Filippo Brunelleschi, Dome of the Florence Cathedral

Filippo Brunelleschi may have lost the competition for the bronze doors of the Baptistery, but he emerged as the most significant figure in Renaissance architecture. He moved to Rome for a few years in the early 1400s where he studied and sketched ancient architecture in order to rediscover Classical rules, proportions, and measurement. When he returned to Florence, he was invited to participate in discussions about how to create a dome to complete the cathedral in Florence. Construction on the ambitious design for the cathedral had begun in the mid-fourteenth century, despite the fact that nobody, not even the architect, knew how to solve the eventual problem of covering the large opening that is nearly 140 feet in diameter. After decades of embarrassment over the unfinished cathedral, the Opera del Duomo (Works of the Cathedral) held a competition in 1420 to find an architect who could design a dome to complete the building. Brunelleschi submitted his design, and it was accepted.

Watch this video to learn about Brunelleschi’s innovative and revolutionary design.

Not only did Brunelleschi figure out how to design the largest masonry dome in the world, he was also responsible for innovations and inventions that made the building of it possible. Some of these include horizontal sandstone rings with specially designed iron clamps to connect them, a stairway between the domes to allow access to the lantern at the top, safety harnesses for the workers, and a crane (65 feet tall and able to rotate 360 degrees) placed on the exterior of the dome as it was built up to lift loads and move them into place. Four crews of workers were required to operate the crane. He also devised a gear and pulley hoist to raise materials up from the center of the crossing below the rising dome. As the oxen walked in a circle, gears turned and ropes would raise supplies to the workers. Brunelleschi invented an interchangeable gear so that once that was in place, the animal could continue walking forward but the ropes would unwind and lower the goods.