great confidence and
trust that the Pope placed in him, desired, in order to prove his
generosity, that it should be declared in the Motu-proprio that he was
serving in the fabric for the love of God and without any reward. It
is true that the Pope had formerly granted to him the ferry over the
river at Parma,[2] which yielded him about six hundred crowns; but he
lost it at the death of Duke Pier Luigi Farnese, and in exchange for
it he was given a Chancellery at Rimini, a post of less value. About
that he showed no concern; and, although the Pope sent him money
several times by way of salary, he would never accept it, to which
witness is borne by Messer Alessandro Ruffini, Chamberlain to the Pope
at that time, and by M. Pier Giovanni Aliotti, Bishop of Forli.
Finally the model that had been made by Michelagnolo was approved by
the Pope; which model diminished S. Pietro in size, but gave it
greater grandeur, to the satisfaction of all those who have judgment,
although some who profess to be good judges, which in fact they are
not, do not approve of it. He found that the four principal piers
built by Bramante, and left by Antonio da San Gallo, which had to
support the weight of the tribune, were weak; and these he partly
filled up, and beside them he made two winding or spiral staircases,
in which is an ascent so easy that the beasts of burden can climb
them, carrying all the materials to the very top, and men on
horseback, likewise, can go up to the uppermost level of the arches.
The first cornice above the arches he constructed of travertine,
curving in a round, which is an admirable and graceful thing, and very
different from any other; nor could anything better of that kind be
done. He also made a beginning with the two great recesses of the
transepts; and whereas formerly, under the direction of Bramante,
Baldassarre, and Raffaello, as has been related, eight tabernacles
were being made on the side towards the Camposanto, and that plan was
afterwards followed by San Gallo, Michelagnolo reduced these to three,
with three chapels in the interior, and above them a vaulting of
travertine, and a range of windows giving a brilliant light, which are
varied in form and of a sublime grandeur. But, since these things are
in existence, and are also to be seen in engraving, not only those of
Michelagnolo, but those of San Gallo as well, I will not set myself to
describe them, for it is in no way necessary. Let it suffice to say