Baptistery of San Giovanni

Battistero di San Giovanni

The octagon with the gilded Gates of Paradise

⚠ Ceiling mosaics under restoration

Hours

Daily 8:30–19:30; first Sunday of the month 8:30–13:30. Closed 25 Dec, 1 Jan and Easter Sunday

Tickets

Ghiberti Pass €15 (ages 7–14 €5; Baptistery, museum and Santa Reparata). Also in the Giotto and Brunelleschi passes. Students pay €5 for the Ghiberti Pass at the ticket office. duomo.firenze.it

Address

The octagonal building opposite the cathedral's main door

Right in front of the cathedral sits this octagon striped in white and green marble, where Dante was baptised. The crowd gathers at the east door: Ghiberti's gilded bronze panels, 27 years in the making, which Michelangelo supposedly called the Gates of Paradise (the ones on the building are copies; the originals are in the cathedral museum). Inside, the golden mosaic ceiling is normally the star, but it's hidden for restoration, so for now you're mostly looking at the inlaid floor and the walls.