Work on the Florence Cathedral, begun in the gothic style and halted due to the Black Death in 1348, had resumed in 1349 under a series of architects, commencing with Francesco Talenti, who had finished the campanile and enlarged the overall project to include the apse and the side chapels.

In 1359, Talenti had been succeeded by Giovanni di Lapo Ghini (1360–1369) who had divided the center nave in four square bays.

Other architects were Alberto Arnoldi, Giovanni d'Ambrogio, Neri di Fioravante and Andrea Orcagna.

By 1375, the old church, Santa Reparata, had been pulled down.

The nave was finished by 1380, and the huge masonry octagon intended to support the dome had been completed in 1414.

By 1418 only the dome itself remains incomplete.

The Arte della Lana on August 18, 1418, announces a structural design competition for erecting Neri's dome.

The two main competitors are the two master goldsmiths Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi, the latter supported by Cosimo de Medici.

Ghiberti had been winner of a competition for a pair of bronze doors for the Baptistery in 1401 and lifelong competition between the two remains acute.

Brunelleschi wins and receives the commission.