In 1296 they laid the first stone of what was to become the third largest church in the world: the famous Cathedral Santa Maria del fiore. Many of the most important events in Florence’s history centre around this impressive Cathedral, dedicated to the Madonna, Maria.
Our visit begins in one of Florence’s most innovative museums, the newly renovated Cathdral Museum which was inaugurated in 2015. The museum houses the originals of many of the art works that at the outset were destined for the church and the monuments surrounding it.
One of the museum’s rooms is dedicated to the Dome, built by the architect Filippo Brunelleschi and recognized as a masterpiece of engineering. The museum also houses a life-size re-creation of the Cathedral’s original early 1300s facade.
Following our visit to the museum, we will guide you through the Cathedral and the Baptistry, which features beautiful ceiling mosaics from the early 13th century.
If you like, at the end of the tour you can climb the 463 steps up into the Dome – the space in the stairway is a bit cramped, but when you get to the top you have a magnificent view over the city of Florence.
