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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Blue439" data-source="post: 829264" data-attributes="member: 53455">Working on commission from the French State, Part II (2023)This is probably the most enigmatic structure of the whole cathedral compound in Le Puy-en-Velay. Used as a baptistry from the 1100s, it was the only place where Christians could receive baptism in the city until the French Revolution of 1789. However, in 1100, this building was already quite old... As some parts of the northern wall suggest, it was probably built during the early Middle Ages (400 AD? 500?) with elements re-used from the late Antiquity... unless the whole structure was from that period! Was it a baptistry then? Was it used as such before the 1100s, when the earliest recorded uses begin to appear? I have not found any documented answer to those questions, and most likely, the old stones will forever keep their secrets.This venerable and admirable monument was protected on the very first list of Historic Landmarks in 1840, before the cathedral itself (listed in 1862 “only”). Of course, it was substantially remodeled and added to over the centuries. The first structure was probably square, as archæologists have discovered. An additional row was added to the west, with a tribune (from which this photo was taken), and a semi-circular apse with radiating chapels was built during the 1000s beyond a triumphal arch. It is said that even prior to that, a Gallo-Roman temple existed on the site, but that remains largely speculative.Dedicated to Saint John (as most baptistries, for obvious reasons!), the baptistry is doubtlessly the oldest monument still standing on the hill where the cathedral was built. It is not normally open to the public.Nikon Z7 II, Nikkor 19mm, ƒ/4 PC-E tilt-shift lens, manual focus, FTZ II adapter. Gitzo tripod, Benro geared head. Natural light.[ATTACH=full]415495[/ATTACH]</blockquote>

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