The first octagonal baptistry in Florence, which…
November 1059 CE
The first octagonal baptistry in Florence, which had been erected here in the late fourth or early fifth century, had been replaced or altered by another early Christian baptistry in the sixth century.
Its construction is attributed to Theodolinda, queen of the Lombards (570-628) to seal the conversion of her husband, King Authari.
(In 2007, three original panels were taken on tour to the United States: Atlanta, Chicago and New York.)
The octagon has been a common shape for baptisteries for many centuries since early Christian times.
The number eight is a symbol of regeneration in Christianity, signifying the six days of creation, the Day of Rest, and a day of re-creation through the Sacrament of Baptism.
Other early examples are the Lateran Baptistry (440) that had provided a model for others throughout Italy, the Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus (527-536) in Constantinople and the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna (548).
The Baptistery’s location, directly opposite the central door of the Duomo (Cathedral), serves as a symbolic reminder that baptism is the first rite of Christian life.
The earlier baptistry was the city's second basilica after San Lorenzo, outside the northern city wall, and predates the church Santa Reparata.
The granite pilasters were probably taken from the Roman forum sited at the location of the present Piazza della Repubblica.
At that time, the baptistry had been surrounded by a cemetery with Roman sarcophagi, used by important Florentine families as tombs (now in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo).
A new and much larger octagonal Battistero di San Giovanni, believed to be the oldest building in Florence, begins to be constructed in Romanesque style around 1059, evidence of a period of the growing economic and political importance of Florence.
It is reconsecrated on November 6, 1059 by Pope Nicholas II, a Florentine.