Baptisty of Saint John

This morning I woke up and went to the Baptistry of Saint John which is directly across the street from the Cathedral of St. Peter.  I really liked how the morning dew made the tile on the roof look.

On my walk up to the Baptistry I found another sign:

THE BAPTISTRY OF SAINT JOHN

Dating from the 4^th century, this is one of the most ancient of Christian buildings.  It was originally part of the Roman town at that time called Lemonum.  The baptismal pool dates from this early period.  On the upper sections of the building, rebuilt during the Merovingian period (6^th-8^th centuries) there ae some polychrome ornamental details still visible, with brick inlay.  The stunning frescoes in the baptismal chamber date from the 11^th century but weren’t completed until the 13^th century.  During the Revolution, the Baptistry was sold off as state property; in 1834, it was saved from destruction by the Société des Aniquaires de l’Quest.

 So I paid my 2€ and walked inside.  It wasn’t very big, just a little squat cross shaped room.  On the east side housed pieces of Roman buildings. The west had old Roman streets.  South there was…. the door.  The far north (back to the entrance) had what looks like a tomb with more roads.  In the middle there was what looked like a big hole in the ground.  I was told that this was one of only a few places people could have gone to be ‘officially’ baptized back in the day.

 [Why do I always get the urge to touch things in places like this?]

This was neat but I had just been bedazzled by yesterday’s Cathedral.  What did this place really have besides a few painted rocks and a hole?  Well you would have to look up.  All around the top part of the room were paintings.  The back (north) corner was the prettiest.