GAETA
333
eight panels by him, commemorating the legend of
the Cross. His earliest work, according to Vasari,
illustrated the story of Christ raising Lazarus, and was
regarded as the most wonderful painting of a dead
body that had ever been seen. He was the master of
>AN MicHELE, Florence
■ibuted to Taddeo Gaddi
an even more celebrated man, Cennino Cennini, the author of an important treatise on painting in fresco, distemper, and other media, which is the chief source of our information respecting the technic of the early Florentine artists, and also of a book, the im- portance of which, especially with regard to tempera painting and the application of gold, can hardly be over-estimated. Giovanni Gaddi, the brother and pupil of Agnolo, was a man of much less importance, and hardly any works now remain which can be at^ tributed to him with certainty, as in the rebuilding of San Spiritoat Florence most of his work w-as destroyed. Vasari, Le Vite del Pitiori, ed. Milanesi (Florence, 1878, 1885); also Baldinucci, Notizie de' professori del disegno (Flor- ence, 1688), and the work by the same author on the architect Giuseppe of Piacenza, issued at Turin in 1768.
George Charles Williajison.
Gaeta, Archdiocese of (Caietana), in the prov- ince of Caserta in Campania (Southern Italy). It is the ancient Caieta, situated on the slopes of the Torre di Orlando, a promontory overlooking the Mediter- ranean. Gaeta was an ancient Ionian colony of the Samians according to Strabo; legend, however, de- rives its foundation from Caieta, the nurse of iEneas or Ascaniiis. Among the ancients it was famous for its lovely and temperate climate. Its port was of great importance in trade and in war, and was restored under Antoninus Pius. Among its antiquities is the mausoleum of Lucius Munatius Plancus. As Byzan- tine influence declined in Southern Italy the town began to grow. In the ninth century (840) the in- habitants of the neighbouring Fonni* fled to Gaeta through fear of the Saracens. Though under tlie suzerainty of Byzantium, Ciaeta had then, like Naples and Amalfi, a republican form of government imdor a "dux" or lord. It was a strong bulwark against Saracen invasion, and in 847 aided Leo IV in the naval fight at Ostia. Later, however, looking rather to local safety, its dux, Docibilis, entered into treaties with the Saracens. From the end of the ninth century the principality of Capua claimed it, as a title for the younger son of the prince. In 1039 Gaeta, with Amalfi and Naples, acknowedged the rule of Giiai- mario, Duke of Salerno; about forty years later with the whole duchy of Salerno it became part of Robert Guiscard's new Norman territory.
In the many wars for possession of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Gaeta, owing to its important stra- tegic position, was attacked as often and as bravely as it was defended. In 1194 the Pisans, allies of Henry
VI in the conquest of the kingdom, took possession of
the town and held it as their own. In 1228 it rebelled
against Frederick II and surrendered to the pope, but
after the peace of San Germano (1230) it w-as given
back to the Sicilian kingdom. In 1289 Don Jaime of
Sicily tried to gain possession of it, but failed. In
1435 .Alfonso V of Aragon (Alfonso I of Naples) be-
sieged it, and displayed great generosity, to his own
tlisadvantage, by succouring those unable to bear
arms who had been driven out from the besieged town.
.\fter a disastrous naval battle he captured it, and
gained control of the kingdom. In 1501 Gaeta was
retaken by the French, who, after the defeat of Gari-
gUano (3 Jan., 1504), abandoned it to Gonsalvo de
Cortlova, Ferdinand the Catholic's general. In the
\\'ar of the Spanish Succession it was captured
(1707) by the Austrian general Daun, after a stubborn
resistance made by the Spanish viceroy. In 1806
Mass^na took it; finallj' it became the last refuge of
Francis II of Naples. After an heroic defence it
rapitulated 13 Feb., 18G1, thus sealing the annexation
of the Kingdom of Naples to the Kingdom of Italy.
( 'ialdini, the Piedmontese general, received the title of
1 )uke of Gaeta.
This city has often been the refuge of illustrious personages: among others, of Gelasius II, who was born there: of Margaret, Queen of Naples (1.387): of Gregorj- XII (1410) after the capture of Rome by Alexander V; finally, of Pius IX (1848), during the Roman revolution. The cathedral contains the relics of St. Erasmus, transferred from Formia-, and is a handsome building dating from the twelfth century; the campanile, in Norman style, dates from 1279. The church of St. Francis, built by Frederick II, is in
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Cami'Anile, cathedral of Gaeta
very fine Gothic-Italian style, and contains paintings and sculpture by many of the most famous Neapolitan artists. The Chapel of the Crucifix is a curiosity. It is built on a huge mass of rock that hangs like a wedge between two adjoining walls of rock. Legend tells how the rock was thus split at the moment of our Saviour's death. The episcopal see dates from 846, when Constantine, Bishop of Formite, fled thither and
