A historical work exploring the Renaissance villas of Roman cardinals, their architectural splendor, and their picturesque decay. Elizabeth W. Champney vividly recounts the lives and patronage of these church princes, offering a window into a bygone era of art and power. Listeners will enjoy this blend of art history and social chronicle.
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Cover of the original edition (Project Gutenberg, public domain).
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Pope Julius II. Viewing the Newly-found Statue of the Apollo Belv
Permission of the Berlin Photograp
Pope Julius II. Viewing the Newly-found Statue of th
From the painting by Carl Becker. Permission
Photographic Co.
ROMANCE OF ROMAN
VILLAS
(THE RENAISSANCE)
BY
ELIZABETH W. CHAMPNEY
AUTHOR OF "ROMANCE OF THE ITALIAN VILLAS,"
"ROMANCE OF THE FEUDAL CHÂTEAUX," "ROMANCE
OF THE FRENCH ABBEYS," etc.
ILLUSTRATED
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
The Knickerbocker Press
1908
Introduction
Contents
Illustrations
Romance of Roman Villas
Footnotes
INTRODUCTION
In came the cardinal, grave and coldly wise,
His scarlet gown and robes of cobweb lace
Trailed on the marble floor; with convex glass
He bent o'er Guido's shoulder.
Walter Thornbury.
STILL unrivalled, after the lapse of four centuries the villas of the great cardinals of the Renaissance retain their supremacy over their Italian sisters, not, as once, by reason of their prodigal magnificence but in the appealing charm of their picturesque decay.
The centuries have bestowed a certain pathetic beauty, they have also taken away much, and the sympathy which these
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