Most visitors to Florence make a beeline straight for its most famous sight: the Duomo. The fourth largest church in the world (behind St. Peter’s in Rome, St. Paul’s in London, and the Duomo of Milan), it dwarfs the city around it, although perspective makes it seem a bit smaller from the square immediately surrounding, and to get the true grasp of the Duomo’s size one must venture to one of the viewpoints on the other side of the Arno. It is a stunning building (more a complex, actually, as it has a detached Baptistry and tower), one I make an effort to see during morning, afternoon, and nighttime, as the changing light really makes a difference. While the groundbreaking for this monumental structure took place in 1296, its 1436 completion and consecration mark it as early Renaissance, and one of the most perfect examples of the true change in architectural style that this period brought about, led by the Florentine Filippo Brunelleschi.

The word Renaissance literally means renewal or rebirth. It marked a return to a world reminiscent of Ancient Rome or Athens, one of public art, of major building projects, of scientific breakthroughs, and of philosophy more independent of religious influence. And it began here in Florence. From 1434 through the next two hundred years, the Renaissance would sweep from this relatively small city in northern Italy, and would envelop the world.

The Piazzale Michelangelo is the best place to get a real feel for what makes Renaissance architecture different. Sitting on the south side of the Arno, at an altitude allowing for a low-flying bird’s eye view of Florence, a panorama of the city is dominated by two buildings: the Duomo in the center of the city and the Santa Croce basilica in the foreground on the right. The two buildings cannot be more different as seen from here. The basilica was completed in 1385, roughly fifty years before the start of the Renaissance. It is made of stark stone with its dominant feature being a tower. The Duomo is stone and brick, but painted in geometric patterns, and dominated by a huge dome.

These are the essential components of Renaissance architecture. If Renaissance means renewal or return, it is a refocus on classical elements from Greek and Roman architectural styles: geometric patterns, adorned columns, and monumental domes that define the “new” era of architecture that began here in Florence. And in the case of the Duomo, many of those elements were added to the cathedral after its initial pre-Renaissance construction.

Filippo Brunelleschi was born in Florence in 1377. While he would be known as a master architect, his background and training were actually more fine-art inclined, and his early years were spent creating more classical pieces, highlighted by his beautiful bronze doors for the Florence Baptistry, done in collaboration with another young architect, Lorenzo Ghiberti, who would become Brunelleschi’s partner. The competition that won them the commission was judged by Giovanni de’ Medici, and the Medici family would become the most important of Brunelleschi’s patrons. (Click here to read about the Medici.)

In the early 15th century, Brunelleschi visited Rome, and became fascinated by the architecture of the ancient ruins (and some fully standing buildings like the Pantheon) there. He and his good friend Donatello spent roughly two years in Rome studying, trying to unlock the secrets that made Ancient Roman architecture able to withstand the centuries, and to be larger and seemingly more complex than anything produced since. He specifically noted the lack of interior design features, as Roman building projects were much more focused on stark lines and shapes on the outside.

Returning to Florence, the architect applied his new knowledge to some Medici-sponsored projects. The Basilica of San Lorenzo, which ultimately would include the tombs of the Medici family, was one of his first major tasks, as he was hired to design the first-completed portion of the new church: its sacristy. Now called the Old Sacristy (after a second was completed in the sixteenth century), the room is said to be the first Renaissance construction project in the world. While Donatello added the design features (which Brunelleschi was said to have hated, thinking that they detracted from his simple design), the features that would come to mark Renaissance architecture are easy to see.

First, look up. The small dome is perfectly divided into twelve sections, each with a window for natural light, with a central cupola. The dome is actually an umbrella dome, which was constructed with these twelve segments or vaults, rather than having the lines added for decorative purposes. That allows for a bit more height to it. The smaller dome above the altar is decorated with constellations, a design feature that would come to mark the Renaissance style, and its shift away from purely religious iconography even in a church building. Beyond that, the room is a perfect square, though the lines near the roof curve, a return to the days of geometric patterns being the highlights.

(The Pazzi Chapel in the Santa Croce basilica is almost an exact copy of the Old Sacristy of San Lorenzo, which Brunelleschi was commissioned to do in 1442. The major difference is the lack of Donatello’s embellishments, giving it the stark feel that Brunelleschi desired.)

Of course, the work that would come to define the career of Filippo Brunelleschi is the Duomo itself. While the initial construction had stood for more than a century, it was unfinished, as no architect had been able to successfully design – let alone have a plan to build – the monumental dome that was desired by the city elders. A competition was held for an architect to design and build the dome, and Filippo won, using a brick model for a dome-in-dome design that was made by his friend Donatello. The work would occupy the remainder of Brunelleschi’s life.

A second-story exhibit inside of the Museo Leonardo da Vinci here in Florence talks about the construction of the Duomo’s dome, and how the architectural elements and machinery specially designed for its building would influence the young da Vinci as a child. Models of the construction are amazing to see, and really show the scale of the project. The architect invented new hoisting machines, and the additions of wooden and sandstone “chains” that would strengthen the dome from the base and interior, acting as a sort of tension ring.

The dome, as with Brunelleschi’s earlier constructions, was built in segments, with hidden vertical ribs between the two domes, as well as cross-ties and rails, all of which take pressure off the corners of the octagonal dome so that it doesn’t fall inward. The half-dome smaller structures around the central dome were also designed by Brunelleschi, and were added in 1438. They are purely decorative, and do not help with the central dome’s stability in the least. The crowning lantern was the final piece added, with the architect dying in 1446, well before its 1461 completion.

Visitors to the Duomo will of course want to go inside, and the building offers a number of options at varying prices to see the different aspects, as well as separate entrances depending on where one is visiting. The church itself is free, although lines can be long. The interior is fairly stark other than the underside of the dome and, in my opinion, not worth the wait. Dome and tower visits are expensive, and must be booked well ahead of time.

Filippo Brunelleschi is buried inside the Duomo, in a small tomb that can be seen from the below-ground gift shop. He and his partner Ghiberti are also honored with statues in front of the ticket office.

The architectural contributions of Filippo Brunelleschi and of the Renaissance cannot be understated. The basic geometric shapes, pillars, and domes would come to dominate both religious and civic construction for centuries, and the dome-in-dome marvel of the Duomo would be copied for such wonders as Les Invalides in Paris and the US Capitol in Washington DC. And here in Florence, we can explore not only his signature wonder, but the smaller constructions that marked his journey and the evolution of the style.

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