The Brunelleschi’s Dome of the Florence Cathedral is one of the most magnificent architectural sites in Italy and the science behind this dome is to this day studied and admired by architects all over the world.
Let’s find out more about the Brunelleschi’s Dome:
At the beginning of the 15th century, the Florence Cathedral was almost finished, the only thing that was missing was its dome but no one knew how to actually build it without having the whole building fall.
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Problems to solve to build the Brunelleschi’s Dome
We must consider that the Duomo of Florence is a huge building, gigantic in the city: 153 meters long, designed to contain 30,000 people, is today the fifth largest church in Europe, after the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome, the Basilica of Saint Paul in London, Seville Cathedral and Milan Cathedral. The diameter of the dome is large, alone, 43 meters towards the inside (the total diameter is 54.8 meters): a real crater that opened on the roof of the Duomo at a height of about 60 meters and that, somehow, had to be covered.
In 1418 the city of Florence decided to announce a competition for architects; the first one that could come up with the right idea, could build his project and win 200 gold florins.
A couple of years after the beginning of the competition, Filippo Brunelleschi’s revolutionary project was accepted and he was given the commission of the construction of the dome alongside his longtime rival Lorenzo Ghiberti, who would take on the role of co-superintendent.
What’s surprising about this dome is that it was built without scaffolding because the dome was too wide and tall and there were not enough materials to build a structure.
Brunelleschi chose to build this dome in a way that it would support itself progressively with every brick placed. Another fascinating aspect about the Cupola is that at the time there were no lifting machines to bring the materials needed so high off the ground. To solve this problem, Brunelleschi built a three-speed hoist thanks to which he could lift heavy materials by turning a tiller.
Curiosity about the Cupola
- Incredible but true, Brunelleschi had built nothing before the dome
- Once the construction site was completed, an unwritten law forced the Florentine architects to build buildings that did not exceed the height of Brunelleschi’s dome.
- At the end of the dome the lantern was built, again to a design by Brunelleschi, starting from 31 December 1436. The famous architect died in 1446 without seeing the works completed. In 1601, the golden sphere collapsed, causing extensive damage to the dome and the buildings bordering the cathedral.
To build this dome, Brunelleschi surely proved to the world that he was a revolutionary architect and managed to overcome every challenge that came along the way!
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