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A half-hourglass is turned to mark the interval
between the summons and his arrival — Every Gior-
nante is provided with his long black dress and the
hood which covers his face, only leaving holes for
the eyes, so that he may not be recognised when upon
his labours of mercy — This society is composed of
72 captains (Capi di Guardia); of 175 day workers
(Giornanti) 25 of whom are expected to be in daily
attendance, and of a certain number who give their
services by night; besides these, there is a more nu-
merous set of those, who are called — buone-voglie
(volunteers) — Men of every class in Florence belong
to the Misericordia, all willing to assist their fellow-
creatures in distress, (1) — Part of the church della
Misericordia looks into a street called
« Via della Morte » (Death Street). So ominous a
name is said to have arisen from the following fact
beautifully told by Boccaccio — During the plague in
1400, Ginevra degli Amieri, a famous beauty, who was
newly married, died, and was buried, when in aswoon, in
thefamily’s vault, close by the bell-tower ofthe Cathedral.
- She awoke in the night, she revived however, raised
the stone and escaped. She sought her home, and
passed down this narrow way (whence its name) and
presented herself at the house of her husband, who
taking her for a ghost, refused her admittance, as did
also several of her relations on the same plea ; so she
went to her old lover Rondinelli and was received and
taken care of by the mother of Rondinelli, who mar-
ried her, it having been decreed that a woman, dead
(1) Bacciotti, Fiorentino Istruito, tom. 4, p. 49.