Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore

The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, popularly known as the Florence Cathedral or Il Duomo di Firenze, is the largest cathedral in Florence. It has a free-standing campanile called Giotto's Campanile and had the largest dome built before the 19th century.

History

Construction

Although Arnolfo di Cambio designed the church in 1296, construction on the dome did not start until the beginning of the 15th century. Once Cambio died, none of the architects at that time had any idea how to construct such an enormous structure, since the use of buttresses was forbidden in Florence and mortar took several days to set.

However, Filippo Brunelleschi, an architect who had lost an earlier bid to design the adjacent Baptistery doors, won a competition to build the dome, of which he outbid Lorenzo Ghiberti, the same artist that he had lost to before. Filippo also invented machines to hoist bricks needed for the dome up to the workers, and was able to construct the entire dome without using centering. Using over four million bricks, Brunelleschi and his workers completed the dome in 1436.

In addition, Filippo won a second commission to build the lantern atop the dome, though he died in 1446 before its completion; it was said that the lantern supposedly contained holy relics. In truth, these were the sarcophagus and belongings of the famed Assassin Iltani, who was responsible for the assassination of Alexander the Great.

Renaissance

Ezio defending Lorenzo outside the cathedral

In 1478, Florence's de facto ruler Lorenzo de' Medici and his brother, Giuliano, were attacked whilst attending High Mass at the cathedral, two years after Giovanni Auditore da Firenze's death marked the outbreak of the Pazzi conspiracy. Giovanni's son, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, was amongst the crowd observing the Medici procession, and intervened when the Pazzi conspirators revealed themselves and attacked Lorenzo, Giuliano, and their guards.

While Giuliano was killed before Ezio could help, the Florentine noble was still able to assist Lorenzo in fending off the conspirators, most notably an enraged Francesco de' Pazzi. After the conspirators fled, unsuccessful in their mission, Ezio helped to lead Lorenzo to the safety of his home, the Palazzo Medici.

Ezio assassinating the priest atop the dome

In 1497, during the Bonfire of the Vanities, one of Girolamo Savonarola's lieutenants, a mesmerized priest, took to praying from the top of the cathedral's dome. As the priest was transfixed in prayer, Ezio scaled the church and assassinated him.

In May 1519, members of the local chapter of the Assassins visited the cathedral as part of their search for the clues to the havens Leonardo da Vinci hid in the city. Leonardo had hidden the clue in the city within the Assassin Tomb inside the church, having altered the entrance mechanism. Figuring out Leonardo's enigma, they managed to trigger the new mechanism, and inside found another note from him as well as a map of Europe and the Mediterranean.

On 30 November 1524, a now-elderly Ezio died of a heart attack while resting on a bench in front of the cathedral.

Trivia

• The church's peak was the tallest point in Assassin's Creed II, although it had to be scaled down for the game.
  • The church's side-tower, the Campanile di Giotto, contained the tallest view point in Assassin's Creed II.
• Missing from in front of the main entrance to the church was the Battistero di San Giovanni, which was built several hundred years before the events of the game. According to lead writer Corey May, this was due to technical limitations brought about by the "many unique textures on the Duomo and [the] nearby bell tower."
• The facade was depicted as being partially incomplete, which was historically correct, though its design matched that of the current one, which was not built until the 19th century. The original facade was never completed, and was dismantled in 1587.
• A feather was located at the cathedral's pinnacle height.
• The interior of the church was only accessible through entering the Assassin Tomb of Iltani.
• In Assassin's Creed: Renaissance, the attack on the Medici takes place in the cathedral itself, which is more historically accurate, rather than the plaza outside.
• In Assassin's Creed: Identity, the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore can be seen in Florence, though it can't be visited.

Gallery

• 
  Concept art
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  A panorama of the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore
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  A panorama of the cathedral's interior

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed II (first appearance)
  • Bonfire of the Vanities
• Assassin's Creed: Embers
• Assassin's Creed (Titan Comics)
• Assassin's Creed: Identity
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
  • A War in the Shadows
  • Echoes Through the Animus
• Echoes of History (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: The Last Quest of Leonardo da Vinci