The Church of San Giovanni dei Battuti: history and construction

The original church was built around 1346 by the Confraternity of the Battuti, which in 1325 had erected a hospital and a hospice nearby for the needy, poor, pilgrims, and sick.

The church, originally constructed in Romanesque-Gothic style, was consecrated in 1361. In 1487 it was “enriched” by the bell tower beside it. Between 1500 and 1746, the church underwent reconstruction work, and in 1875 the small loggia with Gothic arches, a place where people gathered to protest against feudal overreach, was demolished.

Current structure

Today, the church has a rectangular plan, with a single nave interior in Baroque style; the frescoes on the ceiling (1746) depict the Assumption of the Virgin, the Almsgiving, and the Beheading of San Giovanni and were created by Giuseppe Buzzi, who reproduced the frescoes of Tiepolo preserved in the cathedral of San Daniele dei Friuli.

The main altar in polychrome marble is placed in front of the fresco of the Crucifixion, brought to light at a later time. This work, created by a painter from beyond the Alps in the 15th century, masterfully expresses the drama of the scene. There are also two canvases: the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Adoration of the Magi, and an altarpiece by Gaspare Narvesa, depicting the Visitation of Mary to Saint Elizabeth dated 1588.

Further enriching the sacred building, while maintaining the sobriety of the environment, are three finely crafted 18th-century altars and a wooden crucifix, carved by Giacomo Onesti.

Externally, one can admire the stone portal, surmounted by the coat of arms of the Confraternity of the Battuti (the index and middle fingers raised) and the scroll bearing the Latin words indicating the dual nature of the Divine Lamb. On the architrave is inscribed the evangelical invitation: “Parate viam domini,” meaning “prepare the way of the Lord.”

Today the church is dedicated to the fallen of all wars.

(Text ViviSpilimbergo - Photo Denis Scarpante)