Battistero di San Giovanni

A visit to Battistero di San Giovanni

The Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistery of St John) is believed to be the oldest building in Florence. It is particularly famed for its three sets of magnificent and artistically important bronze doors.

It is believed to date from the 6th or 7th century and was the city's first cathedral, predating Santa Reparata, first recorded as such in 897.

The Baptistery has eight equal sides with a rectangular addition on one of the sides. The sides are clad in geometrically patterned marble, reworked in Romanesque style between 1059 and 1128. The mosaic pavement was begun in 1209.

In 1329, Andrea Pisano was awarded the commission to design the first set of doors. The South Doors, which were completed in 1336, consist of quatrefoil panels, most of which depict scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist.

In 1401, a competition was announced to design the baptistery North Doors. Seven sculptors competed, including Lorenzo Ghiberti, Filippo Brunelleschi and Jacopo della Quercia, with Ghiberti winning the commission. It took Ghiberti 21 years (1403-1424) to complete these doors.