Awoke at 7 AM after a long and much-needed sleep. It had rained a little during the night so we entered a slightly gloomy Piazza del Duomo.
Our 10:30 tour of the cathedral and dome included entry to the other affiliated sites so we entered the Baptistery, which was undergoing an extensive internal restoration. The beautiful mosaic ceiling, altar, and Baptism alcove were view-able but the rest of the interior was obscured by curtains that at least had images of what they were hiding on them.
The Baptistery, a relatively short eight-sided building, was once the most important building in Florence. Built over 1,000 years ago, it was the religious center of the city. When the cathedral was being built, one had to first enter the Baptistery via it's northern doors, be Baptized, and then exit through the eastern doors towards the Duomo in order to gain entrance. The north, east, and south doors are of significant interest (which will be described later).
Baptistery ceiling, altar (image of Antipope John XXIII's tomb on far right)
Duomo exterior, and the dome climb line was already growing
The Annunciation is a popular subject in Florentine Renaissance art
Our tour this morning began with an overview of the monuments that are under the care of OPA, the works commission that was founded in 1296 to oversee the Duomo's construction.
The site of today's Duomo has had a structure dedicated to Christianity since the 3rd century. In 1294 Florentines commissioned the building of a new cathedral. Construction was interrupted in the mid 1300s due to the bubonic plague which wiped out nearly two thirds of the city population. Architect Arnolfo di Cambio drew ambitious plans which were later scaled to a larger size. The design called for an eight-sided dome that was to be supported by external buttresses. This would not have presented such a challenge if the Duomo was built in California: Domes were being constructed all over Europe by using a temporary wooden scaffolding. In absence of 140-foot trees with a span capable of centering such a framework, the cathedral sat unfinished for nearly a hundred years. The building had walls and a roof, but the hole for the dome remained open to the elements until someone could engineer a solution.
Enter Filippo Brunelleschi. In 1401 the 24-year-old sculptor entered the competition to design a new set of doors for the Baptistery. He lost to Lorenzo Ghiberti, who went on to complete two masterworks of bronze casting. Brunelleschi stormed off to Rome in a temper and decided to study architecture. In the course of his learning he became interested in ancient ruins. Brunelleschi and his friend and fellow sculptor, Donatello, spent a lot of time measuring, sketching, and climbing around the ruins. Their activities were so notable that they gained a reputation for being treasure hunters. Up until this time nobody knew how the dome of the Pantheon was built. Even though Brunelleschi never completely figured how how the ancient Romans had done it, it's mere existence (with a diameter of 142 feet) proved that it could be done.
After spending several years convincing the works commission that he could build a dome for the Duomo, he also set to work designing lifts and other machines to make the construction possible. Brunelleschi guarded his contraptions so jealously that he dictated that they be destroyed after use in order to prevent other people from stealing them. Historians believe that because of this secretive behavior Brunelleschi had the world's first copyright. At the same time Florence resident Leonardo da Vinci was interested enough in the strange machines being used to raise the dome that he sketched them. In fact, because da Vinci retained the only record of their existence, he was credited with their invention until researchers determined who the true designer was.
The dome's construction began in 1420 and was completed in 1436. Brunelleschi died about ten years later, just before the great big "lantern" that sits at the top of the dome was completed. The lantern is equivalent to a five-story building and acts as a keystone for the structure.
Architectural marvels aside, the interior of the cathedral is relatively sparse. Rich patrons like the Medicis did not have much influence on the decoration (at least not until the Florentine republic was replaced by an authoritarian state in the 1500s). Because the cathedral has always been publicly funded, the interior was (and still remains) simple. The few memorials that exist are for individuals that are recognized for their public service.
This very interesting 24-hour clock does not tell time, rather it counts down the number of hours until sunset (the number of working hours left in the day). It has to be wound once a week and on the days that Hans and I were in the cathedral the clock was fairly accurate.
In the left photo are two memorial frescoes recognizing two mercenaries who aided the Florentine state in times of war. On the right is the interior dome fresco, Giorgio Vasari's Last Judgement
The climb to the top of the great dome was not terribly strenuous because there are many stops along the way. Our tour guide brought us through the main building and up 153 steps to the external North Terrace before giving us directions on how to continue to the roof (for a total of 463 steps).
Just before exiting to the terrace there is a room with four sculptures that at one time sat outside "temporarily" for about 100 years. They are made of papier-mache! Now they are kept safe indoors.
North Terrace
Clay pots catch the topmost rainwater and divert it gently onto the lower roofs
Replacement roof tiles are weathered for at least a year before being put to use.
Statues and east Baptistery doors visible through the ornamentation.
Looking back at the dome and its topmost "lantern"
Hans was super excited to check out this building!
View from the top
Right now I'd like to spend a little time on that dome fresco, because it is wild. Our tour guide explained the overall configuration while we were standing on the cathedral floor. Jesus sits high in the clouds looking down onto a scene with Father Time and Death. Time has run out and now the rapture has begun. All of the heavenly figures are fairly bland and normal but fittingly it's the depiction of hell where things go off the rails. Hellish demons represent the seven deadly sins and there are devils with flaming pitchforks and spears that they use to puncture and sodomize the unfortunate souls who are in their clutches. In some of the corners macabre demons laugh like maniacs while they flay and vivisect themselves. Satan looks a little bit like he's suffering from a stroke. I read an article that calls Vasari's fresco "Italy's most hated work of art". I can kind of see what they mean. A restoration job was recently completed and apparently when the protective tarp was removed the reaction was less than underwhelming. Hans and I got to see it up close from multiple angles on our way up the dome and at times could not get over how crazy the hellscape looked. I guess that would have been the point back in 1572?
Gluttony is here to bash your head in!
The plexiglass at each gallery level made the viewing the rest of the building difficult, unfortunately
Climbing the dome interior. The inner dome is structural, the outer one is weather-protection
Looking south across the Arno River
On the right is one of the Medici palace buildings
Viewing Giotto's tower from the dome
Exiting the building, Hans noticed how intricate the exterior wooden doors were
Our tour guide mentioned that in 1601 a bolt of lightning struck the gilt copper ball from the lantern. It crashed to the ground behind the cathedral. When a new one was installed the next year three relics from Rome were placed inside it to make sure that it stays in place. The spot where the ball landed is commemorated by a plate in the street. We were told that anyone that stands on it is obviously not a Florentine. Of course you know what I had to do next! It took a couple of tries for Hans to get a picture of me and I will admit that on the third time as I looked up behind me I began to wonder if I was teasing the fates a bit much.
No lightning in the sky today!
At least there were two mounted police and an ambulance nearby.
And some bewildered looking tourists.
The lovely bridges of Florence
It was time for lunch so we crossed the river and went to an excellent pizzeria (Tamero). Mine came with buffalo mozzarella. Such yum! I was jealous of Hans' locally made red ale.
Did you think that was it? Oh, ho, ho. There's so much more! I am going to scale back the rest of my commentary. If you're further interested in these works of art I can recommend "An Art Lover's Guide to Florence" by Judith Testa for a really great overview. There are numerous websites and even well-made YouTube videos that get into the details.
We side-tracked to another part of town since we were on the south side of the river and walked to the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine so that we could view the famous Brancacci Chapel. I tried to imagine the effect these frescoes had on the early Renaissance viewer.
Masaccio's "Tribute Money"
Another highlight of the day was the OPA museum, where Ghiberti's Baptistery doors have been restored to their original glory.
Biblical scenes depicted in Ghiberti's second set of doors
"The Gates of Paradise", indeed.
Ghiberti's first set of doors on the right
One thing that I did not know before our tour is that originally the Duomo's outer decorative tiles only reached about one-third of the way up the walls. For various reasons the facades were left incomplete. In the late 1500's they were dismantled and new designs were proposed. At this time the Medici's were exerting quite a lot more power and the museum has on display several miniature mock-ups that paid a little too much tribute to the merchant family's crest. Thankfully, those plans were scrapped and the new facade was made in neo-gothic style. The old tiles were used to make a new floor inside the cathedral (visible today). The museum had on display many old bits of facade that were found buried in the square and also many of the Duomo's original sculptures (now replaced by copies) by Donatello, Michelangelo, and other notable contemporaries.
Donatello's "Penitent Magdalene" (made of wood) was breathtaking
Pictures truly do not do it justice
I was sad that Michelangelo's "The Deposition" was so difficult to view.
There was a casting of the group's heads nearby.
Donatello's "Pumpkinhead", which adorned Giotto's tower (now replaced by a copy)
Donatello carved two gorgeous choir balconies for the Duomo. They're now in the museum and the cathedral has very plain and unremarkable lofts.
Out in Piazza della Signoria we viewed other (copies) of some of the other more famous Renaissance sculptures. Donatello's "Judith and Holofernes" is my favorite.
From the piazza we could see the bridge between Palazzo Vecchio and Uffizi, which allowed statesmen the ability to traverse between government buildings without encountering the riff-raff outside.
Feeling thoroughly done-in by all of the stair climbing and museums, we went to a wine bar (Enoteca Allesi) for a light dinner. In Italy most restaurants don't open for dinner until 7:30 pm and we wanted to satisfy our light hunger early so that we could get some rest. Hans and I each did a different Tuscan wine tasting and discovered the delightful sangiovese and vermentino grapes. As I became tipsy I moaned a bit more than audibly as a plate of meat was carried to another table and the wait staff all giggled.
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