Opera del Duomo Museum

A separate mention must be given to the Grande Museo del Duomo, the Opera del Duomo Museum (also known as OPA). The Museo dell’Opera‘s 6,000 sq. mt. surface area consists of twenty-five rooms on three floors, several new exhibition halls, and innovative areas that link its various spaces.

For the very first time, a spectacular new design hosts the museum’s unique masterpieces in a setting reflecting the environment for which they were originally designed. A museum within a museum in a concentration of faith, art, and history unparalleled anywhere in the world, a spectacular ensemble that encapsulates the very roots of Western culture.

The largest concentration of Florentine monumental sculpture in the world includes medieval and Renaissance statues and reliefs in marble, bronze, and silver by the leading artists of the era. Most of the masterpieces on display were specifically designed to adorn the interior or exterior of the religious monuments that still stand on the museum’s doorstep: the Baptistry of San Giovanni, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (the “Duomo”), and Giotto’s Bell Tower

The Museo dell’Opera provides the ideal setting for the works of art made for these buildings, which today form a single group known as the “Great Museum of the Cathedral”.

A visit to the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo ends, fittingly, on a panoramic terrace offering a truly remarkable and unfamiliar view of Brunelleschi’s dome. A panorama that aptly summarises the key to understanding the new museum’s underlying purpose, showing how the drama of beauty has served the faith down the ages.

The visit to the museum must be considered integral to the visit to Piazza del Duomo. It can be accessed along with the rest of the attractions of the Piazza, with a single ticket/pass that costs 15 euros and can be found in Via della Canonica, 1 50122, behind the Duomo. Description / more by the official website of the Opera del Duomo.