Montebello Splendid Hotel Florence - Florence Dome
The Cathedral or Duomo (Dome) of Florence has gone through six centuries of work. Arnolfo di Cambio designed the original project at the end of the 13th century while the cupola, which has become a symbol of Tuscany, was created by the renowned Renaissance artist, Filippo Brunelleschi. The facade that completed this magnificent work of architecture was carried out in the 19th century.
Enriching the history of this monument was a series of both exterior and interior as well as decorative and structural interventions. The construction of two sacristies was done early on in the 16th century with marble floors and the execution of the sculptures to the frescoes signed by Paolo Uccello, Andrea del Castagno, Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari (the Last Judgement in the cupola).
This Cathedral, seat of the bishopric, was third and last to be built in Florence in 1412 and given the name Santa Maria del Fiore or "Holy Mary of the Flower" allied to the lily, symbol of the city.
The Dome was built on the top of Florence's second Cathedral, Santa Reparta, when in 1293, the Florence Republic decided to replace this church with a larger and more magnificent cathedral and were also willing to fund its construction and therefore Santa Reparta was later demolished in 1375. A large part of the remains of this church can be seen today in the archaeological area underneath the Cathedral.
A tax was put on all last wills and testaments which was in turn put towards the construction of the Cathedral since the costs were also expected to be partly contributed by the population itself.
In 1294 the project was ultimately assigned to Arnolfo di Cambio, head Architect of the City Council who was already revolutionizing the Franciscan basilica of Santa Croce, and the first stone was ceremoniously laid by him on September 8th, 1296.
The basilica was indeed of grandeur with three wide naves that meet in the vast chancel where the high altar stands and surrounded by the "trefoil" shaped tribune on which the cupola rests. Arnolfo spent his last years working on completing the two bays and the new facade which were only finished halfway. Like that of the Baptistery, the diameter of the Dome was projected to be 45.5 meters. Arnolfo, who had already begun work on the construction of Palazzo Vecchio four years earlier, worked on the Cathedral up until his death in 1302.
After the death of Arnolofo, the work grounded to a halt and it wasn't until 1334 that the artist Giotto was named to oversee further construction, with most of this time dedicated to the building of his Bell tower, but unfortunately died shortly after in 1337.
Work was then succeeded by Andrea Pisano, author of the South Doors of the Baptistery, up until 1348 when the terrible plague reduced the population in half from 90,000 to 45,000.
The bell tower was finally completed in 1359 after 10 years of work overseen by Francesco Talenti. In 1360 a new project was begun with the collaboration of Giovanni di Lapo Ghini. The project saw the division of the center nave into four square bays, with fewer windows than the original design by Arnolfo, and with two lateral bays. By 1370, although Giovanni di Lapo Ghini had left the project, which was already well advanced, and a new project for the apse to amplify Arnolfo's "trefoil" began. In 1375 Santa Reparta was taken down, which indicated that Santa Maria del Fiore was now ready to be the new cathedral of Florence.
Many yeasr later when Grand Duke Francesco I of the Medici family decided to construct a new facade in 1586, the sculptures then found on the existing facade, some of Arnolfo himself, were dismantled and transferred to the Museum of the Opera inside the Duomo.
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