subsequently commissioned Giovann’ Agnolo to construct twelve chapels within the Church; for these he was required to select the Corinthian order, and they are placed six on each side, all being decorated with statues of the apostles five braccia high, and executed in marble. Of these chapels four only were finished by the Frate, the two statues of San Pietro and San Paolo being entirely by his own hand, and both very good figures: he was also commanded to place a figure of our Saviour Christ, in marble with rich decorations around it, at the upper end of the principal chapel, with a story in basso-rilievo to be placed beneath the statues of the twelve apostles; but for that time he did not proceed further with the work.
On the Piazza of the same Cathedral, Giovann’ Agnolo superintended the erection of a church to San Lorenzo; the architecture of this fabric proved to be exceedingly beautiful, and he was very highly commended for the same. The Tower of the Pharos, which is on the shore of the sea, was also constructed under his direction, and while these works were in course of progress, he likewise superintended the building of a chapel in the Church of San Domenico, for the Captain-General Cicale, executing for that fabric a figure of the Madonna, in marble, as large as life. For the cloister of the same church, and in a chapel belonging to the Signore Agnolo Borsa, Giovanni Agnolo also executed a basso-rilievo in marble; this story, which was finished with great care, was in like manner considered to be a very fine work.
The Frate furthermore conducted water by the wall of Sant’ Agnolo, to a fountain, for which he prepared a colossal figure in marble with his own hand; the statue though large, is that of a Child, and it pours water into a basin which is very richly decorated as well as judiciously arranged for its purpose; this likewise was reputed to be a highly creditable production. At the Wall of the Virgin he likewise constructed a fountain, the water from which falls
We are doubtless, therefore, here to understand that Montorsoli was commissioned to re-commence the suspended work of a restoration, previously contemplated and resolved on, and undertaken at that moment because the Messinese had, as our author says, “found a man according to their taste.”
