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Title: Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino, Volume III (of 3)
Illustrating the Arms, Arts, and Literature of Italy, from 1440 To 1630
Author: James Dennistoun
Release Date: November 30, 2015 [eBook #50577]
Language: English
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Transcriber's note:
This work was originally published in 1851. As noted below,
footnotes marked by an asterisk were added by the editor
of the 1909 edition, from which this e-book was prepared.
Obvious printer errors have been corrected without note.
Certain spelling inconsistencies have been made consistent;
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up the flow of the text.
MEMOIRS OF THE DUKES OF URBINO
Illustrating the Arms, Arts & Literature of Italy, 1440-1630
by
JAMES DENNISTOUN OF DENNISTOUN
A New Edition with Notes by Edward Hutton
& Over a Hundred Illustrations
In Three Volumes. VOLUME THREE
[Illustration]
London John Lane The Bodley Head
New York John Lane Company MCMIX
William Brendon and Son, Ltd., Printers, Plymouth
[Illustration: _Anderson_
FRANCESCO MARIA II. DELLA ROVERE, DUKE OF URBINO
_After the picture by Baroccio in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence_]
CONTENTS
BOOK SIXTH
(_Continued_)
OF FRANCESCO MARIA DELLA ROVERE, FOURTH DUKE OF URBINO
PAGE
CHAPTER XXXIX
Causes which led to the sack of Rome--The assault--Death of
Bourbon--Atrocities of his soldiery--The Duke of Urbino's
fatal delays--The Pontiff's capitulation and escape--Policy
of the Emperor 3
CHAPTER XL
The Duke's mischievous Policy--New league against Charles
V.--A French army reaches Naples--The Duke's campaign in
Lombardy--Peace restored--Siege of Florence--Coronation of
the Emperor at Bologna--The independence of Italy finally
lost--Leonora Duchess of Urbino--The Duke's Military Discourses 34
CHAPTER XLI
Italian Militia--The Camerino disputes--Death of Clement
VII.--Marriage of Prince Guidobaldo--Proposed Turkish crusade
under the Duke--His death and character 60
BOOK SEVENTH
OF GUIDOBALDO DELLA ROVERE, FIFTH DUKE OF URBINO
CHAPTER XLII
Succession of Duke Guidobaldo II.--He loses Camerino and
the Prefecture of Rome--The altered state of Italy--Death
of Duchess Giulia--The Duke's remarriage--Affairs of the
Farnesi 85
CHAPTER XLIII
The Duke's domestic affairs--Policy of Paul IV.--The Duke
enters the Spanish service--Rebellion at Urbino severely
repressed--His death and character--His children 106
BOOK EIGHTH
OF FRANCESCO MARIA II. DELLA ROVERE, SIXTH AND LAST DUKE OF URBINO
CHAPTER XLIV
Autobiography of Duke Francesco Maria II.--His visit to the
Spanish Court--His studious habits--His marriage--Is engaged
in the naval action of Lepanto--Succeeds to the dukedom 129
CHAPTER XLV
The unsatisfactory results of his marriage--He separates from
the Duchess--His court and habits--Death of the Duchess--He
remarries 152
CHAPTER XLVI
Birth of Prince Federigo--The Duke's retired habits and
aversion to business--His constitution-making experiments--His
instructions to his son--The Prince's unfortunate education
and character 173
CHAPTER XLVII
The Prince's marriage--The Duke entrusts to him the government,
and retires to Castel Durante--His dissolute career and
early death--Birth of his daughter Vittoria--The Duke rouses
himself--He arranges the devolution of his state to the Holy
See--Papal intrigues 196
CHAPTER XLVIII
The Duke's monkish seclusion--His death and character--His
portraits and letters--Notices of Princess Vittoria, and
her inheritance--Fate of the ducal libraries--The duchy
incorporated with the Papal States--Results of the Devolution 224
BOOK NINTH
OF LITERATURE AND ART UNDER THE DUKES DELLA ROVERE AT URBINO
CHAPTER XLIX
Italian literature subject to new influences--The
Academies--Federigo Comandino--Guidobaldo del Monte--The
Paciotti--Leonardi--Muzio Oddi--Bernardino Baldi--Girolamo
Muzio--Federigo Bonaventura 253
CHAPTER L
Italian versification--Ariosto--Pietro Aretino--Vittoria
Colonna--Laura Battiferri--Dionigi Atanagi--Antonio
Galli--Marco Montano--Bernardo Tasso 278
CHAPTER LI
Torquato Tasso--His insanity--Theories of Dr. Verga and
Mr. Wilde--His connection with Urbino--His intercourse with
the Princess of Este--His portraits--His letter to the Duke
of Urbino--His confinement--His death--His poetry--Battista
Guarini 308
CHAPTER LII
The decline of Italian art: its causes and results--Artists
of Urbino--Girolamo della Genga and his son Bartolomeo--Other
architects and engineers 335
CHAPTER LIII
Taddeo Zuccaro--Federigo Zuccaro--Their pupils--Federigo
Baroccio and his pupils--Claudio Ridolfi--Painters of Gubbio 355
CHAPTER LIV
Foreign artists patronised by the Dukes della Rovere--The
tomb of Julius II. by Michael Angelo--Character and
influence of his genius--Titian's works for Urbino--Palma
Giovane--Il Semolei--Sculptors at Urbino 381
CHAPTER LV
Of the manufacture of majolica in the Duchy of Urbino 403
APPENDICES
I. Correspondence of Clement VII. with Duke Francesco Maria
before the sack of Rome, 1527 427
II. The sack of Rome 429
III. The Duke of Urbino's justification, 1527 444
IV. Sketch of the negotiations of Castiglione at the court
of Madrid, 1525-1529 448
V. Account of the armada of Don John of Austria at Messina, 1571 452
VI. Indulgence conceded to the corona of the Grand Duke
of Tuscany by Pius V., 1666 456
VII. Monumental inscriptions of the ducal family of Urbino 458
VIII. Statistics of Urbino 463
IX. Two sonnets by Pietro Aretino on Titian's portraits of
Duke Francesco Maria I. and his Duchess Leonora 470
X. Petition to Guidobaldo II. Duke of Urbino, by certain
Majolica-makers in Pesaro 472
XI. Letter from the Archbishop of Urbino to Cardinal Giulio
della Rovere, regarding a service of Majolica 474
XII. Collections of art made by the Dukes of Urbino 476
DENNISTOUN'S LIST OF AUTHORITIES FOR THE WORK 490
GENEALOGICAL TABLE 501
INDEX 505
ILLUSTRATIONS
Francesco Maria II. della Rovere, Duke of Urbino.
After the picture by Baroccio in the Uffizi Gallery,
Florence. (Photo Anderson) _Frontispiece_
FACING PAGE
The Emperor Charles V. From the picture by Titian in the
Prado Gallery, Madrid. (Photo Anderson) 28
Guidobaldo II., Duke of Urbino. From a picture in the
Albani Palace in Rome 88
? Guidobaldo II. della Rovere. From the picture by Titian
in the Pitti Gallery, Florence. (Probably once in the
Ducal Collection.) (Photo Alinari) 90
Isabella d'Este. After the picture by Titian in the Imperial
Museum, Vienna. (Photo Franz Hanfstaengl) 134
Duke Francesco Maria II. receiving the allegiance of his
followers. After the fresco by Girolamo Genga in the Villa
Imperiale, Pesaro. (Photo Alinari) 148
Duke Francesco Maria II. receiving the allegiance of his
followers. After the fresco by Girolamo Genga in the Villa
Imperiale, Pesaro. (Photo Alinari) 150
Francesco I. de' Medici. After the picture by Bronzino in
the Pitti Gallery, Florence. (Photo Anderson) 154
Federigo, Prince of Urbino. From the picture once in the
possession of Andrew Coventry of Edinburgh 196
Facsimiles of signatures and monograms 200
Francesco Maria II., Duke of Urbino. From a picture once
in the possession of James Dennistoun 226
Vittoria della Rovere, Grand Duchess of Tuscany. From the
picture by Sustermans in the Pitti Gallery, Florence.
(Photo Anderson) 248
Supposed portrait of Ariosto. After the picture by Titian
in the National Gallery 280
Pietro Aretino. From the picture by Titian in the Pitti
Gallery, Florence. (Photo Alinari) 288
Bernardo Tasso. From a picture once in the possession of
James Dennistoun 298
Torquato Tasso. From a picture once in the possession of
James Dennistoun 308
Laura de' Dianti and Alfonso of Ferrara. After the picture
by Titian in the Louvre. (Photo Neurdein Frères) 312
Martyrdom of S. Agata. After a picture by Seb. dal Piombo,
once in the Ducal Collection at Urbino, now in the Pitti
Gallery, Florence. (Photo Anderson) 336
Holy Family. After the picture by Sustermans, once in the
Ducal Collection of Urbino, now in the Pitti Gallery,
Florence. (Photo Alinari) 340
The Knight of Malta. From the picture by Giorgione, once in
the Ducal Collection at Urbino, now in the Uffizi Gallery,
Florence. (Photo Anderson) 344
Judith with the head of Holofernes. After the picture by
Palma il Vecchio, once in the Ducal Collection at Urbino.
(Photo Alinari) 346
Head of Christ. After the picture by Titian, once in the
Ducal Collection, now in the Pitti Gallery, Florence.
(Photo Alinari) 348
The Resurrection. After the banner painted by Titian for
the Compagnia di Corpus Domini, now in the Pinacoteca,
Urbino. (Photo Alinari) 352
The Last Supper. After the picture by Baroccio in the Duomo
of Urbino. (Photo Alinari) 356
Noli me Tangere. After the picture by Baroccio, once in the
Ducal Collection at Urbino, now in the Uffizi Gallery,
Florence. (Photo Anderson) 372
The Communion of the Apostles. By Giusto di Gand, in the
Palazzo Ducale Urbino. (From the Ducal Collection.)
(Photo Alinari) 382
Giovanni and Federigo, Electors of Saxony. After the
portraits by Cranach, once in the Ducal Collection at
Urbino, now in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence.
(Photo Anderson) 386
La Bella. After the picture by Titian in the Pitti Gallery,
Florence. Supposed portrait of Duchess Leonora.
(Photo Anderson) 390
The Venus of Urbino. Supposed portrait of the Duchess
Leonora, after the picture by Titian in the Uffizi Gallery,
Florence, once in the Ducal Collection. (Photo Anderson) 392
Sleeping Venus. After the picture by Giorgione in the
Dresden Gallery, after which the Venus of Urbino was painted.
(Photo Anderson) 394
Portrait of his wife, by Lucas Cranach. From the picture
in the Roscoe Collection, Liverpool. Possibly modelled on
the Venus of Urbino 396
Maiolica. A plate of Urbino ware of about 1540 in the
British Museum 404
Maiolica. A plate of Castel Durante ware of about 1524 in
the British Museum. "The divine and beautiful Lucia" 408
Maiolica. A plate of Urbino ware about 1535 in the British
Museum. (The arms are Cardinal Pucci's) 412
Maiolica. Plate of Castel Durante ware about 1540, with a
portrait medallion within a border of oak leaves. This
pattern was called "Cerquata" or "al Urbinata," the oak
being the badge of the Rovere house. In the British Museum 416
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
A.D. PAGE
CHAPTER XXXIX
1527. Causes leading to the sack of Rome 3
" The Pontiff's fatal confidence 4
" Defenceless state of his capital 5
" Apr. His tardy alarm, and inadequate exertions 5
" " Demoralisation of the city 6
" " Warnings of impending woe 6
" May. Foolhardiness of Renzo da Ceri 8
" " Authorities for the sack 8
" " Panic in the city 8
" " Estimate of the respective forces 9
" " 5. Arrival of Bourbon's army 10
" " 6. The assault 10
" " The localities examined and compared 11
" " Death of Bourbon 12
" " Rome lost by a panic 13
" " The Pope and Cardinals gain the castle of
S. Angelo 13
" " The imperialists overrun the entire city 14
" " It is ferociously sacked during three days 14
" " The Prince of Orange succeeds Bourbon 15
" " Savage atrocities and sacrilege of the army 15
" " Several cardinals outraged 16
" " Pillage of shops and palaces 17
" " Ransom extorted by the soldiery 18
" " Dilatory proceedings of the confederates 18
" " 3. The Duke of Urbino leaves Florence 19
" " Unworthy motives imputed to him 19
" " 17. Abortive attempt to rescue the Pope 20
" " 20. He advances to Isola di Farnese 21
" " Distracted counsels in his camp 21
" " He resolves upon inaction 22
" " His memorial defending this 22
" " The Pontiff vainly appeals to Lannoy 23
" Jun. 5. He accepts a humbling capitulation 23
" " Sale of cardinals' hats 24
" " The capitulation rejected 24
" Aug. Pestilence and famine in Rome 25
" " Death of Lannoy 25
" Oct. New and more severe terms of capitulation 25
" Dec. 8. The Pope escapes in disguise to Orvieto 26
Castiglione's negotiations at Madrid from
1524 to 1528 26
" Jul. 25. Conduct of Charles V. on hearing of sack 29
" The Pope's dissatisfaction and Castiglione's
defence 29
" Nov. 22. The Emperor's hollow professions 31
" " Fatal consequences of the sack 32
CHAPTER XL
" Jun. 1. The confederates retire to Monterosi 34
" Aug. Mischievous policy of Francesco Maria 34
" Dec. His interview with the Pope 34
" Jul. Distrust of the Venetians 35
1528. Removed by a visit from the Duke 35
" His violent proceedings 36
" He is presented with a palace at Venice 37
1527. Jun. New League against Charles V. 37
" Jul. A French army enters Italy 37
" Close of this miserable year 37
1528. Feb. 16. The imperialists evacuate Rome 38
" " Overtaken by signal vengeance 39
" " 10. Lautrec enters the Abruzzi 39
" Apr. 29. And lays siege to Naples 39
" Aug. 15. His death, and the destruction of his army 39
" May. The Duke protects the Venetian mainland 40
" And saves Lodi from the Duke of Brunswick 40
" Sep. 20. He recovers Pavia 40
" Oct. 21. But loses Savona 41
" Demoralising effects of these wars 41
1529. Jun. 29. Peace restored between the great powers 42
" Dec. Venice not being included, the Duke keeps
the field till December 42
" Nov. 5. Charles and Clement meet at Bologna 42
" Dec. 23. Treaty of the Italian powers 42
1530. Aug. 12. Siege of Florence 43
" " Death of the Prince of Orange there 43
1529. Nov. 1. The Duke arrives at Bologna with the Duchess 44
" His reception by some veterans 44
1530. He declines the imperial baton 45
" But is in high favour with Charles 45
" Who restores to him Sora and Arce 45
" Feb. 22. The coronation of Charles V. 46
" Mar. 22. He leaves Bologna 46
" Apr. 6. Clement VII. visits Urbino 46
" Altered position of Italy by the loss of her
nationality and independence 46
" Opinions of Mariotti 48
" The Duchess of Urbino builds the palace
of Imperiale 49
" Its attractions and site 49
" Her portrait and administration 52
" Prince Guidobaldo 53
" Marriage of Princess Ippolita 53
" The Duke's Military Discourses 53
" His opinions on fortification 54
" His critique on Venetian policy 55
" His views regarding sieges 55
" And Artillery 56
" His comparative estimate of various nations
in the field 57
" His rules for the construction of an army 57
1532. His inspections of the Venetian troops 58
" Ancona annexed to the papal states 59
CHAPTER XLI
1533. Militia organised in Italy 60
" The Feltrian legion instituted at Urbino 61
" Jan. Charles V. attends a congress at Bologna 62
" " Where Titian meets him and probably paints
the Duke and Duchess of Urbino 62
" Apr. Birth of Prince Giulio 63
" " Origin of the Camerino disputes 63
" Descent of the Varano family 63
" Giovanni Maria made Duke of Camerino 64
His daughter Giulia offered to Prince Guidobaldo 65
" The consent of Clement VII. withheld 65
" Attempted abduction of Giulia 66
1534. Sep. 27. Death of Clement, and his character 66
" Oct. 12. Election of Paul III. 68
" " " Marriage of Guidobaldo 68
" It is disapproved by the Pope 68
" Vain mediation of Francesco Maria 68
" Hostilities resorted to 69
1535. The Duke visits Charles V. at Naples,
and makes him presents 69
" Singular tradition in the Abruzzi 69
" Death of the last Sforza 70
1538. Jan. 31. Confederacy against the Turks, with the Duke
as captain-general 70
" Sep. 20. His sudden illness 71
" " He returns to Pesaro 71
" Oct. 22. His death from poison 71
" " His funeral obsequies and epitaph 72
" " His vicissitudes of fortune 74
" " His fame has suffered from prejudiced historians 74
" " His character and military reputation 76
" " Opinion of Urbano Urbani 77
" " And of Centenelli 79
" " His dutiful conduct to Duchess Elisabetta 79
" " His widow and testamentary dispositions 80
" " His children 80
" " Cardinal Giulio della Rovere 81
CHAPTER XLII
" " Diminished interest of our subject 85
1514. Apr. 2. Birth of Prince Guidobaldo 87
" " Educated by Guido Posthumo Silvestro 87
1529. His boyish taste for horses 88
1534. Oct. 12. His marriage and its political results 88
1538. " 22. His succession to the Dukedom 88
" " 25. The ceremonial described by an eye-witness 89
1539. Jan. 8. He compromises the Camerino succession,
and loses the Prefecture 92
" Camerino annexed to the papal states 93
" The Duke strengthens himself by taking service
with the Emperor and Venice 93
1543. Compliments Charles V., with Pietro Aretino
in his suite 94
1533. Final abolition of the condottiere system 94
" The Feltrian Legion embodied 94
1540. The altered condition of Italy 95
" " And new policy of the papacy 95
" " Reaction against the Reformation 96
Investiture of Guidobaldo as captain-general
of Venice 97
1547. Feb. 17. Death of the Duchess Giulia 98
1541. Letter of commissions from her 99
1548. Jan. 30. The Duke's remarriage to Vittoria Farnese 100
1549. Nov. 10. Death of Paul III. 101
1550. Feb. 14. And of Duchess Leonora 101
1549. Feb. 20. Birth of Prince Francesco Maria II. 101
1550. San Marino under his protection 101
1551. Guidobaldo made governor of Fano 103
1552. He quits the Venetian service 103
1553. The affairs of the Farnesi 104
1555. The Prefecture restored to the Duke 105
CHAPTER XLIII
1552. Marriage of Princess Elisabetta 106
" The Duke's domestic affairs 107
" He builds the palace at Pesaro 108
1555. The bigotry and ambitious nepotism of Paul IV. 109
" He sends Guidobaldo against the Colonna 109
1557. Aug. 26. Rome nearly taken 111
1558. Apr. 9. He receives an engagement from Spain
and the Golden Fleece 111
" The terms of his service 111
1565. He sends his son to Spain 112
" His Discourse against the Turk 113
1570. His great expenses 113
1572. Consequent increase of imposts 113
" Which occasions an insurrection at Urbino 114
" It is repressed by stringent measures 115
1573. Severities against the guilty 116
" The humiliation of the city 117
" The blot attaching to the Duke's memory
from these events 120
" Letter of remonstrance to him 120
1574. Sep. 28. His death and character 122
" His children 125
CHAPTER XLIV
The autobiography of Duke Francesco Maria II. 129
1549. Feb. 20. His birth and education 130
1565. He goes to Spain by Genoa 131
1568. His account of Don Carlos's imprisonment 133
" Jul. 11. His return home by Milan 134
" His studious habits 135
1571. Jan. His marriage to Lucrezia d'Este announced
by himself 135
" " Early coldness 136
" " Congratulatory letters on the occasion 137
" Protestant doctrines at Ferrara 139
" He joins the Turkish expedition 139
" His account of the sea-fight at Lepanto 140
1574. Sep. 28. He succeeds to the dukedom 142
" Ceremonial of his investiture 142
" Letter of advice from Girolamo Muzio 144
" The difficulties of his position 149
" Overcome by prudence and moderation 149
" A conspiracy against him discovered 150
CHAPTER XLV
1577. Unsatisfactory results of his marriage 152
" His separation from the Duchess 153
" His autograph Diary 155
1582. He is taken into the Spanish service 156
" And receives the title of "Most Serene" 157
1583. Marriage of his Sister Princess Lavinia 157
" He builds the Videtta Villa 157
1586. And obtains the Golden Fleece 158
" List of officers at his court 159
1588. His fondness for the chase 160
1589. Other pastimes of his court 161
" His literary pursuits 162
" His hospitalities. Galileo 163
1597. Oct. Death of the last Duke of Ferrara 164
1598. Feb. 11. And of the Duchess of Urbino 165
" Clement VIII. visits Urbino 166
" His desire for the Duke's abdication 166
" The Duke's retired habits 167
" The anxiety of his people for his remarriage 167
" His singular appeal to them 168
1599. Apr. 26. He marries Livia della Rovere 169
1602. Dec. 13. Death of Duchess Vittoria 171
CHAPTER XLVI
1605. May 16. Birth of Prince Federigo 173
" " Universal joy of the people 174
" " The Duke's pilgrimage of thanks to Loreto 176
" " 19. Baptism of the Prince, amid festive pageants 176
1606. The Duke's breeding stud 180
" His aversion to business, and retired habits 180
" Castel Durante his favourite residence 181
" He appoints a council of state 183
" A glance at the constitution establishments
of Urbino 185
1607. The unfortunate education of the Prince 189
" His father's code of instructions to him 189
1608. His unpromising youth 194
CHAPTER XLVII
1608. His betrothal to Princess Claudia de' Medici 196
1610. His dissolute habits 197
1616. He visits Florence 198
1617. Court pastimes at Urbino 199
1621. Apr. 29. The Prince's marriage concluded 199
" Reception of the bridal pair 201
" Francesco Maria resigns the administration
of his state to the Prince 202
" And retires to Urbania 203
1622. The Prince's reckless career, and debauched life 204
1623. Jun. 29. His sudden death 207
" " The Duke's resignation 208
" Ominous warnings 209
" Monumental inscription to the Prince 210
1622. Jul. 27. Birth of his daughter Vittoria 210
1623. Princess Claudia returns to her family 211
" The Duke rouses himself 212
" The difficulties of his position 213
" Aug. 8. Election of Pope Urban VIII. 214
1624. The Duke's negotiations with the Holy See 214
" Intrigues and threats employed against him 216
" He arranges the Devolution of his state to
the Holy See 219
" To which the people gave no consent 220
1628. The terms of surrender ill kept 222
CHAPTER XLVIII
" The Duke's monkish seclusion at Urbania 224
1631. Apr. 28. His death there 225
" His funeral 226
" Notices of his character by Donato, Gozze,
and Passeri 227
" His appearance and portrait 230
" Letters of his domestic circle 232
" Notices of Princess Vittoria 239
" And of Duchess Livia 239
" The Duke's will, and the amount of
his succession 239
" His libraries 241
1658. The MSS. carried to the Vatican 242
" The printed books transported to the
Sapienza at Rome 244
" Probable number of MSS. 244
1631. The duchy incorporated with the
Ecclesiastical States 245
To the great misfortune of the people 246
Conclusion 248
CHAPTER XLIX
1400. The glory and progress of Italy while
divided into many states 253
1492-1530. Her long struggle against foreign aggression
is closed in servitude 253
1533-1600. Spanish domination fatal to manners,
language, and literature 254
" " This evil augmented by the Academies 255
" " The Assorditi of Urbino 255
" " The influence of the Reformation, how excluded
from Italian letters 257
" " The age of rhetoricians and fulsome compliment 257
" " Mathematics and engineering studied at Urbino 259
1509-1575. Federigo Comandino of Urbino 260
1544. Guidobaldo Marchese del Monte 262
1529-1591. Francesco Paciotti of Urbino 262
-1560. Gian Giacomo Leonardi of Pesaro 264
1569-1639. Muzio Oddi of Urbino 265
1553-1612. Bernardino Baldi of Urbino, his vast
acquirements and numerous works 266
His Lives of Dukes of Urbino 273
1496-1576. Girolamo Muzio of Capo d'Istria,
biographer of the Dukes 274
1555-1602. Federigo Bonaventura of Urbino 277
CHAPTER L
Facilities of Italian versification 278
Absence of traditionary ballads 279
1508-1600. Poetry flourishes at Urbino 280
1474-1533. Ludovico Ariosto 280
1515. He visits Urbino; his room in the palace there 281
" " The qualities of his poetry 286
1492-1557. Pietro Aretino, "scourge of princes" 287
Mediocrity of his poetry, and baseness
of his character 288
1490-1547. Vittoria Colonna, Marchioness of Pescara 291
" " Her devotional character and poetry 292
1522. Laura Battiferri of Urbino 294
Other bards of that court 294
Dionigi Atanagi; specimens of his verses 295
Antonio Galli and Marco Montani of Urbino 297
1493-1569. Bernardo Tasso 298
His early irregularities and services 298
1531. Enters that of the Prince of Salerno 299
1539. His marriage and happy residence at Sorrento 299
1544. Mar. Birth of his son Torquato 300
1552. Becomes a wanderer on his patron's disgrace 300
1556. Death of his wife 301
1556. His appeal to the Prince 301
" Reaches Pesaro, where he resides for two years 302
1557. Reads his _Amadigi_ at that court 303
1559. Sep. 28. Torquato intimates his death to the
Duke of Urbino 305
His poetry and correspondence 305
His invention of the Ode 306
CHAPTER LI
Torquato Tasso, a subject of mystery
and contradiction 308
Count Alberti's recent impositions 311
Dr. Andrea Verga's theory of his insanity 312
Is sufficient justification of the
Duke of Ferrara 313
1556. Torquato's arrival at Pesaro 313
His early devotion to the muses 314
1565. His first visit to Ferrara 314
His compliments to the family of Urbino
in the Rinaldo 315
His devotion to Princess Lucrezia d'Este,
afterwards Duchess of Urbino 316
1571. His sonnet to her, and canzone on her marriage 318
1573. His _Aminta_ performed at Pesaro 318
1574. His dangerous intercourse with her at Urbania 319
" She is separated from the Duke and returns
to Ferrara 320
1575. Tasso at Florence,--his portrait 321
1576. Symptoms of mental disease 321
1577. Outbreak of insanity 321
1578. He seeks shelter at Pesaro from
imaginary wrongs 321
" His canzone to the Duke 321
His long letter to him 323
1579. He is shut up in the hospital of Sta. Anna
at Ferrara for seven years 326
1587-1594. His subsequent wanderings 326
Are closed at Rome 327
1595. Apr. 25. His farewell letter and death at S. Onofrio 327
Retrospect of his life 328
His rivalry with Ariosto 329
His the latest of Italy's great names 330
1537-1611. Battista Guarini of Ferrara 331
1602-1604. Invited to Urbino 332
CHAPTER LII
1470-1520. The fine arts especially felt the impulse
given to mind before 1500 335
1520-1600. Tendency of the "new manner" to exaggeration
and artifice 338
1520-1600. New classes of subjects leading to new errors 341
" " Art under the patronage of the della Rovere
became prolific 345
1476-1551. Girolamo della Genga of Urbino, painter,
architect, and engineer 347
" " The decorations of the imperial palace 349
1518-1558. Bartolomeo della Genga of Urbino, engineer 352
CHAPTER LIII
1529-1566. Taddeo Zuccaro of S. Angelo in Vado, painter 355
" " He paints at Urbino, Rome, and Caprarola 356
1543-1608. Federigo Zuccaro, painter 357
His precocity and rapid execution 358
Paints at Rome, Venice, and Florence 358
Is compromised by his satirical picture
of Calumny 360
1574. Visits England and paints portraits 360
Also Spain, where he was less successful 361
1583. His ideas of religious art 364
1593. Chosen first president of St. Luke's
Academy at Rome 366
His house there 366
His writings 367
The paintings of the brothers Zuccaro 367
Their pupils and followers in the duchy 368
The Barocci a family of artists 369
1528-16. Federigo Baroccio of Urbino 370
Is poisoned by jealous rivals 371
His best works 372
His manner 374
His pupils 377
1560-1644. Claudio Ridolfi 379
Painters of Gubbio 380
CHAPTER LIV
1474-1563. Michael Angelo's monument of Julius II. 381
" " His style and influence 386
" " His monuments of the Medici 388
1477-1576. Titian patronised by the Dukes of Urbino 390
His paintings for that court 391
His Venus 395
His letter to Duke Guidobaldo II. 397
1544-1628. Palma Giovane 398
1560. Gianbattista Franco il Semolei 399
Sculptures executed for Urbino 400
CHAPTER LV
Cultivation of the mechanical arts in Italy 403
Watchmaking at Urbino 403
Origin of majolica or earthenware 405
Influence of Luca della Robbia 406
Majolica of Pesaro 407
Finer qualities introduced there 410
The drug-vases at Loreto 411
Subjects for majolica painting 412
Decline of the art 413
Manufactory of it at Urbino 414
And at Gubbio 414
The forms and applications of majolica-ware 415
Mottoes upon it 416
Artists chiefly employed 419
Was Raffaele among them? 422
Collections of majolica 424
APPENDICES
1572. Apr. 20. Brief from Clement VII. to Duke Francesco
Maria I. 427
" May 7. Letter from the Bishop of Moldula to the
confederate leaders at the sack of Rome 429
" " 20. Letter written from Urbino detailing the sack 429
" " 24. Despatch to Charles V. detailing it 433
" Jul. 9. Letter of Duke Francesco Maria I. justifying
himself to the Signory of Venice 444
1525-1527. Castiglione's negotiations at the Court
of Madrid 448
1571. Don John of Austria's armado at Lepanto 452
1666. Indulgences belonging to a Corona 456
1442. Monumental inscription to Count Guidantonio 458
1444. To Duke Oddantonio 459
1482. To Duke Federigo 459
1508. To Duke Guidobaldo I. 459
1538. To Duke Francesco Maria I. 460
1574. To Duke Guidobaldo II. 460
1602. To Duchess Vittoria 460
1578. To Cardinal Giulio della Rovere 461
1523. To Prince Federigo 461
1531. To Duke Francesco Maria II. 461
1632. To Princess Lavinia della Rovere 462
Statistics of Urbino 463
Revenues of the Duchy 464
Its population 466
Pietro Aretino's Sonnets on Titian's
portraits of Duke Francesco Maria I.
and the Duchess Leonora 470
Petition to Guidobaldo II. from the
majolica makers of Pesaro 472
Letters from the Archbishop of Urbino to
Cardinal Giulio della Rovere concerning a
service of majolica 474
List of pieces 475
Collection of art made by the Dukes of Urbino 476
Pelli's list 478
Venturi's list 485
The Pesaro list 488
MEMOIRS OF THE DUKES OF URBINO--III
NOTE.--The Editor's notes are marked with an asterisk.
BOOK SIXTH
(_continued_)
OF FRANCESCO MARIA DELLA ROVERE, FOURTH DUKE OF URBINO
MEMOIRS OF THE DUKES OF URBINO
CHAPTER XXXIX
Causes which led to the sack of Rome--The assault--Death of
Bourbon--Atrocities of his soldiery--The Duke of Urbino's
fatal delays--The Pontiff's capitulation and escape--Policy
of the Emperor.
Our narrative of little interesting campaigns has now brought us to
an event unparalleled in the horrors of modern warfare, by which
the laws of nature, the dictates of humanity, the principles of
civilisation were alike outraged. The sack of Rome inflicted a
dire retribution for the restless shuffling that had disgraced the
temporal policy of recent pontiffs; it was the crowning mischief to a
long agony of ultramontane aggression; and in it was spent one of the
last mighty waves of barbarian aggression that broke upon the Italian
Peninsula.
Such are the difficulties in the way of a just and satisfactory
judgment as to the causes which led to this outrage, that it may
be well to review these, even at the risk of some recapitulation.
The total demoralisation of Bourbon's army, the want of good
understanding between him and other imperial leaders in Italy, the
absence of zeal or common interests among the confederate powers
and their officials, with the prevailing bad faith of all parties,
form a combination of elements baffling to the historian as it must
have been to the actors themselves. The petty motives and feeble
measures of the Pontiff have already been amply exposed. Francis and
the Venetians had originally entered the strife only from selfish
views upon Lombardy, which they pursued without attempting any
comprehensive or efficient operations, and, as soon as the storm had
passed by them, their languor became indifference. Charles cared
little for Italy, or the ill-defined claims of the Empire upon it,
except as a fair field for aggrandising or securing, by intrigue or
by arms, his already exorbitant dominions, and he left his officers
there pretty much to their own discretion in the maintenance of his
interests. His successive viceroys at Naples, perceiving the policy
of Clement to be inherently adverse to their master's interests,
were ever ready to annoy his frontier, or to cajole him away from
the Lombard league. The Constable, finding that the cautious tactics
of the Duke of Urbino kept his own movements in check, and impeded
his appeasing with pillage a reckless host whom he could not pay,
was ready to adopt any enterprise that might ensure occupation and
plunder to his dangerous bands, not doubting that, whoever might
suffer, success would justify him with the Emperor, to whose glory it
must ultimately redound.
As soon as the Pope had ratified the truce of the 15th March, he,
with an infatuation which even an empty treasury can ill excuse,
dismissed two thousand of the _bande nere_ who garrisoned Rome.
A Swiss corps withdrew at the same time, on his refusal of their
monthly pay in advance. When the imperialists drew southward, his
chief care was for Florence, and, on hearing of the insurrection
there, he sent one of his chamberlains to acknowledge Francesco
Maria's good service, adding a vague hope that, in the event of
Bourbon threatening Rome, he would contribute counsel and aid for
its safety. In reply, the Duke recommended that Viterbo, and
Montefiascone should be secured, and Rome suitably defended by Renzo
da Ceri and Orazio Baglioni, suggesting that his Holiness might
betake himself to the strongholds of Orvieto or Civita Castellana:
with these precautions, he added that an early and innocuous
conclusion of the inroad would ensue, as the enemy, when shut out
from plunder of the towns, must quickly disperse. But these counsels
came too late, and, with a foolhardiness and folly savouring
of judicial blindness, the Pontiff remained in the comfortable
conviction that Bourbon would take up his quarters at Siena, on the
representations of Lannoy.[*1] It was only about the 25th that his
impending danger first dawned upon him. Rome had then, of regular
troops, but two hundred foot and a few light cavalry, besides the
Swiss guard, and the only officer of rank was Renzo da Ceri, whose
personal courage and military capacity were in equal disrepute, and
of whom Clement had on various occasions spoken with contempt. Yet
upon this broken reed did he place his sole reliance for the defence
of his capital. He commanded the weak points of the walls to be
repaired and strictly guarded, distributing the artillery where most
required. He pressed above three thousand men into his service; but
these hasty levies were of the most useless description, composed
of artizans, servants, and the scum of the population, "more used
to handle kitchen spits and stable forks than military weapons."
Resorting to fanatical expedients, he proclaimed a plenary remission
of their sins to such as should fall in the sacred struggle. But
the greatest difficulty was to raise money for these purposes: the
wealthy classes were so absorbed in egotism and luxury, so deluded
by false security, that they would contribute nothing. Domenico de'
Massini, one of the richest of them, would lend but a hundred ducats,
a refusal for which he and his family paid bitterly in the sack. On
the 11th of April, Girolamo Negri, a shrewd observer, wrote that the
papal court had become a barn-yard of chickens, and that, though each
day gave more manifest signs of evil times, every one relied on the
Viceroy's mediation, failing which all would be lost.
[Footnote *1: The army would not hear of a truce. Bourbon, really
at their mercy, as he knew before he crossed the Apennines, asked
them what they wished to do. "To march on," replied the Spaniards,
"even without pay." The Germans after a time, though hungry for their
wage, made common cause with them. "To march on," became almost a
war-cry, and Bourbon was compelled to consent. He sent word to the
Pope before he got into Val d'Arno that his men "were determined to
push on, not only to Florence but to Rome, and dragged him with them
as a prisoner." He asked for 150,000 ducats by April 15th to pay them
with, that he might lead them back. The Pope, however, who had no
faith in his power or honesty, sent nothing, trusting in Lannoy and
that broken reed the Duke of Urbino.]
At this juncture there appeared in Rome one of those strange
fanatics whose mysterious aspect and unearthly character, taking
strong hold of the popular imagination at particular crises, impart
a supernatural character to their wild and dismal vaticinations.
He was an aged anchorite, who, fancying himself another Jonah, had
long attracted street audiences by vague declamations of coming
convulsions, and, as the peril became imminent, warned the anxious
people that a total revolution in church and state, and the ruin of
the priesthood, were at hand. Rushing along the thoroughfares, he
preached, with piercing voice and excited gesticulation, a general
penitence and humble reliance on the offended Deity, as the only
shelter from the impending storm. He even forced his way to the
presence of his Holiness, and, in the midst of the court, repeated
gloomy warnings and stern denunciations in harsh words seldom
heard in such high places. "But," in the words of an old writer,
"repentance is an irksome sound to the ears of hardened sinners,"
and "more is required to make a saint than sackcloth raiment, a
crucifix, and philippics against vice"; so the prophet was committed
to prison, to continue his preaching to a more limited audience.
Yet it needed no stretch of superstition to regard the sack of
Rome, with its accumulated horrors, as a Divine judgment. The gross
vices which disgraced the papacy towards the close of the preceding
century had, indeed, been considerably modified; but, as the
reformation was rather in decency than in morals, it had not greatly
influenced the people of Rome: the poison, though counteracted at
the core, continued to circulate through the branches. In truth, the
hearts of all were so indurated, and their judgment so blinded by
pleasures, debaucheries, avarice, and ambition, that the forebodings
of enthusiasts, and the many portentous omens of evil that occurred
about the same time, were equally disregarded. Among these were,
of course, blood-red suns and fiery meteors; but it was afterwards
remembered that two aged men with long beards had been observed to
stride solemnly along the chief thoroughfares of the city, bearing a
large empty bag, and exclaiming at intervals with dolorous solemnity,
"Behold the sack!"[2]
[Footnote 2: The play of words applies equally in Italian and
English, and the incident savours much of a carnival jest. A scarce
little book of prophecies, dated 1532, has for _Envoye_ a sonnet,
foreshadowing the woes of Italy in consequence of--
"L'infando error de Sogdoma e Gomora,
Le profanate sacre binde e tempi,
L'occider Dio mille volte al hora."]
The measures of the government, superficial as they were, generated
false security; and a general muster of the citizens which returned
thirty thousand as capable of bearing arms, tended to confirm the
fatal delusion. The Pope gave currency to it by setting forth on all
occasions the reduced state of the imperialist army, the proximity
of that of the league, and above all insisted that the invaders,
being for the most part Lutherans, were no doubt conducted by
Providence, to undergo a signal punishment for their heresies under
the very walls of the Christian metropolis. To such a height was this
foolhardiness carried, that the messenger, who arrived on the 3rd of
May to demand free passage to Naples, was dismissed by Renzo with
the threat of a cannon-ball at his head; and on the following day the
Datary wrote to Count Guido Rangone, that a reinforcement of six or
eight hundred men would suffice for defence of the city. But ere the
messenger was well clear of the gate, the enemy were before it.[3]
[Footnote 3: It is difficult to reconcile the varying accounts of the
sack, for which, besides the many printed authorities, we have drawn
largely upon a collection of unpublished and very minute details,
Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 1677. It is doubtful whether Bourbon arrived on
the evening of the 4th or of the 5th of May, but the assault was
unquestionably made upon Monday the 6th. Many of the incidents given
in that MS. are too horrible for admission into these pages. The
narratives of Guicciardini and Giacomo Buonaparte, and those printed
in the second volume of Eccardius, may be consulted for such; the
two first, indeed, have done little beyond arranging some documents
of that MS. collection. We have also consulted the Narrative of
Leonardo Santori, Vat. Ottob. MSS. No. 2607, and Sanuto's MS.
Diaries; checking the whole by minute examination of the localities.
*On the 3rd May Bourbon had passed Viterbo, on the 4th he was at
Isola Farnese. As to the number of men which Renzo da Ceri had at
command, 3000 seems nearer the truth than 30,000. Bourbon had scaling
ladders but no artillery. Cf. GUICCIARDINI, _Il Sacco di
Roma_, Milanesi, p. 163, and CASANOVA, _Lettere di Carlo V.
a Clement VII._ (per nozze Firenze, 1894).]
The inhabitants, at length aroused to their danger by the presence
of an army whom they supposed at Siena, were thrown into general
panic, though some were so blinded as to suppose it the advanced
guard of the confederates. Even now, bold and judicious expedients
might have defended the walls until the arrival of the allies, whose
first division actually reached the Porta Salara the same day on
which the city was taken; and had the bridges been previously cut,
as was urged upon Renzo in consideration of the weak defences of the
Borgo S. Spirito, the principal portion of the city might have held
out, even after these had been carried, whilst the Duke of Urbino
would have had leisure to execute signal vengeance upon the ruffian
invaders, demoralised by their leader's fall and by the pillage of
its Transteverin quarters.
It is by no means easy to form an idea of the actual force of the
invading army from the varying estimates that have come down to us.
Muratori, who bestowed much attention upon such military statistics,
reckons the troops whom Bourbon carried from Milan at about five
thousand Spaniards, four thousand Germans, and half as many Italians,
besides five hundred men-at-arms, two thousand German cavalry,
and an indefinite number of light horse, to whom were soon united
the lansquenets of Fründesberg, originally fourteen thousand, but
already somewhat reduced. This would give a total of twenty-six or
twenty-seven thousand men, which exceeds by a few thousand infantry
the calculation adopted by Giacomo Buonaparte, his multiplication
of the men-at-arms by ten being obviously an accidental error. The
same author supposes that the Imperialists who had marched from
Montevarchi were about twenty thousand Germans, eight thousand
Spaniards, three thousand Italians, with but six hundred horse.
The impression current at Rome, and in the confederate camp, that
Bourbon brought from forty to fifty thousand men before that city
was therefore grossly exaggerated; indeed, some authorities diminish
his effective force to half that number, while Buonaparte esteems
it under thirty thousand. The allied army, according to Baldi, was
twenty thousand strong, of whom one fifth were cavalry: but it, too,
had melted away when mustered at Isola, as we shall in due time see.
On the whole, it appears that the inequality of numbers was not such
as to justify the Fabian tactics, or it may be the petted policy, of
Francesco Maria.
On Sunday, the 5th of May, the Constable bivouacked in the meadows
north-west of the city, having approached it without crossing the
Tiber. He repeated by trumpet his summons in name of the Emperor for
free passage to Naples; an idle insult, considering that the way
beneath the walls lay open for him. He then explained to a council
of his officers the perilous state of affairs,--the troops fatigued,
starving, mutinous, with a powerful enemy pressing upon their rear,
and the richest metropolis of Europe ill-defended before them,
urging that there was no alternative but that night to conquer its
effeminate citizens, or next day be cut to pieces by the allied host.
But, finding these representations received with cold indifference,
he at dusk repeated them to the whole army in an energetic harangue,
which he concluded by assuring them he had received, through Cardinal
Colonna, assurances of support from the Ghibelline party within the
city.
Ere the morrow's dawn his army was in motion, and, under cover of a
singularly dense fog, approached the city between the modern gates
of Cavallegieri and S. Pancrazio. The wall was there pierced by a
loop-hole, serving as the window of a small and slightly built house
that formed part of the defences; below it was another aperture into
the cellar. These vulnerable points, which had been unpardonably
overlooked by the papal engineers, were quickly noticed by the
enemy, who brought the few guns they possessed to bear upon them,
and soon effected a small breach. The exact site is loosely and
contradictorily described as between one of the gates and the tower
of S. Spirito, near Cardinal Mellini's, or Ermellini's, garden.
Meanwhile the besiegers, protected by the mist from the guns of S.
Angelo, vigorously attacked various points; and on the heights above
the Strada Giulia, two Spanish colours were wrested from them. The
walls and substructions now visible on that side, and those which
separate the Lungara from the Borgo S. Spirito, are all of later
date; and in constructing them, sixteen years subsequently, the
aspect of the localities has been so changed as to baffle accurate
comparison with descriptions of the assault. If we can suppose the
external wall to have run from near the Porta S. Spirito towards
that of S. Pancrazio, instead of being carried, as at present,
along the Janicular ridge from the Porta Cavallegieri, it might be
comparatively easy to reconcile these statements. At all events, it
is certain that considerable resistance was made by some citizens
who occupied the _Campo Santo_ or burying ground, which then lay
just outside of the gate from S. Spirito into the Lungara, and
which, according to a mural inscription there, was removed in 1749
to its present site farther up the hill. This, being the brunt of
the battle, was occupied by Bourbon, whose exertions throughout the
morning had been unremitting. Whilst steadying a ladder with his
left hand, and cheering on his men with his right, he was struck to
the ground by a bullet which passed through his thigh. The credit
of that lucky shot, which cut short a career commenced in treason,
closed in sacrilege, is claimed by Benvenuto Cellini. He tells us
that on hieing to the Campo Santo with two comrades, he beheld from
the walls the enemy assaulting the spot where they stood; whereupon
they discharged their pieces in terror, he aiming at a figure
singled out in the mist from its commanding height. Having mustered
courage to peep over the wall, he saw a great confusion occasioned
by the Constable's fall, and, fleeing with his friends through the
cemetery, escaped by St. Peter's to the castle of S. Angelo.[*4]
This assertion, which has generally passed for gasconade, receives
support from the Vatican MS., wherein the shot is ascribed to some
silversmith lads who, from the Mount of the Holy Crucifix, aimed at
the general's white mantle and plume; and a monumental tablet outside
the Church of S. Spirito commemorates Bernardino Passeri, goldsmith
and jeweller to Clement and his two predecessors, who was killed on
the 6th of May, on the adjoining part of the Janicular, after slaying
many of the enemy, and capturing a standard. About five hundred paces
to the west of that reach of the modern city wall which commands the
Cavallegieri gate, there stands on the road to the Fornaci a small
oratory, called the Capella di Barbone, and pointed out by tradition
as the spot where Bourbon was wounded. No account, however, which I
have seen, countenances the idea of his having fallen so far away;
nor is it possible, even when no mist intervenes, to see either that
point, or the site of the present exterior city wall, from the old
cemetery of S. Spirito, whence the fatal shot appears to have been
aimed. But from whatever spot or hand it proceeded, the wound was
mortal, and the Constable died in his thirty-ninth year, ere he could
witness the desecration or share the booty to which he had stimulated
his followers. Yet had God's just judgment on the traitor been
withheld for a time, his influence might, perhaps, have stayed the
fury of the soldiery, and Rome might have been spared some portion of
the misery that ensued. His body was carried to Gaeta, and his armour
is still shown at the Vatican, a plain coat of immense strength. It,
however, bears an indentation on the inner side of the right thigh,
where the fatal bullet entered after grazing its steel edge.[5]
[Footnote *4: Cf. _The Life of Benvenuto Cellini_, trans. by J.A.
Symonds (Nimmo, 1896), p. 656.]
[Footnote 5: In a set of miniatures executed by Giulio Clovio for
Charles V., and illustrative of his military achievement, which were
bequeathed by the Right Hon. Thomas Granville to the British Museum
in 1847, Bourbon is represented falling backwards from a ladder
placed against a round tower on the walls of Rome; but being composed
without accurate knowledge of the localities, it throws no light upon
the manner of his death.]
For a moment his troops wavered, dismayed by their leader's fall;
but revenge and a consciousness of their perilous position rendered
them desperate. The assertion of Mambrino Roseo, that the Swiss guard
disputed every inch of the breach until only a drummer was left
alive, wants confirmation from those narratives of eye-witnesses
which I have examined. Be this as it may, it was about half-past
eight that the first detachment, who had made their way into the
Borgo, were observed by Renzo da Ceri. Instead of cutting them down
with the body of horse who followed him, he in a loud voice gave the
_sauve qui peut_, and, galloping round by the Ponte Sisto, reached
that of S. Angelo, where he recklessly crushed and trod down the
citizens, already rushing across it in masses to the castle.[*6] Had
this craven caitiff rallied his men to the breach, it might have been
repaired; and had he but held the Porta Settimiana, or even now cut
the lower bridges, the invaders would have been confined within a
small district of the city, until Guido Rangone arrived with succours.
[Footnote *6: Creighton justly remarks that this was not in keeping
with Renzo da Ceri's character. The tale is from Guicciardini. Renzo
da Ceri was certainly no "craven caitiff."]
The panic thus originated by the city's defender spread rapidly
in all quarters. The Pontiff, who, from his chair in S. Peter's,
had been thundering spiritual menaces against the foe, was hurried
along the covered passage to S. Angelo, whither also flocked the
cardinals, clergy, and citizens of all ranks, in such crowds that it
was found impossible to close the gates. At length the portcullis
was dropped, with great difficulty from its rusty condition, and
several cardinals, who had been excluded, were afterwards drawn up
in baskets. The terrified crowd who were thus shut out, rushed to
escape by the city gates, but, finding these closed, they dispersed
themselves among the palaces of the Ghibelline cardinals, upon which
they vainly relied as sure asylums.
About three thousand got into the castle, with fourteen cardinals.
It was very ill supplied with provisions, and the neighbouring
shops were hurriedly emptied of whatever stores they contained. The
Pontiff, in his alarm, would have attempted flight, but Bourbon's
death inspired him with some hope of making terms. In fact, the
besiegers, who had at first rushed in with cries of "Hurrah for
Spain! slay! slay!" soon paused, discouraged by the loss of their
leader, and anticipating a desperate resistance. In this state of
matters, the Portuguese ambassador was authorised by his Holiness
to propose an accommodation to the imperialist chiefs, who, finding
themselves in possession of but a fraction of the city, with walls
and gates on either side excluding them from the S. Spirito and
Trastevere quarters, temporised for some hours. But as the bulk of
their army entered at S. Pancrazio, and they ascertained the panic in
the town, their misgivings passed away, and about two hours before
sunset they suddenly advanced through the Porta Settimiana, in Via
Lungara. Encouraged by its defenceless state, they pushed across the
Ponte Sisto, which they found equally unguarded, and spread like a
deluge over the devoted city.
Now began the horrors of the sack. The brutal soldiery, absolved
from discipline, scoured the city at will, penetrating unchallenged
into the most secret and most sacred places.[*7] Churches and
convents, palaces and houses, were invaded and rifled; resistance was
punished with fire and sword; rape and murder were the fate of the
inhabitants. Passing over details too revolting for the imagination
to supply, but too repulsive for a place in these pages, we may
cite the feeling exclamations of one who seems to have witnessed
them:--"Alas! how many courtiers, gentlemen, and prelates, how many
devout nuns, matrons, and maidens became a prey to these savages!
What chalices, images, crucifixes, vessels of silver and gold,
were torn from the altars by these sacrilegious hands! What holy
relics were dashed to the ground with derisive blasphemy by these
brutal Lutherans! The heads of Saints Peter, Paul, Andrew, and of
many others, the wood of the sacred Cross, the blessed oil, and
the sacramental wafers, were ruthlessly trodden upon. The streets
exhibited heaps of rich furniture, vestments, and plate, all the
wealth and splendour of the Roman court, pillaged by the basest
ruffians."[8]
[Footnote *7: They were of many nationalities--Germans, Spaniards,
Italians--"a horde of 40,000 ruffians free from all restraint." They
gratified their elemental passions and lusts at the expense of the
most cultivated population in the world. The Germans were the worst:
"the Lutherans amongst them setting an example which was quickly
followed of disregard of holy places." The Spaniards, however,
excelled them in deliberate cruelty. For three days this barbarism
went on unchecked. On the fourth the barbarians began to quarrel
amongst themselves over the division of the booty. "The Germans ...
turned to drunkenness and buffoonery. Clad in magnificent vestments
and decked with jewels, accompanied by concubines who were bedizened
with like ornaments, they rode on mules through the streets and
imitated with drunken gravity the processions of the Papal Court."
Cf. CREIGHTON, _op. cit._, vol. VI., pp. 342-3.]
[Footnote 8: Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 1677, f. 19.]
After these miserable scenes had endured for three days, rumours of
the Duke of Urbino's approach recalled the imperialist leaders to the
necessity of defence.[*9] The command having devolved upon the Prince
of Orange, a yellow-haired barbarian, further plunder was prohibited,
under severe penalties; and the army, reduced to comparative
order, betook themselves to enjoy their booty. But now a new drama
of atrocities opened. The Germans had especially distinguished
themselves by a thirst for blood, but the wily Spaniards taught
them a means more effectual than murder of enriching themselves and
punishing their victims. The prisoners had, in most cases, concealed
whatever of greatest value they possessed, and recourse was had to
every variety of torment in order to extract from them supposed
treasures, and a ransom for their lives; so that those who had been
spared in seeming mercy found themselves but reserved for a worse
fate. After stripes and blows had been exhausted, when hunger and
thirst had failed to force compliance, tortures the most brutal
succeeded. Some were suspended naked from their own windows by a
sensitive limb, or swung head downwards, and momentarily threatened
to be let drop into the street. Others had their teeth drawn slowly
and singly, or were compelled to swallow their own mutilated and
roasted members. Others were forced to perform the most odious
and menial services; and the greatest extremities were always used
towards those who were suspected of being the most wealthy and noble.
Even after the desired amount of gold had been thus extorted from
them, their sufferings were sometimes resumed at the instance of new
tormentors. When such cruelties palled, their inflictors had recourse
to a novel amusement, by forcing from the victims a confession of
their sins; and we are assured by the narrator of these enormities,
himself a Roman, that the iniquities thus brought to light, as
habitual in that dissolute capital, were such as to confound even the
licentious soldiery of Bourbon. Over the outrages committed upon the
women we draw a veil: when lust was satiated, they were prolonged
in diabolical punishment, the husbands and fathers being compulsory
witnesses to such unspeakable atrocities.
[Footnote *9: The Duke was very slow as usual. There was plenty of
time for him to receive imploring letters. A career, which was a
failure brought about by dilatoriness and treason, here seems to have
reached its lowest point. As always, Dennistoun is too favourable in
his judgment of anyone belonging to the Rovere house.]
But the delight of these sacrilegious villains, especially of the
German Lutherans, was to outrage everything holy. The churches and
chapels, including the now bloodstained St. Peter's, were desecrated
into stables, taverns, or brothels; and the choirs, whence no sounds
had breathed but the elevating chant of prayer and praise, rang with
base ribaldry and blasphemous imprecations. The grand creations of
religious art were wantonly insulted or damaged; the reliquaries and
miraculous images were pillaged or defaced. Nay, a poor priest was
inhumanly murdered for his firm refusal to administer the blessed
sacrament to an ass. Nor was any respect paid to persons or party
feelings. The subjects of the Emperor who happened to be in Rome,
the adherents of the Colonna and other Ghibelline leaders, were all
involved in the general fate. Four cardinals attached to that faction
had declined entering S. Angelo, calculating that they would not only
"Guide the whirlwind and direct the storm,"
but peradventure, promote their own interests in the mêlée. They
were, however, miserably mistaken, for they, too, were held to
ransom; and one of them (Aracoeli), after being often led through the
streets tied on a donkey, behind a common soldier, was carried to
church with mock funereal rites, when the office of the dead was read
over his living body, and an oration pronounced, wherein, for eulogy,
were loathsomely related all the real or alleged immoralities of his
past life. Another outrage in especial repute with the Germans, was a
ribald procession, in which some low buffoon in sacred vestments was
borne shoulder-high, scattering mock benedictions among the mob, amid
shouts of "Long live Luther!"
A great portion of the circulating wealth of the city was centred in
the Strada de' Banchi, which, from being in a line with the castle
and just across the river, was considered comparatively secure. But
this fallacious hope quickly vanished, and during five hours that
quarter of bankers, merchants, and jewellers was savagely sacked
in sight of the papal court. In one of these shops a large money
bag being discovered, a general scramble ensued for its contents,
and forty-two of the soldiery lost their lives at their comrades'
hands, fighting for what proved to be counterfeit coin. The Jews,
who were not then enclosed in the Ghetto, suffered a full share of
such miseries, to make them disgorge their secret treasures. Vast
multitudes of citizens took refuge in the palaces of the cardinals
and principal nobility, especially of those supposed to be friendly
to the imperial interests; but these asylums were seldom respected.
That of the Cancelleria, originally built by Cardinal Pietro Riario,
and still one of the most spacious in the capital, was long spared;
but on the 20th of May its turn came; and as it was the last to
be pillaged, the outrages perpetrated upon its miserable inmates,
including numerous ecclesiastical and diplomatic dignitaries, with
a crowd of the high-born beauties of Rome, were perhaps the most
signal and sanguinary of all. In other palaces the fugitives, though
spared from violence, were held to ransom. The Dowager Marchioness
of Mantua purchased immunity for her residence with 10,000 ducats,
which the merchants whom it sheltered joined in paying, and which
her son Ferdinando, one of the imperial leaders, was said to have
basely shared. In the Vatican MS. is a backbond, signed by about five
hundred persons, who had sought refuge in the palace of Cardinal
Andrea della Valle, obliging themselves to repay, in sums varying
from 10 to 4000 scudi each, the ransom of 40,000 ducats which he had
advanced. Among the names is the King of Cyprus, and, what may have
more interest for us, that of Peter Hustan from Scotland. The English
Cardinal of St. Cecilia, Thomas Usher, Archbishop of York, was one of
those who escaped into the castle.
* * * * *
But where, meanwhile, was the army of the League?[*10] The Duke of
Urbino, after quelling the insurrection at Florence, had lingered
there for some days at the instance of the Cardinal Legate, who
represented to him that Rome was amply provided with means of
defence. Yet, upon learning Bourbon's advance, the confederates
despatched Guido Rangone from Incisa, where their army lay, to
anticipate by forced marches his arrival at that capital. Taking
five thousand light infantry of the _bande nere_, with a large force
of cavalry, he pushed on, and at Otricoli met the Datary's foolish
missive of the 4th of May, which, declining further relief, asked for
but a few hundred troops as enough for the wants of the city. The
Count, however, paid no attention to this news, and, hurrying across
the Campagna, heard near the Ponte Salara that the enemy had that
morning penetrated the walls. Had he but known the real state of the
army, or by a headlong dash risked his all in the noble enterprise,
his name would have been honoured as the saviour of Rome. But his
genius was unequal to the opportunity, and he retired to Otricoli to
await the arrival of his chiefs.
[Footnote *10: Where indeed! The Duke of Urbino had left Florence on
May 3rd, but it was the 22nd of that month before he reached Isola.
Strangely enough, he marched much slower than the barbarians.]
The Duke at length aroused himself, and moved rapidly forwards.
On the 3rd he quitted Florence, and at Cortona separated the army
into two divisions for facilitating the commissariat. One he led by
Perugia, the other, under Saluzzo, took the Val di Chiana, with a
common rendezvous at Orvieto.[*11] He was at the lake of Thrasimene
on the day Rome fell, and arrested his march at Perugia to effect
once more a revolution there, by substituting his friend Orazio
Baglioni for Gentile, a partisan of the Medici. Santori justly
observes, that "in the Duke of Urbino the desire of avenging old
injuries was suspected to have prevailed over zeal for the honour of
Italy and the safety of Rome": indeed, this ill-timed gratification
of an old grudge cost several precious days. On the 9th, his advanced
guard were met at Casalino on the Tiber by a fugitive from Rome with
news of the fall of that city, and again halted. Thus it was the 16th
ere he joined the other division of the army at Orvieto, where it had
preceded him by five days, and whence, after cruelly sacking Città
della Pieve, which refused supplies, he sent on a strong party of
two thousand foot and five hundred horse to carry off the Pope. It
was commanded by Federigo da Bozzolo, whose gallantry well qualified
him for such an attempt; but his horse having unfortunately fallen
upon him near Viterbo, disabling him entirely, the command of the
expedition devolved upon a subaltern, who, finding it daylight ere he
came in sight of S. Angelo, and his orders being for a night attack,
retraced his steps without communicating with the castle.
[Footnote *11: This amazing route is inexplicable. The way by the
Val di Chiana was, of course, a highway to Rome. The way by Perugia,
"with a rendezvous at Orvieto," is inexplicable. No more fatuous
proceeding can be imagined. From Florence he would keep the Via
Aretina so far as Arezzo, following it indeed thence to Rigutino to
Camuscia to the Case del Piano in the Perugino close to Trasimeno. If
he went thence to Perugia he was merely trying to delay his march.
It was off the main route, and would lead him into the valley of
Spoleto. From Perugia to Orvieto there was no good road. If he wished
for a road to Rome via Perugia he should have joined the Via Flaminia
at Foligno and followed it directly to the Eternal City.]
Three days were now passed in consultations among the leaders, of
which we have varying accounts. Guicciardini of course represents
them in the most unfavourable light for Francesco Maria.[*12] He
tells us that neither the letters of the Pontiff, nor the entreaties
of the Proveditori and the French general, could rouse the Duke's
stubborn nature to active measures; and he describes him as full of
zeal in words and proposals, but ever interposing obstacles to the
execution of any definite plan. On the other hand, Baldi asserts that
an onward movement, suggested by the Duke at Isola,[*13] was, to his
great regret, overruled by these authorities, and by Guicciardini
himself; whilst the Bishop of Cagli[14] pleads as his excuse for
inaction, that the Venetians, finding their duty very different from
field-days and muster-rolls, refused to follow him, and even retired
home in great numbers. But, assuming the truth of the last averment,
should not the blame of such lax discipline attach to the general
who had led these troops through several campaigns? and may not the
moral paralysis which impeded effective tactics in the army be fairly
adduced in mitigation of their unauthorised furloughs?
[Footnote *12: It is impossible to represent the Duke in a worse
light than he appears. He behaved throughout the campaign like a
selfish fool; he seems never to have understood the gravity of the
situation or the enormity of his crime. His biographer does not seem
to understand it either.]
[Footnote *13: As we know, he did not reach Isola till the 22nd. Rome
was then sacked. If Guicciardini delayed, as Baldi says, we know that
it was for some good reason, for his integrity and his patriotism
cannot be questioned. We may well doubt Baldi's tittle-tattle.]
[Footnote 14: Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 818, f. 5. Sanuto has preserved a
letter which he says gave the first authentic information of the
sack to the combined leaders, and which urges them to exertion in
most pressing terms. It will be found in II. of the Appendix, with
two other letters detailing the principal incidents of that direful
event in terms which, though in a great measure anticipated by our
narrative, show the impression made by them at the time, and probably
conveyed the fullest information of the catastrophe to the Duchess of
Urbino and to the Emperor. See the Pontiff's brieves illustrating his
feeble policy, No. I.]
At length an advance was agreed upon, and on the 20th the
head-quarters were at Isola di Farnese, nine miles from Rome,
the Duke having marched by Nepi, and Saluzzo by Bracciano. Here
distracted counsels again prevailed, and, in answer to urgent
representations of his confederates, that the Pope must at all
hazards be relieved, Francesco Maria ordered a muster of the army,
which showed twelve to fifteen thousand men. Letters to the same
purpose arriving from the Signory, and a message declaring that
Clement had broken off a negotiation with his oppressors on the
strength of speedy assistance, he at length consented that Rangone
should once more attempt to bring off his Holiness, by leading a
division to Monte Mario, whilst he advanced to his support with the
main body as far as Tre Capanne. But on pretext of making a previous
examination of the ground, he wasted so much time, that night had
fallen when they reached that place; and the expedition being thereby
delayed until morning, a general feeling then prevailed that the
force was inadequate, and the troops were thereupon withdrawn.
An even less creditable version of this evolution is given by an
eye-witness in the Duke's service, who attributes as its motive
the seizure of a quantity of booty, which had been removed from
Rome to Monte Rotondo; adding that, on seeing signal fires over the
Campagna, and hearing a vague rumour that the enemy were approaching
in force, the Duke suddenly faced about and regained his quarters,
his men in sad plight, and the rear stripped to their shirts by some
skirmishers.[15]
[Footnote 15: Memoirs of Antenore Leonardi, dictated by him in
1581, Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 1023, f. 85. Among the works dedicated to
Francesco Maria II. is a _Treatise on Tides_ by Annibale Raimondo
of Verona [1589], who had served under his grandfather in Lombardy,
and at this time. In the preface, a somewhat inflated testimony is
borne to that Duke's military talents, arguing that his tactics
were ever aggressive when unimpeded by other leaders, who in the
present instance prevented him from marching upon Rome. But the
author was eighty-four when he wrote a statement palpably intended
for an adulatory purpose, and his feeble or partial reminiscences
cannot be considered of material weight. We have thought it right,
in a passage so nearly touching the Duke of Urbino's fair fame,
to embrace the conflicting views of our best authorities: the
narratives of Paruta and Morosini, Venetians, who had no interest
in his reputation, go far to reconcile these and justify him. They
tell us that the Signory, profoundly moved by the Pontiff's danger,
sent pressing orders for their army to support him; and that, in
compliance therewith, Francesco Maria and the Proveditore Pisani
resolved to advance upon Rome and rescue Clement, even at the hazard
of a general engagement, but that the other Proveditore, Vetturi,
formally protested against exposing the army to so great a risk: that
disgusted by the failures brought on by these misunderstandings,
the Signory superseded Vetturi, and grumbled against their general:
that the latter, annoyed by unmerited reflections, wished to throw
up his command, and that it was only after cool consideration, and
flattering advances from the senate, that he consented to remain in
its service. See his formal defence, App. III. *Nothing can justify
him, and it is impossible to defend him with honour. After all the
only excuse for a soldier is his success, and Francesco Maria knew
not what success meant. The testimony of courtiers should go for
nothing. History has tried him, and the ruin of Rome bears witness
to the treason of this ineffectual Signorotto. The Pope surrendered
Castel S. Angelo on June 7th.]
In order to cut short such discreditable scenes, the Duke, at a
council of war, announced his resolution to attempt no offensive
operations until his army should be recruited by fifteen thousand
Swiss, some ten thousand other troops, and forty pieces of cannon,
with ample funds for their pay; adding that, as S. Angelo was
provisioned for three months, there would be sufficient time for
raising these reinforcements. This opinion he embodied in a memorial,
which he sent on the 30th from Isola, by the Bishop of Asti, to
Francis I. It is preserved by Baldi, and in Sermonetta's Letters,
and offers a verbose, laboured, and inconclusive defence of his
drivelling tactics. The burden of it is the inferiority of the allied
force to the enemy, the probable failure of aggressive movements,
and an urgent appeal that the King should come in person, as the
only means of giving unanimity to a council in which each desired
to lead. Indeed, the whole proceedings of the army attest the
mutual jealousies and disunion of its leaders, which form the best
justification of the Duke's dilatory measures, amid difficulties
which he had not energy or decision to overcome.
The Pontiff, thus abandoned to his fate, learned by bitter experience,
"With what a weight that robe of sovereignty
Upon his shoulder rests, who from the mire
Would guard it, that each other fardel seems
But feathers in the balance."
On the 18th he wrote to the Duke of Urbino, "amid these calamities
and perils," begging a safe-conduct for a messenger as far as
Siena, to induce Lannoy to repair to Rome, the envoy selected for
this mission being Bernardo, father of Torquato Tasso. The Viceroy
willingly responded to this summons, hoping to succeed Bourbon
in command of the imperialists. But finding the Prince of Orange
already chosen by the army to that post, he in disgust kept aloof
from the capitulation, which was signed on the 5th of June, by the
intervention of Gattinara. Its principal stipulations were these: 1.
A safe-conduct to Naples for his Holiness, and such of the cardinals
as chose to go, upon payment of 150,000 golden scudi, two thirds
whereof within six days, the remainder on the expiry of twenty. 2.
Security for the personal property within the castle, upon payment
of as much more, for which hostages were to be given until it could
be raised by a general impost or otherwise. 3. The removal of all
censures from the Colonna, and their restoration to their estates
and dignities. 4. The immediate surrender of S. Angelo, Civita
Vecchia, Ostia, and Civita Castellana, with the further cession of
Parma, Piacenza, and Modena to the Emperor, as an inducement for the
army to evacuate Rome. This treaty was signed by nine cardinals,
four bishops, and eighteen imperialist officers, and the castle was
forthwith consigned to a guard of the invaders, in whose hands the
Pontiff and his court remained virtually prisoners.[16]
[Footnote 16: Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 1677, f. 38.]
But many difficulties impeded completion of the remaining conditions.
The amount of ransom seems under various pretexts to have been
considerably advanced, and is set down by most writers at 400,000
scudi. In order to raise this sum, all the church-plate, which had
been saved in the fortress, was hastily coined into specie, and three
scarlet hats were set up to sale. Two of them were at once secured
for 160,000 scudi by the Venetians, ambitious of influence in the
conclave. The third was bought for a creature of Pompeo Colonna,
whose personal hostility to Clement had become somewhat mitigated
by grief for the sufferings he had brought upon the city, and who,
in a pathetic audience with his master, obtained his forgiveness
and benediction. Still, a large balance of the besiegers' demands
remained undischarged, and the stipulation regarding the fortresses
was nullified, Civita Castellana being in the hands of the allies,
and Ostia occupied by Andrea Doria, neither of whom would acknowledge
the capitulation. Parma and Piacenza were also held for the
Church, in consequence, as was suspected, of instructions secretly
transmitted by Clement. In the hope of obtaining better terms, his
Holiness successively directed more than one member of the Sacred
College to proceed as legate to Charles, among whom was Cardinal
Farnese, his successor on the papal throne; but none of them would
execute the commission.
Meanwhile the miseries of the city were fearfully aggravated. The
terrified peasantry having ceased to carry supplies where they were
sure of misusage, scarcity was succeeded by famine; and the sewers,
choked with bodies and abandoned to neglect, engendered a deadly
epidemic, called by Muratori, the murrain, which spared neither
friend nor foe. In August, the pestilence increased to a terrific
degree; and the invading army being reduced by long licence to an
undisciplined horde, portions of it rushed in masses from the city
of the plague. Some of these bands, after attempting to hang the
Pope's hostages, fled towards Terni and Spoleto, sacking the towns
on their way, until cut to pieces by the confederates. Nor was the
Pontiff exempt from scenes of suffering. Asses' flesh was served at
his table; and a greengrocer's wife was hanged before S. Angelo,
for dropping into the trenches a few salad leaves for his use. The
contagion spread so rapidly in the castle, that the invaders, fearing
their prey might slip from their grasp by death, removed his Holiness
for some weeks to the Vatican Belvidere, until the scourge had abated.
Lannoy, having fallen a victim to the disease, was succeeded as
viceroy by Ugo da Moncada, from whose mercy Clement knew he had
nothing to expect, and whom Santori characterises as "an experienced,
clever, and sagacious man of the world, devoid of religion, full
of fraud, and no observer of his word." He arrived on the 31st of
October, in order to effect some new arrangement, when the Pope
purchased by further large sums an exemption from several of the
former stipulations, in particular from putting himself and his
cardinals into his enemy's hands by going to Naples.[17] To raise
this fresh imposition, four more hats were thrown upon the market,
and were purchased by adherents of the Emperor. At length, after many
delays, the 9th of December was fixed for his liberation from a seven
months' virtual captivity; but, distrusting every one, he escaped in
disguise the previous night. Concealing his face and beard under an
old slouch hat and cloak, and laden with baskets and bags, he passed
the sentinels of S. Angelo as a pedlar or menial servant. At a
secret postern in the Vatican garden, he found a fleet horse, with a
single attendant, supposed to have been provided by Cardinal Colonna,
and, riding all night by Celano and Baccano, after a short repose at
Capranica, he reached Orvieto, which he had some days before fixed
upon as an interim residence.
[Footnote 17: The new treaty of November 26 is printed by Molini in
the _Documenti di Storia Italiana_, I., 273.]
* * * * *
The diplomatic relations of the Holy See at Madrid were at this
juncture in the hands of Count Castiglione, with whom we have
formerly become acquainted in the service of Dukes Guidobaldo and
Francesco Maria, and whom we last noticed as agent for the Marquis
of Mantua at the Roman court in 1522, where he was again sent in the
same capacity on the election of Clement VII. The position of the new
Pontiff soon became one of great delicacy, and already were those
difficulties closing around him, which, during his reign, completed
the first great breach in the Romish church, and consummated the
mischiefs of foreign invasion in the Peninsula. The struggle for
universal dominion of those youthful rivals who occupied the thrones
of France and the Empire, was convulsing civilised Europe, and Italy
was obviously fated to become the permanent prey of the victor. In
these circumstances, a character so deficient in energy and decision
was singularly inadequate to cope with the necessities of the times;
and Clement's influence at Florence, far from affording a prop to the
tottering papacy, tended yet more to distract his irresolute purpose.
Falling back upon the usual expedient of small minds, he adopted a
neutral attitude between the two contending potentates: but the days
were past when Pontiffs could grasp the balance of power, or curb a
dangerous ascendancy; and Clement's views aimed not beyond siding
with a momentary victor. To carry out such policy fine diplomacy was
requisite, and Castiglione was selected to watch the interests of
Rome at the Spanish court. In the autumn of 1524, he accepted this
Nunziatura, to which was joined the lucrative collectorship of Spain;
and after visiting the shrine of Loreto, he reached Madrid in the
following March.
His negotiations for the next four years embraced the politics of
Europe, to which those of Italy were but an episode. We cannot
interrupt the thread of our narrative to notice them: a sketch of
their progress, in No. IV. of the Appendix, may afford some idea
of the difficulties of Castiglione's position, as the medium of
communication between a master who, leaving him habitually without
information, recalled his most momentous instructions after they
had been acted upon, and a monarch whose public measures were in
uniform contradiction to his private assurances. That diplomacy so
conducted should have issued in disgrace to Clement, ruin to Rome,
and a broken heart to Count Baldassare, can excite no astonishment;
but the ambassador merits our pity rather than our blame. Indeed
its complicated intrigues may well drive the historian and the
critic to despair. Incidents, which, although attended by important
consequences, seem sudden and unlooked for, might, upon more accurate
scrutiny, be detected as results long aimed at, and patiently
wrought out. Thus, some documents lately published by Lanz[18] prove
that Charles, although disposed to yield much for a satisfactory
accommodation with Clement, had authorised Moncada, early in the
summer of 1526, to concert with Cardinal Pompeo Colonna a series of
domestic insurrections, in order to embarrass his Holiness into a
disposition for peace, the issue of which machinations we have seen
in the first sack of Rome.
[Footnote 18: Lanz, Correspondenz des Kaisers Carl V. See also
the delightful and well-edited _Lettere di Castiglione_ by
SERASSI. *Cf. also CASANOVA, _Lettere di Carlo V. a Clement VII._
(per nozze, Firenze, 1894).]
Although the acts of Charles and his generals during 1526-7 were
uniformly and aggravatingly hostile to Clement, and prejudicial to
the papacy, they must be regarded as in some measure forced upon him
by the shuffling of his Holiness. His own position and prospects were
not then by any means so secure as to render redundant the support
still carried by the influence of the Keys; and the cherished aim
of his manhood, which would have united Western Europe in one faith
and under one sway, had not yet been abandoned as a fitful dream. By
keeping in view these peculiarities in his situation, we may in some
measure reconcile the obvious contradictions between his professions
and his policy--between his language to Castiglione and the conduct
of Bourbon; and we may appreciate in their true sense such apparently
fulsome and false expressions as he thus addressed to Clement, on the
18th of September, 1526:--"And since God has constituted us two as
mighty luminaries, it behoves us to endeavour that the globe should
be enlightened by us, and to see that no eclipse occur through our
differences; let us, then, take counsel together for the general
weal, for repressing barbarian inroads, and restraining sectarian
error." At a moment when the eastern frontier of the empire had been
broken down by the victorious Crescent; when the crowns of Hungary
and Bohemia were tottering on his brother's brow; and when, as he
writes in 1526, the wars of Italy had extracted every ducat from
his treasury, we may well suppose how sincere was his wish for a
settlement of those protracted struggles within the Alps, and for
a union of interests with the Holy See. That his measures little
accorded with that object, and nowise tended to bring it about,
arose less from want of sincere intention than from an ill-judged
mixture of good words and hard blows, partly dictated by his own
deficient judgment, partly by the misapprehension of his officers.
Though therefore the pillage of Rome by the Colonna was a natural
consequence of his own intrigues, the regret he expressed to the
Pontiff that his people had been driven to it ["_que l'on ait donné
l'occasion à mes gens que tel désastre soit advenu_"] was, no doubt,
his real feeling.
[Illustration: _Anderson_
THE EMPEROR CHARLES V
_From the picture by Titian in the Prado Gallery, Madrid_]
Equally inconsistent in appearance, but natural in the circumstances,
was his conduct in reference to Bourbon's outrageous proceedings.
When news of the sack reached Madrid, he affected great indignation,
and put his court into mourning. On the 25th of July, he addressed
to the magistracy of Rome a letter defending his proceedings.
After narrating his liberation of Francis, and the various other
sacrifices made by him, preliminary to such a general pacification
as might enable all Christian powers to unite their arms against
the Infidel, he charged the Pope with defeating this scheme by
suddenly, and without reason, instigating an attack upon him and
the imperial dignity, whereby he was compelled from self-defence to
march fresh forces upon Italy, in what he regarded as a worse than
civil broil. Moreover, new alliances against him having been arranged
by his Holiness, and the truce actually broken, his troops had no
alternative but to adopt compulsory measures. That these should, by
the blunders of his officers, have led to the siege of the city,
without his knowledge, he deeply regretted, and gladly would shed
his best blood to repair its disasters. But great as had been the
sacrifice, he consoled himself with a hope of its paving the way
for a general peace, which he would do his utmost to accelerate. In
fine, he wound up with most sonorous professions of devotion to the
grandeur of the Roman name.[19]
[Footnote 19: Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 1677, f. 36.]
The Pontiff's natural dissatisfaction with his ambassador at Madrid
was very plainly expressed in a letter of the 20th of August, which
taxed him with undue reliance upon the Emperor's vague protestations,
imputing generally to him a want of foresight preceding the calamity
of Rome, and a neglect of the proper remedies for that mischief. To
this brief, Castiglione answered at considerable length, and with
unnecessary diffuseness, as soon as it reached him in December.[20]
The substance of his defence is that, on every occasion during the
four years of his mission, he had laboured to establish a good
understanding between his Holiness and Charles, and had been met
with assurances, verbal and written, of his Majesty's anxious desire
to meet these views; but that the great distance, and the delays of
communication with Rome, not only rendered it impossible to provide
for the successive exigencies as they arose, but left him entirely in
the dark as to the most important movements until too late to avert
impending mischief. Thus he had no intelligence of the truce arranged
with Lannoy on the 15th of March, till he heard of its being rejected
by Bourbon. These excuses ostensibly satisfied Clement; and, however
inadequate they might be deemed in ordinary cases of diplomatic
blundering, they may be allowed some weight in this instance; for,
although the Emperor could scarcely fail to anticipate from the sack
of Rome new facilities for domination in Italy, in consequence of
the permanent humiliation of the papacy, history must acquit him of
a preconcerted plan to bring about a catastrophe which incidentally
resulted from Bourbon's disobedience and the disorganisation of his
army. Indeed, had Charles been as much interested in the welfare of
the Eternal City as Castiglione himself, he would have been powerless
to arrest the destroyer, whose death had removed him from all
reckoning on this side of the grave, and prevented his master from
sacrificing him in token of good faith. It is, however, impossible
to regard without contempt the hollow professions of an autograph
letter addressed by the Emperor to Clement, on the 22nd of November,
wherein he congratulated his Holiness on his supposed liberation,
thanking God for it "with joy as sincere as was the grief with which
I heard of your detention from no fault of mine." Avowing himself
his most humble and loyal son, ready to use every effort for the
restoration and increment of the apostolic dignity, he besought the
Pontiff to credit nothing to the contrary that might be inserted by
false and interested suggestions.[21]
[Footnote 20: _Lettere de' Principi_, I., 83.]
[Footnote 21: _Lettere de' Principi_, I., 71, 110.]
Such are the considerations which seem calculated, and not altogether
inadequate, to account for the eccentric policy and hollow
professions of Charles, in so far as we can gather from the strange
events thus briefly sketched. But, if we are to rely upon a different
view brought forward by the Sieur de Brantôme in his anecdotes of
Bourbon, the advance of the imperialist army was not dictated from
Madrid. In his gossiping and often apocryphal pages is detailed
a conversation held by him at Gaeta with a veteran, who in youth
had been with the Constable, and who imputed to that renegade an
intention of seizing upon the sovereignty of Rome. His overweening
vanity and unbounded ambition countenance the idea, and the way
in which he is there stated to have conciliated his soldiery, by
pandering to their worst passions, gives colour to the charge. If it
be credited, Clement's indignation was misplaced, and Charles might
have defended his consistency at the expense of his pride, could he
have demeaned himself to acknowledge having been baffled and betrayed
by his own general.
* * * * *
Thus ended the Sack of Rome. No similar calamity had befallen the
Holy City since the devastation of Robert Guiscard, who, four
centuries and a half before, at the head of his Apulian Normans,
laid in ruin and ashes the most monumental portion of the imperial
capital. On this occasion, fewer remains of antiquity were exposed
to destruction, but the people suffered far more severely. From four
to six thousand of them fell in the first fury of the barbarians,
besides many who perished by more mature cruelties. Thirty thousand
are said to have sunk under the famine and pestilence which, during
many subsequent months, ravaged the devoted city, leaving only about
as many more for its entire population, which, according to Giovio,
had, ten years before, amounted to eighty-five thousand. The value of
property pillaged and destroyed was supposed to exceed two millions
of golden ducats; the amount extorted in ransoms has been stated
at a nearly equal sum. So general a pauperism ensued, that regular
distributions were long continued from the papal treasury, drained as
it had been. But a great revival of religious observances followed,
being inculcated by the clergy and government, and practised very
generally among the inhabitants, whose oblivion of such duties, and
addiction to debauchery, usury, and every grovelling pursuit, had
hitherto been scandalously apparent. Throughout all these scenes of
misery, the Pontiff had bewailed the misfortunes of his subjects
more than his own sufferings, and had penitently confessed himself
their author. It was not till the 6th of October, in the following
year, that he returned to his capital, pale and thin, languid and
disheartened; and at the moment of his arrival, a preternatural storm
burst over the city, succeeded by a most destructive flood. Nor were
such omens out of season. In him had set the ancient glory of the
papacy. From the moment that his predecessors, mingling in the arena
of international strife, descended from arbiters to parties in the
conflicts of Europe, their influence waned. When they had to canvass
for the support of temporal sovereigns, they ceased to command them.
But, after Clement was reduced to sue for personal protection to the
successor of one who had knelt before a pontiff, the prestige of
papal power was gone, its sceptre was shivered in the dust.[22]
[Footnote 22: The name CLEMENT has been remarked as unlucky
for the papacy. Under Clement V. the Holy See was translated to
France; under Clement VI. the metropolitan church of the Lateran
was burnt; Clement VII. saw Rome pillaged by an army of transalpine
heretics, and capitulated to them.]
CHAPTER XL
The Duke's mischievous policy--New league against Charles
V.--A French army reaches Naples--The Duke's campaign in
Lombardy--Peace restored--Siege of Florence--Coronation of
the Emperor at Bologna--The independence of Italy finally
lost--Leonora Duchess of Urbino--The Duke's military
discourses.
We must now return to the confederate camp at Isola, which the Duke
of Urbino broke up, after having eased his conscience by sending to
Francis I. the explanation of his views to which we have referred.
The general feeling regarding his conduct was testified by a speedy
withdrawal of many forces under his command, some deserting to the
enemy, others retiring to their homes. On the 1st of June, he was
at Monterosi, and thence fell back upon Viterbo and Todi, where he
obtained some inglorious successes over the imperialist bands, as
they fled in disorder from plague-stricken Rome. During the autumn
his troops, which gradually diminished to a few thousands, led a
life of disreputable pillage about the valley of the Tiber; and,
after again embroiling himself in the affairs of Perugia with little
credit or success, he interfered in the succession of Camerino in
a way which we shall find eventually pregnant with mischief to his
son. On the Pontiff's arrival at Orvieto, he hastened to wait upon
his Holiness, and put forward the Venetian commissioner to make a
laboured justification of his recent miscarriages. Clement, affecting
contentment with what was beyond redress, received him cordially, and
hinted at a union of his son Guidobaldo with Caterina, daughter of
his late competitor, Lorenzo de' Medici. But ere long he reaped the
fruit of his feeble policy, by hearing that he was spoken of in the
most disparaging terms by the gallant Francis I., and by the French
general Lautrec.
Still more mortifying to him was the distrust shown by his Venetian
employers. We learn from Sanuto's Diaries that, early in May, his
Duchess had repaired to Venice, with the young Guidobaldo and a
suite of forty persons, while the visits passing between her and the
imperial ambassador soon became matter of unfavourable comment. On
the 29th of June, a guard of barges was placed near her residence,
to intercept any attempt at escape; and on the envoy from Urbino
questioning this proceeding, the Doge said, in explanation, "We have
much reliance on our Captain from past experience, but what has been
done was to satisfy the vulgar." Hearing that his wife and son were
thus under surveillance, as hostages for his good faith, the Duke, on
the 9th of July, penned a remonstrance and justification, somewhat
similar to that which he had transmitted to the French king. It will
be found in the Appendix, No. III., and, though a most inconclusive
defence, it was well received by the Signory, and his family were
so far released from constraint, that, early in August, the Duchess
was allowed to go for health to the baths of Abano. News of her
departure from such a cause were little consolation to her lord, who
declared that, were she to die, he should be in despair. Remembering,
however, the fate of Carmagnola, he would not venture in person to
Venice, until he had twice sent his confidential friend Leonardi
to reconnoitre the state of feeling there. Reassured at length, by
pressing invitations from the Signory, he in the spring took ship at
Pesaro with a small suite, and was met upon landing by an escort of
twenty gentlemen in scarlet, who conducted him to his lodging. Next
day he was admitted to the interview which he had demanded, and was
received at the top of the great stairs by the Doge, followed by
the principal senators. After mutual embraces, the Duke was led to a
seat of honour, and had audience for an hour and a half. This being
concluded, the public were admitted to see their Captain-general, who
was richly decked in diamonds, with a massive bracelet of twisted
gold on his left arm, and a jewelled device in his cap. On returning
to his apartment, he had from the Signory the customary compliment
of confections, malmsey, and wax lights. It would be hard to say how
far he was indebted to his oratory for this happy extrication from
his difficulties; but we are told by one of his suite that many of
the nobility, who crowded to pay their respects, besought a sight of
his speech to the senate, insisting that so eloquent an oration must
needs have been written and committed to memory.[23]
[Footnote 23: Leonardi's Memoirs, Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 1023, f. 85.
Most of the preceding details have been gathered from Sanuto's
Diaries.]
Thinking it well to retire with flying colours, he next morning
took his departure; and his party, being challenged by three of the
patrol for riding armed, answered by beating them to death. The
same intemperate behaviour brought him ere many days into a new
dilemma with his employers. Gian Andrea da Prato, an officer of
the Republic, having somewhat disrespectfully combated his opinion
as to the defences of Peschiera, received from him a severe blow
in the face, tearing it with a diamond ring he happened to wear,
which was followed up by a severe beating with his baton of command;
Leonardi adding that it was well for him the Duke was unarmed. The
Venetian officers, protesting against this violence as an insult to
the Signory, and as incompatible with due freedom of discussion in
council, sent a complaint to the senate; but the Duke's resident
minister succeeded in averting their indignation by explanations.
Their satisfaction with his services under the banner of St. Mark
was further testified by presenting him with a palace worth 10,000
scudi, which may fairly be taken into account as countervailing the
strictures of Guicciardini and Sismondi.
The capture of Rome being known, a new coalition was hastily patched
up, wherein France, England, Venice, and Florence were parties, and
to which the free cardinals, in name of the Sacred College, adhered.
Its avowed object was to check the exorbitant power of Charles in
Italy, and to establish Francesco Sforza in Milan, then held by
Antonio della Leyva for the Emperor. A powerful French army under
Lautrec marched on the 30th of June, and, on its arrival in Lombardy,
the Venetians recalled most of their forces from Central Italy. On
the 4th of October Pavia was taken and miserably sacked, and Milan
might have become an easy prey had not Lautrec preferred advancing
for the Pope's liberation. But, having lost time in extorting
contributions from Piacenza and Parma, he had only reached Reggio
when he heard of his escape from durance. Clement, though avowing
gratitude for these exertions on his behalf, declined committing
himself by any overt act against the Emperor, whose troops still
occupied Rome.
* * * * *
The year which now closed is justly characterised by Muratori as the
most fatal and lamentable for Italy that history has commemorated.
The horrors of war, which, during its course, were poured in
accumulated measure upon the Eternal City, fell largely upon many
other parts of the Peninsula. Four foreign armies were let loose upon
her plains, to steep them in misery, and the enormities attending
the sack of Rome were repeated at Pavia, Spoleto, and a multitude
of minor towns in Lombardy and Central Italy. The furies of civil
broil were meanwhile scarcely less rampant. The Campagna of Rome, the
sunny shores of Naples, the towns of the Abruzzi, were ravaged or
revolutionised by the arms and intrigues of the Pontiff. Florence,
Siena, Modena, Rimini, Ravenna, Perugia, and Camerino changed their
governments, under pressure of foreign force or domestic violence.
Nor were the elements more propitious. Incessant rains destroyed the
harvest, and laid whole districts under water. With an unusual demand
upon agricultural produce, the supply was greatly curtailed. Famine
reigned throughout the land, and pestilence desolated the population.
The inhabitants, reduced to general mendicity, beset the streets
and highways with their squalid children. Their murmurs by day and
their screams by night met with rare responses from passers-by as
needy as themselves; and at length, worn out with suffering, they
laid them down to die. It was during this year of general gloom that
Machiavelli closed his life; and to it specially applies that passage
in his _Principe_ (whether then interpolated or written long before)
describing the prostration of his native land. "Conquered, enslaved,
divided--without leader or law--beaten, spoiled, partitioned,
overrun, and in every way ruined--she lay half lifeless, awaiting
some one to heal her wounds, to arrest the robbery, pillage, and
forced taxation of her states, to heal her long-cankering sores."
To this hideous but faithful picture one finishing touch is wanting.
Alarmed by Lautrec's advance upon Naples, the Prince of Orange at
length, on the 16th of February, gave orders for the evacuation of
Rome. But his army, now crumbled away to some thirteen thousand
men, refused to march without an advance of pay, for which a final
contribution of 20,000 ducats was wrested from the Camera. Not
satisfied with this, the brutal soldiery redoubled their individual
efforts, by every ingenuity of torture, to screw more treasure or
ransom from the wretched inhabitants. But a summary vengeance awaited
them. Such of the citizens as had arms secretly left the city, and,
as their relentless foes straggled heedlessly across the Campagna,
laden with spoil, they, by a succession of furious charges, recovered
a vast quantity of the plunder, and, stripping the rapacious
soldiery of their gala dresses and rich jewels, dismissed them naked.
In this state the exasperated peasantry, headed by Napoleone Orsini,
the warlike Abbot of Farfa, set upon and massacred them without
mercy. So signal was these miscreants' fate that, in two years,
scarcely one of them is supposed to have survived.
* * * * *
After delaying for some weeks at Bologna, to abide the issue of many
intricate negotiations which followed upon the Pontiff's release,
Lautrec advanced, by the eastern coast, to attack the kingdom of
Naples. His army is estimated by Muratori at about fifty thousand,
though stated by others at a much higher amount. On the 10th of
February, he passed the frontier by the Tronto, and at Aquila, and
elsewhere in the Abruzzi, was received with open arms by the remnant
of the Angevine party. On the 12th of March, the two armies were in
presence at Troia; but, neither of them being anxious for a decisive
result, no engagement followed. After ravaging most of La Puglia and
Calabria, the French troops sat down before Naples, on the 29th of
April, and continued the siege during most of the summer. Once more
did that delicious land, where the ancients placed their Elysian
fields, and which is the terrestrial heaven of modern Italians,
prove fatal to its spoilers. Its soil, fertile in nature's choicest
products; its bright atmosphere, redolent of beauty; its climate,
conducive to luxurious gratifications; its volcanic air, stimulating
to sensual indulgences; its breezes, wafting perennial perfumes--all
invited to an excess of enjoyment, enervating to the physical, as
it was fatal to the moral energies of the invaders. Their cup of
pleasure was drugged, and Naples was avenged on her destroyers by her
own poisons, which they greedily quaffed. A contagious pestilence
swept their ranks, and, on the 15th of August, carried off their
leader. Weakened and discouraged, the remnant shut themselves into
Aversa, but were soon forced to a capitulation, which being violated,
most of them were cut to pieces.
To counterbalance Lautrec's expedition, the Emperor had ordered more
troops across the Alps, and, in the beginning of May, Henry Duke of
Brunswick brought fourteen thousand Germans through the Tyrol to the
Lago di Garda. On the first alarm of their approach, the Duke of
Urbino made the most of a handful of troops under his command, to
protect the Venetian mainland territory; and his biographers give him
great credit for defensive measures which ensured their towns from
attack, and obliged the invaders to move upon the Milanese. Pavia
having been, about the same time, surprised by della Leyva, Lodi
alone remained in Sforza's hands, and before it the Duke of Brunswick
drew his lines. But the destruction of his magazines by Francesco
Maria reduced his army to great straits; and a virulent epidemic
having carried off two thousand of his men, the residue broke up and
made their way homewards, after their first assault had been sharply
repelled.
In September, the Duke of Urbino's little army was reinforced by a
strong body of Swiss infantry and French lances, led by St. Pol,
and it was resolved to recover Pavia. Scarcely was the siege begun
when news of the desperate state of the French before Naples induced
St. Pol to propose withdrawing his contingent to the succour of
Genoa, which, in consequence of Andrea Doria suddenly passing over
from the side of Francis to that of his rival, was placed in great
danger. A brief delay was obtained by the urgent representations of
Francesco Maria, who, throwing aside his accustomed sluggishness,
directed operations in person. On the sixth day he effected a breach
by blowing up a bastion, which placed the city at its assailants'
mercy, and it was again exposed to the horrors of a ruthless sack.
This success was, however, counterbalanced by a revolution in Genoa,
the city declaring itself independent of France, and was followed by
the fall of Savona, on the 21st of October. It might have been saved
by more prompt exertions on the Duke's part, who was unjustly blamed
by his French allies for its loss, being, as Paruta assures us,
interdicted by the Signory from leaving their frontier exposed.
During the weary wars of Clement VII., the fluctuations inherent
in human affairs were rarely counterbalanced by high principles
or commanding genius. Confederacies formed upon narrow views and
selfish calculations were neither sustained with persevering energy,
nor directed by men of enlarged views and gallant bearing. Indeed,
courage itself faltered and zeal grew languid, in contests which
seemed to demoralise officers and soldiery. It cannot therefore
occasion surprise that all parties were equally ready to play fast
and loose; that the great powers kept themselves ever open for new
combinations; and that independent captains, true to old condottiere
usages, readily transferred their services to the quarter whence most
substantial benefits were likely to accrue. Thus, after the great
discouragement resulting to the cause of Francis, from the loss of
Lautrec's army and the desertion of Doria, his allies began to waver.
The Pontiff, though scarcely recovered from the alarm in which his
recent misfortunes had left him, displayed an unaccountable leaning
towards their author; and even Sforza, having to choose between two
claimants of his duchy, began to think that the best terms might
be had from the Emperor. The Venetians were as usual waiters upon
providence; but they so overplayed the temporising game, that the
arrangements for a double treaty between Clement, Charles, and
Francis found them still in the field, and they were left to make
head single-handed against the imperialists. As such a contest was
necessarily a defensive one, the Duke's dilatory manoeuvres were
at length well timed, and the Signory preferred thus prolonging
the struggle to restoring the territory they had gained during the
war, as a preliminary condition of peace. The Emperor had landed
in August at Genoa, with a powerful fleet and army, and new levies
arrived from Germany. St. Pol, after drawing off his troops towards
Genoa, was surprised and shamefully beaten ere he could be supported
by Francesco Maria,[24] who had encamped at Cassano on the Adda,
in a position that menaced Milan, and commanded supplies from the
Bergamese territory, whilst it effectually protected the Venetian
mainland from imperialist aggression. The Duke there resisted every
attempt to dislodge him, until the senate had arranged the terms of a
treaty with the Emperor, which was signed on the 23rd of December.
[Footnote 24: In his _Discorsi Militari_, pp. 7, 8, the Duke minutely
criticises the French general's tactics, which exposed him to this
shameful reverse; but the details have now little interest.]
The ostensible motives of Charles in coming to Italy were twofold;
to forward arrangements for a general league against the Turks, who,
after overrunning Hungary, had laid siege to Vienna; and to have
the imperial diadem and the iron crown of Lombardy imposed upon his
brows by the Pope. Bologna was selected for the ceremony, whither his
Holiness arrived in great state about the end of October, followed on
the 5th of November by the Emperor. The two potentates were lodged in
the public palace, and addressed themselves to the former of these
objects with so much success, that on the 23rd of December a treaty
was concluded, wherein were comprehended all the Italian states
except Florence. The Lombard question was settled, Sforza being left
in possession of his duchy, but hampered with ruinous payments to the
Emperor in name of expenses; whilst the Venetians, besides paying
heavy sums under the same pretext, had to resign their acquisitions
about Ravenna and on the Neapolitan coast. Florence was not included,
in consequence of its _de facto_ government being in the hands
of the democratic party, who, in 1527, had availed themselves of
Clement's difficulties to expel the Medici; it was now, however,
replaced under their sway by the combined arms of the Pontiff and the
Emperor. After ten months of obstinate defence,--the final effort of
its old republican spirit, which commands our sympathy and respect
far more than the struggles of faction that used in earlier times to
deluge its piazza in blood,--the city was surrendered on the 12th
of August, 1530, and its chains were riveted by a base bastard, who
seems to have had nothing of the Medici but their name. In this
siege died Philibert Prince of Orange, one of the last survivors of
the invaders of Rome. Like his comrade Bourbon, he was a renegade
from the service of Francis I., in disgust, as was alleged, at being
turned out of his palace to make way for the imperious Wolsey, and at
the ridicule to which this slight exposed him in the French court.
The title passed to his nephew René Count of Nassau, who carried it
from Provence to Holland, and was grandfather of William III. of
England. Their leader fallen, their occupation gone, a serious alarm
spread throughout Central Italy, lest the victorious soldiery should
re-enact the horrors perpetrated by Bourbon's sanguinary host. These
fears, however, soon subsided; indeed a century and a quarter elapsed
ere that fair land was again exposed to the devastations of foreign
spoilers.
These diplomatic arrangements being thus satisfactorily concluded,
preparations advanced rapidly for the coronation, and many princely
feudatories of Italy flocked to witness that august function. Among
these was Francesco Maria, who, though summoned as Prefect of Rome,
had some cause to misdoubt his welcome from the Pontiff and the
Emperor. The old family grudge still smouldered in the breast of the
former, and he was alleged to have lately intrigued with Charles that
the Prince of Orange, after re-establishing the Medici at Florence,
should seize upon Urbino for Ascanio Colonna, whose vague claims
upon that duchy have been already explained.[25] Indeed, a rumour of
that general's march upon his states in March, 1529, had suddenly
recalled the Duke from Lombardy, in order to provide for their
defence. To the Emperor he had been uniformly opposed, rather from
the chances of war than upon any personal quarrel; yet he did not
hesitate to repair to the coronation, arriving at Bologna about the
1st of November, and there met with an interesting incident.
[Footnote 25: Vol. II., pp. 420, 423.]
As he approached the city with his suite he was met by about fifty
German veterans, who addressed him in their rough transalpine tongue,
and through an interpreter explained that they had come to pay to
him their reverence, having served under his father in long past
wars, inquiring where their old commander had died. They were told
that it was himself that led them to victory; but, unaware how early
he had commanded armies, they demurred to this, saying, that were
their old leader alive his beard would be blanched. The Duke having
assured them that their gallantry and attachment were well known
and appreciated by him, they dismissed their doubts, crowding round
to kiss his hands or mantle, and accompanied him to his lodging, a
civility duly acknowledged by thanks and a suitable largess.
Several days having passed in visits of compliment, the Emperor
arrived, escorted into the town by the Dukes of Urbino and Savoy,
with their brilliant staffs. Mindful only of the renown which the
former had acquired in recent campaigns, the monarch summoned him to
his side, and conversed with him in friendly familiarity. He called
him the first general in Christendom, and complimented his officers
as worthy soldiers of a famous school, whose complexions bore the
honourable scars and weather-stains of good service. Duchess Leonora
became on her arrival equally the object of imperial favour, and
received flattering testimony to her polished and princely manners.
The purpose of these marked attentions was soon developed, in a
proposal to confer upon Francesco Maria the baton, as captain-general
of the imperial troops in Italy. This gratifying offer he gracefully
declined, pleading an engagement to the Venetians, which prevented
his listening to such proposals without consent of the Signory.
To them Charles forthwith addressed his request; but received for
answer that the same considerations which induced him to make it
rendered them resolute in retaining the services of a leader who
for many years had brought renown to their arms; but that, though
unable to spare himself, they were ready to place him with all their
forces at the disposal of his Highness. The Emperor had employed the
Duchess of Savoy's intervention in this affair, who at his suggestion
cultivated a great intimacy with the Duke and Duchess of Urbino,
and her pleading was on one occasion enforced by Charles in person
in a well-timed visit. The establishment of this lady is described
by Leonardi, who was particularly struck with the easy elegance and
graceful conversation of her six girlish maids of honour, seated on
cushions of tawny velvet, and gaily decked in rich jewels, plumes,
and streaming ribbons, chatting merrily with her guests. The Emperor,
far from taking umbrage at his disappointment, sought Francesco
Maria's opinion as to the person best fitted for commander-in-chief,
who recommended the appointment of Antonio della Leyva. Indeed,
Giraldi declares that Charles "never could have enough of his fine
discourses or sententious remarks," and pressed him to name any
favour he would accept of. The Duke, thus encouraged, urged the
restoration of Sora, Arce, Arpino, and Rocca Guglielmi, which had
been taken from him at the instigation of Leo X., a request to which
Charles acceded about three years later, paying 100,000 scudi of
compensation to a Flemish nobleman who had been invested with these
Neapolitan fiefs.
On the 22nd of February, in the chapel attached to the Palazzo
Pubblico, the brows of Charles were encircled with the iron crown of
Lombardy, which, as Muratori observes, had not yet been rendered a
sacred relic by the legend of its having been formed out of a nail
of the true cross. Two days after, he received the imperial diadem
in the church of S. Petronio, the Duke of Urbino, as Prefect of
Rome, carrying the sword of state, with which the Pontiff had just
conferred knighthood upon the Emperor. The populace were regaled
in the Piazza with two bullocks roasted entire, whilst both the
great fountains poured forth continued streams of wine, and silver
largess was scattered at all hands. An accident from the fall of some
scaffolding, which nearly proved fatal to the hero of the ceremonial,
brought on a sharp altercation between the captain of the imperial
guard and the chief magistrate of the city. To the threats of the
officer, to treat the place as he had already done the larger town of
Milan, the latter replied that in Milan they manufactured needles,
but in Bologna they made swords. On the 22nd of March, Charles
departed for Germany, in order to defend his Austrian dominions from
the Turks; and, nine days later, Clement set out in a litter for his
capital, where he arrived on the 9th of April, after spending the 6th
at Urbino, on a visit to Francesco Maria.
* * * * *
From these transactions at Bologna there dated a new era for Italy.
The long struggle of Guelph and Ghibelline was at length come to an
end--the standard of her nationality was finally struck. Succeeding
pontiffs were content to lean for support upon an authority which
their predecessors had defied or resisted. It mattered little whether
that paramount influence was held by an Austrian or Spanish imperial
dynasty; so long as the two Sicilies, Sardinia, and Milan owned its
dominion, the freedom of the other states was merely nominal. The
Peninsula was, indeed, no longer ravaged by European wars, yet the
protracted struggle did not close until the victor had riveted on
her his chains. She was seldom desolated by invading armies, but she
was not the less plundered by licensed spoilers. Peace was restored
to her, but independence was gone. The Reformation, too, which Leo
left a petty schism, had in ten years changed the faith of a large
section of Europe, and Rome was no longer the capital of Christendom.
The results of this change in the Church it is not the province of
these pages to notice, but, in common with other Italian feudatories,
the Dukes of Urbino felt the altered aspect of their political
relations. War was not now a profession demanding their services, and
recompensing them with glory and profit. The trade of arms had come
to an end, as regarded the old condottiere system and its frightful
abuses, and was modified into the more orderly machinery of standing
armies on a limited scale. We shall accordingly find these princes
for the future little mixed up with the general affairs of the
Peninsula, and scarcely ever taking the field, but left with ample
leisure for the administration of their little principality, or the
cultivation of their individual tastes. Had such been the lot of Duke
Federigo or his accomplished son, their fame would scarcely have
been dimmed, for theirs were virtues equally calculated to elevate
a court or illustrate a camp. But it was otherwise with the two
remaining sovereigns della Rovere; and the glories of the dynasty
would suffer no diminution did we now draw our narrative to a close.
Yet these Dukes were not commonplace men; and, making allowance
for the age in which they lived,--when the fine gold of literature
and arts had been transmuted into baser metal, and when genius had
fled from a desolation which peace without freedom was powerless to
reanimate,--they were not unworthy to rule in the Athens of Italy.
Those readers, however, who have thus far followed our narrative must
content themselves through its remaining chapters with characters
less striking, views less general, events of narrowed interest; and
must bear in mind that the niche in the temple of Fame appropriated
to Urbino, as well as that enshrining the Italian name, was earned
ere the coronation of Charles V. had closed the struggles of Italy,
and consummated her subjugation.
After that time, according to one of the most rational as well
as eloquent of the new dreamers after Italian nationality, "she
underwent a rapid yet imperceptible decline; yet her sky smiled
brightly as ever, her climate was as mild. A privileged land, removed
from all cares of political existence, she went on with dances and
music, happy in her ignorance, sleeping in the intoxication of
incessant prosperity. Used to the scourge of invasion, the sons of
the south took up again their guitars, wiped away their tears, and
sang anew like a cloud of birds when the tempest is over."[26] This
picture, drawn in bitterness, but not apparently in irony, paints the
decline of Italy in colours more attractive than any we should have
dared to employ; and we extract it chiefly for the sake of contrast
with the same writer's ready admission that the liberty of the old
republics was cradled amid convulsions of faction, which eventually
exhausted their forces, or stifled their independence.
[Footnote 26: MARIOTTI'S _Italy_, II.]
If the object of government be the greatest happiness of the masses,
it seems, according to Mariotti, to have been more fully attained in
Italy during the ages of foreign sway than in those of republican
strife. Admitting in some degree, this conclusion, we accord a more
hearty approval to the character he has elsewhere given of a state
of matters worse, probably, in that land than either of these
alternatives,--"that slow and silent disease, that atrabilious
frenzy--politics--which pervades all ranks, exhibiting a striking
contrast with the radiant and harmonious gaiety of heaven and earth."
* * * * *
Our notices of the court of Urbino have been suspended during a long
interval from lack of materials. Indeed, the military duties of its
head too well accounts for this deficiency of incident, rendering
his domestic life a blank. Even the brief intervals when he could
steal from the camp to the society of his Duchess, were passed in
some neighbouring town, where she met him, or at Venice, where she
made a lengthened sojourn, partly as a safer residence during the
alarm consequent upon Bourbon's invasion, but in some degree as a
guarantee for her husband to the suspicious government he served.
These circumstances occasioned him prolonged absences from his state,
of which his consort availed herself to prepare for him an agreeable
surprise.
Immediately north-west from Pesaro rises the fertile slope of Monte
Bartolo, near the summit of which, but sheltered from the keen
sea-breeze, Alessandro Sforza fixed the site of a villa called
Casartole. The Emperor Frederick III., when returning from his
coronation at Rome, in January, 1469, was magnificently entertained
by that Prince, and here laid the foundation of a casino, which in
compliment to him was named the Imperiale. Its dimensions were,
however, unequal to that imposing name, for, on the death of Giovanni
Sforza, in 1510, it was valued at only 8000 ducats. Having devolved
upon the Duke of Urbino, with the lordship of Pesaro, it was selected
by the Duchess for a compliment to him, which may be best explained
by the inscription she placed upon the building:--"For Francesco
Maria, Duke of the Metaurian States, on his return from the wars, his
consort Leonora has erected this villa, in token of affection, and
in compensation for sun and dust, for watching and toil, so that,
during an interval of repose, his military genius may here prepare
for him still wider renown and richer rewards." To carry out this
idea worthily, she summoned Girolamo Genga, of Urbino, one of the
best architects of his time; and under his able superintendence the
casino of the Sforza, distinguished from moderate country houses only
by heraldic devices and a lofty bell-tower, was rapidly transformed
into a handsome palace, which the pencil of Raffaele Colle was
employed to decorate with its master's triumphs.
The site of this villa was admirably adapted as a residence for the
sovereign of those broad lands it overlooked. It commanded every
dwelling in the little city of Pesaro, though perfectly secluded
from contact with its busy streets. The vale of the Isauro or Foglia
lay in verdure before it, beyond which were the gardenlike slopes
of Novilara, terminating in a varied landscape of hill and dale,
which carried the gazer to the blue mountains of Gubbio. To the left
spread the coast of Fano and Sinigaglia; to the right the high lands
of Urbino were bounded by the Apennines of Carpegna and the isolated
heights of San Marino. In a word, the Imperiale scanned the whole
duchy of Urbino, of which it might, not inaptly, be considered the
eye. The attractions of this princely retreat have been described
with enthusiasm by Ludovico Agostini, who enjoyed them in their
prime, and whose eulogies remain unedited in the Oliveriana Library.
But they owe to the pen of Bernardo Tasso a worthier and wider
celebrity, in his letter to Vincenzo Laureo, which sums up the
advantages of the Villa by declaring that no place in Italy united
with a temperate and healthful climate so many conveniences and
enjoyable spots.
Of many laboured and costly productions of human ingenuity little
remains there but saddening ruins.
The lofty oaks celebrated by Agostini have yielded to the axe; the
grove which served as a game preserve has shared the same fate; the
once innumerable pines and cypresses may be counted in units; the
orange and lemon trees, the cystuses and myrtles have disappeared.
Though even yet of imposing appearance, the building has undergone
pitiable dilapidations. Almost every morsel of the marble carving has
been carried off, and fragments may be purchased from the pawnbrokers
of Pesaro. The frescoes, except that representing Francesco Maria
receiving the adherence of his army, which seems the poorest in
execution, are almost totally defaced. But that the saloons, where
Bembo talked and Tasso sang, have been found well adapted for
the culture of silkworms, the desolation, begun a century ago by
Portuguese Jesuits, continued by a rabble soldiery, and permitted by
its present proprietors the Albani, might ere now have been complete.
But while the works of man have thus by man been degraded, glorious
nature remains unchanged. A few hundred paces lead to the summit
ridge of Monte Bartolo, a spot rarely equalled even in this lovely
land. To the vast prospect we have but now feebly described, there is
here added a marine panorama, extending from the headland of Ancona
to the Pineta of Ravenna, and including a boundless expanse of the
sparkling Adriatic. A wanderer on that attractive coast, it has been
my privilege to visit this unrivalled spot, and listlessly to survey
the swan-like sails skimming the mighty mirror, wherein was reflected
the deep indigo of an Italian sky, bounded along the horizon by that
pearly haze gradually dissolving towards the blue zenith, which no
painter but Perugino has been able to embody.
Of Duchess Leonora we know little.[*27] Unlike her predecessor,
she had no courtly pen to transmit us her praises, no Bembo or
Castiglione to celebrate the beauties of her person or the graces
of her mind. She enjoys, however, one advantage over her Aunt
Elisabetta; for in a speaking portrait by Titian, we may read much
of her character, exempt from the vague flattery of such diffuse
eulogists. Painted at that trying age when female beauty has
exchanged its maiden charms for mature womanhood, the grave matronly
air, the stiff contours and set features, with more of comely dignity
than sternness in their general expression, attest fidelity in the
likeness, and tally well with what we know of her temperament, and
with the trials under which it must have been formed. There we may
observe a composure calculated to moderate the fiery temper of her
lord, a self-possession fitted to sustain him through his varied
adversities. Her dress handsome rather than rich, her pose indicative
of quietude, the spaniel watching by her side, the small time-piece
on her table, are accessories adapted for one accustomed to pass
the long intervals of her husband's absence rather in reflective
solitude than in courtly pastimes.[28] To such a disposition the
cares of maternity and her children's education afforded an ever
pleasing resource, which she shared with the Dowager Duchess, an
unfailing companion and friend, whose once lively spirits had been
chastened by affliction into harmony with her temperament; but of
this solace she was deprived by her death at Venice in January,
1526. In the autumn of 1529, Leonora, who administered the duchy in
her husband's absence, received Clement at Pesaro, on his way to
the coronation at Bologna, with a princely welcome and magnificent
presents. In a letter which his Holiness took that opportunity to
address to the Duke, he expresses gratitude for these, and for the
attendance of the prince, "a youth of the highest hopes from his
excellent dispositions, his modesty, and his natural inclination
to literature, as well as his many estimable qualities." Whilst
promising much favour to Guidobaldo, he compliments his father on the
mild and equitable sway whereby the Duchess maintained his state in
peace and tranquillity, and concludes with an apostolic blessing on
him, his consort, and his son.
[Footnote *27: Cf. LUZIO E RENIER, _Mantova e Urbino_ (Torino, 1893)
and JULIA CARTWRIGHT, _Isabella d'Este_ (Murray, 1904).]
[Footnote 28: Cf. Appendix XII.]
Returned to his state after so long a separation, Francesco Maria
found, during the next two years, ample leisure to attend to its
internal administration, and to watch the progress of his promising
family. The eldest of these seems to have been Donna Ippolita, for
whom he soon received, through the Marquis del Vasto, an offer of
marriage from Don Antonio d'Aragona, son of the Duke of Montalto.
At the nuptials, which were celebrated with suitable splendour, he
had a very unlooked-for guest in Ascanio Colonna, whose intrigues
to supplant him in the duchy we have lately noticed, but who,
finding these hopelessly foiled by the Duke's establishment in the
good graces of the Emperor, sought a reconciliation through the
bridegroom, his cousin, whom he accompanied to Urbino. This frankness
was met in a kindred spirit by his host, and their amity was cemented
by a generous hospitality.
* * * * *
It was now, perhaps, that Francesco Maria took opportunity to dictate
the results of his long experience of war, in a series of Military
Discourses, which were published fifty years later, but which,
being evidently printed from loose and unrevised notes, are not
fairly amenable to literary criticism.[29] They are but desultory
and disjointed observations, carelessly jotted down, with little
attention to order or style, and edited without emendation, or
even intelligible punctuation. The matter abounds in truisms and
common-places, displaying neither enlarged views nor knowledge of
mankind: the style is garrulous, diffuse, and redundant. Yet, as on
matters of military skill the Duke was considered a high authority,
it may not be improper here to record some of his opinions.
[Footnote 29: Discorsi Militari dell'eccellentissimo Signor Francesco
Maria I. della Rovere, Duca di Urbino, nei quali si discorrano molti
avantaggi et disadvantaggi della guerra, utilissimi ad ogni soldato.
Ferrara, 1583. It was edited by Domenico Mammarelli, and dedicated to
Signor Ippolito Bentivoglio. There is a transcript in the library at
Newbattle Abbey, a. 3, 2, and a fragment of it in the Vat. Ottobon.
MSS. No. 2447, f. 135. *Cf. also _I discorsi di F.M.I. della Rovere
sopra le fortificazioni di Venezia_ (Mantova, 1902). These were
written 1537-38.]
This was his idea of a fortified town: "It ought to stand in a plain,
its citadel commanded by no eminence. The rampart-wall should be
three paces wide at base, supporting an earthern rampart of fifteen
or twenty paces wide, with barbicans. This retaining wall should be
in height about twenty feet, and have above it a curtain of nearly as
many. The upper part, being most exposed to be battered, had better
have an earthen facing. There ought to be a platform, rising sixteen
feet over the curtain, placed half-way between each baloard and
bastion. The baloards should have guns mounted only at the sides, and
be of massive strength, from fifty to sixty paces in diameter, that
the guns may be freely wrought. Should a baloard be taken, it will
still be flanked by the adjoining platforms, a ditch drawn between
each of which would in a night's time recomplete the defences. The
fosse should be about twenty paces wide, and is best without water,
so as to allow artificial fire to be showered down upon the enemy.
There ought to be no counterscarp, seeing it generally serves as a
protection to the besiegers; but, if there be one, it had better be
only of earth, at a low angle of elevation. Above all, there ought
to be provided many secret ports for frequent sallies, and for the
easy return of the men. It has been long noticed that no fortress was
ever carried but by some oversight of its defenders, and everything
depends upon a judicious selection of positions for defence.
Unquestionably a single sin suffices to send a man to the devil,
whatever be his other good works; and, in like manner, one oversight
in fortification may lose the place, as happened when I took Pavia
and Cremona. In short, it is all very well to play with plans and
models, but one must see to everything on the spot."
"He said, in reference to the fortresses of Legnano and Verona, that
it was very ill-judged in the Republic never to carry things out
as they had been planned, in consequence of frequent ministerial
changes, and the system of governing from day to day, and bit
by bit, without reference to any general design. By adopting an
opposite method, he had completed the defences of Pesaro much more
efficiently, and at a third of the outlay it would have cost any
one else, simply because he was the sole head and executor, and
kept in view the entire works, not the individual gates, baloards,
and details; and by so completing them that it must be attacked on
two or three sides, whilst provided with ten or twelve concealed
sally-ports." He contended that a fortress on a hill was difficult to
defend, one on a plain less so; but that the easiest and most secure
was one whose defences partly extended along the level, and in part
rose upon steep ground, such as Verona, which he maintained could be
more easily held by five thousand men against eighty thousand, than
most towns by eight thousand against half that besieging force.
In conducting a siege, the Duke dwells upon the necessity of a choice
infantry, in which German solidity should be happily combined with
the active troops of Italy and Spain; yet he admits that men-at-arms,
when dismounted, can be turned to excellent account in an assault,
and that light cavalry are of obvious value. "Above all," he says,
"you require a well-supplied commissariat, and regular pay, with
sufficient artillery and military machines. After choosing the most
eligible spot for encampment, just without range of the enemy's guns,
the first thing is to provide your baggage and supplies against
sudden surprise; next to open trenches for your artillery, securing
your men by a ditch wide enough for their operations, but not so
broad as to be commanded from the walls, and taking care not to let
too many of them at once into the trenches, so as to embarrass each
other. It is an immense protection to flank your trenches with lines
drawn from your principal encampment close up to the city walls,
which must be strongly defended against the enemy's guns, and must
contain a force adequate to check their sallies, and, if necessary,
to cover the trenches, or even succour your camp."
"Should you resort to a blockade, it is best to establish your army
in one or two towns ten to fifteen miles off, taking care to secure
every intervening place. At that distance your own supplies are more
easily procured, and your light cavalry can readily intercept the
enemy's convoys, whilst the garrison cannot attack you, except at
every disadvantage, and without artillery."
As for artillery, we find a recommendation of battering guns carrying
from thirty to one hundred pound balls, and of field-pieces and
ship's cannon from fifteen to twenty pounds. The gunpowder in Italy
being bad, fifty was the average of daily discharges; but the Turks,
having very superior powder, could fire as many as seventy times,
which was looked upon as a stupendous performance.
Animadverting upon those tardy tactics which never anticipated a
movement of the enemy, the Duke compared them to a child applying its
hand to the parts successively chastised, without attempting to ward
off the next blow; yet, Fabius-like, he considered that a general's
talent was more shown in his selection of suitable posts than in the
conduct of a pitched battle. Popular risings he held very cheap,
believing them utterly contemptible when not supported by disciplined
troops, and instancing his own experience at Florence in 1527, when,
with eighty soldiers, he put down an insurrection, and maintained
the ascendancy of the Medici.
With reference to the respective merits of various nations whom
he had seen in the field, he said that "a good Italian and a good
Spanish soldier are equal. The Swiss at the outset are an excellent
force; but, in a protracted campaign, they deteriorate, and become
good for little. The Germans sustain an onset of men-at-arms most
valiantly, and, during these Italian wars, have become in other
respects expert, especially at skirmishes, either in cover or in
the open country. The Turks, being unskilled in war, have hitherto
owed their victories rather to the deficiencies of their opponents
than to their own superiority. He ascribed the success of French
armies against the Italians to an absurd practice of the latter, who
always fought in squadrons of twenty-five men-at-arms, each squadron
engaging another, so that the battle was made up of many separate
skirmishes; and, in the end, the most numerous army generally
carried the day. Charles VIII., on the contrary, formed in three
battalions,--the van, centre, and rear,--and, with his force thus
concentrated, bore down the detached tactics of his opponents. Yet
the Duke did not consider this French disposition as invariably
efficacious, preferring in many cases that an army should act in one
body, even at the risk of leaving its baggage and artillery in the
rear, and comparatively unprotected. But, on this and similar points,
his maxim was not to adhere to any invariable rule."
Regarding the construction of an army, we find this passage:--"In
preparing an expedition, the commander ought to imitate the process
by which nature creates a living body, forming first the heart; then
the vital members, such as the liver, lungs, blood, and brains;
next the skin; and, finally the hair and nails. In like manner, the
foundation of an enterprise should be the general, who is its heart,
and in whom should be united varied capacity, with perfect rectitude
and justice. Then his officers should be strenuous, experienced,
and implicitly obedient, for such captains are certain to recruit
soldiers of the same stamp. Next, let him look to his commissariat
and military chest, and see that his arms and accoutrements are
adapted to his enemy and the country. Lastly, let him regard all
extraneous and casual aid as mere skin, hair, and nails, relying
mainly on his own well-disciplined troops." The Duke considered
that "men-at-arms are by no means so useless as they are sometimes
regarded, and that, although infantry is the basis of an army,
nevertheless it would not do to have only that force in the field;
just as, although in the human body it is the eye alone which sees,
the hand which works, the head which guides, yet man would not be so
perfect or beautiful a creature with but eyes, hands, or head, as
he is with all these various members. Hence he would wish to have
soldiers of all sorts in his camp,--men-at-arms, light cavalry, a
German brigade, and a full complement of Italians."
But whilst the theory of warfare thus occupied his thoughts, he was
not neglectful of its munitions; and it was his special concern
to provide for his veterans, horses, arms, and accoutrements of a
quality which gained them general admiration. After nearly three
years of peace the Venetians, fearing that their swords might become
rusty, ordered a muster of their forces on the mainland, and an
inspection of their frontier defences. The reviews were conducted by
their Captain-general in person, who spent several months of 1532 in
Lombardy with the Duchess, leaving the government of his state in the
hands of his son Guidobaldo, now eighteen years of age. From thence
he was called to Friuli, on the approach of a disorganised mass of
Italian soldiery, who were returning home from the Turkish war,
burning and plundering as they went. By firm and temperate measures
he kept them in check, and constrained them to resume an orderly
march. The only immediate result to the Peninsula from campaigns in
Hungary was an alarm along the Adriatic coast of a Turkish descent,
which was made a pretext by Clement for seizing upon Ancona, and
annexing that republic to the papal states.
CHAPTER XLI
Italian militia--The Camerino disputes--Death of Clement
VII.--Marriage of Prince Guidobaldo--Proposed Turkish
crusade under the Duke--His death and character.
Three nearly contemporary events had lately combined to extinguish
the nationality of Italy, and those liberties which, shared in ample
or more sparing measure by her many states, had till now crowned
her military glories with intellectual renown. In the sack of Rome
the power of the Keys had been shaken, the prestige of the papal
city had passed away. The defence of Florence was the last effort of
patriotism, and with it fell communal independence. The coronation of
Charles V. laid upon the Peninsula an iron yoke of foreign despotism,
which rendered her virtually a province of Spain. A necessary
consequence of this sad change will be to limit the field of our
investigation, and to restrict what remains of our work to the ducal
family and their hereditary domains, which for the future were little
more than an appanage of the Spanish monarchy. The Lords of Urbino
had hitherto been prominent among the captains of adventure, and
bore a part wherever engagements were offered, or hard blows to be
had. But the condottiere system being now superseded, a new mode of
warfare and machinery of defence became indispensable. Knight-service
and the romance of war were swept away by artillery; the imposing
_battaglia_ of men-at-arms proved powerless when confronted by
battalions of steady infantry, or out-manoeuvred by the dashing
cavalry of Dalmatia. This lesson, first taught by the Swiss in their
fastnesses, had been practically demonstrated to the Italians in
every great action from the Taro to the recent Lombard campaigns, and
had been adopted by most of their leaders. It now, however, became
necessary to apply it in another sense, and, seeing that captains
were no longer to be hired with their respective followings of
efficient soldiery, to organise a militia of its own for the defence
of such state, upon principles which Machiavelli was among the first
to recognise and explain.
Before that system came into general use, the Italian infantry was
notoriously incompetent to cope with transalpine levies, as Francesco
Maria had bitterly experienced in the war of 1523-27. He therefore,
in 1533, instituted a militia of his mountaineers, under the name of
the Feltrian legion, which before his death numbered five thousand
men, in four regiments, commanded by as many colonels. The object
was to make them good soldiers without ceasing to be citizens; to
maintain in readiness at small expense a military population, who
were not men of war by profession. For this purpose lists were
annually taken of all males from eighteen to twenty-five, learned
professions and infamous persons being exempted, and to them arms
were given. They were drilled and instructed in the necessary
evolutions, and a proportion of them were called into active service
when needed. On these occasions they were well paid; but, when kept
on the reserve, their small stipend was rendered more attractive by
a variety of political immunities and fiscal exemptions, including
the exclusive privilege of bearing arms. The practical result was
this,--the able-bodied population were, on the one hand, brought into
a sort of direct dependence on the executive, and, on the other, were
taught that the safety of the commonwealth was entrusted to their
swords and sinews. It is scarcely necessary to add that this system
has been generally adopted, and that on it are still based the
military institutions of most continental nations.
* * * * *
In December, 1532, the Emperor returned to Italy, and was met near
Vicenza by Francesco Maria, who welcomed him in his own name, and
in that of the Signory. Dispensing with complimentary formalities,
Charles received him at once to easy intercourse, and, requesting
his continued attendance, spent much time in conversing with him on
the art of war. At Bologna another congress was held by the Pontiff
and the Emperor, in which were discussed the affairs of Italy, the
proposed general council, and the matrimonial speculations of Clement
for advancement of his house. The marriage of Alessandro de' Medici,
now created Duke of Florence, was arranged with Margaret of Austria,
natural daughter of Charles; but the hand of Caterina de' Medici,
which the latter wished to be given to Francesco Sforza, was reserved
by her ambitious uncle for a French prince. Charles left Bologna on
the 28th of February, 1533, and embarked at Genoa for Spain, after
giving some hope to Francesco Maria of a satisfactory settlement of
his claims upon Sora. Clement in ten days after set out for Rome. The
estrangement between these potentates, which at this meeting began
to chill their intercourse, was greatly widened by the voyage of his
Holiness in the following autumn to Marseilles, where he celebrated
the nuptials of Caterina with Henry, second son and successor of
Francis I. At this second congress of Bologna, Titian met the Emperor
by special command; and it was perhaps on that occasion that he
had commissions for portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino,
which now ornament the Uffizi gallery. The former is engraved as a
frontispiece for this volume; of the latter we have lately spoken:
both will demand further notice in our fifty-fourth chapter, and in
the last No. of the Appendix.
In April the Duchess Leonora gave birth to a son at Mantua, who
was named after Julius II., and was destined to holy orders. His
father had at the same time a severe fit of gout; and, on his return
home, the painful duty devolved upon him of providing against the
visitation of a scarcity which then lamentably affected Italy. The
close of the year found him a suitor with the Pope in the affair of
Camerino, which we shall now briefly explain.
The small state of that name in the March of Ancona had been ruled
for nearly three hundred years by the Varana family, some of whom
we have occasionally mentioned in these Memoirs. Exaggerating the
domestic atrocities, then too frequent among Italians of their rank,
they became revoltingly notorious, in 1433-4, for a complicated
fratricide. Bernardo, Lord of Camerino, jealous of his brothers
Giovanni and Pier-Gentile, the offspring of his father's second
marriage, had them put to death by the agency of his own sons. Ere
many months passed, his subjects, loathing the foul deed, suddenly
rose against its authors. With sweeping vengeance they slew him, his
brother german Gentil Pandolfo, and his six sons, dashing the heads
of the little ones against the wall. The succession was thus opened
to Giulio Cesare, son of Giovanni, who, in 1451, married the only
daughter of Sigismondo Pandolfo, despot of Rimini.[*30] He lived to
see the usurpations of Cesare Borgia, and, falling into the hands
of Michelotto on the capture of La Pergola, the old man perished by
the bowstring of that monster in 1502, along with his eldest son
Venanzio, and two natural children. Venanzio had, in 1497, married
Maria, the only sister of Duke Francesco Maria, of whom we have
already had to tell a tale of scandal, and left one son Sigismondo.
He was born in 1499, and escaped the fate of his father and uncles,
from having been sent in infancy to Urbino. There he was educated;
and we have seen him defending S. Leo, when scarcely beyond boyhood.
After years of imprisonment and exile, his uncle Francesco Maria made
an ineffectual attempt, on the death of Leo X., to vindicate his
hereditary fief, from the usurpation of his paternal uncle, Giovanni
Maria, its _de facto_ lord. Sigismondo sought consolation for his
hard fortunes in low debauchery, until he fell in 1522 by the hand of
assassins, at the supposed instigation of his usurping uncle, who, in
1527, had absolution of the foul deed, and to whose career we must
now turn.[31]
[Footnote *30: Cf. EDWARD HUTTON, _Sigismondo Malatesta_ (1906), p.
61.]
[Footnote 31: Many details regarding these transactions have been
given, vol. I., p. 411; vol. II., pp. 36, 317, 371, 419.]
Giovanni Maria, second son of Giulio Cesare Count of Camerino,
was sent to Venice on Borgia's approach, and so avoided the fate
of his family. On the death of Alexander VI., being then in his
twenty-second year, he made a descent upon La Marca, and possessed
himself of his father's seigneury, in defiance of his infant nephew's
title to it. His authority was recognised by the Holy See, at a
time when the hereditary principle was loose, and a strong hand
constituted the best claim. He found a warm supporter in Leo X.,
through sympathy of their common hatred for the della Rovere race,
and received from him the lordship of Sinigaglia and prefecture
of Rome, on the deprivation of Francesco Maria, along with the
additional dignity of Duke of Camerino. After the death of Leo,
Sigismondo for a few months made good his authority at Camerino,
until supplanted by the usurper, whose title was conveniently
completed by his nephew's murder; whereupon he became _de jure_ its
sovereign, and continued in undisturbed possession of his ill-gotten
honours.
On the death of Duke Giovanni Maria, in August 1527, the male heir
of the fief was Ercole Varana, whose eldest son, Matteo, had been
destined by the Duke's will to become husband of his infant daughter
Giulia, then but four years old. This arrangement was, however,
resolutely opposed by his widow, Caterina Cibò,[*32] niece of Leo
X.; and ere any steps could be taken to carry it into effect, the
town was sacked by Sciarra Colonna, who, with his son-in-law, Rodolfo
Varana, a bastard of its last lord, drove Caterina and her child into
the citadel. Forgetting the double feud of Francesco Maria with her
husband and her Medicean relations, she in her extremity besought
his aid, offering to plight her daughter's hand to his son, Prince
Guidobaldo. The proposal found him ingloriously inactive in Umbria,
during the negotiations for release of Clement from S. Angelo, and,
readily accepting it, he sent troops to relieve the suppliant lady,
who continued for several years to administer the state in name of
Giulia, with the passive countenance of her cousin the Pontiff. But
the jealousy which rankled in the breast of his Holiness against
the della Rovere princes, fretted at an arrangement so conducive
to their aggrandisement, and at the first congress of Bologna he
sought to break it off. The Duke's answer, as reported by Leonardi,
was, that he would risk life and state rather than withdraw from
the engagement, and that, if driven to defensive measures, the Pope
should in the end bear the expenses of the war. With the recent and
costly failure of Leo against Urbino in their recollection, the
consistory would lend no sanction to the inclinations of their head,
and so the matter rested until the return of Clement from France.
Francesco Maria then formally applied for the papal sanction to a
union of his son with the heiress of Camerino, but was put off on
account of her tender age.
[Footnote *32: Cf. FELICIANGELI, _Notizie e documenti sulla vita di
Caterina Cibò Varano_ (Camerino, 1891).]
Meanwhile there occurred an incident characteristic of these lawless
times. Like the other Italian commonwealths, Camerino had its
exiles, expelled by faction or political convulsions, and Matteo,
having rallied a body of these, surprised the city on the 13th
of October, 1534, and seized the Duchess-Regent in her palace.
His object being the abduction of Giulia, who had escaped into
the fortress, he hurried her mother, in her dressing-gown, to its
gates, and commanded her to summon the castellan to surrender. She,
however, with extraordinary hardihood and self-possession, ordered
him to fire upon the assailants; whereupon their leader drew his
sword and threatened her with instant death. The heroic dame, after
ejaculating a brief prayer, bared her neck and told him to strike;
but Matteo, quailing before her daring spirit, and apprehensive of
the infuriated populace, hastily withdrew, carrying her prisoner. He
was speedily attacked by the citizens _en masse_, and the officer in
charge of Caterina was glad to secure his own pardon by restoring
her to liberty. A new inducement thus arose for placing the heiress
in the hands of one competent to protect her; yet the redoubled
instances made with the Pope for completion of her marriage were met
by continued temporising, until the opportunity passed from his grasp.
On or about the 25th of September, 1534, Clement closed his life.
Guicciardini, his countryman and protégé, tells us that he died
hated by his court and suspected by princes, leaving a reputation
rather odious than pleasing, and accounted severe, greedy, faithless,
and illiberal. Muratori reviews his character more at length:--"He
was a pontiff not destitute of political capacity; circumspect
and dignified; dexterous in business, including dissimulation of
every sort, and regarded by all his contemporaries as a man of
double-dealing. Nature and experience had amply endowed him with
many qualities befitting a temporal sovereign; but it would be less
easy to detect in him those virtues becoming the Vicar of Christ,
or to discover, amid the religious tempests of his times, what
benefits he conferred upon the Church, what abuses or disorders he
checked, though from him took its origin and pretext that terrible
schism which yet dissevers so many nations from the true Church. He
misapplied the papacy, its powers and resources, to instigate and
maintain wars, which, besides many other mischiefs, brought upon Rome
a dreadful sack, and upon his own dignity a shocking degradation.
Still more did he turn these to despoil his native Florence of
her freedom, and to aggrandise his own family rather by princely
marriages than by honourable and discreet advancement. He died
detested by the court for his avarice and close-fistedness, and still
more loathed by the Roman people, who imputed to his policy all the
miseries that befell their far-famed city." His versatile conduct has
been fully exposed in these pages:
"With every wind that veered,
With shifted sails a several course he steered."
Finally, with him there originated national funded debt, that system
which has so extensively affected the political, military, financial,
commercial and monetary relations of the whole civilised world.
Yet, though the results of his disastrous pontificate justified
as they dictated these very sweeping charges, the testimony of
the Venetian ambassadors, who describe the earlier portion of his
reign, is much more favourable, at least to his motives. Whilst
they represent him as timidly slow in adopting his measures, and as
wavering and undecided in following them out, they commend his piety,
his willingness to promote reforms, his conscientious observance
of justice, the regularity of his habits, and the simplicity of
his tastes. Possessing neither the liberality nor the epicurean
propensities of his uncle, the contrast was unfavourable to his
popularity; and those who had shared with Leo the pastimes of music
and the chase sneered at discussions on engineering and hydraulics,
which occupied the leisure of Clement.
As soon as the Pontiff's death was known to Francesco Maria, he sent
his son to complete his nuptials at Camerino; but, within two hours
after his arrival there, a courier brought from the Sacred College
a protest against the marriage of the heiress during the vacancy of
the Holy See.[33] This impediment was suggested by Cardinal Farnese
in anticipation of his election, which took place as Paul III. on
the 12th of October, the very day on which the bridal ceremony was
completed. To balance this act of questionable fidelity to the See,
the Duke, by well-timed movements, repressed attempts to assert the
independence of Perugia and Rimini, and re-establish their hereditary
seigneurs. But such zeal served him little with the new Pontiff,
who at once made the Camerino succession a personal question, with
a view to confer that state upon his own natural son. One of his
earliest acts was accordingly to visit the contumacy of Caterina, her
daughter, and son-in-law, with a stern monitory and summons to Rome,
their disobedience of which was followed by excommunication, and by a
movement of the pontifical troops to blockade Camerino.
[Footnote 33: Cuparini's account of the war of Camerino, Vat. Urb.
MSS. 1023, art. 10. Leoni says the despatch arrived after the
nuptials had been solemnised.]
Francesco Maria now interposed all his influence, backed by
the imperial and the Venetian ambassadors, to induce Paul to a
recognition of Giulia as heiress under the investiture given to her
father, with remainder apparently to heirs general. Having vainly
exhausted the expedients of diplomacy in this cause, he protested
that the blame should not rest upon him of hostilities rendered
necessary in his son's defence, and, sending provisions to Camerino,
he marched at the head of ten thousand men to his support. At
Sassoferrata he was met by a deputation of the citizens, laden with
presents, who declared that though their walls were the Pope's, their
hearts and substance were at his disposal. At Matelica he found his
son and the ladies, before whom he passed his army in review, and
marched home again without once encountering the papal troops under
Gian Battista Savello. In fact, it was a war of the pen rather than
the sword, for at every step he renewed notarial protests of duty
and obedience to the Church, and regularly paid the excise, as well
as the price of all the stores which he took up for the use of the
Varana party. Apprehending that, if too far provoked, he would be
supported by the Venetian arms and by the Emperor, the Pontiff now
suspended martial measures, and pressed the point of law on the Roman
courts.
Thus relieved from immediate anxiety in this matter, the Duke of
Urbino resolved to pay a visit of compliment to Charles V. at Naples.
After reaching the Adriatic frontier of that kingdom, he dismissed
the strong escort which had guarded him through the ecclesiastical
state, and proceeded with a small suite. The Emperor received him
with much courtesy, and sought his counsel in the invasion of
Provence, which he was preparing. Francesco Maria would gladly have
referred the Camerino affair to his arbitration, but this being
rejected by the Nuncio, he obtained simply the imperial mediation,
which proved unavailing. He on this occasion presented Charles with
two swords of tried temper, and a finger-ring containing a repeating
watch, the latter made at Pesaro. In returning he took the route by
Benevento to the Adriatic, and halting for the night at the convent
of Sta. Maria degl'Eremiti, near Troia, he allowed some of his
attendants to examine into a curious tradition which then obtained
general credit. It was said that Diomed arriving here with a company
of attendants, he and most of them died within a few days, and
were duly interred; but that their souls were transmigrated into
a species of bird elsewhere unknown, which ever since had haunted
the marshy grounds. These were seen but rarely of an evening, and
towards morning uttered sounds like human lamentations. They flew on
the approach of any one not of Greek birth, but allowed persons of
that nation to visit their haunts familiarly. Three of the Duke's
suite having volunteered to watch, they all heard mournful voices
about three hours before dawn, a phenomenon which the narrator makes
no attempt to explain.[34] Having crossed to survey the Venetian
possessions at Zara, the Duke returned home in 1536, on board two
galleys of the Republic. The rest of that year was chiefly spent by
him at his post in Lombardy, protecting the Venetian mainland during
the passage of some imperial levies; but his charge was no longer an
important one, as the long contests for Milan had been finally set at
rest in the autumn of 1535, by the death of Duke Francesco Sforza,
after naming Charles V. heir of his state.
[Footnote 34: Vat. Urb. MSS., 1023, art. 1.]
Apulia and the Venetian possessions in the Levant being menaced
in the following year by Sultan Solyman, a general confederation
was effected for the defence of Italy and its dependencies, at the
head of which were the Pope and the Emperor. The Duke of Urbino
as captain-general undertook to raise five thousand men for this
armament, but, the danger suddenly passing away, distracted counsels
prevailed among the allies. Finally, on the 31st of January, 1538,
a new league was patched up, to carry into effect a suggestion of
Francesco Maria, by diverting the war into the Infidel's territory.
Considering, however, his impending difficulties with Paul III.,
the Duke obtained a joint guarantee of the contracting powers for
maintenance in his state, in confirmation of papal brieves to the
same effect dated in the preceding November. About the same time his
services to the Republic were acknowledged by the present of a palace
in the street of Sta. Fosca, valued at 16,000 ducats.
The views of the allies and their captain-general for this enterprise
were vast, comprehending the siege of Constantinople and an invasion
of Egypt: and the latter was indefatigable in his endeavours to
put the armament upon a footing equal to such extensive designs,
both as to its numbers and material. The enterprise was invested
with the sacred character of a religious war; but whilst Francesco
Maria concentrated upon it the energies of a mind in its prime, and
the exertions of a frame renovated by new specifics against his
hereditary enemy the gout, the hand of death was upon him. Returned
to Venice from a comprehensive survey of her defences in Dalmatia and
Istria, he was attacked by sudden illness on the 20th of September.
Foreseeing its fatal termination, he had himself taken by sea to
Pesaro, which he reached on the 8th of October. Next day he showed
himself on horseback to his people, but feeling unequal to the
exertion he took to bed, and gradually lost strength. On Monday, the
21st, a fit deprived him of speech, yet he continued sensible until
near daybreak of the 22nd, when he expired in religious penitence,
after receiving the sacraments.
All authorities agree in attributing his death to poison, but
neither Leoni nor Baldi hint at the person whose "envy" dictated
that base vengeance.[*35] Giovio speaks positively as to detection
having followed upon a searching inquiry, and points at those
interested in the Camerino question as authors of the crime. Sardi
and Tondini charge it upon Luigi Gonzaga, Count of Sabionetta,
surnamed Rodomonte, the nephew of Francesco da Bozzolo, a condottiere
who commanded Bourbon's cavalry at the assault of Rome, and who
facilitated Clement's flight some months thereafter. This assertion,
which is adopted by various writers, receives some confirmation from
a story in the gossiping MS. we have already quoted, that Gonzaga,
having accused Gian Giacomo Leonardi, a doctor of laws at Pesaro, of
instigating the murder, was challenged by the latter, who thereby
gained the favour of Duke Guidobaldo II., and with it the countship
of Monte l'Abbate, near Pesaro.[36] On the other hand, this Rodomonte
is stated in _Les Genealogies des Maisons Souveraines_ to have died
in 1528.
[Footnote *35: Cf. VIANI, _L'avvelenamento di Francesco Maria I.
della Rovere_ (Mantova, 1902), and _La Morte di F.M. della Rovere_,
in _Fanfulla della Domenica_, 23 March, 1902.]
[Footnote 36: Relazione della Legazione di Urbino, Bib. Marucc. c.
308.]
Whoever may have been author of the foul deed, it is agreed that
the perpetrator was the Duke's Mantuan barber, who is generally
said to have dropped a poisoned lotion into his ear. Baldi only
mentions that he did it "in a new way," and gives no account of the
medical examination of the body which, he asserts, took place. In an
old chronicle of Sinigaglia, Guidobaldo is stated to have had the
barber torn to pieces with pincers, and quartered in the streets of
Pesaro.[37]
[Footnote 37: Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 992. Gozzi's Chronicle, Oliveriana
MSS., No. 324. Also Teofiles's MS. narrative, _penes me_.]
After a cast in plaster had been taken from his features, the body
was dressed in a quilted doublet and hose of black satin, under his
inlaid armour, over which was the ducal tunic, and, above all, the
mantle of crimson satin embroidered in gold, which he had worn as
Prefect at the coronation of Charles V. Next evening it was borne,
with torches, by the principal courtiers, to the great hall, and
there placed upon an elevated catafalque of black and gold, on which
were arranged his ducal helmet, three magnificent head pieces, and as
many silver batons of command; five standards which he had captured
being set round with other trophies. It was watched all night, and
lay in state till the following evening, when it was coffined in
the dress just described. The same night it was taken on a litter
to Urbino by torchlight, escorted by a vast following on horseback
and on foot, under soaking rain. At the confines of the respective
territories it was delivered over to the authorities and clergy of
that city, preceded by mutes and mourners of various grades; among
whom was led the Duke's favourite jennet, covered with black velvet,
his ducal mail and morion being carried by a page in deep weeds.
Reaching the city at sunrise, the procession was joined by the
chief magistrates, nobility, clergy, and citizens, and so arrived,
through tearful crowds, at the church of Sta. Chiara, again to lie
in state until evening, when it was stripped of its armour, and
there committed to the dust at the left horn of the altar. It was
subsequently deposited, by his grandson Francesco Maria II., in a
tomb raised over the spot by Bartolomeo Ammanati, from the design
of Girolamo Genga, which was eventually removed as inconveniently
cumbering the church. The following epitaph, written by desire of the
widowed Duchess, and ascribed to the pen of Bembo, is panelled into
the wall:--
"To Duke Francesco Maria, endowed with the most comprehensive
capacity for war and peace. His hereditary states, thrice lost
by violence, he thrice by valour regained, and ruled them, when
reconquered, with moderation; he commanded the Ecclesiastical,
the Florentine, and the Venetian forces; finally, he was chosen
general-in-chief for the Turkish war, but was cut off ere it opened.
Leonora, his most devoted wife, placed this to her most meritorious
lord, and to herself."
One more ceremonial was wanting to complete the measure of respectful
duty to the deceased sovereign. On the 13th [or 22nd] of November,
his obsequies were celebrated in the cathedral of Urbino. The church
decorations, the catafalque, the vast concourse of clergy, of
deputations, and of people of all classes, were such as the mournful
solemnity required, and the sincere grief of his subjects dictated.
The function was conducted by Federigo Fregoso, Archbishop of
Salerno, whom we have formerly known at the court of Duke Guidobaldo
I., and the funeral oration was spoken by Maestro Benedetto Milesio.
Another, by Lorenzo Contarini, was pronounced at Venice, where
the Signory ordered a celebration of his obsequies with unwonted
splendour, besides voting him an equestrian statue in bronze. This
was never executed, but another statue of him, made by Bandini
for his grandson, the last Duke of Urbino, was presented to the
Republic under touching circumstances, which we shall detail in the
fifty-fourth chapter of this work.
* * * * *
The life of Francesco Maria affords a remarkable instance of
the extremes of fortune. He was deprived of parental care at an
early age, when it was peculiarly desirable as a restraint upon
his naturally fiery temper. Soon after, he was hurried from his
hereditary state, and compelled to seek safety in France. In the
outset of manhood, his ungoverned passion involved him in the stigma
of a sacrilegious murder. Twice was he deprived of the influential
sovereignty to which he had attained, and recovered it only after
years of exile, and at a ruinous pecuniary sacrifice. The lustre of
a brilliant position, and of a distinguished military career, was
veiled by his utter failure to save or rescue Rome. Finally, he was
snatched from life just as a new and nobler field was opening for his
martial glories. Reversing the picture, we find a youth of ardent
temperament, born to princely sway, and becoming at eighteen the heir
of one uncle in an important duchy, and the favourite of another,
who, by virtue of his triple tiara, conferred upon him yet a third
state. A military hero ere he escaped from his teens, his renown
ever extended with his age. Thirty years after his star had set, a
Venetian ambassador called him the light and splendour of Italy; and
notwithstanding some palpable blunders, he is still ranked with the
first commanders of his native land. He died when his fame was at its
height, and transmitted unquestioned to his son, that sovereignty
which thrice had been wrested from him.
It is from posthumous influences that his reputation has suffered
most severely; and the three standard historians of his times, in
Italy, England, and France, have meted him sparing justice. Without
questioning the value of Guicciardini's narrative as the fullest
exposition of the age in which he lived, and the most graphic
portraiture of many of its features and incidents, we must demur
to the "fearless impartiality" too hastily allowed him in modern
times. True, he was not, like Machiavelli, a practised intriguer,
acute to detect perverted purpose, or prone to assume its existence;
nor did he, like Giovio, employ the iron stylus of vengeance, or
the golden pen of flattery, as passion might prompt or venality
dictate. But, born a Florentine, and favoured by the Medici, he was
the partisan of that house in the closet as in the field; and no
one thus shackled could write impartially of Francesco Maria della
Rovere. Roscoe, with similar predilections, though far less biased,
had no inducement to become champion of a sovereign whom Leo X. had
twice expelled; whilst Sismondi, enamoured of nominal republics, is
ever ready to echo taunts or calumnies pointed at an Italian prince.
The examination of many less popular historians, and of numerous
unpublished contemporary authorities, has, we trust, enabled us to
place this Duke's character and conduct in a more true light, without
extenuating the manifest errors of either.
Though small in person, Francesco Maria was active and well formed,
with a manly air, a quick eye, and an engaging presence. His manner
and address were mild and pleasing, and his conversation was seasoned
with lively jests. He was strict in religious observances, an enemy
to blasphemous language, and intolerant of those insults to female
honour with which war was then lamentably fraught. In the regulation
of his army, as in the government of his state, justice was his
ruling principle. Of his unhappy violence of temper we have already
had too much reason to speak; it was the bane of his life, the blot
on his fame. Yet he was generous and forgiving, as he proved by
putting his personal enemy Guicciardini on his guard against the
designs of San Severino, Count of Caiazzo, who, having suffered from
the Florentine's captious allegations, had resolved to assassinate
him.[38]
[Footnote 38: LEONI, p. 386.]
A soldier by education, taste, and long habit, his character should
be judged by a military standard; and perhaps the best tribute to his
glory consisted in the public rejoicings ordered by Sultan Solyman
on hearing of his untimely death. In following the narrative of his
campaigns, we have unsparingly pointed out the faults which seemed
to cramp his success. They were obviously systematic, arising from
an excess of that caution, which his natural prudence and foresight
prompted, and which the examples of Fabius Maximus and Prospero
Colonna in some degree authorised. Yet we must not overlook an
important element of consideration, in the quality of troops under
his command from 1523 to 1528. His want of confidence in them was
avowed, and in more than one instance it was justified, when their
steadiness was put to the test. Nor was he less fettered by the
faulty organisation of that army, made up of various contingents
under their respective leaders, without a responsible commanding
officer, and in which civilians were allowed a veto fatal to unity of
action. The verdict of his contemporaries may, however, be admitted
as conclusive upon his military reputation. Ruscelli tells us that
he was, by common consent, called the father and founder of the art
of war, as practised in the sixteenth century; and the opinion of
the only dissentient, Guicciardini, a private enemy and no soldier,
is amply balanced by that of Giovanni de' Medici, who ranked him in
skilful tactics, and in the arts of command, as well as in foresight
and activity, equal to the ablest generals. The testimony of Charles
V. has been already given; and we are assured that after a public
disputation in Padua, sustained by men of the greatest learning, he
was voted a match to any hero of antiquity, in judgment, experience,
ingenuity, and military talent. Promis, with assuredly no friendly
leaning, admits his great skill in military architecture, stating
that he was often consulted by the principal engineers of Italy, and
especially by Sanmichele, upon the fortifications of Corfu, regarding
which that author attributes to him a Report to the Signory of Rome,
now in the Ambrosian Library of Milan.[39] His opinion as to the
defences of their lagoons, and principal garrisons on terra-firma,
was, on various occasions, requested by that Republic, and during his
command in Lombardy the towns of Lodi, Crema, Bergamo, Martinengo,
and Orcinovo were all strengthened after his designs. Tartagli and
Contriotto acknowledged their obligations to his suggestions; but
Promis denies him the invention of baloards, as we have already
seen, when writing of Francesco di Giorgio. The school of military
engineering formed under his eye, during almost continual campaigns,
numbered many distinguished professors of that art, among whom were
Pietro Luigi Escriva, Gianbattista Bellucci, Nicolò Tartaglia,
Girolamo Genga, Gian Giacomo Leonardi, and Jacopo Fusto Castriotto,
the last three of whom were natives of his state.
[Footnote 39: _Trattato di Architettura di Francesco di Giorgio_,
vol. II., p. 67. (Turin, 1841.)]
But let us hear the evidence of contemporaries as to his character.
Urbano Urbani, then his private secretary, thus describes him on
succeeding to the dukedom:--"He was naturally low in stature, but
well-proportioned, and of fine complexion. The short distance from
his heart to his brain rendered his disposition choleric. Ever in
movement, he was impatient of repose. Thoughtful, his ideas and
discourse tended to lofty themes. Ready of hand, he dexterously
managed, on horseback or afoot, the arms then in use. Of high
courage, he invariably bent his mind to objects conducive to his
honour and renown, especially in war. He was just, honest, averse
to swearing, liberal, incorruptible, and no boaster. He loathed
incontinence, and youthful excesses. In his household he was fond of
splendour, and he generally entertained, in his almost regal court,
a large attendance of distinguished gentlemen, such as Ottaviano
Fregoso, Ludovico Pio, Gaspare Pallavicino, Giuliano de' Medici,
Pietro Bembo, Baldassare Castiglione, Cesare Gonzaga (all of whom had
been attached to his uncle Guidobaldo), Ambrogio Landriano, Febo da
Cevi and his brother Gherardino, Filippino Doria, Benedetto Giraldi,
and others conspicuous in arms, letters, or music; among whom Baldi
names also Matteo della Branca, Carlo Gabrielli, Father Andreoni,
Troiano and Gentile Carbonani, Count Gentile Ubaldini."[40]
[Footnote 40: Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 489, f. 61. See for many of these,
vol. II.]
Had his lot been cast in less turbulent times, it would have been
his pride to maintain about him this goodly company, although he
pretended not to his predecessor's literary tastes, and, if we may
credit Sanuto, was unable to follow an oration delivered in Latin,
on his arrival at Venice, in 1524. Yet, he was not indifferent
to letters when connected with the engrossing occupation of his
mind; and it was his habit, when time permitted, to have passages
of ancient history read to him during several hours a day.
This relaxation was varied by discussions arising out of these
prelections, which he generally directed to military points, drawing
out the opinions of his officers in attendance. Hence probably were
suggested the Military Discourses, published in his name, of which we
have already spoken; and various memorials of his conversation are
preserved in a manuscript, which has supplied us with the anecdotes
formerly quoted.[41] These were selected as illustrative of manners,
from notes apparently made by a bystander; the others are almost
exclusively upon military tactics and fortification, in which he was
quite an adept.
[Footnote 41: See Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 1023, art. 21.]
Leonardi[42] confirms what we have stated of his character, dwelling
much on his tendency to practical views. The sketch of Cristofero
Centenelli must close these remarks:--"Though considered somewhat
overbearing and hasty, he was at all times just. Even in youth,
he was singularly self-denying of personal indulgences: guarding
himself from the temptations of luxury and indolence, he sought daily
occupation in the practice of arms, athletic sports, and equestrian
exercises. He was liberal and magnificent, but grave and magnanimous;
kind and affable to his friends, equitable and compassionate to
his subjects. His courage was fiery and indomitable; of cold and
heat, fatigue, watching, and privation, he was most enduring. He
combined, to a rare degree, boldness in the field with prudence in
the council-room, avoiding equally their extremes of temerity and
timidity. To great skill in military discipline, he united uncommon
perspicacity in discovering the snares of seeming friends or of open
foes: astute with enemies, he was guarded with all. His eloquence
commanded general admiration by its studied brevity, expressing the
clearest views in fewest words."[43]
[Footnote 42: Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 1023, f. 85.]
[Footnote 43: _Ibid._ No. 907.]
The Duke's constant and dutiful affection to his predecessor's
widow deserves special notice. While she lived she shared his home,
in prosperity or adversity, in sovereignty or in exile; and he
occasionally availed himself of her prudence and popularity in the
administration of the state during his absences. An interesting
memorial of this filial affection is afforded by the following
letter, which seems to have been written by Duchess Elisabetta.
"To the most illustrious Lord, my most esteemed Son, the
Duke of Urbino, &c.
"The chair is so beautiful that neither words nor pen
suffice to express my thanks for this proof of regard;
but most heartily, and with all the good will it merits,
I accept so handsome and gallant a gift, and I shall use
it for your sake as long as God pleases: it is not less
beautiful than dear to me. I have seen the news sent by the
Count: he would have done better to sacrifice something
than to lose all by his imprisonment. We expect you in the
morning. The Duchess kisses your hands and your mouth, and
I commend myself to you with eternal thanks.
"YOUR MOTHER.
"The 8th of August."[44]
[Footnote 44: Oliveriana MSS. No. 375. This may, however, have been
addressed by Duchess Vittoria to Francesco Maria II.]
The widowed Duchess Leonora remained at Pesaro, stricken with grief,
from which she slowly recovered to find a solace in her children.
By her husband's will she had 28,000 scudi, besides the life-rent
of his Neapolitan fiefs at Sora, which were left in remainder to
their younger son Giulio. To each of the daughters were provided
20,000 scudi. She died at Gubbio, in 1543. Her devoted affection to
her husband was accompanied by much sterling worth of character;
but she was especially distinguished for that equanimity of temper
which marks the expression of her admirable portrait in the Florence
Gallery.
The children of Francesco Maria were these:--
1. FEDERIGO, born in March, 1511, and died young.
2. GUIDOBALDO, his successor, born 2nd April, 1514.
3. IPPOLITA, married in 1531, to Don Antonio
d'Aragona, son of the Duke of Montalto, in Naples.
4. GIULIA, married in 1548, to Alfonso d'Este,
Marquis of Montechio, son of Duke Alfonso I. From her
descend the sovereign Dukes of Modena and Reggio.
5. ELISABETTA, married in 1552, to Alberico Cibò,
Marquis of Massa, and died in 1561. From her descended the
sovereign Dukes of Massa Carrara.
6. GIULIO, who was born at Mantua on the 8th of
April, and created by his father Duke of Sora. He was
educated for the Church, where his talents and application
to business merited the shower of preferments which his
high birth insured him, and which began by his nomination
as Cardinal of S. Pietro in Vinculis by Paul III., when
fourteen years of age. In 1548 he was made Bishop of
Urbino, a dignity which he resigned three years later, on
being appointed Legate of Rieti and Terni. In 1560 he had
the see of Vicenza, but soon exchanged it for Recanati.
In 1565, he was promoted to be Archbishop of Ravenna, to
which was added, in 1570, the see of Tusculum; and, in
1578, when within a few months of his death, he became
Archbishop of Urbino, having for some years previously
been Legate of Umbria, and governor of Loreto. In these
high posts he united to excellent business habits, and
great energy in the discharge of his duties, a taste for
magnificence, which made him popular with all classes. By
his own family he was regarded as a valuable counsellor in
every difficulty, and he greatly promoted the government
of his brother and nephew, to whom he served as a sort of
prime minister. His career of honour and utility was closed
by a premature death, on the 5th September, 1578, when but
forty-three years of age. Under his superintendence was
drawn up a code of Regulations [_Riformazioni_] of Justice,
which was published with his name in 1549. It does not
appear in what way the dukedom of Sora and Arci passed
from him, but, before the end of the century, it had been
granted by Philip II. to Giacomo Boncompagno, natural son
of Pope Gregory XIII. From his descendants, the Princes of
Piombino, that fief passed, about the end of last century,
to the Neapolitan government; and its picturesque baronial
towers at Isola, once the scene of their festive revels,
are now degraded into a woollen factory. The Cardinal left
two natural sons, who were both legitimated by Pius V.:--
1. Ippolito della Rovere, who had from his father
San Lorenzo and Castel Leone above Sinigaglia, and
was made Marquis of San Lorenzo in 1584, on his
marriage with Isabella, daughter of Giacomo Vitelli
dell'Amatrice, with 30,000 scudi of dowry. He had
issue, 1. Giulio, who was disinherited for bad
conduct; 2. Livia, born 1585, who became Duchess
of Urbino in 1599; 3. Lucrezia, who married the
Marchese Marc Antonio Lanti, and had issue.
2. Giuliano, Prior of Corinaldo, and Abbot of San
Lorenzo.
BOOK SEVENTH
OF GUIDOBALDO DELLA ROVERE FIFTH DUKE OF URBINO
CHAPTER XLII
Succession of Duke Guidobaldo II.--He loses Camerino and
the Prefecture of Rome--The altered state of Italy--Death
of Duchess Giulia--The Duke's remarriage--Affairs of the
Farnesi.
The course of our narrative seems to offer a not altogether fanciful
analogy to that of the Tiber. Issuing from the rugged Apennines,
this, with puny rill, is gradually recruited from their many valleys
until it has gained the force and energy of a brawling torrent, and
has absorbed a goodly portion of the Umbrian waters. So, too, the
former has brought us past scenes of martial prowess and creations
of mediæval policy. It has afforded us glimpses of townships where
civil institutions revived, and letters were cherished, the petty
capitals from whose courts civilisation was diffused. Carrying us
across the blood-watered and time-defaced Campagna, it has conducted
us to Rome at the moment of her lamentable sack by barbarian hordes.
Henceforward our history, like the river, will decline in interest.
The sluggish and turbid stream has little to enliven that dreary and
degenerate land through which it must still conduct us. This contrast
will be especially irksome in the life of Duke Guidobaldo II., who
kept much aloof from the few events of stirring interest which then
occurred in the Peninsula. We shall therefore hasten over it, in the
hope that those who favour us with their company may find, in the
incidents of his successor, a somewhat renovated interest, and may
be gratified to learn by what means our mountain duchy came to be
finally absorbed in the papal dominions, just as the tawny river is
lost in the pathless sea.
[Illustration: FACSIMILES OF SIGNATURES]
* * * * *
The birthday of Guidobaldo II. has been variously stated; most
authorities fix it on the 2nd of April, 1514, although the customary
donative appears from an old chronicle to have been voted by the
municipality of Urbino on the 17th of March. The Prince saw the light
at a moment inauspicious for his dynasty. Under the fostering care of
Julius II. it had attained its culminating point; and although his
successor still smiled upon the far-spreading oak of Umbria,[*45]
the intrigues of Leo X. were already preparing its overthrow. The
infant had scarcely passed his second year, when the ducal family
were driven from their states, and sought a friendly shelter at the
Mantuan capital. Before their five years of exile in Lombardy had
gone by, Guidobaldo is said to have been sent to the university of
Padua. His early education was committed to Guido Posthumo Silvestro,
who describes him as displaying, even in childhood, the spirit of his
father, and of his grand-uncle Julius II., whilst his mild temper
and sweet expression were those of his mother.[46] The preceptor, a
native of Pesaro, was tempted by attachment to his early patrons,
the Sforza, to avenge them with his pen, on the invasion of the
Duke Valentino, upon whom and whose race he charged, in some bitter
lampoons mentioned by Roscoe, all those crimes which have become
matter of history. But years rendered him more pliant; for when
another revolution came round, the attentions he had met with at the
court of Urbino did not prevent his resorting, on Duke Francesco
Maria's exile, to the protection of Leo, or lavishing eulogy and
flattery upon that Pontiff. At Rome, he enjoyed the consideration
there freely bestowed upon poets and wits, among whom Giovio assigns
him a conspicuous place; but the life of luxurious indulgence to
which he was tempted having undermined his health, he died in 1521.
[Footnote *45: The Rovere were anything but an Umbrian family, as we
have seen.]
[Footnote 46:
"Guidus Juliades, qui, quamquam mitis et ore
Blandus, ut ex vultu possis cognoscere matrem
Patrem animis tamen et primis patruum exprimit annis."
See as to Guido in ROSCOE'S _Leo X._, ch. xvii.]
Our authorities, barren of interest for the domestic life of Duke
Francesco Maria,[*47] are altogether a blank as regards his children,
and we know nothing of the Prince beyond the fact of his sharing his
mother's virtual arrest at Venice in 1527. His early tastes seemed
to have turned upon horses: in 1529, he ordered from Rome a set of
housings for his charger, with minute instructions accompanying the
pattern; ten years later, the Grand Duke Cosimo I. regretted his
inability to find for him such horses as he had desired; and he
appears to have paid 70 golden scudi for one from Naples. In 1843, I
was shown, at Pesaro, the wooden model of a beautiful little Arab,
which had long been preserved in the Giordani family, covered with
the skin of his favourite charger, a fragment of which remained.
We have seen Guidobaldo complimented by Clement VII. in 1529,
and in that year he had a condotta from Venice, for seventy-five
men-at-arms, and a hundred and fifty light horse, with 1000 ducats of
pay for himself, 100 for each man-at-arms, and 50 for each horseman.
In 1532, his father, on departing from Lombardy, left him regent
of the duchy. The circumstances of his marriage, on the 12th of
October, 1534, to Giulia Varana, then but eleven years of age, and
her questionable succession to her paternal state of Camerino, have
been fully detailed in our preceding chapter.[48] From 1534 till his
father's death, in 1538, he seems to have exercised the rights of
sovereignty, with the title of Duke of Camerino, unchallenged by the
Pontiff, who had recalled his censures. But no sooner was Paul III.
relieved from the influential opposition of Francesco Maria, than his
designs upon that principality were firmly carried out.
[Footnote *47: For certain details of Court life, cf. VERNARECCI, _Di
alcune rappresentazioni Drammatiche nella Corte di Urbino_ in _Arch.
St. per le Marche e per l'Umbria_, vol. III., p. 181 _et seq._, and
ROSSI, _Appunti per la Storia della Musica alla Corte di Francesco
Maria I. e di Guidobaldo della Rovere_ in _Rassegna Emiliana_
(Modena, 1888), vol. I., fasc. 8; also VANZOLINI, _Musica e Danza
alla Corte di Urbino_, in _Le Marche_ (1904), An. iv., fasc. vi., p.
325 _et seq._]
[Footnote 48: In the Harleian MSS. No. 282, f. 63, is a letter from
Henry VIII. of 28th November, in his 30th year [1538], to Sir Thomas
Wyatt, his ambassador to the Emperor, proposing a marriage of the
Princess Mary either to the young Duke of Cleves and Juliers, or to
"the present Duke of Urbyne," and desiring him to sound "whether he
wold be gladd to have us to wyve with any of them." Guidobaldo had
been already wedded for four years!]
[Illustration: GUIDOBALDO II., DUKE OF URBINO
_From a picture in the Albani Palace in Rome_]
We possess from an eye-witness these ample details as to
the ceremonial of investing Guidobaldo with his hereditary
succession:--"On the evening of Thursday [25th of October], the day
of the Duke's interment, his son the Prince arrived at Urbino about
nine o'clock, attended by all the nobility, gentry, and officials,
including Stefano Vigerio, the governor, and many more, who had gone
out to meet him. Dismounting in the palace-yard, he proceeded to the
ducal chamber, which, as well as the great hall, was hung with black.
There he dismissed the strangers to lodgings provided for them in
the town, and passed next day in grief and absolute seclusion along
with his consort, preparations being meanwhile made to traverse the
city.[49] Accordingly, on Saturday morning, mass of the Holy Spirit
having been said by the Bishop of Cagli, who thereafter breakfasted
in the palace, the citizens and populace crowded to the piazza,
where the doctors and nobles assembled to accompany the priors.
Thither also came a hundred youths of good family, in doublets of
sky-blue velvet, with gilt swords by their side, followed by a
vast many children bearing olive-boughs. The new Duke having been
meanwhile dressed in white velvet and satin, with cap and plume of
the same colour, Captain-general Luc-Antonio Brancarini marshalled
the procession. The gonfaloniere marched first, in a jerkin of black
velvet under a long surcoat of black damask lined with crimson,
begirt with a gold-mounted sword; his cap on his head and his mace
lowered. He was followed by the nobility, the doctors, and citizens;
and on entering the palace they halted in the basement suite
towards the garden, which were all hung with tapestry, the windows
of the great hall being occupied by the Duchess and her ladies in
magnificent attire. When all was ready, the Prince issued forth into
the Piazza, and advanced to the cathedral, followed by the officials
and train. At the top of the steps he knelt on a rich carpet and
brocade cushions, whilst the bishop, chapter, and clergy came out,
and with the usual ceremonies brought him into the church, and to
the high altar, before which other ceremonials were gone through,
and he offered an oblation-coin of ten Mantuan ducats. Meanwhile his
charger was brought to the foot of the steps, covered to the neck
with a housing of silver tissue, and other trappings, including a
white plume. It was led by seven lads of the chief Urbino families,
Bonaventura, Peruli, Passionei, Cornei, Corboli, and Muccioli, all
richly apparelled, and two of them holding goads. There was also a
horse for the Gonfaloniere with velvet harness, led by two lads.
The fore-mentioned hundred youths and numerous children having
ranged themselves around, the Prince and Gonfaloniere descended the
steps and mounted their steeds, and the latter, drawing his sword,
proclaimed aloud 'THE DUKE, THE DUKE; FELTRO, FELTRO; GUIDOBALDO,
GUIDOBALDO!' the cry being taken up and repeated by all. The cortège,
making a circuit by Pian di Marcato, Valbona, Santa Lucia, and Santa
Chiara, returned to the palace, where the Duke dismounted. His
charger and mantle were then seized, as their perquisite, by the
youths, who, mounting one of their number, Antonio dei Galli, again
went through the city crying and making merry. The Duke, having taken
his seat with his consort, received the gonfaloniere, priors, and
citizens to kiss hands.
[Footnote 49: _Correre la terra_ is the usual phrase for taking
sovereign possession, like "riding the marches" of Scottish burghs.]
[Illustration: _Alinari_
? GUIDOBALDO II. DELLA ROVERE
_From the picture by Titian in the Pitti Gallery, Florence_
(_Probably once in the Ducal Collection_)]
"On the following morning, there came in envoys from various places
to offer their condolence, wearing mourning robes that swept the
ground. The first who had audience were the gonfaloniere and priors
of Urbino, and then those from San Marino. After breakfast, the other
communities were admitted without order, in consequence of a wrangle
for precedence between Gubbio and Pesaro, Cagli and Fossombrone, and
this continued till seven o'clock in the evening. Next Monday being
the festival of San Simone, the oath of allegiance was administered
on Tuesday. A stage covered with black was erected between the two
windows of the great hall, on which stood a bench with a coverlet of
black velvet, and thereon an open missal, with a miniature of the
crucifixion. After breakfasting, the Duke seated himself on this
stage, with Messer Stefano, one of the judges; and the deputies from
communes being assembled, with their commissions in their hands,
Messer Stefano called upon the magistrates of Urbino with about a
hundred of the citizens, desiring them to swear fidelity, as was
right and customary, which they did, formally placing their hands on
the crucifixion. Thereafter, the envoys of other communities were
brought up and sworn; but on account of the aforesaid wrangling,
those of Pesaro, Sinigaglia, Fossombrone, and Cagli were sent back
to take the oaths at home. Next day, however, on their humble
petition, those of Cagli and Fossombrone were received, along with
some other highland deputies who had come in late; but Pesaro,
Sinigaglia, and the vicariat, took the oaths before the vice-dukes
in their respective cities. On the following Tuesday, there arrived
four envoys from Fano, and two from Città di Castello, to offer
condolence, who were honourably received; and next day came those
of Camerino and Rimini, men of high station. On Thursday, Messer
Quaglino, ambassador from the Duke of Ferrara, dismounted at Pesaro,
to condole with the dowager Duchess, and thence proceeded with a
suite of five to Urbino, where he was lodged for three days in
the Passionei Palace, and had audience. At the same time, the like
formalities were discharged by Vicenzo Schippo, who came with an
escort of ten, as representative of the Duke of Mantua. On Sunday,
deputations from all parts of the duchy went to offer their duty at
Pesaro to the widowed Duchess."
The smouldering embers of the Camerino quarrel soon burst forth,
when Paul III. found that the Emperor's influence and the arms of
Venice were no longer arrayed against his grasping pretensions, and
that the weight of the struggle had devolved from a renowned warrior
to an untried youth. In order to supplement the legal deficiencies
of his case, the Pontiff had in 1537 conferred certain estates upon
Ercole Varana, on condition of his claims upon the succession of
Camerino being assigned to his own grandson Ottavio Farnese; but
the death of Francesco Maria having released him from the necessity
of temporising, he at once sent a body of troops into that duchy,
under Stefano Colonna or Alessandro Vitelli. The young Duke, relying
on the support of Venice and the Medici, was at first disposed to
resist, but finding himself deserted, soon abandoned the idea. He
had in the history of his family too many examples of the perils of
papal nepotism; and it was obvious that the times were past when
church feudatories had anything to hope from single-handed contests
with their over-lord. In the certainty that to provoke this would
be to hazard all, he made up his mind to an unwilling compromise,
surrendering his wife's rights to Camerino for a full investiture
of his own dukedom, and the sum of 78,000 golden scudi as a poor
compensation for her inheritance. This transaction was completed on
the 8th of January, 1539; nor was it the only mortification he was
destined to undergo from the ambition of the Farnesi. The Prefecture
of Rome, although held by his father and grandfather, was a personal
dignity at the disposal of the new Pope, who conferred it upon
his own grandson Ottavio. In the end of 1538, he also married that
youth, then but fifteen, to Margaret of Austria, natural daughter
of Charles V. and widow of Duke Alessandro de' Medici, who had been
slain by his cousin Lorenzino, within a year after his marriage. That
imperious dame, who brought Ottavio a handsome dower in lands about
Ortona on the Adriatic, wrought upon the weakness of Paul, until in
1545, she obtained for her husband's father, Pier-Luigi, natural son
of his Holiness, the sovereign duchy of Parma and Piacenza. In order
to put a gloss upon this dismemberment of the ecclesiastical states,
and to accommodate the whole arrangement to the modified nepotism
of his age, the Pontiff stipulated for a resurrender by Ottavio to
the Holy See of Camerino and Nepi. These remained part of the papal
temporalities, whilst their Lombard duchy gave to the Farnese family
an important position among the sovereign houses of Europe.
Although the altered circumstances of Italy which humbled her
pride had also arrested her convulsions, these untoward events,
at the outset of his reign, proved to Guidobaldo that her few
remaining principalities were far from secure. To strengthen his
position became therefore a natural policy; and although neither
the Emperor nor the Venetian Signory had lent a willing ear to his
representations on the subject of Camerino, he sent to remind the
former of his promise to give him a company of men-at-arms, whilst,
with the Pope's permission, he accepted from the latter a two years'
engagement. The terms of this condotta, which was dated in 1539,
and continued in force until 1552, were one hundred men-at-arms and
as many light cavalry, with 4000 ducats of _piatto_ or yearly pay,
and an obligation to have in readiness ten of his father's veteran
captains, whose monthly pay was fixed at 15 scudi in peace, and 25 in
war. Four years later he was requested by the Republic to serve them
in another capacity, by complimenting Charles V. in their name on his
passage into Germany, on which occasion he was accompanied by the
vile sycophant Pietro Aretino.
In our fourteenth chapter, we had occasion to consider the change
which military affairs underwent in Italy about the time of the
first French invasion, and we have seen in Duke Federigo of Urbino
one of the last condottieri of the old sort. But it was not until
the fall of Rome and Florence had extinguished Italian independence,
that military adventure was entirely abolished; and it is curious
to find in his grandson Duke Francesco Maria I., not only the
latest captain who gathered laurels under that system, but to see
him joining with the Pope and the Medici to exterminate those armed
hordes which survived its mercenary armaments, and which, like the
restless spirits of a departed generation, troubled the repose of
their degenerate sons.[50] Their occupation was indeed gone. Tamed
by invaders whom they were powerless to resist, domestic broils no
longer demanded their services. Their forays were become intolerable
in a land where peace was the price of freedom. How far the earlier
adoption of Machiavelli's plans of defence might have availed against
ultramontane hosts were now a vain speculation; they were only
destined for trial after the sacrifice had been consummated. The
national militia suggested by him was not enrolled until there was no
longer a nationality to defend--until it was needed but as an armed
police under foreign control.
[Footnote 50: RICOTTI, IV., p. 129, quoting Adriani Storie, lib. II.]
This new force had been embodied in our duchy under the name of the
Feltrian Legion, by a proclamation dated 1st of March, 1533, and it
so fully satisfied the late Duke's expectations that he gradually
increased his militia to five thousand men in four regiments. Such
was the description of troops which henceforward maintained order at
Urbino, or were subsidised on foreign service. But their sinews,
hardened by a rude climate and rugged homes, maintained for them the
reputation gained by their ancestors; and although Duke Guidobaldo
II. lived in quiet times, and pretended to no heroic aspirations,
we find him accepting of commands offered chiefly for the sake of
securing his hardy mountaineers.
* * * * *
The abject position in which Italy was left after the wars of Clement
VII. has already been noticed. Her internal conflicts were at an end.
Of those states whose struggles for independence or for mastery had
during long ages convulsed her, the lesser had been absorbed by the
more powerful, and these in their turn had bowed to foreign dominion
or foreign influence. She was tranquillised but trodden down,
pacified but prostrate. Her history became but a series of episodes
in the annals of ultramontane nations, on whom her few remaining
princes and commonwealths grew into dependent satellites. Even the
popes, no longer arbiters of European policy, sought a reflected
consequence by attaching themselves to the interests of France,
Spain, or the Empire. Nor were they losers by the change to the same
degree as other Peninsular powers. The papacy was indeed shorn in
part of its temporal lustre. It no longer directed the diplomacy of
Christendom, nor did it waste its resources upon bloody and bootless
campaigns. But as its energies were gradually weaned from general
politics, they became more concentrated upon ecclesiastical affairs.
The small speck on the horizon towards which Leo X. had scarcely
directed a look or an anxiety, was now rapidly overspreading the sky,
and already excluded the rays of Catholicism from a large portion of
Central Europe. His successors, threatened with the loss of spiritual
as well as temporal ascendancy, had the wisdom to make a stand for
maintenance of the former, leaving the latter to its fate. The
spirit of popery from aggressive became conservative; its military
tactics gave place to theological weapons. It was by Paul III. that
a vigorous opposition was first made to the Reformation, the primary
steps taken towards that Catholic reaction, which Paul IV. and Pius
V. afterwards so successfully promoted, as not only to check the
rapid progress of Protestantism, but to regain a portion of the lost
ground. Seconding the zeal of the old monastic orders, which had
been revived in the Theatines,[*51] he, in 1540, recruited to it the
cold clear-sighted cunning of the Jesuits. Two years afterwards he
re-established the Inquisition,[*52] and in 1545 opened the Council
of Trent, whose sittings were not finally closed until eighteen years
later, when it had completed that bulwark which still constitutes a
stronghold of the Roman church. Extirpation of heresy henceforward
became the pervading principle of the papacy, and the engrossing
dogma of its zealots; the object for which councils deliberated,
pontiffs admonished, legates intrigued. For an end so sanctified no
means were accounted base. When argument failed threats were at hand.
From reason an appeal lay to the rack. Thus was the wavering power of
the Keys restored or confirmed over much of Europe, and an alliance
was effected between political and spiritual despotism for their
mutual maintenance and common defence. The success which crowned
these new efforts far exceeded any that mere mundane aims had ever
attained. The re-influx of Catholicism was in some instances more
signal, as it was more inexplicable, than had been the recent spread
of the Reformation.[*53] Although fatal to freedom of thought, its
influence proved highly favourable to morals. The revival of religion
was attended with a happy reformation of manners, after examples
emanating from high places. The sins, or at least the scenes, that
had disgraced the Borgian and Medicean courts no longer met the eye,
but were replaced by a semblance of ascetic virtue. The new religious
orders, being of more rigid rule, tended by precept and example to
restore discipline, and to purify, at least externally, the cup and
the platter. Prelatic luxury was curtailed, brazen vice retired from
public view, and the free exercise of papal nepotism was finally
restrained by Pius V., who, in 1567, prohibited the alienation by his
successors of church property or jurisdictions. But in these themes
our narrative has no part. The battles of orthodoxy were chiefly
fought beyond the Alps; the reformed morality of the papal court was
exampled in its own capital: in neither had Urbino any near interest.
[Footnote *51: The Theatines were a congregation of Clerks Regular,
founded by Gaetano Tiene, a Venetian nobleman, in 1524. They are
under the rule of S. Augustin. S. Gaetano Tiene died in 1547. In 1526
Matteo di Basso of Urbino founded a reform of Franciscan Observants,
giving his followers a long-pointed hood, which he believed to be
of the same shape as that worn by S. Francis. These friars became
known as Cappuccini or Capuchins. At first they were merely a company
of hermits devoted to the contemplative life. They remained, in
fact, under the Observants till 1617. They are now a separate order
governed by a general. They live in absolute poverty.]
[Footnote *52: The Inquisition was revived by a Bull of Sixtus IV.
in 1478. Two years later it was reinstated in Spain by the Catholic
kings. In 1526 it was established in Portugal; but it was only
introduced into Italy in 1546, at Naples, and came into Central Italy
only with many restrictions.]
[Footnote *53: It might seem that those parts of Europe securely
within the Roman Empire of antiquity eventually remained Catholic.]
Guidobaldo's condotta from the Signory being renewed in 1546 upon
more favourable terms (namely, 15,000 scudi of pay for his company,
and 5000 of _piatto_ for himself), he was invested about midsummer,
by an imposing ceremonial pompously described in the letter of an
eye-witness among the archives of Urbino. His jewelled cap and
diamond collar are mentioned as superb, and his sword is valued at
700 scudi. After high mass in St. Mark's, the great standard being
unfurled and supported by three bearers, and the baton of wrought
silver placed in his hands, the Doge thus addressed him: "Lord Duke,
we presented to your Excellency this standard of our St. Mark the
Evangelist, in the wonted form, and in token of supremacy; and we
pray the Lord our God that it tend to the weal and service of all
Christendom, but especially to the defence of this state. We give
it to your Excellency, confiding in your loyalty and prudence, well
assured that you will use it with courage and faith conformable to
your deserts. And we hand to your Excellency the baton, therewith
designing you head and governor of our forces, and transferring
to you the obedience of all our military: it is our will that you
be obeyed, honoured, and respected by our several condottieri and
soldiery, as representing our Signory itself. May it please the
Divine Majesty that all be well ordered, to the well-being and
furtherance of the Christian community, and of this our serene
Republic." The Duke replied, "I most willingly accept, most Serene
Prince, the distinction granted me by your Serenity, and with
the sure hope of maintaining the good opinion you repose in me,
which shall be nowise disappointed. I shall ever pray our Lord God
graciously to vouchsafe me an early occasion of honourably serving
your serene government, that I may thereby prove my good will. And I
feel sure that your Serenity will have cause to be well satisfied at
giving me this rank, which, without reserve of life or fortune, like
one aware of his obligation to your Serenity, it will be my care so
to hold as to augment my claims upon your favour." The function being
over, the Duke was escorted by an imposing military pageant to his
palace, where a splendid banquet was set out, of which, however, the
jealous regulations of the Republic did not permit her officials to
partake.
The court having gone to spend Christmas of 1547 in the mild climate
of Fossombrone, the Duke, in January, 1548, again repaired to
Venice, intending to return home for carnival. On the frontier he
was met by news of his consort's serious illness, and immediately
sent expresses to summon from Padua and Ferrara, Frigimiliza and
Brasavolo, two famous physicians. Under them and her own doctors, the
Duchess rallied for a time, but died on the 17th of February,--"a
very religious, charitable, and lettered lady, and a great loss to
the state." Her body was borne by torchlight to Urbino with the
usual solemnities, and, after lying in state, was entombed in Santa
Chiara on the 19th. The funeral service was performed at Urbino the
24th of March, with due pomp, and a ceremonial preserved by Tondini.
The procession consisted of the Duchess's household, twenty-two in
number, with thirty-nine of the Duke's; Guidobaldo and his brother;
the ambassadors of five friendly states; twenty-two principal
nobility of the duchy; forty captains; the municipality of Urbino,
with seventy leading citizens; deputies from thirty-six other towns;
in all, about three hundred and sixty persons. The obsequies were
celebrated in the cathedral, which was illuminated by a hundred and
eighty-six wax lights of four pounds each, and above two hundred
torches. The funeral oration was pronounced by Sperone Speroni, and
is published among his works.
Although, in somewhat startling contrast to these details of death,
we here introduce a letter written by the Duchess, which may interest
our lady readers. It is addressed to Marchetti, her steward of the
household, then at Venice, and is printed in his life by Tondini:--
"Master Steward, our well-beloved,
"This is to inform you that, on your return with his
Excellency, our Lord and Consort, you must by all means
bring as much of the finest and most beautiful scarlet
serge, such as is made on purpose for the cardinals, as
may suffice to make us a petticoat, taking care that it be
at once handsome, good, and _distingué_. You can ascertain
the necessary quantity. Here they tell us that if the stuff
be two _braccie_ [a yard and a quarter] wide, at least
eight _braccie_ will be required, and more if narrower, say
nine or ten. See that you get full measure, and let the
quantity be ample rather than deficient, so that we may not
have to mar it for want of cloth. And if you cannot find
such serge, bring some beautiful, good, and thin Venice
cloth, being careful that it be light in texture, and that
the colour be of the most bright and lively scarlet that
can be found. Use all diligence that we be well suited and
satisfied, if you would do us a grateful service. Bring
also some of those books and rosettes, as they are called,
which are commonly made there of thin white wax tapers;
and so good health to you. From Fossombrone, the 6th of
October, 1541.
"JULIA DUCHESS OF URBINO."
The Duchess had given birth to a son in 1544, but was survived only
by a daughter Virginia: her marriage had been interested, and her
lord lost no time in contracting another from similar motives, on
the excuse of requiring a male heir. In August he went to kiss the
Pope's feet at Rome, on occasion of negotiating a new matrimonial
alliance with his granddaughter, Vittoria Farnese. On the 30th he
returned home, and next month again met his Holiness at Perugia.
The nuptials were interrupted by the assassination of the bride's
father, Duke Pier-Luigi, whose son had supplanted Guidobaldo at
Camerino, and whose tyranny in his new state of Parma sharpened the
daggers of his outraged nobles. The ceremony, however, took place on
the 30th of January, 1548, when Vittoria, who had been previously
affianced to Duke Cosimo I., was twenty-eight years of age. On the
2nd of February she visited Urbino, amid many demonstrations of
respect, among which was a muster of forty lads in her livery of
yellow velvet, to each of whom an allowance of seven scudi had been
voted by the city; but it was the Duke's pleasure that they should
pay for their own dress. Art, too, had contributed its honours,
and Vasari narrates how Battista Franco aided in decorating the
triumphal arches designed by Girolamo Genga for her reception.
Similar welcome was given her at Gubbio, where the youths wore purple
velvet with white sleeves and white lilies.[*54] Coincident with,
and in consequence of, this marriage, the Duke received from Paul a
new investiture of his states, and a cardinal's hat, with the title
of S. Pietro in Vinculis, for his brother Giulio, who, though but in
his fifteenth year, was soon after named Legate of Perugia. On the
20th of February, 1549, there was born a prince, who succeeded to the
dukedom as Francesco Maria II., and the grateful people manifested
their loyalty by customary congratulations and donatives.[55] These
happy events were, ere long, interrupted by the death of Paul III.
on the 10th of November, followed by that of the dowager Duchess of
Urbino, on the 14th of February, thereafter.
[Footnote *54: Cf. PELLEGRINI, _Gubbio sotto i Conti e Duchi
d'Urbino_ in _Bolletino per l'Umbria_ (Perugia, 1905), vol. XI., p.
236 _et seq._]
[Footnote 55: Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 934, is an elaborate exposition of
the devices and mottoes displayed on this august occasion.]
The little state of San Marino forms a solecism in the polity of
Europe, having preserved its petty limits and its purely popular
government during many centuries, whilst all the other republics
of Italy successfully yielded to personal ambition or foreign
conquest.[*56] For its independence during the ceaseless changes
of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries it was debtor to the
Dukes of Urbino, whose aid was ever at hand when their name proved
an inadequate safeguard. The nature of the protection which they
accorded to that republic is shown in the subjoined document, which
seems worthy of insertion from its resemblance to those letters of
maintenance usually granted about the same period by the greater
barons of Scotland, in favour of less powerful neighbours and
friends, among the minor nobility, and even the burgh communities.
[Footnote *56: Cf. FATTORI, _Delle cause che hanno conservata la
Repubblica di S. Marino_ (Bologna, 1887).]
"Protection under which, at the instance of the Liberty of S.
Marino, pressed by its envoys, the Lord Duke Guidobaldo II. assumes
the aforesaid Liberty, its men and territory, following therein in
this the course adopted by Duke Federico, Guido I., Francesco Maria
his father, and others of his house: promising to the best of his
ability, and at all times, to defend, protect, and guard it against
all persons whatsoever who may seek or wish to injure it, whether in
respect to its possessions, subjects, state, or pre-eminence, holding
its enemies for his enemies, and its allies for his allies; and
further, undertaking to accord to it all possible aid and favour in
the maintenance of its independence and freedom: the said envoys, on
the other part, obliging themselves to the Lord Duke, in name of the
foresaid, with all their exertion and power to assist, uphold, and
preserve the subjects, state, honours, and dignity of the said Lord
Duke, against whatsoever person, state, or potentate who may make
attempts against him; promising to hold the friends of his Excellency
as their friends, and his foes as their foes, and to pay him at
all times the respect due to a faithful and good protector. At the
requisition of Ser Bartolo Nursino, 20th May, 1549."
It was Guidobaldo's policy to maintain with the Holy See those
amicable relations which his second marriage had established, and
he had accordingly, on the death of Paul III., sent some troops to
Perugia, in order to secure the quiet succession of Julius III. This
being effected, he went to Rome on a visit of congratulation to the
new Pontiff, accompanied by Aretino, whose venal appetites were ever
on the watch for opportunities of bringing his sycophancy to a good
market. The Pope disappointed him of the anticipated guerdon, but,
aware of the ready transition from adulation to slander, disarmed
his tongue of its venom by a gracious accolade, kissing the forehead
of this "scourge of princes." The first token of favour bestowed on
the Duke by his Holiness was his nomination as governor of Fano in
1551. In the following year he spent some time at Verona with the
Venetian army, accompanied by his boy, who there had an illness which
occasioned him much anxiety. This command was a somewhat anomalous
one, with the title of Governor of the Republican forces, which he
vainly negotiated to exchange for that of General. Disgusted by
this refusal, he listened to an overture from his brothers-in-law
for transferring his services to the French King. Ottavio Farnese,
now Duke of Parma, apprehending some hostile intentions from the
imperialists, had applied, in 1551, to the Pope for succours, in
order to guarantee his possession of that state; but, unable to spare
reinforcements or money, Julius had recommended him to take his own
measures for defence. Acting on this advice, he had recourse to
Henry II., from whom he accepted a condotta, on condition of Parma
being supplied with a French garrison. Such a step could not fail
to alarm the Emperor, who, representing that Ottavio had, in fact,
made over his duchy to France, brought upon him the thunders of the
Vatican. The inducement offered to Guidobaldo by the Farnesi for
following them into Henry's service was that the King should renounce
the supposed claims upon Urbino competent to his wife Caterina de'
Medici, in right of her father Lorenzo, its usurping Duke. But the
decided measures adopted by the Pontiff cut short this negotiation,
and we hear no more of pretensions which were doubtless vamped up to
serve a temporary purpose. Although the Pontiff was nominally a party
to the petty war which ensued in Lombardy, it was, in fact, but a
chapter in the prolonged struggle between the houses of Hapsburg and
Bourbon, with which our narrative has no concern. Another episode
in the same contest was more alarming to Central Italy, and, when
Tuscany became involved in the strife, it seemed well for Julius to
stand on the defensive. Accordingly, in January, 1553, he named
Guidobaldo captain-general of the Church, who, in April, proceeded
to Rome for his installation; and accompanied by a brilliant staff,
reviewed the pontifical troops.
Siena, originally Ghibelline, had, during the recurring convulsions
of a nominally democratic government, remained in some measure
devoted to the imperialist party. But, irritated by the licence
of their Spanish garrison, and alarmed at a rumoured intention of
Charles V. to seize their state, and exchange it with the Farnesi
for that of Parma, the citizens, in 1552, foolishly listened to the
intrigues of French emissaries, and, with the Count of Pitigliano's
aid, ousted their oppressors. In the campaign which followed,
Siena was under French protection, whilst Florence efficiently
co-operated with the imperialists against her, the Pope maintaining
an armed neutrality. The duties of Guidobaldo were thus limited to
an occupation of Bologna, in order to protect the ecclesiastical
territories and his own state, on the passage of French troops into
Tuscany. That his wishes favoured the independence of Siena appears
from his having, at the election of Marcellus II., in April, 1554,
recommended an intervention in its favour; but it was too late, as
the city had already capitulated, and was soon after finally annexed
to Florence.
The successor of Julius III., who died in March, 1555, was Marcello
Cervini, Bishop of Gubbio; and the Duke of Urbino congratulated
himself on seeing a personal friend mount the throne of St. Peter.
But his satisfaction was transient. Popular superstition awarded an
early death to any Pontiff who should take for title his Christian
name: the fate of Adrian VI. had verified the omen; and, after
a reign of but three weeks, Marcellus was carried to the tomb.
Guidobaldo immediately took armed possession of the Roman gates for
protection of the conclave; but the election of Cardinal Caraffa as
Paul IV. passed off satisfactorily, and his energy was rewarded by a
confirmation in his command, and the restoration of the Prefecture
of Rome, with reversion to his son, an honour which, though long
held by his father and grandfather, had been enjoyed for the last
seventeen years by the Farnesi.
CHAPTER XLIII
The Duke's domestic affairs--Policy of Paul IV.--The Duke
enters the Spanish service--Rebellion at Urbino severely
repressed--His death and character--His children.
This somewhat barren portion of our narrative may be appropriately
enlivened by the marriage of Princess Elisabetta, sister of
Guidobaldo, to Alberico Cibò, Prince of Massa. The bride left Urbino
on the 26th of September, accompanied by the Duke and Duchess, and
remained at Castel Durante for two days. She was convoyed for some
miles farther by the court, and parted from her family with copious
tears on both sides. That night she slept at S. Angelo, and next
day reached Città di Castello, escorted by an immense train of the
principal residents to the Vitelli Palace. There she was entertained
at an almost regal banquet, with about fifty gentle dames, each more
beautiful than the other, and all richly dressed; after which there
followed dancing, to the music of many rare instruments and choruses,
till near daybreak. Travelling in a litter by easy journeys, she
reached Florence in four days, and was welcomed with magnificent
public honours. She entered the city in a rich dress of green
velvet, radiant with jewels, and passed two days there, the guest
of Chiappino Vitelli, who spent 2000 scudi upon four entertainments
in her honour, including a ball and masquerade. On going to court,
she was received by the Grand Duke and Duchess as a sister, with
much kindness, and a world of professions. Near Pisa she was met by
her bridegroom, at the head of a cavalcade which resembled an army
marching to the assault of the city; and his mother, though almost
dying, had herself carried to the bed in which the bride had sought
repose, to embrace her with maternal affection. More acceptable,
perhaps, than this singular visit, was the present received from her
in the morning, of two immense pearls, and a golden belt studded with
costly jewels. The pair entered the capital next day, amid a crash
of artillery, martial music, and bells, preceded by fifty youths in
yellow velvet and white plumes. The festive arches delighted the
narrator, but still more the palace furniture, "where nothing was
seen but armchairs brocaded in silk and gold, and one everywhere
stepped on the finest carpets." The community offered six immense
vases, and a donative of bullocks, fowls, and wax. "But all this is
nothing to the excessive affection which the Lord Marquis bears to
his most illustrious consort: he does not merely love her, he adores
her. May God continue it, and maintain them in happiness."[57] This
kind wish had scanty fulfilment, for the Princess died nine years
later, her husband surviving to the patriarchal age of ninety-six.
[Footnote 57: TONDINI, _Memorie di Franceschino Marchetti_, App., p.
16.]
In 1556, Guidobaldo finished the citadel and fortifications of
Sinigaglia, which had occupied him during ten years, and which were
considered an important bulwark against Turkish descents on the
Adriatic coast. There also he instituted a college for the study of
gunnery; and he commemorated the completion of these establishments
by striking four medals, of which three are described by Riposati;
none of them, however, merit special notice, the beauty of Italian
dies being already on the wane. The court was now for the most part
resident at Pesaro, a situation excelling in amenity and convenience
the original capital of the duchy. Among its attractions may be
numbered the palace-villa of Imperiale, which has been described;
but it became necessary to provide a town residence, that in the
citadel, which had sufficed for the Sforza, being far too restricted
for the demands of growing luxury. Of the palace at Pesaro,
Guidobaldo II. may be considered the entire author,[*58] and if it
seem scarcely suited for the accommodation of so famed a court,
we must recollect that the golden days of this principality were
already passing away, that the military qualities of its sovereigns
and people had become less gainful, and the devotion of its dukes to
letters and arts was beginning to languish. Although extensive, the
aspect of this residence is mean, its buildings rambling. It exhibits
no appearance of a public edifice except the spacious _loggia_ or
arcade. Over this, its single external feature, is the great hall,
measuring 134 by 54 feet, and of well-proportioned height. Here we
find some interesting traces of the della Rovere, in those quaint
and significant family devices which it was their pride unceasingly
to repeat. The manifold compartments of its richly stuccoed ceiling
contain their heraldic badge, the oak-tree; the ermine of Naples; the
half-inclined palm-tree; the _meta_, or goal of merit, and similar
fancies.[59] These recur among delicately sculptured arabesques on
the internal lintels, and ornament the imposing chimney-pieces,
varied by figures of Fame strewing oak-leaves and acorns. This palace
was later the winter residence of the cardinal legates of Urbino and
Pesaro, of whom portraits, from the Devolution of the duchy to the
Holy See, in 1626, surround the great hall. In 1845, Cardinal della
Genga was the forty-eighth of this long succession.
[Footnote *58: It was probably the work of Girolamo Genga (1476-1551)
and his son Bartolomeo (1518-58). It is now the Prefettura. It has
never struck me as "mean," but rather as being a somewhat imposing
building.]
[Footnote 59: See these devices explained in No. V. of the Appendix
to Vol. I. The respective importance of the ducal residences is
marked by their colloquial epithets,--the _corte_ at Urbino, the
_palazzo_ at Pesaro, the _casa_ at Gubbio.]
Paul IV. was seventy-nine years of age when he assumed the triple
tiara. His life had been one long exercise of holy zeal and ascetic
observance, and the Romans, again sunk in those habits of luxury
and indulgence from which Bourbon's army had roused them, saw with
little satisfaction the accession of one so intolerant. But they
were ill-prepared for a turbulence unparalleled during many years.
His policy leaned to the once favourite, but long dormant, idea of
expelling the Spaniards from Lower Italy; while, to the astonishment
of mankind, the almost abandoned pretensions of nepotism were revived
with unflinching fierceness by this octogenarian founder of the
strictly devotional order of Theatins. A trumpery outrage on the
French flag by the Sforza of Santa-fiore,[*60] in which the Colonna
were alleged to have participated or sympathised, supplied a pretext
for putting the latter to the ban; and their vast possessions, which
in the ecclesiastical states alone numbered above a hundred separate
holdings, were conferred upon the Pope's nephew, Giovanni Caraffa,
Count of Montorio. The Colonna flew to arms, and, being under the
avowed protection of Spain, were supported by troops from Naples,
against whom the Duke of Urbino was ordered to march; but fortunately
the ashes of civil broils were nearly cold, and peace would have
continued undisturbed, had not Paul, in the following year, issued
his monitory against Philip II. Although the Spanish intervention
in behalf of the Colonna formed an ostensible ground for this
aggression, its true motives are traced by Panvinio to more remote
and personal considerations, dating from the viceroyalty of Lautrec,
by whom the Caraffa, always adherents of France, had been harshly
treated. Reverting to the papal policy of half a century before, Paul
sought to avenge this quarrel through French instrumentality, and
although a pacification of unusual solemnity had been concluded in
February of this year between Charles V. and Henry II., preparatory
to the former retiring from the cares of sovereignty, he contrived,
by successful intrigues, to bring the two great European powers
once more into hostility, and to revive in the Bourbon King those
ambitious projects which had formerly brought his predecessors across
the Alps for the conquest of Naples.
[Footnote *60: For all that concerns Santa Fiora and the
Sforza-Cesarini, see a forthcoming work by EDWARD HUTTON, with notes
by WILLIAM HEYWOOD, entitled _In Unknown Tuscany_ (Methuen). It deals
with the whole history of Mont'Amiata and its castles and villages.]
Anticipating this threatened danger, the Duke of Alva marched an
army of fourteen thousand men into the Comarca, which he overran
in September, occupying Tivoli on the one hand, and Ostia on the
other, whilst Marc-Antonio Colonna scoured the Campagna, to the
gates of Rome. Guidobaldo, who appears to have been about this time
superseded, and his truncheon of command transferred to the Pontiff's
favourite nephew, contented himself with sending a contingent of two
thousand troops, under Aurelio Fregoso, for his Holiness's support.
The efforts made on all sides to conclude a harassing and useless
war, were rendered unavailing by the Pope's obstinacy and ambition;
the only terms he would agree to including an investiture of his
nephew as sovereign of Siena, in compensation for the Colonna estates.
During the winter months, a horde of northern barbarians were once
more mustered to invade unhappy Italy. Fourteen thousand Gascons,
Grisons, and Germans, under command of the Duc de Guise, marched
early in the spring upon Romagna, which, though a friendly country,
they cruelly ravaged. Faenza having escaped their brutality by
denying them entrance, its citizens testified their gratitude for
the exemption, by instituting an annual triduan thanksgiving, and
dotation of two of their daughters. The Duke of Urbino did his best
to secure his people during the transit of this army, which crossed
the Tronto in April. It would be tedious to follow the fortunes of a
campaign in which he took no part, and which, whoever gained, was
the scourge of Italy. On the 26th of August, the Duc de Guise placed
his scaling ladders against the San Sebastiano gate, and Rome had
nearly been carried by a coup-de-main. At length the representations
of Venice and Florence, which had remained neutral, prevailed with
his Holiness, and, on the 14th of September, peace was restored,
leaving matters much on their former footing. Riposati assures us
that during this war the French monarch would gladly have secured the
services of Guidobaldo, now free from his engagements to the Pontiff,
but that Duke Cosimo of Florence interested himself to procure for
him an engagement from Spain. This was at length arranged, in the
spring of 1558, previously to which Charles V. appears to have
bestowed on him the Golden Fleece, the highest compliment at his
disposal.[61]
[Footnote 61: Some authorities represent him as receiving this Order
eleven years later from Charles V., but that Emperor died in this
very year. He is said to have had knighthood from the Pope in 1561.]
The terms upon which the Duke took service under Philip II. are
thus stated in a letter of Bernardo Tasso. The King guaranteed him
protection for his territories against all hazards, and bound himself
to supply and maintain for him a body-guard of at least two hundred
infantry, besides a company of a hundred men-at-arms, and another
of two hundred light horse. He further engaged to pay him monthly
1000 golden scudi for his appointments as captain-general, besides
maintaining for him four colonels and twenty captains. In return,
the Duke took an oath to serve his Majesty faithfully against all
potentates, the pontiffs alone excepted. The political results of
this arrangement were strongly and painfully felt by Bernardo,
who regarded it as establishing the tranquillity of Naples, the
security of Tuscany, and, in a word, the Spanish domination in
Italy. Inclined to the French interests (for there was no longer
an Italian party in existence), he would have gladly seen the
sovereign of a highland population, whose warlike sinews were not yet
quite relaxed, preserve his neutrality, or rather, like his father,
attach himself to the republic of Venice, which still possessed much
external power and internal independence. Indeed, he laments the
short-sighted policy of the Signory, in omitting this opportunity
of securing, as an available check upon Spanish influence, an able
confederate, and corn-growing neighbour; a blunder which was the
more unaccountable, as, in the opinion of Mocenigo, who was Venetian
envoy at Urbino many years later, the prepossessions of Guidobaldo
were even then in favour of a connection which had hereditary claims
upon his preference. On the first days of May the convention was
published at Pesaro, after solemn thanksgiving to the Almighty
for a dispensation so acceptable to the Duke.[62] The importance
to Spain of this condotta may be understood from a fact mentioned
by Riposati, that Gubbio alone sent forth, between 1530 and 1570,
three captains-general, two lieutenants-general, six colonels, and
sixty-five captains of note. Mocenigo says, there were in 1570 twelve
thousand soldiers in the duchy, ready at call.
[Footnote 62: From an account of this engagement preserved among
the Oliveriana MSS., and slightly differing from that by Bernardo
Tasso (II., letter 166), we learn that the pay of officers was from
15 to 40 scudi a month, that of cavalry privates 5, and of infantry
3 scudi. It appears to have been worth to Guidobaldo in all about
35,000 scudi a year, but to have been irregularly received.]
Our notices of Guidobaldo become ever more barren. In 1565 the
armament of Sultan Solyman against Malta spread consternation
throughout Western Europe, and, by desire of Philip II., the Duke
of Urbino sent four or five thousand troops to aid in the defence
of the knights. Prince Francesco Maria asked leave to accompany the
expedition, but his father, considering his time better bestowed in
visiting courts, sent him in this year to Madrid, with commission
to recover a long arrear of his own military allowances. In this he
was successful, but the sum scarcely sufficed to clear the expenses
of his journey. Particulars of this visit, and of his marriage in
1571, will be told from his own pen in next chapter. But there was
no lukewarmness on his father's part on the question of the Cross
against the Crescent. After the Prince returned from the naval action
off Lepanto, which will also be narrated from his Autobiography,
Guidobaldo prepared a Discourse on the propriety of a general war
against the Turks, the means of conducting the proposed campaign with
due regard to the security of Italy, the preparation of adequate
munitions, and the best plan for carrying the seat of war into
the enemy's country. It is unnecessary to dwell upon a matter now
so completely gone by: the paper emanates from a mind capable of
enlarged views, and fully conversant with the belligerent resources
and general policy of his age, as well as experienced in military
operations.[63]
[Footnote 63: Vat. Ottob. MSS. No. 2510, f. 201.]
The _Relazioni_ of the Venetian envoys supply us with some notices of
Urbino about this time, and prove that the Duke's expenses were very
great, partly from frequent calls upon his hospitality by visitors
of distinction, but still more from his maintaining separate and
costly establishments for himself, the Duchess, the Prince, and the
Princess.[64] Mocenigo estimates his income from imposts, monopolies,
and allodial domains, at 100,000 scudi; adding that, "should he think
proper to burden his people, this sum might unquestionably be greatly
augmented, but, choosing to follow the custom of his predecessors, in
making it his chief object to preserve the affection of his subjects,
he is content to leave matters as they are, and live in straits for
money."[65] He also tells us that, though poor in revenues, he was
master of his people's affections, who on an exigency would place
life and substance at his disposal. The accuracy of these impressions
is in some degree impugned by what we are now about to relate.
[Footnote 64: That of Mocenigo, 1570, is printed by Vieussieux,
second series, vol. II., p. 97, and in the _Tesoro Politico_, II.,
169; that of Zen or Zane, 1574, in the same volume of Vieussieux, p.
315.]
[Footnote 65: Of several statements as to the ducal revenue and
expenditure which I have seen, none is distinct or satisfactory. The
most detailed is in a MS. in the public library at Siena, K. III.,
No. 58, p. 240, but the sums have been inextricably blundered by the
transcriber. See Appendix VIII.]
* * * * *
The most remarkable incident in Guidobaldo's reign was an outbreak
of the citizens of Urbino, dignified in its municipal history by
the name of a rebellion, which acquires a factitious importance
as the only symptom of discontent that troubled the peace of the
duchy, from the death of Oddantonio in 1443, to the extinction of
its independence in 1631. We shall condense its incidents from the
contemporary narrative of Gian-Francesco Cartolari, who designated
himself agent of the Duke, and who, notwithstanding his official
position, writes with apparent frankness and impartiality.[66]
[Footnote 66: Vat. Ottob. MSS. No. 3142, f. 165, and Oliveriana MSS.
No. 390, p. 63.]
In August, 1572, the Duke intimated to the council of Urbino that
he had received authority from Gregory XIII. to impose a tax of one
quatrino per lb. on butchers' meat, and of two bolognini upon every
_staro_ of grain and _soma_ of wine;[67] and in October he made
proclamation throughout the duchy of these new imposts. It being
rumoured that the envoys of Gubbio had obtained for that community
a suspension of the obnoxious duties, discontent began to prevail,
and on the 26th December one Zibetto, a cobbler, in an inflammatory
harangue, at a public assembly dignified with the name of general
council, declared that these were exactions under which the poor
could not exist.[*68] On his proposal, forty delegates were chosen
from the nobility, and sworn to represent the matter to the Duke in
person. They repaired to Pesaro, and, on the 29th, had an audience
to present the memorial agreed to by the council, which Guidobaldo
received, and desired them to go home, promising that an answer would
be transmitted when he had considered their statement. They, however,
stayed a week, vainly looking for his reply, during which the council
met daily at Urbino, and at length they were recalled by an express
from the Gonfaloniere. Meanwhile a vice-duke had been sent thither,
who, on the 1st of January, 1573, published a suspension of the new
imposts throughout the whole state. This concession, however, did not
satisfy the discontented, who, in another general council, accredited
two envoys to Prince Francesco Maria, begging his intervention to
procure an answer to their memorial. Having failed in this object,
and finding that troops were being secretly organised to garrison
their city, the people of Urbino rushed to arms, closed the gates,
and, having mustered above a thousand men, began to strengthen
the defences and lay in stores. The Vice-Duke being thereupon
recalled, the general council assembled daily in such numbers, that
adjournments to one of the largest churches were found necessary,
and the inhabitants, setting aside private rivalries, co-operated
with one mind for the public safety, mounting guard, and making every
exertion to render their city tenable. The impossibility of doing so
against the Duke's military levies being however quickly apparent
even to the insurgents, an embassy of six was despatched to Rome to
beseech the Pope's mediation. Nor did the reaction stop there; a
general cry rose for the Prince, or his brother the Cardinal, the
opportune arrival of either of whom would have ended the _émeute_.
On the 29th, however, the Duchess came with a small suite, and was
received with cries of "Long life to the Duke, but death to the
_gabelle_!" The efforts of the magistracy and popular leaders to
make their peace were unavailing, in consequence of their having sent
representations to the Pontiff, and, on the 3rd of February, the
Duchess departed without effecting any arrangement, to the infinite
annoyance of all parties. The envoys could get no other reply from
his Holiness but that they must go home and make submission, and they
were followed by a brief from him, enjoining them to lay down arms
and seek his Excellency's unconditional pardon. As soon as this had
been publicly read by the Gonfaloniere, the people piled their arms
in the piazza, and the peasantry dispersed to their country homes.
[Footnote 67: The _staro_ or _stajo_ corresponded to a bushel; the
amount of a _soma_ is doubtful. A _quatrino_ is 1/5 of a _bajocco_,
that is, of a halfpenny in present value. A _bolognino_ was about
7-1/3 farthings. See vol. II., p. 259.]
[Footnote *68: In 1562 Guidobaldo had augmented the tax on grain
by leave of Pius IV. Cf. UGOLINI, _op. cit._, vol. II., p. 28, and
PELLEGRINI, _Gubbio sotto i Conti e Duchi d'Urbino_ in _Boll. per
l'Umbria_, vol. XI., p. 239 _et seq._, and esp. CELLI, _Tasse e
Rivoluzione_ (Torino, 1892), p. 39.]
Notwithstanding this surrender, Guidobaldo advanced upon the city,
quartering his troops in the surrounding villages, so as to blockade
it, and all the public functionaries were superseded. Dreading a
sack, the citizens rushed to the monasteries with their valuables,
and, about the middle of February, sent fifty of the nobles to
crave pardon of their sovereign. After waiting at Pesaro for three
days, these were admitted to tender submission on their knees,
and were then placed under arrest at their inn for twenty days,
notwithstanding incessant petitions from their fellow citizens
for their release. Six of them were then committed to the castle,
and from time to time other leaders were brought from Urbino to
share their imprisonment. So terrified were the insurgents by
these measures, that those most compromised fled from the duchy,
and but few remained in their houses; a proclamation was therefore
issued that all exiles should return home within two months, under
penalties of rebellion. The property of the prisoners and exiles
was confiscated; the city was disarmed; public assemblies were
prohibited; and the magistracy were discharged from their duties.[69]
Such rigorous measures having inspired a general panic, the imposts
were again proclaimed at Easter, to include retrospectively the
previous year. These severities were perhaps scarcely beyond the
exigencies of the case; at all events, they cannot be justly regarded
as an extreme exercise of the despotic authority which the Duke
undoubtedly possessed; but those which ensued must be viewed with
abhorrence, alike from their own enormity, and from their prejudicial
influence in confounding vengeance with justice.
[Footnote 69: The magistrates of Urbino were four in number, a
gonfaloniere chosen from the city nobles, a prior to represent the
merchants, and two priors of the trades. The general council seems to
have been open to all citizens.]
A judge was brought from Ferrara to sit upon the prisoners, and on
the 1st of July nine of them were beheaded in the castle at midnight;
their bodies, after being flung out and exposed beyond the city, were
huddled together into an unconsecrated pit, until some days later
they were taken up by order of the Bishop of Pesaro, and received
Christian burial. Nor was the indignation of their sovereign appeased
by these revolting cruelties: others implicated were sent to the
galleys or died of hard usage. A commission sat at Urbino for two
months to realise the estates of those attainted, whose widows and
children were deprived of their dowries, and in some instances their
very houses were razed to the ground. The results were fatal to the
whole community, for magisterial business was suspended, the schools
were left without teachers, the town without medical practitioners,
trade of every sort at a stand. At length, in December, permission
was obtained to hold a general council, at which it was determined
once more to send ambassadors to intercede for mercy. For this
purpose about eighty of the principal nobility were selected to
accompany the Gonfaloniere and priors to Pesaro, their cavalcade
amounting to above a hundred persons on horseback. On the 27th of
December, they were admitted to an audience in presence of the whole
court, and the Gonfaloniere, after a very judicious speech, presented
to his Excellency a petition couched in the following terms:--
"Most illustrious and most excellent Lord Duke, our especial lord
and master! Inspired by a most ardent desire for your illustrious
Excellency's favour and good will, and having ever felt the utmost
grief and regret for the recent events, the city of Urbino,
with entire devotion and alacrity, has resolved to send to your
illustrious Excellency its magistrates, and the present numerous
embassy, in order that with every possible humility, they in our
name, and we likewise for ourselves, may supplicate you, with all
reverence and submission, to accord us grace and pardon, entirely
forgetting the provocations received, and, as our clement father and
master, full of charity towards us, to deign willingly to comfort
us, and receive us again, and restore us to your love and benign
grace; assuring your most illustrious Excellency, that this your
city will never, in fidelity, love, and obedience towards your most
illustrious person and house, yield to any other in the world, and
that it is, and ever will be, most prompt at all times and occasions
to expose our lives, and those of our children, and our whole goods
and possessions, in your service and honour; so that, in the event of
our receiving, as we desire and hope, forgiveness from your infinite
bounty and magnanimity, we, the humblest and most faithful of your
servants, thanking God with sincerely joyful hearts, may return,
singing in chorus--'Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who hath
visited and redeemed his people,' and may ever keep in remembrance
this trusted day of grace, and render it a gladsome festival in all
time to come."
To this petition the Duke returned the following gracious answer:--"I
hear with much good will and satisfaction the duty which you pay, the
free pardon which you ask, and the penitence which you exhibit, all
which induce me to confirm to you, as I now do most willingly, the
forgiveness I already have accorded: and the promise which you make,
of being ever faithful and loyal to me, proves you ready to second
your words with good purposes, as I readily believe you will do. I
also promise you from henceforward entirely to forget the past, and
to receive you into my pristine affection; and had it pleased God
that the warnings and persuasions which you received from my lips had
been taken by you at first, you would have been spared many evils,
annoyances, and losses, and I much displeasure. Nevertheless, take
courage, and, as I have already said, so long as you do your duty,
you will find me as loving in time to come as I have ever been, all
which you will report to your city."[70]
[Footnote 70: Vat. Ottob. MSS. No. 3141, ff. 160, 165, dated December
27, 1573.]
This reply gave great satisfaction to the deputation, and after
being suitably acknowledged by their head, all of them knelt to
their Sovereign, the Duchess, and the Prince, kissing the hems of
their garments in humble attitude. Next day they returned home,
and summoned a general council, to which there was read a letter
from Guidobaldo, reinstating the city in its former privileges,
and removing the obnoxious imposts. Four deputies having been
commissioned to thank his Highness for these demonstrations of
returning favour, they were honourably received and entertained at
Pesaro. The council next voted a peace-offering of 50,000 scudi
towards paying the Duke's debts, which had been the primary root
of the evil; but, in consideration of their recent sufferings, he
accepted of but 20,000, payable in seven years. Although there
remained some symptoms of smouldering sedition, the Duke on the
14th of June suddenly started for Urbino, and was welcomed by a
deputation, and such other marks of respect as the short notice would
permit. During a residence of twelve days, he renounced 8000 scudi of
the donative, and conceded several privileges to the community, whom
he did not again visit during the brief residue of his life.
The Urbino rebellion holds a place in the history of that state which
neither its incidents nor its issue deserve. It originated in a sore
of old standing, the Duke having for years comparatively deserted
the ancient capital of his duchy, and transferred his residence to
Pesaro. Influenced by this grudge, its citizens, instead of, like
the other communities, resting satisfied with his remission of dues
in January, 1573, kept up an agitation, and finally piqued their
sovereign by carrying their grievances to the papal throne. On the
whole, these transactions were in all respects most unfortunate, and
it was long ere the duchy recovered from the heart-burnings they left
behind. The Duke then forfeited the popularity of a lifetime, and
his fame continues blackened by the scurrilous traditionary nickname
of Guidobaldaccio, a usual diminutive expressing contemptuous
disparagement. Grossi says that, when too late, he regretted the
harshness of his after measures; and some doubt as to his good faith
in regard to an amnesty is hinted in the following letter from his
cousin-german Ludovico Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers and Rethel, which I
found among the Oliveriana MSS. at Pesaro.
"Most illustrious and most excellent Lord,
"Your Excellency's letters of the 15th of June and 9th of
July reached me together, at the forest of Vincennes, only
on the 10th instant, along with another addressed by you to
the most serene King of Poland, which I have not failed to
deliver in person to his Majesty, with such expressions as
seemed suitably to convey your Excellency's good wishes.
With these his Majesty was much satisfied and pleased, and
he returns to your Excellency many thanks. I have not as
yet been able to obtain his answer, as he went off suddenly
to Fontainebleau, whither I now am on my way, and on my
arrival shall get it sent you as soon as possible.
"I have read the summary of the trials of these rebels,
of whom your Excellency advises me you had nine beheaded,
as to which matter I have been glad to be informed, in
order satisfactorily to answer those who occasionally
speak of it; and also being at all times glad to learn
that your affairs go on well and to your contentment. It
is my conviction that you have acted most justly, and done
everything for clear reasons; yet, I do not omit telling
you that some people are perplexed at these events, saying,
that your Excellency having granted a general pardon to
all the conspirators, they cannot see by what right you
afterwards let justice take its course against them. This I
mention purposely that you may be informed of everything.
"It only remains to beseech that you will deign command
my willing services, in whatever respect you consider me
useful, as this is my ardent wish; and so I sincerely kiss
your hands, praying God to grant you all happiness. From
Paris, the last of September, 1573. Your Excellency's most
devoted, and most obliged cousin,
"LUDOVICO GONZAGA."
The account of these disturbances, given by the Prince in his
Autobiography, is as follows: "His father having by great liberality
and magnificence deranged his finances, found it necessary to augment
his revenue, and his subjects, unused to such burdens, began to offer
resistance. The Duke, not to let himself be thwarted in that way,
prepared to use force; but at last matters were restored to quiet,
by their humbling themselves, and receiving his pardon, not without
the punishment of some, as an example to the rest. At this juncture
Francesco Maria contrived so to conduct himself, that his father had
reason to be well satisfied with his services; and the people had
no cause to be discontented with him, his uniform endeavour having
been, to the utmost of his power, to mollify the one and moderate the
other, which was in the end effected."
Of this dull reign little remains to be told. In the words of the
same Memoir,--"Guidobaldo went to Ferrara in the autumn of 1574, to
visit Henry III. of France, who was on his way from Poland, on the
death of his brother Charles IX. Returning to Pesaro during great
heats, he fell ill, and passed to a better life on the 28th of
September, aged sixty. On hearing of his illness, Francesco Maria
hastened to Pesaro from Castel Durante, where he generally stayed
for the hunting season, and finding his father in great suffering,
he attended him assiduously through the fatal malady. The funeral
ceremonies were performed with much pomp, in presence of many
deputies and ambassadors; and Giacomo Mazzoni pronounced a long and
elaborate oration, commending his clemency, liberality, bravery,
prudence, and other princely virtues." We are told by a contemporary
chronicler that his illness was a quartan, which became a putrid
fever, but that he bore it with patient and pious resignation,
supported by the aids of religion. His funeral took place in the
church of Corpus Domini, at Pesaro, in conformity with his own wish,
mindful perhaps, in his last moments, of his recent quarrel with
Urbino, where the ashes of his ancestors were laid.
The character of this Duke, drawn by the Venetian envoys, is quite as
favourable as the few notices given us by Urbino writers. His habits
were free and social, and his liberality to friends and favourites
gave him a popularity at court which extended to his subjects and
soldiery. In affairs of honour his judgment was often sought, and
his decisions generally admitted. Though seldom in the field, he was
considered an authority on military affairs, and, without rivalling
the literary tastes of his son, he was a patron of letters, and
especially of music.[*71] The device which he selected was a goal or
winning-post, with a Greek inscription, "To the most devoted lover of
worth"; and Ruscellai informs us that he acted up to the sentiment
in encouraging merit. His hospitality is alluded to by Ariosto in
Rinaldo's journey to Lapidusa, and Count Litta ascribes to him the
institution of the Pacieri, an association of both sexes for the
purpose of preventing litigation. It is true that his failings of
character or temper were neither gilded by the military renown of his
father, nor redeemed by the pious philosophy of his son; but so far
as the meagre materials within our reach have enabled us to judge,
no great faults have been brought home to him either as a sovereign
or as a man. Indeed, we are enabled to adduce one satisfactory
instance wherein, under circumstances peculiarly irritating to a
person of impetuous disposition, his conduct was marked with great
forbearance and gentleness. His favourite undertaking of fortifying
Sinigaglia had been thwarted in 1556, from the obstinate refusal of
money by a Jew, who, though sent to him for the purpose of effecting
a loan, resisted his urgent persuasions to conclude it.[*72] After
mentioning the circumstance in a letter to his confidential favourite
Marchetti, he thus continues: "We avoided all expressions which might
seem to approve of his discourse, and so left him. However, to you
we shall just say that if they won't lend, may they meet with the
like.[73] We shall seek some other course, and obtain by other means
what is required for the operations. You may, therefore, after doing
your best for this purpose in Sinigaglia, proceed first towards La
Pergola, and then to Fossombrone, but there is no occasion to employ
in this matter threats or severe language. On the contrary, you are
only to seek out the people, to exhort and civilly urge them to what
is wanted, but of their own free will, and by no other means; and
if they will not agree, you need not break out upon them, but let it
stand over, that we may see what can be effected in some other way."
[Footnote *71: Cf. a letter from Angelo Colocci to the Duke, printed
by MORICI, _Due Umanisti Marchigiani_ in _Boll. per l'Umbria_, vol.
II., p. 152; and for Music, ROSSI, _Appunti per la Storia della Musica
alla Corte di Francesco Maria I. e di Guidobaldo della Rovere_ in
_Rassegna Emiliana_ (Modena, 1888), vol. I., fascicolo 8, and _supra_,
p. 88, note *1.]
[Footnote *72: Cf. CELLI, _Le fortificazioni militari di Urbino,
Pesaro e Senigallia_ (Castelpiano, 1896).]
[Footnote 73: "Tal sia di loro," a phrase which may perhaps only mean
"be it so."]
In absence of any contemporary estimate of this Duke's character,
we may cite one from the pen of a modern writer, himself a citizen
of Urbino, and an enthusiastic student of its history. "Although
possessing not the marvellous sagacity, the untainted justice, the
quick intelligence in public affairs, nor the other brilliant and
rare virtues of his ancestors and of his son, which have rendered
their names great, their authority respected, their memory dear and
popular; he had good sense, military experience, and much fondness
for all liberal acquirements. He protected and honoured the first
geniuses of his time; and his beneficent actions were splendid even
beyond his means. Could one page be blotted from his life, too
fatally memorable from its unjust and slippery policy, too detestable
and disgraceful to his name; and had his manners been more affable,
his nature less impetuous and violent, his temper less overbearing,
and his resolutions less inflexible; the people of Urbino would
probably have attempted no revolutionary movement, and he would have
acquired much of the reputation left by his great-grandfather, and by
his estimable son."[74]
[Footnote 74: Padre Checcucci, Professor of Rhetoric in the
University of Urbino, 1845.]
For the fine arts he seems to have cared little, and his memory has
suffered in consequence of this neglect. Angelo Bronzino is said to
have painted him during the life of his father, but the only original
portrait I have ever found of him is a miniature in the Pitti Palace.
Bernardo Tasso was the laureate of his court, and we shall mention,
in chapter L., the friendly welcome extended to that fortune-stricken
bard during part of his life-long struggle. Bernardo Capello and
Pietro Aretino were among his guests; and Ludovico Domenichini
of Piacenza, having dedicated to him an Italian translation of
Plutarch's _Lives_, visited Urbino in 1555 to present the work to his
patron.
Guidobaldo left by his first wife one daughter,--
VIRGINIA, married in 1560 to Count Federigo
Borromeo, whose premature death is said to have frustrated
a project of his uncle, Pius IV., for investing him with
Camerino. She afterwards married Ferdinando Orsini, Duke of
Gravina, and, dying in childbed, left to her father about
180,000 scudi.
The children of his second marriage were,--
1. FRANCESCO MARIA, his heir.
2. ISABELLA, married in 1565 to Nicolò Bernardino
di Sanseverino, Prince of Bisignano, a Neapolitan nobleman,
with a fine fortune, but greatly encumbered. She was a
princess of generous and attractive character, and died in
1619 without surviving issue.
3. LAVINIA, said in the Venetian Relazione of Zane to
have been betrothed to Giacomo Buoncompagno natural son
of Gregory XIII., but the nuptials never took place. She
afterwards married Alfonso Felice d'Avalos d'Aquino,
Marquis of Guasto, son[*75] of the famous Vittoria Colonna,
and died in 1632, aged seventy-four.
[Footnote *75: This is a mistake. Vittoria Colonna had
no children. There was, however, a Marchese del Vasto, a
cousin of her husband's, whom she adopted as her son, and
to whom she frequently alluded in her poems; one of her
sonnets bewails his death.]
(From similarity of name, this princess has been
confused with her second cousin Lavinia Franciotti
della Rovere, wife of Paolo Orsini, whose intimacy
with Olympia Morata is well known to those who
trace the quickly smothered seeds of Protestantism
in Italy.)
Guidobaldo left also two natural daughters,--
1. ----, married, first, to Count Antonio Landriano of
Pesaro; secondly, to Signor Pier-Antonio da Lunà of
Castella, in the Milanese.
2. ----, married to Signor Guidobaldo Renier.
BOOK EIGHTH
OF FRANCESCO MARIA II. DELLA ROVERE SIXTH AND LAST DUKE OF URBINO
CHAPTER XLIV
Autobiography of Duke Francesco Maria II.--His visit to
the Spanish Court--His studious habits--His marriage--Is
engaged in the naval action of Lepanto--Succeeds to the
dukedom.
In following the history of his father, we have details of the early
life of Francesco Maria. Upon these we now turn back, and shall avail
ourselves to the utmost of the Memoirs he has left behind him, which,
though brief and incomplete, afford a valuable illustration of his
character, and an interesting addition to our few autobiographies of
sovereigns. From the introductory sentence, we learn the motives by
which they were undertaken:--"As it is very usual for people to blame
the actions of others, and especially the proceedings of those who
have long directed the affairs of government, it has hence seemed to
me right to narrate simply, truly, and briefly, the incidents that
have occurred to Francesco Maria, second of that name and sixth Duke
of Urbino, in order that those who read this abstract may be aware
of the actual and candid truth." Upon a narrative thus modestly
prefaced it is unnecessary to make any critical remarks. Ere we close
this Book, their abrupt termination, before the marriage of Prince
Federigo, will be sadly but sufficiently accounted for.[76]
[Footnote 76: For the life of Francesco Maria II. our materials
have been ample. His own Memoirs, extending from his birth to the
marriage of his son, have been nearly all quoted verbatim. The
autograph of this MS. I have examined in the Oliveriana Library (No.
384, folio 219 to 229), but have made my translations from the only
printed edition, in the twenty-ninth volume of the _Nuova Raccolta
d'Opuscoli_, known by the name Calogeriana, and published at Venice
in 1776. There too will be found an account of the Devolution of
Urbino to the Holy See, from the pen of Antonio Donata of Venice,
by whom that negotiation was concluded on the Duke's part. In
the Magliabechiana Library at Florence (class 25, No. 76) is the
autograph Diary of Francesco Maria from 1583 to 1623, which I have
closely searched. The rich MS. collections of the Oliveriana are
stored with original correspondence and other documents illustrative
of his reign, most of which have been looked into with scarcely
remunerative labour, but among the matter there gleaned, his
instructions to his son may be deemed of especial importance.
From a vast mass of such correspondence in these two libraries, a
general insight into his character and position, and those of his
son, has been acquired, as well as many minute traits of both; but
the Prince's brief and unhonoured span has been illustrated in a
great measure from collections made by Francesco Saverio Passeri, of
Pesaro, nephew of the naturalist Gianbattista Passeri, and printed
in the twenty-sixth volume of the Calogeriana Collection. *Cf. also
SCOTINI, _La Giovinezza. di F.M. II._ (Bologna, 1899).]
"To them [Duke Guidobaldo II. and Duchess Vittoria] was born at
Pesaro, on the 20th of February, 1549, a son, who was named Francesco
Maria. Cardinal Duranti was sent by the Pope to perform the ceremony
of his baptism, which was celebrated with great splendour on the 1st
of May, Giacomo Soranzo acting as godfather in name of the republic
of Venice. He was in infancy brought up with becoming care, and at
three years of age was carried to Venice by his father and mother.
Guidobaldo was then general in the service of that state, and their
troops were chiefly stationed at Verona, whither Francesco Maria was
taken, and where he had a dangerous illness, recovered from which
he returned home. There, as he grew up, he was taught all fitting
exercises of mind and body, under the successive superintendence
of Muzio of Giustinopoli, Antonio Galli of Urbino, and Girolamo
Simonetta of Cagli: his masters in grammar were Vincenzo Bartoli
of Urbino, and afterwards Ludovico Corrado of Mantua, of literary
note. After some years, the Duke and his brother the Cardinal,
having resolved to amuse themselves with a visit to Venice, at the
fête of the Ascension, they took with them Francesco Maria, who was
received with great favour and much made of, being admitted into
the company delle Calze." This was in 1564, and even thus early his
taste for painting was noticed by Titian, and celebrated in a sonnet
by Verdizzotti. An establishment was maintained for him at Venice
apart from that of his father and uncle, and he gave many sumptuous
entertainments.
"Having returned to Pesaro, and completed his sixteenth year, he
had a great wish to go forth and see the world and its usages, and
made much interest that his father should send him to some court,
preferring that of the Emperor, who was then at war with the Turk. To
this his father was pleased to agree, but desired first to consult
the Catholic King (Philip II.), in whose service he was, and who
in reply commended the plan, but desired that it might be carried
into effect at his own court, where the Prince would be welcomed and
treated as a son. His intentions being thus necessarily altered, at
the close of 1565, after the marriage of his sister Donna Isabella
with the Prince of Bisignano, he took his way to Spain, accompanied
by many knights, particularly by Count Francesco Landriani, and
Pier-Antonio Lonato. Choosing the route by Genoa, he passed through
Ferrara to Mantua, where he stayed fifteen days by his father's
desire, who in youth long inhabited that city; and hearing of his
uncle the Duke of Parma's return just then from Flanders, he went to
see him. On his arrival at Genoa he was lodged by Count Filippino
Doria, his vassal in the castle of Sassocorbaro, and, after being
visited and much distinguished by the Signory, he embarked in a
war-galley of the Duke of Savoy, which, with another fully armed, had
been sent on purpose for him, under the command of Admiral di Leini.
In it he went to Savona, the native place of his family, where he was
received into the house of Vigeri, who were his subjects, and being
storm-stayed during eight days of the carnival, was entertained with
festivities and serenades, as is customary in that country.
"When the weather cleared, he re-embarked, and after a pleasant
voyage of a few days reached Palamos in Spain, whence he went by
land to Barcelona. In that city he passed most of Lent, to give
time for an apartment being prepared for him in the palace, but got
to Madrid for Easter week. He was met by the whole court and by
many grandees, especially by the Marquis of Pescara, who manifested
singular courtesy, attending to him as his own son; whence a most
intimate and enduring friendship arose between them. He got the same
quarters which the Prince of Florence had occupied shortly before,
and his treatment was precisely similar. Next day he waited upon the
King, Queen, and Prince Royal, the Princess of Portugal, and the two
sons of the Emperor [Maximilian II.], who were being educated there.
By all he was received with distinguished favour, which continued
during the two years and a half he spent at Madrid. He occupied
himself in all those noble exercises which there, more than anywhere
else, were attended to, practising military games on foot and
horseback in public, and also privately under superintendence of the
Marquis of Pescara, who was then considered unequalled in them. He
frequently went out hunting with Don Carlos, by whom he was received
into much intimacy; and enjoyed a close friendship with Don John of
Austria, afterwards the famed commander by sea and land. He also
paid court to the ladies, and learned the sports of the jennet as
practised there, from Don Pedro Enciquel, afterwards Count of Fuentes
and general in Flanders.
"Some movements having occurred in Flanders, the King gave orders
to proceed there, and the court, including Francesco Maria, made
preparations to attend him. But the latter, wishing to see France,
asked permission to take that route by land, and so to rejoin his
Majesty, who was to go by sea. The King, desiring his attendance on
his person, refused his request, and so the opportunity was lost,
to his great mortification, and perhaps to the no small loss of his
Majesty. Subsequently occurred the imprisonment of Don Carlos, which
was thus effected by order of his own father. An hour after midnight,
the King, in his dressing-gown, holding a candle in his hand, having
gone down to the Prince's room with his council of state and but one
gentleman of his chamber, found him in bed. The Prince on seeing
them tried to reach the corner, where were his sword and a pair of
arquebuses, which he kept there always ready; but this was prevented
by the Duke of Feria, who had already secured these arms. Then,
rushing to his father, he exclaimed, 'So you are come to kill me?'
To this his Majesty replied, 'Not so, but because you must live as
becomes you, so be calm;' and never addressed him again. The Prince
then said, 'I see that I am taken for a madman, which I am not,
though a desperate one.' The King, having seen the doors and windows
nailed up, leaving only a shutter open for light, and having desired
the arms and all such things to be taken away, returned to his
apartment, leaving with Don Carlos his major-domo Ruggo Mez de Silva
(?) with several chamberlains and other officers of his household, a
guard of Germans being stationed outside of his door; and the court
was greatly vexed thereat."
These details are curious, in illustration of the mysterious fate of
Don Carlos, eldest son of Philip II. It seems agreed that he was of
a most unhappy temperament, perverse, wilful, and violent, possibly
insane. The immediate cause of the unnatural scene here described has
never been satisfactorily explained. It is generally stated that he
was discovered in treasonable correspondence with the Dutch; though
others have attributed the behaviour of his father to jealousy of an
old attachment between his wife Elizabeth of Valois, and the Prince,
to whom she was said to have been previously promised. The Prince's
arrest occurred in January 1568: it was followed by no trial or
public investigation, but in the following July he ceased to live.
His death was understood to have taken place under some judicial
sanction, but whether by poison or the sword was never known. The
entombment of his head separate from his body renders the second
supposition more probable.
We may here mention that, before embarking for Spain, the Prince
had, from his Cardinal uncle, the dukedom of Sora, yielding an
income of about 4000 scudi, which, however, proved quite inadequate
to his expenditure. Zane, the Venetian ambassador, asserts that the
large arrears of pay due to his father, which he was commissioned to
recover from the Spanish government, were more than absorbed by his
extravagance, and that this was the reason of his recall. His own
narrative, however, is entirely silent upon this subject.
"Francesco Maria, having been at length recalled by his father, who
was anxious for the marriage of his only son and heir, took leave of
the King and Queen, and the royal family, and proceeded by Saragossa
to Barcelona, where he embarked in a galley with the Marquis of
Pescara, then going as viceroy to Sicily. After a prosperous voyage
of eight days, he reached Genoa, where he lived with Giovanni Andrea
Doria, with whom he had become intimate at the court of Spain. Thence
he went to Milan for some days, and was welcomed with distinction;
and then visited Madame of Austria at Piacenza; and at Parma stayed
with the Duke and his son, towards both of whom he maintained the
best intelligence and cousinship. He next passed through Bologna to
Ravenna, where his uncle, the Cardinal of Urbino, was archbishop, and
accompanied him to Pesaro. He arrived on the 11th of July, 1568, and
was received with the greatest joy by all classes.
"After a few months, seeing that his father made no movement in the
affair of his marriage, he returned to his studies, interrupted
during his absence from Italy. He read mathematics with Federigo
Comandino, and afterwards philosophy with Cesare Benedetti
(subsequently Bishop of Pesaro), Felice Pacciotti, Giacomo Mazzoni,
and Cristofero Guarimone. At the same time he kept up active exercise
in arms, riding, hunting, ball, and racket." About this time
Mocenigo, the Venetian ambassador, praises his fine dispositions
and pleasing manners, as well as his progress in various pursuits,
especially mathematics and fortification; but says that his eager
exposure to fatigue gave rise to apprehensions for his health, which
were sadly realised. He adds that, since his return from Spain,
something of the hauteur which characterised that nation was noticed
in his manner.
[Illustration: _Franz Hanfstaengl_
ISABELLA D'ESTE
_After the picture by Titian in the Imperial Museum, Vienna_]
"Finally the Duke decided upon his marriage with Donna Lucrezia
d'Este, sister of Alfonso, the last Duke of Ferrara, which took
place, though little to his taste; for she was old enough to have
been his mother. He went for this purpose to Ferrara, where the
nuptials were celebrated with great splendour, and with chivalrous
games and other festivities."
Such is all that we learn from the Memoirs of Francesco Maria
regarding one of the most eventful moments of his life. Passeri, in
his collections for the life of Prince Federigo, mentions a rumour
of his attachment to a lady at the Spanish court as the immediate
cause of his recall home, and of the match with Princess Lucrezia
being concluded; indeed, I have seen, in the correspondence of the
Oliveriana Library, that a certain Donna Madalena Girona was the
supposed object of that early affection. That he made no secret to
his father of his distaste at the connection laid out for him, is
stated on the same authority, as well as the Duke's answer, that his
people's welfare was to be considered rather than his son's fancies,
whose youth made it the more requisite to mate him with a princess
of tried prudence and staid manners. How far these epithets were
borne out by Lucrezia's subsequent conduct will be presently seen;
meanwhile, the following letter, to one who long after continued an
especial friend and favourite, will show that the bridegroom gave no
outward signs of his discontent.
"To Camillo Giordani.
"My most magnificent and well-beloved,
"I am confident that you feel the pleasure which you
express at the conclusion which it has pleased God to
vouchsafe to my marriage with Madam Lucrezia d'Este, and
at all other like occasions of joy which happen to me; and
the duty you have in this instance paid me in your letter
has been most truly acceptable, and has my best thanks. God
ever bless you! From Pesaro, the last day of [15]69.
"THE PRINCE OF URBINO."
The ceremony took place at Ferrara on the 2nd of January, 1571, and
on the 8th the bride was brought home to Pesaro. The people hailed
her with enthusiasm, and spent largely in shows and rejoicings to
welcome her arrival, besides giving to the Duke a donative exceeding
10,000 scudi. Yet Mocenigo, the Venetian ambassador accredited to
the marriage, while lauding the handsome and gracious Princess,
admits an early prepossession against her, on the part both of her
new subjects and her lord. It was the hope of a heir to the dukedom
that preponderated with the former; and, as she was many years older
than her husband, a chill of disappointment naturally mingled even
with their congratulations.[77] The same observer states it as the
general impression that, the Prince having compromised himself with
a lady in Spain, his father thought the best way of getting him out
of all difficulty with that court was to match him suddenly with a
princess of high rank, whose dowry of 150,000 scudi was by no means
unacceptable. Zane, another envoy from the maritime Republic a few
years later, describes the Duchess as below par in good looks, but
well-dressed: adding that difference of age accounted for the absence
of affection between her and her husband.
[Footnote 77: Tesoro Politico, II., fol. 169. Relazioni Venete, serie
II., vol. II., p. 105. Litta says she was born the 16th December,
1535, making her thirteen years and two months his senior. Her
sister, Tasso's Leonora, was born the 19th of June, 1537.]
The following letters from the Duke and Duchess of Urbino,
Prince Francesco Maria and his bride, were written in answer to
congratulations sent them on occasion of the marriage, by the
Cardinal de' Medici, who afterwards became Grand Duke of Florence,
by the title of Ferdinand I.[78] They have been introduced here
as an index to the feelings of the respective writers regarding
a union which turned out so unsatisfactory to all parties; but,
still more, as a specimen of the epistolary style then prevalent
between personages of exalted rank, and of the general formality and
barrenness of interest which characterise such documents.
[Footnote 78: Bibl. Riccardiana, MSS. No. 2340, art. 116-19.]
"My most illustrious, most reverend, and most respected
Lord,
"The Marquis of Villa Franca has discharged towards me the
duty with which your most illustrious Lordship was pleased
to entrust him, and he has represented your gracious
sympathy towards our wedding in a manner most acceptable
to all. For the satisfaction we, and myself especially,
have derived from this, I do most heartily thank your most
illustrious Lordship, praying you to lend a willing ear to
the assurances of my affection, and of my wish for frequent
opportunities of correspondence, which I have given to the
Marquis, and which I do not doubt he will, without fail,
in compliance with my desire, fully repeat to you. I kiss
your most illustrious Lordship's hands, praying for you all
happiness. From Pesaro, the 15th of January, 1571.
"Your most Illustrious Lordship's servant,
"THE DUKE OF URBINO."
"My most illustrious, most revered, and most respected Lord,
"The proof which your most illustrious Lordship has deigned
to give me, in your most kind letter, of the pleasure you
take in the marriage of the Prince my son, I esteem a great
favour; for not only do I desire your sympathy in all my
happiness, but I am also anxious in every circumstance to
find occasion of serving your most illustrious Lordship.
Thus will all my present and future occasions of joy be
valued by me in proportion as they may become subservient
to that object, and to the affection I bear your most
illustrious Lordship, whose hands I kiss, praying the Lord
God of his grace to vouchsafe you a happy accomplishment of
all your desires. From Pesaro, the 15th of January, 1571.
"Your most illustrious and most reverend Lordship's most
humble servant,
"THE DUCHESS OF URBINO."
"My most illustrious and most reverend Lord,
"The Marquis of Villa Franca, who has handed me your most
illustrious Lordship's letter, will likewise report to you
my unceasing desire for your service, and the pleasure
wherewith I have received the courteous duty you have been
pleased on this occasion to send me, for which I certainly
am under many obligations, as the Marquis will more fully
show you. I, however, pray your illustrious Lordship to
afford me frequent opportunities of effectually proving to
you my good will; and I kiss your hands, beseeching for you
from our Lord God all the happiness you may desire. From
Pesaro, the 15th of January, 1571.
"Your most illustrious and most reverend Lordship's most
affectionate servant,
"THE PRINCE OF URBINO."
"Most illustrious and most reverend Lord,
"Whatever pleasure my affairs may afford your most
illustrious Lordship is only the consequence of your great
kindness and courtesy; and as regards the expression of
it, which you have thought fit to communicate to me by the
Marquis of Villa Franca, and by your own letters, I can but
say that I kiss your hand for all your affection, assuring
you that every occasion of happiness you may enjoy will
afford me cause for quite as much congratulation as I now
have received from you: and referring you to whatever more
that gentleman will say in my behalf, I remain, praying God
to gratify you in all your desires,
"Your most illustrious Lordship's very obedient,
"LUCREZIA D'ESTE.
"From Pesaro, the 16th of January, 1571."
Renée of France, mother of Princess Lucrezia, had embraced the
doctrines of Calvin, who visited Ferrara about the time of her
daughter's birth, and Francesco Porta da Creta, preceptor of the
young Princess, was discovered to be tinged with the same principles.
Alarmed for the orthodoxy of his daughters, Duke Ercole dismissed
their instructor, and secluded his escort, in a wing of the palace,
from all intercourse with the children. A cloud of mystery hangs over
these transactions.
"Soon after his return to Pesaro from his marriage, the Pope,
the King of Spain, and the Venetians having [on the 20th of May]
leagued together against the Turk, Don John of Austria came into
Italy as commander-in-chief, and Francesco Maria, with his father's
permission, set out on the 8th of July, to join him at Genoa. There
he embarked in the _Savoyard_ frigate[79] that had carried him to
Spain, commanded by the same Monsignor de Leini, who had orders from
the Duke of Savoy to receive him with that affectionate courtesy
which both he and his sovereign ever displayed towards him. Having
touched at Naples, he was there welcomed with the utmost favour and
distinction, and passed his time most agreeably. From thence the
fleet sailed to Messina, where he assisted at a general council of
war, as indeed he often subsequently did.[80] Leaving Sicily, the
expedition in a few days arrived at Corfu, and on the morning of the
7th of October fell in with the Turk. Don John drew up the Christian
fleet in order of battle, the Proveditore Agostino Barbarigo, of
Venice, having the landward squadron, and Giovanni Andrea Doria the
opposite and heavier one, with Don Alvarez di Bassano as a reserve;
the centre he kept for himself, where was also Francesco Maria, in
the foresaid frigate. Here was the thick of the fight, as at this
point the two admirals met. The Turkish at first selected the frigate
in which was Francesco Maria, whom he well knew, and who warmly
received his attack; but as soon as he distinguished the flag-ship,
he turned to engage it: and, after fighting for two hours, the Turks
struck, their admiral, Pacha Ali, having been killed by an arquebus;
the others were all put to the sword; and so was this long very
doubtful victory secured to the Christians. Meanwhile the _Savoyard_
frigate fought two galleys, one ahead and the other astern, and
had enough to do, most of her company being killed or wounded. The
squadron under Barbarigo drove on shore many galleys, sinking and
taking others; but he was wounded by a splinter in the eye, of which
he soon after died. Doria had at first run out to sea, fighting all
the while; but seeing the wing exposed, he returned and made good
use of the opportunity, cutting up several galleys, and getting off
uninjured. Such is an abstract of this battle, wherein Francesco
Maria acquitted himself becomingly, for which Don John distinguished
him with many marks of regard, and assigned him, among other favours,
twenty-four Turkish slaves. The Admiral bearing for Sicily, he sailed
from Corfu in a Venetian galley to Otranto, and returned home by land
in November, to await orders, and rejoin the fleet the following
year."
[Footnote 79: The word which I thus translate means literally a ship
or galley commanded by a captain.]
[Footnote 80: The muster-roll of the armament at this time will be
found in V. of the Appendix.]
The naval engagement of which Francesco Maria has given the preceding
sketch was that of Lepanto or Curzolari, where Passeri states that
he had with him a large body of his father's subjects, a fact which,
although passed over in his own account of this his only military
service, is confirmed by Armanni, who tells us that there were in the
fleet above fifty from Gubbio alone, thirty of whom were officers,
a circumstance on which the Prince was complimented by Don John.
It is unnecessary here to add to the Prince's details. The general
result of the engagement was most conclusive: the enemy's loss has
been calculated at thirty thousand killed, ten thousand wounded, and
fifteen thousand Christian slaves rescued from bondage, besides the
destruction or capture of six hundred sail, and a vast booty. The
Christian fleet consisted of above two hundred war-galleys, besides
many other vessels of various sorts.
"On bringing his wife from Ferrara to Pesaro [in January, 1572], they
were magnificently received, and passed a gay carnival. In Lent he
repaired to Rome, after visiting the holy house of Loreto, and was
there entertained by his uncles, the Cardinals of Urbino and Farnese.
Pius V. insisted upon very graciously admitting him to an audience,
notwithstanding an illness of which he soon died....[81] Francesco
Maria was also distinguished by his successor, Gregory XIII., but,
on suddenly being recalled by his father, he at once, though
reluctantly, obeyed. Soon afterwards, he was attacked by a severe
illness, which lasted for three months, aggravated by a false rumour
of another naval engagement."
[Footnote 81: Particulars of those intrigues in the conclave, by
which Cardinal Buoncompagni prevailed over his rivals Morone and
Farnese, are omitted, having no reference to our immediate subject.]
The part taken by the Prince in the unhappy disturbances of Urbino
has been already shown from his own pen, and that of other narrators,
as well as his attendance upon his father's death-bed.[*82] We have
now, therefore, to enter upon his reign, and here again we have
recourse to his memoirs:--"The new Duke departed from Urbino, where
he showed himself at the archiepiscopal palace in his robes of
sovereignty, and then, as was usual, rode through the streets, on
a milk-white steed, dressed in white, and under canopy, thereafter
receiving the oaths of allegiance in the great hall of the palace:
all this he repeated at Sinigaglia." Among the Oliverian MSS. is this
account of the ceremonial, curiously illustrative of the manners
of the age:--"After mass of the Holy Spirit had been sung, the
Archbishop, Felice of Cagli, advanced to the door of the cathedral,
and thence, accompanied by the Gonfaloniere, the three priors,
and the people, went to bring forth the Prince from the palace.
He wore a riband and scarf of white damask; on his head a crown
of pearls, from behind which there hung some bands; and on his
shoulders a short cloak of white fur. When he reached the head of
the stair in the archiepiscopal palace, on which was a carpet and
a cushion, the Archbishop held the Cross for him to kiss. He then
entered the church, and approached the high altar, on which was
the Holy Sacrament, where, after the usual devotions, accompanied
with beautiful sacred music, the Primate read certain prayers and
pronounced the benediction, and his Highness made offertory of a
piece of ten scudi. He then retired to an adjoining chapel, and,
changing his dress, put on a mantle of white, with cap and feathers,
in which he issued from the church, and mounted a handsome charger.
The Gonfaloniere preceded him on horseback, his drawn sword in his
hand, calling aloud, 'Long live the Duke of Urbino!' and the people
followed, repeating the cry. Thus they went through the city and
returned to the palace. The populace then took off his cloak; and
M[aestr]o Antonio Fazino asked his cap, and received it. In like
manner he was stripped of his spurs; and his Highness then presented
his horse to the city youths, and Mo. Calber Galler mounted it. Mo.
Antonio Corboli and the Cavaliere Guido Staccoli next put him on his
spurs, Mo. Flaminio Bonaventura his mantle, and Mo. Antonio Fazino
held his horse. Having been by this formality elected, he went into
the great hall, where the Gonfaloniere and priors, with all the
deputies of other cities, by a formal instrument gave their oaths of
allegiance, whilst he, in a letter read in his presence by Mo. Giulio
Veterani, his secretary, promised to be to them a loving sovereign;
after which, all the people came one by one to kiss his hand. All
this was done with much rejoicing on the part of the public, and of
his Highness, to whom may God grant grace to rule his subjects to the
contentment of all."
[Footnote *82: Cf. CELLI, _Storia della Sollevazione di Urbino contro
il Duca Guidobaldo, 1572-4_ (Torino, 1892).]
The following letter, to the young Duke upon his succession, is
printed in the correspondence of Girolamo Muzio, his preceptor, whose
advices, though somewhat long, well merit attention, totally opposed
as they are in spirit to then prevailing principles of government,
and anticipating opinions even in our day charily developed in Italy.
It is, above all, interesting to discover, on such satisfactory
evidence, the political views which must have been inculcated on
Francesco Maria from his early years, and which bore some seed in
after life, notwithstanding the natural defects of his temper, and
the crotchets imbibed from a false philosophy. Had such counsels been
generally given and followed, constitutional government in Italy
would now have been neither a mockery nor a bone of contention.
"Men tried by difficulties and crosses nerve themselves
to endure them; yet, knowing how your Excellency has
long suffered from many troubles and annoyances, I shall
undertake no vain task in wishing to offer consolation in
this your new vexation and trial. I need not now say with
what grief I have heard of the late sad event, knowing
as you do how true a servant I was of his Excellency our
Sovereign. On the contrary, I shall address myself to talk
of certain considerations which appear to me beseeming the
succession you have obtained, through a long and noble
ancestry, meaning to speak to you with the freedom and
loyalty which a servant should display when his master's
interests are at stake; and upon this understanding I shall
begin.
"I remember more than once, while conversing with the
illustrious Duchess your mother, to have lamented the
manner in which I observed the government of the state
conducted, praying the Almighty to protect you from the
risk of being expelled from it, as there would have been
no reasonable hope of the people recalling you again; a
fact of which her good sense was fully aware. It would be
long and irksome were I to repeat the various matters that
I disapproved of, but from them I can deduce certain rules
which it seems to me you ought to adopt for regulation of
your authority, and the maintenance of justice, so as to
reacquire and preserve the affection of your subjects. But,
Sire, permit me to drop ceremonious designations, in order
more readily to express my views.
"Let it be your first care, then, to endow the magistrates
and city authorities with the ample jurisdiction which
their duties require, enjoining upon them to execute
justice without respect to persons; command also your
courtiers not to interfere in private suits, and do you in
like manner yourself forbear meddling with such, leaving
the judges to proceed therein by the usual course. Further,
should the judge be suspected by either party, let the
cause be remitted to another, or let an assessor be named;
and, to such alleged suspicion, it is no sufficient answer
that any one may be doubted by anybody. In short, it is
enough that the judges proceed to pronounce sentence in the
regular way; and for such as feel aggrieved, the common and
appropriate remedies are open. In my time the custom was
abolished--I know not at whose recommendation--of sending
causes to be inquired into by a council of skilled persons
[a jury?]; it was an excellent and much approved mode of
judging, and on that account it would be more advisable to
return to it than to leave it off. Statutory penalties have
also been changed to arbitrary ones, which has effected
great alterations; for where the statutes condemned ten,
caprice has multiplied by hundreds, with what justice I
know not. This was, indeed, by advice of certain doctors,
who declared that the Prince's will ought to be held as
law,--a diabolical sentiment, since it is not the absolute
will, but the virtuous and upright opinion of the Prince
that should be deemed law; nor do I see how any virtuous
and honest opinion can contravene statutes confirmed by
mutual agreement, and sanctioned by oaths.
"Be specially attentive in hearing those who bring
complaints of oppression or injury received from your
ministers or courtiers, and refuse not to listen even to
such as accuse those most dear to you; on the contrary,
lend them all your ears, for in proportion as your
favourites can reckon upon you, they are likely to consider
themselves safe in committing outrages and insults. Think
not you can have about you persons who will never make a
slip, whether from love, or hatred, or dishonesty. Hear,
therefore, by all means hear, and punish him who has
either done amiss, or who has brought a false charge. And
such audiences you may give at all seasons and places,
even when going to mass, or in your moments of recreation,
without engaging yourself for a future day; for quarrels
may arise requiring prompt remedy, and which cannot wait a
future day or hour. By these means you may easily secure
the execution of justice, because there will eventually
not be many such disputes, when once, by a few examples of
severity, you have brought your magistrates, your court,
and consequently the rest of your subjects, into such
discipline that you will have few complaints to listen to,
and will be able to govern your state with little trouble.
But see in the commencement to give proof of your vigour,
that matters may subsequently proceed favourably.
"When others have suffered injury or offence, do them
justice, punishing offenders for the general satisfaction;
for you may be sure that to visit offences committed upon
others protects yourself from the like, whilst impunity
gives security to offenders. In the matter of third
parties, clemency need not be thought of, forgiveness of a
fault being a favour bestowed, which affects the interest
of the party offended; thus, he who pardons injuries
done to me, disposes of what I alone should dispose of,
which is unjust. It may be well to remit injuries done to
yourself, for that is your own affair, and it is worthy of
a magnanimous prince to pardon when he might punish; but a
sovereign ought never to forgive offences against others
without their special consent, which cannot be freely given
if he intimates such to be his desire. Should disputes
arise among your people involving individual honour, you
must be judge of this, as much as of charges touching their
life and property. Indeed, you ought to decide judicially
as to whose reputation is intact and whose compromised; and
by chastising any unworthy action, you will at once promote
justice and give satisfaction to the injured party. I
am touching briefly upon matters which require ample
consideration, but it is enough that I moot certain points,
knowing well that you have good sense to weigh and decide
them. And now to pass to another topic.
"You ought to calculate the amount of your revenues, and
so proportion your expenses that at the end of the year
you have rather a surplus of ten than a deficiency of one;
for a short-coming of one to-day, and another to-morrow,
and another the day following, will bring you to ruin.
Surround yourself with a court more distinguished by the
qualities than the number of its members; let it not be
larger than you can support, and see that you maintain
the mastery, letting none there gain an ascendancy over
you. Let each have his department, and be satisfied to do
his own duty well, the chamberlain not interfering with
the counsellor, nor the sewer with the secretary. See
that all have their allowances punctually. Never aggrieve
merchants, citizens, nor peasants, by laying hands upon
their effects. True generosity will satisfy first those
who have rightful claims, not squandering upon gamblers
or buffoons; and when these are satisfied, will give to
the needy, and to other works of charity. Do not, to gain
an empty name for liberality, lavish your means on costly
hospitalities towards great personages: those who have
hundreds of millions do not so, while you who scarcely have
tens would do it! Entertain the master at dinner or supper
with yourself, but let the rest go to the hotel at their
own expense, and so will you avoid vast trouble and great
expense.
"In towns all innovations are unpopular and annoying,
but especially new imposts; you cannot do anything more
generally offensive than to raise them, nor more acceptable
than to replace on their original footing those which
have been augmented. New taxes and extraordinary escheats
seem at first sight useful, but by a providential
dispensation they absorb ordinary revenues, making
these incomprehensibly to disappear. Let all keep their
own; resort to no compulsion of property nor of person;
interfere not with marriages; seek not to reward friends
or benefit servants out of other people's means: and be it
ever graven on your memory, that princes are sent for the
people's weal, not people for the benefit of princes.
"These few observations have occurred to me, most excellent
Sire, for your remembrance. And I have to observe generally
and in fine, that you should render yourself amiable to
your subjects, being kind, considerate, affable, and
doing your utmost to recover their pristine affection,
which appears to a great degree lost. You could not by
force maintain this state against a powerful foe: let the
attachment of your people then supplement your strength;
and it can only be acquired by justice, equity, mildness,
and clemency. In the present juncture, you might by a
single act gain, confirm, and augment the good will and
devotion of all your subjects. That act is a grand amnesty,
and restoration of exiles and emigrants, embracing all
as your children, forgetful of the past. Ah, do this,
Sire! do it; it will be a welcome favour to your people,
to your friends, to your servants. On the strength of
such generosity, you will gain the name of a benign and a
magnanimous prince; and, besides having to hope from the
Almighty an eternal reward, I can ensure your receiving
from the Pope thanks and approbation.
"I pray God that this letter of mine may be received by
your Excellency with the same feelings as those which
dictated it, and that He would vouchsafe you a long life
and happy reign; and I kiss your hands. From Rome, the 11th
of October, 1574."
[Illustration: _Alinari_
DUKE FRANCESCO MARIA II. RECEIVING THE ALLEGIANCE OF HIS FOLLOWERS
_After the fresco by Girolamo Genga in the Villa Imperiale, Pesaro_]
Let us now see from his own narrative what effect these blunt but
precious counsels, and the prudent advices of his uncle Ottavio,
Duke of Parma, had upon his early measures. "His first act on
assuming the government was to raze those fortifications at Urbino
which had been made during the insurrection, and to reduce the impost
laid on by his father in his necessity; and this although the late
Duke's liberality had imposed upon him many burdensome expenses
to which his revenues were scarcely equal, besides heavy debts at
interest. He was thus obliged to restrict himself to the unavoidable
state expenses.
"Further, he was disappointed of those aids he looked for from the
kindness of his Catholic Majesty, in whose service his father had
died, at whose court he had himself been brought up, for whom he had
fought in the battle of Lepanto, and to whose service he had ever
professed his intention steadily to adhere. But, during eight long
years his hopes dragged on without any result from that quarter,
and thus was he compelled to attend closely to his private affairs,
and prevented from carrying into execution an intention he had
always entertained of following the career of arms, which he was on
the point of commencing in Flanders, where he was already looked
for when he lost his father. He, however, succeeded in contenting
his subjects, and in effacing from their minds whatever bitterness
remained in consequence of the recent measures; and this chiefly from
their being aware that these events had been displeasing to him, and
that he had studied to assist their cause in so far as his parental
duty permitted."
The moderate and self-denying measures to which the Duke thus
modestly alludes are the subject of more detailed commendation by
Zane, who was commissioned by the Venetians to congratulate him upon
his succession. At the moment of receiving the oaths of fidelity, he
abolished those imposts which had occasioned the recent discontents.
They were five in number, all upon exciseable commodities, yielding
about 16,000 scudi to the revenue. This course he followed up
by various grants and immunities to the respective cities, but
especially to Urbino. Even before his father's death he had obtained
a commutation there of the duties on casking wine and cheese, and
of the quatrino per lb. upon butcher-meat, for an equivalent of
20,000 scudi payable in ten years; but he now remitted entirely this
contribution. He restored to their property and privileges most
of the outlaws and their families; he recalled the proclamations
disarming the district; and, by destroying the fortifications erected
after the rebellion, he at once relieved the people of a garrison,
and demonstrated his renewed confidence in their fidelity. But what
had still happier effect, was his repeatedly visiting that capital
with but one or two attendants, in full and well-placed reliance upon
the affection of his subjects, of whom he ever spoke in public and
private with the most affectionate regard. Himself deeply imbued with
sentiments of religion, it was his aim to encourage the same among
his people. Nor was he indifferent to personal accomplishments, or
to the reputation which his predecessors had established, and which
Castiglione has immortalised. "There are ever at his court some
persons distinguished in arms or in letters, and it is the taste for
all to cultivate a refined urbanity of manner, and to be in every
respect perfect courtiers, a fashion of old observance there, yet
more than ever in repute since the Prince visited Spain." But it is
time to resume the Autobiography.
[Illustration: _Alinari_
DUKE FRANCESCO MARIA II. RECEIVING THE ALLEGIANCE OF HIS FOLLOWERS
_After the fresco by Girolamo Genga in the Villa Imperiale, Pesaro_]
"Notwithstanding this state of affairs, he discovered a conspiracy
against his person, originating with men who had reason to apprehend
the consequences of their former proceedings. These were Pietro
Bonarelli of Ancona, on whom the late Duke had bestowed the countship
of Orciano, with other estates and great wealth, and Antonio
Stati, Count of Montebello. Orciano saved himself by flight, and
was condemned in absence; the other was put upon trial, and at
length, in due execution of justice, he was beheaded, and some of
his accomplices hanged.[83] Francesco Maria, nevertheless, laboured
for the good government of his people, with due economy of his time.
In the morning he gave audience to his counsellors and secretaries,
and in the evening to all who desired it, dismissing these with
despatch; and thus business went on well and rightly." We are told by
Gozze,[84] who seems to have been a contemporary, that at this period
he occupied himself much with criminal police, and exerted himself to
repress brigandage, and to reform the abuses arising from privileged
sanctuaries. His rigorous perseverance in such measures, and his
stern demeanour towards the nobility, acquired for him, with many,
a reputation for severity, which the infirmities of his temper must
have served to confirm. The only other reference to his system of
administration which the Autobiography contains, is as follows:--"He
attended assiduously to the government of his state, maintaining
peace, and administering justice with integrity and impartiality. He
passed the summer at Urbino, the winter between Pesaro and Castel
Durante. At intervals he visited his other residences, and when he
omitted doing this in person, he despatched one of the judges on a
sort of circuit, who in one year went to Gubbio, Cagli, Fossombrone,
and La Pergola; in another to Sinigaglia and Mondavio; and in a third
to the province of Montefeltro."
[Footnote 83: The object of this plot is stated to have been the
Duke's assassination at a hunting party in the manors of Orciano, to
which he was invited by the conspirators.]
[Footnote 84: MSS. Oliveriana No. 324.]
CHAPTER XLV
The unsatisfactory results of his marriage--He separates
from the Duchess--His court and habits--Death of the
Duchess--He remarries.
Having thus thrown together all that the Duke has thought fit to
detail regarding the principles of his government and the early
events of his reign, we now proceed to narrate in their order, from
his Diary and from other sources, the few incidents afforded by
those peaceful and monotonous pursuits wherein many subsequent years
were passed. The first of these was of a painful domestic character,
arising out of the unsatisfactory terms upon which he had during
several years been with the Duchess. That love formed no ingredient
in the match has been already shown, and perhaps his speedy and
voluntary departure on a distant military expedition may be taken
as a proof that his indifference did not diminish after wedlock had
riveted his chains. In 1573, Lucrezia was laid up at Novilara with
a feverish cold, and was attended by her husband, who with great
reluctance consented to her return to Ferrara, on the excuse of
change of air being requisite for re-establishment of her health. The
truth seems to have been, that her marriage appearing unlikely to
give an heir to the family, the Prince was confirmed in his original
distaste, and this is said to have occasioned some disagreeable
scenes with his father, whom he blamed for having forced upon him
so unfortunate an alliance. The scandal to which these probably
gave rise, and the example of coldness towards her which he most
assuredly set, had, no doubt, rendered her position sufficiently
unpleasant, and, after exchanging it for the freedom of her brother's
elegant court, it is scarcely to be wondered that she hesitated to
return, even after her husband had succeeded to the sovereignty of
Urbino. That rumour was busy with gossip and conjectures is pretty
obvious, and the countenance which Muratori gives to an allegation
of Lucrezia's jealousy of his supposed infidelities may be taken as
the version current at Ferrara of their mysterious non-adherence. Of
this suspicion the life and character of Francesco afford an ample
refutation, but its existence induced an endeavour on his part to
bring about a better understanding with his wife.
In 1577, accordingly, he employed the Bishop of Pesaro and
Father-general del Carmine to persuade her to return to his home.
In a paper of instructions for their guidance, preserved among the
Oliveriana MSS., he declares that the excuses she pleaded were of
no weight, and could not be the real motives of her absence. In
reference to pecuniary arrangements, he urges the great economy and
self-denial which his father's embarrassments imposed upon him, but
offers her the same establishment as his mother enjoyed, besides
Novilara and its dependencies, in all about 6000 scudi a-year.
But, in consideration of the slanderous and groundless imputations
against himself to which her absence had given rise, he intimates his
intention to select for her a suitable suite of respectable persons,
leaving her, however, to choose eight or ten from them to be more
immediately about her person. This negotiation having failed, the
affair was next year submitted for the decision of Cardinals Farnese,
Sforza, and d'Este: it would appear that an amicable separation was
then determined upon; at all events, the Duchess returned no more to
her husband's state.
The notice of this disagreeable topic in the diary of Francesco
Maria is as follows:--"Meanwhile the Duchess wished to return to
Ferrara, where she subsequently chose to remain, a resolution which
gave no annoyance to her husband; for, as she was unlikely to bring
him a family, her absence mattered little. Her provision was amicably
arranged, and their intercourse continued uniformly on the most
courteous terms." In support of this last statement the following
letter from Lucrezia is conclusive.
"To the most serene Lord my Consort the Duke of Urbino.
"My most serene Lord and affectionate Consort,
"I could not have heard any message with more satisfaction
than that which Count Alessandro della Massa has brought me
in your Highness's name, on presenting your affectionate
letters, nor could any present have been more gratifying
than the picture which you were pleased to send me: both
on account of its subject, and as coming from your hands,
it will be ever the most valued that I possess. On all
accounts, therefore, do I kiss your Highness's hand,
recommending myself to your goodness; and I pray the Lord
to preserve you ever in all happiness. From Ferrara, 28th
of May, 1586.
"Your most loving and obedient consort and servant,
"LUCREZIA D'ESTE."
The Oliveriana MSS. contain many other letters from Lucrezia; but, as
usual with such princely documents, they are more rich in mannered
phrases of compliment than in those natural sentiments which form
the charm of epistolary composition, and afford a correct index of
individual character. Most of them are commendatory introductions
of priests and friars, a class of acquaintances more congenial
to her husband's disposition than her own, the chief foible in
her character being an immoderate addiction to those festive and
exciting pleasures, which, although the business of her brother's
court, met with little encouragement at that of her consort. Her
intercourse with Tasso will fall to be noticed in our fifty-first
chapter, when describing the sorrows of that wayward genius. After
her return to Ferrara, she interested herself in establishing at
San Matteo an asylum for wives, who, like herself, were separated
by incompatibility of character. Soon after his separation from
the Duchess had been arranged, Francesco Maria paid a visit to the
court of Tuscany, where he met with a distinguished reception, and
spent fifteen days very agreeably amid the many attractions of
Florence, varied by comedies and amusements of the chase. During the
ensuing carnival he introduced unwonted gaiety at Pesaro, holding
a tournament, at which he entered the lists in person. About this
time, too, his finances were recruited by a donative of 10,000 scudi
granted to him by that city.
[Illustration: _Anderson_
FRANCESCO I. DE' MEDICI
_After the picture by Bronzino in the Pitti Gallery, Florence_]
The Duke's autograph Diary, from which we have recently quoted,
and to which we shall frequently refer, having been carried to
Florence with his other personal effects in 1631, remains in the
Magliabechiana Library (Class xxv., No. 76). It is a narrow folio
volume, like an index book, containing about two hundred pages
entirely in his own hand. The entries are limited to a bare notice
of facts without comment. The topics most frequently registered are
the passage of remarkable strangers through Pesaro; the births,
marriages, and deaths of persons of rank; his own periodical
movements to his various residences, and visits to other parts of the
duchy; his frequent hunting parties in autumn and winter, chiefly
from Castel Durante; his taking medicine, including regular semestral
purgations in spring and autumn. His taste for the physical sciences
is illustrated by noting the occurrence of earthquakes, unusual
storms, or other phenomena of nature, the recurrence of frost and
snow, of the cigala and the nightingale, of mosquitoes, and similar
signs of the seasons; also the appearance of any rare animal or
monstrous production of nature. The Journal commences in April, 1583,
and is continued without interruption until March, 1623, when it
terminates abruptly.
The disappointment felt by the Duke at the fruitlessness of his
family friendship with the crown of Spain was removed by receiving,
towards the close of 1582, a military commission from his Catholic
Majesty. This was the only relic of the condottiere system that
survived the changes of the sixteenth century upon the political
and military aspect of Europe. It was the intervening link between
mercenary bands of the middle ages and standing armies of modern
times. No plan could have better suited all parties. The great
powers were thus enabled to command on sudden exigencies an ample
force, without waste of time or treasure. The petty sovereigns by it
eked out their inadequate revenues, without further burden to their
subjects than an occasional call upon the military services of those
who regarded arms as a pastime, and whose restless spirits, if not
thus employed, would have been dangerous at home. The people, without
abandoning the arts of peace, reaped a portion of the fruits of war.
These benefits were, indeed, purchased by a surrender of the last
vestige of independence, for the salary paid to the princes in name
of stipend was, in fact, the price of their political subserviency.
Yet it was but a nominal compromise, to sell the shadow when the
substance had long departed; and we find the example of Spain in
retaining friends throughout La Marca, for pecuniary considerations,
recommended for the imitation of Venice by one of her ambassadors
about this very time. The conditions of the Duke's service were
an annual pay of 12,000 scudi, which, in 1599, was augmented to
15,000, a company of men-at-arms in the kingdom of Naples, and ample
protection in all his undertakings; in return for which he was bound
to provide, when called upon by Philip II., three thousand militia,
and to take the field with them when his Majesty appeared there in
person. The amount of troops thus actually raised in the duchy for
the Spanish service during the next thirty years has been calculated
at seven thousand two hundred men, a sufficient proof that the
benefits accruing from the arrangement were mutual. The Pope now
granted Francesco Maria the honourable prefix of "Most Serene" to the
title of Highness, which he had enjoyed in common with other minor
sovereigns, a distinction said to have been accorded with difficulty,
and after long entreaty. The establishment of a Swiss guard is
another illustration of his partiality at this period to pomps which
he subsequently little esteemed.
In the following year, the court of Pesaro was enlivened by the
Princess Lavinia's nuptials with Felice d'Avalos, Marquis del Vasto,
when twelve poetesses were said to have tuned their lyres at the
Imperiale, in honour of the joyous occasion. His marriage presents
to his bride, mentioned in her brother's Diary, consisted of a
necklace of jewels, a bag or muff of sable skin--the head and feet
studded with precious stones, called a _zebellino_, and similar to
that represented in Titian's beautiful portrait of her grandmother,
Duchess Leonora,--a set of fan-sticks, a gem mounted as a sun, two
pearls for ear-drops, a diamond cross and eagle, and an order for
3000 scudi: the whole was valued at 10,000 scudi. The happy pair
spent some months at the court of Urbino, while the Marquis often
joined the hunting parties from Castel Durante. But the sun that rose
thus brightly was soon clouded by his wretched and tyrannical temper,
which embittered his consort's life. Many years after, she married,
in her widowhood, the gallant Marquis of Pescara, her brother's
long-tried friend, and, finally, with her two daughters, sought
repose and peace in the convent of Sta. Chiara at Urbino, where
she died in 1633. In the end of 1583 the Duke began to build the
Vedetta, on the most commanding eminence of Monte Bartolo, which he
had obtained for this purpose from the Gerolimini convent. Of this
casino only the foundation remains, but it would seem to have been an
appendage of the Imperiale palace, whither the court ascended in the
summer heats, to inhale gentle breezes from the blue Adriatic, which
sparkled some hundred feet beneath. For such a purpose no spot could
have been better chosen, and the magnificent prospect, which we have
elsewhere noticed without attempting to describe, renders it probably
the most attractive site in all the fair duchy.
As a further mark of favour, Philip II. of Spain sent him, in 1586,
the decoration of the Golden Fleece; and in order to confer it in
manner at once honourable and complimentary to his personal feelings,
his Majesty requested the investiture to be given him by his uncle
the Duke of Parma. That Duke was then suffering from gout, and
drawing towards his death, which occurred in the following autumn;
so Francesco Maria showed respect at once for the King and for his
relation, whom he revered as a parent, by proceeding to meet him
at Bologna. The two princely guests were magnificently entertained
by the authorities of that city, as well as by the Cardinal Legate
Salviati and the Archbishop Palotta: they were lodged in the
palace of the latter, who performed high mass in the cathedral at
the investiture. The collar and girdle of the order were set with
brilliants, and were accompanied by a rich present of jewels to
the Duchess, consisting of four hundred and twenty-six pearls, and
a handsome necklace, girdle, two pendants, and sixty buttons, all
enamelled in red and white upon gold, and studded with diamonds.
Although, on the whole, a more popular sovereign than his father, we
have seen Francesco Maria subjected, in the early years of his reign,
to seditious movements on the part of some discontented nobles. Of
a similar attempt in 1586, few particulars have been preserved; but
this notice of it in his Diary exhibits him as a stern dispenser of
justice. "Count Giovanni de' Thomasi was beheaded in the fortress
of Pesaro for homicide, sedition, and bad service towards his
master; he died as a Christian and a brave man, and may God pardon
his sins." But, though of hard, and even stern manners, the Duke
retained the affection of his household, most of whom remained
long in his service. From a catalogue of the chief officers at his
court, compiled by Lazzari, we learn the emoluments belonging to the
principal places.
_Scudi._
The superintendent of the household had yearly 1000
The master of the chamber 400
The master of the household 200
The gentlemen cuirassiers 250
The chamberlains 224
The sewer or carver for visitors 250
The philosopher or dilettante of poetry 300
The physician 250
The chaplain 150
The auditors or judges 500
The eight counsellors 400
The chief secretary 400
The secretary of justice 350
The treasurer 250
The fiscal advocate 350
The captains of the guard 232
The commandants of garrisons 300
The castellans, besides perquisites 150
The ambassador to Spain 1000
The ambassador to Venice 400
The agent in Rome 100
Francesco Maria had now reached the flower of manhood, and this may
be considered the most fortunate period of his reign. During the next
twelve years no untoward incident interrupted the smooth current of
his life, or the prosperity of his government. The healthful exercise
of the chase constituted his favourite relaxation from the cares
of state, and his Diary preserves more minute information on this
than on any other topic. He had within reach of Pesaro eighteen
preserves, stocked with roe-deer, goats, foxes, hares, pheasants, and
partridges, all of which were, in those days, considered fair game.
The more exciting sport of wild-boar was found in greatest perfection
near Mondolfo, and the following entry occurs in January, 1588.
"Hunted in the chase of S. Costanzo, and, in three hours, killed
nine wild boars, weighing 2580 lbs., besides offal. The largest one
weighed overhead 917 lbs. We cut off its head close behind the ears,
and hung it in the castle window over the great street of Mondolfo;
its weight was 59-1/2 lbs."
But red deer were the Duke's noblest and favourite sport, which,
being only found in the highlands of his duchy, was his original
attraction to Castel Durante, whence the best forest coverts were
easily accessible. It was on that account selected as his chief
residence during his father's life, and continued his annual resort
in autumn so long as he could follow the game. When increasing
years precluded such pastimes, we shall find that he there provided
other appliances more befitting his circumstances, and that these
preserved for Castel Durante a partiality which increased to the
latest hours of his life. He was in use there to spend the autumnal
months, returning to Pesaro before the carnival, and moving to Urbino
towards midsummer. In the interval from the 7th of September, 1588,
till the end of the following January, twenty-eight hunting parties
are mentioned in his Journal, at some of which wolves and smaller
game were killed. Red deer must have been in great abundance: thus,
November, 1587, "We killed a dozen, six of them males, the largest
weighing 464 lbs., besides 380 lbs. of offal. We left Castel Durante
about noon, and returned at dusk, after losing nearly an hour in
watching a hind which took refuge in the broken ground of the Lady's
Park, when fell dead the famous hound Box-cur, the only British one
I had. The twelve deer weighed 2914 lbs., without offal." In the
subsequent season, "hunted red deer in the valley of S. Martino
with greyhounds, but without canvas or nets. Saw twelve, and chased
five of them; but, though the dogs came up with them, they were not
able to hold any." The park which he had inclosed in the beautiful
vale of the Metauro, just out of Castel Durante, was stocked with
fallow-deer: which, however, seem to have been kept chiefly for
ornament, though occasionally resorted to for greyhound coursing,
when age had relaxed his limbs for the rougher mountain sport. The
last hunting party he mentions was in 1615.
Though reserved in manner, and little apt to indulge his court
in amusements uncongenial with his own unsocial temperament, he
sometimes relaxed so far as to have dancing fêtes at the Imperiale,
where he mentions three hundred ladies as having on one occasion
been present. The representation of comedies was a frequent
carnival pastime. The manner of conducting these theatricals, and
the methodical punctuality of the Duke's character, are at once
illustrated in the following extract. In February, 1589, "a comedy
by the late Maestro Fabio Bagnano was recited in the great hall of
Pesaro, beginning at 4 p.m. The first act lasted an hour and ten
minutes; after which came an interlude for twenty minutes, from
the fable of Ulysses hearing his wanderings foretold by Tiresias;
then act second, in fifty minutes, with a musical interlude for ten
minutes; then act third, in half-an-hour, with, for interlude, the
marriage of Eolus and Deiopeia, in twelve minutes; then act fourth,
in forty-eight minutes, and its musical interlude, in seven minutes;
lastly, act fifth, in thirty-eight minutes, with its interlude of the
gods allotting their various dominions; but this was not finished in
consequence of a cloud which, by some mismanagement, did not descend
properly." Among the performances noted about this period are the
comedies of _I falsi Sospetti_ by Pino; another by the Cavaliere
Ludovico Odasio, _I Suppositi_; and an eclogue entitled _La Myrtia_.
The interludes between the acts were frequently moresque dances or
ballets representing mythological subjects, such as the fable of
Prometheus, that of Calisto, the birth of Venus; varied by more
familiar themes, as hunting the owl. In 1597, we find noticed, among
other gay doings during carnival, a tournament in the great hall of
Pesaro, wherein ten or twelve knights ran each three courses, and
which was followed by an exhibition of various pleasing conceits.
Of Francesco Maria's literary pursuits we have various pleasing
memorials. Not satisfied with the valuable library of MSS. that
had descended to him from the Feltrian dukes, he formed another
of standard printed works. Indeed, he became an assiduous book
collector; and the letters of his librarian Benedetto Benedetti,
in the Oliveriana Library, are full of lists which his agents in
Venice, Florence, and even Frankfort are urged to supply. In his
own voluminous correspondence, we find constant offers from authors
of dedications or copies of their productions, the tone of which
is highly complimentary to his taste for letters. In 1603, the
Archbishop of Monreale, in Spain, transmits him the regulations he
proposed to prescribe in bequeathing his library to a seminary he
had founded in his diocese, expressing a hope that they might prove
useful to the Duke's collection, "at this moment without parallel in
the world."[85] Instead of quoting the vague testimony of courtly
compliment, as to the use which this philosophic Prince made of
these acquisitions, let us cite the brief records of his studies,
preserved in his own Diary. In 1585, "terminated an inspection of
the whole works of Aristotle, on which I have laboured no less than
fifteen years, having had them generally read to me by Maestro Cesare
Benedetti, of Pesaro." But his reading was not limited to such
speculative topics, and we presently find him imbibing knowledge from
a purer source. In 1587, "I finished my examination of the whole
Bible, with various commentaries, on which I have spent three years
and ten months." Again, on the "15th of December, 1598, completed
my second perusal of the entire Bible, which I read this time with
the commentary of Dionysio the Carthusian, occupying upon it eight
years." A curious inference of the contemplative character of his
mind may be drawn from the devices he successively assumed as
emblematic of his feelings. In youth he used a flame vanishing into
air, with the motto _Quies in sublime_, "There is rest on high:"
after he succeeded to the dukedom, he took a terrestrial globe with
the legend _Ponderibus librata suis_, "Self-poised."
[Footnote 85: Bibl. Oliveriana, No. 375, vol. XI., p. 204.]
The position of Pesaro, on the principal high road to Loreto and
Rome, exposed it to the constant passage of travellers of all ranks.
The former was the habitual resort of Roman Catholics, to whom holy
impulses, the hope of any specific blessing, or gratitude for mercies
vouchsafed, suggested an unusual devotional observance. The annual
functions of Easter, St. Peter's day, and Christmas, besides the
great occasional jubilees, attracted to the latter crowds of pious
pilgrims from all Christendom. The dukes were thus laid open to
frequent calls upon their hospitality, which the state maintained by
passing visitors often rendered most onerous. Thus, in 1589, Duke
Alfonso II. of Ferrara, on his way to and from Loreto, spent four
days at Pesaro, with his suite, consisting of fifty carriages, and
one hundred and fifty mounted attendants, at an expense to his host
of 3000 scudi. All royal pilgrims did not, however, thus mingle
worldly pomp with religious duties: ten years after, Ranuccio, Duke
of Parma, arrived incognito, in company with three others, who wore
red sack dresses, and travelled on foot. After passing the night at
Pesaro, they proceeded to Sinigaglia, on their way to the opening
of the holy door at Rome, in the jubilee of 1600. Eighteen years
later, Francesco Maria's Diary thus notes a more interesting visit:
"9th June, 1618, the Galileo arrived at Pesaro, on his return from
Loreto to Florence." The philosopher was then resident at the Villa
Segni, near his native capital, and suffered much from the effects
of a chronic illness caught in Lombardy some years previously, while
sleeping with an open window. Perhaps his pilgrimage to the holy
house may have been influenced by this circumstance.
"'Twas he who, risking life and fame to crush
The idol-worship that enslaved mankind,
Restored its native freedom to the mind."
In October, 1597, the direct line of the dukes of Ferrara closed on
the death of Alfonso II., whose object had been to secure to his
cousin Cesare, Marquis of Montecchio, the succession of his states,
as well as his private heritage. He had been able to obtain from the
Emperor a new investiture in his favour of Modena, Reggio, and Carpi,
but failed in procuring the like boon from Gregory XIV. as to the
Ferrarese holding. Immediately upon the vacancy, Cesare assumed the
dukedom, with full consent of his people, who dreaded the descent
to provincial rank which must have followed upon their annexation
to the papal state. Clement VIII., who then filled the chair of St.
Peter, answered a conciliatory embassy sent him by the claimant, with
a summons to appear at Rome, and, on his non-compliance, thundered
excommunication against him and his abettors. These decided steps
were followed up by a levy of nearly thirty thousand men, but ere
they could be brought into the field, Cesare d'Este gained some
partial successes near Bologna. Finding, however, that his position
was hopeless, he availed himself of the mediation of Lucrezia
Duchess of Urbino, who succeeded in reconciling him with the Legate.
The devolution of Ferrara to the Holy See was harmoniously completed
in February; but the lady has been accused of sacrificing the
interests of her cousin to an old grudge against his father, and to
a promise of the fief of Bertinoro. She did not, however, live to
receive the bribe, and her death is thus dryly noted in her husband's
Diary:--
"February 14th, I sent the Abbé Brunetti to Ferrara, to visit the
Duchess, my wife, who was sick.
"---- 15th, Heard that Madame Lucrezia d'Este, Duchess of Urbino, my
wife, died at Ferrara during the night of the 11th.
"---- 19, The Abbé Brunetti returned from Ferrara."
In his Memoirs she is the subject of still more brief remark:--"Her
death occurred after some years, leaving him [the Duke] executor
by her will of many pious bequests." Considering that the largest
bequest was in his own favour, a less chilling notice might have
been bestowed! The sum she left him was 30,000 scudi: to her various
attendants and servants she gave 12,000 in small legacies, and 20,000
among several convents, in masses for her soul. There was also a fund
to be mortified for the endowment of poor girls, half at Ferrara and
half at Urbino, and Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, the Pope's nephew,
was named residuary legatee, a selection which has been ingeniously
ascribed to the countenance bestowed by his family on Tasso, in the
closing scenes of that minstrel's troubled life.
The anxiety which had long been generally felt on the prospect of
a failure of the ducal family began to show itself after the death
of Lucrezia. The impediment of a childless marriage having thus
been providentially removed, men's hopes were again awakened, and
their wishes were not long in finding a unanimous expression. When
Francesco Maria appeared in public, his ears were greeted with
murmurs from the populace, which at length broke out in enthusiastic
demands for his marriage, and _Serenissimo, moglie_, "A wife, your
Highness," became the universal cry.[*86] The ferment thus created
was greatly increased by a circumstance which at first sight does
not appear much connected with the welfare of the duchy. In the
spring of 1598, Clement VIII., on his passage to take possession of
Ferrara, paid a visit to the court of Pesaro, where the magnificent
reception accorded him, and the long confidential interviews he had
with the Duke, were construed by popular jealousy into preparatives
for political changes. The extinction of the reigning line would
infer a lapse of their sovereignty to the Pope, similar to that which
had just degraded Ferrara: Francesco Maria's disinclination for
state-toils had already begun to show itself: the readiness of his
Holiness to secure so valuable a reversion, or even to anticipate it
by providing for the Duke an honourable retreat from duties which
he considered onerous, scarcely admitted of a doubt, an appetite
for annexation being naturally whetted by the recent acquisition
of territory. These ideas became a theme of discussion among the
multitudes who crowded from all quarters of the state to witness the
courtly shows at Pesaro; and when the Duke returned to the city from
escorting the Pope towards Ferrara, he was met at the gate by a host
of his subjects, whose loyalty and patriotism burst forth afresh in
tumultuous shouts of "_Serenissimo! moglie_."
[Footnote *86: Cf. CALOGERÀ, _Memorie concernenti Franc.
Maria II._ (Venice, 1776).]
That the object of Clement's visit had been faithfully construed by
the general voice seems more than probable from the document we are
about to quote; but upon this point the Memoirs throw no light. They
merely notice his reception of the Pontiff with all distinction,
and the remarkably friendly bearing of his Holiness towards himself
and the Duchess mother during a day spent at their court: mutual
presents passed between them, and Clement dwelt on the good service
which his father had afforded to Duke Guidobaldo. From the Duke's
Diary we learn that after meeting his Holiness on his southern
frontier, and again escorting him out of Sinigaglia, where he had
slept with a suite of sixteen cardinals, he took boat and hastened
to Pesaro. Next morning he proceeded to meet his visitor, who had
spent the night at Fano, and welcomed him to his capital. Passing
back to Rome in the end of the year, the Pope halted at Pesaro only
to say mass in the cathedral; and on both occasions he was preceded
one day by the Holy Sacrament. In the following year the Pontiff,
in acknowledgment, perhaps, of these hospitalities, accorded to his
host a dispensation, whereby the indulgences, to which the use of
certain rosary prayers and ave maria's entitled him, were united and
concentrated in a single _cavaliere_.[87]
[Footnote 87: Rosaries, _corone_, and such were helpmates or
promptuaries to prayer, differing in form and varying in supposed
efficacy, according to the special privileges and indulgences
bestowed on them by ecclesiastical gift. A specimen of the nature
and powers of such indulgences will be found in the description of a
corona belonging to the Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1666. See Appendix
VI.]
The predominant feeling of Francesco Maria, even at this period of
his life, appears to have been a selfish attachment to solitary
habits and pursuits, tempered by sincere anxiety to discharge his
public duties for the benefit of his people. An argument addressing
itself to both motives readily occurred to the wily Pontiff. An
immediate abdication would secure to the Duke personal ease, and the
consequent devolution of his government to the Camera Apostolica
might be guarded by stipulations for the public weal, which such
voluntary demission alone could entitle him to dictate. The art with
which these considerations had been urged, and the impression they
made upon the Duke, may be best gathered from a circular he addressed
to the magistrates of each city in his state, curiously exemplifying
him in that character of royal philosopher which it seems to have
been his ambition to attain.[*88]
[Footnote *88: Cf. REPOSATI, _Della Zecca di Gubbio_, vol. II., p.
220 (Bologna, 1772-3). The date of this letter was June 7th, 1598.]
"Most magnificent and well-beloved,
"Ever since we understood that you so affectionately long
for the continuation and maintenance of our house, we have
had no wish more urgent than to conform to your desires;
and although for some time past we have been always anxious
to facilitate this resolution, yet the more we consider
it, the greater do the difficulties daily appear, not only
by reason of our age and infirmities, but much more from
the obligation laid upon us to take no step that might
turn to your prejudice, as we know this would do: for,
upon weighing the advantages that would accrue to you by
being placed after our death immediately under the sway
of the Church, there cannot, in our opinion, be a doubt
that this would be most beneficial; since, besides being
rid of the present inconvenient restrictions on trade in
grain, salt, oil, and similar commodities, you might well
hope, from a sovereign so powerful as his Holiness, many
exemptions and facilities which we, however well-disposed,
cannot, with due attention to the suitable maintenance of
our rank, accord you. Wherefore, we exhort and pray you, to
take all this into your most serious consideration; and,
along with it, those suggestions which your affectionate
devotion may prompt, in conjunction with our delicate and
advanced age, as these might, at all events, render vain
the hope of a succession, or at least might occasion you
to be some day left under a minority (ever a judgment of
God upon a nation), and us to die with such pain as you may
conceive the predicament of leaving a minor would occasion
us: whereas, on the other hand, were we to remain in our
present condition, looking, so long as God may vouchsafe
us life, for no other children than yourselves, we might
the more diligently apply to the cares of our government.
It is therefore our desire that you satisfy yourselves in
this matter, and, after having prayed in all sincerity
to our Lord and Saviour for His inspiration, that you
convoke a full meeting of your usual council, excluding
all officers of our government, and that, after reading to
them this our letter, they should decide by ballot what
they judge most fitting for the common weal, having sworn
the consuls to conceal nothing of the resolution they come
to; and you shall report their decision to the Bishop of
this city, who, keeping it secret from us and all others,
shall declare only the general result of this appeal to you
and to the other principal places of our state, to whom we
write in similar terms: and the opinion so expressed we
shall, in accordance to our love towards you, endeavour
to carry into effect even at the hazard of our life,
thus appealing to the faithful attachment you have ever
displayed towards our house and ourselves, as is well known
to all, but chiefly to us.--May it, therefore, please the
blessed God so to inspire you, that these our exhortations
and commands may be executed so as to bring about the best
results, and may He preserve you. From Pesaro, 7th June,
1598.
"FRANCESCO MARIA."
The consequence of this singular appeal was a unanimous and urgent
resolution in favour of the Duke's immediate marriage; indeed nothing
else could well be looked for, the alternative contemplated by the
people being loss of their independence, and the substitution of a
foreign legate, changed every few years, for a hereditary and popular
sovereign. Passeri conjectures that this result was in fact less
distasteful to Francesco Maria than the tone of his letter might
infer; and that the whole expedient was adopted in order to obtain
a satisfactory answer to the importunities of the Pontiff, whom the
stern measures lately adopted towards Ferrara had rendered the Duke
peculiarly averse to thwart, by opposition to his scheme. From the
Memoirs so often quoted, we learn nothing beyond the obvious facts,
that the marriage was undertaken in compliance with urgent entreaties
of the Duchess mother and of the people of Urbino, and that the bride
was his own choice.
Of Cardinal Giulio della Rovere's two natural sons we have already
spoken.[89] In the correspondence of Francesco Maria, there occur
some proofs of a bad understanding between him and these cousins,
the origin and circumstances of which it is unnecessary to examine.
To Ippolito Marquis of S. Lorenzo, there was born in 1585, of his
marriage with Isabella Vitelli, Princess dell'Amatrice in the
Abruzzi, a daughter Livia, who was educated in the convent of Sta.
Caterina at Pesaro; and on her fell the choice of Francesco Maria,
as announced in the following extract of a letter to the Archduchess
Maria of Austria. A selection so obviously ineligible may have been
dictated in part by that shrinking from close contact with strangers
which his reserved habits were calculated to generate, and partly too
by the sad experience he had already reaped of a marriage of state
policy.
[Footnote 89: Above, p. 82.]
"Moved by the unremitting entreaties of my subjects, I have been
forced to establish myself by a new alliance: yet as my age and other
considerations would have prevented me from taking this resolution
but for their satisfaction, I have chosen to combine with their
wishes a due consideration for my own, by selecting one of my proper
blood, and brought up in this country, in whom are combined many of
the qualities suited to my views."
Of the domestic life of Francesco Maria after his second union no
record has been preserved to us. The circumstances in which it was
effected were not such as to promise a high degree of matrimonial
felicity, to which his cold nature, advanced age, and reserved
character were virtually impediments. Nor could the monotonous
seclusion of his habits be attractive to a youthful bride,
transported from a convent to the rank of sovereignty with few of its
gauds. That she had the good sense simply to conform to her position
may be inferred from the rare occurrence of her name in the documents
which I have inspected. The brief notices of her in her husband's
Diary merely prove that they were seldom apart, and in one instance
she is mentioned as accompanying him to his favourite pastime of deer
hunting. Regarding preliminaries for their marriage, that record is
silent, and the only allusion to it is in this concise phrase: "26th
April, 1599, I married the Lady Livia della Rovere." But letters of
the Duchess, written long subsequently, to her granddaughter, of
which a specimen will be introduced below, exhibit her character in a
light so amiable as to warrant our regret that it has not been more
prominently brought into view, in the few materials which we possess
for this portion of our narrative.
Francesco Maria's affection to his mother would have been beautiful
in any rank. Besides anxiously providing for her comfort by a
suitable establishment, he made her his friend and confidante through
life; and during his first marriage she filled at his court the place
which in happier circumstances would have been occupied by his wife.
The ailments of her advancing years he tended with affectionate
anxiety, and thus notices her decease on the 13th December, 1602,
after a long indisposition. "Most deep was the public grief for the
loss of this excellent and sainted Princess. She was beloved by
all, but most by her son, who felt her death as no common sorrow,
and testified both in public and in private the sincerity of his
feelings. Her funeral oration, pronounced by Leoni, was very fine,
though his praises necessarily fell far short of her real merits."
The Venetian Relazioni from the della Rovere court bear witness to
her sound judgment and business habits, to her generous disposition
and beneficent charities, as well as to the piety of her character,
and the exemplary conduct observed by her household.
Her remains were interred by those of her husband, with an epitaph
which will be found in No. VII. of the Appendix, and her son appears
from his Diary to have worn mourning for her for upwards of a year.
CHAPTER XLVI
Birth of Prince Federigo--The Duke's retired habits
and aversion to business--His constitution-making
experiments--His instructions to his son--The Prince's
unfortunate education and character.
Although the patriotism and loyalty of his people had been gratified
by the gracious manner in which he had assented to their eager desire
for his marriage, yet was there wanting somewhat to the full fruition
of their cherished hopes. The health of the Duchess was watched
with anxiety, and when months had passed away without the promise
of an heir, apprehensions more restless than before spread over the
land. In a matter beyond the limits of human will, recourse was had
to the Dispenser of all events. Prayers were offered up in public
and private. Vows were solemnly registered by all the towns, by
confraternities, even by village communities and private individuals,
for the erection and dedication of churches and altars, especially
to S. Ubaldo, once bishop of Gubbio, who had been assumed as special
protector of that city and of the race of Montefeltro. About the
beginning of 1605, it was announced that these devotional appeals
had been crowned with success: the gloomy anticipations of the
citizens were turned to joyous hope; and so formidable to the public
tranquillity did the reaction of enthusiasm appear, that orders were
issued for transporting into the fortress of Pesaro all the state
archives, in case any tumult or conflagration might endanger their
safety.
As the Duchess's confinement drew near, the subject seemed
exclusively to engross men's minds, and when her hour was reported
to have arrived, the piazza in front of the palace was crowded
with an impatient multitude, who remained a day and night in eager
expectation. At length, on the morning of the 16th of May, the
festival of the patron saint Ubaldo, to whom their prayers had been
addressed, about nine o'clock, the Duke appeared at a window of the
great hall, and announced with a loud and clear voice, "God has
vouchsafed us a boy!" The cheer of joyous triumph which rang through
the palace-yards was but an inadequate expression of the general
exultation, and the precautions taken to preserve the peace proved
but too limited; for the insensate popular excitement vented itself
in an attack upon the Jews' quarter, and succeeded in sacking and
burning their synagogue and shops, in spite of exertions by the
military, who had been held in readiness to quell the outbreak.
Meanwhile salvoes of artillery proclaimed the Prince's advent; and in
grateful acknowledgment of his good fortune, his father proclaimed
pardon to many prisoners, and favours to various classes of his
subjects. At the same time, with due regard to good order, he checked
the longer continuance of noisy and tumultuous festivity, and in
particular prohibited discharges of fire-arms under the heavy penalty
of 100 scudi.
Any scepticism which might have been secretly entertained of the
infant being truly a _dieu-donné_, in special answer to the thousand
prayers that had been proffered to or through S. Ubaldo, was removed
or silenced by his arrival on the fête of that saint whose hold on
the devotional feelings of the people was thus marvellously riveted.
Among the couriers speedily despatched over the duchy to bear boot
and spur the happy news, one directed to Gubbio, the city and diocese
of S. Ubaldo, was charged with a special letter from Francesco
Maria.[*90] Arriving in hot haste, he found the whole population
assembled in arms in the piazza, with the magistrates at their
head, to whom he delivered the welcome missive; after publication
of which the multitude formed a solemn procession to the cathedral,
to render thanksgivings to S. Ubaldo, its and their protector. In
that church the community of Gubbio lost no time in erecting a new
chapel commemorative of the occasion, and placed on the altar a
picture, in which the Madonna and Child smile benignantly on the
suppliant saints, John Baptist and Ubaldo (the former their original
patron), whilst in the lower part is seen the courier's arrival with
the ducal despatch. Other places were scarcely less enthusiastic
in redeeming their pious pledges, though enthusiasm seems to have
been occasionally tempered by meaner considerations. Thus, in the
communal records of S. Angelo in Vado, I found appeals from the Duke
to quicken the tardy contribution of 500 scudi towards the erection
of a votive church to S. Ubaldo; and months were spent in discussions
among the magistracy how that sum was to be raised, by an assessment
upon the artisans, and a duty upon butcher-meat. I know not whether
we are to regard as an economical solution of the difficulty an altar
picture in the church of S. Filippo there, in which S. Ubaldo is
represented as introducing to the Madonna and Child the young Prince,
led up by S. Crescenzio, the patron of Urbino, while St. John Baptist
intercedes in his behalf. Federigo seems a child about five years
old, in a very richly embroidered dress, and strongly resembles a
portrait of him which came into my hands from the Vatican Library,
and which is here introduced.[91]
[Footnote *90: Cf. PELLEGRINI, _op. cit._, in _Boll. cit._, vol.
_cit._, p. 506 _et seq._ There seems always to have been an
antagonism between Gubbio and Urbino, and now Gubbio could certainly
crow. She appears to have done so. See note 2, p. 506, of work
quoted. The country was not quiet after the rejoicing till May 30th,
the festa being kept in all the cities. CORRADI, _Feste per il
nascimento di un Principe nel sec. XVII._ in _Il Giornale di Foligno_
(Foligno, 1887), No. 28 _et seq._ describes the rejoicing in Cagli.]
[Footnote 91: In 1843-6, a variety of duplicates and objects of
art belonging to the Vatican Library were exchanged away, with the
sanction of Gregory XVI., whilst my lamented friend Monsignore
Laureani, the librarian, was forming, by that Pontiff's order,
from very limited resources, a most interesting series of early
panel pictures illustrating the progress of Christian painting.
The portrait of Prince Federigo now belongs to my friend Andrew
Coventry, Esq., Edinburgh, and appears the production of a scholar of
Baroccio.]
According to the religious usages of the age, the measure of
gratitude due by the sovereigns of Urbino for their long desired heir
would have remained incomplete without a pilgrimage of thanksgiving
to the Madonna of Loreto. Benedetto Benedetti, librarian to the
Duke, writes, on the 20th June, 1605,[92] that the Duchess was to
set out next day on this holy mission, "carrying with her a plate
of solid gold, the size of a half sheet of writing paper, on which
was portrayed in oil by a young pupil of Baroccio the infant Prince,
who is one of the most lovely babes I should wish to look upon; fat,
of good complexion, and comely features, his eyes large and black,
unlike those of the Duke, and his mouth resembling his mother's."
It appears, however, from the Diary of Francesco Maria, that he
had already acquitted himself of this pious debt by attending the
festival of the Corpus Domini at Loreto on the 9th of June. On the
29th the Duchess carried her son to Urbino. At the gate they were met
by twelve youths in blue damask trimmed with gold, and twenty-four
children in white and gold; and the Prince, with his nurse, was borne
by these youths in a close chair to the palace, through streets
embellished with fountains and other ornaments.
[Footnote 92: Oliveriana MSS. No. 375.]
Three days after the child's birth he had been privately baptised
by the Bishop of Pesaro on Ascension Day, and named Federigo Ubaldo
Giuseppe. His public baptism took place on the 29th November at
Urbino, on which occasion his father, in deference to the loyal
joy of his subjects, broke through his wonted habits of quiet and
retirement, and celebrated the solemnity with a pomp more congenial
to the pageant observances of Italian courts than to his own tastes.
Every community of the duchy, by special invitation, sent their
deputies, expensively arrayed, and bearing costly gifts. The states
of Italy likewise were there, represented by ambassadors rivalling
each other in magnificence. But chief among all was the Marquis
of Pescara, envoy of Philip III. of Spain, who, before its birth,
had promised to stand godfather to the infant. We pass over the
ceremonial with which he was welcomed, but must pause for a little
upon the spectacle of the baptism, as described in a contemporary
narrative.[93]
[Footnote 93: Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 818, f. 444.]
From the houses in front of the Duomo were displayed those rich and
many-tinted hangings which add so much to the effect of an Italian
pageant. The short space from the palace was closed in by an awning
of green, red, and white, the ducal liveries. The whole interior
of the church was hung with magnificent decorations, in which were
mingled tapestries and brocades, pictures and heraldic blazonry. The
high altar was profusely furnished with statues, vases, candlesticks,
all of solid silver. Into the cathedral thus prepared was seen
advancing, about two hours before mid-day, under a bright and genial
sun, a most imposing procession. The principal public functionaries,
and the most distinguished of the nobility, were followed by
twenty-five pages of high birth, dressed in Damascus blue. Then came
representatives of the seven principal cities, bearing the massive
silver vessels to be used in the ceremony. At their head walked Count
Alessandro Tiane, Gonfaloniere of Urbino, conspicuous not less by
his handsome person than by the rare splendour of his costume. He
wore a close-fitting dress of white, brocaded with gold and silver;
his flowing mantle of purple velvet was lined with violet and gold;
and on his neck and cap was displayed a profusion of costly jewels.
A scarf embroidered with pearls and precious stones suspended from
his neck a white cushion, whereon lay the babe in "toys of quaint
apparel," which the writer attempts not to describe. The nurse,
attended by sixty noble matrons arrayed in gala, closed the cortège,
amid the clang of artillery and martial music. The sacred rite
was administered by the Bishop of Fossombrone, and the religious
function having been auspiciously ended, the company proceeded to a
ball, followed by a supper, where the grotesque taste and elaborate
ingenuity of Italian confectioners were lavishly displayed in the
table-ornaments.
About seven in the evening, the guests were summoned by trumpet to
the windows and balconies to witness a triumphal representation of
the glories of Duke Federigo, whose name had that day been revived
in the infant Prince. The space in front of the palace was fitted
up as a vast stage laid out with woodland scenery, in the midst
whereof rose a mountain, emblematic of the Apennines. Near its
summit a cavern exhibited antique trophies and elephants, among
which was a broken bust of Asdrubal, allusive to the defeat of the
Carthaginian army near the Furlo pass. The whole was overshadowed by
two vast oaks personifying the Duke and Duchess, under which were
grouped shepherds playing on their national instruments. Across this
mimic representation of the duchy of Urbino a gorgeous procession
passed with military music, in the following order. The car of
Fame advanced, glittering with the precious metals, and drawn by
winged horses. On its front, amid garlands of flowers, was perched
a black eagle crowned, the monarch of birds, and heraldic bearing
of Montefeltro; and it contained figures of Fame, Time, and Truth.
Fame stood winged upon a globe, to which were yoked two dolphins; her
robe of gold and silver tissue was _semé_ with countless eyes, ears,
and mouths, and in her hand she held a golden trumpet. Before her
sat old Time, with his hour-glass; behind, Truth chanted stanzas in
compliment to the hero of two mottoes which were displayed over the
car:--
"TO THESE AND EARTH'S MOST DISTANT LANDS ARE SHOWN
OUR FREDERICK'S GLORIOUS DEEDS, HIS HONOUR AND RENOWN."
"BY MARTIAL VALOUR WERE HIS TITLES WON."
In the procession which followed, were borne the armorial insignia
of Duke Federigo, and of the sovereigns in close alliance with him;
his various decorations of knighthood, the golden rose, the sword and
baton of the Church, and similar badges of his dignities. Then came
another car, drawn by four horses, and magnificently ornamented with
cornucopias of public prosperity, intermingled with devices used by
the various Dukes, amid which sat Justice, Bravery, and Prudence.
Next marched by, an imposing military pageant, with the banners and
ensigns of those states and cities over which Federigo had been
victorious, and with the batons of command entrusted to him by the
different powers whom he had served. To these succeeded a third car,
still more magnificently decked out, which was dedicated to martial
glory, and bore a figure of Pallas copied from the antique; it was
laden with pictures and mottoes, allusive to his principal triumphs;
and over a mass of books was the legend,--
"MINERVA'S LIBERAL ARTS HIS VICTORIES DID CROWN."
This lengthened procession having all passed, the various figures
who had performed in it assembled upon the stage and executed a
melodramatic ballet, which lasted till about 10 p.m.; and the
ceremonies of the day were wound up by a splendid display of
fireworks.[94] It has been stated in most accounts of the baptism,
that the Golden Fleece was conferred on the infant by the Marquis
of Pescara in name of his master Philip III. But, from the Diary of
Francesco Maria, we learn that this decoration had been transmitted
to himself some weeks before, that he, as a knight of that order,
might invest the Marquis with it, which was duly done on the 1st of
December.
[Footnote 94: A comparison of this stately entertainment with the
ceremonial at the baptism of Prince Henry of Scotland in 1594, as
given in the _Lives of the Lindsays_, vol. I., 382, from a rare
contemporary pamphlet, shows how Italian revels influenced the
courtly displays of our ancestors, due allowance being made for the
difference of climate and the somewhat more material attractions of
the northern festivity.]
The Duke's advancing years had by this time considerably modified
his personal habits. To the pleasures of the chase succeeded the
less fatiguing interests of a large breeding stud. His partiality
for animals and natural history had long induced him to give his
attention to improve the race of horses, and he notes in his Diary
frequent arrivals of stock of all sorts from various quarters,
purchased or received in presents. Thus, in 1588, he had fifty-four
young horses at one time from the Duke of Savoy, and he mentions
paying 300 to 500 ducats for stallions. After his second marriage,
entries of this sort became more frequent, and details of hunting
less so. The great breeding establishment was maintained on Monte
Corciano near Cagli, where the young stock ran at grass during
the summer months; in winter they were brought down to Mirafiori,
where those which were sufficiently advanced went into the hands of
breakers. This was a casino just without the walls of Pesaro, so
called from a flower-garden the Duke had made there, whither rare
and beautiful plants were brought from all parts at great expense.
In it too was preserved a very rich armoury collected by him, which
is mentioned with admiration by Scotti in his published travels, and
which afterwards passed to the grand-ducal family of Tuscany.
But the most marked alteration of his character was his growing
aversion to public business, and increasing proneness to gratify
his secluded and selfish habits by devoting an undue portion of
time to his private relaxations of study and books. The tendency to
solitude which had been gradually stealing upon him was checked for
a season after the birth of his son. This joyous occasion seems to
have in some degree revived the elasticity of his youthful feelings:
his visits to Pesaro were more frequent, and, in 1606, the Comedy
of _L'Ingannata_ was repeatedly performed in the palace there. Ere
long, however, his mind gradually relapsed into a sort of morbid
abstraction which was constitutional to him, and the retirement of
Castel Durante became more and more attractive. It would indeed have
been difficult to find a spot more congenial. Known originally as
Castel del Ripa, a title appropriate to its position on a peninsula,
formed by the rugged ravine of the brawling Metauro, it had been
destroyed about 1277, in a foray of the people of Urbino, whence it
is distant about nine miles. Pope Martin IV. ordered it to be rebuilt
by his Legate in Romagna, Guglielmo Durante, a noted canonist, who
gave it his own name. Having subsequently passed in seigneury to the
Brancaleoni of Mercatello, it was obtained, under the title partly
of conquest, partly of inheritance, by the Counts of Montefeltro,
in 1429. After that dynasty had been extinguished, it owed to papal
munificence a second re-edification in 1636, when Urban VIII. raised
it to the rank of a city, suffragan to the Bishop of S. Angelo in
Vado; and the improvements he made upon it are commemorated by his
statue erected in the town, and by another change to its present name
of Urbania.
Its situation is singularly beautiful. Surrounded by wooded hills, it
occupies the nearest point of the upper valley of the Metauro, which
extends to the Mercatello in a stretch of rich alluvial land that
pleasingly contrasts with the rest of this highland province. Adapted
equally for the sports of the chase, and for a peaceful retreat
from the busy world, it was in all respects suited to the wants of
Francesco Maria, in youth and in advancing years. His usual residence
was a large palace which, entering from the street, overhangs to
the back the romantic river; and which, like many more of the ducal
possessions, has passed to the Albani, and is doomed to the neglect
consequent upon absenteeism and protracted litigation. It was here
probably that he built a library, to which in 1609 he transported
from Pesaro the many books which he had collected, leaving at Urbino
those which had been amassed by his predecessors. On the opposite
bank he enclosed an extensive park, and stocked it with fallow-deer
and smaller game. Within that enclosure, on the slopes of Monte
Berticchio, he built, after his second marriage, another palace, and
surrounded it with a delightful garden. The park walls also included
the convent of Franciscan Observantines, which still stands about a
mile to the west of Urbania; and to them perhaps may be attributed
the beginning of that monkish influence which tinged his latter
years. But they were eventually superseded in his regard by the
Minims, for whom, in 1617, he purchased the church of the Madonna
della Neve, just beyond the park gate, and changed its name to that
of the Crucifix. He there built for them a small convent, and invited
to it twelve monks, distinguished for learning and acquirements in
those philosophic pursuits which chiefly occupied his mind. Thus, as
years advanced, did he become more and more inordinately attached
to Castel Durante, where, leaving in his capital the trappings of
sovereignty, he surrounded himself with a small and select suite, and
sought in books and philosophic discussions, those gratifications
which, since the chase had lost its charms, were most conducive to
his humour. Here accordingly we find him corresponding with Isaac
Casaubon, as to a MS. of Polybius, which, by desire of Henry IV.,
he had forwarded for an edition then in preparation at Paris, and
urging its restoration, on the plea that MSS. of such value were not
removed from the library, even for his own use.[95] It was doubtless
the same Polybius which Giunta tells us was returned by that monarch
under a military escort.[96]
[Footnote 95: Brit. Mus., Burney MSS. No. 367, f. 64.]
[Footnote 96: MS. Albani Library at Rome.]
It being the whim of Francesco Maria to unite in his person
the opposite characters of monarch and philosopher, manifold
inconsistencies were the natural consequence. In the address to his
subjects, which we have quoted in reference to his second marriage,
we have seen him dwell on the government of a minor as the greatest
evil that could befall a people. Yet scarcely had he obtained the
blessing of an heir than he began to devise steps for devolving
prematurely upon his child the responsibility of sovereignty, and
thereby releasing himself from those cares of state which reached him
even at Castel Durante, and jarred upon his morbid love of seclusion
and books. To this motive, at least, seem attributable the measures
which we are now to detail, although he apparently excused them to
himself as a wise precaution, in anticipation of his own death ere
his son should have attained maturity. But, whatever may have been
his real inducement, the scheme, so novel in that age, of imparting
to his subjects a share in the government, was obviously calculated
to gratify his love of philosophic speculation, while it threw upon
others those duties and anxieties from which the prevailing desire of
his advancing years was to escape.
His first step towards this plan was taken in 1696, by ordaining
that the episcopal cities of Urbino, Pesaro, Gubbio, Sinigaglia,
Fossombrone, Cagli, and S. Leo, with the province of Massa Trabaria,
should send him a leet of their inhabitants most qualified for the
administration of affairs. Selecting one from each, he constituted
them into a council of state, to sit permanently in Urbino: on this
body he conferred the most ample powers to govern in his name, and,
in the case of his death, to become the regency. In order fully to
explain this project, we quote the state documents relating to
it, which have been printed by Marini in his _Saggio di S. Leo_.
These will be rendered more intelligible by premising that the
inhabitants of towns were then divided into four classes,--the
nobility, the merchants and wealthy citizens, the master artisans,
and the operative artisans. Each of these chose their own prior, and
the prior of the nobles was the gonfaloniere, to whom, among other
duties, was confided the standard in battle. These political rights
did not extend to peasants, menial servants, nor mechanics of the
baser callings.
"To the magnificent and our well-beloved, the Gonfaloniere
and Priors of S. Leo, and to the Four, and the Parliament
of the province of Montefeltro, THE DUKE OF URBINO.
"Magnificent and well-beloved,
"Ever since the birth of the son whom God has vouchsafed
to us, it has been our fixed intention, in consideration
of the age we have attained, to leave behind us such a
form of government as may, during his minority, secure
your welfare, and be in conformity to your wishes; and
the desire increases with the affection which we bear to
you, and to which you are so well entitled. For this end
nothing seems more suitable than that you should govern
the commonwealth and him also. To carry our design into
execution, your council of S. Leo, uniting with the Four
and the Parliament of the province of Montefeltro, will
elect three or four well-qualified persons, without
reference to their rank or station, or to their being
members of council or parliament. From these we shall
select one, who, together with those from the other seven
communities, may represent our whole state, and give
their undivided attention to such important matters for
the general weal as shall be impartially proposed by us,
with a view to your own benefit, and that of our house.
The enclosed draft is sent to you as a foretaste of this
plan of government. Be careful, therefore, to complete
the election as soon as possible, as it is our intention
to make trial during our life of this mode of government,
and so to introduce it that, after us, it may proceed with
the more facility, and in better order, in the name of
the Almighty. From all this we feel assured that you must
perceive the great confidence which we have in you, and
which we firmly hope will much contribute to those good
results of our plan so strenuously desired by us and by
you. May the Lord God protect you.
"From Urbino, the 24th of August, 1606.
"FRANCESCO MARIA."
[_Draft enclosed in the preceding letter._]
"The form of government by the persons elected shall be as
follows. All the Eight shall reside at Urbino, with the
same absolute rules as I myself enjoy, attending with all
diligence and loyal fidelity to the guidance of the state
and of their pupil. And, further, each of them shall make
oath before the auditors to exercise their functions in
the manner prescribed, and, in due time, to execute to the
letter my testament, and all such written memoranda as I
may leave behind me.
"They shall have two secretaries, one for foreign affairs
and correspondence, the other for those of the interior,
and shall assemble with them twice a day, or oftener if
necessary. They shall take their seats at the same side of
the table in their respective order; and those whose rank
may have been matter of dispute shall decide by lot who is
to take precedence at first, and shall thereafter enjoy
it by turns, changing each succeeding month. They shall
observe the same order in voting and on all occasions of
meeting for public business, but at other times they are
to have no sort of rank. And this rule shall be observed
as to all questions of precedence that may arise, until it
be modified by consent or legal authority, always without
prejudice to the rights of individuals; and, if any one be
discontented therewith, the others shall be entitled to
administer the state with unimpaired authority.
"They shall enjoin the secretaries to make minutes of all
that occurs, writing them afterwards into a book for the
purpose. The Eight, or whatever be their number, shall
discuss verbally all motions, and ballot upon them, the
resolutions supported by most balls being carried; and this
shall be specially minuted, with the signature of both
secretaries. In case of an equality of votes, the president
of the bench of auditors shall be called upon to decide the
point.
"All their resolutions, letters, and documents shall run
in name of the sovereign, with the ducal seal, and with
signatures of the first in rank, and of the two secretaries.
"In absence of one or more from illness, or the like lawful
cause, the others shall continue vested with the same
authority, provided there be a quorum of five; but, if
fewer, the auditors must make up that number. And, should
one die, or become permanently disabled, his place must be
forthwith filled up by election of another leet as at first.
"The courts of law [_udienza_] shall continue to enjoy the
same authority as heretofore, but subject to the first of
the eight deputies, to whom shall be submitted memorials of
all cases for pardon, in the same way as has been hitherto
observed. By these courts shall be named the officers of
justice for the state, who, in absence of cause shown to
the contrary, shall be confirmed by the deputies, on whom
shall depend absolutely all the other officers of the
household and state.
"And, in order that these deputies may give undivided
attention to their official duties, they shall each receive
from the treasury 300 scudi a year."[97]
[Footnote 97: Vat. Ottob. MSS. No. 3184, f. 154. The salary of 300
scudi was increased to 400.]
Four days after date of the preceding letter, the provincial
parliament of Montefeltro, and the council of S. Leo, met to
deliberate thereon, by summons from the commissioner of the province
and the podestà of the town. The parliament consisted of four
delegates from the landward districts, and twenty-nine others from
as many townships; the council was composed of the gonfaloniere,
three priors, and twenty-nine citizens. They elected four deputies
by ballot, excluding, by a majority of black beans, two of those
proposed; and, from these four, one whose election had been unanimous
was selected by the Duke as deputy to the council. Similar forms
having been observed by the remaining cities, the council entered
upon their duties on 22nd of January, 1607, and Francesco Maria
resigned himself more than ever to the selfish ease of his solitary
and abstracted life at Castel Durante, flattering himself (to use his
own words) that "they would inform themselves fully of all matters of
internal policy and foreign relations, and would direct these for the
service of God, and to the benefit of his subjects, and of his heir."
It would be tedious and unnecessary to notice all the minute
instructions issued from time to time to the Eight on matters of
police, of patronage, or of trade. The following memorandum, however,
written out by Francesco Maria himself for their guidance, in 1611,
affords some insight into his views of general policy:--
"In order to continue hourly more fully satisfied with you, I give
you the following suggestions, which seem to me called for at
this moment. Ever have before your eyes the three objects which
I have often enforced upon you--plenty, peace, and justice. The
first of these will be secured if the old plan for plenty be not
re-established, which, indeed, might be more appropriately called
perpetual scarcity, as it was adopted solely for enriching six or
eight of the worst citizens who managed it; and should it become
necessary to purchase grain, let an advance from my funds be made
to the public, always endeavouring to clear off such loans as
remain undischarged. And never permit the local councils to meddle
with matters that concern them not, seeing that I, by adopting the
contrary plan for their satisfaction, fell into errors which turned
out ill.
"As to maintaining peace among my subjects, this may easily be done
by chastising the riotous and sowers of dissension and discord, whose
punishment ought to be public and severe; above all things preventing
persons of whatsoever rank to pretend to or maintain retinues of
followers, or to domineer over others.
"Justice will be observed by insuring the prompt issue of suits,
and by punishing judges when they fall into error; but especially
by enforcing an inviolate observance of all orders, decrees, and
proclamations; by rarely, and only from necessity, suspending the
prosecution of outlaws; and by receiving few fugitives from other
states. Prevent so great an increase of lawyers and notaries, and
offer obstacles to their admission. Show no undue favour to parties
in suits. Vigilantly defend our authority, ever covertly assailed;
but do this by fair means, avoiding if possible open ruptures. Eschew
partiality and prejudice, rigorously maintaining justice and your
duty.
"In the despatch of business promptitude is requisite, avoiding
arrears, which occasion oversights, and lead to a wholesale
transaction of affairs, without the accuracy necessary to their
being done well; and although full consideration and discussion
be required, there are few matters which cannot be exhausted by
employing on them one's entire energy during two hours; after
which they should be carried into effect quickly, without further
discourse, but with secrecy. Provided you do all these things with
that affection upon which I rely, I doubt not of their happy issue;
but I again, and for the last time, remind you that your chief
care should be the punctual execution of all my injunctions and
commands."[98]
[Footnote 98: Vat. Ottob. MSS. No. 3134, f. 158.]
Whatever may have been the immediate effect upon the management
of public affairs of the Duke's wayward conduct, its mischievous
influence on the character of the young Prince was not long dormant.
His education was entrusted, in 1607, to the Countess Vittoria
Tortora Ranuccio Santinelli, whose husband was major-domo to the
Duke; but the anxiety felt for a life so precious was unduly
exaggerated by certain symptoms of childish delicacy, and the
system adopted was that of unbounded indulgence, balanced by no
obligation to apply himself to anything. Before he had completed
his second year, Philip III. settled upon him in reversion his
father's retaining pension of 15,000 golden scudi, and company of
men-at-arms in Naples, assuring him of ample protection. That the
Duke was sensitively anxious to prepare his mind for the duties of
manhood thus crowded prematurely upon him, is interestingly shown by
a paper of instructions, written in the anticipation of his being
left an early orphan. To find in it maxims directly opposed to the
writer's own practice may afford scope for saddening speculation to
a philosophic moralist, and must have greatly detracted from their
influence upon the boy to whom they were addressed. The length of the
document, and its interruption to our narrative, will be excused from
its importance as illustrating the character of Francesco Maria.
"Believing that at my advanced age I cannot be much longer
with you, I have resolved to write down certain memoranda
which I consider it most necessary that you should
remember, preserving them not merely under your eye, but
impressing them deep on your heart; for by none can they be
offered you with more affection, or perhaps with greater
experience, from the affairs which I have conducted.
"I would, therefore, desire you chiefly to endeavour
with all your might, to live in the favour of our Lord
God, devoutly honouring His holy name, and being careful
never to offend Him, firm in His most holy faith without
superstition. As to priests and monks, after securing them
in the position which is their due, do not establish with
them much familiarity beyond what your devotional duties
call for; but leave them to look to their proper business,
whilst you attend to yours without their assistance,
further than their prayers in your behalf.
"Be not merely faithful to his Holiness the Pope, but also
obedient, doing all that in you lies for his service, and
with sincere attachment seeking to exalt the Holy See.
"In the service of his Catholic Majesty show yourself at
all times most zealous, performing it with constancy, and
never quitting it until it becomes inconsistent with your
honour, which I feel assured it never will be. And further,
be ready to display your devotion in a befitting manner;
and should his Majesty take the field in person, fail not
to be there also, and to identify yourself with him, from
which you cannot fail to derive great reputation: remember
also, to treat all Spaniards with amiable courtesy. With
other sovereigns and princes cultivate the most friendly
terms, obliging them when opportunity offers, especially
neighbouring powers.
"Maintain towards all, sincerity and truth with mildness;
but beware of being deluded, and for this purpose be slow
to credit any one.
"When called upon to form any important resolution, examine
both sides of the question, and attach yourself to that
which seems safest.
"Remember that you leave not for the morrow what can be
done on the instant; and so will your affairs generally
succeed according to your wishes. When just, your
undertakings will ever be forwarded and directed by the
Almighty; and thus will the labour be less to yourself than
if they are allowed to go on accumulating.
"In the government of your subjects and dependants be most
decided; to your associates and well-wishers be gracious
and pleasing; towards others just and strict.
"At the hour most convenient to yourself give daily
audience to all who seek it, hearing them patiently and
without interruption, and tolerating them even while
trifling a little. Leave the judges free from interference
in the lawful execution of their duties, dispensing mercy
where it is justly merited, and reluctant to the punishment
of death. In all but aggravated cases, commute it into
a minor penalty, especially by sending culprits to the
Venetian galleys, since this is an old usage in our family,
and as these protect our seas from pirates.
"Choose for your service faithful and prudent nobles,
neither selfish, greedy, nor partial.
"See that your ministers and counsellors be men who, as the
proverb goes, take the cart road, and boast not themselves
inventors of new theories, which, however specious and
fine at first sight, are most difficult in practice, and
in their issue full of mischief. Show no favour towards
rash ventures or novel expedients, but give your attention
rather to forward measures that have been determined on. Be
not anxious to make many new laws, but, on the contrary,
endeavour to condense the old ones.
"Encourage not your relations to meddle in the affairs of
your government, lest they should in consequence arrogate
to themselves undue influence; but contrive to keep them in
good humour by honouring them yourself, and by taking care
that others respect them.
"Visit in person, annually, your whole state; or, when
prevented from doing so, send one of your judges.
"Be courteous to ecclesiastical dignitaries, giving them
such honours as are their due, and exacting the like in
return.
"See that your household be discreet and in nowise
quarrelsome, and divide annually among the most deserving
of them some donative from escheated property; but I
recommend you to keep hold of all castles, and never
alienate them, unless to those who have done you some
signal and most important service.
"Be liberal in your expenditure, but never exceed your
revenues, managing so that every year you may have
something in hand; for if you do not attend to this, you
will probably find yourself tempted by necessity to seize
upon what belongs to your subjects,--a thing you must ever
guard yourself from, as well as from any attempts upon the
honour of their wives, especially those of the nobility.
"Be to all benignant and affable, entering freely into
conversation with men of letters or military acquirements,
and, above all, with those skilled in politics and affairs
of state.
"Do not be too anxious to devote yourself to scientific
studies, which both preoccupy the mind from more important
subjects, and sadden it. Be satisfied with a thorough
knowledge of your native tongue, so as to read in it all
old and modern histories, and at fit times some devotional
book; but trust to acquiring knowledge of the sciences
from the discourse of their respective professors. It
is advisable to learn other languages; indeed, Spanish
is necessary, as you are in the service of his Catholic
Majesty.
"Practise all healthful exercises, especially, ball,
hunting, and the manège. In the first of these you may
indulge almost daily; for the second, once a week is
sufficient, as it loses the entire day, and when too
frequently followed is apt to render one coarse. Make
use of the third when you feel inclined, maintaining a
small breeding stud, for which your country is admirably
adapted, with about thirty fine horses always at your
disposal. I warn you, however, not to over-exert yourself
in this or similar exercise, for excessive fatigue brings
on many infirmities, as has happened to myself. Fencing
is likewise most needful, especially that called wide
fighting, for close-quarters are dangerous, and of little
real avail. Instrumental music and singing are excellent
recreations, as well as dancing to give the body freedom.
Swimming is also an excellent preservative, especially in
travelling.
"Do not indulge too much in sleeping. Eat and drink of
everything indifferently, without reference to diet such
as is recommended by physicians, of whom keep aloof while
you can, never calling them in until you are ill; but when
really so, obey them strictly, committing yourself first to
God, and secondly to their skill.
"Remember, as soon as convenient, to complete your
marriage with the sister of the Grand Duke of Tuscany;
for no alliance could be found better or more entirely
suitable for this state, for our house, or for yourself.
To her, as your wife, be ever most affectionate; yet see
that she meddle not in the affairs of government, but
more particularly that she does not interfere in matters
regarding the administration of justice. Endeavour always
to maintain a most friendly footing with her family, paying
to the Grand Duke the deference due to a father, and
consulting him on every incident of importance.
"Should God grant you more than one son, purchase for one
of them a fief, however small, in the kingdom of Naples,
and other property, yielding in all 12,000 scudi of
revenue, but give him no lands in your own state: by this
means you will found a second house, and avert the danger
in which our family was at the time of your birth. Your
other sons you may provide for by making one a churchman
with the Pope's assistance, and by giving to the rest such
savings as will in that case be very requisite. Forget not
to treat your eldest son like a brother, admitting him to
share with you the government and administration, which, if
God grant me life, I shall certainly do towards you.
"Lastly, I assure you, that those who have been faithful
and attached to me will, if you avail yourself of their
services, be the same to you; others you may seek to attach
to you, but abandon not these.
"Such is the little I would impress upon you, not without
difficulty and much consideration; but take courage,
and the execution of it will become easy. I give you my
paternal benediction, praying the blessed God to confirm
it."[99]
[Footnote 99: Bibl. Oliveriana.]
But though it seems agreed that the seed thus kindly and carefully
sown fell upon a soil not naturally ungenial, and though to much
childish beauty the Prince is stated to have joined a fine temper,
a remarkably quick apprehension, and an uncommon memory, he was
destined sadly to verify a remark of Dante, that,--
"Rarely into the branches of the tree
Doth human worth mount up."
The good fruit of almost spontaneous growth was speedily and entirely
choked by rank weeds, fostered under an erroneous system of early
discipline. An only child, he was deprived of playmates of his own
rank, and even of the companionship of the higher nobility, for whom
were substituted those whose flattery and indulgence provoked and
pandered to all the worst passions of a spoiled brat; and so early
and fatally was this perversion effected, that he had scarcely passed
the years of infancy ere the people, who had hailed him as a gift of
Heaven, ominously deprecated his accession to power. On his eighth
birthday, he was sent by the Duke, with a suitable attendance, to
pay his vows at the shrine of his patron saint in the cathedral of
Gubbio, and to offer there a small bust of himself chased in gold.
On this occasion the aged courtiers, who assembled to do honour to
his reception, were heard to draw the most melancholy forebodings, on
observing the overbearing and fiery temper which he was at no pains
to control or conceal.[*100]
[Footnote *100: Cf. PELLEGRINI, _op. cit._, in _Boll. cit._ vol.
_cit._, p. 509 _et seq._ who gives two contemporary accounts of the
visit of Federigo in 1618.]
CHAPTER XLVII
The Prince's marriage--The Duke entrusts to him the
government and retires to Castel Durante--His dissolute
career and early death--Birth of his daughter Vittoria--The
Duke rouses himself--He arranges the devolution of his
state to the Holy See--Papal intrigues.
The anxiety of Francesco Maria for continuance of his line, and for
the maintenance of his state against the risk of a minority, led him
to select a match of policy for his son while yet a mere infant. In
October, 1608, he sent a confidential adviser, Count Francesco Maria
Mammiani, to attend on his behalf the marriage of Cosimo Prince of
Tuscany; and during its prolonged festivities, a negotiation was
happily concluded for the betrothal of Princess Claudia, youngest
daughter of the Grand Duke Ferdinand II. to Prince Federigo. The
death of her father, soon after, did not delay the ratification of
an engagement so advantageous to all parties, and on the 24th of
April following, it was publicly announced,--the united ages of
the childish couple amounting to eight years and a half, and the
Princess being the elder by eight months. In November, she sent
to "her husband" the appropriate presents of a nicely accoutred
pony, a poodle taught to leap, a jackdaw, and an inkstand in the
form of Mount Calvary containing various conveniences. In honour,
probably, of the same auspicious occasion, was a gift of jewels from
Philip III. of Spain to the Duke and Duchess in 1609, consisting
of a girdle, necklace, and brooch of gold; the girdle containing
twenty-eight, and the necklace eighteen links, studded with a
hundred and twenty-six diamonds; sixty gold buttons enamelled in
white and red, each with three diamonds; and a string of two hundred
and twenty-six pearls of various sizes.[101]
[Footnote 101: Oliveriana MSS. No. 375, vol. XXXI., p. 62.]
[Illustration: FEDERIGO, PRINCE OF URBINO
_From the picture once in the possession of Andrew Coventry of
Edinburgh_]
The long and friendly intercourse of the Dukes of Urbino with the
crown of Spain had moulded their court to a tone of Spanish gravity,
and a certain severity of manner, which the cold character, reserved
habits, and strict morals of Francesco Maria had served to confirm.
To this the conduct of the youthful Prince soon offered the strongest
contrast. Wilful in all things, and impatient of control, he endured
no constraint upon his gratifications. These were generally of the
most trifling and childish description; and in one respect alone,
and that an unfortunate one, did he exhibit any manly quality. His
precocious gallantry was a scandal to the staid manners of the court,
and proved ruinous to his own constitution. Too late was his father
made aware of follies and vices which he had allowed to attain a
dangerous height; and to the counsels of his advisers, that even
yet a decided check should be applied, he weakly replied, in the
subtleties of a false philosophy, that restraints now imposed would
but irritate his son, and surely lead to greater excesses so soon as
they could be removed or burst. In truth, the old man shrank from
the exertions which his interference would require, and selfishly
calculated on being removed from the scene ere the mischief was fully
matured. But, whatever may have been the Duke's motives, his refusal
to interfere was quickly reported to the Prince, who, thus secured
against control, was emboldened to new excesses.
Finding that years only confirmed those vicious symptoms which the
Prince had manifested from childhood, and which a bad education had
not even attempted to eradicate, his father thought fit to try the
experiment of sending him forth to see the world, where, in the
intercourse of courts, and in contact with men of distinction, he
might observe those qualities which mankind deem worthy of honour,
and might learn the reputation acquired by his ancestors. This plan,
which had more good sense than most of those which Francesco Maria
was in the habit of forming, unfortunately failed, and brought about
results exactly the reverse of those which had been anticipated.
On his journey through Romagna towards Florence, Federigo's evil
genius brought him into the company of some strolling comedians
returning from Venice. Delighted with their loose manners, he threw
himself among them without reserve, and a taste for their pursuits
was formed at first sight, which disgracefully occupied the few
remaining years of his life. Such is the account given by Passeri;
and two entries in the Duke's Diary mention that the Prince set out
to visit Florence on the 1st and returned on the 22nd of October,
1616. During the following month the Grand Duke Cosimo II. arrived
from Loreto on a visit to Pesaro, with his brother the Cardinal; they
travelled with a large suite partly in coaches and six, partly in
litters, or on horseback, escorted by a guard of cuirassiers, being
in all not less than six hundred persons. The Prince met and welcomed
them at the head of a hundred mounted gentlemen, and accompanied
them on a hunting party. They stayed six days at Pesaro, and thence
proceeded to Rimini, leaving many presents, among which the Grand
Duke gave Federigo a beautiful little office-book in a case, worth
1000 golden scudi. Regarding his youthful irregularities the Journal
maintains a uniform silence, and the few notices of amusements at
court scarcely afford us any index of his tastes. It would seem that
up to his marriage he rarely left his parents' residence. During that
time we find but two theatrical representations mentioned. In the
carnival of 1617 nine couples of knights fought within a barrier,
where there were also two chariots, one of Pallas, the other of
Venus. The following year a wild boar, caught near Mondolfo, where
it had attacked various peasants, was baited in the palace-yard at
Pesaro with large dogs and spears; and some days thereafter the
Prince, with five others of his age, held a mimic tourney in the
great hall.
The melancholy turn which the Prince's folly had taken determined his
unhappy parent at once to conclude his marriage, which, even should
it unhappily fail in rescuing him from a disgraceful career, might
at least secure the continuance of his family. The Princess had a
character for high spirit, not free from hauteur, but accompanied
with decided talent; qualities that seemed likely to influence her
destined husband, or, at all events, to maintain his dignity against
the debasing tendency of dissolute habits. An intimate alliance with
so powerful and so close a neighbour was in every view politic, but
especially at a time when the duchy of Urbino had become a more
than ever desirable adjunct to the Papal States. If any further
inducements were wanting to render this the most advisable marriage
for the Prince, it was supplied by the dowry of 300,000 crowns of
gold. But an arrangement so eligible seemed fated at every step to
be thwarted by the unsparing hand of death. When all was ready for
publishing the betrothal, the bride's father was, as we have seen,
called away; just as the nuptials were on the eve of celebration,
thirteen years later, her brother, the Grand Duke Cosimo II., died on
the 28th of February, 1621. The urgent and advantageous circumstances
of the connection again superseded the formality of court etiquette,
and an early day was fixed for the marriage.
On the 19th of April the Prince sent on a confidential envoy with the
following letter to his bride[102]:--
"To the Princess Claudia, Consort of the Prince of Urbino.
"Most serene Highness, my Lady, and most affectionate
Consort,
"Giordani precedes me, and will give your Highness certain
assurance of my arrival next week, by the favour of God. I
beseech your Highness to accompany me on this journey with
the favour of your good wishes and prayers; and meanwhile
I, with all my heart, kiss your hands. From Pesaro, the
16th of April, 1621.
"Your Highness's most affectionate servant and husband, who
loves you more than himself,
"THE PRINCE OF URBINO."
[Footnote 102: Bibl. Oliveriana MSS. No. 396, p. 131.]
The same day Federigo went to visit his father, and on the 22nd left
Castel Durante. At the Alpine frontier he was met by a guard of
honour, under whose escort he arrived on the 25th in Florence, where,
after a pompous entrance into the city, the Villa Baroncelli was
assigned for his reception. The ceremony was performed on the 29th,
the respective ages of the parties being sixteen and seventeen.[*103]
The public joy felt in the duchy at a step which promised to secure
the continued succession of the ducal house, and with it the
nationality of the state, was proportioned rather to the importance
of those objects than to the merits of Federigo. As yet, however, his
faults had been shown to but a limited extent, and by most of those
who were cognisant of them were generally believed the exuberant
but passing growth of boyish folly, which time, and, above all, a
respectable marriage, would surely eradicate. The Duke was willing
to second the manifestation of these feelings, and the festivities
wherewith the event was celebrated at Pesaro were consequently very
elaborate. Among the most striking novelties was a device by
which discharges of artillery were so regulated as to harmonise,
or rather to beat time with the military bands, and the great hall
of the palace was fitted up as a theatre for the performance of
entertainments similar to what we have lately described.[104]
[Footnote *103: The ceremony was performed on the 28th February
without any pomp. Cf. UGOLINI, _op. cit._, vol. II., p. 437.]
[Footnote 104: See p. 177.]
[Illustration: FACSIMILES OF SIGNATURES AND MONOGRAMS]
The Prince preceded his bride, and, after passing a day with his
father at Castel Durante, reached Pesaro on the 15th of May. On the
21st, she set out on her ill-fated journey, and on the 26th was met
at Lamole by her husband. Although it is only within the last few
years that the Apennine range has been there opened up by a road
equalling in convenience any of the celebrated Alpine passes, a
hasty effort was made to render her route practicable for a carriage
from the frontier to her new capital. In the communal records of
S. Angelo in Vado, I noticed an instruction that the town should
bear its portion of the repairs of the way from Borgo S. Sepolchro,
preparatory to her passage, and should contribute towards the public
rejoicings, triumphal arches, and other complimentary demonstrations.
Among the ingenious devices adopted in honour of the occasion, was
the construction in wood of a colossal equestrian figure of the
Prince on horseback, part of which still remains in the public hall
of S. Angelo. Tradition ascribes it to Frederico Zuccaro, but his
death in 1609 places him beyond the suspicion of executing what seems
to have been little creditable to the artistic skill of his townsmen.
The bridal party, after sleeping at Mercatello, proceeded by easy
journeys to Pesaro, spending only a forenoon at Castel Durante with
the Duke, who, unequal to the journey, had deputed his principal
courtiers, escorted by a hundred gentlemen on horseback, to receive
the Princess on the Apennines, and conduct her home. Among the
deputations which on this occasion attended to welcome her to her
future dominions, was one from S. Leo, the ancient capital of the
original fief of the Feltrian race, bringing a donative of twelve
silver cups valued at 500 scudi, to whom she returned the following
answer:--
"To the most magnificent and my much loved the Gonfaloniere
and Priors of the city of S. Leo.
"Most magnificent and well-beloved,
"On entering this state, I brought with me a firm
resolution impartially to favour all, but this I shall
especially observe towards you; for I have particularly to
acknowledge your affectionate devotion, and gratefully to
accept the duty you have expressed towards me by the mouth
of your deputation, and by the compliment of plate you have
given me in token of your attachment. I shall ever cherish
towards you the like good will, and a desire of usefully
testifying it. May God preserve you. From Pesaro, 19th
December, 1621.
"Your most loving,
"CLAUDIA, PRINCESS OF URBINO."[105]
[Footnote 105: MARINI, _Saggio di S. Leo_.]
With infatuation unequalled perhaps in the long catalogue of
parental errors, Francesco Maria now gave the finishing stroke to
a system which had trained up his only child to become the scourge
of his people and the ruin of his house. We have seen him deprecate
a minority as a national misfortune; we have now to witness him
anticipating all its evils, by voluntarily entrusting the reins to
one whom youth, education, inexperience, and follies combined to
render utterly inefficient for their management. That this plan had
long been cherished as a favourite speculation, may be gathered from
those instructions to his son which have been already quoted; that
its most attractive feature was the escape it secured to him from
the business and duties of his station, admits not of a doubt.
Flattering himself that, in providing the Prince with an honourable
and eligible match, he had done his utmost to retrieve past errors
and secure a prosperous future, he hurried the execution of his
scheme, apprehensive perhaps that delay would render its absurdity
more glaring, or bring to light some new disqualification in
Federigo. In absence of any rational explanation of such a step, it
has been supposed a secret stipulation with the Grand Duke at the
time of the marriage, but of this there is not a shadow of evidence.
The motive imputed by Gozzi, that it was a device of the Duke to
prevent his son from longing for his death and for the delights of
sovereignty, seems quite reconcileable with the false philosophy by
which he so perversely regulated his general conduct. We turn with
interest to the Diary at a moment thus important to his history
and that of his state, but find it here more than usually meagre,
alluding neither to the fact of his abdication, its manner, nor its
motives.[106] Like King Lear, the old man already felt--
"How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
To have a thankless child,"
and his Memoirs abruptly conclude with the negotiation for the
Prince's marriage. From Passeri's investigations, we only learn
that he one day called round him his son and principal officers,
and, after addressing to both a long exhortation on the new duties
about to be devolved upon them, made over to the former the reins of
government.[107] Reserving for his own use one-third of the private
revenues of his family, which from various documents seem to have
amounted to about 300,000 crowns, he shut himself up more closely
than ever in his--
"Boasted seat
Of studious peace and mild philosophy."
Among the Oliveriana MSS. I found a list of his court taken to Castel
Durante, which, though undated, probably refers to the arrangements
made at this period.
1 counsellor, 1 secretary, 5 gentlemen of the household 7
4 captains, 5 chamberlains, 4 assistant chamberlains 13
1 dwarf or hunchback, 1 watchmaker, 1 barber 3
1 master of the wardrobe, 2 porters, 4 pages and their 2 servants 9
1 physician, 1 apothecary, 2 chaplains, 3 readers 7
18 household servants, 10 stable servants 28
__
Total 67
[Footnote 106: As a specimen of the style of this most disappointing
MS., and in proof of its small historical importance, I extract
all the notices for August 1621, the month in which, according to
Passeri, this transaction took place.
"6. News arrived of the death of the Archduke Albert, which happened
at Brussels on the 13th ult.
15. Vespers began to be performed in the church of S. Rocca of Castel
Durante.
21. A stag was killed, weighing fully 530 lbs.
26. Four large English dogs coursed in the park, which belong to the
Prince; they killed two fallow deer."]
[Footnote 107: It appears that on the 25th of July the Prince arrived
from Urbino, and stayed two days, during which probably this scene
took place.]
Yet the theoretical tendencies of his mind had not prevented him
from establishing, in the early portion of his reign, many practical
regulations conducive to the acceleration of business, and to the
due order of public affairs. His sway had been upon the whole a
mild one; and on a retrospect of two centuries, the government of
his predecessors must be pronounced to have promoted, in a degree
rarely paralleled, general happiness and public decorum, and at the
same time the true glory of their state. But all this was now to be
changed, and the brilliant dynasty of Urbino was doomed to expire,
exhaling a vile and loathsome odour. That court which the refined
tastes of the Feltrian Dukes and the polished pen of Castiglione had
rendered a model to the world, which the literature and conduct of
its later sovereigns had maintained in like honourable distinction,
was about to present a melancholy spectacle of unexampled
degradation. To enumerate the debasing excesses successively
introduced by Federigo is a sad and sickening task, which it were
well briefly to go through. His fancy for music was indulged, to the
exclusion of more serious avocations. His casual acquaintance with
the company of Venetian comedians was ripened into an intimacy, which
gradually monopolised his time and thoughts, and was followed out
with frenzied enthusiasm. These persons, belonging then to the vilest
classes, and treated accordingly, became the Prince's associates in
public and in private. Conforming his morals to theirs, he admitted
the actresses into his palace in daring defiance of decency, and
openly established one, named Argentina, as his mistress, fêting her
publicly in Pesaro, and lavishing upon her large sums. Advancing
from one extravagance to another, this petty Nero of a petty court
delighted to bear a part in their dramatic representations before
his own subjects, generally choosing the character of a servant or a
lover, as most congenial to his degraded capacity. His people, imbued
with respect for the traditionary glories of their former Dukes, and
accustomed to the gravity of Spanish manners, stood in consternation
at such spectacles. But they scarcely dared express their feelings or
hope for redress, for, whilst he thus
"Moiling lay,
Tangled in net of sensual delight,"
the Prince had adopted the most severe precautions to prevent his
father becoming cognisant of what was passing.
But, however he might succeed in blinding one who was probably too
happy to shut his eyes and ears against all that occurred beyond the
limits of his favourite park and convent at Castel Durante, those
who owed the youthful tyrant no allegiance of apprehension carried
rumours of his doings to Florence. The family of the Princess anxious
to interrupt a career so disgraceful to her husband, so miserable for
herself, invited Federigo to visit them; and we find from the Diary
so often quoted, that he went to Florence on the 12th of September,
and returned on the 3rd of December, 1622.
The Princess still fondly hoped (for women's hopes when fed by their
wishes die slowly) that the case was not desperate; she accordingly
received her husband with the joy and affection of a faithful wife,
and ordered a salute of a hundred cannon to welcome him back. But her
trust was doomed to a grievous disappointment. The recent restraints
of a foreign residence were speedily compensated by new indulgences,
more scandalous, if possible, than before. The buffoonery he had
learned on the stage was carried into the streets, through which
he sallied in some low disguise, insulting all and sundry, and
striking them with the flat of his sword, till frequently obliged
to discover himself to the astonished spectators. The time which he
could spare from such ribaldry, and from his comedians, was devoted
to the stable. Besides driving his own horses, an occupation in those
stately days exclusively menial, he performed about them the vilest
offices of farrier and stable-boy. At length, in executing a feat,
unattempted, perhaps, by subsequent Jehus, that of driving eighteen
horses in hand, he galloped over a poor child. This outrage, having
reached his father, provoked him, in a fit of passionate indignation,
and in forgetfulness of his abdicated powers, to pronounce sentence
of exile from Pesaro against the Prince,--an order which, of course,
was not enforced. The reserved inanity of the Diary throws no light
whatever on the Duke's knowledge or feelings in regard to such
occurrences, though the following notices are scarcely reconcileable
with his ignorance of one excess of his son's headstrong career.
"1623, February 24. The Duchess went to Urbino for the comedy
represented there the following day, and returned on the 26th.
"----, ---- 27. The comedy was performed in Castel Durante."[108]
[Footnote 108: The succeeding entry abruptly concludes the
Journal:--"March 7. The Prince arrived about 10 A.M., having left
Pesaro the preceding day, and returned there the 10th;" probably his
last meeting with his father.]
Resuming Passeri's Memoir, to which, although incorrect in many
details, we are mainly indebted for this portion of our narrative, we
find that the Prince moved to Urbino early in the summer, the company
of actors forming the strength of his court, and there nightly
performed with them, amid the acclamations of a rabble audience. With
a view to conciliate his mother-in-law, the Grand Duchess of Tuscany,
whose interference in behalf of her insulted daughter he had too good
reason to anticipate, he prepared a magnificent coach and six costly
horses as a present to her. On the 28th of June he acted as usual
on the stage, the part which he sustained on this occasion being
(according to Galuzzi) the degraded one of a pack-horse, carrying
about the comedians on his back, and finally kicking off a load of
crockery with which he was laden. About midnight he retired to rest,
worn out by this buffoonery, after giving orders for a chasse next
day at Piobbico near Castel Durante. At dawn, hearing the clatter
of the horses which were setting out for Florence, he rose and gave
some orders from the window in his night dress. In the morning his
attendants, surprised at not being summoned, and fearing he would be
too late to attend mass before noon, knocked in vain at his door.
Three hours passed away in doubts and speculations, and at length two
of the courtiers burst open the door, exclaiming "Up, your Highness,
'tis time for the comedy!" But for him that hour was past; the
well-known and welcome words fell on an ear whose silver cord was
broken. His body was under the icy grip of death; his spirit had fled
to its awful account.
The body was discovered on its back, bleeding at the nose and mouth,
the left hand under the pillow, one leg drawn up, and the mattress
much discomposed. The Prince always slept alone, and locked himself
in, without retaining any attendants in the adjoining apartment.
Six strangers, with the Tuscan accent, had been observed about
the palace the day before. From these circumstances, and from his
odious character, suspicions of foul play were entertained; but most
of the accounts which I have seen attribute his death to apoplexy,
resulting probably from premature and excessive dissipation. The
body was opened, and no traces of poison were detected; but a small
quantity of water was found upon the brain, which the medical
report attributed to over indulgence in athletic sports, and to the
bushy thickness of his hair, which he greatly neglected. The most
probable explanation of this catastrophe was that of the astrologer
Andrea Argoli, who, after an elaborate calculation of the Prince's
horoscope, pronounced him to have died of an epileptic fit, induced
by the chill of the morning air; a conclusion dictated, no doubt,
by medical experience, rather than by the study of those malignant
planetary influences which the quack thought fit to quote as decisive
of the question.
On the first alarm the Princess had rushed to the room, breaking
through all opposition, and exclaiming, "What! my Lord is ill, and
am I not to see him?" but finding him dead, she fainted. The chief
anxiety of all was how to break the dire news to the "way-worn and
way-wearied" Duke, who was suffering from a severe fit of gout, in
his wonted retirement. At length, the Bishop of Pesaro, nominally
head of the court, undertook the painful mission. Having arrived at
Castel Durante, he sent in by a chamberlain a sealed note, containing
the words "The Prince is dead." This the Duke at first desired to
be laid aside till later, with his other letters; but on being told
that the Bishop was in attendance, he read it without emotion,
and exclaimed in Latin, "The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord." This Christian stoicism might seem
inexplicable, but from the context of the narrative, which states
that to the lamentations of his attendants, he without a sigh or tear
supplied consolation, assuring them that the event was irremediable,
and one for which he had long been prepared; and adding, with Sancho
Panza-like resignation, "He who lives badly comes to a bad end,
and one born by a miracle dies by violence." He then with perfect
self-command gave directions necessary for the funeral, and for the
exigencies of the government; and at supper ordered the reading of
Italian and Spanish books of edification to be continued as usual.
In an age when omens were observed with a heathenish superstition,
the people began to take note of these before they considered the
recent event in its practical and political bearings. It was now
recollected that the journey of the Prince and Princess, on their
return from their marriage, had been interrupted, before they reached
Pesaro, by an extraordinary tempest, which flooded their capital, and
delayed their public entry. On the day month preceding Federigo's
death, a flight of brown moths passed over Urbino towards the sea,
darkening the air for hours. Again, during the fatal night, a strange
and threatening cloud was seen by many to cast its gloomy shadow
over that city, and, after successively assuming the forms of the
eagle of Montefeltro, and the tree of Rovere, to disperse and vanish
in the direction of Rome. Others saw serpents and similar monstrous
apparitions wrestling in mid-air, and contributed their quota to the
strange saws and marvellous instances which fed the popular craving
for prodigies. It is scarcely necessary to observe that these facts,
or at all events their application, had called for no remark until
men's minds were filled with the catastrophe of which they were then
interpreted as the precursors. But it may be thought singular that
those who busied themselves in finding out ominous coincidences
omitted to note a circumstance chronicled by the often-cited Diary,
that, on the 21st of August, 1604, nine months before the Prince's
birth, lightning struck the Duke's chamber at Castel Durante. Thunder
on the left was hailed by the Roman augurs as lucky, but this
visitation seems too violent for a good omen.
* * * * *
The honours of a royal sepulture were lavished on one whose life had
been thus unworthy of his station; and such was the magnificence
displayed in the trappings of death that, besides many overcharged
narratives of the funeral, portraits were multiplied of the Prince
laid out in his richly-silvered robes. He was deposited in a tomb
which Francesco Maria had destined for himself in the grotto or crypt
of the metropolitan cathedral, with an inscription to the following
purport:--
In this tomb,
Prepared for himself by
Francesco Maria II., Last Duke of Urbino,
Rest the ashes of
His son Federigo,
Who was cut off by a sudden death,
On the 29th June, MDCXXIII.,
Aged XVIII. years.
On a tablet in the church of Sta. Chiara, his fate is thus touchingly
commemorated:--"The waning day saw Federigo Prince of Urbino, in whom
sank the house della Rovere, sound in health, and pre-eminent in
every gift of fortune; the succeeding dawn beheld him struck down by
sudden death, on the 29th of June, 1623. Stranger! pass on, and learn
that happiness, like the brittle glass, just when brightest is most
fragile."[109]
[Footnote 109: See these and other monumental inscriptions of Urbino
sovereigns, Appendix, No. VII.]
* * * * *
The first year of the Prince's marriage had given him a daughter,
born at Pesaro, on the 7th of February, 1622, whose advent, as we
learn from her grandfather's Diary, was marked by the appearance of
three suns in the heavens. She was baptized Vittoria, and was hailed
by the Duke and his people with joyful anticipations of a fruitful
union, which were destined never to be realised. Francesco Maria's
age and infirmities cut off all hopes of a new alliance, and the
male line of the Rovere race, to whom were limited the ducal dignity
and state, was obviously doomed to extinction in his person. It was
true that a similar failure of rightful heirs had, in the preceding
century, been supplied by a substitution of the heir-general to this
very fief; but that transaction was, in fact, a new investiture,
dictated by papal nepotism, and scarcely veiled under the guise of
a heritable title. The spirit of the papacy had, since then, been
greatly changed in the ordeal of the Reformation; and the ambition of
its successive heads, purified from selfish motives, had been long
concentrated upon advancing the spiritual and temporal supremacy of
the Holy See. But here the question rested not merely on such general
principles of law and policy. The foresight of Paul V. had interposed
a barrier clause in the marriage contract of Federigo, whereby the
Grand Duke's solemn renunciation of all pretensions in behalf of the
female issue of that union was distinctly recorded.
As soon as the widowed princess had rallied a little from an advent
which, however shocking to her nerves, could not be supposed
very long to weigh upon her feelings, she despatched a courier
to Florence with the news, and soon prepared to leave for ever a
country which she had adopted with bright hopes, quickly turned to
bitter experience. After paying a brief visit to the Duke, in whose
hands she left her child at Castel Durante, she returned to her
family, to forget the troubled dream of the last two years. That she
succeeded in banishing it from her thoughts may be presumed from her
remarriage, three years after, to the Archduke Leopold of Austria;
and it is interesting to notice that the latest jotting in the Diary
of her former father-in-law, long after its regular entries had
ceased, runs thus:--"On 26th March, 1626, Count delle Gabiccie was
sent to Florence to visit Donna Claudia, Archduchess of Austria."
* * * * *
The situation into which Francesco Maria found himself thrown by the
Prince's death was one requiring the support of all that philosophy
which it had been the chief pursuit of his life to attain. His house
was desolate; his line suddenly extinguished; his sovereignty about
to lapse. But these crushing blows were accompanied by aggravating
circumstances, which called for immediate exertion. The brief reign
of Federigo had proved equally detrimental to his state and ruinous
to himself. The government was falling to pieces, the finances
were in hopeless confusion. Thus was the literary retirement which
the Duke had thought to secure from the residue of his life rudely
interrupted, and the cares of sovereignty he had shaken off were
thrown back upon him, more inextricable than ever. The good order at
home and influence abroad, from thirty-seven years of prudent and
popular sway, had, in two brief years, been scattered, and there
remained to the old man but the choice of recommencing the labours
of a lifetime, or abandoning the reins of government now thrust back
into his unnerved hands. Judging from his dispositions and past
history, it would not be difficult to conjecture which of these
alternatives had the greater attraction; yet at this juncture, sense
of duty for a time triumphed over the dictates of inclination, and
Francesco Maria showed himself every inch a monarch.
After consulting for a few days with the Bishop of Pesaro, Count
Francesco Maria Mammiani, his favourite, and Count Giulio Giordani, a
friend of forty years' tried service, he thus matured his measures.
The papal chair being vacated by the death of Gregory XV., on the 8th
of July, he sent to the College of Cardinals an official intimation
of his son's death, and a full assurance of dutiful devotion. He
accompanied the like notification to his subjects with an injunction
for the election of a new council of eight, to whom he proposed to
commit the administration of civil and criminal justice, for the
burden of which his years were incompetent. To the widowed Princess
he made every overture which affectionate sympathy could suggest.
Finally, he resumed the ducal mantle, and the functions which he had
so unfortunately devolved; and, dismissing the whole administration
which his son had employed, he entered upon the government, with
the assistance of a small but select cabinet. His first thoughts
were bestowed upon the destiny of his orphan granddaughter, and,
notwithstanding the suggestion of his counsellors, that he should
keep her as an instrument whereby the policy of neighbouring
powers, who would doubtless aspire to so eligible a match, might be
made subservient to strengthen his relations abroad, he insisted
upon some immediate arrangement, which would relieve him from the
apprehension of leaving unprotected a prize so tempting to papal or
princely ambition. The question was brought to a speedy solution by
a well-timed offer from the Grand Duke Ferdinand II. of Tuscany, to
receive and educate in his family his niece, and eventually to make
her his consort, on condition of her being declared heiress of all
the Duke's allodial and personal property. To secure the intimate
alliance and support of the Medici had, as we have seen, long been
the cherished policy of Francesco Maria, and the importance of a
connection sufficiently powerful to maintain the rights of the
Princess, in that revolution which must succeed immediately upon his
death, was self-evident. But there was another consideration equally
cogent, for, on the extinction of her father's family, nature and
law pointed out her maternal cousin as the most suitable guardian of
her childhood and education. Having decided in favour of a proposal
at once advantageous to his granddaughter, and releasing him from
one of the greatest anxieties of his position, the Duke lost no time
in sending her to the court of Tuscany, under protection of Count
and Countess Mammiani. Indeed, these arrangements were all concluded
within four months of his son's death.
On the 6th of August, the conclave elected Cardinal Maffeo
Barberini, of a family originally Florentine, who had only attained
his fifty-fifth year; a man respectable at once from his talents,
his habits of business, and his moral character. It was observed
that, during the sittings of the conclave, a hive of bees swarmed
under one of their windows, an incident rendered notable from
the Barberini carrying that insect in their arms. On ascending
the chair of St. Peter, the first business which occupied Urban
VIII. was the important accession to the ecclesiastical state
promised by the Prince of Urbino's death. There was no legal doubt
that the fief, limited to the male line of Guidobaldo II., must
lapse on that of the old Duke; but the struggles whereby church
vassals had formerly supplied, by steel or gold, similar defects
of constitutional title, were not forgotten, and the College of
Cardinals looked upon the infant Princess as a subject of keen
interest.[*110] It was, therefore, not without jealousy that they
learned her sudden betrothal to so powerful a sovereign; and the
Pontiff's remonstrances, though avowedly grounded on the conclusion
of that important transaction without enabling him to display his
friendly respect for the parties, were probably intended to keep
the arrangement open for after cavil. A brief interval supplied new
grounds for anxiety, on the arrival of a messenger from Francesco
Maria with tidings of an overture on the part of the Emperor
Ferdinand II., directly at variance with the pretensions of the Holy
See. Ferdinand had accompanied his condolence with a proposal that
the Duke should recognise the imperial title to the countships of
Montefeltro and Castel Durante on his death, as being original fiefs
of the empire, and offered to renew the investiture of these in
favour of the infant heiress. But, faithful to his ecclesiastical
allegiance, the Duke courteously declined availing himself of
a favour which seemed more likely to reawaken the slumbering
controversies (though scarcely now the conflicts) between Guelph
and Ghibelline, than to secure any available benefit to Princess
Vittoria. Pleading a disinclination to open up questions that might
disturb the peace of his declining years, he left it to the Emperor,
when these should close, to transact any such arrangement directly
with the Holy See; a reply which pleased neither him nor the Grand
Duke.
[Footnote *110: Cf. _Memorie istoriche concernenti la devoluzione
dello stato d'Urbino alla Sede Apostolica_ (Amsterdam, 1723).]
The Emperor being uncle of the Grand Duke, his proposition could
not be viewed in any other light than as an attempt to establish a
legal basis for whatever claims on the states of Urbino it might
suit the husband of Vittoria hereafter to make. It was accordingly
met by Urban with very decided measures. He delegated three prelates
of tried fidelity to the circumjacent provinces of the Church, with
instructions to watch closely the affairs of the duchy, and, in case
of any movement adverse to the ecclesiastical interests, to march
troops at once across the frontier. He then made a formal appeal to
the Duke, as the faithful and devoted adherent of the Holy See, to
resign into its safe custody S. Leo, which, besides being considered
the most impregnable fortress in Italy, was capital of the countship
of Montefeltro, and formed part of the mortgage assigned by Clement
VII. to the Medici, in security for alleged debts, still unsettled
since the usurpation of Lorenzo de' Medici. This unceremonious
proposition was accompanied by a distinct avowal of the Pope's
resolve to make sure of the devolution to the ecclesiastical state of
every morsel of the dukedom; and an intimation that any refusal would
necessitate military demonstrations at Rimini and Città di Castello.
So decided, indeed, was his Holiness to abate nothing of the renown
which he anticipated from effecting this important accession to
the pontifical temporalities, that he is said to have avowed his
resolution to fall under the walls of Urbino, or be hanged on its
battlements, rather than yield one tittle of his demands.[*111]
[Footnote *111: It is curious to note the shameless zeal, astuteness,
and cunning of the papacy in this matter. I believe a work on the
subject is promised by Professor C. SCOTONI. The Pope could
not have proved his right to Urbino in any tribunal. His claim was
really more absurd than the claim of the Emperor.]
But this precipitation failed in its object. The Duke was startled
by what seemed at best a harsh return for the leal and true faith
towards his ecclesiastical over-lord which had actuated his conduct.
His suspicions thus aroused placed him on the defensive in his
interviews with the legate Pavoni, whose persuasions were coldly
repelled, and whose tone of menace called up all the old man's pride.
He briefly and indignantly replied that death alone should deprive
him of a sovereignty which he was fully able to maintain; that the
extinction of his family was a dispensation of God; but that the
Pontiff's demand was an insinuation against his good faith, which
was far beyond question; finally, that his Holiness would do well
to await the close of his few remaining days, when he would obtain
everything in the due course of nature. To show that he spoke in
earnest, he the same night despatched a reinforcement to the garrison
of S. Leo; and his jealousy being thoroughly awakened, he refused
to perform the alternative which the Legate had, with modified
tone, suggested as a satisfactory solution of the difficulty, by
writing a formal acknowledgment that his entire state was held under
the Church, and a promise to do no act that might compromise or
prejudice her rights over it. Monsignor Pavoni, interpreting some
hasty expression of the Duke into a dismissal, was about to set out
for Rome the same night; but, having remained till morning to allow
time for cooler consideration, he obtained, under the hand of his
Highness, such a declaration as he had suggested. On his return, he
met Cardinal Cennino, another ambassador whom the impatient anxiety
of Urban had despatched to insist with still greater urgency on the
original terms. It were useless and irksome to follow the thread of
diplomatic intrigue now brought to bear on the poor bereaved Duke. He
felt himself demeaned even by the document which he had consented to
give; but when he found it was but a prelude to new demands,--when
he ascertained that a war establishment was ready along the
ecclesiastical frontier to pounce upon his territory on the slightest
pretext,--and when he was actually called upon to administer to the
governors of his principal fortresses, and to the officers in command
of his militia, an oath ensuring their allegiance to the Pope from
the day of his own death, accompanied with a promise on his part not
to appoint any one to those situations who had not taken a similar
oath, indignation brought on an attack of illness which had nearly
put an end to all difficulties by carrying him to the grave. This
new misfortune, far from obtaining for the old man relief from these
persecutions, stimulated the papal emissaries who surrounded him to
fresh importunities. Urban's apprehensions were augmented by measures
which Francesco Maria had taken for garrisoning his principal
fortresses with troops from Tuscany and Naples, and by rumours of a
new intrigue for transferring the hand of Vittoria to Leopold, son
of the Emperor, thus giving to the latter a direct interest in this
already involved dispute, which Philip IV. of Spain, jealous of the
prospective aggrandisement of the Church, showed every disposition
still further to complicate. The Pope, in order to forward his views
upon the duchy, had, without consulting the Duke, promoted Monsignor
Paulo Emilio Santorio from the see of Cesena to be Archbishop of
Urbino, a man of violent temper and coarse manners, whose nomination
was regarded as an insult by Francesco Maria, and who injudiciously
substituted threats for conciliation in his intercourse with the
Duke. This example was followed by subordinate agents who surrounded
his sick bed, and wore him out by alternately working on his
irritable disposition, his avarice, and his superstitious belief in
astrology. Every turn of his malady was watched, and reported to Rome
as matter of hope or fresh anxiety, whilst his palace was beset by
troublesome and meddling spies.
Nor were his negotiations with the Pontiff the only sources of
irritation which daily accumulated upon the unhappy Francesco Maria.
The cares of state, from which he had of late escaped, returned more
irksomely than before. The brief misgovernment of the Prince had
thrown upon him a greatly aggravated burden of anxiety and labour
in the direction of these affairs; and his old favourites and tried
counsellors were dropping around him, just at the crisis when he most
required their services. His constitution, impaired by years and
broken by gout, gave way under his agony of mind, and a paralytic
seizure made fresh breaches upon his system. With a frame thus
enfeebled, a mind thus disgusted, he sent for Antonio Donato, a noble
Venetian long resident at his court, who had been at various times
employed in political affairs, and addressed him in words which his
Narrative of these events has preserved to us:--
"Your Lordship sees to what a condition God has reduced me. My house
he has left unto me desolate: he has taken from me my dominion, my
health, and my honour. I have sold myself to one skilful in profiting
by my misfortunes: I am reduced to the shadow of sovereignty, and
continually exposed to new inroads. To await death in so miserable
a plight is impossible, to anticipate it were a crime: unable to
recover what is gone from me, all now left me is to die without
disgrace, after living for seventy-six years with nothing to regret.
To you I would impart my ideas, that we may consider whether, by
surrendering what remains, I might mitigate my vexations. I think of
entreating the Pope to send me any one he pleases, who may govern
this country, dependent upon me and by virtue of my authority, which
I shall delegate to him as fully as it is vested in my person.
Thus may his Holiness more effectually secure the return of these
states after my death under the sway of the Church, and thus will
he be enabled to liberate me from the restraint of obligations and
oaths, no longer necessary when his own deputy is invested with the
government, leaving me, in these my last hours, time to think of
death, and to prepare myself suitably to meet it, as I well know it
cannot be distant.... And perhaps this plan, which I own is hard
to digest, may be less irksome in practice than it now seems in
discussion; for in truth, I am no longer what I once was, nor ought
I at this juncture to think but of my people's peace and my own.
After all that has occurred, this ecclesiastical governor may prove
the least annoying expedient; at all events it will free me from the
irritation and slavery which past events have brought upon me."
After having at first argued against the measure thus suggested,
Donato was at length induced to carry the proposal formally to the
Pope, without previous consultation with any one else. Suspicious
perhaps of so sudden a change in the sentiments of Francesco Maria,
the Sacred College raised difficulties in order to gain time for
deliberation; but when, with his wonted impatience, he proposed to
recall Donato and reconsider the matter, with a view to some other
measure, the proffered devolution was accepted without further delay.
The papal brief to that effect was dated the 10th December, 1624,
and on the 20th, the Duke executed a blank warrant, making over his
whole sovereign authority to the governor who might be named, and
reserving only the empty name of his subject's allegiance.
The Devolution was effected on the following terms. Along with all
sovereign rights, there were conveyed to the Holy See the various
fortified places in the duchy, and the residences at Urbino, Pesaro,
and S. Leo. The Camera was allowed a preference in purchasing
such warlike instruments, ammunition, and stores, as these places
might contain, and was to pay to the Duke 100,000 scudi in name of
expenses and ameliorations. To him and his heirs were reserved the
furniture and movables in these three residences, and the whole
allodial possessions of the family, including the palaces of Castel
Durante, Sinigaglia, Gubbio, Cagli, Fossombrone, Novilara, and Della
Carda; the _palazzetti_ or villas of Imperiale, Montebello, Monte
Berticchio, Mirafiori, Velletta, and Barchetto, the three last being
at Pesaro; many parks, forests, vineyards, houses, and particularly
thirty-two mills. The Grand Duke of Tuscany was a party to the deed
of devolution, which was executed on the 30th April, 1624, and he
therein specially renounced for himself and his family all claim
to the dukedom and states.[112] The assertion of Muratori, that
Francesco Maria often regretted this step is not borne out by any
authorities I have consulted.
[Footnote 112: Oliveriana MSS. No. 324. Many documents regarding
these transactions are printed in Riposati, vol. II.]
In these arrangements the party most immediately interested had no
voice, for the consent of the governed was then little studied in
such transactions. Though the eloquent historian of the Italian
republics maintains, upon true Guelphic principles, the blessings
of the ecclesiastical sway compared with that of the petty
seigneurs,[*113] those who have read the preceding chapters may
hesitate ere they apply this doctrine to the duchy of Urbino. Four
times have we seen the people throw off the transient rule of the
Church, and recall their native princes to maintain that microscopic
nationality which, to an Italian, is far dearer than personal
liberty. Guicciardini admits that those who, under the princes,
were maintained in ease with little personal exertion, generally
hated papal domination. But under the popular dynasty of those dukes
whose lives we have endeavoured to sketch, the loyalty implanted
by selfishness was watered by affection, until its mature growth
overshadowed the land. The extinction of their race was therefore
bewailed by a grateful people, whose degradation to provincialism was
felt as a still greater, and, in the circumstances, an irremediable
misfortune.
[Footnote *113: Here I heartily agree with Dennistoun. If the people
preferred the ecclesiastical sway to that of the Signori, why was the
whole state of Urbino so eager to get Francesco Maria II. married?
And if we want another example from more recent times, why, in 1860,
did the people of Perugia turn out _en masse_ and tear down the papal
fortress, leaving a desert, which they still gloat over, in its
place? The temporal rule of the Church has been bad everywhere at all
times and in every way. That is why we have beggared her.]
It is but justice to Urban to contrast his conduct on this occasion
with the eagerness displayed by many of his predecessors for the
aggrandisement of their own houses, by investing them with the lapsed
fiefs of the Church. The obstacles to such an arrangement were no
doubt increased by the altered spirit of the age, by the curtailed
influence of the papacy, by the watchful jealousy of the great
powers, and by numerous bulls directed against such alienations. Yet
other ambitious pontiffs had trampled upon parchments, had braved
public opinion, and had deluged Italy in blood for less tempting
baits, and Muratori hints that such an attempt might, in the present
case, have been sanctioned by Spain. Whilst, therefore, we blame the
discourteous manner in which his Holiness made the aged Duke feel,
with unnecessary acuteness, his bereaved and enfeebled position, we
give him credit for a self-denying policy becoming the head of a
Christian church.[*114]
[Footnote *114: This is amusing of Urban VIII., of whom Pasquino
said--
"_Quod non fecerunt Barbari
Fecerunt Barberini._"]
The first governor delegated by the Pope was Monsignor Berlinghieri
Gessi, Bishop of Rimini, who took possession on the 1st January,
1625. The Duke assigned to him his palaces, and a salary of 2000
scudi, paying also the other officials, and the only internal change
in the government was the dismissal of the council of Eight. Indeed,
the deference shown by the people for those forms under which they
had long been governed, obtained a guarantee for their continuance
during ten years; and we are told that the chief innovation upon
them consisted in an extension of literary academies, which had been
discouraged by Francesco Maria on an apprehension of their taking
a political tendency.[115] In January, 1626, the Bishop received a
scarlet hat, and was succeeded as governor three years subsequently
by Monsignor Lorenzo Campeggi, Bishop of Cesena, afterwards of
Sinigaglia who held that office until the death of Francesco Maria.
[Footnote 115: Brit. Mus. Lib. Add. MSS. Ital. No. 8511, art. 3.]
But, though happy to escape from the personal superintendence of the
government,
"The old man, broken with the storms of state,"
did not consider himself exempted from all concern in the welfare of
his subjects. We accordingly find, in a collection of his letters
made by his secretary Babucci,[116] a very long remonstrance
addressed to Cardinal Gessi regarding certain malversations in the
management of public affairs. His complaints were directed against
abuses of patronage, by conferring places of trust upon young and
inexperienced persons, especially in the army, where many officers
were rather children than soldiers; against a laxity of manners
and conversation among the women, extending even to the nunneries;
against the indiscriminate bearing of arms, which had already led to
numerous homicides, and to the extirpation of game in the preserves.
To Campeggi, the next governor, he complains, in 1628, of an
increasing expenditure with impaired revenues.
[Footnote 116: Dr. Antonio Babucci transcribed for the press a number
of letters written by the Duke after the Devolution, and dedicated
them to the Grand Duchess Vittoria. The MS. is preserved in the
Magliabechiana Library, class xxv. No. 77, and fully bears out the
commendation we have given to his epistolary style at p. 213.]
CHAPTER XLVIII
The Duke's monkish seclusion--His Death and Character--His
Portraits and Letters--Notices of Princess Vittoria
and her Inheritance--Fate of the Ducal Libraries--The
Duchy Incorporated with the Papal States--Results of the
Devolution.
After his release from the cares of state, and from all anxiety as to
the fate of his subjects and of his granddaughter, Francesco Maria
was left to employ his unimpaired powers of mind on more congenial
topics. His few remaining years were passed in the society of those
monks of the order of Minims,[*117] whom he had brought to the new
convent, and who had been selected for their literary acquirements.
He made them the companions and aids of his studies, and discussed
with them such subjects as his reading suggested. Though ever
respectful of the doctrines and observances of religion, fanaticism
had no part in his character; and it is clear from his last will,
and other evidence, that, in circumstances peculiarly favourable to
an undue exercise of priestly influence, he kept himself free from
its thraldom. Yet was he exemplary in pious preparation for the
change which his sinking frame, as well as his philosophy, taught
him to regard as at hand. To blighted hopes, parental anguish, and
a desolate old age, were added great bodily sufferings. Gout, to
which he had been subject from his thirty-fourth year, had by degrees
so twisted his limbs that he was fed like a child, and a fresh
paralytic seizure at length completed his decrepitude. Still, amid
"The waste and injury of time and tide,"
his mind continued unclouded. To the end his letters maintained their
clear and graceful style; and the frequent correspondence he kept up
with his granddaughter, a child in years rather than in ideas, formed
the latest link that connected his thoughts and hopes with mundane
objects. Of this correspondence, so creditable to the hearts of the
writers, a few specimens will be found at p. 220.
[Footnote *117: An order not of monks but of friars, founded by
S. Francis of Paola in Calabria in 1436. The rule is based on the
Franciscan, and the religious are mendicants.]
The registers of the Roman convent of Minims of S. Lorenzo[*118]
enable us to trace the closing scenes of the old man's feeble
existence. During the autumn of 1630 a change took place, and he was
chiefly confined to bed during the subsequent winter. The rapid decay
of his digestive organs was accelerated by rigid fastings during
Lent, in which he persisted despite of his confessor's remonstrances.
From the debilitating effects of this discipline, exhausted nature
could not rally; but life ebbed so slowly, that four days elapsed
after extreme unction had been administered, ere his flickering pulse
was still. At length, on the 28th of April, 1631, he passed away,
bewailed by his subjects, regretted by all Italy. To the citizens of
Castel Durante his death was an especial bereavement. "They wept for
a beloved father, the chastener of the bad, the rewarder of the good,
the stay and advocate of the poor, the protector of the orphan, the
support of the weak and oppressed, the consoler of the afflicted, the
benefactor of all."[119] Thus deprived of the glorious and desired
shade and shelter of their goodly OAK, which, transplanted
from the Ligurian shores, had branched out so boldly in their
mountain soil, his people saw their independence extinguished, and
their position in provincial insignificance riveted for ever.
[Footnote *118: This I know not. Their present _Casa generalizia_ is
at S. Andrea delle Fratte. The basilica of S. Lorenzo is now in the
care of the Franciscans.]
[Footnote 119: CIMARELLI, _Istoria dello Stato d'Urbino_.]
He lay in state during two days, arrayed in the ducal mantle of
silver tissue lined with purple taffetas; on his head a coronet
of gold surmounted the velvet cap of maintenance; the collar of
the Fleece was on his neck, the ring on his finger, the sceptre in
his hand. In these trappings of sovereignty, a last tribute to the
station which he had quitted for ever, and which none remained to
fill, he was by his own desire interred. Seven years before, he had
prepared for himself an unornamented tomb under the holy-water vase
in the church of the Crucifixion, at Castel Durante. There he chose
his final resting-place, amid sites endeared as the scene of his
youthful sports, the relaxation of his busy manhood, the retreat
of his chastened age. Thither he was escorted by a procession of
five hundred gentlemen, besides a numerous attendance of priests
and monks. Each of the latter received a scudo and a pound of wax;
and by one of them, Padre Ludovico Munaxho, the funeral oration was
pronounced. At his own desire, this prayer, from the liturgy of his
church, was inscribed under the front, in lieu of epitaph:--"O Lord,
incline thine ear to our prayers, wherein we supplicate thy mercy,
and that thou wouldst establish in peace, and in the realms of the
elect, the soul of thy servant Francesco Maria II., Duke of Urbino,
which thou hast summoned from this life, and that thou wouldst ordain
it to be received into the company of thy saints, through Christ our
Saviour. Amen. He died in the year of God MDCXXXI., and of
his age LXXXIII."
* * * * *
[Illustration: FRANCESCO MARIA II., DUKE OF URBINO
_From a picture once in the possession of James Dennistoun_]
The character of Francesco Maria presented many strange
contradictions. The manifold inconsistencies of his precepts and
practice have already been pointed out; and the opinions of his
contemporaries varied, not only from the estimate with a perusal of
such memorials as I have discovered of his reign would lead one to
form, but also from each other. It may be well to give the judgments
of those who had best opportunities of forming just conclusions,
leaving the reader to reconcile their discrepancies. Donato, his
chief counsellor in the Devolution of his state, whose experience was
chiefly of his latter years, writes of him as follows:--
"For sixty years did he enjoy his dukedom, ever loved but ever
feared by his subjects, and highly esteemed by foreigners. Having
had always about him the most famous literary characters of his
time, having himself mastered many sciences, and read a multitude
of books, it would be difficult in a few words to do justice to his
finished knowledge, to his acute genius, to his profound memory, to
his elegant and unaffected style in speaking and in writing, to his
intimate acquaintance with natural history and geography, as well
as with the political relations of states. Nor was he less skilled
in the more important acquirements of theology and sacred subjects,
upon which he was accustomed to dispute with those whose business
it was to teach these doctrines. He was a prince of great piety, of
exemplary manners, of austere address. He lived as a sovereign, but
spoke like a simple gentleman. His modesty veiled the pride of his
station; his strict justice obtained for him the respect due to a
king; his conduct was on all occasions exemplary. Fond of despatch,
he was impatient of dilatory measures and superfluous discussions. He
would have been a paragon for princes, and worthy of undying fame,
had not the irritability which unaccountably swayed his temper, and
his violent fits of passion in matters regarding himself, hurried him
unrestrained by his many virtues into numerous excesses and errors.
Among such may be accounted his throwing up the reins to his son,
his abandoning himself to the guidance of favourites, his credulous
adherence to first impressions, his abhorrence of those who had once
alienated his regard. Timid and suspicious from his solitary habits,
he was averse to generosity, cautious in his expenditure, but,
punctual to his promises, was fully to be relied upon for an exact
performance of his word. In person he was well-proportioned, neither
stout nor thin. He was a good knight, skilled in arms and equestrian
exercises; he was devoted to the chase and all manly exercises;
attached to persons of accomplishment and high birth."
Thus speaks his courtier Donato; and he is in the main confirmed by
a somewhat less favourably coloured testimony from Gozze, who seems
to have been a contemporary, and whose narrative is contained in No.
324 of the Oliveriana MSS. According to it, he was singularly active,
skilful in all manly exercises, and particularly fond of racket
and of hunting. He was hasty in temper and in speech; impatient of
contradiction, and obstinate; so cunning that one scarcely knew when
he was in favour. He had much practical good sense, but was wayward,
choleric, discontented, selfishly inconsiderate of those about him,
and, having taken offence, was apt to brood over and resent it. He
was most exact in business, and habitually regular in its duties;
punctual in payments, but most strict in accounting with those who
managed his affairs. He was fond of magnificence, and maintained a
numerous court, though less brilliant than his father's. He had but
one favourite at a time, keeping all others at a distance; indeed,
his stern manner overawed even when his words were gracious. He
was handsome, in person scrupulously nice, but neither effeminate
nor extravagant in his habits. His disposition was retired and
melancholy, and he indulged it much by reading, writing, or walking
in solitude. He was ostensibly devout, and was regular in the
observance of religious duties. He spoke and wrote very well and
solidly, studying a terse and simple style. His tastes were decidedly
literary, with a partiality for the graver sciences, and he ever
maintained about him persons distinguished in letters and art.
Writing at an interval of nearly a century and a half after his
death, but with the advantage of access to many original documents,
Passeri thus characterises Francesco Maria II. "In him military
skill, intercourse with courts, and scientific studies, combined to
form the rare instance of a sovereign philosopher. No prince of the
day was more wise, more courtly, or more attached to his people; and
his systematic government by means of excellent ministers might be
adopted as a model. To men of letters he paid the greatest honour,
and he willingly sought their converse; none such ever passed through
Pesaro whom he did not receive with distinction. It was his desire to
introduce all sorts of manufactures, that his subjects might have no
occasion to send their money abroad for the purchase of necessaries;
indeed, they exported silks, woollens, leather, and majolica, which
produced a large balance over their imports. The improvement of
agriculture shared his anxious care, and the means he adopted to
effect this merit high encomium. He wrought to advantage the iron
mines of Lamole, and those of copper at Gubbio. Thus did his state
become populous and wealthy, while lightly taxed, for the expenses of
his court were nearly limited to the income of his private estates,
and to the profits derived from the importation of grain out of the
dominions of the Church. He maintained a sort of standing militia of
thirteen thousand men in the pay of Spain, who, in peace, pursued
their occupations at home, but, in war, were placed under the command
of that power. From this arrangement great benefit resulted; for
thus had the military spirit, for which the country had always been
remarkable, an ample and safe outlet, whilst the talents so developed
often led to individual distinctions and promotion."
From a narrative of Urbino, compiled in 1648,[120] we gather one
or two anecdotes of this Duke. When irritated he used to apply
contemptuous epithets to his various cities, founded upon the
temperament he had discovered in their inhabitants. Thus he called
the people of Urbino proud and foul-mouthed; those of Pesaro,
cowards; of S. Leo, Mantuan sheep; of Cagli, bum-bailiffs; of
Fossombrone, tax-gathers; for the citizens of Mondavio alone he
reserved a compliment, saying that they were born courtiers. Though
fond of letters, he ever set his face against the establishment of
academies, alleging that they might degenerate into revolutionary
conventicles. To the just views which guided his political
arrangements the best testimony is supplied by the fact above
mentioned, that his people interceded for a prolongation of all
his government institutions during the ten years succeeding the
Devolution, and that, Urban having consented, these were found so
well adapted to the well-being of the province, that they remained
undisturbed after that period of probation had expired.
[Footnote 120: Maruccelli MSS. C. No. 308.]
In person, Francesco Maria was handsome, and, from being puny and
stunted in childhood, grew up active and graceful, but with a
complexion of almost effeminate beauty. He was, therefore, fortunate
in having for his court painter one whose men and women, as Sir
Joshua Reynolds has happily remarked, seem nourished by roses.
Although it is improbable that Baroccio executed the swaddled effigy
of him in the Pitti Gallery, there can be little question that the
four portraits we shall now mention are by that artist. One of these,
in the Tribune of the Uffizi at Florence, with a repetition of equal
merit in Baron Camuccini's choice collection at Rome, represents to
perfection a strikingly elegant youth in the gorgeous uniform worn
on his naval expedition in 1571.[*121] There is in my possession a
half-length, with one of Ambrogio Baroccio's curious timepieces
upon the table, which came from the Durazzo Gallery at Genoa; and
the head introduced above, at p. 151, done in full manhood, when the
cares of sovereignty had begun to furrow his features with "lines
of anxious thought," was purchased by me at Pesaro, in 1843. In the
Antaldi Palace there, I saw a head of this Duke ascribed to Baroccio,
but evidently done some years after his death. It is a slight
sketch, thrown off at a sitting, and painfully preserving features
whereon age and sickness, sorrow and anxiety, have set their seal.
Portraiture can show no contrast more startling than that time-worn
figure, with glassy eye and ghastly visage, offers to the glowing
cheek and gallant bearing of the richly accoutred hero of Lepanto.
But still more melancholy the change that had come over the man,
then gladsome in youthful beauty, rising fame, and chivalrous hope,
burning to enjoy the advantages of high station, to maintain and
transmit the respect and popularity of a long-honoured name.
[Footnote *121: No longer in the Tribuna, but in the Sala di
Baroccio. It is the painter's masterpiece [Cat. No. 1119].]
We have referred to letters of the Duke written during his last
years, as interesting expressions of his state of mind. Besides
the collection of Babucci already quoted, a considerable number of
these are preserved in two other MSS. in the same library; also many
others, addressed by her relations to the Princess Vittoria, with
her answers, dated between 1627 and 1632.[122] The whole exceed
two hundred in number, and form a series of royal correspondence
equally remarkable for Christian sentiment and domestic affections.
In the following pages we give literal translations of a few of
them, which pleasingly illustrate these virtues in the Duke and
Duchess, in their daughter-in-law, now remarried to the Archduke
Leopold, and in the young Princess herself. By the first letter, the
Archduchess announces to her daughter the birth of a brother; by the
second, Francesco Maria intimates his confidence in the husband he
had chosen for his grandchild. In Nos. 3 and 6 the warmth of his
attachment to her is gracefully tinged with the pious resignation of
a dying Christian. Nos. 4 and 5 relate to his making over to her his
family jewels, a precaution, perhaps, against any difficulties that
might arise after his decease. No. 7 was his last letter, dictated
about a month before his release from sufferings. The remaining four
refer to that event, and to the affliction of his nearest relatives.
[Footnote 122: Magliabechiana MSS., class viii., Nos. 60, 61.]
1. _The Archduchess Claudia to the Princess Vittoria._
"My most serene and beloved daughter,
"Now that you have obtained from God your little brother,
after, as you tell me, having prayed for him (who, when he
is grown tall, will love you well), it remains for you to
thank the same God, who is the giver of all good. You say
that you wish to have this little brother for yourself; and
I agree to humour you under these conditions: First, that
your prayers obtain for me another next year; second, that
you come hither yourself to take him, so that you may have
the pleasure of seeing me, and I you; third, that, in the
meantime, you in everything obey Madam [the Dowager Grand
Duchess] and your other superiors, and that you often pray
for the health of the Lord Duke, to whom you owe so much.
And now I and my Lord your [step] father [the Archduke
Leopold] give you our blessing, beseeching for you a divine
one much more ample and perpetual. 3rd June, 1628.
"Your most affectionate mother,
"CLAUDIA."
2. _The Duke Francesco Maria to the Princess Vittoria._
"Your Highness having now attained the age of seven, his
serene Highness the Grand Duke, your betrothed husband, has
intimated to me that, the better to secure his intentions
in your behalf from the speculations and gossip of the
public, he will forthwith voluntarily contract with you
the sacred rite of marriage. But, as I have adopted my
measures, after taking every conjuncture into account, I
cannot allow myself to suppose any purpose of drawing back
in the mind of a prince of his station, endued with virtues
which must ever render him estimable to posterity, and a
worthy grandson of the great Ferdinand. I have, therefore,
declined his request, and have offered my consent that the
contracts already executed and concluded between us should
be carried into effect when most agreeable to himself. And,
though I should not be then a party to these arrangements,
as, surely, I am little likely to be, considering the years
and ails which, lame as I am, hurry me with long and great
strides towards the tomb, yet is it my hope to behold from
heaven the comfort of your Highness, which I pray God may
be perpetual, and uninterrupted by any misfortune. I have
informed you of this that you may be aware of what is going
on, and I salute you," &c.
3. _The Duke Francesco Maria to the Princess Vittoria._
"Most serene Lady, my grandchild,
"Your Highness has much reason to send me happiness, for,
as I am so closely united to you, and love you so much, it
will all return to you for your own benefit. But, feeling
myself reduced to such a state that I can no longer find
it in this world, I shall take it as a great favour that
your Highness pray God Almighty to grant me, instead of
such enjoyments as are prized in this life, patience
amid the great sufferings wherewith he visits me, and to
account these as meritorious for my glory in the next. Keep
yourself well and joyous; love me as always; and command my
paternal benediction: and I kiss your hands. From Castel
Durante, 7th January, 1630.
"Your Highness's servant, and grandfather, who loves you
from his heart,
"THE DUKE OF URBINO."
4. _The Duke Francesco Maria to the Princess Vittoria._
"I send to your Highness all the jewels remaining in this
house after its many calamities, and I consign them to
you during my life, since God knows what may happen after
my death. Your Highness will accept them in token of my
sincere affection towards you, and in good time will
ornament with them your person, forgetting not first to
adorn your mind with those virtues which become ladies
of your station, and which may render you more and more
dear to your most serene husband. And so I salute your
Highness." [9th April, 1630.]
5. _The Princess Vittoria to the Duke Francesco Maria._
"Most serene Lord, my most respected grandfather,
"I know that I ought always to pray God more for your
Highness's health and long life, seeing how, for affection
to me, you never cease to consider what may be for my
benefit. On Saturday morning I received your Highness's
letter of the 9th, by your master of the wardrobe, and
had the greatest joy in hearing that your Highness has
been pleased to send me the jewels. Yesterday too, after
breakfasting at the palace with Madam my most serene
grandmother, and the Lady Princess Anna, I had such delight
in seeing them all in presence of the most serene Grand
Duke my spouse. And as they are already brought to this
convent, your Highness may rest assured that they will
be kept in safe custody, and will serve to adorn me as
I may choose, as well as the others of the most serene
Archduchess my mother, which also I willingly believe she
will reserve for me. The thanks I shall render to your
Highness are my prayers for your behalf, which I shall
continue devoutly to offer several times a day, having no
other way of doing you a service; and I give you my most
humble duty with all my heart. From Florence, 15th April,
1630."
6. _The Duke Francesco Maria to the Princess Vittoria._
"Most serene Lady, my granddaughter,
"I am sorry to trouble your Highness with so many of my
letters, but the love I bear you, and the news I have from
your city so contrary to my wishes, compel me to this.
Your Highness must therefore bear with it, and believe
that in writing I fancy myself with you, and find in this
a satisfaction even beyond what I derive from knowing
that you are settled where no demonstration of courtesy
and affection will ever be wanting to you. I pray God
to send a change of weather, that so I may feel assured
your Highnesses are exempt both from danger and from
its consequent anxieties. I augur for your Highness a
continuance of health and every good; and I endearingly
kiss your hands. From Castel Durante, 29th November, 1630.
"Your Highness's servant, and grandfather, who loves you
from his heart,
"THE DUKE OF URBINO."
7. _The Duke Francesco Maria to the Princess Vittoria._
"Most serene Lady, my granddaughter,
"My usual ailments have for the last several days so
harassed me, that the prayers which your Highness addresses
to God for me have been most appropriate. For these I
heartily thank you, and since His great goodness gives
me a hope that the Almighty listens to them, I beg of
you to continue them for that divine assistance of which
we all have need, but I in particular, who in age bear
so many additional ills. I hear from the letters of your
most serene spouse, that he, your Highness, and all his
most serene house are in health, and that the prevailing
epidemic may be considered extinct. On this I heartily
congratulate your Highness, of whom I would daily learn
some new good fortune and happiness, and by such would
esteem myself fully recompensed for the sufferings to which
my few remaining days must be subject. And with all my
heart I kiss your Highness's hands. From Castel Durante,
2nd April, 1631.
"Your Highness's servant, and grandfather, who loves you
heartily,
"THE DUKE OF URBINO."
8. _The Duchess Livia to the Princess Vittoria._
"Most serene Lady, my beloved granddaughter,
"As, by connection of blood and of affection, our
consolations are in common, so also are our griefs and
afflictions. We have lost, by the death of the most serene
Lord Duke, more than I am able to express on paper, but
I know that your Highness's ready comprehension will be
sensible of this. It pains me to have to send you the
sad and mournful tidings of his death, which took place
last Monday, about half-past three o'clock; but since I
could not give you such news without sorrow, I pray you to
excuse me and console yourself, as I myself do in so far as
possible. And I affectionately kiss your hands, only adding
that to ensure your receiving it I have sent a duplicate of
this. Castel Durante, 2nd May, 1631.
"Your Highness's servant, and most affectionate mother, who
loves you more than herself,
"LIVIA DUCHESS OF URBINO."
9. _The Princess Vittoria to the Duchess Livia._
"My most serene Lady, and respected grandmother,
"I feel deeply the bad news of my grandfather, and though
they do not say he is dead, I much fear it, for they do not
speak plainly. Should it have pleased God to call him to
glory after such sufferings, I cannot but pray for his soul
in my devotions. And in the extreme grief which I shall
feel under so great a bereavement, and so heavy a loss, I
shall beseech your Highness to consent to come and stay in
this serene family, where I know you are much wished by all
their Highnesses, for this will be the utmost consolation
I could have. Meanwhile I await that of your Highness's
letters and commands, and I make you my reverence, praying
God to grant you every happiness. From Florence, 3rd May,
1631."
10. _The Princess Vittoria to the Archduchess Claudia._
"My most serene Lady, and respected mother,
"The most serene Lord Duke my grandfather is at length
dead, to my infinite sorrow, and I seem to stand abandoned
by all; for I never knew other father but him; and your
Highness, though my mother, is so far away, that I feel
not the warmth of your affection, as I in some measure
felt that of my Lord grandfather, by his proximity and the
frequent comfort I had from his loving letters and other
tokens. Your Highness will therefore sympathise with me,
whilst I condole with you on so great a loss and severe a
misfortune, and I beseech you to give me what consolation
you can. And I make you my reverence, praying God ever to
increase your happiness. From Florence, 10th May, 1631."
11. _The Archduchess Claudia to the Princess Vittoria._
"Princess, my beloved daughter,
"The regret has been universal for the departure of your
grandfather, the Lord Duke of Urbino, to a better life, and
for the loss of a prince who maintained the superiority
of his rank by that of his merits; no wonder, therefore,
that it has been so great in you, for this is just by the
laws of blood, and due as a debt of gratitude. I too have
found it bitter, partly on your account, partly from my
own obligations. But considering that the good Lord has
gone from us at an age when life began to be a burden,
and death desirable, I resign myself to the divine will,
conforming to that which He had from eternity ordained.
This surely you also have done, after the first bursts of
feeling, to which, rather than to your reason, I ascribe
your lamenting to me your bereavement of him as a loss of
all support, and your entire abandonment. And, my daughter,
I should be much distressed, did I not believe that by
this time you have changed that view, so injurious to the
affectionate solicitude your Lord grandfather took in so
well providing for your future. Though distant from you,
I bear you in my heart, and your little brothers grow
up with a thousand inducements to love and serve you,
prompted by nature and my suggestions. Their Highnesses,
too, are always most disposed to caress and honour you,
in particular Madam my Lady [Dowager Grand Duchess], who
will fill my place in administering with watchful affection
to all your sympathies and wants. You have likewise your
lady grandmother, whom you should ever most affectionately
respect, and from whom you may expect a lively interest in
your welfare and success. You have, lastly, what is still
more important, the protection of the Lord God, provided
you fail not to deserve it, by acquiring those virtues,
which, if displayed by you, will prove to the world that
the glory of our race is not entirely extinguished. Be
careful, then, to grow up cheerfully; and be it your aim
to fulfil the expectations generally entertained of your
good abilities, assured that the greater your attainments
the more will be my comfort in you. Humbly kiss in my name
the hem of your serene grandmother, and beseech the blessed
Lord our Saviour that he would listen to my prayers and
longings, the first of which are for your prosperity and
happiness. From Inspruck, the 24th May, 1631.
"Your most affectionate mother from the heart,
"CLAUDIA."
Princess Vittoria seems to have merited the affections of her
relations, so warmly expressed in these and many similar letters. On
arriving at her future capital, she had been placed for education
in a convent, where her progress was so rapid that before she was
eight years old, she composed as well as penned her letters, and
within two other years could write them in Spanish. From the period
of her betrothal, she was always addressed as Grand Duchess, and her
marriage was privately celebrated in 1633, when she was under twelve,
her husband being then double her age. Four years later, the public
celebration of this union took place with suitable demonstrations of
joy, and in due time it produced two sons, Cosimo, afterwards Grand
Duke, and Francesco Maria, Cardinal de' Medici. In her grandson, the
Grand Duke Giovanni Gaston, the male line of the Medici expired in
1737, when their state passed to the house of Lorraine. The portraits
of Vittoria preserved in the Pitti Gallery represent her as an
overgrown but comely matron, of good-humoured expression. Her matured
character did not realise its early promise. Proud, vain, suspicious,
and weak, she inherited her grandfather's predilection for the
society of priests; and her bigotry, increasing with her years, so
contrasted with the frank and lively temperament of her husband, that
a separation became advisable. These faults she transmitted to her
favourite son Cosimo, under whose reign they bred many public evils.
She died in 1694, after twenty-four years of widowhood, disliked by
her subjects as much as her husband had been esteemed. The Duchess
Livia retired a few weeks after her bereavement to her paternal
estate of Castel Leo, near Sassoferrato, where she lived in great
retirement, and in religious exercises, varied by visits to Assisi
and Loreto. She left her whole property to her granddaughter the
Grand Duchess Vittoria.
The Duke must have taken great pleasure in will-making, as his Diary
frequently mentions his being employed in that way. At his death it
would seem that more than one valid testament was found, the general
provisions of which, as stated in a contemporary abstract,[123] were
as follows:--He desired to be buried in the church of the Crucifixion
at Castel Durante, and that two thousand masses should be said for
his soul. He instituted his granddaughter Vittoria his universal
heir and executrix, burdened with these legacies: To his Duchess
Livia, 50,000 scudi, and an annuity of 4000 scudi; to his sister,
the Marchioness del Vasto, the palace and garden at Montebello, in
which she was living; to the Marquis of Pescara, a jewel, a gold
watch, and 2000 scudi; to the Duke of Modena, the Marquis del Vasto,
and the Cardinals Farnese and de' Medici, each a gold watch; to the
Zoccolantine monastery in the park of Castel Durante, 50,000 scudi;
among his servants 12,000 scudi; to the community of Urbino, the
library of MSS. and printed books in his palace there, with the
Campo dei Galli under the fortress for maintenance of a librarian;
to the convent of Minims, at Castel Durante, the library he had at
that residence. In case of the death of his granddaughter without
issue, he substituted the Dukes of Parma, Modena, and Aiello, to his
succession.
[Footnote 123: Magliabechiana MSS., class viii., No. 74.]
The inheritance thus conveyed was immense. The lowest estimate I
have seen states its amount at 2,000,000 of golden scudi, though
probably somewhat impaired by a litigation which arose with the
Camera Apostolica, in consequence of involved questions, as to what
were public and what allodial rights of the late Duke. It included
lands in Naples worth 50,000 scudi, and estates in the duchy, which,
in 1648, were computed to yield 15,000 scudi a year, besides the
residences and their dependencies, worth 4000 more.[124] The personal
property was valued at 340,000 ducats, exclusive of family jewels
previously sent to the Princess, and of the libraries otherwise
bequeathed.[125]
[Footnote 124: Maruccelli MSS. C. No. 308. Mercurius Gallicus, 1624.]
[Footnote 125: Such particulars of the wardrobe inventory as relate
to objects of art are included in the last No. of the Appendix.]
The fate of the two famous Urbino libraries deserves more special
inquiry, and it is very disappointing to offer but a meagre result.
Those who have glanced over our eighth chapter will be aware that
the collection of MSS. made by Duke Federigo was the wonder of his
age, and the admiration of all who have celebrated the glories of
his lettered dynasty. The circumstances under which it was amassed,
the accommodation provided for it in the palace of Urbino, and the
most beautiful of its contents, have already been introduced to the
reader. The losses it had sustained during the Borgian usurpation
by plunder and accident were, we are assured by Paulo Maria, bishop
of that metropolitan see, nearly supplied by the anxious care of
succeeding Dukes; and, though none of these appear to have been
bibliomanes, literary as they were in taste, and ever surrounded
by men of high acquirement, it may be supposed that their library
was from time to time recruited with works issuing from the press.
But this casual supply was inadequate to the wants of the studious
Francesco Maria II. Instead of disturbing the old library at Urbino,
he drew from all quarters to his residence at Pesaro a numerous and
choice store of printed books which he eventually transported to
Castel Durante, for the amusement of his leisure hours.
Such were the two libraries separately bequeathed by the Duke's will,
to which we have just referred. He left "to the community of Urbino
his library of MSS. in that city, as well as all MSS. and drawings in
that of Castel Durante, as soon as they can be transported thither;
and, in order that the said community may maintain a person to take
charge thereof, he conveyed to them certain lands for his support;
expressly enjoining that the said library shall never be removed
from the place where it then was, nor be diminished by a single
volume, under forfeiture of their right thereto, in favour of the
company Confraternita della Grotta of Urbino." The library remained
under charge of Vittorio Venturelli, a man of some literary note; but
ere many years had elapsed, the destination by Francesco Maria was
defeated. In 1657, the community had formal notice from Alexander
VII. of his wish to transport the collection to the Vatican, "for the
increase of its splendour, and the benefit of Christendom." After
some delay and hesitation, this proposal was reluctantly acceded to
by the magistracy, who took the opportunity of stipulating certain
favours and immunities for the public. The chief of these were a
diminution of the contingent of interest payable by Urbino on the
state debt; exemption from certain imposts; the establishment there
of educational institutions under charge of the Jesuits; the removal
thither from Urbania of the Minims, with the other library left to
them by the late Duke; an annual sum for repairs of the ducal palace;
the preservation of their library in the Vatican under its proper
name, and the perpetual appointment of a native of their city among
the librarians there; lastly, a surrender to the community of the
property bequeathed for the support of their librarian. The Pope's
interference seems to have been suggested, or perhaps only excused,
by a rumoured intention of the community to sell the collection to
some foreign prince. The MSS., numbering 1793 volumes, were finally
sent to Rome in sixty-three cases; and a tradition is still current
in Urbino that they were removed secretly, and during night, to the
bitter mortification of the inhabitants, who regarded this as the
last relic of sovereignty and independence remaining to them, and who
probably esteemed it more as a monument of better days than from a
just appreciation of its real value. The MSS. were assuredly worth
a far higher ransom than was obtained by the citizens, but there
can be little doubt that their safety and utility were enhanced by
the transfer. They were deposited in a section of the vast corridor
at the Vatican, where an obscure lapidary inscription informs us
that "in 1658, Alexander VII. added to the Vatican collection the
ancient MSS., of all sorts and in all languages, which formed the
library of Urbino, thereby insuring their preservation and proper
treatment, after compensating those who assigned over the boon."[126]
The printed books of this library, in number 233, were retained in
Urbino.[127]
[Footnote 126:
Alexander VII. Pont. Max.
Antiqua omnis generis omniumque linguarum
Urbinatis bibliothecæ manuscripta volumina
Repenso cedentibus beneficio
D. tutiorem custodiam atque proprietatem
Vaticanæ adjunxit an. sal. MDCLVIII.]
[Footnote 127: Most of these particulars have been gleaned from the
communal archives at Urbino, R. No. 30.]
It remains to trace the library at Castel Durante. In the archives of
the Convent of Minims at S. Lorenzo in Lucina, at Rome, I discovered
a copy of a settlement by Francesco Maria, dated 1628, in which
he leaves the Minims of the Crucifixion, at Castel Durante, "all
the library of printed books which may be in Castel Durante," with
the room in which they are, and the shelving, etc.; but under an
obligation "that before taking possession thereof, they shall without
delay send to the library of Urbino, at the expense of the heir, all
such MSS. and books of designs as may be among them." There is also
a special condition that, if these monks permit any part, however
small, of the collection to be removed from thence or transported
elsewhere, the bequest shall lapse to the Confraternita della Grotta,
at Urbino; and a small provision is made for maintaining a librarian.
The active interest taken by Urban VIII. in Castel Durante (now
Urbania) did not overlook the benefit which such a public library
was likely to afford to that town, and he provided for its perpetual
security by proclaiming ecclesiastical censures against such as
should dilapidate or carry it away.
About twenty-seven years after the Duke's death, Alexander VII.,
being at a loss how to furnish with books the library of his
newly-erected university, the Sapienza, at Rome, bethought himself
of the collection at Castel Durante; and on the assumption of its
very limited utility there, and of the excellent purpose to which it
might be made subservient at the Sapienza, transported it thither.
He had previously obtained a sort of forced consent on the part of
the monks of the Crucifixion to this arrangement, by promising to
the convent of their order at Rome the custody of the new library,
and other favours: the opposition of the Confraternita della Grotta
he had also neutralised, by purchasing their reversionary interest
in the bequest. The transaction was enveloped in great secrecy, in
anticipation of opposition from the grand-ducal family, or from the
citizens of Castel Durante; indeed, when the removal of the books
was begun, the latter manifested such indignation and discontent,
that about five hundred volumes were allowed to remain for their use.
Notwithstanding this concession, and their unwillingness to agree to
the arrangement, the monks were for a long time greatly persecuted by
the people; their Provost fled in terror of his life, and nothing but
dread of papal censures would have induced their compliance. Upon the
pretext that persons bound to reside in a cloister, at some distance,
could not be efficient guardians of the new library at Rome, even
the promised boon was withheld from their brethren of S. Lorenzo,
who received in compensation the lectureship of moral philosophy at
the Sapienza, along with certain exemptions affecting the internal
discipline of their order.
The consulting catalogue of the Vatican Urbino MSS., now used by
the librarians, was compiled in 1797 by Mauro Coster, and being
alphabetical, does not show the number of MSS.; but the numeration
of articles exceeds 4000. In it, at No. 1388, will be found another
catalogue by Stefano Gradio, wherein the numeration of volumes, many
of them containing several articles, amounts to 1361; but in the
general catalogue for reference, the volumes are only 1026. Under
the regulations prohibiting indiscriminate access to the Vatican
catalogues, I have not been able satisfactorily to reconcile these
discrepancies, nor to pronounce upon the accuracy of any of these
calculations; they, however, afford sufficient data to estimate
the extent of the Urbino MSS. Their value is probably greater in
reference to their number than that of any other component portion of
the Vatican collection; indeed, than any existing library except the
Laurentian; but this point, too, must remain unresolved, so long as
the present restrictions are maintained.[*128]
[Footnote *128: I am not able to state more accurately than
Dennistoun the number of volumes from the Urbino collection now in
the Vatican. Unhappily there is not a library in all Italy that
possesses a catalogue fit to use. For the MSS. to-day existing in the
library of the University at Urbino, see _Le Marche_, An. iv., p.
212.]
* * * * *
As soon as the Duke's demise seemed to be certainly approaching,
Urban had directed his nephew, Prince Taddeo Barberini,
general-in-chief of the ecclesiastical troops, to occupy the
frontier, who, on that event, marched through the state to receive
its allegiance, and thus secured its unopposed Devolution to the
Holy See, to the infinite satisfaction of the Pontiff. Another
nephew, Cardinal Antonio Barberini, was soon after named Legate,
under whom the ancient Dukedom passed at once into its new position
as a province of the papal state. But after a few months he resigned
the appointment, and it was bestowed upon his brother, Cardinal
Francesco, who, preferring Rome as a residence, governed the province
for many years by a vice-legate. The Pontiff, in proof of his
paternal affection for his new subjects, conferred a Cardinal's hat
on the Bishop of Gubbio, and established in that town a branch of the
Inquisition!
The revenue drawn by the Camera from the state of Urbino, in the
years immediately subsequent to the Devolution, fell considerably
short of the expenses; but after the imposts had been augmented, the
income, in 1648, exceeded 40,000 scudi, leaving a balance at the
credit of the government. The population was then above two hundred
thousand. The change from independent to provincial rank had already
become painfully manifest. The vaunted fidelity of the natives was
degenerated into servility of demeanour. Everywhere their eyes rested
on some symptom of departed grandeur. The palaces of their dukes were
falling into neglect, crumbling and grass-grown; the gardens, overrun
by rank weeds, sadly recalled days of past festivity; the degraded
castles testified to an impoverished and absentee nobility. The
glories of Urbino were gone.[129]
[Footnote 129: Maruccelli MSS. C. No. 308. See App. No. VIII. for
statistical notices of this period.]
But the cup was charged with a bitterness beyond these humiliations.
Surrounded by ecclesiastical provinces, the inhabitants of the duchy
had long a foretaste of their coming fate, which amply accounted for
the exultation with which they had hailed the promised continuance
of the ducal line, and their sullen despair on witnessing its
inevitable extinction. The Venetian Relazioni, quoted by Ranke,
supply us with the opinion of disinterested contemporaries as to
the condition of the papal state during the seventeenth century.
In 1600, its "nobles and people would gladly cast themselves upon
any sovereign whatever, to escape from the hands into which they
had fallen." Ten years later, the very blood of the inhabitants
was wrung from them by excessive taxation, and their enterprise
was crushed by commercial restrictions. "The foreign traders had
quitted Ancona, the native merchants were bankrupt, the gentry
impoverished, the artizans ruined, the populace dispersing." A
year or two after the last Duke's death, his people are described
as grumbling much at the change, calling the new government a
tyranny, and sneering at the priests as interested solely in
accumulating wealth, and aggrandising themselves. In 1666, we have
this calamitous but probably overcoloured picture:--"It is palpably
evident that the ecclesiastical realm is quite overburdened, so that
many landholders, unable to extract enough from their possessions
to meet the extraordinary public imposts, resort of necessity to
the abandonment of their estates, in order to seek fortune and
sustenance in less rapacious communities. I speak not of duties and
customs, from which nothing eatable is excepted; because the taxes,
donatives, subsidies, and other extraordinary extortions would excite
pity and astonishment, even if the terrible commissioners sent
from Rome into these cities, with absolute authority to inquire,
sell, carry off, and confiscate, did not exceed all belief; no
month ever passing without a flight of griffins and harpies, in the
guise of commissioners, either of the fabric of St. Peter's, or of
pious bequests, or of movable goods, or of archives, or of some
five-and-twenty other Roman courts, by all which the already drained
purses of the helpless subjects are tortured to the last degree. And
thus,--setting aside Ferrara and Bologna, to which some consideration
is extended, and which are favoured by nature and art with excellent
soil, and with manufacturing industry,--all other cities of Romagna,
La Marca, Umbria, the Patrimony, Sabina, and the Campagna are utterly
wretched; and, to the disgrace of the Roman government, in none of
them do woollen or silk factories exist, nor even of gold stuffs,
except in a few such little towns as Fossombrone, Pergola, Matelica,
Camerino, and Norcia, although the abundance of wool and silk might
afford a most advantageous trade. The ecclesiastical territory is
merely an estate leased out to tenants, who give no thought to its
improvement, but only to extract the greatest possible amount of
its produce from the unhappy land, whose scourged and arid soil
will be unable to yield more than very barren crops to succeeding
occupants.... The more hateful and abhorred they find themselves,
the more merciless do they become; and dragging their hats over
their brows, they look no one in the face. They glean all sorts of
corn into their sheaves, intent wholly upon their own interests,
without the smallest regard to the public." By the end of the
century, matters had become worse, the country being "depopulated
and uncultivated, ruined by extortions, and destitute of industry."
The duchy of Urbino, which, according to the preceding extract, was
the last refuge of the silk trade, had then fallen into deep decay,
and the corn commerce of La Marca was clogged by export dues and
injudicious restrictions.[130]
[Footnote 130: The state of feeling in the duchy, even under the
comparatively beneficent sway of its native pope, Clement XI., may be
inferred from an incident of trifling moment. Having obtained trace
of a petition or remonstrance addressed to that Pontiff among the
MSS. of the Bibliotheca Borbonica at Naples, I was refused a sight
of it by the Archbishop then at the head of that library, on the
ground of its injurious allegations against the authorities. Verily
such overcaution may defeat its own end, by leaving an exaggerated
impression of the mischief it would veil. So Gergorovius was turned
out of the Vatican Library.]
[Illustration: _Anderson_
VITTORIA DELLA ROVERE, GRAND DUCHESS OF TUSCANY
_From the picture by Sustermans in the Pitti Gallery, Florence_]
These plaintive notes might still [1859] find not a few echoes
along the papal coasts of the Adriatic--the focus of Italian
discontent,--over-taxation to maintain a distant government being
ever the burden of their song. But the question is not, in truth,
one of financial administration. However open to stricture the
fiscal details may be, when tested by sound principles, the amount
of revenue raised is moderate in consideration of the wealth there
lavished by beneficent nature, in a degree denied to other not less
burdened districts of the Peninsula. Nor can the papal sway, however
objectionable, be in fairness regarded as otherwise than mild. But
centralisation is necessarily alien to the spirit of a people long
broken up into miniature communities, as it was formerly uncongenial
to their ancestors, whose personal pride, political influence,
and hopes of promotion, equally turned upon the continuance of a
sectional independence. Hence the popular dissatisfaction rests
as much upon traditional evils as upon existing and obvious
misgovernment. Four centuries ago there were above a dozen capitals,
flourishing in the balmy atmosphere of as many gay courts, and
basking in patronage and prosperity, all within the circuit of that
province where now a few priestly legates perform the functions of
sovereignty without either the taste or the means for indulging its
trappings, and dwell in princely palaces without the habits or the
popularity of their ancient lords.
But these are not matters for casual discussion. From the accession
of Count Guidantonio in 1404, till the Devolution by Duke Francesco
Maria in 1624, this little state had enjoyed two hundred and twenty
years of a prosperity unknown to the neighbouring communities. Her
sovereigns were distinguished in arts and arms, respected abroad,
esteemed at home; her frontiers were comparatively exempt from
invasion, her tranquillity unruffled by domestic broils: within her
narrow limits were reared or sheltered many of the brightest names in
literature, science, and art; her court was the mirror of refinement,
her capital the Athens of Italy. Since the Devolution, she has passed
an equal number of lustres in provincial obscurity and neglect.
It has been the object of this work to portray somewhat of the
splendours of that former period, though the subject would require
colours more brilliant, and a hand more skilled. Here our task must
close, for to follow her destinies to their decline and fall were one
of few attractions.
"Kingdoms are shrunk to provinces, and chains
Clank over sceptred cities, nations melt
From power's high pinnacle, when they have felt
The sunshine for a while, and downward go!"
BOOK NINTH
OF LITERATURE AND ART UNDER THE DUKES DELLA ROVERE AT URBINO
CHAPTER XLIX
Italian literature subject to new influences--The
academies--Federigo Comandino--Guidobaldo del Monte--The
Paciotti--Leonardi--Muzio Oddi--Bernardino Baldi--Girolamo
Muzio--Federigo Bonaventura.
"For a long lapse of years, Italy had been an organised body of
highly civilised states, different in their origin, laws, and
constitutions, divided by local jealousies and opposite interests,
constantly engaged in their endeavours to establish a political
equilibrium by the manoeuvres of a wary and even unprincipled
diplomacy, baffled oftentimes in their ambitious schemes, and brought
into sudden collision, but still deriving new energies from their
very rivalry, and promoting, with their own, the interests of social
progress."[131]
[Footnote 131: MARIOTTI'S _Italy_, II., p. 177.]
It was in a state of things thus happily described that letters and
art attained their zenith of glory in the Peninsula. But the close
of the fifteenth century had introduced elements of change, which
a fatal policy permitted to spread. Those foreign aggressions and
domestic convulsions which we have seen extirpating nationality and
crushing independence were not less destructive to mind and its
efforts. A struggle of thirty-five years against her ultramontane
invaders,--a series of unavailing because ill-directed and discordant
efforts,--closed with the coronation of Charles V., and left Italy
for nearly two centuries at the mercy of Spain. The states which
escaped the direct miseries of that iron domination, and retained
a nominal independence under the papal sway or their native
dynasties, sank unresisting before an influence affecting at once
their politics, their manners, and their literature. The pride of
the Spaniard had long been proverbial, and was little susceptible
of modification even in a new country. The conquered race quickly
conformed to fashions which they could neither shake off nor
exclude. They aped a pompous bearing that sat with singularly bad
grace upon a vanquished people, and the affectation which at first
loaded their language with fulsome epithets, soon corrupted their
writings by elaborate adulation. It is difficult for those whose
taste has been formed upon the models of a less copious language to
judge fairly of Italian ornamental literature, for its authors, in
availing themselves of the resources at their command, are prone to
lavish them too unsparingly. When tried by such a standard their
prose may seem tedious or tumid verbiage, their epics may teem with
overstrained hyperbole, and even their lighter poetry may appear
to substitute subtle conceits and elaborate epithets for graceful
ease and flexibility. But these idiomatic peculiarities are but
echoes of the national genius, and ought not perhaps in fairness to
be subjected to canons of criticism unknown to their authors. Yet
it cannot be denied that facilities such as the language of Italy
affords to flowery composition are virtually premiums on feebleness,
and that decorations of style afford a tempting disguise for
indolence of mind or poverty of matter. The influence of petty courts
was peculiarly and fatally favourable to such qualities. Trifling
incidents there assumed an importance that justified magniloquence
befitting loftier themes, whilst the narrow views common to limited
circles found ample scope in exaggerated phrases of metaphor and
hyperbole. Thus came abundance without fertility, exuberance yielding
only redundancy.
Associations and clubs for political or social objects being
then incompatible equally with the spirit of governments and the
habits of the people, men readily formed themselves into religious
confraternities or literary academies. But these academies acted as
drags upon the progress of that literature which they were instituted
to promote; they clogged its chariot wheels with devices originally
dictated by pedantry, and soon degenerating into puerile verbiage.
From the draughts of inflated poetry and corrupted rhetoric which
they manufactured, every stimulating ingredient was gradually
withdrawn, while opiates were freely introduced in their stead. They
thus lulled to sleep what little public spirit had survived the
subjugation of the Peninsula; and the governments of the new régime,
quickly aware of their emasculating tendencies, lavished upon them
patronage until they deluged the land, and stifled the energies of
the national mind in all-prevailing mediocrity. The classic spirit
of the fifteenth century had originated this mischief, by diverting
letters from the sphere of popular sympathy, and nourishing that
affectation to which an almost exclusive study of the dead languages
must ever lead. But the evil was aggravated by Spanish influence.
Ingrafting frigid forms and stately phrases upon the lively
intercourse of a naturally light-hearted people, it did for the
manners what pedantry had effected for the letters of Italy. Nature
and originality were replaced by imitation and servility. Parodies
suppressed inspiration, compliments chilled cordiality. In both
cases genius languished, epithets multiplied, and terse and vigorous
diction passed with independence to happier lands.
In all histories of Italian literature the academies occupy a
conspicuous place, and we have already noticed the Assorditi of
Urbino, for whom municipal vanity has asserted an origin in the
reign of Duke Federigo.[132] They appear to have occasionally met
as early at least as that of his successor, although not formally
constituted until about 1520. Their name, like that of most similar
associations, being probably adopted from some foolish whim, the next
step was to invent a badge suited to the humour of the times, so they
assumed "the ship of Ulysses surrounded by sirens"; and for motto,
playing at once on sound and sense _Canitur surdis_, "They sing to
the deaf." The word _assorditi_ properly means "the deafened," but
its signification might be stretched by punning to include absurdity,
niggardness, or filth, none of them very flattering qualities to
connect with the epithet. The rolls of this fantastic association
included many authors who were harboured at Urbino, but it is in no
way identified with their reputation. Having fallen into neglect, it
was revived in 1623, and, after nearly a century of provincialism,
was once more reconstituted in 1723.
[Footnote 132: See vol. II., p. 112.]
As these literary associations rose, their predecessors, the
scholastic academies, declined. That which Lorenzo the Magnificent
had founded at his villa of Carreggi, was closed in 1522, and
Platonism having consequently waned, the Stagirite philosophy was
once more master of the field. But another and more deadly struggle
awaited it. When men began to study nature and base their reasonings
upon her laws, the deficiencies of their old guide were detected, and
its authority was impugned. Yet the peripatetic system was too deeply
founded to be at once dismissed, and the ingenuity of its disciples
was long directed to accommodate its dogmas to modern discoveries,--a
vain effort which only divided their ranks and led them into
inextricable dilemmas, until Galileo appeared "to furnish forth
creation," and conduct them clear of the labyrinth by a silver thread
of truth. But though a new light had dawned, new snares beset the
way. From bold investigation and speculative inquiry, ecclesiastical
authority and civil despotism had much to lose, nothing to gain.
Their side was therefore soon chosen. War was declared against
thought, backed by the whole armoury of oppression. Where prevention
failed, persecution followed, and the censor's veto was enforced by
rack and faggot.
Thus was it that the Reformation had but an indirect influence on
the Italian mind. The scanty seeds wafted across the Alps fell upon
stony ground, and ere long withered away. But the great reaction of
the papacy was not only directed against the new truths; it waged
war upon every thing calculated to afford them a disguise under
which they might become dangerous. The policy of pontiffs and the
duty of the Inquisition tended to exclude all light, lest any rays
of Protestantism should reach the faithful. During three centuries
have these efforts been continued; and when we consider the talent by
which they have been directed, the stern ministers by whom they have
been carried out, we well may wonder that the Italian mind has not
been utterly debased by foreign tyranny and priestly domination. They
have sown the wind; it remains to reap the whirlwind.
The fashion for classic imitation was succeeded in Italy by an
age of rhetoricians, with Bembo at their head, and the academies
as their strongholds. But they either encouraged or inadequately
repressed a too fluent facility which has ever since been the
blemish of their mellifluous language. In Boccalini's satirical
_Ragguagli di Parnaso_, some prolix writer is condemned to a perusal
of Guicciardini's narrative of the Pisan war; but, after a brief
essay, he avows his preference for the galleys to pursuing, through
dreary details, the siege and capture of a pigeon-house. This biting
jest is applicable in a far greater degree to other writers of the
sixteenth century, whose cumbrous grandiloquence is often diluted
by trivialities, or tinselled with factitious pomp. Yet there were
some authors of purer taste, who resisted such extravagance, and it
is curious to find Caro, della Casa, and Bernardo Tasso concerting
measures for curtailing the use of superabundant compliments. The
two principal points of their attack were the recent substitution
of the feminine pronoun in the third person singular for the second
person plural in addressing any one, and the indiscriminate use
of Lordship, Excellency, Gentility, as courteous phrases, to the
entire exclusion of Master and Madam. Against the former of these
abuses Caro and Tasso declare open war; but, although they unite in
condemnation of the latter as still more fatal to vernacular purity,
and avow themselves ready to support any onset, each shrinks from
leading the charge. "This age of ours is altogether given up to
adulation. Every one, in inditing a letter, bandies 'lordship'; all
expect it when addressed. And not, forsooth, our grandees alone,
but even the middle classes and the very plebeians aspire to such
distinctions, taking affront if they receive them not, and noting
as blunderers all who do not offer them the like. Most silly and
revolting does it seem to me that we should have to speak to one
person as if he were another, always talking to a sort of ideal
abstraction, quite different from the individual himself. Yet this
abuse is now established and general." Thus far Caro, to whom Tasso
replies, "Oh the wonderful charm of Italy, which every one seeks
to destroy! It sufficed not that the Goths, the Vandals, and other
strange and barbarous nations have sought, and still seek, to possess
thee, and that multitudes flock hither from earth's farthest corners;
even Lordships, never previously seen or known here, quitting their
native Spain, are come in swarms to sojourn among us, and have so
mastered our vanity and ambition that we cannot shake them from our
shoulders." In a subsequent letter to Claudio Tolomei, Bernardo
congratulates him on having applied the lash to such empty titles,
and promises to follow his example by retrenching them all when he
revises his own letters for the press.[133] But these attempts met
with little success; redundant superlatives still lead Italian
literature, and an Italian letter is little more than a tissue of
exaggerated epithets, from its address to its signature.[134]
[Footnote 133: _Lettere di Bernardo Tasso_, edit. 1733; vol. I., pp.
14-22 and 427-30.]
[Footnote 134: In proof of this I give in IX. of the Appendix a
letter of introduction, of which I was bearer, from one of the most
accomplished _professori_ of Rome.]
* * * * *
Few branches of human knowledge more flourished during the palmy
days of Italian literature than the exact sciences, especially
in connection with military affairs, and the elegant arts. Their
application to both objects was received with marked favour by the
successive Dukes of Urbino, who, for a century and a half, combined
the pursuit of arms with the patronage of art. We have seen this
done by Federigo and Guidobaldo I., for the defence of their duchy
and the decoration of their capital; we now have to mention the
progress of similar studies under the della Rovere princes. During
the latter epoch, pure mathematics were brought into fashion by
numerous translations of standard Greek works into Latin or Italian,
a labour shared by various literati of Urbino, but especially by
Comandino, Baldi, and Alessandro Giorgi. This, however, but served
to facilitate their practical development in pursuits more congenial
to those martial dispositions for which the inhabitants of Romagna
have in all ages been noted. Whilst the revived literature of Greece
and the philosophy of Plato flourished on the banks of the Arno,
the exact sciences were cultivated in the highlands of Umbria, and
took the practical turn of strengthening those fastnesses with
which nature had provided that mountain-land. Francesco di Giorgio,
of Siena, was less in request by Dukes Federigo and Guidobaldo as
architect of their stately palaces, than as the most famous military
engineer of his time. Events which made their duchy the seat of
repeated invasions early in the sixteenth century, as well as the
warlike character of Francesco Maria I., maintained a demand for
fortifications, and, from the school which thus grew up in his
capital, there issued a series of military architects whose fame and
services extended beyond the Alps.
* * * * *
The first of these whom we shall mention was FEDERIGO
COMANDINO, born at Urbino, in 1509, of a noble family. His
grandfather was secretary of Duke Federigo, whose last confidential
instructions he received, when death surprised that veteran general
in the fens of Ferrara. Baldi has claimed the invention of those
bulwarks in fortification called _baluardi_ for his father, Gian
Battista,[135] who built the walls at Urbino in the beginning of
the sixteenth century. After a liberal education, Federigo passed
several years at the court of Clement VII., nominally as a privy
chamberlain, but really to amuse with learned disquisitions the
Pontiff's leisure hours, on whose death he repaired to Padua, where
he devoted ten years to the study of philosophy and medicine. Having
graduated, he settled for clinical practice at Ferrara, but seems
soon to have abandoned the healing art for mathematical research.
He accompanied his sovereign, Guidobaldo II., to the camp at Verona
when in the Venetian service, and, having gained his confidence by
successfully treating him in a severe illness, he was selected to
instruct him in astronomy and cosmography, as well as in military
tactics and engineering. Soon, however, resuming his more abstruse
studies, under the patronage of Cardinal Ranuccio Farnese, brother of
Duchess Vittoria, he was carried by him to Rome, and introduced into
the society of Annibale Caro, Fulvio Orsini, Baldassare Turrio, and
Cardinal Cervini, the last of whom was cut off too quickly after his
election as Marcellus II. to be able to benefit his friends. But for
Comandino ambition offered few temptations, and courts had no charm.
In studious retirement he devoted to the exact sciences the matured
powers of a comprehensive and most retentive mind. He explored all
that classical authors were known to have left on these subjects, and
rendered again accessible much that lay forgotten among the rubbish
of by-gone learning. He translated, and copiously edited, Ptolemy's
treatise on the planisphere, which was published at Venice, in 1558,
and, four years afterwards, gave to the world a work on the analemma,
founded upon the same author's previous and imperfect discoveries.
His labours were then transferred to the writings of Archimedes,
several of which he printed for the first time, as well as the
dissertations of Serenus and Apollonius upon conic sections, all with
elaborate commentaries.
[Footnote 135: This has also been imputed to Francesco di Giorgio, to
Sanmichele, and to Bartolomeo Centogatti of Urbino.]
After spending the prime of life in these pursuits at Rome, he
returned to his native duchy, where his instructions in mathematics
were sought by Prince Francesco Maria, with whom he read and
expounded Euclid's _Elements_; and afterwards, at the request of his
pupil, published a Latin translation of them. It was about 1569 that
he was visited there by a young Englishman named John Dea, whose
love of the exact sciences induced him to seek so distinguished a
professor, and who supplied him with some Arabic MSS., hitherto
unknown.[136] Six years thereafter he was surprised by death, with
many unfinished works on his hands, part whereof saw the light under
the superintendence of the Marquis Guidobaldo del Monte. The life of
a hard student is rarely one of varied incident; and even the voluble
pen of his pupil Baldi has failed to illustrate that of Comandino
with interest, beyond his scholiast labours.[137] Yet severity formed
no part of his social character, and he was ready at all times to
relax his toils by Epicurean indulgences, which are said eventually
to have curtailed his life. To the last, however, his engrossing
pleasure was in books; and, although his works number more
translations than original compositions, he is ranked by Montucla
among the most able and judicious of commentators.
[Footnote 136: GROSSI, _Uomini Illustri di Urbino_.]
[Footnote 137: It is printed in the Raccolta Calogeriana, XIX., 140.]
* * * * *
One of the pupils whom Comandino left in his native state was
GUIDOBALDO, MARQUIS DEL MONTE, who was born of distinguished
lineage, in 1544. Tiraboschi has cited, as a singular proof of the
engrossing nature of his studies, the fact that his life offers a
nearly total want of incident. So tranquilly did his days flow on
at his castle of Monte Baroccio, amid abstruse occupations, that he
seemed to have forgotten a world unconscious of his very existence,
and the only memorials of his life are his works. His treatise upon
Perspective successfully carried forward what had been indicated
by Pietro della Francesca in the preceding century, and he was
afterwards engaged upon the doctrine of Planispheres, the correction
of the kalendar, and the solution of astronomical problems. But
though thus devoted to abstruse science, he spared a portion of his
thoughts for its practical branches, working upon mechanics, and
translating from Archimedes. It is unnecessary here to go into an
examination of results which modern discoveries have left far behind;
the ground has been well sifted by Montucla, whose work indicates
whatever is still of value in this class of now somewhat superseded
labours. The Marquis was addressed by Torquato Tasso in a sonnet
beginning _Miserator de' gran celesti campi_, and died early in the
seventeenth century, survived by a younger brother, Francesco Maria,
who had been made cardinal by Sixtus V.
* * * * *
Among the names distinguished in Urbino for mathematical talent,
that of PACIOTTI was conspicuous. Jacopo Paciotti, who held several
situations of trust under the two first Dukes of the Rovere dynasty,
was father of three sons, all eminent proficients in the exact
sciences. Felice was one of those commissioned to rectify the
Gregorian Kalendar, and invented an instrument for constructing
dial-plates. Orazio became a military engineer, and erected
fortresses for the States of the Church, for Savoy, and for Lucca,
with such reputation that his services were sought for Poland and
for the Emperor Rudolph. But the most remarkable of the family
was Francesco,[*138] who, after enjoying a liberal education, and
thoroughly grounding himself in architecture under Girolamo Genga,
went to Rome, where, in 1550,[*139] he was named engineer-in-chief
by Julius III. Next year, he was employed to fortify Ancona against
the dreaded descents of the Turk; but, leaving this undertaking to
be completed by Fontana, he passed in 1551, to the service of the
Farnesi, and thence to that of Emanuel Duke of Savoy, with 60 scudi
of monthly pay. He soon afterwards published a plan of Rome; but his
attention was chiefly devoted to military architecture, in which his
reputation rapidly spread. In 1558, he was employed by Philip II. to
survey, and report upon, the principal defences of the Low Countries,
for which he was remunerated with 6000 scudi, and a massive gold
chain.
[Footnote *138: Cf. MADIAI, _Il Giornale di Francesco Paciotti da
Urbino_ in _Arch. St. per le Marche e per l'Umbria_, vol. III., p. 48
_et seq._]
[Footnote *139: This is the year in which the journal begins. In 1551
he tells us he left the service of the Pope to enter that of the Duke
of Parma.]
Paciotti was now on the ladder of royal favour, and, having
accompanied Duke Emanuel to Paris, for his marriage, was decorated
by Henry II. with another magnificent chain worth 1000 scudi. The
gorgeous compliment, however, nearly cost him his life, for, while
wearing it next day, he was set upon by two robbers, one of whom he
slew, and wounded the other, a feat which procured him new marks
of favour. The next ten years of his life were chiefly spent in
the service of Savoy; but he was at various times summoned for
engineering purposes to Spain and Flanders. The warm personal regard
in which he was held by Philip II. was proved by his winning a bet,
that he would make that proud monarch hold a light to examine his
plans, and was more substantially shown by many rich presents which
he carried from that court. In consequence of recommendations from
his Catholic Majesty, he had from the King of Portugal the order
of Jesus Christ; and in 1578, at the Duke of Savoy's request, the
Castle of Montefabri was erected into a countship in his favour, by
Francesco Maria II. of Urbino. After for several years superintending
fortifications in the papal states, and those of the Grand Duke of
Tuscany, he retired to his native place, and passed the remainder
of his life in honourable ease, enjoying from various sovereigns
pensions of above 3000 scudi a year. He died in 1591, aged seventy,
leaving behind him a European reputation, and three sons, in whom the
mathematical talents of the family were hereditarily developed, all
being military engineers of some note; one of them, Federigo, became
a Knight of Malta, and Guidobaldo was blown up by a mine, while in
the service of Charles V.
* * * * *
GIAN GIACOMO LEONARDI is mentioned by a recent writer[140]
as "one of those extraordinary men, so abundant in Italy during
the fifteenth and following century, who have left little fame to
posterity, and who, though universally known in their day, were
after death forgotten, and overlooked by subsequent writers." Nor
is this surprising in his case; for his distinction, gained in
the camp, was spread still wider by his diplomacy. He was at one
moment referred to on delicate points of honour between knights and
sovereigns; at another consulted on questions of legal intricacy;
whilst his writings have remained unedited and unknown. They are all
upon fortification and engineering, and are enumerated by Promis in
his elaborate compilation upon these subjects. His services, though
eagerly sought by great monarchs, were affectionately devoted to his
native princes, being long companion in arms of Francesco Maria I.,
and ambassador to Venice from Guidobaldo II. He was born at Pesaro,
near which he had from the latter the countship of Monte l'Abbate in
1540, with permission to bear the name and arms of della Rovere, and
died about 1560.
[Footnote 140: _Trattato di Architettura da Francesco di Giorgio_,
edited by C. Promis, Turin, 1841.]
* * * * *
Although we have been led to mention engineers in connection with
mathematical science, they were in these days usually architects, and
regarded as belonging to the class of artists. Ricotti informs us
that no vocation was more varied or laborious. Uniting the practice
of arms with an intimate knowledge of design, their services were
sought for in every part of Europe, either to plan fortresses, build
palaces, cast statues, paint frescoes, execute hydraulics, or command
troops. Lazzari, in his _Uomini Illustri del Piceno_, enumerates
sixteen such as conferring lustre upon Urbino, but of these we shall
only name one more. MUZIO ODDI was nobly born there, in
1569. In 1595, he accompanied, as military engineer, a contingent
sent by the Duke into Burgundy; and, three years after, employed his
architectural skill for the festive decorations in honour of a visit
by Clement VIII. to his native city. He had less success in placing a
cupola upon the cathedral there, in 1604, which was said to contain
100,000 pounds of iron-work and 80,000 of lead, the weight of which
brought it down in 1789. On some indistinctly recorded charge, he was
thrown into the citadel of Pesaro, and there detained many years in
a loathsome dungeon. Denied the use of books or writing materials,
he made for himself ink of charcoal and candle-soot, mixed with
water in a walnut-shell, and, by pasting together shreds of paper
with bread-dough, contrived to jot down mathematical treatises on
sundials and the square, using for compasses a couple of twigs tied
together. On his liberation, in 1609, he passed into Lombardy, and
spent above twenty years of exile in sighing for his country; nor was
it till within two years of the close of life that he was appointed
mathematical professor at Urbino. He died at seventy, leaving a
Treatise on Mathematics, in two volumes 4to.
* * * * *
BERNARDINO BALDI[*141] has a double claim upon our
attention, as the most prolific writer whom the duchy has produced,
and as one who devoted a large share of his literary labours to the
illustration of his native state. He was born at Urbino in 1553, of
a family which, during several generations, had held with credit
various important situations in the magistracy. By force of that
extraordinary diligence, which continued to stimulate his entire
life, his youthful studies advanced with precocious success; yet it
is singular to find him confessing that his early inclinations were
all towards painting, and that his preference of his pencil to his
grammatical exercises often brought him into intimate acquaintance
with the birch. We cannot echo the observation of his biographer
Affò,[*142] that this discipline may have deprived Urbino of a
second Raffaele; but though he assuredly was gifted neither with the
lofty genius nor the pervading sense of beauty which characterised
his countryman, a deep devotional feeling would doubtless have
inspired his paintings. The peculiar connection which existed at
Urbino between the exact sciences and the liberal arts frequently
attracts our notice; and this it may have been which led the thwarted
painter to turn with his accustomed energy to mathematical studies,
under Federigo Comandino, for whose edition of Euclid, published
in 1572, he is said to have drawn the diagrams. It was about this
time, that, urged by his parents to choose between law and medicine
for a profession, he preferred the latter, rather, as he tells
us, from its analogy with philosophical inquiries than with any
special liking for the healing art. With these views he was sent
to the University of Padua, where he brought his vast application
successively to bear upon logic, and ethical and physical philosophy,
varied by his favourite mathematics, and by a comprehensive cycle of
Greek literature. To that seat of learning there then resorted the
youth of ultramontane lands, whose harsh language so piqued Baldi's
curiosity, and developed his prodigious philological talents, that
in an inconceivably short time he mastered French and German. But
these multifarious pursuits did not suffice his versatile mind,
so he enlivened them by draughts of the Castalian spring. There
may seem something ludicrous in an epic, entitled "Artillery," and
illustrative of gunnery practice; but a theme so ponderous for
poetry was suited to the spirit of the age, as well as congenial to
its author's thoughts. A visit to the mountain home of Petrarch, at
Arqua, gave, however, a lighter turn to his muse, and taught his
number to flow in madrigals, to the honour of some nameless Laura of
his love or fancy, containing more borrowed classicism than inspired
passion.
[Footnote *141: Cf. ZACCAGNINI, _La vita e le opere edite e inedite
di B.B._ (Modena, 1903); UGOLINI, _Versi e prose scelte di B.B._
(Firenze, 1859); see also MADIAI, _Pierantonio Paltroni e B.B.
biografi di Federigo da Montefeltro in Le Marche_ (1902), vol. II.,
pp. 5-6.]
[Footnote *142: Cf. AFFÒ, _La Vita di B.B._ (Parma, 1783).]
In 1575 he returned home, to share the last labours, and watch the
death-bed, of his friend Comandino, and to encounter from his parents
many a remonstrance as to his neglected professional acquirements, of
which, in the various food with which he had appeased his literary
craving at the university, he seems entirely to have lost sight. But
their efforts were vain. The Eugubinean tables, that philological
enigma, having attracted his attention, he boldly encountered their
solution, and studied Arabic as a stepping-stone to the lost dialects
of Central Italy. His biographers insert Etruscan in the catalogue
of his polyglot acquirements, but the tables of Gubbio remain a
puzzle to antiquaries. Those who made literature a profession,
before there existed a "public" to remunerate their exertions,
looked for maintenance to princes or private patrons; and in 1580
Baldi gratefully accepted the offer of Don Ferrante Gonzaga, Lord
of Guastalla, to instruct him in mathematics, on an allowance of
ten scudi a month, besides board for himself and a servant,--an
appointment which made him favourably known to Cardinal (afterwards
St.) Carlo Borromeo, uncle of that prince, and to many persons of
literary reputation who frequented his miniature court. There his
time was divided between mathematical and poetic compositions,
until, in 1586, a sudden change took place in his position by his
adopting a clerical habit, at the request of Don Ferrante, in order
that he might hold the Abbacy of Guastalla, the emoluments of which
yielded him about 320 golden ducats. This promotion brought out a
curious feature in the character of so hard a student, and we find
him immediately repairing to Rome, to canvass for the higher honours
of a titular bishopric, on being refused which, he struggled for
permission to wear some trifling distinction in his canonical robes
with pertinacity befitting a worldling rather than a philosopher.
Neither was it from such a character that we should have looked for
a zeal in the maintenance of ecclesiastical discipline, which led
him beyond the bounds of prudence in wielding his inquisitorial
powers.[*143]
[Footnote *143: In Rome he pursued too his artistic studies; it was
this sojourn which inspired the _Sonetti Romani_. He seems to have
passed the years 1592-1609 between Rome, Urbino, and Guastalla.]
Those theological studies which usually precede ordination were
in his case followed out with his wonted energy, after obtaining
the preferment to which they are generally intended to lead, and
it was probably then that he added Hebrew and Chaldee to his
accomplishments. But his first great undertaking, after thus gaining
a position of leisure and independence, was a General Biography
of famous mathematicians. This he never completed for the press;
but a sort of vidimus of the three hundred and sixty lives, which
it was intended to contain, was printed after his death, with the
title _Cronica de' Mathematici_. Several minor works in science and
literature at the same time occupied his pen, among which were his
Description of the Urbino palace, his Eulogy of that state, and his
History of Guastalla. Nor were his poetic inspirations neglected,
and, besides a variety of occasional effusions, his _Nautica_, or
the Art of Navigation, was printed at Venice in 1590. We may include
among his lighter labours an Essay on History, dedicated in 1611
to the Duke of Urbino, and lately published by Cardinal Mai.[144]
Although, like most similar essays, some of its observations are
trite and even trivial, the various topics are well handled, and
many useful suggestions are offered as to the best method and style
for history, the qualities requisite in its author and desirable
for its students. It would have been well had Baldi attended, in
his historical biographies, to his own recommendation, that the
prolix and copious diction of Livy should be chastened by that terse
and sententious manner found in Tacitus and Sallust. Nor were it
amiss that he had construed less literally the maxim by which Pliny
the Younger pleads for mediocrity, Content yourself to do much
indifferently, if it be beyond you to do a little well.[145]
[Footnote 144: _Spicilegium Romanum_, I., xxviii., from Vat. Urb.
MSS.]
[Footnote 145: Satius est plurima mediocriter facere, si non possis
aliquid insigniter. Lib. V., Epist. 5.]
Although Baldi appears to have entered the Church rather from
temporal considerations than any spiritual vocation, no priest
was ever more tenacious of rights and privileges; and it was his
misfortune to find, in the exercise of his ecclesiastical functions,
ever-recurring misunderstandings with his clergy or the civil
authorities, and even with the superior tribunals at Rome. Through
these we shall not follow him. As early as 1590, the Duke of Urbino
interfered as a friendly counsellor to recommend him moderate
measures; but new jars from time to time recurred, and in 1609 he
carried into effect a step which he had proposed seventeen years
before, by resigning his benefice, under reservation of two-fifths
of its income. But these wranglings penetrated not within the portal
of his study, where his active mind and adamantine pen laboured
assiduously, through good report and bad, upon the most incongruous
matters.
The Abbot renounced his preferment on the plea of family matters,
requiring his presence in his native city, and, faithful to
this domestic duty, declined an offer from Cardinal d'Este of a
situation in his household. His own sovereign received him with that
friendship he ever extended to men of piety and literary merit,
and, in 1612, sent him on a mission to congratulate the New Doge of
Venice.[*146] The remainder of his life passed in peace, amid the
varied resources of an ever-busy mind, interrupted only by those
occasional bereavements, whereby, as years wear on, death warns us
that our turn will also come. Besides sad breaches in his domestic
circle, Baldi had to mourn his long-attached friend Baroccio, the
painter, who died in 1612. Prepared by such proofs of human frailty,
he resigned his spirit on the 10th of October, after a lingering
but lenient malady, and was carried to the tomb amid the sincere
regrets of many friends and admirers.[*147] It was remarked that,
in his long and minute will, he left no instructions regarding his
multifarious unpublished works, most of which passed into the library
of his relations, the Albani, where they remain at Rome. His epitaph
reckons his compositions at forty-eight,[*148] and the languages he
knew at twelve, which Crescimbeni increases to sixteen--substantial
testimony to that avidity of application which is said to have been
habitually appeased by perusing the Fathers whilst at table, and
by conning over Euclid in Arabic, as an aid to digestion. To detail
and criticise the results of labours as Protean as Herculean is a
task which we cannot attempt. His diligent biographer Affò enumerates
about thirty printed works, running to above two thousand 4to pages,
and seventy left in manuscript, some of which have been since
published. They may be thus classed:--
Printed. MSS.
In Theology and biblical criticism 13
" Mathematics 7 14
" Philosophy 2
" Geography 2
" Law 2
" History 1 8
" Topography and antiquities 4 4
" Poetry 10 8
" General literature and philology 4 16
[Footnote *146: Cf. ZACCAGNINI, _Un'ambasceria di B.B._ in _Rassegna
Crit. d. Lett. Ital._, vol. VII., p. 201.]
[Footnote *147: He died in Urbino, October 10th, 1617.]
[Footnote *148: I record the more important. In 1575 he wrote a
poem on _Artiglieria_, and in 1579 another on the _Invenzione del
bossolo da navigare_; this was published by CANEVAZZI (Livorno,
Giusti, 1901). Cf. concerning it, PROVASI in _Le Marche_ (1902), and
ZACCAGNINI in _Rass. Crit. d. Lett. Ital._, vol. VII., p. 166. His
masterpiece, _Nautica_, written between 1580-85, is a didactic poem
in four books imitating the Georgics. Concerning it see ZACCAGNINI,
_Le fonti della Nautica_ in _Giornale St. d. Lett. Ital._, vol.
XL., p. 366, and PROVASI, _Contributo allo studio della Nautica di
B.B._ (Fano, 1903). The _Egloghe Miste_ were dedicated to Ranuccio
Farnese in 1590, and consist of nineteen poems in various metres
in a Theocritan vein. Cf. RUBERTO, _Le Egloghe edite e inedite di
B.B._ in _Propugnatore_ (1882), and for _Epigrammi_, RUBERTO, _op.
cit. An. cit._ His youthful erotic poems were published under the
title _Lauro_ (Pavia, 1600), and, not to speak of other volumes, the
_Sonetti Romani_ appeared in _Versi e Prose_ (Venice, Franceschi,
1590). His works in prose were very numerous. I note here _La
Descrizione del Palazzo Ducale d'Urbino_ (_circa_ 1587), and the
_Vite_ of Federigo and Guidobaldo I. of Urbino, the first published
in Rome in 1820 and a bad edition of the second in Milan, 1821. He
wrote also a _Cronaca_ (Urbino, 1707), a life of Federigo Comandino,
the _Encomio della Patria_, cf. ZACCAGNINI, _Uno scritto inedito
di B.B._ in _Le Marche_ (Fano), vol. I., p. 4; and the _Lettere
Familiari_, cf. POLIDORI, _Lettere di Baldi_ (Firenze, 1854),
RONCHINI, _Lettere di B._ (Parma, 1873) and SAVIOTTI, _Lettere di B._
(Pesaro, 1887).]
Of these a number were translations, chiefly from Arabic and other
Oriental tongues. It is evident that his own preference lay towards
his compositions in verse, a judgment which wants confirmation if
continued popularity be the test. Yet several of his fugitive poems,
and especially some sonnets on the ruins of Rome, possess much lyric
beauty; and, though his epic on the Deluge is but a wretched attempt
at novelty in versification, that on the Art of Navigation is a
work of merit for the age which produced it. Hallam, after classing
it with Bernardo Tasso's _Amadigi_, as two of the most remarkable
productions of that sort then written in Italy, pronounces the
_Nautica_ "a didactic poem in blank verse, too minute sometimes, and
prosaic in detail, like most of its class, but neither low, turgid,
or obscure, as many others have been. The descriptions, though never
very animated, are sometimes poetical and pleasing. Baldi is diffuse,
and this conspires with the triteness of his matter to render the
poem somewhat uninteresting. He by no means wants power to adorn his
subject, but does not always trouble himself to exert it, and is tame
where he might be spirited. Few poems bear more evident marks that
their substance had been previously written down in prose." But what
he wanted in genius--for therein lay his great deficiency--he in
some degree supplied by wonderful versatility. Whichever of his many
subjects he took up seemed that in which he was born to excel. Of his
painstaking diligence we have said much, but we may add the pertinent
remark of Grossi, "that so extensive was his reading as apparently
to leave no time for writing, and yet that he wrote about as much
as it seemed possible for any one to read." To this Tiraboschi adds
the more flattering testimony that "his praises would be appropriate
to almost each chapter of this history, for there was scarcely any
department of literature and science in which he did not apply
himself and attain excellence."
By an author so prolific, redundancy and diffuseness, the
blemishes of his age, were inevitable. But in his lives of the two
Montefeltrian dukes, these are conjoined with a tendency to elaborate
his details into microscopic minuteness, which weary and distract
the reader, and which, though valuable adjuncts to the testimony of
an eye-witness, engender more suspicion than credit in a narrative
compiled, after a long interval, from less specific authorities.
Being, however, a shrewd observer and diligent narrator, anxious
to do full justice to his subject, these works, although deficient
in personal interest, and relieved by no enlarged views or general
application, fulfil the task prescribed by his patron, the last
Duke della Rovere; and, were his life of Francesco Maria I. to be
published,[149] Baldi would be our standard historiographer of the
duchy. In him are, indeed, wanting the qualities of a philosophic
historian,--elevation of sentiment, variety of matter, selection
of incident; but they belonged not to his age, and were scarcely
compatible with his position. The fate of Scarpi and Varchi gave
timely warning to the literary world, that historic verity might have
its martyrs, as well as metaphysical speculation of religious truth.
His life of Duke Federigo, written in 1603, was printed in 1824;
that of Guidobaldo I., completed in 1615, saw the light in 1821.
The substance of these narratives had, however, been appropriated
and published by Reposati, omitting imaginary conversations and
supposititious harangues. Of the degree of impartiality with which
they were compiled, an idea may be formed from the following extracts
of letters addressed to their author by his sovereign, proving that
his judgment was not by any means left unfettered:--"It has given me
satisfaction to hear all that you have written me in regard to the
life of Duke Federigo of happy memory, and I fail not to acknowledge
with pleasure your devotion and diligence. In mentioning my house,
I approve of your naming it of Montefeltro rather than Feltrian,
but as to seeking out its source and foundation, I do not recollect
telling you to pass these over in silence. On the contrary, I deem
it necessary to discuss this, yet not in the way I saw it treated at
Urbino, attributing to it a mere bourgeois and private origin, much
humbler than its deserts. It will, therefore, be well to keep this in
view, observing in your eulogies, and generally throughout the work,
a becoming consideration and regard for it, such as, without further
hint, I look for from your sound discretion."--"As to the Life of
Duke Federigo, only a few days have passed since I have done looking
through it; but we must talk it over together more than once, ere
anything can be decided on."[150]
[Footnote 149: Vat. Urb. MSS., No. 906.]
[Footnote 150: Oliveriana MSS. In 1602 the Duke instructed his
resident at Venice to procure for Gian Battista Leoni access to its
archives for the life of Francesco Maria I. he had commissioned him
to write, which was published three years later.]
Had Baldi lived among our fathers, he would have dwelt in Grub
Street, and become, by his powers of application and memory, a
successful book-maker; among ourselves, he would have proved valuable
as a penny-per-line scribe. In Italy, his renown was, for a time,
more brilliant, but it has now passed into comparative, and not
unmerited, neglect. Yet his is a name of which his native city may
justly be proud, and may cherish with respectful approbation this
epitaph, once proposed for his tomb:--
"Ah! happy he who spent a lengthened span,
Not in the vulgar dreams of grovelling man,
But passed his days in living truly well;
Urbino's honour! Passenger, farewell."
Among the literary labourers of this age GIROLAMO
MUZIO[*151] is entitled to a prominent place, more from the
variety and volume of his writings than from their actual worth. The
epithet Giustinopolite, usually applied to him, is latinised from
Capo d'Istria, the adopted home of his family, who were originally
emigrants from Udine, and spelt their name Nuzio. He, however, was
born at Padua, in 1496, and, after receiving a good education,
finding himself dependent upon his own exertions, was fain to sell
his services of sword or pen to the highest bidder. The same rule
of self-interest that actuated Italian condottieri was too often
followed by literary adventurers in that country, conscience and
glory being generally made subservient by both to a livelihood.
Girolamo had a double chance, in his twofold capacity of soldier and
author, and tells us "that it was ever his fate to earn his bread
by serving in the armies and courts of popes, emperors, kings, or
petty princes; sometimes with one Italian commander, sometimes with
another; now in France, then in Upper, again in Lower Germany."
Through these vicissitudes it were needless to follow him. For a
time he was rival or successor of Bernardo Tasso in the promiscuous
affections of Tullia d'Aragona, a lettered courtezan, and, without
her sanction, published, in 1547, her Dialogue on the Infinitude of
Love. In the preface he avowed a connection which occasioned him
neither compunction nor shame, and which, in days when love was a
science as well as a passion, was openly shared by Varchi, Speroni,
Strozzi, and Molza. Four years later a dangerous illness taught him
reflection on his past ways, and brought him to a devotional frame
of mind. It was about the same time that he became an inmate of the
court of Urbino, receiving from Duke Guidobaldo the ample pension of
400 scudi, with permission to "attend to his studies, appearing only
when he chose." The Duchess Vittoria countenanced him much, and he
spent a good deal of time in her society, probably in consequence of
his appointment as governor to her eldest son, and of his marrying a
lady of her suite. From thence he went to reside at Rome, about 1567,
and died in Tuscany, in 1576.
[Footnote *151: On Muzio, see GIAXICH, _Vita di Girolamo Muzio_
(Trieste, 1847); MORPURGO, _Girolamo Muzio_ (Trieste, 1893), NOMI,
in _Miscellanea Stor. della Valdelsa_, No. 24; NOTTOLA, _Appunti sul
Muzio poeta_ (Aosta, 1895).]
Tiraboschi declines the task of compiling the long catalogue of
his various writings, in poetry, sacred and profane history, moral
essays, and familiar letters,[*152] nor need we undertake it. A large
portion of his works were directed against protestant doctrines, and,
having reformed the habits of his somewhat stormy youth, he lent
willing and efficient aid in strangling the progress of Calvinism in
Italy, after a protracted struggle, upon which the investigations of
Dr. M'Crie have thrown much valuable light. Muzio is alleged to have
exhibited in this contest more of martial dexterity than theological
acumen; but his controversial effusions, being published in Italian,
and clothed in a homely slashing style, were probably supposed quite
as efficacious against the progress of heretical opinions among his
countrymen, as the disquisitions of more profound theologians. It was
not, however, for the dogmas of faith alone that Muzio wielded his
pen. The soldier of fortune was quite as happy, and more at home, on
topics belonging to the chivalry of his profession. His treatises
on Duels and the Point of Honour were suited to the spirit of the
age, and had in consequence a considerable run of popularity, now of
course long ago past. The like fate has befallen his didactic poem
on the Art of Poetry, in the literature of his own country. What
most concerns us are his Lives of Dukes of Urbino. That of Federigo
is dedicated to Guidobaldo II., and the original is deposited in the
Vatican Library. Having been compiled with considerable care, it
continues our best narrative of his reign, and has been greatly drawn
upon by Baldi and Riposati. The edition printed at Venice in 1605 is
but an abridgment, containing less than half the original matter. His
Life of Francesco Maria I. was left unfinished, and remains unedited
in the Vatican.[153]
[Footnote *152: The fullest collection of his letters seems to
be that of GIOLITI, 1551. Cf. also ZENATTI, _Lettere inedite_
(Capodistria, 1896).]
[Footnote 153: Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 1011, and No. 1023, f. 50.]
We shall mention but one more prose writer of Urbino. FEDERIGO
BONAVENTURA was born in 1555, and owed to Cardinal Giulio
della Rovere a fashionable education at Rome. On his return home,
the marked favour of Francesco Maria II. was attracted by his good
sense and winning manners; but finding his courtly accomplishments
unequal to the profound pursuits of that young prince, he laboured
assiduously to supply his own deficiencies. By close application, his
progress in Greek, mathematics, and natural philosophy was amazingly
rapid; but these studies were happily blended with the business of
life, and, directing his powerful judgment to political affairs, he
established his reputation by a work on public polity, which, for the
first time in Italy, methodised the principles of government. These
talents his sovereign turned to account by sending him on various
diplomatic missions. Conforming in many respects to the maxims
inculcated by the Cortegiano, he filled in the Duke's court somewhat
the same place which Castiglione had done in that of Guidobaldo I.,
and died in 1602.
CHAPTER L
Italian versification--Ariosto--Pietro Aretino--Vittoria
Colonna--Laura Battiferri--Dionigi Atanagi--Antonio
Galli--Marco Montano--Bernardo Tasso.
The liquid vocables of the Italian language flow in melody with a
facility perilous to genius, fatal to mediocrity: its stream is
equally apt to dilute Castalian inspiration, or to quench poetic
fire. Hence the poets of Italy are far outnumbered by its versifiers;
and hence among the laureates of Urbino we find but few historic
names. But, in absence of native bards, the dukes of the second
dynasty attracted to their court several of those most conspicuous
on the Ausonian Parnassus, under whose influence a great change
came over the manner and spirit of national poetry. Hitherto their
predecessors had before them two models, whose excellence is still
universally admitted. Dante, in founding an epic literature, chose
the grandest and most difficult theme ever dared by man, and his
success, by immeasurably distancing his few competitors, has deterred
competition. Petrarch addressed himself to passions and sympathies
essentially earthly, and constructed a lyrical versification
demanding no sustained exertion; whose trammels sufficed, in his
melodious and pliant idiom, to stimulate ingenuity without imposing
labour; whose perfection depended rather upon elaborate polish than
upon originality or vigour. Thus, while Dante continued a model,
Petrarch became a snare; and hence, a "multitude of imitators,
satisfied with copying the latter in his defects; who could easily
follow him in the choice of his subject, but not in the beauty of
his style, the variety of his knowledge, and the elegance of his
imagery." Sonnets are indeed the most peculiarly Italian form of
poetry, but they are avowedly ill-suited to the naïve expression of
pure and artless feelings. Their laboured strain and studied melody
are adapted to an artificial cast of sentiment; they encourage
exaggeration and tend to mannerism and commonplace. Singly they
are charming, but "when taken collectively we become indifferent
to their unity, felicity, and grace, and accuse them of what under
other circumstances we might possibly commend, their recurring
metaphors, their uniform structure, and the unfailing sweetness of
their versification."[154] Yet in their complex form, a prolonged
repetition of the same rhyme tends, like the return to a simple air
amid difficult variations, touchingly to renew the feeling originally
and pleasingly evoked; and thus is it that sonnets often possess
a charm of which, in their ambitious attempts, their authors were
probably quite unconscious.[155]
[Footnote 154: British and Foreign Quarterly Review, xi. 376.]
[Footnote 155: See above, Vol. II., cap. xxv.]
It is not now our object to analyze the varied metrical arrangements
to which the fertile language of Italy willingly lent itself, and
which its minstrels,
"A mob of gentlemen who wrote with ease,"
delighted to mingle and multiply. Enough, in addition to the polished
sonnet, to name noble canzoni, sublime odes, and tender elegies. But
the absence of ballad poetry, with its wide-circling echoes of long
antecedent events and feelings, is remarkable, and has been imputed
to an early addiction of the nation to prosaic habits of trade. This
solution is, however, little satisfactory in itself, and is equally
at variance with the genius and the language of the people. Perhaps
it would be more just to assign a diametrically opposite cause, and
to seek in their vivid imaginations, and in the exuberant facility
of their melodious tongue, that universality of versification which
tended to depreciate its quality, or, at all events, to diminish
the estimation bestowed even on their most popular compositions.
It is accordingly in nations among whom poetry is a rare gift, and
whose idiom can embody it in terse and simple diction, that we find
those lyrics which, possessing a traditional popularity, are at once
the germ and index of national sentiment.[*156] We seek in vain
for such among the recognised literature of Italy; and though the
dulcet chants of the Venetian gondolier, and the monotonous lazzaroni
ditties of Naples, may be deemed of that class, their infinite and
ever-changing variety appears to divest them of the historic charm
that attaches to the chivalric redondillas of Spain, and to the
pensive minstrelsy of our fatherland.
[Footnote *156: How could Italy have a ballad poetry full of national
sentiment before she became a nation? Her living poetry then and
for centuries before, as now, is the _Rispetto_. Cf., for the
_Poesie Popolari_ generally, D'ANCONA, _La Poesia Popolare Italiana_
(Livorno, 1906); for the Marche especially GIANANDREA, _Canti
Popolari Marchigiani_ (Torino, Loescher, 1875).]
* * * * *
In poetry alone did the age of the della Rovere excel that of the
Montefeltri, and among the great names whom it was their pride to
shelter were Ariosto and Tasso, the only ones worthy to rival those
of the bards of Hell and of Love.
[Illustration: SUPPOSED PORTRAIT OF ARIOSTO
_After the picture by Titian in the National Gallery_]
LUDOVICO ARIOSTO[*157] was born of noble parentage at
Reggio, in 1474, and, after a precocious struggle against the
uncongenial legal career for which he was intended, was left by his
father to follow the bent of his genius in favour of general
literature.[*158] From an early age he had composed dramas on Thisbe
and similar themes, and had secretly drilled his brothers and sisters
to perform them; but when about seventeen, his youthful inclination
was gratified by accompanying Duke Ercole I. to Pavia and Milan,
for diversion, and to enact certain comedies. These boyish efforts
have not been preserved, but the Cassaria and Suppositi, composed in
1494, engraft upon classic models the licentious speech of his age.
Though well-born, he had the double misfortune to require a patron,
and to find an ungrateful one in Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, whose
ferocious character and lax morals exceeded even the ordinary licence
then permitted to members of the Sacred College, and whose taste
for literature, or perhaps emulation of a prevailing fashion, led
him to favour men of genius. The services of Ariosto were invoked,
as a soldier and diplomatist, when Ferrara was exposed to imminent
danger in the wars following the League of Cambray. As ambassador to
Julius II. in 1512, he braved perils greater perhaps than those of
the field; but his fine temper and knowledge of the world ensured
his safety, and bespoke the regard even of that domineering Pontiff,
whose threats mellowed into favours before his conciliatory bearing.
[Footnote *157: I shall not attempt to give a bibliography, however
scanty, of Ariosto. He has really nothing to do with Urbino, and
the work done concerning him would fill a library. The best life
after those of Baretti, Campori, and Baruffaldi is that of Cappelli
prefacing the _Lettere_ (Hoepli, Milano, 1887). The best edition
of his poems is that of PAPINI (Firenze, Sansoni, 1903). For
_Bibliographia Ariostesca_, see FERRAZZI (Bassano, Pozzato, 1881).
For the controversy, Ariosto-Tasso, see VIVALDI, _La Più Grande
polemica del Cinquecento_ (Catanzaro, Caliò, 1895). Consult also
EDMUND GARDNER, _Dukes and Poets at Ferrara_ (Constable, 1904), a
charming and a learned book.]
[Footnote *158: Ariosto has told us in great part his own life in his
_Satire_; best edition that of Tambara (Livorno, 1903).]
The time at which he first visited Urbino is uncertain; but in
1515, when the designs of Leo X. upon that duchy and Ferrara, the
only Romagnese principalities which still withstood the grasping
policy of the papacy, had given rise to anxieties in the families of
d'Este and della Rovere, the Cardinal repaired to Francesco Maria
I., in order to concert measures for their common safety. Ariosto
accompanied him on this journey, and, having been detained at the
Furlo pass by an attack of fever, which in his eighth Capitulo he
mentions as dangerous, he repaired to recruit his health at Urbino,
whilst Ippolito proceeded to Rome. The greeting which met our poet
at that lettered court partook of the discriminating hospitality
which genius could ever there command; and though his own poetical
reputation was as yet but dawning, his intimacy with Guido Posthumo
of Pesaro was probably a claim in his behalf to special distinction,
which the publication of his _Orlando Furioso_, before the end of
that year, firmly established. On proceeding to Rome, the favour
bestowed upon him at the Vatican was not such as either to satisfy
his just anticipations, or to do credit to the Pontiff's discernment.
In his third and seventh Satires, Ariosto comments upon the long and
intimate friendship of their former years, when the Cardinal de'
Medici had proffered him a fraternal partiality, and vows that never
again will he rely on other men's promises, postponed from ides to
calends, and from calends to ides. The reception he at first met with
might well give confidence to his hopes; for on his presentation Leo
stooped forward to press his hand, saluting him on both cheeks. But,
as the Venetian envoy caustically observed, his Holiness promised
largely, but performed not. All that followed this flattering
accolade was a privilege of copyright, not even gratuitously issued;
and as those substantial benefits, which his merits deserved and
his position required, were vainly expected, the poet quitted Rome
"with humbled crest," a disappointed man. Yet he was of too kind a
nature to harbour malice, as well as of a temper too easy for courtly
struggles. He returned to the quiet of his native state, content to
seek some respectable employment, and avowing his indifference to
scenes of wider or more varied ambition.
"Let him who golden spur or scarlet hat affects
Serve king, or duke, or cardinal, or pope;
This suits not me, who care for neither gaud."[159]
[Footnote 159: Part of this third Satire will be found translated in
ROSCOE'S _Leo X._, ch. xvi., where the demands of nepotism
upon his Holiness are playfully exposed.]
Whether his patron's proverbially slighting reception of a dedication
of the first fruits of his epic muse proceeded from obtuseness,
or, as Tiraboschi suggests, was a poor jest, it could not but be
mortifying to a man of delicacy and conscious genius. Ere long a
breach occurred between them, on Ludovico declining to attend the
Cardinal in a distant and fatiguing embassy to Hungary.[*160] This
occurred in 1517; but he was soon after admitted into the Duke
of Ferrara's service with a monthly salary of seven crowns, and
allowances for three servants and two horses. His first employment
in this new sphere was a mission, in 1519, to condole with Lorenzo
de' Medici, the usurping Duke of Urbino, on the loss of his consort
Madeleine of France; but ere he reached Florence, Lorenzo's own
death had supervened. It was on this occasion he composed his first
Capitulo, where, and in his Stanze, he speaks of that prince in the
usual fulsome style of courtly bards, alluding to his uncles Leo and
Giuliano as
"Twin suckers from that long descended laurel stem,
Which in its verdure decked a golden age."
[Footnote *160: Cf. Satire II., vv. 1-24, 85-93, 97-114, 217-231,
238-265, and III., 1-81.]
How little the duty thus imposed upon him consisted with his own
tastes may, however, be gathered from an incident characteristic
of the age. The venal conduct of Duke Francesco Maria's Spanish
followers having brought to a sudden close his attempt to regain
his patrimonial states, in the manner detailed in our thirty-sixth
chapter, one of their number resented an imputation to that effect,
cast upon his comrades by some gentlemen of Ferrara. A challenge was
the result, each party selecting a bravo to maintain their cause.
This duel by deputy took place on the Neapolitan territory, and, of
the combatants, who fought naked with swords, the Spaniard was left
dead on the field. The victor returned to be fêted in the capital
of the d'Este; and Ariosto composed his thirty-fifth sonnet upon
"Ferrara's true paladin, of truth, genius, worth, and valour, who
has cleared up the Spaniard's slippery trick upon the good Duke of
Urbino, and testified to Italian bravery." We may well suppose the
satisfaction with which the minstrel saw this "good Duke" restored
to his station in 1521, and may conjecture that he paid him homage
in his mountain capital. A room in the ducal palace there, decorated
with his portrait, went by his name, and he was enrolled among the
_Assorditi_ academicians.[161] In 1532, a few months previous to
his death, Prince Guidobaldo wrote to ask of him an unacted comedy,
for representation at Pesaro, to which he replied, regretting his
inability to comply with the request, as he had long ceased to write
such things.
[Footnote 161: See above, pp. 255-6.]
Ariosto's life presents few remarkable incidents, considering the
space which his name justly occupies in the literary annals of Italy.
Though honoured and complimented by the Dukes of Urbino and Ferrara,
and by Leo X., he seems to have incurred few solid obligations from
these Maecenases of his age. The only promotion awarded to him was
the administration of Garfagna, a mountain-holding under the d'Este
family, chiefly peopled by banditti, which he obtained in 1522, but
resigned after three years' sad experience of the turbulent charge.
His coronation by Charles V. is apocryphal, although he is understood
to have received from that Emperor a diploma as his poet laureate. He
died on the 6th of June, 1533, in his home at Ferrara, and was buried
in the old church of S. Benedetto. In 1573 his body was transported
to the new church, and in 1801 to the Public Library of Ferrara.
It would be foreign to the object proposed in these pages to
enter fully into the merits of works so universally known, and so
little connected with our immediate subject, as the heroic poems
of Ariosto. But we have ample evidence of the popularity enjoyed
by his _Orlando Furioso_, during the first half-century after its
publication, in the testimony of one not likely to be partial to a
successful rival: "And if the aim which a good poet ought to keep
in view be that of imparting pleasure and enjoyment, it is obvious
that this was accomplished by Ariosto; for there is neither artisan,
nor man of learning, nor boy, nor girl, nor old person, who is
satisfied with a second perusal of him. Are not his stanzas a solace
to the jaded pilgrim, who sings them to alleviate the irksomeness
of his hot and weary way? Do you not hear them chanted all day long
in the highways and the fields? I believe that there have not been
printed as many copies of Homer or Virgil as of the _Furioso_, during
the time that has elapsed since that most accomplished gentleman
published his poem; and if so, as cannot be doubted, is not this a
clear proof of its beauty and excellence?"[162] We set aside the
minor faults which have been found in the execution, and most gladly
escape from all critical discussion of the vexed question, as to
its due observance of unity and sustained action. The absence of
perfections so questionable is by many accounted a charm. Nowhere
has imagination been more freely indulged, nowhere the poetic vein
left to play such fantastic tricks; but in its sallies, effort and
restraint are alike unknown. As the figures in a magic-lantern, or
the endless changes of the kaleidoscope, its phantasmagoria appear
and pass by, without our being aware of the machinery which called
them up; yet, from time to time, there occur images of life so
veracious, traits of nature so touching, that we are again summoned
to the realities of existence and the sympathies of humanity, with a
startling effect scarcely less marvellous than the wild creations
which precede and follow these charming episodes. Even extravagance
thus ceases to be a blemish, whilst facility and freshness are
ever multiplying new beauties. Episodes and incidents, serious or
grotesque, capriciously introduced into the poem, give it a motley
and heterogeneous aspect; variety of matter and diversity of style
are its familiar characteristics; and its unequal execution is,
perhaps, less pardonable than the desultory character of its plan.
Nor is it only by its novelty that this freedom of action sustains
the interest of the work. The introduction of real personages and
recent events relieves the tedium of long continued allegory,
and stamps nature and individuality on adventures in themselves
extravagant and apocryphal.
[Footnote 162: Bernardo Tasso, Lettere, II., No. 165. In a privilege
of copyright granted in very complimentary terms by Leo X., the
_Orlando_ is pedantically described by Bembo as "a work in vernacular
verse regarding the feats of those called knights-errant, composed in
a ludicrous style, but with long study, and the laborious application
of many years."--Bembo, _Epistolæ nomine Leonis X._, Lib. X., No. 40.]
In estimating the rank of this poet, critical judgment has too often
been diverted from the quality of his verses to the fittingness of
his style; and in comparing him with Tasso, the argument resolves
itself into a contrast between romantic and classic poetry. Upon such
a discussion we purpose not to enter. Ariosto found his countrymen
under the charm of old legendary histories, perpetuated by tradition
from the days of Charlemagne and his paladins, and more recently
popularised in Pulci's burlesque epic of the _Morgante Maggiore_,
and by Boiardo's unfettered fancy in the _Orlando Innamorato_. He
was content to sail with the stream, spreading his canvas to the
prevailing breeze, rather than to strike out another course, and
steer in search of newer attractions. This decision necessarily
limited the scope of a highly original genius to varying the details
and episodes of inventions already familiarised to his readers by
other less inspired pens; and it were difficult to account for his
thus contentedly following their track, except from the conviction
that none else was so certain a guide to success. Domenichi and
Berni, aware that Boiardo had unworthily handled his theme, were
content to employ themselves in recasting it into more attractive
shape, and Le Sage's French translation is a mere paraphrase. But
Ariosto chose the higher aim of taking up the story where Boiardo had
left it incomplete, and working it out in forms less exaggerated and
fanciful, but far more nobly conceived, and executed with infinitely
greater polish and poetic beauty.
* * * * *
PIETRO ARETINO[*163] has been designated by Ariosto[164]
"the scourge of princes," a description somewhat more just than
the epithet of "divine," which is added possibly in irony; for few
men, it is hoped, have been so destitute of those high aspirations
which form the link between human and divine nature. He has been
aptly compared to an ill-conditioned cur, ever ready to yelp and
snap at all who do not feed or fondle him, but to such as do, the
most fawning of his species. He was born at Arezzo in 1492, and was
natural son of one Luigi Bacci. After serving his apprenticeship
to a bookbinder at Perugia, he went to push his fortunes in Rome,
where his first remarkable productions were verses illustrating a
set of engravings by Marcantonio, after designs by Giulio Romano,--a
work so scandalously offensive to decency that scarcely any copies
have escaped destruction.[*165] After the death of Giovanni de'
Medici _delle bande nere_, his earliest patron, he went to Venice,
and subsequently visited most of the Italian courts. His foul
scurrilities and loathsome adulation were dealt out with equal
readiness, as best served his insatiable avarice and undisguised
selfishness. These base qualities, tempered by tact and great
readiness, gained for him a success equally unaccountable and
undeserved; he became rich, caressed, applauded, dreaded, and is
said to have earned not less than 70,000 scudi during his career.
The popularity which his writings enjoyed among all ranks seems an
infatuation,[*166] considering their very moderate merit, and must
be viewed as symptomatic of a generally depraved taste, though no
doubt his own ineffable conceit and insolence contributed to the
delusion. "There truly never was a man who combined such haughty
presumption with equal ignorance of literature, meanness of spirit,
and debauchery of morals. His style possesses no elegance or grace;
indeed he seems to me one of the first to introduce those ludicrous
hyperboles and extravagant metaphors that came so generally into use
during the next century. Never assuredly have I met with books so
empty and useless as those of this impostor, whose baseness equalled
his profound ignorance, and the sole object of whose writings was
self-interest and lucre. As to his manners, they are amply testified
by his works, wherein, besides a prodigal sprinkling of obscenity,
there are mentioned the women with whom he intrigued, and the
children these bore him; they in fact prove him destitute of moral or
religious principle; and if ever he makes a show of compunction or
amendment, it is but to relapse speedily into his wonted profanity.
Truly such a fellow, who ought hardly to have ventured to show
himself in public, stands unequalled in presumptuous arrogance.
But the most surprising thing is to see a majority of European
princes, and not a few learned Italians, humbling themselves before
him without a blush, and rendering him a degrading tribute of gifts
and eulogies. Chains of gold, considerable sums of money, pensions,
and handsome presents of every sort, came in so constantly from
various quarters, that he confesses to receiving from different
princes 25,000 scudi within eighteen years. The most amusing part
of it is that these rich donations were made because he assumed the
proud epithet of _scourge of princes_, on the plan, as it would
seem, of threatening them with his indignation, and with attacks
upon their actions in his writings; yet never was there a more
sordid adulator of the great, and no work of his contains a single
word against any sovereign." It would be difficult to select words
more graphic or more just than this description by Tiraboschi, which
we have preferred adopting, to the task of reviewing so filthy a
character.[*167] We shall elsewhere allude to him in connection with
Michael Angelo and Titian, and other notices might be selected of
his intercourse with Duke Guidobaldo II. The self-assumed privilege
of his position did not however always protect him from the merited
consequences of his meanness and malevolence. Boccalini (an author
scarcely less mordent than himself, who is said to have expiated
his satiric vein by being beaten to death) calls him "a magnet
of fisty-cuffs and cudgels, whose enemies' hands, rivalling the
promptitude of his own pen, had scarred him all over with as many
lines as a navigator's chart." Among those who met him with his
own weapons was Antonio Francesco Doni, a literary adventurer of
Florence, whose arrival about 1552 at the court of Guidobaldo II.
inspired Aretino with jealousy which exploded in an impertinent
letter. The intruder, however, maintained his ground till 1558, the
year after his opponent's characteristic death, and retaliated in a
volume published in 1556, entitled _Doni's Earthquake, overthrowing
the great beastly colossal Antichrist of our Age; a Work composed
in Honour of God and the Holy Church, and in Defence of good
Christians_, and dedicated "to the infamous and rascally source and
fountain of all malice, Pietro Aretino, the putrid limb of public
imposture, and true Antichrist of our time."
[Footnote *163: A good edition of the _Lettere_ of ARETINO
was published under the care of Vanzolini and Bacci della Lega,
in four volumes, in Bologna, 1873-75. The best edition, now very
rare, of _I Ragionamenti_ is that of Florence, 1892. See also
FABI, _Opere da P.A._, Milano, 1881. For his life, consult
LUZIO, _P.A. nei primi suoi anni a Venezia e la corte dei
Gonzago_ (Torino, 1888); GAUTHIEZ, _L'Aretin_, 1492-1556
(Paris, 1895); and SINIGAGLIA, _Saggio di uno studio su P.A.
con scritti e documenti inediti_ (Roma, 1892). It was, I think, Mr.
Claude Phillips who wittily called Aretino not the scourge but "the
screw of princes." Nevertheless, those who knew Aretino best will
appreciate him most. Titian was wise enough to have him for a friend,
and, indeed, he was capable of many very human and even beautiful
actions, as when he would daily throw wide his doors at nightfall and
take the lost and the beggars into his house. After all, those he
blackmailed were blackmailers themselves. He made even the Pope fear
him.]
[Footnote 164: _Orlando Furioso_, XLVI., st. 14.]
[Footnote *165: These designs have lately been found and photographed
and published in Paris. They are impossible, but extremely vigorous
and lovely. The verses are even more terrible than the drawings, but
splendid too, with a sort of fullness of joy.]
[Footnote *166: His writings have much of the undoubted fascination
of the daily paper, but are on the whole less vulgar and probably
less harmful and enervating.]
[Footnote *167: This is sheer hypocrisy. Aretino's intercourse with
Urbino was so slight as to be easily ignored, and Dennistoun, as a
fact, says next to nothing of it.]
[Illustration: _Alinari_
PIETRO ARETINO
_After the picture by Titian in the Pitti Gallery, Florence_]
Still more pungent was the epigrammatic epitaph proposed for him by
Francesconi:
"Arezzo's hoary libeller here is laid,
Whose bitter slanders all save CHRIST essayed:
He for such slip this reason good can show,--
'How could I mock one whom I do not know?'"
Aretino, returning a Roland for his Oliver, rejoined:
"Francescon, wretched rhymer, here is laid,
Who of all things save asses evil said:
His plea in favour of the long-eared race,
A cousinship that none could fail to trace."[168]
[Footnote 168:
"Qui giace l'Aretino, poeta Tosco,
Che d'ognun disse male fuorchè di Christo,
Scusandosi col dir--'Non lo conosco.'"
"Qui giace Francescon, poeta pessimo,
Che disse mal d'ognun fuorchè del asino,
Scusandosi col dir--che egli era prossimo."]
But enough of such ribaldry. The writings of Aretino and his
biography are in one respect useful to the historian of his time. The
degrading views of human nature afforded by both form a contrast to
the bright luminaries which yet lingered above the horizon, whilst
by their shadows they complete the verity of the picture. Favoured
by fortune far beyond his deserts during life, his memory is equally
indebted to art. The encomium of Ariosto has already been quoted, and
the pencil of his friend Titian has preserved his person in several
portraits; one of them, which, though unfinished, is perhaps the
noblest commemorated on Vecellio's canvass, adorns the Pitti Gallery,
and almost persuades us that Aretino was a gentleman.
* * * * *
From an age too prolific in parasitical literature and in shameless
morals, there has descended to us a name radiant with genius, and
unsullied in reputation. The historian of Urbino may contribute
a leaf to the garland which fame has hung upon the brows of
VITTORIA COLONNA,[*169] for her mother was a princess of
Montefeltro, and to her maternal ancestry she seems indebted for
her heritage of talent. She was daughter of Fabrizio Colonna, by
Agnesina daughter of Duke Federigo of Urbino, and was born in 1490.
When but four years old she was betrothed, in conformity with the
usage of her times, to a mere infant. Yet her marriage may be deemed
fortunate, for her husband, Ferdinando Francesco Marquis of Pescara,
was not only a cadet of the very ancient house of Avalos, which had
accompanied Alfonzo of Aragon from Spain to Naples, and had married
the heiress of Aquino and Pescara in the Abruzzi, but, among the
warriors of an era still fertile in heroes, none was more early
distinguished or promoted. He died prematurely at thirty-three,
while in command of the imperial troops. His consort, imitating her
grandmother Battista Sforza, had learned to console the childless
solitude of his prolonged absences by habits of study, and in them
found resource amid the bereavements of a widowhood which no offer
of marriage could tempt her to infringe. But though she sought not
the world or its incense, her high rank, wealth, and personal graces,
gained many an admirer, whilst the elevated beauty of her poetry,
the charms of her conversation and correspondence, attracted to her
the respectful adoration of the learned. She cherished her husband's
memory with rare constancy, modifying grief by spiritual solace. In
her piety there was neither blind superstition nor cold formality.
Devotional exercises and religious intercourse shared her hours with
poetry and literature tinged by their influence, and among her most
welcome visitors were some of those Italian divines who favoured the
Reformation. On this account she has been claimed as a convert to
protestantism, but upon insufficient grounds. She adhered apparently
to the faith of her fathers, and was spared by a timely death, in
1547, from witnessing the persecutions undergone by her friends of
the new creed.[*170] Among those to whom the sympathies of genius and
piety united her was Michael Angelo, who testified his respect by a
visit to her death-bed, and his regret by a touching sonnet to her
memory.[*171] Not less gratifying was the tribute to her worth which
Ariosto has embalmed in seven stanzas of the Furioso, canto xxxvii.:--
"One will choose, and such will choose, that she
All envy shall so well have overthrown,
No other woman can offended be,
If, passing others, her I praise alone;
No joys this one but immortality,
Through her sweet style, and better know I none."
[Footnote *169: For the life of Vittoria Colonna, see CAMPORI,
_Vittoria Colonna_ in _Atti e Mem. della Dep. di St. Pat.
dell'Emilia_, N.S., vol. III., (Modena, 1878). LUZIO, _V.C._, in
_Rivista St. Mantovana_ (1885), vol. I., p. 1 _et seq._ On her
mother, Agnese di Montefeltro, cf. CASINI-TORDI, in _Giornale
Vittoria Colonna_, vol. I., No. 10. On her poems, cf. MAZZONE, _V.C.
e il suo Canzoniere_ (1900). She was born at Marino in 1492. She was
married 27th December, 1509, in Ischia, to Ferrante d'Avalos Marchese
di Pescara. Miss MAUD JERROLD has published recently (Dent, 1907) a
work in English on Vittoria Colonna which should be excellent.]
[Footnote *170: See, on this subject, RODOCANACCHI, _V.C. et la
Réforme en Italie_ (Versailles, 1892), and TACCHI-VENTURI, _V.C.
fautrice della riforma cattolica_ (Roma, 1901).]
[Footnote *171: For her relations with Michelangelo, see RACZYNSKI,
_Les Arts en Portugal_ (Paris, 1846, pp. 1-78).]
Of her writings few remain, and these but fugitive pieces.[*172]
We are happy in being able to make our readers acquainted with
them through the graceful translations of the late Mr. Glassford,
selecting three sonnets in which she tenderly alludes to the blight
of her widowhood, mildly inculcates the cloisters' quiet, and clothes
in glowing language orisons of holiest fervour.
[Footnote *172: For her writings, see FERRERO e MULLER, _Il Carteggio
di Vittoria Colonna_ (Torino, 1859), with the supplement (1892) of
TORDI, who has also published (Pistoia, 1900) _Il codice delle rime
di V.C. app. a Margh. d'Angoulême_, and some unpublished _Sonetti_
(Roma, 1891).]
I.
"Methinks the sun his wonted beam denies,
Nor lends such radiance to his sister's car;
Methinks each planet mild, and lovely star,
Has left its sweet course in the spangled skies.
Fallen is the heart of noble enterprise,
True glory perished and the pride of war;
All grace and every virtue perished are,
The leaf is withered and the floweret dies.
Unmoved I am, though heaven and earth invite,
Warmed by no ray nor fanned if zephyr blow;
All offices of nature are deranged:
Since the bright sun that cheered me vanished so,
The courses of the world have quite been changed;
Ah no! but sorrow veils them from my sight."
II.
"If those delights which from the living well
Above are dropped into the heart contrite
Were also visible, and others might
Know what great peace with love divine can dwell,
Perhaps it would be then less hard to tell
Why fame and fortune have been counted light,
And how the wisest men transported quite
Would take their cross and seek the mountain cell,
Finding that death-sweet life; and not alone
In prospect, but now also while the blind
And erring world from the shadows will not cease.
When the awakened soul to God has flown
With humble will to what He wills inclined,
Then outward war to such is inward peace."
III.
"Thanks to thy sovereign grace, O God! if I
Am graff'd in that true vine a living shoot,
Whose arms embrace the world, and in whose root,
Planted by faith, our life must hidden lie,
But thou beholdest how I fade and dry,
Choked with a waste of leaf, and void of fruit,
Unless thy spring perennial shall recruit
My sapless branch, still wanting fresh supply.
O cleanse me then, and make me to abide
Wholly in thee, to drink thy heavenly dew,
And watered daily with my tears to grow.
Thou art the truth, thy promise is my guide;
Prepare me when thou comest, Lord, to show
Fruits answering to the stock on which I grew."
In Italy the Muses have ever had numerous priestesses, welcomed with
an enthusiasm measured rather by the gallantry of their admirers than
by their real deserts. Among these was LAURA BATTIFERRI,
born at Urbino in 1522-3, whose genius has inspired the pens of Caro,
Varchi, Mazzuchelli, and others; and whom by a questionable, and,
as regarded her morals, a most unmerited compliment, Pietro Vettori
compared to Sappho. Following a very different model, she, like
Vittoria Colonna, composed many devotional pieces, often versifying
the sadder portions of sacred writ, two volumes of which were
published at Florence. Rarer perhaps, and more creditable than her
poetic celebrity, was the reputation for moral worth transmitted to
us in connection with her name, which she happily exchanged by her
union with Bartolomeo Ammanati, notwithstanding frowns from a high
quarter. The Duchess Vittoria, proud of her talents, laid upon her
an injunction not to marry out of her native state. This restriction
had the usual result; her husband was a Florentine sculptor, and it
required all the influence of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese with his
sister to obtain pardon for such flagrant disobedience.
* * * * *
"In 1558, there were at the court of Urbino--of old the resort
of talented persons--many great and famous poets, such as Messer
Bernardo Capello, Messer Bernardo Tasso, Messer Girolamo Muzio,
and Messer Antonio Gallo, whose whole occupation it was, like
white gentle swans, emulously to sing, and celebrate in verse, the
eminent beauty, and far more eminent virtues, of the illustrious
Duchess." With these names might be coupled Dionigi Atanagi, the
writer of this euphuism, and also Annibale Caro, Antonio Allegretti,
Marco Montano, and Cornelio Lanci. Of Tasso and Muzio we elsewhere
speak. Caro and Capello were connected with the ducal family only
by one or two complimentary effusions, in return for occasional
hospitality. Allegretti indited an epithalamium on the marriage of
Duchess Vittoria, in which, alluding to the heraldic bearings then
united, he celebrated the prudent hand of the wise shepherd (Paul
III.), who transplanted that virgin Lily into good soil under the
shadow of the mighty Oak; in conclusion, he summoned the attendants
to scatter acorns and _fleurs-de-lis_ before the bridal pair. Lanci's
comedies no longer "fret and strut their hour upon the stage," but
they are said to deserve the praise of comparative purity in an age
when decency was no necessary ingredient of scenic merit. Three names
remain for consideration, who, as natives of the duchy, may claim a
brief notice.
DIONIGI ATANAGI was born at Cagli, and, after twenty-five
years spent at the Roman court, returned, in 1557, to recruit his
constitution in his native air. He was invited to Pesaro by his
sovereign, at the suggestion of Bernardo Tasso, who wished him to
revise the _Amadigi_; but there he found his health still further
impaired by mental fatigue. Several of his sonnets are addressed to
members of the ducal family and court; one of them, inscribed to
Guidobaldo II., lauds him as "a prince and captain of invincible
valour, of wisdom superhuman, of bounty and benignity past belief,
of ineffable eloquence, of incomparable liberality and magnificence,
a paragon of religion, the lofty stay of Italian honour and renown.
Being the natural sovereign as well as special patron and singular
benefactor of the author, whose every hope rests in him next to
God, it is his desire, in the full knowledge how much is due to his
Excellency's infinite merits, to fill with heroic praises of him
whatever work he may undertake; but overwhelmed by the grandeur of
the theme, his silence is broken only by excuses for his deficiency."
This fulsome trash is no unfair specimen of such compositions. The
following invitation to Urbino, as an asylum of the Muses, is in a
somewhat happier vein, which we have endeavoured to render:--
"Anime belle, e di virtute amiche,
Cui fero sdegno di fortuna offende,
Sì che ven gite povere e mendiche,
Come e lei piace, che pietà contende;
Se di por fine alle miserie antiche
Caldo desio l'afflitto cor v'incende,
Ratte correte alia gran QUERCIA d'oro,
Ond'avrete alimento ombra e ristoro.
"Qui regna un Signor placido e benigno,
Ch'altro ch'altrui giovar unqua non pensa,
Cortese, e d'ogni real laude degno;
Che ciascun pasce a sua ricca mensa,
E 'n buon revolge ogni destin maligno,
Mentre le grazie sue largo dispensa
GUIDOBALDO, di principi fenici,
Che può col guardo sol far l'uom felice.
"Qui le buone arti ed i nobili costumi,
Senno, fede e valor, fido albergo hanno;
Qui fioriscon gl'ingegni, e chiari lumi
Via più ch'il sol spargendo intorno vanno:
Qui mel le piante, qui dan latte i fiumi;
Qui pace è queta senza alcuno affanno;
Qui 'l vizio è morto, e virtù bella è viva
Beato chi ci nasce e chi ci arriva."
1.
Ah! beauteous souls, to virtue ever prone,
Whom evil Fortune's cruel grudge offends,
Bereft of every stay, and left to groan
By her caprice, while heavy grief impends;
If in your aching hearts that grief evoke
A wish such lengthened miseries to close,
Speed 'neath the umbrage of the golden OAK
To share its genial shelter and repose.
2.
A gentle and benignant Prince there reigns,
On other's weal exclusively intent,
Courteous, and worth all praise in royal strains,
From whose well plenished table none are sent.
Each evil destiny by him disarmed,
His gracious boons are scattered widely round;
E'en by his winning glance is each one charmed,
Phoenix of princes, GUIDOBALDO crowned.
3.
Ennobling arts and noble manners here,
With wit, and faith, and courage have their home,
While genius' meteor gleams more bright appear
Than Phoebus flickering in the skiey dome.
Here honey-laden meads and milky streams
To painless peace attract, and gentle rest;
Here vice is dead, while worth resplendent seems:
Happy such duchy's native, or its guest!
Among the men of letters whom it was the pride of Guidobaldo II. to
attract round him, was ANTONIO GALLI, of Urbino. His uncle,
the Cavalier Angelo, had preceded him, both in the cultivation of the
muses, and in the good graces of the Dukes, having been employed on
various political missions by Guidantonio, Oddantonio, and Federigo;
during his leisure hours he had composed sonnets and canzonets in
imitation of Petrarch, then the popular model for minor poets. For
Antonio has been claimed the questionable honour of introducing
pastoral dramas, which long exercised a debilitating influence on the
literature of Italy, and spread from there the vitiating style to
other lands. He, too, held diplomatic appointments at the courts of
Rome and Spain, and to the republic of Venice; and having acquired
the reputation of a man, not less of business than of letters, the
Duke entrusted him with the superintendence of Prince Francesco
Maria, until his death in 1551. His contemporary and friend MARCO
MONTANO enjoyed his sovereign's favour without sharing any
public employments. In youth he had been secretary of Cardinal Carlo
Borromeo, and afterwards addicted himself to Latin and Italian verse,
with a success sufficient to gain him applause from Baldi, and from
Tasso the compliment of being ranked next to Guarini among the living
bards of Italy. The suffrage of these partial friends has not been
confirmed by posterity; for Montano's poetry lies forgotten, and his
name is cherished only in connection with the literary history of his
native state.
* * * * *
Among the names which shed a lustre upon Urbino, in return for
hospitalities received at that court, was that of BERNARDO
TASSO,[*173] whose splendour would have been more conspicuous
in the galaxy of Italian poets, had he not given birth to a son of
yet brighter genius. The house of Tasso was of ancient descent in the
Bergamasque territory; but Bernardo drew his first breath at Venice,
the home of his mother, a lady of the Cornari. Of his youth we know
nothing, except that he enjoyed the advantage of a liberal education,
and that his morals were no exception to the lax habits of the age.
An avowed lover of the matronly Ginevra Malatesta, he sang her beauty
in strains complaining of her continence; and at Rome he dangled in
poverty after Tullia d'Aragona, one of those splendid examples of
wasted powers and successful vice over which the philosopher puzzles
while the historian sighs, whose talents were given to the Muses,
whose graces were devoted to Venus.
[Footnote *173: Cf. PASOLINI, _I Genitori di T. Tasso_ (Roma, 1895).]
[Illustration: BERNARDO TASSO
_From a picture once in the possession of James Dennistoun_]
Finding himself past thirty without either an independence or a
career, he commenced the life of a literary courtier, for which the
social condition of Italy under her many principalities held out
considerable inducements. His first essay was as private secretary to
Count Guido Rangone, a warrior chief of some distinction; and during
the Lombard campaign in 1526 Bernardo was sent by him on missions of
importance to the Doge of Genoa and to the Pope.[*174] He remained
with the latter on Bourbon's approach, and was commissioned by his
Holiness to seek out Lannoy at Siena, and urge him to repair to
Rome, take command of the imperial troops, and put an end to their
outrages. In this journey the speed of his Turkish charger enabled
him to escape from an assault which proved fatal to one of his
attendants. Though unsuccessful in the negotiation, his dexterity
recommended him as papal envoy to the court of France, in order to
arrange the advance of Lautrec, whom he accompanied into Italy. After
the destruction of the French army before Naples, we find him for a
time secretary to Laura Duchess of Ferrara, and he accompanied the
Marquis of Vasto on the Turkish campaign in Hungary.
[Footnote *174: He went in 1528 to Paris on behalf of Conte Guido.]
It was in 1531 that he entered the service of Ferdinando or Ferrante
Sanseverino, Prince of Salerno, whom he attended to Africa in the
expedition of Charles V. against Tunis. His patron was a prince of
ample means, and of corresponding generosity to persons of literary
merit; and Tasso, having distinguished himself by several published
collections of verses, as well as by the able performance of his
more immediate duties, was rewarded by offices and pensions yielding
him about 1000 scudi a year. Finding himself thus independent at
forty-six, he married Porzia de' Rossi, the beautiful, accomplished,
and well-dowried daughter of a noble family in Pistoia, and settled
himself at Sorrento, where he spent the best and happiest years of
his life, and, with occasional interruptions of business and calls to
the camp, pursued his poetical studies.[*175]
[Footnote *175: Cf. CAPASSO, _Il Tasso e la sua famiglia a Sorrento_
(Napoli, 1866).]
On that plain which matures a tropical luxuriance of vegetation,
and where nature lavishes the brightest of her varying tints,
his inspiration was developed, and the more brilliant genius of
his son imbibed its earliest impressions. The casino in which
Torquato first saw the light[176] commanded a view of unparalleled
beauty;--the bright bay and its far-off islands of picturesque
outline,--Naples, with its endless line of white suburbs glittering
along the shore,--Vesuvius, the marvellous workshop of volcanic
wonders,--golden sunsets of unclouded glow, and mellowed combinations
of mountain and marine scenery awaiting the pencil of Salvator Rosa.
Nor were these the only charms which the poet found in this spot. He
has celebrated in his correspondence its balmy and healthful climate,
and the courteous hospitality of its inhabitants. These qualities
still attract strangers to the Piano di Sorrento, and the villa which
sheltered Torquato on his escape from Ferrara is now a comfortable
hotel, inviting them to gaze from its beetling cliff on the scenes of
his youthful inspiration.
[Footnote 176: On the 11th of March, 1544; Bernardo was born the 11th
November, 1493.]
The _Amadigi_ was commenced in that genial spot, and the Prince of
Salerno complacently anticipated the extended reputation which it
promised to his protégé. But the storm, meanwhile, gathered, which
was to sweep patron and poet from their palmy state. The Prince, by
entanglements which we need not trace, found himself compromised with
the Viceroy, Don Pedro Toledo, and, from mingled alarm and pique,
sacrificed his vast hereditary stake, by passing over to the French
service. This happened in 1552,[*177] and Tasso followed his fortunes
without being involved in his treason. After accompanying him to
France, he came, in 1554, to Rome, where he took up his abode, in the
hope of soon being joined by his wife and family, and of establishing
himself there. But she was detained at Naples, for the purpose of
recovering part of her husband's property, or at all events her own
fortune, which had been escheated on his flight. Her difficulties
were increased by the selfish conduct of her own relations, and
at length, in the spring of 1556, she died suddenly, not without
suspicion of poison. "I have lost," writes her husband, "a woman
whose virtues and estimable qualities rendered her beloved and
endeared to me as life itself, who was worthy of general admiration,
and in whose bosom I had hoped peacefully to pass the closing years
of my old age!" But other cares were falling thickly around him.
Though joined by his son Torquato, he could never rescue his only
other child Cornelia from her maternal relations, and suffered
intense anxiety for her welfare. Still nominally in the Prince of
Salerno's service, and actually employed as his confidential agent,
he found himself estranged from his regard, his correspondence
interrupted, and his salary irregularly paid. Bitterly experiencing
the not unfrequent guerdon of fidelity to fallen dignitaries, he thus
addressed his patron in February, 1556:--
"Your Excellency has now to learn the influence of unstable and
malignant fortune upon this your unhappy servant. You know how often
you have quoted me as an instance of happiness, saying that I had a
beautiful and virtuous wife, by whom I was beloved, and on whom I
doated; that I had the finest children, ample means, an excellent
house well decorated, as well as comfortably furnished; and that I
enjoyed the respect and good opinion of the world, as well as that
most important advantage of all, your favour. Now you may see in
how brief an interval I have fallen from that height of happiness
into the depths of misery. I have lost my means, earned, as all
know, most honourably, and with no small fatigue and peril. I have
lost my independence; and, in a word, my every comfort. I have been
deprived of my dearest wife, and with her have occasioned to my
unhappy children the sacrifice of their mother's dowry, and of all
my remaining prospect of maintaining them, and conducting them to
that position which every respectable and affectionate parent would
desire. But, worst of all, I perceive from obvious symptoms, that I
have forfeited your favour without having given you the slightest
cause. The reason of my sinking into these misfortunes, being obvious
to the whole world, should not be concealed from you. I am so
situated, that any one refusing to compassionate me must be devoid of
pity and all good feeling; and if you still retain the smallest share
of that magnanimity, generosity, or gratitude which you were wont so
honourably to manifest to your servants, you will yet have pity on
me, and will endeavour to raise me from that abyss of wretchedness
into which I have fallen in your service."
[Footnote *177: 1547.]
This sad appeal meeting with no response, he retired from the
Prince's service with a nominal pension of 300 scudi, which seems
never to have been paid him. Writing to a friend, he says, "I have
thrown out into this sea of troubles many anchors of reason, to save
my tempest-tost mind from shipwreck. But I fear that, in the long
run, if not conducted into port by a favouring breeze from some
benignant prince, I may be swamped, from the cable of my constancy
parting; for it is hard from prosperity and happiness to fall into
misery, and struggle with famine." Scared away from Rome by the din
of coming war, in the renewed strife between France and Spain for the
domination of the Peninsula, and
"Eating the bitter bread of banishment,"
he had reached Ravenna, when an invitation arrived from Guidobaldo
II., Duke of Urbino, a cousin of his late patron, whose court offered
to genius just such a haven as he had hoped for. In October, 1556,
he reached Pesaro, where the Duke assigned as a residence for the
poet his casino called the Barchetto, a house which still stands
within the walls of Pesaro, surrounded by a smiling garden. Its
very limited accommodation, now used by the gardener, cannot have
afforded a commodious dwelling, but such as it was, it appears to
have satisfied Bernardo, who after a few weeks was encouraged by the
Duke's courtesy to send for his son, with a view to establishing
himself in that capital. His residence there somewhat exceeded two
years, during which we gather from his correspondence few incidents
beyond his literary occupations. Though avowing himself in the
service of Guidobaldo, he does not seem to have had from him either
employment or a fixed maintenance, but was probably supported by his
hospitality. He now put the finishing touches to his _Amadigi_, begun
fourteen years before, and repaid the favours bestowed upon him with
the usual homage of a courtly poet. Anxiously clinging to the hope
of making his peace with Spain, in order to recover his own and his
wife's property which had been confiscated at Naples, he obtained
the mediation of several courts in his favour, and even had recourse
to the good offices of Cardinal Pole with Philip II., then husband
of the English Queen Mary. In this object Guidobaldo particularly
interested himself, and it was at his suggestion that Bernardo
dedicated his poem to that monarch, whose praises, with those of
his consort, had been already sung in its eleventh canto. But his
pearls were lavished unavailingly on one incapable of appreciating
either the gift or the donor, and a long apologetic letter from
Girolamo Ruscelli, which accompanied the peace-offering, remained
unacknowledged.
In these times literary advertisements were unknown, but the
reputation of a forthcoming work was heralded by a scarcely less
effectual expedient. Passages of it were handed about in manuscript
among literary circles, and criticisms were requested from the
author's more intimate friends. Thus was it with the _Amadigi_; and
Bernardo has not shrunk from giving to the world the letters by which
he sought for or replied to such suggestions. Dionigi Atanagi was
summoned from Cagli by the Duke, for the purpose of making those
verbal corrections which were rendered irksome to the poet by weak
sight. Sperone Speroni writes to the author that, in two revisions,
he had removed the vulgarisms, roughnesses, and redundancies,
cancelling above two hundred stanzas, and that, in a third reading,
he would probably delete as many more. The first conception was that
of a regular epic; but the cold reception which it met with from his
friends induced Bernardo to adopt a manner more conformable to the
romantic and less fettered taste of the age. In the summer of 1557
he read a canto each night, at Urbino, to the Duchess Vittoria and a
select audience. Having thus raised public anticipation, the poet was
anxious to reap the fruits of his labours in honour and emolument;
but he found a double difficulty in obtaining the 500 scudi required
for the expense of an edition, and in procuring the papal licence
without having the work submitted regularly to the censure. At
length, in 1560, it issued, by the aid of Guidobaldo, from the press
of Giolito, at Venice, in which town Tasso had chiefly resided for
eighteen months, and where he, for a short time, acted as secretary
to a literary academy, established in 1558, before which he read his
Essay on Poetry. His remaining years produced few incidents. After
an ineffectual overture to take service at the court of Savoy, he
became chief secretary to the Duke of Mantua, who made him governor
of Ostiglia. There he died on the 4th of September, 1569; and the
epitaph penned by his son, but never placed over his ashes, runs
thus:--
Erected by his son Torquato to
BERNARDO TASSO,
Distinguished for the fertility and eminence
of his genius, in the relaxation of poetry
and in the affairs of princes, in both of which
he has left memorials of his industry, as
well as for the fickleness and inconstancy of
his fortunes.
He lived LXXVI. years, and died IV Sept. MDLXIX.
His bereavement was thus intimated by Torquato to the Duke of
Urbino: "On the 4th of September it pleased the Lord God to call to
himself the blessed soul of my father, whose death, although in all
respects mature, is nevertheless felt by me as most untimely, and,
I am persuaded, will be very unacceptable to your Excellency, who
by so many proofs of regard considered him among your most esteemed
servants, and towards whom I know his especial reverence. Of this
respect, and of the infinite obligations under which he lay to your
Excellency, I am most willingly the representative; and if that
favour which your Excellency ever extended for his protection, and
that of his interests, be devolved upon me, I shall deem it an ample
patrimony that he has left me. And herewith praying a happy issue to
all your honoured desires, I humbly kiss your hands. From Ferrara,
the 28th September, 1569."
An amiable disposition and agreeable manners procured for Bernardo
Tasso, in all the fluctuations of his career, troops of friends,
including the brightest names of his age. In the many situations of
trust which he filled, his prudence and address, his fidelity and
sincerity, acquired for him general estimation. Although his literary
reputation now hangs, in a great degree, upon that of his son, his
contemporaries, who knew not what the latter had in store for them,
regarded him as the first epic poet of his age, comparing him even
with Ariosto, whom he freely and avowedly imitated. To draw out some
fifty-seven thousand verses on a borrowed and almost barren theme,
in a style anticipated by several preceding minstrels, was an effort
repugnant to fine genius, and susceptible of no marked success. Its
necessary failing is diffuseness, varying from inflation to languor;
its redeeming merit an acknowledged facility, sustained at times
by fertile images, and by delicately beautiful descriptions. It is
generally flowing, though, at times, feeble; yet is considered by
Panizzi "unquestionably the best romantic narrative from amongst
those not founded on the traditions respecting Charlemagne." Indeed,
his poetry, while sharing with coeval productions the blemishes
of exuberant ornament and quaint conceits, is seldom surpassed in
pathos, and his dulcet numbers reconcile us to his faults of manner.
What, to its author, was probably its most important quality, is now,
perhaps, its greatest defect,--the profuse flattery of which it was
made the medium. "To eat the bread of others" was the often hard,
usually degrading, tenure self-imposed on court poets; and to such, a
subject admitting of endless episodes, and the frequent introduction
of existing personages, in their real characters or under transparent
allegories, was a harvest of princely favour and of wealth. This,
however, was an error of the age, which ought not to be charged on
any single poet, least of all on one who had given his best and
worthiest efforts to a barren soil. The fugitive poetry of Tasso
partakes largely of this adulatory colouring. But, for him is claimed
such praise as the invention of the Ode deserves; and this was deemed
creditable service to a literature which has often invested trifles
with undue importance.
Bernardo was a secretary ere he became a poet, and his reputation
rests more surely upon his correspondence than on his verses. That
rhetoric which Bembo inculcated by precept and practice had become
a fashion among men of literary pretension; their letters were
composed as models of style, and manuscript or printed collections of
them were in very general circulation. Such compositions, when thus
written for the public, wanted the freshness and simplicity which
constitute their best charm; but they gained attractions of another
sort, and came to be read more for their manner than their matter. To
this class belong the letters of the elder Tasso: nitid in style, but
cold in feeling, they exhibit the niceties of Italian idiom, rather
than the familiarities of Italian life. A very favourable specimen,
but too long for insertion here, is that in which he proposes to his
wife the principles which ought to guide her in bringing up their
children, and in the formation of their manners and character. Though
sometimes smoothed down to commonplace, it breathes a fine spirit of
paternal affection, and combines religious observance with a becoming
knowledge of the world.
CHAPTER LI
Torquato Tasso--His insanity--Theories of Dr. Verga and Mr.
Wilde--His connection with Urbino--His intercourse with the
Princess of Este--His portraits--His letter to the Duke of
Urbino--His confinement--His death--His poetry--Battista
Guarini.
Our passing notice of Italian song would be incomplete without the
name of Italy's favourite bard, even had TASSO[*178] found
no hospitality at Urbino, no sympathy from its Duchess Lucrezia.
Yet what shall we say of one whose loves and woes have filled
many volumes,--whose life, character, and motives, after baffling
biographers, and puzzling moralists, are still matter rather of
controversy than of history, of speculation than of fact. That he was
imbued with true genius, with its failings as well as its powers, is
fixed by the unanimous verdict of posterity. That his misfortunes
have tended greatly to enhance the sympathising veneration which
hangs around his name, may be quoted in proof of the eternal justice
of Providence. The rolls of Parnassus may exhibit names more gifted,
the annals of human suffering are inscribed with greater calamities
and deeper griefs, but in no other case, perhaps, have talents and
trials been more mingled together on an equally prominent stage.
His supposed persecutor was elevated enough to command the world's
gaze, and upon him there accordingly has been heaped the blame
of a wretchedness in a great measure self-imposed, and inseparable
from a morbid and diseased temperament. The complaints of the poet
have been embodied in notes alternately of wailing and of fire, by a
poet of a nation whom he would have deemed barbarous.[179] The charge
which history has recorded against Tasso is to this purpose. That,
whilst a retainer of Alfonso II. of Ferrara, his heart was enslaved
by that Duke's sister, Princess Leonora d'Este, and that his passion
was ill-concealed in the verses it inspired. That Alfonso having
suspected the audacious fault, harshly visited it with a series of
persecutions, and finally shut him up for seven years in bedlam as a
lunatic.
[Footnote *178: For the life of Torquato Tasso, see SOLERTI, in
three volumes (Torino, 1895). The first contains the _Vita_; the
second, _Lettere inedite e disperse di T.T. e di diversi_; the third,
_Documenti e appendici_. See D'ANCONA'S review in _Rass. Bibl. Lett.
Ital._, vol. IV., p. 7 _et seq._ The most complete modern edition of
his works is Rosini's, in 33 vols., 8vo. (Pisa), and of the _Rime_,
that of SOLERTI, in 3 vols. (Bologna, 1898-99).]
[Footnote 179: BYRON'S _Lament of Tasso_.]
[Illustration: TORQUATO TASSO
_From a picture once in the possession of James Dennistoun_]
From infancy he manifested decided symptoms of "a genius to madness
near allied." Indifferent to toys, he seemed exempt from the emotions
and the tastes of childhood. Precocious in all mental powers, he
spoke intelligibly at six months, knew Greek and wrote verses at
seven years, and at eighteen published the _Rinaldo_, a sustained
and applauded epic.[*180] The reverses of his early days on which we
have already dwelt in our notice of his father, the premature loss
of his mother, the injudicious liberty of thought and action allowed
him by Bernardo, and the rough criticisms to which his writings
were subjected ere his character and knowledge of mankind were
developed--all these tinged deeper the gloom of his constitutional
sadness, and formed a training the most fatal to one of innately
morbid sensibilities. The results were obvious. Bald before his
time, his digestion enervated, subject to faintings and fevers
intermittent or delirious, his health at thirty was ruined, his
nerves and brain shattered. The natural consequence of his precocity
was an overweening pride in his accomplishments, which rendered him
jealous, touchy, and quarrelsome; and though destined from youth
to wander in search of given bread, nature had neither granted him
the humble resignation required for such a lot, nor imbued him with
a daring spirit to rise above it. Men who live in courts must be
prepared to encounter intrigues; those who publish poetry should lay
their account with unsparing strictures; and the smaller the court,
or the more prominent their poetic merits, so much the greater need
have they of forbearance and philosophy. But Tasso possessed neither;
and the jealousies of Pigna and Guarini, the malice of the della
Crusca critics, stung him to the quick.[*181] A slight or fancied
affront, which he met with from one of the courtiers of Ferrara,
though avenged by a duel, brought his symptoms to a head.[*182] From
that moment, when in his thirty-third year, we find him a victim to
the restlessness, suspicions, fears, sad forebodings, and hopeless
misery, which afflict lipemaniacs.
[Footnote *180: See on the _Rinaldo_, PROTO, _Sul Rinaldo di T.T._
(Napoli, 1895).]
[Footnote *181: Cf. D'OVIDIO, _Di una antica testimonianza circa la
controversia della Crusca con Tasso_ (Napoli, 1894) and VIVALDI, _La
più grande polemica del Cinquecento_ (Catanzaro Caliò, 1895). SOLERTI
reviewed this last in _Giornale Stor. d. Lett. Ital._, vol. XXVII.,
p. 426.]
[Footnote *182: It was in September, 1576. Tasso had in July thought
himself insulted by Ercole Fucci and his brother Maddalò; he boxed
Ercole's ears. Then, in September, they met him and assaulted him.
There was no duel. Only Solerti has found out the truth.]
Under such sinister influences the crisis speedily arrived. Whilst
seated in the Duchess of Urbino's apartment, in her mother's palace,
he rushed with his dagger on an attendant who chanced to enter.
This, whether a premeditated assault, or an idle hallucination,
seems to have been the ground on which he was, by order of Alfonso,
placed under restraint; but when the paroxysm was passed, he was
reconducted to the Duke's presence with ample assurances of pardon.
The iron had, however, entered into his soul, and the idea that he
was in disgrace, owing to the malicious backbiting of foes real
or imaginary, could not be driven from his mind. He retired from
their supposed persecutions to a Franciscan convent,[*183] but,
finding in its quiet no peace for his troubled spirit, he fled in
disguise from these illusions, and, led perhaps by the bright memory
of his early days, arrived on the sunny shores of Sorrento, where
he sought a refuge with his married sister. But alas! the charms of
that radiant land shed no gladsome influence on his soul. Ere a few
months passed, he returned to Ferrara, in hopes of proving to the
Duke that the crimes and the frenzy, of which he believed himself
accused, were equally calumnies. In the festive and kindly reception
with which he was greeted, the wayward poet found new grounds for
jealousy, imagining a plot to be formed against his literary fame,
by plunging him in a round of dissipation, whilst "others" (meaning
his patron) should reap the glory and profits due to his creative
genius. That conduct so provoking should have brought upon him real
slights, in addition to his imagined wrongs, can scarcely be doubted;
and, wounded at heart, he again had recourse to flight, wandering
aimlessly by Mantua, Padua, and Venice, to Pesaro, the refuge of
his happier youth. We shall elsewhere introduce the letter which
he there addressed to the Duke of Urbino; though it obtained him a
compassionate welcome, his new host naturally counselled his return
to the home of his adoption, as the place where he was most certain
to be cared for. But in a fresh access of disease, he escaped from
such suggestions, and obeyed them not until after he had visited
Turin, disguised by poverty and filth.
[Footnote *183: He was placed under restraint in S. Francesco, in
Ferrara, in fact.]
If these views of Tasso's malady[*184] are as conformable to truth
as they appear to be with the representations of his biographers,
the time seems to have been now fully arrived for his seclusion,
as a measure of justice to himself and of security to others. It is
quite another question how far the treatment he met with at Sant'Anna
was that best suited to his symptoms. Had he lived in times when the
pathology of mind was more fully understood, and more ably managed,
his genius might, by timely care, have been saved from a miserable
wreck; but his brain surely then required such aid as medical science
could afford. If this be granted, the defence of Duke Alfonso is
complete, whatever might have been the discipline resorted to in the
hospital. Yet it may be well to remember, from the testimony of the
poor maniac, as well as of others, that the delusions which for years
had haunted him, regarding wrongs supposed to have been received
from that sovereign and his courtiers, had given bitterness to his
words, and pungency to his pen, little in accordance with the fulsome
language of his age, or the haughty temper of his patron; that if
the poet was a victim of imaginary affronts, the Duke had met at his
hands with real insults. But even were Alfonso's motives not those
of unmixed kindness, the necessity of seclusion for Tasso cannot be
affected by any such consideration, nor by the consequent aggravation
of his malady from defective skill.
[Footnote *184: On the whole subject of Tasso's madness, see CORRADI,
_Le Infermità di T.T._ in _Memorie dell'Istit. Lombardo_ (1880),
vol. XIV.; RONCORONI, _Genio e Pazzia in T.T._ (Torino, 1896); and
GAUDENZI, _Studio Psicopatol. sopra T.T._ (Vercelli, 1898); and
SOLERTI, _op. cit._, _supra_.]
An admission of Tasso's mental alienation was made by his intimate
friend Manso, and has been repeated by various writers; yet other
biographers, anxious to relieve their hero from the reproach of
madness, have essayed to screen him by charges of cruelty against the
Duke of Ferrara. Whilst Verga's theory appears to place the poet's
malady upon its proper footing, and, by implication, to absolve his
patron, that author goes a step further, and maintains that the
oldest and best informed authorities bear out a belief in the uniform
and considerate kindness of Alfonso towards his wayward laureate, and
prove that the allegations of Torquato's insanity having been but
the pretext of a stern tyrant, bent on punishing the presumption of
an unworthy aspirant to his sister's love, were piquant additions of
after writers. We shall presently have a few words to add in regard
to this entanglement; meanwhile, let us see the conclusion drawn by
Dr. Verga, from his able argument. "We may, therefore, infer that
the Duke shut up Tasso in Sant'Anna, neither as a punishment for
ambitious love, or unguarded and offensive expressions, nor as an
obstacle to his conferring the illustration of his genius on rival
courts, but simply because he saw that the poet's melancholy rendered
him beside himself, dependent upon skilful treatment, and perhaps
dangerous to others. I repeat, in the name of common sense, that his
madness was the sole cause of his seclusion, not the effect of it, as
some would persuade us."
[Illustration: _Neurdein Frères_
LAURA DE' DIANTI AND ALFONSO OF FERRARA
_After the Picture by Titian in the Louvre_]
* * * * *
Although we have passed rapidly over those circumstances that impart
to Tasso's life its romantic and mysterious interest, we must detail
somewhat more fully the various links connecting the thread of his
chequered existence with the ducal house of Urbino. The arrival of
his father, Bernardo, at the court of Pesaro, in 1556, has been
already mentioned[185]; and six months later he was joined by
Torquato, then completing his thirteenth year, who was permitted
to share the education of the hereditary Prince, and to mingle
occasionally with the accomplished circle at the Imperiale, until
Bernardo carried him to Venice, in 1559. On a mind of such premature
powers these opportunities were not wasted, and the remembrance of
them cheered many an after hour of despondency. The homeless position
and unsettled habits of his father, whose wanderings he generally
accompanied, interfered somewhat with his education, which was then
directed to the law, as his future profession. But whilst supposed
to be engrossed by canonists and civilians, the youth was secretly
devoting his hours of study to the muses. Fearing to avow these
derelictions to his father, he imparted his boyish efforts to Duke
Guidobaldo, who showed them to Bernardo in 1562, when the latter
came to offer him a printed copy of his _Amadigi_. It was not,
however, for two years more that the paternal sanction was obtained
for publishing the _Rinaldo_, a dedication of which is said to have
been declined by the Duke, perhaps from a fastidiousness which ere
long he had to regret. Encouraged by the unlooked-for success of
this poem, written by him in ten months at the university of Padua,
Torquato began his great epic, of which he had already selected
the theme. Whilst pursuing his studies at Bologna, in 1563, he is
believed to have transcribed the first sketch of it, under the title
of "_Il Gierusalem_," which is now No. 413 of the Urbino Library at
the Vatican. It is preceded by a short notice of the subject, and
consists of a hundred and sixteen stanzas, eventually incorporated
into the three opening cantos of the poem; but its variations from
the printed version are so extensive, that it has been given entire
in the collected works, published at Venice, in twelve vols. 4to,
1735. The dedication was this time accepted by Guidobaldo.
[Footnote 185: At p. 303 above.]
At twenty-one, he first saw the court of Ferrara,[*186] which, in
honour of his marriage with the Archduchess Barbara, the magnificent
Alfonso was then rendering
"The revel of the earth, the masque of Italy."
[Footnote *186: On the Court of Ferrara, cf. CAMPORI e SOLERTI,
_Luigi, Lucrezia e Leonora d'Este_ (Torino, 1888), and SOLERTI,
_Ferrara e la Corte estense nella secunda meta del sec. XVI._ (Città
di Castello, 1899).]
It was in these festive scenes that the bard made acquaintance with
the Princess Lucrezia. Among the portraits in the Palace of Courtesy,
whither _Rinaldo_ was conducted, and which, by an ingenious turn of
flattery, are made to represent those personages whom Tasso was most
disposed to conciliate, were those of Duke Guidobaldo and his son,
with their respective consorts. The passage may be thus literally
rendered:--
"He of expression stern and brow severe,
His mien ennobled by a royal state,
The great Francesco Maria's son, is here,
In peace superior, in the field his mate;
Beneath whose prudent sway, no peril ere
Urbino's favoured duchy shall await,
While o'er her happy vales, and golden plains,
A joyous and enduring summer reigns.
"Such is the sire to whom our planet owes
Yon youthful gallant, with expression bright,
Second to none, a terror to his foes,
A wary leader though a dauntless knight:
On him the weight of thousand wars repose,
A thousand armies guiding to the fight.
Whoe'er is doomed to immortality
Shrined in men's hearts and mouths, HE may not die.
"Turn your admiring gaze to yonder side
On all that heaven of loveliness can yield,
Elsewhere unmatched within Sol's circuit wide,
From whose bright beams no beauty lies concealed;
The ducal crown and robe can scarcely hide
The regal bearing on that brow revealed:
Vittoria she, from great Farnese traced,
Courteous and gentle, generous and chaste.
"Lucrezia d'Este is yon other fair,
Whose dazzling tresses seem a treasure given
For guileless love therewith to weave a snare
And toils, purveyed by Him who rules in heaven.
Say, do Minerva and the Muses share
Praise and disparagement in portions even,--
Praise, since she them to imitate is fain;
Blame, that their rivalry with her is vain?
"These dames, in charms and chastity compeers,
And proudly rich in every virtue rare"--
Such compliments from a poet of promising fame could not be
indifferent to one taught to prize genius as almost the equal of
rank; nor were they the less acceptable to a lady of thirty-one,
that their author had barely attained manhood. She received him with
her sweetest smile, and presented him to her father the Duke, and
to her sister Leonora, in terms which secured him a most flattering
reception. Love and chivalry were fashions of the day, cultivated
in common by all who strove to shine in the brilliant atmosphere
of Ferrara, and the genius of Torquato lent itself gracefully to
both. In many phases of Italian literature, it has been difficult
for posterity to decide whether the fervour of amorous poetry was
kindled by successful passion, or fanned by affected sentiment. The
like mystery overhangs the love-notes which Tasso warbled in these
palace-bowers. That his aspirations were not free from pedantry is
proved by their, on one occasion, selecting the form of a public
disputation, after the most approved scholastic models, wherein,
during three days, he maintained against all comers, a series of
abstract propositions regarding love and its developments. And though
such singular exhibitions may sometimes have been suggested by
deeper feelings, or accepted as the incense of the heart, they were
doubtless in other cases but tournaments of gallantry, in which the
name of some fair lady was adopted, to inspire the combatants to a
victory extending not beyond the lists. Equally platonic might have
been such love-tissued lyrics as our minstrel ever and anon dedicated
to the sister Princesses, without any scandal, and probably without
compromise of their purity. One of these, in supposed allusion to the
favoured sister, having been specially excepted from the sentence of
posthumous destruction pronounced upon many of his fugitive pieces by
the poet when about to take a journey, must have ranked high in his
estimation, and is thus translated by Glassford:--
"Now that my charmer breathes another air
In woods and fields, how barbarous to remain
In this deserted place, where grief, and pain,
And darkness dwell, a region of despair!
Nothing is joyful here, and nothing fair:
Love grows a boor, and with the rustic train
Now feeds his flock, and now in sultry plain
Handles the scythe, or guides the pondrous share.
O, happy wood! O smiling banks and gay,
Where every beast, and every plant and stone,
Have learned the use of generous customs mild.
What shall not yield to her whose eyes alone
Can, as they lend or take their light away,
Polish the groves, and make the town a wild."
During the four years which glided by in this charmed existence, the
youthful bard appears to have remained faithful to his first friend
Lucrezia; and it was not until her marriage to the Prince of Urbino
in 1571, that the superior charms of her younger and more sedate
sister effected for her that alleged conquest of his heart, which
long-continued assertions have almost established as a truth.
It would be interesting could we fix the comparative encouragement
which the bard enjoyed from the sisters, and ascertain the amount
of favour severally vouchsafed him; on this much contested but
conjectural ground we shall not, however, enter.[*187] Love-making,
which is frequently a science rather than a passion, becomes
almost invariably so where its flame is habitually fed by poetry
or pedantry, and such were naturally the loves of Tasso in the
atmosphere of a court whose polish was heightened by these
accomplishments. The siren-notes of Italian song draw their melody
from epithets calculated to soothe the ear even when they reach not
the heart, and seldom afford evidence as to which of these organs
they are meant to fascinate. This uncertainty gives life to a tribe
of commentators, and has originated volumes of idle speculation as
to the material existence of Laura and Beatrice, the platonic or
passionate intercourse of Torquato with the Princesses of Este. The
language of sonnets and _canzoni_ is equally suited to express or to
feign, to indicate or to veil, heartfelt homage; and those of Tasso
thus are capable of whatever interpretation best accords with the
temperament or the theory of his critics. Such, for example, are the
tributes of his muse on the marriage of Lucrezia, wherein, however, a
suspicion of somewhat undue tenderness might attach to such lines as--
"Sad as a mourning convoy seems to me
Your merry dances, and your Hymen's torch
Will to my funeral pile a flame supply."[188]
[Footnote *187: Cf. D'OVIDIO, _Il carattere, gli amori e le sventure
di T.T._ in _Studi Critici_ (Napoli, 1879); see also CAMPORI e
SOLERTI, _op. cit._, _supra_, p. 229, note *1.]
[Footnote 188:
"Liete danze vegg'io, che per me sono
Funebri pompe ed un istessa face
Nell'altrui nozze, e nel mio rogo è accesa."]
In a _canzone_ of the same date, he makes that god descend from
Parnassus to preside at her nuptials[189]; but the deity seems to
have turned a deaf ear to this tuneful invocation, and we have
elsewhere seen that no favour of his crowned the inauspicious union.
[Footnote 189: "Lascia Imeneo Parnasso, e qui descende."]
On his return from France in 1572, Tasso was, by intercession of
the Princesses, received at Ferrara as a salaried courtier; and
in the following spring, his pastoral drama, the _Aminta_,[*190]
was performed at the palace. Anxious to witness a representation
elsewhere so universally applauded, the Princess of Urbino invited
him to Pesaro, where he recited his poem in presence of the old
Duke, who hailed in him the honoured son of his former protégé.
From thence he accompanied Francesco Maria and his consort to their
_villeggiatura_ at Castel Durante, and it was then, perhaps,
that their domestic peace was most endangered by the poet. The
field-sports and manly exercises which attracted the Prince to
that secluded spot had no charm for Lucrezia, long accustomed to a
life of artificial splendour; and whilst he passed his days in the
far-spreading forests, she was exposed to the temptations of ennui,
added to the perils of opportunity. It is, therefore, not surprising
that a warmer tone pervades the _componimenti_ addressed to the
Princess in this retirement. Two sonnets, in particular, sing, in
cadences of sweetest harmony, her hand imparting perfume to the
scented glove, that enviously veiled, from her minstrel's greedy
eyes, a whiteness before which the snow would blush, and her bosom,
the garden of love, the paradise of the poet, its ripened charms
surpassing the budding beauties of early spring.[191]
[Footnote *190: Cf. MAZZONI, preface to his edition of _Rinaldo e
l'Aminta_ (Firenze, Sansoni, 1884).]
[Footnote 191: "La man ch'avolta in odorate spoglie:" and--"Non son
sì vaghi i fiori onde la natura."]
To write amatory verses on a lady of appearance as matronly as her
years, required singular tact; but Tasso boldly met the difficulties
of his theme. In another sonnet, excelled by nothing in the whole
range of passionate song, after seeking for a parallel to her
"unripe" youth in the opening rosebud, or in the unearthly beauty of
the early dawn, that gilds the mountains and scatters pearls along
the plain, he avows the flower to be most attractive when its leaves
have unfolded their odours, just as the mid-day sun outshines its
morning lustre. The same delicacy of allusion was needful in regard
to both the princesses, of whom Leonora appears to have had the
advantage in looks more than in age, for she was but a year younger
than her married sister. We again avail ourselves of Mr. Glassford's
paraphrase, in order to present it to such readers as are not
acquainted with the charming original.
"We saw thee in thy yet unripened green,
Like folded rose, whose damask leaf unspread
To the warm sun, still in its virgin bed
Retires and blushes in the bud unseen.
Or rather--for such earthly type is mean--
Like to Aurora, who with earthly red
Pearls the plain and gilds the mountain head,
Kindling with smiles the dewy sky serene.
Nor is thy riper year in aught less fair;
No youthful beauty in her choice attire
Can so engage, or equal charms display.
Thus sweetest is the flower when to the air
Unbosomed; thus the sun's meridian fire
Exceeds the lustre of its morning ray."
But these seductions did not divert Torquato from the loftier theme
which engaged his muse. Far from the gaieties and the squabbles of
Ferrara, he drew a fresher inspiration from glorious nature, and
among the delightful descriptions suggested by the scenery around
Castel Durante are generally numbered those of the gardens of Armida.
Whatever may have been the true footing on which the poet's devotion
was received by the Princess, and whatever the secret cause of her
domestic misunderstandings, her husband never showed, on this or
any future occasion, jealousy of his early playmate; and in 1574
Tasso returned to Ferrara, laden with compliments and presents from
the august circle at Pesaro, including a jewel of price from the
Princess, which his necessities afterwards obliged him to dispose of.
Lucrezia had become Duchess of Urbino in 1574, and her separation
from the Duke took place three years later, in circumstances of which
we have elsewhere spoken.[192] Released from ties in which affection
had never any part, she sought in her brother's palace distractions
more suited to her lively temperament, and renewed her intimacy with
its silver-tongued laureate. Among the reasons which incline us to
believe that this connection was chiefly sought upon her side, is
the desire which Tasso about this time manifested of exchanging the
protection of the d'Este for a residence at Rome. His intention was
not realised, for his visit to the Eternal City did not extend
beyond a month, and before the close of 1575 he was at Florence.
[Footnote 192: At pp. 153, 154 above.]
On returning to Ferrara in January, 1576, a new tie was created to
the reigning family, by his appointment as its historiographer, on
the death of Pigna. This was the turning point of his existence,
whence the symptoms of mental disease gradually and fatally advanced
until June, 1577, when, after that outbreak of insanity in presence
of the Duchess of Urbino, to which we have already alluded, he was
interdicted by Alfonso from corresponding with her. This command
she observed, but Leonora occasionally consoled him by letters
during his flight to Naples, of which we have spoken in tracing the
progress of his lipemania. It was in the autumn of 1578 that he
arrived at Pesaro, after his second flight; and, in this melodious
but unfinished _canzone_, bespoke shelter under the mighty oak [della
Rovere] watered by the Metauro:--
"TO THE RIVER METAURO.
"O thou illustrious child
Of mighty Apennine, humble though you lie,
In story brighter than thy silver tide;
O stranger fleet and wild,
To this thy friendly and protecting side,
Well pleased, for safety and repose I fly.
The lofty OAK, with mantling branches wide,
Bathed by thy stream, and from thy cisterns fed,
Shadowing the mountains and the seas between,--
Embower me with its screen!
Inviolate screen, and hospitably spread,
Thy cool recesses undisturbed and sweet
Shroud me in deepest covert, thick entwined,
So hid from blind and cruel fortune; blind,
But not for me, whom still she sees to meet,
Though far by hill or valley I should stray,
Or in the lonely way
Have passed at midnight, and with noiseless feet;
And by this bleeding side well understood,
Her aim unerring, as her shaft is good.
"Since first I breathed this air,
Ah me! since first I met the glorious light,
Which never to these eyes unclouded shone,
I was her fatal care,
Chosen to be her mark and her despite;
Nor yet those early hurts by time outgrown.
Well to that spirit pure my words are known,
Beside whose sainted tomb my cradle stood.
Might they have laid me in the peaceful ground
When I received the wound!
Me from my mother's bosom fortune rude
Tore while a child: O yet I feel those last
Kisses and burning tears upon my cheek,
With sighs remembered; still I hear that weak
And ardent prayer, caught by the rising blast,
Then parted ever; no more face to face
Folded in strict embrace
And held by close and loving arms so fast,
Ah! but like Ilus or Camilla hied,
With steps unequal, by my father's side.
"In banishment I grew
And rigid want, instructed by our strange
Disastrous flight to shed untimely tears,
Nor childhood's pleasure knew;
But bitterness to me of chance and change
Brought immature the bitterness of years.
Despoiled and bare, his feeble age appears
Before me still. Alas! and is my store
Of griefs become so scanty, that my own
Are not enough to moan?
That others than myself I must deplore?
But seldom, though I bid, will come the sigh,
Or from these wells the gushing water spring,
In measure suited to my suffering.
Dear father; now my witness from the sky,
Whom sick thou knowest how I moaned, and dead
Poured on thy grave and bed
My ardent heart; thee, in thy mansions high
All bliss beseems, and unalloyed with pain;
Only for me the sighs and tears remain."[193]
[Footnote 193: GLASSFORD, p. 203.]
The morbid feeling and heart-stricken melancholy which, in the
language of Gibbon, "disordered his reason without clouding his
genius," and which thus exaggerated the trials of his early life,
gave way to another train of thought in the following letter,
addressed by him, about the same time, to Duke Francesco Maria, which
we insert as the most satisfactory record left us of the friendship
and protection bestowed on him by that Prince.
"TASSO TO THE DUKE OF URBINO.
"If any action of mine has tended to confirm the rumour
of my insanity, it surely was my directing my steps after
my flight otherwise than to the court of your Excellency.
For certainly I could not have repaired elsewhere without
some degree of danger, or at all events some indignity
and inconvenience; nor could I hope to find in any other
quarter more acquaintance with my real position, nor
greater courtesy, knowing no prince more generous, more
efficiently compassionate to my misfortunes, or more
prompt in the protection of my innocence. Hence, to pass
by an asylum near and secure, as well as suitable and
honourable, in order to make my way, without comfort, or,
at all events, with little credit, to a distant and less
safe place, was, if not a sign of folly, at least a proof
of impudence and stupidity. Notwithstanding all this,
unlike other men who blush and repent when made aware of
a blunder, I derive from my ill advised step pleasure
and comfort rather than shame and regret, because, being
conducted, not where I desired, but whither I ought to
go, and having there found the haven which I had supposed
far off, across the high seas, I clearly perceive that my
steps have been guided by wisdom from on high. And it must
be much more pleasing to me to have been brought hither
by divine Providence than by human prudence, seeing how
much the more infallible guide is the latter to the best
appointed end. And although, had I come here in reliance
on being received under your Excellency's protection, it
would have afforded me much satisfaction to find my hopes
realised, and your courtesy equal to my anticipations;
yet my gratification is certainly, and beyond comparison,
greater, seeing that you have not only anticipated, but
overmatched, my desires, and that you have at once equalled
and exceeded my expectations. I say exceeded them, because
upon the obliging demonstrations of affection and pity
which you have shown me, and on your promise to undertake
my protection, I found rather an assurance than a hope of
safety, peace, and honour. Enough, indeed more than enough,
for me, is that which you have promised. Were I to doubt
as to the rest, or look forward with such every-day hope
as one is apt to entertain regarding uncertain prospects,
I should discredit your Excellency's affection, judgment,
authority, and power, and I should prove myself unworthy,
not only of what you are about to perform, but of what you
have already done in my favour. Thus, be assured that I
live not only securely, but happily, under your protection.
On this account my regrets are less at being so fiercely
and iniquitously buffeted and beaten down by fortune, than
is my satisfaction at being raised again by the arm of your
Excellency; and were there no other way to lead me to you,
and to place me in the shadow of your favour, but this most
hard and rugged one, with its toils and persecutions, still
I should delight to arrive by it; and I account as not only
endurable, but as joyful and well-timed, those pangs which
brought me to be yours, as it was ever my wish to be, even
in my days of less adversity. It is for this reason I dare
to appropriate these famous words of Themistocles, 'I were
undone, did I not rush upon my ruin.'
"I shall now pass by the long and melancholy tale of
my wrongs as indeed superfluous, since the little that
your Excellency has heard of my mishaps has sufficed to
move your magnanimous heart to extend me aid. Nor shall
I try to awaken in your soul any compassion beyond what
it voluntarily fostered, without artifice of mine; for I
rejoice that in this noble and courteous act my exertions
have no part, all being your own, and springing from the
greatness and compassion of your individual mind. Most
gladly should I thank your Excellency for what you have
done, and will do, in my behalf, could I invent words and
terms fit for such thanks; but what can I, or what should
I say to you? To you I neither can nor ought to use such
phrases as servants employ to their masters, benefited
to their benefactors, favoured to those who confer
obligations, because, as my misery was incomparable and
unprecedented, so it would become me to invent expressions
signifying how much I owe to your Excellency who rescues
me from it. I shall, therefore, say, that since, thanks
to you, I emerge from a condition so low, so disgraced,
so wretched, and so reduced in reputation and in the
opinion of mankind, who looked upon me as virtually
dead, I seem to have received a new health from you, by
reason whereof I acknowledge your Excellency, not only as
a prince and benefactor to whom I owe much, but it may
almost be permitted me to add, as a creator, and I seem
to say but little in avowing myself your most obliged and
highly favoured servant, if I add not _creature_.[194]
Such, accordingly, I shall formally avow myself, and in
that light I pray you for the future to regard me, and
to contrive that I am regarded by others, taking entire
possession of me and of my free will, which I fully submit
to your sway. And this I should do with all my affairs,
were it in my power; but some of them are not at my own
disposal, or they should be placed at that of him to whom I
have surrendered myself. And herewith humbly I kiss your
hands, assuring you that these words have been engraven by
me on my heart, ere they were traced upon this sheet."
[Footnote 194: The letter is taken from an old transcript, No. 430,
of the Oliveriana MSS., p. 210, but it has been printed at vol. IX.,
p. 104, of the Venetian edition of Tasso's works.]
The expectations which dictated this touching letter were amply
realised. After a reception of singular kindness, the good Duke
recommended medical advice for Tasso's now obvious malady; and an
issue prescribed for his arm was dressed by the Princess Lavinia
della Rovere, whose sedulous care was rewarded in a madrigal. By such
solace his restlessness, however, prevented him from long profiting.
After reaching Ferrara some months later, his mania broke out in
more threatening symptoms, and, on the 21st February, 1579, he was
consigned to the hospital of Sant'Anna.
From the sadder scenes and secrets of his life it were useless to
raise the veil. Even the year after he entered it, Montaigne, a
shrewd and unbiased witness, whose testimony may countervail much
hearsay and conjecture, found him in "most pitiable state, surviving
himself, neglectful of his person and works." Seven years had worn
away in pitiable isolation, when a violent fever nearly closed his
darkened existence, after which, whether from an abatement of his
phrenetic symptoms, or in the hope of contributing to his physical
restoration, Alfonso sanctioned his liberation, at the request of
Prince Vincenzo of Mantua, the supposed assassin of our Admirable
Crichton, who undertook the watchful care which his case required.
Princess Leonora died in 1581, and, on various subsequent occasions,
Duchess Lucrezia interfered with little success in his behalf, but,
from the time of his leaving the hospital, his intercourse with her
family was at an end. He had written from thence several letters to
the Duke of Urbino, and, after his convalescence, addressed to him a
rambling discourse on his real and imaginary grievances, which shows
a mind still shaken, if not unhinged. But, though the kind feelings
of his early playmate underwent no change, Tasso returned not to
Urbino during many after wanderings, fearing perhaps to revisit, in
circumstances so altered, the scenes of his brighter days.[195] The
nine remaining years of his life were, on the whole, less afflicted;
for, though ever restless in body, and often haunted by imaginary
evils and visions, he enjoyed intervals of comparative serenity,
especially in his beloved Bay of Naples, and at the house of his kind
friend and biographer Manso, of which, half a century later, John
Milton was the honoured guest.
[Footnote 195: With that constitutional coldness we have seen in his
life, the Duke spares but one line of his Diary to notice Torquato's
death.]
His death partook of the melancholy shade that had overhung his
career. Declining a new invitation from Duke Francesco Maria, in
1594, he brought to Rome all that mental and bodily sufferings had
left him of broken health and blighted genius, to receive the honours
of a laurel crown; and, in the monastery of S. Onofrio, he awaited
the issue of arrangements which the warning voice of exhausted
nature told him were made in vain. From thence he addressed to his
friend Constantini[*196] the following touching farewell:--"What
shall my Antonio say, when he hears the death of his Tasso? Nor, in
my opinion, will the news be long delayed; for I feel my end to be
at hand, having found no remedy for this troublesome malady, which,
added to my many habitual ailments, is evidently sweeping me away
like an impetuous and irresistible torrent. To say nothing of the
world's ingratitude, which would prove its triumph by consigning
me in penury to the tomb, the time is now past for speaking of my
inveterate fortune; yet, when I think of the glory which this age
will derive from my writings, in despite of all opposition, I cannot
be left entirely unrequited. I have had myself brought to this
convent of S. Onofrio, not only because the air is commended by the
faculty more than that of any other part of Rome, but also, to begin
as it were from this elevated spot, and in the conversation of these
holy fathers, my celestial intercourse. Pray to God in my behalf, and
rest assured that, as I have ever loved and respected you in this
life, I shall do the like towards you in a better, as is the part of
true and unfeigned affection; and to the Divine grace I commend you
and myself. From Rome, at S. Onofrio."
[Footnote *196: Cf. D'ANCONA, _T.T. ed Ant. Costantini_ in _Varietà
Storiche e Letter._ (Milano, 1883), vol. I., p. 75 _et seq._]
Tasso's mind was habitually under devotional influences, which
grew upon him as he experienced the delusive results of his early
ambition, the emptiness of success, and the bitterness of failure.
Religion was in him a deeply rooted sentiment; it soothed long hours
of suffering, cheered the decline of life, and brightened those
hopes for which the laurel crown had lost its charm. Gazing from
the convent garden over a scene of all others the most inspiring to
the poet, the most solemn to the moralist, he caught the seeds of
malaria fever. His springs of life were already dried up by twenty
long years of suffering, and, after a few days of peaceful and
resigned preparation for a change that to him had no terrors, his
spirit was released from its shattered tenement. He died on the 25th
April, 1595, wept by many warmly attached and pitying friends, and
lamented by the citizens, who lost in his death the spectacle of his
coronation, to which they had long looked forward with an anxiety
unusual even among the fête-loving populace of Rome.
Tasso's was a life of painful contrasts and of blighted hopes. The
prospects of his childhood, bright as the sky which witnessed his
birth, were quickly shadowed by a storm of tropical violence. The
courtly favour that met his manhood proved baneful as a siren's
smiles. The greenest garland that Italy could offer to her favourite
minstrel was reserved until his brow was clammy with the dews of
death. The honours lavished on his funeral have been grudged to
his tomb. His resplendent genius was linked to the saddest and most
humbling of human afflictions. The fame for which he felt more than
a poet's thirst, and which he challenged as his due, was withheld
by envy until no trumpet-note could reach his dull cold ear. But
time, the avenger, has rendered him tardy justice, and Torquato is
the popular bard of Italy, whilst the cumbrous pedantry of his della
Crusca impugners is consigned to contemptuous oblivion.
Of works so universally known as those of Tasso it would be
presumptuous to offer new analyses, and superfluous to encumber our
pages with trite criticism. The edition of them by Rosini extends
to thirty quarto volumes, a startling testimony to the copiousness
of his commentators, as well as to his own wonderful fertility. His
pen ranged over a wide field both in prose and verse,--the former
including essays--moral, literary, and political,--dialogues, and
letters; the latter touching upon themes sacred, heroic, romantic,
sylvan, pastoral, and lyric. It is, however, as an epic poet that he
has gained a niche in Parnassus, and the admiration of posterity. No
rivalry could arise with Dante, in whose Vision the things of time
are strangely interwoven with revelations of eternity; and his muse
is of a nobler caste, though less touching character, than that of
the bard of Arqua. But it is otherwise with the fourth great name of
Italian minstrelsy, and no one discusses the merits of Tasso without
keeping those of Ariosto in view. This, however, arises from habit
rather than necessity. The latter name was dragged forward by the
della Crusca Academicians as a stalking-horse to mask the malice
of their attacks upon the later of Ferrara's two laureates, whose
successive appearance on that stage alone induced a contrast for
which their respective works were by no means adapted. The comparison
thus forced upon the world has been declined by Tiraboschi, who,
in the exercise of a sounder criticism, has assigned to each
his peculiar excellence. Bearing in mind that the Orlando is
intrinsically a romantic poem, whilst the Jerusalem is composed upon
the epic model, there can be but little technical analogy between
them, and the beauties of the one would become blemishes in the
other. The striking and unlooked-for episodes of the former, running
ever into extravagance and burlesque, must have outraged the grave
unities required in the latter, and have proved more serious faults
than any which the jaundiced optics of the academicians were able
to discover. But perhaps Tasso's greatest triumph over his jealous
detractors has been the continued preference of his earlier and
greater work to his continuation of the same theme, in which he
studied to profit by their criticisms. Many Italians, among whom the
romantic school took its origin and maintained its influence, have
preferred Ariosto, whilst transalpine critics have more generally
given their suffrages to the poem of Tasso, as more regular in its
plan, and better preserving the elevation and the unities observed by
the best classic models.
It has been the boast of some minstrels to mould the temper of the
age to the tone of their poetry. Tasso chose a less hazardous aim,
and, seizing in his great epic upon a theme at once the most fertile
and the most popular, gained the sympathies of all. The Crescent,
once more in the ascendant, had swept the Mediterranean, overrun
Greece, and threatened Vienna. The spirit of the crusades revived.
The often-mooted movement of all Christendom in the holy cause was
at length carried into effect, and victory crowned the Cross at the
great naval conflict of Lepanto. But alas! his was the last great
name in Italian poetry;[*197] and thenceforward genius fled from
the land of song, or bowed unresisting before an all-prevailing
mediocrity. Morbid repetition, redundant verbiage, far-fetched
figures,--all those faults for which its liquid language afforded
such fatal facilities, sprang up in rank deformity, and smothered
generous inspiration. The academies sent out their many songsters,
who poured forth notes artfully sweet, but rarely thrilling; and
already
"Their once-loved minstrels scarce may claim
The transient mention of a dubious name."
[Footnote *197: This, of course, is nonsense. Leopardi, at any rate,
was yet to come, and in our own day we have heard the eager and noble
voice of Carducci in verse that, it might seem, is not less great
than Tasso's and far more in touch with life.]
Nor did they merit a better fate; for their conceptions were
extravagant, their imagery redundant, their execution alternately
glaring and languid. Unnatural contrasts, startling conceits, ill
compensated in them for vigorous diction and the stamp of genius. Yet
the lyric muse was not utterly extinct, and from time to time its
warblings may yet be heard in the orange groves and laurel bosquets
of that bright land.
* * * * *
Guarini's is another name shared between Ferrara and Urbino.[*198] He
was born at the former city in 1537, of a family already possessing
claims upon literary distinction during three generations, his
great-grandfather having been Guarini of Verona. In conformity
with the custom of employing men of learning upon diplomatic
missions, he served Duke Alfonso II. at various courts, until, in
1575, he undeservedly lost his favour by the failure of a quixotic
negotiation, having for its object to place the crown of Poland upon
his brows. During the seclusion which followed, he wrote the _Pastor
Fido_, a pastoral drama of more complex incident than had been
hitherto produced, and whose refined polish and seductive strains,
though misapplied upon a factitious style, long retained their
popularity. It was composed in avowed emulation of Tasso's _Aminta_,
and he carried the rivalry into ducal saloons, and even ladies'
boudoirs, with the results naturally to be looked for among the
peppery tribe of poets. But when Torquato's hour of darkness arrived,
Guarini proved himself a generous opponent, and, in the edition of
1581, he did his utmost to rescue the cantos of _Gerusalemme_ from
the adulteration of unfriendly pens. When his country's subjugation
had followed upon his patron's death, he was fain to seek other
service with the Medici; and soon thereafter the Duke of Urbino wrote
to Abbé Brunetti, his envoy at Venice, in the following terms: "We
shall with much pleasure look over the pastoral which the Cavaliere
Guarino has reprinted with notes and engravings, for we greatly
esteem his meritorious works, and are aware how much we are indebted
to his affection and courtesy. You will therefore thank him in our
name for his remembrance of us."[199] This presentation copy procured
the author a substantial reward in the following letter to Brunetti,
dated some weeks later.
[Footnote *198: For Guarini, consult ROSSI, _B. Guarini ed il Pastor
Fido_ (Torino, 1886). See also CAMPORI, in _Giorn. St. d. Lett.
Ital._, vol. VIII., p. 425, etc.]
[Footnote 199: Oliveriana MSS. 375, vol. XV. 104. The poem was his
_Pastor Fido_, of which the twentieth edition, with the author's
note, appeared at Venice in 1602.]
"Most magnificent and most reverend,
"In consequence of deaths and other circumstances, we find
ourselves so ill provided with persons of such quality
as was Albergato, that we must find some one as soon as
may be. And recollecting the Cavaliere Guarino, who was
known and entertained by us many years ago, we should be
well pleased could we have him, provided his health be
equal to his duties, not indeed for long journeys, but for
attending upon our person, and accompanying us both in the
carriage and on horseback, advising and conversing with us
in all times and occasions. And we believe, if due means
be adopted, this affair might be arranged to our mutual
satisfaction, as we remember that, when lately quitting
Tuscany, he seemed, from what he wrote to us, not averse to
the idea of betaking himself hither, and in our answer we
in no way discouraged the plan. We have, however, chosen
to impart the matter to you, that you may manage it in
whatever way you consider most proper for appearances; and
should you think it well, we have no objection to your
even going in person to Padua, on some other pretext. As
to terms, we believe that the Cavaliere's modesty, and our
partiality towards him, would readily bring everything
to an issue; but you will give it all due consideration,
answering separately this our letter, with whatever occurs
to you on the subject. And so health to you. From Castel
Durante, the 10th of June, 1602. Yours,
"FRAN'co. M'a. DUCA D'URB."
The following letter, from Guarini to his sister, proves that the
arrangement was completed to the satisfaction of both parties; and
an entry in the Duke's Diary shows that, notwithstanding a desire to
return home, his departure from that court did not take place until
July, 1604.
"My Sister,
"I should like to get home, for I have great need and wish
to be there, but am so well treated here, and have so many
honours paid me, and so many caresses, that I cannot. I
must tell you that all my expenses and those of my servants
are paid, so that I have not a farthing in the world to
spend for anything I want, and orders given to let me have
all I ask; besides which, they give me 300 scudi of yearly
pension, which, with the expense of furnished house and
maintenance, amounts to above 600 scudi a year. See, then,
if I can leave this. Our Lord God give you every happiness.
From Pesaro, the 23rd of February, 1603.
"Your most loving brother,
"BATTISTA GUARINI."
A letter from him condoling with the Duchess of Urbino on the death
of her sister Leonora has been printed in Black's _Life of Tasso_,
II., 451, but this brief notice may suffice to close the literary
annals of our mountain principality.
CHAPTER LII
The decline of Italian art: its causes and results--Artists
of Urbino--Girolamo della Genga, and his son
Bartolomeo--Other architects and engineers.
The zenith of Italian art, especially of Italian painting, was
attained between 1490 and 1520. That brief span, scarcely a
generation of human life, not only embraced the entire artistic life
of Raffaele and witnessed the finest efforts of Leonardo, Luini,
Bellini, Giorgione, Francia, Ghirlandaio, Fra Bartolomeo, Sodoma,
Perugino, Pinturicchio, Spagna, and Salerno; it also ripened the
earlier and better fruits of Buonarroti's genius, of del Sarto's too
quickly degenerate palette, and of Titian's
"Pencil pregnant with celestial hues."
It saw the metropolitan St. Peter's commenced, the Stanze and Logge
well advanced; it assembled in the Vatican halls the noblest band
of painters ever united by one scholarship. That bright spot, the
Pausilippo of our pictorial journey, has been passed. Our onward way
lies through dreary days of progressive degeneracy, often fitfully
illuminated by its reflected lights, but more rarely gladdened by
gleams of original genius, or efforts of self-forgetting zeal.
In reviewing the history of painting, its stages of progress will
be readily distinguished. The Byzantine period may be regarded as
its starting point of stationary conventionalism.[*200] This was
followed by an age of sentiment, when earnest thought gradually
ameliorated penury of invention, and supplied intensity to
expression. To it succeeded an epoch of effort, the hand failing
to realise the aims of mind,[*201] the eye awaking to truths of
nature, but bewildered by their hidden meanings. Next came the age
of mastery;[*202] one of difficulties surmounted and doubts made
clear. But the summit when attained was speedily quitted; the period
of facility was too soon one of decline. In the words of Fuseli,
painters then "uniformly agreed to lose the subject in the medium."
Mechanism became the great object, copiousness a prized merit, until
mediocrity sought refuge in a multitude of figures, or fell back upon
theatrical artifice. The close of the fifteenth century was indeed a
cycle of rapid progression, opening many new channels for the efforts
of mind, and it was in Italy that this expansion was primarily
felt. The ultramontane invention of printing was then eagerly
adopted; the cultivation of revived philosophy, and the convulsions
consequent upon foreign inroads, introduced elements of change into
the Peninsular mind as well as its politics. In nothing was this
movement more felt than in the fine arts. During early times, the
ideas of artists exceeded their means of expression.[*203] Yet their
works, even when trammelled by fetters, partly of limited skill, but
more of traditionary mannerism, are often fit exponents of simple
thoughts, while the coincidence between the conception and style
renders solecisms of execution less startling. The forms may be timid
or stiff, but they are always careful and earnest. But now a further
range has been given to individual fancy. The choice and conception
of the theme, its character and composition, were alike freed from
conventional trammels, and became subjective (in the German sense)
rather than objective. Religion and its ritual remained the same,
the hero-worship of saints continued among its prominent features,
art still furnished aids to devotion. But, as books became abundant
and readers multiplied, pictures were no longer the written language
of holy things for the multitude. The high mission of Christian art
had been fulfilled; its limners, less impressed with their themes,
thought more of themselves; they appealed rather to the judgment
than to the feelings. They aimed at imitating nature to the life
more than at embodying transcendental abstractions.[*204] We have
already seen how the devotional inspirations of early painting, which
Beato Angelico's pencil had mellowed into loveliness, attained,
under the guidance of Raffaele, to consummate beauty of form.
But the impulse that had forced pictorial art to its culminating
point allowed it no rest, and the descending path was too quickly
entered. The speculative minds of its creators and its admirers
craved for novelty, for fresh themes and further powers. Elevation
of sentiment or purity of design no longer sufficed,[*205] and with
the competition which ensued for the guidance of public taste, there
sprang up many solecisms to degrade it. Much that was in itself
valuable was exaggerated into deformity. The knowledge of anatomy
which enabled Michael Angelo to embody the terrible, that element of
invention which he was the first fully to develop, also tempted him
to combinations outraging nature and harmony;[*206] and his style has
transmitted to our own day an influence dangerous to genius,[*207]
fatal to mediocrity. Less permanent, because less healthful,[*208]
was the opposite quality, introduced by Correggio, whose grace,
founded upon artifice, degenerated under Parmegianino and Baroccio
into meretricious affectation. A third ingredient, not so perilous
and more pleasing, was brought to perfection in Venice, where alone
can be appreciated the golden tints of Titian[*209] and the silvery
harmony of Veronese. It is indeed remarkable that all the schools
most celebrated for colouring have arisen in maritime localities, and
been deficient in accurate design.
[Footnote *200: I do not understand what this means. The "Byzantine
period" was not the starting point of anything, but rather a
decadence; and how can anything be the starting point of something
"stationary"? Christian art comes to us in the first centuries as
absolutely dependent on Roman pagan work. It did not contrive a
new force of expression, but very happily used the old. For the
history of art is continuous, and in Byzantine work we see merely a
decadence, not something new. The Renaissance in painting is based
on Roman art of pagan times in the work of the Cosmati and the
Cavallini, from whom in all probability Giotto learned all he could
learn. It is the same with sculpture. Niccolò Pisano is a pupil of
the ancients, a native of Apulia. The northern influence came later.]
[Footnote *201: Yes? In Duccio's work, for instance. But the hand
of man cannot achieve anything finer than the work of these early
men--than the Annunciation of Simone Martini, for instance. That they
preferred a decorative convention to a realistic does not accuse them
of incompetence. Dennistoun would have said that the Japanese could
not draw. It was not that "the hand failed to realise the aims of
the mind," but that the mind saw things from a standpoint different
from ours. It is easy to talk of the "truths of nature." What are
the truths of nature? It is a question of appearance, of a manner of
seeing, of an attitude of mind, of soul, toward nature and toward
itself. Simone Martini was as great an artist, in the true sense of
the word, as Raphael, in his own convention. Raphael's convention is
still ours, but we are already passing out of it. Is it not so?]
[Footnote *202: Yes; an age of realism. It is as though one preferred
a Roman work of the best period to a Greek work of the fifth century
B.C. What came was the tyranny of the body, without the
old excuse, for we no longer believed in the body; we no longer
believed in anything but unreality. It is not that the earlier men
were "right" and the later "wrong," but that both are equally right
and wrong where right and wrong do not count since only beauty may
decide. Dennistoun speaks as he does because he could not possibly
have spoken otherwise. He is wrong not so much in what he asserts as
in what he denies.]
[Footnote *203: Here, again, I do not understand. How can an
artist's ideas exceed his means of expression?--I do not say his
power of expression. What means of expression did Dante lack that
Milton enjoyed, or Sophocles? In what was Donatello poorer than
Michelangelo or Niccolò Pisano than either? Giotto had the same means
of expression as Apelles or Leonardo, for the work he undertook, and
before a new means of expression was invented, he could not have
conceived the use of it.]
[Footnote *204: Their aim was perhaps rather the realistic imitation
of life than the expression of it.]
[Footnote *205: They never sufficed.]
[Footnote *206: Too strong. Michelangelo was always master of the
weapons he used, however destructive they may have been to his
disciples.]
[Footnote *207: Nothing is dangerous to genius, not even mediocrity.]
[Footnote *208: This term applies to the science of medicine, not to
æsthetic.]
[Footnote *209: Titian can be seen to advantage only in Madrid,
Paris, Vienna, or London. In Venice he is almost absent.]
[Illustration: _Anderson_
MARTYRDOM OF S. AGATA
_After a picture by Seb. dal Piombo, once in the Ducal Collection at
Urbino, now in the Pitti Gallery, Florence_]
In a preceding portion of this work we have alluded to the
innovations of naturalism in painting, by men who introduced
perspective, created chiaroscuro, cultivated design, and mastered
nude action. Through their example, it not only extended a
predominating influence over pictorial treatment, but quickly
obtained that place as a canon of artistic criticism which it has
since continued commonly to hold. It may seem rash to impugn a
principle so universally adopted; and if perfection in art really
depends upon an accurate imitation of nature, it would be folly to
gainsay it. But the principle may be carried too far; and if we are
to allow to art a nobler mission,--if we recognise in painting and
sculpture a language wherein gifted men can embody, develop, and
elaborately adorn the conceptions of beauty and sublimity, or it may
be the sallies of humour and the scintillations of wit that flit
across the fancy--a key whereby they can impart to their fellows,
and transmit to all ages and nations, their emanations of genius,
their poetic flashes, their benevolent sympathies, their devotional
aspirations,--then surely a higher standard should be applied to what
are often ranked as merely imitative arts, and are tested by their
supposed fidelity as transcripts of external objects.[*210]
[Footnote *210: After all, Dennistoun is on the side of the
angels--though a little unctuously.]
Such views will to many seem visionary and strange heresies. Yet they
are truths by which painting reached its golden era, and which, even
in its decline, have been largely drawn upon. Under Louis XIV., a
vile epoch of a faulty school,[*211] allegory triumphed over reality,
and the best feelings of humanity were forced into masquerade. But
what shall we think of the taste which admits such solecisms against
nature, whilst objecting to the conventionalities practised by the
early Christian masters, and adopted by the purists of our own
day? What, indeed, is art but a tissue of conventionalities, even
when the imitation of external objects is its aim? Upon what laws
of nature are regulated the gradations of aerial perspective, or
the receding or flattened surfaces of basso-relievo? Does not the
landscape painter, in modifying the tones of his colouring, remember
that his mimic scenes are to be enclosed in gilt frames, an appendage
for which Providence has made no provision in the real ones? But
to such imitations art neither is nor ought to be confined. As the
language of genius, it expresses loftier themes, and none but kindred
spirits can fitly judge of its style, or set bounds to its range.
The rustic who spells through Burns or Bloomfield would pause upon
Paradise Lost, and throw down Hamlet in despair; whilst, to the
presbyterian who ornaments his walls with Knox's portrait, or the
Battle of Bothwell-brig, the Last Judgment would seem unintelligible,
the Transfiguration blasphemous, the Judgment of Paris a flagrant
indecency. In like manner, those who have neither imbibed the spirit
of the Roman ritual, nor studied the forms of Christian art, may
fully appreciate the dishevelled goddesses of Rubens, or the golden
sunsets of Claude,--the glowing tints of Titian, or the transparent
finish of Teniers; but let them understand ere they sneer at those
sacred paintings which for successive ages have confirmed the faith
of the unlettered, elevated their hopes, and inspired their prayerful
ejaculations.
[Footnote *211: One of the sad days. Cf. vol. II., p. 95, note *1.]
[Illustration: _Alinari_
HOLY FAMILY
_After the picture by Sustermans, once in the Ducal Collection of
Urbino, now in the Pitti Gallery, Florence_]
When the Christian mythology, which had supplied art with subjects
derived from inspired writ or venerated tradition, was supplanted
by an idolatry of nature content to feed spiritual longings with
common forms copied without due selection from daily life, men no
longer painted what religion taught them to believe, but what their
senses offered for imitation, modified by their own unrestrained
fancies. Painting thus became an accessory of luxurious life, and
its productions were regarded somewhat as furniture, indicating
the taste rather than the devotion of patrons and artists. These
accordingly followed a wider latitude of topics and treatment. In
proportion as devotional subjects fell out of use, a demand
arose for mythological fable and allegory. Profane history,
individual adventure or portraiture, supplied matter pleasing to
vanity, profitable to adulation. But while the objects of painting
became less elevated, its mechanism gained importance; it became
ostentatious in sentiment, ambitious in execution. The aim of
professors, the standard of connoisseurs, declined from the ideal
to the palpable. A fresh field for exertion was thus opened up.
Schools attained celebrity from their successful treatment of
technical difficulties. Michael Angelo attracted pupils by his
power in design; Titian by his mastery in colour; Correggio by his
management of light; while the eclectic masters of Bologna vainly
aspired to perfection by nicely adjusting their borrowed plumes;
and the _tenebristi_ of Naples sought, by impenetrable shadows, to
startle rather than to please. A demand for domestic decoration led
to further exercise of ingenuity. Landscapes, first improved by the
Venetian masters as accessories, became a new province of art; and
transcripts from nature in her scenes of beauty were succeeded by
the clang of battles, the inanities of still life, the orgies or
crimes of worthless men.[*212] In architecture and in sculpture,
the departure was scarcely less remarkable from the pure style and
simple forms of the fifteenth century: a free introduction of costly
materials and elaborate decoration deteriorated taste, without
compensating for the absence of ideal beauty. The masters of this,
which we may distinguish as the "newest" manner, must accordingly
be tried by a new standard. Those of the silver and golden ages,
Angelico and Raffaele, sought a simple or vigorous development of
deep feeling; the Giordani and Caravaggii, men of brass and iron,
whose technical capacity outstripped their ideas, aspired not
beyond effect. Effect is, therefore, the self-chosen test to which
artists of the decline should be subjected, though it may detect
in them false taste and vulgar deformity. Under their guidance,
energy was substituted for grandeur, bustle for dramatic action;
while flickering lights and fluttering draperies ill replaced the
solidity and stateliness of earlier men. Art thus, like literature,
became copious rather than captivating. Ambitious attempts were not
wanting, but the effort to produce them was ever palpable. Ingenuity
over-taxed gave birth to bewildering allegories, affected postures,
startling contrasts, exaggerated colouring, meretricious graces.
Nature was invoked to stand godmother to the progeny, but she
disavowed them as spurious.
[Footnote *212: An undue sense of right seems to have led Dennistoun
to the brink of an absurd precipice. Why should not the orgy or crime
of a worthless man, make as good a picture as the orgy or crime [or
the good deeds either, for that matter] of the worthy man? Poetry
surely would seem to confound him here.]
The rapid decline of art when imitation of nature became more
strictly its object, has led to scepticism in some quarters as to
the expediency of adopting such a guide. Until human ingenuity shall
attain the means of embodying and preserving perfect copies of
external objects, it would be presumptuous to decide how far such
copies realise that standard of beauty which high art demands. The
daguerreotype and kalotype, which give the nearest known approach
to such a result, are far from solving the question in accordance
with naturalist views; for, on their metallic plates and porous
paper, a beautiful woman is, in general, coarsely caricatured; whilst
a bust of her, or a bas-relief, always retains the grace of the
sculptured original, and a chalk drawing is exquisitely reproduced.
Were it enough to depict with perfect precision the forms and
incidents reflected on the retina, a painter would be little more
than a mechanic, in whom original genius might be almost dispensed
with. But, though he will treasure in his portfolios a judicious
selection of such impressions as he can daily gather from actual
life, these, however nearly they may approach to nature and truth,
are only materials of future creations. For high art,--and of such
alone would we speak whilst Italy is our theme,--something more
than mere nature was undoubtedly required;[*213] yet her guidance
became indispensable after the revolution in taste and feeling
which dismissed mediæval traditions and types. So various, however,
are the freaks of individual fancy, so fantastic the vagaries of
reason uncontrolled by authority, that the new path was beset by new
pitfalls. The mediocrity of early masters found a refuge in mean but
inoffensive commonplace; that of their successors, mistaking freedom
and novelty for original genius, revelled in extravagant creations.
The acute agonies, physical and moral, which sadly consummated the
Atonement for man, were figured by the former in limbs wasted as
by prolonged disease, stiffened as by a lingering death: the deep
affliction of the Madonna Addolorata over the Saviour's body assumed
in their hands an expression of such grief as knew not the relief
of tears. But the artists of the "new manner" gave to crucifixions
anatomical accuracy developed in spasmodic writhings, and bespoke
sympathy for the mother of Christ by convulsive weepings, with
perchance the accessory of a pocket-handkerchief! In pictures of
this class, corporeal sufferings were rendered with horrible truth,
muscular energy was substituted for mental woe. Living in times which
needed fresh subjects as well as added powers, these painters laid
aside such themes as treated of the mysteries of faith, the legends
of primitive times, but especially such as, demanding spiritualised
feelings in the author and the spectators, were uncongenial to both.
To a contemplative religion, untroubled by sectarian movements, had
succeeded a church militant, armed by bigotry, and struggling for
existence. The revived Catholicism of Caraffa and Ghislieri required
art of a character as gloomy as itself, and commissioned works
wherein the terrors of the Inquisition replaced the promises of the
Gospel, earthly martyrdoms supplanted celestial hopes, and pure faith
was clouded by priestcraft. Henceforward, religious representations
were reserved chiefly for church decorations, and even there they
assumed an historical character, as in the miracles of our Lord, or
the acts of his apostles. Alexander VI. had decorated the pontifical
palace with incidents from the Gospel; but those which Paul III. and
his successors selected for the Sala Regia commemorate the triumphs
of an aggressive church in the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, and
the naval action of Lepanto. Michael Angelo, in depicting the Last
Judgment, the chief glory of that pontificate, introduced Charon as
a prominent personage; and, with inconsistency, if possible, more
glaring, Poussin has painted Moses, the type of Christ, watched in
infancy by a river-god, in classical allusion to his preservation
from the perils of the Nile.
[Footnote *213: Art does not desire more than nature, but more than
an imitation of nature. The artist should create life, not imitate
it.]
Whilst we have thus had to consider the prevalent imitation of
external objects as an element tending to the corruption of purist
feeling, it unquestionably enlarged the scope and stimulated the
mechanism of painting. Such was the naturalism by which Raffaele,
Michael Angelo, and Titian developed the comparatively feeble and
stunted efforts of their predecessors into forms ennobling nature,
and redolent of intelligence. But, in studying these palpable
qualities, the more subtle ingredients of spirit and feeling were
often overlooked; indeed, most of the creators of the new style
outlived it, and saw it supplanted by a yet newer and far more
degrading naturalism, which, with few bright intervals, has continued
to cramp and pervert the manner of their successors. Such were and
are those painters who, on the strength of their sketches from the
life, and their studies of landscape and architecture, or with the
plea of occasionally introducing portraits into sacred or historical
compositions, proclaim themselves followers of nature, whilst
their works outrage or caricature her. There may be great anatomical
accuracy, and much truth in the separate heads, combined with
inventions the most unreal, movements the most constrained, mannered
attitudes, draperies meagre or overloaded, and a general substitution
of mean conceptions for pleasing realities. The elaborate finish
invariably found in the early masters was either bestowed upon
accessories in themselves trifling, but stamping an extraordinary
verity upon their works, or, as in the Sienese or Venetian schools,
it was lavished upon gorgeous costumes illustrative of national
manners. But similar details in later pictures are justly considered
to remove them in some degree from the category of artistic
performances to that of mere decoration, and are despised by those
who, aiming at breadth of effect, sometimes adopt the most hopeless
of all affectations, that of slovenly superficiality. Whence then
this difference? and why should jewels and embroidery, that seem
beautiful in Crivelli's saints or Dello's pageants, be vulgar gewgaws
on recent canvasses? Merely because, in the former, _all_ is minutely
worked, but all is subsidiary to the general sentiment, whilst, in
the latter, the absence of a simply pervading expression leaves each
individual detail crudely prominent; because the ancient masters made
everything subservient to that one overruling feeling of the picture,
which, in most modern works, is totally wanting.
[Illustration: _Anderson_
THE KNIGHT OF MALTA
_From the picture by Giorgione, once in the Ducal Collection at
Urbino, now in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence_]
* * * * *
The Dukes della Rovere of Urbino had hereditary duties as patrons
of art. Popes Sixtus IV. and Julius II., the founders of their
family, had munificently encouraged it; the antecedent princes of
Montefeltro had been its generous and discriminating friends. If the
later dynasty fell short of these examples, they were not without
excuse. Though the divine Raffaele parted his mantle among many
pupils, no shred of it fell to his native duchy. Francesco Maria
I., on succeeding to that state, found in it no lack of churches,
palaces, or pictures, and little native genius meriting support; so
he was content to call Titian from Venice to portray himself and his
Duchess.[*214] His two successors were less devoted to arms, and
more liberal to arts. They numbered among their subjects Baroccio
and the Zuccari, who once more gave a pictorial name to Urbino, and
they judiciously divided their commissions between these natives and
foreign painters.
[Footnote *214: Francesco Maria may have called, but Titian did not
come to Urbino. The first commission he had from the Duke was in
1532, when he was asked to paint as good a portrait of Hannibal as he
could and a picture of the Nativity. They were delivered in 1534. The
Duke wanted then a portrait of the Duchess, and asked Titian to paint
it on his way to Naples. This journey, however, never took place.
If Titian had any sittings, it was at Murano during the Duke and
Duchess's sojourn there in the autumn of 1537.]
In a former portion of this work it was our endeavour to interweave
the artistic notices which we had to offer in connection with Urbino,
into a rapid sketch of Christian painting in Umbria. Resuming the
subject, it will no longer be possible thus to generalise our views,
for the time had arrived when each aspirant selected his own course
to the temple of Fame; and in glancing at the various paths which
chance or fancy suggested to them, our readers must be prepared for
occasional repetitions. The ground, in itself less interesting,
is more beaten; and though none of the competitors approximated
the elevation gained by Raffaele, their numbers may be considered
as some compensation for their comparative mediocrity. Lazzari,
in his _Dictionary of Artists_ belonging to his native duchy, has
enumerated, under the Feltrian dukes, five painters, one sculptor,
one architect, and one military engineer; while under the Princes
della Rovere, these numbers are increased to twenty painters, eight
architects, and sixteen military engineers. Of sculptors, during the
latter period, there is no account; but along with eighteen followers
of mechanical arts connected with the higher branches, we find
workers in bronze, stucco, wood-carving, engravers, and makers of
watches and mathematical instruments, besides two potters and three
painters of majolica. It would be not less irksome than useless to
follow all this catalogue, but we shall endeavour to throw together
whatever is generally interesting of art in Urbino, during the
sixteenth century, whether by native painters, or foreigners employed
by the dukes; concluding with a chapter on minor arts, especially
that of _majolica_, or earthenware, for which the duchy was long
celebrated.
[Illustration: _Alinari_
JUDITH WITH THE HEAD OF HOLOFERNES
_After the picture by Palma il Vecchio, once in the Ducal Collection
at Urbino_]
* * * * *
Our catalogue of artists under the della Rovere dynasty may be
fittingly commenced with a name not unknown to their predecessors,
the Feltrian dukes. GIROLAMO DELLA GENGA was born at Urbino,
in 1476, of respectable parents, who destined him for the woollen
trade, by which the wealth of Florence had, in a great measure, been
gained. But the bent of his youthful mind was decidedly towards
design, and his pencil so interfered with his proper business, that,
after much vain opposition, his friends yielded, and sent him, at
fifteen, to the studio of Luca Signorelli. It was the mission of this
able painter to engraft upon the devotional traditions of Umbrian
art, imbibed from Pietro della Francesca, a novel energy of thought
and pencil; and Girolamo had the advantage of aiding him upon those
wonderful compositions in the duomo of Orvieto, which Michael Angelo
scrupled not to imitate in his Last Judgment, as well as warmly to
commend. After attending his master during the execution of other
commissions, he passed into the school of Perugino, where he found
his precocious countryman, the young Raffaele. There he remained
for three years, devoting himself chiefly to perspective, and
thence repaired to Florence to complete his education. At Siena he
was largely employed, along with Signorelli, by Pandolfo Petrucci;
returning from whence to Urbino, he formed an enduring intimacy
with Timoteo della Vite. They wrought together upon a chapel in
the cathedral, which no longer exists; but the works there assigned
to Genga were chiefly scenic and decorative, from his acknowledged
superiority in architectural perspective; and for these, the various
festive amusements then in fashion, such as pastoral dramas,
triumphal processions, cavalry trappings, and temporary arches,
occasioned in that gay capital a perpetual demand, during the
latter days of Guidobaldo I., and the first years of his successor.
His invention was especially called into play to welcome Duchess
Leonora to her states, and to supply scenery for the representation
of Bibbiena's _La Calandra_ in 1513. These apparently mechanical
performances were not, however, irreconcileable with excellence and
fame in the higher branches of art; and it was whilst thus engaged
that, during a short visit to Rome, he painted, for the oratory of
Sta. Caterina of Siena in the Via Giulia, an altar-piece of the
Resurrection, justly considered his chef-d'oeuvre.[*215] The
figure of Christ, soaring upwards amid sprawling angels, somewhat
anticipates Raffaele's Transfiguration, but with a copious infusion
of Michael Angelesque feeling. The latter influence predominates in
the violent attitudes and excited action of the guards, four of whom,
suddenly aroused by the supernatural event, are rushing about without
aim or self-possession; yet, the movement of one who awakens a still
slumbering comrade is extremely natural. The Marys, approaching
from the other side of the picture, recall Timoteo's manner. The
colour, concealed however under an accumulation of dirt, is of a
solid quality, and the chiaroscuri are skilfully managed, while the
inscription, _Girolamo Genga Urbinas facieb._, satisfactorily secures
its authenticity.
[Footnote *215: I know nothing of this oratory, and cannot find it.]
[Illustration: _Alinari_
HEAD OF CHRIST
_After the picture by Titian, once in the Ducal Collection, now in
the Pitti Gallery, Florence_]
In 1497, Guidobaldo had granted to the Counts della Genga an
exemption from taxes, for which Girolamo showed his gratitude by
sharing the exile of Francesco Maria, when deprived by the tyrannical
usurpation of Leo X. He retired with his family to Cesena, where,
as at Forlì and other places in Romagna, he executed various church
pictures of merit; of these, the Baptism of Christ, the Conversion of
St. Augustine, and one representing the Almighty, with the Madonna,
and the Doctors of the Church, have found their way to the Brera,
at Milan. On the Duke's restoration, he was appointed his architect
and engineer, and thereafter discontinued painting, devoting himself
almost entirely to his new duties. Among the churches which he
built, were those of the Zoccolantines at Urbino and Sinigaglia,
but it was chiefly on the ducal palaces that he was employed.
Of these, the first committed to him was the Imperiale villa,
already mentioned.[216] Vasari describes it as a "very beautiful
and well-contrived fabric, full of chambers, colonnades, courts,
balconies, fountains, and delightful gardens, which every prince
passing that way goes to see; and which Paul III. visited, with his
court, when on his way to Bologna, and was quite pleased with all
he saw." It would seem from his account that the most important
ameliorations made by Genga upon that long-neglected residence, were
the tower and internal decorations. The former remains, of handsome
proportions; but its chief merit is said, by the Tuscan biographer,
to have consisted in the management of a concealed wooden stair,
reaching the summit in thirteen flights of steps, one hundred and
twenty feet in all. In 1543, Bembo wrote to Leonora,--"I have visited
your Excellency's Imperiale with much pleasure, both because I
greatly wished to see it, and because it seems to me constructed
with more intelligence and true artistic science, as well as with
more antique fashions and finely contrived conceits, than any modern
building I have seen. I heartily congratulate your Ladyship upon
it, for certainly my gossip Genga is a great and gifted architect,
far surpassing all my anticipations." The frescoes, illustrating
his employer's life, were distributed by him to several foreign
artificers, the duchy not boasting any painter of talent since the
recent death of his friend Timoteo Vite. Among these was his pupil
Francesco Minzocchi of Forlì, who, living on the limits of the
old manner and the new, succeeded in uniting many excellences of
both; yet, his works at Padua, Venice, Forlì, and Loreto, though
highly creditable, scarcely merit the exaggerated praise bestowed
on some of them by Vasari. That biographer's oversight, and his
own modesty, have, on the other hand, done scrimp justice to
Raffaele del Colle, whose attractive pencil is scarcely appreciated,
notwithstanding Lanzi's eulogy. A pupil of the incomparable Sanzio,
and of Giulio Romano, he preserved a healthy style amid prevailing
deterioration; and many of his pictures still adorn the churches of
Central Italy.[217] Contemporary with these was Angelo Bronzino, who
maintained at Florence, during an age of general feebleness, the
reputation transmitted by Andrea del Sarto and Pontormo. The grace
of a Cupid, which he painted upon a corbel at the Imperiale, gained
for him the patronage of Prince Guidobaldo, who employed him in small
productions more congenial to his genius, including his portrait,
and a harpsichord cover, both of them greatly admired, but now lost.
The landscape ornaments in the villa were entrusted to the brothers
Dossi, of Ferrara, or rather perhaps to Giovanbattista, the younger,
and less able of them; but so total was their failure, that they
were immediately thrown down, and replaced by others from Genga's
designs. More successful in that light style were the portions
committed to Camillo of Mantua, whose rural decorations are praised
by Vasari and Lanzi.
[Footnote 216: See p. 49.]
[Footnote 217: He left some valuable works in the upper valley
of the Metauro, now almost destroyed. Such are his Prophets and
Sybils in ten lunettes round the Corpus Domini at Urbania, with two
Nativities in the same church, one in fresco, the other on canvas.
An altar-piece, in the church of the Servites at S. Angelo in Vado,
is very inferior to his Madonna and Saints in S. Francesco of Cagli.
Some frescoes at Gubbio, lauded by Lanzi, and dated 1546, are among
his best works.]
We have thus far chiefly followed Vasari's authority, reconciling,
as best we might, inconsistencies and errors, the result of his
imperfect acquaintance with the locality. The paintings he describes
at the Imperiale were probably part of Duchess Leonora's labour of
love, to welcome her lord's return from his long campaigns. But the
condition to which they are reduced, by time and unworthy degradation
of the building, renders it impossible now to form an opinion of
the various hands that have wrought upon them, or to discover their
respective merits and subjects. The roofs of two saloons are occupied
by small historical compositions, from the actions of Francesco
Maria; but these are irrecoverably defaced. Two of them, ascribed to
Bronzino, are said to have represented the Duke haranguing the band
of adventurers whom he collected in Lombardy, for the invasion of
his duchy in 1517; and his reception by the Venetian senate in 1523,
as their captain-general. The ornaments of the remaining rooms are
merely decorative.
Additions were made by Francesco Maria to his other residences at
Urbino, Pesaro, and Castel Durante; on all of which, and Gradara,
Genga seems to have been employed. Him also he entrusted to build a
casino, within the walls of Pesaro, called the Barchetto, in which
a ruin was imitated, with a spiral stair commended by Vasari: this
house was subsequently assigned by Duke Guidobaldo to Bernardo Tasso,
as a home to himself and his son Torquato; and part of it is now
occupied by a gardener. Another work of Girolamo was the reparation
of the fortress at Pesaro, which, however, he undertook merely in
obedience to his sovereign, military architecture being little to his
taste. In acknowledgment of these services, he had, in 1528, a grant
of Castel d'Elce, with its feudal immunities, afterwards confirmed by
Guidobaldo II. Some years later, he remodelled the episcopal palace
at Mantua, and began an imposing church to St. John the Baptist at
Pesaro, which was completed by his son. Among his minor efforts in
the immediate service of the ducal family may be mentioned funeral
decorations for Francesco Maria, and a monument to him, erected by
Bartolomeo Ammanati of Florence, in Sta. Chiara of Urbino, but long
ago removed. Enriched and honoured, he spent his declining years in
leisure, and died in 1551. Vasari thus testifies to his exemplary
character:--"Girolamo was an excellent and honest man, of whom
no evil was ever heard. He was not only a painter, sculptor, and
architect, but also a good musician, an excellent and most amusing
talker, and was full of courtesy and affection to his relations and
friends." Among his numerous pupils, Baldassare Lancia, of Urbino,
was distinguished as a military engineer, whilst Bartolomeo his
second son, Bellucci of San Marino his son-in-law, and Federigo
Baroccio his nephew, all ably maintained his artistic reputation. In
the person of Leo XII., one of his family has recently attained the
highest station offered to the ambition of the Roman Catholic world.
* * * * *
BARTOLOMEO DELLA GENGA was born at Cesena in 1518, during
his father Girolamo's emigration, and was sent to Florence at
eighteen to study design in its various branches, under Vasari and
Ammanati. At twenty-one he returned to his father, who, seeing his
talent lie towards architecture, advised him to acquaint himself at
Rome with the best models. His first commission on returning home was
to prepare festive arches for Duchess Vittoria's reception after her
marriage. He then accompanied Guidobaldo to Lombardy, as his military
engineer, and, by examining the celebrated fortresses in that
country, added greatly to his professional experience. He at this
time refused very eligible appointments from the King of Bohemia,
and subsequently from Genoa, wishing to dedicate his services to his
own sovereign. Accordingly, on his father's death, he became ducal
architect, and built large additions to the palaces of Urbino and
Pesaro, especially the wing of the former, facing S. Domenico. He
also erected a number of churches in the duchy, and prepared plans
for a harbour at Pesaro, which were not carried into effect. Having
attended the Duke to Rome in 1553, he gave some hints to Julius III.
for the new fortifications of Borgo S. Spirito.
[Illustration: _Alinari_
THE RESURRECTION
_After the banner painted by Titian for the Compagnia di Corpus
Domini, now in the Pinacoteca, Urbino_]
His reputation being thus established, the Order of Malta selected
him to superintend the new defences proposed for their island, and
in 1557 sent two knights on a mission to obtain the Duke of Urbino's
sanction of Genga's engagement. During two months Guidobaldo resisted
all importunities, and they at length succeeded only through a
Capuchin friar, who, possessing his ear, represented the work as one
in which all Christendom was interested. On Bartolomeo's arrival,
he had but time to prepare a series of plans for civil and military
architecture, when he was cut off by fever consequent upon exposure
in the burning heat, having scarcely completed his fortieth year. Of
this family also was SIMONE GENGA, who, after fortifying many Tuscan
strongholds, carried his engineering talents to Gratz, in Austria.
From Stephen, King of Poland, he had, in 1587, a monthly salary of
76 dollars, besides allowances for four servants and as many horses,
whilst completing the defences of Varadino. Other architects of
Urbino are mentioned by the Marchese Ricci as leaving structures in
La Marca, such as LATTANZIO VENTURI, who, in 1581, built the communal
palace at Macerata, with an allowance of 30 scudi for his plan, and
40 more for overseeing its execution. Six years later, he completed
the façade of Loreto church, in the charge of which he was succeeded
by his son Venturo. His countryman, LUDOVICO CARDUCCI, having
accompanied him to Macerata, was employed on various ecclesiastical
edifices there, his designs for which were submitted for approval
to the Duke of Urbino. From Venturo Venturi the superintendence of
Loreto devolved, about 1614, upon GIOVANNI BRANCA, of S. Angelo in
Vado, who died there in 1645, aged seventy-four. His _Manual of
Architecture_ had passed through six editions previous to the present
century.
CHAPTER LIII
Taddeo Zuccaro--Federigo Zuccaro--Their pupils--Federigo
Baroccio and his pupils--Claudio Ridolfi--Painters of
Gubbio.
It was just after the fatal sack of Rome had dispersed the goodly
company of painters, who, reared by Raffaele, and linked together
by the recollection of his genius and his winning qualities, gave
promise of long maintaining in the Christian capital that manner
which he had brought to perfection,--that there was born to Ottaviano
Zuccaro, or Zucchero, an indifferent artist of S. Angelo in Vado, a
son destined to revive the pictorial reputation of Urbino. TADDEO
ZUCCARO saw the light in 1529, and, while yet a boy, perceiving
little hope of excellence under such instruction as Umbria could
then afford, or of remedying the poverty of his paternal fireside,
he boldly sought a wider field of improvement and enterprise, and
at fourteen found his way to Rome. The hardships which he there
underwent are touchingly described by Vasari. Aided by no friendly
hand, his education was neglected, and he was driven to menial
labour for the support of a precarious existence. Wandering from one
studio to another, he earned a crust of bread by colour-grinding;
and, unable to afford light for his evening studies, he spent the
moonlight nights in drawing, till sleep surprised him beneath some
portico. Under this hard life his health gave way, whilst his spirit
remained indomitable, and he sought rest and renewed vigour in his
native mountain air. But his thirst for improvement was not stayed
by these sufferings. On his return to Rome with recruited energies,
he was received into the studio of Jacopone Bertucci of Faenza, a
follower of Raffaele, whose few independent works entitle him to more
honourable mention than has been afforded him by Vasari or Lanzi,
and who united the tasteful design of that master with somewhat of
Lombard feeling. Taddeo subsequently aided one Daniello di Por, who
carried to Rome much of the Parmese manner, imitating Correggio and
Parmegianino. At eighteen he executed on his own account, on the
exterior of the Mattei Palace, a series of nine events in the life
of Camillus, which attracted general admiration, and established his
popularity as a historical painter. These, and several other works in
fresco done soon after, have been destroyed.
His rising reputation having reached Urbino, Guidobaldo II. summoned
him there, when about fifteen, to undertake the exterior decorations
of a chapel in the cathedral, which had been painted by Battista
Franco, and soon after carried him on his tour of inspection of the
Venetian terra-firma fortresses. On his return, he was established in
the palace at Pesaro, where he painted the Duke's portrait and some
other cabinet pictures. Two years thus passed away without his being
able to commence the chapel, although the designs for it were well
advanced; and being dissatisfied with this loss of time, he availed
himself of his sovereign's absence at Rome to follow him thither.
Orders now crowded upon him, for no contemporary painter was better
qualified to supply those slight and rapidly executed works then in
fashion for the external and internal decoration of Roman palaces
and villas. Most of these have perished; but somewhat superior in
character were the incidents in the Passion, painted in 1556, in
the Church of Consolation under the Capitol. They are still in good
preservation, but though cleverly conceived and carefully executed,
these merits scarcely compensate for the exaggerated mannerism of
their sprawling attitudes and solid draperies, whilst their violent
emotions are anything but devotional. From this time his brother
Federigo was associated in most of his labours, and the speed with
which their commissions were finished brought them easy gains, and
gave satisfaction in an age when taste had sadly degenerated. An
arrangement, whereby Taddeo agreed to accompany the Duke of Guise to
France, with a salary of 600 scudi, was interrupted by the Duke's
death; but soon after our artist had a more important commission,
from Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, to paint in his palace of
Caprarola, near Viterbo, the heroic actions of his family. This was
precisely the class of subject for which the manner and ideas of the
Zuccari were most adapted, and the results were highly satisfactory.
Accordingly, these paintings, engraved by Prenner in 1748, remain a
standard of that style of palatial decoration. Taddeo's allowance was
200 scudi a year, for which he undertook to prepare all the cartoons,
and to superintend their execution by his brother and other young
artists. Among those whom he was thus enabled to bring forward,
several, including Baroccio, were his seniors, a natural consequence
of the good fortune which brought him early into repute as a clever
head-master of the contract work then in vogue. His mural paintings
in the Sala Regia of the Vatican, and his sacred subjects in the
chapel of S. Marcello there, were also undertakings of considerable
extent, sharing his attention with Caprarola during the latter years
of his life. His last work was the Assumption of the Madonna in the
Trinità del Monte, upon which death surprised him in 1566, and his
dust reposes in the Pantheon, near that of his more illustrious
countryman Raffaele, like whom, he died on the day his thirty-seventh
year was completed.
[Illustration: _Alinari_
THE LAST SUPPER
_After the picture by Baroccio in the Duomo of Urbino_]
His brother FEDERIGO, fourteen years his junior, was brought
to Rome in 1550, and committed to his charge. The advantage of an
associate on whom he could rely was immense to one whose works
were, even from youth, in a great measure, executed by others;
and fraternal affection, cemented by a similarity of tastes and
pursuits, grew up into an identity of character and habits which
extended to their respective works, and enabled the younger Zuccaro
satisfactorily to terminate the commissions which Taddeo left
unfinished. Precocity was a characteristic of both; and the only
interruption to their harmony arose from the latter having retouched
some frescoes done by Federigo, when but eighteen years old, outside
of a house in Rome. The quarrel having become serious, a compromise
was effected by mutual friends, on an understanding that the designs,
but not the finished works of the youth, should be submitted to his
brother's correction. During his residence in Rome, Federigo was,
however, chiefly employed on those mural paintings which we have
already mentioned as undertaken by Taddeo; and when about twenty-two,
he spent a considerable time in Venice, painting, on his own account,
in the Grimani Palace, whilst his contemporaries were still busy with
their preliminary studies. There was even a proposal to assign to him
the façade of the great council hall, but jealousy among the native
artists prevented this taking effect. He was, however, consoled by
the friendship of Palladio, who engaged him to decorate a large
temporary theatre, and whom he subsequently accompanied on a tour
through Friuli and Lombardy. Thence he visited Florence, in time to
take part in the festive decorations which welcomed Joanna of Austria
to her new capital, and, after a visit to his family, arrived at Rome
early in 1566. It was about this time he painted for Duke Guidobaldo
the Liberation of St. Peter from prison, now in the Pitti Gallery, a
picture of no great intrinsic merit, though dexterous in effect; and
now, too, Verdizotti of Venice complimented his early promise in this
elegant sonnet, wherein the "tree of Jove" means the oak, the badge
of Urbino and its dukes.
"Ecco! del glorioso arbor di Giove
Un giovinetto ramo uscir sì altero,
Ch'a speme di bei frutti ogni pensiero
Desta al fiorir de le sue frondi nove.
In lui tai gratie il ciel benigno piove,
Che simili in altrui poch'altre spero;
Gratie, per cui virtù gli apre il sentiero
Ad ogni honor, che meraviglia move.
E già le cime dei più culti allori
L'inchinan' grate, e lieto augurio danno
D'eterno pregio ai suoi giorni migliori.
Alhor l'amate ghiande illustri andranno
Di sì fin or, ch'al par de' suoi splendori
Gli alti raggi del sole ombre saranno."
His brother's premature death made him heir of his fame and fortune:
the latter he speedily increased, but the former he was scarcely
adequate to sustain. Yet the dexterity by which he mastered, and
the rapidity wherewith, by numerous assistants, he completed works
of great extent, not only obtained him the commissions which Taddeo
left imperfect, but secured him a preference for all undertakings
of that description in Rome. It was upon this principle that he was
called to Florence, to terminate the cupola of the cathedral; yet
for the abortive effect of this vast composition, which has more
than once narrowly escaped whitewash, Federigo is scarcely to be
held responsible. The irretrievably hopeless attempt of filling
suitably so immense an expanse with a figure composition, had been
begun by a better artist than himself, and the blame of so gross a
blunder must lie with Vasari. Don Vincenzo Borghini suggested the
theme--Paradise allegorically treated in eight compartments, in seven
of which are set forth the seven mysteries of our Lord's passion,
while the eighth celebrates the triumph of the Romish church. The
chief interest of this colossal performance lies in its monstrous
compass; containing, it is said, three hundred figures, some of them
thirty feet high. Returned to Rome, he was employed by Gregory XIII.
on the roof of the Pauline chapel, whose walls had been decorated
by Michael Angelo. The favours which fortune thus showered upon him
soothed not the petulance of an irritable temper; and the bitter
satire wherewith he caricatured some supposed enemies in a picture of
Calumny, obliged him precipitately to quit the Holy City. This was
a congenial subject, which he often treated. Once it was done for
the Orsini of Bracciano; another of large size is noted in Pelli's
catalogue of the Urbino pictures; and there is a small one in the
gallery of the Uffizi. There are some curious particulars in Gaye's
_Carteggio_ of the annoyance to which this sally subjected him.[218]
In 1581, he was held to bail for 500 scudi, to answer a charge of
slander which it was hoped might be founded upon the testimony of
his three assistants, who were imprisoned until they should supply
a key to the suspected personalities. On this emergency he sought
protection from the influence of his sovereign, and of the Grand Duke
Francesco I. of Florence, by whose mediation he made his peace, and
returned to Rome at Easter 1583. The Duke of Urbino's application was
not disinterested, being anxious to secure Federigo's services for
a chapel he was then building at Loreto, dedicated to the Madonna
dell'Annunziata, regarding his frescoes in which we shall presently
have some observations to offer. It is unnecessary to follow his
several journeys to foreign courts and distant countries, whence
he returned honoured and enriched. In 1574, after his flight from
Rome, he passed through Paris, Flanders, and Holland, to England,
where he probably remained for some time, painting portraits; but
his works there do not seem to have been ascertained, or examined
with much criticism. Several are loosely mentioned by Walpole, and
his annotator Dalloway, one of which, representing Queen Elizabeth's
gigantic porter, is said by Stirling to bear date 1580. His chalk
drawings of her and Leicester, engraved by Rogers, can scarcely be
the same mentioned by Borghini as executed in 1575.
[Footnote 218: Vol. III., p. 444.]
On his return to Rome, Olivarez, ambassador from Philip II., whose
overtures to Paul Veronese had been unsuccessful, proposed that he
should proceed to Madrid. There he arrived in January, 1586, and,
after being received with great splendour, was immediately named
king's painter, with 2000 dollars of pension, and an apartment in the
Escurial. From that palace he, on the 29th of May, wrote a letter
descriptive of his first works, which merits notice as showing his
opinion, and that of the age, on the fitting tone and treatment to
be followed in high religious art. "My apartment contains excellent
rooms, besides saloon and study, where his Majesty frequently deigns
to come and see me work, loading me with favours. I observe you
desire now to hear something as to what I have done or am about.
There are four large pictures, for two altars of the relics, opening
and closing like organ-doors, to be painted on both sides. They are
dedicated to the Annunciation and to St. Jerome; and I have treated
them thus:--On opening the former is seen our Lady, somewhat startled
and confused by the angel's entrance, while on the outer side I
have made her assenting to the salutation in the words, 'Behold
the handmaid of the Lord.' The exterior of St. Jerome is penitent;
not as he is usually made, simply repenting, but having that faith
and hope in God without which neither abstinence nor remorse can
avail, together with the love, charity, and filial awe, that ought
ever to connect us with God and our neighbour. And these I fancy as
grouped together in idea before the saint; so I have set in front
of him a cross, with Christ in the last agony, in order to inspire
him with increased contrition, and at the foot thereof the three
theological virtues among clouds. On the interior of the two doors,
I have depicted St. Jerome, as a doctor of the church, writing:
and as companion to the idealised penitence without, I thought fit
to introduce the means and aims of study, so that the saint, though
writing, is in a contemplative ecstasy, attended by three angels.
Two of them, typifying perseverance and love of study (without
which no science can be learned, no fruit obtained), hold his book
and ink-horn; the third stands at his ear, suggesting thoughts and
sentences, and pointing out, on the other door, the entire subject he
is writing about: I intended this one for the guardian angel, or for
that intelligence and thought, whereby all is contrived and composed;
and I endeavoured to represent him as incorporeal, transparent and
spiritual, a style little used on account of its difficulty. On that
other door, I embodied the whole theme which St. Jerome, the most
holy divine and doctor, is inditing, as to the Saviour's passion
and man's redemption, dwelling specially on the considerations that
induced the Father Almighty to send his only begotten Son into the
world, to redeem mankind by his great sufferings. I imagine Charity
as appearing in his vision, and saying 'It was I who moved God,
and made Christ descend on earth'; to express which symbolically,
a saint-like matron presses one hand on her breast, and indicates
with the other a dead Christ borne by angels through the air. But
what most pleases his Majesty and all beholders, being of peculiar
mystic meaning and charming effect, is the three little Cupids who,
at the feet of Charity, disport themselves with St. Jerome's lion,
which comes forward most opportunely, his ferocity so tamed by these
children, that he lets them pat, handle, and ride upon him, licking
and fondling them the while, a clear proof that our God is not a
God of anger and vengeance, but of love, peace, charity, and grace.
During this winter I made all the designs and cartoons for these
subjects, and have already coloured and entirely completed the first
Annunciation, and the St. Jerome writing; at present I have in hand
the Charity; and all, thank God, is to his Majesty's taste. This
done, his Majesty wishes me to commence the _retavola_ of the high
altar [for the Escurial], where there will be eight great pictures in
oil, those others being on panel."[219]
[Footnote 219: Vat. Urb. MSS. No. 816, f. 64-72.]
In this second commission our painter was less fortunate. The eight
pieces represented St. Laurence's Martyrdom, five events in the
life of Christ, the Descent of Tongues, and the Assumption. As
they rapidly advanced, aided by several youths who had accompanied
Federigo from Italy, he observed with anxiety the courtiers' cold or
contemptuous silence; and, desiring to test his patron's feelings,
he presented the Nativity to Philip with the arrogant exclamation,
"Here, Sire, is all that painting can accomplish, a picture that
may be viewed closely or from a distance." After long gazing on
the canvas, his Majesty asked if those things in the basket were
meant for eggs. So paltry a criticism says little for the monarch's
connoisseurship, and the mortified artist was consoled by seeing his
work placed on its destined altar. Mr. Stirling informs us that,
upon this failure, he was set to paint six frescoes in the Escurial
cloister, which gave as little satisfaction. In order to test his
complaints of his assistants, he was then desired to execute the
Conception without their aid, but with no better result. After
his departure, several portions of his _retavola_ were dismissed
from the high altar, and most of his frescoes were defaced; but
notwithstanding these repeated disgusts, and the moderate success
of two other altar-pieces mentioned by Conca, Zuccaro remained for
nearly three years in Spain, and was finally dismissed with gifts
and pensions exceeding the remuneration stipulated for his services.
The solution of his disappointment is simple. The artistic genius
of Italy was greatly exhausted: that of Spain was a virgin soil
promising many golden harvests.[220]
[Footnote 220: In referring to the _Annals of the Artists of Spain_,
it is a sincere pleasure to bear my feeble testimony to the merits
of that excellent work. It is replete with information new to the
English reader, and is enriched by apt and copious illustrations
selected from a wide range of literature and æsthetics.]
Some letters of Federigo Zuccaro in the Oliveriana Library further
illustrate the turn of thought which influenced religious art in
the end of the sixteenth century. He had been employed in 1583 by
Francesco Maria II. to decorate a chapel in the church of Loreto;
it was dedicated to the Madonna, and the theme prescribed for his
frescoes was her life. The altar-picture by Baroccio represented the
Annunciation; and the scenes selected for mural paintings were her
marriage, visitation, death, assumption, and coronation. Of these
the first three belonged to a class of dramatic compositions adapted
to the prevailing taste, while the others partook of the Umbrian
influence which still lingered around that shrine. The subsidiary
ornaments being of course under the direction of Zuccaro, he felt
puzzled how to fill up certain spaces offered by the architectural
arrangement, and wrote to the Duke. After consulting the chief
theological authorities among the hierarchy of Loreto what would best
develop the "humble and mystic" sentiment which it was his object
to sustain, the artist suggested that figures emblematic of glory
and perpetuity should support the Coronation of the Madonna, as
expressing the inherent attributes of that subject. In like manner
he proposed to accompany her Death with Faith, Hope, and the Fear
of God, the best supports of a death-bed; whilst the Assumption
was to have Charity on one hand, Perseverance on the other, and
above Joy, the fruit of these virtues and the foretaste of glory.
As accompaniments for the Annunciation, he submitted that there
should be two prophets or sibyls, the instruments through whom the
incarnation of the Word was predicted. Giotto or Fra Angelico
would have chosen the prophets of the Old Testament; Michael Angelo
would have preferred pagan sibyls; Perugino or Raffaele might have
invoked them both; Zuccaro, painting at Loreto, thought either
equally appropriate appendages to his allegorical creations.[221]
Yet Federigo was not altogether blinded to the barbarous tendency of
the taste around him. In writing of Milan, he says that the painters
there had in his day "wofully diverged from the beautiful simplicity
and arrangement of those living early in the century; and that the
Proccaccini, especially Giulio Cesare, introduced a set of scoffing
heads, and certain angels so debauched looking, and devoid of all
reverence in the presence of God and the Madonna, that I know not how
they are tolerated, unless it be that they are excused for the sake
of many other commendable parts."[222]
[Footnote 221: In reference to appropriate lights, Baroccio entirely
condemns the use of stained glass, as darkening the interior, and
injuring, by coloured rays, the effect of paintings. Zuccaro,
however, recommends the introduction of a tinted armorial bearing,
surrounded by a wreath of fruits and flowers, as likely to mellow
without obscuring the chapel.]
[Footnote 222: _Lettere Pittoriche_, vii., p. 513.]
Of the large number of important works he executed in Venice,
Milan, Pavia, Turin, and other towns of Upper Italy, we shall not
attempt a catalogue, nor of his many frescoes in the Roman palaces
and churches. We cannot, however, pass by an altar-picture still in
the Church of Sta. Caterina in his native town, which was carried
to Paris by the French plunderers. It represents Peter, Francis,
and other saints, presenting to the Madonna the Zuccaro family,
consisting of two men, a woman, and seven children--probably Taddeo,
himself, his wife and offspring; and it is inscribed "Federigo
Zuccaro dedicates this monument of his affection to the intercessors
of his family and birthplace, 1603." Besides the interest attaching
to the portraits, it is a satisfactory specimen of his usual manner.
A work of his brother, connected with the history of the duchy, has
been described in a previous volume.[223]
[Footnote 223: Vol. II.]
Academical instruction is considered as favourable only to mediocrity
by many who maintain that genius must be cramped by the fetters of
uncongenial routine, or by the prescribed duties of a conventional
curriculum. The Academy of St. Luke was, however, founded under
Gregory XIII., and Federigo Zuccaro was, in 1593, elected its first
president, an honour appreciated far beyond the favour of princes or
the decoration of knighthood. After inauguration, he was conducted
by a crowd of artists to the palace he had built for himself on the
Pincian Hill, at that corner otherwise consecrated by the residences
of Claude, Salvator Rosa, and Nicolò Poussin. Here he afterwards held
meetings of the Academy, where he read his discourses; and by will
he left to it that house, failing of his natural heirs. His death
occurred in 1608, at Ancona, at the age of sixty-six; but the clause
of remainder in favour of the Academy has never become effectual, the
palace in the Via Sistina being still possessed by his descendants.
It is well known as the Casa Bertoldy, and may be regarded as the
cradle of the modern German school of painting. The frescoes on which
Overbeck, Cornelius, Schnorr, and Veit first essayed that elevated
and pure style which has regenerated European taste, there attract
many an admirer, little aware that the basement rooms, abandoned
to menial uses, contain some of the latest efforts of cinque-cento
decoration that have fair pretensions to merit. The richest of them
has its vaulted roof studded with allegorical delineations of the
arts, sciences, and virtues, painting being justly pre-eminent in a
painter's house. The lunettes of another are crowded by portraits
of the Zuccari, extending over four generations, and numbering
twenty-one heads, true to nature. The third, which was Federigo's
nuptial chamber, exhibits the ceremony of his marriage, around
which are figures of Chastity, Continence, Concord, and Felicity, in
the fashion of an age when genius had been replaced by ingenuity,
grandeur by dexterous execution.
The infirmity of Federigo's temper, to which we have already alluded,
may account for his unworthy treatment of Vasari. In the marginal
notes upon his copy of the Vite de' Pittori, now in the Royal
Library at Paris, as well as in an original work which we are about
to mention, he takes every opportunity of sneering ungenerously at
one whose biography of his brother, and whose allusions to himself
are conceived in kind and flattering terms. Although his _Idea de'
Pittori, Scultori, ed Architetti_, printed in the year of his death,
is supposed to be but a compend of his lectures at St. Luke's, he
is believed to have intended it as a triumph over Vasari's justly
popular writings. In this, however, he signally failed; it has the
mysticism of philosophy without its spirit, while its pedantic
subtleties are puerile rather than profound. This, and his _Lamento
della Pittura_, are books of great rarity, but in no way merit a
reprint. A mannerist with pen and pencil, the conceits of the former
equal the allegories of the latter; nature and feeling are alien to
both.
Although the Zuccari were little identified by their works with their
native state, and obtained less of the ducal patronage than their
contemporary Baroccio, their names have reflected much lustre upon
Urbino. Yet the space which they occupied in the public view was
owing to the smiles of propitious fortune,--to a happy facility of
executing without exertion whatever commissions were offered,--to a
certain magnificence and liberality in their manner of life,--and,
in the case of Federigo, to an overweening vanity, rather than to
any positive artistic excellence. Their reputation has accordingly
waned, as the remembrance of such incidental qualities waxed faint,
and as a distant posterity applied to them that only sure test, the
merit of their works. Nor were these the only advantages of their
position. An analogy has been deduced between Taddeo and the immortal
Raffaele, not from any supposed resemblance of their pencils or
genius, but because both were natives of the same state, both painted
extensively in fresco at Rome, both died when "exactly thirty-seven,"
and both were buried in the same corner of the Pantheon. Federigo, on
the other hand, was, like Titian, invited to courts, decorated and
enriched by monarchs; like Raffaele and Michael Angelo, he was an
architect and a sculptor as well as a painter; like Vasari, he aimed
at a literary reputation. The works of the brothers display a marked
similarity, a natural result of their long painting together; yet
deterioration became perceptible as their distance from the golden
age increased, and the younger may be distinguished by a pervading
inferiority of taste and design, but especially by a growing
mannerism and laxity in his conceptions, and by the overcrowding
of his subjects. To balance these deficiencies, his person was
attractive, his general attainments were far more comprehensive, and
a longer life was granted for the enjoyment of his fortune and the
extension of his fame, than fell to the lot of Taddeo. The failing
mainly attributable to both was absence of style. Their inventions
were often flimsy, and their compositions, deficient in unity and
dignity, are often little more than figure groups.
* * * * *
A necessary consequence of the low style of art which the Zuccari
adopted was that, notwithstanding the number of assistants whom they
constantly employed, their school neither attained to considerable
repute among their contemporaries, nor put forth many pupils of
note; offering in this respect a marked contrast to that of their
countryman Baroccio, whose pleasing manner attracted a host of
admirers and imitators. Two natives of Pesaro, however, possess a
certain reputation in the semi-mechanical church decorations then
largely produced. They were Nicolò Trometta, generally called NICOLÒ
DA PESARO, and GIAN GIACOMO PANDOLFI, the latter of whom was the
earliest instructor of Simon Cantarini da Pesaro. The various works
which these and other Zuccaristi have left in the duchy are quite
unworthy of special description, and we may dismiss them with the
mention of CAVALIERE DOMENICO CRESTI DA PASSIGNANO, whose chief title
to fame is reflected from that of his pupils TIARINI and LUDOVICO
CARACCI. Among the painters less known to fame were BIAGIO and
GIROLAMO D'URBINO, both of whom were employed in the Escurial; the
former left Spain along with Federigo Zuccaro, in 1588; the latter
wrought under Pelegrino Tibaldi. Ottovevenius, after spending seven
years with Federigo, carried his influence beyond the Alps, and
eventually numbered Rubens among his scholars.
Among the artists who repaired to Urbino at the summons of Duke
Federigo, for the construction of his palace, was Ambrogio Barocci,
or Baroccio, a Milanese sculptor, who established himself there, and,
after long labouring on its plastic decorations, founded a family
singularly distinguished in the higher branches of mechanical and
pictorial art. His two daughters were married to Girolamo and Nicolò
della Genga, and his great-grandson Federigo, upon whose biography
we must dwell at some length, had an elder brother Simone, who after
studying the exact sciences under Federigo Comandino, became the
best mathematical instrument maker that had hitherto been seen. His
cousins, the Cavaliere Giovanni Battista and Giovanni Maria, were
not less famous in watchmaking, an art successfully patronised by
the Dukes delle Rovere, which we shall mention in our fifty-fifth
chapter. FEDERIGO BAROCCIO was born in 1528, and initiated
into the rudiments of design by his father, who practised engraving
and modelling. His early efforts having been approved by his
grand-uncle Girolamo Genga, he was placed under the tuition of
Battista Franco of Venice, an indifferent painter, much employed
in the majolica shops at Urbino, whose taste for designing from
antique sculpture directed his pupil's attention to those effects of
chiaroscuro which distinguished his matured style. After assiduous
labours in this way, he repaired to Pesaro, then his sovereigns'
residence, where were placed their accumulated treasures of art.
There he observed the works of Raffaele and Titian, under the
guidance of Genga, who carefully advanced his artistic education,
especially in perspective. At twenty he went to Rome, anxious to
see the triumphs of his great countryman, which he forthwith set
himself to study. Several anecdotes are told of his modesty, which
kept him in the background until chance obtained for his drawings a
passing compliment from Michael Angelo, and the warm sympathy and
encouragement of Giovanni da Udine, delighted to find in the youth a
countryman as well as an admirer of his former master. After imbibing
inspiration from these healthful fountains, he returned home, and
executed some church paintings. But the casual arrival of one who
brought some cartoons and crayon drawings from Parma gave a new turn
to his ideas. Forgetting the grandeur of Buonarroti and the pure
beauty of Raffaele, he aimed at those meretricious graces which have
borrowed from the dexterity of Parmegianino, and the luscious pencil
of Correggio, a fascination unsupported by their intrinsic merits,
and pregnant with mischief to art. To him, however, belongs the
credit of introducing into Lower Italy a harmonious application of
light and shade, to which his early lamp studies from sculpture may
have conduced.
Returning to Rome in 1560, he found Federigo Zuccaro in the
ascendant, and from him received a hint as to the tendency of this
manner, which it would have been well that he had adopted. Having,
at the request of Federigo, painted two children on a frieze, with
a fusion of colour very rarely effected in fresco, the latter,
considering this to be overdone, retraced the outlines with a brush,
imparting to them that force which was wanting to the work. Baroccio
took the reproof in good part, but profited not by it. During his
first visit he had become known to Cardinal Giulio della Rovere, by
whose influence, probably, he procured employment at the Vatican and
Belvidere, in company with Zuccaro. With the decline of their art,
the good feeling of the painters' fraternity waned, and the kindly
sympathies of that glorious band, whom Raffaele had imbued with a
portion of his amiable nature, no longer animated their successors.
Those who saw in Baroccio one who would have raised the standard of
taste from the abandonment which immediately succeeded the dispersion
of that noble school, instead of seconding his efforts poisoned him
at a banquet. He survived the potion, but four years of pain and
feeble health elapsed ere he could return to his labours. When his
system had in some degree resumed its vigour among his mountain
breezes, he was called to Perugia to paint for its cathedral the
Deposition from the Cross, a work which, far from exhibiting any
prostration of power, greatly surpassed his previous efforts. No
scriptural theme offers greater technical difficulties, or demands a
larger share of those grand and energetic qualities in which Baroccio
was usually deficient. It is, therefore, one of his most remarkable
efforts, as regards its own qualities, and the circumstances under
which it was produced. It occupied him during three years, and was
followed by the Absolution of St. Francis, for the Franciscans of
Urbino, on which he laboured in their convent for above twice that
period. In consideration of their poverty, he charged but a hundred
golden scudi for the work, to which they gratefully added as many
florins.
It is not our intention to give a catalogue of even his more
important productions, although a large proportion of them were
executed for the decoration of his native state, which his patriotism
induced him to prefer to the splendid offers made him by foreign
monarchs. Among those commissioned by his sovereign was the Calling
of St. Andrew, finished in 1584, and presented to Philip II., that
saint being patron of the Spanish order of the Golden Fleece. It
was about the same time that Duke Francesco Maria dedicated to the
Madonna del Annunziata, a chapel in the church of Loreto, which we
have already mentioned as decorated in fresco by Federigo Zuccaro.
Its altar-picture was committed to Baroccio, the subject naturally
being the Annunciation. This was in all respects a labour of love,
the theme being in perfect unison with his dulcet manner, and it was
accordingly considered by himself his chef-d'oeuvre, a merit which,
in the opinion of many, is shared by his Deposition, and, in that
of Simon da Pesaro, by his Santa Michelina. Modern connoisseurs may
decide between the first and last of those three great works, as they
hang side by side in the Vatican Gallery, the former of them, and
the Deposition, having been returned from Paris. The Annunciation is
certainly a very favourable and pleasing specimen of the Baroccesque
manner, but an eye versed in the criticism of sacred art must
demur to the judgment of Bellori, who found maiden humility in the
Virgin, a celestial air in the angel, and spiritual character in the
tinting. The principal figure is the portrait of a young lady of the
Compagnoni of Macerata, whose features are equally devoid of purity
and of noble expression; the colouring, though delicately beautiful
in itself, is meretricious in effect, transmuting flesh into roses;
and the whole sentiment of the picture is anything but devotional. On
the other hand, it is distinguished above a majority of his important
works by unity of composition, although, like most productions of
his age, the action is exaggerated and the details mannered. A
copy in mosaic was sent to replace this favourite effort, which was
often reproduced by the master and his pupils. A repetition of it
was presented by Francesco Maria to the court of Spain, and another,
left unfinished, remains at Gubbio. The Santa Michelina, protectress
of Pesaro, was painted for the church of S. Francesco there, and
exhibits a striking deviation from this artist's wonted style. A
single figure kneeling on Mount Calvary in ecstatic contemplation,
amid the war of convulsed elements, admitted of no paltry prettiness,
and could scarcely fail to attain grandeur. There is, accordingly, in
the breadth of composition, and in the prevalent low neutral tone,
an approach to severe art, inducing us to overlook the fluttering
draperies and girlish forms that belong to the master.
[Illustration: _Anderson_
NOLI ME TANGERE
_After the picture by Baroccio, once in the Ducal Collection at
Urbino, now in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence_]
Rome possesses by a better title three other pictures deserving the
notice of those who desire to appreciate Baroccio. The Presentation
of the Madonna (1594), and the Visitation, adorn the Chiesa Nuova,
where the latter is said to have often inspired S. Filippo Neri's
devotions; the Institution of the Sacrament according to the Romish
rite, in the church of the Minerva, was a present from the Duke of
Urbino to Clement VIII., who conferred upon the painter a gold chain.
It is related that, in the original sketch, Satan was introduced,
whispering treason into the ear of Judas, but was afterwards omitted,
in deference to his Holiness's opinion, that the Devil ought not
to be represented as "so much at ease in the Saviour's presence."
On occasion of the same Pontiff's visit to Urbino, in 1598, he
received from his host a golden vase for holy water, beautifully
chased, with a painting by Baroccio at the bottom, wherein the infant
Christ, seated on the clouds, gives the benediction with one hand,
and supports the globe with the other. This charming miniature so
delighted the Pope, that he had it removed from the benitier, and
affixed to his daily office book.
The Cathedral of Urbino contains the latest of his great church
pictures, representing the Last Supper, as well as the St. Sebastian,
one of his early works, and it is interesting to contrast their
respective styles. The St. Sebastian was commissioned for 100 florins
in 1557, whilst the inspirations of Rome still hovered over his
palette, and imparted vigour to his already Correggesque manner. This
hackneyed and generally harrowing subject is treated with pleasing
novelty, the group consisting of the saint, a graceful figure bound
to a fig-tree, an imperious judge who has condemned him, and a brawny
archer who carries the sentence into effect, whilst the Madonna
and Child appear on high to support the martyr's faith and hope.
In the Cenacolo, the fair promise of that able production is sadly
abandoned: all those great qualities of his predecessors, which he
began by happily imitating, are there replaced by extravagance,
and even harmony is absent from his multifarious tints. Of his
innumerable minor works we cannot pause to take note, and he scarcely
ever painted in fresco. It is remarkable that, although his manner
was, even in its defects, well suited to the voluptuous character
of mythological fable, and to many a scene of mundane grandeur, he
limited himself to sacred representations, almost the only exception
being portraits. Of the latter, his most successful is Duke Francesco
Maria, in rich armour, as he returned from the fight of Lepanto; it
has been deservedly honoured with a place in the Tribune at Florence,
and an equally beautiful repetition adorns the Camuccini collection
at Rome.
The amount of his labours is inconceivable, considering the constant
sufferings which he is represented to have undergone, from an
almost total destruction of digestion, and habitual sleeplessness,
consequent upon having been poisoned at thirty-two years of age.
The large pictures we have mentioned are but few of those which he
produced, yet no artist was more painstaking. Bellori assures us
that he always prepared two cartoons and two coloured sketches,
drawing exclusively from the life, and made many studies of drapery,
separately perfecting his chiaroscuros from figures repeatedly
modelled by his own hands, ere he transferred them to his paper.
Such conscientious diligence could scarcely have been looked for in
an artist whose works owe little to their outline, and may appear
unnecessary to those who imitate his fusion only as a trick to mask
defective design. This peculiar quality of his colouring was likewise
matter of unwearied application, and he endeavoured to facilitate its
results by an artificial scale, corresponding to notes in music, as a
test for the gradation of his "tuneful" tints.
The merits of Baroccio consist in much variety and novelty of
conception, in skilful management of his lights, and in the dexterous
blending of strongly contrasted tints into a harmonious whole. The
Correggesque tone of his pictures admirably conformed to the soft
and gentle turn of his character; but whilst his design is more
exact, and his foreshortenings are more true, he wants the breadth
of Correggio; though his lights are more silvery and superficially
lucent, his chiaroscuro neither attains to the force nor the depth
of his prototype. The peculiar beauty at which he constantly aimed
degenerates into a deformity; the almost cloying sweetness of his
faces produces in the spectator a surfeit, inducing a desire for
simpler fare. His figures are often deficient in self-possession,
his colouring in verity, his compositions in solidity and repose. In
a word, Baroccio shared the usual fate of eclectic painters, who,
distrusting their own resources, seek to make up a manner from the
combined excellences of their predecessors. Striving to engraft the
grace of the Parmese upon the design of the Roman school, he fell
into a flimsy mannerism, which, in straining after meretricious
charms, departs from dignity and devotional feeling.
The days were nearly over when genius loved to master several
branches of art; and it would have been better had our painter
limited his labours to the palette, and to spirited etchings from
his own compositions. At the command, however, of his sovereign,
he, in 1603, undertook to supply designs for a long-contemplated
statue of Duke Federigo; and Gaye gives us several of his letters
regarding the difficulties of this commission, which baffled him for
six months. His great aim was to retain the peculiar character of the
head, without rendering prominent the unseemly defect in the eye and
nose,--an object hitherto effected by portraying the old warrior only
in profile. He worked chiefly from the bas-relief over the library
door in the palace, and that at the church of S. Giovanni.[224] The
execution of his design was committed to Girolamo Campagna at Venice,
a sculptor of note, who cannot justly be held accountable for this
poor and awkward performance. It was placed, in 1606, on the palace
stairs at Urbino, where it remains.
[Footnote 224: Carteggio, III., pp. 529-35. This medallion is now
removed from the library door to the first landing-place of the
great stair. It may have been by the medallist, Clemente of Urbino,
mentioned in vol. II.]
But for the misfortune of his broken health, Baroccio would have been
as happy as his estimable character deserved. He was fortunate in
his temper, in his extended reputation, in his easy circumstances,
in his multiplied orders, and in his many scholars. His infirmities
prevented him from accepting flattering invitations to the courts of
Austria, Spain, and Tuscany, but the friendship of his own sovereign
never failed him. Having fitted up in his house at Urbino a sort of
exhibition room for his works, it was repeatedly visited by Francesco
Maria, whose Diary not only mentions this, but notes his death and
that of his brother Simone, "an excellent maker of compasses." On the
1st of October, 1612, is this entry: "Federigo Baroccio of Urbino
died, aged seventy-seven, an excellent painter, whose eye and hand
served him as well as in his youth." His real age seems to have
been eighty-four, and there can be no doubt that he retained his
faculties, painting without spectacles, until struck at the last
by apoplexy, a remarkable triumph of mind over protracted bodily
infirmities. Yet the deterioration of his later works, which may
still be seen at Urbino and Pesaro, sadly belies the Duke's tribute
to his green old age. A list of many of those which he executed for
that kind patron will be found in the last number of our Appendix. At
his funeral in S. Francesco, a church standard, painted by himself,
with a Crucifixion, was placed at the foot of his bier: the tablet
inscribed to his memory has been excluded in rebuilding the nave, but
remains in the adjoining corridor.
* * * * *
The popularity of Baroccio, both personally and as a painter,
recruited to his studio many young artists, eager to enter the path
which he had successfully trodden. But the faults of his style were
of a sort which imitation was sure to exaggerate, and the absence of
solid qualities in the master prevented the felicitous development
of such talent as nature had granted to his pupils. We accordingly
search in vain among his many scholars for a single name of eminence;
and we might pass over the _Baroccisti_ without further notice,
but that a considerable proportion of them claim a passing word
as natives of the duchy. ANTONIO VIVIANI, son of a baker
at Urbino, was a favourite of his master, though probably not his
nephew, as supposed by Lanzi. In early life, his productions imitated
those of Baroccio with great success, as may be seen at Fano and
in various parts of the duchy, but on proceeding to Rome his style
rapidly deteriorated. Emulating the flimsy and faulty manner of the
Cavaliere d'Arpino, by which high art was then fatally degraded,
he painted against time in the Vatican and Lateran palaces, as
well as on many altar commissions. These, when compared with other
contemporary trash, obtained a degree of applause which sounder
criticism is compelled to withhold from il Sordo, the nickname by
which their author was generally known. But he sacrificed his art
without improving his fortune; and an old age, passed in poverty, was
closed in disappointment and want. His brother Ludovico, "wicked,
graceless, and disobedient, unworthy the name of son," had from his
father's will five farthings in lieu of his patrimony, and his career
maintained the prestige of this sad outset, both in his character and
works.
ALESSANDRO VITALE, born at Urbino in 1580, so completely caught the
amenity of his instructor's manner, as to be employed during his
advanced years to copy many of his works, which, with a few finishing
touches, passed as originals. ANTONIO CIMATORIO, _alias il Visacci_
or the Ugly, was chiefly employed on festive and scenic decorations,
aided by GIULIO CESARE BEGNI of Pesaro: the latter went afterwards to
Venice, and, devoting himself to better things, left not a few good
pictures in the March of Treviso. GIORGIO PINCHI of Castel Durante,
and ANDREA LILLIO of Ancona, both approached the Baroccesque manner
with considerable success, and shared the labours of il Sordo on
the pontifical frescoes in Rome. Among those who carried the same
style to a distance, may be named ANTONIO ANTONIANO of Urbino, who,
after aiding Baroccio with his great picture of the Crucifixion,
was sent by him with it to Genoa, and there settled. GIOVANNI and
FRANCESCO, two brothers of Urbino, and probably offsets of this
school, emigrated to Spain, and painted in the Escurial, under the
patronage of Philip II. FILIPPO BELLINI, a native of the same city,
though a pupil of Baroccio, adopted a more vigorous manner, but his
works are scarcely met with out of Umbria. To this catalogue it is
enough to add the names of Francesco Baldelli, Lorenzo Vagnarelli,
Ventura Marza, Cesare Maggieri, Bertuzzi, and Porino, all born in
the duchy; and those of Bandiera and the Pellegrini of Perugia, the
Malpiedi of La Marca, and the Cavaliere Francesco Vanni of Siena,
the latter of whom, though not among his scholars, so thoroughly
adopted the peculiarities of Baroccio, as to be perhaps the happiest
of his imitators. TERENZIO TERENZI of Urbino, known by the soubriquet
of Rondinello, earned a dishonourable reputation by his successful
imitations of the older masters, which he passed off as originals;
and having fallen into merited disgrace with his kind patron, the
Cardinal of Montalto, in consequence of pawning upon him one of his
forgeries as a Raffaele, he died of vexation in the first years of
the seventeenth century, aged thirty-five.
* * * * *
CLAUDIO RIDOLFI, though born in Verona in 1560, may be
considered a subject of Urbino. His family was noble, but not rich,
so adopting painting as a profession, he studied its principles under
Paul Veronese, at Venice. But the temptations to idleness which
beset him at home so interfered with success that he resolved to
escape from them. On his way to Rome he stayed some time at Urbino
with Baroccio, in whose glittering style he lost somewhat of the
better manner of his early master. But his journey to the "mother
of arts and arms" was interrupted by more powerful fascinations;
for he married a noble lady of Urbino, and settled at Corinaldo,
some miles above Sinigaglia, attracted by the beauty of its site,
and fain to enjoy, in provincial retirement, exemption from the
jealousies and struggles which often beset artists in a city life,
where tact or fortune are apt to confer a success denied to merit.
Though he returned for a time to his native city, and painted many
excellent works in it, and in the principal towns of the Venetian
state, the charms of Corinaldo and his wife's influence induced him
to spend there the greater part of a long life. He died in 1644,
aged, according to his namesake Carlo Ridolfi, eighty-four, or to
Ticozzi, seventy years. To the glowing tints of the Lombard school he
eventually added the merit of more accurate design; but his principal
excellences were a chastened composition, and a close attention to
the proprieties of costume, as contributing to a proper intelligence
of the subject. A vast number of his productions are scattered over
Umbria and La Marca, and there issued from his studio not a few
pupils of provincial eminence, most of whom tended considerably
towards the Baroccesque manner. Of those belonging to Urbino the most
conspicuous was BENEDETTO MARINI, who, though scarcely known
at home, produced many important works in Lombardy, and excelled in
the management of crowded compositions, such as his immense Miracle
of the Loaves and Fishes, painted at Piacenza in 1625. Patanazzi
and Urbinelli belong to a less distinguished category, and though
Girolamo Cialderi is ranked with them by Lanzi, he seems referable to
a subsequent period.
* * * * *
Gubbio continued in the sixteenth century to maintain a school which,
though acquiring little more than a provincial reputation, was not
without merit. BENEDETTO NUCCI was born there about 1520,
and, imbibing from Raffaelino del Colle certain inspirations of the
golden age, left in his native town many respectable church pictures.
He died in 1587, having seen his son Virgilio escape from his studio
to place himself under Daniel di Volterra at Rome. Among his pupils,
but of ever progressive mediocrity, were FELICE DAMIANO
and CESARE DI GIUSEPPE ANDREOLI, the latter an offset of a
family whose eminence in the art of majolica will be mentioned in our
fifty-fifth chapter.
CHAPTER LIV
Foreign artists patronised by the dukes Della Rovere--The
tomb of Julius II. by Michael Angelo--Character and
influence of his genius--Titian's works for Urbino--Palma
Giovane--Il Semolei--Sculptors at Urbino.
It would occupy a full chapter were we to trace the history of
what Julius II. meant to have been his tomb, from the chisel of
Michael Angelo Buonarroti; yet the subject is too illustrative of
that Pontiff's grandiose spirit, and of the artist's unfulfilled
aspirations, as well as too intimately connected with the ducal
house of Urbino, to be overlooked. The work was commissioned by
Julius himself, who, early in his pontificate, called Buonarroti
from Florence to execute a resting-place for his ashes, which,
in the words of Vasari, should "surpass in beauty and grandeur,
in imposing ornament and elaborate sculpture, all antique and
imperial sepulchres." The vast size and colossal proportions of the
first design were worthy of artist and patron, and cannot be at
all estimated from the curtailed and aimless substitute which now
challenges our criticism. Yet there was exaggeration in the ideas as
well as the forms; the allegories were far-fetched, the adulation
fulsome, and the intention obscure. Such at least is the impression
left by the descriptions of Vasari and Condivi. Without attempting
to reconcile these with the sketch engraved in the Milanese edition
of the former author [1811], it is enough to say that the original
plan was an isolated parallelogram, with about ten statues and seven
caryatides on each façade, and a sarcophagus aloft for the Pope's
body, the estimate for all which seems to have been 10,000 ducats,
augmented by his executors to 16,000. Its destined site was St.
Peter's, and its utter disproportion in style and extent to that
time-worn basilicon appears to have suggested to the indomitable
Pontiff the vast idea of reconstructing the metropolitan church
of Christendom. This more engrossing undertaking absorbed much of
the enterprise and materials destined for the tomb, so the latter
remained unfinished at the death of Julius, who barely survived the
completion of those Sistine frescoes to which he had transferred
the sculptor's reluctant labours. A new and reduced contract having
been made by his executors for its completion, Buonarroti resumed it
with the preference due to a favourite work; but he sought in vain
for leisure to proceed with it on the accession of Leo X., who, by
a strange misapplication of his powers, sent him to work the marble
quarries of Pietra Santa. Indeed, the executors failed to obtain
implement of his undertaking under either of the Medicean popes,
alienated as these were from the della Rovere, and intent upon
otherwise employing the genius of their gifted countryman.
[Illustration: _Alinari_
THE COMMUNION OF THE APOSTLES
_By Giusto di Gand, in the Palazzo Ducale Urbino._ (_From the Ducal
Collection_)]
At length Francesco Maria I. took up the forgotten memorial of his
uncle, whose over-ambition of monumental honours had meanwhile led
to a total oversight of his place of sepulture. As early as 1525,
we find the Duke addressing complaints and threats to Buonarroti,
whom he charged with idleness, after receiving prepayment of his
stipulated price, unaware apparently that he had been overborne by
higher authority, and thus compelled to employ himself on commissions
less germane to his feelings and tastes. A misunderstanding in regard
to the sums so advanced further complicated this unfortunate affair,
which was throughout fraught with disappointment and annoyance to
Michael Angelo. It slept on till 1532, when a further modification
was made of the plan to a single façade whereon six statues
were to be placed; but amid competing calls upon his "fearless and
furious" chisel or pencil, little progress was made in the next ten
years. Irritated by continual exercise of the papal control, such as
his independent spirit could ill brook, fretting at the uncongenial
labours often thrust upon him, and galled by repeated allegations
against his gratitude and his integrity, Buonarroti turned his eyes
to Urbino, as a home where his genius would be appreciated without
sacrificing his freedom of action, and took steps to retire thither
and redeem his pledge to the Duke. But in Paul III. he had a yet more
exacting task-master, from whom there was no escape, and in November,
1541, Cardinal Ascanio Parisani wrote to Duke Guidobaldo that the
Pope having commissioned the sculptor to paint the Last Judgment,
which would occupy his undivided attention during several years, to
the exclusion of the monument, he had to propose, at the instance of
his Holiness, a new arrangement, whereby the statues for its reduced
design, so far as not already finished by Michael Angelo, were
committed to other artists, working upon his models and under his
eye. Yielding gracefully to the necessity of the case, the Duke wrote
the following letter.[225]
[Footnote 225: There is a copy of it in the Magliabechiana Library,
class viii., No. 1392, to which Gaye has from other sources supplied
the date of 6th March, 1542. Carteggio, II., 289-309. From him,
Ciampi, Vasari, and Condivi, we have condensed the very confused
details respecting the monument of Julius which have come down to us.]
"Most excellent Messer Michelangiolo,
"His Holiness having deigned to [inform] me of his urgent
desire to avail himself for some time of your labours,
in painting and decorating the new chapel he is making
in the Apostolic Palace, and I, esteeming and gratefully
acknowledging all service and satisfaction given to his
holiness as bestowed on myself, in order that you may
more freely give your mind to that matter, am perfectly
content that you place on the tomb of my uncle of blessed
memory, Pope Julius, those three statues already terminated
entirely by your hand, the Moses included. And in order,
as nearly as possible, to perfect the whole in terms of
our last stipulations, which, as I am informed, you are
anxious and ready to do, [I consent] that you commit the
execution of the other three statues to some good and
esteemed master, but after your own designs and under your
superintendence; relying confidently, from your good-will
to his sacred memory and to my house, that you will bring
the work to a satisfactory issue, and so contrive that it
shall be deemed most laudable, and in all respects worthy
of you. Such a result will fully satisfy me; and I again
beseech you to see to this, as conferring on me a special
obligation; offering myself at all times [ready] for all
your commands and pleasure."
Under this final alteration of his contract, Michael Angelo forthwith
assigned to Raffaele da Montelupo the execution of his designs for
a Madonna with a Child in her arms, and for a prophet and a sibyl
seated, at the price of 400 scudi; employing at the same time two
decorative stonecutters upon the ornamental details of the façade,
at a cost of 800 more. The statues from his own hand were to be
Moses, and two caryatides holding captives, who had been introduced
into the first plan, as allegorical of the cities in Romagna subdued
by Julius. But, finding these too large for the reduced design, he
proposed to substitute for them two other figures from his chisel,
already far advanced, and which he would entrust to be finished by
others at a cost of 200 scudi, his Moses being destined to stand
between them. All this is stated by him in a petition to the Pope
of 20th July, 1542. The two substituted statues were finished by
Buonarroti, and, in the documents printed by Gaye, are named
by him Active and Contemplative Life. This, however, is a free
interpretation of the allegory, the figures being, according to
Vasari, Leah and Rachel. The recumbent Pope was the wretched work of
one Maso di Bosco or Boscoli; and the prophet and sibyl by Montelupo
are said to have greatly dissatisfied Michael Angelo. The two
rejected caryatide prisoners found their way to Paris in the time
of Francis I., and remain in the Louvre; another similar is in the
great hall of the Palazzo Vecchio, at Florence; and some grandiose,
half-blocked ideas, still to be seen here and there, whose rough
power identifies them with Michael Angelo, may have belonged to his
original plan. About the beginning of 1545, forty years after it had
been undertaken, the work was placed in the Church of S. Pietro in
Vincoli, of which Julius had been Cardinal-presbyter. Though meant
as his tomb, it is but his monument; for the bones of that imperious
high priest have found a fitter resting-place in the grandest of
Christian fanes, his own creation, and best memorial. Few works of
art have occasioned greater variety of opinion. In his Lectures,
Fuseli has exposed several of his defects, and the impression it most
frequently leaves upon the spectator is thus aptly expressed by him
in an Italian letter to the translator of Webb on the Beautiful:--
"In the Moses, Michael Angelo has sacrificed beauty to anatomical
science, and to his favourite passion for the terrible and the
gigantic. If it be true that he looked at the arm of the famous
Ludovisi satyr, he probably, also, studied the head, in order to
transfer its character to the Moses, since both of them resemble that
of an old he-goat. There is, notwithstanding, in the figure a quality
of monstrous grandeur which cannot be denied to Buonarroti, and
which, like a thunder-storm, presaged the bright days of Raffaele."
This monument must ever be regarded as but the epitome of a grand
design, curtailed without scale or measurement, deformed by colossal
portions from the original in combination with dwarfish details of
its pigmy substitute, marred by incomplete allegories, and eked
out by supposititious figures. Yet few will leave the spot without
another glance at the tremendous Moses, nor will any connoisseur
avert his gaze until the awful majesty of that one statue has
eclipsed the petty incongruities of its location. It is among those
rare creations of man's mind which, rising above the standard
of human forms and human sympathies, demand a loftier test. The
pervading sentiment alone challenges our intellectual regard, and
bespeaks our verdict; yet with playful prodigality, the artist has
lavished an ivory finish upon its details, without detracting from
the sublime character of the irate lawgiver.[226]
[Footnote 226: A favourite workman of Buonarroti, often met with
under the patronymic Urbino, was Francesco Amadori di Colonello, of
Castel Durante, who lived with him from 1530 to 1536. See GUALANDI,
_Nuovo Raccolta di Lettere sulla Pittura_, I., 48-52.]
* * * * *
Although this work is the only link directly connecting Michael
Angelo with the ducal house of Urbino, we may be allowed a passing
tribute to that genius which has hammered huge rocks into colossal
compositions, and embodied themes the most difficult in forms the
most daring. Of the simple element of beauty we, indeed, find in him
few traces. Gentleness and pathos had no place either in his wayward
spirit or in his works.[*227] Discarding the beau-ideal aimed at
in antique sculpture, where movement was restrained by the observance
of form, and passion modified to the measure of fair proportion, he
either startled by impossible postures, gnarled limbs, and sturdy
deformity, or, in the words of Fuseli, "perplexed the limbs of
grandeur with the minute ramifications of anatomy." Hence, when tried
by the rules of art, many of his creations are found wanting; when
submitted to the standard of pure taste, their faults become glaring.
In straining to shake off the trammels of manner, he often fell into
mannerism the most infelicitous; and the impression too commonly left
on the spectator is that of energy wasted and talent misapplied. But
his mind was of that lofty cast which, soaring above common themes,
and spurning conventional restrictions, substituted power for beauty,
and challenged our wonder rather than our approbation. Awed by the
sublimity of his ideas, we overlook their inadequate development,
until, descending to details, we impugn the unfinished sketch, and
half-chiselled marble, painfully reminded that superhuman gifts are
often marred by very ordinary weaknesses.
[Footnote *227: No? Consider then the Pietà of S. Pietro in Vaticano,
the unfinished Pietà of S. Maria del Fiore. All that Dennistoun says
of Michelangelo is full of misunderstanding. For instance, he never
"startles" though he may terrify one. It would be ridiculous to
defend him. His work is beautiful, with the beauty of the mountains
in which he alone has found the spirit of man. His figures, half
unveiled from the living rock, are like some terrible indictment
of the world he lived in: an indictment of himself too, perhaps,
of his contempt for things as they are; it is in a sort of rage at
its uselessness that he leaves them unfinished. In him the spirit
of man has stammered the syllables of eternity, and in its agony
of longing or sorrow has failed to speak only the word love. All
things particular to the individual, all that is small or of little
account, that endures but for a moment, he has purged away, so
that life itself may make, as it were, an immortal gesticulation
almost monstrous in its passionate intensity--a shadow seen on the
mountains, a mirage on the snow.]
[Illustration: _Anderson_
GIOVANNI AND FEDERICO, ELECTORS OF SAXONY
_After the Portraits by Cranach, once in the Ducal Collection at
Urbino, now in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence_]
No one, perhaps, fully aware of Michael Angelo's celebrity, ever
looked for the first time upon one of his principal works without
a shade of disappointment. Inventions appealing to the intellect
without sympathy from the feelings,--attitudes struggling with
difficulty rather than aiming at elegance,--muscular masses, rugged
as the blocks from which they are rudely hewn; such things surpass
the comprehension of superficial observers, and disenchant common
minds. Yet there is a spell around all of them which arrests the most
careless, and recalls the most disappointed, and the longer they
are examined, especially by persons of cultivated understanding,
the more certain will be the final tribute to their transcendent
qualities, the more unreserved the avowal that their author stands
out among the foremost geniuses whom the world has seen. Feebleness
or insipidity had no place in his conceptions, and no individual
ever left the impress of his vigorous mind upon so many various
arts. He was a poet of no mean pretensions. His architecture is as
successful as bold. It is difficult to say whether his frescoes
or his sculptures are the more admirable. Even his oil paintings
are worthy of more notice than they have met with; and, the few
ascertained specimens display a mastery of finish little to be looked
for from their wayward and impetuous author, and develop in their
execution, as well as in their design, an extraordinary pictorial
science. The trite assertion that he never painted but three easel
pictures seems fully negatived by the mechanical perfection which,
notwithstanding a certain languor of colouring and flatness of
surface, these exhibit, and which must have been gained by extensive
practice. In his house, even a miniature on parchment is shown as
his work; and not a few tiny productions in bronze and ivory bear
the stamp of his invention, if not of his hand. These were probably
labours of those early days when, with equal verity and shrewdness
the Gonfaloniere Soderini recommended him to the Roman court as "a
fine young man, unequalled in his art throughout Italy, or perhaps
the world. He will do anything for good words and caresses; indeed,
he must be treated with affection and favour, in which case he will
perform things to astonish all beholders."[228] In the sacristy of
S. Lorenzo, at Florence, these anticipations were amply realised on
the monuments of two of the Medici, with whom an earlier portion of
these pages has made us acquainted. These works were, however, no
labour of love to the sculptor, whose sympathies had been alien to
that race from the days when Pietro ceased to walk in the ways of
his fathers. Accordingly, their greatest fault is, that the artist
absorbs our interest almost to the exclusion of the personages
commemorated, to whom the allegorical compositions appear to have
no reference. It is, indeed, only their portraits that recall the
purpose of the monuments. That of the elegant and gentle Giuliano
awakens no association that might not be suggested by the statue
of some nameless warrior of the classic age. More appropriate is
the bearing of Lorenzo, the usurper of Urbino. The stern gloom that
broods over his casque, and shadows his repulsive features, scowling
upon the world from whose sympathies he seems a voluntary alien,
is an enduring index of his unamiable character. But it is in the
Sistine chapel that Buonarroti sits pre-eminent. Who that stands
beneath its grand frescoes can doubt the daring, the originality, and
grasp of his genius, who triumphantly called into existence forms and
movements before which ordinary minds shrink into pigmy dimensions?
Yet, who that observes the rapid decline of the Michael-Angelesque
school into mannered contortion and extravagant caricature, can
question its mischievous influence, or the danger of opening up
such fields to uninspired labourers? On both sides of the Alps, its
followers or imitators, mistaking extravagance for energy, manner
for power, and servilely substituting exceptional attitudes for the
sublimity of nature and the dignity of repose, have copied his design
without imbibing his spirit, and have embodied feeble conceptions in
preposterous forms.
[Footnote 228: See Gaye, _Carteggio_, II., 83-109, sub anno 1506.]
Freely have we spoken of a name to whom all honour is due, whose
failings may be noted as a warning, without diminishing our respect
for his manifold attainments. Our readers may appreciate his success
as a poet through Mr. Glassford's felicitous version of a sonnet
worthy the noblest of art's disciples.[*229]
[Footnote *229: Cf. J.A. SYMONDS, _The Sonnets of Michelangelo_.]
"Now my fair bark through life's tempestuous flood
Is steered, and full in view that port is seen,
Where all must answer what their course has been,
And every work be tried, if bad or good.
Now do those lofty dreams, my fancy's brood,
Which made of ART an idol and a queen,
Melt into air; and now I feel, how keen!
That what I needed most I most withstood.
Ye fabled joys, ye tales of empty love,
What are ye now, if twofold death be nigh?
The first is certain, and the last I dread.
Ah! what does Sculpture, what does Painting prove,
When we have seen the Cross, and fixed our eye
On Him whose arms of love were there outspread!"
The home patronage of the della Rovere dukes was, however, by no
means limited to their subjects, and TITIAN[*230] enjoyed
high favour from the first two sovereigns of that dynasty. The
coronation of Charles V., in 1532, having attracted to Bologna a
concourse of distinguished persons, Titian, then in his fifty-fifth
year, was honoured by an imperial invitation to join the throng. The
monarch, himself reputed no mean craftsman, delighted to pass what
time he could snatch from business, in conversing with the painter,
and observing his progress, till one day, having picked up a fallen
pencil, he returned it, saying, "Titian deserves to be waited on by
an Emperor." The Duke of Urbino, who may have known the Venetian
in his native city, was among the sovereigns and cardinals whose
commissions on that occasion contended for preference, and but a
short time, probably, elapsed ere his own and his consort's portraits
were produced,[*231] although Vasari and Ridolfi have erroneously
fixed their date in 1543, five years after Francesco Maria's death.
[Footnote *230: For Titian, consult GRONAU, _Titian_ (Duckworth,
1904). By far the best handbook on the painter.]
[Footnote *231: As before stated, the first works that Titian painted
for Francesco Maria were a portrait of Hannibal, a Nativity, a figure
of our Lord. The Duke writes him concerning them in 1533 as follows
(cf. GRONAU, _op. cit._, p. 91):--
"Dearest Friend,--
"You know through our envoy how much we wish for pictures
... and the longer we have to wait the more eager we are to
have them ... and so we beg you to satisfy us as soon as
possible. Finish at least one of the pictures, that we may
rejoice in something by your hand."
The portraits were begun in 1536, in which year (October) Aretino
wrote a sonnet on that of the Duke. They were finished early in 1538.
Of the earlier pictures, the figure of Christ is probably that in the
Pitti Gallery (228); the others apparently have perished.
In 1536 the Duke wrote again asking for a _Resurrection_ for the
Duchess, and begging Titian to finish the "picture of a woman in a
blue dress as beautifully as possible." This latter is probably the
_Bella_ of the Pitti Gallery (18), which some have thought to be
Eleonora Gonzaga, Francesco Maria's wife. She was then forty-three
years old, and her portrait was painted at this time by the same
master (Uffizi, 599) as a companion for that of the Duke (Uffizi,
605).
Duke Guidobaldo, while yet but Duke of Camerino, had sat to Titian,
and had bought from him the picture of a "Nude Woman" (GRONAU, _op.
cit._, p. 95). In March, 1538, he sent a messenger to Venice, who
was instructed not to leave the city without them. He got one, but
the other had not been delivered in May of that year. The Duke wrote
to him to beware lest it passed elsewhere, "for I am resolved to
mortgage a part of my property if I cannot obtain it in any other
way." This picture was probably the _Venus_ of the Tribune (Uffizi,
1117) who is so like the _Bella_. Now if we are right in supposing
the pictures alluded to in the letters--the lady in the blue dress
and the nude woman--are the pictures we know (which came from
Urbino), it seems obvious that they cannot have been portraits of the
Duchess. And, again, we have the Duchess's portrait painted at this
time, in which we see a woman of forty-three, which was in truth her
age.
In June, 1539, Guidobaldo, Duke of Urbino now, received three
portraits, of the Emperor, the King of France, and the Turkish
Sultan, from Titian. Vasari speaks of them, but they have been lost.
In 1542-44 he painted a banner for the Brotherhood of Corpus Domini
at Urbino--the Resurrection and the Last Supper. The pictures were
shortly afterwards framed, and are now in the Urbino Gallery (10).
Then in November, 1546, Duchess Giulia Varana of Urbino writes
impatiently to Titian, sending at the same time some sleeves he had
asked for, and hoping that he will not delay longer to finish "our
portraits" (GRONAU, _op. cit._, p. 99). And letters of Aretino in
1545 confirm the fact that Titian was painting portraits of the Duke
and Duchess. Then in February, 1547, one of the courtiers of Urbino
sent Titian a dress of the Duchess, adding that "a handsomer one
would have been sent if he had not wished for one of crimson or pink
velvet"; a damask one was sent of the desired colour. The portrait by
Titian in the State Apartments of the Pitti Palace, discovered only a
few years ago, is said to be of Catherine de' Medici, by Tintoretto.
It is, however, certainly Titian's (GRONAU, _op. cit._, p. 100),
and is probably the missing portrait of the Duchess Giulia. It is
unfinished, and the dress is of rose colour. It is one of his finest
portraits.
There were two portraits at least of Guidobaldo by Titian, one
of 1538 and one of 1545; one of these is said to have been in
Florence in the seventeenth century. Gronau suggests that the "Young
Englishman" of the Pitti Gallery (92), the finest portrait even
Titian ever painted, may be one of them. But I cannot persuade myself
that that figure is other than English. Yet if it be, it might well
companion the Bella.
In 1545 Titian, on his way to Rome, travelled by Ferrara and Pesaro,
where Guidobaldo, who had accompanied him, entertained him and made
him many presents, sending a company of horse with him to Rome. There
follows an interval of twenty years, in which their friendship seems
not altogether to have been forgotten. Then between 1564 and 1567
Titian painted several pictures for Guidobaldo, among them a "Christ"
and a "Madonna"; in 1573 he apparently had another commission. It is
impossible to say what these pictures may have been.]
[Illustration: _Anderson_
LA BELLA
_After the picture by Titian in the Pitti Gallery. Florence. Supposed
portrait of Duchess Leonora_]
Few of Titian's likenesses have been more lauded than the Duke's,
both as regards truth and execution; but we shall quote only the
testimony of Aretino, who knew well the painter and his subject.
"In gazing upon it, I called Nature to witness, making her confess
that Art was positively metamorphosed into herself; and to this,
each wrinkle, each hair, each spot bears testimony, whilst the
colouring not only exhibits vigour of person, but displays manliness
of mind. The vermilion hue of that velvet drapery behind him is
reflected in the lustrous armour he wears. How fine the effect of his
casquet-plumes, reproduced on the burnished cuirass of the mighty
general! Even his batons of command are perfect nature, chiefly that
of his own adventure, thus budding on the faith of his renown, which
began to shed its glories in the war which humbled his private foe.
Who would assert that the truncheons confided to him by the Church,
Venice, and Florence, were not of silver?"[232] In Aretino's letter
were enclosed two sonnets on the portrait and its companion; they
will be found in the Appendix, No. XI., together with one in which
Bernardo Tasso appeals to Titian for a likeness of his lady-love.
Aretino's lines regarding the Duke may be thus literally rendered:--
"Fear on the crowd from either eyebrow falls;
Fire in his glance, and pride upon his front,
The spacious seat of honour and resolve.
Beneath that bust of steel, with arm prepared,
Burns valour, prompt all peril to repel,
From sacred Italy, that on his worth relies."
[Footnote 232: The style of Aretino was often rugged, wayward, and
unintelligible, like his character. He seems to imagine that, of the
three batons placed behind the Duke, one, bearing acorns and oak
leaves, alludes to his successful campaigns on his own account, for
recovery of his states. _Lettere Pittoriche_, I., App. No. 29. The
force of colour peculiar to this, above all Titian's works, cannot be
fully given by the burin, especially not by the _mezza macchia_ style
in which it has been engraved for this volume. Our frontispiece,
though accurate as a likeness, is accordingly among the least
effective illustrations in our work. No other original portrait of
the Duke has fallen under my observation; and if the slight youthful
figure introduced by Raffaele into the Disputa and School of Athens
really was meant for him, no resemblance can be traced in it.]
[Illustration: _Anderson_
THE VENUS OF URBINO
_Supposed portrait of the Duchess Leonora, after the picture by
Titian in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence. Once in the Ducal Collection_]
The other sonnet, descriptive of Leonora's likeness, alludes to
the master's harmonious tints as figuring varied charms met in her
character, such as humility of disposition, decorum in dress and
manners, sustained by a dignified expression. In her features, beauty
united with modesty, a rare combination; and grace was enthroned on
her eyebrows. Prudence presided over her becoming silence, and other
excellent qualities marvellously adorned her forehead. Nor are these
praises exaggerated. Those who attentively observe this portrait in
the Uffizi Gallery will readily acknowledge that, although, perhaps,
more elaborated in its details than any other from the master's hand,
his pencil never attained greater breadth, nor embodied high art in
more severe character.[233]
[Footnote 233: The _zebellino_ on the Duchess's knee was the
fashionable bag or reticule of that day, made of an entire
sable-skin, the animal's head, richly jewelled, forming its clasp.
Giulia della Rovere d'Este commissioned such a one from a jeweller at
Bologna in 1555, and paid him forty-six dollars to account.]
The connection thus formed by Titian with the house of Urbino was
maintained after the accession of Duke Guidobaldo, through whom Paul
III. invited him to Bologna in 1543, where he painted that Pontiff
with his wonted success. About the same time the Duke commissioned
from him a likeness of himself, which was finished two years later.
The misfortune sustained by its disappearance may be appreciated
from the words of Aretino, who, writing to Guidobaldo, says, "For he
has so embodied in his colours the very air you breathe, that in the
same attitude as you at this instant appear to others at Vicenza, we
now behold you in Venice, where we circle, bow, and pay court to you,
just as do your suite who are in waiting upon you there." Vecellio
lived among men whose talents, and fame, and forms, and dress
deserved commemoration; and to such he did justice, for painter and
sitters were worthy of each other, conferring a mutual and enduring
illustration. His pencil, and those of his followers, were singularly
happy in preserving individual character, although wanting in
ideality and intense expression. But their great excellence displayed
itself in the representation of voluptuous scenes, adapted alike to
their glowing tints and the taste of their countrymen.
In 1545, Titian repaired to Rome, at the request of Cardinal
Alessandro Farnese, visiting Urbino[*234] on the way, and receiving
several commissions which he could not stay to execute. Setting
forward on his journey, he was conducted by Guidobaldo in person to
Pesaro, and thence by an escort to Rome. The impression left upon
the painter in this passage is thus described to the Duke, by his
friend Aretino:--"Titian writes me, 'Worship the Lord Guidobaldo,
gossip!--worship him, I say, gossip! for no princely bounty
can compare with his.' And these exclamations are his grateful
acknowledgment of the mounted escort of seven attendants which your
Excellency provided for him, with good company, and all paid; over
and above the ease wherewith, amid caresses, honours, and gifts, you
made him feel quite at home. I was, indeed, melted by the account he
gave me of your marvellous efforts to benefit, honour, and welcome
him." We have, to the like purpose, the less exceptionable testimony
of Bembo, who, on the 10th of October, wrote to Girolamo Querini: "I
must add that your old friend Maestro Tiziano is here, who represents
himself as much beholden to you.... The Lord Duke of Urbino has
treated him with exceeding kindness, retaining him about his person,
and bringing him as far as Pesaro, and thence forwarding him thither,
well mounted and attended, for all which he acknowledges himself
under great obligations."
[Footnote *234: Apparently he only went to Pesaro. Cf. note *2, p.
390.]
[Illustration: _Anderson_
SLEEPING VENUS
_After the picture by Giorgione in the Dresden Gallery, after which
the Venus of Urbino was painted_]
Vasari mentions, as executed by Titian for the court of Urbino,
portraits of Popes Sixtus IV., Julius II., and Paul III.; of Charles
V., Francis I., Sultan Solyman, and the Cardinal of Lorraine. I
have not succeeded in tracing any of these with certainty, but two
half-lengths of beautiful women, added to the list by Ticozzi, may
probably be the Flora[*235] now in the Uffizi Gallery, and the Bella
in the Pitti Palace: their features exhibit considerable analogy
with each other, and with the former of two pictures we are now
to describe. In the last number of the Appendix we shall rectify
various errors regarding Titian's two celebrated Venuses in the
Tribune at Florence. One of them, painted for Guidobaldo II., has
no proper right to that title, being correctly called in the old
Urbino inventories, "a naked woman lying." She is stretched at full
length along a bed, on which is a linen sheet, with a green curtain
above. A tiny spaniel crouches at her feet, and two waiting-maids
are searching in a chest near an open balcony, for garments
wherewith to veil her all-exposed charms. The languor of her eye,
the listless attitudes into which her limbs have dropped, personify
voluptuousness, and express a mind quietly gloating over the past. A
certain harmony and warmth of tone, fused throughout the vast surface
of delicate flesh-tints and snowy linen, over which broad daylight
streams without shadow, are worthy of our highest admiration; and the
relief given to the figure, with little aid from the chiaroscuro, is
probably unrivalled. The companion picture, which was not, however,
executed for Urbino, represents an equally nude figure on a couch
of purple damask, near a balcony opening upon a distant landscape.
The boy of love, archly toying upon her bosom, decides the subject
to be Venus; and her glowing eye-ball expresses the ardour that
thrills through her veins. The full and solid flesh is true to those
developed forms which, still characterising the women about Treviso,
formed the standard of female perfection in Titian's studio; and
although the skill with which they undulate, softened by chiaroscuro,
demands all praise, there may yet be some who, dissenting from such
an ideal of beauty, wish this mortal mould had been refined into the
symmetry of that "perfect goddess-ship" which close by "loves in
stone." Having thus noticed these nudities, it may be well to add,
that the shameless Aretino, while boasting of his own unrestrained
debaucheries, bears testimony to the purity of Titian's morals, and
the habitual control under which his passions were maintained.
[Footnote *235: It seems unlikely that the _Flora_ was ever in
Urbino. At any rate, in the seventeenth century it was in the
collection of the Spanish ambassador at Amsterdam (cf. GRONAU, _op.
cit._, p. 289).]
As an antidote, perhaps, to so sensual a production, Titian sent
to Urbino, with his Venus, a picture offering the utmost contrast
in sentiment and artistic treatment. It was the first of those
Magdalens,[*236] frequently repeated by him with slight variations,
of whom not a few school copies may be seen passing for originals.
Ridolfi tells us that he caught the idea from an antique sculpture,
transforming it into a penitent daughter of sin. Yet he has treated
it according to those ideas of female beauty which it was the
peculiar province of the Venetian school to develop, and which in
Italy have passed into the proverbial phrase of _un bel pezzo di
carne_, meaning a buxom dame. To borrow the words of Ticozzi, "he
has represented a noble lady, who, while yet in her prime, had
abandoned the delights and delicacies of her station. With due regard
to her past position, he has lavished upon her the beauties of form
and complexion; her repentance he has characterised with the most
devoted expression of which art is capable." The ascetic sentiment
prevailing in this work is well adapted to the sympathies of the
Roman Church, among whose followers it has ever been more a favourite
than with Protestant amateurs.
[Footnote *236: Pitti Gallery, No. 67. We know nothing of this
picture save that it must have been painted about 1530-35, and that
Vasari saw it in the Guardaroba of the Palace of Urbino.]
[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF HIS WIFE, BY LUCAS CRANACH
_From the picture in the Roscoe Collection, Liverpool. Possibly
modelled on the Venus of Urbino_]
Our notice of Titian in connection with the court of Urbino, may be
closed by a letter, which, in the servile phrase of this century,
ventures thus to dun Guidobaldo for payment of a picture sent him
five months before:--
"To the most illustrious and most excellent Lord, the Lord
Duke of Urbino.
"Most illustrious and most excellent Lord,
"Very many days have now passed since your most illustrious
Excellency desired that I should be advised how your
[servant] Agatone ought to have remunerated me for the
picture which I sent to your most illustrious Excellency.
Which he not having done, although six months are nearly
elapsed since the 10th of March, but having only put me off
with words, I have chosen to take the step of informing
your illustrious Excellency by these lines, that your
boundless liberality may aid my necessity, though I admit
that I may thereby appear wanting in modesty. I know
that your illustrious Excellency, occupied by important
affairs, cannot have your mind distracted by such trifles,
yet I consider it my duty respectfully to let you know my
difficulty; and beseeching you to retain me in your wonted
favour, I humbly kiss your most distinguished hands. From
Venice, the 27th of October, 1567. Your most illustrious
Excellency's most humble servant,
"TITIANO VECELLIO."
In one of his visits to Venice, about 1559, Guidobaldo, chancing to
enter a church of the Crociferi, where a youth was engaged in copying
the St. Laurence of Titian, he entered into conversation with him,
and subsequently returned more than once to observe his progress.
On one of these occasions, while the Duke was hearing mass at a
neighbouring altar, the young artist seized the opportunity to sketch
his likeness, which was shown him by an attendant. Pleased with its
success, and with the painter's manners, he invited him to enter his
service. The object of this casual patronage proved not unworthy of
it. He was JACOPO PALMA the younger, a name already known to art;
for his grandfather, who bore it, had distinguished himself among
the scholars of Giorgione and Titian; and his aunt, Violante, was
mistress and favourite model of the latter. Palma Giovane, then in
his sixteenth year, accompanied the Duke to Pesaro, where he employed
his pencil in copying works of Raffaele and Titian. The only anecdote
preserved of his residence in the court of Urbino proves that he
continued to enjoy his patron's favour; for, in a dispute with the
house-steward as to his luncheon, the latter was ordered to treat
the youth with more consideration. In order to obtain for him every
advantage, the Duke sent him to the charge of his brother, Cardinal
della Rovere, at Rome. After there diligently studying antique
marbles, with the works of Michael Angelo and those of Polidoro di
Caravaggio, Palma, at twenty-four, returned to Venice. On his way,
he paid a visit of thanks to Guidobaldo, and by his works removed
certain unfavourable impressions made by unfriendly detractors in
his absence. Of those which he may have executed for this court, no
account has reached us, beyond a notice that Francesco Maria II.
paid him, at Venice, 1591, 86 scudi for a Madonna and a St. Francis,
which do not, however, appear in the wardrobe inventories. He painted
for the metropolitan cathedral at Urbino the Discovery of the Holy
Cross, a picture praised by Lanzi beyond its merits; and for Pesaro,
a S. Ubaldo, and the Annunciation.
Another Venetian, patronised by Guidobaldo, was GIANBATTISTA
FRANCO, surnamed _il Semolei_, who was brought to Urbino on
a recommendation of Girolamo Genga, in order to paint the choir
of the cathedral. He there treated the favourite Umbrian theme of
the Coronation of the Madonna in a manner utterly at variance with
the old feeling, taking as his prototype the Judgment of Michael
Angelo, of whom he was a devoted and assiduous imitator. This work
having been destroyed by the fall of the roof in 1789, we shall
content ourselves with the description of Vasari, who had seen it,
and whose leaning must have been favourable to a work produced under
such influence. "And so, in imitation of Buonarroti's Judgment, he
represented in the sky the glorification of the saints, scattered on
clouds over the roof, with a whole choir of angels around our Lady,
in the act of ascending to heaven, where Christ waited to crown her,
whilst a number of patriarchs, prophets, sibyls, apostles, martyrs,
confessors, and maidens, in varied groups and attitudes, manifested
their joy at the arrival of the glorious Virgin. This subject might
have afforded to Battista an excellent opportunity of proving his
ability, had he adopted a better plan, not only in the practical
management of his fresco, but in conducting his entire theme with
more judicious arrangement. But in this work he fell into his usual
system, constantly repeating the same faces, figures, draperies, and
extremities. The colouring was likewise utterly destitute of beauty,
and everything was strained and puny. Hence the work, when finished,
greatly disappointed the Duke, Genga, and every one, much having been
expected from his known capacity for design." Several easel pictures
of his, in the sacristy of the Duomo, are weak in composition and
poor in colour; but one of St. Peter and St. Paul, before the Madonna
and Child, is an exceedingly grandiose production, in the Buonarroti
style. We shall have further occasion to speak of this artist in
our next chapter. He was born about 1498, and lived to the age of
sixty-three; but aware of his deficiencies as a painter, he betook
himself in a great measure to engraving, for which his accuracy as a
draftsman well qualified him.
* * * * *
In absence of native sculptors of eminence, the plastic art never
was much cherished in our duchy, and few commissions were given,
except for decorative or monumental purposes. The festive arches
on Duchess Vittoria's marriage were probably designed by Tiziano
Aspetti, a bronzist of Upper Italy. Her husband having acquired a
Leda by Bartolomeo Ammanati of Florence, he was called to Urbino, to
construct a memorial for Francesco Maria I. It does not, however,
appear to have been successful, and being quite disproportioned to
the little octangular church of Sta. Chiara, of which it occupied the
centre, it was removed after the Devolution, and probably destroyed.
SEBASTIANO BECIVENNI of Mercatello, was celebrated as a
decorative sculptor, and his dexterity is attested by two pulpits
in the duomo at Arezzo, dated 1563. In 1581, Francesco Maria II.
commissioned two small statues from John of Bologna, and in the
following year his minister at Rome wrote, proposing to send him a
miniature painter from thence, at a monthly salary of ten golden
scudi, besides board and travelling expenses. Late in life, he had
his own and his father's portraits executed in mosaic by Luigi
Gaetano at Venice. The statue of Duke Federigo, which we have already
mentioned as modelled by Baroccio, was executed for this Duke by
Girolamo Campagna of Venice, and one of his grandfather, attired
as a Roman warrior, leaning on his baton of command, and resting
upon a stump, was the work of Giovanni Bandini of Florence, an
eminent scholar of Bandinelli. After his sovereignty had virtually
passed from the bereaved Duke, he disposed of this memorial of its
brighter days in a touching letter to the Doge of Venice, which
finely illustrates the resignation beautifully exemplified in all the
correspondence of his latter years:--
"Most serene Prince,
"My grandfather, the Lord Duke Francesco Maria, was during
life honoured by your serene state with such high authority
and dignities, that, even after his decease, its esteem
and favour have ever been specially exhibited towards
his posterity and race; in these, now about to close in
my person, your Highness will lose a line of supporters
whose services are well known to you. Yet, being unwilling
that these good offices should pass entirely from memory,
I have resolved to present to the serene Republic and
your Highness, the statue which I erected in testimony of
dutiful respect to my said grandfather; for nowhere can
it be more fittingly placed than in your renowned city.
I therefore herewith send it to you, and with the more
pleasure from knowing that your state will gladly receive
the portrait of one who so faithfully served it, and who,
though no longer able to do so directly, will, virtually
and by example, demonstrate how your Republic ought to
be served. It will, at all events, afford irrefragable
evidence of his attachment to that cause for which he would
have desired longer life, and will prove a sure token of
my unbounded devotion to your Highness, which, indeed, I
cannot more fittingly demonstrate: beseeching, however,
that your Highness will regard this act as a solemn
testimony of the old and continued love of my house for
your distinguished state, which God preserve as long as my
unbounded wishes; and so I kiss your Highness's hands with
devoted affection.
"Your Highness's most devoted son and servant,
"FRANCESCO MARIA DELLA ROVERE, DUKE.[237]
"From Castel Durante, this ..., 1625."
[Footnote 237: _Carteggio d'Artisti_, vol. III., 540.]
The statue now stands in the court of the Doge's ducal palace, thus
inscribed: "To Francesco Maria I., Duke of Urbino, leader of the
armies of this Republic; erected at Pesaro, and recommended to the
affectionate care of Venice by Francesco Maria II., when bereaved of
progeny." The original inscription ran thus: "To Francesco Maria,
an eminent general, leader of the armies of the holy Romish Church,
the Florentine republic, the Venetian state, and the princes of the
League against the Turks, and of his own troops; the conqueror,
subduer, and sustainer of potentates at home and abroad; his
grandson, Duke Francesco Maria II. had this erected."
CHAPTER LV
Of the manufacture of majolica in the Duchy of Urbino.
The influence of beauty upon arts usually considered as mechanical,
and the exercise of creative talent upon substances of a common or
trifling character, are equally proofs of a pervading refinement.
It was accordingly a striking feature of Italy in her golden days,
that nearly every sort of handiwork felt that influence, and in
its turn served to maintain public taste at an elevated standard.
To uncultivated or unobservant minds it may seem ridiculous to
appreciate the state of high art in a country from the forms of
culinary utensils, the colouring of plates, or the carving of a
peach-stone; yet the elegance of Etruscan civilisation is nowhere
more manifest than in household bronzes; the majolica of Urbino
has preserved the designs and the feeling of Raffaele; the genius
of Cellini did not spurn the most homely materials. The architects
of the Revival were often sculptors; its engineers constructed
clocks; while painters then exercised the crafts of jewellery
and wood-gilding, or lent their pencils to beautify the potter's
handiwork. Our undertaking would accordingly be incomplete without
some notice of majolica, or decorative pottery, which under the
patronage of her princes brought fame and wealth to the duchy of
Urbino.[238]
[Footnote 238: We have had frequent occasion to notice the
encouragement given at Urbino to the exact sciences, and the
consequent success of those arts most depending upon them. Thus
the Baroccio family were celebrated for the accuracy of their
mathematical instruments and timepieces, while watchmaking attracted
great attention from all the della Rovere dukes. Their family
portraits very generally exhibit a table-clock of some eccentric
form, and their gifts to princes and royal personages were often
chronometers made in their state. One of these, sent to Pius V.,
exhibited the planetary movements and other complex revolutions of
the solar system; another, worn by his Holiness in a ring, marked
the hours by gently pricking his finger. In 1535, Francesco Maria I.
presented to Charles V., at Naples, a ring wherein a watch struck
the hours; and many similar notices occur in the correspondence of
his grandson, the last Duke. Guidobaldo II. was especially fond of
such mechanical curiosities. Having received from one Giovan Giorgio
Capobianco of Vicenza, the Praxiteles of tiny chiselling, a ring
which held a watch, whereupon were engraved the signs of the zodiac,
with a figure that pointed to and struck the hours--he interfered to
save the artist's life, when condemned to death for an assassination
at Venice. In gratitude for this favour, the latter made for the
Duchess a silver chessboard contained in a cherry-stone; nor should
we omit to add that he displayed the same ingenuity on a wider field
as an architect and engineer. So, too, Filippo Santacroce, of Urbino,
and his sons, are celebrated by Count Cicognara for their minute
carvings on gems, ivory, and nuts.]
The earliest work on the ceramic art is that of Giambattista Passeri
of Pesaro, who was born about a hundred and fifty years since,
and whose inquiries into geology and antiquities attracted him
to a subject cognate to them both. While studying the fossils of
Central Italy, the transition was not difficult to their fictile
products; and after vainly endeavouring to methodise the pottery
of Etruria and Magna Grecia, he tried the same good office with
better success upon the majolica of his native province.[239] Nor
is his theme of so narrow an interest as might on a superficial
view be supposed. The existence of pottery has frequently proved a
valuable aid to historical research; and even now our surest test
of Etruscan refinement is supplied by the painted vases exhumed
from the sepulchres of an almost forgotten race.[240] It is not,
however, important merely as affording landmarks useful in tracing
the civilisation of nations; for, by combining taste with ingenuity,
it gives to materials the most ordinary and almost fabulous value,
thereby constituting one of the notable triumphs of mind over matter,
and largely promoting the advance of intellectual culture. Even
in early stages of national improvement, the plastic art, after
contributing to the necessities of life, has often been the first to
inspire elegance or embody true principles of form and afterwards
of colour. Dealing with a substance readily found and easily
manipulated, wherein nature might be imitated or fancy developed,
it was the precursor of sculpture, the patron of painting, and the
handmaid of architecture.
[Footnote 239: The subject has since met with more attention, but
no other work has been expressly dedicated to it. We may refer to
VASARI, LANZI, and GAYE, _passim_; RICCI, _Notizie delle Belle
Arti in Gubbio_; _Kunstblatt_, No. 51; MONTANARI, _Lettera interno
ad alcune Majoliche dipinte nella collezione Massa_ in _Giornale
Arcadico di Roma_, XXXVII., 333; BRONGNIART, _Traité des Arts
Ceramiques_; MARRYAT, _History of Pottery and Porcelain_. It is
both an advantage and a pleasure to refer readers unacquainted with
this interesting art, to the charming and accurate representations
of azulejo, Robbian ware, and majolica, given in the last of
these works. It is greatly to be desired that Mr. Marryat may, in
continuation of his subject, and with access to English collections
unknown to me, supply much information which this slight sketch
cannot include.]
[Footnote 240: We enter not upon the contested question of the origin
of these productions; wherever made, they prove the taste of those
who owned and appreciated them. Besides, the ruder varieties were
certainly indigenous to Central Italy from an early period. Neither
need we trace the analogy between majolica and enamel. The latter was
not unknown to the ancients, though brought by them to no ornamental
perfection. During the dark ages, it was used as an accessory of
metal sculpture for many purposes of religious art, and was even
introduced into large works, such as bronze doors. The splendid
reliquary at Orvieto, enamelled on silver at Siena by Ugolino Vieri
in 1338, as well as the _paliotti_ of Florence and Pistoja executed
in that and the following centuries, show to what perfection this art
had attained, ere the painting of porcelain was practised in Italy.]
[Illustration: MAIOLICA
_A plate of Urbino ware of about 1540 in the British Museum_]
The earthenware made in Central Italy was usually called _majolica_,
in our spelling maiolica. The derivation of its etymology, from
the island of Majorca, seems no mere superficial inference from
similarity of sounds. Its peculiarity was a glaze, which, besides
giving a vehicle for colour, remedied the permeable quality of
ancient pottery. Such a glazed surface had long been known to the
Saracens, and was imported by the Moors into Spain and the Balearic
Isles, in the shape of gaily-tinted tiles, arranged in bands or
diaper on their buildings. To these succeeded _azulejos_, generally
of blue in various shades, which were mosaicked into church walls in
various historical compositions, from designs which Mr. Stirling
ascribes to Murillo's pencil. The conquests or commerce of the
Pisans imported this fashion, at first by incorporating concave
coloured tiles among brickwork, afterwards, at Pesaro, by the use of
encaustic flooring. Nor can we exclude from view that the earliest
Italian ware has decorations either in geometrical patterns, or with
shamrock-shaped foliations of a character rather Saracenic than
indigenous, and more indicative of moresque extraction than were the
apocryphal armorial bearings of Spain and Majorca, at a period when
such insignia were often borrowed as mere ornaments, in ignorance of
their origin and meaning. The fabric thus introduced spread over most
of Central Italy, and between 1450 and 1700 was largely practised
at the towns of Arezzo, Perugia, Spello, Nocera, Città di Castello,
Florence, Bologna, Ferrara, Ravenna, Rimini, Forlì, and Faenza
(whence its French name _fayence_), Pesaro, Urbino, Fermignano,
Castel Durante, and Gubbio, as well as at various places in the
Abruzzi.
There is, however, another quarter to which vitrified or encaustic
ware may be ascribed, in so far at least as regards improved methods
and more important results. Luca della Robbia[*241] was born at
Florence in 1399, and from being a jeweller, took to modelling
statues and bas-reliefs in clay. Annoyed by the fragile nature of
these, and perhaps by the doubtful success of _terra cotta_, he
discovered a mode of glazing the surface of his beautiful works,
with, it is said, a mixture of tin, _terra ghetta_ (from the lake of
Thrasimene), antimony, and other mineral substances. The secret of
this varnish was transmitted in the inventor's family until about
1550: it ended in a female, with whose husband, Andrea Benedetto
Buglione, it died. Recent attempts to revive the art at Florence
have proved but partially successful, and wholly unremunerative;
indeed, the mechanical difficulties exceed those of sculpture,
including the separation of the work into sections before drying
and burning it, and its eventual reunion into one piece. Although
neither mild nor equal, the climate at Florence does not seem to
influence the Robbian fabrics in the open air, but they have suffered
from the frosts and snows of our duchy, where several are broken or
blistered, such as the lunette of S. Domenico at Urbino. By much
the finest specimen I know there remains [1843] in the desecrated
oratory of the Sforzan palace [of 1484] at Gradara; it may be by
Andrea della Robbia, and represents an enthroned Madonna and Child,
nearly life-size, with attendant saints, the predella complete, and
the whole a fine monument of Christian art. Originally, the plastic
surface of Robbian ware was of a uniform glistening white, which,
though cold in effect, is very favourable to the pure religious
sentiment at which it generally aimed. The eyes were then blackened,
in order to aid expression. Next, the pallid figures were relieved
against a deep cerulean ground. The followers of Luca added fruits
and flowers, wreathed in their proper colours. Agincourt justly
regrets that these men were led into such innovations by a desire
for mastering difficulties, and the ambition of adding to sculpture
the beauties of painting; for when colour is given to draperies, the
eye is ill-reconciled to an addition which seems to transfer such
productions from the category of high art to the level of waxwork. By
a further modification, the flesh parts were left unglazed, bringing
the warm tone of terra cotta to harmonize with the coloured costumes,
architecture and backgrounds being still usually white or deep
blue. Passeri, however, asserts for this coloured glaze an earlier
discovery in his own province, where pottery was certainly made in
the fourteenth century. But it is generally admitted that the art of
combining with it lively colours was greatly improved after Pesaro
had passed under the Sforza. In 1462, Ventura di Maestro Simone dei
Piccolomini of Siena established himself there, along with Matteo
di Raniere, of a noble family at Cagli, in order to manufacture
earthenware, and may have directed attention to the productions of
della Robbia, who had already been employed at Rimini by its tyrant,
Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta.
[Footnote *241: For all that concerns the Della Robbia, cf. MAUD
CRUTTWELL, _Luca and Andrea della Robbia and their School_ (Dent,
1904).]
* * * * *
An account of majolica[*242] ought to contain the various places
noted for its manufacture, the peculiar qualities distinguishing
their respective productions, the methods by which these qualities
were given, and the artists most successful in producing them. But on
most of these points we are left in great ignorance, which my limited
observation has not enabled me to dispel. All I can offer is a list
of the manufactories and artists, classed to the best of my power,
and preceded by a few very general notices of the process.
[Footnote *242: The finest collection of Italian majolica in
the world is probably that in Pesaro in the possession of the
Municipality.]
The Chevalier Cipriano Picolpasso, of Castel Durante, doctor in
medicine and majolica-painter under Duke Guidobaldo II., left a MS.
professing to record the secrets of his art; but Passeri, after
examination, pronounces his revelations trite, and his historical
notices barren. It is, however, agreed that Pesaro was the first site
within the duchy of Urbino where the fabric attained celebrity, and
that its earliest efforts were called _mezza_ or "half" majolica.
This is distinguished by a coarse gritty fracture, of dirty grey
colour, and a glaze which does not take much lustre or transparency.
It is generally in the form of plates, many of them huge, all
clumsily thick, and frequently of a dingy, ill-vitrified yellow on
the back. The lustre on the front is rather pearly than metallic; but
prismatic, or even golden, iridescence is met with. These productions
are assigned, by Passeri and others, to the fifteenth century; but
the arms of Leo X. appear on one in the mediæval exhibition of
1850 (No. 543, belonging to Mr. S. Isaacs), and on another in the
Hotel Cluny, at Paris; while, in the museum of the Commendatore
Kestner, Hanoverian minister at Rome, is a third, designed after
Marc Antonio. The "fine" majolica attained its greatest perfection
at Urbino between 1530 and 1560, and it was prized chiefly for
the perfect vitrification and transparency of its varnish, the
comparative thinness and whiteness of the texture, the brilliant
colouring, and masterly design. Gubbian pottery combined in some
degree the qualities of half and fine ware, but excelled all others
in metallic and prismatic glaze.
[Illustration: MAIOLICA
_A plate of Castel Durante ware of about 1524_
"The divine and beautiful Lucia"]
We shall not encumber our pages with conjectural or vague hints as
to the processes of these interesting fabrics. Iridescent lustre
obliquely reflected, and a white glaze of dazzling transparency,
were the objects respectively aimed at. The former was attained
by preparations of lead, copper, silver, and gold; the latter was
imparted by dipping the half-baked pottery into a white varnish, over
which, while moist, the subject was rapidly painted, correction or
retouching being incompatible with the immediate absorption of its
colours, which, apart from accidental fusion of tints, and flaws
in the furnace, abundantly accounts for the frequent inaccuracy
of design. The metallic lustre depended a good deal on lead, the
whiteness on a free use of tin.
Those early plates of Pesaro were very rarely signed by their
artists; but one in the Hague Museum bears a cipher resembling
C.H.O.N., whilst another, quoted by Pungileoni, has a mark composed
of G.A.T. interlaced. In 1478, Sixtus IV. wrote his acknowledgments
to Costanzo Sforza for a present of "_Vasa fictilia_, most elegantly
wrought, which, for the donor's sake, are prized as if of gold or
silver rather than of earthenware."[243] In a similar letter, Lorenzo
the Magnificent thanked [Roberto] Malatesta, observing that "they
please me entirely by their perfections and rarity, being quite
novelties in these parts, and are valued more than if of silver," the
donor's arms serving daily to recall their origin.[244] Passeri gives
a curious proclamation by the Lord of Pesaro, in 1486, narrating
that, for good favour to the citizens, and considering a fabric of
earthen vases to have been of old practised in that city, superior,
by general admission, to all others produced in Italy, and that
there were now more workshops than ever,--importation of any species
thereof from foreign parts was prohibited, on pain of confiscation
and fine, half to the informer, oil and water jars only excepted; and
further that, within eight days, all foreign vases should be sent
out of the state. In 1510, majolica was numbered among the trades of
Pesaro, and in 1532, Duke Francesco Maria confirmed the protection
for it which we have just cited. I have not met with the patent for
"application of gold to Italian faience," quoted by Mr. H. Rogers as
granted, in 1509, to Giacomo Lanfranco of Pesaro, by Duke Guidobaldo,
who, by the way, was then dead.
[Footnote 243: Archiv. Dipl. Urbinate at Florence [1845].]
[Footnote 244: GAYE, _Carteggio_, I., p. 304. He was probably Roberto
Malatesta, who served the Florentines in 1479, and died 1482; so
Gaye's date of 1490 seems erroneous.]
It may have been soon after this date that "fine" superseded "half"
ware in the potteries of Pesaro, where the art obtained a new
stimulus on transference hither of the court by Duke Guidobaldo
II. Thereafter it is impossible to distinguish earthenware issuing
from these establishments from that of Urbino, their quality
being similar, and the artists in many cases identical; but by
that Prince's patronage it unquestionably attained its greatest
perfection. A petition by certain makers of Pesaro for protection, is
given in X. of the Appendix, as illustrating then received principles
of trade, as well as of this fabric. It bears date in 1552; and
in 1569, the Duke granted to Giacomo Lanfranco, of that city, a
patent for twenty-five years, guarded by 500 scudi of penalty, for
his inventions in applying gold to vases, and in constructing them
of great size (exceeding the capacity of two _some_), of antique
forms, and wrought in relievo. As a further encouragement, he and
his father Girolamo were exempted from every impost or tax, and from
mill-dues on grinding ten _some_ of grain annually. Proud of the
reputation of his native pottery, Guidobaldo was in the habit of
presenting services of majolica to foreign princes and personages,
who again often sent commissions to be executed in the duchy, bearing
their arms. A double service was, according to Vasari, given by him
to Charles V.; and another to Philip II., painted by Orazio Fontana
from Taddeo Zuccaro's designs; while Passeri mentions a set presented
to Fra Andrea of Volterra, each piece inscribed _G.V.V.D. [Guid
Vbaldonis Urbini Ducis] Munus, F. Andreæ Volaterano_. I found in
the Oliveriana MSS. a letter addressed to his brother the Cardinal
of Urbino, describing a _buffet_ for Monsignor Farnese, with its
inventory, which will be found at XI. of the Appendix. The most
important, however, of the ducal commissions was a very numerous set
of jars, of many sizes and shapes, for the use of his laboratory
[_spezeria_], a fashion imitated by other dilettanti. Blue, yellow,
and green are their prevailing hues; they are always labelled with
the name of some drug or mixture, and occasionally have a portrait or
other subject. The original set was gifted by Francesco Maria II. to
the treasury of Loreto, where about three hundred and eighty of them
still serve their original purpose, many duplicates being met with in
collections. Specimens will be found engraved by Bartoli, and in Mr.
Marryat's beautiful volume; the offers of various crowned heads to
replace them by others of gold and silver, are well-known travellers'
tales, but in truth they are far from choice specimens.
Like other branches of fine art, majolica-painting showed an early
preference for sacred themes; but the primitive plates of Pesaro bear
effigies of saints much more frequently than scripture histories,
or doctrinal representations. Then came in a fashion for portraits
of living or historical persons, including warriors, high-born
dames, and classical heroes, inscribed with their names. These
paintings are all flat and lifeless, with scarcely an attempt at
relief, or graduated tints; the ornaments are rude, inclining to
Moorish, and totally different from what is called arabesque. From
the della Robbian influence were probably borrowed plates brimming
with coloured fruits in relievo, a variety of little interest, but
reminding us of similar French productions in a later period. In the
sixteenth century, the mania of classicism, elsewhere discussed,[245]
much affected majolica; and in its designs, although events of the
Old Testament were not abandoned, saintly legends gave place to
scenes from Ovid and Virgil. For behoof of the unlettered curious,
the incident was shortly, often clumsily, described in blue letters
on the back, with a reference to the text. In a few cases (perhaps
of _amatorii_ or nuptial gifts), I have found the very finest
productions degraded by grossly indecent designs; in more numerous
ones groups of nude figures disport themselves in the manner of
Giulio Romano. Those in which Raffaelesque arabesques prevail,
belong chiefly to the latter portion of Guidobaldo's reign. From
that time the fabric decayed rapidly, owing partly to a general
decline of æsthetic taste, partly to the impaired state of that
Duke's finances, and the indifference of his successor. Even after
historical compositions were neglected, considerable dexterity was
displayed in painting trophies, arms, musical instruments, utensils,
marine monsters, children, grotesques, birds, trees, flowers, fruits,
and landscapes, designs of that class being easily repeated and
their inaccuracies passing for studied extravagance. But the drawing
got worse, the colouring more feeble, as good artists dropped off,
carrying with them their sketches, and superseded by engravings from
Sadeler and other Flemings, whose vile taste contributed to lower
the standard of better times.[246] Public favour, ever capricious,
was successfully wooed by the oriental porcelain, which now found
its way among the higher ranks, while the augmented supply of silver
encouraged a more extended use of plate. Thus discredited, the
manufacture progressively deteriorated, until, in 1722, the stoneware
of Urbania was of the most ordinary description, the efforts of
Cardinal Legate Stoppani to reinstate a better fabric having totally
failed; and thus neglected, the most beautiful productions of its
happier time were dispersed, or passed to the meanest uses, from
which another whim of fashion, as much as the revival of a better
taste, has suddenly rescued them.
[Footnote 245: See vol. II.]
[Footnote 246: In 1845, the Canon Staccoli at Urbino showed me a
plate equally feeble in design and colour, signed _F.M. Doiz Fiamengo
fecit_, a proof that it was no despised production of the time.]
[Illustration: MAIOLICA
_A plate of Urbino ware about 1535. (The arms are Cardinal Pucci's)_]
Much of what has been said of the fine majolica of Pesaro is
applicable to that ascribed to Urbino, most of which appears to
have been made in the neighbouring towns of Fermignano, Gaifa, and
Castel Durante (now Urbania), the alluvial washings of the Metauro
being peculiarly adapted for the purest white glaze. Yet Pungileoni
has wormed out of some old notarial protocols the names of Mo.
Giovanni di Donnino in 1477, and of Mo. Francesco in 1501,
both designed of Gardutia, potters (_figuli_) at Urbino. He also
establishes that coloured figures were executed there in vases in
1521. Passeri denies that those ruby and gold colours for which we
shall find Gubbio celebrated, and which certainly were known in the
workshops of Pesaro, ever came into use at Urbino,--a conclusion
which we shall have occasion to correct. Indeed, this secret of
metallic iridescence is said to have been known at Florence, and
I have seen a plate of golden lustre bearing the emblem of the
woolstaplers' guild [_arte della lana_]; but if such manufactory
existed, I have found no notice of it, and the still flourishing
one of Ginori in the Val d'Arno pretends to no such antiquity. I
was shown at Florence a tile, on which Annibale Caracci's Galatea
was represented with great accuracy of design, but poor and hard in
colour, signed "_Ferdinand Campani, Siena, 1736_." In the latter town
there is said to have been a fabric known by the name of _Terchi_;
the analogous one, near Fermo, in the Abruzzi, called _Grue_, sent
forth, I believe, most of those tiles, small plates, or cups and
saucers,--ornamented with landscapes of tolerable design, but tinted
in sickly yellow or blue, and totally devoid of style,--which abound
in Lower Italy.
The prismatic glaze, especially of gold and ruby colour, was
unequalled in those plates painted at Gubbio by Maestro Giorgio
Andreoli, who appears to have come hither from Pavia with his
brothers Salimbeni and Giovanni. His name was there enrolled among
the nobility in 1498, but the dates affixed to his plates extend from
1518 to about 1537. He had previously executed several plastic works
of the nature of della Robbia's figures, the principal of which was a
Madonna del Rosario altar-piece for the Domenican church, which has
been enthusiastically described in No. 928 of the London _Athenæum_.
It was torn down by the French in their wonted course of rapine, and,
to the disgrace of the local authorities of Gubbio, lay neglected
for several years after the peace, until purchased for the Steidl
Institut at Frankfort. The only other of his productions remaining
at Gubbio is a life-sized statue of St. Anthony in the same church,
quite inferior as regards design and religious feeling to those of
the Tuscan sculptors, and which, though coloured, has no metallic
lustre. He is said by Passeri to have lived until 1552; and of his
family, who long occupied an honourable station in their native city,
only a son, Cencio, followed his father's profession. I have seen
a plate of this school at Mr. Forrest's, 54 Strand [1850], rudely
signed with G; others have R, perhaps il Rovigese, whom I shall
presently mention. Mo. Prestino da Gubbio wrought about 1557, but
the latest date I have seen with metallic lustre and the Gubbian mark
is 1549, on which the iridescence was extremely feeble.
Passeri's assertion, that the Gubbian glaze was borrowed from the
half-majolica of Pesaro, may be correct; but we might, perhaps,
maintain for it a date as early as 1474, on the authority of a
beautiful small plate possessing its peculiarities, and exhibiting
Duke Federigo's name and profile in relief, within a coloured border
of oak-leaves also in relief, made, possibly, on occasion of his
alliance with the della Rovere, by marriage of the Lord Prefect with
his daughter in that year. This interesting memorial is No. 2286 of
the Mediæval Gallery at the Louvre. In Mr. Marryat's choice cabinet
is a half-ware plate, bearing on the back a monogram, which that
gentleman supposes of Maestro Giorgio's early period, before he had
discovered the mode of obtaining iridescent varnishes. It displays
a group of nude figures in pale greyish tints, without any approach
to brilliant colouring. His usual signature was dashed off with a
metalliferous brush on the back, _Mo. Go. da Vgubio_, with
the date, as at No. 11 of the same facsimiles, from a plate in my
possession. Such pieces are rare, and highly prized; their subjects
are usually saints, classical groups, or grotesques, vases being
very seldom met with. A branch of this fabric is said to have been
seated at Nocera; and several, with bright red and blue tracery
on a gold metallic ground, dated 1537-8, in the choice cabinet of
Signor Serafino Tordelli at Spoleto [1845], are supposed by him of
that fabric. Among other exquisite specimens, he has one by Maestro
Giorgio, 1529, rivalling the finest miniature, and representing
Archimedes measuring a globe, in front of the Communal Palace at
Gubbio.
* * * * *
Thus much regarding the various manufactories of majolica connected
with Urbino. The forms and purposes to which it was turned were
very various. The first plates of Pesaro, chiefly of great size
[_bacili_], were probably for table use, but a variety of them,
called _amatorii_, were either tender souvenirs or marriage gifts.
These usually had the lady's portrait, with the complimentary epithet
of Bella, as in this example now in my possession; at other times
united hands and a transfixed heart, with a motto of affection,
moralising, or banter. Several such have been described by Passeri,
Marryat, and others, but I shall add a few which have come under my
observation. 1. At Florence: _Francesca bella a paragon di tutti_,
"Frances, of beauty comparable to any one." 2. At Rome: _Nemo sua
sorte contentus erat_, "Each has something to grumble about." 3. Sir
Thomas B. Hepburn; a lady holding a gigantic pink: _Non è sì vago
el fiore che non imbiacca o casca_, "There is no flower so lovely
but fades or droops." 4. Rome; a dame of rueful countenance: _Sola
miseria caret invidia_, "Only the miserable escape envy." 5. Pesaro,
Massa collection: _Per dormire non si acquista_, "The indolent get
nothing." 6. Florence: _Chi bien guida sua barcha sempre emporto_,
"Who steers well his bark, always makes the harbour." 7. Pesaro:--
_S'il dono è picolo e di pocho valore,
Basta la fedel povere se redore._
"If small the gift and scant of merit
A poor slave's faith,--enough, you share it."[247]
[Footnote 247: The rules of syntax are in these often overstepped,
and conjecture left to eke out the sense. My reading is literal,
of _basta la fe del povere sevedore_, which is intelligible, and
rhymes, as is not the case with _basta la fede, e 'l povere se vedo_,
the version of Passeri. This author tells us of a certain coy or
mischievous Philomela who pierced her lover's present with holes
and made of it a mouse-trap! Also of an exquisite Gubbian plate,
portraying the _Daniella Diva_, who displays a wounded heart with the
legend _Oimè!_ "Ah me." A drug-bottle in Mr. Marryat's collection,
and engraved in his work, has the portrait of a lady whose squint is
given to the life.]
[Illustration: MAIOLICA
_Plate of Castel Durante ware about 1540, with a portrait medallion
within a border of oak leaves. This pattern was called "Cerquata" or
"al Urbinata," the oak being the badge of the Rovere house_]
8, 9. Florence, and evidently nuptial presents: _Per fin che vivo, io
sempre t'amerò_, "While I live, you I love"; the other, a bridegroom
and bride exchanging a hearty kiss. Most of these portrait-plates
were deep, and are said not to have been delivered empty. Brides
received them brimming with jewels; for dancing partners they were
filled with fruits and confections; to a lady in childbed was
presented a salver containing the sort of chamber service called in
French a _déjeûner de marié_, appropriately decorated with infant
legends of gods and heroes; at children's balls, were given tiny
plates of sugar-plums, whereon a dancing Cupid sounding his cymbal
was often painted. 10. Massa collection,--this has a sadder import:
_Un bel morire tutta la vita onora_, "A beautiful death confers
illustration on a lifetime," was, no doubt, in memory of some
venerated friend, and might have been used to serve her funeral
meats.[248]
[Footnote 248: In order to finish our notice of mottoes, a few others
may be here added. 11. Massa collection; a female portrait, on whose
breast are the arms of Montefeltro: _Viva, Viva il Duca di Urbino_.
12. Rome, Kestner Museum; another female portrait: _Ibit ad geminos
lucida fama pollo_ (?). 13. Kestner Museum and that at the Hague;
St. Thomas probing the Saviour's wound: _Beati qui non viderunt et
crediderunt_, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have
believed." 14. Spoleto, Tordelli collection; a beautiful female
resisting a crowd of armed soldiery: 1540. _Italia mesta sottosopra
volta, como pei venti in mare le torbid'onde, ch'or da una parte
et hor da l'altra volta._ "1540. Dejected Italy, tossed like the
wind-lashed waves, turning now hither now thither." 15. Rome,--satire
on the sack of Rome; a warrior in antique armour strikes with a
two-handed sword at a naked woman stretched in a lascivious posture,
behind whom five others tremblingly await their fate: it is inscribed
behind, 1534. _Roma lasciva dal buon Carlo quinto partita a mezza.
Fra Xanto a. da Rovigo, Urbino._ "Rome, the wanton, cut up by the
good Charles V.; by Brother Xante of Rovigo, at Urbino." This plate,
glowing with iridescence, contradicts Passeri's opinion (already
quoted) that stanniferous glaze was never practised in the Urbino
workshops, as does the tile introduced three pages below. 16. Rome;
a grandly draped female, sitting in desolation over a dead child:
_Fiorenzo mesta i morti figlii piange_, "Disconsolate Florence weeps
for her lifeless offspring," in the plague visitation of 1538. Though
with the most brilliant ruby and gold lustre I ever saw, it has in
blue the cipher X, probably also of Xante in Urbino.]
But to return to the uses of this pottery. Those who have observed
the rich effect of the majolica sparingly displayed in the late
Mediæval Exhibition at the Adelphi [1850] may readily admit that, on
a buffet lit up by Italian suns, its glowing tints and attractive
forms were no mean substitute for the as yet scarce precious metals.
Ingenuity was taxed to invent designs and adaptations of an art in
which fashion ran riot:--Tiles for floors or panelling; vases of
mere ornament; beakers; epergnes; wine-coolers; perfume-sprinklers;
fountains, whence there flowed alternately, as if by magic, water
or wine of nine varieties at the bidding of the bewildered guests;
wine-cups clustered with grapes, through an orifice in which the
liquor was sucked, anticipating the American device for discussing
sherry-cobbler. Of drug-bottles and pots we have spoken. Sauce-boats,
salt-cellars, and inkstands gave rise to endless caprices, in the
guise "of beasts, and of fowl and fishes"; and to these may be added
figure-groups of saints, grotesque characters and animals, fruits,
trees, and pilgrims' bottles.
In the decorations there was generally a consistency, too often lost
sight of by modern artificers. Thus, toilet-basins were painted with
marine deities, water-nymphs, or aquatic allegories; fruit-stands
with fruit and vintages; wine-cups with vine-festoons. Among the
oddities may be mentioned tiny tea-cups, into the paste for which was
mingled a portion of dust carefully gathered in sweeping out the holy
house at Loreto, their sanctity being vouched by the inscription,
_Con pol. di S.C._, "With dust from the Santa Casa." The effigy of
the Madonna of Loreto is often affixed, in colour and design on a
par with the superstition. A pair of these was shown at the Mediæval
Exhibition of 1850, No. 562 of the catalogue, belonging to a Mrs.
Palliser.
* * * * *
Having thus considered the various sites and sorts of Urbino
majolica, its processes and purposes, we shall mention some of the
artists employed upon it. Of these there were two classes, the potter
who mixed and manipulated, modelled and moulded clay-clod into an
article of convenience or luxury, and the painter whose pencil
rendered it an object of the fine arts; latterly, however, these
branches were combined, and were carried on by a class of artificers
called _vasaii_ or _vasari_, and _boccalini_, according as vases
or bottles prevailed in their workshops. The little that has come
to our knowledge regarding those by whom the early Pesarese and
Gubbian ware was fashioned and decorated will be found in a former
page. The latter makers of Pesaro and Urbino have more frequently
left us the means of identifying their performances in monograms
or signatures, usually inscribed in blue characters on the back
of plates. But before considering these, we may dispose of the
vulgar error which has given Raffaele's name to Italian porcelain.
Superficial or romancing writers have often seriously repeated, with
purely fictitious additions, Malvasia's petulant sneer, which he
was fain quickly to retract, that the great Sanzio was a painter of
plates; others have, without better grounds, made him assistant to
his father, a potter. There is however nothing connecting him with
the ceramic art beyond a loose notice by Don V. Vittorio, in his
_Osservazioni Sopra Felsina Pittrice_ (pp. 44, 112-14), of a letter
from Raffaele referring to designs supplied by him to the Duchess
for majolica. That he did supply such drawings is possible, though
discredited by Pungileoni, and, if true, it in no way compromises his
status, at a period when high art lent a willing hand to decorate and
elevate the adjuncts and appliances of domestic life. This much is
certain, that compositions emanating from Sanzio and his school were
employed in ornamenting porcelain during the sixteenth century, but
they were doubtless obtained from his pupils, or from the engravings
of Marc Antonio. Such is the title here introduced from the original
in my possession (8-1/2 inches by 7), which is one of the most
Raffaelesque I have met with, and which, though not signed, displays
the colouring practised by Fra Xanto, the blue and green being deep
and well marked, the orange and yellow of the clouds and curtain in
metallic iridescence.
In this, as in most instances, the design is somewhat marred by the
colours having run when laid on, or during vitrification. The mistake
as to Sanzio has been partly occasioned by confusion with Raffaele
del Colle, who painted at the Imperiale, and is said by tradition
to have contributed sketches for the Pesarese workshops, and also
with another Raffaele Ciarla, who seems to have been a potter,
about 1530-60. Battles, sieges, and mythological figures resembling
the vigorous inventions of Giulio Romano, are not unfrequent; and
in the Kestner Museum, I have observed several plates of choice
design and Raffaelesque character, especially the Fall and Expulsion
of our first Parents, and the Gathering of Manna. But these are
satisfactorily accounted for by Passeri's statement, that, with a
view to improve a native manufacture which brought to his state both
estimation and wealth, Duke Guidobaldo II. took infinite pains in
collecting a better class of drawings and prints from celebrated
masters, on the dispersion of which, in consequence of their being
sought for by collectors, the pictorial excellence of majolica
rapidly declined. The first symptom of decay was the substitution
of monotonous arabesques, weak in colour and repeated from the type
introduced by Raffaele, in place and figure groups and other subjects
requiring composition and design.
* * * * *
Premising that we cannot now distinguish exactly between potters and
the painters, where these cognate occupations chanced to be divided,
and that the same persons occasionally wrought at various places in
the duchy, we shall supply a notice of the names we have met with in
connection with the workshops of Pesaro, Urbino, and Castel Durante,
during the sixteenth century.
Terenzio Terenzi painted vases and plates at Pesaro, one of which
he signed "Terenzio fecit, 1550," but his usual mark was T. Another
is inscribed, "Questo piatto fu fatto in la Bottega de Mastro
Baldassare, Vasaro da Pesaro e fatto per mano de Ferenzio fiolo di
Mastro Matteo Boccalaro." He was doubtless the person who, under
the surname of Rondolino, became notorious at Rome for his clever
pictorial forgeries of the great master's works, although said by
Ticozzi to have been born at Pesaro in 1570. The signature "Mastro
Gironimo, Vasaro in Pesaro, J.P." occurs from 1542 to 1560, and to
him Mr. Marryat ascribes, on what authority I know not, the mark
A.O. connected by a cross, which Passeri quotes as of another artist
in 1582; the letters I.P. that gentleman reads _in Pesaro_. This
Girolamo Lanfranco was a native of Gabicce, near Pesaro, and died in
1599, leaving sons Girolamo and Ludovico. In his favour, and that of
his son, were granted the privileges already referred to, as dated
1552 and 1569.
In connection with the workshops of Urbino, we have these names.
Giovanni and Francesco di Donnino had a commission for a set of vases
for Cardinal Capaccio. _Fra Xanto. a. da Rovigo in Urbino_ signed
platters of great size and beautiful design, about 1532-4, some
of which show a very fine metallic and prismatic lustre. The mark
X, occurring on pieces of that quality, does not, however, always
refer to him. A splendid plate in Mr. Marryat's rich collection,
commemorative of the taking of Goletta, in Africa, by Charles V.,
is inscribed _In Urbino nella botteg di Francesco de Silvano, X.
MDXXXXI._; and a Judith of great beauty, in the Tordelli
cabinet, signed F.X. 1535, is, no doubt of that master. Contemporary
and very analogous are plates with an iridescence rivalling that of
Maestro Giorgio, signed _Mastro Rovigo di Urbino_, or _Da Rovigiese_:
of this artist, probably the countryman of Xanto, we know nothing,
but he may be the same who signs Gubbian plates with R. Equally
little can we say as to Giulio of Urbino, who is mentioned as working
for the Duke of Ferrara, about 1530; or of Cesare da Faenza, then
employed in the shop of Guido Merlini, of Urbino. Much more noted
are the Fontana family, originally of Castel Durante. From thence
Guido, son of Nicolò, emigrated to the capital, where his son Orazio
painted many of the finest productions of the reign of Guidobaldo
II., including the best vases of his laboratory, his usual mark being
this, meaning _Orazio Fontana Urbinate fece_. Among the treasures and
trash of Strawberry Hill was a very large vase, with serpent handles,
and designs ascribed to Giulio Romano, inscribed _Fate in botega di
Orazio Fontana_.[249] A plate described by Passeri, has the story of
Horatius Cocles, with the motto _Orazio solo contra Toscana tutta,
fatto in Pesaro 1541_, which appears to be a _jeu de mots_ intended
by Fontana as a challenge to the rival fabrics of Tuscany.[250] For
him has been claimed the invention of Gubbian glaze; while others
say his discovery was a mode of preventing the mixture of colours
during vitrification. He died in 1571, his labours having been shared
by a brother Camillo, who carried the art to Ferrara, and a nephew
Flaminio, who settled in Florence.
[Footnote 249: A magnificent pair of triangular fonts in the same
collection brought at the sale 168_l._]
[Footnote 250: The ancestors of Giorgio Vasari were surnamed from
their occupation of vase-makers (_vasari_), at Arezzo. The Ginori
establishment near Florence is comparatively modern.]
[Illustration: O F V F]
Among the pupils of Orazio was Raffaele Ciarla, whose name we have
noticed as confused with that of Raffaele Sanzio, and who painted
a buffet of porcelain, after designs by Taddeo Zuccaro, which his
sovereign presented to Philip II. of Spain. He wrought between 1530
and 1560. Gianbattista Franco, a Venetian painter of whom we have
lately spoken, was invited by Duke Guidobaldo II., about 1540, to
supply designs for majolica, in consequence of his reputation for
clever drawings in the dangerous style of Michael Angelo. The loss of
his cupola for the cathedral at Urbino is not to be regretted; but in
a humbler sphere he acquitted himself better, and some of the vases
in the laboratory bear his signature, B.F.V.F., _Battista Franco
Urbinas fecit_. Among the latest artists was Alfonso Patanazzi, who
was born at Urbino of a noble family, and died in 1694; but his
productions (signed in full, or with his initials) have no artistic
merit whatever.
It remains to mention those who wrought chiefly at Castel Durante,
or, as it was named after the Devolution to the Holy See, Urbania.
The Chevalier Cipriano Picolpasso, from being a professor of the
healing art, took to pottery about 1550, and left a MS. account
of some of the secrets of that fabric and of its glazes, which
was used by Passeri for his work. Mr. Marryat considers that he
was peculiarly successful in painting trophies. Guido di Savino
is said to have carried the art from Castel Durante to Antwerp;
and he or Guido Fontana may be author of a plate, in the Soane
Museum, of the Fates, signed _In botega di Mo. Guido Durantino
in Urbino_. To either of them I am disposed to assign the monogram,
No. 12, of our 18th plate of facsimiles, which Mr. Marryat reads as
Castel Durante, but which seems to me a G.D., for Guido Durantino.
Alessandro Gatti, of that place, had three brothers, Giovanni,
Tiseo, and Luzio, whom Picolpasso mentions as having emigrated to
Corfu, and there established the same fabric. Cardinal Stoppani,
Legate of Pesaro, in last century, made some ineffectual attempts
to restore the manufacture at Urbania, and the only pottery now
produced in the duchy is of the most ordinary white stoneware. It
would be interesting to know the scale of remuneration for mere
artistic varieties of majolica, but the prices given by Passeri, from
Picolpasso's MS., refer only to the more ordinary and mechanical
designs, such as grotesques with monsters, arabesques, trophies
with armour, fruit, flowers, and foliage; of these the first was
the most costly, the last the cheapest, varying from two Roman
scudi to about two and a half pauls per hundred. Supposing money
in 1560 to have been six times its present value in Italy, these
sums may be considered equal to fifty shillings and six shillings
respectively.[251]
[Footnote 251: Pungileoni quotes a demand made in 1683 of 50 scudi
(about 11_l._) for a plate reputed to have been painted by Raffaele;
this, at thrice the present money value, would give 32_l._ as its
price.]
In Italy, the collection of majolica made by the Chevalier Massa, at
Pesaro, is specially worthy of notice, and contains specimens of most
varieties made in the duchy. It was chiefly got together between 1825
and 1835 when these were still abundant and little sought after; but
the district was nearly cleared of them about twelve years since, by
an agent of Parisian dealers. The Chevalier, who was in extreme old
age in 1845, had bequeathed his majolica--consisting of about five
hundred pieces, with a few indifferent pictures--to his native town,
unless he could, during life, sell the whole for about 1000_l._,
destined by him to charitable purposes. Another numerous collection
is that of Signor Mavorelli, at La Fratta, near Perugia. The small
but choice cabinet of Signor Serafino Tordelli, at Spoleto, has
already been mentioned. Specimens may still be picked up in Rome,
Florence, Paris, and London; but perhaps the most specimens are in
the hands of English amateurs.
APPENDICES
APPENDIX I
(Page 21)
CORRESPONDENCE OF CLEMENT VII. WITH DUKE FRANCESCO MARIA BEFORE THE
SACK OF ROME, 1527
There are several brieves preserved in the Archivio Diplomatico at
Florence, affording evidence of the Pope's feeble and inconsistent
policy. His missive, announcing to the Duke the truce with Lannoy,
was dated the 16th of March, and was followed by one of the 20th of
April, which we shall here translate:--
To our beloved Son, the noble Francesco Maria, Duke of
Urbino, Captain-general of the Venetians.
Beloved Son, health and apostolic benediction!
We have written but once to your nobility since coming to
this armistice with the enemy, for, matters not being yet
fully settled, we had nothing certain to apprise you of.
But we understood that, by the letters of our dear son
and lieutenant, Francesco Guicciardini, you were already
made aware of all we could have asked of you, and had by
your own good conduct anticipated it, which is to us most
pleasing and acceptable, and daily more realises our hopes
of you. As to this suspension of arms, we stooped to it
more readily from being destitute of means or assistance,
and from measuring the inclinations of others by our own
pacific dispositions. But now that our enemies' conduct
seems rather to abuse our clemency and moderation than to
approach any equitable course, we do not well see how we
can safely come to any terms with them. Thus, induced by
necessity, and by your worth and good will, as well as
cheered by the entire justice of our cause, we desire to
make your nobility aware that we have utterly dismissed
from our mind all truce with adversaries so perfidious, and
are willing and ready rather to hazard any peril of war
than submit to such unworthy and iniquitous conditions;
yet, believing victory much more imminent than danger, we
trust that their obstinacy and insolence will be easily put
down, provided your forces can timeously coalesce with our
own, and you exercise all zeal and caution in effecting
this. We therefore not only exhort your nobility to this,
but we fully rely on your doing it, as matter at once of
duty and propriety, and from your disposition in favour
of the Italian liberties and the dignity of ourselves and
this Holy See. We, on our part, shall maintain towards
our beloved sons, the Venetian government, that firm
attitude which shall satisfy all of our constancy, things
being now come to such a pitch that we must either sink
dishonoured on failure of your aid and support, or by your
help shall emerge with credit. As regards our paternal
and affectionate concern for your personal dignity and
interests, we can add nothing to the promises already made
you by letters and envoys, which we shall amply carry
out. Let your nobility, therefore, go on as you have so
well begun, nor relax until we and you and all Italy be
rid of all these barbarian excesses. After perusing these
brieves, your nobility will forward them to the Doge and
Signory of Venice, for, news of the enemy's obstinacy and
faithlessness reaching us by express at midnight, we had to
write to your nobility before we could communicate anything
to their ambassador.
Given at St. Peter's, Rome, under the fisher's signet, the
20th April, 1527, in the fourth year of our pontificate.
BLOSIUS.
On the 22nd and 30th the Pope wrote again, but in general terms,
and referring for details to the accredited bearer and to former
despatches. He exhorted the Duke, in formal and measured phrase, to
do his utmost towards fulfilling the expectations reposed on him and
the Venetians, upon whom were based all the Pontiff's hopes; but
neither in letter nor spirit do these brieves indicate any perception
of the extreme hazards of his position.
APPENDIX II
(Page 21)
THE SACK OF ROME
I. _Letter from the Bishop of Modula to the Generals of the
League._[252]
[Footnote 252: Sanuto Diarii MSS. Bib. Marciana, xlv. f. 132.]
Most illustrious Lords of the League,
Let your most illustrious Lordships speed on quickly
without loss of time, seeing by these presents that the
enemy have carried the Borgo, though our Lord and all Rome
were well fortified. Monsignor de Bourbon is dead of an
arquebus-shot below the abdomen, and a man has just come
in who happened to aid in carrying off his body. More
than three thousand of the enemy have fallen. Let your
Lordships, then, press on, for the enemy are in the utmost
disorder; quickly, quickly, without loss of time. Your
servant,
GUIDO, BISHOP OF MODULA.
From Viterbo, the 7th of May, 1527, 3 P.M.
To the most illustrious Lords, the Duke of Urbino and the
Marquis of Saluzzo, Captains of the League.
II. _Letter from Scipione ... to Alessandro Moresino, alias
Venezianello, Master of the Chamber of the Prince Guidobaldo, dated
at Urbino, 20th of May, 1527, narrating the destruction of Rome._
Most dear as an honoured brother,
I wish I were fitter than at present, and more easy
in mind, to write you of the strange, horrible, and
atrocious event befallen the wretched, miserable, and
ill-fated city of Rome. Although I feel assured that,
from different advices, you will have had partial, if not
full accounts, nevertheless, that I may not fail in duty,
I have thought it best to inform you of all I have yet
heard, notwithstanding that I tell it with aching heart and
tearful eye.
I therefore inform you that eight days ago last Monday,
being the 18th inst., about 22 o'clock [half-past 5
P.M.], the Spanish imperial army presented itself
at the bastion of the gate. Their object was to make trial,
and see how and by whom it was guarded, not having courage
to attack; but after consulting together, and deciding
to assault, and even to make their way into the city,
they took some food, and then suddenly and all in a mass
attempted with furious impetuosity to force the bastion,
which is said to have been ill guarded, there being but
four thousand regular infantry in Rome. In this attack,
both sides behaved with great bravery, and were supposed
to have lost about one thousand men, including the flower
of the Spaniards. Bourbon, observing the slaughter and
immense confusion, rushed on with all the lansquenets.
The castle maintained a fire of artillery as they best
could; but the air being obscured by a dense fog, they
could not see the effect of it, and battered down a piece
of wall.[253] Through it, and by storming the bastion, the
Imperialists entered, and there Bourbon met his death from
an arquebus-shot, which passed quite through his belly.
The papal troops, unable to offer more resistance, fled
towards the castle, into which most of them were admitted,
especially those who arrived first. It is rumoured,
but not confirmed, that the Lord Stefano Colonna, who
commanded the guard at that bastion, capitulated. Next day,
being Tuesday, the enemy, though within the town, made
no aggressions, but proceeded cautiously, dreading some
ambush. Having, however, assured themselves that there was
no cause for mistrust, they began to spread over the city,
and to plunder the monasteries, nunneries, and hospitals,
with great slaughter of those found therein. The hospital
of San Spirito was destroyed, and the patients were thrown
into the Tiber, after which they commenced attacking the
palaces of cardinals and gentlemen, with much bloodshed and
cruelty; and I have been told this morning by Francesco,
son of Battista Riceco, that one Maestro Jacomo, the first
perfumer in Rome, is come to his house, having escaped
with four other chance companions, whom, being a very old
friend, he has thought it necessary to receive kindly in
his house; and he learned from him as certain, having been
witness to it, that the lansquenets, that inhuman and
villainous race of Lutheran infidels, slew without mercy
those of all ages, sexes, and conditions whom they found in
the streets; also, that they attacked Cardinal Cesarini's
palace, wherein were many Roman gentlemen, guarded by two
hundred infantry; and having stormed it, put them all to
the sword, it being uncertain if the Cardinal himself were
there. Thence they proceeded to the Spanish Archbishop
of Cosenza's palace, wherein were some five hundred of
his countrymen, men of credit inhabiting Rome, who had
retired thither as to a place of safety; but all, without
exception, were cut to pieces. They next went to the house
of Messer Domenico de' Massimi, a Roman gentleman, who had
there his wife and two children, with many noble persons
of the city of all ages, every individual of whom were
slain--men, women, children, servants, maids; and it was
the same in many others, whose names I do not remember,
so that the dead bodies lie in heaps in the houses and
palaces of the nobility, each day getting worse. Fancy the
affliction of the poor ladies, seeing husbands, brothers,
children massacred before their eyes, without the power of
aiding them, and worse still, they were themselves killed
next moment. It is not believed that had the Turk come on
such an enterprise, his barbarity would have equalled that
daily, continuously, and perseveringly practised by these
ruffians. I cannot imagine a greater purgatory or hell than
to hear the weeping and lamentation there must be in that
afflicted city.
[Footnote 253: This letter, though inaccurate in several
details, the author writing at a distance from the events,
affords curious evidence of the consternation generally
occasioned by the sack of Rome.]
But I forgot that he told me they were barricading the
Marchioness of Mantua's palace, as he left Rome, in which
were her Excellency, with many Roman ladies, who had fled
there as to an asylum, but the result was not known. He
also said that the _Bande nere_ of the late Lord Giovanni
de' Medici were to have from the Pope double pay for
their services, which his Holiness refusing, a part of
them remained in Rome, and the rest went off in disgust
and joined the Spaniards in plundering, being the foremost
to assault that bastion which was defended by their
comrades, and having, in fact, secured the Imperialists
their victory, as without them neither the lansquenets nor
Spaniards had ever got into the city.
The Pope is in the castle, with many cardinals and other
persons of station: they are said to have a year's
provisions, with ample ammunition and artillery. This
Maestro Giacomo says he heard that the Imperialists,
dubious of succours, thought of fortifying the bridges,
with the intention of holding their ground against any
who might annoy them. As yet the lansquenets have made
no prisoners, but the Spaniards have pillaged immensely,
and taken vast numbers of men, women, priests, and people
of all sorts, so that there is, from Rome to Naples, an
uninterrupted stream of baggage and prisoners sent by
them. He also mentions that the chief of Colonna most
courageously charged the lansquenets, crying Colonna!
Colonna! but after a great fray, he was beaten and his
followers killed, whereupon Pompeo Colonna, thinking to
elevate himself and put down his enemies, fled away, and
neither he nor any of his house have been since heard of.
It was reported that four soldiers were killed in entering
the castle, but this is since contradicted. Cardinal del
Monte and many more cardinals are missing, and it is not
known if they got in there, or are dead, or taken, or
escaped. It is suspected that these anti-Christian dogs
will put all Rome to flames; and we may anticipate that
after suffering all this rapine, pillage, slaughter,
and captivity, it will soon have to endure a grievous
pestilence, from the number of dead bodies left in the
palaces and houses, which no one removes for burial, and
which are putrefying in masses, so that no one can enter,
on account of the stench, without inhaling infection. It
is also said that, a day or two ago one of the Pope's
chamberlains was secretly sent by his Holiness from the
castle in the night to our Duke [of Urbino], to inform him
of the state of matters, and to exhort him and the other
captains of the League to push on with the army to his
aid; and that all these other leaders having repaired
to consult with his Lordship, they unanimously resolved
to press forward. We hear that his Excellency is to-day
at Orvieto, and will reach Viterbo to-morrow; also that
he will make a general levy, and give bounty to all who
will enlist. His Excellency has written the Governor a
very affectionate letter, praying him to exhort all those
here who have been soldiers to go in search of honourable
service, with money and all they may require. The Governor
has circulated copies of this letter throughout the state,
and has made proclamation, so that they are embodying many
men to join his Excellency. On Saturday, Vincenzo Ubaldino
and Pier-Matteo di Thomasello will start from this with a
fine and good detachment. I am sorry not to be able to send
you a copy of this letter, which it would really have done
your heart good to read. You could hardly believe how much
vexation this misfortune to Rome has caused here; and when
people of station discuss it, as they often do, I assure
you I have seen them weep as freely as if it were their
own. All that I have related I tell you just as I heard it
from others. I would I were speaking untruths, and that it
were all false; but I shall say no more. The Lady Madonna
Emilia sends you hearty commendations, and reminds you not
to give yourself such airs as to forget her. From Urbino,
the 20th May, 1527. Entirely your brother,
SCIPIONE ARRIS....
III. _Letter from Mercurino da Gattinara, Commissary of the Imperial
Army during the sack of Rome, wherein he informs the Emperor of the
entrance into that city, of the slaughter and havock inflicted, and
of the arrangement made through him with Clement VII., and how during
four successive days he repaired to the Castle of St. Angelo to
negotiate with the Pope and thirteen cardinals there inclosed._[254]
[Footnote 254: Vat. Ottob. MSS. No. 2607.]
Most sacred Cæsar,
I have this written in Italian by another hand, being
unable to do so with my own in consequence of meeting with
an accident, as I shall presently explain. I have to inform
your Majesty that Monsieur di Borbone, being near Florence
and Siena with his army, and understanding that the former
of these cities was well fortified, and contained the
forces of the League ready to defend it, rendering a siege
impossible, or at all events so protracted as to endanger
your Majesty's troops from want of provisions and other
stores, whilst the lack of pay risked their disbanding
and losing all;--aware, on the other hand, that Rome had
been disarmed, and that to seize and bring it and the
Pontiff to great straits was to gain everything, or at all
events would prove a measure so useful and advantageous
as to content your Majesty;--it appeared to him better to
abandon his designs upon Florence, and, advancing by forced
marches, to beleaguer Rome, thereby anticipating the army
of the League, and preventing them from succouring it,
for which purpose he determined to leave his artillery in
Siena. Accordingly, when this was decided, the confederates
being in Florence, and we thirty miles on this side of it,
we advanced with the utmost diligence, doing twenty or
four-and-twenty miles a day, which was something quite new
for the army, so numerous, so distressed by past fatigues,
and by recent and actual hunger.[255] Thus, on Saturday
the 4th instant, it was quartered at Isola, seven miles
from Rome. M. di Borbone and his officers were astonished
that the Pope and cardinals should await the army and the
threatened danger, whilst Rome was incapable of defence,
without submitting some proposal by envoy or letter, or
even answering a despatch sent to his Holiness by M. di
Borbone and the Viceroy as to the terms of agreement. Some
of your Majesty's good servants suggested that were the
army under the walls it was doubtful if they could carry
them, from want of artillery, in which event their own
destruction would follow; on the other hand, that in case
of taking the city it would be sacked, which could be no
good service to your Majesty, as its plunder would occasion
the army to disperse, the Spaniards and Italians straggling
towards Naples, or, should they not break up, they might
demand immense arrears of pay, which not being discharged
from want of means, everything would fall into confusion.
For these reasons they recommended Borbone so to dispose
his forces as to keep matters open for arrangement with the
Pope. Of this advice he openly approved, desirous of any
plan which should provide pay for the army. He, however,
declared that he would not abstain from annoying the
enemy, nor allow them time to provide for their interests,
alleging that the Admiral [Bonnivet] of France, from not
having taken Rome when he could, in order to save it from a
sack, was unable afterwards to do so, it being defended by
the Lord Prospero Colonna: also that, on another occasion,
when Monsieur di Chaumont beleaguered Bologna, Fabrizio
Colonna threw in succours whilst the French general was
treating with Julius II., who thereupon broke off the
parley: finally, that it became a pontiff rather to seek a
capitulation than to wait until it was demanded of him.
[Footnote 255: As a specimen of the very loose diction even
of public despatches in this age, and of the obstacles
which a translator has to encounter, we shall render
literally the next sentence, or rather half page, sentences
not being divided in the original. "And so the fourth
day of the present month of May, which was Saturday, the
foresaid army made his lodgment at seven miles from Rome,
in a place which is called the Isle; Monsieur di Borbone
and all the principal persons were filled with much
wonder that the Pope and so many cardinals and all Rome,
being disarmed, should wait for such an army and great
danger, without sending to the said Monsieur di Borbone
an ambassador to make some parley, nor letters, or answer
to his letters which the said M. di Borbone had formerly
written, and the Viceroy, to his Holiness about the affair
of the agreement."]
Monsieur di Borbone accordingly decided on approaching the
walls, and on Sunday morning the 5th we made a lodgment
within [beyond?] St. Peter's palace, hard by the monastery
of S. Pancrazio. Yet he did not neglect addressing a
letter to the Pontiff on that morning, exhorting him to
make a favourable capitulation rather than abide the
unpleasant alternative. It was at the same time suggested
whether it might not be well for him to repair to his
Holiness; but considering that he could not go for want of
a safe-conduct, it seemed better for him to remain; he,
however, sent the letter by a trumpet, whom the enemy did
not allow to pass, the missive remaining in their hands,
and we know not whether it reached the Pope; at all events,
no answer ever came, which was demanded before half-past
seven P.M. of that day, after which it would be no
longer possible to restrain the army. For these reasons,
as evening approached, it was resolved to get the ladders
all prepared for an assault the following morning on the
Borgo towards the furnaces, where the wall was considered
very weak. And so the assault was given on Monday morning
the 6th of May in this year 1527, when by an unlucky
chance the Lord di Borbone was hit in the abdomen towards
the right thigh, of which wound he presently died. Yet
notwithstanding this accident, which was not at once
known to the army, the undertaking was carried through,
and the Borgo was plundered that morning. The Pope, with
most of the cardinals and court, were in the castle, but
on hearing what had occurred they hastily retired to the
castle of S. Angelo. Meanwhile our soldiery sacked the
whole Borgo, and slew most of the people whom they found,
taking a few prisoners. The enemy's forces then in the city
are supposed not to have exceeded three thousand, unused
to arms, so that it was scarcely defended; the dense fog
which prevailed during that day was likewise inopportune,
preventing them seeing each other; and the struggle did not
last in all above two hours. We afterwards learned that
the Pope and the citizens, relying upon the assurances of
Renzo da Ceri, considered both Rome and the Borgo to be
impregnable without artillery, and looked for support from
the confederate army.
The Pontiff being thus within the castle, and such of the
citizens as were armed having joined their handful of
troops for defence of the bridges and of the Transtevere
quarter, the Borgo was occupied by a large portion of our
army, and its leaders were assembled in council, when there
arrived the Portuguese ambassador to say that some Romans,
his neighbours, had, with the Pope's sanction, urged him
to make terms. The answer given him was that the council
would be ready to treat, so soon as the Pope had placed
in their hands the Ponte Molle and Transtevere, to which
proposal no reply was returned during that day. A brigade
of our troops having carried the Transtevere, and possessed
themselves of the Ponte Sisto and Sta. Maria, the whole
army passed into the city early on that evening of the
6th. As the inhabitants in general relied on its being
defended, none of them had fled or removed their property,
so that no one of whatever nation, rank, condition, age,
or sex escaped becoming prisoners--not even women in the
convents. They were treated without distinction according
to the caprice of the soldiery; and after being plundered
of all their effects most of them were compelled by
torture or otherwise to pay ransom. Cardinals Cesarini,
della Valle, and di Siena, being imperialists, considered
themselves safe, and remained in their houses, whither
also there retired Cardinal ..., Fra Giacobatio, and many
friends with their women and valuables; but finding no
sanctuary there, they had to compound with certain captains
and soldiers for security of their persons and property;
notwithstanding which, these houses were completely
pillaged three or four days afterwards, and they had enough
to do to save their lives. Some women who had carried all
their earthly possessions to Cardinal Colonna's residence
were left with but a single cloak and shift. Cardinals S.
Sisto and della Minerva, who stayed at home, are still in
the soldiers' power, being too poor to pay their ransom.
All the church ornaments are stolen, the sacred utensils
thrown about, the relics gone to destruction--for the
troops in abstracting their precious receptacles heeded
these no more than as many bits of wood: even the shrine
of the _sancta sanctorum_ was sacked, although regarded
with peculiar reverence. St. Peter's church and the papal
palace from top to bottom have been made into stables.
I feel confident that your Majesty as a Catholic and
most Christian emperor will feel displeasure at these
gross outrages and insults to the Catholic religion, the
Apostolic See, and the city of Rome. In truth, every one
is convinced that all this has happened as a judgment
from GOD on the great tyranny and disorders of
the papal court; but however this may be, there has been
vast destruction, for which no redress can be had but from
your Majesty's arm and authority. This army has no head,
no divisions, no discipline, no organisation, but every
one behaves according to his own fancy. The Lord Prince
of Orange and Giovanni di Urbino, with the other leaders,
do what they can, but to little purpose; for in entering
Rome the lansquenets have conducted themselves like true
Lutherans, and the rest like actual.... Most of the troops
are enriched by the enormous booty, amounting to many
millions of gold. A majority of the Spaniards will, it is
supposed, retire to Naples with their spoil.
But to resume our narrative. On the morning after our
entry, being Tuesday the 7th, the Pope wrote a letter
to our leaders, praying them to send me to his Holiness
to hear certain proposals. By their order I went into
S. Angelo, where I found thirteen cardinals in great
affliction, as was natural in the circumstances. His
Holiness in their presence told me, that since fortune, on
which he too much relied, had brought him to this pass,
he would not think of any resistance, but was content to
place his own person and that of the cardinals, and his
state, in your Majesty's hands, and that he desired me to
mediate with the captains for some favourable arrangement.
I did my best to comfort his Holiness and the cardinals,
showing them how satisfied they must be that your Majesty
never intended to injure either his Holiness or the
Apostolic See; but that great blame attached to them,
seeing they might, on certain fair conditions and by a
sum of money, have prevented our army from approaching so
near, which would have averted the destruction of Rome;
since, however, GOD had so willed it, that his
plan seemed to me good, of placing himself in the hands
of your Majesty, as there was no remedy or redress to be
looked for but from that quarter. Taking upon me the charge
imposed by my office as mediator, I passed several times
between the council of war and the Pontiff, and succeeded
in the course of four days in concluding a capitulation,
which is generally considered reasonable and advantageous
to your Majesty's service, as to which I shall only say
that your Majesty will judge, after seeing its terms
and learning its progress. There arose on our side an
obstacle to prevent the execution of this agreement, which
was the bad discipline of the Germans, who took a fancy
not to quit Rome, nor confirm any truce, until they had
received all arrears of pay, amounting, according to their
calculation, to 300,000 scudi. But as the Pope could put
down but 100,000 scudi, even after selling everything
within the castle, of his own valuables and those of the
cardinals and prelates, and the church ornaments, the
affair could not be brought to a happy issue, so much so
that I greatly feared the brutality of these Germans and
the blunders of others would have lost all the fruits of
our enterprise, especially as the army of the League is
supposed not to be more than twenty or twenty-five miles
distant, and as some of their detachments have already
tried to carry off his Holiness by night. After several
days had passed in disputing with the lansquenets, the
expedient was adopted of handing them over all the cash
produced by the Pontiff--the Prince of Orange and other
captains undertaking that they should be paid [the balance]
out of the first moneys raised, and Parma and Piacenza
being consigned in security. I was obliged to concede
to them these conditions, in order to carry through the
capitulation, and so secure the benefit of our enterprise,
as well as to elude their anxiety to get the Pope and
cardinals into their clutches, upon which they were greatly
set. And this arrangement is really of such importance that
most of your Majesty's servants are willing to undertake
any obligation towards these lansquenets, in order to
ensure the Pope's and cardinals' safety. There is still
some hitch about raising the 100,000 scudi, but we trust
means will be found; meanwhile, it has been resolved to
throw three hundred infantry into the castle to-morrow,
under some leader, to secure it and all in it; and we shall
see gradually to get the rest brought about.
In return for my toils, anxieties, and services, I was
wounded from an arquebus in S. Angelo on the fourth day,
whilst approaching the castle to treat with the Pope.
The ball passed through my right arm, which prevents me
from writing, but I hope in time to get over it. And
notwithstanding this accident befallen me, from no fault
of his Holiness, whilst on your Majesty's service and in
so righteous a work, I shall endure it all patiently, in
the hope that your Majesty will consider my exertions, and
the losses sustained by me in limb and estate, and out of
your clemency and compassion will not omit some fitting
recompence.
After writing the above on the 19th inst., I returned to
the castle to conclude the arrangements with the Pope and
cardinals, and complete the convention; and in consequence
of certain articles being added regarding the entry of our
people into S. Angelo, I sought to remodel the treaty.
The Lord Vespasiano Colonna, and the Abbot of Nigera
accompanied me; and after protracted discussion with the
Pontiff regarding the difficulty of raising the 100,000
scudi, we had recourse to certain merchants who, on a
guarantee from his Holiness and the cardinals, promised to
make up a balance of 20,000 wanted to complete that sum.
This point being settled, I insisted on reforming the
treaty, and that your Majesty's troops might on that very
day take possession of the fortress, as had been agreed
on. But his Holiness endeavoured all day to postpone this
on various pretexts, and at length, when pressed by us to
decide, as we would wait no longer, he replied, "I shall
speak frankly; having advices that the confederate army
is at hand to relieve me, I desire, meanwhile, that you
give me a limited time to await their succours, on the
expiry of which I shall perform all the stipulations of the
capitulation. Nor is this any unreasonable request, as I
shall be satisfied with six days, and as similar conditions
are never refused to any fortress about to surrender."
I replied to the Pontiff and the cardinals, that your
Majesty's army had little apprehension of any such
succours, being always victorious; but that his Holiness
would do well to consider how your Majesty's captains,
on receiving such an answer, would conclude him and the
cardinals to have been merely trifling with them to gain
time: indeed, I was satisfied that they would consider it
a positive rupture, and would suddenly assault the castle,
and storm it so furiously that these, or even better terms,
would no longer be listened to, leaving no opportunity for
repentance or remedy short of the final destruction of the
Holy See. On hearing these views, the Pope and cardinals
were greatly bewildered, apprehending that they would be
realised should they wait for relief, and in this dilemma
remained gazing on each other, but asked a quarter of an
hour for consultation. Eventually there arose a wrangle
among the cardinals, those of the French faction wishing
to await succours at all hazards; so the Pontiff excused
himself from settling the matter according to his own wish,
ever urging a delay of six days. I believe the authors of
this opposition to have been Alberto da Carpi, the Datary
Orazio Baglione, Gregorio Casale the English ambassador,
and such like.
Having retired from the castle with Lord Vespasiano and
the Abbot, we related everything to our leaders, whereupon
it was decided to open that very night a trench round
the fortress, the whole army turning out under arms. It
was found no easy matter to muster them, all being idle
and intent on pillage; nor would they quit the houses,
especially the lansquenets, who at first thought it a mere
trick to get them out. At length, after great exertions,
the enemy being ascertained but seven miles off, all ran
to arms, and your Majesty's army was well disposed for
battle: indeed, I suspect the enemy found their calculation
disappointed, that most of our soldiery having become rich,
would no longer flock to their standards. Some Spanish and
German troops are expected; but I know not if they will
arrive in time, as the trench is already made, so that
neither Pope nor any one else shall escape.
Such is the present state of your Majesty's affairs, and I
trust they will ever have successful issue. Yet it is true
that, after the death of M. di Borbone, great confusion
occurred in the army, as no one knew whom to acknowledge as
its chief. I think that had he lived, Rome would, perhaps,
not have been sacked, and matters might have taken a
better course and result for your Majesty's interests. Yet
GOD so willed it, and we need not talk of what
cannot now be helped. But my affectionate duty to your
Majesty requires me to report certain things requiring from
your Majesty the oversight of a captain-general; of the
individual I say nothing, not wishing presumptuously to
name any one. On M. di Borbone's death, the day we entered
Rome, the captains and counsellors in the army discussed
giving its command to the Viceroy of Naples, then at Siena.
The Prince of Orange remarked that he had acknowledged
the authority of di Borbone, but would not submit to the
Viceroy. It being suggested by some that the Duke of
Ferrara was coming as your Majesty's captain-general, the
Prince replied, that on his arrival, he would acknowledge
him, but that meanwhile, no one being commissioned by your
Majesty, he neither would set himself up as captain, nor at
all permit others to be so without your Majesty's command.
These words he addressed to Giovanni d'Urbino, who then,
and on subsequent occasions, modestly remarked that he was
content to acknowledge the Prince, with other complimentary
phrases. Now the Prince has taken the notion of being
himself captain-general, and thus affairs are conducted in
his name, not, however, with that title, but as the first
person in the army, being much liked by the Germans. Your
Majesty will do as seems best.
One thing requires your Majesty's careful consideration,
namely, how this city of Rome is to be governed, and
whether or not anything of the Apostolic See is to be
retained. I shall not conceal the opinion of some that it
should not be entirely abolished; for if that See were
transported elsewhere, it seems certain that it will be
utterly ruined, seeing that, in that case, the King of
France will set up a patriarch in his realm, refusing
obedience to the Apostolic See, the English and Spanish
Sovereigns doing the like. But this should be seen to
without delay, otherwise the professional men and notaries
will all be gone, and Rome will be quite reduced, as they
will lose both their appointments and their practice.
The Pope and those cardinals with him, told me that your
Majesty should make provision for this, otherwise all would
be lost. Your Majesty will act in this for the best.
There are three other points to which it is necessary that
your Majesty should attend by anticipation. One is, what
would your Majesty wish done, should his Holiness and
those cardinals go to Naples as has been proposed; ought
they to be taken to Spain or not? Another is, what if the
Pope should escape from the castle by aid of the enemy?
In the third place, should it come to an assault and the
Pontiff unluckily fall? It is my belief, however, that, on
expiry of the six days which he has demanded, and which
are already running, he, on finding no efficient succour,
will again come to parley and propose a capitulation. Yet
I have my misgivings lest your Majesty's interests should
be crossed by the fury of the lansquenets, who declare they
must get hold of him. But your Majesty's faithful servants
will not cease to consider how these interests can be
promoted; and now that the Lord Marquis del Vasto, the Lord
Don Ugo, with Marcone, are coming, perhaps their advice
will put things into better train.
I have resolved to discharge my duty by informing your
Majesty of these occurrences, but would to God I could
have despatched a courier to your Majesty daily as they
proceeded. Four days ago the Cardinal and others of the
Colonna were not in the neighbourhood, but he is since
arrived, with Lords Vespasiano and Ascanio, who do their
best in your Majesty's behalf.
The above I have retained until the 24th of May, and as
no courier is gone, I shall here note what has since
happened. Your Majesty must know that on the Pope declining
to accept the capitulation which I have mentioned above,
your Majesty's captains and counsellors began diligently to
surround the castle with trenches, &c., &c.
APPENDIX III
(Page 22)
THE DUKE OF URBINO'S JUSTIFICATION, 1527.[256]
[Footnote 256: Sanuto Diarii, xlv. 352.]
We print this document with hesitation, and solely from its being the
Duke's own and formal defence against very serious charges; which,
however, it leaves untouched. It is a futile attempt to evade these
by feeble and puling recrimination; to distract attention from their
true merits by circumlocutions and reiterations, which our version
has somewhat condensed. The original is one unbroken sentence, rudely
constructed, apparently of purpose to mystify the reader.
_Letter of the Lord Duke of Urbino, Captain-general to the Signory of
Venice, dated under Monteleone, 9th July, 1527._
By your Sublimity's letters to the most illustrious lord
Proveditore Pisani, and from my ambassador accredited
to you, I have learnt, to my infinite dissatisfaction
and surprise, the suspicions entertained by you lest
the illustrious lady Duchess, my consort, and my son
should secretly leave Venice, and the doubts of my good
faith which you by implication exhibit in denying them
permission to quit the city; regarding which it seems
necessary first to recapitulate to your Signory what I had
formerly charged my resident to explain to you, to this
effect. Since, from the very outset of this war, it has
generally happened to me not to accomplish my intentions
for your service and my own honour, and to be blamed for
failures resulting from the occurrence of impossibilities,
or from the blunders of others, whilst with mind and
body I was exclusively occupied on what might prove
advantageous and creditable,--I determined, for these
and other considerations which, out of modesty, I omit,
seeing the bad success with which I had, on this occasion,
borne arms, to yield to my evil fortune on the expiry of
my engagement; which I considered to be clearly ended at
the close of three years; nor again to expose my honour
to question, from no fault of mine. And, on this account,
I have all along and often said I would not continue,
which may be attested by all the commissioners employed
by your Serenity in this war, to whom, as to many others
you are accustomed to credit, I repeatedly stated this.
Passing over for the present the good reasons, already well
known to your Sublimity, which induced me to forget all
this, and treat of a re-engagement, with the disposition
to remain on,--as well as those considerations which,
renewing the first impressions, made me again deliberately
fall back upon my project, yet with the full intention
not to abandon the cause of your Sublimity, unless the
expected succours should arrive, or until I had placed it
in safety, even should this necessitate my staying long
after the conclusion of my service; thinking also that,
I having no opposite interest, the enemy ought to let me
rest in my intention, and in a firm resolution neither to
take up arms, nor otherwise act against your Sublimity
and your interests; nevertheless, considering that, were
I to quit you at the close of three years, from all these
and numerous other reasons, which might probably occasion
me annoyance, I might be exposed to the surmise of having
acted, not from such motives, but that, on observing the
success of the other side, I wished, by attaching myself
to a prosperous cause, to evade adversity; and my chief
object ever being to preserve my honour intact, not only
from stain, but even from suspicion;--on these accounts,
and from the difficulty that arose as to finding myself at
freedom in regard to the two years of _beneplacito_,[257] I
decided to serve, in order not to expose my honour to any
reflection. Yet, in addition to all that passed in private
between the Proveditore and myself, when I told him I would
and should serve your Sublimity without further demands,
and that he might freely dispose of me, I, even in the
public council, stated my views as to maintaining these
bands, and constituting them the mainspring of the war. For
the whole of which considerations, I declared that I would
serve your Sublimity, without regard to life or anything
else, as I have uniformly done, in order more fully to
satisfy all the Lords of Council that what I proposed I
was, and more than ever am, anxious to do, in conjunction
with them. And if the dates of letters be examined, it
will be distinctly seen that each of these circumstances
occurred much before I had heard, or could have heard, a
word as to any doubt or distrust of me being exhibited,
which, in my opinion, ought not to be, even were I to take
my leave. Thus I had no apprehension; yet, as my intention
of so acting was founded on what might fairly be done, I
did not suppose that by your Sublimity it would have been
not only opposed, but even gainsaid, in restoring to me
my son when I should ask him of you, as I meant to do. In
such case you might well consider that, even had I any
intention to fail you,--a thing you could not and ought not
to suppose from my former life,--you would have known how
to adopt, and would have adopted, measures suitable to such
intentions, and not so frequently have said and reiterated,
chiefly to the agents of your Sublimity, that you wished
me to be gone; and this after I had voluntarily given into
your hands my lady consort and my son, when there was, and
could be, no obligation to do so beyond the suggestions of
my thorough sincerity. And, with a view to establish this,
I lately offered you three proposals,--first, my person,
which is here at your Sublimity's disposal in your service;
second, my son, who is now in your hands; third, my state,
with its fortresses, which I willingly would offer your
Sublimity, to be kept, along with myself, in your service
and disposal, as full guarantee and security; although I
know not what better satisfaction you can require besides
my free action, whereby I so long and often have manifested
my disposition. And most clear, in my opinion, are the
many reasons which freely induced me; all of which, and
more too, were they not already so known, I am prepared to
maintain in case of need. Hence my modesty, serene Prince,
will not, in these circumstances, let me stop to say how
great a wrong I suffer; yet to no one, not even to your
Sublimity, have I given cause or occasion to depreciate my
good faith, which was, is, and ever shall be, most sincere.
And, although it be considered impossible that you can do
anything without that wisdom which becomes your dignity, I
nevertheless have grounds for complaint, and am exceedingly
vexed that my ill luck has been so in the ascendant
as,--after all the efforts and perils of my life, and the
loss of so many followers in your service, for which I have
heeded no calamities,--instead of the gratitude which I
might reasonably have promised myself from you, to occasion
such marked dishonour; so that, ever since my birth, I may
say that my life has been passed in ceaseless travails
and difficulties. And, if you have thought fit to believe
any malicious and spiteful fellow, I ought not to be the
victim, though he be an astute and wily foe, who, well
aware that I maintained myself to be at liberty, and very
often declared myself unwilling to remain, has spread some
rumours against me, reckoning that, if in nothing else, he
would, at all events, have the satisfaction of circulating
that distrust of me which is already apparent, although I
ought not on that account to be slandered. I do, therefore,
with the greatest possible urgency, beseech you to
investigate the truth; and, if I be blameable, to visit me
with such punishment as I merit; or, if found innocent, to
liberate me, by a suitable public acknowledgment, from the
stigma under which I lie. And, commending myself to your
favour, I remind you that all these past thoughts of mine
arose from no private interest of my own, but from despair
at being unable, by no fault of mine, to do what your
service and my honour demanded, and at being prevented, by
past circumstances, from effecting what I had previously
hoped to accomplish, although no exertions of mind or body
were wanting on my part. From beneath Monteleone, the 9th
of July, 1527.
[Footnote 257: A _condotto_, or military engagement, was usually
for so many years certain, and one or two more at the option or
_beneplacito_ of parties.]
APPENDIX IV
(Page 27)
SKETCH OF THE NEGOTIATIONS OF CASTIGLIONE AT THE COURT OF MADRID,
1525 TO 1529, COMPILED FROM THE ABBÉ SERASSI'S PREFACE TO VOL. II. OF
CASTIGLIONE'S LETTERS, AND CORRECTED FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES.
On his arrival at Madrid, in March, 1525, Castiglione found the
Emperor and his ministers much disposed for peace; but matters
soon assumed a totally different aspect, on news of the victory of
Pavia, which, by annihilating the army of Francis, and leaving him
a prisoner, established the supremacy of Charles, and placed him in
a position to dictate terms. This event modified the policy of the
Italian princes, and especially that of the Pope, who, naturally
irresolute, knew not what part to take, unwilling to abandon his
avowed neutrality, yet seeing no security in standing aloof from a
power so dominant as that of the Emperor. On the whole, he thought
it safest to come to a provisional arrangement with Don Carlos de
Lannoy, Viceroy of Naples, giving him 100,000 ducats for payment of
his troops, as the price of his aid in recovering for the Church
Reggio and Rubbiera, which the Duke of Ferrara had seized on the
death of Adrian VI. He at the same time named as his legate to the
leading powers of Christendom, for the purpose of concluding a
general peace, Cardinal Giovanni Salviati, who proceeded to Madrid to
attend the conferences for the liberation of Francis and the security
of Italy. In consort with Castiglione, the Legate urged that an
envoy should be forthwith despatched to Rome and Venice, in order
to remove those suspicions of the Emperor's design to make himself
master of the entire Peninsula, which had arisen in consequence of
the Marquis of Pescara taking possession of the chief fortresses of
the Milanese, and besieging Francesco Sforza in his capital, on a
pretext of his plotting with the other princes to drive the Spaniards
out of Lombardy, and to deprive them of Naples; it being obvious that
once established in these provinces, Charles would be paramount in
Italy. As to the liberation of Francis, they could get nothing beyond
professions of the utmost moderation, that matter being secretly
negotiated by the Viceroy.
The Pontiff, getting no satisfaction on these points, began to lend
an ear to a proposed league of France, England, and Venice; but, when
on the point of subscribing it, he, to the infinite disgust of his
colleagues, postponed his signature on a rumour that the Commendatore
Herrera was at Genoa, on his way to offer very acceptable proposals;
at length, however, finding that these reports were but opiates
to set him asleep, he was induced to join the confederation,
notwithstanding entreaties and promises of the imperial ambassador.
This league filled Charles with indignation, as he fully understood
it to be directed against himself, though masked by a condition
sanctioning his adherence to it. But his rage was immoderate on
receiving, through Castiglione, a papal brief, which justified the
confederacy as necessary for the safety of Italy and the Holy See,
and complained generally of the measures of his ministers, specifying
various instances wherein they had ill responded to the pacific and
affectionate dispositions entertained by his Holiness towards their
master. Stung to the quick by a despatch which laid bare the secret
tricks of their paltry intrigues, they persuaded the Emperor to
return a sharp answer, appealing to a general council whatever steps
Clement might have recourse to against him, which they represented as
likely to endanger his possession of Naples, and even his tenure of
the imperial crown. Castiglione, who enjoyed high personal favour,
was able by dexterous representations to extract from Charles himself
the hope of a milder reply, and meanwhile had from him authority to
assure the Pontiff of his friendly intentions, and of his resolution
to comport himself as a humble and liege son; and these favourable
dispositions were the more readily effected, as he had received from
the wavering Pontiff a revocation of the offensive brief the very day
after it had been delivered. It was, therefore, with dismay that,
when shown the secretary's answer, he found it in the utmost degree
bitter and spiteful; and hurrying to the Emperor, he complained of
the disrespect thus shown to his Majesty's wishes in an affair of
such moment, protesting that he neither could write to his master
what his Majesty had already instructed him, without belying the
whole negotiation, nor could he, after such treatment, rely upon or
report those favourable dispositions which his Majesty had hitherto
professed. Charles replied that his real intentions were conformable
to his previous professions, although he had been advised by his
ministers to write in such terms as might justify and secure himself,
in the face of such groundless imputations as had been made in the
objectionable brief; adding the most solemn abjurations, that, if
his Holiness comported himself peaceably towards all, he should
ever continue a good and obedient son. In an autograph letter to
the Nuncio, he reiterated this explanation of his answer, with a
hope that the Pope would not take offence at its contents, and an
assurance that Castiglione would never be belied by him. The document
which the diplomatist had the tact thus to obtain, is relied upon
by his biographers as a satisfactory negative to the suspicions of
Varchi, that he betrayed the Pontiff and the Church, during his
vexatious relations with the Spanish court.
Meanwhile, Francis having been released, on terms which he was unable
as well as unwilling to execute, and his sons consequently remaining
as hostages, the new League proceeded with hostilities against the
Imperialists in Lombardy, and took Lodi, whilst their ambassadors
still negotiated at Madrid for the Emperor's adherence to their
confederation, and for release of the French princes. This farce of
armed protocolising was further complicated by various by-plots, and
by endless jealousies and misunderstandings among these diplomatists,
so that the Spanish ministry found no difficulty in protracting it
by a succession of petty cavils, in the hope of some favourable news
from the seat of war. Such was the state of matters when the first
sack of Rome by Don Ugo da Moncada and the Colonna, in September
1526, reached the imperial court, and along with it the hurried
truce imposed upon Clement. Charles, affecting great indignation,
immediately sent to the Pope Cesare Fieramosca, his master of horse,
to disown the proceedings of Moncada, and to lavish professions for
the peace and welfare of Italy, the only effect of which was to
lull the facile and nerveless Pontiff into a fatal security, rudely
dispelled by the assault of Bourbon on the heights of the Vatican.
APPENDIX V
(Page 140)
ACCOUNT OF THE ARMADA OF THE MOST SERENE DON JOHN OF AUSTRIA, DRAWN
UP AT MESSINA THE LAST OF JULY, 1571.[258]
[Footnote 258: Vat. Urb. MSS. 816, fol. 144-5.]
1. SPANISH INFANTRY, INCLUDING THOSE AT CORFU.
Don Gabriel Hig'r of the third of Naples 3000
Of Sicily 1900
Mechil Moncada 1560
Pietro Ciaida 300
Don Giovanni Figarola 280
D. Lopez Figarola 130
Alonzo Ruiz di Carion 144
Francesco Aldana 290
____
Total 7604
2. ITALIAN INFANTRY.
The Count of Soriano 1650
Tiberio Brancatio 2000
Paolo Sforza 1800
Pietro Villa and Giorgio Moncada 3000
Paolo Golfario 280
Fra Matteo Belhuomo 200
Vincenzo di Bologna 500
____
Total 9430
3. PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS.
The Lord Prince of Parma 350
The Lord Paolo Giordano 400
The Marquis of Trevico 100
The Marquis of Briense 750
Giulio Gesuoldo 40
Antonio Doria 30
D. Giovanni di Gueriaza 40
Count di Landriano 80
D. Giovanni di Avalos 20
Count di Vicari 40
Cecco da Lofredo 30
The Prior of Hungary 25
____
Total 1905
Also of knights from Germany and Burgundy
on their own costs 150
The captains of adventure, of very fine appearance and
very well armed, may amount to above two thousand;
say in all 2150
German infantry (no successor to the Count Lodron yet
appointed) 4361
[ABSTRACT.]
Italian infantry 9950
Spanish " 7604
Private men-at-arms 1905
Captains of adventure 2150
Germans 4361
Total 25,970
NAVAL FORCE.
33 ships, each carrying from 1500 to 4500, or from 6400 to 7000 souls.
Those carrying 700 remain for the westward.
9 large barks, part of them left for the westward, and partly taken
for his Highness' effects and for artificial fireworks.
The division of the great galleys to be taken on or left behind is
not yet made, not knowing the amount of duty required, nor the eighty
paid by the court.
ARTILLERY.
13 canons of 50 lb. fully supplied.
1 " of 60 "
5 " of 35 "
3 " of 25 "
2 " for stones.
2 colobrines of 16 lb.
14 sagri of 7 "
10 falconets for the great barks.
12 pieces of seven mouths sent by the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
__
62 in all.
AMMUNITION.
7050 iron balls of 50 lb.
3450 " " of 35 "
3250 " " of 25 "
1200 " " for the colobrines.
3644 iron balls for the sagri.
767 stone balls.
______
19,361 in all.
______
1360 cantars of powder, Neapolitan weight, 100 to each cannon.
1980 cantars of rope for the arquebuses.
1800 cantars of lead.
PROVISIONS.
7000 cantars of biscuit already carried on to Corfu, whereof
1000 lent to the Venetians, and 2000 to the Pope's
galleys, leaving 4000 for those of the Marquis Sta.
Croce.
26,000 cantars more are returned as in the kingdom of
Naples (including the 3000 for the Venetians and
his Holiness) under charge of the Marquis of Terranuova,
who is to ship 19,000 for the supply of the
armament during four months.
3500 pipes [_botte_] of wine in the ships at Corfu.
2500 " to be shipped for the Levant by the Marquis of
Terranuova.
7400 cantars of salt-meat in the ships at Corfu will be divided
at Messina.
1050 cantars for the westward squadron.
8000 " of Sardinian cheese at Corfu.
5000 barrels of pickled tunny and anchovies at Corfu for the
armament.
1500 cantars of rice }
150 quarters of vetches } for both armaments.
1025 " " ditto remain in Messina.
600 casks of vinegar.
3570 baskets of oil, Neapolitan measure.
His Highness has resolved that Doria shall accompany his galleys to
the Levant, and assist in the transport of stores, under orders to
return speedily with twelve galleys; and has made him Proveditore of
the western squadron, consisting of forty galleys and other vessels.
APPENDIX VI
(Page 167)
INDULGENCE CONCEDED TO THE CORONA OF THE GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY BY
POPE PIUS V., AND CONFIRMED BY THEIR HOLINESSES URBAN VIII. AND
ALEXANDER VII. 1666.
"This Corona is called the Corona of the bowels of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and consists of ten Ave Marias and one Pater Noster. Every
person possessing this Corona shall obtain the remission of all his
sins and plenary indulgence.
"Each time that he shall take it up in full faith, and look upon it,
saying, 'Lord Jesus Christ, I pray thee by the merit of thy most holy
Passion, have mercy on my soul and my weighty sins,' he shall obtain
remission thereof; and whoever daily looks upon it and kisses it, for
the merit of the most holy Passion, shall receive as above.
"Further, each time that he shall say this, he shall liberate a soul
from purgatory, and saying it a thousand times, a thousand souls
shall be liberated through the privilege of this Corona; and whoever
shall look upon it by the merits of our Lord's Passion, or shall
touch it in full faith, shall obtain plenary indulgence and remission
as above.
"And further, any ecclesiastic wearing it whilst he says the holy
mass shall have the like plenary indulgence and remission, and those
hearing the mass shall gain forty days' indulgence.
"Power is given to the Grand Duke to dispense seven Coronas to as
many persons, from time to time for ever, warning them that they
must ask them in the name of God and through the merits of His most
sacred Passion; and these should be delivered gratis."
[From a contemporary copy in Bibl. Cassinatensis, x. iv. 39, p. 369.]
APPENDIX VII
(Page 210)
MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS OF THE DUCAL FAMILY OF URBINO.
We have here collected the various inscriptions in memory of the
sovereigns of Urbino and their consorts, so far as these have come to
our knowledge. Several are taken from Giunta, Abozzamento della Città
di Urbino, a MS. in the Albani Library at Rome; or from Lazzari,
_Dizionario dei Pittori di Urbino_, where not unfrequent errors
occur: others from the originals.
I. COUNT GUIDANTONIO.
On a pavement tombstone in the old church of S. Donato, close to
the Zoccolantine Monastery near Urbino, is a sculptured effigy in
the Franciscan habit, with the following doggerel, in some parts
illegible:--
"Ploret in Hesperia tellus! plorate Latini!
Guido Comes, moriens hoc requiescit humo.
Non fuit a coelo princeps clementior alter;
Prævalidas urbes rexit et ipse potens.
Non fuit in terris unquam qui sanctior heros
Cappam Francisci posset habere sacri;
Quem dabit eternis probitas venerabilis ævo
Mors animam coelo reddidit alma suo.
Vos igitur superi socio gaudete superno,
Et Divum servet curia sacra Ducem:
Mille quadringentis domini currentibus annis
Quadraginta tribus, Februarii vigesima prima."
II. DUKE ODDANTONIO.
Quoted by Lazzari from a broken statue in the palace, which had been
inscribed during his life:--
"Serenissimo Oddantonio, principi præclaro, Urbini Duci primo,
qui vetusti generis splendore propriâque virtute insignis, ducali
diademate a santissimo Eugenio IV. recto fuit judicio decoratus."
III. DUKE FEDERIGO.
On his statue in the palace by Girolamo Campagna of Verona.
"Federigo Urbini Duci optimo, S.R. ecclesiæ Vexillifero,
foederatorum principum ac aliorum exercitum imperatori,
expugnatori, præliorum omnium victori, propagatæ ditionis ædificiis,
et militaris virtutis literis exornatori, populis insigni prudentia,
pietate, pace, justitiaque servatis, de Italia benemerenti,
Franciscus Maria Dux, abnepos, faciendum curavit."
IV.
On his monument in the Zoccolantine Church of S. Bernardino, near
Urbino:--
"D.O.M. Federigo Montefeltrio Urbini Duci II., Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ
vexillifero, Italici foederis aliorumque exercituum imperatori,
præliorum passim victori nunquam victo, ditionis et bonarum artium
propugnatori, celebris bibliothecæ et insignium ædificiorum, tum ad
magnificentiam tum ad pietatem structori, quem licet aliis preferas,
nescias tamen belli an pacis gloria seipsum superavit. Obiit ann.
dom. MCCCCLXXXII. suo. LXV."
V. DUKE GUIDOBALDO I.
On his monument in the same church:--
"Guidobaldo Federici filio, Urbini Duci III., qui adhuc impubes,
paternam gloriam emulans, imperia viriliter foeliciterque gessit,
juvenis de adversâ triumphans fortunâ, sed vi morbi corpore debilior
animo vegetior, pro armis literas, pro militibus viros selectissimos,
pro re bellica rem aulicam ita coluit, fovit, auxit, ut ejus aula
ceteris præclarissimum extet exemplar. Obiit an. Dom. MDVIII., suo
XXXVI. Et Elizabethæ Gonzagæ, miræ pudicitiæ feminæ, ipsi jugali
amore et egregia virtute conjunctissima."
VI. DUKE FRANCESCO MARIA I.
From a mural slab in Sta. Chiara at Urbino; written by Bembo.
"Francesco Mariæ Duci, amplissime belli pacisque muneribus perfuncto,
dum paternas urbes, per vim ter ablatas, ter per virtutem recipit, et
receptis æquissime moderatur; dum a pontificibus, a Florentinis, a
Venetis exercitibus præficitur; deinceps et gerendi in Turcas belli,
dum princeps et administrator assumitur, sed ante diem sublato,
Leonora uxor fidissima et optima meritissimo posuit, et sibi."
VII. DUKE GUIDOBALDO II.
From the same church:--
"D.O.M. Guidus Ubaldus Monfeltrius de Ruvere, Urbini Dux quintus,
sanctæ Romanæ ecclesiæ, Philippi Hispaniarum Regis, Venetæque
reipublicæ exercituum præfectus et imperator summus, magnanimitate et
liberalitate adeo excelluit ut eum regia cum majestate aliis potius
profuisse quam præfuisse dixeris. Obit humanum diem sexagenarius,
anno Dñi MDLXXIII."
VIII. DUCHESS VITTORIA.
From the same church:--
"Victoria Farnesia Guidi Ubaldi Urbini Ducis V. conjux, maximorum
principum filia, soror, amita, parens: annis quidem plena, sed
præter, mulierum captum virtutibus plenior, migravit e vita anno Dñi,
MDCII."
IX.
On the centre slab of the pavement of S. Ubaldo, at Pesaro, where the
two last-mentioned sovereigns were interred.
"Guid. Ub. II. Urb. Ducis V. et Victoriæ uxoris ossa."
X. CARDINAL GIULIO DELLA ROVERE.
From a mural slab in Sta. Chiara, at Urbino.
"Julio Montefeltrio e Ruvere, sanctæ Romanæ ecclesiæ cardinali;
Umbriæ bis legatione magna cum laude perfuncto; Urbini, Ravennæ,
aliarumque ecclesiarum antistiti; Lauretanæ domûs ac Sancti
Francisci ordinum patrono; justitiâ, pietate, beneficentiâ, Principi
celeberrimo; mortalitatem explevit nonas Septembris, anno Domini
MDLXXVIII., ætatis vero XLIV."
XI. PRINCE FEDERIGO.
Over his tomb in the pavement of the crypt in the cathedral at Urbino.
"D.O.M. In hoc quod Franciscus Maria II., postremus Urbini Dux, sibi
paraverat sepulchro, quiescunt ossa Friderici ejus filii immatura
morte prærepti, III. Kal. Julii, MDCXXIII., et suæ æt. ann. XVIII."
XII.
From a mural slab in Sta. Chiara, at Urbino.
"Federicum Urbini Principem, in quem Roborea domûs recumbebat, dies
fugiens incolumem, cunctisque fortunæ muneribus vidit præfulgentem,
eundemque primam intra juventam inopinatâ morte extinctum, dies
veniens aspexit, III. Kal. Julii, MDCXXIII. Abi hospes, ac disce
felicitatem vere vitream tunc præcipue frangi, cum maxime splendet."
XIII. DUKE FRANCESCO MARIA II.
From the Church of the Crucifixion, near Urbania.
"Inclina Domine aurem tuam ad preces nostras, quibus misericordiam
tuam supplices deprecamur, ut animam famuli tui Francisci Mariæ,
Urbini Ducis, quam de hoc seculo migrare jussisti in pacis et lucis
regione, constituas, et sanctorum tuorum jubeas, esse consortem."
XIV. PRINCESS LAVINIA DELLA ROVERE.
"Laviniæ Feltriæ de Ruvere, Guidobaldi V. Ducis Urb. V. filiæ,
Alfonsi de Avalos, Vasti March., Hispani Magnatis conjugi, regiis
virtutibus et forma spectabili, Italorum principum Romani Pontificis
et Catholici Regis conciliatrici; qui inclyto orbata viro, virginibus
claustra, pauperibus bona, Christo seipsum dicavit; demum avitâ major
gloriâ victrix, ad eternam evocata pacem, eam sanctimoniæ famam
reliquit, ut divinitus datum noscas ultimum Roboris in materno solo
arvisque ramum, qui primus gloriosiorque vigebat. Obiit A.D.
MDCXXXII., suo LXXV."
APPENDIX VIII
(Page 246)
STATISTICS OF URBINO
It would be interesting could we, in concluding this work, offer some
details as to the statistics of Urbino under its native princes. But
although, under the genial sun and favouring circumstances of Italy,
man has in various ages advanced beyond his fellows in mental culture
and social development, the science of maturing the capabilities
of his position, and of marking their progression, is of modern
growth. The duties of rulers and subjects consisted until lately in
defence of the common weal against obvious dangers: the promotion
of its general prosperity, and the registration of its gradual
ameliorations, were no part either of scientific government, or of
individual study. Accordingly, the lights thrown upon statistics,
by historians and general writers in the best days of Italian
splendour, are too few and flickering to guide us to important
facts; and, though we may familiarise ourselves with the Athenian
court of Duke Guidobaldo I., its manners and its gossip,--though we
may recall from the ample description of many authors the stately
decorations of its palaces, the pageantry of its processions, the
brilliancy of its revels,--we are left in total ignorance of the
internal state of the country, of its resources and industry, of
the numbers and the condition of its inhabitants, of the financial
position of its government. It is not till late in the sixteenth
century that we meet with some materials, which,--though meagre and
inaccurate, and too often bearing the double impress of carelessness
and contradiction,--enable us to form some tangible estimate as to
these points.[259] Here, as in most cases, recording the impartial
evidence of watchful observers, the Venetian Relazione are of
considerable value. Those of Mocenigo and Zane, ambassadors at Urbino
in 1570-74, have been already drawn upon in this work, but it is
chiefly from the latter that we have gathered the following notices.
[Footnote 259: From a league between Count Antonio, of Urbino, and
Barnabo Visconti, of Milan, in 1376 (MSS. Oliveriana, No. 374,
vol. I., p. 1), we gather an isolated notice. Free import from the
territory of Urbino into Florence was stipulated for all sorts of
grain, fruit, and vegetables, the customary duties being paid upon
wheat, oats, and barley.]
About the middle of the sixteenth century the revenues of the duchy
did not exceed 40,000 scudi, and by the terms of its investiture the
imposts could not be raised without papal sanction. This restriction
having been removed upon the marriage of Duke Guidobaldo II.'s
daughter to the nephew of Pius IV., that prince promptly availed
himself of his new prerogative, augmenting them gradually to about
double that amount. The reductions consequent upon the Urbino
insurrection brought down the state revenues to about 60,000 scudi,
and in 1570 Mocenigo estimates the whole income, including the
allodial estates, at 100,000 scudi, adding an opinion that it was
capable of being much increased. Of the 60,000 scudi, one-sixth part
was derived from the salt, and two-sixths from licences granted for
the export of corn [_tratte_], the remaining half being drawn from
small taxes upon the townships, to which the rural population do
not appear to have directly contributed. The corn-trade was carried
on coastwise from Sinigaglia, amounting in ordinary years to about
150,000 _staji_ or bushels of wheat, partly smuggled from the papal
territory, which chiefly went to supply Venice and its dependencies.
The palpable inadequacy of these resources was eked out by pay and
allowances drawn by the last dukes from the Venetian Republic, the
Church, or the King of Spain. The _cense_ or annual payment to the
Camera Apostolica under the investiture is variously stated at from
2190 to 2907 scudi, falling due on St. Peter's day.
With these Venetian Relazioni, a document of much apparent interest
has been printed in the _Archivio Storico_, under the title of
"Balance of income and expenditure in the state of Urbino."[260]
On nearer inspection, however, its value falls far short of its
promise, for the entries are so confused, and the arithmetical
summations so incorrect, as to destroy nearly all confidence either
in the details or the general results. Still it seems to have
established a few facts throwing light upon the resources of the
duchy in the last years of the sixteenth century.
[Footnote 260: Series II., vol. II., p. 337, from a MS. in the
Siena Library, K. iii. 58: it is dated 1579, but contains posterior
entries.]
The revenues may be thus classified:--1. Those of twelve towns, five
smaller places, and the province of Montefeltro, derived from various
taxes,[261] duties on butcher-meat, salt, wine, straw, weighhouse
duties on grain and other provisions, and on merchandise, passenger
toll at Pesaro, rents of houses and inns, tax on the Jews (producing
953 scudi), and a variety of minor imposts varying in different
places. The customs of Pesaro yielded 1226 sc.; those of Sinigaglia
160, besides 436 for pot dues, and 6000 for grain and vegetables
shipped for exportation. 2. Income from manufactures[262] in various
towns, stated at 5712 sc. 3. The salt duties, or perhaps monopoly,
5407 sc. 4. Revenue from mills, payable in wheat (_grano_) at 4 sc. a
_soma_, 5832 sc. 5. Value of barley and oats (_spelta_) contributed
by various communities, 1020 sc. 6. Mountain rents, 610 sc. 7.
Donatives paid in wine, wood, and straw, to the value of 630 sc. 8.
Produce of allodial lands, in wheat, oats, barley, beans, lupines,
peas, vetches, buckwheat, flour, hay, straw, hemp, lint, wine,
walnuts, wool, cheese, pigeons, and waterfowl, to the gross amount of
7321 sc. The return of expenditure is too vague and confused to be
of any use, but it contains provisions to the Duchess, amounting to
about 7000 sc. From these returns the Venetian estimates would appear
to be understated, and a contemporary writer, whose anonymous Reports
upon the Italian principalities issued from the Elzivir press, sets
down its revenues in 1610 at above 200,000 scudi, of which 8000 were
paid as cess to the Camera Apostolica. The imposts were considered
light, for the soil was in many parts productive, and grain was
exported largely from it and the adjoining Marca, at the port of
Sinigaglia. The Duke's treasure in S. Leo is reckoned at 2,000,000
of scudi, a palpable error for 200,000. In 1024, the _Mercurius
Gallicus_ estimates the revenues of the duchy at 300,000 scudi,
besides allodial lands, and estates in Naples amounting to 50,000
more.
[Footnote 261: The word used is _colte_, which might mean crops.]
[Footnote 262: _Fabbriche_ might mean only shops.]
In regard to population, the estimate of Zane is 150,000, the
majority of whom devoted themselves to agriculture and arms,
commercial industry being almost unknown. He calculates the
military force at 10,000 men, half of them being trained, and about
three-fourths ready for foreign service; and he dwells upon the
benefit which his Republic might derive from conciliating a state
whence such a force could on any exigency be quickly obtained,
without the necessity of seeking free passage from any other power.
The report of 1610, which evidently verges upon exaggeration, gives
the fighting men at 20,000, nearly all infantry. In 1591, as we learn
from an original MS.,[263] the military force of the duchy amounted
to 13,313 men, of whom 8300 carried arquebuses, and 3783 wore
morions. From the same authority is taken the following tabular view
of the whole population, classed under townships, and amounting in
1598 to 115,121 souls.
[Footnote 263: Vat. Urb. MSS., No. 935.]
List of mouths in all the places of the state, drawn from the
Rassegne de' Grani, &c., in 1598[264]:--
Urbino 18,335
Pesaro 16,409
Gubbio 18,510
Fossombrone 1,882
Cagli 6,811
Montefeltro 15,090
Sinigaglia 8,535
Massa 9,845
Mondavio 3,738
Pergola 3,254
Mondolfo 1,820
Sta. Costanza 1,504
Orciano 1,234
Barchio 1,479
La Fratta 1,449
Montesecco 1,711
Montebello 395
Castelvecchio 225
Poggio di Berni 507
Fenigli 434
La Tomba 1,953
_______
115,121
[Footnote 264: _Ibid._]
A report upon Urbino, drawn up for Urban VIII. during the last Duke's
life, and preserved in the Albani Library, estimates the men trained
to arms at from 8000 to 10,000, but badly officered, and ill-armed or
accoutred. Since the Devolution, population had increased, and the
last census of the legation, nearly corresponding with the duchy,
gave 220,000 souls within an area of 180 square leagues, the city of
Urbino containing 7500, besides 4500 in the adjacent district.
In 1574, few or none of the nobility drew from their estates a rental
exceeding 3000 scudi, but there were many burgesses owning from 300
to 400 a year. The few merchants were chiefly foreigners. Most of the
small towns had been dismantled of their fortifications, only some
fifty having them kept in repair, of which about twenty belonged to
as many petty feudatories.
A writer soon after the Devolution states the Duke's revenues at
100,000 to 120,000 scudi, including 20,000 of Spanish subsidy, as
much of allodial income, and 30,000 from escheats, penalties, and the
port duties of Sinigaglia, whence a great grain trade was carried on
by the Venetians out of the Marca.[265] Some years after the duchy
had lost its independence, although this export was then prohibited
by Urban VIII., and notwithstanding the loss of the allodial estates,
the Camera drew above 100,000 scudi from direct and fiscal taxation.
The militia at that time numbered 8000 infantry and 500 cavalry,
besides the garrison of Sinigaglia. The _fattorie_, or allodial
farms, yielded to the Duke 14,000 scudi when leased, but afterwards,
when administered on his account, they produced 18,000: the income
from mills was about 6000; that of S. Leo 10,000, of which above 6000
were spent in maintaining the place.
[Footnote 265: Vat. Ottob. MSS., No. 3135, f. 279.]
Some idea may be formed of the provisions for administering justice
from a narrative compiled after the Devolution, but which expressly
states the arrangements for this purpose to be the same as adopted
by the Dukes.[266] The judges were entitled vicars or captains,
podestàs, commissaries, and lieutenants, and were removable at
pleasure. The vicars or captains resided in certain small towns,
and were notaries, who acted as judges and clerks within their
assigned bounds. Their jurisdiction extended to all cases of injury
or quarrel, which they were bound to decide according to the
respective municipal statutes, or, in absence of such, according
to those of Urbino. In civil causes they were limited to a certain
amount; above which, recourse was had to the judge of the chief
district town. They had no proper criminal jurisdiction, but were
bound to report all accidents to the sovereign, who frequently
remitted to them to examine into slight delicts; those inferring
corporal punishment being sent to a doctor, under whom the vicar
acted as clerk. The podestàs were judges-ordinary in all civil and
criminal cases within their bounds: and where there was no resident
commissary or lieutenant, the public administration and police were
intrusted to them; to each of them there was assigned one clerk for
criminal cases, called _maleficj_, and named by the Duke, and two for
civil causes chosen by the community. The system of appeal from one
of these courts to another, being founded upon local reasons, was
complicated, and need not be detailed. The court of final resort in
civil matters was the Collegiate Rota of Urbino, over which thirteen
judges presided, five of whom were necessarily ecclesiastics. They
held office for life, and vacancies were filled up by the sovereign
from a leet of three voted by the remaining number. They sat twice
a week, five being a quorum; and they had also the review of
ecclesiastical causes, in which, however, the lay members had only a
consultive voice. In certain suits their decision might be brought
under review of the sovereign.
[Footnote 266: _Ibid._, f. 277, 321.]
There were likewise three auditors, who had no ordinary jurisdiction,
but sat daily in presence of the sovereign as an executive council,
to whom all criminal matters were reported by the magistracy. Their
salaries after the Devolution were 400 scudi a year. They were also
bound to take cognisance of all fiscal affairs, and of all complaints
brought before them, and they were charged with the interests of
widows and orphans, and generally with all matters voluntarily
brought before them by consent of parties. After the Devolution,
their salaries were 400 scudi a year; that of the fiscal advocate,
384; and of the secretary of justice, 320. The income of the judges,
whom we have already mentioned as located in the towns and villages,
varied from half a scudo yearly to 240 scudi, the latter being the
pay of the Captain of Urbino. The lower class of these officers were
all notaries, but, after allowing for professional gains and fees,
such remuneration was disgracefully small, especially as it was paid
in the ducal money, which had become depreciated to two-thirds of the
currency value in the papal states. The pay of the legate was 1400
scudi, that of the vice-legate 600, besides about 1200 of fees.
APPENDIX IX
(Page 391 note *1)
TWO SONNETS BY PIETRO ARETINO ON TITIAN'S PORTRAITS OF DUKE FRANCESCO
MARIA I. AND HIS DUCHESS LEONORA
I.
ON DUKE FRANCESCO MARIA I.
Se il chiaro Apelle con la man dell'arte
Esemplò d'Alessandro il volto, e 'l petto,
Non finse già di pellegrin subjetto
L'alto vigor, che l'anima comparte.
Mà Titian, che dal cielo hà maggior parte,
Fuor mostra ogni invisible concetto;
Però il gran Duca, nel dipinto aspetto,
Scuopre le palme entro il suo cuor consparte.
Egli hà il terror frà l'uno e l'altro ciglio,
L'animo en gl'occhi, e l'alterezza in fronte,
Nel crin spatia l'honor, siede il consiglio.
Nel busto armato e nelle braccie pronte
Arde il valor, che guarda dal periglio
Italia sacra, e sua virtudi conte.
II.
ON DUCHESS LEONORA.
L'union de' colori chi lo stile
Di Titian distese, esprime fora
La concordia che regge in Leonora,
E le ministre del spirto gentile.
Seco siede modestia in atto humile,
Ed honestà che in vesta sua dimora,
Vergogna il petto, e 'l crin le vela e honora,
L'effigia Amor lo sguardo signorile.
Pudicitia, e beltà nemiche eterne
Le spatian nel sembiante, e frà le ciglia
Il trono delle Gratie si discerne.
Prudenza il suo valor guarda, e consiglia
Nel bel tacer, l'alte virtudi interne
Gli ornan la fronte d'ogni meraviglia.
III.
SONNET BY BERNARDO TASSO, PRAYING TITIAN TO PAINT HIS
MISTRESS'S PORTRAIT.
Ben potete con l'ombre, e coi colori,
Dotto Pittor rassimigliar al vero
Quella beltà, ch'ognor col mio pensiero
Via più bella, ping'io fra l'herbe e i fiori:
Ma quelle gratie, che i più freddi cori
Riscaldano, onde Amor ricco et altero
Stende le braccie del suo dolce impero,
Opra non è da chiari alti pittori.
Se potete ritrar quel viso adorno,
Quel girar de' begli occhi honesti e santi,
Che ogni rara beltà fà parer vile,
Con pace sia d'ogni pittor gentile,
E statue e tempii al vostro nome intorno
Ergeran lieti i più cortesi amanti.
APPENDIX X
(Page 410)
PETITION TO GUIDOBALDO II. DUKE OF URBINO, BY CERTAIN MAJOLICA-MAKERS
IN PESARO
Most illustrious and most excellent Lord Duke,
To your most illustrious Lordship have recourse these devoted
petitioners, Mo. Bernardin Gagliardino and Co., Mo. Girolamo
Lanfranchi, Mo. Rinaldo and Co., all makers of vases and bottles,
citizens and inhabitants of Pesaro; Mo. Piermateo, and Mo. Bartolomeo
Pignattari, citizens and indwellers of Pesaro; and all the others who
inhabit the county of Pesaro;--setting forth how they find themselves
continually, from year's end to year's end, subject to all sorts
of burdens and imposts, exacted on real and personal property, and
paying it with the sweat of their labour. They greatly complain
how it seems to them wrong that strangers of their craft come into
this city and district with similar productions, to take bread out
of their hand, at all seasons of the year, a thing not allowed to
themselves in other countries. For which causes they propose to your
most illustrious Lordship the following articles for your signature.
First, that your Lordship would concede to them that no one, stranger
or townsman, shall, on any pretext, sell, or export for sale from the
city and district, earthen vases of whatever sort, excepting covered
pans and oil-pitchers, or other vessels exceeding the size of a
_medrio_; declaring always that, at the fair, all may sell any kind
of vases, but at no intermediate time, on pain of forfeiture, and a
penalty of ten lire of Bologna for each offence, one-half to your
illustrious Lordship's chamberlain, one-fourth to the informer, and
the rest to the party enforcing it; always excepting figured vases
of Urbino, and white ones from Urbino and Faenza.
It is farther desired that no inhabitant, not engaged in this art in
the city or district, be permitted to purchase foreign productions
for resale, except those imported during the fair; always under the
like penalties on contravention hereof.
And, in order to satisfy your Lordship that no inconvenience may
arise to the city from this, they bind themselves henceforward to see
that it be constantly supplied with such vases as are required, and
usually made therein, and especially with figured vases of beautiful
and stately character, and this for the customary prices, these being
in nowise altered; and, in case of their departing from this, your
Excellency shall be free to cancel these articles....
Confirmed and enjoined as asked, but during our pleasure.
Pesaro, 27th April, 1552.
_Passeri_, p. 34.
APPENDIX XI
(Page 411)
LETTER FROM THE ARCHBISHOP OF URBINO TO CARDINAL GIULIO DELLA ROVERE,
REGARDING A SERVICE OF MAJOLICA
To the most illustrious and most reverend Lord, my singular Lord and
patron, the Lord Cardinal of Urbino in Ravenna.
Most illustrious and most reverend Lord, my singular Lord and patron,
On arriving at Urbino, I ordered of Mo. Horatio [Fontana], _vasaro_,
the service [_credenza_] commissioned by your most affectionate and
most reverend Lordship, for the most illustrious Monsignore Farnese.
And, as there will be so many vases done with grotesques, in addition
to the white ones (as per inclosed list), I could not manage it for
less than thirty-six scudi, which, if I am not mistaken as to what he
gets from others, is very good treatment. All the white pieces will
have on the reverse the arms of Farnese in small, and I feel certain
that the service will give satisfaction. He promises to deliver it
finished in little more than a month, and, as an inducement to serve
you well, as I trust he will do, I have, at his request, advanced
him some money. If your illustrious Lordship please, let M. Ludovico
Perucchi be written to, that he may pay the above-mentioned sum on
account of this. As soon as finished, I shall get Horatio to pack it
well, in order to go safely, and shall despatch it to Rome in such
way as you shall direct. And, having no more to say, I remain humbly
kissing your hands, and commending you to our Lord God, that, in his
favour, he ever give you all your desires. From Urbino, the 2nd of
March, 1567.
Your most illustrious and most reverend Lordship's most humble
servant,
YOUR ARCHBISHOP.
_List of white pieces with arms on the reverse._
1 large cistern.
1 large bason, and 1 bottle.
1 barber's bason, and small brush.
6 great, and 12 middling dishes.
6 large and 6 middling comfit dishes.
2 vases for vinegar and oil, 4 salts.
36 dishes, 50 smaller ditto.
50 plates, 24 ditto [_piadene_].
_With Grotesques._
1 large cistern.
1 bason and bottle.
4 cups on raised stands.
1 barber's bason and brush.
2 salts.
APPENDIX XII
COLLECTIONS OF ART MADE BY THE DUKES OF URBINO
The extent and value of the works of arts amassed by a series of
sovereigns, who, during nearly two centuries, were continuously
patrons of arts in its best days, cannot be uninteresting topics of
inquiry, and fall within the scope of these volumes, as an important
test of the knowledge and taste of the collectors. The beautiful
objects which Castiglione and others include among the attractions of
the palace at Urbino have thus acquired an almost classic importance,
and to identify them with those now familiar to the travelled amateur
were a pleasing result. Much more would it be so could we realise an
ingenious theory put forward in the _Quarterly Review_,[267] that, by
ascertaining what were the pictures first offered to the enthusiastic
gaze of the youthful Raffaele, we might even now trace those early
impressions of beauty which, reproduced by his fine genius and taste,
have been unanimously adopted as standards of pictorial perfection.
This gratifying hope is, however, delusive. To the ravages of two
invasions, succeeded, in both instances, by military usurpation, may
perhaps be imputed the disappearance of almost every picture which
could have existed in the palace previously to 1521, for very few
such were found there on the extinction of the ducal house in 1631.
In order to throw every possible light upon this matter, I have
spared no researches at Urbino, Pesaro, and Florence, and, from a
variety of inventories, I have collected the facts which are now to
be stated.
[Footnote 267: Vol. LXVI., pp. 3-10.]
The principal sources of this information have been, _First_, a
list of "good pictures," brought to Florence, in 1631, from the
wardrobe of Urbino. It is in the archives of the Gallery degli
Uffizi, at Florence, in the autograph of Pelli, and is obviously the
document frequently referred to by him in his Galleria di Firenze.
_Second_, a note of the objects of art in the Urbino inheritance, as
inventoried by Bastiano Venturi in 1654. This is in a folio volume of
inventories, preserved in the wardrobe archives of the Pitti Palace,
and includes the succession of Duchess Livia, as well as that of her
husband, the last Duke of Urbino. _Third_, selections from a full
inventory of the wardrobe of Urbino, dated in 1623, and now No. 386
of the MSS. in the Oliveriana Library at Pesaro. Of these documents,
the first is, unquestionably, of most importance as to the identity
and value of the objects enumerated; and the last, having been
compiled by a person unacquainted with art, cannot be much depended
upon.
We may, however, estimate the extent of the collections in the
different palaces of Francesco Maria II. from the Venturi inventory,
and from another dated in 1623, which is No. 460 of the Oliveriana
MSS. In the latter there are enumerated as at Pesaro (besides a
series of sixty-two portraits in the gallery, sixty-nine maps,
and a hundred and thirty-five plans of cities) eight hundred and
forty-three pictures. This large amount includes apparently all
the framed engravings, embroideries, and miniatures; and a great
proportion were portraits of the ducal family and their connections.
The small number which have the painters' names assigned to them
renders this, the fullest list, of little interest. In the same
palace are mentioned sixty-four pieces in marble, chiefly busts;
and in various other palaces and chapels were some other pictures,
seemingly of minor importance. The Venturi catalogue enumerates only
ninety pictures, seventy miniatures in oil, eleven embroideries,
twenty-nine tapestries, eighty bronzes, enamels, and carvings, and
fifty-one works in marble and stone. These seem to have been the
principal objects reserved out of the inheritance, the remainder
having probably been given away or sold at Pesaro and Florence. This
selection bears evidence of care and connoisseurship; but that of
Pelli having the best pretensions to these qualities, the pictures
it names are fully given in the first of the lists here subjoined,
ending with No. 50. In the two subsequent ones, from Nos. 51 to
95, are included all other Urbino pictures of any moment which I
have been able to glean from the inventories now described, and from
other sources. To each picture is added such information regarding
its identity as extended inquiry and observation have enabled me
to hazard. Imperfect as it is, it will interest those who visit
Florence, and may save them from very troublesome and often fruitless
inquiries, which occupied me for many weeks.
I. PELLI'S LIST OF THE URBINO PICTURES.
RAFFAELE.
1. MADONNA, CHRIST, AND ST. JOHN BAPTIST, on panel. Pelli
in a marginal note states this to be the _Madonna della Seggiola_,
although he admits that a different extraction is by some assigned
to that masterpiece. No picture thus described appears in the Pesaro
inventories; that of Venturi mentions one such, but calls it a copy
after Raffaele. The Madonna della Seggiola, now No. 151 of the Pitti
Gallery, is said by Passavant to have been in an inventory of the
Tribune, dated 1585, of course long antecedent to the Devolution of
Urbino.
2. MADONNA, CHRIST, ST. JOHN BAPTIST, AND ANOTHER FIGURE, on
panel, large. In the Pesaro inventory, the Christ is said to be in
arms; in the Venturi, two pictures are noted of the Madonna, Christ,
St. John Baptist, and St. Elizabeth, but both are called copies
of Raffaele. No work now in the Florence galleries answers this
description.
3. HIS OWN PORTRAIT on panel. It is described but not named
by Venturi, and unquestionably is the small picture now among the
portraits of painters in the Uffizi, No. 288. (See above, vol. II.,
p. 223.)
4, 5. JULIUS II., on panel, and THE SAME on paper.
Of this famous portrait several repetitions contest the palm of
originality. The two best probably are those in the Pitti, No. 79,
and in the Tribune, both on panel; the former, perhaps, has the
advantage in breadth and mellow colouring, and I have heard the
latter ascribed by Italian connoisseurs to a Venetian pencil.[*268]
Considering the relationship and intimacy of the Pope with the Dukes
of both dynasties, there can be little doubt that they possessed an
original likeness, as well as the original cartoon mentioned above.
The latter has passed into the Corsini Gallery, at Florence, and is
admirable in bold character as well as in preservation. The pricked
outlines attest its having been used more than once; and the first
painting from it is understood to have been presented by his Holiness
to the Church of the Madonna del Popolo, at Rome, a fane greatly
favoured by the della Rovere. The Pesaro list includes the cartoon,
and Venturi the panel portrait, which, according to the annotator of
the last edition of Vasari (Florence, 1838), was that in the Tribune,
the head alone of the Pitti one being, in his opinion, by Raffaele,
the rest by Giulio Romano. Passavant, however, adjudges the palm
of merit and originality to its rival in the Pitti collection, and
considers it the Urbino picture.
[Footnote *268: The Pitti portrait is an inferior replica of that in
the Tribune of the Uffizi.]
TITIAN.
6, 7. DUKE FRANCESCO MARIA I., and his DUCHESS
LEONORA, on canvas. These are justly considered among the
choicest portraits of this master, but are painted in very different
styles, the Duke being treated with extraordinary freedom, the
Duchess in a severe and somewhat hard manner, suited to her stiff
matronly air. They ornament the Venetian room at the Uffizi, Nos.
605 and 599, and the former supplies a frontispiece to this volume.
Another portrait of him from the same hand is mentioned in Pelli's
note. (See above, pp. 48, 58, 371-3.)
8. DUKE GUIDOBALDO [II.] Of this portrait I find no trace,
though it is named in the Pesaro list, and may be that described by
Venturi as in an antique dress.[*269]
[Footnote *269: Gronau thinks this portrait may be the so-called
"Young Englishman" of the Pitti Gallery (No. 92). Cf. GRONAU, _op.
cit._]
9. HANNIBAL OF CARTHAGE, on canvas. Mentioned in the Pesaro
inventory, but not now known.
10. MADONNA, CHILD, ST. JOHN BAPTIST, AND ST. ANNA, on
panel, large. No trace of this picture appears in any inventory, or
Florentine gallery.
11. THE NATIVITY, on panel. Not mentioned elsewhere; it or
the following may be the picture painted with a moonlight effect, now
No. 443, of the Pitti Gallery; or that described by Venturi as "a
woman swaddling an infant."[*270]
[Footnote *270: This picture is not by Titian, but by Marco Vecellio.]
12. QUEM GENUIT ADORAVIT, on panel; or the Madonna adoring
her Child. This I have nowhere been able to identify. (See the
preceding No., and also below, No. 20.)
13. MADONNA DELLA MISERICORDIA, on canvas. The Pesaro
list tells us it came from the Imperiale villa, and contained the
painter's portrait, with many figures. It is No. 484 of the Pitti
collection, where it is assigned to Marco di Tiziano, the cousin and
favourite pupil of Titian. Following the usual type, this "Madonna of
Mercy" is represented as a gigantic female, whose outstretched arms
infold under her ample mantle of compassion, six men, five women, and
two children; the eldest of the group is evidently Titian, and the
rest are, no doubt, members of the Vecelli family. The picture was
probably votive, in commemoration of some signal mercy vouchsafed to
his house.
14. THE SAVIOUR, on panel. A half-length figure in profile,
perhaps the finished study for some large composition. It is noted in
all the inventories, and was carried by the French to Paris, but is
now in the Pitti Palace, No. 228.
15. ECCE HOMO, on panel. Also included in all the
inventories, and probably the picture No. 330 of the Pitti Gallery,
where it is called in the manner of Sebastian del Piombo.[*271]
[Footnote *271: This picture no longer hangs in the Pitti Gallery.]
16. MAGDALEN, on panel. This is now No. 67 in the Pitti
collection; a half-length, half-nude penitent, with variations from
the frequent repetitions of the same subject by this master; her eye,
no longer tearful, is upraised with an expression of joyful hope: the
penitent is at peace. (See above, p. 375.)
17. JUDITH, on canvas. In the Pesaro inventory it is
described as on panel, and both there and in Pelli's note it is
ascribed to Titian _or_ Palma Vecchio, whilst Venturi assigns it to
Pordenone. It is now in the Venetian room of the Uffizi, with the
name of Pordenone, and is on panel.[*272]
[Footnote *272: No. 619, Uffizi, I suppose. It is by Palma Vecchio.]
18. NAKED WOMAN LYING, large, life-size, on canvas. All
who have visited the Tribune of the Uffizi Gallery are acquainted
with two companion full-length pictures of nude females, which are
conspicuous among its treasures of art. Both are called Venus; but
though one has the unquestionable accompaniment of a Cupid, with a
landscape behind, the other contains no attribute of the amorous
goddess, but is the portrait of a lovely woman laid uncovered on
her bed, whilst two attendants in the back part of the room prepare
her dress. To the latter, therefore, the above description, which
is alike in all the Urbino inventories, must unquestionably apply;
and it thus affords us an easy solution of the doubts as to which
of the two pictures came from Urbino, originating in the confused
and incorrect descriptions of Ridolfi and Vasari. The popular idea
is that Titian here portrayed a mistress or favourite of Duke
Guidobaldo of Urbino; but Cigognara has adopted the conjecture that
in her features may be traced an idealised likeness of his mother
Leonora. We must reject an idea so outraging her well-known modesty
of demeanour; and upon comparing the sweetly sensual countenance of
the naked beauty with the almost stern dignity of that Duchess, as
represented in her portrait, No. 7 of this catalogue, the resemblance
seems limited to an oval face and auburn complexion. The spaniels
which attend on both ladies, introduced in these pictures, though of
the same breed, are certainly different animals. Greater probability
attaches to a notion that the nude female's features agree with those
of the Bella and the Flora of Titian, described in the next number of
this list; and as both of these came from Urbino, we may conjecture
that all three were painted from some noted beauty of that court.
Another supposition, has, however, been adopted by Mrs. Jameson, that
the original was Violante Palma, Titian's first love, and a favourite
model in his school. The Tribune picture is generally admitted to be
the finest of Titian's so-called Venuses, and has been even assigned
the same place among paintings as the Medicean Venus holds in
sculpture. (See above, p. 374).
19. ANOTHER PORTRAIT OF THE SAME NAKED WOMAN, BUT DRESSED,
more than half-length. This is considered to be the attractive
picture so universally admired under the name of Titian's
BELLA, of the Pitti collection, in which gorgeous costume
and rich beauty seem carried to the utmost point. It does not appear
in the other Urbino inventories, but in that of Venturi we find a
SEASON on canvas by Titian, which I apprehend to be the
famed FLORA, now an ornament of the Venetian room at the
Uffizi, and stated in the Reale Galleria di Firenze (edition 1817) to
have come from Urbino, and to be a half-length, half-nude, portrait
of the same model who sat for No. 18 of this catalogue. The title of
Queen Cornara of Cyprus sometimes given to the Bella is palpably one
of those misnomers so unpardonably common in picture galleries.
20. MADONNA, CHILD, AND TWO ANGELS, Baroccio after Titian.
Of this picture an original by Titian on panel is in Venturi's
list, as well as a copy of it on canvas. I have not been able to
find either; but the original may be that entered at No. 12 of this
catalogue.
21. MADONNA, ST. JOHN, AND ST. ELIZABETH, large, on panel, a
fine copy. I have not succeeded in tracing the work.
GIORGIONE.
22. PORTRAIT of an armed soldier, supposed to be
UGUCCIONE DELLA FAGGIOLA. Not traced.
SEBASTIAN DEL PIOMBO.
23. ST. AGATHA, large, on panel. It appears in all the
inventories, and was one of the most important pictures in the Urbino
succession. Representing the horrible dismemberment of the martyred
saint, the subject is most revolting, but in energy of treatment
and power of colouring, it ranks among the chef-d'oeuvres of the
master, whose name it bears, with the date, Rome 1520. It now adorns
the Pitti Palace, No. 179, after having visited Paris.
PALMA VECCHIO.
24. THE SAVIOUR, on canvas. Not found.
25. THE MADONNA, large on canvas. Not found.
26. ST. FRANCIS, large, on canvas; not found. None of these
three pictures appear in the other lists.
THE BASSANI.
27. A SUPPER. This was, doubtless, the Cenacolo, No. 446 in
the Pitti Gallery, assigned to Leandro Bassano.
28, 29. THE BUILDING AND ENTERING OF THE ARK. These are,
probably, the companion pictures in the corridor of the Uffizi,
which seem poor copies, though ascribed to Francesco. Of the latter,
representing the Deluge, there is on the same wall a large and fine
replica with his name, and a picture of animals entering the ark with
the name of Jacopo.
30. COMPOSITION OF FIGURES AND ANIMALS. It is stated by the
Pesaro list to have come from the chapel in the lower gardens of
that city, and may have been the large picture of the Rich Man and
Lazarus, now in the corridor of the Uffizi, where it bears the name
of Francesco.
31-34. FOUR PICTURES. As there are fourteen pictures of the
Bassani in the Uffizi, and five in the Pitti, besides those noticed
above, and several portraits, it would be idle to attempt identifying
these four. All these eight works of this family are noted in the
Pesaro list, but omitted in Venturi's.
BAROCCIO.
35. PORTRAIT OF S.A.S. This is probably to be read SUA
ALTEZZA SERENISSIMA FRANCESCO MARIA II., the last Duke of
Urbino, now an ornament of the Tribune. It is a half-length on
canvas, in armour richly inlaid in steel and gold, his helmet by
his side and a scarf across his shoulder, being, as we learn from
the Pesaro list, the uniform in which he returned from his naval
expedition; a circumstance which fixes the date in 1572, when the
Duke was in his twenty-third, and the painter in his forty-fourth,
year. Nothing can surpass the fluid harmony and pellucid colouring
of this picture, equally remarkable for breadth and high finish, but
the feeble design apparent in the arms renders it impossible to give
by the burin a favourable impression of its merit. I have therefore
preferred engraving for this work a much less brilliant portrait
obtained by me at Pesaro. A repetition of the Tribune picture, less
clear but still more charming, graces the select gallery of Baron
Camuccini at Rome.
36. VISITATION OF THE MADONNA, on canvas, painted, according
to the Pesaro inventory, for the chapel there, on the visit of Pope
Clement VIII. in 1598. It has disappeared.
37. MAGDALEN, on canvas. There are two pictures of this
subject, and another in the Venturi list, one on panel, one on
canvas, the latter of which is described as "the Magdalen in the
Wilderness." I have not found either of them; but a Magdalen in
devotion with Christ, upon canvas, is noted in the Pesaro inventory,
and may probably be the large and fine picture now in the Sala di
Baroccio at the Uffizi, known as _Noli me tangere_, in which the
Saviour appears to the Magdalen after His resurrection.
38. MADONNA, ST. FRANCIS, AND ST. UBALDO, on canvas,
unfinished. No doubt one of the votive pictures commissioned on the
birth of Prince Federigo. (See above.) It has disappeared.
39. PORTRAIT OF MAESTRO PROSPERO, a Franciscan monk,
half-length, on canvas; called by Venturi a Minim Observantine friar.
Not identified.
THE ZUCCARI.
40. PORTRAIT OF DUKE GUIDOBALDI [II.] IN ARMOUR, HIS HAND UPON A
DOG'S HEAD. In the Pesaro inventory it is said to be on panel;
in that of Venturi it is ascribed to Baroccio. It has disappeared,
but a bad copy is preserved in the Albani Palace at Urbino.
41. ST. PETER IN PRISON, large. This picture is engraved at
No. 373 of the folio work on the Pitti Gallery, and is said by Vasari
to have been painted for Duke Guidobaldo II., by Federigo Zuccaro
when about twenty-three years of age. It ranks among his best works;
for though the idea is borrowed from Raffaele's fresco, the treatment
and the effect of chiaroscuro are original and good. The heavy grated
window and the monotonous colouring are however injurious to the work.
42. HEAD OF ST. FRANCIS, on canvas. Lost, unless it be
the Vision of the Saint in a wide landscape, on panel, No. 482 of
the Pitti Gallery, where it is called anonymous. The Pesaro list
describes him as in a landscape, by Federigo Zuccaro.
43. CALUMNY, large, by Federigo, unnoticed in the other
inventories, and undiscovered.
MASCHERINO.
44. CHRIST WITH NICODEMUS, NICOLAS, AND TWO ANGELS, on
canvas. Of this I can ascertain nothing.
ANONYMOUS.
45. POPE SIXTUS IV., on panel. The Venturi inventory notes a
similar anonymous portrait, by Baroccio, and one on panel of a Pope
by Titian. This and the following number may be the portraits quoted
as Titian's by Vasari.
46. POPE PAUL III., on panel. Perhaps No. 297 in the Pitti
Palace, where it is ascribed to Paris Bordone, and of which I have
seen several good repetitions. The Venturi inventory contains another
panel portrait of an anonymous pope by Titian.
47. DUKE FRANCESCO MARIA I. IN ARMOUR, on canvas. Perhaps a
copy of No. 6, above.
48. DUKE GUIDOBALDO, on panel; unknown. Possibly the
original of the likeness engraved for this work of Guidobaldo II.
49. A LADY IN A DARK ANTIQUE DRESS, WITH A SHELL IN HER
HAND, on canvas. Of this nothing is known.
50. MAGDALEN NEARLY NAKED, on canvas, described in the
Pesaro list as reading a book. Not found.
Having now gone through Pelli's note of selected pictures, we shall
complete our materials for estimating the Urbino collections, by
adding such other works as are mentioned in the Venturi and Pesaro
inventories.
II. VENTURI INVENTORY.
RAFFAELE.
51. THE DUKE OF URBINO, A PROFILE IN HALF-ARMOUR, on canvas.
This was probably the portrait mentioned by Bembo in a letter,
wherein he speaks of it as a much less successful likeness than that
of the poet Tibaldeo.
52. MARRIAGE OF THE MADONNA, a copy on canvas, no doubt
from the fine picture now in the Brera at Milan, which was painted
for the church of S. Francesco, at Città di Castello.
53. LUCREZIA, copy on panel. Of this neither the original
nor the copy are known.
TITIAN.
54. MADONNA, CHRIST, ST. JOSEPH, AND ST. ELIZABETH, on
panel. Not identified.
55. MADONNA, CHRIST, AND ST. JOHN BAPTIST, on panel. Not
identified.
56. PORTRAIT OF A FOREIGN LADY, small, on panel. Not found.
57. PORTRAIT OF A MAN IN AN ANTIQUE DRESS, on panel. Not
identified.
58. A MAN ARMED WITH A MORION AND SHIELD, on canvas, _after_
Titian. Not identified.
BAROCCIO.
59. MADONNA WITH CHRIST IN HER ARMS, ST. AUGUSTIN, AND ST.
FRANCIS, on canvas. Not found.
60. CHRIST IN A CRADLE, MADONNA, ST. JOHN, AND ST.
ELIZABETH, on canvas. Not found.
61. ST. FRANCIS, on panel. Not found.
62. A MAN WITH A CHEMISETTE, on canvas; probably the
half-length of Duke Francesco Maria II., with six gold buttons,
mentioned in the Pesaro inventory, and of which No. 162 of the Pitti
collection seems a finished head study on paper.
63. MARCHESE IPPOLITO DELLA ROVERE, on canvas. Not found.
64. MONSIGNORE GIULIANO DELLA ROVERE, on canvas. Not found.
65. THE SAVIOUR WITH THE GLOBE IN HIS HAND, _after_
Baroccio. Now No. 101 in the Pitti Palace, where it is called _by_
Baroccio. A poor picture.
ANTONIO.
66. A WOMAN IN AN ANTIQUE DRESS, on panel. This may refer to
ANTONELLO DI MESSINA. Not found.
67. PETRARCH AND LAURA painted bookwise. This is doubtless a
blundering description of the heads of DUKE FEDERIGO and DUCHESS
BATTISTA of Urbino, by PIETRO DELLA FRANCESCA, placed like a diptych
or book in the same frame. They have been engraved at Volume I., p.
120, of this work, from the originals among the miscellaneous Italian
pictures in the Uffizi.
68. A FRANCISCAN FRIAR TEACHING MATHEMATICS TO ANOTHER
PERSON, on panel. This is ascribed to Ghirlandajo or Signorelli,
but the subject makes it more probably a work of PIETRO DELLA
FRANCESCA, court painter to Duke Federigo. I have found no such
picture.
GIORGIONE.
69. A DUKE OF URBINO, on canvas. Probably Guidobaldo I., but
unfortunately lost.
HOLBEIN.
70. TWO DUKES OF SAXONY, bookwise, small. They are Frederick
III. and John I.; now in the German room of the Uffizi, where they
are ascribed to Lucas Cranach.
SCARSELLINO.
71. CHRIST RECEIVING ST. PETER, on panel; a small picture.
Not found.
72. CHRIST WITH HIS FOOT UPON A SERPENT'S SKIN
[_scoglione_], on panel; a small picture. Not found.
THE ZUCCARI.
73. A WOMAN WITH A COCKLE-SHELL IN HER HAND, on canvas. Not
found.
74. MADONNA, CHRIST, AND ST. JOHN BAPTIST, on panel, after
Jacopo * * * *. Not found.
L'ALEMANO.
75. THE NATIVITY, on panel. Not identified.
V. DANDINI.
76. AURORA, on canvas. Not found.
IL CERRETANI.
77. THE NATIVITY, on canvas. Not found.
78. PORTRAIT OF QUEEN MARY OF FRANCE. This may have been
Mary de' Medici by Scipione Gaetani, No. 192 of the Pitti Gallery.
79. VIRTUE EXPELLING THE VICES. Not found.
80-88. Six DUKES OF URBINO and three POPES; all
small pictures on canvas.
III. PESARO INVENTORY
RAFFAELE.
89. MADONNA, CHRIST, AND ST. JOSEPH, on panel. Not found in
the other inventories, nor in the galleries at Florence.
90. MAGDALEN, on panel; behind it the arms of Duke Francesco
Maria II. and his Duchess Lucrezia d'Este. Not elsewhere known.
TITIAN.
91. THE DUCHESS OF CAMERINO IN AN ANTIQUE DRESS, on canvas.
Not found.
92. A SOLDIER IN DARK ARMOUR, on canvas. Not found.
BAROCCIO.
93. THE CRUCIFIXION, with the palace of Urbino introduced in
the background, on canvas. Not found.
THE ZUCCARI.
94. THE CRUCIFIXION, with a city below, on canvas. Not found.
GIULIO CLOVIO.
95. A MINIATURE, was probably the PIETÀ on vellum,
No. 241 of the Pitti collection. A group treated with great breadth,
and coloured with much delicacy.
The following pictures, in the Pitti palace, though not in the Urbino
inventories, are closely connected with the family della Rovere, and
the first of them must have come from thence.
96. PRINCE FEDERIGO, by BAROCCIO, on canvas, No.
55. The babe lies in his cradle swaddled, his dress and coverlet
embroidered in flowers and gold; inscription above, FEDERIGO PRIÑ
D'URB'O QUANDO NACQUE 1605.
97. VITTORIA DELLA ROVERE GRAND DUCHESS OF TUSCANY, by
SUSTERMANS, on canvas, No. 116. She is in the character
of the Vestal Tuccia, with a sieve under her arm, full of water; a
half-length figure, stout and comely, with a pleasant expression.
98. THE GRAND DUCHESS VITTORIA, HER HUSBAND, AND HER SON COSMO III.,
by SUSTERMANS, on canvas, No. 231. This picture is called in the
catalogue a Holy Family; but though the grouping of the figures
appears borrowed from some such composition, there seems no real
ground for this alleged impiety. They are half-lengths; the Grand
Duchess has a darker complexion, and is somewhat older than in the
preceding number.
DENNISTOUN'S LIST
OF
AUTHORITIES FOR THE WORK.
The following List, though by no means containing all the books which
have been looked into or consulted (especially numerous periodicals),
will afford a general idea of the authorities upon which this work
has been founded. The MSS. specially noted are, however, but a small
portion of what has been examined, in a variety of Archives, and in
the Vatican, Minerva, Angelica, Gerusalemme, S. Lorenzo in Lucina,
and Albani libraries at Rome; in those of the Borbonica and S. Angelo
in Nilo at Naples; in the Laurentiana, Magliabechiana, Riccardiana,
Maruccelli, and Pitti at Florence; in those of the University and S.
Salvadore at Bologna; and in the public libraries of Pesaro, Perugia,
Rimini, Cesena, Siena, Volterra, and Monte Cassini. In the Oliveriana
at Pesaro alone, upwards of one hundred MS. volumes yielded notices
of interest. The MSS. in the British Museum have also been freely
consulted, and not without fruit.
Affò, Vita di M. Bernardino Baldi 1 vol. 8vo.
Agincourt, Histoire de l'Art 6 vols. folio.
Alberi, Relazioni Veneti 7 vols. 8vo.
Alberti, MSS. di Torquato Tasso 1 vol. folio.
Andreozzi, Notizie di Città di Castello 1 vol. 12mo.
Antiquitates Picene 10 vols. 4to.
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AUTHORITIES IN MS.
FROM THE URBINO LIBRARY AT THE VATICAN.
No. 1023, f. 23. Federici Urbini Ducis Vita, auct. Johanne Galli;
written about 1565, at Città di Castello.
No. 938. Sketch of him by Aloysio Guido da Cagli, in Latin.
No. 1011. His life by Muzio Giustinopoli, more full than the printed
edition.
No. 941. Vespasiano, Commentario de' Gesti e Fatti e Detti de
Federigo Duca di Urbino: printed in Spicelegium Romanum, i. 94.
No. 980. Epitome Vitæ Rerumque Gestarum Federici Urbini Ducis, auct.
Julio Cesare Capaccio Neapolitano, 1636.
No. 303, 699, 1293. Various Latin poems by Federigo Veterani as to
Urbino.
No. 928, f. 16. Antichità di S. Leo, da Giulio Volpelli, 1576.
No. 702. Mariæ Philelfi artium et utriusque juris doctoris, equitis
aurati et poetæ laureati, ad ill. atque inclyt. Principem Federicum
de Monteferetro, Comitem Urbinatem, Martiados, 1464.
No. 804. His vulgar poetry, _passim_.
No. 373, 710, and 709. Porcellii Feltria, and other poems laudatory
of Duke Federigo and his house.
No. 373, f. 145. Naldi de Naldi, Volterræ Expugnatio.
No. 743. Panegericon Comitis Federici, per Antonium Rusticum de
Florentia, 1472.
No. 1198. Federici Urbini Ducis Epistolæ. There are ninety-three of
these, all in Latin.
No. 1233. Odasii, Oratio habita in Funere Ducis Federici.
No. 1236. Oratio habita in Funere Battistæ Urbini Comitissæ; also in
No. 1272.
No. 829, f. 551. Ricordi del Duca Federigo.
No. 1323, art. 5. Ricordi di Paolo Maria, Vescovo di Urbino.
No. 904, f. 43. Memorie di quanto si fece nel tempo che il Duca di
Valentino prese lo Stato.
No. 1023, fol. 1, 297, &c. Various lives and notices of the della
Rovere family by Fra Gratia di Francia.
No. 1682. Sundries as to Julius II.
No. 906. Baldi, Vita di Francesco Maria I. Duca di Urbino, colla
Diffesa contra Guicciardini.
No. 1023, f. 255. Baldi Diffesa di lui, and other sundries as to him.
No. 1023, f. 50. Muzio, Vita di lui.
No. 818, f. 444. Il Battesimo del Principe Federigo.
No. 733, fol. 8. 11. Epigrammata in ejus Natalibus.
No. 818, f. 5. Nobiltà della Casa di Montefeltro.
No. 736, 351, 368, and 405. Urbani Urbinatis Familia Feltresca.
No. 992. Cronico di Sinigaglia.
No. 819, f. 335. Ritratto delle Actioni di Francesco Maria I.
No. 489. De Rebus Gestis quæ contigerunt circa ann. 1509.
No. 1037. Memorie Storiche di Francesco Maria I.
No. 921. La Ricuperazione del suo Stato, nel anno 1521.
No. 904. Various Diaries regarding Guidobaldo I.
No. 928, f. 16. Volpelli, Storia di S. Leo.
No. 907, f. 10. Centelli, de Bello Urbinate.
No. 989. Leoni, Francisci Mariæ I. Vita.
No. 924. Philippi Beroaldi, Defensio Francisci Mariæ I.
No. 632. Petrus Burgensis Pictoris, de quinque Corporibus regularibus.
No. 818, f. 560. Vita di Baldassare Castiglione.
No. 1248. Ordine e Offizii della Corre di Urbino.
No. 1677. Il Sacco di Roma.
No. 935, 1232. Documents regarding the Statistics of Urbino.
No. 497-8. P. Virgilii Historia Angliæ.
No. 908. First Sketch of Tasso's Gerusalemme.
No. 816, f. 62. Federigo Zuccari, Ragguaglio del Escuriale.
FROM THE OTTOBONIANA MSS. IN THE VATICAN.
No. 3141, f. 144-193. La Famiglia del Duca Federigo.
No. 1305. Giovanni Sanzi's Rhyming Chronicle of Duke Federigo.
No. 2447, f. 135, 3137, f. 81. Discorsi del Duca di Urbino.
No. 3141. _passim_. La Famiglia del Duca Federigo.
No. 3144, f. 51. Vita del Duca Francesco Maria II.
No. 1941, f. 172. Luttere di lui.
No. 3135, f. 321, 3184, and 3142. Miscellanies regarding Urbino.
No. 2510, f. 201. The Urbino Rebellion in 1572.
No. 3153, f. 90. Filippo Giraldi, Fatti del Duca Francesco Maria I.
No. 3137. Sundries regarding the Camerino Dispute.
No. 2607. Il Sacco di Roma.
No. 2624, 3152. Burchardi Diarium.
No. 2528, 2726, 2206, f. 17, 2441, f. 39. Sundries as to the Borgian
Policy.
GENEALOGICAL TABLE
DESCENT OF THE VARANA, as connected with URBINO.
ELISABETTA MALATESTA = RODOLFO VARANA = COSTANZA SMEDUCCI,
| Lord of Camerino, | of Sanseverino.
| d. 1424. |
____________|______ _|_______________________________________________________________________
| | | | |
GENTIL PANDOLFO, slew BERNARDO, GIOVANNI, slain = BARTOLOMEA PIER GENTILE, = ELISABETTA MALATESTA, NICOLINA = BRACCIO DA
his two half-brothers, Lord of 1433 by his half| SMEDUCCI, slain 1433, by| of Pesaro, daughter of MONTONE,
1433, and was massacred Camerino, brothers. | of his half | Battista di Montefeltro. of Perugia,
by the people in d. 1434. | Sanseverino. brothers. | d. 1424.
1434, with his brother | |
Bernardo and six | |
nephews. | ________|___________________________________
| | |
| RODOLFO, made Lord = CAMILLA D'ESTE. COSTANZA, celebrated
1451. | of Camerino in 1444.| for her beauty and
GIOVANNA MALATESTA, = GIULIO CESARE, made Lord | writings, d. 1447.
of Rimini, d. 1511. | of Camerino, 1447; strangled |
| in 1502 with his nat. son Pirro, ERCOLE, claimed Camerino = FILIPPA DE'
| by Michelotto Coreglia. in 1527, but sold his rights | GUARNIERI.
____________________________________|_________________ to the Farnesi, d. 1548. |
| | ___________________|______________
| 1497. 1503. | | |
VENANZIO, born = MARIA DELLA ROVERE, = GALEAZZO GIOVANNI MARIA, = CATERINA MATTIA, attempted = BATTISTA PIER GENTILE,
1476; strangled| sister of Fran. Maria I., RIARIO Usurper, Duke | CIBÒ of to seize Camerino FARNESE. §
1502, with his | Duke of Urbino. SFORZA, of Camerino, | Massa, in 1534, d. 1551. Existing issue.
nat. brother | of Forlì. b. 1481, d. 1527.| d. 1547.
Annibale. | ! |
| ! |
SIGISMONDO, b. 1499, = OTTAVIA COLONNA. ! |
assassinated 1522, RIDOLFO, seized |
by order of his Camerino in |
uncle, Giovanni 1527, but soon |
Maria. expelled. |
|
GIULIA, = GUIDOBALDO II.,
b. 1523, | Duke of Urbino.
d. 1547. |
§
INDEX
Abano, mud-baths of, i, 424; iii, 35
Abruzzi, war in the, i, 305, 358
Abstemio, Lorenzo, i, 168
Academy degli Assorditi, i, 228; ii, 112; iii, 255, 256, 284
Academy of St. Luke, iii, 366
Acciaiuolo, Donato, i, 228; ii, 113
Accolti, Bernardo, his success as an improvisatore, ii, 69, 70, 146
-- his devotion for the Duchess of Urbino, ii, 69 note, 70, 77, 367
Acquapendente, ii, 456
Acre, i, 31
Adorni, the, ii, 59
Adria, Bishop of, i, 475
Adrian VI., iii, 448
-- election of, ii, 416
-- death of, ii, 423
Adriano, Cardinal of Corneto, fate of, ii, 391, 392
Ady, C.M., _Milan under the Sforza_, i, 73 note, 80 note, 183 note
Ady, Mrs., ii, 119 note, 323 note
-- _Isabella d'Este_, ii, 23 note, 316 note; iii, 51 note
Affò, on Baldi, iii, 266, 271
Agabito, Messer, i, 168
Agatone, iii, 397
Agincourt, iii, 407
Agnello da Rimini, Tomaso, i, 53, 54
Agostini, Ludovico degli, i, 112 note; ii, 211 note; iii, 50
Aiello, iii, 240
Alamanni, Luigi, quoted, i, 5
Albani, Cardinal Annibale, i, 154
Albani Library, Urbino, i, xliv; iii, 271, 452, 467
Albani Palace, Urbino, ii, 233
Albani, Prince, i, 447 note
Albano, see of, ii, 301
Albergato, iii, 332
Alberi, _Relazioni Venete_, i, 395 note
Albert III., i, 311
Alberti, Antonio, ii, 254
Alberti, Calliope, ii, 254
Alberti, Leandro, i, 164
Alberti, Leon Battista, ii, 73 note, 203
-- employed by Sigismondo, i, 193
Alberto da Carpi, iii, 440
Albi, Duke of, i, 289
Alcala, ii, 129
Aldobrandini, Cardinal Pietro, iii, 165
Alexander III., of Scotland, i, xiii
Alexander VI., i, 65, 116; ii, 261, 263, 282, 293, 301
-- mistress of, i, xi
-- succession of, i, 314, 318
-- children of, i, 318, 320, 367
-- personal vices of, i, 317
-- character of, i, 319; ii, 19-20
-- his enmity with Ferdinand II., i, 342
-- intrigues of, i, 343-5, 351
-- employs Guidobaldo against the Orsini, i, 344, 358-62
-- ambitious nepotism of, i, 363, 373
-- mourns the Duke of Gandia, i, 366
-- sends Cesare to France, i, 368
-- designs on Urbino, i, 372; ii, 313, 314
-- raises money, i, 386
-- crimes of, ii, 8
-- death of, ii, 15-19
-- and Polydoro Vergilio, ii, 115
-- patron of art, ii, 168, 459, 461 note; iii, 344
-- corresponds with the Sultan _re_ Gem, ii, 294-6
Alexander VII., iii, 242, 243 and note, 456
Alfonso III. of Aragon, i, 323
Alfonso V. of Aragon and I. of Naples, i, 68, 81, 97, 324; iii, 291
-- his designs on Tuscany, i, 97-9
-- accepts Federigo without sponsors, i, 103
-- ratifies Lodi, i, 109
-- death of, i, 113
-- his policy and bequests, i, 115
-- popularity of, i, 123
Alfonso II. of Naples, i, 320
-- succession of, i, 341, 345
-- his measures against Charles VIII., i, 348
-- abdication and death of, i, 351
-- children of, i, 363
Alfonso II., Duke of Ferrara, iii, 331
-- death of, iii, 164
-- imprisons Tasso, iii, 309, 310, 312, 321, 326
Ali, Pacha, Turkish admiral, iii, 140
Alidosii, the, Seigneurs of Imola, i, 18
Alidosio, Francesco, cardinal of Pavia, ii, 323, 326
-- favoured by Julius II., ii, 327
-- thwarts Francesco Maria, ii, 327-9, 331-9
-- further treachery of, ii, 330, 332
-- murder of, ii, 339
-- character of, ii, 341
Alidosio of Imola, Joanna, i, 64
Alippi, ii, 220 note
Allagno, Lucrezia, i, 111
Allegretti, Antonio, iii, 295
Allegretto of Siena, i, 248; ii, 74 note
Alunno, Nicolò, ii, 199
Alva, Duke of, iii, 110
Alvarez di Bassano, iii, 140
Alverado, ii, 393
Alvisi, _Cesare Borgia_, ii, 19 note, 23 note
Amatrice, Vitelli dell', iii, 82
Ambrosian Library at Milan, ii, 63; iii, 77
Ammanati, Bartolomeo, iii, 73, 294, 352, 400
Ammirato, i, 209
Amsterdam, iii, 395 note
Anagni, i, 34
Ancona, i, 17, 18, 177, 262, 379; ii, 395; iii, 246
-- fortified, iii, 263, 366
-- seized by Clement VII., iii, 59
Andrea, Giovanni, i, 408; ii, 317
Andrea da Prato, Gian, beaten by Francesco Maria I., iii, 36
Andrea of Volterra, Fra, iii, 411
Andreoli, Cencio, iii, 415
Andreoli, Cesare di Giuseppe, iii, 380
Andreoli, Giorgio, ii, 261; iii, 414-16
Andreoli, Giovanni, iii, 414
Andreoli, Salimbeni, iii, 414
Andreoni, Padre, iii, 78
Angelico, Fra, ii, 185 note; iii, 338
-- at Assisi, ii, 180
-- style of, ii, 186
-- his piety, ii, 161, 194
-- his frescoes in San Marco, ii, 194, 195
-- work ascribed to, ii, 196
-- his influence on Raffaele, ii, 229, 230
-- in Rome, ii, 288
Angelo, i, 226
Angevine dynasty founded, i, 323
Anghiari, ii, 401
-- battle of, i, 77
Angioletto, ii, 190
Anguillara, i, 179, 331, 359
Anne of Bretagne, i, 373
Anselmi, Professor, i, xii
Anselmi e Mancini, ii, 292 note
Anstis, quoted, i, 224; ii, 462, 468
Antaldi Palace, iii, 231
Antioch, patriarch of, ii, 281
_Antiquities of Rome_, i, xvii
Antoniano, Antonio, iii, 378
Antonello di Messina, iii, 486
Antonetti, _Lucrezia Borgia_, ii, 19 note
Antonio, iii, 486
Antonio, first Lord of Monte Copiolo, i, 25, 36
Antonio, Count of Montefeltro and Urbino, iii, 463 note
-- recalled by citizens, i, 36
-- becomes a Guelph, i, 36
-- prosperous reign of, i, 37
-- welcomed in Gubbio and Perugia, i, 37 notes
-- his poetry, i, 37, 427
-- his death, i, 37-9
-- his children, i, 39-41
-- tomb of, i, 56
Antonio da Ferrara, work of, ii, 200
Antonio della Leyva, iii, 45
Antonio, Pier, i, 410
Antwerp, iii, 423
Apennines, the, i, 3
Apollonius, iii, 261
Appia, Giovanni di, surprised at Forlì, i, 27
Apulia, i, 278
Aquarone, _Dante in Siena_, i, 6 note
Aquaviva, i, 104
Aquila, i, 133; iii, 39
-- insurrection at, i, 305
Aquina, iii, 291
Aquinas, St. Thomas, i, 230; ii, 218
Aracoeli, Cardinal, iii, 17
Aracoeli, church of, ii, 288
Aragon, dynasty of, i, 68
Archangelo of Siena, ii, 83
Archimedes, iii, 261
Architects, duties of, iii, 265
Arci, fief of, ii, 313; iii, 45
Arcimboldo of Milan, i, 382
Aretino, L'Unico, ii, 146, _see_ Accolti
Aretino, Pietro, ii, 73 note, 131, 244; iii, 94, 102, 124
-- on Accolti, ii, 146
-- "scourge of princes," iii, 287
-- authorities for, iii, 287 note
-- career of, iii, 287-9
-- style of, iii, 288
-- epitaph on, iii, 290
-- on Titian, iii, 391-6
-- sonnets of, iii, 470, 471
Arezzo, ii, 69, 201; iii, 287, 400
-- Priors of, their letter to Federigo, i, 228
-- see of, ii, 113
-- siege of, i, 400
-- majolica made at, iii, 406
Argentina, iii, 205
Argoli, Andrea, iii, 208
Arignano, Domenico, i, 318
Ariosto, Ludovico, ii, 80 note; ii, 242; iii, 123
-- on Accolti, ii, 146
-- at Ferrara, ii, 147
-- as envoy, ii, 346
-- bibliography of, iii, 280 note
-- patronized by d'Este, iii, 281-3
-- visits Urbino, iii, 281, 284
-- at Rome, iii, 282
-- his _Orlando Furioso_, iii, 282, 285
-- style of, iii, 286
-- on Aretino, iii, 287
-- on Vittoria Colonna, iii, 292
-- compared with Tasso, iii, 329
Aristotle, ii, 105
Armanni, _Stor. della famiglia de' conti Bentivoglio da Gubbio_, i,
22 note
-- on Lepanto, iii, 141
Arpino, iii, 45
Arqua, ii, 127; iii, 267, 329
Arrigo, of Cologne, iii, 114 note
Arrivabene, Cardinal, i, 221 note; ii, 463 note
Artillery, introduction of, i, 339
Ascoli, i, 92; ii, 398
Ashburnham, Earl of, i, 447 note
Ashmole, quoted, ii, 469
Asolo, castle of, ii, 127
Aspetti, Tiziano, iii, 400
Assisi, i, 17, 45, 379; iii, 239
-- Republic of, i, 18
-- Count Guido enters Franciscan monastery at, i, 28
-- Church of S. Francesco at, i, 35; ii, 185
-- cradle of art, ii, 179, 180, 184
Assorditi, Academy degli, i, 288; ii, 112; iii, 255, 256, 284
Asti, i, 348, 354
-- Bishop of, iii, 22
Atanagi, Dionigi, ii, 58; iii, 303
-- at Pesaro, iii, 295
-- his poetry, iii, 296
_Athenæum_, iii, 414
Attendoli, the, i, 80 note
Attila, ii, 237
Authorities for this work, Dennistoun's, iii, 490-8
_Autobiography_ of Francesco Maria II., iii, 129 and note, 155, 156
Avalos, the house of, iii, 291
Aversa, iii, 40
Aversi of Anguillera, the, i, 179
Avignon, ii, 96, 297, 301
Avila, bishopric of, ii, 55
Azzolini, ii, 73 note
Babucci, Antonio, iii, 222 and note; iii, 231
Baccano, iii, 26
Bacci, Luigi, iii, 287
Baglioni, the, i, 369; ii, 325
-- Seigneury of, i, 18
-- reinstated, ii, 413
Baglioni, Carlo, ii, 393
-- made lord of Perugia, ii, 395
Baglioni, Gentile, iii, 19
-- his claims on Perugia, ii, 413-16
Baglioni, Gian Paolo of Perugia, i, 380; ii, 393
-- murder of, ii, 5, 11, 406
-- plots of, ii, 25 note
-- cedes Perugia, ii, 39
-- seizes Gubbio, ii, 368
Baglioni, Malatesta, ii, 5, 10, 435, 443
Baglioni, Orazio, ii, 412; iii, 5, 19, 440
Bagnacavallo, i, 258
Bagnano, Fabio, iii, 161
Bagnolo, treaty of, i, 304
Bailli of Dijon, i, 384
Bajazet, expels Gem, ii, 293, 294
-- writes to the pope, ii, 295-6
Bajus, see of, ii, 70
Baldelli, Francesco, iii, 378
Baldi, Bernardino, i, xxx, xxxii, 140 note; 177 note; 198, 207 note,
210, 275; ii, 29, 268, 319; iii, 20 and note, 22, 71, 260, 298
-- his _Encomio della Patria_, i, 32 note, 120 note, 155 note
-- _Vita e fatti di Federigo_, i, 149 note
-- _Vita e fatti di Guidobaldo I._, i, 295 note
-- on Count Guido the Elder, i, 32 note
-- on Oddantonio Montefeltro, i, 52
-- on the surprise of S. Leo, i, 79
-- on Duke Federigo, i, 127, 128, 148, 283
-- on battle of S. Fabbiano, i, 127 note, 128
-- on the palace at Urbino, i, 162, 174
-- on Sig. Malatesta, i, 191 note
-- mistakes of, i, 214 note
-- on ceremonial for ducal investiture i, 220
-- on Cesare Gonzaga, ii, 58
-- on Bibbiena, ii, 68
-- Italian patriotism of, ii, 108
-- on Francesco Maria I., ii, 341, 348 note, 399 note, 437, 452;
iii, 71
-- on Bourbon's march to Rome, ii, 456 note
-- translator of Greek, iii, 259
-- on Comandino, iii, 261
-- education of, iii, 266
-- his epics, iii, 267, 272
-- a linguist, iii, 267, 268, 271
-- enters the Church, iii, 268
-- works of, iii, 268, 271
-- style of, iii, 272
-- his biography of Duke Federigo, iii, 273
-- of Guidobaldo I., ii, 273
-- epitaph of, iii, 274
-- indebted to Muzio, iii, 276
Baldinucci, ii, 265
-- on Oderigi, ii, 188
Balia, i, 262
Ballads, absence of, iii, 279, 280
Ballerini, _Le feste di Gubbio_, i, 23 note
Bandiera, iii, 39
Bandinello, ii, 391; iii, 400
Bandini, Giovanni, iii, 74, 400
Bannatyne Club, i, xvi
Barbara, Archduchess, iii, 314
Barbarigo, Agostino, iii, 140
Barbaro, i, 159
Barberini Library, Rome, i, xxx
Barberini, the, i, 285
Barberini, Cardinal, first legate of Urbino, i, 24
Barberini, Maffeo, _see_ Urban VIII.
Barberini, Cardinal Antonio, iii, 245
Barberini, Cardinal Francesco, iii, 245
Barberini, Prince, ii, 209
Barberini, Prince Taddeo, iii, 245
Barbo, _see_ Paul II.
Barbucci, Dr. Antonio, iii, 222 and note, 231
Barcelona, iii, 132
Barchi, pillage of, i, 139
Baretti, iii, 280 note
Bari, Roberto da, ii, 71
Barletta, ii, 71
Barocci, the, iii, 270
-- clockmakers, iii, 403 note
Baroccio, Ambrogio, i, 158, 171 note; ii, 234; iii, 230, 231, 338,
346, 369, 400, 483, 486, 488
-- portraits of Francesco Maria II. by, iii, 230, 231
Baroccio, Federigo, iii, 352, 357, 364, 365 note, 367, 369
-- early studies of, iii, 370
-- is poisoned, iii, 371
-- paintings of, iii, 371-4
-- style of, iii, 374-7, 379
-- death of, iii, 376
Baroccio, Giovanbattista, iii, 369
Baroccio, Giovanni Maria, iii, 369
Baroccio, Simone, iii, 369, 376
Baroncelli, Bandini, i, 447 note
Barry, style of, ii, 172
Bartholomew, Lord, i, 450
Bartoli, Vincenzo, iii, 130, 411
Bartolo, Taddeo, i, 275; ii, 57 note, 118 note
-- at Orvieto, ii, 188
Bartolommeo, Fra, ii, 229, 252; iii, 335
Baruffaldi, iii, 280 note
Basinio, i, 193; ii, 136 note
Basle, Council of, i, 73; ii, 143
Bassano, Alvarez di, iii, 140
Bassano, Francesco, iii, 483
Bassano, Leandro, iii, 483
Basso, Giovanni, ii, 280
Basso, Matteo di, iii, 96 note
Bastardy no blot, i, 63
Bastia, i, 43 note
Bath and Wells, see of, ii, 115
Battaglini, i, 71 note, 75 note, 192 note, 335 note
Battiferri, Antonio Vergilio, ii, 118
Battiferri, Laura, iii, 294
Battista, Countess of Urbino, her wise government, i, 147, 217
-- her household, i, 151
-- prays for a son, i, 207
-- death of, i, 214-16, 219; ii, 136
-- her descent, i, 216
-- her accomplishments, i, 217
-- her marriage, i, 217
-- praised by Pius II., i, 217
-- her character, i, 218
-- portraits of, i, 218, 285, 287; ii, 210; iii, 487
Bayard, Chevalier de, ii, 427
Beaucaire, i, 347
Becchi, Francesco, i, 423
Becci, Gentile de', tutor of Lorenzo the Magnificent, ii, 113
-- characteristics of, ii, 113, 114
Becivenni, Sebastiano, iii, 400
Bede and Gildas, ii, 117
Bedi, Giacomo, ii, 191
Begni, Giulio Cesare, iii, 378
Belgrano, ii, 73 note
Bellanti, Antonio, i, 260
Bellini, Filippo, iii, 378
Bellini, Gentile, ii, 191, 197; iii, 335
-- sonnet on, by Filelfo, ii, 135
-- piety of, ii, 161
Bellini, Giovanni, at Pesaro, ii, 266
Bellori, iii, 372
-- on Baroccio, iii, 374
Bellucci, Gian Giacomo, iii, 77, 352
Bembo, Bernardo, ii, 62
Bembo, Pietro, i, 207 note, 290; ii, 216, 404; iii, 78, 257, 460
-- _De Guido Ubaldo_, i, 295 note
-- _Lettere_, i, 311 note
-- on Guidobaldo I., i, 51 note; ii, 23, 124-7
-- bishop of Gubbio, i, 172
-- represents Venice in Rome, ii, 38
-- at Ferrara, ii, 62
-- his Asolani, ii, 63
-- at Urbino, ii, 49, 63, 77, 232, 360
-- made cardinal, ii, 64
-- on Federigo Fregoso, ii, 61
-- on Bibbiena, ii, 69
-- on the Duchess Elisabetta, ii, 89
-- his manner, ii, 123-5
-- his works, ii, 124-7
-- on Accolti, ii, 146
-- characteristics of, ii, 154
-- portrait of, ii, 234
-- on Francesco Maria I., ii, 324
-- ill-timed badinage of, ii, 339 note
-- sent to Venice, ii, 359
-- fair-weather friend, ii, 367
-- satirised, ii, 368
-- his epitaph on Francesco Maria I., iii, 73
-- on Ariosto, iii, 285 note
-- letters of, iii, 349
-- on Titian, iii, 394
Bembo, Torquato, ii, 65
Benedetti, Benedetto, iii, 162, 176
Benedetti, Cesare, iii, 135, 162
Benedict IX., i, 37
Benedict XIII., i, 42
Benedicto, Messer, i, 435
Benevento, i, 363; iii, 69
-- Archbishop of, ii, 282
Bentivogli, the, i, 309
-- the Seigneurs of Bologna, i, 18
-- fly from Bologna, ii, 41
Bentivoglio, Annibale, i, 349, 474
-- Francesca, ii, 53
-- Giovanni, of Bologna, i, 308, 380-1, 407, 412; ii, 10, 53, 315
-- Ippolito, iii, 53 note
-- Lucrezia, i, 473-6
Berengarius, King, i, 78
Berenson, ii, 226 note
-- _Central Italian Painting_, ii, 185 note
-- on della Francesca, ii, 203 note
Bergamo, ii, 460; iii, 77, 298
-- bishopric of, ii, 65
Berlinghieri, i, 227
Bernardino, Fra da Siena, _Prediche Volgari_, ii, 114 note, 153 note
Bernardino, Giovanni, _see_ St. Francis of Assisi
Berni da Gubbio, i, 47 note, 177 note; ii, 115; iii, 286
-- on Ottaviano Ubaldini, i, 50 note
-- on Montefeltrian princes, i, 121
-- on battle of S. Fabbiano, i, 127 note, 128
-- on the battle of Cesano, i, 136 note
-- mistakes of, i, 203 note
-- on Court of Urbino, i, 205
-- on the battle of La Molinella, i, 188 note
Bernini, ii, 223
Beroaldo, Filippo, pleads for Francesco Maria, ii, 126, 337 note, 341-2
Bertinoro, i, 406, 414 note; iii, 165
-- surrender of, ii, 35
Bertucci, Jacoponi, iii, 356, 378
Bessarion, Cardinal, ii, 105, 279
Betussi, i, 122
Biagio, iii, 369
Biagi, Prof., _La vita Italiana_, ii, 73 note, 74 note
Bianchini, i, 155 note
-- _Palazzo_, i, 158, 162
Bibbiena, i, 377
-- capture of, i, 370
Bibbiena, Cardinal, i, 174 note; ii, 360, 364
-- life of, ii, 65-9
-- ambition of, ii, 67
-- his _Calandra_ performed, ii, 67, 71, 147-53, 261; iii, 348
-- his _Tirsis_, ii, 121
-- at Urbino, ii, 232
-- and Raffaele, ii, 248
-- averts massacre at Mondolfo, ii, 387
-- meets Francesco Maria I., ii, 398
Bibbiena, Maria, ii, 249
Bibbiena Villa, ii, 240
Biblioteca Cassinatensis, iii, 457
Birsa, passage of the, i, 337
Bisceglia, Alfonso, Duke of, marriage of, i, 363-9
-- strangled, i, 395
Bisignano, iii, 125
-- Prince of, iii, 131
Bismarck, ii, 10 note
Bisticci, Vespasiano da, i, 268
-- authorities for, ii, 118 note
Bizarro, Pietro, i, 204 note
Black, _Life of Tasso_, iii, 334
Blatner, i, 449
Blenheim, ii, 230
Bloomfield, iii, 340
Boccaccio, i, 447 note; ii, 74 note, 102
Boccalaro, Matteo, iii, 421
Boccalini, _Ragguagli di Parnaso_, i, 307 note; iii, 257
-- on Aretino, iii, 289
Boiardo, _Orlando Innamorato_, iii, 286
Bologna, Seigneury of, i, 18; iii, 349
-- reduced by Braccio di Montone, i, 45
-- University of, i, 107; ii, 115, 278; iii, 314
-- papal designs on, i, 196
-- defends Ferrara, i, 259
-- under Bentivogli, i, 381
-- surrenders to Julius II., ii, 41
-- Cesare Gonzaga at, ii, 58
-- Raffaele at, ii, 230
-- expedition against, ii, 304, 316
-- Julius II. at, ii, 331
-- Bentivogli seize, ii, 335-8
-- retaken by Francesco Maria I., ii, 345
-- Leo X. at, ii, 364
-- Titian at, iii, 390
-- majolica made at, iii, 406
Bolognese school of painting, ii, 161, 254; iii, 341
Bolsena, i, 421
-- miracle of, ii, 237
Bona of Savoy, i, 190
Bonarelli, Pietro, Count of Orciano, iii, 150, 151
Bonaventura, the, iii, 90
Bonaventura, Federigo, iii, 277
Bonaventura, Flaminio, iii, 143
Bonazzi, L., _Storia di Perugia_, i, 45
Boncompagno, Giacomo, iii, 81, 125
Bonconvento, i, 245, 423; ii, 114
Bondone, ii, 180
Bonfatti, Signor Luigi, i, xxiv, 172
-- on Nelli, ii, 192 note
Bonfigli, Benedetto, ii, 199
Boni, ii, 179
Boniface VIII., rule of, i, 29
-- feuds with the Colonna, i, 29
-- advised by Count Guido, i, 30
-- his brief concerning Count Guido, i, 33
Boniface IX., invests Count Guidantonio, i, 42
Bonnard, ii, 209 note
Bonnivet, Gouffier de, ii, 423, 427; iii, 435
Bonolli, i, 307 note
Bordone, Paris, iii, 485
Borghese and Banchi, ii, 212 note
Borghese Gallery, ii, 230
Borghese, Messer, i, 250
Borghini, Don Vincenzo, iii, 359, 361
Borghini, _Discorsi Toscani_, i, 49 note
Borgia family, the, i, 316
-- policy of, i, 320 note
-- authorities for, ii, 19 note
Borgia, Alfonso Cardinal, _see_ Calixtus III.
Borgia, Angela, i, 372, 400; ii, 314
Borgia, Cesare, i, 320, 351, 359; ii, 280, 283, 317
-- Cardinal Valentino, i, 343
-- murder of his brother, i, 364, 365
-- sent to Naples, i, 368, 369
-- his proposed marriages, i, 369, 375, 376, 409
-- renounces the Cardinalate, i, 373
-- goes to France, i, 373-5, 468-9
-- made Duke Valentino, i, 375
-- crimes of, i, 376, 389, 392, 394; ii, 10
-- his extending ambition, i, 379, 383, 392, 394, 400
-- becomes a condottiere, i, 383-5, 388
-- his insolence, i, 386
-- profusion of, i, 386, 387
-- epigrams upon, i, 386; ii, 31
-- made Duke of Romagna, i, 389
-- his rule, i, 389-92
-- enters Urbino, i, 401-10; ii, 303
-- meets Louis XII., i, 412
-- loses Urbino, i, 414-18
-- regains it by temporizing, i, 418-20
-- his letters, ii, 6
-- intrigues of, ii, 10 note, 33
-- and Machiavelli, ii, 10 and note
-- massacres the confederate captains, ii, 3-10
-- invades the Sienese, ii, 11
-- is poisoned, ii, 16, 17, 20
-- wavers after his father's death, ii, 21, 25, 28
-- goes to Naples, ii, 30
-- a prisoner in Spain, ii, 30
-- his death, ii, 31
-- chief conquests of, ii, 22 note
-- humbled before Guidobaldo, ii, 33
-- enters Sinigaglia, ii, 300
-- his persecution of Cardinal della Rovere, ii, 301
-- portraits of, i, xi, xii; ii, 459
Borgia, Francesco, Duke of Gandia, i, 320, 363, 364
-- murder of, i, 364, 365
-- character of, i, 366
Borgia, Giovanna, i, 317
Borgia, Giovanni di, legitimation of, i, 367 note
Borgia, Girolama, i, 476
Borgia, Giuffredo, i, 320, 332
-- Prince of Squillace, i, 343
-- marriage of, i, 345
Borgia, Lucrezia, i, 320; ii, 18, 35, 348
-- portrait of, i, xii
-- crimes charged against her, i, 320, 365
-- her first marriage, i, 343, 364 note
-- her second marriage, i, 344, 345, 364
-- third marriage of, i, 363, 369, 395
-- fourth marriage of, i, 395, 396, 473-83
-- visits Urbino, i, 397, 401
-- her reformed life, i, 397; ii, 63
-- her death, i, 397
Borgia, Pierluigi, i, 116
Borgia, Roderigo, Cardinal, rapid preferment of, i, 317, _see_
Alexander VI.
Borgia, Roderigo, i, 396
Borgia, tower of, ii, 235
Borgo, Pietro del, _see_ della Francesca
Borgoforte, ii, 446
-- battle of, i, 384
Borgo San Sepolchro, i, 260; ii, 204, 399, 467 note; iii, 201
Borgo San Spirito, ii, 444; iii, 8, 10, 14, 353
Borromeo, Cardinal Carlo, iii, 268, 298
Borromeo, Federigo, iii, 125
Boscoli, Pietro Paolo, ii, 82 note
Bosso, Matteo, letter of, i, 203
Bossi, ii, 204
-- _Leo X._, ii, 29
Bottari, ii, 44 note, 214 note, 228 note, 233
Botticelli, Sandro, his Glorification of the Madonna, ii, 158 note
-- in Rome, ii, 288
Botticini, his Glorification of the Virgin, ii, 159 note
Bourbon, Charles, Duke of, i, 131; ii, 426, 428
-- career of, ii, 449, 450
-- advances on Siena, ii, 453
-- advances on Rome, ii, 456; iii, 8 note, 9, 434
-- sacks Rome, iii, 3-18
-- at the mercy of his army, iii, 5 note
-- atrocities of his army, iii, 8, 14-17
-- strength of his army, iii, 9
-- death of, iii, 11, 12 and note, 429, 436
Bourges, i, 471
Boutcher, Archbishop, i, 456 note
Bozzolo, Marquis of, ii, 372
Bracciano, fief of, i, 331; iii, 21, 360
-- siege of, i, 359
-- lake of, ii, 12
Braccio, Alessandro, i, 174 note
Braccio, Carlo, i, 236, 247
-- his attempt on Perugia, i, 238, 251
Braccio di Montone, i, 72
-- power of, i, 43 note, 44
-- a famous condottiere, i, 44, 51
-- conciliated by Martin V., i, 45
Bracciolini, Poggio, ii, 113
-- inscribes his history to Federigo, i, 213
-- on Duke Federigo, i, 270
-- _Facetiæ_, ii, 154
Bramante, Donato, ii, 243
-- confusion regarding, ii, 259
-- his paintings, ii, 260
-- his architecture, ii, 260
-- employed on St. Peter's, ii, 235, 262, 263, 307
-- his friends, ii, 264
Bramantino of Milan, ii, 259
Branca, Giovanni, ii, 220 note; iii, 354
Branca, Matteo della, iii, 78
Brancaleoni, the, seigneuries of, i, 18, 23; iii, 181
-- lose Castel Durante, i, 23
-- fiefs of, i, 45, 63
Brancaleoni, Alberigo di, i, 77
Brancaleoni, Bartolomeo, i, 46, 63, 64
Brancaleoni, Francesco, i, 39 note
Brancaleoni, Gentile, i, 63, 111
Brancarini, Luc-Antonio, iii, 89
Brandani, Federigo, i, 171 note
Brandani, Pacifica, ii, 57
Brandon, Sir Thomas, ii, 469
Brantôme, _Vies des Hommes Illustres_, i, 468
Brantôme, Sieur de, iii, 31
Brasavolo, physician, iii, 98
Brera Library, i, 227
Brera Gallery, Milan, i, 287; ii, 196, 211, 255; iii, 349
Brescia, ii, 364
-- siege of, i, 74
Bresis, Benedetto di, commended to Siena, ii, 109
Bresse, Comte de, i, 347
Brewer, _Calendar_, ii, 411 note
Brindisi, i, 394
Brisella, reduction of, i, 190
Brisghella, attack on, ii, 325
_British and Foreign Quarterly Review_, i, 29 note, 383 note; ii, 221
note, 246 note, 251; iii, 279 note
Brizio, Gian Battista, i, 413, 417
-- succours S. Leo, ii, 14
Broglio, Gaspare, i, 72 note
Bronzino, Angelo, iii, 124; iii, 350, 351
Brooke, Mr. F.C., i, xliv
-- on palace of Gubbio, i, 173 note
Brown, Mr. Rawdon, i, xliv, 347, 361 note; ii, 392
-- _Ragguagli_, i, 397 note
-- _Life of Leonardo da Vinci_, ii, 461 note
Bruce, i, xiii
Brunelleschi, ii, 203
Brunetti, Abbé, iii, 165, 332
Brunswick, Duke of, repulsed by Francesco Maria I., iii, 40
Brussels, ii, 233
Bucciardo, Giorgio, ii, 294
Bufardeci, ii, 51 note
Buonaccorsi, ii, 5 note
Buonaparte, Giacomo, iii, 8 note
Buonarroti, Michael Angelo, ii, 23 note, 199, 222; iii, 335, 338,
341, 347, 370, 398
-- his statue of Julius II., ii, 41 note
-- his tomb of Giuliano de' Medici, ii, 57
-- tutor of, ii, 114
-- _Pietà_ of, ii, 169
-- on Gentile, ii, 197
-- cartoons of, ii, 235
-- his influence on Raffaele, ii, 243-6
-- his _Judgment_ ii, 288; iii, 344, 383
-- employed by Julius II., ii, 307
-- and Aretino, iii, 289
-- and Vittoria Colonna, iii, 292
-- his tomb of Julius II., iii, 381-6
-- style of, iii, 386-9
-- sonnets of, iii, 389
Buonconte, count and vicar of Urbino, i, 25
Burchard, i, 387 note, i, 395 note; ii, 5 note, 293 note, 464
-- on Vatican obscenities, i, 345
-- on murder of the Duke of Gandia, i, 365
Burckhardt, ii, 74 note
-- _The Civilization of the Period of the Renaissance_, i, 235
note; ii, 128 note
-- on the continuity of art, ii, 95 note
Burd, _Il Principe_, ii, 22 note
Burgundy, Duke of, ii, 407; iii, 265
Burnet on Barry, ii, 172
Burney MSS., iii, 182 note
Burns, Robert, iii, 340
Bylandt, Comte de, _Atlas de Volcans_, i, 79 note
Byron, _Childe Harold_, i, 391 note
-- _Lament of Tasso_, iii, 309 note
Byzantine school of painting, ii, 158, 160, 180, 186; iii, 335
Caen, a Raphael at, ii, 226
Cagli, i, 4, 175, 281, 397, 403, 404; ii, 33; iii, 295, 303, 408
-- Montefeltri supplant Ceccardi in, i, 22, 37
-- palace of, i, 174
-- frescoes at, ii, 190, 223
-- plans of, ii, 213
-- Cappella Artieri, ii, 258
Cagli, Bishop of, ii, 314; iii, 20 and note
Cajazzo, Count of, i, 349
Calabria, Duke of, i, 123, 124, 129, 135, 141, 183
-- in Tuscan campaign, i, 185
-- fights against the Medici, i, 243-51
-- intrigues of, i, 253
-- sent against the French, i, 348
-- abandoned, i, 349
Calais, ii, 355
Calisse, C., _St. d. Diretto Italiano_, i, 6
Calixtus III., i, 113
-- schemes of, i, 116
Calixtus V., i, 204
Calvinism in Italy, iii, 276
Calze, fraternity of the, i, 68; ii, 430; iii, 130
Camaldolese Convent, Urbino, ii, 232
Camaldoli, i, 370
Cambray, League of, ii, 222, 372, 424; iii, 281
-- origin of, ii, 321-3
-- its results, ii, 323 note
Camera della Segnatura, ii, 236-9
Camerino, Pietro Gentile, Lord of, i, 41, 125; ii, 10
Camerino, Seigneury of, i, 18, 379, 400, 411; iii, 38
-- throws off Borgian rule, ii, 24
-- Varana reinstated in, ii, 413
-- disputes as to the succession, iii, 63-8, 89, 92
-- Guidobaldo II., Duke of, iii, 89
Camerlingo, Cardinal, ii, 280
Camilla of Aragon, ii, 356
Camillo, Count of Castel del Isola, ii, 357
Camillo, of Mantua, iii, 351
Campagna, defined, i, xx
-- wasted by the Colonna, i, 329
Campagna, Girolamo, iii, 376, 400, 459
Campagnatico, baths of, i, 83
Campana, Cavaliere, ii, 460
Campani, Ferdinand, iii, 414
Campano, Antonio, Bishop of Teramo, i, 216, 230
Campano, G., i, 172
-- on Perugia, i, 43
Campbell, Mr., i, xvi
Campeggi, Lorenzo, Bishop, Governor of Urbino, iii, 222-3
Campori, ii, 220 note; iii, 280 note, 331 note
-- _Notizie_ ii, 138 note
-- _Vittoria Colonna_, iii, 291 note
Camuccini, Baron, picture gallery of, iii, 230, 374, 483
Camuscia, iii, 19 note
Cancellaria, ii, 282, 286; iii, 17
Canepa, Church of the, Pavia, ii, 260
Canevazzi, iii, 271 note
Canossa, Ludovico da, ii, 47 note, 67, 83, 363, 397
-- authorities for, ii, 70 note
-- papal patronage of, ii, 70
-- at Urbino, ii, 78
Canova, i, xi
Cantarini, Simon, iii, 369
Cantiano, i, 404; ii, 213
-- conquered by Count Antonio, i, 37
-- mutiny at, ii, 393-5
Cantù, C., _St. d. Italiani_, i, 6
Caoursin, Guglielmo, ii, 293 note
Capaccio, Cardinal, iii, 421
Capasso, _Il Tasso a Sorrento_, iii, 299 note
Capella di Barbone, iii, 11
Capello, Bernardo, ii, 365; iii, 124
-- on Borgia, i, 411; ii, 459
-- on Julius II., ii, 304 note, 305
-- at Urbino, iii, 294
Capilupi, ii, 84 note
Capitulation of Rome, iii, 23
Capobianco, Giovan Giorgio, iii, 404 note
Capo d'Istria, iii, 275
Caponi, Marchese, ii, 484
Cappelli, iii, 280 note
Capranica, iii, 26
Caprarola, iii, 357
Capretti, Bartolomeo, i, 165
Capua, sack of, i, 394
Capuchins, origin of the, iii, 96 note
Carraci, Annibale, iii, 414
Caracci, Ludovico, ii, 243; iii, 369
Caraccioli, Camillo, i, 399
Caraffa, Giovanni, iii, 109
Caraffa, Monsignor, ii, 16, _see_ Paul IV.
Caravaggi, the, iii, 341
Carbonani, Gentile, iii, 78
Carbonani, Troiano, iii, 78
Carda, la, united to Urbino, i, 51 note, _see_ Ubaldini
Cardona, Raimondo di, ii, 343, 344
Carducci, Giuseppe, iii, 330 note
Carducci, Ludovico, iii, 354
Carew, Thomas, quoted, i, 169
Carey's translation, _see_ Dante
Carlos, Don, son of King Philip II., intimacy with Francesco Maria
II., iii, 132
-- imprisonment of, iii, 132, 133
-- death of, iii, 133, 134
Carlotta of Savoy, i, 375
Carmagnuolo, i, 72 note; iii, 35
Carnesecchi, ii, 74 note
Carnevale, Fra, i, 150; ii, 210, 211, 260
-- his portrait of Federigo, i, 287
Carnioia, Bishop of, i, 478
Caro, Annibale, iii, 260, 294, 295
-- as purist, iii, 257
Carpegna, Counts of, i, 25
-- arms of, i, 25 note
-- fief of, i, 112
Carpi, i, 290; iii, 165
Cartolari, Gian Francesco, iii, 114 and note
_Cartularium Comitatus_ i, xvi
Cartwright, Julia, _see_ Mrs. Ady
Casa, della, iii, 257
Casa Bertoldy, iii, 366
Casal-Maggiore, ii, 453
Casale, Gregorio, i, 473; ii, 432; iii, 440
Casalecchio, ii, 335
Casalino, iii, 19
Casanova, ii, 73 note; iii, 8 note
Casartole, iii, 49
Casatico, ii, 51
Casaubon, Isaac, iii, 182
Casini-Tordi, iii, 291 note
Cassana, iii, 42
Castel Cavellino, ii, 210
Castel d'Elce, granted to Genga, iii, 352
Castel del Isola del Piano, ii, 357
Castel del Rio, ii, 326, 338
Castel Durante, i, 312, 411 note; ii, 85; iii, 122, 201, 220, 333,
406, 408, 413
-- countship of, i, 23
-- seized by Guidantonio, i, 46
-- palace of, i, 174
-- architect of, ii, 213
-- hunting at, iii, 160
-- description of, iii, 181
-- court at, iii, 204
-- library of, removed to the Sapienza, iii, 244
-- Tasso at, iii, 318
-- now Urbania, iii, 423
Castella, iii, 125
Castel Leo, iii, 239
Castel Leone, iii, 82
Castellesi, Adrian and Vergilio, ii, 115, 116
Castellina, i, 249
-- siege of, i, 104
Castelluccio, i, 133
Castelnuovo, i, 405
-- siege of, i, 262
Castel S. Pietro, ii, 317
Castiglione, Baldassare, i, 48, 290, 311; ii, 50, 81; iii, 78
-- _Il Cortegiano_ i, 161, 170; ii, 44, 55, 76, 77, 119-21; iii, 277
-- _Epistola_, i, 295 note
-- on Guidobaldo I., i, 298; ii, 24, 84, 87
-- his device, i, 444
-- at Urbino, ii, 34, 52, 232
-- envoy to London, ii, 34, 52, 233, 355, 468-70
-- authorities for, ii, 51 note
-- author of _Tirsis_, ii, 49, 58
-- family of, ii, 50
-- his life, ii, 50-6
-- granted Novillara, ii, 53, 356
-- marriage of, ii, 53
-- ambassador of the Holy See at Madrid, ii, 54; iii, 26-30, 448-51
-- on Gonzaga, ii, 58 note
-- on Ottaviano Fregoso, ii, 59
-- on Bibbiena, ii, 68
-- his letter to Henry VIII., ii, 121
-- his letter to his children, ii, 122
-- on the _Calandra_, ii, 148-52
-- friend of Raffaele, ii, 250
-- on Leonora Gonzaga, ii, 316
-- acts for Francesco Maria I., ii, 341, 344, 355
-- diplomacy of, ii, 415, 419
Castiglione, Fra, ii, 210
Castreno, Demetrio, at Urbino, ii, 136
Castriotto, Jacopo Fusto, iii, 77
Catarina of Rossano, ii, 281
Catelani, Fra Bernardo, ii, 264
Caterina, Countess of Urbino, i, 47
-- canzonet to, ii, 143
-- letter to, by Nelli, ii, 192
Cathelan, i, 408
Catherine of Russia, ii, 233
Cattaneo, Federico, ii, 323 note
Cavallino, ii, 379; iii, 336 note
Cavattone, ii, 70 note
Ceccardi, the, supplanted in Cagli by the Montefeltri, i, 22, 37
Cecchetti, ii, 73 note
Cecchi, Domenico di, ii, 191
-- _La Donna Italiana_, ii, 73 note
Cecco, ii, 189
Celano, lake of, i, 44; iii, 26
-- battle of, i, 73
Celestine V. absolves Count Guido, i, 28
-- abdicates, i, 28
Cellani, Padre, ii, 324
Celli, ii, 277; iii, 114 note, 123 note, 142 note
Cellini, Benvenuto, iii, 403
-- shoots the Duke of Bourbon, iii, 11 and note
Cennini, Cennino, ii, 73 note
Cennino, Cardinal, iii, 217
Censorship of books, ii, 20
Centenelli, Cristofero, on Francesco Maria I., iii, 79
Cento, i, 396; ii, 403
Cento Celle, i, 237
Centogatti, Bartolomeo, ii, 215, 265; iii, 260 note
Central Italy defined, i, xxxix
-- losses of the Malatesta in, i, 146
Cerasolo, i, 197
Cerri, _Borgia ossia Alessandro VI._, ii, 19 note
Certaldo, siege of, i, 248
Cervantes, _El Buscapié_, ii, 82 note
Cervetri, i, 331
Cervia, ii, 322
-- seized by Venice, i, 381
-- Bishop of, i, 475
-- surrender of, ii, 329
Cervini, Marcello, Bishop of Gubbio, elected Pope, iii, 104, 260
Cesano, battle of, i, 137
Cesare da Faenza, iii, 422
Cesarini, Cardinal, iii, 431, 436
Cesena, i, 18, 48, 180, 348, 381, 392, 405; ii, 23, 337, 412; iii,
349, 352
-- surrender of, ii, 35
Cesenatico, ii, 28
Cette, Bishop of, i, 375
Charlemagne, coronation of, ii, 237
-- donations of, i, 5
Charles of Anjou, i, 26
-- and first of Naples, i, 323
Charles the Bold, ii, 407
Charles V., Emperor, i, 447 note; ii, 416, 428; iii, 24, 27 and note,
28-31, 37, 40-46, 62, 69, 70, 110, 264, 395, 411, 421
-- negotiates with Castiglione, ii, 54; iii, 448-51
-- elected Emperor, ii, 407, 408
-- leagues against Francis I., ii, 423
-- hostile to Pope Clement VII., iii, 28
-- and the sack of Rome, iii, 29-31
-- a league against, iii, 37
-- his motives in going to Italy, iii, 42
-- coronation of, iii, 42-6, 253
-- favours Francesco Maria I., iii, 43-5, 69
-- meets Clement VII. at Bologna, iii, 62
-- meets Francesco Maria I. in Italy, in 1532, iii, 62, 404 note
-- his expedition against Tunis, iii, 299
-- and Ariosto, iii, 284
-- and Titian, iii, 390
-- _Lettere_, iii, 8 note
Charles VII., i, 124
-- death of, i, 135
Charles VIII., i, 325; ii, 3, 449; iii, 57
Charles VIII., of France, characteristics of, i, 327, 346, 355
-- his invasion of Italy, i, 333, 340, 348-55
-- enters Naples, i, 352
-- defeated at Taro, i, 354
-- death of, i, 372
-- his army in 1493, i, 460-2
-- and Gem, ii, 296
Charles IX., ii, 406; iii, 122
Charlescon, ii, 381
Charon, iii, 344
Chaucer, i, 313 note
Chaumont, M. de, ii, 331; iii, 435
Chiavistelli, the, i, 235 note
Chigi, Agostino, ii, 247, 248, 258, 352 note
Chigi Chapel, ii, 240
Chinese art, ii, 175
Chinon, i, 468
Chioggia, i, 377; ii, 360
Chiusi, ii, 11
Christian art, _see_ Italian art
Christofero, Giovanni, ii, 71
Church Langton, ii, 115
Church-plate coined into specie, iii, 24
Church, Roman Catholic, identified with popular principles, i, 11
Cialderi, Girolamo, iii, 380
Ciampi, iii, 383 note
Cian, ii, 44 note, 51 note, 63 note, 119 note
Ciarla, Raffaele, iii, 420, 422, 423
Ciarpelion, i, 91
Cibò, Cardinal, _see_ Innocent VIII.
Cibò, Alberico, iii, 80; iii, 106
Cibò, Caterina, iii, 65, 66
Cibò, Francesco, i, 331
Cibrario, on coinage, i, xlii, xliii note
-- _Economia Politica del Medio Evo_, i, 88 note
Cicognara, Count, ii, 269, 271; iii, 404 note
Cigognara, iii, 481
Cimabue, i, 436; ii, 174, 188
-- at Assisi, ii, 180
-- style of, ii, 186
Cimarelli, i, 160; iii, 225 note
-- on the Duchy of Urbino, i, 4
-- Italian patriotism of, ii, 108
Cimatorio, Antonio, iii, 378
Citadella, ii, 420
-- _Saggio di Albero Genealogico della Famiglia Borgia_, ii, 19 note
Città della Pieve, ii, 11, 199
-- sack of, iii, 19
Città di Castello, i, 18, 238, 305, 360, 380; ii, 24; iii, 106
-- Guidobaldo I. at, i, 421
-- plunder of, ii, 11
-- Raffaele's work at, ii, 225
-- majolica made at, iii, 406
Civita Castellana, iii, 5, 23, 24
Civita Vecchia, i, 81; iii, 23
Claude, iii, 366
Claudia, Princess, of Urbino, marriage of, to Prince Federigo, iii,
196, 199-202
-- second marriage of, iii, 211
-- letters from her to her daughter, iii, 232, 237
Clement, name unlucky for the papacy, iii, 33 note
Clement VII., i, 327; ii, 64, 351, 419 note; iii, 4-8, 13, 25, 32,
59, 62, 66, 260
-- sends Castiglione to Spain, ii, 54
-- election of, ii, 423
-- policy of, ii, 433, 434, 443, 447-56; iii, 26
-- reduces the garrison of Rome, iii, 4
-- foolish infatuation of, iii, 4-8
-- his difficulty to raise money, iii, 6
-- seeks safety in S. Angelo, iii, 13
-- amid calamities and perils, iii, 23
-- fed on asses' flesh, iii, 25
-- escapes from Rome, iii, 25
-- returns to Rome, iii, 32
-- entertained by the Duchess Leonora, iii, 52
-- seizes Ancona, iii, 59
-- and Charles V., hold a congress at Bologna, iii, 62
-- his matrimonial speculations, iii, 62
-- estrangement from Charles V., iii, 62
-- death of, iii, 66
-- character of, iii, 66
-- letters to Francesco I., iii, 427
-- negotiations with, iii, 433-42
Clement VIII., Pope, iii, 164, 166, 167, 215
-- visits Francesco Maria II. at Pesaro, iii, 166, 167
-- visits Urbino, iii, 265, 373
Clement XI., i, 163; iii, 248 note
Clemente of Urbino, his medallions, ii, 270; iii, 376 note
Clementini, i, 71 note, 75 note, 192 note
Clovio, Giulio, i, 286, 449; iii, 12 note, 488
Coalition against Charles V., iii, 37
Colbordolo, i, 82; ii, 216
Colgrain Crone, i, xiii, xiv
Colle, siege of, i, 248, 339 note
Colle, Raffaele del, iii, 50, 380, 420
-- work of, iii, 350
Colleone, Bartolomeo, harasses Urbino, i, 54
-- invades Tuscany, i, 185
-- fights at La Molinella, i, 185, 186
-- employs flying artillery, i, 187
Colleoni, Carmagnuola, ii, 425 note
Colocci, Angelo, iii, 122 note
Cologne, ii, 198
Colonello, Francesco Amadori di, iii, 386 note
Colonna, the, depredations of, i, 329
-- prefects of Rome, ii, 291
-- reconciled with Orsini, ii, 354
-- excommunicated by Clement VII., ii, 448
Colonna, Antonio, Prince of Salerna, ii, 291
Colonna, Ascanio, i, 289; iii, 53, 442
-- his claims on Urbino, ii, 418-20, 455
Colonna, Caterina, marriage of, i, 45
Colonna, Fabrizio, i, 289, 358; ii, 302, 419; iii, 291, 435
-- marriage of, i, 222
Colonna, Giovanni, i, 29
Colonna, Girolamo, i, 152
Colonna, Giulio, ii, 283
Colonna, Lorenzo, i, 45
Colonna, Marc Antonio, ii, 281, 282
Colonna, Marcello, ii, 444
Colonna, Ottavia, ii, 283
Colonna, Cardinal Ottone, _see_ Martin V.
Colonna, Pier Antonio, i, 152; ii, 291
Colonna, Cardinal Pompeo, ii, 448; iii, 10, 26, 27, 432
-- treason of, ii, 443, 444
Colonna, Cardinal Prospero, ii, 419, 425 note, 444; iii, 435
-- death of, ii, 423
Colonna, Sciarra, iii, 65
Colonna, Stefano, iii, 92, 430
Colonna, Vespasiano, iii, 439, 442
Colonna, Vittoria, i, 222, 289; ii, 120; iii, 125
-- authorities for, iii, 291 note
-- marriage of, iii, 291
-- her character, iii, 292
-- her poems, iii, 292
_Coltness Collections, The_, i, xvi
Columbus, Christopher, i, 326
Comacchio, Bishop of, i, 475
Comandini, Comandino, i, 268, 279; ii, 215
Comandino, Federigo, iii, 134, 266, 267, 369
-- translator of Greek, iii, 259
-- his education, iii, 260
-- devoted to the exact sciences, iii, 261
-- at Urbino, iii, 261
Comandino, Gian Battista, ii, 265; iii, 260
Comarca, defined, i, xl
Comerio, la vedova, i, 286
Comines, Philippe de, i, 248
-- on the French army, i, 463-7
Como, i, 156
Comolli, ii, 221
Compagnoni of Macerata, iii, 372
Conca, iii, 363
Condivi, iii, 381, 383 note
Condolmiere, Gabriele, _see_ Eugene IV.
Condottiere, rise of the, i, 13
-- system at work, i, 14, 112; ii, 424, 425
-- the passing of, i, 333; iii, 47, 94, 156
-- the Vitelli, famous, i, 335 note
Conegliano, Cima di, ii, 191
Confraternita della Grotta, iii, 242, 243
Coninghame, Mr. William, ii, 232
Constantine, Hall of, ii, 238
Constantini, iii, 327
Constantinople, ii, 105, 296, 398
-- siege of, i, 106
-- patriarch of, ii, 280
Contarini, Altadonna, i, 51 note
Contarini, Bartolomeo, i, 51 note
Contarini, Lorenzo, his funeral oration on Francesco Maria I., iii, 73
Conte, Donato del, i, 187
Conti, Sigismondo, ii, 126
Coreglia, Michele, i, 415
Contriotto, iii, 77
Corfu, iii, 77, 140, 141, 423
Corboli, the, iii, 90
Corboli, Antonio, iii, 143
Corinaldo, ii, 8, 395, 396; iii, 379
-- prior of, iii, 82
Corio, ii, 285
-- mistakes of, i, 188 note
Cornara, Queen, iii, 482
Cornari, the, iii, 298
Cornei, the, iii, 90
Cornelius, iii, 366
Corneto, Cardinal of, ii, 115, 116, 391
-- to be poisoned, ii, 15, 16, 17
Corona, indulgences belonging to a, iii, 456
Corradi, iii, 175 note, 311 note
Corradi, Bartolomeo, _see_ (Fra) Carnevale
Corradino, i, 26
Corrado, Ludovico, iii, 130
Correggio, ii, 242; iii, 338, 341, 356, 370
Cortesio, Paolo, quoted, i, 244, 450
-- letter to, from Guidobaldo, ii, 87
Cortona, i, 103; iii, 19
Corvinus, Matthew, King of Hungary, i, 245; ii, 37
Corvisieri, ii, 285 note
Cosenza, Cardinal of, iii, 431
Cosimo I., i, 384
Cosimo II., Grand Duke of Tuscany, death of, iii, 199
Cosimo III., Grand Duke of Tuscany, iii, 239, 489
Cosmati, the, iii, 336 note
Costa, Mauro, i, 169
Costaccioro, i, 404; ii, 213
Costanza, Countess, of Urbino, i, 34
Costanza of Pesaro, i, 41
Coster, Mauro, iii, 244
Cotrone, Marchioness of, i, 473
Council of Trent i, xi; ii, 20 note; iii, 96
Coventry, Andrew, iii, 176 note
Cranach, Lucas, iii, 487
Crastini, Antonio, ii, 314
Creighton, Mandell, i, 321 note; ii, 10 note, 17 note, 285 note, 294
note, 417 note
-- _History of the Papacy_, i, 319 note
-- on Sixtus IV., ii, 278 note, 287 note
-- on Julius II., ii, 301 note, 334 note, 339 note
-- on Marignano, ii, 363 note
-- on Renzo da Ceri, iii, 13 note
-- on the sack of Rome, iii, 14 note
Crema, iii, 77
Cremona, i, 93
-- siege of, ii, 424, 441 note, 433
-- surrender of, ii, 445
Crescimbeni, i, 40 note, 427, 428
-- on Galli, ii, 143
-- on Baldi, iii, 271
Crespi, Canonico, ii, 233
Cresti, Domenico, iii, 369
Crichton, the Admirable, iii, 326
Cristina, Queen, ii, 233
Cristofani, _Storia d'Assisi_, i, 35 note, 42 note, 43 note
Crivelli, ii, 222; iii, 345
Crocchia of Urbino, ii, 265
_Croniche di Gubbio_, i, 22 note
Crowe and Cavalcaselle, ii, 138 note, 185 note, 203 note, 220 note
Croy, Adrian de, ii, 428
Crozat Collection, ii, 233
Crusca, della, academicians of, on Tasso, iii, 310, 329
Cruttwell, Maud, _Luca and Andrea della Robbia and their School_,
iii, 406
Cunningham, _Life of Wilkie_, ii, 175 note
Cuparini's account of the war of Camerino, iii, 68 note
Curzolari, _see_ Lepanto
Cyprus, King of, iii, 18
Cyrneo, Pietro, on Duke Federigo, i, 272
D'Albret, Charlotte, i, 376
D'Alençon, Charles, Duc, ii, 449
D'Allègre, Ives, i, 384
Dalloway, iii, 360
Dalmasio, Lippo, ii, 254
D'Alviano, Bartolomeo, i, 359, 370; ii, 321
D'Amboise, George, i, 376
D'Ambras, Monsieur, ii, 390
Damiano, Felice, iii, 380
D'Ancezun, Geraud, ii, 282
D'Ancona, ii, 69 note, 119 note; iii, 308 note; 327 note
-- _La Poesia Popolare Italiana_, iii, 280 note
Dandini, V., iii, 487
Daniele di Volterra, ii, 244; iii, 380
Dante Alighieri, quoted, i, 3, 19, 67, 73 note, 383; ii, 51, 74 note;
iii, 278, 329
-- folio in Urbino library, i, 448
-- on Count Guido, i, 28, 30-32
-- on Boniface VIII., i, 33
-- leaves Florence, ii, 100
-- inspires Umbrian school of art, ii, 186
-- on Oderigi da Gubbio, ii, 188
D'Aquila, Serafino, at Urbino, ii, 147
D'Aquino, iii, 125
D'Aragona, Antonio, marries Princess Ippolita, iii, 53
D'Aragona, Tullia, iii, 275, 298
D'Arco, ii, 5 note
D'Argenson, Sieur, i, 466
D'Arpino, Cavaliere, iii, 377
Daru, on coinage, i, xxii
D'Assisi, Andrea, ii, 258, 291
Datario, ii, 32
D'Aubigny, invades Italy, i, 348
D'Avalos, Alfonso Felice, iii, 125 and note, 157
D'Avalos, Ferrante, iii, 291 note
David II. of Scotland, i, xiii
Da Vinci, Leonardo, ii, 199, 222, 229, 252; iii, 335
-- his _Cenacolo_, ii, 204 note
-- cartoons of, ii, 235
Dazzi, _Alcune Lettere_, ii, 73 note
Dea, John, at Urbino, iii, 261
De Gama, i, 326
De Grasses, ii, 281
Dello, iii, 345
Demetrio, i, 226
Dennistoun, Mr. J.W., of Dennistoun, i, xii
_Dennistoun and Colgraine_, _Some Account of the Family of Dennistoun
of_, i, xv note
Dennistoun, James, of Dennistoun, scope of the _Memoirs_, i, viii
-- ii, 153 note
-- illustrations of the _Memoirs_, i, x-xii
-- art criticism of, i, x, xv; ii, 157 note; iii, 336 note
-- descent of, i, xiii
-- arms of, i, xiv note
-- his birth and education, i, xiv, xv
-- works of, i, xvi, xvii
-- his collection of early Italian pictures, i, xvii-xxviii
-- his prejudice against the Malatesta, i, 75 note, i, 192 note
-- on the Borgia, i, 319 note
-- on the devolution of the Duchy, iii, 220 note
-- on Michael Angelo, iii, 386 note
-- his list of authorities, iii, 490-498
D'Entragues, Monsieur, i, 356
D'Epinois, ii, 19 note
Despartes, i, 320 note
D'Este, the, hold Ferrara as Marquisate, i, 18
-- patrons of art, ii, 43
-- patrons of letters, ii, 98, 99
D'Este, Alberto, i, 473
D'Este, Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara, i, 247; iii, 80
-- his marriage with Lucrezia Borgia, i, 396, 473-83
-- sues for peace, ii, 346
D'Este, Bianca, accomplishments of, ii, 128
D'Este, Borso, Duke of Modena and Ferrara, i, 110, 205, 261
D'Este, Cesare, iii, 164
D'Este, Duke Ercole, i, 125; ii, 147; iii, 139, 281
-- pretensions of, i, 381
D'Este, Ginevra, i, 192 note
D'Este, Giulia della Rovere, iii, 393 note
D'Este, Cardinal Ippolito, ii, 23 note; iii, 270
-- patron of Ariosto, iii, 281-83
D'Este, Isabella, ii, 5 note, 84 note
-- letters of, ii, 23 note, 323 note
D'Este, Isotta, betrothed to Duke Oddantonio, i, 55
D'Este, Laura, iii, 299
D'Este, Leonello, i, 55
D'Este, Leonora, iii, 136 note, 334, 349
-- Tasso and, iii, 309, 319, 321
D'Este, Lucrezia, ii, 357
-- _see_ Lucrezia, Duchess of Urbino
D'Este, Nicolò Marquis of Ferrara, i, 55
Dhona, Baron, i, 469
_Dialogue de Regno_, i, 227
_Diario Ferrarese_, i, 55 note
Diomed, iii, 69
Dionora of Naples, ii, 281
Di Pastis, i, 193
Dispensations, sale of, i, 386
Djem, _see_ Gem
Dolce, Ludovico, i, 403
-- _Instituto delle Donne_, ii, 72, 77 note
-- on position of women in the sixteenth century, ii, 72-5
Domenichi, iii, 286
Domenichino, ii, 243
Donato, Antonio, iii, 129 note, 218, 219, 227
Doni, Angelo, ii, 229
Doni, Antonio Francesco, iii, 289
"Donkey-day," ii, 337
Donnino, Francesco di, iii, 413, 421
Donnino, Giovanni di, iii, 413, 421
D'Orco, Ramirez, i, 392
Doria, Andrea, i, 152; ii, 36, 448; iii, 140
-- at Sinigaglia, ii, 3
-- at Genoa, ii, 59
-- defends Sinigaglia, ii, 300
-- occupies Ostia, iii, 24
-- changes sides, iii, 40
Doria, Filippino, iii, 78, 131
Doria, Giovanni Andrea, iii, 134, 140
Doria, Nicoloso, i, 402
Doria Pamfili gallery, i, 275 note
D'Ortona, Morello, ii, 37
Dossi, Giovanbattista, iii, 350
Douglas, Langton, _History of Siena_, ii, 11 note, 187 note, 414 note
D'Ovidio, iii, 310 note, 317 note
Dovizi, Bernardo, _see_ Cardinal Bibbiena
Dovizi, Pietro, ii, 65; _see_ Bembo
Dryden, _Æneid_, i, 121 note; ii, 122 note
Drymen, i, xiv
_Dublin Review_, i, 29 note
Duccio, ii, 185 note; iii, 336 note
Dugdale, ii, 470
Dumont, i, 394 note
Duns Scotus, i, 230
Du Peloux, quoted, i, 327 note
Durante, Guglielmo, i, 35, 36; iii, 181
Duranti, Cardinal, iii, 130
Durantino, Guido, iii, 423
Durazzo, Charles, Count of, i, 323
Durazzo Gallery, Genoa, iii, 231
D'Urbino, Francesco, iii, 378
D'Urbino, Giovanni, iii, 378, 437, 441
D'Urbino, Girolamo, iii, 369
Durer, Albert, ii, 198
Eastern Empire, decay of, i, 106
Eastlake, Sir C.L., i, xxxix note
_Edinburgh Review_, i, xxxix note
-- Dennistoun's contributions to, i, xvi, xvii
Edward III. of England, i, xiii, 223
Elisabetta, Duchess of Urbino, ii, 32, 35, 38, 58, 265, 316, 360, 367
-- accomplishments of, ii, 43, 46, 49
-- her letters to Urbino, ii, 82
-- her grief, ii, 82, 83, 85
-- remaining years of, ii, 88-90
-- portraits of, ii, 234, 272
-- acts as regent, ii, 320, 323
-- letter of, to Francesco Maria I., iii, 79, 80 note
Elizabeth, Queen, iii, 360
Elizabeth of Valois, iii, 133
Ellesmere Collection, ii, 233
Elna, Bishop of, i, 403
Elzivir Press, iii, 465
Emanuel Filibert, Duke of Savoy, ii, 215; iii, 263
Emo, proveditore, ii, 425
Enciquel, Don Pedro, iii, 132
England in league against Charles V., iii, 37
English views on art, ii, 171
_Epistles on the Platonic Theology_, i, 227
Erasmus, quoted, ii, 123 note
-- and Vergilio, ii, 116
Ercole I. Duke of Ferrara; _see_ D'Este
Ermine, Order of the, i, 222
Erskine, Sir Robert, i, xiii
Escriva, Pietro Luigi, iii, 77
Escu, M. de l', ii, 398, 401, 403, 423
Etruscan pottery, iii, 404
Euclid, _Elements_ of, iii, 261, 267
Eugenius IV., i, 438
-- policy against the Colonna, i, 46, 68, 95
-- confers dukedom on Oddantonio, i, 51
-- flies to Florence, i, 73
-- his grants to the Montefeltri, i, 76
-- excommunicates Duke Federigo, i, 93
-- death of, i, 95
-- his policy, i, 96
-- claims Naples, i, 324
-- biography of, ii, 119
-- patron of art, ii, 197
Eugubinean tables, the, iii, 267
Exact sciences flourish, iii, 259
Ezzelino, i, 67
Fabi, iii, 287 note
Fabius, Maximus, iii, 76
Fabre, M., ii, 234
Fabretti, Raffaele, i, 159
Fabriano, ii, 89, 395, 413
-- sack of, ii, 402
Fabronio, i, 242 note, 262
Fabroni, _Life of Lorenzo_, i, 237
Facio, ii, 267
Faenza, i, 18, 47, 258, 349, 381; ii, 321, 322
-- betrayed by Tribaldello, i, 27
-- blockade of, i, 186
-- Lord of, i, 206
-- defence of, i, 389
-- surrender of, ii, 328
-- majolica or faience of, iii, 406
Faggiuola, Uguccione della, iii, 482
Fano, i, 18, 82, 137, 305, 404, 418; ii, 266, 387; iii, 377
-- papal sway in, i, 23
-- siege of, i, 142
-- Perugino at, ii, 225
-- assault of, ii, 380
-- Guidobaldo II. at, iii, 103
Fantaguzzo da S. Arcangelo, i, 126
Farfa, Abbot of, iii, 39
Farnesi, the, iii, 263
-- position of, iii, 93
Farnese, Angelo, i, 152
Farnese, Cardinal, _see_ Paul III., iii, 24, 68
Farnese, Cardinal Alessandro, iii, 294, 357, 411, 474
-- patron of art, iii, 394
Farnese, Giulia, ii, 168 note
-- portrait of, i, xi
Farnese, Ottavio, Duke of Parma, married to Margaret of Austria, iii, 93
-- assisted by King Henry II. of France, iii, 103
-- his advice to Francesco Maria II., iii, 143-8
Farnese, Ranuccio, i, 152; iii, 163
Farnese, Cardinal Ranuccio, iii, 260, 271 note
Farnesina, Villa, ii, 240, 247
Fattori, iii, 101 note
Fazino, Antonio, iii, 143
Fea, Giacomo, i, 307, 384
-- _Notizie_, ii, 239 note
Febo da Cevi, iii, 78
Federigo of Aragon, i, 372
Federigo da Bozzolo, iii, 19, 20
Federigo of Naples, abdication of, i, 394
Federigo I., Marquis of Mantua, ii, 140
Federigo, Duke of Urbino, his reign a golden age, i, xxxi
-- martial renown of, i, xxxiii
-- mystery of his birth, i, 61-3
-- legitimation of, i, 62
-- obtains fiefs by marriage, i, 23
-- marriage with Elisabetta Brancaleone, i, 46, 72
-- military cares of, i, 47
-- takes possession of the state, i, 54
-- his early betrothal, i, 63, 64
-- goes to Venice, i, 68
-- made a companion of the _Calze_, i, 68
-- retires to Mantua, i, 69
-- educated by Vittorino da Feltre, i, 69
-- knighted by Sigismund, i, 72
-- becomes Count of Mercatello, i, 72, 83
-- and a condottiere, i, 72
-- his first service, i, 74
-- his moonlight adventure at Faenza, i, 74
-- his long contests with Sigismondo Malatesta, i, 75-80, 83, 93
-- surprises S. Leo, i, 77-80
-- visits Alfonso of Naples, i, 81, 82
-- ill of fever, i, 83
-- protects Pesaro, i, 83
-- challenged by Sigismondo Malatesta, i, 83
-- called by the citizens as their seigneur, i, 85
-- his concessions to them, i, 86, 438
-- his promising qualities, i, 88
-- serves under Francesco Sforza, i, 89, 91-3, 100
-- his proposal for Fossombrone, i, 89
-- excommunicated, i, 93
-- challenges Sigismondo Malatesta, i, 94
-- serves the Florentines, i, 98
-- fidelity of, i, 99, 100
-- loses an eye, i, 101
-- changes sides, i, 103
-- his campaign in Tuscany, i, 103-6
-- goes to Naples, i, 104, 108, 110
-- ill of fever, i, 104
-- re-engaged, i, 106
-- selfish policy of, i, 109
-- his interviews with Sigismondo Malatesta, i, 110, 119
-- loses his wife, i, 111
-- his rival humbled, i, 112
-- deserted by his allies, i, 114
-- retained by Ferdinand II., i, 115
-- his brief from Pius II., i, 117
-- domestic life of, i, 120
-- marries Battista Sforza, i, 122
-- visits Pius II., i, 123
-- his accident and bravery at the battle of S. Fabbiano, i, 126, 127
-- insulted by Piccinino, i, 129
-- his indictment of Sigismondo, i, 131
-- accompanies Pius II. to Tivoli, i, 133
-- complimented by Pius II., i, 134
-- sent against Malatesta, i, 136
-- and defeats him at Cesano, i, 137
-- takes Mondavio, Sinigaglia and Fano, i, 139
-- takes Mondaino and Montefiori, i, 140
-- his forgery and artifice, i, 140
-- takes Fano, i, 142
-- generosity of, i, 143, 199, 242
-- at peace with Sigismondo, i, 145
-- his territory extended, i, 146
-- builds a palace, i, 154-63
-- his patent to Luziano, i, 156
-- his library, i, 162-9, 271
-- his other residences, i, 171-3
-- his sporting tastes, i, 174 note
-- extent of his domain, i, 175, 213 note
-- war a source of wealth to, i, 175
-- Gonfaloniere of the Church, i, 179
-- retained by Ferdinand, i, 179
-- expeditions in service of Paul II., i, 179
-- visits Paul II., i, 179
-- engaged by Galeazzo Maria Sforza, i, 181, 183, 185, 190, 196
-- good faith of, i, 186
-- risks his life at La Molinella, i, 187-9
-- reduces Brisella, i, 190
-- defends Rimini, i, 196
-- his oration, i, 198
-- wins the battle of Rimini, i, 199
-- his opinion of Sixtus IV., i, 203
-- entertains Persian envoy, i, 204
-- and Pietro Riario, i, 205
-- son born to, i, 207
-- his expedition against Volterra, i, 208-12
-- his Hebrew Bible, i, 212
-- his glory, i, 212
-- loses his countess, i, 214-16
-- made Duke of Urbino, i, 24, 220
-- obtains the Golden Rose, i, 221 note, 283
-- marries his daughters, i, 222
-- made Knight of the Ermine, i, 223, 284
-- and of the Garter, i, 224, 283, 451
-- his expedition against Perugia, i, 236
-- rejects Pazzi conspiracy, i, 242
-- employed by Sixtus IV. against the Medici, i, 243-51
-- his astrology, i, 231, 244
-- breaks his leg, i, 246, 253
-- receives Sword and Hat, i, 253
-- hospitality of, i, 253, 254
-- engaged against the Turks, i, 257
-- his campaign at Ferrara, i, 252-67
-- visits Florence, i, 261
-- his letter to Lorenzo, i, 262
-- serves the Florentines, i, 282
-- death of, i, 35, 266-9, 299
-- his funeral, i, 283-4
-- anecdotes of, i, 277-83
-- children of, i, 289-91
-- natural children of, i, 290-1
-- his administration, i, 147-9, 153
-- his character, i, 148, 270-83
-- his court, i, 150-4
-- his letters to Edward IV., i, 450-3, 456 note
-- his letters to Salisbury, i, 453-6
-- letters to Siena, i, 104, 111, 112, 196 note, 201, 209, 214, 249,
250, 254; ii, 214
-- literary tastes of, ii, 111, 113
-- biographers of, i, 147
-- his patronage of letters, i, 225-30; ii, 43, 99, 107, 112
-- his campaigns celebrated in verse, i, 227 note
-- memoir of, ii, 118
-- books dedicated to, i, 213, 227; ii, 112, 132
-- patron of art, ii, 201; iii, 259
-- employs Giorgio, ii, 212, 213
-- portraits of, i, 101, 284-9; ii, 208, 209, 210, 213, 268; iii,
415, 487
-- medallions of, i, 289 note; ii, 270-2
-- statue of, iii, 376, 400, 459
-- monumental inscription of, iii, 459
Federigo, Prince of Urbino, authorities for, iii, 129 note
-- birth of, iii, 173-6
-- portraits of, iii, 175 and note, 176, 489
-- baptism of, iii, 176-80
-- said to have been invested with the order of the Golden Fleece,
iii, 180
-- education of, iii, 189-95
-- character of, iii, 194-9, 203-7
-- betrothed to Princess Claudia, iii, 196
-- dissolute habits of, iii, 197-9, 203-7
-- marriage of, iii, 199-202
-- death of, iii, 207-10
Felice of Cagli, iii, 142
Feliciangeli, iii, 65 note
-- _Sulla monacazione di Sueva Montefeltro-Sforza_, i, 48 note
Feltre, Vittorino da, i, 69-71
Feltrian Legion, _see_ Italian Militia
Ferdinand and Isabella of Aragon and Castile, ii, 407
Ferdinand I., i, 325
Ferdinand II., Grand Duke of Tuscany, death of, iii, 196
-- betrothed to Princess Vittoria, iii, 213, 214
-- marriage of, iii, 239
Ferdinand II., of Naples, as Duke of Calabria enters Tuscany, i, 103
-- his succession, i, 115, 116
-- retains Count Federigo, i, 115
-- unpopularity of, i, 123
-- losses of, i, 129
-- campaigns against, i, 130, 135, 141
-- entertains Piccinino, i, 183
-- his opinion of Federigo, i, 185
-- makes treaty with Medici, i, 252
-- reconciled to the Pope, i, 332
-- succession of, i, 351
-- retires to Ischia, i, 352
-- returns to Naples, i, 354
-- death of, i, 358
Ferdinand II. of Spain, i, 352, 393
-- death of, ii, 358, 364
Ferdinand II., Emperor, iii, 214
Ferdinand Francesco, Marquis of Pescara, iii, 291
Feria, Duke of, iii, 133
Fermignano, ii, 260, iii, 406, 413
-- sack of, i, 411
Fermo, Seigneury of, i, 18, 90, 379; iii, 414
-- siege of, i, 93
-- rout at, ii, 398
Ferrante, i, 342 note
Ferrara, Marquisate of, i, 18, 62, 110; iii, 53 note, 281, 300, 406
-- festivities at, i, 55
-- congress at, i, 97
-- siege of, i, 167; ii, 335
-- designs of Venice on, i, 258, 302
-- league for defence of, i, 259
-- described, i, 261
-- entry into, by Lucrezia Borgia, i, 473
-- drama at, ii, 147, 152
-- advance on, ii, 331
-- bishop of, ii, 281
-- devolution of, iii, 165
-- Public Library, iii, 284
-- Tasso at, iii, 314
Ferrazzi, iii, 280 note
Ferrero e Muller, iii, 292 note
Ferrofino, Count Alessandro, ii, 345
Fesch Gallery, ii, 225
Feudalism, absence of, favours establishment of towns, i, 6
Ficheruolo, i, 262
-- siege of, i, 264
Ficino, Marsilio, i, 164, 227, 283; ii, 105
-- his dedication to Federigo, ii, 112
Fieramosca, Cesare, iii, 451
Fiesole, Giovanni da, ii, 161
Filarete, Francesco, i, 227 note
Filelfo, Francesco, i, 50 note
-- notoriety of, ii, 131
-- his _Sfortiados_, ii, 132
Filelfo, Gian Maria, i, 150
-- his _Martiados_, ii, 132, 133
-- his other works, ii, 133-6
-- his intercourse with Federigo, ii, 132, 135, 136
-- his sonnet on Bellini, ii, 135
Filiberta of Savoy, ii, 57, 359
Filippi, Vespasiano, his memoir of Duke Federigo, ii, 118
Filippini, i, 35 note
Filosseno, Marcello, i, 391
-- sonnet of, i, 472
Finale, campaign of, ii, 135
Firenzuola, ii, 73 note
Flamini, ii, 132 note
Fleetwood, on coinage, i, xlii
Florence, i, 37; ii, 62; iii, 106, 283
-- Guelphs and Ghibellines in, i, 11
-- democratic institutions of, i, 16
-- communal freedom in, i, 67
-- breaks alliance with Venice, i, 102
-- Angevine partisan, i, 124
-- factions in, after death of Cosimo de' Medici, i, 184
-- employs Federigo against Volterra, i, 209
-- origin of feuds in, i, 239
-- unfortunate position of, i, 251
-- humiliated before Sixtus IV., i, 252
-- welcomes Federigo, i, 261
-- the Medici in, i, 326; iii, 62
-- expels the Medici, i, 349, 350; iii, 43
-- in the absence of the popes, ii, 97
-- supports the French, ii, 343
-- Medici re-established in, ii, 346, 347; iii, 43
-- obtains Montefeltro, S. Leo, and Maiuola, ii, 406
-- Belle Arti, ii, 198
-- in league against Charles V., iii, 37
-- independence of, iii, 42
-- Tasso in, iii, 321
-- woollen trade of, iii, 347
-- Duomo of, iii, 359
-- majolica made at, iii, 406
-- Robbian ware of, iii, 407
Florentine school, ii, 288
Florido, Orazio, ii, 381-3
Floriszoon, _see_ Adrian VI.
Foglia, the, ii, 317
Fogliani, the, i, 379
-- Seigneury of, i, 18
Fogliano, Giovanni di, in Fermo, i, 379
-- murder of, i, 412; ii, 10
Fogliano, Nicolosa, ii, 281
Fogliano, Oliverotto, i, 379
Foiano, siege of, i, 104
Foix, Gaston de, ii, 315, 344
Foix, Odet de, ii, 423 note
Foligno, Republic of, i, 18, 40; ii, 199; iii, 19 note
Fontana, iii, 263
-- Camillo, iii, 422
-- Flaminio, iii, 422
-- Guido, iii, 422
-- Horatio, iii, 474
-- Nicolò, iii, 422
-- Orazio, iii, 411, 422
Foppa of Brescia, ii, 203
Forana, Madonna of, ii, 196
Forano, ii, 223
Forlì, Seigneury of, i, 18, 254, 306, 307, 381, 414; ii, 337; iii,
349, 350, 406
-- siege and surprise of, i, 26
-- chronicles of, i, 37
-- defence of, i, 384
-- surrender of, ii, 35
-- reduction of, ii, 52
Forlimpopoli, i, 192 note, 406
Formoso I., i, 178
Fornari, the, ii, 59
Fornovo, battle of, i, 463, 467
Forrest, Mr., iii, 415
Foscari, Francesco, i, 68
Fossatti, Falletti, ii, 74 note
Fossombrone, i, 175, 281, 312, 404; ii, 343, 395; iii, 98, 123
-- bought by Federigo, i, 23, 89, 90
-- palace of, i, 154, 174
-- built by Giorgio, ii, 213
-- sack of, by Borgia, i, 415
-- Guidobaldo I. at, ii, 80
-- bishop of, iii, 178
Fox, Richard, ii, 117
Francesca, Pietro della, i, 56 note, 447; ii, 198, 260 note; iii, 262,
347, 487
-- work ascribed to, ii, 201, 206, 209, 290
-- two manners of, ii, 202
-- patronized by Federigo, i, 218, 284, 286; ii, 201, 206
-- mathematician, ii, 202, 203
-- his MSS., ii, 203-6
-- his paintings, ii, 206-10, 236
-- and Raffaele, ii, 231
Francesco da Bozzolo, iii, 71
Francesco di Cagli, i, 435
Francesco d'Urbino, iii, 378
Francesco, Gian, ii, 272
Francesco da Piacenza, i, 112 note
Francesco Maria del Monte, iii, 262
Francesco I. of Florence, iii, 360
Francesco Maria I., Duke of Urbino, i, 24, 131, 173, 283; ii, 34, 145,
215; iii, 259, 265, 281, 404 note
-- reign of, i, xxxi
-- victim of Leo X., i, xxxii
-- martial renown of, i, xxxiii
-- adoption of, i, 371, 399; ii, 36, 37, 316
-- birth of, i, 312; ii, 313
-- taken to Urbino, ii, 313
-- made prefect of Rome, i, 399; ii, 313
-- inherits Sinigaglia, ii, 300, 316
-- marriage of, ii, 89, 314, 316, 323
-- education of, ii, 314
-- retires to France, ii, 315
-- returns from France, ii, 315
-- his first campaign, ii, 316
-- his uncontrollable temper, ii, 317, 339, 441; iii, 36
-- succeeds Guidobaldo, ii, 81, 84, 318
-- made captain-general of the papal troops, ii, 323
-- visits Mantua, ii, 323 note
-- his campaign in Romagna, ii, 325-9, 331-8, 343, 345
-- his difficulties with the Cardinal of Pavia, ii, 327-9, 331-9
-- goes to Rome, ii, 329, 341, 353
-- proceedings against, for murder of the cardinal, ii, 341-3, 366,
481-3
-- his difficulties with the Medici, ii, 347
-- obtains Pesaro, ii, 348-50
-- received by Leo X., ii, 354
-- Leo X. intrigues against, ii, 360-7
-- deprived of his duchy, ii, 367, 369
-- his manifesto, ii, 373-5
-- his address to his soldiers, ii, 376
-- is restored, ii, 377-80
-- challenges Lorenzo, ii, 381-3
-- details the battle of Mondolfo, ii, 388
-- masters a mutiny, ii, 393-5
-- addresses his soldiers, ii, 394
-- his expedition against Perugia, ii, 393-5
-- and foray of La Marca, ii, 395
-- marches on Tuscany, ii, 399-401
-- again deprived of his duchy, ii, 401-6
-- again returns, ii, 412-21
-- writes to Siena, ii, 414
-- goes to Rome, ii, 422
-- serves the Venetians, ii, 423-8, 431, 435
-- visits Venice, ii, 429-31; iii, 36
-- his letter to Wolsey, ii, 434
-- his _Discorsi Militari_, ii, 438, 446; iii, 53-9, 78
-- illness of, ii, 432, 443, 451
-- counsels Clement VII., iii, 5
-- dilatory march of, iii, 8, 15 and note, 18-20
-- indefensible conduct of, iii, 22 note
-- desertion of his forces, iii, 34
-- justifies himself to Clement VII., iii, 34, 444-7
-- eloquence of, iii, 36, 79
-- beats Gian Andrea da Prato, iii, 36
-- repels the Duke of Brunswick, iii, 40
-- recovers Pavia, iii, 40
-- at the coronation of Charles V., iii, 43-6
-- mistaken for his son, iii, 44
-- favoured by Charles V., iii, 43-5, 69
-- much absent from his state, iii, 49
-- returns to his state, iii, 53
-- in Lombardy, iii, 58, 70
-- leaves the government of the state to his son, iii, 58
-- institutes a militia, iii, 61
-- meets Charles V. in 1532, iii, 62, 69
-- death of, iii, 71
-- burial of, iii, 72-4
-- epitaph of, iii, 73
-- statue of, iii, 74
-- character of, iii, 74-80
-- children of, iii, 80
-- patron of letters, ii, 116
-- patron of Raffaele, ii, 234
-- patron of Ariosto, iii, 284
-- patron of art, iii, 346, 349, 351
-- portraits of, iii, 346, 351, 390, 470, 479, 485
-- patron of Michael Angelo, iii, 382-4
-- patron of Titian, iii, 390
-- monument to, iii, 400-2
-- letters to, from Clement VII., iii, 427
-- inscription on, iii, 460
Francesco Maria II., Duke of Urbino, i, xi, 24, 58
-- diary of, i, 259 note
-- patron of letters, ii, 118; iii, 331-3
-- birth of, iii, 101, 130
-- visits Madrid, iii, 112, 131, 132
-- his conduct at the Urbino rebellion, iii, 121
-- autobiography of, iii, 129 and note, 203 and note, 205 and note
-- education of, iii, 130-4
-- his taste for painting, iii, 130
-- marriage of, iii, 134-9
-- his early love affairs, iii, 135
-- in a naval expedition against the Turks, iii, 139-41
-- accession of, iii, 142-51
-- consideration for his people, iii, 149, 150
-- plot against, iii, 150, 151 and note
-- his unhappy marriage with the Duchess Lucrezia d'Este, iii, 152-5
-- receives a military commission from King Philip II., iii, 156
-- granted the prefix of "Most Serene," iii, 157
-- receives the order of the Golden Fleece, iii, 158
-- home-life of, iii, 159-63, 180
-- devices of, iii, 163
-- proposed abdication, iii, 167-9
-- second marriage of, iii, 170, 171
-- alteration in his habits, iii, 180
-- a horse breeder, iii, 180
-- institutes a Council of State, iii, 183-9
-- his instructions to his son, iii, 189-94
-- abdicates in favour of his son, iii, 203
-- resumes the government, iii, 212
-- old age and illness of, iii, 218, 224, 225
-- arranges the devolution of his state, iii, 219-23
-- religious observances of, iii, 224
-- retirement of, iii, 224
-- death of, iii, 225, 226
-- funeral of, iii, 226
-- character of, iii, 226-30
-- personal appearance of, iii, 230
-- epithets applied by him, iii, 230
-- portraits of, iii, 230, 231, 400, 483, 486
-- letters from him to his granddaughter, iii, 232-5
-- wills of, iii, 240
-- disposal of his libraries, iii, 240-3
-- pupil of Comandino, iii, 261
-- patron of Paciotti, iii, 264
-- patron of Baldi, iii, 269, 270, 273
-- patron of letters, iii, 277
-- patron of Tasso, iii, 323, 326, 327
-- patron of Zuccaro, iii, 364
-- patron of Baroccio, iii, 372, 374, 376
-- patron of arts, iii, 398, 400-2, 410
-- inscription on, iii, 461
-- collections of art of, iii, 477
Francesconi, on Aretino, iii, 290
Francia, Francesco, ii, 254; iii, 335
Francia, Padre di, ii, 299
Franciotti, Galeotto, ii, 315
Francis I., of France, ii, 57, 305; iii, 22, 34, 41, 385, 395
-- duel of, ii, 54
-- and Federigo Fregoso, ii, 60
-- succession of, ii, 362
-- his designs on Italy, ii, 362
-- takes Milan, ii, 431
-- taken prisoner, ii, 431
-- allied against Charles V., ii, 435
Francis II., of France, ii, 406
Franco, Gian Battista, iii, 100, 356, 370
-- his paintings, iii, 399, 400
-- majolica work of, iii, 423
Frangipani, the, i, 55, 331
Frankfort, iii, 162, 414
Frati, ii, 73 note
Frati, L., _Federigo Duca d'Urbino_, i, 166 note
Frati, _La Donna Italiana_, ii, 73 note
-- _Lettere_, ii, 118 note
Fratini, P.G., _Storia della Basilica di S. Francesco in Assisi_, i,
35 note
Frederick II. invests Buonconte, i, 25
Frederick III., i, 190
-- coronation of, i, 103
Frederick III., of Saxony, iii, 487
Frederick Barbarossa creates counts of Montefeltro, i, 24, 25
Freducci, Ludovico, ii, 398
Fregoso, Agostino, i, 291; ii, 58
Fregoso, Aurelio, iii, 110
Fregoso, Costanza, ii, 58, 72
Fregoso, Federigo, i, 291; ii, 83, 324
-- at Urbino, ii, 58, 60, 78
-- Archbishop of Salerno and Gubbio, ii, 60
-- on the death of Guidobaldo, ii, 126, 127
-- buries Francesco Maria I., iii, 73
Fregoso, Margherita, ii, 58, 72
Fregoso, Ottaviano, i, 172, 291, 420; ii, 81, 438; iii, 78
-- defends S. Leo, ii, 14, 24, 25, 59
-- at Urbino, ii, 37, 49, 58, 77
-- given Sta. Agata, ii, 59
-- Doge of Genoa, ii, 59
-- anecdotes of, ii, 48
French invasion of Italy, i, 341-55
Frisio, Niccolò, ii, 71
Friuli, i, 256; ii, 321; iii, 58, 358
Frizzi, ii, 118 note
Frosinone, ii, 448
Fründesberg, Georg v., ii, 445-51; iii, 9
Fucci, Ercole, iii, 310 note
Fucci, Maddolò, iii, 310 note
Fucecchio, i, 423
Fuentes, iii, 132
Fumi, L., _Guidantonio e la Città di Castello_, i, 45 note
Furlo, pass of, iii, 281
Furlo, Pietra Pertusa, ii, 185 note
Fuseli, ii, 460
-- quoted, iii, 336
-- on Michael Angelo, iii, 385
Gabicce, iii, 421
Gabiccie, Count delle, iii, 212
Gabrielli, the, supplanted in Gubbio, i, 22, 37; ii, 232
Gabrielli, Count Carlo, ii, 377; iii, 78
Gaddi, Angelo, ii, 200
Gaeta, ii, 448; iii, 12
Gaetani, house of, i, 28, 331
Gaetani, Cardinal, i, 28
Gaetano, Luigi, iii, 400
Gaetani, Scipione, iii, 488
Gagliardino, Bernardo, iii, 472
Gaifa, iii, 413
Galeato, i, 406
Galileo, iii, 256
-- visits Pesaro, iii, 164
Galler, Calber, iii, 143
Galli, Angelo, iii, 297
-- verse of, ii, 143, 144
Galli, Antonio de, iii, 90, 130, 297
-- at Urbino, iii, 294
Galli, Gallo, i, 168
-- on Oddantonio Montefeltro, i, 52
-- on the cost of palace of Urbino, i, 170
Gallia Senonia, i, 4
Galuzzi, iii, 207
Gambara, Veronica, ii, 65
-- culture of, ii, 128
Gambino, commended to Federigo, i, 228
Gandia, Duke of, i, 320
Gara, Gabriele, ii, 281
Gardner, Mr. E.G., _Dukes and Poets at Ferrara_, i, 269 note, 299
note; iii, 280 note
Gardutia, iii, 413
Garfagna, granted to Ariosto, iii, 284
Garigliano, the, ii, 365
-- rout of, i, 351
Garter, Order of the, i, 223
Gaspari, ii, 62 note
-- on fortresses, ii, 213 note
Gathe, Marcial de, i, 312
Gatta, della, ii, 288
Gatti, Alessandro, iii, 423
Gatti, Giovanni, iii, 423
Gatti, Luzio, iii, 423
Gatti, Tiseo, iii, 423
Gattinara and the capitulation of Rome, iii, 23
Gattinara, Mercurino da, letter of, iii, 433
Gaudenzi, iii, 311 note
Gauthiez, _L'Aretin_, iii, 287 note
Gaye, _Carteggio d'Artisti_, i, 156 note, 157 note, 338, 347 note,
350; ii, 23 note, 162 note, 163 note, 170 note, 192 note, 265; iii,
360, 376, 383 note, 385, 388 note, 401 note, 404 note, 410 note
-- on Giorgio, ii, 212
Gazzuolo, ii, 451
Gem, expelled by his brother, ii, 293
-- his pension seized, ii, 294
-- at Rome, ii, 294, 297
-- his death, ii, 297
Genga, Bartolomeo della, military engineer, iii, 352, 353
Genga, Cardinal della, iii, 108
Genga, Girolamo della, i, 171 note; ii, 148, 261, 324, 463 note; iii,
77, 101, 108 note, 263, 369, 370, 399
-- builds the Villa Casartole, iii, 50
-- early friends of, iii, 347
-- his _Resurrection_, iii, 348
-- patronised by Dukes of Urbino, iii, 348-52
Genga, Nicolò della, iii, 369
Genga, Simone, iii, 353
Genoa, i, 123, 190, 348; ii, 315, 331
-- Angevine defeat at, i, 135
-- under Ludovico Sforza, i, 341
-- sack of, ii, 59
-- revolution of, iii, 41
-- Doge of, iii, 299
Gentile, Bartolomeo di, ii, 265 note
Gentile, Francesco di, da Fabriano, i, 436; ii, 211 note, 217, 266
-- style of, ii, 191, 198
-- influenced by Fra Angelico, ii, 194, 197
-- his works, ii, 196, 198, 200
-- in Rome, ii, 288
Gerard, M. Auguste, ii, 95 note
Gerbe, ii, 402
Gerini, ii, 44 note
Gerolimini convent, iii, 158
Gessi, Berlinghieri, Bishop of Rimini, Governor of Urbino, iii, 222
Gherardino da Cevi, iii, 78
Gherlasco, ii, 426
Ghetto, the, iii, 17
Ghiaradadda, the, ii, 328
Ghibellines, origin of, i, 5
-- under Count Guido, i, 26
-- feudatories adhere to the, i, 11
Ghirlandaio, Domenico, ii, 229; iii, 335, 487
-- in Rome, ii, 288
Ghirlandaio, Ridolfo, ii, 229, 235
Ghislieri, iii, 343
Giacobatio, Fra, iii, 437
Giacomo, Maestro, i, 161 note, 163
Giacomo della Marca, Fra, ii, 299; iii, 135
Giacomo di San Severino, at Urbino, ii, 200
Gianandrea, A., _Della Signoria di F. Sforza_, i, 90 note
-- _Canti Popolari_, iii, 280 note
Giannona, ii, 281
Giberti, ii, 441 note
Gigli, Sylvester, _see_ (Bishop of) Worcester
Ginestreto, ii, 388, 390
Ginguené, ii, 152
Ginori, iii, 414
Gioliti, iii, 276 note
Giolito, press of, iii, 304
Giordani, the, iii, 341
Giordani, Camillo, iii, 136
Giordani, Count Giulio, iii, 212
Giorgi, Alessandro, Greek translator, iii, 259
Giorgi, Dr. Marino, i, 361; ii, 384 note
Giorgio, a lute-player, i, 152
Giorgio, Francesco di, i, 150, 171, 174, 229, 339 note; ii, 265, 272, 365; iii, 260 note
-- not the architect of the ducal palace, i, 155, 158
-- describes the stable-range, i, 169
-- his paintings, ii, 211
-- his works as architect, ii, 212, 213
-- his MSS., ii, 215
-- on Duke Federigo, i, 270
-- military engineer, iii, 259
Giorgione, ii, 460; iii, 335, 482
Giornico, i, 337 note
Giotto, ii, 174
-- at Assisi, ii, 180
-- style of, ii, 185, 186
-- his work in Urbino, ii, 200
-- in Rome, ii, 288
_Giovanni della Casa_, i, xxxvii
Giovanni da Forlì, ii, 13
Giovanni, Gaston, Grand Duke of Tuscany, iii, 239
Giovanni da Ravenna, i, 69
Giovanni di Sassoferrato, i, 84
Giovanni da Udine, iii, 370
Giovanni d'Urbino, iii, 378, 437, 441
Giovio, opinions of, i, 96; ii, 29; iii, 71
-- details of, i, 443
-- on Vergilio, ii, 117
-- on the Calandra, ii, 148
-- satire of, ii, 342
-- invents device, ii, 422
-- on Borgia, ii, 459
Giraldi, Annibale, ii, 378
Giraldi, Benedetto, ii, 376, 378, 379, 447; iii, 78
Giraldi, Tranquillo, ii, 369
-- on Francesco Maria I., ii, 339, 348 note, 366, 409
-- describes the taking of Urbino, ii, 378
Girona, Donna Madalena, iii, 135
Giulia Bella, i, xi, 345, 367
Giulia, Duchess of Urbino, marriage of, iii, 65-8
-- death of, iii, 98
-- funeral of, iii, 99
-- a letter from her to her steward, iii, 99
Giulio da Cagli, ii, 468
Giulio of Urbino, iii, 422
Giunta, iii, 183
Giustiniani, _Dispacci_, ii, 316 note
Giusto, diary of, i, 350
Glasgow College, i, xiv
Glassford, James, i, xxxvii note
-- translations of, iii, 293, 316, 319, 321, 389, 390
Goito, ii, 370, 409
Golden Fleece, Order of the, bestowed on Guidobaldo II., iii, 111
and note
-- bestowed on Francesco Maria II., iii, 158
-- bestowed on the Marquis of Pescara, iii, 180
-- said to have been bestowed on Prince Federigo, iii, 180
Golden Rose, the, i, 221 note
Goletta, iii, 421
Gonfaloniere, significance of the, i, 179 note
Gonsalvo di Cordova, i, 338, 354, 394
-- receives Borgia, ii, 29, 30
-- receives the Golden Rose, ii, 303
Gonzaga, the, i, 253
Gonzaga, Alessandro, Lord of Castiglione, i, 48
Gonzaga, Cardinal, i, 220
-- at Pesaro, ii, 349
Gonzaga, Cecilia, i, 58 note
-- accomplishments of, i, 70
Gonzaga, Cesare, ii, 49; iii, 78
-- at Urbino, ii, 58, 77
Gonzaga, Chiara, ii, 449
Gonzaga, Costanza, ii, 72
Gonzaga, Federigo, ii, 394, 401
-- aids Francesco Maria I., ii, 372, 377
Gonzaga, Don Ferrante, patron of Baldi, iii, 268
Gonzaga, Francesco, defends Lodi, ii, 428
Gonzaga, Marquis Gian Francesco, i, 69
Gonzaga, Giovanni, ii, 420
Gonzaga, Isabella, i, 311
Gonzaga, Lauri di, i, 473, 476
Gonzaga, Leonora, ii, 316; _see_ Leonora, Duchess of Urbino
Gonzaga, Ludovico, ii, 265
-- challenged by Gian Giacomo Leonardi, iii, 71
-- letter from him to the Duke Guidobaldo II., iii, 120, 121
Gonzaga, Luigi, suspected of poisoning Francesco Maria I., iii, 71
Gonzaga, Madalena, i, 311
Gonzaga, Margherita, ii, 72
Gonzaga, Ugolino, i, 39
Gordon, _Life of Alexander VI._, ii, 460
Gozzi's Chronicle, iii, 72, 151, 228
Gozzoli, Benozzo, at Assisi, ii, 180
Gradara, i, 23, 144; iii, 351, 407
-- sack of, ii, 377
Gradenigo, Gianpaolo, i, 422
Gradio, Stefano, i, 169; iii, 245
Grafegnana, i, 424
Granarnolo, reduced, ii, 328
Granson, i, 337
Granville, the Right Hon. Thomas, iii, 12 note
Grassis, Paris de, ii, 339 note, 340, 411 note
Gratio, Padre, ii, 5 note
Gratz, iii, 353
Gravina, Duke of, ii, 3, 11
Graziani, i, 54 note
Graziano, Fra, on Giovanni della Rovere, ii, 291, 292
Grecian philosophies, ii, 105
Greek fathers, i, 230
Gregorian Kalendar, iii, 263
Gregorovius, _Lucrezia Borgia_, i, 319 note, 344 note, 396 note; ii,
19 note
-- _Geschichte der Stadt Rom_, ii, 19 note
-- turned out of the Vatican Library, iii, 248 note
Gregory XII., i, 95
-- supported by Guidantonio, i, 42
Gregory XIII., iii, 81, 114, 141, 157, 360
-- patron of art, iii, 366
Gregory XIV., iii, 164
Gregory XV., death of, iii, 212
Gregory XVI., iii, 175 note
Grifone, Matteo, i, 79
Grimani, Cardinal, ii, 367
-- palace, iii, 358
Grisons, the, ii, 396
Gritti, ii, 412
Gronau, iii, 479 note
-- _Titian_, iii, 390 note, 392 note
Grossi, ii, 264; iii, 120
-- Italian patriotism of, ii, 108
-- on Vergilio, ii, 116
-- _Uomini Illustri di Urbino_, iii, 261 note
-- on Baldi, iii, 272
Grottoferrata, i, 224, 451; ii, 302
Gruner, Mr. Lewis, i, xliv; ii, 230
Gualandi, ii, 214 note; iii, 386 note
Guarimone, Cristofero, iii, 135
Guarino of Verona, i, 69; ii, 113; iii, 298, 310, 331
Guarini, Battista, patronised by Francesco Maria II., iii, 331-4
Guastalla, Abbot of, i, 149
-- history of, iii, 269
-- Lord of, iii, 268
Guasti, _Lettere_, ii, 73 note
Guasto, Marquis of, iii, 125
Guazzo, Steffano, ii, 54
Gubbio, i, 93, 175, 397, 403; ii, 361, 402, 422
-- coinage of, i, xlii
-- Counts and Dukes in, authorities for, i, 22 note
-- Montefeltri gain, i, 22, 37
-- palace of, i, 154
-- -- described, i, 171-3
-- court of, i, 206
-- birth of Guidobaldo I. at, i, 296
-- Guidobaldo I. at, i, 362
-- Castiglione at, ii, 52
-- bishops of, ii, 60, 65
-- school of, ii, 188, 189
-- seized by Baglioni, ii, 368
-- returns to Francesco Maria I., ii, 377
-- Vittoria Farnese at, iii, 101
-- Prince Federigo at, iii, 195
-- copper mines of, iii, 229
-- tables of, iii, 268
-- painters of, iii, 380
-- majolica of, iii, 406, 414, 422
Gueldres, Duke of, ii, 321
Guelphs, origin of, i, 5
-- republics adhere to the, i, 11
Guerriero, i, 21, 37, 71 note, 205 note
Guerrini, _Elogio_, ii, 138 note
Guicciardini, Francesco, i, 339; ii, 29, 331; iii, 8 note, 20 and
note, 221
-- unreliability of, i, xxxii
-- on Alexander VI., i, 318
-- on Italy, i, 321
-- on the French invasion, i, 346
-- on the battle of the Taro, i, 354, 466
-- on Becci, iii, 114
-- on Francesco Maria I., ii, 335, 337 note, 346, 348 note, 366 note
-- on the battle of Ravenna, ii, 344 note
-- on Francesco Maria I., ii, 400, 425 note, 435, 436, 452, 454;
iii, 75, 76
-- career of, ii, 436, 442
-- commands against Charles V., ii, 436-9, 445
-- insulted by Francesco Maria I., ii, 441
-- _Il Sacco di Roma_, iii, 8 note, 20 and note
-- on Clement VII., iii, 66
-- galleys preferable to, iii, 257
Guidantonio, Count of Urbino, conquers Castel Durante, i, 23
-- his letter to Siena, i, 38
-- made seigneur of Assisi, i, 42
-- wars against Braccio di Montone, i, 43, 44
-- is made grand constable of Naples, i, 43
-- and vice-general of Romagna, i, 43
-- and Duke of Spoleto, i, 44
-- receives the Golden Rose, i, 45
-- second marriage of, i, 45
-- seizes Castel Durante, i, 46
-- honoured by Florence, i, 45, 46
-- checks in prosperity, i, 46
-- knighted by Sigismund, i, 47, 71
-- piety of, i, 47
-- death of, i, 47
-- character of, i, 47
-- children of, i, 47-9
-- begins library at Urbino, i, 47 note
-- patron of letters, ii, 109-11
-- epitaph of, iii, 458
Guido the elder, Count of Urbino, i, 26-35
-- Ghibelline policy of, i, 26
-- conquers Romagna, i, 26
-- senator of Rome, i, 26
-- stratagem at Forlì, i, 26
-- seigneur of Lucca, i, 27
-- excommunicated, i, 28 note
-- becomes a Franciscan monk, i, 28, 33
-- his treacherous advice to Boniface VIII., i, 30
-- -- narrated by Dante, i, 30-2
-- -- doubts as to this story, i, 132
-- authorities for life of, i, 32 note
-- death and character of, i, 34
Guidobaldo I., Duke of Urbino, i, 24, 253, 289
-- reign of, i, xxxi
-- ward of Ottaviano, i, 51 note
-- estates devolving on, i, 51 note
-- his rules for the library, i, 167
-- completes the palace of Gubbio, i, 172
-- succession of, i, 295, 299, 300
-- authorities for life of, i, 295 note
-- birth of, i, 296
-- confirmation of, i, 296
-- his early promise, i, 296-9
-- his first condotta, i, 300
-- in the service of Naples, i, 303
-- -- of the Pope, i, 305
-- his court, i, 309-11, 313
-- his marriage, i, 311
-- impotency of, i, 51 note, 312, 409
-- his gout, i, 344, 370, 377, 378, 417, 419, 421, 424; ii, 28, 32,
38, 42, 78, 79
-- sent against the Orsini, i, 344, 348, 355, 358
-- engaged by Florence, i, 356, 357
-- taken prisoner, i, 360-62
-- goes against Perugia, i, 369
-- engaged against Pisa, i, 370
-- at Bibbiena, i, 370
-- adopts his nephew, i, 371; ii, 36-38, 313, 316
-- visits Venice, i, 377
-- his dominion, i, 380
-- visits Rome, i, 399
-- his first flight from Urbino, i, 401-8
-- at Mantua, i, 408, 422
-- his return, i, 416
-- he again retires, i, 420-4; ii, 300
-- received at Venice, i, 422
-- at Mantua, ii, 14
-- is restored, ii, 23, 231
-- engaged by Venice, ii, 24
-- his difficulties when engaged by Venice, ii, 28, 32
-- his interview with Borgia, ii, 29, 33
-- goes to Rome, ii, 32, 38
-- engaged by Julius, ii, 34, 36
-- made Knight of the Garter, ii, 34, 233, 462-70
-- his domestic life, ii, 35, 43
-- anecdotes of, ii, 47
-- death of, ii, 80-2, 318
-- funeral of, ii, 84-6
-- character of, ii, 86-8
-- patron of Paolo Cortesio, ii, 87
-- patron of Raffaele, ii, 227, 232
-- patron of art, ii, 265; iii, 259, 348, 351
-- portraits of, i, 288; ii, 208, 209, 210, 233, 265; iii, 487
-- patron of letters, ii, 43, 87, 107, 116, 119, 138, 204, 205
-- monumental inscription on, iii, 459
Guidobaldo II., i, xxxi, 159, 161, 284; ii, 112, 357; iii, 265, 289, 352
-- his villa, ii, 33
-- birth of, ii, 360; iii, 87
-- proposed marriage of, ii, 415
-- goes to Venice with his mother, iii, 35
-- left in charge of the state of Urbino, iii, 58
-- marriage of, iii, 65-8
-- gives Monte l'Abbate to Leonardi, iii, 72
-- childhood of, iii, 87, 88
-- his love of horses, iii, 88
-- his claim to the sovereignty of Camerino, iii, 89
-- ceremonial of his succession, iii, 89-92
-- surrenders his rights in Camerino, iii, 92
-- strengthens his position, iii, 93
-- invested by the Doge of Venice as governor of the Republican
forces, iii, 97, 98
-- goes to Rome to congratulate Pope Julius III., iii, 102
-- governor of Fano, iii, 102
-- named captain-general of the Church, iii, 104
-- enters the Spanish service, iii, 111
-- invested with the Order of the Golden Fleece, iii, 111 and note
-- prepares a discourse on the war against the Turk, iii, 113
-- his great expenses, iii, 113 and note
-- visits King Henry III. of France, iii, 122
-- death of, iii, 121
-- funeral of, iii, 121
-- character of, iii, 122-5
-- children of, iii, 125
-- patron of letters, ii, 215; iii, 295, 297
-- employed by Venice, iii, 260
-- patron of Federigo Comandino, iii, 260
-- patron of arts, iii, 356, 358, 398, 399, 404 note, 408, 410, 420,
422, 423, 472
-- portraits of, iii, 356, 479, 484, 485
-- patron of Muzio, iii, 275
-- patron of Tasso, iii, 302-5, 314
-- patron of Titian, iii, 391 note, 393-7
-- portraits of, iii, 392 note, 393, 398
-- inscription on, iii, 460
Guidobaldo del Monte, Marquis, iii, 261
-- devoted to abstruse studies, iii, 262
Guilds, Florentine, i, 16
Guilds, Sienese, i, 16
Guise, Duc de, ii, 401; iii, 110
Guiscard, Robert, i, 323; iii, 31
Guiscard, Roger, i, 323
Guizot, on Italian republics, i, 8
Gunnery, art of, i, 248
Gurk, Cardinal, ii, 296
Guzzoni, Boccalino, i, 306
Hague Museum, iii, 409
Hall, ii, 465, 468
Hallam, Henry, iii, 272
Hamilton Place, ii, 159
Harleian MSS., iii, 88 note
Haro, Don Diego Lopez de, i, 342 note
Hawkwoods, the, i, 333
Heidenheimer, ii, 294 note
Henry II., of France, ii, 406; iii, 62, 103, 110, 263
-- assists the Duke of Parma, iii, 103
Henry III., of France, ii, 406; iii, 122
Henry IV., of France, iii, 182
Henry VII., of England, ii, 117, 233
-- invests Guidobaldo I. with the Garter, ii, 462-70
Henry VIII., ii, 116, 355, 372, 404, 423
-- letters to, ii, 55, 121, 392, 435 note
-- allied against Charles V., ii, 435
-- proposes the marriage of Princess Mary with the Duke Guidobaldo
II., iii, 89 note
Henry, Prince, son of Francis I., marriage of, iii, 62
Henry of Cologne, ii, 114
Hepburn, Sir Thomas, iii, 416
Herrera, Commendatore, iii, 449
Heywood, William, i, 313 note; ii, 74 note, 153 note
-- _Palio and Ponte_, i, 56 note
-- _An Unknown Corner of Tuscany_, iii, 109 note
Hill, Mr. G.F., i, xi, xii
-- _Pisanello_, ii, 269 note
Hindoo art, ii, 175
Hogarth, ideas of, ii, 171
Hohenstaufen, the, i, 323, 341
Holbein, iii, 487
Hollinshed, ii, 465
Holroyd, _Michael Angelo_, ii, 115 note
Honig, Rodolfo, _Conte Guido di Montefeltro_, i, 32 note
Honorius III., invests the Montefeltri, i, 24
-- invests Bonconte, i, 26
Horace, quoted, i, 175 note
Hustan, Peter, iii, 18
Hussites, persecution of the, i, 96
Hutton, Edward, _Sigismondo Malatesta_, i, 10 note, 17 note, 43 note,
72 note, 75 note, 114 note, 128 note, 192 note, 335 note; ii, 203
note; iii, 63 note
-- _Cities of Umbria_, ii, 205 note
-- _An Unknown Corner of Tuscany_, iii, 109 note
Il Cerretani, iii, 488
Il Lasca, i, 313 note
Illegitimacy no disgrace, i, 63
Imola, Seigneury of, i, 18, 47, 306, 381; ii, 453
-- bought by Sforza, i, 196
-- purchased by Sixtus IV., i, 225
-- surrendered, i, 238
-- Borgia at, i, 391, 416
-- transferred to Riario, ii, 284
Imperial Casino, iii, 49-51, 107, 158
Imperiale Villa, built by Genga, iii, 349
Incisa, ii, 455
Indulgences belonging to a Corona, iii, 456
Infessura, on Sixtus IV., ii, 287, 290
-- on Julius II., ii, 301
Innocent II., i, 323
Innocent III., ii, 287
Innocent VIII., i, 115, 263; ii, 293, 301, 419
-- succession of, i, 304
-- policy of, i, 304, 314
-- death of, i, 314, 326
Inquisition re-established, iii, 96 and note
-- established in Gubbio, iii, 245
Inspruck, i, 337
Ireland, _Hogarth Illustrated_, ii, 171 note
Iron crown of Lombardy, iii, 42, 46
Irving, Mr., i, xiv
Isaacs, Mr. S., iii, 409
Isabella of Mantua, ii, 148
Isabella of Naples, i, 130, 325
Ischia, i, 141; iii, 291 note
-- Ferdinand III. at, i, 352
Isola di Fano, i, 404
Isola di Farnese, iii, 21
Isola Forsara, i, 297
Isola, iii, 434
-- siege of, i, 359
Isonzo, i, 256
Italian art, its golden age, i, xxxi; iii, 335-9
-- its continuity, ii, 95 note; iii, 336 note
-- definition of, ii, 157
-- observations on, ii, 157-66
-- its modifications in the fifteenth century, ii, 166-83
-- rise of, ii, 157-66
-- classicism in, ii, 168-70; iii, 344
-- decline of, iii, 335, 339-45
-- schools of, _see_ Bolognese, Sienese, Umbrian
Italian ballet, origin of, i, 483 note
-- origin of, ii, 150, 152
Italian coinage, i, xli-xliii; iii, 114 note
Italian drama, ii, 147
Italian language, copious, iii, 254, 258, 278; style in letter
writing, i, 105 note
Italian literature, its golden age, ii, 93-5
-- its revival, ii, 98-101
-- its tendencies, ii, 101-7
-- poetry, ii, 130-47
-- decline of golden age, iii, 253
-- Spanish influence on, iii, 253-55
-- indirect influence of Reformation on, iii, 257
-- absence of ballad poetry, iii, 279, 280
-- the _rispetto_, iii, 280 note
-- pastoral dramas introduced, iii, 297
Italian manners, Spanish domination, fatal to, iii, 254
Italian militia, iii, 61, 94
Italian morals, corruption of, ii, 153-6
Italian nationality, i, 17, 19; iii, 60
Italian portrait medallions, ii, 268-73
Italian progress, 1825-46, i, xxxiv
Italian republics, rise of, i, 6, 7
-- nature of freedom in, i, 8, 15-21
-- political power in, i, 10, 12
-- civilization indebted to, i, 11, 22
-- military power in, i, 13
-- social relations in, i, 13
-- more correctly communes, i, 15
-- list of, in Central Italy, i, 18
-- material advantages of, i, 18
Italian states in 1430, i, 66-8
-- in Central Italy, their condition in 15th century, i, 87, 88
-- after peace of Lodi, i, 182
-- in the absence of the popes, ii, 96, 97
Italian topographers, their absurdity, i, 4
Italian towns, their origin and independence, i, 6, 7; _see_ Italian
republics
Italian unity, i, xxxvi; ii, 304, 433 note
-- how far practicable, i, 19
-- urged by Nicholas V., i, 107
Italian women, their social position in 16th century, ii, 72-5
-- authorities for, ii, 72 note
-- their culture, ii, 128, 129
Italy, modern, horrors of, i, 241
-- the battleground of Europe, i, 321
-- ill prepared for French invasion, i, 341
Ivano, i, 211 note
James III. of Scotland, ii, 115
James IV. of Scotland, ii, 118
Jameson, Mrs., i, xxxix note; iii, 481
Jean, King of Navarre, i, 123, 376
Jean, Count of Boulogne, ii, 405
Jeanne of Valois, i, 373
Jenkins, Mr. H.G., i, xii
Jerome, Abbot, i, 229 note
Jerrold, Miss Maud, iii, 291 note
Jesi, i, 90
-- Braccio, vicar of, i, 45
-- sack of, ii, 395
-- siege of, i, 93
Jews attacked on the birth of Prince Federigo, iii, 174
Joanna of Austria, iii, 358
Joanna I. of Naples, i, 323
Joanna II., i, 68, 81, 324
_John Inglesant_, i, viii
John of Austria, Don, iii, 132, 139-41
-- Armada of, iii, 452-5
John of Bologna, iii, 400
John I. of Saxony, iii, 487
John II. of Anjou, i, 323
John XXII., i, 43
John XXIII., deposed, i, 45
Johnson, Dr., defines a cubit, i, 189 note
Joly, ii, 44 note
Jovius, ii, 327
Julius II., i, 24, 449; ii, 20, 48, 60, 126, 227; iii, 353, 435
-- portrait of, ii, 51 note, 234; iii, 395, 478
-- statue of, ii, 41 note, 42, 244, 338
-- election of, ii, 26, 27, 303
-- policy of, ii, 28, 304-6, 308, 323, 330, 347, 433 note
-- favours Guidobaldo I., ii, 32, 38, 39
-- his treatment of Borgia, ii, 27-9
-- charged with nepotism, ii, 36
-- his expedition against Perugia, ii, 39
-- visits Urbino, ii, 39, 40, 42, 77, 231
-- his expedition against Bologna, ii, 39-42
-- employs Bramante, ii, 235, 259, 262-4
-- employs Raffaele, ii, 236-9
-- death of, ii, 239, 350
-- tomb of, ii, 243; 381-6
-- natural children of, ii, 281
-- character of, ii, 301, 302, 304
-- favoured by Sixtus IV., ii, 301
-- persecuted by the Borgia, ii, 301-3
-- patron of art, ii, 306; iii, 345
-- his improvements in Rome, ii, 306
-- his designs on Romagna, ii, 321, 325-30
-- his partiality for the Cardinal of Pavia, ii, 327, 330, 332,
339, 340, 481-3
-- takes the field, ii, 331-5
-- reconciled to Francesco Maria, ii, 343, 347
-- suspects him of treason, ii, 344
-- invests Francesco Maria with Pesaro, ii, 348-50
-- employs Ariosto, iii, 281
Julius III., nominates Guidobaldo II. governor of Fano, iii, 102
-- names Guidobaldo II. captain-general of the Church, iii, 104
-- death of, iii, 104
-- employs Paciotti, iii, 263
Justus of Alemania, ii, 267
Justus of Ghent, i, 205, 231; ii, 209 note, 218
-- at Urbino, ii, 267
Kestner, Commendatore, i, xliv; ii, 409
Kestner Museum, iii, 417 note, 420
Kirkmichael, i, xiii
Knight, Mr. Gaily, _Ecclesiastical Architecture of Italy_, i, 79 note
La Carda, palace of, i, 174
La Cattolica, ii, 349
La Colonella, monastery of, ii, 398
Ladislaus of Naples, i, 43
La Fratta, iii, 424
Lagno, Lucrezia del, i, 111
Lago di Guarda, ii, 409
Lago di Vico, ii, 293
L'Alemano, iii, 487
La Magione, diet of, i, 412, 413; ii, 8
La Magliana, ii, 384, 407, 411
La Marca, i, 33
-- defined, i, xl
-- Church rule in, i, 5
-- Sforzan interest in, i, 80, 83
-- insecure tenure of, i, 92
-- danger of, i, 136
-- adventurers in, i, 306
Lamartine, on political progress, i, 8
Lamole, ii, 389; iii, 201
-- iron mines of, iii, 229
La Molinella, battle of, i, 187, 189
Lanci, Cornelio, iii, 295
Lancia, the, i, 335
Lancia, Baldassare, iii, 352
Landino, Cristoforo, i, 228; ii, 145
Landriano, ii, 424
Landriano, Ambrogio, iii, 78
Landriani, Francesco, iii, 131
Lanfranco, Giacomo, iii, 410, 411
Lanfranco, Girolamo, iii, 411, 421, 472
Lanfranco, Ludovico, iii, 421
Lannoy, Don Carlos de, iii, 427, 448
-- commands the allies, ii, 426
-- advances on Rome, ii, 448
-- treats with Bourbon, ii, 453
-- death of, ii, 23-5
Lansius, ii, 24
Lansquenets, the introduction of, i, 338; ii, 445-8
-- in Rome, iii, 437
Lante, Villa, ii, 240
Lanti, Marc Antonio, iii, 82
Lanz, _Correspondenz des Kaisers Carl V._, iii, 27 note
Lanzani's _St. d. Communi Italiani_, i, 6 note
Lanzi, ii, 184, 189, 200; iii, 350, 404 note
-- on Francesca, ii, 203
-- refuted, ii, 216; iii, 377
Laocoon, ii, 306
La Pergola, i, 23, 92, 415; ii, 213, 389, 395-413; iii, 63, 123
-- given to Count Federigo, i, 119
Lapidusa, iii, 123
La Puglia, iii, 39
Lascaris, Constantine, ii, 62, 128
La Serra, i, 403
La Stellata, i, 51 note, 262, 264, 267
La Storta, ii, 420
Lateran, iii, 377
Laurana, Lorenzo, i, 171 note
Lauranna, Luziano, i, 150; ii, 260 note
-- architect of palace at Urbino, i, 155
-- patent in favour of, i, 156
-- death at Pesaro, i, 157
Laureani, Monsignore, i, xliii; ii, 460; iii, 176 note
Laureo, Vincenzo, iii, 50
Lautrec, ii, 364, 409, 410, 412, 423; iii, 299
-- General, advances on Naples, iii, 38, 39
-- death of, iii, 39
La Vanosia, i, 320; ii, 168 note
Laverna, ii, 178
Lawrence collection, the, ii, 259
Lazzaro, Maestro, i, 230
Lazzari, i, 226
-- on the palace at Urbino, i, 154
-- Italian patriotism of, ii, 108
-- on Bramante, ii, 260
-- _Uomini Illustri del Piceno_, iii, 265
-- _Dictionary of Artists_ iii, 346, 458
Lazzarini, _Memorie Storiche dei Conti di Urbino_, i, 61 note
-- on cathedral of Urbino, i, 171 note
Lee, Vernon, _Euphorion_, ii, 153 note
Lega, Bacci della, iii, 287 note
Leghorn, i, 241, 330
Legnano, i, 262
-- fortress of, iii, 55
Leicester, Robert, Earl of, iii, 361
Leini, Admiral di, iii, 131, 139
Leland, ii, 117
Lennox, Earl of, i, xiii; i, 348
Lenzuoli, Giuffredo, i, 317
Lenzuoli, Roderigo, _see_ Borgia
Leo III., ii, 237
Leo IV., ii, 237
_Leo X._, i, xxxix note
Leo X., i, xxxii, 327; ii, 54, 64, 239, 281, 285, 287, 436; iii, 382, 408
-- Petrucci's conspiracy against, ii, 17, 115 note, 357-62, 391
-- Castiglione at court of, ii, 53
-- patron of the drama, ii, 148
-- policy of, ii, 307-9, 392, 397, 407
-- election of, ii, 351, 353
-- character of, ii, 352
-- nepotism of, ii, 358, 364
-- intrigues against Urbino, ii, 89, 341, 360-90, 392-410; iii, 281
-- his devices to raise money, ii, 392, 404
-- supports Charles V., ii, 408
-- death of, ii, 411
-- receives Ariosto, iii, 282, 284
Leo XII., iii, 352
Leonardi, Antenore, memoirs of, iii, 21 note, 36 note
Leonardi, Gian Giacomo, iii, 35, 36 note, 71, 72, 77, 79, 264, 265
-- on Francesco Maria I., ii, 441, 447, 451; iii, 79
-- challenges Gonzaga, iii, 71
-- made Count of Monte l'Abbate, iii, 72
Leonetti, _Papa Alessandra VI._, ii, 19 note
Leoni, i, xxx, xxxii, 401, 449; ii, 427; iii, 68 note, 71, 76 note
-- on Guicciardini, ii, 436
Leoni, Gian Battista, iii, 274 note
Leonora, Duchess of Ferrara, at Rome, ii, 285 note
Leonora, Duchess of Urbino, i, 267 note; ii, 232; iii, 348
-- marriage of, ii, 89, 323-5
-- portrait of, ii, 325
-- letters to, ii, 388
-- returns to Pesaro, ii, 421
-- in Venice, iii, 35
-- at the coronation of Charles V., iii, 44-6
-- builds a palace, iii, 50
-- entertains Clement VII., iii, 52
-- portrait of, iii, 52, 62, 80, 391 note, 393, 470, 479
-- character of, iii, 51-3
-- death of, iii, 80
-- children of, iii, 80
Leonora, Queen of Hungary, ii, 301
Leopardi, iii, 330 note
Lepanto, battle of, iii, 330, 344, 374
Leopold of Austria, iii, 211
Lérin, Count de, ii, 30
Le Sage, iii, 287
Leyva, Antonio della, surprises Pavia, iii, 40, 45
Liguria, i, 109
Lillio, Andrea, iii, 378
Lindsay, Lord, i, xviii, xxxix note; ii, 266
L'Ingegno, Andrea, ii, 244
Lione, Suares de, ii, 381-3
Lipsius, ii, 124, 437
Lira, Nicolò de, i, 166
Lisini, _Cesare Borgia_, ii, 11 note
Litta, Count, i, 55; ii, 59; iii, 123
Liverotto da Fermo, i, 412, 413
-- murdered at Sinigaglia, ii, 3, 4
Livia, Duchess of Urbino, iii, 477
-- birth of iii, 82
-- marriage of, iii, 170, 171
-- letter from her to Princess Vittoria, iii, 236
-- retirement of, iii, 239
Lloyd, Humphrey, ii, 117
Loches, Castle of, i, 385, 471
Lodi, ii, 424; iii, 77, 450
-- peace of, i, 107, 123, 182
-- capitulation of, ii, 428
-- army of the League at, ii, 435
Lomazzo, ii, 203, 265
Lombardy, defined, i, xxxix
-- in 1430, i, 67
-- Iron crown of, iii, 42, 46
Francesco Maria I., in, iii, 58, 70
Lonato, Pier-Antonio, iii, 131
London, treaty of, ii, 372
Lonno, ii, 409
Loredano, Leonardo, i, 256, letter to, i, 422
Lorenzo, Fiorenzo di, ii, 199 note
Lorenzo da Ceri; _see_ Renzo
Loreto, ii, 335, 379; iii, 350, 360, 411
-- cathedral of, ii, 286
-- church of, iii, 353
-- drug-vases of, iii, 411
-- Madonna of, iii, 176, 418
Loretto, i, 47
-- Lady of, i, 125
Lorraine, Cardinal of, iii, 395
Lo Spagna, ii, 226 note
Louis I., i, 323
Louis II., i, 324
Louis III., i, 324
Louis VIII., i, 323
Louis XI., of France, i, 324, 373
-- employs the Swiss, i, 337
Louis XII., i, 400; ii, 11, 39, 303, 314, 449
-- schemes of, ii, 330
-- ambition of, i, 371
-- succession of, i, 372
-- designs on Naples, i, 372, 375, 393
-- divorce of, i, 373
-- meets Cesare Borgia, i, 412
-- court of, i, 470
-- suggests _Il Cortegiano_, ii, 119
-- receives Francesco Maria, ii, 315
-- supports Venice, ii, 321
-- his designs on Milan, ii, 358
-- death of, ii, 360
Louis XIV., iii, 339
Louvre, the, iii, 385, 415
-- Raffaeles in the, ii, 232
Lovranna, Martini of, i, 155
Lower Italy, defined, i, xxxix
Loyola, doctrines of, ii, 10
Lucano Bridge, i, 133
Lucarelli, _Memorie e Guida di Gubbio_, i, 71 note
Lucas, Mr. E.V., his preference for della Francesca, ii, 210 note
Lucca, i, 424; iii, 263
-- sold to Florence, i, 67
-- Bishop of, ii, 280
-- Gian-Francesco, ii, 282
Lucrezia, Princess of Aragon, i, 311
Lucrezia, Duchess of Urbino, iii, 308, 334
-- marriage of, iii, 135-9
-- separated from her husband, iii, 153-5
-- character of, iii, 154
-- death of, iii, 165
-- and Tasso, iii, 314
Ludovico, Count of Mirandola, ii, 335 note
Ludovico, Maestro, i, 247
Ludovisi satyr, iii, 385
Lugo, i, 258; ii, 349, 413
Luini, iii, 335
Lumisden, Andrew, i, xvii
Lunà, iii, 125
Lungo, Del, ii, 67 note, 73 note
Luzio, ii, 23 note, 70 note, 84 note, 119 note; iii, 287 note
-- _Vittoria Colonna_, iii, 291 note
Luzio e Renier, ii, 44 note, 318 note, 324, 355 note
-- _Mantova e Urbino_, iii, 51 note
Luzzatto, ii, 319 note
Lyon, Lord, i, xiv
Lyons, i, 470; ii, 152, 303, 315
Macaulay, ii, 424
-- on coinage, i, xliii
Maccione of Fossombrone, ii, 379
Macerata, i, 142; iii, 353, 354
Machiavelli, Nicolò, i, 209, 251, 267 note, 374 note, 415; ii, 27
-- plans civic militia, i, 15
-- on the battle of Anghiara, i, 77
-- _Istorie_, i, 95 note, 96 note, 106 note, 184 note
-- describes Italy under Eugene IV., i, 96
-- on Colleone, i, 185 note
-- on battle of La Molinella, i, 188
-- on Galeazzo Maria Sforza i, 234
-- on Alexander VI., i, 319 note
-- on the _condottieri_, i, 106, 334; ii, 424, 425 note
-- on Borgia, i, 390, 321
-- on the Romagna, i, 398 note
-- on the massacre of Sinigaglia, ii, 4, 8
-- _Legazione al Valentino_, ii, 10 note
-- on Bibbiena, ii, 67 note
-- his _Principe_, ii, 120
-- comedies of, ii, 147
-- death of, iii, 38
Maciola, votive picture of, ii, 403
Madama, Villa, ii, 240
Madiai, Federico, ii, 5 note, 24 note, 37 note, 39 note, 40 note, 80 note
-- _Le Marche_, i, 58 note, 63 note
-- _Commentari_, i, 295 note
-- his _Diario_, i, 401 note
-- _Il Giornale di Paciotto_, iii, 236 note
-- on Baldi, iii, 266 note
Madonna in art, ii, 180-3
Madrid, Francesco Maria II. at, iii, 132-4, 136
-- Zuccaro in, iii, 361
-- Castiglione at iii, 448-51
Maggieri, Cesare, iii, 378
Magione, i, 113
Magliabechiana Library, Florence, i, xxx; iii, 155, 240, 383 note
Magliano, i, 131, 217; ii, 240
Magusano, ii, 412
Mahomet II., i, 106, 256; ii, 293
Mai, Cardinal, ii, 118; iii, 269
Maitani, ii, 187 note
Maitland, Mr. Fuller, ii, 232
Maiuola, i, 78, 144
-- surrender of, i, 411
-- surprised, ii, 13
-- siege of, ii, 369
-- given to Florence, ii, 406, 420
-- restored, ii, 456
Majolica, authorities for, iii, 404
-- origin of, iii, 405
-- made at Urbino, iii, 406
-- made at Pesaro, iii, 406, 408-12, 416
-- made at Gubbio, ii, 406
-- mottoes on, iii, 416, 417
-- processes of, iii, 409
-- qualities of, iii, 410
-- drug-vases of Loreto, iii, 411
-- uses of, iii, 416, 418, 474
-- artists of, iii, 413, 419-24
-- decline of, iii, 412
-- collections of, iii, 408 note, 411, 415-7, 421
-- prices of, iii, 424
-- artists in, petition Guidobaldo II., iii, 472
Malalbergo, i, 473
Malatesta, the, i, 333
-- plural form, Florentine, i, 71 note
-- arms of, i, 71 note, 76 note
-- legitimation of the, i, 10
-- sway of, i, 17
-- seigneuries of, i, 18, 75
-- fief of, i, 75
-- their devolution to the Holy See, i, 179, 195
-- medallions of, ii, 99
Malatesta, Antonia, i, 75 note
Malatesta, Carlo, i, 380, 388
-- legitimises his brother's children, i, 10 note
-- prisoner of di Montone, i, 43 note
-- ransom of, i, 43
Malatesta degli Sonetti, i, 40, 83, 427
Malatesta, Domenico Novello, Lord of Cesena, i, 48, 75 note, 145
-- death of, i, 180
-- patron of letters, i, 140 note; ii, 100
Malatesta, Elisabetta, Lady of Camerino, i, 41, 216, 299 note
-- carried off from her convent, i, 411
Malatesta, Galeazzo, Lord of Pesaro, i, 39, 83, 84
-- expelled, i, 40
-- sells Fossombrone, i, 23, 90
-- sells Pesaro, i, 40, 89
Malatesta, Galeotto, Lord of Rimini, i, 45
-- legitimised, i, 10 note, 75 note, 290
-- captive of Braccio, i, 43 note
-- patrimony of, i, 83
Malatesta, Ginevra, iii, 298
Malatesta, Giovanni, i, 140
Malatesta, Isotta, i, 71 note, 77, 191, 192 note
-- resists Paul II., i, 195
-- death of, i, 192 note, i, 196 note
Malatesta, Pandolfo, ii, 420
Malatesta, Rainiero, i, 71, note
Malatesta, Rengarda, i, 45
Malatesta, Roberto, i, 137, 299 note; iii, 410
-- gains influence at Naples, i, 111
-- surrenders Fano, i, 143
-- seizes Cesena, i, 180
-- supposed murderer of Isotta, i, 192 note, 196 note
-- marriage of, i, 194 note, 203
-- covets Rimini, i, 192 note, 195
-- re-establishes Malatestan sovereignty, i, 200
-- invested by Sixtus IV., i, 202
-- his title of Magnifico, i, 203 note
-- deserts to the Florentines, i, 247
-- commands ecclesiastical forces, i, 260
-- death of, i, 269
-- marriage of, i, 289
-- his children, i, 380
Malatesta, Sallustio, i, 195
Malatesta, Sigismondo Pandolfo, ii, 420; iii, 408
-- legitimised, i, 10 note
-- Lord of Rimini, i, 388; ii, 425 note
-- arms of, i, 193
-- receives Golden Rose, i, 45 note
-- corrupts Duke Oddantonio, i, 53, 89
-- knighted by Sigismund, i, 71 note
-- his contest with Duke Federigo, i, 75-80, 83, 93-9
-- marriage of, i, 80
-- challenges Duke Federigo, i, 83
-- his perfidy, i, 98, 99, 100
-- his interviews with Duke Federigo, i, 99, 110, 119
-- bought over by Sforza, i, 103
-- treachery to Alfonso, i, 109
-- intrigues with Naples, i, 111
-- humbled by Federigo, i, 112
-- supported by Sforza, i, 114
-- reproved by Pius II., i, 117
-- seizes Mondavio, i, 131
-- burnt in effigy, i, 132
-- defeated at Cesano, i, 137
-- allied with Venice, i, 141, 142
-- loses many Rimini fiefs, i, 144
-- humiliation of, i, 145
-- his losses, i, 146
-- his campaign in the Morea, i, 194
-- death of, i, 191, 194, 195
-- character of, i, 191-4
-- patron of letters, i, 191-4; ii, 98, 99, 133
-- patron of arts, i, 17 note, 191-4; ii, 43
-- portrait of, i, 193; ii, 208
-- Dennistoun's mistakes concerning, i, 114 note, 192 note
Malatesta, Violante, i, 180
Malavolti, _Historia_, i, 98 note
Malcolm, Earl of Lennox, i, xiii
Maldonato, ii, 380
-- treason of, ii, 393-5
Malines, treaty of, ii, 355
Malombra, the, house of, i, 424
Malpiedi, the, iii, 379
Malvasia, ii, 216; iii, 419
Mammarelli, Domenico, iii, 53 note
Mammiani, Count Francesco Maria, iii, 196, 212, 214
Manara, Ricci, ii, 265 note
Mancini, ii, 203 note
Manerola, Teodora, ii, 281
Manfred, i, 323
Manfredi, the, i, 258
-- Faenza, Seigneury of, i, 18
Manfredi, Astorre, i, 109, 381; ii, 10
-- Lord of Faenza, deserts to Venetians, i, 186
-- strangled, i, 389
Manfredi, Guidantonio, i, 47, 53
-- marriage of, i, 74
Manfredi, Ottaviano, i, 381
Manfredi, Taddeo, i, 236 note; ii, 284
-- surrenders Imola, i, 238
Manfredonia, i, 247
Manso, iii, 312, 327
Mantegna, Andrea, i, 347; ii, 200, 217, 265
-- portrait ascribed to, i, 286
-- on Gem, ii, 297
Mantua, i, 44; ii, 409; iii, 311
-- Marquis of, i, 48, 247, 311; ii, 51; iii, 26, 304
-- congress at, i, 116, 124
-- defends Ferrara, i, 259
-- Federigo at, i, 264
-- Guidobaldo I. at, i, 406, 408
-- Marchioness of, iii, 18, 431
-- palace of, iii, 352
Manutius, Aldus, i, 449; ii, 87
Maramaldo, Cardinal, i, 42 note
Marc Antonio, burin of, ii, 240; iii, 287, 409
Marcellus II., iii, 104, 260
Marchese, Padre, i, 287
Marchesini, ii, 74 note
Marciana, Caterina, ii, 280
Marcolini, _St. d. Prov. di Pesaro e Urbino_, i, 54 note
Marcone, iii, 442
Marcucci, ii, 292, note
-- _Francesco Maria I._, ii, 313 note
Maremma, the, i, 98, 103
-- campaign in, i, 103-6
Margaret of Austria, marriage of, iii, 93
-- her influence with Paul III., iii, 93
Margaretta of Bavaria, i, 311
Margaritone, style of, ii, 186
Maricourt, _Le Procès des Borgia_, ii, 19 note
Mariello, ii, 44 note
Marignano, ii, 439
-- battle of, ii, 363
Marino, i, 330; iii, 291 note
Marini, ii, 14, 204 note
-- Benedetto, iii, 380
-- _Saggio di ragioni della città di S. Leo_, i, 78 note; iii, 184
Mariotti, Signor, his _Italy_, i, xxxi, 21 note; ii, 277 note; iii,
25 note, 48 note, 253 note
-- his mistakes, i, xxxi
-- on republicanism, i, 20
-- on Malatesta, i, 191
Marliani, ii, 51 note, 470
Marryat, _History of Pottery and Porcelain_, iii, 404 note
-- on majolica, iii, 411, 415, 416, 421, 423
Marsciano, Nardo da, i, 126
Marseilles, i, 124, 348, 373
Marso, Paola, i, 228
Martin IV., i, 26; iii, 181
Martin V., i, 40; ii, 291
-- creates countship of Castel Durante, i, 23
-- arrives in Italy, i, 44
-- his difficulties, i, 44, 45
-- death of, i, 46
-- legitimises Duke Federigo, i, 62
-- letter to, i, 428
Martinate, ii, 51 note
Martinengo, ii, 425; iii, 77
Martini, Simone, ii, 185 note, 188 note; iii, 336 note
Martino of Siena, i, 152; ii, 212
Maruccelli MSS., iii, 229 note, 240 note, 246 note
Mary, Queen of England, iii, 303
Marza, Ventura, iii, 378
Marzio, at S. Leo, ii, 14
Masaccio, ii, 172, 187, 199, 208
-- in Rome, ii, 288
Mascherino, iii, 485
Maso di Bosco, iii, 385
Massa, i, 3; ii, 389
Massa collection, iii, 416, 417, 424
Massa Trabaria, ii, 368
-- obtained by the Montefeltri, i, 23
Massa Vaccareccia, i, 51 note
Masse, ii, 27 note, 298 note
-- on the papacy, i, 316
Massa Carrara, iii, 81
Massini, Domenico de', iii, 6, 431
Mastei, Antonio, i, 173
Matarazzo, _Chronicle of Perugia_, i, 369 note
Matelica, iii, 68
Matilda, Countess, donations of, i, 5, 12
Mattei Palace, iii, 356
Mavorelli, Signor, iii, 424
Maximilian, Emperor, ii, 343, 407
-- organises the _lanzknechts_, i, 331
-- supports Il Moro, i, 353
-- enters Italy, ii, 321
Maximilian II., iii, 132
Mazio, _Relazione a Urbano VIII._, i, 78 note
Mazzatinti, Prof. Giuseppe, i, 22 note, 35 note
-- _Cronaca_, i, 23 note
-- _Di alcune legge_, i, 23 note
-- _Documenti_, ii, 190 note
Mazzola, i, 209
Mazzoni, Giacomo, iii, 122, 135, 318 note
-- his funeral oration on Guidobaldo II., iii, 122
-- _Vittoria Colonna_, iii, 291 note
Mazzuchelli, i, 191 note; ii, 51 note; iii, 294
M'Crie, Dr., iii, 276
Medici, the, allies of, i, 243, 247
-- expelled from Florence, i, 349-50; iii, 43
-- scheme to re-enter Florence, i, 370, 393
-- patrons of art and letters, ii, 43, 99
-- return to Florence, ii, 347; iii, 43
-- visit Urbino, ii, 351
Medici, Alessandro de', Duke of Florence, marriage of, iii, 62
Medici, Caterina de', ii, 152, 406, 414 note, 415; iii, 34, 391 note
-- marriage of, iii, 62
Medici, Clarice de', ii, 53, 365
Medici, Cosimo de', _Pater Patriæ_, i, 92
-- Ruler of Florence, i, 98
-- library of, i, 163
-- on crusade of Pius II., i, 177
-- death of, i, 184
-- adopts Platonic philosophy, ii, 105
Medici, Cosimo I. de', iii, 111, 198
Medici, Francesco Maria, Cardinal de', iii, 239
-- letters to, iii, 137-9
Medici, Giovanni de', i, 381, 384; ii, 384; iii, 76
Medici, Giovanni, _delle Bande nere_, i, 384; ii, 414, 416, 436, 438;
iii, 288, 431
-- death of, ii, 446
Medici, Giovanni Gaston, iii, 239
Medici, Giuliano de', i, 238
-- murder of, i, 235 note, 240
Medici, Giuliano de', ii, 53, 127; iii, 78, 283
-- life of, ii, 56, 57
-- at Urbino, ii, 56, 57, 232, 351, 361
-- his influence with Leo X., ii, 56
-- as a poet, ii, 57 note
-- portrait of, ii, 234
-- reconciled with Julius II., ii, 329
-- aspires to Naples, ii, 358-65
-- death of, ii, 365
-- monument of, iii, 389
Medici, Cardinal Giulio de', ii, 414, 416, _see_ Clement VII.
Medici, Cardinal Ippolito, ii, 57
Medici, Cardinal Lorenzo de', ii, 233
Medici, Lorenzo de', the Magnificent, i, 51 note, 157, 185, 209, 262,
299; iii, 409
-- gardens of, i, 174 note
-- attempted murder of, i, 235 note, 240-3
-- in favour with Sixtus IV., i, 237
-- policy of, i, 238, 251
-- excommunicated, i, 242
-- appeals to Ferdinand, i, 252
-- defends Ferrara, i, 259, 263
-- intrigues of, i, 307
-- death of, i, 326
-- tutor of, ii, 113
-- supports Platonism, iii, 34, 256
Medici, Lorenzo de', Duke of Urbino, character of, ii, 365
-- gains and loses Urbino, ii, 367-80
-- challenged by Francesco Maria I., ii, 381-3
-- shot at Mondolfo, ii, 385
-- marriage of, ii, 405
-- letter to, from Wolsey, ii, 484
-- at Urbino, iii, 283
-- monument of, iii, 389
Medici, Madalena de', i, 331
Medici, Mary de', iii, 488
Medici, Pasqualino de', ii, 57
Medici, Pietro de', i, 184, 185, 195, 201; iii, 389
-- succession of, i, 327
-- frustrates negotiations for Italian league, i, 328
-- surrenders Sarzana, i, 349
-- expelled, i, 350
Medicine, science of, in 15th century, i, 313 note
Medina del Campo, ii, 30
Meldola, i, 27, 406; ii, 453
-- ceded to Roberto Malatesta, i, 180
Mellara, i, 262
Melozzo da Forlì, ii, 210, 218, 260
-- his work, ii, 290
Mende, bishop of, ii, 282 note
Mercatello, Countship of, i, 18, 63; iii, 201, 400
-- obtained by the Montefeltri, i, 23
-- palace of, i, 174
-- built by Giorgio, ii, 213
-- S. Francesco, ii, 201, 208
Mercatello, Francesco di, ii, 265 note
Merlini, Guido, iii, 422
Merula, Giorgio, ii, 51 note
Messina, ii, 62; iii, 452
Metauro river, the, iii, 321, 413
Mez de Silva, Ruggo, iii, 133
Michelotto, Don, i, 395, 415, 418; ii, 21
-- at Sinigaglia, ii, 4, 11; iii, 63
Michiels, ii, 268
Milan, i, 37, 67
-- accepts Sforza as duke, i, 97
-- court of, i, 121
-- defends Ferrara, i, 259
-- Charles VIII. at, i, 348
-- siege of, ii, 282, 425
-- taken by Francis I., ii, 431
-- held by Sforza, ii, 435, 437-41
-- restored to the Sforza, ii, 346, 410
-- Ariosto at, iii, 281
Milesio, Maestro Benedetto, iii, 73
Militia instituted by the Duke Francesco Maria I., iii, 61, 94
Milton, John, iii, 327
Minims, order of Friars, iii, 182, 224, 225, 240, 243
Minio, despatches of, ii, 277, 384, 392, 399, 404
-- his conversation with Leo X., ii, 395-7, 400, 404
Minzocchi, Francesco, iii, 350
Mirafiori, iii, 180
Mirandola, Pico della, i, 313 note
Mirandola, siege of, ii, 305, 334, 335
Modena, i, 381; ii, 362, 397; iii, 23, 37, 164
-- capture of, ii, 345
-- purchase of, ii, 359
Modula, Bishop of, on the sack of Rome, iii, 429
Mola di Gaeta, i, 330
Molinella, battle of, i, 339
Molini, ii, 408 note, 445 note
-- _Documenti_, iii, 25 note
Molino, Ludovico del, ii, 211 note
Molmenti, ii, 73 note
Molza, Monsignor, i, 446; iii, 275
Monaldin, Victoria de, i, 435
Moncada, Don Ugo de, i, 418; ii, 396, 401; iii, 27, 442, 451
-- succeeds Lannoy, iii, 25
-- intrigues with Colonna, ii, 426, 444, 453
Moncenigo, iii, 113, 464
-- on Guidobaldo I., ii, 88
-- on Francesco Maria II., iii, 135, 136
-- on Lucrezia d'Este, iii, 136
Mond, Mr. Ludwig, ii, 224 note
Mondaino, i, 23, 140; ii, 292
Mondavio, i, 23, 119, 131; ii, 213, 291
-- passes to della Rovere, i, 222
Mondolfo, i, 137, 144; ii, 213, 291, 378; iii, 160, 199
-- siege of, ii, 384-7
Monopoli, i, 394
Monreale, Cardinal of, i, 345
-- Archbishop of, iii, 162
Montaigne on Tasso, iii, 326
Montalto, ii, 213
Mont'Amiata, iii, 109 note
Montanari, iii, 404 note
Montano, Cola, i, 234
Montano, Marco, iii, 295, 298
Monte Asdrualdo, ii, 260
Montebaroccio, ii, 211 note, 380, 388; iii, 262
-- sack of, ii, 383
Monte Bartolo, ii, 357, 388; iii, 49
Montebello, Count of, iii, 150
Monte Berticchio, iii, 182
Montecalvo, i, 418
Monte, Cardinal del, iii, 432
Monte Carlo, i, 423
Monte Carpegna, i, 160
Monte Catria, i, 160; ii, 78
Monte del Cavallo, i, 160
Montechio, iii, 80
Montecirignone, ii, 213
Monte Copiolo, i, 25, 405
Monte Corciano, iii, 180
Montefabri, Castle of, iii, 264
Montefalcone, Serafino da, i, 126
Montefeltrano, invested Count by Barbarossa, i, 25
Montefeltro, ii, 389
-- see of, ii, 314
-- given to Florence, ii, 406
-- plunder of, ii, 415
Montefeltro, Counts of, beneficent sway of the, i, 17
-- receive investiture of Urbino, i, 18, 22
-- supplant Ceccardi in Cagli, i, 22, 37
-- supplant Gabrielli in Gubbio, i, 22, 37
-- created by Barbarossa, i, 24, 25
-- arms of, i, 25 note, 76 note
-- Ghibelline principles of, i, 24-6, 35
-- feuds of, i, 35
-- patrons of letters, ii, 98, 107, 109
-- patrons of art, ii, 192
Montefeltro, house of, antiquity of, i, 124
-- branches of, i, 25
Montefeltro, Agnesina di, i, 48, 289; ii, 419; iii, 291
-- marriage of, i, 222
Montefeltro, Anna, Aura, or Laura di, i, 39, 49
-- marriage of, i, 39 note
Montefeltro, Antonio di, i, 61 note, 290, 355, 466; ii, 47 note, 75
-- legitimation of, i, 120
-- knighted by Ferdinand, i, 223
Montefeltro, Battista, _see_ Battista, Countess of Urbino
-- _see_ Sforza
Montefeltro, Battista di, her marriage, i, 39
-- marriage contract of, i, 40 note
-- her accomplishments, i, 39, 122, 216; ii, 129
-- becomes a nun, i, 40
-- descent of, i, 41
-- death of, i, 90
-- sonnets of, i, 428
Montefeltro, Bernardino, i, 120, 291
Montefeltro, Bianca, Lady of Faenza, i, 47
Montefeltro, Brigida, Sueva di, unhappy marriage of, i, 48 note
-- becomes a Franciscan abbess, i, 48 note
-- articles taken by her into the convent, i, 433
Montefeltro, Buonconte, i, 120, 290
Montefeltro, Caterina, Princess of Salerno, i, 255
Montefeltro, Chiara, i, 290
Montefeltro, Costanza, i, 290
Montefeltro, Elisabetta, or Isabella, i, 289
-- marriage of, i, 203
Montefeltro, Gentile, i, 291; ii, 58
Montefeltro, Giovanna di, i, 222, 289; ii, 282, 291, 419
-- escapes from Sinigaglia, ii, 300
Montefeltro, Guido Ubaldo, _see_ Guidobaldo I., Duke of Urbino
Montefeltro, Violante di, Lady of Cesena, i, 48, 58 note, 290
-- assumed rights of, i, 76
Montefiascone, iii, 5
Montefiore, i, 423
-- counts of, i, 51 note
-- siege of, i, 140
Monte Giordano, ii, 21
Monte l'Abbate, iii, 265
Montelocco, i, 77
Monte Luce, nuns of, ii, 230
Monteluro, battle of, i, 82
Monte Mario, iii, 21
Monte Nerone, i, 160
Monterosi, iii, 34
Monte Rotondo, iii, 21
Monte Sansovino, siege of, i, 244, 246, 247
Montevarchi, iii, 9
Montevecchio, Count of, i, 404
Montferrat, Marquis of, i, 260
Monti, Pietro, ii, 71
Montjoy, Lord, i, 224
Montoni, the, i, 333
Montorio, Count of, iii, 109
Montpellier, ii, 234
Montpensier, i, 355
-- Gilbert, Count de, ii, 449
Montucla, on Comandino, iii, 262
Monzoni, ii, 123
Morat, i, 337
Morata, Olympia, iii, 125
Morea, the, i, 194
Moresca, the, ii, 49
Moresino, Alessandro, iii, 429
Morgarten, i, 337
Mori, Allegra di, i, 75 note
Morici, iii, 122, note
Morpurgo, ii, 73 note
-- _Girolamo Muzio_, iii, 274 note
Morsolin, ii, 63 note
-- _Pietro Bembo_, ii, 119 note
Mortara, ii, 47
Morton, Rev. John, i, 456 note
Muccioli, the, iii, 90
Muglione, Luchina, children of, ii, 277-80
Mulazzano, attack on, i, 197
Munaxho, Padre Ludovico, iii, 226
Muntz, ii, 203 note, 220 note
Murano, iii, 346 note
Muratori, i, 211 note, 248 note, 317 note, 345 note; ii, 18, 203
note, 435; iii, 153
-- _Annali_, i, 21 note, 37 note, 54 note, 98 note
-- _Life of Nicholas V._, i, 165 note
-- Scriptores of, ii, 115, 133
-- on the battle of Cesano, i, 136 note
-- and Filippi, ii, 119
-- on Sixtus IV., ii, 284, note
-- on Francesco Maria I., ii, 413
-- computes Bourbon's army, iii, 8
-- on Clement VII., iii, 66
Murcia, kingdom of, i, 317
Murillo, iii, 406
-- piety of, ii, 163
Murray, Isabella Katherina, i, xiv, xvii
Murray, James Wolfe, i, xiv, xvii
Muzio, Girolamo, i, xxx, xxxii, 32 note, 134, 181 note, 185, 198,
449; iii, 139, 143-8
-- on Duke Federigo, i, 109, 140 note, 174, 226, 276; ii, 111
-- detailed history of, i, 149
-- on the Court of Urbino, i, 152
-- on battle of La Molinella, i, 188 note
-- on battle of Rimini, i, 199
-- mistakes of, i, 214 note
-- on the Countess Battista, i, 219
-- letter from him to Francesco Maria II., iii, 144-8
-- career of, iii, 275
-- works of, iii, 276
-- at Urbino, iii, 294
Muzio of Giustinopoli, iii, 130
Naldio, verse of, ii, 146
Naldo of Florence, i, 228
Nanni, Bernardino di, ii, 191
Naples, kingdom of, i, xl, 26; ii, 261, 302; iii, 299, 300, 321
-- in 1430, i, 68
-- Angevine claimants of, i, 102, 123, 129-41, 372
-- Charles VIII. enters, i, 352
-- conquered by Louis XII., i, 393
-- disputed succession to, i, 322-25
-- panic in, i, 351
-- recovered, i, 354
-- Lautrec's advance on, iii, 38, 39
-- siege of by the French, iii, 39
-- Francesco Maria I. visits Charles V. at, iii, 69
-- _tenebristi_ of, iii, 341
Narni, i, 131, 379; ii, 38
-- surrendered by Braccio di Montone, i, 45
Nasi, Lorenzo, ii, 299
Negri, Girolamo, ii, 445 note
-- calls the papal court a barn-yard of chickens, iii, 6
Negrini, _Elogii Historici_, ii, 122
Nelli, Martino, ii, 190
Nelli, Ottaviano, ii, 190, 202
-- letter of, ii, 192
-- in Urbino, ii, 200, 202
Nelli, Tomaso, ii, 191
Nemec, _Papst Alexander VI._, ii, 19 note
Nepi, dukedom of, i, 395; ii, 22, 69; iii, 21, 93
Nepotism, papal, i, 116, 222
-- restrained, iii, 97
Nevers, Duke of, iii, 120
Newbattle Abbey, ii, 47 note
New College Hall, Oxford, i, xliv
Nice, Council of, ii, 20 note
Niceno, Cardinal, i, 205 note
Nichol, _Anecdotes of Hogarth_, ii, 171 note
Nicholas V., i, 62 note, 102, 177; ii, 263, 287
-- urges Italian unity, i, 107
-- career of, i, 107
-- founds Vatican library, i, 163; ii, 289
-- encourages Platonism, ii, 106
-- biography of, ii, 119
-- patron of art, ii, 202
Nicholas, friar, ii, 392
Nicolas, Harris, i, 177 note
Nicolò da Cagli, i, 281
Nicolò of Fossombrone, ii, 314
Nicolò da Pesaro, iii, 369
Nigera, Abbot of, iii, 439
Nocera, iii, 406, 415
Nogarolo, Isotta, accomplishments of, ii, 128
Nottola, _Appunti sul Muzio_, iii, 274 note
Novara, ii, 426
Novello, Domenico Malatesta, _see_ Malatesta
Novillara, i, 23; iii, 152, 153, 220
-- given to Castiglione, ii, 53, 356, 357
Noyon, treaty of, ii, 372
Nucci, Benedetto, iii, 380
Nucci, Virgilio, iii, 380
Nuremburg, ii, 198
Nursino, Bartolo, iii, 102
Nuzio, Allegretto, i, 436; ii, 193, 195 note; iii, 275
Observantines, iii, 96 note, 182
Odasio, Ludovico, i, 152; ii, 114, 314
-- tutor of Guidobaldo I., i, 207, 297
-- funeral orations of, i, 283; ii, 86, 126
-- _I Suppositi_, iii, 162
Oddantonio, Count, i, 76
-- knighted by Sigismund, i, 47, 51, 71
-- his early promise, i, 50
-- made duke, i, 24 note, 51, 52
-- his cruelties, i, 53
-- his debaucheries, i, 53
-- murder of, i, 53, 85
-- betrothal of, i, 55, 58 note
-- tomb of, i, 56; iii, 459
-- his letters to Siena, i, 56-8
-- his dislike of Federigo, i, 58 note
-- portrait of, ii, 208
Oddi, the, ii, 226
-- expelled from Perugia, i, 369
Oddi, Muzio, i, 171 note
-- military engineer, iii, 265
Oderigi da Gubbio, ii, 189, 191, 192 note, 254
-- Dante on, ii, 188
Odescalchi Gallery, ii, 233
Odet, i, 465
Oliva, Fabio, i, 255
Olivarez, Don, iii, 361
Oliveriana Library, i, x, xxiii, 54; ii, 462
Oliveriana MSS., i, 150 note, 427; iii, 72 note, 80 note, 112 note,
113 note, 114 note, 120, 129 note, 142, 151 note, 153, 154, 162,
176 note, 220 note, 228, 325 note, 411, 477
Olivieri, _Life of Alessandro Sforza_, i, 49 note
-- Italian patriotism of, ii, 108
-- on Novillara, ii, 356
Omens of the downfall of Rome, iii, 7
Opdycke, ii, 44 note
Orange, Philibert, Prince of, ii, 426; iii, 437, 439, 441
-- succeeds Bourbon in command, iii, 15, 23
-- leaves Rome, iii, 38
-- death of, iii, 43
Orange, René, Prince of, Count of Nassau, iii, 43
Orcagna, ii, 180, 230
Orciano, ii, 213; iii, 150
Orcinovo, iii, 77
Ordelaffi, the, of Forlì, i, 18, 236, 254, 381
Order of Jesus Christ, iii, 264
Orlandi, ii, 259
Orleans Gallery, ii, 233
Orleans, house of, i, 97
Orsi, Cecco, i, 307 note
Orsi, Count, i, 308
Orsi, Francesco Deddi de', i, 306
Orsi, Ludovico, i, 307 note
Orsini, on coinage, i, xlii
Orsini, the, depredations of, i, 329-30; iii, 360
-- meet at La Magione, i, 412
-- fall of, ii, 12
-- reconciled with Colonna, ii, 354
Orsini, Alfonsina degli, ii, 366
Orsini, Angela, i, 51 note
Orsini, Bartolomea, i, 359
Orsini, Camillo, ii, 408
Orsini, Cardinal, i, 220
-- is poisoned, ii, 8
Orsini, Carlo, i, 359
Orsini, Fabio, ii, 5
-- in the Campagna, ii, 11, 12
Orsini, Ferdinando, iii, 125
Orsini, Francesco, i, 152
Orsini, Fulvio, iii, 260
Orsini, Gentile Virginio, i, 331
Orsini, Gian-Giordano, i, 358; ii, 25, 281
Orsini, Gianpaolo, i, 74
Orsini, Giulio, i, 152, 267
Orsini, Monoculo, i, 367
Orsini, Napoleone, iii, 39
Orsini, Nicolò, i, 348, 421
Orsini, Paolo, i, 358, 402; iii, 125
-- at Cagli, i, 415
-- treats with Borgia, i, 418, 420
-- murder of, ii, 3, 4, 11
Orsini, Prince of Tarento, i, 130, 141
Orsini, Virginio, i, 342
-- claims the Cibò estates, i, 343
-- fights against Ferdinand, i, 357, 358
Orte, surrendered by Braccio di Montone, i, 45
Orti-Manara, ii, 70 note
Ortona, iii, 93
Orvieto, ii, 395; iii, 5, 26, 433
-- surrendered by di Montone, i, 45
-- cathedral of, ii, 185, 187, 189, 190, 196, 212; iii, 347
Osimo, i, 305; ii, 196
Ostia, ii, 29, 238, 297; iii, 23, 110
-- harbour of, ii, 286
-- see of, ii, 301
-- reduction of, ii, 303
Ostiglia, iii, 304
Oswald, George, i, xiv
Otho the Great, i, 78
Otranto, i, 394; iii, 141
-- taken by and from the Turks, i, 257
Otricoli, iii, 18, 19
Ottaviani, Cardinal, ii, 267
Ottley, Mr. Young, ii, 207
Ottoboniana MSS., iii, 53 note, 186 note, 189 note
Overbeck, iii, 366
Ovid, quoted, ii, 15 note
Owen, i, 313 note
Pacieri, the, iii, 123
Pacioli, Fra Luca, ii, 203
Paciotti, Federigo, iii, 264
Paciotti, Felice, iii, 135, 263
Paciotti, Francesco, employed by Julius III., iii, 263
-- enjoys royal favour, iii, 263
Paciotti, Guidobaldo, iii, 264
Paciotti, Jacopo, iii, 262
Paciotto, Orazio, iii, 263
Padua, ii, 62, 429; iii, 275, 311, 350
-- University of, i, 69; iii, 87, 260, 267
Paganism mingled with Christianity, ii, 81 note, 105
-- in Italian art, ii, 168
Paglioni, Gian Paolo, i, 412
Palaia, i, 356
Palazzo Vecchio, Florence, iii, 385
Palestrina, i, 330
-- siege of, i, 30
Palladio, iii, 358
Pallavicini, Gaspare, ii, 71
-- at Urbino, ii, 77; iii, 78
Palliano, Duke of, i, 289
Palliotto, ii, 192 note
Palliser, Mrs. iii, 418
Palma, Jacopo, the younger, iii, 398
Palma, Vecchio, iii, 480, 482
Palma, Violante, iii, 398, 481
Palmeggiani, Marco, i, 255
Palmerucci, Guido, ii, 189, 190
Palmieri, Matteo, _La Città della Vita_, ii, 158 note
Palmos, iii, 131
Palotta, Archbishop, iii, 158
Paltroni, i, 129
Pampeluna, ii, 31
Pandolfi, Gian Giacomo, iii, 369
Pandolfo III., i, 380
Pandolfo IV., i, 380
Pandonio, Porcellio, his style, ii, 136
-- his _Feltria_, ii, 137
Panizzi, ii, 153 note; iii, 306
Pantheon, Rome, ii, 249; iii, 357
Panvinio, ii, 284
-- on Sixtus IV., ii, 285, 289, 297 note; iii, 109
-- on Julius II., ii, 301
Paolo, Maestro, i, 150, 231, 244
Paolo, Simon, _Diario detto di Marcello Cervino_, i, 23 note, 37 note
Papacy, its condition in 1430, i, 64-6
-- state of, at the accession of Alexander VI., i, 315
-- the loss of temporal ascendancy, iii, 95
-- temporal rule of the, bad, iii, 220 note
Papal court, "a barn-yard of chickens," iii, 6
Papini, iii, 280 note
Parentucelli, Tommaso de', _see_ Nicholas V.
Paris, ii, 405; iii, 263, 299 note
-- Hotel Cluny, iii, 409
Parisani, Cardinal Ascanio, iii, 383
Parma, i, 349; ii, 362, 365; iii, 370
-- capture of, ii, 345
-- cession of, iii, 23, 24
Parma, Bernardino, ii, 4
Parmegianino, iii, 338, 355, 370
Paruta, ii, 125, 427 note, 440; iii, 41
Pascoli, on Francesca, ii, 203
Pasolini, iii, 298 note
-- _Caterina Sforza_, i, 307 note
Pasquino, ii, 287; iii, 222 note
Passavant, i, xxxix note, 159; ii, 209 note
-- on Palmerucci, ii, 190
-- on Giovanni Sanzi, ii, 216, 219
-- on Raffaele, ii, 231, 232, 249 note
-- on Vite, ii, 259
Passeri, Bernardo, iii, 11
Passeri, Gianbattista, iii, 141, 169, 198, 203, 229, 473
-- on Francesco Maria II., iii, 203, 207, 229
-- on majolica, iii, 404, 407, 408, 410, 413, 415, 416, 421, 423, 424
Passignano, iii, 369
Passionei, the, iii, 90
Pastor, his History of the Popes, i, 319 note
Patanazzi, Alfonso, iii, 380, 423
Patrimony of St. Peter, i, xl
Paul II., ii, 106, 279, 283
-- succession of, i, 178
-- confirms Federigo in his command, i, 179
-- continues policy against the Malatesta, i, 179
-- his designs on Rimini, i, 192 note, 195
-- death of, i, 202, 205
Paul III., ii, 60, 64; iii, 295
-- election of, iii, 68
-- and the Camerino succession, iii, 68, 89, 92
-- strongly opposes the Reformation, iii, 96
-- re-establishes the Inquisition, iii, 96 and note
-- opens the Council of Trent, iii, 96
-- death of, iii, 101
-- patron of art, iii, 344
-- at the Imperiale, iii, 349
-- patron of Michael Angelo, iii, 383
-- patron of Titian, iii, 393
-- portrait of, iii, 395, 485
Paul IV., iii, 343
-- election of, iii, 104
-- policy of, iii, 109
-- obstinacy of, iii, 110
Paul V., his foresight in the marriage contract of Prince Federigo,
iii, 211
Paulo, Ambrogio da, i, 306 note
Pavia, ii, 260, 279; iii, 414
-- battle of, ii, 431; iii, 448
-- cardinal of, _see_ Alidosio
-- Certosa of, ii, 441
-- sack of, iii, 37
-- recovered by the Duke Francesco Maria I., iii, 40
-- Ariosto at, iii, 281
Pavoni, Monsignor, iii, 216, 217
Pazzi conspiracy, i, 239-43, 306; ii, 280
Pazzi, Francesco di, i, 239, 240
Pecorari, Counts of, i, 51 note
Pedrada, Señor, anecdotes of, ii, 47, 48
Pelacane of Parma, i, 69
Pelissier, ii, 74 note
Pellegrini, A., i, 401 note; ii, 368 note; iii, 101 note, 174 note,
195, 379
-- _Gubbio sotto i conti e Duchi d'Urbino_, i, 23 note
Pelli, iii, 360
-- his list of Urbino pictures, iii, 478
Pembroke, Lord, ii, 233
Penna da Billi, i, 23, 78, 144
Penshanger Madonna, ii, 233
Pepin, donations of, i, 5
Pergolotti, Piero di, commended to Siena, ii, 110
Peroli, portraits of the, ii, 191
Perotto, Nicolò, i, 228
-- murder of, i, 411
Persia, envoys of, at Urbino, i, 204
Persius, birthplace of, i, 210
Perucchi, Ludovico, iii, 474
Perugia, i, 18, 360, 403; ii, 24; iii, 19, 38, 287, 371
-- democratic element in, i, 7 note
-- feuds in, i, 43
-- Montone, Vicar of, i, 45
-- expeditions against, i, 369; ii, 304, 316
-- archives of, ii, 5
-- Borgia takes, ii, 11
-- Baglioni expelled from, ii, 39
-- Raffaele at, ii, 223, 224, 226, 230
-- siege of, ii, 395
-- Baglioni reinstated in, ii, 413
-- majolica made at, iii, 406
Perugino, Pietro, i, 447; ii, 185 note, 210, 229, 236, 258; iii, 335, 347
-- at Assisi, ii, 180
-- style of, ii, 199
-- not Raffaele's tutor, ii, 224 note, 225, 229
-- work of, ii, 236, 238
-- in Rome, ii, 288
Peruli, the, iii, 90
Peruzuolo, ii, 216
Peruzzi, Baldassare, ii, 148
Pesaro, i, 3, 18, 380; ii, 24, 388, 389, 436; iii, 265, 311, 370
-- given to della Rovere, i, 23
-- convent of Sta. Chiara at, i, 41
-- convent of Corpus Domini, i, 48 note
-- siege of, i, 85; ii, 369
-- sale of, i, 89, 90
-- attacked by Sigismondo Malatesta, i, 100
-- ball at, i, 344
-- Borgia enters, i, 388
-- Monte l'Abbate, ii, 185 note
-- under Galeazzo Sforza, ii, 348
-- reduction of, ii, 349
-- surrender to Francesco Maria I., ii, 413
-- court of, ii, 421; iii, 161, 163, 181
-- Venetian envoys at, ii, 421, 422
-- Palace of, iii, 108 and note, 351
-- -- art collection of, iii, 477
-- Clement VII. at, iii, 52
-- Bishop of, iii, 153
-- carnival at, iii, 162
-- Clement VIII. at, iii, 166
-- Oddi imprisoned at, iii, 265
-- Atanagi at, iii, 295
-- Tasso at, iii, 302, 313
-- fortress of, iii, 351
-- harbour of, iii, 353
-- Titian at, iii, 394
-- majolica of, iii, 406-12
Pescara, Marquis of, ii, 59; iii, 291
-- treason and death of, ii, 434
-- envoy of King Philip III., iii, 177, 180
Peschiera, iii, 36
Pestilence in Rome, iii, 24, 25
Peter's pence, ii, 115
Petrarch, ii, 102; iii, 267, 278
Petriolo, i, 247
Petrucci, Alfonso, ii, 5
-- exiled, ii, 11
-- conspires against Leo X., ii, 17, 391
Petrucci, Borghese, ii, 414 note
Petrucci, Fabio, ii, 414 note
Petrucci, Randolfo, i, 412, 419; ii, 414; iii, 347
Petrucci, Raffaello, ii, 414 note
Philip II., King of Spain, ii, 233, 446; iii, 107, 131-3, 156, 158
-- patron of art, ii, 263, 303, 361, 372, 378, 411
Philip III., of Spain, his interest in Prince Federigo, iii, 177,
189, 196
Phillips, Mr. Claude, ii, 175
-- on Aretino, iii, 287 note
Piacenza, ii, 362, 365; iii, 23, 24, 134, 380
-- capture of, ii, 345
Pian di Meleto, Count Gian of, i, 199
Pianello di Perugia, ii, 393
Piatese, Aldobrandino, i, 480
Piccinino, Giacopo, i, 110, 252
-- supports Count Federigo, i, 112
-- his ambitions, i, 114, 119
-- treachery of, i, 124
-- his extraordinary march, i, 125
-- fights at S. Fabbiano, i, 126-8
-- challenges Sforza, i, 128 note
-- insults Federigo, i, 129
-- scours the Campagna, i, 130
-- ambitions of, 135
-- defeated at Troia, i, 141
-- death of, i, 183
Piccinino, Nicolò, i, 44, 72
-- defeats Guidantonio, i, 46
-- character of, i, 72 note
-- succeeds Visconti, i, 73
-- his defeat at Anghiara, i, 77
-- his defeat at Monteluro, i, 82
-- death of, i, 89
Piccolomini, iii, 408
-- elected Pope, ii, 22
Picenardi, Sommi, _Trattato fra Bernarbò Visconti_, i, 37 note
Picene, Legate of, ii, 301
Pichi, ii, 203 note
Picolpasso, Cipriano, iii, 408, 423, 424
Pienza, ii, 11
Pierantonio, Bernardino di, ii, 265 note
Pier-Luigi, Duke, assassination of, iii, 100
Pietragutola, ii, 213
Pietra Robbia, i, 25
-- given to Count Federigo, i, 119
Pietra Santa, ii, 307; iii, 382
-- surrender of, i, 349
Pietro da Napoli, ii, 71
Pietro da Pesaro, ii, 427
Pietro of Siena, i, 248
Pieve, i, 396
Pigna, iii, 310, 321
Pignattari, Bartolomeo, iii, 472
Pignotti, i, 184 note
Pii, Niccolò de', ii, 47
Pinacoteca, Bologna, ii, 243
-- Urbino, i, 205
Pinchi, Giorgio, iii, 378
Pincian Hill, iii, 366
Pino, _I falsi Sospetti_, iii, 162
Pintelei, Baccio, ii, 291
Pinturicchio, i, xii, 48 note, 447; ii, 236, 258; iii, 335
-- frescoes of, ii, 168, 459
-- student of Raffaele, ii, 225
-- in Rome, ii, 288
Pio da Carpi, Emilia, i, 61 note, 290, 400; ii, 33, 46 note, 360,
367; iii, 433
-- at Urbino, ii, 75-8
-- her accomplishments, ii, 76, 129
-- portraits of, ii, 272, 273
Pio, Giberto, ii, 75
Pio, Ludovico, iii, 78
Pio, Manfredi, i, 53, 54
Pio, Marco, i, 290
Piobbico, iii, 207
Piombino, ii, 24
-- sack of, i, 393
-- Princes of, iii, 82
Piombo, Sebastian del, iii, 480, 482
Pipo the Florentine, i, 150
Pirotti, Nicolò, i, 271
Pirotti, Pirro, on Duke Federigo, i, 271
Pisa, i, 26
-- communal freedom in, i, 67
-- Ghibelline stronghold at, i, 27, 36
-- Council of, i, 42; ii, 332, 334, 340
-- mitre of, i, 239
Pisan war, the, i, 356
-- renewed, i, 370
Pisanello, i, 70; ii, 197
Pisani, Giorgio, i, 193, 377; ii, 454
Pisano, ii, 207; i, 436
Pisano, Niccolò, iii, 336 note
Pistoia, iii, 299
Pitali, ii, 191
Pitti Palace, Florence, ii, 57, 231; iii, 291, 358, 391 note, 477
Pitigliano, i, 104, 421, 423
Pitigliano, Nicolò, Count of, i, 348, 371, 466; ii, 302, 321
Pius II., ii, 291
-- on Oddantonio, Duke of Urbino, i, 52, 53
-- on ceremonial for creation of dukes, i, 52
-- recognises Ferdinand II., i, 116
-- meets congress at Mantua, i, 116
-- reproves Sigismondo, i, 117
-- his brief to Count Federigo, i, 117
-- his dislike of Sigismondo, i, 117 note, 138, 180, 192 note
-- his decision between Federigo and Sigismondo, i, 119, 145
-- his arrangement with Federigo, i, 125 note, 130, 139
-- _Commentaries of_, i, 131, 140 note, 141, 194 note
-- excommunicates the Malatesta, i, 132
-- goes to Tivoli, i, 133
-- compliments Federigo, i, 134, 138
-- his projected crusade, i, 177
-- death of, i, 177
-- reign of, i, 178
-- his praise of the Countess Battista, i, 217
-- censures Cardinal Borgia, i, 317
Pius III., ii, 303
-- election of, ii, 22
-- and Borgia, ii, 25, 27
Pius V., iii, 82, 97, 404 note
-- gives an audience to Prince Francesco Maria, iii, 141
-- indulgence of, iii, 456
Platina, _Lives of the Popes_, ii, 290
Platner, i, 169
Plato, taught in Florence, ii, 105, 106
-- study of, declines, iii, 256
Plautus, _Asinaria_, i, 480
-- _Menecmo_, ii, 152
Plethon, Gemistus, ii, 105
Plutarch's _Lives_, iii, 125
Poggibonsi, siege of, i, 248
Poggio d'Inverno, i, 290
Poggio, G.B., i, 72 note, 174 note
-- _Historia Populi Florentini_, i, 228
Poggio Imperiale, i, 248, 251
Poland, iii, 263
Pole, Cardinal, iii, 303
Polenta, the, i, 381
-- Ravenna, Seigneury of, i, 18
Polesella, i, 424
Polesine, the, i, 262
-- defined, i, xx
Polidori, iii, 271 note
Polidoro di Caravaggio, iii, 398
Politian, on Venice, i, 325; ii, 113
Pollaiuolo, i, 212; ii, 243
Pontano, i, 227
Pontelli, Baccio, i, 171
-- architect of palace at Urbino, i, 157
-- furnishes plans for Lorenzo de' Medici, i, 157
Ponte Laino, ii, 336
Ponte Milvio, ii, 238
Ponte Molle, ii, 32; iii, 436
Ponte Reno, ii, 452
Ponte Sacco, i, 356
Ponte Salara, iii, 18
Ponte S. Angelo, ii, 286
Ponte Sisto, ii, 286; iii, 14, 436
Pontormo, iii, 350
Pontremoli, i, 349
-- destruction of, i, 464
Por, Danielle di, iii, 356
Porcellio, i, 50 note, 193, 211 note, 219 note, 222 note, 459
Pordenone, iii, 480
Porino, iii, 378
Porrino, Gandolfo, satirises Bembo, ii, 368
Porta Cavallegieri, iii, 10
Porta da Creta, Francesco, iii, 139
Porta Settiminiana, iii, 13
Portugal, King of, iii, 264
Poussin, Nicolò, iii, 344, 366
Pozzuoli, ii, 449
Prassede, Ottaviano della, ii, 265 note
Prato, sack of, ii, 374
Prennier, iii, 357
Prescott, on coinage, i, xliii
-- _Ferdinand and Isabella_, ii, 156 note
Prestino da Gubbio, iii, 415
Proccaccini, Giulio Cesare, iii, 365
Procida, Señor, i, 343
Promis of Turin, i, 158
Promis, Carlo, iii, 264 note
-- on Giorgio, ii, 212, 215
-- on Francesco Maria I., iii, 77
Proto, _Rinaldo di Tasso_, iii, 309 note
Provasi, _Le Marche_, iii, 271 note
Ptolemy, treatise of, iii, 261
Puccini, ii, 249 note
Puccio, ii, 189
Pulci, _Morgante Maggiore_, iii, 286
Pungileone, i, 154, 161 note, 287; ii, 148, 200; iii, 409, 413, 419,
424 note
-- _Elogio di Bramante_, i, 156 note
-- _Elogio di Giovanni Santi_, i, 204 note
-- on della Francesca, ii, 206, 209
-- on Fra Carnevale, ii, 211
-- on Giovanni Sanzi, ii, 216, 218
-- on Vite, ii, 258 note, 259
-- on Bramante, ii, 260
Quadri, i, 229 note
Quaglino, Messer, iii, 91
_Quarterly Review_, i, xxxix, 155; ii, 204 note, 242 note; iii, 476
-- Dennistoun's contributions to, i, xvi
Querini, Girolamo, iii, 394
Quincy, Quartremere de, i, 287
Quirinal Palace, ii, 290
Raczynski, iii, 292 note
Radda, i, 244
Radicofani, i, 247
Raffaele da Montelupo, iii, 384
Raffaele, Don Pietro, i, xliii
Ragusa, Archbishop of, at Urbino, ii, 36
-- Paulo di, ii, 271
Raimondo, Annibale, _Treatise on Tides_, iii, 21 note
Ramocciotto, ii, 325
Ramsay, Mary, i, xiv
Ranghiasci, F., i, 23 note
Rangone, Guido, ii, 380, 436, 442
-- Count Guido, iii, 8, 21, 299
Ranieri, Guidangelo de', i, 100
Raniere, Matteo di, iii, 408
Ranke, i, 374 note; ii, 246, 305 note
-- _History of the Popes_, ii, 19 note
Ratti, i, 255
Ravenna, Seigneury of, i, 18, 33; ii, 33, 322, 335; iii, 37, 81, 406
Ravenna, battle of, i, 340; ii, 344
-- seized by Venice, i, 381
-- Guidobaldo I. flies to, i, 406
-- siege of, ii, 328
-- Tasso at, iii, 302
Raynaldus, ii, 18, 30
Recanati, ii, 280, 395
-- Cardinal of, ii, 307
-- see of, iii, 81
Reformation, influence of the, iii, 47, 97, 257
Reforzato, i, 404
Reggio, fief of, i, 381; ii, 397; iii, 37, 164, 280, 448
-- capture of, ii, 332, 345
_Relazioni_ of Venetian envoys, iii, 113 and note, 246
Religious revival in Italy, iii, 96, 97
Renan, on history, ii, 95 note
Réné le Bon, i, 324
René, Count of Nassau, iii, 43
René of Provence, i, 68, 123, 135, 141; ii, 132
Renée, mother of Donna Lucrezia d'Este, iii, 139
Rengarda, Countess of Urbino, i, 56
Reni, Guido, i, x
-- style of, ii, 186
Renier, ii, 44 note, 70 note, 84 note; iii, 125
-- _see_ Muzio
Renzo da Ceri, ii, 200, 368, 380, 385, 386, 425; iii, 5, 8 and note,
12, 13 and note, 436
-- defender of Rome, iii, 5-9
Repetti, _Dizionario della Toscana_, i, 98 note
Reposati, _Della Zecca di Gubbio_, i, 23 note, 34 note, 63 note, 71
note, 140 note; ii, 41 note, 269 note; iii, 111, 168 note
-- his biographical sketches, i, xxxii
-- on coinage, i, xlii
-- indebted to Baldi, iii, 273
-- indebted to Muzio, iii, 276
Reumont, _Lorenzo de' Medici_, i, 235 note
Reynolds, Sir Joshua, iii, 230
-- on Raffaele, ii, 172, 243
Rhodes, ii, 293
Riarii, the, Seigneur of Forlì, i, 18
Riario, Cesare, ii, 280
Riario, Galeazzo, ii, 282, 283
Riario, Girolamo, i, xi, 220, 225; ii, 280, 282, 290
-- marriage of, i, 236, 238
-- visits Forlì, i, 254
-- designs on Ferrara, i, 258
-- profits by nepotism, i, 302
-- sovereignty established, i, 306
-- murder of, i, 307, 308
-- invested with Imola, i, 381; ii, 284
-- portrait of, ii, 289
Riario, Orazio, ii, 280
Riario, Ottaviano, i, 308, 381, 384
-- Bishop of Viterbo, ii, 280
Riario, Cardinal Pietro, ii, 280, 351 note; iii, 17
-- entertained at Gubbio, i, 205
Riario, Cardinal Raffaele, i, 249
Riario, Raffaello, ii, 391
Riario Sforza, the, of Naples, ii, 280
Riccardi, Sigismondo, ii, 71
Riccardiana, Florence, ii, 118
Riccasoli, Antonio, ii, 371
Ricci, Marchese, ii, 200, 220 note; iii, 353, 404 note
Ricotti, i, 188 note, 190; iii, 94
-- on coinage, i, xlii
-- on battle of S. Fabbiano, i, 127
-- _St. d. Compagnie di Ventura in Italia_, i, 183 note
-- on architects, iii, 265
Ridolfi, Carlo, iii, 379
-- on Titian, iii, 391, 396
Ridolfi, Claudio, career of, iii, 379, 380
Rieti, iii, 81
Rigutino, iii, 19 note
Rimini, Seigneury of, i, 18, 180, 380; ii, 321, 322, 377, 398; iii,
37, 406, 408
-- held against the Pope, i, 195
-- reduction of, i, 196
-- battle of, i, 199
-- Borgia at, i, 388
-- cathedral of, ii, 208
-- surrender of, ii, 329
-- recovered, ii, 420
Rinaldo, i, 93; iii, 472
Rinuccini, Alemanno, i, 227
-- _Ricordi_, i, 211 note
Rio on the Umbrian School, ii, 179
Ripatrasone, ii, 402
Ripetta, the, i, 364
Rispetto, the, iii, 280 note
Rizzoli, _Sigilli nel Museo Bottacin di Padova_, i, 32 note
Robbia, Andrea della, iii, 407
Robbia, Luca della, ware of, iii, 406, 407
Roberto da Fano, ii, 114 note
Robertson, i, 315
Rocca Contrada, i, 93
Rodocanacchi, iii, 292 note
Rocca Guglielmi, iii, 45
Rodomonte, Luigi Gonzaga, said to have poisoned the Duke Francesco
Maria I., iii, 71
Rogers, Mr. H., ii, 57; iii, 410
Romagna, defined, i, xl
-- Church rule in, i, 5
-- list of minor states in, i, 18, 23
-- its condition in 1430, i, 64-6
-- described by Sismondi, i, 379-83
-- rule of Borgia in, i, 389-92
-- described by Machiavelli, i, 398 note
-- falling to the confederate chiefs, ii, 28
Romagnano, bridge of, ii, 426
Romano, Giulio, ii, 41 note, 242; iii, 287, 412, 420, 422
Rome, i, 3, 26
-- Chiesa della Minerva, i, 36
-- on the return of the Popes, i, 65
-- sacked by the Colonna, i, 131; ii, 308
-- invaded by French, i, 351
-- after death of Alexander VI., ii, 21
-- its debt to Sixtus IV., ii, 285-7
-- its debt to Julius II., ii, 306
-- invaded by the Colonna, ii, 444
-- ill-garrisoned, iii, 5
-- sacked by Bourbon, iii, 3-18, 31, 32
-- -- authorities for, iii, 8 note
-- -- conflicting accounts, iii, 8 note, 9
-- -- contemporary descriptions of, iii, 429-43
-- pestilence of, iii, 24, 25
-- capitulation of, iii, 23
-- evacuation of, iii, 38
-- nearly taken by the Duc de Guise, iii, 111
-- Paciotti's plan of, iii, 263
-- Baldi at, iii, 268
-- Ariosto at, iii, 282
-- Aretino in, iii, 287
-- Tasso in, ii, 327; iii, 320
-- the Zuccari in, iii, 355-68
-- Titian at, iii, 394
Romita, iii, 196, 223
Ronchini, iii, 271 note
Ronciglione, i, 179
Roncoroni, iii, 311 note
Rondinello, iii, 379
Rondolino, iii, 421
Roscia, reduction of, ii, 328
Roscoe, i, xxxix note, 163, 236 note; iii, 75, 85 and note, 88 note
-- misrepresentations of, i, xxxiii; ii, 168 note, 281, 387, 468
-- his _Life of Lorenzo de' Medici_, i, xxxiii note, 174 note; ii,
132 note, 184 note
-- on Venice, i, 16
-- on the battle of La Molinella, i, 188 note
-- his _Leo X._, i, 320, 342 note; ii, 154, 307, 294 note, 362, 411
note; iii, 87 note, 282 note
-- defends the Borgia, ii, 19 note
-- on Bembo, ii, 64
-- on Vergilio, ii, 117
-- on _Il Cortegiano_, ii, 120
-- on the sonnet, ii, 131
-- on Accolti, ii, 147
-- on Francesco Maria I., ii, 325, 342, 347, 399, 412 note
Rose, Stewart, ii, 146 note
Roseo, Mambrino, on the sack of Rome, iii, 12, 13 and note
Rosini, i, 287; ii, 204, 228 note; iii, 308 note
-- on Bramante, ii, 260
Rosmini, _V. da Feltre_, i, 69 note
-- vindicates Sforza, i, 183
Rossano, Prince of, ii, 281
Rosselli, in Rome, ii, 288
Rossi, ii, 118 note, 220 note; iii, 88 note, 122 note
Rossi, Count, murder of, i, 241
Rossi, _F. da Montefeltro_, i, 100 note
-- _La Guerra in Toscana_, i, 101 note
-- _Appunti per la storia della musica alla Corte d'Urbino_, ii,
47 note
-- _Guarini_, iii, 331 note
Rossi, Porzia de', iii, 299
Rotonda, ii, 248
Rouen, Cardinal of, i, 469; ii, 26
-- intrigues of, ii, 330
-- schemes to poison Julius II., ii, 335
Rovere, i, 263
Rovere, della, Seigneury of, i, 18
-- gains through nepotism, i, 23
-- arms of, i, 172
-- origin of, ii, 277
Rovere, Antonio della, ii, 280
Rovere, Bartolomeo della, i, 281; ii, 280
Rovere, Clemente della, ii, 282 note
Rovere, Costanza della, ii, 283
Rovere, Cristoforo della, ii, 282 note
Rovere, Deodata della, ii, 283
Rovere, Domenico della, ii, 282 note
Rovere, Elisabetta, iii, 80
-- marriage of, iii, 106, 107
-- death of, iii, 107
Rovere, Federigo della, ii, 282: iii, 80
Rovere, Felice della, ii, 281
Rovere, Francesco della, ii, 280
Rovere, Francesco Maria della, _see_ Francesco Maria I.
Rovere, Galiotto della, ii, 282
Rovere, Gian Francesco della, i, 282 note
Rovere, Giovanni della, i, 152, 187, 220; ii, 3, 281
-- Mariotti's mistake _re_, i, xxxi
-- marriage of, i, 221 note, 222, 289; ii, 291
-- obtains Sinigaglia, i, 144
-- death of, i, 399; ii, 299
-- portrait of, ii, 211, 289, 299
-- children of, ii, 282
-- prefect of Rome, ii, 291
-- lord of Sinigaglia, ii, 291-3
-- seizes Gem's pension, ii, 294, 298
-- epitaph of, ii, 480
Rovere, Girolamo della, ii, 280
Rovere, Cardinal Giuliano della, ii, 296
-- sent against Città di Castello, i, 225
-- visits Federigo, i, 254
-- portrait of, iii, 486
-- _see_ Julius II., i, 401
Rovere, Giuliano della, i, 238, 318, 371; ii, 284
-- portrait of, ii, 289
Rovere, Giulio della, ii, 282
Rovere, Cardinal Giulio della, iii, 63, 81, 82, 101, 130, 134, 141,
277, 371
-- birth of, iii, 63
-- character of, iii, 81, 82
-- nominated cardinal at the age of fourteen, iii, 81, 101
-- natural sons of, iii, 82
-- inscription on, iii, 461
-- letter to, iii, 474
Rovere, Guglielmo della, ii, 280
Rovere, Iolanda della, ii, 280
Rovere, Ippolita della, marriage of, iii, 53
Rovere, Ippolito della, Marquis of S. Lorenzo, iii, 82, 170
-- portrait of, iii, 486
Rovere, Isabella della, iii, 125
Rovere, Joanna della, ii, 228
Rovere, Lavinia della, iii, 326
-- married to Felice d'Avalos, iii, 125 and note, 157
-- second marriage of, iii, 157
-- inscription on, iii, 462
Rovere, Lavinia Franciotti, iii, 125
Rovere, Leonardo della, ii, 281, 291
-- children of, ii, 277-80
Rovere, Livia della, iii, 171
Rovere, Luchina della, ii, 281, 282
Rovere, Lucrezia della, ii, 282
Rovere, Maria della, ii, 283; iii, 63
-- paramour of, ii, 317.
Rovere, Nicolò della, ii, 282
Rovere, Pietro della, Cardinal of San Sisto, ii, 284
-- portrait of, ii, 289
Rovere, Raffaele della, i, 413; ii, 280
-- children of, ii, 281
Rovere, Sisto della, ii, 281, 282
Rovere, Stefano della, ii, 282 note
Rovere, Virginia della, iii, 100
Rovere, Vittoria della, portrait of, iii, 489
Rovigo di Urbino, i, 422, 424; iii, 422
Rubbiera, iii, 448
Rubens, iii, 369
Ruberto, iii, 271 note
Rudolph, Emperor, iii, 263
Rumohr, Baron von, on Christian art, ii, 170
Ruscelli, Girolamo, i, 226; iii, 76, 123, 303
-- _Imprese Illustri_, i, 164
-- details of, i, 443
Ruskin, John, ii, 174, 224
Rustico, Antonio, of Florence, ii, 146
Rymer, ii, 392
SS. Apostoli, ii, 286, 290, 307
S. Agata, Urbino, i, 23, 144, 291, 405; ii, 59, 213, 267, 315; iii, 482
-- picture of Last Supper in, i, 205
-- held for Borgia, i, 418
Sta. Agnese, ii, 307
S. Albertino, convent of, i, 160
S. Andrea delle Fratte, iii, 225 note
S. Angelo, iii, 106
S. Angelo, Castel, Rome, ii, 445; iii, 25, 433, 436, 438
-- conclave in, ii, 21
-- Pope and Cardinals gain, iii, 13
-- surrender of, iii, 22 note, 23
S. Angelo, Seigneury of, i, 18
S. Angelo, in Vado, i, 79; ii, 33, 201; iii, 175, 181, 201, 350 note,
354, 355
-- passes to the Montefeltri, i, 23
-- built by Giorgio, ii, 213
S. Anna, Ferrara, iii, 326
S. Antonio, ii, 189
S. Arcangelo, i, 404
S. Augustin, iii, 96 note
S. Benedetto, Ferrara, iii, 284
S. Bernardino, Urbino, i, 157, 171, 219, 282; ii, 200, 210, 255; iii, 459
S. Biagio, ii, 263
S. Casa, Loreto, ii, 286
S. Casciano, ii, 468
S. Caterina of Siena, iii, 348
S. Catherine of Alexandria, i, xii
S. Catherine, marriage of, ii, 201
S. Cecilia, ii, 240
-- Cardinal of, iii, 18
S. Chiara, Urbino, i, 34; ii, 261, 283; iii, 73, 90, 157, 210, 352,
400, 460, 461
S. Crescenzio, iii, 175
S. Chrisogono, Cardinal of, ii, 289
S. Costanza, ii, 213, 291
-- sack of, ii, 384
S. Croce, i, 77; ii, 288
S. Domenico, Cagli, ii, 218
-- Siena, ii, 211 note
-- Urbino, iii, 407
S. Donato, Urbino, i, 47, 283; iii, 458
S. Egidio, battle of, i, 43 note
S. Erasimo, ii, 192
S. Fabbiano, battle of, i, 449
-- battle of, i, 126-8
-- date of, i, 127 note
S. Filippo, Gubbio, iii, 175
-- Neri, iii, 373
S. Fiora, iii, 109 and note
S. Fortunato, Todi, i, 173
S. Fosca, iii, 70
S. Francesco, Assisi, ii, 200, 286
-- Borgia, i, 320
-- Cagli, iii, 350 note
-- Città di Castello, iii, 486
-- Ferrara, iii, 311 note
-- Pesaro, iii, 373
-- Urbino, iii, 377
-- di Paolo, order of, ii, 20
-- Rimini, i, 193
S. Francis of Assisi, ii, 170 note, 218
-- career of, ii, 177, 178
-- his influence on art, ii, 179-81
S. Francis of Paola, iii, 224 note
S. Gaetano Tiene, iii, 96 note
S. George, Chevalier de, i, 155 note
S. Giorgio, Cardinal of, ii, 342
S. Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, ii, 429
S. Giovanni, ii, 455 note
S. Giuliano, Rimini, ii, 399
S. Ippolito, ii, 213
S. John the Baptist, Pesaro, iii, 352
S. Leo, i, 23, 345, 405, 411, 420; iii, 202, 215, 465
-- description of, i, 78
-- surprised by Duke Federigo, i, 77-80
-- surrender of, i, 413
-- recapture of, i, 414
-- besieged by Borgia, ii, 13-15, 23
-- defended by Fregoso, ii, 59
-- siege of, ii, 369-71
-- given to Florence, ii, 406, 420
-- restored, ii, 456
S. Lorenzo, iii, 82
-- Court of, i, 404
-- in Damaso, ii, 286
-- Florence, iii, 388
-- in Lucino, iii, 243
S. Lucia, Urbino, iii, 90
S. Malo, i, 347
S. Maria di Castello, Genoa, ii, 267
S. Maria degli Eremiti, curious tradition of, iii, 69
S. Maria del Fiore, iii, 386 note
S. Maria delle Grazie, ii, 480
S. Maria Nuova, Fano, ii, 266
S. Maria della Pace, ii, 240, 257 note
S. Maria del Popolo, ii, 240, 247, 280 note, 286, 289
S. Maria in Portico, ii, 268
S. Marino, i, 17, 246, 404; iii, 352
-- independence of the state of, iii, 101
-- under the protection of the Dukes of Urbino, iii, 101, 102
S. Martin, ii, 257 note
S. Matteo, iii, 155
S. Nicolò di Tolentino, ii, 225
S. Onofrio, ii, 229, 234, 289; iii, 327
S. Pancrazio, iii, 10, 14, 435
S. Peter's, Rome, iii, 16
-- building of, ii, 235, 240, 262, 263, 306; iii, 335, 382
S. Petersburg, ii, 233
S. Petronio, Bologna, ii, 323; iii, 46
S. Pietro in Bagno, ii, 453
-- in Montorio, ii, 261, 307
-- in Vaticano, iii, 386 note
-- in Vinculis, ii, 281, 282, 286; iii, 81, 101, 385
S. Pol, iii, 40, 42
S. Prassede, i, 382
S. Procul, Bologna, ii, 254
S. Quirico, ii, 11, 414 note
S. Rocca, Castel Durante, iii, 203 note
S. Roch, ii, 357 note
S. Salvadore, Bologna, ii, 89
S. Satiro, ii, 261
S. Savino, Antonio di, takes possession of Urbino, ii, 12
S. Sebastian, ii, 257 note; iii, 374
-- martyrdom of, ii, 201
S. Severo, Perugia, ii, 230
S. Silvester, ii, 238
S. Sisto, Cardinal of, ii, 284, 286; iii, 437
S. Spirito, ii, 286, 287; iii, 10
S. Thomas, ii, 257 note
S. Ubaldo, Pesaro, i, 208; iii, 173-5, 460
S. Vitale, Rome, ii, 286
-- cardinals of, ii, 282 note
Sabadino, _Gynevra de la clare donne_, i, 73 note
Sabellico, ii, 124
Sabina defined, i, xl
Sabina, see of, ii, 301
Sabionetta, iii, 71
Sacchetti, Franco, ii, 73 note
Sacchi, Bartolomeo, ii, 289
Sadoleto, ii, 126, 404
-- at Ferrara, ii, 63
-- at Rome, ii, 64
-- letters by, ii, 116
Salamanca, ii, 129
Salerno, iii, 335
-- Archbishop of, ii, 60
-- Prince of, ii, 419 note
-- -- patron of Tasso, iii, 299
Salerno, Princess of, i, 254
Saluzzi, Chevalier, ii, 212
Saluzzo, Marquis of, ii, 442, 445, 452
-- marches for Rome, iii, 19, 21
Salvadori, ii, 44 note
Salvator Rosa, iii, 300, 366
Salviati, Francesco, Bishop of Pisa, i, 239, 240
Salviati, Cardinal Giovanni, iii, 448
Salviati, Lucrezia, ii, 53
Sancia of Aragon, i, 332, 342
Sanmichele, iii, 77, 260 note
Sannazaro, quoted, i, 386 note
-- on Borgia, ii, 31
-- his _Christeida_, ii, 74
Sanseverino, Antonello, i, 290
Sanseverino, Gian Francesco, retained by Ludovico Il Moro, i, 349
Sanseverino, Ferrante, iii, 299
Sanseverino, Nicolò Bernardino di, iii, 125
Sanseverino, Roberto di, i, 305
-- at the battle of La Molinella, i, 187
-- commands the Venetians against Ferrara, i, 260
Sansonio, Raffaele, ii, 280
Sansovino, i, 191; ii, 70, 74 note, 307
Santacroce, Filippo, iii, 404 note
Santi, _see_ Sanzi
Santinelli, Countess Vittoria Tortora Ranuccio, iii, 189
Santori, Leonardo, iii, 8 note, 25 and note
Santorio, Paulo Emilio, Archbishop of Urbino, iii, 217
Sanuto, Marino, i, 260 note, 264, 365 note, 374, 387, 389, 391, 406
note; ii, 5 note
-- on coinage, i, xxii
-- _Diario_, i, 361 note; ii, 335 note, 339 note; iii, 35
-- on Guidobaldo I., i, 377; ii, 79 note
-- describes fourth marriage of Lucrezia Borgia, i, 473-83
-- on the poisoning of Alexander VI., ii, 17-19, 21
Sanzi, Giovanni, quoted, i, 122, 139, 178, 212, 214, 219, 224, 231,
235, 243, 245, 254, 265, 267, 268; ii, 199
-- his Chronicle of Duke Federigo, i, x; ii, 138-43, 217, 471-79
-- on Ottaviano Ubaldini, i, 50 note
-- on Duke Federigo, i, 62 note, 81, 85, 88, 110, 457
-- on Florence, i, 67
-- on Vittorino da Feltre, i, 71
-- on the strife between the Malatesta, i, 76
-- his description of S. Leo, i, 79
-- describes Monteluro, i, 82
-- on tournament at Urbino, i, 100
-- on the Palace of Urbino, i, 153, 155, 164, 171
-- his _Elogio_, i, 161 note
-- on the Palace of Gubbio, i, 171
-- on war, i, 176
-- describes Pietro Riario, i, 206
-- on Countess Battista, i, 218
-- on the Pazzi Conspiracy, i, 242
-- authorities for, ii, 138 note
-- his paintings, ii, 139, 218, 256, 257 note
-- his ancestry, ii, 216
-- his catalogue of artists, ii, 217
-- on Da Vinci, ii, 229
-- on Melozzo, ii, 290
Sanzio, Raffaele, i, x, 62 note; ii, 468; iii, 335, 341, 347, 355,
370, 379, 485, 488
-- his _Jurisprudence_, i, 284
-- patronised by Bibbiena, ii, 66, 67
-- adopts "new manner," ii, 67, 241, 252
-- tutor of, ii, 114
-- style of, ii, 172, 185 note, 196
-- studies Francesca, ii, 207, 231
-- authorities for, ii, 220 note, 221
-- portraits of, ii, 218, 233
-- work ascribed to, ii, 219, 224, 233 note, 234, 460
-- his name, ii, 216, 220 note
-- his opportune birth, ii, 221-3
-- early masters of, ii, 223, 229, 243
-- his _Vision of a Knight_, ii, 224 note
-- he goes to Perugia, ii, 224, 226
-- his work at Città di Castello, ii, 225
-- devotional pictures of, ii, 226
-- at Florence, ii, 227, 228, 229, 234, 240
-- visits Urbino, ii, 227, 230, 231
-- his Madonna del Cardellino, ii, 228
-- his work at Urbino, ii, 232-4
-- called to Rome, ii, 235
-- employed in the Stanze, ii, 236-40, 244
-- overworked, ii, 240
-- unfounded charges against, ii, 242, 243
-- his imitative work, ii, 142, 468
-- influenced by Michael Angelo, ii, 243-6
-- his death, ii, 247-9
-- his will, ii, 248
-- his betrothal, ii, 249
-- his sonnets, ii, 250
-- his character, ii, 250
-- his sense of beauty, ii, 249, 251
-- and purity of taste, ii, 252
-- employed by Julius II., ii, 307
-- his work in majolica, iii, 403, 419
-- pictures of, at Florence, iii, 478
Sapienza, Rome, iii, 244
Sappho, iii, 294
Sardi, iii, 71
Sarno, battle of, i, 125
Sarsina, i, 370, 405
Sarti, _De Episcopis Eugubinis_, i, 22 note
Sartirana, ii, 426
Sarto, Andrea del, iii, 335, 350
Sarzana, i, 107
-- surrender of, i, 349
-- Thomas of, _see_ Nicholas V.
Sassetta, ii, 185 note
Sassi di Simeone, i, 160
Sassocorbaro, i, 23; ii, 36, 213, 317; iii, 131
Sasso Feretro, plans of, ii, 213
Sassoferrata, i, 403; ii, 314, 389; iii, 63, 239
Sauli, bishop of, ii, 391
Savelli, the, i, 132, 179, 331
Savello, Gian Battista, iii, 69
Savello, Troilo, ii, 387, 389
Savile, Henry, ii, 117
Savino, Guido di, iii, 423
Saviotti, iii, 271 note
Savona, ii, 277, 281, 303, 315; iii, 131
-- fall of, iii, 41
Savonarola, i, 321 note; ii, 171, 241
Savoy, Duchess of, iii, 45
Saxony, Duke of, i, 253
Scala, Can della, i, 67
Scaliger, on Bembo, ii, 124
Scaligers, tombs of the, ii, 99
Scalvanti, O., _Il mons Pietatis di Perugia_, i, 23 note, 54 note
Scanderbeg, George, i, 135
Scarmiglione, Ludovico, surrenders S. Leo, i, 413
Scarpi, iii, 273
Scarsellino, iii, 487
Schippo, Vicenzo, iii, 92
Schlegel, on Italian morals, ii, 169
Schmarzow, ii, 138 note
Schnorr, iii, 366
Schubert-Soldern, _Die Borgias und ihre Zeit_, ii, 19 note
Scipio, Baldassare, ii, 30
Scipione, ii, 203 note
-- letter of, iii, 429
Scotoni, Professor C., iii, 216 note
Scotston, i, xiv
Scotti, iii, 180
Scrop, Sir John de la, i, 456 note
Scutari, i, 256
Seigneuries, tenure and investiture of, i, 11, 12
Selys, i, 471
Serafino, Fra, ii, 77
Serafius, i, 53
Serassi, ii, 51 note, 57 note, 58 note, 76 note
-- _Lettere_, ii, 44 note
Serenus, iii, 261
Sermene, ii, 375, 376
Sermini, Gentile, ii, 74 note
Sermoneta, dukedom of, i, 396
Sermonetta's letters, iii, 22
Serra di S. Abondio, plans of, ii, 213
Sessa, Duke of, ii, 423 note
Severi, Antonio de', i, 208
Seville, academy of, ii, 163
Seymour, Rev. M.H., _Pilgrimage to Rome_, quoted, ii, 181, 182
Sforza, the Seigneuries of, i, 18
-- origin of, i, 80
Sforza, Alessandro, Lord of Pesaro, i, 41, 90, 93; iii, 49
-- a dissolute husband, i, 48, note 1
-- allied with Sigismondo, i, 99
-- at S. Fabbiano, i, 126
-- in Angevine campaign, i, 126-32
-- reduces Rimini, i, 196
-- sonnet by, i, 428
-- invested with Pesaro, ii, 348
Sforza, Ascanio, i, 318, 351; ii, 307
-- suspected murderer of Duke of Gandia, i, 365
-- plots of, ii, 26
Sforza, Attendolo, i, 90
Sforza, Battista, i, 289; iii, 291
-- accomplishments of, i, 121-3; ii, 129
-- descent of, i, 121
-- marriage of, i, 121
-- death of, i, 296
Sforza, Bianca, i, 353
Sforza, Bozio, i, 125
Sforza, Caterina, i, 306, 381; ii, 280
-- marriage of, i, 236
-- resists the rebels, i, 307
-- defends Forlì, i, 384
Sforza, Costanza of Pesaro, i, 247, 263, 299; ii, 348, 356; iii, 409
-- engaged by Venice, i, 303
-- death of, i, 303
-- sonnet of, i, 428
Sforza, Federigo, i, 131
Sforza, Francesco, i, 72; iii, 41, 62, 70
-- holds La Marca, i, 80
-- loses Neapolitan estates, i, 81
-- gains by marriage, i, 81, 96
-- buys Pesaro, i, 90
-- finds a faithful ally in Duke Federigo, i, 89, 91, 93
-- visits Urbino, i, 92
-- his insecure tenure, i, 92
-- becomes Duke of Milan, i, 97, 100, 102,
-- supports Sigismondo against Piccinino, i, 114
-- brings about meeting of Federigo and Sigismondo, i, 119
-- death of, i, 180, 183
-- character and policy of, i, 180
-- vindicated from charge of death of Piccinino, i, 183
-- patron of letters, ii, 98
-- returns to Milan, ii, 410
-- league to maintain, ii, 423, 433
Sforza, Galeazzo, seigneur of Pesaro, ii, 348
-- death of, ii, 349
Sforza, Galeazzo Maria, succeeds Francesco as Duke of Milan, i, 181, 263
-- engaged against Colleone, i, 185-9
-- marriage of, i, 190
-- his friendly relations with Count Federigo, i, 190, 200
-- character and policy of, i, 233
-- murder of, i, 235, 240, 325; ii, 141
-- his opinion of Federigo, i, 273
Sforza, Gian Galeazzo, portrait of, ii, 260
Sforza, Giovanni, i, 311; ii, 348; iii, 49
-- marries Lucrezia Borgia, i, 344, 364
-- -- Lord of Pesaro, i, 380
-- -- escapes to Venice, i, 388
Sforza, Giovanni Galeazzo, i, 305
-- succeeds to the dukedom, i, 325
-- death of, i, 353
Sforza, Ippolita Maria, i, 109, 121, 183
-- culture of, ii, 128
Sforza, Ludovico, Il Moro, i, 235 note, 299, 325
-- selfish ambition of, i, 180, 328-32, 357
-- invites Charles into Italy, i, 333, 341-55
-- becomes Duke of Milan, i, 353
-- supports Florence against Pisa, i, 370
-- policy of, i, 376
-- driven from Milan, i, 377
-- returns to Milan, i, 385
-- prisoner in France, i, 385, 470
-- at Mortara, ii, 47
-- patron of letters, ii, 98
-- employs Bramante, ii, 260
Sforza, Maximiliano, ii, 346, 363
Sforza, Polissena, i, 80
Sforza, Riario, i, 256
Sforza Cesarini, the, iii, 109 note
Shepherd, _Life of Bracciolini_, ii, 132 note
Shirbourn, Sir Robert, ii, 463
Sicilian vespers, the, i, 323
Sicily, kingdom of, i, 323
Siena, i, 37, 51, 104, 244, 250, 423; iii, 5, 37, 347, 379
-- democratic institutions of, i, 16
-- Archivio Diplomatico, i, 38
-- letters to, from Duke Oddantonio, i, 56-8
-- communal freedom in, i, 67
-- letters to, ii, 109-11
-- Bourbon advances on, ii, 453
-- cardinal of, ii, 391
-- annexed by Florence, iii, 104
Siena, L., _Storia di Sinigaglia_, ii, 292 note
Sienese school of painting, ii, 158, 160, 161, 172; iii, 345
-- piety of, ii, 162, 187
Sienese, the, invaded by Borgia, ii, 11
Sigismondo of Foligno, ii, 126
Sigismund, Emperor, at Urbino, i, 40, 46, 51, 71
-- knights Sigismondo Malatesta, i, 71 note
Signore, designation of, i, 10
Signorelli, Luca, ii, 199 note, 210, 212, 236; iii, 347, 487
-- influenced by Dante, ii, 187
-- in Rome, ii, 288
Silva, Don Michel de, ii, 44 note
Silvano, Francesco de, iii, 421
Silvestro, Guido Posthumo, iii, 87, 282
Simon of Pesaro, iii, 372
Simonetta, Girolamo, i, 107; iii, 130
-- on battle of S. Fabbiano, i, 127, 128
-- on Orsini's policy, i, 130
-- intervenes to save Federigo's life, i, 189 note
Sinigaglia, Seigneury of, i, 18, 23, 119, 131; ii, 3, 24; iii, 82,
220, 349
-- surrender of, i, 136
-- conferred by Sixtus IV., on della Rovere, i, 144, 222, 380
-- castle of, i, 157
-- massacre of, ii, 4-10, 13
-- under Giovanni della Rovere, ii, 291-3, 300
-- Francesco Maria succeeds to, ii, 316
-- held by Leo X., ii, 400
-- fortress of, iii, 107, 123
-- port of, iii, 465
Sinigaglia, _Su P. Aretino_, iii, 287 note
Sirro of Castel Durante, i, 150
Sismondi, i, 107, 307 note, 320 note; iii, 63 note, 75
-- his prejudices, i, xxxiii; iii, 75
-- on coinage, i, xlii, xliii
-- on the republics, i, 9, 16
-- on birth of Duke Federigo, i, 62 note
-- inaccuracies of, i, 91 note, 121 note, 203 note, 221 note
-- on the renewed hostilities, i, 102, 112
-- on battle of S. Fabbiano, i, 128
-- on the battle of Cesano, i, 136 note
-- on Pius II., i, 177 note
-- on Florence, i, 184
-- on Colleoni, i, 185 note
-- on Sig. Malatesta, i, 194 note
-- on Galeazzo Maria Sforza, i, 235
-- opinions of, i, 243
-- on Alexander VI., i, 319; ii, 19
-- on Julius II., ii, 347, 352
-- on Leo X., ii, 352
-- on the Romagna, i, 379-83
-- on Cesare Borgia, i, 389, 391 note
-- on Francesco Maria I., ii, 424, 425 note, 431, 437, 438, 442,
446, 451
Sistine Chapel, ii, 245, 288
Sixtus IV., i, 51 note, 157, 380, 381; ii, 263, 272; iii, 409
-- confers Sinigaglia on della Rovere, i, 144
-- election of, i, 203; ii, 279, 283
-- invests Roberto Malatesta, i, 203
-- creates Federigo Duke and Gonfaloniere, i, 220
-- nepotism of, i, 222, 225, 236, 258; ii, 283-5, 293, 301
-- policy of, i, 224, 256; ii, 279
-- receives Lorenzo de' Medici, i, 237
-- his subsequent dislike of, i, 238
-- implicated in Pazzi conspiracy, i, 241, 306
-- his allies, i, 243
-- combines with Venice against Ferrara, i, 258, 266
-- reconciled to Naples, i, 301
-- death of, i, 304
-- first employs the Swiss, i, 337 note
-- birth of, and omens concerning, ii, 277, 278
-- education of, ii, 278
-- hospitality of, ii, 285
-- his improvements in Rome, ii, 285-7
-- character of, ii, 287
-- patron of arts, ii, 287-91; iii, 345
-- adds to the library, ii, 289
-- portraits of, ii, 289; iii, 395, 485
Sixtus V., ii, 289; iii, 262
Soane Museum, iii, 423
Sodarini, Pietro, ii, 228 note
Soderini, Cardinal, ii, 391
Soderini, Gonfaloniere, iii, 388
Sodoma, iii, 335
Solerti on Tasso, iii, 308 note, 310 note, 311 note, 314 note, 317 note
Solieri, _Le origini degli Sforza_, i, 80 note
Solyman, Sultan, iii, 395
-- menaces Apulia, iii, 170
-- orders public rejoicings at the death of Francesco Maria I., iii, 76
-- his armament against Malta, iii, 112
Sonnet, defects of the, ii, 131; iii, 279
Sora, Duke of, i, 133
Sora, duchy of, ii, 281, 313, 367; iii, 62, 134
-- restoration of, iii, 45
-- granted to Boncompagna, iii, 81
Soracte, Mount, i, 31
Soranzo, Giacomo, iii, 130
Sorbolongo, i, 404
Soriano, castle of, i, 361
Sorrento, iii, 311
-- Tasso at, iii, 299, 300
Spagna, iii, 335
Spaniards, the, in Italy, i, 338; ii, 381, 402; iii, 283
Spanish domination fatal, iii, 253
Spanish schools of painting, ii, 163
Spello, iii, 406
Sperandei, of Mantua, ii, 271
Speroni, Sperone, iii, 275, 304
Spoleto, iii, 25, 415, 424
-- sack of, iii, 37
Spoleto, dukedom of, i, 18, 51, 225, 379, 403; ii, 395
-- given to Lucrezia Borgia, i, 395
Squarcione, ii, 290
Squillace, i, 343, 363
Staccoli, Agostino, ii, 147
Staccoli, Canon, iii, 413 note
Staccoli, Guido, iii, 143
Stagirite philosophy, iii, 256
Stansted, ii, 232
Stati, Antonio, Count of Montebello, iii, 150, 151
Stephen, King of Poland, iii, 353
Stigino of Mantua, ii, 379
Stirling, Mr., iii, 406
-- _Annals of the Artists of Spain_, ii, 163 note; iii, 364 note
-- on Zuccaro, iii, 361, 363
Stirling, battle of, ii, 115
Stoppani, Cardinal, i, 158; iii, 413, 423
Stradiotes, the, i, 336, 466
Strange, Sir Robert, i, xvii
Strozzi, Filippo, ii, 53, 365; iii, 275
Stuart, Sir Bernard, advances on Romagna, i, 348
Suardi, Bartolomeo, ii, 259
Sulmona, i, 132, 141, 183
Sustermans, iii, 489
Swiss soldiery, i, 336, 384
Symonds, John Addington, i, 71 note
-- _The Renaissance in Italy_, ii, 128 note
-- translation of _The Life of Benvenuto Cellini_, iii, 11 note
-- -- of _Sonnets of Michelangelo_, iii, 389 note
Tacchi-Venturi, iii, 292 note
Taddei, Taddeo, ii, 228
Tagliacozzo, battle of, i, 26
Tagliacozza, Duke of, i, 289
Talbot, Lord, ii, 463
Tarducci, _Cecilia Gonzaga_, i, 58 note
Tarento, i, 375; ii, 359
-- Prince of, i, 141
Taro, battle of, i, 290, 340, 353, 354, 463-7; ii, 51 note
Taro, the, ii, 409
Tartaglia, Nicolò, iii, 77
Tarulli, i, 313 note
Tascone, Giulio, i, 479
Tasso, Bernardo, i, 290; iii, 23, 50, 275, 298
-- Mariotti's sketch of, i, xxxi
-- his _Amadigi_, i, 122; iii, 272, 295, 300, 303, 304
-- details of, i, 443
-- describes the Duchess of Urbino, ii, 89
-- quoted, ii, 442
-- letters of, iii, 111, 112 note
-- at Urbino, iii, 124, 294
-- as purist, iii, 257-78
-- on Ariosto, iii, 285
-- irregularities of, iii, 298
-- early services of, iii, 299
-- appeals to the Prince of Salerno, iii, 301
-- at Pesaro, iii, 302, 313, 351
-- epitaph of, iii, 304
-- character of, iii, 305
-- style of, iii, 305-7
-- and Titian, iii, 392
-- sonnet to Titian, iii, 471
-- Cornelia, iii, 301
Tasso, Torquato, iii, 23, 155, 165
-- sonnet of, iii, 262
-- birth of, iii, 300
-- on his father, iii, 305
-- authorities for, iii, 308 note, 310 note, 311 note
-- precocity of, iii, 309
-- his insanity, iii, 309-13, 321
-- his passion for Leonora D'Este, iii, 309, 313, 319
-- visits Pesaro, iii, 313, 318, 351
-- his _Gerusalemme_, iii, 314, 330
-- at Ferrara, iii, 314, 318, 319, 320, 321, 326
-- his poetry, iii, 315, 317, 319, 321, 329
-- his passion for Lucrezia D'Este, iii, 316
-- and canzone on her marriage, iii, 318
-- his _Aminta_ performed, iii, 318
-- his letter to Francesco Maria, iii, 323
-- confined for seven years, iii, 326
-- death of, iii, 327-8
Tavoleta, i, 23
-- plans of, ii, 213
Tealto, Castle, i, 475
Teodoro, i, 40
Teofile, iii, 72 note
Teramo, Bishop of, i, 216
_Terchi_, iii, 414
Terenzi, Terenzio, iii, 379, 421
Terni, i, 379; iii, 25, 81
-- surrendered by Braccio di Montone, i, 45
Terouenne, siege of, ii, 355 note
Terpandro, ii, 71
Terracina, i, 81, 363; ii, 296
Terrail, Pierre de, _see_ Bayard
Theatines, iii, 96 and note, 109
Themistios, i, 194
Thomasello, Pier-Matteo di, iii, 433
Thou, De, opinions of, ii, 29
Thrasimene, i, 247; iii, 406
Thuasne, ii, 293, note
Tiane, Alessandro, iii, 177
Tiapolo, Matteo, i, 388
Tiarini, iii, 369
Tibaldi, Pelegrino, iii, 369
Tibaldeo, iii, 485
-- at Ferrara, ii, 63
Ticozzi, iii, 380, 395, 396, 421
-- on Oderigi, ii, 188
Tiepolo, Nicolò, ii, 125
Tintoretto, iii, 391 note
-- his _Origin of the Milky Way_, ii, 210 note
Tiraboschi, i, 40, note; ii, 61 note
-- on the _Assorditi_, ii, 112
-- on Bembo, ii, 121, 124-7
-- on Filelfo, ii, 132, 135
-- _Storia della Letteratura Italiana_, ii, 132 note
-- on Machiavelli, ii, 147
-- on Guidobaldo del Monte, iii, 262
-- on Baldi, iii, 272
-- on Muzio, iii, 276
-- on Ariosto, iii, 283
-- on Aretino, iii, 288, 289
-- on Tasso, iii, 329
Tiranni Chapel, ii, 218
Titian, Vacellio, ii, 191, 222, 242; iii, 335, 338, 341, 486, 488
-- his Medicean portraits, ii, 57
-- his Flora, ii, 74 note; iii, 395
-- his portrait of Borgia, ii, 460
-- paints the Duchess Leonora, iii, 52, 62
-- paints Francesco Maria I., iii, 62, 346, 470
-- meets Charles V., iii, 62
-- friend of Aretino, iii, 287 note, 289, 290
-- his works for the Dukes of Urbino, iii, 390-7
-- his pictures in Florence, iii, 479
Tivoli, i, 132, 288; ii, 261, 400; iii, 110
Tiziano, Marco di, iii, 480
Tobias, ii, 257 note
Tobler, ii, 44 note
Todi, i, 225, 360; iii, 34
-- Montone, vicar of, i, 45
Toledo, ii, 55
Toledo, Don Pedro, iii, 300
Tolomei, Claudio, iii, 258
Tommasi, i, 365 note
-- on Alexander VI., i, 320; ii, 17
Tondi, _I Fasti della Gloria_, i, 22 note
Tondini, iii, 71, 99, 107 note
Tordelli, Serafino, iii, 415, 421, 424
Tordi, iii, 292 note
Torelli Chapel, i, 255
Torelli, Guido, ii, 53
Torelli, Ippolita, ii, 53
Torlonia Gallery, ii, 41 note
Torlonia, Prince, ii, 467 note
Tornabuoni, i, 237
Tortosa, see of, ii, 416
Tosi, Battista, i, 360
Tour, Madelaine de la, ii, 405; iii, 283
_Trabaria_, i, 3
Trani, i, 394
_Transfiguration_, Raffaele's, ii, 240, 249
Trapezuntios, Georgios, ii, 105 note
Traversari, Ambrogio, reports of, ii, 155
Trebanio, i, 193
Trebbia, ii, 452
Tre Capanne, iii, 21
Tremouille, De la, i, 465; ii, 13, 14
_Tresor de Numismatique_, ii, 269, 270
Trevi, aqueduct of, ii, 286
Trevignano, i, 359
Trevisano, Benedetto, despatch of, i, 470
Treviso, iii, 396
Tribaldello, treachery of, i, 27
Tricarico, given to the Duke of Gandia, i, 343
-- see of, ii, 70
Trieste, i, 144
Trinità del Monte, iii, 357
Trivulzio, Alessandro, at Urbino, ii, 71
Trivulzio, Gian Giacomo, i, 152, 306, 348; ii, 71, 321
-- commands the French, ii, 335, 340
Trivulzio, Teodoro, ii, 423
Troia, i, 256; iii, 39, 69
Trometta, Nicolò, iii, 369
Trotti, i, 402
Trumello, ii, 426
Tunis, expedition against, iii, 299
Turin, iii, 311
-- Archbishop of, ii, 282 note
Turkish Empire, domination of, i, 106
-- progress of in Europe, i, 256
-- crusade proposed against, iii, 70
-- league against, iii, 42
-- naval expedition against, iii, 139-41
Turrio, Baldassare, iii, 260
Tuscany, defined, i, xx
-- condition of, in 1430, i, 66
-- campaign in, i, 103-6, 243
Tuscany, Duke of, indulgence granted to, iii, 456
Tusculum, see of, iii, 81
Ubaldini della Carda, arms and origin of, i, 49 note
Ubaldini, Bernardino, i, 49, 50 note, 51 note, 74
-- supposed father of Duke Federigo, i, 61
Ubaldini, Francesco, i, 126
Ubaldini, Gentile, iii, 78
Ubaldini, Guidantonio, i, 51 note
Ubaldini, Ottaviano, i, 74, 206, 253, 273, 278; ii, 114
-- character of, i, 50 note
-- guardian of Guidobaldo I., i, 260, 283, 300
-- sonnets of, i, 436
-- death of, i, 51 note, 369, 377
Ubaldini, Pietro, i, 51 note, 187, 224
-- sent to England, i, 452-456
Ubaldini, Vicenzo, iii, 433
Uberti, Farinato degli, ii, 51
Uccelli, Paolo, ii, 200, 203
Udine, iii, 275, 370
Uffizi Gallery, Florence, i, 218, 284; ii, 211 note, 234; iii, 62,
360, 477, 391 note, 393, 395
-- Urbino pictures in, iii, 478
Ugolini, iii, 200 note
-- _Storia de' Conti e Duchi d'Urbino_, i, vii, 25 note, 39 note,
63 note, 78 note, 295 note, 297 note; ii, 29; iii, 200 note
-- on Baldi, iii, 266 note
Ugolino, Count, murder of, i, 27
Uguccione, i, 306
Umbria defined, i, xl, 4
Umbrian schools of painting, ii, 158, 161, 169-72, 240
-- influence of St. Francis on, ii, 179
-- dramatic character of, ii, 185
Upper Italy, defined, i, xxxix
Urban VI., i, 44
Urban VIII., ii, 209; iii, 181, 214-18, 221, 222 note, 243, 456
-- takes possession of Urbino, i, 24
-- election of, iii, 214
-- his designs on the duchy of Urbino, iii, 214-18
Urbani of Urbino, ii, 146, 326 note; iii, 77
Urbania, i, 36
-- stoneware of, iii, 413
-- _see_ Castel Durante
Urbinelli, iii, 380
Urbino, Francesco, ii, 114 note
Urbino, Archbishop of, letter from, iii, 474
-- bishops of, ii, 367, 369
-- cathedral of, i, 47, 154, 171, 399; ii, 39; iii, 73, 374, 398, 423
Urbino, city of, asylum of letters, i, xxix
-- citizens of, i, 26
-- convent of Santa Chiara, i, 34
-- welcomes Sigismund, i, 40
-- library of, i, 47 note
-- S. Francesco, i, 56
-- tournament at, i, 100
-- festivities at, i, 312
-- panic in, i, 410
-- Borgia enters, i, 410
-- Guidobaldo I. returns to, i, 417
-- its demands on the election of Federigo, i, 438-42
-- taken by Borgia, ii, 12
-- printing introduced, ii, 114 note
-- oratory of St. John Baptist, ii, 200
-- concessions to, by Francesco Maria I., ii, 319
-- siege of, ii, 369
-- returns to Francesco Maria I., ii, 377-80
-- loyalty of, ii, 406
-- outbreak of, iii, 114-21
-- Clement VIII. at, iii, 265
-- mathematicians and engineers at, iii, 259-77
Urbino, Counts of, _see_ Antonio, Buonconte, Federigo, Guido,
Guidantonio, Montefeltrano, Oddantonio
Urbino, Counts and Dukes of, in Gubbio, authorities for, i, 22 note
Urbino, Counts of, origin of, i, 24
-- territorial acquisitions of, i, 23
Urbino, countship of, devolution of, to the Holy See, i, 23
-- feuds with the Brancaleoni, i, 45
Urbino, court of, constitution of, i, 150
-- examples of manners at, i, 152; ii, 47-50; iii, 88
-- music at, i, 152; ii, 49, 147
-- under Guidobaldo I., i, 309
-- hospitalities of, i, 153, 204-6, 246 note; ii, 35, 56-71
-- entertains Persian envoys, i, 204
-- entertains Sigismund, i, 46, 71
-- Lucrezia Borgia at, i, 345, 397
-- Julius II. at, ii, 39-42, 231
-- entertainments at, ii, 76-8, 147-52
-- the Medici at, ii, 351
-- Raffaele at, ii, 227, 230, 231
-- poetry at, ii, 130, 138
-- requisites of a lady at, ii, 45, 46, 72
-- Vittoria Farnese at, iii, 100
-- list of chief officers at, iii, 152
-- Prince Federigo at, iii, 207
-- _Assorditi_ constituted at, iii, 255
-- poets at, iii, 280-98
-- Ariosto at, iii, 281, 284
-- B. Tasso at, iii, 304
-- engineers and architects of, iii, 347-54
-- artists at, iii, 355-400
-- Clement VIII. at, iii, 373
-- sculptors at, iii, 400
Urbino, duchy of, its devolution to the Holy See, i, xxx, xxxi, 169,
286; ii, 36; iii, 220-5
-- brightest era of, i, xxxi
-- coinage of, i, xlii; ii, 269 note
-- topography of, i, 3, 23
-- in the fifteenth century, i, 18
-- its fortunate condition, i, 88
-- suffers from the Malatesta, i, 109
-- its extent under Federigo, i, 175, 213 note
-- war a benefit to, i, 175
-- condition at the succession of Guidobaldo I., i, 299
-- returns to Guidobaldo I., ii, 23
-- artists in, ii, 188-273
-- conferred on Lorenzo de' Medici, ii, 367
-- seized by Leo X., ii, 406
-- incorporated with the Papal States, iii, 225
-- after the devolution, iii, 246-9
-- watchmaking in, iii, 404 note
-- majolica of, iii, 406, 413
-- statistics of, iii, 463-9
-- population of, iii, 466
Urbino, Dukes of. _See_ Federigo; Francesco Maria I.; Francesco Maria
II.; Guidobaldo I.; Guidobaldo II.; Oddantonio
-- their judicious sway, i, xxix
-- their early biographers, i, xxx, xxxii
-- _Lives of_, i, 449
-- devices and mottoes of, i, 443; ii, 422
-- patrons of art, iii, 345
Urbino, legation of, i, 3
Urbino MSS., i, xxx _et passim_
Urbino, palace of, ii, 99; iii, 351, 353
-- when begun, i, 154
-- descriptions of, i, 154, 159-62
-- architects of, i, 155-7; ii, 211, 212
-- frieze of, i, 158
-- library of, i, 162-9; ii, 33, 144
-- -- removed to the Vatican, iii, 242, 245
-- librarians of, i, 167-9
-- cost of library of, i, 168
-- illuminated MSS. in, i, 446-9
-- stable-range for, i, 169
-- -- cost of, i, 170
Usher, Thomas, Archbishop of York, Cardinal of St. Cecilia, iii, 18
Usum-cassan, i, 204; ii, 198
Vagnarelli, Lorenzo, iii, 378
Vaila, ii, 328
Vaissieux, _Archivio_, ii, 82 note
Val di Chiana, i, 243; iii, 19
Valbona, iii, 90
Valenti, Abbé Francesco, i, xliv
Valentino, ii, 315
-- Duke, _see_ Borgia (Cesare)
Valetta, D. Giuseppe, ii, 460
Vallardi, Giuseppe, ii, 460
Valle, Padre della, i, 302 note; ii, 212
Valle, Cardinal Andrea della, iii, 18, 437
Vallery, i, 307 note
Valmaggi, ii, 44 note
Vanni, Francesco, iii, 379
Vanzolini, iii, 88 note, 287 note
Valturio, Roberto, i, 158
-- on Sigismondo, i, 192, 193
Van Eyck, Jean, his bath scene, ii, 266, 267
Vanozza, Caterina, i, 318
Vanucci, ii, 199
Varadino, iii, 353
Varana, the, i, 379
-- the Seigneury of, i, 18
Varana, Bernardo, iii, 63
Varana, Costanza, i, 90, 216, 428
-- canzonet on, ii, 144
Varana, Ercole, iii, 64
Varana, Gentil Pandolfo, iii, 63
Varana, Giovanni, iii, 63
Varana, Giovanni Maria, ii, 36, 418, 419; iii, 64
Varana, Giulia, iii, 65-8, 88, 98, 391 note
Varana, Giulio Cesare, i, 400
-- strangled, i, 411
Varana, Giulio di, of Camerino, i, 379
Varana, Maria, ii, 36
Varana, Matteo, iii, 64
Varana, Pier-Gentile, iii, 63
Varana, Rodolfo, iii, 65
Varana, Sigismondo, ii, 36, 283, 402, 408
-- defends S. Leo, ii, 371; iii, 63
-- death of, iii, 64
-- reinstated, ii, 413
-- death of, ii, 419
Varana, Venanzio, i, 411; ii, 283; iii, 63
Varchi, iii, 273, 275, 294
Varconi, _La Donna Italiana_, ii, 73 note
Vasari, Giorgio, i, xii; ii, 114 note, 199, 265, 267; iii, 349, 359,
404 note, 411
-- mistakes of, i, 155, 158, 286 note; ii, 168 note
-- on the palace at Urbino, i, 157, 158
-- piety of, ii, 163
-- on Oderigi, ii, 189
-- on della Francesca, ii, 200-3
-- on Giorgio, ii, 212
-- on Raffaele, ii, 220, 232, 242, 245, 250
-- on Perugino, ii, 224
-- on Timoteo Viti, ii, 258
-- on Julius II., ii, 306
-- on Genga, iii, 350, 351
-- on Zuccaro, iii, 355, 367
-- on Michael Angelo, iii, 381, 383 note, 399
-- on Titian, iii, 390, 391 note, 395
-- origin of surname of, iii, 422 note
Vasto, Marquis of, iii, 299, 442
Vatican, the, iii, 335, 357, 377
-- Raffaele's work in, ii, 236-40, 244
-- Bramante's work in, ii, 263
-- Library, i, xxx, xliii, 108, 167; ii, 286
Vecellio, Marco, iii, 291, 480 note
Vecchietta, ii, 211 note
Vedetta, the, iii, 157
Vehon, _Les Borgia_, ii, 19 note
Veit, iii, 366
Velletri, see of, ii, 301
Velluti, _Cronica Domestica_, ii, 73 note
Venanzio, ii, 317
Venetian school of painting, iii, 345
Venezianello, Antonio, ii, 291; iii, 429
Veneziano, Domenico, ii, 202 note
Venice, i, 262; ii, 62; iii, 298, 311; 350, 394
-- individual safety in, i, 16
-- in 1430, i, 67
-- Ferrara invaded by, i, 258
-- Guidobaldo I. at, i, 277, 422
-- in the absence of the popes, ii, 97
-- MSS. of, ii, 100
-- art in, ii, 191
-- Gentile da Fabriano at, ii, 197
-- Francesco Maria I. at, ii, 429, 431
-- Aretino at, iii, 288
-- Tasso at, iii, 313
Venice, Signory of, breaks alliance with Florence, i, 102
-- disputes with the Emperor, i, 144
-- abet Florentine exiles against the Medici, i, 185
-- designs on Ferrara, i, 202
-- engage Sforza of Pesaro, i, 303
-- zenith of power of, i, 326
-- negotiates for release of Guidobaldo I., i, 361
-- supports Pisa, i, 370
-- re-engage Guidobaldo I., ii, 24, 32
-- aggressions of, ii, 38
-- claims on Romagna, ii, 38
-- League of Cambray formed against, ii, 321, 322
-- sue for peace, ii, 328
-- employ Francesco Maria I., ii, 423-8, 431-5
-- leagues against the Emperor Charles V., iii, 37
Ventura di Simone, iii, 408
Venturelli, Vittorio, iii, 242
Venturi, Bastiano, iii, 477
-- _Storia dell'Arte Italiana_, ii, 188 note
-- his list of Urbino pictures, iii, 485
Venturi, Lattanzio, iii, 353
Venturi, Venturo, iii, 354
Venturini, Francesco, his Latin grammar, ii, 114
-- his pupils, ii, 114
Vercelli, Battista da, ii, 391, 426
Verdi, ii, 365
Verdizzotti, sonnet by, iii, 131, 358
Verga, Dr. Andrea, on Tasso, iii, 312, 313
Vergilio, Polydoro di, obtains preferment in England, ii, 115
-- his works, ii, 116
-- his _History of England_, ii, 116-18
-- quoted, ii, 466-7
Vergiliano, i, 197
Vermiglioli, ii, 5, 10 note, 395
Vernarecci, ii, 67 note, 148 note; iii, 88 note
Verona, ii, 317, 364, 410, 412, 435; iii, 379
-- fortress of, iii, 55
-- Guidobaldo II. at, iii, 260
Veronensis, Gaspar, on Alexander VI., i, 317 note
Veronese, Paolo, iii, 338, 361, 379
Verrocchio, ii, 199 note, 291
Verucchio, i, 404; ii, 28, 32
-- tricked surrender of, i, 140
Vespasiano, i, 149, 186, 211 note
-- _Vite_, i, 166 note
-- on court of Urbino, i, 152
-- on library of Urbino, i, 164, 168
-- on Duke Federigo, i, 230, 272
Vesuvius, iii, 300
Veterani, Federigo, librarian at Urbino, i, 168
-- quoted, i, 269
-- transcriber of MSS., ii, 143, 144
-- his verse, ii, 145
Veterani, Giulio, iii, 143
Vettori, Pietro, iii, 294
Viane, Count, i, 123; ii, 31; iii, 71 note
Vincenza, iii, 81, 394
Vicino da Imola, i, 480
Vicopisano, i, 356
Vienne, i, 348
Vieri, Ugolino, iii, 405 note
Vieussieux, iii, 113 note
Vigeri, the, iii, 131
Vigerio, Stefano, iii, 89
Villa Franca, iii, 137
Villani, ii, 74 note
-- on coinage, i, xlii
-- on Count Guido the elder, i, 26, 32
-- _Cronaca_, i, 32 note
Vincennes, iii, 120
Vincenzo of Mantua, Prince, iii, 326
Vinova, ii, 277
Virgil, quoted, i, 121, ii, 81
Visconti, Barnabo, iii, 463 note
Visconti, Bianca Maria, i, 73, 96
Visconti, Count Cesare di Castelbarco, ii, 460
Visconti, Duke Giovan Maria, i, 235 note
Visconti, Filippo Maria, i, 73, 81, 91, 93, 436
-- death of, i, 95, 96
-- treachery of, i, 97
-- bequest of sovereignty, i, 97
Visconti, Valentina, i, 372
Viseo, Bishop of, ii, 44 note
Vitale, Alessandro, ii, 161; iii, 378
Vite, Timoteo della, i, 162; ii, 148, 324; iii, 347, 350
-- Raffaele and, ii, 224 note, 231, 257-9
-- works of, ii, 24, 255-9
Vitelli, the, ii, 225, 325
-- Seigneury of, i, 18
-- at Città di Castello, i, 225
-- Condottieri, i, 360
Vitelli, Alessandro, iii, 92
Vitelli, Bishop of Urbino, ii, 377
Vitelli, Camillo, i, 335
Vitelli, Chiappino, entertains Princess Elisabetta, iii, 106
Vitelli, Gian Paolo, i, 420
Vitelli, Giulio, ii, 369
Vitelli, Isabella, iii, 82
Vitelli, Nicolò, i, 247
Vitelli, Paolo, i, 360, 370
Vitelli, Vitello, ii, 361, 381, 385, 413
-- commands the Florentines, ii, 436
Vitelli, Vitellozzo, i, 360, 310
-- at Arezzo, i, 412, 419, 400, 403
-- murdered at Sinigaglia, ii, 3, 4, 10
Vitellioni, ii, 205
Viterbo, i, 82, 253; ii, 456; iii, 5, 34, 357, 429, 433
-- battle of, i, 363
-- bishop of, ii, 280
Vitruvius, i, 159
Vittorio, Don V., iii, 419
Vittoria, Duchess of Urbino, iii, 260, 275, 294, 304
-- marriage of, iii, 100, 295, 352, 400
-- death of, iii, 171, 172
-- inscription on, iii, 460
-- portrait of, iii, 489
Vittoria, Princess, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, birth of, iii, 210
-- education of, iii, 213, 239
-- sent to Tuscany, iii, 214
-- betrothed to Ferdinand II., iii, 213, 114
-- letters of, iii, 231-8
-- character of, iii, 239
-- marriage of, iii, 239
-- death of, iii, 239
Vivaldi, iii, 280 note, 310 note
Vivarini, the, ii, 191, 197
Viviani, Antonio, iii, 377
-- Ludovico, iii, 378
Voigt, i, 313 note
Volpelli's history of S. Leo, i, 79
Voltaire, ii, 19 note
Volterra, i, 227 note, i, 446; ii, 371
-- described, i, 208
-- siege and sack of, i, 210, 211, 212, 449
-- arms of, i, 212 note
Volterrano, i, 221 note, 253 note
-- on Julius II., ii, 301
Walpole, Horace, iii, 360, 422
Ward, Lord, ii, 225
Waters, W.G., _Piero della Francesca_, i, 286 note
Wellesley, Dr., i, xliv
Western Empire, decay of, i, 4
Whear, ii, 117
Wigtown, Earl of, i, xiii
Wilkie, David, on Italian art, ii, 175, 176
William III. of England, iii, 43
Winchester, Bishop of, ii, 117
Winspeare's _St. d'Abusi Feudali_, i, 6 note
Witting, ii, 203 note
Wolsey, Cardinal, ii, 116
-- letter to, ii, 434, 440
-- his letter to Lorenzo de' Medici, ii, 484
Woodburn, Mr. Samuel, ii, 159 note
Woodward, Professor, _V. da Feltre_, i, 69 note
Worcester, Bishop of, ii, 440, 466
Wordsworth, _Excursion_, ii, 178
Wyatt, Sir Thomas, iii, 89 note
Xante, Fra, iii, 417 note, 420, 421
Xativa, i, 317
Young Italy, provincial spirit of, i, 20
Yriarte, ii, 74 note
-- _César Borgia_, ii, 19 note
-- _Autour des Borgias_, ii, 19 note
Zaccagnini, Guido, i, 63 note; ii, 369 note
-- _Vita di B. Baldi_, i, 295 note
-- on Baldi, iii, 266 note, 270 note, 271 note
Zambotto, quoted, i, 269 note
Zane, iii, 113 note, 134, 149
-- on Urbino, iii, 464, 466
Zanelli, ii, 73 note
Zannetti, i, 193
-- on coinage, ii, 269
Zannoni, G., _Federico II._, i, 63 note, 230 note
Zara, iii, 70
Zdekauer, Professor, i, xii; ii, 73 note
Zenatti, iii, 276 note
Zeni of Venice, the, ii, 198
Zeno, Cardinal, i, 220
Zibetto and the outbreak of the Urbino citizens, iii, 114
Zizim, _see_ Gem
Zoccolantines, Church of the, i, 283, 287, 407; ii, 85, 211; iii,
240, 349, 459
-- founded by Giovanni della Rovere, ii, 299
Zoppo, Marco, ii, 265
Zuccari, the, iii, 346, 487, 488
-- portraits of, iii, 365, 366
Zuccaro, Federigo, ii, 233, 460; iii, 201, 484
-- paintings of, iii, 357-67, 372
-- his Calumny, iii, 360
-- in Madrid, iii, 361-3, 369
-- style of, iii, 364, 370
-- his palace on the Pincian, iii, 367
-- his writings, iii, 367
Zuccaro, Ottaviano, iii, 355
Zuccaro, Taddeo, iii, 411, 423
-- early hardships of, iii, 355
-- work of, ii, 33; iii, 356-8, 368
Zucha da Cagli, commended to Siena, ii, 111
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THE WORKS OF ANATOLE FRANCE
It has long been a reproach to England that only one volume by
ANATOLE FRANCE has been adequately rendered into English; yet outside
this country he shares with TOLSTOI the distinction of being the
greatest and most daring student of humanity now living.
¶ There have been many difficulties to encounter in completing
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truth strenuously," he tells us, "I have met her boldly. I have never
turned from her even when she wore an unexpected aspect." Still, it
is believed that the day has come for giving English versions of all
his imaginative works, and of his monumental study JOAN OF ARC, which
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¶ MR. JOHN LANE has pleasure in announcing that he will commence
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the general editorship of MR. FREDERIC CHAPMAN, with the following
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THE RED LILY
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THE CRIME OF SYLVESTRE BONNARD
THE WELL OF ST. CLARE
THE OPINIONS OF JEROME COIGNARD
JOCASTA AND THE FAMISHED CAT
BALTHASAR
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THE ELM TREE ON THE MALL
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JOAN OF ARC (2 vols.)
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¶ The translation of these books has been entrusted to such competent
French scholars as MR. ALFRED ALLINSON, HON. MAURICE BARING,
MR. FREDERIC CHAPMAN, MR. ROBERT B. DOUGLAS, MR. A.W. EVANS, MRS.
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¶ As Anatole Thibault, _dit_ Anatole France, is to most English
readers merely a name, it will be well to state that he was born in
1844 in the picturesque and inspiring surroundings of an old bookshop
on the Quai Voltaire, Paris, kept by his father, Monsieur Thibault,
an authority on eighteenth-century history, from whom the boy caught
the passion for the principles of the Revolution, while from his
mother he was learning to love the ascetic ideals chronicled in the
Lives of the Saints. He was schooled with the lovers of old books,
missals and manuscripts; he matriculated on the Quais with the old
Jewish dealers of curios and _objets d'art_; he graduated in the
great university of life and experience. It will be recognised that
all his work is permeated by his youthful impressions; he is, in
fact, a virtuoso at large.
¶ He has written about thirty volumes of fiction. His first novel was
JOCASTA & THE FAMISHED CAT (1879). THE CRIME OF SYLVESTRE BONNARD
appeared in 1881, and had the distinction of being crowned by the
French Academy, into which he was received in 1896.
¶ His work is illuminated with style, scholarship, and psychology;
but its outstanding features are the lambent wit, the gay mockery,
the genial irony with which he touches every subject he treats. But
the wit is never malicious, the mockery never derisive, the irony
never barbed. To quote from his own GARDEN OF EPICURUS: "Irony and
Pity are both of good counsel; the first with her smiles makes life
agreeable, the other sanctifies it to us with her tears. The Irony
I invoke is no cruel deity. She mocks neither love nor beauty. She
is gentle and kindly disposed. Her mirth disarms anger and it is she
teaches us to laugh at rogues and fools whom but for her we might be
so weak as to hate."
¶ Often he shows how divine humanity triumphs over mere ascetism, and
with entire reverence; indeed, he might be described as an ascetic
overflowing with humanity, just as he has been termed a "pagan,
but a pagan constantly haunted by the pre-occupation of Christ."
He is in turn--like his own Choulette in THE RED LILY--saintly
and Rabelaisian, yet without incongruity. At all times he is the
unrelenting foe of superstition and hypocrisy. Of himself he once
modestly said: "You will find in my writings perfect sincerity (lying
demands a talent I do not possess), much indulgence, and some natural
affection for the beautiful and good."
¶ The mere extent of an author's popularity is perhaps a poor
argument, yet it is significant that two books by this author are
in their HUNDRED AND TENTH THOUSAND, and numbers of them well
into their SEVENTIETH THOUSAND, whilst the one which a Frenchman
recently described as "Monsieur France's most arid book" is in its
FIFTY-EIGHTH THOUSAND.
¶ Inasmuch as M. FRANCE'S ONLY contribution to an English periodical
appeared in THE YELLOW BOOK, vol. v., April 1895, together with the
first important English appreciation of his work from the pen of the
Hon. Maurice Baring, it is peculiarly appropriate that the English
edition of his works should be issued from the Bodley Head.
* * * * *
ORDER FORM
_________________________________________________ 190
_To Mr._ _________________________________________
_Bookseller_
_Please send me the following works of Anatole France
to be issued in June and July:_
THE RED LILY
MOTHER OF PEARL
THE GARDEN OF EPICURUS
THE CRIME OF SYLVESTRE BONNARD
_for which I enclose_ _______________________________________
_Name_ _____________________________________________________
_Address_ __________________________________________________
JOHN LANE, PUBLISHER, THE BODLEY HEAD, VIGO ST. LONDON, W.
* * * * *
_NOTICE_
_Those who possess old letters, documents, correspondence, MSS.,
scraps of autobiography, and also miniatures and portraits, relating
to persons and matters historical, literary, political and social,
should communicate with Mr. John Lane, The Bodley Head, Vigo Street,
London, W., who will at all times be pleased to give his advice and
assistance, either as to their preservation or publication._
* * * * *
LIVING MASTERS OF MUSIC
An Illustrated Series of Monographs dealing with
Contemporary Musical Life, and including Representatives of
all Branches of the Art. Edited by ROSA NEWMARCH.
Crown 8vo. Cloth. 2_s._ 6_d._ net each volume.
HENRY J. WOOD. By ROSA NEWMARCH.
SIR EDWARD ELGAR. By R.J. BUCKLEY.
JOSEPH JOACHIM. By J.A. FULLER MAITLAND.
EDWARD MACDOWELL. By L. GILMAN.
EDVARD GRIEG. By H.T. FINCK.
THEODOR LESCHETIZKY. By A. HULLAH.
GIACOMO PUCCINI. By WAKELING DRY.
ALFRED BRUNEAU. By ARTHUR HERVEY.
IGNAZ PADEREWSKI. By E.A. BAUGHAN.
_The following Volumes are in preparation:_
RICHARD STRAUSS. By A. KALISCH.
CLAUDE DEBUSSY. By Franz Liebich.
STARS OF THE STAGE
A Series of Illustrated Biographies of the Leading Actors,
Actresses, and Dramatists. Edited by J.T. GREIN.
Crown 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ each net.
[Symbol: asterism] _It was Schiller who said: "Twine no wreath for
the actor, since his work is oral and ephemeral." "Stars of the
Stage" may in some degree remove this reproach. There are hundreds
of thousands of playgoers, and both editor and publisher think it
reasonable to assume that a considerable number of these would like
to know something about actors, actresses, and dramatists, whose work
they nightly applaud. Each volume will be carefully illustrated, and
as far as text, printing, and paper are concerned will be a notable
book. Great care has been taken in selecting the biographers, who in
most cases have already accumulated much appropriate material._
_First Volumes._
ELLEN TERRY. By CHRISTOPHER ST. JOHN.
HERBERT BEERBOHM TREE. By MRS. GEORGE CRAN.
W.S. GILBERT. By EDITH A. BROWNE.
CHAS. WYNDHAM. By FLORENCE TEIGNMOUTH SHORE.
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW. By G.K. CHESTERTON.
* * * * *
_A CATALOGUE OF MEMOIRS, BIOGRAPHIES, ETC._
_WORKS UPON NAPOLEON_
NAPOLEON & THE INVASION OF ENGLAND: The Story of the Great Terror,
1797-1805. By H.F.B. WHEELER and A.M. BROADLEY. With upwards of 100
Full-page Illustrations reproduced from Contemporary Portraits,
Prints, etc.; eight in Colour. Two Volumes. 32_s._ net.
_Outlook._--"The book is not merely one to be ordered from
the library; it should be purchased, kept on an accessible
shelf, and constantly studied by all Englishmen who love
England."
_Westminster Gazette._--"Messrs. Wheeler and Broadley have
succeeded in producing a work on the threatened invasion
of England by Napoleon, which treats of the subject with
a fulness of detail and a completeness of documentary
evidence that are unexampled."
DUMOURIEZ AND THE DEFENCE OF ENGLAND AGAINST NAPOLEON. By J.
HOLLAND ROSE, Litt.D. (Cantab.), Author of "The Life of
Napoleon," and A.M. BROADLEY, joint-author of "Napoleon and
the Invasion of England." Illustrated with numerous Portraits, Maps,
and Facsimiles. Demy 8vo. 21_s._ net.
THE FALL OF NAPOLEON. By OSCAR BROWNING, M.A., Author
of "The Boyhood and Youth of Napoleon." With numerous Full-page
Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 × 5-3/4 inches). 12_s._ 6_d._ net.
_Spectator._--"Without doubt Mr. Oscar Browning has
produced a book which should have its place in any library
of Napoleonic literature."
_Truth._--"Mr. Oscar Browning has made not the least, but
the most of the romantic material at his command for the
story of the fall of the greatest figure in history."
THE BOYHOOD & YOUTH OF NAPOLEON, 1769-1793. Some Chapters on the
early life of Bonaparte. By OSCAR BROWNING, M.A. With numerous
Illustrations, Portraits, etc. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net.
_Daily News._--"Mr. Browning has with patience, labour,
careful study, and excellent taste given us a very valuable
work, which will add materially to the literature on this
most fascinating of human personalities."
_Literary World._--"... Mr. Browning has examined all the
available sources of information and carefully weighed
his historical evidence. His discriminating treatment has
resulted in a book that is ... one that arrests attention
by the conviction its reasoned conclusions carry."
THE DUKE OF REICHSTADT (NAPOLEON II.) By EDWARD DE
WERTHEIMER. Translated from the German. With numerous
Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 21_s._ net. (Second Edition.)
_Times._--"A most careful and interesting work which
presents the first complete and authoritative account of
the life of this unfortunate Prince."
_Westminster Gazette._--"This book, admirably produced,
reinforced by many additional portraits, is a solid
contribution to history and a monument of patient,
well-applied research."
NAPOLEON'S CONQUEST OF PRUSSIA, 1806. By F. LORAINE PETRE.
With an Introduction by FIELD-MARSHAL EARL ROBERTS, V.C.,
K.G., etc. With Maps, Battle Plans, Portraits, and 16 Full-page
Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 × 5-3/4 inches). 12_s._ 6_d._ net.
_Scotsman._--"Neither too concise, nor too diffuse, the
book is eminently readable. It is the best work in English
on a somewhat circumscribed subject."
_Outlook._--"Mr. Petre has visited the battlefields and
read everything, and his monograph is a model of what
military history, handled with enthusiasm and literary
ability, can be."
NAPOLEON'S CAMPAIGN IN POLAND, 1806-1807. A Military History
of Napoleon's First War with Russia, verified from unpublished
official documents. By F. LORAINE PETRE. With 16 Full-page
Illustrations, Maps, and Plans. New Edition. Demy 8vo (9 × 5-3/4
inches). 12_s._ 6_d._ net.
_Army and Navy Chronicle._--"We welcome a second edition of
this valuable work.... Mr. Loraine Petre is an authority
on the wars of the great Napoleon, and has brought the
greatest care and energy into his studies of the subject."
NAPOLEON AND THE ARCHDUKE CHARLES. A History of the Franco-Austrian
Campaign in the Valley of the Danube in 1809. By F. LORAINE
PETRE. With 8 Illustrations and 6 sheets of Maps and Plans. Demy
8vo (9 × 5-3/4 inches). 12_s._ 6_d._ net.
RALPH HEATHCOTE. Letters of a Diplomatist During the Time of
Napoleon, Giving an Account of the Dispute between the Emperor and
the Elector of Hesse. By COUNTESS GÜNTHER GRÖBEN. With Numerous
Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 × 5-3/4 inches). 12_s._ 6_d._ net.
[Symbol: asterism] _Ralph Heathcote, the son of an English father
and an Alsatian mother, was for some time in the English diplomatic
service as first secretary to Mr. Brook Taylor, minister at the Court
of Hesse, and on one occasion found himself very near to making
history. Napoleon became persuaded that Taylor was implicated in a
plot to procure his assassination, and insisted on his dismissal from
the Hessian Court. As Taylor refused to be dismissed, the incident at
one time seemed likely to result to the Elector in the loss of his
throne. Heathcote came into contact with a number of notable people,
including the Miss Berrys, with whom he assures his mother he is not
in love. On the whole, there is much interesting material for lovers
of old letters and journals._
MEMOIRS OF THE COUNT DE CARTRIE. A record of the extraordinary events
in the life of a French Royalist during the war in La Vendée, and of
his flight to Southampton, where he followed the humble occupation
of gardener. With an introduction by FRÉDÉRIC MASSON, Appendices
and Notes by PIERRE AMÉDÉE PICHOT, and other hands, and numerous
Illustrations, including a Photogravure Portrait of the Author. Demy
8vo. 12_s._ 6_d._ net.
_Daily News._--"We have seldom met with a human document
which has interested us so much."
_Athenæum._--"As a record of personal suffering and
indomitable perseverance against opposing circumstances the
narrative of De Cartrie's escape to the Eastern frontier,
in the disguise of a master-gunner, could not easily be
surpassed."
WOMEN OF THE SECOND EMPIRE. Chronicles of the Court of Napoleon III.
By FRÉDÉRIC LOLIÉE. With an introduction by RICHARD WHITEING and 53
full-page Illustrations, 3 in Photogravure. Demy 8vo. 21_s._ net.
_Standard._--"M. Frédéric Loliée has written a remarkable
book, vivid and pitiless in its description of the intrigue
and dare-devil spirit which flourished unchecked at the
French Court.... Mr. Richard Whiteing's introduction is
written with restraint and dignity."
_Daily Telegraph._--"It is a really fascinating story,
or series of stories, set forth in this volume.... Here
are anecdotes innumerable of the brilliant women of the
Second Empire, so that in reading the book we are not only
dazzled by the beauty and gorgeousness of everything, but
we are entertained by the record of things said and done,
and through all we are conscious of the coming 'gloom and
doom' so soon to overtake the Court. Few novels possess the
fascination of this spirited work, and many readers will
hope that the author will carry out his proposal of giving
us a further series of memories of the 'Women of the Second
Empire.'"
LOUIS NAPOLEON AND THE GENESIS OF THE SECOND EMPIRE. By F.H.
CHEETHAM. With Numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 × 5-3/4
inches). 16_s._ net.
MEMOIRS OF MADEMOISELLE DES ÉCHEROLLES. Translated from the French
by MARIE CLOTHILDE BALFOUR. With an Introduction by G.K. FORTESCUE,
Portraits, etc. 5_s._ net.
_Liverpool Mercury._--"... this absorbing book.... The work
has a very decided historical value. The translation is
excellent, and quite notable in the preservation of idiom."
JANE AUSTEN'S SAILOR BROTHERS. Being the life and Adventures of
Sir Francis Austen, G.C.B., Admiral of the Fleet, and Rear-Admiral
Charles Austen. By J.H. and E.C. HUBBACK. With numerous
Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 12_s._ 6_d._ net.
_Morning Post._--"... May be welcomed as an important
addition to Austeniana ...; it is besides valuable for its
glimpses of life in the Navy, its illustrations of the
feelings and sentiments of naval officers during the period
that preceded and that which followed the great battle of
just one century ago, the battle which won so much but
which cost us--Nelson."
SOME WOMEN LOVING AND LUCKLESS. By TEODOR DE WYZEWA.
Translated from the French by C.H. JEFFRESON, M.A. With
Numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo (9 × 5-3/4 inches). 7_s._ 6_d._ net.
POETRY AND PROGRESS IN RUSSIA. By ROSA NEWMARCH. With 6
full-page Portraits. Demy 8vo. 7_s._ 6_d._ net.
_Standard._--"Distinctly a book that should be read ...
pleasantly written and well informed."
THE LIFE OF PETER ILICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893). By his Brother,
MODESTE TCHAIKOVSKY. Edited and abridged from the Russian and German
Editions by ROSA NEWMARCH. With Numerous Illustrations and Facsimiles
and an Introduction by the Editor. Demy 8vo. 7_s._ 6_d._ net. Second
edition.
_The Times._--"A most illuminating commentary on
Tchaikovsky's music."
_World._--"One of the most fascinating self-revelations
by an artist which has been given to the world. The
translation is excellent, and worth reading for its own
sake."
_Contemporary Review._--"The book's appeal is, of course,
primarily to the music-lover; but there is so much of human
and literary interest in it, such intimate revelation of
a singularly interesting personality, that many who have
never come under the spell of the Pathetic Symphony will
be strongly attracted by what is virtually the spiritual
autobiography of its composer. High praise is due to the
translator and editor for the literary skill with which
she has prepared the English version of this fascinating
work.... There have been few collections of letters
published within recent years that give so vivid a portrait
of the writer as that presented to us in these pages."
COKE OF NORFOLK AND HIS FRIENDS: The Life of Thomas William Coke,
First Earl of Leicester of the second creation, containing an
account of his Ancestry, Surroundings, Public Services, and Private
Friendships, and including many Unpublished Letters from Noted Men of
his day, English and American. By A.M.W. STIRLING. With 20
Photogravure and upwards of 40 other Illustrations reproduced from
Contemporary Portraits, Prints, etc. Demy 8vo. 2 vols. 32_s._ net.
_The Times._--"We thank Mr. Stirling for one of the most
interesting memoirs of recent years."
_Daily Telegraph._--"A very remarkable literary
performance. Mrs. Stirling has achieved a resurrection. She
has fashioned a picture of a dead and forgotten past and
brought before our eyes with the vividness of breathing
existence the life of our English ancestors of the
eighteenth century."
_Pall Mall Gazette._--"A work of no common interest; in
fact, a work which may almost be called unique."
_Evening-Standard._--"One of the most interesting
biographies we have read for years."
THE LIFE OF SIR HALLIDAY MACARTNEY, K.C.M.G., Commander of Li Hung
Chang's trained force in the Taeping Rebellion, founder of the first
Chinese Arsenal, Secretary to the first Chinese Embassy to Europe.
Secretary and Councillor to the Chinese Legation in London for thirty
years. By DEMETRIUS C. BOULGER, Author of the "History of
China," the "Life of Gordon," etc. With Illustrations. Demy 8vo.
Price 24_s._ net.
_Daily Graphic._--"It is safe to say that few readers will
be able to put down the book without feeling the better
for having read it ... not only full of personal interest,
but tells us much that we never knew before on some not
unimportant details."
DEVONSHIRE CHARACTERS AND STRANGE EVENTS. By S.
BARING-GOULD, M.A., Author of "Yorkshire Oddities," etc. With 58
Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 21_s._ net.
_Daily News._--"A fascinating series ... the whole book is
rich in human interest. It is by personal touches, drawn
from traditions and memories, that the dead men surrounded
by the curious panoply of their time, are made to live
again in Mr. Baring-Gould's pages."
CORNISH CHARACTERS AND STRANGE EVENTS. By S. BARING-GOULD.
Demy 8vo. 16_s._ net.
THE HEART OF GAMBETTA. Translated from the French of FRANCIS LAUR by
VIOLETTE MONTAGU. With an Introduction by JOHN MACDONALD, Portraits
and other Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 7_s._ 6_d._ net.
_Daily Telegraph._--"It is Gambetta pouring out his soul to
Léonie Leon, the strange, passionate, masterful demagogue,
who wielded the most persuasive oratory of modern times,
acknowledging his idol, his inspiration, his Egeria."
THE MEMOIRS OF ANN, LADY FANSHAWE. Written by Lady Fanshawe. With
Extracts from the Correspondence of Sir Richard Fanshawe. Edited by
H.C. FANSHAWE. With 38 Full-page Illustrations, including
four in Photogravure and one in Colour. Demy 8vo. 16_s._ net.
[Symbol: asterism] _This Edition has been printed direct
from the original manuscript in the possession of the
Fanshawe Family, and Mr. H.C. Fanshawe contributes numerous
notes which form a running commentary on the text. Many
famous pictures are reproduced, including paintings by
Velazquez and Van Dyck._
THE DIARY OF A LADY-IN-WAITING. By LADY CHARLOTTE BURY.
Being the Diary Illustrative of the Times of George the Fourth.
Interspersed with original Letters from the late Queen Caroline
and from various other distinguished persons. New edition. Edited,
with an Introduction, by A. FRANCIS STEUART. With numerous
portraits. Two Vols. Demy 8vo. 21_s._ net.
[Symbol: asterism] _This book, which appeared anonymously
in 1838, created an enormous sensation, and was fiercely
criticised by Thackeray and in the Reviews of the time.
There is no doubt that it was founded on the diary of Lady
Charlotte Bury, daughter of the 5th Duke of Argyll, and
Lady-in-Waiting to the unfortunate Caroline of Brunswick,
when Princess of Wales. It deals, therefore, with the
curious Court of the latter and with the scandals that
occurred there, as well as with the strange vagaries of the
Princess abroad. In this edition names left blank in the
original have been (where possible) filled up, and many
notes are given by the Editor to render it useful to the
ever-increasing number of readers interested in the later
Georgian Period._
THE DAUGHTER OF LOUIS XVI.: Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte of France,
Duchesse D'Angoulême. By G. LENOTRE. With 13 Full-page Illustrations.
Demy 8vo. 10_s._ 6_d._ net.
[Symbol: asterism] _M.G. Lenotre is perhaps the most
widely read of a group of modern French writers who have
succeeded in treating history from a point of view at
once scientific, dramatic and popular. He has made the
Revolution his particular field of research, and deals not
only with the most prominent figures of that period, but
with many minor characters whose life-stories are quite as
thrilling as anything in fiction. The localities in which
these dramas were enacted are vividly brought before us in
his works, for no one has reconstructed 18th century Paris
with more picturesque and accurate detail. "The Daughter of
Louis XVI." is quite equal in interest and literary merit
to any of the volumes which have preceded it, not excepting
the famous Drama of Varennes. As usual, M. Lenotre draws
his material largely from contemporary documents, and among
the most remarkable memoirs reproduced in this book are
"The Story of my Visit to the Temple" by Harmand de la
Meuse, and the artless, but profoundly touching narrative
of the unhappy orphaned Princess: "A manuscript written by
Marie Thérèse Charlotte of France upon the captivity of the
Princes and Princesses, her relatives, imprisoned in the
Temple." The illustrations are a feature of the volume and
include the so-called "telescope" portrait of the Princess,
sketched from life by an anonymous artist, stationed at a
window opposite her prison in the tower of the Temple._
THE TRUE STORY OF MY LIFE: an Autobiography by ALICE M.
DIEHL, Novelist, Writer, and Musician. Demy 8vo. 10_s._ 6_d._
net.
_Daily Chronicle._--"This work ... has the introspective
touch, intimate and revealing, which autobiography, if
it is to be worth anything, should have. Mrs. Diehl's
pages have reality, a living throb, and so are indeed
autobiography."
HUBERT AND JOHN VAN EYCK: Their Life and Work. By W.H.
JAMES WEALE. With 41 Photogravure and 95 Black and White
Reproductions. Royal 4to. £5 5_s._ net.
SIR MARTIN CONWAY'S NOTE.
_Nearly half a century has passed since Mr. W.H. James
Weale, then resident at Bruges, began that long series of
patient investigations into the history of Netherlandish
art which was destined to earn so rich a harvest. When
he began work Memlinc was still called Hemling, and was
fabled to have arrived at Bruges as a wounded soldier.
The van Eycks were little more than legendary heroes.
Roger Van der Weyden was little more than a name. Most of
the other great Netherlandish artists were either wholly
forgotten or named only in connection with paintings with
which they had nothing to do. Mr. Weale discovered Gerard
David, and disentangled his principal works from Memlinc's,
with which they were then confused. During a series of
years he published in the "Beffroi," a magazine issued by
himself, the many important records from ancient archives
which threw a flood of light upon the whole origin and
development of the early Netherlandish school. By universal
admission he is hailed all over Europe as the father of
this study. It is due to him in great measure that the
masterpieces of that school, which by neglect were in
danger of perishing fifty years ago, are now recognised as
among the most priceless treasures of the Museums of Europe
and the United States. The publication by him, therefore,
in the ripeness of his years and experience, of the result
of his studies on the van Eycks is a matter of considerable
importance to students of art history. Lately, since the
revived interest in the works of the Early French painters
has attracted the attention of untrained speculators to
the superior schools of the Low Countries, a number of
wild theories have been started which cannot stand upright
in the face of recorded facts. A book is now needed which
will set down all those facts in full and accurate form.
Fullness and accuracy are the characteristics of all Mr.
Weale's work._
VINCENZO FOPPA OF BRESCIA, FOUNDER OF THE LOMBARD SCHOOL, HIS LIFE
AND WORK. By CONSTANCE JOCELYN FFOULKES and MONSIGNOR RODOLFO
MAJOCCHI, D.D., Rector of the Collegio Borromeo, Pavia. Based on
research in the Archives of Milan, Pavia, Brescia, and Genoa, and on
the study of all his known works. With over 100 Illustrations, many
in Photogravure, and 100 Documents. Royal 4to. £3. 11_s._ 6_d._ net.
[Symbol: asterism] _No complete Life of Vincenzo Foppa, one
of the greatest of the North Italian Masters, has ever been
written: an omission which seems almost inexplicable in
these days of over-production in the matter of biographies
of painters, and of subjects relating to the art of Italy.
In Milanese territory--the sphere of Foppa's activity
during many years--he was regarded by his contemporaries
as unrivalled in his art, and his right to be considered
the head and founder of the Lombard school is undoubted.
His influence was powerful and far-reaching, extending
eastwards beyond the limits of Brescian territory, and
south and westwards to Liguria and Piedmont. In the
Milanese district it was practically dominant for over
a quarter of a century, until the coming of Leonardo da
Vinci thrust Foppa and his followers into the shade, and
induced him to abandon Pavia, which had been his home for
more than thirty years, and to return to Brescia. The
object of the authors of this book has been to present a
true picture of the master's life based upon the testimony
of records in Italian archives; all facts hitherto known
relating to him have been brought together; all statements
have been verified; and a great deal of new and unpublished
material has been added. The authors have unearthed a large
amount of new material relating to Foppa, one of the most
interesting facts brought to light being that he lived
for twenty-three years longer than was formerly supposed.
The illustrations will include several pictures by Foppa
hitherto unknown in the history of art, and others which
have never before been published, as well as reproductions
of every existing work by the master at present known._
CÉSAR FRANCK: A Study. Translated from the French of Vincent d'Indy.
And with an Introduction by ROSA NEWMARCH. Demy 8vo. 7_s._
6_d._ net.
[Symbol: asterism] _There is no purer influence in modern
music than that of César Franck, for many years ignored in
every capacity save that of organist of Sainte-Clotilde,
in Paris, but now recognised as the legitimate successor
of Bach and Beethoven. His inspiration "rooted in love
and faith" has contributed in a remarkable degree to the
regeneration of the musical art in France and elsewhere.
The now famous "Schola Cantorum," founded in Paris in 1896,
by A. Guilmant, Charles Bordes and Vincent d'Indy, is the
direct outcome of his influence. Among the artists who
were in some sort his disciples were Paul Dukas, Chabrier,
Gabriel Fauré and the great violinist Ysäye. His pupils
include such gifted composers as Benoît, Augusta Holmès,
Chausson, Ropartz, and d'Indy. This book, written with
the devotion of a disciple and the authority of a master,
leaves us with a vivid and touching impression of the
saint-like composer of "The Beatitudes."_
JUNIPER HALL: Rendezvous of certain illustrious Personages during the
French Revolution, including Alexander D'Arblay and Fanny Burney.
Compiled by CONSTANCE HILL. With numerous Illustrations by
ELLEN G. HILL, and reproductions from various Contemporary
Portraits. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net.
_Daily Telegraph._--"... one of the most charming volumes
published within recent years.... Miss Hill has drawn a
really idyllic and graphic picture of the daily life and
gossip of the stately but unfortunate dames and noblemen
who found in Juniper Hall a thoroughly English home."
_The Times._--"This book makes another on the long and
seductive list of books that take up history just where
history proper leaves off.... We have given but a faint
idea of the freshness, the innocent gaiety of its pages;
we can give none at all of the beauty and interest of the
pictures that adorn it."
_Westminster Gazette._--"Skilfully and charmingly told."
JANE AUSTEN: Her Homes and Her Friends. By CONSTANCE HILL. Numerous
Illustrations by ELLEN G. HILL, together with Reproductions from Old
Portraits, etc. Cr. 8vo. 5_s._ net.
_World._--"Miss Constance Hill has given us a thoroughly
delightful book...."
_Spectator._--"This book is a valuable contribution to
Austen lore."
_Daily Telegraph._--"Miss Constance Hill, the authoress of
this charming book, has laid all devout admirers of Jane
Austen and her inimitable novels under a debt of gratitude."
THE HOUSE IN ST. MARTIN'S STREET. Being Chronicles of the Burney
Family. By CONSTANCE HILL, Author of "Jane Austen, Her Home,
and Her Friends," "Juniper Hall," etc. With numerous Illustrations by
ELLEN G. HILL, and reproductions of Contemporary Portraits,
etc. Demy 8vo. 21_s._ net.
_World._--"This valuable and very fascinating work....
Charmingly illustrated.... Those interested in this
stirring period of history and the famous folk who were
Fanny Burney's friends should not fail to add 'The House in
St. Martin's Street' to their collection of books."
Mr. C.K. SHORTER in _Sphere_.--"Miss Hill has
written a charming, an indispensable book."
STORY OF THE PRINCESS DES URSINS IN SPAIN (Camarera-Mayor). By
CONSTANCE HILL. With 12 Illustrations and a Photogravure
Frontispiece. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net.
_Truth._--"It is a brilliant study of the brilliant
Frenchwoman who in the early years of the eighteenth
century played such a remarkable part in saving the Bourbon
dynasty in Spain. Miss Hill's narrative is interesting from
the first page to the last, and the value of the book is
enhanced by the reproductions of contemporary portraits
with which it is illustrated."
NEW LETTERS OF THOMAS CARLYLE. Edited and Annotated by ALEXANDER
CARLYLE, with Notes and an Introduction and numerous Illustrations.
In Two Volumes. Demy 8vo. 25_s._ net.
_Pall Mall Gazette._--"To the portrait of the man, Thomas,
these letters do really add value; we can learn to respect
and to like him the more for the genuine goodness of his
personality."
_Morning Leader._--"These volumes open the very heart of
Carlyle."
_Literary World._--"It is then Carlyle, the nobly filial
son, we see in these letters; Carlyle, the generous and
affectionate brother, the loyal and warm-hearted friend,
... and above all, Carlyle as the tender and faithful lover
of his wife."
_Daily Telegraph._--"The letters are characteristic enough
of the Carlyle we know: very picturesque and entertaining,
full of extravagant emphasis, written, as a rule, at fever
beat, eloquently rabid and emotional."
THE NEMESIS OF FROUDE: a Rejoinder to "My Relations with Carlyle."
By SIR JAMES CRICHTON BROWNE and ALEXANDER CARLYLE. Demy 8vo. 3_s._
6_d._ net.
_Glasgow Herald._--"... The book practically accomplishes
its task of reinstating Carlyle; as an attack on Froude it
is overwhelming."
_Public Opinion._--"The main object of the book is to prove
that Froude believed a myth and betrayed his trust. That
aim has been achieved."
NEW LETTERS AND MEMORIALS OF JANE WELSH CARLYLE. A Collection of
hitherto Unpublished Letters. Annotated by THOMAS CARLYLE, and
Edited by ALEXANDER CARLYLE, with an Introduction by Sir JAMES
CRICHTON BROWNE, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S., numerous Illustrations drawn
in Lithography by T.R. WAY, and Photogravure Portraits from hitherto
unreproduced Originals. In Two Volumes. Demy 8vo. 25_s._ net.
_Westminster Gazette._--"Few letters in the language have
in such perfection the qualities which good letters should
possess. Frank, gay, brilliant, indiscreet, immensely
clever, whimsical, and audacious, they reveal a character
which, with whatever alloy of human infirmity, must endear
itself to any reader of understanding."
_World._--"Throws a deal of new light on the domestic
relations of the Sage of Chelsea. They also contain the
full text of Mrs. Carlyle's fascinating journal, and her
own 'humorous and quaintly candid' narrative of her first
love-affair."
_Daily News._--"Every page ... scintillates with keen
thoughts, biting criticisms, flashing phrases, and touches
of bright comedy."
ÉMILE ZOLA: NOVELIST AND REFORMER. An Account of his Life, Work, and
Influence. By E.A. VIZETELLY. With numerous Illustrations, Portraits,
etc. Demy 8vo. 21_s._ net.
_Morning Post._--"Mr. Ernest Vizetelly has given ... a very
true insight into the aims, character, and life of the
novelist."
_Athenæum._--"... Exhaustive and interesting."
_M.A.P._--"... will stand as the classic biography of Zola."
_Star._--"This 'Life' of Zola is a very fascinating book."
_Academy._--"It was inevitable that the authoritative life
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one probably has the same qualifications, and this bulky
volume of nearly six hundred pages is a worthy tribute to
the genius of the master."
Mr. T.P. O'CONNOR in _T.P.'s Weekly._--"It is a
story of fascinating interest, and is told admirably by Mr.
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MEMOIRS OF THE MARTYR KING: being a detailed record of the last two
years of the Reign of His Most Sacred Majesty King Charles the First,
1646-1648-9. Compiled by ALLAN FEA. With upwards of 100
Photogravure Portraits and other Illustrations, including relics.
Royal 4to. 105_s._ net.
Mr. M.H. SPIELMANN in _The Academy._--"The volume
is a triumph for the printer and publisher, and a solid
contribution to Carolinian literature."
_Pall Mall Gazette._--"The present sumptuous volume, a
storehouse of eloquent associations ... comes as near to
outward perfection as anything we could desire."
AFTER WORCESTER FIGHT: being the Contemporary Account of King Charles
II.'s escape, not included in "The Flight of the King." By ALLAN
FEA. With numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 15_s._ net.
_Morning Post._--"The work possesses all the interest of
a thrilling historical romance, the scenes of which are
described by the characters themselves, in the language of
the time, and forms a valuable contribution to existing
Stuart literature."
_Western Morning News._--"Mr. Fea has shown great industry
in investigating every possible fact that has any
bearing on his subject, and has succeeded in thoroughly
establishing the incidents of that romantic escape."
_Standard._--"... throws fresh light on one of the most
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KING MONMOUTH: being a History of the Career of James Scott, the
Protestant Duke, 1649-1685. By ALLAN FEA. With 14 Photogravure
Portraits, a Folding-plan of the Battle of Sedgemoor, and upwards of
100 black and white Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 21_s._ net.
_Morning Post._--"The story of Monmouth's career is one of
the most remarkable in the annals of English History, and
Mr. Fea's volume is singularly fascinating. Not only does
it supplement and correct the prejudiced though picturesque
pages of Macaulay, but it seems to make the reader
personally acquainted with a large number of the characters
who prominently figured in the conspiracies and in the
intrigues, amorous and political, when society and politics
were seething in strange cauldrons."
FRENCH NOVELISTS OF TO-DAY: Maurice Barres, Réné Bazin, Paul Bourget,
Pierre de Coulevain, Anatole France, Pierre Loti, Marcel Prévost, and
Edouard Rod. Biographical, Descriptive, and Critical. By WINIFRED
STEPHENS. With Portraits and Bibliographies. Crown 8vo. 5_s._
net.
[Symbol: asterism] _The writer, who has lived much in
France, is thoroughly acquainted with French life and
with the principal currents of French thought. The book
is intended to be a guide to English readers desirous to
keep in touch with the best present-day French fiction.
Special attention is given to the ecclesiastical, social,
and intellectual problems of contemporary France and their
influence upon the works of French novelists of to-day._
THE KING'S GENERAL IN THE WEST, being the Life of Sir Richard
Granville, Baronet (1600-1659). By ROGER GRANVILLE, M.A.,
Sub-Dean of Exeter Cathedral. With Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 10_s._
6_d._ net.
_Westminster Gazette._--"A distinctly interesting work; it
will be highly appreciated by historical students as well
as by ordinary readers."
THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF ROBERT STEPHEN HAWKER, sometime
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numerous Illustrations by J. LEY PETHYBRIDGE and others.
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_Daily Telegraph._--"... As soon as the volume is opened
one finds oneself in the presence of a real original, a man
of ability, genius and eccentricity, of whom one cannot
know too much.... No one will read this fascinating and
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desire to visit--or revisit--Morwenstow."
THE LIFE OF WILLIAM BLAKE. By ALEXANDER GILCHRIST. Edited with an
Introduction by W. GRAHAM ROBERTSON. Numerous Reproductions from
Blake's most characteristic and remarkable designs. Demy 8vo. 10_s._
6_d._ net. New Edition.
_Birmingham Post._--"Nothing seems at all likely ever to
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it magnificently in his own eloquent essay on Blake, and
there should be no need now to point out its entire sanity,
understanding keenness of critical insight, and masterly
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we possess."
MEMOIRS OF A ROYAL CHAPLAIN, 1729-63. The correspondence of Edmund
Pyle, D.D., Domestic Chaplain to George II, with Samuel Kerrich,
D.D., Vicar of Dersingham, and Rector of Wolferton and West Newton.
Edited and Annotated by ALBERT HARTSHORNE. With Portrait.
Demy 8vo. 16_s._ net.
_Truth._--"It is undoubtedly the most important book of
the kind that has been published in recent years, and
is certain to disturb many readers whose minds have not
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GEORGE MEREDITH: Some Characteristics. By RICHARD LE
GALLIENNE. With a Bibliography (much enlarged) by JOHN
LANE. Portrait, etc. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net. Fifth Edition.
Revised.
_Punch._--"All Meredithians must possess 'George Meredith;
Some Characteristics,' by Richard Le Gallienne. This book
is a complete and excellent guide to the novelist and the
novels, a sort of Meredithian Bradshaw, with pictures of
the traffic superintendent and the head office at Boxhill.
Even Philistines may be won over by the blandishments of
Mr. Le Gallienne."
LIFE OF LORD CHESTERFIELD. An account of the Ancestry, Personal
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W.H. CRAIG, M.A. Numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 12_s._
6_d._ net.
_Daily Telegraph._--"Mr. Craig has set out to present
him (Lord Chesterfield) as one of the striking figures
of a formative period in our modern history ... and has
succeeded in giving us a very attractive biography of a
remarkable man."
_Times._--"It is the chief point of Mr. Craig's book to
show the sterling qualities which Chesterfield was at
too much pains in concealing, to reject the perishable
trivialities of his character, and to exhibit him as
a philosophic statesman, not inferior to any of his
contemporaries, except Walpole at one end of his life, and
Chatham at the other."
A QUEEN OF INDISCRETIONS. The Tragedy of Caroline of Brunswick, Queen
of England. From the Italian of G.P. CLERICI. Translated by
FREDERIC CHAPMAN. With numerous Illustrations reproduced
from contemporary Portraits and Prints. Demy 8vo. 21_s._ net.
_The Daily Telegraph._--"It could scarcely be done
more thoroughly or, on the whole, in better taste than
is here displayed by Professor Clerici. Mr. Frederic
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well-informed introduction."
_Westminster Gazette._--"The volume, scholarly and
well-informed ... forms one long and absorbingly
interesting chapter of the _chronique scandaleuse_ of Court
life ... reads like a romance, except that no romancer
would care or dare to pack his pages so closely with
startling effects and fantastic scenes."
LETTERS AND JOURNALS OF SAMUEL GRIDLEY HOWE. Edited by his Daughter
LAURA E. RICHARDS. With Notes and a Preface by F.B. SANBORN, an
Introduction by MRS. JOHN LANE, and a Portrait. Demy 8vo (9 × 5-3/4
inches). 16_s._ net.
_Outlook._--"This deeply interesting record of experience.
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portrait of Howe."
_Daily News._--"Dr. Howe's book is full of shrewd touches;
it seems to be very much a part of the lively, handsome
man of the portrait. His writing is striking and vivid;
it is the writing of a shrewd, keen observer, intensely
interested in the event before him."
THE LIFE OF ST. MARY MAGDALEN. Translated from the Italian of an
Unknown Fourteenth-Century Writer by VALENTINA HAWTREY.
With an Introductory Note by VERNON LEE, and 14 Full-page
Reproductions from the Old Masters. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net.
_Daily News._--"Miss Valentina Hawtrey has given a most
excellent English version of this pleasant work."
_Academy._--"The fourteenth-century fancy plays
delightfully around the meagre details of the Gospel
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unconventional light.... In its directness and artistic
simplicity and its wealth of homely detail the story reads
like the work of some Boccaccio of the cloister; and
fourteen illustrations taken from Italian painters happily
illustrate the charming text."
MEN AND LETTERS. By HERBERT PAUL, M.P. Fourth Edition. Crown
8vo. 5_s._ net.
_Daily News._--"Mr. Herbert Paul has done scholars and the
reading world in general a high service in publishing this
collection of his essays."
_Punch._--"His fund of good stories is inexhaustible, and
his urbanity never fails. On the whole, this book is one
of the very best examples of literature on literature and
life."
ROBERT BROWNING: Essays and Thoughts. By J.T. NETTLESHIP.
With Portrait. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ 6_d._ net. (Third Edition.)
A LATER PEPYS. The Correspondence of Sir William Weller Pepys, Bart.,
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Mrs. Montague, Hannah More, William Franks, Sir James Macdonald,
Major Rennell, Sir Nathaniel Wraxall, and others. Edited, with an
Introduction and Notes, by ALICE C.C. GAUSSEN. With numerous
Illustrations. Demy 8vo. In Two Volumes. 32_s._ net.
DOUGLAS SLADEN in the _Queen_.--"This is
indisputably a most valuable contribution to the literature
of the eighteenth century. It is a veritable storehouse of
society gossip, the art criticism, and the _mots_ of famous
people."
_Academy and Literature._--"The effect consists in no
particular passages, but in the total impression, the sense
of atmosphere, and the general feeling that we are being
introduced into the very society in which the writer moved."
_Daily News._--"To Miss Alice Gaussen is due the credit
of sorting out the vast collection of correspondence
which is here presented to the public.... Her industry
is indefatigable, and her task has been carried out with
completeness. The notes are full of interesting items;
the introduction is exhaustive; and the collection of
illustrations enhances the value of the book."
_World._--"Sir William Pepys's correspondence is admirable."
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, AN ELEGY; AND OTHER POEMS, MAINLY PERSONAL.
By RICHARD LE GALLIENNE. Crown 8vo. 4_s._ 6_d._ _net_.
_Daily Chronicle._--"Few, indeed, could be more fit to sing
the dirge of that 'Virgil of Prose' than the poet whose
_curiosa felicitas_ is so close akin to Stevenson's own
charm."
_Globe._--"The opening Elegy on R.L. Stevenson includes
some tender and touching passages, and has throughout the
merits of sincerity and clearness."
RUDYARD KIPLING: a Criticism. By RICHARD LE GALLIENNE. With
a Bibliography by JOHN LANE. Crown 8vo. 3_s._ 6_d._ net.
_Guardian._--"One of the cleverest pieces of criticism we
have come across for a long time."
_Scotsman._--"It shows a keen insight into the essential
qualities of literature, and analyses Mr. Kipling's
product with the skill of a craftsman ... the positive and
outstanding merits of Mr. Kipling's contribution to the
literature of his time are marshalled by his critic with
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POEMS. By EDWARD CRACROFT LEFROY. With a Memoir by W.A.
GILL, and a Reprint of Mr. J.A. SYMONDS' Critical Essay
on "Echoes from Theocritus." Photogravure Portrait. Crown 8vo. 5_s._
net.
_The Times._--"... the leading features of the sonnets are
the writer's intense sympathy with human life in general
and with young life in particular; his humour, his music,
and, in a word, the quality which 'leaves a melody afloat
upon the brain, a savour on the mental palate.'"
_Bookman._--"The Memoir, by Mr. W.A. Gill, is a
sympathetic sketch of an earnest and lovable character;
and the critical estimate, by J. Addington Symonds, is a
charmingly-written and suggestive essay."
APOLOGIA DIFFIDENTIS. By W. COMPTON LEITH. Demy 8vo. 7_s._
6_d._ net.
[Symbol: asterism] _The book, which is largely
autobiographical, describes the effect of diffidence upon
an individual life, and contains, with a consideration of
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the inveterate case._
_Daily Mail._--"Mr. Leith has written a very beautiful
book, and perhaps the publisher's claim that this will be a
new classic is not too bold."
BOOKS AND PERSONALITIES: Essays. By H.W. NEVINSON. Crown
8vo. 5_s._ net.
_Daily Chronicle._--"It is a remarkable thing and probably
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paper, his homage and complete subjection to the genius of
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that one common virtue of critics, which is superiority to
the author criticised."
OTIA: Essays. By ARMINE THOMAS KENT. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net.
BOOKS AND PLAYS: A Volume of Essays on Meredith, Borrow, Ibsen, and
others. By ALLAN MONKHOUSE. Crown 8vo. 5_s._ net.
LIBER AMORIS; or, THE NEW PYGMALION. By WILLIAM
HAZLITT. Edited, with an introduction, by RICHARD LE
GALLIENNE. To which is added an exact transcript of the original
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published. Portrait after BEWICK, and facsimile Letters. 400
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TERRORS OF THE LAW: being the Portraits of Three Lawyers--the
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_The Literary World._--"The book is altogether
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CHAMPIONS OF THE FLEET. Captains and Men-of-War in the Days that
Helped to make the Empire. By EDWARD FRASER. With 16 Full-page
Illustrations. Crown 8vo.
[Symbol: asterism] _Mr. Fraser takes in the whole range
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launch, how under Drake she fought against the Armada,
how her captain was knighted on the quarter-deck in the
presence of the enemy. From this point the name is traced
down to the present leviathan which bears it. This is
but one of the "champions" dealt with in Mr. Fraser's
volume, which is illustrated by some very interesting
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THE LONDONS OF THE BRITISH FLEET: The Story of Ships bearing
the name of Old Renown in Naval Annals. By EDWARD FRASER.
With 8 Illustrations in colours, and 20 in black and white.
JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD, VIGO STREET, LONDON, W.
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