Juan Ciudad was born in Portugal in 1495. As a child he ran away from home and arrived in New Castile, where no one knew anything about him; it was here that they began to call him John of God. Until the age of 27 he worked as a farmer and shepherd, and then joined the soldiers of fortune. After this period he began a period of travel that took him to Granada, where he opened a bookshop. It was here that his life changed course: John abandoned everything, stripped himself of his clothes and went to beg in the streets of Granada, where he preached using a phrase that later became emblematic: “Do well, brothers, to yourselves”. The charity he managed to collect was then divided among the neediest; his fellow citizens, however, had him locked up in a prison. an asylum, where he had direct experience of the methods used to treat mental illnesses, similar to torture. After leaving the asylum he opened his own hospital, also founding the order of the Hospitaller Brothers.

Tales of the statue in Dome’s building site:

The statue of John of God on the spire is the original made in 1954 by Nando Conti. As per traditional iconography, this work also represents the Saint with his left hand resting on his chest and his right hand open to show people a small half-open pomegranate with a cross stuck on top, symbol of the Order of Fatebenefratelli.