ITALIAN GARDENS OF THE RENAISSANCE 



beech-tree, where the great Saint knelt rapt in prayer 

 when he received the Stigmata. This gallery, which 

 runs along the edge of the cliff looking down on 

 Bibbiena and the valley below, was built two hundred 

 years ago to shelter the monks from the piercing cold 

 of the winter nights during their long vigils. Twice 

 in the twenty-four hours, at midnight and after 

 vespers, they pass in procession through this cloister 

 to the chapel, chanting litanies in honour of the Stig- 

 mata. The cloister itself is decorated with curious 

 terra-cotta representations of the Via Crucis, and over 

 the door of the chapel is a beautiful figure of Francis 

 holding the cross in his hand, by one of the Delia 

 Robbias. 



The chapel, which was begun thirty-seven years 

 after the death of Francis, when the wondrous tale 

 of the Stigmata was fresh in the hearts of his followers, 

 still retains its original features, and a bronze grating 

 in front of the altar marks the exact spot which the 

 reverence of ages has consecrated. Above the altar 

 is another great relief by Andrea della Robbia repre- 

 senting the Crucifixion, and remarkable for the beauty 

 of the weeping angels, who hover in mid- air, clasping 

 their hands together or covering their faces in ago- 

 nised grief, as well as for the power of expression 

 shown in the different saints assembled at the foot 



of the Cross. The figure of Francis, who stands 



268 



