The Baptistery is the oldest major building in Florence and, for a thousand years, the most important.
Every Florentine was baptised here — including Dante.
The octagonal marble exterior dates from the 11th and 12th centuries, though the building beneath may be as old as the 4th or 5th century.
Three sets of bronze doors, made by three of the greatest artists of their age.
The first were made by Andrea Pisano in the 14th century — the man who brought Gothic sculpture to Florence.
The second went to Lorenzo Ghiberti, a goldsmith turned sculptor who beat the young Brunelleschi in a competition that shook the art world.
Brunelleschi, stung, left Florence to study ancient Roman buildings — and came back to design the Dome of the cathedral, the largest brick dome ever built, still the symbol of the city.
Ghiberti spent most of his life on the third set, finishing them in 1452.
When he was done, Michelangelo named them the Gates of Paradise.
Brunelleschi's bronze trial panel — Abraham and Isaac — which lost the competition survives in the Bargello.
Fun fact: the 1401 competition is sometimes called the opening event of the Italian Renaissance.
