Florence Baptistery

History of the Baptistery

The Baptistery of San Giovanni is a free-standing church for baptisms, dedicated to St John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence. It was consecrated in 1059 and completed in its present form by 1128. For centuries Florentines believed it was a converted Roman temple of Mars, so ancient and noble did it look. In fact it is a masterpiece of Florentine Romanesque, and its crisp striped marble set the pattern for the cathedral and many later churches.

For centuries every child in the city was baptised here, Dante Alighieri among them; in the Divine Comedy he calls it, fondly, "my beautiful San Giovanni". The building mattered so much that its upkeep was handed to the richest guild in town, the cloth merchants, who spared no expense on the best artists.

It stands on Piazza del Duomo directly opposite the front of Florence Cathedral, next to Giotto's Campanile. Together they form the best-known group of buildings in Florence, and the Baptistery is the eldest of the three.

The bronze doors and the Gates of Paradise

The Baptistery's three pairs of bronze doors are a lesson in art history from Gothic to Renaissance. The south doors were cast by Andrea Pisano in 1330–1336: 28 panels in Gothic quatrefoil frames tell the life of John the Baptist.

In 1401 the guild held a competition for a second, north set. The young Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi were among the entrants. Ghiberti won and spent more than twenty years on the job. Brunelleschi, so the story goes, was so put out that he gave up sculpture for architecture, and later built the cathedral dome across the square. That contest is often called the starting gun of the Florentine Renaissance.

The most famous are the east doors, made by Ghiberti in 1425–1452. Ten large gilded panels of Old Testament stories read like paintings with real depth: figures at the front almost step out of the frame while buildings and hills fade into the distance. Michelangelo is said to have called them fit to be the gates of paradise, and the name stuck: the Gates of Paradise.

What to see at the Baptistery

• Gates of Paradise — Ghiberti's east doors facing the cathedral.
• North doors — Ghiberti's first big commission.
• South doors by Andrea Pisano — Gothic quatrefoils.
• Mosaic dome — the Last Judgement and Bible stories.
• The giant Christ — the central figure of the dome.
• Marble floor — patterns and a zodiac wheel.

Inside: the golden dome

Inside, the Baptistery feels bigger than it looks. The walls are clad in marble with columns, and overhead rises an eight-sided dome covered entirely in 13th-century mosaics on a gold ground, the work of several generations of craftsmen who probably knew the mosaics of Venice.

At the centre is a huge figure of Christ; around him, in bands one above the other, run the Creation, the story of Joseph and the lives of Christ and John the Baptist. Stand in the middle, tip your head back and follow the bands round: your eyes soon adjust to the glow of the gold and the small, often charming details start to appear.

The floor is inlaid marble with geometric patterns and a zodiac wheel. There's little seating, so a visit doesn't take long. The mosaics are restored in stages and part of the vault may be under scaffolding, so check the cathedral's official site before you go.

Tickets and tips

There is usually no separate Baptistery ticket: entry comes with the combined cathedral pass, together with the Opera del Duomo Museum and, on the fuller versions, the dome and bell tower climbs. The pass is valid for several days, so you can slot the Baptistery in whenever you have a gap.

The doors can be seen from outside for free at any time. To look at the Gates of Paradise without a crowd, come early in the morning or in the evening; by day there's always a tight knot of tourists at the east doors. Queues inside are usually shorter than for the cathedral, which makes the Baptistery a good way to fill time before your dome climb slot.

Florence's churches: compare and choose

Churches and basilicas in Florence rated by YesGo. Click a column header to sort.

Nearby and on the way

41

Giotto's Campanile

Florence, Italy

1 h · Combined cathedral pass · 3 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Giotto's Campanile

60

Florence Cathedral

Florence, Italy

2 h · Free; dome paid · 3 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Florence Cathedral

44

Laurentian Library

Florence, Italy

30 min · Paid · 3 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Laurentian Library

46

Basilica of San Lorenzo

Florence, Italy

45 min · Paid · 4 min walk

Yes — add to my route: Basilica of San Lorenzo

How to do it right

• The doors are free to see outside.
• The original Gates are in the museum.
• Entry is on the cathedral pass.
• Mornings are quieter at the doors.

Questions