Stairway to Heaven – J-term Abroad: Roman Structures, Engineering & Society
Field Trips!

Stairway to Heaven

Hello from Florence! We just wrapped up our first full day in this beautiful city. Seriously, prepare yourself for some of these views! Before we get to that, let’s start at the beginning of our day.

First thing after breakfast, we gathered in a meeting room to hear Professor Roberto Corazzi speak on the Filippo Brunelleschi and his engineering strategy and design of the Duomo of Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. The Florence Cathedral began construction in 1296 and was completed in 1436, a period of 140 years. The reason for the long delay was the cathedral dome, called the Duomo, was the largest dome ever built.

Brunelleschi suggested an octagon drum, thus directing the weight on to the massive piers. Without the need to center the dome, it was constructed similarly to an arch with straight sections of the dome’s panels as flat arches between the main ribs (this angle was about 4 degrees). We also learned all about the importance of the herringbone brick pattern in stabilizing the structure and reducing thrust.

After learning all about Brunelleschi and the construction of the Duomo, we headed into the heart of Florence. We stopped at Galleria Dell Accademia to see the Michelangelo’s famous statue of David. This Renaissance masterpiece was created between 1501 and 1504. It is a 17-foot tall statue of solid Carrara marble. How interesting! (Many of us are experiencing severe Gino withdrawals, so please excuse the excessive use of his phrases and any pictures with his face photoshopped into them.)

By 2:00 pm, we had set foot inside the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. Only some of us were aware of the 463 stairs that needed to be climbed in order to reach the top of the Duomo (maybe that was a good thing). It was quite the hike! Steep, concrete spiral staircases seemed to never end, but we finally made it to the top. It was absolutely breathtaking! Incredibly far from the ground, super crowded, and very windy, our experience caused a bit of anxiety for those afraid of heights, but we all survived. A group of us even ate some chocolate as we enjoyed a bird’s eye view of Florence!

Afterwards, we had the rest of the afternoon to ourselves. A group of us went to an Italian pub with a great collection of vinyl records called Move On. It was a blast!

An even smaller group of us spontaneously chose to climb the 414 stairs to the top of the bell tower right before sunset. What an amazing view! (See picture at the top of the page for the picture of city and sunset from the bell tower.) We even had the treat of hearing the bell ring while we were still inside!

It was an incredible day! We’re off to Sienna and San Gimignano tomorrow! Be sure to check back for our wine tasting adventure!

 

 

 

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