rable
quantity of new and stately buildings which adorn its streets. "Not
only," he adds, "is the city full of joy and pleasure, of feasting and
delight, but so wonderfully is it increased in riches, magnificence, and
glory, that it may certainly be called the most flourishing and happiest
of all the cities in Italy."

The stranger from Florence and Venice might well admire the duke's
knowledge and taste, and wonder at the splendid results which his
enlightened patronage of art and learning had produced. For they saw his
great city of Milan as it has never been seen again, before the savage
invader had spoiled its charm and defaced its loveliness; when
Bramante's churches and porticoes rose in perfect symmetry against the
sky, and the glowing tints of Leonardo's frescoes were yet fresh upon
the walls. They saw the _Ruga bella_, or Beautiful Way, with its long
line of palaces on either side, its painted walls and richly carved
portals. They saw the lovely cupola of S. Maria delle Grazie, and the
marble cloisters of S. Ambrogio, and the graceful Baptistery of S.
Satiro, which Caradosso had lately adorned with his elegant frieze of
cherubs and medallions. They saw the stately arcades of the Spedale
Grande, and the deep-red brick and terra-cotta pile of the vast
Lazzaretto, and the wide streets and piazzas which the duke had laid out
"to give the people more light and air." Above all, they saw the great
Castello which was the pride of Lodovico's court. These vaulted ceilings
and painted halls, these beautiful gardens with their temples and
labyrinths, their fountains and statues, these splendid stables with
columned aisles and walls adorned with frescoes of horses, which the
French invaders admired more than anything else in Milan, were well-nigh
complete. But still Lodovico was always planning some new improvements
to add to the charm and pleasantness of the ducal residence. Isabella's
friend Leonardo, we know from one of the duke's letters, was engaged at
this moment in painting the vaults of the newly built Camerini, while
he was still putting the last touches to the famous equestrian statue
which the Marchesa now saw for the first time, and which the duke
promised should be soon cast in bronze. But the great master's thoughts
were taking a new direction, and he was already preparing designs for
the mural painting of the Cenacolo, with which Lodovico had ordered him
to decorate the refectory of the Dominicans in his favo