Battistero di San Giovanni — Attraction in Pisa

The Baptistery, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, stands opposite the west end of the Duomo. The round Romanesque building was begun in the mid 12th century: 1153 Mense August fundata fuit haec ("In the month of August 1153 was set up here..."). It was built in Romanesque style by an architect known as Diotisalvi ("God Save You"), who worked also in the church of the Holy Sepulchre in the city. His name is mentioned on a pillar inside, as Diotosalvi magister. the construction was not, however, finished until the 14th century, when the loggia, the top storey and the dome were added in Gothic style by Nicola Pisano and Giovanni Pisano.

It is the largest baptistery in Italy, with a circumference measuring 107.25 m. Taking into account the statue of St. John the Baptist (attributed to Turino di Sano) atop the dome, it is even a few centimetres taller than the Leaning Tower.

The portal, facing the façade of the cathedral, is flanked by two classical columns, while the inner jambs are executed in the Byzantine style. The lintel is divided into two tiers, the lower one depicting several episodes in the life of St. John the Baptist, and the upper one showing Christ between the Madonna and St. John the Baptist, flanked by angels and the evangelists.

The immensity of the interior is overwhelming, but it is surprisingly plain and lacking in decoration. It has notable acoustics also.

The octagonal baptismal font at the centre dates from 1246 and was made by Guido Bigarelli da Como. The bronze sculpture of St. John the Baptist at the centre of the font is a remarkable work by Italo Griselli.

The pulpit was sculpted between 1255-1260 by Nicola Pisano, father of Giovanni Pisano, the artist who produced the pulpit in the Duomo. The scenes on the pulpit, and especially the classical form of the naked Hercules, show at best Nicola Pisano's abilities as the most important precursor of Italian renaissance sculpture by reinstating antique representations. Therefore, surveys of the Italian Renaissance usually begin with the year 1260, the year that Nicola Pisano dated this...

In the beautiful region of Tuscany, where vineyards, history, art, harmony, nature and beauty are just some of the beauty of living, Pisa is located. Apart from the famous Leaning Tower and the Cathedral is known for the exceptional baptistery of St. John the Baptist. It is located on Campo dei Miracoli, the so-called "Field of Miracles". Although it began in the Romanesque style, the Baptistery was completed in the Gothic style, and its interior is adorned with a pulpit from the 13th century and a bronze figure of St. John the Baptist. Construction began in 1152 to replace the older baptistery, and when completed in 1363, became the second building, in chronological order, in the Piazza dei Miracoli, near the Duomo of Pisa and the cathedral's free-standing campanile, the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. The baptistery was designed by Diotisalvi, whose signature can be read on two pillars inside the building, with the date 1153. The dome is covered by lead sheets on the east and red tiles towards the west. Much of the exterior decorations were done by the talented Niccolo Pisano and his son Giovanni in the late 13th century. The busts of prophets and apostles on the arcades are copies, the originals by Giovanni Pisano are now mostly in the Cathedral Museum. The main portal is decorated with reliefs including the events from the life of John the Baptist carved into the pillars flanking the portal. The baptistery inside is magnificent, among other things it has exceptional echos. These echoes are enhanced by the cylindrical shape of the baptistry topped by a pyramidal-shaped interior roof, rather than the round cupola seen from the outside. The most important artwork in the Baptistery is the exceptional pulpit sculpted by Niccola Pisano in 1260, many art historians start the...

The Pisa Baptistery of St. John (Italian: Battistero di San Giovanni) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical building in Pisa, Italy. Construction started in 1152 to replace an older baptistery, and when it was completed in 1363, it became the second building, in chronological order, in the Piazza dei Miracoli, near the Duomo di Pisa and the cathedral's free-standing campanile, the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. The baptistery was designed by Diotisalvi, whose signature can be read on two pillars inside the building, with the date 1153.

The largest baptistery in Italy, it is 54.86 m high, with a diameter of 34.13 m. The Pisa Baptistery is an example of the transition from the Romanesque style to the Gothic style: the lower section is in the Romanesque style, with rounded arches, while the upper sections are in the Gothic style, with pointed wimpergs and a rich figurative program. Like the cathedral and the campanile the Baptistery is built of bichromatic Carrara marble, white with recurring horizontal lines in blueish-grey stone, also used for abstract floral and graphic decoration, a unique trait of some of the most important religious buildings in Tuscany (In the neighboring Florence and Pistoia the dark marmo verde from...