Pulpit

The marked convexity of the panels and moldings, con­cealing the octagonal plan of the pulpit, creates an ideal circle that permits no pauses in expressing the narrative. Trilobed arches are replaced by doubled corbels with volutes, and the supporting elements abound in allegorical motifs: at the center, on a pedestal bearing small seated figures of the Liberal Arts, stand the three Theological Virtues; on one side of the access to the pulpit, the four Cardinal Virtues uphold the Church, and on the other, the figure of Christ is sustained by the Evangelists; finally, Hercules and the archangel Michael each replace one of the columns. Giovanni devoted himself to this monumental work from 1302 to 1310, amid quarrels and disputes that must surely have left him embittered. The doctrinal plan was worked out by Matteo Falconi, as explicitly recorded in one of the inscriptions: it embodies the traditional dogma as fixed in its monastic elaborations, and intermingled are also many symbolic references to classical learning.