Climbing Brunelleschi's Dome

What it is and why climb it

The dome of Santa Maria del Fiore is the work with which Filippo Brunelleschi solved a problem nobody knew how to solve: closing an octagonal opening of more than 40 m without wooden centring. He raised it between 1420 and 1436 with two brick shells, one inside the other, and the climb runs precisely through the space between them. At the top, the marble lantern reaches about 114.5 m above the square.

To climb is to see that solution from the inside. You first pass along an interior balcony at the foot of the dome, a few metres from the frescoes of the Last Judgement painted by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari, and then you enter the narrow passages, with the curve of the brick above your head. The last stretch is almost vertical. Outside, from the lantern terrace, you have the whole of Florence: Giotto's campanile beside you, the Palazzo Vecchio, the Arno and the hills of Fiesole and San Miniato.

The ticket: the Brunelleschi Pass

The dome can only be climbed with the Brunelleschi Pass, one of the three passes sold by the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore. It is the only one that includes the dome, and it also gives access to the baptistery, Giotto's campanile, the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo and the crypt of Santa Reparata. The cathedral is free and not part of the pass.

How it works, according to the official ticket website:

• The pass is valid for 3 calendar days from the date you choose, with one entry to each monument.
• The dome is the only thing with a fixed time: you choose a slot when buying, and that is your entry time. A delay of 5 minutes is tolerated.
• The booking cannot be changed or cancelled.
• You must write the name of each visitor before paying; at the dome they check ID.
• Maximum 10 passes per purchase.

The price and reduced rates are in the prices section of the official website (tickets.duomo.firenze.it). Buy only there or at the Opera's ticket offices: the dome has a quota and in high season the good slots sell out days ahead.

If you want it explained to you, the same portal sells a guided visit to the dome in Italian or English.

How long it takes and what the climb is like

There are 463 steps with no lift, with entry through the Porta della Mandorla, on the north side of the cathedral. The website estimates about 45 minutes for the dome; with the wait, the terrace and the descent, count an hour and a half. There are one-way sections and others where you pass people coming down.

The Opera advises against the climb for pregnant women and people with cardiovascular or respiratory problems, vertigo or claustrophobia. It is not wheelchair accessible nor recommended with reduced mobility. Under-18s must go with an adult.

You cannot enter with rucksacks or medium or large bags: leave them beforehand at the left-luggage at Piazza del Duomo 38/r. Carry the minimum.

With the rest of the pass

Organise the three days around your dome slot. If you also go up the campanile (414 steps), do it on another day or with a rest in between. The baptistery requires clothing that covers shoulders and legs, no hats. The museum closes on the first Tuesday of each month and the baptistery closes at 13:30 on the first Sunday.

After the dome, cross the Arno to the Boboli Gardens or go up at sunset to San Miniato al Monte, from where you will see the whole dome silhouetted over the city. If you have the energy for a museum, the Uffizi Gallery is ten minutes' walk away.

Getting there

The cathedral is in the very centre, in a limited-traffic zone: don't come by car. From Santa Maria Novella station it is about ten minutes on foot. Arrive at the Porta della Mandorla a little before your time, already without your rucksack.