Florence Baptistery

Visitors are advised that the Baptistery is undergoing restoration of the mosaics of the vault, which are not visible . A splendid mosaic decoration, made in the 13th-14th centuries, covers the entire vault, the apse, parts of the matroneum, its parapets and parts of the walls. These mosaics were begun by artists of the Byzantine school, then continued and completed by great Tuscan masters of the 13th and 14th centuries, including Cimabue, Coppo of Marcovaldo, Meliore . The three western sections of the vault mosaics are dominated by an enormous figure of Christ the Judge between the Paradise of the blessed and Hell of the damned . The horizontal registers of the five remaining vault segments show the Angelic hierarchies , the Stories of Genesis , those of the Patriarch Joseph , those of Christ and Mary and those of St John the Baptist . The magnificent marble “carpets” of the floor are by Tuscan artists of the early 1200s, and are inspired by the Middle Eastern textiles traded by the Merchants Guild. The interior is further enhanced by Gothic liturgical furnishings and Roman and medieval sepulchres; these include the monument to Cardinal Baldassarre Coscia, a Renaissance masterpiece by Donatello and Michelozzo. The three entryways were adorned with beautiful bronze doors, whose originals are now preserved in the museum: the south pair, moulded with episodes of the Life of the Baptist , were made between 1330 and 1336 by Andrea Pisano; the north doors, with Stories of Christ , by Lorenzo Ghiberti, 1403-1424; and the eastern pair, renamed the Gates of Paradise , the paramount and now fully renaissance masterpiece of Ghiberti, are ornamented with 10 stories from the Old Testament. Other important works of art once displayed inside and outside the baptistery are now preserved in the Museum of the Opera del Duomo, among these: the Penitent Mary Magdalene by Donatello, sculpted in wood; the Pollaiolo Silver Cross and the Silver Altar ; the embroideries of the St John liturgical vestments; a statuary group by Rustici, Sansovino and Danti, as well as the bronze doors already mentioned. To find out the projects prepared by the Opera del Duomo, visit the page Project for accessibility .