Art historians collectively hold this piece of architectural design in extremely high regard, ranking favourably against any of his work in other mediums. It sits beside the world famous Duomo in Florence, Italy.
Giotto did not live long enough to see the completed building, passing away just two years after commending its construction. His work was continued by Andrea Pisano and Francesco Talenti which helps to explain why the lowest two sections of it are so marketedly different from the top three. Despite this inconsistency, it remains a stunning piece of art and architecture.
The completed tower stands at 85 metres high and is decorated in white, green, and red marble, in line with traditional Florentine architecture at that time. The key difference between the top and bottom halves of the Campanile is the flow of light, with very little coming into the bottom levels as no windows were included. The upper levels also make use of more of a gothic style than the classical work found below.
Giotto was excited by the prospect of designing the Campanile as he felt there would be little interference from other artists in this project, allowing him full license to impart his creative ideas. Work on the neighbouring Duomo was dogged by an abundance of painters and architects who needed to find a way to agree on every last detail.
The bell tower took a total of 50 years to complete, such was the intricacy of the work involved whilst the much larger cathedral took 170 years, including several periods of dormancy. Il Duomo was at one point the largest cathedral in Europe, before later being overtaken by San Peter's in the Vatican, Saint Paul's in London and the Milan cathedral.
