San Giovanni dei Fiorentini

Map
Church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome
San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
The church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, which was begun in 1519 at the behest of Pope Leo X (r. 1513-21), a member of the Medici family and a native of Florence, is the product of several architects: Jacopo Sansovino (1486-1570), Antonio Sangallo the Younger (1484-1546), Giacomo della Porta (1532-1602), and Carlo Maderno (1556-1629). Maderno, who is interred in the church, designed the transept, choir and dome.
Dome of church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome
Dome
The facade was commissioned by another Florentine pope, namely Clement XII (r. 1730-40), to a design by the Florentine architect Alessandro Galilei (1691-1737). The main entrance is surmounted by the pope's coat of arms, flanked by an angel and an allegorical statue of Fortitude, both the work of the Florentine sculptor Filippo della Valle (1698-1768). ​
Detail of the facade of the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome
A detail of the facade
The four bas-reliefs illustrate scenes from the life of St John the Baptist and are the work of several artists, including Pietro Bracci (1700-73) and Filippo della Valle. The facade sports a short inscription, which reads: CLEMENS · XII · PONT · MAX · A · S · MDCCXXXIV · P · IV. (Clement the Twelfth, Pontifex Maximus, the year of Salvation 1734, the fourth of his pontificate.)
Interior of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome
Nave
​There is a Tuscan feel to the simple and well-lit interior.
Apse, church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome
High altar
The altarpiece in the sanctuary takes the form of a free-standing sculpture of the Baptism of Christ (1665) by Antonio Raggi (1624-86). This work replaced a sculpture (1644) of the same subject-matter by Francesco Mochi (1580-1654), which can now be found in the third chapel on the left. 
Baptism of Christ by Antonio Raggi, church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, Rome
The Baptism of Christ by Antonio Raggi
On the side walls of the sanctuary are two funerary monuments to the Falconieri family, which were designed by Franceso Borromini (1599-1667), who is buried in the church.  ​​​
Gallery