The crowning architectural jewel of Florence is the domed cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore, known as "The Duomo". The magnificent dome was built by Filippo Brunelleschi. The nearby Campanile Tower (by Giotto) and the Baptistery buildings are also highlights.

Duomo is a generic Italian term for a cathedral church. The formal word for a church that is presently a cathedral is cattedrale; a Duomo may be either a present or a former cathedral (the latter always in a town that no longer has a bishop nor therefore a cathedral, as for example Trevi). Such churches are usually referred to simply as "Il Duomo" or "The Duomo", without regard to the full proper name of the church.

The Duomo of Florence, Santa Maria del FioreThe term "Duomo" is apparently derived from the conflation of the two Latin words Dominus (Lord) and Domus (house) through medieval Italian: a cathedral is "the house of God" — domus Dei, or domus Ecclesiae.

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