Florence it is one of the most charming cities in Italy. Many people go two or three days on a longer trip around the country, but I really recommend staying longer. You have so much to see! Or simply, you can rent a bike and go for a walk through its streets.
One of the emblematic buildings of the city is the Florence Cathedral. It's cute, but not flashy. The most interesting thing that it has and that I recommend not to stop doing is to go up through its twisted interior towards the dome and from there, then enjoy the wonderful views of the city and its surroundings.
Florence Cathedral
Its construction began in 1296 and ended in 1436. At that time the construction of such monumental buildings took time. Did you read The pillars of the earth? by Ken Follet. The book explains very well the long and complicated process of constructing a building with these characteristics.
The Cathedral that we see today, from Santa Maria del Fiore, supplanted a previous church that no longer provided enough for the growing population of the city. The new building was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio, a Tuscan architect and sculptor who also designed the Palazzo Vecchio and the Church of Santa Croce. But Arnolfo died in 1310, after three decades of work, so the post took it Giotto and at his own death, in 1337, he was his assistant Andrea Pisano placeholder image, who went ahead.
They were not the only architects who took care of the works as Pisano died from the Black Death ten years later, and as the construction spread over time other architects followed the designs and also made their own contributions. Finally, Pope Eugene IV consecrated it in March 1436. What is the church like?
It is a basilica with a central nave with four bays and general design of latin cross. It is a huge temple, of 8.300 square meters, 153 meters long and 38 meters wide. The arches in the corridors are 23 meters high and the height of the dome is 114.5 meters. And the dome is its marvel since even a century after the construction of the cathedral began, it was conspicuous by its absence. There was only the model, pretentious in its dimensions and octagonal design.
The dome must be wonderful and he took care of that in the end Brunelleschi. He even had the luxury of going a step further and dare to place a flashlight at the top of the dome. Thus, the conical ceiling was crowned with a copper ball and a cross containing holy relics.
With this decoration the dome reached the final height of 114.5 meters. The copper ball was struck by lightning lasted in 1600 but was replaced by an even larger one soon after. it is believed that even this new copper ball was designed by a young man Leonardo da Vinci, that at that time he was working in the workshop that was taking care of it. Anyway, wonderful.
On the other hand, the original façade is the result of the work of various artists and some of the original works were removed in the time of Franceso I de Medici when it was changed to the Renaissance style. There were so many twists and turns that until the XNUMXth century the façade was almost bare.
Today the façade is in the neo-Gothic style, in white, green and red marble. It matches the bell tower and the baptistery and is simple. The huge bronze doors They were placed at the turn of the century, from the XNUMXth to the XNUMXth, and represent scenes from the life of the Virgin.
There are mosaics above them and some reliefs below. Also above the doors there is a series of niches with the twelve apostles and in the middle, the Virgin and the Child Jesus. And between the rose window and the tympanum another gallery with busts of Florentine artists.
If the exterior is simple and not very chromatic, the same is the interior. It is huge and almost empty so there is not much to see, but it is free to enter so there are usually always people. They shine, yes, their 44 colored glass windows, huge for their time, depicting scenes from the old and new testaments. The crypt Yes it can be visited and you will see Roman ruins, ruins of another old cathedral and Brunelleschi's own tomb.
The dome is decorated with scenes of the Last Judgment by Giorgio Vasari, although mostly painted by one of his students, Zuccari. And as I said before, at the beginning of the post, climb inside to the top of everything and go outside It is what you should not stop doing. You just have to have the strength to climb 463 steps and twisting through narrow passageways where you come across people going in the opposite direction.
The good thing is that you can unfold the visit because the dome opens at other times. It does it from 8:30 am to 7 pm although it is closed on holidays.
Practical information to visit the Cathedral of Florence
- Hours: open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 am to 5 pm. Thursdays open from 10 am to 3:30 pm, depending on the month; On Saturdays it is open from 10 am to 4:45 pm and on Sundays and holidays it opens from 1:30 to 4:45 pm. Closed on January 1 and 6, Easter and Christmas.
- Prices: the ticket costs 18 euros per adult. Children between 6 and 11 years old pay 3 euros and minors do not pay. The ticket includes a visit to the cathedral, the baptistery, the crypt, the bell tower and the Museo della Opera.