hrist, was one of
the last pieces of sculpture in marble that Arnolfo ever made; and
he made it at the instance of Pandolfo Ippotecorvo, in the year
twelve (?), as an epitaph bears witness that is on the wall beside
the chapel; and likewise the chapel and tomb of Pope Boniface VIII,
in S. Pietro in Rome, whereon is carved the same name of Arnolfo,
who wrought it.]

Having discoursed, in the Preface to the Lives, of certain buildings in
a manner old but not ancient, and having been silent, for the reason
that I did not know them, about the names of the architects who had
charge of their construction, I will make mention, in the Preface to
this Life of Arnolfo, of certain other edifices built in his time or a
little before, whereof in like manner it is not known who were the
masters; and then of those that were built in the same times, whereof it
is known who were the architects, either because the manner of the
edifices themselves is recognized very well, or because we have had
information about them by means of the writings and memorials left by
them in the works that they made. Nor will this be outside our subject,
seeing that, although they are neither in a beautiful nor in a good
manner but only vast and magnificent, they are worthy none the less of
some consideration.

There were built, then, in the time of Lapo and of Arnolfo his son, many
edifices of importance both in Italy and abroad, whereof I have not been
able to find the architects, such as the Abbey of Monreale in Sicily,
the Piscopio of Naples, the Certosa of Pavia, the Duomo of Milan, S.
Pietro and S. Petronio in Bologna, and many others which are seen
throughout all Italy, built at incredible cost. Having seen all these
buildings for myself and studied them, and likewise many sculptures of
those times, particularly in Ravenna, and not having ever found, I do
not say any memorials of the masters, but even many times the date when
they were built, I cannot but marvel at the rudeness and little desire
for glory of the men of that age. But returning to our subject; after
the buildings named above, there began at last to arise men of a more
exalted spirit, who, if they did not find, sought at least to find
something of the good. The first was Buono, of whom I know neither the
country nor the surname, for the reason that in making record of himself
in some of his works he put nothing but simply his name. He, being both
sculptor