Firenze/Florence: big daddy Duomo

The Duomo in Siena was fabulous, and, when all is said and done, it's probably the best church (out of thousands) we visited in Europe.

But there's no doubt that when you say "Duomo" to most people, it's Florence's that they picture. The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, to be precise.

It is really crowded...

...and a chunk of its marvelous bulk was encased in scaffolding for refurbishment works...

...but it's still breathtakingly beautiful. From that amazing dome, a triumph of Renaissance design...

....to its spectacular Campanile tower (which we climbed in 1996!)...

If you follow the 1996 link above, you can see what the dome looks like from the top of the tower...even more spectacular than from the ground. The pictures from this trip include other great views from our climb as well.

We opted, on this trip, to forego climbing the tower. And, indeed we decided to avoid all the Duomo's paid attractions (like the Baptistery and the museum).

Yes, the Duomo interior itself is free! A nice compensation for having to spend lots of euros on many of Florence's other prime attractions.

The interior here offers some wonderful sights, such as its handsome nave:

Although, again, I found Siena's interior more impressive. Maybe I just go in for gaudy in my church decor?

But there's plenty to admire in Florence's Duomo interior...

Henry's low-light-magic camera took this

attractive candle tree

Henry took this great shot of the wall where the main doors are located. What I really liked about his composition was the...wait for it...FLOOR TILE ART! Yes! There's lots of it here (although, not as much or as impressive as that in Siena).

Most of the tile art was abstract, rather than narrative...

I was intrigued by this acronym (which we'd seen in Siena, and in other churches). Rick Steves' Duomo self-guided tour didn't elucidate, but the internet came to the rescue...

Ora Pro Animas

Although, as often happens, there's a competing definition, specific to Florence's Cathedral. I'm partial to the Latin explanation, myself.

Back outside, the millions of sculptural and decorative details are overwhelming when it comes to deciding what to photograph. Here's a sample...

We walked past the Duomo several times during our brief visit to Florence, going and coming from our hotel to other attractions. And it was impossible to pass it at any time and not snap a few pix. But I found that the best time of day might be early morning, after the sun has risen but before it peers over the complex...

You'd think the backlight would obscure the lovely details, but, at least on a beautiful morning like this one, I believe it enhances them...