GARDENS OF ESTE AND GONZAGA PRINCES 
wits at Court, or repeat the last gossip which had come 
from Milan and Ferrara, until the barking of Madama’s 
little dogs announced her return. Then the company 
would stroll slowly under the shady avenues by the 
lakeside, talking of what pleased them best, or sitting 
in groups on the grass amuse themselves with reading, 
music, and singing, or other pastimes. And whenever 
anything especially noteworthy or amusing was said, 
Madama would turn to Fra Matteo and bid him write 
this down in his notebook. 
Many fine talkers there were in these circles, as 
Bandello tells us, eloquent courtiers like Count Bal- 
dassare and merry souls such as young Alessandro 
Gonzaga and the Marchesa’s chamberlain Baesso, who 
always had some pleasant jest on his lips. Scholars 
and travellers of repute often found their way to 
Porto and were always sure of a cordial reception. 
The courtier who brought the latest news of the 
Vatican intrigues from Rome, the nuncio who had 
visited the Court of Whitehall and the wilds of 
Ireland, the Vicentine sailor who had been round 
the world with Magellan and seen olive-skinned 
Indians, gold ingots, and birds of paradise, were 
all eagerly welcomed by this brilliant lady, who, 
in her own words, was always eager to hear any new 
thing. 
Isabella herself took a practical interest in garden- 
59 
