Today I fence visiting the Piazza del Duomo with the climb to the top of the Campanile, and the visits of the Baptistery and of the Museo. Campanile di Giotto is the adjoining tower of the cathedral from where the bells rings. The campanile is slightly less high than the dome but to climb to the top, you have to climb more than 400 steps! The climb is done with several steps (where there is the Gothic windows) which allows for some poses in a well ventilated place.
Once at the top, there is a breathtaking view of the cathedral, its dome and across the city.
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The other building adjoining the cathedral is the Baptistery, which was the place of worship for non-baptized persons whose access to churches was prohibited in the fifteenth century. The place is smaller than the cathedral and relatively dark but shine a thousand lights with this golden fresco.
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And finally a quick tour of the Museo dell’Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore. I say « little tour » because the museum is undergoing renovation and unfortunately very few works are accessible. We still can admire the original of the northern gate of Baptistery, called the Gate of Paradise.
The other major piece that we could admire is La Pietà by Michelangelo.
Apart from these two magnificent works, there is especially some original pieces from the Duomo, Baptistery and Campanile.
In the next article, we leave (finally) Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Signora.
