There are one or two interesting traditional stories connected with this church. The first relates to the beautiful organ, and runs as follows: "So fine a tone and so esteemed was the work of the now—so far as we have been able to ascertain—unknown organ builder, that the Town Council are said to have determined to blind or maim him so that it should be impossible for him to construct another instrument like it for any other city. The unfortunate man, unable to get the Councillors to give up their diabolical intention, asked as a last favour to be allowed to play on the instrument he had made ere the barbarous sentence was carried out. But as soon as he was in the organ-loft he set to work and irreparably injured the vox humana stop which he had invented, and which had been the greatest attraction of the beautiful instrument; and thus he punished the Council who had determined to reward his genius in such a terrible manner."
The other legend is of the crucifix, still to be seen in one of the side chapels of the Cathedral, which on the occasion of the final Te Deum, when the Council was disbanded on December 4, 1563, was seen to bow down in token of approval of the constitutions and enactments which had just been signed.
Of the fifteen or sixteen churches of Trent, the Cathedral, which was commenced in the eleventh century and finished in the fifteenth, in the form of a Romanesque basilica with a lantern above the joining of the cross, is the most important. It is built of the same reddish brown marble as the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, which stone abounds in the immediate neighbourhood. There are some remnants of seventh or eighth century carvings, notably the Lombard ornaments of the three porches, which are of great interest. The interior of the church, which is dedicated to Saint Vigilius, contains many frescoes and some good pictures and other objects, including a Madonna by Perugino, a copy of the Madonna Di San Luca in the Pantheon, which was presented to a Bishop of Trent whilst on a visit to Rome in the middle of the fifteenth century, and has ever since been an object of great veneration to the townsfolk and peasantry of the district round about.
The Museum in the Palazzo Municipale, which, at any rate, a year or two ago was unfortunately closed during the months of July and August, when many tourists are in Trent, contains some very interesting Roman antiquities, including inscriptions, household utensils, ornaments, coins, pottery, and similar objects, and is well worth an hour or two for inspection.
DANTE AND THE VAL SARCA
Dante's connection with Trent does not appear to be, even at the present time, very clearly proved, although there would seem to be no doubt whatever that the poet spent some few months, at least, in the Trentino. This theory gains some considerable support from references which occur in the "Divina Commedia" to the Trentino, which (various authorities state) are so detailed as to be only possible from personal knowledge. It may, however, be pointed out that, as in the case of Shakespeare, who described many places quite accurately to which he could never have been, it is possible Dante's knowledge of the Trentino was not gained from personal experience, and the theory advanced of his sojourn in the neighbourhood, based upon references to the district in his works, is not unassailable. A considerable number of books, pamphlets, and articles have been written, however, by Italian, German, and English scholars and students of Dante in support of different theories regarding his visit to these parts. One of the most learned and thorough writers upon this subject—Zaniboni—appears to have no doubt that Dante was in the Trentino, but that the "Inferno" was not written during his supposed visit to the Castle of Lizzana, but soon after his return to Italy. Other authorities have inclined to the view that the Val Sarca, near the tiny village of Pietra Murata, is the real scene of Dante's "Inferno"; and those who know this desolate and even terrible spot, where the very ground seems blighted, the heat intense between the towering and craggy cliffs, and the whole of the valley the scene of a horrible desolation, with huge boulders tossed hither and thither, and not a blade of grass and scarcely a patch of lichen to be seen, will be inclined also to support this view. But whatever the truth may be, Trent has put in a claim to Dante in the shape of the magnificent monument to him, from a design by Zocchi, erected in 1896 in the centre of the Piazza Dante, near the station. The figures around the base of the column upon which the statue of the poet stands, with his right arm upraised and outstretched, and his left pressing a roll of MS. to his breast, are remarkably well executed, and the whole effect of the memorial, with its background of craggy mountains and its environment of flower-beds, is impressive.
There are, of course, numberless interesting buildings, and also several other churches worthy of study and attention; but, perhaps, amongst all the domestic buildings and palaces of Trent, including the Palazzi Wolkenstein and Sizzo, and the Tabarelli, in which are magnificent private collections of pictures and other objets d'art, none exceeds in romantic and legendary interest the Teufelspalast, which has been known by several other names at various times, and latterly as the Palazzo Zambelli. This beautiful home (now a bank) was built by George Fugger, a relative of the wealthy banker, Anthony Fugger, of Augsburg. The legendary story is as follows:—
George Fugger having become acquainted with one Claudia Porticelli, a beautiful young woman of Trent, fell desperately in love with her, and although the fair Claudia does not appear to have discouraged his suit, she was too proud to yield too readily to his proposals, and in addition was very patriotic, and inclined to the view that a Tyrolese maid should marry a Tyrolese man. It was in pursuance of this idea, when at last her lover pressed her strongly for an answer, that she told him she would never marry a man who lived so far away from her beloved home, and that she wondered how any one who did not possess a tiny pied à terre in Trent, should for a moment think that he could have any claim upon her affections. This reply to his suit might, one would think, have discouraged most people, but George Fugger, who possessed vast wealth, had no intention of yielding up his claim, or his supposed claim, to the beautiful Claudia without a struggle; and, moreover, Claudia Porticelli, although discouraging him so distinctly, had (like a woman) put off the evil day of giving a final answer for a period of a little more than twenty-four hours. In this delay, George Fugger saw the solution which great wealth and determination of character placed within his reach. He determined, therefore, within the short space remaining before Claudia gave him his final answer, to build a house "worthy of the human gem whose casket it was to be."
A SATANIC COMPACT
Twenty-four hours or so in which to build a palace was, however, such an impossibly short time that no man could hope to accomplish the task by human aid alone. Therefore (so the legend goes) he sought the help from a source to which no good Christian would think of turning, namely, that of the Devil. In legendary lore there are many stories of the Devil assisting men and women to an accomplishment of their desires, but almost invariably at the price of their souls.