Herringbone technique: truth and history of a cutting-edge technology. An ingenious building practise lost between the XV and XVI Centuries

It is usual to find essays or articles in literature on the application of herringbone technology... at the Filippo Brunelleschi’s dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. Probably he invented this procedure or perhaps he has studied it from ancient Roman monuments. Surely the use of this technology in the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore has influenced the diffusion and the affirmation of this technique in the Florentine constructive tradition. Although Leon Battista Alberti explicitly writes about this technique in his treatise De aedificatoria (chapter III); the greatest contribution to the knowledge and conservation of the herringbone is provided by a Florentine family of architects: the Sangallo. Despite the diffusion of this technique; today there is only one drawing that describes the herringbone system and which is preserved in the Uffizi Museum (Office of Drawings 1330 900 A). Therefore; by reading this important document that describes the method of construction; and by comparing it with historical domes; such as Santa Maria in Ciel d’Oro of Montefiascone built by Sangallo; we want to show how this reciprocal technology works; its potential and its actuality. The knowledge of this technique used by the masters of architectonic Renaissance; allows us to build a dome without centering and scaffolding.