Fréjus Baptistery and Church, Exterior

View/Open

Creator

Cioffi, Paul L., 1928-2004

Repository

DigitalGeorgetown

Description

As early as 374, there is documented evidence of a Christian community at Fréjus, a Roman establishment in ancient Gaul (now in the Var, Provence). The baptistery adjacent to the Cathedral of Saint-Léonce (Saint Leontius) of Fréjus dates to the 5th C., making it the oldest known construction in Provence and among the oldest in all of France. Between the 5th and 13th centuries, a succession of building programs developed a large complex of ecclesiastical buildings that eventually covered over the ancient baptistery. It was rediscovered in 1925 by Jules Formigé, Inspector of French Historical Monuments. After Formigé studied the new-found building and demonstrated that it had been created specifically for the Christian rite of Baptism, the interior was reconstructed in 1930 according to his conception of the baptistery's original appearance.The baptistery is Merovingian in style. It is a domed octagon built within a square, having four rounded apses and four rectangular niches (similar to approximately contemporary baptisteries in Albenga, Liguria and the Lateran in Rome).

Permanent Link

http://hdl.handle.net/10822/554211

Date

1981

Rights

Rights Note

For more information about copyright for materials within DigitalGeorgetown, please consult https://www.library.georgetown.edu/copyright/digitalgeorgetown.