Inside of the Dome of the Cathedral. The Last Judgment
In 1572, Cosimo I de' Medici commissioned Giorgio Vasari to fresco the cupola of the Cathedral; he was flanked by Don Vincenzo Borghini who worked out the iconographic subjects. The main theme was based on the decisions that had emerged from the Council of Trent, which had revised the mediaeval Catholic teachings and placed it in a clear and systematic order. Borghini also added other themes taken from Dante's "Divine Comedy", which he knew extremely well. The closest graphic text to follow was based on the mosaics in the Baptistery, divided into rows placed one on top of the other, though Vasari, a great admirer of Michelangelo, also drew inspiration from the Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel. As a result the space of the cupola (4.000 square metres) was further divided into six concentric rows placed one above the other; carefully divided groups of figures were arranged inside each of them, helped by the vault being in eight segments.The subjects were carefully matched up along the the dividing lines (almost a scansion into longitude and latitude), making it possible to "follow" the theological pattern vertically as well as horizontally. Working from the top to the bottom and starting from the imitation central lantern surrounded by 24 venerable old men from the Apocalipse, each segment is decorated with the four following themes: an angelic chorus with the instruments of the Passion; a series of Saints and Elect; a triad of figures representing a Gift of the Holy Ghost; and a region of Hell dominated by deadly Sin. In the eastern segment, opposite the centrale nave, the four rows become three to make ROOM for the great Christ in Glory between the Madonna and St. John, placed above the three Theological Virtues (Faith, Hope and Charity), and followed further down by the allegorical figures of Time and the Church Triumphant.