ITALY  |  Florence, Italy Travel Guide
Thursday, December 26, 2024
images
Bookmark and Share

Cupola del Duomo

Piazza del Duomo 1
Florence
Tuscany
Italy

Type: Historical Interest
Addmission Fee: Euro 6
Hours: Mon-Fri,8:30 am-7 pm, Sat, 8:30 am-5:30 pm, closed Sun

Comments ( 0 )
Rating (0 Votes)
No votes yet
Start with the earlier-opening Cupola (the earlier the better, to avoid the worst of the inevitable lines) for an insight into one of the most impressive engineering feats of the 15th century. Brunelleschi worked on the project from 1418 to 1434, solving the enormous difficulty of how to place such a large dome (at 41.5 m/136 ft in diameter, it was of a size not seen since Rome’s Pantheon) on top of the already-constructed cathedral by laying the bricks in so intricate a manner that the dome supported itself as it grew. By engineering the crowning of the dome (although it was not actually placed until after his death), now over 100 m (328 ft) above ground level, with Verrocchio’s gilded ball and cross, Brunelleschi again proved wrong those critics who couldn’t believe the structure would be strong enough to support the weight. Aclimb of 463 steps takes you to the top, alongside Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari’s 16th-century fresco cycle The Last Judgment, time enough to appreciate the architect’s skill and well worth it for the views over Florence and surrounding countryside.
Last updated February 14, 2008
Posted in   Italy  |  Florence
 |  RSS

PhotoImpression

Explore the Destination
Amenities and Resources
Trending Themes:

Guides to Popular Ski Resorts

  • Ischgl is a small mountain village turned hip ski resort, with massive appeal among the party-hearty young crowds. It is... Read More

  • Andorra la Vella is its own little world, and not just because it’s a 290-square-mile independent principality (a fifth the... Read More

  • Bariloche (officially San Carlos de Bariloche) is the place to be seen. It is to Argentina what Aspen is to the... Read More

  • Aspen is America's most famous ski resort. And that's an understatement. For, as a ski complex, Aspen is unsurpassed. Its... Read More

  • Zermatt is a small but glamorous mountain resort town, with a population of approximately 5,700. It is one of Switzerland's... Read More

  • St. Moritz is a glitzy, alpine resort town in the celebrated Engadin Valley of Switzerland, with huge notoriety as the... Read More

  • Lake Tahoe is the premier lake resort of America, and the largest alpine lake in all of North America. It is an absolutely... Read More

  • St. Anton, Sankt Anton am Arlberg in German, is Austria's premier ski-bum resort! It's actually a small village cum... Read More

  • Kitzbühel, a small, Tyrolian resort town in the Kitzbüheler Alps, comes with international renown and huge snob appeal, and... Read More

 

Copyright © 2010-2013 Indian Chief Travel Guides. Images tagged as (cc) are licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA license.