ere done by Niccola
Pisano, 170 years later, and completed in 1233, as will be related in
the proper place, Abellenato and Aliprando being the craftsmen at the
beginning, as some letters carved in marble in the same place fully
relate. The figures by Niccola Pisano show to what an extent the art
was improved by him. Most of the buildings erected in Italy from this
time until the year 1250 were similar in character to these, for
architecture made little or no apparent progress in all these years,
but remained stationary, the same rude style being retained. Many
examples of this may be seen to-day, but I will not now enumerate
them, because I shall refer to them again as the occasion presents
itself.

The admirable sculptures and paintings buried in the ruins of Italy
remained hidden or unknown to the men of this time who were engrossed
in the rude productions of their own age, in which they used no
sculptures or paintings except such as were produced by the old
artists of Greece, who still survived, making images of clay or
stone, or painting grotesque figures and only colouring the first
lineaments. These artists were invited to Italy for they were the
best and indeed the only representatives of their profession. With
them they brought the mosaics, sculptures, and paintings which they
themselves produced and thus they taught their methods to the
Italians, after their own rough and clumsy style. The Italians
practised the art in this fashion up to a certain time, as I shall
relate.

As the men of the age were not accustomed to see any excellence or
greater perfection than the things thus produced, they greatly
admired them, and considered them to be the type of perfection, base
as they were. Yet some rising spirits aided by some quality in the
air of certain places, so far purged themselves of this crude style
that in 1250 Heaven took compassion on the fine minds that the Tuscan
soil was producing every day, and directed art into its former
channels. And although the preceding generations had before them the
remains of arches, colossi, statues, pillars or stone columns which
were left after the plunder, ruin and fire which Rome had passed
through, yet they could never make use of them or derive any profit
from them until the period named. Those who came after were able to
distinguish the good from the bad, and abandoning the old style they
began to copy the ancients with all ardour and industry. That the
distinction