Battistero San Filippo Neri, Busto Arsizio

The baptistery of St. Philip Neri is a baptismal church in Busto Arsizio designed by Biagio Bellotti next to the basilica of St. John the Baptist and built between 1744 and 1751, when it was inaugurated on July 10.

It is a square building with a double entrance, from St. John's Square and from the sacristy overlooking an area belonging to the basilica.

In the 19th century it underwent some modifications, both inside and out. In 1992-1995 the original interior layout was restored with the relocation of the baptismal font to its original position to the right of the altar, in a specially dedicated compartment that now houses the ciborium previously moved elsewhere.

The altar, which was transported here from the Oblates' chapel that was inside the old city hospital, now the municipal headquarters, is surmounted by a painting by Biagio Bellotti depicting St. Philip Neri and St. Louis Gonzaga in glory. The squaring of the altar is attributed to Antonio Agrati, Bellotti's collaborator. On the tabernacle door is a depiction of Elijah in the desert awakened by the angel, oil on panel also by Bellotti; also in the baptistery is a canvas by Bernardino Lanino given on deposit by the Pinacoteca di Brera.

The wrought-iron gate that separated the hall from the altar, also Bellotti's work, is found today in the Chapel of Our Lady in the Basilica of St. John the Baptist, as is the double-curved balustrade placed today in front of the basilica's high altar.

Under the floor of the church are five graves and an ossuary about 24 meters deep.

Today the building has the dual function of baptistery and exhibition hall for temporary exhibitions.