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Giotto was born in 1267 in a small village near Florence called Vespignano di Mugello. He was a great painter and a famous architect. In Assisi Giotto painted the famous twenty eight scenes of the S. Francesco life, representing the most important episodes of the Saint life. Giotto painted the episodes using a clear technique, giving prominence to each moment of the Saint life. He took particular care of the backgrounds, giving the right continuity to the pictures. In the same period (nearly 1300) he painted the wonderful crucifix of S. Maria Novella cathedral in Florence. After a short period in Padova, Giotto came back to Florence. In this period he painted the “ Pala d’Ognissanti “ (Firenze Uffizi), the S. Giovanni history frescos in the Peruzzi Chapel and the history of Saint Francesco in S. Croce Cathedral. In that period Giotto reached the artistic maturity; the frescos of those years are characterized by the right union of form and spirituality, the figures are magnificently represented through the right choice of colors giving form to the ambient light. In 1334 Giotto was declared “ capomastro “ ( main architect) of the Florence Cathedral Yard. He designed the famous tower built in Piazza Duomo. The tower is now known as “ The Giotto Tower “. The artist died in 1337 and he never saw the finished tower. In facts the Tower was only to the first stage when he died. Andrea Pisano, Francesco Talenti and Neri Di Fioravanti worked to the tower after him, clinging to his project.
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