The Baptistery of Bergamo is a structure intended for the baptismal rite, located in Piazza del Duomo, in front of the Cathedral of Sant’Alessandro, in the ancient part of Bergamo, Città Alta. SHORT HISTORY In 1340, the sculptor Giovanni da Campione was commissioned to build a baptistery inside the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. In 1449, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore was entrusted to the Congregation of the Greater Mercy (Congregazione della Misericordia Maggiore), removing it from the jurisdiction of the bishop, and the baptistery became inaccessible. In 1660, the baptistery was dismantled and moved to the nearby courtyard of the rectory. The baptismal font was placed on the counter-facade of the basilica, where it remained until 1691, when it was moved to the second chapel on the left dedicated to Saint John. Only in 1897, the final arrangement of the baptistery was decided, with an architectural reinterpretation by Virginio Muzio, and in 1900 the structure was completed and placed in Piazza del Duomo, in front of the Cathedral of Bergamo. ART AND ARCHITECTURE The baptistery, enclosed by a 19th-century gate, has an octagonal plan. Above the 17th-century dark marble base, there are the 14th-century columns in Read more [...]