Program Description
del Fiore—the Duomo—is a towering masterpiece of
Renaissance ingenuity and an enduring source of mystery.
Still the largest
masonry dome on earth after more than six centuries,
it is taller than the Statue of Liberty and weighs as much as an
average cruise ship. Historians
and engineers have long debated how its secretive architect,
Filippo Brunelleschi, managed to keep the dome perfectly
aligned and symmetrical as the sides rose and converged toward
the center, 40 stories above the cathedral floor. His laborers
toiled without safety nets, applying novel, untried methods. Over
4 million bricks might collapse at any moment—and we still don’t understand how
Brunelleschi prevented it. To test the latest theories, a team of
U.S. master bricklayers will help build a unique experimental
model Duomo using period techniques. Will it stay intact during
the final precarious stages of closing over the top of the dome?
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