Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence: Guide

The Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence is one of the most important religious buildings in the city, located in the heart of the historic centre, in Piazza San Giovanni. It was built between the 11th and 12th centuries in the Florentine Romanesque style. However, the origins of the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence appear uncertain. Some scholars link the structure to an early Christian construction built between the 4th and 5th centuries AD.

Others favour a date around the year 1000, also following the discovery of a document testifying to the consecration by Pope Nicholas II on 6 November 1059. The building officially became the city baptistery in 1128.

The Baptistery has an octagonal plan and a diameter of 25.60 metres. It is surmounted by a dome covered by an octagonal pyramid and structured in eight segments. The exterior is striking with its ornaments in white Carrara and green Prato marble, with the three horizontal bands completed by horizontal bands complemented by geometric panels.

The Baptistery of San Giovanni in Florence has undergone numerous works over the centuries:

1128: addition of the outer marble facing;
1209: addition of the marble inlay floor;
Second half of the 13th century: construction of the dome;
1330-1336: construction of the first of the three bronze doors;
1403-1424: construction of the north gate by Lorenzo Ghiberti;
1576: reconstruction of the baptismal font.

Today it is possible to visit the Baptistery every day, from 8.30 a.m. to 7 p.m., upon purchase of a ticket.

Battistero di San Giovanni, tickets available:

Brunelleschi Pass: with entrance to Baptistery, Dome, Bell Tower, Museum and Santa Reparata.

Prices:

o Full price: € 30;
o Reduced (7-14 years): € 12;
o Free (0-6 years).

Giotto Pass: with entrance to Baptistery, Bell Tower, Museum and Santa Reparata.

Prices:

o Full price: € 20;
o Reduced (7-14 years): € 7;
o Free (0-6 years).

Ghiberti Pass: with entrance to Baptistery, Museum and Santa Reparata.

Prices:

o Full price: € 15;
o Reduced (7-14 years): € 5;
o Free (0-6 years).

The Baptistery of St. John: plans and interiors

The Baptistery of San Giovanni is octagonal in shape, with a diameter of 25.6 metres.

The interior walls boast decorations made as they were in Roman buildings and characterised by the use of polychrome marble panels made of white Carrara marble and green Prato marble.

Carrara marble and green marble from Prato. The floor reminds us of the Islamic world thanks to the carpets placed between the Gate of Paradise and the centre of the structure.

At the centre of the Baptistery of San Giovanni was the baptismal font, within an octagonal enclosure. The high altar was created by Giuseppe Castellucci in Romanesque style at the beginning of the 20th century using materials from the original altar.

Of absolute impact are the interior mosaics, with the oldest ones created by Fra Jacopo from 1225. In the centre we can see the Agnus Dei surrounded by the Madonna and Apostles and Prophets. On the sides we admire St John the Baptist enthroned and the Madonna and Child in throne.

The Baptistery of San Giovanni boasts several important works inside:

Marble floor: the work of Tuscan craftsmen;
Baptismal font: the work of a Florentine sculptor;
Antipope John XXIII’s funeral monument: by Donatello and Michelozzo;
Sepulchre of Guccio de’ Medici: the work of Florentine craftsmen;
Sepulchre of Giovanni da Velletri or Flower Girl’s Sarcophagus: the work of Florentine craftsmen;
Florentine craftsmen;
Sepulchre of Bishop Ranieri: the work of Tuscan craftsmen;
Mosaics of the Scarsella: the work of Venetian and Tuscan craftsmen;
High Altar: the work of Giuseppe Castellucci;
Mosaic with angelic hierarchies: the work of Tuscan craftsmen;
Mosaic with natural fantasies: the work of master craftsmen from Lucca;
Mosaics with prophets: by Maestro di San Gaggio, Lippo di Benivieni and Alessio Baldovinetti;
Mural paintings of the women’s gallery: the work of Tuscan craftsmen;
Mosaics of the women’s gallery choirs: the work of the Maestro di San Gaggio and the Maestro della Saint Cecilia;
Statue of St John the Baptist: the work of Guseppe Piamontini;
Candelabra for the Easter candle: the work of Giovanni di Jacopo;
Six holy water stoups with column shaft: the work of Tuscan craftsmen;
Cornice of the Paradise Door and cornice of the North Door: by Lorenzo Ghiberti;
Porphyry columns: Roman art;
South Gate cornice: the work of Vittorio Ghiberti.

Height dimensions and curiosities

The Baptistery of San Giovanni boasts a maximum height of 40 metres under the domes, which drops to 27 metres along the nave.

The Baptistery of San Giovanni boasts the following dimensions: length of 110 metres and width of 27 metres.

Among the curiosities is one that leads us directly back to astronomy: the zodiac floor was actually a sundial. On the day of the summer solstice, around noon, a ray of sunlight passed through the hole in the apex of the dome and illuminated the central part of the zodiac.

During work carried out during the 13th century, the entrance hole was covered, so the sundial remained in operation for only a couple of centuries.

The dome of the Baptistery of san Giovanni

The highest part of the Baptistery of San Giovanni is the eight-segment dome, whose construction dates back to the second half of the 13th century. The dome is masked externally by the attic and covered by a pyramid. The complex mosaics were created between 1270 and 1300, with the participation of Frate Jacopo, Coppo di Marcovaldo and Cimabue.

In the three sections to the west stands out the large figure of Christ the judge between the Paradise of the blessed and the Hell of the damned.

In the remaining five sections are represented the stories of Christ, the patriarch Joseph, Genesis, St John the Baptist and the angelic hierarchies.