File:Italian castles and country seats (1911) (14775154014).jpg

Identifier: italiancastlesco00batcrich (find matches)
Title: Italian castles and country seats
Year: 1911 (1910s)
Authors: Batcheller, Tryphosa Bates, 1878-
Subjects: Castles -- Italy Historic buildings -- Italy Italy -- Description and travel
Publisher: New York, Longmans, Green, and Co.
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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g the progress of the seven-year-old boyRaphael, who came sometimes to help his father atthe castle. Federigo Montefeltro gave his daughter Giovannain marriage to Giovanni della Rovere, a nephew ofthe Delia Rovere pope, Sixtus IV, who created himthe first Duke of Urbino in 1474. His wife, BattistaSforza, won universal admiration by her virtues andmany talents. She was, like her mother, CostanzaVarano, a poetess, an orator, and a philosopher, andgathered about her the most distinguished men ofher age. After her there follows a series of lovelywomen who drew about them many of the artistsand learned men of their times, and whose husbandsseem to have been as wise and virtuous as they wereprosperous. Thus the great stronghold of Urbinobecame one of the centres of culture, and one of themost famous castles of the Renaissance. The towns-people must have gathered special inspiration fromthe atmosphere of so much refinement and education;for the little town has given birth not only to the(74)
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AND COUNTRY SEATS immortal Raphael, but to many other distinguishedand noted men. During the Renaissance a learned woman who wrotebooks, who could carry on intelligent discussion inseveral languages, was not called, as she often is by themen of to-day, a bluestocking. On the contrary, awoman was still more admired if, with beauty andgrace, she possessed the added qualities of classicallearning. Jacopo of Bergamo especially praises thecombination of beauty, grace, and culture, and afterlauding Ginevra Sforzas wonderful mental attain-ments, describes her elegance of form, her wonderfulgrace in every motion, her calm and queenly bear-ing, and her chaste beauty. What was then calledmodesty was the natural grace of a gifted womanincreased by education and association. Most of thewomen were versed in the classical languages, andliterature, oratory, poetry, the arts of versificationand music — even theology and philosophy — werecultivated by women, and debates on questions inthese fields

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