On the central Piazza Trieste, where it meets Corso Vittorio Emanuele, stands one of Avola's principal churches: San Giovanni Battista. The Baroque building was raised between 1700 and 1744, then refurbished in 1772 and reconsecrated in 1852. Its façade, to this day, has been left unfinished.
What to see
Inside, marked out by Neoclassical pilasters, the highlight is the fresco cycle of the central nave, with scenes from the life of Saint John the Baptist painted by Gregorio Scalia, who also made the altarpieces of the side aisles. The main altar bears an eighteenth-century canvas of the Baptism of Christ, while five large canvases tell the story of Saint Conrad. Of the same saint a wooden icon survives, carved by Raffaele Abbate in 1874. The organ was built in 1866 by Sebastiano Calcerano Platania of Acireale.
Our editors' tip
Look up at the vault as soon as you enter: Gregorio Scalia's frescoes are the best reason to pause here. And find the five canvases devoted to Saint Conrad, beside his wooden icon of 1874: a small story of local devotion inside the church.
