The Gates of Paradise

Florence's Baptistery and its Gates of Paradise by Ghiberti

The Baptistery across from the Duomo is the oldest building of the whole ensemble, dating back to somewhere between the 4th and 7th centuries. Its bronze doors covered with relief panels are all three famous, but the grandest are those facing the Duomo, cast by Ghiberti from 1425–53. Replaced now by gleaming replicas, these large panels display a remarkable skill in using perspective and composition to tell complicated stories. Michelangleo once called them "The Gates of Paradise," and the name stuck.

Ghiberti was allowed free artistic reign in creating the groundbreaking Gates of Paradise because Florence was so happy with how his first commission had turned out. In 1401, Ghiberti had won a competition to cast the baptistery's north doors, beating out the likes of Donatello and Brunelleschi. Since the reasons the judges chose Ghiberti's contest submission were based on the aspects of art (realism, dynamic composition, perspective techniques) that would become the keystones of the Renaissance, many scholars chose this date to mark the beginning of the Renaissance.

The Duomo Group
Cathedral
Baptistery
Brunelleschi's dome
Giotto's bell tower
Museo dell'Opera

The Baptistery's interior is swathed in glittering 13th-century mosaics, the cone-shaped ceiling covered with an incredibly detailed Last Judgment scene presided over by an enormous, ape-toed Christ.

Piazza del Duomo/Piazza San Giovanni
tel. +39-055-230-2885, www.operaduomo.firenze.it
Closed mornings (open noon-7pm), except Sundays, when its open 8:30am–2pm