Approach the Duomo from via del Proconsolo and you are at what was the edge of Florence in Dante’s day. Continue towards the pollution-covered pink and green facade of the cathedral’s apse. Once past the taxi stand and the chain barrier, look for a white marble disk set into the ground.
Unimpressively small and with no sign pointing it out, it’s easy to overlook, yet it has an impressive story. On a stormy winter night of 1600, an unusually strong tempest buffeted the city and lightening struck the gilded copper sphere that had topped the cupola’s lantern since 1470. The nearly 2000-kilogram ball was set loose and rolled over the cupola and apse, hitting the ground precisely at the spot marked by the marble disk. The time of night and the heavy rains had emptied the streets, so no one was injured, but the falling sphere caused considerable damage to the cathedral. By order of Ferdinando I de’ Medici, the ball was restored, and two years later, in spring 1602, returned to its original position. Today, night strolls around the Duomo are relatively safe: the cupola now carries a lightening rod.
