The Church of St Francis
On the inside of the quarter Le Piagge, between Santa Maria Maggiore
square and St Francis, on the homonymous way, we can find the
Church of St Francis built by the end of the Thirteenth century. The
outside of its Gothic facade has a only gate with a relatively small
pointed arch, which is accessible thanks to a staircase. High up, there is
an enormous rose window with radial columns that had not been part of
the renovation.
The inside composed by an only nave with a raised presbytery has
characteristics typical of the Baroque age, deriving from the
restructuration made at the start of the Eighteenth century. There are
paintings that date back to the Fourteenth and Fifteenth centuries: just
up against the gate, there can be admired a Virgin with Saints from the
Teacher of Alvito's school and a St Giovanni Battista by an anonymous
artist. Other frescos are located on the wall on the right, a Virgin on the
throne with the Child, St Benedetto and St Giovanni Battista, works that
date back to the second half of 1400.
Inside the church is conserved, in a shrine, a cloak that probably
belonged to St Francis of Assisi. According to tradition, it was donated
by the saint itself in 1222 to the brothers of the monastery who
disappeared in the Thirteenth century.