Full text: Volume (2)

PERETOLA TO SAN DONNINO. 
435 
corn, and maple trees over which the vine is trained. To the 
right at some little distance is the Torre degli Agli, belonging 
to the Panciatichi family; Monte Morello rises beyond, with 
villas and farmhouses scattered in all directions at its foot. 
The high towers, so frequently seen on the plain, are supposed 
to be the remains of the castles or country residences of 
Florentine families, and to have supplied the place of the 
modern telegraph, enabling their possessors to communicate 
with their allies in the city. Flags were raised on them in 
the day and fires kindled at night. 
The history of the populous village of Peretola is lost in 
obscurity until the year 1325, when Castruccio Castracani 
defeated the Florentines in the battle of Altopascio, and made 
Peretola his head-quarters. The family of Amerigo Vespucci, 
one of the discoverers of the New World, came from this 
village, but they afterwards migrated into Florence, and had 
their dwellings near the Monastery of Ogni Santi. The 
Church of San Clemente in Peretola has a fine marble 
ciborium in the choir behind the high-altar, probably a work 
of Desiderio da Settignano, or of one of his school. The doors 
which closed the receptacles for the bread and wine have been 
removed to a place of safety, as, being of bronze gilt, they once 
tempted the cupidity of a thief, and were stolen, though after- 
wards recovered. The rest of the ciborium is of marble : 
angels stand on either side of the receptacle for the cup, 
and pilasters, ornamented with delicate sculpture, support the 
architrave. A Deposition with the Virgin and St. John or 
Nicodemus are within an arch, and above is a representation of 
the Eternal. Amidst the decorations are seen the nails of the 
Crucifixion, which were the arms of the Hospital of Santa Maria 
Nuova, to which the church belonged. Beyond Peretola is 
Quarrachi, a village dating from A.D. 866, and now consisting 
of a series of new-built tidy houses with gardens. The next 
village is Petriolo, and at the end of a lane to the left is the 
old Church of San Biagio. Beneath the portico, supported by 
FF2
	        
Waiting...

Note to user

Dear user,

In response to current developments in the web technology used by the Goobi viewer, the software no longer supports your browser.

Please use one of the following browsers to display this page correctly.

Thank you.

powered by Goobi viewer