Naples Life,Death & Miracle

Mosaics in the baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte, Naples Cathedral
Christological symbols (Photo by Giusy Mennillo)

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Going out on a hermeneutical limb here, I see at least a peacock, a bird that signified immortality because of the myth that their flesh does not decay after death; also, if that bowl of fruit contains pomegranates, the many seeds unified in one fruit symbolized the universal church. If they are apples, I don't know; The apple represents sin (as the "forbidden fruit"), but only because the Latin word for 'apple' and 'evil' was the same—malum. (I'm glad they're not bananas or kiwis.) There seem to be a lot of circles, the symbol of eternity and perfection; also, that may be a halo at the top (the rays emanating from a central point).

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