It may have taken 140 years to build the original Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, or Duomo, as the cathedral of Florence, Italy, is affectionately known, however this week a replica of a different kind was constructed of the city’s most iconic landmark, a 1.5m model made entirely of LEGO.
The brainchild of 17 year-old student Giacinto Consiglio, it was during a tour of the Tuscan capital that the teenager struck up with the idea, impressed by the architecture of the city and in particular with the imposing Cathedral and Baptistery which dates back to the eleventh century. Back home in Italy’s southern region of Puglia, Giacinto designed his reproduction using a special CAD program to create a final model using 20,000 LEGO bricks in 400 different shapes and ten colours standing at 150 x 60 x 65 cm.
The LEGO model was constructed piece by piece in front of an audience of the general public built in a dedicated room within the Cathedral museum, the Grande Museo del Duomo. Fully completed in just one day, Giacinto was helped by members of the ToscanaBricks group AFOL (Adult Fans of LEGO®) and ITLUG (Italian Lego Users Group) the community of LEGO brick enthusiasts in Italy. It is the first time a scale LEGO version of Florence’s famed church and Baptistery has been realised.
The LEGO model is on display in the museum until 9 November, with free entry, before being relocated to the Bricks in Florence Festival, scheduled for 11 and 12 November.