The Florence Duomo viewed from the Boboli Gardens.

San Lorenzo was consecrated in 393 AD and is one of the many churches that claims to be the oldest in Florence. For 300 years it was Florence's cathedral before it lost that status to Santa Reparata.

San Lorenzo was also the parish church of the Medici family. In 1419, Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici offered to finance a new church to replace the Romanesque building. Brunelleschi was commissioned to design it.

The Medicis gave large amounts of money, but to this day nobody has financed a façade (although Michelangelo designed one). The campanile dates from 1740.

The City of Florence

The city of Florence
The large dome in the center of the picture is the Florence Duomo.

This magnificent cathedral is notable for its giant dome, designed by Brunelleschi in 1436, its stripy exterior and its splended baptistery. Inside, the Duomo is a veritable museum of Renaissance art.