Florence Cathedral (Duomo di Firenze)
The Florence skyline belongs to this cathedral — the Duomo di Firenze, as locals call it. It stands on ground that has been a place of worship since Roman times; its predecessor, the church of Santa Reparata, occupied the same site before the city government ordered construction of the new building in 1296. Work continued until the structure was complete in 1436, the year Pope Eugene IV consecrated it. At the time it was the largest church in the world, and it still holds one absolute record: the largest masonry dome ever built by human hands. The rectangular nave meets a great three-lobed rotunda at the east end, which carries Brunelleschi's dome. Don't just tilt your head back at the ceiling — the bell tower's relief carvings, the Porta della Mandorla on the north side, and the underground remains of Santa Reparata beneath your feet each hold a story that most visitors walk past without stopping.
Italy · 19 The overlooked corners inside
The overlooked corners inside
Giotto's Bell Tower
It doesn't hide behind the apse — it stands flush with the cathedral's facade on the piazza, a deliberate choice to anchor the entire episcopal complex with a strong vertical line while opening the view toward the future dome at the east end. The tower is open to the top at 85 metres, reached by 398 original stone steps plus 15 more at the entrance. What makes it memorable is not the height but the polychrome marble sheathing and the ring of carved reliefs at the base — the mark Giotto left behind.
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Brunelleschi's Dome
Look up. This is the great masonry crown pressing down on the crossing. When it was built it was the largest dome in the world, and it remains the largest masonry dome ever constructed: the inner shell spans 45.5 metres at its widest, the outer shell 54.8 metres, and the whole thing rises 116 metres. Some regard it as the most significant work of European architecture since antiquity — not primarily for its size, but because it could not have been built using traditional methods, and so demanded an entirely new way of thinking about construction.
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Cathedral Facade
The facade you are looking at is the product of a six-hundred-year architectural mystery. When Arnolfo di Cambio broke ground in 1296 he started from the front, to allow the old church of Santa Reparata to keep functioning; his facade work stopped with his death in 1302, and Giotto left a significant mark on the base. Lorenzo the Magnificent launched a competition in the late fifteenth century that led nowhere; in 1587 Francesco I de' Medici had what decoration remained torn down. For the next two and a half centuries the cathedral faced the city with bare brick, until an 1871 international competition chose the design of Emilio De Fabris, completed in 1887. What you see today is one of the most important examples of Italian Gothic Revival architecture — though it is almost a version that survived more than a generation of argument.
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Arnolfo's Original Facade
Before the Gothic Revival facade you can see at the west end today (the one described separately), a very different face stood here for nearly three hundred years — the original facade that Arnolfo di Cambio designed when work began in 1296. It was richly clad in polychrome marble, Cosmatesque inlay, niches, and abundant sculpture, with the vertical Gothic momentum held in check by Arnolfo's more classical, horizontally divided approach: imposing, but without the insistency of a northern Gothic cathedral. It was never finished: after Arnolfo died in 1302 the work stalled, and for more than two and a half centuries the cathedral presented its unfinished face to the city. On 21 January 1587, Grand Duke Francesco I ordered it demolished; the architect Bernardo Buontalenti supervised the work until 9 July of that year and left on record that 'almost no marble came out whole — even the columns were broken apart.'
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Bell Tower — East Face
The side of the tower facing the cathedral is the only one of the four with an entrance door, so only five of the usual seven hexagonal reliefs appear at the base — the other two positions were given over to the doorway. Those five panels depict, in order: navigation, justice (Hercules overcoming Cacus), agriculture, drama (the cart of Thespis), and architecture (Euclid). The first three are by Andrea Pisano and assistants; the last two are attributed to Nino Pisano. Above the doorway, in the lunette of the arch, is a marble relief of the *Madonna and Child* carved by Andrea Pisano around 1342–43 — the lowest and most eye-level large sculpture on the entire tower.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org
Bell Tower — North Face
The north face is where the tower's sculptural programme was completed last: five of the l… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org
Bell Tower — South Face
This is the side of the tower where the sculptural programme was presented in its most com… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org
Cathedral Nave
Step through the west doors and the nave opens ahead of you for 153 metres — the true dept… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · wikidata.org
Dome Gallery
The Dome Gallery (Galleria della Cupola) is in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo and is the m… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: european-traveler.com · wikidata.org
South-East Tribune
The east end of Florence Cathedral wraps three polygonal tribunes (apses) around the dome'… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org
North-East Tribune
This tribune on the north side of the dome's drum shares the same five-radiating-chapel pl… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · it.wikipedia.org
Porta della Mandorla
This north door, facing Via dei Servi, is the last of the cathedral's four side doors to b… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Santa Reparata Crypt
Descending from the right aisle you step into the oldest Christian core of Florence — the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Cathedral Facade
Standing before this facade, it is hard to imagine that for more than 280 years there was… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Apse Area
The reason the dome appears to float above the cathedral is that the whole apse system ben… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Cathedral Interior
Walk in, and the first impression is usually one of unexpected openness. That is deliberat… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Choir
The space enclosed by the four great piers of the octagonal drum, directly beneath the dom… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Apse Chapels
Each of the three 'petals' of the east end opens outward into five radiating chapels lit b… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org
Cathedral Music Chapel
The music tradition here goes back to December 1438, when Cosimo de' Medici founded Floren… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: it.wikipedia.org · duomo.firenze.it
FAQ
What overlooked corners are worth seeing inside Florence Cathedral (Duomo di Firenze)?
Giotto's Bell Tower, Brunelleschi's Dome, Cathedral Facade and more — 19 spots in all, each with sources and a guide in your language to read or listen to on the spot.
Is the Florence Cathedral (Duomo di Firenze) guide free?
The first 5 spots are free to read; the other 14 unlock with a one-time purchase (not a subscription).