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A.D. 1515. A. Et. 40.

nament, the invention of which is attributed by Vasari to Lorenzo father of the pontiff, and which was highly commended by Leo X. who declared that the structure could not A: Pont. II. have appeared more beautiful if the whole had been built of marble.(a) Many other works of art are commemorated by contemporary writers, some of which were executed from the de signs of Baccio Bandinelli, and were displayed in such profusion as almost to fill the streets through which the pontiff had to pass.(b)

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(a)" L'idea di quest' opera era assai nobilmente conceputa. Sopra un basamento ben grande vi collocò più "mani di colonne binate d'ordine Corintio; tra esse vi era❝no dei nicchi con figure rappresentanti gli Apostoli; reg80 gevan quelle i loro sopraornati con varj risalti, e i loro "frontispizj. L'opera tutta era ornata di molti bassi ri"lievi, e con quel, di più, che saggio Architetto in regia 66 opera sa, e può disporre. Tutta fu di legname. Egli "(Jac. Sansovino) fece le statue ed i bassirilievi. Andrea "del Sarto dipinse alcune storie a chiaroscuro." Tomaso Tamanza, nella vita del Sansovino, ap. Bottari, Nola al Vasari, ii. 225.

CHA P.

XIII.

(b) A very particular account of these splendid preparations is given by a contemporary writer, whose narration yet remains unpublished, but from which a passage is extracted by Dom. Moreni, in his annotations on the work of Paris de Grassis mentioned in the following note. For this passage, v. App. No. CXXVIII.

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CHAP.

XIII.

Procession

The ceremonial order of the procession was arranged with great attention by Paris de Grassis, (a) from the inferior ranks of valets, heralds, and horsemen, to the great officers of the pope's household, nobles, ambassadors, of the pope. and independent princes of Italian states. In this task he found, however, no small difficulty; for as there were three ambassadors from France, and only one from Spain, the Spanish envoy insisted on being placed next to the first of the French envoys, so that the other two should follow him. To this the French envoys positively objected; alleging, that on a former occasion, when there were three Spanish ambassadors and one from England,

A. D. 1515.
A. Pont. III.

A. t. 40.

(a) On this occasion, Paris de Grassis accompanied the pope to Florence, as his master of the ceremonies, during which he continued his diary; in which he inserted, as usual, every circumstance that occurred. His narration has been given to the public by Domenico Moreni, under the title, De ingressu Summi Pont.. Leonis x. Florentiam Descriptio Paridis de Grassis Civis Bononiensis Pisauriensis Episcopi Ex. Cod. MS. nunc primum in lucem edita et notis illustrata a Domenico Moreni Academia Florentinæ nec non Columbaria Socio. As both the matter and the manner of the diary of this officer, who attended on the person of the pope and regulated his equipage and dress, to theminutest particulars, is highly curious, the reader will find his account of the pope's entry into Fllorence, from which the above in. formation is chiefly derived, in the Appendix, No. CXXIX.

XIII.

laud, and the English envoy claimed the pri- CHAP. vilege of following after the first of the Spaniards, they refused to allow themselves to be separated, and insisting that the same rule should be applied to them which they had applied to others; whereupon the Spaniard quitted the procession in disgust. To the ambassadors succeeded the magistrates of Florence on foot, the guards of the pope, and Lorenzo de' Medici with fifty followers. The host was borne by the clerk of the papal chapel, preceded by tapers, and placed under a canopy. supported by canons of the church. Next appeared the cardinals, according to their distinctions of deacons, priests, and bishops, who were succeeded by one hundred young men of noble families, superbly and uniformly dressed. The master of the papal ceremonies, Paris de Grassis bishop of Pesaro, with his assistants, immediately preceded the pope, who appeared under a canopy, which was carried by the Gonfaloniere and chief magistrates of Florence, and followed by the chamberlains, physicians, secretaries, and other officers, of the pope's household. Among these was his treasurer, who during their progress distributed money among the crowd; for which purpose the pope had appropriated a sum of three thousand ducats. A long train of prelates and ecclesiastics

A. D. 1515.

A. Et. 40.

A.

Pont. If.

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XIII.

the

CHAP. ecclesiastics followed, and the horse-guards of pope brought up the rear. In this manner the procession passed towards the church of S. Maria del Fiore, the pope frequently stopping to observe the inscriptions and trophies which appeared in his way. On his arrival at the church he found an elevated path prepared, on which he proceeded, with a few attendants, from the entrance to the high altar, whilst the rest of his followers remained in the church below. Here he continued in prayer a longer time than usual; after which the cardinal Giulio de' Medici, as archbishop of Florence, chanted the service and recited the oration. The pope then gave his benediction and plenary indulgence to all present, after which he retired to relax from his fatigues, in the adjacent monastery of S. Maria Novella, whilst the evening was passed by the populace in joyful acclamations. The repose of the night was disturbed by the firing of cannon, which the prudent master of the ceremonies had strictly prohibited during the day, lest the horses of the secular attendants and the terrified mules of the ecclesiastics should throw their riders on the pave

ment.

A. D. 1515. A. Pont. III.

A. Et. 40.

On the following day the pope visited the church

church of the Annunciata, where having some doubts whether he should unveil the celebrated image of the virgin, he consulted the cardinals present on this important question, by whose advice the veil was drawn aside at three short intervals. Thence he proceeded to take up his residence at his paternal mansion, where he found his brother Giuliano confined to his bed by a tedious and hopeless complaint. The third day after his arrival, being the first Sunday in Advent, was devoted to the performance of divine service in the chapel of the Medici family, dedicated to S. Lorenzo. On the conclusion of the ceremony, Leo X. turned to the spot where the remains of his father were deposited, and whilst he prostrated himself in the attitude of supplication, he was observed by his attendants to shed tears.(a)

On

(a) Fabr, in vita Leon. x. p. 95. The visit of the pontiff to the church of S. Lorenzo was commemorated in the following lines of Marcello Adriani Virgilio, chancellor of the republic, which were afterwards inscribed over the great door of the church:

" DIVUS LAURENTIUS,

66

AD LEONEM X. PONT. MAX.

"Hanc

CHAP.
XIII.

A. D. 1515.

A. Et. 40.

A. Pont. III.

Leo X.

visits the tomb of his

father.

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