Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-03-14

What ~ was ~ us greatest iuStre, one
must come TO Florence.
COVERED WITH VISIBLE THOUGHTS.
For. the walls Of its churches are
covered with the visible thoughts that
influenced that era, innumersble paint
ings in the galleries bear witness to the
eliminating point, and its grand build
ings--all unlike each otheT-testlty to
the originality Of their designers IN a
way that one does not see in other cities.
In the sacriSty of the Church Of Sac
Lorenzo are some Of the best-known
and admired statues Of Michel Angelo
Day and Night" " Evening and
Dawn" They are recumbent, and
consist Of male aud female
figure in each group placed facing
each other and surmounted by por-
trait statue Of one Of the Medici fam
lily. They are allegorical, but no one
knows exactly what they mean, so
each can interpret them according to
bis own fancy. In gazing a. them one
hiss an uneasy feeling that all sorts
Of emotions and aspirations and woes
and miseries are slowed away in these
marble figures just as they are in our
living human brotherhood that throng
around us. In thinking Of them
afterwards one misses certain in
expressible, indeGnable charm that a.
tracts one so powerfully when one
stands before them, so that the remem-
brance of them, and actually looking,
are two experiences that are sundereI
by CULTS Of distance not to be Spsnne !.
Perhaps it is akin to the difference ot
being near our pleasantest friends AID
being far away from them.
IN THE CLO1sTERs.
In the cloisters of Santa Maria
Novello are frescoes Of the earliest and
| later epochs. The Green cloister, named
after the prevailing tint in which it is
painted, is covered with scenes from the
! Old Testament, and in spite Of being
much faded the graphic style of the de-
sign is still strikiugly' clear. The
| Spanish chapel, so called because used
at the time of the marriage Of Eleanor
of Toledo and the Grand Duke Cosimo
l.. Of Tuscany, is one Of the very in
terestiug things in Florence. 1t is ell
tirely covered with irescOes. One
side is the "Church Militant" and
the - Church Triumphant, and among
the numerous persons depicted are
Cimabul, one Of the earliest painters OF
note, Giotto, his pupil, who worked on
the Cathedral and designed the Campo
nile, potrarch and Laura, Philippe lie
| Belle Of France, Boccacio, and Simone
! Mcmmi. said by some to be the princi-
yal painter Of the chaplain attractive
set Of people, who have kept their hold
over other peoples minds five hundred
wears. Modern Florence is interesting,
too. Many Of the Floren,ines, be-
sides having houses or apartments
inside the town. have also villas
within short distance Of it.
SURROUNDING COUNTRY.
The whole surrounding country is
dotted with these villas, usually 50
planted as to have the advantage Of the
macnilcont views. We drove to FIe-
sole, an ancient town Of note, and now
suburb Of Florence, situated on the
summit of one Of the many hills near
and about two miles from the heart Of
the town. But as it is almost all up
hill the distance seems much greater
It's bell-tower stands high up, and seen
from the valley, with a background OF
blue Sky, is well-known land
mark. From FiesOle we went to the
castle Of Vincicaglia, recently built in
imitation of an old one by an English
gentleman. Though the outside IS ef-
iectiye, on entering it one perceiyes at
once that it is sham and has never
stood siege, in spite of having a solid
wall Of masonry round 1t, parapetS,
turrets, narrow, steep Stone stairs,
oak doors with medieval iron-work
on them, and numberless suitable small
details. 1t has the supniest of gardens,
and must be a charming place for sum-
Nor pic-nics-the only kind of use
to which the owner puts it. Another
modern castellated mansion is much
more captivating to the fancy and likely
to stir up all kinds ofromantic thoughts.
1t is built in the style Of baronial hall,
and stands on the slope Of hill so
sheltered that palms and tender plants
will bear winter exposure. The garden
is of the true villa type, having busts
and statues along most of its varied
walks.
A MUSEUM.
Within it is a veritable museum oil
rare and beautiful objects happily toned
down to such a point as to make 1t
lnxnrinns habitation for q family o.