The one with Brunelleschi's Dome

I just finished reading a book by Ross King about the unbelievable magnificence which is Il Duomo in Florence Italy: Brunelleschi's Dome.

In order to get from my apartment to the University were I was studying, I was privelaged to walk through Piazza Duomo several times a day. Many times the Piazza was littered with tourists, with which I became very agitated since they were unaware of their surroundings simply staring upward in utter awe. It is to this day the largest dome constructed in the classical manner; as much as I could easily get upset, on those rare occasions when I would stroll through & be the only person int he Piazza, I couldn't deny how breathtaking a sight it was. It is perfection of architecture: lacking & needing nothing at all to instill a great sense of wonder within you.

Simply reading about a facet of the city I know so well & long for, initially drove me to read the book; however, there were many interesting points to be found within it, both on cultural & historical notes.

"Hoping to make a name for themselves, these new inhabitatnts of Babylonia took it upon themselves to found a great city named Babel, "the gate of God": "And they said, Go to, let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unton heaven"." (100). The Story of the founding of Babylon is quite funny when you consider its consequences, & the ensuing etemology of the word Babel. This word eventually found its way into the 2006 bomb of a movie "Babel" which was more horrifically awkward than anything else. Still I found it's allusion a good forumn on which to think, & I appreciate the author's reference of it espceically when considering the scope of Fioravanti's vision.

Other allusions I enjoyed include one to Dante's Devine Comedy: the buliding of the dome was described as "di giro in giro" or "circle by circle", which was a phrase Dante used to describe the levels of both Paradise & Hell. I find the notion of the encircling, or rather leading to deeper & more profound truths quite intoxicating. I also LOVE the parallel used near the end of the book to describe how being within the dome brings "tranquility of the soul" 164; walking through the pristinely quiet Bisilica brings to mind "grace under pressure", what a beautifully fitting analogy for such a magnificent triumph.

Filippo Brunelleschi brought to life a vision which has yet to be surpassed nearly 600 years later, his masterpiece inspires all forms of Ingegno (Genius) & is a vision which will forever permeate my psyche.