From the houses in front of the Duomo were displayed those rich and many-tinted hangings which add so much to the effect of an Italian pageant. The short space from the palace was closed in by an awning of green, red, and white, the ducal liveries. The whole interior of the church was hung with magnificent decorations, in which were mingled tapestries and brocades, pictures and heraldic blazonry. The high altar was profusely furnished with statues, vases, candlesticks, all of solid silver. Into the cathedral thus prepared was seen advancing, about two hours before mid-day, under a bright and genial sun, a most imposing procession. The principal public functionaries, and the most distinguished of the nobility, were followed by twenty-five pages of high birth, dressed in Damascus blue. Then came representatives of the seven principal cities, bearing the massive silver vessels to be used in the ceremony. At their head walked Count Alessandro Tiane, Gonfaloniere of Urbino, conspicuous not less by his handsome person than by the rare splendour of his costume. He wore a close-fitting dress of white, brocaded with gold and silver; his flowing mantle of purple velvet was lined with violet and gold; and on his neck and cap was displayed a profusion of costly jewels. A scarf embroidered with pearls and precious stones suspended from his neck a white cushion, whereon lay the babe in "toys of quaint apparel," which the writer attempts not to describe. The nurse, attended by sixty noble matrons arrayed in gala, closed the cortège, amid the clang of artillery and martial music. The sacred rite was administered by the Bishop of Fossombrone, and the religious function having been auspiciously ended, the company proceeded to a ball, followed by a supper, where the grotesque taste and elaborate ingenuity of Italian confectioners were lavishly displayed in the table-ornaments.