Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence Duomo)

The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, universally known as the Florence Duomo, dominates the city's skyline with Filippo Brunelleschi's terracotta-tiled dome — completed in 1436 and still the largest brick dome ever constructed, spanning 45 metres across without the use of external scaffolding. The exterior is faced in green, white, and pink Tuscan marble in a Gothic pattern, with three ornate bronze portals and a neo-Gothic facade completed in 1887. Inside, the cathedral is deliberately austere compared to its exterior: the nave is vast and dimly lit, with Paolo Uccello's famous clockface, equestrian frescoes of Niccolò da Tolentino and John Hawkwood on the north wall, and Domenico di Michelino's celebrated painting of Dante holding his Commedia. The dome interior is covered by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari's Last Judgment fresco, visible at close quarters during the dome climb. Ascending the 463 steps between the outer and inner dome shells concludes at the lantern, where a circular balcony offers a 360-degree panoramic view over Florence's terracotta rooftops, the Arno valley, and the Tuscan hills. The complex also includes Giotto's freestanding campanile — another 414-step climb — and the octagonal Baptistery of San Giovanni opposite the cathedral's main entrance, whose gilded bronze East Doors, dubbed the 'Gates of Paradise' by Michelangelo, are one of the defining works of the early Renaissance. The original doors are preserved in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo behind the cathedral. A combined Opera del Duomo pass grants access to all elements of the complex. The cathedral interior is free to enter; the dome, campanile, baptistery, and museum require the pass.