Byzantium. The steeds are beautifully modelled, and the work is ascribed
to Lysippos, a sculptor of Corinth. Napoleon took the horses to Paris,
but they were restored to Venice in 1815.
The mosaic designs of the façade represent "The Last Judgment," among
other Scriptural subjects, while one of the mosaics depicts San Marco as
it was in the early days. A number of reliefs and images adorn the
arches of each of the five doorways of the main entrance.
Within the decorations are exquisite. Ruskin writes: "The church is lost
in a deep twilight, to which the eye must be accustomed for some moments
before the form of the building can be traced; and then there opens
before us a vast cave, hewn out into the form of a cross, and divided
into shadowy aisles by many pillars. Round the domes of its roof the
light enters only through narrow apertures like large stars; and here
and there a ray or two from some far-away casement wanders into the
darkness, and casts a narrow phosphoric stream upon the waves of marble
that heave and fall in a thousand colours along the floor. What else
there is of light is from torches or silver lamps, burning ceaselessly
in the recesses of the chapels; the roof sheeted with gold, and the
polished walls covered with alabaster, give back at every curve and
angle some feeble gleaming to the flames, and the glories round the
heads of the sculptured saints flash out upon us as we pass them, and
sink again into the gloom."
In the vestibule of the cathedral, the mosaic decoration depicts Old
Testament scenes. In the apse are represented a figure of the Lord, with
St Mark, and the acts of St Peter and St Mark. The mosaics of the east
dome represent Jesus and the prophets. Tintoretto's design is in an
adjoining archway, and in the centre dome is "The Ascension." The
western dome has "The Descent of the Holy Ghost," and an arch here is
decorated with "The Last Judgment." There are more mosaics in the
aisles, illustrating "The Acts of the Apostles."
The high altar is a superb example of sculpture. The roof is supported
by marble columns, carved with scenes from the lives of Christ and the
Virgin Mary. The figures date from the eleventh century. A magnificent
altarpiece of gold-workers' design is shown for a fee. The upper part is
the older, and it was executed in Constantinople. The lower portion is
the work of Venetian artists of the twelfth century.
The baptistery contains early mosaics, a monument of one of the Doges of
Venice; and the stone upon which John the Baptist is stated to have been
beheaded is kept here.
"The Legend of San Marco" is the design in the Cappella Zen, adjoining
the baptistery. Here are the tomb of Cardinal Zen, a Renaissance work in
bronze, and a handsome altar.
In his rapturous description of the interior of San Marco, Ruskin
continues: "The mazes of interwoven lines and changeful pictures lead
always and at last to the Cross, lifted and carved in every place and
upon every stone; sometimes with the serpent of eternity wrapt round
it, sometimes with doves beneath its arms, and sweet herbage growing
forth from its feet."
Venetian architecture has a character of its own. We find the Oriental
influence in most of the buildings of Venice; the ogee arch is commonly
used, and the square billet ornament is a distinguishing mark. The first
Church of San Marco was built in 830.
The Palace of the Doge is in the Piazza. Its architecture has been
variously described and classified. It has strong traces of Moorish
influence, while in many respects it is Gothic. The decorated columns of
the arcades are very beautifully designed. Archangels and figures of
Justice, Temperance, and Obedience adorn the building, and there is an
ancient front on the south side. Enter through the Porta della Carta,
and you will find a court of wonderful interest, with rich façades and
the great staircase, which is celebrated as the crowning-place of the
Doges.
The architecture of the interior of the palace is of a later date than
that of the exterior. In the big entrance hall are Tintoretto's
portraits of legislators of Venice. From here enter the next apartment,
which contains a magnificent painting of "Faith" by Titian. In another
hall are four more of Tintoretto's works, and one by Paolo Veronese. The
Sala del Collegio is one of the principal chambers of the palace and its
ceiling was painted by Veronese. Here is the Doge's throne.
Tintoretto and Palma were the artists who executed the paintings in the
Hall of the Senators. The adjoining chapel is decorated with another of
Tintoretto's pictures. Pass to the Hall of the Council of Ten, where the
rulers of the city sat, and note the gorgeous ceiling by Paolo Veronese.
A staircase leads to the Hall of the Great Council below. From the
window there is an inspiriting view. The walls are hung with portraits,
but the glory of this hall is Tintoretto's "Paradise," an immense
painting.
Before leaving the Palace of the Doges, I will devote a few lines to the
Schools of Venice of the sixteenth century. Unfortunately most of the
works of Giorgione, the most characteristic painter of Venice, have
disappeared. He was the founder of a tradition, and the teacher of many
painters, including Palma, while his work influenced a number of his
contemporaries. Titian, born in 1477, was one of Giorgione's admirers,
and his early work shows his influence. The pictures of the great
Venetian master are one of the glories of the city. Some of his
paintings are in the Academy, in the Church of Santa Maria dei
Friari--where there is a monument to the artist--in the Church of Santa
Maria della Salute, and in the private galleries of the city.
In the Academy collection, in a large building in the square of St
Mark's, are Titian's much-restored "Presentation" and the "Pieta," among
the finest specimens of the Venetian School of painters. The celebrated
"Assumption" has been also restored.
"There are many princes; there is but one Titian," said Charles V. of
Spain, who declared that through the magic of the Venetian painter's
pencil, he "thrice received immortality." Forty-three examples of the
art of Titian are in the Prado Gallery of Madrid. Sanchez Coello, Court
artist to Philip II. was one of the students of the Italian master;
indeed several of the great painters of Spain were influenced by Titian,
and none of them revered him more than Velazquez.
Tintoretto's "Miracle of St Mark" and "Adam and Eve" are two instances
of his genius for colour, in the Academy, calling for special study,
and another of his works is to be seen in Santa Maria della Salute. We
have just looked at a number of this painter's pictures in the Doge's
Palace.
It has been said that Tintoretto inspired El Greco, whose pictures we
shall see in Toledo. Tintoretto was a pupil of Titian, basing his
drawing on the work of Michael Angelo, and finding inspiration for his
colour in the painting of Titian. He was a most industrious and prolific
artist.
Paolo Veronese, though not a native of Venice, was one of the school of
that city. He surpassed even Tintoretto in the use of colour, and
adorned many ceilings and altars, besides painting canvases. The "Rape
of Europa" and others of Paolo's mythical subjects display his gift of
colour and richness of imagination.
Among the later Venetian painters, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo is perhaps
the most remarkable. His conceptions were bizarre, and his fanciful
style is manifest in his picture of the "Way to Calvary," preserved in
Venice. Canaletto may be mentioned as the last of the historic painters
of Venice.
The work of Bellini must on no account be forgotten before we leave the
subject of Venetian art. His "Madonna Enthroned" is in the Academy,
among other of the masterpieces of his brush; and one of his most
exquisite paintings is in the Church of the Friari.
Let us also remember the splendid treasures of the art of Carpaccio, as
seen in the picture of "Saint Ursula" in the Academy, and in the
delightful paintings of San Giorgio, which moved Ruskin to rapture.
The many churches of Venice contain pictures of supreme interest. Most
of them are in a poor light, and can only be examined with difficulty.
San Zanipolo is a church of Gothic design, built by the Dominicans,
abounding in tombs and monuments. San Zaccaria has Bellini's altarpiece
"The Madonna and Child."
Many of the palaces, especially those of the Grand Canal, are
exceedingly beautiful in design, whether the style is Renaissance or
Byzantine-Romanesque. Among the oldest are the Palazzo Venier, the
Palazzo Dona, and the Palazzo Mesto; while for elegance the following
are notable: Dario, the three Foscari palaces, the Pesaro, the Turchi,
and Ca d' Oro, and the Loredan.
Some of these historic houses are associated with men of genius of
modern times. Wagner lived in the Palazzo Vendramin Calergi. In 1818
Byron resided in the Palazzo Mocenigo, and Browning occupied the Palazzo
Rezzonico.
Robert Browning and his wife had a passionate love for Venice. As a
young man the poet visited the city, and returned to England thrilled by
his impressions. Mrs Bridell Fox, his friend, says that: "He used to
illustrate his glowing descriptions of its beauties--the palaces, the
sunsets, the moonrises, by a most original kind of etching. Taking up a
bit of stray notepaper, he would hold it over a lighted candle, moving
the paper about gently till it was cloudily smoked over, and then
utilising the darker smears for clouds, shadows, water, or what not,
would etch with a dry pen the forms of lights on cloud and palace, on
bridge or gondola, on the vague and dreamy surface he had produced."
William Sharp--from whose "Life of Browning" I cull the passage just
quoted--tells us that his friend selected the palace on the Grand Canal
as a corner for his old age. Browning was "never happier, more sanguine,
more joyous than here. He worked for three or four hours each morning,
walked daily for about two hours, crossed occasionally to the Lido with
his sister, and in the evenings visited friends or went to the opera."
In 1889 Robert Browning died in Venice, on a December night, as "the
great bell of San Marco struck ten." He had just received news of the
success of his "Asolando." The poet was honoured in the city by a
splendid and solemn funeral procession of black-draped gondolas,
following the boat that held his body. Would he not have chosen to die
in the Venice that he loved with such intense fervour?
Among the statuary in the streets is the image of Bartolomeo Colleoni on
horseback, "I do not believe that there is a more glorious work of
sculpture existing in the world," writes Ruskin of this statue, which
stands in front of SS. Giovanni e Paolo. In the Piazzetta by the Palace
of the Doges are the two columns, which everyone associates with Venice,
bearing images of the flying lion of St Mark, and of St Theodore
treading upon a crocodile.
One other public building must be seen by the visitor. This is the
beautiful library opposite the Doge's Palace, an edifice that John
Addington Symonds praises as one of the chief achievements of Venetian
artists. The cathedral, the ducal palace, the library, and the Academy
of Arts are certainly four impressive and splendid buildings.
If you have seen the old roofed bridge that spans the river at the head
of the Lake of Lucerne, you will have an impression of the famous Rialto
of Venice. The historic bridge is charged with memories of the days when
"Venice sate in state throned on her hundred isles," and citizens asked
of one another, in the words of Solanio, in _The Merchant of Venice_.
"Now, what news on the Rialto?" The bridge is mediæval in aspect, and
romantic in its associations. You cannot lounge there without an
apparition of Shylock, raving at the loss of the diamond that cost him
two thousand ducats in Frankfort.
All around this "Queen of Cities" are places of supreme interest to the
student of architecture and the lover of natural beauty. Padua, and
Vicenza, with its rare monuments of Palladio, Murano, Torcello, and
other towns and villages with histories are within access of Venice. But
do not hasten from Venezia. It is a town in which one should roam and
loiter for long days.
PERUGIA
A white town, perched high on a bleak hill, is one's first impression of
Perugia. The position of the capital of Umbria is menacing, and without
any confirmation of history, one surmises that this was once a Roman
fortified town. After being built and held by the Etruscans, Perugia was
taken by the Roman host, and called Augusta Perusia. For centuries the
town was the terror of Umbria. Its citizens appear to have been a
superior order of bold banditti, continually making raids on the
surrounding towns and villages, and returning with spoil.
Mediæval traditions of Perugia are a romance of battle within and
without the town. At one time one faction held sway, at another a rival
faction gained the upper hand, and the natives spent much time and
energy in endeavouring to kill one another. The story is perhaps more
melodramatic than tragic. It reads almost like a novel of sensational
episodes, related by a fertile and imaginative writer in order to
thrill his readers.
Pope Paul III. was the subduer of Perugia. He dominated the town with a
citadel, now destroyed, and broke the power of its martial inhabitants
with the sword and the chain.
The surroundings of the town are bare, except for the olive groves which
give a cold green to a landscape somewhat devoid of warm colouring. You
either climb tediously up a long hill to the city, or ascend in an
incongruous electric tramcar. Entering the place, the chances are that
your sense of smell will be affronted somewhat rudely, for Perugia is
not very modern in its sanitary system.
Assisi is seen in the distance, bleached on its slope, and there are
far-off prospects of high mountains. The Prefeturra terrace is over
sixteen hundred feet above the sea, and is a fine view-point.
The setting of Perugia makes no appeal to the lover of sylvan charms. It
stands on an arid height, constantly attacked by the wind, and in dry
weather the town is very dusty. But there is hardly a narrow street nor
a corner without quaintness and beauty for the eye that can appreciate
them. Almost everywhere are glimpses of elegant spires and tall
belfries.
The cathedral, dedicated to San Lorenzo, is a fourteenth-century
edifice, with an aged aspect, and not much beauty in its decorations. In
the Chapel of San Bernardino is "The Descent from the Cross," by
Baroccio. This artist was a follower of Coreggio, fervent in his piety,
and devoted to his art. He was born in Urbino, and painted several
pictures in Rome. The example in the cathedral is one of his best-known
paintings. Signorelli designed an altarpiece for this church. Three
popes were buried here, Innocent III., Urban IV., and Martin IV.
Close to San Lorenzo is the Canonica, a palace of the popes, a huge,
heavy building. The fortress-like Palazzo Pubblico is still used as the
town hall. Its history is stirring. Many trials have been held in its
halls, and we read that culprits were sometimes hurled to death from one
of the windows.
The upper part of the Palazzo is a gallery of paintings, the works
representing the Umbrian School. Here we may study Perugino, Fiorenzo di
Lorenzo, Bonfigli, and other masters of the fifteenth century. Perugino
instituted a school of painting in the town. In the Sistine Chapel, in
Florence, we may see some of his frescoes. We shall see presently
examples of his works in other buildings in Perugia.
Fiorenzo di Lorenzo, Bonfigli, and Pinturicchio are represented in the
secular buildings and churches of the town. An altarpiece by Giannicola,
one of Perugino's pupils, should be noticed.
But perhaps the most important of the paintings are Fra Angelico's
"Madonna and Saints," "Miracles of San Nicholas," and "The
Annunciation."
Perugino's frescoes in the Exchange (Collegio del Cambio) are very
beautiful, depicting the virtues of illustrious Greeks and Romans.
"Perugino's landscape backgrounds," writes Mr Robert Clermont Witt, in
"How to look at Pictures," "with their steep blue slopes and winding
valleys are as truly representative of the hill country about Perugia as
are Constable's leafy lanes and homesteads of his beloved eastern
counties."
In the museum of the University, we shall find a number of antiquities
of pre-Roman and Roman times. The Church of San Severo must be visited,
for it contains a priceless early work by Raphael.
The Piazzi del Municipio was the scene of many conflicts in the
troublous days of Perugia. Here the austere Bernardino used to preach,
and here were held the pageants of the popes upon their visits to the
town. Around this piazzi is a network of narrow, ancient thoroughfares,
with many curious houses.
The Piazzi Sopramuro is one of the oldest parts of the town. In this
vicinity is the ornate, massive Church of San Domenico, with a
magnificent window, and the Decorated monument of Benedict XI.
Passing through the Porta San Pietro, we approach the Church of San
Pietro, considered to be the oldest sacred building in the town. It has
a splendidly ornamented choir, and in the sacristy are some remarkable
works of Perugino. The belfry of this church is of very graceful design.
About three miles from Perugia, towards Assisi, are some Etruscan tombs,
with buried chambers, a vestibule, and several statues. This monument is
of deep interest. It is a family cemetery of great antiquity, and the
carvings are of exquisite art.
FLORENCE
_Firenze la bella_, the pride of its natives, the dream of poet and
painter and the delight of a multitude of travellers, lies amid graceful
hills, clothed with olive gardens and dotted with white villas. In the
clear distance are the splendid Apennines. Climb to the terrace of San
Miniato, and you will gain a wide general view of this great and
beautiful city of culture and the arts. The wonderful campanile of
Giotto rises above the surrounding buildings, rivalling the height of
the cathedral; the sunlight glows on dome and tower, and the valleys and
glens lie in deep shadow, stretching away to the slopes of the
mountains.
Very lovely, too, is the prospect from the Boboli Gardens, and finer
still the outlook from Fiesole, whence the eye surveys the Cathedral,
the Baptistery, the Campanile, the noble churches of Bruneschi, the
Pitti Palace, and many fair buildings of the Middle Ages.
Gazing over Florence from one of the elevations of the environs, a vast
pageant of history seems revealed, and men of illustrious name pass in
long procession in the vision of the mind. How numerous are the great
thinkers and artists associated with the city from Savonarola to the
Brownings! We recall Dante, Giotto, Boccaccio, Michael Angelo--the roll
seems inexhaustible. Almost all the famous men of Italy are connected
with the culture-history and the political annals of Florence. The city
inspires and holds us with a spell; we are impelled to wander day after
day in the narrow streets, to linger in the fragrant gardens, to roam in
the luxuriant valleys of the surrounding country, and to climb the hill
of classic Fiesole.
Rich and beautiful is the scenery between Florence and Bologna, with its
glimpses of the savage Apennines. The glen of Vallombrosa is one of the
loveliest spots in the vicinity, where the old monastery broods amid
beech and chestnut-trees. It was this scene that Milton recalled when he
wrote the lines:
"Thick as autumnal leaves that strew the brooks
In Vallombrosa...."
[Illustration: FLORENCE.
PONTE SANTA TRINITA, 1832.]
The history of the city is of abundant interest. Florence was probably
an important station in the days of the Roman Triumviri. Totila the
Goth besieged and destroyed the town, and Charlemagne restored it two
hundred and fifty years later. Machiavelli states that from 1215
Florence was the seat of the ruling power in Italy, the descendants of
Charles the Great governing here until the time of the German emperors.
In the struggle between the Church and the State, the city took sides
with the popular party for the time being. There were, however, constant
factions within Florence, due to the quarrels of the Buondelmonti and
Uberti families. Frederick II. favoured the Uberti cause, and with his
help, the Buondelmontis were expelled. Then came the remarkable period
of the Guelfs and the Ghibellines, the former standing for the Pope, and
the latter siding with the Emperor. Florence favoured the Guelfs, and
the Ghibellines resolved to destroy the city; but the Guelf party again
won ascendancy in Florence. The trouble was, however, not at an end. For
years Florence was disturbed by the conflicting aims of these intriguing
parties.
Grandees and commoners warred in Florence in the fourteenth century, and
efforts were made by the aristocratic rulers to curtail the liberties of
the people. This was frustrated by the commoners, and the government
was reformed on a more democratic basis. Peace followed during a period
of about ten years, but calamity befell Florence in the form of the
pestilence described by Boccaccio. Ninety-six thousand persons are said
to have died from the ravages of this plague.
As early as the twelfth century there were many signs in Florence of
intellectual liberty. The doctrine of the eternity of matter was openly
discussed, and on to the days of Savonarola civilising forces were at
work in this centre of culture.
Girolamo Savonarola arose at the end of the fifteenth century, and his
reforming influence soon spread through Italy. "The church is shaken to
its foundations," he cries. "No more are the prophets remembered, the
apostles are no longer reverenced, the columns of the church strew the
ground because the foundations are destroyed--in other words because the
evangelists are rejected." Such heresy as this brought Savonarola to the
stake.
Greater among the mighty of Florence was Dante, born in a memorable age
of art and invention. "The Vita Nuova," inspired by the gentle damsel,
Beatrice, was written when Dante had met his divinity at a May feast
given by her father, Folco Portinari, one of the chief citizens of
Florence. Beatrice died in 1290 at the age of twenty-four. Boccaccio
states that the poet married Gemma Donati about a year after the death
of Beatrice. Dante died in 1321, and was buried in Ravenna.
For me the chief appeal in Seville, Antwerp, or any old Continental town
is in the human associations. In Florence, roaming in the ancient
quarters, the figure of Dante, made so familiar by many paintings,
arises with but little effort of the imagination, for the streets have
not greatly changed in aspect since his day. The atmosphere remains
mediæval.
Can we not see the moody poet, driven from his high estate by the
quarrels of the ruling houses, pacing the alleys, repeating to himself:
"How hard is the path!" Can we not picture him in company with Petrarch,
who, after the merry-making in the palace, remarked that the wise poet
was quite eclipsed by the mountebanks who capered before the guests? And
do we not hear Dante's muttered "Like to like!"
Two great English poets, Chaucer and Milton, made journeys to Florence.
Giovanni Boccaccio was born in 1313, in Certaldo, a small town some
leagues from Florence. He spent a few years in France and in the south
of Italy, returning to Florence at the age of twenty-eight. Boccaccio
was the close friend and the biographer of Dante, and a contemporary of
Petrarch.