Ventimiglia - Battisterio

Ventimiglia is the Italian border town to France. It is located at the mouth of the Roia River, which divides the town into two parts. It was a Roman municipium under the name of Albintimilium and was surrounded by a city wall a prosperous town.

Already in 670, the town held the seat of a Bishop. Later it was besieged by the Byzantines and the Goths and suffered from the raids of the Lombards. In the 10th century, it was attacked and looted by the Saracens.

Ventimiglia was ruled by the local counts but lived in constant conflict with the Republic of Genoa. In 1505 it was finally annexed to the Genoese Republic was part of the republic until 1814, when it was taken over by the Kingdom of Sardinia.

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The three apses of the cathedral. Next to the small left apse stands the Baptistery, which is a very unusual location. Most baptisteries can be found west of the churches, not east like here.

The octagonal Baptistery is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. Since the 17th century, it is divided into two levels. The upper floor hosts a baroque chapel.

For long the Baptistery was dated to the 7th century by scholars, but it is younger and was probably erected together with the cathedral at the end of the 11th century over an older building probably datable around the 7th century.