Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore

This Gorgeous European City Was Just Named the Most Walkable Destination in the World

"The city's monumental cathedral and an architectural centerpiece of its Renaissance heritage, located at the heart of a highly walkable cluster of attractions; visitors can easily move from the cathedral to nearby museums and squares within minutes while enjoying the historic streets and relatively good air quality." - Stacey Leasca Stacey Leasca Stacey Leasca is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Be a Travel Writer, an online course for the next generation of travel journalists. Her photos, videos, and words have appeared in print or online for Travel + Leisure, Time, Los Angeles Times, Glamour, and many more. You'll usually find her in an airport. If you do see her there, please say hello. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines

57 Best Airbnbs in Italy: Rome, Venice, Positano, Sicily, & More

"You’ll be hard-pressed to find a rental (or hotel, for that matter) with better views of Florence’s orange-roofed Duomo." - Madison Flager,Caitlin Morton

8 Great Gargoyles and Grotesques to Both Terrify and Amuse

"Santa Maria del Fiore, the great cathedral of Florence, hides many details often invisible at first glance. Among them, precisely on the left side of the cathedral, in the direction of the street “Via Ricasoli,” there is a stone bull’s head propped up on one of the capitals, and the story behind its creation may be even stranger than the piece itself. The unusual sculpture is one of the decorations over the door known as the “Porta delle mandorle” which gives access to the summit of the church’s dome. While no one is sure exactly why the bull was put in place, there are two prevailing theories. According to one version of the animal’s creation, it was said to be a tribute by the builders to the draft animals that were used during the building’s construction work. However, there is another story that is a bit more curious, petty, and funny. The local legend says that during the construction of the cathedral, one of the stonemasons had an affair with the wife of a rich shopkeeper in the area. When her husband discovered the betrayal, he decided to lodge a complaint directly to the ecclesiastical court, which ended the affair. Heartbroken, the stonemason decided to take revenge by creating a passive aggressive symbol of his love. The mason created the idiosyncratic bull’s head so that the animal’s horns were pointing right towards the shop of the husband as a concrete (pun intended) reminder of who his wife truly loved. Whichever account of the bull’s creation is the truth, the very existence of the legend ensures that both beasts of burden and the hazards of love will be remembered for as long as the church stands." - ATLAS_OBSCURA

"Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore The cathedral, usuallycalled the Duomo, is Florence ’s most recognizablebuilding. You are able to catch glimpses of itsmagnificent red-tiled cupola from just about anywhere in the city center. Construction on the church complexbegan in 1296 and the work—Brunelleschi’s domeand his Baptistery, and Giotto’s bell tower—was completedin 1426. The interior of this architectural is reserved in contrast with the exterior's marble Gothic facade and its green, pink, and white stripes. Climb the 463 steps up into the dome fora close-up look at Giorgio Vasari's fresco, The Last Judgment , and a bird's-eye view of the city."

"Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore The cathedral, usuallycalled the Duomo, is Florence ’s most recognizablebuilding. You are able to catch glimpses of itsmagnificent red-tiled cupola from just about anywhere in the city center. Construction on the church complexbegan in 1296 and the work—Brunelleschi’s domeand his Baptistery, and Giotto’s bell tower—was completedin 1426. The interior of this architectural is reserved in contrast with the exterior's marble Gothic facade and its green, pink, and white stripes. Climb the 463 steps up into the dome fora close-up look at Giorgio Vasari's fresco, The Last Judgment , and a bird's-eye view of the city."