San Giovanni dei Lebbrosi is a Roman Catholic church in Palermo, dedicated to St John the Baptist. Robert Guiscard and Roger I of Sicily commissioned it in 1071. It was built in the Arab-Norman style, under Norman rule with strong Arabic influences, and some of the interior columns have capitals decorated with Kufic script.
According to tradition, the Norman army camped near an Arabic castle and built a temporary shrine on the site, which later became the church. In 1119 the church was attached to a leprosarium, which gave it its name. The leprosarium is said to have been founded because the brother of Roger II died of leprosy.
Various religious orders controlled the church and hospital, including the Teutonic Knights. The church later became a house. A restoration from 1920 to 1934 removed centuries of later additions. The adjacent hospital no longer exists.
Comments