The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore - Florence
The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral of Florence, overlooking the Piazza del Duomo. This is the fifth largest church in Europe, after the Basilica of St. Peter, St. Paul"s Cathedral in London, the Seville Cathedral and the Cathedral of Milan. It is long, in fact, 153 meters, while the base of the dome is off 92 Florentine arms, approximately 54 meters. It has a peculiar plant, composed of a body as a basilica with three naves welded to a huge round that supports the huge dome by Brunelleschi, the largest masonry dome ever built. Inside the Cathedral you can see the largest area ever decoratedÂwith frescoes; 3600 square meters, made between 1572 to 1579 by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari.
The construction began on the ancient foundations of the church of Santa Reparata in 1296 by Arnolfo di Cambio, then Giotto continued the work from 1334 until his death in 1337. Francesco Talenti and Giovanni di Lapo Ghini continued in 1357. In 1412 the new cathedral was dedicated to Santa Maria del Fiore, and consecrated 25 March 1436 at the end of the work of Brunelleschi"s dome by Pope Eugene IV. Currently it is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Florence. Cardinal Pietro Valeriano Duraguerra, legate of Pope Boniface VIII solemnly laid the first stone of the new church on the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady  in 1296 (September 8). The building was a vast project that lasted at least 170 years (many more considering the construction of the facade of theÂ
nineteenth century), was attended by many artists and most important was the center of the collective efforts of many generations. The construction of Santa Maria del Fiore, one of the most important in the development of modern engineering, was thus the result of a construction site lasted centuries and was affected by the vicissitudes of political and economic history of Florence.
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