Rodney Campbell's Blog

Consisting of two interconnected ogival shells, the cathedral’s octagonal dome was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi.

A masterpiece capable of withstanding lightning, earthquakes and the passage of time, it continues to enchant all those who observe it from afar. The dome has a diameter of 45.5 metres.

Brunelleschi’s astonishingly innovative approach involved vaulting the dome space without any scaffolding by using a double shell with a space in between. The inner shell (with a thickness of more than two metres) is made of light bricks set in a herringbone pattern and is the self-supporting structural element while the outer dome simply serves as a heavier, wind-resistant covering.

Climbing the Duomo

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 16 mm, 1/15 sec at f/5.6, ISO 5000

If you wish to visit the various Duomo sites you will need to purchase a ticket online. The fairly expensive €15 ticket allows you access to each of the locations including the Church of Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo), Brunelleschi’s Dome, the Baptistery, Giotto’s Bell Tower, the Crypt of Santa Reparata and the Opera Museum.

The queues for entry were insanely long so we only used our tickets to climb the bell tower and the dome.

Thankfully you can book an entry time for the dome climb online so I picked 4:15PM with the expectation that we’d be at the top before sunset (which was 4:50PM) and we could view the city in late afternoon light, watch the sunset and then see the city in twilight as night fell, before heading back down.

Unfortunately what I hadn’t factored in was just how insanely slow it is to make your way to the top. Essentially the way up is the same as the way down. There are many points where the corridor is extremely narrow, so people are queuing or backtracking inside waiting for people coming the other way.

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

The Dome Within

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 16 mm, 1/15 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200

The inner shell of the dome was frescoed by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari from 1572 to 1579.

Nearly There

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 16 mm, 1/15 sec at f/5.6, ISO 7200

463 steps later we actually made it to the top a few minutes after scheduled sunset. The view from the top however is spectacular.

Giotto’s Bell Tower

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 16 mm, 1/15 sec at f/7.1, ISO 200

When you’re inside the tower there are a number of spots where you have these windows looking out.

Top of the Dome

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 35 mm, 1/160 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100

Sometimes the windows are very small so the view is very constrained. Time to create some very deep picture frames.

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Inside Out

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 16 mm, 1/125 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100

Windows

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 16 mm, 1/60 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100

Giotto’s bell tower is one of the four principal monuments on the Piazza del Duomo.

84.7 metres tall and approximately 15 metres in breadth, it is the most eloquent example of 14th century Gothic architecture in Florence, combining a strong vertical thrust with the principle of sound solidity, its corner buttresses rising the full length of the tower to the projecting terrace at the top.

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 35 mm, 1/250 sec at f/8, ISO 100

Clad in white, red and green marble like the cathedral adjacent to it, the majestic square bell tower, considered to be the most beautiful campanile in Italy and probably designed more for decorative than for functional purposes, was begun by Giotto in 1334.

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Louise waited in the queue to climb the tower for… well lets just say it was somewhere between one and two hours.

It is 414 steps to the top – so brace yourself for a fairly strenuous climb.

Duomo from the Belltower

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 100 mm, 1/400 sec at f/8, ISO 100

The view from the top is of course pretty good. However there’s a metal mesh fence all around the top which significantly restricts your view and makes taking photographs very difficult.

If you are pressed for time in Florence and need to choose either climbing the Duomo dome or Giotto’s Campanile then definitely do the Duomo. The view there is better and uninterrupted, even if it is more crowded and the climb up is more tedious.

Firenze

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 70 mm, 1/320 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100

Within the Belltower

NIKON D750 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 16 mm, 1/40 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100

We visited a couple of the city markets in the morning including the San Lorenzo Market and a local leather market.

The Leather Market

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 28 mm, 1/30 sec at f/8, ISO 360

Right next to the Duomo and near our apartment is the Firenze Magnum Pleasure Store. Here you can design and build your own custom Magnum ice cream. We’d actually tried coming here the previous day but alas it was closed when we arrived.

Design your own Magnum

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 28 mm, 1/30 sec at f/5.6, ISO 140

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Taste

NIKON D750 + 28.0-300.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 55 mm, 1/60 sec at f/7.1, ISO 720

Sunrise behind the Duomo was coming – it had been raining overnight so the cobblestone streets were still wet and glossy.

Dawn at the Duomo

NIKON D750 + 13.0 mm f/2.8 @ 13 mm, 1.6 sec at f/8, ISO 100

The streets were almost completely empty at this time – which was extremely unusual – during the day these streets are absolutely packed with incredibly long lines which snake all over the square. It could easily take over an hour to progress in the queue to the entry to each of the various historical sites of the Duomo.

Very late at night and early in the morning are the only times you’re going to have the place this empty.

Christmas Wishes

NIKON D750 + 13.0 mm f/2.8 @ 13 mm, 1/2 sec at f/8, ISO 100

As I was still out very early (relative to sunrise) I stuck with the super wide Laowa 12mm, filters weren’t required.

NIKON D750 + 13.0 mm f/2.8 @ 13 mm, 1 sec at f/8, ISO 100

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Duomo Rise

NIKON D750 + 13.0 mm f/2.8 @ 13 mm, 1/13 sec at f/8, ISO 100

The Baptistry of San Giovanni (looming in on the right), is one of the most ancient churches in Florence. It sits opposite the city’s cathedral, the church of Santa Maria del Fiore.

Octagonal in plan, it is totally clad in slabs of white Carrara and green Prato marble. It is covered by a dome of eight segments resting on perimetral walls, but the dome cannot be detected from the outside because it is concealed by the walls being raised above the arcade on the second level and crowned by a flattened pyramidal roof.

The Baptistry

NIKON D750 + 13.0 mm f/2.8 @ 13 mm, 1/2 sec at f/11, ISO 50