r age. He left behind him an intimate
friend, Giuliano Leno, who had much to do with the buildings of his
time, but was employed rather to make preparations and to carry out
the wishes of whoever designed them, than to work on his own
account, although he had judgment and great experience.

During his lifetime, Bramante employed in his works one Ventura, a
carpenter of Pistoia, who was a man of very good ability, and drew
passing well. This Ventura, while in Rome, delighted much in taking
measurements of antiquities; and afterwards, wishing to live once
more in his native place, he returned to Pistoia. Now it happened in
that city, in the year 1509, that a Madonna, which is now called the
Madonna della Umilta, worked miracles; and since many offerings were
brought to her, the Signoria that was then governing the city
determined to build a temple in her honour. Whereupon Ventura,
confronted with this opportunity, made with his own hand a model of
an octagonal temple ...[15] braccia in breadth and ... braccia in
height, with a vestibule or closed portico in front, very ornate
within and truly beautiful. This having given satisfaction to the
Signoria and to the chief men of the city, the building was begun
according to the plans of Ventura, who, having laid the foundations
of the vestibule and the temple, completely finished the vestibule,
which he made very rich in pilasters and cornices of the Corinthian
Order, with other carved stonework; while all the vaults in that
work were made in like manner, with squares surrounded by mouldings,
also in stone, and filled with rosettes. Afterwards, the octagonal
temple was also carried to the height of the last cornice, from
which the vaulting of the tribune was to rise, during the lifetime
of Ventura; and since he was not very experienced in works of that
size, he did not consider how the weight of the tribune might be
safely laid on the building, but made within the thickness of the
wall, at the first range of windows, and at the second, where the
others are, a passage that runs right round, whereby he contrived to
weaken the walls so much, that, the edifice being without buttresses
at the base, it was dangerous to raise a vault over it, and
particularly on the angles at the corners, upon which all the weight
of the vault of that tribune must rest. Wherefore, after the death
of Ventura, there was no architect with courage enough to raise that
vault: nay, they had caused long and