Church of San Giovanni Evangelista in Sortino
Paolino.uccello - CC4.0
The Mother Church of Sortino, dedicated to San Giovanni Evangelista, is a notable example of Sicilian Baroque art.
It was built between 1734 and 1778 and stands sumptuous on a masterfully paved square with black and white river pebbles and bordered by quadrangular pillars surmounted by large amphorae.
The imposing facade, in Baroque style, is composed of three superimposed orders: the first order is divided by Corinthian order pilasters which frame a valuable portal, placed in a central position, flanked by pairs of twisted columns and dominated by an oval niche containing the statue of St. John; The second order, also tripartite by pilasters, but of a composite order, frames a window with an architectural frame, in a central position, flanked by two niches containing the statues of Moses and Elijah; The third order, containing the belfry, is framed by pilasters of composite order and is surmounted by a broken triangular tympanum.
The interior has three naves divided by large pillars which converge into a luminous transept on which the dome.
Among the works kept in the church, of particular artistic interest are: some paintings by the famous painter Vito D'Anna; a wooden choir and a canvas by the painter Cristadoro depicting the Apocalypse of St. John the Evangelist, the central vault also frescoed by Cristadoro; the carved and decorated wooden pulpit; the organ, the work of Donato del Piano di Napoli; the baptismal font and the stoup from 1556.
