Nevertheless, the secular 'Trionfi' were far more frequent than the
religious. They were modelled on the procession of the Roman Imperator,
as it was known from the old reliefs and the writings of ancient
authors. The historical conceptions then prevalent in Italy, with which
these shows were closely connected, have already been discussed.
We now and then read of the actual triumphal entrance of a victorious
general, which was organized as far as possible on the ancient pattern,
even against the will of the hero himself. Francesco Sforza had the
courage (1450) to refuse the triumphal chariot which had been prepared
for his return to Milan, on the ground that such things were monarchial
superstitions. Alfonso the Great, on his entrance into Naples (1443),
declined the wreath of laurel, which Napoleon did not disdain to wear
at his coronation in Notre-Dame. For the rest, Alfonso's procession,
which passed by a breach in the wall through the city to the cathedral,
was a strange mixture of antique, allegorical, and purely comic
elements. The car, drawn by four white horses, on which he sat
enthroned, was lofty and covered with gilding; twenty patricians
carried the poles of the canopy of cloth of gold which shaded his head.
The part of the procession which the Florentines then present in Naples
had undertaken was composed of elegant young cavaliers, skillfully
brandishing their lances, of a chariot with the figure of Fortune, and
of seven Virtues on horseback.
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