Heritage & monuments
Tomb of Antipope John XXIII
The marble-and-bronze tomb monument of Antipope John XXIII was created by Donatello and Michelozzo for the Florence Baptistry adjacent to the Duomo. It was commissioned by the executors of Cossa's will after his death on 22 December 1419, and completed during the 1420s, establishing it as one of the early landmarks of Renaissance Florence. According to Ferdinand Gregorovius, the tomb is "at once the sepulchre of the Great Schism in the church and the last papal tomb which is outside Rome itself".
Tomb of Antipope John XXIII
This monument inside the Florence Baptistery marks the burial place of Baldassarre Cossa, who reigned as Pope John XXIII before being deposed during the Great Schism. Carved in marble and bronze by Donatello and Michelozzo in the 1420s, it is one of the earliest major commissions of the Florentine Renaissance and a rare papal tomb located outside Rome. Travellers visit less for grandeur and more for the sculptural detail and the historical oddity of the story behind it: a deposed pope buried with full honors in one of the city's most sacred buildings.
Getting there
The Baptistery sits in Piazza San Giovanni, right in front of the Duomo, in the historic centre. Most visitors reach it on foot from anywhere in central Florence; from Santa Maria Novella train station it's roughly a 10-minute walk.
How much time to allow
The tomb itself can be seen in a few minutes, but plan for 20–30 minutes inside the Baptistery to also take in the mosaic ceiling and other decoration.
When to go
The Baptistery is small and gets busy quickly, especially given its position beside the Duomo and Gates of Paradise, both magnets for tour groups. Arriving early in the day or later in the afternoon tends to mean thinner crowds; midday in high season is the most congested.
Combine with
Everything nearby is within a couple of minutes' walk. The Gates of Paradise and the Baptistery entrance are effectively at the same spot, Giotto's Campanile is about 0.1 km away for those climbing for views over the city, and the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, also 0.1 km off, holds the original Baptistery doors and other cathedral artworks worth pairing with this visit.
Sources: open data from Wikipedia and OpenStreetMap · Updated August 5, 2026 · Edited by the World by City editors
