Gerace - San Giovannello

The history of Gerace is closely linked to that of Locri at the coast, as the inhabitants abandoned Locri and fled from a Saracen attack and piratical dangers. They settled inland, where is Gerace now. The Locrian diocese was moved to Gerace and the innumerable presence of churches and monasteries helped to identify the fortress as a kind of Holy Mount. Because of its particular position, however, Gerace soon became a center of exceptional importance. The possibility of controlling coastal traffic, and the natural fortification, meant that it became the object of attention of the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Sicily. In 986 the Saracens briefly conquered the city, but it returned to Byzantine control until the Norman conquest in 1059. Gerace was the seat of a principality under the Normans.

The small church of San Giovannello (aka San Giovanni Crisostomo) was built around the 10th century and still has the function of a Greek Orthodox church. It was once attached to the Convent of John Chrysostom, which was completely destroyed by an earthquake.

Inside the single-nave church is a cistern fed by rainwater collected by a terracotta pipe. It was probably used for baptisms.