Baptistery in Pisa

Inside the building, on a pillar to the right of the eastern entrance, there is an inscription indicating the date of laying the baptistery:

Here, 1153 is indicated according to the Pisa calendar and corresponds to 1152 on the Gregorian calendar .

And the inscription on the column on the left names the name of the first architect of the Baptistery - Diotisalvi :

Diotisalvi supervised the construction until approximately 1180 and completed the construction of the first tier, excluding the capitals of the inner pillars and columns.

In the 2nd floor. XIII and 1st floor. The fourteenth century was supervised by Niccolo Pisano and his son Giovanni Pisano . They erected the second and third tiers.

Since 1362, the construction was headed by the master Cellino di Neze . According to modern researchers, he owns the completion of the construction of the double dome.

By 1384–1386, the baptistery basically took on its modern form. Evidence of this was the frescoes made by Antonio Veneziano in Campo Santo with scenes from the life of St. Ranieri , on which the baptistery was depicted already with a completed double dome ^[1] .

Diotisalvi began to build the Baptistery in the Romanesque style , but the building was being completed in the Gothic style . As a result, the lower tier of the baptistery is decorated on the outside with strict Romanesque rounded arches with narrow windows, while the second tier is decorated with stone carvings and double arches with Gothic gable finials. Windows of the third tier also have gable tops. The entire building is lined with white marble inlaid with green and gray marble.

Of great artistic value is the rich exterior sculptural decoration of the baptistery, especially the busts and statues of the second tier, made by Niccolo and Giovanni Pisano and their students. The surviving originals of these sculptures are currently in the Museum of the Cathedral .

It is assumed that according to the project of Diotisalvi, the building was supposed to have a pyramidal roof. However, subsequently, in addition to the already existing pyramidal dome, another more wide hemispherical dome was built on top of it (see photo of the model of the baptistery).

The eastern side of the dome is covered with lead plates from the outside. This cover was not believed to be due to economic difficulties, and the remaining western part was tiled.

The baptistery is built on the same unstable sandy soil as the nearby Leaning Tower of Pisa, and also has a slope (0.6 degrees towards the cathedral).

The eastern portal of the Baptistery (see photo) facing the cathedral is the main one. It contains the following elements:

• A pair of external columns. They are decorated with carved floral patterns and Corinthian capitals.

• A pair of pilasters. Each of the pilasters carries eleven relief panels. On the left pilasters are the months of the year, presented in the form of scenes of agricultural work and symbolic figures ^[2] (from bottom to top, from January to December; September and October are combined on one panel). On the right pilaster, from bottom to top - King David, Christ's descent into hell, apostles, Mary, "men of Galilee", Jesus Christ.

• A pair of thinner inner columns. They are also decorated with carved floral patterns and capitals similar to Corinthian.

• Architrave . Contains two sculptural belts. In the lower zone are scenes from the life of John the Baptist (preaching, the appearance of Christ, baptism of Christ, arrest, feast of Herod with the dance of Salome, execution and Salome with the head of John the Baptist, position in the tomb). In the upper zone is Christ with the Madonna and John the Baptist, surrounded by angels and evangelists . In the compositions and the style of these reliefs, as well as in the reliefs of the archivolt (see below), researchers perceive a strong Byzantine influence ^[3] .

• Tympanum . Now it houses a statue of the Madonna and Child Jesus. This is a copy of the sculpture by Giovanni Pisano (1306). Earlier on the sides of the Madonna were also statues of John the Baptist and John the Evangelist ^{[4] [5]} , also the work of Giovanni Pisano and his disciples. Now these two sculptures, together with the original statue of the Madonna, have been moved to the Cathedral Museum ^[6] .

• Archivolt . Contains several belts of floral ornaments. Between them at the top is the Lamb , on the sides are the elders of the Apocalypse ^[7] , holding in their hands bowls with incense and plucked musical instruments such as cytols .

The huge interior of the building has relatively few decorations and it is thanks to its large austere spaces that makes a strong impression on visitors.

The octagonal font in the center of the baptistery dates back to 1246 and was made by the master Guido Bigarelli . In its center is a modern bronze sculpture of John the Baptist by Italo Griselli .

Department of Baptistery was created between 1255-1260 by Niccolo Pisano. It is very important for the history of European art, as it is considered as the first major work of the Italian Proto-Renaissance . In scenes carved at the department, and especially in the classic image of the naked Hercules , Niccolo Pisano appeared as a true predecessor of Italian Renaissance sculpture.

Due to the unusual design of the roof of two domes, the pyramidal inner and circular outer, the interior of the baptistery has unique acoustic characteristics.

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• Leaning Tower of Pisa
• Pisa Cathedral
• Campo Santo Cemetery
• Piazza dei Miracoli
• Pisa

• Giuliano Valdes. Art and history. Pisa - Florence, Casa Editrice Bonechi, 1995.
• Christine Smith . The Baptistery of Pisa . New York: Garland Pub., 1978.
• Antonino Caleca, Aurelio Amendola. La dotta mano: il Battistero di Pisa . Bergamo: Bolis, 1991.

• Pisa, Baptistery, Department ... - Baptistery and Department Niccolo Pisano
• Il battistero di Pisa (Italian)