Italy Guide
Tuscany
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo
Opening time: daily: March 10am–6pm; April– Sept Mon– Sat 10am–8pm; Oct 10am–7pm; Nov– Feb 10am–1pm & 2–5pm
Price: €5
The Museo dell'Opera del Duomo contains a vast array of statuary from the Duomo and Baptistry, plus ecclesiastical finery, paintings and other miscellaneous pieces. Highlights include the extraordinary bronze doors made for the Duomo by Bonanno Pisano (first architect of the Leaning Tower) in 1180, and Giovanni Pisano's affecting Madonna del Colloquio (Madonna of the Conversation), so called because of the intensity of the gazes exchanged by the Madonna and Child. On the south side of the Campo, the only gap in the souvenir stalls is for the Museo delle Sinopie (same hours as Baptistry; €5, or combined ticket). After the damage wreaked on the Camposanto, restorers removed its sinopie (the sketches over which frescoes are painted) and these great plates of plaster now hang from the walls of this high-tech museum.