OPERA del DUOMO MUSEUM
(Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore)
The museum contains many original early 15th-century sculptures by Donatello (including the Zuccone), Ghiberti, Nanni di Banco, Nanni di Bartolo (il Rosso), Niccolò di Piero Lamberti and other works that were originally displayed on the exterior of the cathedral. But many of these exterior scluptures were replaced by replicas to conserve the originals. Additionally, the museum is home to the Lorenzo Ghiberti's doors for the Baptistery of the Florence Cathedral called the Gates of Paradise, the two cantorias, or singing-galleries, designed for the cathedral, one each by Luca della Robbia and Donatello. Again, these great holdings were replaced by replicas at the cathedral. Noteworthy, the collection also includes The Deposition, a Pietà sculpted by Michelangelo which he intended for his own tomb, and Donatello's wood Penitent Magdalene.