GIOTTO di Bondone
(b. 1267, Vespignano, d. 1337, Firenze)

Campanile

1334-37
Photo
Duomo, Florence

Giotto was appointed Capomaestro of the Florence Cathedral in 1334. He probably confined himself to designing the separate Campanile which stands like a tower beside the façade. In fact Giotto's Campanile is not entirely as he designed it. Only the lower story of the bell tower was realized from Giotto's design. There, set in the pink-coloured fields of marble, are figural reliefs, whose order and number were changed by later alterations. The design of the original 21 reliefs very probably came from Giotto. They were executed by Andrea Pisano (1290-1348), Giotto's successor as capomaestro.