Siena, the story of a mediaeval commune . a Cis-tercian from San Galgano, and during his incumbencyoccurred, on September 2, 1260, the stirring dedicationof Siena to the Virgin under the direction of BuonaguidaLucari and the bishop, and with the passionate partici-pation of the whole citizen body. At the time of thisevent the distinctive feature of the structure, the greatcupola over the crossing, was practically finished,together with the towering campanile, a part of thetransept, and all the west end as far as it was thenplanned to be carried, which was, however, two baysshort of the present
Siena, the story of a mediaeval commune . a Cis-tercian from San Galgano, and during his incumbencyoccurred, on September 2, 1260, the stirring dedicationof Siena to the Virgin under the direction of BuonaguidaLucari and the bishop, and with the passionate partici-pation of the whole citizen body. At the time of thisevent the distinctive feature of the structure, the greatcupola over the crossing, was practically finished,together with the towering campanile, a part of thetransept, and all the west end as far as it was thenplanned to be carried, which was, however, two baysshort of the present length. Thus it will be seen thatthe cathedral in which Siena prepared her spirit for thegreat trial of Montaperti, and to which she carried herthank-offerings after her victory, was hardly more thanhalf the size of the final edifice. Fra Melano continued in charge for more than adecade, during which time he extended both the rightand left transepts by a bay, and called Niccolo Pisano—the summons occurred in 1266—to erect the famous. Madonna, Child, Saints, and AngelsBv Mat too di Giovanni (in the Galleria delle Belle Arti) THE CIVIC SPIRIT 285 pulpit, which still constitutes one of the main decora-tions of the interior. Before the downfall of theTwenty-four, occasioned by the overthrow of TuscanGhibellinism at the diastrous battle of Colle (1269),the cathedral was done as originally planned exceptfor the facade. As Giovanni Pisano, the equallyfamous son of Niccolo, was operaio from 1284 to 1298,it has been surmised that he was employed for theprecise purpose of giving the building its missing front;however, as the first facade was torn down at a latertime to make room for an extension of the nave, thePisan artists authorship of this section is no more than areasonable conjecture. In no case can he have hadanything to do with the existing facade, though a currenttradition persistently refers to him as its author. Thusthe eager activity of hardly more than a single genera-t
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