<P> In the back of the middle of the three apses is the altar of Saint Zanobius, first bishop of Florence . Its silver shrine, a masterpiece of Ghiberti, contains the urn with his relics . The central compartment shows us one of his miracles, the reviving of a dead child . Above this shrine is the painting Last Supper by the lesser - known Giovanni Balducci . There was also a glass - paste mosaic panel The Bust of Saint Zanobius by the 16th - century miniaturist Monte di Giovanni, but it is now on display in the Museum Opera del Duomo . </P> <P> Many decorations date from the 16th - century patronage of the Grand Dukes, such as the pavement in colored marble, attributed to Baccio d'Agnolo and Francesco da Sangallo (1520--26). Some pieces of marble from the façade were used, topside down, in the flooring (as was shown by the restoration of the floor after the 1966 flooding). </P> <P> It was suggested that the interior of the 45 metre (147 ft) wide dome should be covered with a mosaic decoration to make the most of the available light coming through the circular windows of the drum and through the lantern . Brunelleschi had proposed the vault to glimmer with resplendent gold, but his death in 1446 put an end to this project, and the walls of the dome were whitewashed . Grand Duke Cosimo I de' Medici decided to have the dome painted with a representation of The Last Judgment . This enormous work, 3,600 metres2 (38 750 ft2) of painted surface, was started in 1568 by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari and would last till 1579 . The upper portion, near the lantern, representing The 24 Elders of Apoc. 4 was finished by Vasari before his death in 1574 . Federico Zuccari and a number of collaborators, such as Domenico Cresti, finished the other portions: (from top to bottom) Choirs of Angels; Christ, Mary and Saints; Virtues, Gifts of the Holy Spirit and Beatitudes; and at the bottom of the cupola: Capital Sins and Hell . These frescoes are considered Zuccari's greatest work . But the quality of the work is uneven because of the input of different artists and the different techniques . Vasari had used true fresco, while Zuccari had painted in secco . During the restoration work, which ended in 1995, the entire pictorial cycle of The Last Judgment was photographed with specially designed equipment and all the information collected in a catalogue . All the restoration information along with reconstructed images of the frescos were stored and managed in the Thesaurus Florentinus computer system . </P> <P> The cathedral underwent difficult excavations between 1965 and 1974 . The archaeological history of this huge area was reconstructed through the work of Dr. Franklin Toker: remains of Roman houses, an early Christian pavement, ruins of the former cathedral of Santa Reparata and successive enlargements of this church . Close to the entrance, in the part of the crypt open to the public, is the tomb of Brunelleschi . While its location is prominent, the actual tomb is simple and humble . That the architect was permitted such a prestigious burial place is proof of the high esteem he was given by the Florentines . </P>

Who painted the inside of the florence dome