Arian Baptistry

Ravenna, Italy

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

Opening hours: Mar 31-Oct 26: Mo-Su 08:30-19:30; Oct 27-Mar 30: Mo-Su 08:30-16:30; Jan 01 off; Dec 25 off
Admission: Ticketed
Wheelchair access: Accessible

From OpenStreetMap — confirm before travelling

Find out more

The Arian Baptistry in Ravenna is an early Christian octagonal structure built in brick by the Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great between the late 5th and early 6th century A.D., contemporaneous with the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo. Theodoric, an Arian Christian educated in Constantinople, commissioned the baptistery as a place of worship separate from the Chalcedonian Christian community in Ravenna, reflecting the theological divisions of the period. The building's interior was originally adorned with extensive mosaics, of which only the dome's decoration survives today—a Byzantine mosaic depicting the baptism of Jesus. The octagonal baptistery shares structural and compositional similarities with Ravenna's Orthodox Baptistery of Neon. Following the condemnation of Arianism, the building was converted to Chalcedonian use. Now a museum and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ravenna, it stands as a significant example of early Christian and Byzantine architecture.