Faenza

“ Even the women of Faenza bore their share of the burden of defence, carrying to the ramparts the heavy stones that were to be hurled down upon the besiegers, or actually donning casque and body-armour and doing sentry duty on the walls while the men rested. ”

“ That long and rather monotonous old post road the Via Æmilia (now run sidelong by the rail) which forms almost a straight line from Piacenza to Ancona, through one of the richest countries in the world, after passing the fine cities of Parma, Reggio, Modena, and Bologna, reaches Faenza and Forlì, important and early centres of the potter’s art. ”

“ Enclosed is a mandate from the Lord of Faenza. He has talked to me and displays great faith in you, nevertheless I see he is much alarmed, and suspicious of that prince [Duke of Milan?] . A Venetian ambassador is at Faenza with 200 soldiers as a guard. I had the same suspicion, and suspected others as well, as I have told you before, and now it is increased by what has happened at Rimini. Although Pesaro has always followed our lead, yet suspicions and State jealousies have great [Pg 234] influence on men’s minds. ”

“ Mr. Fortnum thinks it 38was painted by the same artist that executed the famous service of maiolica of which seventeen pieces are in the Museo Correr at Venice. The tazza at Fig. 34 is ascribed to the Faenza fabriques. It is as much Gothic as Italian in design, which is the case sometimes in Northern Italian art, and it has been found also that the “istoriati” maiolica of Faenza has more of its subjects from the engravings of German artists’ works, such as Dürer, Martin Schon, and others, than the pottery of any other Italian fabrique. ”

“ Faenza stands with regard to Imola between East and South East at a distance of ten miles. Forli stands with regard to Faenza between South East and East at a distance of 20 miles from Imola and ten from Faenza. ”

“ I omit other productions of this excellent artist, though I ought to notice, that in the soffitto of S. Giovanni, he also painted several sacred histories, in competition with all the first artists, who then flourished at Faenza, on which account that very cultivated city has preserved the whole of these paintings, although much defaced by age, in the Lyceum collection, belonging to the commune, mentioned in other places. ”

“ In the Louvre, the Musée de Cluny, the British and Victoria and Albert Museums, at Berlin, and at Dresden are rich collections of it. The modern faience appears to have been invented about the middle of the sixteenth century, at Faenza, as an imitation of majolica, and obtained its name in France, where a man from Faenza, having discovered a similar kind of clay at Nevers, had introduced the manufacture of it. True faience is made of a yellowish or ruddy earth, covered with an enamel which is usually white, but may be coloured. ”

“ The other is at the Celestini of Faenza, a singular work, as Crespi denominates it, from which he appears to have learnt the proper name of this younger Bertucci, whom he calls Giambatista. Baldinucci treats of Jacopone at the commencement of his fifth volume, and on the credit of Count Laderchi, he enumerates his different paintings, which then remained at Faenza. Of his surname he mentions nothing; nothing of his altar-piece of the Nativity; nothing of S. Vitale; nothing of the son, or the other artist of Faenza lately alluded to. ”

“ Faenza at that time was under the rule of Astor Manfredi, a brave and handsome young man of eighteen, who, relying on the love of his subjects towards his family, had resolved on defending himself to the uttermost, although he had been forsaken by the Bentivagli, his near relatives, and by his allies, the Venetian and Florentines, who had not dared to send him any aid because of the affection felt towards Caesar by the King of France. ”

“ This fresh worry was all the more trying since my stay in Genoa was disturbed by a multitude of other anxieties.
Not content with distributing copies of the judgment given at Faenza, I had an article inserted in a newspaper [8] containing a summary of my case, in which I asked for fresh information concerning my father and mother, whom I designated only by the initial J.
No one could believe that they were simply nobles; everybody was whispering august names; but as the Orleans family was allied with all the reigning families of Italy, fear seized upon all hearts and closed all lips. ”

“ Ugolino Ubaldini, a noble and virtuous person in Faenza, who, on account of his age probably, was not likely to leave any offspring behind him. He is enumerated among the poets by Crescimbeni, and Tiraboschi. ”

“ But most rare among the other men of Romagna, in certain respects, is Marco da Faenza (for only so, and not otherwise, is he called) , for the reason that he has no ordinary mastery in the work of fresco, being bold, resolute, and of a terrible force, and particularly in the manner and practice of making grotesques, in which he has no equal at the present day, nor one who even approaches his perfection. His works may be [Pg 156] found throughout all Rome ”

“ By his order, all the archives were [34] thrown open to me; everything was examined into, not only in the capital, but in the country round about the Apennines; but everywhere the answer was the same: “Nothing whatever has been discovered; everything must have been destroyed during the Revolution.”
“‘Seeing that there was nothing to be done there, I set out for Faenza, where I was informed that the Count Borghi was absent, and that, moreover, it would be useless for me to see him, as he had declared that he would never tell me anything at all. ”

“ My Birth—Kindness of the Comtesse Borghi—We leave for Florence—My Circumstances in that Town—Domestic Troubles—My Parents’ good Fortune—My Tastes—My Education—Journey to Pisa—My Illness.
I was born in 1773, in the little town of Modigliana, situated on the heights of the Apennines, which could be reached only by very bad roads. It belongs to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, though dependent on the Diocese of Faenza in the Papal States. ”

“ Signor Raffaelli thinks that many of the wares generally known as of Urbino were so called from the province, and frequently included those which were really the produce of Castel Durante. Passeri also speaks in high commendation of the Durantine wares, and Pozzi states that it was the rival of and only second to{130} Faenza in the quality of its productions. The fatal blow to this branch of industry was the death of the last duke, Francesco Maria II. in 1631, when there being no longer a court the trade declined, money became scarce, and the artists emigrated. ”

“ Morning wears on toward midday before we get a distant view of Panzano, a warm, grey tangle of towers and red roofs, looking calm and friendly enough in the sunshine, with groves and vineyards at its feet, but once doubtless given over to the dread clamour of war. A little farther on is the parish church, Pieve di S. Leolino, with its pleasant loggia and weather-beaten bell-tower. Within are two Della Robbias, a ciborium, and a tabernacle from the atelier, and not far [81] away is the country villa, of Count Viviani della Robbia, the present representative of the illustrious family of artists. ”

“ For these Adriatic cities, as the episcopal element in them has become more and more preponderating, have become less and less maritime.
A strong family likeness prevails in this group of neighbouring cities; but they have also their special characteristics. Fano is one of the least unprepossessing among them to a stranger. It is not so dirty as Pesaro or Rimini, but it is still more sleepy. There are fewer mendicants in the streets, but then there are fewer living creatures altogether. ”

“ The sturdy Sclavonian vassals of Fana, though terrified at beholding the displayed standard of the grand bailiff, and seeing that the assailants wore his livery and the Austrian uniform, fought, nevertheless, with the most resolute valour: as their lord and feudal superior, they deemed the count a greater man than Lanthiri, and with unflinching spirit toiled at the castle guns for four-and-twenty hours. The vassals of the duchy, repulsed and disheartened, were about to abandon their trenches and retreat ”

“ It is time to be gone. And Fanni, the sturdy, devoted attendant specially engaged to wait upon us during the last season, is wild to accompany us to Italy—comfortable Italy, where the washing water does not freeze in winter, and where maize polenta is as cheap and plentiful as the brown buckwheat plenten of Tyrol. ”

“ Never yet since Gian Galeazzo's death had it happened to Facino to enter Milan unacclaimed. But never yet had he received so terrific a manifestation of affection and good will as this. It expressed reaction from the terror sown by a rumour lately current that even Facino had at last forsaken Gian Maria's service, leaving the people at the mercy of their maniacal Duke and of such men as della Torre and Lonate as well as of the enemies now known to be rising against them. Facino was the people's only hope. In war he had proved himself a bulwark. ”

“ At last a band of conspirators took advantage of the moment when Facino Cane, the chief Condotierre of the insane ruler, lay in at Pavia, and cut down Giovanni Maria in the church of San Gottardo at Milan; the dying Facino on the same day made his officers swear to stand by the heir Filippo Maria, whom he himself urged his wife to take for a second husband. ”

“ This Adriatic sea carries an English mind home to many a little watering-place upon our coast. In colour and the shape of waves it resembles our Channel.
The seashore is Fano's great attraction; but the town has many churches, and some creditable pictures, as well as Roman antiquities. Giovanni Santi may here be seen almost as well as at Cagli; and of Perugino there is one truly magnificent altar-piece—lunette, great centre panel, and predella—dusty in its present condition, but splendidly painted, and happily not yet restored or cleaned. It is worth journeying to Fano to see this. ”

“ The astute young man’s first step was to marry Beatrice Tenda, Facino’s widow, through whom he became at once master of Pavia and the State which the Condottiere had conquered for himself, and of Facino’s fine army and immense treasure. He then led his troops to Milan, where his entry was opposed by Estorre Visconte and a strong faction. The great stronghold of Porta Giovia was, however, held for the legitimate prince by the Castellan, Vincenzo Marliano, who roused the citizens against Estorre. ”

“ Let us see one more city nearer home, and from that let us form our judgment, for the inhabitants of these northern cities are not worthy to be ranked with mankind.’
“So the Fanti came to Milan, and beneath the wings of the great guardian spirit, rejoicing in their approaching triumph, they entered its vast square. And behold the spirit drew back his wings, and they beheld a mighty and an awful vision! Before them stood their sister, the Fante of the milk-white rocks, but no longer humble, no longer to be restrained even within the bounds of the greatest palace upon earth. ”

“ There is a musical instrument in every shop, even at the stocking-darner’s at the corner of the street. Fano is famous beyond all the other towns of Italy [Pg 8] for its fair women, but all those we saw were very ugly indeed. I heard from a goodman of the town, of whom I made inquiry on this matter, that the days for the blooming of such beauty were past and gone. On this route the charge for dinner is about ten soldi, each person paying some twenty soldi per diem for everything, and thirty soldi per diem for the hire and maintenance of each horse. ”

“ Julius, who was anxious to be on good terms with Charles on account of the council of Trent which was then sitting, ordered Farnese to hand Parma over to the papal authorities once more, and on his refusal hurled censures and admonitions at his head, and deprived him of his Roman fiefs, while Charles did the same with regard to those in Lombardy. A French army came to protect Parma, war broke out, and Gonzaga at once laid siege to the city. But the duke came to an arrangement with his father-in-law, by which he regained Piacenza and his other fiefs. ”

“ THE MUGELLO
VERY year Italy is thronged with thousands of travellers who are thoroughly familiar with the larger cities of Tuscany: Florence, Lucca, Siena, and Leghorn are crowded with visitors, while Florence has practically become the Italian home of English and American wanderers; they not only fill hotels, pensions, and apartments, but occupy many of the villas on neighbouring hillsides. Fiesole's terraces are converted into tea-gardens, and resound with Anglo-Saxon chaffer for straw fans and baskets. ”

“ Fagan's boyhood was spent in Naples, where he early learned Italian and developed an interest in Italian life, literature, and art. In 1860 he was sent in charge of a queen's messenger to a private school at Leytonstone, Essex. In England, he was kindly received by his father's friend, Panizzi (ibid. ii. 213) . While still a boy, on returning to Naples, he carried letters from Panizzi to the revolutionary leaders in the Two Sicilies, and he imbibed strong revolutionary sympathies. ”

“ This ancient order, quietness, and beauty, which you may find everywhere in the country round about Florence, is the true Tuscany. The vulgarity of the city, for even in Italy the city life has become insincere, blatant, and for the most part a life of the middle class, seldom reaches an hundred yards beyond the barriera: and this is a charm in Florence, for you may so easily look on her from afar. ”