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 Della 
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 
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