ARTICLE I.
The Abate Baldassare Zamboni collected, chiefly from the muniment–room
of the Cappello family at Venice, upwards of 200 letters of Bianca,
for the illustration of a life of her, which remains unfinished in MS.
Of these Signor Federico Odorici has selected twenty–three, which he
has printed in a pamphlet entitled, "New Researches Concerning Bianca
Cappello," Milan, 1858. The chivalrous object of Signor Odorici's
labour is to "rehabilitate" poor Bianca, according to the fashion so
much in vogue in these latter days. I had no opportunity of seeing his
pamphlet till my life of Bianca was finished. But I cannot say that
it has led me to alter my estimate or conception of her character. I
am indebted to him, however, for the power of giving my reader the
following letters selected from his selection as the most interesting
among them.
I.—_To the very magnificent Signor, Signor Andrea Cappello, my most
respected Cousin, and as it were my Brother, at Venice._
1572, February 21 (Venetian style).
I received and read your most welcome letter with the greatest
pleasure. I am well pleased with your prudent discourse, and if I
can judge therefrom how much you desire my return, think how greatly
I must wish to bring it to pass; and indeed I was resolved upon it
after the event[232] which has taken place, but fortune, not content
with persecuting me with unnumbered grievances, made my father–in–law
resolve on assuming the guardianship of my daughter, and depriving me
of it; and this he has been able to do, for so the laws and statutes of
this city direct; that if the father of one defunct be yet living, to
him rather than to any other be conceded the care of his grandchildren.
Now think what must be my state of mind, and how greatly displeased
must be the most noble Signor my father and the most magnificent Signor
my brother, to whom for their better information I have sent copies of
the contracts of such guardianship and of the laws, that they might
see how matters stand with me to my great sorrow, and that they might
not again fall out with me, who have no fault in the matter: and if it
were not for the hope that I have in the most worthy and illustrious
Lady Isabella, daughter of our Duke and my most kind patroness, I
should fear to get into some great trouble; yet I will not despair,
and will trust in our Lord God and in your illustrious excellency for
the finding of some remedy, because the world for the most part is all
out of order; and I thought I would inform you of these particulars,
because I know you have a hearty liking for me; and I entreat you to
keep me informed here of whatever may be needful, and to defend me, if
required, and to keep this our correspondence secret as usual; and may
it please you to commend me to the Signor Doctor Gardelino, to whom for
the present I do not write, and who I know was informed of everything
by my very illustrious family, although when he was here he saw all
that happened, and was informed respecting all that was thought likely
to follow in the matter, nor will I at present say more, &c.
From Florence, the 21st day of February, 1572.
Your Magnificence's cousin, and as it were sister,
BIANCHA CAPPELLO.
II.—_To the same._
1573, January 9 (Ven. style).
... I must tell you, my Lord, that I was utterly astounded at the
answer given you by my most illustrious (_father_), for certainly such
words as those spoken by him do not agree with the letters which he
writes me. True it is that one cannot know the truth that is in men;
yet I put my trust in God, who will do with me as shall be best. As to
what my most illustrious father told you of me, that I wrote to him
telling him that I was mistress of thirty thousand crowns in real and
chattel property, it is true; but of this you must understand that I
have to leave some portion to my daughter as duty requires, and that
she may be honourably married as befits my daughter; and to quit this
subject that I may not trouble your Lordship further, I will conclude,
&c., &c.
From Florence, the 9th day of January, 1573.
BIANCHA CAPPELLO.
III.—_To the same._
1573, January 16.
... Your Lordship writes me that it has been said to the most
illustrious Bon[233] that I possess twenty thousand crowns in money;
but in this I think there has been some mistake, for I never wrote that
I had such a sum in money; it is very true that I wrote to my most
magnificent brother that in real and chattel property and jewels I have
more than thirty thousand crowns; and if I should go away in favour
with my most illustrious lady dognisabella (_Donna Isabella Medici_) I
should hope to take with me the greater part of the said property and
possessions; and you must consider that I ought to leave a part of this
to my daughter, therefore I think they have exaggerated in their offers
to the most illustrious Bon, for it had been better to offer less and
afterwards increase, than to offer more and perchance not come up to
the sum, &c....
... I have received a letter, my Lord and Brother, from the very
magnificent Francesco Moro, who writes me ... all the conversation
which you have had with my most illustrious father, but it differs
greatly from what your Lordship wrote me; because the aforesaid
Signor Francesco says that my illustrious father told your Lordship
that he would prefer me to marry here; so that these words seem to me
quite different from what you wrote me, &c., &c. And I should wish,
my dearest Lord and Brother, that this business be kept as secret as
possible, for if it were known to the most worthy and illustrious Lady
Isabella it would be very hurtful to me, and would overthrow all our
plans, &c.
Florence, the 16th day of January, 1573.
Your Lordship's, &c.
BIANCHA CAPPELLO.
I pray your Lordship to remember my birth (_certificate_) of which I
wrote to you, and send it me, whereby you will do me a great favour.
IV.—_To the same._
1573, March 20.
I understand by your letter how that your Lordship has spoken with
my most illustrious father respecting the answer of that gentleman
from the most noble Bon, and I comprehend what that gentleman says;
nevertheless, I answer you that I trust in God's goodness to help me
by His infinite mercy, and that I put little faith in strangers, and
shall keep to the wishes of my most illustrious father, of my Lord
and Brother, and of your Magnificence; to whom I entrust all that I
possess, awaiting from you whatsoever decision may seem to you most
fitting for the satisfaction of both parties, &c., &c.
Your Magnificence's, &c.
BIANCHA CAPPELLO.
P. S. Most Magnificent Lord and Brother, I beg of you to do me the
favour to send me my Nativity, that is, the day and hour of my birth,
and let no one beside yourselves know of this thing, &c. And you will
also do me a favour if you will tell me who are they who seem to be my
friends and afterwards act in contrary fashion as you write me, that I
may know against whom I should be on my guard.
V.—_To the same._
1573, March 28.
... therefore I entreat you with my whole heart, my Lord and Brother,
to persist in this good will towards me, and to help me, for without
you I think not that things will ever come to an end, and would to God,
according to what you tell me, that my most illustrious father had
discussed this matter with you; for then it would have had a different
ending; and since by your so loving letters to me, you have given me
courage to open my heart to you respecting the discourse that your
Magnificence held with Gardellino, you did very wisely in telling him
that my most illustrious father ought to seek out some fit person for
me to marry; and that certainly in that way everything would be brought
to an end, &c. And if this does not befall me, that is, if they do
not think about finding me a husband, so that the said husband may
come here for me with the most Magnificent Lord my brother, or with
your Lordship, &c.... I do not think that in any other manner I can
escape from hence, &c. It would be a serious matter, my lord, and very
ill–judged in me, to leave a place where I am as much, respected and
loved as if I were a queen, &c....
Florence, the 28th day of March, 1573.
Your Magnificence's, &c.
BIANCHA CAPPELLO.
P. S. And all that I have said to you about my marrying I say for the
safety of my life, for you must know that here there is no lack of
most honourable matches and gentlemen of note who would be glad to
have me and who are urging me to it all day long. Florentines as well
as foreigners; and if I would have consented my most illustrious lady
aforesaid would have given me awhile ago to one of her household, a
Roman gentleman with an income of four thousand crowns, a gentleman
of consequence, and distantly related to the aforesaid lady, and he
never stops from following my lady all day long that he may get me, and
this I only say to your Lordship that you may be well–advised of every
thing, and that I do not desire to go to Venice because I lack chances
of marriage here, but I only desire it in order to see my home, and
for the honour of our house, and that only, for here I am courted and
wished for, and there I should have to court and wish for others.
VI.—_To the same._
1573, April 22.
... I was much grieved at heart by the discourse between my most noble
father and your magnificent Lordship, from which I conclude that he is
not at all well–disposed towards me, and that his only wish to have me
back at Venice is that he might bury me in a convent, which I will by
no means do, for I know for a surety that so I should be lost, soul
and body, and I do not choose, as I have often told your lordship, to
change from a mistress to a slave; but accepting that match of which I
spoke to your lordship, I will leave everything to return to my country
and my kin.
Florence, the 22 April, 1573.
Your Lordship's, &c.
BIANCHA CAPPELLO.
VII.—_To the same._
May 1.
... If they (_her father and brother_) do not make up their minds to
settle me otherwise than they have yet done, I shall stay where I am,
and shall hold to your magnificent Lordship's counsel, which I see
comes from the heart; I only wish, my Lord and Brother, that you should
see that I have not failed and fail not to do all that is possible to
come home and stay with my family; but if they will not have it I can
do no more. I beseech you ... to undertake my defence, &c. ... that
they may not think it is my fault that I do not come, &c.
Florence, May 1st, 1573.
Your Lordship's
BIANCHA CAPPELLO.
VIII.—_To the same._
August 1.
... Of your goodness you have informed me (_referring to some noble
Venetians who on their return from Florence had spoken ill of her_) of
the things which may be to my prejudice, &c. ... and if they be mere
scatterbrained folks you should put small faith in them, for they can
speak as they will about me, but that this talk or gossip of theirs
has any truth in it neither your Lordship nor others should believe,
&c.... And I must tell your Lordship that I have a matter of great
importance[234] to speak to you about, but I cannot put it into black
and white because there are some things which ought not to be put on
paper; but if you, my Lord and Brother, would of your courtesy honour
me by coming to see me, which I know is allowable to you as a man.... I
pray you to grant me this favour, which if I have I shall die content,
&c.
IX.—_To the same._
August 15.
Another letter in the same strain in which she laments that he cannot
come to Florence, because she has something to tell him, "_di troppa
grande materia da mettere in carta_."
X.—_To the same._
1573, Oct. 3.
I have received yours of the 26th of last month, &c. ... with infinite
joy and contentment, inasmuch as I understand from it the kind feelings
of my most illustrious father towards me.... As to the finding a
husband for me here, I thank your magnificent lordship for undertaking
so much trouble for me, &c. ... for perhaps I may be able to put an end
to my so great and grievous troubles, so that, my Lord and Brother, I
beseech you to act in this matter so that I may obtain my desire; and
your magnificence already knows by other letters of mine precisely what
is my desire on the subject, that no one may come in the way of our
just designs, &c.... Give me in return good news of him (her brother
Vittore), as likewise of my most noble father, that so I may put good
faith in them, and think myself in favour with them, hoping that
afterwards they may help me to return to my country and kindred.
Florence, the 3rd day of October, 1573.
Your Lordship's, &c.
BIANCHA CAPPELLO.
XI.—_To the same._
October 17.
... I know not, dearest Lord and Brother, in what terms to thank you
for the great trouble that your Lordship has taken for me, and for the
great love that I see you bear me. True it is that to one who loves as
you love me, no trouble seems heavy; and I assure you, that if any one
should be loved for loving, you have good reason to love me for that I
adore you: (_and farther on she says_) as to what you tell me that I
ought to obtain from the aforesaid lady, (_Isabella Medici_) that she
should write a letter to my most noble father, I tell you, my Lord and
Brother, that this is not prudent, for I must make it appear to the
said lady as if your noble Lordship wished to remove me from hence, and
not as if I desired it myself &c.; but still if the time should come
as I wrote to my brother, she (the Medici), like a wise lady, will be
silent, not choosing to seem to rob me of my good fortune, although she
be grieved to the heart at the thought of letting me go, &c.
Florence, the 17th October, 1573.
Your Lordship's, &c.
BIANCHA CAPPELLO.
XII.—_To the same._
October 31.
... I am grieved to the heart to hear of the illness of the magnificent
lady Loredana, your wife and my mistress, for I do certainly love her
as I love my life, belonging as she does to you my Lord and Brother,
whom I adore as I have good cause to do: (_and further on_) I see by
what you, my Lord and Brother, have written to me, that you cannot
induce my most magnificent brother to take any firm resolve, but
God grant that every one may agree in the will of your magnificent
Lordship, for I know it will be to the honour of all our house and my
contentment. I, dearest Brother, am heartily grieved that you cannot
come to see me, and I swear to you, by the life of my daughter, that
this would be the greatest joy I could have in the world more than if
my most noble father and magnificent brother were to come, &c. &c.,
and I could then tell you many things that by letter cannot be said,
because I too fear lest if by ill fortune some one of these our letters
were to miscarry, and fall into the hands of the most illustrious lady
donisabella (_sic_), I should be ruined if she saw that it is I who
seek to get away from hence, &c.
Florence, the last of October, 1573.
Your magnificent Lordship's cousin, sister, and servant,
BIANCHA CAPPELLO.
XIII.—_To the same._
1573, Nov. 24.
... and this I will do (_i. e._, _Keep an eye upon the letters that
arrive_) with great care, in order that nothing may prevent my
returning to my country and my home, according to the intention I have
always had, and which I intend to fulfil; and God grant, that by his
will, this may soon come to pass, and I did not write to you sooner,
because, as I had the most illustrious lady donisabella (_sic_), and
Don Pietro, her brother, with his wife, dining with me in my garden,
they put out all my plans. (She then repeats her wish that he should
come so that they may speak freely about that which "_cannot be put on
paper_.")[235]
Florence, 24 Nov., 1573.
Your Lordship's, &c.
BIANCHA CAPPELLO.
XIV.—_To the same._
1573, Dec. 5.
... I have had a letter from my most magnificent brother, who tells me,
that if I do not make up my mind to go to Venice without being married,
these affairs of mine will become lengthy and impracticable; and I
tell you, my most honoured Lord and Brother, that the lady donisabella
(_sic_), will not hear of my going from hence, except on the conditions
which she wrote to my brother, i. e. if I am married; and I swear to
you, my lord, that I have been with her for more than two days to see
if I could move her; but she told me that if I went from here without
being married, she would by no means help me; therefore, you see, my
Lord, that without her help I could do no good, because I must leave
behind my goods and my flesh, by which I mean my daughter; and if I
leave one thing still I would not leave the other. My Lord, if you do
not bestir yourself to find or to make some friend of yours find a
match for me, I think that my business will never be concluded. (_At
the end she adds, that she cannot go on, because she is sent for by
Isabella Medici to accompany her and Cardinal Fernando to a grand
hunting–party at Pisa._)
Florence, the 5th day of December, 1573.
BIANCHA CAPPELLO.
ARTICLE II.
I am indebted also to Signor Odorici for the following important
extract from an anonymous chronicle of the life of Pope Sixtus V., the
MS. of which exists in the Quirinal library at Rome, and which is, in
his opinion, the work of a contemporary writer.
It will be seen that the statements made by the annalist are very
difficult to reconcile with the theory of Ferdinando's guilt in the
matter of his brother's death.
The reader must balance for himself the conflicting probabilities in
this very doubtful and mysterious matter.
... The Nuncio therefore wrote to the Pope and Cardinal Montalto, on
the 10th of October, in the following manner:—
"His Highness has been ever since last Thursday, laid up with fever
at the Poggio (a country pleasance of the Grand Duke's), an illness
brought on by the fatigue of a deer hunt in which his Highness joined
on Wednesday the 6th, when the weather was very hot. On the 7th he went
with the Cardinal Archbishop of Florence, in a carriage to Miasa, which
is five miles from the Poggio; during the journey he suffered much pain
in his back. In the afternoon, when he was wont to take some rest, he
went into the country and directed the cutting down of some trees to
open an avenue, and remained there in the sun and wind. On the 8th, he
returned to the Poggio and dined well as usual. After dinner, he was
seized with violent vomiting. In the evening, about two hours before
sundown he felt unwell, and in order to hide it he sate down to play
picquet with the Count of San Secondo; but as his illness increased,
he quitted his game, and retired to his chamber where he took some
bezoar[236] in broth, then he returned to the company, where, about the
time of the Ave Maria, he conversed with the Grand Duchess and others,
and so endured his suffering until two hours after sunset, when he was
forced to speak of it; whereupon having summoned the physician of his
brother, the Cardinal, who was there, he felt his pulse and pronounced
him to have fever, and ordered him to go to bed; and that night he did
not sleep, and the fever increased. On Saturday morning, the 10th, they
took from him fifteen ounces of blood, and in the evening, two hours
before sunset, four ounces more; nor did the fever at all diminish,
which is considered to be a double tertian without any very painful
symptoms, except a little dryness of the skin. It is thought, that the
Grand Duke's illness has been caused by his having eaten for several
days at his morning and evening meals, mushrooms cooked in various
ways, of which he was very fond. The illness of the Grand Duke has much
affected the Grand Duchess also, who has fever, but not to any great
degree."
On the 12th he writes again ... "The Grand Duke ... on the night
between Saturday and Sunday was quite easy, and remained so till dinner
time. After dinner he did business with his secretaries. Last night he
passed quietly enough, although he has had vomitings; but these were
occasioned by the medicines given him, and were not violent."
He adds in cypher on another sheet, "The improvement in the Grand
Duke's state is not so great as is supposed. The blame of this is
laid on his Highness's want of obedience to the physicians, for he
insists, contrary to their orders, on having not only snow and ice in
his chamber, but he will drink everything iced, even the syrups, and
does not abstain from transacting business to the displeasure of the
two Cardinals who dare not enter unless they are called." On Sunday
the 18th, which was the eleventh day of the Grand Duke's illness,
he writes:—"He seems better, but it is only the last flicker of the
candle which is going out. Yesterday morning, by order of the Cardinal
de' Medici, Monsignor San Giorgio, Ambassador from Mantua to Spain,
was refused an audience. The Grand Duchess is not well, but her fever
is much decreased," and in cypher, "the change for the worse in the
Grand Duke is not only an increase of fever, but he has convulsive
tremblings, which cause much alarm. The physicians are accused of
having weakened him by loss of blood &c.... At this moment I have
received news that the Grand Duke's Confessor was sent for in the
night to the Poggio, that he is still there this morning, and that
the Duke suffered much during confession. It is now two hours before
sundown, and I have just received news that he is _in extremis_, and
has received the most holy sacrament. So say the letters from thence,
dated two or three hours back." At nine in the morning he writes:—"The
Cardinal de' Medici is arrived, and has made known to me through
Signor Eneas Venini, his pleasure, and the death of the Grand Duke,
which took place last night, four hours and a half after sunset. He
commended his wife, children, and family, to his brothers, referring
as to other matters, to a will made by him two years ago. The city is
quite quiet, and there is no fear of any movement." Lastly, on the 20th
he writes:—"This morning about nine o'clock, the Grand Duchess died,
overcome by the malignity of a disease which carried her off suddenly.
Not on account of her grief for the death of her husband, which she
did not know of. She died after receiving all the sacraments, with
great firmness of mind. She made her son her heir. To her daughter she
has left a certain quantity of grain, and to her ladies five thousand
crowns. This evening at dusk, the body of the Grand Duke, in the
ducal robes, was carried with 150 torches, and escorted by Florentine
gentlemen, to the gate of San Lorenzo, where it was met by the bishop
and clergy."
NOTES.
NOTES TO THE LIFE OF TULLIA D'ARAGONA.
1.—Page 7.
There is in the possession of M. Eugène Piot, of Paris, who has kindly
communicated it to me, a contemporary song in celebration of the beauty
and pomp of Giulia di Ferrara. It is of extreme rarity, and is a very
curious morsel of Roman social history in the sixteenth century. The
state, glory, splendour, and social standing of the celebrated Roman
courtesan are vauntingly set forth in verses put by the writer into her
own mouth. The intention, however, is evidently satirical.
2.—Page 13.
The phraseology of the original marks the nature of Strozzi's
connection with Tullia more unmistakeably than any permissible English
translation could do. The Italian words are, "Senza qualche pratica di
donne non saprei vivere; onde ho più volentieri praticato seco, che con
altra;" &c.
NOTES TO THE LIFE OF OLYMPIA MORATA.
1.—Page 39.
The entire passage runs as follows; "Prima era in grazia del Papa
Madonna Lucrezia sua figlia, la quale è savia e liberale; ma adesso il
Papa non l'ama tanto, e l'ha mandato a Nepi; e le ha dato Sermoneta,
che gli costa ducati ottanta mila; benche il Duca—(her brother
Cesare)—ghiel' abbia tolta, dicendo, 'è donna; non la potrà mantenere.'
E si dice anche che esso duca ecᵃ.—(_sic_)—con la predetta sorella
Lucrezia; il qual Duca sarà, se vive, uno dei primi capitani d'Italia."
It is fair to observe, that the tenour of this ambassador's report
seems to acquit Lucrezia of having been her brother's accomplice in the
murder of her husband, Don Alphonso of Aragon.
2.—Page 70.
Olympia's biographers, M. Bonnet and Mr. Colquhoun, in a work entitled
"Life in Italy and France in the Olden Time," have supposed that Morato
was called to Ferrara by Alphonso to be tutor to his sons, and that
this engagement was previous to his exile; and the former of the above
writers names Ippolito and Alphonso as having been his pupils. The
authority he cites is a letter of Curione; in which, however, it is
simply stated that Morato educated two brothers of Hercules. Now, of
the two named by M. Bonnet, Ippolito was born in 1509, and Alphonso in
1527, facts which alone cast some difficulty on the statement. Further,
it is difficult to understand why, when Ippolito, the second son, and
Alphonso, the fourth son, were entrusted to Morato, Francesco, the
third son, born in 1510, should have been withheld from his care. But
the question is set at rest and all made clear by the authority of the
accurate work of Girolamo Baruffaldi, in vol. viii. of the Raccolta
Ferrar. di Opusc., in which, as well as in Frizzi's elaborate history,
Morato is stated to have been entrusted with the education of Alphonso
and Alphonsino, the sons of Duke Alphonso by Laura Dianti, who was his
wife—say the Ferrarese writers—his concubine, say the defenders of the
Apostolic chamber, who considered these sons as illegitimate—after the
death of Lucrezia Borgia. Alphonso was born in 1527, and Alphonsino in
1530. The elder would therefore have been six, and the younger three
years old at the time of Morato's departure from Ferrara; dates which
sufficiently prove that the tutorship in question must have commenced
after his return in 1539, when the lads were respectively twelve and
nine years old.
3.—Page 75.
Marot's lines run as follows:—
"Ha! Marguerite, escoute la souffrance
Du noble cueur de Renée de France;
Puis comme sœur plus fort que d'esperance
Console–la.
"Tu sais comment hors son pays alla,
Et que parents et amis laissa là,
Mais tu ne sais quel traitement elle a
En terre estrange.
"Elle ne voit ceulx à qui se veult plaindre,
Son œil rayant si loing ne peut attaindre;
Et puis les monts pour ce bien lui estaindre
Sont entre deux."
4.—Page 88.
The original Latin of Giraldi's lines is given here in justice to the
author, and also in justice to the translator.
"Tota es splendida et emicas nitore,
Virtutum tenera educata in aula
Inter Virgineum chorum Renatæ,
Inter Pieridum chorum sororum.
Felix cui famulatur hæc puella!
Felices genuere qui parentes,
Et te nomine Olympiæ vocarunt!
Felicissimus ille, si modo ulli,
Uxor contigeris viro fruenda!
Hinc et non nihil ipse sum beatus,
Inter articularios dolores,
Cui talis faveat seni puella!"
5.—Page 89.
Here are Olympia's hexameters and pentameters in her own Greek:—
_"Ούποτε μὲν ξυμπασιν ἑνὶ φρεσὶν ἢνδανε ταὐτὸ,
Κ' οῦποτε πασιν ἰσον Ζεὺς παέδωκε νόον,
Ἱππόδαμος Κάστορ, πὺξ δ' ἷν ἀγαθὸς Πολυδέυκης
Ἓκγονος ἐξ αὐτης ὂρνιθος ἀμφότερος.
Κἀγὼ μὲν θηλυς γεγυια τά θηλυκὰ λειπον,
Νὲματα κερκίδιον, στὴμονα καὶ καλάθους.
Μουσάων δ' ἆγαμαι λειμωνα τον ἀνθεμόεντα,
Παρνάσσου θ' ελαρὸυς τον διλόφοιο κορούς.
Ἄλλαι τέρπονται μεν ῖσος ἂλλοισι γυναικες,
Ταυτα δὲ μοὶ κυδος, ταυτα δὲ χαρμοσύνη."_
6.—Page 99.
The few lines in the text on the subject of the watercourses of the
lower valley of the Po, may serve to indicate the nature of the matters
in dispute between the government of Ferrara and that of the Pope. But
they are very insufficient to give any competent idea of that very
curious and interesting subject. And any attempt to do so would lead to
a digression of most inordinate dimensions. The subject is not only one
of very curious historical interest, but is of the highest economic and
scientific importance at the present day. In one word, the remarkably
friable soil of large districts of the mountain chain of Upper and
Central Italy is in process of being moved away into the seas on either
coast of the peninsula. The large low flats, which have been already
formed by this process, make it difficult for the waters to transport
across them the materials they are heavily charged with. Hence
districts of extreme fertility, rice grounds, marshes, malaria, rivers
running in embankments above the level of the surrounding country,
inundations, malicious cutting of banks, fights, and demoralisation of
the riverain populations, old havens destroyed, and finally deserted
by the sea, commercial cities left commerceless, and a whole train of
ulterior consequences. The subject is a very large one, and to him who
would look beyond the mere temporary troubles of the Pope's despotisms,
and churches, the most vital one of any that affects the future of
Italy.
7.—Page 106.
Olympia's Greek hexameters and pentameters run thus:—
_"Κάτθανεν Ἀονίδων κυδος μέτα Παρθιενικάων
Βέμβος ὁ των Ἐνετων φωσφρος εἰναλὶων.
Ὄυπερ ἐνὶ βροτὲοισι το νυν ἐναλίγκιος ἐστι
Ὀυδεὶς οὐτ' ἔργοις, οὐτ' ἐπεέσσιν ἀνέρ.
Οὐ θανέοντος ἔδοξεν ἀμ' εὐετίν πάλιν αὐτὸς
Εἰσίεναι στυγερὸν Τυύλλιος εἲς ἀίδον."_
8.—Page 129.
Here is the original of this curious and very obscure passage:
"De vestibus, petere illas non decet. Nam nuper Princeps per quandam
mulierem nuntiavit mihi, non esse verum quod nobillissimi Camilli uxor
quicquam de salutanda filia illi dixisset. Attamen quia filia hoc
vellet, se id permettere factum; illam vero petiisse mihi unam vestem
quam non prius se daturam quam ipsa rediisset, dixit. Hæc respondisse
arbitror, ut viderem illam nihil mea causa facere, sed illius; et ut
(sed tacere melius est, quod omnes vident) Lysippæ satisfaceret quam
secum tunc fuisse credo. Ut ut hæc sint, illas me habituram vix credo.
Vale."
M. Jules Bonnet gives no assistance towards understanding this
difficult passage. He translates (?) as follows, without any remark.
"Il serait feu convenable de réclamer publiquement les objets que j'ai
laissés à la cour. La duchesse m'a fait dire, par une de ses femmes,
qu'il n'était pas vrai que l'épouse du noble comte Camillo Orsini l'eût
chargée de salutations pour sa fille. Elle a cependant ajouté qu'à la
sollicitation de cette dernière, elle consentait à ce que l'on me cedât
une de mes robes, ce qui ne pourrait avoir lieu toutefois qu'après son
propre retour à Ferrare. Cette réponse a été sans doute calculée pour
me montrer qu'on agit ainsi, par consideration pour une autre, et non
pour moi; ou plutôt elle a été inspirée par la haine de celle qui ne
nous veut que du mal, et qui est en ce moment au palais. Mais il vaut
mieux se taire sur un sujet, qui n'est un secret pour personne. Je
n'espère rien obtenir quoi qu'il arrive." It will be observed that here
is no attempt at translating "quia filia hoc vellet, se id permittere
factum," seeing that by no possible construction could "hoc" refer to
the giving of the robe, or to aught else than the salutation previously
spoken of. Then why should "Lysippa" be changed into "the hatred of one
who wishes us only ill"? Is it not more likely that Lysippa, whoever
she was, merely wanted the dresses for herself?
9.—Page 159.
The works of Olympia were printed under the supervision of Curione, at
Bâle, in 1570, with the following title:—
"Olympiæ Fulviæ Moratæ, fæminæ doctissimæ ac plane divinæ, opera omnia
quæ hactenus inveniri potuerunt, et quibus Cælii Secundi Curionis
selectæ epistolæ ac orationes accesserunt."
The work is dedicated by Curione to Queen Elizabeth. It is a volume
of small octavo size, and that part of it occupied by the writings of
Olympia consists of 244 pages.
The contents are as follows:—
Three prefaces to lectures on the Paradoxes of Cicero.
An essay on Q. M. Scævola in Greek.
Translations into Latin of two fables of Boccaccio.
A dialogue between Olympia and Lavinia della Rovere.
A dialogue between Philotima and Theophila.
Two books of letters. Of these forty–seven only are by Olympia. They
are all in Latin, save one in Greek, written in her girlhood to her
master Sinapi, and one in Italian. The rest of the letters are mostly
from her correspondents to her. A few are from one of these to another
on matters relating to her.
After the letters there are translations of eight psalms into Greek
verse.
Five short pieces of a few lines of Greek verse.
Three equally short fragments of Latin verse.
NOTES TO THE LIFE OF BIANCA CAPPELLO.
1.—Page 222.
The original text of the judgment leaves no doubt of Bianca's
indiscretion previous to her flight. Maria Donati is condemned, "quod
fuerit adeo perfida et temeraria, quod dum esset ancilla in domo, v.
n. d. Bartol. Capello, ausa fuerit ad instantiam Petri de Bonaventuris
filii Zanobii Florentini, ut ejus animum et libidinem expleret
lænocinium præstare in fallendo, et ad id alliciendo Blancham filiam
prdict. v. nob. ex quo ipsa Blancha non solum habuit rem cum prædicto
Petro, sed etiam cum ipso ex domo ejus patris et e venetiis aufugit."
2.—Page 248.
The important chronicle written by Settimanni, a Florentine patrician
of the 16th century, and which contains more revelations of Medicean
secrets than perhaps any other of the numerous "ricordi" of that
period, is now at last being printed (it is said?) at Parma. Its
existence, and the important nature of its contents, have long been
well known by Florentine writers. But, for a long time, the only extant
copy, which is preserved in the "Archivio delle Riformagioni," was not
permitted to be seen.
3.—Page 299.
Galluzzi writes, that Francis consented to the wish of the ambassadors,
who desired to crown Bianca. But that this is an error, and that the
statement in the text is correct, is proved by the existence of a
letter extant in the registers of the Senate, under the date of the
6th October, 1579, from the senate to the ambassadors Tiepolo and
Michiel, ordering them to place a ducal crown on Bianca's head, "per
accondiscendere al desiderio delle loro altezze," etc., etc.
Galluzzi probably thought that it _looked better_ for Tuscany to
represent that Venice was the requesting, and Francesco the consenting
party.
4.—Page 301.
Few who have visited Florence will forget the strange irregularity in
the plan of the "palazzo vecchio," and the legend which was, doubtless,
told them to explain it,—that the republic would not suffer its palace
to stand in any degree on ground accursed, by having been the site
of the mansions of a vanquished faction,—dubbed, of course, when
vanquished,—enemies of their country.
5.—Page 335.
There exists a tradition among the literary men of Florence, that the
MS. of this history by Martinetti was purchased in Florence by an
Englishman, and carried to England. The loss of it is much lamented by
them, as there is reason to think that it would be found to be a more
valuable history of the period of which it treats,—the reigns of the
Medicean Grand Dukes,—than any other extant.
6.—Page 337.
I have thought it as well to give the reader the original words of this
strange passage in Signor Soderini's letter, that he may be the better
able to judge for himself how far any such meaning as that suggested,
may, with any probability, be attributed to them. They run thus:
"Quando, che alli giorni passati la Morte cavalcò sopra il suo
destriero magro, e disfatto per investirsi del titolo di Grande. La
Morte ottenne a Roma il titolo di Grande, e conseguita ch'ella ebbe
cossifatta indecentissima intitolazione, se ne cavalcava frettolosa
alla volta del Poggio a Caiano, e quivi con irresistibile forza e pari
valore assaltò il Grande Etrusco di Firenze e Siena, e lo abbattè alli
19 di Ottobre, 1587, a 4 ore e mezzo di notte, e di 47 anni lo privò
di vita dopo strani e disusati scontorcimenti, e ululati e muggiti
diversi."
INDEX.
A.
Abbioso, Bishop, his courtiership, 329
Academies, tendency of, in Italy, 398
Agricola, theologian, draws up the Interim, 135
Albert of Brandenburg, 171
throws himself into Schweinfurth, 172
is driven out of Schweinfurth, 176
Aldobrandini, Cardinal, dedicated works to Isabella Andreini, 212
Alexander VII. elected, 362
his replies to Olympia's advances, 363
banishes Olympia to Orvieto, 364
Alphonso I. Duke of Ferrara, 37
rides through Ferrara at the Beffana, 45
stolen visit to his bride, 47
his difficulties with the church, 50
Alternatives for an old lady, 21
Aminta of Tasso, 218
Andreini, Isabella, her birth, 205
contemporary with Shakspeare, 206
her titles, 210
goes to France, 211
medal struck in her honour, _ib._
anagrams on her name, 212
praises of, by her contemporaries, _ib._
her irreproachable character, 214
her death and epitaph, _ib._
her "Mirtilla," 216
her letters, _ib._
her dialogues, 217
no account of her characters, 218
Andreini, Francesco, Isabella's husband, 213
Andreini Giovanni Batista, Isabella's son, 211
Angelio of Bargo, Astrologer, 28
Anna d'Este, her birth, 77
Calcagnini's letter to her, 78
Curione's praises of her, _ib._
her affection for Olympia Morata, 89
her marriage, 109
Antonio de' Medici, birth of, 264
Arcadia and the Arcadians, 399
nicknames, 404
falsehood in the matter of Corilla's crowning, 406
Assassinations, common in Florence, 225, 236
Augsburg in the sixteenth century, 143
Avvogaria, register of, obliteration in, 221
B.
Bâle, Olympia would willingly settle at, 155
Baker, anecdote of, about B. Cappello, 223
Barbara, Olympia Morata's maid, 163
Bayle, his remark on Isabella Andreini's epitaph, 215
"Beffana," curious custom, 44
Belvidere, near Ferrara, gardens of, 94
Bembo, anecdote of, 61
his character, 105
Olympia Morata's epitaph on him, 106
Bianca Cappello, early character, 223
her journey to Florence, 224
confined to her husband's house in Florence, 225
her personal appearance, 226
receives promise of marriage from Francesco, 234
probably cognisant of her husband's murder, 236
her character, 241
balances her accounts, 257
fictitious autobiography of, 258
her magical practices, 261
plot to impose a false heir on the Duke, 262
her fears, 264
progress in crime, 266
real nature of her witchery, 268
her bold step with Francesco, _ib._
goes into retirement, 273
her ascendancy over the Duke, _ib._
entertains the Court in the Oricellari gardens, 276
suborns Francesco's confessor, 290
her reception at Bologna, 291
her marriage with Francesco, 292
her coronation as daughter of St. Mark, 299
becomes reconciled to the Cardinal, 304
her claims respecting her daughtership of St. Mark, 311
her repeated pregnancies, 313
her unhappy life at Pratolino, 316
her family feeling, 318
at Cerveto, 320
declares herself again with child, 322
her interview with Pietro, 325
her pregnancy again comes to nothing, 329
her death, 332
different theories respecting it, 333, _et seq._
post–mortem examination, 338
grounds of Ferdinando's hatred for her, 342
her burial, 343
pasquinades on her, 344
Boccaccio, Tullia's opinion of his works, 24
Olympia Morata's translation from, 103
Bodoni's volume on Corilla's coronation, 403
Bolsec, Jerome, 111
his disputes with Calvin, 112
Bonaventuri, Pietro, his condemnation, 221
deceives Bianca, 224
receives an appointment at Court, 233
lover of Cassandra Ricci, 235
murdered in the streets of Florence, 236
Books, high value of, in the sixteenth century 160
Borso, Duke of Ferrara, 34
C.
Cafaggiuolo, villa of, 255
Calcagnini, Celio, 56
his message to Olympia Morata, 62.
Calvin at Ferrara, 72
turned out from Ferrara, 75
prosecutes Jerome Bolsec, 112
Cappello palace, situation of, 222
Caraffa, Cardinal, 80
Casino, importance of, in Italian domestic economy, 229
Catherine de' Medici, her severe answer to Francesco, 309
Catherine II. of Russia, invites Corilla, 401
Cerreto, Ducal Villa, 320
Classical studies, female, in sixteenth century, 2, _et seq._
Clement VII., Pope, his dealings with the Duke of Ferrara, 51, _et
seq._
Collar, Duke Borso's golden, 34
Columbano, Princess, takes La Corilla to Naples, 396
Comedy, Italian, in the sixteenth century, 208
Corilla, La, her real name and birth, 395
drives a thriving trade, 399
employed by Maria Theresa, 401
invited by Catherine of Russia, 401
by Joseph II., 402
enters Arcady, 403
proposals for her crowning, 405
the difficulty in the way, _ib._
subjects in which she was examined, 408
her examination, 409, _et seq._
her coronation, 113
pasquinades on her retirement to Florence and death, 416
Cosmo I., sonnet to, 15
Cosmo de' Medici, court of, 227
Cosmo I. of Florence, founds the Florentine academy, 398
Creeds, affairs of head not heart, 122
Curione, Celio, 56
first acquaintance with Morato, 65
his adventures, _ib._
conversations with Morato, 66
visit to Ferrara, 69
his letter to Olympia's mother, 140
encourages Olympia in her classical studies, 147
D.
Dante's obligations to Guerrino il Meschino, 22
Death, the desire for, 194
Demimonde and Monde in sixteenth century, 16
Dialogue on Love, Tullia's, 27
Diction, over–attention to, in Italy, 83
Dominicans, church of, at Bologna, 366
Domenichi Ludovico, 17
Donati, Maria, B. Cappello's servant, 222
Drama, Italian literature weak in, 206
E.
Eleonora di Teledo, patronises Tullia, 28
her death, 228
Eleonora di Garzia, 240
her murder, 255
Emilio, Olympia's brother accompanies her to Italy, 141
falls out of window, 150
his death, 198
Erbach, counts of, 178
receive Olympia, 179
their mode of life, 180
F.
Family feeling in Italy, 317
Famine in Ferrara, 49
Fannio, the martyr, 115, 118
Ferdinando de' Medici, Cardinal, 237
his causes of discontent, 245
his knowledge of all that passed at Florence, 246
receives the confession of the woman who managed the introduction of
Don Antonio, 266
his indignation, 267
his change of conduct after the death of the Duchess Giovanna, 287
goes to Florence in 1579, 293
his anger at leaving his brother's marriage, 294
his pecuniary difficulties, 304
his reconciliation with Bianca, 305
his misgivings respecting Bianca's intentions, 319, _et seq._
again in Florence, 326
refuses his brother's invitation, 328
visits Francesco for the Villeggiatura, 330
suspected of poisoning Francesco and Bianca, 334, 337, _et seq._
his conduct after the death of his brother, 341
his probable motives, _ib._
succeeds peaceably to his brother, 345
Fernandez, Fernando, La Corilla's husband, 396
Festivities at Lucrezia Borgia's marriage, 44, 48
Filippo, son of Giovanna, his death, 312
Flach, M. invited by Olympia to translate some of Luther's works into
Italian, 158
"Flourishing;" what is the period of a lady's, 20
Forca, via della, in Florence, Corilla's home, 393
Francesco de' Medici, 236
his character, 238
his court, 242
his character, _ib._
his temper, 243
his wealth, 244
his interview with Orsini, 247
easily duped by Bianca's trick, 264
becomes an accomplice in introducing a false heir, 270
in the Oricellari gardens, 281
feelings on the death of his wife, 284
his wishes and fears to marry Bianca, 285
his discontent with the court of France, 288
sends poison and assassins into France, 289
consults the church with reference to his marriage with Bianca, 290
marries Bianca, 292
entertains 170 Venetians, 298
his munificence to them, 303
his troubles about his title, 306
why he showed no grief at his son's death, 312
his life at Pratolino, 315
his cruelty to Camilla de' Martelli, 321
his suspicions and strange conduct, 327
invites the Cardinal to Florence, 328
his death, 332
different theories respecting it, 333, _et seq._
his illness, 335
circumstances attending his death, 340
Frari at Venice, Archives, 220
Fugger family, 143
ridiculous blunder respecting their name, 144
their residence, _ib._
G.
Gallerati, Dr., his prescriptions for E. Sirani, 381
his opinion on her death, 382
Gelli, Giambatista, his comedy of the "Sporta," 210
German cities refuse to accept the Interim, 136
Gibbon, on Lucrezia Borgia, 40
Ginori, Lorenzo, pays the cost of Corilla's crowning, 406
Giovanni de' Medici, his embassy to Venice, 297
Giraldi, G. Gregorio, 56
his verses to Olympia Morata, 88
Giulia of Ferrara, 7
Gloucester, Duke of, present at Corilla's crowning, 410
Grünthler, Andreas, 124
his wooing, 125
marriage, 126
returns to Germany, 127
his prospects in Germany, 133
prolonged absence from his wife, 138
returns to bring his wife to Germany, 139
attends Hermann in his illness, 147
settles at Schweinfurth, 151
rejects appointment offered at Lintz, 166
struck down by pestilence in Schweinfurth, 173
obtains a chair at Heidelberg, 181
obliged to borrow money, 19
in the pestilence at Heidelberg, 196
his death, 198
Guarini, Alexander, 56
Guerrazzi, his dialogue between Francesco and his brother Pietro de'
Medici, 250
Guerrino el Meschino, origin of, 23
H.
Hammelburg, Olympia's escape to, 177
Heidelberg, in the sixteenth century, 186
pestilence breaks out in, 196
Hercules I., Duke of Ferrara, 35
his reply to Venice, 36
his piety, 37
his death, 49
resists the Pope, 147
Hercules II., of Ferrara, his dealings with the church, 73
his unwillingness to receive Paul III., 93
Hermann, George, of Augsburg, 138
Hirschhorn, evening in the inn at, 182
History, happy times have little, 168
the makers of, _ib._
Hubert, Thomas, of Liège, 138
Humidi, academy of, 15
Hydrostatic difficulties of the Duke of Ferrara, 97
disputes arising from, 98, _et seq._
I.
Improvisation, talents needful for, 400
tendencies of, 401
Indulgence to Ferrara, 48
Innocent X., Pope, 351
his early preferments, 352
election to the papacy, 353
his death, 360
Innspruck, Charles V. in winter quarters at, 169
Interim, the, 135
Isabella Orsini, 228
her character, 241
her death, 248
judgment of history on her, 249
Italy loses her pre–eminence of civilisation, 123
Italian nature, dramatic, 206
J.
Joan of Austria, marriage with Francesco de' Medici, 231
her unhappy position, 237, 241, 271
her extravagance, 272
has a son, _ib._
her death, 282
Joan, Pope, story of, 346
Julius II., Pope, designs on Ferrara, 50
Julius III., Pope, 114
L.
Ladies, learned, their number in the sixteenth century, 1
Lavinia della Rovere, her friendship with Olympia Morata, 101
her religious inquiries and indifferentism, 102
visits Fannio in his prison, 116
her faithful friendship, 120
not happy, 132
Leo X., Pope, his designs on Ferrara, 50
Letters, difficulty of sending from Germany to Italy, 156
L'Humore of Bologna, anecdote of, 17
Lintz, Chair of Medicine there offered to Grünthler, 165
Literature, safe, princes who patronise, 397
Lucia Tolomelli, the maid in the Sirani family, 374
her troubles with her mistress, 375
her escapade with the tinker, 376
imprisoned in the poor–house, 377
her fairings, _ib._
suspected of poisoning E. Sirani, 383
grounds of suspicion, 384
claimed by the church, 385
her second arrest and examination, _ib._
her defence, 386
her exile, 387
Lucrezia Borgia, her marriage, 37, 42
her previous character, 38
defended by Roscoe, 39
moral phenomenon, 41
entry into Ferrara, 46
evening of her life and death, 51
contrasted with Duchess Renée, 59
M.
Macchiavelli, his comedy "Mandragola," 210
Malvasia, his history of E. Sirani, 391
Marco, St. Piazza of, in Florence, 225
Casino di, 229
Marot, Clement, at Ferrara, 75
his lines on Duchess Renée, 76
Martelli, Camilla, 228, 240
comes out of her convent–prison, 321
Martinetti, his history, 335
Material prosperity disclaimed as an object by Catholic writers, 30
Mattaselani, Dr., his evidence respecting E. Sirani's death, 387
Maurice, Elector of Saxony, 170
Medici family, domestic tragedy, 227
Michiel, Giovanni, envoy from Venice to Florence, 297
Mondragone, Marchesa, arranges meeting of Francesco and Bianca, 229,
230
Montaigne, his description of Bianca Cappello, 226
Morata, Olympia, her birth, 55–60
early promise and beauty, 62
first seeds of Protestant doctrine, 67
her acquirements at thirteen years old, 70
flattered by all Ferrara, 71
becomes an inmate of the Court, 79
her delight at her new position, 82
her earliest compositions, 83
her lecturing at sixteen, 84
specimen of her elocution, 86
verses to her from Giraldi, 88
her Greek verses, 90
her female friendships, 100
early religious indifferentism, and subsequent strong convictions, 103, 107
translations from Boccaccio, 103
her Greek epitaph on Cardinal Bembo, 106
at her father's death–bed, 109
dismissed from the palace, 110
visits Fannio in his prison, 116
commencement of religious convictions, 117
changed circumstances, 119
her lines on virginity, _ib._
letter to Curione on her time of disgrace, 120
commencement of regeneration, 122
her love, 126
her marriage, _ib._
separated from her husband, 127
her letter to her husband, 128
detention of her dresses by the Court, 130
dialogue with Lavinia della Rovere, 132
finally leaves Italy, 139
her journey across the Alps, 141
her letter to Giraldi, 146
misgivings as to her classical studies, _ib._
Curione encourages her, 147
her stay with Hermann, _ib._
urges Lavinia della Rovere to save Fannio, 148
her stay with John Sinapi, 149
her ideas of a special providence, 150, 174
settles at Schweinfurth, 151
her real name questioned, 152
is an interesting character both to the religionist and the moralist,
_ib._
letter to Curione, 155
sends money to her mother, 156
letter to Lavinia della Rovere, 157
moderation of her Calvinism, _ib._
her dialogue between Philotima and Theophila, 159
receives her books from Italy, 160
receives Theodora Sinapi, 161
lectures a backsliding divine, 165
tends her husband in his sickness, 174
her letter during the siege to Lavinia della Rovere, 174
letter to her sister describing her flight from Schweinfurth, 176
miserable journey to Erbach, 178
her health destroyed, 179
at Hirschhorn, 183
is offered a chair of Greek at Heidelberg, 184
receives letter and books from Curione, 187
ignorance of German, 190
declines to be at the Court of the Electress of Heidelberg, 192
receives Theodora Sinapi at Heidelberg, 192
theology of her letters, 193
her desire for death, 194
her last letter to Curione, 196
her last moments, 197
her epitaph, 198
her European reputation, 199
the basis of it, 200
value of her story to us, 203
Morato, Peregrino, fixes himself at Ferrara, 55
his Protestantism, 60
his criticism on Bembo, 61
his exile, 63
his training of his daughter, 64
his difficulties, _ib._
returns to Ferrara, 70
appointed tutor to the Duke's sons, _ib._
his instructions to his daughter, 85
his illness and death, 108
O.
Ori, Matthew, inquisitor, 113
"Oricellari Orti," their history, 274
given to Bianca Cappello, 275
a night's amusement there, 276
P.
Paganism of Italian society in the sixteenth century, 3
Palazzo Vecchio at Florence, chapel in, 292
Pallavicini, Princess, La Corilla's patroness, 395
Pamfili, Camillo, created cardinal, 353
his gross ignorance, 354
his marriage, 356
succeeds to his mother's wealth, 364
Pamfili, G. Batista, Olympia's husband, 348
Pamfili, Olympia, her birth, 348
her marriage, _ib._
her ambitious plans, 349
her avarice, 354
her venality, 355
banished from the Vatican, 358 returns, _ib._
her mode of life in the Vatican, 359
her last simoniacal bargain, 360
her plans after the death of Innocent, 361
makes advances to Alexander VII., 363
banished from Rome, 364
her death, _ib._
Pavia, Curione at, 68
Pedagogues lay, a new social feature in the sixteenth century, 54
their social position, 64
Pellegrina, Bianca's daughter, birth of, 232
Persecution increases, 195
Pestilence in Ferrara, 49
Petrarch, crowned at the Capitol, 394
Philip II. of Spain, odious to the German electors, 169
informed of Francesco's marriage with Bianca, 294
approves of the murder of Donna Eleonora de' Medici, 256
godfather to the Duchess Giovanna's son, 273
Phœnix burning in Ferrara, 51
Picchena, Curzio, envoy employed by Francesco de' Medici as a poisoner,
289
Pietro de' Medici, 228
his character, 239
his marriage, 240
urged to re–marry, 319
stays at Florence to watch Bianca, 321
his letter to the Cardinal, 322
ill–treated by the Duke, 324
his interview with Bianca, 325
his report of it to the Cardinal, 326
Po, river, difficulties connected with, 97
Poetesses, Tiraboschi's list of, 1
Poggio–a–Caiano, ducal villa, 321
the Duke's death there, 332
Bianca's death there, _ib._
Pratolino, Ducal villa, 314
Progress, moral, proofs of, 42
Psalms translated into Greek by Olympia, and set to music by Grünthler,
164
Publishers, eminent, send presents of books to Olympia, 187
Puteano, Ericio, his inscription on Isabella Andreini, 211
R.
Rabelais on the Fuggers, 143
Renée of France, her marriage with Hercules II., 57
her person and character, 58
her Protestantism, 59
theological difficulties with her husband, 72
secret reception of Calvin, 72
scene in her closet, 74
in durance, 81
abandons Olympia, 113, 130
Reno river, difficulties connected with, 98
Respectability, prized by Italians, 238
Riario family is founded, 166
present family, ancestor of, 173
Ricci, Bartolomeo, 56
Ricci, Cassandra de, her murder, 236
Roman history, society, means of rising in, 349
Rosaria, Princess, Camillo Pamfili's wife, 357
Rosarias, Andreas, poor schoolmaster out of employ, 193
Roscoe's defence of Lucrezia Borgia, 39
Rudolph, the Emperor, his reply to the Italian Princes, 310
S.
Salviati, Maria, sonnet to, 16
Savoy, Duke of, his claim to pre–eminence over other Italian princes,
309
Scandal in Europe, caused by Olympia Pamfili, 357
Scenery, appreciation of, a modern sentiment, 142
Schweinfurth, Olympia finds a home at, 151
its condition in the sixteenth century, 154
idea of Olympia's home in, 162
siege of, 172
pestilence in, 173
destruction of the city, 176
Serene, title of, squabbles about, 307
Servants, Olympia's troubles with, 188
Sinapi, Chilian, 56
Sinapi, John, 56
letter from, 88
Olympia's letters to, 131
settled at Würzburg, 149
receives Olympia in his house, _ib._
death of his wife, 166
sends Olympia a volume recovered from the sack of Schweinfurth, 186
his letter to Olympia, 187
Sirani, Elisabetta, her artistic merits, 367
story of her death, 368
her home in Bologna, 369
her catalogue of her works, 370
her rapidity of execution, 371
paints before Cosmo of Tuscany, _ib._
before the Duchess of Brunswick, 372
her disposal of her earnings, 373
frugal life, _ib._
falls into ill–health, 379
her death, 380
mourning in Bologna for her death, 380
her personal appearance, 391
Sirani, G. Andrea, Elisabetta's father, 369
his conduct to Lucia Tolomelli, 377
withdraws his accusation against Lucia, 387
Sirani, Anna Maria, Elisabetta's sister, 369
Sirani, Barbara, Elisabetta's sister, 369
is ill with fever, 379
Sirani, Margherita, Elisabetta's mother, 375
Soderini, Giovanni Vettorio, his extraordinary letter, 336
Strozzi, Filippo, his character, 11
his connection with Tullia d'Aragona, 12
Strozzi, Matteo, envoy to Venice, 295
Squadrone volante, in the Conclave, 362
T.
Tagliavia, Peter, at Trent, 5
his reminiscences, 6
educates his daughter, 8
Tasso crowned at the Capitol, 394
Terence, Adelphi of, performed before Paul III. at Ferrara, 95
Theodore, daughter of John Sinapi, a pupil of Olympia, 161
Theology, Olympia's, 193
Theriaca medicine, 380
Tiepolo, Antonio, envoy from Venice to Florence, 297
Tiraboschi, his notion of comedy, 208
Torelli, Lelio, his murder, 247
Toselli, Mazzoni, his pamphlet on E. Sirani, 369
Tragedy, Italian, in the sixteenth century, 207
Treuthuger, the schoolmaster at Hirschhorn, 183
Troilo, Orsini, 247
Tullia d'Aragona, her birth, and early talents, 8
difficulties of dates respecting her, 10
her beauty, 14
her husband, 15
scene at her house, 17
leaves Rome, 18
specimen of her poetry, 19
quits "La Bohème," 22
her translation of Guerrino el Meschino, _ib._
her opinion of Boccaccio, 24
her propriety, 25
her Dialogue on the Infinity of Love, 26
her death, 28
V.
Varchi, Bened., a personage in Tullia's "Dialogo," 26
Venetian senate, their conduct on hearing the Duke's marriage with Bianca
Cappello, 295
their reply to Bianca's remonstrances, 311
Villach, Charles V. at, 170
Villeggiatura, Italian habit of, 330
THE END.
BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS. FOOTNOTES:
[1] Gaume, ver Rongeur.
[2] Roccho Pirro. Sicilia Sacra, ad. art. Tagliavia.
[3] Sarpi., lib. iv. sec. 37.
[4] Zilioli, Storia di poeti Ital., cited by Mazzuchelli, art. "Tullia."
[5] Note 1.
[6] Vitæ Pontif. et Cardin.
[7] "L'ornamento degli abiti lascivi," is Zilioli's phrase.
[8] Mazzuchelli, vol. i. p. 928.
[9] Printed at p. 183 of the "Documenti Storici," appended by Signor
Bigazzi to Niccolini's tragedy of "Filippo Strozzi." Firenze, 1847.
[10] _Ibid._, p. 185.
[11] Strozzi was then forty–three.
[12] Note 2.
[13] MSS. Stroz., Clas. 7, Cod. No. 95, p. 75.
[14] Facetie, Motti, e Burle, Raccolte per M. L. Domenichi. Venetia,
1588.
[15] "Mezza Vecchia."
[16] Istor. di Volg. Poesia, vol. i. p. 341.
[17] Vol. i. p. 930.
[18] Fam. Med. Tavola, 14.
[19] Frizzi, Mem. per la Storia di Ferrara, vol. iv. p. 80.
[20] Frizzi, Mem. per la Storia di Ferrara, vol. iv. p. 80.
[21] _Vide apud_ Frizzi, Mem. Stor. di Ferrara, vol. iv. p. 184.
[22] Ancient Diary, cited by Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 164.
[23] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 217.
[24] Relazioni degli Ambasciatori Veneti, ser. xi. vol. iii. p. 11.
[25] Note 1.
[26] Appendix, on Lucrezia Borgia; Life of Leo X.
[27] Antiq. of the House of Brunswick.
[28] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 203.
[29] Diario Ferrarese. Anon. apud Muratori, tom. xxiv. p. 399.
[30] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 207.
[31] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 220.
[32] Vol. iv. p. 281.
[33] C. Secundi Curionis Epist., lib.
[34] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 307.
[35] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 307.
[36] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 329.
[37] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 307.
[38] Altogether wrongfully, it should seem.
[39] Opere di Bembo; Milano, 1810, vol. vii. p. 226.
[40] Letters of Calcagnini cited by Bonnet, in his Vie d'Olympia
Morata, p. 27.
[41] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 359.
[42] Tiraboschi, tom. vii. p. 1746.
[43] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 359.
[44] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 359.
[45] Tiraboschi, tom. vii. p. 2286.
[46] This brief account of the career of Curione has been taken from
Bonnet's Vie d'Olympia, supplemented, where necessary, by Tiraboschi.
[47] Tiraboschi, tom. vii. p. 1747.
[48] Note 2.
[49] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 329.
[50] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 329.
[51] Frizzi, _ibid._
[52] For the original, see Note 3.
[53] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 360.
[54] _Ibid._
[55] Calc. Opera., cited by Bonnet.
[56] Celio Curione, Epist., cited by Bonnet.
[57] Cited by M. Bonnet.
[58] A citation from Juvenal, alluding to certain rhetorical
jousting–bouts established by Caligula at Lyons.
[59] Curionis, Epist.
[60] Calcag. Opera.
[61] See Note 4.
[62] Bonnet, p. 37.
[63] Note 5.
[64] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 347.
[65] Frizzi, vol. i. p. 147.
[66] Note 6.
[67] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 342.
[68] The historian of Ferrara, Gaspar Sardi, dedicated to her, towards
the end of the period spoken of, his book "De Triplici Philosophiâ."
[69] Sansovino, Hist. de Casa Orsini, cited by Bonnet.
[70] Olymp. Mor. C. S. Curioni, cited by Bonnet.
[71] For the original Greek, see Note 7.
[72] Olymp. Mor. Oper., cited by Bonnet.
[73] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 348.
[74] Antiq. Esten., tom. ii. p. 371.
[75] C.S. Curionis Epist., lib. i. p. 11, cited by Bonnet.
[76] Vie d'Olympia, p. 69.
[77] Article Bolsec.
[78] Beza, in Vitâ Calvini.
[79] Bonnet, Vie, p. 69.
[80] Vie d'Olymp. _ibid._
[81] Frizzi, vol. iv. p. 359.
[82] Histoire des Martyrs, cited by Bonnet, p. 74.
[83] Melchior Adam, Vita Germanorum Medicorum. Art. Grünthler.
[84] Bonnet, Vie d'Olymp. p. 202.
[85] Olymp. Moratæ Opera. Bâle, 1570.
[86] Bonnet, Vie d'Olymp. p. 79.
[87] Note 8.
[88] C. S. Curione, Xysto Betulsio, 21st letter in the "Epistolæ,"
Opera Moratæ, Bâle, 1570.
[89] Mendoza. Letter to Charles of 10th June, 1848, cited by Ranke.
Book 3, sec. 1.
[90] Olympia, Curioni, 23rd epist. Op. Ol. Morat. Bâle.
[91] Olympio Laurentia Schleenvio. 27th epistle in her collected works.
[92] Olym. G. Hermanno. 34th of the collection.
[93] Bonnet. Vie. p. 90.
[94] Beatus Rhenanus in a letter, which is the 50th of the century of
Epist. Philolog. published by Goldast.
[95] Bayle, Art. Fugger. Note C.
[96] Bonnet, Vie d'Olymp. p. 93.
[97] The 19th of the collection, as printed at Bâle, in 1570. But
neither the dates affixed to these letters, nor the order in which they
are printed, are correct.
[98] Letter 17th of the collection.
[99] Olymp. Curioni et Georg. Hermanno. Letters 23rd and 34th of the
collection.
[100] Bonnet, Vie d'Olymp., p. 101.
[101] Olymp. Carchisio. Letter 29th of the collection.
[102] Olymp. Carchisio. Letter 32nd.
[103] Letter 31st.
[104] Letter 24th of the collection.
[105] Absence from her husband and continued ill health.
[106] Art. Curion. Note B.
[107] Note 9.
[108] Letters, 26, 27.
[109] Letter, No. 50.
[110] Olympia cuidam concionatori Germano. Letter 39.
[111] Letter, 28.
[112] Corresp. ined. de Calv. cited by Bonnet, p. 121.
[113] Bonnet. Vie d'Olymp. p. 103.
[114] Vie d'Olymp. p. 130.
[115] Letter 37.
[116] Vie d'Olymp. p. 133.
[117] Letter 37.
[118] Letter 58.
[119] Olympia a Madonna Cherubina. Letter 86. The only one of the
collection written in Italian.
[120] Letter to Cherubina.
[121] Olympia's letter to her sister.
[122] Letter to Donna Cherubina, already quoted.
[123] Letter 40.
[124] "Quin et pallam egregiam donavit, plus quam mille sestertium
nummorum æstimatam."—Letter to her sister.
[125] Letter. 74. of the collection of Olympia's letters.
[126] "Id quod doctorem etiam et Olympiam in summam admirationem
adduxit."
[127] Annales de Vitâ et Rebus gestis Federici II., Electoris Palatini
lib. xiv. Ann. 1554, quoted by Bonnet.
[128] Letter 50.
[129] Letter 50.
[130] Letter 56.
[131] Letter 46.
[132] Letter 68.
[133] Letter 69.
[134] All of them at Bâle, with the following dates, 1558, 1562, 1570,
1580. That of 1570 has been referred to in these pages.
[135] Mazzuchelli, tom. i. p. 711.
[136] Lib. III. cap. iii. sect. 61.
[137] Cited, _Ibid._
[138] Tiraboschi, lib. III. cap. iii. sect. 61.
[139] Mazzuchelli, vita.
[140] Venezia e sue Lagune. Vol. ii. part 2. Ap. p. 6.
[141] Bianca Capello. Cenni storico–critici. Venezia, 1828.
[142] Note 1.
[143] Cigogna, p. 26.
[144] Cigogna, _ibid._ p. 19.
[145] Siebenkees. Life of Bianca. Gotha, 1789.—Sismondi.
[146] Cigogna, p. 7.
[147] Litta. Famiglia Medici. Art.—Bianca.
[148] Litta. Fam. Med. Art.—Bianca.
[149] Litta, _ibidem_.
[150] Cigogna. Cenni storico–critici. p. 9.
[151] Cigogna. _Ibid._ p. 9.
[152] Litta. _Ibidem._
[153] See Appendix. Letter I.
[154] Galluzzi. Istoria del Granducato. Lib. 4, cap. 2.
[155] Cigogna. _Ibidem._ p. 10.
[156] Galluzzi. Istoria del Granducato. Lib. 4.—Litta. Famiglia Medici.
[157] Litta. _Ibidem._
[158] See Appendix. Letters I. and III.
[159] Galluzzi. Istoria del Ducato. Lib. 4.
[160] Galluzzi. Istoria del Ducato. Lib. 4, cap. 1.
[161] Litta. Fam. Med. Art. Ferdinando.—Galluzzi. Lib. 4.
[162] Cronaca MS. del Settimanni, cited by Guerazzi in his "Isabella
Orsini," p. 177.
[163] Litta. Fam. Med. Art. Isabella Orsini.
[164] MSS. Caponi, cited by Galluzzi. Isa. Orsini, p. 178.
[165] Galluzzi. Lib. 4, cap. 2.—Litta. Fam. Med. Art.
Isabella.—Ademollo. Mari. de' Ricci, Notes to, p. 810.
[166] Note 2.
[167] These words actually do occur in a book of memoranda of the kind
mentioned, which is still extant.
[168] Printed by Galuzzi. Lib. 4. ch. 2.
[169] Litta. Fam. Med. Art. Bianca.
[170] Ademollo. Mar. de Ricci. Notes, p. 628.
[171] Galluzzi. Ist. del Gr. ducato. Lib. 4, c. 2.
[172] Galluzzi. Ist. del Gr. ducato. Lib. 4. ch. 2.
[173] Galluzzi. _Ibid._ Lib. 4, ch. 3.
[174] Osservatore Fiorentino. Tom. 3, p. 106.
[175] Machiavelli. Op. Ed. Italia, 1813. V. iv. p. 194.
[176] Malespini. Novelli. Par. 2, nov. 24.
[177] Litta. Fam. Med. Art. Giovanni.—Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. iii.
[178] See Appendix. Letter VIII. and Note.
[179] Galluzzi. _Ibidem._
[180] Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 3.
[181] Galluzzi. _Ibidem._
[182] Galluzzi. _Ibidem._
[183] MS. Rinieri, cited by Cigogna, Cenni Critico–storia, p. 42.
[184] Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 3.
[185] Cenni. Storico–critici, p. 27.
[186] Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 3.
[187] Galluzzi. Lib. 4, cap. 4.
[188] Registri secreti del Senato, cited by Cigogna.—Cenni,
Critico–storici, p. 28.
[189] Cenni, Storici, p. 44.
[190] Lib. 4, ch. 4.
[191] Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 4.
[192] Note 3.
[193] Cigogna. Cenni, Storico–critici, p. 30.
[194] See Cigogna. Cenni, Storico–critici, p. 31.
[195] Note 4.
[196] Cigogna. Cenni, Storico–critici, p. 32.
[197] Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 4.
[198] Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 5.
[199] Adriani. Lib. 19.—Galluzzi. Lib. 3.
[200] Republiques. V. 16, p. 204.
[201] Galluzzi. Lib. 4.—Sismondi. Ch. 123.
[202] Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 5.
[203] Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 5.
[204] Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 6.
[205] Lib. 4, ch. 6.
[206] Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 5.
[207] Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 6.
[208] Letter from Giovanni Vettorio Soderini to Signore Silvio
Piccolomini; printed in the Notes to Guerrazzi's "Isabella Orsini," p.
179.
[209] "Familiarità con l'olio di vetriolo."
[210] Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 6.
[211] Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 7.
[212] Printed by Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 7.
[213] Printed by Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 7.
[214] Printed by Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 8.
[215] See, in confirmation of his view, Appendix, art. II.
[216] Note 5.
[217] The sentence is thus incomplete in the original.
[218] "Scontorcimenti."
[219] Note 6.
[220] Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 8.
[221] "Non fece testamento prima, nè poi."
[222] "Rispettosamente;" which means literally "respectfully," and
not "doubtfully." But "respectful" does not describe the manner of a
sovereign to a captain of his guards. The author's meaning evidently is
"with a manner the reverse of security and boldness."
[223] Galluzzi. Lib. 4, ch. 8.
[224] Hist. Rep. Ital., ch. 123.
[225] Letter of Soderini.—Guerrazzi's Isabella Orsini.
[226] Giusti. The stinging satires of this Tuscan poet, who died a few
years since in the prime of life, should be read by those who wish to
obtain a just notion of the lights and shades of modern Italian life.
[227] Guide Book to Central Italy.
[228] Storia Pittorica, vol. v. p. 97, edit. 4to.
[229] Lanzi should have written "recorded by herself;" for Malvasia,
the historian of Bolognese art, merely prints a catalogue, left by the
artist in her own handwriting.
[230] The list, however, is not complete, as there are pictures by her
extant, which are not enumerated in it.
[231] This would seem to refer either to the medical brother or to the
pupils in the house.
[232] She alludes in all probability to the murder of her husband; if
so, the date of this letter would enable us to fix, with some approach
to accuracy, the time of that event, which the Florentine contemporary
writers have not mentioned, and which the subsequent historians have
not been able to fix.
[233] This appears to allude to some scheme of marriage, which Bianca
would seem to have in some degree encouraged.
[234] Signor Odorici thinks, in all probability correctly, that this
matter, of too great importance to be written, was her hope of being
married to the Duke after the death of the Duchess. He observes, that
even the seal attached by Bianca to this letter seems to have reference
to such an idea. It bore a Venus arming Cupid with arrows, with the
motto significative enough certainly as a device of Bianca, "_Aude et
fiet_." But if such a scheme of succeeding to the place of the Grand
Duchess appeared to be of such importance as to deserve the coming of
her cousin to Florence to discuss it, while the lady to be supplanted
was still alive and well, do not such plannings and discussions add
some degree of probability to the Florentine notion, that Giovanna's
welcome death was unduly hastened?
[235] It must be observed, that from this letter it would appear either
that the "matter which cannot be put on paper" was, after all, not what
has been conjectured, or that her wishes and intentions of returning to
Venice were insincere.
[236] An antidote to poison.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
-Plain text and punctuation errors fixed.