Begun in
1490 at the behest of Pope Innocent VIII Cybo (1484/92) in place of an earlier
church called S. MARIA DE FOVEA or S. MARIA DELLA FOSSA
The FAÇADE dates back to 1504
Finished in
1550 as the seat of the Arciconfraternita della Misericordia (Confraternity
of Mercy) established in Florence in 1488 with the aim of assisting those
sentenced to death
The church
is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence, whose head
was cut off
Reconsecrated
in 1727
New
restorations in 1888
This church
is one of the most significant examples of the presence of Tuscan Mannerism in
Rome
Walls fully
decorated with stucco and frescoes by Tuscan Mannerist with “Saints” in the
years 1580/90:
1st
CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Above the
altar “The Nativity of S. John the Baptist” by Jacopo
Zucchi (about 1542/96)
2nd
CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Above the
altar “Incredulity of St. Thomas” about 1580 by an anonymous
artist from the school of Giorgio Vasari
3rd
CHAPEL ON THE RIGHT
Above the
altar “Visitation” by Cristoforo Roncalli aka Pomarancio
(1552/1626)
MAIN ALTAR
“Beheading
of St. John the Baptist” 1553 by Giorgio Vasari
(1511/74)
“The
composition is relatively little damaged by mannerist elements. (...) Evidently
Vasari wanted to come out from the comparison with Francesco Salviati and
Jacopino del Conte, who had abundantly expressed themselves in the oratory, in
the best possible light; so it is explained the acuity of his stroke and the
quality of the color effect. Again the architectural background contributes in
the best way to the overall effect” (Hermann Voss)
2nd
CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Above the
altar “The Martyrdom of St. John the Evangelist” about 1580 by G.B. Naldini (about 1537/91)
1st
CHAPEL ON THE LEFT
Above the
altar “Assumption of the Virgin Mary” by Francesco Zucchi
(about 1562/1622)
Oratorio di S. Giovanni Decollato
Oratory
of St. John the Beheaded
Extraordinary
Tuscan Mannerist frescoes painted in the years 1530/35
“New phase
of Mannerism, aimed at reconciling the legacy of Raphael with the modeling of
Michelangelo, according to a refined and decorative style. With the decisive
contribution of Perin del Vaga and Polidoro da Caravaggio, the school of
Giorgio Vasari and Francesco Salviati expressed a balanced and accessible
version of Mannerism, quite different from the formal extremism of the Tuscan
artists who were their contemporaries” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti,
Antonio Giuliano)
FROM THE
RIGHT
“Preaching
of the Baptist” 1538 by Jacopino del Conte
(about 1515/98)
RIGHT WALL
“The Birth
of St. John the Baptist” 1551 and “Visitation” (with portrait of Michelangelo
who was a member of the Confraternity) 1538 by Francesco de' Rossi aka Francesco Salviati (1510/63)
“The
Visitation is a true product of the joy that the artist felt in front of the
splendor of Rome, and it is a work by the brilliant, strong character, with a
wide arrangement of figures, with an architectural background built with art
and wonderfully rhythmic groups of figures, that have nothing of the crammed
compositions in the paintings by Pontormo and Bronzino, but have that breathing
space and spaciousness that is characteristic of the compositions by Perin del
Vaga. (...) It is linked to the workshop of Raphael by the composition and by
some single images of movements and drapery (for example, the woman walking on
the left, also present in the Fire of Borgo), but the idea ofplastic, which
will become even more intense in later work, was inspired by Michelangelo. It
is also possible that in the Visitation the influence of Parmigianino was
present” (Hermann Voss)
“In the
Birth of John the Baptist the richness and freshness of the first period have
vanished, and the imposing monumentality which the artist tries to achieve in
the full, heavy figures of his late style cannot compensate for this serious
loss” (Hermann Voss)
“Annunciation
of the Angel to Zechariah” 1535 altar table on the MAIN ALTAR “Deposition”
about 1550 by Jacopino del Conte
“The
character of the composition of the Annunciation of the Angel to Zachariah is
that of a relief. It reminds us in some respects even of artists like
Bandinelli or Ammannati, and to their style are very similar the bearded heads
of a man and of an elderly man, as well as the spacious and pompous rendition
of the draping. It is a historical representation still very close to the high
Renaissance for its noble, simple demeanor and for its own monumentality”
(Hermann Voss)
ON THE
SIDES OF THE ALTAR
“St.
Bartholomew” and “St. Andrew” by Francesco de' Rossi aka Francesco Salviati
LEFT WALL
“Beheading
of John the Baptist” 1553 and “Dance of Salome” 1550 maybe by Pirro Ligorio (about 1513/83). It would be his only
extant work of painting
“The work is
brilliant with regard to the architectural and decorative setting. The powerful
motive of the colossal columns, closing the space in the background, catches
our gaze to the point that we pass over the weaknesses of the composition and
figures” (Hermann Voss)
“St. John
the Baptist being arrested” 1541/44 by Battista Franco
(1498/1561)
“Despite his
Venetian origin, Battista Franco did not have a particular talent for colors
(perhaps this was the reason for his departure from Venice), but on the other
hand he dominated the art of drawing with a virtuosity equaled by few. His
stroke seems frail in its elasticity, generally very thin and yet extraordinarily
confident. (...) In the Arrest of John the Baptist, the artist has avoided to
borrow directly from Michelangelo, but the male figure lying in the foreground
does not hide its inspiration from the cartoon with Venus and Cupid by
Michelangelo (painted by Pontormo)” (Hermann Voss)
“Baptism of
Christ” 1541 by Jacopino del Conte
“The plastic
content of the movement of the figures is strengthened so as to give the
impression of something unstable, almost dancing. This applies mainly to the
figure of Christ and for that scene with the river god in the foreground, which
is typical of both the penetration of the mythological world in the religious
world, and the way of working with nudes in Michelangelo style used as side
scenes (repoussoirs), which in Rome became increasingly fashionable” (Hermann
Voss)
CLOISTER-CEMETERY
Portico of
the years 1535/55, rebuilt in the seventeenth century
Seven
manholes in the
floor through which the bodies of executed criminals were introduced without
head into mass graves. Six were for men and one for women
The heads
of the prisoners were in fact cut and eventually burned all together in a fire
every 24 June, on the occasion of the feast of St. John the Beheaded
Museo della Camera Storica
Museum
of the Historical Room
Housed in a
room adjacent to the church
It is open
only one day a year: every June 24 on the occasion of the feast of St. John the
Beheaded
It contains
documents and memorabilia of the Confraternity of Mercy
Among the objects:
Basket for
the head cut off from Beatrice Cenci
and kneeler on which she said her last prayers
Hood of
Giordano Bruno (1548/1600)
Stretchers
on which the remains of those sentenced to death were transported
Black capes
of the confreres
Numerous
wooden tablets with religious subjects that were offered to the sight and to
the devotion of the condemned until the time of the executions. In the
nineteenth century they took place in the nearby Piazza dei Cerchi
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