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Battistero di San Giovanni, Volterra - Pisa in Tuscany

The construction of the present-day baptistery dates back to the 13th century, even if some architectonic and ornamental elements are datable to an earlier period. The Volterran stone interior presents six built-in niches, according to a technique used in this area in the mid-12th century. The octagonal dome-shaped structure has a façade of white and green marbles with a portal that reflects the influence of Nicola Pisano’s style (see the capital representing the smiling sphinxes). The interior houses sculptures by Mino da Fiesole and Alessandro Balsimelli da Settignano, while the wooden panel above the altar is by Nicolò Cercignani (1591).

The current christening font is by Giovanni Vaccà (1760). In the niche on the right of the altar is a pentagonal christening font by Andrea Cuntucci, also known as Sansovino (1502), where Christ’s baptism, Faith, Justice, Charity and Hope are sculpted in white marble. In front of the Cathedral stands the Baptistery; it has an octagonal plan and was built around 1280 on the foundations of a pre-existing baptistery. The façade shows white and green marble stripes and a portal with the author’s name, Gherardo di S. Felice. The austere interior houses a holy water stoup made out of an Etruscan cippus; the big christening font of the mid-18th century breaks the solemnity of the place. Nevertheless, the most valuable work is the Christening Font sculpted by Sansovino in 1502 situated on the right of the altar.

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