St Domenic
Calagora, founder of the order of the Friars Preachers, then
recently deceased. Having, arranged with those who had charge of the
work, he designed a tomb full of figures, as may be seen at this
day. The task was completed in 1231, and the finished tomb was
greatly praised, it being considered a remarkable work, and the best
piece of sculpture executed up to that time. He further made plans
for the church there and for a great part of the convent. On
returning to Tuscany, he learned that Fuccio had set out from
Florence and was gone to Rome, at the time when the Emperor Frederick
was crowned there by Honorius. From Rome Fuccio accompanied Frederick
to Naples, where he finished the castle of Capoana, now called "la
Vicheria," where all the courts of that kingdom are held. He also
completed the Castel del' Uovo, founding the towers, made the gate on
the side of the River Volturno at Capua, constructed a park near
Gravina for fowling, enclosing it by a wall, and made another at
Amalfi for winter hunting, besides many other things which are
omitted for the sake of brevity.

Meanwhile Niccola was staying at Florence, obtaining practice not
only in sculpture but also in architecture by means of the works
which were in progress throughout Italy, but especially in Tuscany,
with some amount of good design. Thus he contributed not a little to
the abbey of Settimo, left unfinished by the executors of Count Hugh
of Brandenburg, as the other six had been, as we have noticed above.
For although an inscription on the campanile of the abbey reads
"_Gugliel me fecit_" yet it is clear from the style of the work that
it was carried out under the control of Niccola. At the same time he
was building the old palace of the _anziani_ at Pisa. This
building has been dismantled at the present time by Duke Casino,
who has used a part of the old edifice for the erection of the
magnificent palace and convent of the new order of the knights of St
Stephen, after the designs of Giorgio Vasari, Aretine painter and
architect, who has done his best with the old walls, to adapt them to
the modern style. Niccola designed many other palaces and churches at
Pisa, and he was the first, after the loss of good methods of
construction, who introduced the founding of buildings at Pisa upon
pillars connected by arches, first driving piles in under the
pillars. This method renders the building absolutely secure, as is
shown by experience, whe