. The builders of Florence . the tombs in the vaults a wide burst of sunshine in the stretching space behind thechurch, all cloistered about with pillared arcades set before thesquare stone doorways of the cells ; a sharper memory perhaps ofone of these at the end of the cloister, because it led to thecuriosity of the rooms, loggia and garden beyond, the authenticabode of an anchorite, empty now as any quaint and twisted sea-shell that has lost its inhabitant. Beyond all, probably, ourtourist remembers—as how should he forget ?—the view from thatloggia, stretching gloriously north
. The builders of Florence . the tombs in the vaults a wide burst of sunshine in the stretching space behind thechurch, all cloistered about with pillared arcades set before thesquare stone doorways of the cells ; a sharper memory perhaps ofone of these at the end of the cloister, because it led to thecuriosity of the rooms, loggia and garden beyond, the authenticabode of an anchorite, empty now as any quaint and twisted sea-shell that has lost its inhabitant. Beyond all, probably, ourtourist remembers—as how should he forget ?—the view from thatloggia, stretching gloriously northward over Galluzzo at the foot ofthe sacred hill, past Florence of the brooding dome and risingtowers, past Fiesole showing white on the saddle of its hills, towhere at last the cloud-shadows darken on a patch of scatteredpine and Monte Senario lifts another sanctuary against the heavenof the northern sky. After this it is not wonderful if the cloisterwell, though ascribed in part to Michelangelo, leaves the visitor 156. THE CERTOSA OF THE VAL DEMA 159 cold, and if even the glass of Giovanni da Udine, the fresco ofAlbertinelli, and the wonderful dead Bishop of San Gallo losemuch of their colour and form in his memory. The Farmaciabrings the anti-climax, and the tourist takes his leave with thebitter-sweet savour of its perfumed Chartreuse as almost the surestthing on which he has kept hold. Yet, if we except the view,which with all its charm is not in any sense the Certosa but onlya benediction upon it, all the rest is merely more or less happyaddition and accident. The real spirit of the place is other andelsewhere ; too remote and subtle to be apprehended save atgreater cost than that of a hurried visit under the common con-ditions of travel. The secret of the Certosa lies buried with itsfounder ; to be recovered only with difficulty and in part, by acareful reconstruction of his purpose with the temporal conditionsunder which it had its due effect. His plan of building s
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