Golden mosaics restored in ancient Italian basilica where Dante and Machiavelli were baptised

The restoration of the mosaics began four years ago

Credit: Opera del Duomo/AFP

Dazzling golden mosaics in a centuries-old basilica in Florence, in which Dante and Machiavelli were baptised, have been restored to their former glory.

The 13th and 14th century mosaics adorn the walls of the Battistero di San Giovanni, or Baptistery of St John, an octagonal church that stands in front of Florence’s huge Duomo.

They depict angels, prophets and bearded bishops in a stunning array of colours, from shimmering gold to deep reds and blues.

A restorer works on the centuries-old mosaics in the Baptistry

Credit: Opera del Duomo/AFP

During the restoration work, specialists discovered traces of gold leaf on a capital on top of one of the ancient granite columns that support the interior, suggesting that at one point all the capitals were covered in gold leaf.

Built between the 11th and 12th centuries, the Baptistery is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Florence.

It was where members of the Medici family were baptised, as well as the Florence-born explorer Amerigo Vespucci — who gave his name to the Americas.

The interior of the octagonal Baptistery of St John in Florence

Credit: Opera del Duomo/AFP

The basilica also contains the monumental tomb of the Anti-Pope John XXIII, so-called because he was elected as a rival to two other popes during a period of schisms in the 15th century. He was deposed in 1415 and died in Florence four years later.

In a €1.5 million restoration project that began in 2017, the mosaics on four of the basilica’s eight internal walls have been restored to their former lustre. The remaining four walls will be restored this year.

The magnificent mosaics that adorn the ceiling, dominated by a huge figure of Christ in Judgment, have still yet to be cleaned.

The scale of the restoration project so far is impressive. “We worked on 1,100 square metres of marble surfaces, 200 square metres of mosaic and more than 100 square metres of gilding,” said Samuele Caciagli from the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, the body that looks after the baptistery, the cathedral and Giotto’s bell tower.

The ceiling of the Baptistry of St John in Florence 

Credit: Opera del Duomo/AFP

The Baptistery is accessed by three sets of immense bronze doors decorated with sculptured reliefs.

The east doors, the work of the young goldsmith Lorenzo Ghiberti, were considered to be so beautiful that they were dubbed by Michelangelo “the Gates of Paradise”.

As visitors enter, there is an inscription in the marble floor – “Here come all those who wish to see marvelous things.”