Church interior San Francesco is a 13th-century,

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church located on via Berrettini in

Cortona Cortona (, ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. It is the main cultural and artistic centre of the Val di Chiana after Arezzo. Toponymy Cortona is derived from Latin Cortōna, and from Etruscan 𐌂𐌖𐌓� ...

, region of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, Italy.

History

Built in 1245, the church has the typical

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

pattern: a large nave ending in an apse with a groin vault, flanked by two smaller side-chapels also with groin vaults. The facade holds a lancet-arched main doorway with three small columns in a recess, and a large circular window set above. In the apse are the mouldings of the partially walled Gothic windows. On the left the eastern wing of the cloister is visible, where there are two windows, now filled with masonry, and an arched doorway belonging to the Chapter House. Inside can be seen some distinguished artworks, including the ''Nativity'' of

Raffaello Vanni Raffaello Vanni (1590 ca-1673) was an Italian painter of the Baroque. Biography He was born at Siena. He first trained with his father, Francesco Vanni, who died in 1610. He was afterwards sent to Rome, and recommended to the care of Antonio Ca ...

, the ''Annunciation'' by

Pietro da Cortona Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...

, ''

St. Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua ( it, Antonio di Padova) or Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, António/Antônio de Lisboa; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. He was bor ...

and the miracle of the mule'' by Cigoli (1597), and the ''Virgin in glory among the saints'' by

Ciro Ferri Ciro Ferri (1634 – 13 September 1689) was an Italian Baroque sculptor and painter, the chief pupil and successor of Pietro da Cortona. He was born in Rome, where he began working under Cortona and with a team of artists in the extensive fresc ...

. In the Convent of the Conventual Franciscan Friars (the guardians of the church) are carefully preserved some relics of St. Francis of Assisi, namely a habit, a finely embroidered cushion on which the dying saint laid his head (donated by Settesoli Giacoma de Santo, a noble lady of patrician Marino, who loved to call Francis Iacopo), and also a book of the Gospel. Also in this church is a preserved fragment of the Holy Cross, in a reliquary of Byzantine work in ivory and silver. It was brought from Constantinople to Cortona by Friar Elia Coppi, whom San Francesco named as his mother and a father for the other brothers, the successor to the leadership of the Conventual Franciscan Friars. P. Eugen Rachiteanu governed the church and the convent together with two other monks from the Conventual Franciscan Province of Romania.

External links

Tourism in Cortona
{{DEFAULTSORT:Francesco Cortona 1245 establishments in Europe 13th-century establishments in Italy Roman Catholic churches in Cortona 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Francesco Cortona