WELCOME TO

PARISH CHURCH OF SAN GIOVANNI BATTISTA HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARCHICONFRATERNITY OF THE SAINTS JOHN THE BAPTIST AND EVANGELIST OF THE KNIGHTS OF MALTA AD HONOREM

The church of San Giovanni Battista was built in the fifteenth century on the ruins of the Norman-Aragonese castle, partially destroyed during the revolt of the Catanzaro people against Count Centelles. The stones of the fortress, symbol of the ancient feudal power, were used for the construction of the church.

Since the land belonged to the Holy See, the church of San Giovanni was affiliated with the Roman Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano.

Taken over by the Archconfraternity of Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist (established in 1502), the sacred building was completed with important expansion works in 1532.

The facade , clearly divided into three levels, is presented in a late sixteenth-century style. The central niche highlights the valuable marble statue of San Giovanni Battista , probably made by Giandomenico Monterosso in 1625, and arrived in Catanzaro on commission from the brotherhood.

The seventeenth-century portal is adorned with two columns in green Gimigliano marble (famous local stone now exhausted), embellished with finely worked Ionic bases and capitals in white marble.

The eight-pointed Maltese cross , which stands out in the rose window, recalls that in 1735 King Charles III of Spain granted the members of the Confraternity the title of "Honorary Knights of Malta".

The elegant double staircase was only built in 1877, following the urban renovation of the city, when the street level was lowered and the current Corso Mazzini was opened.

The church became the parish seat in 1834, two years after the earthquake that destroyed the nearby church of San Giorgio.