The
Baptistery is one
of Florence’s
most important
religious buildings,
dedicated to
his patron
saint, John
the Baptist
(whose feast
is celebrated
on 24 June).
Raised on the
foundations
of a Roman
building, it
is a characteristic
example of
the Tuscan
Romanesque
style, dating
according to
some authorities
from around
the 11th century
(it was consecrated
in 1059); others
believe that
it is an early
Christian building
later remodelled.
Intended for
the liturgical
function of
baptism, in
the 11th century
it also acted
as the city’s
Cathedral.
Such a large
building was
required because
vast crowds
attended the
administration
of baptism,
which in those
days took place
only twice
a year.
Its
form is octagonal,
and the exterior
is sheathed
in white marble
and green Prato
marble. The
lower register
has semi-pilasters,
and the upper
one polygonal
columns supporting
rounded arches.
The third order,
the roof and
the lantern
are typical
of the 12th
century; the
west end is
closed by a
scarsella or
altar recess,
added in the
13th century.
The powerful
guild of Calimala
(Cloth-Merchants)
held the patronage
of the Baptistery
for centuries,
and it was
they who commissioned
the magnificent
gilded bronze
doors, as well
as many of
the works of
art inside.
The earliest
of the three
doors is the
one on the
south side,
modelled in
1330 and then
cast by Andrea
Pisano. It
was set up
in 1336 on
the east side,
and moved in
1452 to make
way for Lorenzo
Ghiberti’s ‘gates
of Paradise’.
The decoration
of Andrea’s
door consists
of quatrefoil
panels of Scenes
from the life
of St John
the Baptist,
with the Theological
and Cardinal
Virtues beneath.
When the door
was moved to
south side
it was provided
with a bronze
frame, made
between 1452
and 1462 by
Lorenzo Ghiberti’s
son Vittorio.
Lorenzo himself
made the north
door between
1403 and 1424,
after he had
won the famous
competition
of 1401, in
which his submission
was preferred
to those of
Brunelleschi,
Jacopo della
Quercia and
other artists.
The north door
consists of
twenty quatrefoils
panels with
scenes from
the Life of
Christ, the
Four Evangelists
and the Doctors
of the Church.
This scheme
seems to have
cramped Ghiberti’s
talent for
naturalistic
representation,
which however
was given free
rein in his
great masterpiece,
the third Baptistery
door. In this
one, called
by Michelangelo ‘the
gates of Paradise’,
Ghiberti was
able fully
to express
his gifts as
a goldsmith
and a sculptor,
distributing
in ten large
panels some
of the principal
scenes from
the Old Testament,
from the Labours
of Adam and
Eve to the
Meeting of
Solomon and
the Queen of
Sheba. Commissioned
by the Calimala
in 1425, it
was finally
finished and
installed in
1452.
The interior,
filled with
works of art
and heavy with
historical
and religious
associations,
has geometrical
patterns in
bi-chromatic
marble, alternating
in the lower
register with
granite columns
surmounted
by gilded capitals,
and with fluted
marble pilasters.
A gallery runs
around the
upper register,
which supports
the dome. The
ancient font,
demolished
in 1576, was
originally
a large structure
in the centre
of the pavement,
decorated with
marble intarsia
showing the
Signs of the
Zodiac and
oriental geometrical
motifs. Most
extraordinary
of all is the
interior of
the dome, entirely
covered with
mosaic showing
the Angelic
Hierarchies,
Scenes from
Genesis, Scenes
from the life
of Joseph the
Patriarch,
Scenes from
the life of Christ,
Scenes from the life
of St. John the Baptist,
and the Last
Judgement.
The mosaics
in the apse
are by the
Franciscan
Jacopo di Torrita
(1255). Covering
the inside
of the Baptistery
with mosaic
was a difficult
and costly
undertaking.
Work possibly
began around
1270 and continued
until the beginning
of the following
century; according
to some authorities,
Venetian craftsmen
were employed,
certainly assisted
by important
local artists
who supplied
the cartoons,
such as Coppo
di Marcovaldo
(who was responsible
for Hell),
Meliore, the ‘Magdalene
Master’,
and Cimabue
(to whom the
earlier Scenes
from the life
of the Baptist
are attributed).
Like all mediaeval
religious buildings,
the Baptistery
contains tombs
of prominent
individuals.
Outstanding
among these
is the tomb
of the Anti-Pope
John XXIII,
who died in
Florence in
1419. This
is one of the
earliest and
most interesting
wall-tombs
in the renaissance
manner, made between
1421 and 1427 by
Donatello and
Michelozzo.
Donatello sculpted
the figure
of the dead
prelate in
gilded bronze,
while Michelozzo
was probably
responsible
for the Madonna
and Child and
the Theological
Virtues.
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