The Church of San Giovanni Battista ( it, Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista) is a church located in the center of

Praiano Praiano () is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Salerno in the Campania region of southwest Italy. It is situated on the Amalfi Coast (''Costiera Amalfitana''), a prime tourist location for the region and Italy alike, between the towns of A ...

, a small ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' located on the

Amalfi Coast The Amalfi Coast ( it, Costiera amalfitana) is a stretch of coastline in southern Italy overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Gulf of Salerno. It is located south of the Sorrentine Peninsula and north of the Cilentan Coast. Celebrated worldwide ...

in southern Italy. Constructed in the Romanesque style, San Giovanni Battista has a rectangular plan and a vaulted ceiling, featuring

Italian Baroque Italian Baroque (or ''Barocco'') is a stylistic period in Italian history and art that spanned from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. History The early 17th century marked a time of change for those of the Roman Catholic religion ...

design elements on the inside. Dating back to the 11th–12th centuries, the church features a very well preserved

maiolica Maiolica is tin-glazed pottery decorated in colours on a white background. Italian maiolica dating from the Renaissance period is the most renowned. When depicting historical and mythical scenes, these works were known as ''istoriato'' wares ( ...

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

- and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

-inspired tiled floor and a

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

from

Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...

organ masters. Located on a narrow lane, Via San Giovanni, from which it gets its name, San Giovanni Battista was once the main church of the surrounding area; however as the settlement grew in size, eight more churches were subsequently built. The first legal mention of the church was in a 1296 bill of sale, belonging to the patronage of a couple

Amalfi Amalfi (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic c ...

families.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Giovanni Battista Amalfi