Orsini, sister to the Cardinal [Latino Orsini], with her daughter, who
is about fifteen or sixteen years old. She was dressed in the Roman
fashion with a _lenzuolo_ [long loose shawl or cloak]. In this dress
she seemed to me handsome, fair, and tall, but being so covered up I
could not see her to my satisfaction. Yesterday I paid a visit to the
said Monsignor Orsini in his sister’s house, which adjoins his. When
I had saluted him in thy name his sister came in with the maiden, who
had on a tight frock of the fashion of Rome without the _lenzuolo_. We
talked for some time and I looked closely at the girl. As I said she
is of good height and has a nice complexion, her manners are gentle,
though not so winning as those of our girls, but she is very modest
and would soon learn our customs. She has not fair hair, because here
there are no fair women; her hair is reddish and abundant, her face
rather round, but it does not displease me. Her throat is fairly
elegant, but it seems to me a little meagre, or to speak better,
slight. Her bosom I could not see, as here the women are entirely
covered up, but it appeared to me of good proportions. She does not
carry her head proudly like our girls, but pokes it a little forward;
I think she was shy, indeed I see no fault in her save shyness. Her
hands are long and delicate. In short I think the girl is much above
the common, though she cannot compare with Maria, Lucrezia, and
Bianca.[110] Lorenzo has seen her and thou canst find out whether she
pleases him. Whatever thou and he determine will be well done, and I
shall be content. Let us leave the issue to God.
The girl’s father is Signor Jacopo Orsini of Monte Rotondo, and her
mother is the Cardinal’s sister. She has two brothers; one a soldier
in the good graces of Signor Orso, the other a priest, sub-deacon of
the Pope. They own the half of Monte Rotondo, the other half belongs
to their uncle, who has two sons and three daughters. Besides this
there are three other castles belonging to her brothers, and as far
as I can learn they are otherwise well provided. They will be still
better off in the future because besides the Cardinal, the Archbishop,
Napoleon, and the Cavalier, being their uncles on the mother’s side,
they are cousins through the father, who is a second cousin in direct
line of the aforesaid gentlemen, and they are all very fond of them.
This is what I have heard. If before treating this matter it seems
well to thee to await our return do as thou thinkest best.
I intend to leave on Monday week and shall write on the way. So I
shall be at home at the time fixed. I pray God in His mercy to guide
me safely and to keep thee in good health. I do not write to Madonna
Contessina, it seems to me useless. Commend me to her and salute the
girls and Lorenzo and Giuliano.--In Rome, 27th March 1467.
Thy Lucrezia.
A few days later Lucrezia wrote again on the subject which engrossed
all her thoughts:
Lucrezia de’ Medici _to her husband_ Piero
As I told thee in my last letter dictated to Giovanni, our seeing the
girl was managed quietly, without ceremony; so should nothing come of
it thou wilt lose nought, as there has been no parleying. The maiden
has two good qualities, she is tall and fair; her face is not pretty,
but it is not common, and her figure is good. Lorenzo has seen her,
find out whether she pleases him, there are so many advantages that if
he likes her we may be content. Her name is Crarice.
Thy Lucrezia.
Like a true Florentine, Lucrezia turns the _l_ in Clarice into an _r_.
Lorenzo had seen the girl without her mother’s knowledge one day at
mass. On the homeward journey Lucrezia writes in answer to a letter
from her husband:
Lucrezia de’ Medici _to her husband_ Piero
I have thy letter by Donnino and see the determination thou hast
taken, which pleases me. I am sure when I get home and tell thee all
thou wilt be well satisfied, particularly as Lorenzo is pleased. We
did not see the girl again, but that does not surprise me. Thou sayest
I write coldly about her: I do it not to raise thy hopes too high:
there is no handsomer girl at present unmarried in Florence. On my
return I will tell thee all, and as I said before we shall be able
to arrange matters, so at present I will say no more. I arrived here
very tired, the road was so bad, and we had so much rain that little
was left of me, but after resting I am well. We were to have left on
Monday, but it does nothing but rain, so they have persuaded me to
wait a little. All is ready, and as soon as the weather is favourable
we shall start, for it seems to me a thousand years since I left. I
commend myself unto thee.--April 1, 1467.
Thy Lucrezia.[111]
The long journey and the damp told on Lucrezia who was never strong,
and at Foligno she fell seriously ill.
Lucrezia de’ Medici _to her husband_ Piero
I know not, she writes, whether it is thanks to these doctors or to
thy letter received last night, but this morning I felt so well that
I hope to set forth in three days. Maestro Girolamo will tell thee
exactly the state of my health, which I think will content thee. I
only lament the many annoyances I have caused thee on my journey.
But believe me, wherever I might have been I should have been ill,
for I have brought up much phlegm and nastiness which must have been
there for a long time. Commend me to Mona Contessina and beg her to
have patience, for soon, as soon as it pleases these doctors, I shall
return to her and maybe she will take better care of me, though here,
thanks be to God, I have wanted for nothing. I know not whether I
should even have had such conveniences at home, certainly not at Rome.
If it seems good to thee that I should send back Messer Gentile for
Giuliano let me know before we start.[112] I shall wait to get quite
well as thou sayest, and to recoup. Meanwhile and always I commend
myself to thee and beg thee to be patient with me.--In Foligno, May 4,
1467, at 1 o’clock.
Thy Lucrezia.
Yesterday and last night I slept, as the Maestro will have told thee,
as though quite well.[113]
After her return to Florence the doctors sent Lucrezia early in
September to Bagno a Morba, a place already mentioned in earlier
pages. But here, where several letters are given written by Lucrezia
from that celebrated spring, a few words may be added on the bathing
habits of the fifteenth century to show how large a part they played
in the social life of the time. For it is a delusion to think that the
frequent use of water, cold or hot, is a modern virtue. It is true that
from the middle of the sixteenth century till the end of the eighteenth
men and women washed but sparingly. Marguerite de Valois could say to
her lover, “See these fair hands. Though they have not been washed
for eight days, they are cleaner than yours.” Manuals of Etiquette,
published in 1667 and in 1782, recommend ladies and gentlemen to clean
their faces with a dry white linen cloth, because to wash the face
with water makes it more susceptible to cold in winter and to tan in
summer. But in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries the use of water
was nearly as common as it is now. The whole population, whether north
or south of the Alps, rejoiced in bathing. They used cold baths, hot
baths, and steam baths; they gathered to bathe in mineral water; above
all they delighted in baths when the water came from hot springs, and
those were most prized which were strongly impregnated with sulphur,
as was the case at Morba. The site of many an Italian monastery was
selected simply because it was near enough a hot spring for the monks
to enjoy what was looked on almost as necessary to healthy living.
Indeed one of the punishments inflicted on unruly members of the
community was a prohibition to use the bath. The Italian doctors
distinguished between _Stupha_, or hot air, and _Balneum_, or hot water
baths. Rubbing and even scratching whilst bathing was recommended, and
Arnaldo di Villa Nuova (1300-1366) ordered his elderly patients to be
well rubbed when in the water, and to take a herb-bath four times a
month. Soap, and sometimes lye, was used, and Italian soap was in great
request, particularly in Germany.
The hot sulphur springs of Morba had been known for centuries, and
belonged to the Commune of Volterra, as is mentioned in a document of
1297. They lie some ten miles south of the old Etruscan city, in that
part of the Apennines dominated by the imposing Monte Cerbole, in a
region which then and now produced borax and alum. The wild desolate
scenery gave rise to legends. It was said that on stormy nights a fiery
chariot drawn by fiery horses rushes along the mountain side, and then
with a terrific noise which drowns thunder and wind, dashes down into
the valley leading to the lagoons of Larderello, which were supposed
to be the mouths of hell, and disappears. After the apparition of the
chariot, the jets of white sulphureous smoke which always rise more or
less from the grey soil are more dense and hiss like great serpents as
they curl upwards to the sky. It is altogether an uncanny place. Here
and there the black mud bubbles and boils, rising up in small cones
which subside with a strange rumbling noise like the hoarse barking or
growling of a distant watchdog. The ground sounds hollow under foot,
and shakes if you walk near any of the blowholes, while the smell of
rotten eggs, so characteristic of sulphur springs, is overpowering,
particularly after rain.
The famous baths are not far off. They had been largely deserted,
conduits broken, bathing-houses tumbling down, everything neglected
and falling to ruin. The sulphureous springs, left to find their way
through the rocks and the soil, were wasted and produced nothing but
evil-smelling ooze. When the Florentines became masters of Volterra
they sent Doctor Ugolino da Montecatini with their Chancellor Colucci
da Salutati to report on the virtues of the waters in 1388. Something
was done to render the baths useful and productive. The village with
its small castle was rebuilt and surrounded with a sheltering wall.
Visitors were protected from the sudden assaults of the robber nobles
whose castles crowned neighbouring heights, and who swooped down on
the bathers in hopes of plunder and ransom. The baths regained some of
their old prosperity, and gouty or rheumatic Florentines braved the
discomforts of the road to make use of the waters. Cosimo Pater Patriæ
visited them frequently, and on a memorable occasion a favourite pair
of scissors were left in his lodgings, which Contessina tells her son
Giovanni to send back to Florence (p. 55). The probability is, however,
that the arrangements were anything but luxurious when Lucrezia first
tried and found the benefits of the healing springs.
She soon saw the advantages of the position, and after buying the
village and baths of Morba in 1477 from the Commune of Florence, in
true Florentine fashion at once made plans which would benefit the
place, its visitors, her own health, and her pocket. The valuable
water was largely wasted; cisterns were needed; more springs might
be discovered. Accordingly experts were engaged, the ground was
investigated, and work was carefully planned. The known springs were
cleared, the water was carefully collected and brought into a great
covered cistern built of well-burnt bricks and covered with tiles
according to the most approved pattern of the day. Search was made for
other springs; the streamlets were followed back to their sources in
neighbouring rocks. Soon the supply of water was more than doubled.
Meanwhile the bathing-houses with their twelve separate baths were
rebuilt. Old engravings enable us to form some idea of these Italian
baths, which were made much more luxurious than those north of the
Alps. There is no trace of that promiscuous bathing so common in
Germany. Either the sexes had separate bathing-houses or, what is
more probable, used the same baths at different hours. We see a room
with one or more oblong baths set in the floor, and to each bathroom
was attached a smaller apartment with a bed for the hour of repose
enjoined after bathing. The bathing establishment was a long row of
such bathrooms completely separate from each other. At first the same
stream of water served all the baths at Morba, but it was found that
those nearest the cisterns were too hot, while those furthest from
them were too cold. The defect was remedied by an ingenious system of
conduits. Provision was made in each bathroom for shower or douche
baths, the water being conducted along the walls in open gutters
pierced with holes above each wooden tub. Lucrezia also built a large
house which served as an hotel and, as at Cauterets--the favourite
bathing resort of Marguerite d’Angoulême, the Queen of Navarre, where
there was a _Maison du Roi_, while the other bathers lived in _cabanes
et logis_--there was a “small palace” for her own use and that of her
family. It must have been a thorough holiday for the energetic and busy
woman, for, as the Queen of Navarre said, “while at the baths one must
live as free from care as a child.”
Lorenzo accompanied his mother to Morba, but there was a report which
seems to have been well founded, though Piero in his letter to her
treats it as an idle dream, that the Florentine exiles had resolved
to attack the place and capture both mother and son. So Lucrezia
invented some pretext to send him back to Florence, and the family
doctor prevented his return. It will be noticed that although children
in those days spoke of their parents by their Christian names, yet they
almost always wrote _voi_ (you) in addressing them. Only husband and
wife and parents used the familiar _tu_ (thou). _Lei_, now universally
used to all but near relations or great friends, is never met with.
Lorenzo de’ Medici _to his mother_ Lucrezia _at Bagno a Morba_
I thought I should have been with you by now, but the weather has
become much cooler, and Maestro Mariotti does not think it would be
good for my eczema to return there. Therefore I have determined not
to come. Piero has promised to go and see you either with Messer
Benedetto or soon afterwards. Let us find that you are so improved
in health that nothing more will be necessary. We are all well here,
particularly Piero, whose only need is to hear oftener about you; in
truth, whether from the negligence of the writer or perhaps of the
messenger, till now we have had but scant news. Therefore to satisfy
us all, more particularly Piero, see that we get your answers more
quickly, and apply yourself diligently to benefit from your sojourn
there. I commend myself to you.--In Florence on the 19th day of
September 1467.
I should be glad if you send me back my purple _cioppetta_ (tunic) as
I have nought to wear, the other things I do not want.
Your Lorenzo de’ Medici.[114]
Piero de’ Medici _to his wife_ Lucrezia _at Morba_
I wrote to thee a few days ago, and soon afterwards Lorenzo arrived.
It was wiser to send him away from there, although I think they are
all dreams. From him and also from thy letter to Mona Contessina I
learn that thou art better, so I hope for thy complete recovery,
which is indeed certain. It cannot be otherwise after the prayers
and supplications which have been and are being made in places some
of which thou knowest, and in others which thou knowest not. But
what must be attributed to the grace of God is that prayers have
been made by those who know us not, and whom thou hast never known:
a wonderful thing truly, more divine than human, and I steadfastly
believe that owing to these prayers we shall receive grace from God:
but as thou in thy wisdom knoweth we shall remain deeply in debt. God
make us grateful and send us the power to satisfy all. Have faith
and be obedient to the doctors, do not depart one drachm from their
commands, submit and suffer all things, if not for thyself and for us,
for the love of God who shows He will help us. Attend to nought but
to the reason for which thou art there ...[115] give no thought to us,
for we are well and want for nothing ...[115] return well, in better
health than when thou wentest ...[115] are prosperous, and there is
good hope of peace. Giovanni Tornabuoni, if it pleases God, leaves
for Rome to-morrow. Do not trouble to write if thou canst not. Nought
else.--October 1, 1467.
Piero di Cosimo de’ Medicis.[116]
Lorenzo de’ Medici _to his mother_ Lucrezia _at Bagno a Morba_
I have your letter and am most grieved to hear that your pains have
returned, but as you say they are not so severe I do hope that this
time they will take leave of you, and depart for good. Please God it
may be so, also in the future. I wrote to you that Giovanni had to go;
he went on Saturday; but he could not pass by Bagno a Morba because
he was obliged to leave in great haste; so he will not do as I said.
I have been too long absent and therefore I shall not be able, as I
wished, to come and see you again, and you will probably not remain
there long. Please God that you return in good health, as you and we
hope. We are all well, Piero especially, and we long to see you soon,
and as we trust well. I commend myself unto you.--In Florence, October
4, 1467.
Your Lorenzo de’ Medici.[117]
Contessina de’ Medici _to her daughter-in-law_ Lucrezia _at Bagno a
Morba_
Dearest as a Daughter,--This morning I received thy letter by which
with great joy I learn that thou art better, for this we must give
thanks to God and pray with all our hearts that He may restore
thee to perfect health. From Piero I hear continually about thee,
so thou must not tire thyself by writing to me. I sent back by the
messenger the spices asked for, and I received the knives, which
shall be looked to. Do not worry about Ginevra, for I have arranged
and will continue to arrange for her family. The visits in thy name
to Laudomina[118] have been paid and all that was necessary has been
done. She is very discontented although it was a boy. Here all are
well, thanks be to God. I hope it is the same with all of you. No more
at present.--October 25, 1467.
Mona Contessina.[119]
Piero de’ Medici _to his wife_ Lucrezia _at Bagno a Morba_
Lucrezia mine,--As I know thou wilt understand the letter I have
written to Niccolò I shall not write to thee at length; also because
thy return is nigh at hand, which I await with infinite longing. I
enclose a letter from the Illustrious Madonna Duchess, thou wilt
understand what she says. Show it to Messer Benedetto. See how much
we are beholden to her. We must give thanks to Almighty God, and also
to her when the time comes. No more at present. Christ give thee
health--At Florence on the 12th day of November 1467, at the fifth
hour.
Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici.[120]
Luigi Pulci _from Pisa to_ Lorenzo de’ Medici _at Florence_
_Salve amicissime_, &c.,--I have been delayed, and shall remain here
several days. I know not whether Tomaso Capponi or my Bernardo[121]
will ask thee to help them about that business; if they do I beg thee
to do so, as is thy wont. If my presence is necessary let me know.
Anyhow I shall come on Saturday, but if I am wanted I am always ready
to leave everything at thy bidding.
If Gualterotto has not replied about my dog, or if his reply calls for
another letter, I beg thee as warmly as ever I begged for anything to
answer.
On Friday the Illustrious Duke of Calabria and the Magnificent Luigi
de’ Pulci talked of thee all day long, and said much ill. Thou hast
gained great honour by thy letter given to him by the Captain, he has
followed thy advice, and told me what an admirable letter it was; so
the Captain and he have made a warm friendship. On Sunday night I sup
here with him, and the Captain has charged me to thank thee by letter
and by word of mouth, so he has not written. As I do now by letter, so
will I also do later with my tongue.
The Illustrious Duke spoke to me about the festival of St. John which
he is most desirous to see, and he charged me to tell thee to help
him and to order that it shall be a fine festival, and said many other
things which I cannot now repeat or give thee to understand, as said
Betto della Centina.
I have no more to say save that I commend myself to thee. Salute our
Dionigio from me, and tell him this letter is not from Pini,[122] and
that he is to think of me at Pietra al Migliaio. If there is any fear
that the wine should be finished ere I arrive with his own hand he
must measure what remains in the butt, and keep two flasks against my
return, for if I thought I was not to see it any more I should be in
despair.--Pisa, May 30, 1468. _Vale._
Thy Luigi Pulci.[123]
Luigi Pulci _at Pisa to_ Lorenzo de’ Medici
If thou dost not wish it to be known or thought that I am thy friend
and can have all I want from thee, cause it to be published everywhere
at thy expense. As I have had no money to spend I have spent (traded
on) thy reputation. Here I am pointed at wherever I go: that is
Lorenzo’s great friend. Therefore three peasants from Buti will come
to thee, certain Giovanni and Piero and Mariano of Buti, friends of
Piero Vespucci; they have some business about which he has written
and I am requested to recommend them to thee. For love of me be good
to them, for it would give me much pleasure, either with a promise,
or hand them over to whomever thou wilt: only help them in some way.
I will then inscribe it in the book of benefits and obligations I owe
thee.
No more, I commend myself to thee as usual. God be with thee. _Vale et
me dilige._--From Pisa, May 31, 1468.
On Sunday evening the Duke and I shall be together. If I am to tell
him aught from thee let me know.
Thy Luigi de’ Pulci.[124]
Cardinal Latino Orsini _to_ Piero de’ Medici
_Magnifice vir, affinis tanquam frater carissime, salutem_,--With
great joy we have signed what our Johanni Tornabuoni brought us from
you. I hope, thanks be to God, that this thing will conduce to the
well-being of your house and of ours, for it pleases us old people,
also the youth and the maiden, and indeed all. We should be glad to
see our nephew Lorenzo, or _saltem_ his brother, at the feast of the
Nativity. We should give him a magnificent, a quiet, or a middling
reception, according to your wishes, for we only desire to please you
in this: and you may rest assured that all we have is at your disposal
and pleasure. Be careful, I beg of you, to keep well and joyful, thus
nought will be wanting to you or to us.--_Ex Urbe, die 26 Novembris
1468._
L. Cardinalis De Ursinus,
_Manu propria, Episcopus Tusculanus_.[125]
Filippo de’ Medici, _Archbishop of Pisa, at Rome, to_ Piero de’ Medici
_Magnifice vir, tanquam pater honorande, post commendationem_,
&c.,--By Giovanni Tornabuoni I received your letter, and he has given
me the message from Your Magnificence. It pleases me mightily; I
do not think that in these times Your Magnificence could have done
better. I could not be better pleased or more gratified, considering
that it is for the benefit and the common good of all; therefore I
congratulate Your Magnificence. And that Your Magnificence may be
amply informed about everything, although I know you will hear all
from Giovanni, nevertheless it is my duty to tell you that this very
day, in the name of God, everything has been concluded. The reason
why the contract is not _per verba de presenti_ is that Monsignore
[Cardinal Orsini] does not wish it to be divulged, therefore we send a
sketch of the contract according to his desire; the one sent to us was
simple enough. Everything has been agreed to in the following fashion,
_videlicet_: That they give a dower of 6000 Roman florins in money,
jewels, and dresses; which they stipulate should return to their heirs
should she not have children or dispose of it by will. They agree that
you should not give her the fourth part of the dower, as is customary
here; and in this and all other matters, the Florentine usage and
custom is to be followed save in the restitution of the dower if she
dies _sine filiis et intestata_. Thus neither the custom here nor the
custom there will be absolutely adhered to, so that both parties will
be content. I have been present at all the arrangements, and they seem
to me honest and reasonable; for you do not need her fortune, and your
own remains to you. It is but reasonable that they should have their
way in something.
Magnificent Piero, I value the connection much, but they are even more
desirous and glad to be related to you. Of a truth their pleasure is
not to be described. This must be a satisfaction to you, and every
day, if it pleases God, you will be better satisfied, and we also; for
truly if I had a hundred tongues I could not tell Your Magnificence
how pleased I am. Send the contract soon, for it will be impossible to
keep this affair secret, as Pietro d’Arcangelo, chancellor of the Duke
of Urbino, has spoken of it, and these Pazzi have begun to spread the
news.