The Florence Baptistery is currently enveloped in a gray shrouding of some sort.  This friendly detective, at your service, is on the case and will update you when information becomes available.

Seriously, are they cleaning it under the shroud or is the monument wrapped up to keep it warm for the winter?

I’ll get back to you on that!

UPDATE: According to my local anonymous sources: the shroud covers the scaffolding which was erected so the monument can be cleaned and shined up to match the shining Duomo, since they are more or less a matched set.

In the meantime, this is how the doors that Michelangelo called “the gates of paradise” look today.  You can’t tell if these tourists are lining up to look at the art or queing up to draw money from the ATM.  Oh, wait a minute, no one ques in Italy, so it must be the art!