San Giovanni in Monte

San Giovanni in Monte is a 15th-century Roman Catholic church in Bologna, Italy.

The current church can be traced back to a round church from the 5th century known as the Monte Oliveto, traditionally said to be founded by Saint Petronius in 433. The first written mention of the church dates from 1045. In or before 1118, the Canons Regular of the Lateran established a community here, which first restored and enlarged the old church (between ca. 1200 and ca. 1300) and replaced it with a new, late Gothic church (ca. 1450), with a 1474 facade in Renaissance style. The vault was finally finished in 1603. The bell tower is over 40m high. It was finished in the 14th century, with a base dating back to the 13th century.

The canons regular were expelled after Napoleon invaded Italy, and some of the artworks from the church were moved to the Louvre. After the defeat of Napoleon, most of the artworks returned, but some were moved to Italian museums instead. In 1824, the floor of the church was replaced; the tombstones that were placed until then in the floor were moved to the walls at that time.

On 29 January 1944, the church was badly damaged after a bombing raid, with three chapels destroyed and considerable damage to the portico, the vault, and other chapels. The church was restored between 1947 and 1950.

The portico has a large sculpture of an eagle (the symbol of Saint John, patron saint of the church) by Niccolò dell'Arca (ca. 1481).

The altar is Pre-Romanesque and Romanesque, with the octagonal columns and the cross dating back to the 11th century and earlier. The Christ on the cross is a 16th-century wooden sculpture.

The interior had work by Cima da Conegliano, the Madonna of the Rosary by Domenichino, the Madonna with St. Michael and three other Saints by Pietro Perugino, and The Ecstasy of St. Cecilia by Raphael (the original was commissioned for the San Giovanni in 1513). These pictures were removed during Napoleonic times and can now be found in the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna.

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Wikipedia