San Francesco is a gothic-style, church located in the town of Amelia,

Province of Terni The province of Terni () is the smaller of the two provinces in the Umbria region of Italy, comprising one-third of both the area and population of the region. Its capital is the city of Terni. The province came into being in 1927, when it was ca ...

, region of

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

, Italy. The church and adjacent convent were constructed starting in 1287, under the guidance of Fra Bartolomeo, a Franciscan of the

Order of Friars Minor Conventual The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (O.F.M. Conv.) is a male religious fraternity in the Catholic Church and a branch of the Franciscan Order. Conventual Franciscan Friars are identified by the affix O.F.M. Conv. after their names. They are ...

, at the site of a former parish church. Initially, it was dedicated to Saints Phillip and James, but later to St Francis. By 1291, the church is mentioned in a Bull of

Pope Nicholas IV Pope Nicholas IV (; born Girolamo Masci; 30 September 1227 – 4 April 1292) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1288 to his death, on 4 April 1292. He was the first Franciscan to be elected pope.McBrie ...

as having the power to grant indulgences during a period of 40 days. The present facade though was completed in 1401-1406 by the following three: Menuccio Menucci of Amelia, Giovanni di Nicola of Castel dell’Aquila, and Santo di Domenico di Carignoli of Todi. It is hypothesized that stone from an ancient Roman tomb was used as spolia to create the facade stones. The bell-tower was initially erected in 1447, but collapsed during the 1915 earthquake, and only rebuilt in 1932. The interior was refurbished in the mid-1700s in a late-Baroque stye. The single nave leads to a tri-lobed presbytery with a dome. The fresco decoration of the presbytery is attributed to the late 18th-century painter Vincenzo Monotti. On the right of the nave is the Geraldini chapel, dedicated to St Antony of Padua, and commissioned in 1476 by Bishop Giovanni Geraldini. The chapel has a funereal monument to Matteo and Elisabetta Geraldini, (1477) sculpted by

Agostino di Duccio Agostino di Duccio (1418 – ) was an early Renaissance Italian sculptor. Born in Florence, he worked in Prato with Donatello and Michelozzo, who influenced him greatly. In 1441, he was accused of stealing precious materials from a Florent ...

. The tomb monument of Geronimo Geraldini (died 1481) is attributed to the studio of

Andrea Bregno Andrea di Cristoforo Bregno (1418–1506) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect of the Early Renaissance who worked in Rome from the 1460s and died just as the High Renaissance was getting under way. Early life He was born in Oste ...

, while the monument to Angelo Geraldini (1486) is attributed to Luigi Capponi, a pupil of Bregno. the wooden choir stalls date to 1411.Comune of Amelia
tourism entry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francesco Amelia Churches in the province of Terni Roman Catholic churches in Umbria Gothic architecture in Umbria 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy