People who travel to Italy often make a point of stopping in Florence. This bustling town, with its luxury chain stores side-by-side with medieval and renaissance architecture and art of the Old Masters, is by most counts the perfect vacation town. And in the center of all this, is one of the architectural and artistic wonders of the world; The Duomo.
The streets of Florence are narrow and nearly always one-way, so our taxi from the airport had to take a circuitous route to get to our hotel. This involved almost completely encircling the Duomo, but for once I didn't mind a taxi taking the long way. It served as a preliminary tour of the exterior of the Duomo.
The Duomo is huge, yet it's also overwhelming in its intricacy and fine detail. At nearly 12,000 feet, the Duomo is also one of the largest cathedrals in the world. Adjoining it are the campanile, or belltower, and the baptistery. The baptistery actually predates the Duomo, the earliest version of it having been built in the 4th century. Together, the baptistery, campanile, and Duomo, as a cathedral, is one of the oldest architectural structures still well-preserved and intact.
An abbreviated history, using dates:
1294: The architect di Cambio created the basic design of the Duomo in the Italian Gothic style of architecture.
1334: Giotto, an artist and architect, started work on the campanile, continuing until his death three years later. The sculptor, Pisano, succeeded Giotto in planning and designing the grounds.
1348: the Black Plague halved the population of Florence, and work on the Duomo was temporarily ceased.
1375: The original Republic of Florence cathedral was deconstructed and rebuilt.
1380: Nave completed. The shape of the cathedral is as a basilica; looking like a cross from above.
1412: Cathedral is given the name Santa Maria del Fiore, or "of the flower," as the lily is the symbol of Florence.
1418: Brunelleschi, a most prominent Renaissance sculptor and architect, designed the dome. Octagonal in shape, it meant to be self-supporting, with bricks laid horizonally and staggered so as to not need any scaffolding. An architecural marvel even now, it was the first of this sort to be designed and built. The style harkens back to that of ancient Greece, as Renaissance architecture moves away from the preceeding Gothic style.
1436: Dome completed. As with other Renaissance structures, the art and architecture of the Duomo are impossible to completely tease apart. One example of their interdependence is that Brunelleschi's design for the lantern atop the dome called for Leonardo da Vinci's hoisting machine, and that the exterior walls of the Duomo and campanile, which can take your breath away from any vantage point in Florence, are also incredible close-up; the aforementioned fine details include a multitude of statues ensconced in niches, and architectural, artistic hand-carved flourishes.
1445: Last of the interior's stained glass windows are installed.
1886: Marble facade is added on. The Duomo, basilica, and campanile have matching facades of white marble from Carrara, red marble from Siena, and green marble from Prato. This provided uniformity to the structures.
1965-1974: Archeological digs underneath the Duomo reveal Brunelleschi's tomb as well as streets of an early Roman town and ruins of the first, 4th century cathedral.
2006-2007: There are some temporary scaffolds up while cracks in the cathedral are being repaired. In other words, from the baptistery to the facades on the Duomo, architects have been planning, building, and improving upon this wonder for nearly 1,000 years. Sitting in the taxi, staring up at the dome, I felt nearly overwhelmed; the passage of time takes on a different meaning in the Old World. To think that back home, I've been thinking my kitchen needs updating because it's 20 years old!
Travelers who vacation in Italy's Tuscan region should not miss seeing the Duomo. From the subterranean archeological exhibit, to the 463 steps up to the top of the dome with its amazing, sweeping views of Florence, the Duomo is a paragon of Renaissance art and architecture, and surely one of the man-made wonders of the world.
Related, on Suite 101:
Art and Architecture in Florence
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Resources
Raeburn, Michael, ed. Architecture of the Modern World. New York: Rizzoli International Pub., 1980.
Rice, Jr., Eugene & Grafton, Anthony. The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1993.
