Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower) is the main church of Florence, Italy. Il Duomo di Firenze, as it is normally called, was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style of Arnolf di Cambio. It was completed structurally in 1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white. It has an elaborate 19th-century Gothic Revival facade by Emilio De Fabris.

The basilica is one of Italy's largest churches, and until development of new structural materials in the modern era, the dome was the largest in the world. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed.

The cathedral is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence.

The Gothic interior is vast and gives an empty impression. The relative bareness of the church corresponds with the austerity of religious life, as preached by Girolamo Savonarola. The interior of the dome contains Vasari's fresco begun in 1568, and completed by Federico Zuccaro in 1579. The hugh clock shown in some of the following pictures was decorated by Paolo Uccello.

While we were there, they were getting ready for the "Blessing of the Wine." The priests (in the 9th shot below) standing at the door were waiting to bless the wine. The traditional and funny parade of the ‘Carro Matto’ (Mad Cart) was passing by the Basilica while we were there. The Carro Matto is a big cart stacked with thousands of flasks of Chianti wine and drawn by a pair of oxen! They go to the Basilica to get the wine blessed, then they go to the Piazza della Signoria and distribute it. Unfortunately, we could not wait around for the distribution!