Overview

Among the most celebrated monuments in Liguria are the medieval Cathedral of Nostra Signora Assunta and the Baptistery dedicated to San Giovanni Battista, located at a lower level than the sacred places. The eight-sided structure has a drum-like upper body with twin arches and an interior with niches and apse chambers cut into the walls. Today's appearance is the result of a series of interventions carried out by Nino Lamboglia between 1967 and 1973, which revealed the original 11th-12th century appearance, but did not restore the full height of the interior, which had been halved in the 17th century to create a chapel at cathedral level. In the centre lies the baptismal basin dating from the 13th century.
Since 2010, this place of worship has been reopened to the public with an exhibition enhanced by a selection of early medieval sculptures found during excavations of the church below the Cathedral. There are about twenty pieces of great interest, bearing witness to the evolution of style and the exceptional skill of the stonemasons between the 8th and 9th centuries. The opening of the Baptistery represents the first stage of a sacred art museum of diocesan interest, whose aim is to highlight the main buildings of worship in the historic centre and to understand the history of Ventimiglia through its most significant works.

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