How Brunelleschi Engineered Florence’s Iconic Dome

No one who travels to Florence can help seeing the dome of the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower. That’s true not just because of its sheer looming physical presence over the rest of the city, but also because of its importance as an achievement in various kinds of history, from that of engineering to architecture to religion. Its story is told by art historians Beth Harris and Steven Zucker in their new Smarthistory video above, which begins in the year 1417. At the time, Zucker explains...