For 2 centuries, the cathedral of Florence, which is dedicated to Santa Maria del Fiore, was the largest church in Christendom. While the exterior of the church presents a dizzying array of polychrome marble revetment, the interior is surprisingly austere. While some are disappointed by the sparse decoration, the church is instead an extraordinary example of “Proto-Renaissance” style architecture and anticipates Brunelleschi’s innovations. Its crowning feature is, of course, Brunelleschi’s dome, which is still the world’s largest masonry dome standing at 102m.

Buona visita!