BATTISTERO E MUSEO DIOCESANO DI ALBENGA
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The baptistery at Albenga is one of the most important examples of early Christian architecture in northern Italy.
One of the most important examples of early Christian architecture in northern Italy, Albenga's baptistery is well worth a visit. Built at the end of the5th century, it stands next to the Cathedral of San Michele Arcangelo. The decagonal exterior conceals an octagonal interior plan, while along the perimeter rectangular and semicircular niches surround the star-shaped baptismal basin. At the entrance, two tombs adorned with sculptures in the Lombard style. The niche opposite the entrance features an exceptional Byzantine mosaic: on a midnight-blue background sits the gilded monogamous Christ, surrounded by twelve doves, symbols of the apostles.
For a tiny extra charge, you can visit the Diocesan Museum, housed in the former apartments of the palace of the Bishop of Albenga, an episcopal see since the5th century. It houses a fine collection of paintings and objets d'art from all over the diocese. A fine group of medieval religious paintings opens the collection, followed by 16th-century tapestries and 18th-century wooden statues. The museum's highlights include Guido Reni's 17th-century painting The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine , and a copy of Caravaggio's Saint John the Baptist in the Desert . Beautiful frescoes painted around 1460 still decorate the walls of the rooms in the palace (Stanza del Verziere) and its chapel, once home to the region's bishops.
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