and departed, without saying a word, for Carrara. Hearing of the master’s arrival in Florence, but not seeing him, Salviati sent the thousand crowns after him to Carrara, the messenger requiring that a receipt should he given to him. But Michelagnolo replied, that the money was for expenses on the Pope’s account and not his own, adding that the messenger might carry it hack if he chose to do so, hut that he, Michelagnolo, was not in the habit of giving receipts and acquittances for others; whereupon the man became alarmed, and returned to Jacopo Salviati without any receipt.
While Michelagnolo was at Carrara, where he was causing marbles to be excavated for the tomb of Pope Julius, which he proposed ultimately to complete, as well as for the fa9ade of San Lorenzo, he received from Pope Leo a letter to the effect that there were marbles, of equal beauty and excellence with those of Carrara, to be found in the Florentine dominions, at Serravezza namely, on the summit of the highest mountain in the Pietra Santa, called Monte Altissimo.[1] Now Michelagnolo was already aware of that circumstance; but it seems he would not attend to it, perhaps because he was the friend of the Marchese Alberigo, Lord of Carrara, or it might have been because he thought the great distance to be passed over would cause loss of time, as indeed it did. He was nevertheless compelled to go to Serravezza, although protesting that the difficulty and expense would be greatly increased thereby, as proved to be the case in the beginning. But the Pope would not hear a word of objection. A road had then to be constructed for many miles through the mountains, and for this rocks were to be hewn away, while it was needful to drive piles, in marshy places, many of which intervened. Michelagnolo thus lost several years in fulfilling the Pope’s desire; but finally he procured five columns of fine proportion from these quarries, one of them being now on the Piazza of San Lorenzo, in Florence,[2] the others lie on the shore. Another result of the matter was to make the Marchese Alberigo a
- ↑ After having been long abandoned, the quarries on Monte Altissimo have lately (1838) been re-opened, and are now worked with great activity.—Ed. Flor., 1832-8.
- ↑ An opinion was said to prevail in old times, to the effect that some of the marbles in question were actually buried in the Piazza San Lorenzo itself.— Masselli.
