The secretary especially, in his letters to Lodovico, dwells with complacency on the admiration which the young duchess's gowns and jewels, and still more her own charms, had excited among the Venetians. "On every occasion the duchess appeared clad in new and beautiful robes and glittering jewels. Her jewels, indeed, were the wonder of the whole town. But I shall not be wrong if I say that the finest jewel of all is herself—my dear and most excellent Madonna, whose gracious ways and charming manners filled all the people of Venice with the utmost delight and enthusiasm, so that your Highness may well count himself what he is—the happiest and most fortunate prince in the whole world."
FOOTNOTES:
[43] E. Motta, op. cit., p. 390, etc.
[44] Motta e Molmenti, op. cit.
CHAPTER XVIII
Return of Beatrice to Milan—Visit of Duke Ercole and Alfonso to Pavia—Death of Duchess Leonora—Beatrice's camora and Niccolo da Correggio's fantasia dei vinci—Marriage of Bianca Maria Sforza to Maximilian, King of the Romans, celebrated at Milan—Letter of Beatrice to Isabella d'Este—Wedding fêtes and journey of the bride to Innsbrück—Maximilian's relations with his wife—Bianca's future life.
1493
On the 2nd of June, Beatrice and her mother left Venice and returned to Ferrara, where she once more embraced her infant son and enjoyed a few days' rest after all her fêtes and journeyings. The 7th of June was spent at Belriguardo, and from this favourite villa the young duchess wrote to her sister, expressing her regret that she would be unable to visit Mantua on her return to Milan.