THE FLOWERS OF THE VIRGIN 209 



Child is shown by His attitude, for His back is 

 turned to the hand which holds the flowers. 



One of the most beautiful things in the 

 beautiful city of Lucca is the little chapel of 

 Santa Maria della Rosa. It was originally 

 dedicated to Saint Paul and fell into disuse, 

 but in the very earliest years of the fourteenth 

 century a fresco was discovered beneath the 

 creepers which covered the walls. The fresco 

 was even then considered to be extremely 

 ancient, and represented the Virgin with the 

 Child and holding three roses in her hand. In 

 1309 the Bishop of Lucca conceded to the 

 Universitd de' Mercanti the power to erect on 

 the spot a church dedicated to the Virgin of the 

 Rose and the Apostles Peter and Paul, and the 

 present exquisite little building was commenced. 



The outside is ornamented with lovely 



arabesques of roses in low relief executed in 



1333, and upon one angle is a statue of the 



Virgin with a rose in her hand, possibly by 



Giovanni Pisano. In the sacristry are the arms 



of the confraternity figuring Mary surrounded 



by an oval nimbus and supported by two bushes, 



which carry thirteen roses, and form a crown 

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