3/19/2023 0 Comments Duomo florence![]() We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special. Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful - and this is still in our DNA today. Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel – and the direction Culture Trip is moving in. He worked on it from 1876 to its completion in 1887 and sourced different coloured marble from all over Tuscany and parts of Italy. ![]() Emilio de Fabris designed the neo-gothic facade we see now, which was also decided by competition in 1871. The facade had been left bare until the 19th century. The facade of the cathedral has a long history of dismantling, redesigning, and even a competition to finish it, which turned into a huge corruption scandal during that time and was never followed through with. ![]() It was a collective design from many architects and artists over many years. The facade, however, would not be complete until 1887 to what we see today. By 1418 the cathedral was built only the dome remained incomplete. The design and outer facade went through many drafts of changes and drawings over the years as you can see in the Grande Museo del Duomo, which is dedicated to the entire history of the construction of the cathedral. The cathedral was originally designed by Arnolfo di Cambio in 1294, including the facade. The cathedral gets its name from the lily flower, the symbol of Florence. The name of the cathedral translates to Saint Mary of the flower, which ironically has no connection to the flower used by Brunelleschi in his design, but is completely serendipitous. Instead of gravity pulling the heavy bricks down causing them to cave in from the top as everyone had assumed, the herringbone layout of the bricks and the inverted arches actually use gravity to reinforce the structure. The inverted arches were the key reason that the structure has lasted all these years. At the base of the interior of the dome was the shape of a flower, which was the base to guide the ropes themselves, forcing the bricks to create a series of inverted arches as the walls grew higher. Remember, there were no lasers or levels during this time, so the ingenious rope system was all they had. The secret was the rope patterns he used during building to guide the structure’s brick layout. ![]() After years of scholars studying his methods, one man from the University of Florence finally found the secret hidden in a critic’s extremely detailed drawing meant to discredit Brunelleschi. Brunelleschi had nothing but critics and had to convince even his building team to trust him, who were putting their lives in his hands working at 51 meters (170 feet) in the air on a structure seemingly doomed to cave in. Using his wit and secret design of the dome, which he himself was unsure of since he would need to build it to be certain that a few potential flaws could work, he won the competition and was allowed to move forward, being appointed two other designers, including his past rival, Ghiberti. Essentially, they hired the guy with a secret plan and no experience. Although the judges protested that they themselves could have done the same, he slyly responded saying that if they knew what he knew, they could also build the dome. After they all failed, he took the egg and smashed the bottom of it on the table’s surface, causing the egg to stand upright. He told them that he would reveal his plans if any one of them could make the egg stand upright on the table. He had to persuade the judges, of course, and did so after concealing his plans for so long, that a simple egg was what finally convinced the judges. ![]() Although his forward thinking lost him the competition years before with the baptistery doors, it was exactly what Florence needed in this time of panic. Florence was so desperate for a solution, Brunelleschi won the competition without ever showing his plans. ![]()
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