Arian Baptistery (Battistero degli Ariani) description and photos - Italy: Ravenna (Topic)

Arian baptistery (Battistero degli Ariani) description and photos - Italy: Ravenna. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Battistero degli Ariani.

Photo and description

The Arian Baptistery was built in Ravenna in the 5-6th centuries by order of the Emperor Theodoric, a supporter of Arianism. In order to distinguish this baptistery from the Orthodox one, they gave it such a name - Arian. In 1996, it was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.

Immediately after the completion of construction at the beginning of the 6th century, the space under the dome of the baptistery was decorated with mosaics. In 561, when Arianism was banned, the baptistery was turned into the chapel of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, and an Orthodox monastery was built nearby. And from the 18th century until 1914, it was privately owned. By the middle of the 20th century, the baptistery was surrounded on all sides by later annexes, which, however, were destroyed during the Second World War.

In architecture, the Arian Baptistery is similar to the Orthodox Baptistery: its masonry is made of the same unbaked bricks, and under the roof you can see a cornice with a scalloped ornament. Of course, the main value of the building is its mosaics depicting scenes of the baptism of Christ. In these mosaics, you can see the features of primitivism, which appeared under the influence of the barbaric culture of the Goths, which dominated in Ravenna at that time. It is interesting that Christ is depicted here completely naked. Around him are 12 apostles walking with crowns to the throne. And among the apostles, the mosaicists painted palm trees.

Topic: Arian Baptistery (Battistero degli Ariani) description and photos - Italy: Ravenna.