There was a man called Piloto, a goldsmith, very able in his art, who,
together with myself, joined Buonarroti upon these occasions." In like
manner, the young Michelangelo probably attended those nocturnal
gatherings upon the steps of the Duomo which have been so graphically
described by Doni: "The Florentines seem to me to take more pleasure
in summer airings than any other folk; for they have, in the square of
S. Liberata, between the antique temple of Mars, now the Baptistery,
and that marvellous work of modern architecture, the Duomo: they have,
I say, certain steps of marble, rising to a broad flat space, upon
which the youth of the city come and lay themselves full length during
the season of extreme heat. The place is fitted for its purpose,
because a fresh breeze is always blowing, with the blandest of all
air, and the flags of white marble usually retain a certain coolness.
There then I seek my chiefest solace, when, taking my aërial flights,
I sail invisibly above them; see and hear their doings and discourses:
and forasmuch as they are endowed with keen and elevated
understanding, they always have a thousand charming things to relate;
as novels, intrigues, fables; they discuss duels, practical jokes, old
stories, tricks played off by men and women on each other: things,
each and all, rare, witty, noble, decent and in proper taste. I can
swear that during all the hours I spent in listening to their nightly
dialogues, I never heard a word that was not comely and of good
repute. Indeed, it seemed to me very remarkable, among such crowds of
young men, to overhear nothing but virtuous conversation."

At the same period, Michelangelo fell under very different influences;
and these left a far more lasting impression on his character than the
gay festivals and witty word-combats of the lords of Florence. In 1491
Savonarola, the terrible prophet of coming woes, the searcher of men's
hearts, and the remorseless denouncer of pleasant vices, began that