[1] His parents were Simone di Pasqualino and Paola Sottile and in his own writings he claims noble ancestry.
Modern research has linked him to an impoverished branch of the Castelli family from the March of Treviso.
At a date unknown, Giovanni married Dotta, daughter of Paolo Dotto de' Dauli.
He then goes to fight in the Trojan War and is killed by Antenor, who founds Altino and refounds Padua after an earthquake.
[2] It describes, in succession, the gates, walls and secular buildings, ending with the town hall and the adjacent market squares.