The Church
The Church of San Giovanni in Valle is one of the oldest and most important places of worship in Cividale, even though its origins remain shrouded in mystery. Some sculpted fragments from the 6th–7th century, which were set into the façade until the 18th century, suggest that the church may have been built during the period of the Lombard Gastaldate.
We know for certain that the church already existed by the mid-7th century, when members of the Lombard nobility were buried in large tombs in front of the presbytery. Recent archaeological research has also shown that the church had a baptistery behind it, probably from the very beginning. All these elements confirm that San Giovanni served as a place of worship linked to Cividale’s elite from the early days of the Lombard presence.
Since the church carried out functions that complemented those of the early Christian complex of the Cathedral, it is possible that it was originally founded as an Arian hub. Between the late 9th and early 10th century, San Giovanni became a monastic church, although it is difficult to determine its original appearance. The way it looks today is the result of many alterations made between the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the 18th century, ending with a major expansion in the 1700s.
The most recent changes primarily affected the passage area between the narthex (entrance) and the cloister, as shown in an 1812 plan. During this phase, the earlier double arch was removed and replaced with a new wall set at a right angle to the church. The interior of this space was also modified, erasing the old Renaissance entrance. The portico of the narthex was later lowered after the 1976 earthquake.
The excavation surveys carried out in the 1900s revealed only a few traces of the church’s earliest layout. Today, thanks to new archaeological research and soil layer analysis, we can identify four main architectural phases:
- The Early Medieval Church
- The 14th‑century Church
- The Post‑Medieval Church
- The 17th–18th‑century Church, which corresponds to the building as it stands today.
The Monumental Graves of the Lombard Nobles
As reported in the accounts by Lorenzo del Torre, a prominent canon and scholar from Cividale, three Lombard tombs were discovered in 1751 during repair works after a lightning strike. They were stone sarcophagi with a fine set of burial items, placed inside small underground masonry chambers in front of the altar steps.
Sources mention the presence of many small gold crosses among the rich burial objects. An 18th‑century print shows some of these objects, while two items – a gold cross with human figures and a gold disc with a deer – are now kept in the National Archaeological Museum.
The type of graves and quality of the burial objects are similar to the famous tomb of Duke Gisulfo, discovered in Piazza Paolo Diacono in Cividale. Clearly, these were the graves of high‑ranking members of Cividale’s Lombard nobility.
Their position inside the Church of San Giovanni suggests that they were meant, from the beginning, to be an integral part of the religious space. It seems less likely that they originally belonged to an earlier, separate burial area.
Architectural Development of the Building
The Early Medieval Church
Only a few traces remain that help us understand what the original Early Medieval church looked like. Excavations carried out in the 1950s uncovered part of the southern wall of the presbytery. This confirms that the early church was narrower than the current one, and that its southern perimeter wall did not line up with the one seen today, which was expanded in the Late Middle Ages. The northern wall, however, probably corresponds to the one we see now, which was rebuilt in the 18th century.
In the presbytery area, archaeologists found two superimposed cocciopesto floors, a form of ancient concrete with the addition of small pieces of broken pot. This suggests that the worship area was later altered, likely raised and given a higher presbytery and a bench running along the perimeter.
We do not have definitive information about the eastern and western walls. To the east, scholars think that the original back wall may have lined up with the current 16th century apse, because recent excavations revealed an earlier structure with an apse in that area, possibly an old baptistery.
The façade may have stood where the columns supporting the nuns’ choir loft are today, which would give the building a footprint of about 21 metres in length and 9 metres in width.
On the north side, there were probably additional rooms, as suggested by an arched doorway found in a space near what is thought to be the north west corner of the façade. In front of the church, there also seems to have been another building with a different orientation. Its walls, uncovered during the 1955 excavations, appear to be very old. This structure had a major influence on later developments. It may have been the Gastald’s palace, a key element for understanding how the whole complex evolved.
In the early enlargement phases, a narthex was added on the west side, as confirmed by a north–south wall located about 3–3.5 metres in front of the original façade. The wall is about 50 cm thick and is slightly angled compared with the north and south perimeter walls, possibly to match the orientation of the older building standing in front of the church. Its exact date is uncertain, but the foundation level suggests it was part of the first major development of the church. The wall was later reinforced, perhaps when the façade was redesigned.
After a 13th century earthquake, which severely damaged both the church and the Tempietto Longobardo (Lombard Temple), major repairs were carried out in 1242 under Abbess Gisla de Pertica. These works included the reconsecration of the high altar and of a second altar dedicated to All Saints. A stone inscription records an extensive phase of restoration of the choir. It is also possible that the eastern front of the church was modified during this period.
The 14th century Church
An inscription on the façade records that the church was rebuilt under Abbess Margherita della Torre, who led the monastery between 1371-1384. Excavations show that the southern perimeter wall was rebuilt further to the south, in line with its current position, and connected to a new, higher floor level. This means the church was expanded southwards, while on the north side it kept its earlier alignment. The new construction kept to the eastern limit of the previous church, as demonstrated by the masonry at the south‑east corner outside, featuring stones laid horizontally, with fine mortar and carefully finished joints.
Using a similar technique – identified during recent restoration works – the façade was extended westwards to reach its current location. The presence of late‑14th‑century frescoes in the upper niches had already suggested that this enlargement took place.
Wall‑analysis studies made it possible to identify the footprint of the old doorway, which was located further south than the current one, and to recognise the shape of the gable that crowned the 14th‑century façade.
The building in front of the church – probably the Gastald’s palace – was still in use and was incorporated into the new layout, creating a softened north‑west corner. This unusual but practical solution allowed a direct connection between the church and the south‑west side of the cloister, especially on the upper floor.
We lack precise information about the 14th‑century floor, but it was probably about 40 cm below the current level.
The bell tower, attached to the 14th‑century wall, appears to have been built using a different construction technique. It is not clear whether it was added immediately after the rebuilding or in the following century, but it was certainly already standing before 1521, when restorations took place.
The Post-Medieval Church
Between the late 14th century and the early modern period, a large apse was added to the east, and the western part of the church was redesigned. The space became a single open area after the removal of the old dividing wall. The floor was rebuilt in terracotta, and the entrance was raised, as evidenced by the blocking of the old doorway found during the 1955 excavations.
The outside area was also reorganised, with the building in front of the church being modified. A double arch was opened to create a monumental entrance to the cloister, reached by a corridor decorated with small painted wooden panels featuring coats of arms from the late 15th and early 16th centuries. One of these bears the Formentini family coat of arms – the family of two abbesses: Elisabetta Formentini (1492–1516) and Relinta Formentini de Cusano (1517–1548).
The latter commissioned major works, including the enlargement of the cloister through the incorporation of houses and a synagogue that had previously been owned by the local Jewish community.
The 1511 earthquake caused severe damage to the whole complex. Under Abbess Relinta Formentini, the upper part of the bell tower was rebuilt. This is recorded in an inscription reading: “RIILINTIS. QUODAM / RODOLFI. FRUMENTINI / REGULI- CUSANESSIS / FILIA. HVIVSQUE / MONASTERII. ANTISTITA / ANNO.SALUTIS / M.D.XXI. FECIT”.
The artists Pellegrino da San Daniele and Girolamo da Udine also contributed to the artistic decoration, although no surviving works can be clearly linked to them. Today, a panel painting from this period appears on the left‑hand altar in the hall.
The 17th–18th century Church
Between the late 1600s and the 1700s, the church developed into the appearance we see today. The building was raised, and the façade was extended northwards, incorporating part of the space that once connected the church to the cloister. The doorway was moved to the centre of the façade.
These works seem to have been part of a single renovation project completed in 1694, according to the date carved on the architrave of the new doorway: ANNO DOMINI MDCXCIV
In 1724, the bell tower was also raised, as recorded in the inscription “HINC / ELLEVATA / ILL.MA / ABB.A / NICOLETTI / MDCCXXIIII”
In the early decades of the 18th century, major works were carried out on the complex. These involved the east side of the cloister, the raising of the buildings along Via Monastero Maggiore, and the Refectory.
At the end of the 1700s, more repairs were made to the church. A letter by Canon Lorenzo del Torre explains that, after a lightning strike in 1751, a decision was made to rebuild the choir and reinforce the old, now unstable, walls, adding two new altars. The works were completed in 1776 with the construction of the sacristy – built against the bell tower on the south side – and with the addition of a narthex in front of the church.
The interiors were also renewed: the support structure for the raised choir was rebuilt, and the north and south walls were decorated with pilaster strips. The high altar, completed in 1674 by the Venetian master Paolo Zuliani, was enriched in 1700 with four angels carved by Antonio Comaretto da Gemona and in 1750 with three paintings by Ercole Graziani (with the central panel depicting the Assumption, and side panels portraying Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist).
In the main hall, the side altars were made in imitation marble by Giacomo Vassalli from Lugano.
On the right, there is an altarpiece painted by Pietro Antonio Novelli in 1724, depicting Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Benedict and Saint Clare. On the left, there is another altarpiece with Saint Ursula painted by Palma the Younger.
The decoration of the church continued throughout the eighteenth century. Evidence of this is the fresco with Saint John on the ceiling, painted by Giuseppe Diziani in 1771.
Sculpted Pieces from the Church Furnishings
The Church of San Giovanni holds many sculpted pieces that were originally part of its old furnishings. In the past, these pieces were part of what was called the “Tempietto Collection”. Today, they are split among the Monastery, the National Archaeological Museum, and the Christian Museum. The aim is to bring them all together again in the future Monastery and Tempietto Museum.
Among the oldest pieces are a lunette and an architrave from the 6th–7th century. They were probably made for the church’s original entrance and, by the 18th century, had been built into the façade. Their style is closer to the late Byzantine art than to early medieval art.
A second phase of the decoration works, dating to the first half of the 8th century, is represented by a slab showing lambs and other animals before a male figure symbolising purity. This work reflects a lively era for sculpture in Cividale during the time of Duke Pemone and Patriarch Callistus – a period often referred to as the “Liutprand Renaissance”.
Around the middle of the 8th century, perhaps already at the beginning of Patriarch Siguald’s time (756–787), the church’s presbytery area was redesigned. New slabs were added, decorated with floral and geometric patterns, in a similar style as in the Tempietto.
Other sculpted pieces from the Monastery show the evolution of the late Lombard style. These include the slabs reused in what is known as the Tomb of Piltrude, which can now be seen in the Tempietto, and several fragments decorated with plant designs, mirrored “S” shapes, and simplified animal figures. The carving is flatter and more schematic, a sign that the style was beginning to change.
Two large Corinthian‑style capitals came from a supporting colonnade and show similarities to those in the Tempietto.
The final phase of renovation in the Church of San Giovanni involved the rebuilding of the presbytery enclosure during the Carolingian period.
Rebuilding of the Presbytery Enclosure in the Carolingian Era
Towards the end of the 8th century, there was a major change in the decorative style of church furnishings, in line with the artistic renewal promoted by the Carolingians from the early years of Charlemagne’s rule.
In Cividale, this change can already be seen during the time of Patriarch Paolino (787–802), when the furnishings were the focus of significant restoration work. The carved fragments from the Monastery – panels and small pillars decorated with geometric patterns and animal figures – show how the front of the presbytery was rebuilt in the Carolingian period.
A Possible Baptismal Area
During the 2008 excavations, archaeologists discovered a structure with mosaic floored rooms between the south wall of the Tempietto and the apse of the Church of San Giovanni. These rooms had already been identified during restoration work in 1962. They seem to have been connected spaces that probably extended further east, well beyond today’s banks of the Natisone River. This discovery provided important new information about the Gastaldate and how religious buildings were arranged.
On top of this earlier structure, a new apsed building was constructed, positioned behind the church and aligned with it, with a new floor made of cocciopesto. It is possible that this building and the Tempietto stood at the same time for a while.
In the centre of the apse, archaeologists found a basin with cocciopesto steps and a hexagonal marble base. This is thought to have been a baptismal font.
The idea becomes even more interesting when we consider that the Archaeological Museum houses an arch from a hexagonal ciborium (covering supported by columns) that resembles the decorations on the Cathedral’s baptismal font made during the time of Patriarch Callistus. Both works date to the first half of the 8th century.
However, the baptismal building did not remain in use for long. By the end of the Early Middle Ages (10th–11th century), the area had been turned into the monastery’s burial ground, as evidenced by the many female graves found there.
