The largest masonry dome in the world!
It stands on the top of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy. Filippo Brunelleschi was given this great task to build the dome. He was a clockmaker and had no formal architectural training.
More than 500 years of its establishment in 1418 it remains the largest masonry dome ever built. But the dome's construction methods are still a secret, as no plans or sketches have been discovered. The only clue Brunelleschi left behind was a wooden and brick model.
From that, the extracted ideas show, the construction had a lot of issues including no central support, no true center with eight unequal sides.
Brunelleschi solved all these by a unique masonry technique known as herringbone pattern along with strong giant brick arches interlocked with rings of stones and woods. There are two layers of dome having a staircase up to the top within the layers. It withstands even after having both downward and outward pressure. The construction took 16 years to complete.
