But Niccolo made him abandon it, and sent him to another post; and when he was elected to the Nine, they despatched him twice or thrice outside the city.

Each time, on his return, he found the hill neglected, whereupon he complained, feeling this a blot upon his reputation and an insult to his magistracy.

Eventually, the works went on, until, when the besieging army arrived, they were tenable." Michelangelo had hitherto acquired no practical acquaintance with the art of fortification.

That the system of defence by bastions was an Italian invention (although Albert Duerer first reduced it to written theory in his book of 1527, suggesting improvements which led up to Vauban's method) is a fact acknowledged by military historians.

But it does not appear that Michelangelo did more than carry out defensive operations in the manner familiar to his predecessors.