On the Construction, Function, and Demolition of the Baptistery-Belfry at the Romanesque Cathedral of Dubrovnik

Članak okuplja do sada poznate likovne i pisane izvore o krstionici dubrovačke romaničke katedrale, kojima se pridužuju neki novi – prvenstveno dokumentacija o njenome rušenju iz ranih 1830-ih godina, te na temelju njihove usporedne analize dopunjava dosadašnje znanje o njenome izgledu (posebice artikulacija interijera zgrade krstionice s plitkom, segmentnom, kupolom s rebrima). Predlaže se povezivanje dubrovačke krstionice ne samo s formalnim uzorima iz biskupskih središta Padske nizine (Parma), već i s općenitijim konceptom rituala uskršnjeg krštenja, razvijenog u talijanskim srednjovjekovnim komunama. Usporedbom izvora također se uspostavlja kronologija promjene funkcije građevine, od prvotnog naglaska na zvonik, preko posvjedočene krstioničke funkcije krajem XIV i početkom XV stoljeća, do preostale funkcije crkve za svakodnevno bogoslužje, nakon prenošenja obreda krštenja u samu katedralu.This paper gives an overview on all known visual and written sources on the baptistery at the Romanesque cathedral of Dubrovnik and adds some new information – primarily documentation on its demolition in the early 1830s – thus complementing the present knowledge of its appearance (especially the interior organization of the baptistery building with a shallow segmented ribbed dome) based on a comparative analysis. The author suggests a link between the Dubrovnik baptistery and not only its formal models at the episcopal centres of the Po valley (Parma), but also the more general concept of the rite of Easter baptism, prominent in the medieval communes of Italy. By comparing the sources, a chronology of changes in the function of the building has been established, from the initial accent on the belfry to the attested baptismal function in the late 14th and early 15th centuries and further to its use as a church for everyday liturgy after the baptismal function had been transferred to the cathedral