A majestic example of Italian Gothic, the Duomo di FLORENCE, designed by Arnolfo di Cambio, was raised on the antique chiesa di Santa Reparata. Arnolfo's project was continued by Giotto, Andrea Pisano and Francesco Talenti, while Brunelleschi in 1420 started to work on the dome, designing it with an extraordinary technical intuition. The dome without any reinforcement was completed in 1436 and the lantern in 1461. The exterior part of the Duomo was covered with coloured marble, following the example of the nearby and much older Baptistery. The main façade was completed only in the 19th century.
Outside, it is worth to have a look at the beautiful porta della Mandorla (the Almond Door) (to the north), called in this way due to the big lunette which surrounds the Assunta figure, a great example of the passage from Gothic to Renaissance canons. The interior, austere and solemn, is lightened by the splendid glass windows by Ghiberti and preserves many important art works, such as the two frescoes by Paolo Uccello from 1436 and by Castagno in 1456. Paolo Uccello also decorated the clock located in the interior of the main façade. The splendid Pietà by Michelangelo has been removed and is today at the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, while you can still find the Incoronazione (Incoronation) mosaic by Maria di Gaddo Gaddi, the bust of Brunelleschi by Andrea Cavalcanti, the dome frescoes begun by Vasari and completed by Zuccai and the wooden Crucifix at the altar by Benedetto da Maiano in the Cathedral.
The Campanile di Giotto (the Bell Tower) preserves the name of the artist who designed it, though it was completed by Andrea Pisano and Francesco Talenti. The exterior of the Bell Tower, a sublime example of the architecture of the 14th century is 85 m high, in polychrome marble in the same colours as the Duomo. The first tiers is adorned with bas-relieves by Andrea Pisano and Luca della Robbia, while further up you distinguish the statues with Prophets and Sybils by the same artist, Donatello and Nanni di Bortolo. The highest tiers of the Bell Tower is decorated with bifora and trifora windows which give the tower a slim and airy impression.
Without going to far from the Piazza del Duomo, you can visit the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, founded in the end of the 19th century to house all the art works from the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and the Baptistery. Here you can see the beautiful sculptures by Arnolfo which were supposed to decorate the façade of the Duomo, the sketches for the dome made by Brunelleschi, the choirs by Donatello and Luca della Robbia, the Pietà by Michelangelo, which alone is worth the entrance fee to the Museum, apart from the masterpieces of paintings, crucifixes and church ornaments. The collection also features sculptures by the Florentine school from the 16th and 17th century, while you find tools and material in another room, which were found during the restructuring of the Duomo and the Cupola. The equipment shows the input and the technical skill of the workers during the Brunelleschian period.
The origin of the Baptistery is still uncertain, one of the oldest monuments of Florence, which during the Middle Ages was believed to have been a pagan temple from the Augustian period dedicated to Mars. The external part is characterised by geometrical patterns of the white and green Prato marble, and is a great synthesis of Early Christian and Romanesque motives. The doors are three masterpieces in bronze: the North door, completed in 1424, was made by Ghiberti depicting scenes from the New Testament. The South door is the oldest one and on Andrea Pisano illustrated on the panels scenes from the life of John the Baptist. Very famous is the so-called Gates of Paradise, the eastern door, a consummate masterpiece by Ghiberti who depicted events from the Old Testament, a reminiscence of Late Gothic and Classic sculpturing.
The original gate has been removed , though some of the restructured panels are placed in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. Inside you can see the splendid intarsia floor and the big mosaics of the ceiling and apse, all in gold, made between the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century by artists with a Byzantine training from Venice.
If you take Via Cavour towards Piazza San Lorenzo, you will find on your right hand-side the entrance of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, a splendid example of renaissance architecture, by Michelozzo for Cosimo the Old, the patriarch of the Medici family. It is the first Renaissance palace in Florence, characterised by the austere ashlar in the lower part of the façade and elegant bifora windows further up. Entering the two asymmetric doors you get to a courtyard which was built according to the modules of Brunelleschi and decorated originally in graffiti, and a typical Italian garden. In the 17th century the palace was bought by the marquis Riccardi who built a room with frescoes by Luca Giordano, one of the most significant example of Baroque art in Florence. Visit the Chapel of the Palazzo, adorned with a splendid fresco by Benozzo Bozzoli, dedicated to the Arrival of the Three Wise Men. Continuing along Via Cavour, passing the entrance of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, you turn to your left towards the Chiesa di San Lorenzo.
You get to the Chiesa di San Lorenzo by crossing the picturesque and lively market with the same name as the church, the most loved market by the Florentines where you find a vast range of handicraft and a friendly and noisy atmosphere. The church faces a small picturesque square and the external façade was never executed. The interior was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, who also entrusted the best artist of the period to decorate the church. The old Sacristy is very beautiful, adorned with works by Donatello and his pupils. Crossing the suggestive courtyard you get to the library Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, a real coffer full of miniatures. It allows you to admire closely the extraordinary staircase by Michelangelo., who designed the whole building. Just a few steps from the Chiesa di San Lorenzo you find the Cappelle Medicee (the Medici Chapels), not to miss due to the inestimable artistic heritage hosted here. From the crypt by Buontalenti you access the Cappella dei Principi (Princes' Chapel), a splendid example of Florentine Baroque. In the chapel there are the tombs of Donatello, Cosimo the Old, the Lorena family, while the New Sacristy, in semiprecious stones and white plaster is one of Michelangelo's masterpieces. Michelangelo designed the incomparable tombs and the allegoric statues of Dawn, Dusk, Day and Night.