Dome

Façade, view of the top pediment and mosaic (mosaics added in 1878 by Venetians Mussini and Franchi); The building appears to have been entirely reconstructed during the first half of the 13th century and completed in the early 1270s. The documents and sculptural decoration suggest that work began at the crossing. The dome is first mentioned in 1259; in 1263 it was covered with lead, and in 1264 the mela ('apple'), or copper sphere, was placed on top by Rosso Padellaio (the lantern dates from 1667). The cathedral is built of coloured marbles: white from Carrara, green from Prato and pink from Siena. Its interior length (including the 14th-century choir extension) is 89.4 m. It has an aisled, five-bay nave and a hexagonal crossing surmounted by a dome. Vasari and local 16th- and 17th-century historians, who probably drew on more reliable sources, attributed the reconstruction of the cathedral in its present form (except for the choir and transept extension) to Nicola Pisano. The historian Malavolti recorded that the façade of the cathedral was begun according to 'a drawing and model by Giovanni, son of Niccolò of Pisa, the architect' in 1285. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 1/29/2008)