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diff --git a/old/52619-8.txt b/old/52619-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ce2bc19..0000000 --- a/old/52619-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3810 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Medici Balls, by Anna R. Sheldon and M. Moyca Newell - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Medici Balls - Seven little journeys in Tuscany - -Author: Anna R. Sheldon - M. Moyca Newell - -Release Date: July 22, 2016 [EBook #52619] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MEDICI BALLS *** - - - - -Produced by Clarity, Jane Robins and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) - - - - - - - - - - -THE MEDICI BALLS - - - - -[Illustration: - - BENOZZO GOZZOLI PINX ANDERSON PH. - - Lorenzo de' Medici -] - - - - - The Medici Balls - - SEVEN LITTLE JOURNEYS - IN TUSCANY - - ANNA R. SHELDON - M. MOYCA NEWELL - - _OVER ONE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS_ - - CHARTERHOUSE PRESS - - NEW YORK - 1904 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1904, BY - M. M. NEWELL - - _ALL RIGHTS RESERVED_ - - SCHLUETER - PRINTING - COMPANY - NEW YORK - - - - - _To_ - - Frances Cecilia Newell - - WE DEDICATE THIS BOOK - - - - -PREFATORY NOTE - - -[Illustration] - -Why the Medici family assumed the well-known device of red balls on a -field of gold, is one of the vexed questions of heraldic history. Some -hold that as the saints, Cosmo and Damian, who appear so often in the -votive pictures of the Medici, were also patron saints of medicine -and surgery, and because the name of the family signifies physicians, -the balls may suggest pills (_palle_). Others think that a cluster of -balls, formerly the sign of money-lenders, was adopted as a device by -Giovanni de' Medici, founder of the greater branch of the illustrious -house, who as a banker attained great wealth and influence. As the -Medici identified themselves with the trading interests and government -of Florence, and were connected with several noble Florentine families, -their coat of arms became familiar throughout all that extensive -territory subject to Florence in the fifteenth century. With its varied -number of balls, or quartered with other arms, as charged with the -royal lily of France, or surmounted by the keys of St. Peter and a -pontiff's tiara, it greets the traveller at every turn, not only on -palaces and city gates, but on illuminated manuscripts and choir books, -on the covers of mediæval ledgers, and terra-cotta wine jars. - -Thus the title of "Medici Balls" has been given to the following record -of seven little journeys in Tuscany by the authors, who in all their -travels, even in lanes and modest farm-houses, have found themselves -under the ægis of the powerful banker-princes of Florence. The shield, -bearing seven red balls on a field of gold, represents the arms of -Piero de' Medici, and the period when Medicean supremacy was at its -height; in the sequence of balls employed by the various members of -the family, it serves to connect the eight balls displayed on the arms -of Cosimo, Pater Patriæ, the munificent financier, with the six balls -of Lorenzo the Magnificent, in whom the glory and renown of the family -culminated. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - THE MUGELLO 3 - - PRATO: A MEDIÆVAL JOURNEY 45 - - CHIANTI AND THE IMPRUNETA 73 - - CASTRUCCIO CASTRACANE, LORD OF LUCCA 101 - - PISTOJA, "CITY OF CINO" 123 - - A SUNDAY AMONG THE HILLS OF BRANCOLI 163 - - BARGA AND THE VALLEY OF GARFAGNANA 199 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - Lorenzo de' Medici. _Photogravure_ _Frontispiece_ - - From "Procession of the Magi," Riccardi Palace, Florence. - By Benozzo Gozzoli. - - PAGE - Della Robbia Frieze 3 - - Badia a Settimo 4 - - Straw Plaiters, Mugnone Valley 7 - - A Loggia, Piero a Sieve 9 - - Palazzo Pubblico, Scarperia 11 - - The Main Street, Scarperia 13 - - Madonna and Child, Chapel of the Sacred Girdle, Duomo, Prato. - By Giovanni Pisano 15 - - Ancient Campanile della Pieve, Borgo San Lorenzo 20 - - Torraccia Romanelli, Borgo San Lorenzo 21 - - A Farm-house, Mugello 22 - - Ponte d'Elsa, Mugello 23 - - Hill of Vespignano, Mugello 24 - - Round Tower of Vespignano, Mugello 26 - - Joachim Returning to the Sheepfold, Arena Chapel, Padua. - By Giotto 29 - - From the Walls of Scarperia 31 - - A Country Road, Scarperia 32 - - Detail of Bronze Grille. Chapel of the Sacred Girdle, Prato 33 - - Portrait of Bianca Cappello, Uffizi, Florence. - By Alessandro Allori 37 - - Coats of Arms of the Ubaldini and Vichio 40 - - The Procession of the Magi, Riccardi Palace, Florence. - By Benozzo Gozzoli 43 - - Ornamental Band, Della Robbia 45 - - The Campanile, Prato. By Giovanni Pisano 46 - - Detail, Procession of the Magi, Riccardi Palace, Florence. - By Benozzo Gozzoli 47 - - Arcades "Where Hang the Copper and Woolen Goods," Prato 50 - - The Fortress, Prato 51 - - The Cathedral of Prato 53 - - Garden Belonging to Lorenzo's Favorite Villa, Poggio a Caiano 56 - - Erroneously entitled in the book as "Villa of Petraia." - - External Pulpit, Cathedral, Prato. By Donatello 57 - - Madonna and Child, with Saints, Lunette Over Central Door, - Duomo, Prato. By Andrea Della Robbia 61 - - Lucrezia Tornabuoni, Wife of Lorenzo Il Magnifico. Wearing the - Marsyas Jewel of the Medici. By Botticelli 65 - - Coat of Arms of Prato 68 - - Detail of Frieze. S. Maria Delle Carceri, Prato. - By Andrea Della Robbia 69 - - The Piazza, Greve, Chianti 73 - - Ponte Falciano, Chianti 74 - - Ponte Capello, River Greve 75 - - Vitigliano, Chianti 76 - - Old Watch-Tower, Chianti 77 - - Panzano from a Distance, Chianti 78 - - S. Leolino a Flacciano, Pieve di Panzano, Chianti 79 - - A Villa in Panzano, Chianti 81 - - Old Wine Jar, Chianti 83 - - A Peasant of Chianti 85 - - The Stately Cypress 87 - - A Country Road, Chianti 89 - - Piazza, Impruneta 90 - - A Street, Impruneta 91 - - Predella to Tabernacle, Chapel of the Holy - Cross, Impruneta. By Luca della Robbia 93 - - Adoring Angels, Impruneta. By Luca della Robbia 95 - - Coat of Arms, Courtyard, Palazzo Cenami, Lucca 99 - - Della Robbia Ornament 101 - - Apse End and Campanile, San Andrea, Serravalle 103 - - The Rocca of Castruccio, Serravalle 104 - - Olive Trees 105 - - Iron Lantern, Palazzo Baroni, Lucca 107 - - Monument of General Bartolommeo Colleoni, Venice. - By A. Verrocchio 108 - - Moat of Castle Sarzanella, Sarzana 109 - - Monument of General Gattamelata, Padua. By Donatello 111 - - Statue of John Hawkwood, Cathedral, Florence. - By Paolo Uccello 112 - - Madonna and Child, with Two Saints, Castelfranco. - By Giorgione 115 - - Portrait of a Young Florentine, Royal Gallery, Berlin. - By Botticelli 116 - - Stemma of Serravalle 118 - - Medici Shield, Ospedale del Ceppo, Pistoja. Della Robbia 121 - - Viale dell'Arcadia, Pistoja 123 - - Shield of Pistoja, Supported by Bears 124 - - Piazza del Duomo, Pistoja 125 - - Coat of Arms, Pistoja. By Verrocchio 129 - - Bronze Candelabra, Duomo, Pistoja 132 - - Head of Filippo Tedici, Pistoja 133 - - Campanile, from Via Ripa del Sale, Pistoja 137 - - Loggia, Ospedale del Ceppo, Pistoja 141 - - Coat of Arms of Hospital, Pistoja. Della Robbia 145 - - Healing the Sick, Detail of Frieze, Ospedale del Ceppo, - Pistoja. By Giovanni della Robbia 149 - - Via Abbi Pazienza 152 - - Coronation of the Virgin, Ospedale del Ceppo, Pistoja. - By Benedetto Buglione 153 - - Adoration of the Magi, S. Andrea, Pistoja 155 - - Monument of Cardinal Forteguerra, S. Cecilia, Rome. - By Mino da Fiesole 157 - - Virgin and Child, with Saints, Cathedral, Lucca. - By Fra Bartolommeo 161 - - Bastions of San Colombo, Lucca 163 - - Old City Wall and Moat, Lucca 164 - - Tomb of Ilaria del Carretto, Cathedral, Lucca. - By Jacopo della Quercia 165 - - On the Ramparts, Lucca 168 - - San Frediano, Lucca 169 - - S. Frediano, from the Guinigi Tower, Lucca 171 - - A "Grey Tower" 173 - - Ponte a Moriano, Serchio River 175 - - An Old Stone Bridge 177 - - Bridge Over the Serchio 178 - - Church of Santa Maria e San Giorgio, Brancoli 179 - - San Lorenzo, Brancoli 181 - - Interior of Santa Maria e San Giorgio, Brancoli 183 - - Holy-water Stoup, Santa Maria e San Giorgio, Brancoli 186 - - Baptismal Font, Santa Maria e San Giorgio, Brancoli 187 - - Detail of Pulpit, Santa Maria e San Giorgio, Brancoli 189 - - Detail of Pulpit, Santa Maria e San Giorgio, Brancoli 190 - - Pulpit, Santa Maria e San Giorgio, Brancoli 191 - - Three Coats of Arms, Lucca 194 - - St. George and the Dragon, Brancoli. By Andrea and - Giovanni della Robbia 195 - - Sarzanella 199 - - Bridge at Vinchiana 200 - - "The Devil's Bridge," Borgo a Mozzano 201 - - Bagni di Lucca 203 - - Parish Church, Loppia 204 - - The Cathedral, Barga 205 - - Door of the Cathedral, Barga 208 - - Interior of the Cathedral, Barga 211 - - Pulpit in Cathedral, Barga 215 - - Adoration of the Magi, Pulpit, Cathedral, Barga 219 - - Tabernacle in Cathedral, Barga, Della Robbia School 223 - - Assumption of the Virgin, Church of the Capuchins, Barga. - By Giovanni della Robbia 227 - - "Violet-eyed Tuscan Oxen" 229 - - Trappings on Horse of Lorenzo de' Medici 230 - - - - -THE MUGELLO - - - - -[Illustration] - -THE MUGELLO - - -[Illustration] - -Every year Italy is thronged with thousands of travellers who are -thoroughly familiar with the larger cities of Tuscany: Florence, Lucca, -Siena, and Leghorn are crowded with visitors, while Florence has -practically become the Italian home of English and American wanderers; -they not only fill hotels, pensions, and apartments, but occupy many of -the villas on neighbouring hillsides. Fiesole's terraces are converted -into tea-gardens, and resound with Anglo-Saxon chaffer for straw fans -and baskets. San Miniato, with its incomparable view of the city, also -caters to the universal cry for "the cup that cheers," which outrivals -in popularity the noble old Tuscan-Romanesque church hard by. Trim -Americans are met at every turn; Settignano, Bello-Sguardo, Marignano, -Badia a Settimo, and the rest, are frequent haunts; and the padrona -of the vine-covered terrace at Majano, where stone-cutters are wont -to sit about rude stone tables and drink their wine, has learned the -"afternoon tea" secret for the _gentili forestieri_, who walk out -from Florence to enjoy the charming view. Convenient tram lines run -to the more distant and choicest places, and whoever demands more -retired ways may board one of those nondescript vehicles, by courtesy -called "diligence," which are seen on every country road leading from -Florence, making their way through pretty valleys and hill towns. -The Tuscan diligence is an institution in its way, though not always -inviting in appearance; usually covered with dust, its brown canvas -curtains strapped down, excluding all air and views, and "full up" -to bursting with all sorts and conditions of humanity and luggage. -However, one is always sure of the most respectful and obliging driver, -smiling and kindly travelling companions, and no end of interesting -chat and story at the cost of a few centesimi. Thus the country distant -from the usual railway lines is every year becoming more and more -familiar and appreciated, although there are still many delightful -"untrodden ways" known but to the few, who are good pedestrians or -devoted lovers of nature and "dear country places." Follow up any of -the Tuscan rivers--through the Val d'Ema, Val di Pesa, Val d'Elsa, or -the valleys of the Mugnone, Sieve, Bisenzio, and Ombrone, every one an -affluent of the Arno--and you will find a pathway of delight, a real -progress through a world of exquisite colour, form, and fragrance. Yet -it is not easy to turn away from Florence and wander off in pastures -new; like a siren, she holds us in willing thraldom by the infinite -variety of charms so potent that all the world beyond her warm, grey -walls becomes vague and unreal. - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -BADIA A SETTIMO] - -But suddenly, on a crisp spring morning, a quick turn from a narrow -street gives us a vision of the hills, olive-grey, brown, and -purple--hills with the Apennine heights beyond. The spell is broken, -our hearts burn for the "spring running," and, as in old Chaucer's -day, "Then longen folk to go on pilgrimage." We have the old poet's -authority that England's Spring came in April, but to us in Tuscany -this year she appeared by the middle of January, and has never for a -day turned her face, coming safely through the "ides of March," even -to the end of April in almost continuous sunshine and ever-increasing -bloom. Blackthorn, almond, and fruit trees, daisies and daffodils, -violets and roses, rival each other in bewildering loveliness wherever -the eye may turn; out of city gates the paths lie luringly open to -hillsides clad with ilex and magnolia, to hidden valleys, and the -snow-clad Apennines beyond Vallombrosa. - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -STRAW PLAITERS IN THE MUGNONE] - -We yearn for unbroken space with no dome but the blue above, no tower -but the stately cypress; our resolution is quickly taken to climb -out of Val d'Arno, and slip over yonder delectable heights into the -Mugello. Diligence and tram are too slow for our patience; therefore, -at the easy hour of nine, on a clear, sunny morning, we leave the city -by the Florence and Faenza railway, run through the pretty valley of -the Mugnone, pass the stone-quarries close under the northern flank of -steep Fiesole, discover a world of beauty unknown to us before, dash in -and out of tunnels, catching flying glimpses of a broken countryside, -grey-walled towns, and bosky slopes; thus pushing northward for half a -dozen miles, where the line loops back toward the south, and gives us -once more, and from a greater height, the charming view of Fiesole's -northern slope. Now the railroad rises rapidly by well-built viaducts, -galleries, and tunnels to Vaglia, only nine miles from Florence, as -the crow flies, then passes swiftly over the ridge which separates the -valleys of the Arno and Mugnone from the Mugello region. - -There are no more views of populous Fiesole; we are in a new world, -over which Mr. Ruskin feels justified in making lament. After expanding -with his customary word-painting upon the view from Fiesole over Val -d'Arno, he continues thus: "The traveller passes the Fiesolan ridge, -and all is changed. The country is on a sudden lonely. Here and there, -indeed, are scattered houses of a farm grouped gracefully upon the -hillsides; here and there the fragment of a tower upon a distant rock; -but neither gardens nor flowers nor glittering palaces exist." To us, -however, the scene is charming; the still distant valley spreads out -broad and fertile to the sun, well-watered by the Sieve and its many -tributaries, or _torrenti_, all of which hasten to lose themselves -later in the Arno, just within the western boundary of the Casentino. -Surrounding the happy valley rises a cordon of mountains belonging to -the Central Apennine range--among them Monte Giove, 3,255 feet above -sea-level, and Monte Morello, 3,065 feet. The latter peak is clearly -seen from Florence, and in its varied moods is regarded as a natural -weather bureau by the people, who are fond of repeating the old -saying, "Take your umbrella when Monte Morello puts on his cap." - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -A LOGGIA, PIERO A SIEVE] - -Descending the narrow pass of Carza, the train reaches Piero a Sieve, -where we leave it to pursue its way through a most picturesque country, -over the mountains to Faenza, while we explore the quaint little -hamlet of Piero a Sieve, which clings by grey walls and terraces to the -side of a steep hill, crowning which are the massive fortifications -of San Martino. We climb to the fortress, take a snap-shot at one of -the loggias, where the group of ever-busy women in bright skirts and -kerchiefs would make a delightful picture in water-colour, have a look -at the parish church, with its so-called Della Robbia font, and then -proceed on our way to Scarperia, three miles to the northwest, which is -our destination. - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -PALAZZO PUBBLICO, SCARPERIA] - -After judicious bargaining at the station with drivers of a varied -assortment of country vehicles, we are cleverly packed into two small, -rattling, rather clumsy but very comfortable carts, one drawn by a -phenomenally brisk donkey, and away we bowl toward the towers of -Scarperia. Somehow the sunshine and exhilarating air incites us into -rebellion against Mr. Ruskin's opinion that the scene is "only a grey -extent of mountain ground, tufted irregularly with ilex and olive, a -scene not sublime, for its forms are subdued and low; not desolate, for -its valleys are full of sown fields and tended pastures; not rich nor -lovely, but sunburnt and sorrowful." - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -THE MAIN STREET, SCARPERIA] - -For us a golden touch is laid on everything; we love the plain of -olive orchards and vineyards and peaceful fields; the large, white, -violet-eyed Tuscan oxen driven by kindly faced peasants; even the -donkey is a nonesuch, and we wax poetic over the greenest of green -patches of grain in vineyards, the rows of lopped elm-trees married -to the vines, which are festooned from trunk to trunk. Along the -way we meet the country doctor, riding madly in his cart drawn by -a quick-stepping pony. Another Dr. Antonio, we say, ready in case -of accident to invent and furnish us anything from bathing-machines -and coffee-pots, instruction in botany and art, to a serenade, or -making butter to accompany the good bread of Scarperia, unbaked loaves -of which we see carried into the town on a long board over a man's -shoulder. - -But now we are rattling up the main street of Scarperia, the donkey -trying his best to get ahead, and it is high time to speak like a -guide-book, though no account we have found condescends to give the -population of the place, which is the way every well-regulated book -should begin. Murray's description is summed up in half a dozen lines, -as follows: "Scarperia was built in 1306 by the Commune of Florence to -curb the pride of the Ubaldini and other rebels of the Mugello. The -parish church has some fine cloisters. In the Palazzo Vecchio there are -interesting frescoes. There is a large industry of scissors." This is -all. - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - - _Giovanni Pisano_ - -MADONNA AND CHILD OF THE SACRED GIRDLE - -DUOMO, PRATO] - -We hasten to buy scissors, also the ubiquitous postal card, visit the -cloisters, which are really good, and then hang about the old Palazzo, -which would alone make the town interesting. Its tower, or campanile, -is remarkably fine, simpler and a thought more serious, perhaps, but -hardly less beautiful, than its more famous sister of the Palazzo -Vecchio, Florence; and the good people of Scarperia proudly declare -that it was at least designed by the same master hand--that of Arnolfo -di Cambio. It rises gracefully as a lily on its grey stalk, dominating -the clustering red roofs below and peering at us over the cloister -roof, as if to say, "We belonged together in those stirring mediæval -days when municipal life had two centres: the Palazzo Pubblico and the -Duomo--Civil Government and the Church." The façade of the old palace -is a mad eruption of various coats of arms, or _stemmi_, carved in -stone or formed in reliefs of glazed terra-cotta, and no less than -fourteen of these are products of the Della Robbia atelier, bearing -the devices of great families of Tuscany; and here, if we were wise -in heraldry, might the whole history of the Mugello be set forth as -it transpired in those adventurous days before its rebels had been -curbed! Prominent and oft-repeated among these _stemmi_ is the Medici -shield emblazoned with its balls, or pills, suggesting the traditional -origin of that famous house and proud device. The story runs that, when -Charlemagne made his historic descent upon Italy, among his followers -was a certain brave and noble knight named Avérard Medici, who, amid -the Apennines, encountered and challenged to mortal combat a mighty -giant called Mugello, who ruled with a high and cruel hand all this -portion of Italy. After a long and furious battle the giant was done -to death, and Avérard, as victor, took possession, not only of his -arms and personal goods, but all the lands under his sway--that is, -the territory bearing his name to this day. What is more, the six -dents on Avérard's golden buckler, which had been made by the furious -blows of Mugello's iron-spiked club, became the Medici device. There -is historical evidence that an early Medici settled in this region and -possessed great estates and castles, to which he very shrewdly retired -whenever his enemies in Florence became too troublesome. There is also -proof that while Cosimo, "father of his country," beautified Florence -with noble villas, palaces, and churches, he did not neglect the cradle -of his race, but built in the Mugello the two convents of the Bosco and -of St. Francis. - -We enter the old palace through a stately atrium, or vestibule; the -walls are covered with coats of arms and faded frescoes, and beyond is -a pleasant little court open to the sky, but serving the municipality -to-day no further than as a chicken enclosure. Then we ascend the broad -stone stairway to the municipal offices; the faded frescoes of Our -Lady and saints in the anteroom are doubtless good, and deserve more -attention than we give them; but our eyes are enthralled by the superb -view from the window of the river-laced plain and encircling mountains. - -After lunch at the modest _albergo_, where kindly faces and willing -service more than compensate for an indifferent cuisine, we set forth -for a long drive of exploration through the Mugello. Our carriage, -"the calash," is apparently an institution of Scarperia, and is such a -pleasant surprise that we heartily commend it to all fellow travellers. -It is a rather light, well-hung, smart-looking vehicle, something -between a victoria and landau in shape, with comfortable seats which -easily accommodate our party of five. It is drawn by a pair of glossy -chestnut roadsters unvexed by checking-straps or throat-chains, and -stepping off freely at a brisk, even trot, which they maintain steadily -during the entire drive of thirty miles. Our handsome young driver is -in keeping with his equipage--kind and skilful with his horses, and -courteous in answering our many questions. Thus we drive all the sunny -afternoon through the fertile and well-tilled valley, over the best of -roads, passing comfortable farm-houses, orchards, and vineyards, where -the peasants are busy trimming and tying the vines or turning the earth -with awkward, primitive spades. We cross and recross the river Sieve -over picturesque stone bridges half hidden by birches and elms. - -[Illustration: ANCIENT CAMPANILE DELLA PIEVE BORGO S. LORENZO] - -Our first halt is at Borgo San Lorenzo, chief town, or capital, of -the Mugello, situated on the Sieve, also on the direct railway line -to Faenza, and containing about three thousand inhabitants. While -lacking, one cannot tell why, the charm of Scarperia, the town has -its attractions, notably two noble and well-preserved gateways, -several towers, and many a cluster of rich-coloured, irregular roofs. -Especially interesting is the lofty Antico Campanile della Pieve--a -battered veteran keeping its time-honoured watch and ward over the -Sieve valley, its sides showing many a scar and patch, and its simple, -conical roof, like an old cap pulled low over its sleepless eyes. - -[Illustration: TORRACCIA ROMANELLI, BORGO S. LORENZO] - -We enter the town through the fifteenth century gateway, its battered -watch-tower speaking volumes of that olden time when Mugello's -rebels worked their stark will along these narrow thoroughfares. The -substantial, old Palazzo del Podestà, minus a tower, looks somewhat -meekly forth on its ancient square, or piazza, as it has done for -centuries. Its façade is hung thick with the shields of turbulent -lords, ten of whom called on the Della Robbia art to set forth their -emblems here, also to fashion glazed terra-cotta Madonnas for the -churches of St. Catherine and St. Stephen, hard by. - -[Illustration: A FARM-HOUSE, MUGELLO] - -[Illustration: PONTE D'ELSA, MUGELLO] - -We can stop but a few moments at Borgo San Lorenzo, and soon -drive on, past a little shrine at the street corner and under the -battlemented tower called Torraccia Romanelli, to our country roads -once more. Outside the walls the country assumes a more broken and -hilly appearance, fewer cultivated fields, and more pasture where a -few sheep graze; irregular farm-houses of rough, grey stone, with -loggias and sloping roofs of red tiles, set amidst scattering trees, -many of them cypress, dark and rusty as an outworn mourning coat. The -accompanying picture shows a representative house of the country, and -we are told that this one had its little romance and love's young -dream. It is a wrinkled old woman you see trudging down the hillside -to fill her copper bucket at the stream; but in yonder corner loggia -is a sparkling-eyed young _contadina_, some pretty Tessa, who as she -spins her flax is thinking of a handsome and dashing young Florentine -who often finds his way to the farm-house, which belongs to his -uncle's country villa hard by. A bit farther on we reach the pretty -double-arched bridge Ponte d'Elsa, the very one, our driver says, where -Cimabue met the shepherd boy Giotto; and here too, nibbling the scanty -grass along the roadside, are surely the descendants of Giotto's sheep, -even the new-born lamb looking quite mediæval. - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -HILL OF VESPIGNANO, MUCELLO] - -The hill of Vespignano, Giotto's birthplace, is much too steep for the -chestnuts and calash; moreover, we are only too glad of an excuse for -walking up the pretty path cut into the hillside, bordered by trees -hung with ivy, and leading to a serried rank of young cypresses, ranged -together like a black watch on the crest of the hill, as if to guard -the modest stone building, which tradition says is the very house where -the artist Giotto was born. Even for a shepherd's dwelling, the house -is small and uninteresting, which naturally flings a suspicion over -its verity; nevertheless, the spirit which actuates the preservation -of all historical sites and relics by the Italian government cannot -be too highly commended. The house is converted into a meagre museum, -and kept in good order on estates at present belonging to the Villa -Capriani-Cateni, the various buildings of which cover the crest of a -considerable height and possess a noble outlook into the near hills, -which are now taking on a hazy blue mystery in the afternoon light. -A large portion of the villa is of modern architecture, plain and -dignified, but the massive, square battlemented tower at one corner is -of quite an early date, perhaps the thirteenth century, while not far -away is the ruined prison-house of ruddy grey stones and brickwork, -with a picturesque round tower, presumably of a still earlier time, and -reminding one of the ancient towers still found in parts of Ireland. -The whole pile speaks eloquently of a long residence on this hilltop -of a people whose wants were few, their tastes stern and simple as -the mighty Apennines which encircled them. A fine-looking old man is -weaving an osier basket as he sits on the terrace in the shadow of the -old tower. He answers all our questions with quiet courtesy; but upon -our offering him a fee, as we have learned is generally expected, it is -gently but firmly declined, and we walk away somewhat abashed, thinking -of the varied influences which surrounded young Giotto amid such -pastoral scenes and such kindly, self-respecting people. He certainly -must have carried much of the experience and knowledge of his shepherd -life into his art. - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -ROUND TOWER, VESPIGNANO] - -In the Arena Chapel, Padua, one of the finest of the frescoes is -that of Joachim returning to the sheepfold, where Giotto shows his -intimate knowledge of a shepherd's surroundings and animal forms, but -particularly of the characteristics of sheep, giving to each one an -individuality which only a close observer could have done. There is the -same quality in one of the sculptures on his tower in Florence, where -the puppy, with an absurd expression of anxious responsibility, is -guarding the sheep. - -As the shadows lengthen and the mountains are gleaming in purple and -gold, we return to Scarperia for the night, and enjoy such sleep in the -clean, coarse, homespun linen on our beds, as only a day in the brisk -open air can give. - -The morrow is Sunday, and the old Piazza, between church and palace, -is filled with the people coming and going to mass, and to chaffer -with the pedlar displaying his wares on a little cart, consisting of -a slender stock of kerchiefs, stuffs, bright toys, and various homely -utensils, which he cries as lustily as another Autolycus: - - "Will you buy any tape, - Or lace for your cape, - My dainty duck, my dear-a? - Come, buy of me! come buy, come buy!" - -Both men and women have good faces, with that kindly responsive and -patient expression characteristic of the Italian peasants; they are -interested in everything, particularly in the _forestieri_, who in -their turn enjoy the groups of women and children in gay kerchiefs -and gowns, making a pretty picture in the old grey square. We walk -through the narrow streets, sit on the city walls which still partially -surround the town, and look down on the pretty road overhung with -trees, where the trailing-footed, white oxen slowly come and go, placid -and restful. - -[Illustration: - - _Alinari_ _Giotto_ - -JOACHIM RETURNING TO THE SHEEPFOLD, ARENA CHAPEL, PADUA] - -We follow the _contadini_ out of the old city gate on the road to -St. Agatha's Church, lying between vineyards where the young grain is -now pushing its green spears through the brown earth--for spring is -later here than in Val d'Arno--and olive orchards, where clouds of -silver-grey leaves quiver and shine in the light. - -[Illustration: - - _M. M. Newell._ - -FROM THE WALLS OF SCARPERIA] - -[Illustration: - - _M. M. Newell_ - -A COUNTRY ROAD, SCARPERIA] - -[Illustration: - - _Alinari_ - -DETAIL OF THE GRILLE - -CHAPEL OF THE SACRED GIRDLE, CATHEDRAL, PRATO] - -Taking another road, we saunter on a mile or so to the Villa Tolomei, -belonging to an old Tuscan family, whose arms are a gold band with -three green vine leaves on a blue field, and above a red label with -the three gold lilies of Anjou. The grounds are pleasant, though -somewhat neglected, but the prospect looking toward the mountains -is entrancing; and the walk back toward Scarperia gives us a continual -view of the fine campanile. By this time all the rebel blood of -the Mugello is burning in our veins, and we demand a drive back to -Florence; no railroads and tunnels for us if we must leave these "dear -country places." We long to push eastward, only three paltry miles -away, up to the very crests of the Apennines, where all the rivers -hasten joyfully to the Adriatic. But not to-day may we follow fancy's -lead eastward along curving Ronco's flowing stream, but again, with -chestnuts and calash, are constrained to hold our way along the river -bank, returning over the road to Piero a Sieve--was it only yesterday -that we first knew it?--and strike at once into the famous old highway -leading from Bologna to Florence, as it has done almost since the -beginning of the Christian era. What a thoroughfare it has been! What -mighty personages have trod this path with high hopes, burning spirits, -and breaking hearts! - - "There is a joy in every spot made known in times of old, - New to the feet, although each tale a hundred times be told." - -What hordes of barbarians and armies of haughty kings have swept this -way; what great pageants and devout pilgrimages! We remember that one -of Gian Galeazzo, Duke of Milan in 1471, when, accompanied by his -wife, Bona of Savoy, in accomplishment of a vow, he made a pilgrimage -to Florence in unparalleled splendour. There were twelve palanquins of -cloth of gold borne on the backs of mules over the Apennines, preceded -by fifty palfreys for the Duchess and her ladies when they preferred -the saddle; fifty horses for the Duke and his gentlemen; five hundred -foot-soldiers, one hundred mounted men-at-arms; fifty body-servants in -livery of silk and silver, fifty huntsmen holding dogs in leash, fifty -with falcon on wrist, each bird valued at two hundred golden florins, -etc., etc. With all this pomp the train descended into the Val d'Arno, -proceeded to Florence, and were received at the Medici palace in Via -Larga, now the Cavour. When we reach Vaglia, again we struggle with -the temptation to turn aside for the delightful walk of five miles -to Bivigliano and find the Della Robbia Madonna and Saints (from the -atelier) at the parish church of St. Romola, thence a mile farther to -the foot of Monte Senario, 2,700 feet high, which overlooks us all the -way. But we hold to our course, and after a few miles and a stiff walk -of half an hour we mount to Pratolino, 1,512 feet, the highest point -we touch, lying just below Monte Senario, and commanding an extensive -view on every side. Near the village is the celebrated Villa of -Pratolino, built originally in 1570 by Duke Francesco de' Medici for -the reception of his wife, the beautiful and notorious Bianca Cappello. -It was surrounded by noble gardens and terraces, and because of its -superb situation became the favorite residence of the luxury-loving -Duchess. The property is now owned by the Prince Demidoff, but nothing -remains of the original villa except a colossal crouching figure, -personifying the Apennines, which is ascribed to John of Bologna. - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - - _Alessandro Allori_ - -PORTRAIT OF BIANCA CAPPELLO - -UFFIZI, FLORENCE] - -Our Mugello excursion is over; we are slipping through the Mugnone -and down into Val d'Arno. First Fiesole welcomes us; then the dear, -familiar towers of Florence, the fairest city in the world; only a -poet can convey the charm of this exquisite scene. "Few travellers can -forget," says Mr. Ruskin, "the peculiar landscape of this district of -the Apennines. As they ascend the hill which rises from Florence to -the lowest peak in the ridge of Fiesole they pass continually beneath -the walls of villas bright in perfect luxury and beside cypress hedges -inclosing fair terraced gardens, where masses of oleander and magnolia, -motionless as leaves in a picture, inlay alternately upon the blue sky -their branching lightness of pale-rose color and deep-green breadth of -shade, studded with walls of gleaming silver; and shining at intervals -through the framework of rich leaf and rubied flower the far-away -bends of the Arno beneath its slopes of olive, and the purple peaks of -the Carrara mountains tossing themselves against the western distance, -where the streak of motionless clouds hover over the Pisan sea." - -[Illustration: UBALDINI] - -[Illustration: VICCHIO] - - - - -PRATO: - -A MEDIÆVAL JOURNEY - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - - _Benozzo Gozzoli_ - -THE PROCESSION OF THE MAGI - -CHAPEL OF THE RICCARDI PALACE, FLORENCE] - - - - -[Illustration] - -PRATO: A MEDIÆVAL JOURNEY - - -[Illustration] - -Thrice had we been in Florence and never seen Prato, only twelve miles -away. Many times had we noted in passing where the waters of her -little river, the Bisenzio, join the Arno, and wished to follow its -banks through the plain to the city whose fortunes and history are -so identified with those of Florence. There was no good reason for -not going to Prato; there are several ways of doing it--by diligence, -tram, or steam; and Murray declares that half a day will suffice to -see the town. So one hot day we took the plunge, boarded the tram, -first having provided a bountiful luncheon, for of course the inns -would be impossible. We can not recommend that tram ride. The line -passes through a flat, dusty country, the service is unpardonably slow -and tedious, and we were smothered in dust and very cross. But let us -hasten to say that the journey itself was our only disappointment; all -discomfort vanished with our arrival. We were charmed with our first -glimpse of the city, and found the Albergo Giardino so good that we -were obliged to apologize for bringing a luncheon and supplement it -generously from the hotel _menu_. Temper restored and at peace with -all the world, we set forth to prove Herr Baedeker's statement that -a visit to Prato is "indispensable to those who desire to acquaint -themselves thoroughly with the early Renaissance style of Florence;" -for which same thorough acquaintance we had allowed ourselves four -hours, forsooth! The Prato of to-day has, of course, its praiseworthy -modern enterprise and industries: the women are picturesquely busy at -every street corner with straw plaiting, there is a good trade in -woolen cloths, and the bright red caps (_calabarsi_), made here are -greatly demanded in the Levant; in side streets we come upon shops hung -with gleaming copper vessels of every sort and shape, and the sound -of the coppersmith's hammer rings out merrily on the clear air. It is -said that the people have a reputation for rudeness and turbulence, -but what can you expect from a town which, having made the good fight -for freedom, lost its independence and its identity in that of another -city, that was once captured by the redoubtable Castruccio, and, to -crown all disaster, was from 1512, for twenty-two years, made to suffer -all the atrocities that Spanish cruelty could devise? After all, the -City of the Meadow (_prato_) is in no sense a modern town; its ancient -walls are still intact; the castle, if fallen from its high estate as -a citadel, is still a delight to all the snap-shotting fraternity; and -if the streets are no longer gay with ruffling _bravos_ in their fine -attire, the ancient palaces of the Commune and Pretorio still hold -their own in point of noble architecture and as venerable centres of -justice and good government. - -[Illustration: _M.M. Newell_ - - _Giov. Pisano_ - -THE CAMPANILE, PRATO] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - - _Benozzo Gozzoli_ - -DETAIL OF THE PROCESSION OF THE MAGI - -CHAPEL OF THE RICCARDI PALACE, FLORENCE] - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -ARCADES WHERE HANG THE COPPER AND WOOLEN GOODS] - -Very different, indeed, must it have been in the fourteenth and -fifteenth centuries, when Prato was in the zenith of her wealth and -pride, when Donatello and Fra Lippo Lippi, Mino da Fiesole, and the -Pisani were busy there, and all the world was running to see their -work; crowned heads and critics, humble aspirants and cavalcades of -brilliantly attired Florentines were arriving daily to admire and -criticize the new art. The jaded tourist of to-day, if a true lover -of nature and history, thinks yearningly of the mediæval journeyings -over these roads; of the humble enthusiast making his way on foot, -and of gay trains of mounted nobles riding leisurely through these -regions of delight. Benozzo Gozzoli has shown us how it was done in -his noble fresco "Procession of the Magi," painted on the walls of -the Riccardi Palace to commemorate the visit of the Eastern Emperor, -John Palæologos, in 1439, who, according to an inscription in the -Duomo of Prato, made an excursion thither from Florence accompanied -by the illustrious Bessarion and a suite of six hundred cavaliers -magnificently appointed. The "three kings" in the fresco are -represented by the Emperor, the patriarch Joseph, and the young Lorenzo -de' Medici, who are surrounded by theologians and scribes, attended -by a train of cardinals, bishops, and nobles, with their servants and -horses, in splendid array. The painted scene is full of the vigour -and freshness of spring--of that spring when men awoke to the force -and meaning of human existence, "freedom of thought, beauty of the -world, and goodness of youth and strength and love and life." Those gay -young cavaliers prancing over the plain, exuberant with their new joy -in nature, colour, and splendour of dress, are equally keen in their -intellectual freshness; every man is a poet, Lorenzo de' Medici himself -the "most typical poet of his century," and their every verse rings -with the burden, "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may." - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -THE FORTRESS] - - "I went a roaming, maidens, one bright day, - In a green garden in mid month of May. - - Violets and lilies grew on every side - Mid the green grass, and young flowers wonderful, - Golden and white and red and azure-eyed; - Toward which I stretched my hands, eager to pull - Plenty to make my fair curls beautiful, - To crown my rippling curls with garlands gay. - - I went a roaming, maidens, one bright day, - In a green garden in mid month of May." - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -THE CATHEDRAL OF PRATO] - -Like Benozzo Gozzoli's train, we would sweep gaily from the court of -the old Medicean palace into Via Larga, pass through the Piazza del -Duomo, invoking the protection of Santa Maria del Fiore, cross the -ample square of Santa Maria Novella, and so come to Porta al Prato, -leading out to the plain, blue at this time of the year with the small -Tuscan lily which gave Florence her device. Then, as now, we would -pass through a busy suburb, or _borgo_, clustering about the gate, and -take our way over the plain, thick set with little hamlets, vineyards, -and orchards, and having always at our right hand the fair Tuscan -hills, hung with blooming gardens and starred with shining villas. -There is many a shrine or church along the way well worth a brief -halt, and such a leisurely ride may easily include a short visit and -refreshment at many of the Medici villas in the vicinity--at Careggi, -finest of them all, first occupied by Cosimo, Pater Patriæ, rebuilt -by Michelozzo, and where Lorenzo would, at a later day, gather about -him the scholars, artists, and singers of that rich time; here also -tradition places that improbable scene between Savonarola and Lorenzo -at the time of his death. The grand old tower of Petraia next lifts -its crown above a bosky hillside; this villa, now the Royal Villa, was -the work of Brunelleschi, and may well be visited for the sake of its -noble gardens and rare trees--among them an oak four hundred years old. -It is said that Poggio a Caiano, somewhat farther on, was Lorenzo's -favorite villa; earlier it belonged to the notorious Pistojese family, -the Cancellieri, who boasted among their members eighteen knights -with golden spurs, and whose quarrels originated the widespread feuds -of the _Bianchi_ and _Neri_. Lorenzo loved the place, and called his -favorite architect, Giuliano Giamberti, whom he had fondly nicknamed -"San Gallo," to build his villa; the plain exterior is broken only by -a fine classic portico, while the pride of the villa is the great hall -with its beautiful barrel roof--a creation which Lorenzo had declared -San Gallo could never accomplish. Later this architect built the little -church of the Madonna delle Carceri[1] at Prato--"perhaps," says our -critic, "the gem of the Laurentian age of architecture," and certainly -"classical principles have never been employed with more sympathy and -more originality." - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -GARDEN BELONGING TO THE ROYAL VILLA OF PETRAIA] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ _Donatello_ - -EXTERNAL PULPIT, CATHEDRAL, PRATO] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - - Andrea della Robbia, 1489 - -MADONNA AND CHILD, WITH SAINTS - -LUNETTE OVER CENTRAL DOOR OF THE DUOMO, PRATO] - -Thus filling a memorable day, we should come at eventide, as the -setting sun sifts its gold on olive-clad hills, to Prato on the -Bisenzio, where even an emperor might study with interest the -civilization of the West during the "age of the despots," and its -reawakening in learning and art. He would also enjoy the hospitality, -for which the city was noted when Florentine nobles made Prato their -frequent residence and enriched their palaces there with every form of -art and luxury, for which that time was celebrated. Prato, we find, -has her tradition honouring her above all other cities in the world, -and about which centres much of her importance in art. The story runs -something like this: When the Blessed Virgin disappeared from earth, -it seems that St. Thomas, father of skeptics, could not believe that -she had been caught up into heaven, as everybody knows who looks at -Italian paintings. The Virgin, to convince him, dropped from the clouds -her girdle (_cintola_), which St. Thomas faithfully cherished while -he lived. After his death the holy relic descended in course of time -to a Greek priest. All this happened in the Holy Land, to which, in -1096, journeyed a certain Michael of Prato, who, being an Italian, was -presumably a handsome man with a silver tongue, won the love of the -aforesaid Greek priest's daughter, who brought the _sacra cintola_ as -part of her dowry. Michael returned with his bride to Prato, where -they lived the rest of their lives, and treasured the precious relic -with the greatest reverence and care. Eventually it was transferred -to the cathedral, where it is kept in a chest sculptured by Giovanni -Pisano, and the keys thereof jealously guarded by the Bishop of the -Diocese and worshipful Syndic of the City of Prato. The people hold -the relic in the profoundest reverence; five times during the year it -is, with great ceremony, publicly exhibited, until about the tradition -has gathered a religious cult, to which many of the noblest works of -art in the Duomo directly refer. The Duomo alone stands for seven -centuries of art (though little remains of the earliest church, built -in the eighth century), and, like its noble campanile, is the work of -Giovanni Pisano. It is built of alternate bands of fine limestone and -the dark green serpentine from neighboring Monte Ferrato.[2] On the -northwest corner of the church is the external pulpit of Donatello, -"Prince of Humanists," supported by Michelozzo's bronze capital. The -pulpit is adorned with seven reliefs of dancing figures, "half-childish -and half-mythical," with musical instruments. From this pulpit, if -it chance to be May Day or Easter, we may witness the picturesque -ceremony of exhibiting the _sacra cintola_ to the devout people in -gala dress, kneeling in the piazza below. We enter the Duomo under -Andrea della Robbia's lunette of the Madonna and Child, attended by -St. Stephen and St. Laurence, the whole surrounded by a wreath of -cherubs' heads; this relief, among the many Della Robbias in various -churches and oratories of Prato, is the only one executed by Andrea's -hand, and is a beautiful and serious work in the master's late manner. -The interior of the church is in the form of a Latin cross, its roof -supported by columns of serpentine; at the left is the chapel of the -Sacra Cintola, surrounded by a fine bronze grille or screen, wrought by -Bruno di Ser Lapo at Lorenzo's order. It is a masterpiece of graceful -designs, circles, quatrefoils, wreaths, and acanthus leaves, among -which appear tiny figures of cherubs supporting the arms of Prato--a -shield powdered with the lilies of Anjou. Over the screen hang thirteen -silver lamps of antique form, kept ever alight before the altar, where -stands the charming Madonna by Giovanni Pisano and the sculptured ark -or chest containing the sacred girdle. On the walls is Angelo Gaddi's -painted story of the life and death of the Virgin and the gift of -her girdle to St. Thomas. The same subject, splendidly painted by -Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, hangs over the great west door. In the nave, -amid all this richness of colour, Mino da Fiesole's beautiful marble -pulpit shines out with its delicately sculptured reliefs, supported -on serpent-tailed sphinxes. Foremost, however, among the treasures of -the Duomo, are Fra Lippo Lippi's frescoes in the choir, considered -his most important work. Nothing, perhaps, puts one so fully in touch -with fifteenth-century men and art as the career of this vigorous and -prolific artist, a true son of the Renaissance, who, while he paints -sweet-faced Madonnas, dimpled children, and holy saints on monastery -walls, follows his own pleasures and trolls out his careless love -song: - - "Who am I? - Why, one, sir, who is lodging with a friend - Three streets off--he's a certain ... how d'ye call-- - Master--a ... Cosimo of the Medici, - In the house that caps the corner. * * * - - * * * * * - - "And I've been three weeks shut within my mew - A-painting for the great man, saints and saints - And saints again. * * * - - * * * * * - - "I painted a St. Laurence six months since - At Prato, splashed the fresco in fine style." - - -_Song_ - - "Flower o' the broom, - Take away love and our earth is a tomb!" - - * * * * * - -[Illustration: _Braun, Clement et Cie._ - - _Botticelli_ - -LUCREZIA TORNABUONI, WIFE OF LORENZO IL MAGNIFICO - -WEARING THE MARSYAS JEWEL OF THE MEDICI] - -Our allotted "four hours" for Prato have come to an end, leaving many -beautiful things unseen; the pleasant cloisters of San Francesco, the -perfect Renaissance church of Santa Maria delle Carceri, and many -others, must be left to that indefinite "next time." We hasten to the -train, stopping only a moment at the shrine on the corner of Via S. -Margherita, which contains Filippino Lippi's Madonna, where we murmur -our thanks for a happy visit and make solemn vows to come soon again. - -[Illustration: STEMMA, PRATO] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - - _A. della Robbia_ - -DETAIL OF FRIEZE - -S. MARIA DELLE CARCERI, PRATO] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[Footnote 1: E. Armstrong, M.A., _Lorenzo de' Medici_, p. 437. B. -Berenson, _The Study and Criticism of Italian Art_. Second series. "A -Word for Renaissance Churches."] - -[Footnote 2: The quarries of serpentine (verde di Prato) near Prato -have been worked from a very early period. Their present output is -valued at £1,000 per annum.--From _The British Diplomatic and Consular -Report_, No. 570, 1901.] - - - - -CHIANTI AND THE IMPRUNETA - - - - -[Illustration] - -CHIANTI AND THE IMPRUNETA - - -[Illustration] - -We made our first home in Florence with our good friend Signora -V---- and her daughter. Our rooms were on the second _piano_, which -meant three flights of uncompromising stone stairs, but once at the -top our windows overlooked the piazza on one side, a pretty garden -on the other, and gave us plenty of sunshine; moreover, we had a -loggia, a very different matter from a balcony or gallery both in name -and character, and from which we got charming views of the distant -hills. Within was every creature comfort--not luxury, perhaps, but -cleanliness, order, refinement, and an excellent table with two -servants, merry-faced Dina and kindly Annunziatina, to serve and pet -us, to identify our wants and interests as their most pleasurable -duty, and teach us to say that Tuscan cookery and Tuscan servants, at -their best, cannot be equaled the world over. The relation between -the Italian family and servants is in many cases almost ideal: there -is complete understanding and freedom of speech; the mistress talks -and consults with the maid, and she, in turn, depends on her mistress -as on a mother, and yet neither forgets her place or dignity. As for -food, where will one find such sweet, tender vegetables, such crisp -salads, and macaroni served in a dozen different ways, each better -than the other? For the first month every dish brought to the table -was a mystery and delightful surprise. How could one have lived half -a century and never known _fritto misto_, or the changes that may be -rung on rice or corn meal? What a far different object the _pomidoro_ -is in Tuscany from the tomato of commerce in Boston! Then, who ever -can measure the capacities of chestnuts? As for meats, if variety is -limited, certainly the methods of cooking are legion, and one never -seems cloyed with the Tuscan chicken; oil and cheese are delicious. -For tea Italians care nothing, and their coffee leaves much to be -desired; but who would drink either, or even the questionable water -of Val d'Arno, when pure wine may be had for the asking? Tuscan wine -certainly "needs no bush," but there are so many degrees, even of the -boasted Chianti, that only the wise may be sure of the best. At our -signora's we had the most delicious wine, both white and red, and, mark -you, without extra charge. "It is Chianti," she said, when we asked -its name. "But," we urged, "all the wine of Tuscany is Chianti, _non -è vero_?" "Quite the contrary," was her answer, "it is only produced -in a certain limited region on the hillsides of Chianti; we must take -you some day to our vineyard in the true Chianti hills, where this wine -was made." That happy day came in April, when the Tuscan spring was in -its fullest bloom. We took a steam tram at the Porta Romano, which, as -its name indicates, opens on the old Roman road to Siena, and at once -began our climb into the hill country. Three miles from the gate, where -the little rivers Ema and Greve join, we passed near the Certosa, more -like a fortress than a monastery, seated so imposingly on its lofty -hill; then our road led along the banks of the Greve till we reach -the village of the same name, which is the chief town of the Chianti -region. It was a beautiful ride, trending southeastward, and by many a -turn and loop, affording views of glens, valleys, and hills, grey stone -bridges, castles, villas, and churches. At Greve a carriage was waiting -for those who wished to ride; others preferred the steep, breezy walk -over the hills that separate Greve from Val di Pesa, from which we saw -Florence in her Val d'Arno, twenty miles away. All along the road were -ruins of ancient castles and piers of bridges, which once defined the -marches between Siena and Florence, held only by constant war-fare; but -now the crumbling towers keep watch and ward over peaceful olive groves -and unmolested vineyards. - -[Illustration: _L. C. Dexter_ - -PONTE FALCIANO, CHIANTI] - -[Illustration: _L. C. Dexter_ - -PONTE CAPELLO. ALONG THE RIVER GREVE, CHIANTI] - -[Illustration: _M. S. Nixon_ - -VITIGLIANO, CHIANTI] - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -OLD WATCH-TOWER, CHIANTI] - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -PANZANO FROM A DISTANCE, CHIANTI] - -[Illustration: _L. C. Dexter_ - -S. LEOLINO A FLACCIANO. PIEVE DI PANZANO, CHIANTI] - -Morning wears on toward midday before we get a distant view of Panzano, -a warm, grey tangle of towers and red roofs, looking calm and friendly -enough in the sunshine, with groves and vineyards at its feet, but once -doubtless given over to the dread clamour of war. A little farther on -is the parish church, Pieve di S. Leolino, with its pleasant loggia and -weather-beaten bell-tower. Within are two Della Robbias, a ciborium, -and a tabernacle from the atelier, and not far away is the country -villa, of Count Viviani della Robbia, the present representative of the -illustrious family of artists. - -[Illustration: _L. C. Dexter_ - -A VILLA IN PANZANO, CHIANTI] - -Thus we approach the _podere_, or farm, in the very midst of the -Chianti district, and can easily understand the charm it has for our -host, and the reason he so often puts aside his books and walks over -the hills from Florence to this charming spot, which has for over a -century belonged in his family. "It is admirable land for the grape," -we are told, "and the constituents of the soil most favourable for -producing the best wine in the world, if it were only properly enriched -and our methods of cultivation somewhat modernized; as it is, we must -send our wine in casks to the French, who turn it into Bordeaux, and -export it at very large prices." In spite of such obstacles, the fact -remains that Italy is the first wine-growing country in the world, but -ranks only third in wine exportation, although in the year 1902 she -exported wine in casks to the value of over seven million dollars. We -received a cordial welcome at our host's modest red villa, in and about -which was a stir of preparation--glimpses of cheery faces and savoury -odours escaping from the kitchen, all indicative of a _festa_. We were -urged to taste delicious home-made cordial, and to admire our host's -two treasures--the chair in which Garibaldi sat when he visited the -villa, and an interesting wine-jar, or amphora, of elegant shape, with -a decorated band and the Medici shield, bearing the seven _palle_, also -an inscription. We then walked about the _podere_, or farm, through -which runs the Roman road, and would have made advances to the noble -white Tuscan watch-dog had we not been warned of danger. We visited -the substantial grey stone house of the _contadino_, or farmer, hard -by the villa, where it has sheltered members of the same family for -generations; the grandmother, evidently mistress of the establishment, -a fine, dignified-looking woman, welcomed us courteously, and gratified -our curiosity by taking us over the house, which consisted of three -rooms; she displayed, with evident pride, the spacious bedroom, where, -probably, the whole family sleep; at all events, the bed alone would -accommodate half a dozen children put crossways, and there were piles -of blankets and linen, all spun and woven on the farm, furnishing -an inexhaustible provision for additional couches. In the kitchen -we saw the great kneading-trough for the _pane nero_ (brown bread), -and the domed brick oven where it is baked; and in the loggia, or -porch, stretched a long table with benches on either side, capable of -seating twenty-four persons, the present census of the household. The -house was clean and orderly, and suggested comfort and independence. -Connected with the house, at a lower level, are the stables, where the -handsome white oxen live, the ample hen-houses, and places for tools, -grain, hay, etc. While we were walking about the house and sheds a -peasant woman, distaff in hand and a basket on her arm, came down the -Roman road, and stopped to gaze with astonishment on the group of -_forestieri_, who, in their turn, gazed with interest into her good, -honest face, and begged to take a photograph. - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -THE OLD WINE JAR. CHIANTI] - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -A PEASANT OF THE CHIANTI] - -The method of letting and working farms in Tuscany is novel and -peculiarly interesting to Americans, and we urged Signor G---- to -enlighten our ignorance somewhat on the subject. It seems that his -estates, like the majority in Tuscany, are let on the _mezzadria_ or -_metayerage_ system--words indicating the halving, or equal division, -of products between the proprietor and his farmer.[3] The proprietor's -land in Tuscany is almost invariably divided into _poderi_ (_i.e._, -small farms of about forty acres), and each farm is tilled by a single -family, who must live on the land in a comfortable house (_casa -colonica_), furnished by the proprietor, who also provides farming -tools, cattle, etc. The system is of ancient date and has come to stand -as an habitual form of contract, and in Tuscany has become legalized -by almost universal usage. The contract between proprietor and -_metayer_, or farmer, holds only from year to year, but is regularly -renewed, and, in most cases, the same family remains on the farm for -generations. Attached to the soil they cultivate, their interest is -one with that of the proprietor, and they consider themselves as much -owners of the land as the proprietor himself. So old is the system -that language has been influenced by it; dating back to feudal times, -the word _contadino_ meant "count's man," etc. There are various -understood conditions attached to the contract. The _contadino_ must -annually replant a certain number of shrubs and trees, keep roads and -watercourses in order, and at Easter, Michaelmas, and Christmas supply -the landlord with a fixed number of fowls and eggs. In his own house -the _contadino_, with the title of _capoccia_ (head), represents the -family in all its dealings with the outer world: assigns tasks, decides -when the vintage or harvest shall begin, apportions personal expenses, -and must be consulted before his children marry; also no member of -the family may marry without the consent of the proprietor, and he -may even require any member of the family to marry. By the father's -side stands the _massaia_, the wife, who superintends all housework, -governs the women, assigns tasks of weaving, spinning, and mending, -presides over the poultry-yard, raising of the silk-worm, etc. The -_mezzadria_ system, if not "the perfect social contract between the -owner and tiller of the soil," as some claim, seems to be, in Tuscany -at least, the solution of many vexed questions; it holds that labour -is an absolute equivalent for capital. The _metayer_, or _contadino_, -works directly for his own interests, and is generally in comfortable -circumstances, has a good house, excellent food and necessary -implements; he is usually shrewd, knows the capabilities of his farm, -is an excellent judge of an ox, and can drive a sharp bargain; he is -generally sober, self-respecting, and industrious; is seldom at a loss -for money on account of the diversity of his crops; he always has -something to sell; his calendar is about as follows, viz.: December to -March, the olive harvest; June, the cocoons; July, the wheat harvest; -September, the corn; October, the vintage. The obverse side of this -picture is his hide-bound devotion to antiquated methods, and lack of -educated intelligence; he knows nothing of the rotation of crops, the -chemistry of plants and soil, or of modern implements and conveniences; -he cuts his grain with a sickle and threshes it on the earth; the spade -is his favourite tool, and an old Tuscan proverb runs, "The spade has a -golden edge." As some one writes, Virgil's Georgics might practically -be used in Tuscany as a "handbook of agriculture." Finally, the Tuscan -farmer is satisfied with modest results; his average income for the -year from his oil, wine, grain, vegetables, cattle, silk-worms, and -straw plaiting is, approximately, three hundred dollars. - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -THE STATELY CYPRESS] - -[Illustration: _M. S. Nixon_ - -A COUNTRY ROAD, CHIANTI] - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -PIAZZA OF THE IMPRUNETA] - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -A STREET IN IMPRUNETA] - -The call to luncheon was certainly most welcome after our morning on -the hills and lesson on agriculture; as for those superior persons -who proclaim that the Italian lives principally on macaroni dried -on the sidewalk, black bread, garlic, and sour wine, we only wish -they might have shared our feast that day in the Chianti. There was -_broda_ (soup), macaroni with _pomidoro_ sauce, home-grown chickens -and fresh salad, _pane nero_, sweet and warm from the oven, with the -"best butter," and a delicious, fresh goat's milk cheese, served on a -flat basket of plaited green rushes, to say nothing of coffee and wine -without stint--some of the Chianti made twenty years before; and now -we know how the true Chianti ought to taste. It was a day never to be -forgotten; and dreading its coming to an end, we said our reluctant -good-bys to the hospitable family at Villa Rosso, and pursued our road -homeward in a leisurely and roundabout way, stopping now to visit some -wayside church, or tempted by charming country roads leading through -vineyards and lines of cypresses to some hill-crowning villa in the -distance. Finally we climbed the long hill clad with olive orchards to -Impruneta, where, if not too much entranced with the superb view, we -may remember is the famous shrine of La Madonna dell' Impruneta, one -of the most important pilgrimage churches in Tuscany. The black image -of the Madonna is said to have given its name to the village, but it is -more probable that it is derived from the grove of stone pines crowning -the hill, and is a corruption of La Pineta.[4] The tradition is that -this Madonna was wrought by St. Luke the Evangelist, and, having been -stolen from the church, it was sought in vain until a peasant, plowing -in the field, saw his oxen fall suddenly on their knees and refuse to -get up; search being made, the sacred image was found, and is said -to have uttered a cry when struck by the spade. Whatever its origin, -the Madonna is reverenced by the people, and Savonarola, we read, had -faith in its miraculous power. On occasions of danger it is carried in -solemn procession, but always closely veiled, and worshipped as the -"Hidden Mother." After all, it is not so much for the black Madonna -that our pilgrimage is made to Impruneta, but for the Chapel of the -Madonna, which enshrines her, and the one opposite, called the Chapel -of the Holy Cross, both adorned by Luca della Robbia, the head of his -family and the great master of glazed terra-cotta; the Crucifixion in -a chapel near the altar is also by his hand. The _predella_ of the -Tabernacle of the Holy Cross is one of Luca's most beautiful creations, -representing four buoyant, serious angels, ivory-tinted, against a pale -blue background. Both chapels are roofed with charming designs, and -about the top, as a cornice, runs a frieze of fruits and pine cones, -peculiarly appropriate to the Church of La Pineta. In the centre of -each frieze is a Madonna "clasping the Child in her arms, white on -a blue background," and that which indubitably belongs to Luca "is one -of his most human and tender conceptions both of Mother and Child," the -memory of which fitly crowns and hallows our happy day in the Chianti. - -[Illustration: - - _Alinari_ _Luca della Robbia_ - -PREDELLA TO TABERNACLE, CHAPEL OF THE HOLY CROSS, IMPRUNETA] - -[Illustration] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[Footnote 3: References _Consular Report on Commerce and Manufacture in -Italy_, vol. xlv. _The Nation_, No. 1105. E. S. Morgan, _Time_, vol. -xiv.] - -[Footnote 4: See Cruttwell's _Luca and Andrea Della Robbia_, chapter -vii.] - - - - -CASTRUCCIO CASTRACANE LORD OF LUCCA - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -STEMMA IN THE COURTYARD, PALAZZO CENAMI, LUCCA] - - - - -[Illustration] - -CASTRUCCIO CASTRACANE LORD OF LUCCA - - -[Illustration] - -One lucky day, as we were sauntering about Pistoja, some one said: "Let -us go to Serravalle, and get more in touch with that stirring fellow, -Castruccio Castracane, who seems to have filled this region with war's -alarum, and left his name, if not more substantial marks, in every town -in this part of Tuscany." We remember that he bribed Filippo Tedici -with ten thousand golden florins, and so got possession of Pistoja and -the traitor's daughter, Dialta, as his wife, and that their wedding -festivities took place in the Piazza della Sala, where the Mercato is -to-day; also, that when Castruccio once got within the walls he ruled -the city well. - -Serravalle is a picturesque little town but three miles from Pistoja, -on the highway to Lucca--as pretty a walk as one could wish to take. It -is clustered on the top of a steep hill, and, if somewhat squalid in -these later days, its ancient loggia, church, and castle are fine in -colour and delightfully irregular and surprising in form. We climb up -to the twelfth-century church, which contains a valuable old painting, -then round the hill under an imposing loggia, and take our way up to -the _rocca_, or castle, which Castruccio built early in the fourteenth -century on a spur of the hill, an admirable place of defence, and -which answers to its name by closing the valley (_serra valle_). From -this vantage-point we have a good view of Pistoja on one side, on the -other lies the fertile valley of the Nievole, so often Castruccio's -battle-field. The grass is soft and green about the crumbling walls of -the old castle now, and clumps of silvery-leaved olive trees, swept -by Apennine breezes, brush gently against the old bastions and lofty -six-sided tower, which command an outlook over the entire valley. The -castle was evidently built out of ruins of earlier buildings, and -probably erected in some haste to stay the progress of a dangerous -enemy; but it must have been good, honest work to have lasted six -hundred years, and Castruccio must have had a genius for building -castles and fortresses, not only peculiarly adapted to his own needs -of defence, but in such a way as to hold their own down through the -centuries, and in their last ruinous state to challenge universal -admiration. At Sarzana the fortress he built and named Sarzanello is -very different from the one at Serravalle, but perhaps even finer, -and one can easily understand why Lorenzo, Il Magnifico, should wish -to possess it as a thing of beauty, even had it not been supremely -necessary to the northern defences of Florence on the Ligurian coast. -It is planted on the brow of a hill overlooking the sea, and is a -rather low, battlemented fortress of grey stone, its bastions, towers, -and ponderous arches all surrounded by a moat. - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -APSE END AND CAMPANILE CHURCH OF S. ANDREA, SERRAVALLE] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -RUIN OF THE ROCCA OF CASTRUCCIO, SERRAVALLE] - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -OLIVE TREES] - -From the heights of Serravalle, looking toward Lucca, we see -the mediæval bell-tower of Altopascio, and remember that one of -Castruccio's signal victories over the Florentines took place there -in 1323. The previous spring Castruccio had dashed into the lower Val -d'Arno, taken several towns, and menaced Florence herself. Clearly his -victorious career must be stopped; accordingly, Florence collected the -finest army she had ever put in the field, headed by the _carroccio_ -and _martinella_, and marched to Pistoja, hoping to tempt Castruccio -out of the city; but having spent some days insulting the garrison -by games and races under the walls, the Florentines moved on toward -Lucca. This was Castruccio's chance; rapidly following the great army, -he surprised it at Altopascio, routed it completely, and then led -the _carroccio_, with many noble prisoners, in triumphal procession -through the gates of Lucca. A year later "he occupied Signa, pillaged -Prato, laid siege to Montemurlo, and wasted the greater part of the -Florentine _contado_."[5] But it would be impossible to follow -Castruccio Castracane through all his adventurous course, and -it is time to inquire what manner of man he was. Ruskin calls him -"the greatest captain of his age," an estimate probably made with -nice distinction, for though he must be reckoned among the Italian -_condottieri_, one of the "six sorts of despots," according to Mr. -Symonds' classification,[6] "raging in Italy during the fourteenth and -fifteenth centuries," he certainly differs essentially from tyrants -like the Sforzi of Milan, the Scali of Verona, the Baglioni of Perugia, -and others like them, who, springing from peasant or bourgeois ranks, -became powerful enough to found kingdoms, maintain splendid courts, and -follow their natural tastes for arts and the new learning. The Baglioni -patronized Perugino; Il Moro had his Leonardo da Vinci; Petrarch had -his seat of honour at Galeazzo Visconti's table, and the Malatesti -dukes of Urbino displayed a passionate zeal for philosophy and art, -while "the spell of science was stronger over them than the charms of -love." Castruccio was unlike these tyrants, in that we hear nothing -of his taste for books, or music, or art; indeed, by his ruthless -devastation of the environs of Florence, incalculable treasures, -representing early Italian art, were irretrievably lost; and though we -know that Castruccio had sons and other kinsmen, there was no successor -to the great "soldier of fortune who had raised himself to be Duke -of Lucca, Lord of Pisa, Pistoja, Volterra, and much of the Genoese -Riviera."[7] Castruccio may, perhaps, be compared with that "captain -of adventure," Il Medeghino, son of a certain Bernardo de' Medici, -not connected with the Medicean family of Florence, who delighted in -war for its own sake, and by cunning and skill became master of the -region about Lake Como, where he played the rôle of Marquis of -Musso and Count of Lecco, setting up his court and coining money with -his own name and devices. It was when he reached this dizzy point of -success that he arrogantly assumed the arms of the Florentine family -and swept the lake at the head of a squadron led by his flagship, from -which floated a red banner with the golden _palle_ of the Medici. When -Il Medeghino died the Senate of Milan put on mourning, and in the -cathedral we may see his splendid tomb, the work of Leone Lioni.[8] The -services of Castruccio Castracane to the Ghibelline or Emperor's party -in Italy were not recognized by such high honours. He led the simple, -hardy life of a soldier, died in the harness at the beginning of a -fresh campaign, and was buried at Lucca in the Church of S. Francesco, -used now as a military magazine. - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -AN IRON LANTERN, PALAZZO BARONI, LUCCA] - -[Illustration: _Alinari A. Verrocchio_ - -MONUMENT OF GENERAL BARTOLOMMEO COLLEONI CAMPO DI S. GIOVANNI E. PAOLO. -VENICE] - -[Illustration: MOAT OF THE CASTLE SARZANELLO, SARZANA] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ _Donatello_ - -MONUMENT TO GENERAL GATTAMELATA, PADUA] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ _Paolo Uccello_ - -EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF JOHN HAWKWOOD - -CATHEDRAL, FLORENCE] - -In physical strength and agility, in foxlike cunning and ready -audacity, and in his sense of honour and justice, Castruccio resembles -Bartolommeo Colleoni, of Bergamo, who trained under the greatest -_condottiere_ of his age, distinguished himself in many engagements -for the Visconti, and was finally elected general-in-chief of all -the Venetian forces by the Republic of St. Mark, and received his -truncheon of office from the hand of the Doge before the high altar -of San Marco. At Bergamo we see his chapel, built by Amadeo, as a -"monument of the warrior's puissance even in the grave." There also -is the equestrian statue in gilded wood voted by the town of Bergamo, -and, far more noteworthy, the beautiful tomb of his favorite daughter, -Medea. But the great general's rightful monument is in Venice, where -the "finest bronze equestrian statue in Italy, if we except the -Marcus Aurelius of the Capital," was reared in his honour. The second -great equestrian statue in Italy, strange to say, is also that of a -_condottiere_--Erasmo da Narni, better known as Gattamelata, a noble -work of Donatello, erected in the Piazza del Santo at Padua. - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - - _Giorgione_ - -MADONNA AND CHILD, WITH TWO SAINTS - -PAROCHIAL CHURCH. CASTELFRANCO] - -[Illustration: _Hanfstaengl_ - - _Botticelli_ - -PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG FLORENTINE ROYAL GALLERY, BERLIN] - -It is impossible to compare Castruccio exactly with any other -free-lance of his time. There are _condottieri_ and _condottieri_; -the range is so wide and, defining lines so elastic that in the day -when individuality was more marked than in any other period of the -world's history, it is not strange to find in the same class such -widely differing characters as Francesco Sforza, called the "great -Condottiere," the brave and skillful but humane Carmagnuola, or the -youthful Matteo Costanzo, who, in full armour and bearing the standard -of the cross, figures as San Liberale in Giorgione's celebrated -Castelfranco Madonna and Child. Matteo died young, but had been trained -as _condottiere_ by his father, who gave Giorgione's Madonna to the -Church, as a votive offering in memory of his lamented son. There was -no bronze statue raised in Castruccio's honour, and no portrait of -him is mentioned, though it is said he appears in Benozzo Gozzoli's -Procession of the Magi in the Riccardi Palace, and in Orcagna's Triumph -of Death in the Campo Santo of Pisa. Of his personal appearance, -therefore, we are wholly ignorant, except for the tradition that he -had red hair. Nor are we much more certain of his youth and training. -Machiavelli's romantic account relates that he was a foundling, picked -up in her vineyard by the kindly Dianora Castracane, of Lucca, who -carried the infant home, and, calling her brother, a canon of San -Michele, with whom she shared her house, tried to determine the child's -future. After much discussion it was decided to give him the name of -Castracane and educate him for the Church; but, though quick to learn, -Castruccio had no taste or desire for the cloister; his one thought was -for athletic sports, adventure, and the noble art of war. Playing with -his fellows in the Piazza of San Michele, he attracted the attention of -a nobleman of Lucca, who, when Castruccio was eighteen, adopted him, -trained him to arms, and, upon his death, confided to him the care of -his estates and direction of his only son. His masters in war were the -most notable military leaders of the time, and "Machiavelli goes to the -length of saying that, as a general, he was not inferior to Philip of -Macedon, or Scipio."[9] - -The more sober historians hold that Castruccio was a member of the -Interminelli family, who had been exiled in his youth, and gained -much military experience in England when serving under Edward I. All -accounts agree that he was a remarkable man, and one critic writes of -him thus: "Not only as a soldier but as a statesman he was undoubtedly -the foremost man in Italy, and it is not improbable that, had he lived, -he would have subjugated the whole peninsula." - -[Illustration: STEMMA OF SERRAVALLE] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[Footnote 5: Francis A. Hyett, B.A., _Florence_, p. 104.] - -[Footnote 6: J. A. Symonds, _Age of Despots_, p. 87.] - -[Footnote 7: Francis A. Hyett, B.A., _Florence_, p. 106.] - -[Footnote 8: See Symonds' Essay in _Sketches and Studies_, vol. i., p. -173.] - -[Footnote 9: Francis A. Hyett, B.A., _Florence_, p. 99.] - - - - -PISTOJA - -THE "CITY OF CINO" - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - - _Della Robbia_ - -MEDICI STEMMA - -OSPEDALE DEL CEPPO, PISTOJA] - - - - -[Illustration] - -PISTOJA, THE "CITY OF CINO" - - -[Illustration] - -A spring day comes suddenly in Val d'Arno when the air is a thought -too warm and over-rich with languorous fragrance from myriad blossoms. -Then thirst grows imperious for the uplands, for Tuscan hillsides clad -with chestnut-trees overshadowing uncut grass, through which sweeps -an eager breeze caught from the snow-capped Apennines. On such a day -we recall Pistoja, once seen on our way southward from Bologna, and -ever since haunting our minds like a sweet vision. We had crossed the -watershed which defines the boundary between Emilia and Tuscany, -and were following, by many a curve and loop, the Reno's tortuous -course, when suddenly we sighted, perched loftily upon the spur of -the Apennines, a city's gleaming dome and towers; another turn, and -she was lost; again, from some hill-spanning gallery, or viaduct, we -snatched another entrancing glance, and so, by coy circlings down the -pass, we drew nearer and nearer until the train paused for a moment -without the gates of Pistoja, then carried us on to Florence, twenty -miles away. But we had treasured always in our mind the vision of -that city, with gleaming dome and towers, that keeps her watch at the -northern gate of Tuscany. Short as is the distance between Florence -and Pistoja, there is a marked change in the atmosphere, which acts -as a healthy tonic on the _dolce far niente_ of a Florentine spring. -We enter Pistoja through the Porta Carratica, or Fiorentino, still -emblazoned with the Medici shield, and find ourselves shortly in the -very centre of a pleasant, busy city, its clean, wind-swept streets -broad and well paved, the principal ones following the lines of the -first two mediæval walls, for Pistoja, like Florence, has had three -circles, the last of which, built in the fourteenth century, remains -almost intact. Along this wall are pleasant walks and a boulevard -called the Viale dell'Arcadia, planted with shade-trees and commanding -extensive views. If now your conscience stirs actively to "do" Pistoja -thoroughly, there's a stiff day's work before you. The list of churches -alone is formidable, not counting those which have been diverted from -original purposes. Nearly every church contains something worth seeing: -paintings and sculptures, three celebrated pulpits at least, tombs, -fonts, and Della Robbia reliefs; moreover, there are the libraries -and the famous hospital, or Ospedale del Ceppo--altogether an outlook -beyond words discouraging. It is better to stand about the Piazza del -Duomo, or Cathedral Square, perhaps the most representative one in -Tuscany, the centre for a thousand years of the social, civil, and -religious interests of the town. Here are the cathedral and Bishop's -palace, the Palazzo Pretorio, or Podestà, and the Palazzo Pubblico, -or, in other words, the Court House and City Hall, representing the -ancient warring powers of Church and State. Here they are on their -old battle-field, temporal power jealous of spiritual aggressions. -Even the weather-beaten Torre del Podestà is not wholly committed as a -campanile, but stands off a little from the cathedral, remembering that -it was once the city's watch-tower, its tocsin sounding alarm to Guelf -and Ghibelline, blacks and whites, and all invaders. The bishop was no -insignificant power when the Commune was struggling for independence. -He had his many feudal castles, armed retainers, and vassals; his court -dealt sternly with culprits, and his dungeons, under the palace yonder, -were more feared than those of the Podestà. Not that the City Fathers -were not proud of their powerful bishop and their noble cathedral, -dedicated to St. Zeno, and containing the silver altar of San Jacopo, -patron saint of the city, which drew crowds of pilgrims every year to -worship at the famous shrine. Not a few popes journeyed from Rome to -visit the bishop, and noble visitors of every land, from the Emperor -of the East to Bonaparte, had filled the square with their trains and -followers. But the commune of Pistoja, like many another, had a bitter -struggle to keep her footing, though she began well and very early; -her first municipal statutes, and good ones they were, too, being -framed in 1117, immediately after the death of "the great Countess" -Matilda. It was battle royal for many centuries; but now Church and -Commune live peacefully side by side, forgetful of the stormy past, -except when they turn over their priceless archives, preserved in the -chapter of the cathedral and the Palazzo Pubblico, where one may read -a thousand interesting and thrilling things concerning the history of -Pistoja, of the men who built churches and palaces, and called the -great artists of the Renaissance to come and fill them with paintings -and sculptures, wood-carving, and metal-work. And the city grew so -proud and magnificent that we read of sumptuary laws promulgated to -restrain extravagance of nobles and burghers in the matters of dress, -jewelry, food, and pomp at funerals. The law of 1439 forbade trimmings -of gold and silver brocade, long trains to ladies' dresses, the quality -of sleeve-linings, etc. Unluckily, many of the archives belonging to -the cathedral were destroyed in the fires of 1108 and 1202; hence the -endless discussions as to the city's origin and name. "Etruscan," says -one. "Far from it," says another; "I have found a Roman house, mosaic, -and coins a dozen feet under the pavement of the square, which must -have been the centre of the earliest city." As for its name, some -derive it from two Etruscan words, _pist_ (door) and _oros_ (mountain), -referring to the position of the city at the entrance of a mountain -pass; others get the name from _pistores_ (bakers), the early city -having been celebrated for its excellent ovens. - -[Illustration: THE LITTLE BROWN BEARS AND THE SHIELD OF PISTOJA] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -PIAZZA DEL DUOMO, PISTOJA] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - - _Verrocchio_ - -STEMMA OF PISTOJA - -PALAZZO PUBBLICO. PISTOJA] - -[Illustration: Alinari - -BRONZE CANDELABRA (15TH CENTURY)] - -The Pistoja of to-day is a prosperous and attractive city with good -buildings, fine markets, and many industries; she has been noted from -time immemorial for her skilled work in iron, bronze, and wood, and her -ancient metal-work has been found in Germany and Athens. In her bronze -foundries to-day she not only casts bells and small articles, but many -statues and groups created by Italian artists are cast in Pistoja. The -manufacture of carriages and fine organs is of great importance. The -district has four paper-mills, and of the eleven brass foundries in -the province five are situated at Pistoja, and many skilled workmen -are employed in wood-carving, artistic ironwork, etc. Her trade is -mainly in wine, oil, grain, _paste alimentare_, and cattle. The milk -and butter of Pistoja are considered the best in Tuscany. To appreciate -the varied productions and interests of the district of Pistoja you -must wander about the Piazza del Duomo on market-day when it is -filled with booths offering woolen, linen, and cotton stuffs, bright -kerchiefs, shawls, shoes, and "notions," displayed in picturesque -confusion and colour; a score of red, yellow, and green umbrellas in -one corner, or a line of _contadini_ overcoats of a warm brownish-red -colour, trimmed with tawny fur and lined with green, delight the eye -and are much in demand. Or walk through the Mercato, old as Pistoja -herself, where the ancient well indicates the very centre of the first -city. Here is certainly every object man can want, and the square -blooms daily with all kinds of fresh vegetables and flowers: there -are grains and food of every sort; in the season there are piles of -yellow cocoons on the pavement; bright-faced old women are roasting -chestnuts gathered on the mountain side; pretty baskets of fragrant -wild strawberries are proffered by some handsome young girl, and the -stall of some descendant of the old race of _pistores_ is hung with -rings of sweet, fresh _pane nero_ (brown bread), while various kinds -of cheese and the "best butter" await your choice. The markets for fish -and meat are in different parts of the city. - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -HEAD OF THE TRAITOR, FILIPPO TEDICI - -PALAZZO PUBBLICO. PISTOJA] - -By this time the exhilarating, almost heady, mountain air has created -a ravenous appetite, and we clamour, above all else, for a taste of -the Mercato's tempting products served in appetizing dishes known -only to the true Italian chef. Our wishes may be easily gratified at -the Albergo Globo e Londra, in Piazza Cino, where cooking is good and -native wine excellent. If this luncheon could have been served in -a pleasant garden, the only proper banquet-hall for Italy, nothing -further could be desired; but it is only fair to warn the traveller -who means to sleep in Pistoja that the chambers of the Globo are by no -means tidy or attractive. - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -THE CAMPANILE FROM VIA RIPA DEL SALE, PISTOJA] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -THE LOGGIA, OSPEDALE DEL CEPPO, PISTOJA] - -Now for a stroll through the quaint old streets with curious and -suggestive names, and a peep into quiet courtyards of palaces deserted -by their noble owners, and given over to modest householders and humble -artisans. At the corner of Via Abbi Pazienza and the Via de' Rossi is -the great palace of the Rossi family, blazoned with many shields of -varied quarterings, and from the corner hangs one of the gruesome black -heads of the traitor Filippo Tedici, like that on the façade of the -Palazzo Pubblico. Many of the oldest streets of Pistoja lead from -the Piazza del Duomo, and their names suggest the life of an earlier -day: Via Orafi (jewelers) was once devoted to goldsmiths' shops and -studios; the Via Stracceria (rags) was so called because clothing -of all sizes, colours, and condition was hung to dry from windows -and other "coigns of vantage;" and the Via Can Bianco was named in -honour of a faithful white dog, whose barking warned his master of the -approach of an enemy. Near the east end of the cathedral we may leave -the square by the Via Ripa del Sale, a narrow street over-arched by a -gallery connecting the Palazzo Pubblico with the duomo, convenient for -the worshipful magistrates when they desired to hear mass. This street -leads us, with often a backward glance at the campanile, to the Via -Filippo Pacini, a broader thoroughfare following the line of the first -city wall, and in two minutes we stand in the little irregular square -of the Ospedale del Ceppo and before the famous Della Robbia frieze, -an experience which, to one of us at least, seems almost a miracle. So -many years Pistoja had been merely a dream city, a name--a curious, -unreal name--standing only for this little piazza, this loggia, and the -brilliant band of varied colour crossing its façade. Those imperfect -guide-books of our youth had merely mentioned as important, this -glazed terra-cotta frieze, wrought, it seemed to us, through some -magic by the members of one family only, the secret of which vanished -from the world forever upon the death, in 1529, of the last true Della -Robbia, the author of this frieze. Tradition added that the formula for -compounding the Della Robbia glaze was supposed to be hidden behind -one of the panels, one of which was afterward found broken, the robber -leaving no trace of the precious parchment. The panel, "Giving Drink -to the Thirsty," was repaired, but not like the others. We can see for -ourselves that it is only painted stucco and of later date. This was a -story to stir youthful imagination to the highest pitch: a mystery, a -secret, a theft--the very stuff that dreams are made of. Italy is full -of traditions; even the origin of this self-same hospital is a pretty -story, as told by a worthy canon of the cathedral, and who would wish -to question it? "The Church of Santa Maria del Ceppo (meaning a dry -root) was built near the little stream Brana about 1277, by the pious -Theodore and his wife Bandinella, who dedicated it to the Assumption, -and placed therein an alms-box for the benefit of the sick and poor. -This chest increased little by little, until it became the present -hospital. The _chiesetta_ (little church) was incorporated in the -large building." Time and the schools have taught us the meretricious -value of traditions, but even stripped of all glamour the Della -Robbia frieze is unique as an architectural feature, and peculiarly -appropriate to the building it adorns. It consists of seven panels, -representing the temporal works of mercy as performed by the good -brothers of the hospital; between them are figures representing the -Virtues: Faith, Hope, Charity, Prudence, and Justice; below appear -medallions of the arms of the city, of the hospital (the sprouting -root), and the Medici shield; also the Annunciation, Visitation, and -Assumption. Of all the panels, the "Sheltering of the Pilgrims," and -the "Healing of the Sick," are considered the finest; the figures of -the brothers in both have evidently been studied from life, especially -that of the physician. More beautiful, however, than any part of -the frieze is Benedetto Buglioni's "Coronation of the Virgin," a -lunette over the chapel door of excellent workmanship, and in simple -colours, white on blue, with crowns of pale yellow. In its modelling -and glaze, its seriousness and grace, it almost rivals Luca della -Robbia's masterpiece in Pistoja, "The Visitation," in the Church of St. -John the Evangelist. If there is a moment to spare we may well slip -round the corner for a peep at the Church and Convent of Santa Maria -delle Grazie, where a calm-faced sister--one of the good Bandinella's -descendants, wearing the pretty wimpled cap of white muslin, designed, -it is said, by some tasteful lady of the Medici family--will show us -their perfect little Renaissance church and its great treasure, the -Lorenzo di Credi Madonna, and also insist gently upon a visit to the -Miraculous Bed where once the Madonna reposed. They will further offer -to exhibit their store of fine vestments and robes, well worth looking -at; but if once we begin looking at churches and vestments there will -be no getting back to Florence for a week. But at least we must take -leave of our hosts, those stately shades of forceful men belonging to -Renaissance Pistoja, who worked and wrought in these streets, whose -prowess and policy, wit and learning, are so vivid in men's minds -to-day. Pistoja entered with characteristic zest into the spirit of the -Renaissance in all its varied aspects; she espoused the new learning, -her libraries were filled with Greek and Latin manuscripts; she was -famed for her able jurists and historians, her singers and poets were -welcome at the proudest courts of Italy. We read that Antonio da -Pistoja was invited by Lodovico il Moro to Milan, "in hope of refining -and polishing the rude Lombard diction," and that the charming and -learned Isabella d'Este, Marchesa of Mantua, wrote to her envoy: -"Find out Messer Tebaldeo (of Pistoja), and beg him to send twenty or -twenty-five sonnets, as well as two or three _capitoli_, which would -give us the greatest possible pleasure." - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - - _Della Robbia School_ - -COAT OF ARMS OF THE HOSPITAL, PISTOJA] - -No more typical family can be found, perhaps, than the Forteguerri of -Siena and Pistoja, which was noted for its brave and learned sons and -daughters, and beloved and honoured for devotion to their country, -for their benevolence, learning, and poetic genius. As early as 1179 -we find a Forteguerra as consul of Pistoja; in the fifteenth century -Cardinal Forteguerra was not only conspicuous in the Church, but -a constant friend and benefactor to his native city, founding and -endowing a college and library. His grateful city erected a monument to -his memory in the Piazza del Duomo, and called Verrocchio to design and -carve a fitting tomb in the cathedral; but the work was not concluded -by the master's hand, nor in accordance with his clay model, which we -see to-day in the South Kensington Museum; and looking at the tomb, -evidently the work of many diverse hands, one can but wish that the -good Cardinal might have at Pistoja at least a replica of the one, by -Mino da Fiesole, in the Church of St. Cecilia, Rome. Besides Cardinal -Niccolò, there was more than one bishop, many jurists and historians -in the Forteguerri family, and no less than six poets. The fifteenth -Forteguerra, of the Pistoja branch, was another Niccolò (1674-1735), -a well-known and cultured church-man at the court of Pope Clement -XI, and author of a long, satirical poem, "The Ricciardetto," besides -verses called "_capitoli_," and various translations from the Latin. -This Niccolò was evidently conversant with Roman society, and a close -observer of men and politics; he shows himself, also, at the age of -fifty, a good lover, not only singing his lady's praise in verse, but -sending her frequent vivacious and friendly letters, half in jest, -but often dangerously near earnest affection; and the name of some -Arcadian maiden of his muse, some Daphne or Phyllis, thinly conceals -the identity of the noble young Roman lady, Marianna Cenci Bolognetti. -It appears that the women of the family Forteguerri were also brave -and talented; at least, we have a record of one of the Siena branch, -when in 1554 the city was besieged by the Spaniards and almost spent -with famine; when the best men of Siena were losing courage, "women -of gentle birth, leaders of society, worked at the defences, side -by side with artisans and common soldiers. All the Sienese ladies -divided themselves into three companies; the first was led by Signorina -Forteguerra, who wore a violet uniform, as did those who followed her; -... these three squadrons were composed of 3,000 ladies of the upper -and middle classes. They bore pikes and spades, panniers and hurdles; -as they went to their work on the fortifications, these brave women -sang a song composed by one of that numerous choir of poetesses who -sang the swan song of their own country." This Signorina Forteguerra is -the one whom the English diarist, Hoby, mentions. "Most of the women -of Siena," he says, "are well learned and write excellentlie well in -prose and verse: among whom Laodomia Forteguerra and Virginia Salvi did -excell for good wittes." - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - - _Giovanni della Robbia (?)_ - -HEALING OF THE SICK - -(DETAIL OF FRIEZE), OSPEDALE DEL CEPPO, PISTOJA] - -Pistoja is called the "City of Cino" because of her famous lawyer-poet, -Guittoncino (always called by the fond diminutive "Cino"), of the -noble house of Sinibuldi, which had given Pistoja one bishop and many -gonfaloniers. Though belonging to the thirteenth century, his noble -character, his ability as a jurist, the pure and graceful style of his -"Comments on the Codices," his faultless letters and verse--above all, -his friendships and love story--have kept his memory fresh. He enjoys -even to-day a certain fame in Italy, and all the world is supposed to -know his charming sonnets, addressed to his friends, among whom were -Dante and Petrarch, and to the lady Selvaggia dei Vergiolesi. His -monument in the cathedral, erected by the Commune, is by Cellino di -Nese, and is the first of the "monuments of the professors," a class of -work characteristic of the coming period; it shows Cino lecturing on -law to his pupils, among whom are Baldus, commentator on Civil Law, -and the "idle Petrarch;" there appears also a draped female figure, -which may personify poetry, or Roman Law, or, as some will have it, the -fair lady of Cino's devotion, Selvaggia dei Vergiolesi; unsentimental -critics, however, are inclined to think that the figure is that of -the Madonna, and was once a part of a relief of the Annunciation. -Selvaggia's family was Ghibelline, and, banished from Pistoja in 1305, -retired to their strong castle, where the beautiful Selvaggia died at -the age of twenty, after which Cino became a wanderer in foreign lands: -he crossed the Alps and took up his abode in Paris, where he pursued -his studies for some time. Cino's letters to Selvaggia and to his -other friends, in which he sang his love and suffering, are exquisite -in their purity and elegance of diction, and place him among the great -makers of the Italian language. To Dante he wrote an ode condoling with -him upon the death of Beatrice in tender and musical lines. He died in -his native city of Pistoja at the age of sixty-six, upon which Petrarch -composed his celebrated lament, beginning: - - "Weep, women, and may love weep with you; - Weep, lovers of all countries, - - * * * * * - - For our ever gentle Master, Cino, - Is now gone far from us." - - * * * * * - -[Illustration: VIA ABBI PAZIENZA] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - - _Benedetto Buglioni_ - -CORONATION OF THE VIRGIN - -OSPEDALE DEL CEPPO, PISTOJA] - -[Illustration] - -[Illustration: - - _Alinari_ _Mino da Fiesole_ - -MONUMENT OF CARDINAL NICCOLÒ FORTEGUERRA - -CHURCH OF S. CECILIA, ROME] - - - - -A SUNDAY AMONG THE HILLS OF BRANCOLI - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - - _Fra Bartolommeo_ - -THE VIRGIN AND CHILD ENTHRONED, AND SAINTS - -CATHEDRAL, LUCCA] - - - - -[Illustration] - -A SUNDAY AMONG THE HILLS OF BRANCOLI - - "O day most calm, most bright." - - --HERBERT. - - -[Illustration] - -On St. Patrick's Day in the morning we left Florence, had a full day's -sight-seeing in Pistoja, Groppoli, and Serravalle, and pushed on to -Lucca the same evening, arriving about seven o'clock. - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -THE OLD CITY WALL AND MOAT, LUCCA] - -Acting on sound British advices, we drove at once to the Albergo -dell'Universo, a comfortable little inn occupying the first floor of -the old Palazzo Arnolfo, where we had our belated dinner, took our -ease before a cheerful open fire, and congratulated ourselves that at -last we were in Lucca--a hope long deferred. - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - - _Jacopo della Quercia_ - -TOMB OF ILARIA DEL CARRETTO, CATHEDRAL, LUCCA] - -The morrow is crisp and brilliant; and, forgetful of our guide-book's -express advice, to crown and finish our Lucca visit with a walk on the -ramparts, we turn our backs on churches and priceless works of art -and hasten at once to the old city walls. How faithfully those mediæval -bricklayers did their work! Their walls, well preserved, still surround -the town, no longer bristling with engines of war, but planted thick -with shade-trees--elms, acacias, and limes--affording one of the most -beautiful promenades in Italy. Lifted well above the city streets, they -command extensive views on every side: here the broad, fertile plain, -stretching to the Arno; yonder, at the north, the chain of rugged -Apuans, two sharp peaks of which are now capped with glistening snow; -southward rise the heights of Monte Pisani, noted in Roman days, and -since, for its hot-springs. From thence comes the pure drinking-water -for Lucca, conveyed by an aqueduct built by the Duchess Marie Louise, -for which her grateful people erected a monument in her honour. As -it crosses the sunlit plain on its four hundred and fifty-nine grey -stone arches, we are reminded of the Roman Campagna, and remember that -Lucca, in the day of her greatest splendour, was a favorite summer -residence for the Romans, and that many traces still exist of their -occupation, particularly the massive arcades of an amphitheatre in the -present market-place. Standing on the old ramparts, on a rare spring -morning, ten chances to one you forget all the sights awaiting you -down there, in the "city of the Magnificent People and Commune of -Lucca"--its palaces, towers, and picture-galleries, its chapels and -churches, of which there are no less than seventy "to satisfy the wants -of 22,000 souls." The fame of San Frediano's seventh century church, -with its magnificent tower, its sculptured font and Madonna, has -reached us over sea. For years we have yearned to look on Jacopo della -Quercia's marble of that fair lady, Ilaria del Carretto, resting in -the transept of St. Martin's cathedral. We know there are paintings -by Fra Bartolommeo, palaces and libraries; but the fresh mountain air -has driven all these things from our desire; we only long for those -mountains delectable, those chestnut-crowned hills and distant grey -towers. We begin to ask why we should study the churches of Lucca, and -who is Matteo Civitali that he should keep us within the city walls? -We consult time-tables and guide-books; there's a tram, they tell us, -leading out of Porta Santa Maria in ten minutes, and if we catch it -we may ride six miles, and then ... perhaps a carriage may be found, -though it is early in the season. "But," importunes the handsome driver -of the cab waiting to take us to the tram, and who in some way has -divined our wants, "the _tramvia_ will not take the signore to the -hills, and surely there is no carriage at Ponte Moriano so early in the -year. _Ecco_, this _buon cavallo_ and your devoted Pepino, who will -take you all the way so comfortably!" Off comes the shabby hat with -inimitable native grace, and the bold, brown eyes are convincingly -eloquent. You can no more resist Pepino's reasoning than that rush of -mountain air on the ramparts. All preconceived plans are fast taking -flight; but Prudence keeps her head and demands with thrifty caution, -"How much, inclusive, there and back?" Then Pepino: "Oh, a mere -bagatelle, my _illustrissime_ signore, only twelve lire." Prudence, -scouting this declaration with lofty scorn inspired by a profound -knowledge of tariffs and coach-men from Paris to Palermo, exclaims: -"Preposterous! Ten francs it shall be, and not a centesimo more." "Ah, -signorina, the roads are very steep and it will take my whole morning," -returns Pepino, beseechingly; but in vain he seeks for a sign of -relenting. His struggle is brief, and, with a deprecating flourish of -his small, shapely hands, he mounts the box, and the air with which he -says, "as you will have it, signorina," is that of a gracious conqueror -dictating terms to the vanquished; he cherishes no resentment, he has -no interest but ours. We never for a moment regret the tram. Pepino -knows every villa and grey tower, every path through the hills, every -bridge over the _torrenti_; he never intrudes his knowledge, and, above -all, he is kind to his horse. - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -ON THE RAMPARTS, LUCCA] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -S. FREDIANO, LUCCA - -EAST END, WITH THE CAMPANILE (11TH AND 13TH CENTURY)] - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -SAN FREDIANO FROM THE GUINIGI TOWER, LUCCA] - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -A "GREY TOWER"] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -PONTE A MORIANO, WITH A VIEW OF THE SERCHIO RIVER] - -"Yonder cross on the round, bare hill," he says, "is Brancoli," and -Brancoli is the hill of our desire. Our good road at first runs over -the plain following the east bank of the Serchio, principal river of -the province; it rises in a northernly valley among the Apuans and fed -by many a mountain stream or _torrente_, maintains a southeasterly -course almost to Lucca, which it avoids by a broad loop westward, and -then makes its way to the Mediterranean almost parallel with the Arno. -We pass clusters of farm-houses, well-cultivated fields and vineyards, -until in less than an hour we reach Ponte Moriano, which is little more -than a busy street of shops and dwellings, but has a good stone church -founded by San Frediano in five hundred and something. Its rather -tall, square tower, of good proportions and crenellated battlements, -is characteristic of all the church towers in this region. Here is -the terminus of the _tramvia_, and Pepino was right, there is no -appearance of a carriage; but his Italian for "I told you so," was kept -under his breath with true Lucchese courtesy. - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -AN OLD STONE BRIDGE] - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -BRIDGE OVER THE SERCHIO RIVER] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -PARISH CHURCH OF S. MARIA E S. GIORGIO (11TH CENTURY) - -BRANCOLI] - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -SAN LORENZO, BRANCOLI] - -A mile farther on is the little hamlet of San Giusto, situated at a -point where the Lima joins the Serchio. Here we leave the main road, -turn sharply to the right, and follow the windings of the little river, -which is crossed by the picturesque stone bridge of Vinchiana. An -old mill, half hidden by white birches, turns its moss-covered wheel -close under the steep river banks, overhung with a tangle of vines -and flowery shrubs. The road becoming rather steep, we now leave the -carriage and proceed on foot. What an entrancing walk it is! Always -ascending, we follow the turnings of the stream, now far below, and -glancing like a silver thread along the valley. We round the grey -shoulders of jutting cliffs, where clumps of white heather are in full -bloom and the "maidenly birches" are touched with the first tender -green; the air is intoxicating in its freshness, and the sky never -so blue. "_Ecco!_" calls Pepino. "_Ecco!_ San Ilario!" How has the -fellow guessed that we ought to study churches rather than maunder -about posies! The little church of cut stone, flanked by its good -tower, stands hard by the roadside, convenient and inviting to tired -feet and aching hearts, as many a pilgrim in the old days knew full -well. Its doors stand open wide, admitting floods of sunshine and -spring fragrance. We enter unbidden, to find the little temple quiet -and empty, all its pictures and sacred emblems covered, and all as -clean and fresh as if waiting in reverent silence the miracle of Easter -morning. We proudly boast the stern old Puritan blood running cool and -inviolate in our veins, but there's a silent appeal in these modest -temples and shrines of the elder faith that "must give us pause," and -silence the voice of criticism. Taking the road again, we still ascend -from one fold of the hill to another, whence we overlook the Serchio -pursuing its lazy course far below, the views becoming more and more -beautiful, until in half an hour we come upon the little stone church -of San Lorenzo, close by the road. Small as it is, San Lorenzo is as -complete in all its attributes, and as true to its architecture, as a -full-fledged duomo, even to the little apse. The sturdy tower, square -and shapely, small, round-arched windows and sides of warm, grey stone, -the red-tiled roof, flecked with patches of green moss, make a charming -picture, found in no country but Italy. This time the church is closed, -but there are keys hanging in the north door, perhaps entering the -sacristy, and we make bold to peep. It is a clean and cold room, -entirely separated from the church proper, and evidently serving at -present for a store-room, as a slender stock of various commodities -and a few bottles of wine attest. Meantime Pepino has made our wants -known at the near farm-house, and is returning, accompanied by a -handsome young girl with the keys to the proper church door, which she -opens, saluting us with respectful dignity, and, without questioning, -draws the curtain from the Della Robbia over the altar; for well she -knows that the _forestieri_ only come to see our "beautiful white San -Lorenzo." The statue is small and perfect, like everything about this -woodland _chiesetta_. The head is exquisitely modelled, all in white, -with the finish and the ivory-tinted glaze which belongs to Andrea -Della Robbia's best work, though the wise in such matters ascribe it to -one of his pupils. - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -THE INTERIOR (11TH CENTURY), PARISH CHURCH OF S. MARIA - -E S. GIORGIO, BRANCOLI] - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -HOLY-WATER STOUP, PARISH CHURCH OF S. MARIA E S. GIORGIO - -BRANCOLI] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -HEXAGONAL BAPTISMAL FONT (13TH CENTURY), S. MARIA E S. GIORGIO - -BRANCOLI] - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -DETAIL OF PULPIT, PARISH CHURCH OF S. MARIA - -E S. GIORGIO, BRANCOLI] - -Saying our _buon giorno_, and pressing a small fee into the reluctant -hand of the handsome _contadina_, we now turn from the carriage road -and begin a short but rather difficult climb up the steep hillside by -a roughly paved path, which leads us through chestnut woods to the -crest of the hill and the parish church of Santa Maria e San Giorgio, -belonging to the eighth century. We have seen it all the way from the -plain, perched on a commanding height, surrounded by its sombre guard -of stately cypresses. The tower is especially fine in its proportions -and built quite apart from the church, though only a foot or so from -its walls. Unusually tall, it has four orders of arched windows, and -is crowned with bifurcated, or "swallow-tail," battlements, indicative -of Ghibelline influence. The exterior of the church, built of squared -blocks of travertine, has a plain façade, broken only by shallow -pilasters and a round-headed doorway, with a bit of rude carving on -the cornice, perhaps representing the vine. The south side has two rows -of irregular windows, with remains of ornament, and an arched doorway, -over which is a singularly grotesque figure. Both doors are wide open, -the noonday sun lighting up vaulted aisles and the ancient timber roof -of the nave. We enter without let or hindrance and possess the church -for a good hour, uninterrupted even by a footstep on the road hard -by. The interior, which gives an impression of space and dignity, is -divided into nave and aisles by columns and piers with interesting -sculptured capitals. The choir is raised by four steps well above the -nave, the high altar, still higher, fills the apse, and over all is -a good timber roof, richly coloured by time. Near the west end in the -south aisle is a quaint and seemingly very ancient holy-water stoup, -carved with rude but expressive figures of men and animals attacked by -serpents. On the crown surmounting the principal head is inscribed -"_Raitus me fecit_," but having no date. Many of the capitals of the -pillars bear sculptures of rude symbolic figures, indicating early -Lombardic work. The fine hexagonal baptismal font is attributed to -the thirteenth century, but the carved heads and vine suggest an -earlier date. The same period is accorded to the very beautiful marble -pulpit standing at the entrance to the choir. It is square in shape, -supported by four columns, two of which rest on the backs of grotesque -Lombard lions struggling with savage beasts, symbolic of Divine power -overcoming evil; the capitals are boldly sculptured in foliage and -animal forms. On the front is a serious crowned figure holding the -Book, above it the eagle serving as lectern. On the corner toward -the altar a sculptured figure bends to support another reading-desk. -Altogether this pulpit may be reckoned among the most interesting ones -of Tuscany. - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -DETAIL OF PULPIT, PARISH CHURCH OF BRANCOLI] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -PULPIT (13TH CENTURY), S. MARIA E S. GIORGIO, BRANCOLI] - -Finally, added to its many attractions, the church contains a fine -and unusual piece of Della Robbia terra-cotta, the work of Andrea -and his son Giovanni. Miss Cruttwell writes: "This romantic scene--I -had almost said painting, 'St. George Slaying the Dragon'--is one of -the best pictorial works." It is probably the only instance of an -attempt by Andrea to represent a horse, and it is undeniably stiff and -indifferently modelled. The princess in the background also is rather -heavy, but the grace and action of the youthful rider and the beauty -and radiance of his expression are remarkable. The frame, probably the -work of Giovanni, consists of garlands upheld by winged cherubs, with -graceful candelabra and medallions characteristic of the artist. - -We left the church of Santa Maria e San Giorgio with regret, but with a -sense of complete satisfaction with our day among the hills and temples -of Brancoli. - - "Sundaies the pillars are - On which heav'ns palace arched lies, - The other days fill up the spare - And hollow room with vanities." - - --HERBERT. - -[Illustration: COATS OF ARMS OF LUCCA] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - - _Andrea and Giov. della Robbia_ - -ST. GEORGE AND THE DRAGON, S. MARIA E S. GIORGIO BRANCOLI] - - - - -BARGA AND THE VALLEY OF GARFAGNANA - - - - -[Illustration] - -BARGA AND THE VALLEY OF GARFAGNANA - - -[Illustration] - -Brancoli's Hill commands a view of the Serchio River and its extensive -valley, called the Garfagnana, which lies between the Apennines, -defining the northern boundary of Tuscany, and the Alpi Apuane range, -which follows the direction of the coast, and contains several lofty -peaks, the highest rising over six thousand feet. - -The principal town and capital of the Garfagnana region is Barga, -situated thirteen hundred feet above the sea, and containing, we had -learned, an interesting church and several pieces of the Della Robbia -terra-cotta. As the crow flies it is but a trifling distance over the -valley to Barga, but we were obliged to return the way we came and take -the main road at San Giusto; a small matter, for in twenty minutes we -had dropped down into the valley, passed again the pretty bridge of -Vinchiana, also crossed the one over the Serchio, and were speeding -along the river bank near the railroad which runs to Bagni di Lucca. - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -THE BRIDGE AT VINCHIANA] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -BORGO A MOZZANO, PONTE DELLA MADDALENA OVER THE SERCHIO, CALLED "THE -DEVIL'S BRIDGE"] - -At Borgo a Mozzano we see the old bridge, Ponte della Maddalena, -oftener called the Devil's Bridge, because traditionally it was built -(1328) in one night by Castruccio Castracane, the "greatest war captain -of his time." It is a singular structure, very high and narrow, not -allowing a carriage of present date to cross, and supported on heavy -piers and five arches of irregular height, one of which carries -the bridge up, like a camel's hump, rendering it most curious and -picturesque. At Ponte a Serraglio is a distant view of Bagni di Lucca, -lying in the valley of the Lima. - -[Illustration: BAGNI DI LUCCA--PANORAMA] - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -PARISH CHURCH, LOPPIA] - -By this time we have crossed the river, and taken a narrower but -equally good highway, though belonging to the second class of -carriage roads, every turn of which brings to view new wooded valleys -and hilltops crowned with grey villages. In the distance, which is -greater than it seems in the clear, luminous atmosphere, we see -Ghivizziano's lofty towers, with her train of ruddy roofs and grey -walls sharply outlined against the sky. At Fornaci we part company with -the Serchio again, strike northward through one of the interesting -mountain valleys, and pass close to the ancient parish church of -Loppia, weather-beaten and neglected, but none the less a striking -landmark and noble monument of mediæval power. Loppia was the capital -of the Garfagnana until 1390, when, having been desolated by war and -its inhabitants reduced to fifty, its jurisdiction and the title of -its parish church were given to Barga, and even its one good picture -transferred to the new capital. - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -THE CATHEDRAL OF BARGA] - -The whole district is well watered by many mountain streams, affluents -of the Serchio, furnishing excellent water-power for various mills -scattered along their banks. The soil is generally productive, the -uplands covered with chestnut-trees and affording fair pasturage for -sheep, which are a source of considerable revenue. On the lower levels -we find the olive, maize (or _granturco_), a principal article of food, -and flax, also the mulberry-tree and silk-worm culture. The region is -fairly rich in minerals, stone and marble quarries, manganese, mercury, -etc. Here, also, is found the fine red jasper, veined or flecked with -white, which has been so effectively used in the Medici Chapel in -Florence. We are now quite close upon the walls of Barga, but the long -drive in the eager, exhilarating mountain air makes us quite willing to -take Pepino's advice and stop for lunch at the Posta, an unpretending -wayside inn, beautifully situated, with plain, comfortable rooms -commanding fine views, and where, as a recommendation, we were told a -Chicago gentleman had once spent seven weeks for his health. In the -words of another visitor, we read that "the soup is excellent, and so -is the wine;" also, there is trout when the streams are full. We found -everything as had been promised, and did ample justice to the excellent -food served by a pretty, smiling _contadina_, daughter of the house, -who was full of chat and little airs, her young head evidently quite -turned by her knowledge of the wandering _forestieri_. - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -MAIN DOOR OF THE CATHEDRAL, BARGA] - -Hunger appeased and our modest account settled, we walk to the -nearest city gate, passing an ample bowling alley, bordered with -fine plane-trees. At the upper end is a raised, grassy platform of -considerable breadth, in the centre of which stands a fine cedar of -Lebanon. The platform is reached by two flights of steps cut into the -sod, and tradition has it that here Charlemagne stood and delivered -his laws and instructions to the conquered people gathered below. The -well-paved street winds and turns up the hill until it terminates -in the little plateau, or Piazza del Duomo. The city retains its -ancient walls and three old gates, and is still further defended -by two deep natural ravines, which render it altogether a striking -and typical mediæval town. We enter the gate just in time to see -a religious procession, consisting apparently of all the people in -town, most of the men in capes of green and white, led by three -important ecclesiastics in really splendid vestments; two copes were -of ivory-white damasked silk, evidently old, adorned with gold; the -third, of a peachy-purple tint, enriched also with designs in gold. We -join the procession, and wind slowly up the steep path, noting several -palaces of old-time importance, and one or two schools or institutions. -We see, also, erect and pretty young girls bearing copper pails of -water on their heads, lightly mounting the precipitous side streets, -and remember then that this mountain region is noted for the beauty of -its women. Arriving at the Piazza del Duomo, the procession enters the -Church of SS. Christopher and James, to say the prayers appropriate -to St. Joseph's day, while we enjoy the wide and beautiful prospect -over the Garfagnana valley, held at the north by the hill-town of -Fivizzano, surrounded by Castruccio's walls, its church door bearing -the Medici shield. On the left, Alpi Apuane, overlooking the charming -gulf of Spezia, Carrara, and Sarzana, where Castruccio Castracane -built his famous castle, and the only road to which now, as then, is -by the castled town of Fosdinovo. To the right are the loftiest peaks -of the Apennines: Rondinaio, Monte Prado, Abetone, and the rest, -owing "much of their grandeur to the precipitous slopes and fantastic -profiles of the calcareous rocks which enter into their composition." -The lofty and well-defended position of Barga, near the boundaries of -Lucca and Florence, gave it a certain military importance in the early -struggles for despotism. At present it is a busy centre of a large -district, quiet and orderly, its people marked by spirit, buoyancy of -temperament and good looks. To the outside world it is best known for -its church, several good Della Robbias, and its fine and beautiful -situation. The Church of SS. Christopher and James--is it a temple -or a citadel?--built of squared blocks of travertine, unusual and -irregular in shape, its watch-tower, or campanile, springing from -the main wall and guarding all the country round about, possesses no -dominant style of architecture, and wears such an appearance as ten -centuries of weather and vicissitudes may well give a church. The grand -old tower is fitting, as a human creation may ever hope to be, the -prospect it overlooks. Its massive sides are pierced by three orders -of double-arched windows, supported by columns and piers, and each -order defined by a string course, or corbel-table, of shallow arches, -which takes, perhaps, something from the height of the tower, but -emphasizes the solidity of its structure. Unlike most towers in this -region, it carries no battlements, but is finished by a low, plain -roof. The façade of the church is strikingly plain, broken only by a -single cornice, string course, and short pilasters. The main door alone -retains a hint of former grandeur in its foliated arch and sculptured -architrave, once guarded by two Lombardic lions, one of which has -fallen from its high estate. The front and side walls are pierced -irregularly with small windows of varied shape and size. - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -INTERIOR OF THE CATHEDRAL OF BARGA] - -The interior is plain, resembling an ancient basilica in form, and -divided into nave and aisles by piers supporting broad, semi-circular -arches, and over all a good, open-timbered roof. The tribune, or -choir, is raised above the nave by three steps, and separated from it -by a low marble screen or _parapetto_. An ancient-looking holy-water -stoup, carved with rude heads and designs, stands by a pillar on the -north side of the nave, but the great treasures of the church are -its choir-screen and pulpit. The screen consists of panels of pale -red marble delicately veined, set in frames, or borders, of white -Carrara, inlaid with black _smalto_, or enamel, in various designs and -symbolic geometrical figures. That part of the screen near the pulpit -is further enriched by a row of small, well-modelled heads, some of -which, evidently portraits, are encircled by crowns. The pulpit must -certainly be reckoned among the best ones in Tuscany; its author is -unknown, but it probably belongs to the thirteenth century, about the -time of the Pisani, possibly earlier. The richness of detail, dignity -and expression of the rather stiff figures, suggest the work of Guido -da Como. - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -PULPIT (13th CENTURY) - -IN THE CATHEDRAL OF BARGA] - -The pulpit is rectangular, and supported on four marble columns, two of -which rest on the backs of lions, overcoming symbolic forms of evil. -Another rests on the shoulders of a man, perhaps the artist, and all -the capitals are elaborately sculptured in varying designs, one bearing -the forms of eagles and animals' heads. - -On the panels of the pulpit are the sculptured scenes of the -Annunciation, the Nativity, and Adoration of the Magi, treated in -the usual manner. On the central plinth of the front appears a -crowned figure holding the Book of Good Tidings, and supported by the -appropriate symbolic animals; above this figure the eagle upholds a -lectern. The figures are carved in strong relief, and though the feet -and hands are stiff, the faces are serious and fairly modelled, and -the drapery well disposed. Heavy as the work is, we are conscious that -the artist, a man of the long ago past, was himself impressed by his -subject, and put into his realistic interpretation of it a profound -religious mysticism. The whole work is enriched by inlaying of black -marble, or _smalto_, with the white. Crowns, the lions' manes, and -coils of the writhing serpent are picked out with black, an early form -of decoration. - -In the choir aisle is a beautiful tabernacle for the sacred oil, of -glazed terra-cotta, chiefly white on blue, the work of the Della Robbia -school or atelier. Though small, the work is composed of three perfect -parts. On the arched top is a charming group of infantile figures, -the Christ child standing upright on the Holy Chalice, one tiny hand -uplifted in blessing, the other holding the crown of thorns; on either -side is an adoring cherub, exquisitely modelled. Below this is the -cupboard, or ciborium, for the oil, guarded by two graceful angel -forms, and on each side an acolyte bearing a candelabrum. The whole -work rests on a table, or ledge, supported by two cornucopiæ of various -fruits in natural colors, and between them appears the head of a cherub -enfolded in double wings. - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - -ADORATION OF THE MAGI (13TH CENTURY) - -PULPIT IN THE CATHEDRAL OF BARGA] - -Well might this fortress-temple detain us longer, but there is scant -time to have a look at the other Della Robbias down in the heart of the -town, to which we are conducted by a courteous and handsome little man -of twelve, through the narrowest and steepest of byways, which threaten -at times to plunge us into doorways or ditches, until we reach the -Church of the Capuchins. This contains a Nativity, two good statues -of St. Andrew and St. Anthony, an Annunciation, St. Francis receiving -the Stigmata, and, finest of all, an Assumption of the Virgin, by -Giovanni Della Robbia. The reverent figures of four saints gaze upward -to Our Lady, seated within a mandorla of cherubs' heads and surrounded -by angels with musical instruments; the four trumpeters at the top are -most beautiful. In the predella are other flying angels with scrolls; -a wreath of exquisite heads surround the ciborium, and two kneeling -saints fill the corners. The whole work is framed with clusters of -various fruits in their natural colours. - -Reluctantly we turn from rock-throned Barga, "Half church of God, -half castle 'gainst the Scot," and as we slip down into the valley -through purpling shadows shot with crimson and gold we marvel at -these people, who with one hand took their part fiercely in the cruel -wars of despotism and with the other adorned churches and shrines -with Della Robbia reliefs, representing a form of art so pure and -cool and tranquil and, above all, infused with the deepest religious -feeling. Then we suddenly remember that hereabouts is the region of -the Pistojese Apennines, the favoured home of the highest Tuscan -imagination, poetry and song, where the people--peasants, shepherds, -and mountaineers--are not only hardy, handsome, and industrious as a -class, but noted for gentleness and courtesy, love of home, and the -native elegance of their common speech. It is said that "the dialect -that most faithfully represents the pure Tuscan of Boccaccio's day is -that of peasants of the Pistojese Apennines. It is here, round about -San Marcello and Cutigliano, that the purest Tuscan is spoken--pure -in its language, pure in its accent; and it is here that Manzoni and -d'Azelio came--comparative foreigners both of them, the one a Lombard, -the other a Piedmontese--to acquire the pure language for those -romances which have delighted all Italy and all the world."[10] - -It is in the Pistojese mountains that we hear those "charming folk -songs, in which traditions of true gentleness and elevated feeling are -so well exhibited, and account for the high romantic qualities of the -impassioned verse."[11] - -Shepherds often improvise songs, called _rispetti_ and _stornelli_, as -they tend their flocks alone on the hills, and if their cadence chance -to catch the popular ear they are sown on a hundred hills and meadows -far and wide. Tigri records by name a little girl called Cherubina -who made _rispetti_ by the dozen as she watched her sheep, and -the poetry of Beatrice di Pian degli Ontani was famous through the -mountains of Pistoja.[12] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - - _Della Robbia School_ - -TABERNACLE FOR SACRED OIL - -CATHEDRAL, BARGA] - -Miss Alexander, in her "Road Songs of Tuscany," has given an -appreciative and loving tribute to this pastoral singer, whom she -calls "one of the most wonderful women" she ever saw. The daughter of -a stone-mason who worked during the winter in the Maremma, Beatrice -became his companion and helper, carrying on her head stones for the -walls and bridges he was building. She had no education, never learning -the alphabet even, but possessed a remarkable memory, and could recite -long poems that she had heard. - - -_YOU ASK ME FOR A SONG_ - - "You ask me for a song, then be content, - With little grace, in all I sing or say; - And judge me kindly, for I never went - To school, and masters never came our way. - The only school where ever I did go - Was on the mountain, in the hail and snow. - And this, alas! was all they made me learn-- - To go for wood, and dig when I return." - -It was not till the day of her marriage that Beatrice discovered her -new power "to sing poetry born in her mind," and from that day she -never lost her remarkable power of improvisation, and the list of her -ballads is very long and varied in theme. She had a strong religious -nature, and addressed many of her songs to the Madonna. In her old age, -it is said, she knew in poetic form nearly all the New Testament and -much of the Old. - - -_GIVE ME LIGHT, LADY_ - - "Come to the window, lady, give me light! - A little light, that I may find my way - For darkness deep is on my path to-night, - Among the stones I fall or go astray. - I cross a troubled river, lady mine; - Deep is the water, and no light doth shine. - And darkness found me where the waves were high; - My feet have failed, so deep the waters lie! - So far was I from shore when darkness came! - And no one answers when I call thy name." - -Her eldest son inherited her poetic gift, and often when working in -the fields mother and son would carry on a conversation in improvised -verse, Beatrice singing one _ottava_, Beppo answering with another. -Miss Alexander says that as a girl Beatrice was very handsome, with an -inspired face, charming smile, and sympathetic voice. She had great -physical strength and indomitable courage. She generally wore her -_contadina_ dress of scarlet bodice, blue kerchief, garnet necklace, -and gold earrings. On grand occasions she put on a white embroidered -veil, kerchief, and apron belonging to her wedding finery. -Beatrice lived over a hundred years, "much loved and honoured by her -neighbours and all who knew her," and many pleasant anecdotes are -told of her experiences and talent. A Boston lady told us that once, -when Madame Goldschmidt (better known as Jenny Lind, or the "Swedish -Nightingale,") was visiting friends in the Apennines, a meeting was -arranged between the two singers, both elderly women at the time. First -Beatrice, in her peasant dress, sang to the great prima-donna of the -North, improvising words and music suitable to the occasion. In return -Madame Goldschmidt, much gratified, sang one of the songs which has so -often moved her great audiences to rapturous applause.[13] - -[Illustration: _Alinari_ - - _Giovanni della Robbia_ - -ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN - -CHURCH OF THE CAPUCHINS, BARGA] - -[Illustration: _M. M. Newell_ - -"VIOLET-EYED TUSCAN OXEN"] - - -_THE DOVE_ - - "O dove with wings of silver, when you fly, - The feathers shine and glisten in my view. - And oh, how sweet your song is! Would that I - Could learn it.... Teach me, dove, to sing like you. - Your pleasant notes, and your sweet rhymes of love; - The sun goes down and lights the stars above. - Your pleasant notes, and your sweet rhymes of love; - The sun goes down and lights the snows above." - -[Illustration: DETAIL OF TRAPPINGS ON THE HORSE OF LORENZO DE' MEDICI] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[Footnote 10: M. Carmichael, _In Tuscany_, p. 102.] - -[Footnote 11: J. A. Symonds, "Popular Songs in Tuscany," _Sketches and -Studies_, vol. ii.] - -[Footnote 12: John Ruskin, ed., _Alexander's Road Songs of Tuscany_ -(1884).] - -[Footnote 13: Alessandro Chiappelli, _Una Pastora Poetessa, Beatrice di -Pian degli Ontani_ (Florence, 1902).] - - - - -INDEX - - - - -INDEX - - - PAGE - - Abetone, 213 - - Afternoon tea, 4 - - Alexander, Miss, 225, 226 - - Altopascio, 106 - - Amadeo, sculptor, 114 - - Amphitheatre, Roman, Lucca, 167 - - Armstrong, E. (note), 59 - - Antonio da Pistoja, 144 - - Apuans, 167, 174, 199, 210 - - Arno, The, 5, 8, 40, 45, 167, 174 - - Arnolfo di Cambio, 17 - - Avèrard. _See_ Medici. - - Azelio, d', 222 - - - Badia a Settimo, 3 - - Baglioni, 110 - - Bagni di Lucca, 200, 203 - - Barga, 199-230 - - Bartolommeo, Fra, 171 - - Beatrice di Pian degli Ontani, 225, 226, 229, 230 - - Benedetto Buglione, 143 - - Benozzo, Gozzoli, 50, 52, 117 - - Berenson, B. (note), 59 - - Bergamo, 113, 114 - - Bessarion, 51 - - Bianca Cappello, 39 - - Bianchi e Neri, 56 - - Bivigliano, 36 - - Boccaccio, 222 - - Bonaparte, 128 - - Bona of Savoy, 36 - - Borgo San Lorenzo, 20 - - Borgo a Mozzano, 200 - - Brancoli, 163-194, 199 - - Brunelleschi, 55 - - Bruno di Ser Lapo, 64 - - - Calash, 19, 25, 35 - - Cancellieri, 56 - - Careggi, 55 - - Carmagnuola, Francesco, 114 - - Carmichael, M. (note), 222 - - Carrara, 40, 210 - - Carroccio, 106 - - Carza, 9 - - Casentino, 8 - - Castelfranco Madonna, 117 - - Castracane, Castruccio, Lord of Lucca, 49,101-118, 203, 210 - - Castracane, Dianora, 117 - - Cellino di Nese, 151 - - Certosa, 79 - - Chapel of the Holy Cross, 92, 95 - - Chapel of the Madonna, 92, 95 - - Charlemagne, 17, 209 - - Cherubina, 222 - - Chianti, 73-95 - - Chiappelli, Alessandro, 230 - - Choir-Screen, Barga, 14 - - Churches: - of the Capuchins, 218, 221 - of the Madonna Dell' Impruneta, 90, 95 - Pieve S. Leolino, 80 - S. S. Christopher and James, Barga, 210, 213, 214 - San Francesco, Lucca, 113 - San Francesco, Prato, 59, 67 - San Frediano, Luca, 168 - San Ilario, Brancoli, 181 - San Lorenzo, Brancoli, 182 - San Marco, Venice, 114 - Santa Maria delle Carceri, Prato, 59, 67 - Santa Maria e San Giorgio, Brancoli, 185, 194 - St. Martin, Lucca, 171 - - Cimabue, 24 - - Cino. _See_ Sinibuldi. - - Coats of Arms, 17, 21 - - Colleoni, Bartolommeo, 113 - - Colleoni, Medea, 114 - - Consular Reports (notes), 63, 84 - - Credi, Lorenzo di, 144 - - Cruttwell, Maud (note), 91, 193 - - Cutigliano, 222 - - - Dante, 151, 155 - - Della Robbia 10, 17, 21, 36, 80, 127, 143, 185, 200, 213, 218, 221 - - Della Robbia, Andrea, 63, 185, 193 - - Della Robbia, Giovanni, 140-143,193, 194, 221 - - Della Robbia, Luca 92, 95 - - Della Robbia, Luca, The Visitation, 143 - - Della Robbia, Count Viviano, 81 - - Demidoff, Prince, 39 - - Diligence, Florentine, 5 - - Donatello, 49, 63, 114 - - - Erasmo da Narni. _See_ Gattamelata. - - Este, Isabella d', 144 - - - Faenza Railway, 6, 9, 20 - - Fiesole, 3, 7, 8, 39 - - Fivizzano, 210 - - Folk songs, 222 - - Font, Brancoli, 193 - - Fornaci, 207 - - Forteguerra, Laodomia, 148, 151 - - Forteguerra, Niccolò, Cardinal, 147 - - Forteguerra, Niccolò, Poet, 147, 148 - - Fosdinovo, 210 - - Fra Bartolommeo, 171 - - - Gaddi, Angelo, 64 - - Garfagnana, Valley of the, 199, 207, 210 - - Garibaldi, 82 - - Gattamelata, 114 - - Ghirlandaio, R., 64 - - Ghivizziano, 207 - - Gian Galeazzo, Duke of Milan, 35-36 - - Giorgione, 117 - - Giotto, 24, 25, 27 - - Giuliano Giamberti. _See_ San Gallo. - - Goldschmidt, Madame, or Jenny Lind, 229, 230 - - Greve, 79, 80 - - Groppoli, 163 - - Guido da Como, 217 - - - Herbert, George, 163, 194 - - Holy-water Stoup, Barga, 214 - - Holy-water Stoup, Brancoli, 190, 193, 214 - - Hotels: - Giardino, Prato, 46 - Globo e Londra, Pistoja, 136 - Posta, Barga, 208, 209 - l'Universo, Lucca, 163 - - Hyett, F. A., 106 (note), 110, 118 - - - Ilaria del Carretto (Tomb), 171 - - Impruneta, 90-95 - - Interminelli, The, 118 - - - Jacopo della Quercia, 171 - - John of Bologna, 39 - - Joseph, Patriarch, 51 - - - Leone Lioni, 113 - - Lima River, 177, 203 - - Lippi, Filipino, 67 - - Lippi, Fra Lippo, 49, 64-67 - - Lord of Lucca. _See_ Castruccio. - - Lorenzo di Credi, 144 - - Loppia, 207 - - Lucca, 3, 101, 106, 113, 117, 163-172, 213 - - - Machiavelli, 117, 118 - - Majano, 3, 4 - - Malatesta, Duke of Urbino, 110 - - Manzoni, 222 - - Marchese of Mantua. _See_ Este. - - Marcus Aurelius, 114 - - Marie Louise, Duchess, 167 - - Martinella, 106 - - Matilda, the "Great Countess,", 128 - - Matteo Civitali, 172 - - Matteo Costanzo, 114 - - Medici Shield, 17, 18, 82, 124, 143, 210 - - Medici, Avérard, 17, 18 - - Medici, Bernardo de', 110 - - Medici, Cosimo, Pater Patræ, 18, 55 - - Medici, Duke Francesco de', 39 - - Medici, Lorenzo de', 51, 52, 55, 56, 59, 64, 105 - - Medeghino, Il, 110, 113 - - Mercato, Pistoja, 101, 135, 136 - - Metayerage System, or Mezzadria, 84-88 - - Michelozzo, 55, 63 - - Mino da Fiesole, 49, 64, 147 - - Montemurlo, 106 - - Monte Abetone, 213 - - Monte Giove, 8 - - Monte Ferrato, 63 - - Monte Morello, 8, 9 - - Monte Pisani, 167 - - Monte Prado, 213 - - Monte Rondinaio, 213 - - Monte Senario, 36 - - Morgan, E. S., 84 - - Mugello, 3-40 - - Mugnone, 5, 7, 8, 39 - - - Nation, The (note), 84 - - Nievole, 102 - - - Orcagna, "Triumph of Death,", 117 - - Ospedale del Ceppo, 127, 139, 141-142, 145 - - - Padua, 114 - - Padua, Arena Chapel, 27 - - Palazzo Pubblico, Scarperia, 14, 17 - - Palazzo del Podestà, Borgo San Lorenzo, 21 - - Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, 14 - - Palæologos, Emperor John, 51 - - Panzano, 80 - - Perugino, 110 - - Petraia, Royal Villa, 55 - - Petrarch, 110, 151, 152, 155 - - Piero a Sieve, 9, 10, 35 - - Pisani, The, 49, 217 - - Pisano, Giovanni, 60, 63, 64 - - Pistojese Apennines, 221, 222 - - Pistoja, "City of Cino", 101, 102, 106, 123-155, 163 - - Podere (farm), 81 - - Poggio a Caiano, 55-56 - - Ponte d'Elsa, 24 - - Ponte della Maddalena, or Devil's Bridge, 200, 203 - - Ponte Moriano, 172, 174 - - Ponte a Serraglio, 203 - - Ponte Vinchiana, 177, 200 - - Prato, 45-67, 106 - - Pratolino, 36 - - Pratolino, Villa of, 39 - - Pulpit, Barga, 217 - - Pulpit, Brancoli, 189 - - - Republic of S. Mark, 113 - - Riccardi Palace, 36, 51, 117 - - Ricciardetto, 148 - - Rispetti, 222 - - Ruskin, J., 8, 10, 39, 109, 225, (note) - - - Sacra Cintola, 60, 63, 64 - - Salvi, Virginia, 151 - - San Gallo, 59 - - San Giusto, 177, 200 - - San Jacopo, 128 - - San Marcello, 222 - - San Martino, 10 - - San Miniato, 3 - - San Zeno, 128 - - Sarzana, 105, 210 - - Sarzanella, 105 - - Savonarola, 55, 92 - - Scala family, 110 - - Scarperia, 10, 14, 17, 19, 20, 27, 35 - - Scissors, Manufacture of, 14 - - Serchio River, 174, 177, 182, 199, 200, 207 - - Serravalle, 101, 105, 106, 163 - - Sforzi, The, 110 - - Sforza, Francesco, 114 - - Sforza, Lodovico, Il Moro, 110, 144 - - Sieve River, 5, 8, 19, 20 - - Signa, 106 - - Sinibuldi, Guittoncino dei (Cino), 151-152, 155 - - Spezia, 210 - - Stemmi. _See_ Coats of Arms. - - Stornelli, 222 - - Sumptuary Laws, 131 - - Symonds, J. A., 109, 113 (note), 222 (note) - - - Tabernacle, Barga, 218 - - Tebaldeo, Pistoja, 144 - - Tedici, Dialta, 101 - - Tedici, Filippo, 101, 136 - - Tigri, 222 - - "Time," Review, 84 - - Torraccia Romanelli, 22 - - Torre del Podestà, 128 - - Tuscan Cookery, 74, 75, 76, 77, 88, 135, 136, 209 - - Tuscan Harvests, 87 - - Tuscan Road Songs, 225 - - Tuscan Servants, 74, 75, 77 - - Tuscan Speech, 222 - - Tuscan Wine, 77, 78, 79, 82, 88, 135, 136, 209 - - - Ubaldini, 14 - - - Vaglia, 8, 36 - - Val d'Arno, 6, 8, 31, 36, 39, 77, 80, 106, 153 - - Vinci, Leonardo da, 110 - - Vergiolesi, Selvaggia dei, 151, 152, 155 - - Verrocchio, 147 - - Vespignano, 25 - - Villa Capriani-Cateni, 25 - - Villa Tolomei, 32 - - Vinchiana Bridge. _See_ Ponte. - - Visconti, The, Dukes of Milan, 113 - - Visconti Galeazzo, 110 - - Visconti Gian Galeazzo, 35, 36 - - Visitation, 143 - _See_ Della Robbia, Luca. - - - Wine Jar, 82 - - * * * * * - - +------------------------------------------------------------------+ - | Transcriber notes: | - | | - | P. 56. Illustration is probably 'GARDEN BELONGING TO LORENZO'S | - | P. 115. Illustration--Madonna and Child, with two Saints, | - | "Alinar'" changed to "Alinari". | - | VILLA POGGIO A CAIANO', not changed. | - | P. 233. 'Cancelliere' changed to 'Cancellieri'. | - | P. 237. 'Galleazzo' changed to 'Galeazzo'. | - | Fixed various punctuation . | - | | - | Underscore sourrinding text implies italics, as in _See_ | - +------------------------------------------------------------------+ - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Medici Balls, by -Anna R. Sheldon and M. 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