Florence - Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore

Florentina was established in Roman times as a settlement for veteran soldiers. The name had changed already when young Charlemagne conquered the town in 774. It became part of the Duchy of Tuscany, with Lucca as the capital. Around 1000 Margrave Hugo chose Florence as residency instead of Lucca. After the death of Matilda of Tuscany (1115), the Florentines formed a republic ruled by a council. The town prospered, despite a constant fight between the different factions and noble families.

In the 15th century, Florence was among the largest and wealthiest cities in Europe. This was when the Medici family entered the political scene. As a dynasty of art-loving, power-hungry bankers, they made Florence the birthplace of the Renaissance.

The Duomo di Firenze was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design by Arnolfo di Cambio and completed and consecrated in 1436 with the dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi.

Santa Maria del Fiore was built on the site of Florence's second cathedral, the first building here was consecrated as a church in 393 by St. Ambrose of Milan. After Arnolfo's death, work stalled for about 5 decades as resources were used to build the third city wall and the construction of the Palazzo della Signoria. According to Arnolfo's designs, only the lower part of the facade had been completed by then.

The project received a new impetus when the relics of St. Zenobius were discovered here in 1330. In 1331 the guild of wool merchants took over the patronage for the construction of the cathedral and commissioned Giotto with the construction management in 1334. Assisted by Andrea Pisano, Giotto continued di Cambio's design. His greatest achievement was the construction of the bell tower. When Giotto died on January 8, 1337, Andrea Pisano continued construction until work was stopped due to the Black Death in 1348.

Work on the dome began in 1420 and ended in 1436. It was the first "octagonal" dome in history to be built without a temporary wooden framework. It was one of the most impressive projects of the Renaissance.

The façade, begun under Arnolfo di Cambio, was felt to be outdated as early as 1588 and was demolished to make room for a new façade design, for which, however, the funds were not sufficient. The present west facade is a late 19th century neo-Gothic completion. It was completed by 1887.