"I strove to imitate nature as clearly as I could, and with all the perspective I could produce," wrote sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti of the gilded bronze doors he created for Florence's Baptistery.

If political power were distributed based on a census of the founding era, the United States would be run by Episcopalians and Congregationalists. The Gospel of Mark does not ask whether women are ...

FLORENCE, Italy (AP) — A team of artisans on the outskirts of Florence are casting the final panels of a replica of a Renaissance masterpiece: Lorenzo Ghiberti’s famed bronze north doors on the ...

"I strove to imitate nature as clearly as I could, and with all the perspective I could produce," wrote sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti of the gilded bronze doors he created for Florence's Baptistery.

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- When the artists of Florence, Italy, swung open the doors of the Baptistery of the Duomo (cathedral) now known as the "Gates of Paradise" in 1452, a new world was waiting on ...

Contemporary art continues to experiment with precious and ancient materials, giving new life and meaning to millennia-old traditions.

A team of artisans on the outskirts of Florence are casting the final panels of a replica of a Renaissance masterpiece You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an ...

This story appears in the February 2014 issue of National Geographic magazine. In 1418 the town fathers of Florence finally addressed a monumental problem they’d been ignoring for decades: the ...