Photos

This picture I took in front of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore,the cathedral church, or Duomo, of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence, wich is noted for its distinctive dome.
This is only a part of the building, I took it because I thought the entrance looked pretty impressive.

Here's some more information about it wich I found on Wikipedia:

Its name ("Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower") refers to the lily, symbol of Florence, or to the old town name Fiorenza. But a 15th century document on the other hand states that the "flower" refers to Christ.

The walls are covered in alternate vertical and horizontal bands with many-colored marble from Carrara (white), Prato (green), Siena (red), Lavenza and a few other places. These marble bands had to repeat the decorations of the Baptistery and Giotto's belltower. There are two lateral door, the Doors of the Canonici (south side) and the Door of the Mandorla (north side) with works of art of Nanni di Banco Donatello and Jacopo della Quercia. The six lateral windows, notable for their delicate tracery and ornaments, are separated by pilasters. Only the four windows, closest to the transept, admit light; The other two are merely ornamental. The clerestory windows are round, a common feature in Italian Gothic. The floor of the church was laid in marble in the 16th century.

During its long history, this cathedral has been the seat of the Council of Florence (1439), heard the preachings of Girolamo Savonarola and witnessed the murder of Giuliano di Piero de' Medici on 26 April 1478 (with Lorenzo Il Magnifico barely escaping death).