Baptistery in the context of "Pisa Baptistry"

The Florence Baptistery, also known as the Baptistery of Saint John (Italian: Battistero di San Giovanni), is a religious building in Florence, Italy. Dedicated to the patron saint of the city, John the Baptist, it has been a focus of religious, civic, and artistic life since its completion. The octagonal baptistery stands in both the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza San Giovanni, between Florence Cathedral and the Archbishop's Palace.

Florentine infants were originally baptized in large groups on Holy Saturday and Pentecost in a five-basin baptismal font located at the center of the building. Over the course of the 13th century, individual baptisms soon after birth became common, so less apparatus was necessary. Around 1370 a small font was commissioned, which is still in use today. The original font, disused, was dismantled in 1577 by Francesco I de' Medici to make room for grand-ducal celebrations, an act deplored by Florentines at the time.

The Euphrasian Basilica (Croatian: Eufrazijeva bazilika, Italian: Basilica Eufrasiana) or the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of Mary is a Roman Catholic basilica in the Istrian town of Poreč, Croatia. The episcopal complex, which comprises the basilica itself, a sacristy, a baptistery and the bell tower of the nearby archbishop's palace, is an excellent example of early Byzantine architecture in the Mediterranean region.

The Euphrasian basilica has for the most part retained its original shape, but accidents, fires and earthquakes have altered a few details. Since it is the third church to be built on the same site, it conceals previous buildings, for example the great floor mosaic of the previous basilica from the 5th century. Because of its exceptional value, it has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1997. The Basilica is also the Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Poreč-Pula. It's considered the best preserved early-christian church in the world.

The sacraments of initiation (also called the “mysteries of initiation”) are the three sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist in Nicene Christianity. As such, they are distinguished from the sacraments of healing (Anointing of the sick and Sacrament of Penance) and from the sacraments of service (Marriage and Ordination).

Russian churches often have various recurrent elements in their architecture. The onion dome is for example a recurrent and important element in the architecture of Russian churches. Often Russian churches have also multi-colored filigree ornamental elements. Furthermore the colour white plays an important role in the style of Russian churches. In the past, Russian churches were made out of wood. Many Russian Orthodox churches are distinguished by their verticality, bright colors and multiple domes, which provide a striking contrast with the flat Russian landscape, often covered in snow. The first churches in Kievan Rus', such as the 13-domed wooden Cathedral of St. Sophia, Novgorod, differed in this regard from their mainly single-dome Byzantine predecessors. The number of domes was important symbolically. One dome symbolized the single God; three represented the Trinity, and five represented Christ and his four evangelists. At first the baptistery, narthex, and choir gallery above the narthex were a common feature of Rus' churches, but gradually they disappeared. After a century of Byzantine imitations, the Russian masons began to emphasise the verticality in church design.

The late 12th century saw the development of so-called tower churches in Polotsk and Smolensk; this design later spread to other areas such as Kiev and Chernihiv. A visual transition between the main cube of the church and the elongated cylinder below the dome was provided by one or several rows of curved corbel arches, known as kokoshniki. They could be spade-shaped, semicircular, or pointed. In later Muscovite churches, the massed banks of kokoshniki evolved into a distinctive pyramidal shape. The reign of Ivan the Terrible was marked by the introduction of so-called tented roofs. The churches such as St. Basil's Cathedral were an agglomeration of chapels capped by the steeply pitched conical roofs of fanciful designs.

The Baptistère Saint-Jean (Baptistery of St John) is a Roman Catholic church in Poitiers, France. It is reputed to be the oldest existing Christian building in France, and is one of the most prominent examples of Merovingian architecture.

Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta (Italian: Basilica Patriarcale di Santa Maria Assunta) is the principal church in the town of Aquileia, in the Province of Udine and the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.

The original church dates back to the fourth century. The current basilica was built in the eleventh century and partially rebuilt again in the thirteenth century. It is located on Via Sacra, overlooking the Piazza del Capitolo, along with the campanile and baptistery.

A tetraconch, from the Greek for "four shells", is a building, usually a church or other religious building, with four apses, one in each direction, usually of equal size. The basic ground plan of the building is therefore a Greek cross. They are most common in Byzantine, and related schools such as Armenian and Georgian architecture. It has been argued that they were developed in these areas or Syria, and the issue is a matter of contention between the two nations in the Caucasus. Apart from churches, the form is suitable for a mausoleum or baptistery. Normally, there will be a higher central dome over the central space.

In Italy in the Middle Ages, a pieve (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpjɛːve], Corsican: [ˈpjɛvɛ]; Latin: plebe; pl.: pievi) was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended. Pieve is also an Italian and Corsican term signifying the medieval ecclesiastical/administrative territory of its the mother church. It has thus become a common component of both place names and of the names of churches.

The Italian word pieve is descended from Latin plebs which, after the expansion of Christianity in Italy, was applied to the community of baptized people. Many pievi began to appear in the 5th century, as Christianity expanded in the rural areas outside the main cities. In the 9th-10th centuries, they were often designed with bell towers.

The San Giovanni in Corte Baptistery (Italian: Battistero di Giovanni in Corte), also known as the Baptistery of San Giovanni di Rotondo, is the former Roman Catholic baptistery of Pistoia in Tuscany, Italy. The octagonal structure stands at a slight angle across a small piazza from the Duomo of Pistoia in the center of town. It is presently used for cultural events.