ollowing
his nomination as master of works on the construction of the new
cathedral, Giotto began building the bell tower, a spectacular Florentine
monument, which he did not, however, live to see completed.
When Giotto died, Andrea Pisano took over from 1337 to 1348, and
when he too died, Francesco Talenti completed the work, presenting
the city with a Gothic masterpiece just as we see it today.
Giotto's bell tower, 85 metres high and only 14 metres wide at the
base, was built in just thirty years and cost the city seventy thousand
florins. The Florentines were only too happy to pay to have, like
their rivals Siena and Pisa, a monument which announced the city
from afar. In that period the dome had not yet been built.
The three masters of works were also able to draw on the work of
eminent artists to decorate the bell tower, artists of the calibre
of Andrea Pisano, Luca della Robbia, and Donatello, who decorated
it with sculptures and marble carvings.
The bell tower is completely clad in marble in three colours: the
red marble of S. Giusto, the white of Carrara, and the green of
Monte Ferrato.
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