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Giotto's Campanile

Giotto's 14th-century bell tower beside the Duomo, 414 steps up for one of Florence's clearest views of the dome.

  • Florence
  • Tower
Plan your visitSee tours
Where
Piazza del Duomo, Florence
Best for
84.7-meter Gothic bell tower
Allow
1 hour
Tickets
From €30
Checked September 2026

Giotto's Campanile is the freestanding bell tower of Florence's cathedral, begun in 1334 when the painter, already in his late 60s and famous as the man who taught Western art to paint real emotion, was appointed chief architect of the whole cathedral works, a largely honorary title he held for barely three years before his death. Andrea Pisano and then Francesco Talenti carried the tower on through changed designs, finishing it in 1359 at 84.7 meters on a base only about 15 meters square, faced in the same white, green and pink marble as the cathedral and Baptistery. Hexagonal and lozenge relief panels near the base, depicting the arts, planets and virtues, are now copies; Andrea Pisano's originals live in the Opera del Duomo Museum. Climbing its 414 steps, with no lift and no crowds thinned by timed dome entry, gives one of the clearest views in Florence straight onto Brunelleschi's dome itself.

The bell tower is part of Florence's cathedral complex and the UNESCO-listed historic center. Its construction began under Giotto, then continued under Andrea Pisano and Francesco Talenti, making it a collective monument of 14th-century Florentine Gothic. The sculptural program and marble surface connect architecture, craft, theology, and civic display in one freestanding tower.

Giotto’s Campanile rising beside the marble flank of the cathedral in Piazza del Duomo
Slim and tall, dressed in the same white, green and pink marble as the cathedral next to it.
Sources and citations (5)
  1. Opera di Santa Maria del FioreGiotto's Bell TowerRead source
  2. Opera di Santa Maria del FioreDiscoverComplex identity and monument listRead source
  3. Opera di Santa Maria del FioreCampanile di GiottoMonument identityRead source
  4. Opera di Santa Maria del FioreGiotto's Bell Tower: A Masterpiece of Art and a Symbol of FlorenceConstruction sequence and 1359 completionRead source
  5. UNESCO World Heritage CentreHistoric Centre of FlorenceRead source

Look closer

Looking steeply up the marble face of Giotto’s Campanile, with statues in niches and dramatic clouds
Looking up the marbleTilt your head back: panels, niches and pointed windows climb in tiers into the sky.
Brunelleschi’s red dome seen up close from the top terrace of Giotto’s Campanile, with the roofs of Florence beyond
The dome, up closeFrom the top the dome is close enough to read its white ribs, with the tiled roofs of the city spread beyond it.
View from the top of Giotto’s Campanile over Florence’s roofs toward the marble facade of Santa Croce and the hills
Over the roofsA sea of ochre roofs, with the white facade of Santa Croce and the hills behind it.

Four things worth finding

If you see nothing else, see these.

  1. Hexagonal relief panelsAndrea Pisano (workshop)

    Panels of creation, the arts and trades, and the planets; the ones on the tower are copies, the originals are in the museum.Lower level of the tower

  2. Statues in the nichesDonatello

    Prophets and sibyls carved for the tower, now copies outside, with Donatello’s bald prophet known as the Zuccone among the originals.Second level; originals in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo

  3. Colored marble facingGiotto, Andrea Pisano, Francesco Talenti

    Bands of white Carrara, green Prato and red marble, matching the cathedral and the Baptistery.The whole exterior

  4. Top terrace

    A wide view over the roofs, with Brunelleschi’s dome close enough to read its ribs.After the climb

Plan your visit

Everything you need before you go.

Tickets
From €30
Booking
Book ahead
Time needed
1 hour
Best time
Late afternoon, when the climbing crowd thins and the light angles well for photos of the dome.
Getting there
On Piazza del Duomo, in the pedestrian heart of Florence, reachable only on foot from any nearby garage.
Accessibility
414 steps with no lift and no rest platforms with seating; not accessible to wheelchairs or anyone unable to manage a sustained stair climb.

Sold only within the Brunelleschi Pass (about €30, valid three days, one entry per monument), which also covers the Dome, Baptistery, Opera Museum and Santa Reparata crypt. Last updated September 2026. Prices change, so check the official site before you go.

Climb the Campanile instead of the Dome if you only have time for one: the view includes the dome itself, which you obviously cannot see from inside it.

See toursOfficial website
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Piazza del Duomo, Florence

Tours worth booking

A few we would book ourselves, to get more from your visit.

Booking through these links may earn Italia Magnifica a commission, at no cost to you.

  1. Florence Duomo Complex Private Guided Tour

    A focused Duomo Complex option for understanding the cathedral, dome story and sacred architecture with a guide.

    • Viator
    • 2h
    • 5.0★ · 37 reviews
    from €151Book this tour

Before you book

How long should you spend at Giotto’s Campanile?

About an hour covers the 414-step climb, rests at the landings and time at the top. There is no lift, so go at your own pace and save your legs by climbing early, before the heat.

Do you need to book Giotto’s Campanile?

Yes, it belongs to the timed cathedral pass, and in high season slots sell out, so book a time ahead. Arrive a little early, since the stairs take a limited number of people at once.

Should you climb the Campanile or the dome of the Duomo?

The Campanile gives the best view of the dome itself, framed straight across the roofs, while the dome climb takes you inside its double shell before opening onto the city. If you can only do one, choose the tower for the view and the dome for the experience.

More to see nearby

Same city first, then the nearest across the region.

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