directed at Peschiera the work of the first foundation of that
fortress, and likewise many works at Brescia; and he always did
everything with such diligence and such good foundations, that not one
of his buildings ever showed a crack. Finally, he restored the
fortress of La Chiusa above Verona, making it possible for persons to
pass by without entering the fortress, but yet in such a manner that,
on the raising of a bridge by those who are within, no one can pass by
against their will, or even show himself on the road, which is very
narrow and cut out of the rock. He also built at Verona, just after he
had returned from Rome, the very beautiful bridge over the Adige,
called the Ponte Nuovo, doing this at the commission of Messer
Giovanni Emo, at that time Podesta of that city; which bridge was on
account of its strength, as it still is, a marvellous thing.
Michele was excellent not only in fortifications, but also in private
buildings and in temples, churches, and monasteries, as may be seen
from many buildings at Verona and other places, and particularly from
the most ornate and beautiful Chapel of the Guareschi in S.
Bernardino, which is round after the manner of a temple, and in the
Corinthian Order, with all the ornaments which that manner admits.
That chapel, I say, he built all of that white pietra viva, which,
from the sound that it makes when it is being worked, is called in
that city "Bronzo"; and, in truth, that kind of stone, after fine
marble, is the most beautiful that has been found down to our own
times, being absolutely solid and without holes or spots that might
spoil it. Since that chapel, then, is built on the inside all of that
most beautiful stone, and wrought by excellent masters of carving, and
put together very well, it is considered that among works of that kind
there is at the present day no other more beautiful in all Italy. For
Michele made the whole work curve in a circle in such a manner, that
three altars which are in it, with their pediments and cornices, and
likewise the space of the door, all turn in a perfect round, almost
after the likeness of the entrances that Filippo Brunelleschi made in
the Chapels of the Temple of the Angeli in Florence; which is a very
difficult thing to do. Michele then made therein a gallery over the
first range of columns, which circles right round the chapel, and
there are to be seen most beautiful carvings in the form of columns,
capitals, foliage, grotesques, little pilasters, and other things,
carved with incredible diligence. The door of that chapel he made
quadrangular on the outer side, of the Corinthian Order and very
beautiful, and similar to an ancient door that he saw, so he used to
say, in some place at Rome. It is true, indeed, that this work, after
having been left unfinished by Michele, I know not for what reason,
was given, either from avarice or from lack of judgment, to certain
others to be finished, who spoiled it, to the infinite vexation of
Michele, who in his lifetime saw it ruined before his very eyes,
without being able to prevent it; wherefore he used to complain at
times to his friends, but only on this account, that he had not
thousands of ducats wherewith to buy it from the avaricious hands of a
woman who, by spending less than she was able, was shamefully spoiling
it.
A work of Michele's was the design of the round Temple of the Madonna
di Campagna, near Verona, which was very beautiful, although the
parsimony, weakness, and little judgment of the Wardens of that
building have since disfigured it in many parts; and even worse would
they have done, if Bernardino Brugnuoli, a kinsman of Michele, had not
had charge of it and made a complete model, after which the building
of that temple, as well as of many others, is now being carried
forward. For the Friars of S. Maria in Organo, or rather, the Monks of
Monte Oliveto in Verona, he made a design of the Corinthian Order,
which was most beautiful, for the facade of their church. This
facade, after being carried to a certain height by Paolo San Michele,
was left not long since in that condition, on account of many expenses
that were incurred by those monks in other matters, but even more by
reason of the death of him who had begun it, Don Cipriano of Verona, a
man of saintly life and of much authority in that Order, of which he
was twice General. At S. Giorgio in Verona, a convent of the Regular
Priests of S. Giorgio in Alega, the same Michele directed the building
of the cupola of that church, which was a very beautiful work, and
succeeded against the expectations of many who did not think that the
structure would ever remain standing, on account of the weakness of
its supports; but these were then so strengthened by Michele, that
there is no longer anything to fear. In the same convent he made the
design and laid the foundations of a very beautiful campanile of hewn
stone, partly tufa and partly pietra viva, which was carried well
forward by him, and is now being continued by the above-mentioned
Bernardino, his nephew, who is employed in carrying it to completion.
Monsignor Luigi Lippomani, Bishop of Verona, having resolved to carry
to completion the campanile of his church, which had been begun a
hundred years before, caused a design for this to be made by Michele,
who did it very beautifully, taking into consideration the preserving
of the old part and the expense that the Bishop was able to incur. But
a certain Messer Domenico Porzio, a Roman, and his vicar, a person
with little knowledge of building, although otherwise a worthy man,
allowed himself to be imposed upon by one who also knew little about
it, and gave him the charge of carrying on that fabric. Whereupon that
person built it of unprepared stone from the mountains, and made the
stairs in the thickness of the walls, doing all this in such a manner,
that everyone who was even slightly conversant with architecture
foretold that which afterwards happened--namely, that the structure
would not remain standing. And, among others, the very reverend Fra
Marco de' Medici of Verona, who, in addition to his other more serious
studies, has always delighted in architecture, as he still does,
predicted what would happen to such a building; but he was answered
thus: "Fra Marco counts for much in his own profession of letters,
philosophy, and theology, wherein he is public lecturer, but in
architecture he does not fish so deeply as to command belief."
Finally, that campanile, having risen to the level where the bells
were to be, opened out in four parts in such a manner, that, after
having spent many thousands of crowns in building it, they had to give
three hundred crowns to the builders to throw it to the ground, lest
it should fall by itself, as it would have done in a few days, and
destroy everything all around. And it is only right that this should
happen to those who desert good and eminent masters, and mix
themselves up with bunglers. The above-named Monsignor Luigi having
afterwards been chosen Bishop of Bergamo, Monsignor Agostino Lippomani
was made Bishop of Verona in his place, and he commissioned Michele to
reconstruct almost anew the model of that campanile, and to set to
work. And after him, according to the same model, Monsignor Girolamo
Trivisani, a friar of S. Dominic, who succeeded the last-named
Lippomani in the bishopric, has caused that work to be continued,
which is now progressing passing slowly. The model is very beautiful,
and the stairs are being accommodated within the tower in such a
manner, that the fabric remains stable and very strong.
For the noble Counts della Torre of Verona, Michele built a very
beautiful chapel in the manner of a round temple, with the altar in
the centre, at their villa of Fumane. And in the Church of the Santo,
at Padua, a very handsome tomb was built under his direction for
Messer Alessandro Contarini, Procurator of S. Mark, who had been
Proveditor to the Venetian forces; in which tomb it would seem that
Michele sought to show in what manner such works should be done,
departing from a kind of commonplace method which, in his opinion, had
in it more of the altar or chapel than of the tomb. This work, which
is very rich in ornamentation, solid in composition, and warlike in
character, has as ornaments a Thetis and two prisoners by the hand of
Alessandro Vittoria, which are held to be good figures, and a head, or
rather, effigy from life of the above-named lord, with armour on the
breast, executed in marble by Danese da Carrara. There are, in
addition, other ornaments in abundance; prisoners, trophies, spoils of
war, and others, of which there is no need to make mention.
In Venice he made the model of the Convent of the Nuns of S. Biagio
Catoldo, which was much extolled. It was then resolved at Verona to
rebuild the Lazzaretto, a dwelling, or rather, hospital, which serves
for the sick in times of plague, the old one having been destroyed
together with other edifices that had been in the suburbs; and Michele
was commissioned to make a design for this (which proved to be
beautiful beyond all expectations), to the end that it might be put
into execution on a spot near the river, at some distance from the
city and beyond the esplanade. But this design, truly most beautiful
and excellently well considered in every part, which is now in the
possession of the heirs of Luigi Brugnuoli, Michele's nephew, was not
carried completely into execution by certain persons, by reason of
their little judgment and poverty of spirit, but much restricted,
curtailed, and reduced to mean proportions by those persons, who used
the authority that they had received in the matter from the public in
disfiguring the work, in consequence of the untimely death of some
gentlemen who were in charge of it at the beginning, and who had a
greatness of spirit equal to their nobility of blood.
A work of Michele's, likewise, was the very beautiful palace that the
noble Counts of Canossa have at Verona, which was built at the
commission of the very reverend Monsignor di Bajus, who once was Count
Lodovico Canossa, a man so much celebrated by all the writers of his
time. For the same Monsignor Michele built another magnificent palace
in the Villa of Grezzano, in the Veronese territory. Under the
direction of the same architect the facade of the Counts Bevilacqua
was reconstructed, and all the apartments were restored in the castle
of those lords, called La Bevilacqua. And at Verona, likewise, he
built the house and facade of the Lavezzoli, which were much extolled.
In Venice he built from the foundations the very rich and magnificent
palace of the Cornaro family, near S. Polo, and restored another
palace, also of the Cornaro family, which is by S. Benedetto
all'Albore, for M. Giovanni Cornaro, of whom Michele was much the
friend; and this led to Giorgio Vasari painting nine pictures in oils
for the ceiling of a magnificent apartment, all adorned with woodwork
carved and richly overlaid with gold, in that palace. In like manner,
he restored the house of the Bragadini, opposite to S. Marina, and
made it very commodious and ornate. And in the same city he founded
and raised above the ground after a model of his own, at incredible
cost, the marvellous palace of the most noble M. Girolamo Grimani,
near S. Luca, on the Grand Canal; but Michele, being overtaken by
death, was not able to carry it to completion himself, and the other
architects chosen in his stead by that nobleman altered his design and
model in many parts.
Near Castelfranco, on the borders of the territories of Padua and
Treviso, there was built under the direction of the same Michele the
most famous Palace of the Soranzi, called by that family La Soranza;
which palace is held to be, for a country residence, the most
beautiful and the most commodious that had been built in those parts
up to that time. He also built the Casa Cornara at Piombino, in that
territory, and so many other private houses, that it would make too
long a story to attempt to speak of them all; let it be enough to have
made mention of the most important. I will not, indeed, refrain from
recording that he made most beautiful gates for two palaces, one of
which was that of the Rectors and of the Captain, and the other that
of the Palazzo del Podesta, both in Verona and worthy of the highest
praise, although the latter, which is in the Ionic Order, with double
columns and very ornate intercolumniations, and some Victories at the
angles, has a somewhat dwarfed appearance by reason of the lowness of
the site where it stands, particularly because it is without pedestals
and very wide on account of the double columns; but such was the wish
of Messer Giovanni Delfini, who had it made.
While Michele was enjoying a tranquil ease in his native place, and
the reputation and renown that his honourable labours had brought him,
there came to him a piece of news that so afflicted him, that it
finished the course of his life. But to the end that the whole may be
better understood, and that all the beautiful works of the San Michele
family may be made known in this Life, I shall say something of Gian
Girolamo, the kinsman of Michele.
[Illustration: PALAZZO GRIMANI
(_After =Michele San Michele=. Venice_)
_Anderson_]
This Gian Girolamo, then, was the son of Paolo, the cousin of
Michele, and, being a young man of very beautiful genius, was
instructed with such diligence by Michele in the matters of
architecture, and so beloved by him, that he would always have the
young man with him in all undertakings of importance, and particularly
in fortifications. Having therefore become in a short time so
excellent, with the help of such a master, that the most difficult
work of fortification could be entrusted to him, in which manner of
architecture he took particular delight, his ability was recognized by
the Signori of Venice, and he was placed with a good salary among the
number of their architects, although he was very young, and then sent
now to one place and now to another, to inspect and restore the
fortresses of their dominion, and at times to carry into execution the
designs of his kinsman Michele. And, among other places, he took part
with much judgment and labour in the fortification of Zara, and in the
marvellous fortress of S. Niccolo at Sebenico, placed, as has been
mentioned, at the mouth of the port; which fortress, erected by him
from the very foundations, is held to be, for a private fortress, one
of the strongest and best designed that there are to be seen. He also
reconstructed after his own designs, with the advice of his kinsman,
the great fortress of Corfu, which is considered the key of Italy on
that side. In this fortress, I say, Gian Girolamo rebuilt the two
great towers that face towards the land, making them much larger and
stronger than they were before, with open embrasures and platforms
that flank the ditch in the modern manner, after the invention of his
kinsman. He then caused the ditches to be made much wider than they
were before, and had a hill levelled, which, being near the fortress,
appeared to command it. But, besides the many other works that he did
there with great consideration, what gave most satisfaction was that
in one corner of the fortress he made a place of great size and
strength, in which in time of siege the people of that island can stay
in safety without any danger of being captured by the enemy.
On account of these works Gian Girolamo came into such credit with the
above-named Signori, that they ordained him a salary equal to that of
his kinsman, judging him to be not inferior to Michele, and even
superior in that work of fortification: which gave the greatest
contentment to San Michele, who saw his own art advancing in the
person of his relative in proportion as old age was taking away from
himself the power to go further. Gian Girolamo, besides his great
judgment in recognizing the nature of different sites, showed much
industry in having them represented by designs and models in relief,
insomuch that he enabled his patrons to see even the most minute
details of his fortifications in very beautiful models of wood that he
would cause to be made; which diligence pleased them vastly, for
without leaving Venice they saw every day how matters were proceeding
in the most distant parts of their State. In order that they might be
the more readily seen by everyone, these models were kept in the
Palazzo del Principe, in a place where the Signori could examine them
at their convenience; and to the end that Gian Girolamo might continue
to pursue that course, they not only reimbursed him the expenses that
he incurred in making the above-mentioned models, but also showed him
many other courtesies.
Gian Girolamo could have gone to serve many lords, with large
salaries, but he would never leave his Venetian Signori; nay, at the
advice of his father and his kinsman Michele, he took a wife in
Verona, a noble young woman of the Fracastoro family, with the
intention of always living in those parts. But he had been not more
than a few days with his beloved bride, who was called Madonna
Ortensia, when he was summoned by his patrons to Venice, and thence
sent in great haste to Cyprus to inspect every place in that island,
orders having been given to all the officials that they should provide
him with all that he might require for any purpose. Having then
arrived in that island, in three months Gian Girolamo went all round
it and diligently inspected everything, putting every detail into
writing and drawing, in order to be able to give an account of the
whole to his masters. But, while he was attending with too much care
and solicitude to his office, paying little regard to his own life, in
the burning heat which prevailed at that time in the island he fell
sick of a pestilential fever, which robbed him of life in six days;
although some said that he had been poisoned. However that may have
been, he died content in being in the service of his masters and
employed by them in works of importance, knowing that they had trusted
more in his fidelity and his skill in fortification than in those of
any other man. The moment that he fell sick, knowing that he was
dying, he gave all the drawings and writings that he had prepared on
the works in that island into the hands of the architect Luigi
Brugnuoli, his kinsman by marriage (who was then engaged in the
fortification of Famagosta, which is the key of that kingdom), to the
end that he might carry them to his masters.
When the news of Gian Girolamo's death arrived in Venice, there was
not one of the Senate who did not feel indescribable sorrow at the
loss of such a man, who had been so devoted to that Republic. Gian
Girolamo died at the age of forty-five, and received honourable burial
from his above-named kinsman in S. Niccolo at Famagosta. Then, having
returned to Venice, Brugnuoli presented Gian Girolamo's drawings and
writings; which done, he was sent to give completion to the
fortifications of Legnago, where he had spent many years in executing
the designs and models of his uncle. But he had not been long in that
place when he died, leaving two sons, who are men of passing good
ability in design and in the practice of architecture. Bernardino, the
elder, has now many undertakings on his hands, such as the building of
the campanile of the Duomo, that of S. Giorgio, and that of the church
called the Madonna di Campagna, in which and other works that he is
directing at Verona and other places, he is succeeding excellently
well; and particularly in the ornamental work of the principal chapel
of S. Giorgio at Verona, which is of the composite order, and such
that in size, design, and workmanship, the people of Verona declare
that they do not believe that there is one equal to it to be found in
Italy. This work, which follows the curve of the recess, is of the
Corinthian Order, with composite capitals and double columns in full
relief, and pilasters behind. In like manner, the frontispiece which
surmounts the whole also curves in very masterly fashion according to
the shape of the recess, and has all the ornaments which that Order
embraces. Wherefore Monsignor Barbaro, Patriarch-elect of Aquileia, a
man with a great knowledge of the profession, who has written of it,
on his return from the Council of Trent saw not without marvel all
that had been done in that work, and that which was being done every
day; and, after considering it several times, he had to say that he
had never seen the like, and that nothing better could be done. And
let this suffice as a proof of what may be expected from the genius of
Bernardino, who was born on the mother's side from the San Michele
family.
But let us return to Michele, from whom we digressed, not without
reason, some little time back. He was struck by such grief at the
death of Gian Girolamo, in whom he saw the house of San Michele become
extinct, since his kinsman left no children, that, although he strove
to conquer or conceal it, in a few days he was overcome by a malignant
fever, to the inconsolable sorrow of his country and of his most
illustrious patrons. Michele died in the year 1559, and was buried in
S. Tommaso, a church of Carmelite Friars, where there is the ancient
burial-place of his forefathers; and at the present day Messer Niccolo
San Michele, a physician, has set his hand to erecting him an
honourable tomb, which is even now being carried into execution.
Michele was a man of most upright life, and most honourable in his
every action. He was a cheerful person, yet with an admixture of
seriousness. He feared God, and was very religious, insomuch that he
would never set himself to do anything in the morning without having
first heard Mass devoutly and said his prayers; and at the beginning
of any undertaking of importance, in the morning, before doing any
other thing, he would always have the Mass of the Holy Spirit or of
the Madonna solemnly chanted. He was very liberal, and so courteous
with his friends, that they were as much masters of his possessions as
he was himself. And I will not withhold a proof of his great loyalty
and goodness, which I believe few others know besides myself. When
Giorgio Vasari, of whom, as has been told, he was much the friend,
parted from him for the last time in Venice, Michele said to him: "I
would have you know, Messer Giorgio, that, when I was in my youth at
Monte Fiascone, I became enamoured, as fortune would have it, of the
wife of a stone-cutter, and received from her complaisance all that I
desired; but no one ever heard of it from me. Now, having heard that
the poor woman has been left a widow, with a daughter ready for a
husband, whom she says she conceived by me, I wish--although it may
well be that this is not true, and such is my belief--that you should
take to her these fifty crowns of gold and give them to her on my
part, for the love of God, to the end that she may use them for her
advantage and settle her daughter according to her station." Giorgio,
therefore, going to Rome, and arriving at Monte Fiascone, although the
good woman freely confessed to him that the girl was not the daughter
of Michele, insisted, in obedience to Michele's command, on paying her
the fifty crowns, which were as welcome to that poor woman as five
hundred would have been to another.
Michele, then, was courteous beyond the courtesy of any other man,
insomuch that he no sooner heard of the needs and desires of his
friends, than he sought to gratify them, even to the spending of his
life; nor did any person ever do him a service that was not repaid
many times over. Giorgio Vasari once made for him in Venice, with the
greatest diligence at his command, a large drawing in which the proud
Lucifer and his followers, vanquished by the Angel Michael, could be
seen raining headlong down from Heaven into the horrible depths of
Hell; and at that time Michele did not do anything but thank Giorgio
for it when he took leave of him. But not many days after, returning
to Arezzo, Giorgio found that San Michele had sent long before to his
mother, who lived at Arezzo, a quantity of presents beautiful and
honourable enough to be the gifts of a very rich nobleman, with a
letter in which he did her great honour for love of her son.