And the emotion which he
felt was natural when his friends, on the occasion of a visit to his
native Arezzo (1350), took him to the house where he was born, and told
him how the city had provided that no change should be made in it. In
former times the dwellings of certain great saints were preserved and
revered in this way, like the cell of St. Thomas Aquinas in the
Dominican convent at Naples, and the Portincula of St. Francis near
Assisi; and one or two great jurists so enjoyed the half-mythical
reputation which led to this honour. Towards the close of the
fourteenth century the people at Bagnolo, near Florence, called an old
building the 'Studio of Accursius' (died in 1260), but, nevertheless,
suffered it to be destroyed. It is probable that the great incomes and
the political influence which some jurists obtained as consulting
lawyers made a lasting impression on the popular imagination.
To the cult of the birthplaces of famous men must be added that of
their graves, and, in the case of Petrarch, of the spot where he died.
In memory of him Arqua became a favorite resort of the Paduans, and was
dotted with graceful little villas. At this time there were no 'classic
spots' in Northern Europe, and pilgrimages were only made to pictures
and relics. It was a point of honour for the different cities to
possess the bones of their own and foreign celebrities; and it is most
remarkable how seriously the Florentines, even in the fourteenth
century-- long before the building of Santa Croce--labored to make
their cathedral a Pantheon.
Pages:
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174