1st year in Florence & A Tribute to the Duomo of Florence

             I had just passed my one year mark staying in this beautiful city on 30 April 2013. As I think back to that one year ago where I first landed, I reflected on people I have met, places I have been, what I have learned. It had been a positive and productive year. I'm a little of a Bohemian now, not knowing what's on next year, where I'd be and just taking things one step at a time. But I am happy. Living with less, but also with more. Living out of the security of predictability, yet not totally boundless like no tomorrow.

          How can I express my joy and gratitude to a city I have come to live and love? This one year calls for a little way to mark its significance to me. Perhaps the best I can do not is to pay a small tribute to the city of Florence, starting from one of it's many remarkable icons, the main Cathedral of the Duomo.

      "Duomo" simply means the main cathedral of the city. Hence every Italian city has only one duomo. Florence's main cathedral has the full name of Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore or in English means Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower. Its entire construction is labelled with huge names from the Renaissance period. Brunelleschi's cupola or dome, Giotto's campanile or bell tower, the astronomical clock at the entrance of the church interior designed by Paolo Uccello as well as the frescoes of Giorgio Vasari.

           I had done a series of 8 sketches on the cathedral, the baptistery as well as the bell tower.

         Here's my latest sketch, approaching from Via del Proconsolo. I take this road every weekend on my way to work, but as I am usually in a hurry, I hardly have time to stop and appreciate it properly. It is a re-sketch from the same angle done exactly one year ago on 14 May 2012. I had not realized till I looked at the photo of my old sketch again (which is no longer with me now).

 View from Via Pronconsolo, the path I always take when going to Piazza della Signoria. 

Too dark and perspective of dome is a little off.

        This was my very first glimpse on the icon of Florence, its enormity slowly looming into full view as I approached it with caution from Via de' Cerratani. There are so many details and nothing I've ever seen before that it sent shivers down my spine. I was barely 24 hours in the cradle of the Renaissance and never in my life even know what the word Renaissance means. It was just too much to take in at first sight. 

Giotto's Campanile

          Giotto's campanile is a free standing bell tower. Its polychrome marble is very rich in sculptural decorations, of which, many of the originals are currently housed in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence. What we see on the bell tower today are replicates made to withstand the elements of nature.  Worth mentioning are the sculptural panels on the lowest two rows which consist of hexagonal panels and lozenges. I always knew lozenges as cough drops for a sore throat, but the actually meaning is a rhombus or diamond shape. The panels and lozenges depict biblical contents from the Book of Genesis, representations of the mechanical arts, creative arts, liberal arts, as well as the theological and cardinal virtues.

 

This sketch was my first attempt at the Duomo. I rather like the perspective of it, focusing on the bell tower rather than the dome. I think it was the 10th sketch after starting on this new interest.

Brunelleschi's Dome

            The ingenuity of Brunelleschi provided the city of Florence with a dome that had been missing for almost a century after the cathedral's construction. With it's massiveness, there weren't sufficient timber in Tuscany to construct its scaffolding and Brunelleschi had to consult the great dome of the Pantheon in Rome for solutions. The Florentines were really looking to build their own unique city as buttresses, a very Gothic architectural feature were forbidden to be used in supporting structures. Besides considering them as "ugly", buttresses were a style favoured in northern Italy, then considered the enemies of central Italy.

                              On the north side, approaching Via dell'Oriuolo, the path that leads to the public library.

  Sketch done from the public library or Oblate of Florence with a terrace that boast a magnificent view of the Duomo. 
Not easy to concentrate on what you have to study with such a view. Better to take a place indoors.

 

The Façade

         Only completed in 1887, the neo-gothic façade or facciata was designed to be in harmony with the bell tower. It had a turbulent and scandalous history and for a long period, the Florence Cathedral had to stand without a face. The entire façade is dedicated to the Mother of Christ.

       

 The one angle outside a cafe where I can capture the all 3 features - façade, baptistery and bell tower. Overcrowding of the sketch with all three together, but challenging to get the perspective right. Bell tower done with pencil to give it a lighter tone.

The Baptistery

       As its name says Battistero di San Giovanni or Baptistery of St. John, this octogonal building is attributed to the patron saint of the city of Florence. In June, the city celebrates the day of the patron saint, with fireworks along the River Arno. Instead of being clad in polychrome of white, green and pink like the façade and bell tower, it is in bi-chrome of green and white. It is famed for its Gates of Paradise by Ghiberti, and a breathtaking mosaic ceiling in Byzantine style that depicts stories from the Book of Genesis, stories of Joseph; stories of Mary and the Christ and finally in the lower tier  - stories of Saint John the Baptist.

View from Via dei Pecori. Wanted to focus just on the baptistery, hence just an impression of the façade

          I hope to approach this magnificent architecture from different angles. There are many streets radiating out from the piazza itself and each boast a different view of the cathedral. That shall be my priority when the Tuscan sun is ready to show its face again.