The Collegiate Church of St. John the Evangelist is the main religious building in Valentano and represents an important historical, artistic and devotional landmark for the community.
Its origins date back to around the year 1000, when it was built in the Romanesque style and dedicated to the Apostle John the Evangelist. Over the centuries it has undergone numerous interventions and renovations: the current façade, dating back to the mid-15th century, was rebuilt with the placement of the coats of arms of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese the Younger, the bishop of Montefiascone Cardinal Bentivoglio and the community of Valentano, which at that time was identified with the image of St. John the Evangelist, later replaced by the alder tree, the civic symbol of the town.
In 1253, by order of Pope Innocent IV, the Collegiate Church was given the title of pieve, taken from the previous church of the same name located outside the walls.
The interior today is striking for its Baroque splendor due to the transformations carried out in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Despite the renovations, older evidence is preserved, such as the valuable fresco of the Crucifixion attributed to Marcello Venusti and the wooden statue of Our Lady of the Assumption (mid-17th century), a gift from priest G.B. Lazzari, which is carried in procession every year on the evening of August 14.
The church’s artistic heritage is particularly rich:
- a canvas by Corrado Giaquinto, depicting the Madonna, Child and Purgatory Souls;
- the Madonna of the Rosary with St. Dominic and St. Catherine by Pietro Lucatelli (18th century);
- two paintings dedicated to St. John the Evangelist by the painter Pietro Padroni, active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries;
- the Madonna and Child with Saints Peter and Paul by Alessandro Mattia da Farnese, an artist remembered as “the painter of Valentano”;
- a canvas by Francesco Maria Bonifazi (1711), depicting St. Francis, St. Lucy and St. Agatha, unfortunately in a poor state of preservation.
Of particular devotional value is the artistic urn under the high altar, which holds the relics of Saint Justin Martyr, co-patron of Valentano.
Completing the architectural layout are the imposing bell tower, whose terminal part is distinguished by its hexagonal shape, and the furnishings that tell of centuries of faith and local history.