Baptistery of San Giovanni Battista of Cremona (CR) - Lombardy

The choice of the octagon is an explicit reference to the 'eighth day,' that is, to the day of the Resurrection, of eternal life, which one enters through Baptism... #tuttitaly

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Next to the majestic Cathedral of Cremona is the Baptistery of San Giovanni.

The construction, begun in March 1167, is made in the Romanesque style, with an octagonal plan crowned by an elegant gallery. The choice of the octagon is an explicit reference to the eighth day, that is, to the day of the Resurrection, of the eternal life in which one enters through baptism.

The building is 34m high, with a diameter of 20.50m. Initially, the structure had three portals, of which, however, two were closed in 1592.

The only remaining portal overlooks the square and consists of an entrance with two column-bearing lions, similar to the porch of the Cathedral.

The interior receives light from a double series of superimposed mullioned windows and the Lucerne on the top of the dome. The two columns leaning against each of the eight walls give the space grandeur and lightness.

At the center of the building is a sixteenth-century baptismal font with its sizeable octagonal cistern: it is, therefore, a monolithic block of red marble from Sant'Ambrogio di Valpolicella, the work of Lorenzo Trotti (1527).

You'll also notice the three altars: one in front of the entrance, decorated with a fourteenth-century Crucifix, another on the left with the Madonna Addolorata, and the third on the right dedicated to San Biagio.

The two wooden statues depict San Filippo Neri and San Giovanni Battista and are two works by Giovanni Bertesi.

In the Renaissance period, renovation and expansion were carried out, including the floor reconstruction, the marble coating of two walls, and the roof with the vault, whose construction technique anticipates that of the dome of Santa Maria del Flower of Florence. The installation of the bronze statue depicting the Archangel Gabriel, located near the vault, dates back to 1370.

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