Florence has a number of beautiful sights, one being its cathedral, the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, or the Duomo. The cathedral, located in the centre of the old town, in Piazza del Duomo, is one of our favourites. We found ourselves drawn to it every day. We’d check on how it looked at different times, and admire its ornate façade.
The sun is on the front of the cathedral in the afternoons. The first time we saw it in the sunlight it was spectacular! The kind of building you can never see too many times, or take too many photos of. Certainly the crowds of people trying to get the perfect shot indicates we aren’t the only ones who feel that way.
The Duomo
The exterior is covered in a decorative mix of pink, white and green marble. The interior, on the other hand, is really distinct but pretty plain. The mosaics are certainly a main attraction within the cathedral.
You can climb the magnificent brick cupola (or dome), of the cathedral. But note that you need to make a booking. We booked online, however you will find there is a ticket office behind the cathedral. Pre-COVID, you needed to book a few days ahead. The only downside of this is not being sure what the weather would be like. On one of our visits we ended up on top of the cupola during a rain shower. Be warned, the outside railings around the perimeter of the cupola will leave rust marks on your hands and clothes if the railings are wet. Take a wipe to clean them if you climb on a wet day.
The Climb
On our most recent trip to Florence, our booking for the climb was 10.30am. We chose this time as we wanted the sun to be behind us as we took photos from the cupola towards the front of the cathedral and the bell tower, called Giotto’s Bell Tower. It is one of the four main structures on the Piazza del Duomo. The overcast morning meant that this didn’t quite go to plan. However, as the cloud lifted we did get some photos of the impressive view. We had climbed the cupola on a previous visit to Florence, so also have some amazing sunny photos too.
The climb up is not for the unfit, or the claustrophobic. According to the guide books, there are 463 steps, and we found that it is very steep and narrow in places. You have to pass others coming back down as you make the final ascent, but most of the climb is one way.
The highlight of the climb is the section that passes through the inside of the cathedral at dome height. You can look down at the people within the interior at ground level and its marble floor. You can also admire more closely the richly coloured frescos decorating the inside of the cupola.
The climb is definitely worth it. The views from the top are amazing.
Giotto’s Bell Tower
You are probably getting a sense that we like to climb monuments. That would be correct. You can also climb the Giotto’s Bell Tower, which we did. The demand for climbing the Bell Tower is less that the Duomo, so it may be a good alternative if you miss out on tickets for the Duomo climb. The bell tower is located adjacent to the cathedral.
It was quite windy on the day we climbed. And it is also a narrow, steep climb. Some of those we passed were not finding it easy going. From the Bell Tower, you get a spectacular view of the Duomo, as well as the surrounding terracotta roof tops, and the hills beyond the city.
If you are taking up a larger camera, just a heads up that the viewing area is contained within grates/fences, so you must take photos through the holes in the metal grates. This was not possible for our larger lensed DSLR camera, but was okay for our compact camera (and would be fine for a mobile phone).
The Baptistry
The smaller hexagon shaped building in front of the Cathedral is the Baptistry (the Battistero di San Giovanni). It is marble like the Cathedral, with the addition of detailed brass doors depicting a number of religious scenes. These fascinating doors are known as the ‘Gate of Paradise’. On our very first trip to Florence (2007), we were part of a tour, and had the benefit of a guide explain the story depicted on the gate.
The inside of the Baptistry is decorated with mosaics that will definitely provide a ‘wow’ moment. They depict a number of scenes from the bible, on a largely gold background.
Following our visit we had a Capri Pizza at Mercato Centrale. Absolutely delicious! And highly recommended. Visit our post about Florence’s Mercato Centrale for some food shenanigans.
2 comments
Great blog & can’t wait for more
Thank you Dad! We appreciate you reading our blog.