A visit to the attic of the Duomo

Photographs and text by Marc Levoy
October 30, 1998

Several of the students who worked on Professor Marc Levoy's Digital Michelangelo Project also took (or audited) Timothy Verdon's Art History 112, entitled "The Duomo and Piazza della Signoria." By recounting the history of these two buildings, which constitute the religious and civic centers of Florence, respectively, Professor Verdon tells the history of the city and of the civilization that built it. The course was offered through the Stanford Overseas Studies Center in Florence. The topic for today's class is the construction of the nave of the Duomo, also known as Santa Maria del Fiore. With Prof. Verdon's permission, I tagged along, toting my digital camera.

If you stand in the Piazza del Duomo and look up at the southern flank of the cathedral, you will see an elegant marble cornice surmounted by a balustrade. Behind this balustrade is a walkway, not open to the public, that completely encircles the building. It is here that our tour begins.

Looking the other way along this walkway we see the bell tower or Campanile, designed by Giotto (1266-1337), continued by Andrea Pisano (1290-1349), and completed by Francesco Talenti (1325-1369). To the right of the walkway is the roof of the south aisle of the cathedral and the wall of the nave.

Walking west along the walkway, we soon come to the Campanile. At this point the class stops to hear Professor Verdon (at center, wearing a beret) describe the history of the building of the cathedral.

Continuing to the west end of the nave and passing briefly along the main facade, we pass through a narrow doorway and into the interior of the cathedral. At this point we are about 30 meters above the ground, just below the springing of the vaults. The ceiling of the nave, designed by Arnolfo di Cambio (1245-1302) and enlarged by Francesco Talenti, consists of four gigantic bays roughly square in shape and measuring 18 meters from pier to pier. Each bay is spanned by a groin vault, the largest constructed in medieval Europe. We will soon see these vaults again from above. A balcony can be seen running around the nave at this level. We walk a complete circuit on this balcony.

After returning to the west end of the cathedral, we climb another set of stairs and enter the attic above the nave. The massive beams in the foreground, which support the tile roof above, are original. This makes them over 600 years old. Behind the class is the back of the main facade of the church.

Turning around, we see what is undoubtedly the highlight of the tour - a line of massive humps, one for each of the tremendous groin vaults that span the nave. The masonry of these vaults, consisting of brickwork covered by a layer of mortar, is more than a meter thick.

The obscurity of the attic is broken here and there by small windows. These openings provide ventilation for the structure and allow the wind, which can be terrific at this height, to pass at least partially unopposed through the walls.

Walking gingerly across the vaults, which are dusty and slippery, we come to the eastern end of the nave. The vaulting above this bay is reinforced by ribbing, visible in front of the class. This ribbing helps resist the lateral forces exerted by the immense dome, which lies just behind the wall at left.

As a final flourish, Professor Verdon takes us to the top of the main facade, which falls away almost 50 meters to the ground on the left side of this small balcony.

Looking down from this height we see the Baptistry with its famous doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455), here being admired by crowds of tourists on a brisk October day.

Looking back across our shoulder, we catch a final glimpse of the roof of the nave whose attic we were just inside. Looming in the background is the magnificent dome and lantern by Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446). The dome will be the topic of a later class.

Some of the people in the class

	Top to bottom: Ephraim Luft, Unnur Gretarsdottir, and Chris Jones.
	At bottom, left to right: Jeremy Ginsberg and Matt Ginzton. At top, left to right: Zoja Deretic, Stacy Wagner, Sheili Chanani, and Lyndsey Darrow.
	Front row, left to right: Rachel Salberg (bottom-left corner), Josh Schroeder, Dana Katter, Corey Wanger, Margaret Monge, Steven Perez, Gina Rafanelli, and Sheila Chanani.
	Professor Timothy Verdon

These photographs were taken with an Olympus D600L digital camera.

levoy@cs.stanford.edu

	If you stand in the Piazza del Duomo and look up at the southern flank of the cathedral, you will see an elegant marble cornice surmounted by a balustrade. Behind this balustrade is a walkway, not open to the public, that completely encircles the building. It is here that our tour begins.
	Looking the other way along this walkway we see the bell tower or Campanile, designed by Giotto (1266-1337), continued by Andrea Pisano (1290-1349), and completed by Francesco Talenti (1325-1369). To the right of the walkway is the roof of the south aisle of the cathedral and the wall of the nave.
	Walking west along the walkway, we soon come to the Campanile. At this point the class stops to hear Professor Verdon (at center, wearing a beret) describe the history of the building of the cathedral.
	Continuing to the west end of the nave and passing briefly along the main facade, we pass through a narrow doorway and into the interior of the cathedral. At this point we are about 30 meters above the ground, just below the springing of the vaults. The ceiling of the nave, designed by Arnolfo di Cambio (1245-1302) and enlarged by Francesco Talenti, consists of four gigantic bays roughly square in shape and measuring 18 meters from pier to pier. Each bay is spanned by a groin vault, the largest constructed in medieval Europe. We will soon see these vaults again from above. A balcony can be seen running around the nave at this level. We walk a complete circuit on this balcony.
	After returning to the west end of the cathedral, we climb another set of stairs and enter the attic above the nave. The massive beams in the foreground, which support the tile roof above, are original. This makes them over 600 years old. Behind the class is the back of the main facade of the church.
	Turning around, we see what is undoubtedly the highlight of the tour - a line of massive humps, one for each of the tremendous groin vaults that span the nave. The masonry of these vaults, consisting of brickwork covered by a layer of mortar, is more than a meter thick.
	The obscurity of the attic is broken here and there by small windows. These openings provide ventilation for the structure and allow the wind, which can be terrific at this height, to pass at least partially unopposed through the walls.
	Walking gingerly across the vaults, which are dusty and slippery, we come to the eastern end of the nave. The vaulting above this bay is reinforced by ribbing, visible in front of the class. This ribbing helps resist the lateral forces exerted by the immense dome, which lies just behind the wall at left.
	As a final flourish, Professor Verdon takes us to the top of the main facade, which falls away almost 50 meters to the ground on the left side of this small balcony.
	Looking down from this height we see the Baptistry with its famous doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455), here being admired by crowds of tourists on a brisk October day.
	Looking back across our shoulder, we catch a final glimpse of the roof of the nave whose attic we were just inside. Looming in the background is the magnificent dome and lantern by Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446). The dome will be the topic of a later class.