were there and put a part of them behind the campanile in the
facade of the Canonical Palace, beside the oratory of S. Zanobi, when
he proceeded to incrust all the eight sides of the exterior of the
church with black Prato marble, removing the rough stone which was
originally used with the antique marbles.

In the meantime the Florentines were desirous of erecting buildings
in Valdarno above the castle of S. Giovanni and Castelfranco for the
convenience of the city and for the supply of victuals to their
markets. Arnolfo prepared the plan for this in the year 1295, and
gave such general satisfaction, as indeed he had in his other works,
that he was awarded the citizenship of Florence.

After these things the Florentines took counsel together, as Giovanni
Villani relates in his History, to build a principal church for their
city, and to make it so grand and magnificent that nothing larger or
finer could be desired by the industry and power of man; and thus
Arnolfo prepared the plans for the church of S. Maria del Fiore, a
building which it is impossible to praise too highly. He provided
that the exterior should be entirely incrusted with polished marble,
with all the cornices, pillars, columns, carvings of leaves, figures,
and other things which may be seen to-day, and which were brought
very near completion, although not quite. But the most marvellous
circumstance of all in this undertaking was the care and judgment
with which he made the foundations, for in clearing the site, which
is a very fine one, other small churches and houses about S. Reparata
were involved beside that edifice itself. He made the foundations of
this great structure both broad and deep, filling them with good
materials, such as gravel and lime, with large stones at the bottom,
so that they have been able without difficulty to bear the weight of
the huge dome with which Filippo di Ser Brunellesco vaulted the
church, as may be seen to-day. The excellence of this initial work
was such that the place is still called Lungo i Fondamenti (beside
the foundations). The laying of the foundations and the initiation of
so great a church was celebrated with much ceremony. The first stone
was laid on the day of the Nativity of Our Lady 1298 by the cardinal
legate of the Pope, in the presence not only of many bishops and of
all the clergy, but also of the podesta, captains, priors, and other
magistrates of the city, and indeed of all the people of Florence,