Volume I Part 28 (1/2)

[10] It had been destroyed, but was restored by the Medici or the present family

Much as I was charet into the rich, broad plain of Tuscany, full of vineyards and habitations along the banks of the Arno The voice and aspect of cheerfulness is refreshi+ng after a course of rugged and barren grandeur; the road is excellent and the travelling rapid Yesterday being a holiday, and to-day Sunday, the whole population in their best dresses have been out on the road, and very good-looking they generally are There are not reater appearance of prosperity throughout the north of Italy than in any part of France I have seen, although there are the same complaints of distress and poverty here that are heard both there and in England Thorwaldsen, the sculptor, is in this inn, and the King of Bavaria left it this ; the entries are sometimes remarkable or ridiculous I found 'La duchesse de Saint-Leu et le Prince Louis-Napoleon; Lord and Lady Shrewsbury and fa of Bavaria (not down in the book though); Thorwaldsen' Tuscany see and contented; the Government is absolute but mild, the Grand Duke enormously rich

March 23rd, 1830 {p299}

Yesterday ot a house extending 200 feet in front, court, garden, and stables for about 280 a year, everything else cheap in proportion, and upon 2,000 a year a inally fitted up for the Pretender, and C R's are still to be seen all over the place Called on Lord Burghersh,[11] as at breakfast--the table covered with manuscript music, a pianoforte, two fiddles, and a fiddler in the roo up his opera of 'Phaedra' for to-ht The Ehersh has received the gift of painting as if by inspiration, and she was in a brown robe in the midst of oils, and brushes, and canvas; and a model was in attendance, some part of whose person was to be introduced into a fancy piece She copies pictures in the Gallery, and really extraordinarily well if it be true that till a year ago she had never had a brush in her hand, and that she is still quite ignorant of drawing

[11] [Lord Burghersh, afterwards Earl of Westmoreland, was then British Minister at Florence]

Went into two or three of the churches, then to the Gallery, and sat for half an hour in the Tribune, but could not work myself into a proper enthusiasm for the 'Venus,' whose head is too small and ankles too thick, but they say the more I see her the more I shall like her I prefer the 'Wrestlers,' and the head of the 'Reood _head_ I have seen, the only one with expression 'Niobe' is fine, but I can't bear her children, except one Then to the Casine on horseback to see the town and the world: it seeain dropped into so, though there is great sa for Catholic pos are lost amidst a heap of rubbish, but there is no lack of oing on with the Medici Chapel, on whichafter, for the Grand Duke is gradually finishi+ng the work

The profusion of marble is immense, and very fine and curious if examined in detail; the precious stones are hardly seen, and when they are, not to be recognised as such To the Pitti Palace, of which one part is under repair and not visible, but I saw most of the best pictures I like pictures better than statues It is a beautiful palace, and well furnished for show nobody knohat Vandyke ithout co here To the Gabinetto Fisico, and saw all the orks, the progress of gestation, and the representation of the plague, inco in the orks in the museum, which many people are so squeamish about

Before dinner yesterday called upon Thorwaldsen, as in the inn, to tell hihty polite, squeezed ht went to the Opera and heard David and Grisi in 'Ricciardo e Zoraida' She is like Pasta in face and figure, but hteen He has lost much of his voice, and embroiders to make up for it, but every now and then he appears to find it again, and his taste and expression are exquisite To-night at a child's ball at Lady Williareat deal of talk with hiland, which he concurred in, and see probably to the difference of our positions; he has nothing, and I everything, to lose by such an event

[Page Head: FLORENCE]

March 25th, 1830 {p301}

Went yesterdayto Santa Croce to hear a Mass on the completion of a monument which has been erected to Dante; very crowded and the music indifferent Afterwards to the Gallery and saw all the cabinets, but ere hurried through thean to like the 'Venus' better, best of all the statues The 'Niobe'[12] cannot have been a group, nor the children have belonged to the mother Rode to Nore and agreeable house, gardens full of fountains, statues, busts, orange and lemon trees, shrubs and flowers He pays 600 dollars a year for it, exclusive of the race-ground In the evening to Burghersh's opera, which was very well performed; pretty theatre, crowded to suffocation All the actors aentlelish

Here all the society of Florence was asselish, and other foreigners Nothing can be worse than it is, for there is no foundation of natives, and the rest are generally the refuse of Europe, people who come here from want of money or want of character Everybody is received without reference to their conduct, past or present, with the exception, perhaps, of Englishwomen who have been divorced, whose case is too notorious to allow the English Minister's wife to present them at Court

[12] The 'Niobe' is supposed to have been a group upon some temple [Illustration: Schematic of Teure; this makes it more probable, but the difficulty to this hypothesis is, that there do not appear to be the necessary gradations in the size or altitude of the other figures; the sons in the 'Laocoon' are certainly little men

[13] Phaedra Miss Williaano Contralto

The Girl Madame de Bombelles Soprano

Theseus Goretti Tenor

Attendant Franceschini Bass

March 26th, 1830 {p302}

Yesterdayto a Mass at the Annunziata, to which the Grand Duke came in state, with his fauards; seven coaches-and-six with his _guardia nobile_ and running footmen; the Mass beautifully performed by his band, Tacchinardi (father of Mada Then rode to Lord Cochrane's villa, where we found the to dinner He talks of going to Algiers to see the French attack it He has ot into a scrape; he is such a fine fellow, and so shrewd and good-humoured To the Certosa, on a hill two e convent, formerly very rich, and had near forty h there are a few ood repair, but looks desolate There is an old lish and speaks it tolerably, delights in English people and books, received us in his cell, which consists of two or three little apart a beautiful view; talked with great pleasure of his English acquaintance, and showed all their cards, which he treasured up A very lively, good-humoured old friar

Returned to ride in the Corso, which is a narrow street going from the Duomo to the Annunziata, to drive up and dohich is one of the cereo and pay their respects to the Virgin In the evening to the Opera and heard David again

[Page Head: ROME]

Ro at half-past seven frolowing sunset, strainingin vain to make out the different hills The last two days at Florence I went to the Gallery and Pitti Palace again with the Copleys Half the rooms were shut up when I was at the Pitti before, butthem all, and probably the finest collection of pictures in the world The Raphaels, Rubens, Andrea del Sartos, and Salvators I liked the best On Saturday evening went to Court and was presented to the Grand Duke, who is vulgar-looking and has badis rather handsome Stopped at Siena to see the cathedral; very fine, the ancient fount beautiful The h to appreciate, but the illuht ad, and as exquisitely finished as any h the Porta del Popolo appeared very fine, but I was disappointed in the first distant view of the city from the hill above Viterbo I passed Radicofani in the dark, and saw little to ad country The wohout Italy appeared very handsome, one quite beautiful at Siena

March 30th, 1830 {p303}