25. A Renaissance Founding Father and Epic Trickster
Italian architect and designer Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 – 1446), was one of the key figures of the Renaissance. Early in his career, he rediscovered the principles of linear perspective once known to ancient Greek and Roman builders, but lost in the medieval era. He is considered the founding father of Renaissance architecture, and the first modern planner, engineer, and sole construction supervisor. His major work is the Duomo in Florence – the dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.
Brunelleschi’s creativity was not limited to architecture: the man was also a prankster who mastered the practical joke like few have before or since. His most famous prank was an intricate deception that targeted a cabinet maker named Manetto, also known as il Grosso, or “The Fat”. Manetto was prosperous and good-natured, but he managed to tick off Brunelleschi when he missed a social gathering. So the architect set out to get him with an epic prank: he screwed with Manetto’s mind and got him to believe that he had switched bodies.