The great Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore, erected by Filippo Brunelleschi remains one of the wonders of Renaissance architecture. Along with the Cathedral’s dome, Brunelleschi was known for his magnificent inventions and arcthecural designs. In the process of marking his legacy, Brunelleschi was challenged socially and politically by rival artist and patrons of his time. Despite countless obstacles, Brunelleschi was a man that thrives in challenging situations. The secretive nature of Brunelleschi had made both his personal life and the engineering of the dome a mystery. BUT his biographers Antonio di Tuccio Manetti (King 19) and Giorgio Vasari (King 33) have left behind documents that helped Ross King, the author of Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture, create fascinating details about the greatest achievements and invention of Filippo Brunelleschi. The administrators of the Opera del Duomo, a guild of wealthy Wool Merchants who funded the construction of the dome for …show more content…
In its first round in 1347, by killing four-fifth of the population, the plague depopulated Florence (King 5). The Black Death impacted socio-economy and culture of Florence. The Black Death has indirect was one factor for the birth of the Renaissance in Florence (Brunelleschi’s Quest for Success 1). The plague first introduced by Genoese fleet who were carrying Black Rat and other spices from Asia (King 5). As a result of the devastating loss, the wealthy started patronizing artist to bring happiness and a new sense of hope back to Florence. The competition between the patrons and the artist set the grounds for the Renaissance era. (Brunelleschi’s Quest for Success 1). After the death, thousands of Florentines, The Guild of Cloth Merchants, as a civic duty, was determined to sponsor a new set of bronze doors for the Baptistery of San Giovanni, “to appease the Wrathful deity” (King