Overview

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the main church of Florence, Italy. It was one of the most impressive projects of the Renaissance. Il Duomo di Firenze, as it is ordinarily called, was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to the design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed in 1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white. The basilica is one of Italy's largest churches and, until development of new structural materials in the modern era was the largest in the world. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed.