Burning Down the House?

Casting his famous bronze statute of Perseus with Medusa's Head, Renaissance sculptor Benvenuto Cellini lit his own roof on fire but refused to interrupt the casting. As the fire grew even hotter, the top of the furnace blew off. Sending assistants to save the roof, Cellini, discouraged, went to bed. But the house didn't burn, and today the statue stands proudly in Florence.