San Giovanni della Eremeti

In Malice Stalks the Leopard, the archbishop goes to a monastery in Palermo to hear the confession of the abbott who is dying. There he learns a dreadful secret that results in his death and that of his trusted secretary. The monastery was San Giovanni della Eremeti, or St. John the Hermit. So who was this guy? Actually he was a Spaniard, Juan de Ortega(1050-1143). As he was returning by sea from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, his ship encountered a dangerous storm. He survived and returned to Spain, seeking a place of solitude where he could devote himself to contemplation. Hermits of the era believed that solitude and deprivation brought them closer to God. Juan erected a hermitage for himself at a forested site known as Urteca or Ortega (Spanish for "nettle"),on the pilgrim road to Santiago de Compostela. Juan also established at Urteca a hospice for lodging pilgrims and travelers. He devoted his manual labors to construction and repair of bridges and roads to Compostela. He also built a church in honor of Saint Nicholas, whose intercession he believed delivered him from the storm. He may have founded the monastery of San Juan de Ortega in his hometown of Burgos, Spain. The original church now known as San Giovanni della Eremeti was probably from the 6th Century, but it became a mosque when the Arabs took over Sicily. Under Norman reign in 1130, King Roger II of Sicily rebuilt the monastery for the Benedictine order called the Williamites. It is a fine example of 12th century Norman-Arab construction, distinguished by five reddish cupolas.(Incidentally, we do not know for certain whether these cupolas were originally red.) The bell tower is distinctively Norman in appearance, with Gothic lines and mullioned windows. St. John's is nestled amidst trees and gardens. An elegant cloister, probably a 13th century addition constructed in the Romanesque style, combines harmoniously with the Church and its surrounding gardens.