Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 1.djvu/140

126 senting events from the life of the bishop, and exhibiting a multitude of small figures, nor will I refuse the labour of describing these historical representations, that my readers may see with what patience these sculptors laboured, and how earnestly they sought the true path to excellence.

The first represents the bishop, when, aided by the Ghibellines of Milan, who sent him money and four-hundred workmen, he rebuilt the walls of Arezzo entirely anew, extending them greatly, and giving them the form of a galley. In the second relief is the taking of Lucignano di Valdichiana ; in the third, that of Chiusi ; in the fourth, that of Fronzoli, then a strong fortress, situate above Poppi, and held by the sons of the Count of Battifolle. The fifth shows the, when it was finally surrendered to the bishop, after being besieged for many months by the Aretines. The sixth represents the taking of the, in the Valdarno. The seventh exhibits the, taken by storm, which event occurred under the command of the Count of Romena, after a siege of several months. In the eighth, is the bishop causing the to be demolished, and the hill which rises above it, to be cut into the form of a cross, that no fortress might thenceforward be raised on the site. In the ninth, he is seen destroying Monte Sansovino, which he gives to the flames, after driving forth the inhabitants. In the eleventh is the coronation of the bishop, and here are seen many richly habited soldiers, both horse and foot, with other figures in large numbers. Finally, in the twelfth, the bishop’s servants are shown carrying him from Montenero, where he fell sick, to Massa, and thence, afterwards, when he was dead, to Arezzo. The tomb is further adorned in various places with Ghibelline insignia, and the arms of the bishop, which are six square blocks of stone, or, in a field azure,