Ascoli Piceno Baptistery

The beginning of the baptistery's construction is difficult to date accurately, but archeological finds from 1828 and other excavations between 1870 and 1880 suggest that the interior of the structure was a pagan temple on Ascoli's forum which may have been dedicated to Hercules.

The other entrance faces the cathedral door known as the La porta della Musa, and contains stone work from various periods, including Romanesque capitals and an bas-relief architrave that contains a knotted cord (a type of decoration that was very diffuse around the year 1000).

The interior of the baptistery has an irregular, octagonal shape, typically Roman, with niches that correspond to the angles of the square base.

Inside at the center of the floor, directly below the oculus of the cupola, is a slightly raised circular pool, dated to the 5th or 6th century but rediscovered only in 1839, that was used by Christians for baptism by immersion.

On the altar is a painting of the Baptism of Christ, a 16th-century oil on canvas, attributed to Venceslao Corrigioli di Reggio.

The octagonal tiburio calls to mind baptism as described by St. Peter in his first letter: (3,20-21) « while God patiently waited to receive them, in Noah's time when the ark was being built.