Church of San Giovanni Battista

The parish of San Giovanni has its historical roots in 1926, when the first parish priest Don Ciccino Gugliotta founded the "Vita e Pensiero" association, involving a very young Giorgio La Pira. Officially established on 31 May 1942, the current church is the result of an expansion in the 1960s which saw the community gather temporarily at the "Salatore" in Pozzallo, an emblematic place for sardines processing. Characterized by a modern aesthetic with a three-portico façade, the building houses mosaic windows inside and a majestic altarpiece by Valente Assenza, dedicated to the life of the Saint.
The devotion of the people of Pozzallo for San Giovanni is immense, culminating since 1987 in the famous "procession at sea": a rite strongly desired by Don Sebastiano Palumbo which sees the simulacrum of the Saint - the work of Herber Comploj - parade on board a ship. Reconfirmed as Patron Saint of the city by Paul VI in 1968 together with the Madonna del Rosario, San Giovanni represents the beating heart of the Pozzallo festivities, combining the solemnity of faith with the centuries-old maritime vocation of the "Porta Iblea".