being present at those happy nuptials, at the Ponte a S. Trinita and
also at the Palazzo degli Spini, which is to be seen at the beginning of
that bridge, there was the fourth ornament, of an architecture not less
magnificent in composition, and consisting of a head-piece with three
facades, one of which, turning to face towards the Ponte alla Carraia,
became joined to that in the centre, which was somewhat bent and
likewise attached to that which in like manner turned to face towards
the Palazzo degli Spini and S. Trinita; whence it appeared to have been
contrived principally for the point of view both from the one street and
from the other, insomuch that both from the one and from the other it
presented itself complete to the eyes of all beholders--a thing of
singular artifice for him who well considers it, which rendered that
street, which is in itself as imposing and magnificent as any other that
is to be found in Florence, even more imposing and more beautiful than
could be believed. In the facade that came in the centre, there had been
formed upon a great base two Giants, immense and most superb to behold,
supported by two great monsters and by other extravagant fishes that
appeared to be swimming in the sea, and accompanied by two sea-nymphs.
These represented, one the great Ocean and the other the Tyrrhenian Sea,
and, half reclining, they appeared to be seeking to present to the most
illustrious pair, with a certain affectionate liberality, not only many
most beautiful branches of coral and immense shells of mother-of-pearl,
and others of their sea-riches that they held in their hands, but also
new islands, new lands, and new dominions, which were seen led thither
in their train. Behind them, making that whole ornament lovely and
imposing, were seen rising little by little, from their socles that
rested upon the base, two vast half-columns, upon which rested cornice,
frieze, and architrave, leaving behind the Sea-Gods already described,
almost in the form of a triumphal arch, a very spacious square; and over
the two columns and the architrave rose two very well-formed pilasters
covered with creepers, from which sprang two cornices, forming at the
summit a superb and very bold frontispiece, at the top of which, and
above the creepers of the pilasters already described, were seen placed
three very large vases of gold, all filled to overflowing with thousands
and thousands of different riches of the sea; and in the space that
remained between the architrave and the point of the frontispiece, there
was seen lying with rare dignity a masterly figure of a Nymph,
representing Tethys, or Amphitrite, Goddess and Queen of the Sea, who
with a very grave gesture was presenting as the principal crown of that
place a rostral crown, such as was generally given to the victors in
naval battles, with her motto, VINCE MARI, and as it were adding that
which follows: JAM TERRA TUA EST. Even as in the picture and the facade
behind the Giants, in a very large niche that had the appearance of a
real and natural cavern or grotto, there was painted among many other
monsters of the sea the Proteus of Virgil's Georgics, bound by Aristaeus,
who, pointing with his finger towards the verses written above him,
appeared to wish to announce in prophecy to the well-united pair good
fortune, victories, and triumphs in maritime affairs, saying:
Germana adveniet felici cum alite virgo,
Flora, tibi, adveniet soboles Augusta, Hymenei
Cui pulcher Juvenis jungatur foedere certo
Regius Italiae columen, bona quanta sequentur
Conjugium? Pater Arne tibi, et tibi Florida Mater,
Gloria quanta aderit? Protheum nil postera fallunt.
And since, as has been told, this facade of the cavern stood between the
two other facades, one of which was turned towards S. Trinita and the
other towards the Ponte alla Carraia, both these, which were of the same
size and height, were likewise bordered in a similar manner by two
similar half-columns, which in like manner supported their architrave,
frieze, and cornice in a quarter-round, upon which, both on the one side
and on the other, were seen three statues of boys on three pedestals,
who were upholding certain very rich festoons of gold, composed in a
most masterly fashion of conches, shells, coral, sword-grass, and
sea-weed, by which a no less graceful finish was given to the whole
structure.
But to return to the space of the facade which, turning from the
straight, was supported against the Palazzo degli Spini. In it was seen,
painted in chiaroscuro, a Nymph all unadorned and little less than nude,
placed between many new kinds of animals, who stood for the new land of
Peru, with the other new West Indies, discovered and ruled for the most
part under the auspices of the most fortunate House of Austria. She was
turned towards a figure of Jesus Christ Our Lord, who, painted all
luminous in a Cross in the air (alluding to the four exceeding bright
stars which form the semblance of a Cross, newly discovered among those
peoples), appeared in the manner of a Sun piercing some thick clouds
with most resplendent rays, for which she seemed in a certain sense to
be rendering much thanks to that house, in that by their means she was
seen converted to the Divine worship and to the true Christian Religion,
with the verses written below:
Di tibi pro meritis tantis, Augusta propago,
Praemia digna ferant, quae vinctam mille catenis
Heu duris solvis, quae clarum cernere solem
E tenebris tantis et Christum noscere donas.
Even as on the base which supported that whole facade, and which,
although on a level with that of the Giants, yet did not like that one
project outwards, there was seen, painted as it were by way of allegory,
the fable of Andromeda delivered by Perseus from the cruel Monster of
the sea. And in that which, turning, faced towards the Arno and the
Ponte alla Carraia, there was seen in like manner painted the small but
famous Island of Elba, in the form of an armed warrior seated upon a
great rock, with the Trident in her right hand, having on one side of
her a little boy who was seen sporting playfully with a dolphin, and on
the other side another like him, who was upholding an anchor, with many
galleys that were shown circling about her port, which was painted
there. At her feet, on her base, and corresponding in like manner to the
facade painted above, was seen likewise the fable that is given by
Strabo, when he relates that the Argonauts, returning from the
acquisition of the Golden Fleece, and arriving with Medea in Elba,
raised altars there and made sacrifice to Jove upon them; perhaps
foreseeing or auguring that at another time our present glorious Duke,
being as it were of their company by virtue of the Order of the Golden
Fleece, was to fortify that island and to safeguard distressed mariners,
thus reviving their ancient and glorious memory. Which was expressed
excellently well by the four verses written there in a suitable place,
saying:
Evenere olim Heroes qui littore in isto
Magnanimi votis petiere. En Ilva potentis
Auspiciis Cosmi multa munita opera ac vi;
Pacatum pelagus securi currite nautae.
But the most beautiful effect, the most bizarre, the most fantastic, and
the most ornate--besides the various devices and trophies, and Arion,
who was riding pleasantly through the sea on the back of the swimming
dolphin--came from an innumerable quantity of extravagant fishes of the
sea, Nereids, and Tritons, which were distributed among the friezes,
pedestals, and bases, and wherever a space or the beauty of the place
required them. Even as at the foot of the great base of the Giants there
was another gracious effect in the form of a most beautiful Siren seated
upon the head of a very large fish, from whose mouth at times, at the
turning of a key, not without laughter among the expectant bystanders, a
rushing jet of water was seen pouring upon such as were too eager to
drink the white and red wine that flowed in abundance from the breasts
of the Siren into a very capacious and most ornate basin. And since the
bend of the facade where Elba was painted was the first thing to strike
the eyes of those who came, as did the procession, from the Ponte alla
Carraia along the Arno towards the Palazzo degli Spini, it seemed good
to the inventor to hide the ugliness of the scaffolding and woodwork
that were necessarily placed behind, by raising to the same height
another new facade similar to the three described, which might, as it
did, render that whole vista most festive and ornate. And in it, within
a large oval, it appeared to him that it was well to place the principal
device, embracing the whole conception of the structure; and to that
end, therefore, there was seen figured a great Neptune on his usual Car,
with the usual Trident, as he is described by Virgil, chasing away the
troublesome winds, and using as a motto the very same words, MATURATE
FUGAM; as if he wished to promise to the fortunate pair happiness,
peace, and tranquillity in his realm.
OF THE COLUMN.
Opposite to the graceful Palace of the Bartolini there had been erected
a short time before, as a more stable and enduring ornament, not without
singular ingenuity, that ancient and immense column of oriental granite
which had been taken from the Baths of Antoninus in Rome, and granted by
Pius IV to our glorious Duke, and by him conveyed, although at no little
expense, to Florence, and magnanimously presented to her as a courteous
gift for her public adornment. Upon that column, over its beautiful
capital, which had, like the base, the appearance of bronze, and which
is now being made of real bronze, there was placed a statue (of clay,
indeed, but in the colour of porphyry, because even so it is to be),
very large and very excellent, of a woman in full armour, with a helmet
on the head, and representing, by the sword in the right hand and by the
scales in the left, an incorruptible and most valorous Justice.
OF THE CANTO DE' TORNAQUINCI.
The sixth ornament was erected at the Canto de' Tornaquinci; and here I
must note a thing which would appear incredible to one who had not seen
it--namely, that this ornament was so magnificent, so rich in pomp, and
fashioned with so much art and grandeur, that, although it was conjoined
with the superb Palace of the Strozzi, which is such as to make the
greatest things appear as nothing, and although on a site altogether
disastrous by reason of the uneven ends of the streets that run together
there, and certain other inconvenient circumstances, nevertheless such
was the excellence of the craftsman, and so well conceived the manner of
the work, that it seemed as if all those difficulties had been brought
together there for the purpose of rendering it the more admirable and
the more beautiful; that most lovely palace being so well accompanied by
the richness of the ornaments, the height of the arches, the grandeur of
the columns, all intertwined with arms and trophies, and the great
statues that towered over the summit of the whole structure, that anyone
would have judged that neither that ornament required any other
accompaniment than that of such a palace, nor such a palace required any
other ornament. And to the end that all may be the better understood,
and in order to show more clearly and distinctly in what manner the work
was constructed, it is necessary that some measure of pardon should be
granted to us by those who are not of our arts, if for the sake of those
who delight in them we proceed, more minutely than might appear proper
to the others, to describe the nature of the sites and the forms of the
arches; and this in order to demonstrate how noble intellects
accommodate ornaments to places and inventions to sites with grace and
beauty. We must relate, then, that since the street which runs from the
Column to the Tornaquinci is, as everyone knows, very wide, and since it
was necessary to pass from there into the street of the Tornabuoni,
which by its narrowness brought it about that the eyes of those thus
passing fell for the most part on the not very ornate Tower of the
Tornaquinci, which occupies more than half the street, it was thought
expedient, in order to obviate that difficulty and to make the effect
more pleasing, to construct in the width of the above-named street, in a
Composite Order, two arches divided by a most ornate column, one of
which gave free passage to the procession, which proceeded through the
said street of the Tornabuoni, and the other, concealing the view of the
tower, appeared, by virtue of an ingenious prospect-scene that was
painted there, to lead into another street similar to the said street of
the Tornabuoni, wherein with most pleasing illusion were seen not only
the houses and windows adorned with tapestries and full of men and women
who were all intent on gazing at the spectacle, but also the gracious
sight of a most lovely maiden on a white palfrey, accompanied by certain
grooms, who appeared to be coming from there towards those approaching,
insomuch that both on the day of the procession and all the time
afterwards that she remained there, she roused in more than one person,
by a gracious deception, a desire either to go to meet her or to wait
until she should have passed. These two arches, besides the
above-mentioned column that divided them, were bordered by other columns
of the same size, which supported architraves, friezes, and cornices;
and over each arch was seen a lovely ornament in the form of a most
beautiful picture, in which were seen painted, likewise in chiaroscuro,
the stories of which we shall speak in a short time. The whole work was
crowned above by an immense cornice with ornaments corresponding to the
loveliness, grandeur, and magnificence of the rest, upon which, then,
stood the statues, which, although they were at a height of a good
twenty-five braccia from the level of the ground, nevertheless were
wrought with such proportion that the height did not take away any of
their grace, nor the distance any of the effect of any detail of their
adornment and beauty. There stood in the same manner, as it were as
wings to those two main arches, on the one side and on the other, two
other arches, one of which, attached to the Palace of the Strozzi, and
leading to the above-mentioned Tower of the Tornaquinci, gave passage to
those who wished to turn towards the Mercato Vecchio, even as the other,
placed on the other side, did the same service to those who might desire
to go towards the street called La Vigna; wherefore the Via di S.
Trinita, which, as has been told, is so broad, terminating thus in the
four arches described, came to present such loveliness and a view so
beautiful and so heroic, that it appeared impossible to afford greater
satisfaction to the eyes of the spectators. And this was the front part,
composed, as has been described, of four arches; of two main arches,
namely, one false, and one real, which led into the Via de' Tornabuoni,
and of two others at the sides, in the manner of wings, which were
turned towards the two cross-streets. Now since, entering into the said
street of the Tornabuoni on the left side, beside the Vigna, there
debouches (as everyone knows) the Strada di S. Sisto, which likewise of
necessity strikes the flank of the same Tower of the Tornaquinci, it was
made to appear, in order to hide the same ugliness in a similar manner
with the same illusion of a similar prospect-scene, that that side also
passed into a similar street of various houses placed in the same way,
with an ingenious view of a very ornate fountain overflowing with
crystal-clear waters, from which a woman with a child was represented as
drawing some, so that one who was at no great distance would certainly
have declared that she was real and by no means simulated. Now these
four arches--to return to those in front--were supported and divided by
five columns adorned in the manner described, forming as it were a
rectangular piazza; and in a line with each of those columns, above the
final cornice and the summit of the edifice, there was a most beautiful
seat, while in the same manner four others were placed over the centre
of each arch, which in all came to the number of nine. In eight of these
was seen seated in each a statue of most imposing appearance, some shown
in armour, some in the garb of peace, and others in the imperator's
paludament, according to the characters of those who were portrayed in
them; and in place of the ninth seat and the ninth statue, above the
column in the centre, was seen placed an immense escutcheon, supported
by two great Victories with the Imperial Crown of the House of Austria,
to which that structure was dedicated; which was made manifest by a very
large epitaph, which was seen placed with much grace and beauty below
the escutcheon, saying:
VIRTUTI FELICITATIQUE INVICTISSIMAE DOMUS AUSTRIAE, MAJESTATIQUE
TOT ET TANTORUM IMPERATORUM AC REGUM, QUI IN IPSA FLORUERUNT ET
NUNC MAXIME FLORENT, FLORENTIA AUGUSTO CONJUGIO PARTICEPS ILLIUS
FELICITATIS, GRATO PIOQUE ANIMO DICAT.
The intention had been, after bringing to those most splendid nuptials
the Province of Austria, with her cities and rivers and with her
ocean-sea, and after having caused her to be received by Tuscany with
her cities, the Arno, and the Tyrrhenian Sea, as has been related, to
bring then her great and glorious Caesars, all magnificent in adornment
and pomp, as is the general custom in taking part in nuptials; as if
they, having conducted thither with them the illustrious bride, were
come before to have the first meeting of kinsmen with the House of
Medici, and to prove of what stock, and how glorious, was the noble
virgin that they sought to present to them. And so, of the eight
above-mentioned statues placed upon the eight seats, representing eight
Emperors of that august house, there was seen on the right hand of the
above-named escutcheon, over the arch through which the procession
passed, that of Maximilian II, the present magnanimous and excellent
Emperor, and brother of the bride; below whom, in a very spacious
picture, there was seen painted with most beautiful invention his
marvellous assumption to the Empire, himself being seated in the midst
of the Electors, both spiritual and temporal, the first being
recognized--besides their long vestments--by a Faith that was to be seen
at their feet, and the others by a Hope in a like position. In the air,
also, over his head, were seen certain little Angels that seemed to be
chasing many malign spirits out of certain thick and dark clouds; these
being intended either to suggest the hope which is felt that at some
time, in that all-conquering and most constant nation, men will contrive
to dissipate and clear away the clouds of those many disturbances that
have occurred there in matters of religion, and restore her to her
pristine purity and serenity of tranquil concord; or rather, that in
that act all dissensions had flown away, and showing how marvellously,
and with what unanimous consent of all Germany, amid that great variety
of minds and religions, that assumption had taken place, which was
explained by the words that were placed above, saying:
MAXIMILIANUS II SALUTATUR IMP. MAGNO CONSENSU GERMANORUM, ATQUE
INGENTI LAETITIA BONORUM OMNIUM, ET CHRISTIANAE PIETATIS
FELICITATE.
Then, next to the statue of the said Maximilian, in a place
corresponding to the column at the corner, was seen that of the truly
invincible Charles V; even as over the arch of that wing, which
commanded the Via della Vigna, there was that of the second Albert, a
man of most resolute valour, although he reigned but a short time. Above
the column at the head was placed that of the great Rudolph, who, the
first of that name, was also the first to introduce into that most noble
house the Imperial dignity, and the first to enrich her with the great
Archduchy of Austria; when, having reverted to the Empire for lack of a
successor, he invested with it the first Albert, his son, whence the
House of Austria has since taken its name. All which, in memory of an
event so important, was seen painted in a most beautiful manner in the
frieze above that arch, with an inscription at the foot that said:
RODULPHUS PRIMUS EX HAC FAMILIA IMP. ALBERTUM PRIMUM AUSTRIAE
PRINCIPATU DONAT.
But to return to the part on the left, beginning with the same place in
the centre; beside the escutcheon, and over the false arch that covered
the Tower of the Tornaquinci, was seen the statue of the most devout
Ferdinand, father of the bride, beneath whose feet was seen painted the
valorous resistance made by his efforts in the year 1529 in the defence
of Vienna against the terrible assault of the Turks; demonstrated by the
inscription written above, which said:
FERDINANDUS PRIMUS IMP., INGENTIBUS COPIIS TURCORUM CUM REGE
IPSORUM PULSIS, VIENNAM NOBILEM URBEM FORTISSIME FELICISSIMEQUE
DEFENDIT.
Even as at the corner there was the statue of the first and most
renowned Maximilian, and over the arch that inclined towards the Palace
of the Strozzi that of the pacific Frederick, father of that same
Maximilian, leaning against an olive-trunk. Above the last column, which
was attached to the above-named Palace of the Strozzi, was seen that of
the first Albert mentioned above, who, as has been told, was first
invested by his father Rudolph with the sovereignty of Austria, and gave
to that most noble house the arms that are still to be seen at the
present day. Those arms used formerly to be five little larks on a gold
ground, whereas the new arms, which, as everyone may see, are all red
with a white band that divides them, are said to have been introduced by
him in that form because, as was seen painted there in a great picture
beneath his feet, he found himself not otherwise in that most bloody
battle fought by him with Adolf, who had been first deposed from the
Imperial throne, when the said Albert was seen to slay Adolf valorously
with his own hand and to win from him the Spolia Opima; and since, save
for the middle of his person, which was white on account of his armour,
over all the rest he found himself on that day all stained and dabbled
with blood, he ordained that in memory of that his arms should be
painted in the same manner both of form and colour, and that they should
be preserved gloriously after him by his successors in that house; and
beneath the picture, as with the others, there was to be read a similar
inscription that said:
ALBERTUS I IMP. ADOLPHUM, CUI LEGIBUS IMPERIUM ABROGATUM FUERAT,
MAGNO PROELIO VINCIT ET SPOLIA OPIMA REFERT.
And since each of the eight above-mentioned Emperors, besides the arms
common to their whole house, also used during his lifetime arms private
and peculiar to himself, for that reason, in order to make it more
manifest to the beholders which Emperor each of the statues represented,
there were also placed beneath their feet, on most beautiful shields,
the particular arms that each, as has been told, had borne. All which,
together with some pleasing and well-accommodated little scenes that
were painted on the pedestals, made a magnificent, heroic, and very
ornate effect; even as not less was done, on the columns and in all the
parts where ornaments could be suitably placed, in addition to trophies
and the arms, by the Crosses of S. Andrew, the Fusils, and the Pillars
of Hercules, with the motto, PLUS ULTRA, the principal device of that
arch, and many others like it used by the men of that Imperial family.
Such, then, was the principal view which presented itself to those who
chose to pass by the direct way with the procession; but for those who
came from the opposite direction, from the Via de' Tornabuoni towards
the Tornaquinci, there appeared, with an ornamentation perhaps not less
lovely, in so far as the narrowness of the street permitted, a similar
spectacle arranged in due proportion. For on that side, which we will
call the back, there was formed, as it were, another structure similar
to that already described, save that on account of the narrowness of the
street, whereas the first was seen composed of four arches, the other
was of three only; one of which being joined with friezes and cornices
to that upon which, as has been told, was placed the statue of the
second Maximilian, now Emperor, and thus making it double, and another
likewise attached to the above-described prospect-scene which concealed
the tower, brought it about that the third, leaving also behind it a
little quadrangular piazza, remained as the last for one coming with the
procession, and appeared as the first for one approaching, on the
contrary, from the street of the Tornabuoni; and upon that last, which
was in the same form as those described, even as upon them were the
Emperors, so upon it were seen towering, but standing on their feet, the
two Kings Philip, one the father and the other the son of the great
Charles V, the first Philip, namely, and also the second, so filled with
liberality and justice, whom at the present day we honour as the great
and puissant King of so many most noble realms. Between him and the
statue of his grandfather there was seen painted in the circumambient
frieze that same Philip II seated in majesty, and standing before him a
tall woman in armour, recognized by the white cross that she had on the
breast as being Malta, delivered by him through the valour of the most
illustrious Lord Don Garzia di Toledo, who was portrayed there, from the
siege of the Turks; and she appeared to be seeking, as one grateful for
that great service, to offer to him the obsidional crown of dog's grass,
which was made manifest by the inscription written beneath, which said:
MELITA, EREPTA E FAUCIBUS IMMANISSIMORUM HOSTIUM STUDIO ET
AUXILIIS PIISSIMI REGIS PHILIPPI, CONSERVATOREM SUUM CORONA
GRAMINEA DONAT.
And to the end that the part turned towards the Strada della Vigna might
have likewise some adornment, it was thought a fitting thing to declare
the conception of the whole vast structure by a great inscription
between the final cornice, where the statues stood, and the arch, which
was a large space, saying:
IMPERIO LATE FULGENTES ASPICE REGES;
AUSTRIACA HOS OMNES EDIDIT ALTA DOMUS.
HIS INVICTA FUIT VIRTUS, HIS CUNCTA SUBACTA,
HIS DOMITA EST TELLUS, SERVIT ET OCEANUS.
Even as was done in the same manner and for the same reason towards the
Mercato Vecchio, in another inscription, saying:
IMPERIIS GENS NATA BONIS ET NATA TRIUMPHIS,
QUAM GENUS E COELO DUCERE NEMO NEGET;
TUQUE NITENS GERMEN DIVINAE STIRPIS ETRUSCIS
TRADITUM AGRIS NITIDIS, UT SOLA CULTA BEES;
SI MIHI CONTINGAT VESTRO DE SEMINE FRUCTUM
CARPERE ET IN NATIS CERNERE DETUR AVOS,
O FORTUNATAM! VERO TUNC NOMINE FLORENS
URBS FERAR, IN QUAM FORS CONGERAT OMNE BONUM.