Florence Cathedral

About

Florence Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Firenze), formally the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower, is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Florence in Florence, Italy. Commenced in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed by 1436 with a dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi, the basilica's exterior is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink, alternated by white, and features an elaborate 19th-century Gothic Revival western façade by Emilio De Fabris.

The cathedral complex, in Piazza del Duomo, includes the Florence Baptistery and Giotto's Campanile. These three buildings are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site covering the historic centre of Florence and are a major tourist attraction of Tuscany. The basilica is one of world's largest churches and its dome is still the largest masonry dome ever constructed. The cathedral is the mother church and seat of the Archdiocese of Florence, whose archbishop is Gherardo Gambelli.