There is, also, a fresco, half finished, of St. George and
the Dragon, probably of the fifteenth century, and not without
feeling. There is not much inside the church, which is modernised
and more recent than the tower. The tower is very good, and only
second, if second, in the upper Leventina to that of Quinto, which,
however, is not nearly so well placed.
The people of Prato are just as fond of cherries as those of
Primadengo, but I did not see any men in the trees. The children
in these parts are the most beautiful and most fascinating that I
know anywhere; they have black mouths all through the month of July
from the quantities of cherries that they devour. I can bear
witness that they are irresistible, for one kind old gentleman,
seeing me painting near his house, used to bring me daily a branch
of a cherry-tree with all the cherries on it. "Son piccole," he
would say, "ma son gustose"--"They are small, but tasty," which
indeed they were. Seeing I ate all he gave me--for there was no
stopping short as long as a single cherry was left--he, day by day,
increased the size of the branch, but no matter how many he brought
I was always even with him. I did my best to stop him from
bringing them, or myself from eating all of them, but it was no
use.
[Autograph which cannot be reproduced: Tlolinda Del Pietro]
Here is the autograph of one of the little black-mouthed folk.
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