Church of San Giovanni Battista of Riomaggiore
Neo-Gothic hilltop parish rebuilt after a collapse, keeping its fourteenth-century marble rose window and carved beasts.
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About this audio guide
This guide to the Church of San Giovanni Battista in Riomaggiore begins with carved stone creatures watching from two Gothic doorways, cut by masons no record names almost seven hundred years ago. It traces the church's founding in 1340 under Antonio Fieschi, bishop of Luni, and the Lombard masons known as the Antelami who raised it in grey local stone, before turning to a collapse that later struck the building. Inside, past three rebuilt naves, a wooden crucifix and a fifteenth-century triptych wait in the half-light. Look closely at the doorway carvings before you step through.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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