Galliano - Battistero di San Giovanni

The Basilica di San Vincenzo and the Battistero di San Giovanni are on a hill in Galliano, just outside Cantù.

The church was consecrated in 1007, but that marks the end of a rebuilding process. This was sponsored by Ariberto da Intimiano, who was Bishop of Milano from 1018 on - and a strong supporter of Emperor Henry II and his successor Conrad II.

The large baptistery next to the basilica was probably erected at the same time. In the center of the "Battistero di San Giovanni" is a rectangular room, "created" by the four apses, seen from outside.

These rough stairs lead up to the matronaeum on the second floor.

Climbing up the stairs I felt like inside a nuraghe, but these megalithic buildings in Sardinia are thousands of years older than the baptistery.