| DUOMO
SKYLINE
The Cathedral or Duomo and the Baptistery of Florence stand
in a huge rectangular area and occupy two separate but comunicating
squares: Piazza del Duomo, which contains the basilica of
Santa Maria del Fiore (the third largest cathedral in the
world after St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London),
and Piazza San Giovanni.
with the Baptistery right in the centre,
probably the first Christian church in the city, as it was
built in late Roman times (4th-5th century A.D.) on the ruins
of what was possibly a Roman temple dedicated to the god Mars.
However, the Baptistery as we see it today,
which has always represented an architectural reference point
for Florentine artists, dates from the 11th-13th century,
when the external revestmment of marble, the interior and
the mosaics in the cupola were completed.
The three famous doors in gilded bronze,
including the so-called Doors "of Paradise", were
cast at a later date, between 1330 and 1452.
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Hotel Minerva Florence > Florence Virtual Tour > Duomo Skyline
