Little Brunelleschi made 370 fantastic domes for the 600th anniversary of the architectural masterpiece

The construction of the Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence began in 1420 to a design by Filippo Brunelleschi. Today, six hundred years later, hundreds of children and young people have tried their hand at the same feat, inventing their own fantastical Dome. An initiative that was launched by the Florence Architects Foundation with the patronage of the City of Florence and the participation of theOpera di Santa Maria del Fiore: the participants gave life, like modern Brunelleschis, to their own Dome of the Cathedral, just on the occasion of the six-hundredth anniversary of the beginning of the work.

A total of about 370 domes were created, using a variety of techniques and materials, and came from different cities in Italy and abroad; drawings, collages, 3D domes, compositions with fresh flowers, and some even invented a video game or a lamp.

The works were judged by a panel of judges consisting of Cecilia Del Re, city planning alderman of the City of Florence; Sara Funaro, education alderman of the City of Florence; Duilio Senesi, president of the Order of Architects of Florence; Colomba Pecchioli, president of the Florence Architects Foundation; Andrea Orani, illustrator; Veronique Dalschaert, artist; and Vincenzo Vaccaro, councillor of the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, with coordination by Roberto Malfatti, architect and illustrator of the “Architetture Fantastiche” working group.

The first prize was won by Alice, 12 years old from Florence, “for being able to symbolically interpret the role of Architecture in its relationship with nature and the environment, expressing a message of hope,” while in second place were five works tied: Maria Sofia (4 years old, Arezzo), Aurora (13 years old, Florence), Sofia (5 years old, Campi Bisenzio), Lucy (5 years old, Florence) and Filippo (12 years old, Volterra). Eight designs, on the other hand, received honorable mention: Lorenzo (age 8, Pistoia), Matteo (age 7, Florence), Cora (age 12, Florence), Nina (age 9, Florence), Ginevra, Vittoria and Edoardo (age 8, 5 and 3, Scandicci), Pietro (age 8, Florence), Aurora (age 10, Florence) and Giulia (age 13, Zimbabwe). Finally, Marta, 13, from Signa, won honorable mention from the Fantastic Architecture Group.

The winners will be awarded entrance fees for the Dome of the Duomo and the Palazzo Vecchio museum, books on Brunelleschi’s work and backpacks with pencils, markers, tempera and other materials to continue their passion for drawing.

On the blog dedicated to the initiative(https://architetturefantastiche.blogspot.com), all the work submitted by the young artists can be seen.

“We would like to thank the group Architetture Fantastiche, whose work and enthusiasm made this operation possible, and to offer our sincerest congratulations to the children and young people who participated in the contest, many more than we could have expected: in fact, they all won, each one knew how to give his or her own personal touch to the Dome, showing an imagination and participation that never cease to amaze us,” commented Colomba Pecchioli and Duilio Senesi, presidents of the Fondazione and Ordine Architetti Firenze. “This initiative was part of the activities that we carry out for the dissemination of architectural culture for both adults and children, which we did not want to interrupt even in the difficult period that everyone, starting with the children, found ourselves living through: on the contrary, it was a way to stay close to the families, giving the youngest an opportunity to spend a few hours in the name of creativity.”

“It was a wonderful experience to be able to participate, together with the Florence Order of Architects and the Foundation, in the jury of a competition that celebrates not only the dome, but also our youngest children. To look at their drawings and think that they were made as a moment of leisure during the lockdown was really exciting: creativity engaged a part of their time, even to embrace a symbol of our city. We thank the Order of Architects for this project, which has already been included in the Keys to the City and has been very helpful during this difficult time,” added Councillors Cecilia Del Re and Sara Funaro.

Pictured is the dome of Florence Cathedral. Courtesy Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore

Little Brunelleschi made 370 fantastic domes for the 600th anniversary of the architectural masterpiece

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