The Chiesa di San Giovanni del Toro (Italian: "Church of St. John of the Bull") is a church in Ravello, southern Italy.
The Chiesa di San Giovanni del Toro (Italian: "Church of St. John of the Bull") is a church in Ravello, southern Italy.
Consecrated in the 11th century, the church was restored in 1715 after damage caused by an earthquake, and it was restored again in the 1990s. [1] The church is named for John the Apostle and for "Il Toro", the former name of the old aristocratic quarter in which it was built. [2] It is especially noted for its pulpit, dating from around the 13th century.
Early 20th-century English writers describe the church as in dilapidated condition, [3] stating it would have gone to ruins had it not been for government intervention in the 1880s. [4] According to these authors, who ostensibly derived their knowledge from "an old history," [3] the consecration took place in 1069, and that the church was built by orders of one of the Dukes of Amalfi. [4]
The pulpit is notable for its mosaics, the decorative patterns of which inspired the interlocking patterns used by M.C. Escher, [5] who spent time in Ravello in the 1920s and studied the church and the pulpit; Ravello was one of his favorite places. [6] One mosaic is of Jonah emerging from the whale. An eagle supports the reading desk, and it holds a book opened to the first sentence of the Gospel of John. The "beautiful" [7] pulpit, which dates from the time of Roger I of Sicily, [8] also contains Oriental pottery ("underglaze-painted and lustre-painted stonepaste bowls, probably Syrian" [9] ) and Arabic script, [4] and the steps up to it contain well-preserved frescoes with scenes from the life of Christ. [10] There is a side chapel with a stucco figure of Saint Catherine and her wheel. [10]
Maurits Cornelis Escher was a Dutch graphic artist who made woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints, many of which were inspired by mathematics. Despite wide popular interest, for most of his life Escher was neglected in the art world, even in his native Netherlands. He was 70 before a retrospective exhibition was held. In the late twentieth century, he became more widely appreciated, and in the twenty-first century he has been celebrated in exhibitions around the world.
Southern Italy, also known as Meridione or Mezzogiorno, is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern regions.
The Amalfi Coast is a stretch of coastline in southern Italy overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Gulf of Salerno. It is located south of the Sorrentine Peninsula and north of the Cilentan Coast.
Ravello is a town and comune situated above the Amalfi Coast in the province of Salerno, Campania, Southern Italy, with approximately 2,500 inhabitants. Its scenic location makes it a popular tourist destination, and earned it a listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
The House of Bove is an ancient noble patrician family of Ravello, Maritime Republic of Amalfi that held royal appointments in the Kingdom of Naples, and presided over feudal territories. After the dissolution of noble seats of the Kingdom of Naples in 1800 they were ascribed in the Libro d'Oro of Ravello. The Bove coat of arms is prominently displayed in the Duomo of Ravello.
The Duchy of Amalfi or the Republic of Amalfi was a de facto independent state centered on the Southern Italian city of Amalfi during the 10th and 11th centuries. The city and its territory were originally part of the larger ducatus Neapolitanus, governed by a patrician, but it extracted itself from Byzantine vassalage and first elected a duke in 958.
The Duchy of Naples began as a Byzantine province that was constituted in the seventh century, in the reduced coastal lands that the Lombards had not conquered during their invasion of Italy in the sixth century. It was governed by a military commander (dux), and rapidly became a de facto independent state, lasting more than five centuries during the Early and High Middle Ages. Naples remains a significant metropolitan city in present-day Italy.
Atrani is a city and comune on the Amalfi Coast in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. It is located to the east of Amalfi, several minutes drive down the coast.
The Archdiocese of Amalfi-Cava de' Tirreni is an archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, with its episcopal see at Amalfi, not far from Naples. It was named Archdiocese of Amalfi until parts of the Diocese of Cava e Sarno were merged with it on September 30, 1986.
The history of Islam in Sicily and southern Italy began with the first Arab settlement in Sicily, at Mazara, which was captured in 827. The subsequent rule of Sicily and Malta started in the 10th century. The Emirate of Sicily lasted from 831 until 1061, and controlled the whole island by 902. Though Sicily was the primary Muslim stronghold in Italy, some temporary footholds, the most substantial of which was the port city of Bari, were established on the mainland peninsula, especially in mainland southern Italy, though Muslim raids, mainly those of Muhammad I ibn al-Aghlab, reached as far north as Naples, Rome and the northern region of Piedmont. The Arab raids were part of a larger struggle for power in Italy and Europe, with Christian Byzantine, Frankish, Norman and local Italian forces also competing for control. Arabs were sometimes sought as allies by various Christian factions against other factions.
The Norman conquest of southern Italy lasted from 999 to 1194, involving many battles and independent conquerors.
Villa Cimbrone is a historic villa in Ravello, on the Amalfi Coast of southern Italy. Dating from at least the 11th century, it is famous for its scenic belvedere, the Terrazza dell'Infinito.
Amalfi Cathedral is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral in the Piazza del Duomo, Amalfi, Italy. It is dedicated to the Apostle Saint Andrew whose relics are kept here. Formerly the archiepiscopal seat of the Diocese of Amalfi, it has been since 1986 that of the Diocese of Amalfi-Cava de' Tirreni.
The Grand Hotel Quisisana is the largest hotel on the island of Capri. It is located in the old town of Capri, opposite to the Hotel Residenza Capri and the Villa Sanfelice, to the south of the Piazza Umberto I. It was founded as a sanatorium in 1845 by the British doctor George Sidney Clark, who turned it into the Grand Hotel Quisisana in 1861. "Qui si sana" means "here one heals" in Italian.
JK Place Capri is a luxury boutique hotel on island of Capri. It is located in the northeast of Anacapri town, towards the northwest of the island and west of Marina Grande. Established in 2007, the hotel has 22 rooms, and eight suites, and is situated in a restored late 19th century villa which once belonged to wealthy American sisters Sadiee and Kate Woolcott-Perry.
San Michele Arcangelo is a Roman catholic church located in Anacapri, Capri, Italy. Located on Piazza San Nicola and built in 1719, it is octagonal in shape and of Baroque style. The church received a "monument" designation due to its notable majolica floor mosaic.
Santa Maria del Soccorso is a church located within the archaeological site of Villa Jovis, on the island of Capri, Italy. It is situated on the summit of the Lo Capo hill at the eastern extremity of the island. The chapel-like church, was constructed ca. 1610. Its fittings include a bronze statue of the Madonna, a 1979 gift of the Caprese painter Guido Odierna (1913-1991). In the late 19th century, hermit lived at the church, keeping a visitor's book and selling wine.
The Fountain of Monteoliveto is a late-Baroque monumental fountain in central Naples, Italy. It is also called the Fountain of Charles II or of the Small King .
The Diocesan Museum of Amalfi is an art museum housed in the 9th century Basilica del Crocifisso di Amalfi in Amalfi. It displays many of the treasures of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Amalfi-Cava de' Tirreni and is centrally located close to Amalfi Cathedral in Via Salita Episcopio.
The d'Afflitto family is an ancient princely family originally from Amalfi, documented since the IX century, and spread throughout southern Italy.
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