ITALIAN GARDENS OF THE RENAISSANCE 
But what pleased the Marchesa more than all were 
the superb antiques which adorned the gardens. One 
of these was a colossal Jove, lately dug up in Cardinal 
Armellini’s Vigna , which, besides being of the finest 
marble, was evidently the work of a most excellent 
master. The head, it is true, was divided from the 
bust, the arms were gone, and the legs mutilated, but 
the subtle beauty of the head and beard excited the 
admiration of all the best connoisseurs, who pronounced 
it to be one of the finest things found in Rome for 
many years past. In a postscript written by her own 
hand, Isabella tells her son how honourably she was 
entertained at the Pope’s villa, eating off His Holiness’s 
own dishes and being waited on by his servants, while 
at the end of supper she was presented with a costly 
pair of gloves, and each of the other ladies received a 
casket of perfumes. “The place,” she adds, “ although 
unfinished, is most delightful and full of wonderful 
antiques which we longed to carry off to one of our 
own houses.” 1 
Isabella was almost the last guest who saw Raphael’s 
villa in its perfection. On the 2nd of May 1527 the 
Imperialist armies crossed Monte Mario and stormed 
the walls of the Borgo. Bourbon fell as he led the 
assault, and his wild hordes of German and Spanish 
soldiery were let loose on the defenceless city. 
1 A. Luzio in Archivio storico lombardo, x. 15. 
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