San Giovanni in Corte Baptistery, Gothic baptistery in Piazza del Duomo, Pistoia, Italy

San Giovanni in Corte Baptistery is an octagonal building in Pistoia's cathedral square, its exterior banded with white and green marble from Siena, Prato and Carrara. A blind arcade of pointed arches and colonnettes rings the upper level, and a steep pyramidal roof rises to a small octagonal lantern, bringing the height to about 40 metres. The main portal carries a full triangular tympanum with a pierced rose window at its centre.

The present octagonal baptistery replaced the Lombard-era church of Santa Maria in Corte, documented in 1114. Rebuilding in Gothic form began in 1301, with Giovanni Pisano proposed as a designer; Nicola Pisano is ruled out. Records name masons from the 1320s to the 1360s, and the two-colour marble cladding was finished around 1339 by Cellino di Nese, with work continuing to 1366.

The baptismal font created by Lanfranco da Como in 1226 displays four smaller basins decorated with delicate floral carvings that reveal the skill of medieval craftsmen. Visitors who look closely at these basins can appreciate the level of detail that artisans invested in this sacred object.

The building is easy to find in the cathedral square and stands close to other religious structures in the city center. The interior is compact, so visitors may need to wait for less crowded moments if they want to study the baptismal font and other details carefully.

The lunette above the main portal holds three sculptures: the Virgin and Child between John the Baptist and Saint Peter, standing on protruding bases that divide the architrave into five unequal parts. The slightly tilted bas-relief panels below show scenes from the Baptist's life, in a style close to Giovanni d'Agostino.