There are more than one places around Florence that are called Apparita. More than one traveler on his way to Florence will think that the name derives from a miraculous apparition of the Madonna or of some saint.
But no: everything comes from the fact that from there you begin to glimpse the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and, above all, begins to appear the dome.
An apparition, certainly not miraculous, but no less amazing.
It appears among the fields, among the country villages, among the olive groves and the hills.
Leon Battista Alberti, in 1436, rendered very well that amazement, which then had to be much greater, describing it, with pride: "so steep above the skies and wide, to cover with its shadow all the peoples of Tuscany.
The fact is that now the skyline of Italian cities - and not only - is full of domes, in Rome, for example, are an integral part of the landscape.
But then, in the early decades of the fifteenth century, it was not so. Few had seen the Roman dome of the Pantheon, still less the Byzantine dome of Santa Sofia in Istanbul. And how many people had ever gone to the Middle East to get to know the dome mausoleums of Isfahan in Persia?
No, it is not difficult to imagine the effect that the invasion of such majesty, such great audacity, made on the landscape.
It was an absolute novelty.
In Italy, in Tuscany, the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore wanted to be the proud symbol of a proud city, aware of itself, aimed at giving a demonstration of strength, power.
And it worked magnificently.
The story tells of a long and difficult gestation, the outcome of which was far from obvious.
It all began in 1418, when the Opera del Duomo had announced a competition, making things big from the beginning. It offered 2000 gold florins for those who presented valid projects to complete the roof of the cathedral, designed, more than a century earlier, by Arnolfo di Cambio.
The competition had ended without winners, but two projects had been admitted to the second selection: that of Filippo Brunelleschi and that of Lorenzo Ghiberti.
The theme, it must be said, was at the limits of the possibilities of time.
Meanwhile, the planned dome was really large and, then, the technical constraints to be taken into account were heavy.
The solution of using ribs, i.e. wooden scaffolding, to support it during the construction period was not possible: where to find such large wooden scaffolding? And where to create the support point, given that there was an inhabited area around it?
Renouncing was unacceptable.
Too great was the ambition to provide Florence with absolute visibility and unparalleled prestige. Had it been successful, the news would have reached all the cities of Europe and the impact would have been enormous.
The dome, the largest masonry ever built, in the dreams of the citizens of Florence, would defy the skies, glorified the power of God, but above all demonstrated the value of Florentine intelligence and human intellect.
The competition officially had no winners. In 1420, after a final consultation, the only solution seemed to be to resume the project presented by Filippo Brunelleschi, the only one to ensure that you can build the dome without using ribs, without "armor".
Lorenzo Ghiberti, as Provveditore Della cupola, and the master-builder of the Duomo, Battista d'Antonio, were flanked by him. With time Brunelleschi was left alone and Ghiberti limited himself to making, from time to time, an act of presence in the yard.
It was a gamble.
Until then Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) had not worked in the field of architecture, except for the fortifications and military works of Staggia and Vicopisano, commissioned by the Florentine Republic.
The great urban commissions (Ospedale degli Innocenti, Sagrestia Vecchia, San Lorenzo...) were all successive.
He was 41 years old when the competition was announced: he was a mature man, especially if you consider the standards of the time. He had, like many artists of the time, a goldsmith background.
He had become known in the city for having won in 1401, with Ghiberti, the competition for the decoration of the second bronze door of the baptistery.
His tile (the theme was for both "The Sacrifice of Isaac") showed an extraordinary capacity for dramatic interpretation of the episode.
It went beyond the space, it was lively, intense, of great expressive force, profoundly different from the quiet and calm classicism of Ghiberti, to whom, however, the works were assigned.
His research in the field of optics had led him to elaborate the rules of linear perspective with a single point of escape that would revolutionize the practice of painting.
to be continued in the next part