Stairing At Something Marbleous

Day: 233

Towns / Cities Visited: 148

Countries Visited: 28

Steps Taken Today: 18,777

Steps Taken Around the World: 3,822,362

It was to be an earlier morning than usual today because we had booked an attraction for 10am, and, as such, we were up, fed, and on the tram in no time. Being that it was our third day of exploring Florence, finding our way to the square we were searching for was simple enough; besides, we were going to see something that is honestly almost impossible to miss, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. This mammoth church sits right in the centre of this historic city: its biblical beating heart, if you will. Clad in an impressive swathe of white, green, and pink marble, and topped with a huge red-brick tiled, octagonal dome, this monument to God is certainly one of the more ostentatious we’d seen.

Construction of the cathedral began all the way back in 1296 and wasn’t completed until 1436, but I guess, as they say, good things come to those who wait. That being said, I always find it a bit sad that the architect who first planned the building never got to see his idea come to fruition. Like so many others, this church was built atop the foundations of a far older one from the 5th century, which was crumbling from age and needed to be replaced in order to better serve the growing population. Although the structure itself was finished in 1436, the decoration of the exterior was ongoing until 1887 when the…