Church of San Giovanni Fuorcivitas:

Dedicated to St. John the Evangelist, this church carries the name Fuorcivitas because it stands just outside the earliest city walls. Some historians have suggested that it may have been founded during the period of Longobard domination (7th-8th centuries), but earliest records date back to 1119 when Bishop Ildebrando decided the church should be rebuilt on the site of the existing church. Of the original church, which was enlarged in the 14th century, remain the travertine and green serpentine decoration and the side door (the main entrance to the church) whose architrave contains a sculpture of the Last Supper by Gruamonte. The rectangular interior has some significant artworks, mainly from the 14th century, when the church attracted some of the best artists of the 55 day. Examples include the pulpit by Fra' Guglielmo da Pisa (1270), the holy water stoup with the Cardinal and Theological Virtues attributed to Nicola Pisano, a polyptych by Taddeo Gaddi of the Madonna Enthroned between Saints (1353- 55) and another by Giovanni di Bartolomeo Cristiani with Scenes form the Life of St. John the Evangelist (1370). Also interesting are the wooden 13th-century Crucifix and the glazed terracotta Visitation by Luca della Robbia (around 1445). The church was restored in the early 1900s, thus bringing to light the Romanesque cloister that had been partly obscured by work done to enlarge the church in the 14th century. More work was needed after World War II to repair the damage done during air raid attacks on the city.