mistress of the vatican.pdf - End Time Deception

Eleanor Herman
change of fortunes. For the Carnival of 1651, the princess held a magnificent
joust outside her palazzo on the Corso and built wooden stands
enclosed with glass for her noble spectators. She invited Olimpia’s enemies
to lavish parties and made a point to insult and neglect those who
had been close to her mother-in-law. Every week, the princess spent several
hours alone with the pope, advising him on policy. This betrayal of
Innocent’s must have rankled the most deeply in Olimpia, but she would
never have given her daughter-in-law the satisfaction of knowing it.
The most famous image of Olimpia, the bust by Alessandro Algardi,
is said to have come from the first months after her downfall. The artist
had known Olimpia personally for many years, and those who knew
her said he captured her likeness and character exactly. The sculpture
shows steely resolve, incomparable determination in the face of disaster,
the widow’s veil billowing behind her as if she remains erect in a hurricane
wind through sheer strength of will. It reminds us of the captain
of the Titanic grimly gripping his wheel as the ship starts to sink into
the icy depths. Or Custer, tight-lipped and clench-jawed, looking his
Last Stand in the eye. Come and get me, she seems to be saying. Do your
worst. I don’t care.
Sculpted subtly just below the strength are the bruises of the soul.
Strength is, after all, only a defense against pain. We who boldly strike
out to shape the world according to our tastes usually do so to prevent
others from shaping it according to theirs and crushing us in the process.
I am alone, she says. I have to face this alone.
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