In Which We Climb to the Top of Duomo

Another scorcher today, 39°. What better day to climb the steps of Firenze’s Duomo, its incredible cathedral. All 463 of them. It’s not for the faint hearted. And I do not mean that figuratively. It’s really not for the faint hearted. The climb can be very steep in places and when you’re doing it in the dead heat of an Italian summer, the challenge is much greater. Although there are two stops on the way up to rest, most people were drenched in sweat at both, and absolutely ready to stop.

We had a 10am ticket. Our guide was pint-sized Laura, an expert, very knowledgeable, thoughtful, very articulate, a wonderful command of English. She does the climb three times a week. Laura is very fit, and she looks it.

I confess, I did interpret our tour as being of the cathedral itself with an optional climb of the dome at the end. Alas, that is not what I signed up for, despite careful reading of the ‘What You Get’ section on the website, apparently. Anyway, I was up for the climb regardless so I thought it would be nice to have an expert take us up.

Speaking of experts, I sought out some statistics on the Duomo and decided to include them as a good psychologist would:
• Length: 153 meters (502 feet).
• Width at crossing: 90 meters (300 feet).
• Height (floor to base of lantern): 90 meters (300 feet).
• Dome height: 114.5 meters (375.7 ft).
• Dome construction: The dome is a double-shelled structure with an inner and outer dome, built using a unique herringbone brick pattern.
• Dome diameter (external): 54.8 meters (180 ft).
• Number of bricks in the dome: Over four million.
• Estimated weight of the dome: 40,000 tons.
• Construction period: The cathedral was begun in 1296 and completed in 1436, with the dome taking 16 years to build.
• Baptistery: The octagonal Baptistery of St. John stands adjacent to the cathedral and is known for its bronze doors, including the "Gates of Paradise".
• Giotto's Bell Tower: Standing next to the Duomo, it is a separate structure, renowned for its rich sculptural decorations and polychrome marble.
• Interior: The cathedral's interior features numerous works of art, including frescoes, sculptures, and stained glass windows.

Now to my experience of the climb. Some readers of this little piece may recall that in my adult life, unlike in my youth, I have been quite wary of heights. That is to say, I don’t like them. I’m not fussed on them. At times, I am scared of them. This all started in New Zealand many years ago when I was climbing Paritutu, a very high pointy promontory that juts up out of the sea in New Plymouth. Three quarters of the way up unexpectedly, I had a freeze response twice, where I could not move. Since that time, my brain goes into full-on fear mode when I am up high. I understand fully the psychology of what is happening, indeed I have treated people with acrophobia. I also understand the neuroscience of this process thoroughly, which parts of the brain are being activated in these moments and even which neurotransmitters are being produced in vast quantities when this fear is triggered.

However, and this is a big however, none of that contextual knowledge is any good to you when you’re actually having an anxiety attack. You have to know what to do and how to manage it. Fortunately, for the last twenty-five years, I have also been teaching people how to do just that. And on the climb to the dome of the Duomo, I had to summon those energies and put them into practice myself. I was not expecting this to happen.

I started out directly behind Chris in good spirits. I thought the heat and the number of steps would be my greatest challenge. However, around five minutes into the climb, spiral staircases, my brain started telling me how high up I must be. When I attuned to the thought, my legs started feeling shaky. I knew what to do. I breathed through using breathing techniques I have been teaching for decades, and I changed my self-talk to safety messages. This worked well. The anxiety receded and I was easily able to go on. However, as we ascended to the base of the dome itself, we came out onto a gallery inside he cathedral that allows the viewer to see the frescoes on the ceiling of the dome. You’re right there. You could almost reach out and touch them. Of course, to your right, is a drop to the cathedral floor.

Allow me to quote Meta AI’s description of this special place.

“As you ascend the 463 steps to the top, you'll reach a ledge near the base of the drum below the cupola's frescoes, offering an incredible view of the 38,000 sq ft frescoed dome interior. This spot allows you to see Giorgio Vasari's frescoes of the Last Judgment up close.”

Frescoes? What frescoes? Somebody in front of me is saying frescoes? Georgio Vasari? I hate him. Odious man. What was he thinking putting these frescoes all the way up here? The anxiety hit me full force and I turned to the inner wall instinctively. Chris clearly saw what was happing to me from behind and I heard him say, “just look at the wall”. There was no need for him to say it twice. My eyes were fixed on the wall, I was bent over, and I made my feet keep shuffling like a decrepit Methusaleh around this tiny narrow pathway that Georgio Vasari had made me take. I felt that I was scaping my hand along the internal wall, and the thought struck me that I would scratch my watch face clean off. I then had visions of going into a watchmaker in London to get a new face for my watch. The things that go through your head in the midst of full-blown anxiety.

I do not know how long the gallery revolution took us. Laura told us not to stop, but that to take in Vasari’s frescoes, we could walk slowly. My brain was wanting to board the Concord and get off this gallery at super-sonic speed. But I had to wait for the fellow in front of me, and he had to wait for the person in front of him. I still don’t know if we went around the gallery half-way or all the way and back to the starting point before we exited to more spiral stairs. There is no way I could know, as I could not bring myself to look at the gallery, the plexiglass, the frescoes, anything. If I had, I think I would have gone to ground. Not good in that situation when no-one can pass you or get to you. But exit we eventually did, and I got out and started climbing again, this time, all the way to the top.

I spent the next part of the climb trying to calm myself as before. The last ten or twenty steps before your head pops out into fresh air are almost vertical, and we were all sweating profusely and out of breath. I made it up those steps and out onto the balcony where once more, I went straight to the wall and stayed right away from the fenced edge. I inched my way around to a bench which was fully occupied. However, one dear soul, a lady in her late fifties perhaps early sixties, who shall be blessed forever in Paradise, took one look at me and gave me her seat, nodding at me in an understanding way. I gratefully accepted it and sat there for five minutes breathing and calming myself.

The worst was over. I had done a balcony just like this at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, so I knew I would eventually settle and enjoy the experience. In the fullness of time, I could stand and take a few laps around the top of the dome and look out across Firenze which I am happy to say, looked stunningly beautiful from up there. I didn’t take any photos while up there. I was not able to, so there’s few from Chris and something from tonight from home. Before we started the climb down, I made myself go over to the edge and touch the fence for a moment and look out. A small moment of triumph.

The climb down was just as long but uneventful. It was a different set of stairs, so we did not have to retrace our steps along that dreadful gallery. The heat of the day at midday when we stepped out of the cathedral was pretty unbearable, so we headed to small local shop where the lovely lady sold both beer and gelato, both of which we partook. Chris went to a profumeria where he bought a bottle of something, then home for a nap and a rest. I slept for over an hour after I had a shower and freshened up. A cold beer this evening just at a local bar around the corner and we ate in tonight, some salad and prosciutto.

Had it not been for that one moment on the Duomo gallery, today would have been a near perfect day. But, I chalk it up to experience and will not let heights stop me if there is something I want to do. Last night, I finished my novel, which I am giving four stars. I think I might start something new tonight.Les mer