Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista

San Giovanni Battista occupies the upper part of Torno. Its Romanesque bell tower and Renaissance marble portal introduce a church whose architecture and decoration developed through several periods.

Why it matters

The building combines medieval fabric with a substantial late-fifteenth-century renewal. It is also associated with the Santo Chiodo, a relic traditionally venerated as a nail from Christ's Cross.

What to notice

The portal, attributed to the Rodari workshop, brings saints, prophets and sibyls into an elaborate carved composition. The Baptism of Christ occupies the lunette, with Annunciation figures at the sides. Inside, pointed transverse arches divide the single nave into six bays. Moltrasio stone paving, fragments of Renaissance wall painting and later stucco decoration reveal different phases of furnishing. A Conversion of Saint Paul is by Giovan Battista Trotti, known as il Malosso.

Context and history

A church dedicated to Saint John is documented in 1208. The present transverse-arched structure reflects rebuilding at the end of the fifteenth century, marked by dates of 1494 and 1496. Tradition relates that a German archbishop returning from the Holy Land left the Holy Nail here in 1099. Subsequent centuries brought further decoration, including an eighteenth-century belfry above the earlier tower.