summer day of 1468, were several whose life-work was bound up in
revising, editing and translating the great works of antiquity. The
first to arrive were the two young Medici, Lorenzo, afterwards surnamed
the Magnificent, and his brother Giuliano, who was afterwards stabbed in
the rising organised by the Pazzi. They were accompanied by Alemanno
Rinuccini, who is known for his translation of some of Plutarch’s
Lives; by Donato Acciajuoli, the author of a commentary on Aristotle; by
Donato’s brother Piero; by Marco Parenti, and by Antonio Canegiano,
“most learned men,” Landini calls them, “who had studied eloquence for
years and who had gained proficiency in philosophical discussion by
means of arduous study.” They were resting at the hermitage when Landini
describes himself as arriving. He brought his brother with him. Landini
is chiefly remembered among us for his commentary on Dante, but he also
wrote commentaries on Horace and Virgil. He taught Latin at the
newly-founded Academy of Florence, and in later days he became
Chancellor of the Republic.
The party had barely exchanged greetings when the news was brought that
two other friends had arrived at the monastery, where they were leaving
their horses to come up to the Eremo on foot, led by the prior Mariotto.
The order of Camaldoli had recently lost a shining light in its general,
Ambrogio Traversari, known as _il famoso Greco_, who not only read Greek
but spoke it with fluency. Mariotto was his pupil. The men he was
conducting were Leone Battista Alberti, and Marsilio Ficino--men as
different as possible in appearance and bearing, but who stand as
representative figures of the Italian Renaissance, each in a special
direction.
Whoever came into contact with Leone Battista felt that the gods had
bestowed on him the fulness of their gifts, for he set the mark of
originality on whatever he handled. His many-sidedness in after days was
only excelled by that of Lionardo da Vinci. As a mere youth, Leon
Battista wrote a comedy which passed for a rediscovered classic; and he
is the author of the first treatises on painting, sculpture and
architecture that can lay claim to a scientific basis. He worked as an
architect, and the front of Santa Maria Novella at Florence was his
design. He was a famous talker, a man of clever sayings, and eloquent in
praise of beauty wherever he found it--in art, in nature and in man.
From youth upwards he was renowned for his agility, and increasing years
dealt kindly with his good looks. At the time of his coming to Camaldoli
he was in the sixties.
Marsilio Ficino, whom he is here described as having met on his way from
Rome, was the greatest Hellenist of his age and the keenest intellect
among the older Florentine humanists. Small, frail and visionary, he
combined in himself the qualities that distinguish and endear the
typical scholar--patience, sagacity, preciseness, extreme modesty and a
high tone of mental elevation. His fame rests on his translation into
Latin of the works of Plato, and he was the colleague of Landini at the
Florentine Academy, where he taught Greek. In the large fresco of
Domenico Ghirlandajo in Santa Maria Novella at Florence, Marsilio Ficino
and Landini are both represented among the painter’s distinguished
contemporaries.
Such were the men who met together at the hermitage of Camaldoli,
upwards of four hundred years ago, rejoicing in the thought of spending
a few days together. On the first day they rested. On the next they
attended mass, and then they sallied forth into the forest, and there,
under a spreading beech, they sat down and Leone Battista opened the
discussion. Starting from the fact that the responsibilities of public
life were about to devolve on the two young Medici owing to the
ill-health of their father, he spoke of the duties of a citizen, and
passed on to compare the respective merits of a life of activity and of
a life of contemplation. This was a favourite subject of discussion at
the time, and Leone Battista ended by pronouncing in favour of
contemplation, a view which was in accordance with Plato’s ideality and
with the Christian exaltation of Mary above Martha. On the following day
the same subject was discussed in the same company, and on the days
after they spoke of the greatest good and of the true aim of human
existence. No doubt these _Conversations_ are largely of Landini’s
making, but they were much appreciated by his contemporaries, and
Marsilio Ficino is known to have admired them greatly. They were often
reprinted at that period; now they have fallen into oblivion, and only
the student now and again disturbs the dust which accumulates round them
on the bookshelf.
On leaving the hermitage we had intended ascending to the _Prato al
Soglio_, from where there is a splendid view, and from there crossing
the mountains by a path which led to Badia a Prataglia. But owing to the
snow that lay behind the Eremo this was impossible, and we found
ourselves instead on a grassy road skirting the mountain always at about
the same level. From one point of this road we looked down on the huge
monastery of Camaldoli; further along and the outlook was over
apparently limitless masses of pine forest; further again and the slopes
below us were clothed with beeches, their leafless branches just touched
by the first tinge of red. Finally we were out again on the bare
mountain, with the panorama of the Apennines about us, and Serravalle
with its tower hanging far below in the blue mist like a bird. The road
now became a rough path over uneven, mountainous ground, such as we had
crossed on the previous day, but we were at a higher elevation, and the
surroundings of sky and scenery were proportionately grander.
I have often thought that the sky of different mountainous regions is
different, just as the sea along different lines of the coast varies.
Whether we have seen the Mediterranean in sunny weather or in rough, we
carry away with us the impression of its restless readiness to run to
froth be it counter to a breeze or against a jutting headland. Similarly
the North Sea stays with us in its glassy reluctance to break, and the
Atlantic in the mighty inherent roll of its waves. As great a difference
in character belongs to the sky of different mountainous regions, though
it is less easily fixed in word and thought. To me heaviness and
sullenness seemed to characterise the sky of the Apennines; once it sank
into the mountains, there it stayed. The obvious reason was the poor
clothing of the soil and the want of running water; there were none of
those surface currents which carry down and dissolve the mists of thick
weather elsewhere. For once outside the forest region of Camaldoli,
there was a marked want of trees and a marked want of water. The
denudation of the soil is something terrible, and already in April many
streams were running dry.
The path we followed had many beautiful outlooks, but there was a good
deal of snow, and we had come far out of our way. We were glad at last
to catch sight of the white line of the driving road into Romagna
winding in and out among the mountains below, for the days in April are
short. In this case a shower of rain caused us to put on additional
speed; we were down in the road before dark, and soon afterwards
established in comfortable quarters at the Casa Rossi. This is no inn,
in the ordinary sense of the word--the family let the upper part of
their house in summer--but they took us in for a couple of nights and
made us welcome.
Badia a Prataglia lies at about an hour’s distance below the pass of the
driving road from the Casentino into Romagna. The place boasted of one
of the oldest abbacies in the Apennines, which dated its foundation
further back than St Romuald and Camaldoli. But in course of time the
abbacy of Prataglia lost its standing, while that of the monastery of
Camaldoli increased, with the result that the older abbey became a
dependency of the newer monastery. At present nothing remains of the old
settlement but the convent church. But Prataglia itself is a growing
place. Its numerous houses lie scattered in groups up and down the
valley, and there are several new villa residences belonging to families
who come up from Romagna and Tuscany to escape the heat of the summer. A
_pension_ situated some distance above the place on the hills is fast
becoming a favourite summer resort.
The Rossi at whose house we stayed are the originators and the owners of
a home industry which has considerably raised the standard of comfort
throughout the district. The firm exports simple wooden furniture, the
different parts of which are cut and carved to certain patterns in the
various homes and fitted together on the premises. That evening being
Saturday, men were coming to the house bringing their week’s work, in
exchange for which they carried away payment in money or payment in kind
from the store kept by the Rossi. We were shown examples of the articles
manufactured--chairs, stools, cradles and such like, all of the simplest
shape. Among other things, we were shown a spinning-wheel, but we were
told that the attempt to introduce it has failed. The Italian women
prefer spinning from the distaff, and it seems obvious that they will
continue to do so till the use of machines supersedes hand-labour.
Rain, wind, hail, a thunderstorm and a snowstorm, we experienced them
all in the one day which we spent exploring the heights of the
neighbouring pass. But with a good road within reach and food awaiting
one under cover, battling with the elements for a time adds to one’s
enjoyment. Then the reflection came that the snow prevented progress
along the mountain paths, and we determined to return into the valley.
We left Prataglia white in its wintry garb, and in the short space of an
afternoon we passed from the nipping blasts of winter into the bright
geniality of spring. Below Serravalle the falling snowflakes changed
into driving mists. As the mountains receded, the valley of the Arno lay
before us, its vineyards and cornfields brown and golden in the light of
the afternoon sun. We were bound for Poppi, which lies at about an
hour’s distance up the valley from Bibbiena--“Poppi, the capital of the
Casentino,” as Vasari called it.
VI
_Poppi and Counts Guidi_
“Pupium agri Clusentini caput.”
(_Vasari._)
Poppi lies on a steep hill which rises abruptly from the valley of the
Arno, forming a vantage ground, as it were, in regard to the upper part
of the Casentino. The castle, its most notable feature, occupies the
highest part of this hill looking south. This is the ancient stronghold,
as it was rebuilt in the thirteenth century, curiously like the Palazzo
Vecchio at Florence, but more commanding in appearance owing to the
height on which it stands.
Poppi already in the tenth century was a centre of influence of the
Guidi, one of the most powerful families of Tuscany during the Middle
Ages. The property they owned extended far north and south of the
Apennines, and the Casentino bristled with their strongholds. Romena,
Porciano, Battifolle, Soci, all recall episodes in their history. With
the exception of Poppi, all these castles lie in ruins; their walls
stand desolate and their towers are open to wind and rain. Alone at
Poppi the palace with
[Illustration: CASTLE OF POPPI]
its soaring tower stands unbroken, a lasting monument of the power to
which the Guidi attained.
The annals of this family have engrossed the attention of historians
partly because the Guidi to some extent influenced the course of
Florentine history, partly because Dante repeatedly referred to them in
the _Divine Comedy_ and was in personal relation to several members of
the family. Their history goes back to the ninth century; in the
thirteenth the climax of their influence was reached. But in Dante’s
time the members of the family were still numerous, and in the
remoteness of the Casentino their power continued unimpaired.
Poppi nowadays is a town of some importance. A steep, paved path and a
driving road in wide zig-zags lead up into the town from Ponte di Poppi,
a suburb which has grown up on the Arno at the foot of the hill. The
paved path enters the town near the church, which lies on the point of
the ridge farthest away from the castle, and from the church one walks
up the main street with arcades and shops on either hand. And on either
hand, whenever a gap occurs between the houses, or a shop is thrown open
and a window appears in its depth, one looks right away across the dip
of the hill and the plains below into the green distance of the
mountains.
The place is first mentioned in the tenth century in connection with
Count Tegrimo Bevisangue, who, with his wife Gisla, founded the abbey of
Strumi in close proximity to the stronghold. The Guidi were of Langobard
descent. They were one of the noble families who had come into Italy as
part of a barbarian invasion, and who, in the course of time, came to
rank among the great feudatories of the Empire. A legendary colouring is
given to the opening chapter of their history, but its essentials are
corroborated by contemporary references. Count Tegrimo is the first
member of the family who figures in the annals of the Casentino. At the
time he was the sole surviving member of the family. His father, Count
Guido, married Engelrada, the daughter of Duke Martino of Ravenna. This
gave him a place of authority at Ravenna. But a dispute arose between
him and the archbishop; he caused the archbishop to be imprisoned. There
was a popular rising, and Count Guido and all his family were put to
death--all excepting Tegrimo, who was saved by his nurse. The name
Bevisangue afterwards attached to him either because of the revenge he
took on his father’s murderers, or else because he had contracted a
habit of licking his sword after he had spilt blood.
At the time when Tegrimo founded Strumi--the original site of which is
said to be marked by a church which is seen from Poppi lying in the
midst of dark cypresses--the family already owned strongholds near
Pistoja and Florence and the stronghold of Modigliana above Faenza,
which is identical with the Castrum Mutilum mentioned by Livy. One by
one the strongholds with which the counts fortified their possessions,
or which they snatched from their neighbours, appear in the annals of
the family. Tegrimo’s son Guido dated a charter from Porciano, which is
situated at the uppermost end of the Casentino, a proof that here also a
stronghold on a commanding site was in their possession.
Historians of a later date--Malespini and Villani, the contemporary of
Dante--state that the ancestor of the Guidi came into Italy with the
Saxon Emperor Otto I. and from him received the castle of Modigliana.
Also that Otto IV. on his passage through Florence saw Gualdrada, the
daughter of the rich citizen Berti, and that his follower, one of the
Guidi, married her and received the Casentino in dower. As the Guidi
owned Modigliana before Otto I. came to Italy, and held extensive
property in the Casentino long before the days of Gualdrada, these
stories in themselves are untrue, but a true estimation of facts
underlies them. The Saxon emperors, in order to strengthen their
authority over the greater barons of Italy, favoured the lesser, and
among them they favoured the Guidi. The Count Guido who married
Gualdrada was on good terms both with Florence and Otto IV.
After the time of Bevisangue we find the Guidi steadily increasing in
power, fighting against other lords and against rising communes,
sometimes on their own account, sometimes in support of the Imperial
policy. True representatives of the rural nobility, they were at once
turbulent and prosperous, and they made their influence felt in
ecclesiastical as well as in other matters. It was owing to protection
given him by a lady member of the Guidi family that Giovanni Gualberto
became the founder of Vallombrosa, and in three different generations a
member of the family was bishop of Pistoja. At the close of the eleventh
century a father and a son Guido were in frequent attendance on Countess
Matilda, the daughter and heir of the last margrave of Tuscany, whose
strenuous opposition to the Imperial policy and support of the claims of
Tuscany secured her lasting popularity. Probably to secure the father’s
interest she adopted the son, to whom the surname _il Marchese_ attached
in consequence. This Count Guido in his youth joined the first crusade,
and was imprisoned by Saladin. Property was mortgaged with the canons of
Pistoja to pay for his ransom. After his father’s death he bestowed land
on the faithful follower who had shared his hardships.
Count Guido _il Marchese_ favoured various schemes conducive to his
vassals’ welfare. He helped to carry out the plan of building the
aqueduct by which Pistoja is provided with water from the hills; he
became the founder of the city of Empoli; he built a leprosy near Poppi.
About the year 1106 the “Great” Countess Matilda gave up the plan of
constituting him her heir and bestowed her extensive property on the
Church. Matilda enjoyed such popularity throughout Tuscany, that songs
in praise of her were long sung in the churches of Florence according to
Boccaccio. In the _Divine Comedy_ she is described as guardian of the
earthly Paradise, in which she led the way to the triumph of the Church.
In remembrance of her the name Contessa or Tessa continues frequent to
this day. The reader will recall the sweet _contadina_ of Romola. In the
Casentino Matilda is popularly credited with building a number of
churches which are remarkable for the sculpture which adorns them.
One of these churches, that of San Martino di Vado, is about an hour’s
walk from Poppi up the valley of the Solano; another flanks the hill of
Romena; a third is at Stia, and another is at Montemignajo, high up a
side valley. The column capitals inside these churches deserve attention
for the place they claim in the history of early Tuscan sculpture. Not
two of them are alike, and the way the foliage and figures on them is
treated is always quaint and often beautiful. I have sometimes thought
what a gain it would be if some of the numerous amateur photographers
one meets would combine and systematically go over separate districts,
issuing a list of the views taken by them. In the Casentino only a few
general views were obtainable, and we in vain sought to procure
photographs of interesting remains; I ignore if any have been taken. In
this case one longed for photographs of these capitals to compare them
with the early sculptures of Pistoja and Arezzo. One of the columns in
the church of Romena bore the date 1152--the earliest sculptures at
Pistoja are dated 1166--and the erection of the parish church at Arezzo
belongs to the same period. As a direct connection existed between these
places at the time owing to the rights of overlordship held by the
Guidi, it may be owing to their influence that a style of sculpture
which has so much of the Langobard spirit came to be introduced into the
different parts of Tuscany.
The Count Guido, to whose lifetime the erection of these churches
belongs, was the son of Guido _il Marchese_, and was known himself as
Guidoguerra. In him the influence of the family reached its climax. The
vastness of his possessions was such that Sanzanome, the earliest
historian of Florence, spoke of them as
[Illustration: COURTYARD OF CASTLE, POPPI (CASENTINO)]
constituting a state or province in themselves. Moreover, he was a
shining representative of knighthood. His contemporary, the Bishop Otto
of Freysing, described him as the most powerful lord of Tuscany, and
Tolosanus, the chronicler of Faenza, who knew him, spoke of him as
holding the foremost place in honour and courtesy. “All Italy wept at
his death and especially Faenza,” he tells us, for the city of Faenza
had appealed to him for help on account of the encroachments made on its
territory by the city of Forli, and had found in him a powerful
protector. The acts of Count Guidoguerra argue in favour of his mental
horizon being wide. He joined the crusade of 1147, he stood in high
esteem with the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and the enterprises he led
in Italy were invariably successful. It was only by taking advantage of
his temporary absence that the citizens of Florence succeeded in
destroying Montedicroce, a most important stronghold of his which had
therefore become an object of hatred to Florence.
For the city of Florence, as it increased in importance, was bent on
improving the conditions of its trade. Florence is surrounded by hills,
and these hills in the twelfth century bristled with the strongholds of
nobles, who were ready to swoop down and plunder the trains of passing
traders on the slightest provocation. In the interest of its further
development the city was prompted to make war on the surrounding
nobility, attacks which went hand-in-hand with a policy that was
productive of important and unexpected changes.
The first attempts of the Florentines to subdue their troublesome
neighbours belonged to the lifetime of Guido _il Marchese_. Emboldened
by success, and encouraged by the inactivity of the margraves, they
attacked Fiesole, the ancient Etruscan city which towered high above
Florentine territory, for here, as Villani related, the rural nobles,
whom he designated as _cattani_, collected and harboured outlaws who did
damage to the trade and the territory of Florence. The undertaking
proved successful in the campaigns of 1123-1125, and large parts of
Fiesole were razed to the ground. Its “destruction” was followed by
attacks on Montegrifone, which belonged to the Ormanni, and on
Monteboni, which belonged to the Buondelmonti. A special significance
attached to the latter event. For the Florentines, intent on securing
friendly relations with their neighbours, made it a condition of peace
that the nobles they defeated should reside inside Florence during a
stated part of the year. The first to agree to the arrangement were the
Buondelmonti; they were followed by a number of others, including the
Guidi, who were nothing loth to gain a foothold inside the city. To the
older inhabitants of Florence, which included the greater citizens--the
_illustri cittadini_ of Dante--and the lesser citizens, a third element
was now added in the form of the rural nobles, who soon contracted a
taste for city life while they remained indifferent to its
responsibilities. They came into Florence with crowds of retainers; they
built themselves houses which were strongholds to all intents and
purposes; they fought out their private feuds inside the city walls, and
as soon as occasion offered they turned the balance of the constitution
in their favour. And more than this. They brought with them a taste for
display and splendour which subverted all accepted standards, and which
put an end to the simplicity and soberness of the older Florentines.
In the eye of Dante the influx of these rural nobles was a reason of the
city’s misfortune. “Ever was the confusion of persons the origin of the
city’s ills,” are the words which he put into the mouth of his ancestor
Cacciaguida. Cacciaguida in the _Comedy_ compares the state of Florence
as it was in Dante’s time with what it had been a century and a half
before, and he deplores the increased luxuriousness of the Florentines.
In those simpler days “Bellincion Berti went about in leathern belt with
bone clasp, and his dame came from the mirror unpainted.”
This Bellincion Berti and his wife were the parents of the lady
Gualdrada, through whom not the Casentino, as Villani recorded, but the
valuable Ravignani property in Florence near the Porta San Piero came
into the possession of the Guidi. Gualdrada was the second wife of Count
Guido, surnamed il Vecchio, and the epithet _buona_ which Dante bestowed
on her she doubtless owed to her attempts to soften her husband’s
fierceness. For Guido Vecchio in the eyes of the chronicler of Faenza
was the direct opposite of his father; knightly dignity and pride with
him took the form of wilfulness and overbearing.
The incidents which led up to the marriage and its outcome are worth
recording. Guido Vecchio began as the loyal supporter of the Imperial
cause; he entertained Frederick Barbarossa in his castle at Modigliana,
in 1167, and with the Imperial troops he marched on Rome, where
Frederick succeeded in establishing the anti-pope. But the desire for
municipal freedom was awakening in the smaller cities of Italy, and in
order to frustrate the Emperor’s influence they began to form alliances
among themselves and supported Pope Alexander. A struggle ensued which
lasted seventeen years and in which Guido sided with the Emperor,
thereby finding himself repeatedly plunged into war with Florence, and
into supporting her rival Siena. When the Emperor and the Pope finally
made peace at Venice, the relations between the cities of Tuscany were
readjusted. Among the representatives of Florence who arranged the peace
between this city and Siena was Bellincion Berti, the father of
Gualdrada. In what year Guido married her is unknown, but he divorced
his first wife Agnes in order to do so. His attitude towards Florence
underwent a complete change in consequence. Henceforth there was
friendship between them.
In other respects Guido lost ground. In opposing the growing
municipalities he was tempted to strain his authority, with the result
that he was defied more than once. Thus on one occasion he ordered his
vassals at Modigliana to pull down their houses and rebuild them on the
hill for greater safety. For five weeks they resisted, then they
destroyed their houses and went to Faenza, which was outside their
lord’s jurisdiction. This led to a war between the Count and the city of
Faenza which extended over years. On another occasion he went to
Camaldoli and carried off all the weapons which he found there to Poppi.
He restored them afterwards, but only in return for an enormous amount
of grain. Again he disputed with the nunnery of Rosano and won his
suit, but in this case Countess Gualdrada carried the decision in person
to Rosano, and declaring it annulled she tore it up. The acts of Guido
Vecchio were such that the Pope wrote to him in his old age urging him
to reform his ways, but even the warnings of a Pope were defied with
impunity by these barons.
When Count Guido Vecchio died in the year 1213, the family split into
five branches, each of his sons taking the name of count of the chief
stronghold which fell to his share. Poppi in the first instance fell to
Count Guido Magnifico of Bagno, then to his sons Guido Novello and
Simone. The acts of these brothers, and the enmity which arose between
them, take us into the very thick of the contentions which agitated
Florence in the thirteenth century.
The terms Guelf and Ghibelline were used in Florence since 1215, marking
the different tendencies of the citizens. The Guidi, like most other
rural nobles, were Ghibellines; they wished to see the power of the city
kept within certain limits, and in this they were opposed to the Guelf
or patriotic party. Guido Novello and Simone, with other Ghibellines,
left Florence for a time in 1248; ten years later they were altogether
banished from the city. Shortly afterwards they fought at the battle of
Montaperti, when the Florentines were beaten and the river Arbia, as
Dante has it, ran red with blood. It was then that Count Guido Novello
made the proposal that the city of Florence should be razed from the
face of the earth, an insult which the Florentine patriotic party never
forgave him. Farinate degli Uberti, also a Ghibelline, but one who felt
some affection for the city, successfully opposed him; he is represented
by Dante in Hell recalling this fact to the poet’s mind. Florence
remained standing, but for the next six years it was at the mercy of the
Ghibellines. Guido Novello, supported by the troops of King Manfred,
ruled in a spirit which was little calculated to soften the acrimony of
the Florentines against him. He caused Poppi to be fortified by a new
wall in 1260; he then built the Porta Ghibellina at Florence, and
constructed a new road out of it so as to be in direct communication
with the Casentino. This road (the paved path which leads over the
Consuma and along the valley of the Solano) he used to convey to Poppi
crossbows, bucklers and armour which he abstracted from the arsenal at
Florence. Villani tells how he showed his castle and these weapons to
his uncle Tegrimo, Count of Modigliana and Porciano, asking him what he
thought of them. Tegrimo replied that he liked them well enough, but
that he knew the Florentines only “lent at a high rate of usury.”
Subsequent events proved the truth of the remark. When King Manfred was
overthrown, Guido Novello lost his support and was obliged to leave
Florence. He did so without much dignity, and stones were thrown at him
as he left the city. Twenty years later, at the instigation of the
Bishop of Arezzo, he and other Ghibellines collected an army in the
Casentino to march upon Florence. The Florentines came over the
mountains and defeated them and ravaged the territory which belonged to
the Guidi. And in the following year they came back and made an assault
on Poppi, and finding the arms there which the Count had abstracted,
they carried them back to Florence in triumph.
The battle in which the Florentines fought the Ghibellines in the plain
of Campaldino below Poppi on June 11, 1289, is memorable since Dante, at
the time a youth of twenty-four, fought in the ranks of the victorious
Guelfs. He referred to the fact himself in a letter, in which he said
how he found himself “no mere child in the practice of arms, and was in
great fear, and in the end rejoiced greatly through the varying fortunes
of the battle.” For luck at first went against the Florentines; the
Ghibellines gained an advantage, but they did not follow it up. Guido
Novello, who was now an old man, backed upon Poppi, the Bishop of
Arezzo fell fighting, and Buonconte, another Ghibelline leader, was
wounded and fled. In the _Divine Comedy_ Buonconte is represented giving
an account of his flight to Dante--how with pierced and bleeding throat
he reached the point where the Archiano falls into the Arno, and how the
waters carried him away and his final resting-place was never known.
[Illustration: STATUE OF COUNT GUIDO, CASTLE OF POPPI]
Guido Novello, who backed upon Poppi, cannot have stayed there, as the
place was no longer his and no longer a stronghold of the Ghibellines.
It had passed to his brother Simone and his son Guido of Battifolle, and
Simone and his son, according to Villani, went over to the Guelfs
because of Guido Novello’s cruelty. When therefore the Florentines made
an assault on Poppi, they were damaging the property of a Guelf and an
ally. Guido of Battifolle, sometimes also called Guido Novello, the son
of Simone, pleaded in Florence for damage done to his property, and he
received the sum of twelve hundred lire, which he spent in re-building
his castle.
It is owing to this sequence of events that the remote little town of
Poppi came to boast of its remarkable castle. Vasari in his _Lives of
the Painters and Architects_ tells us that Jacopo Lapo, called il
Tedesco, “built many buildings in the Gothic style in Tuscany, among
them the palace at Poppi in the Casentino.” And in the life of Arnolfo,
whom Vasari wrongly called the son of Jacopo (he was his pupil), he adds
that Arnolfo built the palace of the Signory at Florence on the plan of
what his father had constructed at Poppi.
As one emerged from the streets and entered the open space before the
castle the contrast was striking between our peace-loving, law-abiding
age and that period when life was bound up with warfare. Trees veiled in
spring foliage cast a fitful shadow over what was formerly an open
ground for free fighting; near the ruined castle walls children played
and old people loitered in the sun. We entered the courtyard without let
or hindrance, and then the sound of a tinkling bell brought out a
Government _custode_. With him we ascended to the first floor by the
skilfully-constructed open-air staircase which leads from floor to floor
round the four sides of the court. He led the way into the large hall, a
beautiful room with carved and coloured beams and double arched windows
set high in the thickness of the wall. We wandered from room to room and
from storey to storey. Fragments of partitions taken down, of glaring
wall-papers torn from the walls, of brick and mortar, lay about here and
there--disfigurements of a later date which are now in course of being
removed. After centuries of concealment the ceiling construction and the
old fresco decorations of the walls were being bared to the light of
day, for the castle is now in the hands of the Government and is in
course of restoration as a national monument. The palace chapel
contained curious frescoes attributed to Spinello Aretino and Jacopo del
Casentino. Remains of old wall-painting in curious patterns and of
earlier date decorated the dining and other halls. We ascended to the
uppermost storey, and there in the way of a caryatide supporting a leafy
volute, on which rested the inner cornice of the roof, stood the figure
of Count Guido of Battifolle, the son of Simone, carved in stone. It is
a beautiful youthful figure, the uncovered head full of clustering
curls, the face strong and somewhat defiant in expression, the body
clad in plate-mail, with the one hand holding a short dagger, and the
other resting on the hilt of a long sword. Whose the thought thus to
place the owner of the palace, who the artist to carry it out, are not
recorded, but as it stands the figure may well have delighted him who
made it and him whom it represents.
[Illustration: ARMS OF THE GUIDI]
VII
_Capo d’Arno_
“Per mezzo Toscana si spazia
Un fiumicel che nasce in Falterona
E cento miglia di corso nol sazia.”
(_Purg._ 14, 18 ff.)
As one wandered about the palace and the streets of Poppi, the thought
arose if and under what circumstances Dante stayed here. He is known to
have come into the Casentino during the early part of his exile--that
is, about the year 1305; he was here again in March and April of 1311,
as is proved by the letters he wrote and dated from here. One of these
contains the fierce invective against Florence, the other expresses the
fears which the poet apprehended from the Emperor’s delay. They are
dated “on the confines of Tuscany near the springs of the Arno,” and on
the strength of this expression the strongholds of Poppi, Romena and
Porciano, besides Pratovecchio, claim to have harboured the poet.
These different strongholds, at the beginning of the fourteenth century,
were still in the possession of different branches of the Guidi family.
The castle of Pratovecchio was owned by Count Guido Selvatico, who
belonged to
[Illustration: CHURCH OF ROMENA (CASENTINO)]
the branch of the family which embraced Guelf sympathies. He fought on
the side of the Guelfs at Campaldino, at Florence he afterwards joined
the Neri, and his sympathies were therefore akin to those of Dante.
Boccaccio tells us that Dante enjoyed the hospitality of Guido
Selvatico, and this would be during the early part of his exile. The
wife of Guido Selvatico was Manessa, the daughter of Buonconte, who
perished at Campaldino, and it is generally supposed that Dante’s
relation to Manessa caused him to introduce the account of Buonconte’s
flight into the _Comedy_.
There is extant a letter of Dante, in which he describes how, after
setting foot by the streams of the Arno, he made the acquaintance of a
woman whom he thought in all respects suited to his inclination, his
character and his fortunes. This lady so inspired him that he gave up
his resolve to keep aloof from women and from songs about women. He
composed a canzone in her praise, a copy of which he appended to the
letter. But the lady’s name and her whereabouts have always remained a
mystery.
From which of the other strongholds Dante dated the letters of 1311 is
difficult to decide. The expression “Capo d’Arno” may well refer to
Poppi, which is the first place reached coming over the hills from
Florence by the old road. Its castle, as we have seen, was owned at this
time by the younger Count Guido of Battifolle, who, after his uncle’s
death, was called Guido Novello, and who, after re-building the castle,
quietly dwelt there. He was comparatively peace-loving, and lived on
friendly terms with his cousin of Pratovecchio; their sons too were
friends. When the Emperor, in 1312, summoned the Guidi to join him in
his march on Florence, Guido Novello the younger did not respond to the
call, but sent troops in aid of the city. He became _podestà_ of
Florence a few years later, and it was during the term of his rule that
the proposal was tendered to Dante to return to Florence, but on terms
which the poet felt unable to accept.
Villani tells us that this Count Guido caused a large part of the
Palazzo Vecchio to be rebuilt on the plan of his palace at Poppi.
Perhaps this act caused his portrait to be introduced in a fresco of the
Capella degli Spagnuoli, one of the greatest monuments of
fourteenth-century art. The Count, who stands as a beardless youth on
the staircase at Poppi, is here represented in manhood. He is seen in
profile, forming one of a group which includes Cimabue, Boccaccio,
Petrarch and Laura.
The wife of this Count Guido was Gherardesca, the daughter of Count
Ugolino, who with his sons died of starvation at Pisa. The description
of their sufferings is among the most terrible of the _Divine Comedy_.
Several letters have recently come to light addressed by Gherardesca to
Margaret, the consort of the Emperor, and, partly because these letters
are preserved with the letters of Dante, partly because of certain
peculiarities in their style, the opinion has been advanced that they
were drafted by Dante. One of them is of the year 1311 and is dated from
Poppi.
Among the _Novelle_, or short stories, which Sacchetti put into writing
in the fourteenth century, one (nr. 179) tells what befell one day when
Countess Gherardesca of Poppi, and Countess Manessa of Pratovecchio,
were crossing Campaldino together. It is intended to illustrate the
sharp tongue and ready wit of the female sex. Gherardesca was a proud
lady, and she attracted her companion’s attention to the promising state
of the harvest. With reference to the defeat of the Ghibellines there,
among whom Buonconte, Manessa’s father, had fought, she remarked that
the corn no doubt stood so high in consequence of the blood that had
been spilt there. But Manessa met her in the same spirit. Alluding to
the death by starvation of Ugolino, the father of Gherardesca, she
replied that they would no doubt enjoy a fine harvest provided they did
not die of starvation before it was ripe. Gherardesca pretended not to
understand, and so they continued their walk together in peace.
While Dante’s relations with the owner of Poppi leave room for
conjecture, his connection with the Counts of Romena rests on a firm
foundation. The stronghold of Romena, judging by the position and extent
of its ruins, was the most imposing castle of the Casentino.
There was a Count Alessandro of Romena who was a leader of the Guelfs of
Tuscany against the Ghibellines in 1288. He afterwards joined the
Bianchi and was expelled from Florence. Later we find him captain of the
exiles at Arezzo. He led the attack on Florence which ensued, and died
shortly afterwards. Dante then addressed a letter of condolence to his
nephews, the Counts Oberto and Guido of Romena, in which he deplored the
death of one who had such greatness of soul, and added much to his
praise. He would have come to the funeral but that, being an exile, he
was deprived of the necessary horses and arms.
The idea has been accepted by some scholars and rejected by others that
this Count Alessandro was identical with the Count of Romena of the same
name, who, with Guido and another brother, employed the forger Adamo of
Brescia to coin false florins at Romena. The reader of Dante is familiar
with the figure of Adamo, whom the poet found in Hell, suffering from
dropsy and terrible thirst. He told him how he was burnt alive for his
acts at Romena, and how he longed for the sight of those who employed
him--one of the counts, he has heard, is already in Hell. Falsified
florins were discovered in 1281; a cairn on the road above Romena is
popularly held to mark the spot where Adamo was burnt. It is locally
known as the “Maccia del Uomo Morto,” and travellers not many years back
were wont to throw a stone on it in passing. The genealogy of the owners
of Romena, however, remains a matter of dispute. On the face of it, it
seems improbable that Dante thought well of the abettor of a forger, or
relegated a man he admired to Hell. Still these were stirring times of
changing sympathies, and though the view has been advanced that there
were two Counts Alessandro, uncle and nephew, the evidence brought
forward by Passerini, who argues that there was but one, has never been
conclusively disproved.
Above Romena, at the head of the valley, lie the ruins of Porciano, and
the expression “Capo d’Arno,” if taken literally, would apply to it. But
Dante’s relation with its counts is based on legend only. They were a
set of lawless, changeful men. There was a Count Guido of Porciano who
was condemned in 1282 by the city of Florence to pay five thousand lire
for murder, theft and arson. He had eight sons, and several of them were
fined in 1291 for waylaying and robbing a merchant from Ancona. In 1311
five of the brothers received the ambassadors of the Emperor at San
Godenzo and swore fealty to the Imperial cause, but four of them
afterwards deserted it. If Dante thought favourably of those of Porciano
for their Imperial sympathies, it cannot have lasted. For in describing
the sources of the Arno in the _Comedy_ he says that the river takes its
rise among “foul hogs more worthy of galls than of any food made for
the use of man,” with obvious reference to the meaning of the word
_porci_ as contained in the place-name Porciano.
A tradition is preserved, according to which the poet was kept prisoner
at Porciano, possibly after the battle of Campaldino. An anecdote
intended to illustrate his ready wit is localised here. The poet, we are
told, had left the castle and was walking down the hill when he met some
men from Florence, who were sent to take him into custody. They did not
recognise him, and asked if Dante were at Porciano, and he replied, “He
was there while I was!”
There seemed no end to the stories associated with Dante which were
localised in this neighbourhood. Palmieri, a writer of the early
fifteenth century, described an incident, which he says befell Dante on
Campaldino. The poet and the triumphant Guelfs after the battle pursued
the enemy as far as Bibbiena and beyond it, and on the third day they
returned to look for their friends and to bury the dead. Dante found a
friend, who either “was not quite dead or else suddenly revived,” and
who proceeded to describe what he had seen during these days of Hell and
Purgatory, words through which the whole plan of the _Comedy_ was
revealed to Dante. The account contains expressions which recall Dante’s
description, still it is sufficiently distinct. It rambles on over
about half a dozen pages in print without definite plan or purpose.
It was with a feeling of regret that we left Poppi, which played so
important a part in the history of the district. We left it early one
morning and crossed Campaldino, now, as six hundred years ago, green
with sprouting corn. Beyond it the driving road over the Consuma begins
its steady ascent along a mountain spur which is formed by the Arno and
its tributary the Solano. The old road branched off, following the
course of the Solano, and up this we went to explore.
I presume that foreigners carrying knapsacks for their convenience do
not often walk in these parts. We had been accosted before and asked
what our _roba_ was, and women especially joined us along the road in
hopes of driving a bargain in needles and scissors. In the valley of the
Solano our appearance brought concern to the heart of a professional
pedlar, who eyed us askance. When we came down the valley again in the
afternoon we were met by a woman, who told us she had been looking out
for us ever since we went past in the morning; might she see our wares?
She too looked upon us as rivals of the pedlar.
We found the narrow, tortuous valley of the Solano oppressive and
unattractive, and we did not penetrate much beyond Strada San Niccolo,
a town of high houses built close between the mountain sides. Here too
the history of many centuries lay condensed, as it were, in a nutshell.
The ancient church near the castle, now deserted--the ruins of the
castle itself, long a stronghold of the Guidi, which the growing Commune
destroyed in the fifteenth century--the modern city with its
manufactories--each represented a special phase in the history of
growing civilisation.
The city of Borgo-alla-Collina on the Consuma road, to which we
returned, bore a very different character. Situated on a breezy height,
its wide streets were grass-grown, and its low, rambling houses looked
desolate. Here Christofero Landini, the author of the _Conversations of
Camaldoli_, spent the last years of his life. He had been the teacher of
Lorenzo the Magnificent; he afterwards became Chancellor of the Republic
of Florence, and a palace at Borgo was given him in acknowledgment of
his services. Ampère, in his _Voyages dantesques_, tells an amusing
incident which happened to him here. A priest offered to show him the
uncorrupted body of a saint, and he showed Ampère a dried mummy in a
sarcophagus. But when Ampère looked at the inscription on the
sarcophagus he saw that the holy man here displayed was none other than
Landini.
We did not stay to see the wonderful relic.
[Illustration: CASTEL SAN NICCOLO]
The crispness of the air outside and the panorama of the hills had
greater attractions. The road above Borgo commanded a wide field of
view, and the eye was free to roam across the valley where the Arno
flowed fed by many streams, and to the heights around. The valley was
closed in by the Falterona, which is the highest mountain of this part
of the Apennines; it rises to an elevation of 5434 ft.
After an hour’s walk we deviated to Romena, where we spent some time in
the ancient church which flanks the hill. We greatly admired the old
column capitals, one of which bears the date 1152. Beni’s guide-book
says that the church also possesses an ancient bell, with the date 1186,
and the words “Mentem Sanctam Deo Placentem.”
From Romena we left the road and descended by a path to Pratovecchio, a
large rambling place, which seemed to have no special attraction. We
then pushed on to Stia, which lies at the confluence of the Arno and the
Staggia; above it rise the ruins of the castle of Porciano.
Stia is a picturesque city. Its market-place, set on rising ground, with
houses jutting out from both sides, suggested the arrangements of scene
decoration. Its ancient church is unattractive from outside, but
beautiful within. Stia is a convenient centre for walks, but we thought
badly of its _Albergo Alpina_, and would give the preference another
time to the inn at Pratovecchio, the situation of which is quite as
convenient. The Falterona is usually ascended from Stia, but the snow
that had recently fallen made the ascent impossible. We were even
prevented from penetrating to the fir woods which have been planted in
honour of Dante near the sources of the Arno, a spot to which the
expression “Capo d’Arno” is now currently applied. Our walks were
limited to the valleys and the lower heights, but we thereby saw more of
the people than we should have done otherwise. They were courteous and
friendly and charmed us by their unaffected ways. In Dante’s ears the
speech of the inhabitants of the Casentino sounded harsh and ugly; to us
their Italian seemed correct and clear, and we were struck more than
once by their conversational ease.
With pleasure we recalled a homestead on the road to San Godenzo, in
which seemed to linger that unaffected rusticity of classic times which
the Georgics of Virgil have preserved for us. We were sheltering from a
shower in an outhouse when the woman of the farm came out and invited us
in. We entered a long low room with a window at each end, the further
one looking out into the distance of the hills. The room seemed dark at
first, but as one’s power of vision readjusted itself to the mellow
light, the wide hearth stood forth with its glowing embers with the
children hanging round. Earthenware pots and plates shone bright from
shelves against the wall; and the board and the benches, all rounded and
polished with use, also caught the reflection from the glow. One of the
children threw on some crackling sticks; two others, dark-haired and
red-cheeked, came and clung about their mother. Rickety chairs were
placed for us near the hearth, then the woman resumed her low seat and
went on winding her yarn. In her rough homespun, with her little ones
about her, she looked a picture of health and vigour. She readily talked
of her home and the children’s varying ways, and of the mill at Stia to
which she was sending the yarn which she had spun. Presently the husband
too came in, a figure such as one associates with the hills, tall and
well-made. He began cleaning his gun, and with the same friendliness
talked of the hares he had shot, and of the sport still in store for
him. They seemed a happy family, making us welcome with the simple
dignity which is so marked a feature in the Italian peasant, and
speeding us on our way with the wish that for our sake the weather might
improve.
Yet another interior remains with me, the workshop of a cobbler below
Porciano. Here a number of houses stood huddled together against the
slope of the hill. The word _vino_, roughly painted in red on a wall
that faced the road at an angle, attracted our attention, for we were
thirsty, as one often is in a country where one feels suspicious of the
water, and we entered. The hale, white-haired cobbler rose from his
stool and motioned us to a seat with a certain formality. He then
reached two glasses and a huge straw-covered flagon from the shelf, drew
out the bit of tow that closed its mouth, and flicked on the floor the
drops of oil that floated on the wine, and a little of the wine itself.
Here was a reasonable basis for the offer of a libation! Then he filled
our glasses, and resuming his work spoke of a son in America, and of the
love of change and the growing desire for travel in the younger
generation. We too were travelling: whence had we come, whither were we
bound? His caustic aptness of speech recalled the saying that the smell
of leather sharpens a man’s wits. We had been puzzled that day by a
roadside shrine dedicated to a saint Mona Giovanna, and I asked about
her, hazarding the remark that his trade was known to go with love of
reading. He seemed pleased, and pointing to a small store of books he
said he could oblige us, and drew forth the story of the saint in the
cheap form in which these stories circulate among the peasantry. In
this case it was the question of a woman whose claim to holiness the
folk endorsed, while the clergy refused to accept it. Finally the bells
at Stia tolled of their own accord as she entered the town, and the
candle she was carrying to the shrine was miraculously set alight. In
the pantheon of the saints Giovanna has found a place in connection with
Bagno on the further side of the hills, but the cobbler was sure about
the miracle happening at Stia, and the book confirmed his belief.
This was one of several occasions on which I engaged in conversation
with the people on their local saints. Many of the stories which have
been worked into legends, and now go to swell the bulk of the _Acta
Sanctorum_, are fresh in the mind of the folk, and a question or two
draws from them an account of most wondrous wonders which happened in
these districts. The incidents are related in sober earnest, but
sometimes the narrator ends with a smile and a shrug of the shoulders.
“This is what they say, as to when it happened, _chi lo sa?_” The chief
saint of the district, of whom many wonders are told, is St Torello, the
saint of Poppi, whose image faces that of the abbot Fedele of Strumi in
the chief church of the place. The wonders worked by Torello chiefly
refer to wolves, his power over them was such, that he succeeded in
taming one and turning him practically into a dog. In our British Isles
the wonder of taming the wolf and setting him to guard the sheep, “which
he does to this present day,” is attributed to the woman saint Modwen
who came into England from Ireland. Torello seems to have been content
to have the wolf as his companion, and those who called upon him against
wolves henceforth found protection. The learned editors of the _Acta
Sanctorum_ suggested that Torello lived in the eleventh century, but his
legend, as it was put into writing by an inhabitant of Poppi, contains
lingering pre-Christian superstitions. The great wolf locally called
“Moninus,” whom he put under a ban, seems to be unknown except in this
district. Torello is also called upon by the people to protect them
against famine and the plague.
The driving road over the Consuma to Florence is a well planned road,
which rises to a height of 3435 ft. On the day when we crossed the
mountains the weather gave a peculiar grandeur to the wildness of the
surroundings. We joined the road above Romena and cast a farewell look
back on the Casentino. It stretched away in a sunny morning haze, with
the hills of Poppi and Bibbiena just visible, and the heights of La
Verna overshadowed by clouds. The road went steadily rising through
scenery which became more and more bleak and desolate. We passed
Casaccia, a solitary inn, since turned into a private house, and
appropriated to some society. After passing Casaccia the road wound in
and out at about the same height till a gap in the hills was reached,
down which one looked down into the valley of the Solano; the old path
here joined the new road. In this valley a storm was brewing. Clouds
came rolling up, but they could not prevail against the strong wind
which blew from the pass. It was grand to see the masses of blue and
purple and black, rolled back on each other in the valley, more and more
densely packed. Every now and then a streak of cloud escaped and ran
under shelter of a rock till it met the wind, which seized it and
scattered it and dashed it towards us in the form of blinding snow. On
the further side of the pass the weather was settled and fine. The sun
shone clear and a blue sky spanned the distant view towards the
Mediterranean. This view was limited in the north only by the distant
mountains of Carrara; in the south it embraced Florence and all the
hills around it, spreading away to the flatness of the distant coast.
And in the glow of the late afternoon sun we once more caught sight of
the Arno in the near distance. We had left it a rushing mountain stream
at Stia; we now beheld it again a broad, shining river, flowing beneath
the city of Florence.
[Illustration]
HINTS FOR THE TRAVELLER
The Casentino is reached from Florence.
--by rail _via_ Arezzo (55 miles, 6 trains daily, in 1½-4 hours) and
Bibbiena (20 miles, 3 trains daily, in 1½ hours). The railway goes on to
Poppi, Pratovecchio and Stia, the terminus of the line lying midway
between the two latter towns which are about a mile apart.
--or by rail to Pontassieve, _Albergo del Vapore_, _Locanda della
Stazione_, _Restaurant Piselli_, and from there by carriage road over
the Consuma Pass to Stia or Pratovecchio. A diligence starts daily from
Pontassieve for Stia at 2.30 in the afternoon (3 lire), and for
Pontassieve from Stia at 11 o’clock in the morning. At Pontassieve
carriages in the inns mentioned above. To Stia one-horse carriage, 12
lire; two-horse carriage, 24 lire. Carriages from Pontassieve to
Camaldoli, 25 lire and 40 lire.
--or by rail to St Ellero, the station beyond Pontassieve, and on by
steep grade line to Saltino (trains vary according to the season) and
Vallombrosa. At Saltino _Hotel Vallombrosa_, _Hotel Croce di Savoia_,
and ten minutes further _Hotel Castello di Acquabella_ (all large and
with modern comforts). From Saltino carriage road 1½ miles to
Vallombrosa, _Albergo della Foresta_, _Villino Medici_ (recommended).
From Vallombrosa a road ending in a footpath across the mountains
reaches the Consuma road near Consuma, about two hours’ walk.
* * * * *
Convenient centres for excursions are Bibbiena, _Albergo Amorosi_;
Poppi, _Restaurant and pension Gelati_, _Albergo Vezzosi_, near the
station; Pratovecchio, _Albergo Spigliantini_, _Albergo Bastieri_; Stia,
_Albergo della Stazione Alpina_, _Albergo Falterona_.
=Bibbiena= is situated on a hill fifteen minutes’ walk from the station,
fare 50 c. In the church of San Lorenzo are two _della Robbias_.
* * * * *
Excursions from Bibbiena.
--to La Verna (inn) by road, 7½ miles. Two-horse carriage from Bibbiena,
15-20 lire. The monastery, which is visible from afar, consists of
several parts which date from different periods. The road on leaving
Bibbiena passes the interesting Dominican monastery Madonna del Sasso,
founded in 1347, and enlarged in 1486. It then passes Campi, crosses the
Corsalone and ascends through a wood and along rocky slopes. Outside the
monastery lies the Cappella degli Uccelli, where flocks of birds
welcomed St Francis on his first visit. The oldest part is the Cappella
degli Angeli, built in 1216. This contains three _della Robbias_. The
large church was begun in 1348 by Tarlato, Count of Pietramala. This
contains several _della Robbias_. The small church of the Stigmata was
built in 1263 by Count Simone of Battifolle, as is indicated by a
well-cut inscription at the entrance. It contains a very fine _della
Robbia_. Below this chapel is the Sasso Spicco, whence the devil hurled
St Francis, and the cave, called St Francis’s Bed, whence a raven used
to call him every night to matins. In the Luoghi Santi, St Francis
frequently stayed. A path leads to the chapel, three-quarters of an hour
above the convent, from which there is an extensive view, and beyond
ascends the Penna. Below lies Chiusi di Casentino, formerly looked upon
as _Clusium Novum_, mentioned by Pliny. Here Ludovico Buonarotti was
_podestà_ at the time when his son Michel Angelo was born at Caprera, a
short distance to the south-east.
--to Ortignano, an hour’s drive along the valley of the Teggina. A
beautiful view of Bibbiena looking back. A paved path leads from the
road up to Ortignano, and beyond to the church, which contains a
beautiful Virgin and Child by _Matteo di Giovanni_. Along the road
beyond Ortignano lies Raggiolo (inn), with the ruins of a castle which
was held by the Ubertini (1325), and passed from them to the Tarlati.
From Raggiolo the Prato Magno is sometimes ascended, about two and a
half hours’ walk, guide necessary.
--to Badia a Prataglia, a rising summer resort, _Albergo Mulinacci_, and
at Boscoverde, 2700 ft., a summer pension, 10 miles. Diligence from
Bibbiena, 2 lire; one-horse carriage, 8 lire. The road follows the
valley of the Archiano and passes Camprena. The ruins of Gressa
(formerly of the bishops of Arezzo and taken by the Florentines in 1259)
and of Marciano (granted to Badia a Prataglia in 1084) are visible on
the right. At Partina are ruins of a castle held by the Guidi till 1389.
Serravalle, with its tower of 1188, is visible on the left. A driving
road leading up to it from beyond the bridge is in course of
construction, and several new villas have been built near the old
village. The Archiano is here joined by the Fosso of Camaldoli. A path
this side of the bridge leads along the valley to Camaldoli. Another
path further up over the hills also leads through the woods to
Camaldoli. Badia a Prataglia, founded about the year 980, was associated
with Camaldoli in the twelfth century, and for a time suppressed. The
church has an interesting crypt with romanesque columns, now used as a
wood store. The old monastery adjoining the church is now a private
villa. Beyond Badia the road ascends, and from the height of the pass
Bagno in Romagna is visible. From Badia to Bagno 10, to Forli 58 miles.
Interesting short walks to the confluence of the Arno and Archiano, and
to Memmenano, where is a fine _della Robbia_.
* * * * *
=Poppi= lies on a hill, fifteen minutes’ walk from the station. The castle
is being restored. It is the work of Jacopo Lapo. On the top of the
staircase Count Guido of Battifolle. The chapel contains frescoes
attributed to Spinello Aretino and Jacopo da Casentino, and other fresco
decorations have been uncovered in the dining hall. In the church of the
Augustinians a poor _della Robbia_. Another _della Robbia_ outside the
Casa Bremasole. The parochial church, beautifully situated, contains
several good paintings, including a Virgin of Franciabigio, others
attributed to Guido da Siena, and the head of St Torello, the patron
saint of the district, in silver gilt casing.
Excursions from Poppi.
--to Camaldoli by road 8 miles. One-horse carriage, 7-10 lire. In summer
months a diligence. The older bad road is by Lierna, the new one leaves
Ragginopoli to the right. Both contain ruins of strongholds owned by the
Guidi. The monastery of Camaldoli lies in a wooded valley on a rocky
slope of the Apennines. A few of the more aged and infirm monks remain
here, but the greater part of the monastery is turned into a hotel,
_Grande Albergo_, with every comfort. The monastery founded by St
Romuald in 1018 was destroyed by fire in 1203, but the old convent court
remains unchanged. It owned an early printing press, and the famous
_Annali Camaldolensi_, 907-1764, were written here. The church, which
was injured in 1498 when the monastery was besieged by the Duke of
Urbino, was rebuilt in 1523, and contains three paintings by Vasari. It
was restored 1772-1776. The monastery was suppressed in 1866 and belongs
to the Woods and Forest Department of the State. The majority of the
monks have retired to the hermitage. This lies three-quarters of an hour
up the glen above the convent, along a paved path, at a height of 3700
ft. Visitors are shown over the church and the cell of St Romuald by one
of the monks. Beyond the hermitage a path leads to the Prato al Soglio,
fine and extensive view, and across the hills to Badia a Prataglia. In
the opposite direction a footpath to Lonnano and Poppiena. Fine walk
along the ridge to Monte Falterona.
--to Fronzola, with the remains of a castle besieged by Count Simone of
Battifolle in 1344. The road leads on to Raggiolo.
--to Borgo alla Collina and Strada San Niccolo (inn). The road follows
the valley and crosses Campaldino, the site of the famous battle. At
Certomondo there is a church and cloister of the fifteenth century. Near
here were found Etruscan remains in 1846. The road to the Consuma Pass
diverges to the left. Borgo alla Collina (inn), six miles from Poppi,
has an old church containing a Virgin and saints of 1423. The new church
contains the body of Cristofero Landini, Chancellor of the Republic of
Florence. From the road extensive views of the valley. To the left a
road leads to Strada. Interesting church of San Martino in Vado with
many curious column capitals, similar in style to those of Romena and
Stia. On the further side of the river lies the ruined Castel S.
Niccolo, one of the great strongholds of the Guidi, with church, also in
ruins. A road diverges to the right to Cajano. Of the Castle of
Battifolle only a few stones are left. From Cajano the paved road in a
steep ascent reaches the high road between Casaccia and Consuma. From
Strada the road along the Scheggia ends in a path by which it is
possible to reach Montemignajo, a stronghold of the Guidi, of which the
tower, a vast cistern, and part of the walls are left. In the church of
Santa Maria, are column capitals, similar in style to those of Romena,
etc. To reach Montemignajo driving, it is necessary to drive almost to
the height of the pass between Casaccia and Consuma, branching off to
the left. From Montemignajo a rough path leads to the Croce Vecchia and
on to Vallombrosa.
--to Pratovecchio (6 miles) the road follows the valley of the Arno. The
place, large and rambling, is closely connected with the history of the
Guidi. There are extant the ruins of towers and remains of the ancient
walls and fortifications. The convent church of the Dominican nuns
contains several seventeenth century paintings. From Pratovecchio three
different paths, the one _via_ Lonnano, the other _via_ Casalino, the
third _via_ Moggiona, lead to Camaldoli.
* * * * *
=Stia= lies on the confluence of the Staggia and the Arno. The church (La
Pieve) is of the twelfth century, partly modernised, but contains
interesting round arches and carved column capitals. It is said to have
been built by Countess Matelda. In the church several _della Robbias_.
In the town hall a beautiful _della Robbia_. Also in the _Oratorio della
Madonna del Ponte_ a polychrome _della Robbia_. In the bed of a small
lake north-east of Stia, during the drought of 1838, were discovered
many Etruscan antiquities.
Excursions from Stia and Pratovecchio.
--to Monte Falterona (5434 ft.) about four hours. Guide advisable (5
frs.). The usual way is by Porciano, an ancient stronghold of the Guidi.
From here following the path in a northerly direction to the Capo
d’Arno, from where by a steep ascent to the refuge _Ricovero Dante_
built by the Italian Alpine Club. (The key procurable at the house of
Signor Beni at Stia, or of the Secretary of the Club at Florence.) In
the club hut only bare bedsteads. On a clear day the view extends to the
Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian. From Falterona a splendid walk along the
mountain ridge to Camaldoli.
--to Santa Maria delle Grazie, at one time a dependency of Vallombrosa,
sometimes called Vallombrosella. The church, beautifully situated, dates
from the end of fifteenth century. Some good pictures and several
beautiful _della Robbias_. The ruins of Castel Castagnajo, and of Campo
Lombardo, strongholds of the Guidi, are seen on the further side of the
river. A path leads on to the mountain village Vallucciole. Another road
along the valley of the Staggia leads to Gaviserri branching off to the
left to Papiano, near which are the ruins of Urbech, a stronghold of the
Guidi.
--to the Castle and Church of Romena along the road which joins the main
road over the Consuma. The Castle ruins are in a commanding position and
are visible from afar. The site in 1034 was in the power of Count Guido
Alberti of Spoleto, and passed into the family of the Guidi through
marriage. It passed to Florence in 1357. An inscription records Dante’s
stay here during his exile. Half a mile below lie the ruins of the
church, built in 1152, as mentioned on one of the column capitals. The
road passes Fonte Branda. The church, which contains some good
paintings, has been restored. Beyond Romena the road returns to the main
road which rises to Omo Morto, a heap of stones that is popularly
associated with Maestro Adamo of Brescia, and beyond to Casaccia and the
pass over the Consuma.
INDEX
Adamo of Brescia, 118, 141.
Ampère, _Voyages dantesques_, 11, 122.
Apennines, 57, 77 ff.
Archiano, 57, 78, 109, 136.
Arezzo, trains from, 133.
Arno, valley of the, 1;
sources of, 113 ff.
Arnolfo Lapo, 110.
Badia a Prataglia, 10, 85, 87;
inns at and situation, 136.
Badia a Tega, 10.
Bagno, 56, 68, 136.
Battifolle, 90;
ruins of, 139.
Beni, guide book of, 49, 125;
address of, 141.
Bibbiena, 2, 13 ff.;
market-place, 14;
inns at and excursions from, 134.
Bibbiena, Cardinal, 13, 17, 21 ff.
Borgo alla Collina, 122;
situation of, 138.
Boscoverde, pension at, 136.
Buonconte, killed at Campaldino, 114, 117.
Cajano, 139.
_Calandra_, 26 ff.
Camaldoli, 2, 51 ff.;
views of, 53, 73;
landmark of, 76;
approaches of, 133, 136;
inns at and excursions from, 137;
paths to, 140.
Campaldino, 114, 120, 138.
Campi, 134.
Campo Lombardo, 141.
Camprena, 55.
Capo d’Arno, 113 ff.;
paths to, 140.
Cappella degli Uccelli, 134.
Caprera, 135.
Casaccia, 131, 139.
Casalino, 140.
Castel Castagnajo, 141.
Castel San Niccolo, 139;
view of, 123.
Castiglione on Cardinal Bibbiena, 22 ff.
Certomondo, 139.
Chiusi di Casentino, 135.
Consuma, 107, 121, etc.;
driving road over, 133;
paths leading to, 134, 139, 141.
_Conversations of Camaldoli_, 80 ff.
Corsalone, 35, 134.
_Cortegiano, il_, 24 ff.
Dante, on the Guidi, 7;
connection with the Guidi, 93, 113 ff.;
on St Francis, 44;
on St Romuald, 10.
Della Robbia, at Bibbiena, 17, 134;
at La Verna (frontispiece), 46, 49, 134;
at Memmenano, 137;
at Poppi, 137;
at Santa Maria, 141;
at Stia, 140.
Divizio, Angelo, 32;
Bernardo, _see_ Bibbiena, Cardinal.
Eremo, 63, 78 ff., 138.
Etruscan remains, 2, 18, 139.
Faenza at war with Guidi, 105.
Falterona, 1, 113, 125;
ascent of, 140.
Fedele of Strumi, 129.
Florence at war with Guidi, 105.
Fonte Branda, 63, 142.
Forli, road to, 101, 137.
Fosso of Camaldoli, 78, 136.
Francis, St, 5, 10, 11, 33 ff.;
portrait of (frontispiece).
Fronzola, 138.
Gaviserri, 141.
Gherardesca, Countess, 116, 117.
Giovio on Cardinal Bibbiena, 22, 29.
Gisla, Countess, 94.
Gressa, 55, 136.
Gualdrada, Countess, 95, 104 ff.
Guidi, Counts, 90 ff.;
Guido, 95;
Guido _il Marchese_, 97, 102;
Guidoguerra, 98, 101;
Guido Vecchio, 104, 106;
Guido Magnifico, 106;
Guido Novello, 106 ff.;
Guido Selvatico, 113;
Guido of Battifolle, 115,
his portrait, 109;
Guido Novello the younger, 115;
Tegrimo, 94;
Tegrimo Bevisangue, 94;
Tegrimo of Modigliana, 107;
Simone of Battifolle, 48, 106, 135;
Alessandro of Romena, 117 ff.;
Oberto and Guido of Romena, 118;
arms of, 112.
Jacopo del Casentino, 46, 111, 137.
Jacopo Lapo, 110, 137.
Landini, Cristofero, 11, 80 ff.;
relic of, 139.
La Verna, 5, 11, 33 ff.;
views of, 3, 34, 43;
description of, 134.
Lierna, 137.
Lonnano, 138, 140.
Maccia del Uomo Morto, 118.
Madonna del Sasso, 35, 134.
Maldolo, Count, 71.
Malespini on Guidi, 95.
Manessa, Countess, 114, 117.
Marciano, 55, 136.
Mariotto, 82.
Matelda, Countess, 96, 97, 140.
Medici in the Casentino, 21, 81 ff.;
princess at Eremo, 77.
Memmenano, 137.
Moggiona, 140.
Mona Giovanna, 128.
Montemignajo, 97, 139.
Orlando, Count, 46.
Ortignano, 135.
Otto of Freysing on Guidi, 101.
Ozanam on St Francis, 40, 41.
Pappiano, 141.
Passerini on Guidi, 119.
Penna, 33, 50;
ascent of, 135.
Peter Damian, 64, 65.
Pontassieve, inns at, 133.
Poppi, 75, 89, 90 ff.;
views of, 91, 99, 109;
inns at, 134;
excursions from, 137.
Poppiena, 138.
Porciano, 90, 95, etc.
Prato al Soglio, 85, 138.
Pratomagno, 18, 76;
ascent of, 135.
Pratovecchio, 46, 113, 125;
inns at, 134;
excursions from, 140.
Ragginopoli, 136.
Raggiolo, 135, 138.
Romena, 90, 97, 98;
view of, 114;
ways to, 141.
Romuald, St, 5, 10, 51 ff., 80, etc.
Ruskin on St Francis, 39, 41.
Sacchetti on Countesses at Poppi, 117.
Saltino, hotels at, 133.
San Martino di Vado, 97, 139.
Santa Maria delle Grazie, 141.
Sasso Spicco, 135.
Scheggia, 139.
Serravalle, 59, 85, 89, 136.
Soci, 55, 56, 57, 90.
Solano, 97, 121.
Staggia, 125, 141.
Stia, 97, 125, 133;
inns at, 134;
excursions from, 140.
Strava San Niccolo, 121;
situation of, 138.
Strumi, 94, 129.
Tarlati, 20, 22;
of Pietramala, 56.
Teggina, 135.
Tolosanus on Guidi, 101.
Torello, St, 129 ff., 137.
Urbech, 141.
Vallombrosa, inns at, 134.
Vallucciole, 141.
Vasari, 46, 89, 90, 110, 138.
Villani, 95, 109, 116.
THE END
_Colston & Coy., Limited, Printers, Edinburgh_
[Illustration: Map of Casentino]
* * * * *
A LIST OF DENT’S
COUNTY GUIDES
EDITED BY GEORGE A. B. DEWAR.
In issuing this series of books the publishers believe that they are
making a departure, no less welcome than needful, from the usual lines
on which such Handbooks are compiled. What they have endeavoured to do
for the historic Towns of Europe in their “Mediæval Town Series,” they
now hope to accomplish for the Counties of England, by presenting their
unrivalled attractions in such a way as shall no longer make a
guide-book a weariness to the flesh.
Their object is to produce a series of books at once thoroughly readable
and thoroughly efficient as tourist guides.
The volumes will be redolent of the fresh open air and the country side.
Natural History and Sport in their various branches will be in the hands
of experts living in the districts described. The Scenery and History of
each interesting spot will be written of by a man of letters who knows
and loves his own county.
Each volume is divided into three parts. PART I., dealing with the
“Story and Scenery” of the county, consists of Itineraries devoted to
its characteristic districts; and it is intended that these sections,
though independent of each other, may form a connected whole fit to be
read through as are the chapters of a book. To make the “Story and
Scenery” of the county readable as a whole, it has been necessary to
condense into PART III. “A County Gazetteer,” much antiquarian and other
information about towns, villages, and churches, together with
indispensable directions of a purely practical character about trains,
hotels and inns, and the like. PART II. consists of articles on the
Natural History and Sport of the county, contributed by writers who have
studied these subjects on the spot, together with a chapter specially
intended for the use of cyclists.
* * * * *
LIST OF VOLUMES
_Each with numerous Topographical Illustrations, Sectional Plans
accompanying the Itineraries, and a County Map. Fcap. 8vo (convenient
for the pocket), cloth gilt, tinted edges, 4s. 6d. net per volume._
THE LAKE COUNTIES. By W. G. COLLINGWOOD, with Special Articles on:
Birds, by MARY L. ARMITT; Butterflies and Moths, by Canon CREWDSON;
Flora, by S. L. PETTY; Geology, by Prof. E. HULL, LL.D.;
Fox-hunting, by Rev. E. M. REYNOLDS, M.F.H.; Mountaineering, by W.
P. HASKETT SMITH; Yachting, by ARTHUR SEVERN; Angling, by A.
SEVERN, Junr.; Shooting, by A. RUSKIN SEVERN; Cycling, by A. W.
RUMNEY.
[_Spring, 1902._
SURREY. By WALTER JERROLD, with Special Articles on: Birds, by J.
A. BUCKNILL, M.A.; Flowers, by EDWARD STEP, F.L.S.; Entomology, by
Rev. J. VERNON; Geology, by Prof. EDWARD HULL, LL.D.; Cycling, by
DUNCAN TOVEY.
_Athenæum._--“He writes with ample knowledge and enthusiasm,
and the volume may be recommended as fully maintaining the high
reputation which the series has already gained.... Besides Mr.
Jerrold’s main narrative, which is strong on the antiquarian and
literary side, we have special articles ... which seem excellent.”
_Field._--“Something more than a guide book, though in that
direction it would be hard to beat, for while the author is an
enthusiast, and writes very pleasantly, he is far from unmindful
of those details which, though they may be commonplace, are very
valuable.”
NORFOLK. By WILLIAM A. DUTT, with Special Articles on: Birds, by
Rev. R. C. NIGHTINGALE; Botany, by H. D. GELDART; Entomology, by
CLAUDE MORLEY, F.E.S.; Geology, by F. W. HARMER, F.G.S.; Shooting
and Fishing, by A. J. RUDD; Sea Fishing, by E. A. CROXON; Cycling,
by H. MORRISS.
_Academy._--“As near a model guide book as may be; the itineraries
are ample and well arranged, the maps good, and he discourses
pleasantly by the way of matters interesting to more than the mere
tourist.”
_Daily Chronicle._--“This little volume is so excellent as far as
it goes, has been written with so much cheeriness and love for the
Eastern county, is such a miracle of cheapness, and so exactly what
the tourist in Norfolk needs during his stay, that we can only
speak of it with cordial praise and admiration.”
HAMPSHIRE WITH THE ISLE OF WIGHT.
By GEORGE A. B. DEWAR, with Special Articles on: Botany, by JOHN
VAUGHAN; Entomology, by G. M. A. HEWETT; Birds, by G. B. CORBIN;
Geology, by Prof. EDWARD HULL, LL.D.; Fishing and Shooting, by the
EDITOR; Cycling, by W. M. HARMAN.
_Athenæum._--“_After a wide and practical experience of guide-books
for nearly forty years, we have no hesitation in saying that it is
the best of its size (350 pp.) that we have as yet seen. It is a
book that the general antiquary or lover of Nature as well as the
country resident will delight to have on their shelves._”
_Times._--“The authors have done their work extremely well, ... an
immense amount of information presented in an orderly and
attractive form.”
_County Gentleman._--“At once practical and romantic, useful and
ornamental.”
* * * * *
PRESS APPRECIATIONS
_Outlook._--“Many will bless Messrs. Dent for the happy idea embodied in
this series.”
_Athenæum._--“This seems to us an excellent plan, and should produce a
kind of volume decidedly superior to the ordinary run of handbooks.”
_Daily News._--“There is no reason why a guide-book should not be
artistic and literary, as well as an accurate production, but before the
issue of ‘Dent’s County Guides,’ we are not aware that anybody ever
thought of making it so.”
_Daily Chronicle._--“We rejoice that the writing of guide-books has come
into the hands of men of fine taste, large appreciation, and delicate
style, and has for ever escaped from those who, in the past, gave
guide-books a reputation for all that was commonplace, banal, and dull.
Messrs. Dent are to be much commended.”
_Scottish Geographical Magazine._--“These guide-books may be said to
inaugurate a new departure. Instead of bare statistics, dry details, and
unattractive forms of ordinary guide-books, we have here dainty little
volumes with interesting letterpress, clear maps, and exquisite woodcuts
from original sketches.... No lover of the beautiful could have more
delightful companions.”
J. M. DENT & CO., BEDFORD STREET, LONDON, W.C.