The Chiesa di San Francesco (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, "Church of St. Francis" ) 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 lette ...

church located in the historic center of

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

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 ...

, at Piazza San Francesco d'Assisi 5. The church was founded by 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 = , ...

in 1304 but it was not consecrated until 1459, when Pope

Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

performed the ceremony.Touring Club of Italy, ''Mantua and its Province''
page 54
Suppressed in 1782, it was sacked in 1797, during the Napoleonic Wars, and turned into an arsenal in 1811. Still in military use when

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

began, it was devastated by bombardment during the war. The ''Cappella Gonzaga'', with its

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es depicting the life of St.

Louis of Toulouse Saint Louis of Toulouse (9 February 1274 – 19 August 1297), also known as Louis of Anjou, was a Neapolitan prince of the Capetian House of Anjou and a Catholic bishop. Life Louis was born in Brignoles, Provence (or in Italy, at Nocera, where ...

( it, San Ludovico d'Angiò ), was saved and recently restored. These frescoes were supposed to have been painted by Serafino de' Serafini, an artist who was active in

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

during the 14th Century. The church was reconstructed in 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 ...

styles. Now visible are some of the original frescoes depicting ''St.

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...

Receives the

Stigmata Stigmata ( grc, στίγματα, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the crucifixion wounds of Jesus Christ: the hands, wrists, and feet. Stigm ...

'' by Stefano da Verona.

Andrea Mantegna Andrea Mantegna (, , ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g. by lowering the horizon in order ...

's work ''

St. Bernardino of Siena between Two Angels ''St. Bernardino of Siena between Two Angels'' is a painting attributed to the Italian Renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna and his assistants, dated to 1460 and housed in the Pinacoteca di Brera of Milan. The painting was located in the funerary ch ...

'' was originally here but it is now at the

Pinacoteca di Brera The Pinacoteca di Brera ("Brera Art Gallery") is the main public gallery for paintings in Milan, Italy. It contains one of the foremost collections of Italian paintings from the 13th to the 20th century, an outgrowth of the cultural program of ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Italy. In the ''Cappella Gonzaga'', built between 1369 and 1484, were buried: *

Guido Gonzaga Guido Gonzaga (1290 – 22 September 1369) was an Italian condottiero, son of Ludovico I Gonzaga capitano del popolo of Mantua and imperial vicar. Biography He was elected ''podestà'' of Mantua in 1328, as well as of Reggio Emilia. In 1335 he bec ...

, 2nd ''

capitano del popolo Captain of the People ( it, Capitano del popolo, Lombard: ''Capitani del Popol'') was an administrative title used in Italy during the Middle Ages, established essentially to balance the power and authority of the noble families of the Italian ci ...

'' of Mantua. *

Ludovico II Gonzaga Ludovico II Gonzaga (1334 – 4 October 1382) was an Italian politician who was capitano del popolo of Mantua. He was a member of the House of Gonzaga. Biography He was the son of Guido Gonzaga and Beatrix of Bar. Together with his brother Franc ...

, 3rd ''capitano del popolo'' of Mantua. *

Francesco I Gonzaga Portrait of Francesco I Gonzaga Francesco I Gonzaga (1366 – 7 March 1407) was ruler of Mantua from 1382 to 1407. He was also a condottiero. Succeeding his father Ludovico II Gonzaga in 1382, he led a policy of balance between the nearby ...

, 4th ''capitano del popolo'' of Mantua. *

Margherita Malatesta {{Infobox noble , name = Margherita Malatesta , title = Consort of the ruler of Mantua , image = Маргарита Малатеста.jpg , caption = , alt = , CoA = ...

, second wife of Francesco I Gonzaga. *

Gianfrancesco Gonzaga Gianfrancesco I Gonzaga (1395 – 23 September 1444) was Marquess of Mantua from 1407 to 1444. He was also a condottiero. Biography Gianfrancesco was the son of Francesco I Gonzaga and Margherita Malatesta. He inherited the rule of Mantua ...

, 5th ''capitano del popolo'' of Mantua. * Rodolfo Gonzaga, son of Ludovico III, 2nd Marquis of Mantua. * Francesco Cardinal Gonzaga, son of Ludovico III, 2nd Marquis of Mantua. Also at the church were buried other notables: *

Giovanni dalle Bande Nere Lodovico de' Medici, also known as Giovanni delle Bande Nere (6 April 1498 – 30 November 1526) was an Italian ''condottiero''. He is known for leading the Black Bands and serving valiantly in military combat under his relatives, Pope Leo X and ...

, the ''

condottiero ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europe ...

'', buried in full armor in 1526. * Blessed Alberto Gonzaga in 1321. *

Guido Torelli Guido is a given name Latinisation of names, Latinised from the Old High German name Wido. It originated in Medieval Italy. Guido later became a male first name in Austria, Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Latin America an ...

, the founder of the noble family of Torelli, in 1449. * Cristoforo I Torelli, son of Guido, in 1460. * Francesco Secco, the ''condottiero'' who owned the family chapel, in 1496.

References

Sources

* {{in lang, en Touring Club of Italy, ''Mantua and its Province : Art Treasures, Nature Parks, Traditions and Local Products, with Detailed Road and Town Maps'' ( Milan : ''Touring Club Italiano'', 2006 )
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Roman Catholic churches completed in 1459 14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy

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 sites of the House of Gonzaga Gothic architecture in Mantua Francesco Mantua

See also

References

Sources