Places of Worship: Duomo di Firenze

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Fazal Ahmad, London, UK

Location: Florence, Italy

Belief: Christianity

Era: 1436 CE

One of the most famous churches in Florence is the Duomo, a Renaissance church designed by the architect Filippo Brunelleschi and now known as the Cathedral of Firenze (Florence). Construction began in 1296 CE, and it took 140 years to complete.

Originally, a church was consecrated here in 393 CE by St Ambrose of Milan, not long after Emperor Constantine had established Christianity as the official faith of the Roman Empire. Over the centuries, however, the church had become too small and had fallen into disrepair. 

In the early stages of the reconstruction, many prominent people, including Italian painter and architect Giotto, were involved in supervising the works. This process took a long time and was even halted in 1348 CE due to the Black Death pandemic. One of the cathedral’s most prominent paintings, for example, depicts the Last Supper.

At the time of its construction, Europe had been experiencing the Dark Ages of ignorance for many centuries before the Renaissance. However, Muslims in Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East were the catalysts for change, inspiring a cultural and scientific revolution inspired by the Qur’an through their study, universities, and cultural and scientific revolution. Their translations and commentaries kept Greek philosophy alive and reacquainted Christian Europe with ancient philosophy.

Florence was central to the rise of Christian humanism. First, Plethon revived interest in the works of Plato and Socrates (as). From 1462 CE, Marsilio Ficino, under the patronage of Cosimo de Medici, translated the Greek texts of Plato into Latin.[1] In understanding the concept of the soul, Ficino drew parallels between the philosophies of the Greeks, Egyptians, Jews and Zoroastrians. His contemporary, Giovanni Pico, went further in recognising the contributions of Judaism and Islam, but in the process, he was declared a heretic by the Catholic Church.[2] In the decades to follow, Christians in Florence would study the works of Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd. 

Although not visible from the outside, the Duomo actually has a double dome, constructed between 1420 to 1436 CE. The outer dome has a diameter of 55 metres, while the inner one is 46 metres. There are 463 steps between the two domes leading up to the lantern. Much of the architecture of the city bears the influence of Islamic architecture including domes, bell towers borrowing from minarets, narrow alleys creating a cool environment, and even some of the artwork.

The entire complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and it possesses the largest brick dome ever constructed. 

ENDNOTES

1. D. Chidester, Christianity – A Global History (London, UK: Penguin Books, 2001), 322. 

2. Ibid, 325.