Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects/Arnolfo di Lapo

by Giorgio Vasari

 

ARNOLFO DI LAPO, ARCHITECT, OF FLORENCE.

[1232: 1310.]

Having spoken, in my Preface to these Lives, of certain edifices, old, but not antique,^[1] of which I did not name the architects, because they were not known to me, I will now enumerate, in this introduction to the life of Arnolfo, some few other buildings, erected in his time or shortly before it, of which the authors are also unknown, and will afterwards speak of such as were built during his lifetime, and the architects of which are either known or can be ascertained from the mode of the building, and from different notices, writings, and inscriptions, left by them in the works they constructed. Nor will such discourse be out of place; for although these buildings are neither beautiful nor in a good style, but merely vast and rich, they are nevertheless worthy of some consideration.

There existed, then, at the time of Lapo, and of Arnolfo, his son, many buildings of great importance, both in Italy and other countries, of which I have not been able to discover the architects. Among these are the abbey of Monreale, in Sicily;^[2] the Piscopio (or Episcopate of the Greek rite), in Naples;^[3] the Certosa of Pavia;^[4] the Duomo of Milan;^[5] the churches San Pietro^[6] and San Petronio,^[7] in Bologna; with many others, erected at incredible expense, throughout Italy. All which I have well examined, with many works in sculpture of the same times, more particularly in Ravenna, without being able to find any memorial whatever of the masters,—nay, often uncertain as to the age in which they were constructed,—so that I cannot but marvel at the simplicity and indifference to glory exhibited by the men of that period. But to return to our subject. After the buildings just enumerated, others were erected in a nobler spirit, and the architects of which endeavoured at least to produce something better, if they did not attain their end. The first of these masters was Buono,^[8] whose family, name, and country, ar alike unknown, he having written his baptismal name only in the few memorials which he has left of his works. This artist was a sculptor as well as architect; he built many palaces and churches, in Ravenna, about the year 1152; and these, with certain works of sculpture, also executed by him, having brought him into notice, he was invited to Naples, where he founded the Castel dell’ Uovo and Castel Capoano, which were afterwards completed by others, as will be related hereafter. While Domenico Morosini was Doge of Venice, Buono founded the Campanile of San Marco, in that city, with great judgment and foresight, having so ably constructed the foundations, and fixed the piles, that this tower has never sunk, even by a hair’s breadth, as many other buildings, constructed in Venice before his time, were, and still are, found to do. And it is from him, perhaps, that the Venetians received the art of founding the very rich and beautiful edifices which they are now daily causing to be magnificently erected in that most noble city. It is true that this tower has nothing particularly meritorious in itself, whether in the manner of construction or the decorations. There is nothing in it, in short, that deserves high praise, its solidity excepted ; it was finished under the pontiffs Anastasius IV and Adrian IV, in the year 1154. Buono was also the architect of the church of Sant’ Andrea of Pistoia ; the marble architrave over the door was sculptured by his hand ; it comprises many figures in the Gothic manner, and bears his name, with the date of the work, namely 1166. Being then invited to Florence, Buono gave the designs for enlarging the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, which was then without the city and held in high veneration, as having been consecrated many years previously by Pope Pelagius. With respect to size and style, this is a very tolerable specimen of a church of that day.

Buono was next invited to Arezzo by the people of that city, and constructed the ancient palace of its governors, the lords of Arezzo, a building in the Gothic manner, with a bell-tower by the side of it.^[9] The whole edifice, which was sufficiently handsome of its kind, was demolished in the year 1533, because it was too near to the fortifications of the city. The art now began to make visible progress; being aided by the efforts of a certain Guglielmo,^[10] whom I believe to have been a German, and many buildings were erected at great cost and in a somewhat better style. In the year 1174, this William, assisted by the sculptor Bonanno, is said to have founded the campanile of the Duomo in Pisa, where the following inscription may still be seen:—

a.d. mclxxiv campanile hoc fvit fvndatum mense augusti.

But these two architects, having little experience of the requisites to a good foundation on the soil of Pisa, did not sufficiently secure their piles, so that the tower sunk before it had attained half its height, and inclined over the weaker side, leaving six braccia and a half out of the direct line, according to the declension of the foundation. This declination is not much observed below, but is very obvious in the upper part, and has caused many to marvel that the campanile has not fallen, or at least exhibited rents. But this tower has the form of an empty well, being circular both without and within ; the stones are so placed that its fall is well nigh impossible, and it is, besides, supported by an outwork of masonry, three braccia high, which has been obviously added to the foundations, since the sinking of the tower, for its more effectual support.^[11] I am persuaded that if the form of this campanile had been square, it would not now be standing, since the corner-stones would have pressed the sides so forcibly outwards, as is frequently seen to happen, that it must have fallen. And if the Garisenda tower of Bologna, which is square, declines from the perpendicular and yet stands, that happens because it is much lighter, the inclination being much less, and not being loaded with so heavy a mass as that of the Pisan tower.^[12] This campanile of Pisa is not admired for the beauty of its design or construction, but solely on account of its eccentricity of form, and because no one who looks at it can fail to marvel that it should keep its place. In the year 1180, and while the campanile was in course of construction, the same Bonanno executed the principal door of the cathedral of Pisa; it is of bronze, and bears the following inscription:—“Ego Bonannus Pis. mea arte hanc portam uno anno perfeci tempore Benedicti operarii.”^[13]

The art now made continual progress, as may be seen at San Giovanni in Laterano, in Rome, the walls of which were formed from the spoils of ancient buildings, during the pontificates of Lucius III and Urban III (when this latter pontiff crowned the Emperor Frederick). Many small chapels of this basilica have considerable merit of design, and are well deserving of notice. Among other circumstances of this building, it may be remarked that its vaults were formed of small tubes,^[14] with compartments of stucco, to the end that the walls might not be too heavily burthened,—a very judicious contrivance of those times; the cornices and other parts of the church also proving that artists then contributed effectually in their efforts towards the amelioration of their art.

Innocent III caused two palaces to be erected, about this time, on the Vatican hill, and from what can be seen of them, they appear to have been of good style ; but as these buildings were destroyed by other pontiffs, and particularly by Nicholas V, who demolished and rebuilt the greater part of them, I will say no more respecting them than that a portion of them may still be seen in the great Round Tower,^[15] and in the old sacristy of St. Peter’s. The above-named pontiff, Innocent III, who reigned nineteen years, and greatly delighted in architecture, caused many buildings to be erected in Rome, particularly the tower of Conti, so called from his own name, he being of that family. The tower was constructed after the designs of Marchionne of Arezzo, a sculptor and architect, by whom the capitular church of Arezzo was completed, together with its campanile, in the year of Pope Innocent’s death; the front of this edifice was adorned with three orders of columns, placed one above the other, and varied, not only in the forms of the capitals and bases, but also in the shafts of the columns, some being thick, some being slender ; some in couples, others in groups of four ; some have the form of vines, while others represent supporting figures, variously sculptured. Animals of many kinds are also made to support the weight of some among these columns, which they bear on their backs, the whole presenting the strangest and most extravagant fantasies that can be imagined, not only widely deviating from the pure taste of the antique, but even offending against all rules of just proportion. Yet, notwithstanding these defects, whoever considers the whole work, will perceive that the artist made strenuous efforts towards the amelioration of his art, and probably thought that he had found the true method in that wondrous variety. Over the door of the church, the same master sculptured a rude figure of God the Father, surrounded by angels, of a rather large size, in mezzo-rilievo ; and, together with these, he placed the twelve months of the year, his own name, in round letters, as was then the custom, being sculptured beneath, with the date 1216.^[16] Marchionne is also reported to have built the ancient edifice of the hospital and church of the Santo Spirito, in the Borgo Vecchio at Rome, for the same pontiff, Innocent III ; some remains of this hospital may yet be seen, and the ancient church was standing, in its primitive form, even in our own days, but it has been restored, in the modern taste, and with improved designs, by Pope Paul III, of the house of Farnese.

In the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, also in Rome, the same architect built the marble chapel^[17] which encloses the manger of the Nativity, and in which he placed the portrait of Pope Honorius III, taken from life, whose tomb he had also constructed with ornaments in a very good style, and totally unlike the manner then prevalent throughout Italy.^[18] About the same time Marchionne completed the lateral door of San Pietro, in Bologna, which was, in truth, a very great work for those times, and for the variety of sculptures which it exhibits ; as, for example, its colossal lions supporting columns, with men and other animals also bearing enormous burthens. Above the door he placed the twelve months, each accompanied by its attendant zodiacal sign, with many other fancies, all in high relief, a work which, in those days, must have been considered marvellous.^[19]

It was about this time that the order of Friars Minors of St. Francis was founded, and this order, being confirmed by Pope Innocent III in 1206, extended itself in such a manner, not only in Italy but in all other parts of the world, (devotion to the saint increasing together with the number of the friars,) that there was scarcely any city of importance which did not build churches and convents for them, at a vast amount of cost, and each according to its means. These things being so, the Frate Elia, two years before the death of St. Francis, and while the Saint was preaching abroad, as General of the Order, leaving Frate Elia prior in Assisi,—this Elia commenced the building of a church to the honour of the Virgin; but St. Francis dying in the mean time, all Christendom came flocking to visit the body of him who, in life and in death, was known to be so much the friend of God, when every man, making an offering to the holy place according to his ability, large sums were collected, and it was decreed that the church, commenced by the Frate Elia, should be continued on a much more extended and magnificent scale. There was then a great scarcity of good architects, and as the work to be done required an excellent artist, having to be built upon a very high hill, at the foot of which flows a torrent called the Tescio, a certain Maestro Jacopo,^[20] a German, was invited to Arezzo, after much deliberation, as the best who was then to be found. This Jacopo, having received the commands of the fathers, who were then holding a general chapter of their order respecting this matter in Assisi, then carefully examined the site, and designed the plan of a very beautiful church and convent. The model presented three ranges of buildings, placed one above the other: the lowermost subterranean ; the two others forming two churches, of which the first was to serve as a vestibule, with a spacious portico and colonnade around it ; the second was set apart for the sanctuary, the entrance to this last being by a very convenient range of steps, ascending to the principal chapel, and these, being divided into two flights, encircled the chapel, that the upper church might be attained the more commodiously. To this temple Maestro Jacopo gave the form of the letter T, the length being equal to five times the breadth, and the roof being raised on bold groined arches, supported by massive piers ; after this model he constructed the whole of this truly grand edifice, observing the same order throughout every part, excepting that, instead of pointed, he raised round arches on the upper supports between the apsis and the principal chapel, as considered of greater strength. Before the principal chapel of the lower church was placed the altar, beneath which, when completed, the body of St. Francis was laid with great solemnity  ; and, since the actual sepulchre, in which the body of the glorious saint reposes, was never to be approached by the foot of man, the first, that is the subterranean church, had its doors walled up, and around the above-named altar was placed a very large iron grating, richly adorned with marbles and mosaic, which permitted the tomb beneath to be seen.^[21] Two sacristies were erected beside the building, with a campanile, the height of which was equal to five times its diameter ; a very high pyramid of eight sides surmounted the tower, but this, being in danger of falling, was removed. The whole work was, by the genius of Maestro Jacopo, the German, and the attentive care of Frate Elia, completed within the space of four years only. After the death of Elia, and to the end that this vast building might never be destroyed by time, twelve enormous towers were erected around the lower church, in each of which a spiral staircase was constructed, ascending from the ground to the summit of the edifice. In the course of time, also, many chapels, and other rich embellishments of various kinds, have been added ; but of these I need say no more, having sufficiently dwelt on this building, and also because all may visit and admire the splendour and beauty which have been added to this commencement of Maestro Jacopo by many high pontiffs, cardinals, princes, and other great personages of Europe.

And now, to return to Maestro Jacopo ; he acquired so much renown, by this construction, throughout all Italy, that he was invited to Florence by the governors of that city, where he was received with great joy. But the Florentines, according to a custom prevalent in that day, and still practised, of abbreviating names, did not call him Jacopo,^[22] but Lapo, a name by which he was known for the remainder of his life, which he passed with all his family in Florence. It is true that he proceeded, at different times, to various parts of Tuscany, for the erection of numerous edifices, such as the Palazzo di Poppi in Casentino, (which he built for that Count, who had had the beautiful Gualdrada for his wife, with Casentino for her dowry,) the cathedral of Arezzo,^[23] and the Palazzo Vecchio of the Signori of Pietramala. His abode was, nevertheless, always in Florence, where, in the year 1218, he laid the foundations of the Ponte Carraja, then called the New Bridge ; these he completed in two years, and the bridge was shortly afterwards finished in wood, as was then the custom. In 1221, he gave plans for the church of San Salvadore del Vescovado, which was commenced under his superintendence, as also those for San Michele in the Piazza Padella,^[24] where many fragments of sculpture, after the manner of those days, may still be seen. He next gave plans for the drainage of the city, raised the Piazza of San Giovanni, and erected the bridge which bears the name of the Milanese, Messer Rubaconte da Mandella, from having been finished in his time. Finally, he invented that most useful method of paving the streets with stone, they having previously been covered with bricks only ; he prepared the model for the palace, now of the Podesta,^[25] but then of the Anziani (Elders), and sent to the abbey of Monreale, in Sicily, the designs for a sepulchral monument to the Emperor Frederick, for which he had received the commands of Manfred. These works completed, Maestro Jacopo died, leaving Arnolfo, his son, heir to his talents, no less than to his fortune.^[26]

Arnolfo, by whose labours architecture made equal progress with that of painting under the influence of Cimabue, was born in the year 1232, and was thirty years old when his father died. He had already attained high repute, having not only acquired from his father whatever the latter could teach, but also studied the art of design under Cimabue, for the purpose of employing it in sculpture. He was now considered the best architect in Tuscany, and the Florentines confided to him the construction of the outer circle of their city walls, which were founded in 1284 ; they also erected the Loggia of Or San Michele, their corn market, after his plans, covering it with a simple roof, and building the piers of brick. In that year, when the cliff of the Magnoli, undermined by water, sank down on the side of San Giorgio, above Santa Lucia, on the Via de’ Bardi, the Florentines issued a decree, to the effect that no building should be thenceforward erected on that place, which they declared to be rendered perilous by the cause above stated ; herein they followed the counsels of Arnolfo, and his judgment has proved to be correct by the ruin in our day of many magnificent houses and other buildings. In the year 1285, Arnolfo founded the Loggia and piazza of the Priori, he rebuilt the principal chapel of the Badia (abbey) of Florence, with one on each side of it, restoring the church and choir, which had been constructed on a much smaller scale by Count Ugo, the founder of that abbey.^[27] For Cardinal Giovanni degli Orsini, the pope’s legate in Tuscany, Arnolfo erected the campanile of the above-mentioned church, a work highly appreciated in those times, and deservedly so ; but the stone-work of this tower was not completed until the year 1330. In the year 1294, the church of Santa Croce, belonging to the Friars Minors, was founded after the designs of Arnolfo, when he gave so ample an extent to the nave and side aisles of this building, that the excessive width rendered it impossible to bring the arches within the roof ; he therefore, with much judgment, raised arches from pier to pier, and on these he constructed the roofs, from which he conducted the water by stone gutters, built on the arches, giving them such a degree of inclination that the roofs were secured from all injury from damp. The novelty and ingenuity of this contrivance was equal to its utility, and well deserves the consideration of our day. At a later period, Arnolfo gave the plans for the first cloisters to the old convent of this church, and soon afterwards superintended the removal of the various arches and tombs,^[28] in stone and marble, by which the external walls of the church of San Giovanni were surrounded, placing a part of them behind the campanile, and on the façade of the Canonical Palace, near the oratory of San Zenobio ; he then covered the eight walls of the above-named church of San Giovanni with black marble from Prato, removing the stones which had been suffered to remain between those old marbles.^[29] About the same time, the Florentines desired to erect certain buildings in the upper Valdarno, above the fortress of San Giovanni and Castel Franco, for the greater convenience of the inhabitants and the more commodious supply of their markets ; they entrusted the design of these works also to Arnolfo, in the year 1295, when he so completely satisfied them on this, as he had done on other occasions, that he was elected a citizen of Florence.

All these undertakings being completed, the Florentines resolved, as Giovanni Villani relates in his History,^[30] to construct a cathedral church in their city, determining to give it such extent and magnificence that nothing superior or more beautiful should remain to be desired from the power or industry of man. Arnolfo then prepared the plans and executed the model of that temple, which can never be sufficiently extolled, the church of Santa Maria del Fiore, directing that the external walls should be encrusted with polished marbles, rich cornices, pilasters, columns, carved foliage, figures and other ornaments, with which we now see it brought, if not entirely, yet in a great measure to completion. But what was most of all wonderful in that work, was the fact, that he incorporated the church of Santa Reparata, besides other small churches and houses, which stood around it, in his edifice, yet, in arranging the design of his ground plan (which is most beautiful), he proceeded with so much care and judgment, making the excavations wide and deep, and filling them with excellent materials, such as flint and lime, and a foundation of immense stones, that they have proved equal, as we still see, to the perfect support of that enormous construction, the cupola, which Filippo di Ser Brunellesco erected upon them, and which Arnolfo had probably not even thought of placing thereon : nay, from the fame acquired by these constructions, the place is still called “Lungo-i-Fondamenti.” The foundation of this edifice was celebrated with much solemnity, the first stone being laid on the birthday of the Virgin, in the year 1298, by the Cardinal legate of the Pope, in the presence, not only of many bishops and of all the clergy, but also of the Podesta, the captains, priors, and other magistrates of the city, together with the whole assembled people of Florence ; the church receiving the name of “Santa Maria del Fiore.” But as the cost of this fabric was expected to be very great, as it was indeed found to be, a tax of four deniers the pound was levied by the Chamber of the Commune on all merchandize exported from the city, together with a poll-tax of two soldi per head, the Pope and legate also granting large indulgences to whomsoever should offer contributions towards the building. Nor must I omit to say, that in addition to the ample foundations, fifteen braccia^[31] deep, strong buttresses were added to each angle of the eight sides, and from these supports it was that Brunellesco derived courage to lay a greater weight on the walls, perhaps, than that Arnolfo had calculated on. The two first side doors of Santa Maria del Fiore were commenced in marble, and it is said that Arnolfo caused fig-leaves to be cut in the frieze, these leaves belonging to his arms and those of his father Lapo, from which it may be inferred, that the family of the Lapi, now among the nobles of Florence, descends from him. Others declare, moreover, that Filippo di Ser Brunellesco was also a descendant of Arnolfo ; but to have done with conjecture,—for many believe the Lapi family to come from Figaruolo, a castle situated at the mouth of the Po,—let us return to our Arnolfo, of whom it may be affirmed, that for the grandeur of this work, he has well merited infinite praise and an eternal name. The walls of the building were almost entirely covered externally with marbles of various colours, and within with Florentine granite, even to the most minute corners of the edifice. And that all may know the exact extent of this marvellous fabric, I add the measurements. Its length, from the door to the chapel of San Zenobio, is 260 braccia, and the breadth across the transepts 166, that of the nave and side aisles 66 ; the height of the central nave is 72 braccia, that of the side aisles 48 ; the external circumference is 1280 braccia ; the height of the cupola, from the pavement to the base of the lantern 154 braccia ; the lantern is 36 braccia high, exclusive of the ball, which is four braccia, and the cross eight, making the whole height of the cupola, from the ground to the top of the cross, 202 braccia. Arnolfo, being now considered, as he was, a most excellent architect, had so completely acquired the confidence of the Florentines, that no work of importance was undertaken without his advice ; thus, having finished in that same year the foundations of the outer-wall of the city, which he had commenced as above related, together with the towers of the gates, all of which he nearly completed, he next planned and commenced the Palazzo de’ Signori, the design of which is similar to that of Casentino, built by his father, Lapo, for the Counts of Poppi. But however grand and magnificent the design of Arnolfo, he was not permitted to give his work that perfection which his art and judgment had destined for it. For it had chanced that the houses of those Ghibelline rebels, the Uberti, who had roused the people of Florence to insurrection, had been razed to the ground, and the site of them levelled ; nor would the governor of that day permit Arnolfo to sink the foundations of his edifice on the ground of those rebel Uberti, notwithstanding all the reasons that he alleged. Nay, the stupid obstinacy of these men would not even suffer him to place his building on the square, rather preferring that he should demolish the church of San Piero Scheraggio, of which the north aisle was taken down accordingly, than permit him to work freely in the midst of the space before him, as his plans required. They insisted, moreover, that the tower of Foraboschi, called “Torre della Vacca”, fifty braccia high, which was used for the great bell, should be united to and comprised within the palace, together with certain houses purchased by the commune for this edifice. These things considered, we cannot wonder if the foundations of the palace be proved awry and out of square ; Arnolfo having been compelled to bring the tower into the centre of the building : and in order to strengthen the latter edifice, he was obliged to surround it with the walls of the palace, which were found to be still in excellent preservation on being examined, in 1551, by the painter and architect, Giorgio Vasari, when he restored the palace by the command of the Duke Cosmo. Arnolfo, having thus rendered the tower secure by the excellence of his workmanship, it was not difficult for the masters who succeeded him, to erect upon it the lofty campanile that we now see there,—he not having been able to do more in the remaining two years of his life than complete the palace, which has since received, from time to time, those improvements which render it the noble and majestic edifice we now behold.

After having accomplished all these things, and many others, no less useful than beautiful, Arnolfo died, in the year 1300,^[32] and in the seventy-first of his age ; he departed exactly at the time when Giovanni Villani began to write the Universal History of his own times ; and since he not only founded Santa Maria del Fiore, but also erected the apsis with the three principal arches, (those under the cupola,) to his great glory, he well deserved the inscription to his memory afterwards placed on that side of the church which is opposite to the campanile ; these verses were engraved on marble in round letters :—

“ Annis millenis centum bis octo nogenis
  Venit legatus Roma bonitate dotatus
  Qui lapidem fixit fundo simul et benedixit
  Praesule Francisco, gestante pontificatum
  Istud ab Arnolpho templum fuit sedificatum
  Hoc opus insigne decorans Florentia digne.
  Reginae coeli construxit mente fideli
  Quam, tu Virgo pia, semper defende, Maria.”

We have thus written the life of Arnolfo as briefly as possible ; and if his works are far from approaching the perfection attained in our day, he yet well deserves to be held in grateful remembrance, since, being himself in the midst of so much darkness, he yet showed to those who came after him the true path towards perfection.^[33] The portrait of Arnolfo by the hand of Giotto, may be seen in Santa Croce, beside the principal chapel ; it is in the figure of one of two men who are speaking together in the foreground of a painting, which represents monks lamenting the death of St. Francis.^[34] In the chapter-house of Santa Maria Novella, a painting of the church of Santa Maria del Fiore may also be seen ; it was taken from the model in wood of Arnolfo by Simon of Siena, and represents the exterior, together with the cupola. From this painting, it is obvious that Arnolfo had proposed to raise the dome immediately over the piers and above the first cornice, at that point, namely, where Filippo di Ser Brunellesco, desiring to render the building less heavy, interposed the whole space wherein we now see the windows, before adding the dome. And this fact would be even more clearly obvious, if the model of Arnolfo himself, as well as those of Brunellesco, and others,^[35] had not been lost by the carelessness of the persons who directed the works of Santa Maria del Fiore in succeeding years.

1. A distinction, which Vasari has made towards the end of his “Introduction to the Lives,” where he explains what he means by “old”, and what by “antique,” see ante, page 31.
2. Founded in 1177 by William II, called “the Good,” one of the first buildings in Europe in which the pointed arch was used. See D’Agincourt, pl. 36, also Hittorff, Architecture Moderne de la Sicile, and Gally Knight’s Saracenic and Norman Remains in Sicily.
3. The present cathedral of Naples, San Jannario, was commenced in 1280 by Charles I of Anjou. — Schorn.
4. The Certosa or Charter-house of Pavia was built in the fourteenth century, by Giacopo Campione, at the command of Giovanni Galeazzo Visconti, first duke of Milan. —Schorn.
5. This cathedral, also founded by Giovanni Galeazzo, was completed by Napoleon.
6. San Pietro was erected in the tenth century and restored in the eighteenth, under Benedict XIV.
7. San Petronio was commenced in the year 1390, the architect was Master Harduin. —Schorn.
8. For Buono and other artists here mentioned, see Cicognara, Storia della Scultura.
9. This palace, “Il Palazzo de’ Signori”, of which there yet remains a small fragment between the Duomo and the Citadel, was not founded, until the year 1232, and could not therefore have been built by Buono, whom Vasari places a full century earlier.— Ed. Leghorn.
10. Della Valle considers this Guglielmo to be a Pisan, principally because a Pisan artist of that name took part in the construction of the cathedral of Orvieto, but in Dempster he is called Wilhelm of Innspruck. See Cicognara, ii, 117. —Schorn.
11. This out work, which Vasari states to have been added, after the sinking of the tower, for its support, was raised about the year 1537, as Morrona discovered from the books of the work. By excavations made in the year 1838, it was proved that the tower stands without aid from this addition, and that the extent of its declination, is seven braccia and two thirds, nearly fourteen feet, English. —Ed. Flor. 1846.
12. The centre of gravity falls of course within the base, in both cases.
13. This door was destroyed by fire in the year 1596. — Martini, Theatrum Basilicae Pisanae.
14. Probably of burnt clay, as are those of the dome of the church of San Vitale, in Ravenna.
15. This tower is still to be seen behind the Vatican, in the wall of the pontifical gardens.—Ed. Flor.
16. This inscription has caused Vasari to conclude the whole façade and campanile to be the work of Marchionne ; but these, as well as the greater part of the church, are of a much later period, namely 1300.—See Rondinelli, Descrizione d'Arezzo, and the Annali Aretini.—Ed. Flor.
17. Afterwards rebuilt by Pope Sixtus V.
18. For the details of this subject, see D’Agincourt and Cicognara.
19. This door is no longer to be seen. For the lions and columns, see Rumohr, Italienische Forschungen, vol. ii, p. 155, Note.
20. What Vasari says of this Jacopo, with the prevalent opinion that he was taken into Italy by Frederick II, would make it probable, says Cicognara, that those are right, who maintain the pointed Gothic manner to have been immediately derived from Germany, were it not that we have earlier examples—in the abbey of Subiaco, for instance. — Ed. Flor.
21. The history of this invisible church—blindly believed by all, and transmitted from age to age, down to our own days—was ultimately disproved, when, diligent search being made for the remains of St. Francis, in the year 1818, it was found that this said church had never existed, and that the body of the holy patriarch had been buried in a tomb partly hewn from the rock, but afterwards closed in with very thick walls, under the high altar of the lower church. See Memorie storiche del ritrovamento delle sacre spoglie di San Francesco D'Assisi. Assisi, 1824. — Ed Flor. 1846.
22. Della Valle considers this assertion sufficient to throw doubt on the whole story. He affirms that Lapo was born in Florence, and had studied his art, from youth up, under Niccola Pisano. —Schorn. See also Lanzi, History of Painting, vol. i, p. 49.
23. Schorn, quoting the Leghorn edition, remarks, that if Jacopo was the architect of the cathedral of Arezzo, he must have designed it very shortly before his death. But the Florentine edition of Vasari (1846), following Maselli, informs us that the building in question was partly restored from its foundation by “this Jacopo or Lapo” in 1218 ; continued by the Aretine architect Margaritone in 1275 ; and completed under the celebrated Bishop Guglielmino degli Ubertini, but by what architect is not known. See also Brizi, Guida d’Arezzo, and Rondinelli, Descrizione d'Arezzo.
24. Of the first of these churches, there remains only a part of the façade belonging to the ancient building. The second, now St. Michael of the Antinori, was rebuilt, after the design of Nigetti, in the seventeenth century. —Schorn.
25. Now the palace of the Bargello.
26. That Arnolfo was neither a son of Lapo, who was but his fellow-disciple, nor yet of the German architect Jacopo (who appears to have been a different person from Lapo the sculptor), has long been known, from various authorities. The father of Arnolfo was called Cambio, and was of Colle, in the Val d’Elsa. See Baldinucci; Del Migliore, Firenze illustrata; Cicognara, Storia della Scultura; Rumohr, Italienische Forschungen; and Gaye, Carteggio Inedito d’Artisti.
27. The old church was demolished in 1625, and was rebuilt in the form of the Greek Cross.— Schorn.
28. These ancient monuments are mentioned by Boccaccio, Decam. Gior. vi, Nov. 9.— Ibid.
29. For a long discussion as to the part which Arnolfo took in these works, see Rumohr, Ital. Forsch.; Antologia di Firenze, v. i.
30. Book viii, chap. 7.
31. The braccio of Florence is one foot eleven inches, English measure.
32. 1310, See Necrologio di Santa Reparata.
33. Among the meritorious and well-authenticated works of Arnolfo, may be reckoned the tomb of Cardinal Braye, in the church of San Domenico, at Orvieto. In this work, he displayed equal power as an architect, sculptor, and mosaic worker.
34. This historical work is among the many that have disappeared from the church.—Ed. Flor. 1846.
35. The monument of Pope Honorius III, in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, is said by Vasari himself to have been commenced by Arnolfo, but left unfinished.