white field--_per division fatto
+vermiglio_, as Dante puts it--after the Uberti and Lamberti with the
+turbulent Ghibellines had been expelled. Pisa was humbled; Pistoia and
+Volterra forced to submit. But it came to a terrible end, illuminated
+only by the heroism of one of its conquerors. A conspiracy on the part
+of the Uberti to take the government from the people and subject the
+city to the great Ghibelline prince, Manfredi, King of Apulia and
+Sicily, son of Frederick II., was discovered and severely punished.
+Headed by Farinata degli Uberti and aided by King Manfredi's German
+mercenaries, the exiles gathered at Siena, against which the
+Florentine Republic declared war. In 1260 the Florentine army
+approached Siena. A preliminary skirmish, in which a band of German
+horsemen was cut to pieces and the royal banner captured, only led a
+few months later to the disastrous defeat of Montaperti, _che fece
+l'Arbia colorata in rosso_; in which, after enormous slaughter and
+loss of the Carroccio, or battle car of the Republic, "the ancient
+people of Florence was broken and annihilated" on September 4th, 1260.
+Without waiting for the armies of the conqueror, the Guelf nobles with
+their families and many of the burghers fled the city, mainly to
+Lucca; and, on the 16th of September, the Germans under Count
+Giordano, Manfredi's vicar, with Farinata and the exiles, entered
+Florence as conquerors. All liberty was destroyed, the houses of
+Guelfs razed to the ground, the Count Guido Novello--the lord of Poppi
+and a ruthless Ghibelline--made Podesta. The Via Ghibellina is his
+record. It was finally proposed in a great Ghibelline council at
+Empoli to raze Florence to the ground; but the fiery eloquence of
+Farinata degli Uberti, who declared that, even if he stood alone, he
+would defend her sword in hand as long as life lasted, saved his city.
+Marked out with all his house for the relentless hate of the
+Florentine people, Dante has secured to him a lurid crown of glory
+even in Hell. Out of the burning tombs of the heretics he rises, _come
+avesse l'inferno in gran dispitto_, still the unvanquished hero who,
+when all consented to destroy Florence, "alone with open face defended
+her."
+
+For nearly six years the life of the Florentine people was suspended,
+and lay crushed beneath an oppressive despotism of Ghibelline nobles
+and German soldiery under Guido Novello, the vicar of King Manfredi.
+Excluded from all political interests, the people imperceptibly
+organised their greater and lesser guilds, and waited the event.
+During this gloom Farinata degli Uberti died in 1264, and in the
+following year, 1265, Dante Alighieri was born. That same year, 1265,
+Charles of Anjou, the champion of the Church, invited by Clement IV.
+to take the crown of the kingdom of Naples and Sicily, entered Italy,
+and in February 1266 annihilated the army of Manfredi at the battle of
+Benevento. Foremost in the ranks of the crusaders--for as such the
+French were regarded--fought the Guelf exiles from Florence, under the
+Papal banner specially granted them by Pope Clement--a red eagle
+clutching a green dragon on a white field. This, with the addition of
+a red lily over the eagle's head, became the arms of the society known
+as the Parte Guelfa; you may see it on the Porta San Niccolo and in
+other parts of the city between the cross of the People and the red
+lily of the Commune. Many of the noble Florentines were knighted by
+the hand of King Charles before the battle, and did great deeds of
+valour upon the field. "These men cannot lose to-day," exclaimed
+Manfredi, as he watched their advance; and when the silver eagle of
+the house of Suabia fell from Manfredi's helmet and he died in the
+melee crying _Hoc est signum Dei_, the triumph of the Guelfs was
+complete and German rule at an end in Italy. Of Manfredi's heroic
+death and the dishonour done by the Pope's legate to his body, Dante
+has sung in the _Purgatorio_.
+
+When the news reached Florence, the Ghibellines trembled for their
+safety, and the people prepared to win back their own. An attempt at
+compromise was first made, under the auspices of Pope Clement. Two
+_Frati Gaudenti_ or "Cavalieri di Maria," members of an order of
+warrior monks from Bologna, were made Podestas, one a Guelf and one a
+Ghibelline, to come to terms with the burghers. You may still trace
+the place where the Bottega and court of the Calimala stood in Mercato
+Nuovo (the Calimala being the Guild of dressers of foreign
+cloth--panni franceschi, as Villani calls it), near where the Via
+Porta Rossa now enters the present Via Calzaioli. Here the new council
+of thirty-six of the best citizens, burghers and artizans, with a few
+trusted members of the nobility, met every day to settle the affairs
+of the State. Dante has branded these two warrior monks as hypocrites,
+but, as Capponi says, from this Bottega issued at once and almost
+spontaneously the Republic of Florence. Their great achievement was
+the thorough organisation of the seven greater Guilds, of which more
+presently, to each of which were given consuls and rectors, and a
+gonfalon or ensign of its own, around which its followers might
+assemble in arms in defence of People and Commune. To counteract this,
+Guido Novello brought in more troops from the Ghibelline cities of
+Tuscany, and increased the taxes to pay his Germans; until he had
+fifteen hundred horsemen in the city under his command. With their aid
+the nobles, headed by the Lamberti, rushed to arms. The people rose
+_en masse_ and, headed by a Ghibelline noble, Gianni dei Soldanieri,
+who apparently had deserted his party in order to get control of the
+State (and who is placed by Dante in the Hell of traitors), raised
+barricades in the Piazza di Santa Trinita and in the Borgo SS.
+Apostoli, at the foot of the Tower of the Girolami, which still
+stands. The Ghibellines and Germans gathered in the Piazza di San
+Giovanni, held all the north-east of the town, and swept down upon
+the people's barricades under a heavy fire of darts and stones from
+towers and windows. But the street fighting put the horsemen at a
+hopeless disadvantage, and, repulsed in the assault, the Count and his
+followers evacuated the town. This was on St Martin's day, November
+11th, 1266. The next day a half-hearted attempt to re-enter the city
+at the gate near the Ponte alla Carraia was made, but easily driven
+off; and for two centuries and more no foreigner set foot as conqueror
+in Florence.
+
+Not that Florence either obtained or desired absolute independence.
+The first step was to choose Charles of Anjou, the new King of Naples
+and Sicily, for their suzerain for ten years; but, cruel tyrant as he
+was elsewhere, he showed himself a true friend to the Florentines, and
+his suzerainty seldom weighed upon them oppressively. The Uberti and
+others were expelled, and some, who held out among the castles, were
+put to death at his orders. But the government became truly
+democratic. There was a central administration of twelve Ancients,
+elected annually, two for each sesto; with a council of one hundred
+"good men of the People, without whose deliberation no great thing or
+expense could be done"; and, nominally at least, a parliament. Next
+came the Captain of the People (usually an alien noble of democratic
+sympathies), with a special council or _credenza_, called the Council
+of the Captain and Capetudini (the Capetudini composed of the consuls
+of the Guilds), of 80 members; and a general council of 300 (including
+the 80), all _popolani_ and Guelfs. Next came the Podesta, always an
+alien noble (appointed at first by King Charles), with the Council of
+the Podesta of 90 members, and the general Council of the Commune of
+300--in both of which nobles could sit as well as popolani. Measures
+presented by the 12 to the 100 were then submitted successively to
+the two councils of the Captain, and then, on the next day, to the
+councils of the Podesta and the Commune. Occasionally measures were
+concerted between the magistrates and a specially summoned council of
+_richiesti_, without the formalities and delays of these various
+councils. Each of the seven greater Arts[8] was further organised with
+its own officers and councils and banners, like a miniature republic,
+and its consuls (forming the Capetudini) always sat in the Captain's
+council and usually in that of the Podesta likewise.
+
+  [8] The Arte di Calimala, or of the Mercatanti di Calimala, the
+  dressers of foreign cloth; the Arte della Lana, or wool; the Arte dei
+  Giudici e Notai, judges and notaries, also called the Arte del
+  Proconsolo; the Arte del Cambio or dei Cambiatori, money-changers; the
+  Arte dei Medici e Speziali, physicians and apothecaries; the Arte
+  della Seta, or silk, also called the Arte di Por Santa Maria; and the
+  Arte dei Vaiai e Pellicciai, the furriers. The Minor Arts were
+  organised later.
+
+  [Illustration: THE PALACE OF THE PARTE GUELFA]
+
+There was one dark spot. A new organisation was set on foot, under the
+auspices of Pope Clement and King Charles, known as the Parte
+Guelfa--another miniature republic within the republic--with six
+captains (three nobles and three popolani) and two councils, mainly to
+persecute the Ghibellines, to manage confiscated goods, and uphold
+Guelf principles in the State. In later days these Captains of the
+Guelf Party became exceedingly powerful and oppressive, and were the
+cause of much dissension. They met at first in the Church of S. Maria
+sopra la Porta (now the Church of S. Biagio), and later had a special
+palace of their own--which still stands, partly in the Via delle
+Terme, as you pass up it from the Via Por Santa Maria on the right,
+and partly in the Piazza di San Biagio. It is an imposing and somewhat
+threatening mass, partly of the fourteenth and partly of the early
+fifteenth century. The church, which retains in part its structure of
+the thirteenth century, had been a place of secret meeting for the
+Guelfs during Guido Novello's rule; it still stands, but converted
+into a barracks for the firemen of Florence.
+
+Thus was the greatest and most triumphant Republic of the Middle Ages
+organised--the constitution under which the most glorious culture and
+art of the modern world was to flourish. The great Guilds were
+henceforth a power in the State, and the _Secondo Popolo_ had
+arisen--the democracy that Dante and Boccaccio were to know.
+
+  [Illustration: ARMS OF PARTE GUELFA]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+_The Times of Dante and Boccaccio_
+
+     "Godi, Fiorenza, poi che sei si grande
+     che per mare e per terra batti l'ali,
+     e per l'inferno il tuo nome si spande."
+         --_Dante._
+
+
+The century that passed from the birth of Dante in 1265 to the deaths
+of Petrarch and Boccaccio, in 1374 and 1375 respectively, may be
+styled the _Trecento_, although it includes the last quarter of the
+thirteenth century and excludes the closing years of the fourteenth.
+In general Italian history, it runs from the downfall of the German
+Imperial power at the battle of Benevento, in 1266, to the return of
+the Popes from Avignon in 1377. In art, it is the epoch of the
+completion of Italian Gothic in architecture, of the followers and
+successors of Niccolo and Giovanni Pisano in sculpture, of the school
+of Giotto in painting. In letters, it is the great period of pure
+Tuscan prose and verse. Dante and Giovanni Villani, Dino Compagni,
+Petrarch, Boccaccio and Sacchetti, paint the age for us in all its
+aspects; and a note of mysticism is heard at the close (though not
+from a Florentine) in the Epistles of St. Catherine of Siena, of whom
+a living Italian poet has written--_Nel Giardino del conoscimento di
+se ella e come una rosa di fuoco._ But at the same time it is a
+century full of civil war and sanguinary factions, in which every
+Italian city was divided against itself; and nowhere were these
+divisions more notable or more bitterly fought out than in Florence.
+Yet, in spite of it all, the Republic proceeded majestically on its
+triumphant course. Machiavelli lays much stress upon this in the Proem
+to his _Istorie Fiorentine_. "In Florence," he says, "at first the
+nobles were divided against each other, then the people against the
+nobles, and lastly the people against the populace; and it ofttimes
+happened that when one of these parties got the upper hand, it split
+into two. And from these divisions there resulted so many deaths, so
+many banishments, so many destructions of families, as never befell in
+any other city of which we have record. Verily, in my opinion, nothing
+manifests more clearly the power of our city than the result of these
+divisions, which would have been able to destroy every great and most
+potent city. Nevertheless ours seemed thereby to grow ever greater;
+such was the virtue of those citizens, and the power of their genius
+and disposition to make themselves and their country great, that those
+who remained free from these evils could exalt her with their virtue
+more than the malignity of those accidents, which had diminished them,
+had been able to cast her down. And without doubt, if only Florence,
+after her liberation from the Empire, had had the felicity of adopting
+a form of government which would have kept her united, I know not what
+republic, whether modern or ancient, would have surpassed her--with
+such great virtue in war and in peace would she have been filled."
+
+  [Illustration: FLORENTINE FAMILIES, EARLY THIRTEENTH CENTURY, WITH A
+  PORTION OF THE SECOND WALLS INDICATED (_Temple Classics: Paradiso_).
+  (The representation is approximate only: the Cerchi Palace near the
+  Corso degli Adimari should be more to the right.)]
+
+The first thirty-four years of this epoch are among the brightest in
+Florentine history, the years that ran from the triumph of the Guelfs
+to the sequel to the Jubilee of 1300, from the establishment of the
+_Secondo Popolo_ to its split into Neri and Bianchi, into Black Guelfs
+and White Guelfs. Externally Florence became the chief power of
+Tuscany, and all the neighbouring towns gradually, to a greater or
+less extent, acknowledged her sway; internally, in spite of growing
+friction between the burghers and the new Guelf nobility, between
+_popolani_ and _grandi_ or magnates, she was daily advancing in wealth
+and prosperity, in beauty and artistic power. The exquisite poetry of
+the _dolce stil novo_ was heard. Guido Cavalcanti, a noble Guelf who
+had married the daughter of Farinata degli Uberti, and, later, the
+notary Lapo Gianni and Dante Alighieri, showed the Italians what true
+lyric song was; philosophers like Brunetto Latini served the state;
+modern history was born with Giovanni Villani. Great palaces were
+built for the officers of the Republic; vast Gothic churches arose.
+Women of rare beauty, eternalised as Beatrice, Giovanna, Lagia and the
+like, passed through the streets and adorned the social gatherings in
+the open loggias of the palaces. Splendid pageants and processions
+hailed the Calends of May and the Nativity of the Baptist, and marked
+the civil and ecclesiastical festivities and state solemnities. The
+people advanced more and more in power and patriotism; while the
+magnates, in their towers and palace-fortresses, were partly forced to
+enter the life of the guilds, partly held aloof and plotted to recover
+their lost authority, but were always ready to officer the burgher
+forces in time of war, or to extend Florentine influence by serving as
+Podestas and Captains in other Italian cities.
+
+Dante was born in the Sesto di San Piero Maggiore in May 1265, some
+eighteen months before the liberation of the city. He lost his mother
+in his infancy, and his father while he was still a boy. This father
+appears to have been a notary, and came from a noble but decadent
+family, who were probably connected with the Elisei, an aristocratic
+house of supposed Roman descent, who had by this time almost entirely
+disappeared. The Alighieri, who were Guelfs, do not seem to have
+ranked officially as _grandi_ or magnates; one of Dante's uncles had
+fought heroically at Montaperti. Almost all the families connected
+with the story of Dante's life had their houses in the Sesto di San
+Piero Maggiore, and their sites may in some instances still be traced.
+Here were the Cerchi, with whom he was to be politically associated in
+after years; the Donati, from whom sprung one of his dearest friends,
+Forese, with one of his deadliest foes, Messer Corso, and Dante's own
+wife, Gemma; and the Portinari, the house according to tradition of
+Beatrice, the "giver of blessing" of Dante's _Vita Nuova_, the
+mystical lady of the _Paradiso_. Guido Cavalcanti, the first and best
+of all his friends, lived a little apart from this Sesto di
+Scandali--as St Peter's section of the town came to be called--between
+the Mercato Nuovo and San Michele in Orto. Unlike the Alighieri,
+though not of such ancient birth as theirs, the Cavalcanti were
+exceedingly rich and powerful, and ranked officially among the
+_grandi_, the Guelf magnates. At this epoch, as Signor Carocci
+observes in his _Firenze scomparsa_, Florence must have presented the
+aspect of a vast forest of towers. These towers rose over the houses
+of powerful and wealthy families, to be used for offence or defence,
+when the faction fights raged, or to be dismantled and cut down when
+the people gained the upper hand. The best idea of such a mediaeval
+city, on a smaller scale, can still be got at San Gemignano, "the fair
+town called of the Fair Towers," where dozens of these _torri_ still
+stand; and also, though to a less extent, at Gubbio. A few have been
+preserved here in Florence, and there are a number of narrow streets,
+on both sides of the Arno, which still retain some of their mediaeval
+characteristics. In the Borgo Santissimi Apostoli, for instance, and
+in the Via Lambertesca, there are several striking towers of this
+kind, with remnants of palaces of the _grandi_; and, on the other side
+of the river, especially in the Via dei Bardi and the Borgo San
+Jacopo. When one family, or several associated families, had palaces
+on either side of a narrow street defended by such towers, and could
+throw chains and barricades across at a moment's notice, it will
+readily be understood that in times of popular tumult Florence
+bristled with fortresses in every direction.
+
+In 1282, the year before that in which Dante received the "most sweet
+salutation," _dolcissimo salutare_, of "the glorious lady of my mind
+who was called by many Beatrice, that knew not how she was called,"
+and saw the vision of the Lord of terrible aspect in the mist of the
+colour of fire (the vision which inspired the first of his sonnets
+which has been preserved to us), the democratic government of the
+_Secondo Popolo_ was confirmed by being placed entirely in the hands
+of the _Arti Maggiori_ or Greater Guilds. The Signoria was henceforth
+to be composed of the Priors of the Arts, chosen from the chief
+members of the Greater Guilds, who now became the supreme magistrates
+of the State. They were, at this epoch of Florentine history, six in
+number, one to represent each Sesto, and held office for two months
+only; on leaving office, they joined with the Capetudini, and other
+citizens summoned for the purpose, to elect their successors. At a
+later period this was done, ostensibly at least, by lot instead of
+election. The glorious Palazzo Vecchio had not yet been built, and the
+Priors met at first in a house belonging to the monks of the Badia,
+defended by the Torre della Castagna; and afterwards in a palace
+belonging to the Cerchi (both tower and palace are still standing). Of
+the seven Greater Arts--the _Calimala_, the Money-changers, the
+Wool-merchants, the Silk-merchants, the Physicians and Apothecaries,
+the traders in furs and skins, the Judges and Notaries--the latter
+alone do not seem at first to have been represented in the Priorate;
+but to a certain extent they exercised control over all the Guilds,
+sat in all their tribunals, and had a Proconsul, who came next to the
+Signoria in all state processions, and had a certain jurisdiction over
+all the Arts. It was thus essentially a government of those who were
+actually engaged in industry and commerce. "Henceforth," writes
+Pasquale Villari, "the Republic is properly a republic of merchants,
+and only he who is ascribed to the Arts can govern it: every grade of
+nobility, ancient or new, is more a loss than a privilege." The double
+organisation of the People under the Captain with his two councils,
+and the Commune under the Podesta with his special council and the
+general council (in these two latter alone, it will be remembered,
+could nobles sit and vote) still remained; but the authority of the
+Podesta was naturally diminished.
+
+  [Illustration: CORSO DONATI'S TOWER]
+
+Florence was now the predominant power in central Italy; the cities of
+Tuscany looked to her as the head of the Guelfic League, although,
+says Dino Compagni, "they love her more in discord than in peace, and
+obey her more for fear than for love." A protracted war against Pisa
+and Arezzo, carried on from 1287 to 1292, drew even Dante from his
+poetry and his study; it is believed that he took part in the great
+battle of Campaldino in 1289, in which the last efforts of the old
+Tuscan Ghibellinism were shattered by the Florentines and their
+allies, fighting under the royal banner of the House of Anjou. Amerigo
+di Narbona, one of the captains of King Charles II. of Naples, was in
+command of the Guelfic forces. From many points of view, this is one
+of the more interesting battles of the Middle Ages. It is said to have
+been almost the last Italian battle in which the burgher forces, and
+not the mercenary soldiery of the Condottieri, carried the day. Corso
+Donati and Vieri dei Cerchi, soon to be in deadly feud in the
+political arena, were among the captains of the Florentine host; and
+Dante himself is said to have served in the front rank of the cavalry.
+In a fragment of a letter ascribed to him by one of his earlier
+biographers, Dante speaks of this battle of Campaldino; "wherein I had
+much dread, and at the end the greatest gladness, by reason of the
+varying chances of that battle." One of the Ghibelline leaders,
+Buonconte da Montefeltro, who was mortally wounded and died in the
+rout, meets the divine poet on the shores of the Mountain of
+Purgation, and, in lines of almost ineffable pathos, tells him the
+whole story of his last moments. Villani, ever mindful of Florence
+being the daughter of Rome, assures us that the news of the great
+victory was miraculously brought to the Priors in the Cerchi Palace,
+in much the same way as the tidings of Lake Regillus to the expectant
+Fathers at the gate of Rome. Several of the exiled Uberti had fallen
+in the ranks of the enemy, fighting against their own country. In the
+cloisters of the Annunziata you will find a contemporary monument of
+the battle, let into the west wall of the church near the ground; the
+marble figure of an armed knight on horseback, with the golden lilies
+of France over his surcoat, charging down upon the foe. It is the tomb
+of the French cavalier, Guglielmo Berardi, "balius" of Amerigo di
+Narbona, who fell upon the field.
+
+The eleven years that follow Campaldino, culminating in the Jubilee of
+Pope Boniface VIII. and the opening of the fourteenth century, are the
+years of Dante's political life. They witnessed the great political
+reforms which confirmed the democratic character of the government,
+and the marvellous artistic embellishment of the city under Arnolfo di
+Cambio and his contemporaries. During these years the Palazzo Vecchio,
+the Duomo, and the grandest churches of Florence were founded; and the
+Third Walls, whose gates and some scanty remnants are with us to-day,
+were begun. Favoured by the Popes and the Angevin sovereigns of
+Naples, now that the old Ghibelline nobility, save in a few valleys
+and mountain fortresses, was almost extinct, the new nobles, the
+_grandi_ or Guelf magnates, proud of their exploits at Campaldino, and
+chafing against the burgher rule, began to adopt an overbearing line
+of conduct towards the people, and to be more factious than ever among
+themselves. Strong measures were adopted against them, such as the
+complete enfranchisement of the peasants of the contrada in
+1289--measures which culminated in the famous Ordinances of Justice,
+passed in 1293, by which the magnates were completely excluded from
+the administration, severe laws made to restrain their rough usage of
+the people, and a special magistrate, the _Gonfaloniere_ or
+"Standard-bearer of Justice," added to the Priors, to hold office like
+them for two months in rotation from each sesto of the city, and to
+rigidly enforce the laws against the magnates. This Gonfaloniere
+became practically the head of the Signoria, and was destined to
+become the supreme head of the State in the latter days of the
+Florentine Republic; to him was publicly assigned the great Gonfalon
+of the People, with its red cross on a white field; and he had a large
+force of armed popolani under his command to execute these ordinances,
+against which there was no appeal allowed.[9] These Ordinances also
+fixed the number of the Guilds at twenty-one--seven Arti Maggiori,
+mainly engaged in wholesale commerce, exportation and importation,
+fourteen Arti Minori, which carried on the retail traffic and internal
+trade of the city--and renewed their statutes.
+
+  [9] Some years later a new officer, the Executor of Justice, was
+  instituted to carry out these ordinances instead of leaving them to
+  the Gonfaloniere. This Executor of Justice was associated with the
+  Captain, but was usually a foreign Guelf burgher; later he developed
+  into the Bargello, head of police and governor of the gaol. It will,
+  of course, be seen that while Podesta, Captain, Executore (the
+  _Rettori_), were aliens, the Gonfaloniere and Priors (the _Signori_)
+  were necessarily Florentines and popolani.
+
+The hero of this Magna Charta of Florence is a certain Giano della
+Bella, a noble who had fought at Campaldino and had now joined the
+people; a man of untractable temper, who knew not how to make
+concessions; somewhat anti-clerical and obnoxious to the Pope, but
+consumed by an intense and savage thirst for justice, upon which the
+craftier politicians of both sides played. "Let the State perish,
+rather than such things be tolerated," was his constant political
+formula: _Perisca innanzi la citta, che tante opere rie si
+sostengano._ But the magnates, from whom he was endeavouring to snatch
+their last political refuge, the Parte Guelfa, muttered, "Let us smite
+the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered"; and at length, after
+an ineffectual conspiracy against his life, Giano was driven out of
+the city, on March 5th, 1295, by a temporary alliance of the burghers
+and magnates against him. The _popolo minuto_ and artizans, upon whom
+he had mainly relied and whose interests he had sustained, deserted
+him; and the government remained henceforth in the hands of the
+wealthy burghers, the _popolo grosso_. Already a cleavage was becoming
+visible between these Arti Maggiori, who ruled the State, and the Arti
+Minori whose gains lay in local merchandise and traffic, partly
+dependent upon the magnates. And a butcher, nicknamed Pecora, or, as
+we may call him, Lambkin, appears prominently as a would-be
+politician; he cuts a quaintly fierce figure in Dino Compagni's
+chronicle. In this same year, 1295, Dante Alighieri entered public
+life, and, on July 6th, he spoke in the General Council of the Commune
+in support of certain modifications in the Ordinances of Justice,
+whereby nobles, by leaving their order and matriculating in one or
+other of the Arts, even without exercising it, could be free from
+their disabilities, and could share in the government of the State,
+and hold office in the Signoria. He himself, in this same year,
+matriculated in the Arte dei Medici e Speziali, the great guild which
+included the painters and the book-sellers.
+
+The growing dissensions in the Guelf Republic came to a head in 1300,
+the famous year of jubilee in which the Pope was said to have declared
+that the Florentines were the "fifth element." The rival factions of
+Bianchi and Neri, White Guelfs and Black Guelfs, which were now to
+divide the whole city, arose partly from the deadly hostility of two
+families each with a large following, the Cerchi and the Donati,
+headed respectively by Vieri dei Cerchi and Corso Donati, the two
+heroes of Campaldino; partly from an analogous feud in Pistoia, which
+was governed from Florence; partly from the political discord between
+that party in the State that clung to the (modified) Ordinances of
+Justice and supported the Signoria, and another party that hated the
+Ordinances and loved the tyrannical Parte Guelfa. They were further
+complicated by the intrigues of the "black" magnates with Pope
+Boniface VIII., who apparently hoped by their means to repress the
+burgher government and unite the city in obedience to himself. With
+this end in view, he had been endeavouring to obtain from Albert of
+Austria the renunciation, in favour of the Holy See, of all rights
+claimed by the Emperors over Tuscany. Dante himself, Guido Cavalcanti,
+and most of the best men in Florence either directly adhered to, or at
+least favoured, the Cerchi and the Whites; the populace, on the other
+hand, was taken with the dash and display of the more aristocratic
+Blacks, and would gladly have seen Messer Corso--"il Barone," as they
+called him--lord of the city. Rioting, in which Guido Cavalcanti
+played a wild and fantastic part, was of daily occurrence, especially
+in the Sesto di San Piero. The adherents of the Signoria had their
+head-quarters in the Cerchi Palace, in the Via della Condotta; the
+Blacks found their legal fortress in that of the Captains of the Parte
+Guelfa in the Via delle Terme. At last, on May 1st, the two factions
+"came to blood" in the Piazza di Santa Trinita on the occasion of a
+dance of girls to usher in the May. On June 15th Dante was elected one
+of the six Priors, to hold office till August 15th, and he at once
+took a strong line in resisting all interference from Rome, and in
+maintaining order within the city. In consequence of an assault upon
+the officers of the Guilds on St. John's Eve, the Signoria, probably
+on Dante's initiative, put under bounds a certain number of factious
+magnates, chosen impartially from both parties, including Corso Donati
+and Guido Cavalcanti. From his place of banishment at Sarzana, Guido,
+sick to death, wrote the most pathetic of all his lyrics:--
+
+     "Because I think not ever to return,
+       Ballad, to Tuscany,--
+       Go therefore thou for me
+         Straight to my lady's face,
+         Who, of her noble grace,
+       Shall show thee courtesy.
+
+            *       *       *       *       *
+
+     "Surely thou knowest, Ballad, how that Death
+       Assails me, till my life is almost sped:
+     Thou knowest how my heart still travaileth
+       Through the sore pangs which in my soul are bred:--
+       My body being now so nearly dead,
+         It cannot suffer more.
+         Then, going, I implore
+         That this my soul thou take
+         (Nay, do so for my sake),
+         When my heart sets it free."[10]
+
+  [10] Rossetti's translation of the _ripresa_ and second stanza of the
+  Ballata _Perch'i' no spero di tornar giammai_.
+
+And at the end of August, when Dante had left office, Guido returned
+to Florence with the rest of the Bianchi, only to die. For more than a
+year the "white" burghers were supreme, not only in Florence, but
+throughout a greater part of Tuscany; and in the following May they
+procured the expulsion of the Blacks from Pistoia. But Corso Donati at
+Rome was biding his time; and, on November 1st, 1301, Charles of
+Valois, brother of King Philip of France, entered Florence with some
+1200 horsemen, partly French and partly Italian,--ostensibly as papal
+peacemaker, but preparing to "joust with the lance of Judas." In Santa
+Maria Novella he solemnly swore, as the son of a king, to preserve the
+peace and well-being of the city; and at once armed his followers.
+Magnates and burghers alike, seeing themselves betrayed, began to
+barricade their houses and streets. On the same day (November 5th)
+Corso Donati, acting in unison with the French, appeared in the
+suburbs, entered the city by a postern gate in the second walls, near
+S. Piero Maggiore, and swept through the streets with an armed force,
+burst open the prisons, and drove the Priors out of their new Palace.
+For days the French and the Neri sacked the city and the contrada at
+their will, Charles being only intent upon securing a large share of
+the spoils for himself. But even he did not dare to alter the popular
+constitution, and was forced to content himself with substituting
+"black" for "white" burghers in the Signoria, and establishing a
+Podesta of his own following, Cante de' Gabbrielli of Gubbio, in the
+Palace of the Commune. An apparently genuine attempt on the part of
+the Pope, by a second "peacemaker," to undo the harm that his first
+had done, came to nothing; and the work of proscription commenced,
+under the direction of the new Podesta. Dante was one of the first
+victims. The two sentences against him (in each case with a few other
+names) are dated January 27th, 1302, and March 10th--and there were to
+be others later. It is the second decree that contains the famous
+clause, condemning him to be burned to death, if ever he fall into the
+power of the Commune. At the beginning of April all the leaders of the
+"white" faction, who had not already fled or turned "black," with
+their chief followers, magnates and burghers alike, were hounded into
+exile; and Charles left Florence to enter upon an almost equally
+shameful campaign in Sicily.
+
+  [Illustration: ACROSS THE PONTE VECCHIO]
+
+Dante is believed to have been absent from Florence on an embassy to
+the Pope when Charles of Valois came, and to have heard the news of
+his ruin at Siena as he hurried homewards--though both embassy and
+absence have been questioned by Dante scholars of repute. His
+ancestor, Cacciaguida, tells him in the _Paradiso_:--
+
+     "Tu lascerai ogni cosa diletta
+       piu caramente, e questo e quello strale
+       che l'arco dello esilio pria saetta.
+     Tu proverai si come sa di sale
+       lo pane altrui, e com'e duro calle
+       lo scendere e il salir per l'altrui scale."[11]
+
+  [11] "Thou shall abandon everything beloved most dearly; this is the
+  arrow which the bow of exile shall first shoot.
+
+  "Thou shalt make trial of how salt doth taste another's bread, and how
+  hard the path to descend and mount upon another's stair."
+     Wicksteed's translation.
+
+The rest of Dante's life was passed in exile, and only touches the
+story of Florence indirectly at certain points. "Since it was the
+pleasure of the citizens of the most beautiful and most famous
+daughter of Rome, Florence," he tells us in his _Convivio_, "to cast
+me forth from her most sweet bosom (in which I was born and nourished
+up to the summit of my life, and in which, with her good will, I
+desire with all my heart to rest my weary soul and end the time given
+me), I have gone through almost all the parts to which this language
+extends, a pilgrim, almost a beggar, showing against my will the wound
+of fortune, which is wont unjustly to be ofttimes reputed to the
+wounded."
+
+Attempts of the exiles to win their return to Florence by force of
+arms, with aid from the Ubaldini and the Tuscan Ghibellines, were
+easily repressed. But the victorious Neri themselves now split into
+two factions; the one, headed by Corso Donati and composed mainly of
+magnates, had a kind of doubtful support in the favour of the
+populace; the other, led by Rosso della Tosa, inclined to the Signoria
+and the _popolo grosso_. It was something like the old contest between
+Messer Corso and Vieri dei Cerchi, but with more entirely selfish
+ends; and there was evidently going to be a hard tussle between Messer
+Corso and Messer Rosso for the possession of the State. Civil war was
+renewed in the city, and the confusion was heightened by the
+restoration of a certain number of Bianchi, who were reconciled to the
+Government. The new Pope, Benedict XI., was ardently striving to
+pacify Florence and all Italy; and his legate, the Cardinal Niccolo da
+Prato, took up the cause of the exiles. Pompous peace-meetings were
+held in the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella, for the friars of St
+Dominic--to which order the new Pope belonged--had the welfare of the
+city deeply at heart; and at one of these meetings the exiled lawyer,
+Ser Petracco dall'Ancisa (in a few days to be the father of Italy's
+second poet), acted as the representative of his party. Attempts were
+made to revive the May-day pageants of brighter days--but they only
+resulted in a horrible disaster on the Ponte alla Carraia, of which
+more presently. The fiends of faction broke loose again; and in order
+to annihilate the Cavalcanti, who were still rich and powerful round
+about the Mercato Nuovo, the leaders of the Neri deliberately burned a
+large portion of the city. On July 20th, 1304, an attempt by the now
+allied Bianchi and Ghibellines to surprise the city proved a
+disastrous failure; and, on that very day (Dante being now far away at
+Verona, forming a party by himself), Francesco di Petracco--who was to
+call himself Petrarca and is called by us Petrarch--was born in exile
+at Arezzo.
+
+  [Illustration: MERCATO NUOVO, THE FLOWER MARKET]
+
+This miserable chapter of Florentine history ended tragically in 1308,
+with the death of Corso Donati. In his old age he had married a
+daughter of Florence's deadliest foe, the great Ghibelline champion,
+Uguccione della Faggiuola; and, in secret understanding with Uguccione
+and the Cardinal Napoleone degli Orsini (Pope Clement V. had already
+transferred the papal chair to Avignon and commenced the Babylonian
+captivity), he was preparing to overthrow the Signoria, abolish the
+Ordinances, and make himself Lord of Florence. But the people
+anticipated him. On Sunday morning, October 16th, the Priors ordered
+their great bell to be sounded; Corso was accused, condemned as a
+traitor and rebel, and sentence pronounced in less than an hour; and
+with the great Gonfalon of the People displayed, the forces of the
+Commune, supported by the swordsmen of the Della Tosa and a band of
+Catalan mercenaries in the service of the King of Naples, marched upon
+the Piazza di San Piero Maggiore. Over the Corbizzi tower floated the
+banner of the Donati, but only a handful of men gathered round the
+fierce old noble who, himself unable by reason of his gout to bear
+arms, encouraged them by his fiery words to hold out to the last. But
+the soldiery of Uguccione never came, and not a single magnate in the
+city stirred to aid him. Corso, forced at last to abandon his
+position, broke through his enemies, and, hotly pursued, fled through
+the Porta alla Croce. He was overtaken, captured, and barbarously
+slain by the lances of the hireling soldiery, near the Badia di San
+Salvi, at the instigation, as it was whispered, of Rosso della Tosa
+and Pazzino dei Pazzi. The monks carried him, as he lay dying, into
+the Abbey, where they gave him humble sepulchre for fear of the
+people. With all his crimes, there was nothing small in anything that
+Messer Corso did; he was a great spirit, one who could have
+accomplished mighty things in other circumstances, but who could not
+breathe freely in the atmosphere of a mercantile republic. "His life
+was perilous," says Dino Compagni sententiously, "and his death was
+blame-worthy."
+
+A brief but glorious chapter follows, though denounced in Dante's
+bitterest words. Hardly was Corso dead when, after their long
+silence, the imperial trumpets were again heard in the Garden of the
+Empire. Henry of Luxemburg, the last hero of the Middle Ages, elected
+Emperor as Henry VII., crossed the Alps in September 1310, resolved to
+heal the wounds of Italy, and to revive the fading mediaeval dream of
+the Holy Roman Empire. In three wild and terrible letters, Dante
+announced to the princes and peoples of Italy the advent of this
+"peaceful king," this "new Moses"; threatened the Florentines with the
+vengeance of the Imperial Eagle; urged Caesar on against the city--"the
+sick sheep that infecteth all the flock of the Lord with her
+contagion." But the Florentines rose to the occasion, and with the aid
+of their ally, the King of Naples, formed what was practically an
+Italian confederation to oppose the imperial invader. "It was at this
+moment," writes Professor Villari, "that the small merchant republic
+initiated a truly national policy, and became a great power in Italy."
+From the middle of September till the end of October, 1312, the
+imperial army lay round Florence. The Emperor, sick with fever, had
+his head-quarters in San Salvi. But he dared not venture upon an
+attack, although the fortifications were unfinished; and, in the
+following August, the Signoria of Florence could write exultantly to
+their allies, and announce "the blessed tidings" that "the most savage
+tyrant, Henry, late Count of Luxemburg, whom the rebellious
+persecutors of the Church, and treacherous foes of ourselves and you,
+called King of the Romans and Emperor of Germany," had died at
+Buonconvento.
+
+But in the Empyrean Heaven of Heavens, in the mystical convent of
+white stoles, Beatrice shows Dante the throne of glory prepared for
+the soul of the noble-hearted Caesar:--
+
+     "In quel gran seggio, a che tu gli occhi tieni
+       per la corona che gia v'e su posta,
+       prima che tu a queste nozze ceni,
+     sedera l'alma, che fia giu agosta,
+       dell'alto Enrico, ch'a drizzare Italia
+       verra in prima che ella sia disposta." [12]
+
+  [12] "On that great seat where thou dost fix thine eyes, for the
+  crown's sake already placed above it, ere at this wedding feast
+  thyself do sup,
+
+  "Shall sit the soul (on earth 'twill be imperial) of the lofty Henry,
+  who shall come to straighten Italy ere she be ready for it."
+
+After this, darker days fell upon Florence. Dante, with a renewed
+sentence of death upon his head, was finishing his _Divina Commedia_
+at Verona and Ravenna,--until, on September 14th, 1321, he passed away
+in the latter city, with the music of the pine-forest in his ears and
+the monuments of dead emperors before his dying eyes. Petrarch, after
+a childhood spent at Carpentras, was studying law at Montpellier and
+Bologna--until, on that famous April morning in Santa Chiara at
+Avignon, he saw the golden-haired girl who made him the greatest
+lyrist of the Middle Ages. It was in the year 1327 that Laura--if such
+was really her name--thus crossed his path. Boccaccio, born at
+Certaldo in 1313, the year of the Emperor Henry's death, was growing
+up in Florence, a sharp and precocious boy. But the city was in a
+woeful plight; harassed still by factious magnates and burghers,
+plundered by foreign adventurers, who pretended to serve her, heavily
+taxed by the Angevin sovereigns--the _Reali_--of Naples. Florence had
+taken first King Robert, and then his son, Charles of Calabria, as
+overlord, for defence against external foes (first Henry VII., then
+Uguccione della Faggiuola, and then Castruccio Interminelli); and the
+vicars of these Neapolitan princes replaced for a while the Podestas;
+their marshals robbed and corrupted; their Catalan soldiers clamoured
+for pay. The wars with Uguccione and Castruccio were most disastrous
+to the Republic; and the fortunate coincidence of the deaths of
+Castruccio and Charles of Calabria, in 1328, gave Florence back her
+liberty at the very moment when she no longer needed a defender.
+Although the Florentines professed to regard this suzerainty of the
+Reali di Napoli as an alliance rather than a subjection,--_compagnia e
+non servitu_ as Machiavelli puts it--it was an undoubted relief when
+it ended. The State was reorganised, and a new constitution confirmed
+in a solemn Parliament held in the Piazza. Henceforth the nomination
+of the Priors and Gonfaloniere was effected by lot, and controlled by
+a complicated process of scrutiny; the old councils were all annulled;
+and in future there were to be only two chief councils--the Council of
+the People, composed of 300 _popolani_, presided over by the Captain,
+and the Council of the Commune, of 250, presided over by the Podesta,
+in which latter (as in former councils of the kind) both _popolani_
+and _grandi_ could sit. Measures proposed by the Government were
+submitted first to the Council of the People, and then, if approved,
+to that of the Commune.
+
+Within the next few years, in spite of famine, disease, and a terrible
+inundation of the Arno in 1333, the Republic largely extended its
+sway. Pistoia, Arezzo, and other places of less account owned its
+signory; but an attempt to get possession of Lucca--with the
+incongruous aid of the Germans--failed. After the flood, the work of
+restoration was first directed by Giotto; and to this epoch we owe the
+most beautiful building in Florence, the Campanile. The discontent,
+excited by the mismanagement of the war against Lucca, threw the
+Republic into the arms of a new and peculiarly atrocious tyrant,
+Walter de Brienne, Duke of Athens, a French soldier of fortune,
+connected by blood with the _Reali_ of Naples. Elected first as war
+captain and chief justice, he acquired credit with the populace and
+the magnates by his executions of unpopular burghers; and finally, on
+September 8th, 1342, in the Piazza della Signoria, he was appointed
+Lord of Florence for life, amidst the acclamations of the lowest
+sections of the mob and the paid retainers of the treacherous nobles.
+The Priors were driven from their palace, the books of the Ordinances
+destroyed, and the Duke's banner erected upon the People's tower,
+while the church bells rang out the _Te Deum_. Arezzo, Pistoia, Colle
+di Val d'Elsa, San Gemignano, and Volterra acknowledged his rule; and
+with a curious mixture of hypocrisy, immorality, and revolting
+cruelty, he reigned as absolute lord until the following summer,
+backed by French and Burgundian soldiers who flocked to him from all
+quarters. By that time he had utterly disgusted all classes in the
+State, even the magnates by whose favour he had won his throne and the
+populace who had acclaimed him; and on the Feast of St. Anne, July
+26th, 1343, there was a general rising. The instruments of his cruelty
+were literally torn to pieces by the people, and he was besieged in
+the Palazzo Vecchio, which he had transformed into a fortress, and at
+length capitulated on August 3rd. The Sienese and Count Simone de'
+Conti Guidi, who had come to mediate, took him over the Ponte
+Rubaconte, through the Porta San Niccolo and thence into the
+Casentino, where they made him solemnly ratify his abdication.
+
+"Note," says Giovanni Villani, who was present at most of these things
+and has given us a most vivid picture of them, "that even as the Duke
+with fraud and treason took away the liberty of the Republic of
+Florence on the day of Our Lady in September,[13] not regarding the
+reverence due to her, so, as it were in divine vengeance, God
+permitted that the free citizens with armed hand should win it back on
+the day of her mother, Madonna Santa Anna, on the 26th day of July
+1343; and for this grace it was ordained by the Commune that the Feast
+of St. Anne should ever be kept like Easter in Florence, and that
+there should be celebrated a solemn office and great offerings by the
+Commune and all the Arts of Florence." St. Anne henceforth became the
+chief patroness and protectoress of the Republic, as Fra Bartolommeo
+painted her in his great unfinished picture in the Uffizi; and the
+solemn office and offerings were duly paid and celebrated in Or San
+Michele. One of Villani's minor grievances against the Duke is that he
+introduced frivolous French fashions of dress into the city, instead
+of the stately old Florentine costume, which the republicans
+considered to be the authentic garb of ancient Rome. That there was
+some ground for this complaint will readily be seen, by comparing the
+figure of a French cavalier in the Allegory of the Church in the
+Spanish Chapel at Santa Maria Novella (the figure formerly called
+Cimabue and now sometimes said to represent Walter de Brienne
+himself), with the simple grandeur and dignity of the dress worn by
+the burghers on their tombs in Santa Croce, or by Dante in the Duomo
+portrait.
+
+  [13] _i.e._ The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin.
+
+Only two months after the expulsion of the Duke of Athens, the great
+quarrel between the magnates and the people was fought to a finish, in
+September 1343. On the northern side of the Arno, the magnates made
+head at the houses of the Adimari near San Giovanni, at the opening of
+the present Via Calzaioli, where one of their towers still stands, at
+the houses of the Pazzi and Donati in the Piazza di San Pier Maggiore,
+and round those of the Cavalcanti in Mercato Nuovo. The people under
+their great gonfalon and the standards of the companies, led by the
+Medici and Rondinelli, stormed one position after another, forcing the
+defenders to surrender. On the other side of the Arno, the magnates
+and their retainers held the bridges and the narrow streets beyond.
+The Porta San Giorgio was in their hands, and, through it,
+reinforcements were hurried up from the country. Repulsed at the Ponte
+Vecchio and the Ponte Rubaconte, the forces of the people with their
+victorious standards at last carried the Ponte alla Carraia, which was
+held by the Nerli; and next, joined by the populace of the Oltrarno,
+forced the Rossi and Frescobaldi to yield. The Bardi alone remained;
+and, in that narrow street which still bears their name, and on the
+Ponte Vecchio and the Ponte Rubaconte, they withstood single-handed
+the onslaught of the whole might of the people, until they were
+assailed in the rear from the direction of the Via Romana. The
+infuriated populace sacked their houses, destroyed and burned the
+greater part of their palaces and towers. The long struggle between
+_grandi_ and _popolani_ was thus ended at last. "This was the cause,"
+says Machiavelli, "that Florence was stripped not only of all martial
+skill, but also of all generosity." The government was again reformed,
+and the minor arts admitted to a larger share; between the _popolo
+grosso_ and them, between burghers and populace, lay the struggle now,
+which was to end in the Medicean rule.
+
+But on all these perpetual changes in the form of the government of
+Florence the last word had, perhaps, been said in Dante's sarcastic
+outburst a quarter of a century before:--
+
+     "Atene e Lacedemone, che fenno
+       l'antiche leggi, e furon si civili,
+       fecero al viver bene un picciol cenno
+     verso di te, che fai tanto sottili
+       provvedimenti, che a mezzo novembre
+       non giunge quel che tu d'ottobre fili.
+     Quante volte del tempo che rimembre,
+       legge, moneta, offizio, e costume
+       hai tu mutato, e rinnovato membre?
+     E se ben ti ricordi, e vedi lume,
+       vedrai te simigliante a quella inferma,
+       che non puo trovar posa in su le piume,
+     ma con dar volta suo dolore scherma."[14]
+
+  [14] _Purg. VI._--
+     "Athens and Lacedaemon, they who made
+       The ancient laws, and were so civilised,
+       Made towards living well a little sign
+     Compared with thee, who makest such fine-spun
+       Provisions, that to middle of November
+       Reaches not what thou in October spinnest.
+     How oft, within the time of thy remembrance,
+       Laws, money, offices and usages
+       Hast thou remodelled, and renewed thy members?
+     And if thou mind thee well, and see the light,
+       Thou shalt behold thyself like a sick woman,
+       Who cannot find repose upon her down,
+     But by her tossing wardeth off her pain."
+         --_Longfellow._
+
+The terrible pestilence, known as the Black Death, swept over Europe
+in 1348. During the five months in which it devastated Florence
+three-fifths of the population perished, all civic life was suspended,
+and the gayest and most beautiful of cities seemed for a while to be
+transformed into the dim valley of disease and sin that lies
+outstretched at the bottom of Dante's Malebolge. It has been
+described, in all its horrors, in one of the most famous passages of
+modern prose--that appalling introduction to Boccaccio's _Decameron_.
+From the city in her agony, Boccaccio's three noble youths and seven
+"honest ladies" fled to the villas of Settignano and Fiesole, where
+they strove to drown the horror of the time by their music and
+dancing, their feasting and too often sadly obscene stories. Giovanni
+Villani was among the victims in Florence, and Petrarch's Laura at
+Avignon. The first canto of Petrarch's _Triumph of Death_ appears to
+be, in part, an allegorical representation--written many years
+later--of this fearful year.
+
+During the third quarter of this fourteenth century--the years which
+still saw the Popes remaining in their Babylonian exile at
+Avignon--the Florentines gradually regained their lost supremacy over
+the cities of Tuscany: Colle di Val d'Elsa, San Gemignano, Prato,
+Pistoia, Volterra, San Miniato dei Tedeschi. They carried on a war
+with the formidable tyrant of Milan, the Archbishop Giovanni Visconti,
+whose growing power was a perpetual menace to the liberties of the
+Tuscan communes. They made good use of the descent of the feeble
+emperor, Charles IV., into Italy; waged a new war with their old
+rival, Pisa; and readily accommodated themselves to the baser
+conditions of warfare that prevailed, now that Italy was the prey of
+the companies of mercenaries, ready to be hired by whatever prince or
+republic could afford the largest pay, or to fall upon whatever city
+seemed most likely to yield the heaviest ransom. Within the State
+itself the _popolo minuto_ and the Minor Guilds were advancing in
+power; Florence was now divided into four quarters (San Giovanni,
+Santa Maria Novella, Santa Croce, Santo Spirito), instead of the old
+Sesti; and the Signoria was now composed of the Gonfaloniere and
+_eight_ Priors, two from each quarter (instead of the former six), of
+whom two belonged to the Minor Arts. These, of course, still held
+office for only two months. Next came the twelve Buonuomini, who were
+the counsellors of the Signoria, and held office for three months;
+and the sixteen Gonfaloniers of the city companies, four from each
+quarter, holding office for four months. And there were, as before,
+the two great Councils of the People and the Commune; and still the
+three great officers who carried out their decrees, the Podesta, the
+Captain, the Executor of Justice. The feuds of Ricci and Albizzi kept
+up the inevitable factions, much as the Buondelmonti and Uberti,
+Cerchi and Donati had done of old; and an iniquitous system of
+"admonishing" those who were suspected of Ghibelline descent (the
+_ammoniti_ being excluded from office under heavy penalties) threw
+much power into the hands of the captains of the Parte Guelfa, whose
+oppressive conduct earned them deadly hatred. "To such arrogance,"
+says Machiavelli, "did the captains of the Party mount, that they were
+feared more than the members of the Signoria, and less reverence was
+paid to the latter than to the former; the palace of the Party was
+more esteemed than that of the Signoria, so that no ambassador came to
+Florence without having commissions to the captains."
+
+  [Illustration: THE CAMPANILE]
+
+Pope Gregory XI preceded his return to Rome by an attempted reconquest
+of the States of the Church, by means of foreign legates and hireling
+soldiers, of whom the worst were Bretons and English; although St.
+Catherine of Siena implored him, in the name of Christ, to come with
+the Cross in hand, like a meek lamb, and not with armed bands. The
+horrible atrocities committed in Romagna by these mercenaries,
+especially at Faenza and Cesena, stained what might have been a noble
+pontificate. Against Pope Gregory and his legates, the Florentines
+carried on a long and disastrous war; round the Otto della Guerra, the
+eight magistrates to whom the management of the war was intrusted,
+rallied those who hated the Parte Guelfa. The return of Gregory to
+Rome in 1377 opens a new epoch in Italian history. Echoes of this
+unnatural struggle between Florence and the Pope reach us in the
+letters of St Catherine and the canzoni of Franco Sacchetti; in the
+latter is some faint sound of Dante's _saeva indignatio_ against the
+unworthy pastors of the Church, but in the former we are lifted far
+above the miserable realities of a conflict carried on by political
+intrigue and foreign mercenaries, into the mystical realms of pure
+faith and divine charity.
+
+In 1376, the Loggia dei Priori, now less pleasantly known as the
+Loggia dei Lanzi, was founded; and in 1378 the bulk of the Duomo was
+practically completed. This may be taken as the close of the first or
+"heroic" epoch of Florentine Art, which runs simultaneously with the
+great democratic period of Florentine history, represented in
+literature by Dante and Boccaccio. The Duomo, the Palace of the
+Podesta, the Palace of the Priors, Santa Maria Novella, Santa Croce,
+Or San Michele, the Loggia of the Bigallo, and the Third Walls of the
+City (of which, on the northern side of the Arno, the gates alone
+remain), are its supreme monuments in architecture. Its heroes of
+greatest name are Arnolfo di Cambio, Giotto di Bondone, Andrea Pisano,
+Andrea di Cione or Orcagna (the "Archangel"), and, lastly and but
+recently recognised, Francesco Talenti.
+
+"No Italian architect," says Addington Symonds, "has enjoyed the proud
+privilege of stamping his own individuality more strongly on his
+native city than Arnolfo." At present, the walls of the city (or what
+remains of them)--_le mura di Fiorenza_ which Lapo Gianni would fain
+see _inargentate_--and the bulk of the Palazzo Vecchio and Santa
+Croce, alone represent Arnolfo's work. But the Duomo (mainly, in its
+present form, due to Francesco Talenti) probably still retains in
+part his design; and the glorious Church of Or San Michele, of which
+the actual architect is not certainly known, stands on the site of his
+Loggia.
+
+Giovanni Cimabue, the father of Florentine painting as Arnolfo of
+Florentine architecture, survives only as a name in Dante's immortal
+verse. Not a single authentic work remains from his hand in Florence.
+His supposed portrait in the cloisters of Santa Maria Novella is now
+held to be that of a French knight; the famous picture of the Madonna
+and Child with her angelic ministers, in the Rucellai Chapel, is shown
+to be the work of a Sienese master; and the other paintings once
+ascribed to him have absolutely no claims to bear his name. But the
+Borgo Allegro still bears its title from the rejoicings that hailed
+his masterpiece, and perhaps it is best that his achievement should
+thus live, only as a holy memory:--
+
+     "Credette Cimabue nella pittura
+     tener lo campo, ed ora ha Giotto il grido,
+     si che la fama di colui e oscura."[15]
+
+  [15] "In painting Cimabue thought that he
+       Should hold the field, now Giotto has the cry,
+       So that the other's fame is growing dim."
+
+Of Cimabue's great pupil, Dante's friend and contemporary, Giotto, we
+know and possess much more. Through him mediaeval Italy first spoke out
+through painting, and with no uncertain sound. He was born some ten
+years later than Dante. Cimabue--or so the legend runs, which is told
+by Leonardo da Vinci amongst others--found him among the mountains,
+guarding his father's flocks and drawing upon the stones the movements
+of the goats committed to his care. He was a typical Florentine
+craftsman; favoured by popes, admitted to the familiarity of kings, he
+remained to the end the same unspoilt shepherd whom Cimabue had found.
+Many choice and piquant tales are told by the novelists about his
+ugly presence and rare personality, his perpetual good humour, his
+sharp and witty answers to king and rustic alike, his hatred of all
+pretentiousness, carried to such an extent that he conceived a rooted
+objection to hearing himself called _maestro_. Padua and Assisi
+possess some of his very best work; but Florence can still show much.
+Two chapels in Santa Croce are painted by his hand; of the smaller
+pictures ascribed to him in churches and galleries, there is one
+authentic--the Madonna in the Accademia; and, perhaps most beautiful
+of all, the Campanile which he designed and commenced still rises in
+the midst of the city. Giotto died in 1336; his work was carried on by
+Andrea Pisano and practically finished by Francesco Talenti.
+
+Andrea di Ugolino Pisano (1270-1348), usually simply called Andrea
+Pisano, is similarly the father of Florentine sculpture. Vasari's
+curiously inaccurate account of him has somewhat blurred his real
+figure in the history of art. His great achievements are the casting
+of the first gate of the Baptistery in bronze, his work--apparently
+from Giotto's designs--in the lower series of marble reliefs round the
+Campanile, and his continuation of the Campanile itself after Giotto's
+death. He is said by Vasari to have built the Porta di San Frediano.
+
+There is little individuality in the followers of Giotto, who carried
+on his tradition and worked in his manner. They are very much below
+their master, and are often surpassed by the contemporary painters of
+Siena, such as Simone Martini and Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Taddeo Gaddi
+and his son, Agnolo, Giovanni di Milano, Bernardo Daddi, are their
+leaders; the chief title to fame of the first-named being the renowned
+Ponte Vecchio. But their total achievement, in conjunction with the
+Sienese, was of heroic magnitude. They covered the walls of churches
+and chapels, especially those connected with the Franciscans and
+Dominicans, with the scenes of Scripture, with the lives of Madonna
+and her saints; they set forth in all its fullness the whole Gospel
+story, for those who could neither read nor write; they conceived vast
+allegories of human life and human destinies; they filled the palaces
+of the republics with painted parables of good government. "By the
+grace of God," says a statute of Sienese painters, "we are the men who
+make manifest to the ignorant and unlettered the miraculous things
+achieved by the power and virtue of the Faith." At Siena, at Pisa and
+at Assisi, are perhaps the greatest works of this school; but here, in
+Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella, there is much, and of a very
+noble and characteristic kind. Spinello Aretino (1333-1410) may be
+regarded as the last of the Giotteschi; you may see his best series of
+frescoes in San Miniato, setting forth with much skill and power the
+life of the great Italian monk, whose face Dante so earnestly prayed
+to behold unveiled in Paradise.
+
+This heroic age of sculpture and painting culminated in Andrea Orcagna
+(1308-1368), Andrea Pisano's great pupil. Painter and sculptor,
+architect and poet, Orcagna is at once the inheritor of Niccolo and
+Giovanni Pisano, and of Giotto. The famous frescoes in the Pisan Campo
+Santo are now known to be the work of some other hand; his paintings
+in Santa Croce, with their priceless portraits, have perished; and,
+although frequently consulted in the construction of the Duomo, it is
+tolerably certain that he was not the architect of any of the
+Florentine buildings once ascribed to him. The Strozzi chapel of St
+Thomas in Santa Maria Novella, the oratory of the Madonna in San
+Michele in Orto, contain all his extant works; and they are
+sufficient to prove him, next to Giotto, the greatest painter of his
+century, with a feeling for grace and beauty even above Giotto's, and
+only less excellent in marble. Several of his poems have been
+preserved, mostly of a slightly satirical character; one, a sonnet on
+the nature of love, _Molti volendo dir che fosse Amore_, has had the
+honour of being ascribed to Dante.
+
+With the third quarter of the century, the first great epoch of
+Italian letters closes also. On the overthrow of the House of Suabia
+at Benevento, the centre of culture had shifted from Sicily to
+Tuscany, from Palermo to Florence. The prose and poetry of this epoch
+is almost entirely Tuscan, although the second of its greatest poets,
+Francesco Petrarca, comparatively seldom set foot within its
+boundaries. "My old nest is restored to me," he wrote to the Signoria,
+when they sent Boccaccio to invite his friend to return to Florence,
+"I can fly back to it, and I can fold there my wandering wings." But,
+save for a few flying visits, Petrarch had little inclination to
+attach himself to one city, when he felt that all Italy was his
+country.
+
+Dante had set forth all that was noblest in mediaeval thought in
+imperishable form, supremely in his _Divina Commedia_, but appreciably
+and nobly in his various minor works as well, both verse and prose.
+Villani had started historical Italian prose on its triumphant course.
+Petrarch and Boccaccio, besides their great gifts to Italian
+literature, in the ethereal poetry of the one, painting every varying
+mood of the human soul, and the licentious prose of the other, hymning
+the triumph of the flesh, stand on the threshold of the Renaissance.
+Other names crowd in upon us at each stage of this epoch. Apart from
+his rare personality, Guido Cavalcanti's _ballate_ are his chief title
+to poetic fame, but, even so, less than the monument of glory that
+Dante has reared to him in the _Vita Nuova_, in the _De Vulgari
+Eloquentia_, in the _Divina Commedia_. Dino Compagni, the chronicler
+of the Whites and Blacks, was only less admirable as a patriot than as
+a historian. Matteo Villani, the brother of Giovanni, and Matteo's
+son, Filippo, carried on the great chronicler's work. Fra Jacopo
+Passavanti, the Dominican prior of Santa Maria Novella, in the middle
+of the century, showed how the purest Florentine vernacular could be
+used for the purpose of simple religious edification. Franco
+Sacchetti, politician, novelist and poet, may be taken as the last
+Florentine writer of this period; he anticipates the popular lyrism of
+the Quattrocento, rather in the same way as a group of scholars who at
+the same time gathered round the Augustinian, Luigi Marsili, in his
+cell at Santo Spirito heralds the coming of the humanists. It fell to
+Franco Sacchetti to sing the dirge of this heroic period of art and
+letters, in his elegiac canzoni on the deaths of Petrarch and
+Boccaccio:--
+
+     "Sonati sono i corni
+     d'ogni parte a ricolta;
+     la stagione e rivolta:
+     se tornera non so, ma credo tardi."
+
+  [Illustration: CROSS OF THE FLORENTINE PEOPLE (FROM OLD HOUSE ON NORTH
+  SIDE OF DUOMO)]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+_The Medici and the Quattrocento_
+
+   "Tiranno e nome di uomo di mala vita, e pessimo fra tutti gli
+   altri uomini, che per forza sopra tutti vuol regnare, massime
+   quello che di cittadino e fatto tiranno."--_Savonarola._
+
+   "The Renaissance of the fifteenth century was in many things
+   great, rather by what it designed or aspired to do, than by what
+   it actually achieved."--_Walter Pater._
+
+
+_Non gia Salvestro ma Salvator mundi_, "thou that with noble wisdom
+hast saved thy country." Thus in a sonnet does Franco Sacchetti hail
+Salvestro dei Medici, the originator of the greatness of his house. In
+1378, while the hatred between the Parte Guelfa and the adherents of
+the Otto della Guerra--the rivalry between the Palace of the Party and
+the Palace of the Signory--was at its height, the Captains of the
+Party conspired to seize upon the Palace of the Priors and take
+possession of the State. Their plans were frustrated by Salvestro dei
+Medici, a rich merchant and head of his ambitious and rising family,
+who was then Gonfaloniere of Justice. He proposed to restore the
+Ordinances against the magnates, and, when this petition was rejected
+by the Signoria and the Colleges,[16] he appealed to the Council of
+the People. The result was a riot, followed by a long series of
+tumults throughout the city; the _Arti Minori_ came to the front in
+arms; and, finally, the bloody revolution known as the Tumult of the
+Ciompi burst over Florence. These Ciompi, the lowest class of artizans
+and all those who were not represented in the Arts, headed by those
+who were subject to the great Arte della Lana, had been much favoured
+by the Duke of Athens, and had been given consuls and a standard with
+an angel painted upon it. On the fall of the Duke, these Ciompi, or
+_popolo minuto_, had lost these privileges, and were probably much
+oppressed by the consuls of the Arte della Lana. Secretly instigated
+by Salvestro--who thus initiated the Medicean policy of undermining
+the Republic by means of the populace--they rose _en masse_ on July
+20th, captured the Palace of the Podesta, burnt the houses of their
+enemies and the Bottega of the Arte della Lana, seized the standard of
+the people, and, with it and the banners of the Guilds displayed, came
+into the Piazza to demand a share in the government. On July 22nd they
+burst into the Palace of the Priors, headed by a wool-comber, Michele
+di Lando, carrying in his hands the great Gonfalon; him they acclaimed
+Gonfaloniere and lord of the city.
+
+  [16] The "Colleges" were the twelve Buonuomini and the sixteen
+  Gonfaloniers of the Companies. Measures proposed by the Signoria had
+  to be carried in the Colleges before being submitted to the Council of
+  the People, and afterwards to the Council of the Commune.
+
+This rough and half-naked wool-comber, whose mother made pots and pans
+and whose wife sold greens, is one of the heroes of Florentine
+history; and his noble simplicity throughout the whole affair is in
+striking contrast with the self-seeking and intrigues of the rich
+aristocratic merchants whose tool, to some extent, he appears to have
+been. The pious historian, Jacopo Nardi, likens him to the heroes of
+ancient Rome, Curius and Fabricius, and ranks him as a patriot and
+deliverer of the city, far above even Farinata degli Uberti. The next
+day the Parliament was duly summoned in the Piazza, Michele confirmed
+in his office, and a Balia (or commission) given to him, together with
+the Eight and the Syndics of the Arts, to reform the State and elect
+the new Signoria--in which the newly constituted Guilds of the
+populace were to have a third with those of the greater and minor
+Arts. But, before Michele's term of office was over, the Ciompi were
+in arms again, fiercer than ever and with more outrageous demands,
+following the standards of the Angel and some of the minor Arts (who
+appear to have in part joined them). From Santa Maria Novella, their
+chosen head-quarters, on the last day of August they sent two
+representatives to overawe the Signoria. But Michele di Lando,
+answering their insolence with violence, rode through the city with
+the standard of Justice floating before him, while the great bell of
+the Priors' tower called the Guilds to arms; and by evening the
+populace had melted away, and the government of the people was
+re-established. The new Signoria was greeted in a canzone by
+Sacchetti, in which he declares that Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and
+Temperance are once more reinstated in the city.
+
+For the next few years the Minor Arts predominated in the government.
+Salvestro dei Medici kept in the background, but was presently
+banished. Michele di Lando seemed contented to have saved the State,
+and took little further share in the politics of the city. He appears
+later on to have been put under bounds at Chioggia; but to have
+returned to Florence before his death in 1401, when he was buried in
+Santa Croce. There were still tumults and conspiracies, resulting in
+frequent executions and banishments; while, without, inglorious wars
+were carried on by the companies of mercenary soldiers. This is the
+epoch in which the great English captain, Hawkwood, entered the
+service of the Florentine State. In 1382, after the execution of
+Giorgio Scali and the banishment of Tommaso Strozzi (noble burghers
+who headed the populace), the newly constituted Guilds were abolished,
+and the government returned to the greater Arts, who now held
+two-thirds of the offices--a proportion which was later increased to
+three-quarters.
+
+The period which follows, from 1382 to 1434, sees the close of the
+democratic government of Florence. The Republic, nominally still ruled
+by the greater Guilds, is in reality sustained and swayed by the
+_nobili popolani_ or _Ottimati_, members of wealthy families risen by
+riches or talent out of these greater Guilds into a new kind of
+burgher aristocracy. The struggle is now no longer between the Palace
+of the Signory and the Palace of the Party--for the days of the power
+of the Parte Guelfa are at an end--but between the Palace and the
+Piazza. The party of the Minor Arts and the Populace is repressed and
+ground down with war taxes; but behind them the Medici lurk and
+wait--first Vieri, then Giovanni di Averardo, then Cosimo di
+Giovanni--ever on the watch to put themselves at their head, and
+through them overturn the State. The party of the Ottimati is first
+led by Maso degli Albizzi, then by Niccolo da Uzzano, and lastly by
+Rinaldo degli Albizzi and his adherents--illustrious citizens not
+altogether unworthy of the great Republic that they swayed--the sort
+of dignified civic patricians whose figures, a little later, were to
+throng the frescoes of Masaccio and Ghirlandaio. But they were divided
+among themselves, persecuted their adversaries with proscription and
+banishment, thus making the exiles a perpetual source of danger to the
+State, and they were hated by the populace because of the war taxes.
+These wars were mainly carried on by mercenaries--who were now more
+usually Italians than foreigners--and, in spite of frequent defeats,
+generally ended well for Florence. Arezzo was purchased in 1384. A
+fierce struggle was carried on a few years later (1390-1402) with the
+"great serpent," Giovanni Galeazzo Visconti, who hoped to make himself
+King of Italy by violence as he had made himself Duke of Milan by
+treachery, and intended to be crowned in Florence. Pisa was finally
+and cruelly conquered in 1406; Cortona was obtained as the result of a
+prolonged war with King Ladislaus of Naples in 1414, in which the
+Republic had seemed once more in danger of falling into the hands of a
+foreign tyrant; and in 1421 Leghorn was sold to the Florentines by the
+Genoese, thus opening the sea to their merchandise.
+
+The deaths of Giovanni Galeazzo and Ladislaus freed the city from her
+most formidable external foes; and for a while she became the seat of
+the Papacy, the centre of Christendom. In 1419, after the schism, Pope
+Martin V. took up his abode in Florence; the great condottiere,
+Braccio, came with his victorious troops to do him honour; and the
+deposed John XXIII. humbled himself before the new Pontiff, and was at
+last laid to rest among the shadows of the Baptistery. In his _Storia
+Florentina_ Guicciardini declares that the government at this epoch
+was the wisest, the most glorious and the happiest that the city had
+ever had. It was the dawn of the Renaissance, and Florence was already
+full of artists and scholars, to whom these _nobili popolani_ were as
+generous and as enlightened patrons as their successors, the Medici,
+were to be. Even Cosimo's fervent admirer, the librarian Vespasiano
+Bisticci, endorses Guicciardini's verdict: "In that time," he says,
+"from 1422 to 1433, the city of Florence was in a most blissful state,
+abounding with excellent men in every faculty, and it was full of
+admirable citizens."
+
+Maso degli Albizzi died in 1417; and his successors in the
+oligarchy--the aged Niccolo da Uzzano, who stood throughout for
+moderation, and the fiery but less competent Rinaldo degli
+Albizzi--were no match for the rising and unscrupulous Medici. With
+the Albizzi was associated the noblest and most generous Florentine of
+the century, Palla Strozzi. The war with Filippo Visconti, resulting
+in the disastrous rout of Zagonara, and an unjust campaign against
+Lucca, in which horrible atrocities were committed by the Florentine
+commissioner, Astorre Gianni, shook their government. Giovanni dei
+Medici, the richest banker in Italy, was now the acknowledged head of
+the opposition; he had been Gonfaloniere in 1421, but would not put
+himself actively forward, although urged on by his sons, Cosimo and
+Lorenzo. He died in 1429; Niccolo da Uzzano followed him to the grave
+in 1432; and the final struggle between the fiercer spirits, Rinaldo
+and Cosimo, was at hand. "All these citizens," said Niccolo, shortly
+before his death, "some through ignorance, some through malice, are
+ready to sell this republic; and, thanks to their good fortune, they
+have found the purchaser."
+
+Shortly before this date, Masaccio painted all the leading spirits of
+the time in a fresco in the cloisters of the Carmine. This has been
+destroyed, but you may see a fine contemporary portrait of Giovanni in
+the Uffizi. The much admired and famous coloured bust in the Bargello,
+called the portrait of Niccolo da Uzzano by Donatello, has probably
+nothing to do either with Niccolo or with Donatello. Giovanni has the
+air of a prosperous and unpretending Florentine tradesman, but with a
+certain obvious parade of his lack of pushfulness.
+
+In 1433 the storm broke. A Signory hostile to Cosimo being elected, he
+was summoned to the Palace and imprisoned in an apartment high up in
+the Tower, a place known as the Alberghettino. Rinaldo degli Albizzi
+held the Piazza with his soldiery, and Cosimo heard the great bell
+ringing to call the people to Parliament, to grant a Balia to reform
+the government and decide upon his fate. But he was too powerful at
+home and abroad; his popularity with those whom he had raised from low
+estate, and those whom he had relieved by his wealth, his influence
+with the foreign powers, such as Venice and Ferrara, were so great
+that his foes dared not take his life; and, indeed, they were hardly
+the men to have attempted such a crime. Banished to Padua (his brother
+Lorenzo and other members of his family being put under bounds at
+different cities), he was received everywhere, not as a fugitive, but
+as a prince; and the library of the Benedictines, built by Michelozzo
+at his expense, once bore witness to his stay in Venice. Hardly a year
+had passed when a new Signory was chosen, favourable to the Medici;
+Rinaldo degli Albizzi, after a vain show of resistance, laid down his
+arms on the intervention of Pope Eugenius, who was then at Santa Maria
+Novella, and was banished for ever from the city with his principal
+adherents. And finally, in a triumphant progress from Venice, "carried
+back to his country upon the shoulders of all Italy," as he said,
+Cosimo and his brother Lorenzo entered Florence on October 6th, 1434,
+rode past the deserted palaces of the Albizzi to the Palace of the
+Priors, and next day returned in triumph to their own house in the Via
+Larga.
+
+The Republic had practically fallen; the head of the Medici was
+virtually prince of the city and of her fair dominion. But Florence
+was not Milan or Naples, and Cosimo's part as tyrant was a peculiar
+one. The forms of the government were, with modifications, preserved;
+but by means of a Balia empowered to elect the chief magistrates for
+a period of five years, and then renewed every five years, he secured
+that the Signoria should always be in his hands, or in those of his
+adherents. The grand Palace of the Priors was still ostensibly the
+seat of government; but, in reality, the State was in the firm grasp
+of the thin, dark-faced merchant in the Palace in the Via Larga, which
+we now know as the Palazzo Riccardi. Although in the earlier part of
+his reign he was occasionally elected Gonfaloniere, he otherwise held
+no office ostensibly, and affected the republican manner of a mere
+wealthy citizen. His personality, combined with the widely ramifying
+banking relations of the Medici, gave him an almost European
+influence. His popularity among the mountaineers and in the country
+districts, from which armed soldiery were ever ready to pour down into
+the city in his defence, made him the fitting man for the ever
+increasing external sway of Florence. The forms of the Republic were
+preserved, but he consolidated his power by a general levelling and
+disintegration, by severing the nerves of the State and breaking the
+power of the Guilds. He had certain hard and cynical maxims for
+guidance: "Better a city ruined than a city lost," "States are not
+ruled by Pater-Nosters," "New and worthy citizens can be made by a few
+ells of crimson cloth." So he elevated to wealth and power men of low
+kind, devoted to and dependent on himself; crushed the families
+opposed to him, or citizens who seemed too powerful, by wholesale
+banishments, or by ruining them with fines and taxation, although
+there was comparatively little blood shed. He was utterly ruthless in
+all this, and many of the noblest Florentine citizens fell victims.
+One murder must be laid to his charge, and it is one of peculiar, for
+him, unusual atrocity. Baldaccio d'Anghiari, a young captain of
+infantry, who promised fair to take a high place among the
+condottieri of the day, was treacherously invited to speak with the
+Gonfaloniere in the Palace of the Priors, and there stabbed to death
+by hireling assassins from the hills, and his body flung ignominiously
+into the Piazza. Cosimo's motive is said to have been partly jealousy
+of a possible rival, Neri Capponi, who had won popularity by his
+conquest of the Casentino for Florence in 1440, and who was intimate
+with Baldaccio; and partly desire to gratify Francesco Sforza, whose
+treacherous designs upon Milan he was furthering by the gold wrung
+from his over-taxed Florentines, and to whose plans Baldaccio was
+prepared to offer an obstacle.
+
+Florence was still for a time the seat of the Papacy. In January 1439,
+the Patriarch Joseph of Constantinople, and the Emperor of the East,
+John Paleologus, came to meet Pope Eugenius for the Council of
+Florence, which was intended to unite the Churches of Christendom. The
+Patriarch died here, and is buried in Santa Maria Novella. In the
+Riccardi Palace you may see him and the Emperor, forced, as it were,
+to take part in the triumph of the Medici in Benozzo Gozzoli's
+fresco--riding with them in the gorgeous train, that sets out
+ostensibly to seek the Babe of Bethlehem, and evidently has no
+intention of finding Him. Pope Eugenius returned to Rome in 1444; and
+in 1453 Mahomet II. stormed Constantinople, and Greek exiles thronged
+to Rome and Florence. In 1459, marvellous pageants greeted Pius II. in
+the city, on his way to stir up the Crusade that never went.
+
+In his foreign policy Cosimo inaugurated a totally new departure for
+Florence; he commenced a line of action which was of the utmost
+importance in Italian politics, and which his son and grandson carried
+still further. The long wars with which the last of the Visconti,
+Filippo Maria, harassed Italy and pressed Florence hard (in the last
+of these Rinaldo degli Albizzi and the exiles approached near enough
+to catch a distant glimpse of the city from which they were
+relentlessly shut out), ended with his death in 1447. Cosimo dei
+Medici now allied himself with the great condottiere, Francesco
+Sforza, and aided him with money to make good his claims upon the
+Duchy of Milan. Henceforth this new alliance between Florence and
+Milan, between the Medici and the Sforza, although most odious in the
+eyes of the Florentine people, became one of the chief factors in the
+balance of power in Italy. Soon afterwards Alfonso, the Aragonese
+ruler of Naples, entered into this triple alliance; Venice and Rome to
+some extent being regarded as a double alliance to counterbalance
+this. To these foreign princes Cosimo was almost as much prince of
+Florence as they of their dominions; and by what was practically a
+_coup d'etat_ in 1459, Cosimo and his son Piero forcibly overthrew the
+last attempt of their opponents to get the Signoria out of their
+hands, and, by means of the creation of a new and permanent Council of
+a hundred of their chief adherents, more firmly than ever secured
+their hold upon the State.
+
+  [Illustration: FLORENCE IN THE DAYS OF LORENZO THE MAGNIFICENT
+  (_From an engraving, of about 1490, in the Berlin Museum_)]
+
+In his private life Cosimo was the simplest and most unpretentious of
+tyrants, and lived the life of a wealthy merchant-burgher of the day
+in its nobler aspects. He was an ideal father, a perfect man of
+business, an apparently kindly fellow-citizen to all. Above all things
+he loved the society of artists and men of letters; Brunelleschi and
+Michelozzo, Donatello and Fra Lippo Lippi--to name only a few more
+intimately connected with him--found in him the most generous and
+discerning of patrons; many of the noblest Early Renaissance churches
+and convents in Florence and its neighbourhood are due to his
+munificence--San Lorenzo and San Marco and the Badia of Fiesole are
+the most typical--and he even founded a hospital in Jerusalem. To a
+certain extent this was what we should now call "conscience money."
+His friend and biographer, Vespasiano Bisticci, writes: "He did these
+things because it appeared to him that he held money, not over well
+acquired; and he was wont to say that to God he had never given so
+much as to find Him on his books a debtor. And likewise he said: I
+know the humours of this city; fifty years will not pass before we are
+driven out; but the buildings will remain." The Greeks, who came to
+the Council of Florence or fled from the in-coming Turk, stimulated
+the study of their language and philosophy--though this had really
+commenced in the days of the Republic, before the deaths of Petrarch
+and Boccaccio--and found in Cosimo an ardent supporter. He founded
+great libraries in San Marco and in the Badia of Fiesole, the former
+with part of the codices collected by the scholar Niccolo Niccoli;
+although he had banished the old Palla Strozzi, the true renovator of
+the Florentine University, into hopeless exile. Into the Neo-Platonism
+of the Renaissance Cosimo threw himself heart and soul. "To Cosimo,"
+writes Burckhardt, "belongs the special glory of recognising in the
+Platonic philosophy the fairest flower of the ancient world of
+thought, of inspiring his friends with the same belief, and thus of
+fostering within humanistic circles themselves another and a higher
+resuscitation of antiquity." In a youth of Figline, Marsilio Ficino,
+the son of a doctor, Cosimo found a future high priest of this new
+religion of love and beauty; and bidding him minister to the minds of
+men rather than to their bodies, brought him into his palace, and gave
+him a house in the city and a beautiful farm near Careggi. Thus was
+founded the famous Platonic Academy, the centre of the richest
+Italian thought of the century. As his end drew near, Cosimo turned to
+the consolations of religion, and would pass long hours in his chosen
+cell in San Marco, communing with the Dominican Archbishop, Antonino,
+and Fra Angelico, the painter of mediaeval Paradise. And with these
+thoughts, mingled with the readings of Marsilio's growing translation
+of Plato, he passed away at his villa at Careggi in 1464, on the first
+of August. Shortly before his death he had lost his favourite son,
+Giovanni; and had been carried through his palace, in the Via Larga,
+sighing that it was now too large a house for so small a family.
+Entitled by public decree _Pater Patriae_, he was buried at his own
+request without any pompous funeral, beneath a simple marble in front
+of the high altar of San Lorenzo.
+
+  [Illustration: THE BADIA OF FIESOLE]
+
+Cosimo was succeeded, not without some opposition from rivals to the
+Medici within their own party, by his son Piero. Piero's health was in
+a shattered condition--il Gottoso, he was called--and for the most
+part he lived in retirement at Careggi, occasionally carried into
+Florence in his litter, leaving his brilliant young son Lorenzo to act
+as a more ornamental figure-head for the State. The personal
+appearance of Piero is very different to that of his father or son; in
+his portrait bust by Mino da Fiesole in the Bargello, and in the
+picture by Bronzino in the National Gallery, there is less craft and a
+certain air of frank and manly resolution. In his daring move in
+support of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, when, on the death of Francesco, it
+seemed for a moment that the Milanese dynasty was tottering, and his
+promptness in crushing the formidable conspiracy of the "mountain"
+against himself, Piero showed that sickness had not destroyed his
+faculty of energetic action at the critical moment. He completely
+followed out his father's policy, drawing still tighter the bonds
+which united Florence with Milan and Naples, lavishing money on the
+decoration of the city and the corruption of the people. The
+opposition was headed by Luca Pitti, Agnolo Acciaiuoli, Dietisalvi
+Neroni and others, who had been reckoned as Cosimo's friends, but who
+were now intriguing with Venice and Ferrara to overthrow his son.
+Hoping to eclipse the Medici in their own special field of artistic
+display and wholesale corruption, Luca Pitti commenced that enormous
+palace which still bears the name of his family, filled it with bravos
+and refugees, resorted to all means fair or foul to get money to build
+and corrupt. It seemed for a moment that the adherents of the Mountain
+(as the opponents of the Medici were called, from this highly situated
+Pitti Palace) and the adherents of the Plain (where the comparatively
+modest Medicean palace--now the Palazzo Riccardi--stood in the Via
+Larga) might renew the old factions of Blacks and Whites. But in the
+late summer of 1466 the party of the Mountain was finally crushed;
+they were punished with more mercy than the Medici generally showed,
+and Luca Pitti was practically pardoned and left to a dishonourable
+old age in the unfinished palace, which was in after years to become
+the residence of the successors of his foes. About the same time
+Filippo Strozzi and other exiles were allowed to return, and another
+great palace began to rear its walls in the Via Tornabuoni, in after
+years to be a centre of anti-Medicean intrigue.
+
+The brilliancy and splendour of Lorenzo's youth--he who was hereafter
+to be known in history as the Magnificent--sheds a rich glow of colour
+round the closing months of Piero's pain-haunted life. Piero himself
+had been content with a Florentine wife, Lucrezia dei Tornabuoni, and
+he had married his daughters to Florentine citizens, Guglielmo Pazzi
+and Bernardo Rucellai; but Lorenzo must make a great foreign match,
+and was therefore given Clarice Orsini, the daughter of a great Roman
+noble. The splendid pageant in the Piazza Santa Croce, and the even
+more gorgeous marriage festivities in the palace in the Via Larga,
+were followed by a triumphal progress of the young bridegroom through
+Tuscany and the Riviera to Milan, to the court of that faithful ally
+of his house, but most abominable monster, Giovanni Maria Sforza.
+Piero died on December 3rd, 1469, and, like Cosimo, desired the simple
+burial which his sons piously gave him. His plain but beautiful
+monument designed by Verrocchio is in the older sacristy of San
+Lorenzo, where he lies with his brother Giovanni.
+
+"The second day after his death," writes Lorenzo in his diary,
+"although I, Lorenzo, was very young, in fact only in my twenty-first
+year, the leading men of the city and of the ruling party came to our
+house to express their sorrow for our misfortune, and to persuade me
+to take upon myself the charge of the government of the city, as my
+grandfather and father had already done. This proposal being contrary
+to the instincts of my age, and entailing great labour and danger, I
+accepted against my will, and only for the sake of protecting my
+friends, and our own fortunes, for in Florence one can ill live in the
+possession of wealth without control of the government."[17]
+
+  [17] From Mr Armstrong's _Lorenzo de' Medici_.
+
+These two youths, Lorenzo and Giuliano, were now, to all intents and
+purposes, lords and masters of Florence. Lorenzo was the ruling
+spirit; outwardly, in spite of his singularly harsh and
+unprepossessing appearance, devoted to the cult of love and beauty,
+delighting in sport and every kind of luxury, he was inwardly as hard
+and cruel as tempered steel, and firmly fixed from the outset upon
+developing the hardly defined prepotency of his house into a complete
+personal despotism. You may see him as a gallant boy in Benozzo
+Gozzoli's fresco in the palace of his father and grandfather, riding
+under a bay tree, and crowned with roses; and then, in early manhood,
+in Botticelli's famous Adoration of the Magi; and lastly, as a fully
+developed, omniscient and all-embracing tyrant, in that truly terrible
+picture by Vasari in the Uffizi, constructed out of contemporary
+materials--surely as eloquent a sermon against the iniquity of tyranny
+as the pages of Savonarola's _Reggimento di Firenze_. Giuliano was a
+kindlier and gentler soul, completely given up to pleasure and
+athletics; he lives for us still in many a picture from the hand of
+Sandro Botticelli, sometimes directly portrayed, as in the painting
+which Morelli bequeathed to Bergamo, more often idealised as Mars or
+as Hermes; his love for the fair Simonetta inspired Botticellian
+allegories and the most finished and courtly stanzas of Poliziano. The
+sons of both these brothers were destined to sit upon the throne of
+the Fisherman.
+
+A long step in despotism was gained in 1470, when the two great
+Councils of the People and the Commune were deprived of all their
+functions, which were now invested in the thoroughly Medicean Council
+of the Hundred. The next year Lorenzo's friend and ally, Galeazzo
+Maria Sforza, with his Duchess and courtiers, came to Florence. They
+were sumptuously received in the Medicean palace. The licence and
+wantonness of these Milanese scandalised even the lax Florentines, and
+largely added to the growing corruption of the city. The accidental
+burning of Santo Spirito during the performance of a miracle play was
+regarded as a certain sign of divine wrath. During his stay in
+Florence the Duke, in contrast with whom the worst of the Medici seems
+almost a saint, sat to one of the Pollaiuoli for the portrait still
+seen in the Uffizi; by comparison with him even Lorenzo looks
+charming; at the back of the picture there is a figure of Charity--but
+the Duke has very appropriately driven it to the wall. Unpopular
+though this Medicean-Sforza alliance was in Florence, it was
+undoubtedly one of the safe-guards of the harmony which,
+superficially, still existed between the five great powers of Italy.
+When Galeazzo Maria met the fate he so richly deserved, and was
+stabbed to death in the Church of San Stefano at Milan on December
+20th, 1476, Pope Sixtus gave solemn utterance to the general dismay:
+_Oggi e morta la pace d'Italia._
+
+But Sixtus and his nephews did not in their hearts desire peace in
+Italy, and were plotting against Lorenzo with the Pazzi, who, although
+united to the Medici by marriage, had secret and growing grievances
+against them. On the morning of Sunday April 26th, 1478, the
+conspirators set upon the two brothers at Mass in the Duomo; Giuliano
+perished beneath nineteen dagger-stabs; Lorenzo escaped with a slight
+wound in the neck. The Archbishop Salviati of Pisa in the meantime
+attempted to seize the Palace of the Priors, but was arrested by the
+Gonfaloniere, and promptly hung out of the window for his trouble.
+Jacopo Pazzi rode madly through the streets with an armed force,
+calling the people to arms, with the old shout of _Popolo e Liberta_,
+but was only answered by the ringing cries of _Palle, Palle_.[18] The
+vengeance taken by the people upon the conspirators was so prompt and
+terrible that Lorenzo had little left him to do (though that little he
+did to excess, punishing the innocent with the guilty); and the result
+of the plot simply was to leave him alone in the government, securely
+enthroned above the splash of blood. The Pope appears not to have
+been actually privy to the murder, but he promptly took up the cause
+of the murderers. It was followed by a general break-up of the Italian
+peace and a disastrous war, carried on mainly by mercenary soldiers,
+in which all the powers of Italy were more or less engaged; and
+Florence was terribly hard pressed by the allied forces of Naples and
+Rome. The plague broke out in the city; Lorenzo was practically
+deserted by his allies, and on the brink of financial ruin. Then was
+it that he did one of the most noteworthy, perhaps the noblest, of the
+actions of his life, and saved himself and the State by voluntarily
+going to Naples and putting himself in the power of King Ferrante, an
+infamous tyrant, who would readily have murdered his guest, if it had
+seemed to his advantage to do so. But, like all the Italians of the
+Renaissance, Ferrante was open to reason, and the eloquence of the
+Magnifico won him over to grant an honourable peace, with which
+Lorenzo returned to Florence in March 1480. "If Lorenzo was great when
+he left Florence," writes Machiavelli, "he returned much greater than
+ever; and he was received with such joy by the city as his great
+qualities and his fresh merits deserved, seeing that he had exposed
+his own life to restore peace to his country." Botticelli's noble
+allegory of the olive-decked Medicean Pallas, taming the Centaur of
+war and disorder, appears to have been painted in commemoration of
+this event. In the following August the Turks landed in Italy and
+stormed Otranto, and the need of union, in the face of "the common
+enemy Ottoman," reconciled the Pope to Florence, and secured for the
+time an uneasy peace among the powers of Italy.
+
+  [18] The _Palle_, it will be remembered, were the golden balls on the
+  Medicean arms, and hence the rallying cry of their adherents.
+
+Lorenzo's power in Florence and influence throughout Italy was now
+secure. By the institution in 1480 of a Council of Seventy, a
+permanent council to manage and control the election of the Signoria
+(with two special committees drawn from the Seventy every six months,
+the _Otto di pratica_ for foreign affairs and the _Dodici Procuratori_
+for internal), the State was firmly established in his hands--the
+older councils still remaining, as was usual in every Florentine
+reformation of government. Ten years later, in 1490, this council
+showed signs of independence; and Lorenzo therefore reduced the
+authority of electing the Signoria to a small committee with a
+reforming Balia of seventeen, of which he was one. Had he lived
+longer, he would undoubtedly have crowned his policy either by being
+made Gonfaloniere for life, or by obtaining some similar
+constitutional confirmation of his position as head of the State.
+Externally his influence was thrown into the scale for peace, and, on
+the death of Sixtus IV. in 1484, he established friendly relations and
+a family alliance with the new Pontiff, Innocent VIII. Sarzana with
+Pietrasanta were won back for Florence, and portions of the Sienese
+territory which had been lost during the war with Naples and the
+Church; a virtual protectorate was established over portions of Umbria
+and Romagna, where the daggers of assassins daily emptied the thrones
+of minor tyrants. Two attempts on his life failed. In the last years
+of his foreign policy and diplomacy he showed himself truly the
+magnificent. East and West united to do him honour; the Sultan of the
+Turks and the Soldan of Egypt sent ambassadors and presents; the
+rulers of France and Germany treated him as an equal. Soon the torrent
+of foreign invasion was to sweep over the Alps and inundate all the
+"Ausonian" land; Milan and Naples were ready to rend each other;
+Ludovico Sforza was plotting his own rise upon the ruin of Italy, and
+already intriguing with France; but, for the present, Lorenzo
+succeeded in maintaining the balance of power between the five great
+Italian states, which seemed as though they might present a united
+front for mutual defence against the coming of the barbarians.
+
+_Sarebbe impossibile avesse avuto un tiranno migliore e piu
+piacevole_, writes Guicciardini: "Florence could not have had a better
+or more delightful tyrant." The externals of life were splendid and
+gorgeous indeed in the city where Lorenzo ruled, but everything was in
+his hands and had virtually to proceed from him. His spies were
+everywhere; marriages might only be arranged and celebrated according
+to his good pleasure; the least sign of independence was promptly and
+severely repressed. By perpetual festivities and splendid shows, he
+strove to keep the minds of the citizens contented and occupied;
+tournaments, pageants, masques and triumphs filled the streets; and
+the strains of licentious songs, of which many were Lorenzo's own
+composition, helped to sap the morality of that people which Dante had
+once dreamed of as _sobria e pudica_. But around the Magnifico were
+grouped the greatest artists and scholars of the age, who found in him
+an enlightened Maecenas and most charming companion. _Amava
+maravigliosamente qualunque era in una arte eccellente_, writes
+Machiavelli of him; and that word--_maravigliosamente_--so entirely
+characteristic of Lorenzo and his ways, occurs again and again,
+repeated with studied persistence, in the chapter which closes
+Machiavelli's History. He was said to have sounded the depths of
+Platonic philosophy; he was a true poet, within certain limitations;
+few men have been more keenly alive to beauty in all its
+manifestations, physical and spiritual alike. Though profoundly
+immoral, _nelle cose veneree maravigliosamente involto_, he was a
+tolerable husband, and the fondest of fathers with his children, whom
+he adored. The delight of his closing days was the elevation of his
+favourite son, Giovanni, to the Cardinalate at the age of fourteen; it
+gave the Medici a voice in the Curia like the other princes of Europe,
+and pleased all Florence; but more than half Lorenzo's joy proceeded
+from paternal pride and love, and the letter of advice which he wrote
+for his son on the occasion shows both father and boy in a very
+amiable, even edifying light. And yet this same man had ruined the
+happiness of countless homes, and had even seized upon the doweries of
+Florentine maidens to fill his own coffers and pay his mercenaries.
+
+But the _bel viver italiano_ of the Quattrocento, with all its
+loveliness and all its immorality--more lovely and far less immoral in
+Florence than anywhere else--was drawing to an end. A new prophet had
+arisen, and, from the pulpits of San Marco and Santa Maria del Fiore,
+the stern Dominican, Fra Girolamo Savonarola, denounced the corruption
+of the day and announced that speedy judgment was at hand; the Church
+should be chastised, and that speedily, and renovation should follow.
+Prodigies were seen. The lions tore and rent each other in their
+cages; lightning struck the cupola of the Duomo on the side towards
+the Medicean palace; while in his villa at Careggi the Magnifico lay
+dying, watched over by his sister Bianca and the poet Poliziano. A
+visit from the young Pico della Mirandola cheered his last hours. He
+received the Last Sacraments, with every sign of contrition and
+humility. Then Savonarola came to his bedside. There are two accounts
+of what happened between these two terrible men, the corruptor of
+Florence and the prophet of renovation, and they are altogether
+inconsistent. The ultimate source of the one is apparently
+Savonarola's fellow-martyr, Fra Silvestro, an utterly untrustworthy
+witness; that of the other, Lorenzo's intimate, Poliziano. According
+to Savonarola's biographers and adherents, Lorenzo, overwhelmed with
+remorse and terror, had sent for the Frate to give him the absolution
+which his courtly confessor dared not refuse (_io non ho mai trovato
+uno che sia vero frate, se non lui_); and when the Dominican, seeming
+to soar above his natural height, bade him restore liberty to
+Florence, the Magnifico sullenly turned his back upon him and shortly
+afterwards died in despair.[19] According to Poliziano, an eyewitness
+and an absolutely whole-hearted adherent of the Medici, Fra Girolamo
+simply spoke a few words of priestly exhortation to the dying man;
+then, as he turned away, Lorenzo cried, "Your blessing, father, before
+you depart" (_Heus, benedictionem, Pater, priusquam a nobis
+proficisceris_) and the two together repeated word for word the
+Church's prayers for the departing; then Savonarola returned to his
+convent, and Lorenzo passed away in peace and consolation. Reverently
+and solemnly the body was brought from Careggi to Florence, rested for
+a while in San Marco, and was then buried, with all external
+simplicity, with his murdered brother in San Lorenzo. It was the
+beginning of April 1492, and the Magnifico was only in his
+forty-fourth year. The words of old Sixtus must have risen to the lips
+of many: _Oggi e morta la pace d'Italia_. "This man," said Ferrante of
+Naples, "lived long enough to make good his own title to immortality,
+but not long enough for Italy."
+
+  [19] The familiar legend that Lorenzo told Savonarola that the three
+  sins which lay heaviest on his conscience were the sack of Volterra,
+  the robbery of the Monte delle Doti, and the vengeance he had taken
+  for the Pazzi conspiracy, is only valuable as showing what were
+  popularly supposed by the Florentines to be his greatest crimes.
+
+Lorenzo left three sons--Piero, who virtually succeeded him in the
+same rather undefined princedom; the young Cardinal Giovanni; and
+Giuliano. Their father was wont to call Piero the "mad," Giovanni the
+"wise," Giuliano the "good"; and to a certain extent their after-lives
+corresponded with his characterisation. There was also a boy Giulio,
+Lorenzo's nephew, an illegitimate child of Giuliano the elder by a
+girl of the lower class; him Lorenzo left to the charge of Cardinal
+Giovanni--the future Pope Clement to the future Pope Leo. Piero had
+none of his father's abilities, and was not the man to guide the ship
+of State through the storm that was rising; he was a wild licentious
+young fellow, devoted to sport and athletics, with a great shock of
+dark hair; he was practically the only handsome member of his family,
+as you may see in a peculiarly fascinating Botticellian portrait in
+the Uffizi, where he is holding a medallion of his great grandfather
+Cosimo, and gazing out of the picture with a rather pathetic
+expression, as if the Florentines who set a price upon his head had
+misunderstood him.
+
+Piero's folly at once began to undo his father's work. A part of
+Lorenzo's policy had been to keep his family united, including those
+not belonging to the reigning branch. There were two young Medici then
+in the city, about Piero's own age; Lorenzo and Giovanni di Pier
+Francesco, the grandsons of Cosimo's brother Lorenzo (you may see
+Giovanni with his father in a picture by Filippino Lippi in the
+Uffizi). Lorenzo the Magnificent had made a point of keeping on good
+terms with them, for they were beloved of the people. Giovanni was
+destined, in a way, to play the part of Banquo to the Magnificent's
+Macbeth, had there been a Florentine prophet to tell him, "Thou shalt
+get kings though thou be none." But Piero disliked the two; at a dance
+he struck Giovanni, and then, when the brothers showed resentment, he
+arrested both and, not daring to take their lives, confined them to
+their villas. And these were times when a stronger head than Piero's
+might well have reeled. Italy's day had ended, and she was now to be
+the battle-ground for the gigantic forces of the monarchies of Europe.
+That same year in which Lorenzo died, Alexander VI. was elected to the
+Papacy he had so shamelessly bought. A mysterious terror fell upon the
+people; an agony of apprehension consumed their rulers throughout the
+length and breadth of the land. In 1494 the crash came. The old King
+Ferrante of Naples died, and his successor Alfonso prepared to meet
+the torrent of French arms which Ludovico Sforza, the usurping Duke of
+Milan, had invited into Italy.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In art and in letters, as well as in life and general conduct, this
+epoch of the Quattrocento is one of the most marvellous chapters in
+the history of human thought; the Renaissance as a wave broke over
+Italy, and from Italy surged on to the bounds of Europe. And of this
+"discovery by man of himself and of the world," Florence was the
+centre; in its hothouse of learning and culture the rarest
+personalities flourished, and its strangest and most brilliant flower,
+in whose hard brilliancy a suggestion of poison lurked, was Lorenzo
+the Magnificent himself.
+
+In both art and letters, the Renaissance had fully commenced before
+the accession of the Medici to power. Ghiberti's first bronze gates of
+the Baptistery and Masaccio's frescoes in the Carmine were executed
+under the regime of the _nobili popolani_, the Albizzi and their
+allies. Many of the men whom the Medici swept relentlessly from their
+path were in the fore-front of the movement, such as the noble and
+generous Palla Strozzi, one of the reformers of the Florentine Studio,
+who brought the Greek, Emanuel Chrysolaras, at the close of the
+fourteenth century, to make Florence the centre of Italian Hellenism.
+Palla lavished his wealth in the hunting of codices, and at last, when
+banished on Cosimo's return, died in harness at Padua at the venerable
+age of ninety-two. His house had always been full of learned men, and
+his reform of the university had brought throngs of students to
+Florence. Put under bounds for ten years at Padua, he lived the life
+of an ancient philosopher and of exemplary Christian virtue.
+Persecuted at the end of every ten years with a new sentence, the
+last--of ten more years--when he was eighty-two; robbed by death of
+his wife and sons; he bore all with the utmost patience and fortitude,
+until, in Vespasiano's words, "arrived at the age of ninety-two years,
+in perfect health of body and of mind, he gave up his soul to his
+Redeemer like a most faithful and good Christian."
+
+In 1401, the first year of the fifteenth century, the competition was
+announced for the second gates of the Baptistery, which marks the
+beginning of Renaissance sculpture; and the same year witnessed the
+birth of Masaccio, who, in the words of Leonardo da Vinci, "showed
+with his perfect work how those painters who follow aught but Nature,
+the mistress of the masters, laboured in vain," Morelli calls this
+Quattrocento the epoch of "character"; "that is, the period when it
+was the principal aim of art to seize and represent the outward
+appearances of persons and things, determined by inward and moral
+conditions." The intimate connection of arts and crafts is
+characteristic of the Quattrocento, as also the mutual interaction of
+art with art. Sculpture was in advance of painting in the opening
+stage of the century, and, indeed, influenced it profoundly
+throughout; about the middle of the century they met, and ran
+henceforth hand in hand. Many of the painters and sculptors, as,
+notably, Ghiberti and Botticelli, had been apprentices in the
+workshops of the goldsmiths; nor would the greatest painters disdain
+to undertake the adornment of a _cassone_, or chest for wedding
+presents, nor the most illustrious sculptor decline a commission for
+the button of a prelate's cope or some mere trifle of household
+furniture. The medals in the National Museum and the metal work on the
+exterior of the Strozzi Palace are as typical of the art of
+Renaissance Florence as the grandest statues and most elaborate
+altar-pieces.
+
+  [Illustration: IN THE SCULPTORS' WORKSHOP
+  BY NANNI DI BANCO
+  (For the Guild of Masters in Stone and Timber)]
+
+With the work of the individual artists we shall become better
+acquainted in subsequent chapters. Here we can merely name their
+leaders. In architecture and sculpture respectively, Filippo
+Brunelleschi (1377-1446) and Donatello (1386-1466) are the ruling
+spirits of the age. Their mutual friendship and brotherly rivalry
+almost recall the loves of Dante and Cavalcanti in an earlier day.
+Although Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455) justly won the competition for
+the second gates of the Baptistery, it is now thought that Filippo ran
+his successful rival much more closely than the critics of an earlier
+day supposed. Mr Perkins remarks that "indirectly Brunelleschi was the
+master of all the great painters and sculptors of his time, for he
+taught them how to apply science to art, and so far both Ghiberti and
+Donatello were his pupils, but the last was almost literally so, since
+the great architect was not only his friend, but also his counsellor
+and guide." Contemporaneous with these three _spiriti magni_ in their
+earlier works, and even to some extent anticipating them, is Nanni di
+Banco (died in 1421), a most excellent master, both in large
+monumental statues and in bas-reliefs, whose works are to be seen and
+loved outside and inside the Duomo, and in the niches round San
+Michele in Orto. A pleasant friendship united him with Donatello,
+although to regard him as that supreme master's pupil and follower,
+as Vasari does, is an anachronism. To this same earlier portion of the
+Quattrocento belong Leo Battista Alberti (1405-1472), a rare genius,
+but a wandering stone who, as an architect, accomplished comparatively
+little; Michelozzo Michelozzi (1396-1472), who worked as a sculptor
+with Ghiberti and Donatello, but is best known as the favoured
+architect of the Medici, for whom he built the palace so often
+mentioned in these pages, and now known as the Palazzo Riccardi, and
+the convent of San Marco; and Luca della Robbia (1399-1482), that
+beloved master of marble music, whose enamelled terra-cotta Madonnas
+are a perpetual fund of the purest delight. To Michelozzo and Luca in
+collaboration we owe the bronze gates of the Duomo sacristy, a work
+only inferior to Ghiberti's "Gates of Paradise."
+
+Slightly later come Donatello's great pupils, Desiderio da Settignano
+(1428-1464), Andrea Verrocchio (1435-1488), and Antonio Pollaiuolo
+(1429-1498). The two latter are almost equally famous as painters.
+Contemporaneous with them are Mino da Fiesole, Bernardo and Antonio
+Rossellino, Giuliano da San Gallo, Giuliano and Benedetto da Maiano,
+of whom the last-named was the first architect of the Strozzi Palace.
+The last great architect of the Quattrocento is Simone del Pollaiuolo,
+known as Cronaca (1457-1508); and its last great sculptor is Andrea
+della Robbia, Luca's nephew, who was born in 1435, and lived on until
+1525. Andrea's best works--and they are very numerous indeed, in the
+same enamelled terra-cotta--hardly yield in charm and fascination to
+those of Luca himself; in some of them, devotional art seems to reach
+its last perfection in sculpture. Giovanni, Andrea's son, and others
+of the family carried on the tradition--with cruder colours and less
+delicate feeling.
+
+Masaccio (1401-1428), one of "the inheritors of unfulfilled renown,"
+is the first great painter of the Renaissance, and bears much the same
+relation to the fifteenth as Giotto to the fourteenth century.
+Vasari's statement that Masaccio's master, Masolino, was Ghiberti's
+assistant appears to be incorrect; but it illustrates the dependence
+of the painting of this epoch upon sculpture. Masaccio's frescoes in
+the Carmine, which became the school of all Italian painting, were
+entirely executed before the Medicean regime. The Dominican, Fra
+Angelico da Fiesole (1387-1455), seems in his San Marco frescoes to
+bring the denizens of the Empyrean, of which the mediaeval mystics
+dreamed, down to earth to dwell among the black and white robed
+children of St Dominic. The Carmelite, Fra Lippo Lippi (1406-1469),
+the favourite of Cosimo, inferior to the angelical painter in
+spiritual insight, had a keener eye for the beauty of the external
+world and a surer touch upon reality. His buoyant humour and excellent
+colouring make "the glad monk's gift" one of the most acceptable that
+the Quattrocento has to offer us. Andrea del Castagno (died in 1457)
+and Domenico Veneziano (died in 1461), together with Paolo Uccello
+(died in 1475), were all absorbed in scientific researches with an eye
+to the extension of the resources of their art; but the two former
+found time to paint a few masterpieces in their kind--especially a
+Cenacolo by Andrea in Santa Appollonia, which is the grandest
+representation of its sublime theme, until the time that Leonardo da
+Vinci painted on the walls of the Dominican convent at Milan. Problems
+of the anatomical construction of the human frame and the rendering of
+movement occupied Antonio Pollaiuolo (1429-1498) and Andrea Verrocchio
+(1435-1488); their work was taken up and completed a little later by
+two greater men, Luca Signorelli of Cortona and Leonardo da Vinci.
+
+The Florentine painting of this epoch culminates in the work of two
+men--Sandro di Mariano Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli
+(1447-1510), and Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494). If the greatest
+pictures were painted poems, as some have held, then Sandro
+Botticelli's masterpieces would be among the greatest of all time. In
+his rendering of religious themes, in his intensely poetic and
+strangely wistful attitude towards the fair myths of antiquity, and in
+his Neo-Platonic mingling of the two, he is the most complete and
+typical exponent of the finest spirit of the Quattrocento, to which,
+in spite of the date of his death, his art entirely belongs.
+Domenico's function, on the other hand, is to translate the external
+pomp and circumstance of his times into the most uninspired of painted
+prose, but with enormous technical skill and with considerable power
+of portraiture; this he effected above all in his ostensibly religious
+frescoes in Santa Maria Novella and Santa Trinita. Elsewhere he shows
+a certain pathetic sympathy with humbler life, as in his Santa Fina
+frescoes at San Gemignano, and in the admirable Adoration of the
+Shepherds in the Accademia; but this is a less characteristic vein.
+Filippino Lippi (1457-1504), the son of the Carmelite and the pupil of
+Botticelli, has a certain wayward charm, especially in his earlier
+works, but as a rule falls much below his master. He may be regarded
+as the last direct inheritor of the traditions of Masaccio. Associated
+with these are two lesser men, who lived considerably beyond the
+limits of the fifteenth century, but whose artistic methods never went
+past it; Piero di Cosimo (1462-1521) and Lorenzo di Credi (1459-1537).
+The former (called after Cosimo Rosselli, his master) was one of the
+most piquant personalities in the art world of Florence, as all
+readers of _Romola_ know. As a painter, he has been very much
+overestimated; at his best, he is a sort of Botticelli, with the
+Botticellian grace and the Botticellian poetry almost all left out. He
+was magnificent at designing pageants; and of one of his exploits in
+this kind, we shall hear more presently. Lorenzo di Credi,
+Verrocchio's favourite pupil, was later, like Botticelli and others,
+to fall under the spell of Fra Girolamo; his pictures breathe a true
+religious sentiment and are very carefully finished; but for the most
+part, though there are exceptions, they lack virility.
+
+Before this epoch closed, the two greatest heroes of Florentine art
+had appeared upon the scenes, but their great work lay still in the
+future. Leonardo da Vinci (born in 1452) had learned to paint in the
+school of Verrocchio; but painting was to occupy but a small portion
+of his time and labour. His mind roamed freely over every field of
+human activity, and plunged deeply into every sphere of human thought;
+nor is he adequately represented even by the greatest of the pictures
+that he has left. There is nothing of him now in Florence, save a few
+drawings in the Uffizi and an unfinished picture of the Epiphany.
+Leonardo finished little, and, with that little, time and man have
+dealt hardly. Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in the Casentino in
+1475, and nurtured among the stone quarries of Settignano. At the age
+of thirteen, his father apprenticed him to the Ghirlandaii, Domenico
+and his brother David; and, with his friend and fellow-student,
+Francesco Granacci, the boy began to frequent the gardens of the
+Medici, near San Marco, where in the midst of a rich collection of
+antiquities Donatello's pupil and successor, Bertoldo, directed a kind
+of Academy. Here Michelangelo attracted the attention of Lorenzo
+himself, by the head of an old satyr which he had hammered out of a
+piece of marble that fell to his hand; and the Magnifico took him into
+his household. This youthful period in the great master's career was
+occupied in drinking in culture from the Medicean circle, in studying
+the antique and, of the moderns, especially the works of Donatello and
+Masaccio. But, with the exception of a few early fragments from his
+hand, Michelangelo's work commenced with his first visit to Rome, in
+1496, and belongs to the following epoch.
+
+Turning from art to letters, the Quattrocento is an intermediate
+period between the mainly Tuscan literary movement of the fourteenth
+century and the general Italian literature of the sixteenth. The first
+part of this century is the time of the discovery of the old authors,
+of the copying of manuscripts (printing was not introduced into
+Florence until 1471), of the eager search for classical relics and
+antiquities, the comparative neglect of Italian when Latinity became
+the test of all. Florence was the centre of the Humanism of the
+Renaissance, the revival of Grecian culture, the blending of
+Christianity and Paganism, the aping of antiquity in theory and in
+practice. In the pages of Vespasiano we are given a series of lifelike
+portraits of the scholars of this epoch, who thronged to Florence,
+served the State as Secretary of the Republic or occupied chairs in
+her newly reorganised university, or basked in the sun of Strozzian or
+Medicean patronage. Niccolo Niccoli, who died in 1437, is one of the
+most typical of these scholars; an ardent collector of ancient
+manuscripts, his library, purchased after his death by Cosimo dei
+Medici, forms the nucleus of the Biblioteca Laurenziana. His house was
+adorned with all that was held most choice and precious; he always
+wore long sweeping red robes, and had his table covered with ancient
+vases and precious Greek cups and the like. In fact he played the
+ancient sage to such perfection that simply to watch him eat his
+dinner was a liberal education in itself! _A vederlo in tavola, cosi
+antico come era, era una gentilezza._
+
+Vespasiano tells a delightful yarn of how one fine day this Niccolo
+Niccoli, "who was another Socrates or another Cato for continence and
+virtue," was taking a constitutional round the Palazzo del Podesta,
+when he chanced to espy a youth of most comely aspect, one who was
+entirely devoted to worldly pleasures and delights, young Piero Pazzi.
+Calling him and learning his name, Niccolo proceeded to question him
+as to his profession. "Having a high old time," answered the ingenuous
+youth: _attendo a darmi buon tempo_. "Being thy father's son and so
+handsome," said the Sage severely, "it is a shame that thou dost not
+set thyself to learn the Latin language, which would be a great
+ornament to thee; and if thou dost not learn it, thou wilt be esteemed
+of no account; yea, when the flower of thy youth is past, thou shalt
+find thyself without any _virtu_." Messer Piero was converted on the
+spot; Niccolo straightway found him a master and provided him with
+books; and the pleasure-loving youth became a scholar and a patron of
+scholars. Vespasiano assures us that, if he had lived, _lo
+inconveniente che seguito_--so he euphoniously terms the Pazzi
+conspiracy--would never have happened.
+
+Leonardo Bruni is the nearest approach to a really great figure in the
+Florentine literary world of the first half of the century. His
+translations of Plato and Aristotle, especially the former, mark an
+epoch. His Latin history of Florence shows genuine critical insight;
+but he is, perhaps, best known at the present day by his little Life
+of Dante in Italian, a charming and valuable sketch, which has
+preserved for us some fragments of Dantesque letters and several bits
+of really precious information about the divine poet, which seem to
+be authentic and which we do not find elsewhere. Leonardo appears to
+have undertaken it as a kind of holiday task, for recreation after the
+work of composing his more ponderous history. As Secretary of the
+Republic he exercised considerable political influence; his fame was
+so great that people came to Florence only to look at him; on his
+death in 1444, he was solemnly crowned on the bier as poet laureate,
+and buried in Santa Croce with stately pomp and applauded funeral
+orations. Leonardo's successors, Carlo Marsuppini (like him, an
+Aretine by birth) and Poggio Bracciolini--the one noted for his frank
+paganism, the other for the foulness of his literary invective--are
+less attractive figures; though the latter was no less famous and
+influential in his day. Giannozzo Manetti, who pronounced Bruni's
+funeral oration, was noted for his eloquence and incorruptibility, and
+stands out prominently amidst the scholars and humanists by virtue of
+his nobleness of character; like that other hero of the new learning,
+Palla Strozzi, he was driven into exile and persecuted by the
+Mediceans.
+
+Far more interesting are the men of light and learning who gathered
+round Lorenzo dei Medici in the latter half of the century. This is
+the epoch of the Platonic Academy, which Marsilio Ficino had founded
+under the auspices of Cosimo. The discussions held in the convent
+retreat among the forests of Camaldoli, the meetings in the Badia at
+the foot of Fiesole, the mystical banquets celebrated in Lorenzo's
+villa at Careggi in honour of the anniversary of Plato's birth and
+death, may have added little to the sum of man's philosophic thought;
+but the Neo-Platonic religion of love and beauty, which was there
+proclaimed to the modern world, has left eternal traces in the poetic
+literature both of Italy and of England. Spenser and Shelley might
+have sat with the nine guests, whose number honoured the nine Muses,
+at the famous Platonic banquet at Careggi, of which Marsilio Ficino
+himself has left us an account in his commentary on the _Symposium_.
+You may read a later Italian echo of it, when Marsilio Ficino had
+passed away and his academy was a thing of the past, in the
+impassioned and rapturous discourse on love and beauty poured forth by
+Pietro Bembo, at that wonderful daybreak which ends the discussions of
+Urbino's courtiers in Castiglione's treatise. In a creed that could
+find one formula to cover both the reception of the Stigmata by St
+Francis and the mystical flights of the Platonic Socrates and
+Plotinus; that could unite the Sibyls and Diotima with the Magdalene
+and the Virgin Martyrs; many a perplexed Italian of that epoch might
+find more than temporary rest for his soul.
+
+Simultaneously with this new Platonic movement there came a great
+revival of Italian literature, alike in poetry and in prose; what
+Carducci calls _il rinascimento della vita italiana nella forma
+classica_. The earlier humanists had scorned, or at least neglected
+the language of Dante; and the circle that surrounded Lorenzo was
+undoubtedly instrumental in this Italian reaction. Cristoforo Landini,
+one of the principal members of the Platonic Academy, now wrote the
+first Renaissance commentary upon the _Divina Commedia_; Leo Battista
+Alberti, also a leader in these Platonic disputations, defended the
+dignity of the Italian language, as Dante himself had done in an
+earlier day. Lorenzo himself compiled the so-called _Raccolta
+Aragonese_ of early Italian lyrics, and sent them to Frederick of
+Aragon, together with a letter full of enthusiasm for the Tuscan
+tongue, and with critical remarks on the individual poets of the
+thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Upon the popular poetry of
+Tuscany Lorenzo himself, and his favourite Angelo Ambrogini of
+Montepulciano, better known as Poliziano, founded a new school of
+Italian song. Luigi Pulci, the gay scoffer and cynical sceptic,
+entertained the festive gatherings in the Medicean palace with his
+wild tales, and, in his _Morgante Maggiore_, was practically the first
+to work up the popular legends of Orlando and the Paladins into a
+noteworthy poem--a poem of which Savonarola and his followers were
+afterwards to burn every copy that fell into their hands.
+
+Poliziano is at once the truest classical scholar, and, with the
+possible exception of Boiardo (who belongs to Ferrara, and does not
+come within the scope of the present volume), the greatest Italian
+poet of the fifteenth century. He is, indeed, the last and most
+perfect fruit of Florentine Humanism. His father, Benedetto Ambrogini,
+had been murdered in Montepulciano by the faction hostile to the
+Medici; and the boy Angelo, coming to Florence, and studying under
+Ficino and his colleagues, was received into Lorenzo's household as
+tutor to the younger Piero. His lectures at the Studio attracted
+students from all Europe, and his labours in the field of textual
+criticism won a fame that has lasted to the present day. In Italian he
+wrote the _Orfeo_ in two days for performance at Mantua, when he was
+eighteen, a lyrical tragedy which stamps him as the father of Italian
+dramatic opera; the scene of the descent of Orpheus into Hades
+contains lyrical passages of great melodiousness. Shortly before the
+Pazzi conspiracy, he composed his famous _Stanze_ in celebration of a
+tournament given by Giuliano dei Medici, and in honour of the _bella
+Simonetta_. There is absolutely no "fundamental brain work" about
+these exquisitely finished stanzas; but they are full of dainty
+mythological pictures quite in the Botticellian style, overladen,
+perhaps, with adulation of the reigning house and its _ben nato
+Lauro_. In his lyrics he gave artistic form to the _rispetti_ and
+_strambotti_ of the people, and wrote exceedingly musical _ballate_,
+or _canzoni a ballo_, which are the best of their kind in the whole
+range of Italian poetry. There is, however, little genuine passion in
+his love poems for his lady, Madonna Ippolita Leoncina of Prato;
+though in all that he wrote there is, as Villari puts it, "a fineness
+of taste that was almost Greek."
+
+Lorenzo dei Medici stands second to his friend as a poet; but he is a
+good second. His early affection for the fair Lucrezia Donati, with
+its inevitable sonnets and a commentary somewhat in the manner of
+Dante's _Vita Nuova_, is more fanciful than earnest, although
+Poliziano assures us of
+
+     "La lunga fedelta del franco Lauro."
+
+But Lorenzo's intense love of external nature, his power of close
+observation and graphic description, are more clearly shown in such
+poems as the _Caccia col Falcone_ and the _Ambra_, written among the
+woods and hills in the country round his new villa of Poggio a Caiano.
+Elsewhere he gives free scope to the animal side of his sensual
+nature, and in his famous _Canti carnascialeschi_, songs to be sung at
+carnival and in masquerades, he at times revelled in pruriency, less
+for its own sake than for the deliberate corruption of the
+Florentines. And, for a time, their music drowned the impassioned
+voice of Savonarola, whose stern cry of warning and exhortation to
+repentance had for the nonce passed unheeded.
+
+There is extant a miracle play from Lorenzo's hand, the acts of the
+martyrs Giovanni and Paolo, who suffered in the days of the emperor
+Julian. Two sides of Lorenzo's nature are ever in conflict--the
+Lorenzo of the ballate and the carnival songs--the Lorenzo of the
+_laude_ and spiritual poems, many of which have the unmistakable ring
+of sincerity. And, in the story of his last days and the summoning of
+Savonarola to his bed-side, the triumph of the man's spiritual side is
+seen at the end; he is, indeed, in the position of the dying Julian of
+his own play:--
+
+     "Fallace vita! O nostra vana cura!
+     Lo spirto e gia fuor del mio petto spinto:
+     O Cristo Galileo, tu hai vinto."
+
+Such was likewise the attitude of several members of the Medicean
+circle, when the crash came. Poliziano followed his friend and patron
+to the grave, in September 1494; his last hours received the
+consolations of religion from Savonarola's most devoted follower, Fra
+Domenico da Pescia (of whom more anon); after death, he was robed in
+the habit of St Dominic and buried in San Marco. Pico della Mirandola,
+too, had been present at the Magnifico's death-bed, though not there
+when the end actually came; he too, in 1494, received the Dominican
+habit in death, and was buried by Savonarola's friars in San Marco.
+Marsilio Ficino outlived his friends and denied Fra Girolamo; he died
+in 1499, and lies at rest in the Duomo.
+
+Of all these Medicean Platonists, Pico della Mirandola is the most
+fascinating. A young Lombard noble of almost feminine beauty, full of
+the pride of having mastered all the knowledge of his day, he first
+came to Florence in 1480 or 1482, almost at the very moment in which
+Marsilio Ficino finished his translation of Plato. He became at once
+the chosen friend of all the choicest spirits of Lorenzo's circle. Not
+only classical learning, but the mysterious East and the sacred lore
+of the Jews had rendered up their treasures for his intellectual
+feast; his mysticism shot far beyond even Ficino; all knowledge and
+all religions were to him a revelation of the Deity. Not only to
+Lorenzo and his associates did young Pico seem a phoenix of earthly
+and celestial wisdom, _uomo quasi divino_ as Machiavelli puts it; but
+even Savonarola in his _Triumphus Crucis_, written after Pico's death,
+declares that, by reason of his loftiness of intellect and the
+sublimity of his doctrine, he should be numbered amongst the miracles
+of God and Nature. Pico had been much beloved of many women, and not
+always a Platonic lover, but, towards the close of his short
+flower-like life, he burnt "fyve bokes that in his youthe of wanton
+versis of love with other lyke fantasies he had made," and all else
+seemed absorbed in the vision of love Divine. "The substance that I
+have left," he told his nephew, "I intend to give out to poor people,
+and, fencing myself with the crucifix, barefoot walking about the
+world, in every town and castle I purpose to preach of Christ."
+Savonarola, to whom he had confided all the secrets of his heart, was
+not the only martyr who revered the memory of the man whom Lorenzo the
+Magnificent had loved. Thomas More translated his life and letters,
+and reckoned him a saint. He would die at the time of the lilies, so a
+lady had told Pico; and he died indeed on the very day that the golden
+lilies on the royal standard of France were borne into Florence
+through the Porta San Frediano--consoled with wondrous visions of the
+Queen of Heaven, and speaking as though he beheld the heavens opened.
+
+A month or two earlier, the pen had dropped from the hand of Matteo
+Maria Boiardo, as he watched the French army descending the Alps; and
+he brought his unfinished _Orlando Innamorato_ to an abrupt close, too
+sick at heart to sing of the vain love of Fiordespina for
+Brandiamante:--
+
+     "Mentre che io canto, o Dio Redentore,
+     Vedo l'Italia tutta a fiamma e foco,
+     Per questi Galli, che con gran valore
+     Vengon, per disertar non so che loco."
+
+"Whilst I sing, Oh my God, I see all Italy in flame and fire, through
+these Gauls, who with great valour come, to lay waste I know not what
+place." On this note of vague terror, in the onrush of the barbarian
+hosts, the Quattrocento closes.
+
+  [Illustration: ARMS OF THE PAZZI]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+_From Fra Girolamo to Duke Cosimo_
+
+   "Vedendo lo omnipotente Dio multiplicare li peccati della Italia,
+   maxime nelli capi cosi ecclesiastici come seculari, non potendo
+   piu sostenere, determino purgare la Chiesa sua per uno gran
+   flagello. Et perche come e scripto in Amos propheta, Non faciet
+   Dominus Deus verbum nisi revelaverit secretum suum ad servos suos
+   prophetas: volse per la salute delli suoi electi accio che inanzi
+   al flagello si preparassino ad sofferire, che nella Italia questo
+   flagello fussi prenuntiato. Et essendo Firenze in mezzo la Italia
+   come il core in mezzo il corpo, s'e dignato di eleggere questa
+   citta; nella quale siano tale cose prenuntiate: accio che per lei
+   si sparghino negli altri luoghi."--_Savonarola._
+
+
+_Gladius Domini super terram cito et velociter_, "the Sword of the
+Lord upon the earth soon and speedily." These words rang ever in the
+ears of the Dominican friar who was now to eclipse the Medicean rulers
+of Florence. Girolamo Savonarola, the grandson of a famous Paduan
+physician who had settled at the court of Ferrara, had entered the
+order of St Dominic at Bologna in 1474, moved by the great misery of
+the world and the wickedness of men, and in 1481 had been sent to the
+convent of San Marco at Florence. The corruption of the Church, the
+vicious lives of her chief pastors, the growing immorality of the
+people, the tyranny and oppression of their rulers, had entered into
+his very soul--had found utterance in allegorical poetry, in an ode
+_De Ruina Mundi_, written whilst still in the world, in another, _De
+Ruina Ecclesiae_, composed in the silence of his Bolognese
+cloister--that cloister which, in better days, had been hallowed by
+the presence of St Dominic and the Angelical Doctor, Thomas Aquinas.
+And he believed himself set by God as a watchman in the centre of
+Italy, to announce to the people and princes that the sword was to
+fall upon them: "If the sword come, and thou hast not announced it,"
+said the spirit voice that spoke to him in the silence as the daemon to
+Socrates, "and they perish unwarned, I will require their blood at thy
+hands and thou shalt bear the penalty."
+
+But at first the Florentines would not hear him; the gay dancings and
+the wild carnival songs of their rulers drowned his voice; courtly
+preachers like the Augustinian of Santo Spirito, Fra Mariano da
+Gennazano, laid more flattering unction to their souls. Other cities
+were more ready; San Gemignano first heard the word of prophecy that
+was soon to resound beneath the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore, even
+as, some two hundred years before, she had listened to the speech of
+Dante Alighieri. At the beginning of 1490, the Friar returned to
+Florence and San Marco; and, on Sunday, August 1st, expounding the
+Apocalypse in the Church of San Marco, he first set forth to the
+Florentines the three cardinal points of his doctrine; first, the
+Church was to be renovated; secondly, before this renovation, God
+would send a great scourge upon all Italy; thirdly, these things would
+come speedily. He preached the following Lent in the Duomo; and
+thenceforth his great work of reforming Florence, and announcing the
+impending judgments of God, went on its inspired way. "Go to Lorenzo
+dei Medici," he said to the five citizens who came to him, at the
+Magnifico's instigation, to urge him to let the future alone in his
+sermons, "and bid him do penance for his sins, for God intends to
+punish him and his"; and when elected Prior of San Marco in this same
+year, 1491, he would neither enter Lorenzo's palace to salute the
+patron of the convent, nor welcome him when he walked among the friars
+in the garden.
+
+Fra Girolamo was preaching the Lent in San Lorenzo, when the Magnifico
+died; and, a few days later, he saw a wondrous vision, as he himself
+tells us in the _Compendium Revelationum_. "In 1492," he says, "while
+I was preaching the Lent in San Lorenzo at Florence, I saw, on the
+night of Good Friday, two crosses. First, a black cross in the midst
+of Rome, whereof the head touched the heaven and the arms stretched
+forth over all the earth; and above it were written these words, _Crux
+irae Dei_. After I had beheld it, suddenly I saw the sky grow dark,
+and clouds fly through the air; winds, flashes of lightning and
+thunderbolts drove across, hail, fire and swords rained down, and slew
+a vast multitude of folk, so that few remained on the earth. And after
+this, there came a sky right calm and bright, and I saw another cross,
+of the same greatness as the first but of gold, rise up over
+Jerusalem; the which was so resplendent that it illumined all the
+world, and filled it all with flowers and joy; and above it was
+written, _Crux misericordiae Dei_. And I saw all generations of men
+and women come from all parts of the world, to adore it and embrace
+it."
+
+In the following August came the simoniacal election of Roderigo
+Borgia to the Papacy, as Alexander VI.; and in Advent another vision
+appeared to the prophet in his cell, which can only be told in Fra
+Girolamo's own words:--
+
+"I saw then in the year 1492, the night before the last sermon which I
+gave that Advent in Santa Reparata, a hand in Heaven with a sword,
+upon the which was written: _The sword of the Lord upon the earth,
+soon and speedily_; and over the hand was written, _True and just are
+the judgments of the Lord._ And it seemed that the arm of that hand
+proceeded from three faces in one light, of which the first said: _The
+iniquity of my sanctuary crieth to me from the earth._ The second
+replied: _Therefore will I visit with a rod their iniquities, and with
+stripes their sins._ The third said: _My mercy will I not remove from
+it, nor will I harm it in my truth, and I will have mercy upon the
+poor and the needy._ In like manner the first answered: _My people
+have forgotten my commandments days without number._ The second
+replied: _Therefore will I grind and break in pieces and will not have
+mercy._ The third said: _I will be mindful of those who walk in my
+precepts._ And straightway there came a great voice from all the three
+faces, over all the world, and it said: _Hearken, all ye dwellers on
+the earth; thus saith the Lord: I, the Lord, am speaking in my holy
+zeal. Behold, the days shall come and I will unsheath my sword upon
+you. Be ye converted therefore unto me, before my fury be
+accomplished; for when the destruction cometh, ye shall seek peace and
+there shall be none._ After these words it seemed to me that I saw the
+whole world, and that the Angels descended from Heaven to earth,
+arrayed in white, with a multitude of spotless stoles on their
+shoulders and red crosses in their hands; and they went through the
+world, offering to each man a white robe and a cross. Some men
+accepted them and robed themselves with them. Some would not accept
+them, although they did not impede the others who accepted them.
+Others would neither accept them nor permit that the others should
+accept them; and these were the tepid and the sapient of this world,
+who made mock of them and strove to persuade the contrary. After this,
+the hand turned the sword down towards the earth; and suddenly it
+seemed that all the air grew dark with clouds, and that it rained
+down swords and hail with great thunder and lightning and fire; and
+there came upon the earth pestilence and famine and great tribulation.
+And I saw the Angels go through the midst of the people, and give to
+those who had the white robe and the cross in their hands a clear wine
+to drink; and they drank and said: _How sweet in our mouths are thy
+words, O Lord._ And the dregs at the bottom of the chalice they gave
+to drink to the others, and they would not drink; and it seemed that
+these would fain have been converted to penitence and could not, and
+they said: _Wherefore dost thou forget us, Lord?_ And they wished to
+lift up their eyes and look up to God, but they could not, so weighed
+down were they with tribulations; for they were as though drunk, and
+it seemed that their hearts had left their breasts, and they went
+seeking the lusts of this world and found them not. And they walked
+like senseless beings without heart. After this was done, I heard a
+very great voice from those three faces, which said: _Hear ye then the
+word of the Lord: for this have I waited for you, that I may have
+mercy upon you. Come ye therefore to me, for I am kind and merciful,
+extending mercy to all who call upon me. But if you will not, I will
+turn my eyes from you for ever._ And it turned then to the just, and
+said: _But rejoice, ye just, and exult, for when my short anger shall
+have passed, I will break the horns of sinners, and the horns of the
+just shall be exalted._ And suddenly everything disappeared, and it
+was said to me: _Son, if sinners had eyes, they would surely see how
+grievous and hard is this pestilence, and how sharp the sword._"[20]
+
+  [20] This _Compendium of Revelations_ was, like the _Triumph of the
+  Cross_, published both in Latin and in Italian simultaneously. I have
+  rendered the above from the Italian version.
+
+The French army, terrible beyond any that the Italians had seen, and
+rendered even more terrible by the universal dread that filled all
+men's minds at this moment, entered Italy. On September 9th, 1494,
+Charles VIII. arrived at Asti, where he was received by Ludovico and
+his court, while the Swiss sacked and massacred at Rapallo. Here was
+the new Cyrus whom Savonarola had foretold, the leader chosen by God
+to chastise Italy and reform the Church. While the vague terror
+throughout the land was at its height, Savonarola, on September 21st,
+ascended the pulpit of the Duomo, and poured forth so terrible a flood
+of words on the text _Ecce ego adducam aquas diluvii super terram_,
+that the densely packed audience were overwhelmed in agonised panic.
+The bloodless mercenary conflicts of a century had reduced Italy to
+helplessness; the Aragonese resistance collapsed, and, sacking and
+slaughtering as they came, the French marched unopposed through
+Lunigiana upon Tuscany. Piero dei Medici, who had favoured the
+Aragonese in a half-hearted way, went to meet the French King,
+surrendered Sarzana and Pietrasanta, the fortresses which his father
+had won back for Florence, promised to cede Pisa and Leghorn, and made
+an absolute submission. "Behold," cried Savonarola, a few days later,
+"the sword has descended, the scourge has fallen, the prophecies are
+being fulfilled; behold, it is the Lord who is leading on these
+armies." And he bade the citizens fast and pray throughout the city:
+it was for the sins of Italy and of Florence that these things had
+happened; for the corruption of the Church, this tempest had arisen.
+
+It was the republican hero, Piero Capponi, who now gave utterance to
+the voice of the people. "Piero dei Medici," he said in the Council of
+the Seventy called by the Signoria on November 4th, "is no longer fit
+to rule the State: the Republic must provide for itself: the moment
+has come to shake off this baby government." They prepared for
+defence, but at the same time sent ambassadors to the "most Christian
+King," and amongst these ambassadors was Savonarola. In the meantime
+Piero dei Medici returned to Florence to find his government at an
+end; the Signoria refused him admittance into the palace; the people
+assailed him in the Piazza. He made a vain attempt to regain the State
+by arms, but the despairing shouts of _Palle, Palle,_ which his
+adherents and mercenaries raised, were drowned in the cries of _Popolo
+e Liberta_, as the citizens, as in the old days of the Republic, heard
+the great bell of the Palace tolling and saw the burghers once more in
+arms. On the 9th of November Piero and Giuliano fled through the Porta
+di San Gallo; the Cardinal Giovanni, who had shown more courage and
+resource, soon followed, disguised as a friar. There was some pillage
+done, but little bloodshed. The same day Pisa received the French
+troops, and shook off the Florentine yoke--an example shortly followed
+by other Tuscan cities. Florence had regained her liberty, but lost her
+empire. But the King had listened to the words of Savonarola--words
+preserved to us by the Friar himself in his _Compendium
+Revelationum_--who had hailed him as the Minister of Christ, but
+warned him sternly and fearlessly that, if he abused his power over
+Florence, the strength which God had given him would be shattered.
+
+On November 17th Charles, clad in black velvet with mantle of gold
+brocade and splendidly mounted, rode into Florence, as though into a
+conquered city, with lance levelled, through the Porta di San
+Frediano. With him was that priestly Mars, the terrible Cardinal della
+Rovere (afterwards Julius II.), now bent upon the deposition of
+Alexander VI. as a simoniacal usurper; and he was followed by all the
+gorgeous chivalry of France, with the fierce Swiss infantry, the light
+Gascon skirmishers, the gigantic Scottish bowmen--_uomini bestiali_ as
+the Florentines called them--in all about 12,000 men. The procession
+swept through the gaily decked streets over the Ponte Vecchio, wound
+round the Piazza della Signoria, and then round the Duomo, amidst
+deafening cries of _Viva Francia_ from the enthusiastic people. But
+when the King descended and entered the Cathedral, there was a sad
+disillusion--_parve al popolo un poco diminuta la fama_, as the good
+apothecary Luca Landucci tells us--for, when off his horse, he
+appeared a most insignificant little man, almost deformed, and with an
+idiotic expression of countenance, as his bust portrait in the
+Bargello still shows. This was not quite the sort of Cyrus that they
+had expected from Savonarola's discourses; but still, within and
+without Santa Maria del Fiore, the thunderous shouts of _Viva Francia_
+continued, until he was solemnly escorted to the Medicean palace which
+had been prepared for his reception.
+
+That night, and each following night during the French occupation,
+Florence shone so with illuminations that it seemed mid-day; every day
+was full of feasting and pageantry; but French and Florentines alike
+were in arms. The royal "deliverer"--egged on by the ladies of Piero's
+family and especially by Alfonsina, his young wife--talked of
+restoring the Medici; the Swiss, rioting in the Borgo SS. Apostoli,
+were severely handled by the populace, in a way that showed the King
+that the Republic was not to be trifled with. On November 24th the
+treaty was signed in the Medicean (now the Riccardi) palace, after a
+scene never forgotten by the Florentines. Discontented with the amount
+of the indemnity, the King exclaimed in a threatening voice, "I will
+bid my trumpets sound" (_io faro dare nelle trombe_). Piero Capponi
+thereupon snatched the treaty from the royal secretary, tore it in
+half, and exclaiming, "And we will sound our bells" (_e noi faremo
+dare nelle campane_), turned with his colleagues to leave the room.
+Charles, who knew Capponi of old (he had been Florentine Ambassador in
+France), had the good sense to laugh it off, and the Republic was
+saved. There was to be an alliance between the Republic and the King,
+who was henceforth to be called "Restorer and Protector of the Liberty
+of Florence." He was to receive a substantial indemnity. Pisa and the
+fortresses were for the present to be retained, but ultimately
+restored; the decree against the Medici was to be revoked, but they
+were still banished from Tuscany. But the King would not go. The
+tension every day grew greater, until at last Savonarola sought the
+royal presence, solemnly warned him that God's anger would fall upon
+him if he lingered, and sent him on his way. On November 28th the
+French left Florence, everyone, from Charles himself downwards,
+shamelessly carrying off everything of value that they could lay hands
+on, including the greater part of the treasures and rarities that
+Cosimo and Lorenzo had collected.
+
+It was now that all Florence turned to the voice that rang out from
+the Convent of San Marco and the pulpit of the Duomo; and Savonarola
+became, in some measure, the pilot of the State. Mainly through his
+influence, the government was remodelled somewhat on the basis of the
+Venetian constitution with modifications. The supreme authority was
+vested in the _Greater Council_, which created the magistrates and
+approved the laws; and it elected the _Council of Eighty_, with which
+the Signoria was bound to consult, which, together with the Signoria
+and the Colleges, made appointments and discussed matters which could
+not be debated in the Greater Council. A law was also passed, known as
+the "law of the six beans," which gave citizens the right of appeal
+from the decisions of the Signoria or the sentences of the _Otto di
+guardia e balia_ (who could condemn even to death by six votes or
+"beans")--not to a special council to be chosen from the Greater
+Council, as Savonarola wished, but to the Greater Council itself.
+There was further a general amnesty proclaimed (March 1495). Finally,
+since the time-honoured calling of parliaments had been a mere farce,
+an excuse for masking revolution under the pretence of legality, and
+was the only means left by which the Medici could constitutionally
+have overthrown the new regime, it was ordained (August) that no
+parliament should ever again be held under pain of death. "The only
+purpose of parliament," said Savonarola, "is to snatch the sovereign
+power from the hands of the people." So enthusiastic--to use no
+harsher term--did the Friar show himself, that he declared from the
+pulpit that, if ever the Signoria should sound the bell for a
+parliament, their houses should be sacked, and that they themselves
+might be hacked to pieces by the crowd without any sin being thereby
+incurred; and that the Consiglio Maggiore was the work of God and not
+of man, and that whoever should attempt to change this government
+should for ever be accursed of the Lord. It was now that the Sala del
+Maggior Consiglio was built by Cronaca in the Priors' Palace, to
+accommodate this new government of the people; and the Signoria set up
+in the middle of the court and at their gate the two bronze statues by
+Donatello, which they took from Piero's palace--the _David_, an emblem
+of the triumphant young republic that had overthrown the giant of
+tyranny, the _Judith_ as a warning of the punishment that the State
+would inflict upon whoso should attempt its restoration; _exemplum
+salutis publicae cives posuere_, 1495, ran the new inscription put by
+these stern theocratic republicans upon its base.
+
+But in the meantime Charles had pursued his triumphant march, had
+entered Rome, had conquered the kingdom of Naples almost without a
+blow. Then fortune turned against him; Ludovico Sforza with the Pope
+formed an Italian league, including Venice, with hope of Germany and
+Spain, to expel the French from Italy--a league in which all but
+Florence and Ferrara joined. Charles was now in full retreat to secure
+his return to France, and was said to be marching on Florence with
+Piero dei Medici in his company--no reformation of the Church
+accomplished, no restoration of Pisa to his ally. The Florentines flew
+to arms. But Savonarola imagined that he had had a special Vision of
+the Lilies vouchsafed to him by the Blessed Virgin, which pointed to
+an alliance with France and the reacquisition of Pisa.[21] He went
+forth to meet the King at Poggibonsi, June 1495, overawed the fickle
+monarch by his prophetic exhortation, and at least kept the French out
+of Florence. A month later, the battle of Fornovo secured Charles'
+retreat and occasioned (what was more important to posterity)
+Mantegna's Madonna of the Victory. And of the lost cities and
+fortresses, Leghorn alone was recovered.
+
+  [21] When Savonarola entered upon the political arena, his spiritual
+  sight was often terribly dimmed. The cause of Pisa against Florence
+  was every bit as righteous as that of the Florentines themselves
+  against the Medici.
+
+But all that Savonarola had done, or was to do, in the political field
+was but the means to an end--the reformation and purification of
+Florence. It was to be a united and consecrated State, with Christ
+alone for King, adorned with all triumphs of Christian art and sacred
+poetry, a fire of spiritual felicity to Italy and all the earth. In
+Lent and Advent especially, his voice sounded from the pulpit,
+denouncing vice, showing the beauty of righteousness, the efficacy of
+the sacraments, and interpreting the Prophets, with special reference
+to the needs of his times. And for a while Florence seemed verily a
+new city. For the wild licence of the Carnival, for the Pagan
+pageantry that the Medicean princes had loved, for the sensual songs
+that had once floated up from every street of the City of
+Flowers--there were now bonfires of the vanities in the public
+squares; holocausts of immoral books, indecent pictures, all that
+ministered to luxury and wantonness (and much, too, that was very
+precious!); there were processions in honour of Christ and His Mother,
+there were new mystical lauds and hymns of divine love. A kind of
+spiritual inebriation took possession of the people and their rulers
+alike. Tonsured friars and grave citizens, with heads garlanded,
+mingled with the children and danced like David before the Ark,
+shouting, "_Viva Cristo e la Vergine Maria nostra regina._" They had
+indeed, like the Apostle, become fools for Christ's sake. "It was a
+holy time," writes good Luca Landucci, "but it was short. The wicked
+have prevailed over the good. Praised be God that I saw that short
+holy time. Wherefore I pray God that He may give it back to us, that
+holy and pure living. It was indeed a blessed time." Above all, the
+children of Florence were the Friar's chosen emissaries and agents in
+the great work he had in hand; he organised them into bands, with
+standard-bearers and officers like the time-honoured city companies
+with their gonfaloniers, and sent them round the city to seize
+vanities, forcibly to stop gambling, to collect alms for the poor, and
+even to exercise a supervision over the ladies' dresses. _Ecco i
+fanciugli del Frate_, was an instant signal for gamblers to take to
+flight, and for the fair and frail ladies to be on their very best
+behaviour. They proceeded with olive branches, like the children of
+Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday; they made the churches ring with
+their hymns to the Madonna, and even harangued the Signoria on the
+best method of reforming the morals of the citizens. "Out of the
+mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise," quotes
+Landucci: "I have written these things because they are true, and I
+have seen them and have felt their sweetness, and some of my own
+children were among these pure and blessed bands."[22]
+
+  [22] This Luca Landucci, whose diary we shall have occasion to quote
+  more than once, kept an apothecary's shop near the Strozzi Palace at
+  the Canto de' Tornaquinci. He was an ardent Piagnone, though he
+  wavered at times. He died in 1516, and was buried in Santa Maria
+  Novella.
+
+But the holy time was short indeed. Factions were still only too much
+alive. The _Bigi_ or _Palleschi_ were secretly ready to welcome the
+Medici back; the _Arrabbiati_, the powerful section of the citizens
+who, to some extent, held the traditions of the so-called _Ottimati_
+or _nobili popolani_, whom the Medici had overthrown, were even more
+bitter in their hatred to the _Frateschi_ or _Piagnoni_, as the
+adherents of the Friar were called, though prepared to make common
+cause with them on the least rumour of Piero dei Medici approaching
+the walls. The _Compagnacci_, or "bad companions," dissolute young men
+and evil livers, were banded together under Doffo Spini, and would
+gladly have taken the life of the man who had curtailed their
+opportunities for vice. And to these there were now added the open
+hostility of Pope Alexander VI., and the secret machinations of his
+worthy ally, the Duke of Milan. The Pope's hostility was at first
+mainly political; he had no objection whatever to Savonarola reforming
+faith and morals (so long as he did not ask Roderigo Borgia to reform
+himself), but could not abide the Friar declaring that he had a
+special mission from God and the Madonna to oppose the Italian league
+against France. At the same time the Pope would undoubtedly have been
+glad to see Piero dei Medici restored to power. But in the early part
+of 1496, it became a war to the death between these two--the Prophet
+of Righteousness and the Church's Caiaphas--a war which seemed at one
+moment about to convulse all Christendom, but which ended in the
+funeral pyre of the Piazza della Signoria.
+
+On Ash Wednesday, February 17th, Fra Girolamo, amidst the vastest
+audience that had yet flocked to hear his words, ascended once more
+the pulpit of Santa Maria del Fiore. He commenced by a profession of
+most absolute submission to the Church of Rome. "I have ever believed,
+and do believe," he said, "all that is believed by the Holy Roman
+Church, and have ever submitted, and do submit, myself to her.... I
+rely only on Christ and on the decisions of the Church of Rome." But
+this was a prelude to the famous series of sermons on Amos and
+Zechariah which he preached throughout this Lent, and which was in
+effect a superb and inspired denunciation of the wickedness of
+Alexander and his Court, of the shameless corruption of the Papal
+Curia and the Church generally, which had made Rome, for a while, the
+sink of Christendom. Nearly two hundred years before, St Peter had
+said the same thing to Dante in the Heaven of the Fixed Stars:--
+
+     "Quegli ch'usurpa in terra il loco mio,
+       il loco mio, il loco mio, che vaca
+       nella presenza del Figliuol di Dio,
+     fatto ha del cimitero mio cloaca
+       del sangue e della puzza, onde il perverso
+       che cadde di quassu, laggiu si placa."[23]
+
+  [23] "He who usurpeth upon earth my place, my place, my place, which
+  in the presence of the Son of God is vacant,
+
+  "hath made my burial-ground a conduit for that blood and filth,
+  whereby the apostate one who fell from here above, is soothed down
+  there below."--_Paradiso_ xxvii.
+      Wicksteed's Translation.
+
+These were, perhaps, the most terrible of all Savonarola's sermons and
+prophecies. Chastisement was to come upon Rome; she was to be girdled
+with steel, put to the sword, consumed with fire. Italy was to be
+ravaged with pestilence and famine; from all sides the barbarian
+hordes would sweep down upon her. Let them fly from this corrupted
+Rome, this new Babylon of confusion, and come to repentance. And for
+himself, he asked and hoped for nothing but the lot of the martyrs,
+when his work was done. These sermons echoed through all Europe; and
+when the Friar, after a temporary absence at Prato, returned to the
+pulpit in May with a new course of sermons on Ruth and Micah, he was
+no less daring; as loudly as ever he rebuked the hideous corruption of
+the times, the wickedness of the Roman Court, and announced the
+scourge that was at hand:--
+
+"I announce to thee, Italy and Rome, that the Lord will come forth out
+of His place. He has awaited thee so long that He can wait no more. I
+tell thee that God will draw forth the sword from the sheath; He will
+send the foreign nations; He will come forth out of His clemency and
+His mercy; and such bloodshed shall there be, so many deaths, such
+cruelty, that thou shalt say: O Lord, Thou hast come forth out of Thy
+place. Yea, the Lord shall come; He will come down and tread upon the
+high places of the earth. I say to thee, Italy and Rome, that the Lord
+will tread upon thee. I have bidden thee do penance; thou art worse
+than ever. The feet of the Lord shall tread upon thee; His feet shall
+be the horses, the armies of the foreign nations that shall trample
+upon the great men of Italy; and soon shall priests, friars, bishops,
+cardinals and great masters be trampled down....
+
+"Trust not, Rome, in saying: Here we have the relics, here we have St
+Peter and so many bodies of martyrs. God will not suffer such
+iniquities! I warn thee that their blood cries up to Christ to come
+and chastise thee."[24]
+
+  [24] Sermon on May 29th, 1496. In Villari and Casanova, _Scelte di
+  prediche e scritti di Fra Girolamo Savonarola_.
+
+But, in the meanwhile, the state of Florence was dark and dismal in
+the extreme. Pestilence and famine ravaged her streets; the war
+against Pisa seemed more hopeless every day; Piero Capponi had fallen
+in the field in September; and the forces of the League threatened her
+with destruction, unless she deserted the French alliance. King
+Charles showed no disposition to return; the Emperor Maximilian, with
+the Venetian fleet, was blockading her sole remaining port of Leghorn.
+A gleam of light came in October, when, at the very moment that the
+miraculous Madonna of the Impruneta was being borne through the
+streets in procession by the Piagnoni, a messenger brought the news
+that reinforcements and provisions had reached Leghorn from
+Marseilles; and it was followed in November by the dispersion of the
+imperial fleet by a tempest. At the opening of 1497 a Signory devoted
+to Savonarola, and headed by Francesco Valori as Gonfaloniere, was
+elected; and the following carnival witnessed an even more emphatic
+burning of the vanities in the great Piazza, while the sweet voices of
+the "children of the Friar" seemed to rise louder and louder in
+intercession and in praise. Savonarola was at this time living more
+in seclusion, broken in health, and entirely engaged upon his great
+theological treatise, the _Triumphus Crucis_; but in Lent he resumed
+his pulpit crusade against the corruption of the Church, the
+scandalous lives of her chief pastors, in a series of sermons on
+Ezekiel; above all in one most tremendous discourse on the text: "And
+in all thy abominations and thy fornications thou hast not remembered
+the days of thy youth." In April, relying upon the election of a new
+Signoria favourable to the Mediceans (and headed by Bernardo del Nero
+as Gonfaloniere), Piero dei Medici--who had been leading a most
+degraded life in Rome, and committing every turpitude imaginable--made
+an attempt to surprise Florence, which merely resulted in a
+contemptible fiasco. This threw the government into the hands of the
+Arrabbiati, who hated Savonarola even more than the Palleschi did, and
+who were intriguing with the Pope and the Duke of Milan. On Ascension
+Day the Compagnacci raised a disgraceful riot in the Duomo,
+interrupted Savonarola's sermon, and even attempted to take his life.
+Then at last there came from Rome the long-expected bull of
+excommunication, commencing, "We have heard from many persons worthy
+of belief that a certain Fra Girolamo Savonarola, at this present said
+to be vicar of San Marco in Florence, hath disseminated pernicious
+doctrines to the scandal and great grief of simple souls." It was
+published on June 18th in the Badia, the Annunziata, Santa Croce,
+Santa Maria Novella, and Santo Spirito, with the usual solemn
+ceremonies of ringing bells and dashing out of the lights--in the
+last-named church, especially, the monks "did the cursing in the most
+orgulist wise that might be done," as the compiler of the _Morte
+Darthur_ would put it.
+
+The Arrabbiati and Compagnacci were exultant, but the Signoria that
+entered office in July seemed disposed to make Savonarola's cause
+their own. A fresh plot was discovered to betray Florence to Piero dei
+Medici, and five of the noblest citizens in the State--the aged
+Bernardo del Nero, who had merely known of the plot and not divulged
+it, but who had been privy to Piero's coming in April while
+Gonfaloniere, among them--were beheaded in the courtyard of the
+Bargello's palace, adjoining the Palazzo Vecchio. In this Savonarola
+took no share; he was absorbed in tending those who were dying on all
+sides from the plague and famine, and in making the final revision of
+his _Triumph of the Cross_, which was to show to the Pope and all the
+world how steadfastly he held to the faith of the Church of Rome.[25]
+The execution of these conspirators caused great indignation among
+many in the city. They had been refused the right of appeal to the
+Consiglio Maggiore, and it was held that Fra Girolamo might have saved
+them, had he so chosen, and that his ally, Francesco Valori, who had
+relentlessly hounded them to their deaths, had been actuated mainly by
+personal hatred of Bernardo del Nero.
+
+  [25] Professor Villari justly remarks that "Savonarola's attacks were
+  never directed in the slightest degree against the dogmas of the Roman
+  Church, but solely against those who corrupted them." The _Triumph of
+  the Cross_ was intended to do for the Renaissance what St Thomas
+  Aquinas had accomplished for the Middle Ages in his _Summa contra
+  Gentiles_. As this book is the fullest expression of Savonarola's
+  creed, it is much to be regretted that more than one of its English
+  translators have omitted some of its most characteristic and important
+  passages bearing upon Catholic practice and doctrine, without the
+  slightest indication that any such process of "expurgation" has been
+  carried out.
+
+But Savonarola could not long keep silence, and in the following
+February, 1498, on Septuagesima Sunday, he again ascended the pulpit
+of the Duomo. Many of his adherents, Landucci tells us, kept away for
+fear of the excommunication: "I was one of those who did not go
+there." Not faith, but charity it is that justifies and perfects
+man--such was the burden of the Friar's sermons now: if the Pope gives
+commands which are contrary to charity, he is no instrument of the
+Lord, but a broken tool. The excommunication is invalid, the Lord will
+work a miracle through His servant when His time comes, and his only
+prayer is that he may die in defence of the truth. On the last day of
+the Carnival, after communicating his friars and a vast throng of the
+laity, Savonarola addressed the people in the Piazza of San Marco,
+and, holding on high the Host, prayed that Christ would send fire from
+heaven upon him that should swallow him up into hell, if he were
+deceiving himself, and if his words were not from God. There was a
+more gorgeous burning of the Vanities than ever; but all during Lent
+the unequal conflict went on, and the Friar began to talk of a future
+Council. This was the last straw. An interdict would ruin the commerce
+of Florence; and on the 17th of March the Signoria bowed before the
+storm, and forbade Savonarola to preach again. On the following
+morning, the third Sunday in Lent, he delivered his last sermon:--
+
+"If I am deceived, Christ, Thou hast deceived me, Thou. Holy Trinity,
+if I am deceived, Thou hast deceived me. Angels, if I am deceived, ye
+have deceived me. Saints of Paradise, if I am deceived, ye have
+deceived me. But all that God has said, or His angels or His saints
+have said, is most true, and it is impossible that they should lie;
+and, therefore, it is impossible that, when I repeat what they have
+told me, I should lie. O Rome, do all that thou wilt, for I assure
+thee of this, that the Lord is with me. O Rome, it is hard for thee to
+kick against the pricks. Thou shalt be purified yet.... Italy, Italy,
+the Lord is with me. Thou wilt not be able to do aught. Florence,
+Florence, that is, ye evil citizens of Florence, arm yourselves as ye
+will, ye shall be conquered this time, and ye shall not be able to
+kick against the pricks, for the Lord is with me, as a strong
+warrior." "Let us leave all to the Lord; He has been the Master of all
+the Prophets, and of all the holy men. He is the Master who wieldeth
+the hammer, and, when He hath used it for His purpose, putteth it not
+back into the chest, but casteth it aside. So did He unto Jeremiah,
+for when He had used him as much as He wished, He cast him aside and
+had him stoned. So will it be also with this hammer; when He shall
+have used it in His own way, He will cast it aside. Yea, we are
+content, let the Lord's will be done; and by the more suffering that
+shall be ours here below, so much the greater shall the crown be
+hereafter, there on high."
+
+"We will do with our prayers what we had to do with our preaching. O
+Lord, I commend to Thee the good and the pure of heart; and I pray
+Thee, look not at the negligence of the good, because human frailty is
+great, yea, their frailty is great. Bless, Lord, the good and pure of
+heart. Lord, I pray Thee that Thou delay no longer in fulfilling Thy
+promises."
+
+It was now, in the silence of his cell, that Savonarola prepared his
+last move. He would appeal to the princes of Christendom--the Emperor,
+Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, Henry VII. of England, the King of
+Hungary, and above all, that "most Christian King" Charles VIII. of
+France--to summon a general council, depose the simoniacal usurper who
+was polluting the chair of Peter, and reform the Church. He was
+prepared to promise miracles from God to confirm his words. These
+letters were written, but never sent; a preliminary message was
+forwarded from trustworthy friends in Florence to influential persons
+in each court to prepare them for what was coming; and the despatch
+to the Florentine ambassador in France was intercepted by the agents
+of the Duke of Milan. It was at once placed in the hands of Cardinal
+Ascanio Sforza in Rome, and the end was now a matter of days. The
+Signoria was hostile, and the famous ordeal by fire lit the
+conflagration that freed the martyr and patriot. On Sunday, March
+25th, the Franciscan Francesco da Puglia, preaching in Santa Croce and
+denouncing Savonarola, challenged him to prove his doctrines by a
+miracle, to pass unscathed through the fire. He was himself prepared
+to enter the flames with him, or at least said that he was. Against
+Savonarola's will his lieutenant, Fra Domenico, who had taken his
+place in the pulpit, drew up a series of conclusions (epitomising
+Savonarola's teaching and declaring the nullity of the excommunication),
+and declared himself ready to enter the fire to prove their truth.
+
+Huge was the delight of the Compagnacci at the prospect of such sport,
+and the Signoria seized upon it as a chance of ending the matter once
+for all. Whether the Franciscans were sincere, or whether it was a
+mere plot to enable the Arrabbiati and Compagnacci to destroy
+Savonarola, is still a matter of dispute. The Piagnoni were confident
+in the coming triumph of their prophet; champions came forward from
+both sides, professedly eager to enter the flames--although it was
+muttered that the Compagnacci and their Doffo Spini had promised the
+Franciscans that no harm should befall them. Savonarola misliked it,
+but took every precaution that, if the ordeal really came off, there
+should be no possibility of fraud or evasion. Of the amazing scene in
+the Piazza on April 7th, I will speak in the following chapter;
+suffice it to say here that it ended in a complete fiasco, and that
+Savonarola and his friars would never have reached their convent
+alive, but for the protection of the armed soldiery of the Signoria.
+Hounded home under the showers of stones and filth from the infuriated
+crowd, whose howls of execration echoed through San Marco, Fra
+Girolamo had the _Te Deum_ sung, but knew in his heart that all was
+lost. That very same day his Cyrus, the champion of his prophetic
+dreams, Charles VIII. of France, was struck down by an apoplectic
+stroke at Amboise; and, as though in judgment for his abandonment of
+what the prophet had told him was the work of the Lord, breathed his
+last in the utmost misery and ignominy.
+
+The next morning, Palm Sunday, April 8th, Savonarola preached a very
+short sermon in the church of San Marco, in which he offered himself
+in sacrifice to God and was prepared to suffer death for his flock.
+_Tanto fu sempre questo uomo simile a se stesso_, says Jacopo Nardi.
+Hell had broken loose by the evening, and the Arrabbiati and
+Compagnacci, stabbing and hewing as they came, surged round the church
+and convent. In spite of Savonarola and Fra Domenico, the friars had
+weapons and ammunition in their cells, and there was a small band of
+devout laymen with them, prepared to hold by the prophet to the end.
+From vespers till past midnight the attack and defence went on; in the
+Piazza, in the church, and through the cloisters raged the fight,
+while riot and murder wantoned through the streets of the city.
+Francesco Valori, who had escaped from the convent in the hope of
+bringing reinforcements, was brutally murdered before his own door.
+The great bell of the convent tolled and tolled, animating both
+besieged and besiegers to fresh efforts, but bringing no relief from
+without. Savonarola, who had been prevented from following the
+impulses of his heart and delivering himself up to the infernal crew
+that thirsted for his blood in the Piazza, at last gathered his
+friars round him before the Blessed Sacrament, in the great hall of
+the Greek library, solemnly confirmed his doctrine, exhorted them to
+embrace the Cross alone, and then, together with Fra Domenico, gave
+himself into the hands of the forces of the Signoria. The entire
+cloisters were already swarming with his exultant foes. "The work of
+the Lord shall go forward without cease," he said, as the mace-bearers
+bound him and Domenico, "my death will but hasten it on." Buffeted and
+insulted by the Compagnacci and the populace, amidst the deafening
+uproar, the two Dominicans were brought to the Palazzo Vecchio. It
+seemed to the excited imaginations of the Piagnoni that the scenes of
+the first Passiontide at Jerusalem were now being repeated in the
+streets of fifteenth century Florence.
+
+The Signoria had no intention of handing over their captives to Rome,
+but appointed a commission of seventeen--including Doffo Spini and
+several of Savonarola's bitterest foes--to conduct the examination of
+the three friars. The third, Fra Silvestro, a weak and foolish
+visionary, had hid himself on the fatal night, but had been given up
+on the following day. Again and again were they most cruelly
+tortured--but in all essentials, though ever and anon they wrung some
+sort of agonised denial from his lips, Savonarola's testimony as to
+his divine mission was unshaken. Fra Domenico, the lion-hearted soul
+whom the children of Florence had loved, and to whom poets like
+Poliziano had turned on their death-beds, was as heroic on the rack or
+under the torment of the boot as he had been throughout his career.
+Out of Fra Silvestro the examiners could naturally extort almost
+anything they pleased. And a number of laymen and others, supposed to
+have been in their counsels, were similarly "examined," and their
+shrieks rang through the Bargello; but with little profit to the
+Friar's foes. So they falsified the confessions, and read the
+falsification aloud in the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, to the
+bewilderment of all Savonarola's quondam disciples who were there. "We
+had believed him to be a prophet," writes Landucci in his diary, "and
+he confessed that he was not a prophet, and that he had not received
+from God the things that he preached; and he confessed that many
+things in his sermons were the contrary to what he had given us to
+understand. And I was there when this process was read, whereat I was
+astounded, stupified, and amazed. Grief pierced my soul, when I saw so
+great an edifice fall to the ground, through being sadly based upon a
+single lie. I expected Florence to be a new Jerusalem, whence should
+proceed the laws and splendour and example of goodly living, and to
+see the renovation of the Church, the conversion of the infidels and
+the consolation of the good. And I heard the very contrary, and indeed
+took the medicine: _In voluntate tua, Domine, omnia sunt posita._"
+
+A packed election produced a new Signoria, crueller than the last.
+They still refused to send the friars to Rome, but invited the Pope's
+commissioners to Florence. These arrived on May 19th--the Dominican
+General, Torriani, a well-intentioned man, and the future Cardinal
+Romolino, a typical creature of the Borgias and a most infamous
+fellow. It was said that they meant to put Savonarola to death, even
+if he were a second St John the Baptist. The torture was renewed
+without result; the three friars were sentenced to be hanged and then
+burnt. Fra Domenico implored that he might be cast alive into the
+fire, in order that he might suffer more grievous torments for Christ,
+and desired only that the friars of Fiesole, of which convent he was
+prior, might bury him in some lowly spot, and be loyal to the
+teachings of Fra Girolamo. On the morning of May 23rd, Savonarola said
+his last Mass in the Chapel of the Priors, and communicated his
+companions. Then they were led out on to the Ringhiera overlooking the
+Piazza, from which a temporary _palchetto_ ran out towards the centre
+of the square to serve as scaffold. Here, the evening before, the
+gallows had been erected, beam across beam; but a cry had arisen among
+the crowd, _They are going to crucify him._ So it had been hacked
+about, in order that it might not seem even remotely to resemble a
+cross. But in spite of all their efforts, Jacopo Nardi tells us, that
+gallows still seemed to represent the figure of the Cross.
+
+  [Illustration: THE DEATH OF SAVONAROLA
+  (From an old, but quite contemporary, representation)]
+
+The guards of the Signoria kept back the crowds that pressed thicker
+and thicker round the scaffold, most of them bitterly hostile to the
+Friars and heaping every insult upon them. When Savonarola was
+stripped of the habit of Saint Dominic, he said, "Holy dress, how much
+did I long 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 degraded by the Bishop of
+Vasona, who had loved Fra Girolamo in better days; then in the same
+breath sentenced and absolved by Romolino, and finally condemned by
+the Eight--or the seven of them who were present--as representing the
+secular arm. The Bishop, in degrading Savonarola, stammered out:
+_Separo te ab Ecclesia militante atque triumphante_; to which the
+Friar calmly answered, in words which have become famous: _Militante,
+non triumphante; hoc enim tuum non est._ Silvestro suffered first,
+then Domenico. There was a pause before Savonarola followed; and in
+the sudden silence, as he looked his last upon the people, a voice
+cried: "Now, prophet, is the time for a miracle." And then another
+voice: "Now can I burn the man who would have burnt me"; and a
+ruffian, who had been waiting since dawn at the foot of the scaffold,
+fired the pile before the executioner could descend from his ladder.
+The bodies were burnt to ashes amidst the ferocious yells of the
+populace, and thrown into the Arno from the Ponte Vecchio. "Many fell
+from their faith," writes Landucci. A faithful few, including some
+noble Florentine ladies, gathered up relics, in spite of the crowd and
+the Signory, and collected what floated on the water. It was the vigil
+of Ascension Day.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Savonarola's martyrdom ends the story of mediaeval Florence. The last
+man of the Middle Ages--born out of his due time--had perished. A
+portion of the prophecy was fulfilled at once. The people of Italy and
+their rulers alike were trampled into the dust beneath the feet of the
+foreigners--the Frenchmen, the Switzers, the Spaniards, the Germans.
+The new King of France, Louis XII., who claimed both the Duchy of
+Milan and the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, entered Milan in 1499; and,
+after a brief restoration, Ludovico Sforza expiated his treasons by
+being sold by the Swiss to a lingering life-in-death in a French
+dungeon. The Spaniards followed; and in 1501 the troops of Ferdinand
+the Catholic occupied Naples. Like the dragon and the lion in
+Leonardo's drawing, Spain and France now fell upon each other for the
+possession of the spoils of conquered Italy; the Emperor Maximilian
+and Pope Julius II. joined in the fray; fresh hordes of Swiss poured
+into Lombardy. The battle of Pavia in 1525 gave the final victory to
+Spain; and, in 1527, the judgment foretold by Savonarola fell upon
+Rome, when the Eternal City was devastated by the Spaniards and
+Germans, nominally the armies of the Emperor Charles V. The treaty of
+Cateau-Cambresis in 1559 finally forged the Austrian and Spanish
+fetters with which Italy was henceforth bound.
+
+The death of Savonarola did not materially alter the affairs of the
+Republic. The Greater Council kept its hold upon the people and city,
+and in 1502 Piero di Tommaso Soderini was elected Gonfaloniere for
+life. The new head of the State was a sincere Republican and a genuine
+whole-hearted patriot; a man of blameless life and noble character,
+but simple-minded almost to a fault, and of abilities hardly more than
+mediocre. Niccolo Machiavelli, who was born in 1469 and had entered
+political life in 1498, shortly after Savonarola's death, as Secretary
+to the Ten (the Dieci di Balia), was much employed by the Gonfaloniere
+both in war and peace, especially on foreign legations; and, although
+he sneered at Soderini after his death for his simplicity, he
+co-operated faithfully and ably with him during his administration. It
+was under Soderini that Machiavelli organised the Florentine militia.
+Pisa was finally reconquered for Florence in 1509; and, although
+Machiavelli cruelly told the Pisan envoys that the Florentines
+required only their obedience, and cared nothing for their lives,
+their property, nor their honour, the conquerors showed unusual
+magnanimity and generosity in their triumph.
+
+These last years of the Republic are very glorious in the history of
+Florentine art. In 1498, just before the French entered Milan,
+Leonardo da Vinci had finished his Last Supper for Ludovico Sforza; in
+the same year, Michelangelo commenced his Pieta in Rome which is now
+in St Peter's; in 1499, Baccio della Porta began a fresco of the Last
+Judgment in Santa Maria Nuova, a fresco which, when he entered the
+Dominican order at San Marco and became henceforth known as Fra
+Bartolommeo, was finished by his friend, Mariotto Albertinelli. These
+three works, though in very different degrees, represent the opening
+of the Cinquecento in painting and sculpture. While Soderini ruled,
+both Leonardo and Michelangelo were working in Florence, for the Sala
+del Maggior Consiglio, and Michelangelo's gigantic David--the Republic
+preparing to meet its foes--was finished in 1504. This was the epoch
+in which Leonardo was studying those strange women of the Renaissance,
+whose mysterious smiles and wonderful hair still live for us in his
+drawings; and it was now that he painted here in Florence his Monna
+Lisa, "the embodiment of the old fancy, the symbol of the modern
+idea." At the close of 1504 the young Raphael came to Florence (as
+Perugino had done before him), and his art henceforth shows how
+profoundly he felt the Florentine influence. We know how he sketched
+the newly finished David, studied Masaccio's frescoes, copied bits of
+Leonardo's cartoon, was impressed by Bartolommeo's Last Judgment.
+Although it was especially Leonardo that he took for a model, Raphael
+found his most congenial friend and adviser in the artist friar of San
+Marco; and there is a pleasant tradition that he was himself
+influential in persuading Fra Bartolommeo to resume the brush.
+Leonardo soon went off to serve King Francis I. in France; Pope Julius
+summoned both Michelangelo and Raphael to Rome. These men were the
+masters of the world in painting and sculpture, and cannot really be
+confined to one school. Purely Florentine painting in the Cinquecento
+now culminated in the work of Fra Bartolommeo (1475-1517) and Andrea
+del Sarto (1486-1531), who had both been the pupils of Piero di
+Cosimo, although they felt other and greater influences later. After
+Angelico, Fra Bartolommeo is the most purely religious of all the
+Florentine masters; and, with the solitary exception of Andrea del
+Sarto, he is their only really great colourist. Two pictures of his at
+Lucca--one in the Cathedral, the other now in the Palazzo
+Pubblico--are among the greatest works of the Renaissance. In the
+latter especially, "Our Lady of Mercy," he shows himself the heir in
+painting of the traditions of Savonarola. Many of Bartolommeo's
+altar-pieces have grown very black, and have lost much of their effect
+by being removed from the churches for which they were painted; but
+enough is left in Florence to show his greatness. With him was
+associated that gay Bohemian and wild liver, Mariotto Albertinelli
+(1474-1515), who deserted painting to become an innkeeper, and who
+frequently worked in partnership with the friar. Andrea del Sarto, the
+tailor's son who loved not wisely but too well, is the last of a noble
+line of heroic craftsmen. Although his work lacks all inspiration, he
+is one of the greatest of colourists. "Andrea del Sarto," writes Mr
+Berenson, "approached, perhaps, as closely to a Giorgione or a Titian
+as could a Florentine, ill at ease in the neighbourhood of Leonardo
+and Michelangelo." He entirely belongs to these closing days of the
+Republic; his earliest frescoes were painted during Soderini's
+gonfalonierate; his latest just before the great siege.
+
+In the Carnival of 1511 a wonderfully grim pageant was shown to the
+Florentines, and it was ominous of coming events. It was known as the
+_Carro della Morte_, and had been designed with much secrecy by Piero
+di Cosimo. Drawn by buffaloes, a gigantic black chariot, all painted
+over with dead men's bones and white crosses, slowly passed through
+the streets. Upon the top of it, there stood a large figure of Death
+with a scythe in her hand; all round her, on the chariot, were closed
+coffins. When at intervals the Triumph paused, harsh and hoarse
+trumpet-blasts sounded; the coffins opened, and horrible figures,
+attired like skeletons, half issued forth. "We are dead," they sang,
+"as you see. So shall we see you dead. Once we were even as you are,
+soon shall you be as we." Before and after the chariot, rode a great
+band of what seemed to be mounted deaths, on the sorriest steeds that
+could be found. Each bore a great black banner with skull and
+cross-bones upon it, and each ghastly cavalier was attended by four
+skeletons with black torches. Ten black standards followed the
+Triumph; and, as it slowly moved on, the whole procession chanted the
+_Miserere_. Vasari tells us that this spectacle, which filled the city
+with terror and wonder, was supposed to signify the return of the
+Medici to Florence, which was to be "as it were, a resurrection from
+death to life."
+
+And, sure enough, in the following year the Spaniards under Raimondo
+da Cardona fell upon Tuscany, and, after the horrible sack and
+massacre of Prato, reinstated the Cardinal Giovanni dei Medici and
+Giuliano in Florence--their elder brother, Piero, had been drowned in
+the Garigliano eight years before. Piero Soderini went into exile, the
+Greater Council was abolished, and, while the city was held by their
+foreign troops, the Medici renewed the old pretence of summoning a
+parliament to grant a balia to reform the State. At the beginning of
+1513 two young disciples of Savonarola, Pietro Paolo Boscoli and
+Agostino Capponi, resolved to imitate Brutus and Cassius, and to
+liberate Florence by the death of the Cardinal and his brother. Their
+plot was discovered, and they died on the scaffold. "Get this Brutus
+out of my head for me," said Boscoli to Luca della Robbia, kinsman of
+the great sculptor, "that I may meet my last end like a Christian";
+and, to the Dominican friar who confessed him, he said, "Father, the
+philosophers have taught me how to bear death manfully; do you help
+me to bear it out of love for Christ." In this same year the Cardinal
+Giovanni was elected Pope, and entered upon his splendid and
+scandalous pontificate as Leo X. "Let us enjoy the Papacy," was his
+maxim, "since God has given it to us."
+
+Although Machiavelli was ready to serve the Medici, he had been
+deprived of his posts at the restoration, imprisoned and tortured on
+suspicion of being concerned in Boscoli's conspiracy, and now,
+released in the amnesty granted by the newly elected Pope, was living
+in poverty and enforced retirement at his villa near San Casciano. It
+was now that he wrote his great books, the _Principe_ and the
+_Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio_. Florence was ruled by
+the Pope's nephew, the younger Lorenzo, son of Piero by Alfonsina
+Orsini. The government was practically what it had been under the
+Magnificent, save that this new Lorenzo, who had married a French
+princess, discarded the republican appearances which his grandfather
+had maintained, and surrounded himself with courtiers and soldiers.
+For him and for Giuliano, the Pope cherished designs of carving out
+large princedoms in Italy; and Machiavelli, in dedicating his
+_Principe_ first to Giuliano, who died in 1516, and then to Lorenzo,
+probably dreamed that some such prince as he described might drive out
+the foreigner and unify the nation. In his nobler moments Leo X., too,
+seems to have aspired to establish the independence of Italy. When
+Lorenzo died in 1519, leaving one daughter, who was afterwards to be
+the notorious Queen of France, there was no direct legitimate male
+descendant of Cosimo the elder left; and the Cardinal Giulio, son of
+the elder Giuliano, governed Florence with considerable mildness, and
+even seemed disposed to favour a genuine republican government, until
+a plot against his life hardened his heart. It was to him that
+Machiavelli, who was now to some extent received back into favour,
+afterwards dedicated his _Istorie Fiorentine_. In 1523 the Cardinal
+Giulio, in spite of his illegitimate birth, became Pope Clement VII.,
+that most hapless of Pontiffs, whose reign was so surpassingly
+disastrous to Italy. In Florence the Medici were now represented by
+two young bastards, Ippolito and Alessandro, the reputed children of
+the younger Giuliano and the younger Lorenzo respectively; while the
+Cardinal Passerini misruled the State in the name of the Pope. But
+more of the true Medicean spirit had passed into the person of a
+woman, Clarice, the daughter of Piero (and therefore the sister of the
+Duke Lorenzo), who was married to the younger Filippo Strozzi, and
+could ill bear to see her house end in these two base-born lads. And
+elsewhere in Italy Giovanni delle Bande Nere (as he was afterwards
+called, from the mourning of his soldiers for his death) was winning
+renown as a captain; he was the son of that Giovanni dei Medici with
+whom Piero had quarrelled, by Caterina Sforza, the Lady of Forli, and
+had married Maria Salviati, a grand-daughter of Lorenzo the
+Magnificent. But the Pope would rather have lost Florence than that it
+should fall into the hands of the younger line.
+
+But the Florentine Republic was to have a more glorious sunset. In
+1527, while the imperial troops sacked Rome, the Florentines for the
+third time expelled the Medici and re-established the Republic, with
+first Niccolo Capponi and then Francesco Carducci as Gonfaloniere. In
+this sunset Machiavelli died; Andrea del Sarto painted the last great
+Florentine fresco; Michelangelo returned to serve the State in her
+hour of need. The voices of the Piagnoni were heard again from San
+Marco, and Niccolo Capponi in the Greater Council carried a
+resolution electing Jesus Christ king of Florence. But the plague fell
+upon the city; and her liberty was the price of the reconciliation of
+Pope and Emperor. From October 1529 until August 1530, their united
+forces--first under the Prince of Orange and then under Ferrante
+Gonzaga--beleaguered Florence. Francesco Ferrucci, the last hope of
+the Republic, was defeated and slain by the imperialists near San
+Marcello; and then, betrayed by her own infamous general Malatesta
+Baglioni, the city capitulated on the understanding that, although the
+form of the government was to be regulated and established by the
+Emperor, her liberty was preserved. The sun had indeed set of the most
+noble Republic in all history.
+
+Alessandro dei Medici, the reputed son of Lorenzo by a mulatto woman,
+was now made hereditary ruler of Florence by the Emperor, whose
+illegitimate daughter he married, and by the Pope. For a time, the
+Duke behaved with some decency; but after the death of Clement in
+1534, he showed himself in his true light as a most abominable tyrant,
+and would even have murdered Michelangelo, who had been working upon
+the tombs of Giuliano and Lorenzo. "It was certainly by God's aid,"
+writes Condivi, "that he happened to be away from Florence when
+Clement died." Alessandro appears to have poisoned his kinsman, the
+Cardinal Ippolito, the other illegitimate remnant of the elder
+Medicean line, in whom he dreaded a possible rival. Associated with
+him in his worst excesses was a legitimate scion of the younger branch
+of the house, Lorenzino--the _Lorenzaccio_ of Alfred de Musset's
+drama--who was the grandson of the Lorenzo di Pier Francesco mentioned
+in the previous chapter.[26] On January 5th, 1537, this young man--a
+reckless libertine, half scholar and half madman--stabbed the Duke
+Alessandro to death with the aid of a bravo, and fled, only to find a
+dishonourable grave some ten years later in Venice.
+
+  [26] See the Genealogical Table of the Medici.
+
+  [Illustration: THE DAWN
+  BY MICHELANGELO]
+
+Florence now fell into the hands of the ablest and most ruthless of
+all her rulers, Cosimo I. (the son of Giovanni delle Bande Nere), who
+united Medicean craft with the brutality of the Sforzas, conquered
+Siena, and became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany. At the opening of
+his reign the Florentine exiles, headed by the Strozzi and by Baccio
+Valori, attempted to recover the State, but were defeated by Cosimo's
+mercenaries. Their leaders were relentlessly put to death; and Filippo
+Strozzi, after prolonged torture, was either murdered in prison or
+committed suicide. A word will be said presently, in chapter ix., on
+Cosimo's descendants, the Medicean Grand Dukes who reigned in Tuscany
+for two hundred years.
+
+The older generation of artists had passed away with the Republic.
+After the siege Michelangelo alone remained, compelled to labour upon
+the Medicean tombs in San Lorenzo, which have become a monument, less
+to the tyrants for whom he reared them, than to the _saeva indignatio_
+of the great master himself at the downfall of his country. A madrigal
+of his, written either in the days of Alessandro or at the beginning
+of Cosimo's reign, expresses what was in his heart. Symonds renders
+it:--
+
+     "Lady, for joy of lovers numberless
+     Thou wast created fair as angels are;
+     Sure God hath fallen asleep in heaven afar,
+     When one man calls the bliss of many his."
+
+But the last days and last works of Michelangelo belong to the story
+of Rome rather than to that of Florence. Jacopo Carucci da Pontormo
+(1494-1557), who had been Andrea del Sarto's scholar, and whose
+earlier works had been painted before the downfall of the Republic,
+connects the earlier with the later Cinquecento; but of his work, as
+of that of his pupil Angelo Bronzino (1502-1572), the portraits alone
+have any significance for us now. Giorgio Vasari (1512-1574), although
+painter and architect--the Uffizi and part of the Palazzo Vecchio are
+his work--is chiefly famous for his delightful series of biographies of
+the artists themselves. Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571), that most piquant
+of personalities, and the Fleming Giambologna or Giovanni da Bologna
+(1524-1608), the master of the flying Mercury, are the last noteworthy
+sculptors of the Florentine school. When Michelangelo--_Michel,
+piu che mortale, Angel divino_, as Ariosto calls him--passed away on
+February 18th, 1564, the Renaissance was over as far as Art was
+concerned. And not in Art only. The dome of St Peter's, that was
+slowly rising before Michelangelo's dying eyes, was a visible sign of
+the new spirit that was moving within the Church itself, the spirit
+that reformed the Church and purified the Papacy, and which brought
+about the renovation of which Savonarola had prophesied.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+_The Palazzo Vecchio--The Piazza della Signoria--The Uffizi_
+
+     "Ecco il Palagio de' Signori si bello
+     che chi cercasse tutto l'universo,
+     non credo ch'e trovasse par di quello."
+         --_Antonio Pucci._
+
+  [Illustration: THE PALAZZO VECCHIO]
+
+
+At the eastern corner of the Piazza della Signoria--that great square
+over which almost all the history of Florence may be said to have
+passed--rises the Palazzo Vecchio, with its great projecting parapets
+and its soaring tower: the old Palace of the Signoria, originally the
+Palace of the Priors, and therefore of the People. It is often stated
+that the square battlements of the Palace itself represent the Guelfs,
+while the forked battlements of the tower are in some mysterious way
+connected with the Ghibellines, who can hardly be said to have still
+existed as a real party in the city when they were built; there is, it
+appears, absolutely no historical foundation for this legend. The
+Palace was commenced by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1298, when, in
+consequence of the hostility between the magnates and the people, it
+was thought that the Priors were not sufficiently secure in the Palace
+of the Cerchi; and it may be taken to represent the whole course of
+Florentine history, from this government of the Secondo Popolo,
+through Savonarola's Republic and the Medicean despotism, down to the
+unification of Italy. Its design and essentials, however, are
+Arnolfo's and the people's, though many later architects, besides
+Vasari, have had their share in the completion of the present
+building. Arnolfo founded the great tower of the Priors upon an older
+tower of a family of magnates, the Foraboschi, and it was also known
+as the Torre della Vacca. When, in those fierce democratic days, its
+great bell rang to summon a Parliament in the Piazza, or to call the
+companies of the city to arms, it was popularly said that "the cow"
+was lowing. The upper part of the tower belongs to the fifteenth
+century. Stupendous though the Palazzo is, it would have been of
+vaster proportions but for the prohibition given to Arnolfo to raise
+the house of the Republic where the dwellings of the Uberti had once
+stood--_ribelli di Firenze e Ghibellini_. Not even the heroism of
+Farinata could make this stern people less "fierce against my kindred
+in all its laws," as that great Ghibelline puts it to Dante in the
+_Inferno_.
+
+The present steps and platform in front of the Palace are only the
+remnants of the famous Ringhiera constructed here in the fourteenth
+century, and removed in 1812. On it the Signoria used to meet to
+address the crowd in the Piazza, or to enter upon their term of
+office. Here, at one time, the Gonfaloniere received the Standard of
+the People, and here, at a somewhat later date, the batons of command
+were given to the condottieri who led the mercenaries in the pay of
+the Republic. Here the famous meeting took place at which the Duke of
+Athens was acclaimed _Signore a vita_ by the mob; and here, a few
+months later, his Burgundian followers thrust out the most unpopular
+of his agents to be torn to pieces by the besiegers. Here the Papal
+Commissioners and the Eight sat on the day of Savonarola's martyrdom,
+as told in the last chapter.
+
+The inscription over the door, with the monogram of Christ, was
+placed here by the Gonfaloniere Niccolo Capponi in February 1528, in
+the last temporary restoration of the Republic; it originally
+announced that Jesus Christ had been chosen King of the Florentine
+People, but was modified by Cosimo I. The huge marble group of
+Hercules and Cacus on the right, by Baccio Bandinelli, is an atrocity;
+in Benvenuto Cellini's autobiography there is a rare story of how he
+and Baccio wrangled about it in the Duke's presence, on which occasion
+Bandinelli was stung into making a foul--but probably true--accusation
+against Cellini, which might have had serious consequences. The
+Marzocco on the left, the emblematical lion of Florence, is a copy
+from Donatello.
+
+The court is the work of Michelozzo, commenced in 1434, on the return
+of the elder Cosimo from exile. The stucco ornamentations and
+grotesques were executed in 1565, on the occasion of the marriage of
+Francesco dei Medici, son of Cosimo I., with Giovanna of Austria; the
+faded frescoes are partly intended to symbolise the ducal exploits,
+partly views of Austrian cities in compliment to the bride. The bronze
+boy with a dolphin, on the fountain in the centre of the court, was
+made by Andrea Verrocchio for Lorenzo the Magnificent; it is an
+exquisite little work, full of life and motion--"the little boy who
+for ever half runs and half flits across the courtyard of the Palace,
+while the dolphin ceaselessly struggles in the arms, whose pressure
+sends the water spurting from the nostrils."[27]
+
+  [27] Mr Armstrong in his _Lorenzo de' Medici_.
+
+On the first floor is the _Sala del Consiglio Grande_, frequently
+called the _Salone dei Cinquecento_. It was mainly constructed in 1495
+by Simone del Pollaiuolo, called Cronaca from his capacity of telling
+endless stories about Fra Girolamo. Here the Greater Council met,
+which the Friar declared was the work of God and not of man. And here
+it was that, in a famous sermon preached before the Signoria and chief
+citizens on August 20th, 1496, he cried: "I want no hats, no mitres
+great or small; nought would I have save what Thou hast given to Thy
+saints--death; a red hat, a hat of blood--this do I desire." It was
+supposed that the Pope had offered to make him a cardinal. In this
+same hall on the evening of May 22nd, 1498, the evening before their
+death, Savonarola was allowed an hour's interview with his two
+companions; it was the first time that they had met since their
+arrest, and in the meanwhile Savonarola had been told that the others
+had recanted, and Domenico and Silvestro had been shown what purported
+to be their master's confession, seeming, in part at least, to abjure
+the cause for which Fra Domenico was yearning to shed his blood. A few
+years later, in 1503, the Gonfaloniere Piero Soderini intrusted the
+decoration of these walls to Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo; and
+it was then that this hall, so consecrated to liberty, became _la
+scuola del mondo_, the school of all the world in art; and Raphael
+himself was among the most ardent of its scholars. Leonardo drew his
+famous scene of the Battle of the Standard, and appears to have
+actually commenced painting on the wall. Michelangelo sketched the
+cartoon of a group of soldiers bathing in the Arno, suddenly surprised
+by the sound of the trumpet calling them to arms; but he did not
+proceed any further. These cartoons played the same part in the art of
+the Cinquecento as Masaccio's Carmine frescoes in that of the
+preceding century; it is the universal testimony of contemporaries
+that they were the supremely perfect works of the Renaissance. Vasari
+gives a full description of each--but no traces of the original works
+now remain. One episode from Leonardo's cartoon is preserved in an
+engraving by Edelinck after a copy, which is hardly likely to have
+been a faithful one, by Rubens; and there is an earlier engraving as
+well. A few figures are to be seen in a drawing at Venice, doubtfully
+ascribed to Raphael. Drawings and engravings of Michelangelo's
+soldiers have made a portion of his composition familiar--enough at
+least to make the world realise something of the extent of its loss.
+
+On the restoration of the Medici in 1512, the hall was used as a
+barracks for their foreign soldiers; and Vasari accuses Baccio
+Bandinelli of having seized the opportunity to destroy Michelangelo's
+cartoon--which hardly seems probable. The frescoes which now cover the
+walls are by Vasari and his school, the statues of the Medici partly
+by Bandinelli, whilst that of Fra Girolamo is modern. It was in this
+hall that the first Parliament of United Italy met, during the short
+period when Florence was the capital. The adjoining rooms, called
+after various illustrious members of the Medicean family, are adorned
+with pompous uninspiring frescoes of their exploits by Vasari; in the
+Salotto di Papa Clemente there is a representation of the siege of
+Florence by the papal and imperial armies, which gives a fine idea of
+the magnitude of the third walls of the city, Arnolfo's walls, though
+even then the towers had been in part shortened.
+
+On the second floor, the hall prettily known as the Sala dei Gigli
+contains some frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio, executed about 1482.
+They represent St Zenobius in his majesty, enthroned between Eugenius
+and Crescentius, with Roman heroes as it were in attendance upon this
+great patron of the Florentines. In a lunette, painted in imitation of
+bas-relief, there is a peculiarly beautiful Madonna and Child with
+Angels, also by Domenico Ghirlandaio. This room is sometimes called
+the Sala del Orologio, from a wonderful old clock that once stood
+here. The following room, into which a door with marble framework by
+Benedetto da Maiano leads, is the audience chamber of the Signoria; it
+was originally to have been decorated by Ghirlandaio, Botticelli,
+Perugino, and Filippino Lippi--but the present frescoes are by
+Salviati in the middle of the sixteenth century. Here, on the fateful
+day of the _Cimento_ or Ordeal, the two Franciscans, Francesco da
+Puglia and Giuliano Rondinelli, consulted with the Priors and then
+passed into the Chapel to await the event. Beyond is the Priors'
+Chapel, dedicated to St Bernard and decorated with frescoes in
+imitation of mosaic by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (Domenico's son). Here on
+the morning of his martyrdom Savonarola said Mass, and, before
+actually communicating, took the Host in his hands and uttered his
+famous prayer:--
+
+"Lord, I know that Thou art that very God, the Creator of the world
+and of human nature. I know that Thou art that perfect, indivisible
+and inseparable Trinity, distinct in three Persons, Father, Son, and
+Holy Ghost. I know that Thou art that Eternal Word, who didst descend
+from Heaven to earth in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Thou didst ascend
+the wood of the Cross to shed Thy precious Blood for us, miserable
+sinners. I pray Thee, my Lord; I pray Thee, my Salvation; I pray Thee,
+my Consoler; that such precious Blood be not shed for me in vain, but
+may be for the remission of all my sins. For these I crave Thy pardon,
+from the day that I received the water of Holy Baptism even to this
+moment; and I confess to Thee, Lord, my guilt. And so I crave pardon
+of Thee for what offence I have done to this city and all this people,
+in things spiritual and temporal, as well as for all those things
+wherein of myself I am not conscious of having erred. And humbly do I
+crave pardon of all those persons who are here standing round. May
+they pray to God for me, and may He make me strong up to the last end,
+so that the enemy may have no power over me. Amen."
+
+Beyond the Priors' chapel are the apartments of Duke Cosimo's Spanish
+wife, Eleonora of Toledo, with a little chapel decorated by Bronzino.
+It was in these rooms that the Duchess stormed at poor Benvenuto
+Cellini, when he passed through to speak with the Duke--as he tells us
+in his autobiography. Benvenuto had an awkward knack of suddenly
+appearing here whenever the Duke and Duchess were particularly busy;
+but their children were hugely delighted at seeing him, and little Don
+Garzia especially used to pull him by the cloak and "have the most
+pleasant sport with me that such a _bambino_ could have."
+
+A room in the tower, discovered in 1814, is supposed to be the
+Alberghettino, in which the elder Cosimo was imprisoned in 1433, and
+in which Savonarola passed his last days--save when he was brought down
+to the Bargello to be tortured. Here the Friar wrote his meditations
+upon the _In te, Domine, speravi_ and the _Miserere_--meditations
+which became famous throughout Christendom. The prayer, quoted above,
+is usually printed as a pendant to the _Miserere_.
+
+On the left of the palace, the great fountain with Neptune and his
+riotous gods and goddesses of the sea, by Bartolommeo Ammanati and his
+contemporaries, is a characteristic production of the later
+Cinquecento. No less characteristic, though in another way, is the
+equestrian statue in bronze of Cosimo I., as first Grand Duke of
+Tuscany, by Giovanni da Bologna; the tyrant sits on his steed,
+gloomily guarding the Palace and Piazza where he has finally
+extinguished the last sparks of republican liberty. It was finished
+in 1594, in the days of his son Ferdinand I., the third Grand Duke.
+
+At the beginning of the Via Gondi, adjoining the custom-house and now
+incorporated in the Palazzo Vecchio, was the palace of the Captain,
+the residence of the Bargello and Executor of Justice. It was here
+that the Pazzi conspirators were hung out of the windows in 1478; here
+that Bernardo del Nero and his associates were beheaded in 1497; and
+here, in the following year, the examination of Savonarola and his
+adherents was carried on. Near here, too, stood in old times the
+Serraglio, or den of the lions, which was also incorporated by Vasari
+into the Palace; the Via del Leone, in which Vasari's rather fine
+rustica facade stands, is named from them still.
+
+The Piazza saw the Pisan captives forced ignominiously to kiss the
+Marzocco in 1364, and to build the so-called Tetto dei Pisani, which
+formerly stood on the west, opposite the Palace. In this Piazza, too,
+the people assembled in parliament at the sounding of the great bell.
+In the fifteenth century, this simply meant that whatever party in the
+State desired to alter the government, in their own favour, occupied
+the openings of the Piazza with troops; and the noisy rabble that
+appeared on these occasions, to roar out their assent to whatever was
+proposed, had but little connection with the real People of Florence.
+Among the wildest scenes that this Piazza has witnessed were those
+during the rising of the Ciompi in 1378, when again and again the
+populace surged round the Palace with their banners and wild cries,
+until the terrified Signoria granted their demands. Here, too, took
+place Savonarola's famous burnings of the Vanities in Carnival time;
+large piles of these "lustful things" were surmounted by allegorical
+figures of King Carnival, or of Lucifer and the seven deadly sins,
+and then solemnly fired; while the people sang the _Te Deum_, the
+bells rang, and the trumpets and drums of the Signoria pealed out
+their loudest. But sport of less serious kind went on here
+too--tournaments and shows of wild beasts and the like--things that
+the Florentines dearly loved, and in which their rulers found it
+politic to fool them to the top of their bent. For instance, on June
+25th, 1514, there was a _caccia_ of a specially magnificent kind; a
+sort of glorified bull-fight, in which a fountain surrounded by green
+woods was constructed in the middle of the Piazza, and two lions, with
+bears and leopards, bulls, buffaloes, stags, horses, and the like were
+driven into the arena. Enormous prices were paid for seats; foreigners
+came from all countries, and four Roman cardinals were conspicuous,
+including Raphael's Bibbiena, disguised as Spanish gentlemen. Several
+people were killed by the beasts. It was always a sore point with the
+Florentines that their lions were such unsatisfactory brutes and never
+distinguished themselves on these occasions; they were no match for
+your Spanish bull, at a time when, in politics, the bull's master had
+yoked all Italy to his triumphal car.
+
+The _Loggia dei Priori_, now called the _Loggia dei Lanzi_ after the
+German lancers of Duke Cosimo who were stationed here, was originally
+built for the Priors and other magistrates to exercise public
+functions, with all the display that mediaeval republics knew so well
+how to use. It is a kind of great open vaulted hall; a throne for a
+popular government, as M. Reymond calls it. Although frequently known
+as the Loggia of Orcagna, it was commenced in 1376 by Benci di Cione
+and Simone Talenti, and is intermediate in style between Gothic and
+Renaissance (in contrast to the pure Gothic of the Bigallo). The
+sculptures above, frequently ascribed to Agnolo Gaddi and
+representing the Virtues, are now assigned to Giovanni d'Ambrogio and
+Jacopo di Piero, and were executed between 1380 and 1390. Among the
+numerous statues that now stand beneath its roof (and which include
+Giambologna's Rape of the Sabines) are two of the finest bronzes in
+Florence: Donatello's _Judith and Holofernes_, cast for Cosimo the
+elder, and originally in the Medicean Palace, but, on the expulsion of
+the younger Piero, set up on the Ringhiera with the threatening
+inscription: _exemplum Salutis Publicae_; and Benvenuto Cellini's
+_Perseus with the head of Medusa_, cast in 1553 for the Grand Duke
+Cosimo (then only Duke), and possibly intended as a kind of despotic
+counter-blast to the Judith. The pedestal (with the exception of the
+bas-relief in front, of which the original is in the Bargello) is also
+Cellini's. Cellini gives us a rare account of the exhibiting of this
+Perseus to the people, while the Duke himself lurked behind a window
+over the door of the palace to hear what was said. He assures us that
+the crowd gazed upon him--that is, the artist, not the statue--as
+something altogether miraculous for having accomplished such a work,
+and that two noblemen from Sicily accosted him as he walked in the
+Piazza, with such ceremony as would have been too much even towards
+the Pope. He took a holiday in honour of the event, sang psalms and
+hymns the whole way out of Florence, and was absolutely convinced that
+the _ne plus ultra_ of art had been reached.
+
+But it is of Savonarola, and not of Benvenuto Cellini, that the Loggia
+reminds us; for here was the scene of the _Cimento di Fuoco_, the
+ordeal of fire, on April 7th, 1498. An immense crowd of men filled the
+Piazza; women and children were excluded, but packed every inch of
+windows, roofs, balconies. The streets and entrances were strongly
+held by troops, while more were drawn up round the Palace under
+Giovacchino della Vecchia. The platform bearing the intended pyre--a
+most formidable death-trap, which was to be fired behind the champions
+as soon as they were well within it--ran out from the Ringhiera
+towards the centre of the Piazza. In spite of the strict proclamation
+to armed men not to enter, Doffo Spini appeared with three hundred
+Compagnacci, "all armed like Paladins," says Simone Filipepi,[28] "in
+favour of the friars of St Francis." They entered the Piazza with a
+tremendous uproar, and formed up under the Tetto dei Pisani, opposite
+the Palace. Simone says that there was a pre-arranged plot, in virtue
+of which they only waited for a sign from the Palace to cut the
+Dominicans and their adherents to pieces. The Loggia was divided into
+two parts, the half nearer the Palace assigned to the Franciscans, the
+other, in which a temporary altar had been erected, to the Dominicans.
+In front of the Loggia the sun flashed back from the armour of a
+picked band of soldiers, under Marcuccio Salviati, apparently intended
+as a counter demonstration to Doffo Spini and his young aristocrats.
+The Franciscans were first on the field, and quietly took their
+station. Their two champions entered the Palace, and were seen no more
+during the proceedings. Then with exultant strains of the _Exsurgat
+Deus_, the Dominicans slowly made their way down the Corso degli
+Adimari and through the Piazza in procession, two and two. Their
+fierce psalm was caught up and re-echoed by their adherents as they
+passed. Preceded by a Crucifix, about two hundred of these black and
+white "hounds of the Lord" entered the field of battle, followed by
+Fra Domenico in a rich cope, and then Savonarola in full vestments
+with the Blessed Sacrament, attended by deacon and sub-deacon. A band
+of devout republican laymen, with candles and red crosses, brought up
+the rear. Savonarola entered the Loggia, set the Sacrament on the
+altar, and solemnly knelt in adoration.
+
+  [28] Botticelli's brother and an ardent Piagnone, whose chronicle has
+  been recently discovered and published by Villari and Casanova. The
+  Franciscans were possibly sincere in the business, and mere tools in
+  the hands of the Compagnacci; they are not likely to have been privy
+  to the plot.
+
+Then, while Fra Girolamo stood firm as a column, delay after delay
+commenced. The Dominican's cope might be enchanted, or his robe too
+for the matter of that, so Domenico was hurried into the Palace and
+his garments changed. The two Franciscan stalwarts remained in the
+Priors' chapel. In the meanwhile a storm passed over the city. A rush
+of the Compagnacci and populace towards the Loggia was driven back by
+Salviati's guard. Domenico returned with changed garments, and stood
+among the Franciscans; stones hurtled about him; he would enter the
+fire with the Crucifix--this was objected to; then with the
+Sacrament--this was worse. Domenico was convinced that he would pass
+through the ordeal scathless, and that the Sacrament would not protect
+him if his cause were not just; but he was equally convinced that it
+was God's will that he should not enter the fire without it. Evening
+fell in the midst of the wrangling, and at last the Signoria ordered
+both parties to go home. Only the efforts of Salviati and his soldiery
+saved Savonarola and Domenico from being torn to pieces at the hands
+of the infuriated mob, who apparently concluded that they had been
+trifled with. "As the Father Fra Girolamo issued from the Loggia with
+the Most Holy Sacrament in his hands," says Simone Filipepi, who was
+present, "and Fra Domenico with his Crucifix, the signal was given
+from the Palace to Doffo Spini to carry out his design; but he, as it
+pleased God, would do nothing." The Franciscans of Santa Croce were
+promised an annual subsidy of sixty pieces of silver for their share
+in the day's work: "Here, take the price of the innocent blood you
+have betrayed," was their greeting when they came to demand it.
+
+In after years, Doffo Spini was fond of gossiping with Botticelli and
+his brother, Simone Filipepi, and made no secret of his intention of
+killing Savonarola on this occasion. Yet, of all the Friar's
+persecutors, he was the only one that showed any signs of penitence
+for what he had done. "On the ninth day of April, 1503," writes Simone
+in his Chronicle, "as I, Simone di Mariano Filipepi, was leaving my
+house to go to vespers in San Marco, Doffo Spini, who was in the
+company of Bartolommeo di Lorenzo Carducci, saluted me. Bartolommeo
+turned to me, and said that Fra Girolamo and the Piagnoni had spoilt
+and undone the city; whereupon many words passed between him and me,
+which I will not set down here. But Doffo interposed, and said that he
+had never had any dealings with Fra Girolamo, until the time when, as
+a member of the Eight, he had to examine him in prison; and that, if
+he had heard Fra Girolamo earlier and had been intimate with him,
+'even as Simone here'--turning to me--'I would have been a more ardent
+partisan of his than even Simone, for nothing save good was ever seen
+in him even unto his death.'"
+
+
+THE UFFIZI
+
+Beyond the Palazzo Vecchio, between the Piazza and the Arno, stands
+the Palazzo degli Uffizi, which Giorgio Vasari reared in the third
+quarter of the sixteenth century, for Cosimo I. It contains the
+Archives, the Biblioteca Nazionale (which includes the Palatine and
+Magliabecchian Libraries, and, like all similar institutions in
+Italy, is generously thrown open to all comers without reserve), and,
+above all, the great picture gallery commenced by the Grand Dukes,
+usually simply known as the Uffizi and now officially the Galleria
+Reale degli Uffizi, which, together with its continuation in the Pitti
+Palace across the river, is undoubtedly the finest collection of
+pictures in the world.
+
+  [Illustration: LOOKING THROUGH VASARI'S LOGGIA, UFFIZI]
+
+Leaving the double lines of illustrious Florentines, men great in the
+arts of war and peace, in their marble niches watching over the
+pigeons who throng the Portico, we ascend to the picture gallery by
+the second door to the left.[29]
+
+  [29] The following notes make no pretence at furnishing a catalogue,
+  but are simply intended to indicate the more important Italian
+  pictures, especially the principal masterpieces of, or connected with
+  the Florentine school.
+
+
+RITRATTI DEI PITTORI--PRIMO CORRIDORE.
+
+On the way up, four rooms on the right contain the Portraits of the
+Painters, many of them painted by themselves. In the further room,
+Filippino Lippi by himself, fragment of a fresco (286). Raphael (288)
+at the age of twenty-three, with his spiritual, almost feminine
+beauty, painted by himself at Urbino during his Florentine period,
+about 1506. This is Raphael before the worldly influence of Rome had
+fallen upon him, the youth who came from Urbino and Perugia to the
+City of the Lilies with the letter of recommendation from Urbino's
+Duchess to Piero Soderini, to sit at the feet of Leonardo and
+Michelangelo, and wander with Fra Bartolommeo through the cloisters of
+San Marco. Titian (384), "in which he appears, painted by himself, on
+the confines of old age, vigorous and ardent still, fully conscious,
+moreover, though without affectation, of pre-eminent genius and
+supreme artistic rank" (Mr C. Phillips). Tintoretto, by himself (378);
+Andrea del Sarto, by himself (1176); a genuine portrait of
+Michelangelo (290), but of course not by himself; Rubens, by himself
+(228). An imaginary portrait of Leonardo da Vinci (292), of a much
+later period, may possibly preserve some tradition of the "magician's"
+appearance; the Dosso Dossi is doubtful; those of Giorgione and
+Bellini are certainly apocryphal. In the second room are two portraits
+of Rembrandt by himself. In the third room Angelica Kauffmann and
+Vigee Le Brun are charming in their way. In the fourth room, English
+visitors cannot fail to welcome several of their own painters of the
+nineteenth century, including Mr Watts.
+
+Passing the Medicean busts at the head of the stairs, the famous Wild
+Boar and the two Molossian Hounds, we enter the first or eastern
+corridor, containing paintings of the earlier masters, mingled with
+ancient busts and sarcophagi. The best specimens of the Giotteschi are
+an Agony in the Garden (8), wrongly ascribed to Giotto himself; an
+Entombment (27), ascribed to a Giotto di Stefano, called Giottino, a
+painter of whom hardly anything but the nickname is known; an
+Annunciation (28), ascribed to Agnolo Gaddi; and an altar-piece by
+Giovanni da Milano (32). There are some excellent early Sienese
+paintings; a Madonna and Child with Angels, by Pietro Lorenzetti,
+1340 (15); the Annunciation, by Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi (23); and
+a very curious picture of the Hermits of the Thebaid (16), a kind of
+devout fairy-land painted possibly by one of the Lorenzetti, in the
+spirit of those delightfully naive _Vite del Santi Padri_. Lorenzo
+Monaco, or Don Lorenzo, a master who occupies an intermediate position
+between the Giotteschi and the Quattrocento, is represented by the
+Mystery of the Passion (40), a symbolical picture painted in 1404, of a
+type that Angelico brought to perfection in a fresco in San Marco; the
+Adoration of the Magi (39, the scenes in the frame by a later hand),
+and Madonna and Saints (41). The portrait of Giovanni dei Medici (43)
+is by an unknown hand of the Quattrocento. Paolo Uccello's Battle (52)
+is mainly a study in perspective. The Annunciation (53), by Neri di
+Bicci di Lorenzo, is a fair example of one of the least progressive
+painters of the Quattrocento. The pictures by Alessio Baldovinetti (56
+and 60) and Cosimo Rosselli (63 and 65) are tolerable examples of
+very uninteresting fifteenth century masters. The allegorical figures
+of the Virtues (69-73), ascribed to Piero Pollaiuolo, are second-rate;
+and the same may be said of an Annunciation (such is the real subject
+of 81) and the Perseus and Andromeda pictures (85, 86, 87) by Piero di
+Cosimo. But the real gem of this corridor is the Madonna and
+Child (74), which Luca Signorelli painted for Lorenzo dei Medici, a
+picture which profoundly influenced Michelangelo; the splendidly
+modelled nude figures of men in the background transport us into the
+golden age.
+
+
+TRIBUNA.
+
+The famous Tribuna is supposed to contain the masterpieces of the
+whole collection, though the lover of the Quattrocento will naturally
+seek his best-loved favourites elsewhere. Of the five ancient
+sculptures in the centre of the hall the best is that of the crouching
+barbarian slave, who is preparing his knife to flay Marsyas. It is a
+fine work of the Pergamene school. The celebrated Venus dei Medici is
+a typical Graeco-Roman work, the inscription at its base being a
+comparatively modern forgery. It was formerly absurdly overpraised,
+and is in consequence perhaps too much depreciated at the present day.
+The remaining three--the Satyr, the Wrestlers, and the young
+Apollo--have each been largely and freely restored.
+
+Turning to the pictures, we have first the Madonna del
+Cardellino (1129), painted by Raphael during his Florentine period when
+under the influence of Fra Bartolommeo, in 1506 or thereabouts, and
+afterwards much damaged and restored: still one of the most beautiful
+of his early Madonnas. The St. John the Baptist (1127), ascribed to
+Raphael, is only a school piece, though from a design of the
+master's. The Madonna del Pozzo (1125), in spite of its hard and
+over-smooth colouring, was at one time attributed to Raphael; its
+ascription to Francia Bigio is somewhat conjectural. The portrait of a
+Lady wearing a wreath (1123), and popularly called the Fornarina,
+originally ascribed to Giorgione and later to Raphael, is believed to
+be by Sebastiano del Piombo. Then come a lady's portrait, ascribed to
+Raphael (1120); another by a Veronese master, erroneously ascribed to
+Mantegna, and erroneously said to represent the Duchess Elizabeth of
+Urbino (1121); Bernardino Luini's Daughter of Herodias (1135), a fine
+study of a female Italian criminal of the Renaissance; Perugino's
+portrait of Francesco delle Opere, holding a scroll inscribed _Timete
+Deum_, an admirable picture painted in oils about the year 1494, and
+formerly supposed to be a portrait of Perugino by himself (287);
+portrait of Evangelista Scappa, ascribed to Francia (1124); and a
+portrait of a man, by Sebastiano del Piombo (3458). Raphael's Pope
+Julius II. (1131) is a grand and terrible portrait of the tremendous
+warrior Pontiff, whom the Romans called a second Mars. Vasari says
+that in this picture he looks so exactly like himself that "one
+trembles before him as if he were still alive." Albert Duerer's
+Adoration of the Magi (1141) and Lucas van Leyden's Mystery of the
+Passion (1143) are powerful examples of the religious painting of the
+North, that loved beauty less for its own sake than did the Italians.
+The latter should be compared with similar pictures by Don Lorenzo and
+Fra Angelico. Titian's portrait of the Papal Nuncio Beccadelli (1116),
+painted in 1552, although a decidedly fine work, has been rather
+overpraised.
+
+Michelangelo's Holy Family (1139) is the only existing easel picture
+that the master completed. It was painted for the rich merchant,
+Angelo Doni (who haggled in a miserly fashion over the price and was
+in consequence forced to pay double the sum agreed upon), about 1504,
+in the days of the Gonfaloniere Soderini, when Michelangelo was
+engaged upon the famous cartoon for the Sala del Maggior Consiglio.
+Like Luca Signorelli, Michelangelo has introduced naked figures,
+apparently shepherds, into his background. "In the Doni Madonna of the
+Uffizi," writes Walter Pater, "Michelangelo actually brings the pagan
+religion, and with it the unveiled human form, the sleepy-looking
+fauns of a Dionysiac revel, into the presence of the Madonna, as
+simpler painters had introduced other products of the earth, birds or
+flowers; and he has given to that Madonna herself much of the uncouth
+energy of the older and more primitive 'Mighty Mother.'" The painters
+introduced into their pictures what they loved best, in earth or sky,
+as votive offerings to the Queen of Heaven; and what Signorelli and
+Michelangelo best loved was the human form. This is reflected in the
+latter's own lines:--
+
+     Ne Dio, sua grazia, mi si mostra altrove,
+     piu che'n alcun leggiadro e mortal velo,
+     e quel sol amo, perche'n quel si specchia.
+
+"Nor does God vouchsafe to reveal Himself to me anywhere more than in
+some lovely mortal veil, and that alone I love, because He is mirrored
+therein."
+
+In the strongest possible contrast to Michelangelo's picture are the
+two examples of the softest master of the Renaissance--Correggio's
+Repose on the Flight to Egypt (1118), and his Madonna adoring the
+Divine Child (1134). The former, with its rather out of place St.
+Francis of Assisi, is a work of what is known as Correggio's
+transition period, 1515-1518, after he had painted his earlier easel
+pictures and before commencing his great fresco work at Parma; the
+latter, a more characteristic picture, is slightly later and was given
+by the Duke of Mantua to Cosimo II. The figures of Prophets by Fra
+Bartolommeo (1130 and 1126), the side-wings of a picture now in the
+Pitti Gallery, are not remarkable in any way. The Madonna and Child
+with the Baptist and St. Sebastian (1122) is a work of Perugino's
+better period.
+
+There remain the two famous Venuses of Titian. The so-called Urbino
+Venus (1117)--a motive to some extent borrowed, and slightly coarsened
+in the borrowing, from Giorgione's picture at Dresden--is much the
+finer of the two. It was painted for Francesco Maria della Rovere,
+Duke of Urbino, and, although not a portrait of Eleonora Gonzaga, who
+was then a middle-aged woman, it was certainly intended to conjure up
+the beauty of her youth. What Eleonora really looked like at this
+time, you can see in the first of the two Venetian rooms, where
+Titian's portrait of her, painted at about the same date, hangs. The
+Venus and Cupid (1108) is a later work; the goddess is the likeness of
+a model who very frequently appears in the works of Titian and Palma.
+
+
+SCUOLA TOSCANA.
+
+On the left we pass out of the Tribuna to three rooms devoted to the
+Tuscan school.
+
+The first contains the smaller pictures, including several priceless
+Angelicos and Botticellis. Fra Angelico's Naming of St. John (1162),
+Marriage of the Blessed Virgin to St. Joseph (1178), and her Death
+(1184), are excellent examples of his delicate execution and spiritual
+expression in his smaller, miniature-like works. Antonio Pollaiuolo's
+Labours of Hercules (1153) is one of the masterpieces of this most
+uncompromising realist of the Quattrocento. Either by Antonio or his
+brother Piero, is also the portrait of that monster of iniquity,
+Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (30). Sandro Botticelli's Calumny
+(1182) is supposed to have been painted as a thankoffering to a friend
+who had defended him from the assaults of slanderous tongues; it is a
+splendid example of his dramatic intensity, the very statues in their
+niches taking part in the action. The subject--taken from Lucian's
+description of a picture by Apelles of Ephesus--was frequently painted
+by artists of the Renaissance, and there is a most magnificent drawing
+of the same by Andrea Mantegna at the British Museum, which was copied
+by Rembrandt. On the judgment-seat sits a man with ears like those of
+Midas, into which Ignorance and Suspicion on either side ever whisper.
+Before him stands Envy,--a hideous, pale, and haggard man, seeming
+wasted by some slow disease. He is making the accusation and leading
+Calumny, a scornful Botticellian beauty, who holds in one hand a torch
+and with the other drags her victim by the hair to the judge's feet.
+Calumny is tended and adorned by two female figures, Artifice and
+Deceit. But Repentance slowly follows, in black mourning habit; while
+naked Truth--the Botticellian Venus in another form--raises her hand
+in appeal to the heavens.
+
+The rather striking portrait of a painter (1163) is usually supposed
+to be Andrea Verrocchio, by Lorenzo di Credi, his pupil and successor;
+Mr Berenson, however, considers that it is Perugino and by Domenico
+Ghirlandaio. On the opposite wall are two very early Botticellis,
+Judith returning from the camp of the Assyrians (1156) and the finding
+of the body of Holofernes (1158), in a scale of colouring differing
+from that of his later works. The former is one of those pictures
+which have been illumined for us by Ruskin, who regards it as the only
+picture that is true to Judith; "The triumph of Miriam over a fallen
+host, the fire of exulting mortal life in an immortal hour, the purity
+and severity of a guardian angel--all are here; and as her servant
+follows, carrying indeed the head, but invisible--(a mere thing to be
+carried--no more to be so much as thought of)--she looks only at her
+mistress, with intense, servile, watchful love. Faithful, not in these
+days of fear only, but hitherto in all her life, and afterwards for
+ever." Walter Pater has read the picture in a different sense, and
+sees in it Judith "returning home across the hill country, when the
+great deed is over, and the moment of revulsion come, and the olive
+branch in her hand is becoming a burden."
+
+The portrait of Andrea del Sarto by himself (280) represents him in
+the latter days of his life, and was painted on a tile in 1529, about
+a year before his death, with some colours that remained over after he
+had finished the portrait of one of the Vallombrosan monks; his wife
+kept it by her until her death. The very powerful likeness of an old
+man in white cap and gown (1167), a fresco ascribed to Masaccio, is
+more probably the work of Filippino Lippi. The famous Head of Medusa
+(1159) must be seen with grateful reverence by all lovers of English
+poetry, for it was admired by Shelley and inspired him with certain
+familiar and exceedingly beautiful stanzas; but as for its being a
+work of Leonardo da Vinci, it is now almost universally admitted to be
+a comparatively late forgery, to supply the place of the lost Medusa
+of which Vasari speaks. The portrait (1157), also ascribed to
+Leonardo, is better, but probably no more authentic. Here is a most
+dainty little example of Fra Bartolommeo's work on a small scale
+(1161), representing the Circumcision and the Nativity, with the
+Annunciation in grisaille on the back. Botticelli's St. Augustine
+(1179) is an early work, and, like the Judith, shows his artistic
+derivation from Fra Lippo Lippi, to whom indeed it was formerly
+ascribed. His portrait of Piero di Lorenzo dei Medici (1154), a
+splendid young man in red cap and flowing dark hair, has been already
+referred to in chapter iii.; it was formerly supposed to be a likeness
+of Pico della Mirandola. It was painted before Piero's expulsion from
+Florence, probably during the life-time of the Magnificent, and
+represents him before he degenerated into the low tyrannical
+blackguard of later years; he apparently wishes to appeal to the
+memory of his great-grandfather Cosimo, whose medallion he holds, to
+find favour with his unwilling subjects. The portraits of Duke
+Cosimo's son and grandchild, Don Garzia and Donna Maria (1155 and
+1164), by Bronzino, should be noted. Finally we have the famous
+picture of Perseus freeing Andromeda, by Piero di Cosimo (1312). It is
+about the best specimen of his fantastic conceptions to be seen in
+Florence, and the monster itself is certainly a triumph of a somewhat
+unhealthy imagination nourished in solitude on an odd diet.
+
+In the second room are larger works of the great Tuscans. The
+Adoration of the Magi (1252) is one of the very few authentic works of
+Leonardo; it was one of his earliest productions, commenced in 1478,
+and, like so many other things of his, never finished. The St.
+Sebastian (1279) is one of the masterpieces of that wayward Lombard or
+rather Piedmontese--although we now associate him with Siena--who
+approached nearest of all to the art of Leonardo, Giovanni Antonio
+Bazzi, known still as Sodoma. Ridolfo Ghirlandaio's Miracles of
+Zenobius (1277 and 1275) are excellent works by a usually second-rate
+master. The Visitation with its predella, by Mariotto Albertinelli
+(1259), painted in 1503, is incomparably the greatest picture that Fra
+Bartolommeo's wild friend and fellow student ever produced, and one in
+which he most nearly approaches the best works of Bartolommeo himself.
+"The figures, however," Morelli points out, "are less refined and
+noble than those of the Frate, and the foliage of the trees is
+executed with miniature-like precision, which is never the case in the
+landscapes of the latter." Andrea del Sarto's genial and kindly St.
+James with the orphans (1254), is one of his last works; it was
+painted to serve as a standard in processions, and has consequently
+suffered considerably. Bronzino's Descent of Christ into Hades (1271),
+that "heap of cumbrous nothingnesses and sickening offensivenesses,"
+as Ruskin pleasantly called it, need only be seen to be loathed. The
+so-called Madonna delle Arpie, or our Lady of the Harpies, from the
+figures on the pedestal beneath her feet (1112), is perhaps the finest
+of all Andrea del Sarto's pictures; the Madonna is a highly idealised
+likeness of his own wife Lucrezia, and some have tried to recognise
+the features of the painter himself in the St. John:--
+
+     "You loved me quite enough, it seems to-night.
+     This must suffice me here. What would one have?
+     In heaven, perhaps, new chances, one more chance--
+     Four great walls in the New Jerusalem
+     Meted on each side by the Angel's reed,
+     For Leonard, Rafael, Agnolo and me
+     To cover--the three first without a wife,
+     While I have mine! So--still they overcome
+     Because there's still Lucrezia,--as I choose."
+
+The full-length portrait of Cosimo the Elder (1267), the Pater
+Patriae (so the flattery of the age hailed the man who said that a
+city destroyed was better than a city lost), was painted by Pontormo
+from some fifteenth century source, as a companion piece to his
+portrait here of Duke Cosimo I. (1270). The admirable portrait of
+Lorenzo the Magnificent by Vasari (1269) is similarly constructed from
+contemporary materials, and is probably the most valuable thing that
+Vasari has left to us in the way of painting. The unfinished picture
+by Fra Bartolommeo (1265), representing our Lady enthroned with St.
+Anne, the guardian of the Republic, watching over her and interceding
+for Florence, while the patrons of the city gather round for her
+defence, was intended for the altar in the Sala del Maggior Consiglio
+of the Palazzo Vecchio; it is conceived in something of the same
+spirit that made the last inheritors of Savonarola's tradition and
+teaching fondly believe that Angels would man the walls of Florence,
+rather than that she should again fall into the hands of her former
+tyrants, the Medici. The great Madonna and Child with four Saints and
+two Angels scattering flowers, by Filippino Lippi (1268), was painted
+in 1485 for the room in the Palazzo Vecchio in which the Otto di
+Pratica held their meetings. The Adoration of the Magi (1257), also by
+Filippino Lippi, painted in 1496, apart from its great value as a work
+of art, has a curious historical significance; the Magi and their
+principal attendants, who are thus pushing forwards to display their
+devotion to Our Lady of Florence and the Child whom the Florentines
+were to elect their King, are the members of the younger branch of the
+Medici, who have returned to the city now that Piero has been
+expelled, and are waiting their chance. See how they have already
+replaced the family of the elder Cosimo, who occupy this same
+position in a similar picture painted some eighteen years before by
+Sandro Botticelli, Filippino's master. At this epoch they had
+ostentatiously altered their name of Medici and called themselves
+Popolani, but were certainly intriguing against Fra Girolamo. The old
+astronomer kneeling to our extreme left is the elder Piero Francesco,
+watching the adventurous game for a throne that his children are
+preparing; the most prominent figure in the picture, from whose head a
+page is lifting the crown, is Pier Francesco's son, Giovanni, who will
+soon woo Caterina Sforza, the lady of Forli, and make her the mother
+of Giovanni delle Bande Nere; and the precious vessel which he is to
+offer to the divine Child is handed to him by the younger Pier
+Francesco, the father of Lorenzaccio, that "Tuscan Brutus" whose
+dagger was to make Giovanni's grandson, Cosimo, the sole lord of
+Florence and her empire.[30]
+
+  [30] See the Genealogical Table in Appendix. The elder Pier Francesco
+  was dead many years before this picture was painted. It was for his
+  other son, Lorenzo, that Sandro Botticelli drew his illustrations of
+  the _Divina Commedia_.
+
+Granacci's Madonna of the Girdle (1280), over the door, formerly in
+San Piero Maggiore, is a good example of a painter who imitated most
+of his contemporaries and had little individuality. On easels in the
+middle of the room are (3452) Venus, by Lorenzo di Credi, a
+conscientious attempt to follow the fashion of the age and handle a
+subject quite alien to his natural sympathies--for Lorenzo di Credi
+was one of those who sacrificed their studies of the nude on
+Savonarola's pyre of the Vanities; and (3436) an Adoration of the
+Magi, a cartoon of Sandro Botticelli's, coloured by a later hand,
+marvellously full of life in movement, intense and passionate, in
+which--as though the painter anticipated the Reformation--the
+followers of the Magi are fighting furiously with each other in their
+desire to find the right way to the Stable of Bethlehem!
+
+The third room of the Tuscan School contains some of the truest
+masterpieces of the whole collection. The Epiphany, by Domenico
+Ghirlandaio (1295), painted in 1487, is one of that prosaic master's
+best easel pictures. The wonderful Annunciation (1288), in which the
+Archangel has alighted upon the flowers in the silence of an Italian
+twilight, with a mystical landscape of mountains and rivers, and
+far-off cities in the background, may possibly be an early work of
+Leonardo da Vinci, to whom it is officially assigned, but is ascribed
+by contemporary critics to Leonardo's master, Andrea Verrocchio. The
+least satisfactory passage is the rather wooden face and inappropriate
+action of the Madonna; Leonardo would surely not have made her, on
+receiving the angelic salutation, put her finger into her book to keep
+the place. After Three Saints by one of the Pollaiuoli (1301) and two
+smaller pictures by Lorenzo di Credi (1311 and 1313), we come to Piero
+della Francesca's grand portraits of Federigo of Montefeltro, Duke of
+Urbino, and his wife, Battista Sforza (1300); on the reverse, the Duke
+and Duchess are seen in triumphal cars surrounded with allegorical
+pageantry. Federigo is always, as here, represented in profile,
+because he lost his right eye and had the bridge of his nose broken in
+a tournament. The three predella scenes (1298) are characteristic
+examples of the minor works of Piero's great pupil, Luca Signorelli of
+Cortona.
+
+On the opposite wall are four Botticellian pictures. The Magnificat
+(1267 _bis_)--Sandro's most famous and familiar tondo--in which the
+Madonna rather sadly writes the Magnificat, while Angels cluster round
+to crown their Queen, to offer ink and book, or look into the thing
+that she has written, while the Dove hovers above her, is full of the
+haunting charm, the elusive mystery, the vague yearning, which makes
+the fascination of Botticelli to-day. She already seems to be
+anticipating the Passion of that Child--so unmistakably divine--who is
+guiding her hand. The Madonna of the Pomegranate (1289) is a somewhat
+similar, but less beautiful tondo; the Angel faces, who are said to be
+idealised portraits of the Medicean children, have partially lost
+their angelic look. The Fortitude (1299) is one of Sandro's earliest
+paintings, and its authenticity has been questioned; she seems to be
+dreading, almost shrinking from some great battle at hand, of which no
+man can foretell the end. The Annunciation (1316) is rather
+Botticellian in conception; but the colouring and execution generally
+do not suggest the master himself. Antonio Pollaiuolo's Prudence
+(1306) is a harsh companion to Sandro's Fortitude. The tondo (1291) of
+the Holy Family, by Luca Signorelli, is one of his best works in this
+kind; the colouring is less heavy than is usual with him, and the
+Child is more divine. Of the two carefully finished Annunciations by
+Lorenzo di Credi (1314, 1160), the latter is the earlier and finer.
+Fra Filippo's little Madonna of the Sea (1307), with her happy
+boy-like Angel attendants, is one of the monk's most attractive and
+characteristic works; perhaps the best of all his smaller pictures.
+And we have left to the last Fra Angelico's divinest dream of the
+Coronation of the Madonna in the Empyrean Heaven of Heavens (1290),
+amidst exultant throngs of Saints and Angels absorbed in the Beatific
+Vision of Paradise. It is the pictorial equivalent of Bernard's most
+ardent sermons on the Assumption of Mary and of the mystic musings of
+John of Damascus. Here are "the Angel choirs of Angelico, with the
+flames on their white foreheads waving brighter as they move, and the
+sparkles streaming from their purple wings like the glitter of many
+suns upon a sounding sea, listening in the pauses of alternate song,
+for the prolonging of the trumpet blast, and the answering of psaltery
+and cymbal, throughout the endless deep, and from all the star shores
+of heaven."[31]
+
+  [31] _Modern Painters_, vol. ii.
+
+
+SALA DI MAESTRI DIVERSI ITALIANI.
+
+In the small room which opens out of the Tribune, on the opposite side
+to these three Tuscan rooms, are two perfect little gems of more
+northern Italian painting. Mantegna's Madonna of the Quarries (1025),
+apart from its nobility of conception and grand austerity of
+sentiment, is a positive marvel of minute drawing with the point of
+the _pennello_. Every detail in the landscape, with the winding road
+up to the city on the hill, the field labourers in the meadow, the
+shepherds and travellers, on the left, and the stone-cutterss among
+the caverns on the right, preparing stone for the sculptors and
+architects of Florence and Rome, is elaborately rendered with
+exquisite delicacy and finish. It was painted at Rome in 1488, while
+Mantegna was working on his frescoes (now destroyed) for Pope Innocent
+VIII. in a chapel of the Vatican. The other is a little Madonna and
+Child with two Angels playing musical instruments, by Correggio
+(1002), a most exquisite little picture in an almost perfect state of
+preservation, formerly ascribed to Titian, but entirely characteristic
+of Correggio's earliest period when he was influenced by Mantegna and
+the Ferrarese.
+
+Beyond are the Dutch, Flemish, German, and French pictures which do
+not come into our present scope--though they include several excellent
+works as, notably, a little Madonna by Hans Memlinc and two Apostles
+by Albert Duerer. The cabinet of the gems contains some of the
+treasures left by the Medicean Grand Dukes, including work by Cellini
+and Giovanni da Bologna.
+
+
+SCUOLA VENETA.
+
+Crossing the short southern corridor, with some noteworthy ancient
+sculptury, we pass down the long western corridor. Out of this open
+first the two rooms devoted to the Venetian school. In the first, to
+seek the best only, are Titian's portraits of Francesco Maria della
+Rovere, third Duke of Urbino, and Eleonora Gonzaga, his duchess (605
+and 599), painted in 1537. A triptych by Mantegna (1111)--the
+Adoration of the Kings, between the Circumcision and the Ascension--is
+one of the earlier works of the great Paduan master; the face of the
+Divine Child in the Circumcision is marvellously painted. The Madonna
+by the Lake by Giovanni Bellini (631), also called the Allegory of the
+Tree of Life, is an exceedingly beautiful picture, one of Bellini's
+later works. Titian's Flora (626), an early work of the master,
+charming in its way, has been damaged and rather overpraised. In the
+second room, are three works by Giorgione; the Judgment of Solomon and
+the Ordeal of Moses (630 and 621), with their fantastic costumes and
+poetically conceived landscapes, are very youthful works indeed; the
+portrait of a Knight of Malta (622) is more mature, and one of the
+noblest of Venetian portraits. Florence thus possesses more authentic
+works of this wonderful, almost mythical, Venetian than does Venice
+herself. Here, too, is usually--except when it is in request
+elsewhere for the copyist--Titian's Madonna and Child with the boy
+John Baptist, and the old Antony Abbot, leaning on his staff and
+watching the flower play (633)--the most beautiful of Titian's early
+Giorgionesque Madonnas.
+
+  [Illustration: VENUS
+  BY SANDRO BOTTICELLI]
+
+
+SALA DI LORENZO MONACO.
+
+The following passage leads to the Sala di Lorenzo Monaco, the room
+which bears the name of the austere monk of Camaldoli, and, hallowed
+by the presence of Fra Angelico's Madonna, seems at times almost to
+re-echo still with the music of the Angel choir; but to which the
+modern worshipper turns to adore the Venus of the Renaissance rising
+from the Sea. For here is Sandro Botticelli's famous Birth of Venus
+(39), the most typical picture of the Quattrocento, painted for
+Lorenzo dei Medici and in part inspired by certain lines of Angelo
+Poliziano. But let all description be left to the golden words of
+Walter Pater in his _Renaissance_:--
+
+"At first, perhaps, you are attracted only by a quaintness of design,
+which seems to recall all at once whatever you have read of Florence
+in the fifteenth century; afterwards you may think that this
+quaintness must be incongruous with the subject, and that the colour
+is cadaverous or at least cold. And yet, the more you come to
+understand what imaginative colouring really is, that all colour is no
+mere delightful quality of natural things, but a spirit upon them by
+which they become expressive to the spirit, the better you will like
+this peculiar quality of colour; and you will find that quaint design
+of Botticelli's a more direct inlet into the Greek temper than the
+works of the Greeks themselves, even of the finest period. Of the
+Greeks as they really were, of their difference from ourselves, of
+the aspects of their outward life, we know far more than Botticelli,
+or his most learned contemporaries; but for us long familiarity has
+taken off the edge of the lesson, and we are hardly conscious of what
+we owe to the Hellenic spirit. But in pictures like this of
+Botticelli's you have a record of the first impression made by it on
+minds turned back towards it, in almost painful aspiration, from a
+world in which it had been ignored so long; and in the passion, the
+energy, the industry of realisation, with which Botticelli carries out
+his intention, is the exact measure of the legitimate influence over
+the human mind of the imaginative system of which this is the central
+myth. The light is indeed cold--mere sunless dawn; but a later painter
+would have cloyed you with sunshine; and you can see the better for
+that quietness in the morning air each long promontory, as it slopes
+down to the water's edge. Men go forth to their labours until the
+evening; but she is awake before them, and you might think that the
+sorrow in her face was at the thought of the whole long day of love
+yet to come. An emblematical figure of the wind blows hard across the
+grey water, moving forward the dainty-lipped shell on which she sails,
+the sea 'showing his teeth' as it moves in thin lines of foam, and
+sucking in, one by one, the falling roses, each severe in outline,
+plucked off short at the stalk, but embrowned a little, as
+Botticelli's flowers always are. Botticelli meant all that imagery to
+be altogether pleasurable; and it was partly an incompleteness of
+resources, inseparable from the art of that time, that subdued and
+chilled it; but his predilection for minor tones counts also; and what
+is unmistakable is the sadness with which he has conceived the goddess
+of pleasure, as the depositary of a great power over the lives of
+men."
+
+In this same room are five other masterpieces of early Tuscan
+painting. Don Lorenzo's Coronation of the Madonna (1309), though
+signed and dated 1413, may be regarded as the last great altar-piece
+of the school of Giotto and his followers. It has been terribly
+repainted. The presence in the most prominent position of St. Benedict
+and St. Romuald in their white robes shows that it was painted for a
+convent of Camaldolese monks. The predella, representing the Adoration
+of the Magi and scenes from the life of St. Benedict, includes a very
+sweet little picture of the last interview of the saint with his
+sister Scholastica, when, in answer to her prayers, God sent such a
+storm that her brother, although unwilling to break his monastic rule,
+was forced to spend the night with her. "I asked you a favour," she
+told him, "and you refused it me; I asked it of Almighty God, and He
+has granted it to me." In Browning's poem, Don Lorenzo is one of the
+models specially recommended to Lippo Lippi by his superiors:--
+
+     "You're not of the true painters, great and old;
+     Brother Angelico's the man, you'll find;
+     Brother Lorenzo stands his single peer;
+     Fag on at flesh, you'll never make the third."
+
+The Madonna and Child with St. Francis and St. John Baptist, St.
+Zenobius and St. Lucy (1305), is one of the very few authentic works
+by Domenico Veneziano, one of the great innovators in the painting of
+the fifteenth century.
+
+Sandro Botticelli's Adoration of the Magi (1286), painted for Santa
+Maria Novella, is enthusiastically praised by Vasari. It is not a very
+characteristic work of the painter's, but contains admirable portraits
+of the Medici and their court. The first king, kneeling up alone
+before the Divine Child, is Cosimo the Elder himself, according to
+Vasari, "the most faithful and animated likeness of all now known to
+exist of him"; the other two kings are his two sons, Piero il Gottoso
+in the centre, Giovanni di Cosimo on the right. The black-haired youth
+with folded hands, standing behind Giovanni, is Giuliano, who fell in
+the Pazzi conspiracy. On the extreme left, standing with his hands
+resting upon the hilt of his sword, is Lorenzo the Magnificent, who
+avenged Giuliano's death; behind Lorenzo, apparently clinging to him
+as though in anticipation or recollection of the conspiracy, is Angelo
+Poliziano. The rather sullen-looking personage, with a certain dash of
+sensuality about him, on our extreme right, gazing out of the picture,
+is Sandro himself. This picture, which was probably painted slightly
+before or shortly after the murder of Giuliano, has been called "the
+Apotheosis of the Medici"; it should be contrasted with the very
+different Nativity, now in the National Gallery, which Sandro painted
+many years later, in 1500, and which is full of the mystical
+aspirations of the disciples of Savonarola.
+
+The Madonna and Child with Angels, two Archangels standing guard and
+two Bishops kneeling in adoration (1297), is a rich and attractive
+work by Domenico Ghirlandaio. Fra Angelico's Tabernacle (17), Madonna
+and Child with the Baptist and St. Mark, and the famous series of
+much-copied Angels, was painted for the Guild of Flax-merchants, whose
+patron was St. Mark. The admirable Predella (1294) represents St. Mark
+reporting St. Peter's sermons, and St. Mark's martyrdom, together with
+the Adoration of the Magi.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Passing down the corridor, we come to the entrance to the passage
+which leads across the Ponte Vecchio to the Pitti Palace. There are
+some fine Italian engravings on the way down. The halls of the
+Inscriptions and Cameos contain ancient statues as well, including the
+so-called dying Alexander, and some of those so over-praised by
+Shelley. Among the pictures in the Sala del Baroccio, is a very genial
+lady with a volume of Petrarch's sonnets, by Andrea del Sarto (188).
+Here, too, are some excellent portraits by Bronzino; a lady with a
+missal (198); a rather pathetic picture of Eleonora of Toledo, the
+wife of Cosimo I., with Don Garzia--the boy with whom Cellini used to
+romp (172); Bartolommeo Panciatichi (159); Lucrezia Panciatichi (154),
+a peculiarly sympathetic rendering of an attractive personality.
+Sustermans' Galileo (163) is also worth notice. The Duchess Eleonora
+died almost simultaneously with her sons, Giovanni and Garzia, in
+1562, and there arose in consequence a legend that Garzia had murdered
+Giovanni, and had, in his turn, been killed by his own father, and
+that Eleonora had either also been murdered by the Duke or died of
+grief. Like many similar stories of the Medicean princes, this appears
+to be entirely fictitious.
+
+The Hall of Niobe contains the famous series of statues representing
+the destruction of Niobe and her children at the hands of Apollo and
+Artemis. They are Roman or Graeco-Roman copies of a group assigned by
+tradition to the fourth century B.C., and which was brought from Asia
+Minor to Rome in the year 35 B.C. The finest of these statues is that
+of Niobe's son, the young man who is raising his cloak upon his arm as
+a shield; he was originally protecting a sister, who, already pierced
+by the fatal arrow, leaned against his knee as she died.
+
+In a room further on there is an interesting series of miniature
+portraits of the Medici, from Giovanni di Averardo to the family of
+Duke Cosimo. Six of the later ones are by Bronzino.
+
+At the end of the corridor, by Baccio Bandinelli's copy of the
+Laocooen, are three rooms containing the drawings and sketches of the
+Old Masters. It would take a book as long as the present to deal
+adequately with them. Many of the Florentine painters, who were always
+better draughtsmen than they were colourists, are seen to much greater
+advantage in their drawings than in their finished pictures. Besides a
+most rich collection of the early men and their successors, from
+Angelico to Bartolommeo, there are here several of Raphael's cartoons
+for Madonnas and two for his St. George and the Dragon; many of the
+most famous and characteristic drawings of Leonardo da Vinci (and it
+is from his drawings alone that we can now get any real notion of this
+"Magician of the Renaissance"); and some important specimens of
+Michelangelo. Here, too, is Andrea Mantegna's terrible Judith,
+conceived in the spirit of some Roman heroine, which once belonged to
+Vasari and was highly valued by him. It is dated 1491, and should be
+compared with Botticelli's rendering of the same theme.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+_Or San Michele and the Sesto di San Piero_
+
+     "Una figura della Donna mia
+     s'adora, Guido, a San Michele in Orto,
+     che di bella sembianza, onesta e pia,
+     de' peccatori e gran rifugio e porto."
+         (_Guido Cavalcanti_ to _Guido Orlandi_.)
+
+
+At the end of the bustling noisy Via Calzaioli, the Street of the
+Stocking-makers, rises the Oratory of Our Lady, known as San Michele
+in Orto, "St. Michael in the Garden." Around its outer walls,
+enshrined in little temples of their own, stand great statues of
+saints in marble and bronze by the hands of the greatest sculptors of
+Florence--the canonised patrons of the Arts or Guilds, keeping guard
+over the thronging crowds that pass below. This is the grand monument
+of the wealth and taste, devotion and charity, of the commercial
+democracy of the Middle Ages.
+
+  [Illustration: ORCAGNA'S TABERNACLE, OR SAN MICHELE]
+
+The ancient church of San Michele in Orto was demolished by order of
+the Commune in the thirteenth century, to make way for a piazza for
+the grain and corn market, in the centre of which Arnolfo di Cambio
+built a loggia in 1280. Upon one of the pilasters of this loggia there
+was painted a picture of the Madonna, held in highest reverence by the
+frequenters of the market; a special company or sodality of laymen
+was formed, the _Laudesi_ of Our Lady of Or San Michele, who met here
+every evening to sing _laudi_ in her honour, and who were
+distinguished even in mediaeval Florence, where charity was always on a
+heroic scale, by their munificence towards the poor. "On July 3rd,
+1292," so Giovanni Villani writes, "great and manifest miracles began
+to be shown forth in the city of Florence by a figure of Holy Mary
+which was painted on a pilaster of the loggia of San Michele in Orto,
+where the grain was sold; the sick were healed, the deformed made
+straight, and the possessed visibly delivered in great numbers. But
+the preaching friars, and the friars minor likewise, through envy or
+some other cause, would put no faith in it, whereby they fell into
+much infamy with the Florentines. And so greatly grew the fame of
+these miracles and merits of Our Lady that folk flocked hither in
+pilgrimage from all parts of Tuscany at her feasts, bringing divers
+waxen images for the wonders worked, wherewith a great part of the
+loggia in front of and around the said figure was filled." In spite of
+ecclesiastical scepticism, this popular devotion ever increased; the
+company of the Laudesi, amongst whom, says Villani, was a good part of
+the best folk in Florence, had their hands always full of offerings
+and legacies, which they faithfully distributed to the poor.
+
+The wonderful tidings roused even Guido Cavalcanti from his melancholy
+musings among the tombs. As a sceptical philosopher, he had little
+faith in miracles, but an _esprit fort_ of the period could not allow
+himself to be on the same side as the friars. A delightful _via media_
+presented itself; the features of the Madonna in the picture bore a
+certain resemblance to his lady, and everything was at once made
+clear. So he took up his pen, and wrote a very beautiful sonnet to his
+friend, Guido Orlandi. It begins: "A figure of my Lady is adored,
+Guido, in San Michele in Orto, which, with her fair semblance, pure
+and tender, is the great refuge and harbour of sinners." And after
+describing (with evident devotional feeling, in spite of the obvious
+suggestion that it is the likeness of his lady that gives the picture
+its miraculous powers) the devotion of the people and the wonders
+worked on souls and bodies alike, he concludes: "Her fame goeth
+through far off lands: but the friars minor say it is idolatry, for
+envy that she is not their neighbour." But Orlandi professed himself
+much shocked at his friend's levity. "If thou hadst said, my friend,
+of Mary," so runs the double sonnet of his answer, "Loving and full of
+grace, thou art a red rose planted in the garden; thou wouldst have
+written fittingly. For she is the Truth and the Way, she was the
+mansion of our Lord, and is the port of our salvation." And he bids
+the greater Guido imitate the publican; cast the beam out of his own
+eye and let the mote alone in those of the friars: "The friars minor
+know the divine Latin scripture, and the good preachers are the
+defenders of the faith; their preaching is our medicine."
+
+One of the most terrible faction fights in Florentine history raged
+round the loggia and oratory on June 10th, 1304. The Cavalcanti and
+their allies were heroically holding their own, here and in Mercato
+Vecchio, against the overwhelming forces of the Neri headed by the
+Della Tosa, Sinibaldo Donati and Boccaccio Adimari, when Neri Abati
+fired the houses round Or San Michele; the wax images in Our Lady's
+oratory flared up, the loggia was burned to the ground, and all the
+houses along Calimara and Mercato Nuovo and beyond down to the Ponte
+Vecchio were utterly destroyed. The young nobles of the Neri faction
+galloped about with flaming torches to assail the houses of their
+foes; the Podesta with his troops came into Mercato Nuovo, stared at
+the blaze, but did nothing but block the way. In this part of the town
+was all the richest merchandise of Florence, and the loss was
+enormous. The Cavalcanti, against whom the iniquitous plot was
+specially aimed, were absolutely ruined, and left the city without
+further resistance.
+
+The pilaster with Madonna's picture had survived the fire, and the
+_Laudesi_ still met round it to sing her praises. But in 1336 the
+Signoria proposed to erect a grand new building on the site of the old
+loggia, which should serve at once for corn exchange and provide a
+fitting oratory for this new and growing cult of the Madonna di
+Orsanmichele. The present edifice, half palace and half church, was
+commenced in 1337, and finished at the opening of the fifteenth
+century. The actual building was in the hands of the Commune, who
+delegated their powers to the Arte di Por Sta. Maria or Arte della
+Seta. The Parte Guelfa and the Greater Guilds were to see to the
+external decoration of the pilasters, upon each of which tabernacles
+were made to receive the images of the Saints before which each of the
+Arts should come in state, to make offerings on the feasts of their
+proper patrons; while the shrine itself, and the internal decorations
+of the loggia (as it was still called), were left in the charge and
+care of the _Laudesi_ themselves, the Compagnia of Orsanmichele, which
+was thoroughly organised under its special captains. It is uncertain
+whom the Arte della Seta employed as architect; Vasari says that
+Taddeo Gaddi gave the design, others say Orcagna (who worked for the
+Laudesi inside), and more recently Francesco Talenti has been
+suggested. Benci di Cione and Simone di Francesco Talenti, who also
+worked at the same epoch upon the Duomo, were among the architects
+employed later. The closing in of the arcades, for the better
+protection of the tabernacle, took away the last remnants of its
+original appearance as an open loggia; and, shortly before, the corn
+market itself was removed to the present Piazza del Grano, and thus
+the "Palatium" became the present church. The extremely beautifully
+sculptured windows are the work of Simone di Francesco Talenti.
+
+There are fourteen of these little temples or niches, partly belonging
+to the Greater and partly to the Lesser Arts. It will be seen that,
+while the seven Greater Arts have each their niche, only six out of
+the fourteen Minor Arts are represented. Over the niches are _tondi_
+with the insignia of each Art. The statues were set up at different
+epochs, and are not always those that originally stood here--altered
+in one case from significant political motives, in others from the
+desire of the guilds to have something more thoroughly up to date--the
+rejected images being made over to the authorities of the Duomo for
+their unfinished facade, or sent into exile among the friars of Santa
+Croce. In 1404 the Signoria decreed that, within ten years from that
+date, the Arts who had secured their pilasters should have their
+statues in position, on pain of losing the right. But this does not
+seem to have been rigidly enforced.
+
+  [Illustration: WINDOW OF OR SAN MICHELE]
+
+Beginning at the corner of the northern side, facing towards the
+Duomo, we have the minor Art of the Butchers represented by
+Donatello's St. Peter in marble, an early and not very excellent work
+of the master, about 1412 (in a tabernacle of the previous century);
+the _tondo_ above containing their arms, a black goat on a gold field,
+is modern. Next comes the marble St. Philip, the patron saint of the
+minor Art of the Shoemakers, by Nanni di Banco, of 1408, a
+beautiful and characteristic work of this too often neglected
+sculptor. Then, also by Nanni di Banco, the _Quattro incoronati_, the
+"four crowned martyrs," who, being carvers by profession, were put to
+death under Diocletian for refusing to make idols, and are the patrons
+of the masters in stone and wood, a minor Art which included
+sculptors, architects, bricklayers, carpenters, and masons; the
+bas-relief under the shrine, also by Nanni, is a priceless masterpiece
+of realistic Florentine democratic art, and shows us the mediaeval
+craftsmen at their work, the every-day life of the men who made
+Florence the dream of beauty which she became; above it are the arms
+of the Guild, in an ornate and beautiful medallion, by Luca della
+Robbia. The following shrine, that of the Art of makers of swords and
+armour, had originally Donatello's famous St. George in marble, of
+1415, which is now in the Bargello; the present bronze (inappropriate
+for a minor Art, according to the precedent of the others) is a modern
+copy; the bas-relief below, of St. George slaying the dragon, is still
+Donato's. On the western wall, opposite the old tower of the Guild of
+Wool, comes first a bronze St. Matthew, made together with its
+tabernacle by Ghiberti and Michelozzo for the greater Guild of
+Money-changers and Bankers (Arte del Cambio), and finished in 1422.
+The Annunciation above is by Niccolo of Arezzo, at the close of the
+Trecento. The very beautiful bronze statue of St. Stephen, by
+Ghiberti, represents the great Guild of Wool, Arte della Lana;
+originally they had a marble St. Stephen, but, seeing what excellent
+statues had been made for the Cambio and the Calimala Guilds, they
+declared that since the Arte della Lana claimed to be always mistress
+of the other Arts, she must excel in this also; so sent their St.
+Stephen away to the Cathedral, and assigned the new work to Ghiberti
+(1425). Then comes the marble St. Eligius, by Nanni di Banco (1415),
+for the minor Art of the Maniscalchi, which included farriers,
+iron-smiths, knife-makers, and the like; the bas-relief below, also by
+Nanni, represents the Saint (San Lo he is more familiarly called, or
+St. Eloy in French) engaged in shoeing a demoniacal horse.
+
+On the southern facade, we have St. Mark in marble for the minor Art
+of Linaioli and Rigattieri, flax merchants and hucksters, by
+Donatello, (about 1412).[32] The Arte dei Vaiai e Pellicciai,
+furriers, although a greater Guild, seems to have been contented with
+the rather insignificant marble St. James, which follows, of uncertain
+authorship, and dating from the end of the Trecento; the bas-relief
+seems later. The next shrine, that of the Doctors and Apothecaries,
+the great Guild to which Dante belonged and which included painters
+and booksellers, is empty; the Madonna herself is their patroness, but
+their statue is now inside the church; the Madonna and Child in the
+medallion above are by Luca della Robbia. The next niche is that of
+the great Arte della Seta or Arte di Por Santa Maria, the Guild of the
+Silk-merchants, to which embroiderers, goldsmiths and silversmiths
+were attached; the bronze statue of their patron, St. John the
+Evangelist, is by Baccio da Montelupo (1515), and replaces an earlier
+marble now in the Bargello; the medallion above with their arms, a
+gate on a shield supported by two cherubs, is by Luca della Robbia.
+
+  [32] The eight Arti Minori not represented are the vintners (St.
+  Martin), the inn-keepers (St. Julian), the cheesemongers (St.
+  Bartholomew), the leather-dressers (St. Augustine), the saddlemakers
+  (the Blessed Trinity), the joiners (the Annunciation), tin and
+  coppersmiths (St. Zenobius), and the bakers (St. Lawrence).
+
+Finally, on the facade in the Via Calzaioli, the first shrine is that
+of the Arte di Calimala or Arte dei Mercatanti, who carried on the
+great commerce in foreign cloth, the chief democratic guild of the
+latter half of the thirteenth century, but which, together with the
+Arte della Lana, began somewhat to decline towards the middle of the
+Quattrocento; their bronze St. John Baptist is Ghiberti's, but hardly
+one of his better works (1415). The large central tabernacle was
+originally assigned to the Parte Guelfa, the only organisation outside
+of the Guilds that was allowed to share in this work; for them,
+Donatello made a bronze statue of their patron, St. Louis of Toulouse,
+and either Donatello himself or Michelozzo prepared, in 1423, the
+beautiful niche for him which is still here. But, owing to the great
+unpopularity of the Parte Guelfa and their complete loss of authority
+under the new Medicean regime, this tabernacle was taken from them in
+1459 and made over to the Universita dei Mercanti or Magistrato della
+Mercanzia, a board of magistrates who presided over all the Guilds;
+the arms of this magistracy were set up in the present medallion by
+Luca della Robbia in 1462; Donatello's St. Louis was sent to the
+friars minor; and, some years later, Verrocchio cast the present
+masterly group of Christ and St. Thomas. Landucci, in his diary for
+1483, tells us how it was set up, and that the bronze figure of the
+Saviour seemed to him the most beautiful that had ever been made. Last
+of all, the bronze statue of St. Luke was set up by Giovanni da
+Bologna in 1601, for the Judges and Notaries, who, like the
+silk-merchants, discarded an earlier marble. It must be observed that
+the substitution of the Commercial Tribunal for the tyrannical Parte
+Guelfa completes the purely democratic character of the whole
+monument.
+
+Entering the interior, we pass from the domains of the great
+commercial guilds and their patrons to those of the _Laudesi_ of Santa
+Maria. It is rich and subdued in colour, the vaults and pilasters
+covered with faded frescoes. It is divided into two parts, the one
+ending in the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin, the other in the chapel
+and altar of St. Anne, her mother and the deliveress of the Republic.
+These two record the two great events of fourteenth century Florentine
+history--the expulsion of the Duke of Athens and the Black Death. It
+was after this great plague that, in consequence of the Compagnia
+having had great riches left to them, "to the honour of the Holy
+Virgin Mary and for the benefit of the poor," the Captains of
+Orsanmichele, as the heads of these Laudesi were called, summoned
+Orcagna, in 1349, to the "work of the pilaster," as it was officially
+styled, to enclose what remained of the miraculous picture in a
+glorious tabernacle. He took ten years over it, finishing it in 1359,
+while the railing by Pietro di Migliore was completed in 1366. It was
+approximately at this epoch that it was decided to find another place
+for the market, and to close the arcades of the loggia, _per
+adornamento e salvezza del tabernacolo di Nostra Donna_.
+
+It is goldsmith's work on a gigantic scale, this marble reliquary of
+the archangelic painter. "A miracle of loveliness," wrote Lord
+Lindsay, "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." The whole is crowned with a statue of St.
+Michael, and the miraculous picture is enclosed in an infinite wealth
+and profusion of statues and arabesques, angels and prophets, precious
+stones and lions' heads. Scenes in bas-relief from Our Lady's life
+alternate with prophets and allegorical representations of the
+virtues, some of these latter being single figures of great beauty and
+some psychological insight in the rendering--for instance, Docilitas,
+Solertia, Justitia, Fortitudo--while marble Angels cluster round their
+Queen's tabernacle in eager service and loving worship. At the back is
+the great scene beneath which, to right and left, the series begins
+and ends--the death of Madonna and her Assumption, or rather, Our Lady
+of the Girdle, the giving of that celestial gift to the Thomas who had
+doubted, the mystical treasure which Tuscan Prato still fondly
+believes that her Duomo holds. This is perhaps the first
+representation of this mystery in Italian sculpture, and is signed and
+dated: _Andreas Cionis pictor Florentinus oratorii archimagister
+extitit hujus, 1359._ The figure with a small divided beard, talking
+with a man in a big hat and long beard, is Orcagna's own portrait. The
+miraculous painting itself is within the tabernacle. The picture in
+front, the Madonna and Child with goldfinch, adored by eight Angels,
+is believed to be either by Orcagna himself or Bernardo Daddi[33]; it
+is decidedly more primitive than their authenticated works, probably
+because it is a comparatively close rendering of the original
+composition.
+
+  [33] There are three extant documents concerning pictures of the
+  Madonna for the Captains of Saint Michael; two refer to a painting
+  ordered from Bernardo Daddi, in 1346 and 1347; the third to one by
+  Orcagna, 1352. _See_ Signor P. Franceschini's monograph on Or San
+  Michele, to which I am much indebted in this chapter.
+
+On the side altar on the right is the venerated Crucifix before which
+St. Antoninus used to pray. At one time the Dominicans were wont to
+come hither in procession on the anniversary of his death. In his
+Chronicle of Florence, Antoninus defends the friars from the
+accusations of Villani with respect to their scepticism about the
+miraculous picture. On the opposite side altar is the marble statue of
+Mother and Child from the tabernacle of the Medici e Speziali. It was
+executed about the year 1399; Vasari ascribes it to a Simone di
+Firenze, who may possibly be Simone di Francesco Talenti.
+
+The altar of St. Anne at the east end of the left half of the nave is
+one of the Republic's thank-offerings for their deliverance from the
+tyranny of Walter de Brienne. Public thanksgiving had been held here,
+before Our Lady's picture, as early as 1343, while the "Palatium" was
+still in building; but in the following year, 1344, at the instance of
+the captains of Or San Michele and others, the Signoria decreed that
+"for the perpetual memory of the grace conceded by God to the Commune
+and People of Florence, on the day of blessed Anne, Mother of the
+glorious Virgin, by the liberation of the city and the citizens, and
+by the destruction of the pernicious and tyrannical yoke," solemn
+offerings should be made on St. Anne's feast day by the Signoria and
+the consuls of the Arts, before her statue in Or San Michele, and that
+on that day all offices and shops should be closed, and no one be
+subject to arrest for debt. The present statue on this votive altar,
+representing the Madonna (here perhaps symbolising her faithful city
+of Florence) seated on the lap of St. Anne, who is thus protecting her
+and her Divine Child, was executed by Francesco da Sangallo in 1526,
+and replaces an older group in wood; although highly praised by
+Vasari, it will strike most people as not quite worthy of the place or
+the occasion. The powerful and expressive head of St. Anne is the best
+part of the group.
+
+The beneficent energies of these Laudesi and their captains spread far
+beyond the limits of this church and shrine. The great and still
+existing company of the Misericordia was originally connected with
+them; and the Bigallo for the foundling children was raised by them at
+the same time as their Tabernacle here. They contributed generously to
+the construction of the Duomo, and decorated chapels in Santa Croce
+and the Carmine. Sacchetti and Giovanni Boccaccio were among their
+officers; and it was while Boccaccio was serving as one of their
+captains in 1350 that they sent a sum of money by his hands to Dante's
+daughter Beatrice, in her distant convent at Ravenna. They appear to
+have spent all they had in the defence of Florentine liberty during
+the great siege of 1529.
+
+The imposing old tower that rises opposite San Michele in the Calimala
+is the Torrione of the Arte della Lana, copiously adorned with their
+arms--the Lamb bearing the Baptist's cross. It was erected at the end
+of the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century, and in it
+the consuls of the Guild had their meetings. It was stormed and sacked
+by the Ciompi in 1378. The heavy arch that connects the tower with the
+upper storey of Or San Michele, and rather disfigures the building, is
+the work of Buontalenti in the latter half of the sixteenth century.
+The large vaulted hall into which it leads, intended originally for
+the storage of grain and the like, is now known as the Sala di Dante,
+and witnesses the brilliant gatherings of Florentines and foreigners
+to listen to the readings of the _Divina Commedia_ given under the
+auspices of the _Societa Dantesca Italiana_.
+
+This is the part of the city where the Arts had their wealth and
+strength; the very names of the streets show it; Calimala and
+Pellicceria, for instance, which run from the Mercato Vecchio to the
+Via Porta Rossa. The Mercato Vecchio, the centre of the city both in
+Roman and mediaeval times, around which the houses and towers of the
+oldest families clustered--Elisei, Caponsacchi, Nerli, Vecchietti, and
+the rest of whom Dante's _Paradiso_ tells--is now a painfully
+unsightly modern square, with what appears to be a triumphal arch
+bearing the inscription: _L'antico centro della citta da secolare
+squallore a vita nuova restituita_(!). Passing down the Calimala to
+the Via Porta Rossa and the Mercato Nuovo, near where the former
+enters the Via Calzaioli, the site is still indicated of the Calimala
+Bottega where the government of the Arts was first organised, as told
+in chapter i. Near here and in the Mercato Nuovo, the Cavalcanti had
+their palaces. In the Via Porta Rossa the Arte della Seta had their
+warehouses; the gate from which they took their second name, and which
+is represented on their shield, is of course the Por Santa Maria, Our
+Lady's Gate of the old walls or Cerchia Antica, which was somewhere
+about the middle of the present Via Por Santa Maria. The Church of
+Santa Maria sopra la Porta, between the Mercato Nuovo and the Via
+delle Terme, is the present San Biagio (now used by the firemen);
+adjoining it is the fine old palace of the dreaded captains of the
+Parte Guelfa. The Via Porta Rossa contains some mediaeval houses and
+the lower portions of a few grand old towers still standing; as
+already said, in the first circle of walls there was a postern gate,
+at the end of the present street, opposite Santa Trinita. In the
+Mercato Nuovo, where a copy of the ancient boar--which figures in Hans
+Andersen's familiar story--seems to watch the flower market, the
+arcades were built by Battista del Tasso for Cosimo I. Here, too,
+modernisation has destroyed much. Hardly can we conjure up now that
+day of the great fire in 1304, when the nobles of the "black" faction
+galloped through the crowd of plunderers, with their blazing torches
+throwing a lurid glow on the steel-clad Podesta with his soldiers
+drawn up here idly to gaze upon the flames! A house that once belonged
+to the Cavalcanti is still standing in Mercato Nuovo, marked by the
+Cross of the People; the branch of the family who lived here left the
+magnates and joined the people, as the Cross indicates, changing their
+name from Cavalcanti to Cavallereschi.
+
+  [Illustration: TOWER OF THE ARTE DELLA LANA]
+
+The little fourteenth century church of St. Michael, now called San
+Carlo, which stands opposite San Michele in Orto on the other side of
+the Via Calzaioli, was originally a votive chapel to Saint Anne, built
+at the expense of the captains of the Laudesi on a site purchased by
+the Commune. It was begun in 1349 by Fioraventi and Benci di Cione,
+simultaneously with Orcagna's tabernacle, continued by Simone di
+Francesco Talenti, and completed at the opening of the fifteenth
+century. The captains intended to have the ceremonial offerings made
+here instead of in the Loggia; but the thing fell through owing to a
+disagreement with the Arte di Por Santa Maria, and the votive altar
+remained in the Loggia.
+
+Between San Carlo and the Duomo the street has been completely
+modernised. Of old it was the Corso degli Adimari, surrounded by the
+houses and towers of this fierce Guelf clan, who were at deadly feud
+with the Donati. Cacciaguida in the _Paradiso_ (canto xvi.) describes
+them as "the outrageous tribe that playeth dragon after whoso fleeth,
+and to whoso showeth tooth--or purse--is quiet as a lamb." One of
+their towers still stands on the left. On the right the place is
+marked where the famous loggia, called the Neghittosa, once stood,
+which belonged to the branch of the Adimari called the Cavicciuli,
+who, in spite of their hatred to the Donati, joined the Black Guelfs.
+One of them, Boccaccio or Boccaccino Adimari, seized upon Dante's
+goods when he was exiled, and exerted his influence to prevent his
+being recalled. In this loggia, too, Filippo Argenti used to sit, the
+_Fiorentino spirito bizzarro_ whom Dante saw rise before him covered
+with mire out of the marshy lake of Styx. He is supposed to have
+ridden a horse shod with silver, and there is a rare story in the
+_Decameron_ of a mad outburst of bestial fury on his part in this very
+loggia, on account of a mild practical joke on the part of Ciacco, a
+bon vivant of the period whom Dante has sternly flung into the hell of
+gluttons. On this occasion Filippo, who was an enormously big, strong,
+and sinewy man, beat a poor little dandy called Biondello within an
+inch of his life. In this same loggia, on August 4th, 1397, a party of
+young Florentine exiles, who had come secretly from Bologna with the
+intention of killing Maso degli Albizzi, took refuge, after a vain
+attempt to call the people to arms. From the highest part of the
+loggia, seeing a great crowd assembling round them, they harangued the
+mob, imploring them not stupidly to wait to see their would-be
+deliverers killed and themselves thrust back into still more grievous
+servitude. When not a soul moved, "finding out too late how dangerous
+it is to wish to set free a people that desires, happen what may, to
+be enslaved," as Machiavelli cynically puts it, they escaped into the
+Duomo, where, after a vain attempt at defending themselves, they were
+captured by the Captain, put to the question and executed. There were
+about ten of them in all, including three of the Cavicciuli and
+Antonio dei Medici.
+
+On November 9th, 1494, when the Florentines rose against Piero dei
+Medici and his brothers, the young Cardinal Giovanni rode down this
+street with retainers and a few citizens shouting, _Popolo e liberta_,
+pretending that he was going to join the insurgents. But when he got
+to San Michele in Orto, the people turned upon him from the piazza
+with their pikes and lances, with loud shouts of "Traitor!" upon which
+he fled back in great dread. Landucci saw him at the windows of his
+palace, on his knees with clasped hand, commending himself to God.
+"When I saw him," he says, "I grew very sorry for him (_m'inteneri
+assai_); and I judged that he was a good and sensible youth."
+
+To the east of the Via Calzaioli lies the Sesto di San Piero Maggiore,
+which, at the end of the thirteenth century, received the pleasant
+name of the Sesto di Scandali. It lies on either side of the Via del
+Corso, which with its continuations ran from east to west through the
+old city. In the Via della Condotta, at the corner of the Vicolo dei
+Cerchi, still stands the palace which belonged to a section of this
+family (the section known as the White Cerchi to distinguish them from
+Messer Vieri's branch, the Black Cerchi, who were even more "white" in
+politics, in spite of their name); in this palace the Priors sat
+before Arnolfo built the Palazzo Vecchio, which became the seat of
+government in 1299. It was there, not here, that Dante and his
+colleagues, on June 15th, 1300, entered upon office, and the same day
+confirmed the sentences which had been passed under their predecessors
+against the three traitors who had conspired to betray Florence to
+Pope Boniface; and then, a few days later, passed the decree by which
+Corso Donati and Guido Cavalcanti were sent into exile. Later the
+vicars of Robert of Anjou for a time resided here, and the
+administrators appointed to assess the confiscated goods of "rebels."
+At the corner of the Via dei Cerchi, where it joins the Via dei
+Cimatori, are traces of the loggia of the Cerchi; the same corner
+affords a picturesque glimpse of the belfrey of the Badia and the
+tower of the Podesta's palace.
+
+There was another great palace of the Cerchi, referred to in the
+_Paradiso_, which had formerly belonged to the Ravignani and the Conti
+Guidi, the acquisition of which by Messer Vieri had excited the envy
+of the Donati. This palace is described by Dante (_Parad._ xvi.) as
+being _sopra la porta_, that is, over the inner gate of St. Peter, the
+gate of the first circuit in Cacciaguida's day. No trace of it
+remains, but it was apparently on the north side of the Corso where it
+now joins the Via del Proconsolo. "Over the gate," says Cacciaguida,
+"which is now laden with new felony of such weight that there will
+soon be a wrecking of the ship, were the Ravignani, whence is
+descended the Count Guido, and whoever has since taken the name of the
+noble Bellincione." Here the daughter of Bellincione Berti, the _alto
+Bellincion_, lived,--the beautiful and good Gualdrada, whom we can
+dimly discern as a sweet and gracious presence in that far-off early
+Florence of which the _Paradiso_ sings; she was the ancestress of the
+great lords of the Casentino, the Conti Guidi. The principal houses of
+the Donati appear to have been on the Duomo side of the Corso, just
+before the Via dello Studio now joins it; but they had possessions on
+the other side as well. Giano della Bella had his house almost
+opposite to them, on the southern side. A little further on, at the
+corner where the Corso joins the Via del Proconsolo, Folco Portinari
+lived, the father, according to tradition, of Dante's Beatrice: "he
+who had been the father of so great a marvel, as this most noble
+Beatrice was manifestly seen to be." Folco's sons joined the Bianchi;
+one of them, Pigello, was poisoned during Dante's priorate; an elder
+son, Manetto Portinari (the friend of Dante and Cavalcanti),
+afterwards ratted and made his peace with the Neri. All the family are
+included, together with the Giuochi who lived opposite to them, in a
+sentence passed against Dante and his sons in 1315, from which Manetto
+Portinari is excepted by name. The building which now occupies the
+site of the Casa Portinari was once the Salviati Palace.
+
+  [Illustration: HOUSE OF DANTE]
+
+In the little Piazza di San Martino is shown the Casa di Dante, which
+undoubtedly belonged to the Alighieri, and in which Dante is said to
+have been born. It has been completely modernised. The Alighieri had
+also a house in the Via Santa Margherita, which runs from the Piazza
+San Martino to the Corso, opposite the little church of Santa
+Margherita. Hard by, in the Piazza dei Donati a section of that family
+had a house and garden; and here Dante saw and wooed Gemma, the
+daughter of Manetto Donati. The old tower which seems to watch over
+Dante's house from the other side of the Piazza San Martino, the
+Torre della Castagna, belonged in Dante's days to the monks of the
+Badia; in it, in 1282, the Priors of the Arts held their first
+meeting, when the government of the Republic was placed in their
+hands. At the corner of the Piazza, opposite Dante's house, lived the
+Sacchetti, the family from which the novelist, Franco, sprang. They
+were in deadly feud with Geri del Bello, the cousin of Dante's father,
+who lived in the house next to Dante's; and, shortly before the year
+of Dante's vision, the Sacchetti murdered Geri. He seems to have
+deserved his fate, and Dante places him among the sowers of discord in
+Hell, where he points at Dante and threatens him vehemently. "His
+violent death," says the poet in _Inferno_ xxix, "which is not yet
+avenged for him, by any that is a partner of his shame, made him
+indignant; therefore, as I suppose, he went away without speaking to
+me; and in that he has made me pity him the more." Thirty years after
+the murder, Geri's nephews broke into the house of the Sacchetti and
+stabbed one of the family to death; and the two families were finally
+reconciled in 1342, on which occasion Dante's half-brother, Francesco
+Alighieri, was the representative of the Alighieri. Many years later,
+Dante's great-grandson, Leonardo Alighieri, came from Verona to
+Florence. "He paid me a visit," writes Leonardo Bruni, "as a friend of
+the memory of his great-grandfather, Dante. And I showed him Dante's
+house, and that of his forebears, and I pointed out to him many
+particulars with which he was not acquainted, because he and his
+family had been estranged from their fatherland. And so does Fortune
+roll this world around, and change its inhabitants up and down as she
+turns her wheel."
+
+Beyond the Via del Proconsolo the Borgo, now called of the Albizzi,
+was originally the Borgo di San Piero--a suburb of the old city, but
+included in the second walls of the twelfth century. The present name
+records the brief, but not inglorious period of the rule of the
+oligarchy or Ottimati, before Cosimo dei Medici obtained complete
+possession of the State. It was formerly called the Corso di Por San
+Piero. The first palace on the right (De Rast or Quaratesi) was built
+for the Pazzi by Brunelleschi, and still shows their armorial bearings
+by Donatello. They had another palace further on, on the left,
+opposite the Via dell'Acqua. Still further on (past the Altoviti
+palace, with its caricatures) is the palace of the Albizzi family, on
+the left, as you approach the Piazza. Here Maso degli Albizzi, and
+then Rinaldo, lived and practically ruled the state. Giuliano dei
+Medici alighted here in 1512. At the end of the Borgo degli Albizzi is
+now the busy, rather picturesque little Piazza di San Piero Maggiore,
+usually full of stalls and trucks. St. Peter's Gate in Dante's time
+lay just beyond the church, to the left. In this Piazza also the
+Donati had houses; and it was through this gate that Corso Donati
+burst into Florence with his followers on the morning of November 5th,
+1301; "and he entered into the city like a daring and bold cavalier,"
+as Dino Compagni--who loves a strong personality even on the opposite
+side to his own--puts it. The Bianchi in the Sesto largely outnumbered
+his forces, but did not venture to attack him, while the populace
+bawled _Viva il Barone_ to their hearts' content. He incontinently
+seized that tall tower of the Corbizzi that still rises opposite to
+the facade of the church, at the southern corner of the Piazza in the
+Via del Mercatino, and hung out his banner from it. Seven years later
+he made his last stand in this square and round this tower, as we have
+told in chapter ii. Of the church of San Piero Maggiore, only the
+seventeenth century facade remains; but of old it ranked as the third
+of the Florentine temples. According to the legend, it was on his way
+to this church that San Zenobio raised the French child to life in the
+Borgo degli Albizzi, opposite the spot where the Palazzo Altoviti now
+stands. It is said to have been the only church in Florence free from
+the taint of simony in the days of St. Giovanni Gualberto, and of old
+had the privilege of first receiving the new Archbishops when they
+entered Florence. The Archbishop went through a curious and beautiful
+ceremony of mystic marriage with the Abbess of the Benedictine convent
+attached to the church, who apparently personified the diocese of
+Florence. Every year on Easter Monday the canons of the Duomo came
+here in procession; and on St. Peter's day the captains of the Parte
+Guelfa entered the Piazza in state to make a solemn offering, and had
+a race run in the Piazza Santa Croce after the ceremony. The artists,
+Lorenzo di Credi, Mariotto Albertinelli, Piero di Cosimo and Luca
+della Robbia were buried here. Two of the best pictures that the
+church contained--a Coronation of the Madonna ascribed to Orcagna and
+the famous Assumption said by Vasari to have been painted by
+Botticelli for Matteo Palmieri (which was supposed to inculcate
+heretical neoplatonic doctrines concerning the human soul and the
+Angels in the spheres), are now in the National Gallery of London.
+
+It was in this Piazza that the conspirators resolved to assassinate
+Maso degli Albizzi. Their spies watched him leave his palace, walk
+leisurely towards the church and then enter an apothecary's shop,
+close to San Piero. They hurried off to tell their associates, but
+when the would-be assassins arrived on the scene, they found that
+Maso had given them the slip and left the shop.
+
+Turning down the Via del Mercatino and back to the Badia along the Via
+Pandolfini, we pass the palace which once belonged to Francesco
+Valori, Savonarola's formidable adherent. Here it was on that terrible
+Palm Sunday, 1498, when Hell broke loose, as Landucci puts it, that
+Valori's wife was shot dead at a window, while her husband in the
+street below, on his way to answer the summons of the Signoria, was
+murdered near San Procolo by the kinsmen of the men whom he had sent
+to the scaffold.
+
+The Badia shares with the Baptistery and San Miniato the distinction
+of being the only Florentine churches mentioned by Dante. In
+Cacciaguida's days it was close to the old Roman wall; from its
+campanile even in Dante's time, Florence still "took tierce and nones
+"; and, at the sound of its bells, the craftsmen of the Arts went to
+and from their work. Originally founded by the Countess Willa in the
+tenth century, the Badia di San Stefano (as it was called) that Dante
+and Boccaccio knew was the work of Arnolfo di Cambio; but it was
+entirely rebuilt in the seventeenth century, with consequent
+destruction of priceless frescoes by Giotto and Masaccio. The present
+graceful campanile is of the fourteenth century. The relief in the
+lunette over the chief door, rather in the manner of Andrea della
+Robbia, is by Benedetto Buglione. In the left transept is the monument
+by Mino da Fiesole of Willa's son Hugo, Margrave of Tuscany, who died
+on St. Thomas' day, 1006. Dante calls him the great baron; his
+anniversary was solemnly celebrated here, and he was supposed to have
+conferred knighthood and nobility upon the Della Bella and other
+Florentine families. "Each one," says Cacciaguida, "who beareth aught
+of the fair arms of the great baron, whose name and worth the festival
+of Thomas keepeth living, from him derived knighthood and privilege"
+(_Paradiso_ xvi.). In a chapel to the left of this monument is
+Filippino Lippi's picture of the Madonna appearing to St. Bernard,
+painted in 1480, one of the most beautiful renderings of an
+exceedingly poetical subject. For Dante, Bernard is _colui
+ch'abbelliva di Maria, come del sole stella mattutina_, "he who drew
+light from Mary, as the morning star from the sun." Filippino has
+introduced the portrait of the donor, on the right, Francesco di
+Pugliese. The church contains two other works by Mino da Fiesole, a
+Madonna and (in the right transept) the sepulchral monument of
+Bernardo Giugni, who served the State as ambassador to Milan and
+Venice in the days of Cosimo and Piero dei Medici. At the entrance to
+the cloisters Francesco Valori is buried.
+
+It was in the Badia (and not in the Church of San Stefano, near the
+Via Por Santa Maria, as usually stated) that Boccaccio lectured upon
+the _Divina Commedia_ in 1373. Benvenuto da Imola came over from
+Bologna to attend his beloved master's readings, and was much edified.
+But the audience were not equally pleased, and Boccaccio had to defend
+himself in verse. One of the sonnets he wrote on this occasion, _Se
+Dante piange, dove ch'el si sia_, has been admirably translated by
+Dante Rossetti:--
+
+     If Dante mourns, there wheresoe'er he be,
+       That such high fancies of a soul so proud
+       Should be laid open to the vulgar crowd,
+       (As, touching my Discourse, I'm told by thee),
+
+     This were my grievous pain; and certainly
+       My proper blame should not be disavow'd;
+       Though hereof somewhat, I declare aloud
+       Were due to others, not alone to me.
+
+     False hopes, true poverty, and therewithal
+       The blinded judgment of a host of friends,
+       And their entreaties, made that I did thus.
+
+     But of all this there is no gain at all
+       Unto the thankless souls with whose base ends
+       Nothing agrees that's great or generous.
+
+  [Illustration: ARMS OF THE SESTO DI SAN PIERO]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+_From the Bargello past Santa Croce_
+
+     "Non ha l'ottimo artista alcun concetto,
+     ch'un marmo solo in se non circonscriva
+     col suo soverchio; e solo a quello arriva
+     la man che ubbidisce all'intelletto."
+         --_Michelangelo Buonarroti._
+
+
+Even as the Palazzo Vecchio or Palace of the Priors is essentially the
+monument of the _Secondo Popolo_, so the Palazzo del Podesta or Palace
+of the Commune belongs to the _Primo Popolo_; it was commenced in
+1255, in that first great triumph of the democracy, although mainly
+finished towards the middle of the following century. Here sat the
+Podesta, with his assessors and retainers, whom he brought with him to
+Florence--himself always an alien noble. Originally he was the chief
+officer of the Republic, for the six months during which he held
+office, led the burgher forces in war, and acted as chief justice in
+peace; but he gradually sunk in popular estimation before the more
+democratic Captain of the People (who was himself, it will be
+remembered, normally an alien Guelf noble). A little later, both
+Podesta and Captain were eclipsed by the Gonfaloniere of Justice. In
+the fifteenth century the Podesta was still the president of the chief
+civil and criminal court of the city, and his office was only finally
+abolished during the Gonfalonierate of Piero Soderini at the
+beginning of the Cinquecento. Under the Medicean grand dukes the
+Bargello, or chief of police, resided here--hence the present name of
+the palace; and it is well to repeat, once for all, that when the
+Bargello, or Court of the Bargello, is mentioned in Florentine
+history--in grim tales of torture and executions and the like--it is
+not this building, but the residence of the Executore of Justice, now
+incorporated into the Palazzo Vecchio, that is usually meant.
+
+It was in this Palace of the Podesta, however, that Guido Novello
+resided and ruled the city in the name of King Manfred, during the
+short period of Ghibelline tyranny that followed Montaperti,
+1260-1266, and which the Via Ghibellina, first opened by him, recalls.
+The Palace was broken into by the populace in 1295, just before the
+fall of Giano della Bella, because a Lombard Podesta had unjustly
+acquitted Corso Donati for the death of a burgher at the hands of his
+riotous retainers. Here, too, was Cante dei Gabbrielli of Gubbio
+installed by Charles of Valois, in November 1301, and from its gates
+issued the Crier of the Republic that summoned Dante Alighieri and his
+companions in misfortune to appear before the Podesta's court. In one
+of those dark vaulted rooms on the ground floor, now full of a choice
+collection of mediaeval arms and armour, Cante's successor, Fulcieri da
+Calvoli, tortured those of the Bianchi who fell into his cruel hands.
+"He sells their flesh while it is still alive," says Dante in the
+_Purgatorio_, "then slayeth them like a worn out brute: many doth he
+deprive of life, and himself of honour." Some died under the torments,
+others were beheaded.
+
+"Messer Donato Alberti," writes Dino Compagni, "mounted vilely upon an
+ass, in a peasant's smock, was brought before the Podesta. And when he
+saw him, he asked him: 'Are you Messer Donato Alberti?' He replied:
+'I am Donato. Would that Andrea da Cerreto were here before us, and
+Niccola Acciaioli, and Baldo d'Aguglione, and Jacopo da Certaldo, who
+have destroyed Florence.'[34] Then he was fastened to the rope and the
+cord adjusted to the pulley, and so they let him stay; and the windows
+and doors of the Palace were opened, and many citizens called in under
+other pretexts, that they might see him tortured and derided."
+
+  [34] These were the burghers and lawyers of the black faction, the
+  Podesta's allies and friends. This was in the spring of 1303.
+
+In the rising of the Ciompi, July 1378, the palace was forced to
+surrender to the insurgents after an assault of two hours. They let
+the Podesta escape, but burnt all books and papers, especially those
+of the hated Arte della Lana. At night as many as the palace could
+hold quartered themselves here.
+
+  [Illustration: BARGELLO COURTYARD AND STAIRCASE]
+
+The beautiful court and stairway, surrounded by statues and armorial
+bearings, the ascent guarded by the symbolical lion of Florence and
+leading to an open loggia, is the work of Benci di Cione and Neri di
+Fioraventi, 1333-1345. The palace is now the National Museum of
+Sculpture and kindred arts and crafts. Keeping to the left, round the
+court itself, we see a marble St. Luke by Niccolo di Piero Lamberti,
+of the end of the fourteenth century, from the niche of the Judges and
+Notaries at Or San Michele; a magnificent sixteenth century
+portalantern in beaten iron; the old marble St. John Evangelist,
+contemporaneous with the St. Luke, and probably by Piero di Giovanni
+Tedesco, from the niche of the Arte della Seta at Or San Michele; some
+allegorical statues by Giovanni da Bologna and Vincenzo Danti, in
+rather unsuccessful imitation of Michelangelo; a dying Adonis,
+questionably ascribed to Michelangelo. And, finally (numbered 18),
+there stands Michelangelo's so-called "Victory," the triumph of the
+ideal over outworn tyranny and superstition; a radiant youth, but worn
+and exhausted by the struggle, rising triumphantly over a shape of
+gigantic eld, so roughly hewn as to seem lost in the mist from which
+the young hero has gloriously freed himself.[35]
+
+  [35] Such, at least, seems the more obvious interpretation; but there
+  is a certain sensuality and cruelty about the victor's expression,
+  which, together with the fact that the vanquished undoubtedly has
+  something of Michelangelo's own features, lead us to suspect that the
+  master's sympathies were with the lost cause.
+
+Also on the ground floor, to the left, are two rooms full of statuary.
+The first contains nothing important, save perhaps the Madonna and
+Child with St. Peter and St. Paul, formerly above the Porta Romana. In
+the second room, a series of bas-reliefs by Benedetto da Rovezzano,
+begun in 1511 and terribly mutilated by the imperial soldiery during
+the siege, represent scenes connected with the life and miracles of
+St. Giovanni Gualberto, including the famous trial of Peter Igneus,
+who, in order to convict the Bishop of Florence of simony, passed
+unharmed through the ordeal of fire. Here is the unfinished bust of
+Brutus (111) by Michelangelo, one of his latest works, and a
+significant expression of the state of the man's heart, when he was
+forced to rear sumptuous monuments for the new tyrants who had
+overthrown his beloved Republic. Then a chimney-piece by Benedetto da
+Rovezzano from the Casa Borgherini, one of the most sumptuous pieces
+of domestic furniture of the Renaissance; a very beautiful tondo of
+the Madonna and Child with the little St. John (123) by Michelangelo,
+made for Bartolommeo Pitti early in the Cinquecento; the mask of a
+grinning faun with gap-teeth, traditionally shown as the head struck
+out by the boy Michelangelo in his first visit to the Medici Gardens,
+when he attracted the attention of Lorenzo the Magnificent--but
+probably a comparatively modern work suggested by Vasari's story; a
+sketch in marble for the martyrdom of St. Andrew, supposed to be a
+juvenile work of Michelangelo's, but also doubtful. Here too is
+Michelangelo's drunken Bacchus (128), an exquisitely-modelled
+intoxicated vine-crowned youth, behind whom a sly little satyr lurks,
+nibbling grapes. It is one of the master's earliest works, very
+carefully and delicately finished, executed during his first visit to
+Rome, for Messer Jacopo Galli, probably about 1497. Of this statue
+Ruskin wrote, while it was still in the Uffizi: "The white lassitude
+of joyous limbs, panther-like, yet passive, fainting with their own
+delight, that gleam among the Pagan formalisms of the Uffizi, far
+away, separating themselves in their lustrous lightness as the waves
+of an Alpine torrent do by their dancing from the dead stones, though
+the stones be as white as they." Shelley, on the contrary, found it
+"most revolting," "the idea of the deity of Bacchus in the conception
+of a Catholic." Near it is a tondo of the Virgin and Child with the
+Baptist, by Andrea Ferrucci.
+
+At the top of the picturesque and richly ornamented staircase, to the
+right of the loggia on the first floor, opens a great vaulted hall,
+where the works of Donatello, casts and originals, surround a cast of
+his great equestrian monument to Gattamelata at Padua--a hall of such
+noble proportions that even Gattamelata looks insignificant, where he
+sits his war-horse between the Cross of the People and the Lily of the
+Commune. Here the general council of the Commune met--the only council
+(besides the special council of the Podesta) in which the magnates
+could sit and vote, and it was here, on July 6th, 1295, that Dante
+Alighieri first entered public life; he spoke in support of the
+modifications of the Ordinances of Justice--which may have very
+probably been a few months before he definitely associated himself
+with the People by matriculating in the Arte dei Medici e Speziali.
+Among the casts and copies that fill this room, there are several
+original and splendid works of Donatello; the Marzocco, or symbolical
+lion of Florence protecting the shield of the Commune, which was
+formerly in front of the Palace of the Priors; the bronze David, full
+of Donatello's delight in the exuberance of youthful manhood just
+budding; the San Giovannino or little St. John; the marble David,
+inferior to the bronze, but heralding Michelangelo; the bronze bust of
+a youth, called the son of Gattamelata; Love trampling upon a snake
+(bronze); St. George in marble from Or San Michele, an idealised
+condottiere of the Quattrocento; St. John the Baptist from the
+Baptistery; and a bronze relief of the Crucifixion. The coloured bust
+is now believed by many critics to be neither the portrait of Niccolo
+da Uzzano nor by Donatello; it is possibly a Roman hero by some
+sculptor of the Seicento.
+
+The next room is the audience chamber of the Podesta. Besides the
+Cross and the Lilies on the windows, its walls and roof are covered
+with the gold lion on azure ground, the arms of the Duke of Athens.
+They were cancelled by decree of the Republic in 1343, and renewed in
+1861; as a patriotically worded tablet on the left, under the window,
+explains. Opening out of this is the famous Chapel of the
+Podesta--famous for the frescoes on its walls--once a prison. From out
+of these terribly ruined frescoes stands the figure of Dante (stands
+out, alas, because completely repainted--a mere _rifacimento_ with
+hardly a trace of the original work left) in what was once a
+_Paradiso_; the dim figures on either side are said to represent
+Brunette Latini and either Corso Donati or Guido Cavalcanti. In spite
+of a very pleasant fable, it is absolutely certain that this is not a
+contemporaneous portrait of Dante (although it may be regarded as an
+authentic likeness, to some extent) and was not painted by Giotto; the
+frescoes were executed by some later follower of Giotto (possibly by
+Taddeo Gaddi, who painted the lost portraits of Dante and Guido in
+Santa Croce) after 1345. The two paintings below on either side,
+Madonna and Child and St. Jerome, are votive pictures commissioned by
+pious Podestas in 1490 and 1491, the former by Sebastiano Mainardi,
+the brother-in-law of Domenico Ghirlandaio.
+
+The third room contains small bronze works by Tuscan masters of the
+Quattrocento. In the centre, Verrocchio's David (22), cast for Lorenzo
+dei Medici, one of the masterpieces of the fifteenth century. Here are
+the famous trial plates for the great competition for the second
+bronze gates of the Baptistery, announced in 1401, the Sacrifice of
+Abraham, by Brunelleschi and Ghiberti respectively; the grace and
+harmony of Ghiberti's composition (12) contrast strongly with the
+force, almost violence, the dramatic action and movement of
+Brunelleschi's (13). Ghiberti's, unlike his rival's, is in one single
+piece; but, until lately, there has been a tendency to underrate the
+excellence of Brunelleschi's relief. Here, too, are Ghiberti's
+reliquary of St. Hyacinth, executed in 1428, with two beautiful
+floating Angels (21); several bas-reliefs by Bertoldo, Donatello's
+pupil and successor; the effigy of Marino Soccino, a lawyer of Siena,
+by the Sienese sculptor Il Vecchietta (16); and, in a glass case,
+Orpheus by Bertoldo, Hercules and Antaeus by Antonio Pollaiuolo, and
+Love on a Scallop Shell by Donatello. The following room contains
+mostly bronzes by later masters, especially Cellini, Giovanni da
+Bologna, Vincenzo Danti. The most noteworthy of its contents are
+Daniele Ricciarelli's striking bust of Michelangelo (37); Cellini's
+bronze sketch for Perseus (38), his bronze bust of Duke Cosimo I.
+(39), his wax model for Perseus (40), the liberation of Andromeda,
+from the pedestal of the statue in the Loggia dei Lanzi (42); and
+above all, Giovanni da Bologna's flying Mercury (82), showing what
+exceedingly beautiful mythological work could still be produced when
+the golden days of the Renaissance were over. It was cast in 1565,
+and, like many of the best bronzes of this epoch, was originally
+placed on a fountain in one of the Medicean villas.
+
+On the second floor, first a long room with seals, etc., guarded by
+Rosso's frescoed Justice. Here, and in the room on the left, is a most
+wonderful array of the works in enamelled terra cotta of the Della
+Robbias--Luca and Andrea, followed by Giovanni and their imitators. In
+the best work of Luca and Andrea--and there is much of their very best
+and most perfect work in these two rooms--religious devotion received
+its highest and most perfect expression in sculpture. Their Madonnas,
+Annunciations, Nativities and the like, are the sculptural counterpart
+to Angelico's divinest paintings, though never quite attaining to his
+spiritual insight and supra-sensible gaze upon life. Andrea's work is
+more pictorial in treatment than Luca's, has less vigour and even at
+times a perceptible trace of sentimentality; but in sheer beauty his
+very best creations do not yield to those of his great master and
+uncle. Both Luca and Andrea kept to the simple blue and white--in the
+best part of their work--and surrounded their Madonnas with exquisite
+festoons of fruit and leaves: "wrought them," in Pater's words, "into
+all sorts of marvellous frames and garlands, giving them their natural
+colours, only subdued a little, a little paler than nature."
+
+To the right of the first Della Robbia room, are two more rooms full
+of statuary, and one with a collection of medals, including that
+commemorating Savonarola's Vision of the Sword of the Lord. In the
+first room--taking merely the more important--we may see Music,
+wrongly ascribed to Orcagna, probably earlier (139); bust of Charles
+VIII. of France (164), author uncertain; bust in terra cotta of a
+young warrior, by Antonio Pollaiuolo (161), as grandly insolent and
+confident as any of Signorelli's savage youths in the Orvieto
+frescoes. Also, bust of Matteo Palmieri, the humanist and suspected
+heretic, by Antonio Rossellino (160); bust of Pietro Mellini by
+Benedetto da Maiano (153); portrait of a young lady, by Matteo
+Civitali of Lucca (142); a long relief (146) ascribed to Verrocchio
+and representing the death of a lady of the Tornabuoni family in
+child-birth, which Shelley greatly admired and described at length,
+under the impression that he was studying a genuine antique: "It is
+altogether an admirable piece," he says, "quite in the spirit of
+Terence." The uncompromising realism of the male portraiture of the
+fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries is fully illustrated in this
+room, and there is at the same time a peculiar tenderness and
+winsomeness in representing young girls, which is exceedingly
+attractive.
+
+In the next room there are many excellent portraits of this kind,
+named and unnamed. Of more important works, we should notice the San
+Giovannino by Antonio Rossellino, and a tondo by the same master
+representing the Adoration of the Shepherds; Andrea Verrocchio's
+Madonna and Child; Verrocchio's Lady with the Bouquet (181), with
+those exquisite hands of which Gabriele D'Annunzio has almost wearied
+the readers of his _Gioconda_; by Matteo Civitali of Lucca, Faith
+gazing ecstatically upon the Sacrament. By Mino da Fiesole are a
+Madonna and Child, and several portrait busts--of the elder Piero dei
+Medici (234) and his brother Giovanni di Cosimo (236), and of Rinaldo
+della Luna. We should also notice the statues of Christ and three
+Apostles, of the school of Andrea Pisano; portrait of a girl by
+Desiderio da Settignano; two bas-reliefs by Luca della Robbia,
+representing the Liberation and Crucifixion of St. Peter, early works
+executed for a chapel in the Duomo; two sixteenth century busts,
+representing the younger Giuliano dei Medici and Giovanni delle Bande
+Nere; and, also, a curious fourteenth century group (222) apparently
+representing the coronation of an emperor by the Pope's legate.
+
+In the centre of the room are St. John Baptist by Benedetto da Maiano;
+Bacchus, by Jacopo Sansovino; and Michelangelo's second David (224),
+frequently miscalled Apollo, made for Baccio Valori after the siege of
+Florence, and pathetically different from the gigantic David of his
+youth, which had been chiselled more than a quarter of a century
+before, in all the passing glory of the Republican restoration.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When the Duke of Athens made himself tyrant of Florence, King Robert
+urged him to take up his abode in this palace, as Charles of Calabria
+had done, and leave the Palace of the People to the Priors. The advice
+was not taken, and, when the rising broke out, the palace was easily
+captured, before the Duke and his adherents in the Palazzo Vecchio
+were forced to surrender. Passing along the Via Ghibellina, we
+presently come on the right to what was originally the _Stinche_, a
+prison for nobles, _in qua carcerentur et custodiantur magnates_, so
+called from a castle of the Cavalcanti captured by the Neri in 1304,
+from which the prisoners were imprisoned here: it is now a part of the
+Teatro Pagliano. Later it became the place of captivity of the lowest
+criminals, and a first point of attack in risings of the populace. It
+contains, in a lunette on the stairs, a contemporary fresco
+representing the expulsion of the Duke of Athens on St. Anne's Day,
+1343. St. Anne is giving the banners of the People and of the Commune
+to a group of stern Republican warriors, while with one hand she
+indicates the Palace of the Priors, fortified with the tyrant's towers
+and battlements. By its side rises a great throne, from which the Duke
+is shrinking in terror from the Angel of the wrath of God; a broken
+sword lies at his feet; the banner of Brienne lies dishonoured in the
+dust, with the scales of justice that he profaned and the book of the
+law that he outraged. In so solemn and chastened a spirit could the
+artists of the Trecento conceive of their Republic's deliverance. The
+fresco was probably painted by either Giottino or Maso di Banco; it
+was once wrongly ascribed to Cennino Cennini, who wrote the _Treatise
+on Painting_, which was the approved text-book in the studios and
+workshops of the earlier masters.
+
+Further down the Via Ghibellina is the Casa Buonarroti, which once
+belonged to Michelangelo, and was bequeathed by his family to the
+city. It is entirely got up as a museum now, and not in the least
+suggestive of the great artist's life, though a tiny little study and
+a few letters and other relics are shown. There are, however, a
+certain number of his drawings here, including a design for the facade
+of San Lorenzo, which is of very questionable authenticity, and a
+Madonna. Two of his earliest works in marble are preserved here,
+executed at that epoch of his youth when he frequented the house and
+garden of Lorenzo the Magnificent. One is a bas-relief of the Madonna
+and Child--somewhat in the manner of Donatello--with two Angels at the
+top of a ladder. The other is a struggle of the Centaurs and Lapithae,
+a subject suggested to the boy by Angelo Poliziano, full of motion and
+vigour and wonderfully modelled. Vasari says, "To whoso considers this
+work, it does not seem from the hand of a youth, but from that of an
+accomplished and past master in these studies, and experienced in the
+art." The former is in the fifth room, the latter in the antechamber.
+There are also two models for the great David; a bust of the master in
+bronze by Ricciarelli, and his portrait by his pupil, Marcello
+Venusti. A predella representing the legend of St. Nicholas is by
+Francesco Pesellino, whose works are rare. In the third room (among
+the later allegories and scenes from the master's life) is a large
+picture supposed to have been painted by Jacopo da Empoli from a
+cartoon by Michelangelo, representing the Holy Family with the four
+Evangelists; it is a peculiarly unattractive work. The cartoon,
+ascribed to Michelangelo, is in the British Museum; and I would
+suggest that it was originally not a religious picture at all, but an
+allegory of Charity. The cross in the little Baptist's hand does not
+occur in the cartoon.
+
+Almost at the end of the Via Ghibellina are the Prisons which occupy
+the site of the famous convent of _Le Murate_. In this convent
+Caterina Sforza, the dethroned Lady of Forli and mother of Giovanni
+delle Bande Nere, ended her days in 1509. Here the Duchessina, or
+"Little Duchess," as Caterina dei Medici was called, was placed by the
+Signoria after the expulsion of the Medici in 1527, in order to
+prevent Pope Clement VII. from using her for the purpose of a
+political marriage which might endanger the city. They seem to have
+feared especially the Prince of Orange. The result was that the
+convent became a centre of Medicean intrigue; and the Signoria, when
+the siege commenced, sent Salvestro Aldobrandini to take her away.
+When Salvestro arrived, after he had been kept waiting for some time,
+the little Duchess came to the grill of the parlour, dressed as a nun,
+and said that she intended to take the habit and stay for ever "with
+these my reverend mothers." According to Varchi, the poor little
+girl--she was barely eleven years old, had lost both parents in the
+year of her birth, and was practically alone in the city where the
+cruellest threats had been uttered against her--was terribly
+frightened and cried bitterly, "not knowing to what glory and felicity
+her life had been reserved by God and the Heavens." But Messer
+Salvestro and Messer Antonio de' Nerli did all they could to comfort
+and reassure her, and took her to the convent of Santa Lucia in the
+Via di San Gallo; "in which monastery," says Nardi, "she was received
+and treated with the same maternal love by those nuns, until the end
+of the war."
+
+In the centre of the oblong Piazza di Santa Croce rises the statue and
+monument of Dante Alighieri, erected on the occasion of the sixth
+centenary of his birth, in those glowing early days of the first
+completion of Italian unity; at its back stand the great Gothic church
+and convent, which Arnolfo di Cambio commenced for the Franciscans in
+1294, while Dante was still in Florence--the year before he entered
+political life.
+
+The great Piazza was a centre of festivities and stirring Florentine
+life, and has witnessed many historical scenes, in old times and in
+new, from the tournaments and jousts of the Middle Ages and early
+Renaissance to the penitential processions of the victims of the
+Inquisition in the days of the Medicean Grand Dukes, from the
+preaching of San Bernardino of Siena to the missionary labours of the
+Jesuit Segneri. On Christmas Day, 1301, Niccolo dei Cerchi was passing
+through this Piazza with a few friends on horseback on his way to his
+farm and mill--for that was hardly a happy Christmas for Guelfs of the
+white faction in Florence--while a friar was preaching in the open
+air, announcing the birth of Christ to the crowd; when Simone Donati
+with a band of mounted retainers gave chase, and, when he overtook
+him, killed him. In the scuffle Simone himself received a mortal
+wound, of which he died the same night. "Although it was a just
+judgment," writes Villani, "yet was it held a great loss, for the said
+Simone was the most accomplished and virtuous squire in Florence, and
+of the greatest promise, and he was all the hope of his father, Messer
+Corso." It was in the convent of Santa Croce that the Duke of Athens
+took up his abode in 1342, with much parade of religious simplicity,
+when about to seize upon the lordship of Florence; here, on that
+fateful September 8th, he assembled his followers and adherents in the
+Piazza, whence they marched to the Parliament at the Palazzo Vecchio,
+where he was proclaimed Signor of Florence for life. But in the
+following year, when he attempted to celebrate Easter with great pomp
+and luxury, and held grand jousts in this same Piazza for many days,
+the people sullenly held aloof and very few citizens entered the
+lists.
+
+Most gorgeous and altogether successful was the tournament given here
+by Lorenzo dei Medici in 1467, to celebrate his approaching marriage
+with Clarice Orsini, when he jousted against all comers in honour of
+the lady of his sonnets and odes, Lucrezia Donati. There was not much
+serious tilting about it, but a magnificent display of rich costumes
+and precious jewelled caps and helmets, and a glorious procession
+which must have been a positive feast of colour. "To follow the
+custom," writes Lorenzo himself, "and do like others, I gave a
+tournament on the Piazza Santa Croce at great cost and with much
+magnificence; I find that about 10,000 ducats were spent on it.
+Although I was not a very vigorous warrior, nor a hard hitter, the
+first prize was adjudged to me, a helmet inlaid with silver and a
+figure of Mars as the crest."[36] He sent a long account of the
+proceedings to his future bride, who answered: "I am glad that you are
+successful in what gives you pleasure, and that my prayer is heard,
+for I have no other wish than to see you happy." Luca Pulci, the
+luckless brother of Luigi, wrote a dull poem on the not very inspiring
+theme. A few years later, at the end of January 1478, a less sumptuous
+entertainment of the same sort was given by Giuliano dei Medici; and
+it was apparently on this occasion that Poliziano commenced his famous
+stanzas in honour of Giuliano and his lady love, Simonetta,--stanzas
+which were interrupted by the daggers of the Pazzi and their
+accomplices. It was no longer time for soft song or courtly sport when
+prelates and nobles were hanging from the palace windows, and the
+thunders of the Papal interdict were about to burst over the city and
+her rulers.
+
+  [36] Quoted in Mr Armstrong's _Lorenzo de' Medici_.
+
+Entering the Church through the unpleasing modern facade (which is,
+however, said to have followed the design of Cronaca himself, the
+architect of the exceedingly graceful convent of San Salvadore al
+Monte on the other side of the river), we catch a glow of colour from
+the east end, from the stained glass and frescoes in the choir. The
+vast and spacious nave of Arnolfo--like his Palazzo Vecchio, partly
+spoiled by Vasari--ends rather abruptly in the line of ten chapels
+with, in the midst of them, one very high recess which represents the
+apse and choir, thus giving the whole the T shape which we find in the
+Italian Gothic churches which were reared for the friars preachers and
+friars minor. The somewhat unsightly appearance, which many churches
+of this kind present in Italy, is due to the fact that Arnolfo and his
+school intended every inch of wall to be covered with significant
+fresco paintings, and this coloured decoration was seldom completely
+carried out, or has perished in the course of time. Fergusson remarks
+that "an Italian Church without its coloured decoration is only a
+framed canvas without harmony or meaning."
+
+Santa Croce is, in the words of the late Dean of Westminster, "the
+recognised shrine of Italian genius." On the pavement beneath our
+feet, outstretched on their tombstones, lie effigies of grave
+Florentine citizens, friars of note, prelates, scholars, warriors; in
+their robes of state or of daily life, in the Franciscan garb or in
+armour, with arms folded across their breasts, or still clasping the
+books they loved and wrote (in this way the humanists, such as
+Leonardo Bruni, were laid out in state after death); the knights have
+their swords by their sides, which they had wielded in defence of the
+Republic, and their hands clasped in prayer. Here they lie, waiting
+the resurrection. Has any echo of the Risorgimento reached them? In
+their long sleep, have they dreamed aught of the movement that has led
+Florence to raise tablets to the names of Cavour and Mazzini upon
+these walls? The tombs on the floor of the nave are mostly of the
+fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; the second from the central door
+is that of Galileo dei Galilei, like the other scholars lying with his
+hands folded across the book on his breast, the ancestor of the
+immortal astronomer: "This Galileo of the Galilei was, in his time,
+the head of philosophy and medicine; who also in the highest
+magistracy loved the Republic marvellously." About the middle of the
+nave is the tomb of John Catrick, Bishop of Exeter, who had come to
+Florence on an embassy from Henry V. of England to Pope Martin V., in
+1419. But those on the floor at the end of the right aisle and in the
+short right transept are the earliest and most interesting to the
+lover of early Florentine history; notice, for instance, the knightly
+tomb of a warrior of the great Ghibelline house of the Ubaldini, dated
+1358, at the foot of the steps to the chapel at the end of the right
+transept; and there is a similar one, only less fine, on the opposite
+side. Larger and more pretentious tombs and monuments of more recent
+date, to the heroes of Italian life and thought, pass in series along
+the side walls of the whole church, between the altars of the south
+and north (right and left) aisles.
+
+  [Illustration: SANTA CROCE]
+
+Over the central door, below the window whose stained glass is said to
+have been designed by Ghiberti, is Donatello's bronze statue of King
+Robert's canonised brother, the Franciscan Bishop St. Louis of
+Toulouse. This St. Louis, the patron saint of the Parte Guelfa, had
+been ordered by the captains of the Party for their niche at San
+Michele in Orto, from which he was irreverently banished shortly after
+the restoration of Cosimo dei Medici, when the Parte Guelfa was forced
+to surrender its niche. On the left of the entrance should be
+noticed with gratitude the tomb of the historian of the Florentine
+Republic, the Italian patriot, Gino Capponi.
+
+In the right aisle are the tomb and monument of Michelangelo, designed
+by Giorgio Vasari; on the pillar opposite to it, over the holy water
+stoop, a beautiful Madonna and Child in marble by Bernardo Rossellino,
+beneath which lies Francesco Nori, who was murdered whilst defending
+Lorenzo dei Medici in the Pazzi conspiracy; the comparatively modern
+monument to Dante, whose bones rest at Ravenna and for whom
+Michelangelo had offered in vain to raise a worthy sepulchre. Two
+sonnets by the great sculptor supply to some extent in verse what he
+was not suffered to do in marble: I quote the finer of the two, from
+Addington Symonds' excellent translation:--
+
+     From Heaven his spirit came, and, robed in clay,
+       The realms of justice and of mercy trod:
+       Then rose a living man to gaze on God,
+       That he might make the truth as clear as day.
+     For that pure star, that brightened with its ray
+       The undeserving nest where I was born,
+       The whole wide world would be a prize to scorn:
+       None but his Maker can due guerdon pay.
+     I speak of Dante, whose high work remains
+       Unknown, unhonoured by that thankless brood
+       Who only to just men deny their wage.
+     Were I but he! Born for like lingering pains,
+       Against his exile coupled with his good
+       I'd gladly change the world's best heritage.
+
+Then comes Canova's monument to Vittorio Alfieri, the great tragic
+dramatist of Italy (died 1803); followed by an eighteenth century
+monument to Machiavelli (died 1527), and the tomb of Padre Lanzi, the
+Jesuit historian of Italian art. The pulpit by a pillar in the nave is
+considered the most beautiful pulpit in Italy, and is, perhaps,
+Benedetto da Maiano's finest work; the bas-reliefs in marble
+represent scenes from the life of St. Francis and the martyrdom of
+some of his friars, with figures of the virtues below. Beyond Padre
+Lanzi's grave, over the tomb of the learned Franciscan Fra Benedetto
+Cavalcanti, are two exceedingly powerful figures of saints in fresco,
+the Baptist and St. Francis; they have been ascribed to various
+painters, but are almost certainly the work of Domenico Veneziano, and
+closely resemble the figures of the same saints in his undoubtedly
+genuine picture in the Sala di Lorenzo Monaco in the Uffizi. The
+adjacent Annunciation by Donatello, in _pietra serena_, was also made
+for the Cavalcanti; its fine Renaissance architectural setting is
+likewise Donatello's work. Above it are four lovely wooden Putti, who
+seem embracing each other for fear of tumbling off from their height;
+originally there were six, and the other two are preserved in the
+convent. M. Reymond has shown that this Annunciation is not an early
+work of the master's, as Vasari and others state, but is of the same
+style and period as the Cantoria of the Duomo, about 1435. Lastly, at
+the end of the right aisle is the splendid tomb of Leonardo Bruni
+(died 1444), secretary of the Republic, translator of Plato, historian
+of Florence, biographer of Dante,--the outstretched recumbent figure
+of the grand old humanist, watched over by Mary and her Babe with the
+Angels, by Bernardo Rossellino. A worthy monument to a noble soul,
+whose memory is dear to every lover of Dante. Yet we may, not without
+advantage, contrast it with the simpler Gothic sepulchres on the floor
+of the transepts,--the marble slabs that cover the bones of the old
+Florentines who, in war and peace, did the deeds of which Leonardo and
+his kind wrote.
+
+The tombs and monuments in the left aisle are less interesting.
+Opposite Leonardo Bruni's tomb is that of his successor, Carlo
+Marsuppini, called Carlo Aretino (died 1453), by Desiderio da
+Settignano; he was a good Greek scholar, a fluent orator and a
+professed Pagan, but accomplished no literary work of any value;
+utterly inferior as a man and as an author to Leonardo, he has an even
+more gorgeous tomb. In this aisle there are modern monuments to
+Vespasiano Bisticci and Donatello; and, opposite to Michelangelo's
+tomb, that of Galileo himself (died 1642), with traces of old
+fourteenth century frescoes round it, which may, perhaps, symbolise
+for us the fleeting phantoms of mediaeval thought fading away before
+the advance of science.
+
+In the central chapel of the left or northern transept is the famous
+wooden Crucifix by Donatello, which gave rise to the fraternal contest
+between him and Brunelleschi. Brunelleschi told his friend that he had
+put upon his cross a contadino and not a figure like that of Christ.
+"Take some wood then," answered the nettled sculptor, "and try to make
+one thyself." Filippo did so; and when it was finished Donatello was
+so stupefied with admiration, that he let drop all the eggs and other
+things that he was carrying for their dinner. "I have had all I want
+for to-day," he exclaimed; "if you want your share, take it: to thee
+is it given to carve Christs and to me to make contadini." The rival
+piece may still be seen in Santa Maria Novella, and there is not much
+to choose between them. Donatello's is, perhaps, somewhat more
+realistic and less refined.
+
+The first two chapels of the left transept (fifth and fourth from the
+choir, respectively,) contain fourteenth century frescoes; a warrior
+of the Bardi family rising to judgment, the healing of Constantine's
+leprosy and other miracles of St. Sylvester, ascribed to Maso di
+Banco; the martyrdom of St. Lawrence and the martyrdom of St.
+Stephen, by Bernardo Daddi (the painter to whom it is attempted to
+ascribe the famous Last Judgment and Triumph of Death in the Pisan
+Campo Santo). All these imply a certain Dantesque selection; these
+subjects are among the examples quoted for purposes of meditation or
+admonition in the _Divina Commedia_. The coloured terracotta relief is
+by Giovanni della Robbia. The frescoes of the choir, by Agnolo Gaddi,
+are among the finest works of Giotto's school. They set forth the
+history of the wood of the True Cross, which, according to the legend,
+was a shoot of the tree of Eden planted by Seth on Adam's grave; the
+Queen of Sheba prophetically adored it, when she came to visit Solomon
+during the building of the Temple; cast into the pool of Bethsaida,
+the Jews dragged it out to make the Cross for Christ; then, after it
+had been buried on Mount Calvary for three centuries, St. Helen
+discovered it by its power of raising the dead to life. These subjects
+are set forth on the right wall; on the left, we have the taking of
+the relic of the Cross by the Persians under Chosroes, and its
+recovery by the Emperor Heraclius. In the scene where the Emperor
+barefooted carries the Cross into Jerusalem, the painter has
+introduced his own portrait, near one of the gates of the city, with a
+small beard and a red hood. Vasari thinks poorly of these frescoes;
+but the legend of the True Cross is of some importance to the student
+of Dante, whose profound allegory of the Church and Empire in the
+Earthly Paradise, at the close of the _Purgatorio_, is to some extent
+based upon it.
+
+The two Gothic chapels to the right of the choir contain Giotto's
+frescoes--both chapels were originally entirely painted by
+him--rescued from the whitewash under which they were discovered, and,
+in part at least, most terribly "restored." The frescoes in the
+first, the Bardi Chapel, illustrating the life of St. Francis, have
+suffered most; all the peculiar Giottesque charm of face has
+disappeared, and, instead, the restorer has given us monotonous
+countenances, almost deadly in their uniformity and utter lack of
+expression. Like all mediaeval frescoes dealing with St. Francis, they
+should be read with the _Fioretti_ or with Dante's _Paradiso_, or with
+one of the old lives of the Seraphic Father in our hands. On the left
+(beginning at the top) we have his renunciation of the world in the
+presence of his father and the Bishop of Assisi--_innanzi alla sua
+spirital corte, et coram patre_, as Dante puts it; on the right, the
+confirmation of the order by Pope Honorius; on the left, the
+apparition of St. Francis to St. Antony of Padua; on the right, St.
+Francis and his followers before the Soldan--_nella presenza del
+Soldan superba_--in the ordeal of fire; and, below it, St. Francis on
+his death-bed, with the apparition to the sleeping bishop to assure
+him of the truth of the Stigmata. Opposite, left, the body is
+surrounded by weeping friars, the incredulous judge touching the wound
+in the side, while the simplest of the friars, at the saint's head,
+sees his soul carried up to heaven in a little cloud. This conception
+of saintly death was, perhaps, originally derived from Dante's dream
+of Beatrice in the _Vita Nuova_: "I seemed to look towards heaven, and
+to behold a multitude of Angels who were returning upwards, having
+before them an exceedingly white cloud; and these Angels were singing
+together gloriously." It became traditional in early Italian painting.
+On the window wall are four great Franciscans. St. Louis the King (one
+whom Dante does not seem to have held in honour), a splendid figure,
+calm and noble, in one hand the sceptre and in the other the
+Franciscan cord, his royal robe besprinkled with the golden lily of
+France over the armour of the warrior of the Cross; his face absorbed
+in celestial contemplation. He is the Christian realisation of the
+Platonic philosopher king; "St. Louis," says Walter Pater, "precisely
+because his whole being was full of heavenly vision, in self
+banishment from it for a while, led and ruled the French people so
+magnanimously alike in peace and war." Opposite him is St. Louis of
+Toulouse, with the royal crown at his feet; below are St. Elizabeth of
+Hungary, with her lap full of flowers; and, opposite to her, St.
+Clare, of whom Dante's Piccarda tells so sweetly in the
+_Paradiso_--that lady on high whom "perfected life and lofty merit
+doth enheaven." On the vaulted roof of the chapel are the glory of St.
+Francis and symbolical representations of the three vows--Poverty,
+Chastity, Obedience; not rendered as in Giotto's great allegories at
+Assisi, of which these are, as it were, his own later simplifications,
+but merely as the three mystical Angels that met Francis and his
+friars on the road to Siena, crying "Welcome, Lady Poverty." The
+picture of St. Francis on the altar, ascribed by Vasari to Cimabue, is
+probably by some unknown painter at the close of the thirteenth
+century.
+
+The frescoes in the following, the Chapel of the Peruzzi, are very
+much better preserved, especially in the scene of Herod's feast. Like
+all Giotto's genuine work, they are eloquent in their pictorial
+simplicity of diction; there are no useless crowds of spectators, as
+in the later work of Ghirlandaio and his contemporaries. On the left
+is the life of St. John the Baptist--the Angel appearing to Zacharias,
+the birth and naming of the Precursor, the dance of the daughter of
+Herodias at Herod's feast. This last has suffered less from
+restoration than any other work of Giotto's in Florence; both the
+rhythmically moving figure of the girl herself and that of the
+musician are very beautiful, and the expression on Herod's face is
+worthy of the psychological insight of the author of the Vices and
+Virtues in the Madonna's chapel at Padua. Ruskin talks of "the striped
+curtain behind the table being wrought with a variety and fantasy of
+playing colour which Paul Veronese could not better at his best." On
+the right wall is the life of the Evangelist, John the Divine, or
+rather its closing scenes; the mystical vision at Patmos, the seer
+_dormendo con la faccia arguta_, like the solitary elder who brought
+up the rear of the triumphal pageant in Dante's Earthly Paradise; the
+raising of Drusiana from the dead; the assumption of St. John. The
+curious legend represented in this last fresco--that St. John was
+taken up body and soul, _con le due stole_, into Heaven after death,
+and that his disciples found his tomb full of manna--was, of course,
+based upon the saying that went abroad among the brethren, "that that
+disciple should not die"; it is mentioned as a pious belief by St.
+Thomas, but is very forcibly repudiated by Giotto's great friend,
+Dante; in the _Paradiso_ St. John admonishes him to tell the world
+that only Christ and the Blessed Virgin rose from the dead. "In the
+earth my body is earth, and shall be there with the others, until our
+number be equalled with the eternal design."
+
+In the last chapel of the south transept, there are two curious
+frescoes apparently of the beginning of the fourteenth century, in
+honour of St. Michael; they represent his leading the Angelic hosts
+against the forces of Lucifer, and the legend of his apparition at
+Monte Gargano. The frescoes in the chapel at the end of the transept,
+the Baroncelli chapel, representing scenes in the life of the Blessed
+Virgin, are by Giotto's pupil, Taddeo Gaddi; they are similar to his
+work at Assisi. The Assumption opposite was painted by Sebastiano
+Mainardi from a cartoon by Domenico Ghirlandaio. In the Chapel of the
+Blessed Sacrament there are more frescoed lives of saints by Taddeo's
+son, Agnolo Gaddi, less admirable than his work in the choir; and
+statues of two Franciscans, of the Della Robbia school. The monument
+of the Countess of Albany may interest English admirers of the
+Stuarts, but hardly concerns the story of Florence.
+
+From the right transept a corridor leads off to the chapel of the
+Noviciate and the Sacristy. The former, built by Michelozzo for
+Cosimo, contains some beautiful terracotta work of the school of the
+Della Robbia, a tabernacle by Mino da Fiesole, and a Coronation of the
+Blessed Virgin ascribed to Giotto. This Coronation was originally the
+altar piece of the Baroncelli chapel, and is an excellent picture,
+although its authenticity is not above suspicion; the signature is
+almost certainly a forgery; this title of _Magister_ was Giotto's pet
+aversion, as we know from Boccaccio, and he never used it. Opening out
+of the Sacristy is a chapel, decorated with beautiful frescoes of the
+life of the Blessed Virgin and St. Mary Magdalene, now held to be the
+work of Taddeo Gaddi's Lombard pupil, Giovanni da Milano. There is, as
+has already been said, very little individuality in the work of
+Giotto's followers, but these frescoes are among the best of their
+kind.
+
+The first Gothic cloisters belong to the epoch of the foundation of
+the church, and were probably designed by Arnolfo himself; the second,
+early Renaissance, are Brunelleschi's. The Refectory, which is entered
+from the first cloisters, contains a fresco of the Last Supper--one of
+the earliest renderings of this theme for monastic dining-rooms--which
+used to be assigned to Giotto, and is probably by one of his
+scholars. This room had the invidious honour of being the seat of the
+Inquisition, which in Florence had always--save for a very brief
+period in the thirteenth century--been in the hands of the
+Franciscans, and not the Dominicans. It never had any real power in
+Florence--the _bel viver fiorentino_, which, even in the days of
+tyranny, was always characteristic of the city, was opposed to its
+influence. The beautiful chapel of the Pazzi was built by
+Brunelleschi; its frieze of Angels' heads is by Donatello and
+Desiderio; within are Luca della Robbia's Apostles and Evangelists.
+Jacopo Pazzi had headed the conspiracy against the Medici in 1478,
+and, after attempting to raise the people, had been captured in his
+escape, tortured and hanged. It was said that he had cried in dying
+that he gave his soul to the devil; he was certainly a notorious
+gambler and blasphemer. When buried here, the peasants believed that
+he brought a curse upon their crops; so the rabble dug him up, dragged
+the body through the streets, and finally with every conceivable
+indignity threw it into the Arno.
+
+Behind Santa Croce two streets of very opposite names and traditions
+meet, the _Via Borgo Allegri_ (which also intersects the Via
+Ghibellina) and the _Via dei Malcontenti_; the former records the
+legendary birthday of Italian painting, the latter the mournful
+processions of poor wretches condemned to death.
+
+According to the tradition, Giovanni Cimabue had his studio in the
+former street, and it was here that, in Dante's words, he thought to
+hold the field in painting: _Credette Cimabue nella pittura tener lo
+campo._ Here, according to Vasari, he was visited by Charles the Elder
+of Anjou, and his great Madonna carried hence in procession with music
+and lighted candles, ringing of bells and waving of banners, to Santa
+Maria Novella; while the street that had witnessed such a miracle was
+ever after called _Borgo Allegri_, "the happy suburb:" "named the Glad
+Borgo from that beauteous face," as Elizabeth Barrett Browning puts
+it. Unfortunately there are several little things that show that this
+story needs revision of some kind. When Charles of Anjou came to
+Florence, the first stone of Santa Maria Novella had not yet been
+laid, and the picture now shown there as Cimabue's appears to be a
+Sienese work. The legend, however, is very precious, and should be
+devoutly held. The king in question was probably another Angevin
+Charles--Carlo Martello, grandson of the elder Charles and titular
+King of Hungary, Dante's friend, who was certainly in Florence for
+nearly a month in the spring of 1295, and made himself exceedingly
+pleasant. Vasari has made a similar confusion in the case of two
+emperors of the name of Frederick. The picture has doubtless perished,
+but the Joyous Borgo has not changed its name.
+
+The Via dei Malcontenti leads out into the broad Viale Carlo Alberto,
+which marks the site of Arnolfo's wall. It formerly ended in a postern
+gate, known as the Porta della Giustizia, beyond which was a little
+chapel--of which no trace is left--and the place where the gallows
+stood. The condemned were first brought to a chapel which stood in the
+Via dei Malcontenti, near the present San Giuseppe, and then taken out
+to the chapel beyond the gate, where the prayers for the dying were
+said over them by the friars, after which they were delivered to the
+executioner.[37] In May 1503, as Simone Filipepi tells us, a man was
+beheaded here, whom the people apparently regarded as innocent; when
+he was dead, they rose up and stoned the executioner to death. And
+this was the same executioner who, five years before, had hanged
+Savonarola and his companions in the Piazza, and had insulted their
+dead bodies to please the dregs of the populace. The tower, of which
+the mutilated remains still stand here, the _Torre della Zecca
+Vecchia_, formerly called the _Torre Reale_, was originally a part of
+the defences of a bridge which it was intended to build here in honour
+of King Robert of Naples in 1317, and guarded the Arno at this point.
+After the siege, during which the Porta della Giustizia was walled up,
+Duke Alessandro incorporated the then lofty Torre Reale into a strong
+fortress which he constructed here, the Fortezza Vecchia. In later
+days, offices connected with the Arte del Cambio and the Mint were
+established in its place, whence the present name of the Torre della
+Zecca Vecchia.
+
+  [37] See Guido Carocci, _Firenze Scomparsa_, here and generally.
+
+  [Illustration: OLD HOUSES ON THE ARNO]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+_The Baptistery, the Campanile, and the Duomo_
+
+   "There the traditions of faith and hope, of both the Gentile and
+   Jewish races, met for their beautiful labour: the Baptistery of
+   Florence is the last building raised on the earth by the
+   descendants of the workmen taught by Daedalus: and the Tower of
+   Giotto is the loveliest of those raised on earth under the
+   inspiration of the men who lifted up the tabernacle in the
+   wilderness. Of living Greek work there is none after the
+   Florentine Baptistery; of living Christian work, none so perfect
+   as the Tower of Giotto."--_Ruskin._
+
+   "Il non mai abbastanza lodato tempio di Santa Maria del
+   Fiore."--_Vasari._
+
+
+To the west of the Piazza del Duomo stands the octagonal building of
+black and white marble--"_l'antico vostro Batisteo_" as Cacciaguida
+calls it to Dante--which, in one shape or another, may be said to have
+watched over the history of Florence from the beginning. "It is," says
+Ruskin, "the central building of Etrurian Christianity--of European
+Christianity." Here, in old pagan times, stood the Temple of Mars,
+with the shrine and sanctuary of the God of War. This was the
+Cathedral of Florence during a portion at least of the early history
+of the Republic, before the great Gothic building rose that now
+overshadows it to the east.
+
+Villani and other early writers all suppose that this present building
+really was the original Temple of Mars, converted into a church for
+St. John the Baptist. Villani tells us that, after the founding of
+Florence by Julius Caesar and other noble Romans, the citizens of this
+new Rome decided to erect a marvellous temple to the honour of Mars,
+in thanksgiving for the victory which the Romans had won over the city
+of Fiesole; and for this purpose the Senate sent them the best and
+most subtle masters that there were in Rome. Black and white marble
+was brought by sea and then up the Arno, with columns of various
+sizes; stone and other columns were taken from Fiesole, and the temple
+was erected in the place where the Etruscans of Fiesole had once held
+their market:--
+
+"Right noble and beauteous did they make it with eight faces, and when
+they had done it with great diligence, they consecrated it to their
+god Mars, who was the god of the Romans; and they had him carved in
+marble, in the shape of a knight armed on horseback. They set him upon
+a marble column in the midst of that temple, and him did they hold in
+great reverence and adored as their god, what time Paganism lasted in
+Florence. And we find that the said temple was commenced at the time
+that Octavian Augustus reigned, and that it was erected under the
+ascendency of such a constellation that it will last well nigh to
+eternity."
+
+There is much difference of opinion as to the real date of
+construction of the present building. While some authorities have
+assigned it to the eleventh or even to the twelfth century, others
+have supposed that it is either a Christian temple constructed in the
+sixth century on the site of the old Temple of Mars, or the original
+Temple converted into Christian use. It has indeed been recently urged
+that it is essentially a genuine Roman work of the fourth century,
+very analogous in structure to the Pantheon at Rome, on the model of
+which it was probably built. The little apse to the south-west--the
+part which contains the choir and altar--is certainly of the twelfth
+century. There was originally a round opening at the centre of the
+dome--like the Pantheon--and under this opening, according to Villani,
+the statue of Mars stood. It was closed in the twelfth century. The
+dome served Brunelleschi as a model for the cupola of Santa Maria del
+Fiore. The lantern was added in the sixteenth century. Although this
+building, so sacrosanct to the Florentines, had been spared by the
+Goths and Lombards, it narrowly escaped destruction at the hands of
+the Tuscan Ghibellines. In 1249, when the Ghibellines, with the aid of
+the Emperor Frederick II., had expelled the Guelfs, the conquerors
+endeavoured to destroy the Baptistery by means of the tower called the
+Guardamorto, which stood in the Piazza towards the entrance of the
+Corso degli Adimari, and watched over the tombs of the dead citizens
+who were buried round San Giovanni. This device of making the tower
+fall upon the church failed. "As it pleased God," writes Villani,
+"through the reverence and miraculous power of the blessed John, the
+tower, when it fell, manifestly avoided the holy Church, and turned
+back and fell across the Piazza; whereat all the Florentines wondered,
+and the People greatly rejoiced."
+
+At the close of the thirteenth century, in those golden days of
+Dante's youth and early manhood, there were steps leading up to the
+church, and it was surrounded by these tombs. Many of the latter seem
+to have been old pagan sarcophagi adopted for use by the Florentine
+aristocracy. Here Guido Cavalcanti used to wander in his solitary
+musings and speculations--trying to find out that there was no God, as
+his friends charitably suggested--and Boccaccio tells a most
+delightful story of a friendly encounter between him and some young
+Florentine nobles, who objected to his unsociable habits. In 1293,
+Arnolfo di Cambio levelled the Piazza, removed the tombs, and
+plastered the pilasters in the angles of the octagonal with slabs of
+black and white marble of Prato, as now we see. The similar decoration
+of the eight faces of the church is much earlier.
+
+The interior is very dark indeed--so dark that the mosaics, which
+Dante must in part have looked upon, would need a very bright day to
+be visible. At present they are almost completely concealed by the
+scaffolding of the restorers.[38] Over the whole church preside the
+two Saints whom an earlier Florentine worshipper of Mars could least
+have comprehended--the Baptist and the Magdalene. And the spirit of
+Dante haunts it as he does no other Florentine building--_il mio bel
+San Giovanni_, he lovingly calls it. "In your ancient Baptistery," his
+ancestor tells him in the fifteenth Canto of the _Paradiso_, "I became
+at once a Christian and Cacciaguida." And, indeed, the same holds true
+of countless generations of Florentines--among them the keenest
+intellects and most subtle hands that the world has known--all
+baptised here. But it has memories of another kind. The shameful
+penance of oblation to St. John--if Boccaccio's tale be true, and if
+the letter ascribed to Dante is authentic--was rejected by him; but
+many another Florentine, with bare feet and lighted candle, has
+entered here as a prisoner in penitential garb. The present
+font--although of early date--was placed here in the seventeenth
+century, to replace the very famous one which played so large a part
+in Dante's thoughts. Here had he been baptised--here, in one of the
+most pathetic passages of the _Paradiso_, did he yearn, before death
+came, to take the laurel crown:--
+
+  [38] The earliest of these mosaics are those in the tribune, executed
+  originally by a certain Fra Jacopo in the year 1225; those in the dome
+  are in part ascribed to Dante's contemporary, Andrea Tafi.
+
+     Se mai continga che il poema sacro,
+       al quale ha posto mano e cielo e terra,
+       si che m'ha fatto per piu anni macro,
+     vinca la crudelta, che fuor mi serra
+       del bello ovil, dov'io dormii agnello,
+       nimico ai lupi che gli danno guerra;
+     con altra voce omai, con altro vello
+       ritornero poeta, ed in sul fonte
+       del mio battesmo prendero il cappello;
+     pero che nella Fede, che fa conte
+       l'anime a Dio, quivi entra' io.[39]
+
+  [39]
+     Should it e'er come to pass that the sacred poem to which
+       both heaven and earth so have set hand, that it hath
+       made me lean through many a year,
+     should overcome the cruelty which doth bar me forth from
+       the fair sheepfold wherein I used to sleep, a lamb, foe to
+       the wolves which war upon it;
+     with changed voice now, and with changed fleece shall I
+       return, a poet, and at the font of my baptism shall I
+       assume the chaplet;
+     because into the Faith which maketh souls known of God,
+       'twas there I entered.
+         --Par. xxv. 1-11, _Wicksteed's translation_.
+
+This ancient font, which stood in the centre of the church, appears to
+have had round holes or _pozzetti_ in its outer wall, in which the
+priests stood to baptise; and Dante tells us in the _Inferno_ that he
+broke one of these _pozzetti_, to save a boy from being drowned or
+suffocated. The boy saved was apparently not being baptised, but was
+playing about with others, and had either tumbled into the font itself
+or climbed head foremost into one of the _pozzetti_. When the divine
+poet was exiled, charitable people said that he had done this from
+heretical motives--just as they had looked with suspicion upon his
+friend Guido's spiritual wanderings in the same locality.
+
+  [Illustration: THE BAPTISTERY]
+
+Though the old font has gone, St. John, to the left of the high altar,
+still keeps watch over all the Florentine children brought to be
+baptised--to be made _conti_, known to God, and to himself in God.
+Opposite to him is the great type of repentance after baptism, St.
+Mary Magdalene, a wooden statue by Donatello. What a contrast is here
+with those pagan Magdalenes of the Renaissance--such as Titian and
+Correggio painted! Fearfully wasted and haggard, this terrible figure
+of asceticism--when once the first shock of repulsion is got over--is
+unmistakably a masterpiece of the sculptor; it is as though one of the
+Penitential Psalms had taken bodily shape.
+
+On the other side of the church stands the tomb of the dethroned Pope,
+John XXIII., Baldassarre Cossa, one of the earliest works in the
+Renaissance style, reared by Michelozzo and Donatello, 1424-1427, for
+Cosimo dei Medici. The fallen Pontiff rests at last in peace in the
+city which had witnessed his submission to his successful rival,
+Martin V., and which had given a home to his closing days; here he
+lies, forgetful of councils and cardinals:--
+
+     "After life's fitful fever he sleeps well."
+
+The recumbent figure in bronze is the work of Donatello, as also the
+Madonna and Child that guard his last slumber. Below, are Faith, Hope,
+and Charity--the former by Michelozzo (to whom also the architectural
+part of the monument is due), the two latter by Donatello. It is said
+that Pope Martin V. objected to the inscription, "quondam papa," and
+was answered in the words of Pilate: _quod scripsi, scripsi_.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+But the glory of the Baptistery is in its three bronze gates, the
+finest triumph of bronze casting. On November 6th, 1329, the consuls
+of the Arte di Calimala, who had charge of the works of San Giovanni,
+ordained that their doors should be of metal and as beautiful as
+possible. The first of the three, now the southern gate opposite the
+Bigallo (but originally the _porta di mezzo_ opposite the Duomo), was
+assigned by them to Andrea Pisano on January 9th, 1330; he made the
+models in the same year, as the inscription on the gate itself shows;
+the casting was finished in 1336. Vasari's statement that Giotto
+furnished the designs for Andrea is now entirely discredited. These
+gates set before us, in twenty-eight reliefs, twenty scenes from the
+life of the Baptist with eight symbolical virtues below--all set round
+with lions' heads. Those who know the work of the earlier Pisan
+masters, Niccolo and Giovanni, will at once perceive how completely
+Andrea has freed himself from the traditions of the school of Pisa;
+instead of filling the whole available space with figures on different
+planes and telling several stories at once, Andrea composes his relief
+of a few figures on the same plane, and leaves the background free.
+There are never any unnecessary figures or mere spectators; the bare
+essentials of the episode are set before us as simply as possible,
+whether it be Zacharias writing the name of John or the dance of the
+daughter of Herodias, which may well be compared with Giotto's
+frescoes in Santa Croce. Most perfect of all are the eight figures of
+the Virtues in the eight lower panels, and they should be compared
+with Giotto's allegories at Padua. We have Hope winged and straining
+upwards towards a crown, Faith with cross and sacramental cup, Charity
+and Prudence, above; Fortitude, Temperance and Justice below; and
+then, to complete the eight, Dante's favourite virtue, the maiden
+Humility. The Temperance, with Giotto and Andrea Pisano, is not the
+mere opposite of Gluttony, with pitcher of water and cup (as we may
+see her presently in Santa Maria Novella); but it is the cardinal
+virtue which, St. Thomas says, includes "any virtue whatsoever that
+puts in practice moderation in any matter, and restrains appetite in
+its tendency in any direction." Andrea Pisano's Temperance sits next
+to his Justice, with the sword and scales; she too has a sword, even
+as Justice has, but she is either sheathing it or drawing it with
+reluctance.
+
+The lovely and luxuriant decorative frieze that runs round this portal
+was executed by Ghiberti's pupils in the middle of the fifteenth
+century. Over the gate is the beheading of St. John the Baptist--two
+second-rate figures by Vincenzo Danti.
+
+The second or northern gate is more than three-quarters of a century
+later, and it is the result of that famous competition which opened
+the Quattrocento. It was assigned to Lorenzo Ghiberti in 1403, and he
+had with him his stepfather Bartolo di Michele, and other assistants
+(including possibly Donatello). It was finished and set up gilded in
+April 1424, at the main entry between the two porphyry columns,
+opposite the Duomo, whence Andrea's gate was removed. It will be
+observed that each new gate was first put in this place of honour, and
+then translated to make room for its better. The plan of Ghiberti's is
+similar to that of Andrea's gate--in fact it is his style of work
+brought to its ultimate perfection. Twenty-eight reliefs represent
+scenes from the New Testament, from the Annunciation to the Descent of
+the Holy Spirit, while in eight lower compartments are the four
+Evangelists and the four great Latin Doctors. The scene of the
+Temptation of the Saviour is particularly striking, and the figure of
+the Evangelist John, the Eagle of Christ, has the utmost grandeur.
+Over the door are three finely modelled figures representing St. John
+the Baptist disputing with a Levite and a Pharisee--or, perhaps, the
+Baptist between two Prophets--by Giovanni Francesco Rustici
+(1506-1511), a pupil of Verrocchio's, who appears to have been
+influenced by Leonardo da Vinci.
+
+But in the third or eastern gate, opposite the Duomo, Ghiberti was to
+crown the whole achievement of his life. Mr Perkins remarks: "Had he
+never lived to make the second gates, which to the world in general
+are far superior to the first, he would have been known in history as
+a continuator of the school of Andrea Pisano, enriched with all those
+added graces which belonged to his own style, and those refinements of
+technique which the progress made in bronze casting had rendered
+perfect."[40] In the meantime the laws of perspective had been
+understood, and their science set forth by Brunelleschi; and when
+Ghiberti, on the completion of his first gates, was in January 1425
+invited by the consuls of the Guild (amongst whom was the great
+anti-Medicean politician, Niccolo da Uzzano) to model the third doors,
+he was full of this new knowledge. "I strove," he says in his
+commentaries, "to imitate nature to the uttermost." The subjects were
+selected for him by Leonardo Bruni--ten stories from the Old Testament
+which, says Leonardo in his letter to Niccolo da Uzzano and his
+colleagues, "should have two things: first and chiefly, they must be
+illustrious; and secondly, they must be significant. Illustrious, I
+call those which can satisfy the eye with variety of design;
+significant, those which have importance worthy of memory." For the
+rest, their main instructions to him were that he should make the
+whole the richest, most perfect and most beauteous work imaginable,
+regardless of time and cost.
+
+  [40] By these "second gates" are of course meant Ghiberti's second
+  gates: in reality the "third gates" of the Baptistery.
+
+The work took more than twenty-five years. The stories were all
+modelled in wax by 1440, when the casting of the bronze commenced;
+the whole was finished in 1447, gilded in 1452--the gilding has
+happily worn off from all the gates--and finally set up in June 1452,
+in the place where Ghiberti's other gate had been. Among his numerous
+assistants were again his stepfather Bartolo, his son Vittorio, and,
+among the less important, the painters Paolo Uccello and Benozzo
+Gozzoli.
+
+The result is a series of most magnificent pictures in bronze.
+Ghiberti worked upon his reliefs like a painter, and lavished all the
+newly-discovered scientific resources of the painter's art upon them.
+Whether legitimate sculpture or not, it is, beyond a doubt, one of the
+most beautiful things in the world. "I sought to understand," he says
+in his second commentary, that book which excited Vasari's scorn, "how
+forms strike upon the eye, and how the theoretic part of graphic 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." It is a triumph of science wedded to the most exquisite
+sense of beauty. Each of the ten bas-reliefs contains several motives
+and an enormous number of these figures on different planes; which is,
+in a sense, going back from the simplicity of Andrea Pisano to glorify
+the old manner of Niccolo and Giovanni. In the first, the creation of
+man, the creation of woman, and the expulsion from Eden are seen; in
+the second, the sacrifice of Abel, in which the ploughing of Cain's
+oxen especially pleased Vasari; in the third, the story of Noah; in
+the fourth, the story of Abraham, a return to the theme in which
+Ghiberti had won his first laurels,--the three Angels appearing to
+Abraham have incomparable grace and loveliness, and the landscape in
+bronze is a marvel of skill. In the fifth and sixth, we have the
+stories of Jacob and Joseph, respectively; in the seventh and eighth,
+of Moses and Joshua; in the ninth and tenth, of David and Solomon. The
+latter is supposed to have been imitated by Raphael, in his famous
+fresco of the School of Athens in the Vatican. The architectural
+backgrounds--dream palaces endowed with permanent life in bronze--are
+as marvellous as the figures and landscapes. Hardly less beautiful are
+the minor ornaments that surround these masterpieces,--the wonderful
+decorative frieze of fruits and birds and beasts that frames the
+whole, the statuettes alternating with busts in the double border
+round the bas-reliefs. It is the ultimate perfection of decorative
+art. Among the statuettes a figure of Miriam, recalling an Angel of
+Angelico, is of peculiar loveliness. In the middle of the whole, in
+the centre at the lower corners of the Jacob and Joseph respectively,
+are portrait busts of Lorenzo Ghiberti himself and Bartolo di Michele.
+Vasari has said the last word:--
+
+"And in very truth can it be said that this work hath its perfection
+in all things, and that it is the most beautiful work of the world, or
+that ever was seen amongst ancients or moderns. And verily ought
+Lorenzo to be truly praised, seeing that one day Michelangelo
+Buonarroti, when he stopped to look at this work, being asked what he
+thought of it and if these gates were beautiful, replied: 'They are so
+beautiful that they would do well for the Gates of Paradise.' Praise
+verily proper, and spoken by one who could judge them."
+
+The Baptism of Christ over the portal is an unattractive work by
+Andrea Sansovino (circa 1505), finished by Vincenzo Danti. The Angel
+is a seventeenth century addition. More interesting far, are the
+scorched porphyry columns on either side of the gate; these were part
+of the booty carried off by the Pisan galleys from Majorca in 1117,
+and presented to the Florentines in gratitude for their having guarded
+Pisa during the absence of the troops. Villani says that the Pisans
+offered their allies the choice between these porphyry columns and
+some metal gates, and that, on their choosing the columns, they sent
+them to Florence covered with scarlet, but that some said that they
+scorched them first for envy. It was between these columns that
+Cavalcanti was lingering and musing when the gay cavalcade of Betto
+Brunelleschi and his friends, in Boccaccio's novel, swooped down upon
+him through the Piazza di Santa Reparata: "Thou, Guido, wilt none of
+our fellowship; but lo now! when thou shalt have found that there is
+no God, what wilt thou have done?"
+
+From the gate which might have stood at the doors of Paradise, or at
+least have guarded that sacred threshold by which Virgil and Dante
+entered Purgatory, we cross to the tower which might fittingly have
+sounded tierce and nones to the valley of the Princes. This
+"Shepherd's Tower," according to Ruskin, is "the model and mirror of
+perfect architecture." The characteristics of Power and Beauty, he
+writes in the _Seven Lamps of Architecture_, "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."
+
+Like Ghiberti's bronze gates, this exquisitely lovely tower of marble
+has beauty beyond words: "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." It was commenced by Giotto himself in 1334, when the first
+stone was solemnly laid. When Giotto died in 1336, the work had
+probably not risen above the stage of the lower series of reliefs.
+Andrea Pisano was chosen to succeed him, and he carried it on from
+1337 to 1342, finishing the first story and bringing it up to the
+first of the three stories of windows; it will be observed that
+Andrea, who was primarily a sculptor, unlike Giotto, made provision
+for the presence of large monumental statues as well as reliefs in his
+decorative scheme. Through some misunderstanding, Andrea was then
+deprived of the work, which was intrusted to Francesco Talenti.
+Francesco Talenti carried it on until 1387, making a general
+modification in the architecture and decoration; the three most
+beautiful windows, increasing in size as we ascend, with their
+beautiful Gothic tracery, are his work. According to Giotto's original
+plan, the whole was to have been crowned with a pyramidical steeple or
+spire; Vasari says that it was abandoned "because it was a German
+thing, and of antiquated fashion."
+
+All around the base of the tower runs a wonderful series of
+bas-reliefs on a very small scale, setting forth the whole history of
+human skill under divine guidance, from the creation of man to the
+reign of art, science, and letters, in twenty-seven exquisitely
+"inlaid jewels of Giotto's." At each corner of the tower are three
+shields, the red Cross of the People between the red lilies of the
+Commune. "This smallness of scale," says Ruskin of these reliefs
+"enabled the master workmen of the tower to execute them with their
+own hands; and for the rest, in the very finest architecture, the
+decoration of the most precious kind is usually thought of as a jewel,
+and set with space round it--as the jewels of a crown, or the clasp of
+a girdle." These twenty-seven subjects, with the possible exception of
+the last five on the northern side, were designed by Giotto himself;
+and are, together with the first bronze door, the greatest Florentine
+work in sculpture of the first half of the fourteenth century. The
+execution is, in the main, Andrea Pisano's; but there is a constant
+tradition that some of the reliefs are from Giotto's own hand. Antonio
+Pucci, in the eighty-fifth canto of his _Centiloquio_, distinctly
+states that Giotto carved the earlier ones, _i primi intagli fe con
+bello stile_, and Pucci was almost Giotto's contemporary. "Pastoral
+life," "Jubal," "Tubal Cain," "Sculpture," "Painting," are the special
+subjects which it is most plausible, or perhaps most attractive, to
+ascribe to him.
+
+On the western side we have the creation of Man, the creation of
+Woman; and then, thirdly, Adam and Eve toiling, or you may call it the
+dignity of labour, if you will--Giotto's rendering of the thought
+which John Ball was to give deadly meaning to, or ever the fourteenth
+century closed--
+
+     When Adam delved and Eve span,
+     Who was then the gentleman?
+
+Then come pastoral life, Jabal with his tent, his flock and dog;
+Jubal, the maker of stringed and wind instruments; Tubal Cain, the
+first worker in metal; the first vintage, represented by the story of
+Noah. On the southern side comes first Astronomy, represented by
+either Zoroaster or Ptolemy. Then follow Building, Pottery, Riding,
+Weaving, and (according to Ruskin) the Giving of Law. Lastly
+Daedalus, symbolising, according to Ruskin, "the conquest of the
+element of air"; or, more probably, here as in Dante (_Paradiso_
+viii.), the typical mechanician. Next, on the eastern side, comes
+Rowing, symbolising, according to Ruskin, "the conquest of the
+sea"--very possibly intended for Jason and the Argo, a type adopted in
+several places by Dante. The next relief, "the conquest of the earth,"
+probably represents the slaying of Antaeus by Hercules, and symbolises
+the "beneficent strength of civilisation, crushing the savageness of
+inhumanity." Giotto uses his mythology much as Dante does--as
+something only a little less sacred, and of barely less authority than
+theology--and the conquest of Antaeus by Hercules was a solemn subject
+with Dante too; besides a reference in the _Inferno_, he mentions it
+twice in the _De Monarchia_ as a special revelation of God's judgment
+by way of ordeal, and touches upon it again in the _Convivio, secondo
+le testimonianze delle scritture_. Here Hercules immediately follows
+the "conquest of the sea," as having, by his columns, set sacred
+limits to warn men that they must pass no further (_Inferno_ xxvi.).
+Brutality being thus overthrown, we are shown agriculture and
+trade,--represented by a splendid team of ploughing bulls and a
+horse-chariot, respectively. Then, over the door of the tower, the
+Lamb with the symbol of Resurrection, perhaps, as Ruskin thinks, to
+"express the law of Sacrifice and door of ascent to Heaven"; or,
+perhaps, merely as being the emblem of the great Guild of wool
+merchants, the Arte della Lana, who had charge of the cathedral works.
+Then follow the representations of the arts, commencing with the
+relief at the corner: Geometry, regarded as the foundation of the
+others to follow, as being _senza macula d'errore e certissima_.
+Turning the corner, the first and second, on the northern side,
+represent Sculpture and Painting, and were possibly carved by Giotto
+himself. The remaining five are all later, and from the hand of Luca
+della Robbia, who perhaps worked from designs left by Giotto--Grammar,
+which may be taken to represent Literature in general, Arithmetic, the
+science of numbers (in its great mediaeval sense), Dialectics; closing
+with Music, in some respects the most beautiful of the series,
+symbolised in Orpheus charming beasts and birds by his strains, and
+Harmony. "Harmony of song," writes Ruskin, "in the full power of it,
+meaning perfect education in all art of the Muses and of civilised
+life; the mystery of its concord is taken for the symbol of that of a
+perfect state; one day, doubtless, of the perfect world."
+
+Above this fundamental series of bas-reliefs, there runs a second
+series of four groups of seven. They were probably executed by pupils
+of Andrea Pisano, and are altogether inferior to those below--the
+seven Sacraments on the northern side being the best. Above are a
+series of heroic statues in marble. Of these the oldest are those less
+easily visible, on the north opposite the Duomo, representing David
+and Solomon, with two Sibyls; M. Reymond ascribes them to Andrea
+Pisano. Those opposite the Misericordia are also of the fourteenth
+century. On the east are Habakkuk and Abraham, by Donatello (the
+latter in part by a pupil), between two Patriarchs probably by Niccolo
+d'Arezzo, the chief sculptor of the Florentine school at the end of
+the Trecento. Three of the four statues opposite the Baptistery are by
+Donatello; figures of marvellous strength and vigour. It is quite
+uncertain whom they are intended to represent (the "Solomon" and
+"David," below the two in the centre, refer to the older statues which
+once stood here), but the two younger are said to be the Baptist and
+Jeremiah. The old bald-headed prophet, irreverently called the
+_Zuccone_ or "Bald-head," is one of Donatello's masterpieces, and is
+said to have been the sculptor's own favourite creation. Vasari tells
+us that, while working upon it, Donatello used to bid it talk to him,
+and, when he wanted to be particularly believed, he used to swear by
+it: "By the faith that I bear to my Zuccone."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+  [Illustration: THE BIGALLO]
+
+At the end of the Via Calzaioli, opposite the Baptistery, is that
+little Gothic gem, the Loggia called the _Bigallo_, erected between
+1352 and 1358, for the "Captains of Our Lady of Mercy," while Orcagna
+was rearing his more gorgeous tabernacle for the "Captains of Our Lady
+of Or San Michele." Its architect is unknown; his manner resembles
+Orcagna's, to whom the work has been erroneously ascribed. The Madonna
+is by Alberto Arnoldi (1361). The Bigallo was intended for the public
+functions of charity of the foundling hospital, which was founded
+under the auspices of the Confraternity of the Misericordia, whose
+oratory is on the other side of the way. These Brothers of Mercy, in
+their mysterious black robes hiding their faces, are familiar enough
+even to the most casual visitor to Florence; and their work of succour
+to the sick and injured has gone on uninterruptedly throughout the
+whole of Florentine history.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the last decade of the thirteenth century, when the People and
+Commune of Florence were in an unusually peaceful state, after the
+tumults caused by the reforms and expulsion of Giano della Bella had
+subsided, the new Cathedral was commenced on the site of the older
+church of Santa Reparata. The first stones and foundations were
+blessed with great solemnity in 1296; and, in this golden age of the
+democracy, the work proceeded apace, until in a document of April
+1299, concerning the exemption of Arnolfo di Cambio from all taxation,
+it is stated that "by reason of his industry, experience and genius,
+the Commune and People of Florence from the magnificent and visible
+beginning of the said work of the said church, commenced by the same
+Master Arnolphus, hope to have a more beautiful and more honourable
+temple than any other which there is in the regions of Tuscany."
+
+But although the original design and beginning were undoubtedly
+Arnolfo's, the troublous times that fell upon Florence appear to have
+interrupted the work; and it was almost abandoned for lack of funds
+until 1334, when Giotto was appointed capo-maestro of the Commune and
+of the work of Santa Reparata, as it was still called. The Cathedral
+was now in charge of the Arte della Lana, as the Baptistery was in
+that of the Arte di Calimala. It is not precisely known what Giotto
+did with it; but the work languished again after his death, until
+Francesco Talenti was appointed capo-maestro, and, in July 1357, the
+foundations were laid of the present church of Santa Maria del Fiore,
+on a larger and more magnificent scale. Arnolfo's work appears to
+have been partly destroyed, partly enlarged and extended. Other
+capo-maestri carried on what Francesco Talenti had commenced, until,
+in 1378, just at the end of mediaeval Florence, the fourth and last
+great vault was closed, and the main work finished.
+
+The completion of the Cathedral belongs to that intermediate epoch
+which saw the decline of the great democracy and the dawn of the
+Renaissance, and ran from 1378 to 1421, in which latter year the third
+tribune was finished. Filippo Brunelleschi's dome or cupola, raised
+upon a frieze or drum high above the three great semi-domes, with a
+large window in each of the eight sides, was commenced in 1420 and
+finished in 1434, the year which witnessed the establishment of the
+Medicean regime in Florence. Vasari waxes most enthusiastic over this
+work. "Heaven willed," he writes, "after the earth had been for so
+many years without an excellent soul or a divine spirit, that Filippo
+should leave to the world from himself the greatest, the most lofty
+and the most beauteous construction of all others made in the time of
+the moderns and even in that of the ancients." And Michelangelo
+imitated it in St Peter's at Rome, turning back, as he rode away from
+Florence, to gaze upon Filippo's work, and declaring that he could not
+do anything more beautiful. Some modern writers have passed a very
+different judgment. Fergusson says:--"The plain, heavy, simple
+outlined dome of Brunelleschi acts like an extinguisher, crushing all
+the lower part of the composition, and both internally and externally
+destroying all harmony between the parts." Brunelleschi also designed
+the Lantern, which was commenced shortly before his death (1446) and
+finished in 1461. The palla or ball, which crowns the whole, was added
+by Andrea Verrocchio. In the fresco in the Spanish Chapel of Santa
+Maria Novella, you shall see the Catholic Church symbolised by the
+earlier church of Santa Reparata; and, as the fresco was executed
+before the middle of the fourteenth century, it apparently represents
+the designs of Arnolfo and Giotto. Vasari, indeed, states that it was
+taken from Arnolfo's model in wood. "From this painting," he says, "it
+is obvious that Arnolfo had proposed to raise the dome immediately
+over the piers and above the first cornice, at that point namely where
+Filippo di Ser Brunellesco, desiring to render the building less
+heavy, interposed the whole space wherein we now see the windows,
+before adding the dome."[41]
+
+  [41] "There is only one point from which the size of the Cathedral of
+  Florence is felt; and that is from the corner of the Via de'
+  Balestrieri, opposite the south-east angle, where it happens that the
+  dome is seen rising instantly above the apse and transepts" (_Seven
+  Lamps_).
+
+  [Illustration: PORTA DELLA MANDORLA, DUOMO]
+
+The Duomo has had three facades. Of the first facade, the facade of
+Arnolfo's church before 1357, only two statues remain which probably
+formed part of it; one of Boniface VIII. within the Cathedral, of
+which more presently, and a statue of a Bishop in the sacristy. The
+second facade, commenced in 1357, and still in progress in 1420, was
+left unfinished, and barbarously destroyed towards the end of the
+sixteenth century. A fresco by Poccetti in the first cloister of San
+Marco, the fifth to the right of the entrance, representing the
+entrance of St. Antoninus into Florence to take possession of his see,
+shows this second facade. Some of the statues that once decorated it
+still exist. The Boniface reappeared upon it from the first facade,
+between St. Peter and St. Paul; over the principal gate was Our Lady
+of the Flower herself, presenting her Child to give His blessing to
+the Florentines--and this is still preserved in the Opera del
+Duomo--by an unknown artist of the latter half of the fourteenth
+century; she was formerly attended by Zenobius and Reparata, while
+Angels held a canopy over her--these are lost. Four Doctors of the
+Church, now mutilated and transformed into poets, are still to be seen
+on the way to Poggio Imperiale--by Niccolo d'Arezzo and Piero di
+Giovanni Tedesco (1396); some Apostles, probably by the latter, and
+very fine works, are in the court of the Riccardi Palace. The last
+statues made for the facade, the four Evangelists, of the first
+fifteen years of the Quattrocento, are now within the present church,
+in the chapels of the Tribune of St. Zenobius. There is a curious
+tradition that Donatello placed Farinata degli Uberti on the facade;
+and few men would have deserved the honour better. After the sixteenth
+century the facade remained a desolate waste down to our own times.
+The present facade, gorgeous but admirable in its way, was designed by
+De Fabris, and finished between 1875 and 1887; the first stone was
+laid by Victor Emmanuel in 1860. Thus has the United Italy of to-day
+completed the work of the great Republic of the Middle Ages.
+
+  [Illustration: STATUE OF BONIFACE VIII.]
+
+The four side gates of the Duomo are among the chief artistic
+monuments of Florentine sculpture in the epoch that intervened between
+the setting of Andrea Pisano and Orcagna, and the rising of Donatello
+and Ghiberti. Nearer the facade, south and north, the two plainer and
+earlier portals are always closed; the two more ornate and later, the
+gate of the canons on the south and the gate of the Mandorla on the
+north, are the ordinary entrances into the aisles of the cathedral.
+
+Earliest of the four is the minor southern portal near the Campanile,
+over which the pigeons cluster and coo. Our Lady of the Pigeons, in
+the tympanum, is an excellent work of the school of Nino Pisano
+(Andrea's son), rather later than the middle of the Trecento. The
+northern minor portal is similar in style, with sculpture subordinated
+to polychromatic decoration, but with beautiful twisted columns, of
+which the two outermost rest upon grand mediaeval lions, who are helped
+to bear them by delicious little winged _putti_. Third in order of
+construction comes the chief southern portal, the Porta dei Canonici,
+belonging to the last decade of the fourteenth century. The pilasters
+are richly decorated with sculptured foliage and figures of animals in
+the intervals between the leaves. In the tympanum above, the Madonna
+and Child with two adoring Angels--statues of great grace and
+beauty--are by Lorenzo di Giovanni d'Ambrogio, 1402. Above are Angels
+bearing a tondo of the Pieta.
+
+The Porta della Mandorla is one of the most perfect examples of
+Florentine decorative sculpture that exists. M. Reymond calls it "le
+produit le plus pur du genie florentin dans toute l'independance de sa
+pensee." It was commenced by Giovanni di Ambrogio, the chief master of
+the canons' gate; and finished by Niccolo da Arezzo, in the early
+years of the fifteenth century. The decorations of its pilasters, with
+nude figures amidst the conventional foliage between the angels with
+their wings and scrolls, are already almost in the spirit of the
+Renaissance. The mosaic over the door, representing the Annunciation,
+was executed by Domenico Ghirlandaio in 1490. "Amongst modern masters
+of mosaic," says Vasari, "nothing has yet been seen better than this.
+Domenico was wont to say that painting is mere design, and that the
+true painting for eternity is mosaic." The two small statues of
+Prophets are the earliest works of Donatello, 1405-1406. Above is the
+famous relief which crowns the whole, and from which the door takes
+its name--the glorified Madonna of the Mandorla. Formerly ascribed to
+Jacopo della Quercia, it is now recognised as the work of Nanni di
+Banco, whose father Antonio collaborated with Niccolo da Arezzo on the
+door. It represents the Madonna borne up in the Mandorla surrounded by
+Angels, three of whom above are hymning her triumph. With a singularly
+sweet yet majestic maternal gesture, she consigns her girdle to the
+kneeling Thomas on the left; on the right among the rocks, a bear is
+either shaking or climbing a tree. This work, executed slightly before
+1420, is the best example of the noble manner of the fourteenth
+century united to the technical mastery of the fifteenth. Though
+matured late, it is the most perfect fruit of the school of Orcagna.
+Nanni died before it was quite completed. The precise symbolism of
+the bear is not easy to determine; it occurs also in Andrea Pisano's
+relief of Adam and Eve labouring, on the Campanile. According to St.
+Buonaventura, the bear is an emblem of Lust; according to the
+Bestiaries, of Violence. The probability is that here it merely
+represents the evil one, symbolising the Fall in the Adam and Eve
+relief, and now implying that Mary healed the wound that Eve had dealt
+the human race--_la piaga che Maria richiuse ed unse_.
+
+The interior is somewhat bare, and the aisles and vaults are so
+proportioned and constructed as to destroy much of the effect of the
+vast size both of the whole and of the parts. The nave and aisles lead
+to a great octagonal space beneath the dome, where the choir is
+placed, extending into three polygonal apses, those to right and left
+representing the transepts.
+
+Over the central door is a fine but restored mosaic of the Coronation
+of Madonna, by Giotto's friend and contemporary, Gaddo Gaddi, which is
+highly praised by Vasari. On either side stand two great equestrian
+portraits in fresco of condottieri, who served the Republic in
+critical times; by Andrea del Castagno is Niccolo da Tolentino, who
+fought in the Florentine pay with average success and more than
+average fidelity, and died in 1435, a prisoner in the hands of Filippo
+Maria Visconti; by Paolo Uccello is Giovanni Aguto, or John Hawkwood,
+a greater captain, but of more dubious character, who died in 1394.
+Let it stand to Hawkwood's credit that St Catherine of Siena once
+wrote to him, _O carissimo e dolcissimo fratello in Cristo Gesu_. By
+the side of the entrance is the famous statue, mutilated but
+extraordinarily impressive, of Boniface VIII., ascribed by Vasari to
+Andrea Pisano, but which is certainly earlier, and may possibly,
+according to M. Reymond, be assigned to Arnolfo di Cambio himself. It
+represents the terrible Pontiff in the flower of his age; hardly a
+portrait, but an idealised rendering of a Papal politician, a _papa
+re_ of the Middle Ages. Even so might he have looked when he received
+Dante and his fellow-ambassadors alone, and addressed to them the
+words recorded by Dino Compagni: "Why are ye so obstinate? Humble
+yourselves before me. I tell you in very truth that I have no other
+intention, save for your peace. Let two of you go back, and they shall
+have my benediction if they bring it about that my will be obeyed."
+
+As though in contrast with this worldly Pope, on the first pillars in
+the aisles are pictures of two ideal pastors; on the left, St Zenobius
+enthroned with Eugenius and Crescentius, by an unknown painter of the
+school of Orcagna; on the right, a similar but comparatively modern
+picture of St Antoninus giving his blessing. In the middle of the
+nave, is the original resting-place of the body of Zenobius; here the
+picturesque blessing of the roses takes place on his feast-day. The
+right and left aisles contain some striking statues and interesting
+monuments. First on the right is a statue of a Prophet (sometimes
+called Joshua), an early Donatello, said to be the portrait of
+Giannozzo Manetti, between the monuments of Brunelleschi and Giotto;
+the bust of the latter is by Benedetto da Maiano, and the inscription
+by Poliziano. Opposite these, in the left aisle, is a most life-like
+and realistic statue of a Prophet by Donatello, said to be the
+portrait of Poggio Bracciolini, between modern medallions of De Fabris
+and Arnolfo. Further on, on the right, are Hezekiah by Nanni di Banco,
+and a fine portrait bust of Marsilio Ficino by Andrea Ferrucci
+(1520)--the mystic dreamer caught in a rare moment of inspiration, as
+on that wonderful day when he closed his finished Plato, and saw young
+Pico della Mirandola before him. Opposite them, on the left, are David
+by Ciuffagni, and a bust of the musician Squarcialupi by Benedetto da
+Maiano. On the last pillars of the nave, right and left, stand later
+statues of the Apostles--St Matthew by Vincenzo de' Rossi, and St
+James by Jacopo Sansovino.
+
+Under Brunelleschi's vast dome--the effect of which is terribly marred
+by miserable frescoes by Vasari and Zuccheri--are the choir and the
+high altar. The stained glass in the windows in the drum is from
+designs of Ghiberti, Donatello (the Coronation), and Paolo Uccello.
+Behind the high altar is one of the most solemn and pathetic works of
+art in existence--Michelangelo's last effort in sculpture, the
+unfinished Deposition from the Cross; "the strange spectral wreath of
+the Florence Pieta, casting its pyramidal, distorted shadow, full of
+pain and death, among the faint purple lights that cross and perish
+under the obscure dome of Santa Maria del Fiore."[42] It is a group of
+four figures more than life-size; the body of Christ is received in
+the arms of His mother, who sustains Him with the aid of St Mary
+Magdalene and the standing Nicodemus, who bends over the group at the
+back with a countenance full of unutterable love and sorrow. Although,
+in a fit of impatience, Michelangelo damaged the work and allowed it
+to be patched up by others, he had intended it for his own sepulchre,
+and there is no doubt that the Nicodemus--whose features to some
+extent are modelled from his own--represents his own attitude as death
+approached. His sonnet to Giorgio Vasari is an expression of the same
+temper, and the most precious commentary upon his work:--
+
+  [42] _Modern Painters_, vol. ii. "Of Imagination Penetrative."
+
+     Now hath my life across a stormy sea,
+       Like a frail bark reached that wide port where all
+       Are bidden, ere the final reckoning fall
+       Of good and evil for eternity.
+     Now know I well how that fond phantasy,
+       Which made my soul the worshipper and thrall
+       Of earthly art, is vain; how criminal
+       Is that which all men seek unwillingly.
+     Those amorous thoughts which were so lightly dressed,
+       What are they when the double death is nigh?
+       The one I know for sure, the other dread.
+     Painting nor sculpture now can lull to rest
+       My soul that turns to His great Love on high,
+       Whose arms, to clasp us, on the Cross were spread.
+         (_Addington Symonds' translation._)
+
+The apse at the east end, or tribuna di San Zenobio, ends in the altar
+of the Blessed Sacrament, which is also the shrine of Saint Zenobius.
+The reliquary which contains his remains is the work of Lorenzo
+Ghiberti, and was finished in 1446; the bronze reliefs set forth his
+principal miracles, and there is a most exquisite group of those
+flying Angels which Ghiberti realises so wonderfully. Some of the
+glass in the windows is also from his design. The seated statues in
+the four chapels, representing the four Evangelists, were originally
+on the facade; the St. Luke, by Nanni di Banco, in the first chapel on
+the right, is the best of the four; then follow St. John, a very early
+Donatello, and, on the other side, St. Matthew by Ciuffagni and St.
+Mark by Niccolo da Arezzo (slightly earlier than the others). The two
+Apostles standing on guard at the entrance of the tribune, St. John
+and St. Peter, are by Benedetto da Rovezzano. To right and left are
+the southern and northern sacristies. Over the door of the southern
+sacristy is a very beautiful bas-relief by Luca della Robbia,
+representing the Ascension (1446), like a Fra Angelico in enamelled
+terracotta; within the sacristy are two kneeling Angels also by Luca
+(1448), practically his only isolated statues, of the greatest beauty
+and harmony; and also a rather indifferent St. Michael, a late work of
+Lorenzo di Credi. Over the door of the northern sacristy is the
+Resurrection by Luca della Robbia (1443), perhaps his earliest extant
+work in this enamelled terracotta. The bronze doors of this northern
+sacristy are by Michelozzo and Luca della Robbia, assisted by Maso and
+Giovanni di Bartolommeo, and were executed between 1446 and 1467. They
+are composed of ten reliefs with decorative heads at the corners of
+each, as in Lorenzo Ghiberti's work. Above are Madonna and Child with
+two Angels; the Baptist with two Angels; in the centre the four
+Evangelists, each with two Angels; and below, the four Doctors, each
+with two Angels. M. Reymond has shown that the four latter are the
+work of Michelozzo. Of Luca's work, the four Evangelists are later
+than the two topmost reliefs, and are most beautiful; the Angels are
+especially lovely, and there are admirable decorative heads between.
+Within, are some characteristic _putti_ by Donatello.
+
+The side apses, which represent the right and left transepts, guarded
+by sixteenth century Apostles, and with frescoed Saints and Prophets
+in the chapels by Bicci di Lorenzo, are quite uninteresting.
+
+By the door that leads out of the northern aisle into the street, is a
+wonderful picture, painted in honour of Dante by order of the State in
+1465, by Domenico di Michelino, a pupil of Fra Angelico, whose works,
+with this exception, are hardly identified. At the time that this was
+painted, the authentic portrait of Dante still existed in the (now
+lost) fresco at Santa Croce, so we may take this as a fairly probable
+likeness; it is, at the same time, one of the earliest efforts to give
+pictorial treatment to the _Purgatorio_. Outside the gates of Florence
+stands Dante in spirit, clothed in the simple red robe of a
+Florentine citizen, and wearing the laurel wreath which was denied to
+him in life; in his left hand he holds the open volume of the _Divina
+Commedia_, from which rays of burning light proceed and illumine all
+the city. But it is not the mediaeval Florence that the divine singer
+had known, which his ghost now revisits, but the Florence of the
+Quattrocento--with the completed Cathedral and the cupola of
+Brunelleschi rising over it, with the Campanile and the great tower of
+the Palazzo della Signoria completed--the Florence which has just lost
+Cosimo dei Medici, Pater Patriae, and may need fresh guidance, now
+that great mutations are at hand in Italy. With his right hand he
+indicates the gate of Hell and its antechamber; but it is not the
+torments of its true inmates that he would bid the Florentines mark,
+but the shameful and degrading lot of the cowards and neutrals, the
+trimmers, who would follow no standard upon earth, and are now
+rejected by Heaven and Hell alike; "the crew of caitiffs hateful to
+God and to his enemies," who now are compelled, goaded on by hornets
+and wasps, to rush for ever after a devil-carried ensign, "which
+whirling ran so quickly that it seemed to scorn all pause." Behind,
+among the rocks and precipices of Hell, the monstrous fiends of
+schism, treason and anarchy glare through the gate, preparing to sweep
+down upon the City of the Lily, if she heeds not the lesson. In the
+centre of the picture, in the distance, the Mountain of Purgation
+rises over the shore of the lonely ocean, on the little island where
+rushes alone grow above the soft mud. The Angel at the gate, seated
+upon the rock of diamond, above the three steps of contrition,
+confession, and satisfaction, marks the brows of the penitent souls
+with his dazzling sword, and admits them into the terraces of the
+mountain, where Pride, Anger, Envy, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony, and
+Lust (the latter, in the purifying fire of the seventh terrace, merely
+indicated by the flames on the right) are purged away. On the top of
+the mountain Adam and Eve stand in the Earthly Paradise, which
+symbolises blessedness of this life, the end to which an ideal ruler
+is to lead the human race, and the state of innocence to which the
+purgatorial pains restore man. Above and around sweep the spheres of
+the planets, the lower moving heavens, from which the angelic
+influences are poured down upon the Universe beneath their sway.
+
+Thirteen years after this picture was painted, the Duomo saw Giuliano
+dei Medici fall beneath the daggers of the Pazzi and their
+confederates on Sunday, April 26th, 1478. The bell that rang for the
+Elevation of the Host was the signal. Giuliano had been moving round
+about the choir, and was standing not far from the picture of Dante,
+when Bernardo Baroncelli and Francesco Pazzi struck the first blows.
+Lorenzo, who was on the opposite side of the choir, beat off his
+assailants with his sword and then fled across into the northern
+sacristy, through the bronze gates of Michelozzo and Luca della
+Robbia, which Poliziano and the Cavalcanti now closed against the
+conspirators. The boy cardinal, Raffaello Sansoni, whose visit to the
+Medicean brothers had furnished the Pazzi with their chance, fled in
+abject terror into the other sacristy. Francesco Nori, a faithful
+friend of the Medici, was murdered by Baroncelli in defending his
+masters' lives; he is very probably the bare-headed figure kneeling
+behind Giuliano in Botticelli's Adoration of the Magi in the
+Uffizi.[43]
+
+  [43] The Duomo has fairer memories of the Pazzi, than this deed of
+  blood and treachery. Their ancestor at the Crusades had carried the
+  sacred fire from Jerusalem to Florence, and still, on Easter Eve, an
+  artificial dove sent from the high altar lights the car of fireworks
+  in the Piazza--the Carro dei Pazzi--in front of the church, in honour
+  of their name.
+
+But of all the scenes that have passed beneath Brunelleschi's cupola,
+the most in accordance with the spirit of Dante's picture are those
+connected with Savonarola. It was here that his most famous and most
+terrible sermons were delivered; here, on that fateful September
+morning when the French host was sweeping down through Italy, he gazed
+in silence upon the expectant multitude that thronged the building,
+and then, stretching forth his hands, cried aloud in a terrible voice
+the ominous text of Genesis: "Behold I, even I, do bring a flood of
+waters upon the earth;" and here, too, the fatal riot commenced which
+ended with the storming of the convent. And here, in a gentler vein,
+the children of Florence were wont to await the coming of their father
+and prophet. "The children," writes Simone Filipepi, "were placed all
+together upon certain steps made on purpose for them, and there were
+about three thousand of them; they came an hour or two before the
+sermon; and, in the meanwhile, some read psalms and others said the
+rosary, and often choir by choir they sang lauds and psalms most
+devoutly; and when the Father appeared, to mount up into the pulpit,
+the said children sang the _Ave Maris Stella_, and likewise the people
+answered back, in such wise that all that time, from early morning
+even to the end of the sermon, one seemed to be verily in Paradise."
+
+The Opera del Duomo or Cathedral Museum contains, besides several
+works of minor importance (including the Madonna from the second
+facade), three of the great achievements of Florentine sculpture
+during the fifteenth century; the two _cantorie_, or organ galleries,
+of Donatello and Luca della Robbia; the silver altar for the
+Baptistery, with the statue of the Baptist by Michelozzo, and reliefs
+in silver by Antonio Pollaiuolo and Andrea Verrocchio, representing
+the Nativity of the Baptist by the former, the dance of the daughter
+of Herodias and the Decollation of the Saint by the latter.
+
+The two organ galleries, facing each other and finished almost
+simultaneously (about 1440), are an utter contrast both in spirit and
+in execution. There is nothing specially angelic or devotional about
+Donatello's wonderful frieze of dancing genii, winged boys that might
+well have danced round Venus at Psyche's wedding-feast, but would have
+been out of place among the Angels who, as the old mystic puts it,
+"rejoiced exceedingly when the most Blessed Virgin entered the
+Heavenly City." The beauty of rhythmic movement, the joy of living and
+of being young, exultancy, _baldanza_--these are what they express for
+us. Luca della Robbia's boys and girls, singing together and playing
+musical instruments, have less exuberance and motion, but more grace
+and repose; they illustrate in ten high reliefs the verses of the
+psalm, _Laudate Dominum in sanctis ejus_, which is inscribed upon the
+Cantoria; and those that dance are more chastened in their joy, more
+in the spirit of David before the Ark. But all are as wrapt and
+absorbed in their music, as are Donatello's in their wild yet
+harmonious romp.
+
+In detail and considered separately, Luca's more perfectly finished
+groups, with their exquisite purity of line, are decidedly more lovely
+than Donatello's more roughly sketched, lower and flatter bas-reliefs;
+but, seen from a distance and raised from the ground, as they were
+originally intended, Donatello's are decidedly more effective as a
+whole. It is only of late years that the reliefs have been remounted
+and set up in the way we now see; and it is not quite certain whether
+their present arrangement, in all respects, exactly corresponds to
+what was originally intended by the masters. It was in this building,
+the Opera del Duomo, that Donatello at one time had his school and
+studio; and it was here, in the early years of the Cinquecento, that
+Michelangelo worked upon the shapeless mass of marble which became the
+gigantic David.
+
+  [Illustration: CROSS OF THE FLORENTINE PEOPLE (FROM OLD HOUSE ON NORTH
+  SIDE OF DUOMO)]
+
+  [Illustration: ARMS OF THE MEDICI FROM THE BADIA AT FIESOLE.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+_The Palazzo Riccardi--San Lorenzo--San Marco._
+
+     Per molti, donna, anzi per mille amanti,
+     creata fusti, e d'angelica forma.
+     Or par che'n ciel si dorma,
+     s'un sol s'appropria quel ch'e dato a tanti.
+         (_Michelangelo Buonarroti_).
+
+
+The Via dei Martelli leads from the Baptistery into the Via Cavour,
+formerly the historical Via Larga. Here stands the great Palace of the
+Medici, now called the Palazzo Riccardi from the name of the family to
+whom the Grand Duke Ferdinand II. sold it in the seventeenth century.
+
+The palace was begun by Michelozzo for Cosimo the Elder shortly before
+his exile, and completed after his return, when it became in reality
+the seat of government of the city, although the Signoria still kept
+up the pretence of a republic in the Palazzo Vecchio. Here Lorenzo the
+Magnificent was born on January 1st, 1449, and here the most brilliant
+and cultured society of artists and scholars that the world had seen
+gathered round him and his family.[44] Here, too, after the expulsion
+of Lorenzo's mad son, Piero, in 1494, Charles VIII. of France was
+splendidly lodged; here Piero Capponi tore the dishonourable treaty
+and saved the Republic, and here Fra Girolamo a few days later
+admonished the fickle king. On the return of the Medici, the Cardinal
+Giovanni, the younger Lorenzo, and the Cardinal Giulio successively
+governed the city here; until in 1527 the people drove out the young
+pretenders, Alessandro and Ippolito, with their guardian, the Cardinal
+Passerini. It was on this latter occasion that Piero's daughter,
+Madonna Clarice, the wife of the younger Filippo Strozzi, was carried
+hither in her litter, and literally slanged these boys and the
+Cardinal out of Florence. She is reported, with more vehemence than
+delicacy, to have told her young kinsmen that the house of Lorenzo dei
+Medici was not a stable for mules. During the siege, the people wished
+to entirely destroy the palace and rename the place the Piazza dei
+Muli.
+
+  [44] It should be observed that Lorenzo was not specially called the
+  "Magnificent" by his contemporaries. All the more prominent members of
+  the Medicean family were styled _Magnifico_ in the same way.
+
+After the restoration Alessandro carried on his abominable career
+here, until, on January 5th, 1537, the dagger of another Lorenzo freed
+the world from an infamous monster. Some months before, Benvenuto
+Cellini came to the palace, as he tells us in his autobiography, to
+show the Duke the wax models for his medals which he was making.
+Alessandro was lying on his bed, indisposed, and with him was only
+this Lorenzino or Lorenzaccio, _quel pazzo malinconico filosafo di
+Lorenzino_, as Benvenuto calls him elsewhere. "The Duke," writes
+Benvenuto, "several times signed to him that he too should urge me to
+stop; upon which Lorenzino never said anything else, but: 'Benvenuto,
+you would do best for yourself to stay.' To which I said that I wanted
+by all means to return to Rome. He said nothing more, and kept
+continually staring at the Duke with a most evil eye. Having finished
+the medal and shut it up in its case, I said to the Duke: 'My Lord, be
+content, for I will make you a much more beautiful medal than I made
+for Pope Clement; for reason wills that I should do better, since that
+was the first that ever I made; and Messer Lorenzo here will give me
+some splendid subject for a reverse, like the learned person and
+magnificent genius that he is.' To these words the said Lorenzo
+promptly answered: 'I was thinking of nothing else, save how to give
+thee a reverse that should be worthy of his Excellency.' The Duke
+grinned, and, looking at Lorenzo, said: 'Lorenzo, you shall give him
+the reverse, and he shall make it here, and shall not go away.'
+Lorenzo replied hastily, saying: 'I will do it as quickly as I
+possibly can, and I hope to do a thing that will astonish the world.'
+The Duke, who sometimes thought him a madman and sometimes a coward,
+turned over in his bed, and laughed at the words which he had said to
+him. I went away without other ceremonies of leave-taking, and left
+them alone together."
+
+On the fatal night Lorenzino lured the Duke into his own rooms, in
+what was afterwards called the Strada del Traditore, which was
+incorporated into the palace by the Riccardi. Alessandro, tired out
+with the excesses of the day, threw himself upon a bed; Lorenzino went
+out of the room, ostensibly to fetch his kinswoman, Caterina Ginori,
+whose beauty had been the bait; and he returned with the bravo
+Scoroncocolo, with whose assistance he assassinated him. Those who saw
+Sarah Bernhardt in the part of "Lorenzaccio," will not easily forget
+her rendering of this scene. Lorenzino published an Apologia, in which
+he enumerates Alessandro's crimes, declares that he was no true
+offspring of the Medici, and that his own single motive was the
+liberation of Florence from tyranny. He fled first to Constantinople,
+and then to Venice, where he was murdered in 1547 by the agents of
+Alessandro's successor, Cosimo I., who transferred the ducal residence
+from the present palace first to the Palazzo Vecchio, and then across
+the river to the Pitti Palace.
+
+With the exception of the chapel, the interior of the Palazzo Riccardi
+is not very suggestive of the old Medicean glories of the days of
+Lorenzo the Magnificent. There is a fine court, surrounded with
+sarcophagi and statues, including some of the old tombs which stood
+round the Baptistery and among which Guido Cavalcanti used to linger,
+and some statues of Apostles from the second facade of the Duomo.
+Above the arcades are eight fine classical medallions by Donatello,
+copied and enlarged from antique gems. The rooms above have been
+entirely altered since the days when Capponi defied King Charles, and
+Madonna Clarice taunted Alessandro and Ippolito; the large gallery,
+which witnessed these scenes, is covered with frescoes by Luca
+Giordano, executed in the early part of the seventeenth century. The
+Chapel--still entirely reminiscent of the better Medici--was painted
+by Benozzo Gozzoli shortly before the death of Cosimo the Elder, with
+frescoes representing the Procession of the Magi, in a delightfully
+impossible landscape. The two older kings are the Patriarch Joseph of
+Constantinople, and John Paleologus, Emperor of the East, who had
+visited Florence twenty years before on the occasion of the Council
+(Benozzo, it must be observed, was painting them in 1459, after the
+fall of Constantinople); the third is Lorenzo dei Medici himself, as a
+boy. Behind follow the rest of the Medicean court, Cosimo himself and
+his son, Piero, content apparently to be led forward by this mere lad;
+and in their train is Benozzo Gozzoli himself, marked by the signature
+on his hat. The picture of the Nativity itself, round which Benozzo's
+lovely Angels--though very earthly compared with Angelico's--seem
+still to linger in attendance, is believed to have been one by Lippo
+Lippi, now at Berlin.
+
+In the chapter _Of the Superhuman Ideal_, in the second volume of
+_Modern Painters_, Ruskin refers to these frescoes as the most
+beautiful instance of the supernatural landscapes of the early
+religious painters:--
+
+"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. Severer mountains rise in the distance, ruder prominences
+and less flowery vary the nearer ground, and gloomy shadows remain
+unbroken beneath the forest branches."
+
+Among the manuscripts in the _Biblioteca Riccardiana_, which is
+entered from the Via Ginori at the back of the palace, is the most
+striking and plausible of all existing portraits of Dante. It is at
+the beginning of a codex of the Canzoni (numbered 1040), and appears
+to have been painted about 1436.
+
+From the palace where the elder Medici lived, we turn to the church
+where they, and their successors of the younger line, lie in death. In
+the Piazza San Lorenzo there is an inane statue of the father of
+Cosimo I., Giovanni delle Bande Nere, by Baccio Bandinelli. Here, in
+June 1865, Robert Browning picked up at a stall the "square old yellow
+Book" with "the crumpled vellum covers," which gave him the story of
+_The Ring and the Book_:--
+
+                     "I found this book,
+     Gave a lira for it, eightpence English just,
+     (Mark the predestination!) when a Hand,
+     Always above my shoulder, pushed me once,
+     One day still fierce 'mid many a day struck calm,
+     Across a square in Florence, crammed with booths,
+     Buzzing and blaze, noon-tide and market-time,
+     Toward Baccio's marble--ay, the basement ledge
+     O' the pedestal where sits and menaces
+     John of the Black Bands with the upright spear,
+     'Twixt palace and church--Riccardi where they lived,
+     His race, and San Lorenzo where they lie.
+
+                     "That memorable day,
+     (June was the month, Lorenzo named the Square)
+     I leaned a little and overlooked my prize
+     By the low railing round the fountain-source
+     Close to the statue, where a step descends:
+     While clinked the cans of copper, as stooped and rose
+     Thick-ankled girls who brimmed them, and made place
+     For market men glad to pitch basket down,
+     Dip a broad melon-leaf that holds the wet,
+     And whisk their faded fresh."
+
+  [Illustration: THE TOMB OF GIOVANNI AND PIERO DEI MEDICI
+  BY ANDREA VERROCCHIO
+  (In San Lorenzo)]
+
+The unsightly bare front of San Lorenzo represents several fruitless
+and miserable years of Michelangelo's life. Pope Leo X. and the
+Cardinal Giulio dei Medici commissioned him to make a new facade, in
+1516, and for some years he consumed his time labouring among the
+quarries of Carrara and Pietrasanta, getting the marble for it and for
+the statues with which it was to be adorned. In one of his letters he
+says: "I am perfectly disposed (_a me basta l'animo_) to make this
+work of the facade of San Lorenzo so that, both in architecture and in
+sculpture, it shall be the mirror of all Italy; but the Pope and the
+Cardinal must decide quickly, if they want me to do it or not"; and
+again, some time later: "What I have promised to do, I shall do by all
+means, and I shall make the most beautiful work that was ever made in
+Italy, if God helps me." But nothing came of it all; and in after
+years Michelangelo bitterly declared that Leo had only pretended that
+he wanted the facade finished, in order to prevent him working upon
+the tomb of Pope Julius.
+
+"The ancient Ambrosian Basilica of St. Lawrence," founded according to
+tradition by a Florentine widow named Giuliana, and consecrated by St.
+Ambrose in the days of Zenobius, was entirely destroyed by fire early
+in the fifteenth century, during a solemn service ordered by the
+Signoria to invoke the protection of St. Ambrose for the Florentines
+in their war against Filippo Maria Visconti. Practically the only
+relic of this Basilica is the miraculous image of the Madonna in the
+right transept. The present church was erected from the designs of
+Filippo Brunelleschi, at the cost of the Medici (especially Giovanni
+di Averardo, who may be regarded as its chief founder) and seven other
+Florentine families. It is simple and harmonious in structure; the
+cupola, which is so visible in distant views of Florence, looking
+like a smaller edition of the Duomo, unlike the latter, rests directly
+upon the cross. This appears to be one of the modifications from what
+Brunelleschi had intended.
+
+The two pulpits with their bronze reliefs, right and left, are the
+last works of Donatello; they were executed in part and finished by
+his pupil, Bertoldo. The marble singing gallery in the left aisle
+(near a fresco of the martyrdom of St. Lawrence, by Bronzino) is also
+the joint work of Donatello and Bertoldo. In the right transept is a
+marble tabernacle by Donatello's great pupil, Desiderio da Settignano.
+Beneath a porphyry slab in front of the choir, Cosimo the Elder, the
+Pater Patriae, lies; Donatello is buried in the same vault as his
+great patron and friend. In the Martelli Chapel, on the left, is an
+exceedingly beautiful Annunciation by Fra Filippo Lippi, a fine
+example of his colouring (in which he is decidedly the best of all the
+early Florentines); Gabriel is attended by two minor Angels, squires
+waiting upon this great Prince of the Archangelic order, who are full
+of that peculiar mixture of boyish high spirits and religious
+sentiment which gives a special charm of its own to all that Lippo
+does.
+
+The _Sagrestia Vecchia_, founded by Giovanni di Averardo, was erected
+by Brunelleschi and decorated by Donatello for Cosimo the Elder. In
+the centre is the marble sarcophagus, adorned with _putti_ and
+festoons, containing the remains of Giovanni and his wife Piccarda,
+Cosimo's father and mother, by Donatello. The bronze doors (hardly
+among his best works), the marble balustrade before the altar, the
+stucco medallions of the Evangelists, the reliefs of patron saints of
+the Medici and the frieze of Angels' heads are all Donatello's; also
+an exceedingly beautiful terracotta bust of St. Lawrence, which is one
+of his most attractive creations. In the niche on the left of the
+entrance is the simple but very beautiful tomb of the two sons of
+Cosimo, Piero and Giovanni--who are united also in Botticelli's
+Adoration of the Magi as the two kings--and it serves also as a
+monument to Cosimo himself; it was made by Andrea Verrocchio for
+Lorenzo and Giuliano, Piero's sons. The remains of Lorenzo and
+Giuliano rested together in this sacristy until they were translated
+in the sixteenth century. In spite of a misleading modern inscription,
+they were apparently not buried in their father's grave, and the
+actual site of their former tomb is unknown. They now lie together in
+the _Sagrestia Nuova_. The simplicity of these funereal monuments and
+the _pietas_ which united the members of the family so closely, in
+death and in life alike, are very characteristic of these earlier
+Medicean rulers of Florence.
+
+The cloisters of San Lorenzo, haunted by needy and destitute cats,
+were also designed by Brunelleschi. To the right, after passing
+Francesco da San Gallo's statue of Paolo Giovio, the historian, who
+died in 1559, is the entrance to the famous Biblioteca Laurenziana.
+The nucleus of this library was the collection of codices formed by
+Niccolo Niccoli, which were afterwards purchased by Cosimo the Elder,
+and still more largely increased by Lorenzo the Magnificent; after the
+expulsion of Piero the younger, they were bought by the Friars of San
+Marco, and then from them by the Cardinal Giovanni, who transferred
+them to the Medicean villa at Rome. In accordance with Pope Leo's
+wish, Clement VII. (then the Cardinal Giulio) brought them back to
+Florence, and, when Pope, commissioned Michelangelo to design the
+building that was to house them. The portico, vestibule and staircase
+were designed by him, and, in judging of their effect, it must be
+remembered that Michelangelo professed that architecture was not his
+business, and also that the vestibule and staircase were intended to
+have been adorned with bronzes and statues. It was commenced in 1524,
+before the siege. Of the numberless precious manuscripts which this
+collection contains, we will mention only two classical and one
+mediaeval; the famous Pandects of Justinian which the Pisans took from
+Amalfi, and the Medicean Virgil of the fourth or fifth century; and
+Boccaccio's autograph manuscript of Dante's Eclogues and Epistles.
+This latter codex, shown under the glass at the entrance to the
+Rotunda, is the only manuscript in existence which contains Dante's
+Epistles to the Italian Cardinals and to a Florentine Friend. In the
+first, he defines his attitude towards the Church, and declares that
+he is not touching the Ark, but merely turning to the kicking oxen who
+are dragging it out of the right path; in the second, he proudly
+proclaims his innocence, rejects the amnesty, and refuses to return to
+Florence under dishonourable conditions. Although undoubtedly in
+Boccaccio's handwriting, it has been much disputed of late years as to
+whether these two letters are really by Dante. There is not a single
+autograph manuscript, nor a single scrap of Dante's handwriting extant
+at the present day.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+From the Piazza Madonna, at the back of San Lorenzo, we enter a chilly
+vestibule, the burial vault of less important members of the families
+of the Medicean Grand Dukes, and ascend to the _Sagrestia Nuova_,
+where the last male descendants of Cosimo the Elder and Lorenzo the
+Magnificent lie. Although the idea of adding some such mausoleum to
+San Lorenzo appears to have originated with Leo X., this New Sacristy
+was built by Michelangelo for Clement VII., commenced while he was
+still the Cardinal Giulio and finished in 1524, before the Library
+was constructed. Its form was intended to correspond with that of
+Brunelleschi's Old Sacristy, and it was to contain four sepulchral
+monuments. Two of these, the only two that were actually constructed,
+were for the younger Lorenzo, titular Duke of Urbino (who died in
+1519, the son of Piero and nephew of Pope Leo), and the younger
+Giuliano, Duke of Nemours (who died in 1516, the third son of the
+Magnificent and younger brother of Leo). It is not quite certain for
+whom the other two monuments were to have been, but it is most
+probable that they were for the fathers of the two Medicean Popes,
+Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother the elder Giuliano, whose
+remains were translated hither by Duke Cosimo I. and rediscovered a
+few years ago. Michelangelo commenced the statues before the third
+expulsion of the Medici, worked on them in secret while he was
+fortifying Florence against Pope Clement before the siege, and
+returned to them, after the downfall of the Republic, as the condition
+of obtaining the Pope's pardon. He resumed work, full of bitterness at
+the treacherous overthrow of the Republic, tormented by the heirs of
+Pope Julius II., whose tomb he had been forced to abandon, suffering
+from insomnia and shattered health, threatened with death by the
+tyrant Alessandro. When he left Florence finally in 1534, just before
+the death of Clement, the statues had not even been put into their
+places.
+
+Neither of the ducal statues is a portrait, but they appear to
+represent the active and contemplative lives, like the Leah and Rachel
+on the tomb of Pope Julius II. at Rome. On the right sits Giuliano,
+holding the baton of command as Gonfaloniere of the Church. His
+handsome sensual features to some extent recall those of the
+victorious youth in the allegory in the Bargello. He holds his baton
+somewhat loosely, as though he half realised the baseness of the
+historical part he was doomed to play, and had not got his heart in
+it. Opposite is Lorenzo, immersed in profound thought, "ghastly as a
+tyrant's dream." What visions are haunting him of the sack of Prato,
+of the atrocities of the barbarian hordes in the Eternal City, of the
+doom his house has brought upon Florence? Does he already smell the
+blood that his daughter will shed, fifty years later, on St.
+Bartholomew's day? Here he sits, as Elizabeth Barrett Browning puts
+it:--
+
+     "With everlasting shadow on his face,
+       While the slow dawns and twilights disapprove
+      The ashes of his long extinguished race,
+       Which never more shall clog the feet of men."
+
+"It fascinates and is intolerable," as Rogers wrote of this statue. It
+is, probably, not due to Michelangelo that the niches in which the
+dukes sit are too narrow for them; but the result is to make the
+tyrants seem as helpless as their victims, in the fetters of destiny.
+Beneath them are four tremendous and terrible allegorical figures:
+"those four ineffable types," writes Ruskin, "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." Beneath
+Lorenzo are Dawn and Twilight; Dawn awakes in agony, but her most
+horrible dreams are better than the reality which she must face;
+Twilight has worked all day in vain, and, like a helpless Titan, is
+sinking now into a slumber where is no repose. Beneath Giuliano are
+Day and Night: Day is captive and unable to rise, his mighty powers
+are uselessly wasted and he glares defiance; Night is buried in
+torturing dreams, but Michelangelo has forbidden us to wake her:--
+
+     "Grato mi e il sonno, e piu l'esser di sasso;
+     mentre che il danno e la vergogna dura,
+     non veder, non sentir, m'e gran ventura;
+     pero non mi destar; deh, parla basso!"[45]
+
+  [45] "Grateful to me is sleep, and more the being stone; while ruin
+  and shame last, not to see, not to feel, is great good fortune to me.
+  Therefore wake me not; ah, speak low!"
+
+It will be remembered that it was for these two young men, to whom
+Michelangelo has thus reared the noblest sepulchral monuments of the
+modern world, that Leo X. desired to build kingdoms and that
+Machiavelli wrote one of the masterpieces of Italian prose--the
+_Principe_. Giuliano was the most respectable of the elder Medicean
+line; in Castiglione's _Cortigiano_ he is an attractive figure, the
+chivalrous champion of women. It is not easy to get a definite idea of
+the character of Lorenzo, who, as we saw in chapter iv., was virtually
+tyrant of Florence during his uncle's pontificate. The Venetian
+ambassador once wrote of him that he was fitted for great deeds, and
+only a little inferior to Caesar Borgia--which was intended for very
+high praise; but there was nothing in him to deserve either
+Michelangelo's monument or Machiavelli's dedication. He usurped the
+Duchy of Urbino, and spent his last days in fooling with a jester. His
+reputed son, the foul Duke Alessandro, lies buried with him here in
+the same coffin.
+
+Opposite the altar is the Madonna and Child, by Michelangelo. The
+Madonna is one of the noblest and most beautiful of all the master's
+works, but the Child, whom Florence had once chosen for her King, has
+turned His face away from the city. A few years later, and Cosimo I.
+will alter the inscription which Niccolo Capponi had set up on the
+Palazzo Vecchio. The patron saints of the Medici on either side, Sts.
+Cosmas and Damian, are by Michelangelo's pupils and assistants, Fra
+Giovanni Angiolo da Montorsoli and Raffaello da Montelupo. Beneath
+these statues lie Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother, the elder
+Giuliano. Their bodies were removed hither from the Old Sacristy in
+1559, and the question as to their place of burial was finally set at
+rest, in October 1895, by the discovery of their bodies. It is
+probable that Michelangelo had originally intended the Madonna for the
+tomb of his first patron, Lorenzo.
+
+In judging of the general effect of this _Sagrestia Nuova_, which is
+certainly somewhat cold, it must be remembered that Michelangelo
+intended it to be full of statues and that the walls were to have been
+covered with paintings. "Its justification," says Addington Symonds,
+"lies in the fact that it demanded statuary and colour for its
+completion." The vault was frescoed by Giovanni da Udine, but is now
+whitewashed. In 1562, Vasari wrote to Michelangelo at Rome on behalf
+of Duke Cosimo, telling him that "the place is being now used for
+religious services by day and night, according to the intentions of
+Pope Clement," and that the Duke was anxious that all the best
+sculptors and painters of the newly instituted Academy should work
+upon the Sacristy and finish it from Michelangelo's designs. "He
+intends," writes Vasari, "that the new Academicians shall complete the
+whole imperfect scheme, in order that the world may see that, while so
+many men of genius still exist among us, the noblest work which was
+ever yet conceived on earth has not been left unfinished." And the
+Duke wants to know what Michelangelo's own idea is about the statues
+and paintings; "He is particularly anxious that you should be assured
+of his determination to alter nothing you have already done or
+planned, but, on the contrary, to carry out the whole work according
+to your conception. The Academicians, too, are unanimous in their
+hearty desire to abide by this decision."[46]
+
+  [46] Given in Addington Symonds' _Life of Michelangelo_.
+
+In the _Cappella dei Principi_, gorgeous with its marbles and mosaics,
+lie the sovereigns of the younger line, the Medicean Grand Dukes of
+Tuscany, the descendants of the great captain Giovanni delle Bande
+Nere. Here are the sepulchral monuments of Cosimo I. (1537-1574); of
+his sons, Francesco (1574-1587) and Ferdinand I. (1587-1609); and of
+Ferdinand's son, grandson and great-grandson, Cosimo II. (1609-1621),
+Ferdinand II. (1627-1670), Cosimo III. (1670-1723). The statues are
+those of Ferdinand I. and Cosimo II.
+
+Cosimo I. finally transformed the republic into a monarchy, created a
+new aristocracy and established a small standing army, though he
+mainly relied upon Spanish and German mercenaries. He conquered Siena
+in 1553, and in 1570 was invested with the grand ducal crown by Pius
+V.--a title which the Emperor confirmed to his successor. Although the
+tragedy which tradition has hung round the end of the Duchess Eleonora
+and her two sons has not stood the test of historical criticism, there
+are plenty of bloody deeds to be laid to Duke Cosimo's account during
+his able and ruthless reign. Towards the close of his life he married
+his mistress, Cammilla Martelli, and made over the government to his
+son. This son, Francesco, the founder of the Uffizi Gallery and of the
+modern city of Leghorn, had more than his father's vices and hardly
+any of his ability; his intrigue with the beautiful Venetian, Bianca
+Cappello, whom he afterwards married, and who died with him, has
+excited more interest than it deserves. The Cardinal Ferdinand, who
+succeeded him and renounced the cardinalate, was incomparably the best
+of the house--a man of magnanimous character and an enlightened
+ruler. He shook off the influence of Spain, and built an excellent
+navy to make war upon the Turks and Barbary corsairs. Cosimo II. and
+Ferdinand II. reigned quietly and benevolently, with no ability but
+with plenty of good intentions. Chiabrera sings their praises with
+rather unnecessary fervour. But the wealth and prosperity of Tuscany
+was waning, and Cosimo III., a luxurious and selfish bigot, could do
+nothing to arrest the decay. On the death of his miserable and
+contemptible successor, Gian Gastone dei Medici in 1737, the Medicean
+dynasty was at an end.
+
+Stretching along a portion of the Via Larga, and near the Piazza di
+San Marco, were the famous gardens of the Medici, which the people
+sacked in 1494 on the expulsion of Piero. The Casino Mediceo, built by
+Buontalenti in 1576, marks the site. Here were placed some of
+Lorenzo's antique statues and curios; and here Bertoldo had his great
+art school, where the most famous painters and sculptors came to bask
+in the sun of Medicean patronage, and to copy the antique. Here the
+boy Michelangelo came with his friend Granacci, and here Andrea
+Verrocchio first trained the young Leonardo. In this garden, too,
+Angelo Poliziano walked with his pupils, and initiated Michelangelo
+into the newly revived Hellenic culture. There is nothing now to
+recall these past glories.
+
+  [Illustration: THE WELL OF S. MARCO]
+
+The church of San Marco has been frequently altered and modernised,
+and there is little now to remind us that it was here on August 1,
+1489, that Savonarola began to expound the Apocalypse. Over the
+entrance is a Crucifix ascribed by Vasari to Giotto. On the second
+altar to the right is a much-damaged but authentic Madonna and Saints
+by Fra Bartolommeo; that on the opposite altar, on the left, is a
+copy of the original now in the Pitti Palace. There are some
+picturesque bits of old fourteenth century frescoes on the left wall,
+and beneath them, between the second and third altars, lie Pico della
+Mirandola and his friend Girolamo Benivieni, and Angelo Poliziano. The
+left transept contains the tomb and shrine of St Antoninus, the good
+Dominican Archbishop of Florence, with statues by Giovanni da Bologna
+and his followers, and later frescoes. In the sacristy, which was
+designed by Brunelleschi, there is a fine bronze recumbent statue of
+him. Antoninus was Prior of San Marco in the days of Angelico, and
+Vasari tells us that when Angelico went to Rome, to paint for Pope
+Eugenius, the Pope wished to make the painter Archbishop of Florence:
+"When the said friar heard this, he besought his Holiness to find
+somebody else, because he did not feel himself apt to govern people;
+but that since his Order had a friar who loved the poor, who was most
+learned and fit for rule, and who feared God, this dignity would be
+much better conferred upon him than on himself. The Pope, hearing
+this, and bethinking him that what he said was true, granted his
+request freely; and so Fra Antonino was made Archbishop of Florence,
+of the Order of Preachers, a man truly most illustrious for sanctity
+and learning."
+
+It was in the church of San Marco that Savonarola celebrated Mass on
+the day of the Ordeal; here the women waited and prayed, while the
+procession set forth; and hither the Dominicans returned at evening,
+amidst the howls and derision of the crowd. Here, on the next evening,
+the fiercest of the fighting took place. The attempt of the enemy to
+break into the church by the sacristy door was repulsed. One of the
+Panciatichi, a mere boy, mortally wounded, joyfully received the last
+sacraments from Fra Domenico on the steps of the altar, and died in
+such bliss, that the rest envied him. Finally the great door of the
+church was broken down; Fra Enrico, a German, mounted the pulpit and
+fired again and again into the midst of the Compagnacci, shouting with
+each shot, _Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine_. Driven from the pulpit,
+he and other friars planted their arquebusses beneath the Crucifix on
+the high altar, and continued to fire. The church was now so full of
+smoke that the friars could hardly continue the defence, until Fra
+Giovacchino della Robbia broke one of the windows with a lance. At
+last, when the Signoria threatened to destroy the whole convent with
+artillery, Savonarola ordered the friars to go in procession from the
+church to the dormitory, and himself, taking the Blessed Sacrament
+from the altar, slowly followed them.
+
+The convent itself, now officially the _Museo di San Marco_,
+originally a house of Silvestrine monks, was made over to the
+Dominicans by Pope Eugenius IV., at the instance of Cosimo dei Medici
+and his brother Lorenzo. They solemnly took possession in 1436, and
+Michelozzo entirely rebuilt the whole convent for them, mainly at the
+cost of Cosimo, between 1437 and 1452. "It is believed," says Vasari,
+"to be the best conceived and the most beautiful and commodious
+convent of any in Italy, thanks to the virtue and industry of
+Michelozzo." Fra Giovanni da Fiesole, as the Beato Angelico was
+called, came from his Fiesolan convent, and worked simultaneously with
+Michelozzo for about eight or nine years (until the Pope summoned him
+to Rome in 1445 to paint in the Vatican), covering with his mystical
+dreams the walls that his friend designed. That other artistic glory
+of the Dominicans, Fra Bartolommeo, took the habit here in 1500,
+though there are now only a few unimportant works of his remaining in
+the convent. Never was there such a visible outpouring of the praying
+heart in painting, as in the work of these two friars. And Antoninus
+and Savonarola strove to make the spirit world that they painted a
+living reality, for Florence and for the Church.
+
+The first cloister is surrounded by later frescoes, scenes from the
+life of St. Antoninus, partly by Bernardino Poccetti and Matteo
+Rosselli, at the beginning of the seventeenth century. They are not of
+great artistic value, but one, the fifth on the right of the entrance,
+representing the entry of St. Antoninus into Florence, shows the old
+facade of the Duomo. Like gems in this rather indifferent setting, are
+five exquisite frescoes by Angelico in lunettes over the doors; St.
+Thomas Aquinas, Christ as a pilgrim received by two Dominican friars,
+Christ in the tomb, St. Dominic (spoilt), St. Peter Martyr; also a
+larger fresco of St. Dominic at the foot of the Cross. The second of
+these, symbolising the hospitality of the convent rule, is one of
+Angelico's masterpieces; beneath it is the entrance to the Foresteria,
+the guest-chambers. Under the third lunette we pass into the great
+Refectory, with its customary pulpit for the novice reader: here,
+instead of the usual Last Supper, is a striking fresco of St. Dominic
+and his friars miraculously fed by Angels, painted in 1536 by Giovanni
+Antonio Sogliani (a pupil of Lorenzo di Credi); the Crucifixion above,
+with St. Catherine of Siena and St. Antoninus, is said to be by Fra
+Bartolommeo. Here, too, on the right is the original framework by
+Jacopo di Bartolommeo da Sete and Simone da Fiesole, executed in 1433,
+for Angelico's great tabernacle now in the Uffizi.
+
+Angelico's St. Dominic appropriately watches over the Chapter House,
+which contains the largest of Fra Giovanni's frescoes and one of the
+greatest masterpieces of religious art: the Crucifixion with the
+patron saints of Florence, of the convent, and of the Medici, the
+founders of the religious orders, the representatives of the zeal and
+learning of the Dominicans, all gathered and united in contemplation
+around the Cross of Christ. It was ordered by Cosimo dei Medici, and
+painted about 1441. On our left are the Madonna, supported by the
+Magdalene, the other Mary, and the beloved Disciple; the Baptist and
+St. Mark, representing the city and the convent; St. Lawrence and St.
+Cosmas (said by Vasari to be a portrait of Nanni di Banco, who died
+twenty years before), and St. Damian. On our right, kneeling at the
+foot of the Cross, is St. Dominic, a masterpiece of expression and
+sentiment; behind him St. Augustine and St. Albert of Jerusalem
+represent Augustinians and Carmelites; St. Jerome, St. Francis, St.
+Bernard, St. John Gualbert kneel; St. Benedict and St. Romuald stand
+behind them, while at the end are St. Peter Martyr and St. Thomas
+Aquinas. All the male heads are admirably characterised and
+discriminated, unlike Angelico's women, who are usually either merely
+conventionally done or idealised into Angels. Round the picture is a
+frieze of prophets, culminating in the mystical Pelican; below is the
+great tree of the Dominican order, spreading out from St. Dominic
+himself in the centre, with Popes Innocent V. and Benedict XI. on
+either hand. The St. Antoninus was added later. Vasari tells us that,
+in this tree, the brothers of the order assisted Angelico by obtaining
+portraits of the various personages represented from different places;
+and they may therefore be regarded as the real, or traditional,
+likenesses of the great Dominicans. The same probably applies to the
+wonderful figure of Aquinas in the picture itself.
+
+Beyond is a second and larger cloister, surrounded by very inferior
+frescoes of the life of St. Dominic, full of old armorial bearings and
+architectural fragments arranged rather incongruously. Some of the
+lunettes over the cells contain frescoes of the school of Fra
+Bartolommeo. The Academy of the Crusca is established here, in what
+was once the dormitory of the Novices. Connected with this cloister
+was the convent garden. "In the summer time," writes Simone Filipepi,
+"in the evening after supper, the Father Fra Girolamo used to walk
+with his friars in the garden, and he would make them all sit round
+him with the Bible in his hand, and here he expounded to them some
+fair passage of the Scriptures, sometimes questioning some novice or
+other, as occasion arose. At these meetings there gathered also some
+fifty or sixty learned laymen, for their edification. When, by reason
+of rain or other cause, it was not possible in the garden, they went
+into the _hospitium_ to do the same; and for an hour or two one seemed
+verily to be in Paradise, such charity and devotion and simplicity
+appeared in all. Blessed was he who could be there." Shortly before
+the Ordeal of Fire, Fra Girolamo was walking in the garden with Fra
+Placido Cinozzi, when an exceedingly beautiful boy of noble family
+came to him with a ticket upon which was written his name, offering
+himself to pass through the flames. And thinking that this might not
+be sufficient, he fell upon his knees, begging the Friar that he might
+be allowed to undergo the ordeal for him. "Rise up, my son," said
+Savonarola, "for this thy good will is wondrously pleasing unto God";
+and, when the boy had gone, he turned to Fra Placido and said: "From
+many persons have I had these applications, but from none have I
+received so much joy as from this child, for which may God be
+praised."
+
+To the left of the staircase to the upper floor, is the smaller
+refectory with a fresco of the Last Supper by Domenico Ghirlandaio,
+not by any means one of the painter's best works.
+
+On the top of the stairs we are initiated into the spirit of the place
+by Angelico's most beautiful Annunciation, with its inscription,
+_Virginis intacte cum veneris ante figuram, pretereundo cave ne
+sileatur Ave_, "When thou shalt have come before the image of the
+spotless Virgin, beware lest by negligence the Ave be silent."
+
+On the left of the stairway a double series of cells on either side of
+the corridor leads us to Savonarola's room. At the head of the
+corridor is one of those representations that Angelico repeated so
+often, usually with modifications, of St. Dominic at the foot of the
+Cross. Each of the cells has a painted lyric of the life of Christ and
+His mother, from Angelico's hand; almost each scene with Dominican
+witnesses and auditors introduced,--Dominic, Aquinas, Peter Martyr, as
+the case may be. In these frescoes Angelico was undoubtedly assisted
+by pupils, from whom a few of the less excellent scenes may come;
+there is an interesting, but altogether untrustworthy tradition that
+some were executed by his brother, Fra Benedetto da Mugello, who took
+the Dominican habit simultaneously with him and was Prior of the
+convent at Fiesole. Taking the cells on the left first, we see the
+_Noli me tangere_ (1), the Entombment (2), the Annunciation (3), the
+Crucifixion (4), the Nativity (5), the Transfiguration (6), a most
+wonderful picture. Opposite the Transfiguration, on the right wall of
+the corridor, is a Madonna and Saints, painted by the Friar somewhat
+later than the frescoes in the cells (which, it should be observed,
+appear to have been painted on the walls before the cells were
+actually partitioned off)--St. John Evangelist and St. Mark, the three
+great Dominicans and the patrons of the Medici. Then, on the left, the
+following cells contain the Mocking of Christ (7), the Resurrection
+with the Maries at the tomb (8), the Coronation of the Madonna (9),
+one of the grandest of the whole series, with St. Dominic and St.
+Francis kneeling below, and behind them St. Benedict and St. Thomas
+Aquinas, St. Peter Martyr and St. Paul the Hermit. The Presentation in
+the Temple (10), and the Madonna and Child with Aquinas and Augustine
+(11), are inferior to the rest.
+
+The shorter passage now turns to the cells occupied by Fra Girolamo
+Savonarola; one large cell leading into two smaller ones (12-14). In
+the larger are placed three frescoes by Fra Bartolommeo; Christ and
+the two disciples at Emmaus, formerly over the doorway of the
+refectory, and two Madonnas--one from the Dominican convent in the
+Mugnone being especially beautiful. Here are also modern busts of
+Savonarola by Dupre and Benivieni by Bastianini. In the first inner
+cell are Savonarola's portrait, apparently copied from a medal and
+wrongly ascribed to Bartolommeo, his Crucifix and his relics, his
+manuscripts and books of devotion, and, in another case, his hair
+shirt and rosary, his beloved Dominican garb which he gave up on the
+day of his martyrdom. In the inmost cell are the Cross which he is
+said to have carried, and a copy of the old (but not contemporary)
+picture of his death, of which the original is in the Corsini Palace.
+
+The seven small cells on the right (15-21) were assigned to the
+Juniors, the younger friars who had just passed through the Noviciate.
+Each contains a fresco by Angelico of St. Dominic at the foot of the
+Cross, now scourging himself, now absorbed in contemplation, now
+covering his face with his hands, but in no two cases identical. Into
+one of these cells a divine apparition was said to have come to one of
+these youths, after hearing Savonarola's "most fervent and most
+wondrous discourse" upon the mystery of the Incarnation. The story is
+told by Simone Filipepi:--
+
+"On the night of the most Holy Nativity, to a young friar in the
+convent, who had not yet sung Mass, had appeared visibly in his cell
+on the little altar, whilst he was engaged in prayer, Our Lord in the
+form of a little infant even as when He was born in the stable. And
+when the hour came to go into the choir for matins, the said friar
+commenced to debate in his mind whether he ought to go and leave here
+the Holy Child, and deprive himself of such sweetness, or not. At last
+he resolved to go and to bear It with him; so, having wrapped It up in
+his arms and under his cowl as best he could, all trembling with joy
+and with fear, he went down into the choir without telling anyone.
+But, when it came to his turn to sing a lesson, whilst he approached
+the reading-desk, the Infant vanished from his arms; and when the
+friar was aware of this, he remained so overwhelmed and almost beside
+himself that he commenced to wander through the choir, like one who
+seeks a thing lost, so that it was necessary that another should read
+that lesson."
+
+Passing back again down the corridor, we see in the cells two more
+Crucifixions (22 and 23); the Baptism of Christ with Madonna as
+witness (24), the Crucifixion (25); then, passing the great Madonna
+fresco, the Mystery of the Passion (26), in one of those symbolical
+representations which seem to have originated with the Camaldolese
+painter, Don Lorenzo; Christ bound to the pillar, with St. Dominic
+scourging himself and the Madonna appealing to us (27, perhaps by a
+pupil); Christ bearing the Cross (28); two more Crucifixions (29 and
+30), apparently not executed by Angelico himself.
+
+At the side of Angelico's Annunciation opposite the stairs, we enter
+the cell of St. Antoninus (31). Here is one of Angelico's most
+beautiful and characteristic frescoes, Christ's descent into Hades:
+"the intense, 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," as
+Ruskin describes it. Here, too, is the death mask of Antoninus, his
+portrait perhaps drawn from the death mask by Bartolommeo, his
+manuscripts and relics; also a tree of saintly Dominicans, Savonarola
+being on the main trunk, the third from the root.
+
+The next cell on the right (32) has the Sermon on the Mount and the
+Temptation in the Wilderness. In the following (33), also double,
+besides the frescoed Kiss of Judas, are two minute pictures by Fra
+Angelico, belonging to an earlier stage of his art than the frescoes,
+intended for reliquaries and formerly in Santa Maria Novella. One of
+them, the _Madonna della Stella_, is a very perfect and typical
+example of the Friar's smaller works, in their "purity of colour
+almost shadowless." The other, the Coronation of the Madonna, is less
+excellent and has suffered from retouching. The Agony in the Garden
+(in cell 34) contains a curious piece of mediaeval symbolism in the
+presence of Mary and Martha, contemplation and action, the Mary being
+here the Blessed Virgin. In the same cell is another of the
+reliquaries from Santa Maria Novella, the Annunciation over the
+Adoration of the Magi, with Madonna and Child, the Virgin Martyrs, the
+Magdalene and St. Catherine of Siena below; the drawing is rather
+faulty. In the following cells are the Last Supper (35), conceived
+mystically as the institution of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar,
+with the Madonna alone as witness; the Deposition from the Cross (36);
+and the Crucifixion (37), in which Dominic stands with out-stretched
+arms.
+
+Opposite on the right (38-39) is the great cell where Pope Eugenius
+stayed on the occasion of the consecration of San Marco in 1442; here
+Cosimo the Elder, Pater Patriae, spent long hours of his closing days,
+in spiritual intercourse with St. Antoninus and after the latter's
+death. In the outer compartment the Medicean saint, Cosmas, joins
+Madonna and Peter Martyr at the foot of the Cross. Within are the
+Adoration of the Magi and a Pieta, both from Angelico's hand, and the
+former, one of his latest masterpieces, probably painted with
+reference to the fact that the convent had been consecrated on the
+Feast of the Epiphany. Here, too, is an old terracotta bust of
+Antoninus, and a splendid but damaged picture of Cosimo himself by
+Jacopo da Pontormo, incomparably finer than that artist's similarly
+constructed work in the Uffizi. Between two smaller cells containing
+Crucifixions, both apparently by Angelico himself (42-43--the former
+with the Mary and Martha motive at the foot of the Cross), is the
+great Greek Library, built by Michelozzo for Cosimo. Here Cosimo
+deposited a portion of the manuscripts which had been collected by
+Niccolo Niccoli, with additions of his own, and it became the first
+public library in Italy. Its shelves are now empty and bare, but it
+contains a fine collection of illuminated ritual books from suppressed
+convents, several of which are, rather doubtfully, ascribed to
+Angelico's brother, Fra Benedetto da Mugello.
+
+It was in this library that Savonarola exercised for the last time his
+functions of Prior of San Marco, and surrendered to the commissioners
+of the Signoria, on the night of Palm Sunday, 1498. What happened had
+best be told in the words of the Padre Pacifico Burlamacchi of the
+same convent, Savonarola's contemporary and follower. After several
+fictitious summonses had come:--
+
+"They returned at last with the decree of the Signoria in writing, but
+with the open promise that Fra Girolamo should be restored safe and
+sound, together with his companions. When he heard this, he told them
+that he would obey. But first he retired with his friars into the
+Greek Library, where he made them in Latin a most beautiful sermon,
+exhorting them to follow onwards in the way of God with faith, prayer,
+and patience; telling them that it was necessary to go to heaven by
+the way of tribulations, and that therefore they ought not in any way
+to be terrified; alleging many old examples of the ingratitude of the
+city of Florence in return for the benefits received from their Order.
+As that of St. Peter Martyr who, after doing so many marvellous things
+in Florence, was slain, the Florentines paying the price of his blood.
+And of St. Catherine of Siena, whom many had sought to kill, after she
+had borne so many labours for them, going personally to Avignon to
+plead their cause before the Pope. Nor had less happened to St.
+Antoninus, their Archbishop and excellent Pastor, whom they had once
+wished to throw from the windows. And that it was no marvel, if he
+also, after such sorrows and labourings, was paid at the end in the
+same coin. But that he was ready to receive everything with desire and
+happiness for the love of his Lord, knowing that in nought else
+consisted the Christian life, save in doing good and suffering evil.
+And thus, while all the bye-standers wept, he finished his sermon.
+Then, issuing forth from the library, he said to those laymen who
+awaited him: 'I will say to you what Jeremiah said: This thing I
+expected, but not so soon nor so suddenly.' He exhorted them further
+to live well and to be fervent in prayer. And having confessed to the
+Father Fra Domenico da Pescia, he took the Communion in the first
+library. And the same did Fra Domenico. After eating a little, he was
+somewhat refreshed; and he spoke the last words to his friars,
+exhorting them to persevere in religion, and kissing them all, he took
+his last departure from them. In the parting one of his children said
+to him: 'Father, why dost thou abandon us and leave us so desolate?'
+To which he replied: 'Son, have patience, God will help you'; and he
+added that he would either see them again alive, or that after death
+he would appear to them without fail. Also, as he departed, he gave up
+the common keys to the brethren, with so great humility and charity,
+that the friars could not keep themselves from tears; and many of them
+wished by all means to go with him. At last, recommending himself to
+their prayers, he made his way towards the door of the library, where
+the first Commissioners all armed were awaiting him; to whom, giving
+himself into their hands like a most meek lamb, he said: 'I recommend
+to you this my flock and all these other citizens.' And when he was in
+the corridor of the library, he said: 'My friars, doubt not, for God
+will not fail to perfect His work; and although I be put to death, I
+shall help you more than I have done in life, and I will return
+without fail to console you, either dead or alive.' Arrived at the
+holy water, which is at the exit of the choir, Fra Domenico said to
+him: 'Fain would I too come to these nuptials.' Certain of the laymen,
+his friends, were arrested at the command of the Signoria. When the
+Father Fra Girolamo was in the first cloister, Fra Benedetto, the
+miniaturist, strove ardently to go with him; and, when the officers
+thrust him back, he still insisted that he would go. But the Father
+Fra Girolamo turned to him, and said: 'Fra Benedetto, on your
+obedience come not, for I and Fra Domenico have to die for the love of
+Christ.' And thus he was torn away from the eyes of his children."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+_The Accademia delle Belle Arti--The Santissima Annunziata--And other
+Buildings_
+
+     "In Firenze, piu che altrove, venivano gli uomini perfetti in tutte
+     l'arti, e specialmente nella pittura."--_Vasari._
+
+
+Turning southwards from the Piazza di San Marco into the Via Ricasoli,
+we come to the _Accademia delle Belle Arti_, with its collection of
+Tuscan and Umbrian pictures, mostly gathered from suppressed churches
+and convents.
+
+In the central hall, the Tribune of the David, Michelangelo's gigantic
+marble youth stands under the cupola, surrounded by casts of the
+master's other works. The young hero has just caught sight of the
+approaching enemy, and is all braced up for the immortal moment.
+Commenced in 1501 and finished at the beginning of 1504, out of a
+block of marble over which an earlier sculptor had bungled, it was
+originally set up in front of the Palazzo Vecchio on the Ringhiera, as
+though to defend the great Palace of the People. It is supposed to
+have taken five days to move the statue from the Opera del Duomo,
+where Michelangelo had chiselled it out, to the Palace. When the
+simple-minded Gonfaloniere, Piero Soderini, saw it, he told the artist
+that the nose appeared to him to be too large; whereupon Michelangelo
+mounted a ladder, pretended to work upon it for a few moments,
+dropping a little marble dust all the time, which he had taken up with
+him, and then turned round for approval to the Gonfaloniere, who
+assured him that he had now given the statue life. This _gigante di
+Fiorenza_, as it was called, was considerably damaged during the third
+expulsion of the Medici in 1527, but retained its proud position
+before the Palace until 1873.
+
+On the right, as we approach the giant, is the _Sala del Beato
+Angelico_, containing a lovely array of Fra Angelico's smaller
+paintings. Were we to attempt to sum up Angelico's chief
+characteristics in one word, that word would be _onesta_, in its early
+mediaeval sense as Dante uses it in the _Vita Nuova_, signifying not
+merely purity or chastity, as it came later to mean, but the outward
+manifestation of spiritual beauty,--the _honestas_ of which Aquinas
+speaks. A supreme expression of this may be found in the Paradise of
+his Last Judgment (266), the mystical dance of saints and Angels in
+the celestial garden that blossoms under the rays of the Sun of Divine
+Love, and on all the faces of the blessed beneath the Queen of Mercy
+on the Judge's right. The Hell is, naturally, almost a failure. In
+many of the small scenes from the lives of Christ and His Mother, of
+which there are several complete series here, some of the heads are
+absolute miracles of expression; notice, for instance, the Judas
+receiving the thirty pieces of silver, and all the faces in the
+Betrayal (237), and, above all perhaps, the Peter in the Entry into
+Jerusalem (252), on every line of whose face seems written: "Lord, why
+can I not follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake." The
+Deposition from the Cross (246), contemplated by St. Dominic, the
+Beata Villana and St. Catherine of Alexandria, appears to be an
+earlier work of Angelico's. Here, also, are three great Madonnas
+painted by the Friar as altar pieces for convent churches; the Madonna
+and Child surrounded by Angels and saints, while Cosmas and Damian,
+the patrons of the Medici, kneel at her feet (281), was executed in
+1438 for the high altar of San Marco, and, though now terribly
+injured, was originally one of his best pictures; the Madonna and
+Child, with two Angels and six saints, Peter Martyr, Cosmas and
+Damian, Francis, Antony of Padua, and Louis of Toulouse (265), was
+painted for the convent of the Osservanza near Mugello,--hence the
+group of Franciscans on the left; the third (227), in which Cosmas and
+Damian stand with St. Dominic on the right of the Madonna, and St.
+Francis with Lawrence and John the Divine on her left, is an inferior
+work from his hand.
+
+Also in this room are four delicious little panels by Lippo Lippi (264
+and 263), representing the Annunciation divided into two compartments,
+St. Antony Abbot and the Baptist; two Monks of the Vallombrosa, by
+Perugino (241, 242), almost worthy of Raphael; and two charming scenes
+of mediaeval university life, the School of Albertus Magnus (231) and
+the School of St. Thomas Aquinas (247). These two latter appear to be
+by some pupil of Fra Angelico, and may possibly be very early works of
+Benozzo Gozzoli. In the first, Albert is lecturing to an audience,
+partly lay and partly clerical, amongst whom is St. Thomas, then a
+youthful novice but already distinguished by the halo and the sun upon
+his breast; in the second, Thomas himself is now holding the
+professorial chair, surrounded by pupils listening or taking notes,
+while Dominicans throng the cloisters behind. On his right sits the
+King of France; below his seat the discomforted Averrhoes humbly
+places himself on the lowest step, between the heretics--William of
+St. Amour and Sabellius.
+
+From the left of the David's tribune, we turn into three rooms
+containing masterpieces of the Quattrocento (with a few later works),
+and appropriately named after Botticelli and Perugino.
+
+In the _Sala prima del Botticelli_ is Sandro's famous _Primavera_, the
+Allegory of Spring or the Kingdom of Venus (80). Inspired in part by
+Poliziano's _stanze_ in honour of Giuliano dei Medici and his Bella
+Simonetta, Botticelli nevertheless has given to his strange--not
+altogether decipherable--allegory, a vague mysterious poetry far
+beyond anything that Messer Angelo could have suggested to him.
+Through this weirdly coloured garden of the Queen of Love, in "the
+light that never was on sea or land," blind Cupid darts upon his
+little wings, shooting, apparently at random, a flame-tipped arrow
+which will surely pierce the heart of the central maiden of those
+three, who, in their thin clinging white raiment, personify the
+Graces. The eyes of Simonetta--for it is clearly she--rest for a
+moment in the dance upon the stalwart Hermes, an idealised Giuliano,
+who has turned away carelessly from the scene. Flora, "pranked and
+pied for birth," advances from our right, scattering flowers rapidly
+as she approaches; while behind her a wanton Zephyr, borne on his
+strong wings, breaks through the wood to clasp Fertility, from whose
+mouth the flowers are starting. Venus herself, the mistress of nature,
+for whom and by whom all these things are done, stands somewhat sadly
+apart in the centre of the picture; this is only one more of the
+numberless springs that have passed over her since she first rose from
+the sea, and she is somewhat weary of it all:--
+
+     "Te, dea, te fugiunt venti, te nubila caeli
+     Adventumque tuum, tibi suavis daedala tellus
+     Summittit flores, tibi rident aequora ponti
+     Placatumque nitet diffuso lumine caelum."[47]
+
+  [47] "Before thee, goddess, flee the winds, the clouds of heaven;
+  before thee and thy advent; for thee earth manifold in works puts
+  forth sweet-smelling flowers; for thee the levels of the sea do laugh
+  and heaven propitiated shines with outspread light" (Munro's
+  _Lucretius_).
+
+This was one of the pictures painted for Lorenzo the Magnificent.
+Botticelli's other picture in this room, the large Coronation of the
+Madonna (73) with its predella (74), was commissioned by the Arte di
+Por Sta. Maria, the Guild of Silk-merchants, for an altar in San
+Marco; the ring of festive Angels, encircling their King and Queen, is
+in one of the master's most characteristic moods. On either side of
+the Primavera are two early works by Lippo Lippi; Madonna adoring the
+Divine Child in a rocky landscape, with the little St. John and an old
+hermit (79), and the Nativity (82), with Angels and shepherds, Jerome,
+Magdalene and Hilarion. Other important pictures in this room are
+Andrea del Sarto's Four Saints (76), one of his latest works painted
+for the monks of Vallombrosa in 1528; Andrea Verrocchio's Baptism of
+Christ (71), in which the two Angels were possibly painted by
+Verrocchio's great pupil, Leonardo, in his youth; Masaccio's Madonna
+and Child watched over by St. Anne (70), an early and damaged work,
+the only authentic easel picture of his in Florence. The three small
+predella pictures (72), the Nativity, the martyrdom of Sts. Cosmas and
+Damian, St. Anthony of Padua finding a stone in the place of the dead
+miser's heart, by Francesco Pesellino, 1422-1457, the pupil of Lippo
+Lippi, are fine examples of a painter who normally only worked on this
+small scale and whose works are very rare indeed. Francesco Granacci,
+who painted the Assumption (68), is chiefly interesting as having
+been Michelangelo's friend and fellow pupil under Ghirlandaio.
+
+The _Sala del Perugino_ takes its name from three works of that master
+which it contains; the great Vallombrosa Assumption (57), signed and
+dated 1500, one of the painter's finest altar pieces, with a very
+characteristic St. Michael--the Archangel who was by tradition the
+genius of the Assumption, as Gabriel had been of the Annunciation; the
+Deposition from the Cross (56); and the Agony in the Garden (53). But
+the gem of the whole room is Lippo Lippi's Coronation of the Madonna
+(62), one of the masterpieces of the early Florentine school, which he
+commenced for the nuns of Sant' Ambrogio in 1441. The throngs of boys
+and girls, bearing lilies and playing at being Angels, are altogether
+delightful, and the two little orphans, that are being petted by the
+pretty Florentine lady on our right, are characteristic of Fra
+Filippo's never failing sympathy with child life. On the left two
+admirably characterised monks are patronised by St. Ambrose, and in
+the right corner the jolly Carmelite himself, under the wing of the
+Baptist, is welcomed by a little Angel with the scroll, _Is perfecit
+opus_. It will be observed that "poor brother Lippo" has dressed
+himself with greater care for his celestial visit, than he announced
+his intention of doing in Robert Browning's poem:--
+
+                   "Well, all these
+     Secured at their devotion, up shall come
+     Out of a corner when you least expect,
+     As one by a dark stair into a great light,
+     Music and talking, who but Lippo! I!--
+     Mazed, motionless and moon-struck--I'm the man!
+     Back I shrink--what is this I see and hear?
+     I, caught up with my monk's things by mistake,
+     My old serge gown and rope that goes all round,
+     I, in this presence, this pure company!
+     Where's a hole, where's a corner for escape?
+     Then steps a sweet angelic slip of a thing
+     Forward, puts out a soft palm--'Not so fast!'
+     Addresses the celestial presence, 'Nay--
+     'He made you and devised you, after all,
+     'Though he's none of you! Could Saint John there draw--
+     'His camel-hair make up a painting-brush?
+     'We come to brother Lippo for all that,
+     '_Iste perfecit opus!_'"
+
+Fra Filippo's Madonna and Child, with Sts. Cosmas and Damian, Francis
+and Antony, painted for the Medicean chapel in Santa Croce (55), is an
+earlier and less characteristic work. Over the door is St. Vincent
+preaching, by Fra Bartolommeo (58), originally painted to go over the
+entrance to the sacristy in San Marco--a striking representation of a
+Dominican preacher of repentance and renovation, conceived in the
+spirit of Savonarola, but terribly "restored." The Trinita (63) is one
+of Mariotto Albertinelli's best works, but sadly damaged. The two
+child Angels (61) by Andrea del Sarto, originally belonged to his
+picture of the Four Saints, in the last room; the Crucifixion, with
+the wonderful figure of the Magdalene at the foot of the Cross (65),
+ascribed to Luca Signorelli, does not appear to be from the master's
+own hand; Ghirlandaio's predella (67), with scenes from the lives of
+Sts. Dionysius, Clement, Dominic, and Thomas Aquinas, belongs to a
+great picture which we shall see presently.
+
+The _Sala seconda del Botticelli_ contains three pictures ascribed to
+the master, but only one is authentic--the Madonna and Child enthroned
+with six Saints, while Angels raise the curtain over her throne or
+hold up emblems of the Passion (85); it is inscribed with Dante's
+line--
+
+     "Vergine Madre, Figlia del tuo Figlio."
+
+The familiar Three Archangels (84), though attributed to Sandro, is
+not even a work of his school. There is a charming little predella
+picture by Fra Filippo (86), representing a miracle of San Frediano,
+St. Michael announcing her death to the Blessed Virgin, and a friar
+contemplating the mystery of the Blessed Trinity--pierced by the
+"three arrows of the three stringed bow," to adopt Dante's phrase. The
+Deposition from the Cross (98), was commenced by Filippino Lippi for
+the Annunziata, and finished after his death in 1504 by Perugino, who
+added the group of Maries with the Magdalene and the figure on our
+right. The Vision of St. Bernard (97), by Fra Bartolommeo, is the
+first picture that the Friar undertook on resuming his brush, after
+Raphael's visit to Florence had stirred him up to new efforts;
+commenced in 1506, it was left unfinished, and has been injured by
+renovations. Here are two excellent paintings by Lorenzo di Credi (92
+and 94), the former, the Adoration of the Shepherds, being his very
+best and most perfectly finished work. High up are two figures in
+niches by Filippino Lippi, the Baptist and the Magdalene (93 and 89),
+hardly pleasing. The Resurrection (90), by Raffaellino del Garbo, is
+the only authentic work in Florence of a pupil of Filippino's, who
+gave great promise which was never fulfilled.
+
+At the end of the hall are three Sale _dei Maestri Toscani_, from the
+earliest Primitives down to the eighteenth century. Only a few need
+concern us much.
+
+The first room contains the works of the earlier masters, from a
+pseudo-Cimabue (102), to Luca Signorelli, whose Madonna and Child with
+Archangels and Doctors (164), painted for a church in Cortona, has
+suffered from restoration. There are four genuine, very tiny pictures
+by Botticelli (157, 158, 161, 162). The Adoration of the Kings (165),
+by Gentile da Fabriano, is one of the most delightful old pictures in
+Florence; Gentile da Fabriano, an Umbrian master who, through Jacopo
+Bellini, had a considerable influence upon the early Venetian school,
+settled in Florence in 1422, and finished this picture in the
+following year for Santa Trinita, near which he kept a much frequented
+bottega. Michelangelo said that Gentile had a hand similar to his
+name; and this picture, with its rich and varied poetry, is his
+masterpiece. The man wearing a turban, seen full face behind the third
+king, is the painter himself. Kugler remarks: "Fra Angelico and
+Gentile are like two brothers, both highly gifted by nature, both full
+of the most refined and amiable feelings; but the one became a monk,
+the other a knight." The smaller pictures surrounding it are almost
+equally charming in their way--especially, perhaps, the Flight into
+Egypt in the predella. The Deposition from the Cross (166), by Fra
+Angelico, also comes from Santa Trinita, for which it was finished in
+1445; originally one of Angelico's masterpieces, it has been badly
+repainted; the saints in the frame are extremely beautiful, especially
+a most wonderful St. Michael at the top, on our left; the man standing
+on the ladder, wearing a black hood, is the architect, Michelozzo, who
+was the Friar's friend, and may be recognised in several of his
+paintings. The lunettes in the three Gothic arches above Angelico's
+picture, and which, perhaps, did not originally belong to it, are by
+the Camaldolese Don Lorenzo, by whom are also the Annunciation with
+four Saints (143), and the three predella scenes (144, 145, 146).
+
+Of the earlier pictures, the Madonna and Child adored by Angels (103)
+is now believed to be the only authentic easel picture of Giotto's
+that remains to us--though this is, possibly, an excess of scepticism.
+Besides several works ascribed to Taddeo Gaddi and his son Agnolo, by
+the former of whom are probably the small panels from Santa Croce,
+formerly attributed to Giotto, we should notice the Pieta by Giovanni
+da Milano (131); the Presentation in the Temple by Ambrogio Lorenzetti
+(134), signed and dated 1342; and a large altarpiece ascribed to
+Pietro Cavallini (157). The so-called Marriage of Boccaccio Adimari
+with Lisa Ricasoli (147) is an odd picture of the social customs of
+old Florence.
+
+In the second room are chiefly works by Fra Bartolommeo and Mariotto
+Albertinelli. By the Frate, are the series of heads of Christ and
+Saints (168), excepting the Baptist on the right; they are frescoes
+taken from San Marco, excepting the Christ on the left, inscribed
+"Orate pro pictore 1514," which is in oil on canvas. Also by him are
+the two frescoes of Madonna and Child (171, 173), and the splendid
+portrait of Savonarola in the character of St. Peter Martyr (172), the
+great religious persecutor of the Middle Ages, to whom Fra Girolamo
+had a special devotion. By Albertinelli, are the Madonna and Saints
+(167), and the Annunciation (169), signed and dated 1510. This room
+also contains several pictures by Fra Paolino da Pistoia and the
+Dominican nun, Plautilla Nelli, two pious but insipid artists, who
+inherited Fra Bartolommeo's drawings and tried to carry on his
+traditions. On a stand in the middle of the room, is Domenico
+Ghirlandaio's Adoration of the Shepherds (195), from Santa Trinita, a
+splendid work with--as Vasari puts it--"certain heads of shepherds
+which are held a divine thing."
+
+On the walls of the third room are later pictures of no importance or
+significance. But in the middle of the room is another masterpiece by
+Ghirlandaio (66); the Madonna and Child with two Angels, Thomas
+Aquinas and Dionysius standing on either side of the throne, Dominic
+and Clement kneeling. It is seldom, indeed, that this prosaic painter
+succeeded in creating such a thinker as this Thomas, such a mystic as
+this Dionysius; in the head of the latter we see indeed the image of
+the man who, according to the pleasant mediaeval fable eternalised by
+Dante, "in the flesh below, saw deepest into the Angelic nature and
+its ministry."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the Via Cavour, beyond San Marco, is the _Chiostro dello Scalzo_, a
+cloister belonging to a brotherhood dedicated to St. John, which was
+suppressed in the eighteenth century. Here are a series of frescoes
+painted in grisaille by Andrea del Sarto and his partner, Francia
+Bigio, representing scenes from the life of the Precursor, with
+allegorical figures of the Virtues. The Baptism of Christ is the
+earliest, and was painted by the two artists in collaboration, in 1509
+or 1510. After some work for the Servites, which we shall see
+presently, Andrea returned to this cloister; and painted, from 1515 to
+1517, the Justice, St. John preaching, St. John baptising the people,
+and his imprisonment. Some of the figures in these frescoes show the
+influence of Albert Duerer's engravings. Towards the end of 1518,
+Andrea went off to France to work for King Francis I.; and, while he
+was away, Francia Bigio painted St. John leaving his parents, and St.
+John's first meeting with Christ. On Andrea's return, he set to work
+here again and painted, at intervals from 1520 to 1526, Charity, Faith
+and Hope, the dance of the daughter of Herodias, the decollation of
+St. John, and the presentation of his head, the Angel appearing to
+Zacharias, the Visitation, and, last of all, the Birth of the Baptist.
+The Charity is Andrea's own wife, Lucrezia, who at this very time, if
+Vasari's story is true, was persuading him to break his promise to the
+French King and to squander the money which had been intrusted to him
+for the purchase of works of art.
+
+The Via della Sapienza leads from San Marco into the _Piazza della
+Santissima Annunziata_. In one of the houses on the left, now
+incorporated into the Reale Istituto di Studi Superiori, Andrea del
+Sarto and Francia Bigio lodged with other painters, before Andrea's
+marriage; and here, usually under the presidency of the sculptor
+Rustici, the "Compagnia del Paiuolo," an artists' club of twelve
+members, met for feasting and disport.[48]
+
+  [48] See _Andrea del Sarto_, by H. Guinness in the _Great Masters_
+  series, and _G. F. Rustici_ in Vasari.
+
+This Piazza was a great place for processions in old Florence. Here
+stand the church of the _Santissima Annunziata_ and the convent of the
+Servites, while the Piazza itself is flanked to right and left by
+arcades originally designed by Brunelleschi. The equestrian statue of
+the Grand Duke Ferdinand I. was cast by Giovanni da Bologna out of
+metal from captured Turkish guns. The arcade on the right, as we face
+the church, with its charming medallions of babies in swaddling
+clothes by Andrea della Robbia, is a part of the Spedale degli
+Innocenti or Hospital for Foundlings, which was commenced from
+Brunelleschi's designs in 1421, during the Gonfalonierate of Giovanni
+dei Medici; the work, which was eloquently supported in the Council of
+the People by Leonardo Bruni, was raised by the Silk-merchants Guild,
+the Arte di Por Santa Maria. On its steps the Compagnacci murdered
+their first victim in the attack on San Marco. There is a picturesque
+court, designed by Brunelleschi, with an Annunciation by Andrea della
+Robbia over the door of the chapel, and a small picture gallery, which
+contains nothing of much importance, save a Holy Family with Saints by
+Piero di Cosimo. In the chapel, or church of Santa Maria degli
+Innocenti, there is a masterpiece by Domenico Ghirlandaio, painted in
+1488, an Adoration of the Magi (the fourth head on the left is the
+painter himself), in which the Massacre of the Innocents is seen in
+the background, and two of these glorified infant martyrs, under the
+protection of the two St. Johns, are kneeling most sweetly in front of
+the Madonna and her Child, for whom they have died, joining in the
+adoration of the kings and the _gloria_ of the angelic choir.
+
+The church of the Santissima Annunziata was founded in the thirteenth
+century, but has been completely altered and modernised since at
+different epochs. In summer mornings lilies and other flowers lie in
+heaps in its portico and beneath Ghirlandaio's mosaic of the
+Annunciation, to be offered at Madonna's shrine within. The entrance
+court was built in the fifteenth century, at the expense of the elder
+Piero dei Medici. The fresco to the left of the entrance, the Nativity
+of Christ, is by Alessio Baldovinetti. Within the glass, to the left,
+are six frescoes representing the life and miracles of the great
+Servite, Filippo Benizzi; that of his receiving the habit of the order
+is by Cosimo Rosselli (1476); the remaining five are early works by
+Andrea del Sarto, painted in 1509 and 1510, for which he received a
+mere trifle; in the midst of them is an indifferent seventeenth
+century bust of their painter. The frescoes on the right, representing
+the life of the Madonna, of whom this order claims to be the special
+servants, are slightly later. The approach of the Magi and the
+Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, the latter dated 1514, are among the
+finest works of Andrea del Sarto; in the former he has introduced
+himself and the sculptor Sansovino, and among the ladies in the latter
+is his wife. Fifty years afterwards the painter Jacopo da Empoli was
+copying this picture, when a very old lady, who was going into the
+church to hear mass, stopped to look at his work, and then, pointing
+to the portrait of Lucrezia, told him that it was herself. The
+Sposalizio, by Francia Bigio, painted in 1513, was damaged by the
+painter himself in a fit of passion at the meddling of the monks. The
+Visitation, by Jacopo da Pontormo, painted in 1516, shows what
+admirable work this artist could do in his youth, before he fell into
+his mannered imitations of Michelangelo; the Assumption, painted
+slightly later by another of Andrea's pupils, Rosso Fiorentino, is
+less excellent.
+
+Inside the church itself, on the left, is the sanctuary of Our Lady of
+the Annunciation, one of the most highly revered shrines in Tuscany;
+it was constructed from the designs of Michelozzo at the cost of the
+elder Piero dei Medici to enclose the miraculous picture of the
+Annunciation, and lavishly decorated and adorned by the Medicean Grand
+Dukes. After the Pazzi conspiracy, Piero's son Lorenzo had a waxen
+image of himself suspended here in thanksgiving for his escape. Over
+the altar there is usually a beautiful little head of the Saviour, by
+Andrea del Sarto. The little oratory beyond, with the Madonna's
+mystical emblems on its walls, was constructed in the seventeenth
+century.
+
+In the second chapel from the shrine is a fresco by Andrea del
+Castagno, which was discovered in the summer of 1899 under a copy of
+Michelangelo's Last Judgment. It represents St. Jerome and two women
+saints adoring the Blessed Trinity, and is characteristic of the _modo
+terribile_ in which this painter conceived his subjects; the heads of
+the Jerome and the older saint to our right are particularly powerful.
+For the rest, the interior of this church is more gorgeous than
+tasteful; and the other works which it contains, including the two
+Peruginos, and some tolerable monuments, are third rate. The rotunda
+of the choir was designed by Leo Battista Alberti and erected at the
+cost of the Marquis of Mantua, whose descendant, San Luigi Gonzaga,
+had a special devotion to the miraculous picture.
+
+From the north transept, the cloisters are entered. Here, over the
+door, is the Madonna del Sacco, an exceedingly beautiful fresco by
+Andrea del Sarto, painted in 1525. St. Joseph, leaning upon the sack
+which gives the picture its name, is reading aloud the Prophecies to
+the Mother and Child whom they concern. In this cloister--which was
+built by Cronaca--is the monument of the French knight slain at
+Campaldino in 1289 (_see_ chapter ii.), which should be contrasted
+with the later monuments of condottieri in the Duomo. Here also is the
+chapel of St. Luke, where the Academy of Artists, founded under Cosimo
+I., used to meet.
+
+A good view of the exterior of the rotunda can be obtained from the
+Via Gino Capponi. At the corner of this street and the Via del
+Mandorlo is the house which Andrea del Sarto bought for himself and
+his Lucrezia, after his return from France, and here he died in 1531,
+"full of glory and of domestic sorrows." Lucrezia survived him for
+nearly forty years, and died in 1570. Perhaps, if she had not made
+herself so unpleasant to her husband's pupils and assistants, good
+Giorgio Vasari--the youngest of them--might not have left us so dark a
+picture of this beautiful Florentine.
+
+The rather picturesque bit of ruin in the Via degli Alfani, at the
+corner of the Via del Castellaccio, is merely a part of an oratory in
+connection with Santa Maria degli Angioli, which Brunelleschi
+commenced for Filippo Scolari, but which was abandoned. _Santa Maria
+degli Angioli_ itself, a suppressed Camaldolese house, was of old one
+of the most important convents in Florence. The famous poet, Fra
+Guittone d'Arezzo, of whom Dante speaks disparagingly in the
+_Commedia_ and in the _De Vulgari Eloquentia_, was instrumental in its
+foundation in 1293. It was sacked in 1378 during the rising of the
+Ciompi. This convent in the earlier portion of the fifteenth century
+was a centre of Hellenic studies and humanistic culture, under Father
+Ambrogio Traversari, who died at the close of the Council of Florence.
+In the cloister there is still a powerful fresco by Andrea del
+Castagno representing Christ on the Cross, with Madonna and the
+Magdalene, the Baptist, St. Benedict and St. Romuald. The Romuald
+especially, the founder of the order, is a fine life-like figure.
+
+The _Spedale di Santa Maria Nuova_ was originally founded by Messer
+Folco Portinari, the father of the girl who may have been Dante's
+"Giver of Blessing," in 1287. Folco died in 1289, and is buried within
+the church, which contains one of Andrea della Robbia's Madonnas. Over
+the portal is a terracotta Coronation of the Madonna by Bicci di
+Lorenzo, erected in 1424. The two frescoes, representing scenes in the
+history of the hospital, are of the early part of the fifteenth
+century; the one on the right was painted in 1424 by Bicci di Lorenzo.
+In the Via Bufalini, Ghiberti had his workshop; in what was once his
+house is now the picture gallery of the hospital. Here is the fresco
+of the Last Judgment, commenced by Fra Bartolommeo in 1499, before he
+abandoned the world, and finished by Mariotto Albertinelli. Among its
+contents are an Annunciation by Albertinelli, Madonnas by Cosimo
+Rosselli and Rosso Fiorentino, and a terracotta Madonna by
+Verrocchio. The two pictures ascribed to Angelico and Botticelli are
+not authentic. But in some respects more interesting than these
+Florentine works is the triptych by the Fleming, Hugo Van der Goes,
+painted between 1470 and 1475 for Tommaso Portinari, Messer Folco's
+descendant; in the centre is the "Adoration of the Shepherds," with
+deliciously quaint little Angels; in the side wings, Tommaso Portinari
+with his two boys, his wife and their little girl, are guarded by
+their patron saints. Tommaso Portinari was agent for the Medici in
+Bruges; and, on the occasion of the wedding of Charles the Bold of
+Burgundy with Margaret of York in 1468, he made a fine show riding in
+the procession at the head of the Florentines.
+
+  [Illustration: THE CLOISTER OF THE INNOCENTI]
+
+A little more to the east are the church and suppressed convent of
+Santa Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi. In the church, which has a fine court
+designed by Giuliano da San Gallo, is a Coronation of the Madonna by
+Cosimo Rosselli; in the chapter-house of the convent is a Crucifixion
+by Perugino, painted in the closing years of the Quattrocento, perhaps
+the grandest of all his frescoes. In Ruskin's chapter on the
+_Superhuman Ideal_, in the second volume of _Modern Painters_, he
+cites the background of this fresco (together with Benozzo Gozzoli's
+in the Palazzo Riccardi) as one of the most perfect examples of those
+ideal landscapes of the religious painters, in which Perugino is
+supreme: "In the landscape of the fresco in Sta. Maria Maddalena at
+Florence 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, and a small village with its simple spire peeps from the
+forest at the bend of the valley."
+
+Beyond is the church of Sant' Ambrogio, once belonging to the convent
+of Benedictine nuns for whom Fra Lippo Lippi painted his great
+Coronation of Madonna. The church is hardly interesting at present,
+but contains an Assumption by Cosimo Rosselli, and, in the chapel of
+the Blessed Sacrament, a marble tabernacle by Mino da Fiesole and a
+fresco by Cosimo Rosselli painted in 1486, representing the legend of
+a miraculous chalice with some fine Florentine portrait heads,
+altogether above the usual level of Cosimo's work.
+
+The Borgo la Croce leads hence to the Porta alla Croce, in the very
+prosaic and modern Piazza Beccaria. This Porta alla Croce, the eastern
+gate of Florence in the third walls, was commenced by Arnolfo di
+Cambio in 1284; the frescoed Madonna in the lunette is by one of the
+later followers of Ghirlandaio. Through this gate, on October 6th
+1308, Corso Donati fled from Florence, after his desperate attempt to
+hold the Piazza di San Piero Maggiore against the forces of the
+Signoria. Following the Via Aretina towards Rovezzano, we soon reach
+the remains of the Badia di San Salvi, where he was slain by his
+captors--as Dante makes his brother Forese darkly prophesy in the
+twenty-fourth canto of the _Purgatorio_. Four year later, in October
+1312, the Emperor Henry VII. lay sick in the Abbey, while his army
+ineffectually besieged Florence. Nothing remains to remind us of that
+epoch, although the district is still called the Campo di Marte or
+Campo di Arrigo. We know from Leonardo Bruni that Dante, although he
+had urged the Emperor on to attack the city, did not join the imperial
+army like many of his fellow exiles had done: "so much reverence did
+he yet retain for his fatherland." In the old refectory of the Abbey
+is Andrea del Sarto's Last Supper, one of his most admirable frescoes,
+painted between 1525 and 1527, equally excellent in colour and design.
+"I know not," writes Vasari, "what to say of this _Cenacolo_ that
+would not be too little, seeing it to be such that all who behold it
+are struck with astonishment." When the siege was expected in 1529,
+and the defenders of the city were destroying everything in the
+suburbs which could give aid or cover to the enemy, a party of them
+broke down a wall in the convent and found themselves face to face
+with this picture. Lost in admiration, they built up a portion of what
+they had destroyed, in order that this last triumph of Florentine
+painting might be secure from the hand of war.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+On this side of the river, those walls of Florence which Lapo Gianni
+would fain have seen _inargentate_--the third circle reared by Arnolfo
+and his successors--have been almost entirely destroyed, and their
+site marked by the broad utterly prosaic Viali. Besides the Porta alla
+Croce, the Porta San Gallo and the Porta al Prato still stand, on the
+north and west respectively. The Porta San Gallo was begun from
+Arnolfo's design in 1284, but not finished until 1327; the fresco in
+the lunette is by Michele di Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, Ridolfo's adopted
+son. On July 21, 1304, the exiled Bianchi and Ghibellines made a
+desperate attempt to surprise Florence through this gate, led by the
+heroic young Baschiera della Tosa. In 1494, Piero dei Medici and his
+brother Giuliano fled from the people through it; and in 1738 the
+first Austrian Grand Duke, Francis II., entered by it. The triumphant
+arch beyond, at which the lions of the Republic, to right and left of
+the gate, appear to gaze with little favour, marked this latter
+event.
+
+These Austrian Grand Dukes were decidedly better rulers than the
+Medici, to whom, by an imperial usurpation, they succeeded on the
+death of Gian Gastone. Leopold I., Ferdinand III., Leopold II., were
+tolerant and liberal-minded sovereigns, and under them Tuscany became
+the most prosperous state in Italy: "a Garden of Paradise without the
+tree of knowledge and without the tree of life." But, when the
+Risorgimento came, their sway was found incompatible with the
+aspirations of the Italians towards national unification; the last
+Grand Duke, after wavering between Austria and young Italy, threw in
+his lot with the former, and after having brought the Austrians into
+Tuscany, was forced to abdicate. Thus Florence became the first
+capital of Victor Emmanuel's kingdom.
+
+In the Via di San Gallo is the very graceful Palazzo Pandolfini,
+commenced in 1520 from Raphael's designs, on the left as we move
+inwards from the gate. From the Via 27 Aprile, which joins the Via di
+San Gallo, we enter the former convent of Sta. Appollonia. In what was
+once its refectory is a fresco of the Last Supper by Andrea del
+Castagno, with the Crucifixion, Entombment, and Resurrection. Andrea
+del Castagno impressed his contemporaries by his furious passions and
+savage intractability of temper, his quality of _terribilita_;
+although we now know that Vasari's story that Andrea obtained the
+secret of using oil as a vehicle in painting from his friend, Domenico
+Veneziano, and then murdered him, must be a mere fable, since Domenico
+survived Andrea by nearly five years. Rugged unadorned strength, with
+considerable power of characterisation and great technical dexterity,
+mark his extant works, which are very few in number. This _Cenacolo_
+in the finest of them all; the figures are full of life and
+character, although the Saviour is unpleasing and the Judas inclines
+to caricature. The nine figures from the Villa Pandolfini, frescoes
+transferred to canvas, are also his; Filippo Scolari, known as Pippo
+Spano (a Florentine connected with the Buondelmonti, but Ghibelline,
+who became Count of Temesvar and a great Hungarian captain), Farinata
+degli Uberti, Niccolo Acciaiuoli (a Florentine who became Grand
+Seneschal of the kingdom of Naples and founded the Certosa), the
+Cumaean Sibyl, Esther, Queen Tomyris, Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio.
+The two poets and Boccaccio are the least successful, since they were
+altogether out of Andrea's line, but there must have been something
+noble in the man to enable him so to realise Farinata degli Uberti, as
+he stood alone at Empoli when all others agreed to destroy Florence,
+to defend her to the last: _Colui che la difese a viso aperto._
+
+A _Cenacolo_ of a very different character may be seen in the
+refectory of the suppressed convent of Sant' Onofrio in the Via di
+Faenza. Though showing Florentine influence in its composition, this
+fresco is mainly Umbrian in character; from a half deciphered
+inscription on the robe of one of the Apostles (which appears to have
+been altered), it was once attempted to ascribe it to Raphael. It is
+now believed to be partly the work of Perugino, partly that of some
+pupil or pupils of his--perhaps Gerino da Pistoia or Giannicola Manni.
+It has also been ascribed to Giovanni Lo Spagna and to Raffaellino del
+Garbo. Morelli supposed it to be the work of a pupil of Perugino who
+was inspired by a Florentine engraving of the fifteenth century, and
+suggested Giannicola Manni. In the same street is the picturesque
+little Gothic church of San Jacopo in Campo Corbolini.
+
+  [Illustration: A FLORENTINE SUBURB]
+
+At the end of the Via Faenza--where once stood one of Arnolfo's
+gates--we are out again upon the Viale, here named after Filippo
+Strozzi. Opposite rises what was the great Medicean citadel, the
+Fortezza da Basso, built by Alessandro dei Medici to overawe the city.
+Michelangelo steadfastly refused, at the risk of his life, to have
+anything to do with it. Filippo Strozzi is said to have aided
+Alessandro in carrying out this design, and even to have urged it upon
+him, although he was warned that he was digging his own grave. After
+the unsuccessful attempt of the exiles to overthrow the
+newly-established government of Duke Cosimo, while Baccio Valori and
+the other prisoners were sent to be beheaded or hanged in the
+Bargello, Filippo Strozzi was imprisoned here and cruelly tortured, in
+spite of the devoted attempts of his children to obtain his release.
+Here at length, in 1538, he was found dead in his cell. He was said to
+have left a paper declaring that, lest he should be more terribly
+tortured and forced to say things to prejudice his own honour and
+inculpate innocent persons, he had resolved to take his own life, and
+that he commended his soul to God, humbly praying Him, if He would
+grant it no other good, at least to give it a place with that of Cato
+of Utica. It is not improbable that the paper was a fabrication, and
+that Filippo had been murdered by orders of the Duke.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+_The Bridges--The Quarter of Santa Maria Novella_
+
+     "Sopra il bel fiume d'Arno alla gran villa."
+         --_Dante._
+
+
+Outside the portico of the Uffizi four Florentine heroes--Farinata
+degli Uberti, Piero Capponi, Giovanni delle Bande Nere, Francesco
+Ferrucci--from their marble niches keep watch and ward over the river.
+This Arno, which Lapo Gianni dreamed of as _balsamo fino_, is spanned
+by four ancient and famous bridges, and bordered on both banks by the
+Lungarno.
+
+To the east is the Ponte Rubaconte--so called after the Milanese
+Podesta, during whose term of office it was made--or Ponte alle
+Grazie, built in 1237; it is mentioned by Dante in Canto xii. of the
+_Purgatorio_, and is the only existing Florentine bridge which could
+have actually felt the footsteps of the man who was afterwards to
+tread scathless through the ways of Hell, "unbitten by its whirring
+sulphur-spume." It has, however, been completely altered at various
+periods. On this bridge a solemn reconciliation was effected between
+Guelfs and Ghibellines on July 2, 1273, by Pope Gregory X. The Pope in
+state, between Charles of Anjou and the Emperor Baldwin of
+Constantinople, blessed his "reconciled" people from the bridge, and
+afterwards laid the first stone of a church called San Gregorio della
+Pace in the Piazza dei Mozzi, now destroyed. As soon as the Pope's
+back was turned, Charles contrived that his work should be undone, and
+the Ghibellines hounded again out of the city.[49]
+
+  [49] Opposite the bridge, at the beginning of the Via dei Benci, is
+  the palace of the old Alberti family; the remains of their loggia
+  stand further up the street, at the corner of the Borgo Santa Croce.
+  In all these streets, between the Lungarno della Borsa and the Borgo
+  dei Greci, there are many old houses and palaces; in the Piazza dei
+  Peruzzi the houses, formerly of that family and partly built in the
+  fourteenth century, follow the lines of the Roman amphitheatre--the
+  _Parlascio_ of the early Middle Ages. The Palazzo dei Giudici--in the
+  piazza of that name--was originally built in the thirteenth century,
+  though reconstructed at a later epoch.
+
+Below the Ponte alle Grazie comes the Ponte Vecchio, the Bridge _par
+excellence_; _il ponte_, or _il passo d'Arno_, as Dante calls it. More
+than a mere bridge over a river, this Ponte Vecchio is a link in the
+chain binding Florence to the Eternal City. A Roman bridge stood here
+of old, and a Roman road may be said to have run across it; it heard
+the tramp of Roman legionaries, and shook beneath the horses of
+Totila's Gothic chivalry. This Roman bridge possibly lasted down to
+the great inundation of 1333. The present structure, erected by Taddeo
+Gaddi after 1360, with its exquisite framed pictures of the river and
+city in the centre, is one of the most characteristic bits of old
+Florence still remaining. The shops of goldsmiths and jewellers were
+originally established here in the days of Cosimo I., for whom Giorgio
+Vasari built the gallery that runs above to connect the two Grand
+Ducal Palaces. Connecting the Porta Romana with the heart of the city,
+the bridge has witnessed most of the great pageants and processions in
+Florentine history. Popes and Emperors have crossed it in state;
+Florentine generals, or hireling condottieri, at the head of their
+victorious troops; the Piagnoni, bearing the miraculous Madonna of the
+Impruneta to save the city from famine and pestilence; and
+Savonarola's new Cyrus, Charles VIII., as conqueror, with lance
+levelled. Across it, in 1515, was Pope Leo X. borne in his litter,
+blessing the people to right and left, amidst the exultant cries of
+_Palle, Palle!_ from the crowd, who had forgotten for the time all the
+crimes of his house in their delight at seeing their countryman, the
+son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, raised to the papal throne.
+
+In Dante's day, what remained of the famous statue supposed of Mars,
+_quella pietra scema che guarda il ponte_, "that mutilated stone which
+guardeth the bridge," still stood here at the corner, probably at the
+beginning of the present Lungarno Acciaiuoli. "I was of that city that
+changed its first patron for the Baptist," says an unknown suicide in
+the seventh circle of Hell, probably one of the Mozzi: "on which
+account he with his art will ever make it sorrowful. And were it not
+that at the passage of the Arno there yet remains some semblance of
+him, those citizens, who afterwards rebuilt it on the ashes left by
+Attila, would have laboured in vain." Here, as we saw in chapter i.,
+young Buondelmonte was murdered in 1215, a sacrifice to Mars in the
+city's "last time of peace," _nella sua pace postrema_.
+
+  [Illustration: THE PONTE VECCHIO]
+
+Lower down comes the Ponte Santa Trinita, originally built in 1252;
+and still lower the Ponte alla Carraia, built between 1218 and 1220 in
+the days of Frederick II., for the sake of the growing commerce of the
+Borgo Ognissanti. This latter bridge was originally called the Ponte
+Nuovo, as at that time the only other bridge over the Arno was the
+Ponte Vecchio. It was here that a terrible disaster took place on
+May 1st, 1304--a strange piece of grim mediaeval jesting by the irony
+of fate turned to still grimmer earnest. After a cruel period of
+disasters and faction fights, there had come a momentary gleam of
+peace, and it was determined to renew the pageants and festivities
+that had been held in better days on May-day, "in the good time
+passed, of the tranquil and good state of Florence," each contrada
+trying to rival the other. What followed had best be told in the words
+of Giovanni Villani, an eye-witness:--
+
+"Amongst the others, the folk of the Borgo San Frediano, who had been
+wont of yore to devise the newest and most diverse pastimes, sent out
+a proclamation, that those who wished to know news of the other world
+should be upon the Ponte alla Carraia and around the Arno on the day
+of the calends of May. And they arranged scaffolds on the Arno upon
+boats and ships, and made thereon the likeness and figure of Hell with
+fires and other pains and torments, with men arrayed like demons,
+horrible to behold, and others who bore the semblance of naked souls,
+that seemed real persons; and they hurled them into those divers
+torments with loud cries and shrieks and uproar, the which seemed
+hateful and appalling to hear and to behold. Many were the citizens
+that gathered here to witness this new sport; and the Ponte alla
+Carraia, the which was then of wood from pile to pile, was so laden
+with folk that it broke down in several places, and fell with the
+people who were upon it, whereby many persons died there and were
+drowned, and many were grieviously injured; so that the game was
+changed from jest to earnest, and, as the proclamation had run, so
+indeed did many depart in death to hear news of the other world, with
+great mourning and lamentation to all the city, for each one thought
+that he had lost son or brother."
+
+The famous inundation of November 1333 swept away all the bridges,
+excepting the Ponte Rubaconte. The present Ponte Santa Trinita and
+Ponte alla Carraia were erected for Duke Cosimo I. by Bartolommeo
+Ammanati, shortly after the middle of the sixteenth century.
+
+Turning from the river at the Ponte Vecchio by the Via Por Sta. Maria,
+we see on the right the old church of San Stefano, with a completely
+modernised interior. Here in 1426 Rinaldo degli Albizzi and Niccolo da
+Uzzano held a meeting of some seventy citizens, and Rinaldo proposed
+to check the growing power of the populace by admitting the magnates
+into the government and reducing the number of Arti Minori. Their plan
+failed through the opposition of Giovanni dei Medici, who acquired
+much popularity thereby. It should be remembered that it was not here,
+as usually stated, but in the Badia, which was also dedicated to St.
+Stephen, that Boccaccio lectured on Dante.
+
+Right and left two very old streets diverge, the Via Lambertesca and
+the Borgo Santissimi Apostoli, with splendid mediaeval towers. In the
+former, at the angle of the Via di Por Santa Maria, are the towers of
+the Girolami and Gherardini, round which there was fierce fighting in
+the expulsion of the Ghibellines in 1266. Opposite, at the opening of
+the Borgo Santissimi Apostoli, are the towers of the Baldovinetti (the
+tower of San Zenobio) and of the Amidei--_la casa di che nacque il
+vostro fleto_, as Cacciaguida puts it to Dante: "the house from which
+your wailing sprang," whose feud with the Buondelmonti was supposed to
+have originated the Guelf and Ghibelline factions in Florence. And
+further down the Borgo Santissimi Apostoli, at the opening of the
+Chiasso delle Misure, is the tall and stately tower of these
+Buondelmonti themselves, who also had a palace on the opposite side of
+the street.
+
+The old church of the Santissimi Apostoli, in the Piazza del Limbo,
+has an inscription on its facade stating that it was founded by
+Charlemagne, and consecrated by Archbishop Turpin, with Roland and
+Oliver as witnesses. It appears to have been built in the eleventh
+century, and is the oldest church on this side of the Arno, with the
+exception of the Baptistery. Its interior, which is well preserved, is
+said to have been taken by Filippo Brunelleschi as the model for San
+Lorenzo and Santo Spirito. In it is a beautiful Ciborium by Andrea
+della Robbia, with monuments of some of the Altoviti family.
+
+  [Illustration: THE TOWER OF S. ZANOBI]
+
+The Piazza Santa Trinita was a great place for social and other
+gatherings in mediaeval and renaissance Florence. Here on the first of
+May 1300, a dance of girls was being held to greet the calends of May
+in the old Florentine fashion, when a band of mounted youths of the
+Donati, Pazzi and Spini came to blows with a rival company of the
+Cerchi and their allies; and thus the first blood was shed in the
+disastrous struggle between the Bianchi and Neri. A few days later a
+similar faction fight took place on the other side of the bridge, in
+the Piazza Frescobaldi, on the occasion of a lady's funeral. The
+great Palazzo Spini, opposite the church, was built at the end of the
+thirteenth and beginning of the fourteenth century by Geri Spini, the
+rich papal banker and one of the leaders of the "black" faction. Here
+he received the Pope's ambassadors and made a great display of his
+wealth and magnificence, as we gather from Boccaccio's _Decameron_,
+which gives us an amusing story of his friendship with Cisti the
+baker, and another of the witty repartees of Madonna Oretta, Geri's
+wife, a lady of the Malaspina. When Charles of Valois entered Florence
+in November 1301, Messer Geri entertained a portion of the French
+barons here, while the Prince himself took up his quarters with the
+Frescobaldi over the river; during that tumultuous period of
+Florentine history that followed the expulsion of the Bianchi, Geri
+was one of the most prominent politicians in the State.
+
+Savonarola's processions of friars and children used to pass through
+this piazza and over the bridge, returning by way of the Ponte
+Vecchio. On the Feast of Corpus Christi, 1497, as the Blessed
+Sacrament was being borne along, with many children carrying red
+crosses, they were set upon by some of the Compagnacci. The story is
+quaintly told by Landucci: "As the said procession was passing over
+the Bridge of Santa Trinita, certain youths were standing to see it
+pass, by the side of a little church which is on the bridge on the
+right hand going towards Santo Spirito. Seeing those children with the
+crosses, they said: 'Here are the children of Fra Girolamo.' And one
+of them coming up to them, took one of these crosses and, snatching it
+out of the hand of that child, broke it and threw it into the Arno, as
+though he had been an infidel; and all this he did for hatred of the
+Friar."
+
+The column in the Piazza--taken from the Baths of Caracalla at
+Rome--was set here by Duke Cosimo I., to celebrate his victory over
+the heroic Piero Strozzi, _il maravigliosissimo bravo Piero Strozzi_
+as Benvenuto Cellini calls him, in 1563. The porphyry statue of
+Justice was set high up on this pedestal by the most unjust of all
+rulers of Florence, the Grand Duke Francesco I., Cosimo's son. This
+same piazza witnessed a not over friendly meeting of Leonardo da Vinci
+and Michelangelo. Leonardo, at the time that he was engaged upon his
+cartoon for the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, was walking in the square,
+dressed in his usual sumptuous fashion, with a rose coloured tunic
+reaching down to his knees; when a group of citizens, who were
+discussing Dante, called him and asked him the meaning of a passage in
+question. At that moment Michelangelo passed by, and Leonardo
+courteously referred them to him. "Explain it yourself," said the
+great sculptor, "you, who made the model of a horse to cast in bronze,
+and could not cast it, and to your shame left it in the lurch."[50]
+And he abruptly turned his back on the group, leaving Leonardo red
+with either shame or anger.
+
+  [50] See Addington Symonds' _Michelangelo_. The horse in question was
+  the equestrian monument of Francesco Sforza.
+
+The church of Santa Trinita was originally built in the Gothic style
+by Niccolo Pisano, shortly after 1250, in the days of the Primo Popolo
+and contemporaneously with the Palazzo del Podesta. It was largely
+altered by Buontalenti in the last part of the sixteenth century, and
+has been recently completely restored. It is a fine example of Italian
+Gothic. In the interior, are a Mary Magdalene by Desiderio da
+Settignano and a marble altar by Benedetto da Rovezzano; and also, in
+one of the chapels of the right aisle, an Annunciation by Don
+Lorenzo, one of his best works, with some frescoes, partly obliterated
+and much "restored," by the same good Camaldolese monk.
+
+But the great attraction of this church is the Sassetti Chapel next to
+the sacristy, which contains a splendid series of frescoes painted in
+1485 by Domenico Ghirlandaio. The altar piece is only a copy of the
+original, now in the Accademia. The frescoes represent scenes from the
+life of St. Francis, and should be compared with Giotto's simpler
+handling of the same theme in the Bardi Chapel at Santa Croce. We have
+the Saint renouncing the world, the confirmation of his rule by
+Honorius, his preaching to the Soldan, his reception of the Stigmata,
+his death and funeral (in which the life-like spectacled bishop
+aroused Vasari's enthusiastic admiration), and the raising to life of
+a child of the Sassetti family by an apparition of St. Francis in the
+Piazza outside the church. The last is especially interesting as
+giving us a picture of the Piazza in its former state, such as it
+might have been in the Mayday faction fight, with the Spini Palace,
+the older bridge, and the houses of the Frescobaldi beyond the river.
+Each fresco is full of interesting portraits; among the spectators in
+the consistory is Lorenzo the Magnificent; Ghirlandaio himself appears
+in the death scene; and, perhaps, most interesting of all, if Vasari's
+identification can be trusted, are the three who stand on the right
+near the church in the scene of the resuscitation of the child. These
+three are said to be Maso degli Albizzi, the founder of the party of
+the Ottimati, those _nobili popolani_ who held the State before they
+were eclipsed by the Medici; Agnolo Acciaiuoli, who was ruined by
+adhering to Luca Pitti against Piero dei Medici; and that noblest of
+all the Medicean victims, Palla Strozzi (_see_ chapter iii.). It
+should, however, be remembered that Maso degli Albizzi had died
+nearly seventy years before, and that not even Palla Strozzi can be
+regarded as a contemporary portrait. The sacristy of this church was
+founded by the Strozzi, and one of the house, Onofrio, lies buried
+within it. Extremely fine, too, are the portraits of Francesco
+Sassetti himself and his wife, kneeling below near the altar, also by
+Ghirlandaio, who likewise painted the sibyls on the ceiling and the
+fresco representing the sibyl prophesying of the Incarnation to
+Augustus, over the entrance to the chapel. The sepulchral monuments of
+Francesco and his wife are by Giuliano da San Gallo.
+
+The famous Crucifix of San Miniato, which bowed its head to San
+Giovanni Gualberto when he spared the murderer of his brother, was
+transferred to Santa Trinita in 1671 with great pomp and ceremony, and
+is still preserved here.
+
+In June 1301 a council was held in the church by the leaders of the
+Neri, nominally to bring about a concord with the rival faction, in
+reality to entrap the Cerchi and pave the way for their expulsion by
+foreign aid. Among the Bianchi present was the chronicler, Dino
+Compagni; "desirous of unity and peace among citizens," and, before
+the council broke up, he made a strong appeal to the more factious
+members. "Signors," he said, "why would you confound and undo so good
+a city? Against whom would you fight? Against your own brothers? What
+victory shall ye have? Nought else but lamentation." The Neri answered
+that the object of their council was merely to stop scandal and
+establish peace; but it soon became known that there was a conspiracy
+between them and the Conte Simone da Battifolle of the Casentino, who
+was sending his son with a strong force towards Florence. Simone dei
+Bardi (who had been the husband of Beatrice Portinari) appears to
+have been the connecting link of the conspiracy, which the prompt
+action of the Signoria checked for the present. The evil day, however,
+was postponed, not averted.
+
+Following the Via di Parione we reach the back of the Palazzo
+Corsini--a large seventeenth century palace whose front is on the
+Lungarno. Here is a large picture gallery, in which a good many of the
+pictures are erroneously ascribed, but which contains a few more
+important works. The two gems of the collection are Botticelli's
+portrait of a Goldsmith (210), formerly ascribed to one of the
+Pollaiuoli; and Luca Signorelli's tondo (157), of Madonna and Child
+with St. Jerome and St. Bernard. A Madonna and Child with Angels and
+the Baptist (162) by Filippino Lippi, or ascribed to him, is a
+charming and poetical picture; but is not admitted by Mr Berenson into
+his list of genuine works by this painter. The supposed cartoon for
+Raphael's Julius II. is of very doubtful authenticity. The picture of
+the martyrdom of Savonarola (292) is interesting and valuable as
+affording a view of the Piazza at that epoch, but cannot be regarded
+as an accurate historical representation of the event. That
+seventeenth century reincarnation of Lorenzo di Credi, Carlo Dolci, is
+represented here by several pictures which are above his usual level;
+for instance, Poetry (179) is a really beautiful thing of its kind.
+Among the other pictures is a little Apollo and Daphne (241), probably
+an early work of Andrea del Sarto. The Raffaellino di Carlo who
+painted the Madonna and Saints (200), is not to be confused with
+Filippino's pupil, Raffaellino del Garbo.
+
+In the Via Tornabuoni, the continuation of the Piazza Santa Trinita,
+stands the finest of all Florentine palaces of the Renaissance, the
+Palazzo Strozzi. It was begun in 1489 for the elder Filippo Strozzi,
+with the advice and encouragement of Lorenzo the Magnificent, by
+Benedetto da Maiano, and continued by Simone del Pollaiuolo (called
+"Cronaca" from his yarning propensities), to whom the cornice and
+court are due. It was finished for the younger Filippo Strozzi, the
+husband of Clarice dei Medici, shortly before his fall, in the days of
+Duke Alessandro. The works in iron on the exterior--lanterns,
+torch-holders and the like, especially a wonderful _fanale_ at the
+corner--are by Niccolo Grosso (called "Caparra" from his habit of
+demanding payment in advance), and the finest things of their kind
+imaginable. Filippo Strozzi played a curiously inconstant part in the
+history of the closing days of the Republic. After having been the
+most intimate associate of his brother-in-law, the younger Lorenzo, he
+was instrumental first in the expulsion of Ippolito and Alessandro,
+then in the establishment of Alessandro's tyranny; and finally,
+finding himself cast by the irony of fate for the part of the last
+Republican hero, he took the field against Duke Cosimo, only to find a
+miserable end in a dungeon. One of his daughters, Luisa Capponi, was
+believed to have been poisoned by order of Alessandro; his son, Piero,
+became the bravest Italian captain of the sixteenth century and
+carried on a heroic contest with Cosimo's mercenary troops.
+
+  [Illustration: ARMS OF THE STROZZI]
+
+Down the Via della Vigna Nuova is another of these Renaissance
+palaces, built for a similar noble family associated with the
+Medici,--the Palazzo Rucellai. Bernardo Rucellai--who was not
+originally of noble origin, but whose family had acquired what in
+Florence was the real title to nobility, vast wealth in
+commerce--married Nannina, the younger sister of Lorenzo the
+Magnificent, and had this palace begun for him in 1460 by Bernardo
+Rossellino from the design of Leo Battista Alberti,--to whom also the
+Rucellai loggia opposite is due. More of Alberti's work for the
+Rucellai may be seen at the back of the palace, in the Via della
+Spada, where in the former church of San Pancrazio (which gave its
+name to a _sesto_ in old Florence) is the chapel which he built for
+Bernardo Rucellai in imitation of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
+
+The Via delle Belle Donne--most poetically named of Florentine
+streets--leads hence into the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella. On the
+way, where five roads meet, is the Croce al Trebbio, with symbols of
+the four Evangelists below the Crucifix. It marks the site of one of
+St Peter Martyr's fiercest triumphs over the Paterini, one of those
+"marvellous works" for which Savonarola, in his last address to his
+friars, complains that the Florentines had been so ungrateful towards
+his Order. But the story of the Dominicans of Santa Maria Novella is
+not one of persecution, but of peace-making. They played at times as
+noble a part in mediaeval Florence as their brethren of San Marco were
+to do in the early Renaissance; and later, during the great siege,
+they took up the work of Fra Girolamo, and inspired the people to
+their last heroic defence of the Republic.
+
+Opposite Santa Maria Novella is the Loggia di San Paolo, designed by
+Brunelleschi, and erected in 1451, shortly after his death. The
+coloured terracotta reliefs, by Andrea della Robbia, include two fine
+portraits of governors of the hospital (not of the Della Robbia
+themselves, as frequently stated). The relief in a lunette over the
+door on the right, representing the meeting of St Francis and St
+Dominic, is one of Andrea's best works:--
+
+     "L'un fu tutto serafico in ardore,
+        l'altro per sapienza in terra fue
+        di cherubica luce uno splendore.
+      Dell'un diro, pero che d'ambedue
+        si dice l'un pregiando, qual ch'uom prende,
+        perche ad un fine fur l'opere sue."[51]
+
+  [51] "The one was all seraphic in his ardour, the other by his
+         wisdom was on earth a splendour of cherubic light.
+       "Of one will I discourse, because of both the two he speaketh
+         who doth either praise, which so he will; for to one end
+         their works."
+           --Wicksteed's translation, _Paradiso_ xi.
+
+In 1212, three years before the murder of Buondelmonte, the first band
+of Franciscans had come to Florence, sent thither by St Francis
+himself from Assisi. A few years later, at the invitation of a
+Florentine merchant Diodato, who had built a chapel and house as an
+act of restitution, St Dominic, from Bologna, sent the Blessed John of
+Salerno with twelve friars to occupy this mission at Ripoli, about
+three miles beyond where now stands the Gate of S. Niccolo. Thence
+they extended their apostolic labours into the city, and when St
+Dominic came, at the end of 1219, they had already made progress.
+Finally they moved into the city--first to San Pancrazio, and at
+length settled at Santa Maria tra le Vigne, a little church then
+outside the walls, where B. Giovanni was installed by the Pope's
+legate and the bishop in 1221. Before the church, in the present
+piazza, St Peter Martyr, the "hammer of the heretics," fought the
+Paterini with both spiritual and material arms. At last, the growth of
+the order requiring larger room, on St Luke's day, 1278, Cardinal
+Latino de' Frangipani laid here the first stone of Santa Maria
+Novella.
+
+Where once the little church of Our Lady among the Vines stood outside
+the second circuit of the city's walls, rises now the finest Italian
+Gothic church in Florence. Less than a year after it had been
+commenced, the same Dominican cardinal who had laid the first stone
+summoned a mass meeting in the Piazza, and succeeded in patching up a
+temporary peace between Guelfs and Ghibellines, and among the Guelf
+magnates themselves, 1279. This Cardinal Latino left a memory revered
+in Florence, and Fra Angelico, in the picture now in our National
+Gallery, placed him among the glorified saints attending upon the
+resurrection of Our Lord. Some twenty years later, in November 1301, a
+parliament was held within the still unfinished church, at which
+another Papal peacemaker, the infamous Charles of Valois, in the
+presence of the Priors of the Republic, the Podesta and the Captain,
+the bishop and chief citizens, received the _balia_ to guard Florence
+and pacify the Guelfs, and swore on the faith of the son of a king to
+preserve the city in peace and prosperity. We have seen how he kept
+his word. Santa Maria Novella, in 1304, was the centre of the sincere
+and devoted attempts made by Boniface's successor, the sainted
+Benedict XI., to heal the wounds of Florence; attempts in which,
+throughout Italy, the Dominicans were his "angels of peace," as he
+called his missioners. When the Republic finally fell into the hands
+of Cosimo dei Medici in 1434, the exiled Pope Eugenius IV. was staying
+in the adjoining monastery; it was here that he made his unsuccessful
+attempt to mediate, and heard the bitter farewell words of Rinaldo
+degli Albizzi: "I blame myself most of all, because I believed that
+you, who had been hunted out of your own country, could keep me in
+mine."
+
+  [Illustration: IN THE GREEN CLOISTERS, S. MARIA NOVELLA]
+
+The church itself, striped tiger-like in black and white marble,
+was constructed from the designs of three Dominican friars, Fra
+Ristoro da Campi, Fra Sisto, and Fra Giovanni da Campi. Fra Giovanni
+was a scholar or imitator of Arnolfo di Cambio, and the two former
+were the architects who restored the Ponte alla Carraia and the Ponte
+Santa Trinita after their destruction in 1269. The facade (with the
+exception of the lower part, which belongs to the fourteenth century)
+was designed by Leo Battista Alberti, whose friends the Rucellai were
+the chief benefactors of this church; the lovely but completely
+restored pointed arcades on the right, with niches for tombs and
+armorial bearings, were designed by Brunelleschi. On the left, though
+in part reduced to vile usage, there is a bit comparatively less
+altered. The interior was completed soon after the middle of the
+fourteenth century, when Fra Jacopo Passavanti--the author of that
+model of pure Tuscan prose, _Lo Specchio della vera Penitenza_--was
+Prior of the convent. The campanile is said to have been designed by
+another Dominican, Fra Jacopo Talenti, the probable architect of the
+so-called Spanish Chapel in the cloisters on the left of the church,
+of which more presently.
+
+During the great siege of Florence the mantle of Savonarola seemed to
+have fallen upon the heroic Prior of Santa Maria Novella, Fra
+Benedetto da Foiano. When the news of the alliance between Pope and
+Emperor came to Florence, while all Bologna was in festa for the
+coronation of the Emperor, Varchi tells us that Fra Benedetto
+delivered a great sermon in the Sala del Maggior Consiglio, which was
+thrown open to all who would come to hear; in which sermon he proved
+from passages in the Old and New Testaments that Florence would be
+delivered from all dangers, and then enjoy perpetual perfect felicity
+in the liberty she so desired. With such grace and eloquence did he
+speak, that the vast audience was moved to tears and to joy by turns.
+At the end, "with ineffable gestures and words," he gave to the
+Gonfaloniere, Raffaello Girolami, a standard upon one side of which
+was a Christ victorious over the hostile soldiery, and upon the other
+the red Cross of the Florentine Commune, saying: _Cum hoc et in hoc
+vinces._ After the capitulation Malatesta Baglioni seized the friar
+and sent him to Rome, where he was slowly starved to death in the
+dungeon of Sant' Angelo.
+
+The interior was thus not quite finished, when Boccaccio's seven
+maidens met here on a Wednesday morning in early spring in that
+terrible year of pestilence, 1348; yet we may readily picture to
+ourselves the scene described in the introduction to the _Decameron_;
+the empty church; the girls in their dark mourning garb, after hearing
+Mass, seated together in a side chapel and gradually passing from
+telling their beads to discussing more mundane matters; and then, no
+sooner do three members of the other sex appear upon the scenes than a
+sudden gleam of gladness lights up their faces, and even the plague
+itself is forgotten. One of them, indeed, blushed; "she became all
+crimson in the face through modesty," says Boccaccio, "because there
+was one of their number who was beloved by one of these youths;" but
+afterwards found no difficulty in rivalling the others in the
+impropriety of her talk.
+
+Entering the western portal, we find ourselves in a nave of rather
+large proportions, somewhat dark but not without a glow from the
+stained glass windows--adapted above all for preaching. As in Santa
+Croce, it is cut across by a line of chapels, thus giving the whole a
+T shape, and what represents the apse is merely a deeper and taller
+recess behind the high altar. There is nothing much to interest us
+here in the nave or aisles, save, by the side of the central door,
+one of the very few extant works of Masaccio, a fresco representing
+the Blessed Trinity adored by the Madonna and St. John, with two
+kneeling donors--portraits of which no amount of restoration can
+altogether destroy the truth and grandeur. The Annunciation, on the
+opposite side of the door, is a mediocre fresco of the fourteenth
+century. The Crucifix above is one of several works of the kind
+ascribed to Giotto.
+
+It will be best to take the chapels at the end of the nave and in the
+transepts in the order into which they fall, as illustrating the
+development of Florentine art.
+
+On the right a flight of steps leads up into the Rucellai chapel
+where, half concealed in darkness, hangs the famous picture once
+supposed to mark the very birthday of Florentine painting. That
+Cimabue really painted a glorious Madonna for this church, which was
+worshipped by a king and hailed with acclamation by a rejoicing
+people, is to be most firmly and devoutly held. Unfortunately, it
+seems highly probable that this picture is not Cimabue's Madonna. It
+is decidedly Sienese in character, and, as there is documentary
+evidence that Duccio of Siena painted a Madonna for Santa Maria
+Novella, and as the attendant Angels are in all respects similar to
+those in Duccio's authenticated works, the picture is probably his. It
+deserves all veneration, nevertheless, for it is a noble picture in
+the truest sense of the word. In the same chapel is the monument of
+the Dominican nun, the Beata Villana, by Bernardo Rossellino.
+
+Crossing the church to the chapel in the left transept, the Strozzi
+Chapel, we mount into the true atmosphere of the Middle Ages--into one
+of those pictured theatres which set before us in part what Dante gave
+in full in his _Commedia_. The whole chapel is dedicated to St. Thomas
+Aquinas, the glory of the philosophy of the mediaeval world and, above
+all, of the Dominican order, whose cardinal virtues are extolled in
+allegorical fashion on the ceiling; but the frescoes are drawn from
+the work of his greatest Florentine disciple, Dante Alighieri, in
+whose poem Thomas mainly lives for the non-Catholic world. It contains
+all Orcagna's extant work in painting. The altar piece, executed by
+Andrea Orcagna in 1357, is the grandest of its kind belonging to the
+Giottesque period. Its central motive, of the Saviour delivering the
+keys to St. Peter and the Summa to St. Thomas, the spiritual and
+philosophical regimens of the mediaeval world, is very finely rendered;
+while the angelic choir is a foretaste of Angelico. Madonna presents
+St. Thomas; the Baptist, St. Peter; Michael and Catherine are in
+attendance upon the Queen of Heaven, Lawrence and Paul upon the
+Precursor. The predella represents St. Peter walking upon the waves,
+with on either side an episode in the life of St. Thomas and a miracle
+of St. Lawrence. The frescoes are best seen on a very bright morning,
+shortly before noon. The Last Judgment, by Andrea, shows the
+traditional representation of the Angels with trumpets and with the
+emblems of the Passion, wheeling round the Judge; and the dead rising
+to judgment, impelled irresistibly to right or left even before the
+sentence is pronounced. Above the one band, kneels the white-robed
+Madonna in intercession--type of the Divine Mercy as in Dante; over
+the others, at the head of the Apostles, is the Baptist who seems
+appealing for judgment--type of the Divine Justice. This placing Mary
+and St John opposite to each other, as in Dante's Rose of Paradise, is
+typical of Florentine art; Santa Maria del Fiore and San Giovanni are,
+as it were, inseparable. Among the blessed is Dante, gazing up in
+fixed adoration at the Madonna, as when following St Bernard's prayer
+at the close of his Vision; on the other side some of the faces of the
+lost are a miracle of expression. The Hell on the right wall, by
+Andrea's brother Leonardo, is more immediately taken from the
+_Commedia_. The Paradise on the left, or, rather, the Empyrean
+Heaven--with the faces _suadi di carita_, Angels and Saints absorbed
+in vision and love of God--is by Andrea himself, and is more directly
+pictorial than Dante's _Paradiso_ could admit. Christ and the Madonna
+are enthroned side by side, whereas we do not actually see Him in
+human form in the _Commedia_,--perhaps in accordance with that
+reverence which impels the divine poet to make the name _Cristo_ rhyme
+with nothing but itself. For sheer loveliness in detail, no other
+fourteenth century master produced anything to compare with this
+fresco; it may be said to mark the advent of a new element in Italian
+art.
+
+Thence we pass into the early Renaissance with Brunelleschi and
+Ghiberti, with Ghirlandaio and Filippino Lippi. In the chapel to the
+left of the choir hangs Filippo Brunelleschi's famous wooden Crucifix,
+carved in friendly rivalry with Donatello. The rival piece,
+Donatello's share in this sculptured _tenzone_, has been seen in Santa
+Croce.
+
+In the choir are frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio, and a fine brass by
+Lorenzo Ghiberti. These frescoes were begun in 1486, immediately after
+the completion of the Santa Trinita series, and finished in 1490; and,
+though devoid of the highest artistic qualities, are eminently
+characteristic of their epoch. Though representing scenes from the
+life of the Madonna and the Baptist, this is entirely subordinated to
+the portrait groups of noble Florentines and their ladies, introduced
+as usually utterly uninterested spectators of the sacred events. As
+religious pictures they are naught; but as representations of
+contemporary Florentine life, most valuable. Hardly elsewhere shall
+you see so fine a series of portraits of the men and women of the
+early Renaissance; but they have other things to think of than the
+Gospel history. Look at the scene of the Angel appearing to Zacharias.
+The actual event is hardly noticed; hidden in the throng of citizens,
+too busily living the life of the Renaissance to attend to such
+trifles; besides, it would not improve their style to read St. Luke.
+In the Visitation, the Nativity of the Baptist, the Nativity of the
+Blessed Virgin, a fashionable beauty of the period sweeps in with her
+attendants--and it is hardly uncharitable to suppose that, if not
+herself, at least her painter thought more of her fine clothes than of
+her devotional aspect. The portraits of the donors, Giovanni
+Tornabuoni and his wife, are on the window wall. In the scene of the
+expulsion of Joachim from the Temple, a group of painters stands
+together (towards the window); the old cleanly-shaven man in a red hat
+is Alessio Baldovinetti, Ghirlandaio's master; next to him, with a lot
+of dark hair, dressed in a red mantle and blue vest, is Domenico
+Ghirlandaio himself; his pupil and brother-in-law, Sebastiano
+Mainardi, and his brother, David Ghirlandaio, are with him--the latter
+being the figure with shoulder turned and hat on head. In the
+apparition to Zacharias, among the numerous portraits, a group of four
+half figures discussing at the foot of the history is of special
+interest; three of them are said to represent Marsilio Ficino,
+Cristoforo Landini, and Angelo Poliziano (in the middle, slightly
+raising his hand); the fourth, turned to speak to Landini, is said by
+Vasari to be a famous teacher of Greek, Demetrius, but now supposed to
+be Gentile Becchi, a learned bishop of Arezzo. The stained glass was
+designed by Filippino Lippi. Under the high altar rests the body of
+the Blessed John of Salerno, the "Apostle of Florence," who brought
+the first band of Dominicans to the city.
+
+Less admired, but in some respects more admirable, are the frescoes by
+Filippino Lippi in the chapel on the right of the choir, almost his
+last works, painted about 1502, and very much injured by restoration.
+The window is also from his design. The frescoes represent scenes from
+the lives of St. John and St. Philip, and are remarkable for their
+lavish display of Roman antiquities, in which they challenge
+comparison with Andrea Mantegna. The scene of St. Philip exorcising
+the dragon is especially fine. Observe how the characteristic
+intensity of the school of Botticelli is shown in the way in which the
+very statues take part in the action. Mars flourishes his broken
+spear, his wolves and kites cower to him for protection from the
+emissaries of the new faith, whose triumph is further symbolised in
+the two figures above of ancient deities conquered by Angels. An
+analogous instance will be found in Botticelli's famous Calumny in the
+Uffizi. In this statue of Mars is seen the last rendering of the old
+Florentine tradition of their _primo padrone_. Thus, perhaps, did the
+new pagans of the Renaissance lovingly idealise "that mutilated stone
+which guards the bridge."
+
+The monument of the elder Filippo Strozzi, in the same chapel, is a
+fine piece of work by Benedetto da Maiano, with a lovely tondo of the
+Madonna and Child attended by Angels. And we should also notice
+Giovanni della Robbia's fountain in the sacristy, before passing into
+the cloisters.
+
+Here in the cloisters we pass back again into more purely mediaeval
+thought. Passing some early frescoes of the life of the Madonna--the
+dream of Joachim, his meeting St. Anne, the Birth and Presentation of
+the Blessed Virgin--which Ruskin believed to be by Giotto himself--we
+enter to the left the delicious Green Cloisters; a pleasant lounging
+place in summer. In the lunettes along the walls are frescoed scenes
+from Genesis in _terra verde_, of which the most notable are by Paolo
+Uccello--the Flood and the Sacrifice of Noah. Uccello's interests were
+scientific rather than artistic. These frescoes are amazingly clever
+exercises in the new art of perspective, the _dolce cosa_ as he called
+it when his wife complained of his absorption; but are more curious
+than beautiful, and hardly inspire us with more than mild admiration
+at the painter's cleverness in poising the figure--which, we regret to
+say, he intends for the Almighty--so ingeniously in mid air.
+
+But out of these cloisters, on the right, opens the so-called Spanish
+Chapel--the Cappella degli Spagnuoli--one of the rarest buildings in
+Italy for the student of mediaeval doctrine. Here, as in the Strozzi
+Chapel, we are in the grasp of the same mighty spirit that inspired
+the _Divina Commedia_ and the _De Monarchia_, although the actual
+execution falls far below the design. The chapel--designed by Fra
+Jacopo Talenti in 1320--was formerly the chapter-house of the convent;
+it seems to have acquired the title of Spanish Chapel in the days of
+Duke Cosimo I., when Spaniards swarmed in Florence and were wont to
+hold solemn festival here on St. James' day. The frescoes that cover
+its ceiling and walls were executed about the middle of the fourteenth
+century--according to Vasari by Simone Martini and Taddeo Gaddi,
+though this seems highly doubtful. Their general design is possibly
+due to Fra Jacopo Passavanti. They set forth the Dominican ideal, the
+Church and the world as the Friars Preachers conceived of them, even
+as Giotto's famous allegories at Assisi show us the same through
+Franciscan glasses. While Orcagna painted the world beyond the grave
+in honour of the Angelical Doctor, these artists set forth the present
+world as it should be under his direction and that of his brothers,
+the "hounds of the Lord," _domini canes_, who defended the _orto
+cattolico_.
+
+The vaulted roof is divided into four segments; and the picture in
+each segment corresponds to a great fresco on the wall below. On the
+wall opposite, as we enter, is represented the supreme event of the
+world's history, from which all the rest starts and upon which the
+whole hinges, the Passion of Christ, leading up to the Resurrection on
+the roof above it. On the segment of the roof over the door is the
+Ascension, and on the wall below was shown (now much damaged) how the
+Dominicans received and carried out Christ's last injunction to His
+disciples. In the left segment of the roof is the Descent of the Holy
+Spirit; and beneath it, on the wall, the result of this outpouring
+upon the world of intellect is shown in the triumph of Philosophy in
+the person of Aquinas, its supreme mediaeval exponent. In the right
+segment is the Ship of Peter; and, on the wall below, is seen how
+Peter becomes a fisher of men, the triumph of his Church under the
+guidance of the Dominicans. These two great allegorical frescoes--the
+triumph of St. Thomas and the _civil briga_ of the Church--are thus a
+more complete working out of the scheme set forth more simply by
+Orcagna in his altar piece in the Strozzi Chapel above--the functions
+delegated by Christ to Peter and St. Thomas--the power of the Keys and
+the doctrine of the _Summa Theologica_.
+
+In the centre of the philosophical allegory, St. Thomas Aquinas is
+seated on a Gothic throne, with an open book in his hands bearing the
+text from the Book of Wisdom with which the Church begins her lesson
+in his honour: _Optavi, et datus est mihi sensus. Invocavi, et venit
+in me spiritus sapientiae; et praeposui illam regnis et sedibus._[52]
+Over his head hover seven Angels, invested with the emblems of the
+three theological and four cardinal virtues; around him are seated the
+Apostles and Prophets, in support of his doctrine; beneath his feet
+heresiarchs are humbled--Sabellius and Arius, to wit--and even
+Averrhoes, who "made the great comment," seems subdued. Below, in
+fourteen little shrines, are allegorical figures of the fourteen
+sciences which meet and are given ultimate form in his work, and at
+the feet of each maiden sits some great exponent of the science. From
+right to left, the seven liberal arts of the Trivium and Quadrivium
+lead up to the Science of Numbers, represented on earth by Pythagoras;
+from left to right, the earthly and celestial sciences lead up to
+Dogmatic Theology, represented by Augustine.[53]
+
+  [52] "I desired, and understanding was given me. I prayed, and the
+  spirit of Wisdom came upon me; and I preferred her before kingdoms and
+  thrones."
+
+  [53] The identification of each science and its representative is
+  rather doubtful, especially in the celestial series. From altar to
+  centre, Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic are represented by Aelius
+  Donatus, Cicero and Aristotle (or Zeno); Music, Astronomy, Geometry,
+  Arithmetic by Tubal Cain, Zoroaster (or Ptolemy), Euclid and
+  Pythagoras. From window to centre, Civil Law is represented by
+  Justinian, Canon Law by Innocent III., Philosophy apparently by
+  Boethius; the next four seem to be Contemplative, Moral, Mystical and
+  Dogmatic Theology, and their representatives Jerome, John of Damascus,
+  Basil and Augustine--but, with the exception of St. Augustine, the
+  identification is quite arbitrary. Possibly if the Logician is Zeno,
+  the Philosopher is not Boethius but Aristotle; the figure above,
+  representing Philosophy, holds a mirror which seems to symbolise the
+  divine creation of the cosmic Universe.
+
+On the opposite wall is the Church militant and triumphant. Before
+Santa Maria del Fiore, here symbolising the Church militant, sit the
+two ideal guides of man, according to the dual scheme of Dante's _De
+Monarchia_--the Pope and the Emperor. On either side are seated in a
+descending line the great dignitaries of the Church and the Empire;
+Cardinal and Abbot, King and Baron; while all around are gathered the
+clergy and the laity, religious of every order, judges and nobles,
+merchants and scholars, with a few ladies kneeling on the right, one
+of whom is said to be Petrarch's Laura. Many of these figures are
+apparently portraits, but the attempts at identification--such as that
+of the Pope with Benedict XI., the Emperor with Henry VII.--are
+entirely untrustworthy. The Bishop, however, standing at the head of
+the clergy, is apparently Agnolo Acciaiuoli, Bishop of Florence; and
+the French cavalier, in short tunic and hood, standing opposite to him
+at the head of the laity (formerly called Cimabue), is said--very
+questionably--to be the Duke of Athens. At the feet of the successors
+of Peter and Caesar are gathered the sheep and lambs of Christ's fold,
+watched over by the black and white hounds that symbolise the
+Dominicans. On the right, Dominic urges on his watchdogs against the
+heretical wolves who are carrying off the lambs of the flock; Peter
+Martyr hammers the unbelievers with the weapon of argument alone;
+Aquinas convinces them with the light of his philosophic doctrine. But
+beyond is Acrasia's Bower of Bliss, a mediaeval rendering of what
+Spenser hereafter so divinely sung in the second book of the _Faerie
+Queene_. Figures of vice sit enthroned; while seven damsels, Acrasia's
+handmaidens, dance before them; and youth sports in the shade of the
+forbidden myrtles. Then come repentance and the confessional; a
+Dominican friar (not one of the great Saints, but any humble priest of
+the order) absolves the penitents; St Dominic appears again, and shows
+them the way to Paradise; and then, becoming as little children, they
+are crowned by the Angels, and St. Peter lets them through the gate
+to join the Church Triumphant. Above in the Empyrean is the Throne of
+the Lord, with the Lamb and the four mystical Beasts, and the Madonna
+herself standing up at the head of the Angelic Hierarchies.
+
+In the great cloisters beyond, the Ciompi made their headquarters in
+1378, under their Eight of Santa Maria Novella; and, at the request of
+their leaders, the prior of the convent sent some of his preachers to
+furnish them with spiritual consolation and advice.
+
+Passing through the Piazza--where marble obelisks resting on tortoises
+mark the goals of the chariot races held here under Cosimo I. and his
+successors, on the Eve of St. John--and down the Via della Scala, we
+come to the former Spezeria of the convent, still a flourishing
+manufactory of perfumes, liqueurs and the like, though no longer in
+the hands of the friars. In what was once its chapel, are frescoes by
+Spinello Aretino and his pupils, painted at the end of the Trecento,
+and representing the Passion of Christ. They are inferior to
+Spinello's work at Siena and on San Miniato, but the Christ bearing
+the Cross has much majesty, and, in the scene of the washing of the
+feet, the nervous action of Judas as he starts up is finely conceived.
+
+The famous Orti Oricellari, the gardens of the Rucellai, lie further
+down the Via della Scala. Here in the early days of the Cinquecento
+the most brilliant literary circles of Florentine society met; and
+there was a sort of revival of the old Platonic Academy, which had
+died out with Marsilio Ficino. Machiavelli wrote for these gatherings
+his discourses on Livy and his Art of War. Although their meetings
+were mainly frequented by Mediceans, some of the younger members were
+ardent Republicans; and it was here that a conspiracy was hatched
+against the life of the Cardinal Giulio dei Medici, for which Jacopo
+da Diacceto and one of the Alamanni died upon the scaffold. In later
+days these Orti belonged to Bianca Cappello. At the corner of the
+adjoining palace is a little Madonna by Luca della Robbia; and further
+on, in a lunette on the right of the former church of San Jacopo in
+Ripoli, there is a group of Madonna and Child with St. James and St.
+Dominic, probably by Andrea della Robbia. In the Via di Palazzuolo,
+the little church of San Francesco dei Vanchetoni contains two small
+marble busts of children, exceedingly delicately modelled, supposed to
+represent the Gesu Bambino and the boy Baptist; they are ascribed to
+Donatello, but recent writers attribute them to Desiderio or
+Rossellino.
+
+In the Borgo Ognissanti, where the Swiss of Charles VIII. in 1494,
+forcing their way into the city from the Porta al Prato, were driven
+back by the inhabitants, are the church of Ognissanti and the
+Franciscan convent of San Salvadore. The church and convent originally
+belonged to the Frati Umiliati, who settled here in 1251, were largely
+influential in promoting the Florentine wool trade, and exceedingly
+democratic in their sympathies. Their convent was a great place for
+political meetings in the days of Giano della Bella, who used to walk
+in their garden taking counsel with his friends. After the siege they
+were expelled from Florence, and the church and convent made over to
+the Franciscans of the Osservanza, who are said to have brought hither
+the habit which St. Francis wore when he received the Stigmata. The
+present church was built in the second half of the sixteenth century,
+but contains some excellent pictures and frescoes belonging to the
+older edifice. Over the second altar to the right is a frescoed Pieta,
+one of the earliest works of Domenico Ghirlandaio, with above it the
+Madonna taking the Vespucci family under her protection--among them
+Amerigo, who was to give his name to the new continent of America.
+Further on, over a confessional, is Sandro Botticelli's St. Augustine,
+the only fresco of his still remaining in Florence; opposite to it,
+over a confessional on the left, is St. Jerome by Domenico
+Ghirlandaio; both apparently painted in 1480. In the left transept is
+a Crucifix ascribed to Giotto; Vasari tells us that it was the
+original of the numerous works of this kind which Puccio Capanna and
+others of his pupils multiplied through Italy. In the sacristy is a
+much restored fresco of the Crucifixion, belonging to the Trecento.
+Sandro Botticelli was buried in this church in 1510, and, two years
+later, Amerigo Vespucci in 1512. In the former Refectory of the
+convent is a fresco of the Last Supper, painted by Domenico
+Ghirlandaio in 1480, and very much finer than his similar work in San
+Marco. In the lunette over the portal of the church is represented the
+Coronation of the Blessed Virgin, by Giovanni della Robbia.
+
+The Borgo Ognissanti leads hence westward into the Via del Prato, and
+through the Porta al Prato, one of the four gates of the third wall of
+the city, begun by Arnolfo in 1284; now merely a mutilated torso of
+Arnolfo's stately structure, left stranded in the prosaic wilderness
+of the modern Viale. The fresco in the lunette is by Michele di
+Ridolfo Ghirlandaio. Down towards the Arno a single tower remains from
+the old walls, mutilated, solitary and degraded so as to look a mere
+modern bit of masonry.
+
+Beyond are the Cascine Gardens, stretching for some two miles between
+the Arno and the Mugnone, delicious to linger in, and a sacred place
+to all lovers of English poetry. For here, towards the close of 1819,
+"in a wood that skirts the Arno, near Florence, and on a day when
+that tempestuous wind, whose temperature is at once mild and
+animating, was collecting the vapours which pour down the autumnal
+rains," Shelley wrote the divinest of all English lyrics: the _Ode to
+the West Wind_.
+
+     "Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is:
+     What if my leaves are falling like its own!
+     The tumult of thy mighty harmonies
+
+     Will take from both a deep, autumnal tone,
+     Sweet though in sadness. Be thou, spirit fierce,
+     My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!
+
+     Drive my dead thoughts over the universe
+     Like withered leaves to quicken a new birth!
+     And, by the incantation of this verse,
+
+     Scatter, as from an unextinguished hearth
+     Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!
+     Be through my lips to unawakened earth
+
+     The trumpet of a prophecy! O, wind,
+     If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"
+
+
+
+
+
+  [Illustration: IN THE BOBOLI GARDENS]
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+_Across the Arno_
+
+     "Come a man destra, per salire al monte,
+       dove siede la Chiesa che soggioga
+       la ben guidata sopra Rubaconte,
+     si rompe del montar l'ardita foga.
+       per le scalee che si fero ad etade
+       ch'era sicuro il quaderno e la doga."
+         --_Dante._
+
+
+Across the river, partly lying along its bank and partly climbing up
+St. George's hill to the south, lies what was the Sesto d'Oltrarno in
+the days when old Florence was divided into sextaries, and became the
+Quartiere di Santo Spirito when the city was reorganised in quarters
+after the expulsion of the Duke of Athens. It was not originally a
+part of the city itself. At the time of building the second walls in
+the twelfth century (_see_ chapter i.), there were merely three
+_borghi_ or suburbs beyond the Arno, inhabited by the poorest
+classes, each of the three beginning at the head of the Ponte Vecchio;
+the Borgo Pidiglioso to the east, towards the present Via dei Bardi
+and Santa Lucia, where the road went on to Rome by way of Figline and
+Arezzo; the Borgo di Santa Felicita, to the south, ending in a gate at
+the present Piazza San Felice, where the road to Siena commenced; and
+the Borgo San Jacopo to the west, with a gate in the present Piazza
+Frescobaldi, on the way to Pisa. A few rich and noble families began
+to settle here towards the beginning of the thirteenth century. When
+the dissensions between Guelfs and Ghibellines came to a head in 1215,
+the Nerli and Rossi were Guelfs, the Gangalandi, Ubbriachi and
+Mannelli, Ghibellines; and these were then the only nobles of the
+Oltrarno, although Villani tells us that "the Frescobaldi and the
+Bardi and the Mozzi were already beginning to become powerful." The
+_Primo Popolo_ commenced to wall it in, in 1250, with the stones from
+dismantled feudal towers; and it was finally included in the third
+circle of the walls at the beginning of the fourteenth century--a
+point to which we shall return.
+
+As we saw in chapter iii., it was in the Oltrarno that the nobles made
+their last stand against the People in 1343, when the Nerli held the
+Ponte alla Carraia, the Frescobaldi and Mannelli the Ponte di Santa
+Trinita, and the Rossi and Bardi defended the Ponte Vecchio and the
+Ponte Rubaconte, with the narrow streets between. In the following
+century it was the headquarters of the faction opposed to the Medici,
+the Party of the Mountain, as it was called, from the lofty position
+of Luca Pitti's great palace. A century more, and it became the seat
+of government under the Medicean Grand Dukes, and the whole was
+crowned by the fortress of the Belvedere which Buontalenti built in
+1590 for Ferdinand I.
+
+At the head of the Ponte Vecchio, to right and left, the Borgo San
+Jacopo and the Via dei Bardi still retain something of their old
+characteristics and mediaeval appearance. In the former especially are
+some fine towers remaining of the Rossi, Nerli, Barbadori, and other
+families; particularly one which belonged to the Marsili, opposite the
+church of San Jacopo. A side street, the Via dei Giudei, once
+inhabited by Jews, is still very picturesque. The little church of San
+Jacopo, originally built in the eleventh century, but entirely
+reconstructed in more recent times, still possesses an old Romanesque
+portico. In this church some of the more bitter spirits among the
+nobles held a council in 1294, and unanimously decided to murder Giano
+della Bella. "The dogs of the people," said Messer Berto Frescobaldi,
+who was the spokesman, "have robbed us of honour and office, and we
+cannot enter the Palace. If we beat one of our own servants, we are
+undone. Wherefore, my lords, it is my rede that we should come forth
+from this servitude. Let us take up arms and assemble in the piazza;
+let us slay the plebeians, friends and foes alike, so that never again
+shall we or our children be subjected to them." His plan, however,
+seemed too dangerous to the other nobles. "If our design failed," said
+Messer Baldo della Tosa, "we should all be killed"; and it was decided
+to proceed by more prudent means, and to disorganise the People and
+undermine Giano's credit with them, before taking further action.
+
+At the end of the Borgo San Jacopo, the Frescobaldi had their palaces
+in the piazza which still bears their name, at the head of the Ponte
+Santa Trinita. Here Charles of Valois took up his headquarters in
+November 1301, with the intention of keeping this portion of the city
+in case he lost his hold of the rest. Opposite the bridge the Capponi
+had their palace; the heroic Piero Capponi lived here; and then the
+Gonfaloniere Niccolo, who, accused of favouring the Medici, was
+deprived of his office, and died broken-hearted just before the siege.
+
+On the left of the Ponte Vecchio the Via dei Bardi, where the nobles
+and retainers of that fierce old house made their last stand against
+the People after the Frescobaldi had been forced to surrender, has
+been much spoilt of recent years, though a few fine palaces remain,
+and some towers, especially two, of the Mannelli and Ridolfi, at the
+beginning of the street. In the Via dei Bardi, the fine Capponi Palace
+was built for Niccolo da Uzzano at the beginning of the Quattrocento.
+The church of Santa Lucia has a Della Robbia relief over the entrance,
+and a picture of the school of Fra Filippo in the interior. The street
+ends in the Piazza dei Mozzi, opposite the Ponte alle Grazie or Ponte
+Rubaconte, where stands the Torrigiani Palace, built by Baccio
+d'Agnolo in the sixteenth century.
+
+From the Ponte Vecchio the Via Guicciardini leads to the Pitti Palace,
+and onwards to the Via Romana and great Porta Romana. In the Piazza
+Santa Felicita a column marks the site of one of St. Peter Martyr's
+triumphs over the Paterini; the loggia is by Vasari; the historian
+Guicciardini is buried in the church, which contains some second-rate
+pictures. Further on, on the right, is the house where Machiavelli
+died, a disappointed and misunderstood patriot, in 1527; on the left
+is Guicciardini's palace.
+
+The magnificent Palazzo Pitti was commenced shortly after 1440 by
+Brunelleschi and Michelozzo, for Luca Pitti, that vain and incompetent
+old noble who hoped to eclipse the Medici during the closing days of
+the elder Cosimo. Messer Luca grew so confident, Machiavelli tells us,
+that "he began two buildings, one in Florence and the other at
+Ruciano, a place about a mile from the city; both were in right royal
+style, but that in the city was altogether greater than any other that
+had ever been built by a private citizen until that day. And to
+complete them he shrank from no measures, however extraordinary; for
+not only did citizens and private persons contribute and aid him with
+things necessary for the building, but communes and corporations lent
+him help. Besides this, all who were under ban, and whosoever had
+committed murder or theft or anything else for which he feared public
+punishment, provided that he were a person useful for the work, found
+secure refuge within these buildings." After the triumph of Piero dei
+Medici in 1466, Luca Pitti was pardoned, but ruined. "Straightway,"
+writes Machiavelli, "he learned what difference there is between
+success and failure, between dishonour and honour. A great solitude
+reigned in his houses, which before had been frequented by vast
+throngs of citizens. In the street his friends and relations feared
+not merely to accompany him, but even to salute him, since from some
+of them the honours had been taken, from others their property, and
+all alike were menaced. The superb edifices which he had commenced
+were abandoned by the builders; the benefits which had been heaped
+upon him in the past were changed into injuries, honours into insults.
+Many of those who had freely given him something of great value, now
+demanded it back from him as having been merely lent, and those
+others, who had been wont to praise him to the skies, now blamed him
+for an ungrateful and violent man. Wherefore too late did he repent
+that he had not trusted Niccolo Soderini, and sought rather to die
+with honour with arms in hand, than live on in dishonour among his
+victorious enemies."
+
+In 1549 the unfinished palace was sold by Luca Pitti's descendants to
+Eleonora of Toledo, Duke Cosimo's wife, and it was finished by
+Ammanati during the latter half of the sixteenth century; the wings
+are a later addition. The whole building, with its huge dimensions and
+boldly rusticated masonry, is one of the most monumental and grandiose
+of European palaces. It was first the residence of the Medicean Grand
+Dukes, then of their Austrian successors, and is now one of the royal
+palaces of the King of Italy.
+
+In one of the royal apartments there is a famous picture of
+Botticelli's, Pallas taming a Centaur, which probably refers to the
+return of Lorenzo the Magnificent to Florence after his diplomatic
+victory over the King of Naples and the League, in 1480. The beautiful
+and stately Medicean Pallas is wreathed all over with olive branches;
+her mantle is green, like that of Dante's Beatrice in the Earthly
+Paradise; her white dress is copiously besprinkled with Lorenzo's
+crest, the three rings. The Centaur himself is splendidly conceived
+and realised--a characteristic Botticellian modification of those
+terrible beings who hunt the damned souls of tyrants and robbers
+through the river of blood in Dante's Hell. Opposite the Pallas there
+is a small tondo, in which the Madonna and four Angels are adoring the
+divine Child in a garden of roses and wild strawberries. The latter
+was discovered in 1899 and ascribed to Botticelli, but appears to be
+only a school piece.
+
+The great glory of the Pitti Palace is its picture gallery, a
+magnificent array of masterpieces, hung in sumptuously decorated rooms
+with allegorical ceiling-paintings in the overblown and superficial
+style of the artists of the decadence--Pietro da Cortona and others of
+his kind:--
+
+           "Both in Florence and in Rome
+     The elder race so make themselves at home
+     That scarce we give a glance to ceilingfuls
+     Of such like as Francesco."
+
+So Robert Browning writes of one of Pietro's pupils. The Quattrocento
+is, with a few noteworthy exceptions, scarcely represented; but no
+collection is richer in the works of the great Italians of the
+Cinquecento at the culmination of the Renaissance. We can here, as in
+the Uffizi, merely indicate the more important pictures in each room.
+At the top of the staircase is a marble fountain ascribed to
+Donatello. The names of the rooms are usually derived from the
+subjects painted on the ceilings; we take the six principal saloons
+first.
+
+
+In the _Sala dell' Iliade_.
+
+First, the three masterpieces of this room. Fra Bartolommeo's great
+altar-piece painted in 1512 for San Marco (208), representing Madonna
+and Child surrounded by Saints, with a group of Dominicans attending
+upon the mystic marriage of St. Catherine of Siena, is a splendid
+picture, but darkened and injured; the two _putti_, making melody at
+the foot of Madonna's throne, are quite Venetian in character.
+
+Titian's Cardinal Ippolito dei Medici (201) is one of the master's
+grandest portraits; the Cardinal is represented in Hungarian military
+costume. Ippolito, like his reputed father the younger Giuliano, was
+one of the more respectable members of the elder branch of the Medici;
+he was brought up with Alessandro, but the two youths hated each other
+mortally from their boyhood. Young and handsome, cultured and lavishly
+generous, Ippolito was exceedingly popular and ambitious, and felt
+bitterly the injustice of Pope Clement in making Alessandro lord of
+Florence instead of him. Clement conferred an archbishopric and other
+things upon him, but could by no means keep him quiet. "Aspiring to
+temporal greatness," writes Varchi, "and having set his heart upon
+things of war rather than affairs of the Church, he hardly knew
+himself what he wanted, and was never content." The Pope, towards whom
+Ippolito openly showed his contempt, complained that he could not
+exert any control over so eccentric and headstrong a character, _un
+cervello eteroclito e cosi balzano_. After the Pope's death, the
+Cardinal intrigued with the Florentine exiles in order to supplant
+Alessandro, upon which the Duke had him poisoned in 1535, in the
+twenty-fifth year of his age. Titian painted him in 1533.
+
+The famous Concert (185), representing a passionate-faced monk of the
+Augustinian order at the harpsichord, while an older and more prosaic
+ecclesiastic stands behind him with a viol, and a youthful worldling
+half carelessly listens, was formerly taken as the standard of
+Giorgione's work; it is now usually regarded as an early Titian.
+Although much damaged and repainted, it remains one of the most
+beautiful of Venetian painted lyrics.
+
+Andrea del Sarto's two Assumptions, one (225) painted before 1526 for
+a church at Cortona, the other (191) left unfinished in 1531, show the
+artist ineffectually striving after the sublime, and helplessly pulled
+down to earth by the draperies of the Apostles round the tomb. Of
+smaller works should be noticed: an early Titian, the Saviour (228);
+two portraits by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (224, 207), of which the latter,
+a goldsmith, has been ascribed to Leonardo; a lady known as _La
+Gravida_ (229), probably by Raphael early in his Florentine period;
+Daniele Barbaro by Paolo Veronese (216); Titian's Philip II. of Spain
+(200); a male portrait by Andrea del Sarto (184), said, with little
+plausibility, to represent himself; a Holy Family (235) by Rubens.
+
+
+In the _Sala di Saturno_.
+
+Here are some of the choicest pictures in the collection, including a
+whole series of Raphael's. Raphael's Madonna del Gran Duca (178)--so
+called from its modern purchaser, Ferdinand III.--was painted in 1504
+or 1505, either before leaving Urbino or shortly after his arrival in
+Florence; it is the sweetest and most purely devotional of all his
+Madonnas. Morelli points out that it is strongly reminiscent of
+Raphael's first master, Timoteo Viti. The portraits of Angelo Doni and
+Maddalena Doni (61 and 59) also belong to the beginning of Raphael's
+Florentine epoch, about 1505 or 1506, and show how much he felt the
+influence of Leonardo; Angelo Doni, it will be remembered, was the
+parsimonious merchant for whom Michelangelo painted the Madonna of the
+Tribuna. The Madonna del Baldacchino (165) was commenced by Raphael in
+1508, the last picture of his Florentine period, ordered by the Dei
+for Santo Spirito; it shows the influence of Fra Bartolommeo in its
+composition, and was left unfinished when Pope Julius summoned the
+painter to Rome; in its present state, there is hardly anything of
+Raphael's about it. The beautiful Madonna della Seggiola (151) is a
+work of Raphael's Roman period, painted in 1513 or 1514. The Vision of
+Ezekiel (174) is slightly later, painted in 1517 or thereabout, and
+shows that Raphael had felt the influence of Michelangelo; one of the
+smallest and most sublime of all his pictures; the landscape is less
+conventional than we often see in his later works. Neither of the two
+portraits ascribed to Raphael in this room (171, 158) can any longer
+be accepted as a genuine work of the master.
+
+Andrea del Sarto and Fra Bartolommeo are likewise represented by
+masterpieces. The Friar's Risen Christ with Four Evangelists (159),
+beneath whom two beautiful _putti_ hold the orb of the world, was
+painted in 1516, the year before the painter's death; it is one of the
+noblest and most divine representations of the Saviour in the whole
+history of art. Andrea's so-called _Disputa_ (172), in which a group
+of Saints is discussing the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, painted in
+1518, is as superbly coloured as any of the greatest Venetian
+triumphs; the Magdalene is again the painter's own wife. Perugino's
+Deposition from the Cross (164), painted in 1495, shows the great
+Umbrian also at his best.
+
+Among the minor pictures in this room may be noted a pretty little
+trifle of the school of Raphael, so often copied, Apollo and the Muses
+(167), questionably ascribed to Giulio Romano; and a Nymph pursued by
+a Satyr (147), supposed by Morelli to be by Giorgione, now assigned to
+Dosso Dossi of Ferrara.
+
+
+In the _Sala di Giove_.
+
+The treasure of this room is the _Velata_ (245), Raphael's own
+portrait of the woman that he loved, to whom he wrote his sonnets, and
+whom he afterwards idealised as the Madonna di San Sisto; her
+personality remains a mystery. Titian's _Bella_ (18), a rather stolid
+rejuvenation of Eleonora Gonzaga, is chiefly valuable for its
+magnificent representation of a wonderful Venetian costume. Here are
+three works of Andrea del Sarto--the Annunciation (124), the Madonna
+in Glory, with four Saints (123), and St John the Baptist (272); the
+first is one of his most beautiful paintings. The picture supposed to
+represent Andrea and his wife (118) is not by the master himself.
+Bartolommeo's St Mark (125) was painted by him in 1514, to show that
+he could do large figures, whereas he had been told that he had a
+_maniera minuta_; it is not altogether successful. His Deposition from
+the Cross (64) is one of his latest and most earnest religious works.
+The Three Fates (113) by Rosso Fiorentino is an undeniably powerful
+and impressive picture; it was formerly ascribed to Michelangelo. The
+Three Ages (110), ascribed to Lorenzo Lotto here, was by Morelli
+attributed to Giorgione, and is now assigned by highly competent
+critics to a certain Morto da Feltre, of whom little is known save
+that he is said to have been Giorgione's successful rival for the
+favours of a ripe Venetian beauty; the picture itself, though injured
+by restoration, belongs to the same category as the Concert. "In such
+favourite incidents of Giorgione's school," writes Walter Pater,
+"music or music-like intervals in our existence, life itself is
+conceived as a sort of listening--listening to music, to the reading
+of Bandello's novels, to the sound of water, to time as it flies."
+
+
+In the _Sala di Marte_.
+
+The most important pictures of this room are: Titian's portrait of a
+young man with a glove (92); the Holy Family, called of the
+_Impannata_ or "covered window" (94), a work of Raphael's Roman
+period, painted by his scholars, perhaps by Giulio Romano; Cristofano
+Allori's Judith (96), a splendid and justly celebrated picture,
+showing what exceedingly fine works could be produced by Florentines
+even in the decadence (Allori died in 1621); Andrea del Sarto's scenes
+from the history of Joseph (87, 88), panels for cassoni or bridal
+chests, painted for the marriage of Francesco Borgherini and
+Margherita Acciaiuoli; a Rubens, the so-called Four Philosophers (85),
+representing himself with his brother, and the scholars Lipsius and
+Grotius; Andrea del Sarto's Holy Family (81), one of his last works,
+painted in 1529 for Ottaviano dei Medici and said to have been
+finished during the siege; Van Dyck's Cardinal Giulio Bentivoglio
+(82). It is uncertain whether this Julius II. (79) or that in the
+Tribuna of the Uffizi is Raphael's original, but the present picture
+appears to be the favourite; both are magnificent portraits of this
+terrible old warrior pontiff, who, for all his fierceness, was the
+noblest and most enlightened patron that Raphael and Michelangelo had.
+It was probably at his bidding that Raphael painted Savonarola among
+the Church's doctors and theologians in the Vatican.
+
+
+In the _Sala di Apollo_ and _Sala di Venere_.
+
+Here, first of all, is Raphael's celebrated portrait of Pope Julius'
+unworthy successor, Leo X. (40), the son of Lorenzo the Magnificent;
+on the left--that is, the Pope's right hand--is the Cardinal Giulio
+dei Medici, afterwards Pope Clement VII.; behind the chair is the
+Cardinal Luigi dei Rossi, the descendant of a daughter of Piero il
+Gottoso. One of Raphael's most consummate works.
+
+Andrea del Sarto's Pieta (58) was painted in 1523 or 1524 for a
+convent of nuns in the Mugello, whither Andrea had taken his wife and
+household while the plague raged in Florence; it is one of his finest
+works. Titian's Magdalene (67) has been called by Ruskin a
+"disgusting" picture; as a pseudo-religious work, it would be hard to
+find anything more offensive; but it has undeniably great technical
+qualities. His Pietro Aretino (54), on the other hand, is a noble
+portrait of an infamous blackguard. Noteworthy are also Andrea del
+Sarto's portrait (66), apparently one of his many representations of
+himself, and Murillo's Mother and Child (63).
+
+In the _Sala di Venere_, are a superb landscape by Rubens (14),
+sometimes called the Hay Harvest and sometimes the Return of the
+Contadini; also a fine female portrait, wrongly ascribed to Leonardo
+(140); the Triumph of David by Matteo Rosselli (13). It should be
+observed that the gems of the collection are frequently shifted from
+room to room for the benefit of the copyist.
+
+
+The _Sala dell' Educazione di Giove_ and following rooms.
+
+A series of smaller rooms, no less gorgeously decorated, adjoins the
+Sala dell' Iliade. In the _Sala dell' Educazione di Giove_ are: Fra
+Bartolommeo's Holy Family with St. Elizabeth (256), over the door; the
+Zingarella or Gipsy Girl (246), a charming little idyllic picture by
+Boccaccino of Cremona, formerly ascribed to Garofalo; Philip IV. of
+Spain (243) by Velasquez. Carlo Dolci's St Andrew (266) is above his
+usual level; but it is rather hard to understand how Guido Reni's
+Cleopatra (270) could ever be admired.
+
+In the _Sala di Prometeo_ are some earlier paintings; but those
+ascribed to Botticelli, Filippino Lippi, and Ghirlandaio are merely
+school-pieces. Fra Filippo Lippi's Madonna and Child with the
+Pomegranate (343) is a genuine and excellent work; in the background
+are seen the meeting of Joachim and Anne, with the Nativity of the
+Blessed Virgin. Crowe and Cavalcasella observe that "this group of the
+Virgin and Child reminds one forcibly of those by Donatello or
+Desiderio da Settignano," and it shows how much the painters of the
+Quattrocento were influenced by the sculptors; the Madonna's face, for
+no obvious reason, is said to be that of Lucrezia Buti, the girl whom
+Lippo carried off from a convent at Prato. A curious little allegory
+(336) is ascribed by Morelli to Filippino Lippi. We should also notice
+the beautiful Madonna with Angels adoring the Divine Child in a rose
+garden (347), a characteristic Florentine work of the latter part of
+the Quattrocento, once erroneously ascribed to Filippino Lippi; an
+Ecce Homo in fresco by Fra Bartolommeo (377); a Holy Family by
+Mariotto Albertinelli (365); and a tondo by Luca Signorelli (355), in
+which St. Catherine is apparently writing at the dictation of the
+Divine Child. But the two gems of this room are the head of a Saint
+(370) and the portrait of a man in red dress and hat (375) by one of
+the earlier painters of the Quattrocento, probably Domenico Veneziano;
+"perhaps," writes Mr Berenson, "the first great achievements in this
+kind of the Renaissance." Here, too, is a fine portrait by Lorenzo
+Costa (376) of Giovanni Bentivoglio.
+
+In the _Sala del Poccetti_, _Sala della Giustizia_, _Sala di Flora_,
+_Sala dei Putti_, the pictures are, for the most part, unimportant.
+The so-called portrait of the _bella Simonetta_, the innamorata of
+Giuliano dei Medici (353), is not authentic and should not be ascribed
+to Sandro Botticelli. There are some fairly good portraits; a Titian
+(495), a Sebastiano del Piombo (409), Duke Cosimo I. by Bronzino
+(403), Oliver Cromwell by Lely (408). Calumny by Francia Bigio (427)
+is curious as a later rendering of a theme that attracted the greatest
+masters of the Quattrocento (Botticelli, Mantegna, Luca Signorelli all
+tried it). Lovers of Browning will be glad to have their attention
+called to the Judith of Artemisia Gentileschi (444): "a wonder of a
+woman painting too."
+
+A passage leads down two flights of steps, with occasional glimpses
+of the Boboli Gardens, through corridors of Medicean portraits,
+Florentine celebrities, old pictures of processions in piazza, and the
+like. Then over the Ponte Vecchio, with views of the Arno on either
+hand as we cross, to the Uffizi.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Behind the Pitti Palace are the delicious Boboli Gardens, commenced
+for Duke Cosimo I., with shady walks and exquisitely framed views of
+Florence. In a grotto near the entrance are four unfinished statues by
+Michelangelo; they are usually supposed to have been intended for the
+tomb of Julius II., but may possibly have been connected with the
+projected facade of San Lorenzo.
+
+Nearly opposite the Palazzo Pitti is the Casa Guidi, where the
+Brownings lived and wrote. Here Elizabeth Barrett Browning died in
+June 1861, she who "made of her verse a golden ring linking England to
+Italy"; these were the famous "Casa Guidi windows" from which she
+watched the liberation and unification of Italy:--
+
+     "I heard last night a little child go singing
+       'Neath Casa Guidi windows, by the church,
+     _O bella liberta, O bella!_--stringing
+       The same words still on notes he went in search
+     So high for, you concluded the upspringing
+       Of such a nimble bird to sky from perch
+     Must leave the whole bush in a tremble green,
+       And that the heart of Italy must beat,
+     While such a voice had leave to rise serene
+       'Twixt church and palace of a Florence street."
+
+The church in question, San Felice, contains a good picture of St.
+Anthony, St. Rock and St. Catherine by some follower of Botticelli and
+Filippino Lippi; also a Crucifixion of the school of Giotto. Thence
+the Via Mazzetta leads into the Piazza Santo Spirito, at the corner
+of which is the Palazzo Guadagni, built by Cronaca at the end of the
+Quattrocento; with fine iron work, lantern holders and the like, on
+the exterior.
+
+The present church of Santo Spirito--the finest Early Renaissance
+church in Florence--was built between 1471 and 1487, after
+Brunelleschi's designs, to replace his earlier building which had been
+burned down in 1471 on the occasion of the visit of Galeazzo Maria
+Sforza to Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother. It is a fine
+example of Brunelleschi's adaptation of the early basilican type, is
+borne upon graceful Corinthian columns and nobly proportioned. The
+octagonal sacristy is by Giuliano da San Gallo and Cronaca, finished
+in 1497, and the campanile by Baccio d'Agnolo at the beginning of the
+sixteenth century.
+
+The stained glass window over the entrance was designed by Perugino.
+In the right transept is an excellent picture by Filippino Lippi;
+Madonna and Child with the little St. John, St. Catherine and St.
+Nicholas, with the donor, Tanai de' Nerli, and his wife. Also in the
+right transept is the tomb of the Capponi; Gino, the conqueror of Pisa
+and historian of the Ciompi; Neri, the conqueror of the Casentino; and
+that great republican soldier and hero, Piero Capponi, who had saved
+Florence from Charles of France and fell in the Pisan war. The vision
+of St. Bernard is an old copy from Perugino. None of the other
+pictures in the church are more than school pieces; there are two in
+the left transept ascribed to Filippino's disappointing pupil,
+Raffaellino del Garbo--the Trinita with St. Mary of Egypt and St.
+Catherine, and the Madonna with Sts. Lawrence, Stephen, John and
+Bernard. The latter picture is by Raffaellino di Carlo.
+
+During the last quarter of the fourteenth century the convent of
+Santo Spirito--which is an Augustinian house--was the centre of a
+circle of scholars, who represent an epoch intermediate between the
+great writers of the Trecento and the humanists of the early
+Quattrocento. Prominent among them was Coluccio Salutati, who for many
+years served the Republic as Chancellor and died in 1406. He was
+influential in founding the first chair of Greek, and his letters on
+behalf of Florence were so eloquent and powerful that the "great
+viper," Giovanni Galeazzo Visconti, declared that he dreaded one of
+them more than many swords. Also Filippo Villani, the nephew of the
+great chroniclers, Giovanni and Matteo, who had succeeded Boccaccio as
+lecturer on Dante. They met here with other kindred spirits in the
+cell of Fra Luigi Marsili, a learned monk and impassioned worshipper
+of Petrarch, upon whose great crusading canzone--_O aspettata in ciel,
+beata e bella_--he wrote a commentary which is still extant. Fra Luigi
+died in 1394. A century later, the monks of this convent took a
+violent part in opposition to Savonarola; and it was here, in the
+pulpit of the choir of the church, that Landucci tells us that he
+heard the bull of excommunication read "by a Fra Leonardo, their
+preacher, and an adversary of the said Fra Girolamo,"--"between two
+lighted torches and many friars," as he rather quaintly puts it.
+
+"The Carmine's my cloister: hunt it up," says Browning's Lippo Lippi
+to his captors; and the Via Mazzetta and the Via Santa Monaca will
+take us to it. This church of the Carmelites, Santa Maria del Carmine,
+was consecrated in 1422; and, almost immediately after, the mighty
+series of frescoes was begun in the Brancacci Chapel at the end of the
+right transept--frescoes which were to become the school for all
+future painting. In the eighteenth century the greater part of the
+church was destroyed by fire, but this chapel was spared by the
+flames, and the frescoes, though terribly damaged and grievously
+restored, still remain on its walls.
+
+This Brancacci Chapel of the Carmine plays the same part in the
+history of painting as the bronze gates of the Baptistery in that of
+sculpture. It was in that same eventful year, 1401, of the famous
+competition between Ghiberti and Brunelleschi, that the new Giotto was
+born--Tommaso, the son of a notary in Castello San Giovanni di
+Valdarno. With him, as we saw in chapter iii., the second great epoch
+of Italian painting, the Quattrocento, or Epoch of Character, opens.
+His was a rare and piquant personality; _persona astrattissima e molto
+a caso_, says Vasari, "an absent-minded fellow and very casual."
+Intent upon his art, he took no care of himself and thought nothing of
+the ordinary needs and affairs of the world, though always ready to do
+others a good turn. From his general negligence and untidiness, he was
+nicknamed _Masaccio_--"hulking Tom"--which has become one of the most
+honourable names in the history of art. The little chapel in which we
+now stand and survey his handiwork, or what remains of it, is nothing
+less than the birthplace of modern painting. Sculpture had indeed
+preceded painting in its return to nature and in its direct study of
+the human form, and the influence of Donatello lies as strongly over
+all the painters of the Quattrocento. Vasari even states that Masolino
+da Panicale (Masolino = "dear little Tom"), Masaccio's master, had
+been one of Ghiberti's assistants in the casting of the bronze gates,
+but this is questionable; it is possible that he had been Ghiberti's
+pupil, though he learned the principles of painting from Gherardo
+Starnina, one of the last artists of the Trecento. It was shortly
+after 1422 that Masolino commenced this great series of frescoes
+setting forth the life of St. Peter; within the next few years
+Masaccio continued his work; and, more than half a century later, in
+1484, Filippino Lippi took it up where Masaccio had left off, and
+completed the series.
+
+Masolino's contribution to the whole appears to be confined to three
+pictures: St. Peter preaching, with Carmelites in the background to
+carry his doctrines into fifteenth century Florence, on the left of
+the window; the upper row of scenes on the right wall, representing
+St. Peter and St. John raising the cripple at the Beautiful Gate of
+the Temple, and the healing of Tabitha (according to others, the
+resuscitation of Petronilla); and the narrow fresco of the Fall of
+Adam and Eve, on the right of the entrance. Some have also ascribed to
+him the striking figure of St. Peter enthroned, attended by
+Carmelites, while the faithful approach to kiss his feet--the picture
+in the corner on the left which, in a way, sets the keynote to the
+whole--but it is more probably the work of Masaccio (others ascribe it
+to Filippino). Admirable though these paintings are, they exhibit a
+certain immaturity as contrasted with those by Masaccio: in the
+Raising of Tabitha, for instance, those two youths with their odd
+headgear might almost have stepped out of some Giottesque fresco; and
+the rendering of the nude in the Adam and Eve, though wonderful at
+that epoch, is much inferior to Masaccio's opposite. Nevertheless,
+Masolino's grave and dignified figures introduced the type that
+Masaccio was soon to render perfect.
+
+From the hand of Masaccio are the Expulsion from Paradise; the Tribute
+Money; the Raising of the Dead Youth (in part); and (probably) the St.
+Peter enthroned, on the left wall; St. Peter and St. John healing the
+sick with their shadow, under Masolino's Peter preaching (and the
+figure behind with a red cap, leaning on a stick, is Masaccio's pious
+portrait of his master Masolino himself); St. Peter baptising, St.
+Peter and St. John giving alms, on the opposite side of the window.
+Each figure is admirably rendered, its character perfectly realised;
+Masaccio may indeed be said to have completed what Giotto had begun,
+and freed Italian art from the mannerism of the later followers of
+Giotto, even as Giotto himself had delivered her from Byzantine
+formalism. "After Giotto," writes Leonardo da Vinci, "the art of
+painting declined again, because every one imitated the pictures that
+were already done; thus it went on from century to century until
+Tommaso of Florence, nicknamed Masaccio, showed by his perfect works
+how those who take for their standard any one but Nature--the mistress
+of all masters--weary themselves in vain."[54] This return to nature
+is seen even in the landscape, notably in the noble background to the
+Tribute Money; but above all, in his study of man and the human form.
+"For the first time," says Kugler, "his aim is the study of form for
+itself, the study of the external conformation of man. With such an
+aim is identified a feeling which, in beauty, sees and preserves the
+expression of proportion; and in repose or motion, the expression of
+an harmonious development of the powers of the human frame." For sheer
+dignity and grandeur there is nothing to compare with it, till we come
+to the work of Raphael and Michelangelo in the Vatican; the
+composition of the Tribute Money and the Healing of the Sick initiated
+the method of religious illustration that reached its ultimate
+perfection in Raphael--what has been called giving Greek form to
+Hebrew thought. The treatment of the nude especially seemed a novel
+thing in its day; the wonderful modelling of the naked youth shivering
+with the cold, in the scene of St. Peter baptising, was hailed as a
+marvel of art, and is cited by Vasari as one of the _cose rarissime_
+of painting. In the scene of the Tribute Money, the last Apostle on
+our right (in the central picture where our Lord and His disciples are
+confronted by the eager collector) whose proud bearing is hardly
+evangelical, is Masaccio himself, with scanty beard and untidy hair.
+Although less excellent than the Baptism as a study of the nude, the
+Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden is a masterpiece of which it is
+impossible to speak too highly. Our _primi parenti_, weighed down with
+the consciousness of ineffable tragedy, are impelled irresistibly
+onward by divine destiny; they need not see the Angel in his flaming
+robe on his cloud of fire, with his flashing sword and out-stretched
+hand; terrible in his beauty as he is to the spectator, he is as
+nothing to them, compared with the face of an offended God and the
+knowledge of the _tanto esilio_. Surely this is how Dante himself
+would have conceived the scene.
+
+  [54] In Richter's _Literary Works of Leonardo da Vinci_. Leonardo
+  rather too sweepingly ignores the fact that there were a few excellent
+  masters between the two.
+
+Masaccio died at Rome in 1428, aged twenty-seven years. In his short
+life he had set modern painting on her triumphant progress, and his
+frescoes became the school for all subsequent painters, "All in
+short," says Vasari, "who have sought to acquire their art in its
+perfection, have constantly repaired to study it in this chapel, there
+imbibing the precepts and rules necessary to be followed for the
+command of success, and learning to labour effectually from the
+figures of Masaccio." If he is to rank among "the inheritors of
+unfulfilled renown," Masaccio may be said to stand towards Raphael as
+Keats towards Tennyson. Masolino outlived his great pupil for several
+years, and died about 1435.
+
+The fresco of the Raising up of the dead Youth, left unfinished by
+Masaccio when he left Florence for Rome, was completed by Filippino
+Lippi (the son of that run-a-way Carmelite in whom the spirit of
+Masaccio was said to have lived again), in 1484. The five figures on
+the left appear to be from Filippino's hand (the second from the end
+is said to be Luigi Pulci, the poet), as also the resuscitated boy
+(said to be Francesco Granacci the painter, who was then about fifteen
+years old) and the group of eight on the right. Under Masaccio's Adam
+and Eve, he painted St. Paul visiting St. Peter in prison; under
+Masolino's Fall, the Liberation of Peter by the Angel, two exceedingly
+beautiful and simple compositions. And, on the right wall of the
+chapel, St. Peter and St. Paul before the Proconsul and the
+Crucifixion of St. Peter are also by Filippino. In the Crucifixion
+scene, which is inferior to the rest, the last of the three spectators
+on our right, wearing a black cap, is Filippino's master, Sandro
+Botticelli. In the presence of the Proconsul, the elderly man with a
+keen face, in a red cap to the right of the judge, is Antonio
+Pollaiuolo; and, on our right, the youth whose head appears in the
+corner is certainly Filippino himself--a kind of signature to the
+whole.
+
+Apart from the Brancacci chapel, the interest of the Carmine is mainly
+confined to the tomb of the noble and simple-hearted ex-Gonfaloniere,
+Piero Soderini (who died in 1513), in the choir; it was originally by
+Benedetto da Rovezzano, but has been restored. There are frescoes in
+the sacristy, representing the life of St. Cecilia, by one of Giotto's
+later followers, possibly Spinello Aretino, and, in the cloisters, a
+noteworthy Madonna of the same school, ascribed to Giovanni da Milano.
+
+Beyond the Carmine, westwards, is the Borgo San Frediano, now, as in
+olden time, the poorest part of Florence. It was the ringing of the
+bell of the Carmine that gave the signal for the rising of the Ciompi
+in 1378. Unlike their neighbours, the Augustinians of Santo Spirito,
+the good fathers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel were for the most part
+ardent followers of Savonarola, and, on the first of October 1497, one
+of them preached an open-air sermon near the Porta San Frediano, in
+which he declared that he himself had had a special revelation from
+God on the subject of Fra Girolamo's sanctity, and that all who
+resisted the Friar would be horribly punished; even Landucci admits
+that he talked arrant nonsense, _pazzie_. The parish church of this
+district, San Frediano in Cestello, is quite uninteresting. At the end
+of the Via San Frediano is the great Porta San Frediano, of which more
+presently.
+
+The gates and walls of Oltrarno were built between 1324 and 1327, in
+the days of the Republic's great struggle with Castruccio
+Interminelli. Unlike those on the northern bank, they are still in
+part standing. There are five gates on this side of the river--the
+Porta San Niccolo, the Porta San Miniato, the Porta San Giorgio, the
+Porta Romana or Por San Piero Gattolino, and the Porta San Frediano.
+It was all round this part of the city that the imperial army lay
+during the siege of 1529 and 1530.
+
+On the east of the city, on the banks of the Arno, rises first the
+Porta San Niccolo--mutilated and isolated, but the only one of the
+gates that has retained a remnant of its ancient height and dignity.
+In a lunette on the inner side is a fresco of 1357--Madonna and Child
+with Saints, Angels and Prophets. Around are carved the lilies of the
+Commune. On the side facing the hill are the arms of the Parte Guelfa
+and of the People, with the lily of the Commune between them. Within
+the gate the Borgo San Niccolo leads to the church of San Niccolo,
+which contains a picture by Neri di Bicci and one of the Pollaiuoli,
+and four saints ascribed to Gentile da Fabriano. It is one of the
+oldest Florentine churches, though not interesting in its present
+state. There is an altogether untrustworthy tradition that
+Michelangelo was sheltered in the tower of this church after the
+capitulation of the city, but he seems to have been more probably in
+the house of a trusted friend. Pope Clement ordered that he should be
+sought for, but left at liberty and treated with all courtesy if he
+agreed to go on working at the Medicean monuments in San Lorenzo; and,
+hearing this, the sculptor came out from his hiding place. It may be
+observed that San Niccolo was a most improbable place for him to have
+sought refuge in, as Malatesta Baglioni had his headquarters close by.
+
+Beyond the Porta San Niccolo is the Piano di Ripoli, where the Prince
+of Orange had his headquarters. Before his exile Dante possessed some
+land here. It was here that the first Dominican house was established
+in Tuscany under St Dominic's companion, Blessed John of Salerno. Up
+beyond the terminus of the tramway a splendid view of Florence can be
+obtained.
+
+Near the Porta San Niccolo the long flight of stairs mounts up the
+hill of _San Francesco e San Miniato_, which commands the city from
+the south-east, to the Piazzale Michelangelo just below the church. A
+long and exceedingly beautiful drive leads also to this Piazzale from
+the Porta Romana--the Viale dei Colli--and passes down again to the
+Barriera San Niccolo by the Viale Michelangelo. This Viale dei Colli,
+at least, is one of those few works which even those folk who make a
+point of sneering at everything done in Florence since the unification
+of Italy are constrained to admire. It would seem that even in the
+thirteenth century there were steps of some kind constructed up the
+hill-side to the church. In that passage from the _Purgatorio_ (canto
+xii.) which I have put at the head of this chapter, Dante compares the
+ascent from the first to the second circle of Purgatory to this climb:
+"As on the right hand, to mount the hill where stands the church which
+overhangs the well-guided city, above Rubaconte, the bold abruptness
+of the ascent is broken by the steps that were made in the age when
+the ledger and the stave were safe."[55]
+
+  [55] The ledger and the stave (_il quaderno e la doga_): "In 1299
+  Messer Niccola Acciaiuoli and Messer Baldo d' Aguglione abstracted
+  from the public records a leaf containing the evidence of a
+  disreputable transaction, in which they, together with the Podesta,
+  had been engaged. At about the same time Messer Durante de'
+  Chiaramontesi, being officer of the customs for salt, took away a
+  stave (_doga_) from the standard measure, thus making it
+  smaller."--_A. J. Butler._
+
+The Piazzale, adorned with bronze copies of Michelangelo's great
+statues, commands one of the grandest views of Florence, with the
+valley of the Arno and the mountains round, that "in silence listen
+for the word said next," as Mrs Browning has it. Up beyond is the
+exceedingly graceful Franciscan church of San Salvadore al Monte--"the
+purest vessel of Franciscan simplicity," a modern Italian poet has
+called it--built by Cronaca in the last years of the fifteenth
+century. It contains a few works by Giovanni della Robbia. It was as
+he descended this hill with a few armed followers that Giovanni
+Gualberto met and pardoned the murderer of his brother; a small chapel
+or tabernacle, on the way up from the convent to San Miniato, still
+marks the spot, but the Crucifix which is said to have bowed down its
+head towards him is now preserved in Santa Trinita.
+
+  [Illustration: THE FORTIFICATIONS OF MICHELANGELO]
+
+This Monte di San Francesco e di San Miniato overlooks the whole city,
+and Florence lay at the mercy of whoever got possession of it.
+Varchi in his history apologises for those architects who built the
+walls of the city by reminding us that, in their days, artillery was
+not even dreamed of, much less invented. Michelangelo armed the
+campanile of San Miniato, against which the fiercest fire of the
+imperialists was directed, and erected bastions covering the hill,
+enclosing it, as it were, within the walls up from the Porta San
+Miniato and down again to the Porta San Niccolo. It was intrusted to
+the guard of Stefano Colonna, who finally joined Malatesta Baglioni in
+betraying the city. Some bits of Michelangelo's work remain near the
+Basilica, which itself is one of the most venerable edifices of the
+kind in Tuscany; the earliest Florentine Christians are said to have
+met here in the woods, during the reign of Nero, and here Saint
+Miniatus, according to tradition the son of an Armenian king, lived in
+his hermitage until martyred by Decius outside the present Porta alla
+Croce. In the days of Gregory the Great, San Frediano of Lucca came
+every year with his clergy to worship the relics of Miniatus; a
+basilica already stood here in the time of Charlemagne; and the
+present edifice is said to have been begun in 1013 by the Bishop
+Alibrando, with the aid of the Emperor St Henry and his wife
+Cunegunda. It was held by the Benedictines, first the black monks and
+then the Olivetans who took it over from Gregory XI. in 1373. The new
+Bishops of Florence, the first time they set foot out of the city,
+came here to sing Mass. In 1553 the monastery was suppressed by Duke
+Cosimo I., and turned into a fortress.
+
+San Miniato al Monte is one of the earliest and one of the finest
+examples of the Tuscan Romanesque style of architecture. Both interior
+and exterior are adorned with inlaid coloured marble, of simple
+design, and the fine "nearly classical" pillars within are probably
+taken from some ancient Roman building. Fergusson remarks that, but
+for the rather faulty construction of the facade, "it would be
+difficult to find a church in Italy containing more of classical
+elegance, with perfect appropriateness for the purposes of Christian
+worship." In the crypt beneath the altar is the tomb of San Miniato
+and others of the Decian martyrs. The great mosaic on the upper part
+of the apse was originally executed at the end of the thirteenth
+century. The Early Renaissance chapel in the nave was constructed by
+Michelozzo in 1448 for Piero dei Medici, to contain Giovanni
+Gualberto's miraculous Crucifix. In the left aisle is the Cappella di
+San Jacopo with the monument of the Cardinal James of Portugal, who
+"lived in the flesh as if he were freed from it, like an Angel rather
+than a man, and died in the odour of sanctity at the early age of
+twenty-six," in 1459. This tomb by Antonio Rossellino is the third of
+the "three finest Renaissance tombs in Tuscany," the other two being
+those of Leonardo Bruni (1444) by Antonio's brother Bernardo, and
+Carlo Marsuppini by Desiderio (1453), both of which we have seen in
+Santa Croce. Mr Perkins observes that the present tomb preserves the
+golden mean in point of ornament between the other two. The Madonna
+and Child with the Angels, watching over the young Cardinal's repose,
+are especially beautiful. The Virtues on the ceiling are by Luca della
+Robbia, and the Annunciation opposite the tomb by Alessio
+Baldovinetti. The Gothic sacristy was built for one of the great
+Alberti family, Benedetto di Nerozzo, in 1387, and decorated shortly
+after with a splendid series of frescoes by Spinello Aretino, setting
+forth the life of St. Benedict. These are Spinello's noblest works and
+the last great creation of the genuine school of Giotto. Especially
+fine are the scenes with the Gothic king Totila, and the death and
+apotheosis of the Saint, which latter may be compared with Giotto's
+St. Francis in Santa Croce. The whole is like a painted chapter of St.
+Gregory's Dialogues.
+
+  [Illustration: PORTA SAN GIORGIO]
+
+The Porta San Miniato, below the hill, almost at the foot of the
+Basilica, is little more than a gap in the wall. On both sides are the
+arms of the Commune and the People, the Cross of the latter outside
+the lily of the former. Upwards from the Porta San Miniato to the
+Porta San Giorgio a glorious bit of the old wall remains, clad inside
+and out with olives, running up the hillside of San Giorgio; even some
+remnants of the old towers are standing, two indeed having been only
+partially demolished. Beneath the former Medicean fortress and upper
+citadel of Belvedere stands the Porta San Giorgio. This, although
+small, is the most picturesque of all the gates of Florence. On its
+outer side is a spirited bas-relief of St. George and the Dragon in
+stone--of the end of the fourteenth century--over the lily of the
+Commune; in the lunette, on the inner side, is a fresco painted in
+1330--probably by Bernardo Daddi--of Santa Maria del Fiore enthroned
+with the Divine Babe between St. George and St. Leonard. This was the
+only gate held by the nobles in the great struggle of 1343, when the
+banners of the people were carried across the bridge in triumph, and
+the Bardi and Frescobaldi fought from street to street; through it the
+magnates had secretly brought in banditti and retainers from the
+country, and through it some of the Bardi fled when the people swept
+down upon their palaces. Inside the gate the steep Via della Costa San
+Giorgio winds down past Galileo's house to Santa Felicita. Outside the
+gate the Via San Leonardo leads, between olive groves and vineyards,
+into the Viale dei Colli. In the curious little church of San Leonardo
+in Arcetri, on the left, is an old _ambone_ or pulpit from the
+demolished church of San Piero Scheraggio, with ancient bas-reliefs.
+This pulpit is traditionally supposed to have been a part of the
+spoils in the destruction of Fiesole; it appears to belong to the
+latter part of the twelfth century.
+
+The great Porta Romana, or Porta San Piero Gattolino, was originally
+erected in 1328; it is still of imposing dimensions, though its
+immediate surroundings are somewhat prosaic. Many a Pope and Emperor
+has passed through here, to or from the eternal city; the marble
+tablets on either side record the entrance of Leo X. in 1515, on his
+way from Rome to Bologna to meet Francis I. of France, and of Charles
+V. in 1536 to confirm the infamous Duke Alessandro on the throne--a
+confirmation which the dagger of Lorenzino happily annulled in the
+following year. It was here that Pope Leo's brother, Piero dei Medici,
+had made his unsuccessful attempt to surprise the city on April 28th
+1497, with some thousand men or more, horse and foot. A countryman at
+daybreak had seen them resting and breakfasting on the way, some few
+miles from the city; by taking short cuts over the country, he evaded
+their scouts who were intercepting all persons passing northwards, and
+reached Florence with the news just at the morning opening of the
+gate. The result was that the Magnifico Piero and his braves found it
+closed in their faces and the forces of the Signoria guarding the
+walls, so, after ignominiously skulking for a few hours out of range
+of the artillery, they fled back towards Siena.
+
+Near the Porta Romana the Viale dei Colli commences to the left, as
+the Viale Machiavelli; and, straight on, the beautifully shady
+Stradone del Poggio Imperiale runs up to the villa of that name, built
+for Maria Maddalena of Austria in 1622. The statues at the beginning
+of the road were once saints on the second facade of the Duomo. It was
+on the rising ground that divides the Strada Romana from the present
+Stradone that the famous convent of Monticelli stood, recorded in
+Dante's _Paradiso_ and Petrarca's _Trionfo della Pudicizia_, in which
+Piccarda Donati took the habit of St. Clare, and from which she was
+dragged by her brother Corso to marry Rossellino della Tosa:--
+
+     "Perfetta vita ed alto merto inciela
+       donna piu su, mi disse, alla cui norma
+       nel vostro mondo giu si veste e vela,
+
+     perche in fino al morir si vegghi e dorma
+       con quello sposo ch'ogni voto accetta,
+       che caritate a suo piacer conforma.
+
+     Dal mondo, per seguirla, giovinetta
+       fuggi'mi, e nel suo abito mi chiusi,
+       e promisi la via della sua setta.
+
+     Uomini poi, a mal piu ch'al bene usi,
+       fuor mi rapiron della dolce chiostra;
+       e Dio si sa qual poi mia vita fusi."[56]
+
+  [56] "Perfected life and high desert enheaveneth a lady more aloft,"
+  she said, "by whose rule down in your world there are who clothe and
+  veil themselves,
+
+  That they, even till death, may wake and sleep with that Spouse who
+  accepteth every vow that love hath made conform with his good
+  pleasure.
+
+  From the world, to follow her, I fled while yet a girl, and in her
+  habit I enclosed myself, and promised the way of her company.
+
+  Thereafter men more used to ill than good tore me away from the sweet
+  cloister; and God doth know what my life then became."--_Paradiso_
+  iii. Wicksteed's translation.
+
+It was at Poggio Imperiale, then called the Poggio dei Baroncelli,
+that a famous combat took place during the early days of the siege, in
+which Ludovico Martelli and Dante da Castiglione fought two
+Florentines who were serving in the imperial army, Giovanni Bandini
+and Bertino Aldobrandini. Both Martelli, the original challenger, and
+Aldobrandini were mortally wounded. Martelli's real motive in sending
+the challenge is said to have been that he and Bandini were rivals for
+the favours of a Florentine lady, Marietta de' Ricci. Among the many
+beautiful villas and gardens which stud the country beyond Poggio
+Imperiale, are Galileo's Tower, from which he made his astronomical
+observations, and the villa in which he was visited by Milton. Near
+Santa Margherita a Montici, to the east, is the villa in which the
+articles of capitulation were arranged by the Florentine ambassadors
+with Ferrante Gonzaga, commander of the Imperial troops, and Baccio
+Valori, commissary of the Pope. But already Malatesta had opened the
+Porta Romana and turned his artillery against the city which he had
+solemnly sworn to defend.
+
+Beyond the Porta Romana the road to the right of Poggio Imperiale
+leads to the valley of the Ema, above which the great Certosa rises on
+the hill of Montaguto. Shortly before reaching the monastery the Ema
+is crossed--an insignificant stream in which Cacciaguida (in
+_Paradiso_ xvi.) rather paradoxically regrets that Buondelmonte was
+not drowned on his way to Florence: "Joyous had many been who now are
+sad, had God committed thee unto the Ema the first time that thou
+camest to the city." The Certosa itself, that "huge battlemented
+convent-block over the little forky flashing Greve," as Browning calls
+it, was founded by Niccolo Acciaiuoli, the Florentine Grand Seneschal
+of Naples, in 1341; it is one of the finest of the later mediaeval
+monasteries. Orcagna is said to have built one of the side chapels of
+the church, which contains a fine early Giottesque altarpiece; and in
+a kind of crypt there are noble tombs of the Acciaiuoli--one, the
+monument of the founder, being possibly by Orcagna, and one of the
+later ones ascribed (doubtfully) to Donatello. In the chapter-house
+are a Crucifixion by Mariotto Albertinelli, and the monument of
+Leonardo Buonafede by Francesco da San Gallo. From the convent and
+further up the valley, there are beautiful views. About three miles
+further on is the sanctuary and shrine of the Madonna dell' Impruneta,
+built for the miraculous image of the Madonna, which was carried down
+in procession to Florence in times of pestilence and danger.
+Savonarola especially had placed great faith in the miraculous powers
+of this image and these processions; and during the siege it remained
+in Florence ceremoniously guarded in the Duomo, a kind of mystic
+Palladium.
+
+Between the Porta Romana and Porta San Frediano some tracts of the
+city wall remain, but the whole is painfully prosaic. The Porta San
+Frediano itself is a massive structure, erected between 1324 and 1327,
+possibly by Andrea Pisano; it need hardly be repeated that we cannot
+judge of the original mediaeval appearance of the gates of Florence,
+with their towers and ante-portals, even from the least mutilated of
+their present remnants. It was through this gate that the Florentine
+army passed in triumph in 1363 with their long trains of captured
+Pisans; and here, after Pisa had shaken off for a while the yoke,
+Charles of France rode in as a conqueror on November 17, 1494,
+Savonarola's new Cyrus, and was solemnly received at the gate by the
+Signoria. Within the gate a strip of wall runs down to the river, with
+two later towers built by Medicean grand dukes. At the end is a chapel
+built in 1856, and containing a Pieta from the walls of a demolished
+convent--ascribed without warrant to Domenico Ghirlandaio.
+
+It was somewhere near here that S. Frediano, coming from Lucca to pay
+his annual visit to the shrine of San Miniato, miraculously crossed
+the Arno in flood. Outside the gate, a little off the Leghorn road to
+the left, is the suppressed abbey of Monte Oliveto, and beyond it, to
+the south, the hill of Bellosguardo--both points from which splendid
+views of Florence and its surroundings are obtained.
+
+These dream-like glimpses of the City of Flowers, which every coign of
+vantage seems to give us round Florence--might we not, sometimes,
+imagine that we had stumbled unawares upon the Platonic City of the
+Perfect? There are two lines from one of Dante's canzoni in praise of
+his mystical lady that rise to our mind at every turn:--
+
+     "Io non la vidi tante volte ancora,
+     ch'io non trovassi in lei nuova bellezza,"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+_Conclusion_
+
+
+The setting of Florence is in every way worthy of the gem which it
+encloses. On each side of the city and throughout its province
+beautiful walks and drives lead to churches, villas and villages full
+of historical interest or enriched with artistic treasures. I can here
+merely indicate a very few such places.
+
+To the north of the city rises Fiesole on its hill, of which the
+historical connection with Florence has been briefly discussed in
+chapter i. At its foot stands the Dominican convent, in which Fra
+Giovanni, whom we know better as the Beato Angelico, took the habit of
+the order, and in which both his brother, Fra Benedetto, and himself
+were in turn priors. Savonarola's fellow martyr, Fra Domenico da
+Pescia, was likewise prior of this house. The church contains a
+Madonna by Angelico, with the background painted in by Lorenzo di
+Credi (its exquisitely beautiful predella is now one of the chief
+ornaments of the National Gallery of London), a Baptism of Christ by
+Lorenzo di Credi, and an Adoration of the Magi designed by Andrea del
+Sarto and executed by Sogliani. A little to the left is the famous
+Badia di Fiesole, originally of the eleventh century, but rebuilt for
+Cosimo the Elder by Filippo Brunelleschi. It was one of Cosimo's
+favourite foundations; Marsilio Ficino's Platonic Academy frequently
+met in the loggia with its beautiful view towards the city. In the
+church, Lorenzo's second son, Giovanni, was invested with the
+Cardinalate in 1492; and here, in 1516, his third son, Giuliano, Duke
+of Nemours, the best of the Medici, died. On the way up to Fiesole
+itself is the handsome villa Mozzi, built for Giovanni di Cosimo de'
+Medici by Michelozzo. It was in this villa that the Pazzi had
+originally intended to murder Lorenzo and the elder Giuliano, but
+their plan was frustrated by the illness of Giuliano, which prevented
+his being present.
+
+In Fiesole itself, the remains of the Etruscan wall and the old
+theatre tell of the classical Faesulae; its Tuscan Romanesque Duomo
+(of the eleventh and twelfth centuries) recalls the days when the city
+seemed a rival to Florence itself and was the resort of the robber
+barons, who preyed upon her ever growing commerce. It contains
+sculptures by Mino da Fiesole and that later Fiesolan, Andrea Ferrucci
+(to whom we owe the bust of Marsilio Ficino), and a fine terracotta by
+one of the Della Robbias. From the Franciscan convent, which occupies
+the site of the old Roman citadel, a superb view of Florence and its
+valley is obtained. From Fiesole, towards the south-east, we reach
+Ponte a Mensola (also reached from the Porta alla Croce), the Mensola
+of Boccaccio's _Ninfale fiesolano_, above which is Settignano, where
+Desiderio was born and Michelangelo nurtured, and where Boccaccio had
+a podere. The Villa Poggio Gherardo, below Settignano, shares with the
+Villa Palmieri below Fiesole the distinction of being traditionally
+one of those introduced into the _Decameron_.
+
+Northwestwards of the Badia of Fiesole runs the road from Florence to
+Bologna, past the village of Trespiano, some three or four miles from
+the Porta San Gallo. In the twelfth century Trespiano was the northern
+boundary of Florentine territory, as Galluzzo--on the way towards the
+Certosa and about two miles from the Porta Romana--was its southern
+limit. Cacciaguida, in _Paradiso_ xvi., refers to this as an ideal
+golden time when the citizenship "saw itself pure even in the lowest
+artizan." A little way north of Trespiano, on the old Bolognese road,
+is the Uccellatoio--referred to in canto xv.--the first point from
+which Florence is visible. Below Trespiano, at La Lastra, rather more
+than two miles from the city, the exiled Bianchi and Ghibellines, with
+auxiliaries from Bologna and Arezzo, assembled in that fatal July of
+1304. The leaders of the Neri were absent at Perugia, and, at the
+first sight of the white standards waving from the hill, terror and
+consternation filled their partisans throughout the city. Had their
+enterprise been better organised, the exiles would undoubtedly have
+captured Florence. Seeing that they were discovered, and urged on by
+their friends within the city, without waiting for the Uberti, whose
+cavalry was advancing from Pistoia to their support and whose
+appointed day of coming they had anticipated, Baschiera della Tosa, in
+spite of the terrible heat, ordered an immediate advance upon the
+Porta San Gallo. The walls of the third circle were only in part built
+at that epoch, and those of the second circle still stood with their
+gates. The exiles, for the most part mounted, drew up round San Marco
+and the Annunziata, "with white standards spread, with garlands of
+olive and drawn swords, crying _peace_," writes Dino Compagni, who was
+in Florence at the time, "without doing violence or plundering anyone.
+A right goodly sight was it to see them, with the sign of peace thus
+arrayed. The heat was so great, that it seemed that the very air
+burned." But their friends within did not stir. They forced the Porta
+degli Spadai which stood at the head of the present Via dei Martelli,
+but were repulsed at the Piazza San Giovanni and the Duomo, and the
+sudden blazing up of a palace in the rear completed their rout. Many
+fell on the way, simply from the heat, while the Neri, becoming
+fierce-hearted like lions, as Compagni says, hotly pursued them,
+hunting out those who had hidden themselves among the vineyards and
+houses, hanging all they caught. In their flight, a little way from
+Florence, the exiles met Tolosato degli Uberti hastening up with his
+Ghibellines to meet them on the appointed day. Tolosato, a fierce
+captain and experienced in civil war, tried in vain to rally them,
+and, when all his efforts proved unavailing, returned to Pistoia
+declaring that the youthful rashness of Baschiera had lost him the
+city. Dante had taken no part in the affair; he had broken with his
+fellow exiles in the previous year, and made a party for himself as he
+tells us in the _Paradiso_.
+
+To the west and north-west of Florence are several interesting villas
+of the Medici. The Villa Medicea in Careggi, the most famous of all,
+is not always accessible. It is situated in the loveliest country,
+within a short walk of the tramway station of Ponte a Rifredi. Built
+originally by Michelozzo for Cosimo the Elder, it was almost burned
+down by a band of republican youths shortly before the siege. Here
+Cosimo died, consoling his last hours with Marsilio Ficino's
+Platonics; here the elder Piero lived in retirement, too shattered in
+health to do more than nominally succeed his father at the head of the
+State. On August 23rd 1466, there was an attempt made to murder Piero
+as he was carried into Florence from Careggi in his litter. A band of
+armed men, in the pay of Luca Pitti and Dietisalvi Neroni, lay in wait
+for the litter on the way to the Porta Faenza; but young Lorenzo, who
+was riding on in advance of his father's cortege, came across them
+first, and, without appearing to take any alarm at the meeting,
+secretly sent back a messenger to bid his father take another way.
+Under Lorenzo himself, this villa became the centre of the
+Neo-Platonic movement; and here on November 7th, the day supposed to
+be the anniversary of Plato's birth and death, the famous banquet was
+held at which Marsilio Ficino and the chosen spirits of the Academy
+discussed and expounded the _Symposium_. Here on April 8th 1492, the
+Magnifico died (see chap. iii.). In the same neighbourhood, a little
+further on in the direction of Pistoia, are the villas of Petraia and
+Castello (for both of which _permessi_ are given at the Pitti Palace,
+together with that for Poggio a Caiano), both reminiscent of the
+Medicean grand ducal family; in the latter Cosimo I. lived with his
+mother, Maria Salviati, before his accession to the throne, and here
+he died in 1574.
+
+Also beyond the Porta al Prato (about an hour and a half by the
+tramway from behind Santa Maria Novella), is the Villa Reale of Poggio
+a Caiano, superbly situated where the Pistoian Apennines begin to rise
+up from the plain. The villa was built by Giuliano da San Gallo for
+Lorenzo, and the Magnifico loved it best of all his country houses. It
+was here that he wrote his _Ambra_ and his _Caccia col Falcone_; in
+both of these poems the beautiful scenery round plays its part. When
+Pope Clement VII. sent the two boys, Ippolito and Alessandro, to
+represent the Medici in Florence, Alessandro generally stayed here,
+while Ippolito resided within the city in the palace in the Via Larga.
+When Charles V. came to Florence in 1536 to confirm Alessandro upon
+the throne, he declared that this villa "was not the building for a
+private citizen." Here, too, the Grand Duke Francesco and Bianca
+Cappello died, on October 19th and 20th, 1587, after entertaining the
+Cardinal Ferdinando, who thus became Grand Duke; it was said that
+Bianca had attempted to poison the Cardinal, and that she and her
+husband had themselves eaten of the pasty that she had prepared for
+him. It appears, however, that there is no reason for supposing that
+their deaths were other than natural. At present the villa is a royal
+country house, in which reminiscences of the Re Galantuomo clash
+rather oddly with those of the Medicean Princes. All round runs a
+loggia with fine views, and there are an uninteresting park and
+garden. The classical portico is noteworthy, all the rest being of the
+utmost simplicity.
+
+Within the palace a large room, with a remarkably fine ceiling by
+Giuliano da San Gallo, is decorated with a series of frescoes from
+Roman history intended to be typical of events in the lives of Cosimo
+the Elder and Lorenzo the Magnificent. Vasari says that, for a villa,
+this is _la piu bella sala del mondo_. The frescoes, ordered by Pope
+Leo X. and the Cardinal Giulio, under the direction of Ottaviano dei
+Medici, were begun by Andrea dei Sarto, Francia Bigio and Jacopo da
+Pontormo, left unfinished for more than fifty years, and then
+completed by Alessandro Allori for the Grand Duke Francesco. The
+Triumph of Cicero, by Francia Bigio, is supposed to typify the return
+of Cosimo from exile in 1434; Caesar receiving tribute from Egypt, by
+Andrea del Sarto, refers to the coming of an embassy from the Soldan
+to Lorenzo in 1487, with magnificent gifts and treasures. Andrea's
+fresco is full of curious beasts and birds, including the long-eared
+sheep which Lorenzo naturalised in the grounds of the villa, and the
+famous giraffe which the Soldan sent on this occasion and which, as Mr
+Armstrong writes, "became the most popular character in Florence,"
+until its death at the beginning of 1489. The Regent of France, Anne
+of Beaujeu, made ineffectual overtures to Lorenzo to get him to make
+her a present of the strange beast. This fresco was left unfinished
+on the death of Pope Leo in 1521, and finished by Alessandro Allori in
+1582. The charming mythological decorations between the windows are by
+Jacopo da Pontormo. The two later frescoes by Alessandro Allori,
+painted about 1580, represent Scipio in the house of Syphax and
+Flamininus in Greece, which typify Lorenzo's visit to Ferrante of
+Naples, in 1480, and his presence at the Diet of Cremona in 1483, on
+which latter occasion, as Mr Armstrong puts it, "his good sense and
+powers of expression and persuasion gave him an importance which the
+military weakness of Florence denied to him in the field"--but the
+result was little more than a not very honourable league of the
+Italian powers against Venice. The Apples of the Hesperides, and the
+rest of the mythological decorations in continuation of Pontormo's
+lunette, are also Allori's. The whole has an air of regal triumph
+without needless parade.
+
+The road should be followed beyond the villa, in order to ascend to
+the left to the little church among the hills. A superb view is
+obtained over the plain to Florence beyond the Villa Reale lying below
+us. Behind, we are already among the Apennines. A beautiful glimpse of
+Prato can be seen to the left, four miles away.
+
+Prato itself is about twelve miles from Florence. It was a gay little
+town in the fifteenth century, when it witnessed "brother Lippo's
+doings, up and down," and heard Messer Angelo Poliziano's musical
+sighings for the love of Madonna Ippolita Leoncina. A few years later
+it listened to the voice of Fra Girolamo Savonarola, and at last its
+bright day of prosperity ended in the horrible sack and carnage from
+the Spanish soldiery under Raimondo da Cardona in 1512. Its
+Duomo--dedicated to St. Stephen and the Baptist--a Tuscan Romanesque
+church completed in the Gothic style by Giovanni Pisano, with a fine
+campanile built at the beginning of the fourteenth century, claims to
+possess a strange and wondrous relic: nothing less than the Cintola or
+Girdle of the Blessed Virgin, delivered by her--according to a pious
+and poetical legend--to St. Thomas at her Assumption, and then won
+back for Christendom by a native of Prato, Michele Dagonari, in the
+Crusades. Be that as it may, what purports to be this relic is
+exhibited on occasions in the Pulpito della Cintola on the exterior of
+the Duomo, a magnificent work by Donatello and Michelozzo, in which
+the former master has carved a wonderful series of dancing genii
+hardly, if at all, inferior to those more famous bas-reliefs executed
+a little later for the cantoria of Santa Maria del Fiore. Within, over
+the entrance wall, is a picture by Ridolfo Ghirlandaio of the Madonna
+giving the girdle to the Thomas who had doubted. And in the chapel on
+the left (with a most beautifully worked bronze screen, with a lovely
+frieze of cupids, birds and beasts--the work of Bruno Lapi and
+Pasquino di Matteo, 1444-1461), the Cintola is preserved amid frescoes
+by Agnolo Gaddi setting forth the life of Madonna, her granting of
+Prato's treasure to St Thomas at the Assumption, and its discovery by
+Michele Dagonari.
+
+The church is rich in works of Florentine art--a pulpit by Mino da
+Fiesole and Antonio Rossellino; the Madonna dell' Ulivo by Giuliano da
+Maiano; frescoes said to be in part by Masolino's reputed master
+Starnina in the chapel to the right of the choir. But Prato's great
+artistic glory must be sought in Fra Lippo Lippi's frescoes in the
+choir, painted between 1452 and 1464. These are the great achievements
+of the Friar's life. On the left is the life of St. Stephen, on the
+right that of the Baptist. They show very strongly the influence of
+Masaccio, and make us understand why the Florentines said that the
+spirit of Masaccio had entered into the body of Fra Filippo. Inferior
+to Masaccio in most respects, Filippo had a feeling for facial beauty
+and spiritual expression, and for a certain type of feminine grace
+which we hardly find in his prototype. The wonderful figure of the
+dancing girl in Herod's banquet, and again her naive bearing when she
+kneels before her mother with the martyr's head, oblivious of the
+horror of the spectators and merely bent upon showing us her own sweet
+face, are characteristic of Lippo, as also, in another way, his
+feeling for boyhood shown in the little St. John's farewell to his
+parents. The Burial of St. Stephen is full of fine Florentine
+portraits in the manner of the Carmine frescoes. The dignified
+ecclesiastic at the head of the clergy is Carlo dei Medici, the
+illegitimate son of Cosimo. On the extreme right is Lippo himself.
+Carlo looks rather like a younger, more refined edition of Leo X.
+
+It was while engaged upon these frescoes that Lippo Lippi was
+commissioned by the nuns of Santa Margherita to paint a Madonna for
+them, and took the opportunity of carrying off Lucrezia Buti, a
+beautiful girl staying in the convent who had sat to him as the
+Madonna, during one of the Cintola festivities. Lippo appears to have
+been practically unfrocked at this time, but he refused the
+dispensation of the Pope who wished him to marry her legally, as he
+preferred to live a loose life. Between the station and the Duomo you
+can see the house where they lived and where Filippino Lippi was born.
+Opposite the convent of Santa Margherita is a tabernacle containing a
+wonderfully beautiful fresco by Filippino, a Madonna and Child with
+Angels, adored by St. Margaret and St. Catherine, St. Antony and St.
+Stephen. All the faces are of the utmost loveliness, and the
+Catherine especially is like a foretaste of Luini's famous fresco at
+Milan. In the town picture gallery there are four pictures ascribed to
+Lippo Lippi--all four of rather questionable authenticity--and one by
+Filippino, a Madonna and Child with St. Stephen and the Baptist,
+which, although utterly ruined, appears to be genuine. The Protomartyr
+and the Precursor seem always inseparable throughout the faithful
+little city of the Cintola.
+
+Prato can likewise boast some excellent terracotta works by Andrea
+della Robbia, both outside the Duomo and in the churches of Our Lady
+of Good Counsel and Our Lady of the Prisons. This latter church, the
+Madonna delle Carceri, reared by Giuliano da San Gallo between 1485
+and 1491, is perhaps the most beautiful and most truly classical of
+all Early Renaissance buildings in Tuscany.
+
+Ten miles beyond Prato lies Pistoia, at the very foot of the
+Apennines, the city of Dante's friend and correspondent, Messer Cino,
+the poet of the golden haired Selvaggia, he who sang the dirge of
+Caesar Henry; the centre of the fiercest faction struggles of Italian
+history. It was the Florentine traditional policy to keep Pisa by
+fortresses and Pistoia by factions. It lies, however, beyond the scope
+of the present book, with the other Tuscan cities that owned the sway
+of the great Republic. San Gemignano, that most wonderful of all the
+smaller towns of Tuscany, the city of "the fair towers," of Santa Fina
+and of the gayest of mediaeval poets, Messer Folgore, comes into
+another volume of this series.
+
+But it is impossible to conclude even the briefest study of Florence
+without a word upon that Tuscan Earthly Paradise, the Casentino and
+upper valley of the Arno, although it lies for the most part not in
+the province of Florence but in that of Arezzo. It is best reached by
+the diligence which runs from Pontassieve over the Consuma Pass--where
+Arnaldo of Brescia, who lies in the last horrible round of Dante's
+Malebolge, was burned alive for counterfeiting the golden florins of
+Florence--to Stia.[57] A whole chapter of Florentine history may be
+read among the mountains of the Casentino, writ large upon its castles
+and monasteries. If the towers of San Gemignano give us still the
+clearest extant picture of the life led by the nobles and magnates
+when forced to enter the cities, we can see best in the Casentino how
+they exercised their feudal sway and maintained for a while their
+independence of the burgher Commune. The Casentino was ruled by the
+Conti Guidi, that great clan whose four branches--the Counts of
+Romena, the Counts of Porciano, the Counts of Battifolle and Poppi,
+the Counts of Dovadola (to whom Bagno in Romagna and Pratovecchio here
+appear to have belonged)--sprang from the four sons of Gualdrada,
+Bellincion Berti's daughter. Poppi remains a superb monument of the
+power and taste of these "Counts Palatine of Tuscany"; its palace on a
+small scale resembles the Palazzo Vecchio of Florence. Romena and
+Porciano, higher up stream, overhanging Pratovecchio and Stia, have
+been immortalised by the verse and hallowed by the footsteps of Dante
+Alighieri. Beneath the hill upon which Poppi stands, an old bridge
+still spans the Arno, upon which the last of the Conti Guidi, the
+Count Francesco, surrendered in 1440 to the Florentine commissary,
+Neri Capponi. After the second expulsion of the Medici from Florence,
+Piero and Giuliano for some time lurked in the Casentino, with
+Bernardo Dovizi at Bibbiena.
+
+  [57] The lover of Florentine history cannot readily tear himself away
+  from the Casentino. The Albergo Amorosi at Bibbiena, almost at the
+  foot of La Verna, makes delightful headquarters. There is an excellent
+  _Guida illustrata del Casentino_ by C. Beni. For the Conti Guidi,
+  Witte's essay should be consulted; it is translated in _Witte's Essays
+  on Dante_ by C. M. Lawrence and P. H. Wicksteed. La Verna will be
+  fully dealt with in the Assisi volume of this series, so I do not
+  describe it here.
+
+Throughout the Casentino Dante himself should be our guide. There is
+hardly another district in Italy so intimately connected with the
+divine poet; save only Florence and Ravenna, there is, perhaps, none
+where we more frequently need to have recourse to the pages of the
+_Divina Commedia_. With the _Inferno_ in our hands, we seek out Count
+Alessandro's castle of Romena and what purports to be the Fonte
+Branda, below the castle to the left, for whose waters--even to cool
+the thirst of Hell--Maestro Adamo would not have given the sight of
+his seducer sharing his agony. With the _Purgatorio_ we trace the
+course of the Arno from where, a mere _fiumicello_, it takes its rise
+in Falterona, and runs down past Porciano and Poppi to sweep away from
+the Aretines, "turning aside its muzzle in disdain." There is a
+tradition that Dante was imprisoned in the castle of Porciano. We know
+that he was the guest of various members of the Conti Guidi at
+different times during his exile; it was from one of their castles,
+probably Poppi, that on March 31st and April 16th, 1311, he directed
+his two terrible letters to the Florentine government and to the
+Emperor Henry. It was in the Casentino, too, that he composed the
+Canzone _Amor, dacche convien pur ch'io mi doglia_, "Love, since I
+needs must make complaint," one of the latest and most perplexing of
+his lyrics.
+
+The battlefield of Campaldino lies beyond Poppi, on the eastern side
+of the river, near the old convent and church of Certomondo, founded
+some twenty or thirty years before by two of the Conti Guidi to
+commemorate the great Ghibelline victory of Montaperti, but now to
+witness the triumph of the Guelfs. The Aretines, under their Bishop
+and Buonconte da Montefeltro, had marched up the valley along the
+direction of the present railway to Bibbiena, to check the ravages of
+the Florentines who, with their French allies, had made their way
+through the mountains above Pratovecchio and were laying waste the
+country of the Conti Guidi. It was on the Feast of St. Barnabas, 1289,
+that the two armies stood face to face, and Dante riding in the
+Florentine light cavalry, if the fragment of a letter preserved to us
+by Leonardo Bruni be authentic, "had much dread and at the end the
+greatest gladness, by reason of the varying chances of that battle."
+There are no relics of the struggle to be found in Certomondo; only a
+very small portion of the cloisters remains, and the church itself
+contains nothing of note save an Annunciation by Neri di Bicci. But
+about an hour's walk from the battlefield, perhaps a mile from the
+foot of the hill on which Bibbiena stands, is a spot most sacred to
+all lovers of Dante. Here the stream of the Archiano, banked with
+poplars and willows, flows into the Arno; and here, at the close of
+that same terrible and glorious day, Buonconte da Montefeltro died of
+his wounds, gasping out the name of Mary. At evening the nightingales
+are loud around the spot, but their song is less sweet then the
+ineffable stanzas in the fifth canto of the _Purgatorio_ in which
+Dante has raised an imperishable monument to the young Ghibelline
+warrior.
+
+But, more famous than its castles or even its Dantesque memories, the
+Casentino is hallowed by its noble sanctuaries of Vallombrosa,
+Camaldoli, La Verna. Less noted but still very interesting is the
+Dominican church and convent of the Madonna del Sasso, just below
+Bibbiena on the way towards La Verna, hallowed with memories of
+Savonarola and the Piagnoni, and still a place of devout pilgrimage to
+Our Lady of the Rock. There is a fine Assumption in its church,
+painted by Fra Paolino from Bartolommeo's cartoon. Vallombrosa and
+Camaldoli, founded respectively by Giovanni Gualberto and Romualdus,
+have shared the fate of all such institutions in modern Italy.
+
+La Verna remains undisturbed, that "harsh rock between Tiber and
+Arno," as Dante calls it, where Francis "received from Christ the
+final seal;" the sacred mountain from which, on that September morning
+before the dawn, so bright a light of Divine Love shone forth to
+rekindle the mediaeval world, that all the country seemed aflame, as
+the crucified Seraph uttered the words of mystery--_Tu sei il mio
+Gonfaloniere_: "Thou art my standard-bearer." To enter the precincts
+of this sacred place, under the arch hewn out from between the rocks,
+is like a first introduction to the spirit of the _Divina Commedia_.
+
+     "Non est in toto sanctior orbe mons."
+
+For here, at least, is one spot left in the world, where, although
+Renaissance and Reformation, Revolution and Risorgimento, have swept
+round it, the Middle Ages still reign a living reality, in their
+noblest aspect, with the _poverelli_ of the Seraphic Father; and the
+mystical light, that shone out on the day of the Stigmata, still
+burns: "while the eternal ages watch and wait."
+
+  [Illustration: FLORENCE]
+
+
+
+
+   TABLE OF THE MEDICI
+
+   GIOVANNI DI AVERARDO (GIOVANNI BICCI) 1360-1429, m. Piccarda Bueri.
+                          ____________|______________________(continued below)
+   COSIMO (Pater Patriae), 1389-1464, m. Contessina dei Bardi.
+         _____________________________|________________
+         |                     |                       |
+   PIERO (il Gottoso)      GIOVANNI,                 CARLO,
+   1416-1469,              1424-1463,                (illegitimate),
+   m. Lucrezia Tornabuoni. m. Ginevra degli          d. 1492.
+                           Alessandri.
+      ___|______________________________________________
+      |                    |           |                |
+   LORENZO,             GIULIANO,    BIANCA,         NANNINA,
+   (the Magnificent),   1453-1478.   m. Guglielmo    m. Bernardo
+   1449-1492,               |           dei Pazzi.      Rucellai.
+   m. Clarice Orsini.       |
+      |                 GIULIO (illegitimate),
+      |                 d. 1534,
+      |                 (Pope Clement VII.)
+    __|_____________________________________________________________
+    |               |               |                   |           |
+   PIERO,        GIOVANNI,      GIULIANO,           LUCREZIA,   MADDALENA,
+   1471-1503,    1475-1521,     (Duke of Nemours),  m. Giacomo  m. Franceschetto
+   m. Alfonsina  (Pope Leo X.)  1479-1516,          Salviati.   Cibo.
+      Orsini.                   m. Filiberta of         |
+        |                           Savoy.              |
+     ___|________________             |               __|_____________
+     |                   |            |              |                |
+   LORENZO,           CLARICE,    IPPOLITO,[58]      MARIA,       FRANCESCA,
+   (titular Duke      m. Filippo  (Illegitimate),   m. Giovanni  m. Ottaviano
+   of Urbino),           Strozzi  1511-1535,        delle Bande  dei Medici.
+   1492-1519,                     (Cardinal).       Nere.            |
+   m. Madeleine de                                              Alessandro,
+   la Tour d'Auvergne.                                          d. 1605,
+        _|______________                                         (Pope Leo XI.)
+       |                |
+   ALESSANDRO,[59]    CATERINA,
+   (Illegitimate),   1519-1589,
+   d. 1537,          m. Henri II.
+   m. Margherita       of France.
+      of Austria.
+
+   [58][59] _The parentage of Ippolito and Alessandro is somewhat uncertain. The
+   former was probably Giuliano's son by a lady of Pesaro, the latter probably
+   the son of Lorenzo by a mulatto woman._
+
+   -----------continued from above
+   ___________________
+                      |
+   LORENZO, 1395-1440, m. Ginevra Cavalcanti.
+                      |
+                PIERO FRANCESCO,
+                d. 1467 (or 1476),
+                m. Laudomia Acciaiuoli.
+           _______________|_______
+          |                       |
+   LORENZO, d. 1503,          GIOVANNI, d. 1498,
+   m. Semiramide Appini.      m. Caterina Sforza.
+          |                            |
+   PIER FRANCESCO,            GIOVANNI, ("delle Bande
+   d. 1525,                   Nere"), 1498-1526,
+   m. Maria Soderini.         m. Maria Salviati.
+        __|__________________________    |____________
+       |                |            |                |
+   LORENZO,         LAUDOMIA,    MADDALENA,        COSIMO I.
+   ("Lorenzino"     m. Piero     m. Roberto        (Grand Duke),
+        or             Strozzi.     Strozzi.       1519-1574,
+   "Lorenzaccio"),                                 m. Eleonora of Toledo
+   1514-1547.                                         (and Cammilla Martelli)
+                          _____________________________________|_____
+                         |                  |           |            |
+                   FRANCESCO I.,         GIOVANNI,   GARZIA,    FERDINAND I.,
+                   1541-1587,            d. 1562.    d. 1562.   1549-1609,
+                   m. Joanna of                                 m. Christina of
+                      Austria (and                                 Lorraine.
+                      Bianca Cappello).                          ______|
+                        |                                        |
+                      MARIA                                 COSIMO II.,
+                      m. Henri IV.                          1590-1621,
+                      of France                             m. Maria Maddalena
+                                                               of Austria.
+                                                                   |
+                                                            FERDINAND II.,
+                                                            1610-1670.
+                                                                   |
+                                                            COSIMO III.,
+                                                            1642-1723.
+                                                                   |
+                                                            GIOVANNI GASTONE,
+                                                            1671-1737.
+
+
+
+
+CHRONOLOGICAL INDEX OF ARCHITECTS, SCULPTORS & PAINTERS
+
+(_Names of non-Italians in italics_)
+
+
+     ARCHITECTS AND SCULPTORS
+
+     Niccolo Pisano (circa 1206-1278), 32, 254, 349.
+
+     Fra Sisto (died 1289), 359.
+
+     Fra Ristoro da Campi (died 1283), 359.
+
+     Arnolfo di Cambio (1232?-1300 or 1310), 41, 65, 66, 146-149, 184,
+       205, 211, 228, 231, 242, 248, 265, 269, 274, 333, 334, 372.
+
+     Giovanni Pisano (circa 1250-after 1328), 32, 254, 416.
+
+     Giotto da Bondone. See under Painters.
+
+     Andrea Pisano (1270-1348), 65, 67, 225, 254, 255, 260-263, 408.
+
+     Fra Giovanni da Campi (died 1339), 359.
+
+     Taddeo Gaddi. See under Painters.
+
+     Fra Jacopo Talenti da Nipozzano (died 1362), 359, 366.
+
+     Nino Pisano (died 1368), 271.
+
+     Andrea Orcagna. See under Painters.
+
+     Francesco Talenti (died after 1387), 65, 67, 189, 260, 265, 266.
+
+     Pietro di Migliore (middle of fourteenth century), 196.
+
+     Alberto Arnoldi (died circa 1378), 264.
+
+     Simone di Francesco Talenti (end of fourteenth century), 156,
+       189, 190, 198, 203.
+
+     Benci di Cione (latter half of fourteenth century), 156, 189,
+       203, 216.
+
+     Neri di Fioraventi (latter half of fourteenth century) 203, 216.
+
+     Giovanni di Ambrogio (last quarter of fourteenth century), 157.
+
+     Jacopo di Piero (last quarter of fourteenth century), 157.
+
+     Piero di Giovanni Tedesco (end of Trecento), 216, 270.
+
+     Niccolo di Piero Lamberti da Arezzo (1360?-1444?), 193, 216, 263,
+       270, 272, 276.
+
+     Nanni di Antonio di Banco (died in 1421), 97, 190, 193, 194,
+       272-274, 276, 304.
+
+     Jacopo della Quercia (1371-1438), 272.
+
+     Bicci di Lorenzo. See under Painters.
+
+     Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446), 80, 97, 222, 237, 242, 243,
+       266, 269, 274, 289, 290, 291, 301, 325, 328, 347, 354, 363,
+       377, 389, 409.
+
+     Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455), 11, 95, 97, 193, 195, 222, 232,
+       255-258, 275-277, 329, 363.
+
+     Bernardo Ciuffagni (1381-1457), 275, 276.
+
+     Donatello, Donate di Betto Bardi (1386-1466), 76, 80, 97, 150,
+       157, 190, 193-195, 209, 220, 221, 223, 232, 236, 237, 243, 253,
+       263, 264, 270, 272, 274, 275, 277, 280-282, 286, 363, 371, 380.
+
+     Michelozzo Michelozzi (1396-1472), 77, 80, 98, 150, 193, 242,
+       253, 277, 284, 302, 310, 322, 327, 377, 402, 410, 412, 416.
+
+     Luca della Robbia (1399-1482), 98, 193, 194, 195, 210, 223, 225,
+       243, 263, 276, 277, 281, 288, 371, 402.
+
+     Leo (Leone) Battista Alberti (1405-1472), 98, 328, 354, 359.
+
+     Bernardo Rossellino (1409-1464), 98, 235, 236, 354, 361.
+
+     Vecchietta (1410-1480), 222.
+
+     Antonio Rossellino (1427-1478), 98, 224, 371, 402, 416.
+
+     Desiderio da Settignano (1428-1464), 98, 225, 237, 243, 290, 349,
+       371, 410.
+
+     Antonio Pollaiuolo (1429-1498), 87, 98, 99, 167, 168, 175, 222,
+       224, 280, 281, 395.
+
+     Mino da Fiesole (1431-1484), 82, 98, 212, 225, 242, 410, 416.
+
+     Giuliano da Maiano (1432-1490), 98, 416.
+
+     Andrea Verrocchio (1435-1488), 11, 86, 98, 99, 150, 168, 174,
+       195, 222, 224, 225, 280, 281, 292, 298, 318, 329.
+
+     Matteo Civitali (1435-1501), 224, 225.
+
+     Andrea della Robbia (1435-1525), 98, 223, 325, 329, 347, 354,
+       355, 371, 418.
+
+     Benedetto da Maiano (1442-1497), 98, 153, 224, 225, 235, 274,
+       353, 365.
+
+     Bertoldo (died 1491), 101, 222, 290, 298.
+
+     Giuliano da San Gallo (1445-1516), 98, 330, 351, 389, 413, 414,
+       418.
+
+     Cronaca, Simone del Pollaiuolo (1457-1508), 98, 150, 230, 353,
+       389, 398.
+
+     Benedetto Buglione (1461-1521), 211.
+
+     Caparra, Niccolo Grosso (worker in metal, latter half of
+       fifteenth century), 353.
+
+     Andrea Ferrucci da Fiesole (1465-1526), 220, 274, 410.
+
+     Baccio d'Agnolo (1462-1543), 377, 389.
+
+     Giovanni della Robbia (1469-1527), 98, 223, 238, 365, 371, 398.
+
+     Andrea Sansovino (circa 1460-1529), 258.
+
+     Baccio da Montelupo (1469-1535), 194.
+
+     Benedetto da Rovezzano (1474-1552), 13, 219, 276, 349, 395.
+
+     Giovanni Francesco Rustici (1474-1554), 255, 256, 325.
+
+     Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), 2, 101, 102, 137, 138,
+       142-145, 151, 152, 162, 164-166, 183, 216, 219, 220, 223,
+       225-227, 235, 258, 266, 275, 276, 282, 289, 291-296, 298,
+       314, 315, 322, 339, 349, 385, 388, 397, 398, 401, 410.
+
+     Jacopo Sansovino (1486-1570), 225, 275, 326.
+
+     Baccio Bandinelli (1487-1559), 150, 152, 288.
+
+     Francesco da San Gallo (1494-1576), 198, 291, 407.
+
+     Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571), 145, 150, 154, 157, 223, 284, 285,
+       349.
+
+     Raffaello di Baccio da Montelupo (1505-1566), 296.
+
+     Fra Giovanni Agnolo da Montorsoli (1506-1563), 296.
+
+     Battista del Tasso (died 1555), 200.
+
+     Bartolommeo Ammanati (1511-1592), 154, 346, 379.
+
+     Giorgio Vasari (1512-1574), 67, 87, 140, 145, 149, 151, 152, 155,
+       160, 172, 231, 235, 275, et passim.
+
+     Giovanni da Bologna (1524-1608), 145, 154, 157, 195, 216, 223,
+       301, 325.
+
+     Vincenzo Danti, (1530-1576), 216, 233, 255, 258.
+
+     Bernardo Buontalenti (1536-1608), 199, 298, 375.
+
+
+     PAINTERS
+
+     Fra Jacopo, worker in mosaic (working in 1225), 249.
+
+     Giovanni Cimabue (1240-1302), 66, 243, 244, 321, 361.
+
+     Andrea Tafi, worker in mosaic (1250?-1320?), 249.
+
+     Gaddo Gaddi (circa 1259-1333), 273.
+
+     Duccio di Buoninsegna (circa 1260-1339), 361.
+
+     Giotto da Bondone (1276?-1336), 32, 56, 65, 66, 67, 69, 163, 222,
+       238-241, 242, 259-263, 265, 274, 298, 322, 323, 361, 366, 372,
+       403.
+
+     Simone Martini (1283-1344), 67, 163, 366
+
+     Lippo Memmi (died 1356), 163.
+
+     Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti (died circa 1348), 67, 163, 323.
+
+     Taddeo Gaddi (circa 1300-1366), 67, 189, 222, 241, 322, 341, 366.
+
+     Bernardo Daddi (died in 1350), 67, 197, 238, 404.
+
+     Giottino, Giotto di Stefano (died after 1369), 163, 226.
+
+     Puccio Capanna (flourished circa 1350), 372.
+
+     Maso di Banco (working in middle of Trecento), 226, 237.
+
+     Pietro Cavallini (died circa 1360), 323.
+
+     Giovanni da Milano (died after 1360), 67, 163, 323, 395.
+
+     Leonardo Orcagna (born before 1308), 362.
+
+     Andrea Orcagna (1308-1368), 11, 65, 68, 69, 156, 185, 189, 196,
+       197, 210, 224, 264, 362, 363, 366, 367, 407.
+
+     Agnolo Gaddi (died 1396), 67, 157, 163, 238, 242, 322, 416.
+
+     Cennino Cennini (end of Trecento), 226.
+
+     Spinello Aretino (1333-1410), 68, 370, 395, 402, 403.
+
+     Gherardo Starnina (1354-1408), 391, 416.
+
+     Don Lorenzo, il Monaco (1370-1425), 163, 178, 180, 308, 322, 350.
+
+     Gentile da Fabriano (1370-1450), 321, 322, 396.
+
+     Bicci di Lorenzo (1373-1452), 277, 329.
+
+     Masolino (born circa 1384, died after 1435), 99, 391-395, 416.
+
+     Masaccio (1401-1428), 74, 76, 95, 99, 102, 169, 318, 391-395,
+       417.
+
+     Fra Giovanni Angelico (1387-1455), 99, 167, 175, 176, 178, 181,
+       183, 301-304, 306-310, 315, 316, 322, 328, 356, 409.
+
+     Andrea del Castagno (1396?-1457), 99, 273, 327, 329, 335, 336.
+
+     Domenico Veneziano (died 1461), 99, 180, 236, 335, 387.
+
+     Paolo Uccello (1397-1475), 99, 163, 257, 273, 275, 366.
+
+     Fra Filippo Lippi (1406-1469), 80, 99, 170, 175, 287, 290, 316,
+       318-321, 333, 386, 390, 415-418.
+
+     Piero della Francesca (1415-1492), 174.
+
+     Neri di Bicci (1419-1491), 163, 396, 421.
+
+     Benozzo Gozzoli (1420-1498), 79, 87, 257, 287, 288, 316, 330.
+
+     Domenico di Michelino (working in 1461), 277.
+
+     Francesco Pesellino (1422-1457), 227, 318.
+
+     Alessio Baldovinetti (1427-1499), 163, 326, 364, 402.
+
+     Antonio Pollaiuolo. See under Sculptors.
+
+     Giovanni Bellini (circa 1428-1516), 162, 177.
+
+     Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506), 165, 168, 176, 177, 183, 365.
+
+     Andrea Verrocchio. See under Sculptors.
+
+     _Hans Memlinc_ (circa 1435-1495), 177.
+
+     Cosimo Rosselli (1439-1507), 100, 164, 326, 329, 330, 333.
+
+     Piero Pollaiuolo (1443-1496), 164, 174.
+
+     Luca Signorelli (1441-1523), 100, 164, 166, 174, 175, 320, 321,
+       352, 387.
+
+     _Hugo Van der Goes_ (died 1482), 330.
+
+     Pietro Vannucci, Perugino (1446-1523), 165, 167, 168, 316, 319,
+       321, 328, 389, 330, 336, 383.
+
+     Alessandro Filipepi, Sandro Botticelli (1447-1510), 87, 89, 94,
+       97, 100, 160, 168, 169, 170, 173, 174, 175, 178-181, 210, 279,
+       291, 317, 318, 320, 321, 352, 365, 372, 379, 395.
+
+     Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494), 11, 74, 100, 101, 168, 174,
+       181, 242, 272, 320, 323, 324, 326, 350, 351, 363, 364, 371,
+       372.
+
+     Francesco Raibolini, Francia (1450-1517), 165.
+
+     David Ghirlandaio (1452-1525), 101, 364.
+
+     Sebastiano Mainardi (died 1513), 222, 242, 364.
+
+     Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), 66, 99, 100, 101, 137, 138, 151,
+       162, 169, 170, 174, 183, 256, 298, 318, 349, 386, 393.
+
+     Filippino Lippi (1457-1504), 7, 14, 94, 100, 162, 169, 172, 173,
+       212, 321, 352, 365, 387, 389, 392, 395, 417, 418.
+
+     Lorenzo di Credi (1459-1537), 11, 100, 101, 168, 173, 174, 175,
+       210, 277, 321, 409.
+
+     Piero di Cosimo (1462-1521), 100, 101, 139, 164, 170, 210, 325.
+
+     Lorenzo Costa (circa 1460-1535), 387.
+
+     Raffaellino del Garbo (1466-1524), 321, 351, 389.
+
+     Raffaellino di Carlo (1470-1516), 352, 389.
+
+     Boccaccino da Cremona (died 1518), 386.
+
+     Timoteo Viti (1469-1523), 382.
+
+     Francesco Granacci (1469-1543), 101, 173, 298, 318, 395.
+
+     _Albert Duerer_ (1471-1528), 165, 177, 324.
+
+     Mariotto Albertinelli (1474-1515), 137-139, 171, 210, 320, 323,
+       329, 387, 407.
+
+     Michelangelo Buonarroti. See under Architects and Sculptors.
+
+     Fra Bartolommeo (1475-1517), 137-139, 164, 167, 170-172, 183,
+     301-303, 307, 309, 320, 321, 323, 329, 380, 383, 384, 387.
+
+     Bernardino Luini (1475-1533), 165, 418.
+
+     Morto da Feltre (1475?-1522?), 384.
+
+     Giorgio Barbarelli, Giorgione (1477-1511), 162, 164, 167, 177,
+       381, 384.
+
+     Tiziano Vecelli, Titian (1477-1576), 162, 165, 167, 177, 178,
+       253, 380, 381, 383, 384-386, 387.
+
+     Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, Sodoma (1477-1549), 170.
+
+     Dosso Dossi (1479-1542), 162, 383.
+
+     Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1555), 384.
+
+     Francia Bigio (1482-1525), 164, 324-327, 414.
+
+     Raffaello Sanzio, Raphael (1483-1520), 138, 151, 152, 162, 164,
+       165, 183, 258, 321, 335, 336, 352, 381-385, 393, 394.
+
+     Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (1483-1561), 12, 153, 171, 381, 416.
+
+     Sebastiano del Piombo (1485-1547), 164, 387.
+
+     Andrea del Sarto (1486-1531), 138, 139, 142, 162, 169, 171, 182,
+       318, 320, 324-328, 334, 352, 381-386, 414.
+
+     Giovanni da Udine (1487-1564), 296.
+
+     Fra Paolino da Pistoia (1490-1547), 323, 412.
+
+     Giovanni Antonio Sogliani (1492-1544), 303, 409.
+
+     Giulio Romano (1492-1546), 383, 384.
+
+     Antonio Allegri da Correggio (1494-1534), 166, 167, 176, 253.
+
+     Rosso Fiorentino (1494-1541), 223, 327, 329, 384.
+
+     Jacopo da Pontormo (1494-1557), 144, 145, 172, 310, 327, 414,
+       415.
+
+     _Lucas Van Leyden_ (1494-1533), 165.
+
+     Angelo Bronzino (1502-1572), 82, 145, 154, 170, 171, 182, 290.
+
+     Michele di Ridolfo Ghirlandaio (1503-1577), 334, 372.
+
+     Daniele Ricciarelli, da Volterra (1509-1566), 223, 227.
+
+     Francesco Salviati (1510-1563), 153.
+
+     Giorgio Vasari. See under Architects and Sculptors.
+
+     Jacopo Robusti, Tintoretto (1518-1594), 162.
+
+     Paolo Veronese (1528-1588), 241, 381.
+
+     Taddeo Zuccheri (1529-1566), 275.
+
+     Marcello Venusti (died circa 1580), 227.
+
+     Alessandro Allori (1535-1607), 414, 415.
+
+     Bernardo Poccetti (1542-1612), 303.
+
+     Jacopo da Empoli (1554-1640), 227, 327.
+
+     Guido Reni (1575-1642), 386.
+
+     Cristofano Allori (1577-1621), 384.
+
+     _Peter Paul Rubens_ (1577-1640), 152, 162, 382, 385, 386.
+
+     Matteo Rosselli (1578-1650), 303, 386.
+
+     Artemisia Gentileschi (died 1642), 387.
+
+     Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669), 379, 380.
+
+     _Justus Sustermans_ (1597-1681), 182.
+
+     _Antony Van Dyck_ (1599-1641), 385.
+
+     _Diego Velasquez_ (1599-1660), 386.
+
+     _Rembrandt Van Ryn_ (1606-1669), 162.
+
+     Carlo Dolci (1616-1686), 352, 386.
+
+     _Peter Lely_ (1618-1680), 387.
+
+     Luca Giordano (1632-1705), 286.
+
+
+
+
+GENERAL INDEX
+
+  (_Names of Artists not included_)
+
+
+     A.
+
+     _Accademia delle Belle Arti_, 314-324.
+
+     Acciaiuoli, Agnolo (bishop), 369;
+       Agnolo (anti-Medicean), 85, 350;
+       Niccolo (grand seneschal), 336, 407;
+       Niccola (swindler), 398.
+
+     Adimari, family, 58, 203, 204.
+
+     Adimari, Boccaccio, 188, 203.
+
+     Alamanni, Luigi, 371.
+
+     Alberti, palace of the, 341;
+       Benedetto degli, 402;
+       Donato, 215, 216.
+
+     _Albizzi, Borgo degli_, 208-210.
+
+     Albizzi, Maso degli, 74, 76, 209-211, 350, 351.
+
+     Albizzi, Rinaldo degli, 74-77, 209, 346, 356.
+
+     Alighieri, family, 36, 37, 207, 208.
+
+     ALIGHIERI, DANTE, 2, 5, 6, 8, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 24;
+       his birth, 25, 32-37;
+       his love, 38;
+       at Campaldino, 39, 40;
+       political life, 41, 43;
+       priorate, 44, 45;
+       exile, 46, 49, 50, 53, 54;
+       death, 55;
+       on the Florentine Constitution, 59, 60, 65, 66, 69, 70, 91,
+         103, 112, 124, 199, 200, 203-206;
+       his house and family, 207, 208; 215;
+       in the Council of the Commune, 221;
+       portrait in the Bargello, 221, 222;
+       monument, 228, 235, 238-241, 243, 246, 248-250, 262, 274;
+       picture of him in the Duomo, 277-279;
+       portrait in the Biblioteca Riccardiana, 288;
+       his letters, 292, 329, 333, 340, 342, 346, 355, 361-363, 368,
+         379, 394, 397, 398, 405, 408, 412;
+       with him in the Casentino, 419-422.
+
+     Aldobrandini, Bertino, 406;
+       Salvestro, 228.
+
+     Alexander VI., Pope, 95, 113, 117, 123, 124.
+
+     Altoviti, palace of the, 209.
+
+     _Ambrogio, S._, 333.
+
+     Amidei, family, 19-21, 346;
+       tower, 346.
+
+     Ambrogini, Angelo. _See_ Poliziano.
+
+     _Annunziata, SS._, Piazza, 325;
+       church and convent, 40, 127, 326-328.
+
+     Antoninus, S., 10, 82, 197, 274, 301, 303, 304, 309.
+
+     _Apostoli, SS._, 13, 347.
+
+     _Appollonia, S._, 99, 335, 336.
+
+     Argenti, Filippo, 204.
+
+     Arts or Guilds, 17, 25-28, 38, 39, 42, 43, 61, 72, 73, 74, 78,
+       184, 189-196.
+
+     Athens, Duke of, 57, 58, 72, 149, 198, 221, 225, 226, 229, 369.
+
+
+     B.
+
+     _Badia_, 127, 211-213.
+
+     Baglioni, Malatesta, 143, 360, 401, 406, 407.
+
+     Baldovinetti, tower of the, 346.
+
+     Bandini, Giovanni, 406.
+
+     _Baptistery_, 7, 11, 246-259.
+
+     Baroncelli, Bernardo, 279.
+
+     _Bardi, cappella dei_, 239;
+       _via dei_, 38, 376, 377.
+
+     Bardi, family, 59, 375;
+       Simone dei, 351.
+
+     Bargello, office of, 42 (note), 215;
+       former quarters of, 128, 134, 155, 215.
+
+     _Bargello, Museo Nazionale_, (Palazzo del Podesta), 214-225.
+
+     Battifolle, Counts of, 351, 419.
+
+     _Belle Donne, Via delle_, 354.
+
+     Benedict XI., Pope, 50, 304, 356, 369.
+
+     Benevento, Battle of, 25, 32, 69.
+
+     Beatrice, 36, 37, 206, 329.
+
+     Benedetto da Foiano, Fra, 359, 360.
+
+     Bellincion Berti, 16, 206.
+
+     Bella, Giano della, 42, 43, 206, 215, 371, 376.
+
+     Bello, Geri del, 208.
+
+     _Belvedere, Fortezza_, 375, 403.
+
+     _Biagio, S._ (S. Maria sopra la Porta), 28, 29, 200.
+
+     "Bianchi e Neri," Whites and Blacks, 35, 43-50, 70, 215, 216,
+       347, 348, 350, 351.
+
+     Bibbiena, 419-422.
+
+     _Biblioteca Laurenziana_, 102, 291, 292.
+
+     _Biblioteca Nazionale_, 160.
+
+     _Biblioteca Riccardiana_, 288.
+
+     _Bigallo_, the, 65, 264.
+
+     Bisticci, Vespasiano, 75, 81, 103, 237.
+
+     _Boboli Gardens_, 388.
+
+     Boiardo, 109.
+
+     Boniface VIII., Pope, 41, 43-46, 269, 270, 273, 274, 356.
+
+     Borgia. _See_ Alexander VI.
+
+     _Borgo degli Albizzi_ (San Piero), 208-210.
+
+     _Borgo SS. Apostoli_, 26, 37, 346, 347.
+
+     _Borgo San Frediano_, 345, 395, 396.
+
+     _Borgo San Jacopo_, 38, 375, 376.
+
+     _Borgo Ognissanti_, 342, 371, 372.
+
+     _Borgo Allegri, Via_, 66, 243, 244.
+
+     Boccaccio, 31, 32, 55, 60, 61, 69, 70, 198, 204, 213, 248, 259,
+       346, 347, 360, 410.
+
+     Boscoli, P. P., 140, 141.
+
+     Bracciolini, Poggio, 104, 274.
+
+     _Brancacci Chapel_, 391-395.
+
+     Browning, E. B., 244, 294, 388.
+
+     Browning, Robert, 171, 288, 319, 380, 388, 407.
+
+     Bruni, Leonardo, 103, 104, 208, 231, 236, 256, 325, 333, 421.
+
+     _Buonarroti, Casa_, 226, 227.
+
+     Buondelmonti, the, 346, 347.
+
+     Buondelmonti, Buondelmonte degli, 19-21, 342, 407.
+
+     Brunelleschi, Betto, 259.
+
+     Burlamacchi, Padre, 311.
+
+
+     C.
+
+     Cacciaguida, 14, 16, 21, 49, 407, 411.
+
+     Calimala, Arte di, 26, 28, 38, 195, 200, 253, 256.
+
+     _Calimara_ (_Calimala_), 200.
+
+     Calvoli, Fulcieri da, 215.
+
+     _Calzaioli, Via_ (Corso degli Adimari), 183, 203-205.
+
+     Camaldoli, 421.
+
+     _Campanile_, 56, 67, 259-264.
+
+     Campaldino, Battle of, 39-41, 420, 421.
+
+     Cappello, Bianca, 297, 371, 413-414.
+
+     _Cappella dei Principi_, 297, 298.
+
+     _Cappella degli Spagnuoli_, 366-370.
+
+     Capponi, Agostino, 140;
+       Gino, 389;
+       Gino (Marchese), 235;
+       Luisa, 353;
+       Neri, 79, 389, 420;
+       Niccolo, 142, 143, 150, 377;
+       Piero, 116, 119, 126, 286, 340, 377, 389.
+
+     Captain of the People, 23, 27, 28, 42 (note), 155.
+
+     Carducci, Francesco, 142.
+
+     Careggi, 412, 413.
+
+     _San Carlo_ (S. Michele), 203.
+
+     _Carmine_. See _S. Maria del Carmine_.
+
+     Casentino, the, 418-422.
+
+     _Cascine_, 372, 373.
+
+     _Castagna, Torre della_, 38, 207, 208.
+
+     Castello, 413.
+
+     Catherine of Siena, S., 32, 62, 273.
+
+     Cavalcanti, family, 37, 50, 59, 203.
+
+     Cavalcanti, Guido, 36, 37, 44, 45, 187, 188, 248, 259.
+
+     Cerchi, the, 37, 43, 44, 205, 206;
+       palace, etc., 205;
+       Vieri dei, 40, 43.
+
+     Certosa di Val d'Ema, 407.
+
+     Certomondo, 421.
+
+     Charlemagne, 12, 13, 347;
+       Charles of Anjou, 25, 27, 28;
+       Charles V., Emperor, 137, 143, 404, 413;
+       Charles VIII. of France, 116-119, 121, 132, 224, 284, 342, 408.
+       Charles of Valois, 45, 46, 348, 356.
+
+     Cino da Pistoia, 418.
+
+     Compagni, Dino, 32, 53, 70, 209, 351.
+
+     "Colleges," the, 71.
+
+     _Consuma_, 419.
+
+     Conti Guidi, 206, 419, 420.
+
+     _Corbizzi Tower_ ("Corso Donati's Tower"), 40, 53, 209.
+
+     _Corsini Palace and Picture Gallery_, 352.
+
+     _Santa Croce, Piazza_, 228-230;
+       _Church and cloisters_, 230-243.
+
+
+     D.
+
+     Diacceto, Jacopo da, 371.
+
+     Donati, the, 37, 43, 203, 206, 207;
+       Corso, 37, 40, 43, 44-46, 49, 50, 53, 209, 333;
+       Forese, 37, 333;
+       Gemma, 37, 207;
+       Gualdrada, 19;
+       Lucrezia, 107, 230;
+       Piccarda, 405, 406;
+       Simone, 229;
+       Sinibaldo, 188.
+
+     _Duomo_, (see _Santa Maria del Fiore_);
+       _Opera del_, 280-282.
+
+     Domenico da Pescia, F., 131-135, 151, 159, 409.
+
+
+     E.
+
+     Eugenius IV., Pope, 77, 79, 310, 356.
+
+     Executore, the, 42, 62, 155.
+
+
+     F.
+
+     Florence, _passim_.
+
+     Faggiuola, Uguccione della, 50, 53, 55, 56.
+
+     _Felice, S._, 388.
+
+     _Felicita, S._, 377.
+
+     Ferrante, King of Naples, 89, 93, 95.
+
+     Ferdinand III., Grand Duke, 335, 382.
+
+     Francis II., Grand Duke, 334.
+
+     Ferrucci, F., 143, 340.
+
+     Ficino, Marsilio, 81, 82, 104, 105, 108, 274, 275, 364, 409.
+
+     Fiesole, 2, 5, 6, 12, 16, 17, 409, 410.
+
+     Filipepi, Simone, 158-160, 280, 305, 308.
+
+     Foiano. See _Fra Benedetto_.
+
+     _Fortezza da Basso_, 339.
+
+     _Francesco dei Vanchetoni, S._, 371.
+
+     Frescobaldi, the, 59, 348, 375, 376;
+       Piazza, 347, 376.
+
+
+     G.
+
+     Galileo, 182, 237, 404, 406.
+
+     _Ghibellina, Via_, 24, 225-228.
+
+     Gianni, Lapo, 1, 36, 65, 340.
+
+     Giovanni Gualberto, S., 13, 398, 422.
+
+     _Giovanni Battista, S._ See _Baptistery_.
+
+     Girolamo, Fra. _See_ Savonarola.
+
+     Girolami and Gherardini, Towers of, 346.
+
+     Gonfaloniere, the office of, 41, 42.
+
+     Gregory X., 340;
+       Gregory XI., 62, 65, 401.
+
+     Gonzaga, Eleonora, 167, 177, 383;
+       Ferrante, 143, 406.
+
+     _Guadagni, Palazzo_, 389.
+
+     Guelfs and Ghibellines, 16-18, 21-27, _et passim_.
+
+     Guido Novello, 24-27, 215.
+
+
+     H.
+
+     Hawkwood, John (Giovanni Aguto), 73, 273.
+
+     Henry IV., 16;
+       Henry VI., 19;
+       Henry VII., 54, 55, 333, 369, Emperors.
+
+     Hildebrand, Pope Gregory VII., 13.
+
+     Hugh, or Hugo, Margrave of Tuscany, 14, 211.
+
+
+     I.
+
+     _Impruneta_, 407.
+
+     _Innocenti, Santa Maria degli_, 326.
+
+     _Innocenti, Spedale degli_, 325.
+
+     Interminelli, Castruccio (Castracani) degli, 55, 56, 396.
+
+
+     J.
+
+     Julius II., Pope, 117, 136, 138, 165, 385.
+
+     John XXIII., Pope, 75, 253.
+
+     _Jacopo in Ripoli, S._, 371.
+
+     _Jacopo Oltrarno, S._, 376.
+
+
+     L.
+
+     Ladislaus, King of Naples, 75.
+
+     _Lambertesca, Via_, 37, 346.
+
+     Lamberti, family, 23.
+
+     Lamberti, Mosca degli, 20, 22.
+
+     Landini, Cristoforo, 105, 364.
+
+     Landucci, Luca, 118, 122, 123, 128, 134, 205, 348, 390, 396.
+
+     Lane, Arte della, 28, 38, 72, 193, 195, 199, 262, 265.
+
+     La Lastra, affair of, 411, 412.
+
+     _Leonardo in Arcetri, S._, 404.
+
+     _Lorenzo, San, Piazza_, 288;
+       _Basilica_, 289, 290;
+       _Sagrestia Vecchia_, 290, 291;
+       _cloisters and Biblioteca_, 291, 292;
+       _Sagrestia Nuova_, 292-296;
+       _Cappella dei Principi_, 297.
+
+     St Louis IX. of France, 239, 240.
+
+     _Lungarno_, 340-345.
+
+     Latini, Brunetto, 6, 36.
+
+     Latino, Cardinal, 355, 356.
+
+     Leo X., Pope. See _Dei Medici, Giovanni di Lorenzo_.
+
+     Leopold I. and II., Grand Dukes, 335.
+
+     _Loggia dei Lanzi_, 65, 156-160.
+
+     _Loggia di San Paolo_, 354.
+
+
+     M.
+
+     Machiavelli, Niccolo, 35, 59, 89, 91, 109, 137, 141, 142, 204,
+       235, 377, 378.
+
+     _Malcontenti, Via dei_, 243, 244.
+
+     Manetti, Giannozzo, 104, 274.
+
+     Manfredi, 24, 25.
+
+     Mannelli, the, 375.
+
+     _Marco, S._, 81, 82, 93;
+       the church of 298-302;
+       the convent, 302-313.
+       See also Savonarola.
+
+     _Margherita, S., a Montici_, 406.
+
+     _Margherita, S._ (at Prato), 417.
+
+     _Maria, S., degli Angioli_, 328, 329.
+
+     _Maria S., delle Carceri_ (in Prato), 418.
+
+     _Maria, S., del Carmine_, 390-396.
+
+     _Maria, S., del Fiore_ (S. Reparata, the Duomo), 10-12, 65, 118,
+       265-282.
+
+     _Maria, S., Novella_, 50, 65, 354-370;
+       _Spezeria di_, 370.
+
+     _Maria, S., Nuova_, 329, 330.
+
+     _Maria Maddalena, S., de' Pazzi_, 330.
+
+     _Maria, S., del Sasso_ (at Bibbiena), 422.
+
+     Marignolli, Rustico, 23.
+
+     Mars, temple and statue of, 7-9, 20, 21, 246-248, 342, 365.
+
+     Marsili, Fra Luigi, 390.
+
+     Marsuppini, Carlo, 104, 237.
+
+     Martelli, Cammilla, 297;
+       Ludovico, 406.
+
+     Martin, V., Pope, 75, 253.
+
+     Matilda, Countess, 14-16.
+
+     MEDICI, family:
+       head the people, 59;
+       their first expulsion, 77;
+       their second expulsion, 117;
+       their return, 140;
+       third expulsion, 142;
+       apotheosis, 181;
+       their Austrian successors, 335.
+
+     ---- gardens (_Casino Mediceo_), 298.
+
+     ---- palaces. See _Pitti_, _Riccardi_, _Palazzo Vecchio_.
+
+     ---- villas, 410, 412-415.
+
+     MEDICI (DEI), Alessandro, 142-144, 245, 284-286, 293, 295, 339,
+       353, 380, 381, 404, 413.
+
+     ---- Antonio, 204.
+
+     ---- Bianca, 92.
+
+     ---- Carlo, 417.
+
+     ---- Caterina, 141, 227, 228, 294.
+
+     ---- Clarice, 142, 284, 286, 353.
+
+     ---- COSIMO THE ELDER (Pater Patriae):
+       leads opposition to the Ottimati, 74, 76;
+       banished and recalled, 77;
+       home policy, 78, 79;
+       foreign policy, 79, 80;
+       private life, patronage of art and letters, 80, 81;
+       death, 82;
+       portraits, 171, 172, 180; 232, 242, 253, 284;
+       in Gozzoli's fresco, 287;
+       tomb and monument in San Lorenzo, 290, 291;
+       founder of San Marco, 302, 304;
+       his cell and portrait there, 310;
+       founds library of San Marco and Badia of Fiesole, 310, 409;
+       dies at Careggi, 412;
+       fresco in his honour at Poggio a Caiano, 414.
+
+     ---- Cosimo I., first Grand Duke, 144, 150, 154, 157, 160, 172,
+       173, 182, 286, 293, 295-297, 328, 339, 349, 353.
+
+     ---- Cosimo II., fourth Grand Duke, 297, 298.
+
+     ---- Cosimo III., sixth Grand Duke, 297, 298.
+
+     ---- Ferdinand I., Cardinal, and third Grand Duke, 155, 297, 298,
+       375, 413.
+
+     ---- Ferdinand II., fifth Grand Duke, 283, 277, 298.
+
+     ---- Francesco, second Grand Duke, 150, 297, 349, 413, 415.
+
+     ---- Garzia, 170, 154, 182.
+
+     ---- Giovanni (son of Cosimo I.), 182.
+
+     ---- Giovanni di Averardo (Giovanni Bicci), 74, 76, 163, 182,
+       289, 290.
+
+     ---- Giovanni di Cosimo, 82, 86, 181, 225, 291, 410.
+
+     ---- Giovanni di Lorenzo (Cardinal, afterwards Pope Leo X.), 92,
+       94, 117, 140, 141, 204, 205, 289, 291, 292, 293, 342, 385, 404,
+       405, 410, 414, 415, 417.
+
+     ---- Giovanni di Piero Francesco, 94, 142, 173.
+
+     ---- Giovanni delle Bande Nere 142, 144, 173, 225, 288, 297, 340.
+
+     ---- Giovanni Gastone, seventh Grand Duke, 298, 335.
+
+       Giuliano di Piero (the Elder), 86-88, 93, 94, 106, 181, 230,
+         279, 291, 296, 387, 410.
+       Giuliano di Lorenzo (Duke of Nemours), 94, 117, 140, 141, 143,
+         209, 225, 293-295, 334, 380, 410, 420.
+       Giulio (Cardinal, afterwards Clement VII.), 94, 141-143, 152,
+         228, 284, 285, 289, 291-293, 359, 371, 381, 382, 397,
+         413-414.
+       Ippolito (Cardinal), 142, 143, 284, 286, 353, 380, 381, 413.
+       Lorenzo di Giovanni, 76, 77, 302.
+       LORENZO (THE MAGNIFICENT):
+         his youth, 82, 85, 86;
+         succeeds his father, 86;
+         his portraits, 87;
+         wounded in the Pazzi conspiracy, 88;
+         his struggle with Naples and Rome, 89;
+         his government, 89, 90;
+         character, 91;
+         last days and death, 92, 93;
+         his sons, 94;
+         his circle, 104, 105;
+         his poetry, 107, 108;
+         love for Pico, 109; 112, 150, 164, 172, 181;
+         his tournaments, 229, 230; 235, 279;
+         his palace, 284, 287;
+         his tomb and remains, 291, 293, 296, 318, 327, 350, 353, 379,
+           389;
+         saved his father's life, 412;
+         death at Careggi, 413;
+         his villa of Poggio a Caiano, 413-415.
+       Lorenzo di Piero, the younger (titular Duke of Urbino),
+         141-143, 284, 293-295, 353.
+       Lorenzo di Piero Francesco, the elder, 94, 143, 173 (note).
+       Lorenzo, called Lorenzino or Lorenzaccio, 143, 144, 173,
+         284-286, 405.
+       Maria, 170
+       Nannina, 354.
+       Ottaviano, 385, 414.
+       Piero Francesco, the elder, 94, 173.
+       Piero Francesco, the younger, 173.
+       Piero di Cosimo ("il Gottoso"), 82, 85, 86, 181, 225, 287, 291,
+         326, 327, 378, 402.
+       Piero di Lorenzo, 93-95, 106, 116, 117, 121, 123, 124, 127,
+         128, 140, 141, 170, 284, 334, 405, 420.
+       Salvestro, 71-73.
+       Vieri, 74.
+
+     Medici e Speziali, Guild of, 28, 38, 194, 198, 221.
+
+     _Mercato Nuovo_, 200, 203.
+
+     _Mercato Vecchio_, 7, 199, 200.
+
+     _Michele, S., in Orto_. See _Or San Michele_.
+
+     Michele di Lando, 72, 73.
+
+     _Miniato, S., hill_ of, 1, 2, 398-401.
+
+     _Miniato al Monte, S._, 13, 398, 401, 403.
+
+     Misericordia, Confraternity of, 264.
+
+     Montaperti, Battle of, 23, 24.
+
+     Montefeltro, Buonconte da, 40, 421.
+
+     Montefeltro, Federigo da (Duke of Urbino), 174.
+
+     _Monticelli, convent_, 405.
+
+     Mozzi, the, 342, 375;
+       Piazza dei, 377;
+       villa, 410.
+
+     _Murate, le_, 227, 228.
+
+
+     N.
+
+     Nerli, the, 375, 376.
+
+     Neri. _See_ Bianchi.
+
+     Nero, Bernardo del, 128, 155.
+
+     Neroni, Dietisalvi, 85, 412.
+
+     Niccoli, Niccolo, 102, 103, 291.
+
+     _Niccolo, S._, 396, 397.
+
+     Nori, Francesco, 235, 279.
+
+     Nardi, Jacopo, 72, 135, 228.
+
+
+     O.
+
+     _Ognissanti_, 371-372.
+
+     _Oltrarno_ (Sesto di, afterwards Quartiere di Santo Spirito),
+       18-19, 374, 396.
+
+     _Onofrio, S._, 336.
+
+     Orange, Prince of, 143, 228, 397.
+
+     Ordinances of Justice, 41-43, 71, 221.
+
+     _Or San Michele_, 65, 66, 184-199.
+
+     Orlandi, Guido, 187, 188.
+
+     Orsini, Alfonsina, 118, 141;
+       Clarice, 86;
+       Napoleone, 50.
+
+     _Orti Oricellari_, 370, 371.
+
+     Otto della Guerra, 62.
+
+
+     P.
+
+     _Palazzo Vecchio (della Signoria)_, 41, 65, 72, 78, 79, 146-154.
+
+     Palmieri, Matteo, 210, 224.
+
+     _Pandolfini, Palazzo_, 335.
+
+     Parte Guelfa, 28, 44, 62, 71, 74, 195, 232;
+       Palace of, 28-31, 200.
+
+     Passavanti, Fra Jacopo, 70, 359, 366.
+
+     Passerini, Cardinal, 142.
+
+     Pater, Walter, 71, 166, 169, 178, 179, 224, 240.
+
+     Pazzi, conspiracy, 88, 89, 93 (note), 103, 155, 181, 279, 410;
+       carro dei, 279;
+       cappella dei, 243;
+       family, 59, 347;
+       palaces, 209.
+
+     Pazzi (dei), Francesco, 279;
+       Jacopo, 89, 243;
+       Guglielmo, 85;
+       Pazzino, 53;
+       Piero, 103.
+
+     Pecora, 43.
+
+     _Peruzzi, Piazza dei_, 7, 341 (note);
+       _Cappella dei_, 240, 241.
+
+     Peter Igneus, 13.
+
+     Petracco, 50.
+
+     Petrarca, Francesco, 32, 50, 55, 61, 69, 81, 405.
+
+     _Piazzale Michelangelo_, 398.
+
+     Pico della Mirandola, 92, 108, 109, 170, 301.
+
+     _Piero Maggiore, S., Piazza di_, 53, 59, 209, 210.
+
+     Pistoia, 418.
+
+     Pitti, Luca, 85, 375, 377, 378, 412.
+
+     _Pitti, Palazzo and R. Galleria_, 377-388.
+
+     Podesta, office of, 19, 23, 27, 28, 214.
+
+     _Podesta, Palazzo del_. See _Bargello_.
+
+     _Poggio a Caiano_, 413-415.
+
+     _Poggio Imperiale_, 405, 406.
+
+     Poliziano, Angelo, 87, 92, 93, 106-108, 178, 181, 227, 298, 301,
+       364, 415.
+
+     Pulci, Luigi, 106.
+
+     _Ponte alla Carraia_, 342, 345, 346:
+       _Ponte alle Grazie (Rubaconte)_, 340, 341, 375, 377, 398;
+       _Ponte S. Trinita_, 342, 346, 348, 350;
+       _Ponte Vecchio_, 20, 341, 342, 375.
+
+     Poppi, 419, 420.
+
+     _Popolo, Primo_, 23, 24, 214;
+       _Secondo_, 27, 28, 31, 35, 41, 42, 146.
+
+     Porciano, 419, 420.
+
+     Ponte a Mensola, 410.
+
+     _Porta alla Croce_, 53, 333, 334;
+       _Porta San Frediano_, 67, 408;
+       _Porta San Gallo_, 334;
+       _Porta San Giorgio_, 403, 404;
+       _Porta San Miniato_, 403;
+       _Porta San Niccolo_, 25, 396, 397;
+       _Porta al Prato_, 334, 371, 372;
+       _Porta Romana_, 377, 404, 405, 407.
+
+     Por S. Maria, Via, 346.
+
+     Portinari, the, 206, 207;
+       Beatrice, 37, 206;
+       Folco, 206, 329;
+       Manetto, 206, 207;
+       Tommaso, 330.
+
+     Prato, 415-418.
+
+     Pratovecchio, 419.
+
+
+     Q.
+
+     _Quaratesi, Palazzo_ (De Rast), 209.
+
+
+     R.
+
+     _Reparata, S._ See _S. Maria del Fiore_.
+
+     Ricci, the, 62;
+       Marietta dei, 406.
+
+     _Riccardi, Palazzo_, 78, 79, 87, 98, 118, 283-288.
+
+     _Riccardiana, Biblioteca_, 288.
+
+     Ripoli, Piano di, 397.
+
+     Rossi, the, 59, 376, 376.
+
+     Robert, King of Naples, 54, 55, 225, 245.
+
+     Romena, 419, 420.
+
+     Rovere, Cardinal della. _See_ Julius II.
+
+     Rovere, Francesco Maria, 167, 177.
+
+     Rucellai, Bernardo, 85, 353, 354.
+
+     _Rucellai, Palazzo, Loggia, Cappella_, 353, 354;
+       chapel in _S. Maria Novella_, 361;
+       _gardens_, 370, 371.
+
+     Ruskin, _passim_.
+
+
+     S.
+
+     Sacchetti, Franco, 32, 65, 70, 71, 199;
+       family of, 208.
+
+     _S. Salvi_, 54, 333, 334.
+
+     Salviati, house of, 207;
+       Abp, 88;
+       Marcuccio, 158, 159;
+       Maria, 142, 413.
+
+     _S. Salvadore al Monte_, 398.
+
+     SAVONAROLA, FRA GIROLAMO.
+       At the death-bed of Lorenzo, 92, 93, 108;
+       friendship with Pico, 109;
+       earlier life, 111;
+       commences his mission, 112;
+       his visions of the Two Crosses and the Sword, 113-115;
+       during the French invasion, 116, 117, 119;
+       guides the Republic, 119, 120;
+       his vision of the Lilies, 121;
+       his reformation of Florence, 121-123;
+       struggle with the Pope begins, 123, 124;
+       denounces corruption, 124-126;
+       is excommunicated, 127;
+       his orthodoxy, 128;
+       returns to the pulpit, 128;
+       promises miracles, 129;
+       his last sermon, 129, 130;
+       appeals to Christendom against the Pope, 130;
+       the Ordeal by Fire, 131, 132, 157-160;
+       his capture, 132-133;
+       is tortured, 133-134;
+       his martyrdom, 134-136;
+       prophecies fulfilled, 136, 145;
+       his discourse to the Signoria, 151;
+       his prayer and meditations, 153, 154;
+       medal and picture of, 224, 352;
+       sermons in the Duomo, 280;
+       in San Marco, 298, 301-303, 305, 307-309;
+       on the night of Palm Sunday, 310-313;
+       his portrait, 323.
+
+     Salutati, Coluccio, 390.
+
+     _Scalzo, Chiostro dello_, 324.
+
+     Scolari, Filippo (Pippo Spano), 329, 336.
+
+     Seta, Arte della (Arte di Por S. Maria), 28, 38, 189, 194, 318, 325.
+
+     Settignano, 410.
+
+     Sforza, Caterina, 142, 173, 227;
+       Francesco, 78, 79, 82;
+       Galeazzo Maria, 82, 86-88, 168;
+       Ludovico, 90, 95, 121, 124, 136, 137.
+
+     Shelley, 2, 105, 169, 220, 373.
+
+     _Signoria, Palazzo della_. See _Palazzo Vecchio_.
+
+     _Signoria, Piazza della_, 118, 135, 136, 146, 154-160.
+
+     Silvestro, Fra, 92, 133, 135, 151.
+
+     Sixtus IV., Pope, 88-90, 93.
+
+     Soldanieri, Gianni dei, 26.
+
+     _Spini, Palazzo_, 348.
+
+     Spini, Doffo, 123, 131, 133, 158-160;
+       Geri, 348.
+
+     _Spirito, S._, 70, 87, 127, 389-390.
+
+     _Stefano, S._ (in the Via Por S. Maria), 20, 346.
+       See also _Badia_.
+
+     Stia, 419.
+
+     _Stinche, Le_ (Teatro Pagliano), 226.
+
+     _Strozzi, Palazzo_, 15, 85, 97, 98, 352, 353.
+
+     _Strozzi, Cappella_, 68, 361-363.
+
+     Strozzi, Filippo, the elder, 85, 352, 365;
+       Filippo, the younger, 142, 144, 284, 339, 353;
+       Palla, 76, 81, 95, 104, 350, 351;
+       Piero, 349, 353;
+       Tommaso, 74.
+
+
+     T.
+
+     _Torrigiani, Palazzo_, 377.
+
+     Tornabuoni, Lucrezia, 85.
+
+     Tosa (della), Baldo, 376;
+       Baschiera, 334, 411;
+       Rossellino, 405;
+       Rosso, 49, 50, 53.
+
+     Traversari, Ambrogio, 329.
+
+     Trespiano, 410, 411.
+
+     _Trebbio, Croce al_, 22, 354.
+
+     _Trinita, S._, church, 100, 349-351;
+       piazza, 26, 44, 347-349.
+
+     Towers, Societies of, 19.
+
+
+     U.
+
+     Ubaldini, 49, 232.
+
+     Uberti, the, 17, 19-21, 23, 40, 62, 149, 411;
+       Farinata degli, 24, 25, 36, 72, 149, 270, 336, 340;
+       Schiatta degli, 20;
+       Tolosato degli, 412.
+
+     Uccellatoio, 411.
+
+     _Uffizi, R. Galleria degli_, 160-183.
+
+     Umiliati, Frati, 371.
+
+     Urbino, Dukes of. _See_ Medici (Lorenzo), Montefeltro, Della Rovere.
+
+     Uzzano, Niccolo da, 74, 76, 221, 256, 346, 377.
+
+
+     V.
+
+     Vallombrosa, 13, 421, 422.
+
+     Valori, Baccio, 144, 225, 339, 406.
+
+     Valori, Francesco, 126, 128, 132, 211, 212.
+
+     Varchi, 228, 359, 381, 401.
+
+     _La Verna_, 421, 422.
+
+     Vespucci, Amerigo, 372.
+
+     Villani, Filippo, 70, 390.
+
+     Villani, Giovanni, 5-8, 32, 36, 69, _et passim_.
+
+     Villani, Matteo, 70.
+
+     Visconti, Filippo, 76, 80, 273, 289;
+       Giovanni, 61;
+       Giovanni Galeazzo, 75, 390.
+
+
+     Z.
+
+     Zagonara, Battle of, 76.
+
+     _Zecca Vecchia, Torre della_, 245.
+
+     Zenobius, S., 10, 11, 12, 152, 171, 210, 274, 276.
+
+
+TURNBULL AND SPEARS, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Story of Florence, by Edmund G. Gardner
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