In all the course of the history of building we see that each country or province had to obtain its architects from this _Collegium_ at Rome, as Villani says all the cities of Italy did, and were obliged to apply to the Grand Master of the whole guild. Thus the early Popes had to beg architects for Rome from the Lombard kings; Pope Adrian had to apply to Charlemagne for builders; and so on up to the time when all the church-building Communes had to seek architects from some existing lodge. Giovanni Villani shows us the intimate connection of the Roman _Collegium_ with Florence. He says that after Cæsar had destroyed Fiesole he wished to build another city to be called Cesaria, but the Senate would not permit this. The Senate, however, gave his Generals Macrinus, Albinus, Cneus Pompey, and Martius equal power to build, and between them they founded Florence, bringing the water from Monte Morello by an aqueduct. Villani says the _Magistri_ came from Rome for all these works. That was in the days when the great masonic company had their Grand Lodge in Rome, before the martyrdom of the _Santi Quattro_, afterwards their patron saints. In Chapter XLII. Villani relates how when the citizens of Florence wished to build a temple to Mars, they sent to the Senate of Rome to beg that they would supply the most capable and clever _Magistri_ that Rome could furnish. This was done,[6] and the Baptistery was erected in its first form. Again whilst Charlemagne and Pope Adrian were employing the Comacines to rebuild the ruins of Rome, we find from Villani (lib. iii. chap. 1) that Charlemagne sent some Romans with "all the masters there were in Rome" (e vennero con quanti maestri n'avea in Roma per più tosto murarla) to fortify Florence, which had appealed to him for succour against the Fiesolans. In this manner, says Villani, "the _Magistri_ who came with the Romans began to rebuild our noble city of Florence." As early as the fifth century Cassiodorus seems to refer to the work of the Comacines when writing about the "public architects"--the very expression implies a public company--and admiring the grand Italian edifices with their "airy columns, slight as canes," he adds, "to be called _Magister_ is an honour to be coveted, for the word always stands for great skill."[7]