Florence Cathedral Dome

Brunelleschi's revolutionary double-shell dome of 1436/Historical

The dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi and completed in 1436, was the largest dome in the world for centuries and remains the largest masonry dome ever built. It spans 45 m at its base and rises 114.5 m from the cathedral floor to the top of the lantern. Brunelleschi solved the seemingly impossible engineering challenge of spanning such a vast space without traditional centering by using a double-shell construction with interlocking herringbone bricks.