Wender·Vista
Florence Baptistery
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileItaly
facing the Duomo, in Florence

Florence Baptistery

— the door the city walks past every day.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“An octagonal Romanesque baptistery facing the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, clad in white Carrara and green Prato marble. Built between 1059 and 1128 on older Roman foundations. Ghiberti's east doors — the Gates of Paradise — took twenty-seven years to finish. Dante was baptized inside. The piazza around it never fully empties. — from the studio

from the studio
Florence Baptistery
— bring it home

Florence Baptistery, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Florence Baptistery

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Baptistery of San Giovanni sits opposite the western front of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in the centre of Florence. The octagonal building was raised between 1059 and 1128 on foundations that may go back to a late-Roman structure. It is clad in geometric panels of white Carrara marble and green Prato serpentine, a palette that became the visual signature of Florentine Romanesque architecture. The dome is an octagonal cloister vault about twenty-five metres across inside.

— the stone

Three sets of bronze doors mark the building. Andrea Pisano cast the south doors between 1330 and 1336. Lorenzo Ghiberti won the 1401 competition that effectively opened the Florentine Renaissance and went on to spend twenty-one years on the north doors and twenty-seven on the east — the panels Michelangelo later called the Gates of Paradise. The originals are now in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, replaced on the building by faithful casts.

— the visit

Open most days under a combined Duomo complex ticket that also covers the cathedral, Giotto's campanile, and the museum. The interior ceiling holds a thirteenth-century mosaic Last Judgment with a Christ figure roughly eight metres tall. Dante Alighieri was baptized here in 1266; for centuries every Florentine was. The piazza outside stays busy from morning into late evening; the quieter window is the first hour after opening.

— informed by Opera del Duomo Firenze
— where
Italy · Florence, Tuscany
— position
43.7731° N · 11.2549° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
at the lake
Florence Cathedral
cathedral
at the lake
Giotto's Campanile
bell tower
1 km S
Palazzo Vecchio
palace
1 km S
Uffizi Gallery
museum
1 km S
Ponte Vecchio
bridge
N
Florence Baptistery
Florence Cathedral
Giotto's Campanile
Palazzo Vecchio
Uffizi Gallery
Ponte Vecchio
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Florence Baptistery — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

The current building was raised between 1059 and 1128, though the foundations may rest on an earlier Roman structure. It is one of the oldest buildings in central Florence still in continuous use.

The east doors of the Baptistery, cast in bronze by Lorenzo Ghiberti between 1425 and 1452. Michelangelo gave them the name. Ten gilded panels depict Old Testament scenes; the originals are now in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.

Yes, in 1266. For most of Florence's history, every Florentine child was baptized at San Giovanni — Dante refers to it directly in the Inferno as his bel San Giovanni.

White marble from Carrara and dark green serpentine from Prato, set in geometric panels. The two-tone cladding became the signature look of Florentine Romanesque architecture and influenced the nearby cathedral and campanile.

Yes, with a Duomo complex ticket that also covers the cathedral, the dome climb, Giotto's campanile, and the museum. The interior is dominated by a thirteenth-century mosaic ceiling depicting the Last Judgment.

Octagonal, with a cloister-vault dome about twenty-five metres across inside. The eight-sided plan was symbolic — the eighth day, the day of resurrection — and became a model for baptisteries across Tuscany.

— about the piece in your home

The Baptistery is the heart of the Duomo complex, the building every Florentine child once passed through. For someone with roots in the city or a year studying there, a Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note carries well.

The greens, golds, and warm whites suit Old-World Italian interiors, Maximalist studies, and warm Traditional rooms with plaster or stone. It also holds its own against quieter Modern interiors with oak and linen.

Yes. The Italianate revival running through the last few seasons of editorial décor — Florentine plaster walls, antique gilt, marble — sits comfortably next to a piece anchored in Carrara white and Prato green.

A single Large works above a console. Above a sofa, a 4-tile Mural carries the wall; a 9-tile Mural reads beautifully in taller rooms, stairwells, and over a dining table.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte. Both are scratch-resistant and humidity-tolerant for backsplashes and shower walls. Glossy is reserved for framed wall art.

A soft microfibre cloth and water. The colour is held inside the ceramic surface beneath a thin clear finish, so it does not lift. Avoid solvents and abrasives.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio, drawn from Reid Wender's curatorial eye. We do not license; the atlas is built one place at a time.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.
— a collection

The Italian Dolomites,
painted slow.

The valleys between Cortina and Val Gardena, the tarns you walk an hour to see, the towers that turn the colour of a banked fire just before dark. Wander the collection by valley, by season, or follow the path Reid walked.

Tre Cime
Braies
Misurina
Sorapis
Cinque Torri
Sassolungo
Marmolada