The Baptistery

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Originally uploaded by steviwonderful

The second day we traveled to Florence, we arrived bright and early in the morning all set for a long intense day of sight seeing and battling the enormous crowds. Right away we headed to the Piazza Del Duomo and headed into the Baptistery of San Giovanni a smaller octagonal shaped building located just in front of the Duomo. The form of the octagon symbolizes the eight-day, the day of the risen Christ. This symbolism was said to be relevant to the Baptism, where new members are initiated into the Christian religion. This building was lavishly decorated with marble taken from other ancient building in the surrounding area. At one point in the twelfth century, the building was enlarged and an apse and dome were added to make it what it is today, and becoming the pride of the city. Later the famous bronze doors were added to the front of the building, these doors depicted biblical scenes. These doors were located at the entrance so that those walking though could take the time to ponder their lives and think about how true they are to their faith. One of the most impressive things about the entire building is the domed ceiling when you walk in, the thirteenth century mosaics of the domed ceiling show the giant figure of Christ and under his feet you can see the dead rising from their graves, the last judgment. This is where Christ returns to earth to judge all the living and dead. The ceiling is completely covered with other biblical stories such as ones from the book of Genesis, stories of Joseph, Mary and Christ, St. John the Baptist and they are all surrounded by choirs of angels. It is instantly humbling to look up at this amazing display of gold and beautiful mosaic work. I watched the group around me as we walked around the building, bumping into one another on occasion because we have our heads tilted all the way back to take in every possible angle of this amazing view. It was amazing to think of all the people who have seen that ceiling over the many centuries of its existence, I couldn’t help but to imagine what could be running though the minds of all those before me as they saw this glistening figure of Christ almost glowing above them. It is easy to see why people would flock to such a place to go to a mass or even just to be there, looking up, just as I was.