Florence

Florence Cathedral is a unique church: its roots lie in Antiquity, its walls originate from the Middle Ages – but its art treasures and the breathtaking cupola bear witness to an era that changed Europe forever.

The cathedral contains an astonishing wealth of artworks: the baptistery with its golden mosaics and the masterful portals, Giotto’s bell tower, the fantastic visual realm of the cupola frescoes and last but not least, the groundbreaking sculptures of Donatello and Michelangelo.

But most intriguing is the story of the enormous cupola: How could a goldsmith with no experience as an architect achieve the impossible and create the largest masonry dome of all time? Filippo Brunelleschi revolutionised architecture - and nurtured a bitter rivalry with his colleague Lorenzo Ghiberti, who in turn created an unparalleled masterpiece with his “Gates of Paradise".

But the Reconquista was looming. After the "Catholic Monarchs" Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon had united, they waged the final war against Granada. After ten years of fighting, they signed a treaty with the last Emir Boabdil offering generous tolerance to Jews and Muslims. But they had long since started the Spanish Inquisition, and the spirit of tolerance wasn't going to last for long. Nevertheless, in 1492 Boabdil surrendered the keys to the Alhambra. The Nasrid dynasty had fallen.

And you will fall as well: in love with this place.

The Beginnings

On the outside fortified walls - on the inside fairytale palaces where poets once held the highest office: The Alhambra recounts the story of the last Iberian muslim dynasty between tolerance and treason, of sophisticated lifestyles under permanent threat...

The Baptistery and
Giotto's Campanile

The story of the Baptistery and its grandiose Byzantine mosaics – and the origins of Florence Cathedral, designed by artists like di Cambio, Andrea Pisano and Giotto. In the 14th century the city had one of the largest cathedrals – and a huge problem…

18:40

Dramatic Construction Works

The thrilling story of an utterly inexperienced young goldsmith who promised to build the largest dome ever; of perplexed magnates who were asked to trust him even though he but wouldn’t tell them how he was going to do it; and of their solution which would create a dramatic rivalry...

Making the Impossible Possible

A contest and the beginning of the bitter rivalry between Filippo Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti. Brunelleschi and his fried Donatello look at antiquity with new eyes, and Filippo promises a solution to the cathedral‘s biggest problem – without telling what it is…

16:51

Fathers of the Renaissance

Brunelleschi is now master builder while his rival Lorenzo Ghiberti and his friend Donatello practically invent Renaissance art - Ghiberti with his doors to the Baptistery, Donatello with a radical new approach to sculpture…

06:41

Filippo Brunelleschi

Filippo Brunelleschi finally reveals his ingenious plan to built the largest masonry dome ever. But other brillant ideas involving a monster barge and the siege of Lucca turn into miserable failures that almost bankrupt Brunelleschi…

05:46

The Duomo after Filippo

With his ingenious solution to the problem of the dome and his new look at classical antiquity Brunelleschi made art history. But Lorenzo Ghiberti, too, created an epic masterwork - and in later centuries, other great artists left their mark on the Duomo...