S. GIOVANNI BATTISTA COLLEGIATE CHURCH

Ideally located at the end of Via Gazzotti, the main church dedicated to the patron saint of Castelsangiovanni is in Gothic-Lombardic style and dates back to the end of the 13th-beginning of the 14th century. The gothic façade is tripartite by big lancet arches with a large rose window and it recalls Piacenza’s major churches; the three portals, on the other hand, are clearly in Baroque style. The chapel of the Madonna of the People is on the left side.The interior is divided into three naves by solid columns decorated with statues and surmounted by lancet vaultings and ribs. The works of art preserved inside are typically baroque; the most interesting ones are the following:the Crucifix by Giacomo and Giovan Angelo del Maino, 1496), the baptismal Font (Bernardo and Battista Casella, 1550), six wooden statues composing the Crucifixion complex, the carved polyptych dating back to 1448, attributed to Bongiovanni and Giovanni Basssiano de Lupis and the altar piece representing Saint John the Baptist’s sermon, by Pietro Melchiorre Ferrari.