Parma - Baptistery (PiP)

Parma was most probably founded by the Etruscans. The Romans founded a colony here. During the Roman Empire, it gained the title of Julia for its loyalty to the imperial house.

Attila sacked the city in 452 and during the Gothic War Totila Attila sacked the city in 452 and during the Gothic War Totila destroyed it again. It was then part of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna and, from 569, of the Lombard Kingdom of Italy. During the Middle Ages, Parma became an important stage of the Via Francigena, the main road connecting Rome to Northern Europe.

Under Frankish rule, Parma was nominally a part of the Holy Roman Empire created by Charlemagne but locally ruled by its bishops. After the Peace of Constance in 1183 confirmed the Italian communes' rights of self-governance, quarrels with the neighboring communes became harsh, with the aim of controlling the vital trading line over the Po River.
The city was besieged in 1247–48 by Emperor Frederick II, who was however crushed in the Battle of Parma by the Lombard League. In 1331, the city submitted to King John of Bohemia. Parma fell under the control of Milan in 1341. After a short-lived period of independence, the Sforza imposed their rule creating a kind of feudalism.

The Baptistery is located in the immediate vicinity of the Cathedral. It was commissioned by the City Council to architect and sculptor Benedetto Antelami. In 1216 the second tier was completed. The work stopped under a temporary roof. It continued in 1249 and the octagon was finally completed in 1270.

The interior of the baptistery contains sixteen arches, forming alcoves each containing a painted scene. All these are 13th and 14th-century frescoes. Most striking is the painted domed ceiling. The dome is like an umbrella - sixteen rays come out of the center of the ceiling.