Firenze - for the sake of appearance

 The floor in the Duomo is flat and smooth. Designed to be an optical trick. Sometimes churches did this to show off their artistic skill, sometimes to give a greater appearance of space. During the Reformation, the Protestants built great Cathedrals to show off their power, the Catholic Church echoed this with the Counter Reformation. Back and forth the struggle for attention continues. 

Why all this attention? To be the best? To be right? To feel secure in your beliefs? What drives your appearance?