Battistero Paleocristiano di Santa Maria Maggiore - "La Rotonda"

Early Christian Baptistery of Santa Maria Maggiore, also known as "La Rotonda", was founded in the second half of the 6th century AC, probably adjacent to the disappearance of the cathedral of Nocere diocese. The building was built on Byzantine models: on a central plant, with a double row of columns on which a large dome rests. The plant resumes that of Mausoleum of Santa Costanza, in Rome, but is also very similar to contemporary buildings in the East and Africa. The baptismal font is the second largest in Italy. Inside, in the side chapels, there are some interesting frescoes of the '300-'400. The structure also houses a small Lapidarium, made up of marble artefacts from the excavations, such as commemorative and funeral epigraphs ranging from Augustea to Late Antiquity. According to a legend, whoever fails to pass between the columns of the Baptistery is not pure spirit.