San Giovanni Monumental Complex

Opened in 1998, San Giovanni Monumental Complex is located in Garibaldi Square, close to the site of the Norman Castle. The materials of the Castle were used for the edification of the Church of SS. Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista, home to one of the most important brotherhoods in the city, the Congrega dei Bianchi di Santa Croce (1563) with the Hospitio (1569) and the Convent of the Teresians (1645). The latter two buildings were later transformed into barracks and then in prisons. The Complex of St. John has started towards a new cycle of life and history: in 1999, an exhibition dedicated to Mattia Preti consecrated the Complex as prestigious cultural and exhibition centre.