Giorgio Vasari

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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 ”

“ 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. ↑ 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 ”

“ For the lions and columns, see Rumohr, Italienische Forschungen, vol. ii, p. 155, Note. ↑ 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. ”

“ Forsch.; Antologia di Firenze, v. i. ↑ Book viii, chap. 7. ↑ The braccio of Florence is one foot eleven inches, English measure. ↑ 1310, See Necrologio di Santa Reparata. ↑ 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. ↑ This historical work is among the many that have disappeared from the church.—Ed. ”