June 24 marks the patronal feast of St. John the Baptist in Riomaggiore.
The church dedicated to the saint was founded in Nov. 8, 1340.
Traditionally, a procession is scheduled at 9 p.m. along the streets of the village, and activities organized by the parish take place during the day.
What you can see in the parish church of St. John the Baptist:
- ROSE WINDOW: The work is located on the main facade and, as the epigraph kept in the building’s bell tower mentions, dates back to 1471. Collapsed along with the facade around 1870, it was relocated to its current location in the early 1960s
- MERIDIONAL FLOOR PORTALS: dating back to the period of construction of the religious building (founded Nov. 8, 1340), the portals depict zoomorphic and anthropomorphic characters. In particular on the left portal we find two scenes: the first is a dragon chasing a deer, the second a procession of animals (a wolf, a fox, a raven and a rooster surmounted by a stylized sun). This second scene suggests a depiction of a tale from the Roman de Reinard (Reinard the fox).
- PULPITUS: The pulpit is adorned with a low relief depicting St. Martin with St. Joseph and St. Anne on either side, dating from 1530 (as inscribed). Popular traction has it that the work depicts St. Joachim and came from the Church of San Martino Vecchio in the Vallata di Biassa, which was abandoned in the 16th century. Instead, a notarial deed from the first half of the 1600s attests to the work as being part of the decorations of an existing altar in the church of St. John the Baptist and confirms that, the saint depicted, is St. Joseph.
- PREDICATION OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST: The painting, displayed in the left aisle, is locally attributed to Domenico Fiasella
- SACRESTIA PORTAL: On the left side of the altar is the finely crafted portal leading to the sacristy, topped by a bas-relief depicting the Madonna, St. John the Baptist and St. Francis. The bas-relief, dated to the 15th century, is reminiscent of the triptych displayed on the altar of the Oratory of Santa Maria Assunta.
