ABSTRACT
Hence to another of the Dukes Palaces cal'd Palazzo Vecchio' before which is the statue of David, & Hercules killing of Cacus, the worke of Baccio Bandinelli, the other of Michael Angelo. The quadrangle about this is of the Corinthian order, & in the halls many rare marbles; as those of Leo the tenth, and Clements the VIIth, both Popes of the Medicean family; also the Acts of Cosimo in rare Painting. In the Chapell is conserv' d (as they would make us believe) the Original Gospel of St. John, writen with his owne hand; together with the so famous Florentine Pandects; here are likewise divers precious stones; & neere it another pendent towre (like that at Pisa) always threatning mine: Hence we goe to the Publique Court of Justice, under which is a stately Arcade for men to walke in; & over that the shops of divers rare Artists, who continualy worke for the Greate Duke; and above this that so renowned Ceimeliarcha2 or Repository where in are divers hundreds of admirable Antiquities, Statues or Marble and Mettal, Vasas of Porphyrie &c but amongst the statues none so famous as the S[c]ipio, the boare &c: the Idol of Apollo brought from the Delphic Temple, & two triumphant Columnes: Over these hang the Pictures to the life of the famous Persons3 & Illustrious men, whither excelling in Arts or Armes to the number of 300, taken out of the Musaeum of Paulus Jovius; Then they lead us into a large Square roome, in the middle whereoff stood a Cabinet of an octangular forme so adomd and furnish'd with Christals, Achat, Sculptures &c as certainely exceedes any description.4 Upon it is a globe of Ivory rarely carv'd, Hercules his Labours in Massy Silver, & many imcomparable Pictures in small; Likewise another which had about it eight oriental Columns of Alabaster, on each whereof was plac' d an head of a Caesar, cover' d with a Canopy so richly beset with precious Stones, that they resembled a fimament of Starrs: This Cabinet was valued at 2 hundred thousand crownes; Within was our Saviours Passion, and 12 Apostles of incomparable Amber. In another with Calcidon Pillars was a Series of Golden Medaills. [In this Cabinet is call'd the Tribuna, in which is a pearle as big as an haizel nut: The Cabinet is of Ebonie, Lazuli & Jasper: Over the doore a round of M' Angelo, on the Cabinet Leo the tenth with other
paintings of Raphaels, del Sartos, Perugino & Coregio viz. a St. John, a Virgin, a boy, two Apostles & two heads of Durer, rar[ e ]ly carved.5 Here is also another rich Ebony Cabinet, Cupola'd with a tortois shell and containing a Collection of gold Medails esteemd worth 50000 crounes,6 a wreathed Pillar of Oriental Alabaster, divers Paintings of da Vinci, Pontorno, del Sarto, an Ecce homo of Titian, a boy of Bronzini &c:
Here were divers incomparable tables of Pietra Commessa,7 which is a marble ground inlayd with severall sorts of marbles & stones of divers colours, in the shapes of flowers, trees, beasts, birds & Landskips like the natural: In one is represented the Towne of Ligome, by the same hand who inlays the Altar of St. Laurence, Domenico Benotti of whom I purchas'd nineteen pieces of the same worke for a Cabinet. 8 In a Presse neere these they shew'd us an Iron-naile, one halfe whereof being converted into gold by one Thurnheuser a German Chymist, is look'd on as a greate rarity [but it plainly appears to have ben but sother'd:]9 There is a curious Watch, a monstrous Turcois as big as an Egge, on which is engraven an Emperors head: From hence we went into the Armory, where is conserved many antique habits, as that of the Chineze Kings, the Sword of Charlemain: an Italian lock for their wanton Wives or jealous Husbands: Hanibals headpiece, & a [huge] Load-stone [of a yard long] of that Vertue as it beares up 86 pounds weight very well [in a chaine of 17 links, such as the slaves are tied to].1O In the Presse of another roome they shew'd us such rare tourneries in Ivory, as are not to be describ'd for their curiosity: likewise faire Pillar of Oriental Alabaster, and 12 vast & compleate Services of Silver plate, & one of Gold; all of them of [incomparable] workmanship; besides a rich embrodred Saddle [of pearls] sent by the Emp: to this Duke [& here is that embrodred chaire set with precious stones, that he sits in when on St. Johns day he receives the Tribute of the Citties:]ll
Source
Notes
Evelyn's description of the Palazzo Vecchio was taken from the author Pflaumem. Interestingly, a good number of his accounts were embellished if not directly copied from contemporary source-books and guidebooks (de Beer, 1955: 188-93).
