Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore

Cathedral Florence, Italy

The metropolitan cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, commonly known as the cathedral of Florence, is the main Florentine church, symbol of the city and one of the most famous in Italy; when it was completed, in the fifteenth century, it was the largest church in the world, while today it is the third largest in Europe after St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London.

It stands on the foundations of the ancient cathedral of Florence, the church of Santa Reparata, in a point of the city that has hosted religious buildings since Roman times. The construction of the Cathedral, ordered by the Florentine Signoria, began in 1296 and ended from a structural point of view only in 1436. The completion of Brunelleschi's dome was followed by the consecration by Pope Eugene IV on 24 March 1436. The dedication to Santa Maria del Fiore took place during construction, in 1412. The plan of the Cathedral is composed of a three-aisled basilica body welded to an enormous triconic rotunda which supports Brunelleschi's immense dome, the largest masonry dome ever built. Inside you can see the largest surface ever decorated with frescoes: 3600 m², executed between 1572-1579 by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari. At the base of the marble lantern, there is a panoramic terrace overlooking the city 91 meters above the ground. The facade of the Cathedral in polychrome marble dates back to the modern era, in fact it dates back to 1887 by Emilio de Fabris and is an important example of neo-Gothic style in Italy.