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Cathedral - Santa Maria del Fiore
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The Cathedral of Florence is the fourth church of Europe for largeness, after Saint Peter in Rome, Saint Paul in London and the Dome of Milan.
The construction began on the ancient foundations of the church of Santa Reparata in 1296; in 1412 the name was changed in Santa Maria del Fiore. The church was consecrated on 25th of March 1436, at the end of the works on the dome of Brunelleschi, by Pope Eugene IV. In 1419 he was announced a public competition for the planning of the dome. The competition, generally considered the beginning of the construction of the dome, did not have an official winner. The construction was entrusted to Filippo Brunelleschi, and on 7th August 1420 he began the construction, that finished in 1436.
The cathedral is built on the model of the basilica; the interior, simple and rather austere, strongly gives an impression of aerial emptiness.
Many of the decorations of the church have been removed; sometimes they were destroyed, sometimes moved in the nearby Museum dell'Opera del Duomo, like the magnificent choirs of Luca della Robbia and Donatello.
Some works of the cathedral reflect its public function, with monuments dedicated to illustrious men and military commanders of Florence.
Initially the dome must be decorated with gilded mosaics, in order to reflect the light from the windows of the tambour, like suggested by Brunelleschi. His death stopped this expensive plan and the dome was simply plastered. The Grand Duke Cosimo de' Medici then chose the topic of the Universal Judgment for its frescoes.
Always considered not only a church but also a temple of art, the Cathedral keeps also important tokens linked to the world of science.
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