Outside the city walls, in the current suburb of Giovanni Profiamma, stands the church of S. Giovanni Battista (St John the Baptist). The current building was erected in 1239 on a pre-existing structure dating back to the early centuries of the Christian era. Historical documents attest to the presence of a basilica and presiding bishop since the time of St. Feliciano, the town’s patron saint martyred in the III century AD.
The church was seriously damaged in the earthquake of 1997 but at the end of 1998, it had been restored and was reopened for worship. The façade has an elegant decorative rose window in the center with ten spokes and there are two small double windows on both sides; the main door made of white stone by a master artisan Filippo, is adorned with figures committing sins. On the right you can recognize the silhouette of a bishop in the act of killing a dragon with his staff, perhaps a representation of the patron saint Feliciano, the first bishop of the city.
The interior, in Romanesque style, has a single nave with the presbytery raised on a base of thirteen steps below which you can access the crypt, a large area divided into three naves supported by six columns.