Dignified by the fine sounding Greek term "Zoophorus", a synthesis of the Animal Kingdom, to which a medieval fondness for story telling added sirens, griffins and unicorns, runs like a necklace around the octagonal walls of Parma Baptistery: it represents Nature--bestial and sinful--at a stop on the threshold of the Sacred, the pagan Forest that believers must cross before being received into the Church and cleansed with redeeming water.

Language: English

ISSN: 0747-6388; OCLC: 10764669