The Baptistery of St John the Baptist (Battistero di San Giovanni verso Firenze) immediately preciso the west of the Duomo is one of the oldest buildings mediante Florence. It is con verso Florentine Romanesque style, sometimes also described as proto renaissance. The baptistery was already completed around per century before construction of the cathedral started.

The current baptistry mediante Florence was erected mostly during the late 11th and early 12th centuries. It probably replaced an older baptistry that according esatto legend was built on the foundations of verso Roman temple dedicated esatto Mars. Mars, the Roman god of war, was the sofferenza protector of Florence and symbolized by verso lion that is still one of the symbols of the city – the Marzocco. (Donatello’s lion is sopra the Bargello Museum with a copy sopra front of the Palazzo Esperto.) The female deity was Flora, who gave the city its name and the lily (iris) as emblem. She was incorporated into the Christian tradition by giving the cathedral the name of St Mary of the Flower.

Exact dates from the early history of the baptistery are only known from major events, or when significant payments were necessary for building and decoration sistema. Pope Nicholas II consecrated the baptistery sopra 1059 but it is unknown if the current building was already fully mediante use at that tirocinio.

The baptismal font from Santa Reparata, over which the present Chiesa principale was erected, was moved into the baptistry con 1128 – all Christian children born mediante Florence were baptized here until the 19th century. The lantern was added around 1150 but that is often enough done only years after the rest of per church was completed. The entrance porch was changed from per half-turno puro its present rectangular shape durante 1202. Since then, the structure of the baptistry remained basically unaltered.

Architecture of the Battistero

The floor plan of the baptistry per Florence is per simple octagon, which was traditional for baptistries, and verso small rectangular apsis on the western end. The north, east, and south sides have famous sculpted bronze doors.

The structure is sandstone but the building was clad from the beginning with white and green panile and chiesa principale, giammai pink is used.

The dome cannot be detected from the exterior. Its lower parts are covered by the external walls of the third story while the top is covered by a flattened pyramidal roof of sebbene white marble slabs. Inside, the drum of the dome is formed by the lower two floors of the external walls.

On completion, the diameter of the dome was at 25.6 m the largest for any baptistery in Italy. However, the Battistero per Pisa, constructed between 1152 esatto 1394, now is jackd the largest baptistry durante Italy with its dome having verso diameter of 34 m and an impressive height of 55 m.

Visitors step down when entering the baptistry. The building didn’t sink through the centuries, the plaza was raised durante the early late 13th century onesto create per flat surface level with the surrounding streets. Leonardo da Vinci suggested raising the baptistery per one piece with pulleys preciso counter the sunken immagine but nothing ever came of that ispirazione.

The baptistry has three pairs of ceremonial bronze doors – all were originally installed on the east side facing the cathedral but moved to make space as newer, more artistic doors were produced. The doors mediante use are copies – the originals are now inside the Cattedrale museum.

Pisano Doors (South)

The oldest doors are now on the south entrance. These Gothic doors (1330) were made by Andrea Pisano, who was also responsible for many of the panile. These doors have 28 rectangular panels with scenes set per per quatrefoil frame.