Like many holy places in Europe, there is no way to tell for just how long this site has been revered. Local lore says there has been some sort of shrine on this spot since ancient Roman times. The earliest record of this location is in 1128 when the cathedral on this spot was moved and eventually became the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.
This cathedral is as much a part of the city as the Palazzo Vecchio, and with good reason. It was designed to be the religious counterweight to the secular Palazzo. But the Palazzo's construction was borne out of pride, so its backers had to see it completed. The Cathedral came from a higher calling, and thus it was OK to build on a monumental scale that allowed construction to last longer than three of its four architects. In fact, the original design outstripped the available engineering of the day. The building had a huge open space that could not be bridged by traditional methods. The area was 42-meters wide, and 82-meters high, making it too tall and too wide for traditional ribbing or scaffolding. It wasn't until 1418 that Filippo Brunellshi came up with a solution in a contest held by the Woolworker's Guild. Together, he and Ghiberti came up with a design that would be self-supporting during construction. They put together two octagonal overlapping domes that would be held together by a tambour. Stone walls at the base would provide a strong foundation while the upper masonry could climb toward the heavens supported by a series of ribs. The dome is finished with a huge lantern modeled after Vitruvius' design for a weather tower. In spite of its 13th century heritage, it wasn't until 600 years later that the cathedral could really be called complete. All ideas from a contest held in 1859 were rejected. The same thing happened in 1865. But the 1867 contest found a winner -- the entry from Emilio De Fabris and Luigi Del Moro. Their execution complements the adjacent belltower and helped the cathedral finally find a place in the city of Florence.
Campanile di Giotto
The octagonal baptistery of San Giovanni, facing the cathedral, dates mainly from the 11th to the 15th century, although some parts were built as early as the 5th century; it is noted for doors of gilded bronze, especially the east door, called the Gate to Paradise, which was executed by the Florentine goldsmith Lorenzo Ghiberti and depicts sculpted scenes from the Old Testament.The Baptistery of San Giovanni, where Dante Allighieri, author of "The Divine Comedy" was baptised, is across from the cathedral. It is the oldest building in the city, and it dates back to the 5th and 6th centuries. The beautiful bronze gates stand out – among them, the Gates of Paradise, sculpted by Lorenzo Ghiberti, which picture passages of the Bible. Baptistery
Piazza S. Giovanni Bus: 1, 17, 33 Entrance:ticket.
The Baptistery is one of the most ancient buildings of Florence. Built in the XI century on a IV century structure, is famous for the 'Porta del Paradiso' (Heaven's gate), as Michelangelo named it, the door in front of the Duomo realized by Ghiberti in the XV century.The baptistery was erected some time after that, and is constructed of black and white marble in a design that both highlights the architectural features of the building and provides decoration. In structure, it is an octagon with an extension building added to one side. While distinctly three-stories, the outlining of the second-floor galleries and first-floor columns in black marble gives the illusion of an immense single first story topped by a smaller second story, and then the roof. The entrance has bronze doors sculpted by Lorenzo Ghiberti.
Bibliography:
http://www.mega.it/eng/egui/monu/but.htm
