ormed their other functions. And since the iron to which they
were bound by the girdle was fixed to the platform on which they stood,
in such a way that they could turn round and round, they could make
obeisance and turn about both when they had come forth and when they
were returning, according as was necessary; wherefore in reascending
they turned towards the Heaven, and were then drawn up again as they had
come down.

These machines and inventions are said to have been Cecca's, for,
although Filippo Brunelleschi had made similar things long before, many
additions were made to them with great judgment by Cecca; and it was
from these that the thought came to the same man to make those Clouds
which were borne in procession through the city every year on S. John's
Eve, and the other beautiful things that were made. And this was his
charge, because, as it has been said, he was a servant of the public.

Now with this occasion it will not be out of place to describe some of
the features of the said festival and procession, to the end that some
memory of them may descend to posterity, seeing that they have now for
the most part fallen into disuse. First, then, the Piazza di S. Giovanni
was all covered over with blue cloth, on which were sewn many large
lilies of yellow cloth; and in the middle, on certain circles also of
cloth, and ten braccia in diameter, were the arms of the People and
Commune of Florence, with those of the Captain of the Guelph party and
others; and all around, from the borders of the said canopy, which
covered the whole piazza, vast as it is, there hung great banners also
of cloth, painted with various devices, with the arms of magisterial
bodies and guilds, and with many lions, which form one of the emblems of
the city. This canopy, or rather, awning, made thus, was about twenty
braccia off the ground, and was supported by very strong ropes fastened
to a number of irons, which are still to be seen round the Church of S.
Giovanni, on the facade of S. Maria del Fiore, and on the houses that
surround the said piazza on every side. Between one rope and another ran
cords that likewise supported the awning, which was so well strengthened
throughout, particularly at the edges, with ropes, cords, linings,
double widths of cloth, and hems of sacking, that it is impossible to
imagine anything better. What is more, everything was arranged so well
and with such great diligence, that although the awning was often
s