SKIP THE LINE GIOTTO'S BELL TOWER WITH HOST

Giotto's bell tower is one of the four principal monuments on the Piazza del Duomo.

84.7 metres tall and approximately 15 metres in breadth, it is the most eloquent example of 14th century Gothic architecture in Florence, combining a strong vertical thrust with the principle of sound solidity, its corner buttresses rising the full length of the tower to the projecting terrace at the top.

Andrea Pisano carried Giotto's design up to the first two levels, while artists such as Alberto Arnaldi adorned the outside with carved lozenges.

Clad in white, red and green marble like the cathedral adjacent to it, the majestic square bell tower, considered to be the most beautiful campanile in Italy and probably designed more for decorative than for functional purposes, was begun by Giotto in 1334.

By the time Giotto died in 1337 he had completed only the first part of his bell tower, up to the hexagonal panels which form a kind of figurative narrative carved by Andrea Pisano to Giotto's design, and to the reliefs (formerly on a blue ground) by Andrea Pisano and Luca della Robbia. Andrea Pisano carried Giotto's design up to the first two levels, while artists such as Alberto Arnaldi adorned the outside with carved lozenges.