Giotto's bell tower: masterpiece of Gothic architecture

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Giotto’s bell tower is one of the most beautiful Italian bell towers. This structure is the bell tower of the Florence Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. The bell tower is detached to the right of the Duomo. This position represents the intention of the designer to highlight the importance of the bell tower compared to other surrounding buildings.

The bell tower is so called because the project and part of the construction of the structure are the work of Giotto. The works were started in 1334 by Giotto. Then were continued – after the death of the great painter in 1337 – by Andrea Pisano who worked there until 1348. The bell tower was completed in 1359 by Francesco Talenti.

A MASTERPIECE OF GOTHIC ART

Covered in white, red and green marble like the ones that adorn the Cathedral, the majestic bell tower has a square base, and is considered the most beautiful in Italy. High 84.70 meters and 15 meters wide is the most eloquent testimony of Florentine Gothic of the fourteenth century, that even in the vertical impulse does not abandon the principle of solidity. The numerous statues and sculptures that decorate it were part of the same structure of the bell tower and it were not just a mere decorative purposes.

Campanile di Giotto, Firenze, Italia. Author and Copyright Marco Ramerini — Giotto’s Bell Tower, Florence, Italy. Author and Copyright Marco Ramerini

Il Campanile di Giotto e il Duomo, Firenze, Italia. Author and Copyright Marco Ramerini — Giotto’s Bell Tower and the Duomo, Florence, Italy. Author and Copyright Marco Ramerini

Extremely rich is the sculptural decoration with 56 relief in two registers and overlaid with 16 natural size statues in niches by Florentine master of the 14th and 15th century, including Andrea Pisano, Donatello and Luca della Robbia. All these works, one of the most complete representation cycles of the Middle Ages, are now been replaced with copies (the originals are preserved in the Museum of Opera del Duomo).

The tower is open, to reach the top you must take a scale of 413 steps, from the bell tower is the magnificent panorama of the city of Florence.