San Francesco is a Romanesque- and

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

-style

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 in the center of

Lucignano Lucignano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Arezzo in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about southwest of Arezzo. Lucignano borders the following municipalities: Foiano della Chiana, Marcian ...

, region of Tuscany, Italy.

History

The church is first mentioned as belonging to Frati Minori in 1289. The church with a bicolored (

travertine marble Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...

and

pietra serena Pietra serena is a blue-gray sandstone used extensively in Renaissance Florence for architectural details. It is also known as Macigno stone. The material obtained at Fiesole is considered the best and is also quarried at Arezzo, Cortona, and Volt ...

) facade has a rose window in the center. The rounded portal is highly decorated with spiraling pilasters. The apse has a series of vaults with Gothic tracery. Nineteenth century restoration by Castellucci removed much of the plaster obscuring earlier frescoes, and altars that were shuttering windows. The interior with a single nave has a collection of frescoes from the 15th and 16th centuries. Including ''Scenes from the Life of St Francis'' by

Bartolo di Fredi Bartolo di Fredi (c. 1330 – 26 January 1410), also called Bartolo Battiloro, was an Italian painter, born in Siena, classified as a member of the Sienese School. Biography He had a large studio and was one of the most influential painters wor ...

and

Taddeo di Bartolo Taddeo di Bartolo (c. 1363 – 26 August 1422), also known as Taddeo Bartoli, was an Italian painter of the Sienese School during the early Renaissance. He is among the artists profiled in Vasari's biographies of artists or ''Vite''. Vas ...

. The first altar right of main altar has a fresco depicting a grim ''Triumph of Death'' by Bartolo; in the painting, death as a horseman, dressed in black on a black horse, bears upon two conversing noblemen. There is a large polyptych of ''Madonna and Saints'' by

Luca di Tomme The last universal common ancestor (LUCA) is the most recent population from which all organisms now living on Earth share common descent—the most recent common ancestor of all current life on Earth. This includes all cellular organisms; t ...

. Much of the artwork of this church has been lost or dispersed.

Vasari Giorgio Vasari (, also , ; 30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance Master, who worked as a painter, architect, engineer, writer, and historian, who is best known for his work ''The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculpt ...

recounts of some painted and bejeweled cabinet-reliquary by

Luca Signorelli Luca Signorelli ( – 16 October 1523) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Cortona in Tuscany, who was noted in particular for his ability as a draftsman and his use of foreshortening. His massive frescos of the ''Last Judgment'' (1499–15 ...

. A canvas of the Virgin in the church is also attributed to the school of Signorelli. Triumph-of-death-bartolo-di-fredi-lucignano-1360s

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francesco Lucignano Churches in Lucignano Roman Catholic churches in Tuscany Gothic architecture in Tuscany Romanesque architecture in Tuscany 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy