Giotto's Bell Tower

Overview

IMPORTANT: WARNING! Access WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to those who present themselves without the CONFIRMATION VOUCHER sent by us one business day after the request. The copy of the order and confirmation of payment from the bank ARE NOT VALID for ticket pick-up.

Climb Giotto’s magnificent bell tower, one of the four principal components of Florence's Piazza del Duomo. Richly decorated with sculptures, reliefs, and polychrome marble, it is the most eloquent testimony of fourteenth-century Florentine Gothic architecture. The majestic bell tower, probably created as a decorative rather than a functional element and considered the most beautiful in Italy, was begun by Giotto in 1334.

Please Note:
SAVE € 5.00 and purchase your admission ticket (validity of 4 days) for the Baptistery as part of one of the following combo packages:
Museo dell'Opera + Giotto's Bell Tower + San Giovanni Baptistery + Crypt + Dome
or
Museo dell'Opera + Giotto's Bell Tower + San Giovanni Baptistery + Crypt

Opening Hours:
8:30 am - 7:30 pm; January 6: 8,30 am - 2 pm>
Giotto's Bell Tower is closed on 
January 1, Easter Sunday, September 8, Christmas Day (December 25)

Please Note that the Baptistery of San Giovanni maybe closed without previous notice for masses, concerts and extraordinary events.

Entry permitted up to 40 minutes before closing.
There are 414 stairs, no elevator.
Your ticket is personal and non transferable.

IMPORTANT - Please Note:
To collect reserved tickets you must show the confirmation voucher at the reservations cashier of the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Via della Canonica 1), 15 minutes before the confirmed time on the date of visit.



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Add all the museum tickets you want into your basket, then fill in the form and send your request.

PLEASE NOTE: Immediately after submitting an order, you will receive an email with your order summary plus a second email confirming your successful payment. A confirmation email with
links to the vouchers will be sent one business day after you place your order (Monday afternoon for orders submitted on Friday and during the weekend). Please make sure that your anti-spam filter does not block automatic emails from help@waf.it.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The time you select on the order form is your preferred time. The museum or attraction will automatically confirm the closest available time, which can be any time during opening hours on the selected date, if your preferred time is no longer available.

Cancellation Policy:
Tickets CANNOT be cancelled and are NOT refundable. Weekend a Firenze will only refund the entire cost of your ticket(s) including the service fee if the monument remains closed during the entire period of validity of the ticket(s).

IMPORTANT – Code of Conduct The monumental complex of Santa Maria del Fiore is above all a place of worship. Visitors are asked to respect some simple rules.

Your pre-purchased ticket DOES NOT guarantee access or stay inside the monument – you may be asked to leave if you choose not to respect the following: 

- Appropriate clothing is required - no bare arms/shoulders or bare legs
- Please be quiet
- Please turn your mobile phones off
- Do not eat nor drink
- Pets are not allowed
- Works of art must not be touched
- No smoking
- Please don't use flash or tripod

Details

Giotto’s magnificent bell tower is one of the four principal components of Florence's Piazza del Duomo. Richly decorated with sculptures, reliefs, and polychrome marble, it is the most eloquent testimony of fourteenth-century Florentine Gothic architecture.

The slender tower rises on a square plan with a side of 14.45 meters (47.41ft). It rises to a height of 84.7 meters (277.9ft) sustained by four polygonal buttresses at the corners. These four vertical lines are crossed by four horizontal lines, dividing the tower into five levels.

Faced with white, red, and green marble like the Cathedral, the majestic bell tower, probably created as a decorative rather than a functional element and considered the most beautiful in Italy, was begun by Giotto in 1334.



By the time of his death in 1337, Giotto had only seen the realization of the first part of the project. It was continued by Andrea Pisano who completed the first two levels according to Giotto’s project.

The rich decorative apparatus of the hexagonal and lozenge panels shows the concept of universal order and the story of Redemption. The reliefs begin with the Creation of Man and continue with the representation of his activities, the planets that regulate the course of his existence, the Virtues that strengthen him, the Liberal Arts that educate him, and the Sacraments. Most panels are attributed to Andrea Pisano, some to his son Nino Pisano, and to assistants of Andrea Pisano. Six panels on the north side are attributed to Luca della Robbia.

The statues merit separate mention. On the second level, instead of bas-reliefs, Andrea Pisano inserted sixteen niches destined to contain figures of Kings and Sibyls and statues of the Patriarchs and Prophets. Nanni di Banco and Donatello created some of the latter, including the beautiful sculptural group of the Sacrifice of Isaac. This work represents one of the foremost examples of fifteenth-century naturalism in sculpture. For conservation reasons, the originals of all of the sculptures are now in the Museo dell’Opera.

Work on the Campanile was halted for two years by the terrible Black Death pandemic, from 1348 to 1350. But in 1359, the Campanile was completed by Francesco Talenti, the ingenious creator of the large windows of the upper level. A motif borrowed from the Siena campanile, the double mullioned windows and the large triple lancet windows open the building to the light, making the construction elegantly Gothic while maintaining the classical composition of the whole.

A large terrace situated at the top of more than 400 stairs and projecting outwards is the last element we owe to Talenti who rejected Giotto’s project for a spire roof. This panoramic rooftop terrace offers unparalleled views ofFlorence and the surrounding hills.

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