Lucca - San Giovanni

Passing between the Piazza Napoleone and the cathedral to the east, we come to the Church of San Giovanni, which was rebuilt in the 12th century. Its predecessor, dedicated to St Reparata (first Patron Saint of Florence), had been the seat of the Bishop since the eighth century. Following the complete reconstruction of San Giovanni in 1622 only the central doorway and part of the south front of the Romanesque church survive. The interior of the church is divided into three aisles by columns (with one Roman and other Romanesque capitals). A door in the left transept leads into the large Baptistery of San Giovanni (rebuilt in the 14th century, with a dome borne on pointed arches).