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Pisa Baptistery

The Baptistery of St John was begun on 15 August 1152 with Diotisalvi as architect, who directed it until around 1180. In the mid-13th century, Nicola Pisano and his son Giovanni remodelled the exterior. It is the largest baptistery in Italy, 54.86 metres high with walls 2.63 metres thick at the base. Its double dome, an inner truncated cone and an outer hemisphere, gives it exceptional acoustics. Inside, Nicola Pisano's pulpit of 1260 was taken as a model for other pulpits; the large octagonal baptismal font is the work of Guido Bigarelli da Como. It stands in the Piazza dei Miracoli, facing the west façade of the cathedral, and its east portal, from around 1200, looks towards it.

Things to do at Pisa Baptistery: 4 missions

• Photograph the portal facing the cathedralFrom outside, frame the east portal, from around 1200, and the façade of the cathedral opposite it.
• Listen to the acoustics demonstrationStand inside at the time when the attendant sings a few notes, which is repeated every thirty minutes, and listen to the reverberation of the double dome.
• Walk around the octagonal baptismal fontLook in the centre for the large octagonal font by Guido Bigarelli da Como and the bronze figure of Saint John the Baptist rising from it.
• Study Nicola Pisano's pulpitInside, go up to Nicola Pisano's pulpit, dated 1260, and look for the classically inspired nude Hercules.

Near Pisa Baptistery

Source: Web oficial - Opera della Primaziale Pisana