Rilievo, disegno e modellazione per la conoscenza: il Battistero di San Giovanni di Canosa

The article analyses the Baptistery of San Giovanni Battista in Canosa di Puglia, focusing on the early Christian period and subsequent transformations. Built under the episcopate of Sabinus in the 6th century, the baptistery shows Byzantine and Western architectural influences, evident in the polygonal plan with the chapels placed crosswise on the main axes to form a Greek cross. Comparative analyses with other baptisteries reveal a rigorous geometric composition, often based on sacred shapes such as circumferences and squares, with significant symbolic numerologies. In addition to reflecting Christian symbolic principles, the architecture bears peculiar and unusual characteristics highlighted by the odd number of sides of the heptagonal baptismal font. The paper aims to emphasize the potential of studies that start from an analysis through the tools and methods of drawing and surveying, returning a possible hypothesis of spatial representation of the monument.