Florence Baptistery: the doors shine again

If you go to Florence this year, don't just visit the city cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore and the Battistero San Giovanni, the baptistery next door. Also go to it Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, where the original works of art from the Dom and Baptistery are on display. (Many antique statues in Florence have since been replaced by copies due to air pollution.)

In the Opera Museum has recently become an artistic miracle: the world-famous bronze doors of the Battistero, which have been restored to their original state after years of restoration and now offer a wonderful overview of one and a half centuries of Florentine art side by side.

Perhaps the most beautiful of Florence

The 11^ecentury Battistero San Giovanni, also referred to by its Latin name Baptistery, is one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, monument of Florence. Built in white and green marble on the remains of an ancient Roman building – you can still see recycled remnants of it in the walls – the octagonal harmonic shape still gives it a typical medieval impression.

This is mainly due to the beautiful mosaics that adorn the dome, with an old-fashioned Byzantine-looking Christ Pantocrator, a strict ruler who makes the irrevocable choice for the believer between paradise and hell, and on the other hand a particularly gruesome Satan, with snakes crawling from his ears. and other creepy reptiles that the sinners delight in devouring.

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When I was studying in Florence in 1982-83, I couldn't help but give that amusing devil a friendly greeting almost every day. The current influx of tourists makes such intimacy out of the question, but go in at least once.

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3 monumental bronze doors

The Battistero is also famous for its 3 monumental bronze doors, which were built in the 14^e in 15^e century were commissioned by the merchants' guild, as a symbol of the wealth of the city and thus of its cultural and political superiority over competitor Pisa, where the cathedral has been around since the 12^e century possessed such an impressive and precious door.

1. The first door, on the south side, was made between 1330 and 1336 by Andrea Pisano, who applied 28 panels – 14 left and 14 right – with gilded reliefs depicting scenes from the life of John the Baptist and a total of 48 small lion heads on the corners.
2. The North Door was cast between 1403-25 by local luminary Lorenzo Ghiberti and also includes 28 scenes depicting the life of Christ, from Annunciation to Resurrection.
3. The third door on the east side, Facing the facade of the Duomo, Ghiberti and his son Tommaso completed it in 1452. It consists of 10 panels with images from the Old Testament that immediately attracted such admiration that Michelangelo spoke of the Gate to Paradise, a name that is still used today .

Oxidation and flooding

Over the centuries, this splendor was obscured by dust, soot, grease and greening caused by oxidation of the copper in the bronze. In addition, major damage was caused by the flooding of Florence on November 4, 1966, in which the doors were severely maltreated and parts of them even flowed away.

Deep Repair

To avoid repetition, the three doors have since been replaced one by one by cast-off copies, while the originals in the Museum have undergone a thorough repair.

Finally, it was the turn of the oldest door, Andrea Pisano's. A team of 14 restorers worked on it for 3 years and it was also restored to its former shine last December.

Under the carefully polished away dust and grease layer, the original gilding turned out to be wonderfully preserved and that makes the three doors side by side threefold spectacular:

• the oldest still archaic-ceremonial;
• the second movable and graceful;
• the Gate of Paradise in its entirety startling and glitteringly gilded.

In short, an overwhelming experience, and if you go to Florence don't stick to the outside of the Battistero, but go for the real thing of the museum.

️️ Museo dell'Opera del Duomo
Piazza del Duomo 9, Florence
Open from 9.00am to 19.00pm, closed first Tuesday of the month. 

️️ Florence Baptistery
Piazza San Giovanni, Florence
Open every day from 08.15:10.15 AM to 11.15:19.30 AM and from XNUMX:XNUMX AM to XNUMX:XNUMX PM.

Combi tickets for museum, baptistery and the Duomo costs € 18 per person. Children from 6 to 11 years €3. Pre-booking via the website is recommended.
 
www.ilgrandemuseodelduomo.it