Travelcast Piceno - Audio & Video Guide per la Provincia di Ascoli Piceno

On the lateral wall of the Church of San Giovanni, along the street of the same name, one can clearly see a brick that carries the incision of the date 1802. Indeed, the building of the Church dates to that period and there are those who claim that 1792 was the date construction was initiated while others say it was 1798. The project, in the sphere of a general urban renewal program of the entire plaza in the final decade of the 18th century, was entrusted to Pietro Maggi, an architect originating from  Switzerland, who worked especially in the territories of Ascoli and Fermo.

The church, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, has a sober Neoclassical form. The façade, directed towards the main plaza, is made entirely of lateritious brick, a material that is widely used in this part of the Marches region. It is deceptively simple with a rhythm articulated by the chiaroscuro of the architectural elements. Internally, it has a single nave, with a barrel-vaulted ceiling made with an economical system called incannucciato, made with reeds and gesso, and illuminated by five windows. The decorative structure, designed to involve all the parts of the church, including the wooden confessionals that are encased in the wall, is clearly Neoclassical and this style is continued  through fluted columns and pilasters that abutt the walls. The frescos were executed in approximately 1915, by Giuseppe Paùri, of the purist school. The wooden chorus rises over the counterfaçade. It’s gilded organ, built by Carlo Carletti in 1884, was a donation from the Vincenzo Franceschini, Bishop from Grottammare, who was baptised here. At the sides of the main altar we can see two smaller choruses with wrought iron grates that were for the exclusive use of the Conti Palmaroli family. Their building, as a matter of fact, shares an outer wall with the Church. For having given permission for the holy building to be placed against their home, they were granted permission in 1804 from Pope Pius VII to open two small choruses, from which they attended Mass.  We know, from the scarce and fragmentary information available, is that on this spot, since very ancient times, there was a church dedicated to Saint John the Baptist.
There is a devotion and commitment to the faithful that is reflected in the references to the celebrations held, with competitions and dances in the plaza, staged for the occasion as an arena, that were organised to celebrate the feast day of Saint John the Baptist. Add to these holidays the “Holy” Jubilee, which is celebrated every time that the First of July falls on a Sunday. It re-enacts the forced landing of Pope Alexander III due to a tempest, which took place in 1175. During this festivity, which has secular as well as religious significance, the procession marches from the Church of San Giovanni to that of San Martino and back again.
Currently, the church is the site of the Sistine Museum, which houses works coming from the territory of Grottammare. Among all the objects, worthy
of mention are two panel paintings attributed to Vittore Crivelli, representing Saint Rocco and Saint Sebastian, which were found during roof maintenance work of this church in 1968. The wood of the paintings was being used as support beams for the roof tiles.
In the glass showcase we can admire the silver Chalice that was donated by Pope Sixtus V to Grottammare, the town of his birth, on the occasion of the visit he made in May 1567, while he was the Bishop of Sant’Agata dei Goti, as the inscription near the base indicates. Exhibited next to it is the commemorative medal made for the foundation of the Church of Santa Lucia, coined in 1590, that shows the profile of Camilla Peretti, the Pope’s sister, on the reverse side, and on the obverse one, the façade of the building. The importance of this bronze object, attributed to Domenico Poggini, is precisely in the rendering of the church, which does not coincide with the current one and evidently,  refers to the original plan that was never realized.

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