Overview
The Romanesque celebration in Cremona's Piazza del Comune has three brick-coloured presences: brick dominates not only the Torrazzo and the Palazzo del Comune but also the geometry of the Baptistery, octagonal as in Florence and Parma. The material is not particularly impressive, because there are no large stone quarries in the middle of the Po Valley. The marble cladding on both sides, towards the façade of the cathedral, is in fact 16th century, the same period when the small prothyrum with the usual crouching lions was added.
Massive though lightened by small mullioned windows and especially by the loggia at the top, under the lantern at the apex, the building is more engaging in the interior space, with arcades, two orders of women's galleries and an already almost Gothic pointed dome. From the sixteenth century, like the exterior marble, but red from Verona in a single block, is the monumental baptismal font in the centre. On the other hand, the altar crucifix dates back to the 14th century.
The latest restoration added the Romanesque Stone Museum to the Baptistery, set up around the perimeter, with statues and sculptural elements related to the history of the building.
