Bernardo Castello frequented the school of Andrea Semini more than that of Cambiaso; in his principles he inclined more to the latter, and in practice he followed both indifferently. Travelling afterwards through Italy he saw other works, and formed a style not devoid of grace, nor of correctness, when he worked with care; as in the Martyrdom of St. Clement and St. Agatagnolo, in the church of S. Sebastian, and the St. Anne at S. Matteo. He had a fertile invention, in which he was aided by the poets of the age, whose friendship he assiduously cultivated.[67] He was eulogized by Lionardo Spinola, D. Angiolo Grillo, Ceva, Marino, Chiabrera, and by Tasso, for whose Jerusalem he made the designs which were in part engraved by Agostino Caracci. His reputation raised him not only to the rank of one of the first masters of his school, but of Italy itself; and he was thus selected to work in the Vatican, as has been mentioned. He there painted St. Peter called to the apostleship, a picture which was soon afterwards removed, and one by Lanfranco substituted in its place, either because it was injured by damp, or had not given satisfaction. Castello indeed did not possess that vigorous style which Rome at this time demanded, refusing her applause to the Vasaris and Zuccaris. He had much of their style of colour, nor was he exempt from their despatch; and, like them, he opened the way in his school to facility instead of correctness. Genoa is filled, or rather glutted, with his works, yet they still maintain their reputation, as they are all sustained by a certain vigour and grace of style. He sometimes appears in foreign collections, and in that of the Colonna in Rome I saw a Parnassus by him with Poussin figures and a beautiful landscape, which may be ranked amongst his most finished works. Soprani informs us that he was again invited to Rome, to paint a picture of St. Peter, and that he died whilst he was preparing himself for this journey, aged seventy-two. But at so advanced a period of life one may doubt the truth of this report. He had three sons, painters, of whom Valerio alone is deserving of commemoration, and we shall notice him in his place. Footnote 67: A strict intimacy existed, especially between him and the Cav. Marino, among whose letters we may enumerate twenty-eight more to Castello than to any other person. It is pleasing to observe the dexterity of the poet, who often praises the "miraculous pencil" and the "divine hand" of the painter, an homage bestowed still more liberally in the _Galleria_; and the gratitude of the artist who designed and coloured for his friend gratis, and who exerts himself to requite every letter of the poet by some acceptable work of art, (p. 175).