| According to a letter dated 8 June 1368 from Niccolo II dEste, Marchese of Ferrara, to Oddelino de Pettenari da Parma, Vicar of Mantua, Bartolino was employed as a military engineer by the Gonzaga, allies of the Este, during the war of that year with the Visconti and della Scala of Verona. He is recorded in Ferrara in 1373 and 1376 as a favourite of Alberto dEste. In 1385, following a period of popular uprisings, Niccolo II entrusted the task of building a castle in Ferrara to Bartolino. The work, completed in just over a year, is notable for its strong sense of mass and majestic size. Built of brick with machicolation, the castle comprises four ranges around a square courtyard with tall angle towers and outworks over the moat. In 1392 Bartolino restored the tribune of S Francesco, Ferrara, and in 1393 he built a burial chapel for himself and another for Marchese Alberto (both destr.) in the church. In 1395 he was commissioned by Francesco I Gonzaga, Captain-General of Mantua, to build a castle (the Castello di S Giorgio) facing the lake on the eastern side of Mantua, which was completed in 1406. Here, however, Bartolino probably only provided plans and left the execution to others. In March 1395 he provided the model for the restructured gate of Castel Tedaldo, Ferrara, executed the following May. At the beginning of 1396 he collaborated on the construction of a fortified gate to replace that of S Biagio, Ferrara. The work was completed in August 1397. There is little evidence for the attribution of S Maria delle Grazie (1399-1400), Ferrara, and S Lorenzo, Mortara, to him. Bartolinos reputation spread throughout Italy, and in 1400 he was consulted, with Bernardo da Venezia, by Giangaleazzo Visconti, 1st Duke of Milan, to provide technical advice on Milan Cathedral. In 1402 he was employed on the construction of the castle of Finale sul Panaro (rebuilt by Giovanni da Siena), near Modena, and in 1404 he was fortifying the borders with the Veneto. The following year, the Signoria of Florence requested the Marchese of Ferrara to send Bartolino to supervise the building of fortifications during the war against Pisa. |
