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Brunelleschi's dome
The story of the great cathedral in Florence
First published 2000 · 262 pages
A thrilling intellectual puzzle that captures the sweat, spite, and sheer genius required to build the impossible.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like stepping into the bustling, dust-choked streets of Renaissance Florence, surrounded by the clatter of stonemasons and the fierce whispers of political rivals. It is a brisk, intellectually stimulating journey that transforms a static piece of architecture into a living, breathing drama of human ambition. The narrative balances the meticulous details of engineering with the volatile, often petty human conflicts that fueled such monumental innovation. You are pulled along by the sheer improbability of the task, feeling the weight of the puzzle and the friction of the era's bitter rivalries. It will thoroughly delight fans of micro-history and narrative nonfiction who crave stories where obsessive genius and sheer willpower manage to defy the limits of the known world.
- Mood
- intellectually stimulating
- bustling
- awe-inspiring
- Tone
- engaging
- admiring
- dramatic
- erudite
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- human ingenuity · obsessive ambition · bitter rivalry · the intersection of art and engineering · triumph over impossible odds
- The writing
- Vivid and meticulously detailed, effortlessly translating complex architectural concepts into a gripping human drama.
- The arc
- Moves from the daunting weight of an impossible puzzle through the friction of bitter rivalry, culminating in a soaring sense of awe and triumph.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love narrative nonfiction that zooms in on a singular, world-changing feat of engineering and the eccentric genius behind it.
Content notes
- historical plagues
- mild historical violence
About the book
The superb story of the architect Filippo Brunelleschi and the design and construction of the Great Cathedral in Florence - one of the most magnificent achievements of the Italian Renaissance.Even in an age of soaring skyscrapers and cavernous sports stadiums, the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, with its immense, terracotta-tiled cupola, still retains a rare power to astonish. Yet the elegance of the building belies the tremendous labour, technical ingenuity and bitter personal strife involved in its creation. For over a century after work on the cathedral began in 1296, the proposed dome was regarded as all but impossible to build because of its enormous size. The greatest architectural puzzle of its age, when finally completed in 1436 the dome was hailed as one of the great wonders of the world. To this day, it remains the highest and widest masonry dome ever built. This book tells the extraordinary story of how the cupola was raised, from its conception to its consecration. Also told is the story of the dome's architect, the brilliant and volatile Filippo Brunelleschi. Denounced as a madman at the start of his labours, he was celebrated at their end as a great genius. His life was one of ambition, ingenuity, rivalry and intrigue - a human drama set against the plagues, wars, political feuds and intellectual ferments of Renaissance Florence, the glorious era for which the dome remains the most compelling symbol.
Description from Open Library.
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