a great monarch. The lack of
decorations on the walls and of marble casings to the doors, like those
in the castle of Urbino, which fill the beholder with wonder, show how
limited were the means of the ruling dynasty of Pesaro. The rich ceiling
of the salon, made of gilded and painted woodwork, dates from the reign
of Duke Guidobaldo. All mementos of the time when Lucretia occupied the
palace have disappeared; it is animated by other memories--of the
subsequent court life of the Della Rovere family, when Bembo,
Castiglione, and Tasso frequently were guests there. Lucretia and the
suite that accompanied her could not have filled the wide rooms of the
palace; her mother, Madonna Adriana, and Giulia Farnese remained with
her only a short time. A young Spanish woman in her retinue, Dona
Lucretia Lopez, a niece of Juan Lopez, chancellor and afterward
cardinal, was married in Pesaro to Gianfrancesco Ardizio, the physician
and confidant of Giovanni Sforza.

In the palace there were few kinsmen of her husband besides his younger
brother Galeazzo, for the dynasty was not fruitful and was dying out.
Even Camilla d'Aragona, Giovanni's stepmother, was not there, for she
had left Pesaro for good in 1489, taking up her residence in a castle
near Parma.

In summer the beautiful landscape must have afforded the young princess
much delight. She doubtless visited the neighboring castle of Urbino,
where Guidobaldo di Montefetre and his spouse Elisabetta resided, and
which the accomplished Federico had made an asylum for the
cultivated. At that time Raphael, a boy of twelve, was living in Urbino,
a diligent pupil in his father's school.

[Illustration: TASSO.

From an engraving by Raffaelle Morghen.]

In summer Lucretia removed to one of the beautiful villas on a
neighboring hill. Her husband's favorite abode was Gradara, a lofty
castle overlooking the road to Rimini, whose red walls and towers are
still standing in good preservation. The most magnificent country place,
however, was the Villa Imperiale, which is a half hour's journey from
Pesaro, on Monte Accio, whence it looks down far over the land and sea.
It is a splendid summer palace worthy of a great lord and of people of
leisure, capable of enjoying the amenities of life. It was built by
Alessandro Sforza in the year 1464, its corner-stone having been laid by
the Emperor Frederic III when he was returning from his coronation as
Emperor of Rome; hence it received the name Vil