The Parish Church of Saint John the Evangelist

Front view with stairway
Click on the image to enlarge

Built around the year 1000 in Romanic style, the Parish Church is dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist. It has been restored many times: the façade was rebuilt around the half of the XVth century and, on this occasion, the coat of arms of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese junior (Valentano 1520 - Rome 1589), of the Bishop of Montefiascone Cardinal Bentivoglio, and that of the community of Valentano, with the image of St. John the Evangelist (the new one has got an alder tree), were placed on it.

Side view of the Parish and the bell tower. A detail of the portal to the Church

The title of Parish, which was removed from the homonym church situated outside the town walls, was given to this sacred building in 1253 by order of Pope Innocenzo IV.
Inside, the building is a fine example of Baroque, an evidence of the last and final works of restoration, between the end of 1600 and the beginning of 1700. A remarkable fresco showing a Crucifixion, attributed to Marcello Venusti, is the only thing left from the previous interventions.
The valuable wooden statue of the Madonna Assunta, donated to the Church by the priest G. B. Lazzari, dates back to the half of XVIIth century.

La Madonna Assunta viene portata in processione la sera del 14 agosto La parte terminale del campanile ha forma esagonale

 

Other splendid paintings were made by Corrado Giaquinto (Madonna, Child and souls in Purgatory), and by Pietro Lucatelli (Madonna of the Rosary with St. Domenico and saint Caterina, dated 1700). Two paintings dedicated to St. John the patron saint were made by the painter Pietro Padroni at the end of XVIIIth century. Padroni came from Città della Pieve but lived in Valentano. Among the other paintings, we have to mention the one by Alessandro Mattia from Farnese, known as the "painter of Valentano" (Madonna with Child and the saints Peter and Paul, coming from the Church of Saint Mary). Another painting is the one by Francesco Maria Bonifazi from Viterbo, with Saint Francis, Saint Lucy and Saint Agata (this painting is, unfortunately, in a bed state of maintenance), dated around 1700. Under the main altar there's the artistic urn containing the relics of the other patron saint, Giustino, a Martyr to whom the name was imposed.

Il soffitto della Chiesa Collegiata, recentemente restaurato La chiesa vista dalla Cantoria. L'evidente deformazione prospettica è dovuta all'impiego di un'ottica grandangolare molto potente.