Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower, and the Duomo as it was commonly known, was the largest cathedral located in Florence.

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.

With Cambio deceased, 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 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 the lantern's completion. It was said that the lantern supposedly contained holy relics.

Pazzi conspiracy

In 1478, Lorenzo de' Medici and his brother, Giuliano, were attacked whilst attending High Mass, two years after Giovanni Auditore's death marked the outbreak of the Pazzi conspiracy. Giovanni's son, Ezio Auditore, was in the crowd observing the Medici procession, and intervened when the Pazzi conspirators attempted to murder Lorenzo and Giuliano.

Although Giuliano was killed before Ezio could intervene, Ezio was still able to help Lorenzo fend off the conspirators, most notably an enraged Francesco de' Pazzi. After the conspirators fled, unsuccessful in their mission, Ezio helped lead Lorenzo to safety at his home, the Piazza del Popolo.

Bonfire of the Vanities

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 Duomo of the Basilica. As the priest was transfixed in prayer, Ezio stealthily scaled the church and assassinated the priest.

Trivia

• The church was the tallest point in Florence, and in Italy in Assassin's Creed II, though it was still scaled down for the game.
• 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 nearby bell tower."
• The facade was depicted as being partially incomplete, which was historically correct, though the design of the facade under construction matched that of the current one, which was not built until the 1800s. The original facade was never completed, and was dismantled in 1587.
• A feather was located at its pinnacle height.
• The church's side-tower, the Campanile di Giotto, contained the tallest view point in Assassin's Creed II.
• The church was only accessible by entering the Assassin Tomb of Iltani.
• In Assassin's Creed: Embers, Ezio Auditore died of a heart attack in 1524, on a bench located just outside the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore.

Gallery

• 
  Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore Panorama
• The Basilica's western façade
  The Basilica's western façade
• 
  Panorama of the Basilica's interior

Reference

• Assassin's Creed II