Jack

Jack Baptistery of St. John Section one Introduction Romanesque architecture is a style of architecture that combines ancient Roman architecture with aspects of Byzantium, who invented the dome shape. The Middle East's, Germany's, and many other European culture’s architectural structures also contribute to Romanesque architecture. The Romanesque period was from around 1000 A.D., to around 1100 A.D.   The major characteristics of Romanesque architecture are; 1. The archways over the doors, windows, and entryways, 2. The stone or marble roofing (used to prevent fires), 3. The church is shaped like a cross from an aerial view, 4. The interior of the building has a stone ceiling with small windows in the nave, 5. Columns line the interior walls of the building. In 1000 A.D. religion was quite popular in Europe. Most of the entire population was religious. Churches were becoming over stuffed due to their limited design. These churches were not able to hold the amount of people attempting to flock  into them. A new design was needed for the churches and buildings to hold as many people as possible. Architects decided to design these churches Architects decided to design these churches like the Latin cross. http://www.historylink101.com/lessons/art_history_lessons/ma/romanesque_chruch_diagram.gif. There are a couple aspects to this design. The Nave, which is the entrance to the building, is a long hallway that enters the Crossing. The Crossing is the part of the building that is between the two arms of the cross called the Transepts. At the head of all of this is the High Alter. This is where the preacher stands and teaches his decipels. This is one example of Romanesque architecture. I chose the Baptistery of St. John because with the combination of Romanesque and Gothic architecture, it looked like an interesting building. I also wanted to know who made the magnificent structure. Section 2 Baptistery of St. John In 1152 A.D. Diotisalvi (an architect) began construction on the Baptistery of St. John in the Pisa Cathedral, in Pisa, Italy. Diotisalvi was the master builder from 1152 A.D. to 1180 A.D. In this time Diotisalvi was able to complete the very first set of arches on the exterior and the columns and piers on the interior. Construction of the building was authorized by Diotisalvi. In 1246 A.D. Nicola Pisano continued construction on the building. He designed and created the pulpit. A pulpit is a platform for the priest to stand on and give his sermon. In this case the pulpit was for the priest to baptize a person. Nicola also expanded on the design of the arcade by putting busts in all of the niches. In 1362 the final architect began to work on this building. His name was Cellino Di Nezer. His job was to work on the woman’s gallery on the interior of the building. His final job was to construct the dome roof and statue of St. John on the Baptistery. In 1386 A.D. the Baptistery of St. John was completed.

http://www.pisaonline.it/PISA/town/pagine/battis2.htm

This Baptistery is 116 feet in diameter, 180 feet tall, and approximately 321 feet around. The Baptistery itself is made of white marble with grey bands of stone on each of the tiers. The roof of the building is a Gothic style dome roof. It’s a Gothic style roof because it’s a two layer dome. The first layer is marble, carved into a folded down pyramid shape. The second layer is made of stone tiles that cover the marble pyramid. http://cache.virtualtourist.com/1/1949727-The_Baptistery-Pisa.jpg A distinctive quality about this building is where you can see the difference between Romanesque design and Gothic design. The windows and door on the first tier are curved arch shapes from the Romanesque style. The windows on the third tier have arch curves as well. The windows on the second and fourth tier however have pointed tips from the gothic style. These are the differences of Diotisalvis’ original Romanesque structural idea and Cellino Di Nezer’s later work on the structure itself. http://idlespeculations-terryprest.blogspot.com/2007/02/baptistry-at-pisa.html A unique characteristic about the interior is  a significant carving on the pulpit of the life of Jesus Christ from beginning to end. This pulpit carving shows from when Jesus was born in his mother’s arms, to his death on the cross. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Pisa.Baptistery.pulpit01.jpg
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On the very top of the dome there is a statue of the Baptist St. John. The statue was added on by Cellino Di Nezer in 1362 A.D. The statue was put on the building to symbolize St. John as the Baptist of this Baptistery. After the Baptistery was completed in 1386 A.D. it was originally used for baptisms. A baptism is when a child is born its head is submerged in water to signify that that child has been accepted into the Christian faith. This ritual can also be preformed on adults who wish to become Christians. Even today St. Johns’ Baptistery is still used for baptisms on special occasions, but it is more of a museum for tourists in Italy. When it was first finished in 1386 A.D. the entire roof was completely tiled. Today an entire section of the roof has lost its’ tiles. On the interior electric lights have been added, but other then that the building hasn’t changed very much. The Baptistery of St. John is a masterpiece of craftsmanship and architecture and stands today as the biggest Baptistery in all of Italy. Section 3 Conclusion The Baptistery of St. John is an incredible example of Romanesque architecture. This Baptistery took over two hundred years to complete. It took three brilliant architects to complete. This Baptistery is an example of 1100 A.D. architects could do. Resources "Baptistery." __nationmaster.com__. 14 Nov 2008 http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Baptistry-of-Pisa#Baptistery. "Baptistery." __pisaonline.it__. 14Nov 2008 .

"Romanesque Architecture." __historylink101.com__. 14 Nov 2008 .

"Romanesque Architecture." __geocities.com__. 14 Nov 2008 .

Sullavin, Marry. "Pisa Italy." __bluffton.edu__. 14 Nov 2008 <[|http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/pisa/pisacomplex.html]>. "The Baptistery at Pisa." __idlespeculations-terryprest.blogspot.com__. 14 Nov 2008 .