Bronze door of the Baptistery

Called the Gate of Paradise, this is what the East Gate of the Baptistery is known as, it is in the Cathedral of Santa María del Fiore. It is completely golden and receives its name thanks to Michelangelo. After a flood in 1966, the door was replaced with a replica, the original panels were restored and taken to the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. Its dimensions are 5.20 meters high, 3.21 meters wide and 11 centimeters thick, with a total weight of eight tons.

The 'Gate of Paradise' is the masterpiece of Lorenzo Ghiberti, who was also assigned to create this door due to the great work previously carried out on the North door. The work began in 1425 and finished in 1452, when Ghiberti, at the age of seventy, placed the last bronze panels. He had the help of some students of the time who later became established artists, such as Donatello or Luca della Robbia. It is one of the most recognized works of the Renaissance, with painter Giorgio Vasari calling it 'the finest work of art ever created'.

From 1979 to 2012 the gate underwent a thorough and slow restoration, after many decades of abandonment to the elements and vandalism. Today the panels are copies, the originals are in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, in the vicinity of the Baptistery. Such was the beauty of this work, that it was decided to assign it to the main front, the East façade, which faces the cathedral. The Pisano gate was dismantled and relocated to the south entrance, occupying a more secondary place.