Florence Cathedral and Brunelleschi's Dome
Cattedrale Metropolitana; Opera Di Santa Maria Del Fiore; Within The UNESCO Historic Centre Of Florence (1982) · Florence, Tuscany
The cathedral that gave Florence its skyline: begun in 1296 to Arnolfo di Cambio's design, consecrated in 1436, and crowned by Filippo Brunelleschi's dome, the largest brick dome ever built at 45.5 metres across the inside, raised between 1420 and 1436 without wooden centring because no tree in Tuscany was big enough. The pink, green and white marble facade is a Victorian addition of 1887; Giotto's bell tower beside it dates from 1334. The nave is free and rather bare, so the reason to pay is the climb: 463 steps up between the dome's two shells, passing Vasari and Zuccari's Last Judgement at arm's length, to a lantern about 90 metres above the street. The Baptistery opposite, with Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise in copy and its mosaic vault currently behind restoration scaffolding until 2028, and the excellent Museo dell'Opera, which holds the original doors and Michelangelo's late Pieta, complete the complex. Every ticket is a named pass with a fixed dome slot, and summer slots go a month ahead, so the dome is the first thing to book in Florence.
Piazza del Duomo, Florence, Tuscany, 50122, Italy
Cathedral nave for visitors Monday-Saturday 10:15-15:45, closed to tourists Sundays and feast days. Dome Monday-Friday 8:15-18:45, Saturday 8:15-16:30, Sunday 12:45-16:30 (last slots). Campanile daily 8:15-18:45. Baptistery daily 8:30-19:30. Museum daily 8:30-19:00, closed first Tuesday of the month. Crypt Monday-Saturday 10:15-16:00. Whole complex closed Easter Sunday, 25 December and 1 January.
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