BATTISTERO SAN GIOVANNI
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A remarkable Gothic building of rectangular shape, preserving works by the famous Donatello.
Leaning against the back of the cathedral, on the small square that bears his name, the baptistery of St. John, with its white marble facade, was built between 1316 and 1325 by the Sienese architect Camaino di Crescentino. It is a remarkable Gothic style building. It subtly combines the Gothic profusion with the humanist sobriety of the Renaissance. The famous Saint Catherine was baptized within these walls, like all the people of Siena for centuries.
Rectangular in shape (unlike the traditional octagonal structure), the baptistery is divided into three naves covered with ridged vaults. Unlike the duomo of Siena, the interior is confidential here. In the centre, built between 1417 and 1431, the baptismal font, Jacopo della Quercia's masterpiece, consists of a hexagonal tank decorated with subtle gilded bronze panels, the latter designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti and Donatello. The Baptistery also preserves works by the illustrious Donatello (to whom we owe the six bronze angels), Turino di Sano, Giovanni di Turino and Lorenzo Ghiberti. Note the cycle of frescoes painted on the vaults by Lorenzo di Pietro, known as Vecchietta, between 1447 and 1450, representing prophets, sibyls, apostles and the truths of the Catholic Creed.
On a practical level, if you do not have the cumulative ticket "OPA SI PASS", you must first purchase an entry ticket to the baptistery at the general ticket office of the Opera della Metropolitana (OPA), which is located in Piazza del Duomo, 8.
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