Views of Florence from the Top of the Brunelleschi Dome

Il Duomo is an astonishing engineering feat.  Keep in mind that the entire dome was built with wooden tools when you consider these facts:

At nearly 142 feet, the dome is larger than the domes of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., St. Paul's in London, the Pantheon in Rome, and even St. Peters in Vatican City. The dome remained the largest dome in the world until modern materials permitted the construction of stadium-sized domes such as the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

Construction began in 1296 and was completed in the late 14th century.  The facade was completed in the 19th century.  The dome is still the tallest building in Florence, after 600 years.

There is a section of the drum inside of the dome that was never finished.  Here's why:


The decoration of the drum in the gallery, made by Baccio d'Agnolo, was never finished because Michelangelo was asked what he thought of it, and he famously replied that the decoration looked like a cricket's cage. Famous by that time, his opinion was taken quite seriously and worked was stopped to reconsider what to do. It was never completed and by this point, it is safe to assume it never will.


We climbed to the top of the dome, which enabled us to get a close up view of the Last Judgement painted on the ceiling of the dome.

Here are some of our photos: