Knoxville Whig and chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1875-1882, 1875-10-20
European Letter.
FLoRENcE, September, 20, 1915,


The first view "f Florence as you
come into It from the railway station,
is very disappointing one, and pro.
louged stay in it confirms the impress
sion that il ia anything but Florence
-the beautiful" that you had expect
ed and OF which you had heard so
much. The solidly paved streets are,
with few exceptions, extremely mar
row, and appear as still more like al
leys 10y reason Of the great height of
the houses on each side. These mar
row irregular streets are in addition, as
a rule, dirty, and the houses appear
seedy aud fnrlorn. This neglected ap~
pearance L., moreover, not that Of gram
deur in ruins, but reminds one most
automatically of the filthy by-strects
of London aud New York. Though
shere are many buildings that would
be imposing If suitably located, none,
not even the Duomo, strike the eye
wi,h any considerable degree OF mag
nifiGence, of this last truly grand
structure, you are not able to see more
than II third at any one time, so close
ly is it hemmed in ou all sides 10y
houses. The river Arno on which
Florence is located is an insignificant
little stream, not larger than First
Greek in the Summer, and always
muddy in the winter. How it could
4, 4, II
ence" passes my mprehension. But
let US not be given too much to FAULT
finding, too common habit l find
among travellers. AS the beauty then
of this central city of ancient Italian
art lies not in its exterior, it must pos
sess some attraction somewhere to
make it still one of the noted cities OF
the East and one to which the traveller
always turns with interest. This at.
traction lies in the very fact that it is
the central city of ancient Italian art
and was for generations the residence
of the Medeci family the noblest and
most munifcent patrons of the art,
perhaps, the world has ever seen. It's
galleries, its churches, its palaces, It's
collections of statuary, its intimate
association with the rise aud
development of art, its numer
Gus sons who have forever
associated their names with all
branches of the fine arts and literature,
itS Michael Argelo, its Dante, its Giot-
to, and Cimabue, its Michavelli, its
Brunellesco and twenty others equally
great, present an array of attractions
that the lover of art can not resist, and
to enjoy which he is willing to under
90 all the IncOnveniences of a pilgrim
age to the spot where they are collected
together. And because so many beau
tiful artistic works are to be seen here,
40 much that the whole world Of art
pays homage to, such traces of past
Iuagnificence and grandeur, the tourist,
especially If he is devoted to art, is apt
to he carried away with the jewel, and
and imagines the setting beautiful
also.
And how these old cities do love and
honor the names OF those who have
made their names great, and made
them, In their filth and ruins, the
.Lecca to which the artistic heart
throughout the whole civilized world
turns with an eager longing! Here
they cling to every relic of their great
men, and seek on every possible occa-
sion to remind the world that good
once came out of Nazareth; that poor,
wretched, weak Italy was once the seat
of grandeur and the home of great
ness.
1t is beautiful to see this reverence to
her heroes of the past, but alas! how
sad. 1t Is a decrepit, miserable, old
man. .recounting in his ragged poverty,
the grandeur and gorgeousness of his
prince.
IH,,a,, b;,,, ,,,bor, aho onoa en,,rnod
| from her, and shut her gates against,
and sent a wanderer upon the face of
earth, this city Of Florence, now is
proud to claim as one of those heroes
as one of her greatest. And, as the
city of Rtvena, where the immortal
Dante yielded up his mighty but
broken spirit, refuses to give up his
bones for inteTment in the Santa
Croce, these FlOrentines have erected
"A magnificent cenotaph in his honor in
! this, their Westminster Abbey, and in
the square in front of it, have placed a
Colossal statue of him, and there he
stands to-day, looking down with sad,
reproachful eyes upon the city he
loved as he did his life, Gnd pining for
| which he died. This magnificent mon
ument and -'atue were inaugurated
with great 'rmnity on the l4th of
May, 1865, r!.p 6Ol.h anniversary of
the birth of lur poet.
We have just now passed through
the fetes which took place on the Oc-
I casIon Of the celebration of the birth
day of another of Florence's favorite
children, the fourth centenary OF
Michael Angelo Buonarroti. or all
her artists, aud they can be counted
10y the dozen, this one is most closely
associated with her history as an art
city. III architecture, in painting, and
in sculpture, this rough child of genius
has left evidences of his skill which
are astonishing, no less by their quan.
tity, than by their quality. Not only
did he work for the adOrning of his
native city, but all the other cities oI
Italy Contain more or less of his la.
bors. His pictures In the Vatican al
Rome are as fine, or finer, than any
thing he did here, but he belonged tC
Florence; here he was born, here hC
lived, and his ashes rest under the
strong, rough vaultings of the Santa
Croce. The celebration of his birtl
would, therefore, most appropriately
. | l. 1ha AalA q hfa ,H,n.t -