As designed by Brunelleschi, the lantern at the top of the Duomo was intended to be crowned by a large golden orb and cross. The job of creating and placing this orb was contracted to Verrocchio’s workshop in 1468, at which time Da Vinci would have been a teenager in his apprenticeship. The orb itself was constructed out of eight copper panels soldered together and leafed in gold. When finished, the piece measured eight feet in diameter and weighed over two tons. As an apprentice in Verrocchio’s workshop, Da Vinci had a hand in the creation and placement of the orb on top of the Duomo. While creating a piece of this size was itself a feat, the greatest challenge proved to be lifting the orb over 350ft to the top of the lantern. To do this, cranes and hoists designed by Filippo Brunelleschi for the construction of the cathedral’s dome were used to fix the ball in position in 1471. While it is not proven that Da Vinci had a hand in this project, many suspect he had a role as he mentions the solder used on the ball in his notes on parabolic mirrors (c. 1515) and included detailed sketches of Brunelleschi’s hoisting mechanisms in his Codex Atlanticus (c. 1570).

Nicholl, Charles. Leonardo Da Vinci: the Flights of the Mind. Penguin, 2007, erenow.com/biographies/leonardo-da-vinci-the-flights-of-the-mind/.

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