The domed octagonal
Lateran Baptistery stands somewhat apart from the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano,
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
, to which it has become joined by later construction. This
baptisteryIn Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistery may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral and be provided with an altar as a chapel...
was founded by
Pope Sixtus IIIother=Sixtus|}}Pope Saint Sixtus III was pope from July 31, 432 to August 18, 440.The name of Sixtus is often connected with a great building boom in Rome: Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill was dedicated during his pontificate and he built Santa Maria Maggiore, whose dedication to Mary the Mother...
in 440, perhaps on an earlier structure, for a legend grew up that Constantine the Great had been baptized there and enriched the structure. (According to historians however, he was baptised in the Eastern part of the
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
, by a possibly
ArianArianism is the theological teaching of Arius , a Christian priest, who was first ruled a heretic at the First Council of Nicea of 325, later exonerated in 335 at the First Synod of Tyre, and then pronounced a heretic again after his death at the First Council of Constantinople of 381...
bishop.) This baptistry was for many generations the only baptistery in Rome, and its octagonal structure, centered upon the large octagonal basin for full immersions provided a model for others throughout Italy, and even an iconic motif of
illuminated manuscriptAn illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
s, "The
fountain of LifeThe Fountain of Life, or in its earlier form the Fountain of Living Waters, is a Christian iconography symbol associated with baptism, first appearing in the 5th century in illuminated manuscripts and later in other art forms such as panel paintings....
".
Around the central area, where is the basin of the font, an octagon is formed by eight
porphyryPorphyry is a variety of igneous rock consisting of large-grained crystals, such as feldspar or quartz, dispersed in a fine-grained feldspathic matrix or groundmass. The larger crystals are called phenocrysts...
columns, with
marbleMarble is a non foliated metamorphic rock resulting from the metamorphism of limestone, composed mostly of calcite . It is extensively used for sculpture, as a building material, and in many other applications...
Corinthian capitalThe Corinthian order is one of the three biggest classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. It is the most ornate, characterized by a slender fluted column and an elaborate capital decorated with acanthus leaves and scrolls. The other two orders were the Doric and the Ionic...
s and
entablatureAn entablature refers to the superstructure of moldings and bands which lie horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals...
of classical form. On the ceiling of the Baptistry is the story of the Battle of the Milvian Bridge (312). An
ambulatoryThe ambulatory is the covered passage around a cloister. The term is sometimes applied to the procession way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar.-Architectural context:Aisles that line the nave extend through the transept and continue in a half-circle that...
surrounds the font and outer walls form a larger octagon. Attached to one side, towards the Lateran basilica, is a fine porch with two porphyry columns and richly carved capitals, bases and entablatures.
Its plain brick exterior is embellished with a frieze designed by
Francesco BorrominiFrancesco Borromini, byname of Francesco Castelli was a Swiss Italian architect who, with his contemporaries, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Pietro da Cortona, was a leading figure in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture.A keen student of the architecture of Michelangelo and the ruins of...
in 1657, incorporating the arms of
Pope Alexander VIIPope Alexander VII , born Fabio Chigi, was Pope from April 7, 1655, until his death.-Early life:...
.
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