On May 27th, 1471 the bronze ball Verrocchio created was hoisted using a crane to top the lantern and three days later the cross was raised to join it.  Following the completion of the structure, the Florentines are recorded to have broken out into song, singing the Te Deum as they rejoiced.  The palla would remain atop the cupola until January 27, 1601 when a strong lightning strike causes the palla to fall.  It remains missing from the top of the lantern until October of the following year, but the spot where it landed is still marked to this day with a commemorative plaque.

Works Cited:

Neilson, Christina. Practice and Theory in the Italian Renaissance Workshop: Verrocchio and the Epistemology of Making Art. Cambridge University Press, 2019.

“Topping the Dome: from the Lantern to the Verrocchio's Ball - Part 2.” Topping the Dome: from the Lantern to the Verrocchio's Ball - Part 2, Opera Magazine, 5 Aug. 2016, operaduomo.firenze.it/en/magazine/posts/topping-the-dome-from-the-lantern-to-the-verrocchio-s-ball-part-2.