CATHEDRAL, Museum - First Part

When talking about the Cathedral, Giotto's Bell Tower, and the Baptistery, I repeatedly mentioned that many of the sculptures that are exposed to the elements are copies, and that the originals are preserved in the Cathedral Museum. It's finally time to see these masterpieces "live", which for centuries have made this Cathedral a unique center of art, and especially of sculpture, in the world.

The Museum occupies part of the premises that for centuries belonged to the Opera del Duomo, or Cathedral's Works, which is the lab where they processed marble and architectural elements, and where the sculptures were kept that hadn't been installed or replaced. It has recently been extended into larger spaces. This has allowed for spectacular exhibition solutions: get ready to travel through time, retracing the history of the Cathedral's construction site along a path full of masterpieces.

You'll be left gaping almost immediately when you enter the huge hall with a life-size reconstruction of the Cathedral's façade designed by Arnolfo di Cambio, as it should have appeared at the beginning of the 1300s. Here you can see the groups of original Gothic sculptures for the three portals, the niches, and other parts of the façade placed exactly where the artist had intended them. It is a truly unique sight!...