Gates of Paradise touring the U.S.

Every once in a while you come across something during your travels you learned about in school and, as a result, it becomes far more meaningful and relevant.

This was the case when I first laid eyes upon the Gates of Paradise in Florence, Italy.

For some reason I can't remember, I was up just after sunrise and wandering the streets when I suddenly found myself standing in front of the gates without another tourist in sight--a very rare occurrence for this wildly popular work of art.

The gates are actually bronze doors attached to the front of San Gionvanni but they are unlike any doors I'd ever seen before. I learned about them in school from an overzealous Western Civ teacher who could not stop singing praises about the gates and as a result, I was anxious to see them. Even with such high expectations, however, the gates simply blew me away with their golden biblical depictions carved by sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti in the 15th century. Wow. I stood there in front of the gates all by myself and just soaked it all in.

And now you can do the same without actually visiting Florence. That's because three of the ten panels which make up the gates are currently on tour in the United States. They will be on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York until January 14, and will then travel to the Seattle Art Museum until April 6, 2008.

If you happen to be anywhere nearby, be sure to stop in for a visit. You won't be able to avoid the crowds as I did, but you will still be left with the same, overwhelming sense of awe.

Filed under: Arts and Culture, Italy