Church of San Giovanni - Comune di Savigliano (CN)

Tourism | Principal monuments | Church of San Giovanni - Comune di Savigliano (CN)

CHURCH OF SAN GIOVANNI

 

 

Three churches are devoted to John the Baptist in the densely populated district of San Giovanni: the Confraternity of San Giovanni, and the old and new parish churches. The old church of San Giovanni, at the end of the narrow street named for it, is one of the oldest in Savigliano. The original layout, as a simple chapel built before the year 1000, is thought to have been erected over Roman ruins. In 1028 it was donated to the Monastery of San Pietro, which was already a parish at the time. A cemetery was established alongside the complex.

 

Restored in the late fourteenth century, the orientation of the church was changed in 1454 and the main façade was moved from west to east; a south aisle and part of the nave were rebuilt at the same time. In 1596 the church was damaged by fire, but reconstruction began at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The eclectic façade we see today was built in the late nineteenth century.

 

The church houses a fascinating series of fourteenth-century frescoes in the old apse. They are a refined Annunciation by Pietro da Saluzzo, a Madonna and Child Enthroned, attributable to the circle of the Lucéram Master, and a Christ in Glory between the Virgin and St John the Baptist, a very prestigious painting by the Biazaci workshop in Busca.

 

The new church of San Giovanni was built alongside its predecessor to satisfy the needs of this populous neighbourhood. Begun in 1911, it was officially consecrated in 1922. It was designed by the Turin engineer Enrico Mottura, who created an imposing and eclectic structure combining classical and Baroque elements. The magnificent façade with a gable supported by four massive columns must have appealed greatly to worshippers.

 

In the 1970s the interior space was reorganized and a single altar was built in place of all the previous ones, whereas nearly all the traditional decorative elements and furnishings were removed.

 

 

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