NEONIAN BAPTISTERY OR ORTHODOX BAPTISTERY, Exterior And Interior

Hi, my name’s Marcy, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to one of the Wonders of the World: the Neonian Baptistery.

The Neonian Baptistery, or the Orthodox Baptistery, owes its name to Bishop Neon, who, around 450 A.D., had the existing building altered, replacing the roof with the present dome and having the magnificent mosaic decoration made.

It is interesting to note that the small temple, built on a much older Roman building, had been used as a baptistery a few decades earlier by Bishop Orso.

From the outside, the building is simple, brick-clad, with an octagonal base, four apses along the sides, and large windows.

As with most of Ravenna's buildings of the same era, it is the interior that impresses with its magnificence.

Compared to the Arian Baptistery, the Neonian one is better preserved so that its full splendor can still be admired today.

Now press pause and press play again inside.

In the center you see the large baptismal font in which the faithful receiving baptism were immersed.

Looking up, the center of the dome is dominated by the mosaic depicting the Baptism of Jesus, who is immersed to the waist in the waters of the Jordan River. On one side is John the Baptist baptizing Jesus, while on the opposite side an elderly man, symbolizing the river, offers a cloth to dry him....