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The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (English: Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower) is the main church of Florence The cathedral complex, located in Piazza del Duomo, includes the Baptistery and Giotto's Campanile. The three buildings are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site covering the historic centre of Florence and are a major attraction to tourists visiting the region of Tuscany.

Dedicated to St. John the Baptist patron saint of Florence, the Baptistery was constructed in the course of the XI-XIII centuries on a site of a Roman-age edifice, domus. The building has an octagonal plane, which symbolizes the religious ritual of baptism, and is faced in polychrome marbles the geometrical arrangement of which is inspired by the classic Roman antiquity.

The Baptistery is enriched with three splendid bronze doors, the first one, the South Door, was made by Andrea Pisano in 1330-1336, the other two are the work of Lorenzo Ghiberti, the North Door (1403-1424), and the famous East Door described by Michelangelo as the Gate of Paradise (1425-1452)

Internet imagesStory of Joseph; bronze door "Gates of Paradise" of Baptistry, (Lorenzo Ghiberti 1427-52)

The "Gates of Paradise" situated in the Baptistry are a copy of the originals. To protect the original panels for the future, the panels are being restored and kept in a dry environment in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, the museum of the Duomo's art and sculpture.

The Loggia del Bigallo is a late Gothic structure, one of a dozen public loggias in the city, in this case part of a construction that housed the Compagnia della Misericordia, built in 1352–58. The open loggia served to shelter lost children and unwanted infants who were abandoned to the care of the brotherhood, the "Company of Mercy".Internet image

Saint Zenobius (337–417) is venerated as the first bishop of Florence. The column of San Zanobi marks the spot where a miracle is reputed to have taken place

Such a large building was required because vast crowds attended the administration of baptism, which in those days took place only twice a year. Its form is octagonal, and the exterior is sheathed in white marble and green Prato marble. The lower register has semi-pilasters, and the upper one polygonal columns supporting rounded arches. The third order, the roof and the lantern are typical of the 12th century; the west end is closed by a scarsella or altar recess, added in the 13th century. The powerful guild of Calimala (Cloth-Merchants) held the patronage of the Baptistery for centuries, and it was they who commissioned the magnificent gilded bronze doors, as well as many of the works of art inside.

The column of San Zanobi

The Italian poet

Dante Alighieri

and many other

notable Renaissa

nce figures,

including members

of the Medici family, were

baptized in this

baptistry.

The Baptistry is crowned by a magnificent

mosaic ceiling. The earliest

mosaics, works of art of many

unknown Venetian craftsmen (including probably

Cimabue), date from 1225. The covering of the ceiling started

under the direction of the Franciscan friar Jacopo Torriti

and was probably not

completed until the fourteenth

century.

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The

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Piazza del Duomo (English: "Cathedral Square") is located in the heart of the historic center of Florence. It is one of the most visited places in Europe and the world; here we can find the Florence Cathedral with the Cupola del Brunelleschi, the Giotto's Campanile, the Florence Baptistery, the Loggia del Bigallo, the Opera del Duomo Museum, and the Arcivescovile and Canonici's palace. The west zone of this square is called San Giovanni square.

Sound: Il Cantico delle Creature - Angelo Branduardi

Text: InternetPictures: Daniela Iacob Internet: slide 1,2,3,9,10,22Copyright: All the images belong to their authors

Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasanda