Florence Baptistery

The Florence Baptistery (Battistero di San Giovanni) is an octagonal religious building in Florence’s Piazza del Duomo, one of the city’s oldest monuments with fabric dating to the 11th and 12th centuries. It is especially noted for its Romanesque architecture and monumental bronze doors.

The present octagonal building dates to medieval rebuilding phases during the 11th and 12th centuries and stands on an earlier Christian baptistery site. Over centuries it has served as Florence’s baptistery for civic and ecclesiastical rites and was progressively decorated by leading artists of the medieval and Renaissance periods.

Sited on the Piazza del Duomo in central Florence, it sits directly in front of the cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore) and next to Giotto’s Campanile, within easy walking distance of most central Florence landmarks.

• Piazza del Duomo access: Often visited as part of the Florence cathedral complex - the baptistery sits immediately in front of the cathedral and is usually combined with nearby museums and monuments on the same route.
• Ghiberti doors viewing: The bronze east doors by Lorenzo Ghiberti are a major highlight and are the original panels on display; a close view from the piazza provides the best photographic angles.

What to See #

• Bronze doors: Three main sets of bronze doors on the west, north and east façades dating from the 14th to 15th centuries, the east pair known as the "Gates of Paradise" by Lorenzo Ghiberti (panels completed in the mid 15th century).
• Interior mosaics: Mosaic-decorated interior dome with scenes of the Last Judgment and other biblical episodes executed from the 13th century onward.
• Exterior and location: Octagonal marble-clad exterior facing onto the Piazza del Duomo, adjacent to the cathedral and Giotto's Campanile.