r the upper and the lower rooms
of the Palace, covering up all the old ceilings that had been made
before in the ancient manner. In short, he gave it all the perfection
that was demanded by so great a building; and he contrived to convey the
water from the wells right up to the highest floor, to which it could be
drawn up by means of a wheel more easily than was usual. One thing alone
the genius of Michelozzo could not remedy, namely, the public staircase,
because it was badly conceived from the beginning, badly situated,
awkwardly built, steep, and without lights, while from the first floor
upwards the steps were of wood. He laboured to such purpose, however,
that he made a flight of round steps at the entrance of the courtyard,
and a door with pilasters of hard-stone and most beautiful capitals
carved by his hand, besides a well-designed cornice with a double
architrave, in the frieze of which he placed all the arms of the
Commune. And what is more, he made the whole staircase of hard-stone up
to the floor where the Signori lived, fortifying it at the top and
half-way up with a portcullis at each point, in case of tumults; and at
the head of the staircase he made a door which was called the
"catena,"[23] beside which there was ever standing an usher, who opened
or closed it according as he was commanded by those in authority. He
strengthened the tower of the campanile, which had cracked by reason of
the weight of that part which stands out over space on corbels on the
side towards the Piazza, with very stout bands of iron. Finally, he
improved and restored that Palace so greatly, that he was therefore
commended by the whole city and made, besides other rewards, a member of
the College, which is one of the most honourable magistracies in
Florence. And if it should appear to anyone that I have perchance
spoken at greater length about this building than was needful, I deserve
to be excused, because--after having shown in the Life of Arnolfo, in
connection with its original erection, which was in the year 1298, that
it was built out of the square and wholly wanting in reasonable
proportion, with unequal columns in the courtyard, arches both large and
small, inconvenient stairs, and rooms awry and badly proportioned--it
was necessary for me to show also to what condition it was brought by
the intellect and judgment of Michelozzo; although even he did not
arrange it in such a manner that it could be inhabited comfortably,
wi