Dedicated to St. John the Baptist and probably built on the foundations of a Roman building (villa or spa), it is an important example of early Christian architecture dating back to the 5th century.
It is the oldest religious building still entirely preserved in Switzerland, fully restored in the years 1953-1955 by the architect. Ferdinando Reggiori.
The square-plan structure is completed on the eastern side by an apse. Inside, the plant is octagonal, with rectangular and semicircular niches. In the center is the baptismal font from the Romanesque period: a round monolith in serizzo that dominates the older one, octagonal, embedded in the ground. The floor is inlaid with colored marble and stone, modeled and arranged in geometric shapes. The pictorial decoration is made up of frescoes from the Romanesque and late Romanesque periods that tell in particular the life of Christ from the Nativity to the Crucifixion, with a space created in a niche dedicated to the Last Judgment. There is also trace, inside the apse, of a fresco dedicated to Blessed Manfredo Settàla, who died in 1217 and is still venerated in the region today.
Source: Riva San Vitale municipality website