Danger Dome

We climbed the Duomo today.

The end.

The backside of the Duomo. Not as clean as the front... but that's generally how the backsides of things go anyway, now isn't it?
The line. It was a healthy length... it took us about an hour to get from the very end, into the church/cathedral.

(Rebecca and I just had a talk about which the Duomo actually is... church or cathedral. It's up to you to decide. Tomatoe/tomahto).

The "impressive" entrance into the Duomo to climb all those stairs. The pretty doors are reserved for people who actually go to church here, and the people who want to see the front half of the church.
Graffiti!
A pope. Specifically, a stone Pope. Even better!
Stairs. Some of many...
The wall.. or A wall. Not THE wall. Whatever.

The ceiling of the Duomo... we think Michelangelo painted it.
Please take the time to click on these pictures and make them their real size... there's all sorts of crazy things happening on this ceiling and it's worth it. Trust me.
There's a crazy toad-person in hell, just waiting to chase you with a hammer.

Don't write on the walls.

Dont. Do. It.
A shot looking straight above my head. The inner shell is at the bottom of the photo and the outer shell is at the top, you can see how close and yet how far apart they are. It was a crazy moment when I realized we had gotten in between the shells of the dome... you don't immediately realize it until you noticed this curved, giant egg of a wall next to you.
This is a shot of the unique herringbone brickwork used by Fillippo Brunelleschi, one of many unique inventions he employed to build this crazy masterpiece.
Mmmmmm... steps. A few of the 463 we climbed today.

The crazy thing about this picture, and the reason why I posted it, is that the doorway you see Rebecca through is actually crooked. My picture is straight, everything else is a little wonky because we're curving around and over the dome at the same time. It was a little disorienting after climbing so far and being in such a cramped space.

PLUS this stairway is open for two-way traffic, so there were people cramming past other people going in different directions. I'm not claustrophobic, but I was beginning to panic a couple of times.
At one point in the climb you're actually walking on top of the dome... this is a picture of said activity. It was pretty steep, something not totally translated in this picture.
Finally at the top!

A view of the rooftop, hanging over the city.
Our apartment, behind the hospital. Our apartment... closer.

The tower.
The tower, and Piazza de Republica in the background (it has a massive arch that is a couple hundred years old but still considered new here).
Florence was founded with two straight streets... one going to the east and one to the west. This may be one of them, however I'm completely directionally impaired so it could not. But it was one of about three straight streets we could see in all of Florence. And it's pointing straight up to Fiesole in the hills.
A shot of San Lorenzo (the dome), San Lorenzo market (just to the right of the dome on the street) and the train station (the flat building to the left/behind the dome).
One of the arches periodically placed around the roof.

Rebecca... given me a look. I inspire some very odd looks sometimes....
Part of the roof of the dome.
Santa Croce and, in the distance on the right (the white line) is Piazzale Michelangelo across the Arno. Shadow time!
A shot out of a hole the dome on the way back down.

The climb wasn't as hard, it's got a bad reputation because all these fat tourists insist on climbing up there and then freak out when they figure out it's actual work and not instant gratification. For 6 euros and a 10-15 minute climb you could see the of the dome up close, walk inside the shell, see some statues and the old wooden machines they used to build the dome and then get a chance to spend however long you wanted on the roof, looking out over Florence. Infinitely worth it.