PIAZZA DEI MIRACOLI, Baptistery Interior

The first thing that strikes you once you enter the Baptistery is its sobriety: it lacks decorations, but certainly doesn't lack grandeur. The alternation of light and dark stripes of marble is powerful enough to immediately captivate you. 

Cross the circular corridor and go to the large central hall, passing under the imposing ring of arches that in the lower level stand on columns, and in the upper level on rectangular pillars. After looking up to admire the majesty of the building and the truncated cone-shaped dome I mentioned in the previous file, concentrate on the great octagonal baptismal font of the 13th century standing on a podium with three steps. The bathtub decorated with marble shapes was used to baptize both adults and infants....