Italian Vilnius

Standing in front of the Renaissance Palace of the Grand Dukes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the first connection with Italy that springs to mind is Bona Sforza, the Italian daughter of the Duke of Milan, who married the Grand Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Sigismund the Old. Bona, who arrived at the beginning of the 16th century, usually resided in Kraków but loved to travel. As the wife of the ruler of Lithuania and Poland, she stayed several times in Vilnius, where she spent about seven years. It is Bona Sforza who is to be thanked for the spread of Italian culture in Lithuania: with her came Italian architects, doctors, artists, lawyers, chefs, Italian fashion, Italian clothes for courtiers, the popularity of low-cut necklines, and the previously unseen platform shoes. 

It’s easy to predict where the spinach, raisins, lemons, capers, turmeric and wine that reached Lithuania came from – the Mediterranean cuisine we are familiar with today is an innovation that came to Lithuania thanks to Queen Bona. Tomatoes, cauliflowers, broccoli and green beans also arrived along with Italian cuisine. The Italians introduced Lithuanians to pasta and lasagne too. Incidentally, lasagne is our present-day staple well adapted to Lithuanian cuisine. Our kitchen cupboards also became more varied thanks to Bona Sforza, with forks, three-legged clay pans, and glazed plates. 

Next to Vilnius Castle, there was a Renaissance Garden where a variety of plants grew – both those that were already common in Lithuania and new to the country. It is thought that thyme and basil, exotic plants at that time, were grown here. Cherry pits found by archaeologists in the castle grounds indicate that Bona Sforza grew cherries in the garden. They replaced the oranges favoured by the Queen in Italy but were unsuited to the Lithuanian climate.

In 2018, the Renaissance-style garden was opened to the public. There are no cherry trees, but there are paradise apple trees, wormwood, ruta graveolens (also known as rue or herb-of-grace), and sage – all plants probably enjoyed by Bona Sforza in her garden. We know that some stairs connected her apartment and the garden, which was tended by an Italian priest, Francesco. 

The Italians were active in the grandiose construction works organised by Sigismund Augustus, Duke of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and son of Bona Sforza; he enlarged the Palace of the Grand Dukes, built the Arsenal, St. Barbara’s Church, the Radziwiłł Palace, and the cannon foundry. Ponds were dug, and a bathhouse was built by the river. The castle was built by the Italian stonemason Giovanni Cini. He was accompanied by another Italian, Bernardino De Giannotis. The 16th-century Italian Renaissance-style palace of the time of Sigismund Augustus is reminiscent of the current Palace of the Grand Dukes of the Duchy of Lithuania.

This palace was also home to another Italian culture promoter – the rulers of Lithuania under the Vasa dynasty. Duke Władysław Vasa was a great admirer of art and decorated the palace with paintings from Italy. Władysław was particularly fond of music, especially opera, a new genre at the time. The ruler first encountered opera during his visit to Italy and was so fascinated by this art form that he founded an opera theatre in Vilnius on the basis of his own choir. Thanks to his efforts, the first opera in Lithuania, ‘Il rattodi du Helena’ (The Abduction of Helen), was performed in Italian at the Palace of the Grand Dukes in 1636. In 16 years, the company staged ten operas, which were also performed in Warsaw and Gdansk. After the death of Władysław Vasa in 1648, the cultural life of the castle came to an end, and soon afterwards, during the war, the castle was partially destroyed.

It is said that if Vilnius Cathedral were a jeweller’s ring, then St Casimir’s Chapel would be the gemstone. The impressive Baroque chapel was built by the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Sigismund Vasa when Casimir was declared a saint in 1602. The construction and decoration were entrusted to Italian craftsmen: Matteo Castello designed the building, while Constante Tencalla took care of the interior. After the war in the mid-17th century, the interior of the chapel was decorated by other Italians, with stucco decorations by Pietro Perti and frescoes by Michelangelo Palloni. One of the frescoes in the chapel by this artist depicts the transfer of the remains of King Casimir to the new chapel. When the old sarcophagus was opened, the Saint’s remains were found completely intact, which is considered to be one of the miracles of St Casimir. 

Although St Casimir is the patron saint of Lithuania, he is also important in other countries. In Tuscany in the 17th century, the influential Medici family spread the cult of St Casimir. The Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence still preserves a relic of St. Casimir – a leg bone.   

The Cathedral, whose structure we recognise today, was built by Vytautas the Great at the beginning of the 15th century. Later, the Cathedral changed: after a fire in 1530, it became Renaissance-style, and later it took on Baroque features. At the end of the 18th century, the Cathedral, which was in poor condition, was reconstructed by Laurynas Stuoka Gucevičius, a renowned architect who had studied in Italy. Thanks to his efforts, the building was transformed into a classical style, and the architect left space for sculptures in the niches. Most of the sculptures decorating the exterior of the sanctuary were created by the Italian architect Tommaso Righi. One of the most interesting stories is told by the sculpture of Moses in a niche on the right edge of the façade. It is common for artists around the world to depict Moses with horns, as Michelangelo did in his famous sculpture in Rome, and there is a horned Moses in Vilnius too. The interesting thing is that the horns were added to Moses because of… a translation error! Specifically, the incorrect translation is due to St. Jerome’s mistranslation of the Old Testament from Hebrew into Latin. The Hebrew word for ‘shining’ sounds similar to the Latin word for ‘horned’, so it was the translator who deemed Moses’ face to be horned. The image of a horny and fierce Moses has become a common one, and the Lithuanian Association of Literary Translators even has an annual anti-prize known as the ‘Horn of Moses’ for the worst translations and a negligent approach to the translator’s work.

Pilies gatvė (street) is one of the oldest streets in Vilnius. The Cathedral Chapter had its buildings here; craftsmen and wealthier citizens dwelled in this street, and later, professors from Vilnius University resided in their quarters here. Now it is the main artery of Vilnius Old Town, with cosy cafés serving Italian ice cream or Italian-style espresso coffee – a ritual that holds as a special place in Italian life as the coffee itself.

In Lithuania, the nobility was first introduced to coffee in the 17th century. In the 18th century, coffee became a daily drink for the noble gentry, but it was not until the end of the century that the first coffee shops began to appear in Vilnius. Coffeehouses were still shunned by conservative society and considered indecent. It is said that in 1787, a Vilnius couple was punished for putting up a café sign and selling coffee without permission. At that time, it was already common to visit coffee shops in many European cities. In Rome, people drank coffee, bought sweets and chatted in cafés, regardless of their position in society. In Warsaw, there were already over a hundred cafés at the end of the 18th century, but it was not until much later that cafés spread and became part of urban life here. In 1814, there were already 49 such places in Vilnius – 40 of them were called kafenhouse in German, and the rest kawiarnia in Polish.

Invited by Walerian Protasewicz, Jesuit monks came to Lithuania, including some Italians. With the help of the bishop, the order established a college and later Vilnius University in 1579. 

The Jesuits and the Catholic University contributed greatly to Lithuania remaining a Catholic country. Baroque churches and monasteries were built in Vilnius. 

After the foundation of the College, the Jesuits established the first library in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which later became the library of Vilnius University. The library was started by the collection of books of Sigismund Augustus and consisted of works of antiquity, law, medicine, and astronomy in various languages, including Italian. Today, of the 4,000 books in the ruler’s collection, only about 300 remain in the world, of which 15 are in the collection of Vilnius University Library. 

Here we can also remember the origins of the Lithuanian theatre. In 1570, the comedy ‘Hercules’ by Italian Stefano Tucci was prepared and performed in the courtyard of this college. The theatre, founded by students, became very popular. The performances were attended by the city’s dignitaries and even the rulers themselves. The university theatre hall was already mentioned in sources from the 18th century. This theatre hall, which was in a building belonging to the university next to the Grand Courtyard, has survived to this day.

One of the most beautiful courtyards in Vilnius Old Town is filled with a true Italian spirit. This Italian Renaissance building dating back to 1622 is the former dormitory of the seminary that had already been established here before the current building – popular today and attracting attention with its arches – had been constructed. In the 16th century, the Jesuit Antonio Possevino, a papal envoy, suggested that priests should be trained in Vilnius to serve as missionaries in the Orthodox lands of the East. Students from various European countries, including Italy, studied here. The seminary remained open until 1798, when the building was given to Vilnius University. The internal spaces were divided into apartments, and the exterior of the building also changed. In 1984 the building was restored to its original appearance. It now houses an Italian cultural centre and an Italian restaurant.

Standing by the memorial bench dedicated to the composer Michał Kleofas Ogiński in Konstantinas Sirvydas Square, it is worth remembering that this famous man spent part of his life in Italy. It is believed that Oginski composed his famous polonaise ‘Farewell to My Homeland’ after he fled to Italy following the defeat of the Kościuszko Uprising. Later, on his return to Lithuania, the statesman made diplomatic efforts to win autonomy for Lithuania. Interestingly, Michał Kleofas’ second wife was an Italian woman whom he met and married here in Vilnius. Both Ogiński and his wife were notorious in the city for having many lovers. After living with his wife for about 20 years and losing hope for Lithuanian autonomy, Ogiński moved back to Florence. In Italy, he composed music and wrote his memoirs. His body now rests in the Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence, where other famous people of the world rest – Dante, Michelangelo, Galileo, Rossini, and others.

By K. Sirvydo Square, where Didžioji Street begins, we can remember the Italians who had their businesses here in the 19th century. The Fiorentini family, who arrived in Vilnius in the 18th century, rose up the social ladder to become members of the nobility, acquired real estate in the city, served as representatives of the Duma, and took an active part in charitable activities. Three generations of this family ran their own business in Vilnius for over a hundred years. Francesco Fiorentini opened a perfumery and haberdashery shop in a former house on Pilies Street, opposite the House of Signatories. This building, which had earlier belonged to Radziwiłł ‘the Black’, was damaged during the First World War and later demolished. A grey example of Soviet architecture now stands on the site. In 1795, Francesco Fiorentini enrolled in the merchants’ guild in Vilnius, and later, when he was in the third guild, he declared that his capital amounted to 2,015 roubles and goods worth 1000 roubles. It is easy to understand how much wealth this is when we know that one cow cost 30 roubles at the time. A hundred years later, the Fiorentini shop selling lipsticks and perfumes had a turnover of 150,000 roubles. Francesco Fiorentini was not the only one with a shop in this building, however, as there was also a confectionery shop, a hotel, a wine shop, a clothes shop, and even several haberdashery stores. When Francesco died, his business was taken over by his wife and later by his son Antonio Fiorentini. In 1825, he moved the shop to a building a few houses away, which has not survived. The site is now Sirvydo Square. After the death of Antonio, his son Ladislao‎ Fiorentini took over the business and opened a wine cellar and a tobacconist’s shop next to the haberdashery and imported Bordeaux wine. Although there were several haberdashery shops in Vilnius, the Fiorentini family’s shop was the best known and most frequented in the whole city and was frequented by the Vilnius elite. The writer Gabrielė Puzinienė, who lived in Vilnius at the time and was born into an aristocratic family of German descent, noted that: “On the eve of the name day, we would go to Fiorentini’s for gloves, perfume, bijou jewellery, bronzeware, and various trinkets; it was a place where you could always meet someone from the city’s high society.

Relying on the legend of Palemon, who came from Rome, many of Lithuania’s noble families claimed to have descended from the patricians of ancient Rome. In the middle of the 17th century, after the war known as the ‘Deluge’, the Pac family became very influential. The builder of Pažaislis, Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac, was Chancellor of Lithuania, and his brother Mikołaj Stefan Pac became Bishop of Vilnius, while their relative, Michał Kazimierz Pac, became the Hetman of Lithuania (Commander-in-Chief of the army). With the rise of the Pac, this family also needed a history to confirm their Roman origins. In the search for these links, a similarity between the surnames of the Lithuanian Pac and those of the famous Italian family Pazzi was noted. This led to a friendship and kinship between the two families, which benefited both families. The old Florentine patrician family of Pazzi was going through difficult times at that time due to the rise of the Medici family. In their own country, the influential Lithuanian Pac family was an opportunity for them to strengthen their international relations. As early as the first half of the 17th century, Stefan Pac visited Florence and discussed family relations with Cosimo de’ Pazzi. Later, Cosimo’s son Lorenzo Domenico Pazzi came to Lithuania; this Italian felt that he was a true relative of the Pac family and spelt the Pac surname in Italian – Pazzi. The Pac family began to spread the cult of their alleged relative, Mary Magdalene de Pazzi, who died in the 16th century – we can see the altar dedicated to this Saint, as well as her portrait, in the Pažaislis Monastery. Inside the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Vilnius, a statue of the Saint by Pietro Perti can be found.

A sculpture called ‘Vilnius Compass’ was unveiled on the pavement of Town Hall Square, next to the fountain. Looking at the sculpture, we can see a map of Europe and the cardinal compass points. Find the outline of Italy on the map of Europe. The sculpture is dedicated to the so-called Columbus of Lithuania, Mikołaj Krzysztof ‘the Ophan’ Radziwiłł. This nobleman travelled to Rome in 1566 and later went to Jerusalem via Italy to visit the tomb of Jesus. On his way to Jerusalem, he visited Crete and Cyprus. In Jerusalem, ‘the Orphan’ and his entourage visited the tomb of Christ. There they were ordained Knights of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. The Holy Land was not the last point of the journey; from there, our intrepid traveller embarked on a tour of the Middle East, visiting Tripoli. From the Middle East, he sailed to Egypt and became the first Lithuanian to see the pyramids. In his book ‘The Voyage to Jerusalem’, Radziwiłł mentions that it was not easy to climb to the top of the pyramid; it took an hour and a half. This book earned him worldwide fame and became a classic of travel literature, describing both the impressions of travel and the geography and culture of distant lands. In Egypt, Radziwiłł bought some mummies and tried to take them by boat to Europe, despite the fact that they were warned by the locals that carrying mummies by boat was not safe. When a storm arose, and a priest on board complained of being haunted by ghosts, Radziwiłł had the mummies thrown overboard.

In 1568, Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit Order, was in charge of the construction of the first and main Jesuit church in Rome. This led to the construction of The Church of the Gesù in Italy. The first Lithuanian Cardinal, Jerzy Radziwiłł, was buried in this church in 1600. In 1566, Jerzy Radziwiłł’s brother, Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł ‘the Ophan’, visited Rome and invited the Jesuits to Lithuania on behalf of Walerian Protasewicz. The Jesuits set about founding a college, and in 1604, at the time of the canonisation of St Casimir, the construction of St Casimir’s Church and monastery began. The Church of St. Casimir was built according to the style of the Jesuit Church of St. Casimir in Rome. It was built on the model of the Church of the Gesù in Rome, with a cruciform plan and a cupola. It was the first Baroque church in Vilnius and marked the beginning of the tradition of Baroque-style churches in the city. The Jesuit order in Vilnius incorporated monks of various nationalities, including Italians. The linguist Konstantinas Sirvydas, the historian Albert Wijuk Kojelowicz, the astronomer and architect Thomas Zebrowski, and the professor of music and rhetoric Sigismundus Lauxmin are all well-known Jesuits associated with the monastery.

The construction of St. Teresa’s Church was financed by the Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Stefan Pac. This nobleman was friends with and sought kinship with Italians; he knew Italy rather well, having studied in Bologna and Padua. The Church of St. Teresa is a wonderful example of Italian Baroque. It was built by Constante Tencalla, the same architect who built the Chapel of St. Casimir inside Vilnius Cathedral. His work can also be found in Italy, but it is said there that to see the best of Constantino Tencalla’s work, you must go to Lithuania.

The Chapel at the Gates of Dawn, next to the Church of St Teresa, is home to the miraculous icon of Our Lady of the Gates of Dawn. Despite extensive research, the author of the painting is still unknown; however, at the beginning of the 20th century, a theory was put forward that the icon was painted in the 16th century by an Italian artist who worked at the court of Sigismund Augustus, and that he gave the face of the Virgin Mary the features of Barbara Radziwiłł. Current researchers believe that the painting on oak panels was painted by an unknown artist at a later date. We know from historical sources that the Discalced (barefoot) Carmelites began to care for and venerate the painting in the 17th century. The first wooden chapel was built to preserve the painting. Before that, the painting hung on the inside of the Gate of Dawn, protected by an overhanging roof and shutters, and the stone chapel was built in the 18th century. In 1970, thanks to the efforts of Lithuanian expatriates, the Vilnius’ Gate of Dawn Mother of Mercy Chapel was built and consecrated in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. The central wall contains a mosaic picture of Our Lady, Mother of Mercy of Vilnius Gates of Dawn, while the side walls are decorated with bas-reliefs of Lithuanian rulers and the churches they built in Lithuania, as well as with other images related to Lithuania.