ARTS and IDEAS IDIS304

The University of Baltimore

Bert Smith, Instructor

The Cathedral of S. Maria del Fiore

The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Our Lady of the Flower, or, 'of Florence')

The Duomo's Campanile, designed by Giotto, is a free-standing bell tower that is 277.9 ft tall. >

The dome, completed in 1436, was engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi and built with four million bricks.

The bell tower was begun by Giotto in 1334, continued by Andrea Pisano and finished by Francesco Talenti in 1359.

The bell tower is covered in polychrome; white marble from Carrara, green marble from Prato and red marble from Siena.

The four Prophets and Patriarchs on the east side date from between 1408 and 1421: the beardless Prophet by Donatello, the bearded Prophet by Nannidi Bartolo, Abraham and Isaac by Donatello and Nanni di Bartolo.

The façade was the collective work of several artists and was only completed in its lower portion and then left unfinished. It was dismantled in 1587-1588 by the Medici court architect Bernardo Buontalenti as it appeared totally outmoded in Renaissance times.The façade was left bare for two centuries.

In 1864, a competition was held to design a new façade and was won by Emilio De Fabris in 1871. Work was begun in 1876 and completed in 1887. The neo-gothic façade is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

The hexagonal Baptistery of St. John was built in the 11th century on the site of a pagan temple.

View of the Baptistery from the bell tower.

Brunelleschi designed the octagonal lantern with eight radiating buttresses and eight high arched windows.

Construction of the lantern was begun a few months before his death in 1446. The lantern was completed by Brunelleschi's friend Michelozzo in 1461.

The conical roof was crowned with a gilt copper ball and cross, containing holy relics, by Verrocchio in 1469. The total height of the dome is 375 ft. The copper ball was struck by lightning on July 17, 1600 and fell down. It was replaced by an even larger one two years later.