Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 4.djvu/16

8 one summer in liis train. In the island of Viscentina also, which is in the lake of Bolsena, he built two small temples for the Cardinal Farnese, one of which he made an octangle on the outside, and round within, while the other was a square externally, but octangular within, the latter having four niches at the angles, one at each angle namely. These two little temples, completed as they were in a very fine manner, bore testimony to the extent of Antonio’s abilities and to the variety which he was capable of imparting in architecture. While they were still in course of erection, Antonio returned to Rome, where he commenced a palace for the Bishop of Cervia; that fabric was situated at the corner of Santa Lucia, where the New Mint now stands, but the building was not brought to completion. This architect constructed the church of Santa Maria di Monferrato which is near the Corte Savella, and is considered exceedingly beautiful; he also built a house for a certain Marrano which is behind the palace of Cibo, and near the houses of the Massimi family.

Then followed the death of Pope Leo X. and with him were buried all those beautiful and noble arts which had been recalled to life by his care and by that of his predecessor Julius II.; for when Adrian VI. succeeded to the pontificate, the arts and talents of all kinds were held in so little esteem, that if he had long retained the apostolic seat, there would once more have happened in Rome under his government what had taken place at a former period, when all the statues left by the Goths, the good as well as the bad, were condemned to the fire. Nay, Pope Adrian had already begun, perhaps in imitation of the pontiffs of the times just mentioned, to talk of his intention to destroy the chapel of the divine Michelangelo, declaring it to be a congregation of naked figures, and expressing his contempt for the best pictures and statues, which he called sensualities of the world, and maintained them to be shameful and abominable inventions. This caused not only San Gallo but all the other men of genius to repose during the pontificate of that Pope, seeing that no works of any kind were proceeded with in Adrian’s time; nay, to make no mention of other buildings,