Brunelleschi solve his problem with the dome of the Florence Cathedral by employing sets of diagonal ribs based on the pointed arch and he also created many layers of support within the dome.

It dominates the Flore nce skyline. Two geniuses, Filippo Brunelleschi, a founding father of Renaissance architecture, and Cosimo Medici the Elder, a Florence banker’s generosity, created a one of kind dome for the Florence Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.

142 years

Cosimo de’Medici

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, commonly called the Duomo Cathedral of Florence, helped set the tone of the Italian Renaissance. The Duomo of Florence was especially important because of three unique features that helped spark the Renaissance and inspire artists and engineers across Europe.

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There is a single admission ticket giving you access to Brunelleschi’s Dome, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Baptistery of San Giovanni, the Crypt of Santa Reparata and the Opera Museum. Entrance into the Cathedral itself is free. The Cathedral is closed Sunday mornings and key religious days like Easter Sunday.

114 m

One of the most significant architectural achievements of the entire Renaissance was undoubtedly the construction, by Filippo Brunelleschi, of the dome over the Florence Cathedral. The dome was built without employing centring (a wooden or iron structure) to support the masonry.

725c. 1296-1436

Michelangelo is buried in Santa Croce, as are Rossini, Machiavelli, and the Pisan-born Galileo Galilei, who was tried by the Inquisition and was not allowed a Christian burial until 1737, 95 years after his death.

Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Florence, Italy

Basilica of Saint Francis, Ravenna, Italy

On their part, the citizens of Ravenna argue that he should remain where he is, with them: firstly, because Dante died of malaria in their city on September 14, 1321 on his return from a diplomatic mission to Venice and, secondly, because Florence had exiled him and he had chosen not to return to the place that had …