In 1296 the Florence Duomo began construction. Florentines desired a symbol to showcase the power and status of their city, and at this time there was no better way to do that than to create one of the largest and most immaculate cathedrals in the world. The duomo at its beginning had a Florentine Gothic style, until its reconstruction under Brunelleschi, when it transformed to more of a Renaissance style.

Source: Leonardo da Vinci in Florence: On the Lantern. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://erenow.net/biographies/leonardo-da-vinci-the-flights-of-the-mind...