Built in 1436, it is one of biggest churches in all of Italy and until recent times, was the largest dome in the world. 
The Basilica is a phenomenal piece of architecture that represents the ancient design of central Firenze flawlessly.
The actual cathedral complex is located in the spacious Piazza del Duomo, which is also the path I take every morning to travel to school. How cool is that? To walk past one of the greatest symbols in European history. Each day I am dwarfed by utter scope of the cathedral and just marvel at the intricacy of it all. It never gets old.
The first trip that I made to specifically visit the Duomo was with the school. It occurred during the first week of the semester actually.
The Italian guide who toured us through the Basilica only spoke Italian, making it almost impossible to fully digest his commentary.
Here's a shot of him passionately commentating, while our student from Mexico looks on with a sense of bafflement!
Luckily, I was able to break down small bits every so often through visual language, fellow students, and astute beginner's knowledge of the language (not really).
I present to you some exterior shots of the Basilica as he commented on the Gothic architecture:
The outstanding statues and designs on the exterior of the cathedral were fantastically full of symbolic imagery and represented the catholic aura of the religion exceptionally well.
We were than lead into the actual interior of the Basilica where I was utterly bewildered by the actual size and scope the cathedral had to offer.
We moved farther in towards the actual dome.
As I broke my neck looking up, the true majestic quality of the Basilica presented itself.
The frescos painted on the actual dome were downright jaw-dropping. The imagery that ranged from celestial to demonic were fantastically realized by the seamless transition between the images.
The essence of good and evil was brought to vivid life:
While we were surveying the frescos from a far distance, there is actually a long path that leads up closer to the frescos.
While the guide mentioned that the steep ascent would not be part of our tour, he did say we were welcome to climb the audacious path in our own time. Definitely, going to try that!
We were than lead into an underground crypt, which held the burial tomb of Filippo Brunelleschi, architect of the actual dome.
With time rapidly deteriorating, we surveyed the interior once more before leaving.
The Basilica also housed the famous painting "La Commedia Illumina Firenze," showcasing Dante surrounded by his influences and imaginations:
While the seminar with the school was a great introduction to the Basilica, I knew I had to return in my own to time properly digest the grandeur of the cathedral. With the forthcoming weekend free, I penciled in the Duomo.
One of the things I hoped to do in my personal visit was to climb to the very peak of the Duomo. It was going to be a quite a feat, with over 460+ steps to climb. But hey, I didn't travel all the way to Florence to decline such once in a lifetime experiences.
To see those ethereal frescos up close and survey the celestial vistas of Florence from such a vantage point was just something I couldn't pass up.
All I would need is a bottle of water and some Andreas Scholl to set me on my ascent. It would be a pleasant and rewarding trip.
Confident in my decision I strolled off to my apartment, looking forward to my forthcoming escapade.
But as I was leaving, I saw a few travelers who had just journeyed down from the gigantic trek.
They looked like they had just come out hell. Broken and weathered, they grasped onto their water bottles as if their lives were enclosed within them.
Maybe this forthcoming journey would not be as pleasant as I thought...
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