Medici - The Dome An... May 2026

He designed two domes—a thick inner shell to support the weight and a lighter outer shell to protect it from the elements.

By the early 15th century, the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral was a source of civic embarrassment. It had sat roofless for decades because no one knew how to build a dome large enough to cover its 143-foot-wide opening without the walls collapsing. Traditional Gothic flying buttresses were forbidden in Florence—they were seen as "German" and ugly. The city needed a miracle. The Medici Gamble Medici - The Dome an...

To move heavy marble hundreds of feet into the air, he invented the world’s first reversible gear hoist, powered by oxen. The Legacy He designed two domes—a thick inner shell to