Baptistery of San Giovanni, sheathed in precious white marble from Carrara and green marble from Prato, in the Piazza San Giovanni, Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The building appears in records in 897 as a minor basilica. It was consecrated as the Cathedral of Florence in 1059 and as the Baptistery of Florence in 1128. The lantern at its summit dates from 1174 and the pyramidal roof from 1150. Geometrical decoration of the exterior was carried out in the 1000s to 1200s. Gilded bronze doors, commissioned by the guild of Calimala (Cloth-Merchants), were added in the 1300s and 1400s.
Florence, Tuscany, Italy: the Baptistery of San Giovanni in the Piazza San Giovanni, typical of the Tuscan Romanesque style of architecture. The Baptistery, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, patron saint of Florence, was described by Dante in the Divine Comedy as “my beautiful San Giovanni”. It is an octagonal building metres (84 feet) across internally, with an eight-sided pyramidal and prismatic (plates joined together) roof of white marble, crowned by a lantern. The walls are covered in white marble from Carrara and green marble from Prato. The building’s foundation date is unknown, but it appears in records in 897 described as a minor basilica. The former basilica was consecrated as the Cathedral of Florence in 1059 by Pope Nicholas II, also bishop of Florence at that time, and then consecrated as the Baptistery of Florence in 1128. Up until the end of the 1800s, all catholics in Florence were baptised in the Baptistery. The lantern dates from 1174 and the roof from 1150. Geometrical decoration of the exterior using precious marble was carried out in the 1000s to 1200s. Gilded bronze doors, commissioned by the guild of Calimala (Cloth-Merchants) were added in the 1300s and 1400s.
Size: 2488px × 3732px
Location: Baptistery of San Giovanni, Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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