San Giovanni
delle Conche
In the San Giovanni valley, now a hamlet of Calamandrana, stood the Romanesque church dedicated to San Giovanni alle Conche, on top of a low hill. A church rich in historical events, especially in the medieval period, it has changed image over the centuries. The current image of San Giovanni delle Conche has completely changed compared to the original. Only the apse remains in Romanesque style, which fits into the right side of the current church.
Symmetrically to it, another apse was built, similar, but smaller and in neo-Gothic style, while a third, much higher, located to the north, is late Baroque and closes the internal space of the presbytery. Only in the Romanesque apse do we find sandstone ashlars: both in the "throated" frame, located attic, and in the traditional series of hanging arches, resting on small brackets, and in the jambs and false arches, with recessed architraves, of the three small windows.
Symmetrically to it, another apse was built, similar, but smaller and in neo-Gothic style, while a third, much higher, located to the north, is late Baroque and closes the internal space of the presbytery. Only in the Romanesque apse do we find sandstone ashlars: both in the "throated" frame, located attic, and in the traditional series of hanging arches, resting on small brackets, and in the jambs and false arches, with recessed architraves, of the three small windows.
Subtle geometric decorations are carved on the monolithic blocks in which the arches and architraves have been carved. Each of the three fields of the apse is marked by pilasters that connect to the hanging arches through small capitals, decorated with highly stylised phytomorphic designs, among which a small human head also emerges. The bricks and the corners are well filed: this fact and the grading of the mortar beds indicate restoration interventions not far away.
In the San Giovanni valley, now a hamlet of Calamandrana, stood the Romanesque church dedicated to San Giovanni alle Conche, on top of a low hill. A church rich in historical events, especially in the medieval period, it has changed image over the centuries. The current image of San Giovanni delle Conche has completely changed compared to the original. Only the apse remains in Romanesque style, which fits into the right side of the current church.
Subtle geometric decorations are carved on the monolithic blocks in which the arches and architraves have been carved. Each of the three fields of the apse is marked by pilasters that connect to the hanging arches through small capitals, decorated with highly stylised phytomorphic designs, among which a small human head also emerges. The bricks and the corners are well filed: this fact and the grading of the mortar beds indicate restoration interventions not far away.
Subtle geometric decorations are carved on the monolithic blocks in which the arches and architraves have been carved. Each of the three fields of the apse is marked by pilasters that connect to the hanging arches through small capitals, decorated with highly stylised phytomorphic designs, among which a small human head also emerges. The bricks and the corners are well filed: this fact and the grading of the mortar beds indicate restoration interventions not far away.