“We had heard of this modern wonder in Genoa, of course, but seeing it in person was an entirely different matter. The dome was egg-shaped, and had been finished with reddish tiles beneath the great white ribs of its supports. A cross sat at the very top, blessing those who beheld it from below as well as pointing upward into the heavens. As I gazed upon it, I marveled that so great a structure could stay upright without collapsing in on itself. It seemed a frightening thing, that lowly mankind had dared to build something that ascended so close to God.”