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10 October 1884 — Florence | |
Friday. 10th October [1884]. Got up at 6.30. Breakfast at 7. Went off by 8.15 train to Orvieto by the Roman express. We got some lunch at Chiusi & went on by train. As we passed Cetona Henry showed me in the distance the villa where he & his parents used to go & spend the summers with the Mancini family of wh we have got a sketch done by Mrs Burr. On arriving at Orvieto we found the innkeeper had sent a carriage with a renfort to take us up to the town which we reached in 20 min: instead of 40 the usual time in an omnibus. We went to Hotel bella Arti which we found large & clean. We set out at once to walk to the Duomo & went in. There was only a small door open over the high altar as the building & roof is undergoing repairs but we got into the 2 interesting chapels, the Caporale & the Brizio where are the frescoes. We went round to the other door to see the works wh are going on & found an intelligent clerk who explained it all to us. Most of the windows are ¾ filled with alabaster in place of glass & have a very curious effect. It had been showery all day but now the sun came out & illumined the facade of the Duomo & its mosaics with their gold grounds looked very splendid. We went on to S. Francisco but found nothing to see except a tomb the pictures having been removed. We took a stroll in the town & were everywhere beset by beggars. Went back to the hotel. Read Ruskin aloud to Henry & after dinner & played cribbage. Dined at 7 in our sitting room. | |
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