When we think of our hometown, no matter how small or how big, there is some sort of building or monument that makes that place complete. Florence, Italy, is no different.
When one types “Paris, France” into Google, about 15 of the initial images are of the Eiffel Tower.
On the Rick Steves “Rome 2016” guidebook, we see the Colosseum on the cover.
If we turn to American culture, we know touring New York City isn’t complete without a ferry ride out to the Statue of Liberty. On the West Coast, Los Angeles wouldn’t be its glamorous self without the large white word, “Hollywood,” decorating its hills.
If you think of this in terms of your own home, perhaps it’s an old fancy courthouse or a statue that rests in the center of town. In Bloomington it’s Sample Gates sitting at the front of a university that’s nearly two centuries old.
In Florence, Italy, within my first five minutes strolling around the town I discovered its own special something.
When we first hear the word duomo, we usually think of the one in Milan, Italy. However, the Florence Cathedral is well deserving of its own recognition.
While Florence is home to the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge over the Arno river and the sky-high Galleria Degli Uffizi art museum, it wasn’t these places that were truly this city’s staple.
On my first day in this region of Tuscany, Italy, as soon as I turned right onto the street Via dell’Oriuolo and saw a glance at the orange bricks at the top of the Cathedral, it already brought me, a stranger to this town, a sense of understanding about this new city.
The Florence Duomo is a time machine that reminds any visitor Florence didn’t just appear. It’s a city with a history.
According to the Visit Florence website, it took two years for the cathedral to be considered finished. Now it represents a symbol clearly reflected in the city and its never-ending commitment to honor its traditions and history.
From rich gelato and unbeatable cappuccinos found on every block to the stunning Basilica di Santa Croce church, which houses the serene burial place of Michelangelo and Galileo.
The way the duomo unexpectedly offers a wide array of colors from green to pink on the outside seems to reflect its distinct dimension within the people of this town.
As I speak to my landlord I see an Italian woman who has an unbelievable amount of passion for the Florence she has called home for years, and then I walk to class to meet a professor from Cleveland who visited Italy on a whim and 30 years later has yet to move back to Cleveland.
The duomo in Florence is not only the center of a town that leaves its residents and visitors in constant awe of its beauty, but it’s a historical piece of art that embodies all that is Florence. It’s the heart that brings the entire city together.
