Church San Giovanni degli Eremiti or the church of St. John of the Hermits was built in the 6th century.
It has a fixed cross base and a compact and regular volume, which is counterpointed, at different heights, by red plastered domes on the outside. Outside, the building is characterized by regular stereometry of the wall structure, formed by square limestone ashlars that contrast to the lively red coloring of the domes, raised on cylindrical drums with angular horns and arched three-recessed rings.
From inside the church, through a small room carved into the wall of the diaconicon, you can access an adjacent room, called the "Arab room".
It is a building originally made up of three architectural units: a rectangular hall, a porch and a fence. Today, the room is covered by three large cross vaults from the sixteenth century and preserves a Byzantine fresco that dates back to the last quarter of the twelfth century, depicting a Madonna with a child between two saints. The church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti also includes a square-plan cloister, consisting of a continuous sequence of double-ring pointed arches resting on paired columns, which, however, has stylistic and construction characteristics that refer to the thirteenth century.
The church is notable for its brilliant red domes, which show clearly the persistence of Arab influences in Sicily during the 12th century.
The entire monumental complex was once of great importance, however over time, due to negligence, it perished.
Ticket price for the Church San Giovanni degli Eremiti
Regular ticket price: € 6,00
Reduced ticket price: € 3,00 (students between 18 and 25 years old)
Working hours of the Church San Giovanni degli Eremiti
The church is open from Monday to Saturday from 09:00am to 7:00pm (last entrance to 6:30pm)
On Sundays and holidays from 09:00am to 1:30pm (last entrance at 1:00pm)
