Quick: Think of the phrase "Florence, Italy ... with a rectangular floor plan — instead of a cross-shaped cathedral like Notre Dame — and a semicircular apse for an altar.

In 1418 the town fathers of Florence finally addressed a ... Other questions plagued the cathedral overseers. Their building plans eschewed the flying buttresses and pointed arches of the ...

is not only Florence's religious center, but it's also the city's most recognizable attraction. Occupying the Piazza del Duomo in the heart of the city, this massive Gothic cathedral was erected ...