The entrance to the cupola is hidden away on one side of the cathedral, where you pay, receive your ticket, and then start the long climb. How long is it? Well, I didn't count the number or keep track of the time, but there are signs all over the ticket booth warning you that if you have a heart condition, you should not attempt it. The signs say that there are 463 steps, plus some additional walking as you circle the inside of the dome or go between staircases.
The staircases are narrow stone-and-brick passageways lit by electric lights and windows at regular intervals. At first, the stairway structure is rectangular, but it soon becomes a tight spiral. Along the way, you stop off at a few rooms with statues and art and so on.
More staircases and passageways.
A bit before the halfway point, you circle around inside of the dome, with an excellent view of the frescoes painted therein. From the ground, due to the distance and the angle, they're pretty hard to see, but from here, it's much easier to absorb the details.
Although you can't see the entire work in this photo (I was shooting over a plastic barrier and couldn't get an angle that would capture all of it), the fresco depicts the Last Judgment and was painted by two artists, Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari, from 1572 to 1579. (The structure of the dome itself, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, was built between 1420 and 1436.)
For a little perspective, you can see how high up I am at this point:
(Shot through the plastic barrier, hence the lousy colors.)
You follow a catwalk about halfway across the interior of the dome, and then go up...
... and up...
and up.
In this shot you can see that you are entering the upper part of the dome, as the surface begins to curve.
Now, I'm proud to say that I am in decent shape at this point in my life, and while I was not huffing and puffing like some of the tourists that I passed in the corridors, my legs were aching by the time I reached the top. It was quite the workout!
Anyway--at last you come to a short but extremely steep bit of stairs that is more of a ladder than a staircase, leading up through a hole only a few feet in diameter, and once you haul yourself up through that, you emerge at the top of the dome to what is certainly one of the most beautiful cityscapes in the world.
In the above shot, there is the Church of Santa Croce on the far left, and behind it, Piazzale Michelangelo. The Arno river is also visible if you look for it.
Facing the opposite direction, the stunning Tuscan hills...
... and looking down, the shadow of the Duomo and the belltower to the left.
Capelle Medici to the right, the Church of Santa Maria Novella to the left, and the train station (Stazione Santa Maria Novella) in the middle.
Looking down again, the body of the cathedral, and the belltower.
Like I said, the weather was just astounding. There was hardly any wind, so I was quite warm, even all the way up on the roof! The sky was wonderful as well.
On the way back down, you could stop and look at some of the old tools and mechanisms used for building and restoring the cathedral.
Finally on the ground again—how small it looks from down here!
That's all for now. I don't have any specific plans for what's next, but there are still many, many places in Florence that I have not seen, so rest assured that our adventures are far from over. Until next time, ciaociao!
