Description
The Commenda di San Giovanni di Prè is a Romanesque complex on Via Prè, near the port of Genoa: in 1180 the Knights Hospitaller of St. John founded it as a hospice for pilgrims bound for the Holy Land. Today it houses the National Museum of Italian Emigration.
The complex has two churches, one on top of the other: the upper one, for the knights, and the lower one, for pilgrims and the people of the neighborhood. The upper church is "back to front": when it was opened to the public, in the 18th century, the entrance was cut into the apse. Above it rises the bell tower, with three tiers of triple-arched windows and an octagonal spire.
A tunnel linked the dormitory to the landing place, so the knights could board ship without going outside. In 1385 Pope Urban VI, a guest here, had five cardinals accused of conspiracy executed: their remains were found in 1829.
The complex has two churches, one on top of the other: the upper one, for the knights, and the lower one, for pilgrims and the people of the neighborhood. The upper church is "back to front": when it was opened to the public, in the 18th century, the entrance was cut into the apse. Above it rises the bell tower, with three tiers of triple-arched windows and an octagonal spire.
A tunnel linked the dormitory to the landing place, so the knights could board ship without going outside. In 1385 Pope Urban VI, a guest here, had five cardinals accused of conspiracy executed: their remains were found in 1829.