Santa Maria del Fiore, whose construction was planned by Arnolfo di Cambio, is the world’s third largest church (after Saint Peter’s in Rome and Saint Paul’s in London) and, at its completion in the 1400s, the largest in Europe: it is 153 meters long, 90 m wide at the cross and 90 meters high from the floor to the opening of the lantern.

The third and last cathedral of Florence, it was dedicated in 1412 to Santa Maria del Fiore, with a clear allusion to the lily, symbol of the city.
It rose over the second cathedral that early Christian Florence had dedicated to Santa Reparata.
The considerable diversities of style found in its parts, testify to the varying tastes over the long period of time between its founding and completion.

The first stone of the façade was laid on September 8, 1296, on a project by Arnolfo di Cambio who, at the same time, was coordinating the construction of Santa Croce and the Palazzo della Signoria.
He worked for the Duomo from 1296 until 1302, year of his death, designing a basilica with the classic spaces, with three wide aisles converging into the vast choir with the high altar, in turn surrounded by the tribunes supporting the cupola.