Cathedral of Florence, Italy

© Alexander Baert/Amazing Aerial Agenc

Birthplace of the Renaissance. The Cathedral of Florence, Italy

We’re flying over one of the famous architectural masterpieces of Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance. With its white and green marble façade and massive 148ft (45m)-wide dome, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (known as the Cathedral of Florence – or locally as the Duomo) dominates this Italian city’s skyline. Designed in a Gothic style by the architect Arnolfo di Cambio, building work began in 1296 but it would not be structurally completed until 1436 - another architect, Filippo Brunelleschi, was commissioned to build the massive dome.

The inside of the dome was decorated by the Renaissance painters Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari with scenes representing the Last Judgement in the mid-16th century. The cathedral complex, including the campanile, or bell tower, built in the 14th century, is part of a wider Unesco World Heritage Site covering Florence’s historic centre.