The Florence Cathedral
The Cranes
Brunelleschi designed devices to
move bricks, stones, and mortar with
ease and precicion. This one, built
near the top of the dome, was likely used to place heavy stones at the
base of the lantern.
The Catheral Of Florence
Il Duomo
soarinf to a heigth of 374 feet the domw of santa maria del fiore is
a wonder of inguinity of nearly 6 centuries after its construction. its
granduor and artistry were ment to outshine those of any structure
in early renaissance italy, elevating florence over rival cities. though
many believed it was too big and ambious to built, architect Fillipo
Brunelleschi succeded using methods that expert don’t fully understand even today.
The Construction
Historical sources report that the dome was built
without a temporary wooden framework, or “centering”, to hold the masonry in place while drying.
But Brunelleschi himself left virtually no notes, so
other details are uncertain. many experts believe,
for example, that ropes were used to make the
increasingly steep angle for laying the bricks, but
they disagree about how that system was set up.
Shapes And Lines
The geometry of the dome, built on
an octagonal base roughly 145 feet
wide, is complicated. it has inner
and outer shells, and its profile enlongated. in the simpler case of a
semicircular dome, the radius runs
between the curvature and a point
that’s one-fifth the lenght of the
base.
The lantern,
on top of which rests the bronze ball
built by Verrocchio in 1472. To position
the ball they used machines invented by
Brunelleschi. The young Leonardo da
Vinci figured among the apprentices that
helped in this difficult operation.
Height -1145 meters
Because the base was not built with
precision, opposite pairs of diagonal
line cross at four different points, not
the centre
The Design
1436
A Challenge
Florence began to build a new cathedral in 1296. Wars, politics, and
plague slowed construction so work on the dome din’t commence
for more than a century. Architects had to compete to design each
stage of the project. Brunelleschi’s scale models won him the job
evry time.
1433
1426
1422
SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE
V
H I S T O R Y O F A R C H I T E C T U R E - III
AR. RAJDEEP ROUTH
AR. DWEEP BUCH
FACULTY OF ARCHITECTURE
MARWADI UNIVERSITY
VIDHI TANNA - 91640629001
PARTH VAGADIA-91640629006
PRATIK BARBHAYA - 91640629007