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Origin and history

The Baptistery of Riez is a paleo-Christian building in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, built between the 5th and 7th centuries. It is part of a cathedral group erected at the site of ancient Roman thermal baths, reusing their stones. This group also included the Church of Our Lady of the Sed, connected to the Baptistery by a gallery. Archaeological excavations since 1966 revealed the remains of a Paleo-Christian church destroyed in the late 15th century, confirming the historic significance of the site.

The foundation of the cathedral group is linked to the organization of the Catholic Church in the fifth century, modelled on that of the Roman Empire. Each civitas became a bishopric, Riez, an ancient Roman city named Julia Augusta Reiorum Apollinaris, welcomed his first certified bishop, Maxime de Riez (433-460), known for his religious constructions. His successor, Fauste (461-485), described these achievements, including a church dedicated to Saint Peter. The Baptistery, probably surrounded by a portico originally, would have been built during this period of Christian expansion.

The monument is being destroyed and rebuilt. Racked by the Lombards and Saxons in 572, then abandoned in front of the Saracen incursions (793-875), it was partially restored in the 11th century by Bishop Augier (1096-1130), who rebuilt its vaults. In the 15th century, Bishop Marc Lascaris of Tende transferred the cathedral to the village, reducing the Baptistery to a chapel dedicated to Saint Clair and Saint John the Baptist in 1559. Wars, such as that of Raimond de Turenne (1389-1399), accelerated its decline.

Ranked a historic monument in 1840, the Baptistery underwent several restoration campaigns: in 1818 (partial destruction of the upper parts), in 1906, and in 2014-2015. The excavations of the 1960s, led by Guy Barruol, reveal his inner octagonal plan, inspired by Syrian Baptisteries and Fréjus, with a dome resting on eight ancient granite columns. Today, it houses a lapidary museum founded in 1929 and remains a major testimony of Paleo-Christian architecture in Provence.

The architecture of the Baptistery combines Roman (reuse of stones) and Paleo-Christian elements (octogonal, absidiole) Its dome, rebuilt in the 12th century, rests on Corinthian marble capitals. On the outside, the 9-metre square building, in stone, has a marked base and a bell tower later added. The successive modifications, such as the removal of the portico or the reduction of the dome, reflect its functional and symbolic evolution, from the place of baptism to the secondary chapel.

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