Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 5.djvu/117

Rh letters which he received, from Florence, that Baccio Bandinelli, pretending to want marble, and affecting to consider the Hercules as a piece of marble spoiled, had broken it to pieces by permission received from the Majordomo Biccio, and had used it to make cornices for the tomb of the Signor Giovanni, which was then in process of construction: hearing of this act of Bandinelli, I say, Giovann’ Agnolo was so much displeased that he would not then even hear of revisiting Florence, since it appeared to him that the presumption, arrogance, and insolence of that man had been and was too easily supported.

While the Frate was thus passing his time in Rome, the Messinese were deliberating on the construction of a Fountain which they desired to have erected on the Piazza of the Cathedral, and resolving to have this work richly decorated with statues, they had despatched messengers to Rome with command to select a sculptor of eminence for that service. These men had engaged Raffaello da Montelupo, but he falling sick just at the time when he was on the eve of departing with them for Messina, they determined to take Giovann’ Agnolo instead, who had indeed given himself infinite pains and made much interest to obtain the commission for that work.

The Frate first placed his nephew Angelo, who turned out to have much less ability than the uncle had expected, with a joiner in Rome; he then departed for Messina with his disciple Martino, and they arrived in that city in the month of September, 1547. They were at once accommodated with rooms, and without loss of time they began to prepare the conduits for bringing the water, which was to come from a distance, as also to arrange matters for the excavation of marbles in Carrara, and for the transport of those marbles from that place to Messina. With the aid of numerous stone-cutters, therefore, they brought that fountain, in due time, to completion, and the manner of the work is on this wise.

The fountain has eight sides or faces, four larger or principal namely, and four smaller; two of the four greater, projecting forwards, present an angle to the centre, and the other two receding, are connected with a level or plane surface which joins the four remaining and smaller sides,