Porta del Cielo
The Porta del Cielo, or Gate of Heaven, is the route through Siena Cathedral's roof spaces: €21 at the Opera from 1 March to 6 January, and a 7:15 early opening that includes it.
The Porta del Cielo, the Gate of Heaven, is the route through the roof spaces of Siena Cathedral: narrow passages above the vaults with views down into the nave, open from 1 March to 6 January.
The Opera della Metropolitana sells it at €21 (€6 for ages 7 to 11, checked October 2026), and the ticket also covers every museum site of the complex. The tour that includes it is DEAR GUESTS’ Exclusive Morning Visit to the Duomo with the Clavigero, from US$47 a person (checked October 2026).
What you see up there
The route climbs into the spaces between the vaults and the roof, built as working passages rather than for visitors. From the openings you look straight down into the striped nave and onto the inlaid floor from above. It is the one part of the complex the OPA SI PASS does not reach, and a guest on the pass this August regretted not taking it.
How to book it
The Opera sells the Porta del Cielo only online or at the ticket office at Piazza Duomo 7, while places last, and asks visitors to read its rules of behaviour before the visit. Places are limited, so in season book it ahead rather than counting on the ticket desk. The other way in is the 7:15 morning visit, which DEAR GUESTS runs with the Clavigero, the keeper of the cathedral keys. The Opera announced these openings for April to October 2026; check the calendar below for later dates.
The 7:15 opening
You meet in front of the ticket desk at Piazza Duomo 7 at 7:15. The group, at most 36 people split in two, watches the Clavigero open the cathedral, a guide explains the lower church, and then you climb to the roof spaces; while the floor is uncovered you see it with the church almost empty. Guests this September describe entering “before it opened” with a handful of others and taking pictures in a quiet cathedral, and one in October called the guide “very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and engaging”. The ticket also covers the rest of the complex, without a guide.
Two cautions from the listing. The visit is non-refundable. And it is not suitable for people with claustrophobia, vertigo, a fear of heights, heart problems or limited mobility, or for wheelchair users, because the route is narrow and high.
Pick your way onto the roof, or around it:
7:15 Opening + Gate of Heaven
At most 36 people, the keeper opens the doors, then the roof walk.
Check dates →OPA SI PASS
Seven sites over three days with a phone audio guide, no rooftops.
See the pass →Prices and review counts as listed on GetYourGuide in October 2026, not a quote.
Check dates and book
The Cathedral Before the Doors Open, Then the Roof
DEAR GUESTS' morning visit starts at 7:15 as the Clavigero, the keeper of the keys, unlocks the cathedral, with a guide for the lower church and then the Gate of Heaven. Rated 4.8 from 35 reviews, from US$47 a person as of October 2026; non-refundable.
Check 7:15 Opening Dates