The project is part of an invitation-only competition carried out by the diocese and attended by leading figures in architecture and art. The design involved the design of the new ambo for the church of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. Conceived in geometric terms, the ambo goes along with the architectural harmony of the chancel and the cathedral itself under Brunelleschi’s great dome.

The competition for the ambo of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore was born to give implementation to the will made explicit at the time of the cathedral’s design in 1366 that has not found execution over the centuries, as well as to give implementation to a vision of the liturgical self and its places according to what was required for the liturgy following the Second Vatican Council.

In the chancel as in the entire complex, the dominant symbolic form is the octagon, alluding to the sunless day of the Risen One. To complement this symbolism, and respecting the already perfect balance of angles and alignments, the platform proposes another symbolic form, the circle without beginning or end, alluding to the future perfecting of things. In their intertwining, base and ambo, they indeed suggest growth and life, with the cross supported by the circular platform enveloping its center: a body that, evolving organically, ascends and expands.