subject: Battistero di San Giovanni - Florence [print this page] Battistero di San Giovanni - Florence Battistero di San Giovanni - Florence
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The baptistery dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, patron saint of Florence, stands opposite the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, in Piazza San Giovanni. Originally was located outside the city walls, but it was included, along with the cathedral, inside the walls made by Matilde di Canossa ("fourth circle). Originally it was surrounded by other buildings including the palace of the Archbishop who came much closer, which were cut down to create the current square. The baptistery is located between Piazza del Duomo and Piazza San Giovanni, between the Cathedral and the Archbishop, the religious center
in the city. The main facade of the octagonal building is facing the cathedral, while the apse is located to the west.
The building was built on the ruins of a Roman structure, a rich domus of the first century AD, considered originally a temple dedicated to the god Odin Mars. The founding date is very uncertain: we consider the fourth and fifth centuries AD, with alterations in the seventh century during the Lombard domination, perhaps after the conversion to Christianity of the Queen Teodolinda. The first mention dates from the year 897, when the emperor sent justice under the porch "in front of the Basilica of St. John the Baptist": the name indicates that the church building was to function as the cathedral. The Florentine Pope Nicholas II consecrated the Basilica Cathedral of Florence again in 1059.The Baptistery has an octagonal plan, with a diameter of 25.60 m, almost half of the dome of the cathedral. The need for building large scale, is explained by the need to accommodate the crowds who received baptism in only two fixed dates per year. The construction of the mosaic dome was difficult and expensive to undertake, perhaps the work began around 1270 and ended in the early next century.
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