Cappella di San Giovanni

The Scrovegni Chapel in Padua is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of Western Medieval art. Completed in the early 14th-century, the works of Giotto in Padua inspired the frescoes inside Cappella di San Giovanni (Saint John’s Chapel), part of the Chiesa dei Domenicani in Bolzano.

Chiesa dei Domenicani was originally dedicated in 1272 but was completely rebuilt during the early 14th-century, with four new lateral chapels. The Cappella di San Giovanni was commissioned by a family of bankers from Florence and realized around 1330 by members of the School of Giotto. Some of the frescoes were painted by the local Bolzano School, while others differ from techniques employed by the school. 

The frescoes inside Cappella di San Giovanni represent moments in the lives of Mary, Saint Nicholas, Saint John the Baptist, and Saint John the Evangelist, as the chapel is dedicated to the latter. Amongst the frescoes, the “Triumph of Death,” and the “Horsemen of the Apocalypse” stand out the most.