Baptistery of San Giovanni - Florence, Italy Wednesday was the last full day of our trip. A Florence View guesthouse where we were staying has a 10AM checkout, but they let us store our luggage in another room and we had access to a restroom through the day, so it still worked well. We started the morning with a visit to the Baptistery of San Giovanni (Saint John). It is believed that there has been a church here since the 4th Century, but this building was consecrated in 1059. Long term repair and restoration is taking place and the ceiling could only be seen in pictures. The baptismal font in use today was commissioned in 1370.
Next we toured the Opera del Duomo Museum (Cathedral Museum) which was founded in 1891. It exhibits art which has been removed from the Cathedral and Baptistry for preservation (replaced by replicas). Of particular interest were the three doors from the Baptistery, which were made by Andrea da Pontedera (Pisano) in 1336, Lorenzo Ghiberti in 1424, and Andrea Sansovino - 1505. By the time we left this museum, we were wondering how much original art is still in and on the two medieval churches.
We had a quick lunch at Panini Toscani, near the museum, sharing a large sandwich, selecting a bread, a meat, a cheese, vegetables and sauce. It was OK, but nothing like the Purgatorio sandwich we shared in Rome earlier in the trip.
The Florence Cathedral itself is free to visit, but we had to wait in line about 30 minutes to gain entry. It is less elaborate inside than many of the churches we saw during this trip, but the floor, dome and windows are impressive.
We could have still seen more of Florence, but decided we wanted to be on our way. After picking up our luggage, we returned to Santa Maria Novella station where we took a return train to Roma Termini. We had a room near the station at Hotel Oceania Via Firenze. It was the final night of the trip and the only room we had without a view. We did a little nearby exploring on our way to supper, first visiting the striking Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, which has "The Ecstasy of St. Teresa" which was sculpted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Across the street was the 1585 Fountain of Moses. Across the street again, was the 16th Century Baroque Church of St. Bernard at the Baths which has an oculus and dome much like the Pantheon. None of these stops were planned and all were within 500 feet of our hotel.
Supper was at Timoty Drinks & Kitchen, which had a very interesting cocktail list and good pub food. I had a "New fashioned" (Bourbon whiskey, orange bitters, sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves, peanut butter), which I enjoyed very much. Linda liked her "Lovers club" (London dry gin, lemon juice, raspberry syrup, dry vermouth, white chocolate, vegan foamer). She had "The Cutting Board" (selection of cured meats, cheeses and fried foods). I had a brisket sandwich special with smoked beef brisket, mustard mayonnaise and fried onion rings. As many restaurants had during the trip, they gave us a complimentry amuse bouche dessert at the end of the meal, This time it was shortbread cookies. We had a fun conversation with a couple of American men at a nearby table. They had spent the previous week riding motorcycles around Italy and said they had dined on pizza 10 times so far on their trip.
On the way back to the hotel we ran across Piazza della Repubblica with the Fountain of the Naiads. We also discovered that the entrance to our small hotel (which is all on the 4th floor of two adjacent buildings), once housed a large church. The main floor of that structure now has a music venue at one end and the Chiesa Evangelica Methodista (Evangelical Methodist Church) in the other.
During the day, I received an email from American Airlines, saying: "Due to the new Entry/Exit System (EES) launched on April 10, 2026 for non-EU nationals, American Airlines is encouraging customers to arrive at least 3.5 hours prior to departure at the following airport(s) to allow extra time to check in, check bags, and clear the Entry/Exit System." With a 10 AM departure, that meant leaving the hotel 5:45 the next morning (before midnight the night before at home). That early in the morning, the only delay at the airport, was waiting over 20 minutes for American Airlines to finish a staff meeting and open the counter. We had time for a leisurely (but very expensive) breakfast at the airport. The flights home were reasonably uneventful. The time to change planes in Chicago had been less than we liked, but the international flight arrived much earlier than scheduled and we were fine. |
Baptistery of San Giovanni
