THE GARDES S OF ITALY. 
^6 
part of these buildings remains half burnt, even now in my time.” The beauty of those 
famous gardens perished in 410. 
In the fifteenth centurv the ground on which the villa now stands was partly in the 
possession of Catherine de Medici and partly in that of Gio Ricci da Montepulciano, who was 
made Cardinal bv Giulio III in 1551, and the deed by which Catherine made it entirely hers is 
still in the possession of the Ricci family in Rome. In 1540 Ricci had laid the first stone of 
the new building, but its 
accomplishment was left to 
Ferdinand de Medici, one 
of those ecclesiastical princes 
of the Renaissance whose 
dearest occupation it was 
to collect the precious re- 
mains of antiquity where- 
with to adorn those magni- 
ficent villas which remain 
as one of the chief charms 
of Italv. Ferdinand finished 
it, adorned it with antiques, 
with paintings and sculp- 
ture, planted the groups of 
ilex and myrtle, added the 
fountains, and finally be- 
stowed upon it his own family 
name. 
This prince, who was 
son of Cosimo I and after- 
wards succeeded his own 
brother as Grand Duke of 
d'uscanv, was one of the 
most remarkable person- 
alities of his age. lie was 
made a Cardinal at fifteen, 
and as he grew up so used 
the influence of his position 
that he practically governed 
the Papal States during the 
reign of Gregory XIII. 
When Ferdinand left Rome 
for Tuscany in 1587 the 
historian Galluzzi writes ot 
him : ” If Florence rejoiced 
at the coming of her prince, 
Rome groaned at losing him. 
His kindness, his humanity, 
his devotion in the time of 
public calamity, the emula- 
tion which his generous 
actions woke in all around had made him the object of the people’s love and reverence. His 
disinterested character, his far-seeing intelligence caused him to be looked upon as the most 
powerful personage in Rome. No one knew better how to combat the indolence ot Pope 
Gregory or to moderate the impulses of Sixtus V. His noble air and natural g'^iety made 
him uni^'ersally beloved. There was always room at his table for men of letters, whom 
he recompensed generously.” He established in Rome a library and a printing press for 
69. — ANCIENT SCULPTURE IN THE GARDEN OF THE VILLA 
MEDICI, ROME. 
