The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-03-05
CITIES OF NORTHERN ITALY
HIGHLY INTERESTING LECTURE BY
PROFESSOR y. CADY EATON.

PROFESSOR y. CADY EATON.
Delivered in the Sheffield Course-Scenes
in Old italian Cities-Splendors IF An
cient Art-Some Beauties of Cathedral
Northumberland Treatment of
the Subject interviewer.
A large and appreciative audience
listened to Professor D. Cady Eatons
lecture on "Ferrara'' given in the
Sheffield lecture course on Tuesday
evening. The lecture, which was finely
illustrated and very interesting, is
given in full below:
AS every effort should have an OBJ
ject, you may accept as the general OBJ
ject of these lectures the illustrating
the value of the contributions Of art to
history. The particular process will be
to show you few of the cities of
northern Italy which are neglected by
the modern traveller; and to make you
acquainted with few of the people
who lived in them when they not only
attracted the curious Wanderer, but
were centers where poesy sang, art ex-
panded, and chivalry delighted to be
honored. Modern civilization, with it's
centralizing foci and its railroad speed
shoots by them now and hurries the
traveller from one capital to another,
leaving hotel keepers to mourn and the
shades of brave and fair cinque cento
men and women to despair of modern
love and applause.
The plains of Lombardy are as rich
to-day as they ever were. Its soil is as
fertile; it's men as strong; it's women as
beautiful; it's kline as sleep; its oil as
rich; it's grain as nourishing; it's babies
as numerous and as hearty, as in the
days of Virgil; but It's increase, instead
of flowing to cities of it's choice, MAX
ing rival centers of splendor and beau
ty, is now dragged to a new and selfish
Rome; while the terrible taxes imposed
to keep alive the Triple Alliance"
weighs down artistic natures to silent
drudgery, load citizens with vulgar
burdens, and give no respite from sad
questions Of daily bread.
Glance at the map and see what ma
ture has done for the plains. To the
north and west the Alps shut off foes
and pour down streams of abundant
ceaseless irrigation. To the south the
Apennines supplement the fiaIors of
the Alphs. The grand river Pc flows
right through the middle and out to the
sea, giving commerce facility and en-
enlargement. Nowhere else on the
earth's surface has nature done more
to create prosperous and independ-
ent people. But alas, nations beyond
the mountains and beyond the sea with
still larger plains, nourishing larger
and more warlike population have
ever been and envied The French, the
Germans and the Spaniards have pour
ed in from north, east and west maxi
ing the plains of Lombardy fields Of
constant fight and: strategy, and leav-
ing for modern italy staggering bur-
dens of debt and taxation, with the
question of the future still in the
balance.
During the 18th century, northern
Italy had two masters, the Pope and
the Emperor, but was virtually indie
pendent of each. The Latin races have
always been, and still are, more indif-
ferent to personal liberty and individ-
ual freedom than the German and the
Anglo-S Saxon races. They delight in
the show of princes and potentates,
who give them rare shows. who patro-
nize poets and painters, who build
stately palaces and live at ease in
splendid luxury. The substance the
burghers of Client and Bruges put into
town halls, belfries, and other monu-
ments of liberty the Italians willingly
poured into the Golfers of rulers, re-
joicing in their extravaganza. Let the
philosophers of history account for it as
they please-There are the facts
Thus it came about that the Viscon-
It's, the Sforzas, the Estes, and the
Gonzagas, grew rich and f1ourished till
they held up their heads almost as
high as the Valois of France, the Haps-
burghs of Austria, or the Fsovereigns
of Aragon; and would only at times,
and partially, defer to the Pope of
Rome the Doge of Venice, or the En-
peror of Germany. With their big
quarrels and final extinction these lee
lures are not concerned, but they will
show their homes and introduce few
of the inmates to acquaintance, If only
to experiment whether modern sympa-
thy and interest may not reach across
five hundred years or more.
Look more closely at part of the
map. To the west of Venice is Padua,
which belonged to Venice most of the
time and shared in it's history. But
forty odd miles south of Padua Is Fer
rara, the seat of the Este family which
fourished grandIy and Independently
for hundreds of years; while only
about forty miles west of Ferrara is
Mantua, where the Gonzagas lived in
equal splendor and independence. To
these two give attention, letting other
places and people be subordinate and
secondary.
First, Ferrara, and the Estes from
whom Queen Victoria is proud to trace
descent. The origin of the Este fam
lily is quite as obscure as that of the
family of any colonial dame or warrior
of the present day About twenty miles
north of Ferrara is a town still called
Este, where the family is supposed to
have emerged from the common herd
and to. have made itself so prominent
as to call itself by the name of the
town when German Emperor pro-
claimed that all people should take
surnameS. No Jew, however, could
take as surname the town or city of his
residence. So it happened that many
extraordinary Jew surnames were
started and live which indicate wealth
er phenomena; implements of peace, or