As you head for the exit of the Duomo, don't forget to notice the small pavilion with a red porphyry basin in its center. This is the baptistery - the place where Christians used to be baptized.
What is interesting is that in the past separate buildings were erected for baptisms (think of the famous baptistery of San Giovanni next to Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral in Florence). Later, people began to make do with just a basin installed inside the cathedral, since most parents baptized their children while they were still infants.
But what is curious is not only that probably well over one hundred thousand people of Milan were baptized in this basin. Historians suggest that this porphyry basin once stood in the Roman baths of Emperor Maximianus Herculeus! There is also an opinion that for some time it was kept in the church of San Dionigi, where it was used as a sarcophagus for relics. From there, it most likely made its way to the Duomo.
We can tell you many more interesting stories about Milan Cathedral, just download our audio guide to the Duomo!
