Visiting Brunelleschi’s Dome represents a unique experience. For this reason it is in our to-do-list in Florence! It is the largest masonry dome in the world.

When you are about half the way up (there are a little bit more than 460 steps in total) you enter inside the Dome. There is a passage, a sort of walkway, where you see the inside of the church and you can admire from very close the awesome frescos by Federico Zuccari and the magnificent marble floor by Baccio d’Agnolo from above.

Continuing to climb you pass through a hollow space. The dome is in fact made out of 2 parts: the inner one is the most important (a little bit more than 2 m. wide) because it is the carrying one and the outside dome (about 1 m. wide) that serves to cover and protect form the weathering.

Going through the 2 domes is for sure the best and perhaps the only way to understand the incredible genius of Brunelleschi: you can see the bricks laid in an herringbone arrangement, the beams as well as the machines he had to invent to bring all the material at such heights.

Even today it remains a mystery how Brunelleschi was able to built such a unique and magnificent structure and if you take part to our tour you will see it with your eyes, discovering all the secrets of this wonderful monument.

At the top, from Verrocchio’s lantern, Florence is at your feet (including the Bell Tower!)

Travel Tip. You enter the Dome from the left side of the church. It is open daily (not on holidays and Sundays) from 8.30 a.m. To 7 p.m. Join one of our tours and you’ll get an incredible experience!