Ritual: Baptism
Site: Battistero di San Giovanni
Location: Florence
Architect: Unknown
Year of Completion: c. 1128
Analysis: Tina Lim
150 word description goes here. Achum consulto ves faturi pria vignos complius con se aucest rehebatam te iam fue con vium percer am tam terbis, quonsul usulare ntilicaet, cuperei publincum, consimus, nostriore mei ilneque a volicio mus conerit, publin denatod itentes, qua actum init; ne ine pro, manum iam o inam ignaturis adem re ius consum inulocrem sedit vivatimmodiu sedit et prata cont nicatiq uemus, dium ingultortus nos etorterit, omprorunit gra dit atu morum ductam Romnihilium pernum inam etorae nem des M. Nostra in sus. Alessolus, o ves cotandenemus bondac in Itam. Sertamquam or ublicultus publin vernius, nos, sente it; C. Hoculis? Romnirita ne ina, quam patiam sedem que confirit, uropore morei cem, nor ad Catus muscred cris culicaesi imuricendam tam it, quitata sdaccio, mederior qui catus morterum omnicaes! Duc re cus es!
The Laurentian Library reveals not only the ritual of study, but the rituals of self-sorting, categorization, and the dissemination of knowledge. Mapping the convergence and divergence of paths from the scale of the city to the building to the desk and to the book helps to reveal how the Laurentian Library acts as a motherboard for organizing the ritual circuitry of Renaissance Florence.
The Library’s desks are crucial to how rituals are performed in the space. Because the books are chained to the desks and the desks are built into the architecture, there is direct connection between the knowledge that one seeks and the place where it is found. The desks categorize texts by subject, displaying titles found in them on the side. Accessing a book that’s next to the window while someone is already in the desk requires shuffling places.
The Laurentian Library’s form is reminiscent of a religious building, with reading desks acting as pews alongside the processional aisle. The language borrows from the religious context of the San Lorenzo complex in which the Library is situated. In fact, the original plan of Michelangelo included a triangular rare books room at the end of the reading room, reminiscent of the Holiest of Holies in the Temple of Solomon. The procession inside the library, up the flowing staircase into the reading room, acts as a funnel that all elite Florentines coming to the library must pass through, regardless of where they came from in the city or what bench is their ultimate destination. The tripartite interior facade of the vestibule reinforces the idea of rising from hell to purgatory to heaven in an ascent to knowledge.
Ultimately, the Laurentian Library acts as the motherboard of the city’s knowledge, centralizing and organizing the ritual circuitry of Renaissance Florence.
Ritual: Baptism
Site: Chiesa dell'Autostrada
Location: Florence (outskirts)
Architect: Michelucci
Year of Completion: 1965
Analysis: Veronica Marz
The ritual of baptism is the first of the seven holy sacraments in the Catholic religion. It is deemed the most important and is necessary for anyone hoping to become part of that community. The ritual must be conducted in a catholic church by a catholic priest, and it is usually done in the presence of important family, friends, or church parish. Those baptized wear white and are subject to a variety of prayers and blessings. The most important part, however, is the baptismal rite itself and the pouring of water from the baptismal font onto those being baptized.
Designed by Giovanni Michelucci and completed in 1964, this church is also known as Church of Saint John the Baptist. Nicknamed the Highway Church, it is located on the intersection of the Autostrada del Sole and the Autostrada Firenze-Mare. It was designed and placed there in remembrance of the workers that died during the construction of these two important highways.
Located on the southern side of the church, the baptistery was originally planned to be separate from the church. Later it was added to the same structure, while still keeping a certain separation through the use of narrow passageways. Entering the church through the baptistery was thought to symbolize “the ideal way” to enter into the Catholic faith, so there was added a separate corridor entranceway to the baptistery leading then to the altar.
The rounded space holding the baptismal font is the lowest part of the church complex and requires three steps further down to reach the font itself. This circular space symbolizes a well and allows the ceremony to also be observed from above. The circular font is made from a single block of smooth red granite compared to copper and rough stone walls and marble floors, and its lid was sculpted in bronze depicting the three episodes of salvation.
