IX.
ANN. LV, MENS. XI, DIES XX.
LUCRETIA ET JO. SALUSTIUS OPTIMO CONJUGI ET PARENTI, NON SINE LACRIMIS
SIMONIS, HONORII, CLAUDII, AEMILIAE, AC SULPITIAE, MINORUM FILIORUM,
DOLENTES POSUERUNT, DIE IIII JANUARII, MDXXXVI.

The name and fame of Baldassarre became greater after his death than
they had been during his lifetime; and then, above all, was his talent
missed, when Pope Paul III resolved to have S. Pietro finished, because
men recognized how great a help he would have been to Antonio da San
Gallo. For, although Antonio had to his credit all that is to be seen
executed by him, yet it is believed that in company with Baldassarre he
would have done more towards solving some of the difficulties of that
work. The heir to many of the possessions of Baldassarre was Sebastiano
Serlio of Bologna, who wrote the third book on architecture and the
fourth on the antiquities of Rome with their measurements; in which
works the above-mentioned labours of Baldassarre were partly inserted in
the margins, and partly turned to great advantage by the author. Most of
these writings of Baldassarre came into the hands of Jacomo Melighino of
Ferrara, who was afterwards chosen by Pope Paul as architect for his
buildings, and of the aforesaid Francesco da Siena, his former assistant
and disciple, by whose hand is the highly renowned escutcheon of
Cardinal Trani in Piazza Navona, with some other works. From this
Francesco we received the portrait of Baldassarre, and information about
some matters which I was not able to ascertain when this book was
published for the first time. Another disciple of Baldassarre was
Virgilio Romano, who executed a facade with some prisoners in
sgraffito-work in the centre of the Borgo Nuovo in his native city, and
many other beautiful works. From the same master, also, Antonio del
Rozzo, a citizen of Siena and a very excellent engineer, learnt the
first principles of architecture; and Baldassarre was followed, in like
manner, by Riccio, a painter of Siena, who, however, afterwards imitated
to no small extent the manner of Giovanni Antonio Sodoma of Vercelli.
And another of his pupils was Giovan Battista Peloro, an architect of
Siena, who gave much attention to mathematics and cosmography, and made
with his own hand mariner's compasses, quadrants, many irons and
instruments for measuring, and likewise the ground-plans of many
fortifications, most of which are in the possession of Maestro Giuliano,
a gol