The construction of the dome of Milan Cathedral represents one of the most fascinating and complex episodes in the history of Italian architecture of the fifteenth century. This is an exemplary case, for the specificity and exceptionality of the Fabbrica del Duomo and for the involvement of some of the most authoritative protagonists of the time - Bramante, Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Luca Fancelli and Leonardo da Vinci - invited by Giangaleazzo and Ludovico Maria Sforza to propose an innovative structural, constructive and formal solution. The desire of the ducal family to assert its image through this enterprise is the backdrop to the succession of builders, workers and ambitious projects committed to giving the building the right crowning glory. The complex story is traced here starting from the recognition of the importance of the intervention of the mathematician from Piacenza Gabriele Stornaloco, creator in 1391 of a geometric scheme to establish the dimensions of the elevation, to be considered the "Ariadne's thread" for the construction of the whole cathedral. Deepening the heated discussion on the adoption of different construction techniques - Lombard, Tuscan and transalpine - the numerous projects proposed to solve the problem of the dome, which pushes the Sforza and the Fabbrica to make use of prestigious consultancy, are then analyzed, also involving Leonardo da Vinci, author of a lost wooden model. Finally we come to the winning project of two Lombards, Giovanni Antonio Amedeo and Giangiacomo Dolcebuono who, between 1490 and 1500, built the dome up to the base of the lantern, using practices rooted in Lombard architectural culture, leaving out only the largest spire that will be built in 1769 as evidence of the complexity of a construction site that lasted over 400 years, making Milan Cathedral one of the most original architecture in Europe.
Ad triangulum. The cathedral of Milan and its dome. From Stornaloco to Bramante, Leonardo and Giovanni Antonio Amadeo
Giulia Ceriani Sebregondi;
2020
Abstract
The construction of the dome of Milan Cathedral represents one of the most fascinating and complex episodes in the history of Italian architecture of the fifteenth century. This is an exemplary case, for the specificity and exceptionality of the Fabbrica del Duomo and for the involvement of some of the most authoritative protagonists of the time - Bramante, Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Luca Fancelli and Leonardo da Vinci - invited by Giangaleazzo and Ludovico Maria Sforza to propose an innovative structural, constructive and formal solution. The desire of the ducal family to assert its image through this enterprise is the backdrop to the succession of builders, workers and ambitious projects committed to giving the building the right crowning glory. The complex story is traced here starting from the recognition of the importance of the intervention of the mathematician from Piacenza Gabriele Stornaloco, creator in 1391 of a geometric scheme to establish the dimensions of the elevation, to be considered the "Ariadne's thread" for the construction of the whole cathedral. Deepening the heated discussion on the adoption of different construction techniques - Lombard, Tuscan and transalpine - the numerous projects proposed to solve the problem of the dome, which pushes the Sforza and the Fabbrica to make use of prestigious consultancy, are then analyzed, also involving Leonardo da Vinci, author of a lost wooden model. Finally we come to the winning project of two Lombards, Giovanni Antonio Amedeo and Giangiacomo Dolcebuono who, between 1490 and 1500, built the dome up to the base of the lantern, using practices rooted in Lombard architectural culture, leaving out only the largest spire that will be built in 1769 as evidence of the complexity of a construction site that lasted over 400 years, making Milan Cathedral one of the most original architecture in Europe.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
