ITALIAN GARDENS OF THE RENAISSANCE 
by the Florentine merchants of the Arte della Lana, 
and is united to S. Maria degli Angeli by a tall bell- 
tower containing the actual bell from Orlando’s Castle 
of Chiusi. This relic of the original lord of La Vernia 
was moved here by the special permission of Lorenzo 
de’ Medici, and has been twice recast since it has 
occupied its present position. Orlando himself be¬ 
came a member of the third order of Francis in the 
Saint’s lifetime, and lies buried in the little church 
of S. Maria degli Angeli. Many are the noble bene¬ 
factors who gave their gold to build or adorn a chapel 
at La Vernia, and whose bones rest in the precincts 
of the convent. 
Among the decorations, which were the gift of 
Florentine citizens, are several altar-pieces of the 
Della Robbia school, which is largely represented at 
La Vernia. Of these, three masterpieces by the hand 
of Andrea della Robbia are to be seen in the Chiesa 
Maggiore, the Annunciation, Nativity, and Ascension. 
The two former, in their delicate blue and white 
tints, are exquisite specimens of this master who 
carried the art of Luca’s invention to the highest 
degree of perfection of which it is capable. 
Never was the spirit of the words Ecce ancilla 
Domini rendered more perfectly than in the lowly 
maiden kneeling before the angelic messenger who, 
swift and strong in his youthful beauty, bends on one 
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