Maginardo called Aretino, was an Italian

Italian people

The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...

 architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

 active in the Diocese of Arezzo during the episcopates of Elempert (986–1010), William (1010–1013), Adalbert (1014–1023), and Tedald

Tedald, Bishop of Arezzo

Tedald , also known as Theodald, Theodaldus, Tedaldus, Tedaldo, or Teodaldo, was the forty-third Bishop of Arezzo from 1023 until his death....

 (1023–1036), who called him arte architectonica optime erudito (Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 for "the most erudite in the architectural art").

Maginardo's career began in 1006–9, when he participated in the reconstruction of the eighth-century cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 at Arezzo

Arezzo

Arezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000....

 dedicated to Stephen the Protomartyr and the Virgin Mary. Maginardo's second great project was the addition of a chapel

Chapel

A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...

 dedicated to Saint Donatus

Donatus of Arezzo

Saint Donatus of Arezzo is the patron saint of Arezzo, and considered a bishop of the city.A Passio of Donatus' life was written by a bishop of Arezzo, Severinus; it is of questionable historicity. He calls Donatus a martyr, though Donatus is described as a bishop and confessor of the faith in...

 to the side of the cathedral. This building was finished in 1032 and dedicated on 12 November 1032.

In 1019 or 1026 Maginardo was sent to Ravenna

Ravenna

Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...

 by his bishop (probably Tedald) to study the Byzantine architecture

Byzantine architecture

Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...

 of its monuments. He probably produced sketches of these monuments, but if so they do not survive. The result of his studies was a confluence of pre-romanesque styles: Aretine, Byzantine, and Lombard

First Romanesque

First Romanesque is the name due to Josep Puig i Cadafalch to refer to the Romanesque art developed in Catalonia since the late 10th century....

. This resulted in Maginardo's greatest work: the renovation of the old cathedral on the Pionta, a hill at the centre of Arezzo. This work lies in ruins today, since Cosimo I de' Medici ordered its destruction during his sack of 1561.