Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
8.30am-6.20pm Mon-Fri, to 5pm Sat)
atop Florence's
duomo
. It was constructed between 1420
and 1436 to a design by Filippo Brunelleschi.
The Last Judgement
The most dramatic artworks inside the
duomo
are the flamboyant late-16th-century fres-
coes on the dome. Created by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari and covering an as-
tonishing 3600 sq m, they depict the
Giudizio Universale
(Last Judgement). Look out for
a spent Mother Nature with wrinkled breasts and the four seasons asleep at her feet.
Crypt of Santa Reparata
Stairs in the nave of the cathedral lead down to the
cripta
(crypt; combined ticket to dome,
baptistry, campanile, crypt and museum adult/child under 14 €10/free; 10am-5pm Mon-Wed & Fri, to 4pm Thu, to
4.45pm Sat)
, located in the excavated remnants of a basilica that stood on this site in the 5th
century. Pay tribute to Filippo Brunelleschi, whose tomb is secreted among the stones,
and check out the dome-inspired parasols in the souvenir shop, also (somewhat oddly)
located here.
Campanile
Set next to the
duomo
is its slender
campanile
(bell tower; combined ticket to dome, baptistry, campan-
ile, crypt and museum adult/child under 14 €10/free; 8.30am-6.50pm)
, a striking work of Florentine
Gothic architecture designed by Giotto, the artistic genius often described as the founding
artist of the Renaissance. The steep 414-step climb up the square, 85m tower offers the
reward of a view that is nearly as impressive as that from the dome.
