Submitted by Bridget Hartigan on the 2017 winter session program in Florence, Italy sponsored by the Department of Art…
The Duomo is one of the most iconic Florence attractions. The red dome soars high above, towering over the old city and I had the opportunity to climb it. Earlier in the day, our professors gave us an admission ticket for five major attractions in the Duomo. We had access to the Church, the Baptistery, the Crypts, climbing to the Dome and climbing the Tower adjacent to the Church. We decided to conquer the 430 steps to the top of the Dome. We walked through the side of the church to find the small hidden entrance door that started our quest to the top. About halfway up, we entered a tiny balcony that surrounded the church, giving us a close-up view of the beautiful painted ceiling. The staircase was narrow to begin with, but the closer we got to the top the staircase was narrowing even more. The narrow and crowded hallways made it difficult to walk since the tourists coming down the dome use the same path. The last few steps were up the steepest staircase, I have ever seen. It was essentially like climbing a ladder. I got to the top and saw the most gorgeous view I have ever seen. The weather was overcast, and it was extremely windy especially since we were so high up. I could see my apartment building about a half-mile away, along with nearly every attraction in center city Florence. Along the mountains in the distance, we saw a dense layer of fog slowly approach us as we were admiring the view. We soon learned that the fog was in fact a snow storm, so we figured that would be a good time to head back down the steep, narrow staircase. The view was worth the 430 steps and we would have stayed up there all day if it weren’t for the extreme weather!
