San Giovanni Battista is a

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...

style,

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church located at the crossing of ''Via San Giovanni'' and ''Via Carraia'' in central

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

, region of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, Italy.

History

A church or oratory is cited to be present at the site since the 13th-century, when it was staffed by

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

priests from the nearby ancient convent of '' San Jacopo di Aquaviva''. The original oratory may be the same as one once dedicated to St Anthony Abbot. The church we see today is mainly due to a 1624 reconstruction using designs of Giovanni Francesco Cantagallina, brother of Remigio. The church facade awkwardly rises, tall and narrow, and is peppered with Mannerist, often contradictory, touches such as a rounded tympanum, a rectangular, scroll-like frame for an oval oculus. The marble portal is ornate, yet the facade is otherwise sober in its pilasters. The nave windows loom awkwardly on the flanks, and a second elegant portal is placed on the flank. The church was damaged again by earthquakes in 1742 and 1814, and underwent repairs in 1833. The Augustinian monks were expelled by Granduke Pietro Leopoldo in 1785, but they were allowed to return in 1856.

Interior decoration

Beside the main altar is a canvas of ''St Joseph and the Lactating Madonna with infant'', transferred here from the suppressed church of the Purification of Mary; two other canvases on the lateral walls depict the ''Martyrdom of St Bartholemew'', by

Francesco Bianchi Buonavita Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sever ...

and ''St Cajetan'', attributed to

Matteo Rosselli Matteo Rosselli (10 August 1578 – 18 January 1650) was an Italian painter of the late Florentine Counter- Mannerism and early Baroque. He is best known however for his highly populated grand-manner historical paintings. Biography He first app ...

. Tommaso Tommasi painted the ''Life of St Augustine'' in the ceiling. The first altar to the right of the main door is dedicated to ''Saints Crespino and Crespiniano'' and a canvas attributed to school of

Domenico Passignano Domenico Passignano (1559 – 17 May 1638), born Domenico Cresti or Crespi, was an Italian painter of a late-Renaissance or Counter-''Maniera'' (Counter-Mannerism) style that emerged in Florence towards the end of the 16th century. Biography ...

. The second altar on the right has a venerated ancient wooden crucifix, called '' dell' agonia'', used until 1820 during Holy Friday processions. The crucifix was brought here in the early 1800s from the ''Sant'Antonio'' hospital. Over the lateral door a canvas, depicts ''St Agnes'' with words: ''Mecum habeo angelum Domini'', the painting is attributed to

Felice Ficherelli Felice Ficherelli (30 August 1605 – 5 March 1660) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, born in San Gimignano and active mainly in Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1 ...

. The main altar was completed with marbles and ''

pietra dura ''Pietra dura'' () or ''pietre dure'' () ( see below), called parchin kari or parchinkari ( fa, ) in the Indian Subcontinent, is a term for the inlay technique of using cut and fitted, highly polished colored stones to create images. It is c ...

'' by Ferdinando Tacca (son of

Pietro Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death * Pietro II Can ...

), a commission ordered by Lodovico da Verrazzano, governor of Livorno, whose heraldic symbol includes a red star. The choir has a wooden statue of ''St Sebastian Martyr'' by the 15th-century Florentine School. Next to the pulpit, is the altar dedicated to the ''Madonna della Cintura'' and '' San Niccola da Tolentino''. These canvases and the ''Deposition from the Cross'', recall works of

Cigoli Lodovico Cardi (21 September 1559 – 8 June 1613), also known as Cigoli, was an Italian painter and architect of the late Mannerist and early Baroque period, trained and active in his early career in Florence, and spending the last nine years o ...

.Guida storica ed artistica della città e dei dintorni di Livorno
by Giuseppe Piombanti Forni Editore, Bologna 1903, pages 184-187. The area suffered damage during the second world war bombardments.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giovanni Battista Livorno Roman Catholic churches in Livorno Baroque architecture in Livorno Mannerist architecture in Italy 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1624 1624 establishments in Italy