The church of San Giovanni Decollato is a Catholic place of worship on piazza Mercurio, in Massa, dedicated to the merchants of the square, which has always had the role of sheltering travellers.
What to see
To its building, promoted between 1639 and 1641 by the first abbot of Massa, Andrea Tacca, Francesco, son of Carlo I Cybo, contributed munificently; another source says it was raised at the wish of Carlo I Cybo-Malaspina. It is Baroque in style and red and white in colour, the two-tone scheme found everywhere in the city, with a central plan topped by an octagonal dome barely visible from the square.
The interior has three marble altars; on the high altar, adorned with marble putti, is a canvas of the Beheading of Saint John. The church also keeps a Madonna between Saint Anthony and Saint Albert by Domenico Fiasella.
Visiting
The church is on piazza Mercurio, in Massa. The sources consulted give no opening hours or visiting arrangements: check with the parish.
Our editors' tip
Piazza Mercurio has always been given over to trade: two kilns, pottery and coins of the Roman period were found there, from a factory of amphorae for the local wine. In 1566 Alberico I Cybo-Malaspina had the fountain of Mercury placed there, with the statue of the god, protector of beggars and of the market.
