Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore

Florence Cathedral is the fourth-largest Church in the world, with the largest brick dome in the world.

In deference to protocol wherein you would be baptized before entering the Cathedral, Baptistry of St John is a separate structure adjacent Florence Cathedral.

Whereas much of the original artwork in the Duomo, Baptistry, and Bell Tower have been moved to the Duomo Museum for preservation, including the famous Baptistry Doors, the vault mosaic was created over the course of an entire century.

The mosaic being Byzantine in style, and the structure being Romanesque in style, implies that both the structure and vault mosaic predate the Renaissance. Think of Romanesque Architecture as an attempt to extend Classical Architecture, but with generally less-sophisticated technique and design, and less-fine material. Byzantine mosaics are nevertheless quite exquisite in their own way.

Incidentally, the Baptistry also contains the Tomb of Antipope John XXIII. Antipope John XXIII is responsible for convening the Council of Constance in which Jan Hus was condemned as a heretic and burned at the stake. Imagine that: burning Jan Hus as a heretic at a time when there were three competing Popes!

A Gothic Cathedral with a Renaissance Dome, and a neo-Gothic Facade, Florence Cathedral has the third-longest Nave in Christendom. Pointed arches are Gothic.

The equestrian portraits are in honor of great secular men of Florence.

In the altar area, just beneath the Cross is a wooden Bishop’s Chair. This designates the Church as a Cathedral.

The crypt contains ruins of Santa Reparata Cathedral and Brunelleschi’s Tomb.