Historic Florence doors on display

This item appears on page 57 of the February 2020 issue.

The three monumental doors of the Florence Baptistery were reunited in December 2019 after being apart for almost 30 years for restoration. The three gilded-bronze doors were crafted by different artisans between 1330 and 1452. Each is more than 16 feet tall and almost 10 feet wide and weighs over eight tons. The oldest, the South Door, damaged by flooding in 1966, was the last to be restored.

They can be viewed at the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, or Opera Museum (Via della Canonica 1; phone +39 055 2302885, www.museumflorence.com/museum), part of Florence’s Grande Museo del Duomo. The museum is open daily, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. A ticket costing 18 (near $20) is good for entry to every section of the Duomo. The entire Duomo is closed the first Tuesday of every month.