Porphyry basin

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Porphyry basin font with gilded bronze cover
Chapel of the Baptistery
St. Peter's Basilica
Vatican City
Rome, June 2019

“Thus we reach the last chapel in the left aisle. It is the Chapel of the Baptistery, one of the basilica's most beautiful chapels and built after a design by Carlo Fontana (1634-1714). In the center is the baptismal font, still used on Sundays to administer the sacrament of baptism. The original 5th century font, which dates back to Pope Damasus, was replaced by a sarcophagus used as a font, and then in the 17th century by the present day font whose red porphyry basin was made from an ornament on an ancient pagan sepulcher, later used to cover the sarcophagus of Otto II who died in 983. The Rococo cover in gilded bronze with volutes and cherubs, dominated by the Lamb of God, is the work of Giovanni Giardoni. In the forepart, two bronze angels bear a relief of the Most Holy Trinity and a geographical representation of Italy.” (Baptistery Chapel, Guide to Saint Peter's Basilica)