The Basilica of St. Francis ( it, Basilica di San Francesco alla Rocca) is a parish church and

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...

, central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The museological management of the church is run by the

Polo Museale del Lazio The Polo Museale del Lazio (literally 'Museum Center of Lazio') is an office of Italy's Ministry of Cultural Heritage. Its seat is in Rome in the Palazzo Venezia. History The office was established on August 29, 2014 and started to work on Decem ...

History

The church was built from 1237, on land donated by

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

to the

Franciscan Order , 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 = , ...

. The pre-existing Palazzo degli Alemanni, dating to 1208, was incorporated in the convent complex annexed to the church. The structure was restored in the 16th and 17th centuries, with the addition of

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

elements which hid the original Romanesque ones. An inscription on the façade states that the church, partly destroyed by the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

bombings of 17 January 1944, was rebuilt and reopened in 1953. These restorations led to the removal of the Baroque add-ons and the restoration of the original Romanesque appearance.

Description

The façade has a Romanesque portal with twisting columns. Above it are the insignia of Pope

Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius B ...

, who elevated the church to the rank of

in 1949, and, above it, three single

mullioned window A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

s and an

oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following Architecture * Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American ...

. The original medieval façade features a portico and several frescoes. At the right corner is a hexagonal pulpit, erected in 1238 as a memorial of

Bernardino of Siena Bernardino of Siena, OFM (8 September 138020 May 1444), also known as Bernardine, was an Italian priest and Franciscan missionary preacher in Italy. He was a systematizer of Scholastic economics. His preaching, his book burnings, and his " bon ...

's preaching in Viterbo. The church has a bell tower with a bell from 1259. The convent housed in its history several saints, popes and emperors. It is now the seat of the military district of Viterbo. The interior is on the Latin cross plan, with a square apse and

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

ed ceiling. The latter was covered in Baroque times by a fake barrel vault. Artworks which have survived the 1944 bombing include: * Right wall: ** panel portraying ''Viterbo with Saints Antony of Padua and Rose of Viterbo'' (1572) ** ''Pietà'' by

Tommaso Masini Tommaso di Giovanni Masini ( – 1520), known as Zoroastro da Peretola, was a friend and collaborator of Leonardo da Vinci. According to Scipione Ammirato, he was born in Peretola, near Florence, and he was the child of a gardener, although he s ...

* Right transept: ** remains of the funerary monument of Pietro di Vico by Pietro Oderisi (1269) ** Gothic funerary monument of pope

Adrian V Pope Adrian V (Latin: ''Adrianus V''; c. 1210/1220 – 18 August 1276), born Ottobuono de' Fieschi, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 July 1276 to his death on 18 August 1276. He was an envoy of Pope Cle ...

(died 1276), attributed to

Arnolfo di Cambio Arnolfo di Cambio (c. 1240 – 1300/1310) was an Italian architect and sculptor. He designed Florence Cathedral and the sixth city wall around Florence (1284–1333), while his most important surviving work as a sculptor is the tomb of Cardin ...

, with a rich

Cosmatesque Cosmatesque, or Cosmati, is a style of geometric decorative inlay stonework typical of the architecture of Medieval Italy, and especially of Rome and its surroundings. It was used most extensively for the decoration of church floors, but was also u ...

decoration * Left transept: ** damaged remains of the funerary monument of Pope

Clement IV Pope Clement IV ( la, Clemens IV; 23 November 1190 – 29 November 1268), born Gui Foucois ( la, Guido Falcodius; french: Guy de Foulques or ') and also known as Guy le Gros ( French for "Guy the Fat"; it, Guido il Grosso), was bishop of Le P ...

(died 1268), executed by Pietro Oderisi in 1270 ** funerary statue, in

peperino Peperino is an Italian word describing a brown or grey volcanic tuff, containing fragments of basalt and limestone, with disseminated crystals of augite, mica, magnetite, leucite, and other similar minerals. The name originally referred to the da ...

, of cardinal

Vicedomino de Vicedominis Vicedomino de Vicedominis (c. 1210 – 6 September 1276) was an Italian cardinal. Family Born at Piacenza, he was the nephew of Pope Gregory X, and had been married, with two children. When his wife died, he decided to enter the clerical state. ...

, the only remain of his monument ** 16th century entrance of the sacristy, where once was a ''Pietà'' by

Sebastiano del Piombo Sebastiano del Piombo (; c. 1485 – 21 June 1547) was an Italian painter of the High Renaissance and early Mannerism, Mannerist periods famous as the only major artist of the period to combine the colouring of the Venetian School (art), Venetian ...

, now in the city's museum ** remains of the large funerary monument of cardinal

Gerardo Landriani Gerardo may refer to: People Given name Gerardo is the Spanish, Portuguese and Italian form of the male given name Gerard. * Gerardo Amarilla (born 1969), Uruguayan politician * Gerardo Bonilla (born 1975), Puerto Rican-born professional race ...

(died in 1445) * Right wall of the nave: ** remains of the funerary monument of cardinal Marco of Viterbo (died in 1369) ** baptismal font and a canvas of ''Madonna with Child and Saints'' by Monaldo Trofi. The paintings of the ancient basilica were entirely frescoed, similarly to the mother Franciscan Basilica of Assisi. They were mostly executed by

Antonio del Massaro Antonio del Massaro da Viterbo, or ''Antonio da Viterbo'', nicknamed il Pastura (c. 1450–1516) was an Italian painter. Life and career The earliest mention of Il Pastura occurs in December 1478, when the artist participated in the establishm ...

. They were lost during the 18th century restoration and the 1944 bombing.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Francesco Viterbo Roman Catholic churches in Viterbo Romanesque architecture in Lazio

Francesco Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name " Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), sev ...

Burial places of popes Franciscan churches in Italy Minor basilicas in Lazio