San Giovanni Evangelista

The church was rebuilt from about 1498 to 1510 to a design by Bernardino Zaccagni. Correggio then decorated the dome, its drum and the four pendentives. The dome is traditionally called the Vision of Saint John on Patmos: Christ descends in light, the apostles sit on clouds around the rim, and the aging John, the church's patron, looks up from below.

John is placed low on the rim, and from the entrance you will hardly notice him. Walk up to the crossing and turn back toward the door to find him.

Do not leave without the lunette of Saint John and the eagle, also by Correggio, about 1520, above the door to the sacristy on the left side. It is at eye level, which the dome is not.

Compare this dome with the one in the cathedral: here the figures sit calm on clouds; in the Duomo, a few years later, they spiral. Our guide to Correggio and Parmigianino explains the change.

In 1515 Parmigianino's uncle received a commission to decorate a chapel here, and the teenage painter finished work for it. On the left side of the nave:

• The first chapel on the left has an arch frescoed by Parmigianino with Saint Agatha and the executioner, and Saints Stephen and Lawrence.
• The next chapel has another Saints Stephen and Lawrence and a Saint Vitalis with his horse, both by Parmigianino.

To see how far Parmigianino went after this, his arch in Santa Maria della Steccata is a 7-minute walk away, and the Galleria Nazionale has his Turkish Slave.

The monastery's pharmacy is documented from 1201. It is now run by the same state museum as the Pilotta, and yes, it is open. Details from the Pilotta's official pages, checked September 29, 2026:

It is also on the Pilotta's €25 cumulative ticket with the Pilotta, Torrechiara and Veleia. If you are only doing the Pilotta and the Spezieria, pay separately: €18 plus €5 is €23, less than the pass.

A bishop founded the monastery in 980 and gave it to the Benedictines. It burned, was rebuilt from 1477, and by 1510 had grown into a complex on three cloisters. Suppressions in the 19th century pushed the monks out; the army turned part of it into a barracks. The community returned in stages and regained full use in 1945. The buildings are still state property, and seven monks live there today.

The three cloisters are the Chapter cloister (1500), the Saint John cloister (1537) and the cloister of Saint Benedict. The monastery's porter's lodge keeps hours of 9 a.m. to noon and 3 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday (mornings only on Monday, closed Thursday), but the monks' site does not describe a public cloister visit, so ask at the lodge rather than walking in.

Every evening at 9 p.m. the community sings Compline at the altar of the Blessed Sacrament, and visitors are invited. It is a quiet way to end a day in the Duomo quarter.

The three sights on this side of town keep different clocks, and the lunch gaps do not line up:

• Cathedral: 7:45 a.m. to 7:20 p.m., no break, free.
• Baptistery and Diocesan Museum: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., no break, €12.
• San Giovanni: 8:30 a.m. to noon and 3 to 8 p.m., free.
• Spezieria: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 to 7 p.m., closed Monday, €5.

A morning that works: San Giovanni and the Spezieria from 9:30 a.m., then the Baptistery at 11 a.m., then the cathedral over lunch, when San Giovanni is shut. On a Monday, skip the Spezieria and do the rest in the same order.