seat of learning. Machiavelli writes of Lorenzo: "The chief aim of his
policy was to maintain the city in ease, the people united, and the
nobles honoured. He had a marvellous liking for every man who excelled
in any branch of art. He favoured the learned, as Messer Agnola da
Montepulciano, Messer Cristofano Landini, and Messer Demetrio; the Greek
can bear sure testimony whence it came that the Count Giovanni della
Mirandola, a man almost divine, withdrew himself from all the other
countries of Europe through which he had travelled, and attracted by the
munificence of Lorenzo, took up his abode in Florence. In architecture,
music, and poetry, he took extraordinary delight.... Never was there any
man, not in Florence merely, but in all Italy, who died with such a name
for prudence, or whose loss was so much mourned by his country."
Machiavelli, the Florentine historian, lived for a while in retirement
in the outskirts of Florence. We may gain a little insight into his
character and tastes from a passage in one of his letters in which he
mentions that it was his custom to repair to the tavern every afternoon,
clad in rustic garments, where he played cards with a miller, a butcher
and a lime-maker. In the evening he dressed himself in the clothes that
he wore in town and at court, and communed with the spirits of the
"illustrious dead" in the volumes of his library.
Over the entrance to the Casa Guidi is the inscription: "Here wrote and
died Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who, in the heart of a woman, combined
the learning of a scholar and the genius of a poet. By her verse she
wrought a golden ring connecting Italy and England. Grateful Florence
erected this memorial in 1861."
Mrs Browning passed away in the Casa Guidi just before dawn, in June
1861. Her remains lie in the beautiful grounds of the Protestant
cemetery.
Fierce old Walter Savage Landor lived for a time in Florence, and for a
longer period in Fiesole, where the Brownings often visited him.
Swinburne came just before Landor's death to see the poet.
Shelley was in Florence in 1819. A son was born to him here, and he
records the event in a letter to Leigh Hunt. The poet writes of the
Cascine Gardens, where he loved to walk and to gaze upon the Arno.
Florence seems to have impressed Shelley almost as powerfully as Rome.
"Florence itself," he writes upon a first visit, "that is the Lung Arno
(for I have seen no more) I think is the most beautiful city I have yet
seen." With this tribute from the poet, we will begin our survey of
Florence.
In a magnificent square stands the cathedral, the baptistery, and the
belfry. The oldest of the edifices is the baptistery, reared on the
ground whereon stood a temple of Mars. Parts of the building are said to
date from the seventh century. The glories of the baptistery are many,
but perhaps the most appealing of the external decorations are the
reliefs of the bronze door, which Michael Angelo so greatly admired.
They illustrate scenes from the life of John the Baptist. The exterior
of the Duomo or cathedral is the work of several great artists,
including Giotto and Andrea Pisano. A modern façade was added in
1875-1887.
The Porta della Mandoria, one of the most beautiful doorways in
existence, is surmounted by a mosaic of Ghirlandaio, "The Annunciation."
There is not much to claim attention within the cathedral, except
Michael Angelo's incomplete and last work, the "Pieta," behind the chief
altar, a statue of Boniface VIII., and a painting of Dante reading his
"Divina Commedia," by Michelino. Savonarola preached in this church.
The triumph of Giotto, the famed Campanile, adjoins the duomo. The work
was begun in 1335, and the structure and its decorations are a superb
achievement of Giotto's genius. Ruskin has written a glowing passage
upon this wonderful example of "Power and Beauty" in decorative
architecture. The edifice is of variously coloured marbles, adorned with
splendid bas-reliefs, depicting the growth of industry and art in many
ages. Another set of bas-reliefs represent Scriptural scenes. The
statues are the work of Rosso and Donatello.
Giotto was born in the neighbourhood of Florence, and died in the city.
He was the friend of Dante, who wrote an eulogy upon his supremacy as a
painter. The bell-tower of Florence is his finest work in architecture
and the most treasured of all the monuments in the city.
Fra Angelico is intimately associated with Florence, and many of his
pictures are preserved in the city. He was born in the vicinity of
Florence, near the birthplace of Giotto. Vasari says: "Fra Giovanni was
a man of simple and blameless life. He shunned the world, with all its
temptations, and during his pure and simple life was such a friend to
the poor that I think his soul must now be in heaven. He painted
incessantly, but would never represent any other than a sacred subject.
He might have been rich, but he scorned it, saying that true riches
consisted in being content to be poor."
The Academy of Arts in Florence contains many of Fra Angelico's
masterpieces. There are six of his paintings in the Uffizi Palace, and
several in the Convent of San Marco. In this collection of pictures are
numerous works of the fourteenth and fifteenth century painters, all
claiming diligent study.
The Uffizi Palace and the Pitti Palace are rich storehouses of some of
the most famous of the world's pictures, and of several great statues.
The chief pictures cannot even be enumerated. Let me only mention
Raphael's "Madonna and Child," Michael Angelo's "Holy Family," Titian's
"Venus," Durer's "Adoration of the Magi," Andrea del Sarto's
"Assumption," Ruben's "Terrors of Wars," and Velazquez's "Philip IV."
These are but few indeed of the treasures of these two noble palaces of
art.
The wonderful Venus de Medici, one of the greatest of classic works of
art, is in this collection. In the seventeenth century the statue was
unearthed in the villa of Hadrian, near Tivoli. It was in eleven pieces,
and it was repaired and set up in the Medici Palace at Rome. In 1680
Cosmo III. had the treasure removed to the Imperial Palace at Florence.
In the north-eastern part of the city there are three buildings of
historical interest. One is the Church of Santissima Annunziata, founded
in the thirteenth century, but restored in modern times. Here will be
seen sacred pictures by Andrea del Sarto, in the court, while in the
cloisters is the "Madonna del Sacco." The tomb of Benvenuto Cellini is
here.
San Marco is now a repository of works of art. It was the monastery of
Savonarola, and the edifice is haunted with the spirit of the zealous
reformer. The fine frescoes by Fra Angelico adorn the cloisters, and in
the chapter house is his "Crucifixion," one of the largest of the
friar's pictures.
Three of the cells were inhabited at different times by Savonarola, and
contain memorials of the pious ascetic, a coat of penance, a crucifix,
and religious volumes.
Sir Martin Conway writes, in "Early Tuscan Art": "In Savonarola's cell
there hangs a relic of no small interest--the handiwork of Fra Angelico
himself. It is stowed away in so dark a corner that one can hardly see
it. Eyes accustomed to the gloom discover a small picture of the
crucified Christ, painted on a simple piece of white stuff. When the
great preacher mounted the pulpit, this banner was borne before him. In
those impassioned appeals of his, that electrified for a time the people
of Florence, collected in crowded silence within the vast area of the
newly finished cathedral, it was to this very symbol of his faith that
he was wont to point, whereon are written the now faded words, _Nos
predicamus Christum crucifixum_."
In the church of San Marco are the tombs of Sant Antonino and the
learned Pico della Mirandola.
Among the other churches of note is Santa Trinita, originally an example
of the art of Niccolo Pisano, but it has been modernised. It contains a
monument by Luca della Robbia, and some splendid mural paintings,
depicting the career of St Francis, by Ghirlando. There are more
paintings by this master in the Franciscan church of Ognissanti.
Santa Croce is a great burial-place, rich in monuments of illustrious
Florentines. Michael Angelo's tomb is here, and near to it is the
resting-place of Galileo. A monument to Dante, the tomb of Alfieri, by
Canova, the memorials of Machiavelli, Aretino, Cherubino, and many
others are in this building. My necessarily scanty description of the
splendours of this church are offered with an apology for want of fuller
space to describe them.
Donatello's "Crucifixion" is in the north transept, and the Capella
Peruzzi and the Capella Bardi are decorated with frescoes by Giotto.
Agnolo Gaddi's paintings are in the choir. Reluctantly, one leaves this
great treasure-house. A mere catalogue of its works of art would fill
pages.
We have glanced at two of the palaces. Let us now visit the stern
Palazzo Vecchio, once the Senate House of the city. The building dates
from the thirteenth century, and was the home of the Medici.
Verrochio's fountain beautifies one of the courts. Inside the palazzo
are mural paintings by Ghirlando.
Another of the interesting buildings is the Bargello, an important
museum. Michael Angelo's "Dying Adonis" and "Victory" are in the court,
and there are more works of the great artist within. Dante lectured in
one of the halls of the Bargello. Benvenuto Cellini's design for
"Perseus" is in one of the rooms, and there are reliefs by Della Robbia.
The Riccardi Palace is redolent with memories of Lorenzo. It stands in
the Piazza San Lorenzo, and in the same square is the church named after
him, containing some very beautiful monuments. Donatello was buried
here, and a stone marks the grave of Cosimo de Medici. Lippo Lippi's
"Annunciation," and Michael Angelo's works are the glories of this
church. The New Sacristy contains Angelo's "Day and Night" over the tomb
of Giuliano Medici, and that of Lorenzo de Medici adorned with statues
of "Dawn and Twilight." These are among the most magnificent examples of
Michael Angelo's statuary.
Near to the railway station is the Church of Santa Maria Novella, a
glorious specimen of Gothic architecture, with a fine façade. In this
church are paintings by Orcagna, Lippi, Cimabue Ghirlando, and other
artists. The frescoes in the Strozzi Chapel, and the Spanish Chapel of
this Dominican church are of great interest. Orcagna's paintings in the
Strozzi Chapel are of the fourteenth century. The chapel was dedicated
to St Thomas Aquinas, who was greatly honoured by the Dominican order.
Modern Florence is a bright populous city, with wide main streets,
squares, and pleasant gardens.
VERONA
Amid surroundings of great beauty, in a northern corner of Italy, with a
huge mountain barrier in the rear, and not far from the Lake of Garda,
is the old city of Verona. Shakespeare called the place "fair Verona,"
and made it the scene of _Romeo and Juliet_, while the city is again the
background of drama in _The Two Gentlemen of Verona_.
[Illustration: VERONA, 1830.]
Shall we not see, leaning from one of the old balconies, the lovely
Juliet? Do Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolio no longer roam these twisted
ancient streets? And where shall we find Julia and Lucetta, and
Valentine, and smile at the pleasantries of Launce, with his dog, Crab,
on a leash? Shakespeare has peopled these courts and cloisters for us
with characters that we knew when we were young. We resent the bare hint
that there never were in Verona a fervent youth named Romeo and a gentle
maid called Juliet. Verona is the home of _Romeo and Juliet_, and for
this we have known the town since we first turned the magic pages of
Shakespeare.
One wishes that there were a better word than "picturesque." How
hackneyed seem adjectives and phrases in describing these old towns.
Verona then is very beautiful; it is certainly one of the loveliest
cities of Europe, both in its surroundings and within its confines. You
will not soon tire of the Piazza della Erbe, with the flying lion on its
column, the charming fountain, and the stately Municipio. Here you will
watch the life of Verona of to-day, and reflect that it has not wholly
changed since the time of the Scaligers, the mighty rulers of the city.
There is, of course, the modern note. But the old buildings stand, and
in their shade people in the dress of olden days pass continually. It is
inspiring and a trifle unreal when the moon lights the square, and the
silence of night lends mystery to the scene.
In Verona everyone strives to live and work in the open air. The streets
are thronged on days of market, stalls are set up in the narrow lanes
and in the piazzas, vegetables and fruit come in great store. The
eternal garlic scents the street, but we learn to love its odour. In
Spain a market is quiet and solemn; here the scene is gay and noisy.
Voices are raised, and there is lively bartering of wares. There are
subjects at every turn for the brush of the painter--stern old
buildings, winding alleys, and groups of garishly dressed peasants.
Diocletian's glorious amphitheatre is the chief wonder of Verona. Few
Roman monuments are so well preserved; the lower arches are almost
perfect, and the stonework has been restored.
Great gladiators fought here during hundreds of centuries. The tiers had
thousands of seats for spectators of all classes; and in later times the
knights of chivalry contended in the circus. There is a fine view from
the highest tier, overlooking the city and the varied landscape.
The structure is of a dull red marble, and signs of decay have been
removed by repeated restoration, for the people of Verona take great
pride in this monument. "The amphitheatre," writes Goethe, "is the first
important monument of the old times that I have seen--and how well it is
preserved!"
Fra Giaconda designed the Palazza del Consiglio, and his fine arches and
statuary deserve close inspection. The Tribunale and the Palazza della
Ragione, both interesting, should be visited; the tombs of Scaligers in
the Tribunale are Gothic work of great beauty.
There are several important churches in the city. The cathedral was
begun in the twelfth century, and is adorned with a number of exterior
images and reliefs. One of the chief works of the interior is Titian's
"Assumption." San Zeno Maggiore has a beautiful façade, with Theodoric
the Goth as one of the carvings, and a doorway of noble decorations. The
interior of this church is very impressive.
The Church of Sant Anastasia dates from the thirteenth century, and is
one of the most striking buildings in Verona. In the Cavilli Chapel are
some old frescoes, and there is a splendid statue of the last of the
Scaliger rulers, Cortesia Sarega, on horseback.
San Giorgio has some famous paintings. Let us inspect first the great
picture of Paolo Veronese, "The Martyrdom of St George." Paolo Caliari,
born in 1528, was a native of Verona, and came to be known as "The
Veronese." His model was Titian, and he excelled in colour effects, and
in the brilliance of his scenes. Several of his chief works are in
Venice, but the example in this church is considered one of his
greatest achievements. More of his pictures will be seen in the gallery
of the Pompeii Palace. The art of Paolo Veronese appealed strongly to
Goethe, who admired more than all his work in portraiture.
Jacopo Robusti, called Tintoretto, was the founder of the Venetian
School. Like Veronese, he followed the method of Titian. He was a
prolific painter. Venice abounds in his works, and there are several of
his paintings in Verona. In San Giorgio is "The Baptism of Christ," and
Goethe refers to one of this artist's pictures, called "A Paradise," in
the Bevilague Palace.
One of the finest works of Mantegna is in Verona. This is the altarpiece
"The Madonna with Angels and Saints," in the Church of San Zeno. The
figures and features of the Virgin are very beautifully presented.
Mantegna was by birth a Paduan, but he worked chiefly in Mantua. His
magnificent cartoons, painted for a palace at Mantua, are now in the
Hampton Court Gallery, England.
In the Church of Santa Maria in Organo there are some fresco paintings
by Morone, depicting a Madonna accompanied by St Augustine and St
Thomas Aquinas. Dr Kugler, in his "History of Painting," says that there
is a "Madonna" by that painter in a house beyond the Ponta delle Navi in
Verona.
Fra Giovanni designed the choir stalls in this church, and executed
other decorations during his sojourn in the monastery of Verona.
From Santa Maria we may turn into the beautiful old Giusti Gardens, with
their shady walks, their wealth of verdure, and ancient cypress-trees.
Besides the pictures in the churches, there is a collection of paintings
in the picture gallery of the Palazzo Pompei. Here will be found
examples of Paolo Veronese and other notable artists of his day. One of
the Veronese School here represented is Girolomo dai Libri, who was a
follower of Mantegna. His work is of a deeply religious character, and
merits careful study.
The Church of San Fermo Maggiore should be seen for its handsome Gothic
architecture, both in the exterior and interior.
There are one or two relics of the Roman period in the history of
Verona, besides the splendid amphitheatre. The most noteworthy are the
two gateways, the Arco dei Leoni, and the Porta dei Borsari.
A. E. Freeman, the historian, has admirably described the variety of
interest in this old town: "There is the classic Verona, the Verona of
Catullus and Pliny; there is the Verona of the Nibelungen, the Bern of
Theodoric; there is the mediæval Verona, the Verona of commonwealths and
tyrants; the Verona of Eccelius and Can Grande; and there is the Verona
of later times, under Venetian, French, and Austrian bondage, the Verona
of congresses and fortifications."
SEVILLE
A house in Seville is the reward of those beloved by the gods. In Toledo
you are made reflective, perchance a little melancholy, while in Granada
you are infected by the spirit of a past long dead. But in fair, sunlit
Seville you live in the present as well as in the past; and your heart
is made light by the pervasive gaiety of the people and the cheerfulness
of the streets and plazas.
Climb the beautiful Giralda--the brown tower of the Moors that rises
above the cathedral dome--and look around upon the vegas, and away to
the blue mountains of the horizon, and you will know why Borrow was
moved to shed "tears of rapture," when he gazed upon this delightful
land of the Blessed Virgin and the happy city, with its minarets, its
palm-shaded squares, its luxuriant gardens, and broad stream, winding
between green banks to the distant marshes, where rice and cotton grow,
and the flamingo and heron fly over sparkling lagoons amid a tropical
jungle.
Seville in spring is gay to hilarity. The great fair and the Easter
ceremonials and _fêtes_ attract thousands to the capital of Andalusia at
the season when the banks of the Guadalquivir are white with the bloom
of the orange-trees, and hundreds of nightingales make the evening
breezes melodious; when the heat is bearable, the sky a deep azure, and
the whole town festive, and bright with the costumes of many provinces.
No blight of east wind depresses in early spring, and rarely indeed is
the promise of roses and fruit threatened by frost in this region of
perennial mildness and sunlight. "Only once have I seen ice in Seville,"
said to me a middle-aged native of the place. It is only the winter
floods, those great _avenidas_, that are dreaded in Seville; for now and
then the river swells out of normal bounds, and spreads into the streets
and alleys.
[Illustration: SEVILLE, 1836.
PLAZA REAL AND PROCESSION OF THE CORPUS CHRISTI.]
Seville is a white city in most of its modern parts. Lime-wash is used
profusely everywhere, and the effect is cool and cleanly; but we wish
sometimes that the natural colour of the stonework had been left free
from the _brocha del blanquedor_, or the whitewasher's brush.
Nevertheless, this whiteness hides dirt and dinginess. There are no
squalid slums in Seville. The poor are there in swarms, but their
poverty is not ugly and obvious, and for the greater part they are clad
in cotton that is often washed.
This is the town of beautiful southern doñas: the true types of
Andalusian loveliness may be seen here in the park, on the promenade,
and at the services in the cathedral--women with black or white
mantillas, olive or pale in complexion, with full, dark eyes, copious
raven hair, short and rather plump in form, but always charming in their
carriage. More picturesque and often more lovely in features are the
working girls, those vivacious, intelligent daughters of the people,
whose dark hair is adorned with a carnation or a rose.
The lightheartedness of Seville has expression in music, dancing, and
merry forgatherings each evening in the _patios_, when the guitar
murmurs sweetly, and the click of the castanets sets the blood tingling.
Everyone in Seville dances. The children dance almost as soon as they
learn to toddle. In the _cafés_ you will see the nimblest dancers of
Spain, and follow the intricate movements of the bolero, as well as the
curious swaying and posturings of the older Moorish dances. These
strange dramatic dances must be seen, and to witness them you should
visit the Novedades at the end of Calle de las Sierpes.
Fashionable Seville delights in driving, and some of the wealthiest
residents drive a team of gaily-decked, sleek-coated mules, with bells
jangling on their bridles. Beautiful horses with Arab blood may be seen
here. Even the asses are well-bred and big. But one sees also many
ill-fed and sadly over-driven horses and mules. These people, so
affectionate in their family life, so kindly in their entertainment of
foreigners, and so graciously good-natured, have not yet learned one of
the last lessons of humane civilisation--compassion for the animals that
serve them.
Society in Seville takes its pleasure seriously, but the seriousness is
not the dullness that attends the Englishman's attempts at hilarity. The
Spaniard is less demonstrative than the Frenchman, less mercurial than
the Italian. Notwithstanding, the crowd at the races, at the battle of
flowers, or watching the religious processions, or at the opera, is
happy in its quiet intentness. The enthusiasm for bullfighting is
perhaps the strongest visible emotion in Seville, the Alma Mater of the
champions of the arena. At the _corrida_ the Sevillian allows himself
to become excited. He loses his restraint, he shouts himself hoarse,
waves his hat, and thrashes the wooden seats with his cane in the
ecstasy of his delight, when a great performer plunges his sword into
the vital spot of the furious bull that tears the earth with its foot,
and prepares for a charge.
Bullfights, gorgeous ecclesiastic spectacles, and dancing--these are the
recreations of rich and poor alike in Seville to-day. In this city of
pleasure you will see the _majo_, the Andalusian dandy, as he struts up
and down the Sierpes--the only busy street of shops--spruce,
self-conscious, casting fervent glances at the señoras accompanied by
their duennas. Go into the meaner alleys and market streets, and you
will see the very vagrants that Murillo painted, tattered wastrels who
address one another as Señor, and hold licences to beg. Cross the Bridge
of Isabella to the suburb of Triana, and you will find a mixed and
curious population of mendicants, thieves, desperadoes, and a colony of
Gitanos, who live by clipping horses, hawking, fortune-telling, dancing
and begging.
Peep through the delicate trellises of the Moorish gates of the patios,
and you will see fountains, and flowers, and palms, and the slender
columns supporting galleries, as in the Alhambra and other ancient
buildings. Very delightful are these cool courtyards, with their canvas
screens, ensuring shade at noonday, their splash of water, and their
scent of roses clustering on columns and clothing walls. Some of these
courtyards are open to the visitor, and one of the finest is the Casa de
Pilatos in the Plaza de Pilatos.
A pleasant garden within a court is that of my friend, Don J.
Lopez-Cepero, who lives in the old house of Murillo, and allows the
stranger to see his fine collection of pictures. Here Murillo died, in
1682, and some of his paintings are treasured in the gallery. The house
is Number Seven, Plaza de Alfaro.