PALAZZO VECCHIO, FLORENCE, ITALY. The ancient capitol of the Republic of Florence, and subsequently the residence of Cosmo de’ Medici, is known as the Palazzo Vecchio, or Old Palace. Begun in 1298, it is a striking example of the Florentine castles of the Middle Ages, with its enormous projecting battlements and its disproportionate bell tower, defiantly stuck upon the walls without regard to symmetry, and almost overhanging the battlements. It is situated in the Piazza della Signoria, the historic, as well as the commercial, centre of Florence. The court is adorned with a fountain and sculptured columns. In front of the entrance is Bandinelli’s group of Hercules and Cacus. At right angles to the left is the Loggia dei Lanzi, an open arcade, famous for its own beauty and for the sculptured master-pieces which it enshrines. A large and elegant fountain is on the right.
CATHEDRAL OF FLORENCE, ITALY. This is generally known as the Duomo or Dome, though its official designation is Santa Maria del Fiore. Arnolfo di Cambio began it in 1298; he was succeeded by Giotto, and the dome was added by Brunelleschi. The latter is not only beautiful in itself, but is interesting as the first of the great domes of the modern world. A half-finished façade was destroyed by fire, and the deficiency was not supplied until 1875–1884. The interior is impressive, though almost entirely devoid of ornamentation. Outside the church, to the left, is the Campanile, an exquisite work by Giotto; so exquisite that Charles V declared it ought to be kept in a glass case. In front is the Baptistery, an octagonal building, surmounted by a dome. It was begun in 1352 and finished in 1358. Its chief attraction lies in the bronze doors, especially those by Lorenzo Ghiberti, which Michael Angelo eulogized as worthy to be the gates of Paradise.
THE CAPITOL, ROME, ITALY. Anciently, the Capitoline Hill, in Rome, was surmounted by the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus and the citadel of the city. Hence, here was the head of the Roman state and the shrine of their religion. But temple and citadel have vanished and in their place is a group of buildings erected by Paul III from the designs of Michael Angelo. On the right is the Palace of the Conservatori, on the left the Museum of the Capitol and between the two, occupying the third side of the square, is the Palace of the Senator, a modern Roman patrician with that title. The photograph shows the best approach to the square up the grand stair-case, known as La Cordonnata, which in its present form dates from 1736. At the foot of the stairs are two Egyptian lions, and at the summit, on the angles of the balustrades, two ancient colossal statues of Castor and Pollux, standing by the sides of their horses. These were found in the sixteenth century. In the centre of the square is the bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius.
CASTLE OF ST. ANGELO, ROME. Originally this famous structure was built by the Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The same emperor also erected the bridge now known as St. Angelo—anciently as the Pons Ælius—which crosses the Tiber opposite the castle. Tradition affirms that Gregory the Great in 589 changed the name in memory of a vision of the Archangel Michael, who appeared to him standing on the summit of the mausoleum. He built a chapel on the summit, but subsequently this was replaced by the statue still extant. During the Middle Ages this was the fortress of Papal Rome, and its history at that period is bound up in the history of the city itself. It has also served as a prison, and part of it was up to recent times still used for that purpose. It has suffered much from sieges and the ravages of time, and is now but the skeleton of the magnificent pile erected by Hadrian. No vestige remains of the shell of Parian marble which encircled it, while the statues were torn off to be used as missiles against the Goths, and later as cannon balls.
ST. PETER’S, ROME, ITALY. This is the largest and most magnificent of all Christian temples. It is built on the supposed site of the burial-place of St. Peter. As early as A. D. 90 an oratory was raised on the spot; in 306 this was followed by a basilica. The present edifice was begun in 1506, and after employing the talents of Bramante, Michel Angelo and other architects, was dedicated by Urban III in 1626. The magnificent dome was mainly the work of Michael Angelo, though his plan was somewhat modified by Giacomo della Porta. The impressive colonnades, which almost encircle the square and lead up to the front, were added in 1667. The façade is confessedly a failure. But nothing can mar the beauty of this extraordinary edifice. Although it occupies some two hundred and forty thousand square feet, the interior, from its exquisite proportions, does not at once impress the beholder with a sense of its vastness. That grows upon one by degrees. The Vatican, which adjoins St. Peter’s, is an equally enormous and beautiful building, which comprises the residence of the popes, an astounding museum of pictures and statues and a library of unexampled historic interest.
