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The Church of St John the Baptist in Monte San Biagio: a 16th-century triptych and Lombard traces
In the heart of the village of Monte San Biagio, the Church of San Giovanni Battista houses one of the masterpieces of the Southern Renaissance: the triptych of the Mystic Marriage of St Catherine, painted by Cristoforo Scacco in 1500. The Veronese painter lived for many years in this territory, and the saint is depicted in the centre flanked by St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist. In the lunette, the Death of the Virgin; in the predella (altar-step), the Last Supper. Behind the high altar, the tomb of the Scacco family — having the same surname as that of the painter, who owned a house and property here.
From Lombard origins to 18th-century expansions
According to tradition the church was founded by the Lombards in the 7th century, possibly on an earlier site of pagan worship. The original structure was centrally planned, described in a pastoral visitation of 1599 as entirely frescoed. That structure no longer exists, however: the expansions of 1727, 1948 and 1967 transformed the building into a single-nave church with four chapels on each side and round arches marking the bays.
Fragments of ancient Rome
Outside, beside the entrance to the rectory, two Roman finds discovered along the Appian Way are set into the wall: an inscription bearing the name of Emperor Caracalla, and a milestone of Marcus Aurelius. Inside, the baptismal font is an inverted and repurposed Roman-era marble basin, probably of patrician origin.
