d and
persecuted him out of envy so greatly, that Paolo, who was a good and
most modest man, was forced to show resentment. Whereupon Mino, falling
into a rage with Paolo, offered to bet a thousand ducats that he would
make a figure better than Paolo's; and this he said with the greatest
presumption and effrontery, knowing the nature of Paolo, who disliked
any annoyance, and believing that he would not accept such a challenge.
But Paolo accepted the invitation, and Mino, half repentant, bet a
hundred ducats merely to save his honour The figures finished, the
victory was given to Paolo as a rare and excellent master, which he was;
and Mino was scorned as the sort of craftsman whose words were worth
more than his works.

By the hand of Mino are certain works in marble at Naples, and a tomb at
Monte Cassino, a seat of the Black Friars in the kingdom of Naples; the
S. Peter and the S. Paul that are at the foot of the steps of S. Pietro
in Rome, and the tomb of Pope Paul II in S. Pietro. The figure that
Paolo made in competition with Mino was the S. Paul that is to be seen
on a marble base at the head of the Ponte S. Angelo, which stood
unnoticed for a long time in front of the Chapel of Sixtus IV. It
afterwards came to pass that one day Pope Clement VII observed this
figure, which pleased him greatly, for he was a man of knowledge and
judgment in such matters; wherefore he determined to have a S. Peter
made of the same size, and also, after removing two little chapels of
marble, dedicated to those Apostles, which stood at the head of the
Ponte S. Angelo and obstructed the view of the Castle, to put these two
statues in their place.

It may be read in the work of Antonio Filarete that Paolo was not only a
sculptor but also an able goldsmith, and that he wrought part of the
twelve Apostles in silver which stood, before the sack of Rome, over the
altar of the Papal Chapel. Part of the work of these statues was done by
Niccolo della Guardia and Pietro Paolo da Todi, disciples of Paolo, who
were afterwards passing good masters in sculpture, as is seen from the
tombs of Pope Pius II and Pope Pius III, on which the said Pontiffs are
portrayed from nature. By the hand of the same men are medals of three
Emperors and other great persons. The said Paolo made a statue of an
armed man on horseback, which is now on the ground in S. Pietro, near
the Chapel of S. Andrea. A pupil of Paolo was the Roman Gian Cristoforo,
who was an able sc