1. The document provides information about Filippo Brunelleschi's dome for the Florence Cathedral constructed in the early 15th century. It describes Brunelleschi as embodying the Renaissance ideal of the intelligent, self-sufficient man and details his revolutionary octagonal, self-supporting dome design which did not require external scaffolding. 2. Brunelleschi's dome featured two layers of brick vaults placed one above the other and connected by brick ribs. The interior vault was over two meters thick to support the structure. His innovative use of bricklaying in a 'fishbone pattern' was key to the stability of the massive dome. 3. Upon completion, Brunelleschi's dome reached 114

1. Hands on CLIL
Brunelleschi’s Dome
Liceo Cicerone Formia
prof.ssa Giuseppa D’Ambra

2. Art:lesson 60 minutes each
PRESENTATION STAGE
INTRODUCTION: Slideshow
Watch the slideshow and make predictions:
What kind of building is shown
Where it is
What you can say about its shapes and colours
Symbols you can identify
Who the architect might be
http://tinyurl.com/nuguhco
After the slideshow work in pairs and compare your predictions ( TIMING: 5 minutes)

5. PRESENTATION STAGE: Vocabulary
Activity Work in pairs.
Here is a list of words you frequently find when reading an art text. Divide
them according to their correct specific area. ( TIMING: 5 minutes)
Nave, Tabernacle, Chapel, Altar, Statue,Presbytery, Luminous, Façade, Bell,
Baptismal Font, Apse, Crucifix, Wall, Church, Sober, Dome , Treaties, Self-
supporting dome, Bricks, Two spherical vaults, Lantern, Marble, Stone ,
Fishbone fashion.
ARCHITECTURE ARTIFACTS STYLE AND COMPOSITION

6. Brunelleschi's Dome
The building of the dome on Florence cathedral, by Filippo Brunelleschi, can be considered
one of the Renaissance's main building enterprises. The highest expression of a new
attitude, placing man and his abilities at the centre of the world and finding in classic
antiquity the premises for cultural rebirth after the dark Middle Ages.
Renaissance society was based on completely different values to the medieval ones of
chivalry and nobility. The new ideals were self-sufficiency, civic virtue, intelligence and
almost unlimited trust in man's abilities.
Even though the Middle Ages weren't that far away and nor could they be considered the
backward world depicted for so long, Renaissance men were aware they were different: in
less than twenty years, starting from the building of the Brunelleschi Cupola, a small group
of artists in just one city, Florence, brought about one of the most important revolutions in
cultural history, and not just Italian.

7. The figure of Brunelleschi was in tune with this new world. He perfectly incarnated the
figure of the Renaissance man, free, intelligent and trusting in the strength of his ideas. He
was the son of a wealthy Florentine Notary and had been educated in a liberal manner; from
boyhood onwards he'd shown interest in sculpture, mechanics and mathematics. To him we
owe the study of the linear prospective which up until him, had already been used, but
without precise rules of reference.
During the Renaissance period many artists felt the need to codify, to organise in treaties
that huge knowledge heritage inherited from the past, so as to work with common
reference points.
However, Brunelleschi, was not a scholar, nor even particularly well-educated. Vasari, 16th
century author of the famous 'Lives of artists', tells us that he "reasoned with practical
experience", and describes him as one of the first great technicians. He was also the first to
introduce the figure of the architect as designer and single person completely responsible
for a job: we mustn't forget that in the Middle Ages they put up complete cathedrals
without a real project, just by trusting in the experience of all those working on the site.
Works often went on for dozens, even hundreds of years making it impossible to forecast
and control all the building stages.

8. So, in 1418 when Brunelleschi won the Cathedral Vestry Board competition, to complete
the church of Santa Maria del Fiore, the work of Arnolfo di Cambio, by adding a vault, his
project was so revolutionary as to seem inconceivable. The project, even if only at the
start, invoked diffidence in those committed to it and malcontent among the workers.
The worker's strike is a famous episode: Brunelleschi fired them all on the spot and hired, in
their place, ten 'Lombards'. The workers, jobless and hurt in their pride, went back and
asked to be hired again. Brunelleschi satisfied them, but at a lower salary.
So, what did this Cupola have that was so amazing?
Brunelleschi had a brilliant idea: modeled on great Roman architecture, like the
monumental Pantheon dome, that he'd studied and redesigned as a young man; he
designed an octagonal, self-supporting dome, that didn't need a centre, built from
different materials: stone down below where the curve was minimum, for greater
resistance, and bricks above as they were lighter. Furthermore, the double pensa was
formed by two spherical vaults placed one on top of the other, the internal one more than
two meters thick and the external one just 80 centimeters.
http://www.italyguides.it/us/florence/the_dome_of_brunelleschi.htm

9. These two parallel shells are connected by brick 'spurs' and have two different functions:
the internal one is the real roofing while the external one, besides protecting from water, is
there to thicken the dome profile, making it visible from afar.
But the most talented, really brilliant idea was how the bricks were fitted into each other,
'fishbone fashion', in the way that had been used in Tuscany prior to that, but never in
similar circumstances. The secret of this colossal structure's balance lies in this
knowledgeable jointing game, making the dome a complex, but perfect mechanical
device.
Once finished, the dome was something extraordinary, never seen before.
Two years after the Cupola was finished in 1436, they added the crowning lantern in white
marble, taking the total dome height from 91 to 114 metres, a really impressive height,
and not just for that era.
Brunelleschi died in 1446 and managed to see his work practically finished, except for
some decorations added afterwards. He was always aware that he had created a unique
art and engineering masterpiece.
'It's as though the sky is envious' wrote Vasari,' as it keeps on shooting thunderbolts down
at it, believing that its height has almost exceeded the height of air'.

10. PRACTICE STAGE Questionnaire : Questions
Answer the following questions. Use also on line resources to find out your
answers. ( TIMING: 15 minutes)
1.What kind of building is it?
2.Where is it?
3.Who designed it?
4.How this church is called?
5.What kind of vault did the architect design?
6.What sort of materials were used to build the roof of the church?
7.Brunelleschi was also involved in other important projects in Florence. Which one?
8. Who was the original architect to work on the Florence cathedral?
9. What are the premises for cultural rebirth in the Renaissance?
10.How is Brunelleschi’s perspective?
11.Who wrote about Brunelleschi?
12.How is called Vasari’s text ?

11. PRACTICE STAGE Oral report
Work in groups of 3 or 4 people. Use all the answers/elements you learned from the
previous activities to describe this church. ( TIMING: 10 minutes)
PRODUCTION STAGE
Prepare a short presentation that describes Brunelleschi’s Dome about style, technique and
meaning. (Timing :10 minutes)