In front of the Cathedral you will find the very beautiful Baptistery of San Giovanni. Called "il bel San Giovanni" by Dante, it has very ancient origins, going back perhaps to the 5^th century AD, but certainly to the 11^th and 12^th centuries.

From the outside you immediately notice how the cladding in marble panels of white and green harmonises admirably with the three superb bronze doors. They are works by Andrea Pisano and the better-known Lorenzo Ghiberti. The small quadrangular apse goes back to 1220. This is a truly fascinating sacred building and it was designed to provide a worthy home for the cathedral's baptismal font.
You can see, accordingly, truly splendid mosaics adorning the interior of the dome and some wonderful vaulting in the apse.