Now
that the restoration of the Baptistery’s Gates of Paradise is complete (see TF
168) work will begin on the Baptistery’s north doors, also made by Lorenzo
Ghiberti, between 1402 and 1424.
Replicas
of the doors will be made and placed on the Baptistery, and the originals will
be moved to the Museo dell’Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore, where the Gates of Paradise
are now housed.
The
restoration is being supported in part through funds raised by the newly formed
Guild of the Dome Association. The entire project will cost more than nine
million euro. It is hoped that much of it will come from some 60 international
donors who will each ‘adopt’ a panel of the door and contribute 150,000 euro
towards its restoration and the creation of a replica.
