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[[Image:Ravenna Baptistry of Neon.jpg|thumb|The Baptistry of Neon.]]
The '''Baptistery of Neon''' (Italian: ''Battistero Neoniano'') is a [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] religious building in [[Ravenna]], northeastern [[Italy]]. The most ancient monument remaining in the city,  it was partly erected on the site of a [[Roman bath]]. It is also called the '''Orthodox Baptistery''' to distinguish it from the [[Arian Baptistery]] constructed on behest of [[Ostrogothic]] King [[Theodoric the Great|Theodoric]] some 50 years later.[[File:Baptistry of Neon - Apostles mosaic.jpg|thumb|The ceiling mosaic in the Baptistry of Neon]]
==History==
The octagonal brick structure was erected during the late [[Western Roman Empire]] by [[Ursus of Ravenna|Bishop Ursus]] at the end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century, as part of his great [[Basilica]] (destroyed in 1734). The baptistery was finished by Bishop Neon at the end of the 5th century, at which time the [[mosaic]] decorations were added.
==Description==
The original floor is now some 3 meters underground, so the proper structure and extent of the building can no longer be seen. The octagonal design of the building, employed in virtually all Early Christian baptisteries, symbolizes the seven days of the week plus the Day of the Resurrection and Eternal Life.
The ceiling mosaic depicts [[John the Baptist]] baptizing [[Jesus]] (depicted with beard) standing waist high in the [[Jordan River]]. [[Zeus]], as personification of the Jordan, is also present. A procession of the [[Twelve Apostles|twelve apostles]] proceeds around the center mosaic in two directions, ending with [[Saint Peter]] meeting [[Paul of Tarsus|Saint Paul]].
The Baptistry is one of the eight structures in Ravenna registered as [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Sites]]. According to the [[ICOMOS]] evaluation of this patrimony, "this is the finest and most complete surviving example of the early Christian [[baptistery]]" which "retains the fluidity in representation of the human figure derived from Greco-Roman art".
==See also==
* [[Arian Baptistry]]
* [[Ostrogothic Ravenna]]
* [[History of Roman and Byzantine domes]]
==Further reading==
*[[Kurt Weitzmann|Weitzmann, Kurt]], ed., ''[http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15324coll10/id/156533 Age of spirituality: late antique and early Christian art, third to seventh century]'', no. 588, 1979, [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York, {{ISBN|9780870991790}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Baptistry of Neon}}
* [http://mosaicartsource.wordpress.com/2007/02/06/neonian-baptistry-ravenna-italy/ The Mosaics of the Baptistry of Neon] - Mosaic Art Source
* [http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/ravenna-battistero-neoniano.htm Battistero Neoniano] - Sacred Destinations
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[[Category:Baptisteries in Italy|Neon]]
[[Category:Catholic baptisteries|Neon]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic churches in Ravenna]]
[[Category:Palaeo-Christian architecture in Ravenna]]
[[Category:5th-century churches]]
[[Category:Early Christian art]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Italy]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures of the Catholic Church in Europe]]