Cathedral Domes #1of3

As St. Peter’s Basilica is approached, Michelangelo’s great dome seems to float against the blue sky, and when lit, it glows like a vast candle. The magnificent dome (200 feet in diameter, 630 feet around) of St. Peter’s rises 308 feet above the roof. Two different years we climbed the 305 steps of the almost endless, interleaved (one staircase goes up, another leads down), precarious one-way staircase, to the lantern at the very tip of St. Peter’s dome. The steps are built between the walls of the outer and inner domes, and since the dome curves, so do the walls, and we must lean at that same angle — but don’t miss it. The view from the very apex of the dome is spectacular, with a panoramic view of Vatican City, the curves of the Tiber river, and across the city of Rome to the Coliseum.

In Florence, Italy, the outstanding Gothic Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Saint Mary of the Flowers), faced on the exterior with white, green and red tile, is one of the world’s largest cathedrals. Construction was begun in 1294 and the place of worship was consecrated in 1436. The huge dome is 348 feet high, and took fourteen years to build. Inside the dome is a huge fresco of the “Last Judgment.” The outside of the dome is divided into eight sections, each faced with orange tile.

In the Montmartre area of Paris, France, the highest point in the city, the Basilica Sacrë-Cœur, the eternally white church, was built using a stone that bleaches with age. There is one large dome, surrounded by four smaller domes, accompanied by a “dozen” even smaller domes, plus a free-standing campanile with a similar dome. These domes are unusual, they have been elongated into ovoid form, almost egg shaped.

While neither as large nor as white, in Angoulême, France, the Cathedral of Saint Pierre (built 1105-28), has several levels of arches and columns, with two towers topped by tall domes, that are very similar in shape to those at Sacré-Coeur in Paris.

The Notre Dame Basilica in Boulogne, France, has a beautiful dome. City streets were so narrow, the church was so high, when we parked in front we couldn’t see the dome. Inside, the dome was beautiful, but in need of renovation.

In the city of Kotor, Yugoslavia, situated on a huge cloverleaf-shaped bay, we saw a beautiful stone church with three bright and shiny, newly-covered copper domes. Wonder how long it takes for shiny copper to transform to the beautiful green patina of aged copper. Nearby, a tower with two large clocks, was backed by gray-green mountains.