Florence Cathedral Interior

There is also the equestrian statue of niccolo da tolentino by andrea del castagno.

Florence cathedral interior. The dome has a diameter of 45 5 metres. The competition that the opera di santa maria del fiore ran in 1418 was won by brunelleschi but work did not get under way until two years later and was not completed until 1434. The church was designed by arnolfo di cambio c1245 1302 who considerably enlarged the existing religious structure.

The cathedral named in honor of santa maria del fiore is a vast gothic structure built on the site of the 7th century church of santa reparata the remains of which can be seen in the crypt. The three sets of bronze doors leading into the cathedral are massive and. It was begun in 1296 in the gothic style to a design of arnolfo di cambio and was structurally completed by 1436 with the dome engineered by filippo brunelleschi.

The two wall murals below depict john hawkwood on the left and niccolò da tolentino on the right. The first episcopal church of florence was the ancient basilica of saint lawrence outside the walls consecrated by saint ambrose of milan in 394. It suggests in architectural terms the spirituality of the great reformers of florentine religious life from saint john gualbert to saint antoninus and fra girolamo savonarola.

Brunelleschi s dome 45 meters wide was originally a wooden dome built by arnolfo di cambio. Brunelleschi s dome is the largest masonry dome ever built and it is the coverage of the cathedral of florence italy. The two men were condottieri military leaders who fought to defend the florentine republic in the 14th and 15th century.

To construct a dome over the presbytery mixed up many technical problems. The interior is filled with famous paintings such as dante before the city of florence domenico di machelino and the funerary monument to sir john hawkwood paolo uccello. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white and has an elaborate 19th century gothic revival façade by emilio de fabris.

Florence cathedral s dome italy brunelleschi s dome. Inside florence s cathedral the duomo florence s cathedral stands tall over the city with its magnificent renaissance dome designed by filippo brunelleschi with the baptistery right across. The relative bareness of the interior of santa maria del fiore corresponds to the austere spiritual ideal of florence in the middle ages and early renaissance.