(b first half of the 15th century; d ?Florence, c. 1471). Italian stone mason and decorator. He was the son of Bertino di Piero, a Florentine stone mason who in 1412 had executed the doors of Orsanmichele, Florence. Giovanni’s brother, Piero, was in Carrara in 1442, working for Filippo Brunelleschi, and was in charge of the preparation of marble sections for the lantern of Florence Cathedral. Some time later, Giovanni was employed to finish some of the capitals on the columns of the nave in S Lorenzo, Florence (1448), although specific carvings by him have not been identified. In April 1454 Giovanni was in charge of the decoration of the church beside the Ospedale del Ceppo at Pistoia, where he was described as disegnatore. Both this project and S Lorenzo were works by Michelozzo di Bartolomeo. From around 1457 Giovanni worked on the façade designed by Leon Battista Alberti for S Maria Novella, Florence (see FLORENCE, fig. 20). The work was commissioned by the Arte del Cambio (Bankers’ guild) and Giovanni Rucellai, the latter recording in his account book works of art in his private collection by Giovanni. The portal, executed by him, incorporated rich decorations of inlay and low reliefs featuring emblems of the Rucellai and Medici families along with relief carvings of fruit, ribbons and spirals. The beauty of the work established Giovanni’s fame in his own lifetime and was recorded by Fra Domenico da Corella in his poem, Teotocon (1464–9). Among Giovanni’s late works are some corbel capitals of the Composite order carved in pietra serena for S Bartolomeo at Monteoliveto near Florence (1469). Giovanni’s name is listed in the registers of the Arte del Maestri di Pietra e Legname (Stone and Woodworkers’ guild) until 1471.