Hi all,
The cathedral in Florence, Italy (Italians call a cathedral, a duomo [or dome] ) is one of the prettiest, most amazing buildings in the world. It was started in the year 1296 and then the architect (Arnolfo di Cambio) died and no one could figure out how to build the huge dome necessary to finish it! Then in 1436 (!) Filippo Brunelleschi finally figured it out and finished it. He knew that a dome so large would be too heavy to stay up so he built two domes (one inside the other) that help each other stay up. As an added plus, you can walk up a stairway in between the two dome to the top!
It was, until modern times, the largest dome in the world and is still the largest brick dome!
The building next to the Duomo (the Bapistry) has fantastic huge bronze doors that honor all the animals used to construct the Duomo. Remember it took 140 years !!
The Florentines are very proud of the Duomo and the plaza around it it now a car free zone (like it was in 1436?)
The cathedral in the center of Paris, France is called Notre Dame Cathedral (Our Lady Cathedral) and it's not as pretty but very impressive. It was started in 1163 AD and mostly finished by 1345 ! (it is 660 years old! Think about that if you climb to the top of the tower (over 400 steps!) After the French Revolution it was used as an armory and for food storage and then was scheduled to be torn down, but then Victor Hugo wrote "the Hunchback of Notre Dame" and people decided to save it!
Both churches are built in the gothic style (roof is held up by laterally supported walls) but are very different none the less and something you won't forget.
Love,
Papa
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