St. John’s in Town Church

The first sacred building of the oldest suburban settlement zone of Bolzano can still be visited. Although it is a cultural treasure, the little St. John's in Town Church, one of the oldest churches of South Tyrol's main town, is little known. Today it can be found hidden between the houses in the Vicolo San Giovanni alley. The Romanesque church, consecrated by Bishop Salomon of Trento in 1180 AD, was equipped with a barrel vault and a church tower in the 14th century. In the 17th century, the sacristy was attached and the window and portal openings were broken out.

Very valuable are the frescoes in the interior of the church. The round apse was painted in 1330 - 1335. The frescoes in the barrel vault (Jesus Christ as judge in the mandorla) and on both side walls of the nave (legends of John the Evangelist and John the Baptist) followed about 30 years later. They were done by the so-called "First and Second Masters of St. John's in Town". In these art masterpieces, the Nordic traditions merge with the influences of the Giotto school.