In 1515 the Florentine artists were employed
on more perishable works than frescoes. Leo X., the Medici Pope who had
been elected in 1513, made his triumphal entry into Florence on the 3rd
of September, 1515, on his way to meet Francis I. of France at Bologna.
All the guilds and ranks of Florence vied with each other to make his
reception as artistic as possible. He and his suite were obliged to
stay three days in the Villa Gianfigliazzi at Marignolle while the
triumphal preparations were being completed. The churches had temporary
_facades_ of splendid architecture in fresco; arches were erected
at the Porta Romana and Piazza San Felice, covered with historical
paintings; Giuliano del Tasso adorned the Ponte Santa Trinita with
statues; Antonio San Gallo made a temple on the Piazza della Signoria,
and Baccio Bandinelli prepared a colossus in the Loggia dei Lanzi.
Various decorations adorned other streets, and Andrea del Sarto
surpassed them all with a _facade_ to the Duomo, painted in
monochrome on wood. His friend Sansovino designed the architecture, and
he painted the sculpture and adornments with such effect that the Pope
declared no work in marble could have been finer.
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