Page:The Life of Michael Angelo.djvu/124

 Florence. On the 23rd his sentence of banishment was annulled by the Seigniory, but it was decided that the Grand Council should be closed to him for three years.

Henceforth Michael Angelo did his duty bravely. He went back to his post at San Miniato, which the enemy had been bombarding for a month. He again fortified the hill, invented new engines of war, and, it is said, saved the "Campanile" by protecting it with bales of wool and mattresses suspended by cords. The last trace which we have of his activity during the siege is a piece of news of February 22, 1530, which describes him climbing on to the dome of the Cathedral, either to observe the movements of the enemy or to inspect the condition of the cupola.

However, the misfortunes which he had foreseen occurred. On August 2, 1530, Malatesta Baglione betrayed the city. Florence capitulated on the twelfth, and the Emperor handed it over to the papal commissary, Baccio Valori. Then the executions began. In the