Ragusa

A prominent church

The church of San Giovanni Battista (St. John the Baptist) was rebuilt in the new town and became the prominent feature in the square where it is located, which bears the same name.

The church of San Giovanni Battista
The church of San Giovanni Battista was built in the new town of Ragusa. The facade is preceded by a huge and high churchyard accessible through twenty-two steps, located in the center of the basement. The facade is large: it has the main portal in the center, the two smaller ones on the right and left; to delimit it laterally on the left was built a bell tower, missed on the left, there is only the large base of two floors. Above the main portal there is a niche where there is the statue of the Immaculate Conception with Saint John the Baptist on one side and Saint John the Evangelist on the other.

foto della facciata When hit by the sun, the church lights up and reflects onto the parvis which, like a stage, lights up to reveal the spectacle of town life.
It is the result of a long reconstruction that began in 1720 and ended in 1778, when the church was ordained.
The story of the church of St. John the Baptist begins with the seat’s transfer from Ibla to Ragusa.As a matter of fact, the new site , offered a healthier environment at the centre of the new urban fabric.
Positioned above street level, the cathedral stands on an enormous base with a staircase in the centre for accessing the parvis, which is enclosed by a white limestone balustrade. The façade is huge. The first level is divided vertically into five parts by six columns resting on a tall base.
The central part contains the large entrance portal inserted between pairs of columns; above there is space for a niche with the statue of the Immaculate Conception in the middle accompanied by St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist.
There is also bossage decoration on the outer sides of the columns.

zoom statua dell’Immacolata
statua dell’Immacolata

The second level is decidedly less elaborate and is completed with a classic triangular pediment and lateral volutes .
One bell tower, not two, completes the façade. The dome that can be seen from Corso Italia was built in 1783 and clad in copper.

zoom volute laterali
volute laterali

foto dettaglio del bugnato   foto cupola dalla strada

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