Filippo Brunelleschi was born in Florence in 1377 and considered the forerunner of the Renaissance architecture.
After having taken part in the competition for the north door of the Florence Baptistery for the creation of the panel depicting The Sacrifice of Isaac, Brunelleschi dedicated his entire life to architecture. But his most important work is the dome of the Cathedral Saint Mary of the Flower.
Brunelleschi proposed to build a self-supporting dome, which can support itself without the help of temporary wooden reinforcements. In 1420 he began the work; he was not alone, but together with Lorenzo Ghiberti.
The dome stands on an octagonal drum made up of eight large circular windows, which are called oculi. If you see it from outside, eight white marble ribs cross the dome. A cuspidate lantern is placed on the octagonal drum, tightened by eight buttresses with volutes. The large structure consists of two distinct domes, one internal and the another one is external. Between them, there is a space, which allows building stairs and reaching the lantern. The two domes are connected by eight corner ribs and sixteen intermediate ribs. Bricks are arranged in a herringbone pattern so that to build a rotating dome with an immense mass of bricks.
We can definitely state that figure of architect is credited to Brunelleschi.
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