Brunelleschi's Dome

Oh man, so capital-L Life got in the way of my properly absorbing this book, and I spent most of it just skimming with eyes glazed over. But, in the rare moments I was able to actually focus, I did enjoy it. Ross King captures the personalities and politics of 15th century Florence, with the irascible Filippo Brunelleschi vs. the vain/ambitious Lorenzo Ghiberti. Who knew!

Here's a Khan Academy video on the Dome itself, and why it's magnificent from an engineering (and not just aesthetic) perspective. Go, Filippo. Go, Florence. Go, Renaissance.