San Giovanni Battista is a Neoclassic-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 on Corso Giacomo Matteotti in the town of

Porto Recanati Porto Recanati () is a town with some 12,500 inhabitants in the province of Macerata, in the Marche region. of central Italy. It is the northeast coastal town of the province. It was made an independent town on 15 January 1893, when, due to a Decr ...

, province of Macerata, region of

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

, Italy.

History

The town of Porto Recanati only gradually separated from

Recanati Recanati () is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Macerata, in the Marche region of Italy. Recanati was founded around 1150 AD from three pre-existing castles. In 1290 it proclaimed itself an independent republic and, in the 15th century, ...

. A medieval church was once found inside the castle of the town, dedicated also to ''St John the Baptist''. In 1571, the church was elevated to a parish church. As the population grew, there was a need for a larger church. Plans for a larger church were drawn up in 1779, but instead of enlarging the constricted castle church, a new one was begun in 1784 and completed a year later at the cost of 6700 lire. The architect was Luigi Paglialunga from

Fermo Fermo (ancient: Firmum Picenum) is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo. Fermo is on a hill, the Sabulo, elevation , on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway. History The oldest hum ...

. The layout is octagonal. In 1804 new pilasters were added to support the roof. In 1828 the small castle church was razed and the materials used in the restoration of this church. The 18th century frescoes in the church were covered over in the 19th century during restorations. The church houses a canvas by

Baldassare Peruzzi Baldassare Tommaso Peruzzi (7 March 1481 – 6 January 1536) was an Italian architect and painter, born in a small town near Siena (in Ancaiano, ''frazione'' of Sovicille) and died in Rome. He worked for many years with Bramante, Raphael, and la ...

depicting ''St John the Baptist'' and a 15th-century ''Madonna del Soccorso'' moved here in 1828 from the chapel of the Castello Svevo. It has 14 wooden statues depicting scenes of the

Via Crucis The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitati ...

.Tourism office of the Marche
entry on church.

References

Neoclassical architecture in le Marche 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1785

Neoclassical church buildings in Italy {{Italy-RC-church-stub