[MR] History Blog & BBC: Stuff Hidden Behind Lost Doors

[Garth Groff and Sally Sanford]

Noble Friends,

Today's double header recaps two stories of wonders hidden behind long lost
doors.

The first is a History Blog post that concerns the Villa Farnesina in Rome.
In 2023 an electrician doing some repair work on scaffolding discovered a
forgotten trap door leading to a void above the vaulted ceiling on one of
the palace's rooms. The vault had been added in the mid-19th century,
cutting off the original ceiling which was decorated with frescoes dating
to around 1579. The artwork itself is not available to the public, but the
Farnesina's directors have arranged a virtual exhibit for museum guests.
Sadly, I couldn't find this exhibit online.

The History Blog story is at https://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/71769 .

The Villa's official web page, including its famed Frescoes by Raffael
showing lots of Roman gods and scantily clad women, is found at
http://www.villafarnesina.it/?lang=en . Perhaps their most surprising
artwork is a nude portrait of La Giocanda, aka Mona Lisa, which can be seen
in this video at 2:10: https://youtu.be/jq8qa7HdL8U . Take that, Leonardo!

Our second story is only slightly relevant to our period of interest, but
still fascinating. BBC Scotland recently reported on another hidden door,
long blocked by filing cabinets in the National Library of Scotland. It
leads to a corridor with the remnants of Libberton's Wynd ("wynd" is Scots
for an alley), a very, very narrow 15th-16th century street which once
joined Lawnmarket to the Cowgate in the heart of Edinburgh. The street was
demolished around 1835 when the George IV bridge was built over the low
lying Cowgate area. The library was later built almost abutting the bridge,
but a void space between the two structures remains, part of the original
wynd.

Libberton's Wynd probably takes its name from the 16th century owner of the
area, Henry Libberton, or his descendants who inherited the neighborhood
after Henry's 1501 death. The extremely narrow street was a vibrant
commercial center for centuries. What is most of interest to us are a
painting and an engraving showing how Libberton's Wynd looked before
demolition. The structures lining the narrow street would likely have
changed very little since the 16th century, and many similar stone
buildings and narrow wynds remain in the city today. Yes, Edinburgh was a
vibrant city even in the 16th century, already densely packed and pretty
squalid too.

The BBC story is at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly2l119zlpo .

The story mentions Mary King's Close, now a restored tourist attraction,
which is representative of these narrow passage streets:
https://a.cdn-hotels.com/gdcs/staging179/d692/2cd6ea92-2f7f-499a-8ab3-225681aa2bc4.jpg
.

Yours Aye,


Mungo Napier, Laird of Mallard Lodge  🦆
Continuing a crusade to keep Merry Rose relevant and in business.