Turn left at the lights, you can't miss it
Happy days! Here at Dark Rome Towers we’re in celebration mode because we have just received the golden ticket – skip the line access at Il Duomo in Florence. If tallied up since starting our Florence tours we’ve probably spent entire months standing outside Florence’s main Cathedral, Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, in the baking sun waiting to gain access to the dome. We’ve used dozens of bottles of suncream, had countless sunburns and drank an Olympic-size swimming pool worth of (overpriced) bottled water. It’s been no picnic for our customers either, especially those travelling with kids, and we were always disappointed not to be able to offer skip the line access. Not that Il Duomo wasn’t worth it, it was worth every muscle ache and sun blister to see those sweeping views every day and to watch the look on visitors’ faces when they caught their first glimpse. Now though, we get to spend less time standing around and more time gazing over Florence, so a big hurrah for the hardworking elves in the Dark Rome backroom who made it happen.
Worth it is probably the phrase that best sums up Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, known commonly as Il Duomo, which translates as The Dome in English. Work on the UNESCO World Heritage certified Cathedral was started in 1296 but for a hundred years it had no roof. The octagonal dome was structurally completed in 1436 but it wasn’t until 1887 that the façade was completed in the white, green and red polychrome marble (locally sourced of course) that we know today. That’s almost 600 years between the time when the first stone was laid and the exterior was completed. And still Il Duomo was worth the wait.
The exterior is made of local marble
A huge imposing presence which looms over Florence, whether you visit it or not you are unlikely to miss Il Duomo. With its pink roof tiles and marble façade, the Cathedral is quite unlike any other religious building you will ever see. Inside its gothic roots are evident, creating vast open space that contrasts with the busy patterns on the building’s exterior and the 44 beautiful stained glass windows that light it. Yet although a lot of the original art and structures have been moved to nearby museums, the cathedral houses some of Florence’s most interesting artistic works – quite a claim in a city that houses Michelangelo’s David and Boticelli’s The Birth of Venus. One such work can be seen the second you enter the Cathedral. Just over the main door is a huge, fully operational clock face, one of the world’s last surviving clocks that works on hora Italica time, the 24 hour Italian clock that puts sunset at the 24th hour.
The other spectacular work of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the interior of the dome. Believe it or not the huge octagonal structure is just as beautiful inside as it is outside with a huge painting created by Giorgio Vasari and Frederico Zuccari to depict The Last Judgement. Unlike most domes, this one can be visited up close by climbing the staircase to a balcony that brings you almost close enough to touch.
The star of the show at Il Duomo however, was a gift from Mother Nature. After climbing up 463 steps through a staircase that winds and winds and winds, getting smaller and smaller, the passage opens up onto the roof into one of Italy’s most spectacular panoramic views. Beneath the Cathedral is a sea of Florence’s matching pink roofs, the river cutting a ribbon through the city and then beyond that, the vast rolling countryside of Tuscany. Worth every step.
For more information on our newest tour that takes in il Duomo and the Accademia Gallery (home to David) click here. Or for a more extended tour that covers all Florence in a single day, including a guided tour of the famed Uffizi Gallery, click here. Both tours now offer skip the line access to Il Duomo as well as the galleries.