In the late Middle Ages and in the Renaissance, Florence was a capital of the arts, in the 15th century (Quattrocento) the greatest art metropolis of all. Here the wishes of rich merchants and bankers met with the skills of artists such as Brunelleschi, Masaccio or Donatello. Even in Florence today, the past is present through art, from the Cathedral, whose dome rises above the city, to the squares, churches and palaces, to the sculptures in public space.