The Baptistery mosaics, behind scaffolding

Can you see the Baptistery ceiling mosaics in 2026?

Not from the floor. The Opera states that the vault mosaics "are not visible" during the restoration. The walls, the marble and the apse mosaics are.

The scaffold rises 31.5 metres from a footprint of only 63 square metres, then opens out at the top into a 25.5-metre platform of 618 square metres under the dome (Opera del Duomo). That design keeps the floor open for visitors. It also means that when you look up, you see the underside of a platform.

What is left is still worth the entry: the striped marble walls, the floor, the tomb of the antipope John XXIII by Donatello and Michelozzo, and the mosaics of the scarsella, the small apse, which were restored in 2022. Michelle G., on the Duomo tour with dome climb in October 2026, put it this way: "Unfortunately they were doing restoration on the ceiling mosaic, but we did get to see one part of it."

How long will the Baptistery mosaic restoration take?

Six years in total, started in 2023 and planned to finish around 2028. The Opera called it three years in as of January 2026.

The numbers explain the pace. About 10 million glass and stone tesserae, from 5 to 20 millimetres a side, have to be checked one area at a time. The restorers have also mapped what is really medieval. Of the vault, about 344 square metres are original, 567 were reset during the late 19th-century works, and 128 were rebuilt after losses, according to the Opera's January 2026 update.

The Opera has put about 10 million euros into restoring the Baptistery since 2014, inside and out. The vault is the last and biggest piece.

What is the Baptistery restoration-site tour, and is it worth 65 euros?

A small guided visit up onto the scaffold to see the mosaics at arm's length. Saturdays only, 11:00 in English, 15:30 in Italian, 10 people maximum. Yes, if mosaics are why you came.

The Opera sells it on its own ticket shop at 65 euros (tour page). You meet at the Antica Canonica di San Giovanni, Piazza San Giovanni 7, on the North Door side, 15 minutes before the start, and go through security first.

Our view: with one English slot a week and ten places, this is the scarcest ticket in the complex. It is also a window that closes. Once the scaffold comes down, nobody will stand this close to the Last Judgment mosaic again for a very long time. It is not sold on Viator, and no Viator tour on this site includes it. If you want it, book it on the Opera's shop first and build the rest of the visit around it.

Which door do you use to enter the Baptistery now?

The South Door, since 10 September 2026, instead of the usual North Door. Opening hours are unchanged: daily 8:30 to 19:30, closing at 13:30 on the first Sunday of the month.

The change is in the Opera's FAQ. The doors on the building are copies; the bronze originals by Andrea Pisano and Lorenzo Ghiberti, including the Gates of Paradise, are in the Opera del Duomo Museum across the piazza.

The Baptistery is on all three passes. The cheapest way in is the Ghiberti Pass at 15 euros (5 euros for ages 7 to 14), with the museum and Santa Reparata. The dress code applies here as in the cathedral: shoulders covered, nothing above the knee, no flip-flops. See what to wear.

Is the Baptistery still worth visiting during the restoration?

Yes, if you pair it with the museum. On its own, with the vault hidden, it is a 15-minute stop.

The best of the Baptistery is now split in two. The building gives you the space, the marble and the apse. The museum gives you the doors, up close and at eye level, which you could never do on the street. Do them back to back on the same pass and the missing ceiling matters less.

A guide helps more here than on the dome. The Duomo tour with dome climb spends its two guided hours in the Baptistery and the museum before your dome slot. The Walkabout museum and dome tour does the museum with a guide. For the full picture of what each pass covers, see our tickets and prices guide.

Two hours with a guide in the Baptistery and the museum, then a held slot on the dome and a 3-day pass. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

★ 4.9 · 3 hours · from $125

Explore the Duomo tour with dome climb → Tour details

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