“Piazza del Duomo” a Firenze

Brunelleschi’s Dome is the heart of the city, held tight by the surrounding Tuscan homes. This structure represents the duality of grandiose and detail, of history and innovation, failure and perseverance. 

Soon you too will live among the duplexity of the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, you will scope out every particular design in the walks to class. You will notice how the light of the day enamors the white marble that compliments the hues of sepia, green, and pink.  Features of the statue’s faces will soon become familiar to you, and your eyes can even trace the curves and lines of the façade. 

You will get the luxury that not many travelers will get to experience, to see its beauty in sun and showers, in day and night, all alone or admired by 100s. Each time you train your eye to see it from a new perspective, in a new light and for that you get one token that only the locals truly know.

It is almost too overwhelming to digest all at once. I don’t believe you can fully enjoy it all in one visit, the impression it leaves grows in each passing, and with every inspection your eyes begin to break it down and digest the enormous beauty before you.

Florence’s interconnected piazzas del Duomo and S. Giovanni are without doubt the religious heart of the city, as they contain the most important religious buildings: the Baptistery, the Cathedral, and the Bell tower. These buildings with their astonishing beauty were created to show people God’s greatness, and the power and grandeur of Florence.

Overlapping both of the two squares is the baptistery of St John, the patron saint of Florence. Whilst its original date of construction remains uncertain, the Baptistery remains one of the most fascinating buildings within the city. The outstanding geometrical exterior completed in the 12th century is regarded as being one of the best examples of Florentine Romanesque style. The overall design is a combination of different colored marbles, white from Carrara and green from Prato. The rational and geometrical forms, inspired by Roman classical constructions, became a prototype for all successive Florentine architecture.

The baptistery’s octagonal shape symbolizes the Christian principle of Salvation. In respect of Christian teachings, the number 8 represents the final day, the day of resurrection and eternity and follows after the 7 days that God required to create the world in its entirety. The Baptistery was used for the liturgical function of Baptism, through which the believer was purified from their original sins to be completely accepted into the Christian community. Once the ritual was performed, people stepped out the Baptistery’s eastern door, crossed the square and entered into the massive Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the house of God.

The Cathedral, traditionally called the Duomo, was designed in a gothic style, typical of Italy in the thirteenth century. It was designed by the architect Arnolfo di Cambio and built over the previous church of Santa Reparata. Santa Maria del Fiore’s construction began in 1296 on the 8th of September, the anniversary birth date of the Virgin Mary, to whom the cathedral is dedicated. In total, work on the Cathedral took approximately 140 years to complete. Whilst most of the structure was finalized circa 1367, the complexity of creating the Dome eluded architects for years. The façade would remain unfinished for centuries and was finalized only in the nineteenth century.

Florentines wanted their Cathedral to be the largest and grandest church in the world. Santa Maria del Fiore was to serve as both a symbol of faith, and also reflect the immense Florentine civic pride. By virtue of its impressive cathedral, Florence could compete with many powerful cities in northern Europe.

On the right side of the Cathedral, Giotto’s Bell tower stands 90 meters in height and includes a total of 414 steps to its top. The bottom level is decorated in an assortment of bas reliefs that represent human activities including agriculture, sheep farming and weaving, amongst a myriad of other activities. “Weaving” reminds us that the wool and textile industry was the main commodity of Florence that ensured the wealth of the city. Through the wool trade Florence became one of the largest and richest cities in Europe. Images related to industry further emphasize the importance of “work ethic” as an admirable trait for workers to strive for. Through “work” a person was able to become a good individual who fully participated in developing a positive community. On the second level, the “formelle” represent the virtues that the faithful need to elevate their soul towards God. Finally, on the third level are remarkable statues by great artists such as Donatello, that portray prophets and saints, the connectors to God. The Bell Tower is categorized in stages from the bottom to the top, from work to holiness; Giotto has created an itinerary path toward the heavens!

Behind the Bell Tower, Brunelleschi’s Dome appears, one of the greatest engineering works ever realized. Still recognized as the world’s largest masonry dome, its construction began in 1420, approximately 130 years after the Cathedral’s initial build. Early architects and builders had to admit they didn’t know how to cover the nearly 150-foot oval hole in the roof where the dome of the cathedral was meant to be erected. If it wasn’t for the stubborn genius Filippo Brunelleschi, the hole in the roof of Florence’s Cathedral may still be present today.

A phenomenon and triumph of architecture, Brunelleschi’s dome supports itself without collapsing. While similar structures, like the Pantheon in Rome, were constructed previously, technical knowledge of how they were built had been forgotten. Brunelleschi, accompanied by his good friend Donatello, went to Rome to study the secrets of ancient roman architecture. On arriving back in Florence, Brunelleschi conceived an incredible design featuring two domes, one inside the other. For extra support Brunelleschi used a special herringbone brick pattern and a system of internal stone supports that ringed the outer dome like the metal rings on a barrel to help evenly distribute the weight. No wooden scaffolding was used to support the Dome as it was being built, as this would have been a huge expense. Instead, Brunelleschi invented an ox-powered crane that could lift and lower enormous blocks of stone of and bricks to the ceiling.

The Dome of Florence remains as a testament to the city’s power, wealth, and genius! The representation of grandeur and accomplishment found in the Baptistery, Cathedral and Bell Tower ensured that this area served not only as the religious center, but also and more importantly as the main reference point of Florence!

If anyone is interested in examining more in depth the process of the construction of the Dome, the documentary by NOVA and National Geographic Television, “Great Cathedral Mystery,” provides further detail. The documentary investigates how Brunelleschi managed to design the dome and build it without the use of a wooden support structure, more than five hundred years ago. Furthermore, the documentary profiles Massimo Ricci, the interesting architecture and engineering professor at the University of Florence, who decided that the only way to figure out how Brunelleschi built his dome was to experiment himself. In Florence’s Anconella park, Ricci built a smaller model. We suggest everyone to take time and visit the recreated dome as part of your stay in Florence!