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One of the biggest churches in Europe, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore boasts two stunning records: its renowned cupola, the fruit of Brunelleschi`s talent, is the biggest masonry dome ever built; moreover, thanks to Vasari and Zuccari, it features the broadest frescoed surface in the world.

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A multitude of artists, including Arnolfo di Cambio and Filippo Brunelleschi, worked for 140 years - from 1296 to 1436 - to the construction of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Duomo of Florence.

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A multitude of artists, including Arnolfo di Cambio and Filippo Brunelleschi, worked for 140 years - from 1296 to 1436 - to the construction of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Duomo of Florence. Mullioned window (one or two structural pillars in

windows, often seen in decorative Gothic designs)

Porta del Campanile (closest to Giotto’s Campanile) and Porta dei Canonici

Mullioned windows and Porta dei Canonici

Mullioned window and Porta dei Canonici

Porta dei Canonici

The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white and has an elaborate 19th-century Gothic Revival façade by Emilio De Fabris.

“Virgin and Child with Two Angels” by Lorenzo di Giovanni d’Ambroglio.

The cathedral complex, located in Piazza del Duomo, includes the Baptistery and Giotto's Campanile. The three buildings are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site covering the historic centre of Florence and are a major attraction to tourists visiting the region of Tuscany.

Porta del Campanile (closest to Giotto’s Campanile)

The basilica is one of Italy's largest churches, and until development of new structural materials in the modern era, the dome was the largest in the world. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed.

Porta del Campanile (closest to Giotto’s Campanile)

The dimensions of the building are enormous: length 153 metres (502 ft), width 38 metres (124 ft), width at the crossing 90 metres (295 ft). The height of the arches in the aisles is 23 metres (75 ft). The height of the dome is 114.5 m

By the beginning of the 15th century, after a hundred years of construction, the structure was still missing its dome. The basic features of the dome had been designed by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1296. His brick model, 4.6 metres (15 ft) high 9.2 metres (30 ft) long, was standing in a side aisle of the unfinished building, and had long ago become sacrosanct. It called for an octagonal dome higher and wider than any that had ever been built, with no external buttresses to keep it from spreading and falling under its own weight.

Giotto’s Campanile and Porta del Campanile

Brunelleschi’s dome was inspired by the Dome of the Pantheon in Rome. The dome is built from stone and brick because the formula for concrete was lost in antiquity. He built it as a double-dome, with the interior resting on the drum using no additional support (no buttress or scaffolding were used).

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One of the most significant architectural achievements of the entire Renaissance was undoubtedly the construction, by Filippo Brunelleschi, of the dome over the Florence Cathedral. This work, begun in the summer 1420, was completed (except for the lantern) in 1436.From the architectural viewpoint, the construction of the Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore represented the event that marked the beginning of the Renaissance, that is, the rediscovery of building models from the classical age and the contemporary changes in the organization of construction sites, with separation of the roles of designer and builder, a system still in use today. It was the new figure of the designer, exemplified by Brunelleschi, that conferred on architecture the status of an artistic-scientific discipline, from this time on fully entitled to claim its place in the cultural system.

It was only in 1471, with the positioning of the lantern, for which the machines designed by Brunelleschi were used, that the dome could be considered finished. In the spring of 1601 the lantern was struck by lightening that damaged its structure, but was promptly restored.

Giotto’s Campanile and Porta del Campanile

Porta dei Canonici and right transept.

The structure of the dome is truly imposing. The impost, rising to a height of 35.50 meters above the tambour, is about 54 meters above ground level. The height of the lantern that tops it, including the copper sphere, is a little over 22 meters. The weight of the dome is estimated as 37,000 tons. It has been calculated that over four million bricks were used in its construction. It is the biggest dome ever built without using centering to support the masonry

Sound: Sister Marie Keyrouz - Ave Maria (Salve O Maria), song for voice & piano Pietro Mascagni

Text: InternetPictures: Daniela IacobCopyright: All the images belong to their authors

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasanda