Bringing grand ideas from the palaces of the
French nobles, he not only fell in with Lucrezia's plans for
beautifying the new house, but even surpassed her wildest schemes. The
staircase was embellished with rich oaken balustrades, the rooms were
all frescoed. Cupids hide in the Raphaelesque scrolls on the arches,
classic divinities rest on the ceilings, but in the dining room the
homely nature of the man who did his own marketing, creeps out. It is a
charming room, the windows opening on a garden courtyard, where a vine
trellis leads round to what used to be the side door of his studio
which has its entrance in another street.
The roof is vaulted and covered with exquisite decorative frescoes, but
in the lunettes of the two largest arches are the domestic scenes of
cooking and laying the cloth, spoken of at page 90. Two or three of the
up stairs rooms are very fine, especially the one in which Andrea is
said to have died. [Footnote: This description is due to the kindness
of the present resident in the house, who kindly showed it to the
writer, pointing out all the unrestored portions.
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