Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 1.djvu/475

Rh Thus the Marquis of Mantua, among others, desiring to secure the services of Filippo, wrote with very earnest instances respecting him to the Signoria of Florence, by whom the master was accordingly sent to the marquis in that city, where, in the year 1445, he prepared designs for the construction of dams on the Po, with other works, according to the wish of that prince, who caressed him infinitely, being wont to say that Florence was as worthy to number Filippo among her citizens as he to have so noble and beautiful a city for his birthplace. At Pisa, in like manner, Filippo gave proof of his pre-eminence to the Count Francesco Sforza and Niccolo da Pisa, whom he had surpassed in the construction of certain fortifications, and who commended him in his presence, saying, that if every state possessed a man like Filippo, all might live in peace, without the use of arms. In Florence, also, Filippo gave the design for the Barbadori