L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS To win the competition, Brunelleschi built a model more than 2 meters wide and 4 meters high. He used 49 carts full of limestone and m o r e t h a n 5 0 0 0 b r i c k s . Before getting to work, he s t u d i e d t h e r u i n s o f t h e ancient imperial city of Rome: from the Pantheon (with its dome resting on an internal diameter of 43.44 m e t e r s ) , t o t h e B a t h s o f Trajan and the temple of Minerva Medica. The intui- t i o n c a m e f r o m t h e Pantheon: to stand up, a dome must be hemispheri- cal. How could he do the same in Florence, given that dimensions, materials and t e c h n i q u e s d i d n o t a l l o w such a solution? First of all, Brunelleschi "emptied out" the cupola: with two calottes only, the structure became lighter (a " f u l l " c u p o l a w o u l d h a v e b e e n e x c e s s i v e l y h e a v y ) . Then, he rested the external " p r o t e c t i v e " d o m e o n a n i n t e r n a l " l o a d - b e a r i n g " dome with a thickness that could accommodate circular rings inside, which acted like circles around a barrel. In other words, Brunelleschi built a hemispherical dome within the walls of the main dome. To this first intuition he added a formidable series of innovations and static cal- culations of vertical loads a n d h o r i z o n t a l t h r u s t s , strength and traction of the material. The result is 600 y e a r s o l d a n d s t i l l h o l d s m a n y s e c r e t s t h a t Brunelleschi never noted on paper. The cathedral was conse- c r a t e d i n M a r c h 1 4 3 6 , with the solemn blessing of P o p e E u g e n e I V . F i v e months later, the outside of the cupola was completed. On 31 August the bishop of Fiesole climbed to the top of it and blessed the work by laying its last stone. The ban- q u e t o f c e l e b r a t i o n t o o k place with the bells of all Florentine churches ringing in unison. The masterpiece was ready to put on a show for centuries to come. The brilliant Florentine architect built his creation on a pre-existing octagonal support, a drum placed 54 meters above the ground, completed with about fifty huge beams inside 4 to 5 meter deep pontoon holes. On the beams, he laid planks to create a working platform suspended in the air. In the m i d d l e , a c r a n e t o c a r r y materials and workers to the top. In spite of skepticism, the cupola became a reality, little by little, under the eyes of all. Giorgio Vasari says that when Michelangelo left for Rome to work on St. Peter's he said, while looking qt Santa Maria del Fiore's cupola: "I'm going to Rome to create your sister: bigger than you, yes, but never more beautiful." At the time, you'd build a dome by making a skeleton of wooden scaffolding, equal to the height and volume of the dome itself, on which a stone and brick vault was p l a c e d . B u t B r u n e l l e s c h i went against the grain, belie- v i n g i n h i s e x t r a v a g a n t , unprecedented ideas. And so did Cosimo the Elder, the first architect of the fortune of the Medicis. His main bet was precisely believing in that absurd project discredi- ted by all: when it finally towered over Florence, it consecrated the city to his family, a triumph for the powerful Tuscan family. It gave him fame and the trust o f p e o p l e . H e i n s p i r e d respect, he instilled a sense of power, he endowed Santa M a r i a d e l F i o r e w i t h a mighty symbol, something that made Florence itself g r e a t . T h e h u m a n i s t a n d architect L e o n B a t t i s t a A l b e r t i , i n D e P i c t u r a (1434) wrote: "The structure is so large it rises above the sky, and so wide it covers all the people of Tuscany with its shadow." A f t e r a l l , t h o u g h , t h e cupola is a child of its own times: it is the most worthy representative of an era filled with creative geniuses, from B r u n e l l e s c h i , G h i b e r t i , Donatello and Masaccio to Verrocchio, Botticelli and Ghirlandaio, up to Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and R a f f a e l l o S a n z i o . I n t h e meantime, Florence, under Lorenzo the Magnificent, b e c a m e t h e c r a d l e o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c e a n d S a n t a M a r i a d e l F i o r e , w i t h G i o t t o ' s b e l l t o w e r , Brunelleschi's dome and San Giovanni's Baptistery, is the monumental symbol of it. The figure of the modern a r c h i t e c t w a s b o r n w i t h Brunelleschi himself: after him, architects are no longer just master builders, perso- nally involved in all techni- cal-operational processes, n o r s i m p l e c r a f t s m e n working manually on the construction site directing all other workers, but gain a substantial role in designing their buildings, too, basing their projects on mathema- tics, geometry, engineering. But what knowledge and which techniques come into play to generate a majestic work like this? Brunelleschi lived near the cathedral's building site and, every day, he'd observe and study its machines, its organization and its complex construc- tion processes. But he was also a goldsmith and watch- maker, accustomed to rigo- rous mechanisms and small dimensions. He knew the logic of gears, he could apply the rules of levers and forces, he learned the concepts of mechanics. He used expe- rience but adapted it to cir- cumstances: not only did he manage 300 workers and the e n t i r e S a n t a M a r i a d e l Fiore's construction site with absolute determination and control — legends say —but he invented the machinery he needed. Like the cranes necessary to carry all those bricks up to the sky, where they would resist gravity but a l s o w i n d , e a r t h q u a k e s , lightning, time. T o g e t a n i d e a o f w h a t building the dome meant, l e t ' s g o b a c k t o t h o s e 3 7 thousand tons that dominate the landscape of Florence: j u s t t h i n k t h a t b l o c k s o f sandstone weighing about 770 kg had to be transported over 50 meters high and that the building site's winch lif- ted marble, bricks, stones and mortar for 12 years and an incredible total weight of 30 million kg. One of the longest, stron- gest and heaviest ropes ever made was used on the site: 182 meters long and 450 kg i n w e i g h t . B u t t h e w i n c h itself is a gem: Brunelleschi invented one of the most f a m o u s m a c h i n e s o f t h e Renaissance. It was operated by oxen always turning in the same direction, while the winch's could change thanks to a helical thread w o r m s c r e w d e v i c e . Depending on the direc- tions it moved on itself, it raised or lowered the rotor of many centimeters. In practi- ce, a single ox could lift a weight of 450 kg to a height of 60 meters in 30 minutes. These inventions were to be studied by Brunelleschi's successors, first of all by a very young Leonardo da Vinci. Building solutions that seem to keep pace with contemporary safety regula- t i o n s : f r o m a n t i - v e r t i g o scaffolding to scaffolding w i t h w a l l s t o p r e v e n t workers and material from falling. But, in all this enginee- r i n g , t h e r e a r e a l s o h a r - mony, beauty, art. The inventor of the sin- gle vanishing point per- spective, the most typical and characterizing element in the artistic representa- tions of the Renaissance, applied the classical rule of golden proportions to the dome, as was the custom at the time. The sensation you get when observing it is of great balance and harmony. T h e F l o r e n t i n e a r c h i t e c t chose a sixth acute shape, "more magnificent and crea- ting width" and a division i n t o e i g h t s e g m e n t s . T h e external dome didn't only guarantee greater protection f r o m h u m i d i t y a n d b a d weather, but could take on the aesthetic characteristics t h a t t h e O p e r a d i S a n t a Maria del Duomo expected: that is, it could be beautiful, r e g a r d l e s s o f s t r u c t u r a l needs. So it was covered with red tiles, divided by eight white r i b s . A s i m p l e c h r o m a t i c effect that, at the same time, slims the imposing structure, giving the illusion of a light skeleton which, while not having a load-bearing func- tion, makes each segment look like a stretched sail. Just like an open umbrella, its geometric pattern gives three-dimensionality to an element that becomes very recognizable in the landsca- pe. It transforms the cupola into a visual point of referen- ce, visible up to 70 km away, making it a source of pride and joy for the people, and especially for the rulers, of Florence. The clearest sign of their strength and the politi- cal importance of the city. U p i n t h e s k y , o n t h e highest point of the cupola, stands a lantern completed in 1461 on a model designed by Brunelleschi but made a f t e r h i s d e a t h ( 1 5 A p r i l 1446), and also a golden ball with the Cross by Andrea del Verrocchio. On April 5, 1492, lightning damaged the lantern. The event is read as an omen of the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent, which was to happen 3 days later, marking the end of a true golden era in history. But on that year, the begin- ning of a New World had already taken place. Continued from page 4 Santa Maria del Fiore's construction started in 1296 (Photo: Wieslaw Jarek/Dreamstime)

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