Duomo Mornings

Everlane blouse
Aritzia culottes (similar)
H&M heels
Gucci handbag
Zara sunglasses (similar)
Keltie Leanne Designs ring (c/o)
Mango earrings
Location: The Duomo – Florence, Italy

It was actually photos of the Duomo that convinced me we needed to visit Florence. It’s rare that a church inspires my imagination, no matter how old or historically significant. After all, it’s hard to see meaning in something when you don’t believe in what it represents. But the Duomo is different, somehow. It was the first thing I wanted to see when we arrived, even though we had tickets to visit the following day. I needed to know if the cream and coral marble would be as spectacular in person as it looked on film.

The Duomo did not disappoint. In our nine days in Florence, we often walked past it more than once a day – our favourite coffee shop, Guido Giudi, right behind it, next to the Duomo museum. (A very civilised cafe, they keep their coffee prices at a normal level until 10 am, despite their location, so that locals can get a morning coffee without going broke. After 10, when locals have gone to work, prices increase to a tourist rate.) And I never tired of it. I never stopped looking up. “The Duomo really is special,” I remarked to Ian more than once.

I can’t put my finger on exactly what it is about the Duomo that distinguishes it from other churches for me. Perhaps its the harmony of the colours of stone with the landscape around them, or the way they seem to warm in the Italian sunlight. Or maybe it’s the fact that the Florentines had to do the architecturally impossible to build it in the way they envisioned it. (They built the dome without a wooden support frame, despite its height.) It could just be that it’s beautiful. The reason doesn’t really matter – the Duomo is, without a doubt, my favourite cathedral I’ve visited, and the list of cathedrals I’ve been to is lengthy.

We tried – some days with more success than others – to relax a bit during our time in Italy. We wanted to avoid falling into the trap of ticking attractions off an imaginary “must see” list. The Duomo was one of only two major sites we actually paid to visit. Both were surprisingly pricey, even by the Parisian standards we’re used to. But the Duomo was worth every penny. I loved the views of the dome from the rooftop of the museum best of all.