Baptistery of San Giovanni (Battistero di San Giovanni)
The Basics
Appreciate the artwork by luminaries Donatello, Ghiberti, Giovanni di Turino, and Jacopo della Quercia on a tour of Battistero di San Giovanni. With skip-the-line tickets, see the baptistry, cathedral, and crypt, along with nearby Piccolomini Library and Museo dell'Opera. Visit on a Siena walking tour or a day trip to Siena, Pisa, and San Gimignano from Florence. The baptistery headliner is the ornate font decorated with biblical scenes and sculptures representing the Virtues.
Things to Know Before You Go
Modest attire is required to enter the baptistery and cathedral; cover your shoulders and knees before entering.
Walking tours of the cathedral complex and city of Siena cover quite a bit of ground; comfortable shoes are recommended.
The Cathedral is accessible to wheelchair users, but the baptistery and crypt are not.
A deep-dive into the art-rich Duomo complex is a must for art history enthusiasts.
How to Get There
The Battistero di San Giovanni is part of Siena’s Duomo complex on Piazza Duomo in the pedestrian-only historic center, and can only be reached on foot.
Trip ideas
When to Get There
One of the highlights of Siena’s Duomo complex is the graffito floor inside the cathedral, made up of 56 marble panels depicting biblical and historical scenes. The floor is hidden beneath a protective covering most of the year and revealed for just a few weeks in late summer. Time your visit to this period to view these rare works.
Siena’s Cathedral and the Museo dell'Opera
Construction on Siena’s Cathedral began in the early 1200s, and the baptistery was built a century later in the same Tuscan Gothic style. In the 14th century, work began to double the size of the church to create the New Cathedral (Duomo Nuovo), but the plague halted progress. Today, the complex’s Museo dell'Opera is housed in the only nave that was completed, and it holds many of the cathedral's most important works of art.
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- Piccolomini Library (Libreria Piccolomini)
- Siena Historic Center (Siena Centro Storico)
- Siena Cathedral (Duomo)
- Siena Cathedral Museum (Museo dell’Opera Metropolitana)
- Santa Maria della Scala
- Piazza del Campo
- Palio of Siena (Palio di Siena)
- Pubblico Palace (Palazzo Pubblico)
- Pubblico Palace (Palazzo Pubblico)
- Fonte Gaia (Gaia Fountain)
- Mangia Tower (Torre del Mangia)
- Siena Civic Museum (Museo Civico di Siena)
- Siena Piazza del Mercato
- National Art Gallery of Siena (Pinacoteca Nazionale Siena)
- Basilica of San Domenico (Basilica di San Domenico)