The Cathedral of Santa Maria Del Fiore, also known as Duomo, is a massive Gothic structure, known for its distinguishing Renaissance dome,that symbolized Florence's growing importance in Italy. The basilica church was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio, who greatly expanded the size of the Duomo structure that was to replace an earlier cathedral. Construction commenced in 1296 but came to a halt when the dome covering the crossing space posed architectural difficulty. Filippo Brunelleschi, was known as a trained goldsmith and sculptor and later turned his attention to architecture. After years of traveling and studying Roman buildings, such as the "Pantheon", gave him insight with respect to Classical methods of structure and proportion,
