Church of the Convent in Gioiosa Marea
The Church of the Convent of Gioiosa Marea takes its name from the adjacent Convent of the Observant Friars Minor, now abandoned. The architectural complex, originally located on the royal trazzera, was a meeting point for many wayfarers and pilgrims.
The church was built at the behest of Baron Diego Forzano, it was run by the Friars Minor and equipped with a large guesthouse.
The cult building has a simple facade decorated with stucco elements.
The building has a quadrangular plan with a single nave and inside there are some valuable works from the ancient town of Gioiosa Guardia : a wooden statue of the Immaculate Virgin from 1780; a 17th-century oil on canvas depicting the Beheading of St. John the Baptist; a painting by Olivo Sozzi depicting the Madonna with St. Francis and St. Anthony on either side.
