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This is for my sister-in-law who continues to ask me to share more photos from my travels. Going through my digital images and editing them takes alot of time, but since she’s asked me nicely and relentlessly, I’m sharing one of the most spectacular sacred spaces I’ve seen in Italy.

The CATTEDRALE SANTA MARIA DEL FIORE (Saint Mary of the Flower) sits in the center of Florence and is the highlight of the Firenze skyline. The Renaissance cathedral consists of the octagon baptistery, the slender campanile and the Duomo.

We learn the most about a country through its people, its food and their sacred spaces and Italy has no shortage of interesting people, scrumptious food and incredibly maintained world heritage sites.

The Duomo was built in 1296, can you believe that?! The octagonal dome was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi and is the largest masonry dome in the world.

It was built using slabs of white, pink and green marble and features stained glass windows, the work of Renaissance architects like Donatello and Ucello who painted the heads of prophets on the Duomo clock and frescos showing the life of Jesus from the Annuciation to the Miracle of the Pentecost. You’ll also see saints like Matthew, Mark, Luke and John on the exterior and once inside there are frescoes of The Last Judgement and Dante’s Divine Comedy.