To this day, over 550 years after its construction, the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral remains a proudly cherished national treasure of the Italians, attracting tourists from all over the world to gaze upon its magnificence in person.
What a beautifully uplifting story and piece you wrote here Cynthia!! Many, many thanks for this! So much appreciated in times of general dispair but also how appropriate this story is for the Advent time, wating for the birth of Christ we celebrate here in some tucked away corners of Europe as Christmas.
Wishing you a beatifull and blessed Christmas too!
Wonderfully written,obviously well researched!! May l humbly add, as far l know his training and Forte, was as a jeweler!! So, from the micro to the macro was itself a leap of faith. However for myself as an artist this also is 8a testament to unimpeded creativity! That is to say if the Academies were there to prevail he would have been restrained!
CAVEAT included, the formation of the academies did have major benefits also.
Vasari is noted to say, "a worker works with his hands, an artisan with hands and mind, an artist works with his hands,mind,and ❤️ Heart!!
Wow! This is so interesting and inspiring and daring! I was already aware of part of the story, about the necessity to invent the process of creating the dome without support lumber underneath it. But I did not realize that they had “jumped first and sewed the parachute on the way down.” They had counted on the unfathomable appearance of a solution beyond the limits of their current abilities based on something fundamental about the Human/Divine Play. So inspiring! And the synergy between the arts of Poetry, Engineering, Sculpture, and Architecture revitalizing the culture, raising everyone, when the “chips were down.” What a great lesson for today, when it sometimes seems that all is lost to the parasites that are besetting Humanity.
So fascinating but the reasons for the darkness of the day with War, Fantasy Financials, is our challenge to overcome today so celebration of this inspiration has a ensured future.
Understanding is possible reading the history by Cynthia.
Most fascinating and insightful commentary. Thank you! Inductive-Deductive, (bipolar) reasoning was not sufficient to erect such self supporting structure, without massive wood scaffolding, (which was not in sufficient in supply in Italy). A faith in hypothesizing on a higher hypothesis, based in a universal principle was necessitated. The self supporting catenary “dome within a dome” proved not only a solution as to an engineering and architectural feat, but a spiritual and cultural one as well. To wit; Nicholas of Cusa concurrently conceived of the Council of Florence and “De docta ignorancia”, Imago Viva Dei and Capax Dei proof of principle and revelations’. This not only laid the spiritual and cultural foundations for the Golden Renaissance, but provides a pathway out of the existential crisis looming today, via a principled “dome within a dome”, multi-polar world reality, founded upon a harmony of interests, and community of principle amongst sovereign nations.
I visited the Dome and walked its steps. Florence is a unique Gothic city like no other. There's an inexplicable soul to the genius of Florence that pulls you in.
Your work always encourages me to reach further into the possibilities of our times ... that it is in our nature to participate in the Divine is a reminder well placed in this season
Thank you for being a beacon of that which is truly good
A timely article for me! After decades of wanting to see the Dome I finally did last month. It is incredible - as is Florence and the story of the Medici. I was stunned by what I learned and wondered if Cynthia and Matt have been to Florence and had looked into the Medici - I’d love to hear your take on them and how they used art and artists to project wealth and power. I have never seen such wealth on display.
Unfortunately we have not yet made a visit to Florence, we hope to this coming year. As for the Medicis, neither myself nor Matt have done a focused study on them, but it seems they were a mixed bag, however, one cannot deny that they did do a lot of good. It is a subject that I would like to take the time to study deeply but won't have time until I finish some more pressing projects. Do you have any thoughts you'd like to share on the matter?
The one thing that caught my eye (it could be completely innocent - but deserves investigation) is that the last of the male Medici’s was buried along with 8 infants. Here’s the exact words of the information panel next to his altar:
“Giangastone (1671-1737), the last Medici Grand Duke, was buried in an underground crypt behind the altar which was only rediscovered along with the bodies of eight infants in 2004.”.
I really hope you both go, the amount of stunningly beautiful art is staggering and I found myself running out of ‘art appreciation’ far too early in the day. So, pace yourselves. It was one of the Medici women who convinced the men to donate the Medici art collection to Florence with the stipulation that it never leave or get sold. As you said, they did some good.
Fascinating article, thank you. But let's not forget the brilliant mind of Michaelangelo who also lived in Florence during the same years as Da Vinci. Between his poetry, paintings, sculptures, architecture - responsible for the Vatican as we know it today - he was perhaps the most brilliant.
What a beautifully uplifting story and piece you wrote here Cynthia!! Many, many thanks for this! So much appreciated in times of general dispair but also how appropriate this story is for the Advent time, wating for the birth of Christ we celebrate here in some tucked away corners of Europe as Christmas.
Wishing you a beatifull and blessed Christmas too!
Kind regards to you both from Janos, in Basel
Wonderfully written,obviously well researched!! May l humbly add, as far l know his training and Forte, was as a jeweler!! So, from the micro to the macro was itself a leap of faith. However for myself as an artist this also is 8a testament to unimpeded creativity! That is to say if the Academies were there to prevail he would have been restrained!
CAVEAT included, the formation of the academies did have major benefits also.
Vasari is noted to say, "a worker works with his hands, an artisan with hands and mind, an artist works with his hands,mind,and ❤️ Heart!!
Wow! This is so interesting and inspiring and daring! I was already aware of part of the story, about the necessity to invent the process of creating the dome without support lumber underneath it. But I did not realize that they had “jumped first and sewed the parachute on the way down.” They had counted on the unfathomable appearance of a solution beyond the limits of their current abilities based on something fundamental about the Human/Divine Play. So inspiring! And the synergy between the arts of Poetry, Engineering, Sculpture, and Architecture revitalizing the culture, raising everyone, when the “chips were down.” What a great lesson for today, when it sometimes seems that all is lost to the parasites that are besetting Humanity.
So fascinating but the reasons for the darkness of the day with War, Fantasy Financials, is our challenge to overcome today so celebration of this inspiration has a ensured future.
Understanding is possible reading the history by Cynthia.
Different challenges for different ages!
Most fascinating and insightful commentary. Thank you! Inductive-Deductive, (bipolar) reasoning was not sufficient to erect such self supporting structure, without massive wood scaffolding, (which was not in sufficient in supply in Italy). A faith in hypothesizing on a higher hypothesis, based in a universal principle was necessitated. The self supporting catenary “dome within a dome” proved not only a solution as to an engineering and architectural feat, but a spiritual and cultural one as well. To wit; Nicholas of Cusa concurrently conceived of the Council of Florence and “De docta ignorancia”, Imago Viva Dei and Capax Dei proof of principle and revelations’. This not only laid the spiritual and cultural foundations for the Golden Renaissance, but provides a pathway out of the existential crisis looming today, via a principled “dome within a dome”, multi-polar world reality, founded upon a harmony of interests, and community of principle amongst sovereign nations.
I loved your statement, encompassing that wider "out of the box" much needed approach, that l tried to hint at in my humble comment. 👏 Bravo
Nice article. Keep up the good work.
I visited the Dome and walked its steps. Florence is a unique Gothic city like no other. There's an inexplicable soul to the genius of Florence that pulls you in.
Your work always encourages me to reach further into the possibilities of our times ... that it is in our nature to participate in the Divine is a reminder well placed in this season
Thank you for being a beacon of that which is truly good
It’s a killer of a climb, but an amazing view of Florence for those who make it.
A timely article for me! After decades of wanting to see the Dome I finally did last month. It is incredible - as is Florence and the story of the Medici. I was stunned by what I learned and wondered if Cynthia and Matt have been to Florence and had looked into the Medici - I’d love to hear your take on them and how they used art and artists to project wealth and power. I have never seen such wealth on display.
Unfortunately we have not yet made a visit to Florence, we hope to this coming year. As for the Medicis, neither myself nor Matt have done a focused study on them, but it seems they were a mixed bag, however, one cannot deny that they did do a lot of good. It is a subject that I would like to take the time to study deeply but won't have time until I finish some more pressing projects. Do you have any thoughts you'd like to share on the matter?
The one thing that caught my eye (it could be completely innocent - but deserves investigation) is that the last of the male Medici’s was buried along with 8 infants. Here’s the exact words of the information panel next to his altar:
“Giangastone (1671-1737), the last Medici Grand Duke, was buried in an underground crypt behind the altar which was only rediscovered along with the bodies of eight infants in 2004.”.
I really hope you both go, the amount of stunningly beautiful art is staggering and I found myself running out of ‘art appreciation’ far too early in the day. So, pace yourselves. It was one of the Medici women who convinced the men to donate the Medici art collection to Florence with the stipulation that it never leave or get sold. As you said, they did some good.
Fascinating article, thank you. But let's not forget the brilliant mind of Michaelangelo who also lived in Florence during the same years as Da Vinci. Between his poetry, paintings, sculptures, architecture - responsible for the Vatican as we know it today - he was perhaps the most brilliant.