Tomb of the Antipope John XXIII in the Baptistery, Firenze

The Baptistery contains a funerary monument to Baldassare Cosica, better known as the Antipope John XXIII, who succeeded the Antipope Alexander V in 1410, one year after the latter's election by seven cardinals who wished to establish a rival to Pope Gregory XII. This schism in the Catholic church was eventually resolved by the resignation of both the Pope and the Antipope in favour of a compromise candidate, Pope Martin V.

Baldassare Corsica was subsequently appointed Bishop of Tusculum and died in Florence in 1419. Having donated considerable wealth to the Baptistery, he was awarded the honour of this splendid tomb constructed by Donatello assisted by his pupil Michelozzi. The statue of the deceased lies on a couch supported by two lions under a decorative gilt canopy, known as a baldachin. This statue is one of the earliest examples of the use of a baldachin in renaissance art.

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