Florence Cathedral, Italy




The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore is the main church of Florence, Italy. It began in 1296 in the Gothic style with the design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed structurally in 1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white and has an elaborate 19th-century Gothic Revival façade by Emilio De Fabris. It is the third largest cathedral in the world.


The cathedral complex, located in Piazza del Duomo, includes the Baptistery and Giotto's Campanile. These three buildings are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site covering the historic centre of Florence and are a major attraction to tourists visiting Tuscany.

In the age when designers almost never got to see their work completed since it took many years to build anything, Brunelleschi finished his project and was able to see his amazing work and the reactions of the people. The dome was completed in only sixteen years started in 1420 and finished in 1436, sixteen years was shockingly fast for such a feat.

A committee had come up with the ambitious plans and ideas to build the entire grand cathedral had been conceived in 1293, before the Renaissance period, including the domed rooftop even though no technology to complete the dome existed at the time. They started building the cathedral anyway, but had left the part of the dome’s roof exposed for years which is why, from conception to completion, the process took over 140 years.


An aspiring travel photographer.

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