1. The wide Platform before the Façade. 2. The Spaces in the three Western Doorways. 3. The Nave. 4. The South Aisle. 5. The North Aisle. 6. The North Transept. 7. The Choir Ambulatory. 8. The South Transept. 9. The Choir and Altar-steps. 10. Under the Cupola. [Illustration: LOMBARDI PHOTO.] II. THE ENTIRE PAVEMENT] [Illustration: KEY PLAN TO THE PAVEMENT] 1. THE PLATFORM BEFORE THE WESTERN FAÇADE. Tizio[14] tells us that this platform with its three steps was laid down in 1448, under the direction of Giovanni Borghesi, then Rettore of the Opera. Originally there were apparently five designs upon it, of which, however, only four were still distinguishable when, in the seventeenth century, Landi wrote his elaborate description of the floor.[15] These were: In the centre, as at present, the Pharisee and the Publican kneeling before a round Temple: On either side a vase; the one inscribed _Mel_ (Honey), the other _Fel_ (Gall), symbolic perhaps of the imperfection of earthly joys. On the right-hand side on entering was the Sacrifice of Abel; and on the other side, Landi says, that there was no pictured design, but merely a fancy pattern of coloured marbles, probably replacing a scene previously destroyed by time and hard usage. The constant stream of traffic across this Platform has necessitated frequent restoration of the Pavement; and the story of Abel has now entirely vanished. The vase, also, on the right, now bears the label _Lac_ (Milk), instead of _Fel_, perhaps in allusion to the Promised Land, and the Golden Jerusalem of Bernard of Clairvaux’s hymn. This work is executed in the earliest of the four principal methods of design: namely _a trapano_; that is to say, outlined on a slab of white marble in little dots made with a trepanning drill. The figures of the Pharisee and the Publican are executed with great spirit, but are entirely modern in feeling and conception.[16] Each figure is formed of a slab or slabs of white marble, cut in outline, and let into a background, of which the atmosphere is black and the ground red marble, so that each figure stands out clear and distinct. Lines of feature, folds of robes and other accessories are outlined, as described above, with a trepanning drill. Certain pieces of yellow marble have been added at the sides of the picture, which seem unnecessary and even discordant. They may have been placed there during the restorations which took place here but a few years since. 2. THE SPACES IN THE THREE DOORWAYS OF THE WESTERN FAÇADE. The three much-worn scenes that remain here evidently represent the “Ceremonies of Ordination” in the three degrees; and such is the opinion of Faluschi, Landi, and Della Valle. Padre Everardo Micheli, however, wishes us to believe that these scenes illustrate the “Reconciliation of the Penitent:” a proposition which seems to me both far-fetched and improbable.