"My handsome St John," wrote Dante referring to the baptistry dedicated to St John the Baptist, patron saint of the city, in the Middle Ages, whose image featured on the famous gold florin coin. Clad in white marble, this elegant octagonal building (11C) exudes an impression of rigour and delicate purity. Its bronze doors, embellished by magnificently carved panels by Andrea Pisano and Lorenzo Ghiberti, are known all over the world.