Synopsis

The dome crowning Florence’s magnificent cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore—the Duomo—remains a towering testament to Renaissance ingenuity and an enduring enigma. Even after more than six centuries, it is the largest masonry dome in the world, surpassing the Statue of Liberty in height and weighing as much as a typical cruise ship. For generations, historians and engineers have pondered how Filippo Brunelleschi, the dome’s enigmatic architect, maintained its perfect alignment and symmetry as th