The Marble Faun Chapter XXVI - The Pedigree of Monte Beni

In which the sculptor Kenyon, welcomed by the old butler Tomaso, uncovers the long and romanticised lineage of the Monte Beni family, steeped in legends of wild ancestry and rustic geniality, yet shadowed by the inevitable melancholy of modern life. As he listens to tales of Donatello’s once joyful youth among the peasants and witnesses the fading mirth that cloaks the ancient villa, the contrast between bygone Arcadian brightness and present sombreness becomes gently manifest.