"Anno milleno bis centum bisque trideno.
Hoc opus insigne sculpsit Nicola Pisanus."

The people of Siena, moved by the fame of this work, which greatly delighted not only the Pisans, but whoever saw it, assigned to Niccola the task of making for their Duomo the pulpit from which the gospel is sung, at the time when Guglielmo Mariscotti was praetor. In this Niccola introduced a number of subjects from the life of Jesus Christ, especially remarkable for the figures which they contain, which stand out in high relief, all but severed from the background, a work of great difficulty. He likewise designed the church and convent of S. Domenico at Arezzo, for the lords of Pietramela who built it, and at the request of the bishop Ubertini he restored the Pieve of Cortona, and founded the church of S. Margherita for the friars of St Francis, on the highest ground in that city. The fame of Niccola was continually on the increase, owing to these works, so that in 1267 he was invited by Pope Clement IV. to Viterbo, where, among many other things he restored the church and convent of the Friars Preachers. From Viterbo he went to Naples to King Charles, who having defeated and slain Curradino on the plain of Tagliacozzo, founded a wealthy church and abbey on the spot, for the burial-place of the large number of men who had fallen on that day, ordaining that prayers should be offered for their souls both day and night by many monks. King Charles was so delighted with the work of Niccola in this building that he loaded him with honours and rewards. On the way back from Naples to Tuscany Niccola stayed to take part in the building of S. Maria at Orvieto, where he worked in the company of some Germans, making figures in high relief in marble for the front of that church, and more particularly a Last Judgment, comprising both Paradise and Hell; and as he took the greatest pains to render the souls of the blessed in Paradise as beautifully as he possibly could, so he introduced into his Hell the most fantastic shape of devils imaginable, all intent on tormenting the souls of the damned. In this work not only did he surpass the Germans who were working there, but even himself, to his great glory, and because he introduced a great number of figures and spared no pains, it has been praised even to our own day by those whose judgment does not extend beyond such circumstances.

Among other children Niccola had a son called Giovanni, who was always with his father, and under his care learned both sculpture and architecture, so that in the course of a few years he became not only the equal of his father, but his superior in some things. Thus, as Niccola was already old, he withdrew to Pisa and lived quietly there, leaving the control of everything to his son. At the death in Perugia of Pope Urban IV., Giovanni was sent for to make the tomb, which he executed in marble; but it was afterwards thrown down, together with that of Pope Martin IV., when the Perugians enlarged their Vescovado, so that only a few remains may be seen to-day dispersed about the church. At the same time the Perugians, thanks to the skill and industry of a friar of the Silvestrini, had brought to their city from the hill of Pacciano, two miles away, an abundance of water. The ornamentation of the fountain in both bronze and marble was entrusted to Giovanni, so that he thereupon set his hand to the work, making three basins, one above the other, two in marble and one in bronze. The first is placed at the top of a flight of steps of twelve faces, the second rests on some pillars which rise from the centre of the first, while the third, which is of bronze, is supported by three figures; and in the middle are griffins, also of bronze, which throw out water on every side. And as Giovanni considered that he had executed an excellent piece of work, he put his name to it. The arches and conduits of this fountain, which cost 160,000 gold ducats, were found to be very much worn and broken about the year 1560, but Vincenzio Danti, sculptor of Perugia, contrived a means, to his great glory, of bringing water to the fountain in the original way, without rebuilding the arches, which would have been very costly. When the work was finished Giovanni felt anxious to return to see his old father, who was sick, and he set out from Perugia intending to return to Pisa; but on his way through Florence he was compelled to stay there, to assist with others at the mills of the Arno, which were being made at S. Gregorio, near the piazza dei Mozzi. But at length receiving word that his father Niccola was dead, he departed for Pisa, where he was received with great honour by all the city, on account of his worth, since everyone rejoiced that although Niccola was lost to them, yet they still possessed Giovanni, who inherited his father's ability as well as his property. Nor were they deceived in him when the time of testing arrived, for when it was necessary to do some few things for the tiny but highly-ornate church of S. Maria della Spina, the task was entrusted to Giovanni. He therefore put his hand to the work and brought the ornamentation of that oratory to the state of perfection which it possesses to-day, the more so as he introduced the portrait of Niccola, taken from life, executed to the best of his ability. When the Pisans had seen this they decided to entrust him the construction of the Campo Santo, which is against the piazza del Duomo towards the walls, as they had long desired and talked of having a place for the burial of all their dead, both gentle and simple, so that the Duomo should not be filled with tombs, or for other reasons. Thus Giovanni with good designs and great judgment erected the building as we now see it, in style, size, and marble ornamentation, and as no expense was spared, it was roofed with lead. On the outside of the principle entrance may be read these words, carved in the marble:

"A.D. MCCLXXVIII. tempore Domini Federigi archiepiscopi
Pisani, et Domini Terlati potestatis operario Orlando Sardella,
Johanne magistro aedificante."

In the completion of this work, 1283, Giovanni went to Naples, where he erected the Castel Nuovo for King Charles; and in order to enlarge it and add to its strength, he was compelled to pull down a number of houses and churches, among them a convent of the friars of St Francis, which was afterwards rebuilt on a larger and grander scale at some distance from the castle, with the title of S. Maria della Nuova. After these building had been set on foot and were well advanced, Giovanni left Naples to return to Tuscany, but when he reached Siena he was not allowed to go farther, but was induced to design the façade of the Duomo of that city, which was subsequently erected from his plans in a very rich and magnificent style. In the following year, 1286, while the bishop's palace at Arezzo was being built from the design of Margaritone, architect of Arezzo, Giovanni was fetched from Sienna to that city by Guglielmo Ubertini, the bishop there. He there executed in marble the table of the high altar, full of figures cut in relief of leaves and other ornaments, dividing the work into compartments by fine mosaics and enamels on silver plates, fixed into the marble with great care. In the midst is Our Lady with the child at her neck, and on one side of her is St Gregory the Pope (which is a portrait of Pope Honorius IV. drawn from life), and on the other side St Donato, the bishop and protector of that city, whose body, with those of St Antilia and other saints, rest under that same altar. And as the altar stands out by itself, the sides are decorated with small representations in bas-relief from the life of St Donato, and the work is crowned with a series of niches, full of marble figures in relief, of exquisite workmanship. On the Madonna's breast is an ornament shaped like a gold casket, containing, if report be true, jewels of great value, although it is believed that they, as well as some other small figures on the top and about the work, were taken away by the soldiers, who do not often respect the even most Holy Sacrament. On these works the Aretines expended 30,000 florins, as is found in some records. Nor does this appear impossible, because at that time it was considered to be a thing of the most precious and rare description, so that when Frederick Barbarossa returned from his coronation at Rome, and was passing through Arezzo many years after its completion, he praised and admired it infinitely, and indeed with good cause, since the joints are constructed of tiny pieces so excellently welded together, that to an inexperienced eye, the whole work seems to be made in one piece. In the same church Giovanni made the chapel of the Ubertini, a noble family, and lords of a castle, as they still are, though they were formerly of greater estate. He adorned this with many marble ornaments, which are to-day covered over by many large ornaments of stone, placed there in the year 1535, after plans by Giorgio Vasari, for the support of an organ of extraordinary excellence and beauty which rests upon them. Giovanni Pisano also designed the church of S. Maria dei Servi, which has been destroyed in our day, together with many palaces of the noblest families of the city, for the reasons mentioned above. I must not omit to note that in the construction of the marble altar Giovanni was assisted by some Germans, who associated with him, rather for the sake of learning the art, than for gain, and who profited so much by his instruction, that when they went to Rome, after the completion of that work, they served Pope Boniface VIII. in many works of sculpture executed for St Peter's, and also in architecture, when he made Civita Castellana. They were, moreover, sent by that Pope to S. Maria at Orvieto, where they made a number of marble figures for the façade of the church, which were very tolerable for those times. But among the others who assisted Giovanni in his undertakings for the Vescovado at Arezzo, were Agostino and Agnolo, sculptors and architects of Siena, who far surpassed all the others, as will be said in the proper place. But to return to Giovanni. When he left Orvieto he came to Florence to see Arnolfo's building of S. Maria del Fiore, and also to see Giotto, of whom he had heard a great deal elsewhere; but no sooner had he arrived in Florence than he was appointed by the intendants of the fabric of S. Maria del Fiore to make the Madonna, which stands between two small angels above the door of that church, which leads into the canons' quarters, a work much praised at the time. He next made the small font for S. Giovanni, containing representations from the life of that saint in half-relief. Proceeding thence to Bologna he directed the construction of the principal chapel of the church of St Domenico, in which he was also commissioned to make the marble altar by Teodorico Borgognoni of Lucca, then bishop, a friar of that order. Later on (1298), in the same place, he made the marble table in which are Our Lady and eight other figures, all of very tolerable workmanship. In the year 1300, when Niccola da Prato was at Florence as cardinal legate of the Pope, for the purpose of settling the discords among the Florentines, he caused Giovanni to build a nunnery for him at Prato, which was called S. Niccola after him, and in the same district he made him restore the convent of S. Domenico, as well as that of Pistoia, in both of which the arms of that cardinal may still be seen. And since the Pistolese held the name of Niccola, Giovanni's father, in great respect, because he had displayed his talents in that city, they commissioned Giovanni to make a marble pulpit for the church of S. Andrea, similar to that which he had made for the Duomo of Siena, and in competition with one which had been made shortly before for the church of S. Giovanni Evangelista by a German, which had been much praised. Giovanni finished his task in four years, dividing the work into four subjects from the life of Jesus Christ, and further introducing a Last Judgment, working with the utmost diligence in order to equal, and perhaps surpass, that celebrated pulpit of Orvieto. About the pulpit above some columns which support it and in the architrave he carved the following lines, since he thought that he had completed a great and beautiful work, as indeed he had, considering the attainments of the age:

Hoc opus sculpsit Johannes, qui res non egit inanes.
Nicoli natus . . . meliora beatus
Quam genuit Pisa, doctum super omnia visa.

At the same time Giovanni made the holy water vessel in marble for the same church of S. Giovanni Evangelista, borne by three figures, Temperance, Prudence and Justice, and as it was then considered a work of great beauty, it was placed in the middle of the church as a remarkable object. Before he left Pistoia he made the model for the campanile of S. Jacopo, the principal church of the city, although the work was not then begun. The tower is situated beside the church in the piazza of S. Jacopo, and bears the date A.D. 1301. On the death of Pope Benedict IX. at. Perugia, Giovanni was sent for to make his tomb, which he executed in marble in the old church of S. Domenico of the Friars Preachers, placing the Pope's effigy, taken from life, and in his pontifical habit, upon the sarcophagus with two angels holding a curtain, one on either side, and Our Lady above, between two saints, executed in relief, as well as many other ornaments carved on the tomb. Similarly in the new church of the same order he made the tomb of M. Niccolo Guidalotti of Perugia, bishop of Recanati, who was the founder of the new University of Perugia. In this same new church, which had been previously founded by others, he directed the construction of the principal nave, and this part of the building was much more securely founded than the rest, which leans over to one side, and threatens to fall down, owing to the faulty laying of the foundations. And in truth he who undertakes to build or perform any things of importance ought always to take the advice, not of those who know little, but of those most competent to help him, so that he may not afterwards have to repent with loss and shame that he was ill-directed when he was in most need of assistance.

When he had completed his labours in Perugia, Giovanni wished to go to Rome to learn from the few antique things there, as his father had done, but being hindered by good reasons, he was never able to fulfil his desire, chiefly because he heard that the court had just gone to Avignon. So he returned to Pisa, where Nello di Giovanni Falconi, craftsman, entrusted to him the great pulpit of the Duomo, which is fixed to the choir on the right hand side as one approaches the high altar. He set to work on this, and on a number of figures in full relief, three braccia high, which he intended to use for it, and little by little he brought it to its present form, resting in part on the said figures and in part upon lions, while on the sides he represented scenes from the life of Jesus Christ. It is truly a sin that so much money, such diligence and labour should not be accompanied by good design, and that it should lack that perfection, invention, grace, and good style which any work of our own day would possess, even were it executed at much less cost and with less difficulty. Yet it must have excited no small admiration among the men of the time, who had only been accustomed to see the rudest productions. It was finished in the year 1320, as appears in certain lines which run round the pulpit and read thus:

"Laudo Deum verum, per quem sunt optima rerum
Qui dedit has puras homini formate figuras;
Hoc opus, his annis Domini sculpsere Johannis
Arte manus sole quandam, natique Nicole.
Cursis undenis tercentum milleque plenis."

There are thirteen other lines, which I do not write here, because I do not wish to weary the reader, and because these are sufficient to show not only that the pulpit is by the hand of Giovanni, but that the men of that time were alike in their shortcomings. A Madonna between St John the Baptist and another saint may be seen over the principal of the door of the Duomo; it is in marble, and by the hand of Giovanni, and the figure kneeling at her feet is said to be Piero Gambacorti, the warden. However this may be, the following words are cut in the pedestal, on which the image of Our Lady stands: