Florence Duomo (Cathedral) & Campanile (bell tower)

Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral of Florence which was designed by an Italian architect, Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 - 1446). The cathedral was well known for its dome's polychrome design.



On the left is a partial view of the cathedral, the dome is hiding at the back, and on the right is the Giotto's bell tower :




Complete front view of the cathedral with the dome hiding behind :




Side view of the cathedral & the bell tower :




The cathedral was built to surpass its Tuscan rivals, Pisa and Siena. It was the largest in Europe when completed, with room for 30,000 people.




The dome. It has various shades of green and pink bordered by white but the green is not obvious probably due to old age :




Completed in 1436, it was the first 'octagonal' dome built in history without a wooden supporting frame. The picture below shows "The last Judgment" painted on the dome :




Don't remember how long it took us to climb to the top of the bell tower, only remember my legs were very tired :




It's extremely crowded looking down from the bell tower :




There are three huge bronze doors below built between 1899 to 1903 :




They are decorated with scenes from the life of the Madonna :




This is the first time I'm seeing such a cathedral that's so well decorated :




Have you visited any similar cathedral before ? Do you mind sharing it with me here ?