Il Duomo: Two Domes in One
1419 AD
1419 1419
11.10E43.44N
ARC

FLORENCE, ITALY
	The city fathers of Florence almost bit off more than they could chew in 1296 when they commissioned a cathedral so grand that it would be "impossible to make it either better or more beautiful with the industry and power of man."
	The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (commonly called "Il Duomo"), was originally designed by architect Arnolfo di Cambio, but the design was continually changed by various committees over the years.
	Finally, in 1417, the church was ready for its roof. The only problem was that nobody had the faintest idea how to create a dome big enough to cover the huge, octagonal center of the building.
	Fortunately, Florence had architect Filippo Brunelleschi. Though his proposal was initially considered as crackpot as some of the other ideas for topping the church, his plan finally prevailed, and in 1419 he was given the job.
	To cover the church, Brunelleschi designed a dome within a dome. The interior dome helped support the exterior dome with a series of braces. The tall, exterior dome features eight graceful rock ribs curving up to the tip.
	The stately dome was completed in 1436, but the facade of the church was not finished until 1883.
	Brunelleschi's innovative dome design made possible other great cathedral domes, including the dome of the Church of St. Peter in Rome.