Church of St. John the Baptist

The present church is the outcome of successive enlargements of an ancient chapel, which already existed before the second half of the 14th century and was renowned as a place “where God, through the merits of the Saint, worked many miracles.” The first significant expansion followed the arrival in Turi of the Franciscan Order of the Observance in 1575, an initiative promoted by the Moles family and authorised by Pope Gregory XIII. The building work on both the church and the convent was carried out swiftly and completed as early as 1580. Both structures embodied the essential features of Franciscan architecture. The convent, whose friars were entrusted with spreading devotion to the city’s principal patron, Saint John the Baptist, remained active until 29 November 1865.

In 1837 the church underwent its final enlargement, marked by the construction of a new neoclassical façade. This addition commemorated the last miracle attributed to the Saint, remembered by popular acclaim in the commemorative epitaph carved into the façade itself.

The single-nave interior features, on the right-hand side, four deep chapels, mirrored on the left by four shallow stone altars. The high altar is adorned with a remarkable canvas, Madonna with Child and the Young Saint John, painted by Gaspare De Populo in 1618.

Outstanding examples of Franciscan art include the wooden Calvary created by Fra Angelo da Pietrafitta in accordance with the Counter-Reformation principles of the order, and the Immaculate Conception painted by Fra Antonio da Conversano. The church also houses other significant works by Donato Paolo Conversi and Alonso de Corduba, together with a 17th-century wooden statue of Saint John and several 19th-century sculptures, among them Saint Anthony, Saint Paschal Baylon, and Saint Joseph.