Volume I Part 9 (1/2)
[Sidenote: LIVORNO]
21st October, 1644 We took coach to Livorno, through the Great Duke's new park full of huge cork trees, the underwood all , a kind of wild ox, short nose with horns reversed; those ith the through the nose, and a cord Much of this park, as well as a great part of the country about it, is very fenny, and the air very bad
Leghorn is the pri to all the Duke's territories; heretofore a very obscure town, but since Duke Ferdinand has strongly fortified it (after thea channel thence to Pisa navigable sixteenthat at Genoa, to secure the shi+pping, it is becoalleys, where they lie safe
Before the sea is an ample piazza for the market, where are the statues in copper of the four slaves, ment of most artists, one of the best pieces of modern work Here, especially in this piazza, is such a concourse of slaves, Turks, Moors, and other nations, that the nu, others drinking, others playing, so, all nearly naked, and ht stake his liberty against a fens, at dice, or other hazard; and, if he lost, he was ialleys, where he was to serve a term of years, but from whence they seldom returned; many sottish persons, in a drunken bravado, would try their fortune in this way
The houses of this neat town are very uniform, and excellently painted _a fresco_ on the outer walls, with representations of h low on account of the earthquakes which frequently happen here, (as did one duringin Italy), are very well built; the piazza is very fair and commodious, and, with the church, whose four coluave the first hint to the building both of the church and piazza in Covent Garden with us, though very imperfectly pursued
[Sidenote: FLORENCE]
22d October, 1644 From Livorno, I took coach to Empoly, where we lay, and the next day arrived at Florence, being reconor Baritiere, in the Piazza del Spirito Santo, where ere exceedingly well treated Florence is at the foot of the Apennines, the west part full of stately groves and pleasant meadows, beautified with more than a thousand houses and country palaces of note, belonging to gentleh the city, in a broad, but very shallow channel, dividing it, as it were, in the es of stone On that nearest to our quarter are the four Seasons, in white oldsmiths' shops; at the head of the former stands a column of ophite, upon which a statue of Justice, with her balance and sword, cut out of porphyry, and thethe first which had been carved out of that hard ht to perfection, after the art had been utterly lost; they say this was done by hardening the tools in the juice of certain herbs This statue was erected in that corner, because there Cos taken
Near this is the famous Palazzo di Strozzi, a princely piece of architecture, in a rustic manner The Palace of Pitti was built by that fae square stones of the Doric, Ionic, and the Corinthian orders, with a terrace at each side having rustic uncut balustrades, with a fountain that ends in a cascade seen froardens
Nothing is more admirable than the vacant staircase, rotto, and orks In the quadrangle is a huge jetto of water in a volto of four faces, with noble statues at each square, especially the Diana of porphyry above the grotto We were here shown a prodigious great loadstone
The garden has every variety, hills, dales, rocks, groves, aviaries, vivaries, fountains, especially one of five jettos, the est stones I ever saw Here is everything to rafted on an orange tree There was es The Duke has added an aainst which stands a fort on a hill, where they told us his treasure is kept
In this Palace the Duke ordinarily resides, living with his Swiss guards, after the frugal Italian way, and even selling what he can spare of his wines, at the cellar under his very house, wicker bottles dangling over even the chief entrance into the palace, serving for a vintner's bush
In the Church of Santo Spirito the altar and reliquary are most rich, and full of precious stones; there are four pillars of a kind of serpentine, and some of blue Hence ent to another Palace of the Duke's, called Palazzo Vecchio, before which is a statue of David, by Michael Angelo, and one of Hercules, killing Cacus, the work of Baccio Bandinelli The quadrangle about this is of the Corinthian order, and in the hall are many rare marbles, as those of Leo X and Clement VII, both Popes of the Medicean fa In the chapel is kept (as they would inal Gospel of St John, written with his own hand; and the famous Florentine Pandects, and divers precious stones Near it is another pendent Tower like that of Pisa, always threatening ruin
Under the Court of Justice is a stately arcade for men to walk in, and over that, the shops of divers rare artists who continually work for the great Duke Above this is that renowned Ceimeliarcha, or repository, wherein are hundreds of admirable antiquities, statues ofthe statues none so faht from the Delphic Te the pictures of the most famous persons and illustrious men in arts or arms, to the number of 300, taken out of the e square rooular forates, and sculptures, as exceeds any description This cabinet is called the _Tribuna_ and in it is a pearl as big as an hazelnut The cabinet is of ebony, lazuli, and jasper; over the door is a round of M Angelo; on the cabinet, Leo X with other paintings of Raphael, del Sarto, Perugino, and Correggio, viz, a St John, a Virgin, a Boy, two Apostles, two heads of Durer, rarely carved Over this cabinet is a globe of ivory, excellently carved; the Labors of Hercules, in massy silver, and many incomparable pictures in sht Oriental columns of alabaster, on each whereof was placed a head of a Caesar, covered with a canopy so richly set with precious stones, that they resembled a firmament of stars Within it was our Savior's Passion, and the twelve Apostles in amber This cabinet was valued at two hundred thousand crowns In another, with calcedon pillars, was a series of golden medals Here is also another rich ebony cabinet cupolaed with a tortoise shell, and containing a collection of gold medals esteemed worth 50,000 crowns; a wreathed pillar of Oriental alabaster, divers paintings of Da Vinci, Pontorno, del Sarto, an _Ecce homo_ of titian, a Boy of Bronzini, etc They showed us a branch of coral fixed on the rock, which they affirrow In another room, is kept the Tabernacle appointed for the chapel of St Laurence, about which are placed small statues of Saints, of preciousbeen these forty years in perfecting, it is one of the s in the world Here were divers tables of Pietra Coround inlaid with several sorts offlowers, trees, beasts, birds, and landscapes In one is represented the town of Leghorn, by the same hand who inlaid the altar of St Laurence, Domenico Benotti, of whom I purchased nineteen pieces of the same work for a cabinet In a press near this they showed an iron nail, one half whereof being converted into gold by one Thurnheuser, a Gerreat rarity; but it plainly appeared to have been soldered together There is a curious watch, a , on which is carved an emperor's head
In the ars; the sword of Charle, which bears up 86 lbs weight, in a chain of seventeen links, such as the slaves are tied to In another room are such rare turneries in ivory, as are not to be described for their curiosity There is a fair pillar of oriental alabaster; twelve vast and coold, all of excellent workmanshi+p; a rich embroidered saddle of pearls sent by the Emperor to this Duke; and here is that embroidered chair set with precious stones in which he sits, when, on St
John's day, he receives the tribute of the cities
25th October, 1644 We went to the Portico where the famous statue of Judith and Holofernes stands, also the Medusa, all of copper; but what is most admirable is the Rape of a Sabine, with anotherof whose limbs is most adna, and is reat piazza, where, to adorn one fountain, are erected fourNeptune and his fanitude, with four sea horses, in Parian reat basin: a work, I think, hardly to be paralleled Here is also the faelo; Hercules and Cacus, by Baccio Bandinelli; the Perseus, in copper, by Benevento, and the Judith of Donatelli, which stand publicly before the old Palace with the Centaur of Bologna, huge Colossean figures Near this stand Cosmo di Medicis on horseback, in brass on a pedestal of na, with divers inscriptions; the Ferdinand the First, on horseback, is of Pietro Tacca The brazen boar, which serves for another public fountain, is admirable
After dinner, ent to the Church of the Annunciata, where the Duke and his Court were at their devotions, being a place of extraordinary repute for sanctity: for here is a shrine that does great miracles, [proved] by innu ale of Gabriel, who saluted the Blessed Virgin, and which the artist finished so well, that he was in despair of perforin's face so well; whereupon it was miraculously done for him while he slept; but others say it was painted by St Luke himself
Whoever it was, infinite is the devotion of both sexes to it The altar is set off with four colureat silver lamps There are innumerable other pictures by rare masters
Our Savior's Passion in brass tables inserted in na and Baccio Bandinelli
To this church joins a convent, whose cloister is painted in _fresco_ very rarely There is also near it an hospital for 1,000 persons, with nurse-children, and several other charitable accommodations
At the Duke's Cavalerizza, the Prince has a stable of the finest horses of all countries, Arabs, Turks, Barbs, Gennets, English, etc, which are continually exercised in the _e_
Near this is a place where are kept several wild beasts, as wolves, cats, bears, tigers, and lions They are loose in a deep walled court, and therefore to be seen with rates One of the lions leaped to a surprising height, to catch a joint ofdown
[Sidenote: SIENNA]
[20]There are many plain brick towers erected for defense, when this was a free state The highest is called the Mangio, standing at the foot of the piazza which ent first to see after our arrival At the entrance of this tower is a chapel open toward the piazza, of marble well adorned with sculpture
[Footnote 20: There see Florence and going to Sienna]