Oratorio di San Giovanni Battista

The Oratorio di San Giovanni Battista stands in Sanremo, Italy, as an architectural landmark tied to the city’s religious life. It served the Confraternity of the Bianchi. That lay brotherhood gathered for prayer and charitable work, while the building itself appears in records from the mid-fifteenth century. Sixteenth-century rebuilding shaped its interior.

Local artists filled the apse with stucco frameworks, painted biblical scenes, prophets, and quotations. At the centre, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary rises above the apostles. A dove representing the Holy Spirit appears above a crown held by two angels, while surrounding panels show Mary and Jesus. These scenes include the Annunciation, the Nativity of Mary, and the Adoration of the Magi.

An altarpiece by Gio Andrea De Ferrari, dated 1633, replaced an earlier painting by Brea and now remains in the cathedral. The crucifix and marble altar also left the oratory. After the Second World War, the building became a cinema and theatre, and its lower rooms housed a print shop. Restoration has addressed the roof, façades, and interior decoration. One tradition gave each confraternity member a small unleavened fogazzetta bearing Saint John’s imprint during his feast.