Dome of the Santa Maria del Fiore in Firenze

The cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore with its distinctive red-bricked dome is the fourth largest church in Europe and the tallest structure in Florence.

The octagonal dome, completed by Filippo Brunelleschi in 1436, consists of a double layer of bricks, the interior shell acting as a platform for the exterior. Since the dome rests on a drum instead of the roof itself it could be constructed without ground scaffolding or a wooden supporting frame, the bricks being inserted between marble ribs in a herring-bone pattern copied from the Pantheon in Rome. In order to prevent downward forces from cracking the sides of the base of the dome, Brunelleschi incorporated tension chains which avoided the need for unsightly buttresses.

The dome is topped by an octagonal lantern, also designed by Brunelleschi, whose conical roof is crowned with a guilded bronze sphere and cross by Verrocchio. The dome is 115 metres high and offers panoramic views of the city.

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