Visitors Can See Famed Florence Baptistry’s Mosaics up Close

Restorers Chiara Zizola (R) and Roberto Nardi work on the restoration of the mosaics that adorn the dome of one of the oldest churches in Florence, St. John's Baptistery, in Florence, central Italy, on Feb. 7, 2023. Andrew Medichini/AP Photo

FLORENCE, Italy—Visitors to one of Florence’s most iconic monuments—the Baptistry of San Giovanni, opposite the city’s Duomo—are getting a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see its ceiling mosaics up close thanks to an innovative approach to a planned restoration effort.

Rather than limit the public’s access during the six-year cleaning of the vault, officials built a scaffolding platform for the art restorers that will also allow small numbers of visitors to see the ceiling mosaics at eye level.