Welcome To
Wayne Kalayjian
Saving Michelangelo's Dome 5 March 2024
The year is 1742.
The famous dome atop St. Peter’s Basilica—designed by Michelangelo—is badly
cracked and threatened with collapse. It is the pride of Italy and among the largest
and most complex structures ever built.
No one knows how to fix it.
This is the dramatic and little-known story of how three mathematicians and a pope
pushed the boundaries of science to steer Michelangelo’s dome from the brink of
disaster. In saving the dome, these four pioneers revolutionized the world of
architecture and launched an entirely new way to solve the world’s most
challenging problems.
Saving Michelangelo's Dome 5 March 2024
The year is 1742.
The famous dome atop St. Peter’s Basilica—designed by Michelangelo—is badly
cracked and threatened with collapse. It is the pride of Italy and among the largest
and most complex structures ever built.
No one knows how to fix it.
This is the dramatic and little-known story of how three mathematicians and a pope
pushed the boundaries of science to steer Michelangelo’s dome from the brink of
disaster. In saving the dome, these four pioneers revolutionized the world of
architecture and launched an entirely new way to solve the world’s most
challenging problems.
The year is 1742.
The famous dome atop St. Peter’s Basilica—designed by Michelangelo—is badly
cracked and threatened with collapse. It is the pride of Italy and among the largest
and most complex structures ever built.
No one knows how to fix it.
This is the dramatic and little-known story of how three mathematicians and a pope
pushed the boundaries of science to steer Michelangelo’s dome from the brink of
disaster. In saving the dome, these four pioneers revolutionized the world of
architecture and launched an entirely new way to solve the world’s most
challenging problems.
Saving Michelangelo's Dome 5 March 2024
Pre-order SAVING
MICHELANGELO’S DOME
The year is 1742.
The famous dome atop St. Peter’s Basilica—designed by Michelangelo—is badly cracked and threatened with collapse. It is the pride of Italy and among the largest and most complex structures ever built.
No one knows how to fix it.
This is the dramatic and little-known story of how three mathematicians and a pope pushed the boundaries of science to steer Michelangelo’s dome from the brink of disaster. In saving the dome, these four pioneers revolutionized the world of architecture and launched an entirely new way to solve the world’s most challenging problems.
About the Book
This engaging and colorful tale tells how Michelangelo’s dome was saved from disaster by three mathematicians and Pope Benedict XIV, who had asked them for help.
It is a gripping story of decisive leadership, crisis management, and scientific innovation, and the resistance that was faced when sailing into the headwinds of conventional thought.
About The Book
About The Book
Reviews
“Wayne Kalayjian turns a little-known story of architecture, mathematics and engineering into an engaging and suspenseful tale of scientific pioneers working on the boundaries of knowledge. Told with clarity and insight, the story features a compelling cast of popes, architects, mathematicians, and even blacksmiths and plumbers—all working to save one of the world’s greatest buildings.”
-Ross King
Best-selling author of Brunelleschi’s Dome
and Leonardo and the Last Supper
-William E. Wallace
Author of Michelangelo, God’s Architect
“A diverting look at how the challenges of dome-building laid the groundwork for the emergence of engineering as a scientific discipline.”
-Sarah Hart
Author of Once Upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections between Mathematics and Literature
“Telling the story of how Enlightenment-thinking solved a Renaissance problem, Wayne Kalayjian illuminates the beginning of modern engineering in clear, readable prose—and reminds us that progress requires open-minded commitment from those in power.”
-Paul Robert Walker
Author of The Feud That Sparked the Renaissance: How Brunelleschi and Ghiberti Changed the Art World
“An intriguing look at how an iconic structure came to be, and the challenges that arose in the years that followed.Kalayjian weaves an intricate story at the intersection of engineering, mathematics, politics, and religion.”
-Roma Agrawal
Structural engineer and author of Nuts and Bolts and Built: The Hidden Stories Behind Our Structures
“Wayne Kalayjian tums a little-known story of architecture, mathematics and engineering into an engaging and suspenseful tale of scientific pioneers working on the boundaries of knowledge. Told with clarity and insight, the story features a compelling cast of popes, architects, mathematicians, and even blacksmiths and plumbers—all working to save one of the world’s greatest buildings.”-Ross king best-Selling author ofBrunelleschi’s DomeandLeonard and the Lost Supper
Reviews
"Wayne Kalayjian tums a little-known story of architecture, mathematics and engineering into an engaging and suspenseful tale of scientific pioneers working on the boundaries of knowledge. Told with clarity and insight, the story features a compelling cast of popes, architects, mathematicians, and even blacksmiths and plumbers—all working to save one of the world's greatest buildings."
"Ever-enlarging cracks in the dome of St. Peter's threaten its collapse. This is the compelling tale of those who confronted the danger and the fascinating story of the brilliant mathematicians who rescued it. In the best sense, this is history told as story, as important today as when those dangerous cracks first appeared in the sixteenth century." —William E. Wallace, author of Michelangelo, God's Architect.
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