Duomo and Baptistery

On Halloween this year, I climbed the Duomo and visited the St. Giovanni Baptistery. The interior of the Florence Cathedral is just as beautiful as the exterior. The artwork depicting heaven and hell in the inside of the Duomo is incredibly detailed and quite graphic. It is a fresco completed by Federico Zuccaro in 1579.   It truly is an historical and cultural landmark. The real task of the visit was climbing up all the narrow stairways to get to the top. The views of Florence from the top of the Duomo are pretty close to perfect. It was interesting to see the celebrant not using a microphone because the interior of the Cathedral possesses great acoustics. The whole facade is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ. The amount of detail that is put into the figures is astounding. The beauty of the Baptistery is no different from it's neighbor landmark. I appreciated the astronomical depiction on the floor and the meaning behind it. The Gates of Paradise in the Baptistery are actually copies of the originals.