Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista in Monterosso al Mare

The church of San Giovanni Battista is a Catholic place of worship located in the municipality of Monterosso al Mare, in the province of Spezia. It serves as the seat of the namesake parish of the Vicariate of the Riviera of the Diocese of Spezia-Sarzana-Brugnato.

Built between the 13th and 14th century and renovated in the Baroque period, the church is an example of the Genoese Gothic style. This style was highlighted following a conservative restoration carried out between 1963 and 1964. The facade, dating to 1307, features a bichromatic pattern of white and dark serpentine stone. Above the main portal is a large, richly sculpted white marble rose window, and in the lunette of the portal is an 18th-century fresco depicting the Baptism of Christ.

The internal structure is a basilica plan with a three-aisle partition. One of the columns bears an inscription carved in medieval characters. Preserved inside are the baptismal font from 1360, a painting of the Madonna del Rosario on the right wall of the presbytery by the school of Luca Cambiaso, and a Crucifixion on the left wall by an unknown Genoese painter from the 17th century. The high altar and the wooden stalls were commissioned in 1734.

Adjacent to the apse area, within a later portico construction, stands the bell tower which was originally a medieval watchtower. The tower was part of the fortifications built by the Republic of Genoa in the 13th century, featuring Ghibelline battlements. It was raised in the 15th century and partially rebuilt in the 18th century after an earthquake damaged it.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons