The dome and the Duomo complex

Kendall's posting on something we haven't talked about yet -- the Duomo (cathedral) in Florence:

The Duomo, one of the most famous sites in Florence and one of the oldest.  This view is from the first floor bell tower.

Built on top of another church, the building process was started in 1446 with one architect. (front of the cathedral)

A problem in building the church so large was discovered by the second architect, after the first one died. You see, the first architect said that the duomo would have a giant dome on top, but he did not say how he would build it. So the second architect finished the base then left the project and died.         

Enter architect three who did...not build the dome, he built the bell tower to the left.   Enter Brunelleschi who said he was going to build two domes one inside the other and it would balance the weight and then connect them with rafters and chains.  See my science project for more info.                                                          

Two domes, rafters and herringbone brick made the Duomo strong enough to support the significant expanse.

Rafter

Gorgeous paintings on the interior of the dome

View to the south

Palazzo Vecchio and Gram.

Hey I can see my house from here!  The building with the green shutters

Down the steep stairs of the domes.

Bust of Brunelleschi

 That's a lot of winches, used to lift the building materials as the domes were built.

Baptistry of Florence (view from the top of the Bell tower)

Inside the dome of the baptistry

The famous gold doors of the baptistry that Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti fought over the design of.

The old bell tower bell that was used a long time ago.

And that concludes the tour of the duomo complex.... except for the most recent edition to the Duomo complex this holiday season.

Merry Christmas!

Looking forward to seeing you all soon.

Kendall