eyes! >. 
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i el 
FLORENCE. 
7s StPeter's a 
and 363 in 
‘Ite most remarkable feature, however, is the dome, 
which was raised under the directions of Philip Brunel- 
lesco, the mdst celebrated architect of the 15th 3 
The dimensions are within a few feet of the dome of. 
Peter’s ; and as it is prior to it in date by a cen- 
‘tury, and was always the of An- 
‘$s admiration, we may ‘con , that the of 
h Roman edifice was at least im part suggested the 
Florentine. But, ariaatedl tiamein oe ie of 
yon "ta Wore eats “S00 eneiade tae: 
, has consequently circular, 
Herm ne closed at there is a want of 
1 
at ee esi 1 Th . 
of Andrea Ugalin, of Pisa and Lorenzo Ghi- 
the great 
873 | 
berti, and were so highly admired by Michael Angelo, Florence: 
that he ealled them the’ Gates of oh mip Hee the “—"\—" 
rinci te of the baptistery are two columns of por-  ~ 
pe vo bik are. i dperitied the immense lanine 
with which the Pisans, in 1406, attempted to close up 
their harbour against the Florentines and Genoese, and 
which were afterwards brought to Florence as a trophy 
of victory. See Civiz Arenirecture, vol. vi. :p. 548, 
and Plate CLXXIII where we have given’a plan and 
vertical section of this church. 
The next, and indeed the only other church which 
deserves a particular description, is that of San Loren- 
zo inthe northern part of the aie This also was plan- 
ned by Brunellesco, ‘but is, in design and magni- 
ficence, inferior to the Duomo. It has, however, at- 
tained to high celebrity, from two buildings attached ‘to 
it; the none and the Medicean Chapel. * rhe first was 
one of the earliest works of Michael Angelo, and is de« 
corated with 7 statues by the same artist ; and although 
most of them are unfinished, yet the eye of the con- 
noisseur will easily discern in them, the genius and 
boldness of design, which so eminently characterize the 
ions of that great ‘sculptor. 
The chapel which adjoins the back of the church was. 
begun in 1604 by F and I. Grand Duke of Tusca- 
ny, who intended not only to have removed thither the: 
mausolea of his ancestors, but was in treaty to 
the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem. The plan of the 
building was every way worthy of the p e for which 
it was intended. “Its form is octagonal, its diameter 
94, and its elevation to the vault 200 feet. It is liter- 
oie with lapis aa jasper, onyx, &c. furnished 
with sarcophagi of , and supported by granite 
pilasters with aoitate of xthde; The HM peat 
these pi are of touchstone ; beneath is a subter- 
ranegs chapel, where the bodies, whose names om 
on i above, are to 5 ie 
Srdctfition of our staf, a group in white marble 
by John of Bologna, with a bless Miko by Michael 
Angelo, and St John by one of his” pupils, “ grace this 
dormitory of the dead, and preside over it with appros 
priate majesty. But, 
Nescia mens hominum fati sortisque future, 
before the magnificent monument intended for their 
‘reception was finished, the Medicean line has failed ; 
the work is now suspended ; and, if we may judge from 
the impoverished state of the country, and the agitation 
of the times, it isnot likely to be resumed for many 
years, if ever.” The Laurentian library, which is in 
the convent annexed to the church, is a collection of 
valuable manuscripts, first formed by Cosmo and Loren- 
zo di Medicis, and considerably increased by Leo X. 
and Clement VII. ‘Of these,  Aacatig several of the 
most valuable have been removed to Paris. * 
In the other churches of Florence, though not defi- 
cient in internal decoration, there is but little to in- 
terest the traveller, except the recollections which the 
tombs of the illustrious men, whose ashes they con-~ 
tain, are calculated toexcite. It is indeed impossible 
to pass by unnoticed the edifices where repose the re- 
mains of a Guicciardini or Machiavelli; of a Michael 
Angelo or Galileo. : 
The palaces of Florence are remarkable for a style of Palaces. 
architecture peculiar to themselves, to which the long 
civil wars in the 15th century between the Guelph an 
Ghibelline families first gave rise. The Palazzo Strozzi 
and the Palazzo Ricardi, the latter of which was built by 
¢ Cosmo de Medici, are curious specimens of 
this style. They are square, heavy, solid masses, whose 
