ing very large, took up much space and made an
excellent foundation. And so, continuing to keep the water pumped out
without losing any time, almost in a flash those foundations were
laid, contrary to the expectation of many who had looked upon that
work as absolutely impossible. The foundations, when finished, were
allowed sufficient time to settle, and then Michele erected upon them
a mighty and marvellous fortress, building it on the outer side all in
rustic work, with very large stones from Istria, which are of an
extreme hardness and able to withstand wind, frost, and the worst of
weather. Wherefore that fortress, besides being marvellous with regard
to the site on which it is built, is also, from the beauty of the
masonry and from its incredible cost, one of the most stupendous that
there are in Europe at the present day, rivalling the grandeur and
majesty of the most famous edifices erected by the greatness of the
Romans; for, besides other things, it appears as if made all from one
block, and as though a mountain of living rock had been carved and
given that form, so large are the blocks of which it is built, and so
well joined and united together, not to speak of the ornaments and
other things that are there, seeing that one would never be able to
say enough to do them justice. Within it Michele afterwards made a
piazza, divided by pilasters and arches of the Rustic Order, which
would have proved to be a very rare work, if it had not been left
unfinished.

This vast pile having been carried to the condition that has been
described, some malign and envious persons said to the Signoria that,
although it was very beautiful and built with every possible
consideration, nevertheless it would be useless for any purpose, and
perhaps even dangerous, for the reason that on discharging the
artillery--on account of the great quantity and weight of artillery
that the place required--it was almost inevitable that the edifice
should split open and fall to the ground. It therefore appeared to
those prudent Signori that it would be well to make certain of this,
the matter being one of great importance; and they caused to be taken
there a vast quantity of artillery, the heaviest that could be found
in the Arsenal. Then, all the embrasures both above and below having
been filled with cannon, and the cannon charged more heavily than was
usual, they were all fired off together; whereupon such were the
noise, the thunder, and the e