The Piazza del Duomo presents a harmonious ensemble, all green and white marble. Yet it is with the Baptistery of San Giovanni that this fashion originated. The Campanile’s green banding was designed to match that of the Baptistery; the octagonal dome of the duomo was designed to reflect the octagonal form of the Baptistery. This is the oldest building in the Piazza. Indeed, it is the oldest religious building in Florence.

€3.00 to enter is well-worth the outlay. Inside golden bands of Byzantine-style mosaics ring the dome, with a Last Judgement over the ‘apse’. Hell here is depicted with a central squatting Satan. Like the Lucifer I had seen that morning at Pisa’s Camposanto, this Devil was green – where on earth did the red demons of our iconography come from? There is a superb mosaic pavement featuting the signs of the zodiac roped off to allow you to view it. Originally the Baptistery held a huge octagonal submersion font. One thing that does remain here is the tomb of the antipope John XXIII, one of three competing claimants for the papal throne in the Great Schism.

There are also free leaflets in the Baptistery that go into details about all the buildings of the Piazza – it is hence useful to visit Baptistery before the duomo and campanile. This leaflet also gives a panel by panel breakdown of the North, South and Eaast doors of the Baptistery. The southern doors are the earliest, Pisano’s depictions of the life of St John the Baptist. The northern doors, by Ghiberti show the life of Christ. But it is the eastern doors, facing towards the cathedral, that are Ghiberti’s famed ‘Gates of Paradise’. The golden doors have quite remarkable 3D effects. Good luck trying to get an uninterrupted view of them. I shuffled forward through the crowd, camera ready. Just as I got to the front a barred gate rose to block the view! However, those in situ today are reproductions – the originals are housed in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, on the eastern flank of the square.

Florence is so full of magnificent art, it amazed me that my eyes didn't pop right out of my head. What makes Florence even more amazing is that much of the art is available for viewing without paying anything or even going inside a building.

In the Piazza del Duomo are three buildings, each of which is a feast for the eyes. The Cathedral, more commonly known as Il Duomo for its famous dome, and the Baptistery of Florence stand in a huge rectangular area and occupy two separate but communicating squares: Piazza del Duomo and Piazza San Giovanni.

Piazza del Duomo contains the basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore, the third largest cathedral in the world after St. Peter's in Rome and St. Paul's in London. The basilica is the fourth reconstruction of the original temple, the result of the later and fundamental project by Arnolfo di Cambio (1296) and crowned by the revolutionary cupola by Brunelleschi (1420-1436), a symbol of the Renaissance demonstrating man's ingenuity. Many have commented that the cathedral seems turned inside out. So beautifully coloured and embellished by the marble on the outside, so plain inside.

In the centre of Piazza San Giovanni is the Baptistery right in the centre, thought by some to be the first Christian church in the city, as it was built in late Roman times, around the 4th-5th century A.D., on the ruins of what was possibly a Roman temple dedicated to the god Mars.

The Baptistery as we see it today, which has always represented an architectural reference point for Florentine artists, dates from the 11th-13th century, when the external covering of marble, the interior and the mosaics in the cupola were completed. There are three doors in gilded bronze, the most famous of which is the so-called "Doors of Paradise" designed by Ghiberti. These are clearly the most popular. When we saw the three doors, only this set were polished to a golden gleam and the crowds were packed around them, while few went inside the Baptistery and even fewer were looking at the other two sets of doors.

The third building is Giotto's 85 metre bell tower, or campanile, designed by the famous artist in the last three years of his life (1334-1337), continued by Andrea Pisano and completed in 1359 by Francesco Talenti, who also added the original terrace on the top. It stands on the right of the Cathedral facade.

Going to the top of the duomo and the top of the campanile appears to be a very popular thing to do for tourists. The queues were horrendous and as I don't like heights, I was glad to give them a pass. There's a fee of €6 for each of Il Duomo and the bell tower. There are no elevators, so if you like heights, be prepared for the 463 steps of the Duomo and 414 steps for the campanile. There is also €3 admission for the baptistery but the cathedral is free.

Dwarfed by the Duomo (cathedral), the Baptistry is a comparatively small jewel box, lovely inside and out.

The eastern doors to the Baptistry are graced by Ghirberti's famous bronze reliefs, referred to by Michelangelo as the "Gates of Paradise." The ones seen now are copies. The originals can be found in the Grande Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Cathedral Museum) at the far end of the piazza, along with masterpieces by Michelangelo and Donatello. The bronzes have amazing detail and exemplify the use of perspective.

Walk inside the Baptistry, sit down, and look up. The octagonal ceiling is covered in gorgeous mosaics from the 13th and 14th centuries. While most represent biblical stories, angels, and saints, the sections on the separation of the blessed from the damned are particularly striking.

Photography is permitted, but use of tripods is discouraged. The back of a bench works well for the stabilization needed.

Long,Long ago....the baptistry was a pagan temple, before it too, was converted around the 5th century. The octagon shape symbolizes the " eigth day". Since Genesis in the Bible addresses the 7 days of cretion, the eigth day is the time of the Risen Christ....or beyond the scope of human time.

Originally a cemetery surrounded this building, which must have been very impressive in the theme of death and resurrection as well as salvation through baptism.

The famous bronze doors (- the oldest ones on the south side show the life of St. John & were created by Pisano in 1330. The Ghiberti doors are on the East and North. The East doors were called the " gates of Paradise" by Michelangelo while the North doors show the new testament -) are fabulous copies, while the originals are kept safe in the museum.

The interior of the building is a cross-combination of ancient Greek, Roman, Islamic, and Germanic styles indicating that this place is the center of the religious world. The mosaics will leave you speachless! The Risen Christ is a huge focal point with the dead rising from their coffins under his feet. To the right, you will see the damned being thrown into hell and being devoured in the mouth of the devil. Pretty impressive as well as gross!

Regroup your thoughts looking further down the dome to the creation of the world and the garden of Eden as the bible unfolds above you. Above these rows are the Angels of GOD who watch over all of us, while in the center of the room is the great light--symbol of GOD HIMSELF.

You might ask me...who is the guy buried in the wall here? Well, it's another interesting story! He was an Antipope. It's kind of a long story about fighting within the church itself...like where should the center of the church be? Rome, Constantinople, France??? Over 30 Antipopes arose to be called the "Illegal Pretenders" who weren't rightfully elected by canon law. This was an ugly thing that caused many splits within the church. I'm not sure which one this guy is....probably GregoryV1 or ClementV11. It's more important to know that this division occured.