San Francesco is a

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 let ...

church located on Via Emilia in the town of Castelbolognese, in the region of

Emilia Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both also ; ; egl, Emégglia-Rumâgna or ''Emîlia-Rumâgna''; rgn, Emélia-Rumâgna) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy, situated in the north of the country, comprising the historical regions ...

, Italy.

History

A church at the site, along with

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

convent, was first built in 1422, and dedicated to St Lucy (

Lucia of Syracuse Lucia of Syracuse (283–304), also called Saint Lucia ( la, Sancta Lucia) better known as Saint Lucy, was a Roman Christian martyr who died during the Diocletianic Persecution. She is venerated as a saint in the Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, a ...

). The present church was designed and built in 1702 by Francesco Fontana. It survived the earthquake of 1781, but the cupola fell with the earthquake of 1854. The monastery was suppressed by Napoleonic governments, and the convent became state property. In 1866, the church underwent restorations. The church suffered severe damage during the Second World War, destroying the bell-tower and the sacristy, and was only reopened to the public in 1965. The first chapel to the right is dedicated to ''Blessed Crucifix'', and houses a 15th-century painted crucifix. At the end of the transept is the ''Chapel of the Immaculate Conception'', with a monumental altarpiece containing a sculpture of the ''Madonna'' attributed to the school of

Jacopo della Quercia Jacopo della Quercia (, ; 20 October 1438), also known as Jacopo di Pietro d'Agnolo di Guarnieri, was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance, a contemporary of Brunelleschi, Ghiberti and Donatello. He is considered a precursor of Michelangelo ...

. The main chapel still has its original altarpiece, but the altar is a modern, completed by Domenico Matteucci, with a painting by Ferraù Tenzoni. The left transept chapel is a treasury of hundreds of sacred relics. The last chapel in the church once dedicated to San Giuseppe da Copertino, but now dedicated to the ''

Sacred Heart of Jesus The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This dev ...

'', houses a painting depicting the ''Patron Saints of Castel Bolognese'' (1607) by the son of

Giovanni Battista Bertucci Giovanni Battista da Faenza, called Bertucci (the Monkey), who painted in the style of Perugino and Pinturicchio, flourished in the early part of the 16th century at Faenza. In the Pinacoteca of that city there are various works ascribed to him, ...

. The church has a terracotta statue of the ''Virgin'', venerated as the protector of the town. The adjacent convent now houses the City Hall.Terra di Faenza
province tourism office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francesco Castelbolognese Churches in the province of Ravenna 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Baroque architecture in Emilia-Romagna Roman Catholic churches completed in 1702