Filippo Brunelleschi saw the contest to design the dome for the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence as an opportunity. In the past, his outrageous ideas had earned him the nickname Pippo the Fool. If he won the contest, he would be taken seriously at last. Pippo’s plans for the dome were unlike anything seen before—they showed it set atop the cathedral without any visible means of support. Yet as crazy as the judges found it, they ultimately awarded him the job. There was a hitch, however: He must work with the renowned but arrogant sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti, whose own design had been rejected. Tracey E. Fern’s story about this fifteenth-century genius is full of medieval details and architectural insights. Both Fern and illustrator Pau Estrada provide informative endnotes that further illuminate Pippo’s architectural achievement and their approaches to interpreting these historical personalities and events. (Ages 8–12)

Was Pippo the Fool really Pippo the Genius?

The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence was a marvel of art, architecture, and engineering. But it lacked a finishing ornament, a crown--a dome! The city fathers had a solution: to invite the finest masters to compete for the chance to design a dome. The rumors of this contest reached the ears of Filippo Brunelleschi, better known in Florence as Pippo the Fool. As soon as he heard about the contest, Pippo knew it was the chance he had been waiting for. "If I can win the contest, I will finally lose that nickname once and for all!"

This book tells the story of the construction of an architectural masterpiece--Brunelleschi's Dome. Tracey E. Fern depicts Pippo's prickly personality with humor and warmth, and Pau Estrada's richly detailed illustrations bring Renaissance Florence to life. An excellent way to introduce kids to an important moment in Western engineering and history.