Pisa Baptistry

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View from the entrance

The circular baptistry, with an interior diameter of 35.5 meters, has an arcaded ambulatory consisting of four pilasters and eight columns. The capitals depict boar hunting and other animals and monsters.
 

The women's gallery

The second floor, high above ground level, is the women's gallery, above which is a grand dome.
 

The ambulatory

 

View with baptismal font and pulpit

The octagonal font has four small basins on the edges for immersing babies (whereas adults were baptized in the large central basin). The hexagonal pulpit, seen behind the font, by Nicola Pisano is justly famous. See details of the pulpit. The font, by Guido Bigarelli, has a marble screen with central rosettes and geometric decoration. The statue of John the Baptist in the center is a twentieth century addition (by Italo Griselli, 1929).



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© 2005 Mary Ann Sullivan. I have photographed (on site), scanned, and manipulated all the images on these pages. Please feel free to use them for personal or educational purposes. They are not available for commercial purposes.

Page created by Mary Ann Sullivan