National Geographic | National Geographic

National Geographic

THE ENDURING MYSTERY
OF IL DUOMO

Monday, July 18, 2022

In today’s newsletter, we show how a secretive architect created an icon in Italy, examine the overlooked toll of alcohol poisoning while pregnant, detail a fusion plant that may herald a brighter energy future … and learn about a fierce woman leader who wouldn’t submit to men. Also, Happy Mandela Day!

PHOTOGRAPH BY SUSANNE KREMER/FOTOTECA 9X12

It’s the view in A Room with a View.

For more than 650 years, this majestic superdome has dominated Florence. Behind this treasure stood decades of audacious planning to create the first building in Europe borrowing from a specific Persian style—and the first dome to rise without scaffolding.

Architect Filippo Brunelleschi took the details of building his gravity-defying dome to his grave, which is underneath its cathedral, Manuel Saga writes for Nat Geo History magazine. Il Duomo’s final piece, the lantern atop it (below), was designed by Brunelleschi and placed in 1471, 35 years after the cathedral’s consecration and 25 years after his death.

Read the full story.

PHOTOGRAPH BY GUIDO BAVIERA/FOTOTECA 9X12

If you want to read more about the ambitious goldsmith who made this dome happen—even after jealous rivals got him jailed—here’s our 2014 Nat Geo feature. Our four-minute animated video got more than 2.2 million views.

Please, consider supporting our storytelling by subscribing to our magazine and unlimited digital offerings.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

JEFFREY R. WOZNIAK

The overlooked toll of alcohol poisoning while pregnant (Pictured above, the brains of two 12-year-olds, the one at left had prenatal exposure to alcohol.)

Yosemite’s added fire protection for an endangered sequoia grove

The nuclear fusion plant that may herald a brighter energy future

It’s not too late! Here are 10 epic late-summer adventures

The beauty and complexity of bugs as you’ve never seen them

On the U.N.’s Mandela Day, a look at the legacy of South Africa’s independence leader

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARTIN OEGGERLI

Sleep and breast cancer: A new study shows that breast cancer spreads more rapidly through the body during sleep. But the answer isn’t to cut sleep—that’s important for the immune system and the body’s ability to combat the disease. The study may have implications for when treatment is given as well as other cancers, Nat Geo reports. (Above, an electron microscope scan of a circulating tumor cell cluster. The cluster is smaller than the period mark at the end of this sentence.)

PHOTO OF THE DAY

PHOTOGRAPH BY GEORGE GRALL, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Oasis: A snorkeler looks for aquatic life in a spring-fed pool of the Cuatro Ciénegas protected reserve in Mexico’s Chihuahuan desert. When this photo was published in the October 1995 issue of National Geographic, the writer reported that 60 species of plants and wildlife were unique to the region. Today, there are 150. This image was recently resurfaced for our Photo of the Day archival feature.

Related: How lab-grown plants could save the desert’s ‘skin’

MORE VINTAGE PHOTOS

IN A FEW WORDS

QUOTE

I sold everything I had, set up a bed in my car, put my money where my mouth was. I kept repeating to myself that I was going to search for the tomb of Genghis Khan. I just kept saying it, over and over. If you say you’re going to do something, eventually, you will.

Engineer and Nat Geo Explorer who led a search for the tomb of Genghis Khan

LAST GLIMPSE

IMAGE COURTESY OF IANDAGNALL COMPUTING/ALAMY

Fierce and female: Our fascinating story on seven women warriors throughout history has a focus on Queen Nzingha Mbande (shown above). Like the other women, the 17th century leader of much of present-day Angola used intellect and political cunning to battle gender and cultural discrimination as well as raw power. When the Portuguese negotiated peace with the queen, they at first provided her only a mat on which to sit, while they perched on chairs. Mbande established her equality by motioning for an assistant to kneel on hands and knees before her so she would have a “chair,” too.

Today's newsletter was curated and edited by David Beard, Heather Kim, Jen Tse, and Monica Williams. Have a story idea or feedback? Let us know at [email protected].

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

We'd like to hear from you! Tell us what you think of our emails by sharing your feedback in this short survey.

TAKE THE SURVEY

Clicking on the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and National Geographic Channel links will take you away from our National Geographic Partners site where different terms of use and privacy policy apply.

This email was sent to: [email protected]. Please do not reply to this email as this address is not monitored.

This email contains an advertisement from:
National Geographic | 1145 17th Street, N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20036

Stop all types of future commercial email from National Geographic regarding its products, services, or experiences.

© 2022 National Geographic Partners, LLC, All rights reserved.