Replacing the flagpole/lightning conductor on top of a 14th Century cathedral in Florence, Italy proved an interesting recent project for local contractor C AF.
The 50ft (15.24m) flagpole was on the roof of the 86m bell tower of the Tuscan city’s Santa Maria in Fiore Cathedral. This cathedral was designed more than 600 years ago by Florence’s illustrious city architect, Giotto. The replacement pole was raised to the top of the monument by hanging it below a platform, on which rode two men. The crane deployed for the task was a 400t-capacity Demag AC 400 all-terrain, rigged with 49m of boom and a 66m luffing jib. The CAF team working on the job was headed on-site by Cesare Rosi and included operator Gianni Baricci, and Paolo Corsi on the platform. Other staff had the job of holding the corners of the platform steady with ropes and fitting the new pole into position.
