Description
The Baptistery of San Giovanni is the octagonal building clad in white and green marble that stands opposite Florence's Duomo, in Piazza San Giovanni. Dedicated to the city's patron saint, it was for centuries the place where every Florentine was baptized, Dante included.
Outside, three bands of white Carrara marble and green Prato marble draw panels and arches of an almost classical taste: it is the model for all of Florentine Romanesque. Inside is a single large hall 25 meters across, almost half the width of the Duomo's dome.
The main show is up high: the mosaic dome, set entirely on a gold background, which was worked on from around 1270 until the early 1300s. It is dominated by the gigantic Christ the Judge: on his right the righteous rise to heaven, on his left a hell teeming with devils, designed by Coppo di Marcovaldo.
In the other segments, the stories of Genesis, of Joseph, of Christ and of the Baptist run in bands, with contributions from artists such as Cimabue. The floor deserves a look too, with marble inlays of geometric patterns and fantastic animals inspired by Eastern textiles.
To the right of the apse is the tomb of Antipope John XXIII, who died in Florence in 1419, sculpted by Donatello and Michelozzo. Outside, the three bronze doors tell the Bible like a great picture book: the south one by Andrea Pisano, the other two by Lorenzo Ghiberti.
The most famous is the Gates of Paradise, on the side facing the Duomo, with ten large gilded panels of Old Testament stories. The ones you see on site are copies: the originals, restored after the flood of 1966, are in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.
For centuries Florentines believed it was an ancient Roman temple dedicated to Mars. Excavations have instead found a rich Roman house under the floor, still visible through a grate in front of the altar. Scholars today date the building to the 11th-12th century, but no document about its construction has survived.
In 1401 the Arte di Calimala, which was the baptistery's custodian, announced a competition for a new door. The young Ghiberti won, beating Brunelleschi among others, and ended up working on the two doors for half a century. Michelangelo called the second one the "Gates of Paradise."
It is so big because baptisms were all held together, only twice a year, and it had to hold the crowd. Leonardo da Vinci even studied a way to lift it whole and set it back on a platform, as it was originally.
Don't miss
• The mosaic dome.
• The Christ the Judge.
• The Gates of Paradise.
• The tomb of Antipope John XXIII.
• The inlaid floor.
Did you know?
• Dante tells of breaking one of the baptismal fonts to save a child who was drowning.
• The two broken porphyry columns beside the Gates of Paradise are a gift from Pisa. They were said to unmask thieves and traitors, until the Pisans smoked them black.
• The lantern on top, finished in 1150, is the first known example of this architectural element.
Outside, three bands of white Carrara marble and green Prato marble draw panels and arches of an almost classical taste: it is the model for all of Florentine Romanesque. Inside is a single large hall 25 meters across, almost half the width of the Duomo's dome.
The main show is up high: the mosaic dome, set entirely on a gold background, which was worked on from around 1270 until the early 1300s. It is dominated by the gigantic Christ the Judge: on his right the righteous rise to heaven, on his left a hell teeming with devils, designed by Coppo di Marcovaldo.
In the other segments, the stories of Genesis, of Joseph, of Christ and of the Baptist run in bands, with contributions from artists such as Cimabue. The floor deserves a look too, with marble inlays of geometric patterns and fantastic animals inspired by Eastern textiles.
To the right of the apse is the tomb of Antipope John XXIII, who died in Florence in 1419, sculpted by Donatello and Michelozzo. Outside, the three bronze doors tell the Bible like a great picture book: the south one by Andrea Pisano, the other two by Lorenzo Ghiberti.
The most famous is the Gates of Paradise, on the side facing the Duomo, with ten large gilded panels of Old Testament stories. The ones you see on site are copies: the originals, restored after the flood of 1966, are in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.
For centuries Florentines believed it was an ancient Roman temple dedicated to Mars. Excavations have instead found a rich Roman house under the floor, still visible through a grate in front of the altar. Scholars today date the building to the 11th-12th century, but no document about its construction has survived.
In 1401 the Arte di Calimala, which was the baptistery's custodian, announced a competition for a new door. The young Ghiberti won, beating Brunelleschi among others, and ended up working on the two doors for half a century. Michelangelo called the second one the "Gates of Paradise."
It is so big because baptisms were all held together, only twice a year, and it had to hold the crowd. Leonardo da Vinci even studied a way to lift it whole and set it back on a platform, as it was originally.
Don't miss
• The mosaic dome.
• The Christ the Judge.
• The Gates of Paradise.
• The tomb of Antipope John XXIII.
• The inlaid floor.
Did you know?
• Dante tells of breaking one of the baptismal fonts to save a child who was drowning.
• The two broken porphyry columns beside the Gates of Paradise are a gift from Pisa. They were said to unmask thieves and traitors, until the Pisans smoked them black.
• The lantern on top, finished in 1150, is the first known example of this architectural element.