k was broken to pieces on the arrival of the
French, so that the horse was never finished; nor could the palace
be brought to completion.

Having returned to Florence, Giuliano found that his brother
Antonio, who worked for him on his models, had become so excellent,
that there was no one in his day who was a better master in carving,
particularly for large Crucifixes of wood; to which witness is borne
by the one over the high-altar of the Nunziata in Florence, by
another that is kept by the Friars of S. Gallo in S. Jacopo tra
Fossi, and by a third in the Company of the Scalzo, which are all
held to be very good. But Giuliano removed him from that profession
and caused him to give his attention to architecture, in company
with himself, since he had many works to execute, both public and
private.

Now it happened, as it is always happening, that Fortune, the enemy
of talent, robbed the followers of the arts of their hope and
support by the death of Lorenzo de' Medici, which was a heavy loss
not only to all able craftsmen and to his country, but also to all
Italy. Wherefore Giuliano, together with all the other lofty
spirits, was left wholly inconsolable; and in his grief he betook
himself to Prato, near Florence, in order to build the Temple of the
Madonna delle Carcere, since all building in Florence, both public
and private, was at a standstill. He lived in Prato, therefore,
three whole years, supporting the expense, discomfort, and sorrow as
best he could.

At the end of that time, it being proposed to roof the Church of the
Madonna at Loreto, and to raise the cupola, which had been formerly
begun but not finished by Giuliano da Maiano, and those who had
charge of the matter doubting that the piers were too weak to bear
such a weight, they wrote, therefore, to Giuliano, that if he
desired such a work, he should go and see it for himself. And having
gone, like the bold and able man that he was, he showed them that
the cupola could be raised with ease, and that he had courage enough
for the task; and so many, and of such a kind, were the reasons that
he put before them, that the work was allotted to him. After
receiving this commission, he caused the work in Prato to be
despatched, and made his way, with the same master-builders and
stone-cutters, to Loreto. And to the end that this structure,
besides beauty of form, might be firm, solid, stable, and well bound
in the stonework, he sent to Rome for pozzolana[22]; n