Restored in 1993 with Save Venice general funds.

The Baptistery of San Marco was created from an area on the south side of the church that was once a frescoed portico where baptisms would take place. Its present form, separated from the church and with its own entrance, dates to the time of Doge Giovanni Soranzo (reigned 1312 – 1328), who is buried there, along with Doge Andrea Dandolo (reigned 1343 – 1354). It consists of a vaulted anteroom and the baptistery proper with its central font. During the fourteenth-century renovation of the space, the frescoes were replaced with mosaics that depict scenes from the life of Saint John the Baptist and from the early years of Christ’s life.

In 1545, the Tuscan sculptor and architect Jacopo Sansovino designed bronze reliefs for the cover of the baptismal font, and his pupils, Tiziano Minio and Desiderio da Firenze, completed the work from their master’s designs. These bronze reliefs depict scenes from the Life of Saint John the Baptist, the Four Evangelists, and the Baptism of Christ; the clouds, mountains, and foliage of their landscape settings reflect the pictorial aspect of Sansovino’s art, recalling his close relationship with Titian.

In 1565 Francesco Segala, a bronze caster from Padua, added the figure of Saint John the Baptist that crowns the font.

The work was restored by conservator Ignazio Di Bella, with the guidance of project director Ettore Merkel of the Superintendency of Fine Arts of Venice.

For select projects, conservation dossiers in Italian containing limited textual and photographic documentation may be available for consultation by appointment at the Venice office of Save Venice and the Rosand Library & Study Center. For inquiries, please contact us at venice@savevenice.org.

Jacopo Sansovino (1486 – 1570) with Tiziano Minio (c. 1517 – 1552) and Desiderio da Firenze (active 1532 – 1545)
Baptismal Font Cover
1545, bronze
215 cm

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