San Giovanni Battista

Parish church of Castelnuovo.

Explaination: The first memory of the church of S. Giovanni is contained in a document of 29th November 1187, where the church is named de Limitealto and is reconfirmed as the property of the monastery of Pietro in Sala. The church of S. Giovanni di Limidalto almost certainly corresponds to that of Castelnuovo and was part of the parish church of S. Prospero, to then pass to the vicarage of Castel Bolognese and in 1910 to that of Bagnara. The first church of S. Giovanni had beams with its façade facing east. It had a high altar with the choir stalls behind it and two side altars. There was also a bell gable with only one bell.The second church dates back to the 9th July 1764, the day the first stone was laid, whilst formal benediction took place on the 25th August 1770(the director of works was Giovanni Magistretti). The temple was vaulted, measured 17×8 and had three altars: a high altar and two side altars. To the east was the 35 metre high bell tower, of which the first stone was laid on the 2nd September 1875 and was finished in 1880.This building was also reconstructed after the second world war, when it was reduced to a mass of ruins. Inside the church is a beautiful paper Mache statue of the Madonna of the Rosary by G. B. Ballanti of Faenza, dated 1820. The statue is of real life height and, around the niche holding it, are the mysteries of the Rosary that date back to 1631, retouched by A. Lazzari, an artist from Pescara (1785-86). In the same church we find an oil on canvas altar piece with a square in the middle as if it indicates the niche where the Madonna del Buon Consiglio is painted: in front of this work is the veneration of the saints Macario, Giuseppe and Rocco. The painting is attributed to Antonio Lazzari (1785). In the vestry is a silver finished bronze plate with the Madonna at its centre; according to ancient tradition, the image was kissed by newly weds after the marriage ceremony and was named the Madonna della Pace.