The South of France-East Half Part 42

No. 140, an exquisitely finished Portrait of G. Benci, by Leonardo da Vinci. 139, Holy Family, by Rubens.

_Sala di Marte._--Frescoes and decorations by Cortona. Raphael, Rubens, Van Dyck, and A. del Sarto, have in this room some beautiful paintings.

The gem is (79) the Madonna della Sedia (chair), by Raphael. 94 is a Holy Family, also by him--called the "Impannata" or cloth window. No.

81, Holy Family; and 87 and 88, Story of Joseph, by A. del Sarto. 82, Card. Bentivoglio, by Van Dyck. No. 86, Peace and War, by Rubens. 96, Judith, by C. Allori.

_Sala di Prometeo._--The Mosaic Table in this room, by Giorgi, occupied him fourteen years. 338, Madonna, by Fra. Filippo Lippi.

_Sala di Apollo._--Raphael has three portraits in this room:--59 and 61, M. and A. Doni; and 63, Leo X. Tiziano has some fine works:--No. 67, a Magdalene, shows his power in colour; and 54, Aretino, the poet, is one of his best portraits. 40, Madonna, by Murillo. 58, by A. del Sarto, Descent from the Cross, one of his best works. 64, the same subject admirably treated by Fra. Bartolommeo.

_Sala di Venere_ (Venus).--Painted by Cortona. Nos. 4 and 15 are two most charming Sea-pieces, by Salvator Rosa. No. 18, La Bella Donna, by Tiziano. No. 27, Jesus appearing to Peter, by L. Cardi (Il Cigoli).

_Galleria Poccetti._--Painted by Poccetti. Bust of Napoleon by Canova.

Small corridor, or Corridor of the Columns, with two columns in oriental alabaster, and the walls hung with Florentine mosaics, and admirably executed miniatures in water-colours and oil, collected by Card.

Leopold. No. 4, In gla.s.s cases are displayed valuable articles in ivory, amber, rock-crystal, and precious stones.

_Stanza della Giustizia._--Painted by Fedi. The beautiful ebony cabinet was used by Card. Leopold. The most interesting picture in this room is 408, Portrait of Oliver Cromwell, painted from life by Sir Peter Lely, by request of Ferdinand II. of Tuscany.

[Headnote: PITTI GALLERY--ROOMS OF FLORA, ULLISSE, GIOVE.]

_Stanza di Flora._--In the centre is the famous Venus by Canova, called also the Venus Italica from its having been intended to replace the Venus de' Medici, when that still more famous statue was carried off to Paris, where it remained fifteen years. No. 415, Ferdinand II., by Sustermans. 416 and 421, Landscapes, by Poussin. 423, Adoration of the Shepherds, by Tiziano.

_Stanza dei Putti._--Painted by Morini. No. 470 is a large picture by Sal. Rosa, called the Philosopher's Forest--Diogenes throwing away his drinking-cup. No. 465, Landscape, by Ruysdael.

_Stanza d' Ullisse._--Painted by Martellini. No. 324 is a fine portrait by Rubens of the favourite of James I., George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, a.s.sa.s.sinated by Felton in 1628. No. 289, Madonna, by Ligozzi. 297, Paul III., by Bordone. 306 and 312, Landscapes, by Sal.

Rosa.

_Stanza del Bagno._--This, the bath-room, is tastefully fitted up with a mosaic pavement. Four handsome columns in verd antique, and four marble statues, by Insom and Bongiovanni.

_Stanza dell' educazione di Giove._--Painted by Catani. 266, the Madonna del Granduca, by Raphael, is one of the finest pictures in the Pitti Gallery. 245 is attributed to Raphael. 243, Philip IV. of Spain by Velasquez. 248, a "Descent" by Tintoretto. 256, Holy Family by Fra.

Bartolommeo.

_Stanza della Stufa._--The frescoes on the walls, representing the Four Ages of Man, are by Cortona, from sketches by the nephew of Michael Angelo. The frescoes on the ceiling, representing the Virtues, are by Rosselli, in 1622. Among the treasures of this room are four antique statues in niches, a column of green porphyry, bearing a porcelain vase with a likeness of Napoleon I., and two justly celebrated bronze statues of Cain and Abel, modelled by Dupre of Siena, and cast by Papi in 1849.

THE BOBOLI GARDENS.

Now either return to the Uffizi by the very long galleries or descend to the foot of the stairs, and when outside, turn to the left and pa.s.s through the gate leading into the Boboli Gardens, open on Thursdays and feast-days. Permission to enter on other days is easily obtained at the office of the Minestero della Casa, under the south corner of the corridor. The gardens are laid out in a stiff style. Clumps of oleanders and oleasters among ilexes, laurels, pines, yews, and cypresses, encircled by tall myrtle hedges, make the grounds in many parts more like a labyrinth than a garden. Near the entrance is an artificial grotto, with, in front, a group by V. Rossi, and a Venus by G. Bologna; and in the four corners unfinished statues by Michael Angelo, intended for the monument of Julius II. at Rome, and presented to Cosmo I. by L. Buonarotti. Opposite the palace is the Amphitheatre; within the centre a granite obelisk and a large granite basin from Egypt, but brought to Florence from Rome. Beyond the palace, near the Porta Romana, is the Piazzale del Lago, with groups in marble by G. Bologna. In the flower-garden "del Cavaliere," are two more fountains, with monkeys in bronze, by the same artist, and a small villa, from the top of which there is a fine view (entrance 25c.) On the highest part of the gardens, facing the palace, is a colossal statue of Dovizia (Abundance), commenced by Bologna, and finished by his pupil Dacca.

[Headnote: PITTI PALACE.]

THE PITTI PALACE was begun by Luca Pitti, a Florentine merchant, in 1436, from designs by Brunelleschi. In 1549 the still unfinished building was purchased by the Medici, who advanced it considerably, but not till quite recently was this vast pile finished. The facade is 659 feet in length, 148 feet in height, and the total surface occupied by the building 35,231 yards. Bart. Ammanati added the wings, and enclosed the beautiful court opposite the middle entrance with Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns, and placed at the extremity the pretty grotto covered in with Roman mosaic, supported on 16 columns, and ornamented with statues in marble and porphyry, and small trees and satyrs in bronze. To the right of the court is the Royal Chapel. Above the altar is an ivory crucifix by G. Bologna. At the end of the portico, to the left, a door opens into the court, in which is the entrance into the room containing the splendid _Collection of Plate_ by Benvenuto Cellini and Maso Finiguerra, and ivories by Bologna and Donatello. Zumbo, the famous artist in wax, has likewise some of his works here. The state apartments are sumptuously furnished.

[Headnote: TRIBUNA GALILEO--MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY. ANATOMICAL PREPARATIONS IN WAX.]

Nearly opposite the Pitti palace, at No. 16 Via Guicciardini, is the house in which Machiavelli lived and died in 1527. A little farther up the Via Romana, in the house No. 19, is the

MUSEO DI STORIA NATURALE,

in the second floor, and the Museo Galileo in the first floor. Both open on Thursdays and Sat.u.r.days, from 10 to nearly 3. In the vestibule is an old terrestrial globe, black with age, 3 feet in diameter, probably by Ign.a.z.io Dante, a famous astronomer, brought to Florence by Cosmo I. He died in 1586. Upstairs is the Museo, or Tribuna di Galileo.[*]

Explanatory catalogues in Italian and French are on the table. The statue of him is by A. Costoli. In the niche to the right are his telescopes, of which the lower one was constructed by himself, and by which he discovered the satellites of Jupiter. In the niche on the left are his compa.s.ses and magnet. The other philosophical instruments belonged to the Accademia del Cimento, inst.i.tuted in 1657 and dissolved in 1667. It held its meetings in the palace of Prince Leopold de'

Medici. All around are beautiful frescoes, ill.u.s.trating scenes in the life of Galileo. Among the relics is the forefinger of Galileo, taken from the body when it was removed to its present resting-place in the church of Santa Croce. In the second storey is the excellent and comprehensive Museum of Natural History. The collections are admirably arranged, and in good condition. The botanical department contains the herbariums of Andrea Cesalpino, which he is supposed to have collected about the year 1563; of P. A. Micheli, collected about the year 1725; of Central Italy, by Parlatore, commenced in 1842; of Labillardiere, who accompanied La Perouse in his expedition to New Holland; of R. Desfontaines, the master of De Candolle; and of the Englishman, P. B.

Webb, who bequeathed his herbarium to this museum. But the most wonderful objects in the museum are the anatomical preparations in wax, chiefly by Clemente Sasini and his a.s.sistants, under the direction of Tommaso Bonicoli, 1775 to 1791. Like the great works of the great painters, they are executed with the most minute care and truthfulness to nature, whether it be the magnified anatomy of the cuttle-fish or of the silkworm, or the life-like representation of the most delicate organs of the human body. They are contained in twelve rooms, entered from the sh.e.l.l department, by the door lettered "Ittiologia," opening into the Zootomia.

[Footnote *: The word tribune is used in Florence to designate any large niche. But the real meaning of the word "Tribuna" is the semicircular cavity at the extremity of a Roman basilica, where the judges sat. In the early ages of the church some of these buildings were given to the Christians for public worship, who still retained their secular name, and worshipped in them without consecration.]

THE HOUSE OF GALILEO,

at the head of the Via Romana, is the Porta Romana, the city gate by which, in 1536, Charles V. and Pope Leo X. entered Florence. An omnibus runs between it and the Piazza del Duomo. At the outer side there is a cab stand, which is likewise the starting-place of the omnibus for the Certosa (see page 250). Immediately outside the Porta commence three broad roads--the lowest is called the Via Senese and leads to the Certosa; the centre one, bordered with tall cypresses, is the Via del Poggio Imperiale; while to the left is the Viale Machiaveli, the first of a series of magnificent boulevards (viali) leading to that n.o.ble terrace the Piazza Michelangiolo. Let us first ascend the Via del Poggio to the Royal Villa, formerly the property of the Medicis, now the Inst.i.tuto della Annunziata, a boarding-school for girls. From it ascend by the Via del Pian di Giullari, and when at the top of it take the road to the right leading directly to the village of Arcetri, containing the house in which Galileo spent the last years of his life, and in which when blind, and 74 years of age, he was visited by Milton. Galileo was born in 1564, at Pisa, and died in 1642. The house, a plain building, is indicated by a bust and tablet on the wall towards the street. The steep little road to the left leads up to the farmhouse in which is the Tower (Torre del Gallo) from which Galileo made his astronomical observations.

It contains several relics of the great astronomer--a telescope, table, and chairs, a bust of him taken after death (il piu antico che si conosca), a pen-and-ink sketch of him on marble by Salvatelli, a smaller portrait of him by P. Leoni, 1624. From the farmhouse a steep narrow road leads down to the Boulevards between the Piazza Michelangiolo and the Porta Romana.

[Headnote: SAN MINIATO.]

THE PIAZZALE MICHELANGIOLO.

There is no place about Florence which affords such an agreeable walk or drive as to the Piazzale Michelangiolo and the church of S. Miniato.

They are situated on a hill on the left bank of the Arno, two bridges higher up the river than the Uffizi, and are distinctly seen from the Lung' Arno. The nearest way to approach them on foot is, having crossed the Ponte alle Grazie (the first bridge above the Ponte Vecchio), walk up the left bank of the Arno, pa.s.sing the Piazza containing the fine marble monument to Prince Nicholas Demidoff, by L. Bartolini, in 1835, and continue the walk up the river till arrival at a square tower in the Piazza della Molina, whence commence the ascent by the stairs and road the Viale dei Colli. Or approach it from the Porta Romana by the fine avenues the Viali Machiavelli and Galileo, bordered by trees and handsome villas, disclosing as they wind round the steep sides of the hills a succession of ever-varying views. The Piazzale Michelangiolo is a splendid terrace, 165 feet above the Arno, commanding a grand prospect, and adorned with five statues in bronze, copies by C. Papi of Michael Angelo's famous works. To the right is the Viale Michelangiolo, the carriage road leading down to the Barriera San Niccolo, opposite the suspension-bridge (Ponte Sospenso). Above the Piazzale, by the convent church of San Salvatore del Monte (built in 1504 by Cronaca), is the +Basilica of San Miniato+, one of the earliest (1013) as well as one of the most perfect structures in the Byzantine style. Internally it is 165 feet long by 70 wide, and is divided longitudinally into aisles by pillars of cla.s.sical design. The facade is faulty. The tower was erected in 1519. The floor of the nave is considerably under the level of the chancel, which terminates in a semi-dome, covered with mosaics executed in 1247, and of the same kind as those of St. Mark's at Venice. Behind the altar are five small windows of thin slabs of Pavonazzo marble.

Between the stairs leading up to the chancel is the chapel constructed in 1448 by Michelozzi. Here lie the remains of Gualberto, the founder of the church and of the order of Vallombrosa. In the centre of the north aisle is the chapel of Cardinal Ximenes (died 1459). The monument is by B. Rossellino, and the beautiful terra-cottas on the ceiling by Luca della Robbia. On the south side is the Sacristy (built in 1387), exquisitely painted in fres...o...b.. Spinello Aretino, representing scenes in the life of St. Benedict. In the centre of the nave is a curious piece of Byzantine pavement, executed in 1207. Below the chancel is the crypt, supported on 38 marble columns, several being prolongations of those above. Under the altar is the tomb of San Miniato. From the terraces of the adjoining cemetery there are splendid views of Florence and of the valley of the Arno.

THE CERTOSA.

From outside the Porta Romano a small diligence starts every hour, at the hour, pa.s.sing by the Carthusian Monastery of the Certosa, 3 miles distant; fare, fr. Pa.s.sengers alight at the great wall enclosing the grounds at the commencement of the small by-road to the right, leading up to the top of the circular hill on which the convent is picturesquely situated. It was erected by Niccolo Acciaiola in the 14th cent., and is now the property of the State, who retain in it some twenty-three friars of the order to take charge of the church, chapels, and buildings. At the entrance-gate is the pharmacy, where the liqueurs made in the convent can be bought and tasted. Their Chartreuse cordial is not equal to that made in France, but the Alkermis is of good quality. Fee to see the convent, fr. At the top of the stair leading up to the church is a fres...o...b.. Empoli. The church, paved with marble in the cinque-cento style, has some good stalls (1590), and over the marble altar a fres...o...b.. Poccetti. Right hand, chapel with frescoes by Masari on the walls, and on roof by Poccetti and his school. From S. aisle pa.s.s to chapel of S. Maria, in the shape of a Greek cross. Here is a curious Trinity of the Giotti school. Descend to the Cappella di Tobia, with the mausoleum of the founder, by Orcagna (1360), and three monumental slabs over the tombs of his father, sister, and son. Next, a narrow cloister with eight small windows, with vignette paintings by Udine, 1560; Cappella del Capitolo, having for the reredos a Crucifixion by Albertinelli, and in the centre of floor the mausoleum of Buonafede by Stogallo, 1545; then the Camere di Pio Sesto, his sitting-room, and bedroom. He was a prisoner here nine months. Beautiful views are obtained from various parts. In pa.s.sing through the villages women may be seen plaiting straw--a standard occupation in Tuscany.

[Headnote: BELLO SGUARDO. MONTE OLIVETO.]

+Views.+--From the Porta Romana commences also the road to the Bello Sguardo and to Monte Oliveto (about a mile distant), both commanding splendid views of the city, of the valley of the Arno, and of the surrounding mountains. Immediately outside the Porta turn to the right, and walk by the side of the city wall by the Via Petrarcha till the second road on the left, the Via de Casone, by which continue to ascend till a road is reached on the left lettered, Via di Bello Sguardo. By it ascend to the next on the left, the Via dell' Ombrellino, where at the house No. 1 ring the bell. The view is from the pavilion of this house; fee, fr. To go from this to Monte Oliveto descend to the Via di Bello Sguardo, and from a house with a high railing turn to the right by the "Via di Monte Oliveto Per S. Vito," and descend to a large gateway and house on the left hand. At this house ask for the key of the Monte Oliveto, then walk forward past the old convent, now a military hospital, to the top of the knoll crowned with cypresses, and behold the view. Now descend by the Via di Monte Oliveto, which, at the foot of the hill, enters the Via Pisana opposite house No. 82, near the Porta S. Frediano, whence an omnibus runs to the Piazza della Signoria. If preferred, the tour may be commenced at this end, taking the omnibus from the Piazza to the Porta.

[Headnote: SANTO SPIRITO. SANTA MARIA DEL CARMINE.]

SANTO SPIRITO AND SANTA MARIA DEL CARMINE.--By referring to the plan it will be observed that a very short way north from the Pitti Palace are two churches, the Santa Maria del Carmine, containing the famous frescoes of Masaccio (b. 1402, d. 1429), and of Filippino Lippi (b.

1457, d. 1504), and the church of Santo Spirito, in which Luther preached as an Augustinian friar when on his way to Rome. The present church of the S. Spirito was commenced in 1446 by F. Brunelleschi, destroyed by fire in 1470, and rebuilt in 1488 according to Brunelleschi's design. The belfry, which is of admirable proportions, was erected by B. d'Agnolo. The church is 315 ft. long, and 191 at the transept, and is placed from south to north. The arches of the aisles rest on 47 pilasters and 35 columns, each of one piece of pietra-serena, brought from the quarries of Fiesole. Around the church are 38 semicircular chapels, ornamented with pictures by Alessandro Allori, Fra. Bartolommeo, Sandro Botticelli, Franciabigio, Raff. del Garbio, Rodolfo Ghirlandaio, Giotto, Filippino Lippi, Ant. Pollaiolo, and Cosimo Rosselli. Among the best of these are, in the choir, 12th chapel from entrance to church, a Madonna by Lippi. In left transept, 19th and 20th chapels, Martyrs, and The Adulteress, by Allori. 22d chapel, an Annunciation, by Botticelli. Among the sculptures the most remarkable work is in the 2d chapel, right hand on entering, a Pieta, by Baccio Bigio, a copy of the group by Michael Angelo in St. Peter's, Rome. The proportions of the dead body of our Lord are admirable, and the ribs, loins, and pectoral muscles skilfully marked. Before the choir is a screen erected in 1599, composed of bronze and rich marbles, and although rather out of place, full of beautiful details. The high altar, under a ciborium or canopy supported on four columns of rare porphyry, is decorated with statuettes and candelabra by Giovanni Caccini. A door in the west aisle opens into the sacristy, the joint work of San Gallo and Pollaiolo, by whom it was finished in 1490. In the sacristy a door to the right opens into the cloisters, by A. Parigi, adorned with frescoes by Perugino, Ulivelli, and Cascetti.

[Headnote: BRANCACCI CHAPEL.]

The church +Del Carmine+ was erected in 1475, destroyed by fire in 1771, and rebuilt in 1788 by Ruggieri and Mannaconi. Among the parts which escaped destruction in 1771 was the Brancacci chapel, at the end of the western or right transept, covered with valuable frescoes, in 12 compartments, by Masaccio, Lippi, and Masolino da Panicale. The four princ.i.p.al subjects are (left wall) "Christ directing St. Peter to take a coin from a fish's mouth to pay the tribute," by Masaccio, whose portrait is given in the last apostle to the right; "the Restoration to Life of the Emperor's Nephew," painted by Filippino Lippi and Masaccio.

On the right wall are-- "St. Peter raising Tabitha," by Masolino; "the Crucifixion of St. Peter;" and "St. Paul before the Proconsul," by Filippino Lippi. These frescoes are said to have been studied by Perugino, Raffaelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michael Angelo. Of the eight small subjects, "The Expulsion of Adam and Eve," and "St. Peter and St.

John Healing the Sick by means of their Shadows," on the left wall; "St.

Peter Baptising," and "St. Peter Distributing Alms," on the right wall, are all by Masaccio. "The Visit of St. Paul to St. Peter in Prison," on the left wall, and "the Deliverance of St. Peter from Prison," on the right wall, are by Lippi. "Adam and Eve under the Tree of Knowledge,"

and "St. Peter Healing the Cripple," are ascribed by some to Masolino, by others to Masaccio. In the opposite arm of the transept is the Corsini chapel, with large marble alti-relievi by Foggini, and frescoes on the ceiling by Luca Giordano. In a chapel in the sacristy are some frescoes discovered in 1858, attributed to Spinello Aretino, but also, and with more probability, to Agnolo Gaddi, representing scenes in the life of St. Cecilia. The old church contained frescoes by Giotto, some fragments of which, removed the year before the fire, are now in the Royal Inst.i.tution, Liverpool.

[Headnote: CATHEDRAL--DOME--ASCENT.]

The Duomo, 252. The Campanile, 255. The Baptistery, 256.

Il Bigallo, 257. San Michele, 257. Santa Croce, 258. The National Museum, 261. La Badia, 263. The House of Michael Angelo, 263.