“Other dignities and magnificences of our city of Florence I should not fail to bring to memory, for information of such as shall come after us. It was, within, well built with many beautiful palaces and houses, and in these times they were continually demolishing, thus bettering the building by making it more comfortable and rich, bringing in from outside the examples for every sort of betterment and beauty. Churches, cathedrals, friaries of every rule, monasteries, magnificent and rich. Furthermore, there was no citizen who did not have a country place, great or small, which was not richly built, indeed far greater buildings than in the city; and every citizen sinned by inordinate spending, whence they were thought crazy. But it was so magnificent a thing to see, that a foreigner, not used to coming in, believed, because of the rich structures for three miles about, that it was all one city after the manner of Rome, not to mention the rich palaces, towers, court yards, terraced gardens, still further from the city, which in any other country would have been called the rural districts. In short one would have thought that within six miles of the city were more rich and noble inhabitants, than, taking them together, two Florences could have produced. And let this suffice for telling of the facts of Florence.” GIOTTO’S VIEW OF FRANCISCAN POVERTY Giotto’s humanistic detachment from the Franciscan doctrine of voluntary poverty is well illustrated in his poem which is quoted in part from Dante Gabriel Rosetti’s translation. The original is in G. Milanesis’ edition of Vasari, _Le Vite_, Vol. I, Florence 1878, pp. 426–8. “Many there are, praisers of Poverty; The which as man’s best state is register’d When by free choice preferr’d, With strict observance, having nothing here. For this they find certain authority Wrought of an over-nice interpreting. Now as concerns such thing, A hard extreme to me it doth appear, Which to commend I fear, For seldom are extremes without some vice, Let every edifice, Of work or word, secure foundation find; Against the potent wind, And all things perilous, so well prepared— That it needs no correction afterward.” A CONTRACT WITH ORCAGNA FOR THE ALTAR-PIECE OF 1357 Tommaso di Rossello Strozzi left a rough note of the terms of the contract for the altar-piece of his chapel. Doubtless the actual contract was much fuller. The minute is published by Filippo Baldinucci, _Opere_, Milano 1811, Vol IV. p. 397.