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IL DUOMO FLORENCE CATHEDRAL BRE CRYSLER, RYAN DENBERG, & SHELBY CORLIS

November Edition VOL.01

FANZINE

EDITORIAL NOTE

Santa Maria del Fiore, also known as the Florence Cathedral, is one of the largest churches in the world. The plan consists of a triple-nave basilica with the presbytery area nested within, dominated by the large octagon of the immense dome, around which are three radial apses. This zine will give an overview of the history, significance, and notable architectural features of this iconic building.

Shelby Corlis Editor

Ryan Denberg Editor

Bre Crysler Editor

1 THE RUNDOWN MAP 2 3 BRIEF HISTORY SIGNIFICANCE 4 PARTI 5 CIRCULATION 6 IL DUOMO 7 8 IL DUOMO CONT. 9 KEY ELEMENTS 10 THE FACADE 11 CONCLUSION 12 REFERENCES

CONTENTS

THE RUNDOWN

ARCHITECT? ARNOLFO DI CAMBIO

LOCATION? FLORENCE, ITALY

DESIGNER? FILIPPO BRUNELLESCHI

YEARS BUILT? 1296 TO 1436

STYLE? GOTHIC (W/ ROMANESQUE INFLUENCES)

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BRIEF HISTORY

Around the time of the cathedral’s conception, Florence’s neighboring cities were beginning to construct their own cathedrals. Florence, being fairly wealthy at the time, wanted to construct a church that could fit all 100,000 of its inhabitants.

Although they fell short of their goal, this church was still the biggest in the world at the time of its construction, with a capacity for 30,000 worshippers The Florence Cathedral was originally engineered by Arnolfo di Cambio. Many famous artists contributed to the Cathedral throughout its lengthy construction. Painter Giotto designed its bell tower in 1334, and its stained glass windows were designed by artists such as Donatello, Andrea del Castaño, and Paolo Uccello.

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SIGN IFIC ANCE

SOCIAL Around the time of its conception, neighboring Italian cities were beginning to construct their own cathedrals. Florence’s goal was to contrust a church that could fit all 100,000 of its inhabitants. While they didn’t accomplish this goal, the cathedral is still a very significant architectural feat.

CULTURAL The structure’s landmark dome helped pioneer new architectural techniques, as a dome of that size had never been built before. This aided in the start of a new era of structures.

POLITICAL Safe havens in the city of Florence became a necessity for the citizens wishing to escape the political turmoil of inner-city conflicts.

Churches became essential as Christianity’s influence grew. The Florence Cathedral allowed to city to urbanize and grow into one of the most powerful cities in Europe.

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PARTI DIAGRAM

The Cathedral is a place of worship, therefore the space is pretty private to the public eye.

Admission into the Cathedral is allowed only to the people wearing suitable clothing for a place of worship. Visitors with bare legs and shoulders, sandals, hats, and sunglasses are not allowed inside.

PUBLIC ZONE

PRIVATE ZONE

PUBLIC ZONE

SEMI PRIVATE ZONE

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SEMI PRIVATE ZONE

PRIVATE ZONE

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CIRCULATION

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IL DUOMO

The dome of the cathedral is its most well-known feature. The massive octagonal cupola looms over the city of Florence. At the time of the dome’s conception, the technology to create a dome of that size hadn’t even been invented yet. Due to the sheer size of the dome, it was impossible to use a wooden framework to build it. The dome remained incomplete until Filippo Brunelleschi, master architect and sculptor, figured out a way to construct it with no formwork in the early 15th century. Brunelleschi was hailed as the man who “renewed Roman masonry work.”

LANTERN OCULUS GRAVITY

VERTICAL BRICK ARCH BRICK RIBS

OUTER SHELL INNER SHELL

WOOD RING

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D W AR T U O SS S TR E

The dome was built without employing centring (a wooden or iron structure) to support the masonry.

To achieve this, Brunelleschi devised extraordinary solutions to lighten the imposing structure and to efficiently organise a worksite capable of fulfilling the requirements of the various stages of construction and guaranteeing the stability of the planes on which the bricks were laid, marked by progressive inclination from the base to the oculus in the dome.

SECTION SHOWING BUTRESSING OF DOME

SECTION SHOWING CHAIN

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DID YOU KNOW? The original plan for the cathedral included flying buttresses, but they didn’t make it into the final building

DOME (IL DUOMO) STAINED GLASS RIBBED VAULTS ORNATE DETAILING

GOTHIC & ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS

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The rose window on the facade of the Florence Cathedral depicts a beautiful stained glass window on the inside of the building. Stained glass windows are common with the Gothic style.

There is a collection of 44 stained glass windows throughout the cathedral that depict the stories of Mary and Christ, painted between the end of the fourteenth century and the first half of the 15th century.

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FACADE DETAILS

IN CONCLUSION..

The Florence Cathedral is iconic for a variety of reasons, from its massive size to its ornate detailing, to its revolutionary construction methods. With its dome still holding its title of the largest brick dome ever constructed, this building will continue to be esteemed for many years to come.

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REFERENCES

“CATHEDRAL OF SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE | CATHEDRAL, FLORENCE, ITALY.” ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, HTTPS://WWW.BRITANNICA.COM/PLACE/CATHED RAL-OF-SANTA-MARIA-DEL-FIORE. ACCESSED 15 NOVEMBER 2023.

“CATHEDRAL OF SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE – ITALIANRENAISSANCE.ORG.” ITALIANRENAISSANCE.ORG, 17 JULY 2012, HTTP://WWW.ITALIANRENAISSANCE.ORG/CATHE DRAL-OF-SANTA-MARIA-DEL-FIORE-INFLORENCE/. ACCESSED 15 NOVEMBER 2023.

CHIARI, A. (2022, JANUARY 20). THE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS OF THE DRUM OF THE DOME OF SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE. OPERA DI SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE. HTTPS://DUOMO.FIRENZE.IT/EN/OPERAMAGAZINE/POST/6520/THE-STAINED-GLASSWINDOWS-OF-THE-DRUM-OF-THE-DOME-OFSANTA-MARIA-DEL-FIORE DELLA QUERCIA, JACOPO, ET AL. “CATHEDRAL OF FLORENCE.” THE MUSEUMS OF FLORENCE, HTTP://WWW.MUSEUMSINFLORENCE.COM/MUSEI /CATHEDRAL_OF_FLORENCE.HTML. ACCESSED 15 NOVEMBER 2023.

HILLIER, J. (2011). THE DUOMO: THE TOUCHSTONE OF FLORENCE. CHROMEEXTENSION://EFAIDNBMNNNIBPCAJPCGLCLEFIND MKAJ/HTTPS://DIGITALREPOSITORY.TRINCOLL.EDU /CGI/VIEWCONTENT.CGI? ARTICLE=1027&CONTEXT=FYPAPERS#:~:TEXT=TH E%20CATHEDRAL%20OF%20FLORENCE%20SYMB OLIZED,HEAVY%20URBANIZATION%20OF%20THE% 20AREA. MAGRINI, G. (N.D.). THE DOME OF SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE. SCIENTIFIC ITINERARIES. HTTPS://BRUNELLESCHI.IMSS.FI.IT/ITINERARIES/PLA CE/THEDOMEOFSANTAMARIAFIORE.HTML#:~:TEXT =THE%20DOME%20OF%20SANTA%20MARIA%20D EL%20FIORE&TEXT=ONE%20OF%20THE%20MOST %20SIGNIFICANT,FOR%20THE%20LANTERN)%20IN %201436.

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FIN.