On November 14, 2017, checks began on the outermost parts of Brunelleschi’s Dome. The monitoring is being conducted by skilled construction workers accustomed to checking the highest parts of famous monuments. Attached to ropes, the experts climbed from the bottom of the lantern up to a height of more than 100 metres.
Luca Bagnoli, president of the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, the organization that protects, promotes and maintains the Florence cathedral complex, explained, “It is a spectacular method that enables the roof of the cupola to be checked by hand.”
Meanwhile, a massive crane with a 135-metre-long arm is being assembled in piazza del Duomo. Once erected, workers will be raised to the top of Giotto’s Bell Tower to check the condition of the “pennone”, the wooden cross on the very top of the campanile. Scheduled to begin on Monday, November 13, work was postponed due to bad weather.
The work on Brunelleschi’s Cupola and Giotto’s Bell Tower will continue over the next few days.
These measures are part of the monitoring of the outer walls of the monuments comprising Florence Cathedral, conducted across approximately 40,000 square meters of marble surfaces. The aim is to identify areas in need of repair and to plan restoration campaigns accordingly.
