Filippo Brunelleschi was considered as the father of Renaissance architecture and the most famous architect in Italy during his lifetime. Brunelleschi, the son of a notary named, Brunellesco Di Lippo, was born in Florence, Italy in 1377. He began his career working for a goldsmith and only six years after, he passed his examination and became a guild master goldsmith. Between 1402 and 1403, he sculpted the second door of The Doors of Paradise, called The Sacrifice of Isaac and entered it into a contest, but lost to his competitor, Ghiberti. After the competition, Brunelleschi discovered a passion for mathematics and architecture and began renovating town houses and buildings. He rediscovered the principles of linear perspective which had been used by the Romans and Greeks. Unlike other gothic architecture, Brunelleschi used straight lines, flat planes and cubic spaces. Brunelleschi developed exceptional skills that helped him construct some of the finest pieces of architecture in Renaissance history. A few of these famous pieces include the cupola covering the Santa Maria del Fiore, the Ospedale degli Innocenti and the Pazzi Chapel. .
The cupola of the Cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, was one of Brunelleschi's most famous and difficult tasks that he overcame. Brunelleschi was fascinated by the idea of the cupola. The cupola is a big dome that covers the Santa Maria del Fiore and considering how difficult it is to design one so big and sturdy, especially in the time period Brunelleschi was in, was a difficult task to complete. It seemed impossible to .
roof a space of 45.5 meters in diameter without good, solid support. Brunelleschi came up with a solution that resolved the challenge. He figured out a way to create the curves of the cupola without using a supporting framework. He used a different perspective in designing the cupola which was based on an unusual system of flying rather than fixed supports, a technique most architects would not have considered.
