Description
The Baptistery of St. John, in Piazza dei Miracoli, in front of the Cathedral's facade, is the largest baptistery in the world: 107 meters around and almost 55 high. It is a round building, Romanesque below and Gothic above, also famous for the exceptional acoustics of its interior. It replaced a smaller baptistery that stood where the Camposanto is today.
Inside, the simplicity is striking: few decorations and one great circular space. At the center stands the octagonal baptismal font of 1246, by Guido Bigarelli da Arogno, with the bronze statue of St. John the Baptist. Behind it, the altar area has a Cosmatesque floor.
The masterpiece is the pulpit by Nicola Pisano, carved between 1255 and 1260. Its five panels show scenes from the life of Christ, and in place of columns it has the Virtues. The classical-style nude Hercules makes Nicola a forerunner of the Renaissance.
Above the ring of pillars runs the matroneum, an upper gallery reached by a staircase built into the thickness of the wall. Outside, the portal facing the Cathedral has episodes from the life of the Baptist on its lintel, and at the sides two pilasters with the cycle of the months. On top of the dome stands the statue of St. John the Baptist, from 1395.
It was founded in August 1152, and the first architect wanted to leave his signature: "Diotisalvi magister", on a pillar inside. He had two buildings in Jerusalem in mind, the Dome of the Rock and the Holy Sepulchre.
Construction lasted more than two centuries, and every generation left its mark. Diotisalvi had designed a dome in the shape of a truncated cone, because big hemispherical domes were then almost a mystery. Nicola and Giovanni Pisano added loggias, statues and a round dome that hides the original.
The roof still tells a story: red tiles on the sea side, lead sheets on the east side. Maybe the money ran out; another theory says the lead reflecting the moon served as a beacon for ships.
In the 19th century a radical restoration removed many of the Pisanos' statues, despite the protests of some Pisan intellectuals. Almost all were lost; the few that were saved are in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.
Don't miss
• Nicola Pisano's pulpit.
• The baptismal font.
• The matroneum.
• The acoustics of the circular hall.
Did you know?
• The Baptistery leans a little too, toward the Cathedral.
• Next to the portal there is an inscription that no one has yet managed to decipher.
• Originally an opening in the ceiling let the light fall straight onto the font.
Inside, the simplicity is striking: few decorations and one great circular space. At the center stands the octagonal baptismal font of 1246, by Guido Bigarelli da Arogno, with the bronze statue of St. John the Baptist. Behind it, the altar area has a Cosmatesque floor.
The masterpiece is the pulpit by Nicola Pisano, carved between 1255 and 1260. Its five panels show scenes from the life of Christ, and in place of columns it has the Virtues. The classical-style nude Hercules makes Nicola a forerunner of the Renaissance.
Above the ring of pillars runs the matroneum, an upper gallery reached by a staircase built into the thickness of the wall. Outside, the portal facing the Cathedral has episodes from the life of the Baptist on its lintel, and at the sides two pilasters with the cycle of the months. On top of the dome stands the statue of St. John the Baptist, from 1395.
It was founded in August 1152, and the first architect wanted to leave his signature: "Diotisalvi magister", on a pillar inside. He had two buildings in Jerusalem in mind, the Dome of the Rock and the Holy Sepulchre.
Construction lasted more than two centuries, and every generation left its mark. Diotisalvi had designed a dome in the shape of a truncated cone, because big hemispherical domes were then almost a mystery. Nicola and Giovanni Pisano added loggias, statues and a round dome that hides the original.
The roof still tells a story: red tiles on the sea side, lead sheets on the east side. Maybe the money ran out; another theory says the lead reflecting the moon served as a beacon for ships.
In the 19th century a radical restoration removed many of the Pisanos' statues, despite the protests of some Pisan intellectuals. Almost all were lost; the few that were saved are in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo.
Don't miss
• Nicola Pisano's pulpit.
• The baptismal font.
• The matroneum.
• The acoustics of the circular hall.
Did you know?
• The Baptistery leans a little too, toward the Cathedral.
• Next to the portal there is an inscription that no one has yet managed to decipher.
• Originally an opening in the ceiling let the light fall straight onto the font.