| On the north side of the cathedral of Koper stands the cylindrical rotunda baptistery of John the Baptist (sv. Janez Krstnik). When the baptistery lost its purpose, it was rebuilt and renamed the Church of the Carmelite Madonna. The exterior of the Romanesque stone cylinder is decorated with very shallow buttressing, built in the beginning of the 12th century. Chiselled stones are of similar size and are evenly arranged.
In the beginning of the 14th century, the church was decorated by a modest Gothic entrance cottage. The relief with a winged lion above the door reveals the Venetian supremacy. In the baptistery, the image of St. Absalon, the Bishop of Koper, was hung, painted around the year 1400. In the 18th century, St. Claire (sv. Klara) and the Baptism of Christ were painted on the ceiling. During restoration works, an older image of Christ was discovered at the top of a shallow cupola as well as the remains of the baptism pool. The entire building is one of the rare rotundas and the only large preserved Romanesque baptistery in our territory. |