look at the sculpture: a very
beautiful altar by Benedetto da Rovezzano in the fifth chapel of the
right aisle; a monument by Luca della Robbia to one of the archbishops
of Fiesole, once in S. Pancrazio (which is now a tobacco factory)
in the Via della Spada and brought here for safe keeping--a beautiful
example of Luca's genius, not only as a modeller but also as a very
treasury of pretty thoughts, for the border of flowers and leaves is
beyond praise delightful. The best green in Florence (after Nature's,
which is seen through so many doorways and which splashes over so
many white walls and mingles with gay fruits in so many shops) is here.

In the fifth chapel of the left aisle is a Magdalen carved in wood
by Desiderio da Settignano and finished by Benedetto da Maiano;
while S. Trinita now possesses, but shows only on Good Friday,
the very crucifix from S. Miniato which bowed down and blessed
S. Gualberto. The porphyry tombs of the Sassetti, in the chapel of
that family, by Giuliano di Sangallo, are magnificent.

It is in the Sassetti chapel that we find the Ghirlandaio frescoes
of scenes in the life of S. Francis which bring so many strangers
to this church. The painting which depicts S. Francis receiving
the charter from the Emperor Honorius is interesting both for its
history and its painting; for it contains a valuable record of what
the Palazzo Vecchio and Loggia de' Lanzi were like in 1485, and also
many portraits: among them Lorenzo the Magnificent, on the extreme
right holding out his hand: Poliziano, tutor of the Medici boys,
coming first up the stairs; and on the extreme left very probably
Verrocchio, one of Ghirlandaio's favourite painters. We find old
Florence again in the very attractive picture of the resuscitation
of the nice little girl in violet, a daughter of the Spini family,
who fell from a window of the Spini palace (as we see in the distance
on the left, this being one of the old synchronized scenes) and was
brought to life by S. Francis, who chanced to be flying by. The
scene is intensely local: just outside the church, looking along
what is now the Piazza S. Trinita and the old Trinita bridge. The
Spini palace is still there, but is now called the Ferroni, and it
accommodates no longer Florentine aristocrats but consuls and bank
clerks. Among the portraits in the fresco are noble friends of the
Spini family--Albrizzi, Acciaioli, Strozzi and so forth. The little
girl is very quaint and perfe