The
Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (English: Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flowers) is the
cathedral church (
Duomo) of
Florence,
Italy, begun in 1296 in the
Gothic style to the design of
Arnolfo di Cambio and completed structurally in 1436 with the dome engineered by
Filippo Brunelleschi.
The cathedral complex, located in
Piazza del Duomo, includes the
Baptistery and
Giotto's Campanile. The three buildings are part of the
UNESCO World Heritage Site covering the
historic centre of Florence and are a major attraction to tourists visiting the region of
Tuscany. The basilica is one of Italy's largest churches, and until the modern era, the dome was the largest in the world. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed.
