The main Cathedral of Florence Santa Maria Del Fiore (aka the Duomo) is the most noticeable attraction of the city. Its massive dome, the work of the famous Renaissance master F. Brunelleschi, as well as the high bell tower, are clearly visible from different points of the city. The highest point of the cathedral (the tip of the dome) is at a height of 90 meters.
Facade of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Del Fiore. The famous dome can be seen behind.
Santa Maria Del Fiore is located in the center of Florence, on Cathedral Square, which looks quite narrow. The cathedral is almost directly adjacent to residential buildings. Only in front of its central facade and near the bell tower there is a little free space, where, of course, a lot of tourists crowd.
The first thing that attracts attention in the building is the facing of the cathedral with green, white and pink marble, thanks to which it looks very elegant and unusual. The facade of the Duomo is especially beautiful, which is also richly decorated with various moldings and sculptures. Due to the narrow area in front of him, it is quite difficult to photograph him in his entirety. We managed to capture the entire Duomo in the photo only from the farthest corner of the square.
Painting of Brunelleschi’s dome – view from the inside.
At the time of completion of the main works on the Duomo in the middle of the 15th century, this cathedral was considered the largest church in Europe. About 30 thousand people could be in it at the same time. However, the work on ego construction was not completed then. The current facade of the cathedral was completed only in 1887.
The dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, which was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, is also of great interest. This dome weighs 37 tons and has a diameter of 42 meters. It was not easy to place it above the cathedral, however, the architect coped with this task.
Christmas tree in front of the facade of the Duomo
Brunelleschi’s dome is very large, but due to the narrow space in front of the cathedral, it is practically invisible from below. In order to understand its true size, you need to look at the dome from afar, for example, from Michelangelo’s hill. It is from there that you will see how this dome rises and soars above the city.
Entrance to the cathedral is free. However, if you see a long line before the entrance, don’t be upset because you couldn’t get here. Inside, the cathedral is very simple. When it was built, it was believed that nothing should prevent a person from praying, including all kinds of gilding and decorations. Therefore, the walls of the Cathedral are decorated only with light-colored plaster. Inside the Duomo, only the painting of the main dome is of interest, as well as the old clock, which runs backwards, that is, against the clockwise direction.
The dome of the cathedral is visible from different points of Florence
If desired, for 6 euros you can climb the dome of the Duomo, from where a beautiful view of the garden opens up.
Dome opening hours: Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Saturday is a short day. Sunday is a day off.
The cathedral itself is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Duomo is closed all day on Thursday, and also on Sunday in the morning.
Arriving in Florence, be sure to visit the local museums. We recommend that you buy tickets to Uffitsi Gallery and Academy Gallery to avoid queues.
