\LDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 JULIA CAOTWRIGMT
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE
 
 BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 THE PERFECT COURTIER 
 
 HIS LIFE AND LETTERS 
 
 1478— 1529 
 
 BY JULIA CARTWRIGHT 
 
 (MRS. ADY) 
 
 AUTHOR OF ' ISABELLA D'eSTE,' 'MADAME,' ETC. 
 
 ' C e chi, qual lui 
 Vedriamo, ha tali i cortegian formati.' 
 
 Ariosto. 
 
 ' Lacrime, voce e vite a' bianchi marmi 
 Castiglion, dar potesti, e vivo esempio 
 A Duci nostri, anche in te sol contempio 
 Com' uomo vinca la morte, e la disarmi.' 
 
 TORQUATO Tasso. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES 
 VOL. L 
 
 LONDON 
 JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W. 
 
 igo8
 
 JI6 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 Count Baldassare Castiglione is known to the 
 world as the author of ' II Cortegiano.' He was a 
 distinguished soldier, diplomat, and poet, but his title 
 to immortality rests on this one book. ' The best 
 book that was ever written upon good breeding,' said 
 Dr. Johnson, wlien he was travelling with Boswell in 
 Skye — ' the best book, I tell you, " II Cortegiano," 
 by Castiglione, grew up at the little court of Urbino, 
 and you should read it.' This frank and decisive 
 utterance, eminently characteristic of the speaker, and 
 yet hardly what we should have expected from him, 
 did but confirm the unanimous verdict of the last 
 two hundred years. Castiglione 's book first issued 
 from the Aldine Press at Venice in April, 1528, and 
 before the close of the century more than a hundred 
 editions of the work had already seen the light. 
 Spanish, French, English, and German versions 
 followed each other in rapid succession, and the 
 ' Cortegiano ' was universally acclaimed as the most 
 popular prose work of tlie Italian Renaissance. 
 ' Have you read Castiglione's " Cortegiano " ?' asks 
 the courtier Malpiglio, in Tasso's dialogue. ' The 
 beauty of the book is such tliat it deserves to be read 
 in all ages ; and as long as courts endure, as long as 
 princes reign and knights and ladies meet, as long 
 
 ;;oGSo
 
 vi PREFACE 
 
 as valour and courtesy hold a place in our hearts, 
 the name of Castiglione will be held in honour.' ^ 
 
 Nowhere has the popularity of Castiglione's treatise 
 been greater than in our own country. From the 
 time when, only thirty-four years after its first appear- 
 ance in Venice, Sir Thomas Hoby's translation, ' The 
 Book of the Courtyer,' took the Elizabethan world 
 by storm, no less than seventeen English versions 
 of the ' Cortegiano ' have been published. In those 
 days, when to know Italian was held to be 'a grace 
 of all graces,' and translations of Boccaccio and 
 Bandello's novels ' were solde in every shop,' Cas- 
 tiglione's book was in the hands of all cultured 
 Englishmen. Poets and dramatists alike quoted his 
 sapngs and borrowed his stories.^ Florio, in his 
 ' Second Fruites,' tells us that Castilion's ' Courtier ' is 
 one of the books most read by young men who would 
 pick up a little Italian. Ben Jonson and Webster 
 mention the 'Courtier'; Marston, in his 'Satires,' 
 speaks of the author, not without a touch of scorn, 
 as ' the absolute Castillo.' 
 
 There seems little doubt that Shakespeare was 
 familiar with the book, if not in the original Italian, 
 at least in Hoby's translation. As IMr. Wyndham^ 
 first pointed out, the platonic philosophy of the 
 Sonnets was clearly borrowed from Bembo's oration ; 
 and a clever American writer, JNliss Scott, has almost 
 succeeded in convincing us that the characters of 
 Benedick and Beatrice were derived from the Lord 
 Gaspare Pallavicino and the Lady Emilia of the 
 ' Cortegiano.'^ 
 
 1 ' II Malpiglio,' 251. 
 
 2 See the Introduction to Hoby's ' Book of the Courtyer/ by 
 Professor Raleigh. 
 
 2 Introduction to ' The Poems of Shakspeare.' 
 ' The Book of the Courtyer/ by M. A. Scott, Ph.D.
 
 PREFACE vii 
 
 Even Roger Ascham, that stern Puritan who 
 looked on these ' fonde bookes ' by foreign authors 
 as ' enchantments of Circe, brought out of Italy to 
 mar men's manners in England,' has a good word 
 for the ' Cortegiano.' ' To join learning with comely 
 exercises, Count Baldesar Castiglione doth truely 
 teach ; which book, advisedly read and diligently 
 followed but one year at home in England, would 
 do a young gentleman more good, I wiss, than three 
 years' travel spent abroad.' ^ 
 
 The modern revival of interest in the Italian 
 Renaissance has naturally led students to turn once 
 more to Castiglione's ' Courtier,' in whom they justly 
 recognise the ideal representative of that great age. 
 No less than three new versions of the ' Cortegiano ' 
 have appeared in English during the last few years. 
 In 1900 Hoby's translation was reprinted in Nutt's 
 ' Tudor Classics,' with an excellent Introduction by 
 Professor Raleigh, and another handsome edition, 
 with woodcuts by Mr. Ashbee, was issued by the 
 Essex House Press, to be followed in 1903, by a new 
 translation, richly illustrated and carefully annotated 
 from the pen of Mr. Opdyke. 
 
 But while the ' Cortegiano ' has been widely read 
 and highly esteemed in England, it is curious how 
 little is known of its author. A few notices of Cas- 
 tiglione in the works of Hallam, Roscoe, Dennistoun, 
 and John Addington Symonds, a memoir in a transla- 
 tion of the ' Cortegiano ' published in 1727, two short 
 biographical studies from the pen of Professor Raleigh 
 and JNIr. Opdyke, and a spirited sketch by Miss Scott, 
 are all that have been written about him in English. 
 Yet Count Baldassare is an exceedingly interesting 
 and attractive figure. He himself, as his contem- 
 ^ 'The Scholemaster/ iii. 141,
 
 viii PREFACE 
 
 poraries with one accord exclaimed, was a living 
 example of his ideal courtier, the perfect knight of 
 his own dreams. ' I am not surprised,' wrote Vittoria 
 Colonna, when the Count sent her his manuscript, 
 * that you have described a perfect courtier, since you 
 had only to hold up a mirror before yourself and 
 consider your external and internal qualities.' And 
 although Castiglione himself modestly disclaimed any 
 pretence at self-portraiture, there certainly was in 
 his case, as in that of most persons, an evident cor- 
 respondence between what the man admired and 
 what he was. ' I will not deny,' he writes naively, 
 that I have striven to attain those qualities which I 
 desired to see in my courtier.' Just as Aristotle 
 defined the virtuous act as that which the good and 
 great man does, so Castiglione maintained that the 
 perfect gentleman must frame his own canons of 
 moral taste, and that his instinct must in the final 
 resort determine what right conduct is. 
 
 In his own person Count Baldassare affords the 
 most brilliant example of the union of chivalry and 
 scholarship, a type which always flourished on Italian 
 soil. Many other instances might be named — Luigi 
 da Porto, the brave Vicentine who wrote the story 
 of Romeo and Juliet ; Niccolo da Correggio, the 
 condottiere and playwright ; the Milanese cavalier, 
 Gaspare Visconti. But of all that gallant company 
 Castiglione was the brightest and the best. In his 
 threefold capacity of soldier, statesman, and scholar, 
 he holds a foremost place among the most distin- 
 guished figures of the sixteenth century. He was 
 employed by Popes and monarchs on important 
 missions, and enjoyed the favour of Leo X. and 
 Clement VII., of Francis I. and Charles V. Both 
 at the courts of Mantua and Urbino and in the larger
 
 PREFACE ix 
 
 world of Rome he was a shining Hght, dear ahke to 
 Ehsabetta Gonzaga and Isabella d' Este, to Bembo 
 and to Raphael. In an age when, as it has been 
 well said,^ cleverness was abundant but character was 
 lacking, he not only believed in virtue, but practised 
 it. In circles where crime and treachery were con- 
 doned, and to deceive others was held to be the 
 first duty of a diplomat, he spoke the truth boldly, 
 and remained absolutely loyal to his masters. So 
 he moved through these dark scenes of intrigue and 
 bloodshed, wearing the white flower of a blameless 
 life, and gaining the confidence and respect of those 
 who were most unlike him. His career was a 
 chequered one, overshadowed by heavy losses and 
 sorrows in private life, and by failures and disappoint- 
 ments in his public capacity. But he was widely 
 honoured and greatly beloved, and left a stainless 
 name to his children. 
 
 The first biography of Castiglione was written in 
 1573, at his son Camillo's request, by the Mantuan 
 Bernardine Marliani, and published eleven years later 
 in Venice. The author derived his information chiefly 
 from members of the Count's family, and especially 
 from Lodovico Strozzi, who had been his uncle's com- 
 panion during the last years of his life in Spain, and 
 his record is on the whole accurate and trustworthy. 
 A few more details are supplied in BefFa-Negrini's 
 ' Elogi della Famiglia Castiglione,' a work which 
 appeared in 1606, but is rather in the nature of a 
 panegyric than a biography. Paolo Giovio intro- 
 duced a notice of Castiglione among his Elogi of 
 illustrious men, and an eighteenth -century historian, 
 Mazzuchelli, wrote another Life of the Count in his 
 ' Scrittori d' Italia, without, however, adding much 
 ^ A. J. Butler, ' Cambridge Mod. Hist.,' ii. 457.
 
 X PREFACE 
 
 to our knowledge. But the best and fullest bio- 
 graphy of Castiglione was that written in 1760 by 
 Abate Pietro Serassi, who had access to the family 
 papers brought to Iloni€ by Cardinal Valenti Gon- 
 zaga, secretary to Pope Benedict XIV., and who 
 afterwards published an interesting selection of letters 
 from the Count's public and private correspondence. 
 In our own days the most important work on the sub- 
 ject has been the biographical essay by Dr. Martinati, 
 whose excellent summary of Castiglione's life con- 
 tains forty-five hitherto unpublished letters. 
 
 Like most of his contemporaries, Count Baldassare 
 was an active correspondent, and his letters, both 
 private and official, are, as Ginguene remarked, not 
 only precious historic documents, but models of lucid 
 and graceful style, grave and animated, witty and 
 pathetic, by turns. Fortunately, a considerable portion 
 of his correspondence has been preserved. The 
 Valenti papers in the Vatican Library, from which 
 Serassi drew most of his material, contain several 
 hundreds of letters, many of which are given for the 
 first time in my text, while a few of the originals are 
 printed in the Appendix. Another large collection 
 is to be found in the Gonzaga archives at Mantua, 
 where Castiglione's correspondence fills eight volumes 
 in the Biblioteca. Others are preserved in the 
 Oliveriana at Pesaro and in the Archives of Turin 
 and Florence. Many of these documents have been 
 published at different times by historical writers, 
 such as Dr. Pastor, Signor Luzio, Signor Contin, 
 Signor Feliciangeli, Signor Zannoni, and Signor 
 Vernazza di Freney. A considerable number are 
 to be found in a very rare work, ' Delle Esenzioni 
 della Famiglia di Castiglione,' published at Mantua 
 in 1780, as well as in pamphlets, now out of print, by 
 Professor Renier and Professor Vittore Cian. This
 
 PREFACE xi 
 
 last-named writer has further earned our gratitude 
 by the valuable series of historical and biographical 
 notes with which he has enriched his admirable 
 edition of the ' Cortegiano.' Finally, among the 
 countless notices of Castiglione which have ap- 
 peared in works on Italian literature, especial mention 
 should be made of the fine appreciations from the 
 pen of Dr. Adolf Tobler, Professor Bottari, and 
 Dr. Gaspary.^ 
 
 To all of these I desire to acknowledge my obliga- 
 tions, as well as to the keepers of archives and 
 libraries in many cities of Italy. Above all, my 
 heartfelt thanks are due to Padre Ehrle, the learned 
 Keeper of the Vatican Library, and to Signor Fran- 
 cesco Cagiati, for the unfailing courtesy and kindness 
 with which they have assisted my researches. 
 
 The painting by Justus of Ghent at Windsor is 
 reproduced by permission of the Lord Chamberlain, 
 and the portrait of Federico Gonzaga by the kindness 
 of the owner, Mr. Leatham, while I have to thank 
 Lieutenant Simondi for the valuable series of photo- 
 graphs which he has placed at my disposal. 
 
 ***** 
 
 On September 6, 1 904, exactly four hundred years 
 from the day when Castiglione first entered Urbino, 
 I stood in the ducal palace which was the scene of 
 his immortal dialogues. Here, surrounded by remains 
 of past splendour, it seemed worth while attempting 
 to revive these forgotten glories and to tell the story 
 of the perfect courtier's life. If the tale affords my 
 readers one half of the pleasure which it has given me, 
 my labours will not have been in vain. 
 
 JULIA CARTWRIGHT. 
 
 OCKHAM, /higust 30, 1908. 
 
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 CONTENTS TO VOL. I. 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Preface -______- v-xi 
 
 Bibliography _______ xiii-xx 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 1478-1490 
 
 Castiglione d' Oloiia — Roman traditions of the place — The family of 
 Castiglione — Cardinal Branda — His church and palace — ^The 
 jurist Franchino Castiglione — His descendants in the service of 
 the Sforza princes — Baldassare Castiglione serves under Lodovico 
 Gonzaga and settles at Mantua — Marriage of his son Cristoforo 
 to Luigia Gonzaga — Birth of the author of ' II Cortegiano ' — His 
 early years and training _____ 1-10 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 1492-1499 
 
 Milan under the rule of Lodovico Sforza — Castiglione's teachers and 
 studies — His love of learning and the fine arts — His friends at 
 the court of Milan — He enters the Duke's service — Death of 
 Duchess Beatrice — Castiglione recalled to Mantua by his father's 
 death — Fall of Lodovico Sforza— Castiglione enters Milan Avith 
 Louis XII. — His description of the triumphal entry and dislike 
 of the French victors — Recollections of the court of Milan in > 
 
 the ' Cortegiano ' .__--_ 11-24'^ 
 
 CHAPTER HI 
 
 1500-1503 
 
 Castiglione at the court of Mantua — His great qualities and 
 popularity — Friendship of Isabella d' Este for him — The Duke 
 and Duchess of Urbino at Mantua — Francesco Gonzaga meets 
 Louis XII. at Milan — Leads the French army against Naples — 
 Castiglione joins him on the Garigliauo — Returns with him to 
 Rome - - - - - - - - 25-37 
 
 xxi
 
 xxii CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 1503-1504 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Election of Pope Julius II. — Guidobaldo restored to his throne — 
 Summoned to Rome by the Pope — Castiglione remains in Rome 
 and enters the Duke's service — Resentment of Francesco 
 Gonzaga — Castiglione joins the Duke in the camp at Forli — 
 Returns with him to Urbino ----- 38-50 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 1504 
 
 Urbino — The court of the Moutefeltro princes — Castiglione's descrip- 
 tion — Reign of Duke Federico — His character and paternal 
 government — Patronage of art and letters — The palace of Urbino 
 — Its present condition — Contemporary accounts — Giovanni 
 Santi and Antonio di Mercatello — The ducal library — Artists 
 employed at Urbino — Piero della Francesca^ Melozzo da Forli, 
 and Justus of Ghent ------ 51-06 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 1504 
 
 Birth of Guidobaldo — Death of his mother — Federico's last years^ 
 Death — Character and education of Guidobaldo — His campaigns, 
 literary taste, and ill-health — Marr iag e — Elisabetta Gonzaga — 
 Virtues and popularity x)f. the Duchess — Artists emploj'ed by 
 Guidobaldo — His additions to the ducal palace and library- 
 Works dedicated to him — The ' Hypernotomachia Polyphili ' — 
 Epistle of Aldo Manuzio — The birth of Raphael and coming of 
 Castiglione ------- 67-82 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 1504 
 
 Castiglione at Urbino — His friends and associates — Canossa and the 
 Fregosi — Emilia Pia and the court ladies — Tlie Duchess Elisabetta 
 — Castiglione's devotion to her — His poems in her honour and 
 grief at her death — Allusions to the Duchess in the *Cor- 
 tegiano' ------- 83-94 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 1504 
 
 Castiglione's recollections of life at Urbino — Society at the ducal 
 court — Intellectual and physical exercises — Poems and comedies 
 — The study of language — Evenings in the Duchess's room —
 
 CONTENTS xxiii 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Music and games — Poets and jesters — The Nuncio delivers the 
 banner of the Church to Guidobaldo — Francesco della Rovere 
 proclaimed the Duke's heir — Rapliael at Urbino - - 95-108 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 1504-1505 
 
 Castiglione's correspondence with his mother — His private affairs — 
 Need of money — Prospects of his brother Jeronimo — Marriage 
 proposals — Visit to Ferrara — The Este Princes and tlieir court 
 — Warlike designs of Pope Julius — Castiglione accompanies the 
 Duke to Rome — Marriage of Francesco Maria and Leonora 
 Gonzaga — Felice della Rovere's wedding - - - 109-124 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 1505 
 
 Castiglione's plans for his brother — His friends among the Cardinals 
 — A mission to England proposed — Delays and intrigues — 
 Arrival of the Venetian ambassadors — Pietro Bembo in Rome 
 and at Urbino — Death of Ascanio Sforza — Cardinal Galeotto 
 della Rovere appointed Vice-Chancellor — Death of Falcone — 
 Castiglione's Latin elegy ----- 125-145 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 1505-1506 
 
 Tlie Duke of Urbino leaves Rome and joins the Duchess at Gubbio 
 — Serafino's poem on the ducal court — Guidobaldo's illness — 
 Castiglione sent to Mantua — Detained at Ferrara by Francesco 
 Gonzaga's threats — He narrowly escapes imprisonment — Returns 
 to Fossombroue — The court moves to Urbino — Castiglione's 
 ' Eclogue ' performed at the carnival festivities - - 14G-162 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 loOG-1507 
 
 Castiglione sent to Rome with the Prefect — Report of a Mantuan 
 spy — Castiglione's mission to England — Raphael's St. George 
 — p-rancesco Gonzaga's horses — Death of Jeronimo Castiglione 
 — Baldassare starts for England — Perils of the voyage — Ship- 
 wreck of the King and Queen of Castile — Castiglione in London 
 and at ^Vindsor — His installation at St. George's— Gifts of the 
 King — He returns to Urbino ... - 103-190
 
 xxiv CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 1507 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Visit of Pope Julius II. to Urbiiio — Conquest of Bologna — Castiglioue 
 returns with the Duke to Urbino— Festivities in honour of the 
 Pope — Illustrious personages assembled at Urbino — Tlie dialogues 
 of the 'Cortegiano' — Castiglione visits Camaldoli— Giuliano de' 
 Medici and Bembo at Urbino — Bembo's carnival stanze — Roman 
 scholars introduced in the ' Cortegiano ' — Sadoleto's description 
 of the court of Urbino ..... 191-205 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 1507 
 
 Castiglione proposes to exchange estates with Ercole Bentivoglio — 
 His debts and difficulties — Mission to King Louis XII. at Milan 
 — Meeting with old friends — Return to Urbino — Illustrious 
 guests at court — Castiglione and Bembo^s poems — Summer days 
 at Urbino --..-.. 206-222 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 1507-1508 
 
 Murder of Gian Andrea by Francesco Maria della Rovere — Comments 
 of Bembo and Castiglione — The Duke's failing health — The court 
 moves to Fossombrone — Last days and death of Guidobaldo — 
 Tribute of Bembo to his memory . - . . 223-233 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 1508 
 
 Tlie Pope sends Archbishop Fregoso to Fossombrone — Grief of the 
 Duchess and lamentation in Urbino — Castiglioue's letter to 
 Henry VII. of England and funeral of Duke Guidobaldo — Cas- 
 tiglione sent to Gubbio — Bembo's treatise - - - 234-245 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 1508-1509 
 
 Castiglione in the service of Francesco della Rovere — His devotion to 
 the widowed Duchess — His private aifairs, debts, and difficulties 
 — Marriage proposals made by Giuliano de' Medici and by the 
 Martinengo family — Castiglione at Bologna with the Duke — His 
 visit to Casatico — Failure of both negotiations — Clarice de' 
 Medici betrothed to Filippo Strozzi - - - - 246-264
 
 CONTENTS XXV 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 1509-1510 
 
 PAGES 
 
 ^\'ar ag'aiust Venice — Campai^i of Romagna — V^ictories of Francesco 
 Maria — Capture of Ravenna — Castiglione's illness — Fresh 
 marriage proposals — The Duchess goes to ]\Iantua — Madonna 
 Luigia returns with her — The young Duchess Leonora — Visit 
 of the Duke and Duchesses to Rome — Castiglione and 
 Raphael 265-282 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 1510-1511 
 
 War of the Pope against France and Ferrara — Castiglione serves 
 witli the Papal forces at Bologna — Capture of Modena — Siege 
 of Mirandola — ^The Pope in the trenches — His fury with the 
 Duke — Castiglione's elegy on Mirandola — Capture of Bologna 
 by the French — Rout of the Papal forces — Murder of Cardinal 
 Alidosi — The Duke excommunicated and tried by the Sacred 
 College — Illness of Julius II. — Absolution and restoration of 
 the Duke - - 283-303 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 1511-1512 
 
 Marriage proposals renewed by Count Martinengo, and suddenly 
 broken off — -The Pope suspects Castiglione of intrigues with the 
 P^rench — The Duke of Urbino refuses to serve under another 
 general — Incurs the Pope's displeasure anew — His offer of 
 service accepted after the defeat of Ravenna — Campaign against 
 P'errara — Death of Cesare Gonzaga - - - - 304-319 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 1512-1513 
 
 Changes at the court of Urbino — Federico Gonzaga visits his sister — 
 Death of Gaspare Pallavicino, C'esare Gonzaga, and Roberto di 
 Bari — Bembo and Canossa in Rome — Restoration of the Medici 
 — Count Rangone's daughter — Castiglione receives a grant of 
 the Castle of Novillara - - -, - - 320-328 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 1513 ^_ 
 
 Carnival fete at Urbino — Bibbiena's 'Calandria' performed under 
 Castiglione's direction — The Count's prologue — Other comedies 
 —Patriotic verses written by Castiglione — His letter to Lodo- 
 vico Canossa ------- 329-343
 
 xxvi CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 1513 
 
 PAGES 
 
 Death of Julius II. — Conclave and election of Leo X. — His proclama- 
 tion and procession to the Laterau — The Dukes of Urhino and 
 Ferrara and the new Pope — Castiglione in Rome — His corre- 
 spondence with the Duke and Duchess — Negotiations regarding 
 Solarolo — Suor Chiara and the convent of Assisi— Madonna 
 llaffaella— Influence of Bibbiena at the Vatican - - 3-14:-3n3 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 1513 
 
 Castiglione's friends in Rome — The early days of Leo X. — Scholars 
 and poets flock to Rome^ — ^The Roman humanists — Colocci, 
 Goritz, SadoletOj Raphael — Castiglione's poems and sonnets — 
 Giuliano de' Medici in Rome — Fetes at the Capitol — Castiglione 
 returns to Urbino — Fresh schemes for his marriage - - 3G4-380 
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 1513-1515 
 
 Policy of Leo X. — Ambitious designs of Alfonsina Orsini and the 
 Florentines — Bibbiena created Cardinal — Castiglione in Rome — 
 Papal briefs in his favour — Entry of the Portuguese ambassadors 
 — The Pope's elephant — Raphael's letter to Castiglione — Visit of 
 Isabella d'Este to Rome — Castiglione at Mantua — His restoration 
 to favour at court ------ 381-398 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 1515-1516 
 
 French invasion of Italy — Giuliano de' Medici visits Gubbio — Falls ill 
 in Florence — The Duke of Urbino refuses to serve under Lorenzo 
 — Castiglione sent to Rome — Victory of Marignano — Leo X. 
 treats with Francis I. — Meeting between the King and Pope at 
 Bologna — Castiglione's interview with the King on his way to 
 Mantua — His marriage with Ippolita Torelli - - 399-415 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 1516 
 
 The Pope begins proceedings against the Duke of Urbino — Death 
 of Giuliano de' Medici — Castiglione in Rome — Tlie Duchess 
 Elisabetta at the Vatican — Excommunication and deprivation of 
 Francesco Maria — Invasion of Urbino — Flight of the Duke and 
 Duchesses to Mantua — Lorenzo de' Medici proclaimed Duke of 
 Urbino -.--.-. 416-429 
 
 Appendix .---..-- 430-460
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. I 
 
 Baldassare Castiglione _ _ _ - Frontispiece 
 
 From the fmirait hy Rnphael'in the Louvre. 
 
 TO lACE PAGE 
 
 LODOVICO GoNZAGA AND HIS FaMILY - - - - 8 
 
 By Mantegna {Salt degli Sjwsi, Mantua). 
 
 LoDovico Sforza - - - - - - lo 
 
 By Boltraffio {Trivuhio Collection). 
 
 Giovanni Francesco Gonzaga II. - - - - 28 
 
 Museum of Mantua. 
 
 Autograph of Baldassare Castiglione - - - 46 
 
 Vatican Library. 
 
 Urbino - - - - - - - 52 
 
 Doorway, Palace of Urbino - - - - 54 
 
 Courtyard, Palace of Urbino - - - -56 
 
 Sala Degli Angeli - - - - - - 56 
 
 Palace of Urbino - - - - - - 56 
 
 GuiDOBALDo, Duke of Urbino - - - 70 
 
 By Caroto (Fitti). 
 
 Federico of Urbino and his Son listening to a Lecture - 76 
 
 Frcmi a picture by Ju,stin of Ghent at JViiulsor Castle. 
 
 Isabella d' Este - - - - - - 82 
 
 British Museum. 
 
 Elisabetta Gonzaga - - - - - - 82 
 
 British Museum. 
 
 LoDovico Sforza - - - - - - 82 
 
 British Museum. 
 
 Pope Julius II. - - - - - - ll6 
 
 By Raphael {Fitti).
 
 xxviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 GiULiANO de' Medici - . - 
 
 By Allori, after Raphael [Uffizi). 
 
 Emilia Pia . - . - 
 
 Imperial Museum, Vienna. 
 
 Cardinal Bembo _ . - 
 
 British Museum. 
 
 Cardinal Alidosi 
 
 British Museum. 
 
 Guidobaldo, Duke of Urbino 
 Elisabetta GonzagAj Duchess of Urbino 
 
 Elisabetta Gonzaga, Duchess of Urbino 
 
 By Caroto {Uffizi). 
 
 Autograph of Baldassare Castiglione 
 
 Vatican Library. 
 
 Portraits of Castiglione and Raphael 
 By Raplmel ( Vatiamv). 
 
 Federico Gonzaga - . - 
 
 By Francia {Leatham Collection). 
 
 Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino 
 
 By Allori {Uffizi). 
 
 TO FACE PAGE 
 
 - 162 
 
 . 200 
 
 - 228 
 
 - 228 
 
 - 234 
 
 - 236 
 
 - 242 
 
 - 266 
 
 - 280 
 320 
 
 - 430
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 1478-1490 
 
 Castiglione d' Olona — Roman traditions of the place — The family of 
 Castiglione — Cardinal Branda — His church and palace — The 
 jurist Franchino Castiglione — His descendants in the service 
 of the Sfoi-za princes — Baldassare Castiglione serves under 
 Lodovico Gonzaga and settles at Mantua — Marriage of his son 
 Cristoforo to Luigia Gonzaga— Birth of the author of 'II 
 Cortegiano ' — His early years and training. 
 
 Ox the heights above the gorge of the Olona, about 
 ten miles from the Lake of Varese and twenty or more 
 from the city of Como, stands the ruined castle of the 
 ancient Castiglione family. It is a wild and romantic 
 spot, with the rushing waters of the mountain torrent 
 in the ravine below, and the steep streets and stone 
 walls of the old town straggling among tlie chestnut 
 and acacia woods along its banks. The road winds 
 through gardens of vine and maize, of fig and oHve, 
 and between the overhanging boughs of the trees we 
 look back at the distant range of Alps and the snows 
 of INIonte Rosa. 
 
 According to one historian — Bonaventura Cas- 
 tiglione, who was himself a member of the house — 
 the name of the place in Roman times was Castrum 
 Stiliconis, and owed its origin to the Vandal general 
 Stilicho, who fixed his camp here in the days of 
 Theodoric. Afterwards it became a flourishing town, 
 but was destroyed by Attila and restored by Arch- 
 
 vol.. I. 1
 
 2 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 bishop Ansferto of INlilan, as recorded on a tablet 
 placed in the church of S. Ambrogio, at the time 
 of his death in 88G. 
 
 In the tenth century this fair and fruitful land was 
 granted to a certain Corrado, son of Count Beren- 
 garia, who had rendered important services to the 
 Archbishops of Milan, and now settled on the banks 
 of the Olona. Here he raised the famous Castello, 
 with its four square towers, from which his descendants 
 took their name. This citadel, with crenellated 
 turrets borne in the lion's paws, figures in the armorial 
 bearings of his house, and the old town down in the 
 hollow at the foot of the Rocca still retains the name 
 of Castiglione d' Olona. 
 
 The Captains of Castiglione, as they were termed 
 in medieval days, rose to high honour under Otho the 
 Great and the successive German Emperors who 
 visited Italy ; and two members of the family, Gotti- 
 frede and Tealdo, were advanced to the dignity of 
 Archbishops of Milan by Henry IV. But in the 
 thirteenth century, when Guido Castiglione was 
 podesta of Como, his castle was razed to the ground 
 by a rival lord, Ottone ^^isconti, and the fortifications 
 were not rebuilt for 150 years. Then an illustrious 
 ecclesiastic, Branda Castiglione, who enjoyed the 
 favour of the Visconti dukes and was created a 
 Cardinal by Pope John XX I II., obtained leave to 
 rebuild his ancestral fortress on the old site. 
 
 Close by, on the summit of the same hill, this 
 splendid prelate reared the noble collegiate church 
 with the lofty campanile and red sandstone walls, 
 that are still standing. AVithin, its stately choir and 
 baptistery were adorned with frescoes by Masohno, 
 the Florentine painter, whom Cardinal Branda had 
 met hi Hungary, when he was sent by the Pope as
 
 CASTIGLIONE D' OLONA 3 
 
 Legate to this distant land. Here we may recognize 
 the keen face and white hair of the aged Cardinal, 
 as Masolino painted him when he wan past eighty, 
 kneeling with the shepherds at the manger of Beth- 
 lehem, or seated at King Herod's banquet in his robes 
 of purple and ermine. The Castello which he raised 
 again from the dust is a heap of ruins to-day, but 
 down in the town, in a street bearing the name of 
 the Via del Cardinale, we may still see the fair 
 palace, with Lombard Gothic portals and windows, 
 which Branda built for himself, and which Masolino 
 decorated with friezes of portraits and views of the 
 distant Alps. 
 
 Like many other members of his house, Branda 
 was an able lawyer and statesman as well as a distin- 
 guished ecclesiastic. During his mission to Hungary 
 he rendered important services to the Emperor Sigis- 
 mond, who in return created him and all the members 
 of his house Counts Palatine, and granted them per- 
 petual exemption from imperial tolls, tribute, and 
 customs. By the same deed, drawn up at Buda- 
 Pesth in 1412, the members of this 'ancient, numerous, 
 privileged, and most illustrious race,' were empowered 
 yearly to elect one of their house to hold jurisdiction 
 over their family and dependents in the county of 
 Castiglione.^ 
 
 On his return to Ijombardy the Cardinal was 
 appointed President of the ducal council by Filippo 
 Maria Visconti, and founded a college for poor 
 students at Pavia that was only suppressed in the 
 last century. But Corio tells us that he incm-red the 
 displeasure of the Milanese by endeavouring to sub- 
 stitute the Roman liturgy for the Ambrosian rites in 
 the Duomo on Christmas Day, 1440, a proceeding 
 
 1 Beffa-Negrini, ' Elogi,' 404. 
 
 1—2
 
 4 COUNT BALD ASS ARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 which enraged the mob to such a pitch that they 
 stormed and sacked the Cardinal's palace in INIilan. 
 After this Branda retired to Castiglione d' Olona, 
 where he s^^ent his last years in peaceful retreat, and 
 celebrated the rites of the Church after his own taste 
 in his collegiate foundation. Here he died three 
 years later, at the age of ninety-three, and was laid to 
 rest in an imposing sarcophagus, adorned with his 
 recumbent effigy, watched over by guardian angels 
 and his chosen saints, Francis and Anthony. 
 
 Another illustrious member of the Cardinal's family, 
 Franchino Castiglione, filled the chair of jurisprudence 
 in the University of Pavia for many years, and was 
 sent on embassies both to Florence and Ferrara by 
 Filippo INI aria Visconti. In 1441 he was employed 
 to draw up the marriage contract of the Duke's 
 daughter, Bianca JNIaria, with Francesco Sforza, and 
 delivered a nuptial oration when the wedding was 
 celebrated at Cremona. After Filippo JNIaria's death, 
 Franchino took an active part in the establishment of 
 a popular form of government, and became one of 
 the chief magistrates of the short-lived Ambrosian 
 Republic. None the less, he remained on friendly 
 terms with Francesco Sforza, who made him a member 
 of his council when he became Duke of JNlilan. From 
 that time the Castiglioni were loyal subjects of the 
 Sforza princes, and served Francesco and his sons 
 faithfully and well. A second Branda, a grand- 
 nephew of the Cardinal, became Bishop of Como, and 
 celebrated high mass at the church of S. Stefano on 
 the Feast of St. Stephen, when Galeazzo Maria was 
 murdered as he entered the doors. In the follow- 
 ing year, 1477, he was sent by the widowed Duchess 
 Bona as ambassador to her brother-in-law, Louis XL 
 of France, and afterwards commanded the Papal
 
 THE CASTIGLIONI OF MILAN 5 
 
 fleet in the war against Venice. In 1483 Sixtus IV. 
 appointed the Bishop Governor of Rome, but the 
 enmity of the Pope's nephew, Girolamo Riario, soon 
 led him to abandon this office and retire to his 
 diocese. Three years later he was sent by the Regent, 
 Lodovico Sforza, to congratulate Innocent VIII. on 
 his accession to the Papacy, and died during his 
 absence in Rome. He was succeeded in the bishopric 
 of Como by his nephew, a third Branda, who became 
 ducal councillor, and was employed by the Moro on 
 confidential business, and sent to tlie help of his 
 niece, Caterina Sforza, when her subjects rebelled 
 and murdered her first husband, the hated Girolamo 
 Riario. 
 
 Several other members of the family enjoyed 
 Lodovico's fsivour and held high office during his 
 reign. Gian Steftmo Castiglione was sent on missions 
 to Pope Alexander ^^I. and the Signory of Florence, 
 and married Lucia, daughter of the JNIoro's con- 
 fidential secretary, Bartolommeo Calco. After 
 Lodo\'ico's fall, however, Gian Stefano was among 
 the first councillors who took the oath of fealty to 
 Louis XII., and received the lands of Saronno, 
 which the Duke had given to his mistress, Cecilia 
 Gallerani, in reward for this desertion. His younger 
 brother Branda was also a ducal councillor and prime 
 favourite of the Moro. On his death in 1495, he 
 was buried by the Duke's command in the choir 
 of S. Maria della Grazie, where Duchess Beatrice 
 was laid to rest two years later, and where a beautiful 
 monument records his rare virtues and the grief of 
 his kinsfolk. One of Branda's sons, Gian Giacomo, 
 was made Archbishop of Bari in early youth, by 
 Lodovico Sforza, but never visited his distant diocese 
 until after his patron's fall, as he was constantly
 
 6 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 employed on diplomatic missions. While Gian Gia- 
 como remained loyal to the exiled Sforzas, his brother 
 Girolamo embraced the French cause, and was 
 rewarded with lands and honoiu-s by Louis XII. 
 Another distinguished member of the family, and 
 descendant of Franchino the jurist, was Sabba da 
 Castiglione, the gallant and accomplished Knight of 
 St. John of Jerusalem, who, after defending Rhodes 
 against the Turks, returned to spend a peaceful old 
 age at Faenza and write his famous ' Ricordi.' 
 
 All of these Milanese knights and courtiers claimed 
 the author of the ' Cortigiano ' as their kinsman, although 
 he was only remotely connected with their branch of 
 the house. His great-grandfather, Cristoforo, a cousin 
 and contemporary of Cardinal Branda, was one of the 
 foremost lawyers of the age, and filled the chair of 
 jurisprudence at the University of Pa via. Unlike his 
 illustrious kinsman, he never enjoyed the favour of the 
 Visconti princes, and after the murder of Duke Gian 
 Maria in 1412, by his wife's brother, he found it 
 prudent to leave Pavia and settle at Parma. There 
 he was treated with the honour due to his learning, 
 and received the title of Count Palatine from the 
 Emperor Sigismond, and the confirmation of all the 
 privileges which had been granted to his kinsman, 
 Cardinal Branda, for himself and his descendants in 
 perpetuity. In his old age Cristoforo returned to Pavia 
 and still pursued his legal studies, although he had 
 the misfortune to lose his large and valuable library 
 by fire three times. Legum monarcha et subtllita- 
 tum princeps was the title bestowed upon him by 
 his fellow-jurists, and more than a century after his 
 death his ' Discourses ' were published at Venice, in 
 the year 1560. 
 
 Cristoforo's youngest son, Baldassare, embraced the
 
 THE MANTUAN BRANCH 7 
 
 profession of arms from his boyhood, and became 
 renowned as a wise and vahant soldier. Francesco 
 Sforza appointed him Commissioner-General of his 
 armies and sent him to the court of the Emperor 
 Frederic IH. to obtain the investiture of the duchy 
 of Milan. On his return from this embassy, Baldas- 
 sare was induced to enter the service of I^odovico 
 Gonzaga, who had at one time been Captain of the 
 Milanese forces, and eventually left Milan to settle at 
 Mantua. While he was still in the service of the 
 Sforza Duke, he married Polissena, the daughter and 
 heiress of Alessandro Lisca of Verona. This wise and 
 beautiful maiden brought him, as her dower, the 
 castle and lands of Casatico, on the river Oglio, near 
 Marcaria, in the Mantuan territory, where forty years 
 later his illustrious grandson, the author of the ' Cortig- 
 iano,' was born. After his marriage, Baldassare sold 
 his Milanese estates, and spent the proceeds in en- 
 larging and improving his property at Casatico. When 
 he finally left Milan, the Marquis Lodovico granted his 
 favourite a palace at Mantua, in the street leading to 
 the Castello di Corte, then known as the Via Pradella, 
 close to the ancient chiu'ch of S. Jacopo. This house 
 was pulled down during the Austrian occupation in 
 1822, to make room for the present Teatro Sociale, 
 and Palazzo Bonacolsi, on the Piazza Sordello, close 
 to the Castello, is now the family residence of the 
 Castiglioni. Here the Milanese knight spent his dechn- 
 ing years enjoying the favour of the good Marquis and 
 his German wife, Barbara of Brandenburg. His sons 
 Cristoforo and Baldassare grew up in close companion- 
 ship with the Gonzaga princes, whose forms and faces 
 are familiar to us in Mantegna's frescoes on the walls 
 of the Sala degli Sposi. According to one Mantuan 
 chronicler, who wrote the history of the Castiglione
 
 8 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 family,^ Cristoforo's own portrait was introduced into 
 one of these groups, and the fine-looking courtier 
 standing behind the Marquis Lodovico's chair in the 
 act of receiving his lord's commands is our hero's 
 grandfather. The intimacy which the young Cas- 
 tiglione brothers enjoyed with tlie Gonzagas was 
 strengthened by the marriage of the elder brother 
 with Luigia, or, as she is often called, Aloysia 
 Gonzaga. This remarkable woman, whose force and 
 elevation of character were destined to exert so great 
 an influence on her son's future, was the daughter of 
 Antonio Gonzaga, a descendant of Corrado, Podesta 
 of Mantua, and great-uncle to the JMarquis Gian Fran- 
 cesco I. Although only distantly related to the 
 reigning house, the members of this younger branch 
 of the family were recognized as kinsmen by the 
 reigning Marquis, and bore the title of SigJiori Jiobili, 
 which gave them precedence at court next to the 
 princes of the blood. Antonio Cionzaga himself was 
 a brave soldier who received the honour of knight- 
 hood from the Emperor Theodore III., and his wife, 
 Francesca degli Uberti, a descendant of Dante's 
 Farinata, was connected with many illustrious Lom- 
 bard houses. Tlieir daughter's marriage to the son 
 and heir of Baldassare Castiglione was celebrated 
 with great rejoicing in the summer of 1477. Soon 
 after this, Baldassare himself was sent to Tuscany to 
 arbitrate between the Florentines and I^ucchese, and 
 decide a quarrel which had been referred to the Mar- 
 quis Lodovico. He returned home towards the end 
 of the year, and died a few weeks later, on January 14, 
 1478. His lord and master, Lodovico Gonzaga, soon 
 followed him to the grave, dying on June 12, at his 
 villa of Goito, deeply lamented by the subjects over 
 1 Beffa-Negrini,
 
 BIKTH OF BALDASSARE 9 
 
 whom he had reigned so long. Six months afterwards, 
 on December 6, 1478, Cristoforo CastigHone's young 
 wife gave birth to a son at Casatico, that ancient castle 
 which, in the words of the family chronicler, 'we 
 now regard with a reverence as great as the house of 
 ^'^irgil at Pietola, the Tower of Boethius at Pavia, or 
 the home of Petrarch.'^ 
 
 The boy whose birth was to endow this old country 
 house with immortal fame received the name of Bal- 
 dassare, after liis grandfather, who had been the first 
 of his race to settle at JNl antua. In 1481, Chiara 
 Gonzaga, the eldest child of the JNIarquis Federico, 
 Lodovico's son and successor, and of his wife, Margaret 
 of Bavaria, was married to Gilbert, Count of JMont- 
 pensier, the French king's cousin. Duke Ercole of 
 Ferrara, who came to Mantua for the wedding, and 
 agreed to the betrothal of his daughter Isabella with 
 the son of his good friend the JNIarquis, knighted 
 Luigia's brother Gianpietro on this occasion, and 
 Luigia herself and her husband, Cristoforo Cas- 
 tiglione w^ere chosen to escort the young Princess to 
 her new home. Together they crossed the Alps, in 
 the train of the wedded pair, and travelled to France, 
 taking with them among the wedding gifts Man- 
 tegna's painting of S. Sebastian to adorn the chapel of 
 the JNIontpensier chateau in Auvergne. 
 
 From the first the young Marquis Francesco, who 
 succeeded his father in 1484, and his wife Isabella 
 d' Este, honoured both of Baldassare's parents with 
 marks of signal favour. Cristoforo accompanied 
 Francesco through all his campaigns, and fought 
 gallantly at his side in the fiercely-contested battle 
 of the Taro. On that disastrous day, when the 
 JNIarquis's uncle, Ilodolfo Gonzaga, fell in the thick 
 
 ^ Beffa-Negrini, 404.
 
 10 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 of the melee, and Francesco himself narrowly escaped 
 with his life, Cristoforo was severely wounded. He 
 lived four years longer, but never recovered from the 
 effect of his injuries. 
 
 Meanwhile young Baldassare grew up in his home 
 at Casatico, under the eye of his watchful mother, 
 who instilled her own high sense of honour and lofty 
 principles into the boy's soul, while at the same time 
 she herself inspired him with that deep affection 
 and unbounded confidence which lasted until his 
 dying day. His brother Jeronimo was many years 
 younger, but for companions Baldassare had his uncle 
 Gianpietro Gonzaga's sons, Luigi and Cesare, who 
 were about his own age, and who both of them 
 shared his cultured tastes and love of music and 
 poetry. In the year 1492 all three lads were sent to 
 complete their studies at the University of Milan, 
 where the enlightened liberality of the Sforza dukes 
 attracted the foremost scholars of the day. Nothing 
 was more natural than that Cristoforo should send his 
 son to a court where his kinsmen held high office, 
 while the maternal uncle of Luigi and Cesare Gon- 
 zaga, the INIarchesino Stanga of Cremona, was the 
 confidential secretary and chamberlain of the all- 
 powerful INloro.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 1492-1499 
 
 Milan under the rule of Lodovico Sforza — Castiglione's teachers and 
 studies — His love of learning and the fine arts — His fi'iends at 
 the court of Milan — He enters the Duke's service — Death of 
 Duchess Beatrice — Castiglione recalled to Mantua by his 
 father's death— Fall of Lodovico Sforza — Castiglione enters 
 Milan with Louis XII. — His description of the triumphal entry 
 and dislike of the French victors — Recollections of the coui't 
 of Milan in the ' Coi'tegiano.' 
 
 The seven years which young Castighone spent at 
 JNIilan, between the age of thirteen and twenty, were 
 a memorable period in his hfe. Nowhere else could 
 he have acquired so full and complete a training in all 
 the arts and graces necessary for the equipment of a 
 perfect courtier. ' This court,' wrote Isabella d' Este, 
 from the Moro's palace, ' is the school of the Master 
 of those who know.' 
 
 The young scholar who came to JNIilan from Virgil's 
 birthplace with his heart full of enthusiasm for classical 
 learning, for art and poetry, soon found himself at 
 home in this ' new Athens,' and drank deeply of the 
 celestial spring that flowed from Lodovico's Parnassus. 
 He sat at the feet of Giorgio Merula, the sun of 
 Alexandria, as the great himianist was called by his 
 contemporaries, and learnt Greek from the venerable 
 Athenian Demetrius Chalcondylas. The importance 
 of acquiring some knowledge of this language in early 
 
 11
 
 12 COUNT BALDASSARR CASTIGI.IONE 
 
 youth was a point upon whicli Castiglione always 
 insisted in after-years, and which he took care to im- 
 press upon his own son. ' It is the opinion of the best 
 judges,' he wrote to his mother from Rome in 1521, 
 ' that a boy should begin by learning Greek, because 
 Latin is, so to speak, our own language, and there- 
 fore easily acquired and spoken by men of our race, 
 but this is certainly not the case with Greek. '^ 
 
 At the same time Baldassare attended the lectures 
 of Filippo Beroaldo, and, under the guidance of this 
 eminent Bolognese humanist, devoted much of his 
 time to the study of rhetoric and Latin authors. 
 Among prose-writers, Cicero, who was afterwards to 
 become his chief model ; among poets, Virgil and 
 Tibullus, Abbot Serassi tells us,^ were his favourites. 
 But while classical literature formed the chief object 
 of his serious studies, Italian poets from the first 
 attracted his fancy. The writers in that Uiigua 
 volgare, whose claims he was to defend so vigorously 
 in future days, appealed to him in an especial manner. 
 He loved the energy and sublime power of Dante's 
 line, the grace and elegance of Petrarch's verse, while 
 among living poets none had greater fascination for 
 him than the Tuscan singers, Lorenzo de' Medici and 
 Poliziano. Both of these Florentine poets were 
 already popular at the court of Milan. Duke Lodo- 
 vico had been on friendly terms with the Magnifico, 
 and honoured Poliziano with his patronage, and one 
 of the first books which we find mentioned in Cas- 
 tiglione's letters is Poliziano's ' Stanze Volgari.' Nor 
 was the young squire's training in knightly exercises 
 neglected. He learnt jousting and fencing, wrestling 
 and vaulting, from Messer Pietro Monte,'^ that past- 
 
 1 ' Lettere fam./ ed. Serassi, i., p. 181. 
 
 2 'Vita/ p. 94. 3 f Cortegiano/ i. 25.
 
 LEONARDO DA VINCI 13 
 
 master in these arts, who was the instructor of the 
 Duke's son-in-law, Galeazzo di San Severino, and whose 
 trick of flinging darts excited Leonardo's admiration 
 as much as his interest in engineering and philosophy.^ 
 Soon young Castiglione became an adept at handling 
 the lance, riding at the ring, and all those other 
 feats of horsemanship and military exercises which 
 were held to form an important part of a courtier's 
 education. He looked on with kindling eyes when 
 JNlesser Galeazzo, that mirror of chivalry, vanquished 
 all his rivals in tlie tournament, and bore off the prize 
 in the presence of the whole court. Perhaps he rode 
 out in the train of that brilliant knight when he 
 escorted the young Duchess on her gay hunting- 
 parties, and Beatrice and her courtiers went singing 
 on their way, or disputed merrily over the rival 
 claims of Roland and Rinaldo. 
 
 Castiglione was on intimate terms with Beatrice's 
 secretary, \^incenzo Calmeta, who became known at 
 L^rbino as f elcgantissiuio Cah/icf a, and wrote a touch- 
 ing record of his dear mistress seven years after her 
 death. Her favourite violin-player, Jacopo di San 
 Secondo, and Cristoforo Romano, the accomplished 
 master who carved her bust in marble and charmed 
 her Mdth his exquisite singing, M'ere botli well known 
 to him, and his natural love of music and painting 
 brought him into connexion with many of the artists 
 at the Moro's court. Often as he waited on Messer 
 Galeazzo's pleasure, or watched Pietro IMonte jousting, 
 in the courts of the Castello, he met Leonardo, the 
 Florentine, whom the court-poet described as ' the 
 new Apelles,' leaving the equestrian statue of the 
 great Duke Francesco, on which he was at work, to 
 put the last touches to his fresco in the Dominican 
 ^ Leonardo, ed. Solmi, p. 81, and Manoscritti I.
 
 14 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 convent without the gates. He was among the 
 spectators on tlie memorable day when the plaster 
 model of the great horse was set up on the arch in 
 front of the Castello in honour of Bianca Maria's 
 marriage to the Emperor Maximilian, and the voice 
 of poets and applauding multitudes together hailed 
 the completion of the work. He saw the comedies 
 that were given in honour of the Marchesa Isabella's 
 visit, and heard the wonderful performances of the 
 famous improvisatore, Serafino of Aquila, whose 
 gnome-like appearance caused him to be compared to 
 a carpet-bag, and whose premature death was lamented 
 by all the ladies at Mantua and Urbino. He may 
 have been in the Duchess's rooms on those evenings 
 when cantos of the 'DivinaCommedia'were read aloud, 
 and the architect Bramante and Gaspare Visconti, 
 the poet, discussed the rival merits of Dante and 
 Petrarch. And the gay and witty conversations which 
 he heard in that brilliant society may well have 
 suggested the idea of recording those animated scenes 
 in a more enduring form. The sight of all these 
 wonders, and the intercourse with these rare artists 
 and gifted scholars, whom he describes as the flower 
 of the whole world, made a deep impression on the 
 young courtier, whose sensitive soul was keenly alive 
 to beauty in every shape and form. It was natural 
 that, as Serassi and INIarliani tell us, he was soon fired 
 by an ardent desire to attach himself to a Prince who 
 was so enlightened a patron of art and letters, and who 
 was endowed with so fine and discriminating a taste in 
 these matters. At the age of eighteen, his education 
 being held to be completed, Castiglione entered the 
 Duke's service, and soon became a general favourite 
 at court. 
 
 This was in 1496, when the unfortunate Gian
 
 FAVOUR OF IL MORO 15 
 
 Galeazzo was dead and Lodovico had gained the 
 object of his ambition, and been proclaimed Duke in 
 his nephew's stead. But Fortune, which had gi-anted 
 the Moro his heart's desire, and raised him to these 
 giddy heights, now suddenly withdrew her smile, and 
 Castiglione, who had seen the court of the Sforzas in 
 its greatest splendour, hved to be the witness of its 
 downfall. He was in Milan on that winter evening 
 when the young Duchess died in the bloom of her 
 youth and beauty. ' Then,' in her secretary's words, 
 ' everything fell into ruin. The court, which had 
 been a joyous paradise, was turned into a dark and 
 gloomy hell, and poets and painters were forced to 
 seek another home.' After this terrible catastrophe, 
 the rift between the JMoro and his brother-in-law, 
 Francesco Gonzaga, gradually widened, and mutual 
 suspicion and distrust parted the rulers of JNIilan and 
 Mantua. Castiglione, however, remained in the 
 Duke's service, and endeared himself to Lodovico 
 daily more and more. One of his Milanese kinsmen, 
 the able jurist Stefano Castiglione, speaks of the 
 young courtier's popularity in a letter which he 
 addressed to Baldassare's father in February, 1499. 
 After appealing to Cristoforo's generosity on behalf 
 of a poor relation who owed him money, the writer 
 adds : ' I must tell Your Magnificence that your son, 
 Messer Baldassare, is very well and highly esteemed, 
 not only by our illustrious lord the Duke, but by every 
 one here, and that with good reason, for, indeed, there 
 could not be a more charming or talented youth. You 
 should really come to Milan yourself soon and contract 
 some honourable marriage for him, which would prove 
 a soiu'ce of consolation to you and all your family.'^ 
 Two months after this letter was written, in April, 
 
 1 Cod. Vat Lat., 8213.
 
 16 COUNT BALDASSAllE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 1499, Cristofbro Castiglione died, as we learn from a 
 letter addressed by Gianpietro (Tonzaga to Jacopo 
 d' Atri, Count of Adria and Pianella. The Count, 
 who is mentioned in the second book of the ' Cor- 
 tegiano,' was at this time Mantuan ambassador at 
 the court of Naples, and will be remembered as the 
 secretary whose advice Isabella d' Este sought when 
 she wished to raise a statue to Virgil. Now, Gian- 
 pietro, the widowed Luigia's brother, wrote to inform 
 Jacopo d' Atri of his kinsman's death, and assure him 
 at the same time of Baldassare readiness to serve 
 his father's old friend. ' I am certain,' he writes on 
 April 24, ' that Your JNIagnificence will have grieved 
 sincerely for the great loss we have sustained here in 
 the death of our Magnifico Cristoforo, in whom I 
 have lost a good friend and brother. A¥hen Baldassare, 
 his son, who is now in Milan, returns to this city, I 
 will desire him to do what you ask, and you may 
 certainly depend upon him as you did on his father. 
 Both he himself and all that he has will be at the 
 disposal of Your Magnificence.'^ 
 
 Cristoforo Castiglione was bmied at his father's side 
 in the family chapel in S. Agnese, the church built 
 early in the century by the Augustinian friars on 
 the shore of the Lago di JMezzo, and eight years later 
 his son and widow raised a noble monument above 
 his grave. Both church and tomb perished in the 
 evil days that overtook JMantua, and the street which 
 bore the name of Vva. S. Agnese is now knoM^n 
 as Y'm Cavour. After his father's death Baldassare 
 returned to comfort his widowed mother and take 
 his father's place in the management of his estates. 
 He had three sisters, two of whom were already 
 
 ^ Archivio Gonzaga, Carteggio di B. Castiglione. Martinati 
 Notizie intorno al Conte B. Castiglione, 7.5.
 
 I'lioto, Aiidcrsoi 
 
 LODOVICO SFORZA. 
 BY BOLTRAFFIO (tRIVULZIO COLLECTION). 
 
 To fuccp. li'., V..1. T.
 
 BALDASSARE'S SISTERS 17 
 
 married. The eldest, Polissena, was the wife of 
 Jacopo Boschetto, a gentleman of JNIodena, who lived 
 at Gonzaga, in the neighbourhood of JNIantua, and 
 seems to have been a martyr to gout. The second, 
 Francesca, had married Tommaso Strozzi, a courtier 
 of the Mantuan princes, who often accompanied the 
 Marchesa and her son on their travels. Baldassare 
 entertained a sincere regard for both his brothers-in- 
 law, although Messer Jacopo's bad temper and grasp- 
 ing nature were often a source of trial, and only to be 
 excused on the ground of ill-health. But the one of 
 all his family to whom he was most deeply attached 
 was his youngest sister, Anna, who took the veil in 
 1504, in the convent of Santa Paola, a community 
 of Poor Clares, to which many of the Gonzaga 
 princesses belonged. His early letters abound in 
 affectionate references to this maiden, whether he 
 calls her by her baptismal name of Anna or by that 
 of Suor Laura, which she adopted on her profession ; 
 and in after-years he named his first daughter Anna 
 after this favourite sister. 
 
 Besides these sisters, the young Count had a 
 brother, Jeronimo, who was many years younger than 
 himself, and whom his mother insisted on keeping 
 at home. For his benefit Castiglione engaged a 
 young tutor named Falcone, whom he had known at 
 Milan, and of whose learning and character he had 
 the highest opinion. Falcone came to live at Casatico, 
 and took charge of Jeronimo, who was destined for 
 an ecclesiastical career, and for whom Baldassare and 
 his mother early obtained a grant of several rich bene- 
 fices, which he did not live to enjoy. Castiglione 
 himself now became attached to Francesco Gonzaga's 
 person, and soon won the favour both of the Marquis 
 and of his accomplished wife. Strangely enough, the 
 
 vol,. I. 2
 
 18 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 first public occasion on which he was required to 
 attend his lord was in October, 1 499, when the French 
 King, I^ouis XII., made his triumphal entry into 
 Milan. During the same month of April in which 
 Baldassare was recalled to JNIantua by his father's 
 death, the treaty between France and \^enice, which 
 sealed the fate of I^odovico Sforza, was signed at Blois. 
 After this a series of disasters brought about the 
 Moro's ruin, and by the end of August the French 
 armies were at the gates of Milan. Lodovico and his 
 children fled to Innsbriick, and the Castello — that 
 impregnable citadel of the Sforzas — was treacherously 
 surrendered to the enemy. Louis XII. now hastened 
 to take possession of his new dominions, and the 
 exiled Duke's nearest relatives, trembling for their 
 own safety, lost no time in making peace with the 
 victorious monarch. On October 2 Duke Ercole of 
 Ferrara and his son-in-law, the iMarquis of Mantua, 
 met King Louis at Pavia, and four days later entered 
 Milan with him in state. Castiglione, who had by 
 this time almost completed his twenty-first year, rode 
 through the streets in his master's suite, and wrote 
 a letter to his brother-in-law, Jacopo Boschetto, in 
 which he describes this triumphal progress, not with- 
 out a pang of natural regret for the lost glories of 
 Lodovico's court : 
 
 ' To the Magnificent Cavalier, 3Iesser Jacopo Bos- 
 chetto da Gonzaga, my Kinsman and Honoured 
 Brother. 
 
 'Magnificent and Honoured Brother, 
 
 ' If I were not sure that your kindness and 
 indulgence were not far greater than my culpable 
 neglect, I should fear that my conduct might have 
 excited your displeasure. But the certainty that I
 
 THE FEENCH IN MILAN 19 
 
 could never wilfully offend you leads me to commit 
 this fault ; and this same confidence which leads me to 
 err prevents me from attempting to make any longer 
 valid excuses for not having written before. I think 
 you have already been informed of His INIajesty the 
 King's entry into Pavia. Our most illustrious lord 
 remained at Pavia with His Majesty until Saturday 
 evening, when he came to JVIilan. On Sunday after 
 dinner, we rode out to meet His JNIajesty, who came 
 to S. Eustorgio, a church outside the Porta Ticinese, 
 and remained there for some time. Signor JNIesser 
 Giovangiacomo [Trivulzio, the French Commander-in- 
 Chief] here presented him with the baton of state and 
 a sword. The King gave the sword to Monsignore de 
 Ligny, who is Grand Chamberlain and Marshal of 
 France, and returned the baton to M . Giovangiacomo. 
 This took place in a chamber at S. Eustorgio. I did 
 not see the ceremony, but heard of it from others who 
 were present. Meanwhile many companies of archers 
 and other French troops arrived in great confusion, 
 together with chariots and prelates and cavaliers, and 
 a good many JNIilanese gentlemen rode out in some 
 degree of order. About twelve chariots belonging to 
 the Pope's son [Cesare Borgia, Duke of Valentinois] 
 drove up, covered with black velvet and gold brocade, 
 followed by many pages on splendid horses, clad in 
 the French fashion, who w^ere a fine sight. Then 
 there rode out to meet the King, Cardinal Borgia the 
 Legate, Cardinal S. Pietro in Vincula [Giuliano della 
 Rovere, afterwards Pope Julius II.], and the Cardinal 
 of Rouen [Georges d'Amboise], all of these riding 
 together. Meanwhile French gentlemen, lords, and 
 knights went riding continually up and down the 
 street, looking at ladies and making their horses prance 
 and gambol ; they had good horses, but handled them 
 badly and struck out at every one who ventiu-ed to 
 come in their way. There was one archer who drew 
 his knife and gave our Master of the Horse, M. Evan- 
 gelista, a great blow on the back of his neck, and yet 
 
 2—2
 
 •20 COUNT HALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 he had not said or done anything in the world to pro- 
 voke such treatment ! At length, God be thanked ! 
 the King appeared. First the trumpets sounded ; 
 then we saw the German infantry, with their Captain 
 on horseback at their head, and they themselves on 
 foot, bearing their lances in rest as usual, and all wear- 
 ing green and red uniforms and hose. There were a 
 hundred of them, as splendid-looking men as you can 
 wish to see, and these formed the vanguard. Then 
 came the King's own body-guard, all of whom are said 
 to be gentlemen. There were 500 archers on foot, 
 with halberds instead of bows in their hands, and 
 helmets on their heads, wearing red and green doublets, 
 embroidered with the King's badge of the porcupine 
 with its quills spread out, on the back and breast. 
 Then came the King's trumpeters and those of the 
 other Princes, with our own among them, wearing 
 satin vests like the cross-bowmen. Immediately after 
 these came His jNIajesty the King, and just in front 
 of him Signor Giovangiacomo da Trivulzio with the 
 baton of command in his hand, and some of his 
 barons at his side, Monsignori di Begnino [Stuart 
 d'Aubigny], di Lignino [Ligny], the Grand Connetable, 
 and others whom I do not know. Behind him were 
 the three Cardinals, each in his proper rank, and the 
 Duke of Ferrara and our Signor, who rode betAveen 
 Montpensier and another lord whose name I cannot 
 remember, and the Pope's son, who has a very 
 gallant bearing, all according to their rank. After 
 that came a multitude of other lords and gentlemen 
 innumerable, and prelates and INlilanese and foreigners. 
 Then 200 French gentlemen-at-arms, all well armed 
 and mounted, making altogether a very gallant show. 
 ' These all accompanied His Majesty along the road, 
 which was covered with cloth up to the Castello, and 
 lined on each side with ladies and adorned with 
 tapestries and other decorations. Some one who 
 wished to show his affection for the French had placed 
 the King's arms above his doors as the best ornament
 
 LOUIS XII. AT THE CASTELLO 21 
 
 that he could have. The street was crowded with 
 people, and the King rode on, looking up at the ladies, 
 who are said to please him greatly. 0^'er his head a 
 baldacchino of gold brocade was carried by doctors 
 wearing purple robes, and capes and birettas lined with 
 fur. Several of the first gentlemen in Milan walked on 
 foot at his horse's side, in good order ; the horse itself 
 is a roan, not very large, but a nice horse, only a little 
 poor about the mouth. His Majesty wore the ducal 
 mantle of white damask and the ducal cap, lined with 
 fur, also of white damask. So he rode up to the 
 Castello. The piazza was thronged with people, and 
 the road Avas kept for His INlajesty by Gascon archers 
 on foot, armed with helmets and the same liveries, but 
 without embroideries. These Gascons are little men, 
 and the archers are very stout. AVith all this pomp 
 His JNIajesty the King of France entered the Castello 
 of JNIilan — once the place where the flower of the men 
 of this world were assembled, but now full of drink- 
 ing-booths and dung-heaps. It is said that, on enter- 
 ing the gates, His JNIajesty laid his hand on his sword, 
 and his action caused the bearers of the baldacchino 
 some alarm. However, he did not draw blood, but 
 only flourished his sword in the air a moment. On 
 JNIonday morning we went to court in attendance on 
 our most illustrious lord, and the King went to mass 
 at S. Ambrogio, escorted by the halberdiers and 
 accompanied by all the Princes whom I have already 
 mentioned. JNlass was sung by the Bishop of Piacenza. 
 After mass we escorted the King to the Castello, 
 and went home to dinner, and then back to court. 
 On Tuesday morning our lord went to court at break 
 of day with two or three horses, and a falcon on his 
 wrist, because this was the King's pleasure, and they 
 rode out into tlie coimtry. This morning I have not 
 yet been out of the house. I do not write about our 
 illustrious lord's affairs, because you will soon see 
 persons who are better informed on these matters than 
 I can pretend to be. But from the great demonstra-
 
 22 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 tions of affection and familiarity which I have seen, it 
 seems to me that there is a strong similarity of tastes 
 between His INIajesty and our most illustrious lord, so 
 that I hope all may go well and our affairs prosper. I 
 will say no more now, but commend myself to Your 
 JNIagnificence and beg you to try and get well soon. 
 ' Your brother, 
 
 ' Bai.dassare Castiglione. 
 
 ' From Milan, October 8, 1499.'^ 
 
 This first letter that we have from Castiglione 's pen 
 is eminently characteristic of the writer. His frank 
 and childlike nature, the quickness of his observation, 
 and the simple loyalty of his soul, are all revealed in 
 this account of the first martial pageant in which he 
 liad taken part. The accuracy of his description is 
 confirmed by the records of the Benedictine chronicler, 
 Jean d'Auton, who accompanied the French king to 
 Italy, and looked with admiring eyes on this new and 
 glorious city of JMilan. He, too, describes the splen- 
 dour of the street decorations, the houses hung with 
 white draperies and shields wreathed with leafy 
 garlands, with fleurs-de-lis and ermines. Two things 
 above all struck his fancy : the tall white lilies that 
 blossomed all along the route from the city gates to 
 the great church of ' Notre Dame du Dome,' and the 
 beautiful ladies with flowing locks and eyes more 
 radiant than the morning sun, who, clad in robes of 
 cloth of gold and rainbow-coloured silks, looked down 
 from every window and balcony. Like Castiglione, 
 the good monk singles out the good order and proud 
 bearing of the German halberdiers for special praise, 
 and dwells on the superb air and sumptuous attire of 
 the Pope's son, Cesare Borgia, Duke Valentino. 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210.
 
 FRENCH OUTRAGES 23 
 
 At the age of twenty it was only natural to be 
 moved by the sight of all these splendours, and yet 
 Baldassare could not repress a sigh at the sight of 
 Gascon archers and foreign soldiery camping in these 
 halls decorated by Leonardo and Bramante, where the 
 foremost scholars and artists of the age had met at the 
 Moro's court. ' The French are a dirty people,' wrote 
 another eyewitness of the scene, a ^'^enetian, who, 
 with all his hatred of the Moro, could not but feel 
 saddened at the sight of the present condition of 
 JNlilan. 'Everywhere in the Castello there is dirt and 
 foulness, sucli as Signor Lodovico would not have 
 allowed for all the world ! The French captains spit 
 upon the floor of these splendid halls, and their 
 soldiers outrage women openly in the streets.'^ A 
 touch of contempt for these foreigners from beyond 
 the Alps, with their rude speech and manners, is 
 apparent throughout Castiglione's narrative, and 
 certain passages in the ' Cortegiano ' show that these 
 first impressions were not dispelled by closer ac- 
 quaintance with the French invaders. ' The French,' 
 he writes, ' only believe in the nobility of arms, and 
 count all the rest as nothing. They not only despise 
 learning, but they ablior it, and Jiold scholars to be 
 the vilest of men, and think that the worst reproach 
 they can address to anyone is to call him a clerk I'^ It 
 was necessary, however, to put aside these prejudices 
 for the moment. King Louis and the IMarquis 
 Francesco had become fast friends, and the best that 
 Mantua had to give — the paintings of Mantegna, 
 and falcons and horses of rarest breed, were laid at 
 the victor's feet. Henceforth the Gonzagas and the 
 Bourbons were to be close allies, and it was under 
 
 ^ Marino Sanuto, ' Diarii,' iii. 31. ' Book i. 42.
 
 24 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 the banner of France that Castiglione's first laurels 
 were to be won. 
 
 But the memory of the brilliant court where he 
 had grown up to manhood never faded from his mind. 
 Long years afterwards, when the splendour of the 
 Moro's rule had vanished like a dream, when Beatrice 
 was in her grave, and death had at length ended 
 Lodovico's weary captivity in the dungeons of Loches, 
 Castiglione, who by this time was himself a sober, 
 middle-aged man, recalled the different actors on that 
 brilliant stage, and took up his pen to celebrate their 
 ffime. A¥here, he asks in the chapters of his 
 ' Cortegiano,' are the equals of these men and women 
 to be seen ? Where, for instance, can you find a 
 woman to compare with Duchess Beatrice or with 
 her sister and mother, my lady Isabella of Mantua, 
 and the saintly Leonora of Aragon ? The passionate 
 fires and enthusiasms of youth were dead, but 
 Galeazzo di San Severino was still for him the rnodel 
 of a peerless knight, sans peur et sans reproche, and 
 Leonardo the foremost painter in the world. Cristoforo 
 Romano and Vincenzo Calmeta were honoured with 
 a place among the august company which met in 
 Duchess Ehsabetta's rooms. Jacopo di San Secondo 
 was held up to fame as the prince of musicians, and 
 Pistoja the poet, who sang the glories of Lodovico's 
 court and declared that God reigned in heaven and 
 the Moro upon earth, was mentioned in the same 
 breath as the incomparable singer, Serafino. The 
 names of these men and women who were familiar 
 figures when the Moro reigned over Milan, are 
 enshrined in the pages of the ' Cortegiano,' and live 
 for all time in Castiglione's immortal prose.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 1500-1503 
 
 Castiglione at the court of Mantua — His great qualities and 
 popularity — Friendship of Isabella d' Este for him^The Duke 
 and Duchess of Urbino at Mantua — -Francesco Gonzaga meets 
 Louis XII. at Milan — ^Leads the French army against Naples 
 — Castiglione joins him on the Garigliano — Returns with him 
 to Rome. 
 
 During five years after the French conquest of 
 Milan, Baldassare CastigHone remained in the service 
 of his natural lord, the Marquis of Mantua. Both 
 Francesco and his wife treated him with marked 
 favour, and realized from the first that his presence 
 was a great addition to court circles at Mantua. 
 Everything, indeed, combined to make Castiglione an 
 ornament to society. He was young and singularly 
 handsome. There are, unfortunately, no early por- 
 traits of him in existence, but those of a later 
 period, with the help of contemporary descriptions, 
 enable us to form some idea of his appearance. He 
 was above middle height, well proportioned, and erect 
 in bearing, with regular features and deep grey eyes 
 full of thought and seriousness, a broad open forehead, 
 and brown hair, which he wore short, with a pointed 
 beard and moustache, after the fashion set by the 
 Marquis Francesco at the court of Mantua. There 
 M^as an air of refinement and high breeding about 
 him, an expression of mingled dignity and gentleness 
 
 25
 
 26 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 which made him the very pattern of a courtier such 
 as he has himself described, fearless in battle and 
 skilled in courtly exercises, a finished scholar and 
 elegant poet, a pleasant companion and a trusted 
 friend. 
 
 As might be expected, this brilliant cavalier won 
 the smiles of all the court ladies, and before he had 
 been many months at INlantua two marriages were 
 proposed to him. First of all the JNlarchesana, always 
 eager to arrange a suitable match, made it her business 
 to find him a well-dowered bride, and suggested a 
 daughter of Messer Girolamo Stanga, of Cremona, 
 one of Lodovico Sforza's most trusted servants. 
 Messer Girolamo, however, does not seem to have 
 considered Baldassare's fortune sufficient, and in 
 1502 Agnesina Stanga married his kinsman and her 
 first cousin, I.uigi Gonzaga of Borgoforte. The next 
 proposal came from the JNIarquis's uncle. Bishop 
 I^odovico Gonzaga, whose home at Gazzolo was only 
 a few miles from Casatico, and who was on very 
 friendly terms with INIadonna Luigia and her children. 
 In a letter addressed to Count JMafFeo da Gambara, 
 he suggests an excellent match for one of his daughters 
 in the person of ' M. Baldassare da Castiglione, my 
 kinsman through his mother, sister of INI. Gian Pietro 
 Gonzaga.' The Bishop goes on to draw a glowing 
 picture of the young man, whom he describes as 
 exceedingly handsome, learned, eloquent, discreet, 
 and singularly virtuous ; in fact, so generously en- 
 dowed by Nature and Fortune that it would be hard 
 to find his equal. ' He receives from his estates,' adds 
 the writer, ' a yearly income of 1,500 ducats, which 
 he shares with his brother, who is a priest, and whom 
 we are trying to endow with benefices in order that 
 M. Baldassare may enjoy the whole of his patrimony
 
 FRANCESCO GONZAGA 27 
 
 undivided.'^ The Bishop's proposals, however, met 
 with no better success than those of the Marchesana. 
 Baldassare himself had evidently no wish to plight his 
 troth and remained for many years to come far more 
 eager to gain military glory and diplomatic renown 
 than domestic happiness. 
 
 Before long Francesco Gonzaga discovered that 
 Messer Baldassare possessed qualities of head and 
 heart even more valuable than his attractive exterior 
 and manifold accomplishments, and began to realize 
 that his quick intelligence, exquisite tact, and perfect 
 self-control, his inviolable honesty and fidelity, fitted 
 him in an especial inanner for the conduct of delicate 
 negotiations in affairs of state. 
 
 But loyally as Castiglione served his master, 
 Francesco Gonzaga's personality, it is evident, never 
 attracted him. This rough, fiery soldier was of too 
 coarse a mould to appreciate the finer shades of 
 Baldassare's nature, and was as insensible to the 
 purity and nobility of Castiglione's character as he 
 was to his elegant scholarship. A born intriguer 
 himself, who had little consideration for others, and 
 cared solely for his own interest, Francesco's brutal 
 temper and recklessness in the means which he used 
 to attain his selfish ends, must often have jarred on 
 Baldassare's nobler and more elevated natiu-e. It is, 
 accordingly, not to be wondered if the Marquis failed 
 to inspire his faithful servant with any strong feeling 
 of personal attachment, and if Castiglione soon found 
 a master whose service was more congenial. AVith 
 the Marchioness Isabella it was altogether different. 
 This gifted lady, with her heaven -born instinct for 
 discerning excellence in any shape or form, quickly 
 recognized the rare charm and beauty of the young 
 ^ S. Bettinelli, ' Delle lettere e delle arti Mantovane,' 147.
 
 28 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 courtier's nature, and lost no time in attaching him 
 to herself. The trust which she reposed in him was 
 repaid with interest. Wherever Castiglione found 
 himself during the next thirty years, whatever private 
 or public business he had in hand, his best powers of 
 body and mind, his wide knowledge of men and 
 infinite resource, were always placed at Isabella's 
 disposal. And she on her part never failed him. It 
 was to her that he turned in the darkest and most 
 difficult moments of his career, when his lord frowned 
 upon him and slanderous tongues reviled him, and he 
 had no other friend whom he could trust at court. 
 In his letters to his mother he speaks of her as our 
 pillar — la nostra colonna — the one unshaken rock 
 upon whom his hopes were fixed, and on whose help 
 and friendship he could rely with absolute certainty. 
 
 As yet, however, no clouds had risen to darken the 
 young courtier's horizon, and strong of arm and blithe 
 of heart he rode out to do his lord's bidding. The 
 Marquis, we know, declined to take up arms on Lodo- 
 vico Sforza's behalf when, early in February, 1.500, 
 that unfortunate Prince crossed the Alps in the 
 forlorn hope of recovering the Milanese. Just at 
 that time we find Baldassare in command of the 
 garrison of Castiglione, a fortification on JNIantuan 
 territory. The post was a solitary one, and the 
 young soldier grew restive in this enforced inaction. 
 On January 27 he sent his mother the following note, 
 begging for supplies for himself and his servants : 
 
 ' Magnificent Lady and Honouked Mother, 
 ' I send Andrea with the mule for the bread 
 and other things you wrote about, if they are ready, 
 and by him some fish which was given me yester- 
 day. This morning I sent Spagnolo to Brescia for
 
 Photo, Praii 
 
 GIOVANNI FRANCESCO GONZAGA II. 
 (museum of MANTL'A.) 
 
 To face p. -JS, Viil. I.
 
 A GARRISON TOWN 29 
 
 that blessed cuirass, but do not know if he will secure 
 it. Carlo asks me to let Francesco go on Sunday to 
 carve at JNIesser Lodovico's^ table. I promised to let 
 him go, and begged JNIesser Lodovico at the same 
 time to ask our lord's leave for me to come to JNIantua 
 for these three days. This, T think, he will easily 
 grant, as it cannot matter if I am away for this short 
 time, and I am very anxious to come. I beg you to 
 send me some salt and sausages. Sebastian would be 
 glad if you could send him enough horsehair to stuff 
 a saddle, and I should be grateful if you would also 
 let me have a piece of salt meat.' 
 
 The leave for which he asked was evidently granted, 
 and a month later, when he had returned to his post 
 after a visit to Mantua, he wrote again to announce 
 his safe arrival : 
 
 ' Until this moment I have had no time to write 
 to Your Magnificence. We arrived all safe, and the 
 horses too. These peasants are certainly rather poor 
 creatures, and have to be driven like donkeys. I had 
 much rather stay at JMantua, not so much for my 
 own convenience or to escape work, but because 
 this place is very lonely. I beg you to let me have 
 two pounds of candles and a pair of boots for JNIar- 
 cello. I am trying to find a trusted messenger to 
 send to Brescia, and beg Marco Secco to see if he can 
 possibly obtain this tiresome cuirass, and find out if it 
 costs more than the six gold ducats which 1 paid 
 Maestro Michelotto. . . ."-^ 
 
 From another letter, written a year later, we find 
 that Baldassare was sent by his lord to Carpi to 
 arrange some business matters with Alberto Pio and 
 his brothers. On April 2, 1501, he informed his 
 
 ^ Lodovico or Luigi Gonzaga, his cousin. 
 2 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8'-2lO.
 
 30 COUNT BALDASSAllE CASTIGTJONE 
 
 mother of the success which had attended his efforts, 
 and of the courtesy with which he had been received 
 by these cultured princes. 
 
 ' To-morrow,' he adds, ' we intend, by God's will, 
 to go and dine at San Benedetto ; and, if Your 
 Magnificence has no objection, I intend to remain 
 there during Holy Week, and communicate in this 
 quiet retreat, which seems to me well fitted for these 
 devotions.' He proceeds to consult his mother about 
 some private affairs which had to be arranged with 
 Messer Amato Boschetto, Jacopo's brother, who was 
 with him at Carpi, and ends by sending greetings to 
 his brother Jeronimo, his sister Anna, and all the 
 others at home.^ 
 
 That year witnessed Cesare Borgia's invasion of 
 Romagna and the marriage of his sister Lucrezia to 
 Alfonso d' Este. These events were followed a few 
 months later by the treacherous conquest of Urbino. 
 Guidobaldo and his wife Elisabetta took refuge at 
 the court of Mantua, and Baldassare, whose mother 
 was a kinswoman of the Duchess, was for the first 
 time brought into close relations with these illustrious 
 exiles. In all probability he accompanied the INIarquis 
 Francesco when he and his father-in-law, the Duke 
 of Ferrara, went to meet the French king at Asti, 
 and entered JMilan in his train on July 28. Here 
 Guidobaldo and Giovanni Sforza, both of whom had 
 been deprived of their dominions by Cesare, came to 
 plead their cause with King Louis ; and Francesco 
 Gonzaga was already boasting that he would soon 
 avenge their wrongs, when, to the dismay of the as- 
 sembled Princes, the hated Borgia suddenly appeared 
 in person on the scene. 
 
 One August evening, about nine o'clock, when the 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210.
 
 CESARE BORGIA 31 
 
 King was returning from a banquet given by his 
 general Trivulzio, Jean d' Auton, the chronicler, who 
 lodged in a street near the Castello, heard a clatter 
 of horses' hoofs under his window, and, putting his 
 head out quickly, saw Duke Valentino, mounted on 
 a cheval de poste, in the act of saluting His JNIost 
 Christian JNIajesty. By the Hght of the French 
 guards' flaming torches, the monk was able to dis- 
 tinguish Cesare's travelhng suit of black velvet and 
 his German hat still covered with white dust, as 
 he rode by the King's side, in friendly and animated 
 conversation, to the gates of the Castello. ' There,' 
 he adds significantly, ' were the INIarquis of INIantua, 
 the Duke of Urbino, and many others, who hated 
 Borgia with a deadly hatred. But, in spite of the 
 presence of these open enemies, the King gave the 
 Duke a cordial welcome, embracing him affectionately, 
 ordering his supper, and placing his own wardrobe 
 and carriages at his guest's disposal. His Majesty,' 
 adds honest Jean, ' goes nowhere without the Duke ; 
 and if he should wish to get off his horse or into the 
 saddle again, it is the Duke who plays the part of 
 a good squire and holds stirrup and bridle.'^ 
 
 After that it was plain that Guidobaldo and his 
 companions in misfortune had little hope of obtaining 
 any redress for their wrongs from the French monarch ; 
 and Borgia's insolence grew to such a pitch that he 
 would not allow the exiled Duke and Duchess to 
 remain at JNIantua, and compelled them to seek 
 shelter at ^^enice. Louis XII., however, still treated 
 Francesco Gonzaga with marked favour, and at his 
 pressing invitation the JNIarquis spent Christmas at 
 the French court at Loches, and did not return to 
 Italy until the end of January. 
 
 ^ Jean d' Auton, * Chroniques,' ii. 192, 194.
 
 32 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGI.IONE 
 
 Tlie following year was memorable in Castiglione's 
 life as the date of his first visit to Rome. He was 
 evidently sent there by the Marquis or his wife Isabella, 
 who frequently exchanged letters and presents with 
 Duke Valentino, in her anxiety to keep on good terms 
 with the powerful usurper, and had actually agreed to 
 the betrothal of her three-year-old son Frederico with 
 Cesare's infant daughter.^ Unfortunately, we have no 
 details of his journey or of the impressions which the 
 first sight of the Eternal City made on the enthusiastic 
 young scholar. A single sentence in a letter to his 
 mother is the only record that is left us of his feelings 
 on this occasion. ' We are all well, thank God,' he 
 wrote from Rome on March 16, 1903, 'and hope you 
 will tell me all that is happening at home, how you are, 
 and what people are doing over there, and how our 
 friends are. Here there is no news that concerns us, 
 but Rome is a wonderful place ! {gran cosa e Roma)."'^ 
 Two months later he was at home again, and we find 
 an interesting mention of him in a letter from the 
 Mantuan secretary Tolomeo Spagnoli, who had been 
 sent to pay his master's respects to the French Viceroy 
 of Milan, Charles d'Amboise. 
 
 ' The illustrious Signor Zoan Giacomo Trivulzio,' 
 writes the envoy on May 24, 1505, 'tells me that in 
 the last rebellion of Milan, when the Moro recovered 
 the city in 1500, he lost many of his private posses- 
 sions, and among these nothing which he regretted 
 as much as a volume of Quintus Curtius, with 
 marginal notes in his own hand. This book, he hears, 
 is now in the hands of Baldassare da Castiglione, and 
 since he is anxious to recover it, and hears that 
 Baldassare is now at Mantua, he begs Your Excellency 
 to ask Baldassare for the book and send it to him at 
 
 ^ ' Isabella d' Este/ i. 247-250. 2 Cod. Vat, Lat., 8210.
 
 CAMPAIGN OF NAPLES 33 
 
 Milan, and the said Signer Zoan Giacomo will gladly 
 pay Baldassare whatever he has spent upon it, and will 
 remain eternally obliged to Your Excellency.'^ 
 
 Castiglione, it appears, was already a collector of 
 rare books, and his interest in classical literature was 
 shared by the veteran who had driven out the Moro. 
 
 The Marquis now received a commission from 
 Louis XII. to raise a force and join the expedition 
 which La Tremouille was about to lead southwards, 
 to recover Naples from the Spanish captain, Gonsalvo 
 de Cordova. 
 
 Baldassare accompanied his lord on this occasion, 
 and left Mantua early in July to join the French 
 army at Parma. On the eve of his departure he 
 WTote to his mother at Casatico : ' Our expedition 
 to Parma is arranged, but I know not how it will 
 succeed. Time will show.' He goes on to tell her 
 that he has executed her commissions in town, and 
 had sent off the linen which she required, and that 
 the tapestries will soon follow. What is more impor- 
 tant, he informs her of a confidential communication 
 which he has just received regarding a valuable 
 benefice which INIonsignor di San Marco is ready to 
 resign in favour of Jeronimo, at a word from the 
 Marquis. ' In my present circumstances,' he adds, 
 ' I hardly know what to do, but I have so many 
 friends that I hope this may be effected. I have not, 
 however, spoken of it to a single living person ; 
 neither Messer Gian Pietro nor anyone else, and I 
 beg you not to mention it to a creature.' Mantua, 
 July 6, 1503.- 
 
 After prolonged delays the French army at length 
 started for Naples on August 20. But just before 
 
 ^ ' Archivio stovico italiano,' Appendice, ii. 268. 
 2 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210. 
 
 VOL. I. 3
 
 34 COUNT BALDASSAllE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 the Marquis left Parma, a courier from Rome arrived, 
 bringing him word of the Pope's sudden death, an 
 event which changed the whole aspect of affairs. 
 Castiglione appears to have been sent back to Mantua 
 with the news, which was the signal for the exiled 
 Duke's immediate return to Urbino. La Tremouille 
 continued his march southwards, as far as \^iterbo, 
 where he found the conclave was sitting, and halted 
 at the urgent request of Cardinal Georges d'Amboise, 
 who hoped that the presence of the army would 
 ensure his own election. But the confident expecta- 
 tions of the French prelate, who, in Jean d'Auton's 
 words, ' already saw the keys of St. Peter dangling 
 from his girdle,'^ were doomed to disappointment, 
 and on September 22, 1503, the venerable Cardinal 
 Piccolomini of Siena was proclaimed Pope, with the 
 title of Pius III. A week later the French army 
 marched through the suburbs of S. Maria del 
 Popolo, ' in fine order and great numbers,' and since 
 La Tremouille was dangerously ill of fever and unable 
 to proceed further, the Marquis of Mantua assumed 
 the command. jNIeanwhile Francesco's loyal servant, 
 Baldassare Castiglione, was hurrying from Mantua to 
 join his lord, cursing the Fates who had hindered his 
 journey by a series of untoward accidents. When at 
 length he reached Rome early in October, he found 
 to his bitter disappointment that the French army had 
 already left the neighbourhood. In his disgust he ad- 
 dressed the following letter to the Marquis, explaining 
 the causes of his delay and his impatience to rejoin him : 
 
 ' My dear Lord, 
 
 ' Since I have been unable to join Your 
 Excellency as quickly as I hoped, and as it was my 
 
 ' ' Chroniques/ iii. IS.
 
 ON THE GARIGLIANO 35 
 
 duty to do, 1 must tell you that I have arrived here 
 in Rome with Matteo Grigna, JNJarsilio Tombetta, 
 Rigellino, Carlo da Bardellone, and Carlo del Gallo, 
 and that we are all of us in the greatest despair to 
 find that it is impossible to join Your Excellency. I 
 have no other desire in the world than to serve you, 
 especially at this moment, but the roads are so unsafe 
 that if we travel without an escort we are certain to 
 be robbed. So we hope to come as soon as a com- 
 pany of the Orsini or any other sufficient escort shall 
 be going the same way. The reason of my delay has 
 been the impossibility of procuring a good horse. I 
 had to seek through the whole State of Milan as far 
 as Piedmont before I could find one, and as soon as I 
 had succeeded in this a series of misfortunes delayed 
 my departure. However, I hope soon to continue 
 my journey, and desire nothing else but to be where 
 Your Excellency is, and whether on foot or on horse- 
 back devote this poor life to your service. God grant 
 me this prayer, for I can ask no greater favour in this 
 world ! 
 
 ' Your Excellency's most faithful servant, 
 
 ' Baldassare Castiglione. 
 
 'Rome, October ^, 1503.' i 
 
 The young soldier's prayer was granted, and in the 
 short but arduous campaign which followed he faced 
 peril and hardship valiantly at his lord's side. After 
 a fruitless attempt to take the fortified town of Rocca 
 Secca, Francesco Gonzaga took up his position on 
 the banks of the Garigliano, between San Germano 
 and Gaeta. The Spanish captain, Gonsalvo de 
 Cordova, whose forces were considerably inferior in 
 numbers, prudently entrenched himself on the opposite 
 bank, and prepared to offer a vigorous resistance 
 to the enemy. After repeated efforts, the French 
 
 ^ Archivio Gonzaga, and Martinati, p. 76. 
 
 3—2
 
 36 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 succeeded in crossing the river, but were repulsed 
 and driv^en back with heavy loss. ' If the French- 
 men,' writes Guicciardini, ' had boldly advanced 
 forward, they had that day remained superiors ; but 
 while they proceeded slowly, and with demonstration 
 of timorousnesse, they did not only lose the occasion 
 of the victory that day, but they diminished greatly 
 all hope in time to come. From that daye, all things 
 tooke with them very ill successe, and there was 
 already among the captaines rather confusion than 
 concord ; and according to the custome of the 
 French souldiers with the Italian captaines, very 
 little obedience to the Marquis of Mantua, the King's 
 lieutenant.'^ 
 
 Francesco's difficulties were increased by scarcity 
 of provisions as well as by the unusual severity of the 
 season. ' Winter was very colde and sharpe,' con- 
 tinues the historian, ' raining and snowing almost 
 continually, much more than had been accustomed in 
 that country, whereby it seemed that Fortune and the 
 heavens had conspired against the French, who stay- 
 ing there, did not onely spend the time improfitably, 
 but received by that aboade, almost the like harmes 
 which mens bodies receive by a poison that worketh 
 slowly.' 2 The Marquis himself fell ill, or else, accord- 
 ing to most authorities, feigned sickness because he 
 was unable to endure the pride, quarrels, and dis- 
 obedience of the French any longer,^ and resigned his 
 command to the INIarquis of Saluzzo. The Venetian 
 Envoy in Rome reported that Francesco had fallen ill 
 with fever and pains in his limbs, and been carried 
 in a Utter to Traietto, but another informant added 
 
 1 ' The Historic of Guicciardini reduced into English by 
 Geffray Fenton,' l6l8, p. 237. 
 
 - Guicciardini, pp. 231, 237. ^ Muratori, ' Annali d' Italia.'
 
 RETURN TO ROME 37 
 
 significantly : ' He is not ill, but has left the camp 
 and is gone to Rome, seeing the probable result of 
 the campaign. He is a wise man, and I need say no 
 more.'^ 
 
 Throughout the earlier stages of the campaign 
 Castiglione remained in close attendance upon his 
 master, and endeared himself greatly to the JNlarquis 
 by the cheerful courage with which he bore the hard- 
 ships to which captain and soldiers were alike exposed. 
 Now he left the camp with his lord, and returned to 
 Rome, where his cousin, Cesare Gonzaga, was eagerly 
 expecting him, as we learn from the letters which 
 he wrote early in December to Baldassare's anxious 
 mother. 
 
 After their departure the quarrels of the French 
 captains became daily more bitter, while the soldiers 
 died by hundreds of cold and hunger. At length, on 
 December 20, a decisive battle took place in which the 
 French were completely routed, and Piero de' Medici, 
 who was fighting in their ranks, together with a 
 large number of fugitives, were drowned in the river 
 Garigliano. The destruction of the French army on 
 that fatal day sealed the fate of Naples, and established 
 the Spanish dominion firmly throughout the kingdom. 
 But neither the ^larquis of Mantua nor his servant 
 Castiglione, as most of his biographers have stated, 
 were present in the rout of Garigliano.'^ 
 
 1 Sanuto, V. 387, 483. ^ Marliani, Serassi, etc.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 1503-1504 
 
 Election of Pope Julius II. — Guidobaldo restored to his throne — 
 Summoned to Rome by the Pope — Castiglione remains in 
 Rome and enters the Duke's service — Resentment of Francesco 
 Gonzaga — Castiglione joins the Duke in the camp at Forli — 
 Returns with him to Urbino. 
 
 Great events had happened during the few weeks 
 which had elapsed since CastigHone left Rome on 
 the morrow of Pope Pius III.'s election. On Octo- 
 ber 17, after a brief reign of twenty-six days, the 
 new Pontiff died, and on the vigil of All Saints the 
 conclave met once more to elect his successor. This 
 time there could be little doubt as to the result. Al- 
 though Cardinal d'Amboise, in Jean d' Anton's quaint 
 phrase, ' came very near to the gates of Paradise,' 
 being only short of two votes, on that same evening 
 Giuliano della Rovere, Cardinal of S. Pietro in Vincula, 
 was elected Pope. On the morning of All Saints' 
 Day, November 1, this able and ambitious prelate — 
 ' mightie in friends, reputation, and riches ' — was pro- 
 claimed supreme Pontiff and assumed the title of 
 Julius II. 
 
 The elevation of this Cardinal to the chair of 
 St. Peter produced a complete revolution in the 
 Papal policy. Already, only ten days after Alexan- 
 der VI. 's death, Duke Guidobaldo had returned to 
 Urbino, where his old subjects welcomed him with 
 
 38
 
 DUKE GUIDOBALDO 39 
 
 an enthusiasm which CastigHone himself has described 
 in eloquent language. ' Guidobaldo,' he writes in 
 his Latin Epistle to our Henry VII., 'came back 
 to his own and recovered the State of which he 
 had been so unjustly deprived, amid the rejoicing of 
 all Italy. Troops of children flocked to meet him 
 with olive branches in their hands, singing for glad- 
 ness at the sight of their beloved Prince. Old men, 
 tottering under the weight of years, hurried out to 
 meet him with tears of joy streaming down their 
 cheeks, mothers with babes in their arms, and persons 
 of every age and sex joined the crowds that tlironged 
 the streets. The very stones seemed to dance and 
 exult in his coming.'^ 
 
 The accession of his kinsman, Giuliano della Rovere, 
 to the Papal throne, two months later, secured the 
 permanence of Guidobaldo's restoration. The new 
 Pope's brother, Giovanni della Rovere, who in his 
 lifetime held the office of Prefect of Rome, had 
 married the Duke of Urbino's sister, Giovanna, the 
 Lady Prefetessa who was the patron of Perugino and 
 Raphael, and her young son, Francesco ^laria, was 
 tacitly recognized as Guidobaldo's heir. One of 
 Julius II. 's first acts was to summon Guidobaldo 
 to Rome and promise to appoint him Gonfaloniere 
 of the Church in the place of Cesare Borgia. Cas- 
 tiglione's cousin, Cesare Gonzaga, had accompanied 
 the Duke on his return to Urbino, and, after taking 
 part in his campaign against Borgia's forces in 
 Romagna, now followed him to Rome. Thus, when 
 Baldassare reached Rome with the Marquis of Mantua 
 on his retm'n from the French camp, he found his 
 kinsman already settled in the \"atican. On Decem- 
 ber 7 Cesare wrote the following letter to his aunt 
 
 ^ Serassi, ii. 351.
 
 40 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Luigia, who was anxiously expecting news of her 
 absent son : 
 
 * I did not answer Your Magnificence's two letters 
 before, because I have been daily expecting our Messer 
 Baldassare's return. Now he is here, I inust thank 
 you for your dear letters, which are a fresh proof of 
 the love which I know you bear me, although no 
 letters are needed to assure me of this. And I pray 
 you to continue your prayers for me, for I firmly 
 believe they are the cause that God has not allowed 
 me to perish in the great dangers to which I have been 
 exposed. For when I look back upon them, I feel 
 more terror than 1 did at the actual moment, God be 
 praised ! As for Dorotea da Crema, about whom you 
 write, 1 regret that I can give you no satisfaction. I 
 have inade many inquiries of persons who had good 
 reason to know the truth, but all I could learn from 
 a friend of mine, who was one of her guards, is that 
 some days ago he gave her 400 ducats, in order that 
 she might take a long journey. I entreated him to 
 tell me more, but he refused, and I can find out 
 nothing further. I am sorry not to be able to give 
 you more information, but I think she is ali\ e, and 
 will do my utmost to find out more, as our most 
 illustrious Lord Marquis also desires. I pass on to 
 Your Magnificence all the Papal blessings which I 
 have received, excepting one which is intended for 
 Madonna Orsina. Please do me the favour to present 
 this to her in my name, with infinite respects. I will 
 say no more, as you will doubtless hear more fully 
 from our Messer Baldassare, and only commend myself 
 to you and all the members of our family. And when 
 you see the Lady IMarchesana, 1 pray you commend 
 me to her good graces.' 
 
 We have no clue as to the mysterious disappearance 
 of Dorotea da Crema, but she was probably one of 
 Cesare Borgia's victims, and had been carried off by
 
 CESARE BORGIA 41 
 
 one of his captains. Valentino himself, as he was 
 generally called in Italy, was himself in Rome at this 
 moment, endeavouring to obtain the Duke of Urbino's 
 pardon and the new Pope's favour. 
 
 On the very day when Cesare Gonzaga wrote to 
 inform his aunt of her son's safe arrival, a strange 
 meeting took place in the Vatican between Guido- 
 baldo and the man who had wronged him. The 
 Duke, as one of his gentlemen wrote to a friend at 
 Castel Durante, was resting on a couch in the Pope's 
 antechamber, when suddenly Valentino appeared in 
 tlie room, cap in hand, and fell on his knees before 
 him. Guidobaldo, startled at the sight of his old 
 enemy, rose and drew back a few paces. Then he 
 courteously raised Valentino to his feet and listened 
 patiently while Cesare begged his pardon for the 
 wrongs which he had done him, excusing himself on 
 account of his youth, and ascribing his evil deeds to 
 the rapacity of his father, Pope Alexander, whose 
 memory he loaded with curses. At the same time he 
 promised to restore the library and most of the other 
 treasures of the ducal palace, which were safely housed 
 in the citadel of ForH. ' To all of which,' continues 
 our correspondent, ' the Duke replied in a noble and 
 fitting manner : " Truly a strange example of the 
 changes of Fortune, which fulfils the words of the 
 Psalmist, ' He hath put down the mighty fi'om their 
 seat, and exalted the humble and meek.""^ 
 
 According to Castiglione, on this occasion Guido- 
 baldo behaved with his wonted magnanimity, and 
 interceded on his old enemy's behalf with the Pope, 
 who detained him for the present in the Vatican, and 
 afterwards allowed him to go to Ostia, where he was 
 arrested and sent to Spain by Gonsalvo de Cordova. 
 
 ^ Ugolini, 'Storia di Urbino/ ii. 514.
 
 42 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Castiglione, we learn from his cousin's letter, arrived 
 in Rome on December 7, and obtained his master's 
 leave to remain there when Francesco himself went 
 on to Mantua for Christmas. The Marquis might 
 not have agreed so readily had he foreseen the con- 
 sequences of his action. Baldassare remained in 
 Rome, and saw so much of Guidobaldo during the 
 next few months that he was inspired with an ardent 
 wish to enter the Duke's service. This feeling was 
 no doubt strengthened by the fact that both Cesare 
 Gonzaga and his other kinsman and intimate friend, 
 Lodovico, Count of Canossa, were already attached to 
 the Duke's person. On the other hand, Castiglione's 
 personal charm, his talents and accomplishments, 
 made him peculiarly acceptable to the Duke, who 
 asked nothing better than to secure the services of 
 so finished a cavalier. A mutual regard sprang up 
 between Prince and courtier, and when, at the end of 
 JNIay, Baldassare at length returned to Mantua, he 
 pledged his word to join the Duke in Romagna as 
 soon as he could obtain the necessary permission from 
 the Marquis. 
 
 Guidobaldo himself was impatient to return to his 
 own home at Urbino, where the Duchess was govern- 
 ing the State in his absence. But all through the 
 winter months, Julius II., who was genuinely fond of 
 the Duke, insisted on keeping him at the Vatican on 
 one pretence or another, and it was only on IMay 10 
 that the long-delayed consistory was held in which 
 the succession of the Pope's nephew, Francesco della 
 Rovere to the duchy of Urbino was publicly con- 
 firmed. Two days afterwards, three English Am- 
 bassadors, Sir Gilbert Talbot, Richard Bere, Abbot 
 of Glastonbury, and Dr. Robert Sherborne, Dean of 
 St. Paul's, arrived in Rome, bearing King Henry
 
 THE ORDER OF THE GARTER 43 
 
 VI I. 's congratulations to the new Pope, and bring- 
 ing with them the habit and collar of the Garter for 
 the Duke of Urbino — thus, in the old chronicler's 
 quaint phraseology, 'stopping two gappes with one 
 bushe.' In a Latin epistle addressed to his most dear 
 friend, the Lord Guido Ubaldo, the English monarch 
 informed his Sublimity that in a Chapter of the Most 
 Noble Order of the Garter recently held in tlie palace 
 of Westminster, he had been created a Knight of that 
 august company, as his father, of happy memory, had 
 been before him, in recognition of his singular merit 
 and virtue. The envoys were received by Silvestro 
 Gigli, the Itahan Bishop of Worcester and English 
 resident at the ^^atican, and lodged in the house of 
 Cardinal Adriano Castellesi, Bishop of Hereford. 
 This prelate, as Lodovico Sforza's envoy to the 
 EngUsh court reported,^ kept King Henry wel 
 informed in Italian affairs, and was especially useful 
 in obtaining favours from the Vatican. In the present 
 instance, the Cardinal's ambassador was Avell paid 
 for his hospitality by the announcement which the 
 envoys brought of his preferment to the See of 
 Bath, with a yearly income of 12,000 ducats. In 
 recognition of this signal favour, Castellesi, we 
 learn from the Venetian ambassador in Rome, pre- 
 sented his splendid new palace in the Borgo to King 
 Henry VI 1.2 
 
 In a consistory held on May 20, the Enghsh 
 envoys were received by the Pope, and a Bull 
 was promulgated granting special indulgences to 
 Henry VII.'s newly-built chapel in the Abbey 
 of Westminster, and sanctioning the removal of 
 
 1 Calendar of State Papers in Archives of Venice, i. 281. 
 
 2 Giustiniani, ' Dispacci,' ii. 97 ; Dennistoun, 'Dukes of Urbino,' 
 
 ii. 447.
 
 44 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Henry VI. 's ashes to this shrine. On the 22nd the 
 Duke of Urbino's appointment as Captain of the 
 Church, with a yearly salary of 5,000 ducats, was 
 publicly proclaimed, and he was solemnly invested 
 with the robes and insignia of the Garter in the 
 "S^atican. There, in the presence of the Pope and 
 Cardinals, the Abbot of Glastonbury recited the 
 ancient formula, in Norman French, to the new-made 
 Knight who knelt before him : ' La Soveraiyne et 
 Vamyable compagnie dcs Chivaliers de VOrdrc de la 
 Jarretiere vous ont re^u et choisi pour leur Amy, 
 Frcre et Compaignon '; and proceeded to invest the 
 Duke with the crimson robe, velvet mantle of celestial 
 blue, and collar and garter of the Order, in the 
 name of God Almighty, His spotless and undefiled 
 Mother, and the blessed martyr St. George. ' Si que 
 estant arme de beaux vertus^ voiis poiwez passe?' parmi 
 les enneinis et les confondre, et apres avoir vaiUaminent 
 guerroye en ce monde vous pouvez parvenire a les 
 eternelles et trioviphanz Joyes celestes.'^ After this 
 ceremony the Duke and ambassadors were enter- 
 tained at a banquet in the Vatican, and Guidobaldo 
 rode in state through the town in his Garter robes, to 
 the great admiration of the people. On the following 
 evening he left Rome, and returned to Urbino, to 
 lead an expedition against the citadels of Forli and 
 Cesena, which Cesare Borgia's captains still refused to 
 surrender. 
 
 On May 27 he reached Foligno, and that same 
 evening addressed a note to his brother-in-law, 
 Francesco Gonzaga, asking his permission to invite 
 the Marchese's subject and servant, Baldassare da 
 Castiglione, to enter his service. ' This would be 
 
 1 Elias Ashmole, ' The Institution, Laws, and Order of the 
 Garter,' 1672, Appendix.
 
 GUIDOBALDO'S REQUEST 45 
 
 especially acceptable to me,' writes the Duke, ' since I 
 desire to raise a company of men-at-arms which will 
 do me honour and serve me well ; and I promise to 
 treat him in such a manner as to show Your Excellency 
 how highly I esteem your servants, and if ever you 
 should require his services, you will be able to avail 
 yourself of them as easily as if he were still in his own 
 home.' 
 
 The request was one which the Marquis could 
 hardly refuse, but from the curtness of his reply it is 
 plain that he was by no means pleased at the prospect 
 of being deprived of his most brilliant servant. 
 
 ' My Lord Duke,' he wrote from his villa at Gonzaga 
 on June 9, ' if Baldassare da Castiglione chooses to 
 enter your service, we are well content, and shall be 
 ever ready to oblige you in anything that you may 
 
 desire. 
 
 ' Francesco Gonzaga.' 
 
 Meanwhile Castiglione himself had reached Mantua, 
 and on the following day he sent a gracefully worded 
 petition to the Marquis, asking for leave to enter the 
 Duke of Urbino's service : 
 
 ' My dear Lord, 
 
 ' Yesterday I received a letter from the Lord 
 Duke of Urbino, asking me if I am willing to enter 
 his service, with Your Highness 's leave, and promising 
 to treat me liberally and well. He also tells me that 
 he has written to Your Excellency on the subject. 
 Since I must ever remain your servant, and can never 
 think of anything but serving and obeying Your 
 Highness, my only desire is to do what you command. 
 Sol await the knowledge of your wishes before I send 
 any answer, and will only obey the will of Your
 
 4G COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Excellency, to whom I commend myself with the 
 utmost devotion.' 
 
 On the next morning the following brief answer 
 came from llovere, where the Marquis was now 
 staying : 
 
 ' Baldassare, 
 
 ' As we have replied to the Lord Duke, who 
 asked our leave to take you into his service, so we 
 repeat to you that, as regards ourselves, we are 
 content, and give you free leave to serve him. 
 
 'June W, 1504.'^ 
 
 The bitter resentment secretly cherished by the 
 writer of these lines was to make itself felt in many 
 ways during the next few years, but at the moment 
 Baldassare cared little as long as he could have his 
 way. His choice was made, and, with the desired 
 permission in his hands, he humbly thanked His 
 Excellency for his gracious answer, and hastened to 
 join his new master in the camp at Cesena. There 
 his cousin Cesare Gonzaga gave him a cordial welcome 
 and the Duke appointed him to the command of a 
 company of fifty men-at-arms and promised him a 
 salary of 400 ducats. ' Here I lack nothing,' he wrote 
 to his mother in high spirits from Cesena ; ' the Duke 
 and all the others treat me with infinite kindness, and 
 soon we hope to go to Urbino, where we shall be very 
 happy and glad of heart. So I hope you will try and 
 be of good courage, and all the rest of the family too, 
 for I can have no greater joy than to know that you 
 are satisfied.' And in a postscript he begs his brother 
 Jeronimo to send him a song beginning ' Essi Diva 
 
 ^ Archivio Gonzaga, and Martinati, 76.
 
 ■'•'^'-JM *<^f A. i-n-, tl- ^It itnatC^' Mu'tT'A, fy 'U Wfut.Chi Srr<^:fjrh' ti.U-M -J. {, ft ,' 
 .V », .^^,n^; /^^;^. ^^. ^,_ ^^■ 
 
 
 ^^^- '"^er. 
 
 AUTOGKAl'JI OF LALDASSAKE CASTIGLIOXE. 
 (VATICAN I.IHRARY.) 
 
 To face p. -lii, Vol. I.
 
 THE CAMP AT FORLI 47 
 
 Diana,' and let him have both the music and the 
 words. ^ 
 
 Unluckily, on the day after his arrival, his horse fell 
 under him and crushed his foot so badly that for 
 several weeks he was unable to walk. In a letter to 
 his mother from the camp before Forli, the last 
 fortress which still resisted the Papal forces, Baldassare 
 complains that since he joined the army he has had 
 nothing to do but to nurse himself 
 
 ' This foot,' he writes, ' has made me see the stars at 
 midday. Would to God it were cured now ! This is 
 certainly not yet the case, although it does not hurt if 
 I walk slowly ; but this is all that I can do, and it is 
 still very much swollen.' In the same letter he thanks 
 his mother for giving him the news of the birth of a 
 nephew — probably Lodovico Strozzi, the son of his 
 sister Francesca, who was one day to accompany his 
 uncle to Spain. 
 
 ' God be thanked for this good piece of news !' 
 writes the young soldier. ' Pray congratulate both 
 the parents for me. You ask about my new post. 
 This illustrious Lord Duke gives me 400 ducats for 
 myself, and the command of fifty men-at-arms, which 
 I share with a comrade, who will be, I think, Messer 
 Cesare. We have no fixed quarters yet, as we have 
 been engaged in the cursed task of besieging this 
 Rocca, which has now surrendered owing to the 
 extreme dearth of provisions. This is the same 
 throughout the whole of Romagna, which is indeed 
 in a pitiful state. I have as yet received no pay, 
 because when I arrived every penny was spent. But 
 to-day I hope to receive 100 ducats, as the Duke 
 has just sent me word that 1,000 ducats reached 
 him yesterday. ... I will not say more now, as I 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210
 
 48 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGTJONE 
 
 have already written by an armour- bearer, and also by 
 Sigismondo, from Ferrara, only beg Your Magnificence 
 to be as cheerful and of good courage as T am. And 
 if it is true that 1 am far from home and from many 
 persons whom I love dearly, at least I am happy and 
 can suffer misfortunes willingly now my mind is at 
 rest. 
 
 'FoRLi, August 12, 1504.' 
 
 Madonna Luigia, who had all along felt some mis- 
 givings at the course which her son had chosen, was 
 further relieved by a letter from her nephew Cesare, 
 who wrote in high spirits to assure his aunt of 
 Baldassare's well-being and of the marked favour 
 which the Duke showed him : 
 
 ' If until now, my dear and honoured Aunt, 1 have 
 shown myself all too negligent a son, I will no longer 
 persist in these bad courses. Therefore, putting ex- 
 cuses for my past negligence aside, I will pay my 
 addresses to you, feeling sure that you have already 
 forgiven me, on many grounds ; and if you have not 
 forgiven me of your own free will, 1 am quite certain 
 that no words of mine will be of any avail. Here I 
 am alive and well, and always ready to execute Your 
 Magnificence's commands. Messer Baldassare is also 
 well, and his foot is beginning to mend. And he is 
 treated with such kindness by this illustrious lord 
 that every day he feels better satisfied to be here. 
 We are both of us gay and happy, and hope that you 
 and all our kin are the same. 
 
 ' FoRLi, August 11, 1504.' 
 
 'P.S.— Your Magnificence will kindly commend me 
 to Messer Jeronimo and to Falcone, as well as to 
 Messer Jacopo and Madonna Polissena, with whom I 
 rejoice cordially in whatever good fortune falls to their 
 share.' 
 
 ^ Serassi, ii. 235.
 
 FORLI SURRENDERS 49 
 
 On the very day that this letter was written, the 
 citadel of Forli siu'rendered to the Duke's arms, and 
 a messenger was promptly dispatched to Rome with 
 the news. On the evening of Sunday, August 11, 
 Pope Julius, having been very restless and irritable 
 all day, was induced by his servants to take a ride 
 with one of the Cardinals in the meadows along the 
 banks of the Tiber. They went as far as Ponte 
 JNlolle, and as they were returning through the fields, 
 they met a courier from the Duke of Urbino riding at 
 full speed. On hearing the good tidings the Pope 
 burst into joyful exclamations, and hurried home to 
 send his congratulations to the victorious leader. 
 
 The Papal army now occupied Forli, and on 
 August 24, Baldassare wrote again to his mother, 
 expressing a lively interest in his newly-born nephew, 
 and assuring his anxious mother that he was taking 
 the utmost care of his injured foot, and had no greater 
 wish in the world than to be able to use it again. As 
 for the minute particulars which JNIadonna Luigia 
 desires regarding sundry small expenses, he declares it 
 to be beyond his power to satisfy her. 
 
 ' I certainly bought three yards and a half of velvet 
 from the Jew Agnolo, and made out the bill myself. 
 I cannot at this moment recollect the exact price 
 of the material, but know that it was cheap. Ex- 
 cepting my foot, I am exceedingly well. Here it is 
 very hot, and we stay at Forli reluctantly on account 
 of the great scarcity here, but do not yet know when 
 we shall leave, as the Duke has had an attack of fever, 
 which has grieved us all. God send him better health ! 
 I have no other news, but should like to hear some 
 from JNlantua. 
 
 ' Your obedient son, 
 
 'B. C.'i 
 
 ^ Cod. Vat. Lat., S210. 
 vol.. I. 4
 
 50 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 A day or two later Guidobaldo disbanded his troops 
 and returned to Urbino, taking with him four waggons 
 laden with his own recovered treasures, including the 
 famous library of the ducal palace, which Cesare 
 Borgia had carried off and stored in the citadel of 
 Forh. 
 
 It was then that the Duke took Castiglione with him 
 to the city which was to be his home during the next 
 ten years. In the midst of the confusion of these first 
 days he found time to write a few hurried lines, in- 
 forming his mother of his safe arrival : 
 
 * Since Maestro Antonio is going to you, I must 
 inform Your Magnificence that last Friday, on the 
 6th of the present month, we at length reached 
 Urbino safe and sound, and with great rejoicing, since 
 we had all of us been longing to be here. We have 
 done what little was possible, in these three days, 
 to put our house in order, and now we shall get on 
 capitally. Maestro Antonio can tell you all that you 
 care to know about us. The Lady Duchess and 
 Madonna Emilia commend themselves very warmly 
 to you. My foot is improving, but only very slowly. 
 I beg you to send me, by the first oj^portunity, a piece 
 of fine white cloth to make a new pair of hose for my- 
 self, as I cannot procure any here, and also some dark 
 green cloth to make a pair for Smeraldo [his groom]. 
 Please ask Jeronimo also to send me my copy of 
 Poliziano's " Stanze Volgari." And I commend myself 
 to Your Magnificence. ^ 
 
 ' Urbino, Scpteviber 9, 1504.' 
 
 1 Serassi, i. 8,
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 1504 
 
 Urbino — The court of the Montefeltro princes — Castighone's 
 description — Reign of Duke Federico — His character and 
 paternal government — Patronage of art and letters — The 
 palace of Urbino — Its present condition — Contemporary 
 accounts — Giovanni Santi and Antonio di Mercatello — The 
 ducal library — Artists employed at Urbino — Piero della 
 Francesca, Melozzo da Forli, and Justus of Ghent. 
 
 ' On the slopes of the Apennines, ahnost in the centre 
 of Italy, towards the Adriatic Sea, there lies, as every 
 one knows, the little city of Urbino. Although 
 situated in a mountainous region, less pleasant it may 
 be than some that we may have seen, it is favoured by 
 Heaven in that the country is exceedingly fertile and 
 rich in fruits of the earth. And besides the pure and 
 health-giving air of the region, all things necessary 
 for human life are to be found here in great abund- 
 ance. But among the greatest blessings which it 
 enjoys, this I count to be the chief, that from remote 
 times it has always been governed by the best of 
 Princes, although, in the universal calamities of Italy 
 during the recent wars, it was deprived of them for a 
 time.'^ 
 
 In these words Castiglione describes the city which 
 he entered in Guidobaldo's train, in September, 1504, 
 and which his eloquent prose has rendered immortal. 
 
 ^ ' Cortegiano,' i. 2. 
 
 51 4_2
 
 52 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 This narrow strip of hill-country, only sixty miles 
 long, lying between Umbria, the March of Ancona, 
 and the Adriatic Sea, had during the last half- 
 century become famous as the seat of a model 
 court, upon which the eyes of all Italy were fixed. 
 Here during forty years the good Federico had 
 reigned over a loyal and contented people, who still 
 kept his memory alive in their hearts. A wise and 
 able ruler as well as a brave captain, this great Monte- 
 feltro prince was foremost among his peers both in 
 the arts of war and peace. The best record of his 
 career is given in the Latin inscription which his son 
 Guidobaldo placed above the arcades in the court of 
 the ducal palace : 
 
 ' Federico, Duke of Urbino, Count of JVIontefeltro 
 and of Castel Durante, Gonfaloniere of the Holy 
 Roman Church and Captain of the Italian Confedera- 
 tion, built this house from its foundations for his own 
 glory and the good of posterity. He fought many 
 battles, went out six times to war, defeated his enemy 
 eight times, and, having been victorious in all his cam- 
 paigns, extended the borders of his dominions. His 
 justice, clemency, liberality and religion in time of 
 peace equalled and adorned his conquests.' 
 
 * In his days,' says Castiglione, ' Duke Federico of 
 glorious memory was the light of Italy, nor is there 
 any lack of truthful witnesses still living, who can 
 bear testimony to his prudence, humanity, justice, 
 liberality, unconquered courage, and military skill. 
 His great qualities were further proved by his many 
 victories and swift and sudden campaigns, by the 
 capture of impregnable fortresses, and the repeated 
 occasions on which he put numerous and powerful 
 foes to flight, without ever losing a single battle. So
 
 FEDERICO DA MONTEFELTRO 53 
 
 that he may, not without cause, be compared to the 
 most renowned heroes of olden time.'^ 
 
 Angelo PoHziano praises Duke Federico as the 
 equal of Lorenzo de' Medici in learning and patronage 
 of letters ; Marsilio Ficino calls him the pattern of a 
 wise ruler and perfect man ; and his own subject. 
 Giovanni Santi, extols him as the ideal of a great and 
 good Prince. In his boyhood Federico was a pupil 
 of the illustrious Mantuan teacher Vittorino da Feltre, 
 whose portrait he kept before his eyes as a constant 
 reminder of his teaching. The court of Urbino was 
 framed on the precepts which he had learnt in Casa 
 Giocosa, and became in its turn a school where 
 Italian princes sent their sons to be trained in knightly 
 exercises and elegant manners. Although much of 
 his time was spent in active warfare, he never ceased 
 to cultivate his mind. Every week he visited the 
 Franciscan convent, and discussed philosophical and 
 theological subjects with the friars. In his last 
 years he studied Aristotle with a learned Dominican, 
 JMesser Lazzaro, and mathematics with a German 
 professor, known as Messer Paolo. Pope Pius II. 
 records how, when riding by his side at Tivoli, under 
 the burning sun and amid the dust raised by the 
 cavalry, the Duke discussed the Trojan war with 
 him, and could not come to any decisive conclusion 
 as to the precise boundaries of Asia JNIinor.- His 
 household, we learn from Vespasiano, was regulated on 
 the pattern of a religious community. No gambling 
 or bad language was allowed, and every member of 
 the family had a definite office with a time-table, and 
 definite instructions as to the discharge of his duties. 
 Federico's own fare and habits were of the simplest 
 kind. T^ivy or Tacitus were usually read aloud at 
 1 ' Cortegiano/ i. 2. 2 pi^ u^ 'Comm.,' p. 131.
 
 54 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 his meals, excepting in I^ent, when he Hked to hear 
 passages from the Fathers or his favourite author, 
 Aquinas. He rose early and rode out into the country, 
 attended by a few young squires, and on his return 
 attended mass and walked in the palace gardens, 
 conversing freely with any of his subjects who craved 
 access to their lord. On summer evenings he often 
 watched the youths, who were being educated at 
 court, wrestling and playing ball in a meadow of the 
 Franciscan convent behind the palace, and encouraged 
 the lads with his applause, or reproved them if they 
 were awkward and lazy.^ The Urbino poet, Antonio 
 di Mercatello, describes how he walked daily in the 
 market-place, jesting with the peasants who rode in 
 from the country, and greeting brides on their way to 
 church. He often entered the shops and houses, and 
 taking one man by the hand, or leaning on the arm 
 of another, asked them in a friendly way about their 
 family or their affairs. ' How is your old father V he 
 would say to one ; ' Are your daughters married yet V 
 to another ; or, ' How does your business prosper V 
 And when he spoke he always lifted his hat with 
 chivalrous courtesy, so that it became a common jest 
 in Urbino to tell anyone who was very busy that he 
 had more to do than Federico's cap.^ 
 
 Architecture was one of the subjects in which he 
 took especial interest, and Mercatello tells us that 
 ' the good lord ' was himself an admirable architect, 
 and often designed his own buildings. He certainly 
 was a great builder, erecting churches, bridges, and 
 palaces in all parts of his dominions, and improving the 
 ducal residences at Gubbio and Fossombrone, Castel 
 
 ^ ' Uomini illustri,' pp. 92-94. 
 
 '^ Muzio, ' Historia dei Fatti di Federigo Ducad' Urbino/ Dennis- 
 toun, i. 258-268.
 
 I'holo, Hint. Simoadi. 
 
 IiDlUlWAV, I'ALACr, (IF rillUNd. 
 
 Tofacop. 51, Vol. I.
 
 THE DUCAL PALACE 55 
 
 Durante and Cagli. But his most splendid achieve- 
 ment in this direction was the palace at Urbino. 
 
 ' On the rugged heights of Urbino,' writes Cas- 
 tiglione, in the opening sentences of his ' Cortegiano,' 
 ' Federico reared a palace which, in the opinion of 
 many, is the finest in Italy, and furnished it so richly 
 with all things needful that it seems to be rather a 
 city than a palace. For he adorned it not only with 
 all things required for ordinary use, such as silver 
 plate and sumptuous hangings of gold and brocade, 
 but with an infinite number of antique marble and 
 bronze statues, of precious paintings, and musical 
 instruments of every variety ; neither would he allow 
 anything within its Avails which was not most rare 
 and excellent.'^ 
 
 The architect who transformed the medieval fortress 
 of Urbino into this fair Renaissance palace was 
 Luciano da Laurana, a native of Lovrana in Istria, 
 who had already built a wonderful pleasure-house at 
 Poggio Reale for King Ferrante of Naples, and had 
 more lately been employed by Alessandro Sforza to 
 adorn his palace at Pesaro. In June, 1468, Federico 
 appointed him to be Capo-maestro of works in the 
 palace of Urbino, and set forth his pleasure in the 
 following terms : 
 
 ' Having resolved to build in this our city of 
 Urbino a fine house worthy of the birth and renown 
 of our fathers and ourselves, and having vainly 
 searched everywhere, but more especially in Tuscany, 
 that home of good architects, for a man skilled in this 
 profession, and having first heard by report, and then 
 satisfied ourselves by our own eyes, of the learning 
 and genius of Messer Luciano, we do now appoint 
 
 ^ ' Cortegiano,' i. 2.
 
 50 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 this distinguished architect chief of all those employed 
 upon this our fabric' 
 
 During the next fourteen years the Istrian archi- 
 tect's genius and Federico's vast wealth were devoted 
 to this task, and in their hands the palace of Urbino 
 became one of the wonders of the world. Even 
 to-day, when the halls have been stripped of their 
 priceless treasures, and only the shell of the building 
 remains, its beauty and grandeur still fill us with 
 admiration. 
 
 The site is unrivalled, from whichever side it is 
 approached. Whether the traveller enters Urbino by 
 the Roman road that leads across the Apennines, 
 and through the Furlo ravine, or comes from Tuscany 
 by the upper valley of the Tiber, a steep ascent leads 
 to the city gates, and long before the journey's end 
 he sees the ducal palace on the heights above. The 
 twin towers, with their delicate pinnacles soaring into 
 the sky, and fronting the western sun, lend the 
 whole an atmosphere of romance — a faery glamour 
 that might well make the poets declare this was no 
 work of mortal hands, but a house reared by the gods. 
 This first impression is deepened by the height of 
 the stately portals, the admirable proportions of the 
 pillared court, and what Vasari calls the ecctravagaiiza 
 of the grand staircase, with its steps, easier and wider 
 than any other in the world. A whole wealth of 
 exquisite sculpture is lavished upon pilasters and 
 doors, cornices and mantelpieces, all wrought in fine 
 white limestone, brought, according to the oldest 
 writers, not from Istria, but from the neighbouring 
 valleys of the Metauro and the Foglia.^ On the 
 vault of the throne-room is the eagle of JNIonte- 
 
 ^ Baldi, ' Descrizione del palazzo ducale di Urbino/ p. 580.
 
 Phnl,,. Li. ft. .S,„l<,,ldi 
 
 .SALA 1)E(;LI angeli. 
 
 To face p. 5(3, Vol. I,
 
 I'hoto, Lieut, tiunondi. 
 
 PALACE OF UKBIXO. 
 
 To face p. 50, Vol. I.
 
 INTERNAL DECORATIONS 57 
 
 feltro ; on the mantelpieces opposite the six imposing 
 windows, are the ducal arms and initials, with the 
 badge of the Garter, and its time-honoured motto. A 
 frieze of warlike guns and engines, of military trophies 
 and banners, runs round the central courtyard ; a 
 troop of dancing children and pvtti bearing flaming 
 torches and pots of roses and carnations adorns the 
 mantelpiece of the Sala degli Angeli, where the dukes 
 held private audiences. Medallions of Federico and 
 Guidobaldo, devices and monograms of dukes and 
 duchesses, the viper of the Sforza, the oak-tree of 
 the della Rovere, the palm-tree bending under the 
 storm, with the motto Rcsiirgam, the Garter of 
 England and the Ermine of Naples, are introduced 
 above the doorways and corridors. Garlands of flowers 
 and fruit, of roses and lilies, of acanthus and ivy ; 
 candelabra and cherubs, sphinxes' and rams' heads, 
 birds and shells, are carved on the pilasters ; figures 
 of Apollo and Pallas are wrought in the inlaid wood- 
 work of the doors. 
 
 One little room on the first-floor, close to the 
 Sala degli Angeli, still retains its original decoration 
 of rich intarsiatura. This was Federico's private 
 study, the peaceful retreat where he loved to 
 meditate over his favourite books or listen to his 
 chosen melodies. The portraits of great writers 
 once painted on the walls are gone, but the shelves 
 which held his library, and the seats ranged round, 
 retain their exquisite coloured and inlaid wood- 
 work. All that the hiion Signor loved best is repre- 
 sented in the decorations of this little sanctuary, 
 which for elegance and invention may well compare 
 with Isabella d' Este's Paradiso in the Castello of 
 Mantua. The sword that he could wield so well ; 
 the helmet and spear, the cuirass and spurs worn
 
 58 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLTONE 
 
 in many battles ; the Bible, and his favourite Greek 
 and Latin authors — Homer, Virgil, Cicero, Seneca, 
 and Tacitus — are all figured here. Here, too, are 
 symbols of the recreations with which he beguiled his 
 spare moments : geometrical and musical instruments, 
 lute and viols, a shelf filled with musical scores, his 
 favourite organ, with the maker's name — Johani 
 Castelano — on the case, and the motto Virtutibus itur 
 ad astra. On the tessellated pavement of the floor, 
 his pet squirrel is represented, feeding on a cluster of 
 ripe fruit. Classical porticoes and temples, framing 
 views of familiar hills and valleys in the neighbour- 
 hood of Urbino, are seen on one wall ; on the other a 
 cage of parrots, a clock, a bell, a lighted candle, and 
 flagons of embossed silver, have been introduced by 
 the artist, either as appropriate emblems of home 
 life, or merely to show his realistic skill. The larger 
 panels at the end of the room are filled with alle- 
 gorical figures of Faith, Hope and Charity, and a 
 portrait of Federico himself, wearing the ducal cap 
 and mantle, and holding the Gonfaloniere's baton 
 in his right hand. 
 
 One door of this study leads into a small oratory, 
 decorated with coloured marbles and stucco reliefs ; 
 the other opens on to the loggia between the central 
 towers, looking down on the crowded roofs and narrow 
 streets of the medieval city below, and far away across 
 smiling valleys and fruitful plains to the long ridge of 
 Monte Nerone and the lofty peak of Catria. 
 
 These beautiful fragments help us to realize what 
 the home of the Montefeltro princes must once have 
 been. Many are the descriptions of the famous 
 palace that contemporary writers have left us. Some 
 of these, like Raphael's father and Mercatello, them- 
 selves watched I^aurana's towers rise to the music of
 
 CONTEMPORARY DESCRIPTIONS 59 
 
 Apollo's song ; others, like Baldi and Vasari, knew 
 Urbino in the days of the later dukes, before the 
 palace was shorn of its ancient splendour, and the con- 
 tents were carried off to Florence and Rome. Giovanni 
 Santi sings of the marvellous house, which has no 
 equal on the face of the earth ; Antonio calls it an 
 earthly paradise, that attracts strangers from all parts 
 of the world. They describe the lofty halls and 
 spacious courts, the grand stairway and fair chapels, 
 the 250 rooms and 660 windows, the beds hung with 
 silken tapestries and cloth of gold, the marble baths 
 and paved yards where the game of palla was played, 
 the vast kitchens and stabling for 300 horses, the 
 storehouses for corn and wine which held supplies 
 for this large household. Perfect order, we are told, 
 reigned throughout this vast establishment. Each 
 fretted cornice and delicate ornament was daily kept 
 bright and polished by the hands of servants and 
 pages, who stood ready to do their lord's will and 
 carry out his orders with scrupulous exactitude. Our 
 poets devote their most eloquent periods to the grand 
 banquet-hall, hung with the famous tapestries of the 
 siege of Troy, wrouglit by skilful weavers whom 
 Federico brought from Flanders, and which in \^espa- 
 siano's opinion were unequalled for beauty and delicacy 
 of workmanship.^ Here, too, were the services of 
 gold and silver, the costly bowls and dishes, cunningly 
 chased and enamelled with precious gems, which, 
 ranged in tiers on a sideboard at state banquets, made 
 as fine a show as any that adorned the table of kings 
 and emperors. Without were the Duchess's hanging 
 gardens, raised on pillars cut in the rock, and com- 
 manding a view of the wide plains and far Apennines. 
 Here the terraces and stone seats were shaded with 
 * ' Uomini illustri,' p, 94.
 
 60 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGTJONE 
 
 pergolas of trailing ivy, rose and jessamine, and the 
 fountains and basins were fed by a conduit which 
 brought water from a tank in the roof, and also sup- 
 plied the stables.^ 
 
 But the chief pride of the palace of Urbino was the 
 ducal library, which occupied two halls on the ground- 
 floor, to the left of the central doorway. The first of 
 these was a vaulted corridor, 40 by 18 feet, with 
 shelves ranged along the walls, and above them small 
 windows looking north, which Baldi tells us diffused 
 a soft light, and kept the room warm in winter and 
 deliciously cool {JrescJns.mna) in summer. I'he inner 
 and larger hall went by the name of La Cancelleria, 
 because it contained the ducal archives and state 
 papers. Here the space between the shelves was 
 decorated with a series of allegorical frescoes, repre- 
 senting the Arts and Sciences, painted, according to 
 Dr. Schmarsow, by Melozzo da Forli, but ascribed 
 by most recent critics to the Flemish master, Justus 
 of Ghent. Portraits of Federico's three elder 
 daughters, Elisabetta, Giovanna and Costanza, with 
 their betrothed husbands — Roberto JNIalatesta of 
 Rimini, Giovanni della Rovere, and Antonio, Prince 
 of Salerno — were introduced in these paintings ; while 
 his brother-in-law, Costanzo Sforza of Pesaro, is said 
 to be the youth represented in the panel of Music, 
 which, together with that of Rhetoric, is now 
 in the National Gallery. His nephew and minister, 
 Ottaviano Ubaldini, appears as Ptolemy in the subject 
 of Astronomy, and Federico himself, in the red ducal 
 cap, is seen kneeling at the feet of the teacher who 
 discourses on Dialectics. Both of these pitture 
 singularissime,'^ as they are called by the poet 
 
 * Baldi, p. 588. 
 
 2 Mercatello in Schmavsow, ' Melozzo da Forli/ Appendice.
 
 THE DUCAL LIBRARY 61 
 
 Mercatello, are now in the Berlin IMuseiim. Round 
 the frieze of this liall ran the following inscription in 
 rude Latin hexameters, curiously characteristic of 
 the aspirations of Renaissance humanists : 
 
 ' In this house you have wealth, golden bowls, 
 abundance of money, crowds of servants, sparkling 
 gems, rich jewels, precious chains and girdles. But 
 here is a treasure that far outshines all these splen- 
 dours. In these halls you have pillars of snowy 
 marble and gold, painted figures set in deep recesses ; 
 within the walls are hung with the tale of Troy, 
 without are gardens fragrant with bright flowers and 
 green foliage. Both within and without tlie house is 
 glorious. But all these things are dumb ; only the 
 library is eloquent. Whether they speak or hold 
 silence, books have power to profit and charm the 
 reader. They teach the story of the past and unfold 
 the meaning of the future. They explain the labours 
 of earth and impart the knowledge of heaven.' 
 
 These words introduced the stranger to the library, 
 which Federico called the finest jewel of his crown. 
 ' With great expense,' writes Castiglione, ' the Duke col- 
 lected a large number of very rare and precious Greek, 
 Latin, and Hebrew books, all of which he adorned 
 with gold and silver, counting them the supreme 
 excellence of his great palace.' Both JMercatello, 
 who wrote in 1473, and Santi, whose poem was 
 dedicated to Federico's son Guidobaldo, ten years 
 later, dilate on the size and excellence of the collection 
 and praise the beauty and value of the manuscripts 
 which it contained. But the best account of the 
 ducal library that we possess is from the pen of 
 Vespasiano de' Bisticci, who after being employed by 
 Cosimo de' Medici and Pope Nicholas V. to collect 
 manuscripts and arrange their libraries, came to Urbino
 
 62 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 in 1472, and devoted the remaining years of his hfe 
 to Federico's service. He it was who classified the 
 ducal library and divided it into the four groups of 
 theology, philosopliy, history, and poetry, an arrange- 
 ment first adopted at the ^^atican and afterwards 
 illustrated in Raphael's frescoes. The Florentine 
 bookseller cannot restrain his wonder and admiration 
 at the sight of this famous and excellent library, 
 which he pronounces far superior to any that has 
 been formed during the last thousand years. 
 
 ' What goodly books !' he exclaims, ' what rare 
 manuscripts ! what fine works ! All collected regard- 
 less of expense, all superlatively beautiful, all written 
 with the pen and all elegantly illuminated ! When- 
 ever the Duke hears of any rare manuscript, he sends 
 for it at once, and during the last fourteen years 
 he has kept thirty-four copyists constantly employed 
 at Urbino, Florence, and in other parts of Italy. Thus 
 he has succeeded in obtaining something that is unique 
 in the world.' 
 
 On a brass eagle in the centre of the hall was the 
 famous Urbino Bible, bound in gold and silver brocade 
 and richly adorned with miniatures, which is still the 
 pride of the Vatican. Then there was the Hebrew 
 Bible, which the Duke was said to have brought back 
 from the siege of Volterra, and the illuminated Dante 
 with the eagle of INIontefeltro and Garter embroidered 
 in pearls on the cover. A Polyglot Psalter in Hebrew, 
 Greek, and Latin, cosa mirabile ed eccellentissinia, 
 especially excited the admiration of Vespasiano, while 
 Mercatello dwells with enthusiasm on a copy of 
 Ptolemy's ' Cosmografia,' with illustrations of the 
 mountains, rivers, and bridges described by the Greek 
 geographer. All the Latin poets, with their best 
 commentaries, all the known Greek and Roman
 
 VALUABLE MANUSCRIPTS 63 
 
 historians, the complete works of Cicero, the writings 
 of the Fathers and of the chief medieval and modern 
 doctors, from Aquinas to Pope Pius II., were included 
 in the collection. Besides these historical and theo- 
 logical works, the most important treatises on geometry, 
 astrology, mathematics, law, medicine, and physics, 
 were to be found on the shelves, together with numerous 
 works on military tactics, architecture, painting, and 
 music. Each book was boimd in crimson and fastened 
 with gold or silver clasps, and each was a complete 
 copy — ' a perfection,' remarks the Florentine Avriter, 
 ' not to be found in any other Hbrary.' \^espasiano 
 could speak with authority on the subject, since in 
 1482, shortly before the Duke left home for his last 
 campaign, the librarian compared the catalogue which 
 he had drawn up with those of the Vatican, of S. Marco 
 of Florence, of Pavia, and of the University of Oxford, 
 and foimd that it was the only one which contained 
 no duplicates and no imperfect copies. No wonder 
 that the most renowned scholars were attracted fi'om 
 all parts of the world to the palace which contained 
 such priceless treasures. ' I myself,' writes Giovanni 
 Santi, ' have seen men of the finest taste buried in the 
 study of these precious volumes.' 
 
 A whole army of artists and skilled workmen were 
 employed in the decorations of the palace, imder 
 Laurana's direction. Francesco di Giorgio of Siena, 
 an able engineer, whom Vasari incorrectly calls the 
 chief architect of the palace, built the stables in 1475, 
 and, with Ambrogio da Milano as his assistant, 
 executed the seventy-two reliefs of military weapons 
 and trophies which originally adorned the central court. 
 The Florentine Baccio Pontelli, who lived at Urbino 
 from 1479 until his death in 1482, and is buried in 
 the church of S. Domenico, had a large share
 
 64 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIOXE 
 
 in the decorative sculpture which was the chief 
 beauty of the interior. When I^orenzo de' Medici 
 asked this artist for a plan of the famous palace, he 
 replied that he only \\'ished the ]Magnifico could see 
 for himself what a thing of beauty it was. while the 
 Duke courteously sent Avord that he regretted it was 
 impossible to send Lorenzo the house itself. The 
 intcu's'ia decoration of Federico"s study is said to have 
 been the work of a Bergamo fi'iar. Maestro Giacomo 
 by name. A Lombard sculptor. Domenico Rosselli, 
 carved the mantelpieces of the throne -room and 
 Sala degli Angeh : while Brandano. Diotalevi, and 
 several other local artists, were employed upon the 
 stucco ornaments and reliefs of halls and comdors. 
 
 ^lany other artists of renoAMi came to Urbino in 
 Federico's reign. Desiderio da Settignano, the young 
 Tuscan sculptor whom Giovanni Santi calls '.«' dolce 
 e si bello,' was employed by the Duke to carve a bust 
 of his fair daughter Gentile. Another Florentine 
 master, Maso di Bartolommeo, designed the portals of 
 the Dominican church opposite the old wing of the 
 ducal palace, and Luca della Robbia, AAith whom he 
 had worked on the bronze gates of the sacristy in the 
 Duomo of Florence, executed the beautiful terra-cotta 
 ^ladonna over the doorway. In those days, too, 
 Pisanello and Sperandio designed their admirable 
 medals of Federico. and the Umbrian master, Piero 
 della Francesca, painted his masterly portraits of the 
 Duke and Duchess when he came to Lrbino in 1469, 
 and lodged in the house of Giovanni Santi. Paolo 
 L'ccello was there in the previous year, and executed 
 an altar-piece for the brotherhood of Corpus Domini, 
 to which the curious predella of the Miracle of the 
 Host, now in the ducal palace, originally belonged. Yet 
 another great master, Melozzo da Forli. was at I^rbino
 
 PAINTERS AT URBIXO 65 
 
 from 1473 to 1476, and superintended the decoration 
 of the hbrary. Giovanni Santi. who assisted him in 
 his task, and talks with so much affection of his 
 master^ — ' Melozzo a me si caro ' — was attached to the 
 Duke's person, both as painter and poet, and wrote 
 verses and arranged pageants for the court festivities. 
 His sweet-faced Madonnas still adorn the churches of 
 CagU and Urbino, and his metrical chronicle, in terza- 
 rima, is the best record that we have of the life and 
 deeds of the great Duke. 
 
 Flemish artists also enjoyed the favour of this 
 enlightened prince. A picture of ' Women Bathing ' 
 by John of Bruges (Jan Van Eyck) is mentioned 
 by Vasari as one of the gems of his collection. ^ 
 Another master whose presence excited some 
 jealousy among his Italian rivals was Justus of 
 Ghent, or, more accurately, Josse van Wassenhove, 
 the friend of Hugo van der Goes, Mho came to 
 Urbmo at the Duke's in\'itation, and painted twenty- 
 eight portraits of celebrated authors in his study. 
 These paintings, which the humanist Vespasiano 
 singles out for special praise, were removed to Rome 
 by Cardinal Barberini in the seventeenth century, and, 
 although badly damaged, still retain traces of their 
 rich colouring. Fourteen of the series, including half- 
 length portraits of Homer, Euchd, Boethius, Moses, 
 Solomon, Gregory, and Ambrose, are still in the 
 Barberini palace, as well as a small panel with por- 
 traits of the Duke and his Httle son, assisting at 
 mass in the ducal chapel. The portraits of Solon, 
 Plato, Aristotle, Ptolemy, Augustus, Virgil, and 
 Thomas Aquinas, are now in the Lou\Te ; while the 
 most interesting of the series — the group which Den- 
 nistoun saw at Florence in 1845 — was bought by 
 1 'Vite di Pittori,' i. 321. 
 
 VOL. I. 5
 
 66 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Queen Victoria seven years later, and is now in the 
 royal collection at Windsor.^ Here, under the vaulted 
 roof of a spacious hall, Federico, wearing the ducal 
 mantle of crimson velvet and the order of the Garter, 
 is throned in a chair of state, with three councillors 
 behind him, and Guidobaldo, a fair-haired boy of 
 six or seven, in court dress, standing at his side, 
 listening to a black-bearded professor — probably the 
 German Messer Paolo — lecturing on mathematics. 
 In this noble head of the Duke we recognize the 
 portrait which Vespasiano describes as the best like- 
 ness ever taken of his lord, and only wanting 
 breath to be alive. But the finest and best pre- 
 served of the Flemish master's works still in exist- 
 ence is the ' Last Supper,' painted in 1474, for the 
 Confraternity of Corpus Domini, and now in the 
 ducal palace. In this noble altar-piece we have a 
 portrait of Federico, with his minister, Ottaviano 
 Ubaldini, standing immediately behind him, which 
 is a masterpiece of realism. The Venetian envoy, 
 Caterino Zeno, who visited Urbino in 1474 on his 
 way to Hungary, is introduced in the background, 
 sitting at table clad in Oriental dress and turban, and 
 a rmrse is seen standing in the open doorway with 
 Federico's only son and successor, the infant Prince 
 Guidobaldo, in her arms. 
 
 1 L. Ciist, 'The Royal Collections of Paintings/ vol. ii. ; W. H. J. 
 Weale in ' Petite Revue de Gand/ 1901.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 1504 
 
 Birth of Guidobaldo — Death of his mother — Federico's last years — 
 Death — Character and education of Guidobaldo — His cam- 
 paigns, literary taste, and ill-health — Marriage — Elisabetta 
 Gonzaga — Virtues and popularity of the Duchess — Artists 
 employed by Guidobaldo — His additions to the ducal 
 palace and library — Works dedicated to him — The ' Hyper- 
 notomachia Polyphili ' — Epistle of Aldo Manuzio — The birth 
 of Raphael and coming of Castiglione. 
 
 Federico's first marriage was childless ; but after 
 the death of his wife, Gentile Brancaleone, in 1460, 
 he married Battista Sforza, the young daughter of 
 Alessandro of Pesaro, and niece of his intimate friend 
 and close ally Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan. 
 The new Duchess had been educated at her uncle's 
 court with her accomplished cousin Ippolita, the 
 wife of Alfonso of Naples, and is described by con- 
 temporary writers as a being endowed with every 
 grace and virtue. Giovanni Santi speaks of her 
 modest and majestic eye, her grave and gentle 
 character ; and Pope Pius II. praised the discretion 
 and wisdom with which she ruled her husband's State 
 in his absence. Their union was a singularly happy 
 one, and, after bearing her lord seven daughters during 
 twelve years of married life, Battista gave birth to a 
 son at Gubbio in January, 1472. The boy was named 
 (iuido Ubaldo, after the hermit who was the patron 
 saint of the ancient city, and whose shrine may still 
 
 67 5—2
 
 68 COUNT BAI.DASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 be seen on the cliffs above the ducal palace. His 
 birth was hailed with general rejoicing, and the Duke 
 hastened home from his victorious campaign at Vol- 
 terra to the cradle of his new-born son. 
 
 ' Alas for the vanity of human bliss !' sang Giovanni 
 Santi, ' more slender than the spider's web of gossa- 
 mer I' Federico reached Gubbio on a July day, to 
 find his wife dying, and was only just in time to 
 receive her last farewell. ' With the most bitter and 
 heartfelt grief,' wrote the bereaved husband to his 
 kinsfolk, ' I inform you that my wife Battista sickened 
 on Tuesday last with headache and fever, and that 
 Our Lord God took her soul to himself at eleven 
 o'clock on this 6th instant, leaving me as miserable, 
 distressed, and inconsolable as anyone can be in this 
 world.' ' She was my wife,' he told Pope Pius II., 
 who had known and highly esteemed the young 
 Duchess, ' precious above all others, the beloved 
 partner of my toil and cares, the joy of my public 
 and private life ! No greater misfortune could have 
 befallen me !'^ 
 
 The Duchess, who was only twenty-six at the time 
 of her death, was buried with great pomp in the 
 church of S. Bernardino, outside the city gates, on 
 the hill opposite the ducal palace. This beautiful 
 Renaissance building had been erected by Federico 
 on the site of another shrine where his ancestors were 
 buried, and is supposed to be an early work of the 
 great architect Bramante, who left home for Milan 
 about 1472. The Duke was on friendly terms with 
 the Zoccolanti friars, who occupied the neighbouring 
 convent ; and his biographer Muzio relates how one 
 winter night, when the friars were snowed up and 
 rang their beUs to call for help, Federico himself went 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Urb., 1198 ; Dennistoun, i. 204.
 
 GUIDOBALDO 69 
 
 out armed with a pickaxe at the head of his servants, 
 and cut a road to the convent through the snow- 
 drifts. After his wife's death he employed Piero 
 della Francesca to paint the fine altar-piece now in 
 the Brera at Milan, for this little sanctuary. The 
 artist reproduced the fair features of the young 
 Duchess in the Madonna, who is here enthroned, 
 with the Duke in black armour kneeling at her feet. 
 During the remaining years of his life Federico's time 
 was spent partly in active warfare beyond the limits 
 of his own duchy, and partly in building and 
 decorating the new palace, which became his chief 
 interest. In April, 1482, he was appointed Captain 
 of the armies of the League that had been 
 formed between Milan, Florence, and Naples for the 
 defence of Ferrara against Venice, and left home on 
 St. George's Day with a foreboding that he would 
 never return. Five months afterwards he died of 
 malarial fever in the camp of La Stellata, near 
 Ferrara, to the bitter grief of his subjects, who loved 
 him as a father. His body, clad in the ducal robes 
 of crimson velvet, with his sword at his side and 
 the Garter on his breast, was brought back to 
 Urbino and buried by his wife's side in the vaults 
 of S. Bernardino. 
 
 Guidobaldo, the ten-year-old child whom Federico 
 had confided to the care of his nephew Ottaviano 
 Ubaldini, when he left home for his last campaign, 
 now succeeded to the ducal honours, and reigned 
 over a loyal and contented people, who counted 
 themselves fortunate to be the subjects of a Monte- 
 feltro prince. A charming portrait of the young 
 Duke, by Melozzo da Forli, is preserved in the 
 Colonna Palace in Rome. The boy wears a red cap 
 on his long locks, and a massive gold chain round
 
 70 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 his neck. His refined features and gentle expression 
 recall the young mother who died in giving him 
 birth, and the white forehead, blue eyes, and fair hair 
 agree with Castiglione's description. Guidobaldo, we 
 are told, grew up tall and handsome, with long 
 delicate features and well-shaped limbs, until, as his 
 biographer sadly remarks, prolonged illness marred 
 the beauty of his face and form. From early years 
 he was noted for his literary tastes and love of 
 learning. Odasio, to whom Federico entrusted his 
 education, and whose misfortune it was to survive 
 his pupil, describes him as a child of exceptional in- 
 telligence. Both Castiglione and Bembo were struck 
 by his remarkable powers of memory and wide know- 
 ledge of classical literature. He could repeat whole 
 books of Homer and Virgil by heart, and spoke 
 Greek as if it were his own language. Like Federico, 
 he was particularly fond of history and theology. 
 Xenophon and Chrysostom were his favourite authors. 
 The rites and ceremonies of the Church also in- 
 terested him deeply, and laymen and ecclesiastics 
 alike were surprised to hear the clearness and 
 accuracy with which he could explain the differences 
 that are to be found in the Greek and Roman liturgies. 
 It was the hard fate of this thoughtful youth to 
 live in the most troubled times, and to be engaged in 
 almost perpetual warfare. At the age of ten he was 
 elected Captain of the armies of the League in his 
 father's place, and although this appointment was 
 naturally purely nominal, he took the field as soon as 
 he was old enough to bear arms. His father's friend, 
 King Ferrante of Naples, enlisted him in his ser\dce, 
 and Pope Innocent VIII. employed him to repress 
 the turbulent barons of the Marches. But he was 
 as unfortunate m battle as his father had been for-
 
 Photo, Allaari. 
 
 GriDoiiALDo, dukp: of urbino. 
 
 BY CAROTO (PITTI). 
 
 To face p. TO, ViO. I.
 
 HIS WIFE, ELISABETTA 71 
 
 tunate. Success rarely attended his arms, and from 
 the age of twenty, he suffered repeatedly from severe 
 attacks of gout. When he fought under the banner 
 of the Church m 1498, he was taken prisoner by the 
 Orsini, and only released on payment of a heavy 
 ransom ; and when he led the Venetian forces into 
 Va\ d' Arno, his health broke down under the hard- 
 ships of a winter campaign, and he was compelled 
 to retire from Bibbiena. AVhen he visited Venice 
 in the following year, and was splendidly entertained 
 by the Doge and Senate, JMarino Sanuto remarks 
 that he was unable to dance at a ball given in 
 his honour. Three years later came the crowning 
 disaster of his life, when the treachery of Cesare 
 Borgia deprived him of his State and fortune in a 
 single day, and he was forced to wander homeless 
 from city to city. 
 
 But if Guidobaldo was unfortunate in all else, he 
 was, as Bembo justly says, ' supremely fortunate 
 in his marriage.' At the age of fourteen he was 
 betrothed to Elisabetta Gonzaga, sister of the young 
 INlarquis of JNIantua, a princess about a year older 
 than himself, and already remarkable for the charms 
 and virtues which made her, in the eyes of her most 
 distinguished contemporaries, unrivalled among the 
 women of her day. Two years later — in 1488 — the 
 wedding was celebrated with great festivity at Urbino, 
 and in a pageant arranged by Giovanni Santi for the 
 occasion, all the gods of Olympus came down from 
 heaven to welcome the bride and chant the praise of 
 Hymen. 
 
 The portrait which the young Raphael painted of 
 Elisabetta has perished. There remain, however, a 
 small but very interesting miniature in an Umbrian 
 manuscript, that has been preserved in Paris, and
 
 72 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 the well-known picture in the Uffizi. This last was 
 formerly ascribed to Mantegna, but is now generally 
 recognized as the work of the "V^eronese artist, Caroto, 
 who painted Guidobaldo's likeness in the Pitti.^ 
 
 In both these portraits we see the same noble and 
 regular features, the same tired and serious expres- 
 sion, but neither give us any idea of the charm 
 which fascinated men and women alike. If, however, 
 painters failed to do justice to Duchess Elisabetta's 
 beauty, writers and poets have made ample amends 
 for their short-comings. There is a universal agree- 
 ment in the homage paid to her by men of every 
 rank and age that is very remarkable. A¥hen she 
 died, Pope Clement VII. paid a splendid tribute to her 
 great and noble character, and the INIantuan ambas- 
 sador lamented her as ' the rarest lady of her times.' 
 Both Castiglione and Bembo have celebrated her 
 name in immortal prose. ' I have seen many ex- 
 cellent and noble women,' wrote Bembo, ' and have 
 known some who were conspicuous for certain virtues 
 in their time, but in her alone all virtues were 
 summed up.'^ 
 
 ' There is no need for me to dwell on her perfec- 
 tions,' writes the author of the ' Cortegiano,' ' since they 
 are already well known to the world, and yet more, 
 because it is beyond the power of my tongue or pen 
 to express them. They might, indeed, have remained 
 hidden, if Fortune, who admires rare virtues, had 
 not revealed them to us by many adversities and 
 stings of calamities, in order to show the world that 
 in the tender breast of a beautiful woman you may 
 find wisdom and fortitude of soul, and all those 
 sterner virtues which are most rare in man.'^ 
 
 1 Bibliotheque Nat., MS. Ital. ],507 ; Arte, 148. 
 
 2 'Lettere,' ii. 65. ^ 'Cortegiano,' 18.
 
 HER CHARMS AND VIRTUES 73 
 
 These expressions were no mere common-places 
 of flattery in the hps of either courtier or Cardinal. 
 The tears which Bembo shed over Elisabetta's grave, 
 the cry that broke from Castiglione's heart when he 
 remembered that the Lady Duchess was dead, are more 
 eloquent than any courtly phrase. But it was the same 
 with all who approached this gentle and charming 
 lady. The keynote of her character was a sweet 
 reasonableness, a serenity of soul which made her 
 face peril and calamity with uncomplaining fortitude, 
 and an unselfishness which led her to place herself 
 unreservedly at the disposal of others. 
 
 Her quick sympathy with joy and sorrow, her 
 readiness to help the needy and relieve the oppressed, 
 made her beloved by all. No prayer for succour 
 or comfort was ever addressed to her in vain ; no 
 suppliant for pardon or favour ever left her doors 
 unsatisfied. Her fine womanly tact was ever ready 
 to smooth away difficulties, to lend a helping hand, 
 and counsel patience or submission, delay or prompt 
 action, as the case might require. We see her watch- 
 ing anxiously by the death-bed of the court-painter 
 Giovanni Santi, grieving over his untimely end and 
 protecting the youth of his orphan son, the boy 
 Raphael, for his father's sake. We find her mourn- 
 ing over her old friend INIantegna's death, and inter- 
 ceding with her brother on behalf of the master's 
 scapegrace son, ' because of Andrea, whom I loved 
 so well.' In later years we see her curbing the violent 
 temper of her adopted son, Duke Francesco della 
 Rovere, teaching him to be tender to his young wife, 
 and kind and thoughtful for others. We see her 
 taking infinite trouble to obtain a place or pension for 
 persons whom slie did not even know, but who were 
 the friends of her friends ; or else excusing the faults
 
 74 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 and follies of old servants, craving pardon for 
 Tebaldeo's delinquencies, and soothing her brother 
 the JNIarquis's just anger with wise and gentle words. 
 
 ' The Lady Duchess,' writes Bembo to the friends 
 in Venice who urged him to leave Urbino and return 
 home, ' has worked, and is working, for me in a way 
 that has surpassed my fondest expectations. She 
 never ceases to do things that may help and benefit 
 me, and takes more thought for my affairs than I do 
 myself Even if Fortune should deprive her of the 
 power to help me as she desires, I can never forget 
 that she, for whom I have never done anything in my 
 life, has done more for me than all the other people 
 put together for whom I have often done a great 
 deal'i 
 
 Such a princess could not fail to inspire deep and 
 ardent affection. In her old home at Mantua, Elisa- 
 betta had been a favourite with brothers and servants 
 alike. The rude and passionate JMarquis Francesco 
 and the gay and thoughtless Giovanni, who cared for 
 nothing but horses and gambling, were both devoted 
 to this gentle sister, and ready to take any trouble or 
 run any risks for her sake. Her delicate health only 
 increased their affection for her when she left home 
 for Urbino. Francesco was ready to fly to her side 
 at a moment's notice if the doctors gave a bad report 
 of her, and was always trying to induce her to come to 
 Mantua for the good of her health and that he might 
 enjoy the pleasure of her society. And one of the 
 few occasions on which she aroused his displeasure 
 was when, in spite of his warnings and suspicions of 
 the Borgias, she persisted in her determination of 
 going to Rome rather than disappoint her sister-in- 
 law, Agnesina Colonna. 
 
 1 ' Lettere,' ii. 6"l
 
 ELISABETTA'S POPULARITY 75 
 
 ' Never was there such a JNIadonna !' exclaimed the 
 reckless Giovanni, when he came to Urbino at the 
 time of Guidobaldo's death, and found how wisely and 
 well the Duchess had ordered all things in her lord's 
 State. Women as well as men owned the power of 
 her spell. Young and old, they all loved Elisabetta. 
 Her brilliant sister-in-law, Isabella d' Este, a highly 
 critical lady, easily jealous, and quick to resent any 
 claim to superiority in a rival, cherished her with 
 a deep and enduring affection that remained un- 
 changed through every vicissitude of fortune. And 
 she quickly inspired both her young sister-in-law, 
 Agnesina,^ and Emilia Pia, the accomplished wife of 
 her husband's illegitimate brother, Antonio di ^lonte- 
 feltro, with the same devotion. From the moment 
 that the Duchess Elisabetta came to Urbino she was 
 adored by her husband and subjects. Guidobaldo 
 found in his young wife the intelligent sympathy that 
 he needed, and although the blessing of children was 
 denied them, during twenty years their union was one 
 of unclouded happiness. Under their rule the court 
 of Urbino maintained the high position which it had 
 acquired in the days of the good Duke Federico, and 
 became even more famous as a school of art and 
 letters. 
 
 ' It is a noteworthy thing, and impossible of con- 
 tradiction by the most malicious tongues,' wrote 
 Ruscehi,- ' that the court of Urbino in our times has 
 been a fountain, which, in no poetic phrase, but in 
 sober earnest, may be termed a true Pegasean spring, 
 a fortunate garden or field in which were reared an 
 
 ^ Agnesina, Guidobaldo's youngest sistei', was still unmarried 
 when Elisabetta came to Urbino. In the following year she 
 became the wife of Fabrizio Colonna, and was afterwards the 
 mother of Ascanio and \ ittoria Colonna. 
 
 - ' Imprese illustri.'
 
 76 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 infinite number of great men whose names will be 
 celebrated for all time.' 
 
 The death of Duke Federico and that of his 
 architect I^aurana in the following year, naturally 
 interrupted the progress of the ducal palace, and 
 Guidobaldo's enforced absence from home and lack 
 of money seriously interfered with its completion. 
 But he made several important additions to the fabric, 
 and took especial interest in the decoration of the 
 interior, which, Baldi tells us,^ became much richer 
 and more sumptuous during his reign, ' being 
 adorned with gilding and colour and inlaid panelling.' 
 He built a new and larger studio for his own use 
 on the ground-floor, and employed Timoteo Viti to 
 decorate its walls with frescoes of Pallas and Apollo 
 and the JNIuses. A chapel enriched with stucco and 
 coloured marbles was also Guidobaldo's work, as well 
 as a new and spacious hall for the game of palla, 
 which, although he was unable to take part in it him- 
 self, he liked to watch. 
 
 Francia's pupil, the Urbino master, Timoteo Viti, 
 mentioned above, returned from Bologna in 1495 to 
 succeed Giovanni Santi as court-painter and become 
 the teacher of his son Raphael. Several works by 
 Timoteo's hand are preserved at Urbino ; amongst 
 others an altar-piece, in which Guidobaldo and Bishop 
 Arrivabene are seen kneeling before St. JMartin and 
 St. Thomas. This picture, now in the Cathedral 
 sacristy, was painted after the death of Bishop 
 Arrivabene in 1504, for the chapel of St. Thomas 
 a Becket in the Duomo which this prelate had 
 endowed. 
 
 Both Guidobaldo and his wife shared the passion 
 for antiques that was prevalent in their age, and 
 
 1 Balili, p. r)74-.
 
 ARTISTS AT URBINO 77 
 
 brought many precious marbles and bronzes to adorn 
 the ducal halls. Chief among these, we know, were 
 the famous Venus and the Cupid of INlichelangelo. 
 This last passed as an antique statue in Rome, and 
 in Isabella d' Este's opinion, was unequalled among 
 modern works of art. Both of these were originally 
 presented to Guidobaldo by Cesare Borgia when the 
 Pope's son was on friendly terms with him, and after 
 the conquest of Urbino were given by the victor to 
 the Marchioness of Mantua, who refused to restore 
 them to her kinsman. 
 
 Among the artists employed at Urbino during 
 Guidobaldo's reign we find the names of I^uca 
 Signorelli, who painted his fine altar-pieces of the 
 Descent of the Holy Ghost and the Crucifixion 
 in the church of San Spirito ; Girolamo Genga, who 
 decorated the cathedral with frescoes ; and Francesco 
 Francia, who is said by Vasari to have painted a 
 panel of the Roman Lucretia and a pair of horses' 
 bards for the Duke. 
 
 Cristoforo Romano, the accomplished sculptor and 
 musician, was, as we shall see, a frequent and welcome 
 guest at the ducal court, a favourite here, as else- 
 where, with all fair ladies. The portrait medals of 
 Elisabetta and of Emilia Pia, however, that have 
 hitherto been ascribed to him are now pronounced 
 by some experts to be the work of Adriano Fiorentino, 
 another distinguished sculptor and gifted musician, 
 who spent three months at Urbino in 1495.^ Elisa- 
 betta was herself an accomplished musician, and sang 
 to her own accompaniment on the lute, while Guido- 
 baldo inherited his father's love of music, and took 
 lessons from one of his subjects, Ottaviano de' Petrucci 
 of Fossombrone, the inventor of the art of type music- 
 
 1 E. V. Fabriczy ia ' Jahrbuch/ xxiv., p. 82.
 
 78 COUNT BAI.DASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 printing. Several other distinguished musicians 
 visited ITrbino during this Duke's reign, and hngered 
 there many weeks. 'I'he \"eronese singer Marchetto 
 Caro, who was in the Marquis of Mantua's service, 
 and had been sent by him to cheer Ehsabetta's exile 
 at Venice, found a warm welcome at Urbino, and 
 would gladly have remained there if his own lord had 
 not sent him an imperious summons to return home. 
 Jacopo di Sansecondo, the famous \iol-player, who, 
 like Cristoforo Romano, had been a great favourite 
 with Duchess Beatrice of Milan, settled at Urbino 
 after the Moro's fall. Here, too, often came the 
 Roman lute-player Terpandro to make his home 
 with his friends Bembo and Bibbiena, Castiglione 
 and Tebaldeo, at this court, which was the favourite 
 resort of ' every pleasant and amusing person, and of 
 all those who were most excellent in every branch of 
 knowledge throughout Italy.' 
 
 But the library which Federico had founded was, 
 as might be expected, his son's especial care. He 
 added a great number of valuable works to the 
 collection, spending large sums in obtaining ancient 
 manuscripts, and employing the best humanists to 
 assist him in the task. Several noted scholars, 
 Agabito, Lorenzo Abstemio, and the chronicler 
 Federico ^^eterani, held the post of Hbrarian at his 
 court in succession, and a set of curious and minute 
 regulations were drawn up for their guidance and the 
 benefit of students who visited Urbino. 
 
 ' The librarian should be learned and of good 
 presence, equable in temper and gracious in manner, 
 accurate and fluent of speech. He must keep a 
 complete in\'entory of the books in the hbrary, and 
 see that they are well arranged and easily accessible, 
 whether Latin, Greek, Hebrev/, or Italian ; and he
 
 SCHOLARS AT THE COURT 79 
 
 must also keep the halls in good condition. The 
 books must be preserved from the ravages of damp 
 and vermin, as well as from the hands of ignorant, 
 dirty, and careless persons. When personages of 
 learning and importance visit the palace, he ought 
 himself to show them the treasures of the library, 
 courteously pointing out their beauty and chief 
 characteristics, their miniatures and characters, but 
 being watchful to see that no pages are removed. 
 When strangers ask to see the books out of mere 
 curiosity, a single glance will be sufficient, unless the 
 visitor should be one of distinction and influence. 
 When new clasps or locks are required, he must take 
 care that they are provided without delay. No book 
 may be taken out of the library excepting by order 
 of the Duke, and the librarian must take care that a 
 written receipt be given for each volume, and see that 
 it is carefully returned. And when many visitors 
 come together, he must be especially watchful that 
 no books are stolen.'^ 
 
 The fame of Guidobaldo's own learning attracted 
 many scholars to his court, and works of the most 
 varied description were dedicated to him by dis- 
 tinguished writers. A reprint of an ancient astro- 
 nomical work by jNIaternus, and a ' Treatise on the 
 Dignity and Office of a Cardinal,' by Paolo Cortesio, 
 were both inscribed to him. To him the venerable 
 painter, Piero della Francesca, dedicated his work 
 on the Five Bodies, a practical application of 
 Euclid's propositions to art, begging the Duke to 
 place his Ubellus ' in some corner, as a humble hand- 
 maid to the innumerable books of his vast library.' 
 Again, Piero's fellow- citizen and Leonardo's friend, 
 Fra Luca Pacioli, of Borgo San Sepolcro, inscribed 
 his great mathematical work, the ' Somma di Arit- 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Urbr, 1248, f. 58, and Dennistoun, L 158.
 
 80 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTTGI.IONE 
 
 metica,' in 1494, to the same generous patron. 
 Another celebrated book mentioned in the ' Corte- 
 giano,' the famous ' Hypernotomachia Polyphili,' or 
 ' The Combat of Love in the Dream of Polyphilus,' 
 one of the first volumes that issued from the 
 Aldine press, was also dedicated to Guidobaldo. 
 A Dominican friar of Venice, Francesco Colonna, 
 was the author of this strange and powerful romance, 
 which reflects in so vivid a manner the different 
 currents of Italian thought in the fifteenth century, 
 its yearnings for the old Greek and Roman world, 
 its love of rich colour and sumptuous pageantry, 
 its dreams of beauty and aspirations after a more 
 perfect order. It was printed by Aldo in 1499, at 
 the expense of Leonardo Crasso of Verona, whose 
 brother had served in the campaign of Bibbiena, under 
 Guidobaldo, and dedicated by him in terms of higli 
 eulogy to this Prince ' learned above others in Greek 
 and Latin, in the knowledge of ancient history, and 
 equally renowned for his wisdom and goodness.' The 
 Veronese scholar's choice was singularly appropriate, 
 and it seems in the fitness of things that a work 
 steeped in classical mythology and illustrated with a 
 profusion of admirable woodcuts, should be connected 
 with the court of Urbino. 
 
 Four years later Aldo himself dedicated his edition of 
 Xenophon to Guidobaldo. During the weary months 
 of exile which the Duke and Duchess had spent at 
 Venice, they had made many friends among the circle 
 of cultured patricians to which the printer belonged, 
 and had endeared themselves to all who knew them 
 intimately. When, in November, 1503, they were 
 recalled by a grateful people, Aldo availed himself of 
 this auspicious occasion to address an elegant Greek 
 epistle to the Duke, in which he congratulates him on
 
 ALDO'S DEDICATION 81 
 
 his restoration to home and throne, and begs him to 
 accept the book as a mark of devotion to his person 
 and of admiration for his character. 
 
 ' O good son of an excellent father,' he exclaims, 
 quoting from the ' Iliad,' ' could I, O Zeus ! father of 
 the gods Athene and Apollo, see ten such kings and 
 princes ! In these unhappy times, what would not be 
 our good fortune if our States were governed by 
 Kings who, according to the divine Plato's precepts, 
 were also philosophers ! You at least as a sovereign 
 answer to this description, since you have no wish 
 but to make your subjects happy, and your people, 
 aware of this, have twice recalled you to your realm 
 after you had been vanquished by the enemy's forces, 
 to be restored amid universal joy and acclamation. 
 See, then, how good, how useful it is even for 
 a monarch to be a philosopher ! But philosophy 
 secures us many greater benefits, such, among others, 
 as unshaken courage in all the changes and chances of 
 life. " Let Fate and Fortune destroy all things mortal 
 to please their caprices, Hippoclides will take no heed." 
 Yes, in joy as well as in sorrow, the true philosopher 
 remains the same. Of this history has given us many 
 examples. As for you, we all know how admirable 
 you have been in the different phases of fortune. In 
 prosperity you have ever been just and kind, filled 
 with a gracious and unceasing benevolence, and when 
 Fortune has not smiled on you, as your virtues 
 deserved, your conduct has been such as to make 
 men think that you suffer nothing from adversity. 
 I need only point to your courage and wisdom, in all 
 the troubles that you endured, in that hour when 
 you fled before your foes to escape capture, and God 
 Himself came to your help. And we are not the 
 only witnesses of your courage in evil fortune. All 
 Venice has seen and admired you. This, then, is 
 one of the advantages of philosophy. 
 
 ' It is as a token of the high idea that I have of your 
 vor.. I. 6
 
 82 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 worth, that I offer you the " Hellenica " of Xenophon, 
 a work full of interest, which I have just printed. The 
 author was so eloquent and so deeply imbued with the 
 Attic spirit that the Greeks called him the Attic bee. 
 In this also he resembles you. Like yourself he was 
 the captain of an army, like you he was learned, well 
 educated, and distinguished by his virtues. These are 
 indeed great and noble qualities. But 1 have said 
 enough. Accept this present, which I hope will 
 please you, and which you will keep as a remem- 
 brance of my regard, and of my devotion to you and 
 your realm. Greetings.'^ 
 
 'Venice, November 14, 1503.' 
 
 This dedication deserves to be remembered as a 
 proof of the love and admiration with which Guido- 
 baldo was regarded beyond the walls of Urbino. 
 But there were two events which, more than the 
 grateful praises bestowed upon him by scholars and 
 artists, more even than the eloquent words of Aldo, 
 have made the name of this Duke memorable in the 
 eyes of posterity. During his reign Raphael was born, 
 in the old stone house that is still standing in the narrow 
 street leading up the steep mountain-side, and twenty 
 years later, while the century was still young, Bal- 
 dassare Castiglione first came to Urbino. 
 
 ^ Xenophon 'Hellenica.' In Aldi Neacademia, 1503.
 
 5 g 
 
 
 O SI 
 

 
 CHAPTER Vn 
 1504 
 
 Castiglione at Urbino — His friends and associates — Canossa and the 
 Fregosi — Emilia Pia and the court ladies — The Duchess 
 Elisabetta — Castiglione's devotion to her — His poems in her 
 honour and grief at her death — Allusions to the Duchess in 
 the ' Cortegiano.' 
 
 It was a memorable moment in Castiglione's life 
 when he rode up the long ascent from Pesaro, and 
 for the first time beheld the golden spires of the ducal 
 palace flashing in the evening sun. Wonderful tales 
 of its splendour had reached JMantua from the servants 
 who escorted the young Duchess Elisabetta on her 
 wedding journey, and the ladies who accompanied the 
 INIarquis and Marchioness on their frequent visits to 
 Urbino. Isabella d' Este herself could not contain 
 her admiration at the sight of the superb tapestries 
 and treasures of art that were displayed before her 
 eyes, and confessed that in the natural loveliness of 
 the situation, in the stateliness of its architecture and 
 the wealth of its decorations, the palace far surpassed 
 her expectations. Now Castiglione saw all these 
 wonders for himself. His love of beauty was satisfied 
 as his eye rested on the masterpieces of Melozzo and 
 Piero della Francesca, or surveyed the incomparable 
 prospect from the windows and balconies of the ducal 
 apartments. Here he found, in fuller measure than 
 
 83 6—2
 
 84 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 ever before, all that he most needed — rare books 
 and manuscripts with leisure to study their contents, 
 congenial society and friends that were dear to him as 
 his own soul ; the alta quiete, la vita dolce e liefa, 
 which Giovanni Santi calls the greatest boon that can 
 be granted to mortals in this troubled world. 
 
 During the next twelve years he made Urbino his 
 home, and shared a house with his cousin Cesare 
 Gonzaga in a street near the ducal palace. When 
 he was not engaged in close attendance on the 
 Duke, his mornings were generally spent in the 
 library. There he might be seen in the cool recesses 
 of the frescoed halls, studying his favourite classical 
 authors — Cicero and ^^irgil, Plato and Aristotle, 
 Plutarch and l^acitus — or those poets in the lingua 
 volgarc for whom he had so great an affection. In 
 the Duke he found a sympathetic friend who 
 shared his love of the JNIantuan bard, and who 
 was as keenly interested in classical texts and 
 metaphysical problems as he was himself Guido- 
 baldo, we know, took great pleasure in the society 
 of studious and cultivated persons. ' It was the 
 Duke's habit,' Castiglione tells us, ' to surround 
 himself with gentlemen of birth and breeding, with 
 whom he lived on easy and familiar terms, enjoying 
 their conversation, and giving them as much pleasure 
 as he received, because he was himself learned in 
 both Greek and Latin, and combined the utmost 
 affability and pleasantness with infinite knowledge on 
 all manner of subjects.' 
 
 The Venetian envoy JVlocenigo describes how, 
 being disabled by broken health from taking part in 
 active pursuits, the Duke resolved to fill his household 
 with men who were distinguished in every profession. 
 ' Thus with the help of the Duchess, who was as
 
 CANOSSA AND FREGOSO 85 
 
 eager as her lord in welcoming and entertaining 
 accomplished guests, he collected a greater number 
 of fine spirits than any Prince of his age, and held up 
 to the world the model of an admirably regulated 
 court. '^ 
 
 Some of these noble youths and talented guests 
 became Castiglione's most intimate friends. In the 
 autumn of 1504, Giuliano de' Medici had not yet come 
 to seek a refuge in his exile at Guidobaldo's court, 
 and Pietro Bembo was still struggling in vain to 
 escape from the political or commercial career for 
 which his father had destined him. But Cesare 
 Gonzaga, and several of the other personages with 
 whom the pages of the ' Cortegiano ' have made us 
 familiar, were already at Urbino. Here Baldassare 
 found another kinsman— our Count, as he calls him in 
 his letters home — I^odovico Canossa, a member of a 
 noble Veronese family, who, after spending his youth at 
 Mantua, came to Urbino in 1496, at the age of twenty, 
 with an introduction from Isabella d' Este, and entered 
 the Duke's service. Here, too, were the sons of 
 Guidobaldo's half-sister, the beautiful Gentile di 
 ]\Iontefeltro, Ottaviano and Federico Fregoso, who 
 had lived at their uncle's court since they had been 
 driven out of their native city of Genoa by rival 
 factions in 1497. Ottaviano was a gallant soldier 
 who distinguished himself in defending Urbino against 
 Cesare Borgia, and afterwards served under his uncle 
 in the wars of the Church. His younger brother, 
 although he took orders and was made Archbishop 
 of Salerno in 1507, also played an active part in the 
 wars of Genoa, and fought in the galleys of Andrea 
 Doria. Both brothers were followers of the Muses 
 and composed sonnets, and joined Castiglione and 
 
 ^ Alberi, ' Relazioni degli ambasciatori Veneti,' Serie ii., i. 98.
 
 86 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Cesare Gonzaga in the different games and pastimes 
 that were the order of the day at Urbino. And both 
 were men of noble and affectionate character, especially 
 Federico, who remained Bembo's attached friend until 
 his death in 1,541. ' Certainly,' wrote the Cardinal 
 on that occasion to Leonora Gonzaga, the widowed 
 Duchess of Urbino, ' Your Highness, as you truly 
 say, has not only lost a rare friend and relative and a 
 most wise and holy prelate, but the whole Church has 
 suffered a great and incomparable loss. Of my own 
 sorrow I will not speak, for Your Excellency knows 
 the close and ardent affection that linked us to- 
 gether from the days of tender and early youth, and 
 was never injured by a single word on his part or 
 mine.'^ Here, too, were the young Lombard Count 
 Gaspare Pallavicino, who plays the part of Benedick 
 in the ' Cortegiano,' but who, in spite of his declared 
 aversion to women, was exceedingly popular both 
 with men and ladies; the Milanese Captain, Alessandro 
 Trivulzio ; the aged Neapolitan, Baron Sigismondo 
 Morello, of Ortona, who owned vast lands in the 
 Abruzzi, but had long been attached to the Duke's 
 person ;^ and those two youthful courtiers, Roberto da 
 Bari, the boy-shepherd of Castiglione's pastoral play, 
 to whom he was so tenderly attached, and Luigi da 
 Porto, of \^icenza, the author of the well-known 
 ' Lettere storiche ' and of the original tale of * Romeo 
 and Juliet.' This last-named knight, who, like Bal- 
 dassare himself, was destined to acquire as much 
 renown in letters as in arms, was related to the 
 Gambara and Pio families, and seemsto have returned 
 to Urbino with Guidobaldo in 1503. He was one 
 of Pietro Bembo's intimate friends, but left Urbino 
 towards the end of 1505, to the grief of the whole 
 * ' Lettere/ iv. 71. ^ Ugolini, ii. 159.
 
 EMILIA PIA 87 
 
 court, and is therefore not mentioned in the ' Corte- 
 giano.' 
 
 The ladies in attendance on Duchess Ehsabetta 
 were most of them ah-eady well known to Castiglione 
 when he came to Urbino. Tliere was, first of all, 
 Emilia Pia, her beloved sister-in-law and inseparable 
 companion, whose name is familiar to every reader of 
 the ' Cortegiano.' This brilliant and accomplished 
 lady was the youngest daughter of Marco Pio, Lord 
 of Carpi, and renowned, like all the members of 
 this illustrious house, for her natural wit and love 
 of literature. She was connected by birth and 
 marriage with most of the great families of Northern 
 Italy. Her brother Giberto — who in 1494 suc- 
 ceeded to half of the principality of Carpi, and 
 promptly seized on the other half, which belonged 
 to his cousin, Alberto Pio — was married to Elena 
 Bentivoglio ; her eldest sister, Alda, was the wife 
 of Count Gambara of Brescia, and mother of the 
 famous Veronica. Another sister, Agnese, married 
 Count Francesco Rangone, of Modena ; while a third, 
 Margherita, was the gentle lady who wedded Antonio 
 San Severino, and after his death refused to be 
 comforted, and turned a deaf ear to her poet Trissino's 
 addresses. One of Jier brothers, Galeotto, entered 
 the service of Lodovico Sforza, and served him loyally 
 to the end ; another, the condottiere Lodovico, fought 
 under the banner of the Church, married Bembo's fair 
 Milanese friend, Graziosa Maggi, and spent much of 
 his time at Urbino. Her cousin Alberto Pio, the 
 nephew of Aldo Manuzio's patron Giovanni Pico 
 della Mirandola, was also a frequent visitor at the 
 ducal court, and claimed kinship with the Duchess 
 through his first wife Camilla and his mother, the 
 widow of Rodolfo Gonzaga. In 1487, when she was
 
 88 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 still very young, Emilia Pia came to Urbino as the 
 bride of Antonio da Montefeltro, Guidobaldo's elder 
 half-brother. This natural son of Duke Federico had 
 been legitimized in 1454, by Pope Nicholas V., before 
 his father's marriage to Battista Sforza, and is described 
 by ^^espasiano as a youth of great promise and military 
 prowess. He was knighted by King Ferrante of 
 Naples at the age of twenty, and fought gallantly 
 at his father's side in his last campaign of Ferrara, 
 after which he entered the Venetian service, and was 
 present at the battle of the Taro. 
 
 In spite of the wide difference of years between 
 them, Emilia was devotedly attached to her husband, 
 and when he died, after a long illness, in 1500, her 
 grief was such as to cause her relatives the greatest 
 anxiety for her own life. ' INIadonna Emilia's sorrow,' 
 wrote the gentle Elisabetta, who had, from her first 
 arrival at Urbino, found a true sister in Antonio's 
 young wife, ' is so great that it would move the hardest 
 heart to compassion.^ INIy lord and I cannot on any 
 account leave her.' And the Marchioness Isabella 
 wrote affectionately to the poor young widow, begging 
 her to take comfort and to endure life for the sake of 
 the friends who loved her so well. After the first 
 shock was over, Emilia recovered health and spirits, 
 and showed the same tender solicitude for others, 
 and the same keen interest in passing events, which 
 had made her a general favourite before. But 
 although her charms still attracted suitors of all ages, 
 and she was courted and loved by many, she rejected 
 all advances and remained faithful to her dead lord's 
 memory. 
 
 During the Duchess's exile, Emilia Pia was her con- 
 stant companion, and became intimately acquainted 
 ^ Luzio e Renier, ' Mantova e Urbino/ 106,
 
 EMILIA IMPIA 89 
 
 with several leading \''enetians. One of her chief 
 friends and admirers was Pietro Bembo, who often 
 corresponded with this ' valiant lady,' as he calls her 
 in one of his letters. He describes her as a ' woman 
 of great soul and wise counsel, as remarkable for 
 prudence as for virtue ' ;^ while in a set of carnival 
 verses he salutes her as Alma gentil, at once cruel and 
 pious [pia\ and pronounces her charms worthy to 
 be sung by Homer, the greatest of all poets. In 
 a charming letter of JNIarcli, 1504,^ he declares that 
 Madonna Emilia's letters, however long delayed, 
 are as welcome as flowers in May, and sends her 
 and the Duchess 'as many greetings as there are 
 leaves this springtide on the forests between A^enice 
 and Urbino.' Such fragments of Emilia's corre- 
 spondence as have been preserved, especially her 
 letters to the Marchioness Isabella, justify these ex- 
 pressions, and show that her pen could be as lively and 
 amusing as her tongue. Her quick wit, sparkling 
 gaiety, and womanly tact are displayed in the many 
 passages of the ' Cortegiano,' which make us realize 
 the important position that she held at the ducal 
 court. 
 
 ' " These Princes indeed," writes Abate Serassi, 
 " loved and honoured her more than if she had been 
 their own sister. And she was undoubtedly worthy 
 of this high consideration, since few women ever lived, 
 at any period of the world, who could in any way 
 compare with her. Not only was she endowed with 
 singular grace and the most lively wit, but her wisdom 
 and ripe judgment have rarely been equalled, so that 
 at this Court, which, as every one knows, contained 
 the noblest men in the world, the Lady Emilia 
 appeared to be the mistress of all, and was a pattern 
 
 ^ ' De Urbini Ducibus/ p. 45. ^ ' Lettei'e,' iv. SI.
 
 90 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 of wisdom and prudence. To these virtues she joined 
 a certain modesty and sweetness that were apparent 
 in all her words and movements, and made her 
 the unconscious arbiter of the deeds and wishes of 
 others. Thus Castiglione, in his pastoral play of 
 ' Tirsi,' sings : 
 
 Una fra tutte lor v' e dolce e pia 
 Ch' accanto della Dea sempre si vede 
 Questa non porta mai seco arme in caccia, 
 Sol col dolce parlar le fiere allaccia. 
 
 But what above all made her worthy of the gi-eatest 
 honour and reverence was her great and singular 
 chastity. For, although she was young and beautiful 
 and lived at the gayest of Courts, among constant 
 dancing and festivity, and was admired and courted 
 by many gallant knights, not only did she remain 
 chaste and modest in word and deed, but knew how 
 to instil the same pure sentiments and modesty into 
 other ladies. For these virtues, as well as others. 
 Madonna Emilia was especially worthy to be the 
 sister, counsellor, and inseparable companion of 
 Duchess Elisabetta.'i 
 
 This invincible virtue, as Serassi goes on to say, was 
 not altogether approved of by the gay cavaliers at 
 court, some of whom complained of the fair lady's 
 tyranny, and wrote sonnets and epigrams 'Alia Signora 
 Emilia impia.' Even the Goddess of J^ove, Bembo 
 tells us, and her son Cupid, had cause to lament the 
 cruelty of the I^ady Emilia, and sent messengers to the 
 court of Urbino to ask why the winged darts of Love 
 were shot in vain along the banks of the INletauro, and 
 fair maidens there laughed at the fiery rays of the 
 Evening Star. The medal struck at Urbino in 
 honour of Emilia, bears witness to the inviolable 
 
 ^ Serassi, ii. 270.
 
 MARGHERITA GONZAGA 91 
 
 chastity which she maintained during her long widow- 
 hood. On one side we see her portrait, with the 
 regular features and long tress of hair coiled in the 
 Lombard style, and her name Einilia Pia Feltria ; on 
 the other we have a pyramid bearing an urn, with 
 the inscription Castis cinerihus. But if Emilia Pia 
 refused to accept any one of the courtiers as her lover, 
 she was always ready to welcome them as her friends. 
 And Castiglione, whose mother had known her from 
 girlhood, and with whom she had recently renewed 
 her old friendship at Mantua, was cordially welcomed 
 by her on his arrival, and treated with unchanging 
 kindness in after-years. 
 
 Among the other ladies at the ducal court, our 
 cavalier also found Elisabetta's niece JNlargherita, an 
 illegitimate daughter of the Marquis of Mantua, who 
 accompanied the Duchess on her return to Urbino, 
 and whose youthful charms attracted many suitors. 
 Alberto Pio, who was now a widower, courted her for 
 several years, and was at one time recognized as her 
 betrothed husband, but political troubles delayed 
 their union, and eventually he consoled himself with 
 another bride. The wealthy Roman banker Agostino 
 Chigi next paid addresses to JMargherita, but although 
 his suit was encouraged by the Gonzaga family, she 
 herself showed so much reluctance to the union that 
 the marriage was eventually abandoned. Castiglione 
 alludes to a third suitor in a well-known letter to 
 Canossa,^ ' a Count of Correggio, young, handsome, 
 and rich,' as being about to wed ' our Madonna 
 Margherita '; but this project also seems to have fallen 
 through, and when the Marquis died, in 1519, his 
 daughter was still unmarried. The Duke's lialf-sister, 
 JNIadonna Gentile Fregoso, the mother of Castiglione's 
 
 * Serassi, ii. 159.
 
 92 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 friends Ottaviano and Federico, was also living at 
 Urbino at this time, and is often mentioned in letters 
 of the period. Her daughter Costanza, afterwards the 
 wife of Count Landi of Piacenza, took an active part in 
 the pastimes of the court, danced French and Spanish 
 dances with JNIargherita, to the delight of the specta- 
 tors, and corresponded with Pietro Bembo, who stood 
 sponsor to her first-born son. Another fair maiden, 
 RafFaella by name, was among the Duchess's ladies, 
 and not only honoured Castiglione with her friend- 
 ship, but wrote letters to him when he was absent in 
 the camp. We have, however, no particulars of her 
 history and family, nor yet of her companion, Ippolita, 
 whom Alessandro Trivulzio courted, and whose charms 
 Bembo praised in his verses. 
 
 But more to Castiglione than any of these lovely 
 maidens, more to him than the wise and witty JNIadonna 
 Emilia, or Bembo, or his own kinsmen, was the Duchess 
 Elisabetta herself He had known this gentle Princess 
 in his boyhood at Mantua, and seen her go forth as a 
 young bride to her new home beyond the Apennines. 
 He had met her again on the frequent visits which she 
 paid to her brother's court, when she and her lord 
 were driven into exile. For him, in those early days, 
 she had been the bright, particular star whom he wor- 
 shipped from afar. Now he learnt to know her in- 
 timately, and enjoyed that easy and familiar converse 
 with the Duke and Duchess which, Bembo tells us, 
 was a leading feature of life at Urbino. Guidobaldo's 
 favour and his own connexion with the Gonzagas 
 brought the young courtier into close relations with 
 Elisabetta, who quickly recognized his noble character 
 and honoured him with her friendship ; while he 
 on his part regarded her with deeper reverence 
 and affection than any other woman. For him
 
 CASTIGLIONE AND THE DUCHESS 93 
 
 Elisabetta was not only the fair Galatea for whom all 
 the shepherds on the banks of Metaurus sighed in 
 vain, the divine Dido whose lament would have melted 
 the hardest heart, or the Siren whose voice charmed 
 mortal cares away, but the object of his silent worship, 
 the mistress to whom his allegiance was pledged, and 
 whom he served with true and lifelong devotion. 
 
 Chroniclers and biographers agree in ascribing these 
 sentiments to Castiglione, and give us many instances 
 of the secret passion that he cherished for his mis- 
 tress. Beffa-Negrini,^ the family historian, tells us 
 of the two sonnets, evidently inspired by hopeless 
 love for some exalted object, that were placed by him 
 in 1517, together with the portrait of a most beautiful 
 and illustrious lady, by the hand of Raphael of 
 Urbino, at the back of a splendid mirror in his house 
 at JNIantua. Here they were found forty-three years 
 later by his daughter-in-law. Countess Caterina 
 JNIandello, who touched a secret spring at the back of 
 the glass and discovered Raphael's painting and the 
 sonnets composed by Castiglione among the ruins of 
 ancient Rome, and written by his own hand. The 
 portrait has unfortunately never come to light, but 
 the sonnets are printed in Serassi's collection, ^ and 
 are among the best which the Count ever wrote. 
 
 It is difficult to say whether Castiglione's devotion 
 to Elisabetta was more than a merely poetic senti- 
 ment, common to courtiers and poets in that age ; but 
 there are passages in his ' Cortegiano ' which seem to 
 show that the feelings which he cherished for the 
 Duchess were of a deeper and more enduring nature. 
 
 ' I must confess,' he writes in his dedication to 
 
 ^ 'Elogi di B. Castiglione,' 415; Marliani, 330; A. Dumesnil, 
 'Histoire cles Amateurs italiens.' 
 - Serassi, ii. 286.
 
 94 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Dom Miguel de Silva, ' that I have not expressed or 
 even indicated the perfections of the Lady Duchess, 
 because my words could never describe them nor 
 could my intellect imagine them.' And when in a 
 foreign land, long years after he had left Urbino, the 
 news of her death reached him, it came as a great 
 shock, and wrung from him a cry of pain. ' But 
 what cannot be told without tears is that the Lady 
 Duchess is herself dead ; and if my soul is troubled 
 by the loss of so many of my friends and masters, 
 who have left me in this life as in a desolate wilder- 
 ness, it is natural that I should grieve more bitterly for 
 the death of the Lady Duchess than for all the rest, 
 because she was worth far more than all the others, 
 and I was more deeply attached to her than to any of 
 them all.'
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 1504 
 
 Castiglione's recollections of life at Urbino — Society at the ducal 
 court — Intellectual and physical exercises — Poems and 
 comedies — The study of language — Evenings in the Duchess's 
 room — Music and games — Poets and jesters — The Nuncio 
 delivers the banner of the Church to Guidobaldo — Fi'ancesco 
 della Rovere proclaimed the Duke's heir — Raphael at 
 Urbino. 
 
 The best and happiest days of Castiglione's life were 
 those which he spent at the court of Urbino in 
 Guidobaldo's reign. We know how fondly he looked 
 back on those joyous times in later years ; how ten- 
 derly he recalled each little incident of the vanished 
 days, and sighed for the faces of the friends whom he 
 had lost. Nor was he alone in this respect. There 
 were other survivors of that brilliant group who looked 
 back on the years spent at Urbino as the best time of 
 their life. JNlany and frequent are the allusions to 
 those ' good old days ' that we find in Bembo's 
 correspondence. In letters written twenty and 
 thirty years later, we find the Papal secretary and 
 future Cardinal recalling the 'happy days when 1 
 lived at Urbino in such content and gladness of 
 heart,' and speaking to the Duke's successor, or to 
 Federico Fregoso, who had gone back to end his days 
 as Archbishop of Gubbio in the beloved contrade, of 
 
 95
 
 96 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 ' that pleasant land where the most joyous years of 
 my life were spent. '^ 
 
 It is Castigiione himself who has enabled us to 
 realize in some degree the manner of life that these 
 men led at the court of Urbino. In the pages of the 
 ' Cortegiano ' he has, in his own words, given us ' a 
 faithful portrait of Guidobaldo's court, not indeed 
 by the hand of Raphael or JNlichelangelo, but by a 
 humble painter who could only trace the chief out- 
 lines of the picture, and knew not how to adorn the 
 truth with gay colours, or by the art of perspective 
 make that which is not appear as if it were.' 
 
 In spite of these modest expressions, the picture 
 is drawn by a master-hand. The outlines of the 
 sketch are clear and vigorous ; the colours are laid 
 on, the lights and shadows filled in, with rare literary 
 skill. The form is taken from classical models, but 
 the pulse of warm human life beats through the even 
 flow of the narrative at every page. The dialogues 
 are interspersed, after the fashion of contemporary 
 plays, with lively interludes, with merry jests and 
 witty stories, with games and dances, and the whole 
 reflects, as in a mirror, the calm and joyous life which 
 the author and his friends led at the court of Urbino 
 in the golden days of the Renaissance. 
 
 The time, Castigiione begins by telling us, was 
 divided betw^een intellectual and physical exercises, 
 honourable and enjoyable both to body and mind. 
 The high ideal held up in his book had penetrated 
 deeply into the heart of Italian society, and there 
 was no one at the ducal court who doubted the 
 truth of his assertion that mental culture formed 
 part of a perfect knight's equipment. Guidobaldo's 
 
 * ' Lettere,' iii. 69, iv. 39.
 
 SONNETS AND POEMS 97 
 
 own love of literature and the refined tastes of 
 Elisabetta and her ladies lent a strong stimulus to 
 literary production. Sonnets and canzoni, stanze 
 and rime, were composed and recited, now by one 
 member of the group, now by another. Most of 
 Castiglione's finest poems and many of Bembo's most 
 elegant verses belong to this period. Other courtiers 
 less accomplished, but no less anxious to please, 
 caught the prevailing fashion, and tried their hand at 
 rhyming. Cesare Gonzaga, Ottaviano Fregoso, even 
 Giuliano de' Medici, were among the poets in those 
 days. Bembo's correspondence abounds in allusions to 
 these poetic effusions which reached him from all 
 parts of Italy, and were read and recited to the whole 
 court, whether they were composed in Home or 
 Venice, at Mantua or Ferrara. At carnival time 
 flights of a higher order were attempted ; pastoral 
 plays and comedies were composed and acted before 
 the Duchess and her ladies. Vincenzo Calmeta, 
 Beatrice d' Este's old secretary, who since the death of 
 his lamented mistress had been a wanderer from one 
 court to another, came to Urbino in the early spring 
 of 1504, and delighted the ladies by a comedy of his 
 invention, not without exciting the jealousy of Bembo, 
 who wrote from Venice to Madonna Emilia, that he 
 would like to pull his rival's ears were he not afraid of 
 Calmeta's superior stature ! Next year it was the 
 turn of Castiglione and Cesare Gonzaga, then of 
 Bembo and Ottaviano Fregoso, who were all called 
 upon to contribute to the amusements and pleasures 
 of the court. 
 
 Graver and more solid works were also produced 
 by leading scholars and humanists. Here during 
 many years Bembo pursued those studies of the 
 lingua volgare that were ultimately to find shape 
 
 VOL. I. 7
 
 98 COUNT liALDASSARE C ASTIGLIONE 
 
 in his famous * Prose.' A portentous work in nine 
 books, dedicated to Duchess Ehsabetta, was ^''incenzo 
 Cahneta's conti'ibution to the subject, and had the 
 effect of again rousing the animosity of his friend 
 Bembo. No theme was more frequently and hotly 
 discussed at Urbino than this vexed question of the 
 rival claims of Latin and Italian poetry. Bembo 
 tells us how, one winter evening in 1502 four dis- 
 tinguished personages —Messer Ercole Strozzi, the 
 Magnifico Giuliano de' Medici, Federico Fregoso, and 
 his own brother, Carlo Bembo — met by the fireside 
 in his father's house in ^^enice, and began a discussion 
 on the subject, which was prolonged during three 
 successive meetings. JMesser Ercole, the talented 
 Ferrarese poet, strongly advocated the superior claims 
 of I^atin verse, while Giuliano and Carlo Bembo, who 
 represented his brother's views, defended the lingua 
 itolgare^ and Fregoso brought his knowledge of Pro- 
 vencal and Sicilian dialects to bear upon tlie con- 
 troversy, and suggested that Tuscan poets owed 
 much to both those sources. At Urbino, however, 
 the partisans of tlie lingua volgare were in the 
 ascendant. Both Castigiione and Bembo, who wrote 
 the most elegant I^atin verse and prose of the day, 
 were strong supporters of the vulgar tongue, and 
 did much by their own works to form a national 
 literature. 
 
 But there were plenty of minor points which 
 afforded debateable ground for scholars who were 
 interested in this new study. Bembo and Fregoso, 
 in their anxiety to preserve the purity of the Tuscan 
 tongue, defended the use of obsolete phrases ; while 
 Castigiione and Canossa were all in favour of 
 greater freedom, and could see no objection to the 
 introduction of colloquial expressions in writing
 
 JOUSTS AND SPORTS 99 
 
 as well as in speaking. How far, again, the use of 
 foreign words, of French and Spanish terms, could be 
 permitted was another question which gave rise to 
 much animated discussion, as we learn from the pages 
 of the ' Cortegiano/^ 
 
 While these and similar intellectual themes sup- 
 plied the courtiers of U rbino with material for endless 
 arguments, Castiglione is careful to inform us that 
 manly sports and knightly exercises were by no means 
 neglected. In the early days of Guidobaldo's reign 
 the young Duke excelled in these chivalrous amuse- 
 ments, and took great delight in riding, jousting, 
 and all forms of sport. AVhen Elisabetta came as a 
 bride to Urbino in 1489, riding and hunting parties 
 were constantly planned for her diversion. Every 
 day the Duke and Duchess, accompanied by Madonna 
 Emilia and Guidobaldo's unmarried sister Agnesina 
 — the future mother of Vittoria Colonna — rode out 
 to visit the churches and towns in the neighbourhood. 
 Sometimes, especially when the JNlarquis Francesco 
 or his brother Giovanni came to visit their sister, 
 hunting-parties on a large scale took place, and the 
 chase was extended to tlie parks of Fossombrone and 
 Castel Durante. But now gout and general ill-health 
 had so much weakened the Duke's limbs that he was 
 often unable to walk or stand, and all the active 
 sports in which he had formerly taken pleasure were 
 reluctantly abandoned. Such, however, Castiglione 
 tells us, was his greatness of soul, that he retained keen 
 interest in watching others jousting and riding at the 
 ring, and often looked on when the knights and pages 
 were engaged in sports and feats of horsemanship, 
 encouraging them by his presence, and showing his ex- 
 cellent judgment in these matters. Messer Baldassare 
 
 1 Book i., 29, 30. 
 
 7—2
 
 100 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 himself and his cousin Cesare Gonzaga, Gaspare 
 Pallavicino, and young Roberto da Bari, were all 
 experts at these exercises ; while among the dis- 
 tinguished visitors at Urbino that year was Pietro 
 Monte, the INIilanese condottiere who had been 
 Castiglione's own teacher at the court of Lodovico 
 Sforza, and who is praised by our author as ' the true 
 and only master in every branch of this art.'^ 'And 
 thus both in jousts and tournaments, in riding and 
 handling arms of all kinds, as well as in games and 
 music — in fact, in all the exercises meet for noble 
 cavaliers, every one strove to prove himself worthy of 
 such noble fellowship.' 
 
 But since the Duke was compelled by his increasing 
 infirmities to retire to rest soon after supper, the 
 company generally met to spend the evenings in the 
 rooms of the Duchess, ' with whom,' Castiglione tells 
 us, ' was always to be found Madonna Emilia Pia, 
 who, being endow^ed with such quick intelligence and 
 judgment, seemed to be the mistress of all, and 
 inspired all present with her own wit and wisdom.' 
 Here cavaliers and ladies grouped themselves in a 
 circle, and sat down as far as possible in pairs, only 
 that the number of men was nearly always larger 
 than that of the women present on these occasions. 
 Each chose the place that seemed good to him, 
 or was his by chance, and the Duchess — or more 
 often, at her desire. Madonna Emilia — decided 
 how the evening was to be spent. Often it was 
 devoted to music and singing, ' pastimes most 
 fitting,' in the courtier's opinion, 'when ladies are 
 present.' String quartets and motets for different 
 instruments were performed, especially those of 
 Josquin de Pres, the renowned Flemish composer, 
 
 1 ' Cortegiano/ i. 2.5.
 
 MUSIC AND DANCING 101 
 
 who, after spending some years in the service of 
 Pope Sixtus IV. and Lorenzo de' ^ledici. was now 
 the Duke of Ferrara's choir-master. Sometimes the 
 Duchess herself or one of her ladies would sing 
 Petrarch's verses to the lute, or else Josquin de 
 Pres' own setting of \^irgirs lament of Dido, which 
 was one of Elisabetta's favourite songs. Jacopo 
 di Sansecondo would charm his listeners Mdth the 
 melodious strains of his viol ; or Morello, the aged lord 
 of Ortona, would play the lute with his wonted skill. 
 Then all of a sudden Barletta would strike up a 
 merry tune on his instruments, and Madonna 
 Margarita and Costanzo Fregoso would join hands 
 and dance a stately Spanish bassa or sprightly French 
 7'oe garze, to the delight of the assembled company. 
 On winter nights the whole party often joined in 
 these dances, and in January, 1505, Fra Serafino 
 wrote that every evening cavaliers and ladies danced 
 in the Sala Grande of the palace, to the music of four 
 pipers from Ferrara. Dancing, we know, in Cas- 
 tiglione's opinion, was an accomplishment in which 
 every courtier was bound to be proficient, even if he 
 could not attain to the perfection of INIesser Roberto 
 da Bari, who had no rival in this art, and danced with 
 such gi-ace and enjoyment that he often allowed 
 the cloak to fall from his shoulders and slippers 
 drop off his feet, without ever pausing to pick them 
 up.i At other times round games of different sorts, 
 such as the Sienese propodto, when questions were 
 passed round the circle, and forfeits paid for inap- 
 propriate answers ; or that of invidia, wlien a battle- 
 dore was brought into use, and repartees were swiftly 
 exchanged as the shuttlecock flew from one to the 
 
 ^ ' Cortegiauo/ i. 27.
 
 102 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 other. ^ Or else riddles were propounded and enigmas 
 guessed, jests and merry anecdotes were told or 
 witticisms passed round, and sharp retorts freely 
 exchanged, between such lively speakers as Count 
 Gaspare and Lady Emilia, who loved nothing better 
 than a passage at arms with some quick - witted 
 opponent. One favourite anuisement, we learn from 
 Castiglione, was that of choosing devices or mottoes 
 for each member of the company. Another con- 
 sisted in reciting impromptu verses and sonnets. 
 Often, as Ariosto tells us, thoughts and feelings that 
 could not be openly declared, found expression in 
 these veiled forms, and by this means lovers revealed 
 the secrets of their hearts to the unconscious objects 
 of their adoration.'^ ' And in all these different modes 
 of conversation,' Castiglione tells us, ' marvellous 
 pleasure was taken, because, as I have already said, 
 the house contained so many fine intellects.' 
 
 ' Here, then,' in our courtier's words, ' sweet dis- 
 courses and innocent jests were heard, and the faces 
 of all present shone with mirth and gaiety, so that 
 this house could indeed be called the very home of 
 joy ; nor do I believe that in any other place all the 
 sweetness which flows from dear and cherished com- 
 panionship was ever tasted as fully as it was here at 
 that time. For, letting alone the honour it was, for 
 each of us, to serve such a master as him of whom I 
 have already spoken, there sprang up in the hearts of 
 all a sense of supreme content each time we entered 
 the presence of the Lady Duchess ; and it seemed as if 
 this were a chain that held us all bound together in 
 love, so that there was never greater union of will, or 
 more cordial love between brothers, than that which 
 reigned between us all. It was the same among the 
 ladies, with whom there was the freest and most 
 
 ^ V. Cian, ' Motti inediti di M. Pietro Bembo,' 91. 
 - 'Orlando Furioso,' vii. 21.
 
 A JOYOUS FREEDOM 103 
 
 innocent intercourse. Every one was free to speak, 
 sit, joke, and laugh with whom he chose. But so 
 great was the reverence paid to the wishes of the 
 Duchess, that this same Rberty became a check ; nor 
 was there anyone who did not count it the greatest 
 pleasure he could have in the world to be able to 
 please her, and the greatest pain to displease her. 
 For this reason the most refined manners went 
 hand in hand with the greatest liberty, and in her 
 presence games and laughter were tempered, not only 
 with the keenest wit, but with a grave and gracious 
 majesty ; because that greatness and modesty which 
 marked all the acts, words, and movements of the 
 Lady Duchess, whether she jested or laughed, were 
 such, that even those who had never seen her before 
 would have recognized her as an august lady. And 
 thus slie impressed herself upon those of us who 
 were round about her, in such a way that we all 
 seemed to conform to her quality and conduct, and 
 every one tried to copy her example, and take, as it 
 were, a lesson of beautiful manners from the presence 
 of so rare and virtuous a lady.'^ 
 
 Not only Castiglione, but Pietro Bembo, Filippo 
 Beroaldo, and many of their correspondents, dwell 
 on this atmosphere of freedom and easy familiarity 
 which added so much to the happiness of life at 
 Urbino, and speak of it as a thing without precedent 
 among the courts of Europe at that time. So, from 
 all parts of Italy, distinguished visitors came, attracted 
 by the fame of Guidobaldo's court, to pay their 
 respects to the Duke and Duchess and enjoy their 
 hospitality. Whatever the rank and estate of the 
 guest might be — whether, as Bembo remarks, he 
 were of princely birth, or lowly origin — a Cardinal's 
 brother like the Magnifico, or a poor scholar like 
 himself, he was sure of a gracious welcome and of 
 
 ^ * Cortegiano,' i, 4.
 
 104 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 honourable entertainment. ' I came to Urbino.' he 
 wrote long afterwards, when the Duke and Duchess 
 were dead and all the actors in that stately pageant 
 had passed away — ' I came to Urbino with only forty 
 ducats in my pocket, and there I stayed for six years.' 
 Merit was the only passport required of the stranger 
 M^ho presented himself at the palace gates— t^Ww, as 
 the phrase ran — that is to say, excellence in one form 
 or another. ' I beg you to receive our friend Bembo 
 kindly,' wrote Madonna Emilia to Isabella d' Este, 
 when the Venetian scholar left Urbino, a few months 
 after this, to visit Mantua on his homeward journey, 
 * as his talents deserve, for truly he is a man worthy 
 to be held in high account.'^ At this particular 
 moment, when Castigiione came to Urbino, he found 
 many accomplished visitors assembled in the ducal 
 palace. ' This court,' wrote a Mantuan secretary 
 that September to his mistress, ' is full of talent just 
 now,' and among the poets who were present he 
 proceeds to name Vincenzo Calmeta and 1' Unico 
 Aretino, whose brilliant improvisations delighted the 
 assembled company night after night.'-^ 
 
 Another guest who is honoured with a place in the 
 ' Cortegiano,' and whose jests and sallies frequently 
 provoked the laughter of the ducal circle, the Mantuan 
 buffoon Fra Serafino, was also at Urbino on this 
 occasion. Like the Aretine, this friar was one of the 
 Marchesa Isabella's prime favourites, and addressed 
 frequent letters in prose and rhyme to his mistress in 
 his absence, signing himself habitually, ' Your slave 
 and that of my Lady Duchess.' These effusions 
 abound in proofs of the strange licence that was 
 allowed to these buffoons, whose mad freaks afforded 
 
 1 V. Cian in 'Giornale d. Lett. It./ ix. 99- 
 
 2 A. Luzio in ' Giornale d. Lett. It.,' iv. 382.
 
 ILLUSTRIOUS GUESTS 105 
 
 so much amusement to our illustrious ladies. Fra 
 Serafino tells Isabella that the letter which she sent 
 to him by Count Lodovico Canossa, filled him with 
 such transports of delight that he rushed into the 
 Duchess's bedroom, to the amazement of her waiting- 
 women, and danced and capered about madly, until 
 Elisabetta herself caught him by the hair and asked 
 what had happened.^ In spite, however, of his vaunted 
 devotion to the ^larchesana, Fra Serafino evidently 
 found Urbino a very pleasant sojourn ; and although 
 he returned to Mantua in October, by Christmas he 
 was back again, enjoying the flesh-pots of the ducal 
 court, and playing the fool for the benefit of knights 
 and ladies. 
 
 There were other and more exalted personages 
 among the guests who spent that autumn at the court 
 of L^rbino. Foremost among those who hastened to 
 rejoice with the Duke and Duchess, on their happy 
 restoration, was Guidobaldo's eldest sister, Giovanna 
 della Rovere, the widow of Pope Julius II.'s brother, 
 the late Prefect of Rome. The Lady Prefetessa, as 
 she was still called, arrived from the Papal court, 
 bringing her son Francesco, the Duke's adopted heir, 
 and her youthful daughter, Costanza, a girl of fifteen, 
 whom Castiglione describes as being as good and 
 gentle as she was fair to look upon. With them 
 came two other Princesses, the Prefetessa's elder 
 daughter Maria, the widow of Venanzio Varano, Lord 
 of Camerino, and her niece Felice della Rovere. 
 the beautiful and accomplished daughter of Pope 
 Julius II. Both had suffered from the cruelties of 
 Cesare Borgia, and had narrowly escaped with 
 their own lives. The poor young wife of Varano 
 had seen her husband murdered with his father 
 
 ^ \'. Cian in ' Archivio storico Lombardo/ viii. -iOt).
 
 106 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 by Cesare Borgia, when he seized the Rocca of 
 Pergola, and had fled for shelter with her infant son 
 Sigismondo to her uncle's court. Felice, while still a 
 child, had been rescued by faithful servants, after her 
 sister and brother-in-law had been murdered, and 
 carried by sea to join her father in his diocese of 
 Savona. Castiglione himself tells the story of the 
 high-spirited girl's courage on that occasion, and how, 
 when the Pope's galleys were seen in pursuit, she told 
 her attendants that she would throw herself into the 
 sea rather than fall alive into the hated Borgia's 
 hands. 1 But now times were changed, and the Pope's 
 daughter was held in high honour in Rome, botli for 
 her father's sake and her own charms. This fas- 
 cinating lady, ' our own Madonna Felice,' as the 
 author of the ' Cortegiano ' calls her in one passage of 
 his book, soon made herself very popular, not only 
 in Rome, but among all the court circle at I^rbino, 
 and became one of Castigiione's best friends. 
 
 On September 14, a week only after Guidobaldo's 
 triumphal entry, the Papal nuncio, the Archbishop of 
 Ragusa, arrived from Rome, to present the standards 
 of the Church and the baton of Gonfaloniere to the 
 Duke. His coming had been long expected, as 
 we learn from Madonna Emilia's letters, and was the 
 signal for great rejoicings. On the following Sunday 
 liigh mass was celebrated in the Duomo before the 
 whole court and chief citizens of Urbino. These 
 insignia of office were solemnly blessed by the 
 nuncio, who, after censing and sprinkling them with 
 holy water, finally delivered them to the Duke. 
 Guidobaldo received them, kneeling on the altar steps, 
 and handed the baton to his lieutenant and brother- 
 in-law, Giovanni Gonzaga, and the banners to 
 ^ ' Cortegiano/ iii. 49.
 
 RAPHAEL AT COURT 107 
 
 Ottaviano Fregoso and Morello of Ortona, after which, 
 writes the chronicler of LIrbino, the Duke and tlie 
 whole assembly returned to the palace amid the 
 joyful shouts of the people and martial music of 
 drums and trumpets.^ 
 
 Three days later, on September 18, a still more 
 imposing function took place in the Duomo. The 
 Papal nuncio, sitting between the Duke and his 
 nephew the Prefettino, before the altar, pronounced a 
 Latin oration, setting forth the reasons which led the 
 Duke to adopt his nephew as his successor, with the 
 consent of the Pope and the Emperor JNIaximilian. 
 The Papal bull was then read aloud, and Francesco 
 Maria, standing on tlie altar steps with an illuminated 
 missal open before him, at a miniature of the Blessed 
 Sacrament, swore by the body of Christ to be loyal 
 to His Holiness. After this, he received the oaths of 
 fealty from Messer Battista Ceci, Gonfaloniere of 
 Urbino, and the representatives of the other cities in 
 the duchy, each of whom knelt in turn to do the young 
 Prince homage. 
 
 When these stately ceremonies were over, and after 
 much feasting and music the nuncio had departed, a 
 humbler visitor entered the palace gates and craved 
 audience of the Duchess. It was a young artist, 
 the son of Giovanni Santi of honoured memory, the 
 court painter and poet who had served Guidobaldo 
 and his father faithfully and well for many a year, and 
 who in his last days had been the object of the kind 
 Duchess's tender anxiety. She had watched the 
 orphan boy's career with affectionate interest, had 
 given him liis earliest commissions, and rejoiced to 
 hear the high praise which his genius had won from 
 that worthy master, Messer Pietro of Perugia. Her 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Urb., })()4. ; Baldi, 'Vita di Guidobaldo,' ii. 173.
 
 108 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 protege had just finished an important altar-piece for 
 the Franciscans of Citta di Castello, and had proudly- 
 signed the picture with his name — Raphael of Urbino. 
 Now the young painter came to ask for leave to go 
 to Florence, that he might continue his studies there 
 and see the wonderful cartoons that Leonardo and 
 Michelangelo had designed for the decoration of the 
 Council-hall. The result of this interview was that, 
 on October 1, the Lady Prefetessa gave him a letter 
 of introduction to Piero Soderini, the Gonfaloniere of 
 Florence, and with this in his pocket, Raphael 
 descended the steep hillside and set out on his journey. 
 Castiglione, whose fine taste in art was well known, 
 no doubt saw the works which this native artist had 
 already executed for the Duke and Duchess, the 
 poetic little panel of the Dream of a Knight, the 
 St. Michael which he had painted on the back of a 
 draught-board, and the Madonna wdth the pure 
 brow and hea\ enly smile, which hung in Elisabetta's 
 chamber. He probably conversed with the young 
 painter, whose romantic air and charming manners 
 made him a favourite wherever he went, and thus in 
 these early days, the foimdations of that friendship 
 were laid, to which the world, it may be, owes more 
 than it has yet realized.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 1504-1505 
 
 Castiglione's correspondence with his mothei* — His private affairs — 
 Need of money — Pi-ospects of his brother Jeronimo — Marriage 
 proposals — Visit to Ferrara — The Este Princes and their 
 court — Warlike designs of Pope Julius — Castiglione accom- 
 panies the Duke to Rome — ^Marriage of Francesco Maria and 
 Leonora Gonzaga— Felice della Rovere's wedding. 
 
 Amid the manifold distractions of his new Hfe, Baldas- 
 sare did not forget his home at IMantua. His letters 
 to his mother show the same deep interest and affec- 
 tionate solicitude for every member of the family 
 which he had left behind. He begs to be informed 
 of the smallest events at home, and repeatedly pro- 
 fesses his anxiety to gratify his young brother Jero- 
 nimo's wishes and to be guided by Madonna Luigia 
 in every particular of business. He sends kind mes- 
 sages to his married sisters and their families, does 
 not forget to inquire after the health of his brother-in- 
 law, Messer Jacopo Boschetto, and never fails to send 
 his love and greetings to each one of them, and ' most 
 of all to Suor Laura,' the sister Anna for whom he 
 cherished so deep and enduring an affection. Com- 
 munications between Mantua and Urbino were fre- 
 quent, owing to the close relationship of the Gonzagas 
 and Montefeltros, and the intimate friendship between 
 the Marchesana and the Duchess. Castiglione availed 
 himself of the messengers, who were constantly 
 
 109
 
 110 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 journeying from one court to the other, to send 
 home letters and parcels at every possible opportunity. 
 Thus, early in October, when he had as yet hardly 
 been a month in his new home, he dispatched a letter 
 to his mother by Fra Serafino, and a fortnight later 
 received two letters from her by Giovanni Suardo, 
 which he immediately applied himself to answer. 
 
 Madonna Luigia, however, was not always easy to 
 satisfy. After the habit of anxious mothers, she plied 
 her absent son witli perpetual questions as to his wel- 
 fare, his doings and domestic matters, and complained 
 if she did not receive a prompt reply. 
 
 ' In one of your letters,' wrote her son on Octo- 
 ber 26, ' you say you are anxious to learn what 
 reception I had from the Lady Duel ess, and if I have 
 hired a house or live in one belonging to the court, 
 and what provision we make for our household, and if 
 the scarcity is great, etc. — things which 1 had omitted 
 to mention as unnecessary, being myself more in need of 
 supplies than of counsel. But to take your questions 
 in order : The Duchess received me and continues to 
 treat me with far more kindness than I deserve. The 
 house is one that has been rented by Messer Cesare, 
 and he and I live here together very comfortably. 
 The scarcity is great, and we have never received any 
 more pay from the Duke, so our pockets are very 
 light. However, we expect some every day, and are 
 very well, thank God. As you see, I have not been at 
 the trouble to answer every particular of Your Magni- 
 ficence's inquiries, but only those which are most 
 iinportant. It is certainly true that I like to hear 
 everything that goes on at home and wish our affairs 
 were more prosperous. However, as long as we can 
 keep out of debt let Fortune do her worst ! You 
 must not take these things too much to heart, but try 
 and remedy what you can, and let the rest go, as I do, 
 with a gay heart ! . . . As to our affair of importance,
 
 VISIT TO FERRARA 111 
 
 I am glad to hear Messer Francesco Pusterla is of 
 this opinion, but wish he had told me more fully what 
 I am to ask the Cardinal, and what my petition to the 
 Pope is to contain, and would give me in MTiting the 
 reasons why this should be done. For I am sure that 
 some one else will start up and tell me that this thing 
 cannot be done. However, if you will tell me 
 JNI. Francesco's opinion on the subject, I will go at 
 once to Ferrara, and will send immediately from there 
 to tell you when to send me this letter, because, 
 for my part, I do not mean to come to Mantua at 
 present.'^ 
 
 The affair of importance was plainly a request to 
 the Pope for some benefice or ofBce which Madonna 
 Luigia wished to secure for her younger son, and 
 which Baldassare thought he might obtain through 
 Cardinal Ercole d' Este, whom he had known in- 
 timately in his boyhood at the court of Milan, and 
 with whom he always remained on fi'iendly terms. 
 For this object he was quite ready to take a journey 
 to Ferrara, where he suggested that his brothers tutor, 
 Falcone, might meet him with instructions from 
 Madonna Luigia. But nothing on earth, he repeats, 
 will induce him to come to Mantua and brave the 
 displeasure of the Marquis. Accordingly he writes 
 on November 2 : 
 
 ' Since Francesco [his servant] wishes to go to 
 Mantua on account of his illness, I have settled to 
 send him there and let Your Magnificence know that 
 we are, thank God, safe and sound, as you will hear 
 from his lips more fully. We get on happily here, 
 but our pockets are still light : for we have not yet 
 received a farthing, and expect our pay every day 
 with great devotion. The Lady Duchess and 
 Madonna Emilia are very well, and commend them- 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. 9.
 
 112 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 selves to Your Magnificence, and so does Madonna 
 Ginevra,^ who pays me a thousand attentions every 
 day. My dear Lord Duke is suffering froin a quartan 
 ague, which distresses us all. I send the enclosed 
 letter to Carlo,^ open. If you approve of it you can 
 give it to him, and for the rest do as you like in the 
 matter. Since time presses, I have decided not to 
 wait any longer to arrange our important affair, 
 because if I were to await the instructions and 
 advice of which I wrote, the thing might drag on too 
 long. So I have settled to go to Ferrara and there 
 await Your Magnificence's instructions, and it would 
 be well if Falcone could tell me your wishes more 
 fully by word of mouth. In any case, I hope to be 
 at Ferrara in a fortnight's time, and I hope you will 
 arrange for me to find Falcone there ; and if I have 
 not arrived, he can await me in the house of Messer 
 Timoteo [Bendidei] or that of the Strozzi. I would not 
 come to Mantua now for anything in the world. For 
 the present I must be content to visit Your Magni- 
 ficence by means of these letters, for I never think of 
 Mantua without one of my hairs turning grey, and if 
 you were not there, I should never think of the place 
 at all. Francesco will tell you of our life here, which 
 is certainly happy and tranquil, and I commend myself 
 to you and all our family.' 
 
 Three weeks later Baldassare wrote again to his 
 mother from Ferrara, where he had met Falcone, at 
 the house of his kinsmen, the Strozzi, and discussed 
 many things with his old friend. Madonna Luigia 
 apparently was anxious tliat her son should come to 
 Mantua, not only on his brother's business, but 
 because she had fresh marriage proposals on his own 
 
 ' Ginevra Rangone, wife of Giangirolamo da Correggio, and 
 afterwards of Luigi Gonzaga. 
 
 - A dependent who wished to rent one of the houses at 
 Casatico.
 
 MARRIAGE PROPOSALS 113 
 
 account to discuss with him. We do not learn from 
 what quarter these proposals came, or whether it was 
 the Marchesa who, as before, was anxious to find a 
 good match for her favourite cavalier, and thus, it 
 may be, obtain his return to court. But whoever 
 was responsible for these suggestions. Baldassare would 
 have none of them. His mind was made up on this 
 point, and nothing would induce him either to come 
 to INlantua or entertain these marriage proposals. He 
 was perfectly happy in his present surroundings, and 
 he had no wish to undertake new and grave responsi- 
 bilities. So he wrote to his mother from Ferrara, 
 firmly declining to enter on any negotiation which 
 would compel him to leave the Duke of Urbino's 
 service. 
 
 ' Speaking as my conscience directs, I must say that, 
 having so lately entered the service of these Princes, 
 I should be very reluctant to leave them to come 
 home, which it seems to me would be necessary. I 
 should no longer be able to arrange anything for 
 Jeronimo, whereas, if he really wishes to find a 
 career, and if God grants His Holiness life and health, 
 I may be able to help him. Besides, there is 
 plenty of time, and I feel, perhaps presumptuously, 
 that I need have no fear of failing to obtain a wife. 
 And although this may be a good offer, none the less 
 it is not so good that I might not easily find a better. 
 Your Magnificence will understand what I mean, and 
 I pray God to be my guide, that I may act for the 
 best.'i 
 
 Unfortunately, the post Avhich Castiglione had hoped 
 to obtaiii for his brother was apparently not yet 
 vacant, and his errand in this respect was doomed to 
 failure. On December 3 he wrote again to his mother : 
 
 ^ Cod. Vat. Lat, 8210. 
 VOL. 1. 8
 
 114 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 ' In reply to the letter which Francesco brings me, 
 I must tell you that by the grace of God we are all 
 in good health, and are in no danger of suffering from 
 exposure to the bad weather, being uncommonly well 
 lodged, so that I listen to the rain that is falling now 
 with great satisfaction. I have not yet said anything to 
 the ]\Iost Reverend Lord Cardinal, but will be sure to 
 speak to him on the subject and let you know his 
 reply. I am only sorry to have had so little sense as 
 to come here for a thing that cannot be done now ; 
 however, I will find some explanation to give my Lord 
 Duke. I hear that the illustrious Lord JMarquis will 
 be here to-morrow, and shall be glad of this oppor- 
 tunity to kiss his hand. . . . What I have to tell you 
 now is that at this hour, whicli is eleven o'clock at 
 night, this illustrious Lord Duke's life is despaired of, 
 and the doctors let him eat whatever he fancies, A 
 little while ago he asked for some cabbage, and was, 
 I believe, allowed to have some, which must, I should 
 think, help to hasten the accession of a new Duke,' 
 
 Ercole d' Este was, as Castiglione said, at the point 
 of death, and intrigue was busy round his bedside in 
 these last moments of his life. This did not prevent 
 Baldassare from finding a cordial welcome at Ferrara, 
 and spending a very pleasant time among his friends 
 at the court, as he tells his mother in another letter, 
 written on the eve of his departure, and dated 
 December 9 : 
 
 ' I write to Your JNlagnificence to fulfil my duty, 
 as I shall probably be unable to find messengers for 
 some time to come. I leave Ferrara to-morrow and 
 retiu'n to Urbino, and shall travel by water as far as 
 Ravenna. I have been most kindly treated by these 
 illustrious Lords, not only by my friend the Most 
 Reverend, but by all the others, and most of all by 
 the most illustrious Lady,^ who has shown me greater 
 
 ^ Lucrezia Borgia, wife of Alfonso d' Este.
 
 POPE JULIUS II. 115 
 
 honour and kindness tlian I deserve, and so have all 
 the other ladies, whether they belong to the court or 
 not. Many have asked after you — namely. Madonna 
 Laura Calcagnina, M. Barbara Torella Bentivoglio,^ 
 M. Polissena of Bologna with the big voice, and 
 several others. For the rest I will only beg you to 
 keep well and be of good courage, as I am also. As 
 to my horses, I would sell them gladly, in the hope 
 of buying better ones. These affairs of the Church 
 still seem likely to give trouble, and may end in war ; 
 and we others may have a chance of doing some 
 honourable deeds, especially now my Lord Duke is 
 ill, so that it will not do to be found unprepared. I 
 will give your messages at L^rbino. Francesco can 
 stay with you as long as he likes, and you can keep 
 the least ill-looking of the beasts. I do not remind 
 you of the clothes for which I asked, feeling sure that 
 you will bear this in mind, knowing how much I need 
 them."- 
 
 Hardly had Castiglione reached IJrbino than he 
 received orders to accompany his lord the Duke to 
 Rome, and the next letter which he addressed to his 
 mother was written from the Eternal City. 
 
 All through that autumn the Pope had been 
 urging Guidobaldo to come to Rome and prepare for 
 a fresh campaign to recover the cities of Romagna 
 from the ^^enetians. The Duke pleaded ill-health as 
 an excuse for remaining at home, and on September 23 
 sent the popular Count I^odovico Canossa as his envoy 
 to the Vatican, to thank His Holiness for the honour 
 done him by the nuncio's mission to Urbino. Pope 
 Julius received the Count graciously, but when the 
 ambassador ventured to explain Guidobaldo's aver- 
 sion to warlike measures, he broke into a furious 
 
 ^ Barbara Torelli, the wife of Ercole Bentivoglio, and afterwards 
 married to the unfortunate Ercole Strozzi. 
 - Serassi, i. 1 1 . 
 
 8—2
 
 116 COUNT BALD ASS ARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 passion, and denounced the Duke as a coward and a 
 traitor.^ In spite, however, of this violent language, 
 the Pope had a sincere regard for Guidobaldo, and 
 would not take any decisive measures without con- 
 sulting him. At length, early in December, he sent 
 a litter drawn by four magnificent white horses to 
 llrbino, and ordered the Duke to come to Rome 
 without further delay. Accordingly, on December 15 
 Guidobaldo started on his journey, to the grief of the 
 Duchess and all the citizens, who, in the chronicler's 
 words, were sorely displeased — ' nuilissimi coiitenti ' — 
 at the loss of their beloved Prince. But a severe 
 attack of gout delayed his progress and detained liim 
 at Narni for nine days. Castiglione and Cesare 
 Gonzaga, with the chief part of his suite, were sent 
 on to Rome, and arrived there on Christmas Eve, 
 while the Duke and his nephew, the Prefettino, did 
 not reach the city until January 3. 
 
 * Your INIagnificence,' wrote Baldassare from Rome 
 on January 5, 1505, ' will have heard of my sudden 
 departure from Urbino by this time, through my 
 servant Sebastiano, although, from what I hear, he did 
 not start on his journey as soon as I had ordered him 
 to do, which thing displeases me greatly. I must beg 
 Your Magnificence to tell him from me, and for this 
 once only, that when I give him an order, and he does 
 not execute it with greater promptitude and diligence 
 than he showed on this occasion in leaving Urbino, or 
 the other day in taking the horse from Casatico to 
 Forli, we shall agree very badly, and 1 must, in fact, 
 dismiss him from my service, for, whatever happens, I 
 am determined to be obeyed.' 
 
 Having relieved his feelings by this unusual display 
 of severity, the writer resumed the tale of his travels, 
 
 ^ Giustiniani, ' Dispacci,' ii. '-2S[).
 
 fliOto, Aliaari. 
 
 POI'E JULIUS II. 
 BY BAPHAEL (I'lTIl) 
 
 To fac3 p. 116, Vol. I.
 
 IN ROME 117 
 
 and told his mother of the Duke's illness, which had 
 hindered his lord from entering Rome until after the 
 New Year. 
 
 ' So we have been some days alone here. His 
 Excellency only reached the gates on the 8rd, and 
 hoped his arrival was a secret ; but of course it soon 
 became known, chiefly through the I^ord Prefect, who 
 arrived some time before. That evening both Princes 
 slept at S. Maria del Popolo, where several Cardinals 
 went out to visit them, and the next day they entered 
 Rome in state. All the households of the Cardinals 
 now in Rome, the Captain of the Papal Guard, and 
 many other gentlemen, rode out to meet them. INly 
 Lord Duke's own gentlemen certainly did him honour, 
 and were all mounted on fine horses and clad in suits 
 of gold brocade. I myself wore one, which I procured 
 at the Duke's expense. When we reached the Pope's 
 palace. His Holiness received the Duke with great 
 honour, and we all kissed his lioly foot. He looks 
 remarkably well, and is very gay and li\'ely." 
 
 The ^^enetian ambassador, who watclied the 
 splendid cavalcade pass through the Campo Fiore to 
 the Vatican, was much impressed by the fine appear- 
 ance of the Duke's suite and the honoiu' paid to him 
 by the Pope, who received him at the entrance of 
 the palace, attended by all the Cardinals.^ But the 
 Master of the Ceremonies was struck by Guidobaldo's 
 look of suffering, and noted that he was unable to 
 walk alone and had to be supported by two servants. 
 
 In this first letter from Rome, Baldassare alludes 
 to two important matters which concerned the ducal 
 family. The one was the proposed marriage between 
 Guidobaldo's nephew, Francesco Maria, and Elisa- 
 betta's niece, I^eonora Gonzaga, which the Duchess 
 
 ^ Giustiniani, iii. 357 ; Burcavdo, ' Diarii/ iv. l63.
 
 118 COUNT BAI.DASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 was especially anxious to see arranged. The other 
 was the Cardinalate which had long^been the object 
 of her brother Sigismondo's ambitions and intrigues. 
 The fulfihxient of these hopes, as Castighone could 
 not but feel, must prove advantageous to himself, and 
 especially to Jeronimo's prospects. 
 
 ' I have nothing to tell Your Magnificence,' he 
 continues, ' regarding the things that concern Mantua. 
 Neither the marriage nor our red hat are yet definitely 
 arranged. But if the Duchess were to come here in 
 person, I think that it would be less difficult, and we 
 expect that she may have to come at any moment. 
 God grant that she may succeed ! It can only bring 
 us good, and would benefit Jeronimo most of all, and 
 I should like to feel that, once for all, his feet were 
 planted firmly in the ground. I should also be very 
 glad if you would let me know of any vacant office 
 that you may hear of through friends, as, being here 
 on the spot, I could obtain it without difficulty. I 
 have nothing more to write to Your Magnificence 
 saving that we are all well by God's grace, and, as 
 usual, without a farthing in the world ! I should 
 much like to know how our affiiirs at home are pros- 
 pering, but when you write be careful not to say any- 
 thing that may not be seen by every one, unless the 
 messenger is a tried one, as many letters are inter- 
 cepted. I commend myself to Your Magnificence, and 
 beg you to commend me to all our family, and tell 
 M. Jacopo that his brother M. Galeazzo is well. We 
 — that is to say, M. Cesare and I — are lodged here in 
 St. Peter's, in the house of Cardinal d' Este. Our 
 M. Cesare commends himself to you.^ 
 
 ' Rome, January ;"), l.'iO/j.' 
 
 For some time the Duchess herself liad wished to 
 come to Rome, and there had been quite a flutter 
 among her ladies at the prospect. But the Pope pleaded 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. 12.
 
 LIGHT OF HEART AND POCKET 119 
 
 poverty as an excuse for his reluctance to enter- 
 tain guests that winter, and the plan was abandoned, 
 greatly to the displeasure of Madonna Emilia and her 
 companions, who poured scorn on the Pontiff's nig- 
 gardly habits. ' The Pope has given up all his old 
 liberality,' wrote the ^"enetian ambassador, ' and only 
 cares to save money. He sells every office, and will 
 not even pay his bills, if he can discharge them in any 
 other way. And I hear that he has already accimiu- 
 lated 100,000 ducats since he took possession of the 
 Papal throne.'^ He goes on to remark that Guido- 
 baldo and his suite are lodged in the Cardinal of 
 Ferrara's house and expected to pay their own expenses 
 without even receiving a subsidy. This explains the 
 straits to which Castiglione and his comrades were 
 reduced, when he wrote that they had not a farthing 
 between them. 
 
 In spite of these drawbacks, our young courtier 
 found life in Rome very pleasant that winter. His 
 letters to his mother reflect the gay and \'aried scenes 
 among which he moved, the stately functions which 
 he attended, the friends who came and went on 
 missions to the Vatican. The Prefect's marriage 
 negotiations were briskly carried on, if the bestowal of 
 the red hat, from which Castiglione hoped so much 
 for his brother, was still delayed. Count Lodovico 
 Canossa was sent to INIantua with formal proposals 
 for Leonora's hand, and returned to Rome early 
 in February accompanied by Giovanni Gonzaga, so 
 that Castiglione and his mother were in constant 
 communication. 
 
 ' As I know that you like to have letters from 
 me,' he wrote on .fanuary 22, ' I begin one, although 
 
 ^ Giustiniani, iii. 346.
 
 120 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 T have no news of any description. We are all 
 well, excepting Smeraldo, who has been indisposed 
 lately, but I hope it will prove nothing serious. 
 You will have heard most of the events that have 
 been happening here from our Count I^odovico, 
 so I need not describe them at length. Here in Rome 
 we have had a bitterly cold wind for the last days. 
 Before that it was so warm that the roses were in 
 bloom and it might have been May. Many masks 
 are being made in Rome. Princes, Cardinals, and 
 prelates all intend to wear them ; I expect it is the 
 same in INIantua, or better still. For my part, I can- 
 not say that these things give me much pleasure. 
 We expect Count Lodovico's return with great im- 
 patience, and hopes of many good things ; but I fear 
 that he, too, has allowed himself to be detained by 
 these pleasant festivities or by their prospect, and will 
 forget to come on here. If it were of any use to 
 desire things ardently, and to wish for what one has 
 not got, I should have abundance of happiness. Above 
 all, I am very impatient to get letters from home, for 
 since 1 left . Ferrara I have had none, not even an 
 answer to the last one which I wrote from there. So 
 I implore you to write to me about our private 
 affairs, and beg our M. Tommaso and M. Francesco 
 and M. Luigi Gonzaga to write to me and forgive 
 my infinite neglect ! For if I owed them some 
 letters, now that I have kissed the Pope's foot, I 
 am absolved from all guilt and obligation for past 
 sins. Your Magnificence will commend me to all 
 our friends, especially to Suor Laura and Jacopo 
 Boschetto, and M. Cesare and I commend ourselves 
 to you.'^ 
 
 When he next wrote, the long-expected letters had 
 arrived, and he did his best to gratify Madonna 
 Luigia's reiterated prayer for news and explain his 
 silence regarding public affairs. 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. IS,
 
 GIFTS FOR HIS FAMILY 121 
 
 ' I lia^'e received two letters from Your JNIagnifi- 
 cence by our illustrious Lord Giovanni, and together 
 with these the velvet, for which I thank you \'ery 
 much. I should like to send a long reply to ^'^our 
 first letter, so as to please you ; but, to say the 
 truth, these Roman affairs do not belong to our corner 
 of the world, and if I were to tell you what these 
 prelates. Bishops, and Cardinals say and do, I think 
 it would give you little pleasure, as you do not know 
 them personally. It is true that here in Rome one 
 hears news from France, Spain, and all parts of the 
 world ; but these things, I feel, do not concern us, and 
 as for those which concern my Lord Duke, I am 
 reluctant to mention them, because letters often go 
 wrong, and I would not for the world give him any 
 reason great or small to be vexed with me. The favoiu* 
 which he enjoys with His Holiness is very great. The 
 Pope is ready to grant him Avhatever he chooses to 
 ask, without ceremony, and comes fi-equently to His 
 Highness's rooms, has long talks with him, and is most 
 friendly without any formality. I fear I cannot send 
 you any fruit from the March this year, because we 
 shall be in Rome till April. To our Suor Laura I 
 hardly know what to send. If the messenger would 
 or could carry it, I would send her the candle whicli 
 the Pope gave me on the Feast of Our I.,ady at 
 Candlemas, but I fear it would get broken on the way. 
 I will have the Papal dispensation for your confes- 
 sional made out and send it without delay. I have 
 nothing more to say excepting that we are well and 
 happy. From Count Lodovico's report, the plague 
 does not appear to have done much harm. I should 
 be glad if, when you write, you would tell me what 
 you know, and how Carlo is, and what new dignity 
 M. Amato of Ferrara has received from the new 
 Duke. I do not write to INI. Jacopo ; Your Magni- 
 ficence will kindly commend me to him and Madonna 
 Polissena and to all the rest.^ 
 
 'February 23, 1505.' 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. 14,
 
 122 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Ten days' later this good son took up his pen again, 
 and sought to gratify his mother by telhng her the 
 latest news from Rome. This time, at least, he had 
 more to tell. The funeral of Queen Isabella of Spain, 
 the entry of the Polish ambassadors — above all, the 
 marriage of the Prefect and Leonora CTonzaga— were 
 naturally of deep interest to Madonna I^uigia. 
 
 ' Since you wish to hear what is happening in 
 Rome, 1 must tell you that last AVednesday, 
 February 26, the funeral of the great Queen of 
 Spain, of blessed memory, was celebrated with much 
 solemnity, after the Spanish rites, in the church of 
 S. Jacopo of the Spaniards. All the Cardinals were 
 present, clad in dark purple, which is their mourning 
 garb ; all the Ambassadors and His Excellency my 
 Lord Duke, wearing a black mantle down to the 
 ground ; the most Illustrious Lord Prefect, in black 
 velvet ; the Spanish Ambassador and all his household, 
 clad in coarse black cloth. Nothing else worthy of 
 note took place on this occasion. Yesterday being 
 INIarch 1, the Polish Ambassadors made their state 
 entry, having come to pay homage to His Holiness. 
 All the Cardinals' households and that of the Pope, as 
 usual, rode out to meet them ; then the Captain of 
 the Papal Guard, followed by the whole guard ; then 
 the Illustrious Lord Prefect, whom we escorted. 
 • ' These Ambassadors were attended by fifty servants 
 mounted on roan horses, and were nearly all clad in 
 red like Germans, and all wore the same kind of hats 
 with a jewelled plume and device in pearls. Some of 
 them had the same device embroidered in pearls on 
 one sleeve and stocking, and most of them wore silver 
 chains. Before them rode two Turks on Arab horses, 
 with Oriental turbans on their heads ; and behind 
 four Tartars strangely attired, with bows and arrows 
 and curious fur caps. All these six were slaves, 
 who had been taken prisoners in battle. The 
 Ambassadors are three in number, a Bishop, a
 
 THE PREFECT'S MARRIAGE 123 
 
 Captain, and a Chamberlain, and each is richly clad 
 according to his office. Thus were they honourably 
 escorted to the hostelry of Cappello. But His 
 Holiness has not yet given them an audience.' 
 
 The Papal Master of Ceremonies, Burcardo, who 
 dilates on the barbaric splendour of the Polish envoys, 
 and the \^enetian ambassador, Giustiniani, explain 
 that this delay was caused by an attack of gout which 
 gave the Pope acute pains in one knee and compelled 
 him to remain in bed. There was some talk of 
 putting off the Prefect's marriage until the following 
 Sunday, but, as this would have been Passion Sunday, 
 His Holiness refused to defer the ceremony, which 
 took place in the Vatican on March 2, as Castiglione 
 relates. 
 
 " To-day being Sunday, the happy marriage of our 
 Illustrious Lord Prefect with the Lady I^eonora was 
 celebrated, to the great satisfaction of the friends of 
 both parties. These nuptials took, place in the palace, 
 in the Hall of the Popes, in the presence of eighteen 
 Cardinals— Recanati, Portugal, Naples, Sta. Pras- 
 sede, S. (^iorgio, Alessandria, Gurk, Grimani, Como, 
 Volterra, Bologna, Fiesco, S. Pietro ad Vincula, 
 Aragona, JNTedici, Sanseverino, Ascanio Sforza, 
 Colonna — and many other prelates. The Marquis 
 of JNIantua's brief of procuration was recited, and the 
 Illustrious Lord Giovanni made this contract on the 
 part of the bride, and my I^ord Duke and the Prefect 
 on the other side. His Holiness could not be present, 
 owing to a slight fit of gout.'-^ 
 
 Another marriage which closely concerned both 
 the Pope and the Duke of Urbino, and had been 
 publicly announced at the same time as the iniion of 
 Francesco Maria and I^eonora, was that of the Pontiff's 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. 15.
 
 124 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 daughter, Felice della Rovere. This charming lady, 
 who had already won all hearts at [ Jrbino — ' our 
 Madonna Felice,' as Castiglione calls her — was to 
 wed Guidobaldo's nephew, Antonello di Sanseverino, 
 the exiled Prince of Salerno. The Pope wrote 
 to the King of Spain to demand the restitution 
 of the Prince's estates in Calabria, and offered to 
 endow his daughter with a large fortune, if the bride- 
 groom would renounce his claims on the duchy of 
 Urbino in favour of Francesco della Rovere. ' All 
 these things,' remarked the Venetian envoy, ' indicate 
 new dreams and ambitions on the Pope's part.' But 
 in this case the fair lady herself resolutely opposed the 
 marriage which had been arranged for her, and boldly 
 declared that she would not become the wife of a 
 landless and penniless Prince. In vain the Pope 
 stormed and the Duke of Urbino entreated his lovely 
 kinswoman to consent to a project eminently con- 
 venient to all parties ; Felice stood firm, and the 
 marriage, as Madonna Emilia had prophesied, ended 
 in smoke. ' We hear no more of the wedding which 
 had been arranged for the Pope's daughter,' wrote 
 Giustiniani^ on the day of Francesco Maria's marriage. 
 A year later this lady, who was to play an important 
 part in the politics of the Holy See, became the 
 bride of Giangiordano Orsini, the chief of this great 
 Roman house. 
 
 ^ ' Dispacci,' iii. 438.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 1505 
 
 Castiglione's plans for his brother — His friends among the Cardinals 
 — A mission to England proposed— Delays and intrigues — • 
 Arrival of the \ enetian ambassadors — Pietro Bembo in Rome 
 and at Urbino — Death of Ascanio Sforza — Cardinal Galeotto 
 della Rovere appointed Vice-Chancellor — Death of Falcone — • 
 Castiglione's Latin elegy. 
 
 ]\1ean WHILE Castiglione was not forgetting to for- 
 ward his brother Jeronimo's interests. \\^ith this end 
 in view, he took care to pay assiduous court to the 
 most powerful Cardinals at the Vatican. He was 
 already intimate with se\'eral of these prelates, notably 
 with three of the younger members of the Sacred 
 College. There was Luigi of Aragon, a scion of the 
 royal house of Naples, who bore a remarkable likeness 
 to his grandfather, King Ferrante, and proudly styled 
 himself ' illustrissimo,' as well as ' re\'erendissimo,' in 
 token of his august lineage. After the death of his 
 young wife, Battistina Cibo, within a year of her 
 marriage, Luigi took orders and became a Cardinal 
 before he was twenty. His close relationship with 
 the Este princes, his scholarly tastes and love of 
 music and travel, all endeared him to Castiglione, 
 whom he had known from boyhood, and whom he 
 frequently met at JNlantua and Ferrara. There was 
 also Giovanni de' Medici, the great I^orenzo's youngest 
 
 125
 
 126 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 son, who had been made a Cardinal at twelve years 
 of age and inherited the cultured tastes of his 
 house. He, too, was on friendly terms with Guido- 
 baldo and Elisabetta, while his brother Giuliano. who 
 spent this winter in Rome, was soon to become one 
 of Castiglione's dearest friends and companions at the 
 court of Urbino. And there was lastly the young 
 Cardinal Galeotto della Rovere, who had succeeded 
 to his uncle Pope Julius's titular church of S. Pietro 
 in Vincula, and was said to have more influence at 
 the Vatican than any other person. The son of 
 Lucchina della Rovere, the sister whom the fierv old 
 Pontiff really loved, and at whose funeral he was seen 
 to shed tears, Galeotto is described by jNlarcoDandolo 
 ' as the apple of the Pope's eye,' the one man who 
 knew how to soothe his uncle's violent moods by his 
 tact and gentleness. ^ At twenty-four he became in 
 turn Bishop of lAicca, Governor of Avignon, and 
 Cardinal, and was daily loaded with new honours and 
 benefices. But, as all contemporary writers agree, 
 he made a noble use of his wealth, and was already 
 renowned as the most generous patron of art and 
 learning in Rome. Cardinal de' JMedici was deeply 
 attached to him, and his connexion with the ducal 
 family made him a frequent guest at Urbino, as well 
 as an intimate friend of the Duchess and JNIadonna 
 Emilia. 
 
 In Castiglione's letters to JVlantua, we find constant 
 references to these three Cardinals, and if once 
 Jeronimo could come to Rome, his brother had little 
 doubt that with the help of these powerful friends he 
 would be able to obtain some lucrati\'e post. Before 
 long too the Marquis of Mantua's brother, Sigismondo 
 Gonzaga, would, no doubt, receive the red hat that 
 
 ^ Sanuto, V, 6"b"S.
 
 JERONIMO'S PROSPECTS 127 
 
 had so long dangled before his eyes, and was said 
 to be the bait which had induced the Duke of 
 Urbino to recognise Francesco JNIaria as liis heir and 
 give him Leonora Gonzaga in marriage. The 
 prospect of seeing his mother's kinsman exalted to 
 the Cardinalate, roused fresh hopes in Castiglione's 
 breast, and he wrote to share his new plans with 
 Madonna Luigia, on the day after the Prefect's 
 marriage : 
 
 ' As for Jeronimos affairs, this is my plan. Since 
 our JNlonsignore will now undoubtedly become a 
 Cardinal, it will be necessary, or at least convenient, 
 for His Highness to come to Rome. It would 
 please me if Jeronimo came here in his service, since 
 as yet he has obtained no benefices. Tlie many 
 promises which His Highness has made me in former 
 days, and the loyalty of our house towards him and 
 his family, convinces me that, whenever he has the 
 chance, he will not fail to remember us. And if he 
 should fail us, we are not so friendless, nor is our 
 good fortune so entirely dead, that we may not still 
 look for some good thing to come our way, especially 
 now that offices with large salaries attached to them 
 are being sold every day in Rome. Although we 
 are short of money, we have some interest ; and if we 
 had no other means of help, it would be no small 
 thing to know the chief personages in the court of 
 Rome, and enjoy the friendship of so many I^iord 
 Cardinals, all of which I can promise him. I further 
 intend to get my illustrious lord to write the warmest 
 letter possible to our Cardinal [when the hat is his !], 
 so that between the favour with which His High- 
 ness regards our house and my Lord Duke's 
 recommendation, 1 am certain Jeronimo will soon 
 obtain a good and honourable post. Besides this, I 
 shall not cease to exert any small influence that I may 
 have on his behalf, and indeed, I am already enduring
 
 128 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIOXE 
 
 fatigue and toil, more in order to gain some promotion 
 for him than for myself. For if by God's grace 1 can 
 give myself up to a quiet life, I shall not be worse off", 
 nor will any regard me as otherwise than an honourable 
 man, seeing the life that I hav e led till now. So I 
 hope to be able to effect this much, that through my 
 exertions Jeronimo may attain through his own deeds 
 to some worthy place ; and this does not seem to me a 
 bad beginning, as tilings are. He need not take any 
 further orders, nor deprive himself of liberty, nor 
 sacrifice the half of that property to which lie has 
 succeeded, but can lead a free life in Rome, with good 
 hope of future greatness, if, as I trust, his acts 
 deserve it and Fortune proves kind. This is my advice. 
 I hope that it agrees with your wishes and his own.'^ 
 
 Both Madonna Luigia and Jeronimo, as might be 
 expected, responded gratefully to Baldassare's sugges- 
 tions, and the boy asked nothing better than to join 
 his elder brother in Rome. ' Indeed, 1 think,' wrote 
 Castiglione in another letter, ' that this ought to satisfy 
 him fully ; and if he had nothing else in view, the 
 prospect of holding office in this great court would 
 be no small attraction. Then he who risks nothing 
 gains nothing ; and the fact of being in Rome need 
 not hinder his studies, for this is the fount of all 
 learned men. . . .' For the present, how^ever, all 
 that Jeronimo himself could do was to visit Mon- 
 signore Sigismondo occasionally and remain in his 
 company, which would not only have the good effect 
 of interesting the future Cardinal in him, but would 
 at the same time help the boy to put aside his own 
 shyness and timidity. Then, as soon as ever the 
 Pope's pleasure was announced and Sigismondo was 
 created Cardinal, Baldassare promised to write to him 
 on his brother's behalf and procure a letter of recom- 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. 17.
 
 MISSION TO ENGLAND 129 
 
 mendation from Guidobaldo. ' And I am certain,' he 
 adds, 'that smce the Duke has obtained this Cardinal's 
 hat for him, he will not refuse to gratify him by 
 taking an honourable youth into his service. But if 
 you and the Magnifico Giovan Pietro think that this 
 plan of mine ought to be made known to our most 
 Illustrious and Excellent Lady and Mistress [the 
 Marchioness Isabella], I should be well pleased, for in 
 all ways Her Excellency is our pillar and support. 
 But do just as you like about this.' 
 
 A rumour concerning Baldassare himself now 
 reached Madonna Luigia's ears, which excited her 
 keenest curiosity. 
 
 ' As to what you say, of my probable journey 
 to England,' her son wrote on JNIarch 2, ' I know 
 nothing. My lord has not mentioned it to me, either 
 with his own lips or through anyone else. All 1 
 know is that some one will have to go. Who it may 
 be, I have not the least idea.' 
 
 The next day he is more explicit in his remarks 
 upon the subject : 
 
 'As for my mission to England, all 1 know is 
 that my Lord Duke must send a representative, 
 and has, it appears, told some one that he is 
 determined to send me. And when 1 consider the 
 gentlemen of his liousehold and their different offices, 
 it is easy to see that the task is likely to be mine. The 
 reason which renders this mission needful is the con- 
 firmation of the privileges of the Order of the Garter, 
 an order something like that of St. JNIichel in France, 
 of which His Majesty the King of England is tlie 
 head. For this task it is necessary to send a man of 
 birth who will be acceptable to His Majesty the King, 
 and will be treated with mucli honour, ft would take 
 
 VOL. I. 1)
 
 130 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 too long to describe all the formalities of the proceed- 
 ings, as the investiture of this order entails much 
 ceremony. So that if it should please His Excellency 
 to choose me for this office, 1 could not refuse so 
 honourable a task, and one which may also prove of 
 great use to me, for I know 1 should go with the best 
 and highest recommendations. So that 1 beg Your 
 Magnificence to be content if this takes place ; for such 
 things do not happen every day, and although the 
 journey is rather long, it will be very pleasant. 1 beg of 
 you not to mention this to any of our family or to others, 
 because 1 should look very foolish if this were given 
 out, and after all there should be nothing in it. Messer 
 Gio. Pietro knows it already through M. Cesare's 
 letters, but I do not think he will speak of it. If any 
 one excepting M. Gio. Pietro mentions this to you, 
 you can say that you know nothing of it and do 
 not believe it, because I know it is that beast IMesser 
 Gian Lucido [the Mantuan agent in Rome] who has 
 sent the news to INlantua in an evil hour, having heard 
 it from a certain Bishop to whom the Duke had 
 spoken. If you like to read Jeronimo that part of 
 this letter relating to himself, in order to find out his 
 wishes on the subject, I shall be very glad, but I do 
 not wish him to see what I have said about Encjland.' 
 
 'O" 
 
 A fortnight later Baldassare's uncertainties were 
 happily ended, and he wrote joyfully to tell his mother 
 the good news : 
 
 ' Our Lord Duke has at length told me that I shall 
 do him the greatest pleasure if I will consent to go to 
 England in his service. So I feel that it is impossible 
 to refuse, and I hope to find great satisfaction in this 
 mission — first of all in serving His Excellency, and 
 secondly in seeing so large a tract of countr}?^, especially 
 as we are sure to have an excellent journey, now the 
 fine season is before us. I hope to travel in the 
 company of Monsignor Gigii, a Florentine who holds
 
 BALDASSARE'S HOPES 131 
 
 a rich bishopric in England and is His Majesty's 
 ambassador to His Holiness here in Rome, and is also 
 one of my greatest friends. So I shall go with great 
 honour on all sides, and hope to satisfy His Excellency 
 my I^ord Duke, which I desire above all things. ^V 
 few days after Easter 1 will come to Mantua and 
 spend eight or ten days with you, alter which, if it 
 pleases God, 1 will set out on my journey, and trust it 
 will prove of advantage to you and me and all our 
 friends. If you could send me the small sum of money 
 of which I spoke, before I start, it would be a great 
 kindness, as then I can procure a few necessary things. 
 'Rome, March 15, loO.i.' 
 
 But many disappointments were to damp tlie young 
 courtier's high hopes, and many long months were 
 to pass away before he started on his journey or saw 
 his mother's face again. That spring was rendered 
 memorable by the unusual severity of the season. 
 Easter fell early, and the M^eather was bitterly cold. 
 Snow fell heavily at Urbino, and was twelve inches 
 deep on April 7. Wheat rose to four florins a bushel, 
 and ague and feverish colds were everywhere prevalent. 
 Guidobaldo was laid up for several weeks with an 
 acute attack of gout, and the Venetian envoy paid him 
 repeated visits while he was in bed, trusting to him 
 more than anyone else, to appease the Pope's anger. 
 At Mantua, Castiglione's uncle, Gian Pietro, and his 
 cousin Euigi, were both seriously ill, and he and his 
 comrades in Rome did not altogether escape. 
 
 ' I have received two of your letters at once,' he 
 wrote to his mother on March 24, ' and am very glad 
 to hear your cough is better, and our kinsfolk are well, 
 or at least recovering. Here 1 have little to tell, 
 excepting that the usual Lent ceremonies have been 
 held. His Holiness attended the Holy VA'^eek offices 
 with much devotion, and sang mass in St. Peter's, 
 
 9—2
 
 132 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 as usual, on Easter Day. To-day mass was cele- 
 brated in the Papal chapel, and the golden rose 
 was presented to the Polish Ambassadors, who are 
 soon lea^'ing Rome. They brought fine gifts to 
 tlie Holy Father — i.e., three large and beautifully 
 worked silver bowls, made in Germany, and very well 
 gilded ; also three long mantles, one of white satin 
 or damask, lined "with the finest sables, another of 
 crimson satin lined with ermine, the third of some 
 other colour lined with squirrel ; and with them about 
 1.50 sable-skins, so beautiful that the like have never 
 been seen in Italy. AVe are impatiently expecting the 
 settlement of our JNIantuan affairs. Both the marriage 
 business and that of the Cardinal's hat are progressing 
 most happily. As to my mission to England, I think 
 you will have heard enough by the letters which I sent 
 by the horseman Zoppo. Since the Duke spoke to 
 me, I have heard no more, but expect my journey to 
 be put off for at least two months. But whether it 
 takes place then or later. Your INIagnificence may be 
 sure that I will not set out on the journey without 
 coming to spend some days with you, for I really am 
 not so undutiful as you appear to think ! I will say no 
 more, but pray you to commend me to all my friends 
 and especially to Madonna Alda Boiarda [Isabella's 
 favourite maid of honour] who, I am delighted to 
 hear, has become one of our family.'^ 
 
 In this last sentence we have probably an allusion 
 to some report regarding JNladomia Alda's marriage ; 
 but although this brilliant and popular lady always 
 remained fast friends with Madonna I^uigia and lier 
 son, we hear no more of her contemplated union with 
 any of their family. All Baldassare's letters, at this 
 time, contain urgent requests for money, of which he 
 stood in great need, having been reduced to borrow 
 thirty ducats of his cousin Cesare to pay for the black 
 
 ^ Serassi, i, 19.
 
 SCARCITY OF MONEY 133 
 
 velvet suit and mantle which he wore at the Queen of 
 Spain's funeral. But money was scarce at Mantua, 
 and first Giovanni Gonzaga's stud-groom, Evangelista, 
 then the ^larquis's agent, Brognolo, then another 
 messenger, Alessandro Cattaneo, arrived without the 
 ducats that were so impatiently awaited, until at 
 length Baldassare declared that he would ask no more. 
 But he gives minute instructions about a pair of 
 hounds and a falcon, which he has asked a friend to 
 send to JNlantua, and begs Jeronimo to watch oA'er 
 them, until some way is found of bringing them to 
 Rome. These dogs and falcon, he explains, are to 
 be a present to Cardinal de' Medici, the future Pope 
 Leo X., whose love of hunting was well known, and to 
 whom Castiglione expresses himself as deeply in- 
 debted. ' We are well here,' he adds, ' thank God, 
 and I am very sorry not to hear the same of our kins- 
 folk at Mantua. God send them better health !' And 
 when he wrote again, it was to express his relief at 
 learning that his uncle and Luigi were out of danger. 
 
 Meanwhile his departure for England, he explained, 
 was put off in order that he might attend a review 
 of the Papal troops on the piazza, which the Duke 
 was to hold, by the Holy Father's desire, on St. Peter's 
 Day. There had been some idea that Castiglione 
 should be knighted by the Pope at Easter, but this 
 ceremony had been deferred. " Still I think,' he 
 writes on April 23, ' this will take place before 1 
 start on the journey.' Here lie breaks off hurriedly, 
 because some fools have come to interrupt him, and 
 adds a postscript, begging his mother to tell him if a 
 good harvest may be expected this year, and all that 
 is happening at home. 
 
 Five days later the embassy sent by the Doge and 
 Senate of Venice, at Guidobaldo's suggestion, to con-
 
 134 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 elude an agreement with the Pope, entered Rome. 
 Throughout tlie past winter, whether sick or well, the 
 Duke had not ceased to plead the cause of \'^enice 
 with the irascible Pontiff. At his entreaty the Doge 
 and Signory had agreed to evacuate Ravenna and the 
 whole of Romagna, excepting Faenza and Rimini, and 
 now sent ambassadors to lay their submission before 
 the Pope. Bembo's father and the fliture Doge, 
 Andrea Gritti, were among tlie eight ambassadors 
 chosen for this delicate task, and Pietro Bembo 
 himself was one of the 200 members of the suite 
 who set out for Rome, as soon as the snows were 
 melted and the Apennines could be crossed in safety. 
 At Urbino the ambassadors were royally entertained 
 by the Duchess, in her lord's absence, and Bembo 
 once more enjoyed the company of Elisabetta 
 and Emilia Pia. ' AA'^ould to God,' he wrote from 
 Venice that INI arch, ' would to God I were living in a 
 little shepherd's hut on the mountain-slopes looking 
 down on Urbino !' And he prayed that the Fates 
 might gi-ant him to see the sweet spot once more 
 before he died.'^ Now he left the Duchess, promising 
 to pay her a longer visit on his return, and went on to 
 Rome, where Castiglione and many other friends were 
 eagerly awaiting him. 
 
 About six O'clock on the evening of April 28, the 
 ambassadors of the Republic entered the city by the 
 Porta S. Pietro. The highest honours, as the A'enetians 
 were proud to record, were paid them by the Sacred 
 College on this occasion. The officers of the Pope's 
 household and the servants of all the Cardinals rode 
 out to meet them at the gates, followed by the French, 
 Polish, Florentine, Ferrarese, Bolognese. and Rhodian 
 ambassadors, who offered their congi-atulations in a 
 ^ ' Lettere,' iv. 30, 38,
 
 A VENETIAN EMBASSY 135 
 
 Latin oration, to which Bernardo Bembo replied also 
 in I^atin, ' with great decorum and gravity.' Then tlie 
 Lord Prefect met them on the bridge of Sant' Angelo, 
 attended by 100 horsemen and 300 foot-soldiers, and 
 received the ambassadors in the Pope's name witli 
 every sign of reverence. He was followed by the 
 gentlemen of the Duke of Urbino's suite, led by 
 Cesare Gonzaga and Castiglione, ' noble personages 
 mounted on superb horses,' M^ho saluted the ambas- 
 sadors in the name of their illustrious lord, he himself 
 being ill in bed. But the most memorable incident of 
 the reception was the unexpected appearance of Pope 
 Julius himself at a window that was suddenly opened 
 in the Castello Sant' Angelo. In his curiosity to wit- 
 ness the ambassadors' entry, His Holiness had hurried 
 across from the Vatican, accompanied by most of the 
 Cardinals, and presently looked out of the window 
 and with a smiling face gave his blessing to the 
 assembled multitude. Then the guns of Sant' Angelo 
 were fired and the procession went on its way towards 
 Monte Giordano, where the envoys were hospitably 
 received by their Orsini allies.^ 
 
 On May 5 the ambassadors were received by the 
 Pope in full consistory at the Vatican. Hieronimo 
 Donato explained the object of their mission in a 
 most elegant and ornate I^atin oration, after which 
 His Holiness replied in convenient terms, and Bernardo 
 Bembo was allowed the privilege of bearing the Holy 
 Father's train into the Camera de' Pappagalli. But 
 although the Pope spoke very pleasantly to these 
 gi'ave Signors and was graciously pleased to admire 
 the magnificence of their robes and ornaments, he 
 firmly refused to issue a brief confirming the Republic 
 in the possession of Faenza and Rimini, and sent them 
 
 ^ SanutOj vi. l62.
 
 136 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 home much dissatisfied with the result of their mission. 
 The Pope was evidently bent on recovering the whole 
 of Romagna, and only awaited a favourable moment 
 to break his pledges and make open war on the 
 Republic. ' The Venetians wish to treat us as if we 
 were merely their chaplains,' he exclaimed to Gius- 
 tiniani, ' but that they shall never do ! It is not in our 
 power to surrender the possessions of the Church. It 
 is enough that I should pledge my word.'^ 
 
 There was, however, one member of the Venetian 
 embassy who thoroughly enjoyed his visit to Rome. 
 After his long exile in Venice, Pietro Bembo was 
 enchanted to find himself once more in the city for 
 which his soul hungered and thirsted 'like another 
 Tantalus.' He found many old friends there, and 
 made new ones wlierever he went. Cardinal Galeotto 
 invited him to stay in his house, and treated him so 
 courteously and kindly that he became his slave for 
 life. He was present at the splendid banquet which 
 Cardinal Grimani gave in honour of his countrymen, 
 and revelled in the rich decorations and sumptuous 
 fare set forth on this occasion. The halls were hung 
 with blue velvet and gold brocade, and adorned with 
 priceless antique marbles. Gilded stags, and boars' 
 heads, bearing the lion of St. Mark on their horns, 
 peacocks and pheasants of glittering plumage, were 
 carried in on golden plate by pages in scarlet liveries, 
 to the music of harps and lutes, of drums and trumpets, 
 of tambourines and singing.- No wonder that, after 
 this brief taste of Roman festivities, the young 
 \^enetian longed for another draught of those fi'esh 
 and invigorating waters of Tiber, and wished himself 
 back ' under the shadow of Cardinal Galeotto — 
 the young and stately oak that has stuck its roots 
 ^ Giustiniani, iii. 408. ^ Sanuto, vi. 175.
 
 CARDINAL GALEOTTO 137 
 
 deep into that happy soil, and spreads fruit-laden 
 boughs towards the fostering sunshine of heaven.' 
 He had not left Rome a fortnight, when the death 
 of Ascanio Sforza, I^odovico Moro's brother, placed 
 the important office of A^ice-Chancellor at the Pope's 
 disposal. Julius promptly conferred this post, together 
 with the bishopric of Cremona and the rich abbey of 
 Chiaravalle, which the late Cardinal had held, on his 
 fortunate nephew. ' Never again will I say with the 
 poets that Fortune is blind !' wrote Bembo from the 
 palace of Gubbio, where he was once more the guest 
 of the kind Duchess, on his homeward way, * since she 
 has showered new and abundant gifts upon you, with- 
 out w^aiting to be asked, and has hastened to meet you 
 with both hands full of precious things, as letters from 
 Rome have informed us, to the joy of this whole 
 court. '^ Castiglione also rejoiced in the young Car- 
 dinal's good fortune, while he lamented the death of 
 an old and tried friend in Ascanio Sforza, whom he 
 had known in his boyhood at Milan. 
 
 ' To-day,' he writes to his mother on June 6, ' the 
 only news I have to give you is the lamentable death 
 of Cardinal Ascanio, which has been universally 
 deplored by all men, great and small, because 
 to all alike he was a father. And indeed this 
 death has happened in an evil hour for Italy. May 
 God grant him peace ! The King of Portugal's 
 Ambassadors have arrived to make obeisance to the 
 Pope, in fine and gallant array, and have brought 
 these Cardinals many presents, chiefly of animals no 
 longer seen in Italy— parrots, leopards, monkeys of all 
 sorts, and many other things from his land. Our 
 review is to be held on St. Peter's Day, and then we 
 shall leave Rome, and 1 hope to visit Mantua on 
 
 1 'Lettere/ i. 17-19.
 
 138 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 my way North. As soon as possible I will send a 
 messenger to fetch those dogs and falcons which you 
 say are ready. But if before then you see any safe way 
 of sending them, I should be very glad, especially if it 
 could be by Brognolo, whose coming we all expect 
 impatiently, and I most of all, because of the money 
 which I hope he will bring, as I have not received 
 it yet.' 
 
 In this letter Baldassare complained of a sudden 
 attack of fever which had fortunately yielded to 
 prompt treatment. When he writes again, a month 
 later, he pleads a return of the ailment as an excuse 
 for his delay in answering his mother's letters and 
 acknowledging the money which the INIantuan gentle- 
 man, Valenti, had at length brought him : 
 
 ' The truth is that, just after Valenti arrived, I had 
 several fits of fever, which, thank God, have now 
 passed away. But suddenly one night I was seized 
 with a terrible pain in the foot, which T crushed at 
 Cesena, together with a contraction of nerves and 
 cruel spasms — the result, I believe, of some medicine 
 which I had taken. Many remedies were applied, 
 and I am well now, thank God, but this leg is not 
 cured yet. This has kept me several days in the 
 house, so that at least I have escaped the intense 
 heat from which we are now suffering. Here our 
 only news is that Monsignor S. Pietro ad A^incula has 
 been given the Chancellorship, which was JMonsignor 
 Ascanio's, of happy memory, and brings in 12,000 
 ducats a year, so that this youth of twenty-five, finds 
 himself with an income of 40,000 ducats ! God 
 prosper him as he deserves I Our parade, which was 
 to have been on St. Peter's Day, has been put off for 
 another eight or ten days. As soon as possible after 
 that I mean to go to the Baths near Siena to cure my 
 foot, which is not yet right. My visit to Mantua will
 
 A GRAND PARADE 139 
 
 not be just yet, I fear, as we go to Urbino first, 
 and then I shall see my way better. But you must 
 not expect me until I tell you for certain, and I will 
 take care to let you know eight or ten days before my 
 arrival. We are all well now, which is saying a good 
 deal in Rome at this season, and most of all our 
 illustrious lord, who, contrary to his usual habit, is 
 in remarkably good health. Here we have received a 
 small part of our salary — that is to say, twenty-five 
 ducats, and shall need more than that to prepare for the 
 review, since we must spend freely if we are not to 
 disgrace ourselves. Your dispensation is drawii up 
 and signed. I will bring it with the other objects of 
 devotion for which you asked. ^ 
 
 ' Rome, Jiiltf 3, 150n.' 
 
 Three weeks later the much-talked-of parade Avas 
 finally held, apparently to Castigliones entire satis- 
 faction. On the 80th he wrote to his mother : 
 
 ' We have at last had our review, which was really 
 a beautiful sight, and greatly praised by all who were 
 present. I exerted myself more than all the rest to 
 do honour to my dear lord, and also to myself. Now 
 I think that we shall start for Urbino in four days' 
 time, and expect my departure for England will take 
 place very soon, but will tell you in good time. For 
 the present I have told A'alenti all I know about it, so 
 that he will inform you by word of mouth.' 
 
 The Pope was highly pleased, and entertained the 
 Duke of Urbino before his departiu'C at dinner and 
 supper in the Vatican, and presented his nephew, the 
 Prefect, with two magnificently engraved dishes for 
 his bride. But Castigliones pleasure in these events 
 was dimmed by the sad news of his friend Falcone's 
 death, which he received from Casatico that week. 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. 23.
 
 140 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Madonna Liiigia, knowing the depth of her son's 
 feeling for the young Mantuan scholar, sent the first 
 intimation of his premature death to her nephew 
 Cesare, begging him to break the news gently to 
 Baldassare. On August 2 Cesare replied to his 
 aimt's letter in the following words : 
 
 ' I have received a letter from V. M. in which you 
 tell me of our dear Falcone's death. This has caused 
 me the utmost grief, because of his excellent parts 
 and goodness and our intimate friendship, but more 
 than all because M. Baldassare has lost in him so true 
 and faithful a friend. This alone would grieve me as 
 much as anything that could happen now. But since 
 sooner or later we all have to tread the same path, let 
 us make a virtue of necessity, and seek to endure 
 these sorrows with courage and patience. Therefore, 
 knowing JNI. Baldassare to be well and strong at 
 present, and endowed with these qualities, I did not 
 think it necessary to employ any artifice in telling 
 him the news, which naturally distressed him no less 
 than you expected, because of the love that he bore 
 to our poor friend. But since he realizes what we 
 must all feel in regard to those things, he has no need 
 of teaching to enable him to bear his misfortune, and, 
 as 1 think he is writing to you on the subject, I will 
 say no more. Only I will beg you to remember that 
 we are all of good courage, and leading a joyous life 
 here, and are trying to keep oiu'selves in good health, 
 as we all are, thank God, at present. To Your 
 INIagnificence I commend myself, and to M. Jeronimo, 
 wiio will, 1 hope, not abandon the good path on 
 which he had started with our poor friend, even 
 though he has lost his guide.' 
 
 How deep and real Baldassare's sorrow was we 
 learn from the following letter which he addi'essed to 
 his mother two days before Cesare wrote :
 
 DEATH OF FALCONE 141 
 
 ' I can think of nothing but the deatli of poor 
 Falcone, which is always present to my mind. I 
 know not when I shall get over the sadness that 
 oppresses me, and feel that Fate has become my 
 enemy. AVhen I think how few friends in the world 
 I have left, and how I could always depend on this 
 poor fellow, and reflect how from boyhood we had 
 been brought up together, so that there was no one in 
 the world who knew my whole mind so entirely as lie 
 did : when I recall his excellencies, intelligence, and 
 all his rare qualities, and remember how he liad 
 always been my companion in those toilsome studies, 
 of which the poor fellow was just beginning to reap 
 the fruit ; when I think how unexpectedly he has 
 been taken from me in the flower of his age, without 
 a word of farewell, which will, I know, have grieved 
 him more than death itself- — when I remember all 
 these things, I feel that I have good reason to com- 
 plain, because 1 am sure and certain that this is a 
 loss from which 1 can never recover. God knows, I 
 thought of obtaining some good post for him, no less 
 than for my brother, feeling that his long and loving 
 service deserved this. But Fortune has not suffered 
 me to reward him with aught but my tears, which 
 I would at least have liked to shed over his 
 grave. God send him such peace and blessedness 
 as I should seek for my own spirit, whenever it 
 pleases Him to deliver me from this evil world. I 
 can say no more. But I beg you kindly to let me 
 have some particulars of his end : if he died in a good 
 frame of mind, and how he arranged the affairs of his 
 soul and the rest, and where he is biu'ied, because I 
 am very anxious to know these things. Besides this, 
 I hope that Jeronimo, out of regard for the debt that 
 he owes to Falcone's memory, will take the trouble to 
 collect all his writings, and will not allow them to 
 pass into any other hands, but will keep them safely 
 until T come. For if liis death is an irredeemable 
 loss, at least let us not allow those things which
 
 142 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 remain to perish with him. I will say no more, 
 but commend myself ever to you and M. Jacopo, 
 Madonna Polissena, and all the others ; most of all to 
 Jeronimo, who must not cease to navigate his bark, 
 although he has lost a safe and trusted pilot. '^ 
 
 If ever a man had a genius for friendship, it 
 was Castiglione. No one loved his friends more 
 tenderly, or clung to their memories with greater 
 faithfulness. He sorrowed over his brother's tutor as 
 he sorrowed fifteen years later over Raphael, and 
 treasured the fragments which Falcone left behuid 
 him as carefully as every sketch by the great 
 master's liand. JNIany years afterwards, a drama 
 written by Falcone was performed at JNlantua in 
 honour of Castiglione's wedding, and, thanks to tliis 
 loyal friend, the young poet's name was honoured in 
 his native city long after his death. Nor was this 
 touching letter the only tribute which Castiglione 
 paid to his friend. The most beautiful and spon- 
 taneous of all his Latin poems, the elegy of ' Alcon,' 
 was written in memory of Falcone. Shice in these 
 verses he alludes to his brother Jeronimo's untimely 
 end, an event which took place in the summer 
 of 1506, it is clear that Castiglione's poem was not 
 written for more than a year after his friend's death, 
 probably during his journey to England. But when- 
 ever these fine hexameters were composed, they 
 were inspired by genuine love and sorrow — a love and 
 sorrow that everywhere breaks through the thin 
 disguise of pastoral romance and mythological fable 
 in which, after the fashion of the day, he chose to 
 clothe his thoughts. 
 
 Alcon, dead Alcon, is the theme of his song — 
 Alcon, the beloved youth, whose song charmed the 
 
 1 Serassi, i. ti4.
 
 THE POET'S LAMENT 143 
 
 Fauns and Dryads of the woods, whose death the 
 shepherds lament to-day : 
 
 ' Alcon, darhng of Apollo and the Muses ; Alcon, 
 half of my soul, more than half of my heart, what 
 God, what cruel fate, has torn thee from my side ? 
 With thee the happiness of the fields, all our love 
 and joy, have passed away. The foliage of the trees 
 withers, the forest loses its pride and denies the 
 shepherds its shade, the meadows lose their charm, 
 the grass dies, the fountains cease to flow, and the 
 rivers are dried up. The soil is no longer fertile, and 
 the flock wanders without a shepherd. Alas ! un- 
 happy boy, torn from us by cruel Fate ! Never again 
 shall I see thee wrestle with thy comrades or bear 
 off the victory with winged shaft and spear, while 
 the shepherds stand around ; never again shall I 
 fly with thee from the sun's glare on the long summer 
 days to rest in the shade ; no more shall thy pipe 
 soften the stony rocks and thy tuneful song resound 
 through the shady vale. . . . For we lived together 
 from our tenderest years, and shared the heat of the 
 day and the cold of winter nights, and reared 
 our flocks by our common labour. My fields were 
 thine ; we lived one and the same life. \Vhy, then, art 
 thou taken while I am left ? Alas ! in an evil hour the 
 gods led me from my native land ! My hands were 
 not allowed to close thy dying eyes ; my lips were 
 not able to kiss thy cold brow.' 
 
 Here the poet turns to his brother, and envies 
 him for having been present at Alcon's death-bed, 
 for having heard his last words and received his 
 dying breath ; aye, more fortimate still, in that he 
 has followed him so soon to that silent land, where 
 they wander hand-in-hand through the Elysian 
 shades, enjoying sweet converse together, while he is 
 left alone to mourn his lost friend. Fondly he recalls 
 the dreams he once cherished of bringing Alcon to
 
 144 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 the famous shore, dear to the gods of old, where the 
 temples of Latium rise on the banks of Tiber, and 
 in his sleep he seems to see once more the face and 
 hear again the voice of his beloved. But then he 
 wakes, and knows it is all a dream. P'or his comfort 
 he will raise a tomb to Alcon's shade by the winding 
 Anio, and call youths to scatter fragrant flowers on 
 the grassy mound — narcissus and roses and fair purple 
 hyacinths, ivy and laurel — not forgetting cassia, cin- 
 namon, and balsam, to fill the gentle breeze with 
 delicious scents. Here the woodland nymphs will 
 bring violets woven with amaranths, and strew 
 flowers over his grave, and inscribe the stone with 
 this lamentable song : 
 
 ' We loved Alcon greatly, and he was worthy of 
 our love, and worthy, too, of the honour we pay 
 him ; and now that unkind Fate has torn him from 
 us, the stony rocks weep over him. For day is turned 
 into night, light to darkness, and sweet to bitter.' 
 
 Two things strike us when we read Castiglione's 
 poetic lament over his dead ft'iend. Virgil has 
 throughout been his model, the bard whom Mantua 
 had never ceased to honour, whose bust still looked 
 down on the market square of his native city, and to 
 whom Isabella d' Este was even then seeking to raise 
 a more worthy monument. The metre of Baldas- 
 sare's elegy is Virgilian ; the metaphors are borrowed 
 fi'om the ' Georgics ' and the ' Bucolics ' ; the lament 
 over Alcon recalls the wail of Mopsus for Daphnis, 
 the fairest shepherd of the woods. The very name of 
 Alcon, which Castiglione adopted from its similarity 
 to the name of his lamented friend, is borrowed from 
 the fifth eclogue. As in his pastorals Virgil openly 
 adopted the characters and metaphors employed by
 
 MILTON'S ' LYCIDAS ' 145 
 
 Theocritus, so Castiglione honestly tried to copy the 
 Latin poet's example, and fashion his thoughts in the 
 same mould. And as the Renaissance poet caught 
 the notes of the Roman singer, so he in his turn 
 found an imitator in an English bard of the seven- 
 teenth century. The form of Milton's ' Lycidas ' was, 
 it is plain, suggested by Castiglione's elegy of 'Alcon'; 
 his sorrow for his friend's death found expression in 
 the same pastoral strains. He too weeps over a 
 gifted youth, linked to him by the closest ties of 
 friendship, and cut off by an untimely end ; he, too, 
 fondly remembers the vanished hours of happy years 
 spent together : 
 
 ' For we were nursed upon the self-same hill. 
 Fed the same flock by fountain, shade, and rill.' 
 
 The Englishman employs the same imagery as the 
 Italian, and invokes the same gods — Apollo and Pales, 
 Pan and the Dryads. He tells how the woods and 
 desert-caves with all their echoes mourn, and calls 
 on the nymphs and shepherds to bring their flowers — 
 musk-rose and glowing violet, woodbine, amaranth, 
 ' pansy freak'd with jet,' 
 
 ' To strew the laureat herse where Lycid lies.' 
 
 It is interesting to note the succession of literary 
 methods in these matters, and to trace the way in 
 which the same ideas and metaphors are handed on 
 by Greek, Latin, Italian, and EngUsh poets through 
 different ages and nationalities. In this distin- 
 guished company our courtier is able to hold his 
 own. Virgil's song may have a sweeter and more 
 melodious sound ; Milton's verse strikes a higher 
 note ; but it is Castiglione's pride to stand between 
 the two, and to have left us a poem which can com- 
 pare not unworthily with the strains of either bard. 
 
 VOL. I. 10
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 1.505-1506 
 
 The Duke of Urbino leaves Rome and joins the Duchess at Gubbio 
 — Serafino's poem on the ducal court — Guidobaldo's illness — 
 Castiglione sent to Mantua — Detained at Ferrara by Francesco 
 Gonzaga's threats — He narrowly escapes imprisonment — 
 Returns to Fossombi'one — The court moves to Urbino — 
 Castiglione's ' Eclogue ' performed at the carnival festivities. 
 
 In the middle of August the Duke of Urbino finally 
 left Rome and returned to his own realm. But the 
 severe winter had produced a terrible famine in 
 Urbino, and this in turn had been followed by an 
 outbreak of the plague. ' As many as 300 died in 
 tlie city, more from hunger than disease,' writes the 
 diarist ; ' corn rose to five and six ducats a bushel, 
 and every one left Urbino, which was quite deserted 
 till Christmas.' In May the Duchess moved to 
 Gubbio, and remained there with the court through- 
 out the summer and autumn. This ancient city, on 
 the southern slopes of the Apennines, looking down 
 on the valley of the Tiber, had been a favourite 
 residence of Elisabetta from the day of her marriage. 
 The warm climate of this sheltered spot suited her 
 delicate health better than the more exposed situation 
 of Urbino, and it was Guidobaldo's delight to beautify 
 the palace which had been his birthplace. The noble 
 central court still retains its lofty columns and 
 giaceful arches, and was probably the first work 
 
 146
 
 AT GTIBBIO 147 
 
 designed by the architect Laurana for Duke Federico, 
 whose name and arms adorn the doorways. Giovanni 
 Santi praises the beauty of the site, and describes 
 the palace as turned towards the south and western 
 skies, with its back resting against the mountain- 
 side, sheltered from rude Boreas, and commanding 
 a view over the Tiber Valley, so fair and wide that 
 it even surpasses the loveliness of Urbino. 
 
 * Cum si dolce veduta che Urbino excede e le sue dolce calle.'^ 
 
 Guidobaldo proceeded to adorn the interior with 
 elegant carved bas-reliefs and rich ceilings of gilded 
 and painted wood, and a local artist — Antonio 
 Maffei— decorated his study with exquisitely wrought 
 intarsia representing books, musical instruments, 
 military weapons, birds and flowers. Sixty years 
 ago the inscription Ct. Ubaldo Uilv and the badge 
 and motto of the Garter were to be seen in this little 
 room which ri^'alled Federico's cabinet at Urbino. 
 But Time has dealt still more hardly with the ducal 
 corte at Gubbio. In the last century it was stripped 
 of all its rich decorations ; the carved mantelpieces 
 and priceless intarsias were put up to auction, and 
 sold to the highest bidder ; while the palace itself 
 was turned into a silk manufactory. Nothing of the 
 Duke's once splendid home now remains but the 
 shell of the building and the fountain in the garden 
 that was Elisabetta's especial delight. 
 
 It was here, in this magnificently furnished palace, 
 which charmed the eyes of Isabella d' Este when she 
 visited Gubbio eleven years before, that Castiglione 
 and his comrades joined the Duchess on their return 
 from Rome. 
 
 ^ ' Rime di Giovanni Santi.' 
 
 10—2 
 
 t
 
 148 COUNT BAT.DASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 ' By the grace of God,' he wrote to his mother 
 on August 23, ' we have arrived safely and well at 
 Eugubbio, where we have found our Lady Duchess 
 also in good health. I do not know how long we 
 shall stay here, as we may have to go to Fano on 
 account of some events which are happening there.' 
 
 He goes on to tell her of the heavy expenses 
 which he has incurred during the last few months, 
 owing to the high price of corn and provisions, 
 and confesses that he has been obliged to borrow 
 140 ducats in Rome, 55 of which must be repaid to 
 an agent at Bologna by the end of September. 
 
 ' I know,' he adds, ' that this part of my letter will 
 not please you ; but I was compelled to borrow this 
 money, and am anxious to keep my credit in Rome, 
 so that if I should suddenly require a larger sum I 
 should be able to raise it without difficulty. So I 
 pray you kindly to supply me with the needful sum 
 by the time I name. I hear that many persons are 
 still dying of the plague at JMantua, which seems to 
 me very strange. God help them !'^ 
 
 But neither anxieties about money, nor the ravages 
 of the plague in other cities, nor even his grief over 
 Falcone's death, prevented Baldassare from enjoying 
 the next few weeks at Gubbio. The Duchess, as 
 usual, was surrounded by a brilliant company, and 
 the Duke's return became the signal for new festivi- 
 ties and amusements. Bembo, indeed, had been once 
 more obliged to tear himself away from the pleasant 
 society which he enjoyed so much ; but Iiis rival 
 Vincenza Calmeta, 1' Unico Aretino, Fra Serafino, 
 Ottaviano and Federico Fregoso, were all there, and 
 
 ^ Serassij i. 25.
 
 A BRILLIANT PARTY 149 
 
 the Duchess's hrother, Giovanni Gonzaga, Cesare, 
 and Lodovico Pio of Carpi, arrived from Rome with 
 the Duke. On the same day that Castighone wrote 
 to his mother, Serafino addressed an epistle in Latin 
 verse to the INIarchesana Isabella, telling her that 
 r Unico Aretino has just been reciting a capitolo 
 and sonnet of his own composition—' with what 
 charm I cannot tell you !' — in the presence of the 
 Lady Duchess, Madonna Emilia Pia, JNIesser Bal- 
 dassare Castiglione, M. Cesare Gonzaga, the Fregoso 
 brothers, Lodovico Pio, Calmeta, Hieronimo Gallo, 
 and Giovanni Andrea Ruberto.^ 
 
 Serafino proceeds to tell Isabella of his own visit 
 to Rome, and laments that he has left that glorious 
 city, but says that the Duchess is even greater and 
 dearer in his eyes than Rome, and that neither the 
 Eternal City nor heaven itself can tear him from her 
 side ! Another visitor who came to Gubbio that 
 summer, although he is not mentioned by name in 
 Serafino's doggerel verses, was Isabella's chosen artist 
 and faithful servant, Lorenzo da Pavia. On July 8 
 this gifted organ-maker, who had known Castiglione 
 both at Milan and Mantua, arrived at the court 
 with letters from the JNIarchesa, and was graciously 
 welcomed by Elisabetta and her music-loving lord. 
 But in September Guidobaldo fell seriously ill, and 
 for a few days his life was in danger. Happily, 
 this time he recovered, and as soon as he was 
 fit to travel the court moved to Fossombrone, 
 the Forum Sempronii of the Romans, where Duke 
 Federico had built a fair villa in a sheltered valley, 
 watered by running streams and open to the sea- 
 
 ^ V. Cian, in ' Archivio st. Lombardo,' viii. 412.
 
 150 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 breezes of the Adriatic. Castiglione himself now went 
 to the Baths of S. Casciano, in Tuscany, and wrote 
 the following letter to his mother on September 20 : 
 
 * As I have been absent from home so many days 
 and months, and see no prospect of coming to see 
 you at present, I have decided to send Francesco, 
 who will tell you about my affairs better than T can 
 do by letter. I know you are longing to liear from 
 me, and he can bring me your letters. For ever 
 since I received one from you, together with another 
 directed to M. Cesare, telling him of the death of 
 poor Falcone, I have heard nothing. But this, I 
 expect, has been owing to want of messengers. In 
 this letter I need not say much, as Francesco will tell 
 you all you want to know. Now I am at the Baths 
 of S. Casciano for my foot, which was never properly 
 cured. It is already very much better, and would 
 have been quite cured if I had come here a little 
 sooner ; but the cause of my delay was the grave 
 and dangerous illness of the Lord Duke, who, how- 
 ever, thank God, is now convalescent. But he gave us 
 all a great fright, especially the poor liady Duchess. 
 God in His mercy would not allow so terrible a 
 disaster ! I wrote to you the other day by M. Gio. 
 Pietro's servant about the debt which, owing to the 
 famine and other inevitable expenses, I incurred in 
 Rome. Now I send my servant on the same errand, 
 because the fifty-five ducats will be due at the end of 
 this month, and I would not lose my credit in Rome for 
 a thousand reasons, especially as 1 have managed to 
 keep it till now. For if I required half a thousand 
 ducats, I need only open my lips to have them ; and 
 this is important if I am to effect anything for my 
 brother as well as for myself. So I beg Yom* 
 Magnificence to manage by some means to let me 
 have this money as quickly as possible. I shall await 
 Francesco at Fossombrone, and when he is back, if, 
 as I trust God may grant, the Duke is out of danger
 
 CRISTOFORO ROMANO 151 
 
 and there is no business of importance, I hope to 
 come to Mantua, if possible, for a fortnight ; for I 
 wish above all else to see you and the other members 
 of our family. Meanwhile you must try and keep 
 well, and I will do the same. ^ly journey to England, 
 as far as I can make out, is not to take place this 
 winter.'^ 
 
 Fortimately, Castiglione found the Duke restored 
 to health on his return to Fossombrone. The court 
 resumed its former gaiety, and new visitors arrived 
 to add lustre to the daily gatherings in Elisabetta's 
 rooms. In November Bembo arrived from Venice, on 
 a flying \isit to the March, with another popular per- 
 sonage, whose musical talents and witty conversation 
 made him as great a favourite at Mantua and Urbino 
 as he had been at Milan — the sculptor Cristoforo 
 Romano. Castiglione greeted him as an old friend, 
 and heard many interesting particulars regarding both 
 Milan and JNIantua from his lips. Now the sculptor 
 was on his way to Rome, and brought with him as a 
 present to the Duchess his beautiful portrait-medal 
 of the jNIarchesana Isabella, which excited as much 
 admiration at the court as it does in our own time. 
 Not a little mirth was caused on this occasion by a 
 trick which the Duchess played upon her adorer, 
 r Unico Aretino. At her suggestion Cristoforo 
 showed Accolti the medal which he had been desired 
 to give the poet, and told him that he could not 
 spare one for him, upon which the jealous Aretine 
 broke into bitter reproaches. So violent was his 
 anger that some months later Isabella felt obliged to 
 write a letter to the sculptor, feigning the greatest 
 displeasure at his forgetfulness in obeying her orders, 
 and begged Cristoforo to show Accolti this note, ' in 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. 25.
 
 152 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 order to keep the secret and save the Duchess's 
 reputation.'^ 
 
 By December most of the guests were gone ; 
 Bembo was back in Venice, and Cristoforo in Rome, 
 wliere he gave Isabella's messages to the Holy Father, 
 and told her how eagerly her presence was desired by 
 Madonna Felice and the Cardinals. Guidobaldo, who 
 remained at Fossombrone for the good of his health 
 throughout the winter, now decided to send Cas- 
 tiglione to JNlantua, on a secret mission to his brother- 
 in-law, Francesco Gonzaga. He wished the Marquis 
 to be informed of the Pope's designs against Venice, 
 and of the more immediate attack upon Perugia and 
 Bologna which His Holiness was meditating. A^o 
 one seemed to him better fitted to discharge this 
 delicate and important task than Francesco's own 
 subject and loyal servant. Hitherto Castiglione had 
 only acted as one of the gentlemen in attendance on 
 his lord, whether in private or public, in the camp at 
 Cesena and Forli, or at solemn functions of state in 
 Rome and at Urbino. We have seen him succes- 
 sively in the part of student, soldier, and courtier. 
 Now for the first time he entered on the diplomatic 
 career in which many of the best years of his life 
 were spent. The Duke had by this time known him 
 long enough to realize how admirably fitted lie was 
 by nature and education for such a task. Not only 
 was his presence handsome and dignified, his manners 
 courtly and persuasive, but he possessed a rare tact 
 and quick observation that made him invaluable 
 in business transactions of a difficult and delicate 
 nature. His fine scholarship and ready command 
 of language were further qualifications of great im- 
 
 ^ A. Venturi, in 'Arte,' i. 131.
 
 AN INTERRUPTED JOURNEY 153 
 
 portance in these days, when Latin was the recognized 
 means of diplomatic communication, and ambassadors 
 were constantly required to deliver long and eloquent 
 orations. But, above all, Castiglione, as the Duke 
 knew well, was absolutely loyal and trustworthy, and 
 he could place the most implicit confidence in him. 
 Since his journey to England had been put off till the 
 spring, and Castiglione was eager to see his mother, 
 he accepted the task gladly, and set off before Christ- 
 mas on this errand. But when he reached Ferrara 
 his high hopes were suddenly dashed to the ground 
 by a secret intimation which he received from one 
 of his friends, not to proceed to Mantua, as the 
 Marquis had given orders for his arrest. He at once 
 sent a messenger to his mother, explaining his delay, 
 and received a reply, telling him on no account to 
 set foot in Mantua. The letter which he wrote to 
 Luigia in answer shows how bitterly he felt this dis- 
 appointment and how keenly he resented his old 
 master's injustice : 
 
 ' When I sent Alessandro to Mantua, I purposely 
 endeavoured to conceal the fact that I was here on 
 my Lord Duke's service, fearing that it might pro- 
 duce a bad impression to see his servant treated 
 with such little regard. So this morning I rode out 
 of Ferrara as if 1 were going to INIantua, and took 
 shelter in a house two miles off, where I am in 
 hiding, and only my own friends know that I am 
 still here. Now that I have seen your short letter, 
 merely saying that I must not come for all the world, 
 I feel that I was well advised, since you are aware 
 that I was sent here by the Duke, who is always 
 very careful in the choice of his envoys, especially 
 in these times, and when they are sent on sucli 
 important missions. I am sorely perturbed at the
 
 154 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 thought of the grave and serious danger of the 
 obstacle that blocks my way, although you do not 
 clearly state what it is. All the same, I would not 
 turn back, but have sent an urgent dispatch to the 
 Lord Duke, begging him to let me know his pleasure, 
 and have made up my mind to await his answer, 
 and come to Mantua without fear of danger or 
 respect of persons, if this seems best to him. The 
 messenger cannot return for five or six days, so I 
 am waiting here. jNly presence is hidden from most 
 people, and only known to a few, chief among whom 
 is my I^ord Cardinal.^ 
 
 ' Just now I met some one who told me he had 
 travelled from Mantua with a messenger who was 
 sent by the Lord Marquis to arrest me in his 
 name ; but Messer Cesare Gonzaga, the brother 
 of M. Giulio, told him that 1 had already left 
 Ferrara for Mantua, and repeated this so decidedly 
 that the rider turned back on his authority. So 
 I settled to ask you to consult M. Gio. Pietro 
 on this subject ; for if the danger is not very clear 
 and manifest, I will gladly come, and should like the 
 Marquis to know that 1 am here. If I do not 
 come, I know my Lord Duke will feel great in- 
 dignation, and 1 should be very sorry if he should 
 be annoyed, most of all on my account. For my 
 own part, I would not hesitate to come, even with- 
 out receiving the Duke's answer, because I know his 
 mind, although I have had as yet no letters or orders 
 from him. So that I trust you will take prompt 
 action, for the thing is very serious, and may be 
 attended with evil results — all the more that I really 
 could not say why 1 am turning back, and every one 
 here knows that 1 was coming as an ambassador. I 
 beg you to send a messenger as soon as possible, 
 and commend myself to you. 
 
 'Ferrara, 5 p.m., December 24, 1505.'- 
 
 1 Ercole d' Este. - Serassi, i. 27.
 
 RETURN TO FOSSOMBRONE 155 
 
 Fortunately, Castiglione's doubts and difficulties 
 vv^ere quickly settled by a message from the Duke, 
 recalling him at once, and early in the New Year he 
 set out on his journey southward. On January 5, 
 1506, he wrote as follows to his mother : 
 
 ' To-day — INIonday — I have received your letter by 
 Carlo da Villanova, and the day after to-morrow at 
 latest I retin*n across the mountains. His Excellency 
 my Lord Duke and my I^ady Duchess have recalled 
 me, although my lord writes that he should not 
 dream of doing this because of the Marquis's objec- 
 tions, and would have been glad to see what might 
 have happened ; but after hearing the warnings which 
 I have recei\'ed, he would not allow me to run any 
 risks, as I am too dear in his eyes. So I will return 
 to yonder place, where, if other things are lacking, at 
 least I am sure of a welcome. 1 beg you to send me 
 those things which I need so much by Brognolino or 
 some other way. Jeronimo must certainly ha\e a 
 mule. 1 will endeavour to procure him one in our 
 part of the world. I send you the Confessional by 
 Francesco, who has begged me to let him go home 
 on account of his mother's deatli, and hope you will 
 listen to certain things which I have desired him 
 to tell you, chiefly as to one IVI. Niccolo Frisio, who, 
 I liear, is at JNIantua. I very much hope you will be 
 good to him, because he was exceedingly kind to me 
 during my illness in Rome. I do not expect you 
 to receive him with great ceremony, but oidy to 
 treat him as well as you can, for I know that he 
 loves me much. Madonna Barbara Torella, or Benti- 
 voglia [wife of Ercole Bentivoglio, and afterwards 
 of Ercole Strozzi], and her sister, Madonna Orsina, 
 commend themselves to you, and also Madonna 
 Simona Strozzi.^ I have borrowed ten ducats from 
 
 ^ Simona degli Uberti, wife of Tito Strozzi's son Guido, and cousin 
 of Luigia.
 
 156 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Messer Timoteo [Bendedei], and have told him that 
 you will repay them.' 
 
 Once back at Fossombrone, Castiglione was re- 
 ceived with marked favour by the Duke and Duchess, 
 and consoled himself in the society of his friends for 
 the annoyances which he had received elsewhere. 
 Unfortunately, Francesco Gonzaga's displeasure had 
 a baneful influence on his brother's prospects, and 
 caused IMadonna Luigia great distress. Baldassare 
 did his best, like the good son that he was, to comfort 
 and reassure his mother ; but the task was not always 
 easy. Then his sister Polissena's husband, Jacopo 
 Boschetto, a gouty, querulous invalid, was always 
 taking offence at some supposed affront or wrangling 
 over his wife's portion with his mother-in-law. 
 
 * I have not yet answered your letters, because 1 
 have been always on the move, and Francesco found 
 me at Sinigaglia. I was glad to see your statement 
 of expenses, and one thing alone vexed me, which 
 was that Your Magnificence should be worried. 
 But we are all born into this world for trouble, and 
 as I know, the thought that you are working for 
 me lightens the burden greatly, so of this I will 
 say no more. Some day I hope to rest, and you 
 shall do the same. As for M. Jacopo, you must 
 decide as you think best ; and, indeed, there is nothing 
 in the world I would not do to satisfy him. If he 
 is not content with the interest we pay him, I will 
 gladly sell any part of my estate that he wishes to buy, 
 all the more because I am convinced that he thinks 
 he is doing us a great favour in only asking eight per 
 cent, from us ; and I, on the contrary, feel sure this 
 sum would not produce as much if it were put out 
 at interest. For one thing, whoever takes over the 
 mortgage will not complain all day as he does ! I 
 have written to him four or five times without getting
 
 CARDINAL GONZAGA 1.57 
 
 an answer, which is contrary to my habit. I know- 
 not why I do this, but will write once more, and 
 after that never again. I am not writing to Jero- 
 nimo now, but will write to him by the muleteer. 
 The Cardinal has sent me word by Signor Giovanni 
 [Gonzaga] that he has finally decided not to take 
 Jeronimo into his service, for fear of annoying the 
 Marquis by favouring persons of whom he is not over- 
 fond, especially since I have incurred his displeasure 
 so lately. If I thought well to ask my I^ord Duke, 
 or, better still, the Duchess, to speak to the Marquis 
 on the subject, he would be very glad ; but I do not 
 deceive myself as to the true state of things, and 
 know that one lady alone has already done her best 
 for me. If I importunate the Duke and Duchess 
 again, it shall be for something more useful and 
 honourable for Jeronimo than this post, so do not 
 say a word of this to anyone, for good patrons will 
 not be lacking. I think my journey to England 
 will certainly take place in April, but do not speak 
 of it to many people, for fear some obstacle should 
 intervene and I should be held up to ridicule. 
 
 ' FossoMBRONE, Februorij 26, 1506.'i 
 
 The ' one lady ' to whom Baldassare alludes in 
 this letter as having already exerted herself warmly 
 on his behalf was, of course, Elisabetta. The 
 Duchess had taken advantage of her brother Sigis- 
 mondo's recent elevation to the Cardinalate, through 
 Guidobaldo's influence, to ask Francesco's leave for 
 M. Baldassare to pay his respects to the Most 
 Reverend JNlonsignore. Early in February the new 
 Cardinal set out for Rome, laden with costly presents 
 from his fellow-citizens, and the Duchess sent a 
 letter to the Marquis by Isabella's secretary, Battista 
 Scalona, begging leave for Castiglione to meet Sigis- 
 
 "■ Cod. Vat. Lat, 8210.
 
 158 COUNT BALDASSARK ( ASTIGLIONE 
 
 mondo on his journey. The Marquis, however, 
 vouchsafed no answer, and on February EHsabetta 
 renewed her request, saying that her lord had gone 
 to Sinigaglia for a few days, and had desired her to 
 write in his stead and beg him to grant M. Baldas- 
 sare this favour. ' I pray Your Excellency to allow 
 this,' she added, ' that so he and Monsignore may 
 enjoy a few days together, to their mutual consola- 
 tion and pleasure.' But the Marquis preserved a 
 stony silence, and Baldassare wisely judged it best to 
 take no further steps to conciliate him.^ 
 
 At the end of February the court returned to 
 Urbino. Guidobaldo, who had not been there 
 since he left for Rome, more than a year before, 
 received an enthusiastic welcome from his subjects, 
 and carnival was celebrated with a gaiety unknown 
 since the days before Cesare Borgia's invasion. 
 The chief feature of the festivities was the per- 
 formance of a pastoral play composed by Castiglione 
 and Cesare Gbnzaga, and recited by them in costume 
 before the Lady Duchess and a brilliant company. 
 In the following dedicatory epistle, addressed to 
 Elisabetta by Cesare Gonzaga when this play of 
 ' Tirsi ' was printed during Castiglione's absence in 
 Rome, the two friends are named as the joint authors 
 of the piece : 
 
 ' Since, last carnival, some pastoral verses were 
 composed by the most noble cavalier Messer Bal- 
 dassare Castiglione and myself, which, as Your High- 
 ness will remember, were pastorally recited in your 
 presence ; and as we seek no other reward for our small 
 labours than to see them graciously acknowledged by 
 Your Highness, it has seemed good to me to put 
 
 ^ Archivio Gonzaga, Carteggio di B. Castiglione.
 
 A PASTORAL PLAY 159 
 
 them together and send them to you. We dedicate 
 them to you with the greatest pleasure, both be- 
 cause we know that no one will receive them more 
 kindly, and because they contain some mention of 
 yourself under the veil of allegory, although not, in- 
 deed, in those terms of infinite praise which you 
 deserve . . . But you will deign to look graciously 
 on our good intention, and remember that even the 
 gods are pleased with the honours paid them by 
 mortals. '1 
 
 But although Cesare certainly took part in the 
 representation, and probably helped his cousin with 
 his advice and suggestions, the composition was 
 chiefly, if not entirely, Castiglione's work, and we find 
 the poem described by Bembo in a letter to the 
 Duchess as ' Messer Baldassare's Eclogue.'^ 
 
 These ' Stanze Pastorali ' were the first ambitious 
 effort of Castiglione's Muse in the lingua volgare^ 
 whose claims Bembo and his companions defended 
 so resolutely. The ottava rim a adopted by him on 
 this occasion, and the general style of the eclogue, 
 are plainly borrowed from Poliziano's ' Orfeo,' that 
 pastoral drama which had been first acted at the 
 court of Mantua, and remained a favourite model of 
 Renaissance poets. But the imagery and metaphors 
 introduced show once more how deeply he had 
 drunk from classical sources, and how familiar he was 
 with the works of Virgil and Horace, of Ovid and 
 Catullus. Petrarch's influence is also strongly felt, 
 while not a few passages bear a strong likeness to 
 Bembo's ' Asolani,' a book that was already popular at 
 the court of Urbino. To us the chief interest of the 
 poem consists in the allusions which it contains to 
 the different personages of the ducal court. The 
 
 ^ Serassi, ii; 237. ^ ' Lettere/ iv. 36.
 
 160 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 allegory, as usual in these palace representations, is 
 thinly veiled. The Duchess is the central figure of 
 the group — the milk-white Galatea, for whom the 
 shepherd lola (Castighone) pours forth his love and 
 pain in strains that melt the hard rocks and draw 
 the wild beasts from their lair — the goddess who has 
 her home on the winding banks of ' bel Metauro,' 
 and moves along these happy shores, attended by 
 lovely maidens, robed in white and garlanded with 
 flowers, singing and making music as they go. To 
 her all the shepherds of the country bring their 
 flocks and herds, singing of their love and lost free- 
 dom, and strewing flowers in her way. With them 
 come a troop of strangers from other lands, attracted 
 by the fame of her beauty and goodness. One there 
 is, famous above all others — a shepherd from the 
 shores of Adria, who for her sake would fain leave 
 his own land and come to dwell in this country, and 
 is heard singing softly ' Alma cortese.'^ Next comes 
 another from the banks of Mincio, whose name is 
 honoured and beloved by every shepherd in yonder 
 land, and who has been crowned victor in every con- 
 test. ^ Here, too, we have the aged seer,^^ the Nestor of 
 the troop, with the laurel on his brow and Apollo's 
 lyre in his hands, whose counsel is precious to all his 
 comrades, attended by another youthful swain '^ who 
 has suffered cruelly at Love's hands and fills the air 
 with the sound of his complaints. Yet one more there 
 is, a wise and learned shepherd, skilled in all the arts, 
 whose praises are heard on every shore and by every 
 
 ^ Bembo, who had lately added a dedication to the Duchess to 
 his poem on his brother Carlo's death, beginning with these words. 
 - Count Lodovico Canossa, Castiglione's cousin. 
 3 Morello da Ortona. 
 ^ Roberto da Ban.
 
 THE MAGNIFICO 161 
 
 fountain. He has come across the mountains from 
 Etruria, and as lie goes he sings a love-lorn lay : 
 
 * Se fusse il passo mio cosi veloce.' 
 
 From this description we recognize Giuliano de' 
 IMedici, the youngest and best of the great Lorenzo's 
 sons. Born in 1479, and exiled from Florence with 
 his brothers in 1494, he had found a refuge in Rome, 
 and was always a welcome guest at the court of Ur- 
 bino, where he probably spent this carnival. The Mag- 
 nifico, as he was commonly called there, inherited his 
 illustrious father's love of splendour and keen interest 
 in letters, together with much of the charm which 
 had made his uncle Giuliano so popular in Florence. 
 Beneath his taste for fine clothes and luxurious 
 surroundings, there was a kindliness and gentleness 
 that endeared him to his companions, and more 
 especially to Castiglione, who became one of his most 
 intimate friends. His naturally dreamy and melan- 
 choly turn of mind made him take delight in poetry, 
 and the line which is quoted here belongs to a sonnet 
 preserved in the Biblioteca Nazionale at Florence. 
 
 Other well-known personages are also introduced 
 — the rare viol-player, Jacopo di Sansecondo, called 
 the ' Secondo,' but first in skill among all the 
 musicians who pay homage to the goddess and her 
 nymphs ; the peerless lady, Emiha Pia, who never 
 leaves her mistress's side, and charms the savage 
 beasts with her gentle voice : 
 
 ' Una fra tutte lor v' e clolce e pia 
 Ch' accanto della Dea sempre si vede.' 
 
 Last of all we have Guidobaldo himself, the huon 
 Pastorc, who reigns over these blessed regions, where 
 under his paternal rule shepherds and sheep enjoy 
 
 VOL. 1. 11
 
 162 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 eternal peace and rest secure from the snares of 
 cunning wolves. He is the good Duke, the Prince 
 whose fame has gone out into all lands, glorious as 
 the sun in its splendour, clement and just, wise, 
 learned, and good. This, then, was the dramatic 
 eclogue that was ' pastorally recited ' in the halls of 
 Urbino on the last day of carnival, 1506, in the 
 presence of Elisabetta and her court. Castiglione 
 himself and his cousin Cesare took the two chief parts 
 of lola and Dameta, and at the end a chorus of 
 shepherds joined in singing the praises of the divine 
 lady who had stooped from heaven to bless this land 
 with her presence. A vioresca, or morris-dance, ' the 
 most beautiful,' we are told, ' that had ever been 
 performed at Urbino,' concluded the entertainment, 
 and nymphs, shepherds, cavaliers, and ladies, passed 
 hand-in-hand into the banquet-hall, singing as they 
 went. We can imagine the delight with which Cas- 
 tiglione's graceful verses were received, and the 
 compliments and praises that were showered upon 
 the author. The Duchess was graciously pleased to 
 ask for a copy of the play, which she sent a few 
 weeks later to Bembo at Venice. This copy, there 
 can be little doubt, was the book of verses ' written 
 in beautiful characters on parchment, with a dedi- 
 catory letter from Cesare Gonzaga, and bound in 
 black velvet with wrought silver clasps,' which the 
 Duchess preserved among her most precious treasures, 
 and which her great-nephew, Guidobaldo II., pre- 
 sented long afterwards to Castiglione's grandson 
 Cristoforo.i 
 
 * BefFa-Negrini, 415 ; Marliani, 330.
 
 Photo, Alinari. 
 
 GIULIAXO DE' MEinCI. 
 
 BY ALLORI, AFTER RAPHAEL (I'lFIZl). 
 
 To face p. lii-.', Vul. I.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 1506-1507 
 
 Castiglione sent to Rome with the Prefect — Report of a Mantuan 
 spy — Castighone's mission to England — Raphael's St. George 
 — Francesco Gonzaga's horses — Death of Jeronimo Castiglione 
 — Balclassare starts for England — Perils of the voyage — Ship- 
 wreck of the King and Queen of Castile — Castiglione in London 
 and at Windsor — His installation at St. George's — Gifts of the 
 King — He returns to Urbino. 
 
 When the fetes of this gay carnival were over, 
 Baldassare found time to write to his mother again, 
 and sent her a present of four bunches of figs by his 
 muleteer. These figs, he explained, were to be 
 divided between herself and his sisters, Polissena, 
 Francesca, and Suor Laura. 
 
 ' And since it is Lent I will confess my sin, which 
 is that I lend these figs out at interest, and expect 
 that you in return will send me some salt meats 
 or cheese. Madonna Polissena will do the same, and 
 Madonna Francesca might add some of her quince jelly 
 or other preserved fruits. From Suor Laura I ask 
 for nothing but prayers, especially now my expedi- 
 tion to England is to take place soon, if nothing, 
 as I trust in God, should come to interfere with it 
 this time. I should be very glad if you could send 
 me the shears from Milan, and the chest which I 
 ordered a thousand years ago from those carpenters 
 in town. I should also like to have any canvas that 
 
 163 11—2
 
 164 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 was left after making that old tent, as I want clothing 
 for my horses. When 1 was at Ferrara I asked you 
 for some black cloth for making a pair of hose, but 
 you did not reply. I wish to have it now, but prefer 
 white to black, and should like it to be very fine and 
 sufficient to make me a pair, and would rather have 
 too much stuff than too little. I do not like to write 
 about my own affairs, as I see you are so fearful that 
 you hardly dare speak of them. But I am anxious 
 to know what is happening ; if things have settled 
 down, and if kinder words, or at least less unkind 
 ones, are spoken of me. Directly after Easter I think 
 the Lord Prefect will come to JNIantua. Most of 
 the Duke's servants will accompany him ; but I shall 
 not come, either then or later, until I can be quite 
 sure of a better reception than I should have at 
 present. Here, by the grace of God, we are all well 
 and happy. The Lady Duchess is going to Rome, at 
 any rate before Lent is over. I have no other news, 
 but my servant, II Rosso, will be able to tell you 
 more by word of mouth. I hope that you will send 
 me some of your good salt meats, for here they are 
 much appreciated, especially by His Excellency our 
 Lord, and I should be very glad for him to taste 
 some of our own. In order to escape paying toll, 
 you might get a pass for them in the name of the 
 Marquis or Madonna, so that they should appear 
 to be sent to the Duke — if, indeed, I am held worthy 
 of so great a favour ! Do not forget the money 
 that I owe M. Timoteo. When our IMonsignor of 
 Mantua is here with us, I mean to thank him for his 
 kind intention to take my brother into his household 
 if it had been possible, and beg to be allowed to find 
 him another patron, with a thousand fine words ! 
 Then when I go to Rome, as I must do before my 
 journey to England, I am sure to be able to find a 
 new patron. I will also contrive to see you, only you 
 must on no account mention my expedition. 
 
 ' Urbino, March 5, 1506.
 
 IN ROME 165 
 
 ' The I^ady Duchess my mistress begs to be com- 
 mended to you and to JMad. Polissena, and sends the 
 enclosed for her coinatre JNIad. Francesca.'^ 
 
 The precarious state of Guidobaldo's health led 
 Elisabetta to abandon her intended visit to Rome, 
 but towards the middle of April the young Prefect 
 was sent to wait on the Pope in his imcle's stead. 
 Castiglione accompanied him, together with several 
 of his friends — Lodovico Canossa, Giuliano de' JNledici, 
 and Lodovico Pio. They were a joyous party and 
 lodged in Canossa's house, and enjoyed the beauty of 
 the spring-time, the sights of Rome, and the splendours 
 of the Vatican to the full. Baldassare was treated 
 with marked favour by the Pope and the ladies of 
 the Rovere family. But the Marquis Francesco's 
 suspicions followed him even in Rome, where a 
 certain Augustinian friar, Girolamo Redini,^ who 
 was fond of meddling in politics, acted as a spy 
 upon his actions and reported them to JNIantua. On 
 April 20 the Prefect and the gentlemen of his suite 
 were present at an audience given by the Pope to the 
 envoys of the Duke of Savoy. On this occasion 
 Girolamo Eremita made good use of his eyes and 
 ears, and the next day sent the Marquis the following 
 letter containing the result of his observations : 
 
 ' The coming of Baldassare Castiglione has, I find, 
 nothing to do with his mission to England, which he 
 tells me is not to take place for another month. I 
 have not seen him again since the day after my 
 arrival. Count Lodovico Canossa tells me that the 
 INIagnifico Giuliano de' INIedici has taken him away 
 from his house, and that he has not seen him since. 
 But that is their usual way of talking ! I will spy 
 
 ^ Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210. ^ ' Isabella d' Este,' i. 125.
 
 166 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 out their actions and let you know what his move- 
 ments are.' And then, as if a quahn of conscience 
 had suddenly seized him, he adds : ' It is true that I am 
 sorry to be mixed up in this sort of business, in which 
 one cannot speak well of every one, and in which one 
 is obliged not to mention the names and actions of 
 certain persons.'^ 
 
 Castiglione and his friends could afford to laugh at 
 the prying fi'iar, but the sore rankled in the young 
 man's breast, and he felt more convinced than ever that 
 his lord's ears had been poisoned by malicious slanders. 
 Unluckily, Madonna Luigia chose this moment to 
 administer a rebuke to her son for his extravagant 
 habits. In spite of her regard for the Duchess, she 
 had never cordially approved of Baldassare's exchange 
 of masters, and now she began to realize that the 
 path he had chosen was not likely to lead to fortune. 
 Money was scarce at Urbino, his salary was small and 
 irregulary paid, and expenses were heavy. So the 
 cautious mother took this opportunity of exhorting 
 her son to greater prudence and more rigid economy. 
 Baldassare not unnaturally resented this good advice, 
 as we see from the following letter : 
 
 ' I received the letter which you sent me by II Rosso 
 here in Rome, where I came on business ten days 
 ago, and where I shall remain another four or five 
 days, after which I hope to return to Urbino, and 
 soon come to Loir-oardy on my way to England. 
 I will not reply to all that you say, because I wrote 
 fully the other day by Signor Giovanni's messenger. 
 But in answer to your remark that it is sometimes 
 necessary to use self-restraint, and not spend more 
 than one has, I must say that I do not think I 
 deserve this reproach. If you consider how many 
 
 ^ ' Archivio storico Italiano,' appendice, ii. 278.
 
 EXPENSES 167 
 
 servants and horses I have had to keep during the 
 last two years, and where I reside, you will own that 
 I have not been as extravagant as you suppose. If 
 you consider what you spend a year in JMantua, 
 where you do not have to buy bread, wine, or wood, 
 nor yet corn for horses, and live in your own house, 
 while I am deprived of all these advantages, you 
 will see that I could hardly have spent less. 
 Sometimes, indeed often, I have not known in the 
 morning what I should have for supper at night, 
 but am ready to bear anything gladly rather than lose 
 the small reputation which I have acquired ; not that 
 I intend to play the part of a noble lord or fine 
 gentleman, which I neither can nor wish to be. I 
 do not deny that I might have practised a more strict 
 economy in some things ; none the less, there is no 
 serious disorder in my affairs, and of this I will say 
 no more now. ... I think my coming will be very 
 soon, but after the fine reception that I met with last 
 time I do not intend to show so little regard for 
 the Most Illustrious Lord Marquis of Mantua's wishes 
 as to set foot in his territories. I think my best plan 
 will be to come to Gazzolo,^ where I would gladly 
 meet you if you would consent to come there. Give 
 me your advice on the subject and I will act upon it. 
 I have no time to write to JNIadonna Francesca or 
 M. Tommaso. Please kindly commend me to them, 
 and thank them for their present, which was most 
 welcome. 
 
 ' Your obedient son, 
 
 'B. C. 
 
 'Rome, April 28, 1506.'2 
 
 A fortnight later Baldassare returned to Urbino 
 with the young Prefect and his companions. They 
 would have gladly remained another week to be 
 present at the wedding of Francesco Maria's fair 
 
 ^ Bishop Lodovico's residence, near Casatico, 
 2 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210.
 
 168 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 cousin Felice, who, after refusing to wed the land- 
 less Prince of Salerno, now became the bride of 
 Giangiordano, the strong-willed and eccentric chief 
 of the Orsini house. But the Pope, fearing to recall 
 the splendours of Lucrezia Borgia's wedding, would 
 not allow any festivities to be held at his niece's 
 marriage, which was celebrated, not in the Vatican, 
 but in her brother Cardinal Galeotto della Rovere's 
 palace of the Cancellaria. Full details of Giangior- 
 dano's strange proceedings on this occasion were duly 
 reported to the court of Urbino, where Madonna 
 Felice's marriage was a topic of absorbing interest. 
 
 Both the Pope's JNIaster of Ceremonies, Paride 
 de' Grassi, and Emilia Pia describe how the bride- 
 groom kissed the blushing bride at the conclusion 
 of the ceremony, nmch to her confusion and to 
 the surprise of her kinsfolk, after which he insisted 
 on walking through the streets to his house on 
 Monte Giordano, amid a shower of confetti from the 
 spectators at the windows. Here no preparations 
 had been made for the bride's reception. The rooms 
 were in disorder, and the supper was of the scantiest 
 kind. Two shoulders of mutton, half a lamb, half 
 a kid, one capon, and three bowls of blancmange, 
 fragments of the dinner held at the Vice-Chancellor's 
 palace, had been brought round, and lay heaped 
 together in the same dish, without even a knife or 
 fork, so that the guests had to help themselves with 
 their fingers. Worse than all were the antics of the 
 bridegroom. He put his hat on Felice's head as 
 they walked through the streets, and kept one of 
 his pages' hats on his own head during the meal, talking 
 Spanish and French at random all the while. ^ How- 
 
 ^ Giustiniani, ' Dispacci,' iii, 439 ; Luzio e Renier, ' Mantova e 
 Urbino/ 179.
 
 RAPHAEL'S ST. GEORGE 169 
 
 ever, this marriage, which began in so inauspicious a 
 manner, turned out very happily. Fehce's good sense 
 and cleverness prevailed, and, as the Pope had fore- 
 seen, the influence which she obtained over her 
 strange husband proved no inconsiderable factor in 
 Italian politics. Throughout the changes of the next 
 twenty years she was loyal to her own family, and 
 remained one of Castiglione's best friends to the end 
 of her life. 
 
 On Baldassare's return to Urbino, preparations for 
 his journey to England were pressed forward. The 
 Duke was anxious to show his appreciation of the 
 high honour paid him by King Henry VH., and took 
 great pains in choosing suitable presents for his 
 acceptance. Beside the customary gifts of valuable 
 horses and dogs and falcons which his father, Duke 
 Federico, and other Italian princes had sent to 
 Edward IV^. and Henry VII. on similar occasions, 
 Guidobaldo determined to give the English monarch 
 a present which should gratify his well-known interest 
 in the art of Italy. This was a picture painted by 
 one of the Duke's own subjects, that would give 
 King Henry some idea of the perfection to which 
 art had attained at Urbino. The subject of the 
 picture was St. George, the patron saint of the order 
 of the Garter, and the painter selected for this 
 honourable task was Raphael of Urbino. Although 
 for the last two years the young master's time 
 had been chiefly spent in Florence, he still paid 
 occasional visits to his home, and was at Urbino for 
 some weeks during this spring. So in obedience to 
 the Duke's orders — it may be at Castiglione's own 
 suggestion — he painted the beautiful little panel of 
 St. George riding full tilt at the dragon which now 
 adorns the Hermitage at St. Petersburg. His father
 
 170 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 had devoted several stanzas of his poem to the praise 
 of ' il gran Re Eduardo ' and this illustrious order, 
 worn first of all, according to him, by King Pepin 
 of France. The poet had in eloquent language 
 described the insignia of the Garter, and the device 
 inscribed in gold letters upon the blue ribbon : ' Passu 
 perir chi pensa altri die bene ' — ' Honi sort qui mal y 
 pense.' Now his son placed the word Honi on the 
 Garter worn by the warrior saint, and his own name, 
 Raphello V., and delivered the panel to Castiglione's 
 keeping, to be presented by him to His Majesty of 
 England. 
 
 As Castiglione had told his mother, it was necessaiy 
 that he should be knighted before he set out on his 
 journey, since, in the quaint wording of the ancient 
 statutes of the Order of the Garter, the proctor or 
 deputy who was installed in place of the new member 
 ' must be in degree at least a knight, ennobled with 
 arms and of unblamable conversation, incorruptible 
 fame, without any manner of reproach.' Accordingly, 
 the Duke invested Castiglione with the honour of 
 knighthood at Urbino, probably at the Easter festival, 
 since in Cesare Gonzaga's dedicatory letter of the 
 eclogue the author is described as ' the INIost Noble 
 Knight Baldassare Castiglione.' And the letters 
 addressed to him on his journey are inscribed with 
 the title Eques. 
 
 Baldassare's departure, however, was delayed for 
 some months, chiefly owing to the difficulties made by 
 Francesco Gonzaga, whom Guidobaldo had asked for a 
 horse of his famous IMantuan breed, as a present for 
 His Majesty of England. There can be no doubt 
 that Francesco's unwonted reluctance to oblige his 
 brother-in-law on this occasion arose from the spite 
 which he still cherished against Castighone. Yet
 
 FRANCESCO GONZAGA 171 
 
 Baldassare did his utmost to remove this antipathy. 
 On May 19 he himself addressed a humble petition 
 to the INIarquis, asking for leave to pay his respects to 
 His Excellency on the way to England, and assuring 
 him that he was still his devoted servant, and that he 
 hoped to live and die his subject. The concluding 
 words of this letter show how deeply Castiglione felt 
 the imputation of disloyalty under which he rested : 
 ' God grant that one day Your Excellency may at 
 least allow me to know the cause of my disgrace, and 
 bring me face to face with those who have persuaded 
 you that I am not your true servant, for then I should 
 count myself to be most fortunate. ' ^ 
 
 This letter Baldassare sent to his uncle, Gian 
 Pietro, begging him to deliver it to the Marquis, 
 while by the same messenger he wrote a note to his 
 mother, informing her of the step that he had taken : 
 
 ' Whatever answer I receive, good or bad, I hope to 
 see you at Casatico, or, failing this, at Gazzolo. But 
 as for making an excuse of the plague for not going 
 to Mantua, that I think would be superfluous, all the 
 more since the whole of Urbino knows that the Lord 
 Marquis would not allow me to come to INIantua last 
 time, and I expect this is also well known at JNIantua. 
 ... I am preparing to start very soon, and will let 
 you know my movements shortly. Meanwhile, if 
 you can beg, borrow, or buy a good horse for my 
 journey I shall be very grateful. 
 
 'Urbino, May 30, 1506.'2 
 
 At length the Marquis so far relented as to agree 
 to let the Duke have the horse and falcons for which 
 he had asked, and on July 4, we learn from the 
 
 1 Contin, ' Lettere Diplomaticho,' p. 11. 2 Cod. Vat. Lat, 8210.
 
 172 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Urbino diarist,^ 'Messer Francesco Ceci, a son of the 
 Gonfaloniere of this city, and M. Giulio da Cagh, 
 were sent by the Duke to England with JNI. Baldas- 
 sare di Castiglione, to take presents of three horses to 
 the King of England, who gave him the Garter last 
 winter.' But since the Marquis vouchsafed no reply 
 to Baldassare's request, the kind Duchess made a 
 last attempt to soften his heart, and wrote to beg 
 permission for Baldassare to visit Casatico and embrace 
 his mother and brothers and sisters before he started 
 on his long and perilous journey. This letter, 
 couched in the most persuasive terms, was sent to 
 Mantua on July 8 with another from the Duke, 
 informing his brother-in-law of Messer Baldassare's 
 departure, and begging that he might take the horse 
 and falcons which Francesco had at length agreed to 
 send to England. 
 
 ' We thank you infinitely for your promised gifts, 
 and feel surp they will redound to your honour 
 and credit with His JNIajesty of England. Messer 
 Baldassare will start on his journey from here to- 
 morrow. Be so good as to send these things to him 
 on his passage through your dominions, a road which 
 he will gratefully take by your leave. You can then 
 tell M. Baldassare if you have any business in those 
 lands, and I have charged him to execute any orders 
 that you may give him with the same faithfulness and 
 diligence as our own.'^ 
 
 But the Marquis still remained obdurate, and Cas- 
 tiglione was not allowed to visit Casatico. In his fit 
 of bad temper he made difficulties about the horse, 
 and told his brother - in - law that the charger in 
 
 ^ Cod, Vat. Urb., 904. 
 
 2 Archivio Gonzaga, Carteggio di B. Castiglione.
 
 HORSES FOR ENGLAND 173 
 
 question would be thrown away, since in England no 
 one cared for big horses. Guidobaldo, in reply, ex- 
 pressed great surprise at this objection, and recalled 
 the examples of his father, Duke Federico, of Ercole 
 d' Este, and of King Ferdinand, who had all sent 
 horses of this size to the King of England, on being 
 invested with the Order of the Garter, because they 
 understood them to be more acceptable than any 
 other present. * So that, having considered the 
 subject long and seriously, and having heard from 
 England that, among other gifts, a big horse would 
 be especially acceptable to His JNIajesty, we have 
 decided to send this one.' 
 
 This letter was written on August 4, before Cas- 
 tiglione left Gazzolo. But his troubles with the 
 JMantuan charger were not yet at an end. When 
 he reached Milan, ten days later, he found that the 
 horse which the Marquis had finally sent in reply 
 to Guidobaldo's renewed request was nearly blind. 
 In his perplexity at this vexatious discovery, he con- 
 fided his difficulties to the Marquis's old Master of 
 the Horse, Niccolo Christo, whom he met in Milan, 
 and who immediately pronounced the horse in 
 question quite unfit for a present to a royal sovereign, 
 and promised to take it back to Mantua. Soon after his 
 return on September 8, the honest servant addressed 
 the following letter to his master, in which he gives 
 a full explanation of this unfortunate accident, which 
 was probably the work of some of Baldassare's enemies 
 at court : 
 
 ' When I was at Milan with Signor Alberto di 
 Carpi, Messer Baldassare di Castiglione arrived with 
 two horses on his way to England. One of these 
 belonged to Your Excellency's breed, but had a
 
 174 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 serious infirmity, being blind of one eye and seeing 
 little with the other. This being the case, he 
 naturally felt it would not do Your Excellency 
 honour to take anything to England but what was 
 exquisite and perfect of its kind. And as I had to 
 return to Mantua, he begged me to take it back, 
 which I am about to do. I left JNIilan last Thursday, 
 and reached Casatico on Sunday evening. There 
 I left the horse in good hands. I spoke to the JNlost 
 Reverend Lord Cardinal, who replied that he would 
 not meddle in this affair, so I write to ask for Your 
 Excellency's orders, and will do what you will. The 
 horse is in the stable of ^ladonna Luigia di Cas- 
 tiglione, who will do as Your Excellency commands.' 
 
 The Marquis was at Perugia with the Pope's forces 
 when his old servant's letter reached him, and sent a 
 brief note to his brother. Cardinal Sigismondo, whom 
 he had left in charge at Mantua, begging him to attend 
 to the matter. ' I beg your Highness,' he wrote on 
 September 18, 'to send to Casatico for the horse 
 which Baldassare di Castiglione has sent back, and 
 see that it is placed in a stable and properly tended.'^ 
 
 In a letter to his mother from Milan, Baldassare 
 thus alludes to this vexatious incident : 
 
 ' 1 do not know if this wiU reach you before our 
 good friend INI. Niccolo's arrival. He is bringing back 
 the horse which has been, and is still, the cause of 
 infinite trouble. However, I have endured so many 
 worse things that I must bear this, too. I entreat you 
 not to vex yourself, as perhaps even this mischance 
 will be for the best in the end — at least, so I try to 
 persuade myself I beg you to see that the greatest 
 care is taken of the horse, saddle, and all his trappings, 
 headpiece and clothing, and especially that the iron- 
 
 ^ Archivio Gonzaga, Carteggio di B. Castiglione.
 
 DEATH OF JERONIMO 175 
 
 work of the saddle is not allowed to get rusty, so 
 that the horse be restored exactly as we received 
 it, excepting, it may be, in better condition ! . . . 
 M. Niccolo,' he adds, ' will tell you more about this 
 blessed horse — would to God I had never seen it ! — 
 and you can put implicit faith in him. I should like 
 the groom to return as soon as possible, and for this 
 reason you might lend him a horse, which I will 
 have sent back by Crema. Please do not fail to tell 
 me if you hear what the JMarquis says on the subject.'^ 
 
 But Baldassare had heavier cares than this on his 
 mind when he started on the mission to which he 
 had looked forward with such high hopes. Early in 
 August, probably while he was still at Gazzolo, his 
 brother Jeronimo died. The death of this poor lad, 
 following so quickly on that of his beloved Falcone, 
 was a great shock. Baldassare, as we have seen from 
 his letters, was full of hopes for Jeronimo's future, 
 and had through his powerful friends in Rome abeady 
 secured him one lucrative benefice, the Priorate of 
 Marcaria, close to Casatico. A letter addressed to 
 Castiglione by Cardinal Gonzaga shows how general 
 was the sympathy felt for him and his widowed mother 
 in this fresh bereavement : 
 
 ' Magnificc Vh\ A mice iioster charissime^ — We are 
 deeply grieved to hear from your letter of the sudden 
 and melancholy death of your brother Jeronimo, whom 
 we loved for many reasons. The great loss which both 
 you and your mother have sustained must cause you 
 profound sorrow. But knowing as we do that both 
 of you are full of wisdom, and seeing that for death 
 there is no remedy, we exhort you to be patient, 
 remembering that we must all of us journey by the 
 same road. It is needless for you to commend your 
 
 ^ Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210.
 
 17G COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 mother to me, because we have that honour and 
 reverence for her which a matron, endowed as she is 
 with every virtue, deserves. Go happily on your 
 journey, which, we pray God, may prosper according 
 to your wishes. Your mother will be ever in our 
 thoughts, and so will everything else that belongs to 
 you. We beg you to condole with her in our name, 
 and tell her that we will do all that is in our power 
 to help both her and you. I^t bene valete. 
 
 'Ex Marengo, August, 1506.' i 
 
 The Cardinal, we see from this letter, entertained 
 the kindliest feelings for Baldassare and his mother, 
 although he prudently shrank from meddling in his 
 brother's quarrels. 
 
 After waiting at Milan some days longer in hopes 
 of receiving important dispatches from Urbino, 
 Castiglione decided to continue his journey on Sep- 
 tember 4. The evening before his departure he 
 wrote two letters to his mother, and sent them by 
 Scaramella. In the first, after repeating his orders 
 regarding the INIarquis's horse, he added : 
 
 ' I hope to start to-morrow, and trust I may have 
 a good journey. I leave Francesco here to await the 
 return of the groom who is taking the horse back, 
 and the two will join me together, and will, I hope, 
 bring me letters from you and those from Urbino 
 which I have been anxiously expecting. For the 
 future, please send all letters to the house of the 
 Vismari or of Monsignor della Torre, and they will be 
 forwarded to me. I send Madonna Francesca a fan, 
 which I did not let her have before because I was so 
 muddle-headed as to fancy it was meant as a remem- 
 brance for you, but which I find JNI. Margherita 
 meant for her. By the by, when M. Francesca 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211.
 
 A FAN FOR FRANCESCA 177 
 
 writes to her again, I hope she will address her letter 
 " Alia Signora mia onoranda" not " niajora mia 
 onorandcL' This, you may say, is a trifling error ; 
 but I should prefer to see it corrected. The fan 
 seems to me very beautiful, although I do not think 
 there will be much use for it this season, as the 
 mosquitoes are not very troublesome. I should like 
 the enclosed letters for Urbino to be sent by some 
 trusted messenger — not by post, but by some safe 
 channel, for the love of God ! One of the Cardinal's 
 servants would do well, if he has not yet started. 
 Post-scripta : 1 have taken the liberty of opening the 
 letter which M. Francesca wrote to Sig. JNIargherita, 
 and see that she did not understand what I said, 
 which was that JNI. JNIargherita sent her this fan as a 
 present, and also these veils, for which I paid nothing, 
 and am now sending.' 
 
 In a second letter, written a few hours later, he 
 acknowledged the receipt of one of August 27 from 
 Madonna Luigia, informing him of the death of his 
 sister Polissena's poor little boy, who had, it appears, 
 been ill for some time : 
 
 ' It seems indeed as if God had visited us very 
 often of late. I am deeply grieved for M. Jacopo 
 and M. Polissena, who are, I am sure, sorely dis- 
 tracted. I send by Niccolo the mourning veils for 
 which you asked, and the fan which the Illustrious 
 Lady Margherita Sanseverina sends you to give 
 JNI. Francesca, liaving heard that I was going to 
 send her one. It would be well for her to write and 
 thank her. I am sorry M. Tommaso is ill. I will 
 say no more for the present, but only beg you 
 to try and keep well and of good courage, for 
 there is nothing I desire more earnestly than this. 
 Messer Niccolo will supply all my omissions by word 
 of mouth. 
 
 ' Milan, September 3, 1506.' 
 
 VOL. I. 12
 
 178 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGIJONE 
 
 Castiglione's concern for his sorrowing mother, 
 whose tears he was not allowed to dry, is evident 
 from the letter which he addressed to her on Sep- 
 tember 20 from Lyons : 
 
 ' I know not when this letter will reach Your 
 Magnificence, but 1 write to thank you for yours 
 which I received from Francesco, who joined me here 
 in Lyons, where I arrived safely and well, thank God, 
 and am spending four days to rest the horses, which 
 had suffered a little from the journey across the 
 mountains. To-morrow, if it pleases God, I shall set 
 out again on our journey. I am very glad to hear 
 that M. Tommaso has recovered, but very sorry for 
 M. Jacopo and INl. Polissena. They, too, must bear 
 these inevitable troubles with patience. I know not 
 what comfort to give you as to the things which have 
 happened at home, except to beg you not to distress 
 yourself; for if Fortune is as changeable as men say, 
 surely we may look for some prosperity before long. 
 I commend myself with all my heart to you, and 
 so do my companions, and 1 beg you to try and 
 keep well and commend me to all our family, most 
 of all to Suor Laura.' 
 
 The dangers of this distant journey to unknown 
 lands may well have filled Madonna Luigia with 
 alarm, and the passage of the Channel in winter was 
 dreaded by every traveller. Pope Julius himself, 
 while still Cardinal di S. Pietro in Vincula, had 
 intended to visit England during his exile in France, 
 but on reaching Calais, he abandoned his intention 
 because of the roughness of the Channel. Only a 
 few months before, King Philip and Queen Joanna 
 of Castile had been shipwrecked off Portland on their 
 way from Zeeland to Spain, and had been forced to 
 wade to shore, up to the waist in water ! King 
 Henry had immediately sent Cardinal Adriano
 
 PERILS OF THE CHANNEL 179 
 
 Castellesi, the Italian Bishop of Bath, with money 
 and clothes to the help of his dear cousins, and had 
 entertained them for a week at Richmond — indeed, 
 as Philip wrote to the Emperor JNIaximilian, he 
 could not have done more for them if he had been 
 their father. But this was poor comfort to the 
 Venetian Ambassador, Vincenzo Querini, who, after 
 undergoing unspeakable terrors for two days at sea, 
 found himself stranded at Falamona (Falmouth), a 
 wild and lonely spot, on the extreme point of the 
 island nearest to Spain, and 250 miles from Antona 
 (Southampton), where the sole human beings to be 
 seen were a few barbarous natives, whose language 
 and customs were entirely different to those of 
 Londoners.^ 
 
 Since it was impossible to procure horses, the Am- 
 bassador was compelled to wait until he was joined 
 by the King and Queen, who declared they would 
 rather stay at Falmouth six months than set sail again 
 in bad weather ! Twice over the royal travellers and 
 the terrified Venetian tried to start, but had to put into 
 port agam, and it was not till the end of April that 
 they finally set sail for Spain, and were able to perform 
 their vows at S. Jacopo's shrine. 
 
 All this had reached Castiglione's ears through 
 Querini's friend Bembo, and the story of the Vene- 
 tian ambassador's miraculous escape from drowning 
 by the special intervention of St. Peter and St. Paul, 
 to whom he cried in his distress, had been repeated 
 in all the courts of Italy. Fortunately, the Duke 
 of Urbino's envoy fared better. He crossed that 
 * dangerous sea, the Channel of England,' in safety, 
 and landed at Dover on October 20. Here he was 
 
 ^ Sanuto, vi. 295, 315, ' Calendar of State Papers in Archives 
 of Venice,' edited by Rawdon Brown, i. 311-314. 
 
 12—2
 
 180 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 met by Sir Thomas Brandon, whom the King had 
 sent to receive him in His Majesty's name, and bring 
 him to London. 
 
 ' Heretofore,' writes Ashmole, the seventeenth- 
 century historian of the Order of the Garter, 'the 
 Soveraign hath caused the Proctor of foreign Knights 
 of the Order to be received with great state, for so, 
 on the 20th of October, the twenty-second year of our 
 soverain lord, King Henry VII., there landed at Dover 
 a noble ambassador. Sir Balthasar Castileon, sent 
 hither from the Duke of Urbin, whom Sir Thomas 
 Brandon, Mdth a goodly company of his own servants, 
 well horst, met at the Seaside ; and thence continually 
 kept company with him, till they came neer Dept- 
 ford in Kent ; where by the Soveraign's command, 
 he was met by Sir Thomas Dokara, Lord of St. 
 John's, and Sir Thomas Wriothesley, alias principall 
 Garter King-of-Arms. The said Sir Thomas Dokara 
 had attending him thirty of his servants, all in new 
 liveries, well horsed, every Gentleman bearing a 
 Javelin in his hand, and every Yeoman a Bow and 
 a sheaf of arrows, and so they conveyed him to his 
 lodging. The next day they conducted him to 
 London, and by the way there met him divers 
 Italians, and Paulus de Gygeles, the Pope's ^^ice- 
 Collector, to whose house he was conveyed and 
 there lodged.' ^ 
 
 Polidoro Vergilio, who held the office of Vice- 
 Collector of Peter's Pence at this time, and enjoyed the 
 special favour of Henry VII., was a native of Urbino. 
 He had accompanied his kinsman, Cardinal Adri- 
 ano Castellesi, to England, and had been appointed 
 to the rectory of Church Langton, in Leicestershire. 
 Afterwards he became Prebendary of Lincoln and 
 
 ^ Elias Ashmole, ' Institution and Laws of the Ordei* of the 
 Garter,' 1692, Appendix, p. 440 ; J. Anstis, 'Register of the Order 
 of the Garter,' 1724, vol. i. 257.
 
 ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 181 
 
 Archdeacon of Wells, but is chiefly known as the 
 author of a ' Latin History of England, which was 
 undertaken at Henry VII. 's suggestion, and dedicated 
 to his successor. Before the author left Italy, he had 
 dedicated a book on proverbs to Duke Guidobaldo, 
 and was naturally delighted to welcome an envoy 
 from Urbino. But there were many Italians in 
 London at this time, and in Polidoro's house Cas- 
 tiglione found himself surrounded by compatriots. 
 Henry VII. had always encouraged Italians to settle 
 in England, especially Venetians and Florentine 
 merchants, with whom he often conversed on Italian 
 affairs, and who were full of admiration for his wealth 
 and financial skill. ^ 
 
 ' This kingdom,' wrote a Milanese envoy to Lodo- 
 vico Sforza, ' is perfectly stable, first by reason of the 
 King's wisdom, whereof every one stands in awe ; 
 secondly, on account of his wealth, for I am informed 
 that he has more than six millions of gold, and saves 
 500,000 ducats yearly ; which is easy for him, as his 
 revenue does not merely exist on paper, but is a real 
 and great thing. And, what is more, he never spends 
 anything.' 
 
 Besides employing ' notable men in Rome,' such as 
 Cardinal Adriano or Silvestro Gigli and Giovanni 
 of Lucca, he liked to have Italians about his person. 
 Pietro Carmeliano of Brescia was his secretary and 
 court-poet, Polidoro his friend and adviser, and when 
 Silvestro Gigli succeeded his uncle as Bishop of 
 Worcester, Henry kept him at court to act as Master 
 of Ceremonies and receive distinguished foreigners.^ 
 Castiglione, who had known the Bishop intimately 
 in Rome, and had originally hoped to travel to 
 
 1 P. Vergilio, 'Hist.,' p. 6l5. 
 
 2 L. Einstein, 'Italian Renaissance in England,' p. 18 1.
 
 182 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 England in his company, must have rejoiced to find 
 this friend at court, and was, no doubt, introduced by 
 him to the royal presence, when, two days after his 
 arrival, he went to see the King at the palace of 
 Greenwich. Here he delivered his credentials, and 
 offered His Majesty the presents sent him by the 
 Duke of Urbino — the horses and falcons and Raphael's 
 little St. George — in an eloquent Latin oration. 
 Castiglione evidently made a very favourable impres- 
 sion on the King, who could himself speak Italian, 
 and who not only received him very kindly, but in- 
 vited him to repeat his visit the next day. Baldassare, 
 on his part, was equally gratified at this cordial 
 welcome, and at the interest which His Majesty 
 showed in Italian affairs, even though he owned that 
 he found them ' difficult to follow, because Italian 
 powers were so changeable.' But the English 
 monarch, as Castiglione soon discovered, was ad- 
 mirably well informed and thoroughly acquainted, 
 not only with the general state of affairs, but also 
 with the personal character and attributes of the 
 different Princes who ruled over Ferrara, Mantua, 
 and Urbino.^ 
 
 In tJie midst of these absorbing occupations Bal- 
 dassare found time to write a hurried note to his 
 mother : 
 
 ' I know that you are longing to hear from me, 
 and I write whenever I can. You must know that 
 on November 1 I arrived here in London, which is 
 the capital of England, safe and well, thank God, 
 and was most honourably escorted to this city. At 
 the end of two days I was summoned to have an 
 audience of His Sacred JNIajesty the King, who 
 treated me with the greatest honour and kindness, 
 
 1 ' Ven. Calendar of State Papers/ i. 260.
 
 LONDON 183 
 
 and does more for me every day. So I hope to 
 satisfy the wishes of my dear Lord, and also please 
 His Alajesty, and return before long safely to Italy, 
 please God ! Here I met an ambassador from the 
 King of France, who has given me a letter from you, 
 which I am very glad to have, although it is already 
 old, being an answer to mine which I sent from 
 JNIilan by Scaramella. 1 have nothing to say in reply, 
 but that I am very well indeed, which I know you 
 will be glad to hear, and I shall hope to hear the 
 same of you. 
 
 'London, November 6, 1506.' 
 
 The next day Henry issued the following commis- 
 sion, which has been preserved among the Garter 
 records : 
 
 ' Henry, by the grace of God, King of England 
 and France, Lord of Ireland, Soveraign of the Most 
 Noble Order of the Garter, to our Right Trusty and 
 Well-beloved cousins, the INIarquis of Dorset, the 
 Earl of Surrey, Treasurer of England, and the Earl 
 of Shrewsbury, Steward of our Household, com- 
 panions of the said Order, greeting. Forasmuch as 
 we understand that the right noble prince, Gwe de 
 Ubaldis, Duke of Urbin, who was heretofore elected 
 to be one of the companions of the said noble Order, 
 cannot conveniently repair unto this our realm per- 
 sonally to be installed in the Collegiate Church of 
 that Order, and to perform other ceremonies where- 
 unto by the said Order he is bound, but for that 
 intent and purpose hath sent a right honourable per- 
 sonage, Balthasar de Castilione, Knight, sufficiently 
 authorized as his proctor, to be installed in his name, 
 and to perform all other things for him, to the 
 statutes and ordinances of the said Order requisite 
 and appertaining : We therefore, in consideration of 
 the promises, will, and by these presents give you 
 licence, full power, and authority not only to accept
 
 184 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 and admit the said Balthasar as proctor for the same 
 Duke, and to receive his oath and instal him in the 
 Heu and place and for the said Duke, but also, 
 further, to do therein as to the statutes and laudable 
 usages of the said Order it appertaineth, and this our 
 writing shall be to you and every one of you sufficient 
 discharge in that behalf 
 
 ' Given under the scale of our said noble Order 
 of the Garter, at our mannor of Greenwiche, the 
 7th day of November, the 22nd year of our reign.' 
 
 On the following day Castiglione rode down to 
 Windsor, along ' the faire causeway ' which King 
 Henry VII. had lately made between London and 
 that town, escorted by three noble peers ' and a 
 gallant equipage.' At Windsor he was entertained in 
 the Dean's lodgings, where a costly and sumptuous 
 supper was prepared at the King's expense. The 
 Dean who had the honour of being Castiglione's host 
 on this occasion was Dr. Christopher Urswick, the 
 King's Almoner, one of the most generous friends 
 of Erasmus, who dedicated his Latin version of 
 * Lucian's Dream ' to his ' best and kindest Chris- 
 topher, in gratitude for many civilities and favours.' 
 Since he had been made Dean, Urswick had entirely 
 rebuilt the Deanery, and a picturesque fragment of 
 his work is still preserved, while his arms are to be 
 seen on the fan-vaulted roof of St. George's Chapel. 
 The last foreign visitor to Windsor had been no less 
 a personage than King Philip of Castile, who, after 
 being wrecked off Portland, had been magnificently 
 entertained by Henry VII. and installed as Knight 
 of the Garter. The splendours of that occasion 
 were still fresh in the Dean's mind, and M. Baldas- 
 sare was told how the Castilian monarch hunted in 
 the park and played rackets in the new tennis-court
 
 AT WINDSOR 185 
 
 with my Lord of Dorset, while King Henry looked 
 on and his daughter Lady Mary danced and played 
 the lute ; how he attended mass and heard a French 
 sermon at St. George's. After this His JNIajesty spent 
 the rest of Sunday in horse-baiting and masques, and 
 finally rode off by the river-side, ' all the children of 
 Eton standing along the barres of St. George's 
 Cherche-yard,' to see His Majesty's departure.^ 
 
 The next morning Castiglione was led by three 
 Knights of the order through the door of the Chapter- 
 house, into the choir of St. George's Chapel, where 
 the blue velvet mantle with the red-cross shield and 
 the collar and George were laid on the stall assigned 
 to the Duke, Then the ' proxie,' as he is termed in 
 the Garter book, kneeling at the altar, took a solemn 
 oath on the Gospels in the name of the Lord Duke, 
 and vowed to keep the statutes of the order in- 
 violable, and to defend to the best of his power ' all the 
 liberties and franchises belonging to the College of 
 Our Most Blessed Lady and the holy martyr George, 
 where this most noble order was founded.' 
 
 When the ceremony of installation was ended, the 
 ' proxie ' was conducted by his brother Knights to the 
 Dean's great chamber, where a banquet was prepared 
 at the King's charge, and Castiglione sat in the place 
 of honour and was served alone, the other Knights 
 being seated at the end of the table. It was the 
 custom for the newly-made Knight or his ' proxie ' to 
 pay heavy fees to the priests, choir, vicar and vergers, 
 sextons and bell-ringers, of the College of Windsor, 
 and to give alms to ' poore Knights of the founda- 
 tion'; but, fortunately for Guidobaldo and Cas- 
 tiglione, the fees of foreign Princes were paid by 
 
 * Ashmole, i53 ; Tighe and Davis, ' Annals of Windsor,' i. 434.
 
 186 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 the King, and all the ' proxie ' had to do on this 
 occasion was to bestow a largess on the college. 
 We do not hear how long Baldassare remained at 
 Windsor, or if his companions took him hawking the 
 next day in the Forest, and showed him some of that 
 great variety of sport which mightily pleased a French 
 Count who came to England not long afterwards 
 on the same errand for his King. But we know 
 that on his return to London he paid visits to 
 all the Knights of the order in town, as was the 
 custom, and was feasted and hospitably entertained 
 by each in turn. After this he was sent for by the 
 King, and went down again to the royal palace at 
 Greenwich. 
 
 This time he was welcomed with even greater 
 kindness than before, and the King seems thoroughly 
 to have appreciated the charm of his guest's con- 
 versation. Perhaps, like the Venetian Captain, 
 Vincenzo Capello, M. Baldassare was invited to dinner, 
 and heard the widowed Princess of Wales, Katherine 
 of Aragon, and her young sister-in-law. Lady Mary, 
 play the spinet. But it is certain that he was pre- 
 sented to Henry, the young Prince of Wales, and 
 was as much impressed by his talents and love of 
 letters as Erasmus, who came to England in this 
 same year. To this visit we owe the splendid com- 
 pliments M'^hich are paid to Henry VHI, by the author 
 of the ' Cortegiano ' in his chapter on good monarchs : 
 ' Look,' cries Ottaviano Fregoso, ' at my Lord H enry, 
 Prince of Wales, now growing up under his great 
 father in every form of excellence, like a tender shoot 
 in the shade, a fruit-laden tree, to become even more 
 beautiful and fruitful in its time. For, as our Cas- 
 tiglione writes from England, and promises to tell us 
 more fully on his return, it seems as if in this prince,
 
 LEAVES ENGLAND 187 
 
 Nature were bent on showing her power by collecting 
 the virtues of many persons in one man.'^ 
 
 As soon as the Christmas festival was over he left 
 London, bearing friendly messages and letters for the 
 Duke, as well as many valuable presents. The King 
 gave Castiglione himself several horses and dogs, and, 
 what he valued still more, a gold collar of SS links, 
 such as was commonly worn by English judges, and is 
 familiar to us in Sir Thomas JNIore's portrait, bearing 
 two pendant portcullises and the royal badge of 
 the Tudor rose in gold and silver. This collar 
 Baldassare treasured in after-life as his most precious 
 possession, and finally left as an heirloom to his 
 descendants. Then he set out on his homeward 
 journey, having successfully accomplished his lord's 
 mission and greatly increased his own reputation. 
 On January 26, 1507, he reached Lyons, and sent 
 his mother a short note, telling her that he was in 
 the best of health and spirits, and hoped soon to 
 tell her with his own lips all that he had seen and 
 done. By February 9 he was at JNIilan, and sent 
 a servant to tell his mother of his safe return : 
 
 ' You will have heard from Francesco that, by the 
 grace of God, I have arrived safe and sound in 
 INlilan, and intend to spend a short time here. Now 
 I send this messenger to ask you how matters stand, 
 and if you think I had better come straight to 
 Casatico without asking leave, or if I had better 
 apply to the IMarquis. For my part, I am inclined 
 to think it might be as well to inform His Excellency 
 of my return, and beg permission to visit my lady 
 mother at Casatico, so as to show him due respect, 
 and to see if His Excellency would allow me to come 
 to Mantua. I enclose a letter which I have written 
 
 ^ ' Cortegiano,' iv. 38.
 
 188 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 to M. Tolomeo, begging him to inform His Ex- 
 cellency that I have reached Mantua, and, with his 
 gracious permission, would gladly come to see you 
 at Casatico. But I leave the matter to you. You 
 might consult M. Gio. Pietro, and send Francesco to 
 meet me at Crema.^ 
 
 ' MiLANj February 9, 1507. 
 
 ' P.S. — If you do not think it well to give 
 M. Tolomeo the letter, you need not trouble 
 about it.' 
 
 Madonna Luigia delivered her son's letter to the 
 powerful secretary at Mantua without delay ; but 
 either he proved a false friend, or else the JNIarquis 
 was still obdurate and refused to allow Castiglione 
 to do more than spend a few days at Casatico. On 
 the 13th Tolomeo sent a note couched in his usual 
 suave language : 
 
 ' Magnifico M. Baldassare, — I rejoice as much 
 as any of your friends to hear of your safe and 
 honoured return. Our Illustrious Signor's reply to 
 your petition is that he is willing to allow you to go 
 and spend a few days with your mother at Casatico 
 as you desire. And I beg your lordship to give me 
 your further commands in anything in which I am 
 able to do you service, and to believe that I would 
 more gladly serve you than receive the greatest 
 favours from others.'^ 
 
 The moment this letter reached Baldassare he 
 hastened to Casatico, and Madonna Luigia had the 
 joy of embracing her son once more She was 
 not, however, allowed this pleasure long, and four 
 days later he continued his journey southward. 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat, 8211. 2 i^id.
 
 RETURN TO URBINO 189 
 
 On the 20th he reached Bologna, where he found his 
 master the Duke in attendance on the Pope, and was 
 able to give him a full report of his mission. Two 
 days later the Duke left Bologna with the Holy 
 Father, as Baldassare informed his mother : 
 
 ' Your Magnificence will be glad to hear that, by 
 the grace of God, I arrived here at Bologna safe and 
 well, and found His Holiness the Pope as well as the 
 Lord Duke. They have both left Bologna to-day, 
 and I hope to follow them to-morrow, and fear I 
 shall not be able to return to Casatico this Easter, as 
 the Duke does not wish it. Meanwhile I should be 
 grateful if you could procure me some money to 
 pay the twenty-five gold ducats which 1 borrowed 
 from Vismara, as well as some things which 1 bought 
 of him. Then there is my debt to JNIonsignore of 
 Ferrara, which I know you will be anxious to 
 discharge.' 
 
 This was a sum of 200 ducats which Cardinal 
 Ippolito d' Este had sent Baldassare, when he was 
 at IMilan on his way to England, with a kind letter 
 wishing him a prosperous journey, and begging him to 
 bring back some fine horses for his use. The young 
 knight had apparently only spent fifty of the 
 Cardinal's ducats, and was anxious to repay the 
 remainder as soon as possible. 
 
 ' Please send Francesco to Milan to pack up those 
 bi.rds which I left there, and give them to the Vismari 
 to be sent to Mantua. And as the Duke wishes to 
 give Cardinal Sanseverino the dogs called INIordano 
 and Bombo, I wish Francesco to present them to His 
 Illustrious Reverence with the enclosed note, and see 
 that he puts the gold collar and silk leash on Bomb6. 
 As soon as he returns, I should like him to come here 
 with the mules, leaving the sick one at home if he is
 
 190 COUNT BALDASSAllE CASTTGLIONE 
 
 not yet cured, and my three horses and the httle 
 Arab. As to this last, I should like you to consult 
 Sebastiano, and see if he ought to be bled after this 
 long journey, but do not give him any fodder except- 
 ing corn and straw. I also pray you to ask Master 
 Francesco of the Scuola, or his son Jeronimo, if he 
 knows a boy in the village who can write a good 
 hand. If so, I should like to have him to live with 
 me, since I need a secretary badly, as I have often 
 told you.' 
 
 ' Bologna, Fehniary 22, 1507.'^ 
 
 Three days later Castiglione joined his lord at 
 Forli, and wrote again begging his mother to send 
 another of his dogs to jNIilan by Francesco as a 
 present to Sig. Antonio di San Severino, the husband 
 of his friend Madonna INIargherita, after which 
 the servant was to start as soon as possible for 
 Urbino, bringing with him mules, horses, and dogs 
 — ' in fact, the whole great company !' This was on 
 February 25. On the last day of the month Cas- 
 tiglione returned to Urbino with the Duke, and the 
 arrival of the Ambassador from England was duly 
 chronicled by the annalist among the chief events of 
 the month. ^ 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210. ^ Cod. Vat. Urb., 904.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 1507 
 
 Visit of Pope Julius II. to Urbino — Conquest of Bologna — Cas- 
 tiglione returns with the Duke to Urbino — Festivities in 
 honour of the Pope — Illustrious personages assembled at 
 Urbino — The dialogues of the ' Cortegiano * — Castiglione visits 
 Camaldoli — Giuliano de' Medici and Benibo at Urbino — 
 Bembo's carnival stanze — Roman scholars introduced in the 
 * Cortegiano ' — Sadoleto's description of the court of Urbino. 
 
 Great events had taken place at Urbino during 
 Castiglione's six months' absence. A few weeks after 
 his departure, Pope JuUus II., attended by twenty- 
 two Cardinals and a great train of servants, arrived 
 at Urbino on September 25, and spent three days at 
 the palace as the Duke's guest. He came straight 
 from Perugia, where he had received the submission 
 of Gianpaolo Baglioni, and was on his way to expel 
 the Bentivogli from Bologna. It was a proud day 
 for the little city, and her chroniclers were careful to 
 record every incident of the warlike Pontiff's visit. ^ 
 They tell us how His Holiness halted at San Ber- 
 nardino, a mile without the gates, and entered the 
 church to see Duke Federico's grave, and walked in 
 the shady garden and admired the beauty of the 
 prospect. It was evening by the time that he reached 
 the city gates, where forty-five youths clad in silk 
 brocade were waiting to escort him to the Duomo, 
 
 ^ Cod. Vat. Urb., 904; Baldi, 'Vita di Guidobaldo,' p. 105. 
 
 191
 
 192 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLTONE 
 
 and, after the custom of the time, seized his mule, 
 which was afterwards redeemed for six ducats. The 
 highest honours were paid him. The roads had been 
 mended beforehand. The city gates were taken 
 down and the keys handed to him in a gold dish ; 
 triumphal arches were erected, and the Host was 
 borne before him on a richly-draped white horse 
 through the gaily-decorated streets. The Duke pre- 
 sented him with 100 sacks of flour, as well as 
 gifts of wine and meat, of corn and poultry, which 
 the Pope gave to the hospital of the IVIisericordia. 
 ' The streets,' writes our friend the diarist, ' were so 
 thronged with Bishops and priests, protonotaries and 
 officials from Rome, that you could hardly cross the 
 Piazza, and it was indeed a beautiful sight !' 
 
 Within, the palace was adorned with the richest 
 tapestries and most costly treasures of gold and silver 
 plate, much of which had been brought from Ferrara 
 and Mantua for the occasion. All night the windows 
 blazed with torches, and a cross of glittering fire 
 illumined the Rocca on the opposite heights. ' The 
 whole air,' writes the chronicler, ' seemed full of 
 lights. Very early on the morning of the 28th His 
 Holiness left Urbino, and, after subduing all the 
 castles and cities on his way, entered Bologna in 
 great triumph on St. JMartin's Day.'^ The Pope's 
 success was complete, the French King abandoned 
 his allies, Giovanni Bentivoglio fled before the victor's 
 approach, and the Pope, borne in a sumptuous litter 
 presented to him by Queen Anne of Brittany, was 
 hailed by the people of Bologna as a deliverer. 
 ' Although it was winter,' wrote one spectator, ' the 
 roses and flowers bloomed abundantly, and it was 
 summer weather, so that all the Bolognese said, 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Urb., 904 ; Albertini, 'De Mirabilibus Urbis/ p. 72.
 
 JULIUS II. AT URBINO 193 
 
 " Truly, Julius commands the heavens and the 
 planets!'" Another witness — Erasmus — who was 
 also present on this occasion, remarked : ' The 
 Pope fights, conquers, triumphs, and, in fact, plays 
 the part of Julius to perfection.'^ Guidobaldo had 
 accompanied the Pope on his expedition, although, 
 owing to his ill-health, the actual command of the 
 Papal forces was given to the JNIarquis of INIantua, 
 and the unfortunate Duke spent most of his time at 
 Bologna in bed. On February 20 the Venetian 
 ambassador sent home a rumour which had reached 
 him, that the Duke was actually dead. Two days 
 later, however, he recovered, and hastened home to 
 receive the Pope on his way to Rome. Castiglione, 
 w^ho, as we have seen, entered Urbino with the Duke, 
 and gave him Henry's gifts and affectionate mes- 
 sages, was received by him with every mark of favour. 
 Guidobaldo and his courtiers listened with the greatest 
 interest to Castiglione's description of the splendour 
 of the English court, and the wealth of these Northern 
 people, as well as of the character and habits of the King 
 and his court. ' The Duke,' he wrote to his mother, 
 ' and these other lords have welcomed me most 
 affectionately, and all show the greatest pleasure at 
 my return.' Before half his story was told, the Pope 
 arrived, on March 3. This time only twelve Cardinals 
 accompanied him, the other half preferring to take 
 the easier and longer road through Tuscany, and thus 
 avoid the bad roads and bitter cold of the journey 
 across the Apennines. But nothing could daunt the 
 old Pontiff"s courage or subdue his energy. He 
 reached Urbino in the highest spirits, and was once 
 more magnificently entertained by the Duke and 
 Duchess. Fortunately, he only remained two nights 
 1 F. M. Nicholls, 'The Epistles of Erasmus,' p. 421. 
 VOL. I. 13
 
 194 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 on this occasion, being impatient to reach Rome by 
 Palm Sunday, and set out early on the 5th to con- 
 tinue his triumphal progress. The Duke accom- 
 panied him as far as Cagli, and then returned to take 
 a few weeks' much-needed repose. 
 
 ' Here,' wrote Baldassare on JNIarch 5, ' we have 
 had His Holiness the Pope for two days, so that we 
 have been exceedingly busy.' In the opening sen- 
 tences of the ' Cortegiano ' he gives a fuller account 
 of these memorable days : 
 
 ' After Pope Julius II. had by his o^vn presence, 
 and with the help of the French, reduced Bologna to 
 the obedience of the Apostolic Chair in the year 1506, 
 and was returning to Rome, he passed through 
 Urbino, where he was received and entertained with 
 as much splendour and magnificence as could have 
 been possible in any of the noblest cities of Italy, so 
 that both the Pope himself and all the Cardinals and 
 other courtiers were exceedingly well satisfied. And 
 there were some who, attracted by the charm of the 
 company, remained for many days at Urbino after 
 the Pope and his court had left, during which time 
 not only were the usual festivities and amusements 
 held, but every one tried to increase the merriment, 
 and fresh games and diversions were held every 
 evening.' ^ 
 
 This, we know, was the precise moment which 
 Castiglione chose as the date of the conversations de- 
 scribed in his ' Cortegiano,' the first of which is said to 
 have taken place on the evening after the Pope's 
 departure. His repeated allusions to his own absence, 
 and to the letters which he wrote from England at 
 the time, were graceful fictions, invented to explain 
 the fact that he himself takes no part in these dis- 
 
 1 * Cortegiano/ i. 6.
 
 aL CORTEGIANO' 195 
 
 cussions. Although the actual dialogues may not 
 have taken place on this occasion, most of the per- 
 sonages introduced were actually present at Urbino 
 during this memorable week. Pietro Bembo, the 
 Magnifico Giuliano, Count Lodovico da Canossa, the 
 young Prefect Francesco JNIaria, Cesare Gonzaga, 
 Gasparo Pallavicino, Cristoforo Romano, the Fregosi 
 brothers, Morello da Ortona, Roberto Pio, Lodovico 
 Pio, r Unico Aretino, the gay poet Terpandro, were 
 all there. Several others who are mentioned in 
 Castiglione's pages, such as Alberto Pio, Bernardo 
 da Bibbiena, and Niccolo Frisio, were probably also 
 present. Four Cardinals, we learn, were among 
 the guests to whom the writer alludes as having 
 lingered amid the delights of Urbino after the Pope's 
 departure. Two of these, Elisabetta's brother, Sigis- 
 mondo Gonzaga, and Galeotto della Rovere, were 
 nearly connected with the ducal family, while Luigi 
 of Aragon, as we have already seen, was a cousin and 
 intimate friend of the Este princes, and the French 
 Cardinal de Narbonne had been brought into close 
 relations with Duke Guidobaldo during the recent 
 campaign of Bologna. These four prelates, however, 
 were compelled to leave Urbino, sorely against their 
 will, in the following week, and join the Pope at the 
 gates of Rome to take part in his triumphal entry on 
 Palm Sunday. 
 
 Castiglione was unable to gratify his mother's wish 
 that he should pay her another visit that Lent, but in 
 Holy Week he rode as far as Tuscany on a pious 
 pilgrimage to Camaldoli. Among the monks of this 
 order there was a certain holy father, a Florentine 
 named Don Michele, M^hom Bembo visited in his cell in 
 the autumn of 1506, when the benefice of tlie neigh- 
 bouring Badia of La V^ernia was conferred on him by 
 
 13—2
 
 196 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici. This saintly man sent 
 the Duchess a rosary, which she valued greatly, and 
 Elisabetta in return employed a ' great master of 
 painting ' to execute a devotional picture for the 
 hermit of Camaldoli. Unfortunately, the unknown 
 artist had delayed to begin the work, and owing to 
 the severity of the winter the colours took a long time 
 to dry, so that many months passed before the work 
 was completed. But when, during that Holy AVeek, 
 JNIesser Baldassare visited the hermit in the narrow 
 cell at Camaldoli, which seemed to him and his friends 
 the holiest spot on earth, he took a courteous mes- 
 sage from the Duchess, and told the good father 
 how constantly she thought of his austere and 
 devout life, and how earnestly she begged to be 
 remembered in his prayers. Elisabetta herself fre- 
 quently expressed a wish to visit both Camaldoli 
 and La Vernia, the holy mountain consecrated by 
 the presence of St. Francis, but was never able to 
 carry out her intention.^ 
 
 Having paid his devotions at this shrine in the 
 heart of the Apennines, Castiglione returned to 
 Urbino for Easter, which was the occasion of 
 renewed festivities in the ducal palace. On April 6 
 news reached the Duke that his nephew, Federico 
 Fregoso, had been appointed Archbishop of Salerno 
 by the Pope, an event which was hailed with as much 
 joy by the citizens as by the court. 
 
 Bembo and Giuliano de' JNIedici both spent Easter 
 at Urbino, and shared the generous hospitality of the 
 Duke and Duchess. These were the happy days 
 described by Ariosto, that king of court-poets, when 
 Cardinal de' INIedici was still an exile from Florence, 
 and his brother Giuliano was a guest at the Feltrian 
 
 1 Bembo, ' Lettere/ i. 250, iii. 8.
 
 THE MAGNIFICO 197 
 
 court, together with the author of the ' Cortegiano ' 
 and Bembo : 
 
 ' Quando il suo Giuliano/ 
 Si ripar6 ne la Feltresca corte ; 
 Ove col fovmatoi' del Cortegiano, 
 
 Col Bembo, e gli altri sacri al divo Apollo, 
 Facea 1' esilio suo men duro e strana.' * 
 
 When Bembo's Venetian friends blamed him for 
 being content to hve at the Duchess's expense, he 
 retorted by pointing to the Magnifico Giuhano, the 
 brother of a Cardinal, with an income of 10,000 
 florins, who came to Urbino with ten horses at the 
 time of the Pope's visit, and stayed on for many 
 months as the guest of the Duchess. The frequency 
 of Giuliano's visits and the splendid hospitality with 
 which he was entertained are proved by the fact that 
 the wing of the palace of Urbino containing the 
 suite of rooms which he occupied still bears the 
 Magniiico's name. It was during these years of exile 
 which he spent at Urbino that he carried on a secret 
 intrigue with a fair lady named Pacifica Brandano, 
 who in April, 1511, gave birth to a son, afterwards 
 the Cardinal Ippolito of Titian's magnificent portrait. 
 One Easter Eve a babe was found in the street 
 wrapped in white swaddling clothes with a silver 
 clasp, and taken to the Children's Hospital. During 
 two years the little foundling was nursed by foster- 
 parents, who in 1513 were suddenly ordered by the 
 JNIagnifico to bring their charge to Rome and were 
 handsomely paid for their trouble. From that time 
 the boy was recognized as his son, and brought up in 
 the Vatican during the pontificate of his uncle, Leo X. 
 Cardinal Giovanni himself was a frequent visitor at 
 Urbino, and his nephew, Piero's son Lorenzo, was 
 
 1 ' Satira Terza.'
 
 198 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 brought there as a babe by his widowed mother, 
 Alfonsina Orsini, and tenderly nursed by the kind 
 Duchess. 
 
 Bembo's residence at the court of Urbino was even 
 more prolonged. ' Be of good cheer,' he wrote five- 
 and-twenty years afterwards to his young protege, 
 Vettore Soranzo, who was groaning over his poverty 
 and lack of opportunities, ' be of good cheer, and do 
 not allow melancholy to oppress you, remembering 
 that I went to Urbino with only forty ducats in my 
 pocket, and remained there six years, and without 
 ever receiving more than fourteen ducats from my 
 family.'^ After many storms and troubles. Fortune 
 had at length brought him into a quiet haven. 
 In May of 1506 he had written disconsolately to 
 Elisabetta from Venice, saying that his father, who 
 was bent on seeing his son embrace a political career, 
 or at least take a rich wife, positively refused to 
 supply him with sufficient funds to go to Rome, 
 and begging the good Duchess to get leave for him 
 to inhabit rooms in the Badia della Croce at Avel- 
 lana, in the naountains near Gubbio. A few weeks 
 later he was invited to Rome by his friend Bernardo 
 da Bibbiena, now secretary to Cardinal de' Medici, 
 and found a lodging under this prelate's hospitable 
 roof until he came to meet the Pope at Urbino. 
 He followed the Papal court to Forli, to present 
 a petition from the Knights of Rhodes, after which 
 he had intended to return to the Badia dell' Avellana. 
 But Elisabetta declared that she could not allow him 
 to spend the winter in so rigorous a climate, and 
 insisted on keeping him as a guest in her own house. 
 
 It was in vain that his friends in Venice — his 
 old father, who had grown grey in the service of 
 
 ^ Cod. Marciana, CI. x.. No. xxii., 52.
 
 PIETRO BEMBO 199 
 
 the Republic, and his friend the ambassador, Vin- 
 cenzo Querini, who had risen to high dignities and 
 faced peril and shipwreck abroad, reproached him 
 with sacrificing his career and being content to spend 
 his life in a gilded cage. In a long and eloquent 
 letter to the ambassador Querini he sets forth the 
 reasons which actuated him, and shows that his house 
 is not, after all, built upon the sand. 
 
 ' If,' he writes, ' at your return home from the 
 Flanders embassy you had found me in possession 
 of some fat abbey, you would no doubt have said 
 that I had done well, and might perhaps have added 
 that you, too, once thought of taking the same path, 
 had Fortune been favourable. You would have 
 repeated that nothing is better than to live for letters 
 and to be lords of ourselves, and not the slaves of 
 others, with many arguments of the same kind which 
 I have heard you exalt to the skies with marvellous 
 eloquence. But because my medlar has been slower 
 to ripen, you reprove me, and say I am launched 
 on the troubled waves of life with Fortune for my 
 pilot, while your feet rest on the solid masonry of 
 the Roman amphitheatre. You tell me that, even if 
 the Duchess and Cardinal Galeotto love me, they can 
 do little, and it is folly to pin my faith on them. To 
 which I reply that one of the two has already a fortune 
 of 40,000 florins, and the other has made her brother 
 a Cardinal.'^ 
 
 He goes on to dilate on all the benefactions and 
 kindness which he has received from both the young 
 Cardinal and the Lady Duchess, whose exertions on 
 his behalf justify the prophecy of an astrologer who 
 once told him that he should be better loved and 
 helped more effectually by strangers than by any of 
 his own kin. 
 
 1 'Lettere/ ii. 59-61.
 
 200 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 To his brother, Bartolommeo, Bembo expressed 
 himself with still greater frankness in a letter written 
 on the same day, December 10, 1506 : 
 
 ' As to the surprise which all my family show 
 at my remaining in Urbino, all I wish to say is that 
 I wonder they should think me so mad as not to 
 realize what I am doing. Know, then, that I do not 
 stay here without good reason, and that if I could 
 advance my interests better by going to Rome, I 
 would do so. But let them say what they choose ! 
 They are fools who think themselves wise, and 
 imagine they can manage the lives of others better 
 than their own. If God grants me a few more years 
 of life, and the world does not move out of its courses 
 for a few more months, they will, I hope, see that 
 I have acted wisely. And even if the Pope dies, 
 and the face of the world is changed, I shall not be 
 worse off than I am now. But keep your counsel, 
 and let men say what they please. Most people 
 cannot see further than their own feet. You need 
 not be afraid lest the charms of these ladies should 
 make me forget myself. I can assure you that I am 
 not asleep. . . . And let this sufBce you. As for 
 the extravagance with which I am charged, do not 
 disturb yourself. For I am not as great a fool as 
 your Solomons would make me out.'^ 
 
 There can be no doubt that Bembo knew his own 
 mind and that he had chosen well. A typical 
 humanist of his day, he saw that his only hope of 
 obtaining an easy life and freedom from care was to 
 attach himself to a noble patron, at whose court he 
 could devote himself to the study of literature. This 
 was his one great passion, and with all his faults and 
 weaknesses he remained, it must be said to his credit, 
 true to the Muse whom he had served from boy- 
 
 1 'Lettei'e/ ii. 17.
 
 >v^ 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 '.VA 
 
 EMILIA riA. 
 (IJII'ERIAL MUSET'^r, VIENNA.) 
 
 To face p. 200, Vol. I.
 
 BEMBO'S MASQUE 201 
 
 hood. To the end of his hfe he was covetous of 
 wealth and honours, and left no stone unturned to 
 secure some fresh benefice or vacant bishopric, and, 
 unlike his more high-minded friend Castiglione, he 
 succeeded in amassing a vast fortune. But his love 
 of letters never changed, and in days of prosperity he 
 was ever ready to lend a helping hand in his turn to 
 needy scholar or struggling poet. 
 
 He was certainly exceptionally fortunate in the 
 patrons to whom he attached himself, and the con- 
 fidence which he had placed in the Duchess's kindness 
 and in his own prospects was realized beyond his 
 wildest dreams. 
 
 Throughout the following winter he remained at 
 U rbino, only retiring to Castel Durante for a week 
 of solitude in Advent and Lent. At Elisabetta's 
 request he and Ottaviano Fregoso composed a 
 masque, in which they appeared as the ambassadors 
 of \^enus, sent to the cruel ladies who reigned in these 
 regions, and whose hearts of adamant and steel were 
 proof against Cupid's darts. In these stanzas, which 
 were evidently inspired by Castiglione's pastoral play 
 of the previous year, the poet addresses the Duchess 
 and Madonna Emilia, a lady at once ' crudel e pia,' 
 and adjures them no longer to despise the joys of 
 love, by the memory of those sweet strains which 
 Catullus sung of Lesbia, and TibuUus of Delia ; by 
 Dante's love of Beatrice, and Petrarch's devotion to 
 Laura. ' Gather ye the roses while you may, for 
 spring passes and flowers fade. All too soon Winter 
 lays his cold, icy hand on tlie fields. Your own beauty 
 will decay ; your golden locks will turn white ; your 
 lovely brows will be seamed with the wrinkles of old 
 age.'^ On the last day of carnival Bembo and Otta- 
 ^ ' Rime di Pietro Bembo.'
 
 202 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 viano recited these verses in costume before the 
 Duchess, Madonna Emilia, and the lords and ladies 
 assembled in the great hall of the palace of Urbino. 
 
 At Ottaviano Fregoso's request the poem was 
 afterwards printed, although Bembo modestly de- 
 clared that carnival verses, written in haste at that 
 joyous season, and recited in those brief intervals 
 between dancing and feasting, when fun and laughter 
 were general, could not bear to be read in cold blood, 
 but, like fish out of water, would lose all their flavour 
 and freshness. In complying with Fregoso's wish, 
 he begged him to remember that he, the cavalier, 
 was rich in glory and famed for valiant deeds of arms, 
 while his friend the writer was poor and needy, and 
 could not well afford to suffer loss of reputation.^ 
 
 But in point of fact these verses are among the 
 most graceful and spontaneous that Bembo ever 
 wrote, and compare favourably with the more 
 laboured sonnets and epigrams which excited the 
 admiration of his contemporaries. 
 
 Bembo and his distinguished companions were in 
 constant communication with their friends in Rome, 
 and there was hardly a scholar of note in the Eternal 
 City who did not contrive to pay a visit to the court 
 of Urbino in the course of the year. One of Cas- 
 tiglione and Bembo's most intimate friends, who also 
 plays a leading part in the ' Cortegiano,' was Cardinal 
 de' Medici's secretary, Bernardo Dovizi, better known 
 by the name of Bibbiena, his native city at the foot 
 of the mountain of La' Vernia. This ' bel Bernardo ' 
 was a man of remarkable ability, whose personal beauty 
 and ready wit endeared him to the court circle at 
 Urbino, while the position which he held in Cardinal 
 de' Medici's household enabled him to be of great use 
 * 'Lettere/ iii. 41.
 
 *IL BEL BERNARDO' 203 
 
 to both Bembo and Castiglione. Like Bembo, he took 
 minor orders early ; but this did not prevent him from 
 being involved in many love affairs, to which we find 
 frequent allusions in the letters which passed between 
 Rome and Urbino. But, in spite of his ambitious 
 and pleasure-loving nature, he was a man of strong 
 feeling, and capable of inspiring deep and lasting 
 affection. ' The days seem years till I see Bernardo 
 again,' wrote Bembo to a mutual friend, the Arch- 
 bishop of Salerno, ' and can once more enjoy the 
 pleasant company and delightful conversation, the 
 wit, the jests, the countenance and love of that 
 man !'^ And certainly neither conflicting interests 
 nor the rivalry of political parties ever altered the 
 love which he bore to Castiglione. 
 
 Another distinguished man of letters, who was also 
 at one time secretary to Cardinal de' Medici — Filippo 
 Beroaldo the younger of Bologna — frequently visited 
 Urbino at this period, and was on intimate terms 
 with the author of the ' Cortegiano.' There is an 
 amusing letter among Bembo's T^atin epistles, in 
 which he laughs at the foolish fears which had pre- 
 vented Beroaldo from visiting Urbino that spring, 
 on his return from Bologna to Rome. The reports 
 which reached the humanist of the disturbed state 
 of the coinitry and of the soldiers who infested the 
 roads had alarmed him so much that he regretfully 
 abandoned his intention of visiting Urbino, and took 
 the safer route through Florence. 
 
 ' When I read your letter to those noble ladies, 
 Emilia, Costanza, and your Margherita ' [Margherita 
 Gonzaga, for whom Beroaldo professed especial devo- 
 tion], and when they heard that you did not dare travel 
 
 1 'Epist. fam.'iv. 150.
 
 204 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 along the Flaminian Way, the safest and most 
 famous road in Italy, because you were afraid of 
 meeting ten or twenty of our men-at-arms, it excited 
 the greatest laughter, and I was quite sorry you had 
 written, so great was the scorn and contempt which 
 they poured upon your folly. But if women deride 
 you thus, what do you think those strong and valiant 
 knights, Ottaviano, Giuliano, Castiglione, and Cesare 
 Gonzaga said when they read your letter ? I cannot 
 tell you how much your own reputation and dignity 
 have suffered, while I, who tried to defend your 
 cause and say that you acted prudently, found 
 myself overwhelmed with ridicule !' ^ 
 
 Beroaldo, how^ever, could be witty at Bembo's 
 expense, and the gay repartees which he wrote from 
 Bibbiena's camerino in Rome were the delight of all 
 the ladies of Urbino. 
 
 Another great favourite of theirs, the Petrarchist 
 poet and musician, Antonio Maria Terpandro, was also 
 at Urbino that summer, and many were the tears that 
 were shed at his departure, and many the messages 
 that Bembo sent him from these fair friends, begging 
 him not to forget his promise, but to return very 
 soon. Terpandro was deeply attached to JNIesser 
 Latino Giovenale, another member of the Roman 
 Academy which met in Cardinal Giovanni's house ; 
 and when his friend's appointment to a canonry of 
 St. Peter's reached Urbino, the poet, in Bembo's 
 graphic phrase, 'jumped out of his skin for joy.'^ 
 Latnio Giovenale, or Juvenale de' INIanetti, was him- 
 self a clever verse-writer who was afterwaixis employed 
 on important missions by Leo X. and Paul III., and 
 who is often mentioned in the ' Cortegiano.' 
 
 ^ 'Epist. fam.,' iv. 145. 2 . Lettere/ iii. S3.
 
 A GREAT BISHOP 205 
 
 Closely connected with all of these Roman 
 humanists, and through them with Castiglione and 
 the court of Urbino, was Jacopo Sadoleto, the great 
 Bishop of Carpentras, who, after being indispensable 
 to two Popes, was recalled from his distant diocese 
 to be made a Cardinal in his old age. A native of 
 Modena, after completing his studies at Ferrara, 
 Sadoleto came to Rome early in the sixteenth century 
 in the service of Cardinal Caraffa, and became famous 
 for his learning and holiness. He wrote Latin prose 
 and verse as well as Bembo, and was said to be as 
 eloquent as Chrysostom. A graver thinker and a 
 finer spirit than any member of the group, Sadoleto 
 cherished the remembrance of the good Duke and 
 Duchess to his dying day, and the language in which 
 he speaks of the court of Urbino is no small tribute 
 to the society in which Castiglione moved : 
 
 ' 1 suppose that nowhere else in the whole world, 
 whether in ancient or in modern times, would it be 
 easy to find so many distinguished men of genius and 
 learning assembled in one place, as there are now in 
 the glorious court of Urbino. Here, for instance, 
 you have Pietro Bembo, a man justly famous for his 
 great knowledge and attainments, whom we may 
 truly call the father of ancient Latin prose and of the 
 modern Italian tongue. Then there are the two 
 brothers Fregoso, Federico and Ottaviano, both of 
 them illustrious for their noble character and for 
 virtues and learning which render them the light of 
 Italy, as well as Baldassare Castiglione and Cesare 
 Gonzaga, a distinguished pair, celebrated alike for 
 their valour in arms and for their achievements in arts 
 and letters. Wherefore I think this city is indeed the 
 resthig-place and home of the INIuses to-day.'^ 
 
 ^ 'De Laud. Phil.,' ii. 190.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 1507 
 
 Castiglione proposes to exchange estates with Ercole Bentivoglio — 
 His debts and difficulties — Mission to King Louis XII. at 
 Milan — Meeting with old friends — Return to Urbino — 
 Illustrious guests at court — Castiglione and Bembo's poems 
 — Summer days at Urbino. 
 
 While Castiglione was every day becoming dearer 
 to the Duke and Duchess, and more happily settled 
 in his home at Urbino, his friends at home still 
 cherished a hope of regaining the INIarquis's favour 
 and brinp'inff him back to Mantua. His mother, as 
 might be expected, looked out anxiously for every 
 sign of relenting on Francesco's part, and rejoiced 
 when, in March, 1507, her kinsman, Lodovico Canossa, 
 arrived from Urbino and was graciously received by 
 the Marquis. Baldassare heard the news with satis- 
 faction, but when his friend Valenti suggested that 
 his former lord should be asked to find him a wife, he 
 indignantly rejected this proposal. 
 
 ' As for Valenti's idea that, in order to arrange my 
 affairs,' he wrote to JNladonna Luigia on INIarch 29, ' his 
 brother-in-law should ask the Marquis to find me a 
 wife, it is, I am sure, very good of both these gentle- 
 men to trouble themselves about my happiness ; none 
 the less, I think this course of action might not only 
 
 206
 
 AN EXCHANGE 207 
 
 profit me little, but bring me harm and ridicule in 
 the bargain ! I would never in all eternity consent 
 to such a thing. If God puts a good marriage in 
 my way, I will gladly embrace the opportunity 
 without needing any help from others ; but it seems 
 strange to me that one who has always tried to 
 oppress me should suddenly change his ways. What 
 little reputation I have acquired — if I can call it that 
 — has certainly not been his doing! (I write thus 
 freely, as I am sending this letter by hand.) And as 
 a certain proposal, which in my opinion seems very 
 favourable, has been lately made to me, I am going to 
 tell Your Magnificence about it. What has troubled 
 me most has been to find myself without sufficient 
 fortune to live away from JNlantua. Indeed, this has 
 made me very unhappy, and still distresses me greatly. 
 And although I should be sorry to give up my 
 native country entirely, yet I should feel much safer 
 if I could secure some means of subsistence else- 
 where. What I wish to tell you is that Sig. Ercole 
 Bentivoglio, who is now at Urbino, was never able to 
 set foot in Bologna while the other Bentivogli were 
 reigning, and since they have been driven out, 
 he is less able than ever to go there, and despairs 
 of ever returning to this his native city. So that he 
 is anxious to find a resting-place for his declining 
 years, and thinks that JNlantua would suit him very 
 well in many respects, more especially because 
 his mother, who is said to be fonder of him than of 
 any of her children, has much money and many 
 jewels and good things, of which he thinks he would 
 have a large share if he were near her. For this 
 reason he has proposed to exchange his property at 
 Bologna with mine at JNlantua, giving me possessions 
 which, other people tell me, are worth 700 gold ducats 
 a year, and include payments from tolls and other 
 sources which do not vary in time of plenty or 
 scarcity, together with a good house at Bologna, and 
 another at some distance from the town, with a ^'ery
 
 208 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 beautiful garden. I listened to his proposals, and we 
 discussed them together and agreed to resume the sub- 
 ject after Easter, since he is desirous of consulting his 
 friends at Bologna, and I wished to hear your opinion 
 on the matter, as well as that of M. Gio. Pietro. He, 
 I know, takes as warm an interest in my affairs as I do, 
 so I hope that when I come and see you after Easter, 
 we may arrive at some conclusion. But I should be 
 glad if, before I come, you could let me have a word 
 to say whether this idea pleases or displeases you. It 
 certainly pleases me highly, because 1 feel that I should 
 be able to keep some of my property at JNIantua, 
 where I always hope to return some day, and should 
 not mind having possessions in both places, since 
 Bologna is near to INIantua and the revenue is 
 good. . . .' 
 
 In the same letter he alludes to another English 
 hound which the Duke had sent to Sig. Antonio di 
 San Severino, the husband of JNIargherita Pia, and begs 
 his mother to pay special attention to the precious 
 bards which he had brought from England, hanging 
 them separately on the wall, and seeing that they are 
 kept free from damp and dust. 
 
 ' Some of our people,' he adds, ' are suffering fi'om 
 acute rheumatic pains in the side. I remember that 
 you once told me of a certain remedy of boiled garlic, 
 please repeat this in your next letter. But I have 
 gossiped enough for once, and Alessandro will tell 
 you much more by word of mouth.' 
 
 Ercole Bentivoglio was the son of a former ruler 
 of Bologna, Santi Bentivoglio, by his marriage with 
 Ginevra, daughter of Alessandro Sforza of Pesara. In 
 1465, three years after the death of her lord, Ginevra 
 married his young cousin, Giovanni II., the rightful 
 heir, who recovered the dominions which Santi had
 
 BARBARA TORELLI 209 
 
 usurped, and reigned in Bologna until he was ex- 
 pelled by Pope Julius and forced to take refuge at 
 Mantua. Ercole himself was a valiant condottiere, 
 who spent many years in the service of the Floren- 
 tines, but made his home at Urbino, where his 
 unhappy relations with his wife, the beautiful and 
 cultured Ferrarese lady, Barbara Torelli, at one time 
 excited much attention. In 1501 he accused her of 
 attempting to poison him, to the horror of the 
 gentle Duchess, who sent for an able and trusted 
 Mantuan lawyer, Silvestro Calandra, to defend the 
 innocent lady, whose mother was her own relative 
 and friend. The Duke was present at the inquiry 
 which followed, and Madonna Barbara was triumph- 
 antly acquitted.^ In spite of Castiglione's regard for 
 his kinswoman, who is repeatedly mentioned in his 
 letters from Ferrara, and who afterwards became the 
 wife of his friend Ercole Strozzi, he remained on 
 good terms with her husband, and seriously entertained 
 his proposal for an exchange of estates. A month 
 later he wrote again to his mother on the subject : 
 
 ' Signor Ercole is sending a messenger to Mantua 
 on his own business, and will be the bearer of this. 
 Since he still wishes to exchange lands with me, I 
 should be glad if you would allow his servant to see 
 Casatico and the estates, so that he can judge of the 
 air and situation and other particulars. So I beg you 
 to have him conducted there, and to ask the steward 
 to show him everything ; but please do all this quite 
 privately, and say that he is a friend of mine who 
 is travelling through the country. If anyone asks 
 about him, he can give them this answer, and need 
 not appear to be showing him the place for any other 
 object, as I am very anxious to keep the whole thing 
 
 ^ ' Archivio storico Italiano,' appendice, i. 248. 
 vol.. I. 14
 
 210 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 a secret until it is settled. Directly Sig. Ercole 
 has arranged his affairs, we will proceed with the 
 business, because I have quite made up my mind to 
 effect this exchange, and hope you will be content 
 for the various reasons which I have already explained, 
 all the more that we shall not have to leave ^lantua 
 entirely, but can live there again some day, please God!' 
 
 Here, however, the matter seems to have ended, 
 probably owing to the sudden death of Ercole Benti- 
 voglio a few weeks later. That it was a relief to 
 Madonna Luigia we can hardly doubt ; but her son 
 groaned under the load of debts and difficulties from 
 which he saw no hope of escape. There is hardly a 
 letter in which we do not find some allusion to this 
 increasing burden. He sold several of his horses 
 because of the dearness of corn at Urbino, pledged 
 his family jewels, and found himself compelled, much 
 to his distress, to pawn the gold collar and pendant 
 which the King of England had given him. In his 
 anxiety to redeem this precious jewel, he sent his 
 mother the richly embroidered mantle which he had 
 worn at the English court, begging her to take it to 
 pieces and have the gold ornaments melted down and 
 sold. But he was still in dire need of money, and was 
 obliged to defer the execution of a scheme which he 
 and his mother had long planned — the erection of a 
 monument to his father and brother in the family 
 chapel of S. Agnese at Mantua. At Madonna Luigia's 
 prayer, however, Baldassare sent her the following 
 Latin inscription in memory of his deceased relatives : 
 
 BALTESSARI . CASTILIONO . AVO . 
 CHRISTOPHORO . PATRI . HIERONVMO , 
 FRATRI . BALTESSAR . PIENTISS . 
 OPERA . ALOVISIiE . GONZAG^ . 
 MATRIS , P. NEC. TOTIS . QUIDEM . 
 QUORUM . FAMA . INTER . 
 HOMINES . SPIRITUS . IN . SUPERIS . 
 VIGET . ANNO . MDVII . XX . OCTOBRIS .
 
 A FAMILY MONUMENT 211 
 
 ' You might inscribe these words,' he wrote, ' on 
 the resting-place of those blessed souls, my grand- 
 father, father, and brother, for the present ; some 
 day, if only, please God, the stars change their 
 contrary courses, I mean to erect an honoiu-able 
 memorial, and then we might think of some better 
 words. At present I am too much harassed ; but if 
 you like this inscription to be altered later, it shall be 
 done.'^ 
 
 His pious intention, however, was not accom- 
 plished until after his death, when a stately tomb was 
 placed in the Castiglione chapel of S. Agnese by 
 Madonna Luigia. 
 
 A new and honourable mission was now entrusted 
 to Castiglione by the Duke of Urbino. He was 
 sent to pay homage to King Louis XII. of France, 
 who was in the act of laying siege to the revolted 
 city of Genoa. Both Alfonso d' Este and Francesco 
 Gonzaga had joined His Most Christian Majesty 
 with their forces, and the other powers of Italy in 
 their turn hastened to do him honour. But when 
 Baldassare reached Bologna on May 19, he heard 
 that Genoa had surrendered, and that Louis was 
 on his way to Milan. Accordingly, he decided to 
 travel by Modena to Milan, in order to be present at 
 the King's triumphal entry. But, as usual, pecuniary 
 embarrassments stood in his way. 
 
 ' I am greatly concerned at the prospect of going 
 to Milan without any money, and facing the ^^ismari 
 [the bankers who had lent him money] and the 
 Cardinal d' Este. So I have written to Carlo da 
 Castiglione begging him to give you these 300 ducats, 
 and would be very grateful if you could send them 
 at once to Milan by a discreet and trustworthy 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. 30. 
 
 14—2
 
 212 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 messenger. I do not fail to beg the Lord Duke 
 for supplies, and have already written to him twice; 
 and had I known I would have to go to Milan, 
 I would have been so importunate that perhaps 
 I should have brought the money with me.' ^ 
 
 This time, however, JNIadonna Luigia was unable 
 to raise the necessary funds. Fortunately, Cardinal 
 Ippolito, far from pressing for payment, accepted 
 Castiglione's excuses with the greatest kindness, 
 which, as he told his mother, only made him the 
 more anxious to fulfil his obligations. On May 24 
 Baldassare once more rode into Milan in the suite 
 of the victorious French monarch, w^hose entry he 
 had witnessed eight years before. Our old friend Jean 
 d'Auton waxes eloquent over the brilliant weather, 
 the rich tapestries and bowers of verdure that 
 decorated the streets, and the arches which Leonardo 
 da Vinci is said to have designed. He gazed with 
 wondering eyes on the procession of children bearing 
 fleurs-de-lys in their hands, on the 300 Milanese 
 armourers in glittering silver, and, above all, on the 
 ladies, beautiful as a dream, clad in cloth of gold and 
 crimson velvet, with jewels twined round their long 
 coils of hair. This time three Cardinals — Ambrose, 
 Ferrara, and San Severino — rode at the King's side, and 
 the Viceroy of Milan, Charles d'Amboise, the stout 
 old general, Gian Giacomo Trivulzio, and the young 
 Duke of Bourbon, immediately behind him. Baldas- 
 sare looked with interest on this tall and handsome 
 youth, whose mother, Chiara Gonzaga, had been 
 escorted by his own parents on her wedding journey 
 to France, and who now met his Italian kinsmen 
 for the first time. Little did the Duke of Urbino's 
 envoy dream of the terrible doom which this courteous 
 
 1 Serassi, i. 33.
 
 F^TES AT MILAN 213 
 
 and graceful lad was one day to bring upon Italy ; 
 little did the young Duke know that just twenty years 
 later he would die in battle under the walls of Rome. 
 There were others in that splendid throng whose 
 faces must have strangely reminded Castiglione 
 of his old days in INIilan. Close in attendance 
 on His Most Christian Majesty, honoured by the 
 highest marks of his favour, was that hero of his 
 youth, the Moro's favourite, Galeazzo di San Severino, 
 now known as il Gran Scudiero {le Grand Eacycr), 
 with Jacques de Crussol, the gigantic captain of the 
 archers to whom Lodovico Sforza had surrendered 
 at Novara, just behind him. There, too, was the 
 Moro's chosen painter, Leonardo the Florentine, 
 now, like Messer Galeazzo, in the service of his 
 deadly foe ; and there was his old master, the 
 Marquis Francesco, whom he had never seen since 
 he first went to Urbino. After attending mass in 
 the Duomo, the King rode on to the Castello, and 
 here Castiglione was received by King Louis, together 
 with the ambassadors of Venice, Florence, and 
 Ferrara. A few days later he was present at the 
 giostra on the Piazza of the Castello, and saw 
 Messer Galeazzo distinguish himself in the lists after 
 his old fashion, and witnessed the great procession on 
 the Feast of Corpus Christi, when the Host was carried 
 through the streets by the Legate, under a canopy 
 borne by the chief French nobles, and followed 
 by all the clergy and choristers of Milan. He was 
 among the guests at the famous ball given by Gian 
 Giacomo Trivulzio, when eleven kitchens were used 
 to prepare the banquet, and a ball-room was built 
 for the occasion. The crowd was so great that 
 the halberdiers had to clear the way for the King's 
 passage, and dancing lasted from ten in the morning
 
 214 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 until vespers. Many fair ladies smiled on the young 
 courtier from Urbino that evening. JNlargherita Pia, 
 the wife of his friend Antonio di San Severino 
 and sister of Madonna Emilia, was there, and 
 Trivulzio's daughter-in-law, the Contessa di Musocho,^ 
 as well as many ladies of his own kith and kin. But 
 no one greeted him more graciously than the Marchesa 
 Isabella, who had arrived in hot haste from Mantua 
 at King Louis's urgent entreaty. This Princess was 
 the cynosure of all eyes as she sat at the royal table 
 at the banquet in the Rocchetta, and danced with 
 exquisite grace at her royal partner's side in these 
 same halls where Castiglione had often seen her in 
 Duchess Beatrice's days. 
 
 A splendid banquet given by his friend Cardinal 
 Ippolito concluded the festivities, and then Baldassare 
 made his way back to Urbino, where he found the 
 Duke and all his household in the best of health and 
 spirits. The arrears of salary due to him were promptly 
 paid, his anxieties were allayed for the moment, and 
 he could enjoy the company of his friends and the 
 pleasant summer weather without a care. 
 
 That season was long remembered at Urbino. 
 The severe winter was succeeded by great heats in 
 the spring and summer. Excepting on Easter Eve, 
 when there was a violent storm, no rain fell during 
 ten months. ' There was one season,' Ariosto sings, 
 ' when Apollo seemed to have once more given 
 Phaeton the reins of his coursers, and every well 
 and fount in the land ran dry, and you could pass 
 the most famous rivers without a bridge.'^ The bed 
 of the river Foglia was dry all the winter, the mills 
 could not work, and the peasants of Cesena brought 
 
 ^ Paola Gonzaga, half-sister to Alberto Pio. 
 ^ ' Satira Terza.'
 
 A DRY SUMMER 215 
 
 their corn to be ground at Cagli. That year harvest 
 began on the 26th of JMay in the valley of La Foglia, 
 and, by the 1st of June, was in full swing throughout 
 the country. But no seed came up exceptmg a little 
 that had been sown in October ; the barley and oats 
 and clover were a complete failure. The price of 
 corn rose to sixty ducats a bushel, and Castiglione 
 wrote to beg his mother to send a load of oats and 
 straw by boat from Mantua to Ferrara and Pesaro, 
 if the JNlarquis would give leave, since no forage 
 was to be had at Urbino. Soon the wells began to 
 fail, and water had to be bought in the town. By 
 June the well at the gate of Valbona was exhausted, 
 and on July 20 the great well on the market-place, 
 which had never been known to fail before, ran dry. 
 The meadows were burnt up, and the vintage was so 
 scanty that wine had to be mixed with three parts of 
 water, and cider and perry were largely drunk, pears 
 and apples being the only fruits that were plentiful. 
 Every one suffered, but none the less, adds the 
 chronicler, people ' were very well in health.' ^ 
 
 The fine weather lasted till Christmas. All through 
 November roses bloomed in abundance and attar of 
 roses was distilled from their leaves ; strawberries and 
 mulberries ripened in December, to the wonder of 
 all who saw them. Fortunately the second harvest 
 was better than the first, and by the end of the year 
 the price of corn fell to its normal level. 
 
 It was also a memorable year at the court. All 
 through the summer distinguished guests came and 
 went. The Pope's visits had attracted universal 
 attention, and the eyes of all Europe were fixed upon 
 Urbino. Early in the autumn King Ferdinand the 
 Catholic and his new Queen, Germame de Foix, 
 1 Cod. Vat. Urb., 904.
 
 216 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 came to Naples, and expressed a wish to visit the 
 Duke and Duchess, but were unable to carry out 
 this project. Another still more illustrious visitor 
 was expected, as we learn from several passages in 
 the letters of Elisabetta and Castiglione that autumn. 
 This was the Emperor Maximilian, who had made 
 great preparations for his Italian journey, and was 
 very anxious to see the famous palace of Urbino. 
 But the obstinate refusal of the Diet to allow the 
 expedition, and his own habitual lack of money, 
 frustrated his plans at the last moment, and His 
 Cesarean Majesty was unable to keep the promise 
 which he had made to the Duchess. This decision 
 was probably a relief to her, for in August, Guido- 
 baldo had a serious illness, which, although fortu- 
 nately of brief duration, left him in an enfeebled 
 state of health and unfit to bear any fatigue. The 
 frequency and severity of the fits of gout from 
 which he suffered, only increased the anxiety of his 
 wife and friends to amuse him by every means in 
 their power. He often watched his courtiers play- 
 ing at ' palla ' in the new hall which he had built to 
 take the place of the old ground under S. Domenico, 
 where the marks of the players' balls are still to 
 be seen on the Delia Robbia lunette above the 
 door. And he was never tired of reading and 
 discussing his favourite classical authors with Cas- 
 tiglione and Bembo, or any of the distinguished 
 scholars whom chance brought to Urbino for a few 
 days. 
 
 Filippo Beroaldo and Latino Giovenale both visited 
 Urbino that summer. Bernardo Bibbiena came in 
 August with his master the Cardinal, and made 
 himself so agreeable that every one lamented his 
 departure, and, as Bembo took care to tell his friend,
 
 ALBERTO PIO 217 
 
 neither the Duchess nor JNIadonna Emiha were ever 
 tired of expressing their regard for him. Lodovico 
 Canossa and Alberto Pio were there too, the latter 
 on his return from Rome, whither he had been 
 sent as Ambassador by the King of France. This 
 handsome and cultured Prince, the intimate friend 
 of Castiglione and Bembo, had a special attraction 
 at Urbino in the person of JNIargherita Gonzaga, whom 
 he courted for many years, and who is called his 
 affianced bride in contemporary letters. Bembo 
 speaks of this fair maiden as ' JNIadonna vostra con- 
 sorte ' in a letter which he addressed to Alberto 
 in August, when he was daily expected at Urbino. 
 Another correspondent describes him and his be- 
 trothed bride as the most devoted pair, who have no 
 eyes or ears for anyone else, and says that when the 
 hour of parting comes, so many tears are shed on both 
 sides, that every one pities them. But, in spite of this 
 mutual devotion, the lovers were never united, and 
 the misfortunes which befell Alberto, the loss of his 
 State and his long exile, put an end to his hopes of 
 marriage. 
 
 Terpandro, the gay and popular poet, lingered on 
 until late in the autumn, and was followed to Rome by 
 affectionate messages from all the ladies and many 
 entreaties to return speedily. In October Raphael 
 came from Florence, where he was at work on his 
 great Entombment for Madonna Atalanta Baglioni 
 of Perugia, and paid his respects to the Duke and 
 Duchess, and renewed his friendship with Castiglione, 
 whose affection for the painter was well known to 
 all the court — ' Your Raphael,' as Gian Cristoforo 
 calls him in the dialogues of the ' Cortegiano.'^ 
 
 Each one of these guests received the same gracious 
 
 1 Book i., 50.
 
 218 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 welcome from the Duchess, and felt strangely loth 
 to go, when summoned elsewhere on public or private 
 business. For the court of Urbino was not only, 
 as Cristoforo Romano called it, in one of his last 
 letters to Bembo, the ' blessed temple of all the 
 virtues,' but, as Castiglione and Bembo described it, 
 a ' home of joy and common brotherhood, a shelter 
 and haven where troubled souls could find peace of 
 mind and freedom from carking care.' 
 
 ' Come here !' wrote Bembo to Luigi da Porto, 
 who was lying ill at Venice and oppressed with 
 strange melancholy. ' Everything invites you. We 
 will laugh for a week, and drive away the blues, 
 which, I see, have laid hold upon you. If you love 
 me, be joyful and keep up your spirits, for this is the 
 only way to live. Therefore come.' 
 
 '1 
 
 And in a letter to Latino Juvenale in Rome he 
 writes : 
 
 ' There is little to say of our doings here ; but we 
 laugh, we jest, we play games, we invent new tricks 
 and practical jokes, we feast and study, and now and 
 then we write poetry. If I had more time, which I 
 have not to-day, I would send you a proof of this in 
 a beautiful canzone which my dear M. Baldassare 
 Castiglione has composed during the last few days. 
 You shall have it another time. Farewell. On the 
 9th of September, 1507, in more than haste.'" 
 
 Probably this canzone was the poem beginning, 
 
 ' Amor, poi che '1 pensier,' 
 
 in which Dante's famous line, 
 
 ' Amor ch' a millo amato amor perdona/ 
 
 is introduced, and each verse, after the fashion of the 
 day, ends with a line of Petrarch. 
 
 1 ' Lettere/ iii. 107. - Ibid., iii. 33.
 
 SONNETS AND ELEGIES 219 
 
 Again Bembo sends his old Venetian friend Trifone 
 Gabriele one of his latest productions, ' a new canzone 
 on an old theme — the death of my brother,' the lovely 
 poem beginning with the lines : 
 
 ' Alma cortese, che dal mondo errante 
 Partente nella tua piu verde eta, 
 Hai me lasciato eternamente in doglio,' 
 
 In the same letter he repeats how perfectly happy he 
 is at Urbino, and how fervently he thanks the fates 
 which have brought him safely into port after all his 
 wanderings : 
 
 ' Here I will only tell you that every day I rejoice 
 the more to have taken the course for which all of 
 my friends blamed me more than you did, and am 
 confident that one day they too will praise the wisdom 
 of my choice.'^ 
 
 One day he sends Lucrezia Borgia two sonnets on 
 the device of the Cardinal of Aragon, to remind his 
 old comrades at Ferrara of his existence. Another 
 time he encloses what he describes as his latest 
 canzone to his ' valiant brother-in-arms,' Archbishop 
 Fregoso, and invites the criticism of his Roman 
 friends on these compositions. 
 
 Most of these poems were fugitive pieces, which, 
 as Bembo himself owned, owe much of their charm 
 to the circumstances in which they were produced. 
 Such, for instance, was the sonnet 
 
 ' lo ardo, e la risposta invano, 
 Come il gioco chieda, lasso aspettar,' 
 
 which an early commentator explains to be an 
 allusion to a game of propositi, or questions and 
 answers, that was played one evening, and in which 
 
 1 ' Lettere/ ii., 28.
 
 220 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 the poet gives vent to his mortification at the Duchess's 
 refusal to reply to his protestations of devotion.'^ 
 But here and there we come across a really fine 
 sonnet, especially among those composed by Cas- 
 tiglione, who was, without doubt, the best poet of 
 the group. The Latin elegies, in which he warns the 
 nymphs of the perils of the treacherous flood and the 
 dangers of the unknown shore, or recalls the cruel fate 
 of Hippolytus ; the verses on the Duchess singing 
 Dido's lament to her lute — ' De Elisabetta Gonzaga 
 canente ' — naturally excited the admiration of the 
 court, but his finest poetry, we think, was written in 
 the vulgar tongue. His Italian canzoni and sonnets 
 strike a deeper note than any of the elegant trifles 
 which Bembo and his comrades turned out with so 
 much ease and deftness. They speak the language 
 of strong and true emotion, and their tender melan- 
 choly and natural grace are inspired by genuine 
 poetic feeling. 
 
 The air qf Urbino was haunted with classical 
 memories ; its atmosphere was genuinely literary, 
 and the interests of courtiers and ladies alike centred 
 in these subjects. Every one brought something 
 to add to the common fund. Those who did not 
 write could always listen or criticize. The young 
 Prefect himself, a born soldier, of coarser fibre than 
 the Dukes of the Montefeltro race, took keen interest 
 in Greek and Roman history, and could discuss 
 Xenophon's retreat or the siege of Carthage with 
 intelligence." Even Cardinal Galeotto and Giuliano 
 de' Medici, as we have seen, "vvi'ote sonnets. Letters 
 from Veronica Gambara or Graziosa JNIaggi, Latin 
 epistles in prose or rhyme, arrived by every post from 
 
 ^ Cod. Vat., 8825 ; V. Cian, ' Motti inedit' di P. Bembo,' 91. 
 2 Riposati, ii. 127.
 
 EVENINGS AT URBINO 221 
 
 Rome or Mantua, and were passed from hand to 
 hand. The pleasantries of Bibbiena or Terpandro, 
 the practical jokes that were played on the Aretine 
 and Fra Serafino, afforded the whole company infinite 
 amusement. One day a witty letter would arrive 
 from the Marchesana Isabella, recounting the splen- 
 dours of her visit to Milan, or forestalling the pomps 
 and pleasures of a journey to France, and defying 
 Duchess Elisabetta to rival these triumphs. Then 
 JNIadonna Emilia and Bembo or Castiglione would 
 lay their heads together and help the Duchess to 
 compose a merry answer, couched in the same style 
 and exulting in the glories of the Holy Father's visit 
 to Urbino, and in the royal and imperial guests whose 
 arrival was shortly expected. Another time some 
 antique bust or cameo, a marble relief of Taurus or 
 an engi-aved gem of ^''ictory, would be sent by Gian 
 Cristoforo or Bibbiena from Rome, and courtiers and 
 ladies would hasten to admire the new treasure and 
 write epigrams in its praise. Or else a little group 
 would gather round the wonderful Aretine, and listen 
 with rapt attention to his eloquent improvisations and 
 dramatic recitals. And every evening, when the sun 
 set behind the far Apennines, and the long ridge of 
 INIonte Nerone turned to ever-deepening blue, courtiers 
 and ladies met in the rooms of the Duchess. Madonna 
 Emilia and Gaspare Pallavicini started a war of quick 
 sallies and lively repartees, or Castiglione and the 
 Magnifico entered on an animated discussion regarding 
 the rival merits of painting and sculpture. Then the 
 Aretine dexterously turned the conversation on poetry, 
 and recited a sonnet of his own invention. If Bibbiena 
 chanced to be present, he told witty stories, and 
 encouraged others to follow his example, until the 
 hall rang with joyous laughter. Finally Bembo
 
 222 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 took up his parable, and descanted on the immortal 
 power of Love and its Divine origin, and the company 
 listened, spell-bound by his eloquence, until the short 
 hours of the summer night were wellnigh over and 
 dawn was breaking in the eastern sky. 
 
 ' Then the windows being opened on the side of 
 the palace looking towards the lofty peak of Monte 
 Catria, they saw that a beautiful aurora of rose-red 
 hue was already breaking in the east, and that all the 
 stars had vanished save the sweet Queen of the realm 
 of Venus, who holds sway in the borderland of night 
 and day. A gentle breeze filled the air with fresh- 
 ness, and began to waken the sweet voices of joyous 
 birds in the murmuring forests of the neighbouring 
 hills. All the company rose, and, having paid their 
 reverence to the Lady Duchess and taken leave of 
 her, went to their rooms without the light of torches, 
 that of day being sufficient.'^ 
 
 ^ ' Cortegiano/ book iv., 73.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 1507-1508 
 
 Murder of Gian Andrea by Francesco Maria della Rovere — 
 Comments of Bembo and Castiglione — The Duke's failing 
 health — The court moves to Fossombrone — Last days and 
 death of Guidobaldo — Tribute of Bembo to his memory. 
 
 In spite of the complaints of Cupid and the re- 
 proaches addressed by the ambassadors of Venus 
 to the cruel fair who dwelt on the banks of 
 the Metaurus, the ladies of Urbino were by no 
 means all of them proof against the winged shafts 
 of the god of love. Madonna Emilia, it is true, 
 preserved an inviolable fidelity to her dead husband, 
 and Castiglione sought no reward for his whole- 
 hearted allegiance but a word or smile from the Lady 
 Duchess. But there were others who were cast in 
 less heroic mould. Even at the court of Urbino 
 youths and maidens were human, and dances and 
 games in the palace, as Castiglione owns, afforded 
 plenty of occasion for lovers to reveal their secrets 
 by meeting eyes and clasping hands. It was pleasant 
 to sit apart in the deep recess of the high-arched 
 windows on a summer night, and listen to whispered 
 vows, when Jacopo di San Secondo's viol was pouring 
 out its impassioned strains, or to linger at the side of 
 a gallant cavalier, under the roses and jessamine of 
 
 223
 
 224 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 the pergola, when the moon rose above the triple 
 peaks of San Marino and the cool ripple of running 
 water fell with soft murmur on the midnight air. 
 
 Bembo might descant in eloquent periods of the 
 mystic glories and Divine origin of Love, but its 
 earthly side was none the less familiar to him, and 
 his letters to Bibbiena abound in cryptic allusions to 
 their respective mistresses. 'All men live for love,' 
 he sang in one of his best poems, and he himself was 
 no exception to the rule. Margherita Gonzaga did 
 not turn a deaf ear to Beroaldo's praises when her 
 betrothed husband was no longer at her side, and the 
 Magnifico's relations with Madonna Pacifica were far 
 from being of a Platonic nature. But there was one 
 love affair that autumn which had more serious conse- 
 quences, and ended in a tragedy that forms a dark and 
 painful contrast to the peaceful joys which marked 
 court life at Urbino. 
 
 There was a young squire of Verona, named 
 Giovanni Andrea, whom the Duke had brought 
 home with him on his return from exile, and who 
 had distinguished himself fighting under the Church's 
 banner in the campaigns of Romagna. Three years 
 before, Guidobaldo had conferred the honour of knight- 
 hood upon him, and had rewarded his valour with a 
 grant of the castle of Sascorbara and the lucrative 
 mills on the Foglia. Although of humble birth, 
 Gian Andrea's gallant bearing and polished manners 
 made him a great favourite, not only with the 
 Duke, but with all the people of Urbino, and he is 
 mentioned among the chief ornaments of the court 
 by more than one writer. But in an evil hour this 
 squire of low degree dared to pay his addresses to 
 the Prefect's sister, Maria Varana, whose husband 
 had been murdered by Cesare Borgia, and who was
 
 JNIARIA VARAN A 225 
 
 living at her uncle's court with her orphan boy, 
 Sigismondo, the young Lord of Camerino. ' Although 
 a widow,' remarks the diarist, ' JNlaria was still 
 young and beautiful,' and lent an all too willing 
 ear to this Veronese knight, who, brave and hand- 
 some as he might be, was no fit match for so 
 illustrious a lady. In spite of this barrier Maria 
 loved the handsome cavalier. During many months 
 an intrigue was carried on between these two, and 
 it was even whispered that the Duke's niece had 
 borne Gian Andrea a son, who was hidden safely 
 away in some obscure corner. As ill-luck would 
 have it, this rumour reached the ears of Francesco 
 della Rovere when he returned from Rome in 
 September, 1507. This fiery and ill-disciplined lad, 
 who was only seventeen years of age, had lately 
 quarrelled with his mother, the Prefetessa, over the 
 government of Sinigaglia, and appealed to his uncle 
 against her. Pope Julius, who was fond of his 
 nephew, and easily forgave the violent temper which 
 resembled his own, took Francesco's part, and warned 
 Giovanna not to interfere with her son. So the 
 young man returned to Urbino in high spirits. In 
 a letter of the 13th to his friend Bibbiena, Pietro 
 Bembo remarks significantly that the Prefect has 
 arrived, and is, not only remarkably well, but par- 
 ticularly amiable, especially to the JMagnifico, with 
 whom he appears to be on the best of terms. 
 But before many weeks had passed the story of his 
 sister's dishonour reached Francesco's ears. In his 
 rage he vowed to avenge a wrong which only blood 
 could wipe out, and since Gian Andrea was the 
 Duke's favourite, and could not easily be publicly 
 attacked, he determined to have recourse to treachery. 
 It was the first week in November, but the weather 
 vou I. 15
 
 226 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 was as hot as August, and the roses were still in 
 full bloom. The Duke, with Castiglione and a few 
 others of his suite, was absent for a few days, and 
 Francesco took this opportiniity to invite Gian 
 Andrea to dine in his rooms one Saturday evening 
 and have a fencing-match, a sport of which the 
 young Prefect was very fond, and in which his guest 
 excelled. After dinner the young men took up their 
 foils and were engaged in the contest, when suddenly 
 two of Francesco's servants entered from behind and 
 seized Gian Andrea by the arms, while the Prefettino 
 himself stabbed his guest to the heart with a knife. 
 After this his servants fell upon the unfortunate 
 knight and finished their master's work. The body 
 was left pierced with wounds on the floor of the 
 room, while Francesco, telling his servants to keep 
 the door barred, took horse and rode as fast as he 
 could go to his own city of Sinigaglia. 
 
 Meanwhile the Duchess, hearing a noise, came to 
 her nephew's rooms and knocked at the door. But 
 no answer came, and when Elisabetta, filled with 
 alarm, bade one of the servants open the door, 
 he replied : ' Madonna, it is of no use, I have the 
 I^ord Prefect's order to keep the door fast ; and 
 if you could open it you would see a sight that 
 would be very displeasing to your eyes.' The 
 Duchess insisted, the door was thrown open, and at 
 the sight of the dead body covered with blood the 
 poor lady burst into a flood of tears. ' But the 
 Prefettino was gone,' continues the ^^enetian envoy, 
 who reported the ghastly tale, ' and that same evening 
 he sent some of his servants to kill his sister's carver, 
 who had been employed to bear letters to her lover.' ^ 
 
 Both court and city were filled with horror and 
 
 ^ Sanuto, vii. 194-.
 
 MURDER OF GIAN ANDREA 227 
 
 consternation at the cruel deed, and the Duke, who 
 returned immediately on hearing the terrible news, 
 was plunged in the deepest grief. ' And the next 
 day,' writes the U rhino chronicler, ' being the 
 Madonna's feast-day,^ after vespers, the dead knight 
 was borne with the greatest honour to the Duomo, 
 followed by all the Duke's gentlemen and all the 
 citizens, men and women, great and small, all weeping 
 bitterly, because he was so handsome and so beloved, 
 and for many years past no one who died in Urbino 
 had been more widely lamented. '- 
 
 In strange contrast to these words are the curt 
 sentences in which both Castiglione and Bembo 
 allude in their private letters to the unhappy Gian 
 Andrea's assassination. At the end of a letter to 
 his mother, written on November 21, after giving 
 orders about some bards and horses' trappings which 
 he had left at Casatico, Baldassare remarked : 
 
 ' There has been some disturbance here about an 
 unfortunate event in the ducal family [i?i Casa nostra']. 
 However, things are settling down now, and the Lord 
 Prefect is here again, so I hope there will be no 
 further trouble in the matter.' 
 
 By this time news of the horrid deed had reached 
 Mantua, and Madonna Luigia wrote, full of concern 
 and dismay, to make inquiries of her son. All that 
 Baldassare, however, would say in reply was to beg 
 her not to vex herself about the inevitable. 
 
 ' You need not distress yourself,' he wrote on 
 December 2, ' about the death of Gio. Andrea — 
 may God pardon him ! — because these things, when 
 
 ^ Sunday after All Saints' Day which in the Roman calendar is 
 observed as the patronal festival of churches consecrated to the 
 Blessed Virgin. 
 
 - Cod. Vat. Urb., 904; Ugolini, ii. 14.1. 
 
 15—2
 
 228 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 they are once done, cannot be undone. Everything 
 has been arranged, thanks to the wisdom and dexterity 
 of the Ijord Duke, and the I^-ord Prefect is here again, 
 and is restored to His Excellency's favour, and he 
 who no longer lives is already forgotten.'^ 
 
 Bembo's reference to the murder sounds even 
 more cold-blooded and heartless in our ears. On 
 November 13, barely a week after the deed which 
 had sent a shudder through the court and city, he 
 wrote to inform Bibbiena that he had just returned 
 from a visit to Padua, and observed that he would 
 hear the latest news from Count Lodovico Canossa, 
 who was on the point of starting for Rome. 
 
 ' The Count will tell you what has happened here, 
 regarding which he has received full and minute 
 particulars from JNIesser Cesare. So I will keep 
 silence, and will only say this : he who might remain 
 standing, and falls by his own fault, deserves to lie 
 there against his will.'- 
 
 It is difficult to understand the confusion of moral 
 ideas which could lead a scholar as refined as Bembo, 
 and a knight as gentle and high-minded as Cas- 
 tiglione, to palliate so dark and treacherous an act. 
 All that can be said in their defence is that, by the 
 code of honour commonly accepted in those days, 
 there were certain wrongs which only death could 
 avenge. The situation was no doubt a very difficult 
 one both for the Duke and Duchess. The perpetrator 
 of the deed was not only their own nephew and heir 
 to the crown, but the Pope's nephew and the affianced 
 husband of Elisabetta's niece. Hence family as well 
 as political exigencies led them to accept Francesco's 
 excuses and forgive his crime. Under these circum- 
 
 1 Serassi, i. 34. '^ 'Lettere/ iii. 15.
 
 CARDINAL JiEMliO. 
 (BRITISH MUSEUM.) 
 
 C'AIUUNAI, AI.IDosl. 
 (liKiriSlI Ml'SKUM.) 
 
 To face p. 2:.'S, Vol. I,
 
 THE AFFAIR HUSHED UP 229 
 
 stances silence seemed to be the only possible course 
 of action, and it became the duty of a loyal courtier 
 to avoid any reference to the subject. It is, however, 
 worthy of note that both the historians of Urbino, 
 Baldi and Leoni, abstain fi'om the faintest allusion 
 to the murder of Gian Andrea,^ and it is only the 
 unknown chronicler of the Vatican manuscript and 
 the \^enetian archives which supply us with details 
 of the incident. Abate Serassi, in his notes on 
 Castiglione's correspondence, owns himself completely 
 baffled in his researches to explain the mystery, and 
 confesses to complete ignorance of the events to 
 which M. Baldassare refers in the above- quoted 
 passages. 
 
 So the very name of the Duke's favourite was 
 never heard again, and Francesco Maria's crime was 
 forgotten, until four years later the murder of Cardinal 
 Alidosi recalled this violent deed to the memory of 
 his enemies. As for JNIaria A^arana, the other victim 
 of her brother's vengeance, we hear no more of her, 
 and only know that she was still living at Urbino 
 from a casual reference to her in the letters of a 
 A'enetian envoy, who mentions a report that she was 
 to marry one of the valiant San Severino brothers. 
 This was Gaspare, better known by his surname, 
 Fracassa, who spent some time at Urbino in the 
 spring of 1513, and accompanied Duke Francesco 
 Maria to Rome. But the idea was abandoned, and 
 Maria, as far as we know, never married again.- The 
 court soon resumed its wonted tranquillity. The 
 
 ^ Ugolini, ii. 143. 
 
 2 Litta and Dennistoun both state that Maria Varana married 
 Galeazzo wSforza Riario, the second son of Caterina Sforza^ of ForH 
 and Imola (' F'amigHe celebri/ ii. 267), but evidently confuse the 
 lady with her cousin. Cardinal Galeotto's sister, Maria Sista, who 
 in 150-i became the bride of this prince.
 
 230 COUNT BAT.DASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Prefect returned to his old quarters in the palace, and 
 Castiglione and Cesare Gonzaga rode out with him in 
 masks through the streets that Christmas, and made 
 merry in their usual fashion. Bibbiena wrote witty 
 letters as before from Rome ; we hear of one espe- 
 cially amusing effusion which was addressed to his 
 three companions, Bembo, Castiglione, and Cesare Gon- 
 zaga, and provoked the Duchess and Madonna Emilia 
 to much laughter. But the death of the Prefettino's 
 youngest sister, Costanza, was a cause of fresh sorrow 
 to the ducal house. She died in Rome in December, 
 at the age of eighteen, ' greatly,' writes Castiglione, 
 ' to the Lord Duke's grief. God wanted her for 
 Himself,' he adds, ' because she w;>.y good.' 
 
 Soon after this JMesser Cesare's horse slipped down 
 one snowy night in January, when he and the Prefect 
 and Baldassare were masquerading in the street, and 
 this gay gentleman was laid up for some weeks with 
 a broken leg. Baldassare nursed his cousin atten- 
 tively, and wrote frequent letters to JVlantua to calm 
 his mother and uncle's alarms. 
 
 Nor was JNladonna Luigia without her anxieties that 
 winter. Her son-in-law, Jacopo Boschetto, was ill, 
 and worried his wife and every one with his bad 
 temper. * God restore him to health !' wrote 
 Baldassare one day that he had received an unusually 
 disagreeable letter from JNlesser Jacopo. ' It seems 
 to me his brain is full of that cursed gout, and this 
 must have affected his mind.' But these minor 
 troubles faded into insignificance when in the early 
 spring the Duke fell dangerously ill. 
 
 In January the weather, which had remained 
 singularly mild up till Christmas, turned bitterly 
 cold, and snow and frost set in with severity. Guido- 
 baldo suffered from a bad attack of gout, and, at his
 
 THE DUKE'S LAST ILLNESS 231 
 
 doctor's advice, decided to move to Fossombrone 
 towards the end of the month. But when he reached 
 San Bernardino in his Utter he became alarmingly ill, 
 and was obliged to spend the night at the neighbour- 
 ing convent. The next day he recovered sufficiently 
 to continue the journey to Fossombrone, where, under 
 the influence of a warmer climate and sea-breezes, 
 his health improved considerably, and on February 4 
 Castigiione was able to give his mother an excellent 
 report of his lord's condition. 
 
 Bembo had gone to Rome, where Bibbiena had 
 secured him comfortable quarters in the Belvedere, 
 close to Cardinal de' INIedici's apartments, and where 
 Cristoforo the sculptor and Beroaldo were eagerly 
 awaiting him to join their merry circle in Bernardo's 
 cavierino. At the end of the year Giuliano de' Medici 
 also left for Rome, while Cesare Gonzaga was still 
 laid up at Urbino. But the Prefect and Ottaviano 
 Fregoso, as well as his mother and sisters, accom- 
 panied the Duke and Duchess to Fossombrone, and 
 Castig-lione, faithful to the last, remained in constant 
 attendance on his beloved master during these last 
 weeks. Guidobaldo grew paler and thinner every day, 
 and when April brought a renewal of frost and snow 
 his strength failed rapidly, and it became evident to 
 the loving eyes that watched him that he could not 
 live much longer. His devoted wife hardly left his 
 bedside day or night, and his nephews, Francesco 
 ^laria and Ottaviano, were unremitting in their 
 attentions. Guidobaldo himself retained conscious- 
 ness to the end, and gave his last orders with perfect 
 composure and tranquilhty. The friends who stood 
 round his couch tried to cheer him with hopes of 
 recovery, but he only shook his head, and said as he 
 looked at their sad faces : ' Why, my dear ones, should
 
 232 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 you wish to deprive me of the good that 1 long for 
 most ? Is not death, which can dehver me from 
 these cruel pains, the kindest and best of friends V 
 And, turning to Castiglione, he repeated these lines 
 of Virgil : 
 
 ' Me circum limus niger et deformis arundo 
 Cocyti, tardaque palus inamabilis unda 
 Alligat, et iiovies Styx interfusa coercet.'^ 
 
 After that his voice failed, but his dying gaze rested 
 on his wife's pale face, and the Duchess, taking his 
 cold hand in hers, tried to console him with sweet 
 and tender words. On April 11 he asked for the 
 last Sacraments, which the Bishop of Fossombrone 
 administered, and bade his nearest relatives farewell. 
 He addressed his last counsels to the Prefetto, and 
 charged him solemnly to govern his people well, to 
 be just and clement, and to take his uncle, the Pope, 
 and his noble grandfather, Duke Federico, for his 
 models. Al?ove all, he begged him to obey the 
 Duchess in everything, and treat her with filial love 
 and reverence. Last of all he turned to Elisabetta, call- 
 ing her his ' sposa carissima e dileftisshna,' and implored 
 her to guide and help his nephew in the government 
 of the State, that he might prove worthy of his race. 
 ' But I need give you no commands,' he added tenderly ; 
 ' you know better than I do what I wish, and I 
 place all my trust in you.' When his heart-broken 
 wife tried to hide the tears that she could not 
 restrain, he begged her not to weep and disturb the 
 peace of his soul, since he was passing to a blessed 
 home. After that he never spoke again, but lay for 
 some time with his eyes fixed on his wife's face and 
 his hand in hers. At ten o'clock that evening Cas- 
 ^ ' Georg./ iv. 478.
 
 DEATH OF GUIDOBALDO 233 
 
 tiglione snatched a spare moment to write the follow- 
 ing brief note to his mother : 
 
 ' I only send these few lines in answer to the letter 
 brought me by Fracassa because we are all in the 
 greatest distress. His Excellency the Duke is sink- 
 ing fast, and the doctors give little or no hope of his 
 life. The loss is very great for every one of us, most 
 of all for the poor Lady Duchess, whom I will never 
 leave as long as she needs my services. God help us ! 
 I think the Lord Prefect will succeed peaceably to 
 this duchy. M. Cesare is at Urbino, which is a good 
 thing, as no one else of importance is in the palace, 
 and we cannot tell what may happen.' 
 
 An hour later the end came. The dying Prince laid 
 his right cheek upon his hand, composed himself to 
 sleep, and, without the slightest struggle, passed 
 away so gently that Castiglione and the others who 
 knelt around hardly knew when he was gone. ' No 
 one,' wrote Bembo to Vincenzo Querini, ' ever died 
 more calmly and nobly and in a more Christian 
 manner.' 
 
 Even the Venetian humanist's cold and calculating 
 spirit was moved to tears at the premature death of 
 this Prince, who was so precious to his family and 
 friends, and so dear to his subjects, who had been 
 trusted and honoured by the Pope, and whose life 
 seemed necessary to the peace of Italy. ' We in 
 Venice,' he reminds his friends, 'witnessed the courage, 
 constancy, and goodness which he showed in the 
 weary days of exile, when both he and the Duchess 
 made themselves so dear to us that it was hard to 
 say which of the two was the more beloved. . . . 
 And so ends the life of the rarest Prince of our 
 age — let others say what they will !'^ 
 1 ' Lettere/ ii. 65.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 1508 
 
 The Pope sends Archbishop Fregoso to Fossombrone — Grief of the 
 Duchess and lamentation in Urbino — CastigHone's letter to 
 Henry VII. of England and funeral of Duke Guidobaldo — 
 Castiglione sent to Gubbio — Bembo's treatise. 
 
 The news of Duke Guidobaldo's dangerous illness 
 was a cause of great sorrow to his friends at the 
 Vatican. The Pope sent the Archbishop of Salerno 
 and his own doctor, Arcangelo da Siena, to give 
 him the Papal benediction and attend him in these 
 critical moments. But when Fregoso reached Fos- 
 sombrone, the good Duke had already breathed his 
 last, and all that he could do was to comfort the 
 stricken widow. Both Castiglione, who witnessed 
 the Duke's death, and Bembo, who heard full par- 
 ticulars of that moving scene from Fregoso, tell us 
 how bravely the Duchess bore up to the last. It 
 was only when she saw that her husband was dead, 
 that her courage forsook her, and, flinging her arms 
 with a cry of agony round his neck, and kissing 
 his cold brow, she exclaimed : ' Why have you left 
 me, my beloved ? Where are you going ? At least 
 let me die with you !' Then she fell fainting in the 
 arms of Madonna Emilia, while every one in the room 
 broke into tears and sobbing, and throughout the 
 
 234
 
 K:gyidue\lih s i mi 
 
 d»' A xvK.il CMobrif Aiino I'isi.'. 
 
 BfvPriiicet's clcniciilissiimis .& mira m adversiS' .^ _, » 
 '•'• aJto co.ilueii.- ui mlor celeiAs accadcmiAS . \ .' : .■. 
 ■ An ic' "Hni i; Vi :< K->niemproiii| .^uaviler aiiiinamV N-j:- 'o. j 
 ■■- deUUini mMin.Rtr iS,Bt.-i-nAaUiii Ecclcsui extra \\'.'1'i i'i 
 
 ^UXIK^S.R.E.VEXILLIFER, fC.E&Jj 
 FiInusxvi'Ial.Fch liar. All lira in iuc'.m cdtiui^j 
 Ducdtus Impel iuiii ?u>^ccpa. -"■'■■ 
 
 palientia preditus.qup aajpice littcre I 
 pffiuni ^<ibi locum memo V:ndic3vcrn . < 
 .■mavitiu'Id.ApU3An.isos..cij>^ae Coipu- V. .. • . 
 Crbis msr.ia tumulo liiil condituiu — -^-i^ 
 
 J'holo, Lkv.t. Sitnoi.di. 
 
 GUIDnBAI.Dil, UrivE OF nUUNO 
 
 Tu face \>. 1^34, Vol. I.
 
 ELISABETTA'S COURAGE 235 
 
 house nothing but the sound of weeping could be 
 heard. For the next twenty-four hours fears for 
 EHsabetta's hfe were seriously entertained, and a 
 report reached Urbino that the Duchess was dead, 
 as well as her lord, and excited a frantic outburst 
 of lamentation. The first thing that roused her 
 from the stupor into which she had fallen was the 
 arrival of Archbishop Fregoso, who read a letter 
 from the Pope, and begged her to think of the young 
 Duke and help him, for the sake of the love 
 which she bore her husband and the trust which he 
 reposed in her. Francesco himself spoke affection- 
 ately, calling her his mother, and reminding her how 
 much depended upon her at this moment. With a 
 great effort she controlled her grief, and, drying her 
 tears, gave the necessary orders for the funeral, and 
 issued a proclamation calling on the late Duke's 
 subjects to obey his wishes and acknowledge Francesco 
 Maria as his successor. 
 
 On the evening of Wednesday, April 12, the 
 Duke's body was borne on the shoulders of the 
 contadini of Fossombrone, attended by the members 
 of his household carrying lighted torches, over the 
 moinitain-passes. Castiglione, who rode at the head of 
 the mournful procession, describes the weird sights and 
 sounds of that sad journey — the weeping crowds who 
 lined the roads, the howling of the dogs on the lonely 
 hillside, and the darkness of the starless night. The 
 Duchess followed some hours later in a litter with 
 her ladies, and the Prefect, who had ridden on before, 
 met the corpse at the church of San Bernardino, with 
 the nobles and gentlemen of the court. All that day 
 the greatest agitation had prevailed in the city, and, 
 in spite of the snow which fell heavily, the market- 
 place was crowded with people throughout the night.
 
 236 COUNT BAI.DASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 A meteor was said to hover in the air above the ducal 
 palace, and the gates of the Zoccolanti Church, in 
 which Duke Federico was buried, were seen to open 
 wide and close again. A dense throng of weeping 
 men and women, many bearing their babes in their 
 arms, and striking their breasts and tearing their hair 
 in token of their grief, lined the streets, as the chief 
 magistrates of the city bore their dead lord to the 
 palace gates. Here his body was clad in the black 
 damask vest, rose-red hose, and gold-fringed cap, 
 which he had worn, it is said, when Raphael painted 
 his portrait, and over all was thrown the blue mantle of 
 the Garter, with crimson velvet hood lined with white 
 silk. Thus attired the Duke was laid on a stately 
 catafalque, hung with gold brocade and surrounded 
 with blazing torches, in the centre of the great 
 banquet-hall, and here during the next two days 
 his subjects came in crowds to take a last look at 
 their beloved Prince. On Thursday morning Duke 
 Guidobaldd's will was read in the Duomo. His 
 nephew was appointed his heir and successor, and the 
 widowed Duchess was to govern the State and ad- 
 minister the revenues until he reached the age of 
 twenty-five. This prudent proviso did much to allay 
 the fears of the citizens, who were inclined to look 
 with suspicion on Francesco Maria, and had deeply 
 resented their favourite Gian Andrea's murder. 
 But such was the love which the people of Urbino 
 bore to the Duchess that no one would oppose her 
 wishes, and, as Bembo told his friend, ' it is quite 
 certain that, if she had chosen to dispose of the State 
 in any other way, all the city and country and every 
 man in the realm would have obeyed her word, 
 partly because she held S. Leo and all the chief 
 fortresses in the realm, but still more because of the
 
 f^LISABETTA 
 
 Mj^Uc dd Buca ^: 
 Ic cSinoiu si cdchrdrono^ 
 ^■; ' Hfor- ill Urlnno 
 
 GONZAGA 
 
 ELl.SAlip:TTA (JONZAGA, DUCHESS k¥ UKIUNO. 
 
 To face p. -2315, Vol. T.
 
 FRANCESCO MARIA PROCLAIMED 237 
 
 incredible love which they bore her.'^ Then the new 
 Duke was solemnly proclaimed, and, after receiving 
 the keys of the city gates in a silver basin, rode 
 through the town in white satin robes, and with the 
 ducal cap and crown on his head, amid shouts of 
 ' Feltre ! Feltre ! Duca ! Prefetto !' According to 
 the usual custom, on his return to the palace, the 
 Duke's charger and robes were given up to the 
 citizens ; but such was the excitement of the young 
 men on this occasion that his white satin mantle lined 
 with cloth of gold was torn to pieces, and, in order to 
 satisfy them, Francesco gave them another robe of 
 black velvet and a gold brocade cloak. When the 
 ceremony was ended, the chief citizens were received 
 by the widowed Duchess. In spite of her pale and 
 altered appearance, and of the tears that she could not 
 check, she made them what our friend the diarist 
 calls ' a most beautiful speech,' thanking tliem for all 
 their love and sympathy, and begging them to show 
 the same loyalty and devotion to the Prefetto as 
 they had shown to their last Duke. ' I have lost a 
 most beloved husband,' she said, with touching 
 simplicity. ' and you a devoted Prince and father. 
 You all know how much he loved you. But it is the 
 will of God, who tries those whom He loves best 
 most sorely.' And she thanked them for obeying 
 his last wishes, saying that the sight of their love and 
 loyalty to his desires would be her husband's best 
 joy in heaven, and the greatest consolation she 
 could have.'^ At six o'clock the Bishops and priests 
 assembled in the great hall, where a solemn requiem 
 was held, and at eight all the citizens, with Francesco 
 ISlaria at their head and lighted torches in their hands, 
 followed Guidobaldo's remains to the church of 
 ^ ' Lettere/ ii. 66. '^ Baldi, p. 235.
 
 238 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 S. Chiara. Here the body lay in state all night, 
 many women being among the watchers by the bier, 
 and ' on Friday,' adds the chronicler, ' they bore him 
 to San Bernardino, and laid him in a coffin covered 
 with gold brocade, opposite that of his father, as he 
 had willed, and it rained torrents all the while. '^ 
 
 In her deep sorrow Elisabetta showed a wisdom 
 which excited the admiration of soldiers and states- 
 men alike. Both Bembo, who was in Rome at the 
 time, and her warlike brother, Giovanni Gonzaga, 
 who had hastened to Urbino on hearing of Guido- 
 baldo's death, praise her care and forethought in 
 sending trusted councillors to the chief cities of the 
 duchy to ensure the young Duke's peaceful succes- 
 sion, ' thus showing herself,' wrote Giovanni, ' to be 
 the wise and prudent lady that she is.' 
 
 Castiglione was sent to Gubbio, where the citizens 
 were inclined to be unruly and disaffection was chiefly 
 to be feared, and discharged his errand with complete 
 success, as he informed his mother in a letter of 
 April 29 : 
 
 ' It is many days since I have written to you, 
 because I have been so much occupied lately owing 
 to the great and bitter loss we have suffered in the 
 death of my dear lord and master. If the loss of so 
 excellent a Prince is grievous for the whole of Italy, 
 it is far worse for us here. The Lady Duchess is 
 still in the deepest distress, but even she must take 
 comfort in time. I certainly think Her Excellency's 
 fate will be a sad one. If you have written to her, it 
 will be a very good thing. I have just returned from 
 Eugubbio, because there was some fear that this change 
 of rulers would excite a tumult, as the city is full of 
 powerful men and much enmity. But God has not 
 allowed anything of the sort to happen. Everything 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. IJrb., 904.
 
 THE DUKE'S FUNERAL 239 
 
 has gone gone off well, and all the chief citizens were 
 most obedient to my orders. Now I have returned 
 to Urbino, to find the same tears and darkness every- 
 where. As for my future, I think I shall remain in 
 the new Duke's service on the same conditions as 
 before, because His Excellency seems very glad to 
 have me near him, and it appears that His Holiness 
 the Pope also desires that M. Cesare and I should 
 stay with him. Meanwhile I shall not cease to do 
 my duty towards the Lady Duchess and the Duke. 
 Anyhow, you need not be anxious about my pros- 
 pects, for at least I am out of swaddling bands and 
 can look after myself.'^ 
 
 The Gonfaloniere was sent to Rome to inform the 
 Pope formally of Duke Guidobaldo's death and thank 
 him on behalf of the Duchess for his kind offices. 
 Both in public and private Julius II. expressed the 
 deepest grief for the death of this Prince, whom he 
 had loved and trusted more than any other man, as 
 well as the most sincere regard and admiration for 
 the Duchess. 
 
 He sent the Gonfaloniere back with a Papal brief 
 in which he condoled with the faithful people of 
 Urbino on the loss of their beloved Duke, and desired 
 them to pay the same allegiance to his nephew, 
 Francesco della Rovere, rejoicing that one of his 
 own flesh and blood should now reign over them. 
 With him came Giuliano de' Medici and Bembo, as 
 well as a number of ambassadors and deputies from 
 all parts of Italy, to bear condolences to the Duchess 
 and attend the solemn funeral which took place on 
 May 2. The Duomo was hung with black, and a 
 stately catafalque, surrounded with 500 wax candles, 
 was erected in the centre of the nave, immediately 
 before the high altar. This funeral pile, with its 
 
 ^ Serassi, i, 39.
 
 240 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 architectural and heraldic devices, its rows of columns 
 and arches, its shields decorated with the arms, titles, 
 and portraits of the Duke and Duchess, with paint- 
 ings of Guidobaldo's deeds in war and peace, inscribed 
 with appropriate legends, was the work of the court 
 architect and painter, Girolamo Genga and Timoteo 
 Viti, and excited general admiration. On the summit 
 of the bier the mantle and insignia of the Garter, the 
 sword and ducal cap, were laid, a siglit which re- 
 minded Castiglione painfully of the joyous day when 
 the Duke was first invested in these robes, and all 
 Rome rejoiced with him. 
 
 The dead Prince's sister, Gentile Fregoso, with 
 her daughter, Madonna Emilia, and all the ladies of 
 the court, were present at the funeral ceremony in 
 long black veils. Francesco Maria, as chief mourner, 
 was attended by the court officials, the Papal nuncio, 
 magistrates, foreign representatives, and more than 
 800 persons in mourning cloaks and hoods. An 
 elegant Latin oration, full of classical allusions and 
 invocations of the immortal gods, mingled with pious 
 Christian sentiments, was pronounced by the Duke's 
 old tutor, Lodovico Odasio.^ This discourse, as both 
 the diarist and that honest soldier, Giovanni Gonzaga, 
 remark, lasted fully an hour. The latter, however, 
 does not presume to pass any judgment upon its 
 merits, but says that it was ' pronounced to be very 
 fine by persons who understand these things better 
 than I do.' The crush at the doors was so great 
 that it was impossible to move, and as many as 
 10,000 persons passed by the bier. All those who 
 were present agreed that so sumptuous a funeral had 
 never been seen in Italy, and that no Prince had ever 
 been more deeply and widely lamented. Ehsabetta 
 
 ' Bern bo, ' Lettere,' ii. 69.
 
 ELISABETTA'S GRIEF 241 
 
 was determined to leave nothing undone that her 
 love and sorrow could suggest. By her desire 
 10,000 masses were said for the repose of her 
 husband's soul, and arrears of her dowry, amounting 
 to some 400 gold florins, which were sent her that 
 week from Mantua, were entirely devoted to this 
 object.^ 
 
 ' When the Duke's funeral was over,' writes Cas- 
 tiglione, ' all thoughts turned towards the Duchess ' — 
 an infinitely pathetic figure in her silent and incon- 
 solable sorrow. 
 
 'No eye could remain dry that saw her,' wrote 
 Bembo to Vincenzo Querini ; ' no one could come 
 near her without being overcome with the deepest 
 compassion. How profoundly and bitterly she grieves 
 now that so many days have passed I can hardly tell 
 you, and you could scarcely believe. Whenever she 
 sees anyone fresh who has come to condole with her, 
 she bursts into floods of scalding tears, as if she had 
 never wept before. When I returned from Rome 
 some twenty days after the Duke's death, and came 
 to pay her reverence, no sooner did she catch sight 
 of me than she burst into tears, so that, instead of 
 consoling her, I found myself unable to speak a word, 
 and began to cry myself, and for some time we did 
 nothing but lament together, until 1 was obliged to 
 leave her lest she should weep the whole day. Thus 
 this unhappy lady remains in continual lamentation, 
 leading the hardest possible life, and never leaving a 
 closed chamber hung with black, in which both day 
 and night the only light is that of one little candle set 
 on a corner of the floor, so that this room seems to 
 be a dark and gloomy dungeon rather than a ducal 
 chamber — a home of the dead rather than of the 
 living.' 
 
 ^ Cod. Vat. Urb., 904 ; Luzio e Renier, ' Mantova e Urbino/ 185. 
 VOL. I. 16
 
 242 COUNT BALDASSAEE CASTIGIJONE 
 
 At the same time he recognizes with wonder and 
 admiration how wisely and well the bereaved lady 
 has discharged the task assigned to her by her lord- 
 how reluctantly, but with what ability and wisdom, 
 she has taken up the reins of government, to the 
 infinite satisfaction of all her husband's subjects, and 
 to the great and lasting benefit of the State. The 
 Prefettino, he owns, although a mere boy, pays her 
 the utmost honour and reverence, and obeys her 
 wishes in every particular. INIadonna Emilia, he 
 adds, being herself experienced in sorrows of this 
 kind, has once more given proof of that admirable 
 discretion and greatness of soul for which she is noted, 
 and has been throughout the Duchess's most steadfast 
 helper and companion. Finally, he informs his friends 
 in Venice that it is the good Duchess's pleasure that 
 he and his companions who had made their home at 
 the court of Urbino during her lord's lifetime should 
 remain there still. 
 
 ' Not only is it greatly for the benefit of her own 
 subjects that this excellent lady still remains in power, 
 but for that of the foreign gentlemen who lived at 
 her husband's court, who will, I believe, all, or almost 
 all, continue in the new Duke's service at her request, 
 since she feels that, out of respect to her lord's 
 memory, this honourable company which served him 
 should not be broken up.'^ 
 
 Accordingly, Bembo and Castiglione, Giuliano de' 
 Medici, and most of the courtiers and scholars who 
 had helped to shed lustre on Guidobaldo's court, 
 remained at Urbino, and served the new Duke in 
 their different capacities. And since nothing could 
 please Elisabetta better, both Bembo and Castiglione 
 
 ^ Bembo, ' Lettere/ ii. 70.
 
 I'hoto, Anderson. 
 
 ELISABETTA GONZAGA, DVCHESS OF URBINO. 
 BY CAKOTO (HFFlZl). 
 
 To face p. 24J, Vol. I.
 
 LATIN EPISTLE 243 
 
 devoted their pens during the next few weeks to 
 the composition of treatises in honour of the late 
 Duke. Both of these memorials recount the chief 
 incidents of Guidobaldo's life, and give full details 
 of his death and funeral. Both are marked by 
 the same fine scholarship, while they have all the 
 charm of spontaneous production. The form they 
 took, however, was very different. Castiglione 
 addressed a Latin epistle to King Henry VII. of 
 England, informing him, as Sovereign of the Knights 
 of the Garter, of the Duke's death, in courtly language, 
 with distinct reference to the late Prince's member- 
 ship of this noble order, and repeated allusions to his 
 own visit to England. A copy of this letter, bearing 
 Castiglione's arms, encircled with the golden collar 
 of SS links which the King had given him, was 
 sent to Henry A^II., and is mentioned by Anstis 
 in his history of the Order of the Garter. Five years 
 later it was printed at Fossombrone, in a folio entitled 
 ' De Vita et Gestis Guidobaldi Urbini Ducis,' and 
 adorned with a miniature of the Duke, which is of 
 especial interest as being one of the few authentic 
 portraits of him in existence. He is represented in a 
 black velvet suit and ermine stole, with flowing locks of 
 brown hair, parted in the middle of his forehead, long, 
 thin features and a gentle, melancholy air that give 
 an impression of habitual ill- health. This miniature 
 bears a marked likeness to the fine portrait of Guido- 
 baldo by Caroto, now in the Pitti, which was 
 evidently painted at the same time as the Veronese 
 master's picture of Elisabetta. 
 
 Bembo's ' De Ducibus ' is written in the lingua 
 volgare, and is an admirable example of his mastery 
 of the Italian language, in which, as his friend 
 
 16—2
 
 244 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLTONE 
 
 Sadoleto remarks, he was as great an expert as in the 
 composition of Latin prose. In the simplest and 
 most natural way he tells us how one spring day, 
 soon after the Duke's death, while Pope Julius was 
 absent at Ostia, he was walking in the Vatican 
 gardens with Sadoleto and Filippo Beroaldo, when 
 the Papal Secretary, Sigismondo Conti of Foligno, 
 came up to them with letters from Urbino. In 
 these dispatches the Archbishop of Salerno described 
 Guidobaldo's last moments in touching language, and 
 the three friends listened with tears to the sad story. 
 Having read the letters aloud, Sigismondo Conti, the 
 prelate whom Raphael afterwards painted kneeling 
 at the Madonna's feet in his great Foligno altar- 
 piece, turned to Bembo and exhorted him to show 
 his love for this illustrious lord and his devoted wife 
 by writing a record of their lives which might 
 be read by persons who had never known them. 
 Then Beroaldo, who had spent the last summer at 
 Urbino, chimed in, recalling the gracious welcome 
 which the Duchess had given him, and extolling 
 Elisabetta as surpassing all other women in beauty of 
 character and greatness of soul. ' Others I have 
 known,' he concludes in a famous phrase, ' con- 
 spicuous for certain qualities, but none in whom 
 all virtues and excellencies were combined as they 
 were in her.' Suddenly the conversation of the four 
 scholars was interrupted by the arrival of a messenger 
 from Ostia. Sigismondo hastened to answer His 
 Holiness's letters, Beroaldo and Sadoleto went back 
 to their daily tasks, and Bembo was left alone, 
 musing sadly over the good Duke whose loss all 
 men were lamenting. A few days later, at the 
 urgent request of his father and friends in Venice,
 
 * DEODUCIBUS ' 
 
 245 
 
 who knew how intimate he had been with the 
 lamented Prince, he wrote down this conversation 
 with his three companions, and pubUshed it in the 
 form of a dialogue, entitled ' De Ducibus,'^ which 
 remains one of his best works. 
 
 ^ ' Opera,' iv. 
 
 WINDOW OF BANQUET-HALL, PALACE OF UEBINO. 
 
 (Scop. 51.)
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 1508-1509 
 
 Castiglione in the service of Francesco della Rovere— His devotion 
 to the widowed Duchess — His private affairs, debts, and 
 difficulties — Marriage proposals made by Giuliano de' Medici 
 and by the Martinengo family — Castiglione at Bologna with 
 the Duke — His visit to Casatico — Failure of both negotiations 
 — Clarice de' Medici betrothed to Filippo Strozzi. 
 
 The death of Guidobaldo was the first break in Cas- 
 tighone's happy life at Urbino. For him, as for Bembo 
 and Fregoso, the court was never again what it had 
 been in the good Duke's hfetime. His successor, 
 Francesco della Rovere, was a man of a different stamp, 
 a brave soldier, with none of his uncle's refinement 
 and love of letters, but with a certain honest manli- 
 ness and warmth of heart that went far to atone for 
 his fiery temper. He soon learnt to appreciate Cas- 
 tiglione's loyalty, and relied upon his skill and tact to 
 steer him safely through his greatest difficulties. But 
 the services which the new Duke required were of a 
 more exacting order. Henceforth Baldassare's time 
 was spent in active warfare or anxious diplomatic 
 missions. Often in the full and crowded years that 
 followed he sighed for the old days and yearned to 
 be at leisure to cultivate the neglected JMuse and 
 devote himself to his favourite studies. 
 
 The summer of 1508, however, was spent in com- 
 
 246
 
 THE WIDOWED DUCHESS 247 
 
 parative tranquillity at Urbino. By degrees the 
 Duchess recovered her habitual equanimity, and, since 
 she could not die with her husband, resolved to live 
 to carry out his wishes and make his subjects happy. 
 The devoted friends who stood by her in these dark 
 hours — JNladonna Emilia, Castiglione, and a few others 
 — strove by every means in their power to cheer and 
 amuse her, and watched eagerly for the first signs of 
 revived interest in old pleasures. 
 
 ' The Duchess begins to console herself in some 
 degree,' wrote Bembo to his friend Bernardo Bibbiena. 
 ' Can I say console herself ? for this is hardly true, but 
 at least she does not make herself quite as miser- 
 able as she did, and this alone is sufficient to make us 
 all rejoice.' 
 
 It was quite an event when, a few weeks later, 
 she actually smiled at a passage in one of Bibbiena's 
 merry letters from Rome. 
 
 ' The letter which you sent to Signor Giovanni 
 Gonzaga,' wrote Bembo, ' was read by your Giuliano 
 and my Archbishop, or, rather, your Archbishop and 
 my Giuliano, or, better still, our Archbishop and our 
 Giuliano ! O what a fine invention ! You may 
 imagine how they laughed ! Last night the letter 
 was placed in the hands of the said Signor Giovanni, 
 and then was read by the future bridegroom [Fran- 
 cesco della Rovere], and to-day our I^ady Duchess has 
 actually read it herself, and, although she never laughs 
 at anything now, she could not refrain from a smile. 
 So that you may be proud to feel you have accom- 
 plished thus much. It is true that I had recourse 
 to a small stratagem, which may ha\'e been partly 
 the cause of this happy result. But you must not 
 wonder if I, too, wish to have my share of glory.' ^ 
 
 ^ * Lettere,' iii. 24, 28.
 
 248 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 The writer was still better pleased when Elisabetta 
 asked to see a French version of his ' Asolani,' and 
 wrote off in haste to his friends at Venice to obtain a 
 copy. But this was sev^eral months later. 
 
 The death of the Pope's favourite nephew, Cardinal 
 Galeotto della Ro^^ere, in September was a fresh 
 cause of sorrow, and the premature end of this young 
 and popular prelate was lamented as much at Urbino 
 as in Rome. In a letter to the Marchesa Isabella, 
 Emilia Pia enclosed two sonnets written shortly before 
 his death ' by that unfortunate S. Pietro in Vin- 
 cula,' in one of which he foretells his coming doom. 
 With a thoughtfulness which Isabella, of all others, 
 appreciated, she adds that she has already written to 
 ask Bernardo da Bibbiena if any of the late Cardinal's 
 beautiful antiques are for sale, and promises to let 
 Her Excellency hear about them.^ The sculptor 
 Cristoforo, who came to Urbino that autumn, brought 
 word that the collection was to be sold to pay the 
 Cardinal's debts, which, in spite of his large revenues, 
 amounted to upwards of 90,000 ducats. If Isabella 
 was eager to secure the dead man's antiques, Bembo 
 was equally keen to obtain reversion of his benefices, 
 and even before his death had written to Bibbiena, 
 begging him to ascertain their exact number and value. 
 
 Castiglione, we find, often acted as secretary to the 
 Duchess at this time, and many of the letters which 
 she 'WTote to Mantua are in his handwriting. In his 
 own letters to his mother we come across frequent 
 references to Elisabetta and Emilia Pia, and he was 
 evidently drawn into close and intimate relations with 
 both these ladies. 
 
 " I think I must have told you before,' he writes on 
 June 15, 'that the Lady Duchess continues to govern 
 
 1 V. Cian in ' Giorn. st. d. Lett, it.,' ix. 115.
 
 DEATH OF ERCOLE STROZZI 249 
 
 this State and enjoys the Holy Father's goodwill and 
 favour in the highest measure, and is treated with the 
 greatest reverence and attention by the new Duke. 
 The Duke of blessed memory left her 14,000 ducats 
 besides her dowry and allowances for the maintenance 
 of her establishment on a suitable scale. So Her 
 Excellency has 18,000 ducats, which have been paid 
 in successive instalments from Mantua, secured to 
 her, as well as this other 14,000 ducats and several 
 other gifts which the Duke made her in his life- 
 time. The Pope is very anxious for the INlantuan 
 marriage, and has sent our JNIesser Alessandro here 
 on that account. I think it will soon take place. 
 JNI. Cesare and I remain in the new Duke's service 
 with the same salary that we had before. I hope you 
 will be satisfied this time, and think that I have 
 written enough. The truth is, I do not care for the 
 trouble of letter-writing, but when I have a secretary 
 I will write to you so often that you will be tired of 
 my letters ! I grieve more than 1 can say for the 
 death of our poor M. Ercole Strozzi. ^lay God 
 receive his soul ! And I am also very sorry for 
 Leonora's poor child, and beg you to offer my 
 condolences to both parties, for indeed I feel the 
 greatest compassion for them both.' 
 
 Serassi'^ adds a note explaining that this I^eonora, 
 who had lost her child, was a sister of Ercole Strozzi, 
 whose assassination in the streets of Ferrara close to 
 his own home had excited a great sensation. Cas- 
 tiglione, as we have already seen, was much attached 
 to his charming kinswoman, Barbara Torelli, who 
 soon after the death of her first husband, Ercole 
 Bentivoglio, had become the wife of this accomplished 
 Ferrarese poet, to whom she had lately borne a child. 
 The name of the assassin remained unknown, an d the 
 rigid silence that was preserved on the subject at the 
 
 ^ Op. cit., i. 43.
 
 250 COUNT BAI.DASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 courts of Ferrara and Mantua leave little doubt 
 that Duke Alfonso was the perpetrator of the 
 crime, whether he was moved by jealousy of Ercole 
 Strozzi's intimacy with the Duchess Lucrezia, or 
 by his own passion for the unfortunate Barbara 
 Torelli. Castiglione himself stood loyally by the 
 desolate widow, and eventually married her cousin 
 Ippolita. 
 
 Although INIesser Baldassare's letters contained a 
 few allusions to public events, his correspondence 
 during this year was almost entirely occupied with 
 his private affairs. Two subjects appear to have 
 engrossed his own and his mother's attention : the 
 one was his pecuniary embarrassments, the other his 
 marriage. Castiglione, as we have already seen, was 
 far less skilful in the management of his own affairs 
 than in those of the princes whom he served. No 
 doubt he often felt sadly hampered by the limited 
 means at his disposal, and was of too fastidious and 
 sensitive a nature to be easily pleased ; but he seems, 
 in his own words, to have been singularly unlucky in 
 servants. One was an idler and incapable, another a 
 thief; one loitered by the way when the dispatches 
 entrusted to him were of the utmost importance, 
 another left Rome or Urbino without ever taking his 
 master's letters. There was a certain hunchback, 
 II Gobbo, a protege of Madonna Luigia, who tried 
 his patience sorely, and was actually afraid to go 
 from Poggio to Mantua alone. ' I have forgiven him 
 this once,' wrote the young knight, ' because you 
 have taken him under your protection. If it had 
 not been for this, I should have sent him about his 
 business long ago.'^ Then there was Antonio, the 
 secretary whose arrival he had impatiently awaited, 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210, tol. 101.
 
 TROUBLESOME SERVANTS 251 
 
 and who proved to be so ignorant that lie could 
 hardly read, far less write from dictation, and could 
 not even be trusted to deliver a message correctly, 
 but forgot half of his master's instructions before he 
 reached Mantua. 
 
 ' Some days he is impertinent to every one ; at 
 other times he will not even open his mouth to eat. 
 He cannot read Pulci's " JNlorgante " or the " Cento 
 Novelle " without help, and yet he gives himself 
 grand airs. For God's sake, never let him come 
 back here. He is a simpleton, and I cannot afford 
 to keep servants who are absolutely useless.'^ 
 
 This troublesome boy was the son of an old 
 retainer at Casatico, and Castiglione was genuinely 
 sorry to send him home in disgrace, and wrote to 
 tell his father that he expected to be sent to Rome, 
 and felt it would be a pity to leave the lad to 
 waste his time at Urbino. But if Antonio was a 
 failure, his successor, Bartolommeo, turned out still 
 worse. From the first day of his arrival Castiglione 
 complained of his laziness and ignorance, although, in 
 his anxiety not to be constantly changing servants, 
 he determined to give the man a trial. But the new 
 secretary never ceased grumbling, and when, on one 
 occasion, his master sent him to Urbino from Fossom- 
 brone, he made noise enough to bring the house down. 
 Another time Castiglione heard him complain of the 
 excessive labour and hard treatment which he had to 
 endure in his service, and even venture to assert 
 that he was indispensable to his master, who did not 
 dare to dismiss him. This last statement was too 
 much for Baldassare, who sent for him on the spot 
 and gave him notice to leave the next day. But, since 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210.
 
 252 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Bartolommeo was a liar as well as an idler, Castiglione 
 felt obliged to give his mother a full account of his 
 reasons for dismissing the man, adding sadly : ' I have 
 had so little good luck in my servants that I hardly 
 know what to do next, but I must try and get along 
 as best I can.' A certain Smeraldo, however, and two 
 or three others, Scamarella, Giovanni JMartino, and 
 Alessandro, seem to have remained a long time in his 
 service. Early in 1512 we first hear of Cristoforo Tira- 
 bosco of Asola, who was sent to him from Mantua 
 with letters, and who in after-years became a con- 
 fidential servant in whom he placed the utmost trust. 
 
 Next to servants, horses were his great anxiety. 
 He needed handsome and well-groomed chargers for 
 his duties at court and on parade, and was constantly 
 sending home for fresh ones, and complaining that the 
 grooms at Casatico did not feed and exercise his colts 
 properly or turn them out to his satisfaction. If there 
 was one thing on which he spent more ducats than he 
 could afford, it was on horses. He had a keen eye for 
 all their points, and never could hear of a remarkably 
 good steed without desiring to acquire it by purchase 
 or exchange. Many of his favourite horses are men- 
 tioned by name in his letters. There was Frisone 
 (bullfinch), Carpegnolo, Buffbne, Pappagallo (parrot), 
 II Magno, and, above all, the Shetland pony which 
 His Majesty of England had given him, which he 
 describes as both ' bellissimo e bonissimo.' 
 
 Another fertile cause of annoyance was the diffi- 
 culty of conveyance between Mantua and U rhino. 
 When Baldassare returned from England, he had left 
 some painted bards and armour at Milan. These he 
 begged his mother to send him by boat in the follow- 
 ing autumn, together with other clothes and goods 
 which he required, in charge of a trustworthy servant.
 
 DEBTS AND DIFFICULTIES 253 
 
 After much difficulty he obtained the necessary passes 
 from the authorities at JNIantua and Ferrara, and 
 from the Signory of Venice, which held sway over the 
 cities of Romagna, and the goods were safely landed 
 at Rimini early in January. By this time the roads 
 over the Apennines were so bad that Castiglione 
 found it impossible to send for them, and, hearing 
 that Rimini was full of thieving soldiers, ordered the 
 greater part to be sold on the spot. But when the 
 servant Giovanni INIartino, whom he sent on horse- 
 back from Urbino to take charge of his property, 
 reached Rimini, he found that most of the goods had 
 already been stolen by a INIantuan servant, who turned 
 out both a thief and a liar. ' This time I really think,' 
 he wrote home, ' I am cured of having things sent 
 from I^ombardy !' 
 
 All these domestic worries were a source of per- 
 petual vexation to Castiglione's soul, and he fretted 
 over them, as poets will. But what troubled him far 
 more than any of these minor annoyances were the 
 debts that he could not pay, and which, as he told his 
 mother, were like a ' worm gnawing continually at his 
 heart. '^ Ducats were still more scarce under Fran- 
 cesco Maria's sway than during the last Duke's reign. 
 Castiglione's salary was generally in arrear, and his 
 expenses, as he often told his mother, were always 
 increasing. In spite of his efforts, he had been unable 
 to pay his debt to Cardinal Ippolito d' Este, and still 
 owed him 150 ducats. His letters during this winter 
 contain repeated requests for help in this matter. 
 
 ' I still owe that debt to Monsignor di Ferrara,' 
 he wrote from Fossombrone during Guidobaldo's last 
 illness, ' which oppresses me beyond measure for a 
 
 ^ Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210.
 
 254 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 thousand reasons, principally because I am so anxious 
 to retain his friendship, which, as you know, is ex- 
 tremely valuable to me. But it is impossible that I 
 should pay this out of my salary, which is too small 
 to defray my heavy expenses here. Once more, would 
 you be so good as to tell me if there is any hope of 
 your being able to let me have money from home, 
 either now or later, because this debt lies heavily 
 on my heart. '^ 
 
 Three months afterwards, in June, 1.508, he returned 
 to the charge, and offered to try and raise 50 ducats out 
 of his slender resources, if his mother would provide 
 100, or at least another 50, so that by paying Ippolito 
 d' Este 100 ducats he might at least give him a proof 
 of his good intentions. ' I would not for all the 
 world,' he adds, ' that the Lord Cardinal should have 
 to ask me for this money !' At length, in August, 
 INIadonna Luigia was able to grant his request, and 
 100 ducats were sent to Monsignore di Ferrara with 
 Baldassare's most courteous excuses and expression of 
 thanks. But by the end of the year Castiglione once 
 more found himself in debt and was begging his 
 mother for advances of money to satisfy his creditors 
 at Urbino. 
 
 Under these circumstances a wealthy marriage 
 seemed to be the best way out of his difficulties, and 
 it was not surprising that Madonna Luigia once more 
 pressed this course upon her son. Hitherto Bal- 
 dassare had shown little inclination to take to himself 
 a wife. When, in 1504, his mother had suggested 
 a suitable alliance, and when three years later the 
 Marquis of IVIantua offered to find him a well-dowered 
 bride, he firmly declined these proposals, saying that 
 there was plenty of time, and he could find a wife for 
 
 1 Serassi, i. 38.
 
 A MEDICI BRIDE 255 
 
 himself when he chose. But although he had good 
 reason to resent Francesco Gonzaga's interference, 
 there can be no doubt that he was seriously con- 
 templating the idea of marriage on his own account. 
 In August, 1507, he wrote to assure his mother 
 that a rumour of his betrothal, which had reached 
 her, was unfounded. 
 
 ' Your Magnificence might have known me better 
 than to think that I could be so thoughtless and 
 so much wanting in reverence as to enter on negotia- 
 tions of this kind without your knowledge and per- 
 mission. It seems to me that I have not conducted 
 myself in such a way in other respects as to give 
 you so bad an opinion of me.'^ 
 
 But in the same letter he alludes to a possible 
 alliance which has been suggested to him by Messer 
 Bernardo da Bibbiena, and promises to let Madonna 
 Luigia know if anything more should come of it. 
 The bride whom Bibbiena proposed to his friend at 
 Urbino was no less a person than Cardinal Giovanni 
 de' Medici's niece Clarice, the daughter of Piero 
 de' Medici and Alfonsina Orsini, who was living 
 with her mother and brother Lorenzo in Rome. 
 Both her uncles, the Cardinal and Giuliano, warmly 
 approved of the proposed marriage ; but Alfonsina, it 
 is plain, had more ambitious plans for her daughter, 
 and returned evasive replies. ' For the present 
 nothing can be decided for several reasons,' wrote 
 Castiglione on September 18. ' None the less, you 
 might try to find out the amount of the dowry and 
 other conditions which are proposed. For the rest, 
 may God be our guide !'^ 
 
 1 Codex Vat., 8210. 2 jud
 
 256 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 In January, 1508, a certain Mantuan lady of the 
 Gambacorta family, who had incurred the Marquis 
 Francesco's displeasure, and had been forced to leave 
 the court and take refuge at Naples, paid a visit 
 to Urbino, and brought Messer Baldassare fresh 
 proposals from Alda Boiarda. This lady, however, 
 particularly wished that her name should not appear 
 in these negotiations, and, instead of addressing 
 herself to Madonna Luigia, sent messages first by 
 ' la Gambacorta,' and then by Pietro da Barignano, 
 a Brescian poet whose name Ariosto has celebrated 
 in his ' Orlando,'^ and who visited Bembo at Urbino 
 in February. The maiden in question was a daughter 
 of Messer Giulio da Martinengo of Brescia, whose 
 dowry of 14,000 ducats made her a prize in the 
 marriage - market. The prospect was sufficiently 
 alluring to make Baldassare propose to meet his 
 mother at Ferrara or Poggio and discuss INladonna 
 Alda's suggestion. But the death of Guidobaldo 
 compelled him to defer his journey, and his friends 
 at Urbino urged him to keep to his former intention, 
 and conclude a marriage with Clarice de' INIedici. 
 
 On INIay 13 he wrote to his mother : 
 
 ' Your Magnificence remembers that I spoke to 
 you some time ago about a marriage with a lady 
 of the house of JNIedici. After a while the thing 
 appeared to have cooled down because the mother 
 had quarrelled with her other relatives, and was not 
 inclined to allow her daughter to go as far from Rome 
 as jNIantua. But all along both JNIonsignore and the 
 Magnifico Giuliano have been anxious for this 
 marriage. Through their exertions the negotiations 
 have so far advanced that yesterday Bernardo wrote 
 to the INIagnifico, saying that the mother and all the 
 
 1 Canto xlvi. l6.
 
 CLARICE'S DOWRY 257 
 
 family were now favourable to the proposal, and had 
 empowered him to conclude the affair with me. For 
 the sake of their honour they would like the proposals 
 to be made through the Marquis or Cardinal Gonzaga 
 and the Lady Duchess, which would please me 
 greatly. Bernardo does not specify the amount of 
 the dowry, but says that it will be such as to satisfy 
 me amply. On hearing this I told the JMagnifico 
 that I was very anxious to arrange the matter, but 
 must first write a line to you, and could not say 
 anything definite until T knew what you felt. 
 M. Cesare is gone to Rome on business for the 
 Duchess, so I will write and ask him to find out the 
 exact amount of the dowry, and, if possible, see the 
 lady. This is how things stand. You can confer 
 with M. Gio. Pietro and any other of our friends 
 whom you may think advisable, keeping this quite 
 secret for the present, and let me know what you 
 think I had better do.'^ 
 
 Madonna Luigia's reply was entirely favourable, 
 and on the 23rd, Baldassare, who was in the act of 
 taking horse to ride to Gubbio, sent a few lines back 
 to say that ' a loving friend,' the kind Duchess, had 
 herself undertaken to ascertain the amount of Clarice's 
 dowry without delay. The answer, however, proved 
 somewhat disappointing. All that Alfonsina would 
 promise was a sum of 4,000 ducats to be paid down 
 at the time of the marriage. 
 
 ' It is true,' explained Baldassare, ' that there will 
 probably be a good deal more eventually, but this is 
 all that is certain. And since I am entertaining these 
 proposals chiefly to please Your Magnificence, I await 
 your commands, and will do whatever you desire. No 
 doubt the match has many distinct advantages : the 
 family is noble on both sides, the uncle is a Cardinal, and 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210. 
 VOL. I. 17
 
 258 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 there is every prospect that they will soon be restored 
 to their rightful home in Florence. But 1 am above 
 all anxious that the tying of this knot should deli\'er 
 me from other troubles, which, as you know, oppress 
 me sorely. I beg you to think over these matters 
 seriously, and send me word by this messenger what 
 is your advice and that of M. Gio. Pietro and 
 M. Jacopo, and anyone else whom you choose to 
 consult. Once this is settled, it will be easy enough 
 to find the best way of making the proposal. And 
 since I have heard again on the subject of the 
 Martinenga, you might try and learn some more 
 about that business.' 
 
 Madonna Luigia, it is plain, was very anxious to 
 see her son married, and urged him to lose no time in 
 concluding an alliance with the JNIedici. Baldassare, 
 however, still hesitated. Marriage in his eyes was 
 purely a way of escape from burdensome debts, a 
 means by which his fortunes might be advanced ; and 
 the cool way in which he discussed the whole question 
 showed how little his heart was concerned in the 
 matter. In a letter of June 15 he thanks his mother 
 for her prompt reply, and owns that he is quite alive 
 to the advantages of the ^ledici connexion, but 
 still thinks the small amount of the dowry a great 
 drawback. 
 
 ' The dowry,' he writes, ' seems to be very small, 
 and would not even suffice to relieve me of my 
 present burdens, which you know vex me sorely. 
 But if I found myself encumbered with a wife into 
 the bargain, they would vex me much more, for the 
 rooms that do for me now would no longer be suitable 
 then ; and as to being content to live with a single 
 servant and mule, that I have never done, and never 
 mean to do. I say this because you exhort me to 
 regulate my way of living and expenses ; and I have.
 
 A BRESCIAN BRIDE 259 
 
 in point of fact, reduced them to as fine a thread as 
 possible. On the other hand, 1 have been much 
 urged to delay these negotiations until I receive an 
 answer from the JNIartinenga, because, if her dowry is 
 14,000 ducats instead of 5,000 or 6,000, and she, too, 
 belongs to a good family, and is an only daughter, 
 living in an important city near to our own, I should 
 by this means secure a safe and comfortable home 
 and sufficient fortune to free me from all anxieties. 
 So I have decided to keep the thing in suspense a 
 little longer until we see how matters stand. I beg 
 you once more to find out whatever you can on the 
 subject, and let me know any particulars which in 
 these cases are not to be despised. iMay God inspire 
 us to act for the best !'^ 
 
 The next day Madonna Alda wrote to say another 
 proposal had been made to Count Giulio JNIartinengo 
 for his daughter's hand, and that he had decided to 
 accept it. This being the case, Baldassare had no 
 excuse for further delay with regard to the proposals 
 of the Medici, and in his letters to his mother alludes 
 to the marriage as definitely arranged. ' 1 hold the 
 Medici marriage to be quite settled. God grant that 
 it may prove a happy one !' he wrote to his mother 
 on August 9. A few days later he begged her to 
 get as many of the family jewels as possible out of 
 pawn, ' as now we are making this marriage it will 
 be well to show the Medici that we are not quite 
 destitute.'- But he was anxious to see her and discuss 
 the best means of raising the necessary money for the 
 wedding expenses, and, if possible, make sure of the 
 Marquis Francesco's approval before the final arrange- 
 ments were concluded. 
 
 Francesco Maria had long wished to pay a visit to 
 
 * Serassi, i. 42. 2 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210. 
 
 17—2
 
 260 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGTJONE 
 
 his bride, Leonora Gonzaga, whom her uncle Giovanni 
 described to him as the prettiest girl in Loinbardy, 
 and worthy to be ranked in point of beauty and 
 excellence with her father's famous racehorses ! On 
 August 7 he started for Milan and Mantua, travelling 
 incognito, and only accompanied by Giuliano de' 
 Medici, Cesare Gonzaga and four servants, as the 
 Marchioness Isabella had lately given birth to a 
 daughter, and was unable to receive him with due 
 honour. But he paid a flying visit to the Castello at 
 Mantua on the 25th, and embraced Leonora, who was 
 by this time a lovely girl of fourteen. Castiglione 
 hoped to be able to come to Casatico, where his 
 mother was anxiously expecting him, but was delayed 
 by an unexpected incident. The Pope sent his nephew 
 sudden orders to hold a review of the Papal troops at 
 Bologna, and Castiglione, having with some difficulty 
 collected the Urbino contingent, joined his lord in 
 that city towards the end of September. On 
 Michaelmas Day the Papal Legate and that same 
 Cardinal Alidosi who three years later was to die by 
 Francesco's hand, celebrated high mass in the 
 Duomo, and solemnly invested the young Duke with 
 the sword and baton of the Church as Captain of the 
 Papal forces. * I suppose,' remarked the Venetian 
 envoy, alluding covertly to Francesco's well-known 
 dislike of the tyrannical Legate, ' that this feast-day 
 was chosen because it is the Archangel Michael's 
 office to drive away devils ft'om men's souls, and the 
 Duke has already shown himself well disposed to 
 help the people of Bologna in this fashion.'^ 
 
 The review, however, did not take place until 
 November 22. Both men-at-arms and horses were 
 in the finest order, but the magnificent sight was 
 
 ^ Sanuto, vii. 683.
 
 AN UNGRACIOUS MESSAGE 261 
 
 unluckily marred by the rain, which fell in ton-ents 
 and ruined the splendid uniforms of the men and 
 rich trappings of the horses. As soon as it was over 
 the troops were disbanded. The Duke returned to 
 Urbino, and gave Castiglione leave to visit his mother 
 at Casatico. 
 
 He had already sent a letter to the Marquis by 
 M. Cesare in August, humbly asking for leave to 
 come to Mantua and pay his respects as a dutiful 
 servant. But no reply had been vouchsafed him, and 
 he wrote sorrowfully to his mother : 
 
 ' That letter which M. Cesare took to the Marquis 
 has borne no fruit, saving that it may have broken the 
 ice a little. We must try and follow it up, and I hope 
 all may yet be well. I marvel at those who wonder 
 why I do not come to Mantua, for if the truth were 
 known they would see that it is no shame on my 
 part to obey one who is my lord.'^ 
 
 On October 12 he wrote from Bologna to tell 
 his mother that the Marquis had refused to allow 
 him to visit JNIantua ; and on the 20th he addressed 
 a letter to Tolomeo Spagnoli begging him to obtain 
 leave from His Excellency to visit his mother at 
 Casatico as soon as the review was over. Still he 
 received no answer, and as a last resource JNIadonna 
 Luigia begged her brother, M. Giovanni Pietro, 
 to ask JNl. Tolomeo, in well-chosen words, to 
 obtain leave for her son to visit her at Casatico, 
 in order that he might confer with her regarding 
 his intended marriage. Even then, if Tolomeo's 
 version of the affair is to be trusted, the secretary 
 had great difficulty in obtaining a favourable answer. 
 In a letter to his sister, M. Gio. Pietro describes 
 how three times over in one day INI. Tolomeo 
 
 ^ Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210.
 
 262 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 approached his lord on the subject. First of all he 
 ventured to remind His Excellency that his cousin, 
 the Magnifico Gio. Pietro, had written to him on the 
 subject ; secondly, he observed that Madonna Luigia 
 had repeatedly made the same request ; and, thirdly, 
 in the evening he informed His Excellency that 
 Messer Gio. Pietro had sent to beg for an answer to 
 his former application. Each time the Marquis turned 
 his back upon him without a word. At last Baldas- 
 sare's uncle himself went to see M. Tolomeo the next 
 day, and insisted on obtaining an answer to his request, 
 upon which the JNIarquis bade his secretary tell 
 JNI. Gio. I'ietro that, for love of him, he would allow 
 M. Baldassare to spend four days, but no longer, 
 with his mother at Casatico.^ As a result of this 
 ungracious message, Castiglione came to Casatico 
 directly the review at Bologna had taken place, and 
 spent a few days with his mother and family. 
 
 By December 5 he was back at U rhino, and three 
 days later sent his mother a note to say he had 
 spoken to the JNIagnifico of his affair, and was now 
 only awaiting the answer from Rome in order to 
 conclude the marriage. But he reckoned without his 
 host. On the 20th he told his mother that no doubt 
 his marriage would be arranged directly tlie Christmas 
 feast was over, but confessed that the latest news from 
 Rome was not altogether favourable, and that he was 
 doubtful whether this was due to political causes or to 
 any of JNI. Bernardo's tricks ! In spite of Castiglione's 
 affection for Bibbiena, it is evident that his friend's wily 
 nature had already inspired him with suspicion. What- 
 ever the cause might be, he added : ' 1 do not feel 
 much concerned, and shall not be greatly distressed 
 if the whole thing should end in smoke. '^ This letter 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8212. -' Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210.
 
 DISAPPOINTED HOPES 263 
 
 was probably intended to prepare Madonna I^uigia for 
 the disappointment in store for her. On January 10 
 he wrote a letter chiefly relating to home affairs. 
 After telling his mother that he had spoken to the 
 Cardinal of Pavia's secretary about a benefice for 
 her confessor, a certain Fra Lodovico, and that the 
 Duke is preparing to come to fetch his bride from 
 INIantua, he adds : 
 
 ' I have left for the last a piece of news which will, 
 I fear, vex you as much as it displeases me. Our 
 marriage negotiations are, I think, quite broken off, 
 according to the letters which the JNlagnifico has had 
 from Rome. The reason is that Monsignore has 
 received proposals from one of the Strozzi in Florence, 
 by whose means they hope to strengthen their party 
 in that city ; and so, although our mutual troth was 
 almost pledged, the prospect of these important ad- 
 vantages has induced JNlonsignore to conclude this 
 contract without saying a word to the IMagnifico or 
 Bernardo. However, I have given my mind by 
 word of mouth and letter to both my friends, for 
 throughout these negotiations I had not failed to 
 keep the thing alive and make the necessary promises 
 and solicitations. I beg you not to grieve too much, 
 because God orders these things, and often what 
 appears to be most for our advantage proves the 
 contrary. And I believe firmly that this, too, will be 
 all for the best.'^ 
 
 But although he put a brave face on the matter, 
 Baldassare himself was considerably disappointed at 
 the failure of his hopes, and in a letter written a 
 fortnight later he remarks : 
 
 * We certainly had some cause of complaint, as on 
 both sides troth had been plighted by word of mouth. 
 However, the contract with this Florentine is entirely 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. 45.
 
 264 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 settled and concluded. 1 think important reasons 
 and questions of peculiar gravity moved Monsignore 
 to act as he did ; for he certainly has not changed his 
 mind with regard to my suit, as you will see from the 
 enclosed letter which he wrote to me with his own 
 hand. But God be praised for all ! I beg you not to 
 distress yourself, for perhaps the thing would have 
 turned out quite differently from what we expected. 
 JNI. Cesare will tell you all about it when he comes to 
 Mantua.' 
 
 We see by this letter that Castiglione bore no 
 grudge either to Cardinal de' Medici or to Bibbiena, 
 who were apparently the chief promoters of the 
 Strozzi marriage, and by this means certainly suc- 
 ceeded in gaining a new foothold in Florence. As 
 for the Magnifico, Baldassare would not allow any 
 blame to be imputed to him, and told his mother 
 that, far from Giuliano having had any share in 
 breaking off the marriage, it had annoyed him ex- 
 cessively. 'And now,' he adds cheerfully, 'Your 
 Magnificence must try and find me another wife.'^ 
 
 ^ Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210.
 
 CHAPTER XVail 
 1509-1510 
 
 War against Venice — Campaign of Romagna — Victories of Fran- 
 cesco Maria — Capture of Ravenna — Castiglione's illness — 
 Fresh marriage proposals — The Duchess goes to Mantua — 
 Madonna Luigia returns with her — The young Duchess Leonora 
 — Visit of the Duke and Duchesses to Rome — Castiglione and 
 Raphael. 
 
 With the New Year, the clash of arms and tumult 
 of warlike preparations came to disturb the peace of 
 Urbino. The Pope's long-cherished schemes for the 
 overthrow of Venice were at length to be put into 
 execution. On December 10, 1508, the League of 
 Cambray was signed between Louis XII. and Maxi- 
 milian, and in March the Pope publicly announced 
 that he had joined the confederacy against Venice. 
 The Duke of Urbino was hastily recalled from INIantua, 
 where he was paying a brief visit to his bride, to take 
 command of the Papal army. Castiglione forgot his 
 matrimonial hopes and disappointments in the task 
 of equipping his company of fifty men. As usual, he 
 was sorely in need of money, and his letters to his 
 mother abound in requests for horses, arms, and 
 ducats. ' I find that I have several debts here,' he wrote 
 at the end of January, ' and although they are none of 
 them large, the whole amount to a considerable sum, 
 so that I must ask you to send me sixty ducats 
 without delay.' 
 
 265
 
 266 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 On March 16 he repeats his request in still more 
 urgent terms : 
 
 ' We are expecting to take the field directly ; here 
 every one is stirring, and I expect it is the same with 
 you, and war will break out very soon. The more 
 quickly you can send me the money, the better 
 shall I be pleased, because owing to this prospect 
 I have been compelled to pledge my next quarter's 
 salary to my creditors and am without funds. I shall 
 be glad if you could send me at least fifty ducats, 
 for I am in need of a thousand things, and most of all 
 of a horse, for my Buffone is hardly fit for the work. 
 1 am also impatiently expecting those blessed pieces 
 of armour, and if they have not yet reached JNlantua, 
 I hope you will write to JNI. Gio. Angelo Vismara, 
 begging him to send them to Bologna, to the care of 
 Signer Lodovico da Carpi, and he will pay the carriage, 
 which may be easier than to send them from Milan to 
 Mantua.'^ 
 
 This armour had been ordered from INIissaglia 
 of Milan several months before, and Castiglione, 
 who needed it greatly for the coming campaign, was 
 naturally indignant at the prolonged delay. But 
 Madonna Luigia was overwhelmed with home 
 troubles and losses, and could not always satisfy her 
 son's demands as promptly as he expected. Early in 
 January her son-in-law, Jacopo Boschetto, died, after 
 a long illness, leaving a widow and one unmarried 
 daughter, 
 
 ' By letters from my lord Giovanni Gonzaga,' 
 wrote Baldassare on January 23, ' I have heard of 
 the death of our poor M. Jacopo, which grieves me, 
 owing to the brotherly love which I bore him. We 
 must have patience, and may God give him a happier 
 life in another world ! I have written a line to 
 Madonna Polissena, who must be plunged in grief, and 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. 47.
 
 Pi ^
 
 IN THE FIELD 267 
 
 beg you to give me particulars of his death and to 
 tell me what Polissena will do, and if a husband has 
 been found for Anna. . . .' And in a postscript he 
 sends the Duchess's sincere condolences to both his 
 mother and Madonna Polissena. 
 
 On April 27 the Bull of excommunication against 
 Venice was published, and the Duke invaded Romagna 
 at the head of several thousand men. Castiglione's 
 letters give an excellent account of the short and 
 successful campaign that followed. The first was 
 written from Brisighella on May 1 : 
 
 ' iVlthough 1 do not know how this letter is to be 
 sent, I write on the chance to tell you that I am safe 
 and well. Yesterday, being Wednesday, we arrived 
 here at Brisighella, a town at the head of the Val di 
 Lamone, and found that the city had already sur- 
 rendered to our forces, and that the citadel was being 
 besieged. This has now been taken, together with 
 the persons of Sig. Gio. Paolo Manfrone and two 
 other leaders, also the Provveditore and Castellan. 
 The town has been sacked, because it was taken by 
 one of our Spanish companies, and so without any 
 trouble we have conquered the whole Val I^amone, 
 which is a great acquisition, and, what is of still greater 
 importance, have made Manfrone prisoner. Before 
 long I think we shall march on Faenza, and I hope, 
 with God's help, soon to gain fresh glory. Please 
 send Pietrone here as soon as possible, for I am in 
 great need of servants ; and if you have any kind of 
 horse, I should like him to bring it with him, but if 
 not, let him come as best he can, and we will find him 
 a mount at once. He had better come to Bologna, 
 and there he can find out where our camp is. I 
 should be glad of particulars as to the sire and breed 
 of Carlo degli Uberti's horses ; I want some badly, 
 all the more that my poor BufFone has run a nail into 
 one foot and will not be fit for work for several days.'
 
 268 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Castiglione's next letter bore the following Latin 
 inscription : ' Ecv felicihus Castris S. R. Ecclesice aimd 
 Gramirolum die 7 Mai. MDIX: 
 
 ' Yesterday, just when I received your letters, a 
 fierce assault was being made on a strong fort of Faenza 
 called Granarolo. Many of our brave men were killed, 
 but the enemy surrendered at discretion, and there 
 has been no slaughter of the prisoners. We hope 
 our arms will prosper, as we fight in a good cause and 
 are a fine company. God guide our steps into a good 
 path ! We are all well and happy. Please send 
 Pietrone as soon as possible. As for M. Carlo's 
 horses, I do not think they are what I require ; for I 
 am not in need of young horses, but want a trained 
 horse which would have some brains.'^ 
 
 Once more, on May 18, the young knight wrote in 
 high spirits : 
 
 ' Yesterday Pietrone arrived, and I thank you for 
 sending him. T will send back his horse when I have 
 an opportunity, and should be very glad to know what 
 my colts are doing. We have been here, before 
 Russi, a fortified city, for the last eight or nine days, 
 and the day before yesterday were preparing for an 
 assault, when 300 horsemen and 2,000 infantry sallied 
 out from Ravenna, which is ten miles off, and attacked 
 us to make a diversion. Our light horse rode out to 
 meet them, and behind them our Signor with no more 
 than eight gentlemen, followed by Gio. Vitelli and his 
 brother Cliiappino, two youths with sixty men-at-arms. 
 We pursued the enemy, and, although they were in a 
 very strong position, attacked them so furiously that 
 we broke their ranks, and some of our cavalry rode 
 right into Ravenna. We made 300 foot and 50 horse 
 prisoners, as well as much cattle, and won a great 
 victory, much to the honour of our most illustrious 
 Signor. Yesterday morning Russi surrendered, on 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. 49.
 
 HORRORS OF WAR 269 
 
 condition that the lives and property of the citizens 
 should be spared, and this evening the citadel has 
 done the same. I think we shall soon march on 
 Faenza. Under Ravenna our poor Bedino was mor- 
 tally wounded in the throat by a pike. ^Ve carried 
 him back to the camp, but the poor fellow died in the 
 night, which grieves me very much. God grant him 
 pardon ! M. Cesare went to Rome yesterday on an 
 honourable mission from the Duke and Legate [Car- 
 dinal Alidosi]. You might tell his mother this and 
 make my excuses for not writing. If you could send 
 me a few ducats, it would be a singular satisfaction ; 
 whether they are few or many, nothing will come 
 amiss, and please send them as soon as possible.' 
 
 On the last day of May, Baldassare wrote again 
 from the camp before Cervia. Once more he repeats 
 his tale of victories, but this time he writes in a sadder 
 strain. The miseries which war entailed, the wanton 
 bloodshed and human suffering inflicted by his own 
 soldiers, oppressed his heart, and he turned away 
 sickened by the sight. 
 
 ' I have received a letter from Your Magnificence 
 by Catanio, together with the money, which could not 
 come more conveniently, and thank you infinitely for 
 all. Our campaign has been exceedingly successful so 
 far, and with little trouble we have conquered the 
 whole of Romagna. The repulse, which, as I told 
 you, we inflicted on the enemy from our camp near 
 Ravenna, terrified that city, although it was held by 
 a garrison of 5,000 foot and 300 horse. God orders 
 all ! A secretary was sent by these Venetian lords, 
 offering to surrender Ravenna, Cervia, and Rimini, 
 on condition that the lives of the citizens and garrison 
 should be spared, and that the artillery and annnuni- 
 tion should be retained by them. These terms were 
 accepted, and now we have taken Ravenna, and are
 
 270 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGIJONE 
 
 going to take Cervia and Rimini, and in a short time 
 our campaign will be over, and we shall, I hope, be 
 back at Urbiiio. 1 should be glad to know if His 
 Most Christian Majesty lias reinstated our Lord 
 JNIarquis in his possessions in Venetian territory, and 
 how things are happening over there. We have done 
 terrible damage and injury to the country round this 
 poor Ravenna, but the city itself has not suffered. I 
 did as little harm as I could, and see that every one 
 but myself is enriched. But I do not repent. I 
 cannot tell you how much I grieve over the death 
 of poor Uberto [his brother-in-law Tommaso degli 
 Strozzi's brother], for many reasons, but most of all 
 for the sake of his poor wife, whose family, whether 
 living or dead, bring her nothing but trouble. You 
 will kindly condole with M. Ludovico and with her. 
 I cannot write, as I have no time, and will only com- 
 mend myself to you and my sisters, and all of ours. 
 
 * Ex Castris, ultimo Maii, 1509.'^ 
 
 The victories of the French in Lombardy and the 
 crushing defeat of the Venetians on May 14 at the 
 Ghiar' Adda had made Louis XII. supreme in North 
 Italy, and after the conquest of Rimini, seeing there 
 was nothing more to gain, Julius II. ordered the 
 Duke to disband his forces. By the end of June 
 Castiglione was back at Urbino ; but the hardships 
 and fatigue which he had suffered in the campaign 
 had told on his never robust frame, and he was 
 seriously ill for some weeks in August. Both the 
 Duchess and Madonna Emilia showed him the greatest 
 kindness during his sickness. ' If I had been their 
 son or brother, they could not have done more.' 
 Emilia Pia's waiting-women nursed him with the 
 utmost devotion. But it was many weeks before 
 he recovered his strength, and he still complained in 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. .50.
 
 MARRIAGE OFFERS 271 
 
 September that he felt very weak and that health 
 did not come as quickly as illness. By way of raising 
 money to meet the expenses of his illness, he sold 
 his old horses at the fair of Recanati, and sent for 
 others from Casatico. 
 
 Here his mother was still busy making new plans 
 for his marriage, and some half a dozen different 
 brides were proposed to him during the course of the 
 year. While the union with Clarice de' Medici was still 
 in the air, Madonna Luigia received proposals from 
 a Count Lodovico Visconti who had a marriageable 
 daughter, and when the negotiations with the Medici 
 were finally broken off. Duchess Elisabetta suggested 
 one of Count Borromeo's daughters as a suitable 
 bride, and in the kindness of her heart wrote to 
 ascertain the amount of her dowry. For some reason 
 the \^isconti marriage did not attract him, but he 
 was quite inclined to entertain the idea of an alliance 
 with the Borromeo family. His friend Madonna 
 Emilia's brother, Lodovico Pio of Carpi, who came to 
 Urbino on the Pope's business, interested himself in the 
 matter, and assured Castiglione that all the members 
 of the Borromeo family, men and women alike, asked 
 nothing better than to form an alliance with him. 
 But a malicious report reached him that the maiden 
 in question was exceedingly ugly, and he at once 
 recoiled from the plan. ' However rich she may be,' 
 he wrote to his mother, ' I would not, for anything 
 in the world, take a devil to be my partner.'^ 
 
 This, however, seems to have been a calumny, and 
 a year later, when he was at Bologna in June, 1510, 
 we find him reverting to the idea and seriously con- 
 templating the marriage. One JNIesser Visconti, who 
 was related to the Borromei, had apparently re- 
 ^ Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210.
 
 272 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 opened negotiations and come forward with satis- 
 factory assurances as to the maiden's age and beauty, 
 so that, if the dowry were really as good as it sounded, 
 Baldassare was quite willing to conclude the agree- 
 ment. But as usual he left the decision to his mother 
 and uncle, and as usual, before many weeks, the matter 
 was allowed to drop. 
 
 Other proposals, however, reached him from 
 different quarters. We hear of a daughter of Conte 
 Giovanni Boiardo, and of another maiden of the 
 Stanga family of Cremona, a daughter of I^odovico 
 Sforza's favourite Marchesino. Then the Bishop of 
 Asti had a niece of his own to recommend ; while 
 Lodovico Pio had seen a Ferrarese damsel of the 
 Cavalieri family, who was not only tall and well 
 educated, but, what was more to the purpose, had 
 a dowry of 6,000 gold ducats, besides considerable 
 expectations from her mother. Baldassare himself 
 was more attracted by the account which he heard 
 of one of Giberto da Correggio's daughters, w^hose 
 stepmother, Veronica Gambara, was the Marchesa 
 Isabella's god-child and Bembo's intimate friend. 
 The maiden herself was fourteen years of age, w^ell 
 brought up, tall, and very beautiful, and her dowry 
 was reckoned at 10,000 ducats, so that in every way 
 the match seemed a most eligible one. But in this 
 as in other cases some difficulty arose in the course 
 of negotiations, and, after dragging on for many 
 months, the matter ended in smoke. ^ 
 
 It must be owned that Castiglione was a very 
 negligent suitor, and his own coldness and lack of 
 interest in the subject may explain many of these 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210. See also V. Cian's pamphlet, ' Candidatiu-e 
 nuziali di B. Castiglione ' (Venezia, 1 892), now unfortunately out 
 of print, for a detailed account of these various proposals.
 
 WAR WITH VENICE 273 
 
 failures. All through we realize that he was perfectly 
 content to live at Urbino in the Duke's service and 
 in the company of the Duchess and Madonna Emilia, 
 and that he only listened to the importunities of 
 the friends who begged him to marry, because of his 
 anxiety to be free from debt. 
 
 Meanwhile war in Lombardy between the League 
 and Venice was still being waged with varying 
 results. The Venetians had succeeded in recovering 
 Padua, and the capture of the Marquis Francesco, 
 who was surprised and made prisoner at a farm near 
 Legnago on August 9, had filled both the courts of 
 Mantua and Urbino with consternation. AVhile the 
 Pope ' blasphemed horribly,' and Isabella moved 
 heaven and earth to obtain her husband's release, 
 the Duchess Elisabetta was hardly less distressed. 
 ' This capture of the Lord Marquis,' wrote Bembo 
 to his father, the old Venetian patrician, ' is the most 
 fortunate thing that could have happened ! It has 
 troubled the Duke greatly, and more than anything 
 else has grieved the Duchess, who is distressed beyond 
 measure to think of her brother's confinement.' He 
 proceeds to tell his father how the Duchess's sym- 
 pathies have been with Venice all through the war, 
 since she never forgets the kindness which she and 
 her beloved lord received from the Republic in the 
 days of their exile, and ' now weeps over these mis- 
 fortunes.' ' And although it is true,' he continues, 
 ' that the Pope is by nature very hard and intract- 
 able, he loves his nephew tenderly, and looks on him 
 as the one remaining branch of the old oak, while 
 there is no living person for whom he has so much 
 regard as the Lady Duchess.^ As yet, however, ' the 
 first cause of all our troubles,' as Bembo calls the 
 
 1 P. Bembo, ' Lettere,' ii. 528. 
 VOL. I. 18
 
 274 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 fiery old Pope, remained immovable. AVhen the 
 Duke begged leave for an audience, he sternly bade 
 him remain at Urbino, and not stir from his State 
 without express permission, and when Francesco 
 JNIaria started incognito to visit his bride, he promptly 
 ordered him to return, although he had already got 
 as far as Carpi. 
 
 Under these circumstances, both Isabella and her 
 sister-in-law felt that their best policy was to huny on 
 the Duke's marriage, and bring the influence of Leonora 
 and her lord to bear upon the Pope. The INIarchesa 
 especially staked all her hopes on this union, which 
 Julius II. had always favoured, and the good Duchess, 
 yielding to her sister-in-law's prayers, agreed to under- 
 take the long journey to Mantua in the dead of winter 
 and herself bring home the bride. 
 
 During the past summer M. Baldassare repeatedly 
 expressed his intention of coming to meet his mother 
 at Ferrara or some neighbouring spot, and arranging 
 these matters. ' I mean to go on a pilgrimage to 
 Loreto,' he wrote on August 21, 'and then, if God 
 will, meet you in some place where we can discuss 
 these different marriages.' But his illness interfered 
 with these plans, and when, at the end of November, 
 the Duchess went to INIantua to fetch the Duke's 
 bride, she kindly proposed that INIadonna Luigia should 
 return with her to Urbino. Castigiione gratefully 
 accepted this gracious offer, and sent his most capable 
 and trusted servant to escort his mother on the 
 journey. 
 
 ' As my illustrious Signora is coming to JMantua, 
 I thought I would send my servant to help you on 
 the journey, knowing that you will be well served 
 by him. If I could have found a good horse, I would 
 also have sent it for your use, since we know that you
 
 ILLNESS OF CASTIGLIONE 275 
 
 will be asked to return here by the Lady Duchess. 
 I wish you could procure me an answer from Lodo- 
 vico JNIantegna to a letter which I sent him lately. 
 It would also be well if you would render infinite 
 thanks to the Lady Duchess for the exceedingly 
 great kindness which Her Excellency showed me 
 during my illness, and the same to Madonna Emilia, 
 for if I had been their son or brother they could not 
 have done more ; and certainly the vows they made 
 on my behalf will not be fulfilled for many a long 
 day. I owe a great deal also to JMadonna Emilia's 
 women, and sliould like you to give a piece of linen or 
 something more, for love of me, to the old one named 
 JNlargherita, althougli I am really equally indebted to 
 them all. I am sure you will pay them every atten- 
 tion and honour in your power, and need say no 
 more. Please also give my servant cloth for a pair 
 of shirts, and a cap of whatever kind he may prefer, 
 because he really serves me most excellently, and 1 
 hardly know how I shall do without him ; but I wish 
 you to have him to help you. I have given him 
 several messages for you, and you will find that he is 
 implicitly to be trusted. I should be glad if you can 
 bring some money with you — as much as possible — 
 for my affairs are in some confusion, owing to my 
 recent illness. 
 
 'Urbino, November 19, 1509.'-^ 
 
 On the following day the Duchess, attended by a 
 large and brilliant suite, set out for Mantua, and, after 
 being splendidly entertained by Isabella during ten 
 or twelve days, returned to Urbino with the yoimg 
 Duchess Leonora and JMadonna Luigia in her train. 
 The weather was terrible all over Italy that autumn. 
 The poet Ariosto, who was sent to Rome at Christmas 
 by his patron, Cardinal d' Este, to beg the Pope for 
 reinforcements in the war against \^enice, wrote that 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. 51. 
 
 18—2
 
 276 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 it had rained every day since he left Ferrara, and 
 that the floods were so high he should run the risk 
 of being drowned if he were to start on his journey 
 home.^ 
 
 The Urbino party left Mantua in a dense fog, and, 
 after wandering for hours in the dark, had to take 
 shelter at the villa of Gonzaga. The roads were so 
 heavy that mules and horses could hardly get along, 
 and some of the ladies narrowly escaped drowning 
 in crossing one river near Faenza. The poor 
 Duchess suffered acutely from gout, and had to 
 travel in the sumptuous gold and silver litter, borne 
 by two handsome pages in liveries to match, which 
 the Pope had sent for the bride. But courtiers and 
 ladies alike kept up a brave heart and laughed over 
 their adventures, and were hospitably entertained and 
 amused by dances and banquets at JModena and 
 Bologna, and wherever they spent a night. '^ By 
 Christmas they reached their journey's end, and the 
 Duke rode but from the gates of Urbino to meet his 
 bride, and brought her back in triumph to the ducal 
 palace. With him came Castiglione, who had the 
 happiness of welcoming his mother, and JMadonna 
 Luigia forgot the perils and fatigues of the journey in 
 the joy of embracing her beloved son. 
 
 That year Christmas was kept with great rejoicing 
 at Urbino, and the halls of the Montefeltro palace 
 once more rang with the sound of dancing and song. 
 The Duchess forgot her own sorrows in the sight of 
 her children's happiness, and JMadonna Emilia, whose 
 admirable judgment, Bibbiena remarked, was never 
 at fault, commended Leonora's beauty and manners 
 in the warmest terms. Bembo, who had been with 
 
 1 A, Cappelli, * Lettei'e di Lod. Ariosto,' iv. 
 
 2 Luzio e Renier, ' Mantova e Urbino/ p. 194-.
 
 CARNIVAL m ROME 277 
 
 Elisabetta to Mantua, and the gay Messer Bernardo, 
 who was spending the feast-days at Urbino, both wrote 
 to tell Leonora's mother what an excellent impression 
 the youthful bride had already made, and how much 
 she was admired and loved by her new subjects. But 
 what pleased Isabella more than all was to hear that 
 Count Lodovico Canossa and INI. Cesare Gonzaga had 
 arrived from the Vatican with a congratulatory letter 
 fi'om the Pope, in which His Holiness desired the 
 Duke to bring his aunt and his wife to spend the 
 Carnival in Rome. 
 
 Accordingly, towards the end of February, the 
 whole party travelled to Rome, where Carnival was 
 celebrated with unusual splendour and a series 
 of festivities were given in honour of the newly- 
 wedded pair. Horse-races and bull-fights, theatricals 
 and banquets, followed each other in splendid succes- 
 sion. From the palace of Cardinal Adrian Castellesi 
 the Duchesses and their ladies looked on at a pageant 
 in the Piazza Agone, in which, instead of the triumphs 
 of the ancient Romans, the victories of the Papal 
 forces in Romagna were represented. Leonora's 
 cousin. Cardinal Luigi of Aragon, and the French 
 Cardinal of Narbonne, who had been hospitably 
 entertained at Urbino in past years, gave concerts 
 and balls in honour of the bride, and one evening 
 no less than four Cardinals and several Bishops joined 
 in the dancing. The young Duchess's beautiful robes, 
 carefully executed after her mother's designs by a 
 skilful Roman tailor, excited general admiration. 
 Some were of cloth of gold and peacock blue satin, 
 others of black velvet, trimmed with white damask 
 and gold lace, and adorned with big pearls and a variety 
 of jewels, presented to her by the Prefetessa and other 
 relatives. The goldsmiths' help had to be called in to
 
 278 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 complete these elaborate toilettes, and 900 ducats of 
 the Princess's dowry were melted down to provide 
 gold ornaments for the black velvet robe worn by her 
 on the Sunday of Carnival. One evening Cardinal 
 San Severino gave a sumptuous entertainment, at 
 which a Latin comedy was acted before supper, and an 
 Italian play afterwards. The Duchess Elisabetta, the 
 Prefetessa, Madonna Emilia, and all the other ladies, 
 remained to the end, which was not till two o'clock ; 
 but the Duke grew so tired of the performance that 
 he took his wife by the hand and rode home with her, 
 attended by one or two servants. The next evening 
 he scandalized the company still more by leaving 
 M. Agostino Chigi's palace immediately after supper 
 without waiting to hear the beautiful eclogue or the 
 thousand other ^entilezzc which the Siena banker 
 liad prepared in honour of his guests. This was the 
 more indefensible because M. Agostino was at this 
 time paying assiduous court to the fair Margarita 
 Gonzaga, whose hand he sought in marriage, asking 
 no dowry, and promising to settle 10,000 ducats upon 
 her. But whether Margarita's heart was still given 
 to her old lover, Alberto Pio, who was now in Rome 
 as Imperial ambassador, or whether she shrank with 
 aversion from this elderly banker, it is certain that she 
 declined his offer, and M. Agostino himself frankly 
 owned that he had no wish to share his home and bed 
 with an unwilling bride. 
 
 The Pope was in high good humour, went every- 
 where, and would see everything. He gave suppers 
 and dances in the rooms of Pope Innocent, and 
 bull-fights in the Belvedere gardens, and presented 
 the bride with a costly gold chain and crown, as well 
 as a quantity of gloves and perfumes. When the 
 Marquis Francesco's horse carried off the 'palio in the
 
 THE VENETIANS ABSOLVED 279 
 
 race, he listened with evident pleasure to the shouts 
 of ' Mantua ! Mantua !' with which the piazza rang. 
 The two Duchesses took advantage of this occasion 
 to beg him to remember their captive brother and 
 father, upon which he said, with a smile, ' Have 
 a little patience, my children.' But wiien the 
 Duke in his turn tried to plead his father-in-law's 
 cause, the Pope broke into a furious rage, and told 
 him not to attempt to play the part of Valentino.^ 
 However, he consented to absolve the Venetian 
 envoys who came to sue for pardon. On February 24 
 a strange scene took place on the piazza before 
 S. Peter. The Pope, seated on a throne in the 
 portico, and supported by the Cardinals, the Duke 
 of Urbino, the foreign ambassadors, and a host of 
 Bishops and officials, received the five envoys, who, 
 clad in scarlet robes, knelt before him while the 
 Miserere was chanted. After they had kissed his 
 feet three times. His Holiness gave them absolution. 
 Then the great church doors were thrown open, 
 and the penitents were once more admitted into 
 the sanctuary. Afterwards they visited the seven 
 basilicas, and the household of the Pope escorted 
 them home with great triumph and shouts of joy. 
 There was nothing in the ceremony, wrote one of 
 the five, but was honourable to the Republic ; and 
 since the alms offered at each church only consisted 
 of five ducats, the envoys flattered themselves that 
 they had obtained the Papal absolution at small 
 expense.^ 
 
 The gaieties of Carnival were followed by the 
 services of Lent, and the Duchesses were assiduous 
 in visiting the different churches, and attended a 
 
 ^ A. Luzio, ' Federico Gonzaga Ostaggio,' p. 58. 
 2 Sanuto, X. 9, 71, 77 ; Alberi, Serie ii.j v. iii. 'j6.
 
 280 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 representation of the story of Lazarus in St. Peter's, 
 which took place one Sunday in March, and was 
 witnessed by over 12,000 persons. But the Pope, as 
 one of the Venetians remarked, was never present at 
 any long services. CastigHone found many of his 
 old friends in Rome, and together with Bembo and 
 Giuliano enjoyed the company of Sadoleto, Beroaldo, 
 Bibbiena, Cristoforo, and the leading Cardinals. 
 There was another friend from Urbino who welcomed 
 his presence gladly. This was the painter Raphael, 
 now in high favour with His Holiness, and engaged 
 in decorating the Vatican stanze with his great 
 frescoes. The Duchess and her nephew, who had 
 been on friendly terms with the artist from his 
 boyhood, naturally looked with especial interest on 
 the works of the young master from Urbino ; while 
 according to an old tradition, repeated by an English 
 traveller who visited Rome in the sixteenth century, 
 Castiglione's advice was of great use to Raphael in 
 designing hi^ noble fresco of the School of Philosophy. 
 The best proof we have of Castiglione's interest in 
 the work is the introduction of his own portrait into 
 the group on the left, close to Raphael himself Here 
 Baldassare appears in the character of Zoroaster, and 
 stands looking towards the painter ; while another 
 native of Urbino, the architect Bramante, figures as 
 Euclid in the foreground, and the young Duke appears 
 in a corner of the composition. The portraits of both 
 Castiglione and Francesco INIaria must have been 
 painted during this visit to Rome, while that of 
 Leonora's brother, the curly-headed boy Federico, 
 was added when he came to the Vatican as hostage 
 for his father a few months later. When the Easter 
 festival was over, the Duke and Duchesses took leave 
 of His Holiness and their friends in the Sacred
 
 BEMBO'S LETTERS 281 
 
 College, and returned to Urbino. A letter was 
 addressed to Lodovico Brognolo, the Mantuan 
 ambassador in Rome, by Castiglione, acting as 
 Elisabetta's secretary, on April 10, from Gubbio, 
 and on the 15th, Bembo, who had lingered behind 
 with his friend Ottaviano Fregoso, wrote to give 
 Gaspare Pallavicino an account of recent events. 
 This young lord, whose wit and gaiety had so lately 
 made him the life of the court, the Benedick who 
 bandied words with Madonna Emilia and declared him- 
 self the foe and hater of her sex, was dying slowly of 
 a wasting disease at his home of Corte Maggiore, and 
 Bembo, in the kindness of his heart, tried to cheer 
 him with news of old friends. 
 
 ' Our illustrious Lord Duke and Madonna the 
 Duchess and the whole court,' he writes, ' came here 
 this Carnival. They were warmly welcomed by His 
 Holiness and all Rome, and have been feasted and 
 visited and greatly honoured during these joyous 
 days and the following Lent and Easter. They 
 received costly presents from His Holiness and 
 several from very reverend Cardinals. Six days 
 ago they stiuled in the best of health and spirits for 
 Urbino. The new Duchess is a beautiful child, who 
 makes herself every day more beloved, and whose 
 sweetness of nature, tact, and gentleness are beyond 
 her years. Our own gi'acious lady and Madonna Emilia 
 are (|uite as well as usual, and so are all the other 
 gentlemen of the court. I have stayed in Rome a 
 few days for affairs of my own, and shall soon return 
 to Urbino. 
 
 'Near St. Paul beyond the Tiber, April 15, 1510. 
 
 ' I beg of you, dear Signor Gaspare, let me hear 
 often how you are in health, for few hours pass in 
 which your memory is not present to my mind, and
 
 282 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 it grieves me when the accounts I have of you are 
 not those which I should hke to hear.'^ 
 
 A year after Bembo wrote this letter, Gaspare 
 Pallavicino died at the age of seventy-five, and 
 Castiglione paid a splendid tribute to his friend in the 
 fourth book of the ' Cortegiano.' 
 
 Early in May, Madonna Luigia, who had accom- 
 panied the Duchesses to Rome, and returned with 
 them to Urbino, started on her journey home, taking 
 with her many affectionate messages to the JNlarchesa, 
 and the following note from Elisabetta : 
 
 To my Dearest Sister. 
 
 ' As Madonna Luigia da Castiglione is returning to 
 Your Excellency, and can give you full information 
 concerning our affairs, I will not try to speak of them. 
 I send you a little oil of citrobe and wood of aloes 
 which I brought from Rome, and hope you will 
 accept for love of me, hoping soon to be able to let 
 you have the news from Rome which I expect.' 
 
 On the 24th Isabella replied : 
 
 ' I am greatly consoled to hear from Madonna Luigia 
 da Castiglione that Your Highness has returned safely 
 from Rome with the Duke and our darling child, and 
 make use of the return of the bearer who came with 
 Madonna Luigia to tell you that 1 am well, but have 
 no news of my lord as yet.'^ 
 
 At length, on July 17, the Marquis was released 
 in compliance witli the Pope's repeated demands. 
 ' The Holy Father has ordered the Signory to set my 
 lord free,' wrote Isabella joyfully, and the most heart- 
 felt congratulations were sent her from Urbino. 
 
 ^ * Lettere,' iii. 41. 
 
 '^ Archivio Gonzaga, Carteggio di B. Castiglione.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 1510-1511 
 
 War of the Pope against Fi*ance and Ferrara — Castiglione serves 
 with the Papal forces at Bologna — Capture of Modena — Siege 
 of Mirandola — The Pope in the trenches— His fury with the 
 Duke — Castiglione's elegy on Mirandola — Capture of Bologna 
 by the French — Rout of the Papal forces — Murder of Cardinal 
 Alidosi — The Duke excommunicated and tried by the Sacred 
 College — Illness of Julius II. — Absolution and restoration of 
 the Duke. 
 
 Early in June Castiglione was sent to Bologna by 
 the Duke on military business, and remained there 
 for five or six weeks. His letters to his mother were 
 full of the customary complaints about his servants 
 and of discussions over the ever-recurring theme of 
 possible marriages, the Borromeo bride at that 
 moment being to the fore. But the necessity of 
 laying out a few hundred ducats to begin with proved, 
 as usual, an insuperable difficulty, especially, as he 
 remarked, the thing might fall through and leave 
 him worse off than he was before. Only the day before 
 he had to give Evangelista, the Mantuan trainer, forty 
 ducats for horses, and to advance the same amount to 
 some troops who were ordered to Florence, so that he 
 must beg JNIadonna Luigia to send him further remit- 
 tances to satisfy his present needs. The few ducats 
 which had been paid him for a horse that he had 
 lately sold were not sufficient to meet these demands. 
 
 283
 
 284 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 ' At the same time,' he adds, ' one must have bread 
 to eat ! Here at Bologna my expenses and the keep 
 of my horses cost httle less than a ducat and a half a 
 day, so that I cannot afford to forget those who on 
 their part owe me money.' At the same time he 
 warns his mother that war is very likely to break out 
 before long, and begs her not only to send Cristoforo 
 and Smeraldo with his horses before the passes are 
 guarded, but also to employ every available labourer 
 at Casatico to get in the harvest, since he foresees that 
 there will soon be trouble at JNIantua.^ The reports 
 which reached him from Rome were indeed ominous. 
 The Pope's wrath against Venice had hardly been 
 assuaged before his fury was directed against his former 
 allies — France and Ferrara. He had an old quarrel 
 with Louis XII. over the nomination of French 
 Bishops, and resented the high-handed measures of 
 the French monarch in North Italy, while he had 
 long looked enviously on Ferrara as a fief of the 
 Church, and could not forgive Alfonso's close alliance 
 with France. ' The Pope is old and gouty,' wrote 
 Trevisano from Rome in April, ' but he is deter- 
 mined to be master of the world's game.' When, in 
 May, news reached the Holy Father that Bishop 
 Schinner had concluded a treaty with the Swiss, he 
 exclaimed joyfully : ' Now we shall be able to drive 
 the French out of Italy.' He could not sleep, he 
 said, because of the Frenchmen, and spent the night 
 pacing up and down his room, brooding over his war- 
 like designs. Every one felt that there was trouble 
 in the air. * The French in Rome look like corpses,' 
 wrote the same envoy a few weeks later, ' and His 
 Holiness is even more violent in his language against 
 them than he was against us last year.' The Duke 
 
 ^ Cod. Vat. Lat., SiilO, M. 101.
 
 THE MARQUIS SET FREE 285 
 
 of Urbino was now ordered to prepare for an im- 
 mediate advance on Ferrara. In the middle of July 
 Castiglione was sent to Rome to give tlie Pope a 
 minute account of the strength and position of 
 Alfonso's forces previous to the opening of the cam- 
 paign. ^ At tlie same time the Marquis of Mantua 
 was released from his long captivity. JNlarino Sanuto 
 relates how, on July 14, he himself, together with 
 three other members of the College, were sent to 
 bring His Excellency out of prison, and how the 
 next morning the Marquis set sail for Rimini in a 
 \^enetian galley.'-^ Here he found the two Duchesses 
 waiting to welcome him, and proceeded in their 
 company to Bologna, where he saw his little son 
 Federico on his way to Rome. The boy, who was 
 to remain in the Pope's charge as a hostage for his 
 father's good behaviour, arrived at Bologna on the 
 •25th, and before Elisabetta returned to Urbino she 
 was able to tell her sister-in-law that she had kissed 
 her darling Federico, and left him well and happy in 
 his father's company. Unfortunately, both Castiglione 
 and the Duchess suffered from the heat and malaria 
 of this unhealthy season, and were attacked by fever 
 on their respective journeys. Baldassare fell ill first in 
 Rome, and afterwards at ^^iterbo on his way back to 
 Urbino. On August 12 he wrote to tell his anxious 
 mother that he had reached home safely, and had 
 almost shaken off the fever. ' I am hoping soon 
 to find myself in camp, but mean to get quite 
 strong first. The Lady Duchess is not over-well, 
 either ; let us trust in God that her indisposition may 
 not be grave.' A month later Elisabetta became 
 dangerously ill, and her condition was a cause of 
 grave anxiety through the autumn. Castiglione re- 
 
 1 Sanuto, X. 883. -^ Ibid,, x. 820, 824.
 
 286 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 covered more speedily, arid by the end of August 
 was able to join the Duke in the camp at Finale. 
 
 By this time war had begun in good earnest. On 
 August 9 the Pope launched a Bull of excommunica- 
 tion against Alfonso, denouncing him as a son of per- 
 dition, a traitor and rebel against the Vicar of Christ, 
 and appointing the Marquis of Mantua Gonfaloniere 
 of the Church in his stead. The Duke of Urbino 
 advanced into Ferrara and Romagna, and made 
 an easy conquest of the principal towns in this district. 
 On the 20th INIodena surrendered, chiefly owing to 
 the action of the powerful Count Girardo Rangone, 
 who declared himself for the Pope. But the capture 
 of Ferrara itself was a more difficult matter. Alfonso 
 and his subjects prepared for a vigorous defence, and 
 the ^'aliant captain Federico Gonzaga, one of Cas- 
 tiglione's Bozzolo neighbours, succeeded in fighting 
 his way through the enemy's ranks, and joined the 
 Duke within the walls. Although the Marquis of 
 jNIantua had been appointed to the chief command of 
 the Papal forces, he delayed to take the field, and there 
 can be little doubt that the Marchesana secretly used 
 her influence on her brother's behalf. ' Here we are 
 told of intrigues in JNIantua which surprise us greatly,' 
 wrote Castiglione to his mother from INlodena on 
 October 16 ; 'if you could find out the truth about 
 what is really taking place, I should be very grateful. 
 
 His letters from the camp during this autumn and 
 winter certainly give the impression that the Pope 
 was justified in complaining of his general's dilatory 
 measures. 
 
 ' Our life in camp,' he wrote on September 21, 
 ' seems to consist in lodging in the open air in the 
 fields. The rains have been very heavy and are quite
 
 SIEGE OF MIRANDOLA 287 
 
 incessant, and how long we have to remain here no 
 one can imagine. But the Pope will be in Bologna 
 to-morraw, and then I expect we shall soon have our 
 marching orders.'^ 
 
 Through torrents of rain and a sea of almost im- 
 passable mud the indomitable Pope made his way to 
 Bologna, accompanied by several reluctant Cardinals 
 and a body of 400 men. The light-hearted Romag- 
 nese went into fits of laughter when they saw the 
 long train of mules and servants bearing litters, 
 struggling along the heavy roads in detestable 
 weather, and forgot to kneel before the Holy Father 
 as he passed. But the fatigues of the journey 
 and the perils that threatened him at Bologna 
 from the advance of the French army and the dis- 
 affection of the citizens, brought on a violent attack of 
 fever, and for a few days the Pope's life was in danger. 
 Even then his strong will asserted itself, and he in- 
 sisted on being carried to the balcony to bless the 
 citizens who rose in arms against the hated Legate, 
 Alidosi, but were quickly pacified by the sight of the 
 Holy Father. In spite of successive relapses, he rose 
 from his sick-bed to say mass on Christmas Day, and, 
 to the intense amazement of Cardinals and generals 
 alike, he announced his intention of joining the camp 
 and conducting the siege of Mirandola in person. 
 
 During the autumn months the combined ^^enetian 
 and Papal forces had been encamped between Modena 
 and Reggio, chiefly engaged in plundering the country 
 round and skirmishing with the garrison of Ferrara. 
 On December 11 Castiglione sent Cristoforo with his 
 horse Pappagallo back to Casatico, begging his mother 
 for money and white cloth, of which he was in great 
 want, and told her that the Duke had been suffering 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. 54.
 
 288 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 from fever for the last few days, and was going to 
 Bologna for rest. ' We others, eight or ten of us, are 
 going with His Excellency. The rest of the camp is 
 moving towards La Mirandola.' Mirandola was now 
 the point upon which the eyes of all Europe were 
 fixed. The strongly fortified city was defended by 
 a v^aliant Countess, Francesca Trivulzio, daughter of 
 the old Marshal and widow of that Lodovico Pico 
 whose head had been blown off by a shell a year 
 before, when he was fighting on the Pope's side 
 against Venice. This brave lady, supported by her 
 cousin, Alessandro Trivulzio, and a troop of French 
 cavalry, refused to surrender, and held out gallantly 
 against the assaults of the Papal and Venetian 
 troops. It was then that the Pope, declaring that 
 his captains were either fools or traitors, put him- 
 self at the head of his forces and led the attack 
 on Mirandola. The weather was bitterly cold, the 
 snow lay thick on the ground, and the wind raged 
 violently. The moat under the walls was frozen 
 over, and the gunpowder was ruined by the torrents 
 of rain and sleet, but nothing could daunt the lion- 
 hearted old man. 
 
 ' The Pope has appeared, to our great surprise !' 
 wrote the Venetian envoy, Hieronimo Lippomano. 
 ' He hates the French more than ever, and says 
 nothing but " INIirandola ! Mirandola !" until it is im- 
 possible to help laughing. He heeds neither cold nor 
 snow, and has the strength of a giant. But his people 
 do not support him. The court officials only care 
 for money, and are longing to get back to Rome.' 
 
 This apathy on the part of his captains infuriated 
 the vigorous old Pontiff. When the Duke of Urbino 
 tried to make excuses for his delay in planting the 
 artillery against the walls, he shouted out : ' Hold
 
 THE POPE IN CAMP 289 
 
 your peace ! it is too late for words ! Let us attend 
 to facts, and act at once.' 
 
 ' The Pope,' wrote Lippomano, 'is in a furious 
 rage. He blasphemes and curses all his captains in 
 turn, most of all the Duke of Urbino, who will not 
 go near him. And he swears by the body of Christ 
 that he will drive out these barbarians, cut the 
 garrison to pieces, raze Mirandola to the ground, and 
 then go to Ferrara.'^ 
 
 On January 6 the Pope took up his quarters in 
 a convent close to the beleagured city, and lived in 
 the kitchen, while the Cardinals of Aragon and 
 Cornaro and the Venetian envoy shared the adjoin- 
 ing stables. Luigi of Aragon shivered with cold in 
 this unwonted abode, and envied Castiglione the 
 warm quilt of feathers which his careful mother had 
 sent him from home. Roberto of Bari fell ill in 
 camp, and had to seek shelter at Mantua. On the 
 15th Castiglione wrote a hurried note to his mother, 
 begging her to prepare a room in her home for this 
 friend, whom he loved as a brother, adding : ' We 
 are here in much discontent, as may be expected, 
 and in some danger, but hope that we may soon be 
 successful.' 
 
 But the Pope's health and spirits never failed. 
 One night a shell struck the bedroom where he was 
 sleeping and wounded two of his servants. He sent 
 the cannon-ball as a trophy to the shrine of the 
 Virgin at Loreto, where it is still preserved, and 
 returned to the trenches to direct the bombardment. 
 There he stood all day in th'^ blinding sleet, wearing 
 trooper's boots under his pontifical robes, and looking 
 like a Polar bear with his long beard white with 
 
 ^ Sanuto, xi. 723, etc. 
 VOL. I. 19
 
 290 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGIJONE 
 
 snow. When he dismounted in the midst of a heavy 
 snowstorm, he had a big fire made, and asked for a 
 drink, which he shared with the common soldiers. 
 * Monsignore,' said Messer Hieronimo to Cardinal 
 Alidosi, as he watched the strange sight, ' it should be 
 recorded in all the histories of the world that a Pope, 
 lately recovered from dangerous illness, has himself 
 come into the camp in January in bitter cold and 
 snow.' To which the Cardinal, who had none of the 
 Pope's military ardour, and was suspected of secretly 
 plotting with France, replied curtly : ' It is a great 
 event. '^ 
 
 The wonder with which Christendom beheld the 
 scene is reflected in the witty Latin dialogue of 
 'Julius II. Exclusus,' which was published anony- 
 mously in Paris in 1513, but promptly recognized 
 as the work of a well-known scholar — ' Aut Erasmus, 
 aut diabolus.' Here the fighting Pope, wearing a 
 cassock over his blood-stained armour, and attended 
 by thousands of soldiers who fell in his battles, is 
 represented as thundering in vain at the gates of 
 Paradise, which SL Peter refuses to unlock, since he 
 cannot recognize in him any marks of the Vicar of 
 Christ, the pure and lowly JNIaster who loved the 
 poor and gave His own life for mankind. But this 
 famous dialogue was not the only composition in- 
 spired by the siege of Mirandola. In these same 
 frost-bound trenches, where he spent day and night 
 directing the movements of the artillery, Baldassare 
 Castiglione conceived the idea of his noble dramatic 
 elegy, ' Prosopopoeia Ludovici Pici JMirandulani,' the 
 only poem which can be definitely ascribed to these 
 troubled years of his life. In these fine Latin verses 
 he describes how, as he watched under the walls of 
 
 ' Sanuto, xi. 745.
 
 CASTIGLIONE'S POEM 291 
 
 the beleaguered city, and the white moonh'ght shone 
 on the ghttering snows, the ghost of Lodovico Pico 
 suddenly appeared before him, with bloody brow and 
 sad face, gazing on the camp bustling in warlike 
 array, and appealed in pathetic language to the Pope 
 as the Father and Shepherd of the nations, the great 
 Arbiter of the world, to whom God Himself had 
 given power over heaven and hell. ' What have I 
 done,' the pale ghost asked, ' to bring such ruin on 
 my race and home V and, pointing to the wounds 
 which he had received in the Pope's service, implored 
 the Holy Father to have compassion on his unhappy 
 wife and innocent children, and on the ruined houses 
 and desolate \aneyards of the miserable peasants whose 
 homes were laid waste by the cruel scourge of war. 
 But while the hero spirit poured out his mournful 
 complaint, the sound of roaring guns broke upon the 
 air, shaking the earth with their fury, a sudden blaze 
 of flames lit up the burning city, and with a groan, 
 the sad spectre vanished into darkness. 
 
 Both the dead Lord of Mirandola and his wife 
 had been Castiglione's friends, and the sight of the 
 wrongs inflicted on an innocent race appealed to his 
 poet-soul, rather than the triumphs of the warrior 
 Pope, upon whose side he fought. But, as he and all 
 the world knew, it was a lost cause. Chaumont, who 
 with the French army was encamped hard by, between 
 Rubiera and Carpi, did not move a hand, and the 
 beleaguered town was left to its fate. 
 
 On the 20th a breach was made in the walls, and 
 both her ammunition and provisions being exhausted, 
 the Countess surrendered, sending word to the Pope 
 that he might do his worst, but that she and her 
 children would return to their own some day. This 
 message, we are told, pleased the Pope so much that 
 
 19—2
 
 292 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 he sent the lady an escort, and gave orders that 
 she should be allowed to leave the city vidth all the 
 honours of war.^ He himself would not wait till 
 the drawbridge was restored and the walled-up gates 
 opened, but climbed up a ladder and entered through 
 the breach, a feat which, as the Venetian envoy 
 remarked, the gouty old man only accomplished v^dth 
 some difficulty.^ The next day he was carried 
 on a litter round the walls, where he gave directions 
 as to the necessary repairs, and appointed Lodovico 
 Pico's brother Gianfrancesco Governor of the con- 
 quered city. ' Now,' he said exultingly, ' we will 
 go on to Ferrara.' But he saw with annoyance the 
 quarrels of his own captains, and the ever-growing 
 hatred between Cardinal Alidosi and the Duke of 
 Urbino. He stormed at them all in turn, told them 
 they were dolts and cowards, and swore that he 
 would hang the one and quarter the other. 
 
 • This Pope is exceedingly strong-willed and ex- 
 ceedingly difficult to manage,' remarked Lippomano, 
 who had ample opportunity of forming an opinion. 
 ' No one knows what he will do next ; he has a brain 
 of his own, and a spirit which is terrible in all things.' 
 
 Even Castiglione came in for a share of these 
 amenities, and experienced what Ariosto has finely 
 called ' la grande ira di Secondo ' — the great wrath 
 of the second Julius.^ On January 24 he was sent 
 to the Rocca by the Duke, who would not venture 
 himself into the presence of the irascible Pontiff, to 
 bear him his congratulations on the successful occupa- 
 tion of the city and ask his pleasure regarding the 
 movements of the cavalry. But at the sight of 
 
 1 Luigi da Porto, ' Lettere,' p. 231. ^ Sanuto, xi. 770, etc. 
 
 3 Satire i. 152.
 
 A POPE'S AVRATH 293 
 
 Castiglione the Pope flew into a violent rage, and 
 before this most courteous and poHshed gentleman 
 could utter a word, sprang from his chair and bade the 
 envoy be gone from his presence, crying in jeering 
 tones : ' You have behaved finely, and now you may 
 go your own way !'^ 
 
 This outburst, which scandalized the Cardinals and 
 Venetian envoys who were present at the interview, 
 is partly explained by Castiglione himself. In a letter 
 written from Sinigaglia eiglit months later, he tells his 
 brother-in-law, Tommaso Strozzi, that the Pope had 
 long suspected him of being on friendly terms with 
 the French King, and that this false impression was 
 due to the calumnies of Count Gio. Francesco della 
 Mirandola, who hated both himself and the Duke of 
 Urbino. But we find no allusion to the Pope in the 
 short letters which he addressed to his mother from 
 Mirandola. These only contained requests for furs and 
 clothes, as well as an intimation that he was sending 
 her several mules laden with baggage belonging to 
 Count Alessandro Trivulzio, who was now the Pope's 
 prisoner, and begged her to keep them for the present. 
 Baldassare's next letters were written from Finale, 
 where the Papal forces remained encamped until the 
 end of April, and hostilities were either languidly 
 carried on, or else suspended for a time. The account 
 which he gives of his men's destitution and of the 
 difficulty of obtaining provisions shows the straits to 
 which the Papal forces were reduced during this long 
 and tedious campaign. 
 
 ' We are in want of everything,' he wrote on 
 March 20, ' and we certainly ought by this time to 
 have taken La Bastia [a strong fortress command- 
 
 * Sanuto, xi. 77.3.
 
 294 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 ing an important position on the banks of the Po] 
 and ask nothing better than to try our chance in 
 a battle, if only to get out of these miseries. All my 
 men and I myself are worn out by these long marches, 
 and our clothes are in rags. I wish you would try 
 and procure me some blue and tan cloth to make my 
 servants new vests, and some blue satin for a tunic 
 for myself, and I will let you know how much I 
 require. As for our next movements, I can only tell 
 you what every one knows. We are very near the 
 enemy, and are obliged to protect our flanks as well 
 as we can. We are at Finale, Bondeno, and JNIassa, 
 and the enemy at La Stellata and Sermeto. The 
 Pope was very anxious to take La Bastia, but every 
 one else expects great things from this conference at 
 Mantua.' 
 
 Again, on April 7 he wrote : 
 
 ' Our labours are continual, and the famine increases 
 every day. There is hardly a feed of corn left for our 
 poor horses, and I have told the present bearer, Aurelio, 
 to ask you to send me 1 8 or 20 bushels of oats by a 
 means of conveyance that he will explain, and which, 
 1 hope, you will be able to manage, as we certainly are 
 in a bad case. In two days I will send for the blue 
 and tan cloth of which I wrote, to clothe my poor lads, 
 who are reduced to a state of absolute nakedness. 
 1 should also like to have two sacks of wheat, as not 
 a grain of corn is to be had here, and bread costs as 
 much as an eye !' 
 
 Still more pressing was his letter of the 9th, in 
 which he repeats his request for suits of blue and tan 
 cloth for Smeraldo, his secretary, and white cloth to 
 make a tunic for Gianpietro, and three pairs of fur- 
 lined boots. ' All of these I want as soon as possible, 
 for our clothes are all torn to bits. And I beg you 
 to send the corn at once, as the horses are in dire
 
 * WAR RATHER THAN PEACE ' 295 
 
 necessity and have eaten the grass close down to the 
 ground.'^ 
 
 This time good Madonna Luigia bestirred herself 
 in earnest, and on the 27th Baldassare wrote grate- 
 fully to thank her for the corn, eggs, and vegetables 
 which had been sorely needed. In the same letter he 
 laments the failure of the negotiations to which he 
 had referred above. 
 
 This was the conference of foreign envoys whom 
 the Marchesana, in her anxiety for peace, had invited 
 to JMantua, where Maximilian's favourite, Mattlueus 
 Lang, Bishop of Gurk, met the ambassadors of 
 France, Spain, and England, and amused himself 
 flirting with Isabella's maids of honour in the in- 
 tervals of business. On April 10 Bishop Lang was 
 sent to treat with the Pope at Bologna, and behaved 
 with such unmannerly arrogance and insolence that 
 even the Venetians were disgusted, and could not 
 wonder that Julius refused to come to terms with 
 him. The Pope replied by excommunicating the 
 Duke of Ferrara and all the allies of France, and on 
 the 25th the Bishop left Bologna hm-riedly with an 
 angry countenance, which boded ill for all parties. 
 
 ' You will have heard,' wrote Castiglione to his 
 mother two days afterwards, 'that the Ambassador 
 of His Cassarean Majesty has parted from our Lord 
 the Pope in anger, so that we expect war rather than 
 peace. God send us what is best.' 
 
 At this critical moment a new French general 
 appeared on the scene in the person of the fine old 
 Marshal Trivulzio, who was sent with fresh reinforce- 
 ments to take command after the death of Chaumont. 
 His first step was to make a dash on Bologna, and on 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. 56-58.
 
 296 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 May 15 the Pope left hurriedly for Ravenna to avoid 
 the risk of falling into the hands of the hated French. 
 But hardly was he gone before the people of Bologna 
 rose in arms against Cardinal Alidosi, who fled in 
 disguise to his home near Imola without making any 
 attempt at resistance. The Duke of Urbino, whose 
 army was encamped in the neighbourhood, promptly 
 ordered his men to retreat, and they were pursued 
 and defeated with heavy losses by the French. The 
 flight soon became a rout, and the ducal standard, 
 together with twenty guns and all the baggage, fell 
 into the enemy's hands, and on the 23rd Trivulzio 
 entered Bologna in triumph. The Bentivogii were 
 restored, the citadel which Julius II. had built was 
 destroyed, and Michelangelo's bronze statue of the 
 Pope was broken in pieces and melted down by 
 Alfonso d' Este, who made it into a caimon, which 
 he named La Giulia— an insult which the Pontiff" 
 never forgave. 
 
 Thus in a few days the old Pope saw himself 
 deprived of all his hard-won conquests. But his 
 courage never quailed. On Friday, May 23, he sum- 
 moned the Cardinals into his presence at Ravenna, 
 and told them that Bologna had been lost, not, as 
 some men said, by the fault of the Legate, but by 
 the revolt and treachery of its citizens. He asked 
 for Alidosi, and, hearing he had fled to Imola, remarked 
 that perhaps he felt safer there than here. Then he 
 vented his fury on the Duke of Urbino, calling him 
 a fool and a traitor, and saying that if Francesco fell 
 into his hands he should be drawn and quartered, as he 
 richly deserved. Early the next morning he sent for 
 his nephew, and at the sight of the Duke broke out 
 into a torrent of violent reproaches, telling him that his 
 delays and irresolution had been the cause of all these
 
 MURDER OF ALIDOSI 297 
 
 calamities. As Francesco left the Pontiff's presence, 
 burning with shame and anger at this treatment, he 
 met Cardinal Alidosi near the church of S. Vitale, on 
 his way to visit the Pope. The Legate, who was 
 riding on his mule in a Spanish habit, accompanied 
 by a troop of horse, saluted him with a smiling 
 countenance, upon which Francesco sprang to the 
 ground, and, rushing furiously at him with his sword, 
 wounded him mortally, and crying out, ' At last I 
 have thee traitor ; take that which thou hast deserved !' 
 struck him on the head. The Cardinal's followers, 
 paralyzed with horror, stood by speechless, while two 
 of the Duke's servants dispatched the victim, and 
 Francesco himself made his way through the gather- 
 ing crowd and rode off to Urbino. 
 
 The murdered man was carried into S. Vitale, and 
 lay there till Sunday evening, when his body was 
 buried in the Duomo. 
 
 ' A terrific storm broke over Ravenna,' writes the 
 Venetian envoy, 'just after the fatal deed was done, 
 and lasted all Saturday and Sunday, so that the whole 
 city was flooded when the dead Cardinal was borne 
 to the grave. It seemed as if the Day of Judgment 
 had arrived, and the rain never ceased till he was laid 
 under the ground.'^ 
 
 At one o'clock that afternoon the news of his 
 favourite's assassination was brought to the Pope. 
 Filled with grief and horror, he gave way to the 
 most passionate sorrow, and, refusing to take food in 
 the city which had been the scene of so great an 
 outrage, left immediately for l^imini. Here he fell 
 seriously ill, and could only travel by slow stages to 
 Rome, where he arrived on June 26, broken in health, 
 
 1 Sanuto, xii. 201.
 
 298 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 but still strong in courage and firm of purpose. His 
 coolness and resolution in the face of overwhelming 
 dangers amazed every one. A group of rebellious 
 Cardinals, supported by Louis XII. and Maximilian, 
 had summoned a General Council at Pisa, and cited 
 the Pope to appear before this assembly. Julius 
 retorted by issuing summons for a universal Council 
 to meet at the Lateran in April, 1512, and pronounced 
 the edict issued by the revolted Cardinals to be null 
 and void. At the same time he fulminated excom- 
 munications against Bologna, and began to negotiate 
 a league against France with Ferdinand of Spain, 
 Henry VIII., and Venice. His enemies were divided 
 and irresolute. The Council of Pisa proved an utter 
 failure. Louis XII., fearing to proceed to extremities 
 against the Head of the Church, ordered his troops to 
 retire to Milan, and entered into negotiations for peace. 
 Meanwhile Castiglione had returned with the Duke 
 to Urbino. He had lost everything in the rout of the 
 Papal army, but held himself fortunate to have escaped 
 with his life from this disaster. On June 1 he sent a 
 brief note to inform his mother of his safety : 
 
 ' By different ways you will have heard that we 
 reached Cesena safely. This bearer will tell you that 
 we are at Urbino, safe indeed, but utterly destitute. 
 I have lost all my horses and everything that I 
 possessed. However, I am not greatly concerned 
 about this, since, thank God, I am safe and un- 
 harmed. I should be glad if you could send me a 
 few necessary clothes, shirts, handkerchiefs, caps of 
 gold cloth, and other things of this kind, for I have 
 been stripped bare of everything.'^ 
 
 We do not know if Castiglione was in Ravenna 
 with the Duke and witnessed the murder of Alidosi, 
 
 1 Serassi, i. 59.
 
 TRIAL OF FRANCESCO 299 
 
 but as no allusion to the event appears in his letters, 
 it is more probable that he remained at the camp near 
 Cesena endeavouring to collect the remnants of the 
 army. It was, however, as usual, to him that Francesco 
 turned for help in his hour of need. His influence 
 counted for much with his lord, and both the Venetian 
 envoys and the Mantuan correspondents speak of him 
 as the Duke's chief minister and favourite — ' the one 
 who can do everything with him.' Castiglione, on 
 his part, seems to have become attached to his young 
 master, and was too loyal a servant to say a word 
 against him even in private letters. 
 
 On July 21, three days after promulgating the 
 Bull convoking the Lateran Council, the Pope 
 summoned his nephew, the Duke of Urbino, to 
 appear before the Sacred College to answer for the 
 murder of Cardinal Alidosi, and declared him to 
 have forfeited all his dignities and possessions. At 
 first Francesco hesitated to obey the summons, but 
 yielding to the counsels of his aunt, the Duchess, and 
 his more prudent friends, he came to Rome with 
 Castiglione on August 9 and presented himself at the 
 Vatican.! The Pope ordered him to remain under 
 arrest in the Duchess Elisabetta's house in the Via 
 Lata, while his trial was referred to a commission 
 of six Cardinals. Fortunately for Francesco, the chief 
 of this tribunal was Giovanni de' Medici, a Cardinal 
 closely connected by ties of friendship and gratitude 
 with the ducal family, and whose brother Giuliano 
 and secretary Bibbiena, as we know, were intimate 
 alike with the Duchess Elisabetta, Bembo, and Cas- 
 tiglione. The Duke's defence was confided to another 
 member of the same circle, Filippo Beroaldo, who 
 pleaded Francesco's cause with a power and ability 
 
 ^ Sanuto, xii. 371.
 
 300 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 that excited general admiration. The proceedings 
 were long and involved, and fill a thick parchment 
 volume, which is still preserved in the archives of 
 Urbino, while Beroaldo's able and eloquent oration 
 is among the manuscripts of the Vatican library/ 
 It rests almost entirely on the crimes and treason of 
 the murdered Cardinal, of which many substantial 
 proofs could be produced, and, after a long recital 
 of Alidosi's numerous acts of violence and treachery, 
 his secret understanding with the French, and final 
 betrayal of Bologna, ends by declaring that the Duke 
 had rendered the Pope and Church a great service 
 in delivering the world from this monster of iniquity. 
 In a fine peroration the advocate appealed to the 
 judges to spare a young Prince whose life was precious 
 to so many illustrious and virtuous Princes, such as the 
 Duchess of Urbino and the Marquis and Marchioness 
 of Mantua, and whose sword was sorely needed for 
 the defence of Italy. 
 
 These sentiments found a quick response in the 
 popular feeling, both in Rome and in the rest of 
 Italy. After the first shock of horror at the murder, 
 there was a general revulsion in favour of the man 
 whose hand had slain this hated villain. No one but 
 the Pope grieved for Alidosi. The other Cardinals 
 expressed their satisfaction openly. Paris de Grassis, 
 in his diary, returned solemn thanks to Almighty 
 God for having delivered the world from so odious a 
 man and so notorious a traitor. The people in the 
 streets of Ravenna rejoiced over the tyrant's fall, and 
 a voice was heard calling down blessings on the 
 Duke, whom God had chosen to be the avenger of 
 their wrongs. 
 
 But in the midst of these proceedings the Pope 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Urb., 924.
 
 THE POPE ILL 301 
 
 suddenly fell ill. On August 17 he was attacked 
 with fever, which three days later returned with such 
 violence that his doctors gave little hope of recovery, 
 and the news spread through Rome that he was 
 dying. On the 22nd he became unconscious, and 
 the next day Cardinal de' JNIedici told our friend 
 Lippomano that the Holy Father could not live 
 through the night. 
 
 There was a tumult in the Capitol : the young 
 Romans rose in arms, the Cardinals began to prepare 
 for the conclave, and the chances of the most popular 
 among them were freely discussed. But the in- 
 domitable will of the old man still asserted itself. 
 After remaining unconscious during several hours, he 
 suddenly asked for a drink of wine, and when the 
 doctors refused threatened to send them to the 
 dungeons of the Castello. Then he remembered his 
 nephew, and with a touch of old affection for the 
 boy whom he had always loved, sent for the Duke 
 to his bedside, and gave him absolution and a present 
 of 12,000 ducats. On the 24th he received the 
 Viaticum, and dictated his last wishes to his daughter 
 Felice and Cardinal Riario. After that he ate an 
 egg, swore at all his doctors in turn, and asked for 
 olives and peaches. Three days later the fever 
 suddenly left him, and on the 28th the Venetian 
 envoy wrote that he was out of danger.^ 
 
 As soon as the Pope was convalescent and able to 
 transact business, the Duke of Urbino left Rome and 
 returned to his own home. By an act of the Papal 
 Consistory, bearing the date August 22, 1511, he 
 was formally absolved from all ecclesiastical censures 
 and restored to his dignities and dominions. The 
 Pope's sentence was confirmed by the Cardinals, and 
 
 * Sanuto, xii. 441, 449, 450.
 
 302 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGI.IONE 
 
 the full particulars of their decision were afterwards 
 embodied in a Bull signed by His Holiness and 
 eighteen Cardinals, and dated December 9, 1511. 
 
 On September 27 Castiglione wrote joyously from 
 Urbino to tell his mother that their anxieties were 
 happily ended : 
 
 ' We have, thank God, returned safely from Rome, 
 bringing with us the absolution and restoration of my 
 illustrious lord to his state and honours, after passing 
 through infinite troubles and more anxieties than I can 
 describe. The worst of all was the very dangerous 
 illness of His Holiness, who has been saved, as it 
 were, by a miracle from the jaws of death to ensure 
 the safety of our Duke and of the whole Church of 
 God. For if he had really died, both the state and 
 person of the Duke would hav^e been in the utmost 
 danger, and might have been exposed to great risks 
 at the hands of the Sacred College. Many indeed 
 were the perils that could already be foreseen. But 
 God be praised ! When I was in Rome I sent you a 
 letter by a messenger of the Lord Marquis, but do 
 not know if it ever reached you. In that letter I 
 begged you to send me fifty ducats to pay some of 
 my debts, which I have been forced to incur owing to 
 our misfortunes this year. As soon as I have received 
 the money I will set out on my journey and come 
 and see you. Meanwhile I am going to Our Lady of 
 Loreto, to whom I owe a vow. I cannot write more, 
 as my hand is very tired ; and although I can use 
 it to write, it is still weak, and only improves by slow 
 degrees.'^ 
 
 Baldassare had suffered in body as well as in mind 
 by the calamities of the past year. He complained 
 repeatedly during the disastrous campaign of severe 
 
 1 Serassi, i. 60.
 
 PILGKTMAGE TO LORETO 803 
 
 pains in his side, which disabled him from active 
 service, and now he suffered from sleeplessness and 
 weakness of limbs. But the perils from which he 
 and his lord had escaped were so much worse that he 
 could only thank God as with a grateful heart he 
 set out on his pilgrimage to Loreto.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 1511-1512 
 
 Marriage proposals renewed by Count Martinengo, and suddenly 
 broken off — The Pope suspects Castiglione of intrigues with the 
 French — The Duke of Urbino refuses to serve under another 
 general — Incurs the Pope's displeasure anew — His offer of 
 service accepted after the defeat of Ravenna — Campaign 
 against Ferrara — Death of Cesare Gonzaga. 
 
 After all the dangers and anxieties of the past 
 year, Madonna Luigia was naturally anxious to see 
 her son. She had also many things to discuss with 
 him — above all, the eternal marriage question, which 
 as yet remained unsettled. The pertinacity with 
 which she met all rebuffs, and continued her exertions 
 to find Baldassare a suitable and well-dowered bride, 
 was altogether admirable ; but it is hardly surprising 
 if the knight himself began to grow tired of her 
 importunities. Even when he was engaged in active 
 warfare she sent him fresh proposals. From the 
 camp at Finale he wrote on April 27 : 
 
 ' As for Madonna Bionda's offer, I leave it to you ; 
 but I fear the lady's father is not of gentle birth, 
 a thing which I count of great importance ; and I 
 do not see that the other conditions are sufficiently 
 good to counterbalance this drawback, or that, for 
 instance, we can expect a large dowry, high position, 
 or any other advantages.'^ 
 
 1 Serassi, 1. 58. 
 304
 
 THE MARRIAGE QUESTION 305 
 
 On his return to Urbino in June, he wrote that 
 he must put an end to these tiresome discussions, and 
 marry either Count Giberto of Correggio's daughter 
 or the maiden of the Stanga family. ' The fact is,' 
 he adds, ' I am sick of the whole thing. Still, if you 
 wish to entertain one of these proposals, it may 
 perhaps not turn out badly. Anyhow, I would 
 gladly settle the matter at once if it must be done, 
 and may God prosper us !' 
 
 But after his return from Rome, the old idea of a 
 marriage with Count Giulio Martinengo's daughter, 
 which had been entertained three years before, was 
 revived. The girl remained unmarried, and her 
 family evidently realized the advantages of a con- 
 nexion with a personage of Castiglione's importance, 
 while he on his part was quite inclined to renew 
 negotiations. 
 
 On October 13 he was concerned to hear that his 
 mother had been seriously ill, and had written him 
 a letter which had unfortunately been lost. This 
 prompted him to send her a letter of affectionate 
 inquiries, and express his regrets at being compelled 
 to delay his visit : 
 
 ' The reasons which hinder me are of such a nature 
 that I cannot write them, so I will only say that I 
 will come as soon as possible ; for I am extremely 
 anxious to conclude this business, which I now regard 
 as settled. It is true, as you may remember, that a 
 larger dowry was originally promised, but I do not 
 wish to make a point of this. But I wonder why 
 they should object to keeping the thing private for a 
 little longer, as, once it is settled and promises are 
 exchanged, I do not see that it can matter if it is 
 announced a little sooner or later. However, I 
 should like it to be kept private until my arrival, for 
 the reason which I mentioned to you, unless you 
 
 VOL. I. 20
 
 306 COUNT BALD ASS ARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 think there is any risk in this delay. These ladies 
 [the Duchesses] all commend themselves to you, and 
 JMadonna Emilia asks me constantly what she owes 
 you for the cloth, but I cannot tell her, as the letter 
 on this subject reached me in Rome ; 1 have lost it, 
 and cannot remember.' 
 
 Unfortunately, this time JMadonna Luigia was not 
 only sorely disappointed, but seriously vexed with her 
 son for what she considered his neglect, and both 
 her widowed daughter, Polissena, and her son-in-law, 
 Tommaso Strozzi, wrote to inform Baldassare how 
 much she had taken his conduct to heart. Their 
 letters arrived at Urbino after he liad started on his 
 pilgrimage, and only reached him at Sinigaglia on his 
 way back from Loreto. 
 
 ' The day before yesterday,' he wrote on Novem- 
 ber 6, ' I received a letter of yours written on 
 October 19, which caused me the greatest vexation, 
 and such indeed as I have not experienced for a long 
 time ; and this because I see that you do not believe 
 me, and think that I am less obedient and loving than 
 I am and have always shown myself to be in all my 
 actions. I cannot think that what I have done is 
 serious enough for you to take it to heart in such a 
 way as to make yourself ill, as M. Tommaso and 
 M. Polissena tell me. What cause of complaint 
 have you ? Have I ever said that I would not con- 
 sent to this marriage or delay its conclusion without 
 good reason ? If I had been unwilling to agree to this, 
 I should not have given you leave to make the con- 
 tract as you have done, with my entire approval and 
 to my great satisfaction. If I have had to defer my 
 visit for a little while, this does not seem to me to be 
 so great a wrong, since this delay is only due to 
 imperative and most urgent reasons, which I would 
 have explained in writing if they were not so gi'ave ;
 
 I 
 
 MADONNA LUIGIA'S COIMPI.AINTS 307 
 
 for if the letter were to fall into other hands it might 
 do much harm, now that the roads are so unsafe and 
 are closely watched by the Pope's enemies. All the 
 same, I will venture to tell you the cause now, lest 
 you should take it to be other than it is. The Duke 
 refused to give me leave to come to Mantua, and as 
 it would take a long time to explain his reasons, I am 
 writing another letter to M. Tommaso, who will 
 repeat its contents to you, so as not to give you the 
 trouble of reading them. Only I do beg you, if you 
 wish to please me, not to distress yourself, because 
 I do not mean either to delay or break off these 
 negotiations. I trust that you will calm your spirits, 
 and if you really wish for my happiness, try to get 
 well and be of good courage ; for I promise and swear 
 to come as soon as possible, and hope in any case this 
 may be very soon. IN Jean while, if you hear again 
 from Brescia, 1 am quite content that you should 
 annoimce the marriage and conclude the contract as 
 you may think best. I have nothing more to say, but 
 that I do hope you will be cured quickly and keep 
 up a good heart, for there is nothing that I more 
 earnestly desire than to see you well and to be with 
 you. And you will certainly not require the medicine 
 that you say you would like to take !' 
 
 The following was the letter which he enclosed for 
 his brother-in-law : 
 
 ' To the magnificent Cavalier and mi) mod honoured 
 Brother, M. Tominaw St?-ozzi. 
 
 ' I have been very much vexed to hear from you 
 how bitterly Madonna our mother complains of me, 
 God knows with what injustice, since I have never 
 had a wish on earth excepting to obey and please her. 
 The reasons of my delay, which 1 could not write by 
 Pietrone, I now send you, so as not to give her the 
 trouble of reading them, hoping you will either read 
 
 20—2
 
 308 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 or explain tliem to her by word of mouth. 1 also 
 beg you to show this letter to our Mag. Gio. Pietro, 
 and to M. Polissena, and hope that you will all beg 
 of her not to compel me to incur the Duke's disgrace 
 for the sake of these few days, which would certainly 
 be a great pity, as 1 have already fully explained, 
 especially as the affair is so far settled that there can 
 be no thought of drawing back now. I beg of you 
 kindly to go to Casatico at once and see her, and then 
 send me a messenger to tell me how she is, for I am 
 so much disturbed that I hardly know what to do. 
 
 ' SiNiGAGLiA, November 6, 1511, 
 
 ' Since the beginning of these wars, the Pope has 
 always thought and said that the Duke not only 
 failed to do his utmost against the Duke of Ferrara 
 and the French, but was in secret communication 
 with them, and has often declared that he was a 
 traitor and should be drawn and quartered, and many 
 similar words, which he has repeated a thousand 
 times and now maintains more strongly than ever. 
 Now that the campaign against Bologna is to be 
 undertaken, he has reduced the Duke of Urbino's 
 old company by sixty men-at-arms, and has given the 
 Duke of Termini^ a force of 200 men-at-arms, and 
 light cavalry, with the title of Lieutenant, which is 
 greater than that of Captain, so that the Duke would 
 have to serve under the Duke of Termini, and declares 
 that he will rather die than submit to such an insult, 
 for a thousand reasons which would take too long to 
 tell. Our Lord Duke has always tried, and is still 
 trying, to remove the Pope's suspicions and prove 
 his innocence, as the best way of recovering His 
 Holiness's favour. The Pope has repeatedly declared 
 that I was the medium through whom the Duke 
 kept up correspondence with the French, having 
 received this impression from one who bore me no 
 goodwill — i.e.. Count Gio. Francesco of Mirandola — 
 
 1 A Neapolitan general in the King of Spain's service.
 
 THE POPE'S SUSPICIONS 309 
 
 and was confirmed in his suspicions because, when I 
 was sent to Parma to escort Captain Peralta — whom 
 God pardon — these French lords treated me with the 
 greatest courtesy and honour. The Pope said one 
 day to the Bisliop of Trirarico [Count Lodovico of 
 Canossa] that he knew for certain that I had been at 
 Mantua when the Bishop of Gurk was there to treat 
 with him on behalf of the French, and no power on 
 earth could induce him to believe this to be false, 
 until the Bishop brought forward three or four wit- 
 nesses to prove that I could not have been at INIantua 
 at that time. This being the case, when I asked 
 the Duke for leave to come to Lombardy, he refused, 
 for fear of giving the Pope any ground of suspicion, 
 and begged me to wait until His Holiness had decided 
 what he would do for him ; for undoubtedly, if the 
 Pope had heard of my journey, nothing in the world 
 would have persuaded him that I had not gone on 
 some mission to the French. The Duke's affair with 
 the Pope is still pending, and may be settled at any 
 moment, and we hope it will end well. To me these 
 reasons seem to be sufficiently grave, and it would, I 
 think, be a great pity to throw away the service of so 
 many years, especially in these times, when if I am 
 held of any account it is for the Duke's sake. This 
 need cause no interruption in our affair, which I 
 consider to be settled and done, for it can make no 
 difference if the actual contract be concluded a few 
 days earlier or later. This, then, has been the reason 
 of my delays, which I beg you not to ascribe to my 
 own reluctance. Now I am here at Sinigaglia, and 
 as soon as I get leave from the Duke I shall come. 
 The Lord Duke is expected here to-morrow, and I, 
 having gone to settle some differences at Fano, found 
 His Excellency had left for S. Maria di Loreto.'^ 
 
 This letter throws liglit on the renewed displeasure 
 with which Julius II. regarded his nephew during the 
 1 Serassi, i. 62-t)4.
 
 310 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 next few months, openly accusing him of carrying on 
 intrigues with Louis XII., and declaring him to be a 
 rebel by a Bull issued only a few days before the battle 
 of Ravenna. Guicciardini alludes to the suspicion 
 with which the Pope regarded Castiglione, whom he 
 unjustly believed to be in correspondence with 
 Gaston de Foix, the young captain whose short 
 career was closed on that hard-fought field, where 
 he and Alfonso d' Este obtained so brilliant a victory 
 over the combined Spanish and Papal forces. But 
 although neither the Duke of llrbino nor Castiglione 
 were present at the battle of Ravenna, the Urbino 
 contingent, led by Domenico di Genga, fought under 
 the Pope's banner on that occasion.^ As soon as the 
 disastrous result of the battle was known, Francesco 
 hastened to Rome and offered his services to his 
 uncle, who gladly accepted them, and once more 
 invested him with the chief command of the Papal 
 forces. 
 
 Under these circumstances Castiglione felt that it 
 was impossible for him to gratify his mother's wish, 
 and abandoned all idea of a visit to JNIantua for 
 the present. The proposed marriage with Count 
 Martinengo's daughter, which had been the most 
 pressing cause for the journey, was suddenly broken 
 off owing to political reasons. Agostino Gonzaga, 
 who was sent to Urbino by the JNIarquis in December, 
 brought Baldassare some private information on the 
 subject, to which he refers mysteriously in a letter to 
 his mother of December 22 : 
 
 ' M. Agostino spoke to me about this intended 
 marriage, and told me a thing that I could never 
 
 1 Guicciardini, x., c. 5; Ugolini, ii. 188; Dennistoun, ii. 330; 
 Brosch, 'Julius II.,' 245, 251.
 
 THE FATE OF BRESCIA 311 
 
 have imagined, and which ends the matter. Since 
 the affair was so far settled, and my mind was quite 
 made up on the subject, I regret this deeply — for 
 many reasons. But we must have patience, for this 
 is the work of Fate. I am also grieved to think 
 these gentlemen may not realize the true nature of 
 my reasons, and 1 beg you to make them understand 
 very clearly that this distresses me most profoundly. 
 ]\Iay God direct our course ! for indeed I see great 
 ruin hanging over this city, and above all over this 
 unhappy family. At least it is something to feel that 
 in this instance our lord has shown that he partly 
 realizes how loyal a servant he has in me. But I 
 will say no more about this. We often do not know 
 what is our true gain or loss.'^ 
 
 The unfortunate city to whose doom Castiglione 
 alludes in words of prophetic warning, was clearly 
 that of Brescia, which was besieged and taken by 
 the \^enetians in February, and retaken and cruelly 
 sacked by Gaston de Foix a fortnight later. Before 
 these disastrous events Count Giulio Martinengo, the 
 father of his destined bride, was put to death with 
 his two brothers for conspiring to give up the city 
 to the ^^enetians. Some intimation of the plot, in 
 which the Count was engaged, had evidently reached 
 the Marquis of Mantua, who sent Castiglione this 
 friendly warning by his kinsman Agostino Gonzaga. 
 But the satisfaction which this token of renewed 
 good feeling gave Baldassare was clouded by an 
 unkind report which some malicious tongue repeated 
 in his hearing. 
 
 * I am a good deal vexed,' he wrote on January 29, 
 ' by a rumour which has reached me by a secret 
 channel, to the effect that the Lord Marquis has 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. 64.
 
 312 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 lately said certain things about me which show that 
 some slanderous tongue has more influence with him 
 than my true devotion to his service. If any trust- 
 worthy messenger is coming this way, I should be 
 glad if you would tell me anything that you know 
 about this.' 
 
 The bearer of this letter to Mantua was Bernardino 
 Missaglia, one of the famous Milanese armourers. 
 Castiglione proceeded to inform his mother that he 
 had given Missaglia an order for a thing which he 
 had longed to have for years past — a suit of German 
 armour — and begged her to find sixty florins to 
 defray the cost, since, if he could have nothing else, 
 he meant at least to be well armed. After this came 
 a modest request for two black caps made in Italian 
 fashion, of double thickness, with two folds and low 
 crowns, but no brims. 
 
 ' I will do my best to ask for no more money at 
 present, and M'ill keep the bearer of your letter, 
 Cristoforo da Asola, in my service. I will only add 
 that I am very well, thank God, and anxious to have 
 news of you and all of ours. I trust that things will 
 settle down, so that we may see each other once 
 more.' 
 
 Three months later the Duke of Urbino once more 
 took the field at the head of a Papal army, and 
 succeeded in recovering Romagna in the course of a 
 short campaign. Castiglione, who remained in close 
 attendance on his lord, wrote on May 12 from Rimini 
 to Madonna Luigia : 
 
 ' I have not written for some time, for lack of 
 messengers, the roads being so imsafe ; but to-day 
 I have found a bearer, and send this by him. We 
 are still at Rimini, which we have retaken for the 
 Church as well as the Rocca. We shall soon occupy
 
 CAMPAIGN IN ROMAGNA 313 
 
 the rest of Romagna without much opposition. We 
 are all well, thank God. Monsignor di Gonzaga 
 [Cardinal Sigismondo] is now our Legate, and is here 
 with us. I am greatly in want ol' the armour which 
 I have so often mentioned, and enclose a letter to 
 Bernardino Missaglia. I beg you to give it him, 
 and make Camillo and Filippo ask every day if it is 
 ready, as I need it greatly. I also wish Camillo 
 would write to me about our affairs. A report has 
 reached us that there is plague at Mantua, which God 
 forbid ! I think the roads will be safe now from 
 Ferrara to Rimini, and should be glad if Ciistoforo 
 would bring me Pappagallo, He can travel safely by 
 Ferrara, but had better obtain a safe-conduct from 
 the Duke. This I leave to Your Magnificence.'^ 
 
 On the 26th he sent another short note by a young 
 Mantuan merchant, who promised to visit Madonna 
 Luigia himself, once more begging for the armour 
 which he required so urgently, as well as for fresh 
 supplies of money. A week afterwards he returned 
 to Urbino for a few days with his lord, and wrote to 
 say that he had left Rimini before Cristoforo's arrival, 
 and was sending back a young horse to be trained 
 and exercised at Mantua. The suit of armour, he 
 heard, was at length ready, and full directions were 
 given to Camillo, who was to pack it carefully in a 
 box to keep out damp and rust, and bring it by water 
 as far as Ravenna, where the Castellan would send it on 
 to the camp. Another thing of which he stood greatly 
 in need was a new tent, and since there were good 
 tent-makers at Mantua, he begged Madonna I^uigia 
 to have one made for him of good tan and blue cloth, 
 and not too large or heavy to be carried on the back 
 of a mule, together with the stakes belonging to it. 
 
 1 Serassi, i. 66.
 
 314 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 On June 13 the Duke of Urbino entered Bologna, 
 which once more shook off the yoke of the BentivogU 
 and acknowledged the Papal rule. At the same 
 moment Pavia surrendered to the Swiss invaders, 
 who had descended upon Lombardy under Cardinal 
 Schinner. On the 20th Ottaviano Sforza took pos- 
 session of JNIilan in the Pope's name. The French 
 Bishop retired in confusion across the Alps. The 
 triumph of Julius was complete. He celebrated 
 the deliverance of Italy with solemn thanksgivings, 
 a procession, and fireworks, and gave the Duke of 
 Urbino renewed orders to press on against Ferrara. 
 Duke Alfonso, finding himself deserted by his allies, 
 was induced by the Gonzagas and Colonnas to come 
 to Rome and throw himself on the Pope's mercy. 
 On June 23 he left Ferrara, provided with a safe- 
 conduct from the Pope, which his sister Isabella 
 brought him with her own hands, and reached Rome 
 on the evening of July 4. He paid a brief visit to 
 his niece, the young Duchess of Urbino, on his way, 
 as we learn from a letter which Castiglione wrote to 
 his mother a few days later : 
 
 ' I am here at Urbino, where I have been since 
 the Lord Duke of Ferrara passed through on his 
 way to Rome. But I expect we shall soon return 
 to Bologna. All my household is there, and I have 
 only a single servant with me here.' 
 
 Baldassare had evidently been sent on a confi- 
 dential mission from his master to Alfonso, whose 
 dominions he was invading in the Pope's name. 
 Throughout the war the JMarchesana Isabella, who 
 left no stone unturned to help her brother, besieged 
 her son-in-law with entreaties not to proceed to 
 extremities against Ferrara, and her championship
 
 WAR OF FERRARA 315 
 
 of Alfonso's cause frequently excited the wrath of 
 Julius, who threatened to send his army against 
 Mantua, and put her boy Federico in the dungeons 
 of the Torresella of Venice. In Rome the Duke 
 was lodged in Cardinal Gonzaga's house, and received 
 a cordial welcome not only from his nephew Federico, 
 but from the Pope's daughter Felice and Fabrizio 
 Colonna, whom he had generously released after his 
 defeat at Ravenna. 
 
 On the 9th the Colonnas escorted him to the 
 ^^atican, where he received absolution fi'om the Pope 
 and visited young Federico, who gave his uncle a 
 banquet in the Belvedere, and took him to see 
 Michelangelo at work on the vaulting of the Sistine 
 Chapel. But it soon became evident that the Pope 
 would be satisfied with nothing but the surrender of 
 Ferrara, and Alfonso, being determined not to yield, 
 escaped from Rome on the 19th, with the help of the 
 Colonnas. During the next two months he remained 
 hidden in the castles of these powerful friends or 
 wandered about the Campagna, disguised by turns 
 as a soldier and a friar, until, on October 14, he at 
 length reached Ferrara in safety. 
 
 Meanwhile Reggio opened its gates to the Duke 
 of Urbino, and on September 29 Castiglione wrote 
 from Ravenna to liis mother : 
 
 ' We are here, on our way to attack Ferrara. May 
 God order our doings ! I cannot employ my secretary 
 to write,' he added, ' for I have none. Last night 
 our Camillo attacked Giovanni while he was asleep, 
 and struck him six times with his sword, and ran 
 away.' 
 
 All the same, like the good son that he was, he 
 proceeds to give his mother directions about the
 
 316 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 new dovecot that she is building, which he wishes 
 to be square and partly enclosed in the courtyard. 
 And he incjuires about another Brescian lady, a niece 
 of the unfortunate Count Martinengo, who has been 
 recommended to him as a possible bride. A week 
 later he wrote from JNIodena, where he was staying 
 with his kinswoman, Costanza Rangone the fair and 
 accomplished daughter of Bianca Bentivoglio, and 
 who had lately taken Cesare Fregoso as her second 
 husband. This time he had been sent by his lord 
 to meet Bishop Matthiius I^ang, the imperial envoy 
 who had lately been present at the conference of the 
 Powers held at Mantua, and was now on his way to 
 attend the Lateran Council. What was Castiglione's 
 precise errand on this occasion we do not learn, but 
 there can be little doubt that its object was to plead 
 the Duke of Ferrara's cause with the Emperor's 
 powerful favourite. At the same moment he re- 
 ceived a personal appeal from the Marchesana 
 Isabella, who told Cardinal Ippolito that she heard 
 Castiglione had more influence than anyone else with 
 the Duke of Urbino, and could be counted on as a 
 good {riend. According to her account, Castiglione 
 assured the JNIarchesana that the Duke was conduct- 
 ing the campaign against Ferrara with the utmost 
 discretion, and intentionally creating difficulties and 
 delays.^ The manner in which the war was pursued 
 that autumn goes far to prove the truth of her words. 
 The Pope, so the Venetian envoy in Rome reported, 
 was more eager than ever to press on the war, and 
 complained that the Duke's delays were interminable.^ 
 When, at the end of September, boats and bridges 
 for the passage of the Po were prepared, Francesco 
 
 1 Luzio e Renier, ' Mantova e Urbino,' p. 206. 
 
 2 Sanuto, XV. 121.
 
 CONQUEST OF PESARO 317 
 
 declared that the violent sirocco gale and heavy rains 
 made it impossible to proceed, and retired into camp 
 at Lugo. Castiglione's own sympathies were no doubt 
 on tlie side of the Duke of Ferrara, whose family was 
 bound to his own by so many ties, and whose niece 
 Leonora — the ' Duchessa giovane ' of his letters — was 
 constantly sending messages to his mother and sister 
 Laura. 
 
 Meanwhile a diversion was created by the death of 
 Giovaimi Sforza's little son, Costanzo, and tlie conse- 
 quent reversion of the fief of Pesaro to the Church. 
 Galeazzo Sforza, a natural son of the infant Prince's 
 grandfather, promptly asserted his claim to the suc- 
 cession, and seized the Rocca, upon which the Pope 
 recalled the Duke of Urbino. and ordered him to lay 
 siege to this fortress. On October 30 Galeazzo sur- 
 rendered, and retired to Milan after giving up his 
 own lands in Pesaro to the Duke on payment of 
 20,000 ducats and a yearly pension of 1,000 ducats.^ 
 Cardinal Gonzaga took possession of the city in the 
 Pope's name, and Julius openly declared his intention 
 of investing his nephew with the vicariate of Pesaro 
 as compensation for the arrears of salary due to him 
 and the expenses which he had incurred in the service 
 of the Church. The Duke was naturally much 
 pleased by this sign of restored favour on his uncle's 
 part, and in his gratitude to Castiglione for his past 
 services promised to give him a castle and estate in 
 his new dominions. After so many trials and dis- 
 appointments, this piece of good fortune was very 
 welcome to Baldassare, who alludes to these events 
 in a letter which he wrote to his mother from Lugo 
 on October 17. Poor IVIadonna Luigia had been 
 greatly alarmed to hear of his secretary Camillo's 
 
 ^ Sanuto, XV, 3iy.
 
 318 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 escapade, and was filled with fears, which her son did 
 his best to dissipate. 
 
 ' As for what you write about the ill-conduct of 
 my servants, I thank you warmly for what you say, 
 as I know it comes from your heart ; but I beg of 
 you not to distress yourself about these matters, for, 
 thank God, I am not in want of good servants, and 
 can get as many as I desire. For the rest I trust 
 in God, who will guide and protect me from danger, 
 as He has done till now, thanks to the prayers of 
 holy persons. I am rather puzzled to understand 
 why you beg me to be careful as to whom I allow 
 to sleep in my room, for I am not aware that I have 
 any secret enemy. With regard to my secretary- 
 ship, as I wrote before, I want a man accustomed to 
 a hard life and who can write well. As long as he 
 can do these things, you may send me anyone you 
 choose. With regard to a bed-hanging that is not 
 too large, I should be very glad to have one such 
 as you describe to keep out the wind. But no one 
 can tell what our future movements may be. How- 
 ever, as far as I can see, we shall be able to do little 
 more this winter. The bearer of this is a Spanish 
 officer, a great friend of mine, who is coming to 
 JNIantua on business. I invited him to our house 
 because he is a very pleasant and gallant gentleman. 
 1 think he will pay you a visit, and hope you will 
 show him civility, and as far as possible amuse him, 
 and if he likes a bed in our house I hope you will 
 give him one. I will say no more, but beg of you to 
 be of good cheer and trust in our Lord God, who will 
 help us. And for your peace of mind I will tell you 
 that the Lord Duke has been graciously pleased to 
 give me a castle in his new State of Pesaro, which, 
 from what I hear, is in a very fair and pleasant spot, 
 in a fruitful domain, looking over the sea ; and 
 although it may not be as fertile as our Lombard 
 soil, yet it brings in quite 200 ducats a year, and is
 
 MADONNA CAMILLA 319 
 
 surrounded by fine estates. The castle is called 
 Ginestreto, so that you may tell Madonna Polissena 
 to let Madonna Camilla know that I shall soon have 
 a castle and the 5,000 ducats she requires into the 
 bargain ! If she is content with my proposal, we will 
 yet make a match. '^ 
 
 Camilla Gonzaga, to whom Castiglione sent this 
 gay message, was the youngest and fairest of all 
 Madonna Antonia's daughters, who lived at Gazzuolo, 
 near Casatico, and whose wedding, five years after- 
 wards, was celebrated by Bandello in one of his 
 novels. 
 
 1 Serassi, i. 70.
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 1512-1513 
 
 Changes at the Court of Urbino — Federieo Gonzaga visits his sister 
 — Death of Gaspare Pallavicino, Cesare (jonzaga, and Roberto di 
 Bari — Bembo and Canossa in Rome — Restoration of the Medici 
 — Count Rangone's daughter — Castighone receives a grant of 
 the Castle of Novillara. 
 
 The year 1512 brought many changes to the court of 
 Urbino. Up to this time the circle of Guidobaldo's 
 knights remained practically unbroken. Through the 
 tumult of wars that distracted Italy during the early 
 years of Francesco Maria's reign, we catch glimpses 
 of court festivities and many carnivals, which show 
 us that the old order was still unchanged. The 
 carnival of 1511 was especially gay, in spite of the 
 absence of the Duke and Castiglione in the campaign 
 of JVlirandola. That February young Federieo 
 Gonzaga, the Pope's hostage, who had accompanied 
 Julius to Bologna, and was the old man's pet and 
 plaything, paid a visit to his sister Leonora, and 
 remained at Urbino until April. His coming was the 
 signal for a round of balls, masquerades, banquets, and 
 concerts. Pastoral eclogues were recited, comedies 
 were performed, and Federieo, after learning a few 
 lines from Virgil every morning to satisfy his tutor, 
 gave himself up to amusement. In the evening he 
 sang and played with his sister, the young Duchess, 
 
 320
 
 FEDEUICO (illNZACJA. 
 BV KRANCIA (i.EATlIAM COI.LKCTION). 
 
 To face p. 320, Vol. I.
 
 FEDERICO GONZAGA 321 
 
 and entertained Leonora and her ladies, JNIargherita, 
 Ippolita, and the fair Raffaella, at supper. The 
 vioHnist Jacopo di San Secondo, Bembo, and the 
 Magnifico GiuHano were generally of the party, as 
 well as Count Alessandro Trivulzio, the hero of 
 Mirandola, who had been released on parole after the 
 surrender of that city, and stood high in favour with 
 all the ladies. On the last day of carnival Duchess 
 Elisabetta, who seldom left her rooms, joined the 
 merry gathering, and was present with JMadonna 
 Emilia and all her gentlemen at the supper-party and 
 masqued ball in the Marchesino's rooms/ In April 
 Federico and his tutor returned to Rome, and Bembo 
 went to Venice, not without a sigh of regret for the 
 pleasant company that he was leaving. 
 
 ' What are you all doing, I wonder,' he wrote from 
 the shore of the Adriatic to Ottaviano Fregoso. ' How 
 fares my Ippolita ? Is she caught in the toils of 
 San Secondo or Trivulzio ? O fool that I am to leave 
 my beloved a prey to men of war, and linger here on 
 a sandy shore, more dull and useless than the very 
 shells at my feet ! A thousand greetings, I pray you, 
 to both their Excellencies, as well as Emilia and the 
 lively Margherita, and to Ippolita the adored, and to 
 my rival, Alessandro Trivulzio.'- 
 
 The JMuses had not yet deserted that court which 
 Sadoleto praised as the Parnassus of the world. Cas- 
 tiglione still wrote matchless verses in Latin and 
 Italian. Cesare Gonzaga sent madrigals to Isabella 
 d' Este from the battlefield, vowing that, if his sword 
 was pledged to the service of Mars, his heart belonged 
 to the Queen of Love. Bembo and Bibbiena still 
 addressed witty epistles to the Marchesana, and 
 
 1 Luzio, ' Federico Gonzaga Ostaggio,' p. 16\ 
 
 2 'Epist. fam.; iv. l^f). 
 
 VOL. T. 21
 
 322 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 helped her to play tricks on Mario Equicola or 1' llnico 
 Aretino. But a change was passing over the court 
 where Guidobaldo had reigned of old. Elisabetta, 
 the Duchess-widow, as she is called in the corre- 
 spondence of these days, was slowly retiring into the 
 background and fading out of sight. By degrees she 
 gave up the reins of government to her nephew and 
 his councillors, and only appeared in public when her 
 generous help or gentle influence could avail to loose 
 captive chains or assuage the Pope's anger. She 
 wrote fewer letters, and the short notes which she 
 sent to Isabella were generally dictated to a secretary. 
 Even JNladonna Emilia's pen was less active than of 
 old, and a letter from Urbino was hailed with pleasure 
 at Mantua. For a few loyal servants, for Castiglione, 
 and perhaps Bembo, Elisabetta might still be the 
 woman above all women, but in the eyes of others the 
 young Duchess began to take her place. Leonora's 
 beauty and, goodness were extolled with reason by all 
 visitors to Urbino, and Castiglione brought his praises 
 to swell the flowing tide. ' If ever grace, beauty, 
 intelligence, courteous manners, gentleness, and 
 charm, were united in one person, it is in the new 
 Duchess, whose every motion is adorned by these 
 qualities.'^ 
 
 Leonora had not inherited her mother's brilliant 
 gifts, or the incomparable charm of her aunt, and 
 never played the same part in the eyes of the world ; 
 but she was genuinely good and affectionate, as well 
 as remarkably beautiful. Her conduct was irre- 
 proachable at all stages of her life, and her devoted 
 attachment to the widowed Duchess is one of the 
 most attractive featiu*es of her character. To Cas- 
 tiglione she proved a faithful friend, and her regard 
 ^ 'Cortegiano,' iv. 3.
 
 DEATH OF CESARE GONZAGA 323 
 
 for him no doubt had its effect in removing the 
 unjust suspicions which her fatlier had so long enter- 
 tained. Before long, time and death began to make 
 larger inroads on the once happy family. Gaspare 
 Pallavicino, as we have seen, was the first to go, 
 dying in 1511, in his I^iombard home, at the early age 
 of twenty-five, of lingering consumption. 
 
 ' Being attacked by acute disease, and several times 
 reduced to extremity, although his mind was so 
 vigorous that for long it successfully resisted death 
 and kept his body alive, a premature end finally 
 closed his life, to the great loss not only of our com- 
 pany and his own family and friends, but of his own 
 country and all Lombardy.' 
 
 The next death which Castiglione had to record 
 was a still more grievous one — that of his beloved 
 cousin and brother-at-arms, Cesare Gonzaga, the 
 comrade of his daily life, who had grown up with 
 him from boyhood and shared his home at Urbino. 
 Cesare's brilliant career was cut short by a sudden 
 attack of fever, which carried liim off in a few days, 
 in September, 1512, when he was serving with 
 Baldassare in the Papal army at Bologna. Since the 
 death of Falcone six years before, Castiglione had 
 suffered no loss which he felt so keenly. 
 
 ' Not long afterwards died Messer Cesare Gonzaga, 
 whose death has left a bitter and painful memory to 
 all those who knew him, because, since Nature, all 
 too seldom, produces men such as he was, it would 
 seem fitting that she should not deprive us of them 
 so early. And certainly M. Cesare was taken from 
 us at a time when he began to fulfil the rare promise 
 of his youth and to be held in that higli estimation 
 which his admirable qualities deserved. He had 
 already given proof of his excellence in many perilous 
 
 21—2
 
 324 COUNT BAI.DASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 and toilsome wars, and his noble lineage was further 
 adorned by the knowledge alike of letters and arms, 
 and by every exalted quality, so that his goodness, 
 talents, and learning led us to expect still greater 
 things from him in the future.' 
 
 Yet a third name is linked with these, that of 
 Roberto da Bari, the youthful shepherd of Baldas- 
 sare's pastoral, and the accomplished courtier whose 
 dancing was the admiration of all. He never re- 
 covered from the effect of the hardships which he 
 had undergone in the siege of Mirandola, and died 
 soon after M. Cesare, regretted by a wide circle of 
 friends, who lamented in him ' a youth of rare beauty 
 and charm, full of mirth and gaiety, as prosperous 
 and gallant a gentleman as you could wish to see.' 
 ' So,' writes Castiglione, ' imfortunate Death deprived 
 our house of these three rarest gentlemen at a 
 moment when they were most prosperous and enter- 
 tained the highest hopes of honour and renown.'^ 
 
 To their names yet another must be added, that 
 of Giovanni Cristoforo Romano, the accomplished 
 sculptor and brilliant letter- writer, who died at Loreto 
 in May of this same year 1512. He had been 
 Castiglione's friend since his early days at Milan, 
 and was as much lamented by Isabella and her 
 ladies at Mantua as he was by the scholars of 
 Rome and Urbino. But death was not the only 
 dividing cause which helped to break up the joyous 
 company of Urbino. While some good knights — the 
 best and brightest of the number — died in the flower of 
 their age, others went their way to seek new fortunes 
 in other lands. Lodovico Canossa, Baldassare's other 
 kinsman, who had been at Urbino for the last seven- 
 
 ^ * Cortegiano,' iv. 1 .
 
 THE MEDICI RESTORED 325 
 
 teen years, was made Bishop of Trirarico by Julius II. 
 in 1511, and went to live in Rome, where he had 
 already acquired renown by his diplomatic skill. 
 He had always been a bad correspondent, and when 
 his mother at Mantua applied to ]Madonna Luigia for 
 the latest news of her absent son, Castiglione sent her 
 word tliat as Bishop he remained what he had been 
 as a layman — very chary of letters. Alberto Pio, that 
 other distinguished diplomatist who had often spent 
 the summer at Urbino in Guidobaldo's lifetime, had 
 now gone over to the Imperialists, and had forfeited all 
 claim to JNIadonna Margherita's hand by his resolute 
 opposition to the Duke of Ferrara. In 1512 another 
 popular member of the ducal household, Ottaviano 
 Fregoso, left Urbino to play a leading part in the 
 revolution of his native city against the French, and 
 to become Doge of Genoa. And in the same year 
 Bembo, who had made his home at Urbino for the 
 last six years, finally settled in Rome, and entered the 
 service of Cardinal de' Medici. As he remarked to 
 Duchess Lucrezia : ' Whether it is best to be great 
 and serve others, or to be humble and free, I know 
 not, but I am quite sure that to be humble and serve 
 is worst of all.' ^ 
 
 The hour of restoration had at length sounded for 
 this exiled family. Si volgc, the motto which the 
 Magnifico had chosen for his device, had come true, 
 and Fortune had once more turned her long-averted 
 face towards him. That summer both he and his 
 brother, Cardinal Giovanni, returned to Florence, 
 which had surrendered to the arms of the Viceroy, 
 Cardona, and his Spanish troops. At the end of July, 
 Giuliano was still at Urbino, enjoying the company 
 of the Duchesses and Castighone. On September 1 
 
 ^ ' Lettere,' iv. 25.
 
 326 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 he entered Florence in state, and once more took up 
 his abode in the house of his fathers. Among the many- 
 congratulations which he received on this occasion, 
 none were more cordial than those which reached 
 him from the Duchess Elisabetta, who had been so 
 good a friend to him in the past and whose kindness 
 he never forgot. 
 
 But although so many of his friends were dead and 
 gone, Castiglione remained loyal to his master. After 
 the continual warfare of the last three years, he was 
 glad to enjoy a few peaceful days at Urbino. But, as 
 usual, he found himself very short of money — leg- 
 gierissimo, his usual term for empty pockets — and 
 complained that for six months he and his comrades- 
 in-arms had not seen a farthing of the Pope's pay. 
 Early in December he wrote that he expected to be 
 sent by his lord to take part in Massimiliano Sforza's 
 triumphal entry to Milan, after which he hoped to 
 come and spend three or four days at Casatico and 
 talk of many things— above all, of those tedious 
 marriage negotiations, which, as he remarked, seemed 
 alike doomed to end in failure. But by the end of 
 the year he wrote that his journey to Milan had been 
 given up, and that he saw no hope of coming home 
 till carnival was over. A month later he wrote a 
 long letter to satisfy his mother's impatient inquiries 
 with regard to a proposal which she had received from 
 Costanza Rangone some months before, and which he 
 had refused to consider until the war was over. This 
 lady, who was connected with his mother through the 
 Uberti and Strozzi, had proposed Ginevra Rangone, the 
 only daughter of the powerful Count Girardo, as a 
 suitable wife for Baldassare, and had afterwards dis- 
 cussed the matter with her kinsman himself when he 
 was at Modena.
 
 CASTLE OF NOVILLARA 327 
 
 ' I told her,' wrote Castiglione to his mother, ' that 
 1 hked the idea, but that Count Girardo seemed to 
 show some reserve in his offers, and that if lie did not 
 think me good enough for his daughter I had no wish 
 to have her. She replied frankly that the first pro- 
 posal came from them, but that she had written to 
 Count Girardo, who was in Rome. When I returned 
 to JNIodena, to meet Gurk, in October, she said that 
 she had heard from the Coimt, who said that he 
 liked me very much, but that he had other intentions 
 for his daughter, and confessed that he wished to see 
 her in a more exalted place, and that he thought of 
 marrying her to Giovanni Vitelli if he lived. So I 
 begged our Madonna Costanza to tell you this, and, 
 indeed, I was somewhat angry with her, and almost 
 resolved not to mention the subject again. But now 
 the thing is done, I am content to await the answer. 
 Only I beg you not to show too much eagerness in 
 this matter ; for whoever I may take for my wife, I 
 desire that she should be given me as willingly as I 
 take her, were she a King's daughter. I certainly 
 wish to put an end to these negotiations, as it seems 
 time that I should marry, but I will not go down on 
 my knees, with little honour to myself, before one 
 who is no better born than I am.' 
 
 Having delivered himself of his feelings in these 
 proud words, Castiglione turns to a pleasanter subject, 
 and tells her of the castle and countship of Novillara, 
 which had been lately granted to him by his lord. 
 
 ' The Lord Duke has taken possession of Pesaro by 
 the Pope's permission, but he has not yet received 
 the investiture, which he hopes may soon follow. I 
 think he will go there the second week in Lent. Our 
 M. Amato has been already sent there as lieutenant. 
 When we are at Pesaro, I hope to take possession of 
 my castle, which is no longer Ginestreto, because I 
 have exchanged it for another called Novillara, which
 
 328 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 the Duke is equally content that I should have, and 
 which suits me a great deal better. It is only two 
 miles from Pesaro and five from Fano. The air there 
 is excellent, the view most beautiful over land and 
 sea, and the soil very fruitful indeed. There is a fine 
 palace, which is now my own, and the revenues are 
 equal in value to those of Ginestreto, or perhaps 
 rather more, so that I am exceedingly well satisfied. 
 God grant me grace to enjoy it in peace ! It is so 
 near Pesaro that I may say I have a house there.' ^ 
 
 On January 1 the Duke entered his new city, which, 
 from its command of the Adriatic shore, was an 
 especially valuable acquisition, and Castiglione saw 
 the fair house and domain which he was proud to call 
 his own. A tower had been built at Novillara by the 
 Malatesta of Rimini in the fourteenth century, and 
 the castle had afterwards been a favourite residence 
 of the Sforza princes. Unfortunately, the citizens of 
 Pesaro objected to the alienation of a domain which 
 had always belonged to their rulers, and in 1522, when 
 Francesco Maria received his duchy after the death 
 of Leo X., they induced him to withdraw the grant 
 which he had made to Castiglione. So Novillara only 
 belonged to its first Count during a few years when 
 his lord was in exile, and he never enjoyed this 
 beautiful home. But the ruuied pile on the heights 
 looking over the blue Adriatic and the far Dalmatian 
 sliores will always be associated with the name of the 
 noble owner who had deserved so well of his lord, 
 and whose services met with so scanty a reward. 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. 72.
 
 CHAPTER XXll 
 1513 
 
 Carnival fete at Urbino — Bibbiena's ' Calandria ' performed under 
 Castiglione's direction — The Count's prologue — Other comedies 
 — Patriotic verses written by Castiglione — His letter to 
 Lodovico Canossa. 
 
 In this year of 1513, carnival was celebrated with 
 unusual splendour at most of the courts of Italy. At 
 Ferrara, indeed, there was little cause for rejoicing, 
 and the critical state of affairs made Alfonso and his 
 family listen anxiously to every fresh report of the 
 fiery old Pope's health that came from Rome. But 
 at Milan Isabella d' Este was present at the fetes held 
 in honour of her nephew JMassimiliano Sforza. The 
 Viceroy and his Spaniards danced with her fascinating 
 maids of honour, or looked on at pageants in which 
 the deliverance of Italy from the barbarians by the 
 great Pontiff, and the golden oak of the house of 
 Rovere figured largely, while French guns still 
 thundered from the Castello. At Florence artists 
 and sculptors, Pontormo and Baccio d' Agnolo, 
 designed a series of sumptuous triumphs in honour 
 of the house of Medici, and sang the return of the 
 Golden Age. Giuliano and his nephew Lorenzo led 
 the revels, and Bembo and Bibbiena were summoned 
 by their patron. Cardinal de' Medici, to join the 
 festive throng. In Rome a yet more splendid 
 
 329
 
 330 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 pageant was devoted to the apotheosis of the victorious 
 Pope who had triumphed over all his foes. An inter- 
 minable procession of chariots, containing emblematic 
 representations, paraded the streets, escorted by 
 Roman youths bearing the arms and names of the 
 ancient houses from w^hich they claimed descent — 
 the Fabii and Horatii, the families of Scipio and 
 Camillus, of Torquatus or JNIanlius. First came Italy 
 bound and captive in the thrall of her foreign foes, 
 then Italy fi-ee and triumphant, with a palm of victory 
 in her hand, followed by the conquered cities — Bologna 
 and Reggio, Parma and Piacenza — and a grand car 
 representing the Council of the Lateran, with Pope 
 and Emperor in its midst. Last of all a giant oak- 
 tree appeared, crowned by an effigy of Juhus, with 
 the monarchs of the Holy League, the Emperor, 
 the Catholic King, and Henry VIII. of England, at 
 his feet.^ 
 
 But more memorable than any of these were the 
 festivities held at the carnival of Urbino. Here it had 
 been decided to celebrate the safe return of the Duke 
 from the war, and the annexation of Pesaro, by a 
 series of dramatic representations after the fashion of 
 those arranged by Castiglione and Bembo in former 
 days. Three new comedies, we learn from the 
 chronicle of the ducal librarian, Federico Veterani,- 
 were given on this occasion. The first was the 
 ' Eutichia,' a comedy by the Duke's INIantuan secretary, 
 Niccolo Grassi, founded on an episode of the conquest 
 of Urbino by Duke Valentino, a theme certain to be 
 hailed with enthusiasm by the audience. The second 
 was the work of a youthful prodigy, a b oy of fourteen, 
 
 ^ LuziOj 'Fed. Gonzaga Ostaggio,' pp. 73-78. 
 
 - Cod. Vat. Urb.j 490, A. Vernarecci in ' Arch. Stor. per le 
 Marche,' iii. 181.
 
 LA CALANDRIA 331 
 
 the son of Ruggiero of Reggio, a Ferrarese councillor. 
 This piece was acted by children of his own age — a 
 performance, Castiglione tells us, of really marvellous 
 excellence. But the third and by far the most famous 
 play, which was performed on Sunday, February 6, 
 was an Italian prose comedy, written by no less a per- 
 sonage than Bibbiena, the witty ' ISIoccicone,' who was 
 so great a favourite with the ladies of Urbino. The 
 plot of ' La Calandria,' or ' The Follies of Calandro,' as 
 this play was called, had evidently been suggested by 
 the ' Menffichmi ' of Plautus, a Latin comedy that was 
 very popular at Ferrara and Mantua. In both plays 
 the absurd mistakes arising from the close resemblance 
 of a twin brother and sister forms the leading motive ; 
 while in Bibbiena's composition the blind jealousy of 
 Calandro, the husband, and the tricks that are played 
 upon him, give rise to much clever fooling. La 
 Calandria, which was the first Italian comedy to 
 attain any wide popularity, is described by Giraldi, 
 not altogether without reason, as full of jest and 
 merriment, but as wanting in the higher qualities of 
 art.^ It is, strictly speaking, a farce, full of comic 
 situations and doubtful jokes, which appealed to the 
 taste of an age that was not fastidious in these matters, 
 and was distinguished, as Paolo Giovio remarks, by 
 its author's genuine wit and talent for stage effects. 
 As the work of the ' bel Bernardo,' the play was sure 
 of a warm reception at Urbino. At first Bibbiena 
 had intended to superintend the performance himself, 
 but in January he was summoned to Florence by 
 Cardinal de' JNIedici, and sent on by the Pope to 
 Milan to urge the Spanish V^iceroy to take active 
 measures against Ferrara. Accordingly, the whole 
 brunt of the preparations fell on Castiglione. 
 1 ' De Poetis,' Dialog, ii.
 
 332 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 From his boyhood the Count had witnessed similar 
 representations at the courts of Milan and Mantua, and 
 had probably accompanied the Marchesana to Ferrara 
 for those carnival festivities on which her father, 
 Duke Ercole, expended so much time and thought. 
 He was certainly present at the famous carnival of 
 1501 at Mantua, when a magnificent new theatre was 
 erected in the Castello, and the stage was hung with 
 Mantegna's newly-finished Triumphs. On that occa- 
 sion a series of comedies by Plautus, Terence, and 
 Seneca were performed, and the scene was laid in 
 a classical temple, with lofty columns and arcades. 
 Count Sigismondo Cantelmo, the husband of Isabella's 
 beloved friend JNIargherita, who wi'ote a full description 
 of the stage scenery and management to his lord, 
 Duke Ercolo, remarked that this representation sur- 
 passed all that he had ever seen in grandeur and 
 excellence, and deserved to be studied by all who 
 wished to encourage the performance of ancient or 
 modern plays. ^ This experience had not been lost 
 on Castiglione, and the stage scenery and decorations 
 which he arranged for the representation of Bibbiena's 
 comedy were in many respects similar to those which 
 he remembered at INIantua, while in some ways they 
 were even more splendid and effective. The task, as 
 he confessed, was one after his own heart, and he 
 devoted himself with his usual energy to the pre- 
 parations. During the next four months his time 
 was so fully occupied with artists, carpenters, 
 decorators, actors, and singers, that, as he told his 
 mother, he had not a moment's leisure, and could 
 only write to her late at night. The court painters, 
 Timoteo Viti and Girolamo Genga, were engaged 
 in painting the scenery, and at Christmas Castiglione 
 
 ^ ' Isabella d' Este,' i. 183-185.
 
 CASTIGLIONE'S PROLOGUE 333 
 
 himself ordered the costumes, and sent to a well- 
 known maker at Mantua for gold-embroidered caps. 
 Bibbiena had promised to write a prologue, but his 
 composition only arrived tlie day before the per- 
 formance, too late to be learnt by heart by the reciter, 
 and in its stead one written by Castiglione himself 
 for the occasion was delivered amid great applause 
 from the audience. This prologue is printed in some 
 old editions of ' La Calandria,' and deserves to be 
 preserved, if only as a proof of the versatility of the 
 author's talents : 
 
 ' You are to-day spectators of a new comedy 
 entitled "La Calandria," written in prose, not in verse, 
 in the vulgar, not in the Latin tongue. It is called 
 " Calandria " because it is about Calandro — a per- 
 sonage whom you will find so foolish that perhaps it 
 will be difficult for you to believe that any human 
 being could ever make himself so ridiculous ! But if 
 you remember others like him whom you may have 
 seen and heard — above all, Martino da Amelia, the man 
 who thought the moon was his wife, and imagined 
 himself in turn a god, a woman, a fish, and a tree — 
 you will not wonder that Calandro could believe and 
 commit the follies that you will see. Since this 
 comedy deals with the familiar things of everyday 
 life, the author did not think well to use verse, con- 
 sidering that prose and words unfettered by metre are 
 better fit for ordinary use. That it is not ancient 
 ought not to displease you, as long as it is in good 
 taste, because things new and modern always please, 
 and are more agreeable than old and time-worn 
 themes, which have become tedious by long use. It 
 is not in I^atin, because the author, wishing to be 
 understood by many who are not learned, and being 
 above all anxious to please, has chosen the vulgar 
 tongue, so that he may equally delight all his hearers. 
 And, besides, the tongue which God and Nature
 
 334 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 have given us should not be held in less esteem 
 than Latin, Greek, or Hebrew, to which languages 
 our own would, perhaps, not be inferior if we kept its 
 rules, and polished it with the same care and diligence 
 as the Greeks and Latins. Surely that man is his 
 own enemy who counts a foreign language to be more 
 worthy of study than his own. For my part, I hold 
 my own language so dear to me that I would not 
 change it for any other in the whole world, and I 
 think you will feel the same. Therefore you ought 
 to be grateful to hear the " Calandria " in your own 
 tongue — no, I made a mistake : in our own tongue, 
 I mean, not in yours. You will hear the comedy 
 which we have to recite, and while we speak it is 
 your part to keep silence. If anyone says the author 
 is a thief, who has stolen from Plautus, let him hold 
 his peace ; for old Plautus would be well content to 
 be robbed, and allow " II IMoccicone " to have the 
 use of his treasures, and does not think it needful 
 to keep them under lock and key. But the author 
 swears by the Cross of God that he has not stolen 
 from Plautus, but has rather tried to emulate his 
 work. And he further says that, if you search all 
 through Plautus, you will find that the Latin poet 
 has lost nothing that pertains to him. This being 
 the case, Plautus has not been robbed ; and if you 
 or any obstinate person still dare to call the author 
 a thief, at least I beg you not to call him names 
 or accuse him before the magistrate, but go your- 
 self and whisper the secret into the ears of Plautus. 
 But here comes the actor with his argument. Prepare 
 to receive it well, and let each one open the door of 
 his ear.'^ 
 
 In the brief argument which followed, the author 
 explained that Demetrius, a citizen of the Greek 
 city Modone, had twin children — a boy. Lido, and a 
 girl, Santille — who were so much alike that when 
 
 ^ 'Teatro antico italiano/ i, 195.
 
 LETTER TO CAN OSS A 335 
 
 clothed in the same garb it was impossible to know 
 them apart. 
 
 ' Which you may believe,' he added, ' remembering 
 those two noble Roman brothers, Antonio and Valerio 
 Porcaro, who are so much alike that they are con- 
 stantly taken for one another by all Rome. And as 
 Italy is more worthy than Greece, so Rome is a 
 nobler city than Modone. And so farewell. Valete 
 et plaudit e.' 
 
 We can well believe that a storm of applause 
 greeted Castiglione's well - chosen words, and can 
 imagine with what breathless interest the brilliant 
 assembly, including as it did many visitors from 
 Rome, followed every scene and detail of Bernardo's 
 play, and laughed at his gay sallies till the hall rang 
 again. 
 
 A^Hien it was all over and the guests had gone 
 their way, Castiglione sat down and wrote a long 
 letter to one of his dearest friends, Lodovico Canossa, 
 in which he gave full details of the performance, and 
 especially of the scenery and intermezzi, or musical 
 interludes, on which he had bestowed so much pains. 
 This letter forms so valuable a document for the 
 history of the drama, and is so characteristic of the 
 writer, that we make no apology for giving it in full, 
 more especially as it is one of the few specimens of 
 Castiglione's correspondence with Canossa which has 
 been preserved : 
 
 ' My dear and reverend Monsignore, 
 
 ' It is some time since I received a letter from 
 V. S., to which I did not reply at first, out of curiosity 
 to see if you would become my debtor for more than 
 one letter ! At length I must confess that you have 
 won the day, and in reply I will tell you that I cannot
 
 336 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 recollect the precise date on which I gave you those 
 100 ducats to send to Naples. But I know this, 
 that it was when our two Lady Duchesses left Rome 
 and 1 stayed behind for ten or twelve days, intending 
 to go to Naples, and then changed my mind and 
 gave V. S. the money, and returned to Urbino with 
 the Cardinal of Pavia. Now you will remember the 
 whole thing ! 
 
 ' I send you my JMarine Elegy, which please pass 
 on to M. Pietro Bembo. I beg V. S. to read it and 
 give me your opinion on the poem. I know not if 
 it is worth your perusal, but 1 know well that it 
 cannot possibly equal your expectations or be worthy 
 of your praise. As for my delays, V. S. is aware how 
 many reasons I have to excuse them. Our comedies 
 have gone off well, most of all the " Calandria," which 
 was represented in a truly magnificent style, which 
 I need not describe, since you will have heard full 
 accounts from many who were present. But I will 
 tell you this much. The scene represented was an 
 outer street of the town, between the city wall 
 and its last houses. The wall with its two towers 
 was represented in the most natural way possible, 
 rising from the floor of the stage to the top of the 
 hall. One tower was occupied by the pipers, the 
 other by the trumpeters, and between the two there 
 was another finely constructed rampart. The hall 
 itself, where the audience sat, occupied the place of 
 the moat, and was crossed as it were by two 
 aqueducts. The back of the wall above the tiers 
 of seats was hung with the tapestries of the Trojan 
 War. Above these was a large cornice in high 
 relief, bearing the following inscription in large white 
 letters on a blue ground, running the whole length of 
 the hall : 
 
 ' Bella foris, ludosque domi exercebat et ipse 
 Ctesar magni etenim est utraque cura animi.' 
 
 Both in wars abroad and in games at home, Caesar displays 
 his strength, for both alike are fit work for great minds.
 
 THE STAGE SCENERY 337 
 
 According to the chronicler Veterani, on the 
 closing day of the carnival, the last line of the Latin 
 motto on the cornice of the hall was altered, and 
 made to run thus, 'Ccesar, et licec nostri est utraque 
 cura Duels,' thus introducing a personal allusion 
 to the Duke Francesco Maria, who figured in the 
 final interlude as the deliverer of Italy. 
 
 ' From the roof of the hall hung great bunches of 
 foliage, almost hiding the ceiling, and from the 
 rosettes of the vault wire threads were suspended, 
 to which two rows of candelabra in the shape of 
 letters were fastened, from one end of the hall to the 
 other. These thirteen rosettes made thirteen letters, 
 spelling the words " Delicke Populi," and tliese letters 
 were so large that they held seven or ten torches, 
 which lighted the liall brilliantly. 
 
 ' The scene was laid in a very fine city, with streets, 
 palaces, churches, and towers, all in relief, and looking 
 as if they were real, the effect being completed by 
 admirable paintings in scientific perspective. Among 
 other objects there was an octagon temple in low 
 relief, so well finished tliat, even if all the workmen 
 in the duchy of Urbino had been employed, it seemed 
 hardly possible to think that all this had been done 
 in four months ! This temple was completely covered 
 with beautiful stucco reliefs, the windows were made 
 to imitate alabaster, the architraves and cornices were 
 of fine gold and ultramarine blue, with glass jewels 
 here and there, looking exactly like real gems ; there 
 were roundels of marble containing figures, carved 
 pillars, and much more that would take me too long 
 to describe. This temple stood in the centre of tlie 
 stage. At one end there was a triumphal arch about 
 two yards from the wall, marvellously executed. 
 Between the architrave and the vault an admirable 
 representation of the story of the Horatii had been 
 painted to imitate marble. The two niches above 
 
 VOL. I. 22
 
 338 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 the pillars supporting the arch were filled with little 
 Victories bearing trophies in their hands made of 
 stucco. On the top of the arch stood a most beautiful 
 equestrian statue of a figure in armour, striking a 
 vanquished man at his feet with his spear. To right 
 and left of this rider were two little altars with 
 vases of burning flame that lasted to the end of the 
 comedy. 
 
 ' I will not describe everything, as I feel sure V. S. 
 will have heard a good deal already ; nor will I 
 tell how one of the plays was composed by a child 
 and recited by children, who perhaps put their 
 elders to shame. They certainly acted marvellously, 
 and it was a new thing to see little old men, not 
 a foot high, preserving a gravity and severity of 
 manner worthy of Menander. Nor will I attempt 
 to describe the strange music of these comedies, 
 played by minstrels who were all out of sight, and 
 placed in different corners ; but I will come at once to 
 our Bernardo's " Calandro," which gave the greatest 
 pleasure. And since the prologue arrived very late, 
 and the actor who had to recite it, could not learn it 
 by heart in time, another which I had written was 
 recited in its place, and met with general approval. 
 Otherwise little was changed, only a few scenes 
 which, perhaps, were not fit for recitation ; but httle 
 or nothing else, and it was performed exactly as it 
 is written. 
 
 These were the intermezzi. First a moresca by 
 Jason, who appeared on one side of the stage dancing 
 in antique armour, looking very fine, with a splendid 
 sword and shield. On the other came two bulls, so 
 Ufe-like that several of the spectators took them for 
 real animals, breathing fire through their nostrils. 
 The good Jason yoked them to the plough and made 
 them draw it, and then sowed dragon's teeth in the 
 furrows. Presently ancient warriors sprang upon 
 the stage in a way that was, 1 think, excellently 
 managed, and danced a fiery moresca, trying to kill
 
 DANCES AND INTERLUDES 339 
 
 Jason all the while. As they were leaving the stage, 
 they fell upon each other and were slain, without 
 being actually seen to die. Then Jason aj3peared 
 again, dancing exquisitely with the golden fleece 
 on his shoulders ; and this was tlie first interlude, 
 or moresca. The second was a very beautiful chariot 
 of Venus, with the goddess seated and holding a 
 lighted taper in her hand. The car was drawn by 
 two doves, who certainly seemed to be alive, and 
 who were ridden by two Amorini with lighted tapers 
 in their hands and bows and quivers on their shoulders. 
 Four Amorini went before the car, four followed 
 after, all bearing lighted tapers m the same manner, 
 dancing a moresca and flourishing their burning 
 torches. Having reached the end of the stage, they 
 set fire to a door, from wliich nine gallants issued all 
 ablaze with light, and danced another most beautiful 
 moresca. The third intei'viezzo was a chariot of 
 Neptune drawn by two sea-horses with fish scales 
 and fins, M^onderfully well imitated. Neptune him- 
 self rode in the car with his trident, attended by 
 eight monsters, four before and four behind, all as 
 well done as it is possible to imagine, and dancing a 
 sword - dance with the chariot all aflame. These 
 beasts were the strangest creatures in the world, but 
 no one who did not see them can have an idea what 
 they were like. The fourth was a car of Juno, also 
 ablaze with light. The goddess, wearing a crown on 
 her brow and a sceptre in her hand, appeared seated 
 on a cloud which encircled the chariot, and surrounded 
 by numberless heads blowing the winds of heaven. 
 This car was drawn by two peacocks so beautiful and 
 life-like that I could not believe my eyes, and yet I 
 liad seen them before, and had myself given directions 
 how they were to be made. In front were two eagles 
 and ostriches, behind two sea-birds and two large 
 parrots, with gaily-coloured plumage. All of these 
 were so well done, my dear JNlonsignore, that I am 
 quite sure no imitation ever came so near to reality, 
 
 22—2
 
 340 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIOXE 
 
 and they all danced a sword-dance with a grace that 
 it is impossible to describe or imagine. 
 
 ' Wlien the comedy was ended, one of the Amorini, 
 whom we had already seen, appeared suddenly on the 
 stage, in the same habit, and explained in a few verses 
 the meaning of these intermezzi, which was a separate 
 thing from the comedy itself. 
 
 ' First of all there was the battle between earth- 
 born brothers, when, as we see to-day, there is war 
 between those nearest of kin, who ought to live at 
 peace, as set forth in the fable of Jason. Then comes 
 Love, who kindles first mankind and eartli, then the 
 sea and air, with his sacred flame, and seeks to drive 
 away war and discord and join the whole world in 
 blessed concord. This indeed, you will say, is rather 
 a hope and devout aspiration, but the vision of war, 
 alas ! is all too real for our misfortune ! I did not 
 mean to show you the verses that Love sang, but yet 
 1 send them, and V. S. can do what you like with 
 them. They were written in great haste, by one 
 who was struggling all the while with painters and 
 carpenters, with actors and musicians and dancers. 
 When the verses were ended Love disappeared. The 
 sound of hidden music, proceeding from four viols, 
 was heard, and then four voices singing a verse to the 
 strains of a beautiful melody, as it were an invocation 
 to Love. So thefesta ended, after giving the greatest 
 satisfaction and pleasure to the spectators. If I had 
 not praised the whole thing so much, I would \vaxe 
 told you what share I had in it ; but I will not do 
 this, for fear V. S. should think that I flatter myself ! 
 It would be too great a piece of good fortune to be 
 able to attend to matters such as these, and escape 
 from business cares. God grant that I may one day 
 do this ! This letter is far longer than I intended to 
 write, or indeed have written for more tlian a year. 
 V. S. must not take this as a proof that I have become 
 a good secretary, for I am quite tired out, and am 
 hardly able to tell you that a marriage has been
 
 ITALY'S LAMENT 341 
 
 arranged between our Madonna Marglierita and a 
 Count of Correggio, who is noble, youthful, rich, and 
 handsome. . . .' 
 
 This description of the elaborate stage scenery 
 employed, of tlie singers and orchestra kept out of 
 sight, and the hall hung with garlands and lustres, 
 is curiously modern, and might almost refer to 
 the Baireuth performances of recent years. As in 
 Wagner's music-dramas, all the arts were combined in 
 these Renaissance comedies, and the whole show 
 ended in a glorification of ideal love. But the 
 patriotic note introduced on this occasion was plainly 
 due to Castiglione. In his modesty the Count omits 
 all reference to the intermezzo composed by liim for 
 Niccolo Grassi's comedy, and repeated on the last 
 day of carnival, when the children's play was gi^'en. 
 Veterani tells us how Italy appeared in the figure 
 of a sad and weary woman, with dishevelled locks and 
 raiment, torn by the hands of barbarians, and so much 
 oppressed with the burden of her sorrow that she 
 could hardly utter the words of her complaint, and 
 paused repeatedly, as if overwhelmed by grief. In 
 pathetic language she lamented the ravages of Time 
 and the vanity of human glory, and recalled the days 
 when she was queen of the whole world, and captive 
 kings and nations knelt at her feet. Now she was poor 
 and miserable, shorn of all her splendour, and reduced 
 to weep in solitude and chains over her lamentable fall. 
 
 ' Hor vilipesa, serva, abbandonata. 
 Mi trovo afflitta, miseia et meschina, 
 Poverella mendica et sconsolata, 
 Piango la mia crudel alta ruina.' 
 
 Vainly she called on the heroes of old, on Caesar. 
 Fabius, Scipio, and all the pale ghosts of heroes who
 
 342 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 throng the banks of Styx, to wake at her voice and 
 wield their ancient swords in her defence. No answer 
 came, and after uttering these piteous verses the sad 
 speaker disappeared from the stage, unable to utter 
 another word. But in the final scene the same figure 
 appeared again and called in impassioned strains on a 
 living hero to come to her help, bidding him unfold 
 the banner of the triumphant eagle, and win immortal 
 glory in her cause. 
 
 ' Et tu amato Figliol, Duca d' Urbino, 
 In cui vero valor rinascer sento. 
 Fa vendetta del mio sangue latino, 
 E del mio nome che e quasi in tutto spento, 
 Rinnova 1' ali del tuo ucel divino, 
 L' insegna triumphal spiegando al vento, 
 Ch' acquisterai in giovenil' etate. 
 Cum tua gloria immortal, mia libertate !' 
 
 ' Then from the opposite side of the stage,' writes 
 the old chronicler, ' there suddenly sprang to light a 
 figure of the Duke with a drawn sword in his hand, 
 looking as if he had driven out all the barbarians who 
 had stripped and plundered Italy. Now, returning 
 from the fray, he placed a crown on her head and 
 threw a golden mantle over her shoulders, and the 
 two danced a graceful moresca to the sound of unseen 
 music, and went out together dancing hand-in-hand. 
 Truly a most beautiful sight !'i 
 
 The fine verses recited by the warrior, with their 
 courtly allusions to the young Duke's triumph and 
 the deliverance of Italy from the barbarians, were, 
 there can be little doubt, composed by Castiglione, 
 and formed a fitting close to a carnival that was long 
 remembered at Urbino. It marked the end of a great 
 age. The brilliant assembly of lords and ladies, who 
 were present on this festive occasion, little dreamt 
 
 ^ Cod. Vat. Urb., 490.
 
 THE LAST CARNIVAL 343 
 
 that they would never meet again in the great ban- 
 quet-hall which had witnessed so many joyous car- 
 nivals. Once more the doom of war and invasion 
 hung over the Duke and his loyal subjects, and when, 
 after years of exile, Francesco Maria returned again 
 to his own, Pesaro, and no longer Urbino, became 
 his capital, and was henceforth the seat of the ducal 
 court.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 1513 
 
 Death of Julius II. — Conclave and election of Leo X. — His pro- 
 clamation and procession to the Lateran — The Dukes of Urbino 
 and Ferrara and the new Pope — Castiglione in Rome — His 
 correspondence with the Duke and Duchess — Negotiations 
 regarding Solarolo — Suor Chiai'a and the convent of Assisi — 
 Madonna RafFaella — Influence of Bibbiena at the Vatican. 
 
 ' It would be too good to feel that one might escape 
 from the cares of business and devote the rest of hfe 
 to these pleasures.' These words, in Castiglione's 
 letter to Canossa, have a pathetic ring, when we find 
 how rudely the writer was to be awakened from these 
 happy dreams and how soon he was to be plunged 
 into the turmoil of intrigue and discord, which his 
 soul loathed. During the next three and a half years 
 his life was spent continually in diplomatic missions 
 and in political business of the most anxious and 
 harassing description. Fortunately, he had two great 
 consolations which never failed him— friendship and 
 literature. These two powers played a great part in 
 his life during the memorable period on which we are 
 now entering, when Rome became, to a great extent, 
 his head-quarters and the centre of his existence. 
 
 Twelve days after the last carnival festivities on 
 Shrove Tuesday, Pope Julius II. breathed his last in 
 the Vatican. The strong soul made a brave fight for 
 life, and met death with a composure which surprised 
 
 344
 
 DEATH OF JULIUS II. 345 
 
 those about him. There was grief and consternation 
 in Rome when the news became known. The crowds 
 who thronged St. Peter's to see the last honours paid 
 to the dead Pontiff were greater than had ever 
 been seen before at a Pope's funeral, and many 
 lamented the man who had saved Italy from foreign 
 invaders. His enemies naturally rejoiced, and felt 
 that they could once more breathe freely. Neither 
 the Duke of Ferrara nor his sister made any secret 
 of their satisfaction. ' The Marchesana,' wrote the 
 Venetian envoy from INIilan, where Isabella was keep- 
 ing carnival with her nephew, Massimiliano Sforza, 
 ' was filled with joy when she heard that His Holiness 
 was at the point of death '; and I^ippomano A\Tote 
 home ' that it was a pity for Venice and Christendom 
 that the Pope had not died five years sooner.'^ But, 
 as Castiglione had foreseen, the death of Julius II. 
 was a grievous loss to the Duke of Urbino. For all 
 his violent outbursts and suspicious temper, the old 
 man was fondly attached to his nephew, and his last 
 act, as he lay dying, was to simimon a consistory and 
 confirm the investiture of Pesaro, which lie had granted 
 to the Duke. Two days afterwards he was dead.'- 
 
 The Sacred College immediately sent 10,000 ducats 
 from the Papal treasury to the Duke, desiring him 
 to raise a body of 5,000 troops and come to Rome 
 at once. But whether Francesco Maria foimd it 
 impossible to collect his forces, or whether he was 
 glad to delay his coming until a new Pope was 
 elected, he excused himself from obeying the 
 summons, and sent Castiglione to attend the late 
 Pope's funeral in his stead. On his arrival the Count 
 found Rome seething with the usual intrigues rife 
 
 ^ Pastor, vi. 437 ; Sanuto, xvii. 6, xv. 2()1. 
 2 Sanuto, XV. 560.
 
 346 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 before a conclave. At first Cardinal RafFaello Riario 
 di San Giorgio was the favourite. His claims as the 
 wealthiest and one of the senior members of the 
 College were strongly supported by the Marquis of 
 Mantua, with whom he was intimate, and who begged 
 his son-in-law to assist his exertions. But all the 
 Duke of Urbino's interest and all Castiglione's 
 personal influence were naturally employed in favour 
 of Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici, who arrived from 
 Florence on February 26 with his clever secretary, 
 Bernardo da Bibbiena. 
 
 This Cardinal, to say the truth, was popular with 
 all parties. His kindness and liberality, his genial 
 and easy-going nature, the soft words with which he 
 knew how to ingratiate himself with those who ap- 
 proached him, the frequent smile that lighted up the 
 large bland face and heavy jaw with which Raphael's 
 portrait has made us familiar, all helped to render him 
 a general favourite. ' There is much talk of Medici,' 
 wrote Foscari, the Venetian envoy, on INIarch 7 ; ' he 
 is very young for a Pope, but is as good a man as 
 possible — worthy, learned, of exemplary conduct.'^ 
 Above all. Cardinal Giovanni was quiet and peace- 
 able, and, after the warlike and turbulent Julius, there 
 was a widespread feeling that peace and tranquillity 
 were the most desirable things for Italy. It is true 
 that he was only thirty-seven, and his youth, as the 
 Venetian remarked, was against him ; but since he 
 was said to be suffering from an internal complaint, 
 and had to be carried in a litter to the conclave, and 
 undergo an operation a few days later for fistula, 
 there was good reason to believe that his life would 
 not be a long one. On March 4 the conclave met 
 in the Vatican, and at the first scrutiny only one 
 
 1 Sanuto, xvi. 28, 30.
 
 ELECTION OF LEO X. 347 
 
 Cardinal, the Swiss prelate Matthias Schinner, gave 
 his vote for Medici/ For a time the issue seemed 
 doubtful. But soon the contest resolved itself into a 
 struggle between the old and young Cardinals. First 
 Luigi of Aragon, then Sigismondo Gonzaga and 
 Marco Cornaro, actively espoused the cause of Medici. 
 A¥ithout the walls of the Vatican, the hopes of his 
 Florentine partisans who had hastened to Rome rose 
 high. 'Those who have lived long at court here,' 
 wrote Filippo Strozzi, Clarice de' Medici's husband, to 
 his brother in Florence on March 9, ' say that never 
 was there so much uncertainty as to the future Pope. 
 The betting is now 18 on San Giorgio, 16 on Grimani, 
 ■"6 on Medici ; but it varies so much that one can 
 count on nothing.' An hour or two later he added : 
 * Our hope does not diminish, although at the banks 
 the odds have fallen from 25 to 16. Either he will 
 come in first, or will sell his votes so dearly that in 
 any case we shall be the gainers. '^ But all doubts 
 were set at rest when, at dawn of day on INlarch 11, 
 Cardinal Farnese publicly announced the election of 
 Cardinal de' Medici, and proclaimed him Pope by the 
 name of Leo X. 
 
 ' The young Cardinals have won the day ; the old 
 are nowhere,' wrote a Venetian who watched the 
 members of the Sacred College issue from the 
 Vatican and take their places before the high altar of 
 St. Peter's. ' Cornaro and the other Cardinal-deacons 
 were laugiiing ; San Giorgio and the Cardinal of 
 England [Bainbridge] looked very much out of 
 temper, while of the others, some laughed and others 
 sighed. Every one in Rome is delighted ; I hope 
 things may not turn out badly for Venice.'^ 
 
 ^ Sanuto, xvi. 82. 
 
 2 F. Nitti, ' Leone X. e la sua Politica,' pp. 5, 7. 
 
 2 Sanuto, xvi. 39, 40.
 
 348 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 The Florentines, naturally, rejoiced most of all 
 at the exaltation of Lorenzo de' Medici's son. The 
 crowds who rushed to acclaim the newly -elected 
 Pontiff filled the air with shouts of 'Palle ! palle /' and 
 the partisans of the exiled house came in for a large 
 share of rewards and honours. Bembo and Sadoleto 
 were appointed Papal Secretaries ; Bernardo da Bib- 
 biena, to whose clever manoeuvres during the conclave 
 Leo's election was chiefly due, became Treasurer 
 of the Pope's household. And although Francesco 
 Gonzaga had at first supported Cardinal Riario's 
 candidature, Leo X. did not forget how hospitably 
 he had been entertained at Mantua when he escaped 
 from his French captors after the battle of Ravenna, 
 and told the Mantuan envoy that when he was elected 
 Pope he was still wearing the clothes given him by 
 the Marquis.^ But of all the generous friends who 
 had stood by the Medici in the days of their exile, 
 none had deserved better of them than the Duke 
 and Duchess of Urbino. Not only had Guidobaldo 
 received the refugees in a tender and most hospitable 
 manner, but Giuliano had spent many months at 
 a time in the ducal palace, and the Pope himself had 
 frequently been a guest at the court. No congratula- 
 tions were warmer or more sincere than those which 
 reached the new l^ope from JVIantua and Urbino, 
 from the Marchesana Isabella and her son-in-law, 
 Francesco Maria. 
 
 In a letter of March 14 the Duke thanked Cas- 
 tiglione for his full and detailed account of the 
 conclave, and expressed unqualified satisfaction at 
 Cardinal de' Medici's election : 
 
 ' We cannot tell you how delighted we are to hear 
 this good news, and hope that our services to this 
 
 ^ Luzio in • Archivio storico Lombardo,' \90G, 114.
 
 LATERAN PROCESSION 349 
 
 good and holy Pontiff' will now receive recognition. 
 You will commend us cordially to His Holiness, and 
 assure him that we shall be no less zealous in his 
 service than we were in that of oin- uncle, of blessed 
 memory, and place ourselves absolutely at his 
 disposal.'^ 
 
 Castiglione now urged his lord to come to Rome 
 and kiss the Pope's feet as soon as possible ; but the 
 Duke still delayed, after his usual habit, pleading the 
 cost and time necessary for preparations if he were to 
 appear with suitable splendour at the approaching 
 ceremonies. At length, on the evening of April 7, 
 two hours after dark, he arrived in Rome with a 
 body of 300 horse, and was receiA ed with due state 
 by the A^atican officials. Fabrizio Colonna and many 
 of the noble Romans rode out to meet him at Ponte 
 Molle, and escorted him to the Duchess of Urbmo's 
 house in the Via Lata, behind the garden of the 
 ^^enetian embassy. The Pope treated him with the 
 greatest honour, and sent him a liberal supply of 
 provisions, including large stores of barley, wine, salt 
 meat, and 80 pairs of capons, 200 torches, 50 poimds 
 of candles, and 100 boxes of confectionery.- When, 
 on tlie morning of the Otli, Francesco Maria presented 
 himself at the \^atican, he was most gi-aciously received. 
 His Holiness spoke affectionately of their old friend- 
 ship, confirmed him in his office as Prefect of Rome, 
 and renewed his appointment as Captain of the 
 Church for another year. In this capacity the Duke, 
 clad in black velvet and satin, and attended by a 
 fine company of twenty-five gentlemen also wearing 
 mourning for his uncle, appeared in the magnificent 
 procession to the Lateran, which the Pope fixed for 
 
 ^ Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211, fol. 504.. -^ Sanuto, xvi. (J78.
 
 350 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 April 11 — the Feast of St. Leo and the anniversary 
 of the battle of Ravenna. 
 
 On that memorable day, which recalled the triumphs 
 of ancient Rome, when all the gods and goddesses of 
 Olympus came to hail the Vicar of Christ, and the 
 triumphal arches along the new Pope's route were 
 adorned with images of the Virgin and Apostles on 
 one side, and of Venus and Pallas on the other, the 
 Duke of Urbino rode immediately behind the Roman 
 nobles and foreign ambassadors, and in front of the 
 tabernacle which held the Host. A tall and gallant 
 warrior, Gaspare Fracasso di San Severino, clad in 
 cloth of gold from head to foot, and mounted on a 
 charger heavily draped with the same tissue, bore the 
 banner of the Church before him, and at his side rode 
 the Pope's nephew, that young Lorenzo de' Medici 
 who was ere long to rob him of his crown. For the 
 present, however, all went merry as a marriage-bell. 
 The new Pope adopted a golden yoke as his device, 
 with the motto Soave, which was embroidered on the 
 rose-coloured liveries of his servants, and expressed 
 the most friendly and peaceable intentions, even 
 towards the Duke of Ferrara.^ 
 
 Alfonso had arrived in Rome on April 4, and was 
 immediately conducted by his cousin, the Cardinal 
 of Aragon, into the presence of the Pope, who sus- 
 pended the ecclesiastical censures which hung over 
 him, and restored him to all his dignities, in order 
 that he might take part in the Lateran procession. 
 Isabella d' Este's secretary, Mario Equicola, who had 
 been among the first to kiss the Pope's feet and 
 offer his mistress's congratulations to her old friend, 
 describes the cheers which greeted the Duke as he 
 
 ^ Sanuto, xvi. l60; Baschet-Reumont, ' La Jeunesse de Catherine 
 de' Medici,' p. 242.
 
 ALFONSO D'ESTE 351 
 
 galloped across the Piazza, followed by thirty horse- 
 men, and looking like Mars himself in his crimson 
 vest and plumed cap, and tells us how the Romans 
 ran after him, shouting ' Duca ! JDuca f whenever he 
 appeared. On the morning of the procession Alfonso 
 met his niece's husband, the Duke of Urbino, who 
 only reached the V^atican when the Host was already 
 placed in the tabernacle in the Papal chapel, and 
 shook hands with him in the most cordial manner. 
 Afterwards it was noticed that the Duke of Ferrara 
 walked by the Pope's side along the steps of St. Peter's, 
 talking and laughing all the way, and held his horse's 
 bridle as far as the fountains on the Piazza, when, 
 at the Holy Father's express command, he mounted 
 his own white charger. The victor of Ravenna, a 
 splendid figure in his glittering mantle of white and 
 gold brocade, with a single diamond worth 10,000 
 ducats in his black velvet cap, attracted uni^'ersal 
 attention ; and people in the crowd were heard to say 
 that to-day Duke Alfonso had triumphed once more. 
 
 ' Two days afterwards he had an audience with the 
 Pope, which lasted over three hours, at the end of 
 which he left the ^^atican, looking very joyous, and 
 saying that now he had only got to enjoy himself 
 and see the pictures and antiquities of Rome.'^ 
 
 The Duke of Urbino, feeUng that he had nothing 
 to fear, and being anxious to visit his new city of 
 Pesaro, went home at the end of the week. But 
 since various business matters regarding his salary 
 and office had to be arranged, he decided to leave 
 Castiglione in Rome for the present, knowing well 
 that no one else would be as acceptable to Pope Leo 
 and his servants. The new palace officials, indeed, 
 
 ^ Luzio, 4()0.
 
 352 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 were Castiglione's most intimate friends. Bembo and 
 Sadoleto, as we have seen, were Secretaries, and the 
 JNlaster of the Household was his kinsman, Canossa, 
 in whose house lie lived as long as he remained in 
 Rome. Above all, INIesser Bernardo, the gay comrade 
 and witty story-teller, whose comedy had been acted 
 at Urbino only a few weeks before under his own 
 direction, was supreme at court. Bibbiena's sunny 
 temper, his wit and readiness, his love of art and 
 literature, had long made him dear to Cardinal de' 
 JNledici, and now he became indispensable to the new 
 Pope. All the envoys at the Vatican agree in describing 
 Bibbiena in these early years of Leo X.'s reign as the 
 Pope's confidential adviser — his alter ego — who dis- 
 pensed patronage, held the tangled threads of political 
 intrigue in his hands, and enjoyed his master's absolute 
 trust. ^ In his elegant suite of rooms in the upper 
 story of the palace, adorned with costly tapestries and 
 precious gems, with rare antiques and paintings by 
 the hand of his favourite Raphael, the new Treasurer 
 was the object of general envy and admiration, 
 courted and feared by all, but still beloved by his old 
 friends, such as Bembo and Castiglione. ' As for 
 JVlesser Bernardo,' wrote Equicola, ' it would fill four 
 sheets were I to try and describe his plate and 
 tapestries, the visits which he receives, etc. In fact, 
 he is Pope.'^ And a Mantuan kinsman — one of the 
 Valenti — who wrote to congratulate Castiglione on 
 his good fortune, remarked that he knew prosperity 
 would never alter the love which he and Bembo bore 
 to their friends, but did not feel sure if he could 
 count on Bernardo.^ 
 
 The first important business which Castiglione had 
 
 ^ Pastor, iv. 58, 5d ; Sanuto, xvi. 54 ; Bandini, ' Bibbiena,' lb". 
 2 Luzio, 454. 3 Cod. Vat. Lat, 8211.
 
 BIBBIENA 353 
 
 to transact on his lord's behalf brought him into 
 direct contact with the new Treasurer. In the 
 autumn of 1512, Francesco JNlaria had borrowed 
 20,000 ducats from his wife's uncle. Cardinal Sigis- 
 mondo Gonzaga, who was with the Papal troops as 
 Legate, in order to indemnify Galeazzo Sforza for his 
 rights on Pesaro. This sum he now sought to recover 
 from the Papal Treasury in payment of arrears of 
 salary and expenses incurred dining the last cam- 
 paign. Greatly to his surprise and indignation, 
 Bibbiena repudiated this claim, or, at any rate, 
 demurred to its justice. The letters which the Duke 
 addressed to Castiglione on the subject reveal his 
 ungovernable temper. No words were too bad for 
 what he called a flagrant breach of faith, or for 
 the Treasurer who was guilty of it. ' Of all men 
 in the world, we should have held our friend 
 M. Bernardo to be the last who would break his 
 word to us,' he wrote ; and in tlie same breath he 
 desired Castiglione to let him feel the full force of his 
 resentment. Even Baldassare, who in former letters 
 was invariably addressed as diletUsslmo e cai'lssimo, 
 was now treated with the barest courtesy, and made to 
 bear the brunt of the ducal displeasure. Fortunately 
 for all parties, Castiglione conducted this difficult and 
 delicate negotiation with so much skill and tact that 
 in the end Francesco Maria was satisfied. The Pope 
 already found it impossible to satisfy the hundreds 
 of needy suppliants from Florence who crowded the 
 Vatican, and agreed to indemnify Cardinal Gonzaga for 
 his advances by a grant of the Papal fief of Solarolo, 
 near Faenza, which, after prolonged negotiation, he 
 consented to accept. Considerable interest attaches 
 to this transaction, which explains how it was that 
 Sigismondo acquired the little town and principality 
 VOL. I. 23
 
 354 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 which, after his death, passed into the hands of the 
 Marchesana Isabella. 
 
 But these were only the most important of many 
 matters which passed through Castiglione's hands 
 while he represented the Duke of Urbino at the 
 court of Leo X., in the absence of Francesco's 
 ordinary envoy, the honest and faithful Orazio 
 Florido. 
 
 The peaceable intentions of the Pope were shown 
 by his efforts to avert war between France and the 
 League, but he was powerless to restrain the ambition 
 of Louis XII., who once more invaded Lombardy 
 early in May. While Leo X. nominally remained 
 neutral, he secretly helped JNlassimiliano Sforza with 
 money to pay the Swiss, and strove persistently to 
 detach Venice from the French alliance. The vacil- 
 lating character of the Papal policy and general 
 uncertainty are reflected in the following passage 
 from a letter which Castiglione addressed to the 
 Duke of Urbino from Rome on INIay 28 : 
 
 ' The Pope cannot make up his inind whether to 
 send troops to Parma and Piacenza, but will wait to 
 see what the French do. It seems to me that Your 
 Excellency must also await his decision, as it would 
 neither be honourable nor desirable for you to go to 
 the scene of action until war is openly declared. 
 I will let Your Excellency know what happens, and 
 what seems to be advisable. The Swiss promise 
 great things, and talk of invading Burgundy with 
 8,000 men, besides descending upon Lombardy. 
 The English are routing the French horse in large 
 numbers. The Emperor is said to be preparing 
 troops to attack the French and Venetians, and has 
 relieved Verona and forced the ^-^enetians to raise 
 the siege. Madonna Margherita has proclaimed war 
 against P'rance throughout Flanders, and all the harm
 
 CASTIGLIONE'S LABOURS 355 
 
 that can be done to the French on that side will 
 be done. The Pope has had letters informing him 
 of all these things. God knows if they are true ! 
 Every one speaks and writes according to his own 
 wishes.'^ 
 
 When in June the Duke received a Papal brief 
 desiring him to be ready to march to \^erona to help 
 the Emperor Maximihan against the Venetians, he 
 raised difficulties as to his own position, and bade 
 Castiglione ask that a guard should be given him, 
 and suitable provision made for the protection of his 
 person, declaring that this was the only way in 
 which he could ensure the obedience of the insolent 
 Spaniards and be safe from their attacks.'- The 
 Pope, however, abandoned his intention of sending 
 troops to Lonibardy, and the matter dropped. But 
 the Duke's conduct was afterwards remembered 
 against him, and a shadow darkened the good under- 
 standing between himself and the Pope, which Cas- 
 tiglione was doing his utmost to maintain. 
 
 Francesco Maria's quarrel with Giovanni Maria 
 da Camerino, who usurped the title belonging to his 
 nephew, young Sigismondo \^arano, and tried to seize 
 his duchy, was another cause of contention which 
 called for all Castiglione's tact. Other questions 
 regarding tlie payment of troops, or the claims of 
 captains who had served under the Duke in the 
 last campaign ; the settlement of loans which had 
 been advanced by tlie banking firm of the Sauli, or 
 of small bills sent in by musicians and actors, who 
 clamoured for a few ducats ; requests for benefices 
 and pensions from religious communities or indi- 
 
 ^ 'Archivio di Stato di Firenze : Carte di Urbino,' f. 241 ; Mar- 
 tinati, p. 66. 
 
 ^ Cod. Vat. Lat., 821 1, f. 511. 
 
 23—2
 
 356 COUNT BAI.DASSARE CASTIGTJONE 
 
 vidual ecclesiastics — -these and a score of minor 
 matters were all referred to the Duke's envoy. The 
 gentle Duchess Elisabetta, on her part, kept up an 
 active correspondence with her loyal servant during 
 his absence from Urbino. After her wont, she was 
 beset with suppliants and proteges, in whose favour 
 she constantly solicited Castiglione's good offices with 
 the Pope or other exalted personages. Now it was 
 her sister-in-law Chiara, the widow of Roberto Mala- 
 testa, who sought the Pope's intervention to enable 
 her to recover certain sums of her dowry in Rimini ; 
 now an Urbino gentleman, who asked for a recom- 
 mendation to His Holiness ; then, again, a merchant 
 of Sinigaglia, who begged that INIesser Agostino 
 Chigi, the rich Sienese banker, would renew the 
 lease of a shop to his daughter. Or else it is one 
 of her Mantuan connexions, M. Agostino Gonzaga, 
 who has visited Urbino on his way to Rome, and in 
 whose favour Elisabetta is eager to enlist the JMag- 
 nifico Giuliano and the all-powerful Treasurer ; and 
 the kind Duchess entreats her dearest and most 
 beloved kinsman Baldassare to deliver her letters 
 in person, and do his utmost to further M. Agostino's 
 suit. Then, again, it is Madonna Emilia who begs 
 the Count's help in some private business of her own, 
 and this time the Duchess feels she need make no 
 apology for troubling him, and is sure he will arrange 
 the matter with his wonted prudence. Many of 
 these letters are wi-itten with Elisabetta's own hand, 
 and abound in kind expressions of regard and affection 
 for M. Baldassare, and of earnest hopes that he may 
 soon be able to return to Pesaro, where the Duke and 
 Duchesses were spending the early summer. 
 
 From Pesaro on March 26, only a fortnight after 
 the Pope's election, Elisabetta addressed an lu'gent
 
 SISTER CHIARA 357 
 
 letter to the Count on behalf of the gallant Captain 
 Gaspare San Severino, who, if report said true, 
 was about to wed her niece, the widowed Maria 
 Varana. 
 
 'It is the desire of my heart,' she wrote, ' if 
 possible, to help the said San Severino, because of 
 the relationship between us and the many obliga- 
 tions tliat I owe him. Therefore I beg- you to show 
 this letter to His Holiness's Treasurer ; and when 
 you have heard his advice, go to tlie Pope's feet and 
 commend San Severino to him most warmly from 
 me, employing all the means in your power, and 
 doing everything that you can imagine to bring this 
 to a good end. And let me know at once what is 
 the result of your efforts, that I may tell him how 
 far r have been able to l\elp him, according to my 
 earnest wish.'^ 
 
 After this Fracasso, as we have seen, came to 
 Rome, and bore the Duke's banner in the Papal 
 procession ; but the Duchess's exertions do not seem 
 to have met with any further success. In June he 
 returned to Lombardy, and his marriage with Maria 
 Varana never took place. Some of Elisabetta's 
 wishes, it must be owned, were by no means easy 
 to gratify. Guidobaldo's widowed sister, Chiara, had, 
 on the death of her husband, Roberto Malatesta, 
 taken the veil in the convent of Poor Clares, founded 
 by her father, Duke Federico, at Urbino. She was 
 now greatly disturbed at the scandals wliich had 
 arisen among the nuns of Santa Chiara of Assisi, 
 and was anxious to bring them under the rule of the 
 reformed Franciscan conmiunity known as the Osser- 
 vanti, to which her own convent belonged. ^Vccord- 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211.
 
 358 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 ingly, on June 10 she addressed the following letter 
 to the Count : 
 
 ' Magnifico BaLDlASSARE, 
 
 *As I am very anxious that the convent 
 of Sta. Clara of Assisi, where the glorious body of 
 this saint rests, should be brought under the rule 
 of the Osservanti, in order that it may be properly 
 governed, and that the present nuns, whose life, as 
 I have been told by many of the citizens, is anything 
 but honest and religious, may be removed. In the 
 days of Pope Julius I applied for leave to go to Assisi 
 and take charge of the convent, and bring it under 
 the iTjle of our Osservanti Order, which I had been 
 asked to do by many persons living in that city. 
 His Holiness graciously consented to my proposal, 
 and desired me to appoint a confessor to make a 
 visitation . . . but I declined this proposal, since I 
 was reluctant to leave this convent and the rule 
 under which I had made my profession. Thus the 
 matter remained undecided. But as I still cherish an 
 earnest desire that order and good living should be 
 restored in this place, I hope that His Holiness, 
 whose goodness and saintly living are well known, 
 wiU condescend to grant my ardent desire. I beg 
 you to speak to the Magnifico on this subject, and 
 make him unite with you in urging our Lord the 
 Pope to allow this convent to be brought under the 
 rule of our Osservanti Order, which, beside being a 
 holy work and most acceptable and meritorious in 
 God's eyes, would give me more pleasure than I 
 can say. And I beg you to keep this secret from 
 all but the Magnifico and the Holy Father, lest 
 the rival Order may get wind of it and oppose our 
 intention. 
 
 ' Feltria Soror Clara. 
 
 * I beg with all my heart that you will obtain this 
 favour for me, and I entreat you to help me by the
 
 THE NUNS OF ASSISI 359 
 
 love which you bore my brother of blessed memory. 
 I know, too, that you are a devout follower of the 
 glorious St. Francis and of Santa Chiara, and liave 
 God and these two most blessed saints before your 
 eyes, as well as your own sister Suor Laura and all 
 the nuns who fight under the triumphant banner of 
 this glorious Virgin. And if you are able to arrange 
 that her body should be placed in the hands of those 
 who live according to her will, I doubt not that she 
 will give you a plentiful reward in this life and in the 
 next, while we of this community will pray God per- 
 petually for you. You will hear more fully on this 
 subject from my sister the Duchess Elisa, and I 
 commend the whole to you. Only, for the love of 
 God keep it secret, and give the enclosed to tlie 
 jljmo (^iiuiiano. And do not forget my Rimini business, 
 either.'^ 
 
 A month later the Duchess wi'ote asking her 
 dearest Baldassare if he had ever received a packet 
 of letters in which were two written by her most 
 reverend sister-in-law and herself with their own 
 hands, to which, much to their disappointment, he 
 had never sent any answer. In case the said letters 
 had miscarried, the Duchess repeated the tenor of 
 their contents. First of all he was to communicate 
 with the iNIagnifico Giuliano, because he was a devout 
 Catholic and inclined to favour pious objects, and then 
 go to His Holiness, and inform him how important 
 it was to bring the Convent of Sta. Chiara of Assisi, 
 where the blessed saint's body was, imder the rule of 
 the Osservanti, so that in this holy place people should 
 lead a better life than they did at present and show 
 more fear of God. Since the scandalous lives of the 
 nuns were known to all, it would be a good and holy 
 deed on the part of His Holiness, and agreeable to the 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211.
 
 360 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 devout nature of tlie Magnifico, to see that this change 
 were effected immediately, and send ambassadors to 
 the citizens of Assisi, who on their part declared that 
 they would no longer tolerate the present state of 
 things. 'And in order to incite you the more to prompt 
 action,' adds the Duchess, ' you must know that the 
 mighty spirit of Pope Julius had been so much 
 moved and softened by this our petition as to declare 
 it worthy to be granted.' Unfortunately, the crusade 
 on which these pious ladies had embarked was more 
 serious than they realized. After protracted dis- 
 cussion, the matter was referred to the office of the 
 Papal Datary, Lorenzo Pucci, whose secretary replied 
 curtly that it was not convenient that the Lady 
 Duchess should interfere in the administration of 
 convents outside her own territories. This reply, 
 which effectually crushed the hopes of Suor Chiara 
 and the good Duchess, was sent to Castiglione after 
 he left Rome by his old friend Terpandro, the lively 
 poet who had formerly been so great a favourite with 
 the ladies of Urbino, and who tried to soften the 
 effect of his refusal by cordial messages. 
 
 ' Give my Lady Emilia,' he wrote, ' my sincere con- 
 dolences on the death of her reverend brother [Enea 
 Pio], whose grief causes me more concern than the 
 death of His Highness, since he is probably better off 
 than we are. Commend me to Anna, and, if you are 
 bold enough, to INIadonna Raffaella, as well as to 
 yourself. 
 
 'Rome, AvguM 11, 1513.'l ^'our TeRPANDRO. 
 
 This allusion to the fair maid of honour, who kept 
 a soft corner in her heart for our hero, reminds us 
 that Raffaella honoured Castiglione with her especial 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211.
 
 MADONNA RAFFAELLA 361 
 
 favour, and herself occasionally wrote to him with 
 her own hand. A short and ill-spelt letter which 
 she addressed to her knight when he was absent at 
 the camp with his lord, is still preserved in the family 
 archives. 
 
 ' It is many days since I have written to V. S., but 
 this has only been from fear of troubling you. Now 
 I wi'ite to remind you of me, and to beg you, if 
 it is not giving you too much trouble, to deign to 
 write to me in return. This would give me great 
 and singular pleasure. I will not trouble V. S. further 
 at present, but only commend myself continually to 
 you. 
 
 ' From one who longs to see V. S., 
 
 ' Raffaeli.a.'^ 
 
 The cover is addressed : ' To my dearest Messer 
 Baldassare da Castiglione, Knight, with the Most 
 Illustrious Duke of Urbino.' 
 
 M. Baldassare not only appreciated the lovely 
 maid of honour's attentions, but replied to her letters 
 with his usual gallantry, and it appears, from another 
 passage in his correspondence this summer, that 
 Madonna Raffaella still considered herself to have a 
 claim on his devotion. 
 
 ' I showed that part of your letter which concerned 
 her to INIadonna Raffaella,' wrote the ducal Secretary, 
 Cesare JNIinutolo, from Pesaro in JNIay ; • and altliough 
 she would not allow me to kiss her white hand, I was 
 presumptuous enough to aspire to her favours, but all 
 in vain. She desired me to tell you from her that 
 she eats well and drinks still better, amuses herself, 
 has a good time and lives joyously. To say the truth, 
 she does not seem to distress herself much at your 
 absence, whether this arises from lack of affection 
 
 * Cod. Vat. Lat„ 8211, f. 525.
 
 362 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 or from her changeable and unfeehng nature, which 
 leads her only to think of her lover when he is present. 
 But I shall never understand her ! You know how 
 much I like her and what attentions I pay her, and 
 the only rewards I get are constant rebuffs, bad 
 words, and cross looks. O ungratefid woman !' 
 
 After describing the preparations for the tourna- 
 ment which is to take place at Pesaro, and the Duke's 
 feats of arms, the writer commends himself to 
 Monsignore Trirarico, and sends M. Baldassare warm 
 greetings from the whole court, and most of all from 
 Madonna Raffaella.^ 
 
 The letters preserved in the Vatican show how vast 
 was Castiglione's correspondence during these early 
 months of Leo X.'s pontificate. Old friends at 
 Urbino and Ferrara, distant kinsfolk at Milan and 
 Mantua, comrades who had played with him when he 
 was a lad, or had more recently shared his campaigns, 
 alike wrote to congratulate him on his proud position 
 as envoy at the Vatican, and to remind him of their 
 existence. ' Venit post multas una serena dies,' 
 wrote Benedetto Valenti, when he wished his kins- 
 man joy on the smiling face which Fortune, that 
 fickle dame, had turned to him, and prayed that he 
 might ever remain the same loyal and unchangeable 
 friend as of old. Others were less modest in their 
 demands. Some begged him to use his influence 
 with the Holy Father or the Treasurer on their 
 behalf or asked boldly for benefices and pensions. 
 One mother, who signs herself, Dorotea, daughter of 
 Messer il Priore da Castigiione, ' having heard from 
 your lady mother of the high favour which you 
 enjoy with His Beatitude Pope Leo,' begs him, for her 
 
 ^ Cod. Vat. Lat, 8211, f. 479.
 
 APPEALS AND REQUESTS 363 
 
 sake and for the honour of the family, to take her 
 son, a zentil putto of ten, into his service and allow 
 her to make him a present of the boy, which thing 
 she will count a singular grace. Another letter is of 
 interest as coming from Capino di Cappo,^ a brave 
 Mantuan soldier whose devotion to Castiglione 
 endured to the end of his life, and of whom M. Bal- 
 dassare invariably speaks with the deepest affection, 
 as one who was dear to him as a brother, and with 
 whom he shared the closest secrets of his heart. 
 
 To all of these appeals INI. Baldassare replied with 
 perfect temper and invariable courtesy, although in 
 his secret soul he often groaned over the multitude 
 of his correspondents, and felt, with Bibbiena, that 
 begging favours for others was truly " devil's work.' 
 
 ^ Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 1513 
 
 Castiglione's friends in Rome — The early days of Leo X. — Scholars 
 and poets flock to Rome — The Roman humanists — Colocci, 
 Goritz, SadoletOj Raphael — Castiglione's poems and sonnets — 
 Giuliano de* Medici in Rome — Fetes at the Capitol — Cas- 
 tiglione returns to Urbino — Fresh schemes for his marriage. 
 
 In spite of the burden of diplomatic business and 
 private correspondence under which CastigHone 
 groaned, these months which he spent in the Bishop 
 of Trirarico's house in the Borgo were very happy 
 ones. It was a memorable and eventful time both 
 in the history of Rome and in that of the Papacy. 
 Never before had the Eternal City witnessed so great 
 a concourse of scholars and poets as in these early 
 days of Leo X. The accession of a JMedici Pope, 
 who, in his own words, ' had grown up in a library and 
 loved the fine arts from his cradle,' attracted men of 
 letters not only from Florence, but from all parts of 
 Italy. ^ The poets who sang the praises of the house 
 of Medici, and acclaimed Leo X. as a new Mecasnas, 
 found themselves lavishly rewarded. Ariosto, it is 
 true, who had hastened to salute his old friend, was 
 sent away unsatisfied, and driven to conclude that 
 the Pope, having given up the use of his eyeglass, 
 had failed to recognize him. But ducats were freely 
 showered on smaller men, and crowds of poetasters 
 
 ^ Pastor, iv. 426. 
 364
 
 THE DELIGHTS OF ROME 365 
 
 and reciters, musicians and buffoons, swarmed around 
 the good-natured Pope, who laughed at their jokes 
 and allowed them to feed at his table. Strangers 
 like Erasmus, who liad once tasted the delights of 
 Rome, turned longing eyes towards the city whicli 
 they felt was their true fatherland. In the fogs of 
 London and the fens of Cambridge, the Rotterdam 
 humanist pined for the noble libraries and delicious 
 gai-dens, where he had enjoyed the companionship of 
 men who were the lights of the world, and cried for a 
 draught of the water of Lethe that he might be able 
 to forget Rome. 
 
 ' When I think of Rome,' he wrote to his friend 
 Cardinal Grimani, ' and all its charms and advant- 
 ages, I repent that I ever came here. Rome is the 
 centre of the world. In Rome is liberty. In Rome 
 are the splendid libraries. In Rome you meet and 
 con\'erse with men of learning. In Rome are the 
 magnificent monuments of the past. On Rome are 
 fastened the eyes of all mankind.'^ 
 
 On St. Mark's Day, Pasquino, who had armed him- 
 self with a sword the year before, and cried, ' Fuo7' i 
 bar burl /' with Julius II., now assumed the guise of 
 Apollo, and, lyre in hand, chanted the return of the 
 golden age, while the fountains at liis feet ran with 
 milk and honey. The phrase passed from lip to lip 
 and became a commonplace with poets and scholars. 
 Erasmus adopted it in liis famous epistle to Leo X., 
 in which he thanks the Pope for accepting the dedica- 
 tion of his book on the Greek Testament. ' Come to 
 Rome and see our golden age,' wrote Guido Postumo 
 Silvestri, the poet-doctor of Pesaro, to Isabella d' Este 
 at Mantua. This bard, whom Ariosto pronounced 
 
 1 Erasmi, Op., Ep. 1 3b', lb7, l68.
 
 366 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 worthy to wear the double crown of Pallas and 
 Phoebus, had good reason to praise the new Pontiff's 
 liberality. For, as we learn from a letter addressed 
 by Tebaldeo to Castiglione, he received a gift of 
 200 ducats when he presented His Holiness with a 
 book of poems, and was enabled to rebuild his house 
 at Pesaro at the Pope's expense. 
 
 In this atmosphere Castiglione naturally found 
 himself at home. He was surrounded by old friends. 
 Bibbiena, Sadoleto, and Bembo were not the only 
 members of the Urbino circle whom he found among 
 the Papal officials. Beroaldo, Latino Giovenale, and 
 Terpandro, ' whose hilarity,' Bembo said, ' the gravest 
 affairs could not diminish,' were all employed in 
 different capacities at the A'atican. Guido Postumo 
 was secretary to Cardinal Ippolito d' Este ; Tebaldeo, 
 the Ferrarese poet, dear alike to Raphael and Cas- 
 tiglione, to Bembo and Elisabetta, was among the 
 bards whom Leo rewarded with reckless liberality. 
 Accolti, the devoted slave of the Duchess, was con- 
 stantly summoned to give his wonderful improvisa- 
 tions in the ^^atican, where the Holy Father and the 
 Cardinals joined in the cry of ' Long live tlie divine 
 poet !' And there, too, Raphael of Urbino was busy 
 decorating the Pope's rooms, and painting Madonnas 
 and portraits for all the members of the Sacred College 
 in turn. 
 
 A whole troop of Mantuans came to Rome to 
 pay their respects to the new Pope, and Cas- 
 tiglione was surrounded by the familiar faces of his 
 youth. Cardinal Sigismondo, of course, had been 
 present at the conclave, and Federico of Bozzolo and 
 Baldassare's own cousin, Luigi Gonzaga of Borgo- 
 forte, arrived in time to take part in the Lateran 
 procession. Early in June another of his kinsmen,
 
 MANTUAN FRIENDS 367 
 
 Valenti, came in the suite of Liiigi Gonzaga of 
 CastelgofFredo, who was sent by the JNIarquis on a 
 special embassy to the Vatican ; ^ while Mario 
 Equicola found Rome so pleasant that he lingered 
 there till after Easter. One of the Pope's first acts 
 was to appoint the learned humanist and theologian, 
 Battista Spagnoli, a brother of Francesco's secretary, 
 Tolomeo, to the important post of General of the 
 Carmelites. Another distinguished Mantuan, the 
 doctor Battista Fiera, whose fine portrait by Lorenzo 
 Costa hangs in our National Gallery, was among the 
 poets who hastened to lay their tributes at Leo's feet 
 that summer. This worthy man had a house near 
 the cliurch of S. Francesco, in the same quarter as 
 the Castiglione palace, and was an old friend of the 
 family. Several of his early poems were addressed to 
 JNI. Gian Pietro, and he had lately composed an elegy 
 on the death of Cesare Gonzaga. During his residence 
 in Rome he became much attached to Baldassare, 
 whose own death as well as that of his young wife he 
 was to live to commemorate in verse. To these we 
 may add the name of the protonotary Chiericati, 
 Cardinal Schinner's secretary, wlio, although a native 
 of ^^icenza, had spent most of his life at JNlantua, and 
 was connected by many ties with the Gonzaga princes. 
 A godson of Duchess Elisabetta and one of Isabella's 
 most constant correspondents, this able ecclesiastic 
 was brought into close relations with Castiglione 
 during the next few years, and in his letters to 
 Mantua is never tired of praising the Count's vigi- 
 lance and loyalty.^ Nor must we forget to mention 
 Federico Fregoso, the good Archbishop of Salerno, 
 and Agostino Chigi, the princely Sienese banker, 
 
 ' Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211. 
 
 - B. Morsolin, F. Chiericati, 159.
 
 368 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 among the friends who helped to make Castiglione's 
 stay in Rome pleasant. Another house where he 
 found a warm welcome was that of his kinswoman, 
 Bianca Bentivoglio, the widow of Count Niccolo 
 Rangone, and mother of his especial friends Costanza 
 and Ginevra Rangone. This lady had generously 
 entertained Cardinal de' JNIedici at Modena after his 
 escape from captivity, and the Pope now requited 
 this service by inviting her to Rome and giving her 
 a house in the Borgo. Castiglione, as we have seen, 
 was already friendly with Bianca' s daughters, and 
 two of her sons, the future Cardinal Ercole and 
 Annibale, afterwards Captain of the Papal Guard, 
 were among the most intimate friends of his Roman 
 days. 
 
 The Bishop of Trirarico's house, as might be sup- 
 posed, was a meeting-place for the choicest spirits of 
 Leo X.'s court. There Castiglione met the foremost 
 members of the Roman Academy : Angelo Colocci, 
 the accomplished Papal Secretary and generous patron 
 of letters ; Inghirami, better known by his surname 
 of Phsedra, the learned keeper of the Vatican library, 
 whose massive brow and squinting eye still live in 
 Raphael's picture ; the two accomplished Venetian 
 patricians, Agostino Beazzano and Andrea Navagero, 
 whose friendship the great master immortalized by 
 painting both their portraits on one canvas, and many 
 others whose names are barely remembered now. 
 The brilliant Count who came from Urbino with 
 so great a reputation, was an honoured guest at the 
 banquets and suppers where the Roman humanists 
 met in Colocci's lovely gardens near the ruins of the 
 Acqua Virgo, in the sumptuous halls of Chigi's 
 stately pleasure-house on the Tiber, or in Sadoleto's 
 humble villa on the Quirinal.
 
 ARIOSTO'S REGRETS 369 
 
 Long afterwards, when these fair regions had been 
 laid waste by barbarian invaders, and most of this 
 goodly company were dead and gone, Sadoleto, 
 writing to his old friend Angelo Colocci, recalled 
 these delightful meetings, when poems and orations 
 were recited by the foremost intellects of the day, 
 and paid a splendid tribute to Castiglione, calling 
 him the noblest and most gifted of men. ^ 
 
 Ariosto, who had himself been in Rome that spring 
 and shared for all too short a time in these delights, 
 sighed in his remote provincial home, not, lie tells us, 
 for the flesh-pots of Egypt, but for the good company 
 and intellectual converse of his absent friends. 
 
 * Tell me,' he cries, ' that I may once again visit 
 the haunt of the Muses and wander singing in the 
 sacred groves ; tell me that I may every day exchange 
 ideas with Bembo and Sadoleto, with the learned 
 Giovio and Cavallo, with Blosio and Molza and 
 Tebaldeo, and take one or the other for my guide 
 over the seven hills. There, book in hand, I may look 
 down on the regions of ancient Rome, and say. Here 
 was the Circus Maximus, here the Roman Forum ; 
 on this side lay the Suburra, yonder the Sacred Way ; 
 here rose the Temple of Vesta, there that of Janus. '^ 
 
 These were the pleasures which Castiglione actually 
 enjoyed in the brief intervals that he could snatch 
 from diplomatic business. We learn from Bembo's 
 letters how he and M. Baldassare visited the anti- 
 quities of Rome with Raphael, and made excursions 
 in the Roman Campagna, seeing everything, both old 
 and new, and enjoying the beauties of the early 
 summer. Castiglione's own poems show us the close 
 attention with which he studied the antiques collected 
 
 1 Ep. i. 106. 2 Satire, vii. 112. 
 
 VOL. I. 24
 
 870 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 by Julius II. in the court of the Belvedere, and the 
 latest frescoes painted by Raphael. The help that he 
 gave the master in drawing up his famous report on 
 ancient Rome is a proof, if any were needed, that he 
 shared his friend's enthusiasm for the remains of the 
 Eternal City, as well as his zeal for their preservation. 
 And we know from Raphael's often-quoted letters 
 how much he trusted Castiglione's judgment, and 
 how proud the painter was of the praise which the 
 Count bestowed on his beautiful Galatea in Chigi's 
 villa. 
 
 These congenial surroundings, the intercourse with 
 so many scholars and poets, naturally gave fresh 
 stimulus to Castiglione's poetic powers, which had 
 long been neglected in the stress of political cares 
 and active warfare. JNIany of his best Latin poems 
 and epigrams were composed during the months 
 which he spent in Rome. As Sadoleto had sung the 
 glories of the newly - discovered Laocoon, so now 
 Castiglione celebrated the beauty of the Cleopatra^ 
 which had been brought to light and placed in the 
 Belvedere by Julius II. He also contributed a 
 Latin poem to the Coryciana, or collection of verses 
 that were yearly placed on Sansovino's group of 
 St. Anne in the chapel built by Cardinal Goritz, 
 the white-haired Luxembourg prelate, whose gardens 
 in the Forum of Trajan were a favourite haunt of 
 Roman humanists. There can be little doubt that it 
 was during these months in the Eternal City that 
 Baldassare wrote the beautiful sonnet in which he 
 invoked the seven hills of ancient Rome, 
 
 ' Superbi colli e voi sacre ruine 
 Che '1 nome sol di Roma ancor tenete,' 
 
 ^ The statue in the Vatican now known by the name of Ariadne
 
 ' IL CORTEGIANO ' 371 
 
 and the pathetic canzone, ' Manea il fior giovenil 
 de' miei primi anni,' in which he looks back on 
 his lost youth and laments the vanity of earthly 
 loves. 
 
 It was then, too, that the ' Cortegiano ' grew into 
 being. The first sketch of the work was hastily 
 written ' in a few days,' the author tells us, soon 
 after Guidobaldo's death, while the good Duke's 
 happy times were still fresh in his memory. In 
 the distractions of his busy life, the work was laid 
 aside, and only resumed in Rome during these early 
 days of Leo X. Then the sympathy and admiration 
 of his literary friends encouraged Castiglione to take 
 up his pen once more, and further develop that 
 picture of the ideal court and perfect gentleman which 
 he had begun at Urbino. The greater part of the 
 work was completed during the following winter and 
 spring, as we see from the allusions in the fourth 
 book to the death of Roberto da Bari, Gaspare 
 Pallavicino, and Cesare Gonzaga, as w^ell as to 
 the exalted position attained by the JNIagnifico 
 Giuliano. 
 
 In the first week of May, Giuliano de' Medici 
 arrived in Rome, and the Pope, who was sincerely 
 attached to his brother, and had probably realized 
 how unequal this amiable but pleasure-loving Prince 
 was to the difficult task of governing Florence, 
 determined to keep him at the ^^atican, and send his 
 nephew Lorenzo to take his place. The presence 
 of Giuliano was an additional gratification to Cas- 
 tiglione, who found his old friend unchanged by 
 prosperity, and full of affection. His arrival was 
 the signal for renewed festivities, and his elevation 
 to the dignity of Roman patrician was celebrated 
 by one of the grandest and most sumptuous enter- 
 
 24—2
 
 372 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 tainments ever held at the Capitol. A spacious 
 theatre, adorned with statues and paintings by Peruzzi 
 and other excellent artists, was erected for the occasion, 
 and a succession of banquets and theatrical representa- 
 tions was given by the Roman nobles, at which 
 Giuliano and all the Cardinals were present. A 
 marvellous array of symbolical figures welcomed the 
 new citizen, and thanked him in flowery orations for 
 the honour which he had conferred on Rome. The 
 Virtues appeared to arm him with golden sword and 
 shield, and, what delighted the audience more than 
 all, the goddess Cybele offered the Magnifico a globe 
 which burst open and displayed an infinite number of 
 birds, which flew about the theatre, to the sound of 
 exquisite melodies, sung by the Cardinal of Ferrara's 
 musicians. The splendour of the costumes and jewels 
 worn by the actors, the variety of the comedies and 
 dances, and the crowds of people in the assembly, 
 were described by many eyewitnesses. 
 
 ' I think the " Penulus " of Plautus was never repre- 
 sented better in the days of Plautus himself,' wrote 
 Chiericati to Isabella d' Este. ... 'In the universal 
 opinion, the Senate and Roman people have done 
 themselves the greatest honour by this magnificent 
 display, and have spent at least 6,000 ducats. And 
 it is reckoned that there were at least 20,000 persons 
 present at the spectacle.'^ 
 
 Towards the end of August, Castiglione left Rome 
 and returned to Urbino, where he was warmly wel- 
 comed by the whole court, including, let us hope. 
 Madonna RafFaella. The Duke marked his apprecia- 
 tion of his envoy's service by investing him formally 
 with the countship and estates of Novillara in a deed 
 
 1 Harleian MS. 3462.
 
 GRANT OF NOVILLARA 373 
 
 bearing the date September 2, 1513. The preamble 
 of the grant speaks in glowing terms of the Count's 
 scholarly accomplishments and warlike exploits ; 
 above all, of his unswerving fidelity and indefatigable 
 labours in the ducal service. It records the long days 
 and nights spent in unceasing toil, in distant and 
 perilous journeys, and ends by promising him larger 
 rewards, more fitting to his splendid services, in fiiture 
 days.' 
 
 No one was better pleased to hear of his safe 
 arrival than his mother. Madonna Luigia had been 
 apparently a good deal disturbed by her son's pro- 
 longed residence in Rome. While his family and 
 friends all congratulated the Count on his eleva- 
 tion, and rejoiced at the signal marks of favour 
 bestowed upon him by the new Pope, his mother 
 felt as if her beloved son was slipping out of her 
 hold, and was being carried farther from her every 
 day. His departure from Urbino had been so hasty 
 and unexpected, that for some time she was left in 
 doubt as to his movements, and could only send her 
 letters by the Duchess Elisabetta's seneschal, addressed 
 to her son ' in Urbino, Rome, or wherever he may be.' 
 When at length his letters reached her, they were 
 short and hurried notes, in which Baldassare seemed 
 hardly to have leisure to reply to her anxious inquiries 
 or satisfy her curiosity about his new estates at 
 Novillara. These last were a source of great concern 
 to this active-minded lady, who had the deepest 
 distrust of her son's business capacities, and never 
 ceased begging him to send a trustworthy steward to 
 take possession of his Castello and collect the rents 
 due to him. 
 
 1 ' De oriijine rebus, gestis ac privilegiis Gentis Castilionae,' 
 Matteo di Castiglione.
 
 374 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 In a letter of April 6 she wrote : 
 
 ' I have begged you several times to consider these 
 affairs at Casatico, and not go to sleep over them, for 
 no one can tell how long this Pope will live ; so I 
 must repeat this once more, and if you think me 
 tiresome, remember this only arises from my anxiety 
 to see you once for all set free from care, if this should 
 please God ! Many people in town are ill, and some 
 are dying from what seems to be acute pain in the 
 side, but I fear it must be a serious complaint. Take 
 care of yourself for the love of God ! . . . I hear from 
 Carlo Bardellone that in Rome you find a much 
 better kind of Rheims linen than is to be had here, so 
 if you are in want of shirts, and like to send me some 
 linen, I will have them made for you. But this must 
 be as you like.'^ 
 
 As usual, money was scarce, and Madonna Luigia 
 urged her son to practise a rigid economy, and found 
 it difficult to scrape a few ducats together, since the 
 last harvest had been a bad one, and the peasants at 
 Casatico would have died of hunger if they had not 
 been fed at her expense. 
 
 On May 1 her nephew I^uigi Gonzaga returned 
 from Rome, and brought good news of Baldassare ; 
 but as Luigia herself was on the point of leaving 
 JNIantua for her country home, she complained that 
 she had not much time for conversation with him. 
 At length, however, towards the end of July, a 
 certain Boccalino arrived from Rome, and Madonna 
 Luigia was able to satisfy herself as to her son's 
 welfare from one who had seen and spoken with him. 
 He found her in bed with an attack of tertian ague, 
 which had left her weak and melancholy, and Bal- 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211.
 
 MATERNAL WARNINGS 375 
 
 dassare complained, not without reason, of the 
 querulous tone of her letters. 
 
 ' In your last letter,' she wrote on July 28, ' you 
 seem to resent my continual entreaties that you 
 should attend to your own affairs. But I did not 
 wish to vex you or expect you to do what is impossible, 
 which would be folly. All I desire is to know that 
 you are well and happy, which is the greatest joy I 
 can have. It is, however, true that next to this I 
 wish to see your affairs in a prosperous condition, and 
 that I know no one can stay long in Rome without 
 spending a great deal, and that being absent so long 
 from your household must be the cause of innumer- 
 able disorders, since no one is left to govern your 
 servants at Urbino. And I must once more repeat 
 how necessary it seems to me, if this stay in Rome is 
 to be so prolonged, that you should send a responsible 
 person to occupy your castle. . . . All the same, I 
 cannot pretend to understand these things, but can 
 only turn them over in my mind and write to you. 
 So, my dear son, take this as my excuse, and accept 
 it with the same love which prompts me to write. 
 God knows I would much rather tell you these things 
 by word of mouth, if this were granted me, and then 
 you might give me your reasons in return. It would 
 of course give me the greatest joy if you could come 
 to Lombardy, to some place where I might see you. 
 Meanwhile I do hope you will try and find a 
 thoroughly trustworthy man, or if possible two, one 
 who may be always with you, and another who would 
 attend to the management of your household and 
 who could make himself feared and know how to act 
 on his o^vn responsibility, when occasion required. 
 And do not be afraid of the expense, for he would 
 certainly save you money in the end. . . . Our corn 
 is not yet thrashed. It will give a much better yield 
 than last year, but tlie price is very low. I cannot 
 write more, as I am tired, although it has taken me
 
 376 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 two days to write this letter. Try and keep well, and 
 commend me to our Bishop and to Messer Agostino, 
 if you are still in Rome. And God keep you from 
 all danger. 
 
 ' Your mother, 
 
 ' LuiGiA Cast. 
 
 'Casatico, July 28, 1513.'i 
 
 Early in August the good lady came to Mantua to 
 see her corn sold, but the crops were so abundant that 
 in some fields the corn was not worth reaping, and 
 the market was so bad that she could only raise 
 100 ducats. These she sent to Pesaro by a JNIantuan 
 merchant, as soon as she heard that M. Baldassare 
 had arrived safely at Urbino. 
 
 Castiglione's first act on his return from Rome was 
 to send his servant Bindo to Mantua, and by the time 
 that the man was ready to go back, IVIadonna Luigia 
 had succeeded in raising another 100 ducats, which 
 she sent her son together with a stock of new clothes, 
 bed-quilts, a wolf-skin cloak, some yards of fine white 
 cloth, two handsome black velvet caps, and a supply 
 of cheese and salt meat. At the same time she 
 entreated him earnestly to come and spend a fortnight 
 or more at Casatico, in order that the long-discussed 
 question of his marriage might at length be settled. 
 
 The idea of an alliance with Count Girardo 
 Rangone's daughter had been by no means abandoned, 
 either by Madonna I^uigia or Costanza Rangone, both 
 of whom had repeatedly written to Baldassare during 
 the past summer, urging him to come to a decision on 
 the subject. But besides being too much absorbed 
 in the cares and pleasures of Rome to think of 
 marriage, Castiglione was obviously dissatisfied with 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211.
 
 MARRIAGES PROPOSED 377 
 
 the conditions proposed by the Modenese Count. 
 The dowry seemed to him too small ; the bride herself 
 was apparently not altogether to his taste. ' I am 
 very sorry to hear that you do not like INIadonna 
 Costanza's proposals, but for nothing in the world 
 would I urge you to conclude a marriage that is not 
 to your taste.' Messer Luigi Gonzaga, it appears, 
 brought the same report from Rome, and his aunt 
 thought it well to complain to Polissena Rjmgone 
 of the subtleties employed in the matter by Count 
 Girardo. At the same time Madonna Luigia owned 
 that it was difficult to see why her son had taken 
 five months to come to this conclusion, and begged 
 him to make his choice soon for the honour of 
 the family, and in order not to offend the proud 
 Rangone Count. But, with unwearied patience and 
 perseverance, she began to look about for other 
 desirable matches. First she proposed a grand- 
 daughter of Count Antonio della Mirandola, who was 
 being educated in a convent in Florence, and whose 
 marriage the Pope had undertaken to arrange. Then 
 there was one of the Gonzagas of Novellara, who 
 was said to be by no means ugly, and in all other 
 respects eminently suitable ; while a daughter-in-law 
 of Bartolommeo della Rovere, ' young and well 
 dowered,' was recommended by one of Federico 
 Gonzaga's ladies, Maddalena. There seems to have 
 been another lady for whom M. Baldassare at this 
 time had an evident inclination — possibly the fair 
 Raffiiella. If so. Madonna Luigia promptly dismissed 
 her in a contemptuous phrase as being ' poor and in 
 difficulties — two very bad conditions, to my mind.' 
 However, she hastens to add : ' You must do as you 
 like, but I think either of the Lombardy matches 
 would be better — the Modenese one, or her of
 
 378 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Novellara.' The best plan, she finally decided, 
 would be for Baldassare to visit both Novellara and 
 Modena on his way to Lombardy, and see 'the 
 merchandise,' as she terms the young ladies, not with- 
 out some reason. This could easily be managed 
 in the case of the former, as Luigia heard from a 
 mutual kinsman, Francesco Gonzaga, that the girl 
 always took meals with her father^ and Baldassare 
 need only stop a night at Novellara and see her. At 
 Modena his cousin Costanza would gladly welcome 
 a visit, etc., 'and so at length,' wrote the anxious 
 mother, 'we may touch land.'^ 
 
 The Count's sister, Francesca Strozzi, now added 
 her entreaties to those of her mother, and sent him a 
 long and affectionate letter from Rovere, expressing 
 her satisfaction at hearing good reports of his health 
 and welfare, and begging him to marry and settle 
 down. 
 
 ' I hear,' *»he writes playfully, ' that you have grown 
 fat, and have not suffered from the excessive heat of 
 this summer as much as we have. It has made us 
 all ill, and we had to leave Mantua because of the 
 heat. I was the first to fall ill, and, thank God, am 
 also the first to recover, and am able now to wait on 
 the others. My poor Messer Tommaso has been in 
 bed for three weeks with a tedious, but happily not 
 acute, tertian fever. He has lost his appetite entirely ; 
 nothing can tempt him to eat ; and if we were not 
 a whole day's journey from home, I would send to 
 Mantua for a bottle of our wine, as we hear it is so 
 good, and this might bring back his taste for food. 
 JNly little ones are all ill, and as soon as they are cured 
 we shall, please God, go to Mantua. I asked Bindo 
 if you had yet been to see your castle, and he said 
 no. T wish you would go there, for if we should come 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211.
 
 A SISTER PLEADS 379 
 
 into those parts we think of visiting you there, and 
 if I had known the name of the patron saint of the 
 \'illage church when I was ill, I should have made a 
 vow to go there. We all beg you to take a wife 
 speedily, so that we may come to your wedding and 
 take a journey for our pleasure at the same time. I 
 begin to feel sorry that you have put this off so long, 
 and fear that I shall soon be so old that I shall be 
 ashamed to dance at your wedding. I will say no 
 more, saving that JNl. Tommaso and I both commend 
 ourselves infinitely to Your INIagnificence, and long 
 to see you and enjoy your company. 
 
 ' Your loving sister, 
 
 ' Fraxcesca Strozza.'i 
 
 Castiglione's visit was now impatiently expected 
 by his friends at Mantua, and JNIadonna Luigia began 
 to send him her final directions before he started on his 
 journey. She was especially anxious that he should 
 redeem the gold collar which the King of England 
 had given him, and whicli his usual pecuniary diffi- 
 culties had compelled him to leave in pawn when he 
 went to Rome. 
 
 ' I implore you,' she wi'ote in September, " to take 
 your chain out of pawn, and bring it with you, and 
 also any hangings that you may have which would be 
 useful for the house. You know that, when I was at 
 Urbino, you never would let me see the contents of 
 your chests, and then in your absence people came 
 and spoilt the stuffs ; and it would surely ha^'e been 
 much better for me to have brought the things home 
 and put them to some good use in the house, than to 
 have left them to those wretches.' - 
 
 In the same letter she informed him of the death 
 of her cousin Lodovico degli Uberti, who was really 
 
 ' Cod. Vat. Lat, 8211, f. 240. - Ihul.
 
 380 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 so infirm that his decease could hardly be a cause of 
 regret, adding a characteristic postscript, in which 
 she begged him to be sure to answer the relatives 
 who had written to inform him of the sad event. 
 
 Again, a fortnight later, she renewed her entreaties, 
 begging her son not to delay his departure longer : 
 
 ' We all expect you with the greatest eagerness, 
 and pray you not to delay any longer ; for every 
 day the weather gets worse, and the roads begin to 
 show that we are near winter, as indeed we are. Do 
 not forget to come by Modena and Novellara, that 
 you may have something to tell me when you get 
 here. And be sure to leave your house in proper 
 order, and see that the things you leave there are in 
 good hands, so that they may come to no harm ; and 
 do not forget to bring your chain, that I may take 
 care of it for you. God keep you from harm ! Be 
 sure to tell me how soon you are likely to be at 
 Casatico, because many persons are anxious to come 
 and see you. . 
 
 ' Your mother, 
 
 * LUIGIA.'^ 
 
 But, alas for the vanity of a fond mother's hopes ! 
 The next we hear of M. Baldassare is that he had left 
 Urbino to perform a vow at Loreto, and his visit to 
 Mantua was once more postponed to a more con- 
 venient season. 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 1513-1515 
 
 Policy of Leo X. — Ambitious designs of Alfonsina Orsini and the 
 Florentines — Bibbiena created Cardinal — Castiglione in Rome 
 — Papal briefs in his favour — Entry of the Portuguese 
 ambassadors — The Pope's elephant — Raphael's letter to 
 Castiglione — Visit of Isabella d'Este to Rome — Castiglione at 
 Mantua — His restoration to favour at court. 
 
 The high hopes which had been entertained of the 
 new Pope were doomed to disappointment, and the 
 reign of peace, which his accession was to have in- 
 augurated, proved of short duration. ' As long as 
 Leo X. was a Cardinal,' wrote the Ferrarese historian 
 Pistofilo,^ ' he dissembled so well that he was held to 
 be half a saint ; but once upon the throne, he showed 
 himself to be quite the contrary.' The natural deceit- 
 fulness of his character became evident both in the 
 double game that he played with France and Spain, 
 and in his dealings with the Duke of Ferrara, who 
 never obtained the promised restoration of Modena 
 and Reggio. His avowed policy was never to break 
 off negotiations with one power when you had entered 
 into alliance with the opposite party, and, as he him- 
 self told Castiglione, he regarded bulls and briefs as 
 the best methods of deception. ^ Yet Leo X. was 
 neither ambitious nor warlike by nature. On the 
 
 1 ' Vita di Alfonso I.,' cap. 58. 
 - Alberi, iii. 290 ; Martinati, 78. 
 381
 
 382 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 contrary, he was indolent and pleasure-loving, pas- 
 sionately fond of music and hunting, and determined, 
 as he told his brother Giuliano, to enjoy the Papacy 
 which God had given him. ' The Pope is a good- 
 natured, liberal man,' reported Marin Zorzi, ' who 
 does not like either war or trouble, but is constantly 
 involved in these by the intrigues of his own family.'^ 
 
 The friends and kinsfolk of the INIedici, the gi-eedy 
 Florentines who had flocked to Rome to have a share 
 in the spoils— above all, the ambitious and designing 
 Alfonsina Orsini — were bent on the aggrandizement 
 of the Pope's family. Their hopes were gratified 
 by his first creation of Cardinals, on September 23, 
 when the newly-appointed Archbishop of Florence, 
 Giulio de' INIedici, the illegitimate son of Giuliano, 
 who had been murdered by the Pazzi conspirators, 
 was advanced to this dignity. Another member of 
 the family, the youthful son of the Pope's sister, 
 Maddalena Cibo, and two other of its stanch sup- 
 porters, Lorenzo Pucci and Bernardo da Bibbiena, 
 shared the same honour, to the great satisfaction of 
 the last-named prelate's friends at Urbino. 
 
 Thus encouraged to expect new favours, the 
 gentlemen of Giuliano's household discussed their 
 ambitious plans freely, and talked seriously of seeing 
 the Magnifico King of Naples, and his nephew Lorenzo 
 Duke of IMilan. The Pope himself was more modest 
 in his aspirations, and would have been content to 
 form a new state in Central Italy for Giuliano, of 
 whom he was really fond, and to secure a position in 
 Florence for his nephew, similar to that which had been 
 held by his father Lorenzo. At the saine time it was 
 confidently reported that the Duke of Urbino was to 
 be deprived of his office as Captain of the Church, 
 
 ^ Alberi, iii. 51.
 
 BIBBTENA'S RED HAT 383 
 
 and that his baton would be given to Giuliano.^ 
 These rumours were sufficiently disquieting to render 
 Castiglione's presence in Rome advisable, and early 
 in the New Year he returned to the Vatican as ducal 
 envoy. The favour which he enjoyed at the Papal 
 court was greater than ever. 
 
 When, in September, 1513, a few weeks after his 
 return to Urbino, Bibbiena's services were rewarded 
 by the much-coveted red hat, the first letter whicli 
 the new Cardinal wrote to announce his elevation, 
 was addressed to Castiglione : 
 
 ' My own Messer Baldassare, 
 
 ' The depth and sincerity of our friendship 
 moves me to tell you, even before I write to my 
 brother M. Piero, of my last promotion, since it has 
 pleased the infinite Majesty of God, and His Beatitude, 
 more from his own clemency than for any merit 
 on my part, to make me and three other creatures 
 members of the Sacred College. Beside the rare 
 virtues which endear you so deeply not only to me, 
 but to all those who \ alue the humanities and sweet 
 mutual affection, your love for me, independently of 
 so many other causes, will always make you first in 
 my heart. Rejoice, then, my own M. Baldassare, as 
 you love me. Be sure that my good fortune will 
 prevent any diminution of your authority, and live 
 happy in the knowledge that you can depend on me 
 and on all that I do, as surely as on yourself I kiss 
 my dear Castiglione, on condition that he will keep 
 me in the good graces of the Lord Duke and of our 
 most illustrious ladies, and connnend me to Their 
 Excellencies as well as to all my brothers, the gentle- 
 men of their household. And I remain the same 
 " bel Bernardo " as of old. 
 
 ' Fr. Bernardo da Bibbiena, 
 
 ' Cardijiale di S. Maria-in- Portico.'"^ 
 
 ^ Nitti, IS; Sanuto, xvii. 127. - Serassi, i. 174.
 
 384 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 So, in the exuberance of his joy, wrote the new 
 Cardinal, who was ere long to be leading the Papal 
 forces against this friendly state, and driving the 
 Duke and Duchesses from the home where he had 
 so long enjoyed their splendid hospitality. For the 
 present, however, the house of Medici was on the 
 most cordial terms with the Urbino princes, and a 
 few weeks later, we find Giuliano addressing JNI. Bal- 
 dassare as his dearest brother. 
 
 On his return to Rome in January, Castiglione 
 found the Papal court given up to a life of dissipation. 
 On the 9th His Holiness set off for Viterbo, with 
 eighteen Cardinals, to take part in a great hunting 
 expedition at Cardinal Farnese's beautiful country- 
 house of Capo di Monte, and shoot pheasants and 
 grouse, in the forests along the Lake of Bolsena. The 
 sight of a Pontiff organizing hunting expeditions on 
 this large scale was a shock to many of the faithful ; 
 but what scandalized his Master of the Ceremonies 
 most of all, was the costume which the Holy Father 
 adopted on this occasion. ' The Pope,' wrote Paris 
 de Grassis, 'left Rome without stole or rochet, and 
 what is still worse, in hunting-boots. What will 
 happen if anyone wishes to kiss his feet ? And when 
 this was pointed out to him he only laughed, and did 
 not seem to care in the least. '^ 
 
 Next to hunting, music and comedies were Leo X.'s 
 favourite pastimes, and during his absence from Rome 
 fresh masques and fetes were prepared for his return. 
 ' Some fine comedies are to be acted when the Pope 
 comes back,' wrote Chiericati to Mantua, ' and for 
 this winter we need think of nothing but pleasure and 
 amusements. '2 
 
 By the end of January His Holiness returned to 
 
 1 Roscoe, iii. 520 ; Pastor, iv, 101, 410. ^ Morsolin, p. 140.
 
 A PORTUGUESE EMBASSY 385 
 
 the Vatican, and a gay carnival was followed by what 
 the same writer describes as a yet more splendid 
 triumph — the state entry of the Portuguese ambas- 
 sadors. The Pope himself witnessed this imposing 
 ceremony from the Castell' Sant' Angelo, and the 
 Roman populace gazed with dehght on the costly 
 presents and strange animals from India and Africa, 
 which King Emanuel had sent to His Holiness/ 
 Tristan d' Acunha, one of the leading explorers, who 
 had recently travelled in these distant regions, and 
 two other envoys in black velvet suits and hats 
 embroidered with pearls and jewelled chains, rode 
 through the streets, followed by trumpeters in scarlet 
 and servants in liveries of black and yellow satin. A 
 brilliant company of foreign ambassadors, Roman 
 nobles. Papal officials, and Swiss Guards escorted the 
 strangers, while the chief Portuguese envoy rode 
 between the Governor of Rome and Francesco 
 Sforza, Duke of Bari, the son of Lodovico Moro and 
 Beatrice d' Este, who had been sent to represent his 
 brother, Maximilian, at the Vatican. Persian horses 
 ridden by natives in Eastern costume, leopards and 
 panthers, parrots and guinea-fowls, were among the 
 royal gifts paraded on this occasion ; but what delighted 
 the Romans most of all was a white elephant * six 
 year old, and as big as three bulls,' ridden by an Indian. 
 On his back was a silver chest covered with cloth of 
 gold, containing presents for the Pope — a richly chased 
 gold chalice and tabernacle for the Host, a set of 
 sumptuous vestments, and a marvellous altar frontal, 
 valued at 270,000 ducats. But all eyes were fixed 
 upon the elephant itself, no such animal having been 
 seen in Rome since Imperial days. Chiericati favoured 
 the Marchesana with a minute account of the strange 
 1 Baschet-Reumont, p. 243. 
 VOL. I. 25
 
 386 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 animal, who was said to understand two languages — 
 Indian and Portuguese — and was as docile and in- 
 telligent as a human creature. ' Tliese last days,' the 
 writer adds, ' he has wept much at leaving home ; 
 but he is now quite consoled, and knows that he has 
 found a good home.' The secretary describes how, 
 when the procession halted at the bridge of S. Angelo, 
 and a salute of 100 guns was fired, the terrified elephant 
 nearly jumped into the Tiber. When the animal was 
 brought into the Holy Father's presence, he knelt 
 down and bowed his head three times, upon which 
 the Pope sent for a bowl of melons and confetti, 
 which he ate gladly. But both His Holiness and his 
 courtiers were still more delighted when the elephant, 
 after drinking from a pail set before him, threw up 
 his trunk in the air, and sent a shower of water over 
 the assembled spectators.^ 
 
 From that day the elephant Amnone became the 
 pet and plaything of the Vatican. The Pope paid 
 him frequent visits in the garden, and laughed loudly 
 at his tricks. Raphael of Urbino painted his portrait 
 on a tower of the palace, and his effigy may still be 
 seen wrought in tarsia on a door of the Stanze. 
 Sadoleto extolled the elephant in an elegant Latin 
 epistle which he addressed to King Emanuel when 
 the Pope sent him the Golden Rose that Easter. 
 And when, at the end of two years, the poor animal 
 died of angina, the Papal chamberlain, Branconi 
 d' Aquila, placed the following epitaph upon his 
 grave : 
 
 ' Under this mound, I, the great elephant sent to 
 Leo X. by King Emanuel, the conqueror of the East, 
 am laid. The Romans admired me for a while, and 
 
 1 Havleian MSS. 3,462, p. 77.
 
 THE ELEPHANT AININON 387 
 
 recognized that human sentiments can hve in the 
 heart of an animal. But the Parcee envied me my 
 home in happy I^atium, and would not suiFer me to 
 serve my lord three years. O ye Gods, I pray you, 
 add on the years of which they have robbed me to 
 the life of Leo.'^ 
 
 That same March, amid the stir and noise of these 
 carnival revels, the Pope thought fit to honour the 
 Duke of Urbino's envoy with a mark of special 
 favour. He addressed a letter to Castiglione, written 
 in Bembo's hand, congratulating him in the most 
 cordial terms on the grant of Novillara which he had 
 received from the Duke, praising him for his learning, 
 virtues, and loyalty, and expressing a hope that the 
 Holy Father might some day be able to reward him 
 in a manner more worthy of his merits. Two months 
 later — on May 22 — when Leo was enjoying a brief 
 interval of repose at his favourite country-house of 
 La Magliana, he issued another brief, written this 
 time by Sadoleto, in which, as supreme lord of Pesaro, 
 he formally confirmed the grant of Novillara, and 
 exempted the Count and his descendants from all 
 taxes and tributes to the Holy See. 
 
 But, in spite of these honours and compliments, 
 there was an uneasy sense among the Duke's friends 
 at the Vatican. At the end of March Francesco 
 Maria himself came to Rome, on his way to Naples 
 to answer a summons from the Catholic King, whose 
 allegiance he owned as Duke of the principality of 
 Sora. A charge was brought against him of having 
 contributed to the victory of the French at Ravenna, 
 two years before, by absenting himself from the Papal 
 army, but it seems to have been soon dropped. 
 
 1 Gnoli, 'Leo X.' : 'Nuova Antologia,' 18.08. 
 
 25—2
 
 388 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 ' Every one,' wrote the Venetian Lippomano, ' says 
 that the Duke did wrong to come here, and will do 
 worse to go to Naples. He has come to ask the help of 
 the Pope and the Magnifico ; but it is said that he will 
 be deprived of his State by the Pope, who means to 
 give it to his brother. And this is all the reward that 
 he will receive for his goodness to the Medici.'^ 
 
 Cardinal Bibbiena, however, came to see His 
 Excellency at the Bishop of Trirarico's house, and 
 after going in May to the shrine of Loreto to meet 
 Bembo and Cardinal Gurk, he paid a visit to the Duke 
 at Pesaro. But the Pope's duplicity began to excite 
 suspicion on all sides. ' He plays marvellously with 
 both hands,' remarked an English envoy — Richard 
 Pace — who had some knowledge of Leo's ways ; or as 
 another contemporary puts it : ' The Pope never sails 
 with one wind at a time.' And Cardinal Gurk, who 
 left Rome highly dissatisfied with the result of his 
 mission, in spite of Bibbiena's soft words, was heard 
 to say : ' The Holy Father weaves everything into a 
 labyrinth. '2 
 
 Unfortunately, there is a gap in Castiglione's cor- 
 respondence at this period, and we have no certain 
 information regarding his movements. But there 
 seems little doubt that he spent the greater part of 
 the year in Rome. The famous letter which his 
 friend Raphael addressed to him in the autumn, 
 proves that he had only lately left the Papal court. 
 Often as this letter has been quoted, it is so im- 
 portant a document in the history of both these 
 distinguished men that we cannot refrain from giving 
 it here : 
 
 1 Sanuto, xviii. 68, 81. 
 
 ' Brewer, ii. 1729; A. Verdi, 'Gliultimi anni di Lorenzo de* 
 Medici,' 103.
 
 RAPHAEL'S GALATEA 389 
 
 ' My Lord Count, 
 
 ' I have made several drawings of the subject 
 which V. S. suggested, and those who have seen 
 them appear to be well pleased, unless they are 
 all base flatterers ! But I confess that they do not 
 satisfy my judgment, because, I fear, they will not 
 satisfy yours. I send them, and hope V. S. will 
 choose whichever is most to your taste. Our Lord 
 the Pope has done me the honour to lay a great 
 burden on my shoulders. This is the charge of the 
 fabric of St. Peter's. I hope I shall not sink under 
 the load, especially since the model which I have 
 made pleases His Holiness and has been praised by 
 several men of fine intellect. But my thoughts soar 
 to greater heights. I long to find out more about 
 the noble forms of ancient monuments, and I know 
 not if my flight may not prove to be that of Icarus. 
 Vitruvius has thrown much light on the subject, but 
 has not shown me all that I want to know. As for 
 the Galatea, I should count myself to be a great 
 master if one half the kind things which V. S. finds 
 in her were there, but in your words I recognize the 
 love that you bear me. And I tell you that, if I am 
 to paint a beautiful woman, I must see several, and 
 have you at my side to choose the fairest. But since 
 good judges and lovely faces are both rare, I make 
 use of a certain ideal that is in my mind. If it has 
 any artistic excellence, I know not, but I try hard to 
 reach it. Let me have your commands. 
 
 'From Rome.' 
 
 This letter, which was first published in 1554, must 
 have been written after August, when Raphael's 
 wooden model of St. Peter's had been presented to 
 the Pope for his approval. From this we learn 
 that Castiglione had asked the master for a picture, 
 and had expressed the warmest admiration for the 
 fresco of Galatea and her nymphs which Raphael had
 
 390 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 lately painted in a hall of Agostino Chigi's villa. 
 The Count, who had himself sung the charms of the 
 milk-white Galatea in his eclogue in honour of the 
 Duchess Elisabetta, may well have helped the painter 
 with his advice in the composition of this beautiful 
 group, which is the very type of the Greek world as it 
 appeared to the humanists of Leo's court. At least 
 Raphael's letter proves how much he relied on 
 INI. Baldassare's fine taste, and how close and enduring 
 was the intimacy which united them. 
 
 Another illustrious man was probably brought into 
 closer relations with Castiglione during that autumn. 
 This was the poet Ariosto, who came to Urbino in 
 the train of Cardinal d' Este, on the way to Rome. 
 The poet relates how the joyous party set out, and 
 how, as ill-luck would have it, he fell ill in the Furlo 
 Pass, and was laid up with fever at a little country 
 town — Cagli or Fossombrone. Here he remained for 
 several weeks, after which he went to Pesaro, and 
 returned to Ferrara, without seeing Rome.^ On this 
 visit to Urbino, and during his enforced residence in 
 the immediate neighbourhood, the poet probably 
 renewed his acquaintance with Castiglione, who had 
 frequently met him in Rome, and was intimate with 
 his cousin, Alfonso Ariosto, and nearly related to 
 another friend, Lodovico da Bagno. What is quite 
 certain is that the poet was well acquainted with the 
 author of the ' Cortegiano,' whom he mentions in his 
 great epic, and to whom, we learn from his son 
 \^irginio, he actually dedicated a satire which was 
 never finished. ^ 
 
 The Duke of Urbino came to Rome again in 
 
 ^ L. Ariosto, capitolo i. ; E. Gardner , ' The King of Court 
 Poets,' 121. 
 
 2 G. A. Barotti, 'Vita di L, Ariosto.'
 
 GIULIANO'S MARRIAGE 391 
 
 August, and the Pope stood at the window of the 
 Vatican on one of the hottest days in the year to see 
 him make his state entry/ But it was the last time 
 that Francesco JVIaria appeared in Rome as Captain 
 of the Church. His term of office had already 
 expired, and it was an open secret that the Pope 
 intended to give the baton to his brother Giuliano. 
 On January 8, 1515, the Magnifico was solemnly in- 
 vested with the badge of office. At daybreak the 
 next morning, as we learn from an entry in I^eonardo's 
 note-books, he left for Turin, to celebrate his marriage 
 with Filiberta of Savoy. This Princess, we are told, 
 was thirty years of age, and neither young nor 
 beautiful,- but gentle and attractive in manner, and, 
 what was of greater importance in the Pope's eyes, 
 closely connected with the French Royal Family 
 through her sister I^ouise, the mother of Francis I. 
 But on the very day that Giuliano left Rome, His 
 Holiness received the news of Louis XII. 's death. 
 This event relieved the Pope of his worst fears. Of 
 late he had lived in hourly dread of hearing that the 
 French armies had once more invaded Milan, and 
 had been seeking to avert this catastrophe by his 
 customary intrigues. Now he made no pretence to 
 conceal his joy, and went off to hunt at I^a JNIagliana, 
 where he killed fifty stags and twenty wild-boars in 
 one day.^ 
 
 Alberto Pio, the Emperor's representative at the 
 Vatican, told the Mantuan envoy that he would 
 have given his best velvet suit for the French King's 
 life to have been prolonged another fortnight, by 
 which time the Pope would have been too deeply 
 
 1 Sanuto, xviii. 426. 
 
 2 'The Writings of Leonardo/ by Dr. Richter, ii. 417. 
 ^ Sanuto, xix. 391.
 
 392 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 pledged to an alliance with his master, to be able to 
 withdraw/ 
 
 Bembo, who had been secretly sent on a fruitless 
 mission to Venice, to. try and detach the Doge from 
 the French alliance, spent that New Year's Day at 
 Pesaro with his old friends the Duchesses of Urbino. 
 On January 1 he wrote to Cardinal Bibbiena saying 
 that he had sailed from Chioggia in the roughest 
 weather, and, after tossing about for two nights at sea, 
 had reached Pesaro so worn out that he was com- 
 pelled to spend two nights there. 
 
 * 1 arrived here on Saturday evening, it is true, but 
 so tired and shattered and weary that I am confirmed 
 in the opinion which I had already formed before 
 leaving Rome, that travelling by post is not fit for old 
 people. I had some fever last night, in spite of all 
 the caresses and charms of my dear Madonna Emilia. 
 I found our Lady Duchess in bed, owing to a shock 
 which she received from an outbreak of fire here, but 
 she is consoled for her fright by hearing that you, too, 
 have suffered from the same fire and the same shock. 
 Indeed, these ladies are proud to think they have had 
 the Pope for companion in their misfortunes.'^ 
 
 By a curious coincidence, it appears that on the 
 night of December 22, there was a fire at the Vatican 
 in Cardinal Bibbiena's rooms, exactly above those 
 occupied by the Pope and his favourite chamberlain, 
 Serapica, which did considerable damage. His Holi- 
 ness seems to have been as much alarmed as the 
 widowed Duchess, and was unable to hold any 
 audiences the next day.^ 
 
 ' I can see you laughing,' continued Bembo, ' and 
 saying, O what a fine invention ! I am sure that you 
 
 ^ Luzio in 'Arch. st. Lomb./ 1906, 479- 
 
 2 Bembo, ' Lettere/ i. 320. ^ Sanuto, xix, 336.
 
 ISABELLA IN ROME 393 
 
 think I am feigning sickness in order to spend some 
 days here. But, by God and all the saints, my dear 
 Monsignore, I am not talking nonsense. All yester- 
 day I was so tired and exhausted and worn out, that I 
 could hardly stand, and I began to be afraid that it 
 would take me some days to recover. And knowing 
 how sorry you would be for me, and how kind and 
 thoughtfvd you and the Pope are for your servants, I 
 decided to stay here to-day. To-morrow, if I am 
 not worse, which God forbid, I will mount my horse 
 and travel to Rome, not by post this time, but by 
 slow stages on the horses which the Lord Duke has 
 lent me.'^ 
 
 That winter the Duke's mother-in-law, Isabella 
 d' Este, spent some months in Rome, where she was 
 feted and entertained as no royal lady had ever been 
 treated before. The Pope and Cardinals vied with 
 each other in doing her honour. The Marchesana 
 and all the members of her suite were the guests of 
 the Cardinal of Aragon, and wherever she went she 
 was attended by Monsignori and Roman nobles. 
 Giuliano and Lorenzo de' Medici, Cardinals Bibbiena 
 and San Giorgio, Luigi of Aragon or Ippolito d' Este, 
 escorted her in visits to the Forum and Baths of 
 Titus, to the crypt of St. Peter's, and the Coliseum. 
 Comedies and musical parties, banquets and suppers, 
 were given in her honour, and her ladies were buried 
 under piles of confetti by the merry Cardinals and 
 their retainers. The Pope himself gave a magnificent 
 performance of Cardinal Bibbiena's ' Calandria ' at 
 the Vatican. At the first audience to which she was 
 admitted, His Holiness raised her from the ground, 
 touched her clieek with his own, and made her sit 
 by his side in tlie presence of all tlie Cardinals. ^ 
 
 1 Bembo, ' Lettere/ i. 320. 
 
 2 Harleian MSS., 3i62 ; Luzio, 468-4.74.
 
 394 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 When Isabella went to Naples to visit Queens 
 Giovanna of Aragon and her daughter, Leo X. in- 
 sisted that she should return for Christmas, and 
 induced the Marquis to allow her to spend the 
 carnival in Rome. That January she took part in 
 great hunting-parties at La Magliana and Campo 
 Salino, and was sumptuously entertained by Cardinal 
 San Giorgio and Agostino Chigi at their country- 
 houses. During the carnival, wrote the Venetian 
 envoy, she kept the whole city en fete, and mas- 
 querades, comedies, bull-fights, regattas, horse-races, 
 and dances succeeded each other daily. ^ Thanks to 
 the Marchesana, as Bembo said, this was the gayest 
 carnival ever known in the Eternal City. The Pope 
 took the greatest pleasure in her society, invited her 
 to the Castello to see the races on the Tiber, and 
 conversed with her on political affairs for hours 
 together. But all Isabella's charms and cleverness 
 could not prevent the Duke of Ferrara from being 
 treacherously deprived of Modena, or her son-in-law 
 from losing his office of Captain of the Church. 
 Throughout the winter Leo X. was playing his usual 
 double game. On the one hand, the newly-married 
 Giuliano paid assiduous court to his wife's kins- 
 man, Francis 1., and Canossa, the noblest of Italian 
 diplomatists, who had been sent to congratulate the 
 young King on his accession, tried dexterously to 
 obtain Parma and Piacenza, if not Naples, for the 
 Pope's brother ; while, on the other hand, Alberto 
 Pio was closeted for hours at a time with His Holi- 
 ness, plotting a new and powerful league against 
 France.^ 
 
 Castiglione probably spent the whole of this winter 
 
 ^ Sanuto, xix. 391, etc. 
 
 2 Baschet-Reumont, 245 ; Nitti, 6l.
 
 ISABELLA AND CASTIGLIONE 395 
 
 in Rome. He may have been present at the repre- 
 sentation of the ' Calandria,' for which Baldassare 
 Peruzzi painted the scenery, and which, by the 
 Pope's desire, as far as possible resembled the per- 
 formance which he himself had arranged at Urbino. 
 But he certainly met the Marchesana during her visit, 
 and this meeting led to a renewal of their old friend- 
 ship. It was doubtless Isabella's regard for Cas- 
 tiglione, and the pleasure which she took in his 
 society, which led to the cordiality with which the 
 Count was received by the Marquis when he went to 
 Mantua that spring. 
 
 The important services which the Count had 
 rendered to his son-in-law, and the distinguished 
 position which he held at the Vatican, combined to 
 produce a marked change in Francesco's behaviour. 
 In the autumn of 1513, when the Count returned 
 from his first successful embassy to Rome, the JSIar- 
 quis sent him a present, accompanied by a cordial 
 message, through one of his old INIantuan friends. 
 This first token of recovered favour was soon followed 
 by others.^ Now at length the cloud was lifted, and 
 Castiglione felt that he could return to Mantua and 
 visit his old home without feeling himself an object 
 of suspicion and hatred in his lord's eyes. So it 
 came to pass that in the pleasant May time, when 
 the Pope and Cardinals went to hunt at La INIagliana, 
 the Count was able to take a brief holiday, and 
 Madonna Luigia had the joy of welcoming her 
 beloved son and of seeing him honourably received 
 at court. Her friends and relatives were not slow to 
 hear the good news, and congratulations poured in 
 upon her from all sides. 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211.
 
 396 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 * I have heard by persons who have come from 
 Mantua,' wrote one of her Milanese cousins, CeciUa 
 Malatesta, on May 29, ' that your son, the Magnifico 
 Baldassare, has returned to Mantua. This news has 
 given me the greatest possible pleasure and satisfac- 
 tion, all the more that I hear he has been received 
 with great favour by His Excellency the Marquis. 
 Now that you have got him back, I hope you will be 
 able to keep him and enjoy his company, and find him 
 a good and beautiful wife.' 
 
 The writer concludes by saying that a certain 
 maiden of the illustrious house of Beccaria, in Pavia, 
 who had been suggested as a bride for M. Baldassare, 
 was eminently suitable in many respects, but that on 
 making further inquiry she regretted to find that the 
 girl's dowry would be small, because she was one of a 
 large family.^ 
 
 One proof of the recovered favour which Cas- 
 tiglione enjoyed at court is seen in the numerous 
 commissions with which he was charged by the 
 Gonzaga ladies. On this occasion the young Duchess 
 Leonora sent her brother Federico a set of balls, four 
 large and nine small, for his favourite game of palla, 
 which he had ordered from a Cagli maker. The 
 receipt of these was acknowledged by the Marquis 
 himself in a note addressed to JNI. Baldassare at 
 Casatico, calling him his honoured friend and thank- 
 ing him for his loving diligence.- The Marchesana 
 next availed herself of this opportunity to ask the 
 Count to do her a more important service. Since 
 her return from Rome in INIarch, life at INlantua had 
 seemed intolerably dull and tedious. Although her 
 bodily presence was in Mantua, her heart was in 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8212. 
 
 2 Archivo Gonzaga, Carteggio di B. Castiglione.
 
 RAPHAEL'S PICTURE 397 
 
 Rome, as she wrote to Cardinal Bibbiena. In the 
 Httle rooms of the old Castello, Isabella thought with 
 longing of the Vatican halls and the spacious palaces 
 where she had been entertained by Cardinals and 
 princes and His Holiness himself had made her 
 welcome. Now she gladly rejoiced to meet a member 
 of the brilliant society which she had left behind, 
 and with whom she could talk freely of her dis- 
 tinguished friends in Rome. M. Baldassare found 
 himself a frequent and welcome guest in the shady 
 groves of the fair villa at Porto, where Isabella 
 escaped as soon as the first summer days made it 
 possible, feeling, as she wrote to a Roman friend, 
 ' that in the solitude of the country it was easier to 
 think of the delights of Rome than in the small and 
 narrow society of Mantua.'^ 
 
 On one of the visits which the Count paid her 
 in these early June days, the Marchesana asked 
 him to use his influence with his friend Raphael to 
 induce him to paint a picture for her studio. When 
 she was in Rome the great master had promised to 
 gratify her wish, and had lately told Agostino Gon- 
 zaga that he hoped to begin the work soon. But, 
 knowing how little trust could be placed in these 
 assurances, Isabella begged Castiglione to second her 
 request. Accordingly, on his return to U rhino he 
 wrote at once to Raphael, and, when he saw him a 
 few weeks later in Rome, was so urgent in his en- 
 treaties that the painter promised to put everything 
 else aside, and went so far as to ask for the exact 
 measurements of the picture that the Marchesana 
 desired. But although Isabella sent the canvas, with 
 full particulars of the size and lighting of the picture, 
 by an express to Urbino, and her loyal servant lost 
 
 ^ Luzio, 179.
 
 398 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 no time in forwarding these, Raphael's picture was 
 still unfinished when Castiglione returned to Rome 
 in 1519. A few months after that Raphael died, the 
 contents of his studio were dispersed, and the fate 
 of Isabella's much-coveted treasure still remains a 
 mystery.^ 
 
 1 'Isabella d'Este/ ii. l63, etc.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 1515-1516 
 
 French invasion of Italy— Giuliano de' Medici visits Gubbio — Falls 
 ill in Florence — The Duke of Urbino refuses to serve under 
 Lorenzo — Castiglione sent to Rome — Victory of Marignano 
 — Leo X, treats with Francis I. — Meeting between the 
 King and Pope at Bologna — Castiglione's interview with the 
 King on his way to Mantua — His marriage with Ippolita 
 Torelli. 
 
 Leo X. and the Cardinals who shared his confidence 
 had flattered themselves that the French King would 
 delay his intended invasion of Italy till the following 
 year. But Francis I. was young and ambitious, eager 
 for military glory, and impatient to recover Milan and 
 Naples. In June, while Castiglione still lingered with 
 his friends at Mantua, the French forces were gather- 
 ing at Lyons, and a few weeks later they descended 
 on Lombardy. The Pope, now really alarmed at the 
 prospect of a foreign invasion, at length joined the 
 League against France, and appointed Giuliano to 
 the chief command of the Papal army.^ Early in 
 July the Magnifico left Rome for Bologna, where 
 the forces of the Church were to be assembled, and 
 stopped at Gubbio on his journey to visit the Duke 
 of Urbino, and, according to the Venetian envoy, 
 persuade him to fight for Italy and not for France. 
 
 1 Pastor, iv. 76. 
 .'^99
 
 400 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Francesco Maria came to meet him, and wished to 
 take him back to Urbino ; and although GiuHano was 
 unable to accept his offer, he met the Duke's advances 
 in the most friendly spirit, assuring him that there 
 was no truth in the rumours which he had heard 
 of the Pope's designs against Urbino. He, for one, 
 would never consent to such a crime, and would 
 always hold the Duke as dear to him as a brother. 
 For the time Francesco's suspicions were allayed. 
 He promised to raise a body of men and join the 
 Pope's banner if sufficient money and a suitable guard 
 were allowed him. Leo X., on his part, was satisfied 
 with Giuliano's assurances, agreed to the Duke's 
 conditions, and sent him liberal supplies of money.^ 
 Unfortunately, Giuliano fell ill in Florence, and after 
 prolonged delays the command of the Papal forces 
 was given to his nephew Lorenzo, who had already 
 been appointed Captain-General of the Florentines. 
 The Duke of Urbino, who had professed his wilHng- 
 ness to sei^ve under Giuliano, now made fresh 
 difficulties, and at the end of July Castiglione was 
 sent to Rome to arrange matters.^ His task was not 
 an easy one. There was much irritation on both sides, 
 and, after the treatment which Francesco had received 
 from Leo X. and the persistent rumours that were 
 circulated of the Medici's designs on Urbino, it can 
 hardly be wondered that he began to look to the 
 French King for help. On July 30 Castighone was 
 dismissed with peremptory orders to the Duke, and 
 Cardinal de' Medici's secretary advised Giuliano to 
 warn his friend that His Holiness's patience had 
 reached its limits, and that if he did not march at 
 once he was a ruined man.^ 
 
 1 Torrigiani MSS., 'Arch. st. Ital./ xix. 238. 
 
 2 Sanuto, XX. 383. 3 Torrigiani MSS., xix. 244.
 
 VICTORY OF MARIGNANO 401 
 
 A fortnight later we find the Count once more in 
 Rome, trying to dispel the Pope's anger and to excuse 
 his master's delays. But on August 31 a Venetian, 
 who had seen Castiglione that day at the Vatican, re- 
 ported that the Pope had ordered the Duke of Urbino 
 to march to Bologna, and that he had refused to go. 
 The impression that Francesco was secretly allied with 
 the French King evidently prevailed both in Rome 
 and at A^enice, where the Duke was described as the 
 friend of France and the Pope's enemy. ^ Long 
 afterwards, Castiglione, who w^as in a position to 
 know the truth, told Federico Gonzaga that his 
 brother-in-law had lost his duchy solely because 
 he was too French in his sympathies. According 
 to Leoni and Ugolini,- the historians of Urbino, 
 he would not obey the Pope's orders himself, but 
 raised a body of men who refused to fight without 
 their Prince, and turned back when they reached 
 Cesena. 
 
 The rapid progress of the French arms soon cul- 
 minated in the \'ictory of JNIarignano and the practical 
 annihilation of the Swiss forces. W'^hen the news of 
 this disaster reached Rome, the Pope saw that further 
 resistance was in vain, and exclaimed, ' We must throw 
 ourselves into the arms of the most Christian King 
 and beg for mercy.' Before the battle, Canossa, 
 who was in the French camp, had already done his 
 best to obtain good terms for the Pope, and when, on 
 October 11, Francis I. entered JMilan in triumph and 
 received Maximilian Sforza's abdication, I^orenzo de' 
 JMedici hastened to greet the victor. Francis, who 
 had no wish to drive the Pope to extremities, received 
 him kindly, and on the 13th a preliminary peace was 
 
 1 Sanuto, XX. 450. 
 
 '^ Ugolini, ii. 199; Serassi, i. '■11. 
 
 vol.. I. 20
 
 402 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 signed at Viterbo, by which the Pope gave up Parma 
 and Pittcenza to the King, who in return promised to 
 maintain the Medici in the government of Florence. 
 From this moment the Duke of U rhino's situation 
 became critical. Since the loss of Parma and 
 Piacenza precluded the formation of a kingdom in 
 Central Italy, the thoughts of Lorenzo de' Medici and 
 his ambitious mother turned towards Urbino. ' La 
 mira mia e in su Urbino,' wrote Alfonsina Orsini to 
 her son on November 3 — ' My hopes are fixed upon 
 Urbino.'^ Four days later Cardinal Giulio de' Medici 
 wrote from Rome : ' As to Urbino, the Pope's mind 
 is made up. He does not wish to hear the thing 
 discussed, but it will be done without any more 
 words. '^ 
 
 Francesco's refusal to serve under the banner of the 
 Church had given his enemies an opportunity of 
 which they were not slow to take advantage. The 
 JNIedici partisans with one accord began to denounce 
 his conduct and impute the worst motives to him. 
 The Pope, after some hesitation, determined to 
 punish his disobedient vassal, and at the same time 
 gratify the vanity and greed of his nephew. And 
 Giuliano, who alone of his family remained faithful 
 to his friends, and could not bear the thought of 
 depriving Francesco of his State, lay ill and helpless 
 at Florence. The Duke's only hope was in the 
 French King's friendship, and the news that Francis 
 had made peace with the Pope filled him with 
 dismay. 
 
 He began to make preparations for the defence of 
 his State, and sent his little son Guidobaldo to the 
 stronghold of S. Leo in the charge of the Pesaro 
 
 1 Nitti, 71 ; Verdi, 20 ; Pastor, iv. 102. 
 
 2 Giorgetti in 'Arch. st. Ital.,' 1881.
 
 LEO X. IN FLORENCE 403 
 
 poet, Guido Postumo, who had arrived at Urbino in 
 July with a letter of recommendation from Tebaldeo 
 to Castiglione.^ At the same time, he neglected no 
 means of awakening the French King to a sense of 
 his ally's danger. In the Papal envoy Canossa, who 
 stood high in that monarch's favoiu-, the Urbino 
 princes already possessed a good friend, and young 
 Federico Gonzaga, whom his clever mother sent to 
 Milan to pay his respects to King Francis, lost no 
 opportunity of pleading his brother-in-law's cause 
 with the conqueror. But, as usual, it was on Cas- 
 tiglione's personal efforts that both Francesco and 
 Elisabetta depended. 
 
 Francis I. had expressed a strong wish to confer 
 with tlie Pope in person, and Leo X., who feared the 
 evil effects which might result from the presence of 
 the French in Florence, agreed to meet the King at 
 Bologna early in December. Accordingly, the Pope 
 travelled by Cortona and Arezzo to Florence, and 
 entered his native city in state on November 30, 
 accompanied by eighteen Cardinals and a splendid 
 train of ambassadors and Roman and Florentine 
 patricians. The reception which his fellow-citizens 
 gave him was magnificent. Ten triumphal arches, 
 decorated by the best artists of the day, adorned 
 the streets and bridges over the Arno, and bands 
 of musicians and choirs of children, stationed along 
 the route from the Porta Romana to the gates of 
 the Duomo, welcomed his presence. Leo took up 
 his abode in the Papal rooms at S. JNIaria Novella, 
 and attended mass in the Duomo. On Saturday, 
 December 1, he prayed at the shrine of the Annun- 
 ziata, and spent the evening with his sick brother 
 
 ^ Serassi, i. 177. 
 
 26—2
 
 404 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Giuliano in the palace of the Via Larga.^ On Advent 
 Sunday he celebrated mass in S, Lorenzo, and knelt 
 with tears in his eyes at the tombs of his ancestors. 
 Raphael had accompanied him from Rome, to 
 prepare designs for the facade of the parish church 
 of his family, and at the same moment, by a strange 
 coincidence, Leonardo arrived at Bologna in the train 
 of the French King. The next morning His Holi- 
 ness left Florence, and on the 7th entered Bologna. 
 Here the coldness of the Bolognese formed a marked 
 contrast to the acclamations which had greeted the 
 Pope in Florence. No sumptuous decorations adorned 
 the streets ; no shout of ' Palle !' or ' Medici !' were 
 heard. According to the Mantuan Archdeacon, Gab- 
 bioneta, tlie few arches which had been erected were 
 hideous, and the women, who in his opinion generally 
 formed the best part of the show, had the ugliest faces 
 in the world. ^ When, four days later, the French King 
 entered the city in state, he met with a better recep- 
 tion, but in the eyes of the Bolognese the procession 
 was a very shabby affair. The King himself was a 
 commanding figure, mounted on a spirited charger, 
 and wearing a magnificent cloak of gold brocade 
 and rich zibeline furs. Silvestro Gigli, the Bishop 
 of Worcester, describes him as tall and broad- 
 shouldered, ' with a handsome oval face, inclined to 
 corpulence, but very slender about the legs.' But 
 the spectators, who had expected to see a splendid 
 display of gold and silk and new fashions, ' in which 
 the French are said to be very clever,' were bitterly 
 disappointed. Nothing could be more squalid. The 
 archers of the guard looked like bargemen, with dirty 
 faces and greasy, threadbare coats. They had not 
 
 * Chiericati to Isabella d' Este : Harleian MS. 3462. 
 2 Pastor, iv. 91 ; Sanuto, xxi. 375, 391.
 
 FRANCIS I. AT BOLOGNA 405 
 
 four gold chains, and hardly a suit of brocade, 
 among them, and the whole thing seemed more like 
 a city magnate entering on his office than a great 
 King coming in state to meet the Pope. Yet the 
 Italians complained that the French guards were as 
 rude and haughty as ever, and handled the Pope's 
 servants and Mantuan gentlemen so roughly that 
 young Federico Gonzaga's tutor thanked his stars 
 he had escaped with no bones broken.^ 
 
 When the King entered the great hall where 
 the Pope was awaiting him in jewelled tiara and 
 glittering robes, the dense crowd swayed back- 
 wards and forwards so heavily, that the Bishop 
 of Worcester thought he would be trampled to 
 death, and some time elapsed before the Master of 
 Ceremonies could clear the way for His Majesty. 
 The Pope received him most graciously, kissed him 
 on both cheeks, and conversed in a friendly way with 
 him for some minutes, after which His Holiness 
 retired to take off his cope and tiara, which were so 
 heavy that he could hardly walk, and was forced to lean 
 on the monarch's arm. The King's demeanour, as all 
 the eyewitnesses agree, was perfect. He showed the 
 deepest reverence for the Pope, and conversed freely 
 with the Cardinals, especially with Bibbiena, whom he 
 treated with marked favour. His devotion at mass the 
 following day greatly edified the Holy Father. After 
 supper all the Cardinals retired, and Francis, who 
 lodged in the lower story of the palace, went upstairs 
 and spent two hours in pri^'ate conversation with 
 His Holiness.- The same prolonged interviews were 
 repeated during the next two days, and, although 
 nothing passed in writing, the utmost secrecy regard- 
 
 1 Brewer, ii. 341 ; Harleian MS. 3462. 
 
 2 Harleian MS. 3462.
 
 406 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 ing the subjects which they discussed was preserved. 
 The main conditions of the Treaty of Viterbo 
 were virtually ratified. Francis obtained the cession 
 of Parma and Piacenza, and insisted on the restora- 
 tion of Reggio and JNIodena to the Duke of Ferrara 
 within two months, a promise which the Pope, how- 
 ever failed to keep. But when the King began to 
 intercede on behalf of his ally the Duke of Urbino, 
 the Pope was inflexible. The Duke, he insisted, had 
 broken faith with the Holy See. Such open disaffec- 
 tion and acts of insolence plainly must be punished, 
 and Lorenzo de' Medici, who was now bent on 
 acquiring the duchy of Urbino, and had done his best 
 to ingratiate himself with Francis, begged the King to 
 leave Francesco Maria to his fate.^ 
 
 Meanwhile the Duke made a last appeal to 
 Francis through Castiglione. In November he 
 decided to send the Count to Mantua to seek help 
 from his father-in-law. Bologna lay on his way 
 north, and when the meeting between the Pope and 
 Kmg was definitely arranged, it was easy for 
 M. Baldassare to make this city his halting-place 
 and deliver his dispatch to Francis. At the last 
 minute his departure was delayed, probably in 
 order that his presence at Bologna when the King 
 arrived might not excite the Pope's suspicion, 
 and he was still at Urbino on December 10. On 
 that day the Duchess Dowager wrote to tell the 
 Marchesana that she was sending her some gold- 
 embroidered caps 'by the hands of M. Baldas- 
 sare.'- So that the Count could not have reached 
 Bologna until the King's first meetings with the Pope 
 were over. 
 
 1 Nitti, 73; Verdi, 21. 
 
 2 Archivio Gonzaga, Carteggio di Castiglione.
 
 MEETING WITH CASTIGLIONE 407 
 
 Immediately on his arrival he was introduced into 
 tlie King's presence by M. Alfonso Ariosto, a gentle- 
 man of Ferrara and cousin of the poet, who was 
 related to Castiglione's kinsman, Lodovico da Bagno, 
 and was one of Bembo's intimate friends. This discreet 
 and charming youth, as our author calls him, was a 
 great favourite with the French monarch, as well 
 as a loyal servant of the house of Este, and did 
 his utmost to support his friends from Urbino. The 
 Count found another stanch ally in the person of 
 Felice della Rovere, who had hastened to Bologna 
 to meet the King, and had been among his first 
 visitors. Clad in peacock velvet and white ermine, 
 and attended by ten maidens in the same costume, 
 this gallant lady had ridden through the streets 
 of Bologna to pay her respects to Francis, with 
 Giuliano's wife, the Duchess of Nemours, and 
 had charmed the susceptible monarch by her fasci- 
 nating ways. For a moment the Duke of Urbino's 
 friends took courage. Their hopes rose high when 
 they heard that Castiglione had pleaded his lord's 
 cause long and eloquently, and that the King had 
 spoken warmly to His Holiness in favour of the 
 Duke. But Archdeacon Gabbioneta did not share 
 their confidence, and on December 14 he added the 
 following ominous postscript to his letter to Mantua : 
 
 ' As for tlie affairs of Urbino, things look bad ; and 
 although the King has promised M. Baldassare Cas- 
 tiglione that he will speak to the Holy Father once 
 more on the subject, those who love the Duke fear 
 the worst. '^ 
 
 That evening Francis supped with the Pope, and 
 the two were as merry as possible together. The 
 
 1 Luzio in ' Arch. st. Ital.,' xl. 32.
 
 408 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 next morning he took leave of His Holiness, and left 
 Bologna to spend Christmas at Milan. But neither 
 ]Madonna Felice's charms nor Castiglione's eloquence 
 could avail to save the ill-fated Duke from the Pope's 
 rancour and Alfonsina's ambitious designs, and before 
 Francis parted from Leo X., he had consented 
 reluctantly to the sacrifice of his ally. Castiglione's 
 mission, so far as its object was political, had 
 failed. But his first meeting with King Francis 
 was memorable from another point of view. This 
 chivalrous young monarch, whose genuine love of 
 letters had already captivated both Canossa and 
 Bibbiena, was charmed by the culture and art of 
 Italy. He had brought Leonardo to Bologna in his 
 train, ^ and had boldly asked the Pope to give him the 
 Laocoon, a request which Leo X. evaded by sending 
 the King a copy of the famous group by the hand of 
 Baccio Bandinelli. Now the courtly manners and 
 brilliant conversation of the accomplished Count made 
 a deep impression upon his mind. But what inter- 
 ested Francis above all was Messer Alfonso's account 
 of the book on the Perfect Courtier which Castiglione 
 had written, and whicli he begged the Count to com- 
 plete without delay. This request, we learn from the 
 dedicatory letter to Alfonso Ariosto, which the author 
 originally intended to publish in his ' Cortegiano,' 
 was afterwards repeated several times by the King. 
 In this epistle,^ which was suppressed when the 
 ' Cortegiano ' finally saw the light, thirteen years later, 
 the author thus addresses his friend : 
 
 ' I have long hesitated, dearest IVI. Alfonso, between 
 two courses, both of which are equally difficult — 
 
 1 Miintz, ' Leonardo da Vinci,' ii. 206. 
 
 2 Serassi, ii. 181.
 
 THE KING'S REQUEST 409 
 
 whether to refuse the urgent request which you have 
 many times made of me on the part of this illustrious 
 King, or to undertake the task. On the one hand, it 
 seems very hard to refuse so laudable a request made 
 by a friend whom I love so well, and who loves me 
 no less, when it is supported by the wish and com- 
 mand of so exalted and noble a Prince. On the 
 other, it seems hardly right to attempt an undertaking 
 which I am conscious that I can only carry out 
 imperfectly.' 
 
 After a long dissertation on the difficulties of the 
 task, he concludes by saying that it would be a crime 
 to disobey so great and accomplished a King, and 
 that, if His JNIajesty considers him sufficient for 
 such a task, he will no longer hesitate, but will take 
 confidence from the knowledge that this is the 
 opinion of the greatest King who has reigned in 
 Christendom for many a long day. There seems no 
 doubt that this brief interview at Bologna supplied 
 our autlior with the necessary stimulus, and induced 
 him to complete his unfinished Avork in tlie quiet 
 years spent at JNlantua after his marriage.^ 
 
 From Bologna the Count noAv continued his 
 journey, probably by way of JNIodena, to JNlantua, 
 where his mother was awaiting his arrival with the 
 utmost impatience. For the long-delayed marriage 
 question, which had cost her so many years of toil 
 and trouble, and had of late seemed more hopeless 
 than ever, was now at length on the eve of solution. 
 The very difficulties of the political situation, and the 
 critical condition of affairs at Urbino, had helped to 
 bring about this happy state of things by restoring 
 M. Baldassare to his lord's favour, and the Marquis 
 
 1 Cian in 'Giovn. st. d. Let. It.,' xvii. 120; Gaspary- Rossi, 'Storia 
 d. Lett. Ital.,' ii. 97 ; F. Flamini, ' II Cinquecento/ 369.
 
 410 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 himself seems in this instance to have done all that 
 was possible to promote his loyal subject's marriage. 
 
 In September Madonna Luigia had written to her 
 son in great anxiety about the repeated journeys to 
 Rome which he had been forced to undertake, in the 
 Duke's service, during the great heats. 
 
 ' I have been very anxious about you,' she wrote, 
 ' since I heard that you had been twice to Rome in so 
 short a time, and in this weather, which is hotter here 
 than it was in July. And I see by your letters that 
 you are unhappy, which grieves me for your sake. 
 But you must believe that God is working for the 
 best, and will do more for us than we know how to 
 ask. . . . Only try and keep well, and never mind 
 the rest.'^ 
 
 After begging him earnestly neither to neglect his 
 religious duties nor his health, she alludes to pro- 
 posals of marriage which had reached her two months 
 before through one of her cousins at Ferrara, Simona 
 degli Uberti, the wife of the murdered Ercole's 
 brother, Guido Strozzi. The bride suggested was 
 Ippolita, the youthful daughter of Guido Torelli, a 
 condottiere of note, and of Francesca Bentivoglio, one 
 of the numerous daughters of Giovanni Bentivoglio 
 and his wife Ginevra. The family of Torelli was one 
 of the oldest and most illustrious in Ferrara, and had 
 at one time disputed the lordship of that city with the 
 house of Este. Branches of the Torelli had settled in 
 Pavia, Naples and Guastalla. Ippolita belonged to 
 the branch of Montechiaraguolo, a castle and fief near 
 Parma, of which her father had been dispossessed by one 
 of his cousins. Guido Torelli himself had died some 
 years before. His wife, a spirited lady who had acquired 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211.
 
 IPPOLITA TORELLl 411 
 
 some notoriety by stabbing her first husband, the 
 faithless Galeotto Manfredi, in his sleep with her own 
 hands, was also dead, and Ippolita had been brought 
 up at Modena in the care of her aunts, Bianca Benti- 
 voglio and I^eonora Torelli, the wives of the Rangone 
 brothers, Niccolo and Uguccione. Thus the girl 
 was well known to M. Baldassare's intimate friend, 
 Costanza Rangone, and to many others of his own 
 kith and kin. Through her mother's family, Ippolita 
 was related both to the Este and Gonzaga princes. 
 Her uncle, Annibale BentivogUo, had married 
 Lucrezia d' Este, Isabella and Beatrice's half-sister, 
 and her aunt, Laura Bentivoglio, was the wife of 
 Giovanni Gonzaga, the Marquis of JMantua's brother. 
 Her cousin, Barbara Torelli, Ercole Strozzi's widow, 
 had always been fond of Baldassare and his mother, 
 and Barbara's relative, Marco Secco, took an active 
 part in forwarding the marriage. This gentleman 
 now came to Mantua to see his relatives and con- 
 dole with them on the death of an old and wealthy 
 ecclesiastic, Messer Carlo de' Uberti. JNIadonna Luigia 
 consulted him in her perplexities, and received the 
 most encouraging answer. He spoke not only in the 
 highest terms of Ippolita, but also promised to use his 
 influence with her guardians to bring the matter 
 to a speedy conclusion. ' Indeed,' adds Luigia, 
 ' he considers the thing as settled, and only marvels 
 that there have been so many delays, as the head 
 of the family is in Lombardy and he knows how 
 highly esteemed you are by all of that house. '^ This 
 last remark probably alludes to the girl's uncle, 
 Annibale Bentivoglio, who was living in exile at 
 Milan. Ippolita herself was barely fifteen, but is 
 described as tall and beautiful, as well as accomplished 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211.
 
 412 COUNT BAI.DASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 and intelligent beyond her years. She inherited a con- 
 siderable fortune from her mother, and, what especially 
 gratified JNIadonna lAiigia, had been exceedingly well 
 brought up by her relatives at Modena. Up to the 
 time of his arrival at Mantua, Castiglione himself had 
 shown little interest in the matter, and w^as too much 
 absorbed in the troubles of Urbino to think seriously 
 of the union which his mother was so eager to bring 
 about. But his first meeting with Ippolita seems to 
 have decided the question. Whether he visited 
 Modena on his journey from Bologna, or whether he 
 stopped there on his way back to Urbino, he certainly 
 made her acquaintance that Christmas. The simple 
 charm and beauty of the young girl won his heart, 
 and, in spite of the fact that this suitor was her senior 
 by twenty-three years, the Count seems to have 
 captured Ippolita's affections on the spot. The 
 favour with which the Marquis and all his family 
 regarded the marriage no doubt contributed greatly 
 to its conclusion. Unfortunately, before Castiglione 
 could receive his friends' congratulations, or give 
 himself up to the peaceful enjoyment of these 
 new dreams, the threatening aspect of public affairs 
 summoned him back to Urbino. 
 
 He left Mantua before the end of January, and 
 his mother had the pleasant task of announcing the 
 marriage and receiving the congi-atulations of her 
 friends. One of the first and warmest letters which 
 she received came from Costanza Rangone, who 
 wrote from Modena on Februaiy 10, rejoicing with 
 her honoured kinswoman over ' this our common 
 bride.' 
 
 ' Since she has been educated in this town,' adds 
 the writer, ' I know her better than you do, and am
 
 CONGRATULATORY LETTERS 413 
 
 sure that you will have much joy in her, since, 
 not to speak of her beauty, you have gained in her 
 a daughter who has been brought up in Paradise, 
 and is, God knows, as charming and attracti\e as 
 possible. I pray that God may grant them grace to 
 live happily together for many years, V. S. will 
 kindly wish your daughters La Magnifica Madonna 
 Polissena, and JMadonna Francesca joy of this good and 
 gentle sister whom they are gaining for their own. 
 Indeed, for my part, I could not feel greater delight 
 if both the one and the other were my own children, 
 and it is very long since anything of the kind has 
 given me so much pleasure.'^ 
 
 Three days later another of Ippolita's kinswomen, 
 who happened to be an old friend of JMadonna Luigia, 
 and had herself many years before proposed a 
 maiTiage for Baldassare, wrote in the same cordial 
 terms. This was Alda Boiarda, the IVIarchesana 
 Isabella's favourite maid of honour, who had been 
 lately banished from court by the IMarquis, and com- 
 pelled to retire to Ferrara, where her sister Laura was 
 a nun in the convent of Corpus Christi. 
 
 ' I learn from your letter of the marriage which 
 you have concluded for your only son, INIesser Bal- 
 dassare, which news gives me the greatest joy ; and 
 Suor I^aura, to whom I have shown Y. S.'s letter, 
 also feels the utmost satisfaction at this good news. 
 From being friends we have become relatives, and 
 accordingly we rejoice with you as well as with 
 JSI. Baldassare, and are very glad to hear that he is to 
 wed Madonna Ippolita, who is, I am told, a lovely girl, 
 rich in dowry, and also sweet and gentle, as I learn from 
 a friend of mine in Modena who knows lier. And 
 Suor I^aura and I pray God and Christ and His 
 JMother, the glorious Virgin Mary, to keep you and 
 
 1 Cod. Vat. Lat., 8212.
 
 414 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 your son and daughter-in-law eternally happy and 
 joyous together with us, your most faithful relatives. 
 
 ' Alda Boiarda Comitissa.' 
 
 But the most touching of all the congratulatory 
 letters addressed to the happy pair on this occasion, 
 and still preserved in the Vatican archives, was one 
 from the bride's cousin Angelica, the beautiful 
 daughter of Giovanni Gonzaga, who had taken the 
 veil in the convent of Corpus Christi at JNIantua, 
 together with the Marchesana's daughter Paola and 
 Castiglione's own sister Laura. The news of Ippo- 
 lita's marriage had reached the gentle nun, thanks to 
 the thoughtfulness of Baldassare's mother, and Suor 
 Angelica hastened to assure the little bride of her 
 best wishes and fondest prayers for her welfare. 
 
 ' Magnificent Madonna and most honoured 
 Sister, — The peace of Him who rules the whole uni- 
 verse has deigned to lay His protecting hand on your 
 footsteps, and as He has given your life so good a 
 beginning. He will, I doubt not, conduct it to a happy 
 ending. This I conclude from your espousals with 
 the house of Castiglione, and since I have not had 
 any opportunity of intimacy with you, owing to our 
 living so far apart, from our tenderest years, my 
 dear and honoured JNIadonna Luigia has kindly in- 
 formed me of this happy union, with what joy, dearest 
 sister, I can hardly tell you, feeling that you are to 
 belong to this her only son. If you are what I believe 
 you to be, you will, I am sure, be her heart's delight. 
 And I rejoice with you, my sister, to think you 
 should wed so noble a cavalier as M. Baldassare, a 
 man who is spoken of to-day as one above all others 
 for his talents and charms, as well as for his beauty. 
 And I do not think anyone can be his equal. So I 
 rejoice with you, and cannot think that this marriage
 
 SUOR ANGELICA 415 
 
 has been arranged by any but the hand of God. And 
 I must write to you, seeing that you are so nearly 
 related to me by blood. 
 
 ' Your dear sister, 
 
 *SuoR Angelica da Gonzaga.'^ 
 
 The fame of the brilliant Count had, it appears, 
 already penetrated these convent sliades, and the 
 news of his marriage to a maiden so closely related 
 to herself, stirred the gentle soul of the young nun. 
 Although Suor Angelica had herself been early taken 
 from the world to become the bride of Christ, she 
 had, it is plain, kept a lively remembrance of this 
 peerless knight in her heart, and rejoiced the more 
 in his union to her kinswoman. The lives of the two 
 cousins who exchanged these affectionate greetings 
 oflered a strange contrast. Ippolita married at 
 fifteen, and died four years later, before she was 
 quite twenty. Suor Angelica took the veil while 
 still a child, and spent her whole life within the walls 
 of the same convent. She was chosen Abbess of 
 her community five times, and outlived most of 
 the men and women of her generation, dying in 1570, 
 full of years and sanctity.'-^ 
 
 ^ Cod. Vat. Lat., 821.'i; Cian, 'Candidature Nuziali/ 40. 
 ■^ Donesmondi, ' Storia Eccl. di Mantova,' ii. 230.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 1516 
 
 The Pope begins proceedings against the Duke of Ui'bino — Death 
 of Giuliano de' Medici — Castiglione in Rome — The Duchess 
 Elisabetta at the V^atican — Excommunication and deprivation 
 of Francesco Maria — Invasion of Urbino — Flight of the Duke 
 and Duchesses to Mantua — Lorenzo de' Medici proclaimed 
 Duke of Ui-bino, 
 
 The doom of Urbino was sealed at Bologna. 
 Francis I. had finally sacrificed his old ally to the am- 
 bitious schemes of the Medici, and Leo X. and his 
 nephew returned to Florence resolved to put their deep- 
 laid plot into immediate execution. On January 27 
 Marin Zorzi, the Venetian ambassador who had ac- 
 companied the Pope to Florence, wrote home : 
 
 ' The Pope has begun important proceedings against 
 the Duke of Urbino, and means to deprive him of 
 his State. He brings two charges against him. One 
 that he murdered the Cardinal of Pavia ; the other, 
 that he refused to fight after he had taken the Church's 
 money. '^ 
 
 In vain the Duke appealed for help to friendly 
 powers. The only monarch who made any attempt 
 to save him was the Emperor INIaximilian, who 
 wrote from Trent desiring the Pope to abstain from 
 attacking this loyal vassal of his grandson Charles, 
 
 1 Sanuto, xxi. 496. 
 416
 
 GIULIANO'S LAST ILLNESS 417 
 
 who in January had succeeded to the crown of Spain 
 and Naples.^ 
 
 But although Maximihan himself led an army 
 across the Alps to oppose the French and Venetians, 
 the ill-success which attended his arms left him 
 powerless to help the Duke, and the good offices 
 of the Constable of Bourbon, who as Viceroy of 
 Milan generously interceded with the Pope on 
 behalf of his cousin's husband, were politely but 
 resolutely declined. ^ In vain Leo X.'s own brother, 
 the being whom he probably loved best in the world, 
 begged him with his dying breath to remember the 
 kindness which he and all his family had received 
 from the princes of Urbino. The Pope turned a 
 deaf ear to Giuliano's repeated entreaties, and told 
 him not to vex his soul with politics, but to try and 
 get well. 
 
 On February 6, the first day of Lent, Leo X. 
 attended mass in the Duomo, and after distributing 
 the holy ashes to an immense multitude of people, 
 he went to amuse himself at Poggio. At carnival 
 time Giuliano was dangerously ill, and the doctors 
 who attended him despaired of his recovery ; but with 
 the first days of Lent he rallied a little, and for a 
 moment the hopes of the Duke's friends revived. On 
 the 9th the Venetian envoy reported that the Pope 
 was going to drop the enterprise against Urbino, 
 which his nephew Lorenzo had persuaded him to 
 undertake, to please Giuliano, ' who will not have it 
 on any account.' But Lorenzo and his relatives 
 were too strong for him, and the next day the 
 Pope told Cardinal Riario that it was waste of time 
 to argue the case any longer, and that he was 
 
 1 B. Morsolin, * Vita di Trissino,' 406. 
 
 2 Pastor, iv. 102. 
 
 VOL. I. 27
 
 418 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 determined to have done with the traitor once and 
 for all.^ 
 
 Ten days later the Pope returned to Rome, and 
 sent the Golden Rose to King Francis I. On March 1 
 he cited Francesco Maria to appear before the tribunal 
 appointed to try him, on pain of excommunication 
 and forfeiture of all his honours and estates. On 
 the 14th Cardinal Bibbiena, who had remained in 
 Florence with Giuliano, wrote from the Badia of 
 Fiesole, where the sick man had been taken for 
 change of air, that he was much worse. Three days 
 afterwards all was over. ' It has pleased God,' wrote 
 Bibbiena to his old friend Canossa, ' to call back that 
 blessed soul to a better and quieter place than this.' 
 And he told the Marchesana Isabella, to whom Giu- 
 liano had been deeply attached : 
 
 ' The Lord God has called this pure soul to Him- 
 self, leaving us all in tears and sorrow, although as 
 yet we can' hardly believe that he is gone. To-day 
 the funeral rites have been celebrated with due 
 honour. All yesterday his body lay in the church 
 of S. Marco, where you would have thought, from 
 the crowds assembled there, that this was the most 
 memorable thing that had ever happened. I suppose 
 that for the last hundred years no one has died in 
 this city who was more universally beloved and whose 
 death has been more deeply lamented.'- 
 
 The Cardinal's grief was shared by all the late 
 Duke's friends in Rome, and most of all by Bembo, 
 to whom Giuliano had confided his four-year-old child 
 Ippolito. 
 
 ' I could not read your touching and affectionate 
 letter on the death of our good Duke without tears,' 
 
 ^ Sanuto, xxi. 510 ; Luzio in 'Arch. st. Lomb./ 1907, 37. 
 2 Baschet-Reumont, 249.
 
 ELISABETTA IN ROME 419 
 
 wrote the Papal Secretary. ' And how much greater 
 and more reasonable is your grief when we think how 
 infinitely you loved that blessed soul, and how long 
 and close your friendship had been. Oh, how deeply 
 every detail in your letter affected me — most of all 
 the part in which you told me how the sight of his 
 dog Leo moved you to tears. I had Signor Ippoli- 
 tino for some time in my room yesterday, and in 
 my arms. He is well, but seemed a little melancholy, 
 as if he realized his great loss. I took him to His 
 Holiness, who caressed him fondly. I will see him 
 often, and have him to meals as often as possible.' 
 
 In a postscript he adds : 
 
 ' I have just paid Signor Ippolitino a visit, and 
 thought him looking handsomer and fatter than ever. 
 He begs you to bring him one of those dancing dolls, 
 and clasped me tightly with his little arms when I 
 told him that I kissed him for you.'^ 
 
 The Pope, on his part, was sincerely grieved, but, 
 as Marin Zorzi remarked, ' It is not in his nature to 
 trouble himself long about anything.' A few weeks 
 later he threatened to excommunicate Giuliano's 
 widow if she did not restore the costly jewels given 
 her by his brother.^ 
 
 Castiglione at the time of Giuliano's death was in 
 Rome, vainly employing all the arts of diplomacy to 
 avert the blow that now seemed inevitable. As a 
 last resource, Francesco INIaria sent his aunt, the 
 widowed Duchess, to intercede with the Pope on his 
 behalf. This step had been originally suggested by 
 Bibbiena, and was strongly supported by Elisabetta's 
 relatives at Mantua, who felt that, if anything could 
 move the Pope's heart, it would be the infiuence of 
 
 1 'Lettere/ i. 33. ^ Sanuto, xx. 79, 231. 
 
 27—2
 
 420 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 this beloved and venerated lady, who had been so 
 good a friend to the exiled Medici. 
 
 Accordingly, on the last day of February Elisabetta 
 Gonzaga arrived in Rome, accompanied by Emilia 
 Pia and a train of ladies and courtiers. The Cardinals 
 and chief officials at the Vatican hastened to pay 
 their respects to the Duchess and assure her of their 
 good-will. Bembo and Sadoleto visited their honoured 
 friends, and 1' Unico Aretino delivered his most elo- 
 quent improvisations in Elisabetta's presence, and 
 once more professed himself her devoted slave. 
 
 On March 1 the Duchess was admitted into the 
 Pope's presence and received with great affability. 
 His Holiness went to meet her, embraced her affec- 
 tionately, and expressed his pleasure at seeing her 
 in Rome, but said that he was too much engaged 
 to discuss political affairs. At the second audience 
 which she obtained, the Duchess implored His Holi- 
 ness to forgive her nephew, but the Pope only replied 
 that Francesco was a traitor, and must be punished. 
 On JNIarch 10 she made a third, but equally ineffectual 
 attempt to soften Leo's heart. 
 
 ' To-day,' wrote the Mantuan envoy. Carlo Agnello, 
 ' the Lady Duchess has been with the Pope for the 
 third time. This time His Holiness was more severe 
 and implacable than ever, changing the subject re- 
 peatedly, and only remaining firm on one point — 
 namely, his determination to punish the Duke, in 
 which he is as firm and immovable as a rock.'^ 
 
 Yet three days later the brave lady returned to 
 
 the charge, and, gathering courage, reminded the 
 
 Pope of the hospitality which he and the Magnifico 
 
 had received at her late husband's court. She recalled 
 
 1 Baschet-Reuraont, 248.
 
 INTERVIEWS WITH LEO X. 421 
 
 the days when she nursed his nephew Lorenzino in 
 her arms, and when they prayed together that the 
 Medici might he restored to their own. ' Surely you, 
 who know what this means. Holy Father,' she said 
 with touching earnestness, 'will not drive us out of 
 house and home, and force us to wander in exile and 
 beggary through the world ?' But the Pope did not 
 utter a word in reply. He only looked at the Duchess 
 through his eyeglass and shrugged his shoulders. 
 And, in obedience to his orders, neither the secre- 
 taries nor Cardinals in attendance addressed a word 
 to her as she left his presence.^ 
 
 Luigi Gonzaga of Castelgoffredo, whom Isabella 
 sent to Rome to intercede with the Pope on her 
 behalf, met with no better success. The Pope held 
 long and confidential interviews with him, laughed 
 and joked on every kind of subject, and assured him 
 of his affection for the Marchesana and reluctance to 
 injure any of her kindred. But all that either he or 
 the Duchess were able to obtain was the prorogation 
 of the sentence of excommunication, with which the 
 Duke was threatened, until after the Easter festival.^ 
 Then came the news of Giuliano's death, and the 
 Pope left Rome for his villa of La Magliana, and 
 went to hunt in the forests of Palo, on the Adriatic 
 shore. 
 
 Elisabetta decided to spend Easter in Rome, in 
 the hope tliat affairs might take a more favourable 
 turn, and Castiglione, who had lefl no stone unturned 
 on his master's behalf, enjoyed a brief interval of 
 repose. 
 
 The letters addressed by Bembo to Cardinal Bib- 
 biena this Easter give us pleasant glimpses of the 
 
 1 Cesareo in 'N. Antologia/ 1898, p. 194-. 
 - Luzio in 'Arch. st. Lomb./ 1907, p. 51.
 
 422 COUNT BALDASSAHE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 way in which the Count enjoyed his brief hours of 
 leisure during these anxious days. 
 
 'To-morrow,' wrote the Papal Secretary on April 3, 
 ' I go with Navagero and Beazzano, and with M. Bal- 
 dassare Castiglione and Raphael, to visit Tivoli, where 
 I have only been once — twenty-seven years ago ! We 
 shall see both the old and the new, and all that 
 is beautiful in the country round. I go to please 
 M. Andrea [the Venetian scholar and diplomat, 
 Navagero], who leaves for Venice the day after 
 Pasquino [the Feast of St. Mark, April 25].' 
 
 And he adds in a postscript : 
 
 ' Yesterday His Holiness prorogued the interdict 
 against the Duke of Urbino for another week.' 
 
 Again, on the 19th, after saying he has been to 
 visit the Duchess of Urbino, and found 1' Unico 
 Aretino as devoted to her as ever, Bembo mentions 
 both Raphael and Castiglione : 
 
 * Raphael, who commends himself reverently to 
 you, has painted our Tebaldeo so naturally that in 
 this picture he is more exactly liimself than he is in 
 reality. I, for my part, never saw so excellent a 
 likeness. V. S. may imagine what M. Antonio says 
 and thinks of this ; and, indeed, he has every reason 
 to be a proud man. The portrait of M. Baldassare 
 Castiglione or that of our good and never-to-be- 
 forgotten Duke, whom may God receive, might have 
 been painted by the hand of one of Raphael's scholars, 
 so inferior are they in point of likeness, compared with 
 this of Tebaldeo. I feel very envious, and really 
 think I must be painted myself some day. 
 
 ' I had written thus far, when Raphael came in, 
 as if he had guessed that I was writing about him, 
 and begged me to give you this message, which is 
 that he hopes you will send him the other subjects
 
 CASTIGLIONE AND HIS FRIENDS 423 
 
 that are to be painted in your little cabinet, or, rather, 
 the inscriptions for the pictures, because those which 
 you sent him before will be finished this week. Per 
 T>io! this is no joke, for now M. Baldassare has 
 arrived, and says I am to tell you that he intends 
 to spend this summer in Rome, not to spoil a good 
 habit, and more especially because M. Antonio Tebal- 
 deo wishes it.'^ 
 
 But the joyous freedom of these days was soon 
 ended. INI. Baldassare was required to attend to 
 sterner duties. Only the day before he had been to 
 La Magliana for a last interview with the Pope, as 
 he told his lord in the following letter : 
 
 ' In order that V. E. may understand the situation 
 fully, I must tell you that to-day I once more begged 
 His Beatitude to give us a further respite, explaining 
 that the Duchess desired more time to discuss these 
 matters. Upon which he replied that the delays 
 were nothing but a trick to blind him, and that he 
 would grant no more. I returned that the delays 
 might have been numerous, but that they were 
 certainly sliort, that there had been no time to send 
 messengers, and that the marriage proposals which 
 I had made could not be entertained without some 
 delay. To this he replied that his honour could not be 
 satisfied unless V. E. came here, as he said before. 
 I endeavoured to show him that V. E. had good 
 reason to be afraid of coming here, as the situation 
 was so serious, and defended your action with all 
 the words and reasons that I could call to mind. At 
 the end he said that V. E. would never trust him 
 until you realized how much His Holiness might 
 have done to injure you, and had refrained from 
 doing, and that he could never trust V. E. unless 
 you gave him this proof of confidence. He was 
 content to promise the Lady Duchess, the Marquis, 
 
 ^ ' Lettere/ i. 33-35.
 
 424. COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 and as many Cardinals as you liked, that you would 
 be safe, by word of mouth, but not in writing, adding 
 that if he wished to deceive you he would do it by 
 bulls and briefs, but that you could believe his words. 
 He further promised that V. E. should be unhurt 
 and safe, and told me that you would be blessed if 
 you came, and that every one who is your friend and 
 servant, ought to advise you to come, saying that 
 anyone who does otherwise is a fool. He said much 
 more in this strain, and I replied much more, by way 
 of excuse and in explanation of the difficulties in 
 your way, and in the end he consented to sanction 
 the delay for which we asked, if the Duchess would 
 promise that V. E. would come. If not, we need 
 not think of it. The matter is so important that 
 it is impossible for a servant to give advice. V. E. 
 must decide as seems best to your own wise and 
 piiident judgment. I kiss your hand, and remain, 
 ' Your devoted servant, 
 
 ' Bai.d. Castiglione. 
 
 'Rome, April 18, 151 6.' i 
 
 It is clear from this letter that Castiglione realized 
 the gravity of the situation, and did not venture to 
 advise the Duke to trust himself into the hands of 
 the Medici. Elisabetta was still more convinced that 
 it was useless to attempt to propitiate the Pope, as 
 she told her nephew in a letter which Castiglione sent 
 to U rbino with his own, by express, that evening : 
 
 ' I am certain, from what our best friends say, that the 
 Pope is bent on this undertaking and hopes to find you 
 unprepared. To-morrow I will go to La JMagliana and 
 take leave of His Holiness, and then return at once to 
 share your fate and that of the Duchess.' 
 
 True to her word, the next morning the good Duchess 
 once more undertook tiie long journey to La Magliana, 
 
 1 Archivio Gonzaga, Carteggio di Castiglione ; Martinati, 78.
 
 ELISABETTA RETURNS TO URBINO 425 
 
 and was received by Leo X. in a farewell audience. 
 This time he quite refused to listen to her prayers, and 
 told her curtly she must send the Duke at once to 
 the Vatican, or it would be the worse for him. Al- 
 ready the villa was bristling with armed men, and as 
 Elisabetta left the Pope's presence she saw Lorenzino 
 and his captains waiting in the hall. Even the 
 Duke's enemies, ^vl•ote the JNIantuan envoy, could not 
 restrain their pity and admiration at the distress of 
 this noble lady, whose tears would have melted the 
 most savage heart. ^ 
 
 These letters fi-om Castiglione and the Duchess, 
 decided Francesco's course of action. He wrote to 
 his father-in-law, enclosing Elisabetta's account of 
 her last ineffectual efforts to soften the Pope, and 
 begging the Marquis for help in the defence of his 
 dominions. At the same time he wTote to Cas- 
 tiglione from Pesaro, acknowledging his letter, and 
 saying that, if it were not a case of risking his life, 
 he would have hastened to throw himself at the 
 feet of His Holiness, but that, as it was, he felt it 
 best to ask his father the Marquis to intercede with 
 the Pope on his behalf. He ended by desiring the 
 Count to assure the Holy Father that he would 
 always remain his good and faithful servant, and was 
 ready to sacrifice everything at his bidding, ' saving,' 
 he added significantly, ' my life and freedom, as I 
 have said above."- But the Pope was in no mood to 
 brook delay, and on August 27 he published the bull 
 by which Francesco was excommunicated and de- 
 prived of all his States and honours. That week the 
 Duchess left Rome attended by Castiglione. Hardly 
 had she reached home before the Papal and Florentine 
 forces, under the command of Lorenzo de' INledici and 
 
 1 Luzio, p. 70. 2 Martinati, 79.
 
 426 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Renzo da Ceri, invaded Urbino. ' His Holiness,' 
 wrote Carlo Agnello sadly, ' is making such extreme 
 preparations for this campaign that we can only 
 expect to see the utter destruction of this poor young 
 Duke of Urbino/^ 
 
 Nothing was left Francesco but to make a last 
 gallant stand, and this he prepared to do with the 
 help of Alessio Beccaguto, an able captain whom the 
 Marquis had employed to fortify Mantua, and whom 
 he now sent to his son-in-law's assistance. Un- 
 fortunately, the Spanish mercenaries whom he had 
 engaged, quarrelled with the Italians, and one of their 
 leaders was slain by order of Luigi Gonzaga, to 
 whom the defence of Pesaro had been entrusted. 
 The Duke hastened to the spot from Urbino, and 
 broke into so violent a passion that Luigi Gonzaga 
 threw up his command on the spot and took boat for 
 Mantua. Urbino was now attacked on three sides by 
 the enemy, and after a vain attempt at resistance, 
 Alessio Beccaguto, finding his ammunition exhausted, 
 threw his guns into the Metauro and retired to 
 Pesaro. On Saturday, IMay 31, Lorenzo de' Medici 
 entered Urbino without opposition, and most of the 
 other cities in the duchy opened their gates to the 
 victors. That same day the two Duchesses left the 
 palace at Pesaro by a garden door, with only a few 
 attendants. ' The young Madonna,' remarks a citizen 
 of Pesaro who was an eyewitness of their secret 
 flight, ' could hardly walk, and had to be supported by 
 two of her servants.' So the poor ladies climbed the 
 hill on which the church of the Annunziata stands, 
 and descended to the harbour, where ships were in 
 readiness and their inost valuable possessions had 
 already been sent on board. A few hours later the 
 ^ Baschet-Reumont, 248.
 
 THE EXILES FLY TO MANTUA 427 
 
 Duke, seeing further resistance to be useless, joined 
 them, and the small fleet of seven or eight ships set 
 sail. But a terrible hurricane sprang up which 
 scattered the boats and drove them on the Dalmatian 
 shores, and several days elapsed before a ftivourable 
 wind enabled them to reach Ferrara/ On June 8 
 they arrived at Pietole, the birthplace of Virgil, five 
 miles fi'om JNIantua, where the Marchesana had sent 
 one of her ladies to prepare rooms for the fugitives and 
 make them as comfortable as she could. Leonora's 
 little son Guidobaldo had been sent to JNIantua the week 
 before, and was lodged in the Corte Vecchia, in the 
 apartments of his uncle Federico, who had followed 
 the King of France over the Alps. But the JNIarquis 
 did not venture to receiv^e the exiles at Mantua with- 
 out permission from the Pope. All he did was to 
 send a friendly note from Marmirolo to Castiglione, 
 who had accompanied the ducal family in their flight, 
 thanking him for the messages which he had brought 
 from the Duke and Duchesses. In this he expressed 
 an earnest hope that he might soon be able to satisfy 
 their wishes and his own love for them, and recei\ e 
 them either in his country-house or else at INIantua.^ 
 So the friends of the exiled Princes crowded out to 
 the little village on the banks of the Mincio to hear 
 the tales of the travellers' adventures, and w^ept while 
 the gentle Elisabetta told them how unkindly the 
 Pope had treated her, or listened with delight to the 
 spirited language in which her little grandson chal- 
 lenged his father's foes.^ 
 
 Meanwhile Lorenzo de' JNIedici had made an easy 
 conquest of the Duke's State. With the exception 
 
 ^ Sanuto, xxi. 310. 
 
 2 Archivio Gonzaga, Carteggio di Castiglione. 
 
 2 Luzio e Renier, ' Mantova,' 228, 229.
 
 428 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 of the Rocca of Pesaro, which did not surrender till 
 July, and the strong fortress of S. Leo, where the 
 Duke's nephew, young Sigismondo Varano, gallantly 
 held the enemy at bay for more than four months, the 
 whole duchy of Urbino was conquered in a few days. 
 By June 6, the news reached Rome, and both here 
 and in Florence the Pope and his family celebrated 
 their triumph with fireworks and illuminations. On 
 August 18, a bull was issued by which Lorenzo was 
 proclaimed Duke of Urbino, Prefect of Sinigaglia, 
 and Gonfaloniere of the Church. This document was 
 signed by all the members of the Sacred College, 
 excepting the best and most learned among them, 
 Cardinal Grimani, the Venetian Bishop of Urbino, 
 who had alone dared oppose the Pope in this matter, 
 and who, rather than commit so great a wrong, left 
 Rome, never to return until after Leo's death. ^ 
 
 The only concession which the Marquis of Mantua 
 could obtain from the Pope was permission for the 
 exiled Princes to live in his dominions. Accordingly, 
 at the end of August, the two Duchesses took up 
 their abode in the Corte Vecchia, where they spent 
 the next five years, often reduced to great straits, and 
 compelled to pawn their jewels and melt down their 
 finest plate, while the Duke exhausted his resources 
 in vain attempts to recover his patrimony. 
 
 The greatest sympathy was felt on all sides for the 
 widowed Duchess, who was driven into exile for the 
 second time in her life, and there were many who, 
 not without reason, compared the IMedici to the 
 Borgias. ' The Pope's nephew Lorenzo,' remarked 
 Marin Zorzi, whose reports reflected current opinion 
 in Rome at this time, ' is astute and capable of great 
 things. He is not equal to Valentino, but is little 
 ^ Sanuto, xxi, 323, etc. ; Pastor^ iv. 107 ; Alberi, iii. 56.
 
 LORENZO, DUKE OF URBINO 429 
 
 inferior to him. . . . He has made himself lord of 
 Florence, and what he wills is law.'^ The new 
 Duke's haughty airs made him everywhere un- 
 popular. He walked through the streets clad in 
 rich clothes and attended by hundreds of followers, 
 and openly declared that he meant to wed a bride 
 of royal birth and take his place among the crowned 
 heads of Europe. At the French court the young 
 Queen Claude listened with tears in her eyes 
 to Federico Gonzaga's touching account of the 
 sufferings endured by the two Duchesses, and both 
 she and her mother-in-law, Louise of Savoy, wrote 
 pressing letters to the Pope, begging him to allow 
 the exiles to live in peace at Mantua. Even 
 Francis I., who had reluctantly sacrificed Francesco 
 Maria for reasons of political expediency, made no 
 secret of his dislike for the Pope's nephew. When 
 the Papal bull was issued, he sent I^orenzo a civil 
 letter of congratulation, but a few weeks afterwards 
 he remarked to the Ferrarese envoy : ' This is all 
 Lorenzo's doing, and he is as proud of himself as he 
 can be ; but he is only a simpleton who plays at being 
 a captain and a great man, and boasts of these 
 conquests which have not cost him a single man or a 
 drop of blood, and wishes to make himself lord of all 
 Italy. But if he has any sense he will be content 
 with this one State of Urbino — I doubt myself if he 
 will ever manage to keep it ! — for remember, after all, 
 he is only a merchant !'^ 
 
 1 Alberi, iii. 51. 2 ^itti, 81 ; Verdi, 27.
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 A SELECTION OF UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS 
 
 I. 
 
 Giovanni Stefano Castiglione to Cristqforo Castiglione. 
 
 Magnifice ac prestantissime eques et affinis honorandissime : 
 Questo povero homo Bartholomeo da Castiliono vene da la 
 V. M. sperando che quella gli habia a fare una elymosina di 
 quella obligatione che 1' ha da lui la quale invero sera una 
 elymosina fiorita per essere lui constituito in extrema necessita 
 et bisogno, e ha a fare cun quello suo cognato el quale per essere 
 stato sua securita di epsa obligatione gli tiene occupato tuto 
 quello che V ha in questo mondo, si che ben che sapia di quanta 
 bonta sia la V. M. nondimeno m' e parso di scrivergle {sic) 
 queste poche parole e ricomandargli epso Bartholomeo, pregando 
 la V. M. sia contenta di liberarlo da quello suo cognato che in 
 vero sera una opera tanto pietosa quanto alcuna altra che 
 potesse fare la V. M. 
 
 Ceterum facio intendere a la V. M. como Messer Baldessaro 
 suo figliolo sta bene et e molto ben visto dal nostro 111™° S''^ e 
 uniuersalmente da tuti e meritamente per che in vero non poria 
 essere ne piu gentile ne piu virtuoso quante e, la V. M. ha a fare 
 pensiero di acompagnarlo qui a Milano e fare qualche parentado 
 honorevole e sera a consolatione de la V. M. e de tuti li suoi 
 parenti. A la V. M. di continuo mi racomando, Mediolani 
 2 februarij 1499. 
 
 M"''. V. affinis Jo Stephanus de Castiliono. 
 
 Mag^° ac prestanti equiti affiui et taii- 
 quam patri honoraii. Dno Cristho- 
 foro de Castiliono ec. Mautue. Cito. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat.j 8210, f. T, partly printed in Cian, 
 
 Candidature nuziali/ p. 15.] 
 
 430
 
 Photo, Brogi, 
 
 I.OKE.NZt) UK MKliKI, UUKK OF URBINO. 
 BV .ALLOKl (LKKIZI). 
 
 To face p. -130, Vo'. I.
 
 APPENDIX 431 
 
 II. 
 
 Baldassare Castiglione to Luigia Castiglione. 
 
 Magnifica ac generosa domina et Mater honoranda : Pe- 
 
 haver io poco fa scritto a la M. V. non mi extendero molto in 
 
 questa • per non haver cosa alcuna nova : Nui stiamo bene 
 
 tutti per la Dio gratia : prego la M. V. che dia bon recapito a 
 
 le alligate : e me scriva de le cose di la : e come si sta : che si fa 
 
 da le bandc di la : e come stanno gli amici nostri : Nove qua 
 
 sonno impertinente a nui : gran cosa e Roma. Prego la M. V. 
 
 che stia sana edi bona voglia : e me racomandi a tutti li nostri : 
 
 a quella continue mi racomando : Da Antonius haverete per 
 
 otto da ascoltare. Romaj 16 Martii 1503. 
 
 Obediens Filius 
 
 Baldesar. 
 
 Mag"" ac generose Dine Aloisie de Cas- 
 tiglione Matri honor. Mantue. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210, f. 7.] 
 
 III. 
 
 Baldassare Castiglione to Luigia Castiglione. 
 
 Magnifica ac generosa Domina et Mater honoranda : Credo 
 che la M. V. a questi di habia hauta una mia littera : cun 
 la quale era alligata una a Messer Nicolo Phrisia la quale man- 
 dai per la via di P'errara : pero non replicaro altramente le cose 
 ditte in quella. Hora mando el mulatero cun un mulo, e quatro 
 mazze di fichi : se qui fosse qualche altra cosa meglio, piu 
 voluntier la mandaria : la M. V. se dignara fame parte a 
 M** Polissena e M'^ Francescha et a sor Laura. E perche 
 adesso e la quadragesima io voglio confessare el mio peccato : 
 che questi fichi io li do ad usura : perche aspetto che la M. V. 
 mi rimandi qualche salami over caso, cioe formazo, M'"^ I'olis- 
 sena el medemo : M* Francescha anchor lei o qualche gelatina 
 de cotogni : over altri fi-utti confetti di zucharo : Da la Matre 
 sor Laura non voglio altro che orationi : maximc adesso che 
 pur r andata mia de Inghilterra sera, non interuenendo altro, 
 come ho speranza in Dio. Se la M. V. hara hauti quelli forcori 
 da Milano : haio molto caro che la me li mandi.
 
 432 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Oltra questo : se quelli maestri de legnami del borgo haves- 
 sino fatta una mia cassetta ch' io gli ordinal gia millannl fa, 
 harei caro haverla per el presente latere. 
 
 Anchor perche vorei far qualche coperta de tela per li 
 cavalli, serei contento, che la M. Y. mi mandasse quella tela 
 che li resta de quella trabacha vechia, che la mi satisfaria. 
 
 Quando ero a Ferrara scrissi a la M. W che volesse mandarmi 
 panno negro per un paro di calce : a questo la non mi rispose. 
 Vorei hora che la me lo mandasse, ma non bruno : che piu mi 
 piaceria biancho. Vorei ben ch' el fosse bello : e tanto che le 
 calce se potessino fare : e piu presto ne avanzasse un poco che ne 
 manchasse : 
 
 La M. V. non hara altro fastidio del Rosso. Io de le cose mie 
 di la non ne scrivo ne dimando a la M. V. perche la vedo tanto 
 timida che la non osa parlare : pur harei caro sapere come le 
 succedano, e se mai se aquietato niente, ne vsato meglior o 
 mancho triste parole di me. 
 
 Subito fatto pasqua lo 111™'' S'' prefetto credo venira a Mantua : 
 Questi servitori del S^ Ducca per la piu parte li faranno com- 
 pagnia. Io non, ne alhor ne poi flu che non sapia e non veda 
 esser meglio visto e piu raconosciuto che hora non sono. Qui 
 per la Dio gratia tutti stiamo bene e in pace. La S'^* Duchessa 
 ogni modo prima che passi quaresima andru a Roma. Altro nui 
 non havimo qui de novo ; qualche cosa anchor potra dire el 
 Rosso a boccha. Aspetto ogni modo che la M. V. mi mandi 
 qualche bon salame : perche qui sono molto in precio e piaceno 
 molto a la Excellentia del Sig'^ nostro : et io harei molto caro 
 potergene far gustare. E quando vegniranno in qua, per non 
 paghar dacio se potra vsar questo modo che usato io de haver 
 una patente che para vengano de lo 111™'' S"^ Marchese ouer 
 Madamma al S"^ duca qui : se pur questa gratia se po impe- 
 trare. Racordo a la M. V. quelli dinari de Messer Timotheo. 
 Credo anchor mandar a la M. V. quelle sopraveste vechie, pur 
 non so certo. 
 
 Io facio pensier quando monsignor mio R™° de Mantua sera 
 qui cun noi, ringratiare sua S"^ R™*^ del bon animo suo verso 
 nui : e del accettar mio fratello quando non fosse altro rispetto : 
 e pregarla che sia contenta ch' io gli trovi vn altro patrone : cun 
 mille belle parole. Poi andando a Roma, come ogni modo mi 
 sera necessario per la andata de Inghilterra, so certo che li
 
 APPENDIX 433 
 
 trovero patrone : pigliaro anchor bon partito de veder la M, V. 
 
 ogni modo : a la quale continue mi racomando. Di questa mia 
 
 andata la M.V. non ne parli. Urbini 5 Martii M.DVI. 
 
 La S"^^ Duchessa mia Sig'^'' se racomanda a la M. V. a M* 
 
 Polissena, et a sua comatre, le alligate io le racomando : 
 
 De V. M. obed. fil. 
 
 Bald. Cast. 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210, f. Gl.] 
 
 IV. 
 
 Baldassare Castiglione to Luigia Castiglione. 
 
 Magnifica ac generosa Domina et Mater honoranda : La 
 lettera de la M. V. portata per el Rosso, io la ho liauta qui in 
 Roma, dove hor sono per alcune mie cosette, e sonovi stato 
 diece di e starolli fin a quatro di anchora : poi veniro ad 
 Urbino : poi presto veniro verso a Lombardia per andar al mio 
 viaggio. Ix robe che ha portato el Rosso non le ho viste, ma 
 intendo ogni cosa esscre agionta. Io non respondero a tutte le 
 parte : perche pochi di fa io scrissi per un messo del S"^ Giohanni 
 assai diffusamente : non so se la lettera sia capitata : pur dove 
 la M. V. dice che qualche volta bisognaria tenere la briglia in 
 mano, e non voler estimarsi d' haver piu che non s' ha : e vera- 
 mente a me non pare meritar questa imputatione : che se la 
 M. V. considera cun quante bocche e cun quanti cavalli io son 
 visso liormai dui anni e dove sono visso : la vedera ch' io non 
 ho cussi alargato la mano comegli pare : e se la considera 
 (juello che la spende lei a Mantua : doue non li bisogna com- 
 prare ne pane ne vino, ne legne, ne biave da cavalli e stando 
 in casa sua: et io son privo de tutte queste condicioni : la 
 vedera che io poco posso haver fatto. Et io el so che qualche 
 volta et spesso mi sono ritrovato non sapere la matina quello 
 che havesse a cenare la sera : e pur ogni cosa se suj^orta cun 
 sforzo de non perder (juel poco de reputatione che s' e acjui- 
 stata : non gia facendo el signore ne '1 gran nuiestro : ch' io non 
 Io so fare ne Io facio. Vero che non nego che qualche cosa de 
 le mie non potessino andar piu ordinate : niente di nieno non 
 e desordine notabile : hor di (|uesto non diro piu. Venendo io 
 li provedero oportunamente a Bastiano. Credo che la mia 
 VOL. I. 28
 
 434 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 venuta sera presta : ma per essermi stato fatto cussi bel saluto a 
 r altra volta io non vorei venire nel paese de lo 111™° S"^ Mar- 
 chese di Mantua, per non mostrare de estimar poco la volunta 
 sua, ma el parer mio seria de venir a Gazolo dove la M. V. 
 volendo potesse trasferirse : et io li la vederia molto voluntiera. 
 Circa questo la prego la se degni avisarmi cio che li pare : 
 perch"* io di quel modo mi governaro : 
 
 Non scrivo a Mad. Francescha ne a Messer Thomaso per non 
 haver tempo : la M. V. se degni racomandarmi a loro e ringra- 
 tiarli del suo presente che mi e stato carissimo : a quella 
 sempre mi racomando. Rome 28 Aprilis M.DVI. 
 
 Obed. F. Bal. Castilione. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat, 8210, f. 63.] 
 
 V. 
 
 Baldassare Castiglione to Luigia Castiglione. 
 
 Magnifica ac generosa Domina et Mater honoranda : Per la 
 lettera ch"' io scrivo el Mag*^° Messer Zo. Pedro V. M. intendera 
 cio che qui se e fatto circa lo andar mio : si che havendo 
 risposta o no, o bona, o trista, spero vedere la M. V. a 
 Casatico o vero a Gazolo. Trovar quella scusa del non andare a 
 Mantua per la peste credo sia superHuo : maxima qui, perche 
 tutto questo stato fa che lo 111™° S"^ Marchese non volse ch' io 
 andasse a Mantua, senza altre circumloqutioni : e credo ch' el 
 medemo si sapia a Mantua. Io metto a ordine per venire e 
 presto : si che non sero piu longo : solo mi racomando a la 
 M. V. et a tutti li nostri : Urbini xxij Maij M.DVI. 
 
 De V. M. obe. figliolo 
 
 Bal. Castilione. 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210, f. 64.] 
 
 VI. 
 
 Baldassare Castiglione to Luigia CastiglioTie. 
 
 Magnifica ac generosa Domina et Mater honoranda : Non so 
 se la M. V. hara questa prima over quella che e portata per 
 Messer Nicolo nostro, che viene col cavallo. El quale e stato 
 et e causa de mio fastidio assai : pur per haverne toUerato de
 
 APPENDIX 435 
 
 molto magiori tolleraro anchor questo. Prego anchor la M. V. 
 a non ne haver despiacere alcuno : che forsi e per el meglio 
 che la vadi cussi : et io me lo persuado. Quella sella che e sopra 
 detto cavallo e li guarnimenti tutti e la testera : e quella 
 coperta de panno : prego la M. V. che li voglia far governare 
 cun diligentia e maxime la sella : che li ferri non arruginis- 
 chano : el cavallo se rimandera secundo che nui lo havessimo : 
 excetto che forsi de la sanita. La M. V. intendera da Scaramella 
 el progresso de queste cose : io mi partiro ogni modo dimane 
 piacendo a Dio cun speranza d' haver bon viaggio. Lasso 
 Francescho qui : el quale aspettara quello famiglio che ha 
 menato in la lo cavallo : poi tutti dui mi agiongeranno : e spero 
 per loro haver littere da la M. V. et anchor da Vrbino che le 
 desidero assai. Altre lettere per el tempo che ha a venire se 
 seranno indrizate in casa de li Vismari, ouer de Monsig"" de la 
 Torre, me veranno drieto. Mando a Mad. Francescha un 
 ventaglio : e non ge lo ho mandato prima perche mi creda 
 ch' el racordo fosse fatto per lei : tanto erio balordo : pur la 
 gra ]y[a Margantta lo mandava a lei : a la quale quando vn altra 
 volta M* Francescha scriverii, me piaceria piu ch' el soprascritto 
 dicesse : Sig''^ mia honoranda : che maiore mia honor, avegna 
 ch' el sia picolo errore, pur a me piaceria cussi. Questo 
 ventaglio a me par molto bello : lei si tenga quale la vole, 
 avegna che hormai le mosche siano per dar poco fastidio secundo 
 me. Non sero piu longo. Solo mi racomando senza fine a la 
 M. V. et a tutti li nostri senza nominar ad uno ad uno. 
 Mediolani 3 Septembris M.D.VL 
 
 De V. M. obe. fi. 
 
 B. K. (sic). 
 
 Le alligate ad Urbino harei a caro che andassino bene e 
 fidatamente ma non per messo a posta : pur fidatamente per 
 amor de Dio : alcuno del Cardinale seria bono s' el non e partito. 
 
 Post scripta : Io ho preso un poco de securta cun la S"^ M. 
 Margaritta de aprire la lettera che li scrive M^ Francescha : e 
 parmi che la non habia ben inteso cio ch' io scrissi : che e che 
 jVP Margaritta mandava lei a donarli quello ventaglio e veli : 
 ch' io non ne paghai niente : pur questo ventaglio adesso lo 
 mando io. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210, t. (58.] 
 
 28—2
 
 436 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 VII. 
 
 Baldassare Castiglione to Luiffia Cast'iglione. 
 
 Maguifica ac generosa Domina et Mater honoranda : Ho 
 recevuto una lettera de Fa M. V. de 27 de agosto : per la quale 
 ho inteso — benche prima lo hauesse presentito — la morte de 
 quel povero figlioletto de Messer Jacomo : e benche el mi para 
 che Dio ne visiti molto spesso in tante e varie cose, pur lo 
 ringratio : et assai mi dole de Messer Jacomo e M^ Polisenna : 
 li quali credo che siano molto afflitti : non piu di questo, lo 
 mando per Messer Nicolo nostro li veli che in ultimo la M. V. me 
 richiede, quelli altri cun el ventaglio, la Illustre M^ Mar- 
 garitta Sanseverina li mando lei a donare a M* Francescha, 
 intendendo ch' io ge li volea mandare : seria suo debito respon- 
 dergli vna lettera e ringratiar sua S. Me rincresce del male de 
 Messer Thomaso nostro : La M. V. intendera da Messer Nicolo 
 nostro de questo cavallo benedetto che Dio volesse ch' io non 
 r hauesse mai visto per mia ventura : e del tutto la ge dara 
 indubitata fede. Questo familio che lo conduce a mano : vorei 
 ch' el tornasse subito subito : e che la M. V. acio ch"* el potesse 
 tornare piu presto li facesse havere un roncino : el quale io 
 faro che sera remandato per la via di Crema : ne mi euro che 
 costui stia aspettare ch" el cavallo sia apresentato a lo 111'"" S"" 
 Marchese : ma come Tea Casatico harei caro che la M. V. lo 
 spazzasse in qua : poi mandare el cavallo a Mantua in com- 
 pagnia de Messer Nicolo per Carletto, ouer altro che paresse 
 in proposito : e la M. V. me avisi se la hara inteso cosa alcuna 
 de questo cavallo che habia detto el S"^ Marchese. Altro non 
 mi occorre per hora : se non infinitamente racomandarmi a 
 quella e pregarla che la se sforci de star sana e di bon animo : 
 perch' io non potrei haver cosa al muudo che piu desiderasse de 
 questa. Messer Nicolo suplira a bocha : ov' io mancho nel 
 scrivere. Mediolani 3 Septembris M.D.VI. 
 
 De V. M. obediente Figliolo 
 
 Baldasar Castilione. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210, f. 69.]
 
 APPENDIX 437 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Baldassare Castiglione to Luig-ia Castiglione. 
 
 Magnifica ac generosa Domina et Mater honoranda. Avegna 
 ch' io non sapia come presto o tardi sia per venir questa lettera 
 a la M. V. pur scrivo : facendoli intendere come io ho hauta la 
 sua portata per Francescho el qual me ha agionto qui a Lione 
 dove hor sono sano per la Dio gratia e sono stato fermo 
 quatro giorni per lassar reposare li cavalli : che haveano pur un 
 poco temuto el passar de monti. Domatina piacendo a Dio me 
 partiro per el caniino nostro. Credo che la M. V. habia hauto 
 una mia lettera portata per Scaramella : et insieme un ventaglio 
 per M*^ Francescha : per questa non replicaro le cose sevitte in 
 quella. Me piace assai che Messer Thomaso nostro stia bene : e 
 dolmi de Messer Jacomo assai e de M** Polisenna : bisogna che 
 anchor loro portino in pace li despiaceri inevitabili. Io non 
 so che cosa de qui per scriuere a la M. V. de le cose che di la 
 accaddino : la non se ne pigli afFanno alcuno : che se la fortuna 
 e cussi mutabile come se dice a nui sta aspettar hormai qualche 
 prosperita : io mi racomando infinitamente a la M. V. el 
 medemo fanno tutti questi nostri : e la supplico che la voglia 
 sforzarsi star sana : e racomandarmi a tutti li nostri : maxime 
 a sor Laura. In Lione 20 Septembris M.D.VI. 
 
 De V. M. Obed™« 
 
 Fi. Ba. Casti. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210, f. 70, partly printed by Serassi, ' Lettere,' i. 27.] 
 
 IX. 
 
 Baldassare Castiglione to Luigia Castiglione. 
 
 Magnifica ac generosa Domina et Mater honoranda. Per 
 content© de la M. V. li aviso come io son gionto qui a Lione 
 per Dio gratia galiardo e sano : e presto spero esser li : riser- 
 uandomi di dire el resto a bocha. A la M. V. mi racomando 
 di core : Da Lione xxvj de genaro MDVII. 
 
 De V. Mag'-'i^^ Obed. Figliolo 
 
 Bal. Casti MONii. 
 [(Jod, Vat. Lat., 8210, f. 72.]
 
 438 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 X. 
 
 Tolomeo Spagnoli to Baldassare Castiglione. 
 
 Magnifico messer Baldesar : Mi alegro dil felice et honorato 
 ritorno di V. M"^ quanto forsi pochi amici Y habbia. La 
 risposta havuta dal N, 111™" S. circa il caso suo e ch"* el si 
 contenta che per qualchi di la possi venir a Casatico a reveder 
 la M'^* M* sua matre come receva la M"^ V. la quale prego non 
 resti de commandarmi, ogni volta che la possi seruire : che mi 
 reputaro recever magior beneficio servendola, che se fossi io 
 servito da altri in cosa desyderatissima. Et a lei sempre mi 
 raccomando : Mantuae xiij Februarii M.D.vii. 
 
 M. V. deditus Ptolemeus. 
 
 Magnifico Equiti maiori hon. Dno 
 Baldesari Castiglioneo. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211, f. 495.] 
 
 XI. 
 
 Baldassare Castiglione to Luigia Castiglione. 
 
 Magnifica ac > generosa Domina et Mater honoranda : La 
 M. V. intendera come io per Dio son gionto sano e salvo qui a 
 Bologna' dove ho trovato la S'* del nostro S""^ el S"" Duca e tutti 
 dui hozi son partiti de qui. Io li seguiro dimane, ne credo 
 poter ritornare in quelle bande fin questa pasqua : perche '1 
 S"^ Duca non se ne cura : Fratanto io harei caro che la M. V. 
 procurasse s' el fosse possibile trovar per qualche via qualche 
 denari per questo mio debito ch' io ho fatto col Vismara che 
 sono 25 ducati d' oro prestati : e poi le robe tolte da lui : poi 
 questo debito cun Monsig"^ di Ferrara : so bene che la M. V. non 
 pensa mai ad altro. 
 
 Bisognaria che la M. V. facesse che Francescho andasse fin a 
 Milano per far fare una cassetta : e mettervi dentro quelle 
 barde che restorno li : e farle mettere in cassa de li Vismara che 
 le mandassino a Mantua, e certe altre robe, come sa Fran- 
 cescho : e perche '1 S"^ Duca ha donato a Monsig' Sanseverino 
 quello cane che se chiama Mordano e quelP altro che se chiama 
 Bonibo, vorei che Francescho ge li conducesse e me racoman-
 
 APPENDIX 439 
 
 dasse a sua S"^ R™* apresentandoli questa alligata: e a quel 
 Boiiibo metta quello collaro d"" oro : el suo cordone de seta. 
 
 Poi subito ch' el sia tornato, subito vorei ch"' el venisse in 
 qua : e facesse condure quelli muli e se quello che anialato non 
 sera guarito lassarlo li ; e la soma insieme che mancho e 
 necessaria : e cussi li tre mei caualli cun bona diligentia e 
 quello turchetto, del ([uale harei caro che la M. V. se con- 
 sigliasse cun Sebastiano, s"" el fosse bon cavarli un poco de 
 sangue, fargelo cavare, a me piaceria, per el longo camino 
 che nui havimo fatto : non vorei anchor ch"* el mangiasse niente 
 di feno se non biava e palia. 
 
 Preg-o anchor la M. V. che volia sollicitare Maestro Fran- 
 cescho da la Scuola : over Hieronimo suo figliolo de un qualche 
 puto che habia bona mano da scrivere : che volesse venir a star 
 meco, come ho ditto a la M. V. altre volte, che ne ho grandis- 
 simo bisogno : Altro non scrivo a la M. V. se non che a quella 
 sempre mi racomando : Bononie xxij Februarii M.DVII, 
 
 Di V. M. Obediente Filiolo 
 
 Baldassah Castilione. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210, f. 74.] 
 
 XII. 
 
 Baldassare Castiglione to Luigia Castiglione. 
 
 Magnifica ac Generosa Domina : et Mr. honor : Da Pedrone 
 e dal Gobbo ho recevuto quelle robbe tutte che mi scrive la 
 M. V. che mi sono state gratissime, cosi la ringratio assai : el 
 nostro Gobbo io ge T ho perdonata : perche la M. V. lo ha 
 in protectione : altramente io li insegnava bene : sel e cosi 
 gioveneto che '1 non sappia andar dal Poggio a Mantua sel 
 non ha la baila. Evangelista e venuto et emi bisognato darli 
 quaranta scuti : e cosi ho fatto a quelli che haveano de andar a 
 Fiorenza : si che quando la M. V. potra mandarmene de li altri : 
 la mi fara gratia assai, per satisfar a questi bisogni : di (juesto 
 non dico altro perche so che la non manchei-a de sollicitare : e 
 (juelli del conte Boccherino anchor aspetto : overo sua risposta : 
 li denari ch' io debbo hauer del Carpegnolo souo molto pochi 
 per satisfar a cjuesti debiti et anchor mi bisogna man/are : che 
 li va poco men che un ducato e mez/o al di in spesa per me e per
 
 4iO COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 li cavalli : si die io non mi scordo de chi mi die dar denari. 
 Aspetto che la M. V. mandi Xtoforo e Smiraldo con cjuelli 
 cavalli : avegna ch"" io per un altra mia ge lo habbia scritto : 
 vorei anchor che venisse quelle Villanetto alievo di Xtoforo : 
 potria esser che fino a qu9,lche di le strate se rompissino : e forsi 
 presto. Conforto anchor assai la M. V. a torre altrotanti homini 
 come la ha in su V ara : e far expedire prestissimo de batter e 
 condur quelle biave : perche dubito che non siano travagli a 
 Mantua: Dio ci metta la mano : Altro non scrivero alia M. V. 
 se non che a quella sempre mi raccomando. In Bologna a di 
 xvo de Julio M.D.X. 
 
 De V. M. ob. fi. 
 
 Bal, Castilione. 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8210, f. 101.] 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Francesco, Duke of Urbino, to Baldassare CasUglione. 
 
 Magnifice dilectissime noster. In questo punto habbiamo 
 recevuta questa del locotenente della Marcha la qual vi man- 
 damo accio potiate mostrarla a chi vi parera. Quelle del altri 
 S" Cardinali vi manderemo dietro a questa avisatene delle 
 scomesse che se sonno poste et a quanto per Cento : et chi 
 indura T oppinione delli piu circa il papato. Urbini primo 
 Martii M^yXiiJ. 
 
 Fbanciscus Maria Dux Urbini 
 
 S. R. E. Capitaneus Generalis. 
 
 Mag" dil""" nostro Domiuo Baldasari 
 Castigliono. Romae, cito, cito. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211, f. 479.] 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Francesco, Duke of Urbino, to Baldassare Castiglione. 
 
 Magnifice dilectissime noster. Avenga questa santa creatione 
 del pontifice si difFerisca assai : et che cosa molto importante 
 non habbiate che scriverne. Non dimeno ce sara caro intendere 
 qualchi andamenti di costa : et quanto il potete fare per via de 
 Bolgetta senza spedire Cavallaro aposta.
 
 APPENDIX 441 
 
 La qui annexa a messer Ludovico^ subito farete dare, et la 
 resposta pigliarete cura di mandarne : perche in essa gli doman- 
 danio in presto un suo cavallo molto da noi desiderate. Urbini 
 X Martii M.DXiiJ. 
 
 Franciscus M'^ Dux Urbini 
 
 S. R. E. Capitaneus Generalis. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211, f. 503.] 
 
 XV. 
 
 Francesco^ Duke of Urbino, to Baldassare Castigiione. 
 
 Magnifice dilectissime noster. Havemo recevuta la nostra 
 longa plena de gli progressi del papato, li quali desideravamo 
 assai d' intendere : Non vi potressemo dire la contenteza dil 
 aninio nostro recevuta per questa nova : Sperando che la 
 servitu nostra sia da questo bono et S'"° S'' ricognosciuta : cosi 
 ne raccomandarete in bona gratia di Sua S*^* facendogli inten- 
 dere che non siamo punto meno desiderosi di servire quella che 
 havessemo la santa memoria di nostro zio, et supplicarla ne 
 voglia comandare come a devotissimo servo che gli semo. 
 
 Quanto sia di venire a basciare il piede a sua S*^'^ laudamo 
 come bonissimo il parere vostro e siamo del medesmo : ma 
 perche voi sappete ritrovarne mal il modo dove che venendo 
 alia incoronatione vorressimo fare honore et a Sua S''^ et a noi : 
 perche essendoui ancora si poco spatio di tempo si semo 
 resoluti di venire il sccondo di de Pasqua : salvo se sua S*^ non 
 fosse d"" altro parere : che havendo bisogno di noi subito 
 execjuiremo il suo comandamento ; pero ne avisarete sopra cio 11 
 volere di cjuella : standovi a memoria che ne saria dannosa assai 
 il venire prima della incoronatione. 
 
 Appresso havevamo commesso ad Horatio che del servitio 
 nostro con la Camera appostolica dovesse fame non so che in 
 nostro servitio, hora intendenio il ll"'° di Mantua havere levato 
 il mandamento di xx™ ducati pensando retenerli per conti di 
 messer Gal. da Pesaro. II che ne place assai : ma voressemo 
 pur intendere come e passata cjuesta cosa. Pero ne darete 
 
 ^ Lodovico di Canossa.
 
 442 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 aviso : accio non sianio ignoranti delle cose proposte, Urbini 
 xiiij Marzo M.D.Xiij. 
 
 FiiANciscus M'^ Dux Urbini 
 
 S. R. E. Capitaneus Generalis. 
 
 [Cod. V-at. Lat., 8211, f. 504.] 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Francesco, Duke of Urbmo, to Baldassare Castiglione. 
 
 Messer Baltassare amantissimo. N' e stato gratissimo inten- 
 dere per la vostra che li sia cjualche speranza de cavare bon 
 constructo, si delli conti vecchi como etiam del Quartarone. 
 II che etiam ne replica ser Gabriello. Laudamo 1' opera 
 vostra et summa diligentia, exhortandove quel tempo che 
 serete li a non desistere de tale impresa, che sapete quanto 
 sia nostro utile et interesse. Preterea perche Horatio ne 
 dimanda licentia de venire da noi per qualche di, ve piacera 
 interim supplire in tenerne de continuo advisato delle nove de 
 quella Corte et sopra tucto mantenerne in bona gratia del 
 summo Pontifice et racomandarne alii soi S™^ Piedi et bene 
 valete. Pisauri x Mail M.D.xiij. 
 
 Fr. M^ Dux Urbini 
 
 ac S. R. E. Cap^ generalis. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211, f. 505.] 
 
 XVII. 
 
 Frcmeesco, Duke of Urb'mo, to Baldassare Castiglione. 
 
 IVIesser Baldassare : Havemo recevuto la lettera vostra et 
 veduto quanto voi ne scrivite circa li crediti nostri quali 
 habbiamo designati al R™° Mons"^® de Mantua. Vi respondemo 
 havere preso, et pigliare tanto dispiacere quanto sia possibile a 
 dire che Mon''^ el thesauriero ce manchi de la fede sua : quale 
 non solum ha dato a noi : et ce V ha mandata a dare fin qua : 
 et etiam ha data tante volte al predetto Mon'^^ R""" il che 
 e contra ogni expectatione nostra : perche si da tucti li altri 
 homeni del mondo ce trovassimo mancati de la parola loro : da 
 Mon'^'^ Messer Bernardo da Bibiena amico nostro precipuo non
 
 APPENDIX 443 
 
 crediamo mai ci devesse mancare in parte alcuna : Tuctavia 
 quando non poterimo fare altro ci dolerimo infra noi medesimi 
 de la disgratia nostra : ma ben voleino che siati cun el predetto 
 Mon'^'^ thesauriero, et ve ne resentiati in nome nostro Cjuanto sia 
 possibile a dire : de questo mancamento de fede facendo molto 
 bene capace S. S. che ultra el danno che recevemo che per non 
 essere satisfacto el predetto Mon'^'* R™° noi pagamo ogni mese 
 cento ducati de interessi, ne preme piu V honore che essendosi 
 dato phama (sic) che noi ne sia satisfacto, et el sia tucto el con- 
 trario che altra cosa del mondo : Volendo che ve ne dogliati 
 fino al vivo core de tale cosa : pregando S. S. che non vogli 
 niancarci de la promessa fede : perche noi in tucte le occorrentie 
 sue serimo per fare tanto, come ne le cose nostre proprie. 
 
 Preterea perche Horatio ha da retrovarsi qui per uno bisogno 
 nostro non mancarite de supplicare voi li in advisarne continua- 
 mente de tucte le nove de la : perche magiore apiacere non 
 ne poteriste far et maxime retrovandosi el predetto Horatio 
 absente. 
 
 Apresso io scrivo vna lettera al Marchese Phoebus^ et al 
 Marchese Ghirardino ^ la quale sera qui alligata : Et perche ne 
 preme grandemente haverne resposta, volemo che usiati ogni 
 diligentia de darla in mano de Messer Sebastiano Sauli, et 
 pregarlo vogli s' il dovesse mandare uno messo aposta per 
 apiacere nostro mandarla, et farla consignare in mano propria 
 de li decti Marchesi, et Ifire ogni instantia che prestissimo ne 
 habbiano la resposta perche come e dicto desidei'amo grande- 
 mente tale resposta : Et voi se desiderati fame cosa grata vedete 
 presentialmente che la vadi omnino et per messo fidato : Et 
 benevalete. Urbini xxviij lunii 1513. 
 
 Franciscus Maria Dux Urbini Urbis 
 
 Prefect, ac S. R. E. Capit^ Generalis. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211, f. 509.] 
 
 xvni. 
 
 Francesco, Diikc of Urhlno, to Balda^^sare Ccistiglionc. 
 
 Messer Baldassare : In (juesto di ultimo de Giugno havemo 
 receuto uno Ureve de N"^" S. j)er el ciuale Sua B'"' ne manda che 
 ^ Phoebus Gouzaga. ■^ Ghirardo Raugoue.
 
 444 COUNT BALD ASS ARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 stiamo in ordine insieme cum le nostre Gentedarme (sic) al 
 potere cavalchare uerso Verona ogni volta che Sua B*^® celo 
 comandara : Noi che ultra cognoscemo essere obligati etiam 
 desideramo grandemente satisfare Sua ]}"® in tucto quello 
 potiamo : Et perho volemo che li facciati intendere che noi et le 
 gente nostre semo sempre prompti et aparechiate a tucti li 
 comandamenti de S. S*'^ ne altro desideramo che seruire, et 
 satisfare S. B"^ in tucte le cose che ce siano possibile, et spendere 
 non solum el stato ma la vita propria in ogni sua satisfactione 
 et beneficio. L' e ben vero che havendo andare nel luoco dove 
 disegna la S'^ Sua noi desideramo che Sua B"® ne mandi come 
 capitaneo et non come privato conductiero, cio e, cum una 
 guardia de fanti, in modo, che noi potiamo havere la obedientia, 
 et ancho havendo qualche suspecto de li Spagnoli, come sapete, 
 non vorressimo andare ad metterci ne le mano loro : per modo 
 che volendoci loro usare termine nisciuno sinistro, noi non ce 
 potessemo defendere. Voi sete prudente, regete questo caso 
 nostro in quello modo che vi pare sia al proposito nostro : ma ben 
 sopratucto advertirete che nostro S^^ resti ben satisfacto de noi, 
 et ch' el cognoschi che dandoci S. S'^ una conveniente guardia, 
 come e rasoneuole, non solum che siamo per andare a Verona 
 ma s' el bisognasse nel fuoco proprio per suo servitio : et cusi 
 lo farete cum quelle piu accomodate parole che sia possibile ala 
 Sua S''^ de cui ali sanctissimi piedi humilmente ne recoman- 
 darite. Urbini vltima lunii 1513, 
 
 Fr. Ma. Dux Urbini etc. 
 
 S. R. E. Capit^ Generalis. 
 
 Mag^° dil'"" nostro Domino Baldasari 
 
 de Castigliono, etc. 
 In casa de Mons"^*^ de Tricaricho in 
 
 Borgo. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat. 8211, f. 511.] 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Francesco, DuJce of Urbino, to Baldcissnre Cast'iglione. 
 
 Messer Baldassare : Havemo receuto lettere nostre de ultimo 
 de giugno, et de ij del presente et veduto quanto ne scrivite 
 delo assignamento de Solarolo, che vole fare N'^° S""*^ a Mon''*' 
 nostro R"° de Mantua : et li dificulta che fa el predetto Mons"^^
 
 APPENDIX 445 
 
 de pigliarlo cum dire ch' el non vogli de intrata mille ducati : 
 vi respondemo che noi volemo che havendo voi facte tante 
 bone opere in questa practica, vogliati anchora vedere conten- 
 tare el predetto Moii''*' R"'° per via de N""" S''^ et fare ogni cosa 
 ch' el non se parta de li che tale affecto non sia facto : perche 
 altro niodo ne via havemo de contentarlo se non cjuesta de 
 Solarolo o, de altro assignamento che li facesse N''" S^'^ Et perho 
 come e dicto non lassate partendoli al ]:)redetto Mon'"'^ che 
 prima V habbia tale assignamento : perche noi non sapressimo 
 in che modo contentarlo mancando (juesto, et tanto piii havendo 
 el credito che havemo cum li Sauli obligato ad altri in una cosa 
 nostra de grande importantia : tenendoci chiari el predetto 
 Mons""^ ll'"° devere essere satisfacto da N™ S'^ Confortarete 
 S. S. R"* per parte nostra ad acceptare (|[uesto Solarolo : perche 
 per la relatione che havemo da persone digne de fede, semo 
 certificati decto castello valere mille ducati de intrata. Circa 
 quanto ne scrivite, che vorresti sapere che havendo noi ad 
 cavalchare, che numero de fanti vorressimo da N"^" S^®, vi 
 dicemo die (juesto non ce pare che lo specifichiati a Sua 
 B°^ ma bene ricercarla che havendo noi ad andare, la ce vogli 
 mandare cum quelli modi, et conditione che se ricerca al officio 
 nostro, et ala fidelissima servitu nostra verso S. S'* et percio in 
 questo vi regularete cum la prudentia vostra, et come a voi 
 parera per fare capace bene S. B"® essere necessario havendo noi 
 a cavalchare farci provisione de fanti come parera a lei. In 
 questo usaretice ogni diligentia et ne tenerete advisati (juello 
 sia el parere vostro circa el nostro cavalchare : Et benevalete 
 Urbini iiij lulii 1513. 
 
 FiiANciscusMAKiA Duc Urbiui 
 
 S. R. E. Cap^ Generalis. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211, f. 513.] 
 
 XX. 
 
 Elisabetta Gonzaga to Baldassare Castiglione. 
 
 Magnifico Messer Baldaserra. Semo in Pesaro done insino 
 che il caldo estivo non cie caccia credo starinnno sforzandoce de 
 stare sane : Vi desideramo et expectamovi cum desiderio : de 
 quanto ne havete scripto })er il facto de Messer Augustino
 
 446 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Gonzaga non ui mandamo altra resolutione, essendo il messo 
 
 in procincto de partire : Altra volta quando haremmo com- 
 
 modo de tempo vi responderimmo : il che non vorrimmo exspec- 
 
 tasti ma piu tosto tornasti ad noi subito : Pisauri xj* Maij 
 
 M.D.Xiij". 
 
 Elisabet Feltria de Gonzaga 
 
 Urbini Ducissa. 
 
 Mag*^" affini nobis amantissimo domini 
 Baldasari Castiliono, etc. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211, f. 307.] 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Elisahetta Gonzaga to Baldassare Castiglione. 
 
 Messer Baldasserra : La 111. et reveren : M* sora Clara nostra 
 cognata et sorella honoranda, per uno credit© ha cun il s. 
 Pandolpho da Arimino come prima et potiore creditrice, volen- 
 do dimandare contra li beni quali lui havea ad Arimino, ha facto 
 domandare a V, S. la commissione di la causa sua : da la quale 
 intendemo havet hauto bona intentione : Hora dubitandosi 
 che sua [S]'** non la commetti o ali clerici o ali auditori di 
 Camera : et li poi non si facci [imjmortale si per la lungheza 
 solita di la Corte, come ancho per el pocho modo di essa 
 predetta M*, desiderosa di omne beneficio et com modo suo per 
 el singulare amore che li portamo come sapete : havemo scripto 
 al S. M''° luliano vogli operare cun N. S. che si degni commet- 
 terla a mons. R"^^" de Santo Vitale : vederite ancho voi par- 
 larne a sua S. et cun essa parlarne ancho in nome nostro ala sua 
 S*'* et di gratia dimandarli questa commissione in el predetto 
 R™° Cardinale in el quale effecto non vogliate manchare di 
 opera : ne possibile solertia et studio che veramente non ne 
 potriste fare cosa piu grata. Pisauri xx mail 1513. 
 
 Elisabet de Gonzaga 
 
 Feltria de mano propria. 
 
 M'^" dilettissimo nostro Domino Bal 
 thaseri CastillionOj etc. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211, f. 309.]
 
 APPENDIX. 447 
 
 XXII. 
 
 Chiara di Montefeltro to Baldassare CastigUone. 
 
 Magnifico Messer Balthasserra {sic) mio : La M. V. sa quanto 
 la 111™* M* Duchessa nostra et io li ho scripto circa le cose mie 
 di Arimino : Et il desiderio ch' io ho obtenere da N. S. che la 
 causa sia commessa in el R'"° Cardinale S'° Vitale : Et la risposta 
 hauta dal S. M*^" nostro : di la (juale io pur desidero Io effecto : 
 (juale piu spero per niezo et opera di la predetta V. M. che per 
 altri : Fero cun tutto el core la prego sia contenta solicitare 
 talmente : che si ne habbia resolutione cun effecto : Et advisarmi 
 particularmente come et in che termini la cosa sia : che Io 
 ricevero in piacere supramodum grato da la predetta M. V. ala 
 quale mi ricommando. Urbini viij lunii 1513, 
 
 Feltria soeor Clara. 
 
 Prego con tutto el core la M. V. voglia con la prudentia sua 
 operarse per modo io optenga la gratia quella intendera desidero. 
 So che portiate amore a la felice memoria del S. mio fradello ; 
 per amor suo aiutateme, so ancora sete devoto del glorioso San 
 Franzescho e de Sancta Chiara, perho habiate Idio nante ali 
 ochi e questi doi gloriossimi Sancti, vostra sorella sora e 
 tutte r altre monache che militano sotto el trionfante vexillo 
 de c[uesta gloriosa Vergine. El corpo de la quale se farete {sic) 
 sia in mano de quelle vivano secondo la sua volonta non dubito 
 ve rendera copiosi meriti in questa vita e in T altra e ue obliga- 
 rete tutta la religione nostra perpetualmente pregare Idio per 
 voi. Per la lettera de la mia S. D. Elisa, intenderete diffusa- 
 mente el tutto perho iterum atque iterum recomando cjuesta 
 cosa e per V amor de Idio passi secreta per (juesta causa scrivo a 
 Io 111°^° luliano P aligata. Non dimentichi etiam quella mia 
 causa d"" Arimino. 
 
 Al mio M'^° Messer Balthasserra Cas- 
 tigUone. Ronife. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat, 8211, f. 302.] 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 Chiara di Montefeltro to Baldassare CofitigUone. 
 Magnifico Baldassera. Essendo io molto desiderosa ch' el 
 locho di S'* Clara di Assisio dove e il glorioso Corpo di quella 
 Sancta si reducesse al Observantia : acio f "usse recto et gubernato
 
 448 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 come meritamente si dovea : Et fusse levato da le Conventuale : 
 quale in esso come da molti citadini fui informata : et e notis- 
 simo viviamo mancho che religiose et honeste : Al tempo di 
 Papa lulio fe. mae. tentai mi fusse dato per tale efi'ecto il dicto 
 loco : cun animo di andarli pigliarlo et redurlo a la dicta 
 religione nostra Observantina : Come ancho da molti citadini 
 mi ne era facto instantia : Sua S'^ condescend eva : et era con- 
 tento : cun ordine ch' io mi elligesse uno confessore : et che 
 da lui et non altri si facesse la visita : Et non voleva altra- 
 mente si presto levarlo da la cura di li Conventuali. Io la 
 quale non voleva per modo alchuno levarmi da la cura et 
 totale obedientia di li mei superior! et da la regula in la 
 quale ho facta la mia professione, non volsi acceptare : Et cosi 
 rimase la cosa inresoluta : Et havendo pur el medesimo desiderio : 
 acio quello locho si reduchi a quello governo et vita che 
 meritamente si conviene : Sperando che N. S. per la bonta sua 
 et sanctimonio vivare che lui vole si faccia condescendera a 
 questo intento et mio ardentissimo desiderio : Prego la M. V. 
 che cun questa mia credentiale in lei al M'^" gli ne voglia parlare : 
 et fare intendare el tutto cun extendarsi in questo come la sapra 
 fare : et operare insieme cun esso apresso N. S. si efficacemente : 
 ch"" el mi sia concesso a tale effecto el dicto locho : et che si 
 reduchi a la regula : et governo di la Observantia nostra : che 
 ultra si fara opera sancta et laudabile et a Dio acceptissima : 
 et di merito per la M. V. io Io ricevero in piacere tanto grato : 
 et accepto quanto piu dire non potria da quella : a la quale mi 
 ricommando : Et la prego adverti governare talmente secreta 
 questa cosa : che altri ch' el M*^" et N. S. non intendano questa 
 praticha : perche sapendosi emuli assai et ancho Conventuali 
 fariano opera in contrario : Urbini x lunii 1513. 
 
 Feltria soror Clara. 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211, f. 303.] 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Eltsahetta Gonzaga to Baldassare Castiglione. 
 
 Messer Balthasserra : Voi viderite quanto vi scrive la 111. et 
 reveren. M* sora Clara nostra Cognata et sorella honoranda : 
 Vedate cum omne efficacia di parlarne cun il S. M''° et cun N. S. 
 in nome nostro : et fate omne conato acio la sia compiaciuta di
 
 APPENDIX 449 
 
 questo suo et nostro desiderio : che ne farite piacere gratissimo 
 
 et singulare. Urbini x lunii 1513. 
 
 Elisabet Feltkia de Goxzaga 
 
 Urbini Ducissa etc. 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211, f. 311.] 
 
 XXV. 
 
 EUsahetta Gonzaga to Baldassare Cast'iglione. 
 Magnifice Dilectissime noster : Ali giorni passati ve fu per 
 via de la Bolzecta dirizato un mazo de lettere infra le quale li 
 erano quelle de la Reverenda M"** Sora Chiara nostra cognata 
 de manu propria, et nostre : Et tamen benche V habiamo 
 expectato cum summo desiderio, mai ne havemo habuto risposta : 
 Ve piaccia adunque satisfare al nostro honesto voto, havendole 
 recipute. Et quando fusse altramente (ad cio potiate operare 
 el bisogno) el tenore de epse e questo : che havesteno ad parlare 
 prima cum la S. del M*^" per esser Catholico et inclinato ad 
 favorire le cose pie, et demum a la S*^ de N. S. usando onme 
 opportuna diligentia in vider de impetrare da sua Eeatitudine, 
 che el Convento de S''' Chiara de Asisi, dove e el sanctissimo 
 Corpo di quelia se havesse ad redure a la Observantia, ad cio in 
 ({uel sacro loco se viuesse piu religiosamente che non se fa al 
 presente, et cum piu timore de Dio. Et tal peso prehenderia 
 {sic) la predetta Reverenda nostra cognata per tor via tanta 
 licentia de li, dove se intende esserli spesso tre, o, quattro sore 
 gravide, et usarlise molti inhonesti et intollerabili termini : in 
 modo che saria opera sanctissima ad providerli, et condecente 
 ala predetta S''* et etiam conforme ala natura de lo 111"^° M*^" che 
 in (jueste cose sole sempre intervenire volentieri. Cum favore 
 adunque de sua Excellentia, sollicitarite la votiva expeditione di 
 (juesto, et ce darite celere adviso, che dal canto di (jua se fara 
 anche le debite provisione : Et perche siate piu animoso ad 
 operare, sappiate che la Roborea natura de Papa lulio, era gia 
 mollificata et condescendeva ad tale petitione, che merita essere 
 exaudita : Bisognando etiam la Comunita de Asisio che non puo 
 toUerare piu, mandara ambassiatori et breviter se fara omne 
 expeditione che el caso ricerca. Et bene valete : Urbini viij lulii 
 M.U.Xiij. 
 
 Heusaret Feltkia ue Goxzaga 
 
 Urbini Ducissa etc. 
 [Coil. Vat. Lat., 8211, f. 313.] 
 
 VOL. I. 29
 
 450 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Cesare Minutolo to Baldassare Castiglione . 
 
 Magnifico et mio observandissimo etc. La S. V. vedera 
 quanto li serive il nostro 111"^" commune S'® pero non insisto in 
 respondere alia sua, parendome che la lettera di sua Ex'^^ testifi- 
 cara la mente de quello et il bono animo et fede ha in voi. 
 
 Monstrai la partita della vostra lettera a M* Raphaella, et 
 benche quella me negasse il baso della Candida mano, non 
 manchai della mia solita presumptione, sed frustra laboravi. 
 Dice ve debbia fare intendere da parte sua che la mangia bene 
 et beve meglio, dasse piacere et bon tempo et vive allegramente, 
 et per dirve la pura verita non me pare se attristi molto della 
 absentia vostra, non so se proceda da pocho amore, o vero dalla 
 sua mala natura et instabile cervello, che tanto se ricorda del suo 
 amante quanto il vede et a mala pene, et non la intenderia bis 
 Christo. Sapete quanto 1'' amo et observe, el premio ne reporto 
 sono rabuffi, villanie et tortuosi resguardi, et quod deterius, me 
 spaccia per Messer Marco Antonio Cosmogerite, o ingrata 
 donna ! 
 
 De novo qui ijon e altro se attende al ordine della giostra, et 
 
 ogni di se prova qualche vno. Heri sera il S"'^ ruppe tre lancie 
 
 valorosamente. Me racomando sempre alia S. V. et al R'^° Mon- 
 
 signore de Tricaricho et ve prego anchora che siate gran Maestro, 
 
 ve degnate de gratia allegrarvi da parte mia, con il novo 
 
 Arcivescovo de Bari, et racomandarmi a sua S. perche me e 
 
 anticho padrone, et che lo pozza vedere Cardinale. lo. Batista 
 
 Bonaventura se racomanda molto alia S. V. et tutta questa 
 
 corte, et principalmente M* Raphaella che de sopra m' e scordato 
 
 dirlo. Bene Valete. Pisauri x Maii 1513. 
 
 Vostro servitore 
 
 Cesake Minltolo. 
 
 Al Mag^" et mio observan. Messer 
 Baldassare da Castiglione. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211, f. 479.]
 
 APPENDIX 451 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 Luigia CastigUone to Baldassare Castiglione. 
 
 Carissimo mio figliolo : Per messer Aluiso nostio io hebbi una 
 tua lettera, pocho parlassimo a bocha per esser io a la ^"enuta 
 sua in punto d' andare a Casaticho dove gli sou stata otto di e 
 iudici e procuratori e nodari per quella differeucia d' Antonio da 
 ]Mantua : Non staro a dir adesso como havemo fatto : spero la 
 sententia sera data che la fossa sia tuta nostra : Heri che fu 
 r ultimo de aprile per messo a posta de mio fratello hebbi 
 una lettera a Casaticho dove tu mi scrivi ha\erne inandato 
 un' altra per Paulo Bena° la quale non ho hauta ne luy e 
 \enuto secondo quando dicono li suoy : per cjuesta intend© il 
 desiderio hay de haver (juello libro dove son notati tuti quelli 
 rason de Casaticho : e cussi subito oze chi e el primo de mazo 
 son venuta dentro : e domandato chi fusse per venir a Koma ho 
 ritrovato don Bernardin Capra lator presente el cjuale fazeva 
 ben un pocho de dificulta : pur credo questo me servira : e per 
 luy ti mando diece ducati d' oro zioe roverini 9 e un ducato 
 largho : piu non ho potuto ritrovar cussi presto : Prima ch' io 
 partisse per Casaticho intesi el S"^ Aluiso da Gonzaga dovesse in 
 breve partir per Roma e cun sua S"* messer Francesco Benato 
 parente nostro : e dubitando non esser venuta a tempo : manday 
 al dicto messer Francesco ducati 20 zioe rouerini : ch' io pensai 
 ben che quelli potevano esser spesi : quando son venuta loro non 
 son anche partiti : et ho mandati per haver li dinari e non ho 
 poduto per non essere messer Francesco in la terra : si che alia 
 venuta sua a Roma che diseno sera presto tu haverai anche 
 quelli : Va mo dreto cussi cun deztreza spendendo, perche siamo 
 pur stati mal quest' ano e purche non ha^essemo bisognato 
 sustenir cussi li nostri cuntadini se gli poteva star : ma seriano 
 a cjuest"' ora niorti de fame : Dicemo pur un pocho de la praticha 
 nostra: in quel altra mia io te scrivea como messer Aluiso me 
 havea ditto dovesse un pocho intratenir la cosa e cussi parlay 
 cun m^ Polissena Rangona dolendomi in nome tuo e mio de 
 molte subtilita che usava el Conte Gi. non specificando pero di 
 cjuella licentia parendo cusi a mio fratello : Al fine conclusi 
 ch"" io volena saper che tei-mini e soguenze haueano ad essere 
 (jueste e poy te avisaria : Siche ([uesto sera un tenir un pocho 
 
 29—2
 
 452 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 ill tempo tanto che possi veder coiiio se puo far di (juesto ch' io 
 te scrissi : Per freza non scrivo piu di tjuesta expedicion de 
 Casaticho so ch' el non bisogna ch' io te ne rischalda altra- 
 niente : Siamo sani Dio gratia el piu de nuy e molti se ti 
 racomandano ch' io non staro a dir : El S"^ Dio te campa da mal 
 e periculi : Mantu^c p° niaij 1513. 
 
 Aluisa Casti : tua Madre. 
 Al mio Mag''° e carissimo li^luolo 
 
 Baldesaro da Castiglioue. In Roma. 
 
 In borgo in casa del R'^° Messer L"^" 
 
 da Canossa, Vescovo deTrichariclio. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211, f. 199.] 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 Lidg'ia Castiglione to Baldassare Castiglione. 
 
 Carissimo mio figliolo : Dapoy ch'' io venne fora al Casaticho 
 del mese presente ho hauto quatro lettere tue a me tute gratis- 
 sime : delle quale una ne porto Bochalino qui apresso vene in 
 persona a visitarme per tua parte : il che me fue de grandissimo 
 contento a poter parlar cun persona che te hauesse veduto e 
 certificarme del ben star tuo : Ben mi credeva ch' el mi dovesse 
 saper dir qualche particularita di queste tue cose de Casaticho 
 che poco me ne sepe dir sonno cussi gienerale : el mi disse de 
 quelle zovene de Nuvolara laudando mo le cose ; Dio ce inspira 
 atacharse al melio : esso Bochalino mi ritrovo in leto amalata 
 d' una terzana asay fastidiosa, pure Dio gratia, la mi ha lassata 
 pur trista : tutatvia spero in n. S'^ Dio de restaurareme presto : 
 La lettera tua ne la quale tu me scrivi ch' io veda de metere 
 insieme ducento ducati : il che faro el possibile, anchora che 
 adesso sia molto mal ritrovare dinari per essere qualche piu grano 
 delsolito non se atrova chi nevogliaper pocho neper assay : niente 
 di meno faro ogni sforzo tanto ch' io spero a mezo agosto o pocho 
 piu serano aparechiati : li 50 ducati ch' io scrissi son a mano 
 e non mi son curata fin qui circhare messo che te li porta per 
 haverme ti scrito ch' io non li mandasse senza tuo aviso : hora 
 procuraro de mandarli a chaschuno messo che Aadi a Pesaro 
 o a Urbino : Me pare in questa lettera ultima che tu ti resenti 
 forse per el mio solicitarte de expedir queste tue cose : mi non 
 vorey za che ti desperasse ne che tu volesse quello che non puo, 
 che seria pazia : anche ti priego a star di bona voglia e con- 
 servarti sano ch' io non potrey haver la mazor gratia al mondo :
 
 APPENDIX 453 
 
 L"" e ben vero che apresso a cjuanto io de.sidero grandemente the 
 
 ]e cose tue siano ben expedite per honoi* e utile tuo : ch' io so 
 
 niolto ben che non poy star longaniente in Roma che non spendi 
 
 assay e eh"' el star absente tanto tempo da la famiglia genera 
 
 disordini asay non gli havendo akuno governo di cjueilo gie sia : 
 
 e diro pur anche (juesto pocho : (|uanto utile pare che seria 
 
 stato cjuando vedesse che questa expedicion da Roma andava 
 
 tanto in longo a far tuore il possesso dil tuo castello per altra 
 
 persona cun carta de procura : et metergie un homo in nome 
 
 tuo : et occorendo cjualche intradella pigliarli in nome tuo che 
 
 ti ha^eria pur dato utile e honore : niente di meno io non posso 
 
 saper (jueste cose se non che mi vanno cussi per mente e non scio 
 
 che far altro se non scrivere : Siche figliolo mio abiate per 
 
 excusa e pigliale cun quello amore ch'' io te le scrivo : e molto 
 
 piu voluntiera te le direy a bocha quando da Dio mi fusse 
 
 concessa et alora tu poresse anche ci dir la rason tua : siche se 
 
 tu \enirai in Lombardia a locho ch' io ti possa vedere perche 
 
 r ha\'ero de suma gratia : fra ({uesto mezo ti conforto ben a 
 
 vedere de atrovarte un homo da ben, anche duy s' el si puo : un 
 
 che stesse sempre apresso di te : e di (juesto ho hauto (jueste di 
 
 (jualche pensiere a Bochalino che (jui T ha pocho credito : un 
 
 altro che stia sempre go\enio de la famiglia tua e sia homo da 
 
 farse temere e sapia pigliar un partito (|uando el bisogna : e 
 
 non guardi a spesa ch' el se la potra molto ben guadagnar : 
 
 Venendo in Lonbardia e parendoti veder (juella cosa da Modena 
 
 non dispia/.era : et anchora cjuelle de Nuvolara che sera fazil 
 
 cosa : azio che possiamo una volta dar a terra : Le nostre bia\ e 
 
 anchora non son fornite de battere, pur a (juello si vede 
 
 starimo molto melio del anno passato ma son venute a ville 
 
 precio. Non scrivo piu })er esser stancha anchora ch' io 1' abia 
 
 scrita in duy di : Circha de star sano aricomandame al ^escho^o 
 
 nostro et a messer Agustino se tu te trovi in Roma : como sey 
 
 a Urbino avisame precise el debito de maestro Abraam ch' el 
 
 mi insta d' essere pagato : El S"^ Dio te guarda da ogni periculo : 
 
 In Casaticho a di '28 de luio 1513. 
 
 Tua madre 
 
 AnnsA Casti, 
 
 Al carissimo fiirliolo ]?al(l. de C'as- 
 tiglione. In Koma o dove si ritiova. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., li-2U, f. 202.]
 
 454 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 Luigia Castiglionc to Baldassare Castiglione. 
 
 Carissimo mio figliolo : Da Bindo ho hauto una tua lettera 
 et a bocha da luy ho inteso il ben star tuo dil che ho hauto 
 grandissimo contento : Nui qui a Mantua siamo asay ben sani : 
 ma fora in villa messer Thomaso nostro con tuti duy li figlioli 
 son amalati como da Bindo intenderay che li ha visti : messer 
 L*° nostro di Uberti mori merchore proximo passato : non e 
 stato tropo da pianzere per esser ormay decrepito : Hora ti diro 
 di quello che occorre Bindo non era tropo informato di tuto 
 quello volea saper da luy, maxime dicendomi luy che tu volevi 
 venir in queste bande como anche ti me scrivi : gie domanday 
 cussi in secreto che ordine gie havevi zioe cun che licentia : luy 
 disse non lo sapere : sopra quanto io li ho ditto che tu vengi 
 quanto te piaze a Casaticho,e starge diece o(juindeci di e piu s'el ti 
 pare : io te diro poi el modo che ho tenuto, ben F ho ditto anche 
 a luy se te lo sapera dir : ora venendo mi parera ben fato per 
 non parer de far befFe del amico da Modena che passi di li e 
 veder la nierchantia se voranno : poy se ritrovara qualche scusa 
 bona de quel la da Nuvolara : pur heri parlandone cun Francesco 
 Gonzao;a mi disse che certe al iudicio suo la seconda non seria 
 may chiamata bruta et che a luy pareria che venendo qui, tu la 
 vedesse, che seria facillimo ch' el padre la tien sempre a manzar 
 cun luy : e senza dir altro passando di li far uno lozamento ti e 
 vederla : De quella del Conte Nicolo, la mazore fu data a un 
 messer Pietro Fregoso, le altre son chi in qua, chi in la : el 
 padre e in Franza non mi par cosa da pensar. Quel altra del 
 Conte X" me pare una materia che V e in cussi pocho 
 conto qui quanto si possa dir : Ma Madalena compagna del 
 jllmo gr Fg^ii-ico nostro mi ha pregata ch' io te scriva che tu vedi 
 de saper quello sia venuto d' una zovene che fu nora de messer 
 Bartolomeo de la Rover, moglie di quello suo figlioli chi era 
 cussi un pocho in discordia cun il padre el quale morite in queste 
 bande nostre, hora fu V anno : dice che V era da Perosa o vicina, 
 che r era assay bella e per (juanto la intese, havea ducati 
 desdotto milia de dota, pov se asperava anchora una hereditate 
 che seria una bona cosa : la non mi sa dire de chi la fusse figliola, 
 ma dice che V era d' un signor : fa quello ti pare siando cussi
 
 APPENDIX 455 
 
 bona r e dubio che la sia spazata : L' altro di ti manday cento 
 ducati per un nierchadante nostro mantuano chi drizay a Pesaro 
 a messer Amato e gli scrissi : a ti scrisse poi per un figliolo de 
 m* lulia el quale sta li a Urbino : horo ne mando per Bindo 
 ottanta e vinti ne dago al podesta che serano cento : \'ole\a 
 ben mandarte li cento ma non he possibile sparger biava se non 
 a stente, como V ha visto Bindo anchora che la se buta uia : Te 
 mando poi molte cose : che serano notate che a una parte gli e 
 pur bisognato dinari : vederemo questi duy di ch' io staro a 
 Mantua satisfar a maestro Abraam e dubito bisognaro impegnar 
 per una parte piu presto che star qui in tempo che Y e molto 
 bisogno ch' io vadi fora : Quello giovane chi e venuto cun 
 Bindo ha hauto berete per ducati trentacinque circha io li ho 
 promesso : vedi per ogni modo non me li pagar che adesso 
 havero da far assay : A mezo questo mese m* L''^ e Carlo mi 
 serano dreto : Venendo in queste bande ti suplico de gratia che 
 tu reschodi la tua catena e portarla cun tego e cussi se 1' hai 
 (jualche veste de seta o brochato che non sia per ti che me la 
 porta ch' io ne faro cjualche fornimenti per casa : e non far 
 como facesse quand' io era a Urbino che non volessi may ch' io 
 vedesse ne li tuoy forzeri : Poy venne zente a che non credevi 
 lassarli e restasse nel danno : T era pur ben ch' io li havesse 
 hauti e forne tjualche cosa honorevole per casa che lassarli haver 
 a li tristi. Altro non scrivo per hora. N. S"^ Dio ti couserva 
 in sanitu : In Mantua a di 4 septembris 1513. Aricordate de 
 dar risposta a questi nostri di Uberti che ti scriveno de la 
 morte del padre. 
 
 Aluisa da Castiglioxe tua Matre. 
 
 P^ una fodra de lupi. 
 
 lyccci jjg panno biancho fino. 
 
 Fazioleti V2} , 
 
 r, n .. -de renso. 
 
 hcuiioti J 
 
 Para 6 de calzeti. 
 
 Lenzoli 3 grossi. 
 
 Peze de mane da cortelli 7. 
 
 Peze 2 de formazo pesi 4. 
 
 3 fasoli. 
 
 3 cisi. 
 
 3 milio.
 
 45G COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 Beretti 2 negri belli. 
 
 Pezi 8 de cervelati. 
 
 Sachi 6 novi. 
 
 Coltre 2 da letto. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211, f. 20-5.] 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Luiffia Castiglioiie to Baldassare Castiglione. 
 
 Carissinio mio figliolo : Quelle di che Bindo parti da Mantua 
 io hebbi una tua lettera portata da un ragazo del S"^ Duca 
 patron tuo : ala quale non accade altra risposta : Da poy ch' io 
 son a Casaticlio ne ho hauto un altra del ultimo d' agosto : e 
 messer Hieronymo, Podesta a Urbino mi e venuto a visitar e 
 dirme como tu partisse el di de S'° Bartolomeo da Urbino per 
 Santa M^ de Loreto el qual di vien a di 24 d' agosto e pur 
 questa tua lettera e data a Urbino, siche non intendo como vada 
 questa cosa : Sia come si voglia pur che tu sii sano como tu me 
 scrivi bastame : Bindo fu expedito da mi a di 4 del presente e 
 porto dinari cun molte altre cose le quale ti misi in scripto 
 excepto due coperte da leto che mi dimentichay : El cavallo che 
 lui conduceva da luy haveray inteso como e passato, el ne compro 
 uno de dinari d' altri per sey ducati et io gie Io pagay perche 
 el potesse portar tela el lino e berete a chi li havena dato 
 dinari : e porto alF Alda b" 15 de tela de piu da 15 marzelli che 
 poray far andar in cunto de dinari ch' el dice la debe havere 
 dati : El podesta e satisfato de li 20 ducati : de la cavalla che 
 volevi ch' io ti mandasse : venendo ti como spero la vederay 
 e piazendoti la pigliaray : Di quello amico tuo orefice che voria 
 condur le robe sue ne ho comisso al fator nostro da Mantua per 
 mie lettere ch"" el fazia quanto tu scrivi : Di quelli veli che 
 scrivi non essendo io a Mantua ne sapendo como siano fatti 
 quelli : o di seta o di filo o bambaso che non Io scrivi haveria 
 faticha a intendere : siche difFeriremo pur sino a la venuta tua 
 in qua : la quale aspetto cun gran desiderio e pregoti non la 
 tardi piu, che ognidi ua pezorando el tempo e le strade, siando 
 vicini al inverno como siamo : e ti racordo che fazi la via de 
 Modena e da Nuvolara azio me sapie dir qualche cosa : E 
 quando veniray racordate lassar bon ordine in casa e quelle robe
 
 APPENDIX 457 
 
 che lasseray siano in bone mane che non si achascha cjualche 
 disordine, e non ti dimentichar portar la tua cathena ch' io 
 te la voglio salvare : Siamo sani Dio gratia tuti except© messer 
 Thomaso nostro che ha hauto una longa e fastidiosa terzana 
 come Bindo ti puo haver dito che V ha visto : Non scrivo piu al 
 presente : Nostro S*^ Dio te guarda da male : Scriveme cjualche 
 cosa (juando credi de ritrovarte qui a Casaticho perche son molte 
 persone che desiderano venire a vederte : Casatici 21 Septembris 
 1513. 
 
 Tua madre 
 Aluisa Castiglioxa. 
 
 Al Mag*^*^ e Carissimo figliolo B. Cas- 
 tiglione. In Urbino o dove sia. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat, 8211, f. 207.] 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 Francesco Strozzi to Baldassare Castiglione. 
 
 Magnifico fratello mio honorando : A questi di per una 
 lettera vostra e poi a bocha per Bindo ho inteso del ben star 
 vostro, cosa che a me e stata de summo apiacere e voria poterne 
 intendere ogni di et ogni hora che non posso havere el magior 
 contento com mo e a sapere che stati bene. Intendo che sete 
 grasso, che non havete temuto el caldo da ({uesta estate commo 
 habiamo fato nuy, che siamo tuti amalati e venissimo fora qui 
 per paura del caldo da IVIantua. Son stata la prima amalarme e 
 cusi per gratia de Dio la prima a guarire, per potere atendere ali 
 altri. Messer Thomaso mio e in leto vinti di fa cun una febra 
 terzana non niolto grande ma fastidiosa, ha perso in tuto P 
 apetito che non trova cosa che li piacia e se non vi fussimo da 
 lonze se non una zornata, che credo seria forza a mandar a tore 
 de quelle vostro vino che intendiamo ch' e cusi bono che li faria 
 forsi tornar el gusto. Li mei puti sonno tuti amalati commo 
 siano guariti tuti andaremo a Mantua piacendo a Dio : Ho 
 dimandato a Bindo se sete anchora andato al vostro Castello e 
 me dice de no, e voria che li andasti perche habiamo fato pensiere 
 non venendo vuy in queste bande de \enire nuy in (juelle e 
 quasi ho fato voto in questo mio male se havesse saputo el nome 
 del santo de quella chiesia lo haveria fato in tuto : E ve ricordo
 
 458 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 a tore mogliera prestamente, acioche potiamo venire a noze e a 
 solazo che faremo de uno viazo duy servicij, che horamai me 
 comincia a riticrescere aspetare tan to, che dubito che parero poi 
 vecchia che mi sera vergogna a balare ale vostre noze : Non 
 scrivero piu in longo per hora se non che a vostra Mag^'^ Messer 
 Thomaso et io se racomaridamo per infinite volte, desyderosi 
 vederlo e sroderlo. In Revere adi 5 de .setebre 1513. 
 
 La vostra amorevole sorella 
 
 FUAXCISCHA StUOZA. 
 
 Al Maij^" Cavaliero e mio veiieraudo 
 Fratello Messer Baldesaro da Cas- 
 tiglioiie ec. In Urbino. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8211, f. 240.] 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 Costanza Rangone to Luigia Castiglione. 
 
 Magnifica quanto sorella honoranda : Per lo amor che io 
 
 porto a V. S. sono sforzata ad alegrarmi cum quella dela nostra 
 
 comune sposa qualla sono certa che V. S. la conosca, ma per 
 
 essersi alevata in queste parte ne ho pur io piu cognitione di 
 
 quella, la quale puo havere gaudio che oltra le beleze sue de 
 
 haverse aquistato uno figliola alevata in Paradiso, che per Dio 
 
 e tanto gentil et acostumata quanto dir se possa; cusi prego 
 
 Idio li concedi gratia de godersi V una parte et V altra longo 
 
 tempo in alegreza. Anchora V. S. sera contenta in nomo mio 
 
 alegrarsine cum le Magnifice m^ Polisena et m* Francesca sole 
 
 figliole, dela bona et gentil sorella se hano aquistato, che a fede io 
 
 dal canto mio non ne ho mancho alegreza quanto V una parte et 
 
 r altra mi fussino figlioli, ne mi par che molti giorni fano fusse 
 
 facto cosa piu laudabile di questa : cusi Idio la persevera in bene. 
 
 Altro per hora non mi occore se non che a V. S. de continuo mi 
 
 racomando. In Modena ali 10 de febraro 1516. 
 
 Di. V. S. 
 
 Quanto sorella 
 
 Costanza Rangoxa Contessa. 
 
 Alia Mag'^'^ M'^ Aloysa da Castioue^, 
 quanto sorella honoranda. In Mantua. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat, 8212, f. 236.]
 
 APPENDIX 459 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 Alda Bo'iarda to Luigia Castiglione. 
 
 Magnifica quanto sorella honoranda : Ho visto per una di 
 
 V. M. quanto quella mi ha scripto del sponsalitio che ha facto 
 
 V. M. de lo unico figliolo Messer Baldessare. To ne ho hauto 
 
 sumo contento et gaudio et ho mostrato la lettera di V. M. 
 
 a sor' Laura et anchora lei se ne ha hauto grande alegreza. 
 
 Havendo inteso la nora, et de amici siamo doventati parenti, 
 
 et V. M. se ne relegra, como Messer Baldasar per parte nostra 
 
 et mi place assai che habia hauto M* Hypolita ch' io intendo ch' 
 
 e vna bellissa {sic) giovene et anchora richa de dotta et 
 
 e gientille cossa ad quelle mi ha dito un modeneso amico 
 
 mio che la conosso : et sor' Laura et me pregamo Dio Sig"^ Y" 
 
 Xto. con la madre sua gloriosissima Vergine Maria, che 
 
 mantenga V. M. et il figlio e la nora felici et lieti in perpetuo 
 
 con nui altre fidelissime parente. Et a la ^L V. cun bon cuore 
 
 et fido aninio io mi racomando et suor^ Laura si ricomanda a la 
 
 bona gratia di quella. Ferrarie 13 februarij 1516. 
 
 Alda Boiarda Comitissa. 
 
 A Mag'^'' quanto sorella M"* Aluysa 
 Castiglione hon"'. In Mantua. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8212, f. .50.] 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 Angelica Gonzaga to Ippolita ToreU'i. 
 
 Magnifica et sincjularissima madonna e come sorella honoran- 
 dissima. La pace de quello che gode tutto lo uni\erso se degni 
 poner mane ad ogni vostro passo como vede per sua gratia si e 
 dignato dar tal principio, son certa che in vui finira in gran 
 contenteza, dil che havendo presentito de la amicitia facta 
 mediante la nostra disponsatione cun la casa da Castione, {sic) e 
 avegna che cun vostra Magnificencia non habia tropo domesti- 
 cheza per essere state lontanate V una dal altra insina da li 
 nostri teneri anni, ma in che in modo habia questo presentito la 
 mia cara e, honor, m""* Aluisa me ne ha dato avviso, e cun 
 quanto jubilo de core scriver non ve poteria pensate, carissima 
 sorella, essa a di quello unico figliolo. Se serite quella che io penso
 
 460 COUNT BALDASSARE CASTIGLIONE 
 
 sarite tutto il suo cove, dil che sorella me alegro cun vui che 
 siate apozata a cosi digno cavaliero quanto el Mag*^° messer 
 Baldesar, homo fra tutti li altri al di de ozi nominato de virtu e 
 zentileza cun beltade, non credo sia el paro a lui. Iterum me 
 alegro e de questo non posso pensare essere proceduto da altro 
 che da la mane de Dio e dal nome de vostra dignissima venustade. 
 Ve ho voluta cun questa mia visitarve per essere mia propinqua 
 de sanffue. Non altro me vostra humanissima Mao-nificencia 
 me aricomando. Ex monasterio nostro Coi'poris x' Mantue die 
 xxj Februarii M.D.Xvj. 
 
 La Vostra Cara sorella sor 
 
 AXGELICA DA GoXZAGA. 
 
 Alia Mag"^^ et honor. Madonna Ippolita 
 da Castiglione sorella sua colendis- 
 sima et amatissima. In Modena. 
 
 [Cod. Vat. Lat., 8213, f. 29.] 
 
 The last three letters were partly printed in Prof. Cian's ' Candidature 
 nuziali di B. Castiglione,' 40-42. 
 
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