Top of the World
Among the small streets of the centre, turning your back on the large circular tower of the fortress complex, you will find the large facade of the Mother Church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist. The church overlooks a large square that allows you to appreciate the monument in all its majesty. The facade, with portals in typical eighteenth-century style, is embellished with 8 columns that seem to support the temple and four empty niches that in the past probably housed statues of saints. It has three naves and was built in different periods and with various modifications as is documented by an excavation behind the high altar where the remains of the foundation of an apse were found. The oldest phase is represented by the base of that part now used as a sacristy and small parish museum, which dates back to before 1468, after which the first plant was built, while the bell tower was built in 1565. The Matrix Church was completed in 1756 and is located at the highest point of the city, sixty-two meters above sea level. The entrance is to the north, in the current Latrona court. Worthy of note is the wooden choir while the part below the floor, entirely dug into the rock, is the cemetery, used until the thirties of the last century. The part that can be visited occupies almost the entire nave. It consists of four long corridors of which the last on the left has a deep room that, thanks to the clumsy intervention of some workers, has lost what could have provided more specific data regarding the exact destination of the corridors and the various types of burials. It is certainly known that the part behind the high altar houses the sepulchres of the priests and under the side aisles rest notables of the village, members of illustrious families of the place and various covens.
