Hake Gallery | Italy 2010 | Basilica Santa Maria del Fiore
Dominating the serene Tuscan skyline is the Duomo cathedral in Florence Italy. Requiring six centuries to complete, the massive structure is one of the most enduring symbols in all of Italy. Located in the appropriately named Piazza del Duomo and dedicated to Santa Maria Del Fiore ("Saint Mary Of The Flower"), the Duomo is the third largest cathedral in the world and de facto center of Florence, with its gigantic cupola visible from nearly every street in the city. Considered to be the architect Filippo Bruneschelli"s masterpiece, the cathedral"s giant cupola was constructed to express the bridging of Greek and Gothic architecture.
At the time of its inception, the giant dome was the largest in the world, and would continue to be until Michelangelo outdid the Duomo in Florence with his design of St. Peter"s Basilica in the Vatican. The gilded dome is still considered one of the defining architectural works of the entire Renaissance, and atop it sits an octagonal lantern, allowing the light of the heavens to flood downward into the Duomo in Florence.
At the time of its inception, the giant dome was the largest in the world, and would continue to be until Michelangelo outdid the Duomo in Florence with his design of St. Peter"s Basilica in the Vatican. The gilded dome is still considered one of the defining architectural works of the entire Renaissance, and atop it sits an octagonal lantern, allowing the light of the heavens to flood downward into the Duomo in Florence.
Lagged by political infighting, ever-shifting artistic movements and the sheer immensity of the project, construction of the facade of the Duomo in Florence was not finished until 1887, combining bands of ornate green, red and white marble into repeating patterns across its entirety
