On the Friday, I saw the public procession when the Grand Duke rode in his coach.63 Amongst the other sights was a gilded car made in form of a theatre, in which were four little children, and one in the garb of a friar, who represented Saint Francis, holding his hands as the Saint is depicted, and bearing a crown over his cowl. This last was either a friar or some one in friar’s dress with a false beard. Some children were dressed as warriors, amongst whom was Saint George, and when they entered the piazza they came upon a huge dragon which was clumsily borne along by some men concealed. The dragon rushed forward, belching fire from his mouth and roaring, whereupon the young Saint George made at him with sword and lance and cut his throat.
I was most kindly received by one of the Gondi, a family living at Lyons: this gentleman sent me some of the Trebisiano, the finest wine of the country. Meantime it was so hot that even the people of the country marvelled at the heat, and this morning at dawn I had an attack of colic on the right side which lasted some three hours. I now tasted the first musk melon of the season: in Florence they have plenty of cucumbers and almonds from the beginning of June.
On the 23rd, the chariot races took place in a fine large piazza, surrounded on all sides by fair houses, the length thereof being greater than the width.64 At either end was erected a squared obelisk of wood, and between these was stretched a long rope to prevent any one from crossing the square. In addition, several men were stationed all along the piazza to keep the people off the rope aforesaid. All the balconies were filled with ladies, and the Grand Duke, with the duchess and the court, occupied one of the palaces. The people stood all along the piazza and upon some platforms which had been put up, where also I found a place. Five chariots, empty, entered for the race, the station by the side of one of the obelisks being assigned by lot, some people affirming that the coach on the outside had the best place from being able to make the round more easily. A trumpet gave the signal to start, and the coach which reached the starting-point beside the pyramid, at the end of the third round, was to be declared the winner. The Grand Duke’s coach held the lead up to the last round, but then the driver of the Strozzi coach, who had always hung close on the leader, urged his horses to make extraordinary efforts with loosened reins; and, having collected all his forces, brought his coach in line with the Duke’s at the end. I marked how the people began to clamour, as soon as they saw Strozzi gaining on the leader, and how they applauded him to the utmost though their ruler was there present. And afterwards, when the dispute was referred to the arbitration of certain gentlemen, the Strozzi partisans appealed to the verdict of the people assembled, who shouted with one voice in favour of Strozzi. The prize was finally awarded to him, unjustly as I thought, its value being a hundred crowns. No sight I had seen in Italy pleased me so much as this, on account of its resemblance to the ancient races.
This day being the vigil of Saint John the Baptist, they set certain small lamps on the top of the Duomo, making three rows thereof in circles, which gave light all round. They told me it was not the custom in Italy, as it is in France, to make bonfires on Saint John the Baptist’s Day.
Saturday was Saint John’s Day, the chief festival in Florence, and the one of the greatest fame, seeing that all, even the young maidens, take public part therein. I did not mark much beauty abroad. In the morning the Grand Duke appeared on a platform, raised against the wall of the Palazzo and overlooking the piazza. He was shaded by an awning adorned with the richest needlework, and on his left hand stood the nuncio of the Pope, and at some little distance apart, the Ferrarese ambassador. Then representatives of all his territories and cities passed before him, being summoned by a herald. Thus, Siena was represented by a youth, clad in black and white velvet, and bearing in his hand a large silver vase and an effigy of the Sienese wolf. This representative pays tribute to the Grand Duke every year, and makes a short speech. After he had passed, a succession of young men, shabbily dressed and riding wretched mules or horses, came by as they were called, this carrying a silver cup and that a tattered flag. A great number of these went by without speech, or obeisance, or the least order, and seeming to treat the whole affair as a jest. They were supposed to represent the various villages and places dependent on Siena, and they go through this form every year.
Next came by a car carrying a square pyramid of wood, fashioned in steps, upon which sat a group of children clad in various fashions, and angels and saints. On the apex, which was as high as the highest of the houses, stood a man dressed to imitate Saint John, and tied on to an iron bar. Following this car came a number of officials, those of the Mint being most prominent. At the end of the show came another car, on which were youths who carried three prizes for the various races, and alongside went the Barbary horses which were going to compete; also the riders thereof with the devices of their masters, who were some of the highest of the nobility. The horses, though small, were very shapely.
I did not feel the heat more severe than in France, nevertheless, to moderate it as much as possible in the inn bed-chamber, I had my bed made up every night on the table in the large room. I could not find here a single lodging which suited me, for this city is not a good one for strangers to inhabit, and the vermin with which the beds are infested must always be reckoned with. There is a scarcity of fish, and trout and the like are never eaten except when salted and brought from a distance. I remarked that the Grand Duke sent to a certain Milanese, Giovanni Mariano, who was lodging in my inn, a present of wine, fruit, bread, and fish, the last-named being small and kept alive in cool earthen jars.
All day long my mouth was parched and dry, with a feeling not of thirst but of internal heat, such as I have felt before during our hot seasons. I ate nothing but fruit, and some salad and sugar. I was indeed far from well.
The outdoor diversions, which we in France take after supper, these people take before that meal, which in the longest days is not eaten till night, and in the morning they begin the day between seven and eight o’clock.
After dinner the race of the Barbary horses took place, the prize being carried off by the horse belonging to the Cardinal de’ Medicis.65 Its value was two hundred crowns. The spectacle is not one to give pleasure, as those on the road could see nothing but the rush of the horses.
On Sunday I saw the Pitti Palace, where, amongst other things, I remarked the marble statue of a mule, modelled from one still alive, which was executed on account of the long service done by this beast in carrying material for the building of this palace. At least that is what the Latin verses say.66 In the palace I saw the image of the Chimera, the head of which, with horns and ears; springs from between the shoulders, while the body is like that of a small lion.67 On the Saturday the Grand Duke’s palace was open in every part to the country-folk, the great hall being filled with parties of dancers, some here and some there. I have a notion that this licence, which they enjoyed on the great feast day of the city, seemed to them a sort of shadow of their lost liberty.
On Monday I dined with Signor Silvio Piccolomini, a man of well-known worth and especially skilled in the art of fence. Many subjects came up for discussion, as there was a large gathering of other gentlemen. He has a poor opinion of the art of fencing as practised by the Italian masters, such as Veniziana di Bologna, Patinostraro, and others. Indeed, the only one he favoured was a certain pupil of his own, who now lives at Brescia, where he teaches the art to the gentle-folk of the city. He declared that the ordinary teachers of fencing follow neither art nor rule, and he condemned especially the far-reaching lunge which leaves your sword at the mercy of your adversary, and the practice of making one assault after another and then coming to a pause. This, he declared, was entirely against all experience of sword-play. He was on the eve of printing a treatise on this subject. In speaking of warfare he made light of artillery, greatly to my satisfaction, and he praised Machiavelli’s work, Della Guerra, and was quite in agreement with the writer’s opinions. He declared that the most skilful military engineer living was one in the service of the Grand Duke in Florence.
They have a fashion here of putting ice in the wine-cups, but of this I took very little, being uneasy in my body and troubled with pain in the side, besides passing an incredible quantity of gravel. My head still troubled me, and I could not get rid of the sensation of dulness and a certain indefinable heaviness over the brow, the cheeks, the teeth, the nose, and all parts. I imagined this discomfort arose from drinking the sweet, heady wines of the country, because my headache returned after I had drunk heartily of the Trebisiano. I must have been inflamed through travelling in the summer heat, and it needed a great quantity of the wine to quench my thirst on account of its sweetness.
I have come to the conclusion that Florence has a good right to the title “La bella.”68 I went out to-day alone to amuse myself by inspecting those ladies who may be seen by any one who may be so inclined. I saw those of the greatest note, but they were not of much account. Their lodgings are all in one part of the city, and are wretched even for what they are, being in no way equal to those of the Roman or Venetian courtesans, any more than their occupants can compare with the aforesaid ladies in beauty, or grace, or carriage. If any one of them is minded to dwell outside these bounds she must not make herself conspicuous, and must hide her real calling under some fictitious one.
I went to see the workshops of the silk-spinners, where a woman by one turn of a wheel can set to work five hundred threads. On the Tuesday morning I passed a small red stone.
On Thursday I went to visit the Casino69 of the Grand Duke. What struck me most there was a rock of pyramidal shape made of all sorts of mineral stones, the mass being composed of one fragment of each. From this rock a spring of water gushed forth and set in motion a great number of devices, water-mills, windmills, bells, soldiers, animals, hunting scenes, and many others of the same sort, all placed in a chamber inside. On Thursday I did not care to stay in the city to witness another horse race, so I went after dinner to Pratolino, which I inspected minutely for the second time, and, being requested by the steward of the palace to give my opinion as to the relative beauties of this place and of Tivoli, I said what I had to say without making any general comparison, but setting detail against detail, with the different things to be considered in each case, and letting now this place and now Tivoli have the advantage.
On Friday to the shop of the Giunti, where I bought a collection of Comedies, eleven in number, and certain other books. I saw there Boccaccio’s will,70 printed together with some lectures on the Decameron, which displays the amazing poverty into which this illustrious man must have fallen. He left some of his linen and bedding to his sisters and his other relatives, his books to a certain friar with the instructions that the legatee is to allow the use of them to any one who may demand the same. He made mention of everything down to earthenware and the meanest utensils, and arranged for his burial and masses. This is printed exactly from the original, which was written on parchment greatly injured and decayed.
The courtesans here stand at the doors of the houses to attract lovers, just as those of Rome and Venice sit by the windows. They take their station at suitable hours, and may be always seen, some with large and some with small company, talking and singing in the streets.
On Sunday the 2nd of July I quitted Florence after dinner, and, having crossed the Arno by the bridge, we left the river to the right hand, following its course nevertheless. We traversed a fine fertile plain, which produces the finest musk melons in Tuscany, but the best of these are not ripe before the 15th of July. Those grown at Legnara, three miles from Florence, are the best. Our road lay through a country for the most part level and fertile, everywhere studded with houses large and small, which made it seem one continuous string of villages. Amongst others we passed a charming place called Empoli,71 the name of which seemed to me to smack of antiquity. Its site is most lovely, but I saw no sign of old times save a ruined bridge near the road which had an indescribable look of age.
Here I made special note of three things. First, to see the people of these parts harvesting grain, or threshing, or sewing, or spinning on a Sunday. Second, to see the peasants with lutes in their hands, and even the pastoral songs of Ariosto on their lips—which thing indeed may be observed all through Italy. Third, to see how these people will leave the grain lying in the fields for ten or fifteen days after it is cut—or even longer—without fear of being robbed by the neighbours. We travelled in the evening dusk for twenty miles as far as Scala.
Here we could only get lodging, which was very good. I took no supper, as I was troubled with toothache on the right side, an ailment which often comes with my headaches. I felt it especially when I was eating, as every bite caused me the sharpest pain. On the morning of Monday, July 3, we followed the level road beside the Arno, which led us to a fertile plain, covered with corn, and at midday, after riding twenty miles, came to Pisa.