Inaugurated in 1998, the San Giovanni Monumental Complex stands in Piazza Garibaldi, on the site of the Norman Castle, built in the 11th century by Robert Guiscard and partially destroyed in the fifteenth century. The materials from the castle were used – among other things – for the construction of the Church of SS. John the Baptist and Evangelist, seat of one of the most important confraternities in the city; the Congrega dei Bianchi di Santa Croce (1563) with the Hospitio (1569) and the Teresiani convent (1645). These last two buildings were later transformed into barracks and then into prisons.
On December 18, 1998, with an exhibition dedicated to Andrea Cefaly, the San Giovanni Complex embarked on a new cycle of life and history. In 1999, a new exhibition dedicated to Mattia Preti (the Calabrian Knight) consecrated the Complex as a prestigious cultural and exhibition center, among the most important in Southern Italy. This is the role that the Complex holds today, thanks to the suggestiveness of the place and the extent of the restored exhibition spaces.
Information about the San Giovanni Monumental Complex of Catanzaro
Piazza Garibaldi, 1
Catanzaro (Catanzaro)
0961 794388
Source: MIBACT
